South East Asian leaders warned Friday the virus pandemic had swept away years of economic gains and was hindering negotiations over the flashpoint South China Sea as they met online for a delayed summit. Vietnam, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), had wanted to use the summit to inject momentum into talks on a sprawling China-backed trade pact. But the immediate focus for the 10-member bloc was the crippling cost of the coronavirus, which has ravaged the economies of tourism and export-reliant countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. "It has swept away the successes of recent years... threatening the lives of millions of people," Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a sobering opening address. He emphasised the "serious consequences" of the pandemic for economic development among ASEAN'S members. ASEAN General Secretary Lim Jock Hoi confirmed the bleak outlook, warning the region's economy is expected to contract for the first time in 22 years. There is also increasing angst that the fallout from the virus has provided cover for new Chinese plays in the South China Sea, the resource-rich waterway Beijing claims most of but is also contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan. In a draft statement seen by AFP, ASEAN leaders noted concerns over "land reclamations, recent developments and serious incidents" in the South China Sea. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte -- using strong language for a leader that is seen as having pivoted toward China from its traditional ally the United States -- urged all parties "to refrain from escalating tensions and abide by responsibilities under international law". Duterte also urged ASEAN not to be sucked into the power rivalry between Washington and Beijing. The United States is not a claimant to any territories in the South China Sea but has sent its navy to patrol the area in support of freedom of navigation, while Beijing has slammed this as interference in regional affairs by an outside power. - South China Sea chessboard - Vietnam's Prime Minister admitted the pandemic would "interrupt discussion meetings" on the so-called code of conduct, which was due to be finished in 2021 after years of talks. In recent years Beijing has stepped up its territorial claims in the South China Sea by building artificial islands. In April it officially named 80 islands and other geographical features in the disputed waters. The same month Vietnam also accused Beijing of sinking a trawler, prompting the United States to warn it was "exploiting the distraction" of other states "to expand its unlawful claims". China is always advancing its pieces on the "South China Sea chessboard", a senior Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP. Beijing took advantage of the Asian financial crisis in the late 90s and the SARS outbreak to push its claims, he added: "If there is a space, they move." Without directly mentioning China, Vietnam's Phuc admitted that "strategic problems between big countries had become clear and had deepened". "While the world is trying its best to fight the pandemic, there were irresponsible acts, violating international laws, that affected the security and stability of some regions including ours," he said. Vietnam had hoped the summit would see progress on a trade agreement known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which is backed by China. But the deal, which would loop in half the world's population and a third of its GDP, has been hampered by India's refusal to join over access to its market for cheap goods from China, the regional superpower it is now locked in a deadly border row with. Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc warned the online summit of the 'serious consequences' of the pandemic for the economic development of ASEAN members Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte urged ASEAN to leave the Beijing-Washington rivalry well alone
It wouldnt be as simple as going to Hamilton General and asking for attention.

That went through Lyndon Georges mind when he headed there with shortness of breath and chest pain.

As a Black man, hed have to take extra measures.

I even put on a better coat that day to walk into the ER because I wanted to be taken seriously, recalls George, 39.

He experienced racial bias at a Canadian hospital 12 years earlier.

At 27, George suffered from blood clots in his legs. Then, a heart attack sent him by ambulance to an Ottawa hospital.

Despite his condition, staff wanted to send him home. A doctor also asked him not once but twice if hed taken illicit drugs. The answer both times was no. He was shocked.

And for a moment, I thought, Will that get me the care that I need if I say something thats not true? and you should never have to be in that position in order to get the care that you need.

A decade later in Hamilton, his trip to the General left him with much to be desired  despite the coat.

After sitting in pain for nearly eight hours, George felt staff werent taking his symptoms seriously.

There was never a series of probing questions.

So George went into complete self-advocacy mode to combat what he felt was an unwillingness to acknowledge he could be in serious medical distress.

He was eventually sent for a chest X-ray, diagnosed with pneumonia and prescribed antibiotics.

But there was no deep dive into his symptoms or admittance overnight for care.

George worried something more than pneumonia ailed him given his cases of deep-vein thrombosis  the blood clotting  and that heart attack.

When he went home, the pain worsened and his breathing became more shallow. So he returned to the Generals ER that same night.

With little response from the triage nurse in the empty waiting room, George says his mother advocated on his behalf. It was only then that the nurse called him for an echocardiogram.

But as time lurched on, and with no offers of oxygen or a wheelchair  a signal of empathy from staff  George says he left in pain and frustration over a you can wait attitude from staff.

That morning, he wrote the hospital to complain about a lack of attention for Black patients and their health concerns.

Lyndon George says systemic racism affected the inadequate care for chest pains and shortness of breath he received at Hamilton General's emergency department. The Hamilton Spectator

Trying to be heard

Three weeks later, George still felt terrible. This time, he tried St. Josephs Hospital.

There, staff took the time to do that deep dive  a CT scan and a d-dimer test, which detects clotting in blood.

It showed his chest was full of blood clots. Hed suffered a pulmonary embolism.

He ended up spending four days in the hospital. That was in June 2019.

A year later, George credits the ER doctor who took the time to listen to him for saving his life.

So why were his experiences at the two Hamilton hospitals so different?

The critique isnt to suggest there arent good health-care workers at the General, operated by Hamilton Health Sciences, or that they didnt want to treat him, George emphasizes.

He recognizes the trauma centre has unique pressures, including long ER wait times.

But those factors coupled with systemic racism pushed someone who looked to be a healthy Black man out the door.

During his visits, there was no specific reference to race, but as a Black man whod experienced racism before, the testimonials of members of his community whod also run into barriers, and the research hed read, George felt it was at play.

Unconscious bias plays out because of these inequities in our health-care system time and time again.

Hamilton Health Sciences CEO Rob MacIsaac says Georges experience indicates the organization has work to do when it comes to systemic racism.

I think the concerns that hes annunciating absolutely affirm our resolve to continue on down this road of doing better relative to equity, diversity and inclusion, MacIsaac said.

From my perspective, Im committed to taking a very aggressive approach to reviewing our policies, procedures, practices using this lens of anti-Black racism. I think that his advocacy is helpful.

Moments of reckoning

When George first shared his hospital experiences with The Spectator, the tragic death of Yosif Al-Hasnawi in 2017 weighed on him.

After being shot, the 19-year-old immigrant from Iraq lay on the Main Street East sidewalk writhing in pain. It took paramedics 38 minutes to transport him to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Two paramedics  Christopher Marchant and Steve Snively  were charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life. Their trial is scheduled for Nov. 24.

There was a connection with Al-Hasnawi  that feeling of trying to be heard. A systemic problem in health care was at play, thought George, a constituency assistant to MPP Andrea Horwath.

Then, a few weeks later, COVID-19 changed the world.

The pandemic exposed deep societal gulfs, hitting racialized groups disproportionately hard in the United States.

Then the violent death of George Floyd  who had coronavirus  while in Minneapolis police custody thrust anti-Black racism in law enforcement into the global spotlight.

None of this  the health inequities and lethal police violence trading on race  originated with these galvanizing times.

But Black communities are seizing them, to hold the system accountable, including health-care institutions, Lyndon George says.

Doctors have empathy, sympathy and understanding. They do, but theres that management component that needs to understand how critical this is to influencing that care, and I think that thats lacking.

Bernice Downey, an assistant professor at McMaster University's School of Nursing and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, is Indigenous Health Lead in the Faculty of Health Science. McMaster University

Ripple in a pond

Over the phone, Bernice Downey paints a self-portrait:

I have dark skin and black hair, and I wear traditional jewelry, so you could look at me and say, I think thats an Indigenous woman.

The McMaster University professor says her appearance factored into how a medical resident treated her at a local walk-in clinic an early weekend morning two and a half years ago.

Shed gone in with a bladder infection.

I was wearing sweatpants and probably didnt have makeup on, maybe combed my hair, but I was asked a very rude question, and it had a sexual overtone about what I may have or may have not been doing the night before.

In a nutshell, hed asked her if shed had a one-night stand. She was shocked.

His responses were unprofessional and racist, said Downey, whos the Indigenous health lead at McMasters Faculty of Health Sciences.

But for some patients, this is par for the course.

If youre Indigenous or a person of colour, that is part of your reality in the health-care system, and for some, more than others.

Downey and Lyndon George alike speak of how their racialized peers strategize to receive care, navigate the system, or self-triage by relying on friends and family when the normal points of access are closed to them.

And like George, she notes the obstacles to care thrown up by systemic racism are nothing new.

Consider Brian Sinclair, a 45-year-old Indigenous man who died of a bladder infection in 2008 after staff in a Winnipeg emergency room left him to languish for 34 hours.

Downey also points out the more recent CBC report of an Indigenous woman shopping around at hospitals and health centres in Edmonton before, on a seventh visit, a doctor finally tells her shes had a stroke.

Just last week, B.C.s health minister announced an investigation into allegations of health-care workers playing a game that involved guessing the blood-alcohol level of Indigenous patients.

Its a ripple in the pond, she says about these horrid cases. You realize that its pervasive, that its at the systems level. People try to make it as an individual incident, but its so much larger than that.

Power imbalance

Dr. Madeleine Verhovsek, an expert in sickle-cell disease at McMaster, says she will call ERs ahead of patient visits to ensure adequate care.

In particular, her young Black male patients requests for care and medication are much more likely to be disregarded unless someone else validates their health concerns, she says.

Basically, its now to the point where we tell them, No, dont just go to the emergency department out of the blue. Call us first, let us know that youre going, so that we can call ahead and vouch for you. 

A hereditary condition, sickle-cell disease can cause blood flow to clog. This leads to degenerating tissue, resulting in painful episodes. It presents in Black people at higher rates.

Studies in U.S. medical journals have pointed to a disturbing prevalence of health-care professionals or trainees who subscribe to the false belief that Black people feel less pain than white people.

Verhovsek says racialized patients tell her they feel as though their pain isnt taken as seriously as white peoples. But the power imbalance that exists between patients and health-care providers can be stifling.

When youre coming vulnerable in pain, the health-care team really does have power over you. You have to be kind of deferring to them. You cant be perceived as being confrontational or trying to argue.

Diverse voices

Lyndon George says race-based, socioeconomic data could help shed light on disparities and lead to meaningful change.

Specifically, George, whos a patient adviser at Hamilton General, wants hospitals to conduct surveys asking patients if they experience racial bias in care.

Diverse voices need to be elevated so that their voices can shape our health-care system for the better.

HHS CEO Rob MacIsaac says hes open to asking patients about racial bias.

I think that should be something that is considered going forward as we consider and apply this lens of anti-Black racism to reviewing our policies, procedures, practices.

Having a say in studies is crucial, says Bernice Downey, a medical anthropologist and nurse by training.

For decades, Indigenous people were researched to death, but not always about what they thought was important, she says.

Often university academics would go away, take the information, write a fancy report, and theyd never see them again.

But in recent years, Indigenous people have reclaimed their right to research, Downey says, citing seminal health care-related reports, including one focused on Hamilton.

Theres much to address, not just racist attitudes of health-care workers, but also the direction of policy-makers in shaping institutions, Downey notes.

And hundreds of years of colonialism: the Indian Act, residential schools, the 60s Scoop, intergenerational trauma, tainted water on reservations, outsize levels of poverty, missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, rupture from tradition and land.

It all requires a holistic approach, leading to culturally safe experiences for everyone, Downey says.

Everything is interdependent. Its like a domino effect. If youre out of balance in your emotional or the physical realm, its going to affect your mental realm and your spiritual realm.

MacIsaac says it will take time to erase systemic racism in health care.

I think we at Hamilton Health Sciences have been on this road for some time in trying to respond to these kinds of concerns and address them, but we know that our work isnt finished and theres still more to do.

George says the discussion gains traction among senior administrators after years of advocacy.

It is Black and Indigenous health-care professionals who have raised the alarm, he said. That is why its happening.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday said that it was assessing the impact of US President Donald Trumps decision to freeze non-immigrant work visas till December, a move likely to affect thousands of Indians.

This is likely to affect movement of Indian skilled professionals who avail of these non-immigrant visa programmes to work lawfully in the US.

We are assessing the impact of the order on Indian nationals and industry in consultation with stakeholders, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said. People-to-people linkages and trade and economic cooperation, especially in technology and innovation sectors, are an important dimension of the US-India partnership. Indian IT companies are amongst the biggest beneficiaries of the US H-1B visa regime.

The MEA spokesperson said that high-skilled Indian professionals bring important skill sets, bridge technological gaps and impart a competitive edge to the US economy. They have also been a critical component of the workforce that is at the forefront of providing Covid-19 related assistance in key sectors, including health, information technology and financial services, he said. The US has always welcomed talent and we hope our professionals will continue to be welcomed in USA in the future, Srivastava added.
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.
A valedictorian is celebrating her high academic title in addition to having never been absent from class.

Ashanti Palmer recently graduated from Nellie A. Thornton High School in Mount Vernon, New York, with perfect attendance. The 17-year-old said she hasn't missed school since pre-K, and intends to keep it going throughout college.

"There were days when I didn't feel like going to school, but I knew if you missed a day then you were behind, so I pushed through," Ashanti told "Good Morning America." "[My friends] know I hate being behind in my work so it was normal for me to show up."

Ashanti is leaving high school with a 99.08 average. She's been accepted to 18 colleges and awarded over $430,000 in scholarships.

PHOTO: Ashanti Palmer, valedictorian of Nellie A. Thornton High School in Mount Vernon, New York, is headed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, to study biomedical engineering on the pre-med track. (Vincent Miller/ Nellie A. Thornton High School)

MORE: Valedictorian's anti-racism message sparks controversy: 'I wanted a wake-up call'

Ashanti was a member of the National Honor Society and participated in a mentoring program where she and other girls were paired with career-driven women. Her favorite subject is math, and she took several AP courses.

When she isn't focused on academics, the teen reads and writes poetry, watches anime, and listens to rap and dancehall music.

Her principal, Dr. Evelyn Collins, said Ashanti was always committed.

PHOTO: Ashanti Palmer graduated from Nellie A. Thornton High School in Mount Vernon, New York, with perfect attendance. The 17-year-old said she hasn't missed school since pre-k, and intends to keep it going throughout college. (Vincent Miller/ Nellie A. Thornton High School)

"She's amazing," Collins told "GMA." "I told our superintendent, 'We have a student who's never missed school and who has been on the honor roll since kindergarten.' How do we celebrate this child so other students can see that it's possible? She stayed on the path. She stayed on the journey. It's phenomenal."

Ashanti is headed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, to study biomedical engineering on the pre-med track.

PHOTO: Ashanti Palmer, valedictorian of Nellie A. Thornton High School in Mount Vernon, New York, is headed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, to study biomedical engineering on the pre-med track. (Vincent Miller/ Nellie A. Thornton High School)

MORE: These school bus drivers paid a touching tribute to their graduating seniors

WATCH: Spelman valedictorian, 1st-generation college student aims to become HBCU professor

Her advice to rising students: "Focus on your own definition of success."

Story continues

"Look at someone and see inspiration, but never see envy," she said. "We all have our own paths to take. Be focused on that goal."

When asked if she had saved her perfect attendance certificates over the years, Ashanti laughed.

"One for every marking period," she replied. "My mom keeps everything."

This valedictorian hasn't missed a day of school since pre-K originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
LONDON - For the second night running, police officers in London have been attacked by revellers after trying to disperse crowds at an unlicensed music event.

A night after clashes in the south London district of Brixton following another street party, which left 22 police officers injured, Londons Metropolitan Police said officers had to attend further unlicensed music events, block parties and raves.

Kensington and Chelsea Police said a gathering in Notting Hill in west London was dispersed by around 2 a.m. Friday. And though there were no confirmed reports of serious injury, it said objects had been thrown at police officers.

Such behaviour and any violent acts will not be tolerated, it said.

In the wake of the clashes in Brixton on Wednesday night, the Met said it was undertaking an enhanced policing operation across London, which involved additional officers in place.

Commander Bas Javid said extra officers, clad in personal protective equipment, had been called in to ensure there was an effective and prompt response to any reports or disorder.

He said the enhanced operation came in direct response to concerns expressed by our communities, many of whom were scared and shocked by the events taking place outside their homes.

Another gathering in Streatham, south London, was also dispersed but without any incident.

Under lockdown restrictions in England, groups are limited to six people but the warm weather over much of the past few weeks has seen far bigger gatherings take place.

Thursdays street parties came at the end of a day meteorologists confirmed as the hottest of 2020. The mercury hit 33.3 C (around 92 F) at Londons Heathrow Airport.

Another hot day is anticipated for the capital on Friday.
New Delhi, June 26 : The Border Security Force arrested a Pakistani national early Friday while he was trying to cross over into India.

"The Pakistan national was apprehended around 6.40 am while he was trying to infilterate from border pillar number 1082," a BSF statement said, adding that nothing suspicious was seized from him.

Security agencies were jointly questioning the accused.
"It was love at first sight," says Thato Masondo of his first encounter with girlfriend Thula Ndema. Having grown up in different provinces - he in Gauteng, she in the Free State - their paths merged when they both took up jobs at a retail store in Sandton.

Tell us a bit more about the inspiration behind Sobae?

How did you go about formulating the product and launching it to market?

How do you come up with your sorbet flavours?

What have been the biggest challenges and highlights on your entrepreneurship journey?

How has the Covid-19 lockdown affected your business?

Have you had any mentors who have inspired and assisted you along the way?

Name some other young South African entrepreneurs whose work you particularly admire.

What advice do you have for young aspiring entrepreneurs in South Africa?

They started dating and later worked at an ice-cream parlour together, which is where they noticed how well sorbet sold, particularly among customers seeking non-dairy alternatives. In 2017, the couple became business partners when they launched an artisanal sorbet brand of their own called Sobae Frozen.Sights on their frequent walks around Johannesburg CBD catalysed the creation of their business. Masondo and Ndema often encountered piles of rotting fruit which made them realise that over-ripe fresh produce was being discarded by street vendors who struggled to sell it.To help combat food waste and satisfy Joburgers' desire for dairy-free frozen desserts, the couple experimented with sorbet flavours using the very ripe produce from fruit and veg markets that were close to being discarded. Selecting produce at their optimal ripeness means that Sobae Frozen products require small quantities of added sugar, if any at all.The startup handmakes the sorbet in small batches, using in-season, locally-grown produce, and zero artificial ingredients. The colourful array of flavours include Pawpaw Pineapple, Watermelon Black Peppercorn, Lime Cucumber and Pumpkin Chai Spice, of which Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle enjoyed a serving on her trip to South Africa in September.The Sobae Frozen brand identity is a sweet nod to the founders' relationship - the bae in Sorbae is a colloquial term of endearment for a romantic partner and the startup runs with the tagline 'Sorbet so bae you'll fall in love'.In the spirit of #YouthMonth , we chatted to Masondo and Ndema about their business journey.The walks we took together inspired the idea behind Sobae, because we came across a lot of illegal dumping sites around Joburg CDB. We were not happy about that and we wanted to find the source of the dumping. We saw that most of the dumping was fruit, and street vendors were the source.Our main idea was to buy the ripe fruits and juice them. When we did more research we decided to make sorbet because it was an original idea and it would take off for people looking for non-dairy treats.We researched more about sorbets and saved up money from our salaries to buy equipment. We launched on the streets. We knew we had to find a place that attracted lots of people who were open-minded, and that's why we settled in Braamfontein and Maboneng.We play around with our flavours and experiment with whats in season; many fruits can be overpowering, like guava. This season we have oranges and we want to have a range of citrus sorbets, but delivered differently, so we infuse the orange with thyme. We also get inspiration from our street vendors when they mix fruit salads like pawpaw and pineapple.When we were selling on the streets we used to get chased away by the security guards. We have been trading at The Wilds Nature Reserve in Houghton, but getting a permit to sell in parks around Johannesburg has been a challenge.Getting around Johannesburg with a cooler box using public transport is difficult, and when we buy stock we walk to the market. Things like transport is also a challenge when we need to get to interviews, meeting and pitches.We've also needed to educate people about sorbet, because many people we interacted with didnt know what was.Our biggest highlights starting up were receiving our first fund from the National Youth Development Agency and NGOs like SEEDA, Makers Valley and the Global Philanthropy Alliance.We also recently opened our first store at Victoria Yards.We had to close the store and pause our plans for this year. We have two part-time employees and this affected them greatly. We cancelled all our planned events which left us with no source of income.But we took some time to volunteer in our community. As an organisation its important to give back to the community and thats where our hearts are during Level 3.We have reopened on Saturdays and Sundays and we're doing deliveries with Foakes Coffee Bar and Roastery. Because of the lockdown we've had some time to innovate, develop a different strategy and work with complementary local businesses.Yes, many, from people we talk to on a daily basis to others who mentor us occasionally. We have met many individuals who have grown close to us as mentors.Thina Ralutemba - Thina CityNick Wider - SEEDAMpho Phalane - Food I Love YouCarrie Pratt - Independent consultantNtasko Mkhabela - Global Philanthropy AllianceTebogo Mabye - Hillbrewed Coffee Co.Themba Mntambo - NYOC OrganicsSinenhlanhla Ndlela - Yo Coco Elihle Ndema - Zazi BeautifulSibusiso Zulu and Hector Mgiba - Sneakers 4 ChangeKeitumetsi Mokoena and Zwelihle Magwaza - Love Our City KleanTo always follow their instincts, have passion, be patient and be consistent. The youth should observe what they can contribute to their community and build ideas that can help people.
Credit: ChipScope

For half a millennium, people have tried to enhance human vision by technical means. While the human eye is capable of recognizing features over a wide range of size, it reaches its limits when peering at objects over giant distances or in the micro- and nanoworld. Researchers of the EU funded project ChipScope are now developing a completely new strategy towards optical microscopy.

The conventional light microscope, still standard equipment in laboratories, underlies the fundamental laws of optics. Thus, resolution is limited by diffraction to the so called "Abbe limit'  structural features smaller than a minimum of 200 nm cannot be resolved by this kind of microscope.

So far, all technologies for going beyond the Abbe limit rely on complex setups, with bulky components and advanced laboratory infrastructure. Even a conventional light microscope, in most configurations, is not suitable as a mobile gadget to do research out in the field or in remote areas. In the ChipScope project funded by the EU, a completely new strategy towards optical microscopy is explored. In classical optical microscopy the analyzed sample area is illuminated simultaneously, collecting the light which is scattered from each point with an area-selective detector, e.g. the human eye or the sensor of a camera.

In the ChipScope idea instead, a structured light source with tiny, individually addressable elements is utilized. As depicted in the figure, the specimen is located on top of this light source, in close vicinity. Whenever single emitters are activated, the light propagation depends on the spatial structure of the sample, very similar to what is known as shadow imaging in the macroscopic world. To obtain an image, the overall amount of light which is transmitted through the sample region is sensed by a detector, activating one light element at a time and thereby scanning across the sample space. If the light elements have sizes in the nanometer regime and the sample is in close contact to them, the optical near field is of relevance and super resolution imaging may become possible with a chip-based setup.

To realize this alternative idea, a bunch of innovative technology is required. The structured light source is realized by tiny light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are developed at the University of Technology in Braunschweig, Germany. Due to their superior characteristics in comparison to other lighting systems, e.g. the classical light bulb or Halogen-based emitters, LEDs have conquered the market for general lighting applications in the past decades. However, to the present point, no structured LED arrays with individually addressable pixels down to the sub-m regime are commercially available.

This task belongs to the responsibility of TU Braunschweig within the frame of the ChipScope project. First LED arrays with pixel sizes down to 1 m have already been demonstrated by the researchers, as depicted in the figure. They are based on gallium nitride (GaN), a semiconductor material which is commonly used for blue and white LEDs. Controlled structuring of such LEDs down to the sub-m regime is extremely challenging. It is conducted by photo- and electron beam lithography, where structures in the semiconductor are defined with high precision by optical shadow masks or focused electron beams.

As a further component, highly sensitive light detectors are required for the microscope prototype. Here, Professor A. Dieguez' group at the University of Barcelona develops so called single-photon avalanche detectors (SPADs) which can detect very low light intensities down to single photons. First tests with those detectors integrated into a prototype of the ChipScope microscope have already been conducted and have shown promising results.

Moreover, a way to bring specimens into close vicinity of the structured light source is vital for proper microscope operation. An established technology to realize this utilizes microfluidic channels, where a fine system of channels is structured into a polymer matrix. Using high-precision pumps, a micro-volume liquid is driven through this system and carries the specimen along to the target position.
Chennai:

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, hospitalised here last month, is undergoing lung decongestion as well as other comprehensive measures and continues to be under constant monitoring, Apollo Hospital said on Saturday.

The honourable Chief Minister continues to be under constant monitoring by the intensivists and consultants in the panel (of specialists), it said.

The hospitals Chief Operating Officer Subbiah Viswanathan said in a short press release that respiratory support is being closely watched and adjusted.

Lungs decongestion treatment is being continued. All the other comprehensive measures including nutrition, supportive therapy and passive physiotherapy are under way, he said.

The 68-year-old Jayalalithaa was admitted to the corporate hospital on September 22, after she complained of fever and dehydration. The hospital had on Thursday said that she continues to improve but requires a longer stay at the hospital.

Among others, Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan and MDMK founder Vaiko had visited the hospital. They had wished her speedy recovery.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
A 17-year-old girl was injured after Pakistani troops fired at her when she was grazing cattle along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Friday, officials said.

Nazia Kouser was grazing cattle ahead of the border fencing along the LoC in the Challerri area of Shahpur sector when the Pakistan army violated ceasefire and fired at her around 6 pm, they said. She was initially treated at a hospital in Poonch and later referred to Jammu for specialised treatment, the officials said.

District Development Commissioner, Poonch, Rahul Yadav confirmed the incident and said an immediate assistance of Rs 10,000 has been given to the girl's family.
In May, two county residents sued County Executive Marc Elrich (D) and the director of the Department of Health and Human Services for funding a one-time emergency assistance check during the coronavirus pandemic to low-income families that do not qualify for the federal stimulus check or state benefits. The plaintiffs, Sharon Bauer and Richard Jurgena, alleged that the officials violated federal law by directing taxpayer dollars to undocumented immigrants.
Project CARE has rightly recognised the brilliant ideas of three incredible entrepreneurs Chinenye, Victor and Aisha. The award is a tribute to their innovation, resourcefulness and creativity in designing environment friendly responses to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria. I have pledged to connect them to potential UK partners and to potential customers, she said.
The perpetrator would charge UAH 1,000 (nearly $40) per package of information inquired.

The Ukrainian cyberpolice unit in the southern city of Odesa have detained a a local man, 26, accused of illegally disseminating for profit personal data from databases of major Ukrainian banks and other organizations.

Also, the suspect, who had been rendering his illegal services via one of chat messengers, offered information from databases of postal carrier clients, vehicle registration and drivers' licenses, Odesa Region PD press service reported.

The perpetrator would charge UAH 1,000 (nearly $40) per package of information inquired.

Read alsoSBU in Kharkiv region exposes group of cybercriminals stealing money from bank cards

During a search at the suspect's home and vehicle, law enforcers seized SIM cards, bank cards, a cellphone, and flash drives.

The man is set to be charged with "unauthorized interference with the operation of computers, automated systems, computer or telecommunication networks.

As UNIAN reported earlier, a supermarket cashier was detained in Khmelnytsky region for copying customers' bank card information to appropriate money.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Gov. Mike DeWine -- who in the past had called imposing coronavirus restrictions by county a disaster -- said hes now looking at such an approach.

DeWine made the remarks during Thursdays coronavirus briefing when he was discussing hotspots in the Dayton and Cincinnati areas.
Ironically, back in January 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) decreed that 2020 would be the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. No one knew at that time how poignant that acknowledgment would be. Originally, the purpose of making this declaration was to showcase, and elevate, the profile of the nurse and midwife professions, to celebrate the contributions made by these professionals, and to recognize the challenges they face on a daily basis. The timeliness of this recognition also coincided with Florence Nightingales 200th birthday on May 12, 2020

During her career, the mother and pioneer of all nurses advocated for, and changed, the delivery of healthcare, and gave credence to the value and significance to the role of nurses. She provided care to wounded soldiers during the Crimean War, and battled cholera and typhoid outbreaks. Through it all, she heightened the image and credibility of the nursing profession, and significantly impacted advancements in infection control standards.

Pertaining to the latter, the importance of frequent handwashing was one of her insightful discoveries. Interestingly and ironically, this practice has regained its relevance and significance today in fighting our current COVID-19 pandemic.

Recognizing the Year of the Nurse and Midwife in 2020 takes on new meaning from its original intent. How fitting is it that we recognize nurses this year? The challenges we all have faced as a result of COVID-19 have at times seemed insurmountable, overwhelming, and to be honest, quite frightening. But of the many first responders and healthcare providers who have been providing care and protecting us during these recent months, nurses have been at the forefront.

Nurses are among the many heroes who have been serving on the front lines, providing direct patient care to the sick and dying, educating the public on illness prevention, participating in the design and conduct of research trials for determining appropriate treatment protocols, and advising and advocating for policy changes at the local, state, national and international levels in order to keep us safe and healthy. Nurses have been at the bedside, comforting those who are hospitalized and serving as their liaison to family members who are restricted from visiting; serving as the only support to new mothers while they labor and give birth alone; and holding the hands of dying patients who are isolated from their loved ones during their final hours.

This isnt the first time nurses have demonstrated their heroism, nor their ability to endure tough battles. They have been our courageous leaders throughout times of war, during 9/11, and in various other healthcare crises. And if we indeed go through round two of COVID-19, which is expected by many experts, nurses will be there again, leading the way as our ambassadors, healthcare providers, patient care advocates, and heroes.

When you have the chance, I urge you to tell the nurses you know or meet that you appreciate them. Honor them this year and every year for the kindnesses and expert care they afford to us all.

Dr. Laura Bernaix is dean and professor at the School of Nursing at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Yesterday, there was a big hearing in the House Judiciary committtee, because a former prosecutor named Aaron Zelinsky was so outraged he had to resign over someone associated with President Trump getting sentenced within recommended guidelines.

According to the Washington Post:

The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony Wednesday from a federal prosecutor and another witness who have accused Attorney General William P. Barr and his top deputies of acting based on political considerations and a desire to appease President Trump. Aaron Zelinsky, an assistant U.S. attorney in Maryland formerly detailed to the Russia investigation by special prosecutor Robert S. Mueller III, told the panel that prosecutors involved in the criminal trial of Trumps friend Roger Stone experienced heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice to give Stone a break by requesting a lighter sentence.

Here's more: 1,100 former Justice department officials previously demanded Barr resign because of the Roger Stone case.

Another ex-prosecutor who testified with Zelinsky, someone named Donald Ayer, claimed Barrs interference was "worse than Watergate."

Ill give him and the media a clue. Targeting and spying on a political opponent running for president is worse than Watergate. This Stone case he's complaining about was about calling for a sentence that was well within the law.

So far, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and her right and left arms Jerry Nadler, and Adam Schiff, have not held hearings on the fraud before the FISA court, nor have they held one on the railroading of Gen. Michael Flynn, but a 40-month sentence on Stone caused an actual hearing.

The next big hearing will probably be on the Bolton book which appears to be about as verified as the Steele dossier, given the large number of eyewitnesses who say it's a load of self-serving lies.

Roger Stones association with Trump was so dangerous that the FBI sent in a huge swat team with CNNs cameras rolling. Remember this?

FBIs Roger Stone raid sends chilling message But ex-agent calls it ridiculous A swarm of agents in tactical gear shouting FBI! Open the door! outside Roger Stones Florida home just before dawn Friday was over the top but intended to send a chilling message to anyone else being eyed in the Mueller investigation  youre next, former FBI agents told the Herald. The SWAT-style raid on a white-collar suspect in pajamas went viral Friday, with CNN cameras rolling.

That's not the only 'worse than Watergate.'

There also was no outrage nor any resignations when the Obama Justice department used an Obama donor to let IRS tax-exempt chief Lois Lerner and other criminals at IRS off scot-free after spying on and harassing dissidents to flip the 2012 election to President Obama.

Obama donor leading Justice Departments IRS investigation

No resignations and letters from former officials when then-Attorney General Eric Holder and other Obama administration let perjurers like James Clapper and John Brennan off with no consequences. Or, Remember this?

Eric Holder's Long History Of Lying To Congress

There was also this travesty:

Justice Department: Eric Holder didn't commit perjury

And this was far from the only 'worse than Watergate' that occurred in the last administration.

No resignations or letters when the Obama Justice Department had a slush fund which they used for political purposes and to give kickbacks to liberal groups who supported Obama for President. The EPA and CFPB also had slush funds but no one cared. Remember this?

Obama Justice Departments $1 Billion Slush Fund Boosted Liberal Groups

No resignations or letters of outrage when Obama illegally spied on thousands of Americans nor when the Obama administration committed fraud on the FISA curt to spy on Trump and people who knew him.

Newly declassified memos detail extent of improper Obama-era NSA spying

No outrage or resignations when Obama and Holder illegally withheld documents on their gun-running operation for years.

Subpoena fight over operation Fast and Furious documents finally settled

No outrage or resignations when Obama dictatorially and unilaterally stopped an investigation into drug running by terrorists to appease Iran and get its Iran deal through.

The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook An ambitious U.S. task force targeting Hezbollah's billion-dollar criminal enterprise ran headlong into the White House's desire for a nuclear deal with Iran. In its determination to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, the Obama administration derailed an ambitious law enforcement campaign targeting drug trafficking by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, even as it was funneling cocaine into the United States, according to a POLITICO investigation.

These terrorist drug runners got off scot-free but the media and people who worked at the Justice department were more outraged that someone associated with Trump, who was convicted of a process crime got a forty-month sentence. It appears that these people have been infected with the Trump derangement syndrome.

Image credit: THE CIRCUS on Showtime, via Wikimedia Commons
Nasa has asked the public to help design the toilets that astronauts will use on the Moon.

Heading to the lunar surface poses special challenges, in some cases even harder than those undertaken by people in orbit on the International Space Station.

Those challenges include how exactly the astronuats who are headed for the Moon will be able to go to the toilet, while dealing with the difficulties posed by less gravity and the long journey to the surface.

Now Nasa has asked the public to propose "novel design concepts for compact toilets that can operate in both microgravity and lunar gravity".

Space toilets are already used in places such as the International Space Station. But they are designed for microgravity, rather than the stronger gravity experienced on the lunar surface.

Recommended Nasa astronaut drops mirror into space during spacewalk

Nasa also wants its new toilets to be smaller and more efficient  given that space and weight will be at a premium as it designs the ships that will carry astronauts back to the Moon as part of the Artemis missions  as well as being able to work in both microgravity and lunar gravity.

The space agency is already working to streamline the existing toilets, it said, but was looking for ideas from the public with the hope that they could "approach the problem with a mindset different from traditional aerospace engineering". "This challenge hopes to attract radically new and different approaches to the problem of human waste capture and containment," it wrote in its callout.

The public are asked to send their ideas in by 17 August. A winner will be announced at the end of September.

There is a total prize purse of $35,000 which will be shared between the three winning ideas.
Washington, June 26 : Native American groups are planning to protest against President Donald Trump's visit to Mount Rushmore at the start of the Fourth of July weekend, a media report said on Friday.

Mount Rushmore features the 60-feet high faces of four US Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, the BBC reported.

The monument was carved into the granite rock face between 1927 and 1941.

But the land the memorial lies on, the Black Hills of South Dakota, was taken from the indigenous Lakota Sioux by the US government in 1800s.

Its sculptor was reportedly a white supremacist with ties to the Ku Klux Klan, the BBC report said.

Trump is reported to bring fighter jets and fireworks to Mount Rushmore on July 3 as his campaigning tour continues.

Meanwhile, some Native American activists have said that the land should be returned to the Sioux and the monument brought down.

Others say indigenous groups should receive economic benefits from tourism to the site.

Oglala Sioux President Julian Bear Runner told the Argus Leader newspaper that Trump did not consult with tribal leaders about his visit.

Trump's planned visit made headlines earlier this month for his decision to host the first fireworks at Mount Rushmore in over a decade, despite environmental concerns, the BBC report said.

The monument is surrounded by a national forest and some fear the display could set off wildfires in the dry brush.
Arms-developing agency should be transformed through self-reflection, reform



It is shocking that the alleged theft of confidential materials by researchers at a state-run arms development agency has turned out to be true. The interim results of an internal audit by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) revealed that unbelievable things have been happening at the Agency for Defense Development (ADD). For instance, two former chief researchers at the ADD, who are now both abroad, stole massive amounts of classified information using portable media storage devices before their retirement.



The auditors checked the portable storage devices of 1,079 people who retired over the past four years and found a number of similar violations by other former researchers. At least 23 are now under investigation. One such retiree is now working at a university research institute in the United Arab Emirates. The former ADD employee is suspected of landing the new job by handing over the stolen data. These retirees also revealed grave moral laxity through their avoidance of inspectors' investigations. People involved in the scandal should actively cooperate.



The massive data theft was due to the ADD's extremely poor security and loose operation. The agency lacked the most basic measures, failing to set up security check points or station screeners at its entrance. Nor did it establish a data theft prevention system to stop workers from pilfering classified information using USB sticks or other similar devices.



DAPA is not even sure exactly what data and how much has been taken, raising concerns about the adequacy of its audits. The defense procurement organ should leave no stone unturned, swiftly work out countermeasures and work with the justice system so that those involved are punished severely.



The Defense Ministry should use this occasion to strengthen both personnel management and security checks. When researchers handling state secrets break rules, yielding to the temptation of foreign recruiters, their acts do not stop at individual deviations but hurt the national interest. The ADD, established 50 years ago, has contributed greatly to the nation's establishment of its own self-defense systems. It is disappointing to see the agency's reputation tainted by the unprecedented scale of the data theft. The ADD should waste no more time and transform itself through self-reflection and reform.


Texas and Florida reversed course and clamped down on bars again Friday in the nation's biggest retreat yet as the number of confirmed coronavirus infections per day in the U.S. surged to an all-time high of 40,000.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all bars closed, while Florida banned alcohol at all such establishments. The two states joined the small but growing list of those that are either backtracking or putting any further reopenings of their economies on hold because of a comeback by the virus, mostly in the South and West.

Health experts have said a disturbingly large number of cases are being seen among young people who are going out again, often without wearing masks or observing other social-distancing rules.

It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars, Abbott said.

Abbott had pursued up to now one of the most aggressive reopening schedules of any governor. The Republican not only resisted calls to order the wearing of masks but also refused until last week to let local governments take such measures.

The doctors told us at the time, and told anyone who would listen, this will be a disaster. And it has been, said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, a Democrat who is the countys top official. Once again, the governor is slow to act. He is now being forced to do the things that weve been demanding that he do for the last month and a half.

The Latest Numbers

Coronavirus has killed at least 125,000 people and infected 2.4 million nationwide as of Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Texas reported more than 17,000 new cases in the past three days, with a record high of nearly 6,000 on Thursday. In Florida, under GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, the agency that regulates bars acted after the daily number of new cases neared 9,000, almost doubling the record set just two days earlier.

Colleen Corbett, a 30-year-old bartender at two places in Tampa, said that she was disappointed and worried about being unemployed again but that the restrictions are the right move. Most customers, she said, were not wearing masks.

Bars were at normal capacity, not COVID capacity, Corbett said. It was like they forgot there was a pandemic or just stopped caring.

EU banning US visitors, welcoming other countries

The European Union is slated to reopen borders to over a dozen countries but will continue to restrict access to U.S. tourists, according to reports.

As the EU bloc reopens, it will have people from a select number of countries able to visit it at first.

Those countries deemed eligible include Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea and more, The Washington Post reported. The New York Times reported that most U.S. travelers will be restricted.

States postpone reopening plans

At least 26 states are seeing a rise in cases compared to the previous week, data from Hopkins show. Those include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

A number of the hardest-hit states, including Arizona and Arkansas, have Republican governors who have resisted mask-wearing requirements and have largely echoed President Donald Trumps desire to reopen the economy quickly amid warnings the virus could come storming back.

The White House coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Pence, held its first briefing in nearly two months, signaling a recognition that the administration can't ignore the alarming increases.

Pence gave assurances that the U.S. is in a much better place than it was two months ago. He said the country has more medical supplies on hand, a smaller share of patients are being hospitalized, and deaths are much lower than they were in the spring.

Watch the full briefing above

The count of new confirmed infections, provided by Johns Hopkins University, eclipsed the previous high of 36,400, set on April 24, during one of the deadliest stretches. Newly reported cases per day have risen on average about 60 percent over the past two weeks, according to an Associated Press analysis.

While the rise partly reflects expanded testing, experts say there is ample evidence the scourge is making a comeback, including rising deaths and hospitalizations in parts of the country and higher percentages of tests coming back positive for the virus.

At the task force briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious-disease expert, urged people to mind their responsibility to others: A risk for you is not just isolated to you.

Deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S. are running at about 600 per day, down from a peak of around 2,200 in mid-April. Some experts have expressed doubt that deaths will return to that level, because of advances in treatment and prevention and because younger adults are more likely than older ones to survive.

The virus is blamed for 124,000 deaths in the U.S. and 2.4 million confirmed infections nationwide, by Johns Hopkins' count. But U.S. health officials believe the true number of infections is about 10 times higher. Worldwide, the virus has claimed close to a half-million lives, according to Johns Hopkins.

Louisiana reported its second one-day spike of more than 1,300 cases his week. The increasing numbers led Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards this week to suspend further easing of restrictions. Republican Gov. Doug Ducey did the same in Arizona, which has been seeing more than 3,000 cases a day. And Nevadas governor ordered the wearing of face masks in Las Vegas casinos and other public places.

In addition to closing bars again, Abbott scaled back restaurant capacity in Texas, shut down rafting operations and said any outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people will need approval from the local government.

DeSantis has been lifting restrictions more slowly than a task force recommended, but has allowed theme parks to reopen, encouraged professional sports to come to Florida and pushed for the GOP convention to be held in the Sunshine State.

In a sign of the reversal of fortune among states, New York said it is asking Arizona, Texas and Florida whether they need any equipment, personnel or advice. Various states and thousands of out-of-state health care workers helped New York when it was in the throes of the deadliest outbreak in the nation this spring.

We will never forget that graciousness, and we will repay it any way we can, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Economic impact

The U.S. economy shrank at a 5.0% rate in the first quarter with a much worse decline expected in the current three-month economic period because of the pandemic.

Elsewhere around the world, China moved closer to containing a fresh outbreak in Beijing. Another record daily increase in India pushed the caseload in the world's second most populous nation toward half a million. And other countries with big populations like Indonesia, Pakistan and Mexico grappled with large numbers of infections and strained health care systems.

South Africa, which accounts for about half of the infections on the African continent with over 118,000, reported a record of nearly 6,600 new cases after loosening what had been one of the worlds strictest lockdowns earlier this month.
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Despite enormous economic headwinds and sky-high unemployment numbers, US president Donald Trump sought to showcase his record as a job creator during a visit to a shipyard in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

Mr Trump boasted of his aptitude for manufacturing and again offered a rosy prediction that the coronavirus-battered economy is set to turn a corner  even as the US marked its 14th straight week with more than a million workers making unemployment claims.

Mr Trump made the comments during a tour of the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard, the recent winner of a five billion (4 billion) federal contract to building up to 10 new guided missile frigates.

The Marine shipyard is a United States subsidiary of Italian enterprise Fincantieri, one of the worlds largest shipbuilders.

Wisconsin, a state Mr Trump narrowly won in 2016, is expected to be one of the most hotly contested battlegrounds as the American leader looks toward his re-election effort.

I understand manufacturing, Mr Trump said during an address to the shipyard employees.

Remember, manufacturing was never going to come back. Well, it did come back. It came back big.

However, times have changed in Wisconsin and throughout the country.

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Unemployment has surged to 12% in Wisconsin, a rise on par with job losses nationwide because of the pandemic. When Mr Trump last campaigned in the state in January, the unemployment rate was 3.5%.

His standing in Wisconsin appears to be suffering from the extraordinary period of turmoil, and his visit was part of a concerted effort to shore up support in friendlier areas that can make or break his re-election chances.

The trip came days after he dispatched vice president Mike Pence to the conservative Milwaukee suburbs.

Before his visit to Marinette, Mr Trump participated in a town hall event, later aired by Fox News Channel, from an airport in Green Bay.

He used the town hall to repeatedly attack Mr Bidens acuity and lash out against former national security adviser John Bolton over his tell-all book.

He also warned that the potential defeat of long-standing representative Eliot Engel in Tuesdays New York primary is a sign of the growing strength of the radical fringe in the Democratic Party.

Expand Close Wisconsin is a key battleground state in the November election (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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The two parts of Wisconsin that Mr Trump targeted this week  suburban Milwaukee and the Green Bay media market in northeast Wisconsin  are areas where he needs to run up a big vote advantage in November.

Mr Trump noted that he has pushed for a 355-ship Navy fleet by the end of his first term, though left unsaid is that the Navy is on track to have have just over 300 ships by 2025. However, Mr Trump knocked Democrats as doing too little for the military.

I will tell you that Democrats dont like approving money for the military for whatever reason, he said.

Some polls have suggested Mr Trump has ground to make up in Wisconsin. A Marquette University Law School poll released on Wednesday showed his Democratic rival Joe Biden has an eight percentage point lead.

Expand Close Mr Trump has ground to make up in the state  but he trailed Hillary Clinton by similar totals in 2016 (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Mr Trump has ground to make up in the state  but he trailed Hillary Clinton by similar totals in 2016 (AP)

The president had trailed Democrat Hillary Clinton in nearly every poll conducted in Wisconsin in 2016  often by similar margins  before he won the state by fewer than 23,000 votes.

Marinette County helped deliver that win. Mr Trump carried the county, about 170 miles north of Milwaukee along the shores of Lake Michigans Green Bay, with 65% of the vote.

Unlike Mr Trumps rally in Oklahoma last weekend and his visit to a Phoenix megachurch on Tuesday, his tour of the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard was not open to the public.

Mr Trump, who generally refuses to cover his face, did not wear a mask for his speech at the shipyard, though many of the employees who gathered for the address did.

Marinette has not been a hotbed for the virus, with just a few dozen cases and three deaths. Thirteen employees at the shipbuilder have tested positive for Covid-19, but they have all recovered and returned to work, a spokesman for the shipbuilder said. Everyone who enters the facility is now screened.
COVID-19 created a blizzard of new queries among consumers  around deferrals, around government assistance programs, around tightening lending criteria  and lenders are still figuring out how to respond to them. By providing the answers borrowers are looking for through an engaging and thoughtful search platform, mortgage providers can build trust with their clients and keep their staff focused on more lucrative activities than answering questions whose answers should be easily located on their companys website.

Closser suggests three strategies mortgage companies can implement if they want to deliver a more engaging, informative search experience to their clients.

1. Understand the questions consumers are asking

Analyzing what clients are actually interested in is critical to providing a useful search experience, yet Closser says an alarming proportion of companies arent even looking at the searches consumers are making on their websites. Digging into a sites search history can teach a company what their customers want to know and whether or not their site is up to the task of answering those questions. It can also show what kind of actions people are taking after using a companys search platform, which can turn out to be an invaluable data point.

Right now, most companies arent even looking at the searches that consumers are making to figure out which ones can and cant be answered, he says.

2. Put that data to use

Once a company pops the hood of its search engine to find out whats working and whats not, it must use the collected information to shape its content strategy.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, leading the Democratic attorneys general trying to preserve the law, said in a statement: The death toll from the coronavirus today is greater than the death toll of the Vietnam War. The ACA has been life-changing and now through this pandemic, we can all see the value in having greater access to quality healthcare at affordable prices. Now is not the time to rip away our best tool to address very real and very deadly health disparities in our communities.
Tom Brenner/Reuters

Donald Trumps reelection campaign manager, Brad Parscale, is one of a group of campaign staffers in quasi-quarantine after he attended a rally in Oklahoma last weekend where eight campaign aides tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh announced on a conference call Thursday that, as a precaution, staff who made the trip to Tulsa were working remotely and would be tested for COVID before returning to work. Asked by The Daily Beast in a follow up email if the self-imposed work isolation applied to the campaign manager, Murtaugh said, Everybody who was in Tulsa, yes.

Parscale returned to his home in Florida after the rally in Tulsa, and Murtaugh told The Daily Beast that he flew commercial.

Sources close to the campaign described the quarantine measure as a precaution, and said the campaign plans to step up its coronavirus testing regime going forward in order to avoid similar incidents. One source said dozens of staffers had attended the Tulsa rally.

After publication, Murtaugh emailed to say that everyone "who flew home from Tulsa tested negative before leaving." The reason they were working from home still, he added, was as a "precaution."

Even Fox & Friends Isnt Buying Kayleigh McEnanys Spin on Tulsa Rally Crowd

Multiple U.S. Secret Service agents were also ordered into quarantine after accompanying the president to the rally, CNN reported this week.

Despite fears about the possibility that the event would lead to the spreading of the virus, many luminaries in the Trump orbit descended on Tulsa for the rally. The presidents son Eric gave an opening speech, as did Vice President Mike Pence. A number of Republican National Committee officials and White House staffers attended the Tulsa rally as well, including Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who said she would be there sans face mask. McEnany did not return a request for comment, though staffers who are in close proximity to the president are tested for the virus daily.

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New Delhi: Chinese handset maker Xiaomi has begun covering its retail store branding with 'Made in India' logo in white colour amid fears of vandalism at outlets in the backdrop of the Sino-India border tension, the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) said.

The association had written to Chinese mobile brands to highlight the threat of vandalism at offline stores by people amid calls for boycotting Chinese products in certain sections.

"In our letter, we had requested the brands to allow retailers to cover these signages with cloth/flex or to remove the boards from the storefront for a few months given the situation... Xiaomi has started putting 'Made in India' banners in white colour on its boards," AIMRA National President Arvinder Khurana said.

He added that other companies are yet to take any such steps but are keeping a watch on the situation.

Xiaomi did not respond to an e-mailed query.

Khurana said some anti-social activists recently visited several markets in various parts of the country and threatened to damage the mobile phone stores, and asked them to remove Chinese branding from their outlets.

"This could be a threat to the safety of retailers in case the aggression increases. Damage to the boards displaying Chinese branding should not be the retailer's liability," he said.

Asked if these sentiments have affected sales, Khurana said there has been an impact.

"Customers are saying they don't want to be shown Chinese products, and Samsung will benefit from this given that is the only major non-Chinese brand in the country. I think the focus should be on promoting Indian players, maybe provide extra support like the Chinese government gives to its companies," he added.

While mobile phone makers have remained mum, industry executives, not wishing to be identified, have said sales have largely remained unaffected.

Factors like almost two months of lockdown and people working and studying from home have created a pent-up demand for smartphones, and many firms have had to resort to expensive imports to meet the spurt in demand, they said.

However, Chinese firms are keeping a close watch on the developments, and monitoring the situation on ground as well as on social media.

Xiaomi India Head Manu Jain has also said the anti-China sentiment was limited mainly to social media and it had not impacted its business in the country. In a tweet on June 24, Jain had said Xiaomi's Redmi Note9 Pro Max was out of stock in less than 50 seconds during a sale.

Four of the top-five smartphone brands in India (Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme and Oppo) are from China, and accounted for almost 76 per cent share of the 32.5 million smartphones shipped in India during the March 2020 quarter (according to IDC data).

South Korea's Samsung, which ranked third and cornered 15.6 per cent share of shipment in the said quarter, is the only non-Chinese firm in the top-five tallies. India is the second-largest smartphone market after China and clocked a shipment of 152.5 million smartphones in 2019.
A South Carolina doctor performed an experiment to prove that a person's oxygen levels do not drop while they wear a mask.

Dr. Megan Hall, a pediatrician in South Carolina, hit out at those who say they can't breathe with a mask on, as well as conspiracy theorists who have argued  without any scientific evidence  that wearing a face mask is unsafe because it makes people 're-breath their exhaled carbon dioxide.'

To prove that this is not at all the case, the MD measured her own oxygen levels and heart rate while mask-free, then with both a surgical mask and an N95 mask, and showed on a monitor that her numbers remained the same.

Proof: A South Carolina doctor performed an experiment to prove that a person's oxygen levels do not drop while they wear a mask

Fired up: Dr. Megan Hall, a pediatrician in South Carolina, hit out at those who say they can't breathe with a mask on by measuring her own oxygen levels and heart rate

'As a physician, I urge you and ask you to please wear a mask to protect yourself and those who cannot safely wear a mask,' she said

'I have seen numerous posts and heard people complain they cant breathe with a mask on or they wont wear one because oxygen levels drop dramatically while wearing a mask,' she wrote in a viral Facebook post.

'Also, a mask doesnt protect you from breathing in the virus but in the same sentence argue they wont wear one because they are rebreathing their exhaled carbon dioxide.

'Im not sure how one can even make sense of this theory,' she added.

'If you really believe the virus is penetrating the mask and youre breathing it in, how do you also believe your exhaled CO2 is getting stuck?

'Viruses need a vector to spread, COVID-19s vector is respiratory droplets, those droplets arent readily getting through a properly worn mask.'

So, as an experiment, she tested her oxygen saturation and her heart rate using noninvasive pulse oximetry in four different scenarios.

First, while not wearing a mask, her oxygen saturation was 98 per cent and her heart rate was 64 BPM.

Steady: Her oxygen levels remained steady when she switched masks and went mask-free

See? Her heart rate also had barely any change, even when she layered a surgical mask and an N95 mask

'Keep in mind, immediately prior to this, I had been wearing the surgical mask for 5 hours,' she added, pointing out that even the prolonged wear didn't affect either metric.

Next, while wearing a surgical mask, her oxygen saturation was still 98 per cent and her heart rate was 68 BPM.

With an N95 mask on, her oxygen saturation was 99 per cent and her heart rate was 69 BPM.

Finally, she wore both an N96 mask and a surgical mask at the same time, which she said is how most healthcare providers are wearing masks, and measured oxygen saturation at 99 per cent and heart rate at 69 BPM.

'There is no significant change in my oxygen saturation (or HR) in any scenario,' she concluded. 'Though maybe inconvenient for some, you can still breathe.

'As a physician, I urge you and ask you to please wear a mask to protect yourself and those who cannot safely wear a mask (many of my patients because they are under 2 years old).'

Experiment: 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

Healthy: Normal PCO2 levels are between 35 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and 45 mmHg, and Diamond's levels were 36.4 mmHg

A similar experiment had been performed by Dr. Rebekah Diamond of Columbia University Medical Center in May.

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.

Dr. Diamond 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.

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, with her CO2 levels at a normal 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.

The scientist recorded himself in a lab, where he coughed one into a Petri dish while wearing a mask, and once into another Petri dish while mask-free

Gross: The one he'd coughed into without a mask was already growing bacteria after 24 hours, while the one he coughed into with a mask was clean

'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.'

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Douglas Dill from Idaho conducted his own experiment for TikTok, in which he illustrated how much masks can prevent the spread of germs.

The scientist recorded himself in a lab, where he coughed one into a Petri dish while wearing a mask, and once into another Petri dish while mask-free.

'I did my best to remain consistent with my coughing distance and strength, he said.

After keeping them in an incubator for 24 hours, he showed how the control Petri dish  the one he coughed into with a mask on  didn't appear to have any bacteria growing in it.

The one he'd coughed into without a mask, though, was already clearly growing bacteria across the surface.
I submitted the first of two Data Practices Act requests to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz via his online contact form. On Wednesday I received this touching message:

Dear Mr. Johnson,

Thank you for taking the time to contact our office.

In the wake of the COVID-19 public health crisis, and the events surrounding George Floyds murder, we have received high volumes of messages from Minnesotans and people from across the country. Regrettably, that makes us unable to respond to every message individually. Your message has been received, read, and counted.

We take every inquiry seriously and are committed to addressing any issues or questions in a timely manner. If your concerns have not been resolved yet, please call us at [telephone number omitted]. We are eager to help you. Please feel free to contact us again with any future questions or concerns.

We believe your voice is critically important as Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan work toward achieving the vision of One Minnesota. We hope to continue hearing from you!

Please feel free to continue to follow our progress by visiting our website: http://mn.gov/governor

Sincerely,

Public Engagement Department

Office of Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Ste. 130

Saint Paul, MN 55155-1611
GENEVA - The U.N. human rights chief said Friday that 580 civilians have been killed in central Mali this year amid worsening inter-communal violence, faulting security forces for rights violations and saying radical groups like the regional wings of al-Qaida and Islamic State are fanning and exploiting it.

The office of Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Malian authorities to set up prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigations into alleged rights violations and abuses, adding: This is the only way to reverse this trend of continuing violence.

She said in a statement that Malian security forces deployed to the area have themselves been involved in rights violations  mostly against the Peulh community, which is primarily made up of herders. Violence has include burning houses and killing cattle.

Militias from the Peulh community were behind dozens of violent incidents with the Dogon community  mainly farmers and hunters  that killed 210 people, her office said. Dogon-related groups carried out 12 attacks, leaving at least 82 people dead, it said.

The human rights division of the U.N. peacekeeping mission has documented 230 extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions attributed to the Malian military in the central regions of Mopti and Segou, Bachelets office said.

She lamented a situation of chronic insecurity for the civilian population, who are not able to count on the protection of the Malian forces.

This needs to stop, Bachelet said.
Whether crumbling tunnel walls, cracks in concrete facades or porous bridge piers, according to statistics from the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE), damage to concrete structures caused by various environmental influences accounts for several billion euros worldwide every year. In close cooperation with the Austrian Society for Construction Technology (OBV) researchers at TU Graz want to contribute to the solution of this global and problem.

In the LumAConM (high-resolution luminescent analyses of construction materials) project, the consortium is working on a new, simple and cost-effective method that enables a detailed assessment of the condition of concrete structures on site as well as laboratory measurements with unprecedented precision for the first time. This enables the service life, as well as any problem areas, to be assessed much more quickly and precisely than is possible with currently available methods of analysis. The researchers also hope that the new method will provide them with a better understanding of the course of essential corrosion processes. "This knowledge enables targeted and cost-effective refurbishment and is essential for the development of new, sustainable and durable materials," explains Florian Mittermayr, researcher at the Institute of Technology and Testing of Construction Materials at TU Graz.

Innovative sensor material as basis

Optical-chemical sensor technology forms the basis for the new process. This highly advanced, optical measurement analysis has so far been used primarily in biotechnology and medical technology. "We now want to use the tool to assess the condition of concrete infrastructure and thus develop a completely new generation of sensors for the construction industry," says Bernhard Muller, chemist at the Institute of Analytical Chemistry and Food Chemistry.

An example of this is an imaging measurement system implemented at TU Graz for the quantitative determination of the pH value in cement-based materials - a parameter that usually correlates directly with corrosion damage. The measuring system consists of a plastic film with a swellable (i.e. water-absorbent) polymer layer containing an indicator dye and a reference dye. The size of the sensor foil can be adapted to the size of the sample to be examined. The wet film is applied to the sample and the pH distribution images are then generated with the aid of a special camera. This technique has already been able to detect changes in the pH value in various building materials very accurately and to characterise corrosion damage in great detail. In the LumAConM project, the measurement system is now to be further developed by the end of 2022 and will result in a versatile measurement technology.

Extensive application possibilities

On the one hand, the researchers want to expand the measuring system to include other parameters, such as chloride. This would enable for the first time the combined determination of chloride concentration and pH directly on site at concrete structures. Chloride attacks, caused for example by road salt in winter, pose a considerable risk of corrosion for concrete structures (especially for bridges) and are one of the most frequent causes of corrosion worldwide.

On the other hand, the sensor material developed for the films is also to be transferred to other sensor formats. For uneven concrete surfaces, for which the films are not suitable, the team would like to use sprayable sensor particles and thus make the imaging technology available for the common practice of exposing underlying structures on site. At present, the condition is assessed by means of core sampling and complex chloride determination by chloride titration. The researchers also plan to make miniaturized probes based on optical fibers. This would not only enable measurements to be taken on the concrete surface, but would also allow depth profiles to be easily created using drill holes.

Cyrill Grengg from the Institute of Applied Geosciences at TU Graz confirms the enormous potential of the measurement technology: "I think that in the medium to long term, the procedure can replace other, more expensive and more complex investigation methods to a large extent and make quality management in concrete construction much easier."

The engineering sector project LumAConM submitted by the Austrian Society for Construction Technology (OBV) is funded in the framework of the Collective Research programme supported by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). The project results are available to the entire Austrian construction and concrete industry in line with the funding scheme. LumAConM is anchored in the Fields of Expertise "Advanced Materials Science" and "Sustainable Systems", two of the five strategic research core areas of TU Graz.

Cooperation partners:

TU Graz: Institute of Analytical Chemistry and Food Chemistry (ACFC); Institute of Applied Geosciences (IAG); Institute of Technology and Testing of Construction Materials (IMBT)

Austrian Society for Construction Technology (OBV)

OBB Infrastruktur AG

ASFiNAG Bau Management GmbH

Linz Service GmbH

Wiener Linien GmbH

Holding Graz AG

Energie Steiermark AG

Verband Osterreichischer Beton und Fertigteilwerke (VOB)

Guterverband Transportbeton

PyroScience AT GmbH

Materialprufanstalt Hartl GmbH

Nievelt Labor GmbH

Bautechnische Versuchsanstalt HTL Rankweil

Palfinger Structural Inspection GmbH

Vermessung ADP Rinner

###

Contact:

Cyrill GRENGG

Dr.rer.nat. BSc MSc

TU Graz | Institute of Applied Geosciences

Phone +43 316 873 6366 | e-mail cyrill.grengg@tugraz.at

Florian MITTERMAYR

Dr.rer.nat

TU Graz | Institute of Technology and Testing of Construction Materials

Tel.: +43 316 873 7159 | E-Mail: f.mittermayr@tugraz.at

Bernhard MULLER

Dr.techn. BSc MSc

TU Graz | Institute of Analytical Chemistry and Food Chemistry

Tel.: +43 316 873 32518 | E-Mail: bernhard.mueller@tugraz.at
Police have charged two men in connection with separate shootings that killed three people.

On Sept. 18, 2018, police responded to a shooting at a residence in Scarborough, where they located a man with a gunshot wound.

The man, identified as Jago Anderson, 19, died at the scene.

Over a year later, on Oct. 1, 2019, Toronto police reported that armed men were firing shots in the area of Venetian Crescent, just south of the Jane and Finch Mall.

The shooting marked the beginning of a shooting spree that lasted a little over an hour at three separate crime scenes.

The men fired several rounds at a teenage boy, who sustained several gunshot wounds before escaping the scene, police said.

Later that evening, police said two men were in a courtyard nearby when the same men fired several rounds at them.

Both men sustained injuries that proved fatal, police said.

The two men, Delauntae Bryant, 24, and Eric Rowe, 20, both died soon after, police said.

Following an investigation, police announced on Thursday that charges had been laid against Jeziah Blair-Taylor, 20, of Toronto, and Jatorri Williams, 19, of Toronto.

Blair-Taylor was charged with two counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Williams was charged with second degree murder, two counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Jacob Lorinc is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @jacoblorinc
RICHMOND, Va. - The presidents of three of Virginia's largest public universities have asked the state to set aside $200 million to increase testing for the novel coronavirus on college campuses and elsewhere, arguing that the funding will be crucial to resume higher education and other activities in the coming year.

"In our shared view, expanded testing and the associated costs are unavoidable. Prompt action will allow both for more effective implementation of such testing and for more efficient management of the potential costs," James Ryan of the University of Virginia, Michael Rao of Virginia Commonwealth University and Timothy Sands of Virginia Tech wrote on June 8 in a letter to state health secretary Daniel Carey.

Days later, U-Va. officials sent the state further documents explaining that most of the funding - $158.6 million - could be reserved for a massive public health effort to screen students, employees and others for the virus at public and private colleges across Virginia.

The plan asks the administration of Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, to cover the expenses with federal covid-19 relief funds, and suggests the universities would carry out the tests in coordination with the state health department.

Northam administration officials said Thursday they are considering several routes for increasing testing. They questioned whether the scenario outlined by the universities was too broad to meet the federal guidelines that allow the state to pay for it with money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act passed by Congress.

"The question will not be whether or not we should do testing. The question is under what circumstances should testing be done, not only for health purposes but also what is reimbursable under the Cares Act," said state finance secretary Aubrey Layne.

Colleges nationwide are racing to determine how much coronavirus testing they need to open campuses safely, and how they will pay for it. There is general agreement that schools must be prepared to test students, faculty and staff who show symptoms of covid-19. But there is no consensus on exactly how much they will need to test asymptomatic students and others to protect public health.

"That is the million dollar question - what threshold is safe to reopen," said Jean Chin, an associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of Georgia who chairs a covid-19 task force for the American College Health Association. The situation is fluid because researchers are constantly gathering new data on a pandemic blamed for the deaths of at least 120,000 Americans.

Northam has released guidelines that allow campuses to reopen with some virtual instruction, limits on class sizes, continued social distancing and steps for hygiene. Each college or university must submit reopening plans for state approval.

The guidelines offer no firm rules for testing students or faculty, instead urging schools to work with local health officials on their approach. University leaders argue testing is key to both managing the disease and ensuring confidence among returning students.

Because "multiple states have relaxed social distancing and quarantine measures in ways that likely increase the risk of further viral transmission," welcoming students and faculty back to college this fall represents "one of the most challenging examples of resumption of normal activities," Craig Kent, U-Va.'s executive vice president for health affairs, wrote Carey on June 17.

Nationwide, universities' testing plans vary widely. In Georgia, Emory University aims to screen students for the virus before they move into campus housing. The University of California at San Diego plans to test most students on campus monthly. Purdue University in Indiana plans widespread testing and contact tracing. Schools are also talking about monitoring wastewater and other methods to detect viral hot spots.

"All of us may do something a little different," said Michael Friedlander, vice president for health sciences and technology at Virginia Tech. He said many schools will focus on testing high-risk campus populations, with "a certain amount" of testing needed for public health surveillance.

U-Va. officials are still mulling their strategy. "Our preference is to test all students," said Mitchell Rosner, chair of the U-Va. department of medicine. U-Va., VCU and Virginia Tech have covid-19 testing facilities that serve not only their campuses but also the general population in surrounding regions.

The documents U-Va. sent to Richmond describe an initiative to help colleges statewide reopen. A spokesman for the university said the scenario is not a specific proposal but is intended to show how expensive any path is likely to be.

It posits 20 weeks of testing during both the fall and spring semesters, with special emphasis on the three weeks at the beginning of each. During those initial periods, campuses around the state could need 19,700 tests per day. That's nearly double the 10,000 daily tests Virginia now averages statewide.

The Cares Act sent about $3.3 billion to Virginia to offset expenses directly related to the pandemic. Of that amount, $200 million went to Fairfax County, the most populous and hardest-hit jurisdiction in the state. Other localities have gotten a total of about $650 million, and the state has spent some of the money itself, leaving roughly $1.1 billion to be allocated.

There are 430 outstanding requests for that remaining money, said Layne, the state finance secretary, and the universities' proposal is among the most costly.

The catch is that the Cares money has to be spent on expenses that fit federal definitions as being directly tied to the pandemic. Layne said his concern is that guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outline testing protocols for people who show symptoms or who might have come in contact with an infected person. They don't cover situations as broad as those described by the universities.

"If you're following CDC guidelines you have good assurance. If not, then you're in a gray area of whether or not it's directly related to covid-19," he said.

While Virginia has come under criticism for lagging other states in its coronavirus testing, the rates of infection have been trending sharply downward in recent weeks. The seven-day average of tests that come back positive is at 6 percent, among the lowest in the country.

The letter from Kent acknowledges the "significant costs" of the universities' proposal, but says that if a vaccine is developed or if lower-cost testing becomes available, expenses would be cut.

The proposal suggests that colleges and universities face significant financial risks that might outweigh the cost of testing. If even 10 percent of the student population decides not to enroll, that could mean a loss for colleges of nearly $527 million in tuition for the coming school year, according to the proposal.

Layne said he's well aware of that challenge. But some municipalities are also under financial stress, he said, and the economic hit of the pandemic is going to hurt state agencies across the board. Northam has said he'll call a special session of the General Assembly in August to address the state's budget, which legislators froze earlier this year because of the health crisis.

"I am sure we're going to have to look at our core finances and make some hard decisions," Layne said. "That's not to say we're not going to help higher ed; that's an important part of not only our education system but our economy. But I don't think there's going to be enough revenues without us all making some sacrifices. . . . We are looking at a tough year."
Schools in Delhi will remain close till July 31, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia declared after a meeting on how to reopen schools with Directorate of Education officials on Friday. Officials agreed during the meeting that online classes and activities should continue for now.

"Reopening schools is not merely a technical work, rather, it is a creative work that would give schools a new and bigger role. Schools will continue to be closed in Delhi till July 31," Sisodia said. "Let's design a plan to reopen schools in a way that would prepare our students to adjust to the new circumstances and not fear them. It would help our students to learn to live with coronavirus."

ALSO READ: 64% parents favour starting online classes for young children: Survey

Another key agenda for the meeting was reducing syllabus for schools by 50 per cent, Delhi government said in a statement. Sisodia, who is also the education minister of Delhi, has been advocating a reduction in syllabus since the coronavirus outbreak.

"One of the suggestions in the meeting was that primary classes should be held once or twice in a week with a strength of 12-15 students in a class. Another point was made that classes can be conducted on alternate days for students of classes 3 to 5," Delhi government said in its statement.

ALSO READ: CBSE, ICSE Class 10, Class 12 results to be declared in July

Some officials during the meeting suggested that students of Class 9 and 10 should be called to attend classes in small groups once or twice a week. Other officials recommended that Class 10 students should attend classes every day. The officials recommended that students of Class 6 to 8 should be called for classes once or twice a week. For Class 11 and 12, classes could be conducted on alternate days with online classes occupying the remaining days, the officials recommended.

With a spurt in coronavirus cases, Delhi has the second-highest number of infections in the country after Maharashtra. On Friday, as per Health Ministry data, the national capital reported 3,390 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total tally to 73,780. 2,429 patients have succumbed to the virus in the city.

ALSO READ: Govt call in army to manage health facilities as coronavirus cases surge in Delhi
Thirteen fakes and stuffing cases revealed on first Constitution amending vote day

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

11:51 26/06/2020

MOSCOW, June 26 (RAPSI)  Thirteen fakes and stuffing cases were revealed on social media platforms on the first day of the Constitution amendments voting, Chair of the Civic Chambers Commission for Information, Mass Media and Communications Alexander Malkevich said on Friday.

The Chamber members have been monitoring fakes and other false information on the voting since June 5. In totak, over 250 fake reports were found.

On June 25, the All-Russian voting on amendments to Constitution started in the country and abroad. The main voting day, according to the presidential decree, is July 1; however, citizens may also vote from June 25 to 30. Residents of Moscow and Niznny Novgorod have an opportunity to vote online.
Several Britons have been banned from working in Singapore after reportedly going on a bar crawl during lockdown.

Six people found guilty this week of breaching anti-coronavirus measures have had their work permits revoked, authorities said.

They had meet-ups near the city-state's Robertson Quay while social gatherings were banned to limit the spread of the virus, according to Singapores Ministry of Manpower (MoM).

Local media reported four out of seven people found guilty on 25 June for flouting lockdown rules at the wharf were British nationals.

An Foreign Office spokesperson said:We have provided consular assistance to a number of British men in Singapore who have had their permission to work revoked.

A court heard how four Britons bumped into each other at a bar in Robertson Quay in May, while bars were open for take-out service only, according to the BBC.

They got drinks at a bar before moving on to two places nearby, The Straits Times reported. The men reportedly stood chatting and drinking outside an Italian restaurant for nearly half an hour.

These men were all fined S$9,000 (5,200) each over the incident, according to the Singaporean newspaper.

The MoM said 140 people have lost their work passes since May for breaking anti-coronavirus measures.

Six of these were found guilty on 25 June in conjunction with incidents at Robertson Quay.

Singapore has one of Asias highest tallies of Covid-19, largely fuelled by mass outbreaks in migrant workers dormitories.

In mid-June, the tiny city-state lifted most of its curbs on socialising, shopping and dining out after more than two months of coronavirus lockdown.

More than 42,700 people have been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 in Singapore as of Friday, according to a Reuters global tally.

The country's death toll stands at 26.

Additional reporting by agencies
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trumps administration told the Supreme Court that the Affordable Care Act is invalid, including its protections for people with preexisting conditions.

Filing a brief late Thursday in a case the court is set to hear around the time of the November election, the administration said the entire ACA thus must fall because of a tax law change made by the Republican-controlled Congress in 2017.

The administration is backing efforts by Republican-controlled states to invalidate the 2010 law, which is being defended by 20 other states and the District of Columbia. A federal appeals court found part of the measure unconstitutional and left doubt about the rest of it.

Trumps presumptive opponent in the November election, Democrat Joe Biden, said earlier Thursday that the president would let insurers drop coverage for people with asthma, diabetes, cancer and complications from COVID-19.

Trump is trying to strip health coverage away from tens of millions of families, and to strip the peace of mind away from more than 100 million people with preexisting conditions, Biden said at a campaign event in Lancaster, Pa.

Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, center, speaks to Stacie Ritter, right, and her son, Jan, during a meeting with families who have benefited from the Affordable Care Act, Thursday, June 25, 2020, in Lancaster, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)AP

Democrats hope to turn the lawsuit into a political anvil for incumbent Republicans this fall given the rising popularity of the ACA, which most Republicans have sought to repeal. On a media call Thursday, senior congressional Democrats said Republicans have no alternative to fully protect people with preexisting conditions or prevent tens of millions from losing their insurance.

The Democrats said its especially harmful to try to overturn the law amid the pandemic, with tens of millions of people out of work and at risk of losing their employer health insurance.

Senate Health Chairman Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, in 2018 called the lawsuit against the ACA as far-fetched a legal argument as I think Ive ever heard with almost no chance of succeeding.

The legal fight stems from a provision known as the individual mandate, which originally required people to acquire health insurance or pay a tax penalty.

The Supreme Court upheld that provision in 2012, with Chief Justice John Roberts calling it a legitimate use of Congresss taxing power. A Republican-controlled Congress later joined with Trump to zero-out the tax penalty, leaving the mandate without any practical consequences.

In the filing Thursday, U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco said, The individual mandate no longer can be construed and upheld as a valid exercise of Congresss taxing power because Congress eliminated the tax.

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the mandate was unconstitutional without a tax penalty attached to it. The appeals court didnt decide whether the rest of the law could stand, instead saying a federal trial judge should give that question closer scrutiny. The Democratic-run states, a group led by California, then went straight to the nations highest court.

The suit has proved awkward for GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who has come under fire from Democrats for voting for the 2017 tax overhaul that eliminated the mandate penalty, without which there would be no case.

Collins and other Republican senators have said they didnt think were imperiling the entire ACA or coverage of preexisting conditions protection with their vote.

All five justices who voted to uphold the ACA in 2012  Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan  remain on the court.

By Greg Stohr and Steven T. Dennis, Bloomberg News (TNS)

More:

The Affordable Care Act is 10 years old; Sen. Casey says it can help in coronavirus crisis

Pa. Democratic lawmakers push coronavirus recovery plans that go beyond a return to normal

Gov. Wolf condemns Trump administrations revoking of LGBTQ healthcare rights
As a founding member, the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has been involved in EUnetHTA, a European network for Health Technology Assessment (HTA), since 2006.

The European Union supports the network. Following the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the EU Directorate of Health called on the EUnetHTA partners to make a scientific commitment to combating the pandemic.

Against this background, IQWiG has now supported the Health Agency of the Emilia Romagna region in Bologna in an initial assessment of coronavirus diagnostics.

The initiator of the HTA report was the Italian partner organization, which also defined the topic. A Welsh partner co-authored the report in addition to IQWiG.

Two types of corona tests

RT-PCR test: Rapidly after the outbreak of the corona pandemic, researchers developed methods to detect the virus directly. For this purpose, a smear is taken from the mouth, nose, or throat area and examined for genetic traces of the virus.

This method is known under the abbreviation RT-PCR and has high accuracy. However, a few days after infection the body reacts to the virus.

If the body's immune defense fights and destroys the virus, it is difficult or impossible to detect it with the RT-PCR test. The RT-PCR test is not subject to the EUnetHTA report that has been published now.

Antibody test: This second type of coronavirus test measures the body's immune response. The antibodies produced by the body are detected - usually, by measuring the immunoglobulins M and G.

Since the body needs several days to produce a measurable immune response, antibody tests only react with a strong delay after an infection. Antibody tests for the coronavirus are therefore too slow to detect or rule out an acute infection when relevant symptoms occur.

However, antibody tests can be used in field studies to determine the proportion of the population that has undergone a coronavirus infection (seroprevalence).

Neither immunity nor non-infectivity can be reliably detected

Having analyzed a total of 40 studies worldwide, the authors of the EUnetHTA report conclude that antibody tests can detect a past infection with the SARS coronavirus 2. However, the accuracy of the tests is not yet sufficient.

Above all, it is still questionable whether a positive test result can be interpreted as a sign of immunity against re-infection. Moreover, a positive test result after recovery from the infection is no reliable proof that the person can no longer transmit the virus to other people.

Using corona diagnostics correctly

Due to the urgency of the matter, the EUnetHTA report that is now available was drawn up unusually quickly (within 6 weeks).

As new study results are to be expected almost weekly, the assessment of the antibody tests will presumably be updated in about 3 months - again under the leadership of the Health Agency in Bologna and with the support of IQWiG.

The report results shall help to ensure that coronavirus diagnostics are properly used and developed in Europe and worldwide.

However, the current EUnetHTA report has no direct consequences for the question of whether coronavirus antibody tests in Germany are paid for by the statutory health insurance (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung [GKV]).

At present, the tests are available as a benefit of the GKV, but the necessity of testing must be justified in each individual case. A positive test result must be reported.

Detailed questions on the assessment of the antibody tests are answered by the Italian lead authors of the EUnetHTA report.
Actor Sanjana Sanghi, who will make her film debut with the upcoming Dil Bechara, has shared a voice message on Instagram, about the decision to release the movie directly on the streaming platform Disney+Hotstar. Dil Bechara, an adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars directed by Mukesh Chhabra, will serve as Sushant Singh Rajputs final film. The actor died by suicide on June 14.

Lets make this a time to celebrate a legendary life, a film? Sanjana wrote in the caption of her post. A time to give a tribute, to embrace these extremely challenging circumstances we all are in. And not a time to revolt, asking for something that in our present reality cannot be made possible. Lets NOT make it about the size of the screen we get to watch this labour of love on, his last, and in my humble belief, his finest. Lets instead make it about the size of our hearts, that we can make as big as we wish to, and fill up with as much love, joy and pride as we want. Lets cherish it. Relish it. Celebrate it. In any and every way we can?

In her message, she said that the team has worked hard for two-and-a-half years with the intention that the film could be enjoyed on the big screen. They never could have anticipated the back-to-back tragedies of Covid-19 and Sushants death. All one can do, Sanjana said, is look for silver linings. The silver lining here, she said, is that this labour of love will reach you.

Also read: Farhan Akhtar calls Sushant Singh Rajputs death one of the greatest tragedies of recent times, is enraged at treatment of family

Disney+Hotstar announced on Thursday that the film will be released on the platform, for both members and non-members, on July 24. Sanjana had shared a tearful message after Sushants death. Abhi toh itna kuch baaki tha, Sushant?(We had so much to do, Sushant), Shed written in her caption. I refreshed my web pages a 100 times hoping Im reading some sort of horrible joke. Im not equipped to process any of this. I dont think I ever will be. Im definitely not equipped to articulate my feelings, this is me failing, but trying.

If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Mumbai, June 26 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct various national level apex bodies to endorse the state government's decision to cancel various professional examinations in the state in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a letter to the PM, Thackeray said the state government has recently decided not to conduct any Final Year/Semester examinations for non-professional and professional courses for the academic year (AY) 2019-2020.

The degrees would be awarded on the basis of a formula to be decided by various universities though students have been given the option of appearing for the examinations whenever it is feasible.

The government also decided to get the decision pertaining to cancelling the professional courses exams endorsed from their respective Apex national-level bodies.

These are: All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Council of Architecture (CoA), Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), Bar Council of India (BCI), National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) and National Council for Hotel Management & Catering Technology (NCHMCT).

Thackeray urged Modi to instruct all these Apex bodies to endorse the decision of the state government regarding the cancellation of Final Year/Semester examinations of these professional courses and issue necessary guidelines to the universities.

On June 19, in a significant decision, Maharashtra announced cancellation of all the crucial final year examinations for professional and non-professional courses in all state universities for the current AY-2019-2020 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As many as 734,516 students were due to appear for examinations in various non-professional courses (like BA, BCom, BSc., etc) and another 283,937 pupils for professional courses (like BE, LlB, BCA, etc) for the AY-2019-2020 final year examinations scheduled by 14 government universities, according to Higher & Technical Education Minister Uday Samant.

The decision follows the recommendations of a state-level committee appointed as per the UGC guidelines which submitted its report last month, and a series of meetings held since.

However, owing to the pandemic and the series of lockdowns since March, all examination schedules for the AY-2019-2020 have gone haywire.

For the non-professional degree courses, the students' performance would be assessed on the basis of their past examination results for passing them and awarding degrees this year.

Nevertheless, in case students want to opt for writing their examinations, they will have to make a written application to the university or the district collectorate concerned and depending on the Covid-19 situation, a suitable decision would be taken in the matter.

As far as the professional courses are concerned, while the state has expressed its inability to conduct their examinations, the final decision would be taken by their central governing boards/councils which would be conveyed later.

On the issue of backlog of past students having ATKT status, a separate announcement is expected to be made shortly, officials said.

Citing reasons, the government has said that as many as 41 varsity buildings and 198 students' hostels have been taken over for Corona patients' isolation, and a majority of the students have vacated these premises to return to their homes.

Given the pandemic, it would be difficult to complete the entire examination formalities like setting question papers, finalising exam halls and centres, paper checking, marksheets, declaring the results, revaluation, police security, the movement of students, teachers, academic staff, etc.
[June 26, 2020] Tencent Cloud Powers Up Singapore Tourism Board's China-Ready Webinar Through Tencent Cloud Conference and VooV Meeting

SINGAPORE, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tencent today announced the use of Tencent Cloud Conference and VooV Meeting for the Singapore Tourism Board (STB)'s China-Ready Webinar, ensuring a secure registration and high-quality online conferencing experience. Powered by the advanced and innovative infrastructure and technologies of Tencent Cloud, Tencent Cloud Conference and VooV Meeting served as the operating platforms for the China-Ready Webinar, enabling not only a secure and seamless RSVP and sign-in process but also an efficient, high quality, ultra-smooth cloud conferencing experience. Apart from hosting the webinar on its platforms, Tencent also shared valuable insights on the Chinese consumers at the webinar. Other speakers included representatives from STB, MaFengWo and Meituan Dianping. Aiming to intensify Singapore's efforts to enhance the experience of its Chinese visitors, the webinar addressed topics such as how to further strengthen Singapore's positioning for the Chinese market, and meeting the evolving needs and expectations of Chinese travelers in the current landscape. This webinar is part of STB's ongoing efforts to upskill the tourism industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, so that they can be ready for recovery when the time comes. Poshu Yeung, Vice President of Tencent International Business Group, said, "We are proud to be providig Tencent Cloud Conference and VooV Meeting as our support for Singapore's initiative to boost its efforts in catering to the evolving needs of Chinese travelers. With the Singapore Tourism Board utilizing our advanced technologies and extensive network and our unparalleled, exceptional system stability, the China-Ready Webinar is proof that Tencent is best-positioned to support tourism boards, as well as the travel and hospitality industry across the globe."



Juliana Kua, Executive Director, Greater China, STB, said, "In order to reach, engage and convert the increasingly discerning Chinese travelers, the Singapore Tourism Board has emphasized the need for our Singapore stakeholders to deepen their understanding of how the Chinese use different digital platforms. Tencent continues to be a strong partner for that journey, and we are delighted that we can use Tencent Cloud and VooV Meeting for one of STB's China-Ready Webinars. This, on top of all our other areas of collaboration, is another good example of our strong partnership." Emphasizing its significant effort in connecting countries all over the globe, Tencent collaborated with the United Nations (UN) in April for the UN's 75th anniversary campaign, where VooV Meeting was used in facilitating the largest global dialogue to date. Meanwhile, Tencent recently joined the UNESCO's Global Education Coalition, with VooV Meeting being recommended to some 1.2 billion students and youth for remote learning during this period of sudden and unprecedented disruption. All these demonstrate the tool's capability to offer smooth, stable and reliable cloud-based HD conferencing services under various types of occasions.

Tencent also empowered the 4th World Intelligence Congress (WIC) in June through its Tencent Cloud Convention and Exhibition Solution. Powered by the advanced infrastructure and technology of Tencent Cloud, Tencent Cloud Conference (TCC) has accurately adapted to the Congress' needs in terms of platform innovation and intelligent application based on its comprehensive abilities and experience. The use of Tencent Cloud Conference solutions at WIC helped gather an online attendance of 58.6 million who watched the online opening ceremony through over forty platforms, and hundreds of thousands who discussed and exchanged ideas on the in-depth fusion of AI with global economic and social development. Media Contact Irene Fung

Current Global

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MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI  Despite businesses across the state reopening and residents venturing out of their homes, the number of new coronavirus cases has not swayed from its downward trajectory in Muskegon County, health officials say.

The countys residents have continued to do an amazing job at containing the virus, said Kathy Moore, director of the Muskegon County health department.

Health officials reported 41 new positive cases in Muskegon County over the past week, averaging 5.86 new cases a day. That compares to one month ago, when the county reported 70 new coronavirus cases between May 21 and May 27, or an average of 10 new cases a day.

I feel like we are in a really good place, Moore told MLive on Thursday, June 25. We have had more than 28 days in what I classify as a downward trajectory of positive cases compared to the number of people tested.

Overall, the county has reported a total of 783 confirmed coronavirus cases and 49 deaths, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Of that total, 576 people have recovered from COVID-19  almost 75 percent of the countys cases. That means there are only 158 confirmed active cases in the county as of Thursday.

There have been 17,104 tests administered, making the positive test rate 4.57 percent as of Thursday, according to the health department.

Thats less then half of the positive test rate a month ago, when the county saw a rate of 11.97 percent on May 25, Moore said.

Moore said the countys goal is to have a positive test rate below 5 percent.

Not only are the numbers of new cases down, but hospitals have also passed the peak of severe cases. Moore said Muskegon County hospitals are reporting fewer patients who are hospitalized with the novel respiratory virus.

Things are settling down, she said. I think (hospitals) have survived their peak. They reached their peak, they feel, a couple weeks ago. Theyre looking really good.

As epidemiologists around the state are eyeing an almost-certain second wave of the virus, Moore said shes keeping her eye on the factors that could lead to another surge in Muskegon County.

RELATED: Is a second wave of coronavirus inevitable? Michigan nears critical point to suppress another outbreak

One of the things Im really on edge and waiting for is the governors back-to-school reopening plan that she said is going to come on June 30, Moore said. I think that is going to drive our next surge. And it really depends on whats in (the plan).

Moore said she thinks the county will likely see a resurgence of COVID-19 once students are back in school this fall.

Superintendents working on K-12 school reopening plans for the fall say instruction could be online again, all in-person or a combination of both depending on what course COVID-19 takes.

RELATED: Muskegon superintendents preparing for different learning scenarios when school reopens

Long-term care facilities are another point of concern for the health director.

Of the countys 49 deaths, 23 were among residents age 80 and older and 10 were among people in their 70s, according to health department statistics. Eleven deaths were among individuals in their 60s, four among those in their 50s and one was a person in their 40s.

Moore said the countys nursing homes are still struggling with the coronavirus. The health director last week told MLive she believes that most of the nursing home residents were infected by asymptomatic staff who unknowingly brought COVID-19 into the long-term care facilities.

State data shows there have been 109 COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths among residents and staff of five Muskegon County nursing homes through June 25.

Those include 66 cases and six deaths at SKLD Muskegon, 1061 W. Hackley Ave., and 28 cases and seven deaths at Roosevelt Park Nursing Center,1300 W. Broadway Ave.

Sanctuary at the Park, 570 Harvey St., had seven confirmed cases and no deaths; Lake Woods Nursing and Rehabilitation, 1684 Vulcan St. had five confirmed cases and no deaths; Hillcrest Nursing Center, 695 Mitzi St., had one confirmed case and no deaths; and Sanctuary at McAuley had two confirmed cases and no deaths.

I think that its going to take a little longer (for nursing home coronavirus cases to go down) than the general community, Moore said.

PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

More on MLive:

Coronavirus cases surge in rural West Michigan county after farms, businesses report outbreaks

Muskegon nursing home closing due to coronavirus-related revenue decline

Michigan reports 353 new coronavirus cases, 19 new deaths

Friday, June 26: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan
Chrissy Teigen will be returning to judge 'petty disagreements.'

Her hit Quibi show, Chrissy's Court has been renewed for a second season, Deadline reported on Friday.

'The verdict is in!!!' Teigen, 34 said in a statement. 'Since there is no shortage of petty disagreements to judge, were back for a second season!!'

Returning: Chrissy Teigen's hit Quibi show, Chrissy's Court has been renewed for a second season, Deadline reported on Friday,

Teigen produces and stars as a Judge Judy-style character in the 10-episode comedy series, which 'adjudicates small-claims cases for real plaintiffs and defendants.'

The 10-minute episodes which premiered on April 6 - the same day Jeffrey Katzenberg's new streaming-video platform Quibi officially launched.

The half-Thai Utah native enlisted her mother Vilailuck 'Pepper Thai' Teigen to serve bailiff duties in Chrissy's Court.

Chrissy has called the show her 'dream come true' and claimed it turned out 'better than I could have ever, ever imagined' since wrapping production on October 15.

The ruling: 'The verdict is in!!!' Teigen, 34 said in a statement. 'Since there is no shortage of petty disagreements to judge, were back for a second season'

Premise: Teigen produces and stars as a Judge Judy-style character in the 10-episode comedy series, which 'adjudicates small-claims cases for real plaintiffs and defendants'

Quibi, which stands for 'quick bites,' was designed specifically with commuters in mind. The videos are formatted to be viewed on a smart phone and the shows are 10 minutes or less.

The network's on-the-go designs launched at the worst possible time during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the country effectively stopped commuting all together. While other streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu reported record jumps in new subscribers and streams during coronavirus, Quibi fell far short of its projections.

Despite launching with shows from huge talents like LeBron James, Chance the Rapper, Anna Kendrick and Chrissy Teigen, Quibi failed to make the splash it and its investors intended.

Premiere: The 10-minute episodes which premiered on April 6 - the same day Jeffrey Katzenberg's new streaming-video platform Quibi officially launched

Family affair: Chrissy enlisted her mother Vilailuck 'Pepper Thai' Teigen to serve bailiff duties on the show and she kicks off the clip with: 'All rise'

The bite-sized network has more than $1 billion in funding and has been making tweaks to try to change with the stay-at-home nature of viewership these days, according to Hypebeast.

Users were able to sign up for a 90-day free trial in April but when that expires the numbers will likely take a dive.

A collaboration between Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, the streaming platform was expected to have a successful first year, with an anticipated 7.2m users by the end of the year, though the Wall Street Journal reported they are only on track to reach 2m.

The report continued to say that Quibi is on track to $1 billion by the end of 2020's third quarter.
Centre will soon notify the exclusion of export turnover threshold limits for bestowing the MSME status on firms, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said.

Accordingly, the move will side in identifying MSME unit under the new definition of the sector.

Speaking at an EEPC India meeting held a day ago, Gadkari said that the move can be expected within two to three days.

The Minister in an EEPC India statement which was issued on Friday was quoted as saying that export turnover would not be taken into account for calculating the turnover limit in the new definition of MSME, but the gazette notification did not mention this exclusion.

"The operational notification regarding exclusion of export turnover for calculating turnover limit is under legal vetting , and will be issued within two to three days," Gadkari said, whie addressing the EEPC India members via video conference.

Besides, the Minister exhorted the engineering exporters to set up logistics parks along the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway being developed by the National Highway Authority of India.

He said the NHAI has decided to develop industrial clusters alongside the expressway.

Gadkari also impressed upon the exporters to shift to waterways for cheaper mode of transporting cargo to the ports.

Additionally, he emphasised that trucks should also shift to new fuels like LNG and CNG.
A number of Irish fishermen have been stuck on boats off the west coast of Africa for at least 16 weeks, apparently due to Covid-19.

Family members of the fishermen are worried about when their loved ones will be returning home amid concerns there may not be enough food and water on board.

The Atlantic Dawn Group, which is based in Killybegs, owns a number of boats which have been stuck off the coast of Mauritania. It is understood that there may be half a dozen Irish men on board, many of whom are believed to be from Donegal.

Fishermen would normally spend six weeks on board the fishing boat off the coast of Mauritania, which has some of the richest fishing waters in the world. After their six-week shift, the fisherman usually fly home to Ireland via Las Palmas Port in Gran Canaria while another crew take their place.

The Atlantic Dawn Group told Independent.ie that its normal crew change had to be cancelled because of Covid-19 travel restrictions.

When it became apparent that these restrictions were not being eased, we made plans to sail our vessels to the closest European port so that alternative arrangements could be made to repatriate the crew, it said in a statement.

But it added that before the crew could leave Mauritania, a number of  formalities and clearances were required.

Unfortunately, Covid-19 restrictions have also affected the administration in Mauritania, resulting in an abnormally long delay in processing the formalities, The Atlantic Dawn Group said.

A family member of one of the crew, who spoke to Independent.ie on the condition of anonymity, said that families were worried about the amount of food and water on board. Contact with the fishermen has been sporadic due to their lack of phone signal and intermittent access to WiFi, but family members said they were being drip fed information which led them to worry about how much drinking water was on board.

The Atlantic Dawn Group strongly contested the claim that supplies of food and clean water were running out.

Our crew members are not and have at no point been deprived of supplies or provisions. On the contrary, we always ensure our crew members are extremely well provided for and conditions on-board all our vessels are of a very high standard, it said.

The Atlantic Dawn Group said that the matter was now concluded, and that the crew would sail to Las Palmas and fly back to Ireland as soon as our catch is discharged.

I would like to reiterate that the comfort, safety and welfare of our crew is of paramount importance to our company. We very much appreciate their patience and indeed that of their families during this prolonged period on-board our vessels. The circumstances we faced were outside of our control, but we did our utmost to resolve the matter in as timely a manner as was possible, despite the challenges and obstacles we encountered, the Atlantic Dawn Group said.

Family members were told last Friday that their loved ones would be able to return home on Monday. But by Wednesday, they were being told that it could be next week before they return home.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said that it was not contacted or asked to provide consular assistance during the incident. It is understood that family members would have had to make a formal complaint, which they did not want to do amid fears that the fishermen could lose out on work as a consequence.
Census Bureau Announces Winners of First-Ever 2020 Census "Get Out the Count" Prize

The U.S. Census Bureau announced the winners of the first-ever 2020 Census "Get Out the Count" Video Challenge during a live virtual event. Prizes were awarded under The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Reauthorization Act of 2010, which provides agencies with the authority to conduct prize competitions to stimulate innovation, solve tough problems, and advance their agencies' core missions.

Highlighted on Challenge.gov, the "Get Out the Count" Video Challenge called for engaging video content to explain the importance, use, and safety of the census, and how to complete it. The competition challenged contestants to make the 2020 Census a must-do for communities, particularly those considered "hard-to-count," such as racial and ethnic minorities, young and mobile populations, families with young children, LGBTQ+, non-English speakers, among others.

"When we launched this competition in March, we could never have anticipated the challenges we face as a nation and need for continued support of our census," said Ron Jarmin, deputy director, U.S. Census Bureau. "These inspiring and engaging videos help to reach hard-to-count communities, ensuring people are counted and more voices are heard through Census completion."

Census Accelerate, an initiative of the Census Bureau's innovation arm, awarded the prizes to the top three most engaging, impactful and informative short-form video submissions that demonstrate the importance of the 2020 Census, while encouraging viewers to respond online, by phone or by mail.







The three winners are:

The three winners commented on their videos snagging top honors in the challenge.

Grand Prize winner Keaton Davis explained: "The most rewarding thing has been sharing (the video) with friends. After we completed it, someone who works for the census saw a snippet on Instagram, contacted me and told me that she showed it to a community not far from where we live. An elderly farmer saw the video and was encouraged to take the census because of it."

The Latino Community Fund of Georgia was the runner up. Executive Director Gilda Pedraza said: "We are so excited to accept this award. We will ensure the prize is reinvested to make sure that people continue to be more visible and those resources will get to our community, not only financial resources, economic resources, but also power so that we make decisions for our own communities."

Recent high school graduate Austyn Malynn described what participating in and winning this competition means to her: "I'm going off to college in the fall and this money will really help me to further what I want to do in my life. I had to explore a new side of me with the art and animation in the video, as it was my first time doing it. I'm honored to be recognized on a national levelnever in my wildest dreams!"

A panel of judges selected the top videos from over 750 nationwide submissions. The videos, ranging from 30 seconds to three minutes in length, focused on mobilizing hard-to-count communities to respond to the 2020 Census. Watch the full awards program on YouTube.

Communities benefit most when everyone responds to the 2020 Census. Results help determine the distribution of billions of dollars in funding annually for 10 years for critical public programs and services, such as schools, hospitals, emergency response and infrastructure. Census data also determine the number of congressional seats for each state.

The Census Bureau's online response rates map tracks response rates by state, city, county and census tract. As of June 26, 2020, 61.7%, or 91,200,000 households, had responded to the 2020 Census.

People can still respond to the 2020 Census by visiting 2020census.gov, by phone or by mail.

Census Accelerate, a program of the Census Open Innovation Labs, brings together designers, content creators, filmmakers and community representatives to generate compelling digital content focusing on helping communities most at risk of being undercounted in the 2020 Census.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005512/en/
Google announced plans Thursday to pay some news organizations for content in a departure from its past practice following pressure from governments and media groups around the world. While details of the plan were not known, the move could represent a significant shift by the internet giant and follows initiatives by Facebook and Apple to create news products in partnership with media outlets. Google said it would pay media partners in three countries and cover the costs of pay-walled news sites to give users free access to a dedicated news app. The program will begin with "local and national publications in Germany, Australia and Brazil" and is set to expand to more countries soon, the tech giant said. "A vibrant news industry matters -- perhaps now more than ever, as people look for information they can count on in the midst of a global pandemic and growing concerns about racial injustice around the world," said Brad Bender, Google's vice president for news product management. Google intends to pay for "high-quality content for a new news experience launching later this year" to allow media groups to "monetize their content," Bender said. - News industry's woes - The move comes with many news organizations struggling with declining print readership and challenged by the digital ecosystem where ad revenue is dominated by Google and Facebook. Google has been accused of siphoning off online revenue and has faced legal battles in France and Australia over its refusal to pay news organizations for content. The California giant has countered that it helps drive traffic and revenue to online news sites. It has also announced several efforts to aid journalism through its Google News Initiative. The Google move comes after Facebook said last year it would create a "news tab" in partnership with media groups to promote journalism and stem the flow of misinformation. Apple launched its news app in 2015 which helps promote media subscriptions and in 2019 added a paid service called Apple News+ which shares revenue with newspaper and magazine publishers. Google's initial partners include the Spiegel Group in Germany and Brazil's Diarios Associados. Australian publishers Schwartz Media, The Conversation and Solstice Media are also among the partners, according to public broadcaster ABC. - Helping whom? - David Chavern, president of the News Media Alliance, which represents the US newspaper sector, said the announcement was "vague and confusing" and may be designed to help Google negotiate its legal battles with media. "It is a step in the right direction, but only a quite small one," he said. Gabriel Kahn, a professor who follows media economics at the University of Southern California, said Google's move is not what the industry has been seeking. "Google has crossed an important philosophical threshold -- the idea of paying the producers of the content that it distributes," Kahn said. "But this is still Google setting the rules for its own game. Google is still the one deciding who gets to play, what the terms are and how much is paid out." Nikos Smyrnaios, a media professor at the University of Toulouse in France, said Google's announcement "fits into a strategy of divide and conquer" and may be part of an effort to avoid a broader compensation plan. Geraldo Costa Neto, executive director of the Brazilian newspaper Estado de Minas and a negotiator with Google, said however the agreement would compensate media and "reverses the logic of Google's algorithm" by allowing the news organizations to select content. "The news will be chosen on editorial, not technological criteria," Costa Neto told AFP. Some European and global organizations including AFP have sought laws requiring internet companies to pay for news content including "snippets" in search results. In April, France's competition regulator said Google must begin negotiations on payments to media groups after refusing to comply with Europe's new digital copyright law. Earlier this month, Google rejected demands from Australian news publishers to pay millions in compensation to local media under a government-imposed revenue sharing plan.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  The government is now allowing groups of up to 10 people to visit memorial parks and cemeteries, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Friday.

He said this was among the amended guidelines approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, for areas under general community quarantine, including Metro Manila.

"Pinayagan ang pagdalaw sa open memorial parks at sementeryo pero hindi dapat ito lumampas ng sampu bawat grupo," Roque said in an online media briefing.

[Translation: The IATF has allowed the reopening of open memorial parks and cemeteries to visitors but groups should not be more than 10 people.]

The government leaves it to the management of the memorial parks to decide how many groups will be allowed at a given time, as long as health protocols are followed, Roque said.
Bhopal, June 27 : Leaders of the ruling BJP and opposition Congress have united against Ram Bai, the woman MLA of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) from Pathariya in Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress and BJP leaders have accused the BSP legislator's family of direct involvement in the murder of a Congress leader and threats to his other family members.

Former Madhya Pradesh Finance minister and senior BJP leader Jayant Malaiya's son, Sidharth Malaiya on Friday came together with late Congress leader Devendra Chaurasia's son, Soumil to accuse Ram Bai of pressurizing Chaurasia's family to compromise in the murder case and misusing her position through police officers, who have framed false charges of attempt to murder against Soumil's cousins.

Devendra Chaurasia was murdered in the Hatta town of Damoh district on March15 last year, three days after he had left the BSP and joined Congress in presence of former chief minister Kamal Nath. Ram Bai's husband, his brother and several other persons were accused of the murder. Ram Bai's brother in law Chandu Singh is in jail and the murder case is being heard in a court.

Sidharth Malaiya and Soumil Chaurasia told some media persons in Damoh that Ram Bai has been pressurizing Soumil to compromise in the murder case.

Malaiya and Chourasia also took part in a protest in Hatta town on Friday against the alleged high handedness of officers of the police and jail department. Hundreds of people took part in the joint protest held by Congress and BJP leaders. The protesters also called for a Hatta bandh.

Ram Bai and Jayant Malaiya have had a long political rivalry in the Damoh area. As a seven-time MLA and senior minister from Damoh Malaiya was extraordinarily strong during the BJP rule till 2018. He lost to the Congress party's Rahul Singh in the 2018 Assembly polls.

However, Ram Bai won from the nearby Pathariya seat in 2018 beating BJP's Lakhan Patel.

Since then, her clout has increased in the area. The rivalry between the two leaders has also intensified further, as Ram Bai has been increasing her closeness with BJP leaders including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, ever since the BJP regained power in the state.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 16:12:27|Editor: huaxia

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HANGZHOU, June 26 (Xinhua) -- What kind of livestreaming sessions will attract more viewers? How to introduce a product so that viewers will not leave the livestreaming room?

At a livestreaming e-commerce training class, 55-year-old Iranian businessman Gholam Hossein Dehghani kept asking questions about the burgeoning sector in China.

Like Dehghani, nearly 30 foreign businesspeople and students from 17 countries and regions participated in the training organized during the 2020 China International E-commerce Expo in the eastern Chinese city of Yiwu, known as the "world's supermarket."

The participants learned skills for attracting fans, product selection, live scene creation, interaction with fans and marketing, video shooting and editing, and other know-how related to livestreaming e-commerce.

Mexican businesswoman Veronica Larraury came to Yiwu to do business in 2017. Her business was badly hit by the COVID-19 epidemic.

"But I am confident my business will pick up gradually," she said. "I have seen the strong potential of livestreaming in expanding the e-commerce market. Many Chinese businessmen rely on it to sell goods, especially amid the epidemic."

"Via livestreaming sessions, I can introduce products to both my Chinese and Mexican customers, although the epidemic affects face-to-face communication," Larraury said.

The booming livestreaming industry also attracted Dehghani, who came to Yiwu to do business in 2003.

Over the past years, Dehghani has set up branch offices in Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to export silk scarves, clothing, and sanitary ware to cities in Asia, Europe and North America.

"During the epidemic, livestreaming e-commerce played a unique role in promoting businesses. We hope we can jump on the bandwagon," he said.

He Shaoqing, vice president of Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College, one of the training organizers, said the livestreaming training was aimed at helping foreign businessmen in Yiwu expand their business channels.

"They have not tried livestreaming e-commerce before," said He. "I hope after this training class, they can master the new skill and develop their e-commerce businesses better." Enditem
To some Biden allies, it also served as a visible turning-of-the-page on an uncomfortable chapter that has loomed over the vice presidential search. Seeking to quell rumblings from some Democrats who have said they detected signs of frustration with Harris from Jill Biden and Valerie Biden Owens, Bidens sister and longtime political adviser, the Biden campaign on Friday looked to publicly dispel the notion that their views of Harris are anything less than positive.
(Photo : Manhole Covers on Unsplash) Possible Corovirus Hotspots: US Tests Unusual Place for Early Signs of COVID-19 Infection (Photo : Martin Brechtl on Unsplash) Possible Corovirus Hotspots: US Tests Unusual Place for Early Signs of COVID-19 Infection

The coronavirus has been found in an unexpected place--sewage, experts claimed. And they are now using human waste to collect data of coronavirus infections. According to Forbes' latest report, sewage is now being tested by hundreds of United States cities to find early signs of coronavirus hotspots.

Many other places such as New York, Utah, Florida, California, and Oregon are also collecting poop samples from sewage to test for the coronavirus. Researchers claim that sewage allows for the detection of hotspots for the disease before the diagnosis of clinical cases.

Gauging coronavirus infections in sewage

According to Bloomberg Businessweek's previous report, New Castle began focusing on feces as an unusual source to gauge coronavirus infections and collect data points. Like most of the American communities during the federal government's initial pandemic response, the Delaware country of New Castle is still struggling with severe limitations and conflicting information regarding COVID-19 testing.

"I firmly believe that we will have another outbreak of the virus this fall, so we will be firmly ready for that," said Ken Williamson, the head of research at the Oregon-based Clean Water Services.

"We wanted to be able to sample from nursing homes, from hospitals and from potentially schools when the kids go back this fall," he added.

Possible coronavirus hotspots

According to Forbes' report, Williamson estimates that people secrete 10 million to a billion viruses for every gram of feces on a daily basis. This means that before a person develops symptoms, the coronavirus would appear in fecal matter.

Local workers send the sewage samples they have collected to startup Biobot Analytics or university researchers to be analyzed. Meanwhile, a local analysis center is expected to be set up in New York. It is still unclear how much detectable COVID-19 virus is shed by people in their feces.

Tyler Radneiki, an Oregon State University population biologist, said that in an ideal scenario health officials can investigate the identified hotspots using the information gathered by the researchers from sewage testing. According to the report, the sewage testing in Erie county, New York detected 20,000 cases of coronavirus on June 23.

"Sewer surveillance has great promise to supplement contact tracing and other individualized approaches by providing rapid and frequent snapshots of the virus's prevalence at the community and municipality scale," said Dr. Kevin Bisceglia, a Hofstra University professor. $4.2 million was raised in April to estimate the scope of coronavirus by analyzing feces.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
NEW YORK, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Cannes Lions, the most prestigious global industry awards, has named BBDO the Network of the Decade in a new report. The Lions Creativity Report of the Decade is the first of its kind in Cannes Lions' history, recognizing sustained creative excellence over the last 10 years. The report celebrates the companies that have produced game-changing bodies of work time and time again.

Over the past decade, BBDO Worldwide has amassed over 16 Grands Prix, 4 Creative Effectiveness Lions, 3 Titanium, 150 Gold, 4 Glass, 281 Silver and 471 Bronze Lions. Throughout the festival's history, BBDO Worldwide has been named Cannes Lions Network of the Year for a record seven timesmore than any other agency network.

"The Lions Creativity Report of the Decade provides us all with rich insight. There's a lot to learn from those who consistently produce game-changing work that transcends limitation and sets the bar for the future of creativity. It's an honour to recognise BBDO as the first Lions Network of the Decade, alongside all of our winners, and celebrate the world-class, creative companies who have consistently sustained creative excellence - adapting, evolving and innovating year after year," said Simon Cook, Managing Director, Cannes Lions.

In addition to winning Network of the Decade, AlmapBBDO was named Global Agency of the Decade, and #1 Agency of the Decade in the Latin American Region.

BBDO New York ranked third in the world and #2 in North America; AMVBBDO ranked eighth in the world and #2 in Europe; and Colenso BBDO ranked 10th in the world and #1 in the Pacific Region.

Two other BBDO offices ranked in the top 10 in the Pacific Region: Clemenger BBDO Melbourne at #2, and Clemenger BBDO Wellington at #10. And, the Network had two top agencies in the Middle East & Africa: Impact BBDO Dubai at #6 and Net#work BBDO Johannesburg at #7.

"We designed BBDO to be a 'global boutique,'" said David Lubars, Chief Creative Officer BBDO Worldwide. "In other words, fast, nimble, innovative, collaborative, highly creativeand able to do it at scale. This recognition is a wonderful confirmation of that."

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity was postponed. In its place, the annual festival launched Lions Livea digital education, inspiration and networking experience that ran throughout this past week, during the originally planned dates for the festival. The week-long event culminated with the release of the festival's first-ever Lions Creativity Report of the Decade.

You can read the full Lions Creativity Report of the Decade here

ABOUT BBDO

BBDO's mantra is "The Work. The Work. The Work." Every day, BBDO people in 289 offices in 81 countries work day by day, job by job and client by client to create and deliver the world's most compelling commercial content. BBDO is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate communications company.

ABOUT CANNES LIONS

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When Chelsea* helped her 11-year-old daughter open an Instagram account six months ago  purely so she could keep in touch with her auntie living overseas  she had no idea what was in store.

The problems began during the coronavirus lockdown, when her Grade 6 daughter logged on to see what her friends were up to, only to find one of the girls tearing her apart.

One in five young Australians have been cyber bullied. Credit:iStock

She went on Instagram Live to talk about how much she hates my daughter and why she hates her, says Chelsea.

And my daughters sitting there watching it. I could just see in her face that something had happened, she was so upset.
After turning a humble Olmos Park storefront into the citys best hamburger joint, celebrated San Antonio chef Andrew Weissman is expanding Mr. Juicy with a second location at a former Jack in the Box at Hildebrand and San Pedro.

Located a half-mile from the original, the second Mr. Juicy should be open in about 40 days, Weissman said. The menu will feature the same burgers, house-baked buns, hand-cut fries and shakes that propelled the original to the top spot in the Express-News 52 Weeks of Burgers series when it opened last year.
After successfully fighting for the decriminalization of Section 377, lawyers Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy have now decided to fight for legalisation of gay marriage in India.

The lawyers played a key role in undoing the draconian, Imperial-era law that criminalized "unnatural" sex in September 2018. While the historic Supreme Court verdict provided a huge shot in the arm for the LGBTQIA+ movement in India. Two years since, the community seems to be asking, what next? And the power couple, Guruswamy and Katju, have the solution: Marriage Project.

The need to legalise marriages for same-sex and LGBTQIA couples arose soon after the decriminalisation of Section 377. In a country like India, marriage is the only legal and socially acceptable form of union between two partners.

In India, inter-caste couples continue to face social stigma, even though such relationships are constitutionally legal," Bussiness Insider quoted Guruswamy as saying. Hence, the very act of policing love, seems to have been an integral part of our collective legal history. We are not a country that recognises girlfriend or boyfriend or dating. We are a country that sanctifies one kind of relationship and that is marriage," she added.

Marriage as a social and legal necessity

In India where all relationships are measured from the lens of permissibility, marriage is the only one that holds water, both in court as well as in the eyes of society. Some, however, have claimed that marriages are more social than legal in nature and that until modern times, many marriages that were accepted by society, took place without any legal proceedings.

READ: Section 377 Lawyers Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju Come Out as a Couple

While same-sex marriages are not legally allowed, couples can opt for a Civil Union under the Special Marriages Act 1954. With Section 377 declawed, however, many from the LGBTQIA community itself have come forth to challenge the illegality of gay marriages. Sonu and Nikesh Pushkaran, who secretly got 'married' at a Kerala temple in July 2018, have petitioned the Kerala High Court in order to legalize their marriage.

As of now, twenty eight countries across the world have legalised same-sex marriages and several Western democracies accept civil unions between same sex couples.

The decriminalisation of Section 377 has brought about a shift in mindsets for LGBTQI relationships and same-sex marriages. Even Bollywood has tried to adapt to the shifting gender dynamics with films like the Ayushmann Kurrana-starrer "Shubha Mangal Zyada Savdhaan" and "Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga" starring Sonam Kapoor.

Guruswamy and Katju hope that with more and more young LGBTQIA couples such as the same-sex couple from Kerala approaching courts, sema sex weddings may not be such a far cry in India after all.

READ: How These Men and Women in Black Fought for the Rainbow Against Section 377




We're a family of seven living in Georgia where Andrew's working as a professor at GSU. You can read more about us here
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As whats been a tumultuous school year winds to a close, NYC Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza visited Staten Island on Friday to honor the 124 graduates of the College of Staten Island High School for International Studies.

The visit was one of many that Carranza made throughout the five boroughs on Friday to congratulate students and express gratitude to the entire New York City school community for how theyve handled the sudden changes amid the ongoing pandemic.
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
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is asking residents to stay home and minimize all contacts with a new stay-home advisory after a surge in cases has moved the county to the highest possible COVID-19 threat level.

Level 1, or "Code Red," signals severe and worsening outbreaks that have strained contact tracing and testing. Thursday marked the second highest single-day increase for COVID-19 cases in Texas; the statewide total is now at 135,648 cases.

Hidalgo said during a Friday press conference that the COVID-19 outbreak is leading the county toward a "catastrophic and unsustainable" situation and that it is quickly becoming a hotspot in one of the worst-hit places in the world.

"Our situation is far worse today than when we issued our first stay-home order in Harris County and when the state issued their first stay-home order," Hidalgo said.

Because state orders supersede local rules and Hidalgo is not able to issue an enforceable stay-home order, the judge is issuing a stay-home advisory that almost exactly mirrors the previous stay home order. The advisory asks residents to stay home except for essential needs, cancel all gatherings of any size, avoid non-essential personal travel, cancel nursing home and long-term facility visits and practice health precautions for essential workers who must remain on the job.

Leaders of the Texas Medical Center said on Thursday that the hospital system is still in good shape, despite issuing a statement less than 24 hours before warning the public of dangerously high capacity levels. Hidalgo said hospitals have reached 100 percent of their base capacity and that relying on contingency plans is a gamble on human life.

"When did we lose our respect for human life...to the degree that we say let's fill our ICU and surge capacity before we take any meaningful action?" Hidalgo said. "...lives are not collateral damage."

The county's emergency temporary medical shelter is ready to deploy within 48 hours if needed. Hidalgo said that would only happen if hospitals reach a point where they need to convert beds to ICU beds.

Gov. Greg Abbott has responded to the troubling uptick in cases by halting the state's reopening plan and ordering all bars and tubing venues to close down, reducing capacity levels at restaurants to 50 percent and requiring any outdoor gathering of 100 or more people be approved by local governments. In response to the order, Hidalgo said the county will prohibit outdoor gatherings over 100 people and that residents who attend July 4 fireworks shows must remain in their cars.

Hidalgo issued an order last week mandating that businesses must require customers and employees to wear face masks. That order includes a $1,000 penalty for violators. She added that issuing a fine for violating the new stay-home advisory will depend on area cities, but as with the mask order, education is the priority.

"If we really want to get to the other side of thiswe need to buckle down now," Hidalgo said.

rebecca.hennes@chron.com
By PTI

WASHINGTON: Democratic presidential nominee and former US vice president Joe Biden wants India to take necessary steps to restore the rights of Kashmiris, and has expressed disappointment over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the implementation of the NRC in Assam.

According to a policy paper -- Joe Biden's agenda for Muslim American community' -- posted recently on his campaign website, these measures (the CAA and the National Register of Citizens) are inconsistent with the country's long tradition of secularism and with sustaining a multi-ethnic and multi-religious democracy.

A group of Hindu Americans has reached out to the Biden campaign expressing resentment to the language used against India and urged it to reconsider the views.

The group has also sought a similar policy paper on Hindu Americans.

The Biden campaign did not respond to questions.

Observing that Biden understands the pain Muslim-Americans feel towards what is happening in Muslim-majority countries and countries with significant Muslim populations, the policy paper clubbed together Kashmir and Assam in India with the forced detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims in western China, and discrimination and atrocities against Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority.

In Kashmir, the Indian government should take all necessary steps to restore rights of all the people of Kashmir.

Restrictions on dissent, such as preventing peaceful protests or shutting or slowing down the internet, weakens democracy.

Joe Biden has been disappointed by the measures that the government of India has taken with the implementation and aftermath of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act into law, the policy paper said.

India abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5 last year and bifurcated it into two Union territories -- Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

India has defended its move, saying the special status provisions only gave rise to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

It has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 is its "internal matter".

The Indian government maintains that the CAA, which was passed by Parliament, is an internal matter of the country and stressed that the goal is to protect the oppressed minorities of neighbouring countries.

According to the CAA, members of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 following religious persecution there will get Indian citizenship.

India has said that the updation of the NRC in Assam is an "entirely internal" process carried out at the direction and under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

Reacting to the policy paper, Biden supporter Ajay Jain Bhutoria told PTI that Biden as the US Senator for decades and as the vice president under previous president Barack Obama for eight years has been known as one of the best friends of India and Indian-Americans.

He played a key role in the passage of the India-US civil nuclear deal and as vice president, he advocated increasing the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion per annum, he said, adding that Biden regularly hosted Diwali at his vice-presidential residence and is well-connected with the Indian-Americans.

Biden understands the issues impacting India, issues of cross border terrorism, influx of terrorism across borders in Kashmir, issue of Hindu minorities sufferings in Kashmir, issues in the Indo Pacific region with China, and the rising role of India as stronger US ally in all areas including economic growth, counter-terrorism, fight for human rights, climate change and global security.

There are groups within various elected officials groups in the US pushing language and agenda's highlighting misinformation and damaging facts on how India handled its own internal matter on Kashmir, Ladakh or immigration reforms related to NRC, said Bhutoria, who is also on the National Finance Committee for Biden.

He said that the US recently updated its immigration policy to block the H-1B and other visas for the rest of the year to safeguard its own workers, which is completely questionable and will hurt the economy.

India too has a right to define its own immigration policy to support its population and economy.

I grew up in Assam, Guwahati and I have seen the influx of people across the border and taking away important jobs, resources from local people in northeastern states.

The immigration reforms and NRC are welcome steps.

Execution of these reforms and strategies need to be improved and India needs to do better in change management and rolling out of reforms, Bhutoria added.

Rishi Bhutada, board member, Hindu American Political Action Committee, said the Biden campaign is missing the much needed context about Pakistan-sponsored cross border terrorism in regards to Kashmir".

It is also missing how the CAA is a good-faith effort to remedy the status of approximately 30,000 persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who sought refuge in India, have no other path to citizenship, and no chance of returning to their home countries safely, Bhutada said.
Representative image

Schools in Delhi will continue to remain closed till July 31 in view of the COVID-19 situation, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced on Friday. "Reopening schools is not merely a technical work, rather, it is a creative work that would give schools a new and bigger role. Schools will continue to be closed in Delhi till July 31," Sisodia said.

Sisodia, who is also the Education Minister, made the announcement after a meeting with officials of the Directorate of Education (DoE) on how to reopen schools.

Track this blog for LIVE updates on coronavirus pandemic

Meanwhile, Gurugram Municipal Corporation announced relaxations for shopping malls in Gurugram, which falls under the National Capital Region (NCR). Malls are set to reopen next week after being shut for the past three months due to the nationwide coronavirus-driven lockdown. However, all places of worship will continue to remain shut.

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 number of COVID-19 cases in India increased by a record 17,296 in 24 hours for the first time on Friday pushing the total tally to 4,90,401, over half of which have been reported from 10 cities and districts, according to Union Health Ministry data. The death toll climbed to 15,301 with 407 new fatalities. Delhi, Chennai, Thane, Mumbai, Palghar, Pune, Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Ahmedabad and Faridabad are 10 cities and districts that contributed to 54.47 percent of the total caseload reported till Thursday, a health ministry official said.

(With PTI inputs)
Severe thunderstorms are still likely for this evening, with the timeline from this morning remaining on track. Heres a quick update.

As of 6:30 p.m. a broken line of severe thunderstorms in central Wisconsin appears to be gelling into a solid line of severe thunderstorms. Heres the always updated radar:

The storms moving from central Wisconsin to eastern Wisconsin are the storms that could generate quick bursts of severe weather in Lower Michigan.

Ahead of the main line of severe thunderstorms are areas of thunderstorms now moving into southwest Lower near Holland, South Haven, Allegan and Grand Rapids. These storms arent officially severe yet, but will have heavy rain and frequent lightning.

Heres a closer look at the Grand Rapids radar:

So it still looks like the southern third of Lower Michigan will have scattered severe thunderstorms between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m.

Heres the radar forecast from a model I like in these severe storm situations.

Radar forecast from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

This radar model forecast predicts the line of severe storms in central Wisconsin at 6 p.m. to move into western Lower by 9 p.m. and near Ann Arbor and Detroit toward midnight.

So if you are in far southeast Lower Michigan you still have a few hours before it gets stormy at your house.

The main threat is going to be quick, short-lasting 60 mph to 70 mph wind gusts. While the Storm Prediction Center still has a five percent chance of an isolated tornado, the storms arent looking real rotational. Ill keep my eye on them though, and you keep an eye on MLive.

If you are wondering where the severe storms are, they are just beginning. The next six hours will have the severe storms. The severe storms look like they will be confined to the southern third of Lower Michigan, from Muskegon to Flint and southward. The most potent storms look like they will travel along I-94 between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

If you are on Facebook, a great way to stay updated is by watching our live weather broadcasts on the MLive Facebook page. Like the page and allow notifications to be alerted as to when Im on the air.
On July 4, 1950, Radio Free Europe made its first broadcast, transmitting a program to communist Czechoslovakia. But over the decades that followed, the news organization's broadcasts were not always heard loud and clear by audiences in communist-controlled Central and Eastern Europe. Ahead of the 70th anniversary of that first broadcast, RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service was given a tour of a Cold War-era jamming station by an engineer who once worked there.
DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegalese President Macky Sall is quarantining for two weeks after coming into contact with someone who has since tested positive for the coronavirus, state television said on Thursday.

The measure is precautionary as an initial COVID-19 test of Sall has come back negative, it said.

(Reporting by Diadie Ba; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Yemen is a conservative Arab state where homosexuality is taboo and is condemned under the countrys strong Islamic beliefs. Being transgender is viewed as equivalent to practicing homosexuality under the legal system. The countrys conservative society has no place for gays  the law sees homosexuality as a crime punishable by death.

Extremists take things into their own hands, killing gays without facing punishment. Article 264 of the 1994 Yemen Penal Code states that for gay sex, unmarried men shall be punished with 100 lashes of the whip or a maximum of one year of imprisonment, married men with death by stoning. Homosexuality between women is defined as sexual stimulation by rubbing. The penalty for premeditated commission shall be up to three years of imprisonment; where the offense has been committed under duress, the perpetrator shall be punishable with up to seven years detention.

Yahyia al-Zandani, a 23-year-old Yemeni transgender male, lived most of his life in the capital Sanaa before being forced to leave in May 2015 because of the ongoing civil war.

Speaking to Al-Monitor via Skype, Zandani said that while he has felt discomfort with his birth gender since he was a child, it was only in secondary school that he realized [his] situation. This made him revolt, and he decided not to be submissive to the family and community will.

"Government, religion and society are altogether against LGBTQ people, [which] puts me and hundreds of others at risk for their lives," Zandani said.

Zandani was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1997. Three years later, the family moved to Sanaa. For most of his childhood, he was forced to grow up under semi-house arrest  My family did not like my masculine looks, he said.

In May 2015, when the war broke out in Yemen and the security situation had deteriorated to the point where the family no longer felt safe, they moved to the nearest, relatively safe haven  Hargeisa, in Somaliland. His father, meanwhile, stayed in Yemen.

It would take three years before he saw Yemen again. In May 2018, he returned to be with his father, thinking that he would protect him.

In early 2020, I fled Yemen again when some of my friends helped me with some money and activists from the LGBTQ community on Twitter helped me get a passport issued and travel, Zandani said.

Growing up in a nonsecular society where gender roles are subject to religious bias, one has an even more difficult time coming to terms with life as a transgender person.

According to Zandani, his parents treated him harshly, abusing him physically and telling him he was crazy. His mother placed him in a clinic in Hargeisa for two months to undergo treatment for psychosocial disabilities. During those two months, his parents used his captivity to obtain legal guardianship status from the local courts, which they used to stop him from traveling outside the country.

When he came home unchanged he said that he was severely beaten by his parents in an attempt to coerce him to accept an engagement from a young man. At that time, he was 15 years old and everyone was considering him a girl. His family thought marrying him off was the solution.

He also said his parents forced him to take female hormones to make him appear more feminine. I was forced to wear womens clothing in order to fulfill their desires, but I was disappointed when I wore these clothes  it did not reflect my identity, he added.

Zandani said that life as a transgender man has been full of suffering. I was forced to live anonymously to complete my education. I reached the fourth year in medical studies in college, but I stopped my education after facing difficulties in the university in Somaliland, he said, noting that professors sexually harassed me and students told me that I did not deserve to continue [my] studies.

Facing this persecution at home and in public nearly drove him to suicide, but I talked myself out of it. Instead I decided that I would live the life that I deserve.

Using social media outlets, in particular Twitter, was the only way to start his journey to depart home.

My father refused to think of me as anything but a girl, and I broke the familys honor by posting photos on social media. This is something that is not allowed for women to do in a conservative country like Yemen, he noted.

Zandanis suffering was not only caused by his family, but also by the Houthi militias, after his father asked the group to find his son.

I received multiple death threats from the Houthis, making me flee home immediately. Most of the threats I got were from Houthis via WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter  and I knew who they were from their personal profiles, names and their clan names, he said.

In 1992, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality and gender dysphoria from the International Classification of Diseases.

He added, Due to the huge doses of antiseptics I was given a part of me died. I do not think I will ever recover  my memory is not the same, I am not the same, my family killed my dream of completing medical study.

His plan to escape home was very difficult as he did not have resources to cover his travel costs. On Jan. 20, Zandani's friend Layla Picard suggested he use the GoFundMe platform to collect money to accomplish his journey.

Through Twitter I was able to escape Yemen to an Arab country, which he asked not be named for security concerns. He said that comments from social media users boosted his confidence, motivating him to reveal what happened to me and advocate for my rights in other Arab LGBTQ communities in general and in Yemen in particular.

Through funding I made around $1,500, which helped me to leave Yemen, he added.

Despite fleeing his home, Zandani still lives in fear that the Houthis could arrest him at any time, as my family has good connections abroad. He said he could never live freely in Yemen, especially as some people still believe LGBTQ people are ill.

Honor killing cases are a well-known custom in our country and certainly every Yemeni has heard about it, he noted, but he laments the lack of awareness of the issues facing members of the LGBTQ community.

The Yemeni government should protect LGBTQ people and stop using the laws to condemn transgender individuals. We are normal, not ill, he said.

After arriving in his current host country, the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in him being stuck at home, My plans to relocate to a safer place were delayed until further notice due to the pandemic. I still depend on the GoFundMe website to survive. I face very hard times amid the pandemic.
GLYFADA, Greece, June 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Globus Maritime Limited (the Company) (GLBS) announced today that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain unaffiliated institutional investors to issue approximately $12.4 million of its common shares (the Common Shares) in a registered direct offering and warrants to purchase Common Shares in a concurrent private placement.

Under the terms of the securities purchase agreement, the Company has agreed to sell 45,850,000 Common Shares. In a concurrent private placement, the Company has agreed to issue warrants to purchase up to 45,850,000 Common Shares. The warrants will be exercisable upon issuance and have an exercise price of $0.30 per share. The warrants will expire 5.5 years from the issuance date. The purchase price for one Common Share and one warrant will be $0.27. The gross proceeds to the Company from the registered direct offering and concurrent private placement are estimated to be approximately $12.4 million before deducting the placement agents fees and other estimated offering expenses. The registered direct offering and concurrent private placement are expected to close on or about June 30, 2020, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Maxim Group LLC is acting as sole placement agent for the offering.

The Common Shares being sold pursuant to the registered direct offering are being sold pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-222580), previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on January 17, 2018 and declared effective on February 8, 2018. Such securities are being offered only by means of a prospectus. A prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to and describing the terms of the registered direct offering will be filed with the SEC. The warrants sold in the concurrent private placement, along with the Common Shares underlying such warrants, have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), and are offered pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of Section 5 of the Securities Act contained in Section 4(a)(2) thereof and/or Regulation D promulgated thereunder. When available, copies of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the registered direct offering may be obtained at the SECs website at www.sec.gov or by contacting Maxim Group LLC, 405 Lexington Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10174, at 212-895-3745.

Story continues

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 these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Globus Maritime Limited

Globus is an integrated dry bulk shipping company that provides marine transportation services worldwide and presently owns, operates and manages a fleet of five dry bulk vessels that transport iron ore, coal, grain, steel products, cement, alumina and other dry bulk cargoes internationally. Globus subsidiaries own and operate seven vessels with a total carrying capacity of 300,571 Dwt and a weighted average age of 12.1 years as of March 31, 2020.

Safe Harbor Statement

This communication contains forward-looking statements as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements provide the Companys current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about the Companys expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts or that are not present facts or conditions. Words or phrases such as anticipate, believe, continue, estimate, expect, intend, may, ongoing, plan, potential, predict, project, will or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. The Companys actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements for many reasons specifically as described in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this communication. Globus undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this communication or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should, however, review the factors and risks Globus describes in the reports it will file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission after the date of this communication.
This July marks the 25th anniversary of family-owned Greek restaurant Acropolis Grill. The anniversary itself falls on July 17, but diners can expect specials and giveback opportunities all month long.

The Kyriakidis family and restaurant staff are proud members of the Chattanooga community, feeding the families in this city, and strengthening the community together has been their greatest honor, they said.

The Acropolis Grill took its shape over time, breaking through the soil of a beautifully rich history. After opening its doors in 1995 and a quarter century of food service to the community, the authentic Greek restaurant has earned its place as a Chattanooga staple where dining out is concerned.

Mrs. Betty, the Kyriakidis family matriarch, and owner of the Hamilton Place restaurant, recalls the early years being difficult ones, opening a brand new place, and building from the ground up.

"Everything else in the area was a chain, she said. They all said youll never make it against the big guys, but we did it anyway, and were still here.

Although, perhaps the most beautiful piece of this story is a community support that flows two ways. Not only has Acropolis owner, Nick Kyriakidis, worked to support the community when times have been tough throughout the years, but also, the Chattanooga community has shown their reciprocal support by way of 25 years of eating the food lovingly prepared in the Acropolis kitchen.

Its this mutual admiration that affords a mom-and-pop restaurant this kind of longevity, and Kyriakidis is feeling the weight of that now more than ever amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to give a big thank you to the Chattanooga community, Mr. Kyriakidis said. We know we could not continue without your ongoing support.

According to Mr. Kyriakidis, the restaurants Always Fresh, Always Family tagline rings truer now than ever before in light of current circumstances. The current climate, if nothing else, has illuminated the importance of social connectedness, community bonds, and perseverance through difficult times.

Mr. Kyriakidis has sought to respond in kind as the community works to overcome so much from global health crisis to local tornado relief. Acropolis has shown support to the Chattanooga community over the past several weeks, donating $1,000 in Acropolis gift cards to tornado victims, and more than 300 meals to victims and volunteers.

In honor of 25 years of Acropolis Grill, as a Thank you to the Chattanooga community and in an effort to offer continued support to our community during this time, the Kyriakidis family will match every $25 gift card purchased this July, up to $2,000. Those funds will then be donated to a local nonprofit. Nominations for the recipient of this donation can be made on the Acropolis website at acropolisgrill.com.




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Dr. Ruvislei Gonzalez (Photo: VNA)



So assessed Doctor of Economics Ruvislei Gonzalez Saez, a leading Cuban research expert on Vietnam, Deputy Head of Asia Department of the Cuban International Political Research Institute (CIPI) and the Vice President of Cuba - Vietnam Friendship Association, who has spent many years studying the history of Vietnam and regularly issued articles on Vietnams outstanding events.



In an interview granted for the Vietnam News Agency, he said that the establishment of the CPV on February 3rd, 1930 by uniting 3 communist organizations was the first and clearest evidence for the great unity. The unification of 3 communist organizations helped gather different patriotic forces, including the youth, intellectuals, farmers or craftspersons, for national liberation, he said. Therefore, February 3rd, 1930 marked the decisive turning point for the arduous struggle for independence and was the starting point for a glorious revolutionary process of Vietnam.

According to the Cuban researcher, to promote solidarity for common goals, the CPV must have the right strategy at the same time on many fronts, not only to meet the urgent needs of the revolutionary struggle, but also prepare for the ideological changes of Vietnamese society. One of the examples was the decision to eradicate illiteracy by using national language (Quoc Ngu) in education.

In his viewpoint, the Cuban researcher highlighted CPVs consistent policies designed for each historical period, especially typical strategies put forth in Party Congresses. Notably, the 1st National Party Congress in 1935 identified to use Marxist struggle to liberate the nation; the 3rd Party Congress in 1960 deciding to carry out two tasks of both building socialism in the north and liberating the south for national reunification; the 6th Party Congress in 1986 putting forth Doi Moi (renewal) policy; the 9th Party Congress in 2001 identifying Vietnam's development direction in the new century towards industrialization and modernization, with a socialist-oriented market economy.

It is clear that the CPV leadership is a decisive factor for Vietnam's great achievements over the past nearly a century, both in the struggle for national liberation and protection, as well as in national construction and development.

Ho Chi Minh thought - foundation of the Vietnam Revolutions victory

The Cuban researcher asserts that the ideological foundation for the correct and successful decisions of the Vietnam Revolution is Ho Chi Minh's thought combined with Marxism - Leninism. Theoretically, President Ho Chi Minh and the CPV made important contributions to the way to socialism of underdeveloped colonies. But not only the theory, the Vietnam Revolution has provided valuable practical experiences on its development path, while both building socialism and fighting for territorial integrity and national liberation.

Dr. Gonzalez especially emphasized the ideas of building solidarity, collective leadership, combining national strength with international power and the power of the era in Ho Chi Minh thought.

In the period of national construction and development, according to Mr. Gonzalez, Ho Chi Minh's thought was most clearly applied during the Doi Moi process by democratizing Party and State leading agencies, recognizing and making favourable conditions for all economic sectors, and applying deep regional and international integration policies./.
CONCORD  Hey, you guys! Grab some popcorn and snacks, load up the family and set the GPS to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a night of film, fireworks and fun to benefit Speedway Childrens Charities on Wednesday, July 1.

Americas Home for Racing will host the first-of-its kind Speedway Childrens Charities fundraiser, bringing the cult-classic movie The Goonies to life on the speedways 16,000-square-foot HDTV. Families can tune in from the comfort and safety of their vehicles through an FM radio transmitter, practicing safe social distancing all while enjoying the popular 1985 adventure-comedy.

Gates open at 6 p.m., and the movie is scheduled to begin at 7. After the show, guests will be treated to one of the first Fourth of July fireworks spectacles in the region, as a dazzling pyrotechnic display lights up the night at around 9 p.m.
Russia will allow a tourist to conduct a spacewalk for the first ever time.

The customer is expected to walk out into the void of space from the International Space Station in 2023.

They will go out from the Russian segment of the station, and be accompanied by a professional cosmonaut, the space agency said.

Some seven people have flown to the International Space Station as tourists, with one going twice. The last of them was the co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberte, who went in 2009.

The space agency has already said it will take two new non-professional astronauts to the floating laboratory before the end of 2021. The trip to spacewalk is separate from that previously announced journey.

Recommended Nasa astronaut drops mirror into space during spacewalk

All of those trips will be conducted as a tie-up between Russias state space agency, Roscosmos, and the US-based Space Adventures. The two worked together to take the first space tourist to the station, in 2001.

The cost of the trip is yet to be confirmed.

The official announcement also made no mention of how the tourist would train, or what they would do while floating out in space. A spacewalk is considerably more laborious than the already tough journey into space, requiring extra work both on the ground and during the journey itself to ensure the safety of any astronaut.

Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Mystic Mountain, a pillar of gas and dust standing at three-light-years tall, bursting with jets of gas from fledgling stars buried within, was captured by Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope in February 2010 Nasa/ESA/STScI Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures The first ever selfie taken on an alien planet, captured by Nasa's Curiosity Rover in the early days of its mission to explore Mars in 2012 Nasa/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Death of a star: This image from Nasa's Chandra X-ray telescope shows the supernova of Tycho, a star in our Milky Way galaxy Nasa Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Arrokoth, the most distant object ever explored, pictured here on 1 January 2019 by a camera on Nasa's New Horizons spaceraft at a distance of 4.1 billion miles from Earth Getty Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory in January 2012. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures The first ever image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon telescope, as part of a global collaboration involving Nasa, and released on 10 April 2019. The image reveals the black hole at the centre of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth Getty Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Pluto, as pictured by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft as it flew over the dwarf planet for the first time ever in July 2015 Nasa/APL/SwRI Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures A coronal mass ejection as seen by the Chandra Observatory in 2019. This is the first time that Chandra has detected this phenomenon from a star other than the Sun Nasa Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks running downhill on the surface Mars were believed to be evidence of contemporary flowing water. It has since been suggested that they may instead be formed by flowing sand Nasa/JPL/University of Arizona Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Morning Aurora: Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station in October 2015 Nasa/Scott Kelly

Only one of the two people who will take part in the journey will go on the spacewalk, Roscosmos said.
Spa-Francorchamps will not alter its plans to host the Belgian GP this year without spectators.

Dutch regional newspaper Het Belang van Limburg reports that although mass events were forbidden in Belgium at the time promoter Spa Grand Prix did the 'ghost race' deal with Liberty Media, things have now changed.

The suggestion now is that, with the coronavirus crisis easing, spectators may be able to attend with social distancing.

However, promoter Vanessa Maes says Spa Grand Prix will not go back on its original plan.

"All of our negotiations with Formula One Management were based on the fact that no mass events were allowed to take place until August 31," she said.

"We have managed to find a solution that will not cost the Walloon region and we want to keep it."

(GMM)
HARTFORD  Former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers and Superior Court Judge Omar A. Williams will co-chair the Jury Selection Task Force commissioned to eradicating racial bias from the states jury system.

The first meeting of the task force is scheduled to be held remotely on July 14, at 2 p.m.

Late last year the state Supreme Court announced it would convene a jury selection task force in light of a New London murder case in which a prosecutor was criticized for asking the judge to excuse a Black man from the jury.

The Judicial Branch stated that work had been underway to schedule the first meeting when the pandemic struck. However, the branch now has the necessary remote technology in place to hold the meeting so that all participants will be safe.

I, along with the associate justices of the Connecticut State Supreme Court, are unanimous in our commitment to eradicate racial bias from our jury system, and we have pledged to work with all partners in the justice system to see this through. Considering the events in Connecticut and across the nation regarding racial injustice, I can think of no better time to get the task force up and running, said Chief Justice Richard Robinson said. Of course, we do not yet know when jury trials will resume because of the pandemic, and we have been meeting regularly to develop a plan to permit the resumption of jury trials in a safe manner. But that is not a reason to delay the critical work of the task force.

Williams and Rogers are perfect choices as co-chairs, the chief justice added.

Judge Williams is an experienced criminal judge who works everyday in the field, and Chase Rogers has an intimate knowledge of the jury selection process through her experience as chief justice, an Appellate Court judge and as a trial judge, Robinson said. Time is of the essence, but I have full confidence in them as leaders committed to bringing about meaningful and long-term change.
It was probably a lot worse.

Without a doubt, Dafonte Miller was the victim of a one-sided, violent beat-down at the hands of an off-duty Toronto police officer  an attack that left him with a horrific eye injury and permanently maimed, that forced the bleeding Black teenager to pound on a strangers door so hard, screaming for help, that the resident thought it would give way.

And for that, Const. Michael Theriault, the burly white cop who chased down Miller in socked feet on a winter night in 2016 for stealing change from his parents truck, was found guilty of assault by Ontario Superior Court Justice Joseph Di Luca in a rare, virtual court hearing Friday.

Michael Theriaults initial intent was likely not to arrest Mr. Miller, but rather to capture him, and assault him, Di Luca said near the end of a marathon, four-hour hearing that drew 20,000 viewers on YouTube, a special arrangement due to COVID-19 court restrictions.

But details in the high-profile case  one where Di Luca said the racialized context needed careful consideration  suggested the violent clash and its aftermath had actually been worse, Millers attack even longer. Probably, the judge noted, both Theriault and his young brother, Christian, had at some earlier point begun just beating on Mr. Miller. Probably, the core narrative the brothers offered to police on scene was false.

Probability, however, is not the test for a criminal case, Di Luca wrote in his much-anticipated ruling.

And so it was that three of the four charges Michael and Christian Theriault had faced for nearly three years  charges laid months after the incident, and only after Millers lawyer notified Ontarios police watchdog  were dropped, a disappointment to Miller and his scores of supporters, some of whom had symbolically rallied outside the Oshawa courthouse.

The only charge that stuck against Theriault is a lesser assault offence, carrying a far lighter sentence: a maximum of five years in jail, though a distinct likelihood it will be far less.

And yet, Miller, appearing calm and relaxed in a press conference Friday afternoon, a prosthetic eye where his left eye once was, said the day goes into the win column  a police officer was convicted when it once could have been him.

I dont feel like I took a loss, Miller said, now in his early 20s. I feel like theres a long way to go and we just took a step forward.

In particular, Miller expressed gratitude that Di Luca recognized that what likely happened on the night of Dec. 28, 2016, on a residential Whitby street was much worse  that I was running for my life from people who were trying to harm me not arrest me.

Michael Theriault, who was also found not guilty of attempting to obstruct justice, showed no emotion throughout the lengthy proceeding, and his lawyer, Michael Lacy, declined to comment following the judgment. Michael Theriault will remain on bail until a court appearance next month to arrange sentencing proceedings.

The Toronto police officer is currently employed and suspended with pay; if he is sentenced to jail time, he will no longer be paid.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Toronto police chief Mark Saunders  who has faced fierce criticism for his forces handling of the case  would not say whether Theriault will be fired. A disciplinary hearing against the officer is pending.

As chief, I cant deny that this matter will have an increased strain on the relationship between police and the community, specifically the Black community, especially those with lived experiences of discrimination in the justice system or by the police, Saunders said.

Desmond Cole, a Toronto journalist and activist who has been outspoken about the Theriault case since the charges were announced  and who travelled to Oshawa each day of the 10-day trial  said the case shows how the standard for convicting the Theriaults was almost impossibly high.

The verdict shows why there needs to be systemic changes to the justice system, which disproportionately puts Black and Indigenous people in jail for far lesser offences, Cole said, calling the verdict devastating.

This conviction doesnt satisfy. Dafonte is living with horrific injuries, Cole said. They should have never happened.

Minutes into his lengthy ruling, Di Luca acknowledged both the racial aspects of the case and the backdrop on which he was giving his ruling: an international reckoning with race and policing, following high-profile police-involved deaths of Black and Indigenous people in recent weeks.

I also acknowledge that this case, and others like it, raise significant issues involving race and policing that should be further examined, he said.

Di Luca said he welcomed the significant public and media attention the case has generated, calling the principle of open courts vital to the justice system.

But the judge nonetheless noted his task is not to be swayed or influenced by the attention given to this case, nor was it to conduct a public inquiry into matters involving race and policing.

He said he wanted to be very clear that he was not saying race has nothing to do with this case  indeed, I am mindful of the need to carefully consider the racialized context from which this case arises.

He wondered how the incident might have been dealt with if the race of the accused and victim were reversed.

One could well ask how this matter might have unfolded if the first responders arrived at a call, late one winter evening, and observed a Black man dressed in socks with no shoes, claiming to be a police officer, asking for handcuffs while kneeling on top of a significantly injured white man, Di Luca said.

But, Di Luca stressed, as a trial judge in a criminal case he must decide if Crown lawyers have proven the offences charged beyond a reasonable doubt, based on the evidence that was presented in court.

The case centred on the events of Dec. 28, 2016, on a residential Whitby street, near the Theriault family home. The trial, which often filled the benches in a large Oshawa courtroom last fall, heard competing versions of what happened before and during the violent confrontation.

To come to his decision, Di Luca had to rely on the evidence of several key players who he found had credibility issues. Central to Di Lucas decision was who was wielding an approximately metre-long pipe found stained with only Millers blood.

Di Luca ultimately sided with the Theriaults about what started the entire ordeal. The Theriaults said they were in their garage when they heard a rustling that sounded like someone was going into their parents Ford F150 truck. When they opened up the garage door, they said they saw two men get out of the truck and run in opposite directions; they ran after Miller.

Miller denied this version of events, saying hed only been walking down the street near the Theriault family home when he was stopped and questioned by the brothers  an account also offered by Millers friend, but which Di Luca found was false. Parts of it were concocted to cover up the fact that they were breaking into cars, the judge found.

But Di Luca said the act of petty theft can hardly be described as an offence that is significantly telling in terms of his character or credibility generally.

To be blunt, Mr. Miller is not the first nor will he be the last young man caught stealing pocket change and sundries from unlocked vehicles, he wrote, adding that the theft does not automatically render his evidence less credible. 

Indeed, Di Luca sided with many aspects of Millers testimony while making harsh judgments about the testimony of the Theriault brothers  including about aspects of Michael Theriaults central defence that he was always fighting out of self-defence.

He also criticized Theriaults behaviour as a police officer, saying that if he was affecting an arrest of Miller for the theft, as he always claimed, he should have identified himself far earlier. As a result of this failure, Miller wasnt given the chance to know he was a police officer.

To be blunt, I would have expected the first thing out of Michael Theriaults mouth as he was chasing Mr. Miller while wearing only socks would have been Stop, you are under arrest, Im a police officer, or words to that effect.

On the crucial issue of who was wielding the pipe, Di Luca found that Michael Theriault was at some point holding it and using it as a weapon  but he couldnt rule out that Miller hadnt also at some point picked up the weapon, providing the possible justification for the brothers to fight back in self-defence.

Di Luca made no conclusions about where the pipe came from  a central issue  but said it was most likely introduced at some point during the altercation.

Not being able to rule out the possibility that Miller had, at some point, armed himself with the pipe as the Theriaults said, they were then entitled to fight back against him in self-defence. But that can only go on for so long, Di Luca said.

Finding that near the end of the altercation Michael Theriault had swung the pipe at Miller at least once in the face  a conclusion based in part on physical evidence and the witness testimony of Toronto district fire chief James Silverthorn, a key witness  Di Luca ruled the off-duty cops actions were no longer in self-defence.

The already razor-thin self-defence justification evaporates at this stage, he said.

But while Di Luca found Michael Theriault used the weapon, he could not conclude it was the pipe that caused Millers eye injury, due in part to medical evidence that concluded the most likely cause of the injury to Millers eye was at least one punch.

Nonetheless, the fact that a weapon was used in committing the assault will be considered an aggravating factor on sentence, Di Luca wrote.

Toronto police and Durham regional police have faced criticism for their handling of the incident. Neither police service contacted the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the agency that investigates civilian injuries involving police.

When Durham police arrived on scene on the night of the incident, they found Miller seriously injured. But they charged Miller, not either Theriault, and let Michael Theriault place the handcuffs on Miller. Those charges, which included assault with a weapon, were later withdrawn by the Crown.

The SIU was only called in months later by Millers lawyer, Julian Falconer. It was only then that the brothers were charged.

Saunders told reporters Friday that the external review by Waterloo regional police, launched to evaluate Toronto police handling of the incident, will now go forward, after it had been stalled due to the criminal trial.

In a statement Friday, Durham police chief Paul Martin said there was nothing that could erase the suffering this incident inflicted on a young man and his family.

But we must learn from our mistakes, fix flaws in our policing when we identify them, and commit to doing whatever is necessary to earn the trust of the citizens we serve every day, Martin said.

At a press conference Friday, Falconer said important progress was made in the ongoing struggle to make police authorities accountable. But it isnt enough: he called for a federal royal commission of inquiry to bring out the truth about beatings and killings of racialized and Indigenous people in police custody.

This case started with Dafonte Miller being charged with six criminal offences and has ended with a conviction of assault against Constable Mike Theriault, Falconer said. The force used that night by the Theriault brothers was found to have been more than likely intended to exact vigilante justice.

With files from Alyshah Hasham

Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing for the Star. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won praise from politicians and commentators with her poised and powerful rebuke of protesters who smashed windows and spray-painted buildings during protests after the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by a white police officer.

"I am a mother to four black children in America. . . . So you're not going to out-concern me or out-care about where we are in America," Bottoms said during a news conference. "This is not a protest. . . . This is chaos. A protest has purpose."

"Go home!" she commanded.

Bottoms's honesty in talking about the challenge of being a black woman running a black city at a time when images of black people being killed are shown over and over in viral videos has made her a leading voice in the national debate over policing. She became a go-to guest on network news shows. Former vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said her performance has been "incredible." Muted conversations and speculation about Bottoms being Biden's potential presidential running mate suddenly grew louder.

Then her own police department became the center of national debate after video showed a white police officer shooting and killing Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old black man.

Brooks's slaying came two weeks after Floyd was killed in Minneapolis after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Protesters again flooded the streets of Atlanta after Brooks's death, shutting down an interstate highway and torching a Wendy's restaurant.

Since then, Bottoms has gone on television to express sympathy for Brooks's family and frustration that she had, just three days before his death, empaneled a commission to recommend changes in use-of-force procedures for police.

The two officers involved in the incident are facing criminal charges, the chief of police has stepped down, and a rebellion has sprung up in the ranks of the Atlanta Police Department, with officers staging sickouts in protest. Brooks's funeral was held this week at the city's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. Bottoms was among the mourners present.

It's unclear how the turmoil will affect Bottoms's nascent national profile. She is up for reelection next year. Some local political leaders and activists have been more frustrated than impressed with Bottoms's messaging and action before and since Brooks's shooting.

Some thought her much-applauded reprimand of protesters was tone deaf, showing more concern for property damage - Bottoms noted that more than half of the businesses in metro Atlanta were minority-owned - than the reason that people had taken to the streets: to protest a broad frustration with systemic racism, including the disproportionate number of deaths of black people at the hands of law enforcement officers.

And they say the current crisis of police violence is merely a symptom of long-standing underlying inequities in the city that Bottoms, who served eight years on the city council before becoming mayor, and other city leaders have failed to address for years.

"The killing of Rayshard Brooks shows what happens when you introduce reforms but move too slowly and without a sense of urgency," said Xochitl Bervera, director of the Racial Justice Action Center, who has been working with Bottoms on police reform. "Rayshard Brooks would be alive today if the officers had utilized many of the alternatives we've been introducing over the last year."

Bottoms, 50, was elected in a 2017 runoff election, beating her opponent by fewer than 900 votes. She is the second woman and sixth consecutive African American to lead Atlanta, which is often cited as an example of racial progress and equal opportunity. Bottoms's office declined an interview request last week.

Atlanta has long boasted a visible population of affluent black people, thanks to aggressive efforts to ensure that black entrepreneurs participate in public economic development initiatives. In recent decades, Atlanta has glittered as black entertainers have made the city home. They include television and film mogul Tyler Perry, who last year opened a $250 million, 330-acre studio complex in the city.

But income inequality also has grown, increasingly pricing out working-class and poor residents, especially African Americans. Some believe the city's black leaders over the years have paid less attention to poorer residents than the businesses community.

Chris Baumann, director of SEIU-Workers United for the Southern Region, said Bottoms deserves credit for moving quickly to discipline officers and embrace reform, but "for too long she has not addressed the underlying causes that have led us to this moment."

"She often cites the motto that Atlanta is the city too busy to hate, but our union's low-wage members in Atlanta feel that it is often the city too busy to care," Baumann said.

Bottoms, in an interview earlier this month, acknowledged the challenges of the job during the past several months. Before ordering demonstrators off the streets with a curfew during the early days of the protests, she was encouraging residents and visitors to stay home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has disproportionately killed African Americans in Georgia and nationwide.

The mayor disagreed with the decision by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, to reopen the state for business in mid-April and delayed reopening Atlanta. Amid the pandemic, many Georgians were shocked when a video emerged of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who had been pursued by men in a truck and killed while jogging through a residential neighborhood in Brunswick, Ga. A grand jury indicted three white men for Arbery's killing Wednesday. Protests of Arbery's death had been peaceful. Then Floyd's death on May 25 set off demonstrations across the country, including in Atlanta.

While enforcing curfew in response to those protests, police officers pulled two college students out of a car, using a Taser on a young man and throwing a young woman to the ground. Six officers were criminally charged in the incident and four fired.

The tenor of the protests were mostly peaceful when Brooks was killed June 12. He initially attracted police attention after falling asleep in a Wendy's drive-through lane. Brooks calmly spoke with officers for nearly a half-hour, but a scuffle broke out when they attempted to handcuff him. Video shows Brooks grabbing an officer's Taser and pointing it toward officers while running away; an officer is then seen drawing a weapon and shooting at Brooks, who falls on the asphalt. Brooks died of two gunshot wounds to the back, according to authorities.

After Brooks's shooting, Bottoms announced a series of executive orders to set new guidelines on use of force, including training officers in de-escalation techniques, and requiring officers who witness excessive or unlawful use of force to attempt to stop it and report it.

Bottoms was asked on CNN last weekend about police officers calling out sick to protest disciplinary action against their fellow officers, including the two charged in the fatal encounter with Brooks.

"We value our officers in Atlanta," said Bottoms, a city native who said she has known some members of the police force since childhood. "I also recognize that our communities are hurting and our officers are hurting. And so, in the same way our demonstrators need an opportunity to vent and to express their frustration and their concern, understand that our officers need the opportunity to do that as well."

She said it is her job to make sure police officers get "the training that they need, that they are appropriately trained in de-escalation techniques, and so that they are equipped to work alongside our communities in the way that we need and expect them to."

Atlanta's interim police chief, Rodney Bryant, and Bottoms have said that there are enough officers showing up for work to keep the city safe. Vince Champion, Southeast regional director for the International Brotherhood of Police, did not respond to a request for comment.

Antonio Brown, a member of the Atlanta City Council, had a tense exchange with Bottoms during a telephone meeting shortly after Brooks's shooting, in which he suggested she might spend less time on national television and more time on the streets listening to the concern of residents.

This week, he and other council members made an unsuccessful push to withhold $73 million in funding from the police department until Bottoms's administration came up with a plan to remake the department.

He said he had apologized to the mayor over last week's dust-up.

"It's not about the number of interviews she's doing," he said. "It's about making sure we're keeping the city at the forefront of our conversation and we're doing our part with the community and being a part of this movement that's impacting so many people's lives."

"I know Mayor Bottoms cares," Brown added. "She's from Atlanta, born and bred here. I know she cares and I know that it's been difficult with everything transpiring."

Even as she navigates the lingering tensions from the events of the past three weeks, as well as the potential for additional eruptions in this charged atmosphere of ongoing protests. Bottoms still has an eye on a bigger prize.

A few days into the protest, Biden told Bottoms that she had been "incredible" during a virtual roundtable with other mayors, praising her passion and composure. Bottoms endorsed Biden nearly a year ago and served as a surrogate during the primary. Biden is being heavily lobbied to put a black woman on the ticket.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Bottoms if she met Biden's criteria that his running mate be "ready on Day 1 to be president of the United States."

"Yes," Bottoms answered, adding that it was up to Biden to make that determination.

"But there's been no handbook for so many mayors and so many governors across this country dealing with covid-19 and now with the demonstrations that we are seeing around the country," she said. "Not many people have been tested in this way, in the same way that leaders across this country have been over the past several months."
Thousands of Burundians clad in white gathered Friday in the capital Gitega to say a final goodbye to former president Pierre Nkurunziza at a state funeral after his sudden death earlier this month.

The coffin carrying the late president arrived at a stadium in the city, covered in the green, red and white national flag and borne atop a military jeep, as soldiers marched in step alongside it.

The funeral convoy was welcomed by a military band after a 60-kilometre (37-mile) journey from the city of Karusi where Nkurunziza, 55, died on June 8 of what the government said was heart failure.

However speculation is rife he may have caught the coronavirus, as his wife had been flown to Nairobi for treatment for the virus just two weeks prior.

The ceremonies began early in the morning with a "homage by his wife, Denise Bucumi Nkurunziza, his children and those close to him" in an intimate gathering at the hospital where he passed away, a government source told AFP.

Nkurunziza's handpicked successor Evariste Ndayishimiye, who was sworn in last week, presided over the funeral /  AFP

Nkurunziza died shortly after an election won by his handpicked successor Evariste Ndayishimiye, who was sworn in last week and who presided over the funeral.

"Nowhere in Africa, or the world, has a leader been as close to God as president Nkurunziza was," Ndayishimiye said in a tear-filled speech, adding he was also "the closest to the people".

"We have lost a father, a friend, a saviour and a head of state," he said.

Nkurunziza's wife Denise, who has recovered from the virus, said that God had given her the strength to accept what had happened.

"In the Bible it is written that we must accept God in everything. There was nothing else to do and I did it," she said.

How Burundi compares to its neighbours on key socio-economic indicators /  AFP

Nkurunziza, a devout evangelical who believed he was chosen by God to lead Burundi, leaves behind a deeply isolated country in political and economic turmoil.

His 2015 run for a third term in office sparked protests and a failed coup, with violence leaving at least 1,200 dead while some 400,000 fled the country.

A climate of fear marked by a crackdown on the opposition and media settled over Burundi, while a personality cult grew around Nkurunziza which saw the ruling party name him a "visionary" and "supreme guide for patriotism."

UN human rights investigators have said the period since 2015 has been marked by likely crimes against humanity committed by state forces, citing extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests, disappearances, torture and sexual violence.

- No masks, no distance -

Friday was declared a national holiday for the funeral, and citizens, including school children in uniform, lined the roads waiting for the funeral convoy to pass.

Inside the stadium the arrival of Nkurunziza's remains led to screams, tears and moans from the crowd, who were asked to stand in silence and bow.

The majority were not wearing masks or respecting social distancing guidelines.

Pierre Nkurunziza's wife Denise, seen here at the funeral, recently recovered from coronavirus /  AFP

Burundi has taken few measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus, with Nkurunziza claiming God had spared the country from its ravages.

During his swearing-in ceremony, Ndayishimiye admitted the dangers posed by the virus, and urged Burundians to take care and go to a doctor if they felt ill.

Since announcing its first case in mid-March, Burundi has only officially recorded 144 cases and one death.

A medical source told AFP that Nkurunziza had suffered "respiratory distress" before dying.

One diplomat attending the funeral told AFP he had arrived with a mask but removed it after feeling "ridiculous" as no one else was wearing one.

No foreign presidents attended the funeral. Former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete was present as well as representatives from some neighbouring countries.

Nkurunziza was buried at the site of a planned monument in Gitega which was to be dedicated to victims of the country's various crises over the years, but was never inaugurated due to disagreements between the opposition and ruling party.
A member of the Regina Police Service's board of commissioners has proposed lobbying Saskatchewan's minister of justice to make more changes to the Public Complaints Commission, saying some citizens  especially those who are Black, Indigenous or racialized  don't have confidence in the current system for handling complaints against police.

Board member Jada Yee presented a letter to other commissioners at a board meeting Thursday, calling for further reform to the PCC, a five-person, government-appointed non-police body that investigates and reviews complaints against municipal police in the province.

"Some residents of Regina, in particular Black, Indigenous and racialized people, have expressed a lack of confidence in the current system dealing with complaints against police officers," Yee's letter says.

"Residents of Regina have expressed a desire to ensure that civilian oversight take the place of police investigating police."

Earlier this month the provincial government introduced the Police Amendment Act 2020. The new legislation makes it possible for the complaints commission, rather than the deputy minister of justice, to appoint an independent observer for investigations, among other changes.

Yee put forward a motion calling for the board to ask the ministry of justice to commit to further reform of the commission.

That would include looking at moving to a civilian oversight body to oversee investigations involving police and serious injury or death, expand the membership of the Public Complaints Commission, and to provide the commission with adequate resources and investigative tools.

"This comes as a result of our community's actions in recent weeks, rallying and making its voice heard," Yee said while presenting the motion.

"The board and I created this motion to respond to the concerns raised by the residents of Regina."

Yee's motion was supported by those in attendance with a tweak to the language in the letter proposed by fellow commissioner and Regina Coun. Barbara Young.

Story continues

Change 'long overdue': mayor

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said while he is a supporter of the Regina Police Service, he feels the time for civilian-led police oversight has come.

"We're one of the last jurisdictions in Canada that does not have civilian oversight," Fougere said.

"Given the particular environment over the last couple of months, we'll instill even more confidence in the police service, and the police are asking for this. The chiefs of police want this, and I think this is long overdue in some ways."

Minister of Justice Don Morgan previously said he wasn't in favour of the idea of creating a civilian oversight body, like the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team or Ontario's Special Investigations Unit.

Such bodies are costly and involve "police investigating police at a different level," Morgan has said.

Fougere said he supports what the province has done so far, but said the changes don't go far enough.

He said he doesn't see Morgan's stance on civilian oversight as a challenge, as the motion is starting a chain of events that will lead to further conversations with the minister about the idea.

'Public has waited long enough'

University of Regina associate professor Michelle Stewart, who teaches in the area of social justice, spoke as a delegate on behalf of Yee's motion.

Stewart said that in Saskatchewan, there is no truly independent civilian review process and the time for that to change is now.

"The public has waited long enough. I'm here to say that the community will be striking an independent civilian review board," Stewart said, adding she will appear at the next board of police commissioners meeting to address the topic further.

Stewart also asked for the next board of police commissioners meeting to include a block of time for community members to explain what they would like the civilian oversight to look like.

Regina police Chief Evan Bray said he supported the call, and said the provincial police chief's association supports similar calls to create civilian-led independent oversight boards.

"We have spoken with Minister Morgan and the provincial government on this topic a few times," he said.

"This is really healthy. It's healthy for our community. It's healthy for policing."

Bray, like Fougere, supported the province's move to change the powers of the Public Complaints Commission, which he sees as a multi-step approach to changing oversight.
The death of Jean Kennedy Smith on Wednesday last was mourned by people within the New Ross community - for her love for her ancestral homeland and the active role she played in developing the Dunbrody Famine Ship centre, the Kennedy Homestead and bringing the Emigrant Flame to the town has brought prosperity to the very place her great-great grandfather departed from to begin a new life in America.

The last living sibling of US President John F Kennedy, Kennedy Smith, who is survived by two sons, Stephen Jr and William, and two daughters, Amanda and Kym, visited New Ross many times, including in 1963 when the famous tea party was held at Dunganstown. She was key to the development of the Dunbrody Experience Visitor Centre project, working hand in hand with its former CEO Sean Reidy at the turn of the 21st century. There was great excitement in Fethard-on-Sea when it was announced she was going to open the Norman Connection, but sadly she couldn't attend on that great occasion due to business in America.

Although her mother once described her as 'being born so late she was only able to enjoy the tragedies and not the triumphs' of being a Kennedy, as the last survivor of the nine children of Joseph P Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald, Kennedy Smith enjoyed more than her share of both.

Kennedy Smith, who was 92, was the eighth of the nine Kennedy children. Her oldest brother, Joseph Jr, was killed when a drone bomber he was piloting exploded prematurely during the second world war; her sister Kathleen ('Kick') died in a plane crash in 1948; while Rosemary ('Rose'), was kept out of the public's sight after being institutionalised and died in 2005.

Her brother John was elected president in 1960 and assassinated three years later; Kennedy Smith and her husband were with her brother Bobby on his 1968 presidential campaign when he too was gunned down. Patricia, who was briefly married to the actor Peter Lawford, died in 2006. When her sister Eunice died in August 2009, Kennedy Smith elected to stay by her younger brother Edward's bedside rather than attend the funeral; he died 18 days later.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed Kennedy Smith ambassador to Ireland. She was following in her father's footsteps as an ambassador and had accompanied President Kennedy to Ireland in June 1963, so her return held special memories for her. She visited New Ross many times over the years, including in 2013 when she was accompanied by three generations of the Kennedy family - some 38 Kennedys in all!

Sean Reidy recalled some of his meetings with her and her visits to New Ross.

He said: 'I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Jean Kennedy Smith. She was a great friend of mine, and a great friend of New Ross and Ireland. In March 1993, I travelled to Washington DC as CEO of the JFK Trust with Paddy Quinn, Jim Walsh and John Hutchinson to meet Senator Edward Kennedy to get his support for the Dunbrody project. We met Senator Kennedy and he really liked the concept and gave us his enthusiastic endorsement.'

On the evening of that meeting, there was an Ireland Fund fundraising dinner attended by Bill Clinton and Albert Reynolds.

'Senator Kennedy was also in attendance and he came over to me and said "I would like to introduce you to my sister Jean". Having exchanged warm greetings the Senator then said "don't tell anyone, but Jean will be nominated by President Clinton to be US Ambassador to Ireland tomorrow."'

This was to be announced at the Patrick's Day celebration in the White House.

'What an important and fortuitous appointment that was for Ireland and New Ross. I worked very closely from there with the Senator's staff to ensure that Jean would get a warm welcome in Ireland and we planned that she would arrive in Ireland on the 30th anniversary of JFK's famous 1963 visit. The senator had to use all his bipartisan skills to get the nomination through the Senate hearings in record time.'

So it was that Mrs Kennedy Smith arrived on June 27, 1993 and headed straight to the Kennedy Homestead in Dunganstown.

'It was a wonderful occasion and both Jean and Senator Kennedy were delighted with the welcome and the organisation of the event. I had passed the test and Ambassador Kennedy Smith became a great friend of New Ross and Ireland. She helped me every step of the way in the development of the Dunbrody Famine Ship and ancillary developments in the town of New Ross. She officiated at the keel laying ceremony, "christened" the ship on the day of the launch. She also unveiled the JFK Statue on the quay and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.'

She also played a pivotal role in the 2013 JFK50 celebrations, including carrying the flame from her brother's grave up the Waterford Estuary on the Navy vessel Aoife to New Ross, where it was used to ignite the Emigrant Flame.

She also helped her cousin Patrick Grennan to get the funding for the new Kennedy Homestead Visitor Centre by twisting the arm of the then Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan.

Mr Reidy said: 'She helped greatly in the transformation of her ancestral home town of New Ross. Her contribution to New Ross was immense. Most recently she was very honoured to have the new bridge called after her mother, Rose.'

Her role in the peace process is well documented and she recounted the fascinating role she played as Ambassador at the Jean Kennedy Smith Symposium (the forerunner to the Kennedy Summer School) which was founded in her honour in 2007.

'When her time as Ambassador was over, the gift that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern chose to give her in appreciation for her work for Ireland was a Waterford Crystal model of the Dunbrody Famine ship which CEO of Waterford Crystal John Foley had kindly donated to the JFK Trust.

'She became a close friend. I have many fond memories of a wonderful spirited, fearless and generous woman. At dheis De go raibh a anam,' Mr Reidy said.

New Ross district director Eamonn Hore said: 'It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith. Ambassador Kennedy Smith loved Ireland and loved New Ross. I would like to express my own sincere sympathies to the Ambassador's family; daughters Kym and Amanda and sons William and Stephen and all her extended family.'

Mr Hore said he had the great honour of lunching with the Ambassador the day after St Patrick's Day 2016 in her apartment in Manhattan, New York. 'The Chairman of Wexford County Council Tony Dempsey, his lovely wife Gemma and I spent over three hours in her company discussing a myriad of subjects including her wish for the proposed bridge in New Ross. At this lovely informal luncheon she wore the Wexford jersey with great pride for the entire time. She was so looking forward to travelling to New Ross again for the opening of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge. Unfortunately health issues prevented her from taking part in that wonderful day. Instead her final trip to Ireland and New Ross was for yet another wonderful occasion, the lighting of the Emigrant Flame on the quayside in New Ross. On the day after the lighting ceremony a car pulled up outside the Dunbrody, Jean Kennedy Smith emerged, walked to the flame and paused for a brief moment for one last look at the flame which had travelled from her brother's graveside in Arlington Cemetery; and then she turned and left New Ross for the last time. She was a wonderful lady and proud to hail from New Ross.'

Dunbrody centre CEO Sean Connick said: 'She was a great friend to the project and was instrumental in the redevelopment of the Kennedy Homestead in 2008 when Brian Lenihan visited. We got that announcement in the budget of 2009. I had the pleasure of meeting her a number of times and I was always very impressed with her. She was always very bright, articulate woman, who wasn't shy.'

Both Wexford County Council chairman Cllr Michael Sheehan and New Ross Municipal District Cataoireach Cllr John Fleming welcomed the opening of a virtual book of condolences for Kennedy Smith last week, Cllr Sheehan saying: 'Jean Kennedy was a true friend of Ireland, Wexford and New Ross. She was always proud of her home county and ensured all doors and minds were open to her cause when we needed her.'
A man charged over a stabbing murder in Melbourne's CBD tried to hand himself in to police, only to find the station he had attended was closed due to COVID-19.

Marco Deng, 22, was arrested on Thursday and charged over the alleged stabbing of Machar Kot, 21, outside a hotel on Market Street about 5am on Monday.

Deng fled the scene of the attack and was only found after handing himself in during a massive three-day police manhunt, The Herald Sun reported.

Marco Deng (pictured), 22, was arrested on Thursday and charged with murder over the fatal stabbing of Machar Kot, 21, on Market Street in Melbourne's CBD on Monday morning

Deng tried to turn himself in to Caroline Springs police station (pictured) on Thursday morning and found it was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic

The 22-year-old went to Caroline Springs, a coronavirus affected suburb in Melbourne's west, with the intention of turning himself in on Thursday morning.

But Deng found the police station there closed because of the pandemic and left to a nearby medical centre.

The centre contacted police and Deng, from neighbouring suburb Burnside Heights, was arrested shortly after.

Deng faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday where prosecutors asked for longer than normal to put together the evidence against him.

Prosecutors argued that the days spent searching for Deng put the investigation 'a little bit behind'.

Deng is due to return to Melbourne Magistrates Court on October 16 for a committal mention.

Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia a number of police station counters have closed to stop unnecessary face-to-face contacts.

The spokesperson said members of the public can speak to officers in the station through an intercom or a contact number.

Mr Kot, from Kurunjang, was allegedly stabbed after violence broke out in front of the Oaks Melbourne hotel on Monday morning.

He was treated at the scene and later died at Royal Melbourne hospital.

Pictured: Mr Kot was allegedly stabbed around 5am outside the Oaks Melbourne hotel

Mr Kot (pictured) was treated at the scene and later died at Royal Melbourne hospital

Police believe Mr Kot and Mr Deng were known to each other and are continuing the investigation into the 21-year-old's death.

Deng also appeared at Melbourne Magistrates court the day before he allegedly stabbed Mr Kot.

He pleaded guilty to offences including possessing cannabis and shop theft and was fined $650.

Deng was released on an adjourned undertaking of one year and was warned by the court to 'be of good behaviour'.

Mr Kot's father on Wednesday said the loss of his son was hurting their family and the wider community.

'He was a big leader in the community as well as the family. He was a role model,' he told the Seven Network on Wednesday.

The grieving father said he told his children to mourn for their brother peacefully.

'I told my children to mourn for their brother peacefully because we don't want any chaos in our community,' he said.
Prosecutors had asked for 10 years in prison for Elizondo, noting that the damage his corruption caused continues to unfold. The Cook County states attorneys office has dismissed dozens of criminal cases that were tainted by Elizondos and Saglados involvement, and at least 10 civil rights lawsuits against the officers and the city are pending in federal court, prosecutors said.
Catholic student kicked off Florida State student govt for scrutinizing Black Lives Matter

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A Catholic student at Florida State University says a student mob demanded his ouster from the student senate after he scrutinized the policy views of the Black Lives Matter organization.

According to Catholic News Agency, Jack Denton, who is set to graduate from FSU in 2021, said the student senate voted to oust him over what he said in a group text in an exchange about the stated beliefs of groups like BLM, Reclaim the Block, and the ACLU that pertain to abortion, sexuality and the family.

In the group text for members of the FSU Catholic Student Union, students chatted about the police shooting of a 38-year-old black transgender-identifying female named Tony McDade.

Denton told CNA that when someone advocated the causes students could support financially to back racial justice efforts, he explained that the positions taken by the organizations were at odds with Church teaching. Screenshots of the exchange reveal Denton stated that the organizations advocate "explicitly anti-Catholic" things."

As a devout Catholic and a college student, I felt that it was my responsibility to point out this discrepancy, to make sure that my fellow Catholics knew what they were partaking in, he said.

When asked to elaborate, Denton noted that the ACLU has sued states that place limits on abortion and it defends laws protecting abortion clinics. He added that BLM defends transgender ideology and fosters a "queer-affirming network." He also said that though it is less explicit than the other issues, Reclaim the Block pushes cutting the budgets of police departments and claims fewer cops will make communities safe, a position he considered "contrary to the Church's teaching on the common good.

Despite Denton maintaining he was not remarking in his capacity as a student government officer, a student in the text exchange sent screenshots of Denton's comments to members of the student senate without his permission. Though an initial motion to bring up a no-confidence vote in the student senate failed on June 3, two days later, the body voted to oust him from his role.

A change.org petition that was circulated alleged that Denton's comments were "transphobic" and "racist." A June 4 column in Spire, a student-run magazine at the university, said Denton holds values which are antithetical to FSUs anti-discrimination policy and could make our schools most marginalized students feel unwelcome and unsafe.

The piece in Spire also accused him, a white man, of "attempting to use his religious identification as a cover for bigotry and cannot be let off the hook.

Denton told CNA that the incident sets a bad precedent and is concerned for the future of Catholic students. He's now contesting the student senate's vote.

They did this because of the outcry, he said. It was quite scary to witness how this mob could influence all these senators in two days to just switch their vote and remove me as president, for being Catholic.

Denton stressed that his scruples are not with black lives mattering but with the specific organization and the push to fund it.

Let me make it unequivocally clear that Black Lives Matter, the statement, the sentiment, theres nothing wrong with that, he said.

The FSU junior is now being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, which has formally appealed to the supreme court of the school's Student Government Association, arguing that his removal not only violated his First Amendment rights but the student senate and university rules. Denton is asking to be reinstated as student senate president.

Denton's ouster is not the only incident of pushback against people who voice criticisms of the Black Lives Matter organization.



As The Christian Post reported earlier this month, members of the Cornell Black Law Students Association penned a letter to the law school community calling on students not to take courses by professor William A. Jacobson. The letter claims that Jacobson has engaged in anti-black rhetoric by pointing out that the BLM organization is Marxist in nature and aims to tear down our society.

Jacobson subsequently responded to the BLSA letter in a blog post, noting that their claims are false and misleading and that the boycott call came after he offered to debate them.
The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) has installed Gaylon Brown of TexCap Insurance in Dallas as the groups chair-elect for 2020-2021.

Brown was named to the post during IIATs annual business meeting, which was held virtually on June 10.

Brown is CEO and managing partner of TexCap Insurance in Dallas. He began his insurance career with Millerman & Millerman Insurance Agency (M&M). Brown became a partner at M&M in 1975, which was later sold to Brook Crawford & Associates in 1992, and subsequently to Hilb, Rogal & Hamilton (HRH) in 1994. Brown served as executive vice president of HRH until his resignation in October 2005, at which time he helped found TexCap Insurance.

Brown has served on many insurance company advisory boards, state and local associations, and committees. He is a past president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas.

Source: IIAT

Topics Agencies Texas
New Delhi, June 26 : Spelling more trouble for former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's nephew Ratul Puri, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday carried out raids at over half a dozen of locations in Delhi and Noida after registering a fresh case of alleged fraud with the Punjab National Bank and other consortium of banks worth Rs 787 crore.

A CBI official said, "Multiple teams of the agency are conducting searches in Delhi and Noida at the premises of the accused, including Moser Baer Solar Ltd (MBSL) Directors Dipak Puri, Ratul Puri and others in a case related to alleged loss of Rs 787.25 crore to PNB and other consortium of banks." The official said that the raids are on at over half a dozen places in the two cities and the number of places can go up during the day. The officer said that the raids came in the wake of a fresh case being registered recently on a complaint by PNB against MBSL and others, including its Directors and other unknown persons and bank officials.

The officer also said that the multiple teams during the searches at the premises are taking full safety in view of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The officer said that the teams are wearing PPE kits and ensuring all protocols for the Covid-19. In August 2019, the CBI had registered a case against Moser Baer India Limited (MBIL) and conducted raids at six places to nab its current and former officials for cheating the Central Bank of India to the tune of Rs 354.51 crore.

According to the CBI, Deepak Puri, Managing Director of MBIL, his wife Nita Puri, whole-time director of MBIL, son Ratul Puri, former Executive Director of MBIL, Sanjay Jain, Director, Vineet Sharma, Director, and other unidentified public servants and private persons were booked on charges of criminal conspiracy for cheating, forgery and criminal misconduct.

Nita Puri is the sister of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Ratul Puri is his nephew. Ratul Puri was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with money laundering involving the Rs 354 crore fraud with the Central Bank of India. The ED had registered the case on the basis of the CBI FIR. Ratul Puri is also under scanner for allegedly receiving kickbacks in the AgustaWestland deal through his companies.

The ED has alleged that accounts associated with firms owned and operated by Ratul Puri were used to receive kickbacks and launder money in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal. The ED in its chargesheet in October last year also alleged that loans to the tune of Rs 7,979.30 crore taken from various banks were misused and misappropriated by MBIL and its directors and promoters for their own use and have further been transferred to the companies of Hindustan Power Group of Puri.

The financial probe agency also accused Ratul Puri of "spending over $4.5 million" from a credit card issued from Dubai through alleged AgustaWestland deal middleman Rajiv Saxena on a "lavish lifestyle on holidays travelling in private jets and night clubs".

Ratul Puri was granted bail on December 2, 2019.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Culiacan, Mexico  Fri, June 26, 2020 16:45 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661f4224 2 World gun-violence,El-Chapo,El-Chapo-Guzman,drug-lord,DrugKingpin,drug-network Free

The fight for control of drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's legacy spilled into the open on Thursday after a gun battle between rival Mexican gangs left 16 dead, authorities said.

The 16 men, heavily armed and wearing bullet-proof vests, died in a six-hour running shootout near the rural town of Tepuche in northwestern Sinaloa province.

"A van with seven bodies was located" after an initial clash, while nine bodies were discovered following a second exchange, Sinaloa's state security minister Cristobal Castaneda told reporters.

Castaneda said Wednesday's clash near Tepuche, 25 kilometers from Sinaloa capital Culiacan, was "part of a struggle between two organized crime gangs in the area."

Local media reported the conflict involved members of the Sinaloa cartel -- pitching a part of the gang run by the sons of ex-leader "El Chapo" Guzman against a faction led by Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, long considered the group's number two.

The reports pointed to a deep split in what remains one of Mexico's most powerful drug cartels, despite El Chapo's 2016 capture and subsequent extradition to the United States, where he is serving a life sentence.

Castaneda said the rival groups had clashed on eight separate occasions in the area since May 29.

In the aftermath of the shootings, police confiscated 40 high caliber weapons, 10 grenades, 36,000 rounds of ammunition and 24 vehicles, the official said.

Seven of the victims were identified as residents of Tepuche.

Locals flee violence

An AFP reporter who drove through the town on Thursday found several houses left abandoned by families who had fled the area in fear of escalating violence.

"Most of the people are gone," said a local resident who gave her name as Modesta. "But we stayed, because we have animals here we have to look after," the 63-year-old woman said. "But if the government tell us we have to leave, we'll leave."

Mike Vigil, former head of international operations for the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), said Guzman's three sons -- known as the "Chapitos," or little Chapos -- were engaged in a fight for control of the cartel.

"It's a matter of inheritance. Since their father founded the Sinaloa cartel, they believe they should manage it," Vigil told AFP.

After Guzman's capture, his sons Ivan, Jesus and Ovidio agreed that Zambada would take over in the interim while they "learned the business," said Vigil.

"They only knew how to spend the money, but now they know how the cartel operates and they want to take control, and that's why these disputes are happening."

Vigil said the Chapitos are worried about the future of the cartel if Zambada, a 72-year-old with diabetes, dies and his lieutenants take over.

El Chapo's legacy

"The cartel is not yet divided, but it is on that path. Many respect "Mayo" because he is the oldest capo in Mexico, but there is another group that is with the Chapitos because they know that Zambada could die," the former DEA agent said.

A split in the group would likely aggravate Mexico's gang violence because it would strengthen the rival Jalisco Nueva Generacion (New Generation) cartel.

"The Jalisco cartel is the bloodiest cartel, the consequences for Mexico would be unimaginable, and with this government I don't know how it could be faced down," said Vigil.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador favored appeasement when previously challenged by the cartel in October 2019, after Mexican federal forces arrested Ovidio Guzman in Culaican.

Guzman was later released on Obrador's orders after five hours of clashes in Culiacan between the Sinaloa drug cartel and security forces.

Lopez Obrador faced sharp criticism for Ovidio Guzman's release but defended his decision on the grounds that it would avoid widespread bloodshed.

Organized crime has remained active in Mexico, despite confinement due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Specialists and human rights defenders attribute Mexico's drug-related violence to a controversial military crackdown on organized crime launched in late 2006 by then president Felipe Calderon.

According to official data, since then there have been more than 287,000 murders in the country, though it is not clear how many cases are linked to organized crime.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Algeria's health ministry said Friday it recorded 240 new COVID-19 cases the day before, the country's highest daily tally since the pandemic began and three weeks after easing a lockdown.

Djamel Fourar, the spokesman for the ministry's scientific committee monitoring the pandemic, said Algeria has recorded a total of 12,695 cases of the respiratory illness, including 885 deaths, making it the worst-affected country in the Maghreb.

Algeria's previous daily record for confirmed infections was 199 cases recorded on April 28.

The latest statistics show an outbreak of infections in the east and southeast of the country.

"This is the result of relaxing (of social distancing measures) and a casualness in certain districts," the head of Algeria's medical board, Mohammed Bekkat, told AFP.

Infectious diseases specialist Idir Bitam said the increase in cases is due to "a lack of civic responsibility in the population".

Outside the capital Algiers, people are not respecting social distancing guidelines after lockdown measures were lifted, Bekkat said, calling for the state to respond strongly.

Some businesses were allowed to reopen on June 7 as part of a government roadmap for a flexible and progressive return to normal.

The second phase of lockdown easing began on June 14, when limited urban transport resumed.

Faced with the surge in cases, the government has decided to maintain a curfew until June 29 in 29 of Algeria's 48 provinces, including that of Algiers.

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

 2020 AFP
Jenna Marbles says she will no longer post content to her YouTube channel amid renewed scrutiny of older videos that included racist content.

In an 11-minute clip titled 'A Message,' the Rochester, New York native, 33, acknowledged her past transgressions, which included a 2011 blackface skit, shaming women and a racist rap.

'For now I just can't exist on this channel,' she said. 'I want to hold myself accountable, and its painful to do it. Im ashamed of things Ive done and said in my past - but, its important.

The latest: Jenna Marbles, 33, says she will no longer post to her YouTube channel amid scrutiny of older videos she did that contained racist content including a blackface skit

In an 11-minute clip titled 'A Message,' the Rochester, New York native, 33, acknowledged her past transgressions, which included a 2011 blackface skit (pictured), shaming women and a racist rap

Marbles is seen wearing a shiny skin-tight outfit and a pink wig during her Nicki Minaj impersonation

'I think I'm just going to move on from this channel for now. I don't know if that's forever. I don't know how long it's going to be... I'm just going to stop for now.'

Marbles said it was time to take a step back from the channel, which has more than 20 million subscribers, amid a pileup of questions about the routines.

She specifically addressed the blackface skit, a video featuring a rap which made a joke about Asian people, and another in which she hit out at women who 'slept around'.

The rap song included the line: 'Hey Ching Chong Wing Wong, shake your King Kong ding dong.'

She described the video as 'awful' and 'inexcusable'.

In the blackface video she dons a pink wig and skintight blue outfit and jokes that Minaj has different personalities. At one point in the video she is seen with dark paint or a face mask on her face while talking about 'kinky' sex.

'I get it,' she said. 'I've definitely done things in the past that weren't great. I'm not completely unproblematic. I've tried my best to grow up.'

Marbles, whose real name is Jenna Nicole Mourey, admits she's gradually switched the older clips to private amid 'a time where we are purging ourselves of anything and everything toxic'.

'Yeah there [are] things in my past I'm not proud of and I'm getting a lot of tweets from people saying, "Why have you privated all these old videos?" and I have spent a lot of the last few days privating almost all of my old content.

'I'm sorry if any of that holds any nostalgia for you but I'm literally not trying to put out negative things into the world.'

Marbles said she was 'unbelievably sorry' specifically in regards to the blackface skit, and wishes 'it wasnt part of [her] past.'

She added of the bit: 'I do just want to tell you that it was not my intention to do blackface.

'I don't know how else to say this but it doesn't matter because all that matters is that people were offended and it hurt them... this isn't okay and it hasn't existed on the Internet for a long time because it's not okay.'

As for her other offensive content, Marbles said 'it doesn't need to exist' and she was 'embarrassed that [she] ever made' it.

Marbles said she saw no value in leaving the offensive content up, as she doesn't 'want to contribute to' strife amid a time where racism is at the forefront of the national discussion.

Marbles acknowledged she had past done a skit in blackface trying to lampoon Nicki Minaj

'If that's the case where people will watch something and be offended now, I don't want it to exist,' she said. 'So I probably deleted a lot of my old content because I just don't want anyone to feel upset about anything.'

Marbles said she had no problem taking the heat for her past transgressions to align with the social values she and her fans hold dear.

'I'm happy to do that,' she said, 'because what I want from the people that I support and that I like is to have accountability and to know that I am supporting someone whose morals and values align with my own.'

Marbles said that while she cannot erase the past, she can be her best self moving forward.

'As someone clearly with their own past that they're not proud of, I do just try to see people for who they are right now, today and that they're not defined by their pasts - and I understand,' she said. 'I'm trying to do the same thing that you are and support and be friends of people that I'm proud of and that I love and I just know that I'm doing my best.'
Three women, who were arrested on suspicion of belonging to the Boko Haram jihadist group, were on a retrial in Cameroon this Friday on charges of espionage. The case, which dates back to 2014, was deferred to 24 July for the fourth time in the absence of the head judge. The women have been in custody for over five years.

The prisoners are Marie Dawandala, Damaris Doukouya and Martha Weteya.

When they left their home village in northern Cameroon six years ago in search of a better life, they could not have imagined that they would later end up behind bars.

In 2014, the women, aged 17 at the time, had crossed the Nigerian border with their husbands to work as domestic servants.

It was at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency, marked by the notorious kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from the Nigerian town of Chibok.

As the insurgent attacks increased, the three women were forced to flee back across the border, like countless others to find safety.

Upon their return, they were arrested by Cameroonian authorities, accused of belonging to the same militant group they had narrowly fled.

Wrong place, wrong time

"They were in the wrong place at the wrong time," explains Marie-Lina Samuel, Africa Project Coordinator at the organisation ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty).

"If they [Cameroonian authorities] could have taken someone else, they would have taken someone else. They were there, not by mistake, because they were running away from Boko Haram. But they were there when the Cameroonian authorities decided to take what they thought were terrorists," she told RFI.

During 2014, Boko Haram extended armed attacks into northern Cameroon, sparking a ground campaign from the Cameroonian military.

The spill-over saw combatants and Nigerians pour into Cameroon's north, leading to a wave of arbitrary arrests of alleged Boko Haram supporters.

"Between 2014 and 2016, more than 200 people were sentenced to death after very speedy trials, without meeting a lawyer or sometimes even having a legal representation," says Samuel.

Story continues

"They would enter the court, say two words and be sentenced to death."

This is what happened to Martha, Marie and Damaris in April 2016.

Wrong language

Brought before Marouas military tribunal, they were charged with espionage, conspiracy to commit insurrection, and membership in an armed gang. All three were given the death penalty. None of them understood why.

The pre-trial investigation had been conducted entirely in French, a language none of them spoke.

"Everything happened around them and about them without them understanding what was happening and what was at stake," comments Samuel, denouncing the absence of a fair trial.

"When they were sentenced to death, none of them understood. It was their prison warden later on who informed them," she said.

French remains the official language of Cameroon's administration, which has often left many English-speakers feeling marginalised. The language problem is at the root of the country's anglophone crisis that has triggered deadly protests in the north west and south west of the country, including several arrests for espionage.

Unlike separatists however, "these women did nothing to threaten the state," insists Samuel, pointing to the lack of evidence against them.

Death penalty quashed

In 2019, recognising that it lacked jurisdiction over minors, the military tribunal quashed the womens death sentences.

Their legal battle, which had begun three years earlier, should have ended there. But it didn't. The public prosecutor decided to retry the women before a civilian court. That retrial scheduled for Friday 26 June was eventually postponed until 24 July.

According to sources, the head judge failed to show up and the investigating judge decided it was too sensitive a matter to take up himself.

Where does that leave the three women?

In limbo, argues Samuel. "They have been in prison now for over five years. Two of them have children and have had to bring them up in very difficult conditions."

The Covid-19 outbreak has put additional strain, forcing the mothers to hand their children over to a religious group to limit transmission of the virus.

"They hope that getting their children back will not be another struggle," confides Samuel, who hopes their legal woes will come to an end now that they have a "better qualified" defence lawyer.

"So far it has been injustice after injustice," she admits. "I guess for the moment we just have to wait and see what happens."
Due to the lack of leadership in the Union government, the countrys reputation on the global front is being tarnished and the precious lives of our soldiers have been lost, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Sunil Jakhar said on Friday.

Paying homage to the bravehearts who sacrificed their lives while protecting the countrys borders, Jakhar said at a function here at Sector-3 War Memorial that the Indian Army was capable of overcoming any difficulty, but due to lacklustre policy of the union government, morale of the army and civilians was declining.

Jakhar said Indians never shy away from getting martyred for the motherland, but the current NDA government was sending unarmed soldiers to die in a tense atmosphere which is not acceptable. Had our jawans been given weapons, they would have done more damage to the enemy, he said.

The state Congress chief asked PM Narendra Modi to clarify it to the people that when the government was aware of the tension in Galwan Valley and a few days ago there was also a clash with the enemy, why were the soldiers sent without weapons.

He also asked the Union government to explain how China had taken over the countrys land when PM Modi used to claim closeness with the Chinese president. Even now the entire country and all the political parties were with the Union government to take appropriate decision, but the weakness of the Union government was causing embarrassment to all, he added.
Lonzo Ball keeps trying to make it in the rap industry. The New Orleans Pelicans Guard has dropped his second music album, titled 'Bounce Back'.

Zo's album includes 17 songs, including features from players like LiAngelo Ball and Lance Stephenson, so as with his manager Darren Moore 'DMO'. 'Bounce Back' is produced by Ball's longtime friend, B Jonez Beats.

In his song 'Tick Tock', featuring his brother, 'Gelo', Lonzo indicates he will be signing a shoe deal with his family's brand, Big Baller Brand, after removing himself from it last year.

Stay with three Bs, cause' my people they need me, Zo says.

Multiple players and rappers like Matt Barnes, Baron Davis, Jaxson Hayes, Lil Durk, and more congratulated Lonzo for dropping his second album.

Back in 2017, Lonzo Ball dropped his debut album titled 'Born 2 Ball', which received some popularity amongst people in the basketball industry, having players from multiple teams playing it during team flights, workouts, and parties.
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Welcome to this weeks edition of the Surge. Just a reminder that if you read anonymous quotes anywhere from so-called senior Surge aidesthis place leaks like a sieveabout how we were joking in any part of this newsletter, they are wrong. We dont kid. We have never, nor would we ever, make jokes about matters of state or surge.





Lets look at theand this is the last time we will type this deranged portmanteauveepstakes again. The situation right now is that Joe Biden is up a clean 10 points against Donald Trump in polling averages and would be on track to win somewhere around 350 electoral votes. Does he play it safe? Does he take on some risk? Does he pick a cop? Does he pick a loyal supporter? Does he pick [checks notes] Susan Rice? Does he pick his nose? Hes just going to pick Kamala Harris, right?
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After a couple of hours of public comment and soul-searching debate, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's board of directors voted to form a new committee to study ways to reduce armed law enforcement on the county's transit system.

The new Transit Public Safety Advisory Committee will work with a coalition of community leaders to "re-envision transit safety," according to the motion. That includes examining ways to scale back policing in favor of social workers and mental health professionals, as well as unarmed "transit ambassadors," who would be deployed on buses and trains, and at Metro stations.

The decision comes after nearly a month of sustained local and national protests against police brutality and systemic racism, fueled by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans killed by police.

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Metro board member and L.A. City Councilmember Mike Bonin, who co-authored the motion, acknowledged what he called "a moment of collective epiphany" about systemic racism, including in public transit and law enforcement.

"We have a long history of passengers complaining about racial profiling or racial bias in Metro transit policing, primarily from young people who are Black or indigenous people of color," he said. Bonin noted a fear expressed by many riders -- the majority of whom are Latino or Black -- of a "transit-to-prison pipeline."

Riders' safety should be the priority, Bonin said, but the new committee's goal is to better understand what safety means to those riders and how to meet their needs.

"What we need to shift from is the instinctive response that the primary response to all issues of safety is law enforcement," he said.

The motion, co-authored by fellow board members Janice Hahn, Hilda Solis, Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker and Eric Garcetti, suggests boosting care-based approaches for many common interactions on the system, including:

An unarmed response model for non-violent crimes and code of conduct violations.

"Greater community stewardship of transit spaces," like allowing street vending on some Metro properties

Expanding and better promoting fare discount programs

Improving outreach and connecting homeless people to services

Enacting the "Universal Blue Light" program to expand emergency call boxes on the system

Five different entities patrol Metro's system based on jurisdiction: the L.A. Police Department, the Long Beach Police Department, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, Metro's own security force and private contractor RMI Security.

Los Angeles Police Department officers patrol a light rail car in this file photo. (Courtesy L.A. Metro)

The contract with those law enforcement agencies expires in 2022, and the motion notes that the findings and suggestions of the newly formed committee should factor into how the agency approaches future contracts.

The new committee is expected to report back to Metro's Operations, Safety, and Customer Experience Committee in 90 days, then continue on a quarterly basis.

The board also approved a motion calling for a report on the training and use of force policies of each law enforcement agency and security firm with Metro contracts. That report is due in 90 days.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE

Metro received dozens of public comment submissions on the issue of policing transit and agency officials took roughly an hour reading them out loud during the teleconferenced board meeting.

The comments were resoundingly in favor of defunding and eliminating armed policing on Metro's network, with many urging the agency to stop criminalizing poverty and build a more equitable transit system.

Public comments so far resoundingly in favor of defunding and eliminating armed policing on Metro's system.



"Police are not the answer."



"Police don't make Metro safe... replace them with community ambassadors."



"It is important that all riders see the system as a safe space."  Ryan Fonseca (@RyFons) June 25, 2020

Dozens of community organizations signed a letter earlier this week in support of the motion, and local transit advocates praised Metro leaders' action this afternoon.

"Metro riders have been clear that we want public transit to serve as a sanctuary, where everyone can feel safe and access high-quality service. Allocating hundreds of millions of dollars a year on police enforcement that criminalizes low-income riders of color, the unhoused and vendors is directly at odds with that vision," Laura Raymond of the local Alliance for Community Transit said in a statement. "Today's decision to shift away from policing toward community safety alternatives is the first step towards transforming Metro into the world-class and truly safe transit system that Angelenos deserve."

CHANGING POLICING VS. CHANGING POLICE CULTURE

Not all board members were in favor of the motion. L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and Glendale City Councilmember Ara Najarian voted against it, with Barger suggesting that the board wait 90 days to hear back on that report examining use of force policies from the various contracted agencies.

Several fellow board members strongly disagreed.

"This is our moment," Janice Hahn said.

Los Angeles Police Department officers patrol an L (Gold) Line station in this file photo. (Courtesy L.A. Metro)

Outgoing board chair and Inglewood Mayor James Butts voted in favor of the motion, but said that the issue is in fundamentally changing police culture and accountability, not taking police off the system.

"We as a board have not defined a mission for our transit safety services," he said, arguing the solution isn't throwing out the current safety model, but reforming it.

"There are bad people in the world and that's why we have to have police officers," said Butts, a former Inglewood police officer and former Santa Monica police chief. "And you are going to have times when they're going to have to take enforcement action, and there's going to be times when it's not going to be pretty... We have to live with that."

Bonin took issue with Butts' focus on police culture, arguing that rethinking the roles police play in public safety is vital.

"We could have cops who are better at doing homeless outreach... there could be a better culture in their agency, they could be trained better -- but why?" he said. "Why would we do that if we can have an actual professional who has been trained, [who] has a master's in social work, who can be doing the work? It will be less expensive and be more effective."

Board member and County Supervisor Hilda Solis added that this was a chance to strengthen Metro's "core values" and provide the leadership its riders are counting on them for.

"They want to be safe, they want to be protected -- and I would say that it's safety first and jail last," she said. "That's the humanity that brings us together and respecting... what our mission is for Metro, what we want it to be, and being inclusive."

CRIME AND POLICING ON METRO

Safety on the county's public transit system has been a major concern for Metro in recent years. After an audit showed a spike in assaults, robberies and other crimes, the agency took steps that nearly doubled the number of law enforcement officers on its system.

In 2017, Metro's board approved a $797-million security plan, which expanded law enforcement patrols to include L.A. and Long Beach police, while shrinking the jurisdiction of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. The new policing plan took effect that July, with Metro officials saying it would "allow for higher visibility, enhanced response time, improved customer experience and deployment of specifically trained officers to engage patrons with mental illness and/or homelessness."

Metro's own armed security force transitioned to focus on fare enforcement, while the city and county agencies concentrate on "hard crime."

Crime did fall in the system in recent years. According to the agency, Part I crimes, which include assaults, rapes and robberies, dropped more than 20% between 2015 and 2019. Property crimes, including larceny, fell about 11% during that time.

Correction: A previous version of this story identified Ara Najarian as Glendale's mayor. His term ended in April. LAist regrets the error.
Giving hospitalised Covid-19 patients statins could cut their risk of dying or needing to be hooked up to a ventilator, a study has suggested.

Chinese researchers found severely-ill patients given the cholesterol-busting drugs  which can cost just pennies  were up to 45 per cent less likely to die.

And data showed statins cut the risk of patients needing mechanical ventilation, being admitted to intensive care or suffering a deadly complication.

Doctors are desperate for more weapons in their arsenal to treat Covid-19, which has killed almost 500,000 people worldwide in just six months.

Only one drug  5 steroid dexamethasone  has so far been proven to boost survival odds for coronavirus patients who are admitted to hospital.

Dozens of other medicines are being tested in Britain and around the world, in the hope of saving lives and safely ease the world back into normal life.

Scientists behind the statins study at Wuhan University  based in the Chinese city where the pandemic began in December  called for more trials to prove the link.

Chinese researchers found severely-ill patients given the cholesterol-busting drugs  which can cost just pennies  were up to 45 per cent less likely to die

A wealth of research has proven the pills  taken by an estimated 6million Britons with high levels of 'bad' LDL cholesterol  save lives from heart attacks and strokes.

But statins are controversial among the medical community because of their potential side effects, including muscle pain and memory loss.

Doctors are desperate for ways to treat Covid-19, which studies conducted worldwide have suggested kills up to 1 per cent of all infected cases.

Statins have been found to slow the progression of lung injury in animals, improve immune cell responses and cut inflammation.

The Wuhan study  which looked at nearly 14,000 patients  was not a randomised control trial, considered the gold-standard of scientific research.

It means the observational results, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, cannot prove that statins improved the survival odds.

Dr Hongliang Li and colleagues found 6.8 per cent of the hospitalised Covid-19 patients who didn't take statins died after 28 days.

In comparison, the rate among the entirety of hospitalised patients who had been given statins was 5.5 per cent  statistically a fifth lower.

This is despite patients on statins tending to be older and having underlying conditions, two known factors that raise the risk of dying from the coronavirus.

DEXAMETHASONE: THE FIRST DRUG PROVEN TO SAVE LIVES FROM COVID-19 The NHS two weeks ago approved dexamethasone to treat Covid-19 after a major British trial revealed the steroid could reduce the risk of death in patients hooked up to ventilators by up to a third. In the biggest medical breakthrough since the pandemic began, scientists found the 5 drug also cut the odds of dying by a fifth for patients needing any form of oxygen during their battle against the disease. Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the results  which prompted officials to instantly approve the drug  as 'astounding', claiming it will help to 'save thousands of lives while we deal with this terrible virus'. England's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty called it the 'most important trial result' so far, while Number 10's Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said it was 'tremendous news'. Dexamethasone, first created in the 1950s, is usually given to treat ulcerative colitis, arthritis and some types of cancer. Results of the RECOVERY trial, which involved 6,000 Covid-19 patients and was led by Oxford University scientists, suggest the steroid can prevent death in one in eight ventilated coronavirus patients and one in 25 on breathing support. It is the first trial to show a treatment provides significant impact in reducing the risk of death. But the drug  given as either an injection or once-a-day tablet on the NHS  had no benefit for people who were hospitalised with the virus but did not require oxygen. Dexamethasone is now the second drug available in the NHS arsenal to treat Covid-19, after Ebola medicine remdesivir was last month given the green light in another scientific breakthrough. The steroid prevents the release of substances in the body that cause inflammation, a nasty Covid-19 complication that makes breathing difficult. In seriously unwell patients, the lungs become so inflamed they struggle to work. Advertisement

Results were even stronger when the data was split into two groups matched to be of a similar age, disease severity and pre-existing conditions.

Data showed 9.4 per cent of patients not given statins died, compared to 5.2 per cent of those who had taken the cholesterol-busting drugs.

Statins were also linked to lower rates of patients being admitted to intensive care or suffering acute respiratory distress  a life-threatening Covid-19 complication.

Results also suggested that ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers  drugs given to high blood pressure patients  did not worsen disease severity.

One expert said: 'There was a certain amount of evidence to suggest they might be associated with lower risk, though that evidence is not clear.'

The findings debunk claims made early on in the crisis by experts in Greece and Switzerland, given the drugs both increase the expression of ACE-2 receptors.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind Covid-19, is thought to enter the body and cause infection through the receptors, which are found throughout the body.

Dr Li said the findings warrant the need for further trials to investigate the link between statins and Covid-19 survival rates.

Independent scientists called for caution over the findings, pointing to flaws within the research that may wrongly allude to statins being protective.

University College London cardiologist Dr Riyaz Patel said patients on statins may have been in hospital as a precaution because their co-morbidities left them at high risk.

This could mean patients who weren't given statins were admitted to hospital with more severe bouts of the disease, which may explain why they were more likely to die.

Professor Naveed Sattar, of the University of Glasgow, said the results far from proved statins lowered the risk of dying from Covid-19.

He added: 'Only randomised trials can settle this question. If further observational studies point in same direction, then such trials should be conducted.'

Professor Kevin McConway, an Open University statistician, called the results 'interesting' but also warned they don't prove statins are Covid-19 life-savers.

He said: 'People weren't asked to take, or not take, statins by the researchers. The statin users were people who were prescribed statins anyway.'

Professor McConway said the two groups would likely have had many different characteristics, which could have been behind the differences in death rates.

The study also provides 'useful evidence' on the safety of ACE inhibitors and ARBs in Covid-19 patients, according to experts.

Professor McConway said the results do offer 'a certain amount of reassurance that they are unlikely to be harmful in Covid-19 patients'.
In mid-March, theater productions came to a standstill.

Aaron Leventman began looking for ways to keep theater alive.

He found innovative ways to present live theater online.

Beginning at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 28, Leventmans company, Almost Adults Productions, will present a series of LGBTQ+ short plays.

Leventman says the events will be livestreamed on the Almost Adults Facebook page, which can be found by searching for @almostadultstheatre. A public link to join on Zoom will be available.

It will be a 75-minute event, including a discussion after the readings.

Leventman says that although the content of the plays will focus on issues surrounding the LGBTQ+ community, anyone is welcome to participate. The short plays will feature local and national talent.

Since we dont know when we will be safely able to return to live theater, these Zoom performances will allow both local and national artists and audiences to create an online community for the purpose of celebrating and creating LGBTQ+ theater, Leventman says. Gay Pride is happening, and we cant celebrate it like we are used to. I wanted to find a way to commemorate Gay Pride in June. This is a niche of theater Im very interested in keeping alive.

The short plays on Sunday, June 28 are:

 Where the Fireworks Come From by Michael Pisaturo of Boston. The play is about a special friendship between two 17-year-old boys that takes place on the Fourth of July before one of them leaves to join the Army. Santa Fean Nikoa Salas and Boston-based Dustin Uher will be in the play.

 It Aint Over Til the Pink Lady Sings by Allison Fradkin of Chicago. The play is about a teenage girl performer who crushes on her musical duet partner during a production of Grease. Santa Fe-based actors Zoe Burke, Zoe Margolis and Alix Hudson will be in the play.

 Im So Lonely by Rose Provan of Santa Fe. The play is about the connection between an out-of-work gay male actor, played by Stephen Rubin of Santa Fe, and a lonely woman, played by Provan, who interviews prospective roommates as a means of companionship.

Im getting requests from all over the world with interest in being part of the series, Leventman says. Creating an online community is great. The advantage to Zoom is that you can involve people from all over the world, as long as you get your time zones right. Artists are coming up with creative ways to continue to pursue their work until we can get together to meet again.

Leventman plans to have a performance on the last Sunday of each month. If theres enough interest, he might increase it to biweekly.

Doing live theater with an in-person audience wont happen for a long time, he says.

LGBTQ+ Online Short-Play Reading Series

Presented by Almost Adults Productions

WHEN: 4 p.m. Sunday, June 28

WHERE: Almost Adults Facebook page; search for @almostadultstheatre

HOW MUCH: Free to watch on Zoom
SUNBURY  Stripping a Dauphin County judge of his senior status could have a major impact on the two-year effort of a Northumberland County man to clear himself of a 1986 murder for which he claims he was wrongly convicted.

At the time of his removal, former Senior Judge Lawrence F. Clark Jr. was deciding whether to grant Scott R. Schaeffers motion for DNA testing of certain items related to the Rickey Wolfe homicide.

The state Supreme Court removed senior status from Clark and retired Dauphin County Judge Jeannine Turgeon because they applied for federal pandemic unemployment assistance.

Cases assigned to Clark and Turgeon will be reassigned, a spokesperson for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts said.

A new judge could decide to become acquainted with the case by reading transcripts or want to start from scratch, Schaeffers attorney Joel Wiest said Thursday. What a mess, he said.

It is apparent Clark was working on his opinion because his law clerk called last week with questions, he said.

Clarks last order in the case was in March when he issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the state police from destroying any evidence in the Wolfe case.

He cited a concern that evidence might be destroyed as state police made room for newer cases.

The underlying precedential issue in the case is whether an individual who has served his sentence can file an appeal under the Post Conviction Relief Act.

Schaffer was convicted in 1991 of first-degree murder and other charges in the beating death of Wolfe, 30, of Mifflinburg.

His conviction and that of William Lloyd Hendricks III were vacated after co-defendant Robert Eugene Hummel said he lied under pressure from state police when he testified he was present when Wolfe was killed.

Schaeffer and Hendricks in 2004 pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit third-degree murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Each was re-sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison followed by 10 years probation. Although Schaeffer had served the minimum he remained in jail two more years before paroled.

Wolfes body was found face down in a pool of blood near his car Dec. 12, 1986, at a state Fish Commission boat ramp along the Susquehanna River north of Montandon.

Deputy Attorney General Christopher J. Schmidt maintains by pleading no contest Schaeffer did not admit guilt so he cannot be exonerated.

Wiest, however, refers to the transcript of the 2004 proceeding in which Schaeffer was asked if he understood a non-contest plea has the same consequences as guilty plea.

Schmidt also contends the DNA test results are unlikely to exonerate Schaeffer, his 2018 petition for the testing was untimely and he fails to meet multiple provisions of the DNA testing statute.

Tests that show co-conspirators were at the scene of the murder would not exonerate Schaeffer, Schmidt claims.

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(Photo : Screenshot from Twitter post of @fourthside) DOJ Clarified that Face Mask Exempt is Not Endorsed: Reports Confirmed that It's Totally a Scam (Photo : Screenshot from Twitter post of @LanceBass) DOJ Clarified that Face Mask Exempt is Not Endorsed: Reports Confirmed that It's Totally a Scam

As cases of COVID-19 continue to increase in the United States, more people are calling for the public to wear masks to protect themselves and others. However, there have also been some groups that deny its effectivity and have accused the mask requirement as oppression.

Some have even resorted to creating fake health cards to excuse them from wearing masks. The so-called face mask exempt card that has been circulating on social media has already been reported as fake. "These postings were not issued by the Department and are not endorsed by the Department," said the Department of Justice (DOJ) in a statement.

HEADS UP fellow businesses.... This is not a thing. This is what happens when Arts and Crafts Karens have too much time on their hands. We will throw it in the trash and send them on their way. pic.twitter.com/VKACSA3pRU  Lance Bass (@LanceBass) June 24, 2020

According to CNET's latest report, the DOJ confirmed that the face mask exempt card that was tweeted on Wednesday, June 24 by former NSYNC star Lance Bass, is not actually a real thing, and might probably be used to scam people and establishments.

The bogus card states that wearing a mask may possess a mental or physical risk to the person using it. The image that was posted on Twitter shows a laminated card that falsely claims that an individual is not required to follow any mask-wearing mandates. The Twitter post has now received more than 50,000 retweets and 89,000 thousand likes, making rounds across various social media platforms online.

No such thing as face mask except card--DOJ

A former Republican candidate for Congress in Illinois also posted a similar flyer on Facebook, claiming the "Americans With Disabilities Act and by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996" protects individuals against mask mandates. According to DOJ's report, all these posts stating that people are not required to wear masks are fake.

"The Department of Justice has been made aware of postings or flyers on the internet regarding the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and the use of face masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of which include the Department of Justice's seal," wrote the DOJ on its info page for the Americans With Disability Act. The Department of Justice said that it does not endorse any of the postings since those are not issued.





*I am a legal expert Im not a legal expert* but this Face Mask Exempt Card, in addition to not being any kind of effective document, is also full of what we lawyers call horseshit.*I am a legal expert pic.twitter.com/kHxncymFdy  Rick Jeffries (@fourtotheside) June 24, 2020

Americans are urged by the DOJ to avoid relying on cards and flyers, which are going viral, for information about the law. It is highly encouraged that if anyone has questions about the viral posts and are seeking answers, they must contact ADA.gov. The DOJ's Americans With Disabilities Act information line at 800-514-0301 must also be contacted.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Terry Riley has operated his bar/restaurant on Syracuses North Side for more than 40 years. Rileys has been closed, not even offering takeout, for the three months since the coronavirus pandemic hit.

So youd think hed be itching to get back in action. Maybe he is, but its not going to happen soon.

Riley is one of a perhaps surprising number of bar/restaurant operators in Central New York who prefer to wait until things settle down a bit more. Theyve chosen not to reopen under the restrictions in force in the current phase of the states reopening plan.

At this point, my opinion is that we should stay closed until maybe mid-September, Riley said of his place at 312 Park St. Lets see where things are going.

Riley and others who are waiting it out cite several factors: The uncertainty over whether they can guarantee staff and customer safety, the difficulty of enforcing the rules on how to reopen, the dilemma of limiting the number of customers, and the difficulty in getting staff back to work,

And, not to forget, can they make money?

Well, they say money isnt everything, Riley said. But you cant run a business without it.

Thats among the many reasons that Laura Serway gives for her decision to postpone the reopening of Lacis Tapas Bar on Hawley Avenue until July 30, instead of doing it now.

Shes worried about making it work when she can only seat 50% of capacity.

I think, well maybe by July 30 itll be up to 75% or 100%, she said. Thats what Im hoping, anyway.

Serway is also concerned for the safety of her staff and knows that many of them are still benefiting from the $600 bonuses that are coming in weekly unemployment checks.

I feel like reopening now could put someone at risk and take away a benefit theyre getting, she said. So Im in no rush to reopen.

July 30 is our re-open date! Adding Lunch. Reservations Only Exclusive to go menu Adding Happy Hour Revised Menu Many interior changes Huge tent in lot Stay safe keep watching for more updates and details! Posted by Laci's Tapas Bar on Wednesday, June 17, 2020

The uncertainty of the states reopening schedule is a major factor. Central New York is one of several regions in the state that recently entered phase four of reopening. Until now, each phase had a two-week window, and then there were fewer restrictions in the next phase.

But there is currently no plan for a phase five and no timetable for further relaxing of the rules.

(Theres) a lot of scared people right now, local restaurant consultant Bud Loura said of the owners hes talked to.

Loura, whose consulting firm is called RestaurantQB, also talks regularly with government officials. That underscores the uncertainty.

No one, he said, yet knows the answer to such questions as the one posed by Laura Serway: Will the next phase increase seating capacity to 75% or 100%?

Or using another example of a current restriction: Will masks still be required for customers who are not seated? When will that end?

The uncertainty has led to many Facebook postings like this recent one from Vicinos Brick n Brew, a pizza, burger and sandwich place that debuted on Route 11 in Cicero in late 2018:

We had an incredibly successful first year-and-a-half thanks to all of your support and we were hoping issues created by Covid-19 would not affect us, the post said. Unfortunately there is so much uncertainty at this time that we are unable to reopen just yet. We are working hard to figure out a way to maintain the business and we will keep you posted as we go along ...

We know it has been awhile since weve posted. We have received so many messages from customers about reopening and we... Posted by Vicinos Brick & Brew on Monday, June 15, 2020

The decision to remain closed for the time being comes with the risk that customers will think a place is permanently shut down. Such concerns seemed to grow in recent weeks, as other dining rooms reopened.

The permanent closing of such notable restaurants as Kelleys on Velasko Road this month only fueled such rumors. One involved Rileys. Like Kelleys, its a long-time neighborhood gathering spot that offers the best of the bar/restaurant combination.

When called by syracuse.com about the rumors, Terry Riley, a friend of Jon Kelley, said he was surprised when he heard about the Kelleys closing.

Weve done a lot of thinking on this, Riley said, describing meetings, often remote, with his staff. Theres a lot of thought going into it. But no, were not closing up. Well be back.

Good morning!! We hope you are staying safe and well during this time. We wanted to reach out and let you know WE WILL... Posted by Riley's on Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Another recent rumor involved the restaurant at the Western Ranch Motor Lodge in Lakeland. This one seems to fall into the category of places that have reopened but cut back their hours of operation, so people passing by may think theyre closed.

Weve scaled back a lot, said owner Wally Gaworecki Jr. But were here.

His experience with reopening so far seems to support both sides of the decision of whether to reopen or not.

One one hand, he said, Its tough to make people wear the masks and everything. Youre a policeman as much as youre running a restaurant.

On the other hand, despite a cutback in hours and other limitations, business is about 50% of what wed normally do. So were holding our own.

MORE ON BARS/RESTAURANTS

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Barkeeperss dilemma: How do I run my place if I have to keep people six feet apart?

Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
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Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 14:14 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661e6cb9 1 National KPK,Transparency-International-Indonesia,report,Corruption-Eradication-Comission,law-enforcement,ICW,anti-corruption,TII Free

Two of the country's top corruption watchdogs have given the new leadership of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) a red mark for performance in the first half of 2020, citing poor enforcement against special crimes and the many controversies embroiling the commission.

June marks the antigraft body's sixth month under the leadership of chairman Comr. Gen. Firli Bahuri since the police general was installed in December 2019 by President Joko Jokowi Widodo.

The KPK is entering its bleakest days, the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and Transparency International Indonesia (TII) wrote in their joint report on the KPK's performance under Firli, published Thursday.

The ICW and TII found that the KPK had significantly declined in its efforts to enforce the Corruption Law under Firlis chairmanship, recording only two operations between January and June to arrest graft suspects. In comparison, the KPK launched five operations in the same period last year.

Both operations were launched in January, which netted Saiful Ilah, the regent of Sidoarjo in East Java and General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner Wahyu Setiawan in two separate cases.

The watchdogs also highlighted that the antigraft body had yet to arrest several suspects on its most-wanted list. Among them are Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Harun Masiku, who is suspected of bribing Wahyu and Samin Tan, the owner of coal miner Borneo Lumbung Energi who is wanted for allegedly bribing several House of Representatives members in the Riau-1 coal-fired steam power plant (PLTU Riau 1) case.

The ICW and TII also noted that the KPK had not progressed in its investigations of at least 16 high-profile cases that incurred trillions in state losses, including the 1998 Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) bailout case and the 2001 electronic identity (e-ID) card procurement case.

The watchdogs' report also highlights several blunders the KPK in its investigations, including its first operation of the year in late May that involved the arrest of a state official at Jakarta National University (UNJ) for attempted bribery of several officials at the Education and Culture Ministry.

The KPK was criticized at the time for its hastiness in transferring the case to the police, as well as its reluctance to develop the case further to net bigger fish.

ICW and TII lamented the blunders, saying that the law enforcement instrument is a vital part of creating a deterrent effect against corruptors.

Read also: 100 days of blunders: Watchdog slams new KPK chairman's performance

The report further notes the KPKs lack of a new strategy in preventing state losses from corruption, despite Firli's oft-repeated claims that deterring corruption was his primary strategy.

The KPK had stagnated in its programs to prevent graft in strategic sectors like politics and natural resources, the report said. Moreover, the KPK's lack of coordination with other law enforcement authorities and regional administrations had also impeded its corruption prevention efforts.

Meanwhile, several controversial actions had marred the KPKs efforts, including the dismissal of Rossa Bekti who had led the investigation on the KPU bribery case. The report also cited the antigraft bodys reluctance to update the notices of investigation (SPDPs) on its website.

In particular, the watchdogs lambasted the newly established KPK supervisory board, whose duties include approving or rejecting wiretapping and search-and-seizure warrants.

The report deems the board "ineffective" as it had yet to look into the many public complaints filed against members of the KPK leadership.

"The [KPK's poor performance] cannot be separated from the series of attempts to weaken the KPK by the President and the House of Representatives through the past year, starting from the nomination of new leaders with political interests to the efforts to curb the KPKs authority [through the revised KPK Law], ICW and TII said in their report. [These] measures are beginning to show their results: the KPK is no longer trusted by the public.

Read also: Indikator poll shows dip in trust, high health focus for govt's COVID-19 response

The watchdogs urged the KPK to improve its performance by being more objective and independent in prosecuting cases and ramping up graft prevention efforts.

Responding to the report, KPK acting spokesman Ali Fikri said on Thursday that the commission appreciated the criticisms, and that it had been hard at work this year.

According to the KPK, it had launched 30 investigations this year that implicated 36 suspects and recovered at least Rp 63 billion (US$4.5 million) in state losses from fines, restitution fees and seized assets.

We have also detained 27 suspects, Ali said in a statement.

He stressed that the KPK had continued to work on preventing corruption, such as by evaluating the governments preemployment card program and urging state officials to file their wealth report.
Quoting US Presidential candidate Joe Biden, National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah, on Friday, said that Biden hoped that India will 'restore rights of Kashmir people'. He claimed that Biden had said 'shutting down internet weakens democracy'. US currently is witnessing mass protests against police brutality - while most protests are reportedly peaceful, there have been reports of looting.

Coronavirus Live Updates: International flights banned till July 15; cases at 490,401

Omar quotes Biden on 'weakened democracy'

Democratic Presidential hopeful @JoeBiden says In Kashmir India should take all necessary steps to restore the rights of all the people of Kashmir. Restrictions on dissent, such as peaceful protests or shutting or slowing down the internet weakens democracy. https://t.co/DQEeo3D5dn  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) June 26, 2020

J&K administration further extends ban on high-speed internet in Kashmir till July 8

J&K: High-speed internet ban extended till July 8

On June 17, the Jammu-Kashmir administration extended its ban on the high-speed internet till 8 July 2020, limiting it to 2G speed only. Moreover, it stated that 2G speed internet has been provided to post-paid sim cards and provided to pre-paid sim cards after verification of norms. The government has maintained that the continued ban was in place to prevent infiltration attempts and curbing fake news, adding that neither education or COVID-related activities have been hampered.

Post harassment of officials, India reduces Pak High Commission's staff strength by 50%

SC asks Centre to examine 'high-speed' internet demand

In May, the Supreme Court had refused to pass orders to restore 4G internet services in Jammu and Kashmir and instead directed the Centre to form a special committee to examine the petitioners demands. Advocate Salman Khurshid representing the petitioner argued that inspite of a review being done by J&K govt on a weekly basis, none of the review orders or info is available in public. He also raised the issue of students being unable to access educational lectures due to slow internet, infringing upon their right to education.

Congress-backed RGF's links with Chinese 'lobby' group CAIFC appear amid other allegations

Current internet scenario in Kashmir

Restrictions have been put on communication links since August 5 in Jammu and Kashmir, these were subsequently eased, after Supreme Court upheld that the continued ban on the internet was 'violation of freedom of expression'. Since the revocation, state-run internet provider BSNL has restored internet services throughout the Kashmir valley, but with a speed of 2G with special instructions. Consequently, the administration has reviewed the scenario on a monthly basis, but has repeatedly extended the ban on high-speed internet. Mobile internet services were also snapped across Kashmir after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo on May 6 and was later restored in a phased manner.
[shouting] We would call them bike hikes. We were just going out to go explore your world. It would be at least six, seven, eight of us. Our parents said as long as you were home before the streetlights came on, you stayed as a group, youre fine. It was a beautiful day, sunshine. The children in the neighborhood planned to go on a trip to McDonalds just to have some fun, something different to do. Rosedale we thought was a safe place. We all went down. We were riding our bikes. And then we saw down the block that there was this beautiful American flag flowing in the wind. We saw a group outside on the block. So we was like, Oh, this is a block party. The last thing that I remember was someone saying, Oh, a parade. And so we went down to go see the parade, and I laugh about it to this day because it was a parade to get the black people out of Rosedale. Crowd: White power  white resistance. Its the summer of 1975. White residents in Rosedale, Queens, are protesting black families moving into the neighborhood. [shouting] Crowd: Equal rights for whites. These are scenes from a documentary produced by journalist Bill Moyers. Does he have a right to live here? No. Why not? Because hes black. This was not the South. This was not Greenville, Miss., or Spartanburg, S.C., or Atlanta, Ga. This was right in the heart of the greatest metropolitan area in the country. The documentary was found nearly 45 years later by a graduate student who posted a short clip on the internet. It went viral on Twitter and Facebook. And the question people kept asking, where are the kids now? Hey, Rob, this is Whitney Hurst calling from The New York Times. My name is Whitney Hurst. Im a journalist  To answer that question, we called more than 90 people who had lived in Rosedale at that time. Im just trying to find anyone that might have known someone. We couldnt find any white residents who said theyd been there. Came out because it got a little bit crazy. But we spoke with several of the black children. We wanted to hear what happened to them that day to understand why their experience is resonating decades later. We went down to see what was going on. Probably in the middle of the block, thats when we figured out it was something else, and it was something that we definitely were not invited to. We noticed that they were running towards us. I was like, Wow. You know, like, Why are they rushing towards us, not thinking anything negative. And then we heard nigger. [crowd shouting racial slurs] Yeah, nigger! And they surrounded my best friend at the time, Lorena  one of the young men hit her, and they started calling us names. They started throwing rocks. Hearing the word, hearing it directed at me  Why are you calling me that? Thats not me. You know, Ive always been told thats not me. I didnt understand. I was like, Who do you think you are to say we cant come here? Like, how dare you? What happened to you? This little boy, he threw the rock. He tried to hit my sister, but he almost hit me. It was about that much away from me. And I sure wish he had hit me with that rock. I would pick up the rock right next to me and hit him right dead in his face. I was just kind of amazed to see that people can act like that, to tell you the truth. But that was like really the first when I was like, Wow, people do not like black people. They always do that. They always spit on us like we some dogs. They always  Spit back on them. Aint nothing going to change. I immediately was reminded of those programs my parents would have me watch with the dogs and the hoses, and people trying to vote and being killed and lynched. It just, it went right back to my history in this country. It just linked me immediately with that whole experience because I felt it. Do you forgive them? No. No. No. Cant take back no hurt. And I didnt know what to do with those feelings. I did not know what to do with those feelings. For Moyers, the video going viral shows how powerful images can be. He just tried to hit my sister, but  Because we were in their neighborhood. I mean, I do believe that television has been a great teacher. This country didnt really respond to what was going on in the South, although it was well known, until the sheriff in Birmingham turned the water hoses and the dogs on those young people who were demonstrating there. We knew about it. We heard about it. We were aware of it, but we didnt see it. We couldnt escape it once we saw it. As we filmed in Rosedale, a group of blacks from South Jamaica was coming through the neighborhood in a demonstration of support. Every time a group of blacks get together, they want to help Rosedale with their problems. We dont need any outsiders helping us with our problems, and well stay white, period. Crowd: Right on. Right on. All right, so guys, this next scene is very disturbing, all right? Its the one I was telling you about yesterday. I started a sociology elective in 2004-2005 school year, and my supervisor at the time said, Come up with something thats close to home that maybe you can relate to today. I grew up in Rosedale.  and think that I have a right  And I said, I want to do a unit on race in America. And that Rosedale video, weve been showing it for 15 years now, giving it to the kids and say, What do you think? Ive never seen racism on camera. That was full-on racism and just bullying. Crowd: Equal rights for whites. Equal rights for whites. Im glad that I saw it because it needs to be seen. I feel like everyone should see this. I think its come back up because of the fact that were going back kind of. Racism is still alive. Its still poisoning other minds. This is how it was back then. Lets not repeat it again. Emotionally, I think its connecting with kids more today. This generation is that I Generation. They can see it in a 10-second span, make a connection to it. Cant take back no hurt. The kids are never going to forget that. They cant unsee it, and its going to be with them forever. Rosedale, its turned predominately black now, so were welcomed there now. That day, the American flag was the image, the symbol that pulled us into that situation. We live in America. The American flag means good things. It means that we can go where we want to go. We can ride our bike down any street in America. But it really represented a symbol of do not enter. So they took that beautiful image and turned it into something ugly for me, and I want the flag back.
The debate among black people in America over how they should be described has often centered on identity as a political statement.

In her 1904 essay Do We Need Another Name? Fannie Barrier Williams, an educator and activist, described a lively discussion unfolding at the time among African-American scholars over whether to shed the label Negro in favor of terms like colored or Afro-American. Colored, she wrote, was a name that is suggestive of progress toward respectful recognition.

At the heart of the discussion, she wrote, was whether African-Americans needed a new label divorced from Negro and its connections to slavery, something of a fresh start that indicated their new place in society as free people.

Some, like W.E.B. Du Bois, favored keeping the term Negro and transforming it into something positive  an affirmation of their perseverance as a people and their freedom.

There are so many Negroes who are not Negroes, so many colored people who are not colored, and so many Afro-Americans who are not Africans that it is simply impossible even to coin a term that will precisely designate and connote all the people who are now included under any one of the terms mentioned, Barrier Williams wrote.

Negro became the predominant identifier of people of African descent for much of the first half of the 20th century, and even then descendants of enslaved people from Africa waged a yearslong campaign before getting most of society, including The Times, to capitalize it.

With the rise of the Black Power movement in the mid-1960s, the word black, once seen as an insult for many African-Americans, started winning embrace. In just a few years, it became the predominant descriptor of black people as Negro became obsolete. Mr. Jacksons campaign brought African-American into popular use in the late 1980s, and it is now often used interchangeably with black.
One thousand nurses and support staff at HCA Healthcare are set to strike today at the Riverside Community Hospital in California over concessions the hospital chain is demanding from frontline health care workers as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the US. HCA Healthcare is the largest for-profit hospital chain in the US.

Kaiser Health News reports that the nurses and support staff at HCA Healthcare, who are members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 121RN, are striking against the imposition of pay cuts and to seek an end to chronically low staffing. They are also demanding sufficient quantities of quality personal protective equipment (PPE) to enable nurses, physicians and medical staff to safely administer to patients.

Erin McIntosh, a nurse in the code blue/rapid response department at the hospital, which is located 60 miles east of Los Angeles, told the Guardian, HCA has continuously not upheld their end of the mediation agreement of our nurses staying in ratio. [The agreement was made in March 2019.] Were striking June 26 through July 6 because they didnt want to uphold our mediation agreement.

The nurses militant mood is in response to the massive assault on health care workers during the course of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, which has put their lives and well-being in danger as they fight to save the lives of the hundreds of thousands of infected people overwhelming hospitals.

According to the Guardian, more than 679 frontline health care workers have been identified who have died of COVID-19 in the US. Shamefully, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), due to reporting delays and archaic systems for reporting deaths, cannot account for all the health care workers that have died. The best estimate has more than 84,000 health care personnel infected, accounting for 3.5 percent of all infected individuals in the US.

Since the pandemic took off in the US, medical personnel at 19 of HCAs hospitals have filed complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for having to reuse gowns and not being issued adequate respirators (such as N-95 masks). Despite frequent and fervent denials by HCA administrators and legal representatives, the deaths of two employeesCelia Yap-Banago, a nurse at an HCA Kansas City Hospital, and Rosa Luna, who cleaned patient rooms at the Riverside facilityhave tragically confirmed the lack of sufficient protective gear.

HCA only added more salt to these wounds by warning that the company would let go 10 percent of the unionized workforce if they didnt agree to wage freezes and elimination of contributions to the nurses retirement plans. This quickly led to an eruption of protests in late May at 15 HCA facilities across six states to bring attention to threats to impose cuts to hours and reassignments of nursing positions, which will result in higher patient loads for the nursing staff.

HCA Healthcare, one of the wealthiest gargantuan hospital systems, is an American-based for-profit health care corporation that owns 186 hospitals across 21 US states and the United Kingdom. Its 2019 revenue amounted to $51.3 billion. It paid its CEO $26 million in 2019 and has made more than $7 billion in profits over the last two years.

The company has been at the center of several lawsuits and scandals throughout its history. Notably, in 1997, the federal government raided the medical offices of Columbia/HCA in Texas near El Paso after a year of investigation. The case was settled three years later with HCA agreeing to pay $745 million to resolve several Medicare fraud allegations. In 2002, HCA agreed to pay $648.5 million to settle final charges in the long-running federal investigation that saw HCA have to pay $1.7 billion, the largest health fraud settlement in history at the time.

HCA Healthcare was also the beneficiary of approximately $1 billion in bailout funds donated to the health care conglomerate through public funds provided by Congress under the CARES Act stimulus package. According to the New York Times, 20 large health care systems received more than $5 billion in federal grants while these institutions sit on more than $100 billion in cold cash to be used to weather financial storms.

According to a study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, those health care systems that serve wealthier clients, who are privately insured, received twice the amount in federal grants than hospitals treating the uninsured or Medicaid patients.

HCA executives anticipating a strike in May, created a new line of business focused on staffing strike-related labor shortages, according to an email an HCA recruiter sent to the nurses obtained by the Times. Apparently, any nurse who would walk across the picket line would receive more than they did in their present job, possibly up to $980 per shift to include a $150 show up bonus and a small breakfast.

Nurses have continually pointed out that the hospital chain is using the pandemic and losses of company revenue as a pretext for cutting costs and further enriching its coffers. HCA has received $700 million in bailout funds from the federal government and has amassed another $4 billion in Medicare loans. Over the past decade, HCA has accumulated more than $25 billion in profits.

While the growing opposition of nurses against HCA Healthcare is a welcome development, they cannot take forward their struggle if their fight remains in the hands of the SEIU and NNU. Both unions are aligned with the corporate-controlled Democratic Party and have repeatedly betrayed the struggles of nurses and other health care workers. Just last week, SEIU Local 1000 accepted an 11 percent pay cut demanded by California Governor Gavin Newsom for 96,000 nurses, custodians and administrators employed by the state government.

If the SEIU is forced to call the strike, it will do everything to isolate the struggle and in the end it will accept managements terms. Instead, workers should take the struggle into their own hands, by forming rank-and-file committees to demand full protective gear and equipment to combat the pandemic, full compensation to all staff, and no furloughing of workers. This must be combined with a political offensive by the whole working class to replace capitalist medicine with a socialized system of medicine based on human needs, not corporate profits.
Following reports of a hunger strike among almost 1,500 crew members over unpaid wages, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) sent investigators onto six cruise ships still moored in British waters as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The MCA detained five of the ships on Saturday for numerous breaches of the Maritime Labour Convention, including expired contracts, late payment of wages, and retention of crew on board for more than the 11-month legal limit.

Cruise & Maritime Voyages cruise ship Vasco da Gama (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

The six ships are owned by Global Cruise Lines Limited, and are operated by British-based Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV). Five ships, the Astoria, the Astor, the Columbus, the Vasco de Gama, and the Magellan, have been docked in CMVs home port of Tilbury, Essex, since the onset of the pandemic. The sixth ship, the Marco Polo, is in Avonmouth docks in Bristol.

Significant breaches of regulations were found on all ships apart from the Magellan. The MCA have announced that the five ships will be detained until the breaches are resolved.

The matter came to public attention because of protests by CMV crews, who are among the many cruise ship employees who have been left stranded at sea with no clear indication of when they will be able to return home.

Indian seafarers have been particularly affected because of the hasty and ill-planned lockdown imposed by the Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There have been repeated complaints that attempts to organise return flights receive no response from the Indian authorities.

Following recent action by crew members of the Marella Explorer, who have now been repatriated, the Astorias 164 Indian crew members recently protested and issued a video demanding assistance with their return. They expressed their feelings with banners reading, Enough is enough, and FrustratedWhat next? Suicide??

There are believed to be crew from Indonesia and Myanmar on board, some of whom were to be flown back on Sunday. European crew members have already been able to return home. There were unconfirmed reports that some crew members had gone on hunger strike. The owners denied this but did admit that 50 crew members had gone on strike and were no longer performing routine maintenance work on board.

The Astoria sailed from Mexico in mid-February, arriving in British waters on March 10. With passengers disembarked it sailed from Poole and arrived in Tilbury March 15. The Marco Polo arrived in Bristol the following week. They have been there ever since.

Under these conditions there are increasing concerns for the mental and physical health of cruise ship crews. One member of the Astorias crew has already died from natural causes, believed to be a heart attack. Globally there have been numerous suicides reported among crew members stranded at sea.

Governmental and corporate responses have focused on what the International Maritime Organization has called an impending humanitarian crisis. So atrocious are the conditions facing the moored crews that Conservative Transport Secretary Grant Shappswho authorised the MCA investigations and who is no friend of the working classfelt obliged to describe seafarers welfare as of the utmost importance.

CMV, having been forced to issue an apology for the situation, sought to shift the blame elsewhere. Chief executive Christian Verhounig said he hoped the public attention had raised awareness of the plight of our crew with the various embassies and that they would now assist with repatriation flights. He has described the crews as understandably anxious and distressed.

Verhounig blamed the problems on governmental responses, saying, We fully sympathise with and understand our crews frustration and upset at being held under quarantine conditions onboard our ships due to the local restrictions imposed.

Given the negligence and disregard of the Indian authorities, there is some truth in this. Several repatriation flights organised by Marella for their Indian crew members, for example, were cancelled at short notice, apparently because the government paperwork was incomplete. It is not the whole story, however.

CMV confirmed that wages had been paid late the week before the investigation, but this had already been corrected. The companys position is that the issues relating to expired crew contracts and crew being onboard in excess of 12 months  occurred as a result of the enforced lockdown period and the COVID-19 travel restrictions for some countries.

That the same conditions existed on the Magellan, which was not detained but given 14 days to correct them, indicates something more systemic. The Astoria had in fact been due to sail to Portugal for a refit, but the voyage was prevented by the detention.

CMV, like many other tourist companies, has been hit hard by the pandemic. In the week before the MCA inspection the company had gone into emergency talks with lenders and potential investors after the collapse of discussions around a potential rescue deal.

Private equity firm Novalpina Capital had been trying to structure a new deal with CMVs existing creditors, but this fell through when Barclays decided not to offer CMV a 25 million loan backed by the governments Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

CMV had already borrowed 60 million from the Australian bank Macquarie in February. It is not known who else is in discussion with the company. Sky News reports that it is unclear what contingency planning exists if funding is not secured.

The trade unions have been doing their utmost to support the companies, with International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) President Paddy Crumlin saying, We have worked with industry and the international community to offer solutions.

Now, when seafarers are increasingly at breaking point, the ITF and its local affiliates are moving to regulate the explosive tensions. Last week, the ITF announced that it would sanction strike action by its members. This is being used as leverage to get national governments to arrange repatriation efforts, with Crumlin and ITF General Secretary Steve Cotton both declaring enough is enough.

Accordingly, the All India Seafarers and General Workers Union has been active in writing to the Indian foreign office demanding efforts to repatriate the Astoria crew.

While everything must be done to ensure that the intolerable situation facing the crews is ended, cruise ship workers cannot place any faith in the governments of their home countries, nor in the corporations employing them.

International seafarers must form independent rank-and-file committees across all ships and fleets to coordinate the widest possible action in defence of workers rights to repatriation, safe and healthy quarantine measures at no cost to the employees, and financial compensation for lost wages due to the pandemic. These committees must act in conjunction with similar organs of struggle in all countries and industries in the fight for a global socialist economy.
How did we end up here again? One month ago, George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. Both senseless deaths prompted protests in Kansas City that turned violent, forcing us to confront the impact of race in our society.
Artificial intelligence will help scientists search for signs of ancient life on Mars and other planets thanks to work by NASA scientists in training the system.

The European Space Agency (ESA) Rosalind Franklin 'ExoMars' rover will be the first to have the new AI system when it leaves for the Red Planet in 2022/2023.

Allowing these intelligent systems to choose both what to analyse and what to tell us back on Earth will overcome severe limits on how information is transmitted over huge distances in the search for life from distant planets.

The system is being tested on Mars but has been designed to be used in future missions to the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn where distance is more of an issue.

The European Space Agency (ESA) Rosalind Franklin 'ExoMars' rover will be the first to have the new AI system when it leaves for the Red Planet in 2022/2023

Presenting the work at the Goldschmidt Geochemistry conference, lead researcher Victoria Da Poian from NASA said this was a 'visionary step in space exploration'.

Giving AI the ability to decide where and when to search for signs of life means the 'most pressing information' will be sent back to Earth saving time and resources.

'It means that over time we'll have moved from the idea that humans are involved with nearly everything in space, to the idea that computers are equipped with intelligent systems,' said Da Poian.

These computers 'are trained to make some decisions and are able to transmit in priority the most interesting or time-critical information'.

Eric Lyness, software lead in the Planetary Environments Lab at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, said smart instruments were essential for planetary exploration.

The system is being tested on Mars but has been designed to be used in future missions to the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn where distance is more of an issue

'It costs a lot of time and money to send the data back to Earth which means scientists can't run as many experiments or analyse as many samples,' said Lyness.

'By using AI to do an initial analysis of the data after it is collected but before it is sent back to Earth, NASA can optimise what we receive, which greatly increases the scientific value of space missions.'

Da Poian and Lyness have been working to train artificial intelligence systems to analyse hundreds of rock samples and thousands of other data points.

These points of information come from the Mars Organic Molecule Analyser (MOMA), an instrument that will land on Mars within the European Space Agency ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover in 2023.

MOMA is a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer-based instrument, capable of analysing and identifying organic molecules in rocks samples.

It will search for past or present life on the Martian surface and subsurface through analysis of those samples - selected for study by the AI system.

The ExoMars rover will still transmit most data back to Earth, but later systems for the outer solar system will be given autonomy to decide what information to return.

First results show that when the system's neural network algorithm processes a spectrum from an unknown compound, this can be categorised with up to 94 per cent accuracy and matched to previously seen samples with 87 per cent accuracy.

This will be further refined until being incorporated into the 2022/2023 mission.

Victoria Da Poian said these uncrewed missions involve a lot of data and sending data over hundreds of millions of miles can be challenging and expensive.

'We need to prioritize the volume of data we send back to Earth, but we also need to ensure that in doing that we don't throw out vital information,' she said.

'This has led us to begin to develop smart algorithms which can for now help the scientists with their analysis of the sample and their decision-making process regarding subsequent operations.'

Sending raw data back from missions to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, including Enceladus (pictured) will take five to seven hours so the amount of data sent needs to be controlled

'As a longer-term objective, algorithms that will analyse the data itself, will adjust and tune the instruments to run next operations without the ground-in-the-loop, and will transmit home only the most interesting data.'

The team used the raw data from initial laboratory tests with an Earth-based MOMA instrument to train computers to recognise familiar patterns.

When new raw data is received, the software tells the scientists what previously encountered samples match this new data.

"When we will be operating on Mars, samples will only remain in the rover for at most a few weeks before the rover dumps them,' said Lyness.

'So, if we need to retest a sample, we need to do it quickly, sometimes within 24 hours,' he added, saying time will be even more pressing for more distant missions.

'In the future, as we move to explore the moons of Jupiter such as Europa, and of Saturn such as Enceladus and Titan, we will need real-time decisions.'

With the icy moons of the gas giants it can take five to seven hours for a signal from Earth to reach the instruments, so this will not be like controlling a drone.

'We need to give the instruments the autonomy to make rapid decisions to reach our science goals on our behalf,' said Lyness.

The data coming in from MOMA won't shout 'I've found life', it will need to be analysed by scientists - but it will have been filtered so will be more focused than data coming in from previous missions to Mars and elsewhere.

In the future, as NASA moves to explore the moons of Jupiter such as Europa (pictured), and of Saturn such as Enceladus and Titan, they will need real-time decisions from instruments on board the spacecrafts sent to do the work

The results will largely tell us about the geochemistry that the instruments find but it will give scientists directions such as 'I've got 91 per cent confidence that this sample corresponds to a real world sample'.

The researchers note that data is expensive to send back from Mars, and gets more expensive as landers get further from Earth.

"Data from a rover on Mars can cost as much as 100,000 times as much as data on your cell phone, so we need to make those bits as scientifically valuable as possible." said Lyness.

Dr Joel Davis, a postdoctoral researcher in planetary geology at the Natural History Museum, London said data was one of the biggest challenges in these missions.

'On Mars, the travel time delay is around 20 minutes and this gets more the further you go out in the solar system,' he said.

'These results certainly seem promising; having greater autonomy onboard spacecraft is one way of ensuring the usefulness of the data returned.'

ExoMars is a joint European-Russian, project that was due to launch for Mars this summer but was delayed until 2022/2023 due to coronavirus.

One of the central mission goals is to search for traces of past and present life.

A key instrument in achieving this goal is the Mars Organic Molecule Analyser (MOMA), which is a joint German-French-American investigation led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Gottingen.

The newly trained AI system will be incorporated into this instrument and if successful will be used in future missions to the gas giant moons.
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Linkedin Eisya A. Eloksari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 14:19 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661e7f84 1 Business East-Ventures,venture-capital,start-up,pandemic,COVID-19,coronavirus,technology,innovation Free

Southeast Asias most active early-stage investment firm East Ventures announced the first closure of its latest seed fund designed for Southeast Asian technology start-ups in the post-COVID-19 era.

The firms cofounder and managing partner Willson Cuaca said the pandemic had provided clarity for start-up founders in formulating new solutions through technology for post-pandemic problems.

We remain optimistic about the future of Southeast Asias digital economy and we are particularly bullish on the Indonesian market, he said in a media release on Thursday.

The new fund would be East Ventures eighth technology funding vehicle, Willson said, adding that the firm aimed to raise US$88 million in capital to be deployed to early-stage tech start-ups in various sectors.

Read also: Indonesia retains its position as SE Asias second-largest venture capital market

The fund is being raised from institutional investors, global funds and family offices along with venture firms Pavilion Capital and Adams Street Partners.

We are pleased to be committing to the new East Ventures fund. We are impressed with their track record and local market reputation. We hope that they will continue to generate strong returns, said Adams Street partner Sunil Mishra.

Aside from preparing for new funding, East Ventures said it was helping its existing portfolio amid the pandemic.

We realized that most of our CEOs had never been in a crisis before. That is why we are doing health checks with our portfolio companies, Willson said. Instead of immediately advising on tactical business plans, we first try to help founders understand the crisis and how severely it is impacting their company.

East Ventures, which was an early backer of Indonesian unicorns Tokopedia and Traveloka, reported that two out of four of its funds had returned beyond the amount of capital invested by limited partners. (eyc)
(Newser)  Pakistan's prime minister said Thursday that the United States "martyred" al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a term that reflected a subtle stab at Washington as it's mainly used for honorable figures slain in battle. Imran Khan delivered the stab in a rambling budget speech in parliament, attacking his predecessors' foreign policies and saying that Pakistans partnership with the United States in the war on terror was a mistake, the AP reports. Khan also said Washington used abusive language against Pakistan, blamed Islamabad for its failures in neighboring Afghanistanand refused to tell Islamabad of its operation against bin Laden in 2011 before Navy SEALs carried out their nighttime raid.

story continues below

"We sided with the US in the war on terror but they came here and killed him, martyred him and ... did not inform us (of the raid), despite the fact that we lost 70,000 people in war on terror," Khan told parliament. Washington has repeatedly accused Pakistan of harboring the Afghan Taliban and giving safe haven to the feared Haqqani network, a Taliban affiliate that has been blamed for some major attacks in Afghanistan. Pakistan denied the accusations, saying Washington was blaming Pakistan for the failure of the US-led coalition to defeat the Taliban, who are now at their strongest since being toppled in 2001. "The way we supported America in the war on terror, and the insults we had to face in return ... They blamed us for every failure in Afghanistan. They openly held us responsible because they did not succeed in Afghanistan," Khan said.

(Read more Pakistan stories.)
by Sumon Corraya

Thousands of women have been forced by the economic crisis to quit their jobs in the city and go home and work in the farm. Many are ethnic Garo Christians.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Santa Rema is a beautician who used to work in Dhaka. Two months ago, she returned to Jalchatra parish, in Tangail.

I worked at a well-known beauty salon in Dhaka, the 30-year-old Catholic woman said. In March, I lost my job and went home to Jalchatra. Now I work on a farm as a day labourer."

She says she used to work with air conditioning in the beauty salon, but now she works in the open air in the rain and sun. For her, it is difficult to work.

Nipa Sangma is also a beautician with a story to tell. To change life, she and her three brothers worked at several beauty salons in Dhaka, but after the coronavirus pandemic began, they were all out of work. They returned to the village of Jalchatra and are now working in the fields to survive.

To change our fortune, we learnt to work in a beauty parlour, which is now closed due to the coronavirus, she explained. That's why we couldnt stay there. To survive, we are working in the fields. Now she wants the government to help until the coronavirus crisis is over.

These stories are not just about Nipa and Santa, but about thousands of women. Protap Rema, who heads the Nokmandi Community Centre, a Garo rights group, explains that after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Garos have found themselves in inhuman conditions.

He is worried by unemployment in the Garo community. Of the 30,000 Garo Christians live in Dhaka, 90 per cent are unemployed. To survive, many have had to return home to their village.

As far as I know, in the city of Dhaka, more than 4,000 Christian Garo women were employed in beauty salons, he noted. In addition to supporting their family in Dhaka, they also sent money to the village, but are now out of work. Many beauticians are returning to the village because they cannot bear the costs of living in Dhaka.

However, since many Garo children study in Dhaka, their parents cannot go home so as not to affect their childrens education. Beauticians are having a very difficult time.

Protap Rema says that there are about 110 beauty salon owners in Dhaka who are in a bad situation, because all beauty salons are closed and without revenue. He noted that the famous Persona beauty salon chain employs 2,500 Garo women.

According to Varitia Parishad, president of the Baharan Sultan Bahar organisation, some 50,000 people left their rented dwellings in Dhaka during the coronavirus pandemic.

Many others have stayed in Dhaka with family, but, because of lower revenues, others are sending family members back to the villages. Jubair Ahamad, a street food vendor, is one of them.

"I sent my wife and two children back to the village of Natore, he explained. I left the house I rented because my income dropped by 50 per cent. I couldn't have survived if I hadn't sent my family to the village. Now Jubair is staying at a cheap mens hostel.
New Jerseys stopgap budget cleared its first hurdle Thursday, as lawmakers lamented painful cutsand an abbreviated public airing of the Democrats plan to fund state government in July, August and September.

The Assembly Budget Committee approved the bill 8-4 Thursday afternoon. The Senates budget committee is scheduled to take up the bill Friday, and it could head to the full Senate and Assembly as early as Monday.
A former Ohio State University student health director acknowledged he knew of a doctors practice of conducting a genital exam on every patient he saw, according to an updated lawsuit against the university over the doctors abuse.

Ted Grace confirmed in a deposition that such behavior was unusual and not meant for ailments like a bloody nose, according to the updated lawsuit unsealed this week.

The lawsuit also alleges that several Ohio State medical staff believed the university placed team doctor Richard Strauss above accountability.

Hundreds of former students allege decades-old sexual abuse and mistreatment by Strauss. The men cant confront Strauss, who died in 2005. No one has publicly defended him. The updated lawsuit includes allegations by 14 additional victims.

Ohio State said in May it will pay about $41 million to settle a dozen lawsuits by 162 men. Multiple other lawsuits are still pending.

Grace, who now has a similar role at Southern Illinois University, has declined to comment. He told The Southern Illinoisan last year he did his best in a difficult situation and is the only one who did anything at all.

In response, Ohio State repeated a message it has delivered for months, saying through spokesman Chris Davey: We express our deep regret and apologies to all who experienced Strauss abuse.

Many of the allegations in recent court filings were covered by a report commissioned by the university and released last year, Davey said.

Ohio State is a fundamentally different university today and over the past 20 years, has committed substantial resources to prevent and address sexual misconduct, Davey said.

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Topics Lawsuits Ohio Education Universities
The first orbital space flight from UK soil is a step closer after the first spaceport - Space Hub Sutherland - was given planning approval by the Highland Council.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) plans to build the 17.9 million satellite launch site on peatland on the Moine Peninsula near Tongue in the Scottish Highlands.

Orbex, the UK-based space launch company, has confirmed that its rocket will be the first vertical launch vehicle to fly into orbit from the new space hub.

There were more than 400 objections to the plans from people living in the area, with many focusing on the environmental risk to the peatland it will sit on.

A HIE spokesperson said they had carried out surveys to ensure they mitigate any potential impacts from launches to the peat and will ensure any damage is repaired.

Notional image of the UK's first commercial spaceport at the Sutherland Site in Melness, Scotland, which will conduct the UK's first vertical, orbital rocket launch in the early 2020s

Orbex, the UK-based space launch company, has confirmed that its rocket will be the first vertical launch vehicle to fly into orbit from the new space hub

There were a number of conditions imposed on the space launch hub including limiting launches to 12 per year.

They haven't announced a specific date for the first launch but it is hoped this will happen in the next few years, according to HIE.

It is expected the space hub will cost at least 17.3 million with money coming from HIE, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the UK Space Agency.

Satellites launched from the site will be used for Earth observation, including gathering data to monitor and address the effects of climate change.

A HIE spokesperson said they had carried out surveys to ensure they mitigate any potential impacts from launches to the peat and will ensure any damage is repaired.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) plans to build the satellite launch site on peatland on the Moine Peninsula near Tongue in the Scottish highlands

Developers HIE say they expect the new site to create hundreds of new jobs in the local area for people working to support the new space launch industry.

Orbex are one of a number of companies hoping to launch from the UK and they said they had already signed six launch contracts with various firms.

'The Highland Council's approval of the spaceport is a landmark in the history of spaceflight in Europe,' said Chris Larmour, CEO of Orbex.

He said it would place the community around the port, Scotland and the United Kingdom at the very heart of the European space launch industry.

'We look forward to becoming an integral part of the local community as we establish our own permanent team at the Space Hub.'

It comes as the UK signed an agreement with the US government that would allow American rocket manufacturers and launch firms such as SpaceX, Virgin Orbit and others to bring their vehicles to the UK and launch from here.

Government officials hope to have the first launches from British soil within the decade and some companies like Skyrora are planning to launch as early as 2021.

The go-ahead for Space Hub Sutherland coincides with a period of intensive work within Orbex, who are one of the UK leaders in space launch vehicles.

The firms coaxial fuel tank is being subjected to ongoing cryogenic testing, and the company recently signed a lease to install a new testing facility on the former RAF base at Kinloss, close to the company's headquarters in Forres.

Conceived and developed as an environmentally sustainable launch system, Orbex Prime is expected to be the first to launch from the new port.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) plans to build the 17.9 million satellite launch site on peatland on the Moine Peninsula near Tongue in the Scottish Highlands

It comes as the UK signed an agreement with the US government that would allow American rocket manufacturers and launch firms such as SpaceX, Virgin Orbit and others to bring their vehicles to the UK and launch from here

Government officials hope to have the first launches from British soil within the decade and some companies like Skyrora are planning to launch from the UK early as 2021

It makes use of renewable biofuels to deliver an industry-leading ultra-low CO2 footprint, according to the company.

The Orbex vehicle is intended to be recoverable and re-usable, normally leaving no debris in the ocean or in orbit around the Earth.

BRITAIN'S FIRST SPACEPORT WILL SUPPORT 12 ORBITAL LAUNCHES PER YEAR The UK Space Agency has selected Sutherland, on Scotland's north coast, as the site for Britain's first spaceport. The site is being developed by US aerospace and defence behemoth Lockheed Martin. It will launch satellites and rockets into space as early as this year. The port will boost Scotland's already burgeoning satellite industry. Outside of the US, Scotland produces more satellites than any country. It is hoped the UK will launch an estimated 2,000 satellites by 2030. The Sutherland project is under pressure from similar bids in Scandinavia. The first Northern European site to offer commercial launches is set to hold a stake in the global space industry worth billions. Advertisement

'The go-ahead for the Space Hub Sutherland, combined with the steady progress of the Orbex Prime launch vehicle, are important steps towards the first truly orbital space flight from the UK,' said Larmour.

'The last piece of the jigsaw puzzle is the regulatory framework that will govern launches, and we look forward to those regulations being laid before Parliament in the coming weeks.'

Lockheed Martin, the US aerospace giant, has also expressed interest in launching from the Scottish spaceport at Sutherland.

If this all goes to plan there could be a number of spaceports across the UK including Shetland, Western Isles, Glasgow, Campbeltown and Snowdonia.

Each location could have its own dedicated launch vehicle partner - in the case of Sutherland that partner is Orbex, but others could launch from there.

David Oxley, director of business growth with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, welcomed today's planning committee's decision.

'Gaining planning approval from the council is a huge step forward for Space Hub Sutherland,' he said.

'A vertical launch spaceport is a key piece of the national jigsaw, along with the design and manufacture of satellites and launch vehicles, that will ensure Scotland can derive maximum economic benefits from this growing and exciting sector.'

'Part of our ambition is to create the world's most low-carbon space centre and the conditions applied to the planning approval will help us make that a reality,' he said.

'When all these factors are put together, that makes today's decision a good result not just for the economy, but for the environment as well.'

A UK government spokesperson said this was a significant milestone for the space port and another step towards putting the UK on the map as a launch location.

'Scotland is already a global hub for satellite manufacturing and the addition of commercial launch from the Highlands will bring new jobs and economic growth to local communities,' the spokesperson said.
It's been three months since Midland Center for the Arts ceased performances in its theaters. Since this time, the Center has anxiously anticipated a day when they could bring people together again to enjoy one another's company while celebrating the creativity of live performing arts experiences.

"We are thrilled that this day is finally here as we enjoy the beautiful Michigan summer and our first outdoor concert featuring Michigan's very own Joshua Davis," said Terri Trotter, president & CEO.

The outdoor concert event set for July 18 will be the first in-person event since March due to the international pandemic. "Although we're not gathering in our facility, we're excited to bring friends and neighbors together in a relaxed outdoor environment, following the health department's safety guidelines, and welcome a fellow Michigander to the stage."

Davis is a Detroit native and 2002 graduate of Michigan State University. A Michigan favorite for more than a decade, he rose to superstardom when he competed on NBC's "The Voice" in 2015. He instantly captivated audiences with his soothing voice and performances of hit songs like "Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes" and "Fields of Gold." His authenticity plucks all of the right heart strings which kept fans voting him back to the show week after week, leading him to a third-place finish.

Being the first concert event for the Center since the start of COVID-19, the organization is taking extra precautions to ensure the health and safety of all attendees, including a maximum capacity of 500 people at the event, socially distanced seating in marked areas around the stage to accommodate groups of up to eight, and a vehicle-only designated area for people who prefer to stay in their car during the concert.

Masks are strongly encouraged at all times and will be required in common areas, including concession lines, restrooms, walking to and from your vehicle, walking to and from the designated seating area, and when entering the concert. Though not required at your personally provided seat during the concert, masks are highly encouraged for the safety and comfort of fellow attendees.

Davis will bring a set list of fun summer hits for the July 18 event, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Midland County Fairgrounds. All guests should bring their own seat for the event, with chairs and blankets allowed on the large grass-covered surface at the fairgrounds. Tickets are on sale now, $20 per person until July 10 and $25 per person after. For more information on the event and a full list of safety precautions and frequently asked questions, please visit Midland Center's website at midlandcenter.org/Joshua-Davis.

- Processed by Lori Qualls, lqualls@mdn.net
Several students pursuing studies in the Division of Arts, Science and General Studies (DASGS) of the SVG Community College, have been informed that they would have to redo a certain component of Communication Studies course.

Reports reaching THE VINCENTIAN indicate that at least one group of CAPE Communication Studies students at the SVG Community College, has been caught in the crossfire, as one lecturer and her employers (the SVGCC) attempt to settle a wage dispute that has been brewing for some months.





Several of those pursuing studies in the Division of Arts, Science and General Studies (DASGS) reached out last Saturday and Sunday to relate their growing angst after being told, via email, that all the work theyd put in to date and the grades awarded would be invalidated through no fault of their own.





One Comm. Studies student estimated some "40 plus of his colleagues "are being forced to redo an oral presentation on such short notice because the College hasnt made any arrangements with the teacher to collect the students grades for the work done this semester (i.e. the School Based Assessment).





The oral presentation carries 20 percent of the total score awarded.





One student who reached out said, "The students are fuming and frustrated. Theyre also saying that its unfair that only these students have to redo the oral presentation.





Oral tests were expected to be held beginning Monday, June 22.





One other student summed up the situation saying that the teacher concerned had said that the College had failed to make arrangements to obtain the grades from her.





Difficulty getting grades from lecturer





An email sent to the students by the College admitted that there was difficulty obtaining the grades from the teacher.





Several students were prompted to email College officials in search of the motives behind the abrupt pronouncement regarding their grades.





One young lady reported that she submitted her queries to the Administrative Offices email address. Up to publishing time, she did not receive a reply.





She was moved to comment, "They are being unfair and putting their students through a lot of stress. They are not accepting the grades from our Communication [Studies] speech and making us redo it . there is no need for a redo they did not give enough time to prepare for a redo, and most students have to make their speech from scratch now because this speech was done in March.





She bemoaned further, " my teacher said she can send the grades in to the College very easily, but for some reason the school is not taking them. Also the school told us there is a situation, but cant tell us why we have to redo it.





At 8:45 p.m. on Sunday, June 21, another message  this time sent, supposedly, by the Villa Campus Administrative staff  announced that the scheduled oral presentations that should have run from until Wednesday June 24, 2020 "has been postponed until further notice.





No official explanations as to what caused the College to change course were expressed. However unconfirmed reports are that several concerned parents petitioned College officials and occasioned the eleventh hour intercession.





Attempts to engage Director Nigel Scott and DAGS Dean Maxwell Fergus are, as yet, futile since neither functionary sought to entertain ANNs multiple queries.





Since the reprieve was granted, the affected students are breathing easier and are refocusing their energies on exam prep, even though the missing grades issue is still left largely unresolved as the teacher concerned seeks adequate redress.




Million Dollar Listing New York viewers watched a young, ambitious real estate broker from Sweden transform from being all business to finding love and becoming a father.

Fredrik Eklund attends the Cast Of Million Dollar Listing | Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Fredrik Eklunds unconventional and often entertaining approach to luxury real estate captivated viewers. But he truly commanded their attention when he found love with Derek Kaplan. Eklund wrestled at the beginning of the relationship as he struggled to balance the cutthroat world of luxury Manhattan real estate with a full-time relationship.

Eventually, love won. And while Eklund continues to be a shark in the real estate world, viewers have watched him soften, even opting for family time over business on several occasions. He recently celebrated the 10-year journey he and Kaplan are on and the challenges they faced along the way.

The couple met in Greece

Eklund recounts in an Instagram post where the couple met and how much theyve grown.

When I knocked on your shoulder summer of 2010 in Mykonos we were so young, you were an aspiring artist living in London with a car company, like an Uber before Uber, and I was an up-and-coming real estate agent in NY with what some might say too big dreams. During our first night together  the very initial contract from Bravo came in via fax at the hotel and I tried to explain to you why I was excited about it, he recalled.

RELATED: Million Dollar Listing: Could Fredrik Eklund Be Moving to Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles?

We married as soon as it became legal in the State of New York. But you could still not stay, because gay marriage wasnt legal on a federal level. We tried to be understanding of the change happening while giving respects to the previous generations fighting for this basic right. Every three weeks you had to leave back to the UK. Ill never forget when our marriage was accepted by everyone in the US, that June when people were dancing on the streets of New York, it was actually the same week as our wedding episode aired. And you could come home permanently.

10 years and two beautiful children later

Viewers recall that not only did Eklund and Kaplan struggle to get married, but they also had many heartbreaks when it came to becoming parents. The couples surrogate had a miscarriage after Eklund celebrated the pregnancy. He became extremely depressed. But soon after, a surrogate gave birth to their twins, which Eklund often features on his Instagram.

It might feel long ago today, but I look at our kids and I can see all the struggles back then in a good way, he continued in his post. You had Kai who I instantly loved and I wanted kids of our own too and told you about the dreams of this little girl I called Milla as long as I could remember. But then when our surrogate Misty became pregnant with twins I started seeing visions of a little boy and girl holding hands in the distance  she was going to have a brother!

RELATED: Million Dollar Listing: Fredrik Eklund Is Thankful His Twins Turned 2

He added, 10 years later you are my Big D, my sex on legs, my best friend and my daddy angel. We traveled the world together, literally, and spiritually. Kids, dogs, nannies, our Monkey, big families, careers, Stockholm, London, New York and now Los Angeles. You are always so kind, so helpful, so generous, even when you are overwhelmed which is easy with me. You always take the time to listen and never, ever judge. Im so incredibly thankful that you picked me  you could have had anyone. Love you  #pridemonth.
A federal judge on Friday ruled that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo violated the Constitution by restricting religious services to stem the spread of the coronavirus while simultaneously condoning mass protests that took place across the state.

U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe granted a preliminary injunction blocking New York from enforcing its stringent coronavirus restrictions on religious services. The states current restrictions require houses of worship to operate at 25 percent capacity and later at 33 percent capacity when New York enters Phase Four of its re-opening plan.

De Blasio issued simultaneous pro-protest/anti-religious gathering messages and actively encouraged participation in protests and openly discouraged religious gatherings and threatened religious worshipers, the judge said in his order.

Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio could have just as easily discouraged protests, short of condemning their message, in the name of public health and exercised discretion to suspend enforcement for public safety reasons instead of encouraging what they knew was a flagrant disregard of the outdoor limits and social distancing rules, Sharpe wrote. They could have also been silent. But by acting as they did, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio sent a clear message that mass protests are deserving of preferential treatment.

Two Catholic priests, Steven Soos and Nicholas Stamos, and three Orthodox Jewish congregants in Brooklyn, Elchanan Perr, Daniel Schonborn, and Mayer Mayerfeld, filed a lawsuit against Cuomo and de Blasio earlier this month, alleging that the states response to the coronavirus pandemic violated the constitutional rights of religious New Yorkers. The lawsuit also names state attorney general Letitia James as a defendant.

The lawsuit claims that the governor, mayor, and attorney general violated the First Amendment and due-process rights of the plaintiffs by selectively enforcing pandemic-control measures. Even as mass protests were allowed to take place across the state, people of faith were targeted with threats of criminal prosecution and $1000 fines for violating the restrictions on group gatherings, the suit alleges.

Story continues

Meanwhile, mass protests have occurred across New York as well as the rest of the country in response to the death of George Floyd. In New York City, groups of protesters much larger than ten people  the limit de Blasio set for non-essential gatherings  have not been broken up by law enforcement, the suit notes. Days after de Blasio spoke at a large protest in Brooklyn, a group of Hasidic Jewish children was kicked out of a park in Williamsburg by a police officer for not abiding by the ten-person limit.

My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed, de Blasio wrote in an April tweet. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.

Fridays order blocks New York from enforcing a capacity limit on outdoor religious services and states that houses of worship are now subject to the same 50 percent capacity limit as businesses. Those who attend religious services must still follow the six-foot social distancing requirement, Sharpe said.

Thomas More Society special counsel Christopher Ferrara, who represents the plaintiffs, said the state was conducting an experiment in absolute monarchy and called on the court to block the unconstitutional executive orders and their prejudicial enforcement.

This decision is an important step toward inhibiting the suddenly emerging trend of exercising absolute monarchy on [the] pretext of public health. What this kind of regime really meant in practice is freedom for me, but not for thee, Ferrara said in response to Fridays order.

More from National Review
Dozens of states have adopted Salesforce's new platform designed to help organizations reopen and operate amid the coronavirus pandemic, CEO Marc Benioff told CNBC's Jim Cramer Thursday.

Work.com, which was launched with inspiration from the governor of Rhode Island, is now being used by 35 states in the U.S., Benioff said. The contact tracing platform was launched in early May to help businesses survey workforces and organize employees into shifts in order to improve workplace health as society continues to grapple with the Covid-19 crisis.

"This is a time where every company needs to reassess its relevance to maintain its market share and innovation and right now for Salesforce that's a major focus on Work.com, our new platform that allows companies to reopen safely," Benioff said in a "Mad Money" interview.

Benioff called the platform a "critical technology" because "when people do get sick you have to be able to talk to them" and mitigate the spread of the disease, he added.

Texas, where the number of coronavirus cases is on an alarming rise, is also using Salesforce tracking technology. The Lone Star State was among the first states to reopening their economies from a months-long lockdown intended to slow the spread of the disease.

But Texas, along with several other states, has emerged as a hotspot in the U.S. after seeing record high daily positive tests and growing hospitalizations. Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday announced that he would put the state's reopening plans on pause.

When asked what advice he has for state leaders to combat transmissions, Benioff said safety precautions are the best approach.

"I think Gov. Abbott is, you know, in the middle of his first pandemic, just like I'm in the middle of my first pandemic," Benioff said. "We're doing the contact tracing for the state of Texas. We're helping him build out his network to help his contact tracers find people who have potentially been infected and get them to quarantine. That is an incredibly important part of what is happening. The second thing is we've got to have masks."

Salesforce shares rose 1.50% to $188.34 during Thursday's market trading. The stock is up 15.80% year to date.
Keeping an eye on next years assembly elections, the CPI (M)-led Kerala government has started marketing its Covid-19 success story as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan began an online debate lining up many experts to talk about the issue. The opposition, however, quickly dubbed it as another publicity stunt.

Citing the CMs rising stock the party has given a call to its workers that there will be a continuation of power in the state changing the four-decade-old system of gifting power to the Opposition after every five years. The party feels the management of the pandemic and the states record of lowest mortality, high recovery and least number of cases will fetch it rich political dividends. Its mortality rate is less than one per cent and recovery about 60 per cent.

The party is planning a big campaign citing these records to ensure a second term for Vijayan, said party insiders adding he has turned the crisis into an opportunity with his administrative skills. They say his 6 pm daily press briefing is a big hit but his critics say people view them religiously just to know the daily number of cases and recoveries.

There will be a continuation of power. The state has never seen such able administration. The opposition Congress is quite worried about our popularity that is why it is raising unnecessary allegations. The whole world is praising Kerala but the opposition is trying to sabotage these records, said CPI (M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

Titled Kerala Dialogue the debate, almost on the lines of Congress president Rahul Gandhis interaction with party leaders and workers, will discuss ways to ensure sustainable and inclusive development in the time of the pandemic.

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, political activist Noam Chomsky, World Health Organization scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan and others participated in the debate inaugurated by the CM. The debate will continue on the CMs social media site in the coming days. Experts will discuss fresh challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and how things will shape up after the threat subsides. The government is of the view that the series can throw enough light on the states fight against the contagion and discuss post-pandemic challenges.

The states virus management is appreciated all over the world. Like Vietnam and South Korea, it fought a valiant battle to limit the damage. The state always gave importance to social and decentralized development and the results are there to see. We saw how some of the super powers struggled to contain it, said Amartya Sen. Swaminathan said countries and states which followed the WHO warning and directives were successful in containing the spread.

But the opposition is not amused. This is another publicity stunt. Public relations agencies have a good market in Kerala these days, said opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala. In terms of tests the state is placed at 23rd. The government is celebrating as if it has won the war, said BJP state president K Sudhakaran.

Kerala reported 150 new Covid-19 cases on Friday. For the last eight days, the state has been reporting more than 100 coronavirus cases a day. Out of 3,876 cases, 1846 are active ones and 2,006 patients have recovered. The first state to report the virus in the country-- a China-returned medical student in January-- Kerala has reported 23 deaths so far.
Reacting to reports that some members of the dissolved NWC are unhappy with the development and would seek redress in court, Bagudu said: Media says a lot of things, but Mr President is very clear that he received due legal advice and remember, before the 2019 primaries, Mr President demonstrated to everyone in this country that he will never sacrifice due process for expediency. Even when it was convenient to extend tenure of the then executive so that we dont have a convention and primary at the same time, Mr President said no, no matter how tough it is, we are going to do the correct legal thing. So Mr President will never do anything which the constitutional provisions of party, talk less of the country, does not allow him to do.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday kept up with his attack on the government over the border standoff with China in Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh earlier this month and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak up about the violence.

The Congress party, led by its former president Rahul Gandhi, has been taking jibes at the Centre since the June 15 violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley, which resulted in the killing of 20 Indian Army soldiers, including the commanding officer of the Bihar regiment.

It has also been questioning the government whether Indian land has been occupied by China.

A few days ago, our Prime Minister had said that not a single inch of Indian land has been taken by anyone, no one entered inside Indias borders. But we have heard, people are talking about it, satellite images show, Ladakhs residents and retired generals of the army are saying that China has snatched away our land. China has taken away our land not just at one place but in three areas, Rahul Gandhi said during a virtual address.

The Congress leader was referring to PM Modis comments at the all-party meeting that no one has entered our territory, no one is at present within our territory and no one has occupied our posts.

Prime Minister ji, you will have to speak the truth and tell the country. There is no need to get flustered. If you say no land was taken away and the truth is otherwise, it will be Chinas gain, he said.

We need to put up a fight together and throw them away. You will have to speak the truth without getting flustered and getting scared that yes China has taken over our land and we are going to take action. The entire country will stand by you, he said.

Gandhis next question was about soldiers on the border.

Who sent our brave soldiers without weapons and why? he asked.

Rahul Gandhis comments came almost at the same time as Congress president Sonia Gandhis address about the border issue.

The Prime Minister says China didnt infiltrate but, on the other hand, the defence ministry and external affairs ministry keep discussing the large presence of and intrusions by the Chinese, Sonia Gandhi said.

Today, when were paying tribute to our martyrs, the country wants to know if China has not captured our land in Ladakh, as claimed by PM, then why and how were our 20 soldiers martyred, she said.
The standoff between Indian and Chinese border troops can be resolved only if the Chinese side stops building new structures along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Indias ambassador to China Vikram Misri said on Friday. Reiterating Indias position that the standoff and a violent face-off on June 15 were triggered by Chinas actions, Vikram Misri told news agency PTI in Beijing that the Chinese side has to stop the practice of transgressing. His remarks made it clear that the Indian side expects China to take steps that will lead to de-escalation and disengagement on the LAC and help restore peace and tranquillity along the disputed border.

The comments also appeared to be a riposte to remarks by Chinas envoy to India, Sun Weidong, who had said in an interview on Thursday that the onus wasnt on his country to resolve the border standoff. Sun said he hoped the Indian side would meet the Chinese side halfway and avoid any actions that could complicate the situation.

Misri said the only way to resolve the standoff along the LAC is for China to stop erecting new structures. He further said Chinas recent claim of sovereignty over Galwan Valley was completely untenable and such exaggerated claims are not going to help in the prevailing circumstances.

Also Read: Domestic constraints will impinge on the China policy | Opinion

India hopes China will realise its responsibility in de-escalation and disengaging by moving back to its side of LAC, he said. China should also stop creating obstructions and hindrances in normal patrolling by Indian troops, he added.

Also Read: China, the common link between Ladakh and 3 US super carriers in the Indo-Pacific

India has always carried out activities on the Indian side of the LAC, he said, reiterating the line taken by the external affairs ministry in recent weeks.

The actions by Chinese forces on the ground have damaged considerable trust in the bilateral relationship, Misri said, adding that maintaining peace and tranquillity on the border is a sine qua non for progress in the rest of the bilateral relationship.

Chinas attempt to alter the status quo on the ground can have ripples and repercussions for the broader bilateral relationship, Misri said.

Also Read: Chinas aggressive posturing along LAC turning bilateral relationship back to 1990s

In a strongly worded statement on Thursday, the external affairs ministry had squarely blamed China for the standoff along the LAC, saying Beijing had massed troops along the disputed frontier since May, violated a recent understanding to disengage in Galwan Valley and disregarded all mutually agreed norms for border patrols.

Accusing China of triggering several face-offs by trying to unilaterally change the status quo along the LAC, the Indian side rejected the Chinese sides unjustified and untenable claim on Galwan Valley. The statement also acknowledged both sides remain deployed in large numbers in the region.
"First and foremost, I would like to extend an apology on behalf of the District and the Board of School Directors to the student who was involved and to his family. They did not ask for this incident to occur, nor do they deserve the negative attention that it has brought." - school board President Tina Stoll
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Emirates airlines suspended passenger flights from Pakistan on Wednesday following the discovery of travelers with COVID-19 on a flight.

An unspecified number of Emirates passengers tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Hong Kong following an Emirates flight, a spokesperson told Al-Monitor. The airline said the suspension would be temporary.

The South China Morning Post reported Monday that 26 passengers had tested preliminarily positive on a flight from Dubai to Hong Kong on Saturday and three on Sunday. The passengers were reported to have connected from Pakistan.

We are coordinating closely with the various authorities and will review and implement any required additional measures to satisfy all parties before we resume services from Pakistan, said the Emirates spokesperson. The health and safety of our crew, customers and communities remains our top priority.

Pakistanis living in the United Arab Emirates numbered more than a million before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dubai-based airline will continue repatriation services to, and cargo flights to and from Pakistan, according to the spokesperson.

The suspension follows a diplomatic spat between the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan over the novel coronavirus and flights. In May, Pakistan said its citizens returning home from the Gulf country were bringing COVID-19 with them. Prime Minister Imran Khan said as many as 50% of the returnees on repatriation flights had the virus. Emirati officials rejected the assertions, saying the passengers had been tested before they were flown home.

In Pakistan, cases have risen by around 5,000 daily for several days. The country has had 192,970 registered COVID-19 cases as of today.

The suspension is a setback for Emirates as it looks to rebuild its network. In March, it stopped passenger services in the United Arab Emirates due to the virus, as other airlines had also done. It resumed flights to several continents in May, and has added destinations since then.
As protests and rallies against racial injustice sweep our country, there is heightened public awareness about racial discrimination and inequality in America. Many people are looking for ways to educate themselves about these issues. As an entrepreneur, its imperative that you understand the context behind these flashpoints and absorb the importance of this moment in our history.

But where do you start to fill in your knowledge gaps and broaden your understanding of whats going on? Movies can be effective in bringing meaningful stories to life and offer an easy way to help us start addressing these complicated issues.

Related: How This Tech CEO Is Leading His Company Through Racial Unrest

These films offer big-picture ideas with key messages, like the importance of diversity, tolerance and acceptance. They provide excellent jumping-off points to further inform yourself and pursue a deeper understanding of these obstacles and problems.

The titles below deal with characters, situations and encounters that delve into prejudice and systemic racial issues, making them great conversation starters. To help you delve deeper into these issues, Ive included additional resources that will broaden your perspective and further inform your worldview.

This must-see movie has helped shape the conversation around capital punishment in the U.S. The film highlights the racial bias that permeates our criminal justice system. Based on the bestselling book by attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), and his real-life experiences, this intense drama focuses on Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), who is a defense attorney working to appeal the wrongful conviction of Walter McMillian, a black man who was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit.

Deeper dive: Stevensons book of the same name goes much deeper into his efforts to change sentencing practices, particularly for teens and children, and those with mental health problems. If you are in the Montgomery, Ala., area, the EJIs Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice offers visceral and impactful displays of the history of slavery and racism in America, including the enslavement of African Americans, racial lynchings, segregation and racial bias.

Although this film is labeled a teen movie, it offers one of the most authentic portrayals of police brutality in pop culture. Like the award-winning book it's based on, this drama about a black teen named Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) who witnesses the fatal police shooting of a close friend deals frankly and powerfully with race and racism. The movie shows her grappling with the difficulties of being a black teenager in a predominantly white area, and the feeling of belonging to one world while living in another. How she stands up for justice is inspiring.

Deeper dive: One character in the movie comments that "white folks want diversity but not too much diversity," which touches on a subtle bias against living in highly diverse communities or communities that are resistant to organizations effort to promote diversity. However, there are many studies that prove the positive impact diversity will have on your office and corporate environment.

Focused on the untold true story of the black women who played vital roles in NASAs development of the U.S. space program, this is a feel-good female empowerment movie. The film highlights three brilliant women who worked at NASA in the 1950s and 60s and offers a realistic look at the racial tensions of the civil rights era. Its also infused with many positive messages about integrity, perseverance, teamwork and communication.

Deeper dive: The movie is a fictional interpretation of the book by the same name, which is definitely worth a read. There are also many other resources out there that highlight these women and their accomplishments. Check out these articles by NPR and the New York Times.

This highly lauded drama follows the Youngers, a black family living together in an apartment in Chicago. Following a death in the family, they come into a substantial amount of money and must decide how to use it. Walter Lee (Sidney Poitier) wants to make a business investment, while his mother, Lena (Claudia McNeil), is intent on buying a house for them all to live in  two differing views of the American Dream. This was one of the first films to really depict how everyday racism affects black families just trying to get by. The films story still resonates for many today.

Deeper dive: A Raisin in the Sun not only explores the tension between white and black society; it also examines the strain within the black community over how to react to an oppressive white community. Black communities still face economic disparities, as this Time article relates. The Brooking Institution has resources to help you better understand how racial and regional inequality affect economic opportunity.

This is a genre-defining film in every sense of the word. The film tells the tale of young black teen Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who is raised in a tough Los Angeles neighborhood in the mid-1980s through early 90s. Legendary rapper Ice Cube has his acting debut in the film, playing one of the three central characters wrapped up in the drama of the streets. Boyz also made John Singleton the first African American to be nominated for best director at the Academy Awards.

Deeper dive: The films blistering depiction of growing up in inner-city Los Angeles raises questions about the impacts of growing up in economically challenged areas, which the Economic Policy Institute has examined. If you want to know more about the backstory and what went into the making of Boyz n the Hood, which Singleton directed when he was just 23 years old, watch the documentary Friendly Fire: Making an Urban Legend.

This Oscar-nominated historical film depicts a significant period in Dr. Martin Luther Kings life, when he planned and led the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., to secure equal voting rights for African Americans. The first attempt at this march led to brutal police violence against peaceful demonstrators. This event, known as Bloody Sunday, generated anger across the nation and prompted President Lyndon B. Johnson to push the Voting Rights Act through Congress.

Deeper dive: As recent events have shown, many Americans are still fighting against racism. This movie is a reminder of how far we have come as a nation and how much further we have to go. The Hutchins Center for African and African American Research recently unveiled a free online curriculum to bring the voting-rights movement to life.

This movie confronts several issues at once  police violence, gentrification, re-entry after incarceration and, as its name suggests, implicit bias (blindspotting is when a situation can be interpreted two ways, but your limited perception means you only see one interpretation). These are heavy duty, serious topics, but because the film often takes a comedic approach, its one of the more accessible movies for viewers.

Written, produced by and starring Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, the movie depicts Collin, played by Diggs, a black parolee who witnesses a white cop shooting a black civilian. The complications of racism, relationships and urban gentrification in Oakland play out through Collins interactions with his short-tempered and reckless white best friend Miles, played by Casal.

Deeper dive: In many ways, the film is asking audiences to examine their own blind spots. Its a call to action that we all become more aware of our implicit biases. To help you examine your own implicit biases, Harvard has developed this online test.

Loving is a biographical film about Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple who were arrested for their interracial marriage in 1958. Their Supreme Court case was a landmark decision that resulted in the end of laws banning interracial marriage, and this movie shows the powerful impact of standing up and fighting for what you believe in.

Deeper dive: While interracial relationships are on the rise, most Americans say that overall race relations in the U.S. are bad and getting worse. And while interracial dating isnt as taboo as it used to be, many younger people in the black community have been warned that doing so may put you in a vulnerable position.

Jordan Peele's directorial debut turns white supremacy into a horror flick. The films premise is what happens when a black man goes to visit his white girlfriends seemingly liberal parents, though they have a very twisted underlying motive. The movie is the personification of the sentiment I wish people loved black people as much as they love black culture.

Deeper dive: Get Out addresses a more subtle form of covert racism and discrimination, which is often concealed in the fabric of our society, hiding behind the facade of politeness. Fighting this means learning to become an antiracist, and is the topic of a bestselling book by Ibram X. Kendi.

This film tells the true story of Oscar Grant III (Michael B. Jordan), a young man who was killed in 2009 by a police officer in Oakland, Calif. It opens with the actual footage of Grant and his friends being detained by the BART police, who oversee the Bay Areas public transit system, and goes on to portray the last day of Grants life through flashbacks. It offers a window into a real-life example of racial discrimination within law enforcement.

Deeper dive: The film depicts how lack of opportunity, routine incarceration and racism conspire to devalue the lives of young black men in America. Some studies have suggested that increasing community connections between police and young black men could lead to a reduction in violent encounters.

Related: 10 Movies All Entrepreneurs Should Watch on Hulu

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The Supreme Court Friday dismissed the anticipatory bail pleas of DHFL promoters Dheeraj Wadhawan and Kapil Wadhawan in a money laundering case of Yes Bank being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Wadhawans, now arrested, have challenged the Bombay High Court's May 12 order rejecting their plea for pre-arrest bail.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B R Gavai dismissed a batch of four pleas after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Wadhawans, said that he was not pressing his prayer for relief. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED said that both the accused have been arrested and hence their plea for anticipatory bail becomes infructous.

The bench dismissed the pleas as withdrawn. The high court had refused to grant pre-arrest bail to DHFL promoters, noting that their custodial interrogation was required to unearth the conspiracy and modus operandi in the multi-crore scam.

The Wadhawans are in jail after being earlier arrested by the CBI in a separate case related to the Yes Bank scam. They had moved the high court for anticipatory bail in the money laundering case and another case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the investment of employees' provident fund of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL).

The high court had noted in its order that the applicants were not co-operating with the process of law and that the ED had issued several summonses to both Kapil and Dheeraj seeking their presence for questioning in the cases. The court said although the Wadhawans responded to the summonses and notices issued to them by the ED, they evaded investigation by not appearing before the agency.

The response to the summonses speaks of apathetic and an indifferent approach. The lackadaisical approach of the applicants can be well noted in their response to the prosecuting agency, the court had said. Wadhawans' counsel had contended before the high court that no case has been made out for money laundering and the transactions in question were made in normal course of business.

They had argued that there was no case for any arrest or arrest warrant at this stage for his clients in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown in a matter of financial nature which is being investigated for the last six months. The Wadhawans have claimed they have been made "scapegoat of political quandary" in the state.

The court, however, refused to accept the excuse of the COVID-19 pandemic and had said this shall not deter the ED from investigating a serious offence of money laundering which has shaken the economy of this country. Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan were arrested in April by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Yes Bank scam.

According to the CBI FIR, the scam started taking shape between April and June 2018 when Yes Bank invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of the scam-hit DHFL. In return, the Wadhawans allegedly "paid kickbacks of Rs 600 crore" to former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor and his family members in the form of loans to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd held by the wife and daughters of Kapoor, the CBI has claimed.

Also read: Yes Bank fraud: CBI files chargesheet against founder Rana Kapoor, family members, DHFL promoters
As China tries to rescue its economy from the pandemic crisis, the government is likely to respond with support for more consumption of domestic coal, analysts say.



Coal production surged 9.6 percent from a year earlier in March, nearly erasing a 6.3-percent decline in the first two months of the year. Coal output closed the quarter down just 0.5 percent despite nationwide lockdowns, while gross domestic product plunged 6.8 percent.



China's main fuel advanced 6 percent in April before dipping 0.1 percent in May, leaving five-month production up 0.9 percent, well ahead of the 3.1-percent drop in power production, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).



Power use in May rose 4.6-percent in a possible sign of recovery, but electricity consumption in the first five months remained down 2.8 percent, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said.



There may be more than one reason for the rise in coal production despite weak demand, but official policy appears to have played a significant part. During the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, deliveries were driven by necessity and orders from Beijing.

Emergency fuel

In early February, the NEA instructed coal operators to ensure sufficient energy supplies for homes and hospitals. At the same time, the companies were told to guard against contagion among miners, although it was unclear how safety was to be achieved.



Production shutdowns in Inner Mongolia were quickly followed by reports that closed mines had gone back to work.

But aside from emergency needs, other forces including energy security and tensions with the United States have also been cited as contributing to China's reluctance to curb coal use despite the environmental effects.



In a recent analysis for the China Energy Program of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, program director Michal Meidan cited a range of factors behind the reliance on coal in challenging times.



"Renewable capacity additions are slowing while policymakers are increasingly looking to coal as one of the country's most reliable energy sources both for supply security as well as growth and employment," Meidan wrote.



"There is therefore a growing risk that China's twin drive for energy and technological self-sufficiency will expedite the electrification of end-uses while also slowing the decarbonization process," she said.

Self sufficiency

While China relies on increasing amounts of imported oil and gas, it remains largely self-sufficient on coal, which supplies 57.7 percent of its energy needs, according to the NBS.



Last year, China produced 3.75 billion metric tons of raw coal, an increase of 4.2 percent, and imported some 300 million tons from abroad, state media reported. In 2019, the country produced 47.6 percent of the world's coal, measured by heat value, and consumed 51.7 percent, the BP Statistical Review of World Energy said.



Consumption rose 1 percent last year, the China National Coal Association (CNCA) reported without giving a tonnage figure. RFA calculations based on NBS coal equivalent data estimated 2019 consumption at 3.89 billion tons.



The country's reliance on coal for two-thirds of its power generation means that China's latest drive for investment in "new infrastructure," such as in 5G telecom networks, artificial intelligence (AI) and new energy vehicles, will demand more electricity and more coal.



One result of China's higher reliance on coal for electricity compared with Western countries is that it will see less benefit in terms of emissions reduction from some of the steps recommended by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a report this month on a "sustainable recovery plan" to respond to the pandemic.



"Based on today's electricity mix, emissions from a BEV (battery electric vehicle) would be 80 percent lower than an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle in the European Union, 60 percent lower in the United States and around 40 percent lower in China," the Paris-based IEA said.



Energy and environmental analysts have criticized China's plans to build new coal-fired power plants despite the high overcapacity in the sector. Low utilization rates threaten to turn the investments into "stranded assets" without a financial return, due to the falling costs of renewables including solar and wind.



At the start of this year, China had 180 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired generating capacity in the planning stage, comprising 36 percent of the 500 GW in new coal plants slated to be built worldwide, based on IEA data.



"The case for building this planned new coal capacity ... needs to be carefully weighed against the implications for local air pollution and global climate goals," the agency said.



In an email message, Meidan said the conflicting considerations are weighing on China as it prepares to set targets for its next five-year plan to guide the country through 2025.



"The short-term trends are certainly worrying as they are leading to additional approvals, but that doesn't necessarily mean that new and existing capacity will operate at higher rates and could even fall.



"Concerns about stranded assets seem secondary right now, but the industry does seem reluctant to add capacity in light of existing losses," she said.

Last week, China's top planning agency set caps on coal-fired generating capacity and the number of coal mines, effectively limiting power plants to 1,100 GW this year, Reuters reported.



In 2019, the industry added 29.9 GW of capacity, reaching a total of 1,040 GW, Bloomberg News said, citing the China Electricity Council. About 46 GW was under construction as of May with another 48 GW in various stages of development, a study by the environmental group Greenpeace said.



On June 18, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) set a cap of 5,000 on the number of coal mines, down from 5,268 reported last year, without specifying a new target for cutting overcapacity. The agency has not issued a tonnage target since claiming that it reached its last goal in 2018.



In a statement, the NDRC said that mines with safety and environmental problems should be "cleaned up," while inefficient mines "will also be cut," the official Xinhua news agency reported.



Large-scale coal mines should account for some 96 percent of production, the NDRC was quoted as saying.



The cap on the number of mines this year took some analysts by surprise and raised the question of whether the government would set similar limits in its 14th Five-Year Plan.



Days before the NDRC announcement, Bloomberg cited several analysts as saying that a five-year cap is unlikely as the country seeks to meet rising demand.



Total coal production capacity may rise from 4.1 billion tons now to 5 billion tons annually by 2025, Daiwa Capital Markets said, according to Bloomberg.



Aside from allowing for growth in electricity demand, coal power offers flexibility to offset the uneven deliveries from renewable sources like solar and wind. But advocates argue that the commitment to new coal plants would lock in greenhouse gas emissions for decades to come.

US tensions



The influence of energy security concerns and tensions with the United States on policy decisions is hard to estimate, but the NDRC has raised the security issue in its annual work report for the first time under the current five-year plan, Meidan said.



"The deteriorating relations with the US have heightened concerns about import dependency while COVID-19 has stressed the domestic infrastructure bottlenecks related to distribution and storage," Meidan wrote.



While the report underlines the role of renewables in meeting most needs of demand growth, "coal remains firmly on the list of power sources," she said.



Earlier this week, the NEA set production growth targets of 1 percent for oil in 2020 and 4.3 percent for natural gas, both comfortably below five-month growth figures this year.



The NEA called for lowering the share of coal in China's energy mix from 57.7 to 57.5 percent.



The agency also set a cap for total energy consumption at 5 billion tons of standard coal equivalent in 2020, an increase of nearly 2.9 percent over previously published official figures for 2019.



Based on the data, the cap would allow coal consumption to rise by 2.5 percent.
Electric bikes (e-bikes) are quickly becoming common in U.S. cities and suburbs, but we still have a ways to go compared to our neighbors across the Atlantic. In recent years, e-bike sales have steadily increased with unprecedented growth in Europe, especially in the Netherlands. Can the U.S. catch up? E-bikes offer a cheaper alternative to car travel and also provide physical activity. Riders with limited physical ability find that e-bikes extend their overall mobility. Beyond the practical, e-bikes are also just fun to ride. In fact, e-bikes encourage users to cycle farther and more often than conventional bicycles. More importantly to local and regional U.S. governments, e-bikes could be a useful tool to address our current climate crisis by reducing transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

E-bike incentive programs in the U.S. remain relatively small in scale. Currently, California and Oregon offer statewide incentive programs that provide rebates towards the purchase of battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and (in California only) fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). These programs are intended to reduce state GHG emissions from the transportation system. Could incentivizing e-bikes also be a cost-effective way for regions to reach their greenhouse gas emission reduction goals?

Today the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University launches a new Electric Vehicle Incentive Cost and Impact Tool. This online tool enables policymakers, public stakeholders, and advocates to quickly visualize the potential outcomes of an electric vehicle incentive program made up of several vehicle types. The tool estimates the cost efficiency of a proposed program in terms of the cost per kg CO2 avoided by each mode over the course of one year. It also takes the proposed budget into consideration to calculate the potential number of incentives to be made available and the amount of total CO2 that would be avoided due to internal combustion engine automobile (ICE) VMT displacement.

To show you how it works, we tried out the tool with Oregon as a case study. Currently, the state sets aside about $12M per year for its Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, with rebates usually offered at $2,500 each for BEV and PHEV vehicles with battery capacity of 10 kWh or more and $1,500 for vehicles with batteries with less than 10 kWh. How do BEVs, PHEVs, and e-bikes compare in terms of incentive program cost efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions avoided?

USING THE EV INCENTIVE COST AND IMPACT TOOL: AN OREGON CASE STUDY

Creating your EV Incentive Program

First, let's get the tool set up with information for the state of Oregon. We've designed the tool with all of the data you need, and you simply choose the presets for your scenario. It's also easy to use your own data by just entering it directly into the tool. Apply presets with information for the electricity generation emissions profile from the US EPA eGRID, average car travel information from the NHTS, and national ICE fuel efficiency information from the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Next, apply some information about the vehicles you're looking to incentivize. Again, we'll just use presets that we've created:

The E-Bike preset is an average of the fuel economies of several e-bike models studied in a recent paper by Efficiency Vermont. It may be unreasonable to expect most people to completely replace all of their automobile VMT with an e-bike. To account for this, we specify that the average user will only replace 15% of their VMT with their incentivized e-bike.

The BEV preset is a weighted average of fuel economies provided by the US EPA of the current BEV fleet in Oregon.

Similarly, the PHEV preset is a weighted average of fuel economies provided by the US EPA of the current PHEV fleet in Oregon. Fleet information was obtained from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) based on historical rebate distribution within the state.

Lastly, we can set our incentive amounts and total budget. We can also choose how to distribute our budget among the vehicles we're incentivizing. Let's set the BEV and PHEV incentive to $2,500 and the total budget to $12M, similar to Oregon's current program. We'll try out an e-bike incentive of $350, and for this example we'll split the budget evenly among each vehicle type.

Once you're all done creating your incentive program scenario, you can export a report for quick reference when discussing options with other stakeholders.

Review the Results: What did we find in Oregon?

First off, we get some information about incentive cost efficiency. It turns out that the e-bike incentive is more cost efficient, in terms of cost per kg CO2 saved, than both the BEV and PHEV incentives.

Next, we can look at the total number of incentives our program is able to provide. Because the e-bike incentive is much lower in price, the program is able to impact almost 10 times as many people's lives with a new e-vehicle compared to the BEV or PHEV incentives given our $12M budget.

Lastly, let's look at the GHG impacts of our program over the course of 1 year. The program is able to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions of one year by about 25M kg thanks to the incentive program we designed. Given how we've structured this incentive program, e-bikes make up the largest portion of this CO2 savings, about 40% of the entire impact.

"What-if" Scenarios for E-bike Incentive Amounts

Let's do a quick set of "what-if" scenarios to see how changing the e-bike incentive from $350 impacts the results.

What if the e-bike incentive was $150?

What we found for a $150 e-bike incentive (versus $350):

The cost per kg of CO2 saved has decreased, from $0.40 to $0.17.

The number of e-bike incentives we can offer has more than doubled, from 11,314 to 26,400.

Similarly, the amount of CO2 avoided due to e-bikes has also more than doubled, from 10.2M kg to 23.9M kg. This accounts for 61% of the total CO2 savings in this case.

What if the e-bike incentive was $500?

What we found for a $500 e-bike incentive (versus $350):

The cost per kg CO2 saved has gone up from our initial case study, from $0.40 to $0.55 per kg CO2 saved. However, this is on par with the cost efficiency of the PHEV incentive.

The number of e-bike incentives that can be offered has decreased, from 11,314 to 7,920. However, we're still able to offer more incentives than the BEV and PHEV incentives combined.

Lastly, the total CO2 saved has also declined, from 10.2M kg to 7.2M kg, although it is still on par with the BEV and PHEV categories. Final Thoughts

This case study has shown that e-bikes could be a strong player as part of a CO2 avoidance e-vehicle incentive program. In some cases, e-bikes could perform better than electric vehicles in terms of cost efficiency, number of incentives provided, and total CO2 saved.

The Electric Vehicle Incentive Cost and Impact Tool is available online, and is able to generate a downloadable report for sharing purposes.

Contact John MacArthur (macarthur[at]pdx.edu) with any questions or comments about the tool, and let us know how you used it!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

John MacArthur

Sustainable Transportation Program Manager

John MacArthur is the Principal Investigator for TREC's electric bicycle research initiatives. His research also includes low-/no-emission vehicle infrastructure in Portland metro, as well as a climate change impact assessment for surface transportation in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Before joining the TREC staff, John was the Context Sensitive and Sustainable Solutions Program Manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation's OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program.

Mike McQueen

Graduate Research Assistant

Mike McQueen is a second year master's student working with John MacArthur of TREC and Dr. Kelly Clifton of the MCECS Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Currently, Mike is researching e-bike travel behavior and micromobility as an Eisenhower Fellow. In the past, he has studied e-bike purchase incentive programs, the potential positive environmental impact of e-bikes in Portland, BIKETOWN, and the demographics of zero car households.

The Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University is home to the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), and other transportation programs. TREC produces research and tools for transportation decision makers, develops K-12 curriculum to expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engages students and professionals through education.

###
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: CPMs programme of submitting deputation to a local block development officer in North 24-Parganas district ended in a drama on Thursday evening after a party worker standing beside the security guard of an MLA sneezed and the policeman took out his pistol and aimed at him. The gun-toting constable in plain clothes said the party workers would be responsible if he gets infected by Covid-19 due to his sneezing.

Immediately, a ruckus broke out as other party workers protested. Brandishing the firearm, the policeman kept threatening to open fire. Tanmoy Bhattacharya, the CPM MLA from North Dum Dum assembly segment, and other policemen intervened and brought the situation under control. Later, the security guard said he lost his cool because he was scared of being infected with Covid-19 as the man sneezed almost on his body.

The CPM workers and supporters, led by Bhattacharya, went to the office of the BDO at Amdanga in North 24-Parganas to submit a memorandum in protest against alleged irregularities and corruption by the ruling partys local leaders in the distribution of relief material among the people affected in cyclone Amphan.

"While coming out of the office after submitting the memorandum, one of the party workers, who was standing beside the police constable, sneezed. The policeman pushed him away and took out his pistol. The hue and cry broke out when the constable aimed the firearm at the party worker. As other party supporters started shouting at the policemen, he threatened to open fire," said a police officer who was present there.

Bhattacharya, who already boarded his car, came out and intervened. Other policemen, too, pacified the constable and other party workers. "The constable lost his cool. He said that he became scared when the man who was standing beside him sneezed loudly. But taking out the firearm is not acceptable. The security personnel has been asked to give a written explanation for his actions," said a senior officer of North 24-Pargagans police.
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Wendy Mesley has been disciplined after an internal investigation discovered the CBC News host used offensive language on two separate occasions during editorial meetings, according to the CBC.

The news outlet reported that Chuck Thompson, CBCs head of public affairs, said the first incident took place last fall while discussing a book title, and then again more recently in preparation for a piece on anti-racism.

Thompson has not clarified what punishment Mesley was handed, the CBC said.

The company said Mesley was suspended from hosting on June 9 after she said she used a word that should never be used during an editorial discussion about race.

Mesley posted a statement on Twitter on Thursday following the investigation.

I used a word, and, yes, its the word people think, she wrote. I thought that by saying the word, I was somehow exposing the truth. I now realize that my abuse of the word was harmful. I hurt my colleagues, my team and the CBC. For that I am deeply sorry and ashamed.

Mesley also described an incident from September 2019 when she said she used the same racial epithet while preparing for an episode of The Weekly, regarding Bill 21, a law in Quebec barring civil servants from wearing religious headwear such as hijabs or turbans at work.

In Mesleys statement, she said she referenced White N of America, what she called one of the more influential tomes of Quebec political thought.

I said the full title in the meeting, she wrote.

Jacob Lorinc is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @jacoblorinc
A group of Lucknow University students on Thursday moved the Allahabad High Court challenging the varsitys plan to hold examinations amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The petition, filed by one Jatin Katiyar and 22 other students of the varsity, has also demanded en masse promotion of students to next classes amid the COVID-disrupted academic session of the varsity.

The petition, challenging the varsitys June 19 & 23 notifications scheduling various examinations, has been listed for hearing by Justice Saurabh Lavania of the high courts Lucknow bench on Friday.

In the petition, the students have argued that the examination controller has issued the schedule without going through the effect of COVID-19 due to which trains are not properly running, rendering varsity students, who had to return to their home towns and other far off places in the state amid the pandemic spread, unable to reach the city.

The students will have to look for new accommodations and it would be almost impossible to maintain social distancing in hostels, the petition said.

The petitioners also pleaded that three professors and some staff of the varsity were found coronavirus-infected and hence there would be a high risk of spread of infection in the campus.

The students also questioned the success of on-line classes by the university.

Citing examples of IIT, Kanpur and Delhi University and other institutions, the petition also sought the court direction to university to either promote students en masse to next classes or consider holding online examinations, keeping in consideration the availability of internet and laptop to the students. PTI CORR ABN RAX RAX
Burma Arakan Army Seizes Three Soldiers Sons in Western Myanmar

Three relatives of Myanmars military personnel abducted by the Arakan Army in Rathedaung Township. / AA Information Department

Sittwe, Rakhine State  The Arakan Army (AA) has abducted three young men, who are the sons of military personnel in Rakhine States Rathedaung Township, according to Myanmars military.

Government troops are searching for the three abductees, aged 20, 23 and 24, said Major General Tun Tun Nyi, vice-chairman of the military-run Tatmadaw True News Information Team.

Troops are carrying out rescue operations. We have no updates as yet, he told The Irrawaddy.

The three sons of the personnel from the Rathedaung-based Light Infantry Battalion 536 went to Kyeinthar village on two motorbikes at around 3.30 pm on Wednesday. They were abducted by AA fighters or their supporters at the village, according to the military or Tatmadaw.

The AA said it seized an Israeli-made military-grade Skylark l-LEX unmanned aircraft belonging to Myanmars military on Wednesday. The rebel group then detained the three young people who purportedly came to look for the drone.

An AA press release included photos of the three men, who are reportedly the sons of two sergeants and a corporal.

The statement did not say whether the AA will release the three men but it has previously released the relatives of security personnel it detained during clashes.

As the government has declared the AA a terrorist organization, The Irrawaddy was not able to contact the armed group for a comment.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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By PTI

MUMBAI: Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Friday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that his remark that 'nobody intruded into the Indian territory' has made him popular in China.

Addressing a press conference, the former Maharashtra chief minister alleged that Modi's 'no intrusion' remark, however, demoralised India's armed forces.

Twenty Indian soldiers died after a fierce clash with the Chinese army personnel at Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh earlier this month.

During an all-party meeting held last week, the PM had said that neither is anyone inside our territory nor has any Indian post been captured.

Referring to Modi's comment, Chavan said, "China praised the Indian PM for his statement and he has become popular in that country."

"We are concerned over the Chinese intrusion in Galwan valley and are proud of our jawans stationed at the borders.

"Protecting the borders and preventing intrusion is the main responsibility of the government. Congress has been raising this issue but the government had neglected it," he said.

Chavan alleged that there were divergent views on the Galwan valley incident even within the government.

"The foreign minister admitted the presence of Chinese soldiers and construction activities along the Indian side of the Line of Actual control (LAC). But, at the all party meeting, Modi said that there was no intrusion," he said.

Chavan said that former PM Manmohan Singh advised Modi that nothing should be said that would give strength to China.

"He made it clear that it was the duty of the opposition to question the government when the country is facing a crisis and the government should respond adequately," Chavan said.

The Congress leader claimed that as per the satellite images, Chinese soldiers were constructing tents within the Indian territory.

"Army vehicles and bulldozers are visible in the satellite images. There are 10,000 Chinese soldiers in the Galwan valley.

"We want to know how many times China intruded in Galwan valley and why did Modi say that there was no intrusion. Has Indias power to negotiate diminished due to these comments?" he asked.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday claimed that there was no presence of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorists in the Tral area of Pulwama district, adding that it had happened first time since 1989. The statement of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar came after three terrorists were on Friday killed in a near 15-hour long gunbattle with security forces in the Chewa Ullar village of Tral.

Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, the Kashmir Zone Police tweeted, "After todays successful ops, no presence of HM terrorist in Tral area. It has happened for the first time since 1989: IGP Kashmir"

The security forces on Friday killed at least three terrorists during the gunbattle. According to reports, bodies of all three terrorists along with arms and ammunition were recovered from the spot. Reports stated that all three terrorists were local residents of the Valley.

The killed terrorists have been identified as Mohammad Qaasim Shah alias Jugnu, Basit Ahmad Parray and Haris Manzoor Bhat. Qaasim, a Madoora Tral resident and son of Gh Mohammad Shah, was pursuing a B.Tech Degree in Civil Engineering prior to joining militancy. He was carrying out terror-related activities in the Valley since March 2017.

Basit Ahmad, son of Gh Mohammad Parray, was resident of Laribal, Tral. He had joined militant ranks recently, on May 27, 2020, and had a degree in Bachelor of Science in Information Technology.

Haris Manzoor Bhat, son of Manzoor Ahmad Bhat, was resident of Koil Shikragah, Tral. He had disappeared in April 2020 and was believed to have joined militancy.

The encounter between forces and terrorists in the Chewa Ullar area had started on June 25 evening but was put on hold during the night. The encounter resumed in the early morning on Friday with a fresh exchange of fire between the two sides, in which one terrorist was killed.

A police official confirmed the report of the killing of one terrorist saying his body was visible at the encounter spot and searches were being carried out to nab others, if any. Kashmir zone police too confirmed the killing of 3 terrorists in Chewa Ullar encounter, writing "Chewa Ular Encounter Update: 02 more unidentified terrorists killed. Search going on. Further details shall follow."

On June 25 evening, after receiving a tip-off of presence on terrorist in the area, a joint team of Police, 42 RR and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in the area. As the joint team of forces cordoned the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon them which was retaliated triggering an encounter an official said.

This is 12th encounter in south Kashmir in the month of June alone in which 38 terrorists have so far been eliminated in the valley. The total number of terrorists killed in Kashmir this year is now 111.

The Hizbul Mujahideen had many youths who were introduced to the life of terrorim. Several top commanders of the outfit, like Burhan Wani and Zakir Musa, were from Tral.
Have dreams about an overseas vacation? Thinking about how a trip to a faraway beach or a tour of exotic cultural sites is exactly how to shake off the pandemic blues?

Dont get your hopes up.

Niagara acting medical officer of health, Dr. Mustafa Hirji has been looking at the data, and while the regions COVID-19 numbers remain steadily low, that isnt the case elsewhere in the world.

That means overseas travel will remain limited for some time to come.

When the pandemic started, Hirji said, it took an estimated 12 days for the virus to infect the first million people. Since then, the time it takes to infect the next million people has steadily decreased. Now, it takes only six days and with daily cases climbing rapidly in countries such as the United States and Brazil, the time it takes to infect the next million people will continue to get shorter.

I think that we are going to see a lot of travel restrictions going forward, said Hirji. What this means is that we arent going to back to normal anytime soon.

Globally, the novel coronavirus has infected about 9.5 million people to date and the disease it causes, COVID-19, is linked to nearly a half-million deaths.

Some countries, including New Zealand, have lowered the infection rate to such a degree that it has lifted most of their restrictions on social and economic activity used to combat the spread of COVID-19.

In other countries, including Canada, the number of cases is falling and governments are slowly easing restrictions, hoping to restart economies but while avoiding a potential second wave of the virus.

But in the U.S., case growth is accelerating. Some states, such as Florida, are now seeing thousands of new cases a day.

The risk of acquiring the virus overseas and bringing it home likely means Canadians will have to explore their homeland instead of going abroad, Hirji said.

It looks like New Zealand and Australia will form their own bubble and isolate themselves from the rest of the world, said Hirji. It is going to be very difficult for Canada to isolate itself, but I think we will see restrictions on travel.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, fearing a second COVID-19 wave, is urging Ottawa to keep the Canada-U.S. border closed for the immediate future.
Dr Anthony Fauci leaves a hearing before the US House of Representatives' Committee on Energy and Commerce: Getty Images

The White House has abruptly cut off funding to the National Institutes of Healths (NIH) coronavirus research, said Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the NIHs National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Mr Facui made the revelation when speaking to Congress on Tuesday about the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Representative Marc Veasey, a Democrat from Texas, first asked Mr Fauci why the funding was cut in April during a House Energy & Commerce Hearing.

Why was it cancelled? It was cancelled because the NIH was told to cancel it, Dr Fauci said. I dont know the reason, but we were told to cancel it.

The Trump administration abruptly slashed funding in April for a research grant to the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, with more than $350,000 still in the groups 2020 grant.

After the hearing, Dr Fauci told Politico it was the White House that told the NIH to cancel this grant. When contacted, the White House said it encouraged the defunding of the programme, but ultimately it was up to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make the final decision.

The grantee was not in compliance with NIHs grant policy, an HHS spokesperson told Politico but declined to comment further on the decision.

The cancellation of the grant came after reports surfaced about EcoHealth Alliances research with a virologist at Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China, who works with bat coronaviruses.

This lab became the centre of a conspiracy theory with the US federal government speculating that Covid-19 did not originate at a Wuhan wet market but instead in WIV.

During a coronavirus press briefing on 17 April, a reporter asked why the US would provide a grant to China amid this pandemic with rumours circulating about where the virus originated.

We will end that grant very quickly, President Donald Trump responded.

The grant was then terminated on 24 April, with the NIH writing to EcoHealth Alliance: At this time, NIH does not believe that the current project outcomes align with the program goals and agency priorities.

Story continues

Gerald Keusch, a former director of NIHs Fogarty International Centre, previously described the cancellation of funding for the grant the most counterproductive thing I could imagine, according to Science Magazine.

The decision faced a backlash from many health research professionals because no proof has held up the lab conspiracy theory.

EcoHealth President Peter Daszak tweeted that it was an obvious case of political interference on Tuesday following Dr Faucis testimony in front of Congress.

Eventually, well all know the shoddy truth of how a conspiracy theory pushed by this administration led @NIHDirector to block the only US research group still working in China to analyse Covid origins, he wrote. Thanks to this China can now do the research, we cant!

Virologists at the Wuhan lab have long disputed claims the virus broke out from the facility.

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Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden puts on a mask after speaking during an event about affordable healthcare at the Lancaster Recreation Center in Lancaster, Pa., on June 25, 2020. (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

Biden Says Hed Use Executive Powers to Force People to Wear Masks in Public

Former Vice President Joe Biden said hed do everything he could if president to force people to wear masks in public.

I would go back to making sure that everybody had masks, Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, told KDKA.

The one thing we do know is that these masks make a gigantic difference. I would insist that everybody in public be wearing that mask.  I would do everything possible to make it required that people had to wear masks in public, he added later.

Federal health officials recommend wearing face coverings in places where people cant maintain six feet of distance from non-household members. Grocery stores and pharmacies are two examples used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Cloth masks may slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others, the health agency says on its website.

President Donald Trump holds his protective face mask as he speaks while touring Fords Rawsonville Components Plant, in Ypsilanti, Mich., on May 21, 2020. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

Officials for months insisted masks had little effect on transmission of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, telling people not to wear them unless they were sick or a healthcare worker.

That changed in early April, when a sudden reversal took place.

Officials said the change stemmed from new evidence of transmission from people who werent showing symptoms but still had the virus, which causes a disease called COVID-19.

The World Health Organization says limited evidence exists supporting the theory that a healthy person wearing a mask can be beneficial as a preventative measure.

There is currently no evidence that wearing a mask (whether medical or other types) by healthy persons in the wider community setting, including universal community masking, can prevent them from infection with respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, the health group said in guidance (pdf) on how and when to use masks.

Biden, 77, has worn a mask every time hes emerged from his home since the COVID-19 pandemic started, a sharp contrast to President Donald Trump, who has declined to wear one in public.

Trump noted in April that the CDC guidance were recommendations.

It may be good. Probably will. Theyre making a recommendation. Its only a recommendation. Its voluntary, he said.
ALBANY, New York, June 22, 2020 -- The algae market is developing gradually as numerous algae production facilities await full commercialization. The growing investment interest of established entities such as Solazyme Inc and Algae Tec are emerging as good growth generators for the algae market. Algae-based biofuels may bring exponential growth for the algae market due to properties of algae such as growth at higher efficiency levels and expanded productive levels when compared to other biomasses.

The experts at Transparency Market Research (TMR) predict the global algae market to expand at 7.42% CAGR across the forecast period of 2019-2027. The global algae market was valued at US$ 717.1 mn in 2018 and is estimated to reach US$ 1365.8 mn by 2027.

According to a TMR analyst, the algae market is seeing a substantial rise over the years with the need to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy being the prominent reason. Furthermore, analysts opine that the worrying increase in carbon footprints of industries is increasing the demand for biofuel.

Download PDF Brochure - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=14804

Key Revelations of Algae Market Report

In context of technology related to algae cultivation, 80 percent of algal biomass is produced through open pond cultivation technology as they require low investment

North America led the global algae market, with the U.S. constituting more than 87 percent in 2018, and is anticipated to take the lead through the forecast period, thanks to the expansion of production facilities and efforts to eliminate the demand-supply gap

led the global algae market, with the U.S. constituting more than 87 percent in 2018, and is anticipated to take the lead through the forecast period, thanks to the expansion of production facilities and efforts to eliminate the demand-supply gap More than 50 percent of the algae produced via various cultivation technologies are used on a large scale in DHA production to manufacture chemical components for cosmetics, medicines, health foods, and food additives

Uncover 236 pages of intelligent research, current market scenario, and extensive geographical projections. Gain insights on Algae Market (Cultivation Technology: Open Ponds Cultivation Technology, Raceway Ponds Cultivation Technology, Closed Photo bioreactor Cultivation Technology, and Closed Fermenter Systems Cultivation Technology; Application: Marine Sector, Aviation Sector, Road Transport, DHA Production (Protein Sales), DHA Production (Pharmaceutical Applications), Bioplastics, and Others) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2019  2027 at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/algae-market.htm

Algae Market: Growth Generators and Promising Growth Aspects

The algae market has thumping growth opportunity in the form of the emerging closed photo bio-reactor technology. This technology encourages biological growth in a controlled environment.

The warning bells of rising environmental threat through carbon emissions and exhausting fossil fuel resources promotes the growth of algae-based biofuels, thus increasing the growth rate of the algae market

Stringent norms and extensive government policies on controlling emissions are further encouraging the use of biofuels

The escalating need for a ban on single-use plastics has generated great demand for biodegradable plastic production, eventually benefitting the algae market as it is one of the important components of biodegradable plastic production

View Detailed Table of Contents at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/14804

Algae Market: Assessment of Regional Landscape

Geographically, the algae market is segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and Europe. North America is predicted to invite colossal growth for the algae market through the broadening of algae production facilities. More than 135 companies related to algae cultivation are operating in the region. Therefore, this factor has the potential of creating strides across the algae market during the forecast period.

Analyze Algae 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

Asia Pacific is also focusing extensively on producing biofuels as it consists of five of the top 10 emitters in the worldmost notably from India, China, Japan, Indonesia, and Iran. Persistent efforts for total commercialization of biofuel production from algae are in full force, thus bringing hopes for the growth of the algae market in this region.

Purchase Premium Research Report on Global Algae Market @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=14804<ype=S

The Global Algae Market is segmented on the basis of following parameters:

By Cultivation Technology

Open Pond Cultivation Technology

Raceway Pond Cultivation Technology

Closed Photo Bioreactor Cultivation Technology

Closed Fermenter Systems Cultivation Technology

By Application

Marine Sector

Aviation Sector

Road Transport

DHA Production (Protein Sales)

DHA Production (Pharmaceutical Applications)

Bioplastics

Others

By Region

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

& Latin America

Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the global Chemicals and Materials Industry,

Algae Biofuel Market - Several attractive characteristics of algae biofuel account for the rapid evolution of the algae biofuel market. Promises of higher yield than several of the currently used crop-based biofuels, high energy content, rapid growth of the microorganism, and high biodegrability are the factors that make algae biofuel production viable.

Algaecides Market - Based on type, the algaecides market can be segmented into copper compounds, simazine compounds, other compounds containing sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate as its active component, and certain eco-friendly compounds such as hydrogen dioxide and peroxyacetic acid. Algaecides are used primarily to control algal growth in stagnant water as well as water bodies used for storage of large volumes of water such as lakes, reservoirs, ponds, stock tanks, and irrigation systems.

High Performance Ceramic Coatings Market - Rapid expansion in the automotive and aerospace industry is the key market driver of global high performance ceramic coatings market. These coatings are specifically designed to reduce heat loss from engine exhaust system components such as valves, pistons, cylinders, exhaust manifolds, turbocharger casings, exhaust headers, down pipes, and tail pipes.

PVC Foam Sheet Market - PVC foam sheets are used in a wide range of applications, such as transportation, wind energy, marine, and building & construction, due to these properties. In terms of demand, Asia Pacific accounted for a major share of the global PVC foam sheet market for structural composites in 2019. It was followed by Europe and North America. China held dominant share of the PVC foam sheet market for structural composites in the region in 2019.

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Maven Overseas has signed an MOU with Our Lady of Fatima University College of Medicine Philippines to act on behalf of it in admitting students from India. This was signed between Silver Peak Consultancy the leading consultant for Our lady of Fatima University and Maven Overseas. 4th Floor Vijay Towers, Near Bell Hospital, Samathanapuram, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India Maven Overseas is one of the up growing study abroad consultant in India offering 
Fianna Fail leader and Taoiseach in waiting Micheal Martiin at the Clayton Burlington Hotel where the party voted in favour of government. Picture; Gerry Mooney

THE Green Party's members have voted in favour of the party entering government, paving the way for a historic coalition, and for Fianna Fail's Micheal Martin to be elected Taoiseach tomorrow.

After almost 100 years of Civil War politics, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will go into government together for the first time after both parties confirmed their members had approved the deal earlier today.

There had been massive apprehension about the result from the Green Party which needed a majority of two-thirds of those who voted to approve the Programme for Government.

In the end the result was 1,435 in favour of going into government with 457 against, a majority of 76pc.

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Fine Gael's Leo Varadkar is destined for the Tanaiste's office and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan can expect a senior ministry.

Top of the new government's agenda will be the recovery from the coronavirus health and economic emergencies, tackling the housing crisis, and ramping up Ireland's efforts to fight climate change.

After the result was announced, Mr Ryan said he was inspired by climate strikers who believe another future is possible.

Expand Close Green Party leader Eamon Ryan TD. Photo:Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos / Facebook

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He said: "The biggest challenge of all is to restore biodiversity and stop the madness that climate change will bring if it's let go unchecked.

"That's our job in government. That's what we've been voted in to do."

Deputy leader Catherine Martin said some Green Party members will be disappointed by the result and she said their concerns are valued.

She said: "You can be assured we will work every day to ensure this government will deliver for all the people of Ireland."

Ms Martin said that as "committed environmentalists" - fully aware of the clock ticking in the "battle for our planet's future" - the Green Party "cannot afford to turn down opportunity and the responsibility presented to us."

She said Ireland has suffered "untold heart break" and economic loss in the coronavirus crisis and "at this most difficult time" the country is "crying out for stable government".

"The Green Party is stepping up to serve this country" and is "putting people before politics" and will be "hitting the ground running," she pledged.

She said trust must be built with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and that many Greens will be sceptical about governing with the two parties.

Expand Close Taoiseach Leo Varadkar after announcing that Fine Gael members have voted in favour of the programme for government agreed with Fianna Fail and the Green Party, in Dublin. Photo: Damien Eagers/PA Wire / Facebook

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Whatsapp Taoiseach Leo Varadkar after announcing that Fine Gael members have voted in favour of the programme for government agreed with Fianna Fail and the Green Party, in Dublin. Photo: Damien Eagers/PA Wire

Ms Martin said there are some in the larger parties that aren't "overjoyed" with the Green Party being in government.

She said "We will ensure this government is one of mutual respect, cooperation, good faith and trust that is committed to all the people of Ireland.

Earlier today, 74pc of Fianna Fail members voted in favour of the programme. The final vote showed 8,194 voting in favour while 2,864 voted against.

There was strong support for the deal in Mr Martins constituency of Cork South Central with 94pc of party members voting in favour.

The constituency is also the home of Fianna Fail finance spokesperson Michael McGrath.

There was also a high vote in favour (93pc) in Dublin constituencies including Dublin Fingal where the partys housing spokesperson Darragh OBrien hopes to land a cabinet seat tomorrow.

Expand Close 26/06/2020 Fine Gaels counting of ballots at the partys headquarters at Mount Street Upper, Dublin 2 . Pic Gareth Chaney / Collins Photos / Facebook

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Dublin North West, where Paul McAullife is the local TD, and Dublin South Central where the party does not have a Dail deputy voted in favour of the deal by more than 90pc.

Fianna Fail TD Jack Chambers constituency of Dublin West also voted of the deal by more than 90pc.

The only constituency to vote against the deal was Galway West (64pc) which is the home Eamon O Cuiv who was vehemently against going into government with Fine Gael and the Green Party.

Speaking after his party endorsed the deal, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said it had been an energetic debate at all levels of the party on the deal. I think were much the better from that exercise and from that energy, he said.

Mr Martin said democracy in Fianna Fail is alive and well and that he was delighted that his recommendation had been so overwhelmingly endorsed.

What it says to me is that the vast majority of the party are very anxious that we get on with the business of helping the country to get through this crisis.

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He said it was critical to get people back to work and to create a better type of society and a better quality of life.

Mr Martin said the next government would face many challenges and the gravity of the situation could not be overstated.

He said he had more or less agreed the structure of new government departments and the allocation of ministries with the outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan.

He confirmed that as Taoiseach he would nominate an Attorney General to serve for the next two-and-a-half years after which Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar will have the option to nominate a new AG when the Taoiseach's office rotates.

Mr Martin said that ability and geography and quite a range of factors would inform his Cabinet appointments.

He confirmed he spoke to a number of Independent TDs on Friday about the possibility of them supporting him in the vote for Taoiseach - but declined to say whether he had secured their backing.

The deal was rejected by party members in the Galway West constituency of Eamon O Cuiv, the former Fianna Fail deputy leader. Mr Martin said he spoke to Mr O Cuiv earlier. I thanked them for their campaign and I thanked them for the very respectful democratic manner in which the campaign was conducted. Democracy in our party is alive and well, he said.

The Fine Gael result revealed that 80pc of their party members backed the deal and 20pc rejected entering into government with the two parities. In parliamentary party, 90pc of members voted Yes while 10pc voted No.

The vote was tighter among Fine Gael councillors with 57pc supporting the government agreement and some 43pc voting against it.

The partys executive council backed the deal by 85pc while those delegated who were selected from constituency organisations supported it by 71pc.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the result showed that Fine Gael would enter a third term in government and a new coalition "united and strong and up for the challenge."

Fine Gael colleagues will have to wait until tomorrow to learn whether or not they will be in Cabinet as Mr Varadkar said he wouldn't be making the calls tonight.

He said of the prospect of returning to government: "Im looking forward to helping to get the country through the Covid emergency, particularly getting people back to work, getting businesses open and pursuing some of the reforms and changes that we got started in the last couple of years."
A health worker at a primary healthcare centre in Ernakulam district in Kerala tested positive for novel coronavirus. After that, 72 children who were in her primary contact list will be screened for COVID-19.

The toddlers were immunised by the health worker at Chowara PHC. The children and their parents have been put under observation. Sixty two children are from Sreemoolanagaram panchayat while 10 others are from nearby areas. Six ASHA workers and 15 hospital staff are also being screened for virus infection.

The health worker and her husband tested positive on Tuesday and the health officials are preparing the primary contact list of the couple. Forty nine persons have been identified in the primary contact list of the health worker's husband.

Following the incident, six wards in Sreemoolanagaram panchayat have been declared as containment zones. Ward 15 of the Neeleswaram panchayat has also been declared a containment zone as persons in the primary contact list of the health workers husband are from this area. With this, the total number of containment zones in Ernakulam raised to 11.

Meanwhile, minister V.S Sunil Kumar, who is in charge of the district, asked the health officials to ensure health workers deputed for immunisation vaccination are not virus infected. He is said to have called for strict preventive measures to be taken in this regard.

In Ernakulam, the rate of local spread through contacts is only nine percent. More beds will be set up at the first-line treatment centre set up at the Adlux convention centre, Angamaly. One more first-line treatment centre will be set up at CIAL convention centre near Cochin airport, the minister added.
Defendant in DS-Bank embezzlement case gets 4.5 years in prison

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15:13 26/06/2020

MOSCOW, June 26 (RAPSI)  Moscows Tagansky District Court has sentenced a former advisor to the boards chairman of DS-Bank Viktor Averin to 4.5 years in penal colony in a case over embezzlement of about 585 million rubles (around $8.5 million at the current exchange rate) from the credit organization, the press service of the Prosecutor Generals Office reports.

Additionally, the defendant has been fined 500,000 rubles.

Earlier, Averin pleaded guilty.

According to investigators, from August 2015 to April 2016, members of an organized criminal group consisting of DS-Banks top managers and employees, being aware of banking violations and imminent revocation of the banks license, transferred 585 million rubles to sham companies. This sum constituted the entirety of the banks correspondent account.

Shortly before this move alleged criminals cancelled processing of client-oriented banking operations under the pretense of experiencing technical difficulties, investigators added, noting that the banks servers were damaged while all documents and registries were transported away from the office.

Other defendants in the case are chairman of the banks board Igor Sinyukhin, head of the credit department Alexander Vdovin, DS-Banks ex-head Fyodor Tsyrulnik and unemployed persons, Vitaly Vergizov and Andrey Kuznetsov.

DS-Banks license was revoked in May 2016, and investigators believe that Tsyrulnik has resided in the Republic of Mauritius since then.
European refiners are shunning Russias flagship crude grade Urals, which is now more expensive than Brent Crude after Russia cut its exports as part of the OPEC+ agreement, oil traders told Reuters on Friday.

Over the past few weeks, the price of Urals, a blend of heavy sour oil from the Urals mountains and light oil from Western Siberia, has risen to a premium to dated Brent prices after Russia has significantly reduced its exports of the grade.

In April, when oil prices crashed with the demand collapse and the Saudi-Russian oil price war, the price of Urals was around $4 a barrel below dated Brent. Since then, Urals has become more expensive than Brent and has been trading at some $2 a barrel premium to dated Brent.

Urals exports from Russias Baltic and Black Sea ports are expected at around 880,000 bpd in the first ten days of July, Bloomberg has estimated on the basis on loading programs. If this rate holds throughout next month, Russias Urals exports would be the lowest in at least twelve years, according to Bloomberg.

As the price of Urals has increased, European refiners are looking into alternatives and are considering a shift to West Texas Intermediate from the United States, Johan Sverdrup from Norway, or light oil from West Africa, traders told Reuters today.

The oil refineries are not buying Urals at current prices, while light blends are feeling great... There is plenty of WTI in Europe, one trader told Reuters, adding that Norways Johan Sverdrup for July delivery is sold out.

The price of Urals is likely to continue trading at a premium to dated Brent in July, considering that Russia plans to slash exports of the grade from its Baltic ports to 2.5 million tons next month from 4.4 million tons planned for June, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a preliminary loading plan it has seen.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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With 17,296 COVID-19 cases, India on Friday recorded the highest one-day increase continuing a grim trend this month during which it has registered about 60 per cent of the total of nearly five lakh infections.

IMAGE: A health worker collects swab sample of an infant for the COVID-19 test in Guwahati. Photograph: ANI Photo

As Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest daily jump, it was for the seventh day in a row that the coronavirus cases galloped by over 14,000.

The cases spiked by 5,024 in Maharashtra and it was 3,645 in Tamil Nadu while AP and West Bengal witnessed a jump of 605 and 542 infections respectively.

The country has so far reported 4,90,401 coronavirus cases after the number of infections rose by 17,296 while the death toll also crossed the 15,000-mark with 407 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The death count now stood at 15,301, it said.

Between June 1 and June 26, the country recorded 2,99,866 cases, an analysis of the data showed.

The recovery rate is, however, steadily improving to touch 58.24 per cent, the ministry said.

With coronavirus cases on the rise, the Assam government announced a 12-hour night curfew across the state from Friday and a 14-day complete lockdown in Kamrup (Metro) district, of which Guwahati city is a part, from June 28 midnight while traders of Hyderabad's largest wholesale market Begum Bazar in Telangana decided to shut shops for eight days from Sunday.

Telangana has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases for the past several days with 920 people testing positive on Thursday, taking the tally to 11,364.

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Guwahati, the gateway to the northeast region, has reported 762 coronavirus cases since June 15, and 677 of them have no travel history, though many had come in contact with those returned to the state from outside.

10 districts and cities--Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai(Tamil Nadu), Thane, Palghar and Pune in Maharashtra , Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy in Telangana, Ahmedabad in Gujarat and Faridabad in Haryana--have accounted for 54.47 per cent of the total caseload, a health ministry official said.

IMAGE: A resident carrying his daughter heads away from Sadar Patrappa road locality as Karnataka government announced lockdown after several clusters of coronavirus infections were found in the area, in Bengaluru. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

As the populous state of Uttar Pradesh reported 19 new COVID-19 fatalities and 750 infections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi showered praise on Yogi Adityanath for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the vast preparations made by the chief minister saved at least 85,000 lives, something that was unthinkable before 2017.

A serological survey to undertake a comprehensive analysis of COVID-19 and prepare a broad strategy to combat the pandemic will be carried out in Delhi from Saturday, the Union Home Ministry said.

"As per the directives of HM @AmitShah, discussion was done on the serological survey in Delhi, which will be carried out jointly by NCDC and Delhi Government.

"Survey will begin from June 27, training of all the concerned survey teams was completed yesterday," a home ministry spokesperson tweeted.

Delhi is the second worst affected state after Maharashtra both in terms of case load and death toll which was 77,240 and 2,942 respectively. The cases rose by 3,460 and fatalities by 63 in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra has accounted for 1,52,765 cases and 6,931 deaths.

Augmented testing is being attributed for the surge in COVID-19 cases in the last few days in several parts of the country.

As part of efforts to expand the COVID-19 testing labs network, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has added 11 new COVID-19 labs in 24 hours to take the total to 1,016 labs.

According to the ICMR, 77,76,228 samples have been tested till June 25 with 2,15,446 samples being analysed on Thursday.

Tamil Nadu reported 3,645 new cases, the highest in a day so far, taking the total to 74,622, a health department bulletin said. This is the second successive day of 3,500 plus fresh virus cases.

IMAGE: An auto driver checks the temperature of passengers before taking them on board in Kolkata. Photograph: ANI Photo

Chennai, which is under fresh lockdown from last Friday till July 31, accounted for 1,956 of the new cases, and its share of the total tally stood at 49,690.

The COVID-19 graph continued its steep incline in Andhra Pradesh crossing the 11,000-mark with the addition of 605 cases, the single highest one day spike, according to a health bulletin.

The number of COVID-19 cases in West Bengal registered its highest single-day increase, recording 542 fresh infections, to push the tally to 16,190, officials said.

Karnataka breached the 11,000 mark with the state reporting 445 new positive cases. In all, 12 states have recorded over 12,000 cases.

Kerala's COVID-19 tally is inching towards the 4,000 mark as the state continued to see a sharp spike for the eighth consecutive day with 150 people including six CISF personnel and a health worker being infected on Friday.

With the addition of the fresh cases, the infection count in the state has reached 3,876.

Modi, who launched the 'Atma nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rozgar Abhiyan' seeking to promote local entrepreneurship with industrial associations to provide employment, said UP's population of 24 crore is same as that of four European countries put together but in the state the death toll is 600 due to coronavirus and lauded his efforts.

"UP's achievement is massive... The population of 24 crore is bigger than that of many countries. The population of England, France, Italy and Spain put together comes to 24 crore but they saw 1.30 lakh deaths due to coronavirus," he said, adding these four countries lost more lives than UP even though they are developed nations and have no dearth of facilities.

Referring to the scenario in United States, he said, "You must have seen reports of America. They have everything but even then 1.25 lakh lives have been lost till now."

IMAGE: Medics applaud for 94-yrs old Lalmohan Seth as he is discharged after recovering from COVID-19 at Medical College Hospital, in Kolkata. Photograph: Swapan Mahapatra/PTI Photo

"If Yogiji and his team had not made proper preparations, today 85,000 people would have lost their lives if we compare with other countries. We can say that the hard work done by the UP government saved so many lives."

The death toll in UP stood at 630 while the caseload touched 20,943, said Additional Chief Secreatry, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan Prasad.

A central team visiting Gujarat, meanwhile, asked some searching questions about the Ahmedabad civic body's strategy of handling the coronavirus situation in certain pockets of the city.

The team led by by Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal visited different areas of Ahmedabad city, the worst-hit by the infection in the state to review the measures undertaken by the authorities to contain the spread of the infection, said officials.

At one point, Agarwal raised questions over the strategy of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in declaring 'micro-containment' zones as he felt a proactive approach was missing in tackling the crisis.

At Mansi circle, the civic body's Medical Officer of Health, Dr Bhavin Solanki, failed to give a convincing answer when Agarwal sought to know why a particular housing society was not declared a micro-containment zone as soon as the first few cases emerged there in May-end.

The brief conversation was captured on cameras and broadcast by local TV channels.

Gujarat has so far reported over 29,500 coronavirus cases and 1,750 deaths.

The COVID-19 death rate of the state is amongst the highest at 5.93 per cent in the country.

In Ahmedabad, which has so far registered 19,839 cases and 1,390 deaths, the death rate is as high as 7 per cent.
Drilon hopes for favorable ruling on De Lima's bail plea

Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon, a former justice secretary, hopes that the court will grant the motion for bail filed by detained Senator Leila De Lima.

"I hope that the court will rule favorably on the petition for bail of Senator De Lima who has been in detention since 2017," Drilon said in a statement Friday.

"The filing of a motion for bail is a legal recourse available to her. When the evidence of guilt is not strong, the court may grant bail to the accused facing capital offenses in accordance with the Constitution and the Rules of Court," Drilon explained.

"It is the duty of the court to weigh carefully and objectively the evidence presented by both parties," he added.

In filing a motion for bail, De Lima said that she should be allowed to post bail because the evidence of the prosecution on her guilt is not strong.

The bail motion is set for hearing in court on June 30.
On Jan. 30, Traton, Volkswagens commercial truck unit which already owned 16.8% of Navistar, made an unsolicited cash offer for the rest of the company for $35 a share, or $2.9 billion. If a deal were to take place, it would form one of the worlds largest truck manufacturers and increase the German automakers commercial foothold in the U.S.
The European Union moved closer to recommending that travellers from the U.S. shouldnt be allowed to enter the bloc after July 1, according to a draft list being considered by officials.

Diplomats have mostly agreed on 18 countries, including Canada, Japan and South Korea, that should be allowed into the EU because their level of new COVID-19 cases meets the blocs criteria, according to a list seen by Bloomberg.

China is among those countries that could still gain entry, although debate is ongoing as to whether it will ultimately make the cut, according to the draft. The EUs recommendations arent binding and its not clear if the officials will make a final decision on Friday, or continue discussions next week, according to an official with knowledge of the talks.

This decision, painstakingly taken, has massive geopolitical implications since President Donald Trump could take it as a personal rebuke of his record managing the U.Ss checkered response to the pandemic. Transatlantic relations have taken a series of hits, from trade to foreign policy. European diplomats are braced for Trump to take unkindly to Americans being kept away, while the Chinese are allowed in along with a rogue nation like Venezuela.

The officials are trying to determine the criteria for allowing non-essential travellers back into the EU as the coronavirus crisis subsides on the continent and governments start easing border controls. Nations are trying to revive domestic economies as the summer tourist season gets underway while guarding against a second wave of infections.

The initial restrictions were introduced in mid-March for 30 days and extended three times through June as Europe battled to contain the pandemic. Once a list is agreed upon it will likely be updated every two weeks, said the official, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

One of the agreed criteria includes reciprocity, which would mean U.S. citizens wouldnt immediately be allowed into the EU because Europeans are still barred for health reasons from travelling in the other direction. Its likely that this factor will be combined with other metrics, including the rate of new COVID-19 cases, when deciding whom to bar, according to another internal document seen by Bloomberg.

Under one proposed criterion, travellers would only be allowed from countries with a comparable or better epidemiological situation than the average in the EU.

The EU has been facing a technical test in determining which foreigners should be allowed to travel to the bloc as of July 1 because the coronavirus outbreaks are in flux in numerous countries including the U.S. Differences of opinion among the blocs governments over how to reopen external borders caused delays in the decision, with some countries insisting that reciprocity is more important than the number of cases.

Earlier this week, Anthony Fauci, the U.S. governments top infectious-disease expert, told Congress he was seeing a disturbing surge in new cases. Florida reported 122,960 COVID-19 cases on Friday, up 7.8 per cent from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 4.1 per cent in the previous seven days. The one-day increase of 8,942 was the most ever.

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said the this week that the U.S. is working with the EU over how to restart travel between the two regions.

The U.S. doesnt want to reopen in a way that jeopardizes the United States from people travelling here and we certainly dont want to cause problems anyplace else, Pompeo told reporters Wednesday. He said he was confident a solution could be figured out in the coming weeks.

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The House has passed a sweeping police reform bill put forward by the Democrats, with Nancy Pelosi calling on the Senate 'to honor George Floyd's life or to do nothing'.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, which includes a ban on chokeholds and no-knock warrants, has come in response to mounting calls for widespread police reform across America in the wake of the Memorial Day 'murder' of black unarmed man George Floyd at the hands of a white cop.

It was passed Thursday in a 236 to 181 vote that saw three Republicans cross party lines and help send it to the Senate.

But the victory is likely to be short-lived as the Trump administration has already vowed to veto it after Democrats blocked the Republican version of the bill in the Senate.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference on the House East Front Steps on Capitol Hill in Washington DC Thursday ahead of the House vote on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020

Lawmakers who have been working from home during the COVID-19 crisis were summoned to the Capitol for Thursday's debate while dozens voted by proxy under new pandemic rules.

The passage of the bill was never in any doubt, as it went to a vote by the majority Democrat House Thursday.

Three GOP Representatives Will Hurd, Fred Upton and Brian Fitzpatrick also voted in favor of the bill.

Ahead of the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gathered with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Capitol steps, challenging opponents not to allow Floyd's death to be in vain or for the outpouring of public support for changes to go unmatched.

'Exactly one month ago, George Floyd spoke his final words - "I can't breathe" - and changed the course of history,' Pelosi said.

'When we pass this bill, the Senate will have a choice  to honor George Floyd's life, or do nothing,' she added.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, which includes a ban on chokeholds and no-knock warrants, has come in response to mounting calls for widespread police reform across America in the wake of the Memorial Day 'murder' of black unarmed man George Floyd (pictured) at the hands of a white cop

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is the most ambitious set of proposed changes to police procedures and accountability in decades and has been backed by the nation's leading civil rights groups.

However it has almost zero chance of becoming law.

On the eve of the vote, Trump's administration said he would veto the bill and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has also said it would not pass the Republican-held chamber.

The Democrats voted against the Senate Republican bill Wednesday saying it does not go far enough, as the party demands a full ban on chokeholds, among other measures.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican senator, who drafted the GOP package, said the bill is now 'closer to the trash can than it's ever been.'

Scott insisted he was open to amending his bill with changes proposed by Democrats.

But Democrats doubted McConnell would allow a thorough debate, and instead blocked the GOP bill.

With both parties refusing to back each others' bills, the passing of any legislation hangs in doubt.

Pelosi stands with House Democrats spaced for social distancing, as Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., right, speaks on Capitol Hill

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is the most ambitious set of proposed changes to police procedures and accountability in decades and has been backed by the nation's leading civil rights groups

Trump simply shrugged off concerns that no law would be passed after the Republican bill was blocked.

'If nothing happens with it, it's one of those things,' he said. 'We have different philosophies.'

Congress is now at a familiar impasse despite protests outside their door and polling that shows Americans overwhelmingly want changes after the deaths of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others in interactions with law enforcement.

While there may be shared outrage over Floyd's death, Thursday's debate showed how far apart lawmakers are on the broader debate over racial bias in policing and other institutions.

During the debate, several Democratic lawmakers read the names of black men and women killed by cops, shared experiences of racial bias and voiced support for Black Lives Matter activists.

Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said hundreds of thousands of people 'in every state in the union' are marching in the streets to make sure Floyd 'will not be just another Black man dead at the hands of the police.'

However Republican lawmakers said the bill goes too far and failed to include GOP input.

'All lives matter,' said Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz. New York Rep.

Pete King said it's time to stand with the 'men and women in blue' and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy slammed protesters as a 'mob'.

At one point Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., stood up to say he just didn't understand what was happening in the country - from Floyd's death to the protests that followed.

Several Black Democratic lawmakers rose to encourage him to pick up a US history book or watch some of the many films now streaming about the black experience in America.

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the sole black Republican in the Senate, authored the GOP legislation

The effort from both Republicans and Democrats to get legislation passed comes as protests have rocked the nation for a month

Workers remove part of the cannon at the base of the equestrian statue of President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square Park in front of the White House on Wednesday after protesters tried to take down the statue

Later, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., noting the legacy of Emmett Till, asked others to 'walk in my shoes.'

The two bills share some common elements including the creation of a national database of use-of-force incidents, to provide transparency on officers' records if they transfer from one agency to another.

They both restrict police chokeholds and set up new training procedures, but the Democratic bill goes much further, banning chokeholds altogether, revising the federal statute for police misconduct and holding officers personally liable for damages in lawsuits.

Neither bill goes as far as some activists want with calls to defund the police and shift resources to other community services.

It has been a month since Floyd's May 25 death ignited calls for an end to police brutality and systemic racism and sparked protests nationwide.

Since then, funeral services were held for Rayshard Brooks, a Black man shot and killed by police in Atlanta.

Thursday is also what would have been the 18th birthday of Tamir Rice, a Black boy killed in Ohio in 2014.

WHAT'S IN DEMOCRATS' POLICE REFORM BILL? - A ban on choke holds or carotid holds George Floyd died after cop Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck, and Eric Garner died in 2014 in New York after he was put in a choke hold - A National Misconduct Registry, which would track and create a database of police officers who have been accused of misconduct The registry, Democrats claim, would prevent officers found guilty of misconduct from transferring from one department to another - The abolition of no-knock warrants in drug cases so police officers will have to identify themselves before entering a home Breonna Taylor was killed in her home after she was shot eight times while police carried out a no-knock warrant in conjunction with a drug investigation involving her boyfriend - Implementation of the nationwide use of body cameras by all police Body camera footage can be used to confirm the facts of a case, especially when there is no bystander footage - Civilian review boards for law enforcement officers This would make police more personally accountable to the community they serve - The abolition of qualified immunity, a doctrine that protects law enforcement from civil litigation  and could lead to an increase in cops being sued Police could face more lawsuits over brutality - Would classify lynching as a federal crime Democrats bashed Republicans for blocking legislation just last week that would make lynching a crime - Change the federal standard of criminal police behavior from acting 'willfully' to acting 'knowingly or with reckless disregard' This language would levy cops with more responsibility, noting that they acting knowing they were ignoring standards or acting 'recklessly' - Condition state and local funding on police receiving training on racial and implicit bias at the federal level Funds will be held from state and local police departments who do not require officers receive racial bias training - Stop the transfer of military-grade weapons to police - Gives the Justice Department subpoena power to carry out 'pattern and practice' investigations into police department conduct and provides state attorneys general with grants to carry out these probes Advertisement
(Newser)  Unilever has announced that it will pull its advertising from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagramjoining the campaign to pressure the social media companies to do more to combat hate speech and disinformation on their sites. Unilever owns a list of well-known consumer brands, including Dove, Lipton, Hellmann's, and Vaseline. Unilever said in a statement Friday that "continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society," reports Business Insider. Ben & Jerry's, also owned by Unilever, had said separately it was joining Patagonia, the North Face, REI, Eddie Bauer, and other companies in pulling ads. The companies have committed to boycotts of varying lengths; Unilever said its will last the rest of the year.

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Many smaller companies aren't sure what they'll do. An executive at an ad agency said they're counting on the ads to help them gear back up after the pandemic lockdown, per the New York Times, especially on Facebook. "You dont want to support it," he said, "but you have to use it in order to reach a large audience." The campaign was begun by civil rights groups, which didn't include Twitter in their appeal for a boycott; the company has become a target regardless. Facebook said Friday that it will work with the civil rights groups and others to develop policies and tools against hate speech. Twitter released a statement saying it's "respectful of our partners' decisions" and will continue to communicate with the advertisers. By one count, Unilever paid Facebook $42.3 million for ads in the past year, per the Wall Street Journal. (Read more Facebook stories.)
200 convicts have worn ankle monitors in Luxembourg since the measure was introduced in 2018.

There are currently 15 convicts wearing ankle monitors in Luxembourg. Proponents of ankle monitors promote them as a more humane alternative to jail. The tag sends a regular signal to the monitoring centre which, in return, confirms the presence of the convict in their place of curfew. In other words, convicts can trade jail-time for a kind of supervised house arrest.

According to Minister of Justice Sam Tanson, convicts in Luxembourg are eligible to wear ankle monitors either during the last year of a longer sentence or if they were sentenced to less than three years. Around 200 people have worn ankle monitors since 2018. The majority of the convicts had received short prison sentences. They were able to trade actual jail time with house arrest.

Ankle monitors are currently not used for individuals convicted of domestic violence. In her reply to a parliamentary question by CSV MP Leon Gloden, Tanson stated that officials are currently debating to change the legislature in this context.

The authorities recorded generally positive experiences with ankle monitors for convicts, Tanson said. She conceded that there had been a number of technical problems but they had rarely been due to a deliberate manipulation.

The current government procurement of the ankle monitors is expiring next year. According to the minister, the competent authorities will then decide about which technologies and software to use in the future.
An extensive public consultation has commenced on how Cork should develop as a place to live and work over the coming decade.

It is part of the two year process to form a new Cork City Development Plan for the period of 2022-2028 and will map out how Cork responds to matters like population growth, housing, transport systems, biodiversity and climate change.

The plan will provide the framework for how the city will develop in the coming years. It is the first development plan created for the newly expanded city, following last year's boundary extension, which resulted in areas like Ballincollig, Douglas and Blarney moving into the city's local authority area, and saw its population grow to 210,000 people.

It is also the first plan developed in the context of the government's ambitious plans for the future of the city which identify Cork as Ireland's fastest growing city in the coming decades: the National Planning Framework aims for the city's population to grow by one-third and its jobs base to grow by 50% by 2031.

But, how can these aims be reconciled with battling climate change or adapting the city's transportation system, and what sort of focus should be put on the unique neighbourhoods in the city? Can this growth be achieved without jeopardising Cork's unique built heritage?

These are the types of questions posed as part of the public consultation which has been launched by Cork City Council. Cllr Joe Kavanagh, the Lord Mayor of Cork, urged the public to get involved in the process.

"Cork has all the vital components to attract more residents, workers, business and investment to the city," he said.

Higher population helps to attract public and private sector investment, particularly in areas of health, transport, education and housing. Job creation will be a key objective of the plan but an equally important objective is to ensure that our citys transformation will deliver an enhanced quality of life for all of us and will be built upon respect for our citys rich heritage.

A full review of the strategy for the city centre will be undertaken as part of the development plan, Cllr Sean Martin, chair of the Strategic Economic Development and Planning committee, said.

"Cork must be an attractive place to live and work for the city to achieve its potential. The overall strategy of the plan will be to drive sustainable growth by providing jobs where there are houses and houses where there are jobs. Importantly, this approach will enhance the vibrancy of the city centre, not just as a commercial hub, but as a great place to live," Mr Martin added.

An issues paper - 'Our City - Our Future' is available on www.corkcitydevelopmentplan.ie, at city libraries and at the planning counter at City Hall.

There are also plans to hold public meetings, depending on public health guidelines, as well as webinars and other forms of community engagement to gather as much input as possible.

The City Development Plan involves a 13 step process, including three public consultations. It should be completed within two years.

Submissions can be made at consult.corkcity.ie or in writing to City Hall until August 21, 2020.
WASHINGTON - Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford is the leading contender to chair the Congressional Oversight Commission, a key oversight mechanism for the Cares Act that has been leaderless since the legislation passed in March, according to three people familiar with the situation.

Under the terms of the Cares Act, the commission chairman is a joint pick made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The two have struggled to come to agreement on an individual who would be acceptable to both parties and also not have conflicts of interest that would preclude taking the position.

The people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement, cautioned that the appointment was not final and Dunford was still going through final reviews. A representative for Dunford declined to comment.

Dunford served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs from October 2015 through September 2019. Before that he was commandant of the Marine Corps. Dunford clashed with President Donald Trump when Trump sought to ban transgender people from serving in the military, but has been careful not to speak out about the president since leaving his position.

This year Dunford was elected to the board of Lockheed Martin; it's unclear if he'll be able to maintain that position while serving as chair of the oversight commission.

The Congressional Oversight Commission is a bipartisan, five-person body charged with overseeing a central element of the Cares Act: the $500 billion Treasury fund designed to finance industries, municipalities, airlines and others. It already has four members, each selected by one of the four top congressional leaders. They are Sen. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., appointed by McConnell; Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla., appointed by Pelosi; Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., appointed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.; and Bharat Ramamurti, a former aide to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who was appointed by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

Even without a chair the group has already produced two reports and met this week with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. But the other members have grown increasingly anxious for Pelosi and McConnell to agree on a chair, to allow them to get staff in place and start to operate more completely.

The Congressional Oversight Commission is modeled on the oversight body chaired by Elizabeth Warren that oversaw expenditures under the Troubled Asset Relief Program during the financial crisis a decade ago. Warren turned the position into a high-profile platform to go after government agencies and pursue financial misdoing. Dunford seems unlikely to take such an activist position.

The commission is just one piece of a complicated and overlapping set of oversight mechanisms created to oversee the Treasury fund and the coronavirus response in general. There is also a new special inspector general to oversee the Treasury fund, and Pelosi has created a select congressional subcommittee to oversee the overall response. Nonetheless there has been little oversight and transparency about expenditures of the approximately $3 trillion Congress has devoted to the coronavirus response thus far.

A first major report came out earlier Thursday from another oversight entity, the Government Accountability Office, which found among other things that the Treasury department had sent $1.4 billion in stimulus checks to dead people.

The Trump administration has indicated resistance to congressional oversight, with another oversight group comprised of inspectors general from a variety of agencies recently raising concerns they were not getting the cooperation they needed from the executive branch.

- - -

The Washington Post's Paul Sonne contributed to this report.
Disneys Splash Mountain theme park attraction will be getting a much-needed makeover after criticism of its racist roots.

In the wake of George Floyds death and the Black Lives Matter protests, one of Disneys best-known attractions at three of its theme parks is being reimagined.

The existing theme, inspired by the controversial 1946 film Song of the South, which the company has permanently banned from Disney+ due to its racial depictions, will be redone around the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog, which tells the story of Disneys first Black princess.

The concept of the new attraction picks up after Princess Tiana's final kiss in the film. She and Louis then bring friends together for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance. (Image: D23.com)

The new concept is inclusive  one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year, Michael Ramirez, Public Relations Director for Disneyland Resort, said in the announcement.

While there was a petition calling for this change, with more than 21,000 signatures  one the company stayed mum about when reached for comment earlier this month  Disney now says it had already planned to make the change to Princess Tiana and friends. The reconceived attraction will tell the story of what happened after the movies famous final kiss and follows Tiana and Louis as they prepare for their first Mardi Gras performance, according to Disney.

Read more: Disneyland Paris reopening 15 July

It has been a year or more since we started talking about this particular concept, Walt Disney Imagineerings Bob Weis told Disneys in-house fan site D23.com. While weve explored many new themes in the past, thats when we really began to hone in on Princess Tianas story. That said, Splash Mountain has been the subject of many conversations through the years.

As for why this is happening now, the word petition wasnt mentioned. Instead Weis said, Theres no expiration date on great storytelling. He called Tiana a modern, courageous and empowered woman, who pursues her dreams while never losing sight of whats really important. So its a great story with a strong lead character, set against the backdrop of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou.

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Tiana is Disney's first Black princess. (Image: D23.com)

Speaking about why Disney would reimagine the attraction rather than eliminate it and do something totally new, Weis spoke of the companys longstanding history of enhancing attractions with new magic, like Pirates of the Caribbean, and completely retheming others. ... We completely understand that these decisions arent always popular, but I think our biggest fans know that we care as much as they do.

The new concept of the attraction will be expanding on what guests know and love from the film today. From a timing perspective, guests will see Princess Tiana throughout the experience (hint  after the kiss). She and Louis are bringing friends together for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance, alongside many of our other favorite characters from this instant classic.

As for when this will happen, Disney is still evaluating project timelines due to COVID-19. For now, the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland will re-open with the existing Splash Mountain attraction, with the date for the makeover to be announced soon.

The project will be spearheaded by Carmen Smith (creative development and inclusive strategies executive at Walt Disney Imagineering) and led by Charita Carter (senior creative producer at Walt Disney Imagineering).

(Image: D23.com)

We continually evaluate opportunities to enhance and elevate experiences for our guests, Smith said. Its important that our guests be able to see themselves in the experiences we create. Because we consider ourselves constant learners, we go to great lengths to research and engage cultural advisors and other experts to help guide us along the way. I am incredibly proud to see this work continue to move forward with great support from leadership across Disney."

Carter, who has worked at Disney for more than 20 years, is delighted to bring the new attraction to park-goers.

(Image: D23.com)

Some of the stars of the film have also spoken out, including Anika Noni Rose, who voiced Tiana and is here for it!

(Image: D23.com)

The reopening dates for the US parks have been shifting due to the coronavirus. Right now, Walt Disney World in Florida will open 11 July (15 July for Epcot and Hollywood Studios), and Disneyland (California) has been postponed past 17 July (but no further details were given on a date).

The log flume ride is a popular one at those two parks as well as at Tokyo Disneyland (set to reopen 1 July). While it varies a little from park to park, each one shows scenes taken from the animated segments of Song of the South, with characters including Brer Rabbit. The ride is set to the Oscar-winning Best Song Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.

Out with the old: Splash Mountain is getting a makeover at Disney parks. (Photo: AP Photo/John Raoux)

The issue has been that Song of the South has remained unreleased for decades due to its racially insensitive portrayal of Black Americans in the Reconstruction era. When Disney+ launched last year, the company announced it was making changes to some historical content  like the Jim Crow character from the original Dumbo being edited out. But Song of the South remained locked away in the vault, with former Disney CEO Bob Iger saying in March that it would remain that way due to its outdated cultural depictions.

The ride first opened at Disneyland in 1989 and then at Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland in 1992. It has had famous riders, including Princess Diana, together with Prince Harry, at Disney World in 1993.

But as demands for racial equality have grown, change was called for in the petition  and it received a lot of support, including from park employees and Disney superfans. One fan, Frederick Chambers, had even shared a thorough plan for executing the redo in a Princess and the Frog theme. Now hes celebrating the news.
Actor Chandu Gowda, who will be seen playing one of the baddies in Darshan-starrer Roberrt, is desperately waiting for the film's release. Well, ever since the lockdown started in India, Sandalwood fans are eagerly waiting to watch Darshan's Roberrt on the big-screen.

Chandu Gowda recently asked Roberrt makers about the release of the film, and you will be heartbroken after learning about the response he got. Speaking to the leading daily, Chandu revealed, "I am waiting for all my films to release but honestly, I am desperately waiting for Roberrt to hit the screens soon. In fact, I reached out to the producer too recently asking him if there's a date yet. Everyone is waiting for the COVID-19 situation to come under control and then they will decide a date." Yes, you read that right! Fans might have to wait longer to see Chandu on the big screen.

Chandu Gowda admits that Roberrt starring Darshan holds a special place in his heart. He said, "I just cannot thank Tharun sir enough for this opportunity. As an actor, apart from the character what really works for one actor or artiste is the screentime and I have it in this film. Also, it's a really interesting character and I have never played this kind of a baddie before. My character is quite close to my heart, although, I can't reveal much about the character."

Also Read : Darshan's Roberrt Heroine Sonal Monteiro Is All Set To Make Her Punjabi Debut Opposite Gurudas Maan

Chandu Gowda has various projects lined up. The actor reveals that he has some ad shoots lined up apart from a web series. He concluded by saying, "The web series is with Balaji Telefilms and I can't wait to start shooting for that too. Supporting new talents like me for such big banners, I just consider myself the luckiest man alive."

Also Read : No Release Date Fixed For Darshan Starrer Roberrt As Of Yet, Reveals Director Tharun Sudhir
This transaction marks the successful execution of Pleasant Views strategic vision for the financing of the West Lawn and Lofts at Lititz projects, stated Amy Castleberry, Managing Director, Ziegler Senior Living Finance.

Ziegler, a specialty investment bank, is pleased to announce the successful closing of Pleasant View Communities $53,030,779 tax-exempt bank placement transaction.

Pleasant View Communities (Pleasant View) is a Pennsylvania not-for-profit corporation that owns and operates a life plan community located in Manheim, Pennsylvania. Pleasant View began operations in 1954 and provides housing, health care, and other services to seniors through the operation of 152 independent living apartments and cottages, 95 personal care units and 115 skilled nursing beds (licensed for 133 skilled nursing beds).

On behalf of Pleasant View, Ziegler solicited 13 commercial banks for a tax-exempt loan to fund two expansion projects and refund an existing tax-exempt bank loan. The first project, the West Lawn Apartments, will consist of two buildings containing 18 independent living units located on Pleasant Views existing campus. The second project, the Lofts at Lititz, will consist of 32 independent living units on the site of the historic Wilbur Chocolate Factory in downtown Lititz, Pennsylvania. Pleasant View chose a combination of Fulton Bank and Truist due to their attractive pricing, terms and conditions. The financing was structured in two primary tranches as outlined below:



Long-Term Component: The long-term component of the Series 2020 financing totaling $34,130,779 was placed with Fulton Bank who provided for a 15-year commitment and provided an amortization structure that ultimately lowered Pleasant Views annual debt service requirements. In addition, Pleasant View swapped the portion of the long-term component that refunded the existing bank loan (approximately $7.2 million) at an all-in rate of 2.191% for 15-years, with the cost of a previous swap termination embedded into the new swap rate.

Short-Term Component: The short-term component of the Series 2020 financing totaling $18,900,000 was placed with Truist who provided a 5-year bullet maturity that will be redeemed as initial entrance fees are received by Pleasant View on the expansion units related to the project.

This transaction marks the successful execution of Pleasant Views strategic vision for the financing of the West Lawn and Lofts at Lititz projects, stated Amy Castleberry, Managing Director, Ziegler Senior Living Finance. In 2018, Ziegler worked with Pleasant View to refinance existing bank debt with public fixed rate bonds to provide for increased bank financing capacity for the two projects. In 2019, as project development continued, Ziegler canvassed the market for bank partners and reached agreements on term sheets with Fulton and Truist in early 2020. Amy continued, We were pleased to move toward closing throughout the spring with the support of our banking partners and relatively little disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic and Pleasant View was able to achieve borrowing rates well below original expectations. We are excited for the team at Pleasant View to bring both projects to the central Pennsylvania market.

Jonathan Hollinger, CEO & President of Pleasant View Communities stated, At Pleasant View we recognized that residential expansion was the key to our long-term financial success and wanted to partner with a team that could creatively help us achieve this goal. Zieglers team wonderfully guided our leadership and Board throughout the entire decision making process. We were impressed with Zieglers ability to negotiate and secure lending in a multibank financing with favorable terms and at lower than projected rates.

A key element of Pleasant Views multi-phased financing strategy was to utilize bank debt for the projects to minimize the negative arbitrage during construction, added Adam Garcia, Director., Ziegler Senior Living Finance. Adam continued, The decrease in short-term borrowing rates in light of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the flexible draw-down nature of the loans, resulted in savings of over $3 million during construction alone.

Ziegler is one of the nations leading underwriters of financing for not-for-profit senior living providers. Ziegler offers creative, tailored solutions to its senior living clientele, including investment banking, financial risk management, merger and acquisition services, seed capital, FHA/HUD, capital and strategic planning as well as senior living research education and communication.

For more information about Ziegler, please visit us at http://www.ziegler.com.

About Ziegler:

Ziegler is a privately held, national boutique investment bank, capital markets and proprietary

investments firm. It has a unique focus on healthcare, senior living and education sectors, as

well as general municipal and structured finance. Headquartered in Chicago with regional and

branch offices throughout the U.S., Ziegler provides its clients with capital raising, strategic advisory

services, fixed income sales, underwriting and trading as well as Ziegler Credit, Surveillance and Analytics. To learn more, visit http://www.ziegler.com.

Certain comments in this news release represent forward-looking statements made pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This clients experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients, nor is it indicative of future performance or success. The forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, in particular, the overall financial health of the securities industry, the strength of the healthcare sector of the U.S. economy and the municipal securities marketplace, the ability of the Company to underwrite and distribute securities, the market value of mutual fund portfolios and separate account portfolios advised by the Company, the volume of sales by its retail brokers, the outcome of pending litigation, and the ability to attract and retain qualified employees.

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Gopika I S By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The district administrations plan to convert unoccupied houses into quarantine centres has hit a major road block with owners refusing to offer their homes due to fear and stigma associated with the pandemic.

The idea was to use unoccupied houses to quarantine more people without overburdening the existing institutional facilities. A few weeks back, the district administration issued an order making it possible for houses to be approved as institutional quarantine centres for one or more persons if they have necessary facilities including separate bathrooms and a room for each isolated person.

Initially, it was part of out plan. Then we had to factor in only small rent amount, which would be much less than the amount spent on other facilities. But home owners showed no interest in converting their houses into quarantine facilities. Fear of the virus and other possible repercussions might have spooked them, said Anu S Nair, deputy collector, Disaster Management.

There are a lot of unoccupied houses across the state. We are trying to communicate this to the public as well as to the local bodies. The awareness should be done at the local level, she added. Earlier, during the first phase of lockdown, a handful of people had offered their house to be used as quarantine or treatment centres. However, the district administration not could not make use of them.

Only 10 percent contact cases in Kerala

Health minister K K Shailaja said that majority of the Covid-19 cases reported are imported from other states. Around 1.5 lakh of the total 2.5 lakh persons who arrived in the country from abroad are from Kerala. Only 10 percent contact cases are getting reported here, said Shailaja said.

Govt to fix rate of Covid-19 test in pvt labs

Shailaja said the government has decided to fix the rate of Covid-19 test in private labs in the state. She said the order would be issued this week. Currently, ICMR has granted permission for two private labs in the state.

Two test positive for Covid-19 in district

TPuram: Two people tested positive for Covid in the district on Thursday. A 45-year-old Thirumala (Valiyavila) native who returned on June 16 from Kuwait and a 40-year-old Odisha native who arrived from the state on June 22 are the fresh cases. The patient from Odisha reportedly has mental health issues. As many as 839 new people were put under observation in the district on Thursday as part of Covid-19 containment efforts. A total of 12 people are under hospital isolation now in the district while 22,013 people are under home quarantine. On Thursday, 41 people were newly admitted to hospital.
Millions of dollars in recommended repairs to the pedestrian connection beneath Portage Avenue and Main Street were not considered by city councillors when writing the new multi-year budget.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/6/2020 (576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Millions of dollars in recommended repairs to the pedestrian connection beneath Portage Avenue and Main Street were not considered by city councillors when writing the new multi-year budget.

A condition assessment of the underground concourse prepared by SMS Engineering Ltd. lists a number of issues with the facility  outdated mechanical systems, crumbling infrastructure and sub-standard building design  and suggests upgrades worth more than $2.4 million will be needed in the next five years.

The study was commissioned by the City of Winnipeg in August 2018 and submitted to the public service at the end of May last year.

The document has not been released in full publicly and was not provided to members of city council.

"Im not surprised to hear that theres significant upgrades that are needed to a 40-year plus intersection that really no politician has wanted to touch for the last four decades," Mayor Brian Bowman said Thursday.

The mayor said he learned of the condition assessment study and its contents in an article published by the Winnipeg Free Press on Wednesday.

In addition to mechanical and architectural upgrades, authors of the SMS report also recommend the city consider extensive work to replace the failed roofing membrane above the concourse within 10 years, the cost of which would be significant.

An analysis of the waterproofing system cautions against leaving the membrane as is because steel reinforcing could corrode and make repairs more difficult and "much more costly."

However, the mayor said hes not bothered that the report was not available to council while elected officials were coming up with a spending plan for the next four years.

"Weve asked the public service, go do your due diligence," Bowman said. "I gather they have more work to do before they can provide an administrative report to us.

"When we get an administrative report, well make decisions going forward."

City of Winnipeg director of planning, property and development, John Kiernan, said its normal for documents such as the condition assessment report to not be provided to council.

"Weve released that information simply because we were asked to. But its not a final solution; its simply heres a snapshot in time," he said.

Kiernan said the SMS report is not prescriptive and is instead an inventory and analysis of needs to inform another study on the concourse, the scope of which hasnt yet been determined.

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That request for proposals is anticipated to be released before the end of the year.

"When we have an informed opportunity, we would bring forward any proposed capital works for councils consideration," Kiernan said.

Estimated costs for the waterproofing work was redacted from the report obtained by the Free Press through a freedom of information request. However, Kiernan said the price tag is "substantial" and the membrane would only be replaced when the intersection is resurfaced.

In 2017, the city dedicated $1.5 million to concourse and intersection improvements at Portage Avenue and Main Street. Kiernan said some of that capital has been spent, including reimbursing Harvard Developments for improvements made to the city concourse near 201 Portage Ave. and on an environmental site assessment in anticipation of future construction.

The city has also spent $500,000 to support above ground improvements to the intersection within the plaza at the Richardson Centre.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca
An elderly farmer told a court yesterday that but for the fact that he was on consecrated ground, he would have been killed instantly when confronted by a man armed with a slash hook in a Galway graveyard.

John Connolly (81) told Gort District Court of the "ferocity" of the attack on him by graveyard owner and farmer Martin O'Shaughnessy (68), of Killina, Gort, on October 1 last.

During the assault, Mr O'Shaughnessy told Mr Connolly "I'm going to cut the f***ing head off you" in the row over burial plots.

In the case, Mr O'Shaughnessy has pleaded guilty to the assault on Mr Connolly at the graveyard at Killinny, East Kinvara.

In a victim-impact statement read out by Judge Patrick Durcan, Mr Connolly stated: "The incident has been a great distraction in my life and has caused me great mental anguish. It took a few days for the ferocity of this attack to sink in."

He added: "Ever since, I have been haunted by the vision of the blade in his hand less than 12 inches from my bare head.

"But for the grace of God and the fact that we were on consecrated ground, I'm convinced that I would have been killed instantly."

After reading out those lines, Judge Durcan commented: "This is the stuff of John B Keane."

Colman Sherry, the solicitor for Mr O'Shaughnessy, said he "would challenge much of what is in the statement but I'm leaving it to the court to make its own judgment".

Mr Sherry added: "The blade (of the slash hook) never came near the head of that man. It was the handle."

In recalling the assault in his victim-impact statement, Mr Connolly stated: "Three days later, I was working on my farm with two other men and Mr O'Shaughnessy came. He apologised for what he did and said and that he was 100pc wrong."

Providing background to the assault previously, Sgt Daithi Cronin said: "There had been an ongoing dispute with Mr O'Shaughnessy and Mr Connolly and other people in relation to burial plots at the graveyard."

Sgt Cronin said that what occurred was a technical assault. He added that it was all over within a matter of seconds.

Mr Sherry told the court: "In cases like this, the less said the better. There is history and suffice to say there are very few burial plots left."

Mr Sherry stated that three generations of Mr O'Shaughnessy's family had been buried in the graveyard and that his client had looked after the graveyard all his life.

He added: "He pleaded guilty on the very first day. He has no previous convictions. He is extremely contrite and has apologised to all of the parties.

"The only person who got injured was the defendant himself when he fell back. Mr O'Shaughnessy has lived in Killina for 20 years and has had no issue with any of those neighbours."

Judge Durcan told Mr Connolly that he was going to strike out the case against Mr O'Shaughnessy.

The judge told the two men: "One or other of you will have to follow the other into the graveyard and hopefully one of you will be able to walk after the other.

"And not too long after that, the other will be brought in and there you will rot together - that's life."

Judge Durcan added: "I am not going to have the good name of the community there to be damaged by criminality. This case is over. Justice is done. This battle is over now. I'm striking the case out."
This is the second article in a four-part series about the Puerto Rican Jews living in Central Florida and their history.

Following the Spanish-American War, in 1898, Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States, after which Jews were allowed to live openly. However, there were practically no Jews on the island. After the war, a small number of Jewish American soldiers remained on the island many of whom worked in Puerto Rico's government bureaucracy. They helped create the legal and court systems.

A large number of Jews in the 1930s made their way to Puerto Rico, fleeing the rise of the Na...
Rohingya gather at a market at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, May 15, 2020.

Despite reports of Rohingya refugees being exploited in camps in and around Coxs Bazar, the U.S. State Department upgraded Bangladeshs rating on Thursday as it released its annual report gauging how countries worldwide are performing in combating human trafficking.

While Bangladesh moved up to Tier 2 from the Tier 2 Watch List, four Southeast Asian countries did not change their standing from the 2019 report. The Philippines stayed at Tier 1, while Indonesia and Thailand stayed at Tier 2 and Malaysia remained on the Tier 2 Watch List in the State Departments 2020 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.

One of only 22 countries across the globe to improve their ranking, Bangladesh received praise for convicting more human traffickers, by modestly increasing the number of victims identified and establishing seven anti-trafficking tribunals as stipulated in Bangladeshs anti-trafficking law.

But the more than 500-page report pointed out that Bangladesh fell short elsewhere.

Law enforcement decreased investigations into trafficking cases, continued to deny credible reports of official complicity in trafficking, and, despite hundreds of credible reports of forced labor and sex trafficking of Rohingya, did not open investigations to verify these reports, it said.

In addition, the government did not make efforts to identify victims or investigate persistent reports of child-sex trafficking, the report stated.

Many officials did not understand human trafficking and at times conflated it with migrant smuggling. Some officials continued to deny the existence of internal trafficking, especially child sex trafficking, despite observers recording multiple cases of child sex trafficking in licensed brothels each month, the report said.

While Bangladesh moved up, Malaysia remained on the Tier 2 Watch List over concerns that the government did not make sufficient efforts to prosecute official complicity in trafficking-related crimes or make public the results of investigations into such crimes.

Because the government has devoted sufficient resources to a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet the minimum standards, Malaysia was granted a waiver per the Trafficking Victims Protection Act from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3. Therefore Malaysia remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year, the report said.

Human trafficking in Malaysia is particularly notorious along the border with Southern Thailand. In May 2015, the neighboring Southeast Asian nations were at the center of a scandal three years ago when scores of unmarked graves of trafficked Rohingya and Bangladeshi people were uncovered at jungle camps on both sides of their shared frontier.

Tier 3, the lowest ranking, includes Myanmar, China, North Korea, Russia, Iran and Syria.

The U.S. Congress enacted the Protection Act about two decades ago to prevent trafficking, aid victims and punish traffickers. It requires the Secretary of State to produce an annual report on human trafficking and to rank foreign governments based on anti-trafficking efforts.

The TIP reports assesses the records of more than 180 countries in fighting human trafficking.

We take government-sponsored trafficking very seriously. Its a perversion of any governments reason for existence: to protect rights, not crush them, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in announcing the 20th edition of the Trafficking in Persons Report. The United States will not stand by as any government with a policy or pattern of human trafficking subjects its own citizens to this kind of oppression.

Report offers praise, concerns

The Philippines, a Tier 1 country since 2016, was praised for improving the coordination of services for returning Filipino migrant workers who were victims of trafficking overseas; convicting and punishing traffickers, including an official complicit in sex trafficking and labor traffickers; increasing assistance to survivors who provide testimony; and increasing the use of prosecution procedures that reduce the potential for further harm to trafficking victims.

The report faulted the government for not vigorously investigating and prosecuting officials allegedly involved in trafficking crimes, consistently criminally prosecuting fraudulent recruiters and other labor traffickers, or increasing support for specialized protection and assistance services for child victims of cyber-facilitated sex trafficking.

Tier 2 Indonesia was praised for providing more victims with protection services through the social affairs ministry and assisting more victims exploited overseas than in previous years. Concerns included fewer prosecutions and convictions in trafficking cases for a second consecutive year along with complicity in trafficking cases.

Although the government reported ongoing investigations, it did not report any prosecutions or convictions of officials allegedly complicit in trafficking, the report said.

Thailand, another Tier 2 nation, was praised for providing anti-trafficking training to judges. It also investigated more suspected trafficking cases and sentenced those convicted to significant prison terms while increasing compensation to trafficking victims.

The report also highlighted shortcomings by the Thai government.

Officials continued to conflate trafficking and smuggling during the reporting period, effective victim identification remained inadequate and the government did not provide adequate psycho-social care to victims or provide victims residing in government shelters sufficient freedom of movement, it said.
The $2.5bn diverted from military construction was done without Congressional approval and unlawful, the court said.

A federal appeals court on Friday ruled against the administration of United States President Donald Trump in its transfer of $2.5bn from military construction projects to build sections of the US border wall with Mexico, ruling it illegally sidestepped Congress, which gets to decide how to use the funds.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a coalition of border states and environmental groups that contended the money transfer was unlawful and that building the wall would pose environmental threats.

The ruling was the latest twist in the legal battle that has largely gone Trumps way. Last July, the Supreme Court allowed the $2.5bn to be spent while the litigation continued, blunting the impact of the latest appeals court action.

The administration has already awarded much of the money, including a $1.3bn job in Arizona that was announced last month.









Trump visited Yuma, Arizona, on Tuesday to mark the completion of the 200th mile of border wall during his administration, much of it with the transferred military funds that the 9th Circuit panel found illegal.

After the $2.5bn transfer of military funds, the Pentagon diverted another $3.6bn that an appeals court in New Orleans ruled in January could be spent.

Individual liberties

The 9th Circuit ruled that the Trump administration not only lacked the authority to authorise the transfer of funds, but also violated an express constitutional prohibition designed to protect individual liberties.

The vote was 2-1 with judges appointed by former President Bill Clinton in the majority and a Trump nominee dissenting.

The panel said the government was proceeding with border wall construction without ensuring compliance with any environmental regulations, thereby harming the interests of Sierra Club members who visit the border region for hiking, bird watching and other recreational activities.

The panel also held that the government failed to show that construction would halt the flow of illegal drugs. It said the administration had cited drug statistics but didnt address how the wall would have an impact on the problem.

Trump border wall prototypes in San Diego, California, the United States [File: Carina Julig/Al Jazeera]

The executive branchs failure to show, in concrete terms, that the publics interest favors a border wall is particularly significant given that Congress determined fencing to be a lower budgetary priority and the Department of Justices data points to a contrary conclusion, the majority wrote.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who led a 20-state coalition of attorneys general that sued the administration, praised the court decision.

Today, the court reminded the president  once again  that no one is above the law, Becerra said in a statement.

While the Trump administration steals public funds to build an unauthorized wall at the southern border, families across the country are struggling to pay their bills. They deserve to know that their hard-earned dollars are going where Congress intended  to benefit them and their communities.
A second man has died after two men got into difficulty in a stretch of water connected to the River Thames in Berkshire.

At around 7pm on Tuesday, officers from Thames Valley Police were called to an area of water called Lulle Brook, between Odney Lane and Mill Lane, in Cookham, Maidenhead.

Three men had jumped into the Lulle Brook on but were caught by a current caused by a nearby weir.

A second man, 37, has died in hospital after two men got into difficulty in a stretch of water called Lulle Brook in Maidenhead on Tuesday, which is connected to the River Thames

On Wednesday, police found the body of Eyad Al Ryabi (rescue teams pictured near Cookham), who went into the water to save his friend from drowning, a relative said

A member of the public pulled a man in his thirties from the water and he was taken to hospital, where he has since died.

He was named by friends as Mohammed Al Safadi from Ruislip.

His death is being treated as unexplained and not suspicious.

This comes after his friend Eyad Al Ryabi's body was found on Wednesday, after the two men went swimming at Lulle Brook.

The 31-year-old went into the water to help save Mohammed Al Safadi from drowning, his cousin Khald Al Riabi said.

Eyad Al Ryabi was found dead on Wednesday after he jumped in the River Thames to help his friend on Tuesday evening

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: 'A second man has died following reports on Tuesday that two men had got into difficulty swimming in a stretch of water called Lulle Brook, between Odney Lane and Mill Lane, Cookham.

'Officers were called at around 7pm on Tuesday. A member of the public pulled a man aged in his 30s from the water and he was taken to hospital.

'Sadly, the man, aged 37 years and from Hounslow, has since died. His next of kin have been informed and are being supported. His death is being treated as unexplained and not suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.'

Al Riabi, a father-of-five living in Uxbridge, west London, had been with a group of friends at Lulle Brook for a day out in the good weather, his cousin added.

Investigating officer Detective Inspector Ash Mohmood, based at Maidenhead police station, said: 'Our thoughts are with the man's family at this very difficult time.

'The men were of a Syrian background and I know this will affect the Syrian community greatly, our thoughts are with you also.'

He thanked members of the public and the emergency services who assisted police.

Omar Sawayah, who was among friends and relatives who headed to Cookham once the alarm was raised, said: 'Mohammed decided to dive into the water but got into difficulty.

At around 7pm on Tuesday, officers from Thames Valley Police were called to an area of water called Lulle Brook, in Cookham, Maidenhead

'Eyad dived into the water to try and save him but nobody saw him resurface and he hasn't been seen since.

'Somehow Mohammed drifted unconscious to the bank where some of his other friends pulled him out the water.

'There was another group of people, I think locals, who tried to help resuscitate Mohammed before the paramedics came and took him to hospital.

'Eyad came here from the city of Daraa in Syria about eight months ago. He was a refugee living in Uxbridge.

'He and his friends had come out to be by the river for the day as it was such nice weather. The others who didn't go in the water have gone to the local police station.'

Connor Godfrey, a 27-year-old chef from London, told how he had given Mohammed Al Safadi CPR after he was pulled from the river.

A third man who jumped into the water was unharmed, according to the BBC.

MailOnline has contacted Thames Valley police for more details about the incident.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 23:21:56|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Another 186 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Thursday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 43,414, the British Department of Health and Social Care said Friday.

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

As of Friday morning, 309,360 people have tested positive for the disease in Britain, a daily increase of 1,006, according to the department.

As of Friday morning, there have been 8,911,226 tests of the novel coronavirus in the country, with 165,665 tests on Thursday, said the department.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday warned that Britons are "taking too many liberties" as crowded beach scenes were reported Thursday. He urged the public to follow social distancing to avoid spikes in COVID-19 cases.

Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Chris Whitty has also warned that people must follow social distancing guidance while enjoying the sunny weather, or COVID-19 cases "will rise again".

"COVID-19 has gone down due to the efforts of everyone but is still in general circulation. If we do not follow social distancing guidance then cases will rise again. Naturally people will want to enjoy the sun but we need to do so in a way that is safe for all," he said on Twitter. Enditem
Police have hailed as significant the discovery of a backpack belonging to missing Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe.

The bag contained his laptop computer, which is now being examined by specialist officers as a major line of inquiry in the search to find the 14-year-old who has not been seen since Sunday evening.

The discovery came after a member of the public responded to a specific appeal by police for help to find the bag.

Superintendent Muir Clark described the finding of the bag as significant.

It was a significant part of evidence that we were looking for because it contained the laptop, he said.

Along with the other electronic devices that we have, that will form a major line of inquiry now as to where Noah possibly is or if Noah was going to see someone, who that was.

These items are now being examined by specialist officers, for any information which may help locate Noah.

Meanwhile Mr Clark also told media at a press conference in Belfast that a 26-year-old man has been arrested following a social media post concerning Noah.

Last night we became aware of social media posts. We are aware of the content of these social media posts and are content there is no truth behind their content, he said.

A 26-year-old male was arrested in the early hours of this morning on suspicion of improper use of public electronic communications network and he is currently helping with enquiries. The search for Noah continued for the sixth day on Friday morning in north Belfast.
The global condemnation of the death of George Floyd, one of the latest in a constellation of officer-involved deaths of unarmed civilians, has grown into a worldwide social movement for disbanding or defunding police.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

The global condemnation of the death of George Floyd, one of the latest in a constellation of officer-involved deaths of unarmed civilians, has grown into a worldwide social movement for disbanding or defunding police.

At the far end of the debate, there are those calling for abolishing the police altogether. On the other hand, there are those wishing to defund the police . This means shifting significant material resources from police departments to social services for issues such as mental health.

In cases of mental distress or welfare checks, for example, social service providers intervene rather than police, who have proven ill-equipped to deal with people in mental distress .

Theres growing acknowledgment that the attitude of officers toward the human rights of suspects needs to change, as do the numbers of police-involved killings. The research on excessive use of force by police and the sociological context and psychological characteristics of killer cops point to useful policy measures.

Psychological traits and screening

Killer cops and those who routinely mistreat civilians tend to be action-oriented. Research suggests that theyre prone to boredom and suffer from major personality disorders. These include mood swings, impulsivity, lack of empathy, narcissism and anti-social personal disorder. Many of these traits begin early in life .

Diversity workshops, training or cultural sensitivity have limited utility to help such officers. The primary solution is to not hire them in the first place. This speaks to the need for greater psychological screening by police organizations.

A 2014 report by former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci , submitted to Toronto Police Service following the death of Sammy Yatim in July 2013, calls for "screening out psychopathology and screening in for desirable traits such as emotional intelligence, empathy, tolerance of diversity, and patience."

Hire more women

The evidence in support of reducing deadly force by hiring more women in police departments is overwhelming. Female officers are less likely to use (excessive) force as they deploy de-escalation techniques and engage verbally.

Police departments with a reasonable number of women tend to record lower levels of officer-involved killings. However, the number of women is important. Female officers in male-dominated police departments may exhibit hyper-masculine traits in an attempt to fit in. They may be just as brutal as men.

Theres no agreement on what constitutes a reasonable number. A gender-balanced police service should be ultimate priority. I suggest a minimum threshold of 40 per cent female officers.

University graduate-only officers

Officers without university degrees populate the ranks of killer cops. Officers with university degrees are more likely to request mental-health support for suspects and demonstrate a higher appreciation for the complexity of social life, individual problems and subtleties of working in an increasingly diverse environment.

Officers with university degrees exhibit stronger verbal skills, effective communication and empathy. The Iacobucci report recommends recruiting officers from "specific educational programs" such as nursing and social work in order to foster "a compassionate response to people in crisis."

Ethno-racial diversity

Evidence from the United States is less settled regarding racial characteristics of killer cops. However, most studies find that white, non-Hispanic officers are more likely to shoot or kill civilians. A few studies suggest black officers are more likely to shoot and kill civilians. These have been criticized for poor methodology .

In Canada, most killer cops appear to be white men. An ethno-racially diverse police service is integral for building public trust and inclusivity .

Training

Much of the current training for many police organizations focuses on deployment of lethal force or marksmanship. Thats a waste of time and sets up officers for frustration given todays realities. Once out of training, officers realize that people get meaninglessly drunk, abusers beat their spouses and citizens experience psychotic episodes.

Somehow, the police are required to respond to all these matters. These are in fact some of the most common issues brought to police attention. These scenarios may be frustrating for action-oriented officers. Action-oriented officers may see only moral failing in each case and respond with disdain and unnecessary force.

The professional officer will see "clients" in need of bureaucratic assistance and attempt to de-escalate.

Theres a need to overhaul officer training and extend it to at least one full year of rigorous classroom engagement with human rights, mental health issues and diversity, among others.

Accountability

The main officer involved in George Floyds death had 17 complaints in his file . Three of those involved shootings, with one death. This is a poor disciplinary record.

Such officers make policing more difficult and dangerous. The Minneapolis Police Department bears responsibility for keeping such a person in service.

Undesirable people may sometimes enter into police service but must be promptly removed once their engagement with colleagues, superiors and the public begins to reflect certain troubling patterns.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) charged two officers this month. They were the first charges brought forward against officers by ASIRT since its establishment in 2008. This is mind-boggling given incidents of excessive use of force in Alberta. Tolerating errant cops is dangerous for public trust.

The way forward

I propose a two-pronged policy  a "kill-and-go" policy and "three strikes policy"  for police accountability.

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Kill-and-go means any officer who kills an unarmed civilian or a suspect who had a weapon but didnt deploy it against an officer is dismissed from service and prosecuted.

The three strikes proposal is similar to the disused California anti-crime law of the same name . Any officer involved in three excessive use-of-force incidents in which a civilian is mistreated and sustains injuries is automatically dismissed from service and prosecuted. There should be no expiry to each strike across an officers career.

Policing is also a well-paying occupation relative to entry qualifications and length of training, at least in Canada and many parts of the U.S.

The RCMP notes that the annual salary of a newly sworn-in officer is $53,144 and increases to $86,110 within 36 months of service. There are post-doctoral fellows working on life-saving biomedical research who make less than $50,000 a year, despite possessing hard-earned PhDs. The government and public should get value for the money spent on police by selecting appropriate people.

Temitope Oriola is an associate professor in the department of sociology at the University of Alberta.

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NASA announced on Wednesday that it would name its Washington, D.C., headquarters after Mary Jackson, the organizations first black female engineer and a pivotal player in helping U.S. astronauts reach space.

Jim Bridenstine, the administrator of NASA, said the agency would continue to honor those whose histories have long been overlooked.

Today, we proudly announce the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building, Mr. Bridenstine said in a statement. It appropriately sits on Hidden Figures Way, a reminder that Mary is one of many incredible and talented professionals in NASAs history who contributed to this agencys success.

Carolyn Lewis, Ms. Jacksons daughter, said she felt honored to see NASA continue to celebrate her mothers legacy.
Opinion Policies

Editorials are longer opinion pieces that are written by a group of community members recruited across campus who address relevant issues on a local, national and international level. Editorials are research-based. The purpose of the Editorial Board is to promote discussion concerning relevant issues in the community while advising on possible solutions. Topics are chosen via relevancy and interests of the members, which are then discussed by the Editorial Board in order to reach a general consensus concerning the topic or issue.

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If you have a grievance concerning the content or argument of the Editorial Board, please contact either Opinion Editor Peyton Hamel (peyton.hamel@iowastatedaily.com) or the Editorial Board as a whole (editorialboard@iowastatedaily.com). Those wanting to respond to editorials can also submit a letter to the editor through the Iowa State Daily website or by emailing the letter to Opinion Editor Peyton Hamel (peyton.hamel@iowastatedaily.com) or Editor-in-Chief Sage Smith (sage.smith@iowastatedaily.com).

Column Policy

Columns are hyper-specific to opinion and are written by only columnists employed by the Iowa State Daily. Columnists are unique because they have a specific writing day and only publish on those writing days. Each column undergoes a thorough editing process ensuring the integrity of the writer, and their claim is maintained while remaining research-based and respectful. Columns may be submitted from community members. These are labelled as Guest Columns. These contain similar research-based content and need to be at least 400 words in length. The following requirements should be met: first and last name, email and relation or position to Iowa State. Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions.

Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020
The National Assembly of Armenia has posted on its official website the following official statement on the changes in the Constitutional Court:

The amendments to the Constitution of Armenia adopted by the National Assembly of Armenia on June 22, 2020 entered into force on June 26, 2020. Article 213 of the Constitution of Armenia has been amended to read as follows: The term of powers of members (judges) of the Constitutional Court appointed prior to the entry into force of Chapter 7 of the Constitution and having served as a member or judge of the Constitutional Court for a total of no less than 12 years, shall deemed to be over, and term of office shall terminate (part 1 of Article 213).

Taking into consideration the fact that the personal files of judges (members) of the Constitutional Court of Armenia are kept and maintained in the National Assembly of Armenia, and examining the documents in the specified cases, we would like to inform that, under the specified regulations, the powers o the following judges (members) of the Constitutional Court have terminated:

Hrant Nazaryan, the total duration of service of whom as member or judge of the Constitutional Court comprised more than 24 years until June 26, 2020;

Felix Tokhyan, the total duration of service of whom as member or judge of the Constitutional Court comprised more than 22 years prior to June 26, 2020;

Alvina Gyulumyan, the total duration of service of whom as member or judge of the Constitutional Court comprised more than 12 years prior to June 26, 2020.

According to part 3 of Article 213 of the Constitution of Armenia, nominations for the vacancies of three judges of the Constitutional Court must be presented by the Government, the President of the Republic and the General Assembly of Judges successively within a period of two months, starting from June 27, 2020.

We would also like to inform that, according to part 4 of Article 213 of the Constitution of Armenia, the service of Hrayr Tovmasyan as president of the Constitutional Court has terminated. According to part 4 of Article 213 of the Constitution of Armenia, the president of the Constitutional Court must be elected as prescribed by Article 166 of the Constitution, the election must be held after the vacancies of judges of the Constitutional Court are filled.

Taking into consideration the fact that the president of the Constitutional Court has not been elected, and the term of powers of vice-president of the Constitutional Court of Armenia Alvina Gyulumyan as member (judge) of the Constitutional Court is over and service has terminated by the force of part 1 of Article 213 of the Constitution, the duties of the president of the Constitutional Court shall be performed by the senior judge out of the judges of the Constitutional Court. As of June 26, 2020, the senior judge of the Constitutional Court is Ashot Khachatryan (born on September 10, 1963).
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark said on Thursday it would allow entry to citizens from most European nations with a low number of COVID-19 infections from June 27 - two months earlier than originally planned, including some two million people from hard-hit nearby Sweden.

European Union member states, non-EU countries in the open-border Schengen area such as Norway and also Britain, which is in neither grouping, will be individually assessed based on objective criteria, the Danish Foreign Ministry said.

Considering the current number of COVID-19 infections in various countries, this would mean Denmark will allow unrestricted entry once again to people from Britain and all EU and Schengen countries except Portugal and Sweden, Justice Minister Nick Haekkerup told reporters.

The Foreign Ministry said a country was being classified as "open" for travel links with Denmark if it had fewer than 20 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants per week.

Sweden as a whole would not qualify at present, but people from some regions in its south, which have seen far fewer infections than in the capital region of Stockholm, will be permitted to enter Denmark as well.

When Norway and Denmark, having curbed their coronavirus outbreaks, reopened their borders to each other earlier this month they excluded Sweden, where the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths remains higher.

At the time, Sweden said the move by its Nordic neighbours was a political decision not justifiable on health grounds.

When Denmark opened its border to Germany, Iceland and Norway in May, it said restrictions on travels elsewhere would be in place until August 31.

"We are in a significantly better place in Denmark than we had dared to hope just a short time ago. Therefore we can now relax the travel guidance," Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said.

Travellers will only be allowed to enter Denmark on condition that they book at least six nights' accommodation.

(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard, Stine Jacobsen and Anna Ringstrom; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Jerome Cawkwell, pictured, rode a motorbike with defective front brakes when he ran into nine year old Max Clark in Hull on May 25

A cannabis-smoking motorcyclist was today jailed for three years after he knocked down a nine-year-old schoolboy gymnast leaving him with life changing injuries.

Dock labourer Jerome Cawkwell, 24, tested positive for cannabis after he struck Max Clark, nine, while riding the motorbike, which had defective brakes.

Before the incident on May 29, Max was a promising gymnast who dreamt of representing Britain at the Olympics.

Now, his family insist the youngster will work towards representing Britain at the paralympics.

Hull Crown Court heard Cawkwell was riding the KSR Moto 125cc motorbike without a crash helmet when he pulled the brakes after spotting Max.

The bike's front brake was not working, and Cawkwell, who did not have insurance, struck the youngster.

Max had been enjoying a Bank Holiday Monday outing with his parents and siblings in a local park in Hull, East Yorkshire, when tragedy struck on May 25.

It was the first time Kirsty Clark, 31, husband Paddy, 32, and their four children had ventured out since the start of lockdown.

They were among a number of families whose children attended the same dance school given a homework project of taking pictures of historic Rosemead Park.

Max had just had his picture taken under a bridge when he spotted his father hopping around some bollards separating the footpath from adjoining playing fields.

Prosecutor Jeremy Evans said: 'Max said he could make a much better attempt - no doubt referring to the fact he was a keen and successful gymnast.'

Max Clark, pictured, lost part of his leg after he was struck by a motorbike ridden by Cawkwell on May 25. The youngster was in the park with his family for the first time since lockdown

The youngster was crossing the public footpath towards his father as Cawkwell roared past a woman cyclist.

'She described the rider as driving at a crazy speed in excess of 40mph,' the prosecutor continued.

'He disappeared quickly into the distance. She commented to her husband "There is going to be an accident".

'Seconds later, she heard a female scream ahead.'

The court heard Cawkwell hit the brakes when he saw the child, but only the rear set was working.

The wheels locked and he skidded into the child whose left leg became entangled in the machine and was severed on the spot.

Max was dragged by the bike before being hurled into the air and landing head first on the gravel verge.

Part of Max's leg got jammed in Cawkwell's motorbike. The 24-year-old dock labourer rode off after the crash

His torn-off leg bone jammed in the wheel, causing the bike to stall.

Mr Clark watched as Cawkwell managed to restart it and sped off.

Mr Evans said: 'His dad was quick thinking enough to lie across his son to prevent his son seeing the injury he had suffered.

'Max asked his father if he still had his leg and whether he could still run.

'His son said he did not want to live any more.'

The woman cyclist, who was a trained first aider, made a tournequet out of her belt and tied it around the boy's thigh to stem the bleeding.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics and rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary where surgeons found the dismembered left limb could not be saved.

Mr Clark said in his victim impact statement: 'Max was a dancer and a gymnast- someone who was always on the go.

'Life has changed so much since the incident.

'We will no longer have a normal life.

'I have dreams that Max died and I am going to his funeral which is extremely upsetting every night.

'He may have only hurt Max that day but he has ruined the lives of a lot more people.'

Cawkwell, from Hull, admitted causing injury by dangerous driving, no insurance, no licence, failing to stop and defective brakes at a previous hearing by JPs who sent him to Crown Court for sentence.

He also tested positive for cannabis but the reading was below the legal limit.

Cawkwell told probation officers: 'I did it. No one else was on the bike. I have to face up to my responsibilities.

Max's family said the youngster would like to represent Britain in the Paralympics

The court heard Cawkwell knew the bike's front brake was defective. If it had been fully operational it might have stopped the motorbike before it struck the young gymnast

Max Clark, pictured, is learning how to walk again using a prosthetic leg after he was run over

Witnesses claimed Cawkwell was speeding in the moments before the incident on May 25

'I know I am looking at five years. I am sick. It was stupid. I was trying to be someone I am not.'

Outside the court, Mr Clark said he was pleased with the sentence ' but 'there is no punishment that would fit what has been taken from him'.

He described the scene of the accident as 'something from a war movie', adding:

'Max did not pass out. He braved it out. But he will have to live with this for the rest of his life.

'A lot of people are angry with Jerome. I am not ready to forgive him.

'But I am more angry with myself. I am supposed to be the protector of my family.

'Max still wants to do gymnastics. He got his prosthetic limb a few days ago and is already hoping for the Paralympics.'
When "Lisa" notified her insurer that the woman suing her was in a video on Facebook doing cartwheels down a city street at a hen party, just weeks after she claimed to suffer a back injury, she was told it would be cheaper to settle instead of fighting the case.

Seven years ago, she was involved in a minor collision with someone from her area. Lisa was driving along in traffic when her baby started crying in the back.

She became distracted and ended up hitting the vehicle in front.

The damage was minimal; a crack on her number plate and a small mark on the bumper.

A few weeks later, she received a solicitor's letter about a claim for whiplash. Her insurer eventually settled the claim for 50,000, nearly five years after the accident.

"We were crawling along in traffic when my son started crying in the back. I briefly looked in the rear mirror to check he was OK and ended up tipping the car in front," she told the Irish Independent.

"I jumped out of the car and so did the woman in front, who also had a baby in the back seat.

"She was really nice at the scene and we both agreed that the main thing was our babies were fine but a few days later her husband called me to say there was more than 2,000 worth of damage done to their car.

"I told them I'd have to go through my insurance to get it repaired.

"A few weeks later, I got a letter in the post about a personal injury claim.

"I called up the husband like a lunatic and he said he wasn't aware that she was making a claim."

Lisa's insurance was hit hard in the following years.

Her premium rose from 400 to more than 2,000.

She could no longer afford fully comprehensive cover and had to settle for third party, fire and theft.

"My friend happened to be friends with the woman on Facebook and rang me up to say, 'Eh listen, she's on Facebook doing cartwheels, not a bother on her'. She showed me the videos, and I told my insurance company, and the response I got was shocking.

"To quote them directly, they said: 'She has a doctor that says she has a sore back and it's cheaper to pay her than investigate this'. "They had no interest in investigating, they didn't give a sh**e," she said.

The Law Society of Ireland, the legal watchdog, recently reported that Chief Justice Frank Clarke, who is chair of the newly established personal injury guidelines committee, is looking to create an environment where far more personal injury cases are settled outside of court.

It's a move being mooted to help reduce the backlog in the courts, but those campaigning for insurance reform have warned it will have major implications in the fight against fraud.

"From our perspective, we would be reluctant to see additional cases being settled outside of court as part of the problem on motor cases is that three-quarters of cases are already settled privately," said Peter Boland, director of the Alliance for Insurance Reform.

"What that means is that defendants don't get an opportunity to stand up for themselves.

"We have many examples of members where they hotly contested liability but insurers insist on settling.

"Their objective is to spend as little money as possible, but the problem is that that encourages the claims culture that has plagued this country for years."

"Sarah" is one such person who didn't get the opportunity to stand up and fight her corner after an insurer settled a claim which she believed to be fraudulent.

Her husband was involved in a minor collision while driving her car and the insurer paid out 18,500 for a whiplash injury, despite a forensic engineer stating there was no significant damage done to either vehicle.

"I lost my no-claims bonus as I was the named driver on the vehicle, my premium went up over the 1,000 mark after more than 20 years driving and I honestly cried with frustration," she said.

"You can even quote me on this, but it nearly encouraged me to go out and stage a crash myself given how easy it is to get money.

"Not that I would ever do that - I think it's disgusting."

The accident happened on the Swords Road at a set of traffic lights. The driver in front stopped at the lights when her husband thought he was going to go through as they were still green.

"I begged my insurer not to pay out, but they insisted it would be cheaper. Even after all this time, just talking about it now has made me so angry about it again.

"This man got money for nothing. He got his money six months after the accident.

"We didn't even think to take pictures at the scene because it was such a small tip. In hindsight we were very naive."

Under legislation introduced by Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty, insurers would no longer be allowed to settle claims without notifying customers, or without their consent. However, more than six months since the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act passed all stages of the Oireachtas, it has yet to be signed into law.

Mr Doherty accused the Government of protecting the vested interests of insurers.

The names of those involved in the case studies have been changed for legal reasons.
A major doorstep lending group has warned its future hangs in the balance because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Non-Standard Finance (NSF), which owns the Everyday Loans, Loans at Home, George Banco and Trust Two brands, said there was 'material uncertainty' surrounding its ability to keep operating.

Shares fell 30.2 per cent to a record low of 8.03p, having been trading at close to 70p early last year.

On the brink: Non-Standard Finance, which owns the Everyday Loans, Loans at Home, George Banco and Trust Two brands has warned its future is hanging in the balance

Just over a year ago, the firm was boldly pushing ahead with a 1.3billion hostile bid for rival Provident Financial.

But yesterday it reported a loss before tax of 76million for 2019, after forking out 12.8million of fees relating to the failed Provident deal and writing down the value of its businesses.

Chief executive John van Kuffeler said: 'The last 18 months have been difficult and disappointing with the failure of our offer for Provident Financial; the fall in sector values necessitating large write-downs in the values of our three principal subsidiaries and the Covid-19 pandemic which has paralysed the UK economy.'

As consumers cut back on their spending during lockdown, NSF said it had seen a 'sharp downturn' in lending.

Van Kuffeler added that so far, since lockdown, loan collections had remained robust at around 86 per cent of previous levels.

But he warned the economic chaos and job losses which the pandemic has caused would mean many customers would become unable to pay back their loans.

If collections fell by another 65 per cent, NSF said it would run out of cash  though its directors added that they thought this was unlikely. There was one silver lining: the pandemic could increase its customer numbers.

Van Kuffeler said: 'As the recession begins to bite, it is expected that more of the population will be unable to borrow from either their clearing bank or other mainstream lenders.'

But John Cronin, an analyst at brokers Goodbody, said: 'NSF is at the brink.'
WASHINGTON - The federal government spent about double the usual amount on the Fourth of July celebration in the nation's capital last year after President Donald Trump rebranded the annual event, including a push for a military flyover and a display of armored vehicles on the National Mall.

A report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found that the tab for the 2019 "Salute to America" cost more than $13 million, well above the $6 million to $7 million that had been spent in the previous three years.

The report says the additional cost was driven by the expense of transporting several military vehicles to the National Mall and the additional security needed for Trump, who attended the event. The president also delivered a 47-minute speech at the Lincoln Memorial, praising Americans' sacrifice and extolling U.S. military might. Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles were stationed on the National Mall, while a B-2 bomber, F-22 fighter jets and other aircraft flew overhead.

Critics accused the president of transforming the traditionally nonpartisan celebration of the nation's founding into a campaign rally. Others, including National Park Service officials, warned that the military hardware could damage the area around the Lincoln Memorial.

"The Government Accountability Office's report confirms what we knew all along: the president was willing to spend millions of dollars of taxpayer funds - expenses that weren't budgeted for and roughly doubled what was spent in previous years - to meet his extravagant demands," Democratic Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said in a joint statement. "And now, the Trump administration is at it again."

The lawmakers, who requested the GAO report, said they have requested the watchdog agency determine what the costs will be for this year's event.

Trump administration officials defended their orchestration of last year's event.

"Salute to America is not about politics, it's about all Americans coming together to celebrate Independence Day, our great armed forces and their heroic sacrifices, which have preserved our freedoms for generations, and our amazing heritage," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an email.

"Because of President Trump, fireworks are returning to Mount Rushmore for the first time since 2009 to celebrate America's birthday," he added.

Warnings have been made about the Trump administration's plans for this year's celebration. The plans include a giant fireworks display for July 3 at Mount Rushmore, despite a 10-year ban on such shows because of the risk of wildfire posed to thousands of acres of forest land. Environmental officials have said toxic residue from the fireworks pose a pollution threat to the national memorial's drinking water. Health experts have warned that the event will draw crowds that can easily spread the novel coronavirus.

Trump plans to attend the Mount Rushmore event and celebrate the actual holiday from the White House with scheduled events that include a military flyover.

In previous years, the Fourth of July celebrations in the nation's capital have included massive fireworks displays on the National Mall, along with a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra and other musicians on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The event draws hundreds of thousands of people and has been broadcast live on television since 1947.

This year, the concert will not be held live because of the coronavirus. Performances were pretaped without an audience and will be broadcast on PBS.

Deere said this year's celebrations would have a "different look" that reflects concerns about the pandemic. Interior Department officials have said the public gathering will proceed following South Dakota health guidelines and recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on social distancing and wearing masks if it's not possible to maintain six-foot spacing between people.

Interior officials, in response to the GAO report, praised last year's event.

"President Trump's Salute to America last year was an incredible celebration of our nation's founding and appropriately honored the tremendous sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform," Interior Department spokesman Ben Goldey said in a written statement. "Interior looks forward to hosting President Trump for a safe and spectacular firework display at Mount Rushmore and again for Salute to America this year."

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, has no say in what the government does on federal land but has said she would not issue any permits for July 4 parades in the District while the city is under coronavirus-related restrictions that prohibit large gatherings.
File image

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said India is keen to focus on certain sectors where it has competitive advantage, emphasising that the country cannot afford to remain dependent on "low cost, low quality" products.

With domestic skilled manpower, availability of certain raw materials, resources and minerals, India can achieve a good growth in certain sectors.

"India cannot afford to remain dependent on low cost, low value, low quality products. So we are very keen to focus on certain areas where we have the competitive advantages," he said at a webinar organised by Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.

Citing example, he said in the steel sector India can expand significantly and boost exports.

In sectors like oil and gas and medical devices, India and the US can do a lot of business, the minister said.

Talking about foreign investment, Goyal said barring few sensitive areas, India permits FDI in almost all sectors under automatic route.

"There are certain ... sectors where we do have constraints and we will not be able to open up anytime soon. If it is related with multi-brand retail, insurance...these are sectors where there have been sensitivities and very serious concerns," Goyal said adding India has to protect its security interests.

The media sector is another area where there are certain concerns, he added.

"We are in MFN (most favoured nation)..., we can not have separate rules... and there are serious concerns with certain geographies. There will be collateral impact," he added.

In April, India has made it mandatory for a company or an individual from a country that shares land border with India to invest in any sector here only after getting government approval.

The decision was aimed at foreign investments from countries like China to curb "opportunistic takeovers or acquisitions" of domestic firms due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Further, he said that India is taking steps to simplify procedures and make it online to enhance transparency and improve investment environment.

On special economic zones, he said: "We are seriously looking at how we can change from the earlier system of SEZs more to industrial clusters and in manufacturing zones so that we are well within the rules of global engagement".
Thousands of men with advanced prostate cancer will be denied a life-extending drug after officials deemed it was not cost-effective.

The drug abiraterone cuts the risk of men dying within three years by a third.

But the tablets are only offered on the NHS after patients have had gruelling chemotherapy or stopped responding to standard hormone drugs.

Yesterday, calls for abiraterone to be routinely offered to men from the outset of treatment were rejected by NICE.

The drug abiraterone cuts the risk of men dying within three years by a third

The medicine watchdog said: [We] felt that the latest evidence did not accurately reflect the efficacy of abiraterone as there were concerns that the trials may have overestimated the efficacy of this treatment.

'The price was also higher than the range normally considered a cost-effective use of NHS resources.

Abiraterone costs more than 30,000 a year, compared to about 5,000 to treat a man with chemotherapy.

The drug, developed by the Institute of Cancer Research in London, works by blocking the production of testosterone, slowing down cancer growth and spread.

Prostate cancer affects about 50,000 men a year in the UK and kills 12,000.

The Daily Mail has campaigned for better treatment for men with the disease for two decades.

In April, the coronavirus crisis saw abiraterone made available for three months for men to take at home, sparing them the need for chemotherapy in hospital.

The drug, developed by the Institute of Cancer Research in London, works by blocking the production of testosterone, slowing down cancer growth and spread. Pictured above are prostate cancer cells in a 3D illustration

Prostate Cancer UK called for NICE to reverse its decision, adding that  in the past two years  4,300 men in the UK would have had their lives extended by about 15 months had they received the drug.

It also puts England and Wales out of step with Scotland, where it was approved as a first-line treatment in January.

Experts say the news is particularly devastating for older and frailer men who are often not able to receive chemotherapy due to the serious side effects.

Oncologist Dr Danish Mazhar, from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: Evidence shows that abiraterone has far fewer adverse side effects compared with chemotherapy and could give these men the additional months of life that they would otherwise miss out on.
You are here: China

China's Ministry of Education has issued a circular on launching health campaigns in schools.

The circular requires establishing school-based public health systems and improving public health emergency response mechanisms on campuses.

The ministry called for efforts to improve campus sanitation, including ensuring safe drinking water and strengthening disinfection and ventilation.

Health awareness should be promoted among students and teachers to improve their knowledge of epidemic prevention and control, the circular said.
by Biju Veticad

So far, the country has reported more than 490,000 coronavirus cases. After restrictions were lifted on 31 May, the number rose significantly. In southern India, returning Indian expats are the cause of upsurge. Too many people resumed regular activities without upholding health and safety regulations. Gatherings in Catholic churches are also a problem.

Thiruvananthapuram (AsiaNews)  The number of people with COVID-19 is rising again in India.

After the country was locked down on 24 March, the virus spread gradually. Following the governments decision to ease social confinement and allow the economy to reopen, the situation changed drastically, forcing Delhi to take action to contain the new upsurge.

To that end, Indias Health Ministry is closely monitoring the areas where the number of cases is rising.

So far, more than 490,000 cases have been reported across the country with 15,301 deaths. The most affected states are Maharashtra (147,741), Delhi (73,780), Tamil Nadu (70,977) and Gujarat (29,520).

In Assam, which has about 6,300 cases, the state health minister announced a new full 14-day lockdown starting June 28.

In Kerala, the chief minister said that the state was on the verge of a mass outbreak. He expects the number of infections to rise until August. So far, the state has reported 3,700 cases.

In southern India, cases of contagion have risen with the return of expats from abroad.

At more than 11,000 cases, Telangana is another state where the epidemic is spreading.

Father Sabu Njarolickal, a local missionary priest, told AsiaNews that after restrictions were eased in early June, locals resumed their regular activities paying little attention to health and safety measures.

In many states, religious services have also been authorised again. Fr Sabu notes that although Indian Catholics are aware of the risk of contagion in public gatherings, the number of people coming to some churches is out of control.
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The global home healthcare market is estimated to reach USD 447.6 billion by 2025 growing at a CAGR of 8.3% during the forecast period, according to a new study published by Polaris Market Research. The report Home Healthcare Market Size, By Component Type (Equipment  (Mobility Assist, Therapeutic, Diagnostics), Service  (Infusion Therapy Services, Telemetry, Respiratory Therapy Service, Rehabilitation, Unskilled Home Care)), By Region: Segment Forecast, 2018  2026 provides an extensive analysis of present market dynamics and predicted future trends.

The rising geriatric population globally and increasing workforce of home healthcare service providers. Moreover, increasing demand for home healthcare, and large number of population suffering from chronic disease that require long term care would retain the home healthcare market. While, increasing mergers and acquisitions between the manufacturers to tap the potential market will also influence the entire industry. However, high cost of service providers can hinder market in the near future.

The major players in the market include GE Healthcare, McKesson Corporation, Roche Holding AG, Linde Corporation, Abbott Laboratories, Omron Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, A&D Company, Kindred Healthcare, LHC Group, Fresenius, Kinnser Software.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/home-healthcare-market/request-for-sample

Regionally, North America holds the major share of the global home healthcare market. This report cover the following regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and MEA. In terms of geography, North America accounted majority share in the global market due to huge number of older population that require home care. While, Asia Pacific has a profitable market during the forecast period. This growth is primarily driven by the increasing investment and awareness for home care services in the developing countries on improving the healthcare infrastructure.

Key Take-away

Based on product type, service dominate the market in 2017.

On the basis of geography, the North Americas region dominates the home healthcare market. whereas, Asia Pacific is would notice high growth rate during the forecast period.

Polaris Market Research has segmented the global Home Healthcare market on the basis of Product Type and region type:

Complete Summary with TOC Available @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/home-healthcare-market

Home Healthcare By Geography (Revenue, USD Billion, 2015  2026)

North America U.S. Canada

Europe UK Germany France Italy Spain

Asia-Pacific China Japan India Australia

Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa



Avail discount on this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/home-healthcare-market/request-for-discount-pricing

About Polaris Market Research

Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide unmatched quality of offerings to our clients present globally. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world.

Contact us-

Polaris Market Research

Phone: 1-646-568-9980

Email: sales@polarismarketresearch.com

Web: www.polarismarketresearch.com
Ironically, however, in recent years, the Civics popularity has experienced a decline in its home country  Japan. In fact, back in 2010, Honda temporarily removed the Civic from their model lineup after production of the 8th-generation Civic FD ceased. It wasnt until 2017 did the Civic nameplate officially return to its homeland.

The Civic is undoubtedly one of Hondas most popular models around the world. Available in various body styles, the model continues to be a global success even to this day with the latest 10th-generation model.

Now, it seems the Civic is getting axed in Japan once more. Automotive News reported that Honda will be killing off the Civic sedan in Japan due to low sales and poor demand. In the last fiscal year, Honda only managed to sell 1,619 units of the sedan. In comparison, the Japanese automaker managed to sell nearly 250,000 units of the N-Box Kei-car which coincidentally was Japans best-selling Kei-car in 2019.

For clarity, only the Civic sedan will be removed from Honda Japans lineup. Subsequently, local production of the 4-door Civic sedan will also end. However, the 5-door Civic hatchback, as well as the Civic Type R, will continue to go on sale in the Land of the Rising Sun. Both the hatchback and the Type R will continue to be imported from the UKthat is until the Swindon plant closes its doors next year.

Even though the 10th-generation Civic sedan isnt popular in Japan, it continues to be loved by many across the globe, particularly in the US. This just shows that different countries have different tastes in vehicles. What works in one region may not be applicable in another.

With that in mind, it makes us wonder whether the Civic hatchback would be a hot seller in the Philippines as we only get the sedan. Maybe Honda Cars Philippines can bring in the sportier-looking Civic in the not-so-distant future?

Source: Automotive News via Motor1
After a legal battle lasting nearly 12 years the High Court will order the extradition of Liam Campbell, who was found civilly liable for the Omagh bombing, to Lithuania where he is wanted on international weapons trafficking charges.

Campbell (58) was arrested in Upper Faughart, Dundalk on December 2, 2016, on foot of a second European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by Lithuanian authorities.

The arrest warrant for Campbell stated that he allegedly organised the preparation for the smuggling of weapons in support of the terrorist grouping the Real IRA (RIRA) between the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007.

Campbell's legal team had objected to his surrender based on the length of time he had been subject to the warrant and had argued that he could be subjected to "inhuman or degrading treatment" in prison there.

Mr Remy Farrell SC said that the Lithuanian authorities were "culpable, with a capital C" over the delay, which amounted to an "abuse of process", and that they had been seeking his client's extradition for over ten years.

Mr Farrell added that the remand prison of Lukiskes, in Vilnius, had closed in July of last year, that his client's bail was "hanging over him for four years" and that the delay in proceedings was "shameful".

In a judgement returned this afternoon (FRIDAY), Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly, said she was satisfied that an order for the surrender of Campbell may be made.

As the judgement was delivered electronically, Ms Justice Donnelly said she would formally make the order when Campbell next appears in person before the High Court on July 13th.
Clarifying on the reports that Bhutan blocked canal water for farmers in Assam's Baksa district, Assam Chief Secretary has said that those are incorrect. Taking to Twitter, he stated that Bhutan has been helping in clearing the blockage in the water supply that has arisen due to natural reasons. Moreover, sources from the government said that the Bhutanese side has categorically denied the reports and there is a smooth flow of water to Assam. Kingdom of Bhutan has also issued a statement.

Recent media reports about Bhutan blocking water supply to India has been incorrectly reported. The actual reason being the natural blockage of informal irrigation channels into Indian fields! Bhutan has been actually helping to clear the blockage. pic.twitter.com/H61c5T1EeJ  Kumar Sanjay Krishna (@KrSanjayKrishna) June 25, 2020

Bhutan clarifies

Issuing a statement, the kingdom of Bhutan, stated that media reports alleging that they have stopped the supply of irrigation water to areas in Assam "are totally baseless" & "deliberate attempt by vested interests to cause misunderstanding between friendly people of Bhutan & Assam." They have said that the allegations are "distressing."

The statement said: "Baksa and Udalguri districts in Assam have been benefitting from water sources in Bhutan for many decades and they continue to do so even during the present difficult times when we are faced with COVID-19 pandemic."

READ | Bhutan PM thanks PM Modi for medical supplies; hails India's 'genuine friendship'

READ | Monsoon-hit irrigation system hampering Bhutan restarting water supply for Assam farmer

The reports came that paddy farmers in Baksa district of Assam staged protests after water supply to their paddy fields were stopped by Bhutan. These farmers have been using water flowing from a man-made irrigation system also known as dong since 1953. Under the banner of Kalipur-Bogajuli-Kalanadi Anchalik Dong Bandh Samiti, the farmers staged protest and sought the Centre to take up the issue. However, the Centre has now clarified that Bhutan is helping the Indian side and water flow is smooth.

READ | Coronavirus Live Updates

READ | China eyes Bhutan as a part of its expansionist strategy post clashes with India: Sources
Health Minister Greg Hunt has delayed plans to impose a $200,000 fine on Australians who import liquid nicotine and will review the government's policy on smokers who use vaping to give up cigarettes after a backbench revolt.

The ban, which the Therapeutic Goods Administration last week announced would begin on July 1, will now be delayed for six months while the regulator conducts a formal review and consultation "regarding the classification of nicotine in the Poisons Standard," Mr Hunt said on Friday.

Health Minister Greg Hunt has reversed his vaping import ban, pending a review. Credit:Getty Images

It comes after 28 Coalition MPs  including Queensland senator Matt Canavan, Liberal MP Tim Wilson and former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce  signed a letter condemning the restrictions and warning the ban could drive vapers "back to the more unhealthy habit of smoking".

Several MPs who signed the letter told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age they were incensed at the timing of the TGA announcement, which came at the end of a sitting week and was not put to the Coalition party room.
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The committee gunning for the release of Soumaila Cisse, in collaboration with civil society and the club of friends of Soumaila Cisse, on Thursday organized a peaceful demonstration demanding the release of the opposition leader, the city's deputy, who was kidnapped on March 25 while he was campaigning for the legislative elections, reports the Malian Press Agency (AMAP)
More than 30,000 Nigerian refugees have arrived in Niger's Maradi region during the past two months alone, tripling the number who have fled there since last year.

They are fleeing growing insecurity and atrocities across north-western Nigeria, most of it at the hands of armed gangs that rob, loot, rape and kill.

The latest population movement was triggered by an extremely violent attack on the village of Gangara.

As soon as they heard the first gunshots, Habsou and her younger sister Mariama* grabbed their children and ran for their lives.

Mariama was heavily pregnant. Childbirth was triggered by running away, stress and fear. She died but her child initially survived.

Habsou managed to carry the newborn baby all the way to Niger. But he too died a few days later.

Read Habsou and Mariamas full story here

Nigerian "bandits" also regularly enter Niger to steal cattle. They don't hesitate to kill when they think it is necessary. Despite the presence of the army, the border area is not safe.

UNHCR is currently organizing the relocation of some of the refugees to "villages of opportunity", more than 20 kilometres away from the border.

An estimated 30,000 refugees have fled extreme violence in northwestern Nigeria since April, according to the UN. As a result, the number of refugees fleeing to Niger has nearly tripled from last year and we are still only halfway through 2020. Most of the people fleeing are women and children.

UNHCR is extremely concerned about the deteriorating situation. Those fleeing speak of extreme violence unleashed against civilians.

The refugees from Nigeria were allowed to seek protection in Niger despite border closures due to COVID-19. Now, UNHCR is working closely with authorities in Niger to relocate at least 11,000 refugees to safety and provide water, food, shelter, access to health and other essential support.

*Names changed for protection reasons

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OTTAWA  The federal government said Friday it will pay WE Charity at least $19.5 million to administer its new COVID-19 grant program for student volunteers, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended the decision to award the contract to the Toronto-based organization that works with his wife.

Trudeau said Friday that his government acted on the recommendation of federal bureaucrats, who concluded that WE Charity is the only organization in Canada with the capacity and countrywide network to administer the program.

Asked twice how much Ottawa will pay the charity, Trudeau would only say the government will cover the costs of running the program and that WE  a registered charity that received $680,000 in federal funding in 2018-19  will not earn a profit by administering the program.

Dani Keenan, a spokesperson for Diversity, Inclusion and Youth Minister Bardish Chagger, later confirmed to the Star by email that the government will pay WE Charity $19.5 million to administer the program for 20,000 volunteer placements  a figure that will increase based on how many post-secondary students and recent graduates use the program.

We needed to have a partner to help establish the networks and to deliver that with all partners across the country, Trudeau said Friday morning. As the public service dug into it, they came back with only one organization that was capable of networking and organizing and delivering this program on the scale that we needed.

Trudeau was also asked about his familys ties to the WE organization. The prime minister has appeared at WE rallies, and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, is an ambassador and ally for the organization and hosts a WE-branded podcast on mental health.

WE said by email that Gregoire Trudeau is a volunteer and has never been paid for her work with the organization.

Ive appeared in events with them, voluntarily of course, and have done that with many great businesses and organizations across the country that I believe in, that I think we need to support. And I will continue to do so. As will my family, the prime minister said.

Keenan said WE Charity will be responsible for screening, training and matching volunteers with government-paid placements at not-for-profit organizations through an online portal over the next four months.

It will also channel $5 million of its $19.5 million funding to not-for-profits participating in the program, she said.

The government estimated in April that the Canada Student Service Grant program  which gives up to $5,000 to post-secondary students and recent grads who volunteer at least 500 hours before Oct. 31  would cost $912 million.

NDP MP Charlie Angus called on the government to be more transparent about how and why it awarded this program to WE Charity without a competitive bidding process.

He said the government should release the agreement it signed with the organization, as well as the recommendations it received from the public service about awarding it to WE Charity. He added that he sees a conflict of interest even if the contract doesnt meet that definition under federal law.

The federal Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioners office declined to comment about the grant program contract on Friday.

Everything about this stinks, Angus said in an interview. It speaks to the prime ministers judgment or indifference to public opinion when he is so closely connected with WE.

Popy Dimoulas-Graham is the chief executive officer of Charity Republic, a business that has a software program to track and manage student volunteer hours at more than 35 school districts and universities. She questioned the governments conclusion that no other organization could administer the student grant program in Canada.

Its impossible that WE Charity was the only option. We have a thriving technology community across the country that works closely with charities and educators. We already have the technology infrastructure, she said in a written statement to the Star on Friday.

Why were we not afforded the opportunity to bid in a fair and transparent process?

In 2018, the federal government created the Canada Service Corps, a national youth service initiative that encourages young Canadians to volunteer. The 2019 federal budget devoted $314.8 million over the next five years to the corps, which also worked with the organization Volunteer Canada to build on online hub for volunteer opportunities across the country.

Paula Speevak, president and chief executive of Volunteer Canada, said her organization consulted with the government about its student grant program but decided not to participate. Stressing that she doesnt want to criticize the initiative, she said Volunteer Canada didnt want there to be the impression that  younger people wouldnt volunteer unless there was an incentive.

In an email Friday, Employment and Social Development Canada spokesperson Isabelle Maheu said the department is confident that WE is well-suited to deliver the program, and recommended the government fund the organization to administer it.

She said outsourcing the program was the best choice because the government can use an existing framework to deliver it.
Healthcare systems could be pushed to the brink due to the significant resurgence of the coronavirus cases in Europe as the region continues to report close to 20,000 new cases and more than 700 new deaths per day, WHO Europe warned on June 25 in a press conference held at Copenhagen, Denmark. While globally, nearly 9 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 400,000 deaths have been reported to WHO, the pandemic continues to accelerate, with a record 183,020 new confirmed of coronavirus cases in 24 hours.

"For weeks I have spoken about the risk of a resurgence as countries adjust to measures. In several countries across Europe, this risk has now become a reality  30 countries have seen increases in new cumulative cases of the past two weeks," Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said in a statement.

In several countries across Europe, this risk has now become a reality  30 countries have seen increases in new cumulative cases over the past two weeks. -@hans_kluge  WHO/Europe (@WHO_Europe) June 25, 2020

In 11 of these countries, accelerated transmission has led to very significant resurgence that if left unchecked will push health systems to the brink once again in Europe. -@hans_kluge  WHO/Europe (@WHO_Europe) June 25, 2020

According to WHO, at least 54 countries in the WHO's European region now account for more than 2.6 million of the cases of COVID-19 and 195,048 fatalities. In 11 of the countries, accelerated transmissions have led to a very significant resurgence that if left unchecked will push health systems to the brink once again in Europe, Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge said.

Further, he acknowledged the efforts and responses led by Poland, Germany, Spain, and Israel as they responded quickly to cluster outbreaks of COVID-19 associated with schools, coal mines, and food production settings through rapid and targeted interventions. Speaking about the new normal, several Ministers of Health reported that citizens made safe health practices such as physical distancing and wearing facial masks a norm.

.@DrTedros will speak to the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe later today about the response to #COVID19.



 11:30 CEST



Find out more  https://t.co/FVd215OX28 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/seKfPLZm2x  WHO/Europe (@WHO_Europe) June 26, 2020

Read: US Reports Highest Single Day Rise In New Coronavirus Cases Since April

Read: South Korea Reports 28 New Coronavirus Cases

R-value increased from 0.88 to 2.88

However, concerned with the spike in cases in Europe, WHO reiterated that Germany's four-day infection rate, rate of transmission known as the R-value increased from 0.88 to 2.88 between June 18 and June 22, indicating a surge in infections. The rate of transmission spiked after some localized outbreaks at a meat processing plant were detected where more than 1,000 employees tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Further, in Poland, at least 4,000 coal mine workers contracted the coronavirus in early June.

WHO Europe emphasized on contact tracing via the use of digital technology, saying, Digital technology can play a leading role, not least to support contact tracing. Austria, Georgia, and North Macedonia are among the 27 countries that have released national solutions for digital contact tracing in Europe; with at least another 4 countries (Andorra, Finland, Ireland, Portugal) having solutions underway.

Read: WHO Warns Of Oxygen Shortage As COVID-19 Cases Worldwide Near 10 Million Mark

Read: Asian Stocks Skid As New Coronavirus Cases Rattle Markets

(Image Credit: Twitter/ @WHO/Europe)
An investigation by RFE/RL indicates that Tajikistan's official death toll from COVID-19 doesn't reflect the reality and is significantly lower than the data published by local activists.

The Tajik government, which strictly controls free speech and information, has put the death toll from COVID-19 at 52 as of June 26 with the official number of infections at 5,691.

However, an online list regularly updated by local activists puts the number of those who have died from COVID-19 in Tajikistan at 437, as of June 26.

The data provides the name, age, last place of residence, and the date of death for each person on the list who -- according to the activists -- died from COVID-19.

It also shows the source that provided the information, including the deceased's family or friends, a neighbor, hospital, or social-media information. The table also shows if the information has been "verified" or is "in the process of verification."

RFE/RL has been able to verify that at least 152 people whose names are included on the activists' list have died from COVID-19.

Their diagnosis and subsequent deaths have been confirmed by relatives, local authorities, or health officials contacted by RFE/RL. In some cases, relatives provided medical documents and death certificates of the deceased to back their claims.

Some families told RFE/RL that their relatives suffered from obvious COVID-19 symptoms, but hospital administrations recorded their deaths as caused by pneumonia.

Despite not mentioning COVID-19 in official documents, health officials didn't release the bodies of the dead to the families, the relatives said. They were buried by medical workers that arrived in hazmat suits, the relatives and eyewitnesses told RFE/RL.

At least two hospital directors in Tajikistan told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity that it was impossible to provide the exact number of COVID-19 deaths in the country because hospitals simply don't have test kits to verify the diagnosis.

Both officials said that because of the lack of testing capabilities they decided to put pneumonia as the cause of death of all patients who died with obvious COVID-19 symptoms.

Several other medics confirmed the claim.

RFE/RL filed a written request to the Health Ministry on June 3 asking for comment, but has yet to receive any response.

Tajikistan's record on publishing data on the outbreak has been questioned for some time. Through April authorities claimed the country was virus-free, even though independent media and social-media users had reported numerous fatal cases of "pneumonia" and were asking for an explanation.

Officials finally admitted on April 30 to having recorded 15 coronavirus infections, an announcement made ahead of a visit by experts from the World Health Organization to assess the pandemic situation in the impoverished Central Asian country of about 9 million.

Officials continued to deny registering any coronavirus infections and instead attacked journalists, accusing them of spreading false information and unnecessarily spreading panic among the people.
The impressive collection of Gloria, Dowager Countess Bathurst, is now up for grabs - including royal gifts such as a 'bizarre' bed cover from Queen Anne and a vintage Cartier tiara.

Thought to be worth a staggering 2million, the 255 lots - which boast items cultivated by the former American model as well as inherited from her husband Henry, the 8th Earl Bathurst - are being auctioned at Christie's, in London, next month.

Gloria was thrust into the limelight following her death in 2018, aged 90, after it was revealed she had cut her stepson Allen, now the 9th Earl Bathurst, out of her will.

Instead, she bequeathed almost her entire fortune of more than 33million to two interior designer friends, Grant White and Geoffrey Bradfield.

Glorias collection contains objects that have been in the Bathurst family for more than 300 years, with the aristocratic household boasting courtiers to Queen Anne.

Here, FEMAIL reveals some of the dazzling pieces contained in the collection...

The impressive collection of Gloria, Dowager Countess Bathurst (pictured in 2014), is now up for grabs - including royal gifts such as a 'bizarre' bed cover from Queen Anne and a vintage Cartier tiara

The two designers who got their millions: Grant White (pictured left) and Geoffrey Bradfield (pictured right) were friends of the late Dowager Countess

The Earl of Bathurst with his wife, formerly Lady Sara Apsley at Gloucester Cathedral. The Earl was denied a family fortune of 33 million in his late stepmother's will

1, Embroidered 'Bizarre' Bedcover from Queen Anne

Queen Anne gifted close friend Frances, Lady Bathurst, an Embroidered 'Bizarre' Bedcover (pictured) which is estimated to fetch a whopping 25,000 to 40,000 at auction

Queen Anne gifted close friend Frances, Lady Bathurst, an Embroidered 'Bizarre' Bedcover which is estimated to fetch a whopping 25,000 to 40,000 at auction.

The last Stuart monarch, who was queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1702 to 1714, is remembered for achieving the union of England and Scotland in 1707 and was recently portrayed by Oscar-winner Olivia Colman in The Favourite.

It is thought the bedsheet was made in 1710 before being gifted by the monarch to the family.

The auctioneers believe the item was created by James Leman, a renowned designer of silk patterns and a master weaver during his time in 18th century.

2. Vintage Cartier tiara

There are also multiple jewels in the collection, including an early 20th Century diamond tiara (pictured above)

Who was the Dowager Countess Bathurst? Gloria, Dowager Countess Bathurst, was born in 1927 in New Jersey. She went from rag to riches thanks to her good looks, being picked up as a model for couturiers such as Jacques Fath and Christian Dior in the late 1940s and 50s. She wed lawyer David Rutherston in 1965 before marrying Henry, 8th Earl Bathurst in 1978 following her first husband's death. Gloria, Dowager Countess Bathurst, who was born in 1927 in New Jersey, pictured during her modelling days They divided their time between the Cirencester Park family seat and their Lennox Gardens apartment in Chelsea. The Countess was thrust into the limelight following her death in 2018, aged 90, after it was revealed she had cut her stepson Allen, now the 9th Earl Bathurst, out of her will. Instead, she bequeathed almost her entire fortune of more than 33million to two interior designer friends. This came following a previous court battle over her husband's belongings after he died in 2011, which she lost. Advertisement

There are also multiple jewels in the collection, including an early 20th Century diamond tiara commissioned from the French luxury brand Cartier and belonged to Lilias, Countess Bathurst (1871-1965).

She was known for being the sole heir of her father, inheriting both his wealth and The Morning Post newspaper which she merged with The Daily Telegraph in 1937.

Auctioneers say the headpiece could sell for between 200,000 to 300,000.

It includes stones taken from two older tiaras that Lilias, Countess Bathurst inherited from her mother Lady Glenesk.

3. Art Deco pendant watch from Cartier

There is also a Art Deco pendant watch (above) from Cartier up for grabs for between an estimated 30,000 to 40,000

There is also a Art Deco pendant watch from Cartier up for grabs for between an estimated 30,000 to 40,000.

Christie's say: 'The Art Deco pendant watch showcases Cartiers highly innovative approach to design and attention to detail.

'This small jewel is lavishly set with various gemstones and decorated with fine enamelling displaying the strong chromatic contrasts and geometry so typical of the period.

'The result is sleek and totally modern but the secret compartment, engraved poem and level of craftsmanship are redolent of an intricate Renaissance jewel conveying a hidden message to the wearer.'

It was given by Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley to his wife Viola Apsley, nee Meeking, probably to mark their wedding in 1924.

4. Pearl necklace from Queen Anne

A pearl and diamond necklace (above) passed down the family for generations after being gifted to Frances' daughter-in-law by Queen Anne is included in the collection

A pearl and diamond necklace passed down the family for generations after being gifted to Frances' daughter-in-law by Queen Anne is included in the collection.

It is composed of 39 natural pearls and old-cut diamonds, with auctioneers believing it could fetch between 10,000 to 15,000.

The regal-looking necklace was considered a great heirloom and was proudly displayed in the portraits of the female relatives.

The collection also includes diplomatic gifts, such as Viennese flower paintings on porcelain panels by famed Austrian painter Joseph Nigg.

The artwork was thought to be a gift of gratitude from the Emperor of Austria to the 3rd Earl Bathurst following the defeat of Napoleon.

5. Dinner-service set from a King of Prussia

Further royal lots include a late 18th century Berlin porcelain 'Grand Duke of Courland' pattern part dinner-service (pictured) estimated to go for 15,000 to 25,000

Further royal lots include a late 18th century Berlin porcelain 'Grand Duke of Courland' pattern part dinner-service estimated to go for 15,000 to 25,000.

It was given to Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst (1762-1834) when Secretary of State for War and the Colonies (through the years 1812-1827) by Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia.

As well as Bathurst family heirlooms, there are also several pieces of art that Gloria inherited from her first husband, lawyer David Rutherston.

These include portraits by the Rutherston brothers - notable British figures on the 20th century Modern Art scene - who were her husband's father and uncle.

Many have never been sold on the open market before, instead being passed from relative to relative.
An investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes can reveal the SAS was recently briefed by senior defence officials that inquiry chief Judge Paul Brereton has uncovered evidence to conclude that a small number of SAS soldiers committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

Former special forces medic Dusty Millers journey of reconciliation with the family of Afghan farmer Haji Sardar comes as the Brereton war crimes inquiry examining Mr Sardars 2012 death and allegations of serious misconduct prepares its final report.

A former Australian soldier has sought forgiveness from the Afghan children of a man allegedly stomped to death by another senior special forces soldier in a further development linked to an independent war crimes inquiry.

While the full details of the war crimes uncovered will not be known at least until Mr Brereton's report is finalised in the coming weeks, defence sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the report is still confidential claim it will be so revelatory that Australias special forces command believe the fallout will last for a decade.

Official sources party to internal defence briefings have confirmed the SAS has also been told Australias military chief Angus Campbell and his top brass support the inquiry and the whistleblowers inside the SAS who exposed the misconduct of a small number of rogue soldiers.

The case involving Mr Miller is among those investigated by the inquiry and involves the death of Mr Sardar on March 14, 2012, in the southern Afghanistan village of Sarkum.

Mr Miller has revealed that just prior to his death, Mr Sardar, a father of seven, was in his care suffering a non-fatal gunshot wound. He was shot through the thigh by the SAS when they first landed in his village.

Mr Miller, also a soldier who was deployed with the elite SAS to Afghanistan in February 2012, claims the injured Mr Sardar was taken from his care by a senior SAS soldier. The Herald and The Age have chosen not to name the soldier, who has since left the military, for legal reasons. Injuries on Mr Sardars body suggest he was stomped on. The injuries were photographed by Mr Sardars family. Mr Miller did not witness Mr Sardars death.
40,000 new Covid cases were reported yesterday in the United States, according to the Johns Hopkins data tracker, the worst yet in a pandemic that refused to go away and is once again surging.

There are 2.42m cases reported in total and 124,415 people are dead. Cases are climbing sharply in California, Texas and Florida. Alabama, Texas and Nevada report hospitals close to capacity.

The Washington Post reports more grim facts :
NYPD officers block the entrance of the Manhattan Bridge as hundreds protesting alleged police brutality and systemic racism attempt to cross into the borough of Manhattan from Brooklyn after a citywide curfew went into effect in New York City on June 2, 2020. (Scott Heins/Getty Images)

NYPD Precinct Commander Resigns to Protest States Handling of Police Reforms

A New York Police Department (NYPD) commander for the Bronx precinct is resigning this week in protest of how the department has handled recent city-led reforms and protests that erupted against police brutality in response to the in-custody death of Black American George Floyd.

Deputy Inspector Richard Brea, who led the Bronxs 46th Precinct, is handing in his notice after serving the department for nearly 30 years, Guardian Angels leader Curtis Sliwa told the New York Post on Thursday.

Brea reportedly told Sliwa in a phone conversation that he had not been provided with enough guidance from his superiors on removing drugs and guns from the streets after New York Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to implement wide-ranging law enforcement reforms, including eliminating the departments plainclothes anti-crime units.

How am I supposed to lead? Brea reportedly told Sliwa. Im doing this, and others may be following in my footsteps.

It comes after de Blasio on June 7 pledged to slash funding for the NYPD and redirect it to youth and social services, amid calls from far-left groups to defund the police following Floyds death in Minneapolis.

De Blasio told reporters that he wants people to understand that we are committed to shifting resources to ensure that the focus is on our young people.

While doing that, we will only do it in a way that we are certain continues to ensure that this city will be safe, the mayor said.

Following the death of 46-year-old, who died on May 25 after an officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minuted, and amid growing protests against police brutality, organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement stated they want a national defunding of police.

De Blasio didnt elaborate on the amount he intends to shift from the NYPD to youth initiatives and social services; he said the details will be worked out in the budget process in the coming weeks ahead of the July 1 budget deadline.

The police department currently has an annual budget of $6 billion, which amounts to roughly 6 percent of the mayors proposed $90 billion fiscal 2021 budget.

The mayor previously noted that the city would be forced to cut expenses in the wake of the pandemic caused by the CCP virus, commonly referred to as the novel coronavirus, which has ravaged the nations economy.

Last week, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea announced that the department will eliminate its plainclothes anti-crime units and will transfer those personnel to detective assignments and neighborhood policing, noting that the change would affect some 600 officers.

We welcome reform, but we also believe that meaningful reform starts from within, he told reporters on June 15.

Shea noted that the move is not without risk, questioning whether the decision would result in fewer guns being taken off the streets of New York City. But he said the risk rests squarely on my shoulders.

Silwa told The Post that Brea cited concerns about looters taking advantage of city-wide protests to wreak havoc in parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

He was indicating the problems after lootinglike not seeing them coming, Sliwa said.

Breas last day with the department will be June 26, Silwa said.

Sources told the news outlet that NYPD members are organizing a walkout ceremony at 3 p.m. at the 46th Precinct station house for Brea.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the NYPD for comment.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.


The owner and manager of a Paterson-based school bus company were charged Thursday with covering up its use of unqualified drivers, failure to conduct mandatory drug testing and criminal background checks on them as well as aides and its operation of unsafe buses, authorities said.

The owner, Shelim Khalique, 51, of Wayne, the manager, Henry Rhodes, 56, of Paterson, and the company, A-1 Elegant Tours, Inc., also known as Eastern Star Transportation, LLC, were all charged with conspiracy, false representations for a government contract, theft by deception and tampering with public records or information, according to a release from the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office.

The two men were also charged with misconduct by a corporate official.

We have rightly focused considerable attention in recent years on improving safety and security within our schools, but we also must ensure that children are safe while being transported to and from school, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement. As a parent and public official, I have no higher priority than protecting our children. This bus company allegedly lied about its employees and equipment to secure contracts, and then had unqualified drivers, convicted felons, and those under the influence drive and supervise young children each day in what were frequently unsafe vehicles. This is an unconscionable case of contract fraud.

A search warrant executed at the company yielded personnel files that revealed the company hired numerous drivers who did not have valid commercial drivers licenses or required endorsements, had suspended licenses, and/or had criminal records, the office said.

The company also employed aides with criminal records and several employee files were missing mandatory records of fingerprinting, background checks, and drug testing, officials said.

State law requires school bus drivers and aides to undergo drug testing and criminal background checks, and drivers or aides with criminal records or known substance abuse issues are prohibited from driving or working on school buses, Grewal said.

The owner, manager and company submitted documents listing the names of certain drivers and aides to be employed on bus routes transporting public school students, when in reality other employees who were not properly licensed were transporting students on those routes, the office said. They also allegedly submitted false information concealing the criminal backgrounds of drivers and aides.

Two of the companys former bus drivers were facing pending criminal charges in Essex and Passaic counties for allegedly driving with one or more children on board while under the influence of drugs, according to the release. The driver in Essex County crashed the bus and the other is a registered sex offender under Megans Law, the office said.

A-1 had contracts with public school districts in Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties from 2016 to 2020 but the charges filed Thursday relate only to the companys contracts in Essex County, which totaled more than $1 million, authorities said.

The specific school districts the company contracted with were not released Thursday, however, there was a NorthJersey.com report in 2018 which stated that Paterson schools canceled a contract and broke off its relationship with the company after numerous inspection violations and a child who was left on a bus.

On May 31, 2019, investigators conducted surprise inspections of A-1s buses at various schools after they dropped off students in the morning and almost all of the buses failed inspection so badly that they were impounded and were not allowed to be driven off the school properties, the office said.

In 2018, the Motor Vehicle Commission cited the company and its driver numerous times, including 22 citations for allowing a disqualified driver to operate a motor vehicle, nine citations for failure to possess a valid CDL with operating a motor vehicle, five for failure to possess valid endorsements and one for driving with a suspended license, officials said.

A-1 used various tactics to avoid Motor Vehicle Commission inspections and citations including diverting unlicensed drivers away from inspection sites and having drivers keep their buses at their homes overnight, according to the release.

An attorney for Khalique, Joseph Rotella, told NJ Advance Media that his client denies the allegation of any criminal wrongdoing.

He looks forward to seeing the evidence the state claims shows that he committed a crime, Rotella said.

Khalique was separately charged Thursday with charges related to alleged voter fraud in Patersons local election held last month.

Rhodes attorney, Howard Lesnik, declined to comment Thursday evening.

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.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn.  A 26-year-old man from Springfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced this week to 6 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to taking part in a trafficking ring that shuttled large amounts of heroin from Connecticut to Western Massachusetts.

Jonathan Velez was also ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Victor A. Bolden to serve four years probation after his release. Velez pleaded guilty in 2018 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.

Velez was arrested in 2017 along with 13 other people on drug trafficking charges following an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agencys Hartford Task Force. Prosecutors said the operation moved large amounts of heroin from Hartford to locations in Springfield and Holyoke.

At the time of the arrests, officials seized 10 kilograms of heroin mixed with fentanyl and seven firearms. Police found 116 grams of heroin and a handgun in Velezs Springfield apartment.

He has been in custody since his arrest.
The prisons first cases occurred in June, climbing to over 500 in one month and more than quadrupling this week.

The California state jail system has seen a staggering increase in coronavirus cases over the past week  with cases at the overcrowded San Quentin facility jumping from 100 to 539  and total inmate deaths across the state prison system totalling 20.

Attorneys, advocates and former inmates say this increase suggests that lowering prison populations might be the only effective way to stop the pandemics resurgence inside the US penitentiaries.

The state has seen 1,001 new COVID-19 cases in its prison system in the past 14 days, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said on Friday afternoon. This increase comes as the United States experiences record-setting spikes in coronavirus cases.

San Quentin is Californias only state prison with a death row, accounted for the majority, with 512 new cases as of Friday. The prison is in Marin County, near the city of San Francisco.

The outbreak at San Quentin has grown quickly. Officials said last weekend there were about 100 cases. By Monday, the total had jumped to 300, with an additional 174 cases in both inmates and staff reported by Thursday.

San Quentin is overpopulated. A June 24 population report (PDF) from the CDCR shows the prison had 3,507 inmates, or 113.8 percent of its total capacity of 3,082.

Overpopulation and poor decisions play a huge role in the outbreak, according to James King, the state campaigner for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights who spent roughly six-and-a-half years in San Quentin, and was released in December.

Overcrowding

King noted that all of San Quentins cases began in June, after the May 30 transfer of 121 inmates from Chino, another California state prison that had a coronavirus outbreak.

Most of those inmates had not been tested for coronavirus before switching prisons, according to local media.

King told Al Jazeera that while this transfer was likely the cause, an outbreak could have occurred a myriad of ways due to how people come in and out of the facility.

The prison is separated into four housing blocks, North, East, South and West, King explained. In North Block and West Block  each of these buildings were designed for about 400 people, but they house over 700 people, closer to 800 people.

Groups of roughly 80 people at the same time queue for food. There are 20 phones and about 25 shower heads for hundreds of people in each of the blocks, according to King.

CDCR has ordered cleaning protocols for these areas, but with such large populations, King said theres no way they could be effectively disinfected.

San Quentins public information officer did not immediately respond to Al Jazeeras requests for comment on Kings concerns.

National failure

Beginning July 1, CDCR will implement a community supervision program for eligible offenders who have 180 days or less to serve and a place to safely shelter during this unprecedented global pandemic, the CDCR said in a statement emailed to Al Jazeera.

The CDCR, which said it has taken significant action to provide healthcare and address the outbreak, expects 80 inmates to be released from San Quentin before July 1 as part of the programme.

King said the Ella Baker Center is calling on the CDCR and California Governor Gavin Newsom to do more, including issuing reprieves to elderly inmates like 79-year-old Fred Cole, who will not be eligible for parole until 2029 but is not a threat to anyone and hasnt been in a long time.

Newsom said on June 25 that he hopes to expedite the release of low-risk inmates and state courts are reviewing the cases of about 3,500 inmates in the state prison system who could be released.

There is anecdotal evidence in California that prison releases could help stave outbreaks, Jeff Chorney, a deputy public defender for Alameda County in the Bay area, told Al Jazeera.

Twenty inmates have died of COVID-19 in the California prison system since the coronavirus pandemic began [File: Stephen Lam/Reuters]

Chorney cited the example of the Santa Rita Jail (SRJ), which suffered its COVID-19 outbreak in March at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the US, drawing concern from local activists and advocates.

SRJ responded by decreasing its inmate population about 30 percent, Chorney said, from 2,497 on March 1 to 1,805 on June 25.

While a scientific study would be needed to confirm the efficacy of depopulation, they lowered the population very dramatically and we havent seen a huge outbreak, Chorney observed.

The jail has zero coronavirus cases among its inmate population, though there are 32 current cases among employees, according to public figures.

SRJs response came as numerous prison advocacy groups called for releases to contain the spread of the virus in detention centres across the US.

While SRJ took effective steps, most US prisons did not, according to a joint report by the American Civil Liberties Union and The Prison Policy Initiative released on Thursday.

The report graded the 50 states on their efforts. Almost all received failing grades, including California and New York, which received F+ rankings.

In some states, we observed significant jail population reductions. Yet no state had close to adequate prison population reductions, the report said.

As of June 22, 2020, over 570 incarcerated people and over 50 correctional staff have died and most of the largest coronavirus outbreaks are in correctional facilities, it continued.

More people will die

CDCRs latest coronavirus death was announced on June 23 and occurred at the Avenal State Prison, where there are 64 inmates with coronavirus, according to the department.

An inmate on San Quentins death row, 71-year-old Richard Eugene Stitely, was found dead in his cell on Wednesday night. Authorities have not released a cause of death.









The 20 confirmed COVID-19 prisoner deaths are more than the 13 people California has executed since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a US-based organisation that tracks capital punishment.

Governor Newsom signed an order pausing executions in 2019, saying that intentional killing of another person is wrong and as Governor, I will not oversee the execution of any individual.

The order served as a reprieve for the 737 people on Californias death row, which was the largest number facing execution in the US.

For Alameda County Chief Public Defender Brendon Woods, prison overcrowding could be a death sentence.

More people are going to die unless the governor acts now. The only way to stop the spread is to lower the prison population, Woods said in a statement delivered to Al Jazeera.
Chronicle file

Pearland Mayor Tom Reid has issued an order effective at 12:01 a.m., Sunday, June 28, that will require employees in city businesses as well as patrons age 10 years and older to wear masks in those businesses.

Businesses will be required to post the policy in an obvious location, Failure of a business to implement the policy could face a possible fine of up to $1,000 per violation, according to the order.
Paul Nice retires after more than half century of working for Franconia
Turkey Sustainable Energy Financing Facility celebrates 10 years of operations

EBRD and EU invest 650 million in renewable sector in Turkey

More than 1,600 energy efficiency and renewable energy projects

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) are marking 10 years of support for green energy projects in Turkey through the Turkey Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (TurSEFF).

The anniversary occurs during the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), dedicated this year to underlining the urgent need for clean energy and green recovery after the coronavirus pandemic.

For the past decade, TurSEFF has been working to develop Turkeys renewable energy market and invested over 650 million in more than 1,600 energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

The EU has provided funding for technical assistance, essential to the project implementation. To date, these projects have resulted in the installation of 535 MW of renewable energy capacity, and contributed to saving over 6 million kWh of primary energy and more than 2.3 million tonne of CO 2 emissions per year.

The EBRD is committed to providing funds and policy support that will help Turkey cope with the coronavirus crisis and use the current situation to tilt to green decisively. Speaking to Turkeys foreign economic relations board (DEIK), EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said last week: We must not lose momentum in our efforts to reduce carbon emissions and manage the long-term climate emergency.

Turkey has come a long way in developing its renewable sources of energy. Ten years ago, there was limited renewable energy generation and the key source still remains imported fossil fuels. This left the country vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices and made it a major producer of greenhouse gas emissions.

In a move to accelerate the transition to a green economy in Turkey, the EBRD launched TurSEFF, which has been on-lending financing to private small and medium-sized enterprises for energy efficiency projects through nine partner financial institutions.

Companies that have benefited from TurSEFF financing range from a fishery in the Mediterranean province of Mugla that built a 100 kW off-grid solar power plant to replace expensive and polluting diesel generators to a hotel in the resort island of Kusadas that has invested in a portfolio of small-scale energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to improve its sustainability. TurSEFF beneficiaries also include an energy service company that helped an Istanbul hospital achieve greater energy efficiency and reliability of power supply.

The demand for clean energy in the country remains strong despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus crisis. We will continue to work with the private sector and the government to support Turkey in achieving its target of reduce primary energy consumption by 14 per cent by 2023, said the EBRD Managing Director for Turkey, Arvid Tuerkner.

The EU is providing funding for technical assistance, while the Climate Investment Funds Clean Technology Fund is contributed concessional funding during the first phase of the facility, until 2013. This funding helps to make the loans affordable and facilitates training for partner financial institutions, allowing them to build their capacity to deliver energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

The Bank also finances mid-sized renewable energy generation in the private sector and sustainable energy in the residential sector through dedicated credit lines to Turkish banks, MidSEFF (Turkey Mid-size Sustainable Energy Financing Facility) and TuREEFF, Turkey Residential Energy Efficiency Financing Facility, respectively.

As Turkish businesses seek to save energy and money, the EBRD has been providing not only financing but has also helped the authorities to develop key policies that have created favourable conditions to further boost investment in energy efficiency and renewables. Following the adoption of Turkeys National Renewable Energy Action Plan in 2015, which unlocked greater investment in renewables, the country is now planning a 14 per cent reduction in primary energy consumption by 2023, in line with its National Energy Efficiency Action Plan passed in 2018.

The EBRD is a major investor in Turkey. Since 2009 it has invested 12.6 billion through 317 projects in various sectors of the countrys economy, with almost all investment in the private sector. The EBRDs 7 billion portfolio in Turkey is the largest among the 38 economies where the Bank invests.
Her Channel Seven talk show, The Daily Edition, was recently axed after seven years on the air.

But on Friday, Sally Obermeder was all smiles as she stepped out to grab coffee in Sydney's Rose Bay.

Sharing a photo from the outing to Instagram, the 46-year-old wrote: 'Friday. Picking up some special things for special people.'

All smiles: Channel Seven's Sally Obermeder was all smiles as she stepped out to grab coffee in Sydney's Rose Bay on Friday

The media personality looked chic in a houndstooth jacket and brown turtleneck, and she accessorised with a Gucci handbag.

Sally has been wrapping up her final week of hosting The Daily Edition with former co-host Tom Williams by her side.

Tom, who hosted The Daily Edition from 2013 to 2018, officially returned to the show on Wednesday to replace Ryan Phelan, who was sacked on Monday after being charged over an alleged domestic violence incident.

'Look whos back!' Sally Obermeder (left) welcomed her former co-host Tom Williams (right) back to The Daily Edition with a cheerful Instagram post on Wednesday - after Ryan Phelan was sacked amid domestic violence charges

Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Sally seemed chipper as she re-introduced Tom to fans via Instagram, sharing a photo of the pair beaming on set.

'Look who's back! Yep. It's Tom Williams finishing the week and the @dailyeditionon7 era with me, just like we started seven years ago,' she wrote in the caption.

Seven confirmed the axing of The Daily Edition last week, with its final episode to air this Friday.

Just like old times! Sally (front) beamed triumphantly as she shared footage of herself and Tom (back) preparing to host another episode of The Daily Edition

End of an era: Sally has hosted The Daily Edition for seven years

Tom was brought in to front the program alongside Sally for its last episodes.

He was called back in light of serious allegations made against Ryan Phelan by his girlfriend, 44-year-old ballet instructor Chelsea Franklin.

Phelan, 45, was charged on Monday night over an alleged domestic violence incident with Ms Franklin at their home in Frenchs Forest in Sydney's northern beaches.
A popular broadcaster, Ifedayo Olarinde aka Daddy Freeze, who came under intense criticism online for promoting alleged internet fraudster, Ramon Abass, also known as Hushpuppi, has defended himself.

Nigerians called out the broadcaster, known for criticising pastors, on Twitter, following a mini-documentary on YouTube wherein he featured Hushpuppi.

In the video that has gone viral, the broadcaster could also be seen dining with Hushpuppi and mocking Nigerians who questioned his luxurious lifestyle on social media.

In the documentary, Hushpuppi was heard saying his driver collects more money in a month than a local government chairman in Nigeria.

Daddy Freeze said, Hushpuppis driver earns #700,000 a month, you that are abusing him, you are doing houseboy work and you are collecting #35,000 you go on instablog to go and abuse Hushpuppi Instead of you to beg Hushpuppi make he use your papa do driver.

Defense

Addressing critics on Friday, Daddy Freeze said he never knew Hushpuppi to be a criminal but a social media influencer and that if he knew, he wouldnt have hung out with him.

I didnt know him to be a criminal, if I did I wouldnt hang out with him. And unless someone is proven guilty, I do not discriminate against them because the one who thought me Christianity, the one who I follow, Christ did not discriminate against anyone, he said.

Speaking about his infamous interview with Hushpuppi, the broadcaster said he was in Dubai for a Cool FM event when Hushpuppi reached out to him.

He said he had tweeted that he was in Dubai, Hushpuppi saw his tweet and invited him for dinner.

The 44-year-old OAP added that he does not support fraud in any way and he would not have done a video with Hushpuppi if he had a case in court.

As of the time I did the video, which is eight months ago, he had no case. Even now, until he is proven guilty by a competent court, we have to sit down and wait and allow the court to do its work.

While we were driving, he got calls from Gucci, he got calls from Versace, and he got calls from LV all wanting to host him and he says he is an influencer. He didnt get calls from any hackers, at least while I was there, there was nothing suspicious, he said.

Background

Hushpuppi was arrested in the United Arab Emirate on June 10, for multiple fraud charges.

The Dubai police officially released a video on Thursday, detailing how his arrest was effected. It was revealed in the video that Hushpuppi had defrauded thousands of victims of about N168 billion

Many of his followers acknowledged benefitting from his occasional cash giveaways, even though his source of affluence, which has long evoked the curiosity of bloggers, remained unclear,

Hushpuppi joins a list of high-profile Nigerians to be arrested so far in 2020. He was arrested months after several other Nigerians, including Obinwanne Okeke and Ismaila Mompha, were arrested in August and October 2019, respectively, for their alleged roles in separate multinational fraud.

Hushpuppi, who has over two million followers on Instagram, is known for his display of wealth on social media.

He often posts pictures with his luxury cars like Ferrari and Rolls Royce and a private jet.
The scientific case for the range of vaccines recommended by public health officials in the U.S. remains as solid as ever. But anti-vaccine propaganda has found its way into many reaches of American life.
Another day, another press conference, a potentially significant find - but still no sign of Noah.

And, as we begin the sixth full day of searching for the Year 10 pupil, vital questions remain unanswered.

What was the 14-year-old, who hails from the south of the city, doing in that part of north Belfast?

Was he on his way to meet someone and, if so, who? Why did he have a laptop with him, when he already had a phone?

And, more generally, how can anyone disappear without a trace, let alone a young boy who was supposedly naked on a bicycle?

Read More

Detectives are of course hoping the recovery of Noah's Lenovo laptop in the rucksack a member of the public brought to detectives' attention might unlock some of the secrets.

Perhaps it will contain something that wasn't found on his phone, which the police have had in their possession since shortly after he went missing.

The one thing we're sure of is that time is of the essence.

On Sunday it will be a week since the popular St Malachy's schoolboy set off on his Apollo mountain bike across the city.

His mother Fiona expected him, her only child, back later that evening but initial concern eventually morphed into the deep trauma she has been experiencing ever since.

At Friday's press conference, Superintendent Muir Clark told reporters that Noah's family had been "extremely helpful" and "highly cooperative" during what was an exceptionally difficult and distressing time.

But he added that Noah's reason for being in that particular area of north Belfast "is still unclear to both the family and us".

Presumably the detectives working on this most baffling of cases know considerably more than they're currently making public.

It is clear, however, that there is a missing link in the chain of evidence and hopefully Supt Clark's assertion on Friday that the laptop was a "significant" find will indeed prove to be just that.

The search operation is less conspicuous than it was earlier in the week, when hundreds of people from north Belfast and beyond joined in.

Fiona Donohoe on Friday used the medium of this newspaper to express her gratitude towards those who spent hours canvassing every house, shed, outbuilding, back alley, scrubland and inch of parkland while out looking for her son.

Their efforts augmented those of the specialist teams including PSNI divers, who've been crawling through drains and sewers over the past few days.

It is understood the search has been extended to include the Antrim Road and Belfast city centre.

You get the feeling, however, that the clues as to Noah's whereabouts remain undiscovered within the boundaries of the area of north Belfast where he was last seen.

As Sean McCarry, head of operations at the Community Rescue Service, which has been assisting the PSNI in the search for Noah, told me on Fridays: "We are expanding our search slowly and methodically to wider areas, although we also keep looking behind. We're bearing in mind that people can come into an area that has already been searched."

With Noah's picture having been on newspaper front pages, websites, bus shelters, posters and social media for almost a week now, it is hard to imagine someone not recognising him should he reappear.

People go missing in Northern Ireland all the time, many of them Noah's age.

The majority, however, are found or return home within a relatively short time, even though every hour will feel like a day for their distraught loved ones.

Fiona Donohoe can only sit by the phone, willing it to ring with the news she is praying for.

She will have been encouraged by the laptop find; let's hope it is as significant as police believe.
Girls Basketball: Watertown drops home games to No. 4 Rapid City Stevens, No. 5 Rapid City Central

Watertown High Schools girls basketball team lost to fifth-rated Class AA Rapid City Central 43-24 on Saturday and to fourth-rated Rapid City Stevens 50-29 on Friday in non-conference games played in the Civic Arena.
They say that no battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.

But Daniel Andrews' attempt this week to deploy overwhelming force and military might against Melbourne's growing COVID-19 clusters was barely out of the trenches before it was in serious strife.

The Premier hasn't had the best of weeks. Credit:AAP

The Premier brought out the heavy artillery for Thursdays extravaganza announcement  complete with 10-page glossy brochure  in a plan to blast out those suburban COVID-19 outbreaks making Victoria the talk of the nation again.

With a target of 25,000 tests a day, mobile diagnostic units parked on suburban streets, a huge info blitz in migrant communities and of course those 850 soldiers, it was a lot to absorb.
Theories Kim Jong-un is actually dead have resurfaced as he vanishes from the spotlight once again.



Japanese officials say they have suspicions about the secretive North Korean leaders health amid the dictators latest disappearing act.



The countrys defence minister made the extraordinary comments at a press briefing in Japan  then added he was not allowed to discuss it any further.



Taro Kono also told media he thought recent movements in the hermit state were all very strange.



Pyongyang has repeatedly insisted the North has no cases of coronavirus amid the global pandemic, despite infections around the world reaching the millions and the virus hitting neighbouring South Korea.



The June 7 pictures purport to show the leader at a Political Bureau meeting of a Workers Party of Korea committee (Image: via REUTERS)

The Japanese defence minister told reporters: We have some suspicions about his [Kim Jong-uns] health.



He claimed the very strange movements in North Korea were because of Kim trying not to get infected, and that Covid-19 was spreading around the country.



Mr Kono did not elaborate on what may have happened to Mr Kim or imply any official speculation he is dead, saying only: Im not allowed to discuss intelligence issues.



The top official said Japan and the United States and other countries had been exchanging information about the North Korean leader.



North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is pictured on June 7 in state media images (Image: via REUTERS)

The tyrants sometimes lengthy disappearing acts from the public eye have longed sparked death rumours.



Tightly-controlled media in the state means the 36-year-olds rare public outings can usually only be gleaned from propaganda reports.



Pictures have emerged in the past purporting to show the leader using body doubles.



Earlier this year rumours of his death circulated after claims of a botched heart operation.



But he popped up again on May 1 in pictures at a fertiliser plant before vanishing again for three weeks, prompting more questions about his health.



Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono (Image: Rodrigo Reyes Marin/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock)

Just as theories were beginning to fly once again, Mr Kim re-emerged to make declarations about putting his country on nuclear alert.



In recent weeks tensions have flared up again on the peninsula, after Mr Kims regime blew up a diplomatic liaison office in the latest clash with Seoul.



Pictures of a smiling Mr Kim were released by the official state media, the Korean Central News Agency on June 7.



Two months ago, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi had revealed the government was working with the US to attempt to gather information on the leaders health.



The divided Koreas yesterday marked seventy years since the war began.



Prospects for a peace treaty to officially end the conflict appear as distant as ever, as the North and South held low-key commemorations on Thursday amid heightened tensions.



And Mr Kono told the conference on Thursday that Japan is considering acquiring weapons able to strike enemy missile launchers to bolster its defence against North Korea.



Any first-strike capability would represent a fundamental

shift in Japans military posture that could raise the concern

of neighbours, Reuters reports.



The US, Japans main ally, has also had reservations about it gaining an independent strike capability.



Mr Kono reignited debate this month over whether Japan should get the capability to strike enemy bases to

stop North Korean ballistic missiles attacks and counter a

perceived growing threat from China when he suspended deployment of two Aegis Ashore installations.



I dont think we are excluding any option before

discussions, he told the news conference when asked

whether a strike capability would be on the agenda of Japans

National Security Council when it considers options.

Source: mirror.co.uk









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In May, two county residents sued County Executive Marc Elrich (D) and the director of the Department of Health and Human Services for funding a one-time emergency assistance check during the novel coronavirus pandemic to low-income families that do not qualify for the federal stimulus check or state benefits.
MSNBC must believe that theres not enough racial hatred in the country if the many media reports about it handing a plum time slot to Joy Reid are true. Joe Concha reports in The Hill:

MSNBC weekend host Joy Reid is reportedly in line to take the 7 p.m. weekday slot formerly filled by Chris Matthews, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. MSNBC's 7 p.m. slot has been occupied by a series of rotating hosts for the past three months. Reid has been seen as the front-runner for the job since Matthews departed as her star power continues to rise on the progressive network, with a social media following that has risen to 1.7 million followers. (snip) Reid currently hosts "AM Joy" which runs weekend on the network, but she also frequently pops up as a guest host or for appearances on MSNBC throughout the week.

Reids weekend show has been a venue for race hatred and lunatic conspiracy theories. Less than 3 months ago, she announced

Trump has always had designs on reigning as a monarch with unlimited power, rather than serving as a mere president in a democracy. But with the country facing an unprecedented public health crisis, what lengths might he, backed by an Attorney General whose writings and actions point to a fundamental belief in an all-powerful presidencyat least when the would-be king is a Republicanwhat lengths might Trump go to, to expand his power under the guise of national security?

She tolerates, with no objections voiced, guests who call for beating and destroying white people who vote for Donald Trump.

But even if hating Trump and his supporters doesnt rate any sort of objection from the MSNBC suits, Reid has a history of anti-homosexual blog posts, which she proceeded to lie about,and then when busted, to apologize for.

Variety reported in December 2017:

MSNBC host Joy Reid has issued an apology for past comments she made in posts to her blog, The Reid Report, which have been criticized as homophobic. According to Mediaite, the statements, which were posted between 2007 and 2009  The Reid Report has been shut down for several years  speculate on the sexuality of then-Florida governor Charlie Crist, who Reid refers to as Miss Charlie several times throughout. The posts mock him for supposedly being a closeted gay man, including the conspiracy theory that Crist married his then-wife Carole Rome in order to further his chances of becoming John McCains running mate. Crist, at the time a conservative politician, was well-known for holding policy views against same-sex marriage, though he has since switched stances and political parties. Twitter user @Jamie_Maz was the first to call attention the posts after accessing them via an internet service. This note is my apology to all who are disappointed by the content of blogs I wrote a decade ago, for which my choice of words and tone have legitimately been criticized, Reid said in a statement provided to Variety. As a writer, I pride myself on a facility with language  an economy of words or at least some wisdom in the selection. However, that clearly has not always been the case.

That was just Round One. Later, Vox reported in April 2018:

Joy-Ann Reid on Saturday (4/28/28)apologized for her past hurtful remarks about LGBTQ people, following the resurfacing of homophobic blog posts from the mid-to-late 2000s. But she also said that she still doesnt believe that she wrote the blog posts, suggesting  without evidence  that they were the result of an elaborate hack.

.@MSNBC's Joy Reid addresses homophobic blog posts:



"I genuinely do not believe I wrote those hateful things ... But I can definitely understand, based on things I have tweeted and have written in the past, why some people don't believe me." pic.twitter.com/PWjdPfs5KB  MSNBC (@MSNBC) April 28, 2018

Vox continues:

The host of MSNBCs weekend show AM Joy has been under fire for newly uncovered blog posts published on Reids now-defunct blog, the Reid Report, in the mid-to late 2000s that repeatedly mocked gay people and specific individuals who were allegedly gay. The posts, for example, suggested  without much, if any, evidence  that Tom Cruise, Karl Rove, and Chief Justice John Roberts son are gay. Other posts made derogatory remarks about gay people, claiming that most straight people cringe at the sight of two men kissing and that adult gay men tend to be attracted to very young, post-pubescent types. One post acknowledged, Does that make me homophobic? Probably. These are different from previous blog posts that Reid apologized for in December 2017. In those past posts, Reid wrote that then-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was gay, nicknamed him Miss Charlie, and claimed that he only married a woman for political purposes. Reid said her comments were insensitive, tone-deaf and dumb. There is no excusing it  not based on the taste-skewing mores of talk radio or the then-blogosphere, and not based on my intentions. Crist, whos now a member of Congress, accepted her apology.

Reid also went after openly homosexual Pete Buttigieg on utterly specious grounds, claiming a racist dog whistle in a tweet he posted less than 6 months ago, during his presidential campaign:

In the face of unprecedented challenges, we need a president whose vision was shaped by the American Heartland rather than the ineffective Washington politics weve come to know and expect.  Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) January 29, 2020

Reid claimed in an interview with Buttigieg after the tweet (video below), Heartland, that sounds like a lot of people like a dog whistle for white voters.

Umm, South Bend  where Pete comes from and which he obviously references as his heartland credential  is 26.3% black, double the national average share of black population. Reid betrays a racist presumption that black people are ineligible to be part of the heartland for some reason. What does this say of her perception of Smericas heart?

Reid obviously is being completely forgiven for her past sins, which is ironic because the time slot she is about to inherit was vacated when MSNBC fired Chris Matthews for his past sins of sexism.

I wonder how the LGTBQ communities feel about this selective forgiveness?

Photo credit: MSNBC screen grab (cropped) via Fox News
My favorite story in John Boltons book about the Trump Fun House  sorry, White House  was that Donald Trump appealed to Chinas leader to buy more U.S. agricultural products to boost Trumps farm vote and his re-election.

Donald: Stop begging. Both Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have decided to vote for you. Dont worry!

They know that as long as youre president, America will be in turmoil. For Xi, that means were a less formidable economic rival, and for Vlad, that means were a less attractive democratic model for his people. They also both know that as long as youre president, the U.S. will never be able to galvanize a global coalition of allies against them, which is what China fears most on trade, human rights and COVID-19, and Russia on Ukraine and Syria.

Dont take it from me. Heres what Zhou Xiaoming, a former Chinese trade negotiator and deputy representative in Geneva, told Bloombergs Peter Martin: If Biden is elected, I think this could be more dangerous for China because he will work with allies to target China, whereas Trump is destroying U.S. alliances.

Chinese officials, Martin reported, see a unified front on trade or human rights by the U.S. and its allies as Washingtons greatest asset for checking Chinas widening influence, and Trumps behavior ensures that will never come about.

But while China may think it has nothing to fear and much to gain from a Trump victory over Joe Biden, the real U.S.-China story should be cause for alarm in Beijing.

The real story is that Chinas standing in America today is lower than at any time since Tiananmen Square in 1989. The real story is that if China was to buy a few more beans and Boeings from America, that would not fix Beijings problems here. The real question the Chinese should be asking themselves is not who will be Americas next president, but rather: Who in China lost America?

Because the real story is that the U.S. and China are heading for a divorce.

The divorce papers will just say the cause was irreconcilable differences. But mom and dad know better. They are getting divorced, after 40 years of being one couple, two systems, because China badly overreached and America badly underperformed.

Love it or hate it, the U.S.-China partnership forged between 1979 and 2019 delivered a lot of prosperity to a lot of people and a lot of relative peace to the world  and, baby, we will miss it when its gone.

It was a period of unconscious economic coupling. Steadily over this era, and then rapidly after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, any America entrepreneur could wake up and say, I want to purchase from this Chinese company or I want to move this supply chain to China. Any U.S. university could say, I want to open a campus in China, and any U.S. tech company could say, I want to open a research lab in China or hire a Chinese scientist.

And any Chinese student could say, I want to study in America, and any Chinese company that qualified could say, I want to list on the New York Stock Exchange or invest in or buy an American company.

These four decades of unconscious coupling hurt some workers, benefited many others and especially benefited consumers; it also took the edge off the natural rivalry between the worlds most powerful country and the most important rising power, and enabled them to collaborate on global problems, like climate change and the post-2008 economic crisis.

This 40 years of unconscious coupling is over. We will still trade, still engage diplomatically; tourists will still come and go; U.S. businesses will still look to operate in the giant China market, because they must to survive.

But the unconscious coupling is over. Henceforth, it will be more hedged, opportunities will be more restricted and the relationship will be full of a lot more conscious suspicion, pressures for self-sufficiency and fear that a rupture could happen at any time.

Under Trump, we have reduced investments in the true sources of our strengths: infrastructure, education, government-funded scientific research, immigration, and the right rules to incentivize productive investment and prevent excessive risk-taking. And we have stopped leveraging our greatest advantage over China: that we have allies who share our values, and China only has customers who fear its wrath.

If we got together with our allies, we could collectively influence China to accept new rules on trade, COVID-19 and a range of other issues. But Trump refused to do so, making everything a bilateral deal or a fight with Xi.

Summing up the relationship today, Jim McGregor, chairman of APCO Worldwide, noted: I dont know if the Chinese are taking America seriously anymore. They are happy to just let us keep damaging ourselves. We have to wake up and grow up  and get our own act and allies together. China respects one thing only: leverage. Today, we have too little and China has too much.

@tomfriedman
26.06.2020 LISTEN

An aggrieved New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary aspirant in the Subin constituency, Joseph Boakye Danquah who was defeated has accused the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Eugene Boakye Antwi, of conducting the primary illegally and declaring himself the winner.

Mr. Danquah said he has petitioned the party to order a re-run of the election.

Im going to make sure that the law takes its course. Thats all. I have brought my petition to the party that they should order a re-run of the elections because this is an illegal activity. He [the incumbent MP] used police to perpetrate fraud on the people of Subin, he said on Eyewitness News.

A day before the June 20 primary, a High Court in Kumasi placed an interim injunction on the NPP primary in the Subin Constituency.

This followed a suit filed by 51 delegates in the constituency because of the removal of their names from the constituency album and their suspension.

In their writ of summons, the plaintiffs asked the court to prevent the use of any illegal, unlawful and wrongful photo album for the purposes of conducting the election in the Subin NPP Constituency Parliamentary primaries scheduled to take place on the 20th day of June 2020.

The plaintiffs, which include Yahaya Iddrisu, Isaac Nimako, Yaa Boagyewaa, among others were also seeking a declaration that their suspension was unlawful.

Per this, the primary was not supposed to be held in the constituency.

However, the incumbent MP of Subin, who also doubles as the Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, Eugene Boakye Antwi went ahead and conducted the elections himself, according to Mr. Danquah.

He claimed the incumbent had people pose as Electoral Commission officers to come and conduct the elections and even had people who were not delegates of the party vote.

He used the state resource [police] to intimidate people to get his way. If we allow that to stand as a nation, that will be a blow to us. And what even bothers me is he going around saying he didnt get the injunction. This guy is using his office to intimate everyone because he thinks he can, he added.

Reports after the election in the constituency declared Eugene Boakye Antwi as the winner, having polled 485 votes, with Mr. Danquah coming second with 165 votes.

---citinewsroom
India needs to bring in cost competitiveness and raise scale to grow its manufacturing sector and compete globally, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Managing Director Pawan Goenka said on Friday.

The auto industry leader also emphasised on enhancing productivity and also harped upon the importance to have a global value chain to usher in prosperity and economic growth.

While participating in the BNEF summit here, Goenka said the government is now for the first time making serious efforts to see that the manufacturing sector grows in the country.

"You cannot grow manufacturing by forcing people to invest because investment can happen only if there is some return coming out of it. Therefore, what India has to do is to reduce manufacturing cost," he said.

Unfortunately, India is not competitive in manufacturing cost for a variety of reasons, Goenka said.

Also, there are factors like time to set up a plant and cost of money, he said adding that the industry needs to bring in various factors together to grow manufacturing base, he added.

"China was not built in a day, it took decades of focused effort towards a defined goal. China has built a scale, India has not been able to build a scale. Without scale, the manufacturing sector cannot grow. Therefore, industry and the government will have to work together," Goenka said.

India should aim at becoming a producer of products and then export these to other markets, he said.

"There are many opportunities across sectors but it is not something where we can flip a switch and say we are ready we need to do work hard, make a five-year plan... Many companies are leaving China we know very well that few are coming to India. Therefore, we need to make manufacturing competitive in terms of cost and scale," Goenka said.

"Make in India or manufacturing growth has been a big priority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014 but unfortunately, India hasn't made much progress in that," Goenka said.

"It is for the first time, thanks to COVID-19, that the government is putting efforts to grow manufacturing sector in India," he added.

Goenka said this whole move towards insourcing is something that he worries about.

"If every country wants to get into a cocoon and isolate itself from the rest of the world, we will move 60 years back and that is not something which will bring prosperity and growth to the economy," he said.

He admitted that lately, the balance of trade has gone too much in favour of 3-4 countries but that should not push the country towards isolation.

"There are things which a country can do better than others and if we try to bring everything to one country that it is going to become very inefficient," Goenka said.

He further said, "If we are producing anything like a cellphone, or a car or a washing machine, we got to have a global value chain and we should not start over reacting to the situation like this and say everything should be insourced.
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine police killed four suspected Islamic State group-linked militants during a raid on a hideout in metropolitan Manila early Friday, security officials said.

Metropolitan Manila Police Chief Debold Sinas said police and intelligence agents planned to serve a search warrant at a house in suburban Paranaque city after months of surveillance when the suspected militants opened fire.

An officer was shot in the leg and was hospitalized, police said. They said they seized pistols, an M16 assault rifle, two grenades, ammunition, suspected bomb parts, money transfer records and two black flags with Islamic writing.

The raid came as President Rodrigo Duterte considers whether to sign a new and more powerful anti-terror law which was recently passed by Congress. The countrys military chief cited Fridays gunbattle as a reason Duterte should sign it as soon as possible.

It is public security and general welfare that are at stake. We should protect and defend from terrorists without further delay, Gen. Felimon Santos Jr. said.

He said the presence of the suspects in the Manila area underscored their readiness to plot an attack despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Officials did not say whether the suspects were plotting a specific attack.

The proposed Anti-Terror Act would allow the detention of suspects for up to 24 days without charge and empower a government anti-terrorism council to designate suspects or groups as suspected terrorists who could then be subjected to arrest and surveillance.

Opponents say the legislation violates the constitution, defines terrorism too broadly, could be misused to target government critics and could threaten legitimate dissent.

Those slain Friday, including a woman, were identified by police as Merhama Abdul Sawari, Bensaudi Sali, Rasmin Hussin and Jamal Kalliming.

Sinas said the suspects handled funds for Daulah Islamiyah, one of the militant groups blamed for laying siege to Marawi city in the southern Philippines for five months in 2017.

Sawari facilitated funds for Philippine-based militants from Indonesias Sulawesi region, Sinas said in a statement, without elaborating.
After George Floyd's death on May 25, Aurora James received a slew of emails from retailers saying, "we stand with you" and "we support you." But their messages fell flat.

"I was reading it, but I wasn't feeling it," says James, founder of fashion accessory startup Brother Vellies. "As a Black woman and business owner, I wondered what it would take to feel like these retailers are standing with me."

She gave them the opportunity to do so, launching the nonprofit initiative called the 15 Percent Pledge, which guides companies through the process of making meaningful commitments to Black entrepreneurs. The pledge asks major retailers to allocate 15 percent of their shelf space to products from Black-owned businesses--in line with the segment of the population who identify as African American or Black, according to the U.S. Census. So far, giants such as Sephora and Rent the Runway have signed, along with smaller companies like houseplant startup the Sill.

The 15 Percent Pledge has three prongs, which are designed to create permanent change at retailers and support Black entrepreneurs beyond simply buying their products. The first asks participating companies to take stock of the current percentage of shelf space and contracts given to Black-owned businesses and suppliers. Second, firms should take ownership of their findings, publish them internally and externally, and devise steps to address any biases or blind spots. Third, businesses should define their plans, address a strategy for staying accountable, and take action.

James feels these steps will help ensure success for the retailers that sign the pledge as well as for their Black vendors. "We have an opportunity to take the work that we're doing every day and transition it for the greater good," she says.

James worked as a fashion director prior to founding Brooklyn-based Brother Vellies, which sells handcrafted shoes, handbags, and home goods made in Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, and South Africa. She launched her company in 2013 after traveling through Africa and noticing that traditional apparel was dying out--donated goods from America were eliminating the need for artisanal jobs in some of these countries, she says.

Brother Vellies aims to maintain African design techniques and support local workers. James started her four-person company with $3,500 of her own money--she has yet to raise any capital or take out any loans--and is now "selling millions of dollars of shoes," she says. She declined to share exact revenue figures but said, so far, sales this year have tripled compared with 2019.

For Black entrepreneurs angling for shelf space at these retailers, keep the following four tips in mind:

1. Find the best fit.

Focus on finding retailers that are the right fit, James says. Examine your business model, determine if that company will support your mission, and relay that information to the firm, she adds. Make your case and hope that it will resonate with retailers, she says.

2. Do your homework.

When considering whom you want to work with, look at the market and see where there may be holes or needs, says Artemis Patrick, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at Sephora. Determine what about your product is distinct from what's already on store shelves, she adds.

3. Make connections.

Once those businesses are identified, reach out to those firms and explain your interests, James says. Founders can connect via social media or message the company's buyers, a tactic that James used when starting Brother Vellies.

Some companies, such as Sephora, have a formal process for receiving product submissions. Sephora uses a service called Range Me, which allows entrepreneurs to make profiles and connect with retailers in the hopes of working with them, says Patrick.

4. Sell yourself.

When approaching any retailer, offer some suggestions on how you can work with them, says Eliza Blank, co-founder and CEO of the Sill. For example, Blank received an Instagram message from Shelley Vidia Worrell--founder of the cultural organization and retailer CaribBeing--about collaborating on a self-care box the Sill could sell on its website. In about a week, the kit showcasing Caribbean culture was selling for $89, Blank says. Doing the work ahead of time shows that you're serious about a partnership, Blank adds.
Oregon lawmakers are back at the Capitol for what could be the final day of their first  but not last  special legislative session of 2020.

Senators already met for a floor session, where the good spirits and bipartisanship on display throughout a grueling Thursday continued. The House is set to convene at 11 a.m. and the Senate will return at 11:30 a.m.

So far, the Senate passed a handful of legislation including a bill to make it more difficult for arbitrators to overturn police discipline and a new cell phone fee to pay for rural broadband. There was unanimous support for the arbitration bill, which Senators passed twice in previous sessions, while the cell phone fee faced opposition from Republicans and two Democrats.

1st police reform bill, to lessen powers of arbitrators to undermine police discipline, passes Oregon Senate on unanimous bipartisan vote #OrLeg pic.twitter.com/qui7IcQBVy  Oregonian Politics (@OregonianPol) June 26, 2020

The logistics of socially distanced voting, particularly in the 60-member House, could drag out the day. But if lawmakers stay on track, they could vote the remaining bills through both chambers and go home today.

They got to this point by logging more than 8  hours in committee Thursday, holding public hearings and then voting out 16 bills by the time they wrapped up around 9:15 p.m. This included six police accountability and tactics bills, which were the main reason Gov. Kate Brown cited for calling lawmakers into special session. Also, there is an omnibus coronavirus response bill and a proposal to extend the eviction moratorium the governor ordered earlier this year. The House squeezed in two floor sessions in which lawmakers passed five bills on to the Senate, including the repeal of a law that allows the suspension of drivers licenses for unpaid traffic fines.

The law enforcement bills that advanced Thursday were watered down somewhat from the initial versions. However, lawmakers of color described them as significant progress while acknowledging they are just a start. Republicans made a point of supporting clauses on the bills that state Black lives matter and call out specific examples of police brutality in Oregon.

Its really important to support the People of Color Caucus in this moment, House Republican Leader Christine Drazan said. Rep. Duane Stark, R-Grants Pass, added, It is really highlighting a culture and history of distrust. Hopefully, the bills can help Oregonians move toward a culture of good faith, Stark said.

Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Happy Valley Democrat who is one of the driving forces behind the police bills on track to pass this session, said the goal is to dismantle a system that produces bad outcomes.

Those of us who serve here in the Legislature only want the best for all Oregonians, Bynum said. And just as I care when a sawmill or papermill shuts down in your town, I need you to care when one of my brothers or sisters is killed in the streets. I know these will be bold and courageous votes people will be asked to take.

This article has been updated to reflect the following correction: An extension of the eviction moratorium initially included in Gov. Kate Browns coronavirus orders is contained in an individual bill, not in the omnibus coronavirus response bill as earlier reported.

-- Hillary Borrud: hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Jonty Bravery has been sentenced after throwing a six-year-old boy from the Tate Modern viewing platform. (PA)

An autistic teenager who told police he wanted to be "on the news" after throwing a six-year-old boy from the Tate Modern viewing platform has been jailed for life.

Jonty Bravery, 18, who admitted attempted murder of the child in December last year, appeared at the Old Bailey via video link on Friday, wearing wearing a white T-shirt and dark shorts.

The court was told Bravery laughed and shrugged when he was shown the CCTV of the incident.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer said: "He said he wanted to be on the news so that everyone, especially his parents, could see what a mistake they had made by not putting him in hospital."

Court artist sketch of Jonty Bravery being sentenced by Mrs Justice McGowan as he appeared in court at the Old Bailey via videolink. (PA)

Heer said Bravery had conducted a variety of searches including, "Are you guaranteed to escape prison if you have autism?", "What are the chances of death if you push into the River Thames?" and a web page entitled "How to get away with rape."

A report into Bravery's behaviour, carried out after the incident, found "his callousness and the striking lack of emotional empathy... is not typical of autism but is more typically found in psychopathy".

The teenager was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 15 years to be served.

Bravery sat with his T-shirt pulled over his head, then crouched on the floor next to the chair with his back to the videolink camera as details of the case were read out.

Emergency crews attending a scene at the Tate Modern art gallery following the incident in August 2019. (AP)

Sentencing Bravery, of Ealing in west London, Justice McGowan said: The fear he (the victim) must have experienced and the horror his parents felt are beyond imagination.

You had intended to kill someone that day  you almost killed that six-year-old boy.

McGowan said Braverys autism spectrum disorder (ASD) did not explain the attack, and acknowledged how expert evidence confirmed he posed a grave and immediate risk to the public.

You will spend the greater part  if not all  of your life detained you may never be released, she added.

Bravery said he wanted to highlight his apparent discontent with his treatment for a host of mental health issues when he committed the offence in front of horrified onlookers at the London tourist attraction on 4 August last year.

Story continues

Bravery, pictured in a court sketch from a previous hearing last year. (PA)

CCTV footage showed Bravery, then 17, looking over the edge of the 100ft high art gallery balcony, 10 storeys up, before seizing the young victim by the limbs and hurling him over the edge.

Bravery then sought out Tate staff and confessed: "I think I've murdered someone, I've just thrown someone off the balcony.

He told police he heard voices in his head telling him to kill or injure someone.

The victim, on holiday in London with his family at the time of the attack, suffered a bleed to the brain, fractures to his spine and broken legs and arms.

Bravery had confessed to psychiatrists that he had researched online for the easiest way to kill someone.

Bravery appeared at the Old Bailey in London charged with attempted murder. (PA)

Among the terms he searched for were Guaranteed ways to go to jail, and Where can I buy sulphuric acid in Northolt?

Bravery later told police he had to prove a point "to every idiot" who said he had no mental health problems - and asked if the incident was going to be on the news.

He said: "I wanted to be on the news, who I am and why I did it, so when it is official no-one can say anything else."

During the trial, defence counsel Philippa McAtasney QC said her client was immature, and that it beggars belief that he was deemed suitable to go out unsupervised.

She pointed out that Braverys parents abhor what their son did and cannot forgive him - but also feel let down by the system.

Emergency crews attend the scene at the Tate Modern art gallery in August 2019. (PA)

Following sentencing, a spokesman from Hammersmith & Fulham Council said a serious case review had been ordered.

It said: We wish to extend our sincere sympathies to the young child and his family after the terrible event at Tate Modern in August 2019.

We have been pleased to learn of the progress the child is making. A serious case review is under way. We are co-operating fully and will learn from the findings.

Bravery's victim, who cannot be named because of a reporting restriction due to his age, suffered a bleed to the brain, spinal fractures, and broken legs and arms.

MORE: Two children among three seriously injured in house explosion

Police officers overlook from the viewing platform at the Tate Modern art gallery, following the arrest of Jonty Bravery. (PA)

The latest update on a GoFundMe page, which has raised more than 200,000 for the boy's medical treatment in his native France, said he remained in a wheelchair and had problems eating, speaking and moving, but was continuing to make progress.

The update, posted on behalf of his family on May 15, stated: "There is still a long way to go but we are holding on."

A victim impact statement from the victim's parents, taken six months after the incident, said they had not left their son's side at all, other than for just a couple of hours.

They only returned to the family home on rare occasions to collect belongings. Either they, or a grandparent, stayed with him overnight in hospital.

The viewing platform level of the Tate Modern gallery. (Getty)

Describing Braverys actions as unspeakable, the couple said: Words cannot express the horror and fear his actions have brought up on us and our son who now, six months on, is wondering why hes in hospital.

MORE: Gun held to woman's head by robber in chilling shop raid CCTV footage

How can he not see in every stranger a potential villain who could cause him immense pain and suffering?

"We have been so scared of losing him that now it is impossible for us to spend more than a few hours away from him."

In a series of social media posts, which have since been deleted, Piers Bravery  the father of the defendant  attempted to raise awareness of autism and its treatment.

In one tweet sent to health secretary Matt Hancock, less than three months before the incident, Mr Bravery said: "Yes, @MattHancock, you do have a duty.

Police, ambulance crews and fire crews are seen outside the Tate Modern gallery after it was put on lock down and evacuated. (Getty)

You are a public servant so do your job and stop more children dying and being abused in these repugnant institutions.

No members of either the victims or Braverys family were present in court during sentencing on Friday.

Bravery, who has autistic spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and who is believed to have a personality disorder, pleaded guilty to attempted murder last December.

He was living in supported accommodation and had autism, and received specialist care following an assault on a female care worker in October 2017, but was "frequently aggressive to staff".

He was also abusive and failed to comply with boundaries and lashed out at staff every "six weeks or so", prosecutor Deanna Heer said.

He has been held at Broadmoor Hospital since mid-October.
The three most populous states set records for new coronavirus cases daily and there are fears of "apocalyptic" surges in major Texas cities if the trend continues.

Florida and Texas announced Wednesday that they'd recorded more than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases the prior day, a new daily record. California reported more than 7,000 cases, obliterating a record hit a day earlier.

In Texas, if the current case trajectory continues, Houston could be the hardest-hit city in the U.S. with numbers rivaling those in Brazil. Infection numbers are also rising in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, whose state was among the first to reopen, put off lifting any more restrictions and reimposed a ban on elective surgeries in some places to preserve hospital space after the number of patients statewide more than doubled in two weeks. Some Arizona hospitals also halted elective surgeries. Nevadas governor ordered face masks be worn in public, Las Vegas casinos included.



The Latest Numbers

Coronavirus has killed at least 124,000 people and infected 2.4 million nationwide as of Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

"The big metro areas seem to be rising very quickly and some of the models are on the verge of being apocalyptic," Hotez told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

Models show that Houston could have a fourfold increase in the number of daily cases by July 4, he said, adding that states need to act to stop community transmission.

"That is really worrisome and as those numbers rise, we're seeing commensurate increases in the number of hospitalizations and ICU admissions," he said. "You get to the point where you overwhelm ICUs and that's when the mortality goes up."

Hotez is also a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology and is working on a potential COVID-19 vaccine.

Governors issue pleas to residents

Florida, Texas and California account for 27.4% of the 328 million people living in the U.S., according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

And while some politicians say the higher number of infections is due to increased testing, that is not the case, said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

As new cases and hospitalizations skyrocket, Abbott urged people to stay home.

"Because the spread is so rampant right now, there's never a reason for you to have to leave your home," Abbott told KBTX. "Unless you do need to go out, the safest place for you is at your home."

Officials encouraged mask wearing and social distancing in places like bars that are often overcrowded. Further state actions could be announced if the virus continues to spread at this rate, Abbott said.

In the nation's most populous state, Gov. Gavin Newsom pleaded with Californians to think of others by wearing masks, keeping a safe distance and washing their hands regularly.

He told residents to "love thy neighbors, like yourself, please" and urged younger people to be especially cautious.

"Be careful about Mom and Dad, and careful about your mother-in-law, your father-in-law, your grandparents," he said.

Economic impact

The number of laid-off workers who applied for unemployment benefits fell to 1.48 million last week, the 12th straight drop and a sign that layoffs are slowing but are still at a painfully high level.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has attributed the rise to more testing, but others say community transmission is playing a key role as the state reopens. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said he'll ask the city commission to implement a civil fine of up to $250 for those not wearing a mask in public.

Miami implemented an order requiring masks or face coverings in public this week.

"Going out in public without a mask is like driving drunk," said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at George Washington University. "If you don't get hurt. You might kill somebody else."

How you can stop the spread



While many Americans still debate whether or not to wear face masks, a new study found that face mask use has prevented thousands coronavirus cases.

The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, estimates between 230,000 and 450,000 COVID-19 cases were prevented in states that required face masks between April 8 and May 15.

Some states are extending restrictions

Arizona is also seeing the highest number of new cases per capita of any state in the country. It's had more new cases per capita than any state has had besides New York or New Jersey, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

The state has added about 2,700 new cases per day over the seven days that ended Tuesday. Adjusted for population, that's about 38 new cases per 100,000 people per day.

In Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards said he plans to issue a new proclamation Thursday extending the Phase 2 restrictions under the current order for another 28 days.

"Simply put, we're heading in the wrong direction. We have more cases than we can justify just by the fact that they're doing more testing," Edwards said.

The Hardest-Hit States

At least 26 states are seeing a rise in cases compared to the previous week, data from Hopkins show. Those states are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

In recent days, city and state leaders have announced that cases seem to be shifting to younger groups. They highlighted instances including parties and bars as sources of recent clusters.

Texas has temporarily suspended alcohol permits for at least 12 bars that violated coronavirus protocols.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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An investigation into the case is under way.

High-ranking officials in Kirovohrad region have been detained on bribery charges.

The facts of bribe-taking by representatives of Kirovohrad Regional State Administration were documented by the SBU Security Service of Ukraine jointly with the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the SBU's press service said.

The operation was supervised by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).

Read alsoEx-Deputy Minister Hrymchak suspected of fraud released from custody

According to the Ukrayinska Pravda news outlet, detained were Chairman of Kirovohrad Regional State Administration Andriy Balon and another official of the administration.

As investigators established during a pretrial investigation, the regional governor planned to illegally receive UAH 1.8 million (about US$67,400) from the regional representation of a state agency in the region, the SBU said.

In June 2020, the special services documented the receipt by the intermediary of UAH 100,000 (US$3,745), the first part of the bribe.

The governor and his accomplice were detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine during the transfer of the second part of the bribe in the amount of UAH 250,000 (US$9,363).

An investigation into the bribery case is under way to establish all the circumstances of the crime.
The Lagos State Ministry of Health on Thursday discharged additional 36 patients following their recovery from coronavirus infection.

The patients, who were discharged from different isolation centres in the state, tested negative to COVID-19 and were reunited with the society.

Giving the update on Thursday, the ministry wrote on its Twitter handle that 11 females and 25 males recovered. This brings the total recoveries in the state to 1364.

Today, 36 fully recovered COVID-19 Lagos patients; 11 females & 25 males were discharged from our Isolation facilities to reunite with the society.

The patients; 9 from Onikan, 8 from Gbagada, 7 from Agidingbi, 4 from Eti-Osa (LandMark) & 8 from Lekki Isolation Centres were discharged after testing negative to COVID-19.

With this, the number of COVID-19 cases successfully managed & discharged in Lagos has risen to 1364, the Ministry wrote.

Nigeria recorded 594 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, out of which 159 were recorded in Lagos, bringing the total number of the infection to 9,482 in Lagos.

Confirmed cases nationwide also rose to 22,614 on Thursday, with 7822 discharged cases and 549 deaths.

The Lagos ministry of health urged residents to report all COVID-19 issues to the states toll free helpline: 08000CORONA= 08000267662.

Residents are also encouraged to keep doing their part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the state.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

It's been months. And from rats turning hangry because of coronavirus shutdowns in the U.S. to sea turtles reclaiming tourist beaches in Thailand, life has changed dramatically across the planet.

Zooming in where only a microscope can see, Northeastern researchers are trying to determine how the lifestyle changes caused by COVID-19 might be helping harmful bacteria grow in our drinking water.

Many buildings have been largely unoccupied for months, and their water supplies have been sitting relatively still. That stagnation means that water stays warm for longer periods of time. And because of those changes in the flow of water, the disinfectants that are added to limit microbial growth decay.

As people slowly repopulate large buildings for work, school, and other activities, the potential overgrowth of pathogens in the water of those buildings could put people at risk, says Ameet Pinto, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern.

The growth of microbes in water is a very natural process that occurs everywhere. At home, for example, if you open the tap in the morning, the typical concentration of microorganisms coming out of the faucet will be higher than it will be later in the day, when water has run through the pipes.

"It's not unusual to see between 10,000 and 50,000 cells in every milliliter of drinking water," Pinto says. "That's just absolutely normal."

The problem is when the wrong types of microbesthe ones that can make people sickstart gaining prominence inside the pipes, Pinto says, thinking of Legionella pneumophila and nontuberculous mycobacterium, pathogens that thrive when water stagnates.

To deal with microbes that grow over hours or days of stagnation, engineers flush the water from the plumbing system. Under normal circumstances, public water systems also use small amounts of disinfectants such as chlorine to limit the concentrations of those pathogens.

But how to handle potential microbial contamination in water that has stagnated for longer times is still very much an open question, Pinto says. If enough of these organisms start colonizing and forming a biofilm on the inner surface of the pipes, then ridding the plumbing system of those pathogens becomes much more of a challenge.

That's partly because plumbing systems are complex networks of pipes that consist of different designs and materials, made specifically to meet the needs of each type of building.

"If you were to rip the wall of a building and look at all the plumbing behind it, it's actually remarkably complex," Pinto says. "We have not been able to generalize microbiological principles across complex buildings."

Ameet Pinto is an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern. Credit: Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Drastic changes in the demand for water within a building can also cause corrosion in pipes, valves, and other materials that make up its plumbing.

That corrosion can lead to higher levels of other contaminants, such as lead and copper, which can leach into the water, says Kelsey Pieper, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern who is working with Pinto.

For engineers like Pieper who specialize in how corroded materials influence water quality, the problem of prolonged stagnation is also a fairly new and complex challenge that COVID-19 has brought to the attention of researchers.

"It's also thinking about the mains," says Pieper, whose past research helped assess the implications of corrosion and lead contamination for drinking water in Flint, Michigan and upstate New York. "The water use patterns in these mains are going to be different, and that's going to subsequently impact the building water quality."

Pieper's team has also been working with researchers from Virginia Tech, Purdue University, and Polytechnique Montreal to review the reopening guidelines and protocols that public health agencies are recommending to building owners across the U.S. and Canada.

Unfortunately, Pieper says, there isn't enough data for researchers to assess those recommendations.

"We're working through it to understand what's the scientific basis behind all of this," she says. "How do we reopen? Is it flushing? Is it a mix of flushing and disinfection? Is it disinfection only?"

To answer those questions, Pieper and Pinto also joined forces with Aron Stubbins, an associate professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern. They recently secured funding from the National Science Foundation for their research.

The team is sampling water from Northeastern's buildings and several residences across the Boston area in an effort to track the quality of water at each location, and how it might change as people begin repopulating large buildings.

The project is based on an existing initiative of Pinto's lab, which has been conducting a comprehensive study of drinking water throughout Northeastern's Boston campus. His team has been determining the genetic material of the microbes within those samples to investigate the diversity of organisms in waterharmful or not.

Pinto says that although he knows the gargantuan task of defeating the coronavirus is the top priority for the research community, the pandemic also offers a unique opportunity to study how the quality of water might change in schools, offices, and other types of large buildings under extreme situations.

Hopefully, he says, the team's research will help other engineers recondition buildings during natural disasters, public health crises, and other future extraordinary circumstances.
A house of representatives committee has insisted that cable and satellite television service providers in the country must introduce a ...

A house of representatives committee has insisted that cable and satellite television service providers in the country must introduce a pay-as-you-go subscription plan for customers.





The house ad hoc committee, which is investigating service providers over their high tariffs, said the pay-per-view plan is to address the yearnings of Nigerians.





The house had in March resolved to investigate complaints about high tariffs and monopolised bouquets on the cable subscription service.





The green chamber is specifically probing the Digital Satellite Television (DSTV), a South Africa-based company owned by MultiChoice, for high tariffs and restricting Nigerian customers to prepaid plans.

At the committee hearing on Thursday, Unyime Idem, the committee chairman, said excuses on why DSTV and other service providers have not introduced the PAYG plan are not tenable.





We have already taken a decision that pay-as-you-go is not going back, he said.





We only called you to rub minds with you so that you can tell us what it takes; Nigerians have spoken to us and the challenge they threw at us is, no matter what it takes, that they need pay-as-you-go.





So I want you to have it at the back of your mind that it is pay-as-you-go. That is the duty we owe the people that we are representing, and we are not going back.





Armstrong Idachaba, acting director-general of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), told the committee that the agency has on many occasions compared the tariffs in Nigeria with those of other African countries and found out that Nigerias rates are much lower in some cases.




Scientists have analysed data from around the world to examine the accuracy of antibody tests for Covid-19, and have shown that the timing of testing is critical.

Low sensitivity

In the most comprehensive review of its kind of Covid-19 testing, researchers have examined all available test accuracy evidence for antibody tests published up to the end of April.By combining data from many studies they have shown that the tests are not accurate enough to confirm whether someone has the Covid-19 virus if used in the first two weeks after symptoms appear.They found that tests are only likely to be useful in detecting previous SARS-CoV-2 infection if used at least 14 days after the onset of symptoms, but say that studies show that the tests will miss one in 10 cases of Covid19. However they caution over reliance on this figure, as the studies were small, poorly reported and done in select patient groups.The researchers also fear accuracy will be lower when tests are used in the community, as the tests have mostly been evaluated in hospitalised patients  making it unclear whether they can detect lower antibody levels associated with milder and asymptomatic Covid-19 disease.Led by experts at the University of Birmingham, a group of researchers drawn from universities around the globe have published their findings in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.Weve analysed all available data from around the world and discovered clear patterns telling is that timing is vital in using these tests. Use them at the wrong time and they dont work,There are promising tests, but there isnt enough evidence to be able to identify the best tests yet, and we need to continue analysing data as it becomes available  particularly from non-clinical settings where individuals are displaying less severe symptoms, and following people over longer time periods," Jon Deeks, professor of biostatistics and head of the test evaluation research group at the University of Birmingham.The immune system of people who have Covid-19 responds to infection by developing cells that can attack the virus (antibodies) in their blood. Tests to detect antibodies in peoples blood could show whether they currently have Covid-19 or have had it previously.The body produces three classes of antibody - IgA, IgG and IgM. Most antibody tests measure both IgG and IgM, but some measure a single antibody or combinations of the three antibodies. Levels of antibodies rise and fall at different times after infection, with the IgG antibody usually highest a few weeks after infection.Some tests use venous blood and specialist laboratory equipment, whilst others use finger prick blood samples on disposable devices similar to pregnancy tests, which can be performed in laboratories, hospitals or at home.Researchers searched through over 11,000 publications on Covid-19 available at the end of April 2020, and identified 54 relevant studies from Asia, Europe, and the USA  that measured the accuracy of antibody tests used to detect current or past Covid-19 infection - whether in hospital or the community. In total these studies reported nearly 16,000 test results.They found that all tests showed low sensitivity (the ability to detect disease) during the first week after symptoms (detecting less than 30% of cases of disease), rising in the second week and reaching their highest values in the third week. The combination of IgG or IgM had a sensitivity of 72% for 8 to 14 days; 91% for 15 to 21 days; and 96% for 21 to 35 days. Little data were available beyond 35 days.Where about 50% of people may have had Covid-19  such as in health care workers who have suffered respiratory symptoms - researchers predict there will be seven false positives and 43 false negatives for every thousand people undergoing combined IgG and IgM testing at days 15 to 21 after COVID-19 symptoms appear.Where about 20% of people have Covid - likely in health and care settings  they predict 17 instances of Covid-19 national surveys  the researchers believe that four infections would be missed for every thousand people tested, and 12 outcomes would be falsely positive.Accurate testing is vital  these tests may help identify Covid-19 in people who have had symptoms for two or more weeks but never had a swab test, and identifying how many have had the SARS-CoV-2 infection to assess disease spread and the need for public health interventions. In time, we will learn whether having previously had the infection provides individuals with immunity to future infection, which will indicate the personal value of having this test," says Deeks.This is a fast-moving field and we plan to update this review regularly as more studies are published. However, the design, execution and reporting of studies of the accuracy of Covid-19 tests requires considerable improvement, and action needs to be taken to ensure that all results of test evaluations are available in the public domain and not withheld by test manufacturers to ensure we can provide the best estimates of the accuracy for these tests.
SIENA, Italy, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Philogen S.p.A., a privately-owned biotechnology company, is pleased to announce that the Swiss national competent authority Swissmedic issued the authorization to run a clinical phase II study in patients with locally advanced, not metastatic nonmelanoma skin cancer. A favorable opinion about the study has now also been obtained by EKOS (Ethics Committee of Eastern Switzerland).

Patients enrolled in the clinical study will be treated with intralesional injections of NidlegyTM. NidlegyTM, the combination of the two active principles bifikafusp alfa (L19IL2) and onfekafusp alfa (L19TNF), has already shown promising results in the intralesional neoadjuvant treatment of patients with resectable Stage III melanoma in two phase III clinical trials. The durable responses, the excellent safety profile and the favorable cosmetic outcome of injected melanoma lesions have reinforced the investigation of efficacy and safety of NidlegyTM in injectable, locally advanced and not metastatic lesions of basal cell carcinoma or cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

"We are delighted to start the clinical phase II study in Switzerland and to explore the potential of NidlegyTM in patients with locally advanced, not metastatic nonmelanoma skin cancer," commented Prof. Dario Neri, co-founder and President of the Scientific Advisory Board of Philogen.

About the Philogen group

Philogen is a Swiss-Italian clinical-stage company engaged in the discovery and development of novel pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products. Philogen's strategy is to deliver bioactive agents, for example, cytokines or drugs, to the site of disease using antibodies and other ligands that specifically and efficiently target stromal antigens. This technology has generated a strong proprietary pipeline of clinical-stage products and preclinical compounds in an array of disease indications. Philogen is headquartered in Siena, Italy, and has research activities at its subsidiary company Philochem in Zurich, Switzerland. Philogen is independently owned and has signed agreements with several major pharmaceutical companies. For more information, please visit www.philogen.com and www.philochem.com.

For more information please contact:

Dr. Christian Lizak

+41 (0) 43 544 88 00

christian.lizak@philogen.com
Billie Lourd is engaged!

The American Horror Story actress and daughter of Carrie Fisher said 'yes' to her boyfriend actor Austen Rydell's proposal, he revealed Friday.

'She said YES!! (Actually she said "Duhhh") But I guess that's better than yes?!?' Rydell captioned an Instagram post of the pair, with three engagement ring emojis.

Billie Lourd is engaged! Carrie Fisher's daughter accepts actor Austen Rydell's proposal: 'She said YES!'

Lourd, 27, has been dating Rydell, 28, since 2016. They had one break-up, but reunited soon after.

In December 2017, the Star Wars: The Last Jedi actress tagged the actor in a tribute when she marked one year since the passing of her mom, Carrie Fisher, and grandmother, Debbie Reynolds.

When Lourd visited the Northern Lights in honor of her mom, she took Austin along for the journey, also tagging him in the touching post.

Taking the plunge: Austen recently shared this snap of his fiance Billie Lourd

Family: Billie tagged the actor in a tribute when she marked one year since the passing of her mom, Carrie Fisher, and grandmother, Debbie Reynolds in December 2016 (pic, 2015)

Lourd was previously linked to Twilight star Taylor Lautner, who began dating at the start of 2017, just shortly after her mom and grandma's unexpected deaths. But they parted ways a few months later.

Her mom Fisher died of a heart attack on December 27, 2016, a few days later her grandmother Reynolds suffered a stroke.

In 2018, Lourd revealed that her fiance Rydell has whisked her away on a surprise birthday trip.

Memories: The actor posted no less then 10 photos to the engagement post, including this one of the pair at Coachella music festival

Happy days: The couple have been dating for a number of years

Kiss: Rydell and Lourd are seen smooching in an intimate snap posted to his Instagram account

'This king just surprised me with a 24 hour trip to Vegas and its safe to say Im obsessed [with] him,' she wrote on Instagram.

For the engagement news, Rydell posted no less that 10 happy couple shots to his Instagram page, including one of them kissing at Coachella music festival.

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill's daughter Chelsea was one of the first to congratulate the happy couple on their news.
(JNS)  The Republican Jewish Coalition announced on Tuesday that it will not endorse or support a candidate in a safely Republican district in Georgia who is leading in fundraising, as she has trafficked in conspiracy theories and posed for photos with a former neo-Nazi leader.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a businesswoman, has posed for photos with former Ku Klux Klan leader Chester Doles, posted them on social media and shared conspiracy theories about the Rothschild banking family, left-wing billionaire George Soros and factions of Saudi Arabias monarchy.

Even more striking, at least vis...
A viral online challenge #Dontleavemechallenge has led to a tug of war between two popular comedians on the continent, both of whom claim credit for the challenges popularity.

The #DontLeaveMeChallenge which was originally credited to Nigerian Comedian Josh2Funny, has had its roots in doubt, as Ghanaian comedian Ajeezay says he started the challenge years ago, but under a different name.

According to Ajeezay, he started the nonfa challenge, which was very similar to Josh2Funny's #DontLeaveMeChallenge, but unfortunately, it didn't catch on because "Ghanaians do not support good things".

Host of Joy Primes morning show Jay Foley after listening to Ajeezays complaints decided to call Josh2funny via zoom, to respond on live TV.

I want to make people understand the difference between the information circulating The Nigerian comedian said.

I never started pun, I never started nonfa as you people call it. I started the style that people are doing right now, the #DontLeaveMeChallenge. I was the first person to bring a hypeman to it, I was the first person to say #DontLeaveMe in my videos which made someone watch and it went viral. I know that Ajeezay has made something similar before, I started it in 2018, but he has been doing it for a while [and it didn't catch on].

"Nobody started wordplay. But that style, #DontLeaveMeChallenge was started by me, I and my friend, so that's what people are having fun with. So, don't feel played or feel like they are overriding you. I will not do that to my brother".

Josh and Ajeezay were hosted by Jay Foley on Joy Primes morning show, Prime Morning, which airs on weekdays from 6 a.m to 9 a.m.
Vietnam on Friday warned the virus pandemic had swept away years of economic gains as Southeast Asian leaders met online for a summit that will also be dominated by anxiety over Beijing's moves in the flashpoint South China Sea. The current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also wants to use the summit to inject momentum into talks on a sprawling China-backed trade pact, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). A deal, which aimed to loop in half the world's population and third of its GDP, has been hampered by India's refusal to join over access to its market for cheap goods from China, the regional superpower it is now locked in a deadly border row with. The immediate focus for the 10-member bloc is the crippling cost of the coronavirus, which has ravaged the economies of tourism and export-reliant countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. A special ASEAN meeting convened in April to tackle the pandemic failed to agree on an emergency fund. The country's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc gave a sobering opening address on Friday that emphasised the "serious consequences" of the pandemic for economic development among ASEAN'S members. "It has swept away the successes of recent years... threatening the lives of millions of people," he said. There is also increasing angst that the virus and its fallout has provided cover for China to make new plays in the South China Sea, the resource-rich waterway Beijing claims most of but is also contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan. China is always advancing its pieces on the "South China Sea chessboard", a senior Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP. "So it's not out of the blue that they're doing it during this crisis." Beijing took advantage of the Asian financial crisis in the late 90s and the SARS outbreak to push its claims, he added. "If there is a space, they move." Without directly mentioning China, Phuc admitted that "strategic problems between big countries had become clear and had deepened." "While the world is trying its best to fight the pandemic, there were irresponsible acts, violating international laws, that affected the security and stability of some regions including ours," he said. In April Vietnam accused Beijing of sinking a trawler, prompting the United States to warn it was "exploiting the distraction" of other states "to expand its unlawful claims". Vietnam expert Carl Thayer, an academic at the University of New South Wales, believes the past few months have been "business as usual" for China, but noted that negotiations on a so-called Code of Conduct for the South China Sea had stalled because of the virus. "It needs to be restarted," he said.
Australia's youngest billionaire has revealed the secrets to her digital design platform's $6billion valuation - and how learning to kite surf helped her get the business off the ground.

Melanie Perkins, 32, this year became the country's third richest woman after her and her business partner fiance's stake in their Sydney-based company Canva rose to $2.5billion.

The Perth-born entrepeneur now only trails mining magnate Gina Rinehart and the founder of TPG Telecom Vicky Teoh in Australia's female rich list.

Canva raised $USD60million ($AUD87.6million) in its latest investor round despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic - a resilience Ms Perkins puts down to the company's ability to adapt to the work from home market.

Australia's youngest billionaire Melanie Perkins, 32, pictured at Web Summit 2019 in November in Lisbon. She has revealed the secrets to her business' success during the coronavirus pandemic

'I think something I'm most proud of is seeing our team rallying through this crazy period - in one day we realised we had to shut down the office and cancel my wedding at the same time. It was a big few hours,' she recently told the How I Built This podcast.

Her Canva co-founder and partner Cliff Obrecht had proposed to her in Turkey last summer before the pair suspended their nuptials because of COVID-19.

She added the company had pivoted to the changing demand of consumers as Canva's clients changed to a work-from-home environment.

'It has been incredible seeing the transition. There are less event invitations and flyers but what they are creating is things like presentations and zoom backgrounds so that was a huge swing almost overnight,' she said.

'Everyone had to transition on a dime - people are designing more but completely different things to what people were doing before.'

Ms Perkins said her ability to 'learn on the job' and being open to lessons 'every single day' helped her business grow in the early days.

'At every single stage there's been things to learn. Some things never get easier.'

'One thing I'm pretty good at is just in time learning, and over the years there's certainly been a lot of things to learn.'

The interview also reflected on the early beginnings of Canva - when Ms Perkins learned how to kite surf to help lure investors.

Ms Perkins and her co-founder and fiance Cliff Obrecht (pictured together) now have a stake in their digital design business Canva worth $2.5billion

Ms Perkins pictured with her fiance on a holiday to Turkey's Cappadocia region last year

While still trying to find investors in the business' early days in 2012, the Western Australian taught herself the water sport to gel with investors at the MaiTai event in Hawaii - a gathering of entrepeneurs centred around kite surfing.

Through the event, Ms Perkins crowd funded $21million with contributions from Hollywood stars Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson.

Despite her overwhelming business success in recent years though, Ms Perkins and Mr Obrecht have stressed they want to give away their money to help others.

Her social media profile boasts of her lavish trips to international countries - most recently sharing a photo of her taking in the Rio de Janeiro skyline in Brazil.

Last July, she and her fiance shared photos of the pair enjoying a trip to Cappadocia in central Turkey.

The pair have also jetted off to Richard Branson's luxurious privately-owned island Necker Island in the Caribbean's British Virgin Islands.

Mr Obrecht said the couple plan to donate their billions to the 'greater good' rather than spend it on themselves.

The 32-year-old's social media profile boasts of her frequent trips to far-flung countries - including Rio de Janeiro in Brazil (pictured)

'Mel and I are committed to giving away all our money to make the world a better place,' he told The Australian.

'I think with running such a large company with such a significant valuation now, it's an obligation on us to use that to be a force for good and make the world a better place, rather than just hoard s**t.'

Mr Obrecht said he proposed to his wife with an engagement ring worth just $30, and the couple were instead focusing on spending their money on causes like reforming the global health system.

In 2013 the pair jetted off to Richard Branson's luxurious privately-owned island Necker Island in the Caribbean's British Virgin Islands (pictured on the holiday)

Perkins said she hoped to bring more equality to the world through her position of power as CEO of Canva

'We live pretty modestly and we don't really see the need to just accrue wealth. The priority for the company is education, because we really feel educating underprivileged people gives them the opportunity to break the cycle,' he said.

His fiance added she hoped to bring more equality to disadvantaged communities through her position of power in the business world.

Ms Perkins previously told Daily Mail Australia she dreamed up the idea for a graphics design business from her mother's couch while studying a first-year digital media subject at university in 2005.

She fell in love with graphic design and developed skills far exceeding those of her peers, to the point where she was invited to teach graphic design workshops to students in other faculties.

Ms Perkins, originally from Perth, founded the Sydney-based digital graphics business Canva with her fiance in 2014 after dropping out of university

Ms Perkins found most people struggled to use the clunky software, so she developed a business idea.

'It was really complex and difficult, and it would take the entire semester to just learn where the buttons were on the software,' she said.

'At the same time Facebook was taking off, and it was so easy to use and everyone was on it.

WHAT SETS THE CANVA OFFICE APART? Ms Perkins wanted to create the perfect workplace for her employees. Canva staff are offered free overseas trips with the entire office and are allowed to work the hours they wish to work. Other extravagant incentives for more than 80 staff members include 'elaborate celebrations' when the team hit their target goal, free gym and yoga membership cards and free meals. Lucky employees treated to freshly-made meals cooked by top chefs and Ms Perkins strongly believes siting down with the entire team in a lunch room is a great way to bond over work. 'One of the Canva perks people hear about a lot is the chef cooks lunches every day,' she previously told Daily Mail Australia. 'The chefs are very talented of course, but the real value and exciting part of the lunches is the team sits down with a changing range of people every day and connect as people. 'That feeling of community and connection is really important for any business that wants to try to achieve big things, because you're going to need to take risks and try things together, and so trust is very important.' Pictured: The Canva office where employees are treated to an in-house chef who cooks lunch Advertisement

Ms Perkins found most people struggled to use the clunky software so she developed a business idea

'And I just had this belief that in the future it wasn't going to be as complex to do design work.'

In 2007, Ms Perkins came up with the idea to create easy-to-use graphic design software which allows schools and students to make their own yearbooks.

CANVA TIMELINE 2005: Melanie Perkins found her love for graphic design at university. 2007: She came up with an idea to create easy-to-use graphics software to help schools make their own yearbooks. Ms Perkins and her now-fiance developed a plan for Fusion Yearbook on her mother's couch in Perth. 2008: Fusion Yearbook makes its first sale to a French school in Sydney. 2008-2010: The couple sold the software to more than 120 schools. 2010: Ms Perkins and Mr Obrecht went to the Innovator of the Year awards in Perth to present Fusion Yearbooks, and met Silicone Valley investor Bill Tai. 2011: The couple travelled to o the US to meet with Mr Tai and Google Maps co-founder Lars Rasmussen. 2012: Ms Perkins attended a MaiTai Global conference in Hawaii where she met with a range of investors. 2013: Canva closed its first funding round of $3million and officially launched. 2014: Canva had reached one million users, and last month the company reached four million users and raised $12.6million in investment. 2014-2020: The company has raised more than $400m from investors and increases in value with each investment round. Advertisement

She had no business or marketing experience but said her inexperience gave her confidence that it wouldn't be too difficult to start a company from scratch.

'My boyfriend became my co-founder and we started in my mum's living room,' she said.

'Our naivety in some ways helped us  If I knew at the time all the things I didn't know it would have been intimating.'

The couple stared with a bank loan and a tax rebate of $5,000, which they used to advertise online and send sample yearbooks to school.

Their first sale was to a French school in Sydney in 2008.

'When we got our first $100 cheque, it was the most exciting moment ever, knowing people were prepared to pay for what we had built,' Ms Perkins said.

'We never took on external financing but we kept putting every cent back into the business.'

They sold to 15 schools in their first year, 30 in their second and 80 in their third.

In 2010, Ms Perkins and Mr Obrecht went to the Innovator of the Year awards in Perth to present Fusion Yearbooks where she met MaiTai Global founder and San Francisco investor Bill Tai.

'He was the first investor I'd met who had insights into the whole world of technology and venture capital. It was a window to another world,' she said.

'He also said if I ever came to San Francisco he would meet with me.'

Meanwhile, she had been having ideas about expanding the Fusion model beyond school yearbooks.

The following year she travelled to the US to meet with Mr Tai and Google Maps co-founder Lars Rasmussen.

She pitched them the idea for her second company Canva, a free online tool that allows people to design web graphics, including posters, business cards, and invitations.

A two-week trip turned into a three-month trip as Ms Perkins met with as many investors and software engineers as she could.

Canva closed its first funding round of $3million in early 2013, and after more than a year of development launched in August of the same year. Pictured: Ms Perkins and Mr Obrecht (left)

Mr Tai ended up coming on board as an investor, and he invited Ms Perkins to a MaiTai conference in Hawaii in 2012 where she met a lot of the people who ended up investing in Canva.

Canva closed its first funding round of $3million in early 2013, and after more than a year of development launched in August of the same year.

By the end of 2014, Canva had reached one million users, and last month the company reached four million users and raised $12.6 million in investment.

The company has since raised more than $400million from investors and increases in value with each investment round.
Cameron Daddo first found fame after appearing on the Melrose Place spin-off series Models Inc in 1994.

But the 55-year-old actor revealed latest guest role on Home and Away was a brand new experience for him, despite his 26-year long career.

Speaking to TV Tonight, Cameron explained there was no time for 'contemplation or overthinking' on the fast-paced soap set.

'It's more instinctual': Cameron Daddo (pictured) has revealed what it is really like on the set of Home and Away compared to his acting career in Hollywood

'As actors we can spend a lot of time standing around and contemplating our navels while while we're waiting for set-ups and things like that,' Cameron said. 'But that just doesn't exist in the world of Home and Away'.

Cameron went on to explain the actors only had one rehearsal, primarily for the camera crew.

'It's like one rehearsal for cameras and then bang, you're into it! If everything fell in, we're moving on,' he said.

Speaking to TV Tonight, Cameron said: 'It's like one rehearsal for cameras and then bang, you're into it! If everything fell in, we're moving on'

'I enjoyed... how present I needed to be in order to tell the story. It's more instinctual, which I really enjoyed,' Cameron said.

Speaking to WHO magazine last month, Cameron explained why he picked up the unexpected role, after returning from Los Angeles.

'It's all a cycle, it's just where you jump on. Where I'm jumping on, I'm having a new beginning and that's what I'm seeing it as,' Cameron explained.

Career-defining: He first found fame after appearing in the Melrose Place spin-off series Models Inc back in 1994. But the 55-year-old actor revealed latest guest role on Home and Away was a brand new experience for him, despite his multi-decade spanning career

'I've not done a soap before but I just really loved the character and I know a few of the cast members.'

He is especially close with Georgie Parker, who plays Roo Stewart, after they starred together in the 2008 TV movie Scorched.

Cameron played Evan Slater, Ryder Jackson's long-lost father, who left his family to pursue his music career.
Unilever, one of the biggest advertisers in the country, said Friday that it will no longer buy ads on Facebook properties nor on Twitter, citing both companies' policies on content moderation.

Why it matters: It's by far the biggest advertiser to yank its ads from Facebook amid the quickly growing boycott of Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram. It's also the first brand to extend its boycott to Facebook rival Twitter, signaling trouble to come for that platform.

What they're saying: "Given our Responsibility Framework and the polarized atmosphere in the U.S., we have decided that starting now through at least the end of the year, we will not run brand advertising in social media newsfeed platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the U.S.," Unilever said in a statement provided to Axios. The statement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

"Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society. We will be monitoring ongoing and will revisit our current position if necessary."

A Facebook spokesperson tells Axios, "We invest billions of dollars each year to keep our community safe and continuously work with outside experts to review and update our policies."

"Weve opened ourselves up to a civil rights audit, and we have banned 250 white supremacist organizations from Facebook and Instagram."

"The investments we have made in AI mean that we find nearly 90% of Hate Speech we action before users report it to us, while a recent EU report found Facebook assessed more hate speech reports in 24 hours than Twitter and YouTube." '

"We know we have more work to do, and well continue to work with civil rights groups, GARM, and other experts to develop even more tools, technology and policies to continue this fight."

Backstory: The comments come just days after Unilever initially said it wasn't considering a wholesale boycott of Facebook.

That position changed, however, after one of the company's best-known brands, Ben & Jerry's, joined a growing chorus of brands on Wednesday that said it would begin boycotting Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram.

State of play: Unilever, for the first three weeks of June, was the 33rd-biggest advertiser on Facebook, according to data from ad tracking firm Pathmatics, spending over $2 million in those three weeks alone.

Unilever's biggest rival, Procter & Gamble, spent roughly $21 million in that same time period. Procter & Gamble boycotted YouTube in 2018 but hasn't yet indicated that it will boycott these companies.

On Tuesday, Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer at Procter & Gamble, threatened to pull spending if platforms didn't take "appropriate systemic action" to address hate speech.

Be smart: Unilever's quick reversal speaks to the growing pressure on brands to demand action from tech companies as the boycotts have grown in the past week.

Prior to Unilever, Verizon was one of the biggest companies to announce it would boycott Facebook, on Thursday.

Prior to Verizon, dozens of brands ranging from clothing companies to consumer package goods companies had begun boycotting the tech giant.

The big picture: The boycotts are a result of pent-up frustration from lawmakers and marketers over Facebook's content moderation policies, which many feel don't go far enough in curbing hate speech and harmful content online.

That frustration reached a tipping point during the recent Black Lives Matter protests, as Facebook refused to fact check or moderate posts from President Trump that many argued incited violence against protestors.

The push for an ad boycott began two weeks ago, when six civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League and the NAACP, began urging marketers to stop buying ads on Facebook, using the hashtag #stophateforprofit, in a bid to pressure the company to take firmer action against hate speech and other harmful material.

Yes, but: These boycotts, while a public relations nightmare for Facebook  especially leading up to the 2020 election  usually don't last too long or have a serious material effect on the companies being boycotted.

After roughly a year, many of the advertisers that boycotted YouTube in 2018, including Procter & Gamble, had returned.

And YouTube, is still an advertising powerhouse, bringing in roughly $15 billion annually.

What's next: Unilever says it will maintain its total planned media investment in the U.S. by shifting its budget to other media for the remainder of the year.

Go deeper: Facebook faces trust crisis as ad boycott grows
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National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and WB Country Director in Vietnam Ousmane Dione (Photo: VNA)



During a reception in Hanoi on June 25th, Ngan lauded Dione for contributing to ties between the WB and Vietnam during his four-year tenure, saying that a number of NA-approved bills and socio-economic projects received technical and professional support from Dione and the WB.

She said Dione directed the building of the World Bank Group Country Partnership Framework for Vietnam 2018 - 2022 with four priorities - inclusive growth and the private sectors participation, investment in human and knowledge, environment sustainability and good governance. The lender also assisted Vietnam in realising vision and implementing policy recommendations in the strategic report Vietnam 2035.

Dione, for his part, highly valued the Vietnamese legislature for approving the Public-Private Partnership Law and the European Union - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, especially amid rising protectionism at present.

He suggested Vietnam develop logistics and infrastructure, improve the efficiency of State agencies, modernise institutions, enhance innovation and digital transformation, ensure social integration in the spirit of Leaving no one behind.

Vietnam plays an important role in gathering countries in Mekong River basin to discuss solutions to relevant problems, he said.

About this, NA Chairwoman Ngan said as a responsible country in the Lower Mekong River, Vietnam wants to ensure an ecological environment for habitants in the area so that the impacts of its changes to the river should be appraised.

She informed his guest that the Vietnamese legislature adopted a Resolution approving the master plan on socio-economic development for ethnic minority and mountainous regions for the 2021 - 2030 period.

As Vietnam is in the period of economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, the WBs policy recommendations are helpful to the country, she said, adding that Vietnam is also willing to welcome a new wave of investment, priorities hi-tech projects to contribute to promoting digital economy./.
The Daily Beast

Reuters/Arnd WiegmannTheatrical rock superstar Meat Loaf, whose Bat Out of Hell is one of the bestselling albums of all time, has died at the age of 74. Reports say the singer and actor had recently fallen sick with COVID-19.In an emotional statement posted to Facebook early Friday, the performers family said he was with his wife when he died and had said his final goodbyes to his two daughters in the past 24 hours. The star sold 100 million albums in his five-decade career and starred in movie
New Delhi, June 26 : Senior Congress leader and former Minister of State for Defence Pallam Raju on Friday claimed that Chinese troops had occupied Indian territory up to 18 km inside of the Line of Actual Control in the Depsang plains.

Addressing a press conference, Pallam Raju said: "In an alarming threat to our national security and territorial integrity, China has now occupied our territory up to 18 km inside the LAC, in the Depsang plains, up to the Y-Junction or the bottleneck, as per multiple reports." "The Chinese forces are now 7 km short of the Ladakhi town of Burtse, on the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie Road. Reports also suggest that China has come as close as 25 km from the crucial airstrip of Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), that is within their artillery range," Raju added.

Both Raju and another Congress leader and former Union MoS Jitendra Singh said that Congress again asked why the Modi government was afraid to acknowledge Chinese incursion in the Galwan Valley and Depsang plains.

"The Chinese had made incursions in Depsang plains in 2013 also. The then UPA government stood firm and ensured the withdrawal of the Chinese forces to reclaim our LAC. The current government unfortunately refuses to even acknowledge any incursion, thereby weakening the morale of our soldiers," Jitendra Singh claimed.

The party said that satellite images suggested that China had made fresh transgressions and new constructions between June 6 and June 24.

Asserting that the nation stood with the brave Indian Army, the party questioned "why was the Modi government demoralizing our brave solders by issuing contradictory statements".

"This government's diplomacy is not helping in protecting and restoring India's territorial integrity," the party said.

Both leader also questioned what all had India gained from the Prime Minister's personal outreach to various countries in general and China in particular.

The Congress also wanted to know benefits to India from five trips of Modi to China, three trips of the Chinese leadership to India and 18 meetings between Modi and Xi Jinping.

The Congress is observing Friday as 'Shaheed Samman Diwas' and its leaders are participating in 'speak up for jawan' campaign to corner the NDA government on Chinese transgression in Ladakh and other places.
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Linkedin Eisya A. Eloksari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 08:50 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661c206c 1 Business Snapchat,Singapore,social-media,Southeast-Asia Free

Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. plans to open an office in Singapore this year  its first office in Southeast Asia  in a bid to expand and streamline its services in the region.

The company has appointed former Asia-Pacific senior director and head of instant messaging application Viber, Anubhav Nayyar, to join Snap Inc. and lead the expansion in Southeast Asia.

However, the technology company said it would build a physical presence only after the COVID-19 pandemic had subsided.

We are eager to collaborate with local partners and community in celebrating the rich diversity of Southeast Asia, Nayyar said in a statement on Thursday.

He went on to say that Southeast Asia had become an important market to the company as it rolled out several initiatives in the last 12 months, such as localizing augmented reality (AR) during Lunar New Year and offering the Lens Studio workshop at the University of Indonesia.

Snap Inc. Australia and New Zealand, Southeast Asia and Hong Kong general manager Kathryn Carter said the expansion presented an opportunity for multinational brands to advertise with them as Snapchat had reached 85 percent of the 13-to-24-year-old Australian nationals and had a growing market in Southeast Asia.

We are committed to helping brands to expand their advertisement at the local and regional level especially in helping companies recover post-pandemic, she said. (eyc)
Images shared on social media suggested a large explosion - TWITTER

Iranian authorities are investigating after an explosion east of the capital near a site linked to the regime's nuclear testing programme.

A bright and large flash of light was seen in the night sky over Tehran early on Friday in images shared widely on social media, Iran's Fars news agency reported.

"In the early hours after midnight on Friday, a number of social media users reported seeing an orange light in the eastern part of Tehran," said Fars.

"In the videos sent by (our) readers, this light is seen for a few seconds," it reported, adding it was following up the issue with the relevant authorities.

Fars said later that the flash was caused by "an industrial gas tank explosion" near a facility belonging to the defence ministry.

First video report of a massive explosion with red light around Tehran, heard by many residents. Reports of a military outpost around there. #Iran pic.twitter.com/lQT4CPFLUC  Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) June 25, 2020

The blast appears to have come from near Parchin, a military site.

Davoud Abdi, a defense ministry spokesman, told state TV that the blaze was quickly taken under control and that there were no casualties.

The blast came from the direction of the Parchin base, where Iran is believed to have been working on nuclear testing - AP

Fars cited an "informed source" and insisted the site of the incident was not related to the military.

"At the entrance of the (nearby) Parchin military zone, there is no movement or traffic of fire and rescue vehicles," Fars added.

Mehr news agency had said a "terrible sound" was heard.

BREAKING: There are videos circulating of what appears to be an explosion in Pardis, south Tehran, tonight. This video, I think, was shot in Bame Tehran, north of the city. You can clearly see what appears to be a fireball that turns the sky red

pic.twitter.com/VoPs7HWr5O  Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) June 25, 2020

"The cause of this sound and light is not yet known, but it was clearly heard in Pardis, in Boumhen and surrounding areas" of the Iranian capital.

State television said various institutions were investigating the issue. Fars said police were involved in the investigation.
A Dublin man has been sent for trial accused of making hoax reports that bombs had been planted at the Wellington monument in the Phoenix Park.

John Murphy (44) is alleged to have sparked a security alert by making bogus phone calls to gardai.

He had a book of evidence served on him when he appeared at Dublin District Court yesterday.

Judge Colin Daly returned him for trial to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Mr Murphy, of Buckingham Street in the north inner city, is charged with three counts of making false reports that an offence had been committed or tending to give rise to apprehension for the safety of people and property.

All three offences are alleged to have happened at an unknown location on May 16, 2019.

A State solicitor said a book of evidence was ready and had been served on the accused.

The DPP was consenting to the accused being sent forward to the present sittings of the circuit court, he said.

Judge Daly gave Mr Murphy the formal notice that he had 14 days to provide any alibi details to the prosecution.

He also ordered the prosecution to furnish the defence with copies of the accused's Garda interview videos.

Mr Murphy was not required to address the court and has not yet entered a plea to the charges.

Following an application by defence solicitor Michael Kelleher, the judge extended free legal aid to cover one barrister in the circuit court.

The court previously heard the accused was unemployed and on social welfare.

The DPP had consented to the case being dealt summarily at district court level but another judge had refused jurisdiction to deal with it at an earlier hearing.

Helicopter

The court was given an outline of the prosecution evidence on the previous date.

It would be alleged that officers in the Garda communication centre on Harcourt Street received a number of calls, the court was told.

It was reported that the caller had planted a number of bombs at the Wellington Monument.

Garda units including a helicopter unit were dispatched. However, no device was found.

The court heard that the accused was traced through his phone number and he made admissions following arrest.
BOSTON, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CSOFT Health Sciences, a leading provider of cross-border medical communications solutions, is pleased to announce Senior VP Dr. Nimita Limaye's role as the new Regional Chair of DIA's India Medical Writing Community. Dr. Limaye's commitment to lead this initiative demonstrates CSOFT's support to key DIA initiatives in the healthcare communication space.

Frank Hubbard, PhD, Chair of the DIA Global Medical Writing Community, said, "We are delighted to welcome Nimita Limaye, PhD as the Regional Chair of the recently re-launched DIA India Medical Writing Community. With her extensive industry experience and close affiliation with DIA for the past 15 years, Nimita is a valuable addition to lead the new initiative!" Dr. Hubbard further recommended CSOFT's publication by Dr. Limaye in her most recent submission to the DIA Global Forum, "Medical Writing: The Language and Art of Scientific Communication."

"I am very excited that we will have a thriving medical writing community, sharing knowledge and best practices not only in Asia, but also with the global medical writing community," Dr. Limaye said. With experience across global pharma, CRO, and consulting companies including Altana Pharma, SIRO Clinpharm, IQVIA, Tata Consultancy Services, Dr. Limaye brings a demonstrated commitment to ensuring the diversity of thought leadership to the DIA medical writing community.

DIA 2020 marks one of the first pharma industry conferences to be held completely online, with senior leaders from Merck, PPD, Pfizer, Janssen of Johnson & Johnson, IQVIA, Covance, as well as regulators from the NMPA, EMA, FDA and more. With patient-centricity as a key theme, it brings needed focus to issues at the forefront of medical communications. Pfizer highlights the need to enhance patient-centric channels to better reach the 45% of global patient inquiries originating in Brazil, the United States, China, Australia and Japan through the advancement of global style guides and local interpretation. CISCRP emphasizes the need to augment the diversity of clinical trials by empowering patients to become advocates for their participation, examining the lacking involvement of specific minorities as a problem for drug developers.

CSOFT's CEO Ms. Shunee Yee emphasizes, "Regulations for clinical trials differ in each country, and entering foreign markets effectively requires local knowledge, quality translations, and expert medical writing for global success."

About CSOFT Health Sciences

CSOFT Health Sciences provides end-to-end medical translation services for all phases of the product lifecycle, from pre-clinical to post-launch. We also specialize in market access consulting, medical writing, and CTD/eCTD submissions with the FDA, EMA, and NMPA. Our operations are compliant with ISO 17100 and certified in ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016, ensuring our customized solutions meet the rigorous regulatory requirements of global submissions. Learn more here.

CONTACT: Shelby Stubbs, [email protected]



SOURCE CSOFT International

Related Links

http://www.csoftintl.com




Michael FlynnFBIRoger Stonewitness tampering, obstructing an official proceeding, five counts of making false statements 

Aaron ZelinskyRoger StoneSentencing GuidelineZelinsky  Michael Flynn  

law and order   



A prosecutors blistering rebuke of Barrs politicized Justice Department, annotated

By Aaron Blake

June 23, 2020 at 3:47 p.m. CDT

Attorney General William P. Barrs moves regarding President Trump and his allies were already obviously and conspicuously problematic. On Tuesday, they became more so, thanks to a blistering rebuke from a prosecutor on the Roger Stone case.

The Justice Department in February made the extraordinary decision to scale back its sentencing recommendation for the longtime Trump political adviser. This spurred the withdrawal from the case of the four prosecutors who handled it. And now one of them, Aaron Zelinsky, has issued a remarkable statement about how that went down.

In the statement, issued to the House Judiciary Committee, Zelinsky describes a process that was at times explicitly politicized, thanks to Trumps own interests.

Lets break down some key sections of Zelinskys statement.

In the many cases I have been privileged to work on in my career, I have never seen political influence play any role in prosecutorial decision making. With one exception: United States v. Roger Stone.

This suggests this was hardly business as usual. What are the odds that a prosecutor like Zelinsky, who spent his career as an assistant U.S. attorney, would encounter this  for the first time  on a case involving one of the presidents closest allies?

What I saw was the Department of Justice exerting significant pressure on the line prosecutors in the case to obscure the correct Sentencing Guidelines calculation to which Roger Stone was subject  and to water down and in some cases outright distort the events that transpired in his trial and the criminal conduct that gave rise to his conviction. Such pressure resulted in the virtually unprecedented decision to override the original sentencing recommendation in his case and to file a new sentencing memorandum that included statements and assertions at odds with the record and contrary to Department of Justice policy.

This part of Zelinskys statement calls to mind a later and equally controversial Justice Department decision to pull its prosecution of another Trump aide, former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn. Zelinsky calls the Stone decision virtually unprecedented, which in combination with the Flynn case certainly paints a picture.

I was told that the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Timothy Shea, was receiving heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice to cut Stone a break, and that the U.S. Attorneys sentencing instructions to us were based on political considerations. I was also told that the acting U.S. Attorney was giving Stone such unprecedentedly favorable treatment because he was afraid of the President. 

Shea is a Barr ally who took over as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia in February  shortly before the DOJs about-face in the Stone case. Zelinsky says in his statement that he is necessarily limited in what he can say and that he cleared it with the Department of Justice. Exactly how he learned about such political considerations and Shea being afraid of the president would seem extremely pertinent, but for now its secondhand.

Together with my fellow line Assistant United States Attorneys, I immediately and repeatedly raised concerns, in writing and orally, that such political favoritism was wrong and contrary to legal ethics and Department policy.

Our objections were not heeded.

When I learned that the Department was going to issue a new sentencing memo, I made the difficult decision to resign from the case and my temporary appointment in the U.S. Attorneys Office in D.C. rather than be associated with the Department of Justices actions at sentencing. I returned to the U.S. Attorneys Office in Maryland, where I work today.

This would seem to erase any questions about the motivations for the four prosecutors removing themselves from the case  in case there somehow were any.

Its also notable that Zelinsky is saying all this while still in the employ of the Justice Department  a decision that would be easier for someone who didnt have to deal with potential internal blowback.

For the Department to seek a sentence below the Guidelines in a case where the defendant went to trial and remained unrepentant is in my experience unheard of  all the more so given Stones conduct in the lead-up to the trial. I was told at the time that no one in the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the United States Attorneys Office in the District of Columbia  which prosecuted the Stone case after the Special Counsels office completed its work  could even recall a case where the government did not seek a Guidelines sentence after trial.

Zelinsky makes the case that he and his fellow prosecutors were merely following federal sentencing guidelines in seeking Stones sentence. He also details Stones history of lying, which wouldnt argue for a reduced sentence. This would seem to again point to the extraordinary nature of the Justice Departments intervention.

The prosecution team  which consisted of three career prosecutors in addition to myself  prepared a draft sentencing memorandum reflecting this calculation and recommending a sentence at the low end of the Guidelines range. We sent our draft for review to the leadership of the U.S. Attorneys Office. We received word back from one of the supervisors on February 5, 2020, that the sentencing memo was strong, and that Stone deserve[d] every day of our recommendation.

However, just two days later, I learned that our team was being pressured by the leadership of the U.S. Attorneys Office not to seek all of the Guidelines enhancements that applied to Stone  that is, to provide an inaccurate Guidelines calculation that would result in a lower sentencing range.

The Justice Department has alleged that high-ranking officials were blindsided by the sentencing recommendation  and/or that there was some kind of miscommunication about it  which led to the reversal. Here, Zelinsky indicates Sheas office was well aware of and signed off on the recommendation, before it was reversed.

In response, we were told by a supervisor that the U.S. Attorney had political reasons for his instructions, which our supervisor agreed was unethical and wrong. However, we were instructed that we should go along with the U.S. Attorneys instructions, because this case was not the hill worth dying on and that we could lose our jobs if we did not toe the line.

Again, the question is where these comments came from and how accurate they are. The identity of the supervisor would seem particularly worth probing, given that this person appeared to be the go-between.

Ultimately, we refused to modify our memorandum to ask for a substantially lower sentence. Again, I was told that the U.S. Attorneys instructions had nothing to do with Mr. Stone, the facts of the case, the law, or Department policy. Instead, I was explicitly told that the motivation for changing the sentencing memo was political, and because the U.S. Attorney was afraid of the President. 

Yet another allusion to this being about politics  and that being clear within the Justice Department.

At 7:30 p.m. Monday night, we were informed that we had received approval to file our sentencing memo with a recommendation for a Guidelines sentence, but with the language describing Stones conduct removed. We filed the memorandum immediately that evening.

At 2:48 a.m. the following morning, the President tweeted that the recommendation we had filed was horrible and very unfair. He stated that, the real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. President Trump closed, Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice! 

This is notable, because it lends credence to Barrs claim that this decision was made before Trumps tweet, which Barr would later acknowledge made the decision look problematic. But it doesnt negate the fact that Zelinsky says  repeatedly  that this was done in response to perceived pressure from Trump.

To be clear, my concern is not with this sentencing outcome  and I am not here to criticize the sentence Judge Jackson imposed in the case or the reasoning that she used. It is about process and the fact that the Department of Justice treated Roger Stone differently and more leniently in ways that are virtually, if not entirely, unprecedented.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Stone to more than three years in prison  after the initial recommendation of seven to nine years. But its not unusual for a sentence to come in below prosecutors recommendations.

I take no satisfaction in publicly criticizing the actions of the Department of Justice, where I have spent most of my legal career. I have always been and remain proud to be an Assistant United States Attorney.

It pains me to describe these events. But as Judge Jackson said in this case, the truth still matters. And so I am here today to tell you the truth.

Some witnesses will criticize their superiors while not explicitly saying thats what they are doing. Zelinsky, though, makes no bones about it.

( https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/23/prosecutors-blistering-rebuke-barrs-politicized-justice-department-annotated/ )

5 takeaways from the scathing testimony about William Barrs Justice Department

The Justice Department under Attorney General William P. Barr has made several controversial and extraordinary decisions with regard to President Trump and his allies. And two of those decisions came to a head Wednesday. First came a federal court ruling that the case against Michael Flynn should be dropped after Barrs Justice Department moved to withdraw its prosecution  despite Flynn already having pleaded guilty. Arguably the more interesting development came Wednesday afternoon, when a former prosecutor on the Roger Stone case testified that political pressure was indeed behind the Justice Departments reduction in Stones sentencing recommendation. Aaron Zelinsky was one of four prosecutors who withdrew from the case when that decision was made, and in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, he detailed what happened. Zelinskys testimony came after the committee on Tuesday released a blistering opening statement he had written. You can read up on that here. Below are some takeaways from his and others testimony. 1. Zelinsky names names In his opening statement and his early testimony, Zelinsky didnt name the official who told him that the Stone decision was politicized. Instead, Zelinsky just said it was a supervisor. And for some reason, House Democrats didnt probe this for nearly two hours. So it fell to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to ask Zelinsky who it was. But Jordan may not have gotten the answer he anticipated. So the supervisor for the questions youre asking is the supervisor of the fraud and public corruption unit in the D.C. U.S. attorneys office, Zelinsky said, adding, His name is J.P. Cooney. Zelinsky said in his opening statement that this supervisor had said that the U.S. attorney had political reasons for his instructions, which our supervisor agreed was unethical and wrong. Zelinsky also added that other officials were party to the discussions. At the time in the office, there was a first assistant, there was a criminal chief  they were all involved in these discussions, Zelinsky said. He later named the first assistant as Alessio Evangelista. Jordan asked whether these officials had spoken with Barr, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen or then-U.S. Attorney Timothy Shea. Zelinsky responded, My understanding is they did. Jordan, apparently taken aback, then pressed Zelinsky on the apparently secondhand nature of these exchanges. It sounds like you heard stuff that youre now bringing to this committee as fact, Jordan said. 'So-and-so says to someone what they told someone else.' Regardless, to the extent the committee wants to pursue the matter, they apparently know whom to call next. 2. Zelinsky says DOJ abandoned the rule of law Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Tex.) at one point asked Zelinsky whether Barr had abandoned the rule of law. She cited another withdrawn prosecutor from the Stone case, Jonathan Kravis, who wrote a Washington Post op-ed last month saying of his 10-year tenure in the DOJ, I left a job I loved because I believed the department had abandoned its responsibility to do justice in one of my cases, United States v. Roger Stone. Garcia asked Zelinsky whether he agreed with that statement, and Zelinsky was direct. I do. The other two prosecutors who withdrew from the Stone case, Adam Jed and Michael Marando, havent been as public about their reasons for withdrawing. 3. GOP witness says maybe Trump politicized allies cases Whatever one thinks of Barrs actions, even he has admitted that Trumps tweets about ongoing Justice Department matters involving allies are problematic. Barr in February said that such tweets about the Stone case make it impossible for me to do my job. (He has declined to weigh in publicly since then, even as Trump has continued the practice.) And the one GOP witness Wednesday, former attorney general Michael Mukasey, seemed to agree with that, at least in part. Under questioning from Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), who is under consideration for Joe Bidens vice presidential pick, Mukasey acknowledged that maybe such tweets constituted applying political pressure in an ongoing case. I cant speak for the president. The president is, by definition, a political   he said, before Demings cut him off. Based on your professional  political or professional  experience, do you believe the president has engaged in a political way as it pertains to sentences or what happens to his friends? Demings asked. The attorney general himself criticized the president for tweets ,  Mukasey said. So that's a yes? Demings asked. Its a maybe, Mukasey said. 4. GOPs dodgy attacks on the witnesses credibility Jordan and the GOP tried to undermine Zelinsky and his fellow witnesses credibility from the get-go, but again they may not have gotten what they bargained for. Rep. Douglas A. Collins (R-Ga.), for instance, accused Justice Department attorney John Elias of trying to help Democrats with impeaching Trump. You wanted to come work for the majority during the impeachment. Is that not correct? Collins asked. Elias, though, indicated that his outreach to the Democratic majority on the committee came long before impeachment. I actually think that  I think it was a year prior, he said, adding, It was early 2019. Separately, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) picked up on the GOPs argument that Zelinskys appearance via video was out of bounds or intended to avoid intense cross-examination. As a prosecutor  Im reticent to discuss my family publicly, Zelinsky responded. Johnson, though, pressed him: You have family concerns, is that right? Is that right? Thats what you tell us. Zelinsky responded, I have a newborn child, congressman. Johnson then tried to compare this Mukasey, who appeared in person, saying Mukasey would quarantine himself after the hearing because he has a young grandchild. 5. A Barr predecessor: Were on the way to something far worse than Watergate Former deputy attorney general Donald Ayer preceded Barr in that role in the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has since been one of Barrs most high-profile critics. He began his testimony Wednesday with some particularly stinging remarks. I am here because I believe that William Barr poses the greatest threat in my lifetime to our rule of law and to public trust in it, Ayer said. That is because he does not believe in its core principle that no person is above the law. Instead, since taking office, he has worked to advance his lifelong conviction that the president should hold virtually autocratic powers. He added later, I think were on the way to something far worse than Watergate, where you had a problem of public distrust, because its becoming very transparent that many things are being done essentially for reasons that are completely unrelated to the merits of the case. Ayer has previously signed letters decrying Barrs leadership of the Justice Department and has called for Barrs resignation.

( https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/5-takeaways-from-the-scathing-testimony-about-william-barrs-justice-department/ar-BB15VySA )
The presidential election campaign in the US appears to have gathered steam despite the raging coronavirus pandemic in the country, with President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden exchanging barbs.

The US is the hardest-hit country by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 2.47 million official cases and over 126,000 deaths.

Trump on Thursday described Biden as a candidate who will destroy America. He (Biden) is a candidate that will destroy this country. And he may not do it himself. He will be run by a radical fringe group of lunatics that will destroy our country, and people have to know that, Trump said in response to a question during a Fox news town hall in Wisconsin.

Here's a guy (Biden) who doesn't talk. Nobody hears him. Whenever he does talk, he can't put two sentences together. I don't want to be nice or un-nice. Okay? But, I mean, the man can't speak. And he's going to be your President because some people don't love me maybe. And, you know, all I'm doing is doing my job, Trump said.

Biden, 77, is challenging the 74-year-old Republican incumbent president in the November 3 presidential elections.

Responding to a question, Trump said that while Biden is not a radical left, they will take him over.

I don't think Biden is a radical left, but it doesn't matter because they're going to just do whatever they want to do. They'll take him over. He can't perform. He's not going to be able to perform...Whether you like it or not, he's shot. The radical left is going to take him over, Trump said.

Trump is seeking his re-election in the November presidential election for his second four-year term. Former vice president Biden is representing the opposition Democratic Party. As per latest opinion polls, he is leading by more than eight percentage points.

Responding to questions, Trump said that he is willing to have any number of presidential debates with Biden. As per tradition the two rivals are scheduled to have three presidential debates. I will do any amount of debates, he said.

In Pennsylvania, Biden launched his so far sharpest attack on Trump.

He's like a child who just can't believe this has happened to him. It's all whining and self-pity. This pandemic didn't happen to him. It happened to all of us, he said. His job isn't to whine about it. His job is to do something about it, Biden said as he spoke on the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Perhaps most cruelly of all, if Donald Trump has his way, complications from COVID-19 could become a new pre-existing condition, he said.

Some survivors will experience lasting health impacts  like lung scarring and heart damage. And if Donald Trump prevails in court, insurers would be allowed to strip away coverage or jack up premiums  simply because of their battle with the coronavirus, Biden said.

During the Fox News town hall, Trump slammed Biden for his commercial on China. He (Biden) has a commercial on today. It's a great commercial for him, but it's a lie. He said, "He got beat in the China deal." No, no, we beat China badly. China had the worst year they've had in 67 years prior to the plague coming in. They had the worst year they'd had in 67 years because of the tariffs and all the things that I've done, Trump asserted.

But he'll say, "He got beat in the China deal." They didn't do a China deal. China ate our lunch before me, and they would have destroyed our country. China, in my opinion, would have destroyed our country economically, if I didn't get elected, Trump said.

Former US vice president Biden would formally accept his Democratic presidential nomination at the party's scaled back convention in Wisconsin's Milwaukee city on August 20.

In view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) on Wednesday announced its convention plan to broadcast from Milwaukee and across the nation to reach out to all Americans.

On June 20, President Trump chose Tulsa city, Oklahoma, to hold his first campaign rally in three months.

Health experts warned that the indoor venue and potentially large crowd could help spread the coronavirus, putting attendees and others at risk, the Washington Post reported.

I'm concerned about our ability to protect anyone who attends a large, indoor event, Bruce Dart, director of the Tulsa city and county health department, told the Tulsa World.

And I'm also concerned about our ability to ensure the president stays safe as well.

Officials nationwide are sounding the alarm about a resurgence of coronavirus cases amid reopenings, large protests and reports of people not adhering to social distancing norms.

Several southern and western US states are facing new surges in coronavirus cases. This week, several states broke their own daily records, with Arizona, California, Texas and Florida among the hardest-hit.

he number of hospitalisations is also on the rise in some states, with health experts worried that hospitals could be overwhelmed.
Manila (CNN Philippines Life)  For many members of the Filipino LGBTQ+ community, joining a Pride March every June is almost second nature. While queer spirit is brighter than ever in each Pride March, our celebrations are always underscored by the fact that many of us are still suffering from discrimination and oppression  something thats lost to many of our brothers and sisters who only think of Pride as a parade.

The march is a safe space for us to express ourselves and call attention to our struggles. Last years Metro Manila Pride March set a record of 70,000 attendees who braved the traffic and downpour to celebrate and express their support for LGBTQ+ rights. This year, with COVID-19 still posing a threat to our health, Pride Month activities are held online. Some members and allies of the community also went to Mendiola on Friday, June 26, to hold a Pride rally and protest many issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community, including the anti-terror bill, mass testing, and jeepney phaseout. The protest  which implemented social distancing and safety measures  was reported to be peaceful according to Bahaghari National Spokesperson Rey Valmores Salinas until the police came and eventually arrested 20 of the attendees.

According to a CNN Philippines report, Manila Police District Chief Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Carlo Magno Manuel said the charges include illegal assembly, unjust vexation, and violation of R.A. 1132 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.

Many human rights groups decried the arrests, including the Metro Manila Pride March organization which called it unjust. The incident also sparked an outcry online, with the hashtags #FreePride20 and ANG PRIDE AY PROTESTA trending on Twitter  the latter being a reminder of the core of what Pride March is about.

Members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community were arrested on June 26, Friday in Mendiola, Manila after holding a protest rally against the anti-terror bill and other pressing issues. Photo by JL JAVIER

Bahaghari National Spokesperson Rey Valmores Salinas claimed that the protest was peaceful until the police came at the scene. Photo by JL JAVIER

The first Pride March

The history of Pride March in the Philippines is a good starting point when we talk about Pride Month. There are two dates in contention for the first year of Pride March in the Philippines. First is in 1994 organized by Progressive Organization of Gays (PROGAY) and Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) where around 50 people marched from Quezon Boulevard to the Quezon Memorial Circle.

Father Richard Mickley of the Metropolitan Community Church recounted the events of the 1994 march in this Facebook post, saying, Remember this was the first. Not everyone was ready, willing, and bold enough to expose themselves to [the] media. There was minimum newspaper coverage. But the media picked it up and it spread like wildfire. Talk show after talk show invited us. 'Mel and Jay' was the most popular talk show in the country at the time.

It took two more years for the next march to be mounted, which is argued as the first Pride March in the Philippines because it was the first time that the entire queer community organized.

According to the article On Community and Continuities: The Metro Manila Pride March and the Philippine LGBT+ Movement by Teilhard Paradela (who is also one of our respondents in the interview below) of the Babaylan Archive Project, The effect of these [prior] marches were also limited to their own constituents. These events did not necessarily lead to unified and continuous efforts to organize the entire Philippine LGBT+ community. The turning point for this development, as I have argued earlier, was the 1996 Metro Manila Pride March. And yet, at the same time, the 1996 edition would not have been possible without them.

Paradela also cites John Andrew G. Evangelistas paper Mula sa Kinaroroonang Ideolohiya: Kontrobersya Tungkol sa Unang Pride March sa Pilipinas, as an exhaustive reference of the history of Pride March in the Philippines. Patrick King Pascual also outlines a more detailed impetus of organizing Pride March in the Philippines in his article in Outrage.

The UP Babaylan Float on Roxas Boulevard at the 1998 Manila Pride. Photo from THE BABAYLAN ARCHIVE PROJECT

Drag queens performing at the 1996 Manila Pride. Photo from THE BABAYLAN ARCHIVE PROJECT

The debate emphasizes the complexity of writing history  in this particular case, the history of the queer movement in the Philippines. But the spirit of the queer rights movement remain the same nonetheless, and it is something that should be constantly talked about and revisited in the wake of the various human rights protests ongoing in the country and around the world.

Here, we talk to a few community organizers who have participated in the first few years of the Pride March in the Philippines as well as the current organizers of Pride March across the country to talk about why, first and foremost, pride is a protest. Answers are edited for brevity.

How did you learn about the Pride March? What was the initial experience like?

Giney Villar (founding member, Women Supporting Women Center; co-host of the Tita Tibx Podcast): When we received the invitation, we talked about what it meant for us, what our participation would be and mean, and how it furthers the cause. Groups decided individually and we coordinated this in our bigger then loose collective. Prior to the march, security was a concern for us as we were doing this for the first time. Steps were taken to protect everyone  out or not  during and after the march.

During the march, it was exhilarating even as we kept an eye on our ranks. We also took notes as it was a learning experience.

Perci Cendana (UP Babaylan and former National Youth Commission as the Commissioner for Luzon): I first learned about Pride in our student organization in college, U.P. Babaylan, when the org decided to send a contingent to the first Lesbian and Gay Pride March in Malate in 1996.

It took a lot of encouragement and motivation to convince the student members to attend the march because many were still struggling with coming out to our families and communities outside the university. The greatest fear then stemmed from being seen on T.V. or print by our relatives in the province.

An orgmate came up with the brilliant idea of marching with a giant rainbow flag. The flag, while being a statement, doubled as our shield against cameras. For those of us who are not yet out, we used the flag to hide our faces in the presence of the media. Two sisters were assigned as spotters who would issue a warning when there are cameras. The not-so-covert warning code was mga bakla, media alert.

The 1996 Pride gave us our first glimpse of the bigger LGBTQIA+ community outside of the university. It was our first close encounter with groups and people that are like us. Even if there were only over a hundred participants then, the feeling of solidarity was so amazing and inspiring for young activists like us then.

Teilhard Paradela (member, Babaylanes and director, Babaylan Archive Project): My first Pride experience in 1996 was exhilarating. Being there, I had one major realization. And I still remember this until now. That I was part of a broader community. I think LGBTQIA+ Filipinos nowadays take it for granted that there is a community. But, in the 1990s, this was a big unknown. Sure, there were disparate networks, but a community? I could imagine a community, but I had not engaged this community in a tangible sense. When I saw the organizations and individuals  around 500 people  congregating, then I knew that, yes, there was a small, vibrant, and emerging queer community in Manila. And I was part of it. And we were having our coming out party as a community. So that was big for me.

I had been active in lesbian and gay networks since 1993. I was a resident member of UP Babaylan. I had met leaders of other queer organizations such as Giney Villar and Anna Leah Sarabia and Oscar Atadero in various functions and meetings. So I was already plugged into this network. This made it easy for the ReachOut Foundation, an NGO advocating for HIV-AIDS prevention among MSMs (men who have sex with men), and the main organizer of the 1996 Manila Pride, to invite us to the planning meetings, and then of course to the march itself.

Gender and Development Advocates (GANDA) Filipinas at the 2013 LGBT Pride March organized by Task Force Pride (TFP) Philippines. Photo courtesy of NAOMI FONTANOS

The big rainbow flag brought by UP Mindanao Mentefuwaley shared and raised by different participants of Davao Pride March 2016. Photo courtesy of MELISSA CLAIRE BARRERA

Naomi Fontanos (executive director of Gender and Development Advocates (GANDA) Filipinas and former co-coordinator, Task Force Pride Philippines - 2008): In 1996, several gay and lesbian organizations came together to organize the Pride March. This loose network would be formalized in 1999 into Task Force Pride (TFP) which became the official organizing network of the Pride March in Manila. I learned about the Pride March being active in that circle then. I'm not exactly sure if the first Pride March I attended was in 1998 or 1999 but it was unforgettable. It was exhilarating to be out in the streets and realize you belong to a community bigger than your own organization. The Pride March made the idea of community more meaningful for me.

Gabriel Umadhay (head, office of LGBT Affairs of Iloilo City and former president, Iloilo Pride Team): When I was in college, I was always involved in human rights advocacy. It was then I learned about Pride Marches. I have always dreamed [of marching] with my brothers and sisters on [the] streets and [sharing] myself to the world. Our first Pride March was [on] October 2016 and participated by only 200 people. I could not deny it that I felt fear but at the same time excited. The march was evangelical, in the sense that this was the first time I [shouted] to the streets who I am and what we can become if we have acceptance.

Melissa Claire Barrera (head organizer, Pride March 2016 representing Dakila Davao): It was in the university grounds of U.P. Mindanao where I first attended a Pride March. Studying in a progressive university like U.P. Min was instrumental in my understanding of different societal issues such as the struggles of LGBTQIA+ and how they intersect with economic and socio-cultural issues  they do not only have the right to exist but also the right to exist with dignity, which means the state and our society must grant them access to basic social needs such healthcare programs for LGBT families, and civil liberties such as being allowed to marry. The experience was, of course, very liberating. Thats why my colleagues in Dakila  a collective of artists and cultural workers  and I initiated the plan to bring the Pride March in the city center of Davao where a lot of other members of the LGBT community and allies will be able to participate. It was on June 1, 2016 when the first city-proper Pride March in Davao happened.

Hadji Balajadia (Ateneo de Davao Psychology Department, co-convener Davao City Pride Council and LGBT Davao Coalition): Pride parades in Davao were so common in the late 90s. My political awakening to the significance of the Pride March, as a symbolic and a performative act, in widening democratic spaces in the country can be traced back in my activism days in the 90s at Ateneo de Davao. In the context of the LGBT movement in Davao, we were initially organized with the aid of the strong womens movement, until the lesbian and gay organizations were formed.

Political organizing was so aggressive between and among adolescents, specifically among the out-of-school youth in the urban poor communities. The dominant ideological line in that decade considered the nascent LGBT movement only as subordinate to the proletariat-peasant Marxist-Lenninist-Maoist revolutionary struggle for national liberation. In fact, in those days, the yearly Pride March was called Gay Pride March, reflective of the prevailing hegemony of gay male psychology at that time. Dabawenyos were both amused and shocked by this new form of activism.

Even on the ground, pride activism, as an expression of identity politics, was always received with utmost caution by ideological interest groups as they are feared to dilute the socialist critique against capitalism. In the early 2000s, I had a chance of joining other social democratic groups in a Pride March which culminated in Quiapo. Rainbow flags colored the streets; everyone was in high spirits (natdems, socdems, libdems, and neoliberals); placards boldly bearing our messages of equality, non-discrimination, inclusion, and diversity drowned the few mockery which were hurled at us as we marched along the road to Plaza Miranda. The solidarity speeches did not only edify the LGBTs, but also reminded us of our collective struggle for a society that equally cares for all and includes all, I mean all!

The general atmosphere was festive yet defiant; a mixture of fiesta and a protest. As a neophyte in the movement, I was just observant most of the time, yet deep inside, I realized that we are hastening the unfolding of LGBT history in the country and I am part of a larger movement; a movement so colorful, yet so silenced and invisibled.

Teachers and students from the Ateneo de Davao University, University of Mindanao, and Mindanao State University-Marawi during the Davao Pride March 2018. Photo courtesy of HADJI BALAJADIA

A rainbow flag at the 1997 Manila Pride. Photo from THE BABAYLAN ARCHIVE PROJECT

Nicky Castillo (overall co-coordinator, Metro Manila Pride Organization): I learned about the Pride March through my college org, U.P. Babaylan! When I first heard of a Pride March in the Philippines I was so amazed because I thought that was something that only existed abroad. I don't even have full memories of my first Pride because I was so nervous. I only remember flashes of it. Arriving late in Malate. Getting overwhelmed because I couldn't find my orgmates. [] I felt safe and happy and I felt that I just belonged. I felt at home in a sea of strangers. This is a feeling that I always look for when I attend Pride Marches and when I read feedback from the attendees at our Pride March.

What is the most essential part of being in the Pride March?

Giney Villar: That you understand why you are doing it. You may not have full freedom or rights, but being at Pride means you are claiming the space and fighting for the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of who you fundamentally are.

Teilhard Paradela: Expressing our political claims as a marginalized community. And we did and continue to do so in creative and effective ways. I dont subscribe to this question of whether Pride is a protest or a party. It could be both. And it is both. Because marking yourself as queer in this homophobic and transphobic country is always already a political act.

Naomi Fontanos: There is nothing like the electricity that runs through a Pride March and I feel this partly explains why people who experience it tend to come back year after year. Pride is part of the politics of joy for many of us who, in the words of Audre Lorde, "were never meant to survive."

Melissa Claire Barrera: The most essential part of being in a Pride March is learning from the LGBTQIA+ community itself. Our existence is a protest and we must be able to articulate our struggles so we may be able to engage and educate potential allies.

Gabriel Umadhay: Belonging to a crowd. Providing an avenue for people like me to feel safe, accepted, and celebrated. These were all the essential elements we always consider in organizing Pride Marches. It is important that participants feel safe when they march. That is why planning is very crucial. Acceptance to whatever they bring without buts encourages love. Finally, the sense of being celebrated is top most essential. To be seen as a valuable unit of society and not as a disease that spreads.

Hadji Balajadia: The Pride March for me is essentially about remembering and celebrating. By remembering, I mean to say, we call to mind our long history of LGBT struggle for equality around the world, specifically 51 years ago at Stonewall, and our individual stories as LGBTs. We connect our individual stories to this global LGBT story of struggle. So, theres that sense of solidarity feeling  that I belong in this movement, I identify with these diverse peoples, and I resonate in their powerful stories.

Ram Botero, self-taught artist, trans woman, and advocate for trans recognition and rights, giving her speech on how precolonial history transgenders were venerated through the story of Ikapati, the trans goddess in Philippines, and how we should remember these stories to empower the queer community in continuing the struggle. Photo courtesy of MELISSA CLAIRE BARRERA

Hadji Balajadia with Ateneo de Davao students joining the 2016 Davao Pride March. Photo courtesy of HADJI BALAJADIA

What is the most challenging part of organizing a Pride March?

Teilhard Paradela: In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Pride Marches in Manila were organized by the community. Because we had a diverse group of people with strong views, finding a consensus was really tough. Meetings were often contentious. Maraming away  nakakaloka. But at the same time it was a great training ground for us in facilitating meetings, addressing different perspectives, and running inclusive organizations. At masasabi mo talaga that the marches were community-led kasi almost everyone ultimately was represented in the decision-making and other processes.

Perci Cendana: Raising funds was always tough especially in the early years when corporate sponsorship was very elusive. I cannot forget this scene from a post-parade program held in Plaza Miranda. Leah Navarro was singing the finale, Isang Mundo, Isang Awit, [and] people were dancing like theres no tomorrow. Everyone was having a great time except the heads of the finance committee who were in one corner struggling to come up with the needed amount to pay the sound system provider.

Melissa Claire Barrera: Within the community there are still different notions and discriminations against each other that must be addressed, such as the discrimination against trans women, the notion of trans man vs. tomboy vs. lesbian, etc. I think many in the community are still struggling to emancipate themselves from the incorrect concepts about gender, sex, and sexuality brought by the still very patriarchal society in the Philippines.

Nicky Castillo: Providing a safe area for tens of thousands of people to gather and march is one of our top priorities and it costs a lot of money. As a non-profit organization we try to raise money through community-based funding but this is never enough. So, we rely heavily on corporate funding. However, since we are also a human rights organization, we are also limited as to who we can accept money from.

To supplement this, we also need to ensure that we receive enough assistance from the host city to be able to stage as safe an event as possible. All this while being an organization run completely by a small pool of volunteers. It's a tricky balancing act and it's definitely something that we are still improving.

How does the march differ from then and today?

Perci Cendana: More than two decades ago, it was unimaginable for a Pride old-timer like me that time will come when thousands would come to Pride. Im very glad that being in Pride has become a badge of honor.

Naomi Fontanos: I think fundamentally the organizing has changed. Whereas in the past there was an official organizing network composed of LGBTQIA+ organizations called Task Force Pride (TFP) which organized the Pride March from 1999 up until 2015, now organizing follows a different model.

Nicki Castillo: In 2017, some older activists told me that, because there were more individuals marching than orgs, it was much more difficult for them to find familiar faces in the crowd. I was worried that this was a negative thing for them but they reassured me that this was a good problem to have because it meant that we were growing.

Melissa Claire Barrera: The difference then and now is, I think, the hands-on involvement of the local government which is both a win and also sort of a restricting factor in the movement. Firstly, it is a win because the involvement of the local government means that LGBTQIA+ people are becoming more visible and acknowledged in society, and this is one step closer to having them granted their (inherent) rights.

However, if I may quote my former professor who was in Pride March 2016 and who also attended the march in 2018, political messages were not allowed at the march. I assumed that must have been a concession in order to prevent very partisan messages promoting Bong Go, or even those expressing support for the president despite his misogynistic remarks. But to totally ban placards promoting equality for the LGBTQIA community seemed to me a counterproductive measure in a Pride March.

The only thing I know about the 2019 Pride March in Davao was that they named it Davao Pride Festival and they had a Sabayang Pagbigkas contest among LGBTQIA+ groups and I think thats telling enough.

Gender and Development Advocates (GANDA) Filipinas at the 2015 LGBT Pride March organized by Quezon City. Photo courtesy of NAOMI FONTANOS

I am an ally. Kaisa ninyo ako, said Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro to an eruption of cheers from the crowd at the 2019 Metro Manila Pride. Kaisa ninyo ang Marikina City sa inyong laban upang ipasa ang SOGIE Equality Bill o Anti-Discrimination Bill. Photo by JL JAVIER

Do you think some of the issues you have been fighting for then have been addressed?

Gabriel Umadhay: In Iloilo City, we have championed many LGBT-related concerns. We [now have] our ADO (anti-discrimination ordinance). I have a seat in our local government to represent the community. We have effective programs in partnership with LGU for funding. We have a gender code that is sensitive to LGBT rights. These are good but we believe we still have more to push.

Giney Villar: I cannot say that we, meaning past and current activists, can take full credit for changes in our environment. But yes, I will say that it was a significant contribution  engaging in the legislative process, participating in international movements, organizing and holding discussions with communities, organizing Pride events have helped soften the ground and gained momentum for the fight for LGBT+ rights.

Naomi Fontanos: Yes and no. I remember the first Pride March I helped organize was in 2000 and the theme that year was Fight Discrimination Now. Twenty years later and we are still fighting to pass the anti-discrimination bill (ADB).

However, we should also recognize the achievement of the community in getting anti-discrimination ordinances passed in 26 local government units (LGUs) and that is due in large part to the tireless work of LGBTQIA+ activists on the ground who themselves have been touched by the pride resistance movement.

Hadji Balajadia: LGBT issues are generally human rights and social justice; issues of inclusion, non-discrimination, equal opportunities, voice, and space. These issues do not disappear overnight. What we are dealing is a culture which consigns the LGBTs as second-class citizens in a society which claims to be democratic and free; and we also wrestle with a (false) consciousness on diversity and diverse people legitimated and perpetuated by powerful institutions such as the family, religion, the media, schools, and even the law.

Teilhard Paradela: Our community has become more mature, more sophisticated, and more committed to our central issues. So I think we will eventually get there. I am an academic historian so my tendency is to take the longer view. And I am actually quite optimistic with our ultimate success, mainly because of our next generation of queer leaders and advocates.

Nicky Castillo: While it's good to celebrate [the] wins, there's still so much that needs to change. For as long as the lives of trans women like Jennifer Laude are lost to anti-trans violence, for as long as LGBTQI+ people are discriminated against in receiving disaster relief aid, barred from work opportunities, sanctioned in schools, and subjected to forced medical and psychological "treatment" then we need to continue to fight.

Perci Cendana: I wish that our community will never be complacent and will be unrelenting in our advocacy for human rights, diversity, and equality.

***

With reporting by SAMANTHA LEE and ELIZABETH RUTH DEYRO

COVER ILLUSTRATION by BETSY COLA

COVER LAYOUT by THE PUBLIC SCHOOL MANILA
Oswego, N.Y.  Health officials in Oswego County have completed coronavirus testing of employees at the Champlain Valley Specialties apple-packaging plant, they said today.

Of the 87 Oswego County residents tested, 37 workers were found to have the coronavirus. And an undisclosed number of other county residents, relatives or those the workers came into contact with, also tested positive, health officials said.

The county has no plans to release a total number of how many related cases were discovered in family members or others the workers may have infected, said health director Jiancheng Huang.

And the numbers are not the full measure of the Covid-19 impact at Champlain Valley, since some workers live outside of Oswego County, health officials said. There were some cases in Onondaga and Wayne counties, health officials said, but the cases are reported in those counties.

The facility, off Route 104 between Oswego and Fulton, produced a cluster of cases the weekend of June 13-14, and state and county health workers have been testing employees there since.

To date, Oswego County has had 191 positive tests for Covid-19. There are 61 current active cases, 126 people have recovered, and four county residents have died from the coronavirus.

READ MORE: Oswego County coronavirus dashboard

The facility in Oswego produces packaged, sliced apples for use in the food service industry.

Like other counties in Central New York, Oswego is preparing to enter phase four of the states re-opening in the coronavirus pandemic.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Restarting NY: Whats open, whats closed in phase four

New York, NJ, CT order 14-day quarantines for travelers from some other states

Daily update: Onondaga County has 16 new cases of Covid-19

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com
Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin in a file photograph in Washington on Feb. 27, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

US Imposes Sanctions on Companies Operating in Irans Metals Sector

WASHINGTONThe United States on June 25 blacklisted four companies in Irans metals sector, as well as one German and three Emirati subsidiaries of Irans largest steelmaker that Washington said generate millions of dollars for Tehrans metals industry.

The Treasury Department said in a statement that the sales agents together generated tens of millions of dollars annually from the foreign sale of Mobarakeh Steel Company products, contributing to billions of dollars generated overall by Irans steel, aluminum, copper, and iron sectors.

The Iranian regime continues to use profits from metals manufacturers and foreign sales agents to fund destabilizing behavior around the world, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.

The sanctions are the latest U.S. effort to slash Iranian revenues since President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, exacerbating U.S.-Iranian tensions.

A staff member removes the Iranian flag from the stage after a group picture with foreign ministers and representatives of the United States, Iran, China, Russia, Britain, Germany, France, and the European Union during Iran nuclear talks at the Vienna International Center in Vienna, Austria, on July 14, 2015. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Thursdays action targeted Tara Steel Trading GmbH, a Germany-based subsidiary of Mobarakeh Steel Co, United Arab Emirates-based sales agents Pacific Steel FZE, Better Future General Trading Co LLC, and Tuka Metal Trading DMCC, all majority-owned by Mobarakeh Steel Co, and Iran-based Metil Steel, also majority-owned by the company.

Mobarakeh Steel Co, previously blacklisted by Washington, accounts for 1 percent of Irans gross domestic product, the Treasury said.

The Treasury also blacklisted Iran-based aluminum, steel, and iron producers South Aluminum Company, Sirjan Jahan Steel Complex, and Iran Central Iron Ore Company.

Also designated was Global Industrial and Engineering Supply Ltd, which the Treasury said had addresses in China and Hong Kong and had in 2019 knowingly transferred graphite to a blacklisted Iranian entity.

The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets held by the companies and generally prohibit Americans from dealing with them.

It did not appear Thursdays actions were related to companies cited in a Reuters report on Wednesday disclosing Irans production of aluminum powder for use in missiles.

By Daphne Psaledakis and Arshad Mohammed
The Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare has cautioned against over reliance on face shield as a guard against coronavirus.



Dr Nsiah-Asare, a former Director General of the Ghana Health Service said face shields which were increasingly being patronised as protection against the virus did not on its own give the needed protection against the disease.



Briefing Parliaments Committee of the Whole yesterday in Accra on the dynamics of the coronavirus in Ghana, Dr Nsiah-Asare said the face shields must be complemented with face masks.



If you wear face shield alone and you are debating all the droplets will be dropping on the table and if you are positive, anybody can pick the virus if he or she touches that surface.



As much as practicable, I will entreat Honourable Members that if you want to wear the shield and you are in the House debating, please put on a mask.



Mask is a must. If you wear the mask and wash your hands under running water and you keep a distance, you are most unlikely to contract the virus, he stated.



The virus, Dr Nsiah-Asare said does not move until humans moved with it.



The virus is just in front of your door so if you are moving out, please put on your mask and try as much as possible to keep the social distance, he counselled.



He said the disease was fast spreading among the communities and that all must join in the fight against the respiratory infection.



It is a fight we must all join. We now have local transmission so it is in the community and as Members of Parliament; I believe that you are the right people to assist in the fight in your various constituencies.



Responding to calls for mass testing, Dr Nsiah-Asare said that could be counterproductive, saying If you keep testing, it gives you a false hope and impression that you are free. So it is better when we want to do a test, we do a targeted one.



Despite the World Health Organisation recommending that asymptomatic patients were unlikely to transmit the disease after 10 days, and could be discharged, Dr Nsiah-Asare said Ghana had not adopted that position hook, line and sinker.



He said the country was adhering to its local specific regulations, adding that asymptomatic patients were being discharged only after 14 days.







Source: The Ghanaian Times









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

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A former minister for aviation, Fani Kayode says president Muhammadu Buhari has thrown the national leader of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu under the bus and ended his political career by backing Victor Giadom as the acting chairman of the party. Speaking via his official Twitter handle on Wednesday, he opined that the former governor of Lagos state has been used and dumped.

The crisis rocking the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) took a different turn on Thursday as men of the Nigerian police sealed off the national Secretariat of the party for the second time withing one week and also chased out staffs from the office complex.

This is coming few hours to the commencement of the virtual NEC meeting of the party, convened by Victor Giadom. The meeting which is expected to commence by 12 noon is expected to have president Muhammadu Buhari in attendance.

Ekiti state governor, Kayode Fayemi has accused the special adviser to the president on political matters, Babafemi Ojudu of being behind the report of his failed mission to the presidential Villa on Wednesday.

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According to the report, Fayemi had gone to the presidential villa to win president Muhammadu Buhari over for Victor Gaidom, the deputy national secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Akwa Ibom state police command has arrested a pastor named Inimfon Inyang, 33, for allegedly raping a 15-year-old minor at his deliverance center.

The state commissioner of Police Imohimi Edgal made this known during a press briefing on Wednesday.

The current National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been dissolved.

This formed part of decisions taken on Thursday at the meeting of the APC National Executive Council at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa inb Abuja. The party took the decision to dissolve its NWC based on the recommendations of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Kenneth Imasuagbon, an aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary poll for the Edo state governorship election, has withdrawn from the race.

The announcement was made by Imasuagbon on Thursday before the commencement of the primary election in Benin, the state capital. Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo state, would have contested against him had he not stepped down. It is believed that Obaseki has the support of the PDP leaders in his bid to seek second term.

Bashir Ahmad, the presidential aide on new media has clarified that the national leader of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu is not a member of the National Executive Committee of the Party and as such unfit to attend NEC meetings. He made this known via a tweet on his official Twitter handle in reaction to the public outcry that met the exclusion of the former Lagos state governor from the NEC meeting that held on Thursday, 25th June.
Dublin, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Shore Power Market by Installation (Shoreside, Shipside), by Connection (New Installation, Retrofit), Component (Transformers, Frequency Converters, and More), Power Output (Up to 30 MVA, 30 to 60 MVA, Above 60 MVA), and Region - Global Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The shore power market size is projected to reach USD 1.4 billion by 2025 from USD 1.1 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 6.7%.



Rising adoption of new technologies for limiting carbon emissions in the developed regions is the key driver for this market during the forecast period.

Shoreside installation is expected to be largest market during forecast period

The market has been segmented, by installation, into shoreside and shipside installations. The shoreside segment is expected to be the most shore power market, by installation, during the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to the high cost of components that need to be installed in shoreside shore power systems. Also, some additional components are required on the shoreside to make the shoreside shore power system more flexible and meet the power requirements of different types of vessels.

New installation segment is expected to be largest in the shore power market, by connection, during forecast period

The shore power market, by connection, has been segmented into new installations and retrofit. The new installation segment is expected to be the largest in the shore power market, by location, during the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to the increase in the number of stringent environmental norms by various countries. All under-construction ports and upcoming vessels are being installed with shore power systems during construction or beforehand. This procedure also reduces the cost of implementation.

Frequency converters segment is expected to hold largest share of shore power market, by component, during forecast period

The market has been segmented, by component, into transformers, switchgear devices, frequency converters, cables and accessories, and others, including safety grounding equipment and plugs. Frequency converters enable the shoreside shore power system to supply frequency matching the vessel's operating frequency.

North America is expected to lead in global shore power

Though the Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing market during the forecast period, North America is the largest shore power market, followed by Europe and the Asia Pacific. It is expected in North America that there will be maximum adoption and implementation of shore power systems owing to the favourable regulations in multiple states across the countries. Major countries in this region include the US and Canada. The North American region experiences significant vessel movement owing to the sea-bound trade of commodities. Additionally, the US and Canada are among the top oil producers in the world who export this oil to other parts of the world.

Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights

4.1 Attractive Opportunities in Shore Power Market

4.2 Shore Power Market, by Region

4.3 Shore Power Market, by Installation Type

4.4 Shore Power Market, by Connection

4.5 North American Shore Power Market, by Installation Type and Country, 2019

4.6 Shore Power Market, by Component

5 Market Overview

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Covid-19 Health Assessment

5.3 Market Dynamics

5.3.1 Drivers

5.3.1.1 Growing Noise and Air Pollution from Port Operations

5.3.1.2 Increasing Number of Cruise Passengers

5.3.1.3 Rising Government Initiatives to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ports and Supportive Shore Power Regulations

5.3.2 Restraints

5.3.2.1 High Capex Investments

5.3.3 Opportunities

5.3.3.1 Retrofitting Older Ships and Ports With Shore Power Technology

5.3.3.2 Integrating Shore Power With Offshore Wind, Floating Solar, and Other Renewables

5.3.4 Challenges

5.3.4.1 Low Fuel Costs and Minimal Returns

5.3.4.2 Operational Difficulties and Technical Challenges

5.4 Impact of Covid-19

5.4.1 Impact on Shipping Industry

5.5 Technology Analysis

5.5.1 Wireless Shore Power

5.6 Value Chain Analysis

5.6.1 Shore Power Manufacturers and Providers

5.6.2 Port Authorities

5.6.3 Shipping Industry

5.6.4 Government Regulations



6 Covid-19 Impact on Shore Power Market, Scenario Analysis, By Region

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Impact of Covid-19 on Gdp

6.2.1 Scenario Analysis of Cargo Shipping and Cruise Liner Industry

6.2.2 Optimistic Scenario

6.2.3 Realistic Scenario

6.2.4 Pessimistic Scenario

7 Shore Power Market, by Installation Type

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Shoreside

7.2.1 Emphasis on Curbing Carbon Emissions Creating Requirement for Shoreside Installations

7.3 Shipside

7.3.1 Low Cost of Deployment and Seamless Integration of Port Operations Boosting Market for Shipside Installations

8 Shore Power Market, by Connection

8.1 Introduction

8.2 New Installation

8.2.1 Stringent Government Regulations and Low Installation Cost Foster Market for New Installations

8.3 Retrofit

8.3.1 Increased Need to Minimize Carbon Emissions and Noise Levels from Old Ships Encourages Adoption of Retrofit Solutions

9 Shore Power Market, by Component

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Transformers

9.2.1 Growing Transformer Requirement for Smooth Operation of Shore Power Systems

9.3 Switchgear Devices

9.3.1 Rising Need for Switchgear Devices to Ensure Reliable and Safe Shore Power Operations

9.4 Frequency Converters

9.4.1 Surging Demand for Frequency Converters to Match Shipside and Shoreside Frequencies

9.5 Cables and Accessories

9.5.1 Growing Necessity for Cables and Supporting Accessories for Proper Transmission of Power

9.6 Others



10 Shore Power Market, by Power Output

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Up to 30 MVA

10.2.1 Requirement for Low Capex, Coupled With Their Compact Dimensions, Boosting Demand for Shore Power Systems Having Power Range of Up to 30 MVA

10.3 30 to 60 MVA

10.3.1 Focus of Shipbuilders to Construct Large and Extra Large Ships to Drive Demand for Shore Power Systems With Power Output Ranging from 30 to 60 MVA

10.4 Above 60 MVA

10.4.1 Ability to Supply Multiple Ships Parallelly to Propel Growth of Market for Shore Power Systems Having Power Output of Above 60 MVA

11 Shore Power Market, by Region

11.1 Introduction

11.2 North America

11.2.1 Impact of Covid-19 on North American Shore Power Market:

11.2.2 Us

11.2.2.1 Growing Shipping Industry With Increasing Tourism and Trade to Boost Demand for Shore Power Systems

11.2.3 Canada

11.2.3.1 Increasing Investments in Oil & Gas Projects to Promote Shore Power Setup at Ports

11.3 South America

11.3.1 Impact of Covid-19 on South American Shore Power Market:

11.3.2 Brazil

11.3.2.1 Growing Oil Export Activities in Brazil to Create Need for Shore Power Systems

11.3.3 Argentina

11.3.3.1 Increasing Trading of Mined Minerals to Be Beneficial for Shore Power Market in Future

11.3.4 Rest of South America

11.4 Middle East & Africa

11.4.1 Impact of Covid-19 on Middle Eastern & African Shore Power Market:

11.4.2 Uae

11.4.2.1 Increasing Oil Trading and Tourism Activities to Generate Need for Shore Power

11.4.3 Saudi Arabia

11.4.3.1 Increasing Trading Activities of Oil and Natural Gas to Create Favorable Conditions for Shore Power Market

11.4.4 Egypt

11.4.4.1 Rising Focus on Implementing Shore Power Systems on Multiple Ports to Foster Market Growth

11.4.5 South Africa

11.4.5.1 Growing Trading-Related Activities of Oil and Natural Gas to Encourage Utilization of Shore Power Technique on Ports

11.4.6 Rest of Middle East & Africa

11.5 Europe

11.5.1 Impact of Covid-19 on European Shore Power Market:

11.5.2 Sweden

11.5.2.1 Surging Requirement for Importing Goods and Growing Cruise Ship Tourism to Propel Shore Power Market Growth

11.5.3 Germany

11.5.3.1 Rapidly Growing Maritime and Shipping Industries to Accelerate Demand for Shore Power Systems

11.5.4 UK

11.5.4.1 Thriving Shipping Industry in Country to Fuel Installation of Shore Power Systems

11.5.5 Russia

11.5.5.1 Increasing Sea-Bound Trade to Boost Shore Power Demand

11.5.6 Netherlands

11.5.6.1 Enhancing Maritime Industry in Country Stimulating Need for Shore Power to Minimize Pollution

11.5.7 Norway

11.5.7.1 Rising Focus on Deployment of New Technologies Such as Shore Power to Reduce Carbon Footprint

11.5.8 Rest of Europe

11.6 Asia-Pacific

11.6.1 Impact of Covid-19 on Shore Power Market in Asia-Pacific:

11.6.2 China

11.6.2.1 Increased Vessel Movement With Growing Trading Activities to Propel Growth of Shore Power Market

11.6.3 Japan

11.6.3.1 High Emphasis on Reducing Carbon Emissions, Coupled With Expanding Trading Activities, to Spur Shore Power Demand

11.6.4 South Korea

11.6.4.1 Rapid Growth of Shipbuilding Industry Requires Country to Be Well Equipped With Shore Power Systems

11.6.5 India

11.6.5.1 High Government Focus to Make Country Cleaner and Greener, Along With Thriving Maritime Industry, to Support Adoption of Shore Power Technology

11.6.6 Australia

11.6.6.1 Trading of Fuels and Growing Shipbuilding Industry to Create Opportunities for Providers of Shore Power Systems

11.6.7 Singapore

11.6.7.1 High Emphasis of Government on Utilization of Green Solutions to Reduce Carbon Emissions Likely to Encourage Implementation of Shore Power Solutions

11.6.8 Rest of Asia-Pacific

12 Competitive Landscape

12.1 Overview

12.2 Competitive Leadership Mapping (Overall Market)

12.2.1 Star

12.2.2 Emerging Leaders

12.2.3 Pervasive

12.2.4 Other Players

12.3 Market Share, 2019

12.4 Revenue Analysis of Top 5 Players

12.5 Competitive Scenario

12.5.1 Contracts & Agreements

12.5.2 Partnerships & Collaborations

12.5.3 Investments & Expansions

12.5.4 Product Launches

12.5.5 Mergers & Acquisitions

13 Company Profiles

13.1 Siemens

13.2 Schneider Electric

13.3 Cavotec

13.4 Wartsila

13.5 Vinci Energies

13.6 Danfoss

13.7 Abb (Hitachi)

13.8 Esl Power Systems

13.9 Igus

13.10 Blueday Technology

13.11 Cochran Marine

13.12 Preen

13.13 Smartplug

13.14 Piller Power Systems

13.15 Power Systems International

13.16 Ratio Electric

13.17 Sydney Marine Electrical

13.18 Ocean Electrics

13.19 Conntek Integrated Solutions

13.20 Patton and Cooke



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ter1uq

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.
Despite a rise in demand for the Euros biggest rival, the British Pound to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate has been unable to hold any major advance attempts. Investors continue to find the Euro fairly appealing due to the markets optimistic Eurozone outlook, which is making it difficult for the pair to sustain gains. Looking ahead, Sterlings gloomy outlook and the Euros resilience could make for narrow or volatile movement.

Since opening this week at the level of 1.1047, GBP/EUR has seen fairly narrow and volatile movement.

GBP/EUR briefly touched on a low of 1.0962, the worst level for the pair since March, before seeing more mixed movement around the weeks opening levels.

At the time of writing on Thursday, GBP/EUR has slipped back to the level of 1.1066 after falling from a weekly high of 1.1107.

Coronavirus and Brexit uncertainties continue to weigh heavily on the Pound outlook.

Investors have been hesitant to buy the Pound for some time now, as there simply has been very little reason to buy the British currency higher.

Some stronger than expected UK data earlier in the week was overshadowed by fears that the coronavirus pandemic could have an even worse impact on Britains economy in the longer term.

Britains infection rate is still high, despite many businesses reopening. On top of this, fears are rising that a second wave of infections could be about to hit major economies.

According to Howard Archer from the EY Item Club, many UK retailers are anxious as they reopen from the lockdown:

While there may well be a significant initial element of pent-up demand for some retailers following their re-opening, further out the upside for may well be capped by cautious consumers. Consumer spending has clearly taken a substantial downturn as a result of COVID-19 and is likely to remain under pressure for the near term, at least. Many people have lost their jobs, despite the supportive government measures. while others may be worried about job security once the furlough scheme ends in October.

Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates Sturdy despite Strengthening Rivals

Despite rising market demand for safe haven currencies like the US Dollar (USD), the Euro has been able to keep holding near its best levels.

The US Dollar (USD) is the Euros biggest rival currency. The Euro often weakens in times of US Dollar strength.

However, due to market optimism around the Eurozones handling of the coronavirus pandemic, investors have been hesitant to sell the Euro too much from near its highs.

Demand for the Euro has only been further supported by market optimism around the European Central Banks (ECB) continued attempts to support the Eurozone from the pandemic. The ECB will offer Euro loans to central banks outside of the Eurozone.

In a statement, the ECB said:

Under EUREP, the Eurosystem will provide euro liquidity to a broad set of central banks outside the euro area against adequate collateral, consisting of euro-denominated marketable debt securities issued by Eurozone central governments and supranational institutions.

GBP/EUR Exchange Rate Forecast: Eurozone Data May Keep Euro Supported

The Euro has been able to hold near its best levels this week, despite rising market demand for safe haven currencies.

The Euro outlook remains strong, as investors are impressed with the EUs handling of the coronavirus pandemic. On top of this, the European Central Bank (ECB) and EU are expected to keep supporting the Eurozone economy with stimulus.

With Pound investors disappointed in Britains handling of the pandemic and Brexit, there remains little reason to buy the British currency.

As a result, if Eurozone data or stimulus continues to impress investors, the Pound to Euro exchange rate is more likely to be kept near its recent lows.

Tomorrow will see the publication of Frances June consumer confidence data. Eurozone loan data will be published as well.

If this data is solid, investors will have less reason to sell the Euro, even if safe haven demand continues to rise. The Pound to Euro exchange rate will continue to be driven by shifts in global risk-sentiment as well.
The ABC put forward two separate proposals offering to open more regional Australian studios, expand its coverage of remote communities and hire more journalists in rural areas in return for the federal government dumping its decision to freeze annual funding indexation.

Correspondence between ABC managing director David Anderson and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher and seen by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, shows the national broadcaster was prepared to invest tens of millions of dollars more outside capital city centres if the Morrison government was prepared to reverse its budget cuts.

ABC managing director David Anderson sent a proposal to Communications Minister Paul Fletcher outlining what the broadcaster could do if the indexation freeze was lifted. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

In a proposal made after the Black Summer bushfires in January, ABC management told Mr Fletcher the national broadcaster would be able to find $10 million a year to employ more regional journalists if indexation was restored.

Mr Anderson's letter, sent to Mr Fletcher on January 24, said he was writing to ask the government to consider a reversal of the indexation pause, which is expected to cost the broadcaster up to $84 million over three years, to safeguard the future sustainability of the ABC.
The National Institutes of Health has awarded $2.2 million to researchers at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences for a study on chronic stress. The project will investigate the changes that occur in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain, where dopamine neurons are located, during chronic stress.

Chronic stress is a common contributor to illnesses like depression and anxiety disorders. GABAergic neurons - those that produce gamma-Aminobutyric acid - make up 35% of neurons in the VTA. They are critical regulators of dopamine neurons and are robustly activated by acute stress. Previous research has observed what happens as a result of stress, but little is understood regarding what happens during stress.

We currently don't know what happens to the reward circuitry during chronic stress. Understanding those changes is important for furthering our understanding of how stress can have effects like loss of motivation." Abigail Polter, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology, GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Polter believes that chronic stress leads to persistent hyperactivity of VTA GABA neurons and this facilitates the emergence of maladaptive behavioral responses. Through the study, she expects to find that over the course of stress, the GABA neurons become more active and that activity is solidified by changes in synaptic plasticity.

Over the course of the study, Polter and her team will examine the dynamics of inhibition of VTA dopamine neurons by VTA GABA neurons during stress. They will investigate how activity and strength of synaptic inputs onto VTA GABA neurons change during stress. Also, the team will examine whether in vivo activity of VTA GABA neurons contributes to individual differences in the emergence of disinterest in social contact post-stress.

The study will take a multidisciplinary approach utilizing electrophysiology, optogenetics, behavior, and fiber photometry to address the hypothesis. The project will also make use of GW's Nanofabrication and Imaging Core facility, which integrates cutting-edge instrumentation and customized support services for imaging, elemental analysis, materials characterization, measurement and fabrication.

"We hope that this work can ultimately contribute to the search for novel treatments for depression or even prophylactic treatments one could take if they were undergoing a stressful event," Polter said. "Something like that could be used during a stressful occurrence to reduce the risk of later developing depression."
General MM Naravane briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday about his assessment of the developments in Eastern Ladakh amid escalating tensions at the LAC taking the lives of 20 Indian soldiers in Galwan valley.

Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Friday met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and briefed him about the ground situation in the Ladakh sector.

The Army Chief was on a two-day visit to Eastern Ladakh where he visited forward areas near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and reviewed the operational preparedness in the sector.

In the ongoing dispute along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh sector, China has moved back some of its troops and vehicles to depth areas in Galwan Valley following the meeting with the Indian side on June 22, sources said.

Also read: Bhutan denies reports of stopping water supply to Assam, calls it a baseless and distressing allegation

Also read: Sonia Gandhi claims China has occupied Indian territory in Ladakh, asks for Modi govts plan of action

On June 22, the Chinese side had given assurance that they will move back troops from front to the depth areas. In this regard, some troops and vehicles were moved back by them in the Galwan area, a source told ANI.

The step was taken by both sides as they wanted to avoid a repeat of June 15 violent face-off as the troops were in close vicinity.

The June 22 meeting between Indian Armys 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh and his Chinese counterpart took place at Moldo after which there was a consensus for mutual disengagement.

The commander-level talks were held after a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in Ladakh on June 15.

India lost 20 of its soldiers in the violent face-off and 10 Indian soldiers were also held captive and later released. After the clash, Indian intercepts had revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured.

India has said that the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.

India said on Thursday that deployment of a large number of troops by China and changes in behaviour along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has also been aggravated by unjustified and untenable claims and a continuation of the current situation would only vitiate the atmosphere for the development of the relationship.

Also read: China amassing troops along LAC, making untenable claims: MEA

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
Sean Farrell has been named as the new President of Dundalk Chamber of Commerce following its AGM last week.

Mr Farrell is currently the centre manager at The Marshes Shopping Centre and is involved with many local community groups and initiatives, including Dundalk BIDS, Dundalk Tidy Towns, Chairperson of Dundalk Town Watch and Chairperson of Dundalk Tourism Committee.

Speaking at the Chamber AGM, outgoing Chamber President Pat McCormick said he was delighted with the many and varied initiatives undertaken by Dundalk Chamber during his two years.

The Shop Local Gift Vouchers sales have hit over 3 million with over 1 million alone sold in 2020, he added.

Pat also spoke about Dundalk Chamber Skillnet. Launched last year and spearheaded by Aidan Callan the Skillnet Manager for Dundalk Chamber of Commerce, Aidan has trained over 500 people from over 200 companies in the past few months.

The Chamber has hosted many Brexit events including a conference and breakfast briefings. Over 600 people attended the Louth Business Awards last year and the Chamber also organized many cross-border events such as Business Lunches and Tax Breakfasts

Elsewhere, PRO of Dundalk Chamber, Paddy Malone briefed several embassies and parliamentary delegations from EU countries on Brexit. In addition, it was explained that he has briefed both national and international press on the practical problems facing everyone on the island, but in particular the border region.

The promotion of the M1 Corridor has been a priority for Dundalk Chamber of Commerce and will continue to be in the years ahead.

The M1 corridor stretching from Drogheda in the South to Newry in the North is designated a special area under the National Development Plan 2040. The designation of the area will enhance Dundalks ability to attract new business and makes it a priority area for both Enterprise Ireland and the IDA, Paddy explained.

The M1 corridor is now well placed to address work/life balances post-Covid.

Pat also mentioned that the Chamber is working tirelessly on behalf of its membership promoting Dundalk as a great place to do business and the newly-appointed officers will continue this valuable work into the future.

Pat thanked WuXi Biologics Ltd and Brendan McGrath for coming on board as our major sponsor and he said that he looked forward to a long and fruitful relationship for both organisations.

He wished his successor, Sean Farrell well and hoped that he will enjoy the challenge as much as he has. Michael Gaynor expressed his thanks to Pat for an excellent job over the past two years.
The governments controversial Prevent programme aims to stop individuals becoming terrorists, but it would be much more effective if it taught British political leaders not to engage in wars that become the seed-beds of terrorism.

Consider the case of Khairi Saadallah, the suspect in the killing of three people in a park in Reading who came to the UK as a refugee from Libya in 2012 and was granted asylum in 2018. An ID card reportedly shows that he had been a member of the Union of the February 17 Revolution, one of the paramilitary groups that had fought Muammar Gaddafi the previous year. Police and intelligence agencies say they have not discovered any current link between Mr Saadallah and jihadist organisations.

But that is not really the point: if David Cameron, Nicolas Sarkozy and Hillary Clinton had not launched the Nato-led war to carry out regime change in Libya in 2011, it is unlikely that refugees like Saadallah would have come to Britain the following year.

The same is true of Salman Abedi, the Libyan suicide bomber who killed 22 and injured 139 people, mostly children, in the Manchester Arena in 2017. Abedi was personally responsible for this slaughter, but the British government had relaxed controls on the movements of jihadi groups like the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group because MI6 saw them as useful local allies in getting rid of Gaddafi.

It is disgusting how leaders like David Cameron continue to defend the launching of the 2011 Nato intervention in Libya. It was this that led to the ongoing war and the chaos that produced a wave of refugees who needed help and turned the country into a haven for jihadis like Abedi. Yet this predictable consequence of foreign intervention, be it in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan or Syria, scarcely receives a mention in the wall-to-wall coverage of murders such as those in Manchester, Reading or London Bridge. The media emphasis is on grief and communities coming together, a highly convenient response from the point of view of the British government as its own blundering role in turning Libya into place of permanent war is forgotten or is considered irrelevant.

Gaddafi was a dictator but however horrific the conditions under his rule, Libyans are now at the mercy of local warlords who are proxies for foreign powers pursuing their own egocentric interests. This week Turkey and Egypt, and the coalitions they lead, are close to an all-out proxy war as they face off against each other at Sirte, close to where Gaddafi was killed.

This all-consuming violence is not mentioned by the leaders who did so much to bring it about. David Cameron boasts in his autobiography For The Record that, thanks to his efforts, American, British and French aircraft stopped the advance of Gaddafis tanks. Benghazi was saved, he writes, and a Srebrenica-style slaughter was averted.

Cameron has not noticed that Benghazi was not saved at all. Its centre is now a sea of ruins, destroyed in the fighting between the anti-Gaddafi warlords. Camerons claim that Gaddafis forces were about to carry out mass killings in Benghazi was always dubious. A report by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee said that the belief that Gaddafi would massacre the civilians in Benghazi was not supported by the available evidence. His forces had reoccupied other rebel-held towns and there had been no massacre.

Cameron and Britain were not alone in destroying Libya. In a piece of self-glorifying bombast as revolting as anything said by Donald Trump, the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton crowed after the death of Gaddafi: We came, we saw, he died.

So did tens of thousands of other Libyans, but is it naive to imagine that Clinton, Cameron and Sarkozy ever cared much about what happened to the 7 million Libyan population? They were equally blind in looking after the interests of their own countries when they replaced a broadly secular authoritarian state in Libya with murderous anarchy.

These three politicians and other interventionists like Tony Blair and George W Bush defend themselves by saying that this is all hindsight. But it was not. I was in Benghazi and Tripoli during the six-month war to overthrow Gaddafi and it was patent that the violence would not end when he was dead. In the week that Britain recognised the rebel leadership in Benghazi as the legitimate government, the rebels had killed, and by some accounts tortured to death, their chief military commander, General Abdel Fattah Younis. Western governments and media had presented the opposition as liberally minded democrats. but an early proposal of the incoming post-Gaddafi transitional government was to put an end to the ban on polygamy.

Western leaders never suffered much political damage from their unforced errors in these wars in the Middle East and north Africa. The countries that were supposedly saved by foreign intervention might be wracked by endless conflict but they had disappeared from the news agenda. Voters at home never connected up terrorist butchery in their streets with wars fought in their name in far away places. I always thought it unjust yet probably inevitable that incompetent ignorant leaders, particularly in Britain, would never pay much of a price for what they had done.

 Boris Johnson says people taking liberties with social distancing rules

But I was wrong. The same sort of over-confident amateur leadership that I had witnessed committing serial blunders from Basra to Benghazi finally had to face a real crisis in the shape of Covid-19. Their performance was as dismal at home as it had been abroad. Boris Johnsons shambolic response to the pandemic, producing the worst death toll from the illness in the world aside from the US and Brazil, was foreshadowed by what David Cameron had done before in Libya. In both instances, unnecessary mistakes had calamitous consequences. Perhaps the British political class had become so used to piggy-backing on US political and military power that it no longer knew what to do when that power stumbled over the last twenty years or finally imploded under Trump.

Competence takes a long time to create and its disintegration can also be imperceptibly slow. Nobody in Britain was much interested in the fate of Libya as it was torn apart in an escalating civil war. Even when Britain is the victim of a small proportion of that violence, there is a reluctance to put any of the blame on past British actions. The pretence is that somehow shouldering any responsibility lets the perpetrators off the hook. In reality, both the relatively limited number of British casualties stemming from its Middle East wars and the horribly large loss of life because of coronavirus have a common source: a political class that is hollowed out and no longer copes successfully with real crises.
Oscar James has been making music and entertaining audiences here and abroad since the 1970s.

Vincentian song writer, musician and vocalist Oscar James described his latest release, Vision, as a mixture of reggae, soca and some R&B.





The compilation features seven new tracks leading with the title track Conquer Day which, according to Oscar, captures the combined use of the genres featured on the album.





Among the other tracks is Wingate Park  a tribute to a recreational park in his adopted home, New York in the United States.





Taxman addresses the issue of high taxes and its impact, and Mathematics highlights the importance of the subject.





So, not only has he been able to blend different styles, but Oscar said that he utilizes what is going on socially to come up with material for his projects.





As for the musical accompaniment, Oscar said that, for the most part, he played the instruments on all tracks with the exception of the keyboards in the intro of Conquer Day, which is credited to the Frankie McIntosh.





The entire album was recorded at his home studio in the US.





Oscars current work is informed by years of experience following stints with the Georgetown-based band Affetuosos in the 1970s, with whom he registered hits like Feeling an Emotion and Babylon Dread.

He is also revered for his 1985 carnival hit Fun Time Again.





For now, he is on the mission to promote and sell his latest production.





He has been in his native St Vincent for an extended period, having been forced to stay following travel restrictions occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.





The album is not being distributed locally but can be purchased, along with Oscars other work, on cdbaby.com/oscarjamesandtheravers.





Persons can listen to the title track Conquer Day and Wingate Park on Youtube.
CAMBRIDGE  The province will provide up to $783,000 to support the tourism industry in Waterloo Region along with Wellington, Huron and Perth counties, according to an announcement made Thursday.

Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries announced an investment of $350,000 for the local tourism industry to boost small businesses. Another $333,000 will go to five festivals and events in Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo through the Celebrate Ontario program.

This investment is an effort to help local tourism industries recover from losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is part of a $13 million investment through Destination Ontario.
By Felix Onuah

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's president criticised his heads of security on Thursday for their handling of attacks across the north of the country and said more needs to be done to resolve the problem, the national security adviser said.

The comments attributed to Muhammadu Buhari are some of his sharpest criticisms of his security chiefs as the conflict in the north has steadily worsened through most of his five years as president.

Security forces in Nigeria, which plays a key role in maintaining stability in West Africa, have in recent months contended with deadly attacks by gunmen in the northwest and a spike in Islamist militants' strikes in the northeast.

"Mr. President has expressed great concern over the declining security situation in the country," the national security adviser, Babagana Monguno, told reporters after Buhari's meeting with the security chiefs.

"He is extremely unhappy about what is happening," said Monguno, adding: "He feels that, even though the security agencies are doing their best, their best is not good enough for him and wants an immediate reversal of the current trend."

Jihadist group Boko Haram had been pushed off most of the land it controlled early in 2015, months before Buhari took office.

But the group continued to mount attacks in the northeast, as well as neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger. A splinter faction that pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2016 has become the dominant force in the region.

Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 60 people on Sunday in the northeast's Borno state, days after 69 others were killed in the northeast.

Residents in northwestern states have been attacked by gunmen who loot towns over the last two years. In May the United Nations said the violence forced 23,000 people to flee to neighbouring Niger within a few weeks.

(Reporting by Felix Onuah,; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
There remain more than 1,500 Confederate monuments in the U.S., according to the Whose Heritage? data project by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Stacker mined the SPLCs research and ranked states according to which have the most Confederate memorials.

This article was first published on Stacker
NEW YORK - Kanye West is bringing his Yeezy brand to Gap.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2019, file photo, Kanye West attends the WSJ. Magazine 2019 Innovator Awards at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The rap superstar will design adult and kids' clothing that will be sold at Gap in 2021. Yeezy is best known for pricey sneakers that sell out online quickly. But Yeezy footwear, made with sneaker company Adidas, won't be sold at Gap. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

NEW YORK - Kanye West is bringing his Yeezy brand to Gap.

Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The rap superstar will design adult and kids' clothing that will be sold at the chain's stores next year. Yeezy is best known for pricey sneakers that sell out online quickly. But Yeezy footwear, made with sneaker company Adidas, won't be sold at Gap stores.

San Francisco-based Gap Inc., whose sales are dwindling, hopes the deal will keep it relevant with shoppers. For Yeezy, being in more than 1,100 stores worldwide could get the brand in front of more people.

On Friday, West tweeted a photo of what the collaboration might look like: bright colored hoodies, jackets and T-shirts.

West has a history with Gap. He worked at one of its stores in Chicago as a teenager. And he told Vanity Fair magazine back in 2015 that he wanted to be creative director of the brand.

As part of the deal announced Friday, Yeezy will receive royalties and possibly Gap stock if the line sells well.

Shares of the retailer jumped 16% in premarket trading.
GREENWICH  The Old Greenwich Farmers Market has opened for its 10th season  complete with social distancing rules to keep safe all the fans of fresh produce.

It is held every Wednesday from 2:30 to 6 p.m. at 38 West End Avenue in the parking lot of the Living Hope Community Church in Old Greenwich. The market opened for its 10th season on June 3.
A Jacksonville man was being treated Thursday night after police responding to a call about someone throwing things from a seventh-floor window said a man barricaded himself inside an apartment and started a fire.

According to Jacksonville police, officers were called about 5:29 p.m. Thursday to Beecher High Rise at 301 W. Beecher Ave. and found items that had been thrown from the building. Police said they determined things were being thrown from the seventh floor and tried to make contact with a resident, who yelled that he had barricaded the door and started a fire.
Four detained immigrant families have tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the first cases at family detention centers since the pandemic began.

The families, with a total of 11 people, were new admissions to the Karnes County Family Residential Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility about 55 miles southeast of San Antonio.

The 11 immigrants are asymptomatic, and each family has been isolated separately and from the general population, ICE said in a statement.

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, toured the agencys other family detention facility in Dilley and called for mass or saturation testing of all detainees.

That day, ICE said, it began offering voluntary testing to all 73 detainees at Karnes. Immigrant testing began at the Dilley facility Tuesday, according to court documents filed Thursday, after two ICE employees and two employees of private contractor CoreCivic tested positive there.

The detainee results are still pending.

ICE said it has plans to expand its testing to other facilities.

The recent confirmed cases in Karnes are exactly why the (Congressional Hispanic Caucus) has been sounding the alarm, Castro said in a statement. ICE and private contractors are failing to protect people and should safely and swiftly release vulnerable families and children, and as many folks as possible.

As of last week, 8,858 detained immigrants had been tested for the virus, about 38 percent of those in detention.

The risk of COVID-19 to minors and their families in ICE custody continues to grow, Andrea Sheridan Odin, independent monitor in a federal case, said in court documents Thursday. The lack of consistent compliance with recommended masking among some staff and distancing requirements in common eating areas elevate the risk that the virus once introduced into the facility may not be well contained.

Odin added that the recent surge of cases in surrounding communities heightens the risk for detainees, as workers move in and out of the facilities.

As Texas sees record numbers of coronavirus cases, its unclear if ICE is implementing additional precautions at its Texas facilities.

The Karnes and Dilley detention centers were also the site of what advocates called binary choice, where, lawyers said, ICE presented parents with the choice of either releasing their children while they stayed detained or remaining detained with their children indefinitely.

Immigrants, their lawyers and immigrant activists condemned the move, protesting outside the Karnes center in their cars last month.

There have been no reports of ICE presenting detained parents with forms offering such a choice since then.

Silvia Foster-Frau covers immigration news in the San Antonio, Bexar County and South Texas area. To read more from Silvia, become a subscriber. sfosterfrau@express-news.net | Twitter: @SilviaElenaFF
On Wednesday, Ratha Krishnan Selvakumar, 64, was charged with acting in the capacity of a governing board member of Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple despite his conviction on May 9, 2017, of 10 offences involving deception under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, The Straits Times reported on Thursday.

Singapore, June 26 (IANS) A former secretary and trustee of a Hindu temple in Singapore has been charged with being a board member of the temple while disqualified, it was reported.

Under the Charities Act, any person who has previously been convicted of offences involving elements of dishonesty - including fraud, corruption, bribery and deception - is disqualified from acting in the capacity of a governing board member, key officer or trustee of any charity.

The police said on Wednesday that Selvakumar continued to be involved as the temple secretary and trustee while under disqualification between May 9, 2017 and April 30, 2018.

The Charities Commissioner barred key board members of the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, including Selvakumar, from their posts on April 30, 2018, after an eight-month probe found "severe mismanagement" in how its money was managed.

A statement issued by the Commissioner of Charities then also said the Commercial Affairs Department was looking into the temple's finances to ensure no criminal offences were committed.

Selvakumar will be back in court on July 15. If convicted, he faces a fine of up to S$10,000, jail of up to three years, or both.

--IANS

ksk/
Mumbai, June 26 : Actor Ali Fazal is all set to host a webinar with educationist Nargish Khambatta, who taught him at Doon School years ago.

Khambatta and Ali will host an open webinar this weekend with young adults on their productivity during lockdown.

Ali will discuss his own life journey, time in lockdown and how he is charting the way ahead. The actor will also discuss his own holistic education and how his teachers at Doon, including Khambatta, encouraged and empowered him to pursue his dreams.

"She (Khambatta) taught me English and was my housemaster at the Doon School. I can imagine how lost school kids would be feeling at the moment. School for them is not just for education but an integral part of their social life," said Ali.

"I thought it would be a unique experience to chat with young people about how they are feeling in the lockdown. We are all a little anxious and a little unsure about where we are headed which is why it is imperative that we hold each other through these tough times. I am glad Ms Khambatta asked me to do this webinar and I am looking forward to interacting with the kids," he added.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
VERONA, N.Y. - The Oneida Indian Nation on Friday said any of its nearly 5,000 employees who travel to certain states where COVID-19 cases are rising will have to go into quarantine for 14 days when they come home.

Leaders of the central New York nation, which operates three casinos, said the travel advisory aligns with the joint advisory issued Wednesday by New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which asks visitors from states with high infection rates to isolate.

Oneida employees were instructed to avoid travel to: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Texas.

Oneida Nation Enterprises operates Turning Stone casino in Oneida County and the Point Place and Yellow Brick Road casinos in Madison County. All re-opened June 10 to customers within a 120-mile radius.


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Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Shaoquett Moselmane sat on an ornately-carved dark-wood chair alongside a Chinese Communist Party figure in a grand room in Shanghai and held court. Beaming and gracious, the NSW upper house MP was on a charity mission in 2015 to deliver wheelchairs for needy children. It was one of more than 10 trips he had made to China over the previous decade. Looking every inch the international statesman, Mr Moselmane was among friends. The woman seated alongside him was Jie Ju, an official with a Shanghai Chinese Communist Party political forum that operates under the control of the partys opaque influence-peddling agency, the United Front Work Department. The UFWD's aim is to increase the partys power and influence in China and abroad. Shaoquett Mosemane meets with CPPCC chairwoman Jie Ju. Credit:Facebook While the meeting was ostensibly about Mr Moselmane's charity work, her presence suggested some in the UFWD considered the politician a man who could help advance its aims. A Chinese community leader in Sydney and close associate of Mr Moselmane, John Zhang had extolled a similar view the year before on his blog.

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"China's power rises, but its political influence overseas has yet to catch up, and still has room for growth. To strengthen our political influence, we must have more politicians like Shaoquett with pro-China sentiments to be our friends," Mr Zhang wrote. "In the past ten or so years he's travelled to China over ten times, and he's made even more Chinese friends than I have." Shaoquett Moselmane and John Zhang. Credit:Facebook Mr Zhang is no stranger to the Chinese government's influence game of making friends abroad to achieve the strategic aims of the CCP. He participated in a 2013 propaganda training course run by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, which merged with the UFWD in 2018. Mr Zhang has also held senior roles in groups aligned to the UFWD, including the Shanghai Overseas Friendship Association. Alex Joske, who studies Chinese government influence operations with a leading defence and foreign affairs think tank, says the Shanghai Overseas Friendship Association is "clearly, 100 per cent, black and white, run by the United Front Work Department". Before and after the 2015 trip, Mr Moselmane's dealings with Chinese officials often involved Mr Zhang, who joined his office as a part-time staffer and speechwriter in early 2019. It is a pairing that has not only opened doors in China, it is also attracting intense scrutiny at home.

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An investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes, has discovered that Mr Moslemane's office has been the focus of a probe by Australia's domestic intelligence agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Loading Multiple sources have confirmed that this scrutiny has dramatically escalated over the last few months, morphing into one of the most significant investigations in ASIO's recent history. ASIO is investigating whether Beijing is behind a covert interference operation targeting Mr Moselmane's office and which aims to advance the Chinese Communist Partys aspirations in Australia. On Friday morning in Sydneys south, Australian Federal Police officers working with ASIO executed warrants, seizing potential evidence connected to the Labor politician. Mr Moselmane lives on a quiet street lined with 1950s brick houses and neat lawns in Rockdale, a suburb in south Sydney. At 6.30am, a dozen plain-clothed federal agents raided his two-storey home and began conducting an extensive search for evidence.

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An hour later, six forensics officers arrived and assisted with the search. At 9am, detectives searched three cars  an Audi, ute and Volvo  outside Mr Moselmanes house. His lawyer arrived during the search and was let into the home by federal agents. The agents searched the house and were seen carrying bags and folders. Sources have also confirmed that Attorney-General Christian Porter signed off on the ASIO operation, enabling the close tracking of Mr Moselmanes activities, suggesting that ASIO suspects there may be evidence that the NSW Labor politicians office has been badly compromised. (The federal police must seek judicial approval before conducting a search). Attorney-General Christian Porter. Credit:Photo: Alex Ellinghausen NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay said Mr Moselmane's membership was "being suspended as we speak" and he would no longer sit in the party room. Veteran intelligence and security expert Neil Fergus, who formerly worked as an Australian diplomat, said the investigation is unlike anything Australia has seen since the Cold War. The Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes do not suggest the allegations that Mr Moselmane or his office have been covertly influenced by Beijing are true, simply that they are being investigated.

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Neil Fergus. Credit:Photo: Andrew Quilty. Still, the revelations are political dynamite for the Australian Labor Party. The party was warned in 2017 by then ASIO chief Duncan Lewis that both Labor and the Coalition were being targeted by the UFWD as part of its efforts to covertly influence Australian politics. The fall in 2018 of NSW Labor senator Sam Dastyari  who later admitted he had been cultivated by CCP operatives  was a further wake-up call. Yet Mr Moselmanes speeches and choice of associates suggest he may have done little to safeguard his office against the sort of threats that ASIO and even Mr Dastyari have warned of publicly. "He had spoken out so vociferously in support of Beijing policies, and controversial Beijing policies, in stark contrast with ALP national policy," Fergus says. The question ASIO would be asking, says Fergus, is: why? A new world order Mr Moselmane was born in 1965 in Lebanon, arriving in Australia as a 12-year-old with 10 siblings. He trained as a solicitor but was quickly drawn to politics, elected to Rockdale Council in Sydneys south as a 30-year-old. He served three stints as mayor before being elected to the NSW upper house in 2009 as the Parliaments first Muslim member.

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Boris Johnson is set to secure the 400million part-purchase of satellite operator OneWeb, which could deliver the same civil and military tracking services as the EU's rival system Galileo.

The Prime Minister and chancellor Rishi Sunak signed off the purchase of a 20% stake in American operator OneWeb Satellites last night.

UK-licensed OneWeb filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 27 - partly due to the coronavirus pandemic - and has its headquarters in London.

The firm has already launched 74 satellites - including 34 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in early February to provide high-speed internet access using satellite communications.

Britain needs its own satellite navigation system as it will be denied access to the Galileo space project for defence or critical national infrastructure after Brexit.

Boris Johnson is set to secure the 400m part-purchase of satellite operator OneWeb, which could deliver the same civil and military tracking services as the EU's rival system Galileo

The Prime Minister and chancellor Rishi Sunak signed off the purchase of a 20% stake in American operator OneWeb Satellites last night. (File photo)

Ministers were left furious in 2018 after Brussels warned that Britain's role in the 9billion Galileo was up for negotiation, despite the UK being one of the biggest investors in it.

Officials had been looking into the potential for a system that could deliver the same civil and military tracking services as Galileo and the US's GPS yet function at a lower altitude and on a different frequency.

Technically, the government is making a bid for the stake - but British officials said the transaction was at 'a very advanced stage', The Times reported.

OneWeb's website said in April that it was in advanced negotiations for investment that would have provided funding through its commercial launch.

'While the company was close to obtaining financing, the process did not progress because of the financial impact and market turbulence related to the spread of Covid-19,' the global satellite broadband company's statement said.

The Government had originally planned to press ahead with the development of its own satellite navigation system but scrapped the project after reviewing the costs.

OneWeb Satellites has already launched 74 satellites - including 34 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in early February (pictured) to provide high-speed internet access using satellite communications

OneWeb had been considered the main competitor to Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink constellation, with the same aim - to bring broadband to rural communities.

Galileo is a global navigation satellite system created by the European Union which was brought online in 2016.

The project was built to provide a high-precision global positioning system for the use of European nations that was independent of the US' GPS and Russia's GLONASS systems.

The setup can provide horizontal and vertical position measurements to a precision of within 1 metre.

It also provides a better service for users in higher latitudes than alternative systems.

Galileo's low-precision services are free to use and open to everyone, while paying commercial customers can access the system's higher-precision capabilities.

The first test satellite for the project was launched in December 2005, while the first working satellite was put into orbit in October 2011.

The whole Galileo project is estimated to have cost around 10billion (9bn).
For the members of the monarchy and the royal watchers, seeing Queen Elizabeth II cry is a rare event, especially since she is famous for her stoic attitude in public.

However, former U.S. President Barack Obama once made the Queen cry when he visited her in 2011.

During the three-day trip of the Obamas to the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II herself welcomed Barack and his wife Michelle at the palace. As part of the routine whenever someone pays a visit to Her Majesty, the Obamas handed her a variety of gifts as soon as they met her.

Though it sounded like a typical visit, the chief of protocol for the U.S. revealed that the couple put the Queen to tears after presenting her another special gift during the tour.

In an interview with People, then chief of protocol Capricia Penavic Marshall said that Barack and Michelle gave the Queen a leather-bound collection of memorabilia from her late father, King George VI. The United States received the collection during the late King's last visit to the country.

"We wanted to make sure that what we were furthering this special relationship with the U.K. and particularly with Her Majesty. President and Mrs. Obama were so, so very fond of her," Marshall said, as quoted by the news outlet.

Marshall's team, who accompanied the Obamas in the U.K. trip, researched about the royal family and found out that Her Majesty had an amazing connection with King George VI that she collected everything and anything about him.

Furthermore, the chief of protocol recalled the moment when Queen Elizabeth II browsed through the invitations and notes included on the memorabilia.

Sure enough, Her Majesty loved the present so much that she ended up feeling overwhelmed by the sweet gesture.

"And I want to say that I saw a little glisten of a tear in her eye after she paged through it a bit. She looked to the president said, 'Thank you so very much for this,'" Marshall went on.

Queen Elizabeth II was not able to see King George VI before he died. When the late King died in his sleep due to coronary thrombosis on Feb. 6, 1952, Her Majesty was on tour in Kenya with Prince Philip. She saw her father for the last time when he waved them off at Heathrow Airport.

Queen Wants Obamas Back

Her Majesty reportedly developed a soft spot for the couple that she wants them back to the U.K. even though Barack is no longer the U.S. President.

In royal author Tom Quinn's book, "Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle," a former royal staff disclosed that the Queen requested Barack to come back.

"The Queen has a soft spot for Americans after meeting Barack Obama who she completely fell in love with - so much so that she has frequently asked her courtiers if they could arrange for him to come to Britain now he is no longer president," the insider said.

Indeed, Obama and Michelle's way of making Queen Elizabeth II cry strengthened their relationships even more.

READ MORE: Royal Shock: Queen Elizabeth II CANNOT Be JAILED Ever!
An elderly man from Cambodia never knew that a swimming trip to a pond can cost him so dearly. During his cooling off period in the water body, a leech had slithered in through his penis and managed to suck about a pint of blood from his internal organs.

According to a report in Mirror, the man had gone for a dip without his clothes in a local pond near his house in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Later that day, when he tried to relieve himself, he experienced severe pain.

After visiting a hospital, the medics used a small camera to find the invertebrate up in the mans urinary bladder.

The blood sucking creature had traveled through the urethra to reach the bladder and was growing bigger by sucking in blood. That is not all, scans revealed that the organism had also harmed several organs of the elderly man by biting them with its sharp teeth.

The medical experts then had to kill the invertebrate before extracting it out. They managed to kill it with a device called the bipolar resectoscope.

As the leech had grown in size having drunk more than 500 ml of blood, bringing it out proved to be more troublesome for the doctors. The elderly man was discharged after one night of monitoring.

In an online statement, medics of the Calmette Hospital advised people to steer clear of ponds in the rainy season.

The waters are rich with leeches and other insects during the rainy season. Consult with the specialists immediately if you are experiencing pain in your body to get it treated correctly, the statement read.
South Korean, US Defence Ministers Urge Pyongyang to Follow Denuclearization Agreements

Sputnik News

08:28 GMT 25.06.2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and US Defence Secretary Mark Esper on Thursday urged Pyongyang to follow the previously agreed denuclearization commitments, according to a joint statement issued by the two ministers.

"Both leaders call on the DPRK [the Democratic People's Republic of Korea] to meet its commitments in alignment with the Singapore Summit Joint Statement, the Comprehensive Military Agreement, and other relevant agreements," the ministers said.

According to the statement, released on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-1953 Korean War, Seoul and Washington have pledged to continue supporting diplomacy for the complete denuclearization of North Korea.

"Additionally, both leaders reaffirm their commitment to a combined defence posture that ensures lasting peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula," the statement said.

The news comes amid weeks of escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula combined with Pyongyang's threats to take military action against South Korea in response to anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent over the border by defectors and activists.

North Korea has been engaged in denuclearization talks with the United States since 2018. The country's leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump expressed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during talks in Singapore in June 2018.

However, the next negotiations between the two leaders collapsed due to disagreements over the timing of sanctions relief.

In October 2019, the North Korean delegation led by chief negotiator Kim Myong Gil held working-level denuclearization talks with the US delegation headed by Stephen Biegun in Sweden.

However, North Korean diplomats left the meeting's venue prematurely, after which Kim said the working negotiations with the United States had failed. According to the diplomat, the United States came empty-handed.

A Sputnik

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Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

The private company that runs a southern New Mexico prison and processing center finally shed some light on testing levels at the facilities on Thursday and revealed that more than two dozen staff members have contracted COVID-19.

Issa Arnita, spokesman with Management and Training Corp., said 21 staff members at the Otero County Prison Facility and seven at the Otero County Processing Center have tested positive and three federal inmates are hospitalized with the virus  figures that had so far been left out of daily COVID-19 updates from the New Mexico Department of Health.

The Otero County Prison Facility, which separately houses federal and state inmates, and the adjacent Otero County Processing Center, which holds detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have been ground zero for COVID-19 outbreaks among prisoners in New Mexico, with more than 800 cases and four deaths between them.

On Thursday, Arnita said they have tested 566 federal inmates and 300 staff at the prison and 692 detainees and 69 staff members at the ICE processing center.

Arnita did not give population levels at the processing center but said due to inmate movement  transfers in and out  there are currently 476 federal inmates housed at the Otero prison.

According to DOH, 275  or 58%  of federal inmates there have tested positive for COVID-19.

The state side of the Otero County Prison holds the majority of the inmates who have tested positive with 427 cases among 539 inmates.

During a webinar Wednesday the New Mexico Corrections Department and DOH expressed frustration with a lack of communication, spotty testing standards and protocols from federal agencies that share the facility. Attorneys representing clients held by those federal agencies have expressed many of the same concerns.
UN Official Warns Against Israeli Annexation of Part of West Bank

By Linda Gradstein June 25, 2020

As the July 1 date for Israel's annexation of part of the West Bank approaches, international officials warn that the move would be a violation of international law. The head of the Arab League said that if Israel goes ahead it could spark a religious war, and Hamas in Gaza said the annexation would be a declaration of war.

Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, U.N. Special Envoy to the Middle East Nikolay Mladenov spoke out strongly against the planned Israeli annexation of part of the West Bank.

"It is our assessment that this move is not only against international law but will seriously upend the relationship between the state of Israel and the Palestinian Authority and between Israelis and Palestinians in general. We are now in the midst of a global pandemic, we are in the beginning of a global economic recession, we live through times in which national identities, perhaps more than in the past, have become a driving force in politics around the world, and we are very concerned that any such moves will have economic and security repercussions on the ground and will affect the lives of Israelis and Palestinians."

The Trump administration's Middle East peace plan, proposed in January, allows Israel to annex up to 30 percent of the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it is a rare opportunity for Israel and he plans to annex at least some of the 130 Jewish settlements located there.

Palestinians have threatened they could respond with violence, a threat the U.N. special envoy hopes they will not fulfill.

"I hope it will not be violence. I attended an event in Jericho a couple of days ago at which I specifically made that point I think, I hope quite clearly, to the Palestinians in attendance, that whatever reaction people have to this event, this potential event, they should not be violent and should not stray away from the path of peace."

The Palestinian Authority has already cut ties with Israel to protest the planned annexation of the area, which Palestinians say must be part of a future Palestinian state. Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip, are already suffering. An eight-month-old baby from Gaza, who was supposed to have heart surgery in Israel, died last week after the Palestinian Authority refused to coordinate with Israel.

The Islamist Hamas movement, which controls Gaza, said that the planned annexation would be considered a declaration of war. Hamas warned that Israel would regret its move.

There were also harsh words from the secretary-general of the Arab League, who said the annexation would increase tensions and could even ignite a religious war in the Middle East.

Israeli press reports say that Netanyahu may limit the planned annexation, for example, by not including the Jordan Valley, a large piece of land that runs along the border between the West Bank and Jordan. The Jordan Valley makes up about 25 percent of the West Bank.

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By Chris Sturm

Theres nothing like a pandemic to remind us of the basic essentials  like clean water  for staying healthy. COVID-19 has elevated handwashing and the need for universal access to running water, since those whove experienced water shut-offs and cannot wash their hands can more easily become infected.

Like so many other critical services today, access to clean water is an issue of equity. More than 27 million Americans today are served by water systems violating health-based standards established in the Safe Drinking Water Act. Low-income communities and communities of color are impacted hardest due to decades of underinvestment in safe and reliable water infrastructure and to a lack of affordability.

As we move toward reopening and recovery, the government response to COVID-19 must assure a clean water future for all communities in New Jersey. And we can do so while growing New Jerseys economy and creating thousands of much needed jobs.

For every $1 billion invested in water infrastructure, sales and output by businesses in all sectors increase by $2.1 billion, which adds $1.2 billion to the gross state product, and grows state and local tax revenues by $143 million. Additionally, 14,000 new jobs are created that offer stable local careers, including for those from traditionally underemployed groups.

Congress is exploring new funding for water infrastructure through traditional water infrastructure legislation and a COVID stimulus package. Last fall, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Phil Murphy and Senate President Steve Sweeney also called for new water spending. To ensure that new spending delivers not only jobs but also better health outcomes and greater efficiencies in our most vulnerable communities, New Jersey should enact smart reforms that have been teed up over the last few years.

Get the lead out 

Require and enable the replacement of every lead service line within 10 years. With most people sheltering at home all day, every day, children who live in the estimated 10% of New Jersey homes still using lead service lines to deliver water are at even greater risk of lead poisoning. Fortunately, we can virtually eliminate the risk of lead from drinking water, and soon. Governor Murphy and legislative leaders have announced comprehensive strategies to do so, based on the ground-breaking solutions provided by the Jersey Water Works Lead in Drinking Water Task Force. The City of Newark has proven that the approach works, by replacing over 12,000 lines since March of last year. Bills that have already been introduced to ensure lead service lines replacement can be refined and passed as soon as the Legislature is able to return to regular business. This investment will more than pay for itself.

Fix leaky pipes 

Healthy water systems not only deliver safe drinking water, they dont waste it. Leaky underground drinking water pipes in New Jersey lose an estimated 130 million gallons of treated drinking water each day squandering precious natural water supplies and energy used in the treatment process. Its time to enact amendments to the Water Quality Accountability Act to ensure that all of our water systems, large and small, are investing proactively in fixes like these that lower long-term costs. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection must implement this law with effective regulations that give customers the information they need to trust their water systems.

Adopt climate-safe infrastructure standards 

The Department of Environmental Protection is preparing new standards for the construction of essential infrastructure based on the best available science regarding future storms and sea-level rise. These standards must be adopted now so cities and water utilities can design projects to take advantage of federal stimulus funds that are not only shovel ready but also climate ready.

Ensure affordable water and sewer for everyone 

None of the solutions above can be considered a success unless every person has access to clean, reliable drinking water and sewer services. New laws allowing water utilities to assist low-income customers are easy first steps. We can build on this by crafting a state and federal-level assistance program that prevents the most vulnerable from water shut-offs, similar to how home heating assistance programs protect people facing freezing winter temperatures.

COVID-19 has reminded us that we cant stay healthy without clean water. The pandemic may also deliver much-needed federal funding. New Jersey has equitable solutions for reliable, affordable, drinking water. Lets harness the power and creativity of our utility managers and the leadership of our state and federal officials as we restart and recover a healthier, stronger, more resilient New Jersey for everyone.

Chris Sturm is the managing director of policy and water at New Jersey Future. She is a member of the Jersey Water Works Lead in Drinking Water Task Force and the US Water Alliance One Water Council.

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2020-06-26 16:26:00

The outbreak of the COVID-19 Novel Corona Virus Pandemic has brought about a sea change in the lives of almost everybody. Even worse, the livelihoods of the majority of the people in the world have been hit. The sudden ban on travel between countries also left many people stranded on foreign soil. Of these, only some were tourists, while the majority were students and migrant workers who had ventured out for their work. The Indian Government's Vande Bharat Mission, which is currently in Phase 4, helped quite a few people return to our motherland from different foreign countries. However, a section of people who have been stranded abroad for over 3 months, were the Indian fishermen who had gone on contracts to Iran!

These Indian fishermen had been left in the lurch by their employers, following the steep rise in COVID cases in Iran, in the month of February itself. Around 700 Indian fishermen, with the majority of them being from Tamil Nadu, had reached out to the homeland pleading for help to return to India. However, with the cancellation of all flights between countries, there were no means to bring them back home. When their essential supplies began dwindling, they again reached out to the Tamil Nadu government through the Meenavar Orunginaippu Sangam in Kanyakumari. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and the Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar appealed to the Ministry of External Affairs and with their intervention, the Indian Embassy in Iran provided supplies to the stranded fishermen.

Now, in what comes as great news, about 673 Indian fishermen have boarded a chartered ship - INS Jalashwa, yesterday evening at Bandar Abbas port city. However, despite all these efforts, 64 fishermen could not leave on this ship due to various reasons. Those who were left behind staged protests near the port and engaged in heated arguments with the authorities. The INS Jalashwa would be reaching Tuticorin with all the fishermen on board, helping them return home and reunite with their families. Among those returning are 6 fishermen who had been stranded due to passport issues but the Indian Embassy stepped in and ensured that they got their passports retured by their employer in Iran. Minister D Jayakumar expressed his gratitude to the authorities for their efforts in helping bring back these stranded fishermen!
Mali is experiencing its worst political crisis since President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita assumed office in 2013.

Protesters are calling on Keita, 75, to resign as discontent with his government and its inability to quash Islamic insurgencies in the north and center of the country has morphed into accusations of corruption and bad governance. Mali's economy was already faltering and now restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus have fueled anxiety over loss of income in one of the world's poorest countries.

Demonstrations that began June 5 have drawn tens of thousands of people and the crisis appears to have reached a stalemate as protesters reject mediation efforts by the Economic Community of West African States, or Ecowas. The bloc is backed by the European Union and France, which have called for a quick resolution to the crisis. The U.S. has urged Malians to "respect the democratic process."

"Ecowas has always taken the side of the Bamako government," said Nouhoum Togo, a spokesman for one of the groups in the so-called June 5 Movement.

Keita has since made several concessions, agreeing to raise teachers' wages, address a health crisis and form a unity government. He's also acknowledged concerns over a March legislative vote that was marred by the kidnapping, days before it took place, of opposition leader Soumaila Cisse, and allegations of fraud after some of the results were overturned by the Constitutional Court. Keita hasn't commented on the vote's legitimacy.

No Government

Still, there have been more protests, leaving Mali without a government since the prime minister handed in the resignation of the cabinet on June 11. The June 5 Movement has gained popularity through the support of one of the country's most influential religious leaders, Mahmoud Dicko, a former Keita ally and the instigator of several previous mass demonstrations. Dicko is an Islamist conservative leader who's been a vocal critic of the government for several years.

The political crisis "comes down to the failure of the Bamako government to address people's basic needs," said Marc-Andre Boisvert, a security analyst at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. "As pressure continues to build, the elite gets all the anger."

Ecowas recommended several reforms, including the creation of a unity government, and has sent envoys to Mali to mediate between Keita and leaders of the protest movement. It also urged the government to organize new legislative elections in some districts as soon as possible.

Mali's government spokesman, Yaya Sangare, declined to comment because he said negotiations over the formation of a unity government are ongoing.

Mali has been racked by instability since 2012, when soldiers ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure because they were being sent to fight a separatist insurgency in the arid north with faulty equipment while the army's leadership stayed in the capital. Ethnic Tuareg rebels then partnered with jihadist groups to seize control of the north. Calm was briefly restored after a French military intervention in 2013 pushed out the jihadists, bringing Keita to power in elections that year.

Deprived of their urban bases, Islamist militants resorted to bombings and hit-and-run attacks, targeting army posts and the 15,000-person United Nations peacekeeping mission. They've since extended their operations to Burkina Faso and Niger, and have claimed responsibility for attacks in southern neighbors such as Ivory Coast and Benin.

Those engaged in talks to resolve the political crisis "need to be careful not to create conditions that risk aggravating the already precarious security situation or a further breakdown of an already fragile state," Gilles Yabi, head of the West African Citizen Think Tank, said by phone from Senegal.
With less than a week to go until Israel hopes to move forward with annexation, it's unclear whether it has the support of its most important ally  the U.S.

U.S. envoys arrived in Israel on Friday as the Trump administration remained undecided on whether to support the countrys plans to extend sovereignty to parts of the occupied West Bank, a senior White House official told NBC News.

Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and White House Special Envoy Avi Berkowitz left for Israel Thursday night, along with mapping expert Scott Leigh, for further meetings and analysis, the official said.

Their visit comes after several days of White House meetings on the topic that also involved presidential adviser Jared Kushner. The official told NBC News on Thursday that the meetings were productive but inconclusive, alluding to concerns about how annexation could affect the Trump administrations Mideast peace plan.

There is yet no final decision on next steps for implementing the Trump plan, the official said.

Friedman had returned to Washington for the highly anticipated meetings with Kushner and other top U.S. officials involved in Mideast policy.

Netanyahu has been looking for formal U.S. support before proceeding. His government's coalition agreement says that as of July 1 the prime minister can bring annexation up for debate with his Cabinet.

Image: Israeli settler (Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images)

Palestinians strongly oppose the move and consider it a violation of international law. They hope the West Bank, which was captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, will form a major part of a future Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

It remains unclear exactly what land Netanyahu plans to annex, but he has indicated that it will fit within the Trump administrations plan for peace in the region, announced in January.

The U.S. plan would allow Israel to annex about a third of the West Bank, including major settlement blocs, as well as the strategic and fertile Jordan Valley, the region's breadbasket, on the border with Jordan. It also envisages a separate Palestinian state but one that falls short of Palestinian demands.

Story continues

The Palestinians have rejected the Trump plan as skewed toward Israel.

Image: A Palestinian man argues with an Israeli soldier (Mohamad Torokman / Reuters)

Earlier this year, the senior administration official told NBC News that Israel's agreeing to negotiations with the Palestinians was one of the conditions for the U.S. to recognize Israeli sovereignty over parts of the territory. It remains unclear whether Washington will greenlight Netanyahus plans if there is no sign of negotiations.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated Wednesday that decisions about extending sovereignty were for Israel to make.

"We unveiled a Middle East peace vision, some number of months ago now and we're continuing to work down that path," he told reporters.

The majority of the international community is opposed to annexation, with many fearing that it will deal a blow to hopes for a viable Palestinian state and make regional peace even harder to achieve. A two-state solution based on the 1967 lines is still widely seen as the only way of resolving the decadeslong conflict.

The 1967 lines refers to the armistice lines before the Arab-Israeli war of that year in which Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt among other territory.
London/New Delhi, June 27 : Global skincare brands are doing away with "fair" and "white" from their labels. L'Oreal, the world's biggest cosmetics company, said it will remove words "white", "fair" and "light" from its skincare products.

This comes a day after after Unilever made a similar announcement due to growing criticism. The Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) will stop using the word 'Fair' in the flagship brand 'Fair & Lovely' with a "more inclusive vision of beauty". The brand is committed to celebrating all skin tones, HUL said.

HUL announced the rebranding of its flagship brand Fair & Lovely. Taking forward the brand's journey towards a more inclusive vision of beauty, the company will stop using the word 'Fair' in the brand name 'Fair & Lovely'. The new name is awaiting regulatory approvals and HUL expects to change the name in the next few months.

Unilever and L'Oreal are two big players in the global market for skin whitening creams used in India and other Asian, African and Caribbean countries.

L'Oreal's products include Garnier Skin Naturals White Complete Multi Action Fairness Cream.

Johnson & Johnson went a step further, saying it would stop selling skin whitening creams sold in Asia and the Middle East under its Neutrogena and Clean & Clear brand.
The southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau is to have 686 more foreign experts working locally soon, the provincial Health Department revealed at a recent meeting of the local steering committee for COVID-19 control and prevention.

The dorm of Vabis Hong Lam International College is used as a quarantine area for Vietnamese citizens returning from abroad.  Photo baobariavungtau.com.vn

Some 270 of these will be quarantined at non-fee facilities, while 196 will attend fee-charging facilities. The remainder, who work for the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), will be quarantined once on their ships.

The province earlier welcomed 254 foreign experts, who were sent to fee-charging facilities.

Also in quarantine are 264 Vietnamese citizens repatriated from Kuwait and 259 crew members of ships that entered Ba Ria - Vung Tau from foreign waters.

Ba Ria - Vung Tau has six quarantine areas, three of which charge for their services.

Vietnam continued to carry out strict border closure policies against foreign entries since late March in a bid to prevent COVID-19 spread and only recently allowed in foreign investors, experts, and highly skilled workers in as part of its economic recovery efforts.  VNS

160 foreign experts test covid-negative in Quang Ngai 160 foreign experts who arrived to work in Quang Ngai Province have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 after the quarantine period.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 05:21:43|Editor: huaxia

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VIENNA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Zongzi, traditional Chinese food made of sticky rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in flat plant leaves, has lately become popular in an Italian restaurant in the center of the Austrian capital.

Zongzi is a traditional and iconic food, which Chinese people enjoy on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, which fell on June 25 this year.

Pizzeria Don Giovanni, located near the magnificent Baroque palace of Belvedere, is operated by Wu Bing, a woman who came from Jiaxing in the southeastern coastal province of Zhejiang. It had to be closed since mid-March as the Austrian government imposed a lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

From May 15, all restaurants have been allowed to resume business after the Alpine country eased COVID-19 restrictions. "Although most restaurants have reopened, it seemed that people were not willing to come out for dinner yet," Wu said to Xinhua.

As the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching, Wu came up with the idea of serving Jiaxing Zongzi, an iconic food named after her hometown and well-known for its typical filling of marinated pork, to help with the business.

Normally, people in southern parts of China like to eat salty Zongzi, having sticky rice with pork, salted yolk or even mushrooms and chestnuts while people in northern parts of China prefer the sweet variety, having sticky rice with red jujubes or red bean paste.

"Not only do Chinese people who live in Austria crave a bite of original Jiaxing Zongzi, but also are many local Austrian customers curious about it," Wu told Xinhua. Zongzi sold for takeaway or delivery became so popular that Wu Bing taught pizza chef Subor Nuri and other Italian colleagues at Pizzeria Don Giovanni how to make Zongzi to keep up with the demand.

"It's so delicious! I believe Italians would love it, as we have similar food too," Hehges Danut, an Italian working at Wu's restaurant told Xinhua after trying Zongzi for the first time in his life.

The popularity of Zongzi exceeds Wu's expectations, as there has even been demand from Graz and other cities in Austria.

Having sold about 5,000 pieces of Zongzi in the last 20 days, Wu said that some customers suggested that she should use WeChat, a popular social media platform used by many Chinese, to keep selling Zongzi even after the Dragon Boat Festival.

"Many Chinese in Austria also bought Zongzi for their Austrian friends as a way to introduce to them the traditional Chinese culture," she said.

It is a pity that the annually-held dragon boat race on Danube River is canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Austrian photographer Harald Klemm told Xinhua.

"There was a dragon boat race sponsored by a radio station in Austria more than ten years ago. I was there to take pictures. That's the first time I saw a real dragon boat in my life. It was so amazing," Klemm said.

"Most Austrians have seen the dragon boat races on TV, and they know it's from Asia, but not all of them have the idea that it's from China," he said.

Klemm never tasted Zongzi before, but his Chinese friends in Vienna had recommended the delicacy and he is eager to try it as soon as possible. Enditem
Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (June 26) launches 'Atma Nirbhar UP Rozgar Abhiyan' which seeks to promote local entrepreneurship and create partnership with industrial associations to provide employment opportunities.

Speaking on the occasion, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed the Prime Minister and thanked him for taking up the initiative. "Over 1.25 crore migrant workers who lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic are likely to benefit from this unique initiative. Over 35 lakh migrants returned to Uttar Pradesh and over 30 lakh migrant workers were also covered under skill mapping," the UP CM said.

At the virtual launch, PM Modi interacted with villagers from six districts of Uttar Pradesh. Villages across all districts of the state joined the event through Common Service Centres and Krishi Vigyan Kendras.

The central government announced the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package to stimulate various sectors. In order to generate employment with a thrust towards creating infrastructure in backward regions of the country, Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan was launched on June 20.

The Uttar Pradesh government envisaged a unique initiative 'Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan' which dovetails programmes of the Centre and state government while creating partnerships with industry and other organisations.

The campaign is intensely focused towards providing employment and promoting local entrepreneurship.
Praising Kerala for the way it has handled the coronavirus surge, Nobel-laureate and economist Amartya Sen said on Friday COVID-19 would be a transformatory movement in the State and it has dealt with the pandemic combating bureaucracy and red tape. Sen was speaking during a webinar on development titled 'Kerala Dialogue', organised by the Kerala government to bring together thinkers, policy-makers, professionals, scientists and the public to space where they could rethink and reimagine development for a world disrupted by the pandemic.

Sen came down heavily on the "unplanned and unstructured lockdown" in India and said it caused distress and hardship. "I think Covid would be a transformative movement in Kerala. There is a danger of being deluged under the rather deceptive economic slogan that is so dominant in India today and there is widespread resistance to that. But it also suggests that combating bureaucracy, combating red tape, and doing things with exceeding speed, which indeed is what Kerala seems to have done in dealing with Covid," Sen said.

Well-known philosopher and social critic, Noam Chomsky, who also participated in the talk, said the way Kerala responded to the Covid-19 pestilence was a surprise to the whole world. "The differences in the way between Kerala and the rest of India, and the rest of most of the world, on how they reacted to the crisis was quite startling. Not many places have dealt with it the way Kerala has. This pandemic has brought out very sharply the extraordinary inequality that has been, of course always there, but greatly exaggerated through the neo-liberal period," Chomsky said. Asked if there will be a fundamental change in the world at the end of the pandemic, Chomsky claimed countries like the US are trying to continue the current situation and move to more dictatorships, restrictions and people-watching. "But there are movements all over the world to counter this. Coordinating this can be a huge force. They can make changes and they are all trying to create a new world," Chomsky said.

Sen appreciated the public healthcare system and the high level of literacy in the State. "The unplanned and unstructured lockdown in India caused distress and hardship. The government should have discussed the matter with civil society. However, the government implemented the lockdown in an authoritarian manner.It was a disaster for the daily wage labourers," Sen said.

Sen also pointed out that the collapse of the public system, which has happened in Europe, has not happened in Kerala. "Though Europe had a tradition of public sector intervention it is not there now but that kind of reliance on the public sector can still be seen in Kerala," he added. WHO Chief Scientist, Dr Soumya Swaminathan said countries, which responded to the early warning issued by the World Health Organization, were better prepared to face the pandemic. "On January 30, WHO issued an emergency alert for global Covid-19 defence.

But Kerala had already started preventive measures in early January, anticipating potential problems. That is why the first cases from Wuhan could be discovered. Following this, Kerala was able to locate, quarantine those who had contact with them and contain the outbreak. Kerala has been able to contain the disease as fast as possible due to proper preventive measures," Swaminathan said.

Chomsky said Vietnam has confronted this pestilence and not a single Covid related death was reported there. He also pointed out that South Korea has also effectively controlled the pandemic without even a lockdown. "Taiwan, Hong Kong and New Zealand are other countries that dealt with the disease. In Europe, Germany was able to prevent the spread of the disease in a good way.What saved them was that Germany did not adopt a commercial hospital system like the US," he said.

Chomsky said it was Doctors from "poor Cuba, who have been the victims of the US economic assault for more than six decades", who moved to Italy to help them out. "This pandemic was able to show the extraordinary inequality of the world. In the United States, it was most pronounced....Blacks and their descendants from Spain and South America suffered the most in the United States," he claimed. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who also participated in the discussion, said Kerala was starting a new conversation on development. "The Left Front is launching the KeralaDialogue to bring new concepts and sustainable development models," Vijayan said.
North and South Korea on Thursday separately marked the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, a conflict that killed millions of people and has technically yet to end. Communist North Korea invaded the US-backed South on June 25, 1950, as it sought to reunify by force the peninsula Moscow and Washington had divided at the end of the Second World War. The fighting ended with an armistice that was never replaced by a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula and millions of families split by the Demilitarized Zone. "The Korean War is the war that has made us what we are today," said South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a ceremony Thursday evening. "We long for peace. However, if anyone threatens our people's safety and lives, we will firmly respond," he said, noting the two Koreas' competition for dominance "ended a long time ago" with South Korea's economy "more than 50 times" larger than the North's. Nearly 150 soldiers repatriated from Hawaii after being excavated in the North were formally received at the ceremony. Video messages from the leaders of the 22 foreign nations that made up the UN coalition defending the South were played. Earlier, Seoul and Washington's defence ministers reaffirmed their commitment to defending "the hard-fought peace". Up to three million Koreans died in the conflict, the vast majority of them civilians. Nearly 37,000 Americans were among the more than 40,000 UN soldiers killed, and Western estimates say China, which backed the North, saw 400,000 fatalities, while Chinese sources put it at about 180,000. - 'Cede not an inch of ground!' - The North has a different history of the period, which it knows as the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War, and insists that it was assaulted first, before it counter-attacked. In Pyongyang, citizens and soldiers attended a war heroes' cemetery on the outskirts of Pyongyang to lay flowers before the graves and bow. "Cede not an inch of ground!" read an inscription on a statue of a machine gunner. The official Rodong Sinmun newspaper carried more than 10 stories on the war, including an editorial asserting that a US invasion had turned "the entire country into ashes" but that it had forced the "aggressors" to sign a "surrender document". "A ceasefire is not peace," it said. "The enemy is aiming for the moment that we forget about June 25 and lower our guard." The nuclear-armed North, which is subject to multiple international sanctions over its banned weapons programmes, says it needs its arsenal to deter a US invasion. Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have been deadlocked for months, leaving inter-Korean relations in a deep freeze despite a rapid rapprochement in 2018 that brought three summits between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in. - White doves - At the site of one of the key battlefields in Cheorwon county near the Demilitarized Zone a handful of surviving South Korean war veterans marked the anniversary. "It is our misfortune that the South and North had to live for nearly 70 years in confrontation because of the war," a veteran said, before releasing white doves as a symbol of their hopes for a final peace settlement. Most South Koreans prefer "peaceful coexistence" with the nuclear-armed North to unification, a survey by Seoul's Korea Institute for National Unification showed Thursday. Only 26.3 percent of respondents favoured unification, while 54.9 percent preferred peaceful co-existence with the North. Kim on Wednesday suspended plans for military moves aimed at the South, after the North raised tensions last week by demolishing a liaison office on its side of the border that symbolised inter-Korean cooperation. Seoul's relationship with Washington has also been strained by the Trump administration's demands that it pay more towards the cost of keeping 28,500 US troops on the peninsula to protect the South from its neighbour.
Himachal Pradesh on Friday recorded 25 fresh Covid-19 infections, taking the total number of cases in the state to 864, officials said.

Of the new cases, 16 are in Kangra, three in Hamirpur, two cases each in Solan and Una and one each in Mandi and Sirmaur.

Kangra deputy commissioner Rakesh Kumar Prajapati said four members of two families are among the fresh cases in the district. The patients have a travel history to Delhi, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. They have been shifted to Covid-care centres at Dadh and Baijnath.

Two cases were reported in Baddi industrial area of Solan district. Both were under institutional quarantine. Three people have tested positive in Una and one in Mandi.

Sirmaur deputy commissioner RK Pruthi said a jawan of the Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP), hailing from Paonta Sahib, has also tested positive for the virus. He returned from Srinagar three days ago and was home quarantined.

350 ACTIVE CASES

The active cases in the state stand at 350 and 494 people have recovered. Eleven people have migrated to others states and seven have succumbed to the infection.

Kangra is the worst hit district with 244 cases, followed by Hamirpur with 228 cases, Una with 101 cases, Solan with 92 cases, Chamba with 50 cases, Shimla with 39 cases, Bilaspur with 38 cases, Sirmaur with 37 cases, Mandi with 25 cases, Kullu with five cases, and Kinnaur with four cases. Eleven of the 12 districts in Himachal are affected by Covid-19. Lahaul-Spiti is the only corona-free district so far.
UW School of Nursing, Community Health Clinic Collaborate on Behavioral Health

Nancy McGee, left, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with the Albany Community Health Clinic, will serve as the program director for the behavioral health initiative, with support from JLaine Proctor. Both are clinical associate professors with the UW Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing. (Claire Hitchcock Photo)

In recent years, the delivery of behavioral/mental health services has become an integral part of primary health care models throughout the country.

In response to an increasing need to serve patients who are at risk for behavioral health or substance abuse problems in a primary care setting, the University of Wyomings Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing and the Albany Community Health Clinic (ACHC) will implement a behavioral health integration (BHI) care model to expand a support network. The model also will elevate levels of care for patients with behavioral health problems.

Implementation of the BHI program has been made possible through a grant awarded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), resulting in the School of Nursing receiving $1.5 million over a three-year period beginning July 1. The grant is titled Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Program: Behavioral Health Integration Fund.

The BHI program will be implemented through the ACHC and will serve Laramie and surrounding communities in Wyoming.

Nancy McGee, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with the ACHC, will serve as the program director for the behavioral health initiative, with support from JLaine Proctor. Both are Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing clinical associate professors.

Over 30 years of high-quality research supports implementation of integrated models of care, McGee says. These studies demonstrate that integrated care models improved health care access, quality and satisfaction, and lowered costs.

The BHI program is based on the evidence-based collaborative care model, first described by the University of Washingtons Improving Mood: Providing Access to Collaborative Treatment model, which has shown significant patient outcomes. Those include more depression-free days, improvement in physical symptoms, decreased health care costs and overall patient and provider satisfaction.

One of the main ways we plan to initiate the BHI in the ACHC is to support the ability of our primary care providers to manage behavioral health problems within the primary care setting, McGee says.

The clinic plans to add two new clinical positions at the ACHC: a licensed clinical social worker and a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. They will join a team of providers currently consisting of two family nurse practitioners and two part-time psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, as well as a licensed professional counselor.

This expanded clinical team will work to identify patients at the ACHC who would benefit from the BHI program through screening and treatment of all patients for mental health and substance abuse risk.

Individuals who screen at risk for mental health and/or substance abuse problems will work closely with a registered nurse and a behavioral health care coordinator to help the patients self-identify physical and behavioral health goals, and to address health priorities.

The University of Wyomings Albany Community Health Clinic has implemented a behavioral health integration care program model to expand a support network and to elevate levels of care for patients with behavioral health problems. (UW Photo)

The BHI model provides a framework for close collaboration between all members of the team, McGee says. Family nurse practitioners will seek routine expert consultation from the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners to assist in the management of the behavioral health and substance abuse needs of clients and reduce the number of referrals required for specialty services. This allows the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners to have increased capacity to address the more complex behavioral health and substance abuse needs of clients.

At the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, health care providers and patients quickly adapted to using telehealth as a means to communicate diagnoses and treatment. Using the BHI model, the ACHC is expanding telehealth to include telebehavioral health services.

Our goal with the grant will be to expand these telehealth services to target critical behavioral health provider shortage areas throughout Wyoming, McGee says. This will further increase access to specialty behavioral health services throughout Wyoming.

Training Opportunities

An additional component of the HRSA grant funding is development of an interprofessional training experience for students of the health sciences through precepted clinical/field experiences using the BHI model at the ACHC.

For UW College of Health Sciences students, interprofessional training is an integral part of their health education experience. As part of the BHI program, the ACHC seeks to develop an interprofessional training experience for nursing and social work students, providing established preceptors already in place at the clinic.

The academic-practice partnership with the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing and the College of Health Sciences will assure that health science disciplines at UW will be exposed to BHI clinical experiences at the ACHC.

Our goal is to increase training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate nursing and social work students, and to strengthen these future professionals ability to provide integrated behavioral health services within primary care settings, says Sherrill Smith, Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing dean.

The ACHC will become an ideal training site for Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work students, Smith says.

We would hope to eventually expand these clinical experiences to other health science and interdisciplinary students such as pharmacy, counseling and medical residents, she adds. The value of BHI is well established, and we recognize the importance of exposing students to a BHI model in a precepted clinical experience that will increase that future workforces capacity to implement BHI in their clinical practices.

To learn more about the ACHC, visit https://albanycommunityhealthclinic.com/.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero on Friday extended Guam's state of public health emergency through July as Guam is seeing a recent rise in COVID-19 cases.

The governor also officially announced tourism's reopening will not take place on July 1 as initially planned. No new target date was announced.

The core markets of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are being notified of the delay in the reopening of Guam's tourism, the governor said.

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Between Thursday and Friday, there were 17 new COVID-19 cases including a Department of Corrections officer assigned to the women's correctional facility.

That total increases Guam's active cases to 64. Guam has a total of 248 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Of those cases, 206 are classified as civilians, and 42 are military service members.

"I am alarmed over the cases we've seen," the governor said.

The concern also prompted the cancellation of today's islandwide beach cleanup and beautification. More than 700 people had signed up for the event that is now indefinitely on hold.

National attention

NBC News has reported that Guam now tops the states and territories in the highest rate of increase over a one-week period  with a 438% increase in COVID-19 cases over one week.

The governor appealed for the public not to let down their guard.

I just also want to plead and urge you, as we have lifted restrictions and as we see more mobility in our people out in the community, to please protect yourselves, protect your families, protect your friends, protect our community by wearing your mask, adhering to social distancing, washing your hands, sanitizing," the governor said.

"We must continue to be very vigilant and very diligent in making sure that we use these preventive measures to protect our people. We will continue to monitor, contact tracing, quarantine people, isolate people, test our people and even more so as we move further out and as we look at what this coronavirus containment is telling us in the next couple of weeks.

Mandatory quarantine still in effect

Guam was scheduled to reopen to tourists from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan on July 1 without requiring them to stay in quarantine or submit to preflight COVID-19 testing or testing upon arrival at the A.B. Won Pat International Airport. The mandatory quarantine on Guam was to be lifted in July.

The plan led to criticism from people including Dr. Thomas Shieh, who has advocated for preflight testing and testing at the Guam airport upon arrival of incoming travelers.

On Friday the governor's office stated mandatory 14-day quarantine measures and testing requirements are still in effect for all travelers entering the island.

'Right thing to postpone'

It has always been the condition that if things change, we will revisit our reopening date. I want to thank our travel trade and industry partners for giving us a moment to get our house in order so we can all enjoy our beautiful island together at a later time, said GVB President and CEO and former Gov. Carl T.C. Gutierrez. It is the right thing to postpone for the safety of everyone, and we are encouraged by the increasing level of interest in the number of tourists wanting to visit our island.

The governor has not proceeded with the initial plan to increase the size of group gatherings to 50 people at a time, as was initially planned.

Congregating in public remains limited to no more than 25 people, said press secretary Krystal Paco-San Agustin.

Increased testing

As governor, I continue to do whatever we can  and however we can  to keep our community safe and to keep our coronavirus-19 contained and make sure that we provide the necessary preventive measures to prevent the spread, Leon Guerrero stated.

Id like to just say that total testing that we have done so far is 11,648. We have increased our capacity for testing, we have now an increase in robust random testing out in the community and our community outreach. The reason we have this is we want to get a real good picture of what we are doing in terms of community spread.

As a result of increased testing, we expect (to see an) increase positive cases and thats exactly what is happening. Yesterday, we saw 14 cases reported of positive out of 309 tests done. We also had two more this morning. So we now have 16 cases positive since last nights addition.

On Friday night, that number increased to 17.
Amid the growing military and trade tensions between India and China, US India Strategic Partnership Forum President Mukesh Aghi has said that China would never treat India equally and that New Delhi must grow its capabilities to become a major part of the global supply chain to survive. Since the coronavirus pandemic has not spared any nation, including the rising economies like India and China, Aghi believes it's not the right time to stop key manufacturing of essential parts coming from China as it would hurt Indian as well as global economy.

"We are naive to think that China will treat India as an equal partner. China will never ever treat India as an equal partner. With the nation's focus on the pandemic, China has become much more assertive and aggressive, trying to increase the sphere of influence. Look at what's happening in the South China Sea, in Japan and what's happening on the Indian border. India has to accept the fact that China will never treat India as an equal partner," Aghi told India Today during an interview.

He also said that till India becomes a global manufacturing powerhouse and economically and militarily more powerful than China, which could easily take around 20 years, it needs to buy peace.

"India needs to buy peace for the next 20 years in some way either with alignment or other fact. India needs 20 years of time to get its economic agenda right, get the quality of life of citizen up, get the per capita up, and spend more in defence. India needs that...India can't be at loggerheads with China which is both military and economically more powerful. I think the smart strategy would be is make sure we buy that time," he said.

He said the association wrote to the Indian government over the recent episodes of consignments from China being stuck at various ports in India. He said the Indian government needs to understand that a lot of these goods are part of global supply chain and if it wants to become a global player in the supply chain, a smooth flow of products must be ensured. "...it sends a wrong message to the boardroom where they (companies) ask: can we have India as a reliable partner in the global supply chain?" he explained.

Notably, India's decision to hold back export items from China at ports and airports has not gone down well with the neighbouring nation. Indian exporters have said China and Hong Kong customs are holding back export consignments from India. Fearing a major tit-for-tat measure from China, the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) has said that chances of retaliation are high and the absence of official word on the matter has made the matter worse.

Considering the uncertainties and challenges to the operating environment, German express logistics major DHL has suspended its pickup operations from China, Hong Kong and Macao citing severe lag in customs clearance at Indian ports. The pickup of import shipments have been halted for 10 days.

Also read: DHL stops shipments from China, Hong Kong, Macao; cites severe customs delays
When Iraqi aviation authorities first closed airports to commercial passenger flights March 17 in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, they only gave about a days notice. With flights already limited regionally, many got stuck. The first ban was set to end March 24. But it has been continuously extended since.

Basheer Talib is an engineer from Baghdad who was working in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, when the airports closed. He is stranded, unable to return to his family in Baghdad due to the closure and an interprovincial travel ban.

I strongly miss my little sons, Talib told Al-Monitor. I havent seen them since the lockdown.

Many foreigners and Iraqis are frustrated with the airport closure and unable to get home. They are away from loved ones and some are without work. Others have left the country through complex travel schemes.

The commercial flight ban is part of Iraqs efforts to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country. Other measures include business closures and stay-at-home orders. Erbil in particular has a high population of foreigners, and many, particularly those in the service and hospitality industries, have lost their sources of income during the lockdowns.

Cargo flights continue in and out of Iraq, as do diplomatic flights. There are also one-way Qatar Airways flights to Doha every few weeks that cost more than $1,000. This price is much higher than usual and does not include the cost of onward travel via the limited flight routes available. There are also World Food Program flights for staff of international nongovernmental organizations. But those without the means or connections are stuck.

Discontent is brewing over the situation. On June 8, Erbil International Airport posted a picture that asked people where they would like to fly once the ban is lifted. Many reacted angrily. Just open the damn airport and let people go to their families, wrote one user. Never felt so hostaged, wrote another.

In Erbil, the closure has affected the economy in several ways. On June 16, the Krua Thai restaurant announced it was permanently closing due to its inability to import authentic ingredients amid the airport closure.

Fritzie Sorinio, from the Philippines, was one of the employees. She said all but one of the staff have managed to find new jobs. However, many in her industry want to leave  especially those without work  but cannot afford the expensive repatriation flights.

The biggest problem for those who wish to leave is the prohibitive cost of flights home, Sorinio told Al-Monitor. "For those who remain, the economy doesnt really support the hospitality industry at the moment, so work is hard to come by.

Erbil has a large population of foreigners who work in restaurants, hotels, the airport and the like. Baghdad and Sulaimaniyah do as well.

Porntipa Sanohlum, from Thailand, works for an international NGO in Erbil. She said many in the Thai community are female masseuses at hotels, while others work in hotels, at the airport and for oil companies.

Some masseuses receive free accommodation and weekly allowances. However, the simultaneous flight ban and closure of close-contact activities such as massages have left them without the income they use for their savings and to send back home.

Its difficult to get income because the owner is also not earning any income at all, Sanohlum told Al-Monitor.

Other people told similarly difficult stories, including locals. A banker in Erbil from the Kurdish city of Qaladze in neighboring Sulaimaniyah province cannot go home to check up on his elderly parents, as he was in the habit of doing. They are old and need some care, Hawkar Babakr told Al-Monitor.

The domestic travel restrictions has caused some Iraqis, including displaced people, to become stuck at checkpoints.

The news is not all bad. Sanohlum said the Thai Embassy in Amman, Jordan, gave Thai nationals the option to repatriate this month. (Thailand does not have an embassy in Iraq.) The journey, though long and daunting, ended with Thai citizens arriving in Bangkok on Thursday after first traveling to Tehran, Iran.

They took a bus to Iran, got a COVID test, and quarantined for seven days before the flight to Thailand, said Sanohlum, who is staying in Iraq. There was good cooperation from the Thai Embassy in Jordan.

Low-income workers face similar struggles across the region. In Lebanon, some cleaners from Ethiopia were dumped by their former employers at their embassy with nothing but their belongings this month as the country plunged further into economic crisis.

At present, Iraqs commercial flight ban is set to expire July 1. Like before, it could be extended. The COVID-19 situation in the country does not provide hope. Iraq registered 2,437 coronavirus cases Thursday, according to Health Ministry statistics. This is a daily record for the country. The number was 2,054 today, with 122 deaths.
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Adult film star Ron Jeremy leaves a Los Angeles County courtroom in handcuffs after he was charged with four counts of sexual assault. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles County authorities have received 25 new complaints of sexual misconduct against Ron Jeremy this week, including 13 that may have taken place in Southern California, a prosecutor said in court Friday.

While arguing over a motion to reduce bail for the adult film star  who was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting four women in West Hollywood  Deputy Dist. Atty. Paul Thompson disclosed the new complaints in a downtown courtroom.

Thompson said it is "certainly possible" the new claims could lead to additional charges, and noted the claims ranged from groping to overt acts of sexual violence. The allegations were all received by law enforcement officials after news broke that Jeremy was being prosecuted, Thompson said.

Jeremy surrendered to authorities Tuesday after the Los Angeles County district attorney's office charged him with eight counts of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual battery stemming from allegations made by four women between 2014 and 2019. He pleaded not guilty to those charges on Friday and his attorney, Stuart Goldfarb, has said that Jeremy "never, in his life, had sex with a female through force or duress."

Investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said they launched an investigation into Jeremy after an allegation of rape was made last summer. Cmdr. Carlos Marquez said Jeremy used his public persona to gain access to the victims and then took advantage while they were intoxicated. The sheriff's department presented its case to prosecutors on Monday.

Jeremy has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women in recent years  including adult film stars Danica Dane, Jennifer Steele and Jay Taylor  but has denied the allegations. A 2017 Rolling Stone article detailed allegations levied by at least a dozen women.

Goldfarb said "all sorts of claims come pouring in" when an allegation of wrongdoing against a celebrity gains media attention, and tried to downplay the nature of the allegations contained in the criminal complaint as non-violent. He also claimed the head of security at the Rainbow Room on the Sunset Strip, which is known to be one of Jeremy's favorite haunts, will refute a rape allegation made by a woman there in 2019.

Thompson scoffed at that, saying two of the four women named in the criminal complaint allege Jeremy followed them into the bathroom of a bar and trapped them there before assaulting them.

L.A. Superior Court Judge Miguel Espinoza denied Goldfarb's motion, and Jeremy will remain jailed in lieu of $6.6 million bail. He is due back in court in late August.
LONDON - A male suspect stabbed and wounded a police officer before he was shot dead in Glasgow on Friday. Authorities are not treating the incident that left five other men wounded as terrorism, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.

The suspect died at a Glasgow hotel that appeared to be largely housing asylum-seekers and refugees. The 42-year-old police officer stabbed during the incident at the Park Inn Hotel on Friday was in a critical but stable condition. Five men between the ages of 17 and 53 also were hospitalized. Sturgeon said, Its been a dreadful afternoon for the city of Glasgow. She says police are still investigating and she urged the public to avoid speculation.

The police have just confirmed that at this stage they are not treating this as a terrorist incident, Sturgeon said. But of course, there are still details yet to be determined.

Sturgeon said she had spoken with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who expressed his concern and sympathies.

Its been a dreadful afternoon for the city of Glasgow, Sturgeon said. Clearly there is already much speculation around this incident, which remains under investigation.

Steve Johnson, assistant chief constable at Police Scotland, said officers were on the scene within two minutes of reports of an incident at 12:50 p.m., and that armed police arrived shortly afterwards.

The incident was quickly contained, he said.

Police werent searching for anyone else.

The Scottish Police Federation, which represents the large majority of Scottish police officers, said it has notified the family of the injured officer.

Craig Milroy, who witnessed the aftermath from a nearby office building, said he saw four people taken away in ambulances.

I saw a man lying on the ground, of African descent, with no shoes on, Milroy said. He was on the ground with someone holding his side. I dont know if it was a bullet wound, a stab wound, or what it was.

Milroy said the man was one of the four taken away by paramedics and believed him to be a victim.

We were still standing outside. After that the police all came down, the riot police and triage team told us to go back in and lock the door, he said.

A spokeswoman for campaign group Positive Action In Housing said the 91-room hotel was housing asylum seekers for the Mears Group, a housing and social care provider. which moved them there during the coronavirus lockdown.

Sturgeon urged people to avoid speculation, to not share potentially harmful or upsetting material on social media and to follow police advice while investigations are underway.
LONDON  They descended by the tens of thousands on Britains southern beaches and jammed into city parks. They cavorted by the hundreds in streams. They attacked police officers who tried to disperse illegal block parties. And hundreds became stuck in mud flats while trying to reach the sea at low tide.

By Friday, the third sweltering day in a row in a country where many homes lack air conditioning, the message was abundantly clear: Many Britons are done with the lockdown.

Although Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain announced a major easing of lockdown restrictions this week and declared the beginning of the end of a long national hibernation, all pubs, restaurants and cafes will remain closed until July 4, leaving the public with few venues to enjoy their newfound freedom.

Its like an avalanche of people everywhere, said Rachel Cox, 55, a resident of Notting Hill in western London who said she had been woken up on Thursday night by the sound of partygoers pelting police officers with various objects. Its as if the last three months of fear and caution over the coronavirus vanished overnight.
The Defence Headquarters says the air component of Operation Hadarin Daji has destroyed two bandits camps and a cave hideout led by Hassan Tagwaye in Doumborou Forest, Zamfara.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, John Enenche, in a statement on Thursday, said the air interdiction missions were conducted by the troops under the subsidiary Operation Wutan Daji on June 23.

Mr Enenche, an army major-general, said the airstrikes resulted in the killing of some key armed bandits leaders as well as several of their fighters after a series of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

He said the intelligence report led to the identification of the camps and a cave where the bandits store their weapons as well as hide to evade attacks.

According to him, the air component dispatched an enhanced force package of fighter jets and helicopter gunships to attack the location.

At the first camp, some bandits, who had assembled for a meeting near one of the huts, were neutralised by the attack aircraft.

At the second camp, a suspected high-value bandits leader along with some weapon-bearing fighters were seen in the vicinity of some huts.

The attack aircraft engaged the target structures, scoring accurate hits and taking out the huts along with their occupants.

The NAF jets also later recorded direct hits on the suspected bunker, from where some of the bandits were seen emerging, completely destroying it.

Human Intelligence reports later confirmed that Hassan Tagwaye and his twin brother Hussain along with several other bandits were neutralised in the airstrikes, while a few escaped with injuries, he said.

Mr Enenche, however, urged the people in the affected areas to report those with sudden and suspicious injuries to the security forces to ensure that the escapees were mopped up.

He said the Chief of Air Staff, Sadique Abubakar, had urged the troops to remain resolute in the conduct of air strikes whilst continuing to provide close air support for ongoing ground operations in order to eradicate all armed bandits. (NAN)
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday asserted she is former prime minister Indira Gandhis granddaughter and dared the Uttar Pradesh government to take action against her for speaking the truth.

She also launched a veiled attack on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, calling her an undeclared BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) spokesperson.

In a series of tweets, Priyanka Gandhi alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government is threatening her through various departments for speaking the truth.

I am Indira Gandhis granddaughter and not an undeclared BJP spokesperson like some of the opposition leaders, she said.

The attack came a day after the Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights issued a notice to Priyanka Gandhi, asking her to file a reply within three days for her misleading comment on the Kanpur shelter home where 57 girls tested positive for Covid-19.

In another development, the Agra administration asked her to withdraw a claim about a high number of Coronavirus deaths in the district.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, she attacked the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over a media report about two girls being found pregnant in the state-run child shelter home, saying it showed facts were being suppressed in the name of investigation at such facilities.

As a servant of the people, my duty is towards the people of Uttar Pradesh. And this duty is to put out the truth before them and not to put forth government propaganda. The UP government is wasting its time by threatening me through its various departments, Priyanka Gandhi tweeted in Hindi on Friday.

They can take whatever action they want. I will keep putting forth the truth.

Though she did not name Mayawati while tweeting about an undeclared BJP spokesperson, the target was obvious.

Mayawati has repeatedly backed the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre on the border standoff with China in Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh.

In one of her tweets last week, the BSP chief said the people of India are confident that the Centre would take the right decisions to keep the honour, pride and glory of the country intact and never allow anyone to grab even an inch of land.

She had taken a similar stand at the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 19 to discuss the border situation.

Much to the surprise of other opposition leaders, Mayawati has been praising the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh on various issues, including its arrangements to send migrant workers home and its handling of the attacks on Dalits in the state by acting promptly against the perpetrators.

While she had described Priyanka Gandhis offer of buses to ferry the migrant workers as a political ploy, Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya called her twitter-wali neta for her sustained attacks on the state government.

The relations between the BSP chief and the Congress soured after a warm and affectionate hug between Sonia Gandhi and Mayawati at the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy in May 2018.

Not only did Mayawati field her candidates in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh during assembly elections in 2018 despite the Congress pushing for a tie-up, she ensured that the grand old party did not become part of a broad-based alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls after joining hands with arch-rival Samajwadi Party (SP).

However, she has been soft on both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, saying their intentions for a Congress-BSP alliance were honest.

The Congress leadership too has so far avoided criticism of Mayawati, with Rahul Gandhi saying he respected her contribution to the country and considered her a national symbol.

But whether that mutual respect will remain or swords will get further sharpened on both sides will be known in the run-up to assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, given that Priyanka Gandhi is focussed on reviving the Congress in the countrys politically important state. The elections are due in Uttar Pradesh in 2022.

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Haiti - News : Zapping...





The State Department expects a lot from justice in Haiti

"The Department of Internal Security (DHS) sent Emmanuel Constant back to Haiti https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31107-haiti-flash-former-frap-chief-deported-by-the-usa-arrested-upon-his-arrival-in-port-au-prince.html We expect the Haitian authorities to see justice done for the victims of the Raboteau massacre and other crimes for which Constant must be held responsible. Haitian justice promotes the rule of law and an end to impunity," said Michael G. Kozak, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Western Hemisphere Office of the US Department of State.



Lucmane Dellile the Minister of Justice confirmed that Emmanuel Constant aka "Toto Constant" will be brought before the Gonaives court where his trial was held followed by his conviction in absentia.



Covid-19 : Cooperation with Norway

Friday morning, a financing agreement between Norway and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP-Haiti) was signed to support the strengthening of the Haitian health system and fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and other future health challenges.



New coordinator of the PNH union

Following the resignation of agent 2, Yanick Joseph, as general coordinator of the Haitian National Police union (SPNH-17), Police Inspector Jean Edner Lundi, was appointed to take the reins of the union, he was installed in its new functions Thursday. He promised to respect and ensure respect for all the principles governing the proper functioning of this structure while making a plea for the respect of the rights of each officer working in favor of the police institution.



SEMANAH becomes a member of IALA

During a technical needs assessment mission, earlier this month, the Maritime and Navigation Service of Haiti (SEMANAH) signed the status of National Member of IMHA (International Maritime Signaling Association. This is an important step to further improve the system of providing marine aids to navigation in Haiti, in order to achieve the international standard.



Spanish university cooperation

One more step in university cooperation, I discussed this morning with the Rector of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), Dr. Francisco Mora and explored the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding between UPV and State University of Haiti reported Chancellor Claude Joseph



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 21:31:55|Editor: huaxia

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HANOI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) adopted the ASEAN Declaration on Human Resources Development for the Changing World of Work at its 36th summit, which is chaired by Vietnam via video conference on Friday.

The leaders committed to equipping the ASEAN's human resources with the competencies to get them to be future-ready, thereby enabling them to actively contribute to the sustainable development, competitiveness and resilience of the ASEAN, protecting them from potential adverse impacts of disruptive technologies, enabling them to manage just transition, and ensuring that no one is left behind in this changing world of work, according to the declaration.

The declaration mentioned that the leaders resolved to enhance the cooperation between the bloc and its external partners, including international organizations, to facilitate the sharing of models, good practices, and experiences in advancing human resource development in a changing world of work.

The leaders are aware of the changing world of work due to technological advances, the demographic transition, and greening economies, that offer both opportunities and challenges to the economies, industries and employment in the region, read the document.

According to the declaration released on Friday, the leaders also determined to establish the ASEAN Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council as a platform for coordination, research, and development on innovations, and monitoring of regional programs that support the advancement of TVET in the region.

The 36th ASEAN summit had been scheduled for April in central Vietnam's Da Nang but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Enditem
In the mix: Paschal Donohoe has put himself in the frame to chair finance ministers group

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has formally nominated himself to become president of the Eurogroup, an influential role responsible for co-ordinating finance ministers across the euro area.

The nomination is likely to copper-fasten expectations that Mr Donohoe will retain his job as Minister for Finance here in the incoming government.

Papers had to be submitted by 5pm on Thursday, which meant Mr Donohoe could not wait for the formation of a new government here - expected by the weekend - before putting his hat in the ring.

He faces competition from Spain's finance minister, Nadia Calvino, and Luxembourg's Pierre Gramegna.

In a letter to fellow finance ministers, Mr Donohoe promised to be a "bridge builder between the EU's north and south, east and west, ins and outs (of euro membership) and between large and small member states".

He laid heavy emphasis on his lengthy and unbroken ministerial career since 2011 and continued re-election since 2007, an increasingly rare accomplishment in the volatile politics within EU member states.

The contest will come down to EU horse-trading and may well overlap with EU Commissioner Phil Hogan's tilt to become head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Spain is also eyeing the WTO job for its foreign minister, Arancha Gonzalez Laya.

Other factors will include the mix among other top EU jobs. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and ECB president Christina Lagarde both belong to the European People's Party (EPP) which Fine Gael is part of. The European Parliament president, Italian David Maria Sassoli, belongs to the EU Socialist grouping while EU Council president Charles Michel belongs to the liberal Alde group.

The Eurogroup vacancy arose after president Mario Centeno resigned as Portugal's finance minister.

Mr Centeno, dubbed the "Cristiano Ronaldo of EU finance ministers" is highly regarded, having combined an opposition to austerity with the delivery of a budget surplus at home in Portugal.

His influence was heavily felt in the EU's response to the Covid-19 crisis, which is heavily tilted against austerity and towards stimulus.

The Eurogroup president is essentially first among equals, chairing meetings of fellow finance ministers and interacting with the likes of the European Commission and ECB.

Spain's Ms Calvino would be the first woman Eurogroup president and as part of a Socialist government in the European south would offer some continuity with the outgoing presidency.

Mr Gramegna, a technocrat allied to the liberal Alde grouping at EU level, may be hoping to emerge as a compromise candidate in a potentially tight race. His predecessor, Jean-Claude Juncker, held the Eurogroup presidency from 2005 to 2013, helping create what was then a new role.

The decision on who gets the job will be decided by a vote of euro area members.

Mr Donohoe is now one of Europe's longest-serving senior minister and, if it comes together this weekend, a Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Green coalition means Ireland can potentially draw support from a wider range of European opinion than Fine Gael's traditional support base in the EPP.
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The U.S. campaign to hamstring China's Huawei Technologies Co. is gaining fresh impetus as the Trump administration chokes off supplies of vital microchips and Beijing causes dismay on both sides of the Atlantic with its stance on Hong Kong and the coronavirus.

The U.K. is reconsidering its embrace of Huawei while carriers in Denmark and Singapore have chosen other providers for their telecommunications networks. Meanwhile, Germany and France are reassessing the role of the company that the U.S. accuses of theft, sanctions busting and providing an avenue for espionage.

Only months ago, the U.S. was struggling to persuade its allies not to use Huawei's equipment. But in May, Washington moved to handcuff Huawei to outdated technology by denying it chips made with U.S. techniques. The change could turn Huawei into a permanent laggard, unable to update and maintain cutting-edge 5G networks that will be communications backbones for decades to come.

At the same time, politics have been unkind to Huawei's ambitions. Officials in Europe and the U.S. have criticized China over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. And Beijing drew condemnation for preparing national security laws for Hong Kong, a step seen as a threat to the city's autonomy.

"Two years ago no one worried about buying Huawei - that's not true any more," said James Lewis, director of the technology policy program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington. He sees "some progress," in swaying other countries to ban Huawei "although well short of a total ban."

President Donald Trump is boasting of success, saying in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal: "Look how tough I've been on Huawei. Nobody has been tougher than me."

The U.S. says Huawei is a threat to security for the fifth-generation, or 5G, wireless systems that are beginning to be deployed around the world. The networks promise speed and ubiquity: a thick forest of always-on links to billions of devices in homes, factories, surgical suites and autonomous vehicles. As more and more devices and networks are connected, vulnerability to hacking or espionage grows apace.

Because Huawei is subject to control by China's ruling Communist Party, it can be compelled by law to cooperate with the country's security apparatus, and has been implicated in espionage, according to the State Department. The Pentagon chimed in Wednesday, sticking Huawei on a list of 20 companies it says are owned or controlled by China's military, opening them up to potential new US. sanctions.

Rob Manfredo, a U.S.-based spokesman for Huawei, didn't respond to a request for comment.

Huawei has denied allegations of spying, saying it would lose customers if it weren't trustworthy. The Shenzhen-based company says it's a private business that can't be directed by Beijing, and that no Chinese law requires private national companies to engage in cyberespionage.

The Commerce Department's ban in May of the sale of any silicon made with U.S. know-how was a potentially crippling blow to China's tech champion. Huawei's stockpiles of certain self-designed chips essential to telecom equipment will run out by early 2021, people familiar with the matter have said. While Huawei can buy off-the-shelf or commodity mobile chips from a third party like Samsung Electronics Co., it couldn't possibly get enough and may have to make costly compromises on performance in basic products, they added.

The chip restrictions add "uncertainty and potential costs" that could leave Huawei unable to meet commitments to build and maintain networks, said Robert Williams, executive director of the Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School. "The trade-offs between cost and security risks may look different now than they once did to the U.K."

Huawei's position is sharply contested in Britain.

The U.K. in January barred Huawei from sensitive core network components and high-risk areas like nuclear-power sites, but said the Chinese company could still constitute as much as 35% of networks' 5G and fiber equipment elsewhere.

That prompted an angry phone call from Trump to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The Trump administration has said any country that uses an "untrustworthy" 5G vendor jeopardizes intelligence sharing with the U.S. That would strike at the heart of the traditional "Five Eyes" security alliance linking the U.S. and U.K., along with Australia, Canada, and New Zealand to cooperate on espionage.

The U.K.'s January decision also triggered a rebellion of junior lawmakers in Johnson's Conservative Party. Since then, Hong Kong and covid-19 have helped to harden their stance.

U.K. government officials now are seeking ways to phase the company out in as little as three years.

"There's been a pretty effective relentless American campaign," said Sam Armstrong, spokesman for the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based policy group that has argued for blocking Huawei from the U.K.'s 5G networks. "The evidence in Parliament and the threats to Five Eyes intelligence-sharing arrangements have all contributed to a sense that this has had a seriously undermining effect on our trans-Atlantic relationship."

Despite the storm clouds obscuring its future in the U.K., Huawei committed Thursday to invest $1.2 billion in a research and development center near the English city of Cambridge, drawing criticism from a former leader of the ruling Conservative party. It said the timing was coincidental and the plans had been in the works for years.

The issue is fraught in other European countries, too. The company is losing luster in Europe after winning contracts across the continent, said John Strand, a consultant based in Copenhagen.

"Around Europe, there is a growing focus on the use of Chinese equipment including Huawei," Strand said in an interview. "When it comes to Hong Kong, it obviously has an impact."

Strand predicted other countries would follow paths such as those taken by Denmark, where the biggest phone company TDC A/S in March chose Stockholm-based Ericsson AB to build its 5G network, rather that its existing supplier Huawei. Earlier, Energy Minister Lars Christian Lilleholt highlighted security considerations for 5G, without mentioning Huawei.

Such moves would represent a change of momentum for a beleaguered U.S. campaign, said Justin Sherman, a fellow at the Atlantic Council's cyber-statecraft initiative.

"There are many countries that have not done what the U.S. wanted," including Germany, France and Italy, Sherman said. "There's legitimate reason to be concerned about Huawei's position on the 5G networks," he said.

U.S. diplomats say Ericsson and Finland's Nokia Oyj build 5G gear and can be alternatives to Huawei. The European providers have struggled to compete with Huawei and ZTE Corp. equipment that's often cheaper and at least as capable.

"5G systems carry the most private information and intellectual property. It comes down to one question: Who do you trust?" Keith Krach, the U.S. undersecretary of state for economic affairs, said in an interview. "People are realizing that Huawei's 5G is the backbone of that surveillance state."

U.S. officials point to progress in persuading allies, citing the European Union's January adoption of a policy that said companies based in nondemocratic countries could be excluded from parts of the network. The E.U. stopped short of an outright ban on Huawei.

The German government is struggling to settle on rules that would require security certification for vendors in the 5G network. Earlier senior Chinese officials highlighted German car companies - the crown jewel of Europe's biggest economy - as a potential target for retaliation if Huawei is banned from their markets. China is the biggest single market for Volkswagen AG, BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler AG. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has resisted a blanket ban on Huawei from 5G networks.

France won't ban any equipment maker from its 5G network, but will seek to protect critical infrastructure, finance minister Bruno Le Maire said earlier this year. With a spectrum auction set for September, carriers including Bouygues SA await a decision from the French cyber security agency Anssi on whether Huawei can be part of their plans. In a tweet earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised France's leading phone company Orange SA, calling it a "clean" telecom carrier after it picked "trusted" 5G equipment suppliers Nokia and Ericsson in January.

Italy hasn't moved against Huawei, though it has adopted rules to closely monitor telecommunications equipment suppliers, and scrutinize gear that comes from outside Europe. Italy has pursued a friendly approach with Chinese investors and especially with Huawei, which has poured money into the country, financing research centers, universities and schools.

In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been stalling a decision on whether to ban Huawei from 5G wireless networks. Tensions between the two countries have been rising since Canadian authorities arrested Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition request in late 2018. After her arrest, China put two Canadian citizens in jail, halted billions of dollars in Canadian imports and put two other Canadians on death row. On June 2, two major Canadian wireless companies -- BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. -- said they'd build out their 5G wireless networks with equipment from Ericsson and Nokia.

India has allowed Huawei to participate in trials, but the company's entry into the country's 5G commercial network could be blocked as tensions persist following border clashes with China. India is the largest wireless market outside China by number of subscribers, and has been a focus for investment by Huawei.

"The tide is turning against Huawei as citizens around the world are waking up to the danger of the Chinese Communist Party's surveillance state," Pompeo said in a statement Wednesday.
Hindustan Unilever announced that it has completed the acquisition of intimate hygiene brand VWash from Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.

This acquisition was announced on 23 March 2020 and was subject to certain closing conditions, which have now been fulfilled.

VWash was launched by Glenmark in 2013 and the brand has established itself as the market leader in the female intimate hygiene category backed by strong product proposition, consumer endorsements and brand building investments.

HUL has acquired intellectual property rights including trademarks, design and know-how related to the VWash brand worldwide. With this acquisition, HUL can unlock significant synergies and scale up the brand by building awareness, driving penetration, leveraging distribution and enhance offering for chemist channel.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Incessant rains and the flood situation have caused another problem in Assam's Tinsukia district. Operations to control the blowout and fire in Oil India Limited's (OIL) natural gas well in Baghjan have hit a roadblock due to rains and floods.

The connecting roads to the Baghjan well, which has been spewing gas uncontrollably for nearly 30 days, have been submerged in flood waters.

Presently, there is one connecting road, Plastic Park Road, which is narrow at places, making the movement of men and materials difficult.

AFP

A bridge between Doomdooma and Baghjan road was also damaged due to heavy rains since the last three days, an OIL statement said.

"The developments are severely affecting the progress and planning of work for capping the Well Number 5," the statement said.

On OIL authorities'' request, Army personnel will assess the condition of the bridge to plan their next course of action, it said.

Meanwhile, the impact on oil and gas production due to protests led to production loss of 88 MT of crude oil and 0.15 MMSCM of natural gas as reported on Wednesday, the PSU said.

AFP

Operations were disrupted in 14 oil wells and one gas well and cumulative production loss since May 27 last due to blockades is 8482 MT of crude oil and 10.85 MMSCM of natural gas, the OIL added.

Over 9,000 people are staying in 13 relief camps after the May 27 blowout. A fire broke out at the well on June 9, killing two fire fighters of the OIL.

Two OIL staffers have been suspended for alleged negligence of duty in the gas well blowout, a company official had said.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Onondaga Community College became the latest local college to announce it will reopen this fall despite the coronavirus pandemic, declaring its intention in a press release on Thursday.

The school joins most local institutions in announcing they expect to reopen on time, a group of schools that includes Syracuse and Le Moyne. OCC said it plans to hold its first day of class on Aug. 31.

Among the interesting changes that OCC will make during the year to help limit risk on campus are leaving one of the schools four residence halls unoccupied to hold students who might need to be quarantined and limiting dorm rooms to either singles or suite-style rooms.

Like many schools, OCC will end in-person instruction before Thanksgiving. Some classes will be conducted remotely, while others will include a combination of in-person and remote learning, with students attending in-person on certain days and remotely on others.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Contact Chris Carlson anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1639
The Second China-Europe City Innovation and Development Forum arrived in Jiangning Development Zone in Nanjing on June 25, 2020. Themed "Innovation Lights up the Future of Cities", the event was one of the high-profile forums of "Nanjing Tech Week 2020". It was sponsored by the People's Government of Nanjing, organized by the People's Government of Nanjing's Jiangning District and Jiangning Development Zone Administrative Committee, and co-organized by Jazzyear-a Chinese technology think tank. The event brought together world-renowned academicians, mayors of European cities, Nobel Prize winners, experts, professors, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists for a one-day discussion of city innovation.

At the event, Jiangning Development Zone entered into a sister city relationship with Gussing, Austria. Ten international cooperative projects were signed, including Germany CLOOS Asia Pacific Headquarters Base, Haixiang Cross-border E-commerce Platform Software R&D Base, Nanjing High-end Equipment Manufacturing Research Institute, Instrumentation Technologies Jiangsu Base, and other R&D bases. Other projects include industrialization projects such as libre smart chips and MEMS intelligent temperature sensors, and technical cooperation centers such as China-Western Overseas Collaborative Innovation Center, China-France Collaborative Innovation Center, and Plasma Arc 3D Printing Technology Center.

The forum had several sessions-keynote speeches, signing of international cooperative projects, and panel discussions. Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence, Italy, Eckart Wurzner, Mayor of Heidelberg, Germany, Patrick Klugman, Deputy Mayor of Paris responsible for international relations, France, and Vinzenz Knor, Mayor of Gussing, Austria, conducted a transoceanic talk around the topic of "Foster Innovation Ecosystems, Co-build a City of Innovation."

The following keynote speakers shared thoughts on urban innovation and development, and the capital market and innovation industry in a global vision.

Thomas J. Sargent, Winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Economics

Dr. Zhao Shuming, Senior Professor in Humanities Social Science and Honorary President of Nanjing University Business School

Yu Changbin, Academician of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, Head of AI Robot Center of Westlake University

Zhang Daqing, Academician of the European Academy of Sciences, Professor of School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University

Ricardo Bueno, Director General of BRTA, Spain

Eddie Chen, Managing Director and Head of China Asia, Eurazeo.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005491/en/

Contacts:

Ya Cao

Email: nanjingtech@163.com

Website: https://nanjingtechweek.com/
Russian media recently reported the shocking case of a 42-year-old woman who had not set foot outside her family home for 26 years, despite being in perfect health, because he mother didnt allow it.

Until this month, 42-year-old Nadezhda Bushueva hadnt left her mothers house in the village of Arefinsky, in western Russia, since she was 16. The only reason she decided to venture into the village was because her mother, Tatyana, had become ill and needed to be hospitalized. For the first time in 26 years she didnt have to listen to her mother, who reportedly kept her isolated for all these years to protect her from the dangers of the outside world. Nadezhda had reportedly not washed her hair in 12 years, as evidenced by the giant clump on her head, and hadnt had a change of clothes in even longer. Despite all this, she allegedly said she doesnt need any help

According to the womens neighbors, Tayana had always been very protective of her daughter, but things really got out of control when the woman retired. Nadezhda was in 8th grade when her mother started forbidding her from going out with other teenagers in the village, and in a couple of years the two had become complete recluses. Nadezhda didnt go to school anymore, and her mother rejected anyone who tried to interfere, telling them that they were fine and that they should mind their own business.

Photo: By the Way

No one knows exactly how Tatyana got her daughter to accept this isolated lifestyle, but the general consensus is that the girl slowly got used to how things were and simply adapted to the new normal. After a while, villagers stopped trying to convince her mother to give Nadezhda more freedom too, and everyone just went on with their lives.

It was only earlier this month, when Tatyana got sick and needed to be hospitalized that Nadezhda ventured out of her home for the first time in 26 years. Everyone was shocked when they saw her, especially because she looked like she hadnt bathed in a while, which turned out to be an accurate assumption. After villagers brought her to the head of the local council, Vasily Tovarnov, the woman revealed that she hadnt washed her hair in 12 years, hadnt changed her clothes in even longer than that, had been living on cat food for years and had been sharing a bed with her mother and their cats, some of which were dead

So what if there are dead cats on the couch? Maybe Ill die soon here on this couch as well. My life is worse than that of a cat. A cat has more rights. I am not alive, I dont even exist. Im a walking dead, Nadezhda Bushueva allegedly said.

Photo: By the Way

Despite the above statement, and her apparent desire to find work and get a passport, Nadezhda didnt seem eager to change her lifestyle. Larisa Mikheeva, director of the social security services of the Vachsky district, told RIA Novosty that the 42-year-old cannot be forced into rehabilitation, and that so far she has refused all help, saying that she likes the way she lives now, and that it suits her.

She is not disabled, she has no mental illness. She is an adult, she just lives with her mother and is used to this lifestyle, Mikheeva said. A person must voluntarily agree to receive some services. If they are not mentally unable to make decision, we cannot legally force them.

Even though local authorities keep claiming that Nadezhda Bushueva does not suffer from mental issue, I would say that that is debatable, at least considering her situation for the lat two and a half decades, and the state she was in when she was found.



Larisa Mikheeva added that both social workers and neighbors offered to help Nadezhda at least clean her home before her mother returned from the hospital. They even showed up at her house with garbage bags and cleaning products, but she flat out refused.

It is very difficult to help people when they are healthy according to documents, and to make them change their idea of life if that person does not want to change anything, the social worked said.

Nadezhda Bushuevas shocking story was originally featured on Russian television show By the Way last week, and has since gone viral in the media.
Kurdish Fatah Abdullah, 35, learned how to make a pressure cooker bomb to teach his continental conspirators Omar Babek and Ahmed Hussein

An Isis fanatic who encouraged a terror cell in Germany to commit mass murder with a car, bomb and meat cleaver has been jailed for life with a minimum term of nine years.

Kurdish Fatah Abdullah, 35, learned how to make a pressure cooker bomb to teach his continental conspirators Omar Babek and Ahmed Hussein.

He bought more than 8,000 matches, explosive precursors, fireworks, fuses and a remote control detonator, the Old Bailey heard.

It is believed he may even have tested out some ingredients to make gunpowder from his flat in the Arthur's Hill area of Newcastle, the court heard.

In an encrypted message, he told the plotters in Germany: 'You select your target for the car, after you have set off the explosions, you target crowd or group of people with your car you drive through them, and find a meat clever which is used by butchers, once you have ran them over with the car get out of the car start attacking them with it.

He bought more than 8,000 matches, explosive precursors, fireworks, fuses and a remote control detonator (pictured), the Old Bailey heard

It is believed he may even have tested out some ingredients to make gunpowder (pictured) from his flat in the Arthur's Hill area of Newcastle, the court heard

Abdullah claimed he bought a pocket knife (pictured) on Amazon to cut grass for his rabbits

'If you couldn't attack them with a car after the explosion attack them with knife, Sword or meat cleaver.

'The aim is that you kill them and make them feel terrified and show them that (so-called Islamic State), is here and Islam is here, the most important thing is that you carry out the jihad.'

Abdullah, who was granted asylum in the UK, was arrested a month before Hussein and Babek were caught last January.

A food mixer from eBay was to make pizza dough and an SAS-style balaclava (pictured) was for when it was cold, he said

Pictured is the box packed with 8,000 matches the fanatic bought, which were seized by police

In an attempt to distance himself, Abdullah claimed he bought a pocket knife on Amazon to cut grass for his rabbits.

A food mixer from eBay was to make pizza dough and an SAS-style balaclava was for when it was cold, he said.

Abdullah also told police 200g of sulphur powder was for growing flowers and denied knowing about its use in the production of gunpowder.

Hussein and Babek went on to plead guilty to preparation of a serious act of violent subversion involving unlawful handling of explosive substances and were sentenced to four years, eight months in prison in Germany.

Police who suspected he was planning to build explosives raided his Arthur's Hill flat that December, discovering the various items as well as his own Islamist literature (pictured, counter-terrorism officers pictured on Philip Place in Newcastle)

Abdullah had taken 'very real and significant steps to plan an attack', Detective Chief Superintendent Martin Snowden of Counter-Terrorism Policing North-East said

In March, Abdullah pleaded guilty to inciting terrorism overseas and engaging in conduct in preparation to assist others to commit terrorist acts.

Mr Justice Sweeney today sentenced him to concurrent life sentences with a minimum term of nine years.

The judge said Abdullah was a dangerous offender and his 'ultimate aim' was to 'cause mass murder in Germany'.

He went on: 'The fact the ultimate offences were to be carried out by others abroad does not diminish their gravity in any way.

'There can be no doubt your acts were of significant assistance and encouragement.'
India's decision to hold back export items from China at ports and airports has not gone down well with the neighbouring nation. Indian exporters have said China and Hong Kong customs are holding back export consignments from India. Fearing a major tit-for-tat measure from China, the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) has said that chances of retaliation are high and the absence of official word on the matter has made the matter worse.

The exporter associations have also written to top commerce ministry officials about the issues they are facing due to the withholding of consignments from India. They also highlighted the delay in receiving imports as Indian customs officials are physically examining items from China, which is likely to add to their costs. Sharad Kumar Saraf, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said the association has requested Commerce Ministry to come out with an official clarification to make it clear that India has not resorted to any such blanket move to targets goods from China.

Also read: DHL stops shipments from China, Hong Kong, Macao; cites severe customs delays



Exporters rue that there hadn't been any official communication on a delay of clearance and now the sudden physical examination of every container is leading to piling of imports. Notably, various containers from China are stuck at ports of Mumbai and Chennai. These containers have been parked at isolated docks for physical examination by customs officials, leading to a huge delay in delivery.

Meanwhile, officials from the finance ministry told India Today that some containers might be held up on the basis of intelligence input and risk assessment, which is a routine and on-going exercise. They believe it has nothing to do with development at the border. The development comes hot on the heels of major tension between India and China due to clashes in Galwan Valley of Ladakh.

Also read: Held up Chinese imports trigger panic among Indian exporters; fear retaliatory 'delays' in Chinese ports

The customs brokers association of Chennai port issued an advisory on June 22 to its members over the delay that is happening due to 100 per cent inspection of consignments originating from China. India had imported $70 billion worth of goods from China in 2018-19, almost 14 per cent of its overall goods imports worth $514 billion that year. The country is dependent on China for electronic and electrical machinery and equipment, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, etc. As part of its attempt to be self-reliant, the government has been encouraging local production in some areas like electronic goods and pharmaceutical raw materials also.

Notably, though China's exports to India stand at 2.8 per cent of its total exports, India's exports to China are around 5.4 per cent of the total exports.

Also read: India to impose 20% customs duty on solar equipment, more riders on imports from neighbouring nations
The accused gunman in a Melbourne heist that netted $3.9 million in gold and cash has been granted bail, but a man who claims he was the victim will remain in custody.

Police allege Karl Kachami and Daniel Ede conspired to rob the Melbourne Gold Company on April 27, stealing gold bullion and safes full of cash and other valuables.

Mr Kachami allegedly brandished a Glock pistol inside the Collins Street gold trading business and Mr Ede, who worked at the store, reported the incident to police after Mr Kachami left. Detectives allege the pair were friends and planned the robbery.

Karl Kachami pictured in Melbourne in 2007. Credit:Angela Wylie

Both men appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court via video link on Friday, as magistrate Ross Maxted granted Mr Kachami, 48, bail but refused Mr Ede's application.
While there are massive statues of Winston Churchill commemorating his 'historical significance', acknowledgment of the Bengal Famine, let alone any memorialisation of it, has been ostentatiously forgone

It is difficult to imagine that the defacing of Winston Churchills statue recently in London would resonate so much with a Bengali, who has perhaps had no direct stake in the historic reality of slavery. Maybe it is more fitting to lend support to the Black Lives Matter movement critically, from a distance, as just an ally from a former colony of the British Empire. However, it is not only our share in humanity that connects us with this movement, but also the seldom-discussed history of the Great Bengal Famine in 1943. In this massacre sanctioned by the British, close to three million people died of hunger, starvation and sickness. However, it has been relegated to a mere footnote in any discussion on World War II globally, as a consequence of the crafty ways of the colonisers forging history, even within the colonised nation.

The knowledge Indians gathered about the event from history books while growing up is cursory at best, with no illustration of the monstrous scale of the event and its aftermath. Whenever one would hear stories of the deadly famine from the older generation comprising mostly grandparents, it carried the weight of a distant past that they were happy to let go of. It seemed like an ancient history with no relevance to the formation of our present.

History, on the other hand, continued to remember the then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in all his supposed glory. Surely, Churchill was no trivial player in the World Wars  he was the grim and wise old man battling the combined 'evils' of Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany, as Hollywood has reminded us time and again. The persistent uncritical valorisation of Churchills role in history failed to see his political contributions as parallel to his racist and imperialist policies. He personified the symbol of the Empire, where the sun never set, later becoming synonymous with the victory of the Allied Forces. It was only much later that people learned about the deep impact of the 1943 Bengal Famine on its population.

The Empires marshal prowess in the war was made possible due to their imperial hold over vast lands and people. More than 2.5 million Indian troops were forced to fight the good fight against the Axis Powers in World War II. India not only supplied an army, it also provided ration, money and political subsistence to the fight. During the war, India also contributed by sending men to British regiments all over the world, and populated a massive basecamp of the allied soldiers in different parts of the Indian subcontinent.

The British turned a deaf ear to Indian concerns, like it did with its other colonies. Calcutta, the centre of its military operations in the country, had to produce food for thousands of soldiers in the allied troops. Additionally, India was exporting its foodgrains to feed the Allied Forces worldwide during a time of acute scarcity back home. The narrative of the Raj, however, proclaimed that they [Indians] were carried through the struggle on the shoulders of our small island, as noted by journalist and author Madhusree Mukherjee.

The Empire could not care less about the collateral damage of its wars. Raising a false alarm about a Japanese attack on the Bengal delta along with the imminent threat of the Axis Powers winning, the colonial government engendered merciless brutality on Indians in the name of war-time necessities. The industries in Bengal were reoriented to meet the demands of the Raj, redirecting basic foodgrains to its mercenaries at a time when millions were kept starving in Bengal.

Selective, even though minuscule, attention was paid only to the big centres in erstwhile India, like Calcutta and Dhaka, which further ensured mass influx of starving people from rural areas into these cities, resulting in outbreaks of epidemics like cholera. The reality of this massacre only made Churchill heartily laugh about the native Bengalis breeding like rabbits, and self-generating a famine. The debt owed to India by Britain was almost a million pounds a day, which was never repaid. Mukherjee notes how Churchill scorned off all good-willed gestures, saying, "Are we to incur hundreds of millions in debts for defending India in order to be kicked out by the Indians afterwards?" Pest infestation and the fall of Rangoon which cut off rice supply to India were exacerbated by the hoarding of goods, with the drought in southern parts of India already causing a scarcity of rice-crops. Additionally, the surplus of wheat produced was being utilised in war efforts. Thus, in the absence of any essential supply by the Raj, coupled with further drainage of resources from the colony, famine and starvation wreaked havoc in Bengal.

While there are massive statues of Winston Churchill commemorating his 'historical significance', acknowledgment of the Bengal Famine, let alone any memorialisation of it, has been ostentatiously forgone. To really think of the politics behind how history is written and how our past is memorialised, there are obvious reasons behind why the British Empire and its apologists have continued to erase some events in history, while glorifying others. It is due to such reasons that an outrage against a mere statue from a distance can instil strong emotions at home.

As has been pointed out repeatedly by several quarters, whenever there has been a flawed and deliberate erasure of certain histories, it has become imperative to reconstruct a new history of the past. Surely, one might have debates and differences with the assumed vandalising of memorials; however, concerns about what qualifies for memorialisation and what does not still remain. Evidently, history is never merely in the past  it also makes a case for the present, as is exemplified by the resurgence of defensive narratives about Churchill and the Raj.

Even previously, movies like The Darkest Hour (2017) or Into the Storm (2008) have shown the human side of Churchill through their efficient weaving of the World Wars' realities with the politician's personal life. But what they systematically refused to do was paint the whole picture. The selective glorification of Churchill and his quirks further justified an uncritical appreciation of his historic repute infamy, without ever engaging with the problematic aspects of their combined pasts. It denied any space for an understanding of how the British Empire fought the great war riding on and exploiting the labour and resources of its colonies.

The trauma of the Bengal Famine is, however, commonplace in the memories of people who were unfortunate survivors and successors of the event. The stories of people begging for "phyan"  the stock water of boiled rice  and dying at the doorsteps of the landed gentry, became a part of popular parlance and a collective folklorish remembrance of the famine. Even though dominant history had little place for the event, latent memories of famine and hunger continued to drive cultural expressions in Bengal in the future, finding space in its cinema, art and literature. One still wonders whether such reflections were consciously conceived by writers and artists influenced by Leftist ideals of roti-kapda-makan, or if these naturally mirrored the deep trauma the famine generated in the collective memory of Bengalis.

The disaster clearly remained a steady refrain in popular and parallel cinema  from KL Abbass Dharti Ke Laal (1946) and Satyajit Rays Ashani Sanket (1973), to Mrinal Sens Akaler Sandhane (1980), the imagery were alive and potent. Especially since the Holocaust, the contestations between the official narratives of history, and the ones retold from peoples collective memory, have emphasised on the politics of memorialisation of certain events and the erasure of others. In light of the vandalism of Winston Churchills statue, foregrounding such works becomes explicitly important in order to examine and unravel the alternate side of history.

In the wake of the Bengal Famine, many from the undivided Communist Party of India took to documenting the reality of the event as it played out. Artists like Chittaprosad Bhattacharya, along with Zainul Abedin, Sunil Janah, among others, took the initiative of capturing the everyday lives of people in starvation in 1943. Later in 1944, Bhattacharya also documented the aftermath of the famine, travelling to remote pockets of undivided Bengal. His documentation of the 1943 Famine in the form of extensive ink paintings, sketches, and copious amount of annotations, was published as Hungry Bengal.

The British government confiscated and destroyed almost all of the 5,000 copies of the book. The lone copy that survived with the artists family was recently showcased at several exhibitions around the world, bringing alive the horrors of the 1943 Famine to many. Even though Bhattacharya later distanced himself from the CPI on political grounds, he continued making political art, upholding the crimes of capitalism and imperialism through his works.

Zainul Abedin left his steady job at the Government School of Art in Calcutta to document the war-crimes of the Empire, travelling to remote villages of Bengal, as noted by Marxist scholar Sudhi Pradhan. Sunil Janah, on the other hand, joined Chittaprosad Bhattacharya with a Rolliflex camera, and captured the starving population in parts of present-day Bengal, Odisha and Bangladesh. While Abedin devoted himself as a cultural organiser for the CPI in undivided Bengal, Janah continued to depict the lives of common people and places through his art.

In the absence of a sustainable record of the famine within dominant histories, such documentations offer a direct visual window into the sufferings of the people of Bengal, who were made to sacrifice for the greater good. Revitalising the tradition of political art in India entails unearthing and preserving sketches and photographs of deserted villages, barren lands, starving children and millions of travelling migrants, to provide scathing images of a forgotten genocide in history. It offers us an alternative narrative to counter the systematic erasure of histories of the oppressed in the colonies. It enables us to witness the vandalism and desecration of millions of lives that was never addressed by the popular iterations of history.

Jigisha Bhattacharya is an Assistant Lecturer of English at OP Jindal Global University
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y -- Two Queens residents were arrested by fire marshals on Staten Island, charged with possession of approximately $2,800 worth of illegal fireworks Thursday afternoon, according to an NYPD spokeswoman.

Robert Macklin, 43, and William Foster, 40, were apprehended by marshals investigating and conducting surveillance regarding illegal fireworks in our city, according to an Instagram post by FDNY.

The two men were accused of reckless endangerment and unlawful dealing of fireworks, police said.

Robert Macklin (L) and William Foster (R) were arrested for the alleged possession of illegal fireworks. (Courtesy FDNY)

Macklins last known residence was Beach 47th St. in Queens, and Fosters last known residence was Beach Channel Drive in Queens, according to the spokeswoman.

The arrests were made in the confines of the 123 Precinct at the southeast corner of the West Shore Expressway and Outerbridge Crossing, police said.

The incident took place at 1:37 p.m. Thursday, police said.

On Wednesday, 10 others were arrested along the Staten Island Expressway, allegedly in possession of illegal fireworks and three alligator carcasses.

Both Staten Island busts come days after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the creation of a task force centered on weeding out fireworks suppliers in the city and in neighboring states.
Swarms of locust entered as many as 36 villages in Mahendergarh district and some areas of Rewari on Friday, leaving farmers in a worry.

The Jhajjar administration also was on high-alert, anticipating an attack by the short-horned grasshoppers, which tend cause widespread crop damage with its voracious feeding behaviour.

Narnual sub-divisional officer (agriculture)

Harpal said that the locusts entered Mahendergarh through Rambas and Dhancholi villages on Rajasthan border.

The insects have settled on trees and standing crop, mostly cotton and bajra, in two or three villages. In the remaining villages, the insects passed without causing much damage. The insects are now headed towards Kanina but department is monitoring the movement and we will be using tractor-mounted sprayers to kill them, the official added.

The agricultural officials said fresh swarms of locusts came to Rajasthan from Pakistan and the same entered in Mahendergarh villages.

Drone operations are best ways to tackle the locust attack as compared to tractor-mounted sprayers, the official added.

Mahendergarh deputy commissioner RK Singh said that special supervision teams have been formed to tackle the situation.

I appeal to the farmers to inspect their fields and immediately report to the local agricultural development officer if they spot any locust. We have also advised people to make loud noises by beating drums, thalis, sound-producing instruments and tin boxes to drive away the locusts. Patwaris and village secretaries have been directed to visit villages and spread information about the locust attack, the DC added.

He further said that the agricultural officials will attack the locusts in night hours by using pesticides such as chlorpyrifos, deltamethrin, diflubenzuron and cyhalothrin to protect their crops, vegetables and trees.

We have put fire officials on alert to control the situation We will use fire tenders for spraying, if needed. We have formed village-level WhatsApp groups to keep the farmers informed, the Mahendergarh deputy commissioner added.
Kosovar President Hashim Thaci, indicted this week for war crimes and crimes against humanity, has accused the international justice system of attempting to rewrite history.



In his first comments since being indicted along with several others for offenses allegedly committed during or after the Kosovo conflict in the late 1990s, Thaci said on June 26 that he was returning to Kosovo after cutting short a trip to Washington and will address the nation in two days.



"Nobody can rewrite the history of Kosovo," he wrote in both English and Albanian in a post on Instagram.



The former Serbian province declared independence in 2008 -- a move Serbia, Russia, and a handful of European Union member states refuse to recognize.



Thaci was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK), an ethnic Albanian guerrilla group that fought against Belgrade's security forces in the 1998-99 war.



On June 24, the Specialist Prosecutors Office (SPO) said in a statement that Thaci and other suspects were "criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders," as well as the "enforced disappearance of persons, persecution, and torture."



The alleged crimes involved "hundreds of known victims of Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities and include political opponents," according to the SPO.



Thaci has previously denied involvement in any war crimes.



The Kosovar president had been scheduled to meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the White House on June 27 for talks aimed at leading to a normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

Vucic said from Brussels on June 26 that Belgrade would show restraint in its response to the news.



"For us, the most important thing is to be restrained. We know terrible crimes have happened. In everyting else, we have to show restraint and by it, we will be protecting Serbs in Kosovo from any kind of violence, incidents, and attacks," Vucic said.



A 10-count indictment against Thaci and several other unidentified suspects was filed with the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) in The Hague on April 24, but the prosecutor only decided to unveil them publicly two months later.



Prosecutors said the charges resulted from a "lengthy investigation" and they were confident they can prove "all charges beyond a reasonable doubt."



A KSC pretrial judge is currently reviewing the indictment to decide on whether to confirm the charges.



The prosecutor accused Thaci of repeated efforts "to obstruct and undermine the work" of the tribunal.



Kosovo was part of Serbia until an armed uprising by the ethnic Albanian majority population in 1998-99 triggered a Serbian crackdown.



The conflict ended following a 78-day NATO bombing campaign to force Serbian troops out of Kosovo.



The war left more than 10,000 dead and over 1,600 are still unaccounted for.



The KSC was established in 2015 to investigate crimes committed during and after the war in Kosovo.
NEW DELHI:

The report of Forensic Science Laboratory has revealed that Bihar state board Class XII Arts topper Ruby Rai had not written her answer sheets. Her answer sheet was written by experts.

Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manu Maharaj on Saturday said that according to reports of forensic science laboratory, the copy was not written by the alleged topper, but by the experts.

He also revealed that the marks imprinted on the answer sheet were changed innumerable times. Ruby had reportedly topped this years Class 12 examination conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) in the humanities stream.

Manu Maharaj, who is also heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the toppers scam, said a fresh FIR may be filed in the toppers scam case.

Till date, over 20 persons have been arrested in connection with the scam, including former Chairman of Bihar School Examination Board Lalkeshwar Prasad and his wife Usha Sinha.

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A female U.S. Army soldier is scheduled to graduate from the Special Forces Qualification Course in July and become the first woman to join the Green Berets, U.S. military officials say.

U.S. Army Special Operations Command would not comment on the female Q-Course candidate ahead of the July 9 graduation ceremony, but multiple sources have confirmed to Military.com that the National Guard member, who remains anonymous, successfully completed all the requirements to graduate from the grueling 53-week Q-Course.

Read Next: Pentagon Chief Seeks to Reassure NATO over US Troop Plans

"Earning your Green Beret is no small feat, and this qualification is just the first step in a challenging and rewarding career," a senior Defense Department official familiar with the issue told Military.com.

"Our senior leaders are extremely proud of her as well as the entire graduating class and the highly professional instructors at the U.S. Army [John F. Kennedy] Special Warfare Center and School, who develop these world-class Green Berets."

The Q-Course is made up of six phases and includes training in small-unit operations, advanced Special Forces tactics, language training and unconventional warfare. After graduating, Green Berets typically are assigned to 12-member operational detachment alpha (ODA) teams, which are made up of weapons, communications, intelligence, engineer and medical specialists.

In mid-June, the National Guard soldier finished the final requirement by making it through Robin Sage, a culminating field exercise that drops candidates into a fictional, unconventional-warfare setting at Camp Mackall, North Carolina.

During the three-week exercise, students are formed into ODA teams and forced to apply skills in guerrilla warfare; mission analysis and planning; and rapport-building as they link up with friendly foreign forces and train them to fight against an unfriendly government.

"She excelled throughout the course and earned the respect of both her instructors and her peer group based on her demonstrated capabilities and performance; this achievement is just another one in the storied history of the Special Forces," a senior Army official said.

USASOC would not provide any details about the female soldier's identity.

"It is imperative to protect the identities of service members who are assigned to specialized units and deploy as part of ongoing operations worldwide," USASOC spokesman Lt. Col. Loren Bymer said. "We do this to protect the safety of our soldiers and their families."

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-New York, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities, congratulated the female soldier on her accomplishment in a statement on her website.

"This achievement is a testament to this soldier's individual strength, courage, and commitment, and also an important institutional milestone for U.S. Special Operations Command as it embraces the cultural change that will continue to make it the most successful and elite Special Operations Force in the world," Stefanik said in the statement.

USASOC officials recently notified Stefanik, and other lawmakers, about the female soldier's pending graduation from the Q-Course, Madison Anderson, spokeswoman for Stefanik's office, told Military.com.

The acknowledgment of the soldier's upcoming graduation is a significant milestone, but she is not a Green Beret until she actually goes through the graduation ceremony, officials said. The waiting period until graduation can be a dangerous time for Special Forces candidates, because any administrative or disciplinary action can jeopardize their eligibility to graduate the esteemed course, a second Army source, familiar with the Q-Course requirements, told Military.com.

Army Special Forces is one of the last remaining male-only communities after former Defense Secretary Ashton Carter officially opened all jobs involving direct combat to women in late 2015.

In 2015, then-Capt. Kristen Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver became the first two female soldiers to successfully graduate from Army Ranger School, a physically and mentally punishing 61-day course previously reserved for male soldiers.

There has been one woman who previously completed requirements of the Army Special Forces Course. In 1980, Capt. Kate Wilder met requirements to graduate, but was not permitted to graduate. Though she finally got her graduation certificate, she never ultimately served in an SF unit, and the Army moved afterward to prevent other women from attending the course.

The senior Defense Department official stressed that the standards of the Q-Course have not been altered in any way, and women have to meet all the same benchmarks that men do.

"I have always known USASOC to be a standards-based organization; they want to attract the top talent, and anyone who can meet these standards is welcomed in their formations," the official said.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: For First Time in Decades, Female Soldier Completes Final Phase of Special Forces Training
The family of murdered school teacher Stephanie Scott has received a payout from the NSW government more than five years after her tragic death.

Ms Scott was raped and murdered by Vincent Stanford at Leeton High School, in the New South Wales Riverina region, on April 5, 2015 - just days out from her wedding.

The 26-year-old had gone into school on a Sunday to set up her class for a substitute teacher who would be covering her as she got married and went on her honeymoon.

But as she carried out her work, the school cleaner Stanford attacked.

Ms Scott's family later sued the State of NSW and the NSW Department of Education, citing ongoing 'nervous shock' - a legal phrase relating to ongoing psychiatric distress after the death of a relative.

The two parties reached an out-of-court settlement last week.

While the Scott family has never spoken about their decision to sue the government, their pain remains clear to see - as evidenced by a heart-wrenching recent Instagram post from the slain teacher's sister, Kim.

The family of murdered school teacher Stephanie Scott (left) have settled a civil suit with the NSW government more than five years after her tragic death

School cleaner Vincent Stanford (pictured) raped and killed Ms Scott who was preparing her class for the replacement teacher at Leeton High School who would be covering while she was on her honeymoon

Gordon, Robyn, Kim, Stuart and Merrilyn Scott (all pictured left to right) sued the State of NSW and Department of Education after Stephanie's death, and reached an out-of-court settlement last week

The Scott family launched court action in 2018, with Stephanie's mother Merrilyn and siblings Kim, Robyn, Stuart and Gordon, all parties to the proceedings.

NSW District Court judge Justin Smith last week 'congratulated' both the Scott family and State of NSW for reaching a 'quick, efficient and just resolution'.

The court heard both parties agreed to pay their own court costs in the matter.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the NSW government said their were still some minor matters that were yet to be settled.

'The Department again extends its sympathies to all the family and friends of Stephanie Scott in relation to her tragic death,' the spokesperson said.

'The parties agreed that Judgment should be entered in favour of the State of New South Wales, through its Education Department, in relation to nervous shock claims brought by family members, and that is what happened.

'The District Court entered Judgments in favour of the State on 19 June 2020.

'There are some matters against the State that have not yet settled, and it would be inappropriate to comment on them while they remain before the court.'

If losing their beloved daughter and sister wasn't enough, the family's heartache was compounded by the freak death of Ms Scott's father Bob, who was killed by a falling tree branch in 2016.

Kim Scott laid bare that pain last month when she told of the last time her family had been whole - the day before Stephanie's death.

'Today in Spanish class I was asked to describe a time when my life was better. Easy, 4/4/2015, the last day my family was whole,' Kim wrote.

'Missing our teacher stories and sharing exciting news.'

The anniversaries of Stephanie and Bob's death continue to be emotional days for the family.

Four years on from her sister's death last April, Kim told of her pain at knowing that if she was still alive she would be a 'wife, a mother, a daughter, a best friend'.

While the Scott family has never spoken about their decision to sue the government, their pain remains - evidenced by a heartwrenching recent Instagram post from Stephanie's sister Kim (left)

'Today in Spanish class I was asked to describe a time when my life was better. Easy, 4/4/2015, the last day my family was whole,' Kim wrote, referencing the day before her sister was killed

Ms Scott was just a week away from marrying Aaron Leeson-Wooley (left) when she was killed on April 5, 2015. He burnt body was found buried in Cocoparra National Park on Friday, April 10

Aaron Leeson-Woolley (crouching) accompanies Stephanie Scott's mother (right) and father Robert (at rear) to look at floral tributes laid to Ms Scott outside Leeton High School

'Our beautiful Stephanie, four years since you were needlessly taken gorgeous girl,' she wrote.

'Four years. There's so much I'd love to tell you. Some of it might make you mad, many things would make you smile, but most of it would just make you laugh.

'It seems unfair to have the ability to create new memories, while your right to do so was taken from you so abruptly. You'd be 30, we'd be in our 30's!

'You'd be a wife, a mother, a daughter, a best friend. But, instead I'm in my 30's and you're forever 26.'

Stanford was sentenced to life behind bars by the NSW District Court in 2016.

His murder of Ms Scott is one of the most callous and heinous in Australian history, and shocked the nation at the time.

The always smiling teacher had finished up her work and was on her way out of the school when she encountered Stanford.

'I'm going home now, have a happy Easter,' she told him.

Vincent Stanford (pictured during a police interview) was arrested just two days after Ms Scott was killed. Earlier that day he had text his brother Marcus, saying: 'I'm going to send you an envelope keep it safe for me'

'I'm going home now, have a happy Easter,' Stephanie (pictured) told Vincent Stanford as she went to leave school. Moments later she was dead.

It was at that point Stanford grabbed her, dragged her into a classroom and sexually assaulted her, before stabbing her to death.

He later told police he felt compelled to kill her.

'I had to kill her. I wasn't angry or anything. Basically emotionless. (I) just (felt) that I had to kill her,' court papers revealed.

After murdering Ms Scott he drove her car into the school grounds so he could not be seen loading her body into the boot.

Stanford then drove to Cocoparra National Park, placed her body on the ground and covered it in branches, before taking photos and eventually setting it alight.

Ms Scott was reported missing the next day by her fiance Aaron Leeson-Wooley.

In addition to taking photos, Stanford had also kept some of her belongings - including her driver's licence - as tokens of the crime.

But after realising he was considered a leading police suspect, he called his identical twin brother Marcus and asked him to hold onto them for him.

Marcus was himself sentenced to 15 months jail for his role in aiding his brother.

He told Daily Mail Australia last year he deeply regrets his actions and is desperately trying to restart his life, wanting nothing to do with his jailed brother.

'I did things for my brother... and for most days (since then) I've been trying to put it behind me,' Marcus said.

'Now I don't want anything to do with him. I have no contact with him and I don't want any.'

Marcus Stanford (left, with his father Steve), the twin brother of school teacher and bride-to-be Stephanie Scott's killer Vincent, continues to be haunted by the night his sibling called him to ask for help dispose of evidence after the crime

Marcus admits that helping his brother was a despicable act, done out of 'misguided loyalty' to his twin, and he is apologetic to Ms Scott's family.

'The day I got out (of jail) I said I was sorry... I'm still sorry,' he said.

'But does it haunt me? Yeah. Some weeks you're good, some weeks you think about it. That's how I can put it basically.'

The twins' dad Steve said he remained baffled and horrified by Vincent's crime, and has no intention of ever seeing his son again.

The Scott family's court cases will return to the NSW District Court on July 2.
Correction Notice: This story has been updated to clarify the timing of the diagnoses.

Houston oil-field services giant Halliburton has confirmed that employees at the company's headquarters have tested positive for COVID-19.

The company did not say how many employees tested positive for the virus or when the diagnoses occurred but confirmed that they occurred at Halliburton's North Belt Campus off Sam Houston Parkway and John F. Kennedy Boulevard.

As part of a company response plan, Halliburton traced coworkers who had close contact with the infected employees and disinfected workstations. Those who had exposure to the employees were asked to self-quarantine and seek medical advice.

Pandemic: Houston employers scale back reopening plans as COVID-19 cases spike

Confirmation of the diagnoses come as Texas is seeing a dramatic spike in coronavirus cases, prompting numerous companies to scale back their previous reopening plans.

Halliburton issued a work from home order in March but reopened its headquarters to 30 percent of its staff on June 8. Those who were coming to work at the company's headquarters were asked to stay home if they felt ill, wear face masks and take other precautions.

The company had planned to bring more employees back to headquarters on June 29 but postponed those plans amid the local and statewide spike in COVID-19 cases.

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[June 26, 2020] Building the next Canadarm

Canada looks to Canadian company MDA to build Gateway Canadarm3 for Artemis Deep Space Missions LONGUEUIL, QC, June 26, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Canada is taking another important step forward in its participation in the next chapter of Moon exploration. Today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced Canada intends to enter into a contract with Brampton-based company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Inc. (MDA) to build Canadarm3. This smart robotic system is Canada's contribution to the United States-led Lunar Gateway for the Artemis program, the next major international collaboration in human space exploration, which forms the cornerstone of Exploration, Imagination, Innovation: A New Space Strategy for Canada. The development of Canadarm3 will extend and strengthen Canada's well-established global leadership in space robotics. It will also help grow our economy, create the jobs of tomorrow, and get young Canadians interested in pursuing studies and careers in STEM disciplines. Canadarm3 will be composed of a next-generation smart robotic arm, a small dexterous arm and a set of specialized tools. Using advanced machine vision, cutting-edge software and advances in artificial intelligence, this highly autonomous system will be able to perform tasks without human intervention. With four decades of expertise gained from flagship space robotics programs like the original Canadarm, Canadarm2 and Dextre, MDA is at the centre of a dynamic ecosystem of innovative small and medium-sized businesses and research organizations from across the country. Hundreds of Canadian companies are expected to be involved in the development of Canadarm3, working with MDA and research organizaions to drive innovation and Canadian excellence in emerging technologies. The development of Canadarm3 will involve the application of the Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy, which will ensure the participation of the broader Canadian supply chain and help motivate investments in key industrial capabilities within Canada's space sector.



In 2019, Canada became the first nation to join the United States-led Lunar Gateway, the next major international collaboration in human space exploration following the legacy of the International Space Station. The Gateway is an important part of an ambitious plan by NASA and international partners, including Canada, to send humans deeper into space than ever before. Quotes

"Our Government is committed to the future of space exploration and ensuring Canada remains a global leader in space robotics. Our commitment to contribute Canadarm3 to the Lunar Gateway will generate high-quality jobs and economic benefits for Canadians while ensuring that our space industry continues to lead and grow. Canada will continue to push the boundaries of human ambition in space exploration, and inspire generations of kids  and adults  to always aim higher and aspire to something greater."

The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry "As the Government of Canada's central purchaser, my department is working closely with the Canadian Space Agency to build the next-generation Canadarm. We are proud to be leveraging our world-leading, domestic expertise in space robotics to contribute to future space exploration, while creating opportunities for our small and medium enterprises here at home." The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Public Services and Procurement Quick Facts In February 2019 , the Government of Canada announced an investment of $2.05 billion over 24 years in Canada's participation in lunar initiatives, including building Canadarm3 for the Lunar Gateway and establishing the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP).

, the Government of announced an investment of over 24 years in participation in lunar initiatives, including building Canadarm3 for the Lunar Gateway and establishing the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP). With the application of the ITB Policy, Canadian-built space robotics for the Gateway are estimated to contribute up to $135 million annually to Canada's GDP, and create and maintain some 1,300 high-quality jobs for Canadians, over an estimated 10-year build period.

annually to GDP, and create and maintain some 1,300 high-quality jobs for Canadians, over an estimated 10-year build period. To maximize the socio-economic benefits of Canada's partnership in the Gateway, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) created LEAP to prepare Canada's space sector, including small and medium-sized businesses, for missions to the Moon and beyond. Through LEAP, the CSA is offering a wide range of funding opportunities for Canadian science and technology activities on the Moon's surface, in the lunar vicinity, and beyond.

partnership in the Gateway, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) created LEAP to prepare space sector, including small and medium-sized businesses, for missions to the Moon and beyond. Through LEAP, the CSA is offering a wide range of funding opportunities for Canadian science and technology activities on the Moon's surface, in the lunar vicinity, and beyond. Technologies developed for space bring innovations that find their way into many areas of our lives. For example, the technology from Canadarm2 and Dextre is being used for life-saving medical roboticsjust one remarkable example of where Canada's space robotics have delivered transformative spin-off technologies that are improving the lives of Canadians and people around the world.

space robotics have delivered transformative spin-off technologies that are improving the lives of Canadians and people around the world. The ITB Policy ensures prime contractors undertake business activities in Canada equal to the contract value. Canada's ITB Policy supports key industrial capabilities, such as space systems and artificial intelligence, to ensure procurements can strategically drive innovation, exports and the growth of Canadian firms. Associated Links Canada's role in Moon exploration

Space Strategy for Canada

The Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy Website: http://asc-csa.gc.ca

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U.S. President Donald Trump looks on at a joint news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on June 24, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Trump Administration Wants Supreme Court to Strike Down ObamaCare

President Donald Trumps administration is appealing to the Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act, asking justices to strike down the healthcare regulations.

Two federal courts have ruled that the acts individual mandate, which required people who did not have health insurance to pay a fine, violated the U.S. Constitution. The mandate, the Trump administration is arguing, is not severable from the rest of the act, also known as the ACA, or Obamacare.

The individual mandate cannot be severed from the remainder of the ACA, Solicitor General Noel Francisco wrote in a new court filing (pdf). The entire ACA thus must fall with the individual mandate.

The Department of Justice filed the legal brief in support of states that are seeking to have Obamacare entirely struck down.

The states include Texas, Florida, Kansas, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

California, Hawaii, Minnesota, and other states are seeking to have the act upheld.

The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, early on June 15, 2020. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, said in a statement that the ACA has been life-changing and now through this pandemic, we can all see the value in having greater access to quality healthcare at affordable prices.

Now is not the time to rip away our best tool to address very real and very deadly health disparities in our communities, he added.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the Trump administrations efforts have no legal justification.

If President Trump gets his way, 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will lose the ACAs lifesaving protections and 23 million Americans will lose their health coverage entirely, she said in a statement.

Pelosi and House Democrats unveiled legislation this week to expand the act. A vote on the package is scheduled for Monday.

Trump told reporters at the White House last month that Obamacare is a disaster, but weve run it very well.

And weve made it barely acceptable. It was a disaster under President Obama, and its very bad healthcare. What we want to do is terminate it and give great healthcare. And well have great healthcare, including preexisting conditions100 percent preexisting conditions, he added.

: Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to families who have benefited from the Affordable Care Act during an event in Lancaster, Pa., on June 25, 2020. (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

Were going to replace Obamacare with great healthcare at a lesser price, and preexisting conditions will be included and you wont have the individual mandatewhich was expensive and terrible and very unfair to everybody, and it was very unpopular, he said.

Trump told a town hall in March that Republicans would need to regain a majority in the House of Representatives to pass a replacement for Obamacare. The replacement wasnt ready at that time, according to the president.

Speaking during a campaign stop on Thursday, Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, called Trumps move to invalidate Obamacare cruel and heartless.

And its all because, in my view, he cant abide the thought of letting stand on one of President Obamas greatest achievements, the Affordable Care Act, Biden said, according to ABC News.

White House spokesman Judd Deere told news outlets in a statement that the COVID-19 pandemic does not change what Americans know: Obamacare has been an unlawful failure and further illustrates the need to focus on patient care.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case in the fall.
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Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 06:29 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661b6d46 1 National enoki-mushroom,jamur,listeriosis-infection,Food-Security-Agency,BKP,Agriculture-Ministry,Sayurbox Free

The Indonesian government has ordered importers to destroy enoki mushrooms obtained from South Korea as they may contain bacteria harmful to humans.

The Agriculture Ministrys Food Security Agency (BKP) head Agung Hendriadi said the government had not recorded any human infections from the imported mushrooms.

"The steps taken by the Agriculture Ministry are precautionary," Agung said in a statement published on Thursday. "We urge the public to be careful and thorough in buying food, especially fresh food from plants. Select foods that have been registered [on the government's fresh produce (PSAT) list]."

The BKP said the International Food Safety Authority Network (Infosan), a food security network under the United Nations and the World Health Organization, notified Indonesia on April 15 that citizens of the United States, Canada and Australia had contracted listeriosis after consuming enoki mushrooms imported from South Korea.

The mushrooms were found to contain Listeria monocytogenes, the bacterium that causes listeriosis. The infection can cause severe disease and death in vulnerable groups such as newborns, toddlers, pregnant women and the elderly, in addition to increasing the risk of miscarriage.

The bacteria are resistant to cold temperatures and may be able to infect other foods stored in the same container.

Read also: Eating mushrooms may slow mental decline: Study

The BKP, through Central Food Safety Competency Authority (OKKPP) officials, extracted samples from enoki mushrooms between April 21 and May 26. Importers were told to stop distribution pending test results. The agency found that several enoki samples contained the bacteria.

The BKP then told PT Green Box Fresh Vegetables, which imported enoki from South Korean mushroom exporter Green Co Ltd., to cease all distribution and destroy the remaining enoki.

"Representatives from the company and the agency destroyed 1,633 cartons of enoki weighing more than 8.1 tons in Bekasi, West Java, between May 22 and June 19," Agung said.

Following the investigation, The BKP instructed regional branches of the OKKPP and the Agriculture Quarantine Agency to increase their supervision of the distribution of enoki mushrooms imported from South Korea.

The agency has also instructed affected businesses to return enoki mushrooms imported by Green Co Ltd. and sanitize and test other foods, particularly those kept in storage with the mushrooms.

Homegrown online grocery marketplace SayurBox suspended the sale of enoki mushrooms following a notification from the Agriculture Ministry urging the public not to consume them.

"If you want to keep eating [enoki], don't forget to cook them first and consult a doctor if you experience unusual symptoms," the company wrote on its Instagram account, @sayurbox, on Thursday.
Bollywood actor Bipasha Basu on Friday has recounted her experience of being a dusky model turned actor in India.

Lauding HULs move to drop Fair from Fair and Lovely, Bipasha Basu on Friday has penned a powerful note recounting her journey as a dusky model turned actor in India. Sharing a news clipping of the decision on her Instagram account, Bipasha shared that she was made to realise her skin colour at a young age.

She wrote that while growing up, she always heard that Bonnie is darker than Soni, shes a little dusky. Stating that she looks a lot like her mother, who is a dusky beauty, Bipasha said that she never knew why her colour would become a point of discussion among her distant relatives when she was a kid.

Expressing how her skin colour became her adjective, Bipasha shared that when she started modeling at the age of 15- 16, all newspapers read that a dusky girl from Kolkata is the winner. She wondered why Dusky is her first adjective. During her modelling days in New York and Paris her skin colour was considered exotic and got more work and attention because of it, which came as yet another revelation for her.

Also Read: Breathe: Into the shadows: Abhishek Bachchan introduces Amit Sadhs character, see poster

Also Read: Anushka Sharma on Netflix release Bulbbul: Always wanted to celebrate women and their spirit

Even after she made her debut film, the adjective stayed with her. Most of the articles around her work, also mentioned her duskiness and it seemed to be the main discussion. Bipasha said that there was strong perception in Bollywood on how an actress should look and behave like. She was different and it got pointed out. However, she did not let her skin colour define her. The actress has also revealed in the article that many skin care endorsements were offered to her, which promised loads of money but she always stuck to her principle.

The actress further urged everyone to stop selling the dream that only fair is beautiful and hoped other brands follow the suit.

Also Read: Biopic on Mulayam Singh Yadav in works, see first poster

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There was little in the supplementary budget for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to cheer about, according to Guy Hosking, chief financial officer at Retail Capital.

Photo by Stephen Niemeier from Pexels

As expected, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni painted a grim picture of a shrinking economy, the massive drop in tax revenue, dented consumer confidence and the burgeoning health cost of the pandemic. This meant that there were very little funds available to support small businesses.The R200bn loan guarantee scheme set up by Government to help SMEs has proven difficult and onerous for the intended recipients to access, said Hosking. Because of that, uptake has been minimal.Although Mboweni announced that government will be relaxing the qualification restrictions for SMEs, the fact that it is administered by risk-averse banks hampers its ability to support small businesses. Banks traditionally fund larger businesses - the R300m cap set on the loan guarantee scheme is a pretty big business. This leaves out the smaller SMEs doing turnovers under R30m. These companies make up the most vulnerable sector of the economy and banks are simply not geared to helping them.The Banks lending criteria are not structured to lend to distressed businesses, but considering these uncertain times, not many business owners can guarantee their businesses will be safe if only they could get funding.With this in mind, Hosking noted the positive mention that Treasury was working to expand the scheme to include non-bank lenders. According to him, these lenders were best placed to fund smaller businesses. They have cash flow-based lending models, use risk scorecards and have a data-driven approach, as opposed to the collateral-based models used by the banks.The alternative lenders have systems in place, he explains. They can see who is trading, can assess risk quickly and get funds into the hands of those who need it. It is for this reason that they have been speaking to Government. However, they have faced challenges due to every proposal they made being passed on to the banking association to decide on, and not Treasury.As such, we have to wait and see how and when non-bank lenders get pulled into the scheme, Hosking added. But we cannot wait for that to stimulate the economy. We have to strengthen the SME sector now by improving its ability to trade.Hosking explained that the best way to achieve this was to reduce the trading restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the virus. Opening trade will create cash flow in the SME sector. This, in turn, will give the SME lenders a viable sector to finance, generating yet more cash flow. This will also save many jobs and create more employment in this vital sector.Minister Mboweni said that unemployment was South Africas greatest challenge. Millions of jobs were at risk, but Hosking pointed out that only the private sector, especially SMEs, could create sustainable jobs. For that to happen, SMEs had to be free to do business.Although removing trade restrictions could potentially increase the transmission rate of the virus, it has to be done. The damage to the economy is too big for the government to repair, Hosking added. As the budget clearly showed, South Africa has run out of options.
HOUSTON, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY; LSE: EGY) (VAALCO or the Company) today announced that Catherine Stubbs and George Maxwell were elected as new independent directors to the Companys Board of Directors at VAALCOs 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Ms. Stubbs and Mr. Maxwell will serve on the Audit, Compensation, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. Ms. Stubbs will serve as Chair of the Audit Committee. Mr. Maxwell will serve as Chair of the Compensation Committee. These two new directors replace John Knapp and Steve Pully who did not stand for re-election.



In addition, Bradley Radoff has been appointed to the Companys Board of Directors, effective June 25, 2020. Mr. Radoff will serve on the Audit Committee. Following this appointment, VAALCOs Board will be comprised of five members of which four are considered independent.

Andrew Fawthrop, VAALCOs Chairman of the Board commented, We believe that Catherine, George and Brad will bring significant experience in the offshore and international energy sector that will help support VAALCO in achieving our strategic goals. In addition, the two new members will refresh the Board of Directors and bring in diverse perspectives. We also want to recognize our outgoing Board members, John Knapp and Steve Pully. They have both served on our Board for several years and I would like to thank them for their insight, leadership and dedication.

Catherine Stubbs has over 30 years of experience in the energy industry. She currently serves as a director of Aspire Holdings, LLC (formerly Endeavour International Corporation), an independent oil and gas exploration and production company in Houston, Texas. Ms. Stubbs has been with Aspire Holdings, LLC since 2004 and has served in numerous roles, including Director Accounting and Financial Controls, Director Treasury and Corporate Development, Vice President and Senior Vice President  Finance. In October 2015, Ms. Stubbs was promoted to the position of President and Chief Financial Officer.

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Prior to joining Aspire Holdings, LLC she served as Assistant Controller, Financial Reporting and Corporate Accounting at Devon Energy, Inc. (formerly Ocean Energy, Inc.) from 1997 to 2004. Ms. Stubbs began her career in public accounting with KPMG, an international audit and business strategy consulting firm, where she rose to the title of Audit Manager. Ms. Stubbs is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas and she currently serves on the board of directors of various charity and educational institutions. Ms. Stubbs holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin.

George Maxwell has over 25 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, including in both the producing and service/manufacturing arenas. Mr. Maxwell founded Eland Oil & Gas Plc. in 2009 and served as the companys Chief Executive Officer from September 2014 to December 2019, Chief Financial Officer from 2010 to 2014, and as a member of the board of directors from 2009 to 2019. Eland Oil & Gas Plc was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2012 and remained admitted to trading there until it was acquired by Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc. on December 17, 2019. Prior to founding Eland Oil & Gas Plc., Mr. Maxwell served as the business development manager for Addax Petroleum and as commercial manager in Geneva. Mr. Maxwell joined Addax Petroleum in 2004 and held the general manager position in Nigeria, where he was responsible for finance, and fiscal and commercial activities. Prior to this, Mr. Maxwell worked with ABB Oil & Gas as Vice President of Finance based in the UK with responsibilities for Europe and Africa and in a similar role in Houston, from where the organization ran its operations in ten countries. Mr. Maxwell has strong ties to the London investment community.

Mr. Maxwell graduated from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen with a Masters in Business Administration. He is a Fellow of the Energy Institute in the UK and has formerly served on the Boards of Directors of Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd. as well as at Westport Oil Limited.

Bradley Radoff has served as Principal of Fondren Management LP, a private investment management company, since January 2005. Mr. Radoff previously served as a Portfolio Manager at Third Point LLC and as a Managing Director of Lonestar Capital Management LLC. Mr. Radoff currently serves as a director on the Board of Support.com and previously served on the Board of Pogo Producing Company from March 2007 to November 2007 prior to its sale to Plains Exploration. Mr. Radoff graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. As of June 25, 2020, Mr. Radoff beneficially owns 3,906,000 shares of VAALCO common stock, consisting of 1,350,000 shares owned directly, 2,471,000 shares owned through BLR Partners LP and 85,000 shares owned through the Radoff Family Foundation.

About VAALCO

VAALCO, founded in 1985, is a Houston, USA based, independent energy company with production, development and exploration assets in the West African region.

The Company is an established operator within the region, holding a 31.1% working interest in the Etame Marin Block, located offshore Gabon, which to date has produced over 116 million barrels of crude oil and of which the Company is the operator.

For Further Information
As a former trade commissioner and mother of three daughters, Elena Kirillova is concerned that the increase in fees for humanities courses will have a disproportionate impact on career options for women.

Her concerns come as new analysis by Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre shows that young women can expect to pay an extra $498 million each year towards their education, and young men an additional $339 million under the changes.

Elena Kirillova with her daughters, from left, Katerina, Mariika and Nina. Credit:Wolter Peeters

The federal government has announced a plan to more than double university fees for humanities subjects and reduce them for science subjects. Education Minister Dan Tehan says the government wants students to think about choosing university subjects that would boost their employment prospects.

With the benefit of a free education, Ms Kirillova graduated with a law degree from the University of Sydney in 1984. Ten years later she became one of the youngest female law partners in London.
With the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, our founding fathers established the initial social contract between the government and the governed of our country. Though not perfect documents, they were a magnificent start full of great and worthy aspirations and inspiration.

Over time, we have amended that social contract. Most notably, after the Civil War, and again a hundred years ago when women were given the right to vote.

Unfortunately, racism has survived, somewhat diminished, through these amendments and through the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Today we are at another inflection point when a significant amendment to that social contract is strongly warranted and is supported by a clear majority of Americans. That amendment is for a major and decisive reform of how African Americans are treated by too many police departments and by too many police officers throughout our land.

The continued and widespread protests across the country attest to this need for change. Video after video shows unprincipled and disturbing acts by police against black citizens. Statistics show clearly that blacks are targeted and harassed far out of proportion to their portion of our society.

It is time, actually way past time, to address this and other related problems. It is time to rebuild and restructure our social contract between the government and the governed with special attention to the particular problem of how law enforcement deals with African Americans. But while we are at it, lets attack closely related problems that are part and parcel of the stew in which these brew.

The phrase Defund the Police has emerged as the catch phrase of the most fervent of this movement. That phrase, while representing legitimate motives, is unfortunate for at least two reasons. First and foremost, it is wildly overly simplistic and fails to accurately capture what is needed. We need much more, and much less.

Like almost everything in life, there is a wide continuum of quality/awfulness across police departments in this country. Many departments are doing a fine job. They need our support. And if anything, they need MORE money, for example, for better training, and for recruiting better quality officers. At the other extreme, there are truly awful police departments that may indeed require dismantling and rebuilding from the ground up. The Camden, N.J., department is an example of where this was needed and carried out. This may require more money not less.

In the middle, there are many departments that need significant reform, but not total dismantling. That will mostly require political will and support, but perhaps some additional funds.

Unfortunately, the nuances of the Defund the Police slogan will be largely lost among many Americans. Behind this too-brief phrase is a call for a rebuilding and restructuring of our social contract. In some cases, this may mean the redirection of funds and personnel to deal with the mentally ill, which occupy a huge portion of police resources and with whom they are not well trained to deal. It may mean a redirection of personnel better trained to handle domestic abuse. It is a call for elimination of over policing and under policing in communities where these are more the problem than the solution. It means more accountability by police departments, and so on. In some cases, local action is appropriate. In some cases, state and/or federal action may be required.

The second reason why the phrase Defund the Police is unfortunate is political. Too many voters wont grasp the nuances behind this shorthand. Many mainstream voters will instinctively react to this as a call to remove or diminish what they consider to be societal protection.And that will be aggressively exploited. The demagogues will headline this slogan as evidence that the Democrats/progressives are willing to let us be ravaged by the criminals. And we cannot assume that everyone will see through this demagoguery. Just as racism, and in some environments systemic racism, still exists, demagoguery still works with those inclined toward its message.

And this is not merely a theoretical issue. One person, party, or movement can be right, but if they cannot win elections and/or compel legislation, being right doesnt count for much. The primary example is our current president. He is wrong about so very many things, but he was elected and has power to make many changes.

Words matter! Messaging matters! Lets not unnecessarily alienate those voters who have recently awoke to this long-standing inequity.

Many among us believe the time is at hand for a big change in how police treat African Americans, and indeed how our society treats them. We want change. We need change. We demand change. But lets get the messaging right. Lets win elections, at all levels, and lets rebuild and restructure our social contract to correct the glaring injustices before us.

John Sigle of Carlisle, is a former Dickinson College professor.
Bhutan on Friday rejected media reports claiming that it has stopped the supply of irrigation water to farmers in Assam, terming them "totally baseless" and a "deliberate attempt" by vested interests to cause misunderstanding with India.

Photograph: Rohan Tiwary for Rediff.com Image used for representational purposes only.

In a statement, Bhutan's ministry of foreign affairs said that since June 24, 2020, there have been several news articles published in India alleging that Bhutan has blocked water channels that supply irrigation water to Indian farmers in Baksa and Udalguri districts in Assam adjoining the country's Samdrup Jongkhar district.

This is a distressing allegation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to clarify that the news articles are totally baseless as there is no reason why the flow of water should be stopped at this time, it said.

It is a deliberate attempt by vested interests to spread misinformation and cause misunderstanding between the friendly people of Bhutan and Assam, the ministry said.

Bhutan's statement came hours after Assam Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna, in a late night tweet, termed the media reports as incorrect and said that the actual reason was natural blockage.

"Recent media reports about Bhutan blocking water supply to India has been incorrectly reported. The actual reason being the natural blockage of informal irrigation channels into Indian fields! Bhutan has been actually helping to clear the blockage, Krishna said.

His comments came in the backdrop of reports that hundreds of farmers from 25 villages of Assam's Baksa district along the India-Bhutan border alleging that the Bhutan government was not allowing farmers from the Indian side to channelise water from the Bhutanese side for irrigation.

According to the statement issued by Bhutan's ministry of foreign affairs, Assam's Baksa and Udalguri districts have been benefitting from the water sources in Bhutan for many decades and they continue to do so even during the present difficult times when we are faced with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The people of Bhutan, especially those living along the borders of India, deeply value their age-old ties of friendship and cooperation with the people of India, particularly their close neighbors across the borders in Assam and West Bengal, it said, adding that such ties of friendship, cooperation and support must continue and be reinforced during these difficult times.

Since the lockdown in India and the closure of Bhutan's borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Assamese farmers are unable to enter Bhutan to maintain the irrigation channels as was done in the past, it said.

However, understanding the difficulty that would be faced by the farmers in Assam, the Samdrup Jongkhar district officials and the general public have taken the initiative to repair the irrigation channels whenever there are problems to ensure the smooth flow of water to Assam, it said.

The heavy monsoon rains and sudden rise in the water levels is posing serious challenges, but the Bhutanese authorities, including with heavy machinery, are on standby to clear any blockage and channel the water whenever there is a problem, the statement said.

Giving an assurance to the people of Assam, the ministry said that the Royal Government of Bhutan, particularly the Samdrup Jongkhar district authorities, will make every effort to ensure that the disruptions caused by the monsoon rains to the irrigation channels are addressed without delay and there is water available for the farmers in Assam.

Bhutan would like to request for the understanding of the farmers in Assam as sometimes there could be few delays in the flow of water due to disruptions caused by the heavy monsoon rains and the operational difficulties arising from the restrictions put in place by both the countries due to COVID-19, it said.

The Samdrup Jongkhar authorities maintain close contact with their counterparts in Baksa and Udalguri, the ministry added.
Irelands chief medical officer has expressed deep concern that more foreign travel will spread coronavirus infection.

The Government intends to draw up a list of countries where it is safe to resume non-quarantined travel with by July 9 in a bid to kickstart the aviation and tourism industries.

The Republic has driven down the level of transmission to amongst the lowest in the EU and the list of countries which it would be safe to open air bridges with is modest, Dr Tony Holohan said.

He added: We are beyond nervous.

Recent official data showing an increasing number of cases related to travel and in young adults was an emerging source of concern, the National Public Health Emergency Team said.

Ireland has announced plans to move into its next phase of moving out of lockdown.

Expand Close Ireland has announced plans to move into its next phase of moving out of lockdown (Brian Lawless/PA) PA / Facebook

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That includes reopening restaurants and pubs which serve food as well as most other businesses closed by the coronavirus restrictions.

Aer Lingus has said a failure to clarify how the lifting of the 14-day quarantine requirement and travel restrictions will take place prior to July 9 will undermine attempts to reopen air travel.

Dr Holohan said countries enjoying the special status would need to have verifiable information about low transmission rates.

He added popular countries with Irish holidaymakers like France or Portugal would not be on the relatively modest list for air bridges going on todays statistics, although that could change.

He said there was a considerable risk of resurgence of infection across Europe, in whole countries or regions.

We are concerned about travel as a potential source of infection for this country.

Dr Holohan said an increasing share of transmission of the infection was travel-related.

People have come here from other European countries, some parts of Asia and North America in the last 14 days.

We are worried about that and the extent to which that will continue.

Another three people have died with Covid-19, the National Public Health Emergency Team said, bringing the overall toll to 1,730.

Another 11 confirmed cases were notified.
Mexican actor Alfonso Herrera, a UNHCR High Profile supporter, talks via videoconference with Grecia Villalobos - a staffer with COMCAVIS TRANS, an LGBTI rights organisation based in El Salvador.  UNHCR

In Central America, the violent gangs that control many marginalized communities often single out lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people  extorting, threatening and sometimes even killing them. LGBTI people in the region often have no choice but to flee their homes in search of safety. Many stay within their own country, becoming part of the internally displaced population.

Grecia Villalobos is a Salvadoran trans woman who works for COMCAVIS TRANS, a UNHCR partner that helps protect the rights of LGBTI people in El Salvador. She met Mexican actor and UNHCR High Profile Supporter Alfonso Herrera last spring when the actor toured UNHCRs operations in the small Central American country. Herrera portrayed Hernando on Netflixs hit series Sense8  a show praised by critics and LGBTI groups for its exploration of sexual and gender identity. He asked Grecia to chat with him by video last month about her work, the risks LGBTI people face in El Salvador and the effects COVID-19 has had on the people she serves.

Below is a partial transcript of their chat, edited for lengthy and clarity.

Herrera: Tell me about yourself, Grecia. Who are you?

Villalobos: Im a 33-year-old trans woman and the youngest of five children. My dad died when I was eight years old and my mom raised all five of us by herself, working really hard to provide for us the best she could. I always felt like a woman inside, and thanks to my familys support, Ive always lived as a woman. Also thanks to my family, I was able to continue my studies and, despite coming from a poor background, I managed to [get a teaching degree]. But in my country its unfortunately not possible for a trans woman to work as a teacher  or almost anything else, really, to be honest with you. Its really hard.

"I always dreamed of working for an organization that fights for the rights of transgender people."

As a trans woman, Ive seen first-hand how much violence the trans community suffered and I always dreamed of working for an organization that fights for the rights of transgender people. So when I saw there was an opportunity to work with COMCAVIS TRANS, I applied and was thrilled to be selected. Now, I feel very fulfilled because, although Im not working in the field I studied, I know Im doing really important work on my communitys behalf.

So to answer your question, I, Grecia Villalobos, am a hard-working trans woman and activist, doing my best to support other people and make them feel safe.

Herrera: Can you tell us a bit about the situation for LGBTI people in El Salvador? What kinds of risks do they face?

Villalobos: The situation in my country is very difficult. We are attacked, abused, discriminated against and stigmatized because of our sexual orientation or sexual identity. We have few professional opportunities, few chances to develop our potential, to study or even to access decent housing. In truth, we have a very hard time to actually be someone in society.

This has always been the case. But since 2019, weve seen a rise in the number of murders of transgender people. This series of killings targeting transgender people included the murder of one of our community leaders, who was killed in a very cruel way.

We also know that this widespread hatred against LGBTI people leads to the forced displacement of many members of the community. People are forced to leave their homes and communities to escape extortion by armed gang members, or simply because their neighbours wont tolerate the presence of an LGBTI person. People who have been displaced are often in need of lots of support, and when they get in contact with COMCAVIS TRANS, they know they are going to find that support.

See also: Trans woman defies danger to champion LGBTI rights in El Salvador

Herrera: The coronavirus pandemic has caused not only a serious economic crisis but is also threatening the human rights of people around the world. How is it affecting the LGBTI community in El Salvador?

Villalobos: Well, I have to say, Alfonso, that its been really complicated  particularly for those living on their own and those who are with families who dont accept their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Stuck inside with their families, these young people have to deal with constant insults and bullying and even physical violence. Some of them are being beaten up within their own homes. And because of the quarantine measures, theyre unable to escape to somewhere safer. They cant leave, which means they have to suffer in silence

Also, because the restrictions are preventing them from working, were also seeing LGBTI people who are going hungry, who cant pay their bills or rent, people who are living in fear of having their utilities cut or being evicted and having to live on the streets. Its super complicated. At the moment, its riskier than ever for LGBTI people.

Herrera: And what kind of help is COMCAVIS TRANS able to provide to these people in the middle of the pandemic?

Villalobos: We at COMCAVIS TRANS havent stopped working, despite the fact the restrictions mean that we arent able to physically get out to many of the smaller communities we serve. But were still in contact with LGBTI people in need. They call us on the phone or get in touch through our social media platforms to talk to us about what theyre going through. And we work from our homes to try to find the best possible solutions to their individual problems. Were also offering help from our legal advisor and our psychologist because the stay-at-home measures have caused a lot of mental anguish.

Herrera: Thank you, Grecia, for your really important work. A big hug to you!

Villalobos: Thank you, Alfonso!

Translation from Spanish by Jenny Barchfield in Mexico City.
Karnataka will undertake a series of aggressive containment measures in state capital Bengaluru as the number of coronavirus cases has risen rapidly, indicating community spread. The city will ramp up testing to 7,500 samples per day from now even as it has decided against reimposing a lockdown.

"There is no question of a lockdown under any circumstances; although we have done this in some places, we are not in favour of it everywhere. Reviving the economy is equally important," said Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday.

While a section of opposition MLAs agreed that the price of an unplanned lockdown has already weighed heavy on the state, some felt a second lockdown for a few days might make a big difference in curbing numbers.

"Our stand is to save as many lives as possible. We are aware of the fact that community transmission has begun. What did Spain or Italy or other countries do when this happened there? They locked down for two weeks," said Congress MLA NA Haris, speaking to News18 after an all-party meeting of Bengaluru MLAs.

"But the state government had already decided against a lockdown, so we have given suggestions such as increasing the number of beds and ventilators," he added.

The government said increasing health infrastructure to meet the growing numbers and stricter enforcement of social distancing and mask-wearing norms are the only way forward.

"Each of the 28 Assembly constituencies will have a joint commissioner-rank nodal officer from tomorrow," said R Ashoka, Bengaluru's Covid in-charge minister. "Senior IAS officer Tushar Girinath is deputed to take care of allotting beds. There is no shortage of beds but coordinated allotment is needed. Now it takes 24 hours to take a patient to a health care centre once found positive; we need to reduce that to eight hours."

All asymptomatic patients will compulsorily be moved to a Covid care centre for isolation. Ayurvedic supplements to improve immunity levels will be given. The government also plans to set up swab collection kiosks in all 28 Assembly constituencies, while there will be 100 ambulances dedicated for Covid-19 patients -- one for every two wards.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has collected over Rs 5.6 lakh in penalty from people who violated the mask rule, as well as social distancing norms, in the last 48 hours. There will be more levying of fines in the coming days as the government plans a major crackdown.

There are over 1,300 active Covid-19 positive cases as of now and "the next 30 days will be critical for the IT city", said Ashoka.
Illinois professor proposes guide for developing common data science approaches

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The use of data science tools in research across campuses has exploded - from engineering and science to the humanities and social sciences. But there is no established data science discipline and no recognized way for various academic fields to develop and integrate accepted data science processes into research.

Victoria Stodden, an information sciences professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has proposed a framework for guiding researchers and curriculum development in data science and for aiding policy and funding decisions. She outlines the approach in the journal Communications of the ACM.

Stodden has studied issues of reproducibility of research findings for more than a decade. Now, the widespread use of computational tools for research has initiated discussions about transparency, bias, ethics and other topics. These ideas are broader than any particular field, and researchers from different fields need a common framework for how to approach and talk about them, she said.

Stodden said her approach will help define data science as a scientific discipline in its own right; provide a way to have a common conversation across various disciplines; encourage development of and train researchers and scientists on data-driven research methods; help them to agree on the most important issues in the emerging field of data science; and help consumers of computational research to understand how the results were produced.

"I'm hoping it's a way to unify the conversations going on now - to help them evolve and share knowledge in a way to leverage and learn from what other people are doing - and talk about what's going on across different disciplines," Stodden said.

The framework helps identify which issues can be generalized across disciplines and which are specific to a discipline, she said.

Stodden's proposal builds on the concept of the data life cycle used by information scientists to describe the various stages of a dataset. Her data science life cycle looks at not only datasets, but also the tools of computational research such as computer code and software, as well as the research findings.

The data science life cycle would allow researchers to look at the computational research process from data collection to analysis, validation, dissemination and ultimately how the research findings are used in public policy discussions, she said. It would bring into the conversation concepts of transparency, reproducibility of results, how results are interpreted, potential bias and ethics.

"It's a framework for how to bring all these different topics together and think about what it means to have a field of data science," Stodden said. "With more strategic thinking about what data science means, and what it means to leverage these tools, we will be doing better science."

The data science life cycle recognizes the need for preserving data, software and computational information and making them widely available after results are published, allowing for reproducibility.

Her approach also will help guide the development of a curriculum of data science, she said, providing a way to see where existing courses fit and where new courses may need to be developed.

"For a student seeking to do advanced coursework in data science, it can appear that statistics is not computational enough, computer science isn't data inference-focused enough, information science is too broad, and the domain sciences don't provide a broad enough pedagogical agenda in data science," she wrote.

###

Editor's notes: To contact Victoria Stodden, email vcs@illinois.edu.

The paper "The data science life cycle: A disciplined approach to advancing data science as a science" is available online and from the U. of I. News Bureau. DOI: 10.1145/3360646

This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Billionaire Heinz Hermann Thiele told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that he'd support the package at Thursday's special shareholder meeting. He had earlier criticized a steep discount being granted to the German government on a 20% stake, and he had the votes to stop it single-handedly.

"I will vote in favor of the proposed resolution," Thiele told the newspaper in an interview published on its website Wednesday.

With Thiele's support, the measure appears likely to surpass the two-thirds backing required for its approval. Because only 38% of Lufthansa shareholders registered for the special meeting, Thiele's 15.5% stake in the company translates into about 41% of the votes. Lufthansa needs to secure about half the remaining votes registered for the share sale to pass.

Analysts at Societe Generale and Berenberg both said they'd expect the measure to prevail with the support of the 79-year-old Thiele. Mark Manduca, an analyst with Citibank, projects the stock to jump as much as 10% if the deal goes through.

Securing a state holding would be a victory for Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, pleasing his Social Democratic allies and bolstering his ambitions to run for chancellor next year. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier would secure a landmark deal that's meant to serve as a model for the government's plan to take a more activist approach to managing Germany's economy.

Unions, many investors and proxy advisory firms recommend shareholders back the deal. It's not clear what the rationale for blocking the package would be without a major investor proposing an alternative.

"A government-orchestrated bailout is better than insolvency," said Patrick Schuchter of Union Investment, holder of a 0.12% stake. He plans to vote for the rescue, despite the drawbacks for shareholders. "Investors need to choose the lesser evil or sell their shares."

Lufthansa shares have fallen about 45% this year after the coronavirus forced airlines across the globe to ground fleets. The biggest carreir in Europe now has a market cap of about $4.8 billion -- less than one-third of Thiele's fortune. It had warned previously that it was facing a cash crunch and would have trouble paying wages in July.

Labor too has gotten behind the package, despite Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr's plan to reduce staffing by more than 20,000 positions. A potential insolvency filing, which the airline warned was possible in the event the bailout was shot down, could cause job losses on an even larger scale.

"We extraordinarily welcome the decision to support the state aid package for Lufthansa at tomorrow's annual general meeting," Christine Behle, a supervisory board member and deputy chairman of labor union Ver.di, said in an emailed statement. "With this the survival of the company would be secured and an insolvency avoided."

The meeting starts at 12 p.m. in Frankfurt. Spohr will address shareholders before opening the floor to questions. The process could take several hours before the vote proceeds and the results are released later in the afternoon.
The UN Security Council called Thursday for "sustained efforts" in preventing the illegal trade of natural resources from the DR Congo, as gold in particular fuels conflict between armed groups in the region. The Council's 15 member states also renewed UN sanctions on the country for the period of a year, allowing for both individuals and groups to be targeted. In a statement following a videoconference, the Council expressed concern over "continued illegal exploitation and trade of natural resources" while calling for "sustained efforts to prevent" such practices. UN experts who monitor implementation of the sanctions detailed multiple cases of trafficking in a recent report, stating that gold from the country was flowing into Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates and Tanzania. The document specified that the United Arab Emirates promised to tighten controls on the source of gold arriving in the country. "The group traced Congolese gold to regional refineries and other international destinations and found that some refineries acted as brokers, used cash payments, undertook refiner-to-refiner trading and used corporate networks to obscure ownership, thereby inhibiting supply chain accountability," the report said. "Gold traders also avoided the use of formal banking networks," it noted. The experts added that "in terms of natural resources, the Congolese gold sector remained vulnerable to exploitation by armed groups and criminal networks and to unregulated trading." The volume of gold smuggled from the country was significantly higher than the amount legally traded, they noted. DR Congo sits on top of large reserves of cobalt, copper, gold and other valuable minerals, but is nonetheless one of the world's poorest countries, with average per capita revenue of $490, according to World Bank data.
Residents of the Ansal Aravalli Retreat Welfare Association (AARWA), at a press conference in the city on Friday, voiced their opposition to a recent order by the district administration, derecognising farmhouses built on Aravalli land in Gururgam.

Following instructions laid down by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the deputy commissioner, on June 11, had ordered that the land use category of gair mumkin farmhouse be struck from revenue records and replaced with gair mumkin pahad  the original nomenclature. This move, according to residents and landowners from Aravalli Retreat  a 1,200 acre complex consisting off 670 farmhouses in Raisina village  sets the precedent for demolition of their properties.

Gagandeep Singh, a resident and AARRWA member, said, Until just a week ago, our land was recognised as farmhouse, and not pahad. By reversing this decision, the administration has put us in a position where we could lose what we have built here.

Gair mumkin pahad, as a land-use category, is protected under the ministry of environment, forest and climate changes (MoEFCC) Aravalli Notification of May 7, 1992, which prohibits any non-forest activities in the Aravallis. On June 6, 2020, the Municipal Corporation of Sohna served show-cause notices to over 400 farmhouses in Aravalli Retreat, on grounds that they had been constructed in violation of the MoEFCCs notification.

Sharad Mohan, another resident of Aravalli Retreat and a member of the AARRWA, said, The deputy commissioners instructions, and the show-cause notices are misinformed. They are based on the NGTs instructions that all structures built on gair mumkin pahad land after May 7, 1992, are illegal. However, before the MoEFCCs Aravalli Notification could come into force, Aravalli Retreat had already ceased to be gair mumkin pahad.

Experts and environmentalists explained that the gair mumkin farmhouse category was introduced in revenue records around 1991, and has been used, over the years, by private developers to circumvent the MoEFCCs Aravalli Notification. There is no such term in revenue records historically. Its sudden emergence around 1991, just before the Aravalli Notification was to come into force, raises questions as to who allowed these changes to be introduced in the record books, and why, said Sarvadaman Oberoi, a city-based legal activist.

The validity of gair mumkin farmhouse as a revenue term has been previously struck down by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. In a 2014 judgment, the court observed, Concededly, the developers have got changed the kind of land from Gairmumkin Mountain (Pahad) to Gairmumkin Farmhouses. If any Patwari without any legal authority had made the stray entries... then such stray and illegal entries are non est, void and are not sufficient to hold that the land in litigation was Gairmumkin Farm houses (sic). The court also said that these lands will continue to be recognised as pahad, and not as farmhouse.

Arvinder Brara, an AARRWA member, contested that the administrations order was in contempt of court. This matter has also been fought in the Faridabad environment and sessions courts, in different instances. There are two orders, one from 2013 and another from 2017, which state that the Aravalli Retreat project does not violate the Aravalli Notification of 1992. In a letter to Amit Khatri on June 24, Brara wrote, We request you to withdraw your order... as it is in contempt of the orders of the Honble Faridabad Environment and Sessions Court.

However, in October 2018, in the case of Soniya Ghosh v/s State of Haryana, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruled that, Any construction raised on the forest area or the area otherwise covered by the Notification dated 07.05.1992 without permission of the competent authority (after the date of the said Notification) has to be treated as illegal and such forest land has to be restored (sic).

According to activist Sarvadaman Oberoi, The NGTs ruling naturally overrides that of any other lower courts, so the deputy commissioners instructions are not in violation. On the contrary, it obeys the instructions of the highest environmental court in India.

Representatives of Ansal Developers were not present at Fridays press conference and did not respond to requests for comment through the day. Neither did the deputy commissioner.
Animal rights activists glued themselves to the streets of central London on Friday in a protest against farm trespassing fines in Canada.

Images show the protestors causing disruption outside London's Canadian Embassy by sitting in the road, with two female demonstrators attaching themselves to the road by locking their arms and legs together in a box.

The protestors were campaigning against the newly-introduced Ontario Bill 156 of the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act which increased fines for trespassing on farmlands and made it illegal to obstruct trucks carrying farm animals.

Animal rights activists glued themselves to the road in central London in protests against an increase in farm trespassing fines in Canada

Police escorted the activists away, who have been demonstrating outside Canada House in central London all week

Fines have also been increased for trespassing on 'Animal Protection Zones' such as slaughterhouses which makes it harder for animal activists to report and expose cruelty to animals.

Last week, Canadian animal rights activist Regan Russell was tragically killed after being hit down by a truck carrying pigs to a slaughterhouse.

Ms Russell, 65, had been feeding pigs in another truck entering the slaughterhouse before being hit during her protest.

The London protests have been taking place all week, with demonstrators annoucing they were 'respecting Regan Russell' whilst lying down in the road.

Two females connected the arms and legs together via a box, which was nailed to the ground in the central London street

Protestors also wore special protective equipment during the protests against the Ontario Bill 156 of the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act

In a Facebook event promoting a protest on Wednesday, the activists said: 'This is a peaceful Animal Save Movement event, in line with our Code of Conduct.

'We love and recognise the gift of Regan Rusell's life and years of animal rights activism with the Animal Save Movement.

'On June 17th the government of Ontario voted in favour of Bill 156, an ag gag law that will make it illegal to bear witness to animals on factory farms, transport trucks and any area deemed an Animal Protection Zone.'
Israel and the United Arab Emirates said June 25 that private companies from both countries will cooperate on developing technologies to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broke the news, tweeting, Today the health ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Israel will announce cooperation in fighting the coronavirus. This cooperation will be expressed in research and development [and] technology in areas that will improve health security throughout the region. This is the result of long and intense contacts in the last few months. Speaking at a graduation ceremony for the Israeli air forces pilot course, Netanyahu made a similar announcement.

Netanyahu might have gotten a bit carried away, or perhaps exaggerated on purpose. The United Arab Emirates did not contradict Netanyahu, but was quick to clarify that the cooperation in question refers to contracts signed by two private UAE companies with two private Israeli companies, and not direct cooperation between the two governments. The director of strategic communications at the UAE Foreign Ministry, Hend Al Otaiba, tweeted, "In light of strengthening international cooperation in the fields of research, development & technology in service of humanity, two private companies in UAE sign an agreement with two companies in Israel to develop research technology to fight COVID-19."

Shortly after the tweet, the UAE news agency WAM confirmed the agreement between the companies, saying, "This scientific and medical agreement forms part of constructive cooperation aimed at addressing the COVID-19 pandemic to safeguard the health of the regions peoples.

Senior UAE officials have clarified recently their countrys stance against Netanyahus annexation plan, including the UAE ambassador to the United States, who published an op-ed in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth some two weeks ago addressing Israelis directly. The ambassador warned Israelis that annexation could damage a process of rapprochement between the Arab world and Israel. The UAE and Israel do not have official diplomatic ties, but are cooperating in several fields. For instance, Israel has for a few years had an official representative at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi. The two companies that are to cooperate with UAE companies would certainly not be the first Israeli businesses to operate in the UAE.

On June 16, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash addressed a virtual conference of the American Jewish Committee, saying, Can I have a political disagreement with Israel but at the same time try and bridge other areas of the relationship? I think I can and I think this is fundamentally where we are.

The private companies contracts give Israelis a taste of such a bridge and its benefits. Still, it does not mean that Gulf states will be willing to shut their eyes if the Knesset indeed adopts Netanyahus annexation plan July 1.
The deluge of coronavirus infections continued in California and across the country Thursday as fears of another shutdown circulated, prompting health officials and infectious disease specialists to issue a familiar public warning: Wear masks, and keep your distance from people.

The renewed pleas came as California and the Bay Area each reported nearly 75% increases in daily cases in June compared to May  and as the state reached a somber milestone, surpassing 200,000 coronavirus cases.

The state also added 15 counties  including Contra Costa and Santa Clara  to its watch list for dangerous coronavirus outbreaks.

The surge is mostly happening because people let their guard down when the state and counties relaxed safety measures and began opening up businesses, according to health officials.

Its a second wave of behavior, said Robert Siegel, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford University. The virus is responding to peoples behavior, and this represents failures to maintain the recommended control procedures.

The counties hit hardest over the past seven days were Alameda, which averaged 116 new cases a day, Santa Clara with 78, and Contra Costa, with 64. Marin also had a high daily average of new cases  96  many of which were the result of an outbreak that started last month at San Quentin State Prison.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that the states initial response to the virus helped public health officials avoid worse results. But California is not out of the woods, he said, urging local jurisdictions to make data-based decisions on reopening the economy and to continue enforcing mask-wearing and social distancing practices.

To the extent that we do not see progress being made, and were not advancing the cause of public health and public safety, then we certainly reserve the right to put a pause in terms of advancing into the subsequent phase, Newsom said.

Even as cases increase, the average number of deaths per day from COVID-19 dropped in the Bay Area by 14% from May to June. Statewide, average daily deaths fell by about 8%.

California, nevertheless, saw a record 18,000 new COVID-19 cases in the past three days, including 5,349 cases on Wednesday.

More than 4,200 people were hospitalized as of Wednesday, representing a 32% increase in the number of people hospitalized 14 days ago. The increase was 19% in intensive care units.

The Bay Area numbers are equally alarming, averaging 439 new cases a day for the last eight days. On Tuesday, 40 new patients were hospitalized in the nine-county region, bringing total hospitalizations to 298, a 15.5% increase in one day. The Bay Area record was set on Monday with 630 new cases in a day.

While numbers are spiking in many counties, San Francisco is holding steady. On Tuesday, 45 San Franciscans were hospitalized for COVID-19, and 16 people were transferred to the ICU.

The state, meanwhile, placed Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties and 13 other counties on its watch list. Contra Costa has had a 17% increase in hospitalizations over three days, and Santa Clara has seen a 23% increase. Santa Clara County recorded 105 new cases on Wednesday, one day after hitting 121, its highest daily total in new coronavirus cases.

Some counties bordering the Bay Area are also in trouble. Stanislaus County, one of the hardest hit areas in Northern California, is also red-flagged by the state. It had 467 new coronavirus cases in the past week, with a daily average of 67. Overall, 38 people have died of COVID-19 in the county since the crisis began.

Nearby San Joaquin County, which is dealing with a huge spike in cases, also made the list. Solano County was also hit hard, said Jayleen Richards, the public health administrator for Solano County Health and Social Services, which has trained 80 people to conduct contact tracing over the past month.

We have seen a significant increase in cases in the last two weeks, Richards said. The surge in cases is related, in most part, to social and family gatherings, followed by work clusters.

The sharp increase came immediately after the reopening of many restaurants, bars, salons and gyms and a general relaxation of shelter-in-place and social distancing protocols. Contact tracing in some counties indicates that many of the infections occurred during indoor gatherings of friends and family, including funerals, birthday and graduation parties.

That, combined with weeks of protesting over the killing of George Floyd, who died May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, probably resulted in numerous infections, health officials said.

Stephen Lam / Special to The Chronicle

Were in the middle of a giant pandemic that is not going to end until we get a vaccine, said George Rutherford, a UCSF infectious disease specialist. We have to balance opening the economy with community transmission. The way to deal with it is to take fewer risks.

More Information Coronavirus cases rise as deaths fall between May, June The Bay Area has reported 7,938 cases so far in June compared with 5,658 in May, bringing the total to 22,038 as of 6 p.m. Thursday. California has reported 88,437 cases so far in June compared to 61,733 in May, bringing the total to 200,943 as of 6 p.m. The Bay Area has reported 114 deaths so far in June compared to 150 in May, bringing the total to 557. California has reported 1,631 deaths so far in June compared to 2,137 in May, bringing the total to 5,803. Source: City and county data See More Collapse

Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at UCSF, said the idea of sheltering in place was to flatten the curve, which meant assuring that there are enough hospital beds for the sickest people, a concept that now may be in jeopardy.

This is like a wavelet, and if you think this is bad, it might get worse, Chin-Hong said. You dont want that wavelet to become a tsunami.

But other factors may be at play, including large outbreaks at San Quentin and other prisons and at nursing homes. Nearly 50% of Californias COVID-19 deaths are residents of nursing and care homes.

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 state is also doing more testing than ever before, which identifies more infections, Newsom said.

On Wednesday, more than 101,000 people were tested for the coronavirus across California  a record for the state, Newsom said. Roughly 3.7 million people have been tested overall, including an average of 88,000 tests over the past 7 days.

While that is significant, Newsom said, its not where we need to be.

Although things are bad, California hasnt been hit nearly as hard as other areas. The surge of coronavirus cases was particularly notable in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut issued travel advisories Wednesday requiring people visiting or returning from the nine states with virus surges to quarantine for 14 days. California, which averaged about 5.6% over the last week, is not on the list because it does not have a seven-day positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

Jay Butler, the deputy director of Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the bulk of the transmissions across the country are in young people, which is an indication they are not getting the message that they should take more precautions.

We are seeing a greater proportion of cases that are being diagnosed in younger people, said Butler, who is the agencys COVID-19 response incident manager. Everyone needs to understand that there is some risk of severe illness even among young people.

Health experts noted Thursday that the rest of the world has not seen the same kind of surge that the United States is now dealing with.

It means that if Americans will just protect their noses and mouths by wearing masks, as in Europe and Asia, the outbreak could be managed, Chin-Hong said.

What we should do is everybody act to protect each other, he said.

San Francisco Chronicle

staff writer Nanette Asimov contributed to this report.

Peter Fimrite and Tatiana Sanchez are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com, tatiana.sanchez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite, @TatianaYSanchez
George Nader, a key witness in the special counsel probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for transporting a child into the country for sex and possessing child pornography.

"I take great pride in my professional life and the work I have done for the United States," George Nader, 61, said in Alexandria federal court Friday. "I am sincerely, deeply sorry for the pain and suffering I have caused."

Nader also agreed to pay $150,000 in restitution to the victim, who was 14 at the time Nader brought him from the Czech Republic to the United States.

He still faces charges in D.C. federal court of helping to funnel illegal foreign contributionsto both the Clinton campaign and President Donald Trump's inaugural fund.

A Lebanese American businessman, Nader for decades has wielded significant influence in negotiating peace treaties and financial agreements between the United States and countries in the Middle East.

"He's lived most of his life in international privilege and to much acclaim. He's worked with presidents and princes; the powerful and the infamous," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Prabhu said at sentencing. "But that wasn't Mr. Nader's only passion . . . Mr. Nader has had a sexual interest in minors for over 35 years."

Nader, an associate of Trump, became entangled in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation because he helped set up a January 2017 meeting between another Trump associate, Erik Prince, and a Russian official.

During that investigation, FBI agents searched Nader's phones and found what appeared to be child pornography in WhatsApp messages sent to him. Nader maintains those images were merely obscene jokes that he did not realize were on his phone. But he admitted to receiving an email containing child pornography in 2012 and bringing a child into the country for sexual purposes in 2000.

"It has been a long journey and it still will be," the victim, now 35, said in a statement written in Czech and translated in court. "I hated myself and was ashamed of myself." He said seeing Nader prosecuted was helpful in "restoring my soul and my health."

Defense attorney Jonathan Jeffress said that in recent years Nader has learned to control his urges as "as he as aged and as he has realized that his work doing good things for people, doing good things for peace, doing good things for the United States became more important to him."

Prosecutors had agreed to ask only for the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.

Nader has been investigated and convicted of similar conduct in the past, but he has never been punished so severely. In 1991, after being convicted of transporting child pornography in Alexandria, he was given a six-month sentence in part because he was actively involved in negotiating the release of hostages from Lebanon. In 2003, he was sentenced to a year in prison in the Czech Republic for soliciting underage boys.

Throughout the years he has been involved in high-level diplomatic negotiations in Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. He helped arrange Trump's first trip to Riyadh.

"Nader has conducted countless international missions and helped facilitate the strong allegiance between the United States and countries of that region," his attorneys wrote. "Nader sincerely hopes that, after the period of incarceration to be imposed in this case, he will be able to resume his efforts working toward peace in the Middle East."
Due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in Texas, many cities around San Antonio have canceled their Fourth of July fireworks displays, events and parades.

SeaWorld San Antonio, however, is open and will have a Fourth of July firework show on Friday and Saturday, the amusement park announced in a news release Tuesday. Amusement parks were allowed to reopen in Texas on June 19 as park of Gov. Greg Abbott's "Open Texas" plan.

Abbott also signed an executive order last week allowing local officials to impose restrictions on certain outdoor gatherings of over 100 people.

RELATED: San Antonio's official Fourth of July celebration at Woodlawn canceled due to COVID-19

In San Antonio, city officials updated their emergency COVID-19 orders last week to prohibit outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people. But the measure does not apply to amusement parks, rodeos or religious gatherings.

Earlier this month, San Antonio's parks and recreation department canceled the official Fourth of July celebration at Woodlawn Lake Park. City parks and trails will, however, will remain open over the holiday weekend, but the city is prohibiting more than 10 people to congregate together in any city park or plaza.

Below you will find who is and isnt't having a Fourth of July fireworks show this year.
Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said Friday that it would eliminate 1,700 European jobs, including 1,000 in France, as part of a cost-cutting drive announced last December.

The move comes just days after the company announced it would invest 490 million euros ($550 million) to build a new vaccine production site in France that would create 200 jobs, during a factory visit alongside President Emmanuel Macron.

Company officials did not mention the coming layoffs during the visit, "but the French authorities knew that we had a restructuring to carry out," Sanofi's France chief Olivier Bogillot told AFP on Friday.

The layoffs will be voluntary, and will affect marketing and support divisions as well as some research jobs.

The firm's British chief executive, Paul Hudson, has said he aims to cut costs by two billion euros over the next two years, in particular by withdrawing from the diabetes and cardiovascular areas and focusing more on cancer treatments.

Hudson drew the ire of French officials last month when he said a potential COVID-19 vaccine Sanofi is working on would be offered first to the US government, which has invested millions in its development.

Hudson later indicated that the vaccine would be made available to everyone at the same time.

Explore further Sanofi expands US vaccine venture in COVID-19 race

 2020 AFP
According to a 2005 interview with Chemical Engineering Progress magazine, he claimed to have made more than 100 trips to the Far East, 150 to Europe, 20 to India and 15 to China as well as South America and Africa to spread the word. He was intent on educating Japanese and European auto manufacturers about the need to install catalytic converters in their vehicles, an effort that went on for more than a decade.
Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son made the statement during a seminar jointly held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Tien Giang Provincial Peoples Committee on June 26 under the theme International integration and sustainable development in the new situation  Implementing the EVFTA.

In his remarks, Son briefed participants on Vietnams integration and sustainable development in the new situation, emphasising the importance and necessity of implementing the EVFTA, which, he said, includes extensive and comprehensive commitments covering the fields of the economy, trade, investment and sustainable development issues.

The EU is Vietnams fourth largest trade partner and its second largest export market. By the end of June 2019, two-way trade between Vietnam and the EU reached about US$27.4 billion, of which Vietnam exported US$20.5 billion and imported US$6.9 billion worth of products from the bloc. Regarding development cooperation, the EU is one of Vietnams major donors in grants, with the European Commission having committed EUR400 million for Vietnam during the period 2014-2020, focusing on the areas of sustainable energy and institutions.

General view of the seminar.



Director of the MOFAs Multilateral Economic Cooperation Department, Nguyen Minh Hang, said that the COVID-19 outbreaks globally have affected international links as well as raised issues for Vietnams international economic integration in the new situation.

In the near future, she suggested focusing on promptly grasping trends and situations in the region and the world, integrating the implementation of international economic integration into local socio-economic development strategies, attracting investment and taking advantage of the chain shifting trend, as well as strengthening exchange and coordination between the Government, localities and businesses.

At the seminar, Vice President of the European Business Association in Vietnam Nguyen Hai Minh reported on the opportunities and challenges brought about by the implementation of the EVFTA and EVIPA.

Regarding the difficulties faced by Tien Giang province in international integration and the implementation of the EVFTA, Director of the Provincial Department of Foreign Affairs Luu Van Phi proposed that MOFA support Tien Giang in attracting investors from Japan, the Republic of Korea and the EU in the context of the changes in global supply chains, US-China competition and the National Assemblys recent adoption of both the EVFTA and EVIPA.
Health is a product of the conditions we live in. And the long history of structural injustice toward Indigenous and Black people has suffocated the health of these communities today. The disparities are simply damning. In Canada the number one predictor of wealth is race. And a major predictor of health is income. The inequities facing Indigenous and Black people extends across our health-care system with yawning gaps in life expectancy.

We must also acknowledge that our health-care system has its own history of racism and prejudice. And that it often enables the discriminatory practice of other sectors, most notably police services, especially when it comes to caring for the patient populations most impacted by structural disadvantage. These are experiences that we have lived and seen in our practice as BIPOC health-care providers.

As physicians, there is no denying that the current state of policing is a public health crisis. The recent deaths and stories of Regis Korchinski-Pacquet, Chantel Moore, and Ejaz Choudry, amongst many others, are painful reminders of rampant discrimination. The extent of anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism cuts across our judicial and criminal systems. The facts are that Indigenous and Black people are more likely to be stopped by police, criminalized or killed. This contributes to a cycle of lateral violence and increased policing with detrimental outcomes. More than 30 per cent of inmates in Canadian prisons are Indigenous  even though they make up just 5 per cent of our countrys population. In Toronto alone, Black people are 20 times more likely to be shot by police.

Decades of anemic reforms and stockpiled reports have failed our communities. The reality is that we cannot police our way out of systemic racism and systemic poverty. The solution is not to reform, but to rebuild. The policy solutions are multifaceted and we must finally begin addressing the pathologies of policing  not merely its symptoms.

First, we must ensure full transparency around policing budgets. The decisions around how and why such a large public spend are made cannot be clandestine. These are considerable investments with major implications on the well-being of our city, and Indigenous and Black communities must be engaged in the prioritizing of spending decisions with meaningful inclusion on the Toronto Police Services Board.

We must also begin defunding the police. This means an immediate start of reducing the budget and number of police in half. These funds should instead be diverted to rebuild, redesign and reconcile. We should invest in areas that we know promote the health and safety of our communities. A health-in-all policies approach would prioritize decent housing for all, education, child care and secure employment. Our current approach is punishing communities on two fronts  it is underfunding evidence-informed investments for health promotion and then criminalizing the paucity of opportunities.

Finally, we must disallow the use of force by police and prohibit their ability to cause bodily harm when interacting with people. Armed officers should not respond to non-violent community calls. In fact, the presence of weapons often exacerbates critical situations. The continued presence and use of weapons and deadly force further adds to the trauma in communities already adversely affected by over-policing. Instead, we must adequately fund community health outreach workers who are trained in de-escalation tactics and a trauma-informed approach. Wellness checks should never be a death sentence.

The status quo has only been driving unnecessary deaths and suffering. There is too much pain, grief and hurt for any inaction to continue to take hold. These are political choices that will require moral will. But we can no longer divorce these decisions from the health, safety and well-being of our city. It is well past time to start listening to Indigenous and Black voices before they are saying I cant breathe.
A top Democratic Senator has alleged that the Trump administrations expenditure of more than USD200 million to donate ventilators during Covid-19 pandemic is allegedly favouring countries personally selected by the US President.

Among the countries that have been provided the life-saving machines are Russia, India, and South Africa, said Senator Robert Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Given the scale and nature of the current (Covid-19) crisis, it is imperative that we ensure the effective use of US aid dollars, he wrote in a letter to Donald Trump, citing the administrations suspect decision to waive congressional notification requirements for sending the ventilators during the pandemic. Providing ventilators to countries that need them is critical, but, as with any assistance, must be done in a productive and transparent manner. To that end, the National Security Council (NSC), in cooperation with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), must ensure greater transparency and accountability around the provision of ventilators, he said.

Menendez alleged that without a fulsome explanation for USAIDs procurement and provision of ventilators to a select group of countries, Trumps orders to ship more than 7,500 ventilators abroad, to just 40 countries, exemplifies the potential transactional politicisation of US foreign assistance and risks further tarnishing USAIDs reputation as an apolitical aid agency.

Reiterating his concerns in a separate letter to USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa, Menendez called for further transparency regarding the respective roles of USAID and the NSC in the distribution decision-making process and the US governments efforts to ensure that Covid patients abroad have equitable access to life-saving ventilators.

To date, USAID has submitted two Congressional Notifications (CN) outlining the Administrations plans to spend approximately USD 202 million in Global Health Program, Emergency Reserve Funds and Economic Support Funds, provided by the CARES Act, to purchase 7,582 ventilators to distribute to up to 40 countries, Menendez to Acting Administratior Barsa.

While the notifications provide some details, I am concerned that the NSCs influence on these decisions both circumvents longstanding USAID procurement and accountability policies and interjects political agendas into how USAID allocates it Global Health and Emergency Reserve Fund resources, he said.
There has been one Covid-19 related death in Ireland today, officials have announced.

It brings the death toll in Ireland to 1,727.

The Department of Health has also announced that there have been 11 new confirmed cases of the virus in the country.

There are now 25,405 cases of the virus in the country.

Earlier today, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) met to review Irelands ongoing response and preparedness to Covid-19.

"NPHET noted today that over a third of new cases in the past 14 days are under 35 years of age," said Cheif Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan.

"It also noted a number of EU countries reported an increase in new cases.

7% of cases notified in Ireland over the past fortnight have been associated with travel. NPHET expressed a clear view that overseas travel poses a risk to importation of the disease and to further transmission in Ireland.

The ECDC has recently warned that the pandemic is not over. Ireland has made significant gains in suppressing Covid-19. Our task over the coming weeks and months is maintaining these gains.

Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, added: Covid-19 is accelerating globally with 4 million cases recorded in the last month.

Considering the international experience with the disease, we cannot afford complacency. Continue to be aware of the risks and follow the public health advice designed to protect individuals.

It comes as the Dail was told it is "inevitable" that Ireland will see a resurgence of Covid-19.

Professor Paddy Mallon, an infectious diseases expert, told Dail committee on the virus that as the country reopens and restrictions are relaxed, a second wave of the disease will happen.

Professor Mallon told the committee that looking at the uptick in cases in the likes of Germany, the USA and Portugal, he felt it was a matter of when, not if, there are more cases.
More than four in 10 Britons believe the hardcore coronavirus lockdown that brought the country to a standstill has made their live better in some ways, new figures reveal today.

Of the 43 per cent who reported positive lifestyle changes, more than half (56 per cent) said they were able to spend more quality time with loved ones they live with, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Exactly half said they were enjoying a slower pace of life, while 47 per cent said they were spending less time travelling.

Almost a quarter (24 per cent) said that working from home had been the best aspect of the lockdown.

The outbreak has also prompted 28 per cent of adults to plan 'big changes' in their lives once the nation has fully recovered.

Coronavirus death rate TWICE as high among factory workers and security guards than doctors and nurses Men working in factories or as security guards were being killed by coronavirus at more than twice the rate of healthcare staff during the height of the crisis in Britain, shock official data shows. Factory staff died at a rate of 73 per 100,000 men between March 9 - almost a fortnight before lockdown - and May 25, followed by men working as bouncers or security (72 per 100,000). ONS figures released today show that male nurses and doctors - who were treating the sickest Covid-19 patients, many without proper protective gear - died at a rate of 30 per 100,000 men. The ONS says its data does not prove these jobs are more dangerous than working in hospitals because its report did not look at what ethnicity the victims were, or if they came from a deprived area - both risk factors for Covid. The death rate for factory and security workers will also be skewed upwards due to the fact there are many more healthcare workers than there are factory and security staff. But factory workers have been working throughout the crisis to keep the nation fed during lockdown, and are among the most likely to have been interacting with others when the disease was spreading at its fastest. Security guards had to be deployed to supermarkets at the very beginning of the outbreak to make sure social distancing was adhered to inside shops and in outdoor queues. Advertisement

The ONS analysed responses from 1,920 adults questioned between June 18 and 21 as part of its Opinions and Lifestyle Survey on the impact of Covid-19.

It found 47 per cent of 1,200 16 to 69-year-olds had experienced positive lifestyle changes, compared with 24 per cent of 720 respondents aged 70 and over.

However, 47 per cent of respondents said their wellbeing had been affected by the pandemic, while a quarter said they felt lonely often or some of the time during the previous seven days - proportions similar to the previous week.

More than half (52 per cent) of those in the older age group whose lives had changed for the better said they were more in touch with their neighbours and that life had slowed down, while 47 per cent said they were speaking more with family and friends.

Overall, a third of people who reported positive changes said they had been able to exercise more during the pandemic, and almost all (96 per cent) want to maintain their increased activity levels.

Of those spending more quality time with the people they live with, 86 per cent said they want this to continue after the pandemic.

For those planning significant changes post Covid-19, 42 per cent want to make a change to their work, 38 per cent want to change their relationships and 35 per cent want to change where they live.

The survey is the first in the series since non-essential shops were allowed to open in England on June 15, and it became mandatory to wear face masks on public transport on the same date.

Shops in Wales and Scotland were permitted to reopen on June 22 and 29 respectively.

Some 12 per cent of adults said they had shopped for non-essential items such as clothes and furniture in the last seven days.

Of those who used public transport in the last week, 86 per cent had worn a face covering, up from 62 per cent the previous week.

The proportion of adults saying their children were now attending school has also risen.

More than three-quarters of those with school-aged children said they are attending school 'some or all of the time', up from 67 per cent the previous week.
The dean of USC's School of Dramatic Arts resigned after a relationship he'd had with a student was revealed publicly. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

The dean of USC's School of Dramatic Arts resigned Thursday after information emerged about a relationship he'd had with a student.

A day after another woman described the relationship in a town hall meeting, Dean David Bridel sent a letter to faculty on Thursday acknowledging that he briefly dated a BFA senior in 2009. He said their relationship had ended amicably, but described the public characterization of the relationship as grossly inaccurate.

I fully accept, however, that my behavior in 2009 demonstrated a failure in judgment and evidence of irresponsibility, he wrote. I apologize, profusely, for any harm I caused by my conduct in 2009.

Provost Charles Zukoski announced in a memo to the school that he had accepted Bridel's resignation, adding that the university is looking into the allegation. School of Cinematic Arts Dean Elizabeth Daley was named interim dean.

The relationship was revealed during a meeting for faculty, students and alumni of the MFA in acting program. News of the resignation was first reported by the Daily Trojan, which did not reveal the woman's name. It was not cited in any of the official correspondence about Bridel's resignation.

Bridel did not immediately respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.

One alumna who graduated in 2016 expressed disappointment in Bridel, calling his actions a "severe lapse of judgment." Pallavi Srinivasan said his leadership, which included creating a diversity board, made her believe that the school was becoming a much more inclusive place for people of color.

Now I realize that I dont know who he was, even though the version of him that was presented to me was everything that Id ever wanted," she said.

This story was reported with a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Pallavi, who said she also suffered from an inappropriate interaction with former USC gynecologist George Tyndall, said Bridel was part of a culture of abuse that USC has yet to address. That school hides a lot of dirty laundry in some really beautiful buildings," she said.

Story continues

Andrei Belgrader, a professor of theater practice in acting, said Bridels leadership will be missed.

He was an incredible dean, so Im kind of in shock, he said. Hes one of the best Ive encountered.

Bridel is the second dean to resign under President Carol Folt, who took over in September. Jack Knott, the dean of the Price School of Public Policy, resigned in April after accepting a deanship at New York University.

Bridel was appointed dean in 2016 after serving on the faculty for 10 years. His university biography credits him with being the founding and artistic director of the Clown School in Los Angeles. Hes worked as a playwright, director and performer.

He is the latest USC leader to depart from the university since April 2016, when medical school dean Carmen Puliafito resigned after a woman overdosed in his presence in a hotel room three weeks earlier. Other notable departures include President C.L. Max Nikias, who left his post after an uproar over USCs handling of the Tyndall case, and numerous athletics department leaders, who were fired over their involvement with the college admissions scandal.

For the record:

12:44 PM, Jun. 26, 2020: An earlier version of this article said Dean David Bridels relationship was revealed by the woman hed dated. It was revealed by another woman.












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He who finds a wife , finds a good thing and obtain favour in the sight of the Lord Proverbs 18:22 Congratulations to my Brother Nii and his wife who got married today at La Pleasure Beach. By the Abrahamic Covenant and by all means Sarah will conceive in Jesus mighty name. Say Amen  #congratulations #marriage #accraweddings #love #Ghana
The US government is willing to finance 5G telecom purchases to help others step away from Huawei, the Associated Press reports. The statement  attributed to U.S. undersecretary of state for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Keith Krach  comes as concerns continue to mount about the security of Huaweis offerings. In fact, both the US and its allies would be willing to offer financing tools and other associated things.

The undersecretary says that even offering Huawei a small role in the technology would be giving too much. The technology will be utilized to interconnect effectively everything from smart cars to smartphones. And, Mr. Krach says, the US and other recognize the danger in that. Any exemptions, he says will allow the Chinese government to expand its surveillance state.

Other, older equipment should be removed as well, according to the official. This is definitely the time to do a rip-and-replace transition, Mr. Krach asserts.

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Huawei is having on-again/off-again 5G success despite US interference

No details have been provided with regard to exactly what financing options the US government might put forward. And it isnt immediately clear whether comments about removing legacy Huawei equipment from existing networks would be a condition of that financing either. The US government has been strongly demanding its allies to cease interactions with Huawei throughout the Trump Administration.

In some cases, the US has gone so far as to threaten an end to intelligence cooperation for those countries that allow Huawei in.

That, as well as Huawei and its associated brands being added to the US Entity List, have pushed the Chinese tech giant through a rollercoaster of changes over the past year. Its addition to the list in 2019 prevents any US companies, without a special license, from participating in business with Huawei. Thats either directly or indirectly. Those licenses, subsequently, have been made difficult to obtain.

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Other companies around the globe have fallen largely in line with that. Thats forcing Huawei to turn inward in search of components, partners, research, development, and other aspects of its business.

Despite all of that and more, Huawei has risen to second place in the overall smartphone market. It even briefly surpassed Samsung this year, despite having no access to Google Play apps or services. And it remains the top company on 5G and mobile networking.

Where is this offer from the US leading?

That situation has led to leadership from Qualcomms CEO and former Google CEO and chair to the Pentagon Defence Innovation Board Eric Schmidt speaking out, among others. Mr. Schmidt took aim at both Huaweis practices and the current US administration last week over the state of affairs.

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Huawei has largely denied in terms of official US accusations about spying and working for the Chinese government. But Mr. Schmidt indicates that there is some truth to concerns about its practices. And simultaneously that the US needs to work with Huawei on standards and compete with it to alleviate the problem.

Huawei may face an even steeper uphill battle on 5G, now that the US officially appears to be offering to finance on alternative solutions. The country also recently determined that working with Huawei on the standards is reasonable. So companies will be able to conduct business on that front, at the very least.

All of that that falls in line with Mr. Schmidts statements as well as those from Qualcomms CEO. Thats if companies operating in the US and elsewhere are able to help and countries decide to get in on the offer. The government is reportedly already in talks with Brazil on the matter.

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In effect, the hope seems to be that Huaweis stranglehold on the 5G networking space will be significantly challenged. But that it will still be able to compete and it will still be a part of the discussion on standards. Without, of course, presenting the threat US officials claim it is and which it has continuously denied presenting.
By Aidan Lewis

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt is counting on international pressure to unlock a deal it sees as crucial to protecting its scarce water supplies from the Nile river before the expected start-up of a giant dam upstream in Ethiopia in July.

Tortuous, often acrimonious negotiations spanning close to a decade have left the two nations and their neighbour Sudan short of an agreement to regulate how Ethiopia will operate the dam and fill its reservoir.

Though Egypt is unlikely to face any immediate, critical shortages from the dam even without a deal, failure to reach one before the filling process starts could further poison ties and drag out the dispute for years, analysts say.

"There is the threat of worsening relations between Ethiopia and the two downstream countries, and consequently increased regional instability," said William Davison, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group.

The latest round of talks left the three countries "closer than ever to reaching an agreement", according to a report by Sudan's foreign ministry seen by Reuters.

But it also said the talks, which were suspended last week, had revealed a "widening gap" over the key issue of whether any agreement would be legally binding, as Egypt demands.

The stakes for largely arid Egypt are high, for it draws at least 90% of its fresh water from the Nile.

With Ethiopia insisting it will use seasonal rains to begin filling the dam's reservoir next month, Cairo has appealed to the U.N. Security Council in a last-ditch diplomatic move.

The 15-member body is due to hold a public meeting on Monday at the request of the United States, which backed Egypt and Sudan's call for the Security Council to help break the impasse.

'ABJECT POVERTY'

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is being built about 15 km (nine miles) from the border with Sudan on the Blue Nile, the source of most of the Nile's waters.

Story continues

Ethiopia says the $4 billion hydropower project, which will have an installed capacity of 6,450 megawatts, is essential to its economic development. Addis Ababa told the U.N. Security Council in a letter this week that it is "designed to help extricate our people from abject poverty".

The letter repeated accusations that Egypt was trying to maintain historic advantages over the Nile and constrict Ethiopia's pursuit of future upstream projects. It argued that Ethiopia had accommodated Egyptian demands to allow recent talks to move forward before Egypt unnecessarily escalated by taking the issue to the Security Council.

Ethiopia's government was not immediately available for comment.

Egypt says it is focused on securing a fair deal limited to the GERD, and that Ethiopia's talk of righting colonial-era injustice is a ruse meant to distract attention from a bid to impose a fait accompli on its downstream neighbours.

Both accuse each other of trying to sabotage the talks and of blocking independent studies on the impact of the GERD. Egypt requested U.S. mediation last year, leading to talks over four months in Washington that broke down in February.

'VICIOUS CYCLES'

The resort to outside mediation came because the two sides had been "going round in vicious cycles for years", said an Egyptian official. The stand-off is a chance for the international community to show leadership on the issue of water, and help broker a deal that "could unlock a lot of cooperation possibilities", he said.

Talks this month between water ministers led by Sudan, and observed by the United States, South Africa and the European Union, produced a draft deal that Sudan said made "significant progress on major technical issues".

It listed outstanding technical issues however, including how the dam would operate during "dry years" of reduced rainfall, as well as legal issues on whether the agreement and its mechanism for resolving disputes should be binding.

Sudan, for its part, sees benefits from the dam in regulating its Blue Nile waters, but wants guarantees it will be safely and properly operated.

Like Egypt it is seeking a binding deal before filling starts, but its increasing alignment with Cairo has not proved decisive.

Technical compromises are still available, said Davison, but "there's no reason to think that Ethiopia is going to bow to increased international pressure".

"We need to move away from diplomatic escalation and instead the parties need to sit themselves once again around the table and stay there until they reach agreement."

(Additional reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum, David Endeshaw in Addis Ababa and Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Producer Sandip Ssingh, who lost his close friend, actor Sushant Singh Rajput on June 14, said that he was shocked by some "powerful" people's reaction to his death. Sandip said that many big names from the industry attended the funeral and grieved for Sushant as they cared for him, however, many others created drama out of the tragic situation.

Talking to Bollywood Hungama, Sandip said, People created a drama out of his death, he did not like such things. I was about to go for a bath after I cam home from the last rites and I got a few phone calls and messaging asking me why I did not invite them to the funeral! I got messages we are powerful people, you have not invited us. I mean, what goes on in the minds of these people? Shocking!

Ekta Kapoor had been dragged into a controversy but she was there on her own. Shraddha Kapoor, Randeep Hooda, ye saare log waha aa ke baarish me khade the, ro rahe the (All of them came despite the rains and cried right there, they did not need invitation for a funeral)," he added. He further said that more than his friend's death, he was hurt about the things people were doing.

Sandip also said that most speculations about Sushant's career were mere assumptions. He said that despite being an outsider, Sushant did films with Yash Raj and Dharma Productions. He urged people to think about his family's condition and asked them to pray for his soul's peace.

Sushant was found hanging in his Mumbai residence on June 14, 2020. He was 34.

This news piece may be triggering. If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata).

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Folks,

People always have in interest in anything they decide to invest some time and effort in. Before I talk about todays event at the Supreme Court of Ghana and what it means to me personally, let me share this:

I was looking through my google photos and reminiscing what happened around this time, six years ago, in the week of June 22nd. That was the day I became a father.

On 29th June, I took a picture of my son, while he half-stared blankly at me, and resolved that my best legacy to him would be to leave a world, and a country far better to live in than I met it. I owe him that much if I brought him into this world.

It was this same week that experienced an escalation of sentiment that reached a crescendo driven mostly in part by horrendous decisions of the then Mahama government, which led, or birthed the OccupyFlagstaffHouse demonstration just a week later.

Some of us began taking steps that began with derision, mockery, contempt, laughter, insults, open hostility and a host of other actions both overt and covert designed to portray us as having ulterior motives and illusions of grandeur and power-hunger.

Indeed, we stood in the rain on the first of July, and some of us, in the 2 years that followed, helped trigger some kind awareness that blossomed into a social movement. Some of those who were active in that movement ended up justifying the tags that were given us, as they comfortably now hold positions in power and exercise the same powers that they protested against, excesses and impunity included. Yet, on those days, we were brothers and sisters in arms, in solidarity for the need for better governance.

I congratulate them on their stellar rise into power, prestige and influence. They are shaping the nation into this new decade, hopefully of prosperity I digress.

Today, the same people that identified us as devils, who set the BNI on us, filmed us while marching, attempted to arrest and prosecute our friends based on whimsical brainwaves are now cheerleaders of some sort, hoping that our advocacy reaps results that they deem will even the governance playing field.

Today, those that saw us as friends when we were advocating, who knew we NEVER took a dime from anyone, do not shy at an opportunity to impugn a multiplicity of ulterior motives including very far-fetched yet delusional claims of some of us collecting monies for the sole purpose of pushing some agenda against their anointed.

It is against this same Electoral Commission that some of us sued for them to exercise their powers in Article 55 of the constitution and the Political Parties Act. Infact, the fluid nature of the need for electoral reforms led to the relevance and finality of the Pink Sheet as an electoral record during the Election Petition.

This same fluid growth of the Commission, an amalgamation of different elements of expertise brought together to execute a crucial mandate of our 4th Republican constitution, has necessitated massive public interest this year in its stance as to the conduct of our elections.

Most of the commentary around the issues raised by IMANI have been pedestrian, and have sought to align, or merge the reasoning around IMANIs opposition to a new electoral register as that of the NDC. That is to be expected as a political cost of the landscape in which we operate.

While the end-game looks the same, the reasoning of the NDC completely differs from that of IMANI, and anyone who took an interest beyond the enthusiastic bubble of social commentary will see the crux of the matter:

In the discharge of statutory duty, whose evolution involves the use of technology, how do we justify profligate spending, continuity of data, the life of data, the quality and benchmarks of equipment and systems used for data capture, storage, transmission, verification, integrity and retrieval, and what would be the right checks and balances in terms of judicious use of the nations resources towards these purposes?

The question is whether state institutions would be working at cross-purposes, enhancing co-operation, driving innovation or become vessels for profligate spending or not, and whether the judiciary, being one of the main pillars of a state with the rule of law, could intervene in a way as to ensure judicious use of resources, of which our data, yours and mine, and our biometric and digital footprint will not be used as a tool for misaligned public expenditure.

That principle, explained in the Amicus Curiae, differs completely from the positions adduced by any political party for which they are in contention with the EC, but allows for further interpretation of the more pithy and contentious factors around data usage.

Down the line, 10 years, 20 years from now, judicial decisions will not only be on the matter of the trajectory of the law, but also on the evolution of technology and the artifical personalities it creates, and how problematic their interpretation will be in the act of jurisprudence. We have already seen some of this in landmark cases across the world when it came to data privacy in the Facebook vs EU court ruling, or the interpretation of what copyright and IP meant in the Oracle vs Google case, or even the famous Apple vs Samsung Case, which all blaze the trail for the position of technology and our attitudes to it in law.

As an advocacy group, IMANI threads where most fear to thread, mainly because most people will want to avoid this same kind of public and media posturing that seeks to out the advocates as some sort of mercenary gang only driven by some unseen hand that just drives them to mischief or some kind of appendage to whichever convenient opposition can be tagged to it.

The Supreme Court of this land has decided not to see any merit in what IMANI had to say, based on an impression of bias. Fair enough. The apex court of this land has spoken. In engagements of this nature, the problematic aspects that get buried always have an annoying, funny and urgent way of popping up again, since the core of the matters therein could not attain finality.

In every war, and a perpetual war towards the attainment of good governance, there will be sieges, skirmishes, attrition, battles and there will be defeats and victories. In a way, we all have to be chivalrous and also understand the terrain. That war needs tenacious soldiers. That war needs battle hardened souls.

As I sit writing this, my son has just fallen asleep. I see him now and remember the picture I had of him, at 3 days old, when we were in similar circumstances 6 years ago, with all the hate and acrimony that was directed at us, and pledging then, like I pledge now:

I will be on the right side of history.

I will leave a legacy of a better nation, I promise on my honor to be faithful and loyal to Ghana, and to him. The biggest thing we can bequeath to our children is the pride of our nationhood, who we are, what we mean what we stand for.

I declare today my interest. It isnt on a printed paper with dead presidents. Its in the breath and life of the future, my children, your children, our children, that we leave a better world for them, and that we did something that inspires them to be greater and do better.

So yes, laugh. Play the same old record about losing credibility. You are just playing an old broken, analog record that is losing its timbre.

We digital baby!

By Selorm Branttie, Vice-President for Innovation & Technology
The Union Ministry of Road and Transport, on Friday, said that citizens with mild to medium colour blindness will now be able to obtain driving licences.

The Ministry said that it was taking many measures to enable 'divyangjan' citizens to avail transport-related services, especially obtaining driving licence.

Earlier, colour blind citizens were barred for getting licence to drive private vehicles in India.

The Ministry had received representations that colour blind citizens were unable to obtain driving licences due to requirements of physical fitness and medical certificate. The issue was taken up with medical experts and ophthalmologists of AIIMS, Delhi to seek advice.

Thereafter, the ministry allowed only mild to medium colour blind citizens to drive. Those with severe colour blindness are still not allowed.

Colour blindness or colour vision deficiency is the inability or decreased ability to perceive colour differences under normal light conditions. Globally, the European Union has also dropped the provison of colour blindness to obtain a driving licence. Whereas, in the US, colour-blind citizens cannot obtain licence for commercial vehicles.

Also read: India-China standoff: ITBP internal memo warns personnel of Chinese phishing attack

Also read: COVID-19 crisis: RBI board meet concludes; no announcement on one-time loan recast
Kristi Nix

Fort Bend County reported a record number of new coronavirus cases in a single day with 248 cases reported Thursday (June 25), according to data provided by the Fort Bend County Health and Human Services Department reports. The countys overall total surged to 3,645 with the death count at 52.

Thursdays increase eclipses the previous record on June 16 when 171 new cases were reported. Over the last week, Fort Bend County gained 694 new cases. The countys rising counts mirror a statewide trend. Texas officials announced Wednesday the state total increased by more than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases over the prior day, a new daily record. On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott paused any further phases to reopen the state and issued an order to halt certain medical procedures as many of the states hospital ICU units were nearing capacity. Fort Bend County hospitals ICU beds are also approaching 100 percent capacity with 91 of the available 104 beds (87.5 percent) in use. Of those, patients being treated for COVID-19 account for 32 percent of the overall total. If needed, officials say empty beds in regular hospital rooms can be converted to help with the overflow.
Sol Stoumen was angry.

It was 1949, and the San Francisco Police Department had just taken away the liquor license for his bar, the Black Cat Cafe. It was not on the grounds of any legally illicit activity but rather, because his bar in North Beach had become a hangout for gay men in the city.

At the time, bars were being regularly raided across the city for similar offenses, in large part to "protect" Army and Navy servicemen in the port city from social mixing with certain crowds. An organization, the Joint Army-Navy Disciplinary Control Board, was formed, which used arrest records to identify "problem spots," or businesses and bars which had a history of attracting sex workers, records of gay men gathering, or tended to overserve men in uniform.

Seeking to keep a leash on its soldiers, the Armed Forces organization partnered with city police departments and the Board of Equalization - the state's liquor licensing group - to patrol such establishments.

Over time, however, the agency developed an outsized concern over bars where "deviate" activity - a term ascribed to the presence of gay men - took place, according to Nan Alamilla Boyd's "Wide-Open Town: A History of Queer San Francisco to 1965."

This group appealed to the state's liquor administrators to essentially close bars (or otherwise mark them "off-limits" to servicemen) due to their serving a queer patronage.

(As Boyd reports, sometimes the Army-Navy would attempt to intimidate these customers by placing officers on guard outside the door of bars they deemed off-limits. That backfired when the soldiers' presence outside essentially advertised the establishment as a gay bar to interested parties.)
The tragic incidents of the past few weeks, and too many similar incidents in the past, should make all of us angry. I am angry, as a Black man, a father, a husband, a brother, a son and police chief. There are no words to describe the anguish of the lived experiences of some members of our Black, racialized and vulnerable communities. I have experienced it myself.

Police services and politicians talk in abstract about the importance of public trust. It is not possible for police to function without trust. We have a duty not just to serve and protect without bias, but to care, to strive for excellence, and to change when needed.

We must move to action. Its a reality that many are grasping with new urgency. The people of Toronto need to know that their police service has been working for years to prepare for this moment.

I rarely make comparisons to other entities, but these are different times, so let me say the following: we are the fourth largest municipal policing service in North America and we are leaders in officer training and service delivery. Policing in Canada is different than in the United States, in civilian oversight, recruitment, training and transparency, and we are fortunate as citizens in a large, growing urban city, for that.

The Toronto Police Service has implemented an enormous change agenda in modernizing service delivery. The 2017 Transformational Task Force was a game-changer. Civilians and officers debated and decided what policing should look like in Toronto.We came away with a singular focus: our communities. They are at the core of everything we do.

I believe passionately that our Service gets it right most of the time. We choose guardians, not warriors. Good policing starts with hiring the right people, but thats not enough.

We invest in training excellence that is holistic and never ends. Toronto Police Service officers undergo annual training throughout their careers. We do this to ensure they are equipped  mentally, emotionally and physically  to de-escalate, to help, and yes, to serve and protect. I would stack our training against any service in North America.

The Toronto Police Service receives almost 2 million calls for service annually. Are we right every time? No. But we do hold ourselves accountable. Our members want to do right by our city, by our colleagues, and by our families.

We are open to continued change and growth. With regards to anti-Black racism, I want to share four areas we are already investing in:

First, the creation of an Equity, Inclusion and Human Rights Unit. In 2019, we created a new unit to help us to evolve, to strive for bias-free services, and to offer all members guidance to learn and practice diversity and inclusion.

We hired subject matter experts who bring deep expertise in equity, inclusion, human rights, research and community engagement. They have advanced education and professional and lived experience. They are guiding the implementation of best practices and informing the work that we do in our communities, and the supports and training we deliver to our members.

Second, our Race-Based Data Strategy. This strategy doesnt have a policing comparator in North American and will fundamentally change how we deliver policing.

We are collecting and analyzing race-based data and information, including about our public interactions and our members perceptions of those interactions. We will analyze it to identify systemic racism and trends and to develop mitigation strategies and evolve training.

Third, our Race Base-Based Data In-Person Training. Dr. Grace-Edward Galabuzi, an internationally recognized expert, is helping us develop a multi-modal training curriculum informed by community members and stakeholders, and includes input from the Anti-Racism Directorate, the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Wellesley Institute.

Every member will take this training. It will cover historic and systemic racialization, systemic racial profiling and will inform our members and further protect our communities.

And fourth, our Anti-Black Racism Training. We are in year two of a best-in-class training program that goes beyond what most public sector organizations have offered. It was developed with academics, external experts, community partners, and our own members. We are learning what anti-Black racism is, about implicit and explicit bias, and about the experiences that affect the Black community in relation to systemic discrimination and policing. Implicit bias training is mandatory for our officers.

Will we stop here? No.

The Black community is telling us who they are, and who we are. We are committed to listening and working together with the public and governments for change.

Mark Saunders is chief of the Toronto Police Service.

Read more about:
Brazil rises as a global hot spot for coronavirus, with the second-highest number of cases and fatalities after the US.

In a surprising change of tune, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro struck a sombre tone on the coronavirus pandemic enveloping his country, paying tribute to victims of the disease in a weekly Thursday night broadcast.

It was in sharp contrast to earlier behaviour, until now, Bolsonaro had been parading around the capital Brasilia without a face mask, greeting and snapping pictures with his supporters. He got a rare public scolding this week, when a judge ordered him to wear a mask when out in public, or face a fine.

With over one million registered cases of the coronavirus and 53,830 deaths, Brazil has risen in the charts as a global hot spot for the pandemic  with the second-highest number of cases and fatalities after the United States. On Thursday he said he even may have had the disease.

Bolsonaro, who called the coronavirus a little flu, has come under heavy fire over his handling of the crisis and his continued denial of the growing evidence of the diseases deadly impact on Latin Americas most populous country.

Cemetary workers dig graves for victims and suspected victims of the COVID-19 pandemic at the Nossa Senhora cemetery in Manaus, Brazil [File: Michael Dantas/AFP]

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, has openly defied the consensus among public health experts for slowing the coronavirus outbreak, criticising lockdown and social distancing orders issued by governors and mayors, saying their economic damage is far worse than COVID-19. And he has promoted unproven anti-malarial drugs to treat the disease.

And the country still has no permanent health minister. Bolsonaro fired one and another resigned over disagreements about how to slow the spread of the disease. An army general now occupies the position.

The coronavirus pandemic in Brazil is not really being managed, said Anya Prusa, senior associate at the Brazil Institute at the Wilson Center.

There doesnt seem to be a cohesive national strategy and there hasnt been one for a while, Prusa said, and thats reflected in the fact that numbers keep going up.

The true numbers are feared to be much higher.

A study conducted by Brazilian researchers and published on Thursday found that infections among Brazils poorest and most vulnerable neighbourhoods could be 30 times higher than the officially registered count.

A woman walking past a graffiti of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and a person depicting the coronavirus pulling a rope against health workers in Sao Paulo, Brazil; the graffiti reads: Which side are you on? [File: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters]

Fuelling allegations that the government was trying to mask the severity of the outbreak, earlier in June, Brazils health ministry took down the website that reported cumulative coronavirus numbers.

Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes ordered the website restored, calling it a manoeuvre of totalitarian regimes.

Corruption allegations

Further eroding his support, Bolsonaro is also caught in an increasingly fraught power tussle with the countrys legislature, fuelled by allegations of corruption.

His justice minister Sergio Moro, a popular figure, resigned in late April accusing the president of interfering in investigations that involved two of Bolsonaros sons and firing the federal police chief for personal motives.

Moros accusations triggered investigations into Bolsonaros activities from Brazils highest court, arrests of his allies and motions in Congress to impeach him.

Although Bolsonaro has enough support in Congress to fend off the threat of impeachment, the saga has dented his popularity, with 44 percent of Brazilians saying they disapprove of the government, according to a poll published on Friday, up from 38 percent in April.





Meanwhile, the virus shows no signs of abating. Brazils death toll will surpass that of the US by mid-August, according to models prepared by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

And on Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said there are worrying increases of coronavirus cases in Latin America  especially in Brazil, where the true number of infections and deaths is likely much higher than reported, amid low testing rates.

There still are relatively low tests per population, and the positivity rates for testing are still quite high overall, WHOs top emergencies expert, Dr Mike Ryan, told an online briefing. From that perspective, we would say that this trend is not reflective of exhaustive testing, but probably underestimating the actual number of cases.

Under pressure from Bolsonaro and amid public fatigue after months of loosely enforced lockdown orders, state governors began lifting restrictions on commerce and other economic activity early in June, fuelling fears that cases would continue to rise before a peak in infections.

But without a coherent national strategy to confront the pandemic and without sufficient access to federal assistance, experts say state governors were largely left on their own to impose uncoordinated lockdown restrictions. Bolsonaros cavalier attitude towards the virus further eroded compliance with the measures by the general public.

Brazil: Will playing pandemic politics help or hurt Bolsonaro? https://t.co/8jEh0Kv0NG  The Stream (@AJStream) June 18, 2020

Among Latin American countries, Brazil is the one country with the most state capacity  especially on health and social policies, said Miguel Lago, executive director of the Institute for Health Policy Studies.

And yet it is the one country that did the worst job in containing the curve and is the champion of death tolls in our region, Lago told Al Jazeera. This is directly linked to the incompetence and short-minded political strategy that our president and his government have adopted.

Strong convictions

Observers say that since the coronavirus arrived in Brazil in late February, Bolsonaro never wavered from his view that keeping the countrys economy running was paramount even when he alienated his own allies  a decision that could continue to drive up fatalities, and have significant political costs.

Bolsonaro is a man of very strong convictions and he hardly ever changes his mind, said Thiago de Aragao, director of strategy at Arko Advice.

He believes that the route that the economy was taking before the pandemic was going to lead to growth this year and next year, which would be the basis for his re-election campaign, de Aragao told Al Jazeera.

With re-election still over two years away and responsibility for lockdowns squarely on local leaders, de Aragao says Bolsonaro is hoping he could avoid taking responsibility for the deteriorating economy, which the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday projected could shrink by 9.1 percent this year.

Meanwhile, cases and deaths are continuing to grow, particularly inland and in rural areas that were spared early on, and Bolsonaro continues to go maskless to demonstrations, shaking hands with supporters and posing for pictures with children.

Bolsonaro feels that changing his conviction suggests weakness, de Aragao said, a position which makes him hostage to his own initial opinion.
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: A 94-year-old man stepped out of Calcutta Medical College and Hospital on Thursday evening after winning a 16-day battle against Covid-19 infection. He is said to be the oldest Covid-19 patient in the state who returned home after his recovery.

Lalmohan Seth, the nonagenarian, expressed his gratitude to the doctors and nurses and other medical staff of the hospital. "Initially I was very nervous because I am a patient of hypertension. But the way doctors and nurses assured me and took care of my health, I got the courage to fight with the infectious disease," said Seth.

Seth, who had a fruit-shop at north Kolkatas Manicktala market, and her daughter started suffering from fever from June 2. "My daughter tested positive for Covid-19 and she was admitted to the same hospital. I was at home. My son suggested me to go to a doctor. I went to the hospital on June 9 and doctors admitted me promptly. My test report came positive on June 13," he recalled.

After Seth tested positive, he was shifted to another building of the hospital. The oldest patient who survived the coronavirus infection was moved by the way the doctors and nurses interacted with him.

"They gave me the mental strength to fight with the disease. I could not see their face because they were using PPE. But their words helped me a lot to gather courage," Seth said.

Before Seth, a 90-year-old woman from Howrah and an 88-year-old man from Jadavpur survived Covid-19 infection.

"We considered Seth as our challenge. Since is in his mid-90s and had high blood pressure, we were very careful about his health condition. We monitored his condition round-the-clock. His condition started improving three days after his test report came positive. We were hopeful. We informed him on Wednesday that we would release him the next day. His daughter was released four days ago," said one of the doctors who treated Seth.
Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., the last of three Ku Klux Klansmen convicted in the 1963 Alabama church bombing that killed four Black girls, has died in prison aged 82

Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., the last of three Ku Klux Klansmen convicted in the 1963 Alabama church bombing that killed four Black girls, has died in prison aged 82.

Blanton died of natural causes at Donaldson prison near Birmingham, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey's office said on Friday.

He was convicted in May 2001 of murder and sentenced to life in prison for the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in what was the deadliest single attack of the civil rights movement.

Ivey, in a statement, called the bombing 'a dark day that will never be forgotten in both Alabamas history and that of our nation'.

When asked by the judge during sentencing if he had any comment, Blanton said: 'I guess the good Lord will settle it on judgment day.'

Senator Doug Jones, who prosecuted Blanton, said the fact that Blanton remained free for almost 40 years after the bombing 'speaks to a broader systemic failure to hold him and his accomplices accountable'.

'That he died at this moment, when the country is trying to reconcile the multi-generational failure to end systemic racism, seems fitting,' Jones said.

The bombing in Alabama in 1963 killed Carol Benise Mcnair, 11; Carole Robinson, 14; Addie Mae Collins, 14; and Cynthia Dianne Wesley, 14 (pictured above left to right, top to bottom)

The church bombing, exposing the depths of hatred by white supremacists as Birmingham integrated its public schools, was a tipping point of the civil rights movement.

Moderates could no longer remain silent and the fight to topple segregation laws gained new momentum.

The investigation into the bombing was stalled early and left dormant for long stretches but two other ex-Klansmen, Robert Chambliss and Bobby Frank Cherry, were also convicted in the bombing in separate trials.

Chambliss was convicted in 1977 and died in prison in 1985, while Cherry was convicted in 2002 and died in prison in 2004.

On September 15, 1963, a bomb ripped through an exterior wall of the brick church, killing four girls who were inside preparing for a youth program.

The bodies of Denise McNair, 11, and Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson, all 14, were found in the downstairs lounge.

Collins' sister, Sarah Collins Rudolph, survived the blast but lost her right eye and became known as the 'fifth little girl'.

Glass fragments remained in her chest, left eye and abdomen for decades after the explosion.

A parole hearing was scheduled next year for Blanton and Rudolph and her husband planned to attend in opposition to his release, which was denied during a previous hearing.

'She hopes that he found Jesus Christ and repented,' George Rudolph said of his wife's reaction to his death.

The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in what was the deadliest single attack of the civil rights movement

On September 15, 1963, a bomb ripped through an exterior wall of the brick church, killing the four girls who were inside preparing for a youth program

Lisa McNair, the sister of Denise McNair, said she also hoped Blanton had repented and added: 'I wish I could have sat down with him to find out if he had had a change of heart.'

Blanton never admitted any role in the blast but evidence showed he was part of a group of hard-core Klansmen who made a bomb and planted it on a Sunday morning.

During the trial, then-US Attorney Jones, appointed as a special state prosecutor, said Blanton acted in response to months of civil rights demonstrations.

The targeted church was a rallying point for protesters.

'Tom Blanton saw change and didn't like it,' Jones said in the trial.

Blanton proclaimed his innocence years after being sent to prison.

In a 2006 interview with Birmingham station WBRC-TV, he claimed the government used trumped-up evidence and lies to gain his conviction.

'I think I was cleverly set up by the government... and that's why I'm here,' Blanton told the television station from prison. 'I'm sorry it happened. Deeply sorry. But I'm not responsible for it.'

A 1993 meeting in Birmingham between FBI officials and black ministers led to the reopening of the bombing case against Blanton and Cherry.

The investigation remained quiet until 1997 when agents went to Texas to talk to Cherry.

A decade earlier, the US Justice Department concluded that former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had blocked prosecution of Klansmen in the bombing.

He was convicted in May 2001 of murder and sentenced to life in prison for the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in what was the deadliest single attack of the civil rights movement
At least nine persons were kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Ondo State, on Friday.

The victims were on their way to Lagos from Abuja, Ondo police spokesperson, Tee-Leo Ikoro, told PREMIUM TIMES.

It is true that some people were kidnapped this evening. But we have been able to rescue one person. As I speak with you, our men are combing the bush in that axis to rescue and arrest the perpetrators, Mr Ikoro said.

A relative of one of the victims said the kidnappers already contacted the family to demand N100 million ransom.

READ ALSO:

Kidnapping for ransom has become rampant in many parts of Nigeria with thousands of people falling victim.

Between the year 2011 and 2020, Nigerians paid at least $18.34 million (N7 billion) as ransom to kidnappers, according to a report by SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence published early this month.
Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

En espanol | Most July 4th celebrations are likely to be a little less spectacular this year, with so many traditional fireworks displays, concerts and other festivities canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak. Though the annual fireworks show over the National Mall wll be blasting off as usual, the big National Independence Day Parade and many other Fourth of July events are canceled in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

Even so, no matter where you live, you can get a taste of what the in-person celebrations are like by tuning in to the National Archives first-ever virtual July 4th celebration. Soledad O'Brien will serve as host and narrator for the free event, sponsored by AARP and John Hancock. Among other online programs, the Archives will present a reading of the Declaration of Independence, the famous founding document that resides at the Archives along with the original Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Traditionally, the annual reading (this will be the 50th) is held on the morning of July 4, on the steps of the Archives building (closed because of the pandemic), on Constitution Avenue. It kicks off the day's patriotic events, usually drawing a few thousand cheering observers, who then watch the parade that starts in front of the Archives immediately after the reading.
The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi constituents are working together in the battle against COVID-19 in Maharashtra and the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party are fully supportive of chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's leadership, NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar has said.

In an interview to a TV channel, Pawar said that the government formed by the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress -- in November last year -- will absolutely complete its five-year run.

He exuded confidence that a similar political situation will prevail in the state if the three parties contest the next assembly election together.

The veteran leader rejected suggestions that he is remote-controlling the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, in which his party is the second largest constituent.

The former Union minister also said that the COVID-19 situation in parts of the state, including Mumbai, was difficult earlier, but has now substantially improved.

"Firstly, about this coronavirus situation, this government of three political parties is working together. There is not an iota of difference (among them). All these parties are working under the leadership of Mr Uddhav Thackeray," Pawar told the channel.

The Congress and the NCP are fully supporting Mr Uddhav Thackeray's leadership and whatever the actions he has taken, there is a perfect understanding, he added.

Dismissing claims that he is remote-controlling the MVA regime, Pawar said it is fully controlled by Thackeray and the latter's team.

The NCP chief said the three parties are working together as one unit and added he was not part of the decision-making process.

"But I do handle other activities, when suppose there is a crisis, there is a cyclone. I like to visit and give confidence to the people," he added.

Pawar dismissed the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's claims that the MVA government will not complete its five-year run.

"Absolutely this government will last for five years. If they (the three parties) contest the (next assembly) election jointly, a similar (political) situation will prevail after five years too," he added.

On the COVID-19 situation in the state, Pawar said the situation is definitely improving day by day.

He said the situation was difficult in some parts of Mumbai like Dharavi and other slums earlier, but things have improved substantially in the financial capital, too.

"(In) all these slums, where we have reduced the number of patients, I think the picture has definitely changed. It has improved in Bombay (Mumbai)...day by day, the situation in the entire state is definitely improving," he added.

Asked whether there were any differences of opinion between him and Thackeray on easing lockdown with him wanting the unlocking to happen faster, while the chief minister was being more cautious, Pawar said, "Yeah, it is partly true, but not fully correct."

"I was also not supporting the idea to open up the entire Mumbai, Pune and Thane belt (which accounts for most of COVID-19 cases) immediately," he said.

"But I was definitely suggesting to reopen slowly the rest of the state and chief minister Mr Thackeray and his team have taken a similar road," the veteran politician added.

Pawar said many districts other than Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Solapur are opening up, communication has been re- established there, transportation is improving, shops have opened, trade has resumed and agricultural activities are going on in full swing.

The situation is changing very fast, he added.
FLINT TWP., MI -- A felony warrant has been issued for the arrest of an 18-year-old Mt. Morris man who police say attacked a Macys store manager earlier this month at the Genesee Valley Center.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton announced the 10-year felony warrant for assault with intent to do great bodily harm in a news release Friday, June 26.

The 18-year-old remains at large despite police efforts to find him and a 22-year-old township man in connection with the June 15 assault.

MLive-The Flint Journal does not release the names of individuals accused of crimes until they have been formally arraigned on the charges against them.

It became clear this was an unprovoked attack (on) the store manager, Leyton said. We dont have any evidence that (a racial slur) was said to provoke the attack ... absolutely no evidence that it was said. Even if it was said, the law does not allow you to retaliate with violence for an absolutely horrible racial slur.

The beating of the manager, 50, was captured by both surveillance video in the Macys store and on video originally posted on Facebook by the 22-year-old man police have been seeking.

In the Facebook video, the Macys manager, who is wearing a cloth mask, is talking on a cell phone when hes suddenly punched in the head by a man who uses racial slurs as he continues to hoover over and punch him.

I didnt touch you ... Im sorry, the man on the ground says before hes punched a second and third time by the man.

The short video clip of the incident has been viewed more than 86,000 times on YouTube. Initially the attacker received support by some, who said the assault was provoked by the store managers use of a racial slur -- something that isnt heard on the video clip.

Leyton said the surveillance video does not include audio, the managers personal cell call was not recorded, and said that the victim and the person he was talking to on his cell call deny any racial slur was said, according to the prosecutor.

Macys has said both the store and the Gensee Valley shopping center added security after the attack occurred and a company spokeswoman has called the beating unprovoked.

Leyton also said he and his senior staff reviewed the case for possibly charging the 18-year-old man with a hate crime, called ethnic intimidation by statute, but said there is insufficient probable cause evidence that would support it.

I know a lot of people are calling this a hate crime but, under the laws of Michigan, the evidence simply does not support that charge, the prosecutor said in a statement released by his office.

A spokeswoman for the mall has not commented on the incident to The Journal.

Genesee Valley was sold in December to Namdar Realty Group, a company headquartered in New York. It was formerly owned by Spinoso Group.

Police have asked anyone who has seen the video on social media and knows the whereabouts of the persons of interest in the case to contact Flint Township Police Detective Doug Hart at 810-600-3250, or report a tip anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-JAIL (5245), on the P3 Tips app, or online at crimestoppersoffint.com.

Police investigating video of beating inside Genesee Valley mall

Macys says attack on employee in Flint Township store was unprovoked

Police seeking persons of interest in assault at Genesee Valley Mall

Genesee Valley Center sold to New York-based realty group

Genesee Valley Center turns 40; Genesee Countys largest mall continues to evolve, add nontraditional tenants
While most parts of the country have opened up in the 'unlock' phase, educational institutions are still shut owing to risks. Due to this, kids who come from less privileged backgrounds have found it extremely difficult to keep up with studies. Even as students in cities and towns across the country attend classes online, rural areas continue to grapple with the new system due to unsteady connectivity and lack of devices such as smartphones and computers.

Image For Representation/Pixy.org

To address this issue of making classes accessible for kids, a principal from Jharkhand has come up with an innovative solution. According to reports, the teacher named Shyam Kishore Singh Gandhi, the headmaster of Bankathi Middle School, put up several loudspeakers across the school where classes are held for two hours every day, since April 16.

The students sit near the loudspeakers which have been put up on trees and walls at different locations, and attend the classes. Louder speakers are put up where the number of students is more. Five teachers and two para teachers teach over the mike from the classroom," Gandhi said.

"Thousands of schools and colleges across India have switched to online as classrooms remain shut since mid-March amid the coronavirus outbreak. There are 246 students from class 1 to class 8, and 204 of them do not have mobile phones, Gandhi told PTI.

Also Read: Hyderabad Residents Pool Money To Buy Smartphones, Help Underprivileged Kids With Online Classes

He said the classes start at 10 am daily. If the students have any doubt or want to ask any question, they can send their queries to me from anyones mobile phone and we explain it the next day, he added

Image For Representation/The Hindu

Gandhi said the model is working and students are receptive and enjoying the new style of studying.

Here's how people praised his initiative:

#1

As they say - If there is a will, there is a way. Possibly the best use of a public address system.  Singh (@Indiason1) June 26, 2020

#2

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity &

The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty " ..so true!

Head Master of a school in Jharkhand set up loudspeakers to teach his students,beating the odds of online learning.

Yes,where there is a will, there is a WAY https://t.co/wMaRAZ0L3O  SirishaRao (@SirishaRao17) June 26, 2020

#3

Innovation Learning and understanding lessons over loudspeakers is easy says -students . A village school of #Dumka #jharkhand pic.twitter.com/oe5EXQ4Oaz  Nisha rai (@nisharai_ggc) June 25, 2020

#4

Rural India is a powerhouse of innovation. It converts adversity into opportunity



A Jharkhand school is using loudspeakers to make distance learning possible without smartphones



204 out of 246 students don't have access to smartphone#ThursdayThoughtshttps://t.co/YzC8R1j310 pic.twitter.com/BZwcZhQ711  Alok K N Mishra TOI (@AlokKNMishraTOI) June 25, 2020





Lauding the headmaster, Dumka's district education officer Poonam Kumari, said all the 2,317 government schools here should emulate the model so that the students would not have to struggle to complete the syllabus once the lockdown is lifted.

Also Read: Hyderabad Residents Pool Money To Buy Smartphones, Help Underprivileged Kids With Online Classes

"The effort is praiseworthy and all the schools in Dumka district should follow this idea in the interest of the students," Kumari said, adding that she will soon visit the school and the village to learn about the teaching method.

Ever since schools transitioned into the online distant learning format, many who couldn't afford the facility ended up taking drastic steps. There were several reports of suicides among students over not being able to attend online classes.

One such incident was of a class nine student setting herself on fire in Valancherry in Kerala earlier this month, for not being able to attend online classes as she did not have a smartphone, and the television in her house was not working.

Thanks to a few kind-hearted people, like the Jharkhand principle above, a lot of kids are getting equal access to education, amid the pandemic.

All Inputs PTI
A school employee has been identified as the woman who purposely coughed in a babys face at a San Jose, California, yogurt shop, says the Oak Grove School District.

We are aware of an incident allegedly involving one of our employees who was videotaped coughing on a baby at a local eatery, a statement by Superintendent Jose L. Manzo says.The employee is currently off of work and not providing any services to our District students.

No arrest has been made and district officials are cooperating with police, the statement says.

Security camera video at a Yogurtland shop in San Jose, California, shows a woman pointing angrily at a baby in a stroller who was in line behind her.

Then the woman pulls down her face mask and repeatedly coughs forcefully in the babys face before walking away, the video shows.

It happened so quick I was in shock, said MIreya Mora, the babys mother, KGO reported. She got close, she took off her mask, and she coughed three times super hard on my sons face.

San Jose police are seeking the woman on suspicion of assault in the incident, which took place at 5:25 p.m. on June 12 at the Yogurtland at 5638 Cottle Road, a release says.

The woman had reportedly accused Mora and her baby of not following social distancing rules while in line, police said in the release.

She coughed on him super-hard. It wasnt an accident, said Mora, reported The Washington Post. A person with a heart that cares would not do that to a baby.

But Mora, who is Hispanic, says she suspects racism because the woman only became upset when she began speaking to her grandmother in Spanish, KGO reported.

The Oak Grove School District in San Jose serves more than 9,800 students. It has 14 elementary schools and three intermediate schools. About a third of its students are learning English as a second language.

Police asked that anyone with information on the incident contact detective Dan Bowman at 408-277-4161. Anonymous tips can be left on the Crime Stoppers Tip Line, 408-947-7867.

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has issued a mandatory face mask order in the state, where COVID-19 hospitalizations are rising, The Sacramento Bee reported.

More than 9.4 million cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 483,000 deaths as of Thursday, June 25, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 2.3 million confirmed cases with more than 121,000 deaths.

The World Health Organization has declared coronavirus a global pandemic. In the United States, President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency.
A stabbing incident is contained in central Glasgow, Scottish police confirm, saying a male suspect is shot dead.

Scottish police have said a male suspect had been shot dead in a stabbing incident in Glasgows city centre and that six people including a police officer had also been injured.

Police Scotlands Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said on Friday the situation was contained and the wider public was not at risk.

In a statement later in the day, police said the incident in West George Street Glasgow is not being treated as terrorism, adding that its investigation continued and people should avoid speculating about the motive of the attack.

In an earler statement, police said that the suspect who was shot by armed police had died.

Six other people are in hospital for treatment to their injuries including a police officer, who is in a critical but stable condition, the statement said.

There was a heavy police presence on West George Street with more than a dozen police vehicles in attendance.

Images on social media appeared to show armed police entering a building and a large number of emergency vehicles outside.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the reports are truly dreadful and that she is being updated.

UKs Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was saddened by the incident.

Deeply saddened by the terrible incident in Glasgow, my thoughts are with all the victims and their families, Johnson said in a tweet. Thank you to our brave emergency services who are responding.
A key step in the return to service of the grounded Boeing 737 Max could take place as soon as early next week, two people briefed on the matter said on Friday.

Boeing's best-selling plane has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. A certification flight test, which is expected to last at least two days, is likely to take place starting as early as Tuesday but has not been finalized. The Federal Aviation Administration would then need to approve new pilot training procedures and complete other steps and would not likely approve the plane's ungrounding until September, the sources said.

A decision on the timing of the FAA's certification test flight could come by the end of the day on Friday, the sources said.

Boeing shares were down 3% in midday trading.

The FAA has said it is "in regular contact with Boeing as the company continues its work on the 737 Max ... the aircraft will be cleared for return to passenger service only after the FAA is satisfied that all safety-related issues are addressed."

Reuters reported on June 10 that Boeing aimed to conduct a key certification test flight by late June.

Boeing also notified airlines of a fix to address safety concerns about the placement of wiring bundles on the aircraft earlier this month.

In March, Reuters reported that Boeing would separate 737 Max wiring bundles, flagged by regulators as potentially dangerous, before the jet returns to service.

In early April, Boeing confirmed it would make two new software updates to the 737 Max flight control computer. But it said software issues that prompted the updates were unrelated to a system known as MCAS that was faulted in both fatal crashes. Boeing is also adding new safeguards to the MCAS anti-stall system.
Two window repairers were moments away from plummeting ten-storeys after a couple cut their ropes seconds before they were set to abseil down an apartment building.

It was only a last-second check before stepping over the edge that saved the pair from catastrophic injuries.

The shocking incident in South Melbourne on Friday is now being investigated by police, Karen, the mother of one of the abseilers said.

Two window repairers are lucky to be alive after someone cut their ropes moments before they were set to abseil down a ten-storey apartment building in south Melbourne (stock image)

'They would've been quadriplegics,' she told 3AW radio.

'All the units had been warned there would be guys doing work on the windows.

'They were re-corking them.

'My son looked over just before he jumped and a couple they had seen standing on the balcony had cut all of their ropes.'

Karen said her son Bryce and his partner Carlos spoke to the couple just moments before they were set to step over the edge.

'They got a look at them. It was an Asian lady and her partner and my son tried to communicate that the ropes would only be there for a few minutes.

'But they completely ignored them and then as Bryce threw his ropes over and looked down he saw Carlos's ropes were cut.

'Im still shaken up because I cant believe someone could be so ridiculously stupid.'

Karen believes the couple live at the residential apartment building and said police have taken a statement from her son.

Daily Mail Australia have contacted Victoria Police for further information surrounding the incident.
According to Shingo legend, Jesus, or as he was known to the locals, Daitenky Taro Jurai, spent his biblical "Lost Years" studying abroad in Japan. (We'll assume, since this was in 21 A.D. Jerusalem, that his Dad gave him directions). Years later, when the time came for JC to be nailed to the cross and complete God's plan, he instead let his younger brother Isukiri take the fall and fled Israel. On the blessed lamb, Jesus decided to lay low by returning to the "sacred land" of Japan, carrying nothing with him but a lock of his mother Mary's hair and the severed ear of his crucified bro. After four years of schlepping, he reached the Nipponese shores, settled in Shingo, married a local farmer's daughter, had a bunch of kids and died at the ripe age of 106.

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How do locals know so much more about Jesus than all the master theologians combined? In 1936, scholars uncovered the "Takenouchi Documents," a series of mystical papers that include the journal and the last will and testament of the Messiah -- signed "Jesus Christ, Father of Christmas." Sadly, this irrefutable evidence was accidentally completely destroyed during World War II, but a celebrity cosmo-archaeologist (who wasn't even alive back then) managed to save his transcription. Not that the non-charlatan needed it -- proof of Christ's life in Shinto is everywhere. Like in his grave, or his second grave filled with loose hair and an ear. Or the Legend of Christ Museum, where pilgrims can learn about the adventures of Japanese Jesus for only 100 Yen.

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Christ's presence is also felt in the villagers themselves, who historically were set apart from other Japanese one-horse-towns by adopting Christ's clothing, culture and, most importantly, his DNA. The last blue-eyed descendant of Christ is still alive and well in Shingo -- and his garlic farm is doing great. Are any of the people of Shingo actual Christians? God, no. But they do their best to approximate the foreign faith and honor the bones of the dead Messiah. Specifically, during the Christ Festival in the summer (Jesus loved the hot weather).
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The study is the world's first comparison of the effects of the three forms of smoking and vaping on human health and the function of cells that line blood vessels (the endothelium). It provides an overview of the available evidence about the harmful chemicals produced and the mechanisms by which smoking and vaping affect the body. The researchers also looked at the effects of each on medical conditions ranging from stroke to heart attacks and lung cancer.The researchers found there were multiple good studies showing that, overall, tobacco cigarettes were more harmful than e-cigarettes. However, there were few good, large studies about the adverse effects of waterpipes (often referred to as hookahs, shisha or narghile) and e-cigarettes on endothelial dysfunction and so the evidence was more variable.The research team says that the long-term effects of water pipes and e-cigarettes need to be investigated more thoroughly. In the meantime, they write, "waterpipe smoking is not less harmful than tobacco smoking and thus cannot be considered a healthy alternative".The research team reviewed a range of studies, which they graded as providing strong, good or medium levels of evidence on the harmfulness of the three types of smoking and vaping. Compared to non-smokers, tobacco cigarettes increased the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by 704% (good level of evidence), waterpipes by 218% (strong) and e-cigarettes by 194% (good); tobacco cigarettes and waterpipes increased the risk of lung cancer by 1210% (strong) and 122% (strong) respectively, while the level of evidence for e-cigarettes was not sufficient to draw reliable conclusions.They also looked at how much the three smoking techniques stiffened the arteries, an important prognostic indicator for the risk of heart problems and stroke. Compared to non-smokers, tobacco cigarettes increased arterial stiffness by 10%, waterpipes by 9% and e-cigarettes by 7% (medium level of evidence for all three).The first author of the review, Professor Thomas Munzel, of the Department of Cardiology of the University Medical Centre Mainz in Mainz, Germany, said:The researchers say the main toxic chemicals in e-cigarette vapour include formaldehyde and acrolein, as well as traces of chemicals called transition metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), all of which are known to damage cells.In contrast, tobacco cigarettes and waterpipe smoke contain a much more complex mixture of harmful chemicals and other substances. Waterpipe smoke contains solid particulate matter, originating mainly from the charcoal used to burn the tobacco; this is also present in lower concentrations in cigarette smoke.Nicotine is present in all three tobacco products, is addictive and is responsible for harmful biological effects as well as, to a minor extent, some beneficial effects.Prof. Munzel said:The researchers looked at the effects of smoking and vaping on COVID-19 infections. In the EHJ paper, they write:They conclude:Prof. Munzel said:The authors also address the issue of tobacco advertising. In the EU, TV and radio advertising of cigarettes, and tobacco products is not permitted. Some countries, such as Slovenia and Norway, have strict laws that ban all types of advertising, even at the point of sale.Germany is the only EU country where tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, can be advertised in public spaces via billboards.In the US, advertising of both tobacco products and e-cigarettes on billboards is allowed.The EHJ study includes maps to show where in the world e-cigarette sales are legal, and where in Europe advertising permitted.Prof. Munzel said:Source: Eurekalert
Petoskey High School band directors, assistant principal remain on administrative leave

Superintendent Chris Parker addressed the situation regarding three band instructors and an assistant principal who are all currently on paid leave during Thursday's board of education meeting.
The United States said Friday it was restricting visas for a number of Chinese officials, accusing them of infringing on the autonomy of Hong Kong.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would restrict visas for unspecified current and former officials of the Chinese Communist Party "who were responsible for eviscerating Hong Kong's freedoms."

The officials who were targeted were "responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy," which Beijing promised before regaining control of the territory in 1997, Pompeo said.

"The United States calls on China to honor its commitments and obligations in the Sino-British Joint Declaration," Pompeo said in a statement, calling for protections of "freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly."

China is moving forward on a security law that would enforce punishment over subversion and other perceived offenses in Hong Kong, which saw massive and occasionally destructive pro-democracy protests last year.

Activists say the law would effectively undo the freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong, one of the world's premier financial hubs.

Pompeo's action comes one day after the US Senate approved a bill that would lay out economic sanctions against Chinese officials and Hong Kong police as well as banks that do transactions with them.

Supporters of the bill, which needs to be passed by the House of Representatives, say they want to impose real costs on Chinese officials rather than just issue condemnations.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

The trade turnover between Turkey and Tajikistan in April 2020 decreased by slightly over $12.4 million compared to the same period of last year, having made up $16.7 million, Turkish Trade Ministry told Trend.

"In April 2020, Turkeys export to Tajikistan amounted to $7.7 million, and import from Tajikistan - $9 million," the ministry said.

In the first four months of this year, trade turnover between Turkey and Tajikistan went down by $7.4 million compared to the same period of 2019 and amounted to nearly $90.9 million.

"From January through April 2020, Turkeys export to Tajikistan amounted to $45.1 million, and import from Tajikistan  $45.7 million," the ministry said.

Turkey's foreign trade turnover in April 2020 amounted to over $22.5 billion.

In the reporting month, Turkey's exports dropped by 41.4 percent compared to April 2019, having stood at $8.9 billion.

Meanwhile, imports of Turkey in April 2020 went down by 25 percent compared to April of last year and amounted to $13.5 billion.

In the first four months of this year, Turkeys trade turnover exceeded $120.8 billion.

From January through April 2020, Turkish exports decreased by 13.7 percent compared to the same period in 2019 and made up $51.6 billion. Turkish imports grew by 1 percent compared to the same period in 2019, having amounted to $69.2 billion.

The foreign trade turnover of Turkey in 2019 made up $374.2 billion.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Visits to a popular Blue Mountains "battleship peninsula" are expected to rise as much as 10 fold after the Berejiklian government formalised protection for the Radiata Plateau.

The new Ngula Bulgarabang Regional Park, covering 300 hectares near Katoomba, includes some of the last undeveloped ship-shaped rocky headlands in that area of the western escarpment, said Cameron Chaffey, an acting director of the National Parks & Wildlife Service.

Bipartisan buddies: NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean with Trish Doyle at one of the lookout points within the new Ngula Bulgarabang Regional Park, formerly known to locals as the Radiata Plateau. Credit:Janie Barrett

The government bought the property last October for about $3 million. The previous owner had sought to develop the area for a meditation centre but had faced opposition for more than 30 years.

"It's an important addition [to the national parks estate]," Mr Chaffey said. "It protects a whole lot of the cliff edge, which is very fragile."
Earlier this year, safety issues at schools in heavily Hispanic neighborhoods in Ward 4 illustrated some of the challenges that come with a contractor hiring security at schools. At a tense community meeting in January, school workers said the effects of Latin American gang violence in the communities was seeping into schools. They said the students, many of whom were recent immigrants from Central America, mistrusted police. They said that the security guards did not speak Spanish and that the schools desperately needed more Spanish-speaking mental health workers.
(Bloomberg) -- About a year into a U.S. antitrust investigation of Apple Inc., Justice Department lawyers are scrutinizing rules that require many app makers to use the companys payment system, according to people familiar with the matter.

Government lawyers have met with developers as recently as last week and are asking questions about Apples rules that require apps to use its App Store payment system for subscriptions, said the people, who declined to be identified discussing a confidential matter. Apple pockets up to a 30% cut when apps use the payment technology.

The Justice Department has been interviewing developers about Apple since mid-2019, the people said. The inquiry is continuing and no final decisions have been made about whether to bring a case.

Most of the resources of the departments antitrust division are focused on an investigation into Alphabet Inc.s Google that involves the search giants power in the digital advertising market. That probe is at a more advanced stage and a case could be brought as soon as this summer, some of the people said. Still, the U.S. inquiry into Apples App Store policies was described as serious by a person familiar with the case.

The scrutiny shows that investigations of the countrys biggest tech firms overseen by Attorney General William Barr continue to grow a year after they began. The Justice Department was set to meet Friday with state attorneys general about plans to sue Google for antitrust violations, according to one of the people.

App Store Review

In the Apple inquiry, the governments lawyers have also asked developers about the App Store review process, during which Apple evaluates and either approves or rejects an app based on a series of guidelines, the people said.

Sometimes developers approached the Justice Department, while at times the government made the initial contact, the people said. At least one major developer has had meetings with the department over the past 10 months, with conversations becoming more frequent in recent weeks. In the latest meetings with at least one major developer, the number of department lawyers also has increased, one of the people said.

Story continues

In early conversations with the Justice Department, at least one developer was asked if Apple lowering its 30% cut would solve its concerns, but the person said the problem is less the commission and more that Apple doesnt allow an alternate payment system.

The Justice Department has met with both high-profile and small developers that sell apps. Weve spoken with the DOJ regarding Apple and the App Store twice, said David Heinemeier Hansson, the founder of software company Basecamp, which created the Hey email app, in an interview. We shared our experience, relayed the experience of others, and put them in contact with a developer who didnt want to go public with their story. Im really glad that the DOJ is looking into this, because we need both legislative action, but also enforcement.

The government is also asking questions about the Google Play app marketplace, two of the people said. It isnt clear whether scrutiny of Google Play is part of the Justice Departments ongoing antitrust investigation into Google or whether the questions are being used to inform the Apple inquiry.

Representatives from Google and the Justice Department declined to comment. Apple has said 84% of apps are free and pay nothing to Apple, but declined further comment.

Aspects of the departments discussions with developers about Apple have been previously reported by Reuters, MLex, and Politico.

Apple has come under increasing fire in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the European Union opened an antitrust investigation of the iPhone maker. Regulators there are particularly concerned about how the company forces many developers to use its App Store payment service for subscriptions.

Last week, Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith said its time for antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Europe to discuss tactics that app stores use to take advantage of those who want to distribute their software, in a reference to Apple.

The next day, Representative David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat who is leading a House investigation of Apple and other tech giants, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV that Apples 30% cut of sales is highway robbery.

Apple and Google are the dominant providers of app stores, the vast digital bazaars showcasing millions of games, productivity tools and other software available for download onto mobile devices. Globally, the two generated more than $83 billion in mobile-app spending by consumers in 2019, according to Sensor Tower data.

That power means most developers must work with Apple and Google if they want to reach billions of smartphone users as customers. The companies take as much as 30% of app sales, creating highly profitable businesses -- but also a rising chorus of critics who see an exploitative duopoly.

Unlike Apple, Googles Android phones allow users to access multiple app stores in addition to Google Play, which may help insulate the company from an antitrust enforcement action over its app store practices. Apple has said it doesnt allow multiple stores for security reasons.

At issue for some developers is the way Apple forces its users to pay for subscriptions and upgrades within the App Store payment network. Many apps arent allowed to handle purchases outside of the App Store, ensuring Apple gets its cut of 15% to 30%.

Apple makes an exception for video, music, book reading and some other services to allow users to log in without buying a subscription in the app. However, as part of the rule, the services cant advertise in the app that users can buy the subscription online.

Netflix Inc., for example, tells users they cant subscribe to the service inside the app, but doesnt explicitly tell customers how to pay for a subscription online, thus avoiding violating Apples rules. We know its a hassle, the app says. Apple says developers can promote other pricing outside of the App Store, as long as they dont discourage purchasing within the App Store.

App Store Subscriptions

Other services choose to use Apples payment system because its simpler for customers. But that can make the product more expensive. For example, the Soundcloud Go+ streaming music service costs $9.99 through its website, but $12.99 when bought through Apples App Store.

Apples growth is at stake. If apps could sell subscriptions outside the App Store, developers could stop using Apples payment system, causing the company to lose revenue. Fees from App Store transactions are estimated to be one of the largest contributors to Apples services revenue, a business the company is trying hard to expand.

Other developers, including Spotify Technology SA and Rakuten Inc., a Japanese online retailer, have complained about the App Store for being both the store operator and a competitor. For instance, when it offered sign-up subscriptions on the iPhone, Spotify had to give Apple its 30% share. Spotify argued that Apple Music, its top rival, doesnt owe anyone a 30% fee.

Apple accuses Spotify of wanting all the benefits of a free app without being free and has accused Spotify of seeking to keep all the benefits of the App Store ecosystem -- including the substantial revenue that they draw from the App Stores customers -- without making any contributions to that marketplace.

In recent days, Apple has loosened up some of its restrictions, appeasing developers. The company opened up its HomePod speaker to third-party music services, such as Spotify, and will allow users to set third-party email and web browser apps as their defaults on the next version of iOS.

Basecamp last week had an update to its Hey email app rejected for not using the required in-app-purchase-system for subscriptions, but Apple reversed course after the developer added a free option.

The company also said it would stop rejecting bug-fixing updates that violate App Store review guidelines, allowing developers to remedy such issues in a future release. It will also, for the first time, let developers challenge specific review guidelines.

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CONCEPT TO IMPLEMENTATION: The software-defined journey for a complex multi-cloud world The cloud conversation has evolved from to cloud or not to cloud to how many clouds. With this IDC infographic, explore the intertwining of enterprise multi-cloud and the software-defined journey and what businesses should look for in their network transformation partner.

SD-WAN Moves In On Edge Routers and WAN Optimization Techniques Network expert Andrew Froehlich discusses whether or not SD-WAN will replace edge routers, and how it is merging with WAN optimization techniques to give enterprises increased benefits.

Choosing the Best SD-WAN Architecture for Your Network In this expert e-guide, industry experts explore what key considerations you should weigh when choosing an SD-WAN architecture that suits your organization's specific needs. Learn about building your optimal SD-WAN based off of traffic patterns, which vertical industries can benefit most from SD-WAN, and estimating SD-WAN's ROI.

The Great Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) Migration This exclusive resource explains the differences between MPLS and IPSec, detailing the benefits and drawbacks to each, as well as the overall benefits that can be achieved by migrating to MPLS.

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott rolled back his states reopening process on Friday as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to soar in Texas.

As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10%, the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Abbott said in a statement. At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars.

The governors slowdown of the reopening process reimposes restrictions on businesses he had allowed to reopen at partial capacity, including bars, restaurants, gyms, malls, and bowling alleys. Bars will be required to close at 12p.m on Friday but may remain open for delivery and take-out orders. Restaurants may operate dine-in service at 50 percent capacity, down from the 75 percent capacity Abbott approved earlier this month. The majority of gatherings of 100 or more people must gain approval from local governments.

The announcement comes a day after Abbot paused the states reopening process and two days after he warned that the coronavirus is now spreading in Texas at an unacceptable rate and pleaded with residents to wear masks in public and continue practicing social distancing.

As we experience an increase in both positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, we are focused on strategies that slow the spread of this virus while also allowing Texans to continue earning a paycheck to support their families, Abbott wrote in a statement Thursday morning. The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses. This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business.

The governor also banned elective surgeries in four counties that are experiencing rising numbers of coronavirus cases, in order to keep hospital beds open for coronavirus patients. Non-essential procedures will be prohibited temporarily in Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties.

Story continues

To state the obvious, COVID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas, and it must be corralled, Abbott said Monday at a news briefing.

Texas recorded a record daily high of 5,996 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. Daily hospitalizations of people infected with the pathogen have spiked to an average of more than 3,200 daily, doubling the daily average that obtained during the latter half of May.

Abbott warned earlier this week that the state may reimpose restrictions should cases and hospitalizations continue to rise.

Several other states have seen their coronavirus cases soar in recent days, including Florida, Arizona, and California. Along with Texas, Alabama, Missouri and Nevada also reported daily highs of new cases on Thursday.

More from National Review
TWENTY-TWO more coronavirus-positive individuals who have already tested negative for the virus were discharged from the Cebu City Quarantine Center (CCQC) on June 26, 2020.

Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) Administrator Yvonne Feliciano said the 22 patients experienced mild to moderate symptoms and stayed at the quarantine facility to be provided with necessary medical intervention.

Mayor Edgardo Labella previously urged residents not to go immediately to hospitals if they only experience mild to moderate symptoms. He said they can go to the quarantine centers.

The newly-recovered patients went home, bringing 25-kilo of rice given by the City Government.

The CCQC was managed by the CCMC. (JJL)




Haiti - BRH : Launch of the National Plan of Financial Education





Thursday, June 25, the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) in partnership with the Ministries of National Education and the Economy and Finance, launched the National Plan of Financial Education (PNEF).



Spanning 5 years (2020-2025), this Plan intends to encourage individuals and families to better develop their sense of savings and to arouse in them interest in investment through better knowledge and adequate use of financial products and services. It emphasizes financial education in the school system, entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers and rural people, vulnerable populations, migrants and their families, not to mention all active users of the financial system in general.



Aligning with the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (SNIF) whose national steering committee was installed on June 24, this Plan revolves around 6 main priority axes :



The establishment of a transversal tool allowing to constitute and coordinate a solid community in charge of financial education in Haiti;



Financial education in schools and universities to train teachers and provide children and young people, with an emphasis on girls and young women, basic schools and secondary and universities, financial and economic education tools;



The promotion of financial skills among micro-entrepreneurs, considered one of the main engines of the economy;



The vulnerable population, with particular attention to women living in precarious conditions;



Migrants who send funds and their families, with special attention to women, with the aim of strengthening their planning and resilience skills;



Empowering consumers and protecting users of financial services.



The Ministry of National Education will play a major role in implementing the Plan by training young people in the school environment and those outside the school environment (non-formal education).



Speaking during the launching ceremony, Pierre Josue Agenor Cadet the Minister of Education, believes that this Public Policy Plan is a sign of modern times which Haiti cannot escape in this global village marked by the globalization of markets and the the need to make informed choices to help consumers and young people manage their finances.



For Minister Cadet, by teaching our young people how to anticipate and adopt good decisions in managing their finances, how to take risks and seize investment opportunities, we are offering them a new, more reassuring path in planning their lives. This will make it easier for them to turn knowledge into capital and contribute to the emergence of a knowledge-based economy.



Cadet reminded that "[...] research shows that an educated people in general and more specifically financially educated will make more informed choices in terms of consumption and preservation of acquired goods, in terms of savings and increases in their income, but also in terms of procreation and the time needed to start a family."



He also took the opportunity to greet other partners such as Aflatoun, a Dutch NGO present in more than 100 countries which focuses on educating children about their rights and responsibilities and managing financial resources through social and financial education. Within the framework of the PNEF, Aflatoun will contribute to the training of teachers, bring educational materials, including textbooks for financial education.



For Jean Baden Dubois, Governor of the BRH, this Plan is the fruit of a year of collaboration between different actors all working for the improvement of financial inclusion in Haiti. He took the opportunity to salute other international institutions that have worked to complete this process such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AIF) and the Center for Research for International Development (IDRC).



HL/ HaitiLibre


















When Cultivate opened for recreational marijuana sales in Leicester in November 2018, it was a historic moment. The first legal pot sales on the East Coast drew hordes of consumers and people waited in line for hours on end.

Now, Cultivates second grand opening is another historic moment, but this time, one without crowds of customers and lengthy lines. The company has launched a dispensary in Framingham, selling both recreational and medical marijuana, in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The shop opened Thursday at 250 Worcester Road on Route 9 East.

While we are of course proud to be opening our second location, opening in the time of a pandemic is something we take very seriously. We have implemented a heightened disinfection and deep cleaning program, above and beyond what is required, said Evan Pierce, the Cultivate Framingham general manager. We also have security and police details in place for the first week of operation to make sure everything runs seamlessly.

Cultivate, like other marijuana businesses and like other industries, laid off workers during the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Charlie Baker in March deemed adult-use marijuana non-essential business, which meant stores were shuttered as the state worked to slow the spread of the virus. Shops ended up staying closed for two months before reopening in Phase 1 in late May. Medical marijuana treatment centers were allowed to operate through the pandemic.

As of Friday, Cultivate is back up to its pre-pandemic amount of 100 employees in Leicester, according to spokeswoman Francy Wade. Thirty employees have been hired for the Framingham location, almost all of them new to Cultivate.

Cultivate made history with NETA in Northampton, opening on the same day in 2018 for the first recreational marijuana sales in Massachusetts. Before offering adult-use marijuana, Cultivate was open in Leicester for medical sales.

Cultivate has been in the process of opening its Framingham store since at least 2018. The company received its commence operations notice from the Cannabis Control Commission on June 17.

Lianne Whalen, the executive chef at Cultivate Holdings, a marijuana shop in Leicester, leads a kitchen with about nine employees as of February 2020.

Cultivate was planning the design of its Framingham location, which was abandoned and formerly home to the Taqueria Mexico restaurant, long before the pandemic arrived in Massachusetts.

Now opening as the coronavirus lingers, but spreads less rapidly in Massachusetts, Cultivate has added transparent barriers to add a level of protection between customers and employees.

The number of employees and customers allowed in the store at one time is limited and monitored. Additionally, all employees and customers must wear masks in the store, Wade said, and must adhere to social distancing protocols.

Before coming to the store, customers must reserve a window of time to come in and shop, Wade said.

During this very difficult time we are proud to be creating jobs, economic activity and significant tax revenue for the city of Framingham, said Sam Barber, president of Cultivate. We are taking every precaution to make sure working and visiting our store is a safe, sanitary, and stress-free experience.

Cultivate hopes to open another location at 1023 Southbridge St. in Worcester later this year.

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Haiti - COVID-19 : Important meeting on the gradual reopening of the country





Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe, chaired by videoconference, an important meeting with the representatives of the scientific, communication and multisectorial cells around the slowdown of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in Haiti and the gradual resumption of activities.



This meeting was an opportunity to discuss a series of measures to be adopted with a view to the reopening of ports, airports, schools and universities. To this end, specifications in terms of public health have been proposed by the Ministry of Public Health accompanied by recommendations from the scientific unit, with a view to determining and adopting a control protocol in order to contain the risk of recrudescence of the spread of possible Covid-19 level cases



Note that Dr. Jean-William Pape member of the Scientific Cell for the management of the health crisis had declared to AFP "The peak has been reached for the area of Port-au-Prince : the number of cases is falling."



An optimism far from being shared by all.



Giussepe Loprete Head of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warns that figures should not be interpreted "Some people try to nuance, but I believe 100% that the cases of Covid-19 are underestimated in Haiti" referring to the difficulty of testing certain Haitians who do not believe in the existence of the disease and the problem linked to the ability of the authorities to massively test the population adding "[...] the figures can prove to be smoke screens if the we can't do any tests."



For Giussepe Loprete no decision should be made without a real assessment of the situation. Deconfinement is possible thanks to a careful assessment of the situation but it takes "More tests, more information, to control the situation."



Note that for the last 3 months the pandemic began, Haiti has only produced around 5,600 tests while the Dominican Republic has at the same time produced almost 136,000. Let's recall that last April, Dr. Patrick Dely, head of the Department of epidemiology, laboratory and research of the Ministry of Public Health, said that Haiti had 40 machines that can perform more than 500 tests per day. He also confirmed that the Ministry had ordered 13,000 tests for laboratory machines with the capacity to perform 7,000 tests per month https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30507-haiti-covid-19-22-tests-per-million-inhabitantshaiti-ranks-last.html



For his part, Edwin Paraison of the Zile Foundation, believes that the official statistics could be double if more tests were carried out.



In an interview granted to Agnec of the Spanish press agency EFE, Dr Jean Hughes Henrys, of the Haitian Medical Association (AMH) member of the Scientific Cell for the Management of the Health Crisis warns that if the guard is lowered too soon, a "great error" can be made "[...] We currently have examples of countries experiencing a resumption of cases. This means that whenever we let our guard down too early, there is a risk that the disease will rebound. This is probably the biggest risk we run. Experience shows that this possibility cannot be excluded," said Henrys in an interview with Efe.



Dr. Jean Hughes Henrys recognizes that the Haitian health system, due to its weaknesses, fails to register all cases of Covid. 19. However, he believes that the available figures serve to show the trend of the disease. "Today, in Port-au-Prince and in the West, we have figures which suggest that we are descending [...] but despite this apparent trend on the downside [...] the country should not start singing for victory and should remain very vigilant."



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30507-haiti-covid-19-22-tests-per-million-inhabitantshaiti-ranks-last.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30479-haiti-covid-19-daily-bulletin-april-8-2020.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30384-haiti-politic-creation-of-a-scientific-cell-to-manage-the-covid-19-crisis.html



S/ HL/ HaitiLibre


















live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Ashok Leyland, Indias third-largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, will launch the next-generation light truck platform Phoenix in the September quarter, to address a segment where it was not present.

Top management of the Chennai-based company said on June 16 that the launch of the Phoenix had been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. But since the model is ready and demand is picking up gradually, the company has decided to go ahead with the launch.

Ashok Leyland MD Vipin Sondhi said, Within the next three months we will launch the Pheonix. The model itself is ready. It is because of the current situation that we decide to change the timing.

The Phoenix, which has been in the works for more than a year, will enter the 5-7 tonne segment which has no presence of Ashok Leyland. The company does have the Dost light commercial vehicle which it built in partnership with Nissan catering to the 2-3 tonne segment. Tata Motors and VE Commercial Vehicles control the 5-7 tonne goods and passenger segment, as per SIAM data.

Launch of the Phoenix will the second big launch by the company, which is otherwise known for its buses, and that too in quick succession. Earlier in June, the Hinduja Group flagship launched the AVTR range of modular trucks addressing the segment of 18.5 tonne to 55.5 tonne.

Capex cut

Last year Ashok Leyland claimed to have saved Rs 500 crore on costs which was in addition to cut-back on capital expenditure (capex). As against spends of more than Rs 2,000 crore lined up for FY20, the company ended up incurring capex of Rs 1,227 crore for the year.

For FY21 and FY22, the company has planned to cut back on capex. Though the exact capex amount was not shared by the executives, Chief Financial Officer Gopal Mahadevan indicated that capex for FY21 will be very tight and much lower than FY20.

We are coming off a fairly large capex cycle because of the introduction of BS-VI and the AVTR platform. Pheonix, for all practical purposes, is ready. Our major capex cycle is behind us. This year and next year we will be ensuring that the maintenance capex which is significantly lower will remain in positio,n and any strategic capex issue is concerned we will thoughtfully consider and bring that forward, added Sondhi.

In earlier interactions with analysts, company executives had noted that going forward Ashok Leyland will set aside a much smaller capex which will be mostly on the light commercial vehicle business. This capex will not exceed the given band of Rs 400 to Rs 500 crore for each of the next four to five years.

For this year and next year, Ashok Leyland is going back to cost structures that were in place three years ago.
The town of North Andover has approved an estimated $27 million in tax incentives to Amazon for a massive new distribution center, an amount nearly equal to the combined total of those granted to the company for facilities in Boston, Fall River and Stoughton.

Last week, voters at North Andovers annual Town Meeting gave the green light to the tax increment financing agreement, which cuts down on Amazons property tax bill over a period of 10 years. A state economic development council also gave its OK to the agreement last week, though Amazon will not receive a state tax break for the site.

Amazon plans to develop approximately 110 acres of land for a five-story storage and distribution facility that will take up about 3.8 million square feet. The e-commerce giant has said it expects to employ at least 1,500 full-time workers at the site.

The property, located at 1600 Osgood St., was formerly the home of Lucent Technologies. Amazon has estimated it will cost $400 million to redevelop the site.

Amazon, one of the highest-grossing companies in the world, has received several tax breaks for its Massachusetts facilities. In 2015, it won approval for nearly $16 million in state and local tax incentives for a large distribution center in Fall River. It has also won approval for an estimated $3.5 million in state and local incentives for a sortation center in Stoughton, as well as up to $10 million in property tax breaks from the city of Boston for new Seaport District offices.

The company has not always lived up to the job pledges it made to secure those incentives, having fallen short of its targets in Fall River and Stoughton at various points.

The North Andover agreement allows the town to cut off the incentives, with state approval, if Amazon does not fulfill its obligations.

Representatives for Amazon and the town of North Andover could not be immediately reached for comment on the tax increment financing agreement. In its pitch to voters on the tax break, North Andover officials pointed to benefits from Amazons arrival, including $18 million in new net tax revenue over the 10-year agreement, they said. In the decade after the agreement expires, the town will receive an additional $45.5 million in property taxes from Amazon, according to officials.

The Osgood Street property had been pitched as a potential site for Amazons vaunted second headquarters when the e-commerce giant ran a nationwide contest for that prize in 2018.

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South Africa: SA marks International Day Against Drug Abuse

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu will on Friday commemorate International Day Against Drug Abuse by launching the countrys National Drug Master Plan (NDMP).

The NDMP is a blueprint for combating the scourge of alcohol and substance abuse which has reached epidemic proportions in South Africa.

The overarching goal of the National Drug Master Plan is to prevent drug use before it starts, early intervention to ensure substance users receive treatment and rehabilitation services and reducing the demand for illicit drugs.

The theme of this years commemoration, which will be held virtually, is: Value yourself and make healthy choices against alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

This years commemoration takes place at a time when the global community is confronting the major socio-economic challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic which further presents unique challenges for persons with substance use disorders and those in recovery.

The commemoration coincides occurs in the context of the nationwide activities of the Youth Month programme, as young people comprise the vast majority of illicit drug users. Given this, there is a clear need for prevention efforts directed towards the youth.

Government remains resolved to tackle the scourge of alcohol and substance abuse in South Africa. In this regard, the Department has established the Central Drug Authority (CDA) - a multi-sectoral forum to tackle the scourge of alcohol and substance abuse, said the Department of Social Development in a statement.

The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking Webinar will be addressed by, among others, Deputy Minister of Social Development Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu.

The National Drug Master Plan can be accessed here.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
San Francisco, June 26 : US telecom carrier Verizon has announced to pull ads from Facebook and Instagram, joining the chorus against the social network over the spread of misinformation and hate speech on its platforms.

Several big and small advertisers like apparel brand North Face, ice cream brand Ben & Jerry's, outdoor apparel stores REI and Patagonia, freelancing platform Upwork, shipping company Local Postal, password manager Dashlane and outwear company Arc'teryx have joined the boycott, among several others.

"We have strict content policies in place and have zero tolerance when they are breached, we take action," Verizon's chief media officer John Nitti told CNBC on Thursday.

"We're pausing our advertising until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable and is consistent with what we've done with YouTube and other partners".

From May 22 and June 20, Verizon spent nearly $1.5 million on Facebook and about $500,000 on Instagram, said the report.

Civil rights groups, including the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League, launched the #StopHateForProfit campaign on June 17, pressuring large companies to halt advertising on Facebook.

The social network is facing criticism for its inaction over Trump posts that glorified violence in the aftermath of the death of African-American George Floyd.

Facebook has admitted there is a "trust deficit".

"There is a trust deficit. You try to make a decision and people disagree and maybe that builds that deficit even deeper," the company's head of trust and safety Neil Potts was quoted as saying this week.

Potts told a group of nearly 200 advertisers that Facebook is working to close the trust gap.
A photo reportedly posted by a Harrisburg High School English teacher has garnered hundreds of comments on social media calling for her removal. But it may not be that simple.

The photo in question appeared last week and showed teacher Misty Bisby taking a selfie in a restaurant. Behind her, a Linn County Sheriff's Office deputy has their backed turned to the camera. Using the social media platform's filters, a middle finger emoji and Black Lives Matter sticker were added to the photo. The deputy is circled in red, and "f*** the police" was typed over the photo as well.

The photo went viral, with some defending Bisby's freedom of speech and others demanding she be terminated.

Harrisburg Superintendent Bryan Starr released a statement on Wednesday that said Bisby's photo did not reflect the district's values but the issue was a personnel matter. No information, he said, was being released regarding any action being considered in relation to Bisby's employment.

"Schools around Oregon are facing difficult decisions regarding staff social media communications on the topic of racial inequities and the appropriate use of force by police," said Jim Green, executive director of the Oregon School Boards Association. "While school staff retain First Amendment speech rights when they become public school employees, schools have the obligation to maintain a safe and respectful learning environment for all staff and students."

The issue of social media usage becomes even more complicated in terms of teachers. Political posts subscribing to racist ideology or other hot button topics could open the door to even more complicated questions over who is permitted to remain in their positions and classrooms when no actual crime under Oregon Revised Statute was committed.

"The Oregon School Boards Association is committed to assisting schools around Oregon with improving equity, diversity and inclusion in our public school system," Green said.

It is currently unknown if Bisby is still employed by the district, but according to local attorney Arnold Poole, it could depend on the terms of her employment.

"It depends what's in her contract," he said, noting that the district's teachers' union may also have a say.

An effort to discipline Bisby outside of termination also could be complicated. The Teachers Standards and Practices Commission establishes, upholds and enforces professional standards for teachers and administrators in the state of Oregon. The body can receive complaints regarding a teacher's behavior and open an investigation.

"Administrative rules (enforced by TSPC), just like state laws, are subject to interpretation by Oregons courts, including the state Supreme Court," said Trent Danowski, deputy director for TSPC. "The rulings from these court cases produce case law, which TSPC then applies to subsequent incidents coming before the commission. Oregon case law has established that TSPC does not have the authority to act upon an educators TSPC-issued professional license unless there is a nexus or connection between the alleged misconduct of the person and the profession of being an educator."

In specific terms of the incident in Harrisburg, Danowski said, "Short of the off-duty conduct resulting in a criminal conviction for a crime listed in ORS 342.143, or otherwise establishing the off-duty conduct is connected to the persons professional responsibilities as an educator, it is unlikely that TSPC would have the authority to take disciplinary action in the matter."

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SACRAMENTO  California is urging Imperial County, which has been hit harder by the coronavirus than any other part of the state, to renew stay-at-home orders due to a soaring number of new cases.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said the impoverished rural county in southeastern California, along the Arizona and Mexico borders, has seen a sharp increase in hospitalizations. More than 500 patients have been transferred to other counties from overwhelmed medical centers in Imperial County.

Imperial is the first county that the state has urged to pull back on reopening measures since California began loosening shutdown rules in May. More than a dozen other counties, however, are on a state watch list because of rising caseloads.

We are advising and counseling (Imperial County) to reinstitute the stay-at-home order, Newsom said at a news conference Friday. But they will move at their discretion. If they are not able to come to some consensus, I am committed to intervening.

County officials were apparently caught off guard by Newsoms call for a new shutdown, which could mean closing economic sectors such as manufacturing, curbside retail and office-based businesses. Board of Supervisors Chairman Luis Plancarte said he was notified minutes prior to the governors news conference.

The board held an emergency meeting Friday evening but took no immediate action. Plancarte said the county never lifted its stay-at-home order but did ease restrictions for retail businesses and religious services.

He said he would work with Newsoms office over the weekend.

We hear, loudly, the governors request, Plancarte said. We are pleading with our residents to comply with a stay-at-home order that is currently in place.

Since the outset of the pandemic, Imperial Countys infection rate has been about six times higher than Californias as a whole, with 2,835 cases per 100,000 people. Statewide, the average is 491 cases per 100,000 people.

And the situation in Imperial County has only gotten worse in the past two weeks, as new cases and hospitalizations soar.

The governor said Imperial Countys percentage of people tested who are confirmed to have the virus has increased to nearly 23% over the past two weeks. Statewide, the average over the past 14 days is 5.3%. Officials aim to keep the rate below 8%.

Newsom said his advice to reimpose stay-at-home orders is limited to Imperial County, noting the area has struggled to slow the spread of the coronavirus for weeks.

The countys population is largely low-income and 85% Latino, including many migrant farmworkers. Almost a quarter of residents live in poverty, and the median household income of $45,834 is far below the statewide figure of $71,228.

Imperial County has already reopened more slowly than most of Californias 58 counties, and it was among the few that did not seek permission to reopen its economy at an accelerated pace for such activity as indoor restaurant dining and in-store shopping.

Newsom said the state is closely monitoring developments in 14 other counties that are on its watch list because of increasing hospitalizations and new cases, among other metrics. The governor said he leaves it up to county health officials to decide whether to pause reopenings, but that the state reserves the right ... to make adjustments.

Statewide numbers have been going in what Newsom has termed a troubling direction for several days. He said Friday that there had been a modest increase over the past day in both hospitalizations and numbers of patients in intensive care.

Texas and Florida, two states with soaring caseloads, announced Friday that they were ordering bars to close down again. Not all counties in California have allowed bars to reopen, and Newsom said the state was not ordering those that have to shut them down.

However, he praised San Franciscos decision, announced as he was speaking Friday, to delay plans to allow outdoor bars, hair salons and museums to reopen Monday because of a jump in hospitalizations.

What San Francisco did is exactly what the system was designed to do, and that is to empower local health officers, based upon the conditions in their community, Newsom said.

He also implored Californians to recognize the pandemic is far from over. Newsom repeated his call for people to comply with a statewide order to wear face masks in public when they cannot maintain safe physical distancing.

What more evidence do we need? Turn on your nightly news, he said. When youre wearing a mask, youre also sending a message that were not out of the woods, that were still in crisis.

Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner
How to Do It is Slates sex advice column. Have a question? Send it to Stoya and Rich here. Its anonymous!

Every Thursday night, the crew responds to a bonus question in chat form.

Dear How to Do It,

Im an attractive and intelligent woman in my mid-30s. To a certain extent, I know these things to be true. Ive worked for 15 years as a successful commercial model, and I have a masters degree and an above-average IQ. Im in incredible shape. Also important to add: I definitely dont come across as modest or sexually conservative. I post lingerie and bikini selfies.

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I get a lot of emotional and intellectual fulfillment from my relationships with friends and family. When I date, my primary interest is finding partners who excite me physically and fulfill me sexually. For reasons I dont understand, I rarely attract these men anymore. The men who flock to me, asking me out to the tune of several times a week (!), are average- or below-average-looking smart guys. These men have everything Im looking for in a friend, but they arent what I want in a dating partner. My take is that they think my academic interests and penchant for elevated conversation will make me fall for them despite an obvious attractiveness gap. If I was looking for a marriage partner or someone to start a family with, that might be true. But Im not! I want hot sex with semi-committed medium-term partners.

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It sounds odd, but recently this non-stop attention from average-looking guys has started to eat away at my self-esteem. Instead of feeling flattered that they connect with me intellectually, I question whether interest from only this type of man means Im not actually attractive. Again, they are great people! I just dont want to have sex with them.

What can I do to attract the type of man I actually want to date? And how can I stop myself from feeling so insecure about the type of attention Im getting in the meantime?

Too Sexy

Stoya: Im wondering if this woman has ever made the first move herself.

Rich: My thoughts exactly. She writes passively about connecting with men (I rarely attract these men anymore, The men who flock to me).

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Stoya: Youre not a flower, youre a human. You arent rooted to the ground. You have agency and theoretical equality in this arena.

Get the How to Do It Newsletter Sex advice from Stoya and Rich, delivered weekly. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Rich: Also, her survey isnt scientific. Its missing a control, which prevents a reliable determination of causality. If shes waiting around to be courted, well, guys who arent considered conventionally attractive may be more inclined to put themselves out there, because they fear or experience getting nowhere waiting around for a mate themselves.

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Stoya: Exactly. Average-looking men tend to know that dating is a numbers game.

Rich: Some people have figured out that they cant get what they want without asking for it. Life has a way of teaching you that lesson.

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Stoya: Haha, yes.

Rich: Also, that effort these average-looking guys are putting forth may operate like, or very well be, charisma. In a sense, its compensatory.

Stoya: I want to rant about hot-chick syndrome for a moment.

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Rich: Please do.

Stoya: A long time ago, I went to Serbia and posted a picture of snow. (I swear Im going somewhere with this.)

Rich: lol

Stoya: The Belgrade Programmers Club saw the photo and reached out to invite me to visit because at least one of the members was a fan. When I showed up at the club they were like Whaaaaat? And then the fan, a couple of hours later, goes I think I get it. Nobody asks pretty girls to do things. Which is almost true.

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Rich: Theres the assumption that if youre hot, youre busy/spoken for/otherwise unapproachable.

Stoya: Yes. Simultaneously, though, theres all this noise. Hey, do you want to go to Hawaii? Hey, can I feed you oysters? This is where it really gets into a syndrome. We get overwhelmed by requests that we dont want and develop this kind of learned helplessness with going after what we do want because were so busy saying no to activities and people we dont want. So you end up with this Why doesnt anyone ask me to do the things I want to do? moment.

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Rich: That makes sense. I think its really about, like you said, wielding your agency. I dont think sitting around and waiting is a very viable strategy for satisfaction. And while I believe that it isnt unfair to consider a compliments worth based on its source, itd be useful to empathize with the guys who havent been particularly praised for their looks. Yes, that could contribute to someones self-consciousness and introversion, but it could, to others, be very freeing. Without being wrapped up in their ego in terms of their attractiveness, they may feel that they have nothing to lose. Why not hit on the hot girl? Some hot guys are so brittle that they might not even want to put themselves out there to be rejected.

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Stoya: Ooooooof. And some women, too. Like our writer.

Rich: Yep.

Stoya: Her self-worth is tied to her looks.

Rich: Exactly!

Stoya: For completely understandable reasons, Ill add, being in a professionally-looked-at career.

Rich: Im not trying to like social-justice police her attractionshe likes what she likes, and I think she has a right to satisfaction. But Ive had a lot of good sex with guys that might be considered average-looking, and I think part of it is that they just put a lot of effort into it. Theres sometimes a level of engagement that I find missing in some super-hot guys. Of course, Ive had great sex with conventionally hot guys (and bad sex with not-so-hot ones), so these are generalizations, and my own data is far from scientific, but she could be missing out as a result of her standards. What if the lesson is  beauty is skin deep? Thinking on such superficial terms is a trap?

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Stoya: My experience is similar. Attraction and desire can be about so much more than facial symmetry.

More How to Do It

I recently orgasmed during a typical massage at a massage therapy chain. It happened during a thigh massage, but no boundaries were crossed. I am married and monogamous, and I get massages for stress relief, though I prefer male therapists both for the hand strength and the added titillation. I wasnt seeking anything in my sex lifeour sex life is goodbut the orgasm made me wonder how I can incorporate that experience in our sex life. I dont want to tell my husband what happened, but I want him to do it to me.

Listen to Bim Adewunmi and Nichole Perkins discuss their feelings for John Boyega on Thirst Aid Kit.
There is a growing base of language users on the Internet, with as much as 18 per cent language users accessing the Internet every year compared to 3 per cent English users, as per a KPMG report. Most language users are based in non-metros and collectively outspend metro consumers in categories like FMCG, apparel and footwear. Neither are they shying away from big ticket purchases as e-commerce sales in these regions are growing at 3x the rate of metros.

Read More - Providing People with Additional Context about Content They Share

210 million users access the Internet every month with $300 billion in annual spending power. Only 50 million reside in the top 5 metros. A whole host of language friendly start-ups have sprouted in the last few years, such as news aggregator Dailyhunt, social media platforms Sharechat and Roposo, knowledge sharing platform Vokal, and podcast platform Awaaz.com.

TV with its unparalleled reach used to be the go-to media for advertisers to reach the heartland, but the pay and spray approach isnt an option with constrained budgets. For years the narrative in the regional space was potential, but now that is changing as cash strapped companies look for innovative ways to monetise.

Momspresso, a multilingual platform launched in 2010, has more than 15K creators on its platform creating content in regional languages across text and video formats. When it began, most of its users came from the metros, now its top cities include Lucknow, Indore, Patna, Agra, Jaipur and Chandigarh, where it sees engagement metrics that are 3X more than English content and the cost per click is a third that of English.

They create inspirational, beautiful, funny, and informative content across buckets of pregnancy, baby, kids, beauty and fashion, recipes, travel and living, relationships, their lives, health, and family. They serve female users who are the darling of FMCG players and an underserved audience on the Internet.

During the lockdown, Momspresso has engaged and partnered with brands like Johnsons Baby, Fevicreate, Mother Dairy, Ariel, Kelloggs, Surf Excel and Canara HSBC Life Insurance to enable and conceptualise their digital campaigns.

Prashant Sinha, COO & Co-Founder, Momspresso, credits the interest from brands to the new normal. According to a report released by BARC India and Nielsen on the digital consumption, smartphone usage is inching towards nearly four hours/day, which is a 12.5 per cent increase as compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. As regional content consumption soars during the lockdown, brands have a huge opportunity to provide confidence and be available there with a highly engaged, local and regional audience. Brands are increasingly focussing on vernacular content, because nearly 60 per cent of the audience trusts a communication in their own language, he noted.

The company recently launched a dedicated division called Momspresso Bharat that partners with brands that do not have domain expertise on language content, after all, Momspresso dabbles in content in 10 Indian languages. They offer services like regional language content creation in text, video and audio format, digital films, localisation of websites, regional insights, management of vernacular social media pages, and transcreation (as opposed translation) services. Transcreation is the process of adapting a message from one language to another, while maintaining its intent, style, tone, and context. An essential service for brands trying to run a national campaign in various languages.

Social media platform ShareChat launched with the motive of being the platform of choice to onboard language first users when they have access to the Internet. It has become Indias largest multi-lingual social media platform and supports 15+ Indic languages. The company claims to have 60 million monthly active users, where the average user spends 23+ minutes daily on the platform.

By focusing on hyperlocal conversation on subjects pertaining to local art, culture and lifestyle, ShareChat has democratised the conversation on the Internet, which was led by English speaking users.

March onwards, the platform has collaborated with 25+ brands and executed more than 40 campaigns. Their partners include brands like Paytm, Parle Products, Amazon Pay, Asian Paints, Aakash Institute, Unacademy, Facebook, Coca Cola, OYO, MTR, Airtel, Pepsi, Future Group, MXPlayer and Snapdeal, who want to unlock the potential of lower Tier audiences.

Satyajit Deb Roy, Director - Sales, ShareChat, remarked, Brands are excited about this proposition (multi-lingual marketing) and exploring the offerings across languages. To cite an example, Bhasha Dibosh is a well celebrated event in West Bengal. Coca-Cola did a Bhasha Dibosh special with ShareChat users, and used #  to connect with the audience. The campaign integrated during Bhasha Dibosh to connect literary behaviour with Bengali users on ShareChats platform. The purpose behind this campaign was to rekindle peoples lost love for writing in Bengali and hence, wanted to drive communication for the same. It generated 9.63 lakh views in a span of 3 days (Jan 20, 2020  Jan 23, 2020).

Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and ShareChat are the most used platforms beyond the metros. With more than 325 million MAUs, and nearly 200 million people using it every day, Facebook offers incredible reach and engagement. And this is discounting its reach on Instagram!

Facebook has circumvented the language barrier by driving video content. Businesses both large and smaller are using its powerful video plus infinite feed combination to drive massive engagement numbers.

Citing a recent brand campaign, Gaurav Khurana, Vertical Head, Financial Services and Travel, Facebook India, said, Eno wanted to drive incremental reach and consideration for the brand in rural clusters. To target the right audience, the brand mapped the internal business to geographic pin codes via census and postal pin code directory, identifying the rural clusters to be targeted. These clusters were then mapped to the Facebook audience available in those geographies. The brand tied up with Facebook to customise communication in vernacular to the relevant demographics, and saw an encouraging response from the consumers.

Boston Consulting Group and Facebook India recently released a new report, titled Turn the Tide, that revealed that digital influence has increased significantly across the path-to-purchase.

The platform offers a good mix of macro and micro influencers. According to Momspressos Sinha, If it is a matter of gaining reach, macro-influencers are the way to go and if it is a matter of authenticity, then brands chose micro-influencers as they drive higher engagement. So, the macro influencers engagement is around 3-5 per cent, while for micro influencers, it is almost 12-15 per cent of their followers network.

Mainline creators and genres like food and humour tend to receive the most traction of its platforms. Viral content from prominent public figure make this apparent, for example, Chefs Ranveer Brar and Saransh Goilas Instagram series #RBLockdownCookbook and Mornings with Goila. Actor Kriti Sanon (#KriticalCooking) and Daljit Dosanjh showcase their cooking pursuits.

On the other hand, creators like Indrani Biswas aka Wondermunna, who creates content in Bengali or Jahnavi Dasetty aka Mahathalli, who creates content in Telugu, see more engagement and have a loyal audience following.

While other platforms are trying to achieve scale, Facebook is working to make its platform more attractive to all kinds of creators, to compete with creator led platforms like YouTube and TikTok. Recently, the platform partnered with various music communities to create Instagram Live series Live in Your Living Room.

We curated regional music experiences with local artists, for a festival featuring Bollywood artists and for the North East and similarly for the South; all were well received in terms of viewership and regional engagement, says Khurana.

He further added, We engage with creators across regions, and programs such as Born on Instagram that we launched last year to discover and showcase content creators from across India, have had a role to play in it.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  COVID-19 response chief for Visayas Roy Cimatu on Friday said he found mistakes in the locations of isolation facilities in barangays in Cebu City that are deemed as hotspots.

Cimatu shared his initial assessment from his three-day trip to Cebu City after he was tapped by President Rodrigo Duterte to oversee the urbanized city following an alarming spike in COVID-19 cases. I

The so-called Queen City of the South registered 4,216 infections as of June 24, the worst of any city nationwide.

Cimatu wants all isolation facilities be far from communities as the viral disease can easily spread in close quarters if health protocols are not strictly observed.

"I observed that each barangay na may cases, nag put up sila ng isolation buildings right in the center of the barangay," he told a media briefing in Quezon City. "Mga iba sa eskwelahan nag put up ng isolation center. To me, I suspect na dito nanggaling ang pag-spread."

He also noted the varying and unsynchronized COVID-19 data of the health department, city government, and at the barangay level. He said he will ask the national government's COVID-19 task force to send out a team to Cebu City to help in data management.

Cimatu said will ask the health department to pool medical frontliners from other regions who will be sent to Cebu City as there are not enough health workers attending to patients.

He also questioned why some Cebu City residents refuse to seek medical help when they experience COVID-19 symptoms, saying this may also be the cause of the spread of the virus.

"How can a person who died of this virus namatay on arrival'" he stated. "So saan nangyari yun? Yung iba nagkukunwari na walang sakit, yung iba naman may sakit na pero ayaw pang ipa-ano sa ospital. I am trying to suspect na nagpapa-albularyo na lang ang mga ito eh."

[Translation: How can someone with this virus die upon arrival in hospitals? Some are pretending they're not sick, some experience symptoms but refuse to be admitted to hospital. I think they're opting for alternative medicine.]

Cimatu, a former military man, also wants stricter lockdown policies especially in areas where there's an increase in number of infected residents. But he urged the local government to provide food and other essentials.

The Interior Department said there are 19 containment zones in Cebu City namely Sambag II, Punta Princesa, Tejero, and Inayawan. The following barangays, on the other hand, were identified as hotspots and are under strict lockdown: Sambag II; Kamputhaw; Sambag 1; Basak San Nicolas; Mabolo; Guadalupe; Lahug; Duljo Fatima; Tinago; Tisa; Ermita; and Tejero.

Cimatu is set to discuss his initial observations and recommendations to improve the health situation in Cebu City with Duterte and the COVID-19 task force.
When you need to warm up, what's your favorite winter comfort food?
BANGKOK  Three Thai dissidents went missing in Laos for months. Then, last year, two of their bodies turned up on the banks of the Mekong River, their limbs bound and bellies filled with concrete.

Another three Thai activists who fled to Vietnam have not been seen for more than a year, ever since they were delivered into the hands of the Thai authorities by the Vietnamese government, according to their political allies.

This month, Wanchalerm Satsaksit, a Thai pro-democracy campaigner in Cambodia, was bundled into a black sedan by armed men, according to witnesses. His last words, caught by his sister, with whom he was on a call: Cant breathe.

All these Thais living in exile since a military coup in Thailand in 2014 have two things in common: They had criticized Thailands most influential institutions, the monarchy and the military. Then they disappeared.
Amazon has awarded three Houston-area high school seniors $40,000 scholarships as part of the online retail giant's Future Engineer program, which focuses on computer science students in underserved communities.

Chloe Nguyen, 18, who attends the Michael E. DeBakey High School in Houston; Karen Tseng, 17, from Morton Ranch High School in Katy; and Stephen Mgbemeje, 17, of Shadow Creek High School in Alvin, will each receive $10,000 a year as they attend four-year colleges under the program.

The three are among 100 nationwide who were awarded the $40,000 scholarships. The winners also will be offered a paid internship with Amazon after they complete their first year of college.

Nguyen plans to attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall, Tseng will attend the University of Texas at Austin and Mgbemeje will go to Rice University.

INTERNET ESSENTIALS: Comcast extends offer of 2 free months for low-income service subscribers

The students were selected after responding to a series of questions and letters of recommendations from teachers. The Amazon Future Engineer Program is a $50 million effort by the company to identify and help students in underserved and underrepresented communities who are interested in computer science.

In a phone interview, Nguyen said she was completely surprised by the news, which came in a box delivered by Amazon. She had not heard from the program after her initial application.

"I knew I wasn't expecting an Amazon package that day," she said.

The application had two questions on it, Nguyen recalled: Discuss an instance in which she overcame adversity, and pick a problem in the school or community and solve it with technology.

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For the first, Nguyen said she learned that the Houston Independent School District was planning to cut $1.5 million from her high school's budget, which would have gutted the computer science lab that inspired her. She organized a petition drive and set up meetings with HISD board members. In the end, only $500,000 was cut and the computer lab was spared.

For the second, Nguyen coded a tool that connected students who were struggling win a subject with others who excelled at it. The students could then get together for peer-to-peer tutoring.

Nguyen, who will be the first member of her family to attend college, said she plans to dual major in international studies and business, and eventually earn a law degree.

"I'm going to be in school a long time," she said.

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It was all going so well. Victorians largely accepted the strict lockdown measures, as much of the state was put into suspended animation. For all the economic pain, it appeared to pay off. The curve was flattened, the daily infection rate brought back to single digits, even hitting zero on a few occasions. The easing of restrictions was preceded by a testing blitz that brought Victorians out in their tens of thousands. The expected rise in infections revealed itself, then fell away as schools reopened, extended families came back together and cafes and restaurants prepared to open their doors. As the global virus hotspots spread to the Americas and parts of Asia and the Middle East, Australians could be forgiven for thinking this was a crisis averted. People queue up for COVID-19 testing at a pop-up site in Dandenong. Credit:AAP But for Melburnians, as the past week uncovered several outbreaks, that complacency and hubris has quickly turned to rising concern. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews described it as a "public health bushfire". With such vivid recent memories, few needed a more evocative metaphor to understand the potential implications of the virus getting out of control. There is no shortage of finger-pointing. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt voiced his concern that Victoria's hotel quarantine system "could be improved" and was deficient compared with that of other states. Sections of Melbourne's multicultural communities had failed to get proper COVID-19 health messaging and social distancing instructions. Large family gatherings were turning into super-spreader havens.

After a barrage of headlines revealing alleged rampant branch stacking and abusive and misogynistic language by right-wing powerbroker Adem Somyurek, Mr Andrews was in desperate need of a circuit-breaker. The virus outbreaks gave him a chance to return to the "Premier in charge" persona that had burnished his reputation. While it took a few days, Mr Andrews eventually mustered his forces. Testing would be dramatically increased, with a target of getting to half of all residents in suburban hotspots, old-fashioned door-knocking would spread the word on keeping safe, and up to 1000 military personnel would be called up. But as the week ended, the cracks started to show. Confusion over the military deployment broke out when the state downsized its call-up from 850 to 200 with no real explanation. About 30 per cent of returned international travellers are refusing to be tested. Lack of government outreach has forced ethnic community groups to take it upon themselves to warn people in their communities about the dangers of COVID-19. While these aspects are troubling, there are also promising signs. On Friday, 20,000 people were tested, showing that many are still willing to take the time to ensure they are not infected. The daily number of infections remains high  there were 30 new cases on Friday  but it is still relatively low when compared with that of most countries. With a concerted and well-organised effort, it's at a scale that should be controllable. Loading
Once a huge camera-maker, it is looking to carve off that part of its business and focus elsewhere.

Olympus, once one of the world's biggest camera brands, is selling off that part of its business after 84 years.

The firm said that despite its best efforts, the "extremely severe digital camera market" was no longer profitable.

The arrival of smartphones, which had shrunk the market for separate cameras, was one major factor, it said.

It had recorded losses for the last three years.

The Japanese company made its first camera in 1936 after years of microscope manufacture. The Semi-Olympus I featured an accordion-like fold-out camera bellows, and cost more than a month's wages in Japan.

The company continued to develop the camera business over the decades, becoming one of the top companies by market share.

"There's a huge amount of affection for Olympus, going right back," says Nigel Atherton, editor of Amateur Photographer magazine.

The 1970s was a high point, with their cameras advertised on television by celebrity photographers such as David Bailey and Lord Lichfield.

"Those cameras were revolutionary - they were very small, very light, they were beautifully designed, had really nice quality lenses," adds Atherton.

A cult following stayed with the firm, despite teething issues with new technologies such as autofocus, Atherton says. But the firm had a second wave with digital cameras, where they were early adopters.

But they targeted their later range of mirrorless cameras at a middle market - "people who weren't serious photographers - they wanted something better than a point-and-shoot camera, but they didn't want a DSLR camera".

"That market very very quickly got swallowed up by smartphones, and turned out not to exist."

The market for standalone cameras has fallen dramatically - by one estimate, it dropped by 84% between 2010 and 2018.

"Olympus I find a very frustrating company," Atherton says. "Continually over the last few years, they've constantly got it wrong, made wrong decisions, taken wrong turns, and gone down cul-de-sacs."

One example he cited was the lack of progress in video performance, where rivals have made strides.

The company also faced a major financial scandal involving senior executives in 2011.

Olympus is now seeking to strike a deal to carve off the camera part of its business so that its brands - such as Zuiko lenses - can be used in new products by another firm, Japan Industrial Partners.

In a statement, the Japanese company said that it was business as usual until then.

"We believe this is the right step to preserve the legacy of the brand," the statement said.

On social media, however, its UK team accepted that fans "may have many questions".

"We ask for your patience... Olympus sees this potential transfer as an opportunity to enable our imaging business to grow and delight both long-time and new photography enthusiasts," it said.

Olympus Corporation, however, will continue.

The company never stopped making microscopes, and has turned its optical technology to other scientific and medical equipment such as endoscopes. BBC
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  Senator Leila de Lima has filed a motion seeking to reconsider a Muntinlupa City court's decision rejecting her request to attend Senate meetings virtually.

In a seven-page motion for reconsideration filed on June 22, the detained senator asked Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court Branch 205 to reassess its June 17 Joint Order, which ruled allowing her to take part in Senate sessions online is no different from allowing her to attend there physically.

The order also stated allowing her to partake in sessions in the Senate via teleconferencing "would be tantamount to allowing her to participate even after the state of public health emergency."

De Lima said she is "utterly at a loss" on the court's legal basis for its denial.

With all due respect, the Honorable Courts reasoning is neither here nor there in terms of applying the Supreme Court ruling in Trillanes and Jalosjos that legislators under detention are expected to have legislative output and perform the functions of their office within the physical limitation imposed upon them by the conditions of their detention, said the senator.

Substantially, the last word of the Supreme Court on the matter is that so long as the detained legislator is able to perform legislative functions within his or her place of detention, there is nothing in the law that prevents him or her from doing so, De Lima added.

De Lima likewise noted the Muntinlupa court's decision is "most alarming," as new Senate Rules provide her an opportunity to add to the kind of legislative work she can accomplish while inside her detention cell.

She also emphasized her participation does not involve stepping out her detention cell nor the immediate premises of the PNP Custodial Center, where she's being detained at the moment.

The Senate passed a resolution last month allowing teleconferencing during plenary sessions and committee hearings due to force majeure or occurrence of any emergency which bars senators from attending physically, such as quarantine restrictions that have been declared on Metro Manila in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

De Lima also reiterated her proposed virtual participation shall end "when the Senate itself declares that the force majeure or emergency no longer exists, thereby necessitating the physical presence of Senators within the Senate premises to be able to participate in sessions and committee hearings."
MONTREAL, June 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intema Solutions Inc. (Intema or the Corporation) (TSXV: ITM, OTCMKTS: ITMZF) announces that it has been granted a temporary management cease trade order (MCTO) by the Autorite des marches financiers (AMF), the Corporation's principal securities regulator in Canada, under Policy Statement 12-203 respecting Management Cease Trade Orders (PS 12-203) in respect of the late filing of its annual financial statements and managements discussion and analysis (the annual statements) for the year ended December 31, 2019. The MCTO will be in effect until July 12, 2020.



The Corporation anticipates that, subject to current conditions remaining the same, it will be able to complete the audit review process by July 6, 2020, and that it will use its best efforts to complete the filing of its annual statements by July 12, 2020.

Intema also confirms that there have not been any material business developments relating to the Corporation since its last news release published on June 11, 2020.

The Corporation's directors and senior officers and other insiders will not be able to trade the Corporation's securities while the MCTO is in effect, and the Corporation will be required to comply with the provisions of the alternative information guidelines as set out in PS 12-203 for so long as the MCTO remains in effect, including the issuance of bi-weekly default status reports by way of press releases.

Unless and until such time as the Corporation files the annual statements, shareholders and potential investors of the Corporation are urged to exercise extreme caution when dealing in the securities of the Corporation. If the Corporation is unable to file its annual statements prior to the expiry of the MCTO, it is anticipated that the AMF will issue a general "failure to file" cease trade order (CTO) prohibiting the trading by any person of any securities of the Corporation, including trades in the Corporation's common shares made through the TSX Venture Exchange, which would take effect shortly after the expiry of the MCTO and would remain in place until such time as the annual statements have been filed. Trading prices and volatility of the Corporation's securities may be negatively affected and any investment in such securities could suffer a significant decline or total loss in value. The Corporation will make further announcements with respect to the status of the filings as and when appropriate.

About Intema Solutions Inc.

Intemas mission is to be the worlds premier digital marketing platform. The Corporation has been simplifying and optimizing the online marketing activities of medium and large companies through innovative technologies and cutting-edge expertise for over 20 years. A Canadian leader in permission-based email marketing, Intema provides a wide range of products and services, including SMS, content and predictive AI marketing, as well as related professional services. For more information, please visit our corporate website at intema.com .

Forward-looking statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. All statements in this press release other than statements of historical facts, including, without limitation, those regarding the projected financial performance of the Corporation; expected development of the Corporations business and projects; execution of the Corporations vision and growth strategy; sources and availability of financing for the Corporations projects; renewal of the Corporations current customer, supplier and other material agreements; and future liquidity, working capital and capital requirements are forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon what management of the Corporation believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on 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) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information:
Swami Jyoti Maa Mahadev, 69, head of the Jai Maa Mission of the Usha Mata Ji Trust, Bassi Pathana, died of Covid-19 in Ludhiana on Friday. He was rushed to SPS Hospital on June 19 in a critical condition. Besides diabetes and hypertension, he was also suffering from kidney and heart disease.

He had tested positive on Thursday.

Hospital medical superintendent Dr Rajiv Kundra said the patient was on ventilator support but his health kept deteriorating and he could not survive.

Spokesperson of the trust said Swami Mahadev had travelled to Haridwar recently, following which he started feeling sick and was taken to SPS Hospital for check-up.

Chandigarh girls test positive after death

A 17-year-old girl from Chandigarh, who had died at CMCH on June 23, was also found positive for Covid-19 on Friday.

She was rushed to another hospital with breathing difficulty on June 21. Her tests there were inconclusive.

In the meantime, her condition deteriorated, following which she was shifted to CMCH, but was declared brought dead. Her sample was collected again, and returned positive report on Friday.

As many as 17 patients from other districts and states have succumbed to the virus in various city hospitals.
(Courtesy of Tres Figueiras)

The global pandemic has been rough to varying degrees for pretty much everyone, but elderly people  those who have been most strongly advised to stringently follow social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders  have had it especially hard.

Prolonged isolation from family and friends and a lack of hands-on affection can really take its toll, but a long-term care home in Brazil has carved out a solution that keeps seniors safe from viral infections while allowing them to hug the people they love.

After a group of seniors residing at the Tres Figueiras home in Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil saw Mothers Day come and go without any visitors due to virus lockdown rules, the homes staff couldnt help but feel the morale plummet.

We noticed that our senior residents were feeling sad, Luciana Brito, one of the owners of the facility, told CNN. We thought they would be much happier if we found a way for them to hug their relatives.

And thats when the hug tunnel was conceived.

(Photos by Lucas Uebel/Getty Images)

Consisting of arm holes  set at three different heights so children and those in wheelchairs can reap its benefits  for both residents and visitors, and made of thick, clear plastic sheeting, the invention allows hugging and intimate contact with practically none of the dangers.

Brito told CNN that the idea for the "hug tunnel" as we know it today was derived from a viral video in which a U.S. woman created a plastic curtain so she could hug her mother.

The staff at Tres Figueiras also disinfect the sheets in between visits, while guests must sanitize and have their temperatures checked beforehand to ensure safety for all.

The measures to minimize risk combined with the functionality of the contraption itself has yielded something the facility's administrator, Rubia Santos, says should be strongly considered by anyone at the forefront of senior and geriatric care.

If anyone out there runs a senior living home or facility, I recommend you do this, Santos said.

Story continues

It is so gratifying to see them hugging each other and so important.

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, blocked the injunction while an appeal moved forward, saying Judge Bierys ruling will be remembered more for audacity than legal reasoning.

In a concurring opinion, Judge James C. Ho wrote that the 26th Amendment tracks the language of the 15th Amendment, which forbids discrimination in voting on account of race, adding that it would presumably run afoul of the Constitution to allow only voters of a particular race to vote by mail.

Still, Judge Ho wrote, even if the same reasoning applied to age discrimination in voting, it was not clear what the court should do about the Texas law. Do we level up (everyone gets to vote by mail) or level down (no one gets to)? he asked.

Since the answer was unclear, he wrote, a stay of Judge Bierys injunction was warranted.

The plaintiffs sought emergency relief in the Supreme Court, saying that the Fifth Circuits ruling forces millions of Texas voters to either risk their health at the polls, twice, or relinquish their right to vote in the upcoming election season.

The states primary runoff election, which was postponed in light of the pandemic, is scheduled to be held on July 14. Judge Bierys ruling also applied to the general election in November.

Other constitutional amendments, lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote, used nearly identical language to bar discrimination in voting based on race, sex and the failure to pay a poll tax. A state would plainly violate those amendments if it offered no-excuse mail voting only to whites, only to men or only to voters who pay a tax, they wrote.

If granting the right to cast mail-in ballots on the basis of race violates the 15th Amendment  and of course it does  then it follows inescapably that granting that right on the basis of age violates the 26th, they wrote.
With less than 24 hours to go for announcement of UP Board results, high school (class 10) and intermediate (class 12) students in state capital are doing different things to de-stress themselves.

As per the traditional belief, boards are regarded as life- making examinations. Lucknow students have a mixed feeling of nervousness and excitement for their results.

UP Board Results 2020: Live Updates

Relishing a few slices of mango, Mohd Athar, a high school student of Aminabad Intermediate College said, I have done whatever best I could do. Now Allah will see how I fare in the examination. Athar is expecting 80%. He wants to pursue humanities at intermediate level. He wants to become an IAS officer.

Read More: UP Board 10th, 12th results 2020 today at upresults.nic.in, 5.61 million students to get results

Yashartha Singh, a class 12 student of SKD Academy said, I am nervous about my marks. My hands turned freezing cold. My parents expects me to score above 85%. Anu Verma of class 10 of same school said she is confident and relaxed.

Dy CM to announce results

The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad, popularly known as UP Board, will announce results of class 10 and class 12 examinations on June 27, said additional chief secretary, secondary education, Aradhana Shukla. She said deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma will address a press conference wherein the results will be announced.

How to check UP Board 10th, 12th Result 2020 on our HT Result portal

Sudents will be able to check results on official websites of upmsp.edu.in and also on upresults.nic.in and upmspresults.up.nic.in.

Shukla said, Where the National Boards like CBSE and ICSE are unable to complete their exams, the UP Board completed the exams well in time but also got the 3.5 crore copies of 56 lakh students evaluated by 1.2 lakh teachers in record time during the lockdown.

Direct link to check UP Board 2020 results

More than 5.61 million (56.1 lakh) students appeared in the UP Boards examinations this year. Of them 3.02 million were in high school and 2.58 million in intermediate examinations.

UP board secretary Nina Srivastava said in high school 1.66 million boys and 1.36 million girls students appeared in the exams. In intermediate, 1.46 million boys and 1.12 million girls wrote the exams.

Read More: UP Board 10th, 12th Result 2020: Prayagraj students exude mixed emotions ahead of results

Both high school and intermediate examinations began from February 18. The class 10 examination concluded on March 3 in 12 working days while class 12 examinations ended on March 6 in 15 working days.
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Question: How should Christians respond to the desecration of the symbols of our national heritage and history?

The barbarians are at the gate. The mobs are now loose in the centers of American cities, tearing down statues and memorials representing our history and our heritage. They started with Confederate political leaders and generals. Many of us understood from the beginning that the Confederate leaders were clearly a Trojan horse.

Let me be clear: the Confederate memorials should be moved into historical museums, but only after the peoples elected representatives in the locales where these statues are located voted to do so. To have mobs take the law into their own hands is unacceptable  and dangerous. Such actions erode the rule of law, which is precious, valuable, and very fragile. It is far easier to destroy the rule of law than it is to build it up in the first place, brick by painful brick.

Now these mobs in the last few days have torn down and defaced statues of George Washington, the father of our country; and Thomas Jefferson, the chief author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States. Why? Was it because he was a slaveholder? Jefferson, who indeed was a slaveholder, but he also wrote all men are created equal and as enshrined on the Jefferson Memorial, declared:

God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free. Establish the law for educating the common people. This it is the business of the state to effect and on a general plan.

And these domestic terrorists are even attacking the Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln. They have defaced the Lincoln Memorial and want his statue removed in Boston.

These radical revolutionaries are exploiting the legitimate, heart-felt protests by tens of thousands of Americans, black and white, against police brutality and residual racism in American society.

They have torn down a statute of Ulysses S. Grant, the general who defeated the Confederacy and who as president helped shepherd the ratification of the Constitutions Fifteenth Amendment, which says the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This amendment gave constitutional guarantees of the right of former slaves to vote. Grant also appointed numerous African-Americans to prominent places of service in his administration, and fought fiercely for the rights of the freedmen during Reconstruction.

The mob also destroyed a statue of Francis Scott Key, who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner. Why? He owned slaves. On the statues empty pedestal, the mob scrawled their own graffiti: kill the colonizers and kill whitey.

They have also successfully agitated for the removal of President Theodore Roosevelts statue in New York City. And in the last few days they even tried unsuccessfully to tear down the statue of Andrew Jackson across the street from the White House.

Where does this end? Are we going to chisel away Washington, Jefferson, Lincolns, and Teddy Roosevelts images from Mount Rushmore? Are we going to demolish the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial? Are we going to change the name of the nations capital? And why stop with Teddy Roosevelt? Should we also remove memorials to Franklin D. Roosevelt because he interned 120,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II? Where does it end?

Earlier this week, Shaun King, one of the most visible of the Black Lives Matter leaders, proclaimed, I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down. Yes. All murals and stained glass windows of white Jesus, and his European mother, and their white friends should also come down. They are a gross form of white supremacy. Created as tools of oppression. Racist propaganda. They should all come down.

This will not stop until we insist that it stop. These Marxist revolutionaries  and thats what they are  want to delegitimize Americas heritage and culture. They are defaming America as an illegitimate concept and project from the beginning, fatally compromised by slavery and racism rather than being the Puritans city on a hill and a revolution that declared and asserted the belief that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

And while we are still striving to live up to that ideal, it is that ideal that has made us a beacon of hope to the world. And that is why people of all ethnicities and backgrounds from all over the world yearn to immigrate to the United States. As Senator McConnell so aptly phrased it, Americans know that an imperfect nation built by imperfect heroes is still the most perfect Union the world has ever seen.

How should we respond to this mortal threat to our freedom? This is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people, for the people as President Lincoln asserted in the Gettysburg address where he was honoring the memory of some of the 300,000 Americans who died ending slavery in America. Who elected these mobs? Who gave them the authority to make decisions for the rest of us? How is it that we have elected so many invertebrate politicians who refuse to honor their oath of office, do their duty, enforce the law, and maintain domestic tranquility?

What is at stake here, quite literally, is the rule of law and the very foundations of our civilization. Here in America we too often take the rule of law for granted because it has always been part of the furniture in the room. Consequently, we dont appreciate how rare it is and how many sacrifices were made by our ancestors to bequeath it to us.

There are only about ten countries in the world where Bush v. Gore in 2000 would have been decided as peacefully as it was here. Polls show that about one in five Americans believe that Gore actually won the election. But when the Supreme Court ruled that Bush has been elected, they accepted the rule of law. I am confident the same thing would have happened had the results been reversed. I am fearful that enough damage is being done to the rule of law that significant portions of the American populace would not accept such a court decision today.

We need to assert and respect the rule of law or we will lose it. And I fear, if we lose it, it will be enormously difficult to get it back.
Mumbai, June 26 : Showing no respite, Maharashtra's Covid-19 cases again jumped sharply from Thursday's high of 4,841 to 5,024 on Friday while the state's death toll crossed the 7,000-mark to touch 7,106, health officials said.

The state fatalities again catapulted from the June's lowest of 62 to 175 Friday, down from the previous day's highest death figure of 248 notched on June 23.

Earlier, on June 16, the state had reported the highest 1,409 fatalities taking into account reconciliation of earlier deaths, which drastically escalated the toll.

With Friday's 175 fatalities, the state's death toll climbed from Thursday's 6,931 to 7,106 and total cases zoomed past the 1.5-lakh mark to touch 1,52,765 till date, both being the highest in the country.

This comes to roughly one death recorded every 8 minutes and a staggering 209 new cases notched every hour in the state on Friday.

After 3 days, the recovery rate marginally fell from 52.42 per cent to 52.25 percent, and the mortality (death) rate stood at 4.65 per cent.

For most days in June, the state has been recording three-digit highs of deaths and since past few days 4,000 plus figures of new patients, causing huge concerns.

The health department said of the total number of cases declared till date, 65,829 are 'active cases' (ill) today - and this number is lower (favourable) vis-A-vis the number of patients cured, indicating a positive sign.

Of the total 175 fatalities declared Friday, Mumbai alone notched 117 deaths - raising the city's death toll from 4,062 to 4,179 now, while the number of Covid-19 positive patients here shot up by 1,297 cases to touch 72,175.

Besides Mumbai's 117 deaths, there were 16 in Pune, 15 in Aurangabad, 11 in Nashik, 6 in Thane, 2 each in Akola, Latur and Nanded, and 1 death each in Kolhapur, Nandurbar, Gondiya and Nagpur.

On the positive side, a total of 2,362 fully cured patients - the second highest till date - returned home, taking the number of those discharged to 79,815 now - relatively higher than the 65,829 active cases currently.

With Thane catapulting to the second slot in the country after Mumbai, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with the top district officials to discuss ways and means to control the Covid-19 situation there.

The state government has launched a health app - eSanjeevaniOPD - to give free online advice to patients for various illnesses as many private hospitals are shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said Health Minister Rajesh Tope.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh visited Malad East suburb after the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation this week announced a series of measures to control the runaway infections in north Mumbai suburbs.

Singh took an overview of the manner in which a strict lockdown is being enforced in the worst-hit north eastern and northwestern suburbs after the Covid-19 was tamed in Dharavi.

The MMR (Thane Division) remains a jittery issue with a total of 5,188 Covid-19 deaths, and the number of positive cases touching 110,830 Friday.

Thane - with 30,871 cases and 816 fatalities - has emerged as the second worst-hit district after Mumbai in the state.

Pune district comes third with 19,031 patients and 675 deaths till now. But Pune Division ranks second (after MMR) with 22,446 patients and 953 deaths.

The next major region of concern is Nashik Division with 475 fatalities and 7,359 positive cases, followed by Aurangabad Division with 243 deaths and 5,130 cases, and finally Akola Division with 121 fatalities and 2,422 cases.

Kolhapur Division has notched 47 deaths and 1,839 patients, Latur Division had 39 deaths and 861 cases, and finally Nagpur Division recorded 17 deaths and 1,755 cases.

Meanwhile, the number of people sent to home-quarantine increased from 556,428 to 558,488 Friday, while those in institutional quarantine increased from 33,952 to 36,903.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
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The Narcotic Control Commission in collaboration with the state securities on Friday destroyed exhibits of narcotic drugs intercepted by their operatives at the Bundase Military Camp following a court order.



The total weight of drugs destroyed is 2,553.68 kilogrammes valued at GH2.89 million and 287.61 kilogrammes of Khat.



The consignment, which had been packaged and ready for shipping, was confiscated on June 05, 2020, upon a tip-off by the collaborative efforts of drug enforcement agencies at the Kpoglo Border.



The destruction exercise was witnessed by the Ghana Standards Authority, Court Registrar, the Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana Police Service, and Narcotic Control Commission.



Mr Francis Kofi Torkornoo, the Acting Director-General, Narcotics Control Board, speaking at the exercise said the event was to mark this years World Drug Day, instituted by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 42/112 on December 7, 1987.



This years theme: Better Knowledge for Better Care, was necessary especially in the era of social media where people are being exploited with misinformation on illicit drugs in an attempt to lure them into drug use.



The theme was also aimed at improving the understanding of the world drug problem and at fostering greater international cooperation for countering its impact on health, governance, and security.



He said the celebration of the provided opportunity for the country to examine and put in perspective the approach to drug demand reduction among the citizenry especially the youth who were most vulnerable.



Mr Torkornoo said the day was also to increase awareness on the debilitating effects of drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking as well as the threats the incident posed to the national security.



He said when people are equipped with the requisite information on the harmful effects of substance use, they were likely to refrain from drug abuse to save their lives from the havoc caused by the substance.



The Acting Director-General said the Commission would continue to work closely with its local and international partners, and civil society organisations to deepen and strengthen collaboration in curbing the drug menace in the country.



Parliament passed the Narcotics Control Commission Act, 2020 on Friday, March 20, and it was assented to by President Akufo Addo on Monday, May 11, 2020.



The Act, under section 13, provides the independence of the Commission in the execution of its mandate.





Source: GNA









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One thing has been missing from the recent warm and dry weather in the Lehigh Valley and Warren County.

Summer drama.

But an approaching warm front followed by a low pressure area currently over Quebec could change that Saturday and perhaps even into Sunday, various forecasting organizations predict.

A hazardous weather outlook from the National Weather Service shows severe thunderstorms are possible Saturday into Saturday evening. NOAAs Storm Prediction Center sees a slight risk for locally damaging winds across the region. There is a small threat of tornadoes, the weather service said.

With a warm front arriving in the area, there could be associated storms before dawn on Saturday, as well, and Sunday could see some more wet and windy weather, but is actually expected to be partly cloudy.

NOAA"s Storm Prediction Center sees a slight chance of damaging winds on June 27, 2020, in the region.NOAA Storm Prediction Center

The early morning storms on Saturday could actually lessen the chance of severe weather later in the day, meteorologists say.

EPAWA Weather Consulting meteorologist Bobby Martrich says the later Saturday threat doesnt look all that impressive to me. Hes not certain the risk of unsettled weather along the warm front can sustain itself. Changes in models appear to put a lid on the severe weather part of it as the approaching front lingers earlier on Saturday, he said on his Friday morning forecast video.

Martrich sees showers in the morning into Saturday afternoon, but with a change to partly cloudy skies. The cold front coming through on Sunday could spark isolated thunderstorms, he said. The humidity should drop by Monday, he said, but could kick back up by midweek as unsettled weather spins back across the area from the northeast.

AccuWeather shows a risk of severe thunderstorms later Saturday after an early storm. Damaging winds and the possibility of flooding are in that Saturday forecast.

One thing is clear -- its been mostly calm recently. And, as a result, dry -- normally there would have been 3.72 inches of rain by this point in June, but 2020 measurements at Lehigh Valley International Airport show just 1.49 inches so far. That could certainly change this weekend, but so far the region has a more than three-inch precipitation deficit for the year.

It has been 1.5 degrees warmer than normal so far this month and more than four degrees above normal for the year, local figures show.

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.
Two Florida men are each being held on a $250,000 bond after being booked into Baldwin County jail Wednesday for alleged drug trafficking, according to the Baldwin County Sheriffs Office.

Enrique Miranda-Martinez, 47, and Yuri Maikel Hernandez-Perez, 39, were stopped on the I-10 Monday by the Baldwin County Sheriffs Office Special Operations Unit. After a roadside investigation, around 9 pounds of methamphetamine was found in their vehicle.

Hernandez-Perez, who is from Orlando, is also being held on a no bond immigration hold, according to the Baldwin County jail log. Miranda-Martinez, from Miami, has no holds.
A Welland man will spend the next five years and three months in a penitentiary for his role in a drug-trafficking scheme that netted police more than $85,000 in drugs, close to $40,000 in cash and five firearms.

Chris Arnoczki, 35, pleaded guilty Thursday in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines to several drug and firearm offences.

Niagara Regional Police in November 2019 launched an investigation into the trafficking of drugs in St. Catharines, Thorold and Welland.

On Jan. 2, court heard, search warrants were executed at an addresses in Thorold and Hamilton as well as the defendants Kent Street apartment.

All told, police arrested five people  three from Welland and two from Thorold  and seized more than $34,000 in crystal methamphetamine, $29,000 in fentanyl, $20,000 in cocaine and $2,500 worth of hydromorphone and a quantity of cash.

Numerous firearms were located throughout Arnoczkis residence, including a loaded a .22-calibre rifle and an assault rifle, and a large amount of fentanyl.

Fentanyl is highly dangerous and highly addictive and is often fatal even in small doses, Crown prosecutor Michelle Colacarro told court.

This was a dangerous and high risk situation for the police to walk in to given the firearms that were also in the residence.

Court heard Arnoczki has a lengthy criminal record.

This is the record of someone who is equally addicted to the substances, said defence counsel Alison McArthur.

Selling these drugs became a way to fund his lifestyle and a way to fund his own addiction. In that way, he is also a victim of these substances.
Video conferencing platform Google Meet is all set to get some Zoom-like features soon. The company on Thursday announced that Meet would get a wide range of features including the blur background feature, support for Nest Hub Max, Q&A and polling. There are currently many video conferencing apps in the market including the Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams among others.

After making Google Meet free for all users, Google introduced a couple of features to take on Zoom. Now, the video conferencing app will let its users blur out the background or replace with a virtual background. Users can also select and upload a background picture of their choice. The company is rolling out the feature for the students and educators. The feature would be beneficial for the office-goers as well. For instance, if you have an important official meeting and you can hide the background or simply blur it out. The background blurring feature is available in both mobile and desktop versions.

Google Meet had introduced tiled layouts which enabled users to view 16 people at a time. Initially, only four people could be viewed at a time. But Now Google is working to add around 49 people to the viewing list.

Apart from the background blur feature, Meet is also coming with polling and Q&A features. The Polling feature would let the host and participants during a video call real-time surveys whereas the Q&A feature the participants in a call can ask questions without interrupting the conversation. There is also an interesting feature called the Hand Raising, which as the name suggests would let the participants raise their hands whenever they have something to say during a team meeting.

Just like offices, the Google Meet would also get Meeting Attendance feature, this would help the host in knowing who all and how many people have attended the meeting. Apart from this, there is a Breakout Rooms feature which would let the host split large meetings into smaller groups. So that the participants can continue simultaneous discussions and get back to the main meeting once their discussion is over. There will also be an additional moderator control which would let the host control the main operations of the app which includes presenting, joining, muting, and all.

Earlier, Google Meet had received the noise cancellation feature for the GSuite enterprise and G Suite enterprise for education users.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  Vice President Leni Robredo thinks now is an insensitive time to tackle calls to rename the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

House Bill No. 7031, filed this week by Representatives Lord Allan Velasco, and Eric Go Yap, and Paolo Duterte  the President's son  seeks to change the name of NAIA to Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas.

"Nasa gitna tayo ng pandemya, ito pa talaga ang maiisip natin? [We are in the middle of the pandemic and this is what we think of?]," Robredo told CNN Philippines' The Source, dubbing the proposal "ill-timed."

Robredo even laughed at the emerging nickname of the proposed name change: "PaPa P," which alluded to actor Piolo Pascual.

NAIA is named after the late senator and opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr., the husband of former President Cory Aquino and father of ex-President Noynoy Aquino, who was shot at the tarmac of Metro Manila's biggest gateway in 1983, during the term of then strongman Ferdinand Marcos. Prior to this, the facility was called the Manila International Airport.

"Where is our sense of history?," the Vice President added, pointing out that she was really appalled with the timing of the measure.

COVID-19 infections in the country have reached 33,069 as of Thursday afternoon, with 8,910 recoveries and 1,212 deaths.

"Ngayon pa talaga kung kailan dapat all hands on deck tayo na nagtutulong-tulong para masugpo 'yung pandemya, ngayon pa 'yan iisipin? [Are we really going to discuss that now when we should have all hands on deck to address the pandemic?]," she said.

Congress went on a break since the first week of June, leaving in limbo until end-July key legislation like stimulus bills meant to revive the local economy after the lockdown slump as well as measures to boost jobs and extend the special powers given to the President to combat the public health crisis.
The Impostors

By Steve Benen

William Morrow 374 pp. $28.99

---

For the past 3 1 / 2 years, the United States has been conducting a troubling experiment. Despite presiding over a government rooted, by design, in a powerful executive, the current occupant of the White House has steadfastly refused to exercise presidential leadership. Yes, he wields power - for its own sake and for his own sake. But he does not comfort the afflicted, inspire us to national purpose or summon the better angels of our nature. On key matters of policy, the head of the Republican Party evidently does not read or think deeply. In a word, he does not lead. As the writer and popular historian Jon Meacham observed in January 2018: "This is what government would look like without a president."

That America should lurch along as though it has no president is disconcerting in good times; it is disastrous in a period of pandemic, police violence and public rebellion. Yet as Steve Benen argues in his new book, our current leaderlessness is no momentary aberration, the temporary consequence of an unexpected election result and a uniquely unqualified and incompetent president. Instead, Benen suggests, President Trump is the logical and perhaps inevitable culmination of more than a decade of atrophy within the party he leads.

"The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics" lays out Benen's indictment that today's Republicans are a "post-policy party." The argument builds on, yet departs from, the political science concept of asymmetric polarization - the claim that the GOP has become more extremely conservative than the Democratic Party has become extremely progressive. Less concerned about ideological sorting, Benen shifts the focus to consider the parties' approaches to policy and governance itself. Since the first decade of this century, he charges, the GOP has become indifferent to "the substance of governing." On issue after issue, Republican leaders have abandoned policy details for campaign rhetoric, dismissed scientific evidence, eschewed substantive analysis and placed political point-scoring above leadership.

Despite its obvious partisan bent, "The Impostors" seeks to do more than ridicule, shame and condemn. At its heart, the book is a plea for saner heads to rescue the Republican Party from its current morass. Most American voters, Benen argues, "have some expectations that the nation's two major parties will at least try to work cooperatively and with a sense of shared purpose." If GOP officials can "recognize their post-policy shortcomings and take steps to correct them," they can deliver on that wish for functional bipartisan governance.

At the same time, the book is clearly designed to enrage sympathetic readers. As a producer on"The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC, Benen has a knack for comprehensive - if at times excessive - policy detail and a keen eye for intrigue and choice quotes. He has culled years of reporting to present a greatest-hits-style review of Republican intransigence, dissembling and willful ignorance. In eight policy-centered case studies, he painstakingly reconstructs the past 12 to 15 years of American political history on issues from health care and immigration to budgets and taxes, from Iran and North Korea to guns, abortion and civil rights.

Indeed, the chapters quickly fall into a predictable pattern. In the first half, during Barack Obama's presidency, post-policy Republicans approach the chosen policy issue in bad faith. They demonstrate both factual ignorance (as when Sen.Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma threw a snowball on the Senate floor to try to disprove climate change) and rabid, knee-jerk opposition to Obama (like scheduling dozens of votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act without offering any replacement). And then, just when it seems that it can't get any worse, the 2016 election happens and Trump deploys a combination of hatred, bravado and incoherence to make an already dysfunctional state of affairs immeasurably worse.

Adhering to standard journalistic practices, Benen refrains from stating that the president of the United States is objectively unintelligent. He nevertheless strongly implies it. On issue after issue, Benen cites Trump's tweets, off-the-cuff remarks and interview transcripts that highlight contradictions, incongruities and other head-scratchers. In a typical example from 2016, then-candidate Trump appeared to simultaneously praise Obama's record on deportation and promise to enforce the laws "perhaps with a lot more energy." As Benen sums up: "Trump didn't know or care about public policy. . . . He couldn't answer questions about basic substantive details because he'd evidently given them very little thought."

Through countless ripped-from-the-headlines examples, "The Impostors" paints a grim picture of a political party in which the kids have taken over the grown-up table and the responsible adults are nowhere to be seen. While Benen makes a strong case that the Republicans have become a post-policy party, he comes up short in offering a compelling explanation for why this occurred. Perhaps it is self-evident that political leaders reared on the anti-statist rhetoric of modern conservatism would take seriously tax reformer Grover Norquist's famous wish to shrink government so much that he could "drown it in the bathtub." Yet understanding this journey from slogans to a willful refusal to engage in the policy process is a crucial question of our time.

The modern conservative movement emerged in opposition to Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal but split, merged and expanded in the decades since. Cold War geopolitics and the civil rights movement, and more recently the neoliberal turn and the rise of working-class populism, have all created opportunities and challenges for organized conservatives. And in the past two generations, as the ideological sorting of American politics reached its culmination, conservatism found a firm institutional home in the Republican Party.

For generations, historians and political scientists have argued over how to explain conservatism and the modern GOP. Important debates surround conservatives' intellectual roots, their most effective mobilizing strategies, and the respective roles of ideology, class, racial status and material self-interest within conservative politics.

All these scholarly discussions, however contentious, start from one key assumption: that a clear set of traditions, values or priorities sits at the core of Republican politics. While scholars may disagree about the relative importance of the populists, the plutocrats, the racists and the moralists, they assume that the party's actions can be explained by the interplay among them. This is precisely the presumption Benen challenges. Searching for an internal coherence, grand strategy or intellectual project is a fool's errand, he concludes. When it comes to a post-policy party, there is no there there.

---

Waterhouse is an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of "Lobbying America: The Politics of Business From Nixon to NAFTA" and "The Land of Enterprise: A Business History of the United States."
From the housing blocks of London to the beaches of Portugal, thousands of young people are holding illegal raves and parties across Europe, yearning for contact and bursting with energy after the solitude of the coronavirus lockdown.

While many revellers are simply seeking some fun after months of bans on festivals, clubbing and parties, such mass gatherings have added to fears that a second deadly wave of infections could sweep across Europe.

Police have sometimes struggled to disperse the illegal parties with clashes in London where crowds attacked officers with bottles and set upon patrol cars on Wednesday, leaving 22 police injured.

Weve seen large numbers of people completely flouting the health regulations, seeming not to care at all about their own or their families health, wanting to have large parties, London police chief Cressida Dick said.

Its hot, some people have drunk far too much, some people are just angry and aggressive and some are just plain violent.

Police in the British capital dispersed several parties overnight. They are also investigating rape, drug offences and stabbings at illegal raves in other cities.

People gather at an illegal rave in Streatham, London, Britain, June 25, 2020 in this still image taken from a video obtained on social media. (TWITTER/@GORAN71913876)

As the exuberance of greater freedom explodes into the European summer after the gloom of the lockdown, parties have also popped up in Germany and France and on the sands of Portugals Atlantic beaches.

HIDDEN BEACH PARTY

Thousands gathered in the squares of Portugals cities of Porto and Braga over the weekend to party in the summer heat.

Join us on this magical journey in the forest, read one message circulating on social media about a gathering on a hidden beach west of Lisbon. Lets get together and share some loving, vibes and music.

In Berlin, a city famous for its nightlife from clubs to outdoor raves, several hundred people have gathered outside at Hasenheide Park in recent weeks to dance into the night.

I think people are just longing to socially connect, Berlin-based DJ Elias Dore said, saying that thousands of young people would normally be dancing under the open skies of European festivals this summer.

Still, events have not always ended peacefully.

On Sunday, French police clashed with festival-goers in Paris and the western city of Nantes as music lovers celebrated the annual Fete de la Musique on the longest day of the year.

People gather at an illegal rave in Streatham, London, Britain, June 25, 2020 in this still image taken from a video obtained on social media. (TWITTER/@GORAN71913876)

Six police officers were pelted with bottles at a gathering of around 500 people in Berlins Gleisdreieck Park last weekend, as some resisted the party being broken up.

And a street party in Manchester last weekend attended by around 2,000 people turned violent, with a social media video showing three men and a woman wielding bladed weapons and reports of two men being stabbed.

London police chief Dick said residents had been terrified by some parties. We will be prepared this weekend, she said.

CORONAVIRUS RISK

Authorities are also concerned that young people who often have lighter symptoms or are asymptomatic could be contracting and spreading the virus without realising it.

#bbcqt Move on from lockdown? Allow people to make decisions on how to proceed from here. Many moved where I live. Look at Streatham Common this evening at sunset. Ridiculous. Neighbouring Brixton last night too. pic.twitter.com/CCIW7PIvB7  Goran (@Goran71913876) June 25, 2020

And with thousands of anonymous attendees coming in and out of events, proper testing and tracing to prove whether contagion is happening will be virtually impossible, according to Dr. Celso Cunha, a virologist at the University of Lisbon.

Even if they dont usually get as ill, young people still transmit the virus, he said.

But with most clubs and festivals still shuttered, there is still nowhere for most of Europes revellers to dance, drink and find love after the rigours of lockdown.

I think whatever authorities do, the summer will see many secret and illegal raves everywhere, Dore said.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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Tears were shed; there was weeping and wailing in the streets  well, sort of. Yes, it was the last EastEnders on 16 June, the show having run out of episodes while in lockdown.

Fear not, shooting has re-commenced, and soon all will be right again with the world, just as it now is with Emmerdale. Corrie  top marks to everyone there  never ran out.

With producers scurrying to the archives, preparing to show classic episodes if the worst came to the worst (as it did with EastEnders), theyve clearly been inspired.

Corrie and Emmerdale have announced that, over the summer, there will be soap specials alongside regular episodes.

Leanne is in denial that Oliver has an incurable form of mitochondrial disease in this week's Coronation Street. Pictured: Toyah comforting Leanne

Youll be able to reminisce about some of the 130 weddings Corrie has seen, plus many villains and battle-axes. There will be storylines that gripped the nation and a look at some of the holidays residents enjoyed (not) away from Weatherfield (cue lots of caravans in North Wales; the budget never stretched to Sydney).

Emmerdale will be exploring family trees  the Sugdens, the Tates and the Dingles. Thats a lot of branches. Lets hope they have a decent lumberjack lurking in the archives.

CORONATION STREET: I GOT YOU, BABE

Seeing their child suffer must be unbearably painful for any parent, and when the consultant tells Leanne and Steve that Oliver has an incurable form of mitochondrial disease, Leanne is in denial.

Seeing her sister so distraught, Toyah rightly judges this is not the time to bring up that she and Imran are looking to foster. Lets hope she can keep her permanently etched smirk on hold for at least this one difficult moment. Dont bet on it.

And just out of interest, why have she and Leanne started dressing as if they descended on an M&S 1995 sale and missed out on all the bargains?

Last week was strange, with the Rovers decked out for its 8 May VE-day celebrations because of delayed broadcasts.

As Well Meet Again rang out, it was a surreal moment, given that in the current crisis, none of us knows when we really will meet again.

The world isnt perfect, is it? said Ken, to a contemplative Rita, Audrey and Norris in the Rovers. But it never was. Little did you know then how less perfect it was all about to become, Ken. Little did any of us know.

EMMERDALE: FOLLOW THE LEYLA

Leyla dashes to meet Andrea unaware that a mystery figure is keeping track of her from a white car (pictured) in Emmerdale

How anyone in the village didnt end up dead during lockdown is a miracle, but were back on track with people now able to hate each other away from home, albeit at a socially acceptable distance.

Andrea is hiding out at a hotel (has it been thoroughly sanitised? You see how we now have to worry about these things?).

A police officer arrives to check on her, and Andrea assures them she is safe and well (another woman verging on psycho, but then Emmerdales cops couldnt spot a vampire at a blood bank).

She calls Leyla, who dashes to meet her, oblivious to a mystery figure keeping track of her from a white car (pictured). At the hotel, the figure is revealed to be Kim, and she means business; but will Leyla manage to keep her away from Andrea?

Back in the village, Harriet is having second thoughts about marrying Will, but meets Malone in the church to tell him she doesnt want him around (text him?). Excited by the danger, she eventually succumbs to his dubious charms.

How many times has Harriet profaned the church with her antics? Hasnt she heard of bedrooms? Hotels? Now theyll have to sanitise the church, too.

Moira looks as if she might be about to go on another man-eating expedition when Ricky flirts with her.

One flutter of a blokes eyelashes and Harriet and Moira are pretty much anyones. Maybe they could take up a hobby other than sex. Knitting, perhaps.

EASTENDERS: TEARS OF A FROWN

Listening to the cassette on which his wife reminisces with Michelle about her affair with his brother Phil, Grants tears roll. Ah, remember that map of tears 26 years ago?

Grant (pictured) plays the tape of Michelle talking about her affair with his brother Phil, in an archive episode of EastEnders

They started rolling from his left eye and somehow ended up as a reservoir beneath his nose.

As Grant plays the tape over the pubs speaker system, the locals are gripped: Phil was a nice side of Grant, says Sharon. Blimey. Thats a really low bar.

In other details, note that a Campari in the Vic in 1994 was 1.25. Ever see anyone order one? No, me neither.
Trump administration: Huawei, 19 other firms in US backed by Chinese military

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 25 June 2020 5:16 AM

The administration of US President Donald Trump claims that 20 top Chinese firms operating in the United States are either owned or backed by the Chinese military, a report says.

Citing an internal document from the US Defense Department on Wednesday, Reuters said that telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies, video surveillance company Hikvision, China Telecoms, China Mobile and AVIC are some of the top companies.

Other important firms include China Mobile Communications Group, China Telecommunications Corp. as well as aircraft manufacturer Aviation Industry Corp. of China.

China Railway Construction Corp., China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC), as well as CRRC, the world's largest maker of passenger trains, are the others.

The US placed Huawei and Hikvision on a trade blacklist last year over national security concerns, but the new development can lay the groundwork for new US financial sanctions.

Washington has also led an international campaign aiming to convince allies to exclude Huawei from their 5G networks.

The Defense Department, under US law, is required to track firms "owned or controlled" by China's People's Liberation Army that operate in the US.

In recent months, the Pentagon has come under pressure from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers to publish and update the list amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over technology, trade and foreign policy.

In November, US senators Tom Cotton and Chuck Schumer, in a letter to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, requested an update on reviews of US policy that are mandated by the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 and the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

"Will you commit to updating and publicly releasing this list as soon as possible?" read part of the letter.

The new designations do not bring about penalties, however, the law stipulates the president may impose sanctions that could include blocking all property of the listed parties.

According to a senior administration official, the list can be seen as "a useful tool for the US Government, companies, investors, academic institutions, and likeminded partners to conduct due diligence with regard to partnerships with these entities, particularly as the list grows."

While Huawei, China Mobile, China Telecoms, AVIC and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment, Hikvision called the accusations "baseless."

It said it was not a "Chinese military company," and that it had never taken part in any R&D work for military applications. It also said it would cooperate with the US government to resolve the issue.

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The question of whether we are alone in the universe has plagued humanity since the dawn of time. Its answer, one way or the other, could fundamentally alter our understanding of life, evolution, science, and even theology. Even the discovery of a single extraterrestrial civilization would be enough to upend humanitys perceived place in the universe. But what if there could be as many as 36 technologically advanced, intelligent species currently living in our very own galaxy right now? A recent study out of the University of Nottingham, published last week in The Astrophysics Journal, estimates precisely that.

To come to that conclusion, Dr. Tom Westby and Dr. Christopher J. Conselice from Nottinghams School of Physics and Astronomy reevaluated the Drake Equation using a series of logical assumptions based on the only intelligent, high-tech civilization we know about: our own. Since relying on a single datapoint can influence the estimates that an equation produces, Westby and Conselice took great pains to avoid potential sources of bias in their work.

It is true that the greatest challenge in any Astrobiological study is the fact that we are restricted to a single known example of life and indeed intelligent life in the Universe, and inevitably, we do have to appeal to knowledge about the way that we ourselves have formed in order to make assumptions about the potential development of any other civilisations, Westby explained. However, our ambition for this study was to circumvent many of the speculative questions examined in the traditional approach, and replace them with parameters which can be calculated scientifically.

The Drake Equation was first proposed by Dr. Frank Drake in 1961 while working as a radio astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia.

Before Drake's work, this question would have seemed to be beyond the realm of scientific inquiry, Westby told Engadget. But his equation was the first logical method at organising estimates of the various parameters upon which this number depends: for instance, Drake considered questions like what fraction of all stars have at least one planet in orbit around them?, what fraction of these planets would be within the Habitable (or so-called Goldilocks) Zone? and what fraction of these Habitable Planets would actually harbour life?

The formula is as follows: N=R * fp * ne * fl * fi * fc * L N is the total number of civilizations within the galaxy with which we could theoretically communicate. R is the average rate at which stars in our galaxy form. fp is the fraction of those stars that have planets. ne is the number of planets that can potentially support life per solar system. fl is the fraction of those planets that actually do develop life at some point. fi is the even smaller fraction of life-supporting planets that actually give rise to intelligent life. Of those civilized planets, fc is the fraction that acquire technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space such as radio signals. Finally, L measures the lifespan of those advanced civilizations in years. In humanitys case L is roughly 100, as thats how many years weve had telecommunication technology.

The method presented by the Drake Equation relies on estimates of quantities which are extremely hard to make scientifically, Westby continued. Hence the liberal use of logical assumptions when assigning values to the various factors.

Westby and Conselice are far from the first team to fiddle with Drakes Equation. What we have done is to re-examine the question of how many Communicating ExtraTerrestrial Intelligences (CETI) could potentially exist in our Galaxy, but this time, based on much more solid, Astrophysical grounds, Westby said.

In our study, we replace many of the terms in the original Drake Equation with values which we can realistically calculate from solid Astrophysical models, such as what fraction of the stars in the Milky Way have sufficient chemical richness to produce environments suitable to life, and what fraction of these are long-lived enough so that life can become established. he continued. These are parameters which can be evaluated based on well-known stellar physics.

For example, we know that it took humanity roughly 5 billion years to crawl out of the primordial soup and achieve the level of technology we have today. So if the Principle of Mediocrity holds, that means it would likely take an alien civilization somewhere between 4.5 and 6.5 billion years to do the same. Westby and Conselice then sought to figure out how many stars in the Milky Way are older than 5 billion years. Turns out, based on the established physics of the stellar formation process, that a whopping 96 percent of the stars in our galaxy are more than 5 billion years old.

But its not just a matter of how many stars there are but also their chemical composition. Our Sun, for instance, is mainly Hydrogen and Helium, Westby said. But it must have formed from a cloud of material which contained trace amounts of higher-mass elements, including the Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, etc upon which living things depend.

Again, we applied the Principle of Mediocrity to allow us to make the assumption that any environment, with the same balance of heavier elements, should stand a more-or-less equal chance of forming planets and the chemical requirements for life.

And since our Sun lies approximately 26,000 light-years from the Galactic center and clearly has all the right materials for fostering life Westby and Conselice calculated that any star situated between roughly 20,000 and 30,000 light-years from the center are most likely to support planets with biological life. In all, the pair found that some 50 percent of all suns in the Milky Way, regardless of how far they are from the galactic center, have the right chemical makeup to support life.

Chester Harman

Even if a systems sun is the ideal age and composition to support life, civilizations will not rise if there arent planets occupying the so-called Goldilocks Zone. Thanks to NASAs recent Kepler Mission, we now know of more that 4000 exoplanets in our galaxy. Using that data, Westby and Conselice calculated that as many as 19 percent of the stars in the Milky Way have planets that can support life. Weve even seen an example for ourselves with the discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 system where three of the seven orbiting planets rest within the habitable zone.

The most speculative factor in the equation is L -- the average lifespan of an advanced civilization. Humanity has only achieved a level of technology that produces signals capable of being detected by alien civilizations for around 100 years, and were already damn near the brink of global collapse, so assigning a value to L is wildly subjective.

We used our modelling of the age-distribution of all Milky Way stars to come up with an estimate of the average amount of time available for civilised life to exist, Westby said. We then used our own example, here on Earth, to come up with a bare minimum estimate that civilizations can presumably exist for at least a century beyond the development of their ability to produce long-range radio signals. This was the only factor in their study that was based on human experience rather than derived from the established laws of astrophysics.

While the confirmation of an extraterrestrial signal would enable us to more fully solve Drakes equation, there are a number of other factors -- short of tapping into an alien broadcast -- that could deliver more accurate estimates. One factor which our study has not yet explored is the possible impact of civilisations migrating from one planet to another, which would potentially have the effect of greatly increasing their own lifetime, Westby noted, as well as their sphere of communicative potential.

But therein lies the problem. Based on their calculations, Westby and Conselice estimate that even though there may be 36 advanced alien civilizations residing in our neck of the universe, the closest ones are likely at least 17,000 light years away from us. They figure wed need to search for close to 3,000 years just to find them and, at our current level of technology (assuming the aliens are roughly on par with us), even if we blasted a message off tomorrow wed have to wait at least 34,000 years to get a reply. Even in a best case scenario, if we relax our modelling assumptions and allow for a greater probability of life developing in less time, with fewer heavy elements the estimated number of CETI climbs to something like 900, Westby said. With our nearest neighbour being 1000 light-years away, it would require active searching for 100 years before SETI yields results.

Perhaps the reason for the great silence of Extra-Terrestrial signals is that technological civilizations come and go relatively fleetingly, and rarely avoid extinction for long enough to overhear a neighbor, Westby concluded. Perhaps life, and even intelligence, is more common than we once thought, but -- due to the vast dimensions of space -- it arrives and vanishes, after a relatively short, lonely existence.
SPRINGFIELD  The press conference consisted of a single person, but Robert Hoatson said he spoke for thousands of victims who have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse  and any who still may.

The former priest and president of Road to Recovery, an advocacy group for victims of church-related sexual abuse, called for the resignation of Mitchell Rozanski, the outgoing bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield. Hoatson also called on Pope Francis to rescind the bishops reassignment as Archbishop of the Archdiocese in St. Louis, Missouri.

Hoatson said he expects neither result, but promised to keep speaking out on behalf of victims of clergy sexual abuse. Speaking in front of diocesan headquarters in Springfield Friday, he said retired Judge Peter Velis findings of unequivocally credible sexual abuse claims against former Bishop Christopher J. Weldon  and failures in the dioceses handling of the allegations  stood as a scathing commentary on Rozanskis tenure in Springfield.

Nothing has changed in the church. The same thing happens time after time, said Hoatson, who said church cover-ups are the norm around the world.

Rozanski has apologized to the man known anonymously as John Doe, who came forth with allegations against Weldon, the bishop in Springfield from 1950 to 1977. Rozanski called the victim courageous,' but Hoatson said the time for apologies has long passed.

We need action, not words, Hoatson said. The advocate added hed hoped John Doe would appear at the press conference but that hes not strong enough for such a public appearance yet.

Hoatson said he advises victims to avoid reporting their experiences to diocesan officials at all, but to go directly to law enforcement authorities.

When John Doe came forth (to the diocese), he was summarily dismissed and they hoped hed go away. We know (Rozanski) cant handle (a sexual abuse review). Thats been proven,' Hoatson said.

They closed ranks around Bishop Weldon, he said. Thats what they do.

In Velis report, the retired judge wrote, it was clear that the process included an inexplicable modification and manipulation of the reports received by and acted on by the Diocesan Review Board. Velis also noted failures to report the allegations to law enforcement.

According to Jeffrey J. Trant, director of the Springfield Diocesan Office of Safe Environment and Victim Assistance, Rozanski has acknowledged mistakes and has taken steps to prevent them in the future.

As Archbishop-designate Rozanski noted Wednesday, in almost every instance we failed this courageous man, who nonetheless persevered thanks in part to a reliable support network as well as a deep desire for a just response to the terrible abuse he endured, Trant wrote in an open letter.

Trant said Rozanski directed that Trinity Health remove Weldons name from its rehabilitation facilities, told the diocesan cemeteries office to plan to remove the former bishops remains to a less prominent location marked with a simple gravestone, instructed all Catholic facilities to immediately remove honorable mentions, references, memorials and pictures of Weldon, and ordered his name be placed on our diocesan website listing all those with credible allegations of sexual abuse of a child or vulnerable adult.

Trant said his offices mission is to support healing and recovery, and to hold guilty parties accountable. But, he acknowledged the Velis report will likely make people more mistrustful than ever.

I also recognize that survivors, family members, and other members of the diocesan community have good reason to be suspicious of rhetoric about change as we have failed to live up to these promises time and time again, Trant wrote.

The diocese says Rozanskis assignment of Velis as an independent investigator showed the bishops sincerity and commitment. Hoatsons interpretation is much different.

He said when even someone selected by the diocese finds such a neglectful handling of an abuse claim  which Hoatson said left John Doe with years of new trauma and depression  its impossible to trust any internal church review. He said Rozanski should be held accountable.

He promised transparency and accountability. Were still waiting. He has shown he is unable to handle the basic fundamentals of such a case, Hoatson said.

Hoatson testified before the New York Legislature in 2003, when he called for the resignation of all church leaders who had helped cover up abuse. A religious brother or priest for 33 years, the former New Jersey clergy member said he was shunned and punished by the Catholic Church in subsequent years, and eventually left the priesthood.

Hoatson said his own experience as a victim of clergy sexual abuse helped inspire him to co-found Road to Recovery, which has 5,000 members, he said.

Its been 18 years since the Dallas Charter,' he said, referring to a 2002 policy package where bishops vowed to put an end to abuse and secrecy. Hoatson said Rozanski also served on a committee with other bishops for the purpose of child protection.

What did he learn from that committee? Hoatson asked rhetorically.

The church refuses to reform, he said. But John Does integrity and courage will fortify others to come forward, because he refused to take no for an answer.

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SPRINGFIELD  Mayor Domenic J. Sarno has allocated $250,000 for a new Street Outreach Workers Program to promote better communication between police officers and community members  a recommendation also made to him by three Springfield City Councilors who were not mentioned in the announcement.

I will reallocate $125,000 of police funds and match another $125,000 for a total of $250,000 to our Health and Human Services Department. This is for a proactive new and cultural sensitivity/mental health training for our police department to enhance and build upon their already established training, Sarno said in a prepared statement.

A statement from the mayors office credited Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood, Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Attorney Talia Gee, and several other staff members and community leaders for helping come up with this allotment of funds and new program.

But, it made no mention of city councilors Justin Hurst, Tracye Whitfield and Marcus Williams, who sent Sarno an email suggesting that exact allotment of funds and ways in which it could be used at 6 a.m. Thursday morning.

Hours before the mayors press release went out, Hurst, the council president, also forwarded the councils email to Sarno to a reporter at The Republican.

I know there is a tendency for the Mayor to coopt issues and ideas as though they originated from his team, Hurst wrote. He said he was hopeful the council and mayor would be able to work together on the issue, but if not, at least you know that we attempted to do so.

After the mayors press release was issued Thursday afternoon, the councils administrative aide forwarded the entire email thread to a number of reporters and regional media outlets.

Williams said it goes beyond Sarno presenting a plan or an idea as his own  its about silencing marginalized voices.

It goes to show he likes to mute Black voices as it relates to Black issues and then present this package to the Black community as if it is his own. I have a problem with that, he said.

Whitfield said its not about getting credit, but about acknowledging the councils effort to collaborate with the mayor.

No credit is really needed when youre doing the right thing, she said. We sent our proposal in a good faith effort to work together. We asked to meet with him tomorrow (Friday) and we did not even receive a courtesy response to the email saying that they already had a plan in place. It was silence, so we were shocked to see the press release from the mayor with language that is almost verbatim one of our suggestions.

She also said councilors have been hearing calls from the community to cut police funding, and that councilors have been exploring how it could be done. However we did want to show the community that we hear them so we proposed ideas like training and professional development for officers, anti-racism and mental health, Whitfield said.

Hursts email to Sarno included a suggestion to cut $125,000 from the proposed overtime budget and reallocate that money towards more training and professional development. ... In addition, we ask that you consider matching the amount of the proposed cut of $125,000 by the Council with $125,000 from some other revenue stream.

Hursts email goes on to say he hopes Sarnos team is committed to invest in changing the culture of our police department and improving community relations in the aftermath of what is happening around the country and in my personal opinion right here Springfield.

The email also suggests investing the money into more training and professional development including de-escalation training, race, diversity, and equity training, community policing professional development, mental health and wellness programs, and peer intervention training for officers.

The mayors proposal comes on the heels of protests after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the Springfield chapter of the NAACP and the Urban League of Springfield denouncing the reinstatement of five Springfield police officers indicted for their part in the Nathan Bills fight between several officers and four black men.

In a statement, the mayors office said the allocation came about after meetings with community members.

The mayor has been working on this issue for a couple of weeks now through his continued meetings and dialogue with inter-department listening meetings with his black Cabinet/Department Heads, as well as prayer vigils, discussions with black community leadership, advocacy groups and residents, along with private discussions. This should come as no surprise to the City Council and he would hope they will be supportive of this initiative for the good of our whole community, the statement reads.

Williams said the mayors choice to issue a press release that included language from Hursts email with allocation proposals just hours after it was sent  and his refusal to meet with Hurst, Whitfield and Williams to exchange ideas  shows a lack of desire to collaborate with other elected officials.

A meeting would have gone a long way. For him to not accept a request from three councilors to discuss the very things that he outlined in detail today, which werent his ideas, is a slap in the face, he said. I would like to have a working relationship with the mayor, but he makes it extremely difficult.

If the funding is approved during an upcoming budget meeting of the entire city council the money will go towards a Street Outreach Workers Program, with a heavy emphasis on engaging with at-risk youth and gang members and their families to mediate disputes and preventative programs to minimize gang violence.

Sarno said money would also go toward programs for police officers to better understand cultural and mental health aspects within the community and within the department itself.

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SEVENTEEN men and women from the Dominican Republic landed on a small boat in Grand Turk last week after being reported missing from their home country.





On June 17, police received information that several people had arrived on the southern part of the island by Hawks Nest.





Officers went to the scene where they apprehended 15 men and two women, who were assessed by the Ministry of Health, before being transported to a holding area.





Deputy Governor Anya Williams, the permanent secretary of the immigration ministry, the director of immigration and senior immigration officers were present.





The arrivals were taken to Providenciales for further processing at the Detention Centre before repatriation, according to a statement from the immigration ministry.





"The persons have been missing for over a week andthe named government was currently conducting an air and sea search and rescue mission, it read.





Hon. Vaden Williams, Minister of Immigration, Citizenship, Labour and Employment Services, thanked his ministry for their immediate response and continued hard work.





He said the Department of Immigration remains in contact with officials from the Dominican Republic on having their citizens returned home in a timely manner.





It is an offence to assist or harbour an undocumented person.





The penalty under the Immigration Ordinance is a fine on summary conviction of $20,000, a term of four years in prison or both.





Anyone with information can call 911, Chalk Sound Police Station on 338-5901 or 941-8082 or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1-800-8477 or www.crimestoppers.tc




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Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Washington, United States  Fri, June 26, 2020 08:30 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661bef11 2 World US,secretary-of-state,Mike-Pompeo,human-trafficking,forced-labors,coronavirus,coronavirus-effect,COVID-19-lockdown Free

The novel coronavirus pandemic had made more people vulnerable to human trafficking, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday as an annual US report added Afghanistan and Nicaragua to a list of worst offenders while Saudi Arabia was upgraded.

"Instability and lack of access to critical services caused by the pandemic mean that the number of people vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers is rapidly growing," Pompeo said in the annual US State Department Trafficking in Persons report.

The report kept China, a persistent target for criticism by Pompeo, on the lowest rung and again highlighted widespread use of forced labor, including through what the United States and human rights groups say is the mass detention in camps of more than one million minority Muslims.

It said Beijing had expanded this campaign into other provinces and begun implementing it among other religious minorities. China denies mistreatment and says the camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.

Pompeo, in remarks on the report, singled out China, "where the Chinese Communist Party and its state-owned enterprises often force citizens to work in horrendous conditions on Belt and Road projects," he said, referring to an infrastructure project to link China with other parts of Asia and Europe.

The report also took aim at Hong Kong, which US President Donald Trump has threatened to strip of economic privileges over China's tightened grip on the former British colony.

Hong Kong, alongside Pakistan, was downgraded to the report's "Tier 2 Watch List," a category denoting those meriting special scrutiny, on the grounds that it had failed to enact legislation to fully criminalize trafficking.

Saudi Arabia, a major US ally and arms buyer that was last year https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-humantrafficking/u-s-human-trafficking-report-drops-child-separation-warning-idUSKCN1TL2IV placed on the list of countries that failed to meet minimum US anti-trafficking standards, was upgraded to the Tier 2 Watch List.

Afghanistan, a US ally in the fight against the Taliban, and Nicaragua were both demoted in this year's report to Tier 3, falling into the lowest category, which can bring restrictions on US non-humanitarian, non-trade-related assistance, a decision that would be made by the president.
At the release of the U.S. State Departments 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom in June, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted countries that have taken positive steps in extending religious liberty for their citizens during the past year. One of them is Uzbekistan, a Central Asian country and former Soviet republic that has had a history of severe religious repression:

In Uzbekistan, steps have been taken to improve its record on religious freedom, and those steps continue . . . We documented no police raids of unregistered religious group meetings during 2019, compared with 114 such raids in 2018, and 240 the year before that.

In an interview, U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback also complimented the Uzbek government for taking significant measures to open up space for religious freedom:

Its just a delight to work with a leadership that wants to move forward on this. And President [Shavkat] Mirziyoyev, you know, hes cautious about it. He said, You know, we want to measure 10 times and cut once, which I appreciate. But I want to keep pushing forward.

Ambassador Brownback also pointed to the absence of raids on religious institutions in Uzbekistan last year, and he cited other positive developments:

Theyre letting children under the age of 18 go to the mosque, whereas before they were saying under the age of 18, they couldnt go. They registered eight churches in the country. Now we think they ought to register more. We think there ought to be more and wider open freedoms. But these are major moves forward and were very pleased to see them happening.

Ambassador Brownback noted that respect for religious freedom and for other fundamental human rights tends to open a country to other benefits as well, such as economic prosperity and security. But it is a process, he says:

Now it doesnt happen quickly . . . Its like creating a better atmosphere. Its getting better soil in the ground. You still have to plant the seeds. You still have to fertilize.

In Uzbekistan, he said, Weve got better soil now. We can grow bigger and more crops.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 10:39:27|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Thursday announced the adoption of a resolution to extend the sanctions regime on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) till July 1, 2021.

Security Council resolutions has imposed an arms embargo on armed groups in the DRC, a travel ban on individuals and asset freeze on individuals and entities designated by the Sanctions Committee.

Resolution 2528, which won the unanimous support of the 15-member council, also renews the mandate of the group of experts assisting the Sanctions Committee till Aug. 1, 2021.

It expresses the Security Council's intention to consider renewing the mandate of the group of experts no later than July 1, 2021.

The resolution requests the group of experts to submit to the Security Council a mid-term report no later than Dec. 30, 2020, and a final report no later than June 15, 2021, as well as monthly updates to the Sanctions Committee, except in the months where the mid-term and final reports are due.

According to the UN envoy for the DRC, violence continues to be the main cause of humanitarian needs in the country. In a bid to prevent the security situation there from deterioration, the UN Security Council on June 26, 2019, has extended the sanctions regime on the DRC until July 1, 2020. Enditem
Jammu:

Pakistani troops on Saturday violated the ceasefire by firing on a forward post along the LoC in Poonch district, leaving an army jawan injured.

There was firing on forward area in Krishnagati-Mendhar sector along the LoC by Pakistani troops in which an army man was injured this morning, IG Police (Rajouri-Poonch range) Johny Williams said.

However, Defence PRO Col Manish Mehta said there was no ceasefire violation.

The ceasefire violation took place after two days of lull.

A senior Army officer had said on friday that there have been over 25 ceasefire violations along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir after surgical strikes by Indian Army in PoK to dismantle terror launching pads.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
India insisted on 'complete disengagement' in all its talks with China on eastern Ladakh row: Govt

Chinas thrust in Depsang Plains had been war gamed by India in the past

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 26: The situation at the Depsang Plains region is what is being watched the most closely by India. The assessment suggests that the disengagement at the Depsang Plains is what is going to take the longest and the situation is extremely tense.

It is at Depsang that the Line of Control is the most disputed. There has been varying perceptions of the alignment between both India and China. In fact this area has seen major stand offs both in 2013 and 2014.

The Depsang Plains region is a major hotspot after the Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso and Hot Spring areas.

Sources tell OneIndia that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is close to a place known as Bottleneck. This is the Rakki Nallah and Jeewan Nallah are where there was a standoff in 2013.

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It may be recalled that in the past the Indian Army had estimated a scenario where the Chinese would make a westward thrust in the Depsang Plains. The Indian Army has additional troops, artillery guns to hold back the Chinese here.

The source also said that any movement westwards by the PLA can threaten the Dabruk-Shyok-DBO road and the airfield at DBO. Further it was also found that there was movement of additional PLA troops over the past one week at the Depsang plains, further north of Galwan towards the Karokaram pass. This has raised concerns as the Daulat Beg Oldie is less than 25 kilometres from the Chinese posts.

Meanwhile, General M M Naravane will brief the top leadership on the situation at the Line of Actual Control amidst the tension with China.

Delhi CM cautions Covid patients, says oxygen drops suddenly in some cases | Oneindia News

The Indian Army Chief returned after a two day trip to east Ladakh theatre. He took stock of the situation and also met with the soldiers who were injured in the Galwan Valley clash on June 15.

The assessment to be put out by the Army Chief would be crucial for the political leadership to chart out the next course of action. The assessment is also crucial as tensions are high at the LAC, although there has been no flare up after the June 15 incident.

In addition to this the Army Chief would also be holding discussions with Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat and the Indian Air Force and Navy chiefs.

He would brief them about the force requirements on the ground. A decision on this would be handled by the CDS.
Due to the cancellation of International flights, it was difficult to immediately bring back all the Tamil Nadu fishermen stranded in Iran

Chennai: Thanks to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Eadppadi K Palaniswami taking up through the Indian External Affairs Ministry to press the Government of Iran to make arrangements to send a large number of fishermen from Tamil Nadu stranded there in the wake of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus pandemic, a chartered ship with 673 Indian fishermen bound for Tamil Nadu is all set to leave the shores of Iran on Thursday.

The State Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said in a statement here that due to the cancellation of all International flights since the outbreak of Covid-19, it was difficult to immediately bring back all the stranded Tamil Nadu fishermen in Iran, in other countries and from other coastal States.

Jayakumar said the situation was being gradually eased and with Palaniswami writing to MEA about the fishermen from Tamil Nadu stranded in Iran, the Indian Embassy officials in Iran took all the necessary steps to facilitate their return home including undergoing COVID-19 tests there, ensuring their daily necessities and their travel papers.

As a result of these efforts, Jayakumar said a chartered ship exclusively for fishermen from Tamil Nadu stranded in Iran is slated to leave from their shores on Thursday and would soon reach Thoothukudi port in our State.

Meanwhile, Justin Antony, President of the International Fishermen Development Trust said in a statement from Kanniyakumari that six fishermen from Vallavilai and Colachel fishing villages in the district, who were also stranded in Iran due to passport issues, have now informed Antony that due to the State and Central government's action, the Indian Embassy in Iran has ensured that the six got their passports today from their employer in Iran. The six fishermen are: Amarsan, John Gadin, Ansari, Maria Kimslin, John Kennedy, and Risin Mon.
Gloria Borias family wants to remember their mothers and grandmothers life with respect and love.

An important part of honoring her is placing a headstone at Borias gravesite.
Pakistan's Khan Under Fire For Calling Osama Bin Laden A 'Martyr'

By RFE/RL June 25, 2020

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has drawn sharp criticism after he called slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden a martyr.

Khan made the comment during a televised session of parliament on June 25 as he described the country's fraught relations with the United States.

When U.S. special forces raided a hideout in the northern Pakistani city of Abbottabad in 2011 and killed bin Laden, they "martyred him," Khan said.

In the Muslim world, the word "martyr" is usually reserved as a laudatory term for those who die or are killed in the name of the Islamic faith. It is also widely used for fallen soldiers in Muslim-majority countries.

Khan said in his speech that he felt humiliated and embarrassed when the United States conducted the raid after a 10-year manhunt for the world's most wanted terrorist.

"After that, the entire world started abusing us. They invaded our land and then criticized us," Khan said, responding to criticism Pakistan had faced for failing to find bin Laden while he was in the country.

While several Pakistani leaders have criticized the U.S. raid on bin Laden's hideout as a breach of the country's sovereignty, this is the first time such a high-profile figure has praised the man behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

Pakistan has officially denied knowing bin Laden was in Abbottabad, but some have suggested the country's intelligence services may have known he was there and were cooperating with the terrorist network as part of its Afghanistan policy.

Khan, who critics sometimes call "Taliban Khan" for his alleged support for militants, faced a backlash from the opposition and social-media users following the comments.

Bin Laden "was a terrorist, and our prime minister called him a martyr. He was behind the massacre of thousands," said Khawaja Asif, a former foreign minister and senior leader in the opposition Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).

Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, the spokesperson for the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP), called Khan a "national security threat."

"If [bin Laden] is a martyr, then what is the status of those civilians and members of our armed forces who embraced martyrdom in the attacks by Al-Qaeda?" he wrote on Instagram.

Michael Kugelman, the deputy director of the Asia program at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington, wrote that Khan's comments were "not a good look."

"Imran Khan's description of Osama Bin Laden as a martyr badly undermines Pakistan's narrative that it no longer supports terrorists," he wrote on Twitter.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-s -khan-under-fire-for-calling-osama -bin-laden-a-martyr-/30690703.html

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

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Upon hearing the mob pass by his window, French revolutionary (of 1848) Alexander Ledru-Rollin quickly began getting dressed to go outside. When asked what he was doing, Ledru-Rollin replied, There go the people. I must follow them. I am their leader.

Now, the Ledru-Rollin quote is surely apocryphal, but its the best way I could think of to describe our useless political class. Im not just talking about those who patronize minority voters by putting on African garb and kneeling for nine minutes, but rather those who know better but are too terrified to speak up as American history is being torn down.

Perhaps the iconoclasm were experiencing will be nothing more than a spasm of frustration, disconnected from the prevailing views of most Americans. This was the case in the 1960s, when big majorities rejected leftist extremes in the voting booth. Im skeptical. For one thing, the Rejected now run most of our institutions, which is one of the big differences between todays troubles and those of the 1960s. Most of our institutions are on the side of the revolution.

The other night, a Black Lives Matter leader named Hawk Newsome went on Fox News and said: If U.S. doesnt give us what we want, then we will burn down this system and replace it. This is a statement of insurgency and violence, not of legitimate protest. If a Tea Party leader had made comparable threats, CNN reporters would have sprinted to track down every GOP House member for a comment.

Now, I doubt Newsome speaks for most of the Black Lives Matter movement, but virtually every business organization in the country has already bequeathed the cause with a ringing endorsement. Weve created a situation where some people can take over six blocks of a major city for weeks or vandalize sculptures that offend their sensibilities without repercussions, while other people will lose their jobs if they say all lives matter.

Weve also created a situation where most of the media has not only dropped any pretense of objectivity, but rather has joined the social movement, often giving its worst actors cover. Not long ago, reporters were likening Antifa thugs to the G.I.s who landed on Normandy beach. Once the rioting and violence became too problematic to defend, Antifa was transformed by factcheckers into nothing but a loose-knit gang of harmless scalawags.

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Put it this way. Today, the media can track down a woman who dressed in blackface two years ago at a Georgetown Halloween party, but cant unearth a single politically motivated leftist rioter. Its quite amazing.

Anti-racism protesters, says a headline that best encapsulates  to a near satirical degree  the essence of coverage, mistakenly topple statue of anti-slavery activist.

Once a person begins tearing down statues, he ceases to be a protester, and he becomes either a vandal or a rioter. The story itself offers no evidence that the toppling of a Hans Christian Hegs sculpture in front the Wisconsin capitol  the man campaigned against slavery, fought in militias to stop slave hunters, and joined the Union army to fight slavery  was accidental. It is no more accidental than defacing of a Ulysses Grant or Winston Churchill statue, or the planned removal of a Teddy Roosevelt statue  all complicated, imperfect, and historically important men.

These vandals topple statues for the same reasons New York Times editorialists topple historical facts: Old-timey white guys are bad, because old-timey white guys  whatever they actually did or didnt believe  represent the greatest sin of our past, the only past worth noting in the new, reductive telling our national story. Its really that simple.

Thats the lesson plan being sent to the very high schools we are forced to send our kids to. Weve already indoctrinated a generation of college students by treating America in, at best, relativistic terms and, at worst, as a destructive force in world. Might as well get a head start.

Pollsters like to ask some iteration of this question: Do you support Black Lives Matter and its goal of achieving racial equality? Well, yes, Im sure most Americans rightly applaud the stated aspirations of racial equality. The reality of the movement our institutions cheer on is more complicated. Many BLM leaders are openly socialist, an ideology that is antithetical to liberty. Many believe the United States is hopelessly weighed down by structural racism, a notion plenty of us dont subscribe to. Many have adopted a crude, race-obsessed way of judging peoples character, guilt, and actions. Many of the movements greatest fans are antagonistic toward the foundational ideas and history of American life, even in their most idealized conception.

In a recent Quillette piece, Eric Kaufmann, a professor of politics at Birkbeck College, University of London, asks a group of white liberals more probing questions. Kaufmann posed 16 propositions that he says represents a radical blow to American cultural nationhood, and then asked the participants if they agree or disagree:

Rebalance the history taught in schools until its voices and subjects reflect the demographics of the population and heritage of Native people and citizens of color

Move, after public consultation, to a new American anthem that better reflects our diversity as a people

Rename our cities and towns until they match the demographics of the population

Rebalance the art shown in museums across the country until an analysis of content shows that it reflects the demography of the population and perspective of Native people and citizens of color

Move, after an open public process, to a new name for our country that better reflects the contributions of Native Americans and our diversity as a people

Rename our states until they better reflect the heritage of Native people and citizens of color

Gradually replace many older public buildings with new structures that dont perpetuate a Eurocentric order, until a more representative public space is achieved

Respectfully remove the monument to four white male presidents at Mount Rushmore, as they presided over the conquest of Native people and repression of women and minorities

Allow our public parks to return to their natural state, before a European sense of order was imposed upon them

Move, after public consultation, to a new American flag that better reflects our diversity as a people

Consider adopting a new national language, that will be forged from the immigrant and Native linguistic diversity of this countrys past

Remove existing statues of white men from public spaces until the stock of statues matches the demographics of the population

Gently remodel the statue of liberty to make it better reflect the diversity of America

Rename our streets and neighborhoods until they match the demographics of the population

Move, after public consultation, to a new American constitution that better reflects our diversity as a people

Begin changing the layout of our cities, towns, and highways, moving away from the grid system to follow the more natural trails originally used by Native people

Almost 80 percent of very liberal, and 70 percent liberal, respondents want the Constitution  the legal manifestation of liberal ideals  to be changed to reflect diversity. Six of Kaufmanns statements are supported by 50 percent or more of committed liberals  those who neither agree nor disagree with a statement. Eight are backed by a majority of the 40 percent of liberals who identify as very liberal. So, for instance, 40 percent of very liberal respondents want to replace the American flag.

Societal upheavals in America are most propelled by groups demanding to be afforded the same privileges, rights, and protections that their countrymen already enjoy. They dont try to tear them down.

As Kaufmann correctly notes, our cultural revolutionaries view the world through a totalizing Maoist lens which collapses shades of grey into black and white. When we allow our tradition to be dominated by a single historical grievance, stripping the nations story of its achievements, redemption, and purpose, we threaten to destroy our cohesion. Its a tragedy that many of our institutions are cheering on or enabling the destruction of our nations own history.

More from National Review
The new despotisms have mastered the potential of digital media, our communicative abundance, using it to fashion a phantasy upside-down world where subjects lose touch with what is real and what is fake. The social welfare some provide  health, education, housing  is real enough but aimed not at well-being but a neo-feudal lord-vassal form of dependency. It is made clear that subjects will only get what they want  schools, apartments, jobs  through connections. Patronage holds things together. Unlike totalitarian leaders, the new despots do not demand perpetual enthusiasm when quiet subservience will do. In its concluding pages, where rhetoric sometimes overpowers thought, Keane suggests that new despotism poses a greater threat to the democratic world than did 20th-century totalitarianism. In part, we are threatened by the high degree of economic inter-penetration of the two systems, democracies dalliance with new despotism. More importantly, new despotism threatens us because, in our increasingly anxious times, many people are attracted to the (spurious) offer of a world relieving them of the burden of active citizenship. And most deeply of all, because democracies are now so hollowed out  with corruption, media manipulation and radical inequality  that they are increasingly coming to resemble new despotisms themselves. Keanes analysis leads inevitably to this question: Is new despotism democracys future? With an argument as bold, spirited and original as this, unsurprisingly there are many problems. Keane concedes that he cannot offer a grand theory or general historical laws of politics. We dont perhaps need this but what we do need is some explanation of the rise of new despotism.

Professor John Keane. Credit:Louise Kennerley Keane offers none. Nor is his roll-call of which states count as new despotisms satisfactorily explained. Is a category that likens the skilful rulers of Singapore to mad dictators, such as Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, too imprecise to be helpful? More importantly, his methodology is questionable. Keane creates what political sociologists, following Max Weber, might call an ideal type. Keanes ideal-typical new despotisms are corrupt, pseudo-democratic, new media-savvy and restrained in their use of a violence he describes as velvet. Keane illustrates his portrait of new despotisms with a mountain of invariably interesting and sometimes hilarious evidence. A narcissistic dying despot, when asked whether he would like to meet his people one last time, replies where are they going? Keane is not, however, interested in complications or exceptions. The leaders of Singapore were recently assessed the fourth least corrupt in the world. Are the post-communist central Asian dictatorships better understood as new despotisms or simply continuations of old Soviet-style rule? And what is velvet about the violence of the Saudi rulers regarding dissidents, one of whom recently left their Istanbul consulate in several suitcases, or about the violence of the Chinese rulers regarding their Uighur Islamic minority, vast numbers of whom are currently languishing in old-style thought-reform detention camps?

Keane is right to think that terms such as authoritarianism or autocracy or tyranny do not capture the pseudo-democratic character and the attention to detail of the principal, contemporary non-democratic states. There are, however, problems with his attempt to resuscitate and then fit out in fresh clothing the generally abandoned concept of despotism. Despotism has long been understood to mean total, unrestrained power. The kind of power exercised by his new despotisms is nuanced, cunning and sophisticated. Loading There is another problem. Keanes concept of new despotism covers those countries European Christianity once thought of as Oriental. The rather vague suggestion that power-sharing democracy is threatened by new despotism is unintentionally itself Orientalist, and because of its populist undertow, rather dangerous. Humankind faces the gravest threat in its brief history  not from the COVID-19 pandemic but from climate change, of which Keane is silent. Without the cooperation of the United States and China in this struggle, we are lost. Keane offers a rallying cry against the supposed threat of the new despotisms and in particular of China, the global torch-bearer of despotism. His metaphorical, radical-democratic call to arms is just about the last thing that we need at present. Robert Manne is Emeritus Professor of Politics and Vice-Chancellors Fellow at La Trobe University. His two most recent books are The Mind of the Islamic State and On Borrowed Time.
Consumers Want Social Distancing Options From Businesses After Pandemic

As retailers respond to the coronavirus crisis by offering an array of services that promote social distancing, a new survey suggests such options may outlast the pandemic.

Podium, a Lehi, Utah-based messaging platform company, conducted a survey of consumers to discover their preferred methods of interacting with retailers during the pandemic.

With consumers concerned about protecting themselves from contracting COVID-19, 84% said theyve used services that promote social distancing, such as delivery, contactless payments and curbside pickup. However, most respondents want these services to continue even after the pandemic is over.

Social distancing a driver of business

For many consumers, a retailers willingness to offer social distancing options determined whether that retailer would get their business. In fact, 57% said a businesss social distancing services led them to buy a product or service from that establishment for the first time. On top of that, 53% said theyve stopped patronizing a business or sought out a competitor because that retailer didnt offer pandemic-friendly services.

Price has become less important to consumers in the age of COVID-19, while safety considerations have become more of a priority.

According to the Podium research, respondents were 57% less likely to consider price a top consideration for patronizing a particular business during the pandemic than they were before the outbreak. On the other hand, 49% of respondents said the ability to take advantage of social distancing options was a top consideration for doing business with a retailer during the pandemic, while only 13% felt that way before the crisis.

Services may be here to stay

While social distancing options may have been unheard of for some consumers before the pandemic, convenience is key for many now. In fact, respondents overwhelmingly want these services to stay. Even after the pandemic subsides:

80% want businesses to continue offering curbside pickup

80% want businesses to continue delivering food and groceries

78% want businesses to offer contactless payment options, such as Apple Pay, contactless credit cards or the ability to pay via phone

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While its clear that consumers appreciate social distancing options, they expect the services to be offered efficiently. Almost 3 in 10 respondents said they had an unpleasant customer experience using curbside pickup. Of those respondents:

49% said service was unorganized

42% said service was slow

38% said there were no convenient communication options to coordinate the pickup

Such an experience can have broad implications, as 66% of those who had an unpleasant experience using curbside pickup said that incident made them less likely to patronize that business in the future.

Among all respondents, 89% said theyre likely to give repeat business to a retailer they patronized for the first time because of social distancing options. On the flip side, 70% of respondents who had what they deemed to be a bad customer experience during the pandemic would be less likely to buy from the retailer in the future.

Methodology: Podium surveyed 1,004 consumers between the ages of 18 and 75 on May 26 and 27.
The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland is "very confident" that measures put in place by parishes around the country will allow churches to reopen safely.

Under Phase 3 of the planned reopening of the country, religious buildings and places of worship can reopen from Monday.

However, churches and places of worship will be exempt from the 50-person indoor limit as there are certain large churches that can safely accommodate larger numbers of people.

Catholic Archbishop of Ireland and Primate of All Ireland Eamon Martin said that parishes and support teams across the country have been working for two months in preparation for the reopening of places of worship.

"I am very confident. All of our parishes around the country, both North and South have been working on this issue for two months. Many parishes have put in place small support teams to assist the priest and the pastoral council with the safe reopening of churches."

"I think that there will be a collective responsibility within a parish where people realise that we are still in a difficult time.

"We want to go back, we want to worship safely together and we want to do so in a way in which we can maximise the use of the space in our churches but, at the same time, adhere to physical distancing and cleanliness requirements. I am confident that this can be done," he told RTE's Morning Ireland.

However, Archbishop Martin urged mass goers  particularly older worshippers  not to rush to return to services.

"People don't have to go straight back to gathering for worship. It's there for them but we are encouraging people to be patient, to take their time if they are vulnerable in any way. If you are elderly, hold back for a few days, a few weeks."

"Perhaps come out on the weekdays rather than a large gathering on Sundays. I think if everyone takes a responsible approach, then the return to public worship will give everyone a lift and inject some hope into the situation for all of us," he said.

The Primate of All Ireland said there will be a "collective responsibility" on both parishes and worshippers to ensure the return to services is done in a way that protects all.

"Thankfully, all over the country, people are volunteering to come forward to assist their local parish but we have made it very clear to pastoral councils and to priests that the health and safety of people is paramount and the Church should really only be opened if these arrangements are in place," he said.
A two-third increase in the number of sea snakes caught in fishing nets has been recorded along the south Konkan coastline over the last three years, according to the state mangrove cell. Front-fanged and highly-venomous marine reptiles, sea snakes or coral reef snakes are protected under schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The mangrove cell under the forest department, Mangrove Foundation and Bengaluru-based Dakshin Foundation found that in surveys conducted during 2016 and 2017, 478 sea snakes of three species were caught by trawlers, gill nets and shore seines. There was a 66% rise in 2018 and 2019 when sampling surveys reported the number had increased to 793 of seven different species along Malvan and surrounding areas of Sindhudurg.

Mass bycatch of sea snakes due to commercial overfishing, mostly unknowingly, has resulted in a major threat to the species. With hardly any research available on the impact to overall numbers, we may be losing countless undiscovered species that are unintentionally caught in trawl and gill nets, said Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forest, state mangrove cell.

Sea snakes or coral reef snakes are widely distributed in marine habitats such as corals, mangroves, seagrass meadows and shallow waters across the Indian and Pacific oceans. They can be identified based on their flattened, oar-like tail that allows them to move through the water quickly. Their length varies from 20 inches to over six feet. There are about 70 species found across the world with the highest diversity known among marine reptiles. Along Maharashtra, there are nine species while the Sindhudurg coast is home to seven.

Researchers indicated the possibility of species decline for the Shaws sea snake (Hydrophis curtus) over the past decade. Based on studies carried out between 2004 and 2009, and latest sampling studies from 2016 to 2019, we can see a clear change in species composition, said Shawn Dsouza, research assistant, Dakshin Foundation adding that the Shaws sea snake had shown a considerable decline in numbers due to unregulated fishing as a major threat. We found higher mortalities from large trawlers that scrape the ocean floor bycatch as compared to other fishing gear such as gill nets. As compared to the Shaws sea snake, the number of Beaked sea snake (Hydrophis schistosus) has rapidly increased as by catch. We may witness a similar trajectory of suspected decline of the species (similar to the Shaws sea snake) if regulations are not strengthened, said Dsouza.

The most dominant species along the Mumbai coast is the Little file snake (Acrochordus granulatus), said Dsouza, adding the threat to the species has not been assessed due to lack of research.

Member of the Marine Conservation Committee of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Dr Aaron Savio Lobo said harmful fishing practices are being sustained, and if they continue, these may alter species communities. Fishers are aware about sea snakes but mechanised operations through low quality bulk fishing such as trawls and gill nets submerged for several hours allow these species to drown. There is a need for better fisheries management combined with focused attention to reduce overfishing, said Dr Lobo.

An alarming rise in overfishing in Maharashtra, particularly of juvenile fish and other protected marine species, led to overall losses exceeding Rs686 crore per year, according to the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. As this continues, what we will see is silent decline where species are lost without even discovering them. We have probably already pushed species into local decline and there is no knowledge about it, said Dr. Lobo.

The state fisheries department said they were not aware of the impact on the species but with help from the mangrove cell would commence separate awareness activities for the fishing community. Guidelines have been proposed to curb overfishing but using this time when there is a fishing ban, we will take help from the mangrove cell to build awareness along the Konkan coast and understand how sea snakes are being affected. Such representations have not been made to us so far, said Rajendra Jadhav, joint commissioner, state fisheries department.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 11:20:46|Editor: huaxia

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ABUJA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian military killed several gunmen and destroyed their hideouts in recent airstrikes in the country's northwestern region, authorities said late Thursday.

The Operation Hadarin Daji targeted the Doumorou Forest in the northern state of Zamfara on Tuesday, destroying two big camps of the gunmen, a military statement said.

"Some key armed bandits's leaders, as well as several of their fighters," were killed during that operation based on credible intelligence, the statement said.

Nigerian authorities have been conducting multiple military operations in the northwestern region which has been wracked by years of violence.

A cave hideout led by a suspected criminal gang leader identified as Hassan Tagwaye was among those destroyed during the recent operations, the statement said.

Banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities became rampant in northwest Nigeria earlier this year, forcing tens of thousands of refugees to flee to neighbouring Niger since April and raised concerns about the deteriorating security situation, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

Nigeria's military high command said recent operations have brought the situation under control. Enditem
Metropolitan's 'Three Word Stories' campaign has South Africa talking about mental strength, with motivators giving easy to follow steps for life in the 'new normal'.

Two minutes:

Share

Five to 15 minutes:

Test

Step in

More than 15 minutes:

Act!

Help with learning 

Take action if someone is spreading misinformation

Private approach 

Dont accuse

Redirect

*Source: Toolkit to Spread Awareness and Take Action on Covid-19 powered by Voices of Youth and Unicef.

The same way we take care of our bodies, we need to take care of our minds. Having mental strength does not mean that one is immune to hardship. Rather, its about developing habits to build the mental muscle that enables the ability to bounce back from setbacks.The saying knowledge is power couldnt be more relevant as people navigate this new reality. Unfortunately, times of crisis often give birth to a flood of false information, which has far-reaching consequences. We all have a responsibility to ensure that we consume and share reliable and accurate information. This will help us respond to new situations more confidently and knowledgeably, helping build mental strength.by Voices of Youth and Unicef recommends a set of actions to ensure that the right information and knowledge is shared, while promoting togetherness, community support and spirit.The actions are organised according to the approximate amount of time they should take a person to complete.social media messages and graphics from reliable sources such as the national government website, which helps ensure that correct information is disseminated to your social community - avoiding unnecessary panic, stress and anxiety.your knowledge. Regularly check your knowledge on what is happening around you and how you should respond to it.when you hear or see friends or family sharing misinformation in person, on social media or even in a WhatsApp group.If you have family who dont have regular access to reliable news sources, pick up the phone and give them a call. This is especially true for grandparents and others who are more vulnerable.Offer to help younger siblings or family members with learning.in person or via direct message. They are more likely to be receptive if they dont feel publicly embarrassed.them of spreading misinformation. Instead point out to them that the story or advice they shared doesnt look like it came from a trustworthy source OR that it is inaccurate.them to reliable and trustworthy sources.By following these tips, South Africans can keep themselves informed with reliable information, while helping curb the spread of false information. Make knowledge your weapon of choice, and develop habits that contribute towards building mental strength.
The thieves who crept into an East London warehouse in the dead of night earlier this month knew what they were after.

CCTV footage later showed that they headed straight for one box in particular. It contained not jewels or cash, not even drugs. Their swag of choice was - of all things - a spice.

The container they stole held 50,000 of saffron, a commodity whose remarkable flavour and lustrous golden colour adds distinction to a range of traditional Mediterranean dishes, most famously paella.

But it doesn't come cheap. The tiny, highly aromatic filaments (dried stigma, also known as threads) from a special type of crocus are so highly prized that they fetch up to 11,000 per kilogram.

CCTV footage shows thieves, who broke into an East London warehouse earlier this month, stealing a container holding 50,000 of saffron

How on earth, you may well ask, can so much value be placed on a mere flavouring? After all, diamonds are forever, but saffron is always destined for the cooking pot.

Do not, however, utter such an irreverence in the hearing of the people of La Mancha, the part of Spain that produces the world's most revered saffron. For them, it represents hard cash.

In the region's ancient farmhouses, families still treasure their antique 'guarder azafran', the saffron 'safe' in which the spice was hoarded to be sold at a time of need. To pay for a wedding, perhaps, or a new tractor.

When I visited La Mancha to see the harvest in 2010, Spain was still suffering the after-effects of the global financial crash two years earlier.

The property boom preceding 2008 had come to a grinding halt, and the local radio station was reporting that the region's landowners were using any available patch of land to plant Crocus sativus - the species that produces the most valuable saffron - rather than wasting any more time constructing holiday homes that no one wanted to buy.

The crop blooms in late autumn and that is when, each morning, the farmer collects the flowers after the dew has evaporated but before the crocuses begin to wilt.

They are always handpicked, the workers using a finger nail to sever the stems. The flower-heads are then taken inside and the three brilliant red stigma inside are removed, again by hand.

Placed on a rack, these are then toasted quickly at a high temperature - about 70c - for six minutes. Fast toasting results in the highest quality saffron, creating the strongest aroma and preserving the bright colour.

Saffron's tiny, highly aromatic filaments (dried stigma, also known as threads), from a special type of crocus (above), are so highly prized that they fetch up to 11,000 per kilogram

It takes 150 flowers to produce one gram of dried saffron, which means the 10kg that went missing from the East London warehouse - worth 50,000 wholesale and, yes, 110,000 retail - would have required a staggering 1.5 million crocuses.

You could be forgiven for wondering whether anything can be so gastronomically amazing as to justify such a lengthy fuss.

As a fan, I'd cite saffron's three exceptional, powerful properties: aroma, flavour and colour. The intoxicating scent of saffron - slightly soapy and floral, with undertones of rose and burning hay - comes from safranal, an oil that develops when the stigma are toasted.

The delicious flavour, meanwhile, comes from a compound called picrocrocin, best described as bitter and smoky, and the vivid colour comes from a potent carotenoid pigment called crocin.

How to cook up a storm with saffron Rose learned to make this on her visit to La Mancha and it is now a Prince family favourite. Baked rice with saffron, pork and greens Serves 2 For the saffron infusion - make several hours in advance: 1g saffron 250ml boiled water 3 tbsp olive oil

1 pork neck fillet or lean shoulder, cut into small dice

1 small sweet red pepper, cut into very small dice

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 clove garlic, crushed to a paste with salt

1 dried nora pepper, soaked in hot water then chopped

1 large head of broccoli divided into large florets

1 medium-sized courgette

10 mangetout

Large handful of wild rocket

75g paella rice

250ml (or more) chicken or vegetable stock Preheat the oven to 200c/400f/gas mark 6. Heat the oil and fry the pork for five minutes. Add the sweet pepper, the onion, garlic and nora pepper with 25ml of the saffron infusion and the rice. Cook for a minute or two, stirring, then cover with the meat stock so it is 1cm deeper than the level of the rice. Bring to the boil; turn down to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, blanch the broccoli in boiling water for one minute then drain and cut into smaller pieces. Chop the rocket, courgette and mangetout into 1cm pieces. Put all the green vegetables on top of the rice - they will add humidity to it - and put it in the oven for a further 10 minutes. There is no need to cover it, it will cook evenly. Bring to the table, serve heaped onto plates with a wedge of lemon. Advertisement

It all adds up to an ingredient that brings an explosion of taste to any dish it is used in.

The nutritional benefits of saffron are highly debatable given that only minuscule amounts are used.

Historically, it was believed to have magical powers, but modern studies show that one of its few health benefits may be as a mild reliever of depression. But don't overdo it: eaten in larger quantities it is toxic.

Spain's La Mancha may stake claim to the world's best saffron, but the spice originated in Western Asia, before being taken to the Middle East and on to Mediterranean Europe by the seafaring and enterprising Phoenicians who dominated trading culture from 1550BC to 300BC.

It derives its name from the Arabic za'faran, meaning 'yellow'. These days, the main producers are Iran, Spain, Greece, Morocco and Italy, though it is also grown in New Zealand and Kashmir.

Strangely enough, medieval England once boasted an extremely lucrative saffron industry. The spice arrived in Cornwall (where it is still used in saffron buns) in the 14th century and 200 years later it was being successfully grown and traded in the area around the Essex town of Chipping Walden, which changed its name to Saffron Walden in honour of its exotic new crop.

By 1800, saffron cultivation had come to an end because it was too expensive to produce. But in 2000, the crop was reintroduced by an enterprising geophysicist called David Smale and is now sold under the name English Saffron.

When it comes to cooking with saffron, every country has its classic recipes. Aside from rice dishes in Spain, it is ground and rubbed onto chicken with lemon.

In Italy it is used in risotto alla Milanese and Sicilian pasta con sarde (with sardines).

The Iranians use it in delicious fried pastries, called jalebis, while in India, they make malpura (creamy pancakes in syrup).

In this country, meanwhile, you may come across it in little fruit cakes called Norfolk Dingers in East Anglia.

Feel like investing? It only makes sense to buy the purest quality - the better it is, the less is needed.

There are various grades or marks to look for on labels: Mancha Coupe (the highest Spanish grade and most expensive) and Sargol, the best saffron grade from Iran.

For the best La Mancha grade saffron expect to pay approximately 11 per gram. For good Iranian saffron, 7 per gram. If you think that sounds a little steep, bear in mind one gram, made in to an infusion, flavours about 20 helpings.

Look closely at non-graded saffron to be sure that unscrupulous producers have not cut the spice with the flavourless male stamens. You'll always know if you have been duped - when the saffron is added to water, it should colour it slowly over an hour. If the water quickly turns yellow, it probably contains artificial dye.

And, whatever you do, keep it well out of sight of any potential burglars!
For months, Francesco Lotoro was forced to stay in his home, quarantined by a virus that ravaged his native Italy and slowed a project he has been working on since 2014. His dream is to build a study centre to house an archive of concentration camp music from World War II, a trove he has been collecting for 30 years.

Now he is back at work, raising money and reviewing plans for what he calls a citadel, to be built in Barletta, a city in south-eastern Italy, by the Adriatic Sea, where he lives and was born 55 years ago.

"The main hurdles are raising the money and developing an international campaign to get it," he said in a telephone interview.

Francesco Lotoro is striving to unearth the music of concentration camp prisoners. Credit:Getty Images

Lotoro, a composer and pianist, and his wife, Grazia, have collected and catalogued symphonies, operas, scores and songs that were composed and performed under conditions so horrible one imagines that music would have lost its ability to encourage and to soothe.
It was June 13 when La Marcha owner Sergio Monleon received the news that reopening businesses are dreading: An employee of the restaurant informed him they had tested positive for COVID-19.

Monleon was at home when he received the call, and was shortly due to arrive at the restaurant to prep for the day's orders. When he got the news, he had "a whole whirlwind of thoughts."

"A lot of stuff was going through my head," Monleon told SFGATE. "My first instinct was, 'OK, how do we continue to do business in a safe way?' because, honestly, closing didn't even cross my mind. I didn't think that we would survive closure.

"I hate to admit this, but my first instinct was to try to keep this internal and not let it get out, because I was also really worried about the sort of repercussions that we would have if the community found out that we were a hot spot," Monleon said. "I thought it would completely just doom our business."

It's an understandable instinct, given how La Marcha - like many other restaurants during this time - is trying to weather the COVID-19 storm after months of being forced to pivot to a delivery-slash-to-go model. La Marcha had gone from a consistently busy restaurant that saw 16 employees working both the front and back of the house, to two to four employees during shelter in place. It recently drummed up enough business to grow back to 10 employees to keep the place running.

And now, it seemed, the popular Spanish tapas restaurant was going to have to weather a different storm, namely, what happens when an employee tests positive for coronavirus.
The families of former activists and members of the disbanded opposition party, who have been jailed this year, petitioned the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh on Friday to intervene and aid in the release of their relatives.



The government has arrested former Cambodia National Rescue Party provincial officials and activists this year, often on the pretext of curbing the spread of fake news. Human Rights Watch has documented the arrest of at least 30 opposition officials, 16 of whom have been charged with varying crimes, such as incitement, conspiracy, and inciting military personnel to be disobedient.



The June 26 petition, delivered to the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh on Friday, states that the former CNRP members had been jailed and sent to the notorious Prey Sar prison in the capital. The CNRP members had not committed any crimes, the families said in the petition.

They didnt commit anything wrong against the local and international laws, read the petition. After the arrest, our families are in a very difficult living condition.



The families of the jailed CNRP members said they were facing economic and mental stress following the arrest and wanted their loved ones to be released from prison.

Sam Chenda, 51, said her husband Keo Thay, who was the former Kampong Chhnang provincial CNRP party head, was arrested without a warrant and the family was given no clear reason for his incarceration.

The arrest of my husband is very unfair and politically motivated. They intended to arrest him since 2019, she claimed.

Sun Thun, a former Cambodia National Rescue Party district councilor, was arrested from his home in early June in Kampong Thom provinces Taing Kouk district. Again, his family said there was no clear reason given for the arrest, with his son Thun Theany linking it to Sun Thuns political activism in the province.

He was an active politician at the local level. The authorities of the ruling party were not pleased with him and they wanted to shut his mouth and restrict our freedoms, he said.



The arrests of former CNRP activists and members this year mirrors similar arrests in 2019 when around 70 party members were arrested for allegedly aiding in opposition leader Sam Rainsys return to Cambodia in November. The planned return was eventually blocked by the Cambodian government and the 74 CNRP members released.

Arend Zwartjes, a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy, said the diplomatic mission had received the petition requesting assistance to secure the release of jailed CNRP members, but could not comment on the embassys next course of action.

We do not support any particular political group or individual, but rather support the Cambodian peoples constitutional right to democracy and fundamental freedoms, he said.

We are deeply concerned by the recent series of arrests, harassment, and intimidation of the political opposition by the Cambodian government. We call on all parties to conduct a peaceful, meaningful process of dialogue and national reconciliation.
ZHENGZHOU - China's kung fu shrine Shaolin Temple reopened to the public on Monday, ending a months-long closure amid the COVID-19 epidemic.

The 1,500-year-old temple, in Central China's Henan province, opened its gates at 9 am, ushering in its first tourists in five months.

The temple declared it had enhanced epidemic control measures, including thorough disinfection of the temple and nucleic acid testing among its monks.

The Shaolin Temple, like many other scenic spots and cultural sites in China, closed in late January as the country moved to curb the COVID-19 outbreak.


The coronavirus pandemic has rocked some of the sturdiest traditions. Home designs open floor plan has lost appeal in favor of smaller rooms behind privacy-granting doors. More employers are accepting the once-revolutionary idea of people working remotely, and landlords are bearing the brunt of empty offices and out-of-work tenants.

About 15% of Portland area apartment renters were late paying or requested rent delays in June, according to research released by HFO Investment Real Estate.

Oregons unemployment rate in May  14.2%  was higher than the national unemployment rate, which fell from 14.7% in April, the highest since the Great Depression, to 13.3% in May due to a limited resumption of economic activity, according to the Department of Labor.

High unemployment amounts to vacancies, especially one-bedroom units, said Portland-based HFO broker Greg Frick, who has specialized in multifamily investment sales in Oregon and Southwest Washington for three decades.

Tenants who still have a source of income are finding that rents are flattening, to their benefit. And some apartment managers, hoping to fill units in a market that had a recent flood of new buildings, are offering incentives and move-in specials.

Broadstone Reveal at 1411 N.W. Quimby St. is advertising eight weeks free and up to a $1,000 gift card for tenants ready to move in within 45 days. The Grand Belmont at 514 S.E. Belmont St. also has an eight-week-free incentive.

Harrison Tower near Portland State University, which is beginning its gradual return to campus, will deduct up to $1,200 plus charge a $100 security deposit, waived a pet deposit and application fees for new leases.Sequoia Equities

Apartments marketed to young adults are discounting security deposits and promoting other perks.

Harrison Tower near Portland State University, which is beginning its gradual reopening, will deduct up to $1,200, waived a pet deposit and application fees, and charge a $100 security deposit for new leases.

The real estate database Zillow found that 13% of Portlands renters are 18 to 25 years old, and those who moved home in March and April after college campuses and businesses closed due to COVID-19 represent $6.9 million in monthly rent payments at risk or 1.4% of the market.

What else is in flux: Long-accepted apartment amenities.

Physical distancing practiced around a pool, gym, barbecue and other shared spaces limits social interactions. Apartment experts predict more emphasis will be placed on private balconies and outdoor spaces.

The clubhouse might be divided into smaller, separate rooms.

Like the pandemics impact on housing design, apartment layouts and features will be modified.

More people may prefer a low-rise building with exterior corridors and stairs to avoid elevators.

Gaining interest: A powder room close to the entry so visitors can wash their hands and a sink and shelves near the kitchen to sanitize delivered or store-bought items.

After complaints from tenants spending months of living, working and homeschooling in one place, apartments might be upgraded with dedicated workstations offering privacy, soundproofing, storage and better WiFi for video conferencing.

The virus is also pushing the desire for easy-to-clean polished concrete, tile or antimicrobial materials.

Other predicted changes: Motion-sensor, touch-less faucets, especially at the kitchen sink will be installed as will self-cleaning, wall-mounted toilets and voice-controlled ovens, lights and devices.

Landlords will also boast about improved fresh air systems.

Frick said owners are trying to figure out how apartments will permanently change due to the pandemic.

Will we look back in five years and try to remember the common workout room and the push toward better WiFi as more people started to work at home? he said. The changes will be interesting to see.

Other experts predict an increase in contactless entries, virtual tours and signing a lease without walking through the place.

 Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman

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OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)  Facebook said Friday that it will flag all "newsworthy" posts from politicians that break its rules, including those from President Donald Trump.

Separately, Facebook's stock dropped more than 8%, erasing roughly $50 billion from its market valuation, after the European company behind brands such as Ben & Jerry's and Dove announced it would boycott Facebook ads through the end of the year over the amount of hate speech and divisive rhetoric on its platform. Later in the day, Coca-Cola also announced it joined the boycott for at least 30 days.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously refused to take action against Trump posts suggesting that mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud, saying that people deserved to hear unfiltered statements from political leaders. Twitter, by contrast, slapped a get the facts label on them.

Until Friday, Trump's posts with identical wording to those labeled on Twitter remained untouched on Facebook, sparking criticism from Trump's opponents as well as current and former Facebook employees. Now, Facebook is all but certain to face off with the president the next time he posts something the company deems to be violating its rules.

The policies were implementing today are designed to address the reality of the challenges our country is facing and how theyre showing up across our community, Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page announcing the changes.

Zuckerberg said the social network is taking additional steps to counter election-related misinformation. In particular, the social network will begin adding new labels to all posts about voting that will direct users to authoritative information from state and local election officials.

Facebook is also banning false claims intended to discourage voting, such as stories about federal agents checking legal status at polling places. The company also said it is increasing its enforcement capacity to remove false claims about local polling conditions in the 72 hours before the U.S. election.

Story continues

Ethan Zuckerman, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Center for Civic Media, said the changes are a reminder of how powerful Facebook may be in terms of spreading disinformation during the upcoming election.

He said the voting labels will depend on how good Facebooks artificial intelligence is at identifying posts to label.

If every post that mentions voting links, people will start ignoring those links. If theyre targeted to posts that say things like Police will be checking warrants and unpaid traffic tickets at polls  a classic voter suppression disinfo tactic  and clearly mark posts as disinfo, they might be useful, he said.

But Zuckerman noted that Facebook has a history of trying hard not to alienate right-leaning users, and given how tightly President Trump has aligned himself with voter-suppressing misinfo, it seems likely that Facebook will err on the side of non-intrusive and ignorable labels, which would minimize impact of the campaign.

Earlier in the day, shares of Facebook and Twitter dropped sharply after consumer-product maker Unilever announced a new ad boycott on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram through at least the end of the year.

The European company said it took the move to protest the amount of hate speech online. Unilever said the polarized atmosphere in the United States ahead of November's presidential election placed responsibility on brands to act.

In addition to the decline in Facebook shares, Twitter ended the day more than 7% lower.

Unilever, which is based in the Netherlands and Britain, joins a raft of other advertisers pulling back from online platforms. Facebook in particular has been the target of an escalating movement to withhold advertising dollars to pressure it to do more to prevent racist and violent content from being shared on its platform.

We have decided that starting now through at least the end of the year, we will not run brand advertising in social media newsfeed platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the U.S.," Unilever said. Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Thursday, Verizon joined others in the Facebook boycott.

Unilever has enough influence to persuade other brand advertisers to follow its lead, said eMarketer analyst Nicole Perrin. She noted that Unilever pulled back spending for longer, on more platforms (including Twitter) and for more expansive reasons  in particular, by citing problems with divisiveness as well as hate speech.

Sarah Personette, vice president of global client solutions at Twitter, said the company's mission is to serve the public conversation and ensure Twitter is a place where people can make human connections, seek and receive authentic and credible information, and express themselves freely and safely.

She added that Twitter is "respectful of our partners decisions and will continue to work and communicate closely with them during this time.
Investors piled into Mitie after it unveiled plans to form the UK's biggest support services group through a deal with Interserve.

Mitie has agreed to pay 271million to take over its rival's facilities management arm, creating a mega-business with almost 88,000 staff and turnover of 3.5billion.

Combining resources would save the firms millions of pounds a year and help them scale up their operations as the Government battles the coronavirus crisis.

Mitie has agreed to pay 271m to take over interserve's facilities management arm, creating a mega-business with almost 88,000 staff and turnover of 3.5bn

Mitie and Interserve are both involved in the response, including work with the NHS Nightingale Hospitals.

Their support services divisions  which manage everything from cleaning and security to operating Ministry of Defence training estates  would also complement one another, as Mitie tends to get most of its cash from private sector contracts and Interserve from the public sector.

As well as receiving cash, Interserve's hedge fund owners would own 23.4 per cent share of Mitie.

The deal comes after Interserve crashed into administration last year and has been hiving off its divisions.

Stock Watch - Eden Research Eden Research rallied after it clinched two important patents in the US. The company produces pesticides and biodegradable versions  made from yeast extract  of tiny microplastic balls that release chemicals. One of the patents is related to its microcapsules and the other is for technology that will be used in its new insecticide products for killing mites and preventing mite infestations. Shares in AIM-listed Eden Research rose 7.8 per cent, or 0.6p, to 8.28p.

Mitie revealed the takeover alongside annual results that showed revenue rose 4 per cent to 2.2billion.

In April and May, turnover was down 12 per cent and profit by 20 per cent  a less dramatic drop than many had feared.

Mitie will pay for the deal in part by raising 201million through selling new shares, and will also bolster its balance sheet by scrapping its final dividend.

The small-cap contractor stressed that the deal needs approval from shareholders and could still fall apart.

But traders were undeterred, sending Mitie's shares up 18.3 per cent, or 14.6p, to 94.6p.

Over on the FTSE 250, rival Capita fell out of favour after warning it expects to take a 10 per cent revenue hit in the first half. About half of this was a result of the pandemic, while the other half was from contract losses and had been expected.

Shares in the business, which recently rallied on news it wants to sell a 500million education software business, fell 6.7 per cent, or 3.12p, to 43.43p.

The rest of the FTSE 250 was also in the red, slipping 0.2 per cent, or 38.71 points, to 17,112.12.

The FTSE 100, in contrast, inched marginally higher, rising 0.4 per cent, or 23.45 points, to 6147.14.

Footsie-listed defence giant BAE Systems was up 1.3 per cent, or 6.2p, to 485.8p by the close after it struck an optimistic tone.

The contractor will take a 15 per cent hit to first-half profits but the company, which makes warships and Typhoon fighter jets, said trading will be 'much stronger' over the next six months as it gets back to full capacity.

But Rolls-Royce dropped another 1.6 per cent, or 4.8p, to 295.4p despite clinching contracts with the US Navy worth 93million this week.

And online car site Auto Trader also dipped into the red, closing down 0.9 per cent, or 4.8p, to 521p, after it said some retailers were leaving its platform and that revenue would probably fall slightly in July.

Brewer and pub group Marston's got the go-ahead from 98.7 per cent of shareholders to form a brewing joint venture with the UK arm of Carlsberg.

Marston's will own 40 per cent while Carlsberg  which will pay Marston's up to 273million  will own the other 60 per cent.

Investors toasted the deal, sending shares up 1.8 per cent, or 1.2p, to 64.5p, which will give Marston's more time to concentrate on its pubs.

And Simply Be and Jacamo-owner N Brown managed to climb 2.1 per cent, or 0.8p, to 39.7p despite profit slumping 29 per cent to 59.5million in a restructuring-heavy year.

The online retailer also said it had poached Rachel Izzard from Aer Lingus to be its finance chief. Izzard has headed up the Irish airline's finance team since 2015.
During a virtual ceremony on June 25, Port Richmond sent off 361 graduates, most of which can change the world, says class salutatorian Katharine Fauske.

While writing this speech I was thinking of my peers -- my friends. I want to say congratulations to every single one of you, said Fauske. You have overcome hardships, struggles, and obstacles that many will never face nor even imagine, and you prevailed nonetheless. You have overcome broken homes, language barriers, finances, stereotypes, racism, family issues, health problems, and much more.
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Ever since actress Benedicta Gafah started co-hosting Music Music on TV3, hardly does an episode end without her being trolled on social media for grammatical slips or wrong pronunciations.



But while her faultfinders may be having a field day ridiculing her shortcomings, the Odo Asa actress remained unfazed and rather seized the opportunity to sharpen her hosting skills.



And while at it, Benedicta tells Graphic Showbiz in an interview, There is growth in every sphere of our lives and I believe with time, we get better and gain grounds. For my critics, I would say their comments challenge me to get better at what I'm doing.



They challenge me to do more to get to the top. I'm not bothered by the negatives, rather they keep me focused. You see, I enjoy what I'm do and for this reason, I am open to constructive criticisms, she added.



Talking about her new home, Media General, operators of TV3, where she co-hosts Music Music and Onua TV where she handles Girlz Kasa, she said, I love it at Media General. Great reception, room for growth and expansion.



Media General is a brand you will want to be associated with and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this great family. Its a place that makes it possible to learn since the standards are high and you are pushed to aim high and work to be better at all times, she stated.



Benedicta Gafah



Benedicta, who holds a BA in Strategic Communications(PR and Advertising) from the African University College of Communications (AUCC), also agreed that her association with the Media General has influenced her career in the media space, The TV3 and Onua TV brands are huge and having a platform as a presenter has boosted my credentials as an actress because I command a larger following now, she said.



Switching roles from an actress to a presenter has obviously not been an easy journey for Benedicta, however, she commends her handlers for making her new role easier than she had expected.



Being on TV every weekend in Ghana is a dream come true even though one cannot do away with the pressure that comes with TV production and I commend my able and supportive team for the grooming and guidance, she stated.



Touching on the lessons life has taught her, she said, the greatest lessons is to learn from our own mistakes. We should endeavour to be better than who we were yesterday and challenge ourselves to be the best tomorrow.



I would always say that hard work, perseverance and dedication to what you love most can get you where you want to be in Life. And I believe with God on our side, being honest, dedicated and committed to whatever you want to do, the sky would always be a stepping stone.





















Source: Daily Graphic









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Nokia and Ericsson have been chosen as Singapore's main 5G network providers, telecom operators said, leaving Huawei with only a minor role as the Chinese tech giant faces growing US pressure.

Huawei has been dogged by allegations of stealing American trade secrets and aiding China's espionage efforts, with Washington pushing countries to bar the company from involvement in their next-generation networks.

Huawei has denied ties with the Chinese government.

Singtel, one of the city-state's main telecom operators, said Wednesday it had chosen Sweden's Ericsson to build its 5G network after the government gave final approval.

A joint venture that includes the country's two other major telecom operators, M1 and StarHub, announced it had opted for Nokia to build its main 5G infrastructure.

However, both M1 and Starhub said that other firms, including Huawei, could have some involvement in the project.

Huawei only won the contract to be a provider for a smaller, local network system, operated by TPG Telecom, a more minor player.

The Southeast Asian city-state tries to maintain good relations with both the US and China, and Information Minister S. Iswaran insisted that no company had been excluded in the selection process.

"We have run a robust process spelling out our requirements in terms of performance, security and resilience," he said, adding that mobile network operators also had their own criteria.

"There is a diversity of vendors participating in different parts of the 5G ecosystem, and... there remain prospects for greater involvement in our 5G system going forward."

Iswaran said the 5G investments will run into "billions of dollars".

- 'Knowing your supplier' -

Singapore is aiming to have ultra high-speed internet coverage for half of the country by the end of 2022, and expand it to cover the entire island by the end of 2025.

The US government launched a worldwide campaign against Huawei, the world's largest supplier of telecom network equipment and the planet's number two smartphone maker, about 18 months ago.

Story continues

Washington essentially banned Huawei from the US market last year, although earlier this month it let the firm back into the fold when it comes to companies working together to set standards for 5G networks.

The Pentagon has published a list of 20 Chinese companies it says are backed by the military, in the latest instance of a running tit-for-tat economic battle between Washington and Beijing, and Bloomberg reported Huawei is one of them.

"As the People's Republic of China attempts to blur the lines between civil and military sectors, 'knowing your supplier' is critical," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman said in Washington.

The list covers firms "owned by, controlled by, or affiliated with China's government, military, or defense industry," Hoffman said in a statement.

"We envision this list will be a useful tool for the U.S. Government, companies, investors, academic institutions, and likeminded partners to conduct due diligence with regard to partnerships with these entities."

Huawei did not immediately respond on the publication of the list.
Pomona City Councilman Rubio Ramiro Gonzalez has been charged with possession of child pornography. (City of Pomona)

A Pomona city councilman has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities said this week.

Rubio Ramiro Gonzalez was charged Wednesday with possessing child pornography and taking inappropriate photographs of girls at two elementary schools where he was a substitute teacher, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Gonzalez, 45, was charged with one felony count of possessing child pornography and four misdemeanor counts of annoying or molesting a child.

According to the district attorney's office, he inappropriately took photos of female students at Cortez and Arroyo elementary schools in Pomona. He also is accused of having pornographic images of children in his email accounts.

Gonzalez was arrested May 21 following an investigation by the district attorneys office. He was released later that day on bond, according to jail records.

In an email to The Times, Gonzalez denied the molestation charges, but did not directly comment on the child porn allegations.

"Despite the horrific-sounding charges against me, they revolve around my inappropriate use of technology, but no child was ever molested by me," Gonzalez said in an email to The Times.

Gonzalez added that he is the "only advocate against violence toward women and children" on the City Council and that he is one of the founders of a multi-agency human trafficking coalition that supports the police department with rescuing women and teenagers from prostitution and sex trafficking. He did not provide further comment about the charges.

An educator for more than 15 years, Gonzalez has worked in the Pomona Unified School District, the Los Angeles Unified School District and several other school districts in California and Texas, according to his biography on the city of Pomonas website . No spokesperson from the Pomona Unified School District was available to comment on whether he is still employed with the district.

Story continues

Gonzalez was elected into office in 2016. The citys website still lists him as a councilman for District 1, but Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval issued a statement last month saying he intended to call a special meeting to discuss legal options regarding Gonzalezs status as a council member.

Two days after his arrest, the City Council voted unanimously to censure Gonzalez and directed staff to draft a letter calling for his resignation, according to city spokesman Mark Gluba.

"This letter has been delivered to Mr. Gonzalez and, as of this date, we have not received any indication of his intent to resign from office," Gluba said via email.

No council members were available for comment Thursday.

The case remains under investigation, and Gonzalez is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 28. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.

As of Thursday morning, the district attorney's office's spokesman, Greg Risling, said he did not know who Gonzalez's defense lawyer was.

Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.
NEW YORK, June 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Wells Fargo & Company (Wells Fargo or the Company) (NYSE: WFC) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and indexed under 20-cv-03697, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise acquired Wells Fargo securities between April 5, 2020, and May 5, 2020, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.



If you are a shareholder who purchased Wells Fargo securities during the class period, you have until August 3, 2020, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

Wells Fargo is a diversified financial services company that provides banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services to individuals, businesses, and institutions in the U.S. and internationally.

On April 5, 2020, Wells Fargo announced that it had received strong interest in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act), and was targeting to distribute a total of $10 billion to small business customers under the requirements of the PPP.

On April 8, 2020, the Federal Reserve announced that it would allow Wells Fargo to exceed the asset cap that it had imposed on Wells Fargo in 2018 after revelations that the Company had opened millions of accounts in customers names without their permission, a change which would allow Wells Fargo to make additional small business loans as part of the PPP.

That same day, Wells Fargo issued a press release stating, in relevant part, that, beginning immediately, in response to the actions by the Federal Reserve, [Wells Fargo] will expand its participation in the [PPP] and offer loans to a broader set of its small business and nonprofit customers subject to the terms of the program.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about Wells Fargos business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (i) Wells Fargo planned to, and did, improperly allocate government-backed loans under the PPP, and/or had inadequate controls in place to prevent such misallocation; (ii) the foregoing foreseeably increased the Companys litigation risk with respect to PPP allocation, as well as increased regulatory scrutiny and/or potential enforcement actions; and (iii) as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On April 19, 2020, after at least one lawsuit was filed against the Company, reports emerged that Wells Fargo may have unfairly allocated government-backed loans under the PPP. For example, USA Today reported that [t]he lawsuit filed on behalf of small business owners on Sunday alleges that Wells Fargo unfairly prioritized businesses seeking large loan amounts, while the governments small business agency has said that PPP loan applications would be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. According to the lawsuit, [t]he move by Wells Fargo meant that the bank would receive millions more dollars in processing fees, and, [m]aking matters worse, Wells Fargo concealed from the public that it was reshuffling the PPP applications it received and prioritizing the applications that would make the bank the most money.

Following this news, Wells Fargos stock price fell more than 5% over two trading days to close at $26.84 per share on April 21, 2020.

Finally, on May 5, 2020, Wells Fargo filed a quarterly report on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosing, in addition to multiple PPP-related lawsuits initiated against the Company, that Wells Fargo had received formal and informal inquiries from federal and state governmental agencies regarding its offering of PPP loans.

Following this news, Wells Fargos stock price fell by more than 6% over two trading days from its closing price on May 4, 2020, closing at $25.61 per share on May 6, 2020.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Green Growth Brands Inc. (CSE: GGB) (OTCQB: GGBXF) ("GGB" or the "Company") announced today the expiry of the forbearance period (Forbearance Period) pursuant to the terms of the forbearance agreement (the Forbearance Agreement) with Green Ops Group LLC (Green Ops) previously announced on May 20, 2020. The expiration of the Forbearance Period entitles Green Ops to exercise any and all of its rights under the loan documents and applicable law, and GGB is precluded from contesting any such enforcement action under a separate Voluntary Surrender of Collateral in Satisfaction of Debt and Release Agreement among the parties. The Company has also received a letter from legal counsel to Green Ops notifying the Company of the acceleration of all secured obligations of the Company under the Forbearance Agreement and that all guaranteed obligations of the Company owing to Green Ops are immediately due and payable in full. The Company has been notified that Green Ops intends to enforce its righs under such loan documents and applicable law through the seizure of collateral granted by the Company and the Grantors (as defined in the Forbearance Agreement).



About Green Growth Brands Inc.

Green Growth Brands creates remarkable experiences in cannabis. The companys brands include CAMP, The+Source, and 8 Fold. GGB is continuing its cannabis operations throughout the U.S., via dispensaries in Nevada and Massachusetts. Learn more about the vision at GreenGrowthBrands.com .

For investor relations inquiries, please contact:
In the last few weeks people across the world hit the pavement in protest demanding justice for George Floyd who was murdered by a former Minneapolis police officer. As the streets flooded with streams of protesters, the fight online has been just as formidable and the Black Lives Matter movement received support from a seemingly unlikely ally: K-pop stans.

This past weekend K-pop fans allegedly registered for thousands of tickets to U.S. President Donald Trumps rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma only to not show up, leaving the stands to appear mostly empty.

This followed the Dallas police departments call for citizens to upload footage of illegal activity from protests to its iWatch Dallas app to which K-pop fans responded by spamming the app with videos of their favourite idols in concert. The goal was to deter officers from further harming protesters and resulted in the police app crashing soon after.

In addition, beloved K-pop idols with the hashtags #alllivesmatter and #bluelivesmatter were uploaded excessively onto social media by fans in order to drown out the original corresponding content.

As someone who has listened to South Korean pop music since middle school the fandom-based activism didnt come as a surprise to me. In fact, it felt long overdue.

Black culture and specifically hip-hop are blatantly mirrored in a lot of Korean popular music, visuals and fashion. I remember seeing idols like Taeyang from BIGBANG rocking cornrows and bandanas tied around his head like Tupac and watching girl group 2NE1 debut with their music video Fire, all four members dripping in hip-hop-influenced street wear. The rhythms and melodies used had roots in 90s to early 00s hip-hop and R&B, echoing the work of artists like B2K and Missy Elliott.

It was the borrowing of these Black concepts and themes that drew me to the genre to begin with; it felt familiar despite the fact that I did not understand the language.

1ST SINGLE [BIGBANG]

What those outside the Korean fandom ecosystem may not know is that K-pop is an idol-manufacturing machine. Music labels enrol their selected idols-to-be in rigorous training programs to master vocal, dance and language skills for several years before they are pumped out into groups ranging from three to 20 members.

These bands are often marketed to reap international appeal. Their hairstyles, clothing, lyrics and even their roles within the group (rapper, dancer, leader, etc.) are decided upon strategically by management. What ends up happening is that these corporations will take ingredients from popular Black music and either sprinkle or completely plagiarize the recipe to produce these groups. This becomes problematic because genres like hip-hop, R&B, dancehall, jazz and reggae are already being diluted and appropriated in the North American mainstream.

In 2017, girl group Mamamoo came under fire after performing a parody of Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars Uptown Funk in blackface when just a year earlier member Hwasa was chastised by fans for uttering the N-word during her cover of Beyonces Irreplaceable. The band later apologized for the former incident stating, We were extremely ignorant of blackface and did not understand the implications of our actions.

That is the issue.

Many South Korean youth and those within the K-pop industry love and profit off of Black culture, but have a history of anti-Black activity or are simply oblivious to the struggles of the Black community. In short its a case of what Toronto based Twitter user @nadaleenatasha tweeted in 2018 they want our rhythm, but not our blues. This reality is rampant in many multimillion dollar industries.

In the last month, the Black Lives Matter movement has sparked demands for equality, exposed racist individuals and companies in positions of power, launched petitions, received an outpouring of donations and reminded us of all the names that came before George Floyd.

The exasperation felt by the Black community after seeing another one of our own senselessly murdered due to the systemic effects of white supremacy not only called for reform within the legal system, but awareness in pop culture worldwide.

K-pop juggernauts like Jay Park, BLACKPINK, CL, BTS, MONSTA X and many more stood in solidarity with the movement by acknowledging how theyve been influenced by Black culture. Theyve made donations to pro-Black and Black-owned organizations, written open letters on social media and encouraged their fans to join in succession.

This is a step in the right direction.

Being a Black fan of K-pop has had its cringeworthy moments, but the genre continues to inspire me each day. In 2014, I took my first adult trip away from home to Seoul because of my love for K-pop and felt welcomed by every person I met. The most money Ive ever spent on a concert was for VIP tickets to see BIGBANG in Toronto and today my 15-year-old sister rocks BLACKPINK T-shirts and practises TWICE choreography in her bedroom.

Going forward, as K-pop becomes a growing force within popular culture amassing millions of fans worldwide from diverse communities its imperative that the genres emulation of Black art and culture is accompanied by education, understanding and support.
After clashes between the two groups Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Fathbutou Operations Room have agreed to not set up more checkpoints writes Alsouria Net.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Fathbutou Operations Room have reached a truce agreement to remove checkpoints west of Idleb, two days after an escalation between the two sides.

According to a written statement shared over Telegram on Thursday by figures close to Tahrir al-Sham, the agreement was to empty the Yaqoubiyah checkpoint for a period of 24 hours, and for the two sides to refrain from setting up any checkpoints on the highway between Jisr al-Shugour and Darkoush.

According to the statement, whoever sets up a checkpoint in the area is an aggressor and has breached the agreement, which was signed by Abu Omar al-Kurdi from Fathbutou side and Abdedlrahman Mansour from Tahrir al-Sham.

Fathbutou announced on Thursday morning that it was prepared for a ceasefire and to halt clashes with Tahrir al-Sham and the sharia courts in response to an initiative launched by personalities in the area in a joint statement.

The joint statement was released by a group of scholars and sheikhs in Idleb, calling for reconciliation between the two sides, adding that the two sides weapons are, integrity, and it is not permissible for them to turn against their brothers.

The past two days saw escalation between Tahrir al-Sham and jihadist factions within Fathbutou in rural Idleb. Clashes broke out in the town of Arab Saeed west of Idleb city, with mortar shells and heavy gunfire used.

The escalation started after Tahrir al-Sham arrested one of its former commanders, Abu Malek al-Tali, who had joined the Fathbutou Operations Room. Tahrir al-Sham accused him of starting a new faction in Idleb , which the former claimed to be a violation of its laws.

Tahrir al-Sham also arrested Jabhat Ansar al-Din commander Abu Saleh al-Uzbeki last week, accusing him of corruption.

Meanwhile, there is talk of how the situation on the ground in Idleb will unfold in the coming days, especially with the continued enforcement of the ceasefire between Moscow and Ankara.

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.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper holds a news conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Oct. 28, 2019, the day after it was announced that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. raid in Syria. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Esper Authorizes Deployment of 4,000 Personnel to USMexico Border

Defense Secretary Mark Esper has approved a one-year extension of Pentagon assistance to the Department of Homeland Security, authorizing the deployment of 4,000 U.S. military personnel at the U.S.Mexico border.

The authorization comes after the DHS requested support in its mission to protect the border. The deployment will start in October and continue until the end of September 2021, with most of the force coming from the National Guard.

The National Guard personnel will operate under a Title 10 status, which authorizes them to carry out federal active-duty military service.

The duties to be performed by military personnel include the same categories of support as those currently being carried out along the border, including detection and monitoring, logistics, and transportation support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell said in a statement.

Military personnel will not directly participate in civilian law enforcement activities, he added. DoD and DHS constantly review the situation along the border, adjusting requirements as necessary to maintain the safety and security of the American people.

The current authorized troop level at the southern border is at about 5,000, with 2,600 active duty and 2,400 National Guard, reports Washington Examiner, which means that the new deployment is a decrease in personnel supporting the DHS.

More than 5,000 troops began deploying to the U.S. Mexico border around October 2018 in Texas, Arizona, and California in efforts to harden the U.S. border with Mexico, the Pentagon announced at the time. The announcement came ahead of an anticipated arrival of a caravan of migrants moving northward from Central America. At the time, troops laid down barbed-wire fencing along the border in an effort to stem the swell of people trying to enter the United States.

The U.S. military installs concertina wire on the levee behind Granjeno in Texas, just north of the U.S.-Mexico border on Nov. 7, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

President Donald Trump recently visited a section of the U.S.-Mexico border in Yuma, Arizona, to mark the 200th mile of newly built border wall under his administration.

Were on pace to complete 450 miles by the end of the year and 500 miles almost immediately thereafter, Trump said on June 23.

President Donald Trump speaks with Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott (R) as they participates in a ceremony commemorating the 200th mile of border wall at the international border with Mexico in San Luis, Arizona, on June 23, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump in February extended the national emergency declaration on the U.S.-Mexico border for another year, according to a notice submitted to the Federal Register (pdf). The initial emergency declaration was made in February 2019.

Since taking office, Trump has demanded that Congress fund construction of a wall on the southern border, his landmark campaign promise.
New Delhi: Monalisa, who ruled the Bhojpuri movie industry before taking her big leap into television with 'Nazar' is a social media queen. She a massive 3.3 million fan base on Instagram alone and regularly updates her account with fresh posts.

In her recent post, Monalisa can be seen chilling on the bed wearing a stylish black crop top and a light military green shorts. Check it out here:

The actress has had the opportunity of working with almost all the Bhojpuri big shots in her movie career. In 'Nazar', she played an evil force named Mohana. And received immense adulation for her work in TV.

Monalisa was seen this year in 'Nazar 2' as Madhulika Chaudhary. She sure knows how to keep her social media fam happy and smiling.

The sensational star was seen as a popular contestant in the reality show 'Bigg Boss 10' and in fact, got married to her then-boyfriend Vikrant Singh inside the BB 10 house.
London: A man has been shot dead by police and at least six other people are in hospital after a stabbing attack at a hotel in Glasgow's city centre.

Police shot the suspect, an asylum seeker, during the attack, which occurred around lunchtime on Friday, London time, at the Park Inn hotel on West George Street. The man died at the scene.

Police remain at the scene of the incident on West George Street in Glasgow. Credit:PA

A 42-year-old police officer who was stabbed during the incident was in hospital in a critical but stable condition. Five other men between the ages of 17 and 53 also were hospitalised.

People were seen running out of the hotel with their hands in the air in the chaotic moments after the attack.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 14:18:46|Editor: huaxia

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VIENTIANE, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Lao Ministry of Defence has awarded Lao People's Army friendship crosses to members of the Chinese army medical expert team which has been assisting Laos in battling the COVID-19 pandemic in the past two months.

Ti Xinyu, leader of the People's Libration Army (PLA) medical expert team, said at the cross-conferring ceremony on Wednesday that in the past two months, his team has fully shared China's anti-epidemic experiences with the Lao side, carried out cooperation with the Lao army over virus testing and confirmation, environmental disinfection and infection control, epidemiological investigation and personnel protection, and diagnosis and treatment training.

The joint efforts have comprehensively improved the epidemic prevention and control capabilities of the Lao army, and contributed to consolidating and developing the friendly relations between the two armies and to building a community with a shared future between the two countries, said Ti.

Chinese Ambassador to Laos Jiang Zaidong congratulated the expert team on its excellence in the assistance mission.

The ambassador said the expert team has properly adapted the Chinese anti-epidemic experience to the actual situation in Laos, participating in Laos' anti-pandemic battle from the phase with climbing infections to the phase of COVID-19 free.

The expert team has worked in harsh conditions such as in the heat of over 40 Celsius degrees, demonstrating the PLA's endurance and high morale amid hardships, he said.

Lao Deputy Defense Minister Aesamay Leuangvanxay said his country has received strong support from China in the fight against COVID-19, adding that the Chinese army not only sent an expert team in a timely manner, but also provided Laos with urgently-needed medical supplies.

According to a press release from the Chinese embassy in Laos on Thursday, the Lao officer said at the ceremony that the Chinese experts have overcome many difficulties and fully demonstrated the PLA's deep friendship with the Lao army.

He added that the anti-epidemic forces of the two sides have worked closely together to effectively improve the professional capabilities of the Lao army, making important contribution to the anti-epidemic battle in Laos.

The Lao Ministry of National Defense highly appreciated and sincerely thanked the Chinese national defense ministry for its strong support and believed that this was a vivid practice of jointly building a community with a shared future between Laos and China, said Aesamay.

At the invitation of the Lao People's Army, a group of five PLA anti-epidemic medical experts arrived in Vientiane on April 24. Enditem
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Data from Oxford University Press in partnership with Storyathon, the largest story-writing event in Australia, have revealed the influence of COVID-19 on children's vocabulary, interests and social awareness.

More than 20,000 stories were submitted by Australian children aged from eight to 14 on the topic "A different worldliving in lockdown." Analysis of the language is providing a valuable opportunity to peer into the minds of children during this unusual point in history.

Flinders University literacy expert Anne Bayetto analyzed the Storyathon submissions. She says they provide an interesting insight into the way children are experiencing the pandemic, including a strong awareness of what was going on in their communities during the time the submissions were created.

"There were many references to the amount of troubling news stories being overheard and a lot of descriptions of stress and anxiety that came through in the narratives. Some writers wrote about the worry they had for their parents who were frontline workers and they were seeing less of than usual," Ms Bayetto says.

"But on the positive side, a number of comments were made about the pleasure of spending more quality time with family. And many were aware of the environmental benefits of the lockdown, stating that the world is healthier, cleaner and flourishing."

A breakdown of the 5,653,404 words received also showed a surprising increase in the use of collective nouns young people used in their writing. The word "we" which last year was ranked as the 19th most used word, skyrocketed to the number one spot, a 129% increase on the previous year. This trend towards togetherness can be seen in the increased prevalence of many other words including "people" (283% increase), friends (572% increase), world (346% increase), family (327% increase) and everyone (183% increase).

Words to appear for the first time in the submissions reveal a vocabulary driven by current affairs, including quarantine (ranked 27), isolation (ranked 31), pandemic (ranked 37) and restrictions (ranked 53).

Unsurprisingly, the word 'lockdown' jumped 14,040 places compared to the previous year to become the second most used word, after 'we."

Lee Walker, Director of Publishing and Editorial at Oxford University Press says the way children describe COVID-19 itself pointed to an impressive level of comprehension and vocabulary acquisition.

"The virus is referred to as 'cold,' 'dark,' and 'lurking,' which shows the way news media and conversations with adults are perceived through a child's lens," Ms Walker said.

Other recurring topics included dystopian futures, children wanting to be back at school and seeing friends and playing sport.

The stories collected through the Storyathon initiative are being used to build the first Australian Children's language corpus, recording the development of children's linguistics over time. Storyathon is in its second year and will reopen in Term 3 of the school calendar with the theme "Australia."
This post is part of Outward, Slates home for coverage of LGBTQ life, thought, and culture. Read more here.

I remember the day I realized there would be no Pride this year. It was the beginning of April, a few weeks into quarantine where I live, and the outlook from public health officials was getting bleaker by the hour. I tried to envision joining a shoulder-to-shoulder march or entering a packed nightclub in two months time, and I quickly realized that I was about as likely to find myself at a Pride party in June as I was to find myself in a hot tub with Roberta Colindrez.

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The thought was gutting, but not because Im particularly attached to the official trappings of local Pride festivitiesthe parades, the fairs, the businesses draped in rainbow flags. Rather, I mourned Pride because it had always been an excuse for queers to come out en masse, in celebration and in protest, with an energy and a take-the-streets defiance thats more dispersed during other months of the year. Friends who dont normally stay out until the wee hours drink an espresso with dinner; friends who usually dress to blend in sex it up or transgress gender norms for a change. The dyke marches, dance parties, and political demonstrations are annual reminders that LGBTQ history is rooted in big acts of world-changing art and activism and small acts of mutual care. This year, it seemed, COVID had stolen from us the chance for such an ostentatious show of strength and self-love.

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However, while official in-person Pride events around the country were and remain canceled, grassroots Pride groups have risen to meet the moment. In previous years, organizations like the Reclaim Pride Coalition in New York and No Justice No Pride in D.C. have staged demonstrations against, or as an alternative to, the bloated parades that have transformed from community celebrations into hourslong commercials for corporations and state entities. By blocking the police and weapons manufacturer contingents in Pride parades and holding egalitarian marches with no floats or barricades, these groups have tried to reimagine Pride activities in the spirit of the occasion Pride month actually commemorates, the 1969 uprising against police brutality at New Yorks Stonewall Inn. This year, with their antagonists called off or gone virtual, alterna-Prides are the only game in town.

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The Reclaim Pride Coalition was set to hold its second annual Queer Liberation March, an alternative to the citys massive Pride parade, at the end of June, but canceled it when New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced at the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic that all public events would be barred through that month. Organizers began planning a virtual event with livestreamed content and prerecorded interviews with queer elders. Then, in late May, George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis, and the protests began.

The powder keg that was set off in that moment, that spread across the city, country, and the world, has changed the situation on the ground here, Reclaim Pride organizer Jay W. Walker said. It just felt important for the queer communities of New York to unite around the movement for Black lives. This feels like a watershed moment, the moment that Black America has been waiting for. A few weeks later, the Queer Liberation March was back on for Sunday, with a new focus on honoring Black lives and demanding an end to police brutality.

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When the protests began, grassroots groups were ready to show up.

To make the march safer for HIV-positive participants and others with chronic health conditions that may make them more susceptible to severe cases of COVID-19, Reclaim Pride is doing what it can to reduce the inherent risks of gathering in a large group during a pandemic. The organization is strongly urging marchers to wear masksWere doing everything short of an outright demand, because were not fascist, Walker saidand marshals stationed along the route will hand out masks, remind people to social distance, and demonstrate proper mask placement. Theyll also stream a live feed of the march to participants who cant take the risk of in-person attendance and encourage those people to send in videos of themselves celebrating Black lives and demanding racial justice at home.

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Walker believes its no coincidence that, in almost every city where alternative Pride groups have sprung up in response to existing Pride parades, the main problem cited by organizers was a heavy police presenceoften as honorees as well as ostensible public safety enforcersat mainstream Pride events. These queer organizations staging Pride Month demonstrations against police brutality arent adopting the flavor of the month in progressive protest. They didnt have to sweat over drafts of a clunky statement of support for protesters. They didnt have to convince a board of directors that police killings are an LGBTQ issue. When the protests began, they were ready to show up.

Pride Is Gonna Look Different This Year, and We Couldnt Be Prouder

Bryan Lowder, Christina Cauterucci, and Rumaan Alam are joined by Bob the Drag Queen and Mark Joseph Stern to discuss the Black Lives Matter protests, HBOs Were Here, the fifth anniversary of marriage equality, and the Supreme Courts momentous Title VII employment discrimination decision on Outward, Slates LGBTQ podcast.

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In D.C., for No Justice No Pride, showing up has meant organizing a march to Mayor Muriel Bowsers home on June 13, where demonstrators vogued and called on Bowser to defund the Metropolitan Police Department. Since its formation in 2017, No Justice No Pride has expanded beyond Pride-related actions into political advocacy and direct services: The group has been a major force behind a local campaign to decriminalize sex work and currently provides housing for displaced trans sex workers of color. Unlike Capital Pride, the citys official Pride organization, No Justice No Pride has no corporate sponsorships or political connections to safeguard, so it can be as political as the community it serves needs it to be. It doesnt need to follow up its social media posts about the value of Black lives with ads praising Comcast. Earlier in June, Capital Pride co-hosted a webinar about defunding the police (the event was billed as a way to learn more about this call to action and how to better support Black communities in this effort) and posted links to other groups protests and vigils. No Justice No Pride has lobbied the D.C. Council to protect Black trans women and confronted the mayor where she lives.

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Theres a telling contrast between these two responses to a global movement for racial justice and the urgent needs of Black LGBTQ people. Traditional Pride organizations have been acting like corporations: slow, cautious, hands-off, trusting in the benevolence of private industry, speaking in tones of sadness and hope rather than rage, with a progressive politics still well within the bounds of the mainstream. Alternative Pride groups have responded in the vernacular of the queer activism responsible for many of the rights and protections we enjoy today: provocative, furious, chaotic but targeted, unconcerned with respectability politics, focused on the needs of the most marginalized.

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This year, in the absence of traditional Pride activities, LGBTQ people have the chance to reimagine how their history should be celebrated. Whats more in the spirit of the Stonewall uprisings: standing on the sidewalk behind a crowd-control barrier, clapping for a parade of armed, uniformed cops and corporate affinity groups in rainbow T-shirts? Or marching in solidarity alongside all manner of queer and trans people, with no need to buy a ticket for ones place in the festivities? Whats a more fitting celebration of LGBTQ resourcefulness, creativity, and resilience: a parade float adorned with a model of a combat drone? Or voguing on the doorstep of a mayor who refuses to consider her constituents call to divert city funding away from a police force that kills unarmed Black men? Whats a more promising vision for the future of trans and queer lives: one thats beholden to corporate sponsorships and support from government officials? Or one that pressures those powerful entities to do better without need of their approval?

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Pride has always been, and should always be, a time for both party and protest. As LGBTQ people, we already excel at combining them. This year, a moment of crisis has given grassroots groups an opportunity to employ their strengthsagility, clarity of purpose, indifference to city permittingin service of a community sorely in need of an outlet for solidarity and anger. In the process, theyve shown by example what trans and queer people might expect from a Pride divorced from the hierarchies, boardroom decision-making, and power-worshipping that have come to define traditional festivities.

Its kind of the perfect moment for alternative Prides, Walker said. Logistically, our march is very simple. Its not figuring out floats. We dont have, Oh, you people line up and wait for your turn. Were just people marching with banners and signs. We all march together.
Sean Carey (30) was also found to have cocaine worth 80 in his possession as well as a stolen laptop when stopped

A thief confronted for stealing in a supermarket assaulted a store worker by throwing a shopping basket at her in a "despicable" attack during the coronavirus lockdown.

A court heard that workers were already anxious and stressed in the early days of the pandemic when Sean Carey assaulted two female shop assistants, pushing the second one over.

Judge Grainne Malone said it had been a "horrendous experience" for the victims but gave Carey an 11-month suspended sentence after hearing that he had already spent a month in custody.

Carey (30) pleaded guilty to theft and assaulting the two shop workers as well as threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour at Fresh on Camden Street. He also admitted possession of cocaine and a stolen laptop.

Jacket

Dublin District Court heard the incident happened on March 21 last.

Carey, whose address was given as a city hostel, entered the shop with another man, went to the fridge section and took 101 of protein yoghurts, placed them in his jacket and was confronted by staff as he left.

Carey became aggressive and pushed over the first shop worker before picking up a shopping basket and throwing it at the second woman. It struck her but she was not injured.

He dropped the items he had taken and left.

When he was stopped by gardai, Carey was "volatile" and extremely aggressive and abusive to them.

He was brought to Pearse Street Garda Station, where he was found to be in possession of 80 of cocaine.

Carey also had a laptop in his possession that had been stolen earlier that day from a man who worked in a homeless hostel.

The prosecuting garda said he believed the accused had taken substances at the time.

He considered it an aggravating factor that the incident happened "shortly after the country went into complete lockdown" due to the coronavirus pandemic, saying shop workers were "quite anxious" and "didn't need this".

Carey had spent a number of weeks in custody before taking up bail, his solicitor Rory Staines said.

He accepted it "can't have been a pleasant experience for the staff in the shop".

The circumstances and the stressful environment they were working in made it "particularly unpleasant for them", Mr Staines said.

"This was the last thing they needed," he added.

Stressful

The accused had problems with drugs and homelessness but had cleaned up his act in recent months, Mr Staines said.

A friend had died of an overdose, which had an "eye-opening effect" on Carey.

Judge Malone said her main concern was for the shop workers who were in an already stressful situation when they were "subjected to a horrendous experience".

"He's thoroughly ashamed of his behaviour," Mr Staines told the court.

Carey had a large number of previous convictions but none was for assault.

Judge Malone said the accused's behaviour was despicable and it was an aggravating factor that it happened during the pandemic.

She suspended the sentence for two years.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has started a Telegram channel through which he would soon start engaging with people directly. The official Channel of Shri Rahul Gandhi, Member of Parliament, will soon be verified, sources said. His Telegram channel has around 3,500 members so far.

A telegram channel is a messaging application where the administrator alone can post messages and views. The channel is a tool to broadcast public messages to a large audience.

Gandhi has been using direct messaging to reach out to the public and he often uses his Twitter and Facebook accounts to attack the government on its policies.

Gandhi also launches attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his social media accounts.
Days after a border clash with China this month in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, New Delhi told firms to find ways to cut imports from China. But two big industries, automobiles and pharmaceuticals, say this is easier said than done. Like many countries, India relies on China for products such as electronic components and drug ingredients because it cannot make them or source them elsewhere as cheaply, company and industry figures say.

Thus any moves to curb imports or make them costlier without developing alternatives will hurt local businesses. "We don't import because we like to, but because we have no choice," said R.C. Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the country's biggest carmaker.

"To attract companies to produce locally, we need to be more competitive and lower our costs compared with other countries." India imported around $70.3 billion of goods from China in the fiscal year to March 2019, and exported just $16.7 billion - its widest trade deficit with any country.

The government is now consulting with companies on tightening curbs on 1,173 non-essential products, a trade body official said on condition of anonymity. They include toys, plastics, steel items, electronics and specific auto components - which feed vehicle manufacturing.

This is on top of plans to raise trade barriers and import duties on around 300 products from China and elsewhere, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's self-reliance campaign. In April, India also tightened rules for investments from neighbouring countries, including China, to prevent opportunistic takeovers after the pandemic.

"If things do escalate, then India stands to lose a lot more than China," said the chief of corporate strategy at one of India's top 10 drugmakers. "We cannot afford this."

"NO KNEE-JERK REACTION"

Over a quarter of India's auto part imports - $4.2 billion - came from China in 2019, including engine and transmission parts, according to data from the Auto Component Manufacturers' Association of India (ACMA). Some of these components are critical and hard to source elsewhere immediately, said Vinnie Mehta, director general at ACMA, whose members include companies such as Bosch, Valeo and Minda Industries.

"We cannot have a knee-jerk reaction, especially when we are emerging from the disruption caused by the pandemic," he said. Chinese supplies have also been a key factor in India's booming drug industry, which exports cheap generic medicines.

Some of India's largest drug companies, such as Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Lupin and IPCA Labs, rely on China, and India overall gets about 70% of its supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from there, industry officials said. "In the immediate future, we are going to continue to be reliant on China," said Sudarshan Jain, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, which represents major drug makers, although he believed there was only "a very low likelihood" of API supplies being cut off.

However, this still leaves manufacturers dependent on low Chinese prices to be able to meet price controls on the home market and stay competitive abroad. This month, China increased prices of the common pain reliever paracetamol and of ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic used to fight respiratory infections, by 25%-27%, one senior industry executive said.

"This is an important antibacterial drug. If we don't buy from the Chinese, there will be shortages," the executive said. "Ramping up capacity in India is a gradual, long-drawn process."

Also read: 'Boycott China': Trade body CAIT tells Ambani, Tata, Godrej, Premji, Mittal

Also watch: India-China trade: Can India afford to boycott Chinese goods?
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Barriers have been erected around Abraham Lincoln's emancipation memorial in Washington DC after protesters, angry that the freed blacks who funded the sculpture had no say in the design, have pledged to tear it down.

The Emancipation Memorial in Washington DC depicts a freed slave kneeling at Abraham Lincoln's feet.

Critics said the statue, originally constructed in 1876 to celebrate liberation, looks more like black subservience and white supremacy in 2020.

Frederick Douglass, the famous abolitionist who escaped slavery, was known to have disliked the image of a black man kneeling at the feet of his white emancipator.

The Emancipation Memorial, also known as the Emancipation Group and the Freedman's Memorial, was erected in Washington's Lincoln Park in 1876.

A copy of the Washington statue was also installed in Boston, home to the statue's white creator Thomas Ball, in 1879.

The Boston figure is also on the radar of campaigners and a petition is being circulated to have the memorial removed.

Protesters for and against the removal of the Emancipation Memorial debate in Lincoln Park yesterday in Washington, DC

Barriers are erected around the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, which depicts a freed slave kneeling at the feet of President Abraham Lincoln, yesterday

Crews install fencing around the Emancipation Memorial in Lincoln Park yesterday in Washington, DC. The Army has activated 400 unarmed Washington D.C. National Guard troops in an effort to protect monuments amid the ongoing protests over Black deaths at the hands of police

The Emancipation Memorial in Washington's Lincoln Park depicts a freed slave kneeling at the feet of President Abraham Lincoln yesterday. Calls are intensifying for the removal of the statue as the nation confronts racial injustice

THE EMANCIPATION MEMORIAL - FUNDED BY SLAVES WHO HAD NO SAY IN THE DESIGN The Emancipation Memorial statue was first erected in Lincoln Park in Washington D.C. on April 11, 1876. It marked exactly eleven years to the day of Lincoln's assassination. The memorial was paid for by formerly enslaved people, many of them Black veterans. They wished to honor Lincoln for the Emancipation Proclamation. The fundraising was started after Virginian Charlotte Scott donated the first $5 she earned as a free person to create a memorial to Lincoln. Yet criticism has constantly surrounded the memorial because of the way in which it depicts Lincoln towering over a freed person. Despite funding the project, the former slaves had no say on the design of the statue, critics note. They also say the design does not recognize the work of slaves to establish their own freedom. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass even said as he unveiled the statue that it 'perpetuated negative stereotypes about African Americans'. Advertisement

Protesters gathered on Tuesday to demand the removal of the original in Washington, where the Army activated about 400 unarmed National Guard personnel ahead of calls circulating on social media to tear it down on Thursday evening.

It wasn't clear whether the protesters planned to topple the statue themselves or to demand the structure be removed by authorities, The Washington Post reported.

However, on Tuesday, organizers of the protest said they would not be working with the police and would achieve change 'by any means necessary' as they crowded near the 150-year-old statue.

Police told The Wall Street Journal that they will prevent the statue from being damaged.

'We certainly will not allow for the destruction of property in the city,' a spokesperson said.

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), who has expressed a willingness to remove the statue, warned yesterday against the dangers of a 'mob' deciding to tear it down, and that they should follow proper procedures and petition its removal.

The inscription on the statue, which was originally financed by black donors, reads: 'A race set free and the country at peace. Lincoln rests from his labors.'

President Donald Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity on Thursday he could see 'controversy but I can also see beauty' in the Emancipation Memorial in Washington.

He suggested that activists who want to see certain memorials removed should petition government.

He said: 'You know, we can take things down, too.

'I can understand certain things being taken down. But they ought to go through a process, legally. And then we take it down, in some cases put 'em in museums or wherever they may go.'

But Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington, DC's non-voting delegate in the US House, said the monument ignores the fact that black Americans played a pivotal role in securing their own freedom.

'Blacks too fought to end enslavement,' she tweeted this week, saying she was introducing a bill to move the statue to a museum.

Despite being paid for by black donors, protesters calling for it to be taken down say the former slaves who paid for it had no say in how it would be built and that even in its unveiling, abolitionist Fredrick Douglas said it 'perpetuated negative stereotypes about African Americans'.

'He [Lincoln] freed the slaves for political advancement,' one speaker said at a rally in front of the memorial on Tuesday, according to WUSA9 journalist Tom Dempsey.

'Not because he cared, not because he wanted to.

'And the thing is that when we freed ourselves, we had seven years of progress, the best seven years for black people in the entire American history'.

Police in riot gear were pictured standing in a group on the outskirts of the protest but no run-ins were reported.

Police stand near the Emancipation Memorial, protected by a fence and concrete blocks, at Lincoln Park in Washington, DC yesterday. As the wave of anti-racism protests rocking the United States brings down monuments to figures linked to the country's history of slavery, the spotlight is shifting to other prominent people long considered untouchable

Police stand guard at the Emancipation Memorial debate in Lincoln Park yesterday in Washington, DC. The Army has activated 400 unarmed Washington D.C. National Guard troops in an effort to protect monuments amid the ongoing protests over Black deaths at the hands of police

Protesters for and against the removal of the Emancipation Memorial debate in Lincoln Park yesterday in Washington, DC

Ronald Denson Jr, a DC resident who wants the Emancipation Memorial removed, speaks at Lincoln Park in Washington, DC on Thursday

Demonstrators argue for and against the removal of the statue of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln during a protest at the Emancipation Memorial at Lincoln Park near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. yesterday

'We're kicking off the revolution with a series of shutting down the Capitol events and bringing attention to the injustices in the black community starting with Lincoln Park, a statue that embodies the racial undertones of black people being inferior to white people,' The Freedom Neighborhood said in a social media post.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton said Tuesday she would introduce a bill to have the Emancipation Memorial removed

The group added that they would not be working with police to enact the change 'nor will we seek any relationship with them'.

'In order to create change, we will do so by any means necessary. If you want a revolution, it won't happen by being peaceful,' the group wrote.

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton has also said she wants the statue removed and will introduce legislation to do so.

'Because Lincoln Park is National Park Service (NPS) land, I will work with the NPS to see whether NPS has the authority to remove the statue without an act of Congress, and if so, we will seek its removal without a bill,' said Norton in a statement .

'This statue has been controversial from the start. It is time it was placed in a museum.'

'Ive been watching this man on his knees since I was a kid,' said Tory Bullock, a Black actor and activist leading the campaign to get the Boston memorial removed.

'Its supposed to represent freedom but instead represents us still beneath someone else. I would always ask myself, If hes free, why is he still on his knees?"' Bullock said.

The memorial has been on Bostons radar at least since 2018, when it launched a comprehensive review of whether public sculptures, monuments and other artworks reflected the citys diversity and didnt offend communities of color.

Barriers are erected around the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, which depicts a freed slave kneeling at the feet of President Abraham Lincoln yesterday

The speaker pictured on Tuesday said Lincoln only wanted to free slaves for 'political advancement'

Organizers The Freedom Neighborhood said they would not be working with police in their protests

The Boston Art Commission said it was paying extra attention to works with 'problematic histories.'

'How can you say you care about Black lives and then leave a statue up for decades that actually promotes a disgusting and demeaning image of those very lives?' asked Lilian McCarthy, among more than 12,000 people who signed Bullocks petition.

The Emancipation statue was first erected on April 11, 1876, exactly eleven years to the day of Lincoln's assassination.

It was paid for by formerly enslaved people, many of them Black veterans, to honor Lincoln for the Emancipation Proclamation.

The fundraising was started after Virginian Charlotte Scott donated the first $5 she earned as a free person to create a memorial to Lincoln, according to DCist.

The Boston version was financed by a white politician and circus showman, Moses Kimball, who had it displayed on a downtown square a block away from Boston Common.

The Boston version of the Emancipation Memorial (seen above on Thursday) was financed by a white politician and circus showman, Moses Kimball, who had it displayed on a downtown square a block away from Boston Common

The inscription on both reads: 'A race set free and the country at peace. Lincoln rests from his labors.'

The DC statue is located at the center of Lincoln Park, which is itself located midway between the U.S. Capitol and RFK Stadium.

The Emancipation Memorial statue originally faced the Capitol but was moved 180 degrees to face a statue celebrating African American educator Mary McLeod Bethune when that was erected in Lincoln Park in 1974.
Dr. Gopi Patel recalls how powerless she felt when New York's Mount Sinai Hospital overflowed with COVID-19 patients in March. Guidance on how to treat the disease was scant, and medical studies were being performed so hastily they couldn't always be trusted. "You felt very helpless, said Patel, an infectious disease doctor at the hospital.I'm standing in front of a patient, watching them struggle to breathe. What can I give them?

While there is still no simple answer to that question, a lot has changed in the six months since an entirely new coronavirus began sweeping the globe.

Doctors say they've learned enough about the highly contagious virus to solve some key problems for many patients. The changes could be translating into more saved lives, although there is little conclusive data.

Nearly 30 doctors around the world, from New Orleans to London to Dubai, told Reuters they feel more prepared should cases surge again in the fall.

We are well-positioned for a second wave, Patel said. We know so much more.

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

Doctors like Patel now have:

A clearer grasp of the disease's side effects, like blood clotting and kidney failure

A better understanding of how to help patients struggling to breathe

More information on which drugs work for which kinds of patients.

They also have acquired new tools to aid in the battle, including:

Widespread testing

Promising new treatments like convalescent plasma, antiviral drugs and steroids. An evolving spate of medical research and anecdotal evidence, which doctors share across institutions, and sometimes across oceans.

Despite a steady rise in COVID-19 cases, driven to some extent by wider testing, the daily death toll from the disease is falling in some countries, including the United States. Doctors say they are more confident in caring for patients than they were in the chaotic first weeks of the pandemic, when they operated on nothing but blind instinct.

In June, an average of 4,599 people a day died from COVID-19 worldwide, down from 6,375 a day in April, according to Reuters data.

New York's Northwell Health reported a fatality rate of 21% for COVID-19 patients admitted to its hospitals in March. That rate is now closer to 10%, due to a combination of earlier treatment and improved patient management, Dr. Thomas McGinn, director of Northwell's Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, told Reuters.

"I think everybody is seeing that," he said. "I think people are coming in sooner, there is better use of blood thinners, and a lot of small things are adding up."

Even nuts-and-bolts issues, like how to re-organize hospital space to handle a surge of COVID-19 patients and secure personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical workers, are not the time-consuming, mad scrambles they were before.

The hysteria of who'd take care of (hospital staff) is not there anymore, said Dr. Andra Blomkalns, head of emergency medicine at Stanford Health Care, a California hospital affiliated with Stanford University. We have an entire team whose only job is getting PPE.

To be sure, the world is far from safe from a virus that continues to rage. It is expected to reach two grim milestones in the next several days: 10 million confirmed global infections and 500,000 deaths. As of Thursday evening, more than 9.5 million people had tested positive for the coronavirus, and more than 483,000 had died, according to Reuters data. The United States remains the epicenter of the pandemic, and cases are rising at an alarming pace in states like Arizona, Florida and Texas.

There is still no surefire treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus, which often starts as a respiratory illness but can spread to attack organs including the heart, liver, kidneys or central nervous system. Scientists are at least months away from a working vaccine.

And while medical knowledge has improved, doctors continue to emphasize that the best way for people to survive is to avoid infection in the first place through good hygiene, face coverings and limited group interaction.

Dr. Ramanathan Venkiteswaran, medical director of Aster Hospitals in the United Arab Emirates, said COVID-19 will likely result in permanent changes in medicine and for the general public on basic things like social distancing, wearing of masks and hand washing.

LEARNING ON THE FLY

In the medical field, change can be slow, with years-long studies often needed before recommendations are altered. But protocols for COVID-19 have evolved at lightning speed.

In Brazil, Sao Paulo-based Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, one of the country's leading private hospital networks, has updated its internal guidelines for treating coronavirus patients some 50 times since the outbreak began earlier this year, according to Dr. Moacyr Silva Junior, an infectious disease specialist at the center. Those guidelines govern questions such as which patients are eligible for which drugs, how to handle patients with breathing problems, and the use of PPE like masks, gowns and gloves.

In only three months, a resounding amount of scientific work on COVID-19 has been published, he said.

At Stanford Health Care, treatment guidelines changed almost daily in the early weeks of the pandemic, Blomkalns said. She described a patchwork approach that began by following guidelines established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, then modifying them to reflect a shortage of resources, and finally adding new measures not addressed by the CDC, such as how to handle pregnant healthcare workers.

The new coronavirus has been particularly vexing for doctors because of the many and often unpredictable ways it can manifest. Most people infected experience only mild flu-like symptoms, but some can develop severe pneumonia, stroke and neurological disease. Doctors say the biggest advance so far has been understanding how the disease can put patients at much higher risk for blood clots. Most recently, doctors have discovered that blood type might influence how the body reacts to the virus.

We developed specific protocols, such as when to start blood thinners, that are different from what would be done for typical ICU patients, said Dr. Jeremy Falk, pulmonary critical care specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Around 15% of COVID-19 patients are at risk of becoming sick enough to require hospitalization. Scientists have estimated that the fatality rate could be as high as 5%, but most put the number well below 1%. People with the highest risk of severe disease include older adults and those with underlying health conditions like heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

While rates of COVID-19 infection have recently been rising in many parts of the United States, the total number of U.S. patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has been steadily falling since a peak in late April, according to the CDC.

Many hospitals report success with guidelines for "proning" patients - positioning them on their stomachs to relieve pressure on the lungs, and hopefully stave off the need for mechanical ventilation, which many doctors said has done more harm than good.

At first, we had no idea how to treat severely ill patients when we (ventilate), said Dr. Satoru Hashimoto, who directs the intensive care division at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Japan. We treated them in the fashion we treated influenza, only to see those patients suffer serious kidney, digestive and other problems, he said.

Hospitals say increased coronavirus testing - and faster turnaround times to get results - are also making a difference.

"What has really helped us triage patients is the availability of rapid testing that came on about six weeks ago," said Falk of Cedars-Sinai. "Initially, we had to wait two, three or even four days to get a test back. That really clogged up the COVID areas of the hospital."

Faster, wider testing also helps conserve PPE by identifying the negative patients around whom doctors don't have to wear as much gear, said Dr. Saj Patel, who treats non-critical patients at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. You can imagine how much PPE we burned through waiting for test results, he said.

Hospitals around the world acted early to restructure operations, including floor layouts, to isolate coronavirus patients and reduce exposure to others. It wasn't always smooth, but doctors say they're figuring out how to do it more efficiently.

Our hospital infrastructure, and the way that we ... manage people coming through the door is a lot slicker than it was earlier in the epidemic," said Dr. Tom Wingfield, a clinical lecturer at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in Liverpool, England.

THE PRESIDENT'S DRUG

Hospitals said some of their early hunches about best treatments for COVID-19 patients ended up being wrong. Case in point: use of the anti-malaria pill hydroxychloroquine.

It gained attention in March, when U.S. President Donald Trump began publicly touting it. Early reports showed the drug could have some benefit, and hospitals, desperate for solutions, started giving it to critically sick patients. But subsequent trial data have told a different story, suggesting the drug is not effective for treatment or prevention, and might even cause harm. Other clinical trials of the drug are still underway.

Dr. Mangala Narasimhan, regional director of critical care at Northwell Hospital in New York, recalled the uncertainty around hydroxychloroquine. The hospital used it early on, but stopped after the negative studies were published. That was one of our mainstays of treatment in the beginning, Narasimhan said. We didn't have anything else.

Trump's loud support for the drug turned the medical debate into a political one. That happened in Brazil, too, when far-right President Jair Bolsonaro fiercely supported hydroxychloroquine. Hospital Sirio-Libanes, in Sao Paulo, is one of the many hospitals around the globe that have now abandoned it.

Some patients at Sirio-Libanes refused to be part of clinical trials involving what they called the president's drug, said Dr. Mirian Dal Ben, an epidemiologist there, while others demanded to be treated with it.

The lingering questions about use of hydroxychloroquine highlight the hazards of quickly moving science. Hospitals normally rely on fully vetted research published by prominent medical journals like the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine to flag important medical findings. But as the pandemic built, so did the number of so-called "pre-print" studies that have not been peer-reviewed.

The Montpellier University Hospital in southern France used hydroxychloroquine on severely ill patients until the government banned the substance in May.

I have no major regrets when looking back on the decisions that we took, said Dr. Jacques Reynes, head of infectious and tropical diseases. But I would say that, at the beginning, we were somewhat in a fog.

USING WHAT'S AT HAND

But even if hydroxychloroquine looks unlikely as an effective COVID-19 treatment, hospitals continue to try new medications - both by repurposing older drugs and exploring novel therapies. Patients are being enrolled in hundreds of coronavirus clinical trials launched in the past three months.

Many hospitals said they are seeing success with the use of plasma donated by survivors of COVID-19 to treat newly infected patients.

People who survive an infectious disease like COVID-19 are generally left with blood containing antibodies, which are proteins made by the body's immune system to fight off a virus. The blood component that carries the antibodies, known as convalescent plasma, can be collected and given to new patients.

Early results from a study at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital found that patients with severe COVID-19 who were given convalescent plasma were more likely to stabilize or need less oxygen support than other similar hospital patients. But results from other studies have been mixed, and doctors still await findings from a rigorously-designed trial. And availability of plasma varies between regions.

At Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, anecdotally everyone can provide stories of the benefits of plasma, said Dr. John Deledda, the hospital's chief medical officer.

But in rural New Mexico, hospitals that care for largely underserved populations struggle to find it. There's a limited number of blood centers that can provide plasma, said Valory Wangler, chief medical officer at Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services, in Gallup, New Mexico. Until trial data is more conclusive, plasma is not something we're pursuing actively, she said.

Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, head of infectious diseases at Qatar's Hamad Medical Corporation and a co-chair of the country's pandemic preparedness team, said he saw patients improve after he started using donated plasma early in the course of COVID-19 before the patients deteriorated.

Qatar is also assessing a steroid known as dexamethasone to treat COVID-19. But Khal says he wants to wait for publication of clinical data behind a recent UK study suggesting that the steroid reduced death rates by around a third among the most severely ill COVID-19 patients.

In patients with severe COVID-19, the immune system can overreact, triggering a potentially harmful cascade. Steroids are an older class of drugs that suppress that inflammatory response. But they can also make it easier for other viral or bacterial infections to take hold - making doctors leery of their use in a hospital setting or in patients with early-stage COVID-19.

Some countries, including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, reported using HIV drugs lopinavir and ritonavir with some success. Clinical trials, though, have suggested little benefit, and they aren't widely used in the United States.

MIDNIGHT DELIVERY

Many of the doctors who spoke with Reuters were bullish on the use of remdesivir, the only drug so far shown to be effective against the coronavirus in a rigorous clinical trial. The antiviral developed by California-based Gilead Sciences Inc was shown to reduce the length of hospital stays for COVID-19 patients by about a third, but hasn't been proven to boost survival.

Remdesivir is designed to disable the mechanism by which certain viruses, including the new coronavirus, make copies of themselves and potentially overwhelm their host's immune system.

It is available under emergency approvals in several countries, including the United States. But Gilead's donated supplies are limited, and distribution and availability are uneven. Dr. Andrew Staricco, chief medical officer at McLaren Health Care, which operates 11 hospitals across Michigan, recalls the urgency to obtain remdesivir early on. He got an email from Michigan's health department on May 9, a week after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration authorized the drug for use in treating COVID-19. The health department said it had received a small batch from the federal government, and planned to dole it out to local hospitals based on need.

Staricco wrote back, saying he had 15 to 18 critically ill patients, but was given enough to treat just four. The drug was so precious, he said, that state police troopers were responsible for transporting it to the hospital - which they did, dropping it off around 1 a.m. the next morning. Health officials originally directed remdesivir for use on the most critically ill patients. But doctors later found they got the best results administering it earlier. We started finding that, actually, the sooner you get treated with it, the better, Staricco said. We've revisited our criteria for giving it to patients three different times." Data on the drug, he said, is still scarce. But his anecdotal observations on the benefits of early treatment were echoed by several U.S. doctors.

COPY-CATTING

Gilead on Monday said it aims to manufacture another 2 million courses of remdesivir this year, but did not comment on how it plans to distribute, or sell, those supplies for use by hospitals. The company has licensed the antiviral to several generic drugmakers, who will be allowed to sell the medication in over 100 low-income nations. Although much about the coronavirus remains unknown, a key reason hospitals say they now are more prepared owes to teamwork. Many doctors described a kind of unofficial network of information sharing.

In hard-hit Italy, Dr. Lorenzo Dagna of the IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, organized conference calls with institutions in the United States and elsewhere to share experiences and anecdotes treating COVID-19 patients. McLaren's Staricco said the Michigan hospital chain adopted its policy on use of blood thinners by looking at peers at Detroit Medical Center and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

As more institutions put their guidelines online, he said, there was lots of copy-catting going on.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 00:29:13|Editor: huaxia

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The handout concept image provided by Huawei shows the first phase of a state-of-the-art center to be built in Cambridge, Britain. Chinese technology firm Huawei announced on June 25, 2020 that it will build a state-of-the-art center in Cambridge, which will focus on the research, development, and manufacturing of optical devices and modules. (Xinhua)

LONDON, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese technology firm Huawei announced Thursday that it will build a state-of-the-art center in Cambridge, Britain, which will focus on the research, development, and manufacturing of optical devices and modules.

According to the Chinese company, it acquired 500 acres (about 2.02 square km) of land in Cambridge in 2018 and the first phase of the Huawei Campus was approved by the local council on Thursday.

Huawei will invest 1 billion pounds (around 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the first phase of the project, which includes construction of 50,000 square meters of facilities and will directly create around 400 local jobs, the company said.

Optoelectronics is a key technology used in fibre optic communication systems and this investment aims to bring the best of such technology to data centers and network infrastructure around the world, according to Huawei.

"It's the perfect location for this integrated innovation campus. Through close collaboration with research institutes, universities, and local industry, we want to advance optical communications technology for the industry as a whole, while doing our part to support the UK's broader Industrial Strategy," said Victor Zhang, vice president of Huawei.

The company has been operating in the British market for some two decades. It employs 1,600 people in Britain and supplies telecoms network equipment to all the major mobile and broadband service providers in the country. Enditem
Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law stipulates that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act which is harmful to national security. The failure to enact this article over the past two decades has created a loophole in Hong Kong's legal system, jeopardizing the legitimate rights and interests of the Hong Kong people.



It is both necessary and imperative that efforts be made at the State level to establish and improve the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security, so as to better protect its people's legitimate rights and interests.

The acts by violent radicals have greatly undermined Hong Kong residents' sense of security, as rioters disrupted road traffic, vandalized stores and even attacked passers-by.

For example, a 57-year-old man was brutally beaten, before being doused in flammable liquid and set on fire by a rioter in the Ma On Shan area last November, simply for holding different political views.

Violence has also seriously affected economic development and people's livelihoods in Hong Kong. In the first half of 2019, the number of arrivals to the city increased by 13.9%, reaching a record high of 34.87 million. However, this figure plunged to 21.04 million in the second half of the year due to the social unrest and violence.

Stores, hotels, restaurants and other businesses that rely on tourism took a hard hit, leading to a sharp rise in unemployment. Prior to the first half of 2019, unemployment in Hong Kong had remained stable at 2.8%, but rose to 3.3% in the second half of the year  its highest rate since the third quarter of 2017.

The grave situation in Hong Kong has made closing the loophole in the city's legal system and more effectively curbing the violence by radical rioters according to the law even more urgent, in order to maintain prosperity and stability as well as safeguard the well-being of Hong Kong residents.

The national security legislation will strictly follow and reflect generally recognized principles of rule of law, such as procedural justice, legally prescribed punishments for specified crimes, and the presumption of innocence.

The legislation will not affect the freedom of speech, publication or assembly, among others, enjoyed by Hong Kong residents in accordance with the Basic Law. Their ways of production and life as well as private property rights will continue to be strictly protected by law.

It is the acts of radical rioters that are violating the legitimate rights and freedoms of the vast majority of Hong Kong residents. The rioters have manipulated public opinion by intimidating people into hiding their real views.

The national security legislation aims to punish the small number of criminals, and establish more sound mechanisms for protecting the legitimate rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents.

Rights and freedoms should be exercised within the scope of the law. It is legal to provide constructive criticism of government. However, Chinese laws, including the new national security legislation, forbid any behavior or activity that amounts to secession, subversion of State power, or the orchestration and performance of terrorist activities.

Wu Libin is an associate professor at the Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies at Sun Yat-sen University.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.
Anti-Trump protesters march on the 101 Freeway near downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 9, 2016. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

All remaining criminal charges against demonstrators who blocked a section of the 101 Freeway in protest of President Trump in 2017 have been dismissed, ending a years-long legal drama that revealed Los Angeles police placed an informant inside of a non-violent political group, officials said Thursday.

Members of the group Refuse Fascism were charged with criminal trespass in late 2017, after eight of their members blocked a section of the 101 Freeway during a protest, records show.

The LAPD launched an investigation of the group in advance of planned protests to mark the one-year anniversary of Trump's election victory. Court records reviewed by The Times last year showed police sent an informant to infiltrate the group during four meetings at an Echo Park church the next month.

Public outrage over the LAPD's tactics led Chief Michel Moore to put additional safeguards in place when investigators deploy confidential informants in sensitive locations, including churches or among political groups. Moore ultimately determined the investigation was not in violation of department policy, however.

Despite the controversy, the city attorney's office continued to pursue prosecutions of the nine protesters, with little success. Three defendants entered pleas that allowed them to enter diversionary programs and have their criminal records expunged, but six others continued to fight the charges.

A fourth defendant, Yesenia Cruz, said her case was dropped last year shortly after the court granted a motion that would have exposed the identity of the LAPD's informant. Cruz did not attend the freeway protest, but was accused of organizing it. The city attorney's office has disputed her description of events.

This week, the city attorney's office decided to drop charges against the five remaining defendants because it was having difficulties getting witnesses to appear.

"Due to the age of the case, witnesses have either been reassigned, moved or are otherwise unavailable," spokesman Rob Wilcox said in an email to The Times.

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Chantelle Hershberger, a 30-year-old Refuse Fascism member who was awaiting her third trial on the trespass charge after the past two ended in hung juries, said the dismissal of charges was especially important to her after the LAPD arrested thousands of people for violating curfews or failing to obey dispersal orders during days of protests in response to George Floyd's murder.

Its needed now more than ever with Trump coming down and attacking all these Black Lives Matter protesters  we need to stand together, she said.

Wilcox did not respond to a question about why the city attorney's office spent three years trying to secure convictions in a trespassing case.

The LAPD's decision to spy on Refuse Fascism in 2017 came months after a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., ended in the death of a young woman and dozens of injuries. It also followed a series of protests turned street fights between anti-fascists and far-right figures in the Bay Area.

While Refuse Fascism has been associated with demonstrations against Trump across the country, experts who monitor political unrest say the group is largely non-violent. Last year, a law enforcement source told The Times that the LAPD did not conduct any similar surveillance operations on right-wing political groups ahead of the 2017 Election Day demonstrations.

The protest Refuse Fascism organized in downtown L.A. in 2017 ultimately passed without incident. No one was injured, and only two people were arrested, police said.




SENIOR government officials have put in motion plans to grab productive white-owned farms in Mashonaland West, with Provincial Affairs minister Mary Mliswa spearheading the action, the Zimbabwe Independent has learnt.





Sources in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, water, Climate and Rural Resettlement allege that Temba Mliswa, Norton legislator and brother to the minister is privy to the land seizures.





Official documents seen by the Independent, corroborated by accounts from government officials, indicate that the state has already made moves to downsize two of the most productive farms in the province, to pave way for senior government officials.





These are Hunyani Farm, a 2 400ha estate located just outside Norton, which belongs to Peter Drummond and Robert Davenports Stapleford Farm in Darwendale.

Hunyani Farm is currently under an impressive winter barley crop grown under contract with Delta Beverages and boasts a massive poultry project which produces 70 tonnes of chicken per month.





It is home to Drummond Chickens, a common brand on the retail market.





Some sections of the farm are reserved for beef production and have about 700 cattle.





Stapleford Farm is mainly a horticulture hub that produces blue berries, which are exported to the European Union market, earning the country much-needed foreign currency. It also boasts of one of Zimbabwes biggest piggeries.





According to intelligence sources in the security establishment, as well as officials in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement, deputy chief secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet (Finance and Administration) Martin Rushwaya, is allegedly one of the senior officials angling to get 500ha at Hunyani Farm.





Mary Mliswa is said to be allegedly seeking a portion of Stapleford Farm, while a mining executive and top government officials are also eyeing land.





Although (Martin) Rushwaya has a farm in Mvuma, he has been looking to get a farm closer to Harare. He complains that the one he was allocated by government during the fast-track land reform programme is too far away from the capital city. He has identified Drummonds farm and the process to allocate him 500ha there is already underway, an official said.





Actually, he knows how productive the farm is from the days when he was permanent secretary in the Ministry of Defence. He used to buy chickens from there on behalf of the army and when he left, the supplier was owed substantial amounts of money, I think in the region of half a million of United States dollars or so.





The Independent understands that Norton legislator, Temba Mliswa, has been instrumental in trying to convince Drummond and Davenport to voluntarily give up their land.





Officials in the Lands ministry, however, say the farmers have been resisting the manoeuvres and are hoping government will have a change of heart because of their production records and the fact that there are many unproductive farms in the province.





Drummond insists that he gave up his 5000ha farm in Chegutu in 1990 after he sold it for half the price to government and was promised that his farm would not be downsized since he had already significantly contributed to the land reform programme, a government official said.

He has had meetings with the minister (Mliswa), who is, however, not willing to budge.





Official documents also show that Agriculture and Lands minister Perrance Shiri has written to Drummond informing him that government would be downsizing his farm to 500ha.

Shiris letter, dated May 6, 2020, came after Drummond applied for a 99-year lease through the OPC for the 2 400 hectares.





Drummond had a subsisting five-year lease for the property, which has since been cancelled.





Your request for a 99-year lease has been approved and will be guided by provisions in Statutory Instrument 41 of 2020, which stipulates maximum farm size of 500 hectares for your region. The remaining extent may be leased out on agreed terms and conditions following re-planning of the land. Our planning team will immediately visit Hunyani Estate 3B to carry out the replanning exercise, Shiris letter reads.





Drummond declined to comment on the matter when approached by the Independent this week. I am sorry I cannot help you on that issue. I dont know where you got such information and therefore I am not in a position to talk to you, he said.





Shiri has also written to Davenport informing him of governments decision to downsize his farm, measuring 1000ha.





Mliswa however denied land gabbing allegations, saying her duty as chairperson of the provincial lands committee was to implement an already existing government policy on the downsizing of farms.





All that is false. As you are aware, the downsizing exercise is government policy for all farms above the size of 500ha whether you are black or white. Mr Davenport has consented to the exercise to be downsized and he is very involved in the whole process. I do not wish to benefit from it, she said yesterday.





As Mashonaland West, we are actually working towards giving the white farmers security of tenure in the form of offer letters, so that their investors can be confident to pour in finances in their farm operations.





However, documents at hand indicate that Davenport is strongly opposed to the proposal and has written to Shiri, appealing against governments decision to downsize the farm.





His basis of objection is that the farm is under full utilisation, with 30ha under seed maize, 100ha under commercial maize, 60ha under seed soya beans, 140ha under commercial soya beans, 100ha under potatoes.





In addition, he has a massive piggery project producing 1 000 porkers per month and a world-class abattoir built to export rating standards, as well as a stock feed plant producing 130 tonnes per week. Blue berries cover an area of 7ha and are mostly exported to Europe.





All these operations are mutually dependent on one another. We believe that by downsizing to a maximum size of 400ha, the entire operation would become unviable and Zimbabwe would lose one of its most sophisticated and productive mixed farming operations, Davenport wrote on January 18, 2020.





For this reason, we hereby appeal to the Ministry of Agriculture and the government of Zimbabwe to reconsider its policy on maximum farm size in order to not only save existing successful and productive projects, but to encourage much-needed further investment in similar projects going forward.





He, however, declined to comment on the matter.





As you know this is a complicated and sensitive issue and I do not want to be seen as taking my issues to the press, he said. Temba Mliswa said he was not involved in the acquisition of land, but said his sister was implementing government policies.





Where do I come in? Is Marry implementing my policy or a government policy? It is government policy that a farm should have a maximum of 500 hectares. He (Drummond) has 2 500 hectares. They want to keep the land simply because they are whites? What is more special about them? Mliswa asked.





Mliswa said if Drummond thought donating 25 sheep to President Emmerson Mnangagwa during the commissioning of the Norton flyover was safeguarding his farm, he was misled. He said Drummond and Mnangagwa knew each other very well.





The Norton MP said he does not know who the beneficiaries of the downsized farms will be, but one Dr Mukona, who was Drummond Chicken chairperson, will get 500hactres, where Drummond was doing his chicken production.





Drummonds wanted to use Mukona, but it backfired. Mukona will now get 500 hectares from the farm, at the place he was doing his lucrative chicken project, Mliswa said, asking: So how does Mliswa come in?





Efforts to get comment from Rushwaya were fruitless, as calls to his mobile phones went unanswered. He did not respond to text messages.

Government has also made moves to repossess farms owned by former cabinet ministers Jonathan Moyo, Patrick Zhuwao and Saviour Kasukuwere. Zimbabwe Independent




GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Five Republicans who want to represent Michigans 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives will face off against one another in the Aug. 4 primary election.

The candidates, many of whom are relative political newcomers, want to replace U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, L-Cascade Township.

They include a member of the family who founded the Meijer supermarket chain, a state representative, a former village president, a bar owner from Ionia County, and a Battle Creek attorney who entered the race as a Democrat but later joined the Republican primary.

The 3rd District includes the city of Grand Rapids, a large portion of Kent County, part of Montcalm County, as well as Ionia, Barry and Calhoun counties.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Hillary Scholten, an immigration attorney from Grand Rapids, whos running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Amash was elected to the congressional seat in 2010 as a Republican but left the party last summer after calling for impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. This spring, he announced that he was pausing his congressional reelection campaign, and he soon thereafter joined the Libertarian Party and launched an exploratory committee for a potential third-party presidential run.

Less than a month later, Amash abandoned his exploratory committee, saying he did not see a path to victory. His office has not responded when asked whether hes considering running for the 3rd Congressional District seat as a Libertarian.

Heres a look at the candidates:

Lynn Afendoulis, 61, of Grand Rapids Township, is serving her first term in the Michigan House of Representatives after spending 38 years in the private sector. Prior to her election, she was the longtime corporate communications director for Universal Forest Products.

Joe Farrington, 42, who lives in the Ionia County village of Lyons, owns Lyons Bar and sits on the Lyons village council.

Peter Meijer, 32, of Grand Rapids Township, is the great grandson of Hendrik Meijer, who started the Meijer supermarket chain. He is a U.S. Army veteran, and most recently  from April 2018 to January 2019  worked as an analyst at Olympia Development of Michigan.

Tom Norton, 37, of Cannon Township, is a salesman for LeafFilter Gutter Protection. He was a member of the Army National Guard from 2008 to 2014, and he later served as president of the Sand Lake Village Council in northern Kent County.

Emily Rafi, 40, is a business transaction attorney from the Battle Creek area. She joined the Republican primary after initially running as a Democrat. In January, she told MLive she decided to switch because her priorities of protecting taxpayers and consumers dont fit into the generic Democratic party policies.

MLive Media Group partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information for readers. Each candidate was asked to outline their stances on a variety of public policy issues.

Information on all state and federal races and many of Michigans county and local races is available at Vote411.org, an online voter guide created by the League of Women Voters.

All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for a necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should not be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties.

All candidates except Rafi completed the survey. Heres a look at where those candidates stand on several key issues:

What do you see as the federal governments role in health care? Given the COVID-19 pandemic, what are your concerns and plans regarding U.S. health coverage, policies and programs, including Medicare and Medicaid?

Afendoulis:

Our healthcare system is flawed and needs to be improved. However, we should acknowledge that even at its worst, it is better than the systems in countries that have socialized medicine. We have seen that firsthand with COVID-19. We need to encourage a free-market approach to healthcare, decrease regulatory burdens, and improve our insurance opportunities and expectations. Among the steps that would be useful would be to allow insurance to be purchased across state lines, and allowing providers to pool people by risk.

Farrington:

Deprofitize health care industry. Were the wealthiest nation in the history of mankind and THIS is an issue? My concerns are leadership!

Meijer:

Notwithstanding coronavirus, the largest driver of the deficit and government spending is our entitlements system, and its largest expense is healthcare, which has tripled relative to GDP in the past fifty years. I believe everyone deserves access to high quality, affordable healthcare but spending billions of federal tax dollars every year to serve healthcare expenses is not a policy that can last in its current form. We must ensure that our entitlements system is strengthened so it is sustainable and effective in the long-term and keep the promises made to our seniors.

Norton:

We need to get the Government out of the health insurance business and focus on elevating doctor/patient relationships. Using that as a foundation brick, we need to lower the costs of healthcare and reduce unnecessary third-party involvement. Tax relief is very needed in the area of healthcare. I am also asking third district constituencies with similar ideas to share them, as I want to draft (or co-sponsor) a bill in the first year of Congress, if elected, to address the issue of accessing low-cost, quality healthcare.

Rafi:

The Federal governments role in healthcare should be to make affordable, high quality healthcare available to everyone in our Nation. Making healthcare more affordable is a top priority for my campaign and is addressed in my 1o point Voter Contract on my campaign website. We must continue to protect pre-existing conditions. Increasing competition in healthcare is the best approach to reduce costs, maintain high quality & encourage innovation. Some specific examples include intrastate insurance competition & allowing the safe import of less expensive foreign drugs to drive down US drug prices.

What federal policies do you support for a healthy economy and to help the broader American public improve their economic positions?

Afendoulis:

We must encourage education and elevate the trades as noble options, not just for those who cant or dont want to go to college. We must allow people to keep more of their hard-earned money to allow them to make the best decisions for their families & futures. Clearly, the federal govt spends too much. In a post-COVID world, it needs to take a hard look at waste, duplication & excess to ensure we dont tax people more than they are and to lead by example -- thrift & prudence arent easy, but they are important. Importantly, we must help our communities be successful & innovative so they can provide opportunity.

Farrington:

Rollback & Repeal the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017. Tax the rich. Income inequality has only increased since 2017

Meijer:

The heart of society is our economy, and businesses sustain livelihoods and drive economic growth. The federal government must minimize frivolous regulations that hurt small and local businesses, especially in the post-coronavirus world, to ensure a healthy economy continues to provide for Americans in West Michigan and across the country. Reducing the cost of compliance through streamlined permitting and tax structures will level the playing field for small businesses and ensure they remain competitive in the modern economy.

Norton:

In my first year in office, if elected, I will attempt to co-sponsor a permanent tax relief to everyday citizens and permanent residents to equal the permanent tax relief the corporations have received. In the end, people should be equal to corporations, not only when they donate money for political campaigns, but also when they pay taxes. I will also work to co-sponsor a bill for a balanced budget amendment without an individual tax increase.

Rafi:

I support policies that help lower taxes, reduce regulatory burdens on businesses & create new opportunities. We need to lower taxes though accountable spending and by ensuring all products and services we purchase with tax dollars are in industries with meaningful competition if not, the federal government should bargain down prices before entering into government contracts to protect American taxpayers from abuse. We should increase small business opportunities for Americans by determining what industries lack competition & offering SBA lending programs to Americans to create new companies in those industries.

What federal policies do you advocate regarding elections, campaign funding and voting rights? Do you support mailing ballots to all eligible voters?

Afendoulis:

I believe we should remove donation limits to campaigns & increase transparency. Our system encourages those with means to spend their way to victory rather than leveling the playing field. I dont think we should mail ballots to every voter because it invites fraud and error (people move and records arent updated, for example) and because nothing worthy comes without effort. The acts of registering and going to the polls underscore the gravity of voting & of what it means to live in a republic. Absentee voting is important, but I am clear on my dislike of Michigans new law of no-excuse absentee voting.

Farrington:

Ending Citizens United. Too much secret (unlimited) money available in Super PACs. Each American is one voice, and is entitled to vote as they feel fit, and without restrictions. I do support mailing ballots should be made available to all voters.

Meijer:

The reality is, absentee ballots may be the only way for many voters to exercise their voting rights this cycle, although we must ensure that rolls are updated frequently so that our system does not allow room for voter fraud. I believe in no-reason absentee voting laws but to ensure the integrity of elections those ballots must be requested, like the laws passed in Michigan in 2018, and want an election process that allows every citizen an opportunity to vote and exercise their voting rights.

Norton:

I am opposed to mail in ballots, I also believe in E-verify and voter IDs being required in order to protect the integrity of our elections. If people think a foreign county interfered with a election in 2016 what do you think would happen without these protections.

Rafi:

On the issue of voting rights, all U.S. citizens have the right to vote & have should have access to the polls.The most secure way to vote is in-person with a State issued ID. Mailing ballots in Michigan was legalized for all in 2018. Voters simply request an application. I dont agree with the States decision to spend $4M mailing unsolicited absentee applications to everyone in the State, it was a waste of money, voters can request absentee ballots for free via the internet, US Mail or in-person. Voters received applications for people no longer residing at their address, the situation is ripe for voter fraud.

Do you believe there is systemic racism, economic disparity, and other social injustices which should be addressed by Congress? If so, what policies do you support?

Afendoulis:

Yes, injustices exist. Sometimes, we inure it by creating dependence on the very programs we offer. We must provide safety nets where needed. We must create strong communities that need workers--and hire w/o discrimination--so people can learn the dignity of being part of the productivity, not of whats draining. We must encourage participation through education/training, business development, etc. We must open eyes to hateful, bigoted behavior & thought. We must be made mindful of the ugliness were capable of as humans & encourage the strength that is in each of us to create the dignity of an independent life.

Farrington:

Of course theres systemic racism, economic disparity, and social injustices that SHOULD be addressed by Congress. I support the idea, should be policy, that All Men/Women are Created Equal!

Meijer:

The events following the murder of George Floyd have exposed the persistence of deep racial inequality in this country. No one in this country should feel unsafe in their skin, and it is a tragedy that the legacy of racial discrimination endures to this day. I support initiatives to build trust at the neighborhood and community level between law enforcement and those they have sworn to protect, additional emphasis on de-escalation training for police, and expanding economic opportunities, school choice, and entrepreneurial training for communities that have faced historic marginalization.

Norton:

I recently read a article from a writer from Time Magazine that said white people need to address there whiteness. had anyone changed the words to African American and or Latino. Mainstream News would ask for their head on a pike. But because it said white some how its okay. The most racist group I know of is the democratic party leadership. Only in the democratic party could require a group of people to vote for them because of the color of skin. So is there systematic racism yes its called the DNC. What should congress do to address nothing voters should kick the DNC out of power.

Rafi:

There are laws that exist at the Federal level that make discrimination on the basis of race illegal. For this reason, it may be more useful to focus on new programs to decrease economic disparity by creating economic opportunities in areas of our Nation where there is economic inequality or depression. The Opportunity Zone program created by President Trump addresses this issue, and there is room for further improvement as we try to decrease economic inequality & stimulate all areas of our Nation to achieve more uniform economic prosperity.

What policies do you support to meet U.S. energy needs while protecting our water, air and land for current and future generations?

Afendoulis:

I think everything should be on the table so that we can fulfill energy needs based on the needs and resources of a region. Energy options that work in Arizona will be different than those in Ohio or Maine. And we need to ensure that we use our resources responsibly. Here, I will protect the Great Lakes with everything I have--from inappropriate or over use, from invasive species and from other threats. We are the beneficiaries and the stewards of a world treasure, and I take it seriously. I believe we should leave the planet better than it is--from our humanity to our ecological responsibility.

Farrington:

We, as a civilization, need to walk away from fossil-fuel dependency. Renewable energy is the ONLY option for protecting our water, air and land.

Meijer:

I strongly believe that it is the duty of conservatives to act and legislate in order to conserve and protect the environment for future generations. All-the-above energy platforms are a key solution to help fight climate change, one which we can utilize to minimize emissions while continuing to deliver quality and affordable energy to all American families. I will fight to support policies that protect the Great Lakes, which are essential to our identity as Michiganders and sustain our thriving fishery and tourism industries.

Norton:

We need to switch to more Nuclear, hydro and gas power its way more efficient and doesnt wast energy in the way windmills destroy farms. It also leaves air cleaner than the wasted materials used to manufacture green energy. But if some one wants independent solar than I support that 100%

Rafi:

I support policies that allow the US to maintain energy independence. I support public policies that incentivize private sector clean energy innovation. I support polices that keep our air, land and water clean while simultaneously avoiding the over regulation & burdening of businesses to the point where it is difficult to operate efficiently & competitively.

What policies do you support relative to immigration into the U.S.?

Afendoulis:

We are a nation of immigrants; my grandparents all came to the U.S. because of its opportunities & freedom. We also are a nation of laws and we need to uphold them--or change them. We must secure our border (by whatever appropriate means) because we have both national & humanitarian crises there. We must take care of those who come across our border legitimately seeking asylum. We must demand that everyone else go through our legal processes. We must create a path to citizenship for certain people already here who are law-abiding.

Farrington:

I support the notion that building a wall is foolish, hate-driven rhetoric to scare Americans into believing our neighbors south are murderers and rapist. Ignorance is infectious. Theyre hard-working, family oriented, loving, welcoming folks seeking to sustain life and the hope of prosperity.

Meijer:

I support building a physical barrier at the southern border to ensure our country has the ability to vet those who want to enter. I also support strong immigration policies as a means to foster and promote legal immigration through a safe, effective and reasonable process. To that end, I also support eliminating arbitrary and antiquated components of Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 to shift to a less onerous and convoluted process that emphasizes economic imperatives and creates more flexibility than either short-term visas or citizenship pathways.

Norton:

Build a wall Require English as a national Language so that children of legal immigrants can succeed in our society. Require Background checks to the best of our ability Require a American History course and a U.S. Constitution test. Give automatic Citizenship to foreigners who serve in the United States Armed Services and receive a honorable discharge.

Rafi:

I support legal immigration and tight border security. I believe immigration opportunities should be offered first to those who have shown they will positively contribute to the US economy & society. Additionally, the agriculture industry has voiced a need for a new agriculture work visa program so US agriculture domestic sales & exports are able to compete with foreign growers who have access to less expensive labor. I support the creation of a new US agriculture work visa program.

More on MLive:

Michigan reports 323 new coronavirus cases, most of any day in June

Two Grand Rapids nonprofits merge to help youth facing homelessness achieve stability

Father charged in familys fire deaths was using fire pit next to house: records
Newly elected Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti speaks to the media in Pristina after a parliament session on June 3, 2020. (Armend Nimani/AFP via Getty Images)

Kosovo PM Cancels Trip to US for Talks With Serbia

PRISTINA, KosovoThe prime minister of Kosovo on June 25 canceled his plans to attend a White House meeting with leaders of Serbia following the indictment of Kosovos president on war crimes charges stemming from the 1990s armed conflict between the two Balkan countries.

Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said he informed U.S. presidential envoy Richard Grenell of his decision, which is likely to torpedo the talks. Grenell had expected Hoti to fill in for Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and co-lead the talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Thaci called off his trip to Washington after learning on June 24 of the indictment charging him and nine other former Kosovo rebel fighters with crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder.

Thaci has not returned to Kosovo yet, and his close staff could not say where he was or when he would be back home.

Grenell posted on Twitter that he understood Hotis decision to cancel participation on June 27s discussions, and we look forward to rescheduling the meeting soon.

The White House meeting on June 27 was to be the first talks between Serbia and Kosovo in 19 months. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move Serbia has not recognized. The United States and the European Union have been working to help normalize ties between the two countries.

The EU has been leading negotiations for nine years, and the Washington meeting wasnt coordinated with Europe. EU spokesman Peter Stano didnt comment on the White House talks on June 25. He repeated that the EU was committed to facilitating the dialogue and said it would resume in Brussels next month.

There is no alternative to the EU-facilitated dialogue to address the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, Stano said.

Hoti met June 25 in Brussels with European Council President Charles Michel to talk about visa rules, the coronavirus impact, and other issues.

On June 24, the prosecutor for the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said Thaci and the nine others are criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders of Serbs and Roma, as well as Kosovo Albanian political opponents. Other charges include enforced disappearance, persecution, and torture, he said.

A pretrial judge at The Hague-based court is studying the indictment and could still reject it if theres not enough evidence to back it up.

Independent analyst Agron Bajrami said the future of the entire KosovoSerbia dialogue is in doubt.

It will be very difficult for him (Thaci) to continue acting as a president, if not for anything else but for the fact that he cannot be part of the dialogue now that this has occurred, said Bajrami.

Isa Mustafa, leader of the ruling Democratic League of Kosovo, said that the countrys political parties should first convene and talk before meeting with Serbia. He also called for all institutions to continue to operate normally, or it would be an illusion we could continue toward an agreement.

Parliament postponed June 25s normal weekly session.

Thaci was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA, which fought for independence from Serbia. The fighting left more than 10,000 deadmost of them ethnic Albaniansand 1,641 are still unaccounted for. It ended after a 78-day NATO air campaign that forced Serbian troops to stop their brutal crackdown against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

Those indicted include Kadri Veseli, former parliament speaker and leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo, who said he considered the indictment politically motivated.

The indictment was the first made by the prosecutor of the special tribunal for Kosovo based in The Hague. The court has been operating since 2015 and has questioned hundreds of witnesses. Another Kosovo prime minister resigned in 2019 before he was questioned.

Hysni Gucati, head of the war veterans organization, accused the Special Court of being a racist court because it is unilateral. He mentioned some 460 massacres, more than 16,000 dead, including 1,200 children and 200,000 houses burned during the 19981999 war.

He also said the court was politically motivated and the indictments were likely an act of revenge by Europe, which was left out when Thaci turned toward the U.S. to take the leading role in the dialogue.

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia remain high. European Union-facilitated negotiations to normalize their relations started in March 2011 and have produced some 30 agreements, but most of them have not been observed.

By Sylejman Kllokoqi & Llazar Semini
The highest single-day surge of COVID-19 cases crossed the 17,000 mark on Friday, pushing India's tally to 4,90,401, while the death toll climbed to 15,301 with 407 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data. Updated at 8 am, the data showed the daily COVID-19 cases increased by the highest-ever 17,296 infections.

The number of active cases stands at 1,89,463 while 2,85,636 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, according to the updated figures. "Thus, around 58.24 per cent patients have recovered so far," an official said.

Of the 407 new deaths reported till Friday morning, 192 were in Maharashtra, 64 in Delhi, 45 in Tamil Nadu, 18 in Gujarat, 15 each in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Andhra Pradesh, 10 in Haryana, eight in Madhya Pradesh, seven in Punjab, six in Karnataka, five in Telangana, four in Rajasthan and two in Jammu and Kashmir. Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand have reported one COVID-19 fatality each in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has said that cases per lakh in India currently stand at 33.39 against the worlds 120.21 cases/lakh, while death/lakh in the country is amongst the lowest in the world -- with 1.06 deaths/lakh against the world average of 6.24 deaths/lakh.

Delhi, Telangana new hotspots; Mumbai praised

With COVID-19 cases on a sharp rise in some states, union health ministry has decided to send a central team to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana to coordinate with state government and strengthen management of the pandemic.

According to Economist Prof Shamika Ravi, Tamil Nadu seems to be witnessing a second wave of COVID-19 since May end with higher number of deaths. Tamil Nadu had reported large case load from the beginning of the pandemic in India, managed the first wave remarkably well, with very few deaths she said while adding that such higher numbers daily in the state could be due to ineffective existing strategy of contact tracing, testing and isolation. She asserted that there is a need for cluster analysis of testing data at the earliest.

While Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu continue to account for 2/3rd of new cases, Prof Ravi said that Telangana is also looking to join the hotspot category with approximately 825 new cases daily. The state, as on Thursday morning, had 10,444 cases with 891 new detections.

Delhi is now the worst-hit city in the country followed by Mumbai. The Union government has lauded Mumbais `chase the virus strategy under the Rapid Action Plan in major hotspots like Dharavi and Worli that have shown significant improvement.
Cheetah Mobile (NYSE: CMCM) ("Cheetah Mobile" or the "Company"), a leading AI-driven industrial internet company with global market coverage, today announced in collaboration with OrionStar, an intelligent service robot company that it has invested in, key success metrics from the large scale deployment of its multifunctional robots, Smart Epidemic Prevention and Control Robots, in over 30 hospitals, transportation centers and shopping malls in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province in China, the epicenter of the pandemic, as well as to Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Zhengzhou, Qingdao, to help fight the COVID-19 outbreak.

Three types of the Smart Epidemic Prevention and Control Robots are equipped with Orion Star Robot OS. Smart GreetBot guides the way for patients, does remote ward rounds, fever pre-diagnosis; Smart ThermoBot conducts no-contact temperature measurement, mask detection and alert system, telepresence option for safe communication; and Smart DeliverBot, does medication, test report, medical waste delivery, in addition to several other functions using natural voice communication, facial recognition and hospital navigation.

The robots also help guide preliminary diagnosis and treatment, primary disclosure of medical information and fixed-point delivery of medical supplies. The epidemic prevention and control program aims to reduce the workload of medical staff and reduce the risk of cross-infection. Hospital medical staff are using the robots to help them communicate and perform routine examinations remotely. Given the highly infectious nature of the disease, as well as the importance of keeping medical staff protected, the robots are able to provide much needed help to doctors and nurses as they continue their important work while minimizing their exposure to COVID-19.

Our smart service robots are typically seen in other scenarios, such as public service centers, schools, and hotels amongst othersservicing nearly 30 million people in total and processing as many as 1 million speech-based reception interactions per day. We are so glad we could quickly deploy them for hospital use to help combat COVID-19, said Fu Sheng, CEO of Cheetah Mobile. The success of using advanced technologies to help humans perform in their jobs in a more efficient, and most importantly, safe, manner, is unprecedented and represents the future of healthcare.

Key Success Metrics



The robots interact with patients more than 2,000 times during the course of a day, 92% of which are voice interactions. The robot completes over 100 deliveries per day, and the delivery distance is more than 10,000 meters, which reduces the working pressure of medical staff and reduces the risk of cross-infection.

The Smart ThermoBot can measure body temperature in public places without contact with an accuracy of 0.3. At a subway station in Xiamen, with an average daily flow of 13,000 people, the robot's temperature detection speed reached 5 people per second and the temperature response time was milliseconds. The Smart ThermoBot, which is widely used in public scenes, is conducted nearly 40,000 times a day.

The advantage of robots is bearing labor intensity with its 24/7 public scene intelligence assistance capability. It can continuously provide functions such as consultation, tour guide, shopping guide, inquiry, remote control and efficient transportation. Following human instructions, the artificial intelligence powered robots are collecting, storing, and transmitting data, photos, and videos concerning health barometers, including body temperature measurements.

Cheetah Mobile robots are created to co-exist with humans and make their lives easier. Healthcare workers have been subject to an extraordinary amount of stress and hard work, and we are very proud that our robots have helped to alleviate their burden. By allowing medical staff to interact with patients remotely and taking over some of the physical burden, Cheetah Mobile has made it possible for healthcare workers to focus on providing quality treatment without risking their own health. The robots have been deployed to hospitals including Peking University Shougang Hospital, Beijing Haidian Hospital, Wuhan Vulcan Mountain Hospital, and Zhengzhous Xiaotangshan Hospital.

About Cheetah Mobile Inc.

Cheetah Mobile (NYSE:CMCM) is a leading AI-driven internet company with global market coverage. The company is committed to "Using technology to improve people's lives in a world where humans and machines coexist".

Drawing strength from its original businesses, Cheetah Mobile is on a strategic upgrading path from the mobile internet to the AI-driven industrial internet and has built up the AI capability for vertical integration. The formula of robots designed as a combination of 4 aspects which coexist with each other and have qual contribution: AI, Hardware, Software, and Service. Specifically, its algorithm capabilities include the whole-chain speech technology (mouth), the microphone array (ear), the total-sense visual recognition (eye), the indoor navigation platform (leg) and the six-axis mechanical arms (hand). Besides, it has also established three open systems of OrionStar Speech OS, OrionStar Robot OS and OrionStar Arm OS to deliver intelligent service robot solutions based on intelligent cloud-based service robots.

Meanwhile, the solutions have been covering more than 20 scenarios, including Intelligent Public Service Solution, Intelligent Anti-Epidemic Solution, Aim Consumer Engagement Solution, KTV, Expo, Smart Home, Smart Voice Assistant, Smart 3C. With "intelligent service robots" and "AI-empowered" businesses as carriers, Cheetah Mobile is well poised for the upcoming intelligent upgrading of services and products in the AI and 5G era. Cheetah Mobile empowers industries with AI technologies in pursuit of discontinuous growth, aiming to become a world-leading AI industrial Internet player.
Lucknow, June 26 : When the first poster of a film titled 'Main Mulayam Singh Yadav' was released on the social media, the Samajwadi Party and its leaders were apparently caught unawares.

While SP chief and party patron's son Akhilesh Yadav did not react to the news, senior party leaders wondered if this was an authorised biography.

"As far as I know, Netaji (Mulayam Singh) has not approved of the biopic. There have been no interactions between the film makers and Netaji in the past several months and Netaji, who usually discusses everything with us, has never even mentioned the film," said a former SP MP.

Most of the leaders contacted agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity on the issue. "We will wait for the party president to give his reaction before we become more vocal," said a leader.

A party spokesman said he too, learnt about the film on the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister when the news of the poster release broke on Thursday.

"If the film is truly a biopic, the filmmakers should have, at least, spoken to those who have worked closely with Netaji. How can one make a film without knowing the basics?" asked a former Mulayam associate, who has now retired.

Main Mulayam Singh Yadav' is directed by Suvendu Raj Ghosh and produced by Meena Sethi Mondal.

The film stars Amit Sethi in the title role and other actors include Mimoh Chakravarti, Govind Namdev, Mukesh Tiwari and Zarina Wahab.

Interestingly, the film's posters show the Karnataka Vidhan Sabha in the backdrop instead of the UP Vidhan Sabha.

The film focuses on 'He came and changed the political scenario, when capitalism and bureaucracy were main pillars of politics.' According to the director, "Mulayam Singh Yadav the name itself is the resonance of power. His journey should be unveiled to the people. What he did for his state and the people is astonishing. I am honoured to reveal his untold story in front of the world. This is going to be the first standing biopic of a politician based on true events." Meanwhile, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has been unwell for quite some time, was unavailable for comment but a close family member said that they were not aware of any film being made on Netaji's life.

"There were some proposals in the past but nothing came out of it. We do not know anything about this film," said a family member.
1. Yes. Too many kids are staying home. They need a virtual learning option to keep up.

2. Yes. Teachers are out sick and subs cant handle the load. Online learning is needed.

3. No. Its too late in the school year to make a wholesale switch in teaching platforms.

4.No. Many parents arent in a position to stay home while their kids learn virtually.

5. Unsure. It may seem like a good idea from a health standpoint, but it has shortcomings.

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Kanpur : , June 26 (IANS) A video clip of a policeman pedalling an ice-cream cart while its vendor is seen running behind it has gone viral on the social media.

The video was apparently shot by some passer-by in the Barra area of the city.

According to sources, the vendor was parking his ice-cream cart when all of a sudden, two policemen came on a bike and started reprimanding him. Before the vendor could explain himself, one of the policemen got down from the bike and took hold of the ice-cream cart and started pedalling away as the harried owner ran behind him.

Superintendent of Police (south) Aparna Gupta said that the video was shot when curfew came into force after 9 p.m.

"It was during this time that the policemen were imposing curfew in the Barra area. While patrolling, they came across a vendor selling ice-cream beyond the permissible timings. Taking it to be an offence, one of the policemen reprimanded the vendor and took possession of the ice-cream cart.

"The cop then started pedalling and asked the vendor to follow him to the police station. However, the policemen released his cart midway and warned him not to sell ice-cream in curfew hours," said the SP.

She said that during the incident, someone filmed it and made the video viral on social media.

The SP further said that later it also came to light that some policemen on patrol were drunk.

"An investigation has been ordered and further action will be taken on the report," she said.
Ontarios move to allow COVID-19-positive but asymptomatic migrant workers on farms in the Windsor-Essex area to stay on the job amid heightened testing and safety protocols will force employers to get creative in keeping workers safe, says the senior manager of immigration services at BDO Canada.

Its a question of managing the human flow, Doreen Buksner told the Star on Thursday, suggesting that the majority of farm employers are doing the right thing and are following protocols in part because it is in their best interest to do so.

Buksner, whose company provides consulting and other business services, said the nature of migrant farm work, which can see harvesters working side by side in fields and living together in bunkhouses, presents challenges that demand innovative responses, including finding new bubble areas such as trailers to isolate infected workers.

Enforcement may be a next step, she said, if the area cant get to a point within a reasonable amount of time where employers and employers can deal with issues of physical space and after giving them a chance to rectify the situation.

This is where people can get creative. It may not be an ideal situation, but we must find some accommodations, she said. If people follow the rules and really start to pick up their bootstraps, the farm communities could join Windsor-Essex in reopening their economies in a matter of weeks.

But she said the number of cases in Kingsville and Leamington in Essex County  32 new COVID-19 cases were reported Tuesday, 30 of them on agri-farms  means its still too early to reopen the southwestern Ontario communities.

After hundreds in Windsor-Essex this week protested the fact that the region was the only one in the province still in Stage 1 of the governments reopening plan, due to farm outbreaks in Essex County, the government of Premier Doug Ford on Wednesday let most of the area move into Stage 2 as of Thursday. The reopening excludes Leamington and Kingsville, which have seen large numbers of transmission among local agriculture and agri-food sector workers.

The Ontario plan allows workers with COVID-19 but without symptoms to continue working throughout Windsor-Essex and at Essex County farms according to safety protocols. Ontario is expanding on-site farm testing and offering assurances that no one with a positive test will lose their job  and that those who must self-isolate will be eligible for workplace safety and insurance benefits. Workers who test positive for COVID-19 and who have a Social Insurance Number may also be eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

Local mobile teams are being deployed daily for health check assessments at farms and the province is working with employers to schedule more mobile testing, with Ford telling a local radio station that employers are co-operating. Were going into the farms and were testing now. The premier said the governments plan will give farmers the support they need to protect essential workers and ensure they can keep putting food safely on our tables.

But an advocacy coalition for migrant workers says the Windsor-Essex move gives employers a green light to coerce infected workers to stay on the job.

Workers will be forced to keep working as they get sicker, keep infecting others, and more will die, said Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.

The group wants is calling for a reversal of the decision letting coronavirus-positive migrants continue farm work, and it wants stop-work orders to be issued in farms with positive cases, while guaranteeing full income for those who are employed by the farms which are closed, or who have infections beyond 21 paid sick days.

We have all seen the photos and videos: people working inches away from each other, workers separated by cardboard partitions, living in trailers without sinks and using porta-potties 10 or 20 at a time, Hussan said after Ontario this week marked the third death of a foreign farm worker in the province due to the virus.

Would the premier force his children to work if they tested positive for COVID-19? asked Sonia Aviles of Migrant Workers Alliance  Niagara in a statement.

This is anomalous  the government would never order other people to work after testing positive. This shows a complete disregard of migrant workers health and safety and how dehumanized migrants workers are.

Read more about:
Amid the nuclear negotiations held in Vienna earlier this week, the United States informed Russia that the Trump administration finds no reason to perform nuclear weapons tests during this time. However, the US also insisted that it should still reserve the right to do so if necessary.

According to CNN, the country's top envoy for the negotiations, Marshall Billingslea stated that at the moment, he is unaware of any reasons that nuclear tests would be performed in the country. But he stood firm that the country maintains its ability to perform such tests if it deems fit just like it always has since a nuclear testing moratorium was adopted by the country in 1992.

Moreover, Billingslea stated that during the meetings, he was questioned by Russia on the possibility of nuclear testing in the country citing a media report that was published last month about US officials discussing the matter. In addition, he said that the US is not shutting its doors on the matter since it has found no reason to do so.

Read also: Kim Yo Jong Authorizes Using Nuclear Weapons Against the US With Kim Jong-Un's Support

Nuclear deal with Russia and China, a priority

Meanwhile, during the Vienna negotiations, it has been apparent that US President Donald Trump has prioritized brokering a nuclear deal with Russia and China. However, despite Trump's claims that China has already shown interest in the deals, Beijing continues to turn down invitations to join the nuclear discussions.

The administration currently has focused on plans to improve its nuclear arsenal by developing new weapons.

Earlier this year, a new low-yield nuke launched via submarine was deployed by the US military, it was the first new nuke that the US has developed in decades. According to the Pentagon, developing new weaponry is critical in countering threats posed by the arsenal of smaller tactical nuclear weapons of Russia.

US nuclear weapons lab faces scientific misconduct lawsuit.

Meanwhile, as the Us tries to build and strengthen its nuclear arsenal, one of its nuclear weapons laboratories, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California currently faces a lawsuit on alleged scientific misconduct by one of its former employees.

Fifty-year-old physicist, Peter Williams worked at the laboratory for more than a year from January of 2016 up to ay of 2017. At the moment, William claims that he was fired from his job as retaliation after he reported his superiors for mishandling a computer software handling the simulation of high explosives while not considering its ability to predict the performance of a particular nuclear weapon when used, Sciencemag reported.

William lawsuit against Livermore and seven people ask for $600,000 in damages and reinstatement.

On top of this, researchers who are familiar with the laboratory are saying that the allegations of Williams should not be taken lightly. University of California geophysicist Raymond Jeanloz stated that if there has been misconduct that has been covered-up, it is essential that authorities look into it.

At the moment, Livermore has refused to make comments on the lawsuit.

Related article: Will China's Next-Gen Submarine Be Prowling the South China Sea?

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New Delhi, June 26 : Hospitality major OYO that announced furloughs or temporary leaves for its employees in the US in April has now confirmed that "large majority" of them would be laid off with stock options.

In a leaked email accessed by Skift, OYO Chief Operating Officer Abhinav Sinha said that owing to the pandemic, OYO US would not be in a position to create opportunities for a large majority of the 'OYOpreneurs' currently on furlough.

"This means it is likely that we will have to part ways with many 'OYOprepenurs' when this period of furlough ends. For all employees currently on furlough, OYO is providing each of you with a stock ownership opportunity; and retaining an outplacement assistance firm, whose services will be available to you immediately," Sinha wrote in the email sent this week.

In April, OYO Founder and Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal announced furloughs or temporary leaves of 60-90 days for its employees in the US and select other international markets.

Sinha said any employee who OYO cannot return to work from the furlough will be eligible for extended health care and other separation support, which will be shared at the time each impacted individual is notified.

He informed that OYO's global business is operating at nearly 30 per cent of pre-COVID revenue levels, with India finally starting to move up in occupancy from lows of 6-7 per cent in the beginning of June.

"While we still remain optimistic about our long term recovery and our prospects in each geography, it is also very clear to us now that the path to full recovery for OYO global will last well into the second half of 2021," wrote Sinha.

OYO in April announced a reduction in salary of 25 per cent for all its employees in India for April-July 2020 and sent some employees on a leave starting May 4, whereby they would get limited benefits.

Sinha said that the US business is showing positive signs of recovery and the occupancy is now touching 30 per cent levels.

"That said, US revenue is still 25 per cent below the Jan levels, which for a high growth geography does set us back significantly," he said.

"We knew this crisis was real and could take time, but we were hopeful that we could leverage our global resources to re engage after the furlough. However, the reality is, the impact on our business has been deeper, and the recovery has been slower than what we had anticipated," Sinha added.
MIDDLETOWN  George Hajati, 41, of Cromwell, was sentenced this week by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny to 27 months in prison , followed by five years of supervised release, for operating an auto loan fraud scheme while he was on federal supervised release from a prior federal conviction, federal authorities said in a release.

Hajati also was ordered to serve the first six months of his supervised release in home confinement, and to perform 120 hours of community service, the release added.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Hajati owned and operated a used car dealership at 1075 Newfield St., Middletown, known as Car Nation, LLC, Car Nation CT, LLC, and Middletown Motorcars, the release said.

In connection with automobile loan applications for multiple borrowers, Hajati, and employees at his direction, submitted documents and statements to victim lenders that falsely represented the borrowers employment, salary, sources of income, and the fact and amount of a down payment, the release said. The false documents included fictitious or altered borrower pay stubs and income verification letters purportedly from the Social Security Administration.

Hajati falsely indicated that borrowers made salaries they did not make, worked at jobs they did not work, received income from the Social Security Administration they did not receive, and made down payments they did not make, the release said. In some instances, the borrower was not aware of, and did not consent to, Hajati using his or her personal identifying information to obtain automobile loans in these ways, the release said.

Between about April 2016 and July 2019, Hajati defrauded victim lenders of $654,952.56 through this scheme, the release said. Hajati is required to pay full restitution.

He was arrested on a federal criminal complaint July 2, 2019. On Dec. 20, he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

Hajati was previously convicted of federal conspiracy and fraud offenses related to a Hartford-area mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded various lenders of more than $1 million, the release said.

In August 2015, Hajati was sentenced in Hartford federal court to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. He was released from federal prison in August 2016, and was on supervised release at the time of the auto loan fraud, the release said.

Hajatis supervised release hearing is scheduled for Monday, at which time he faces a maximum additional sentence of two years in prison.

Hajati who is released on a $560,000 bond, is required to report to prison Sept. 25.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David T. Huang and Conor M. Reardon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has been working tirelessly and has shown the world the strength of the state in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

The Prime Minister made the comments as he launched the Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan, a job scheme for 1.25 migrants workers in the state, through a video conference.

I am confident that under the leadership of Yogi ji, the way the state has turned a disaster into an opportunity and the way it has engaged with all its might, other states of the country will also get to learn a lot from this scheme and will be inspired by it, PM Modi said.

The way Uttar Pradesh has shown courage, wisdom and has succeeded and tackled corona by handling the situation, it is unprecedented and praiseworthy, he said.

Yogi ji and his government understood the seriousness of the situation. He understood what is happening in big countries. In view of this, he and his government worked on a war footing. He used full strength to construct quarantine centres and facilities for isolation.

The Prime Minister said the efforts and achievements of Uttar Pradesh are huge because it is not just a state, but it is a bigger state than many countries of the world. People of UP are realising this achievement themselves but if you know the figures you will be surprised even more, he said.

He gave the examples of England, France, Italy and Spain, among the countries badly hit by the pandemic and have a population equal to that of the Indian state, and said there are as many people in Uttar Pradesh, which has tackled the crisis well.

The hard work that the government of UP has put in, we can say that in a way it has managed to save the lives of at least 85 thousand people. Today if we are able to save the lives of our citizens, then it is also a matter of great satisfaction, he said.

The Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan, which was launched by PM Modi virtually, will provide employment to 1.25 crore migrant workers and cover 31 districts of the state.

More than 30 lakh migrant labourers have returned UP following the lockdown clamped in the country.

It will be undertaken as part of the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan that the Prime Minister started on June 20 for 116 districts in six states in the country.
SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The June 17 Plain Dealer included a most provocative query in an article by Sabrina Eaton: Should Juneteenth be declared a federal holiday? How fascinating that a celebration  unknown only days earlier to the vast majority of Americans  could merit such dialogue.

Frankly, I remain skeptical that June 19, or Juneteenth - which commemorates the day in 1865 when slaves in Galveston, Texas, became the last to learn that President Abraham Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation (issued 2 1/2 years earlier) had freed them from bondage - will ever be elevated to the status of a national holiday. After all, some will argue, dont Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month provide enough opportunity to ponder slavery, racism and all things African American?
Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner may not be charged in the three-year-old's disappearance, German prosecutors have said.

Brueckner, 43, was recently identified as a prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007.

German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters claimed authorities had 'concrete evidence' that the three-year-old was killed, and insisted earlier this month he had shared this information with Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann in a letter.

'We have concrete evidence that our suspect has killed Madeleine and this means she is dead,' he said. 'The parents have been told the German police have evidence that she is dead but we have not told them the details.'

Despite this, Mr Wolters has now confessed 'the investigation may not lead to a charge for the murder of Madeleine McCann,' as it 'could be stopped if we fail to find the missing evidence.'

Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner (pictured) may not face charges for the three-year-old's disappearance, German prosecutors have said

He told the Braunschweig Zeitung: 'I am currently unable to predict the outcome of our investigation but we are still convinced of the guilt of the accused and hope for further promising investigative approaches.

'Of course, it is always good to know where a suspect is to be able to access them if necessary. And, of course, detention always offers a certain guarantee that the detainee will not commit any further crimes.'

Authorities are currently analysing 400 calls they received about the case after an appeal for information three weeks ago, the Sun reported.

Mr Wolters said he is 'hopeful of finding other victims who have been sexually assaulted by the suspect,' regardless of whether they can charge him in the disappearance of Madeleine.

Brueckner is currently serving a 21-month sentence in Kiel, Germany for drugs offences, and it was reported on Monday he could be out of prison on parole by next week.

His lawyers have reportedly filed a request for him to be released after serving two-thirds of his sentence, but prosecutors fear he may flee the country after his release.

Brueckner, 43, was recently identified as a prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine (pictured), who vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007.

German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters (pictured) claimed authorities had 'concrete evidence' that the three-year-old was killed

The case has now been passed to Germany's Federal Court in Karlsruhe and officials are expected to decide within the next week if he should be released.

In 2011, Brueckner was sentenced to 21 months in jail for his part in a drugs trafficking ring that supplied marijuana to VIP clients.

The serial sex offender is also facing a separate sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman on a waterfront villa less than a mile from where Madeleine went missing in Portugal in 2007.

Although he was convicted in December 2019, he appealed against his seven-year sentence and so it cannot be imposed until his appeal avenues are exhausted.

Brueckner moved from Germany to Praia da Luz in 1995 after serving part of a two-year sentence for molesting a six-year-old girl in Wurzburg. At the time of Madeleine's vanishing he was living in the area about a 10-minute drive away.

Following his identification as a suspect in the case, he has further been linked to the disappearances of six-year-old boy Rene Hasse in the Algarve, 1996, and five-year-old girl Igna Gehnricke in Germany, 2015.
New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has called for an all-party meet on Friday, as COVID-19 cases in capital city of Karnataka continue to surge.

Yediyurappa said, ''Today, I've called a meeting with MLAs from Bengaluru and ministers on increase in COVID19 cases in the city. Each MLA and minister has to work towards the prevention of this disease in their constituency. There is no question of lockdown as we've already sealed some areas.''

The Karnataka government leaders are expected to discuss the strategy to contain the virus in the city.

Earlier on Thursday, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had warned the people to follow the COVID control measures and said, ''If you dont want Bengaluru to be sealed down once again, better cooperate and maintain distance.''

The state Revenue Minister R Ashoka also said that no lockdown will be imposed again in Bengaluru and only containment zones in the city where large number of Covid-19 cases are reported will be sealed.

Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases in Karnataka stands at 10560 which includes 6670 recovered cases, 442 new cases and the death toll at 170.

(With ANI input)
- Ramon Revilla Sr. has passed away already on Friday, June 26 at the age of 93

- The sad news was confirmed by his son, Senator Bong Revilla through social media

- The family of the said former lawmaker has yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident

- Aside from being a politician, Ramon was a well-known and award-winning actor in the country

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Ramon Revilla Sr., a former senator and actor in the Philippines, has passed away already at the age of 93.

KAMI learned of the said information through a recent social media post of Senator Bong Revilla.

"Wala na po ang tatay ko, please pray for him," he emotionally quipped.

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Photo from Instagram

Source: Instagram

It can be remembered that the former lawmaker was rushed to the hospital a few weeks ago after experiencing difficulty breathing.

The Revilla family has yet to issue an official statement regarding the death of their patriarch.

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In a previous article by , Bong gave an update several weeks ago about the health condition of his father.

Ramon Revilla Sr. was one of the most prominent and well-acclaimed actors and politicians in the country. He was born on March 8, 1927 and he starred in many blockbuster movies including "Hulihin Si Tiyagong Akyat."

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Thousands protest against COVID-19 passports in Sweden

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Kaunas officially becomes European Capital of Culture 2022

Turkish journalist who insulted Erdogan on live TV arrested

Ipsos poll predicts Macron's landslide victory in French presidential election

Germany elects new CDU leader

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UN expresses concern over disappearance of 2 activists in Afghanistan

Carnival in Rio de Janeiro postponed due to omicron strain

More than 9,300 Afghans claiming protection were taken to Germany

Scientists suggest that under surface of one of Saturn moons lies ocean

Russian Foreign Ministry: US and NATO launched toxi campaign against Moscow

Sergey Nersesyan dismissed from post of Yerevan Deputy Mayor

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48-year-old man dies of frostbite in Yerevan

1,822 criminal cases launched in Kazakhstan after January riots

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6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of Alaska

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First batch of military aid to Ukraine from US arrived in Kyiv

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Armenian rescuers pull out 50 stuck cars and provide necessary aid to 80 citizens

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EssilorLuxottica 2020 Annual Shareholders Meeting:

Shareholders adopt all Board resolutions

Charenton-le-Pont, France (June 25, 2020  11:30 am)  EssilorLuxotticas Annual Shareholders Meeting was held today behind closed doors at the Companys headquarters in Paris, chaired by Juliette Favre, Director of EssilorLuxottica and President of Valoptec, the association of EssilorLuxottica employee-shareholders.

EssilorLuxottica shareholders were invited to submit their votes prior to the meeting. EssilorLuxottica shareholders approved all the 14 resolutions submitted by the Board of Directors. All presentations, along with answers to the questions sent by shareholders and results of votes are available at EssilorLuxottica.com, on a dedicated webpage  https://www.essilorluxottica.com/2020agm.

Dividend to be discussed by end of year based on the Groups recovery assessment

As announced in April in order to take the necessary measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and to prepare the Company for recovery, the Board of Directors of EssilorLuxottica has decided not to submit a dividend distribution. In the second half of the year, it will further assess the state of the business and the efficacy of all the measures undertaken to face the pandemic. If the recovery is solid enough, a special dividend payment could be proposed before the end of 2020.

As highlighted in todays presentations, the Company enjoyed strong momentum and cash flow through its activities in 2019. This provided a solid basis to accelerate on the plan presented at the Capital Markets Day 2019 and deliver the expected synergies. The Company also successfully enhanced its product innovation including e-chromic eyewear and most recently the Ray-Ban complete pair offer with Essilor lenses. It also further digitalized its business and progressed in several integration workstreams.

In the first half of this year, EssilorLuxottica responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by protecting its people and communities, alongside its business. This included heightened health and safety measures across factories, stores and offices, and the launch of a Euro 100 million fund and emergency pay plan to help the most vulnerable employees and their families. To support customers throughout this crisis, EssilorLuxottica developed training and designed a set of recommendations on how to reorganize in-store spaces for increased safety, as well as guidance on the safe use of instruments for eye exams and measurement. The Company also donated more than two million units of personal protective equipment including safety goggles, protective eyewear and face masks to hospitals, public institutions, employees and partners in the various countries in which it operates. These include China, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the United States, Brazil, Colombia, Israel, Australia, India, Bangladesh, and many more.

Story continues

As lockdowns are gradually being lifted across geographies, the Company has reopened all of its factories and most of its stores and has begun to see initial signs of recovery.

Update on the Board of Directors composition

EssilorLuxottica shareholders have ratified the appointment of Paul du Saillant, CEO of Essilor International, as Director of EssilorLuxottica, replacing Laurent Vacherot, who retired earlier in the year.

We want to thank all shareholders for supporting our efforts to lead in the best possible way. Our focus today is two-fold: continue to drive our business with the necessary safety measures for our people and our customers, while accelerating our recovery and catching new opportunities. I am proud of the decisions that we made and the way our management and our teams have executed our strategy. In the face of adversity, we have shown what we are truly made of, commented Leonardo Del Vecchio, Executive Chairman of EssilorLuxottica.

The engagement of our people and the agility of our operations illustrate the strength of our mission. The Companys commitment to helping its customers and communities demonstrates its unfailing support not only to the industry, but also to populations in need everywhere in the world. In an industry that has once again proven resilient, together we are doing all that is needed so the Company can continue to play its role and deliver on its mission, added Hubert Sagnieres, Executive Vice-Chairman of EssilorLuxottica.

To read todays message to shareholders by the Executive Chairman and Executive Vice Chairman, click here.

EssilorLuxottica is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of ophthalmic lenses, frames and sunglasses. Formed in 2018, its mission is to help people around the world to see more, be more and live life to its fullest by addressing their evolving vision needs and personal style aspirations. The Company brings together the complementary expertise of two industry pioneers, one in advanced lens technology and the other in the craftsmanship of iconic eyewear, to set new industry standards for vision care and the consumer experience around it. Influential eyewear brands including Ray-Ban and Oakley, lens technology brands including Varilux and Transitions, and world-class retail brands including Sunglass Hut and LensCrafters are part of the EssilorLuxottica family.

In 2019, EssilorLuxottica had over 150,000 employees and consolidated revenues of Euro 17.4 billion.

The EssilorLuxottica share trades on the Euronext Paris market and is included in the Euro Stoxx 50 and CAC 40 indices.

Codes and symbols: ISIN: FR0000121667; Reuters: ESLX.PA; Bloomberg: EL:FP.

CONTACTS

EssilorLuxottica Investor Relations

(Charenton-le-Pont) Tel: + 33 1 49 77 42 16

(Milan) Tel: + 39 (02) 8633 4870

E-mail: ir@essilorluxottica.com EssilorLuxottica Corporate Communications

(Charenton-le-Pont) Tel: + 33 1 49 77 45 02

(Milan) Tel: + 39 (02) 8633 4470

E-mail: media@essilorluxottica.com





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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 21:08:51|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Ninety-two percent of Germans supported stricter laws on working conditions in slaughterhouses, even if this was leading to rising prices, according to a Politbarometer survey published by the German public broadcaster ZDF on Friday.

Following an outbreak at German meat processing company Toennies, more than 1,500 employees had been tested positive for COVID-19 and restrictive measures were reimposed in the affected districts.

According to the survey, 89 percent of German citizens supported the severe restrictions on public life in the districts of the country's most populous state North-Rhine Westphalia.

A majority of Germans believed it was correct to generally ease COVID-19 measures throughout the country during the past weeks, according to the survey. Thirty-two percent thought that the easing of restrictions was going too far, while only 10 percent of respondents called for less restrictions.

Germany's official COVID-19 warning app that was launched on June 16, already reached 13.3 million downloads by Friday, more than 15 percent of the country's population.

However, only 38 percent of Germans said that the warning app that was developed by SAP and Deutsche Telekom on behalf of the German government would contribute significantly to limiting the pandemic in Germany. A majority believed that the app would "not make a major contribution."

On July 1, Germany will take over the Council of the European Union presidency for six months. During this time, a decision on a 750-billion-euro (842-billion-U.S. dollar) aid package to support member states particularly affected by the COVID-19 crisis is expected.

The aid package was supported by 63 percent of Germans, although 31 percent rejected the package in its current form. A clear majority of Germans assumed that all EU countries would agree to the financial package, the survey found.
Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - Two men of Congolese nationality were arrested Tuesday in Oyo, 400 km from here, for illegal movement and trade in two dashes of ivory weighing 20 kilograms, state-run radio reported here Thursday
The Osun State Police Command on yesterday arraigned a 42-year-old man, Taiwo Aresa for alleged stealing.

The police prosecutor, Idoko John told the court that the accused person committed the offence sometimes in the month of October, 2019 at Orisunayo Event Center, Osogbo.

The prosecutor said that the accused person stole fifty one (51) chairs, fifteen (15) tables and gallons valued One million, two hundred thousand naira (N 1,200,000.00k), property of one Ibrahim Hamza.

The prosecutor stated that the offence committed by the accused person was contrary to and punishable under section 516, 383 and 390(9) of the Criminal Code Cap 34 vol. II Laws Of Osun State Nigeria, 2002.

The accused person pleaded not guilty to the offence levelled against him.

The Defense Counsel, Tunbosun Oladipupo applied for the bail of the accused person in the most liberal term.

The Magistrate, Adijat Oloyade granted the bail of the accused person in the sum of N 500,000 with two sureties in like sum and adjourned the case till 6th of August, 2020 for hearing.
The U.S. and China are heading into a new "cold war" that could be more damaging to the world compared to the geopolitical contest between the U.S. and Soviet Union at the end of World War II, a consultant said on Friday.

What separates the two rivalries is the extent of inter-dependency between the U.S. and China today, said Alan Dupont, chief executive of risk consultancy Cognoscenti Group. The Australian company advises clients on geopolitical, financial and national security trends.

"Unlike the first Cold War where the primary contest between the United States and Soviet Union was a geopolitical one ... both systems, both constellation of countries, didn't have much to do from a trade and financial point of view. That is not the case today," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia."

"That is why I think the ramifications of this conflict  this worsening rivalry between the U.S. and China  (are) going to be potentially very serious," he added.

Relations between the U.S. and China have deteriorated to their worst in decades since President Donald Trump took office in 2017. The two countries have slapped a series of new tariffs on each other since 2018, which escalated into a damaging trade war that spilled into other areas such as technology and finance.
After achieving political escape velocity last year, the U.S. Space Forces bureaucratic second-stage engine, set to propel it for the next decade, has silently kicked in.

The U.S. Defense Space Strategy, published last week, offers little Sci-Fi romance and plenty of dry pronouncements, but according to analysts, its an important step for the U.S. military as it orientates itself toward great power competition with Russia and China.

For now, space warfare might be crudely understood as predominantly satellite warfare. That is, the protection, weaponization, and neutralization of the all-seeing, all-knowing information architecture that holds up the military and modern societyespecially the vital GPS system that guides ballistic missiles to their targets, allows you to pull cash out of an ATM, and even guides electricity through the grid.

But Chinas space ambition reaches beyond jamming and taking down satellitesto the moon and further into deep space. According to analysts, leaders in Beijing see space supremacy as vital to the Chinese Communist Partys very survival.

The U.S. Space Force was launched in 2019, joining the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps as a distinct fighting forcethe first time a new military service has been created for more than 60 years.

The seal of the United States Space Force, presented on a black field fringed in platinum with the words United States Space Force and Roman numerals MMXIX (2019) below the seal. (Department of Defense)

The strategic framework on which the Space Force will be built has now been laid out in the Defense Space Strategy.

China and Russia each have weaponized space as a means to reduce U.S. and allied military effectiveness and challenge our freedom of operation in space, according to the unclassified version of the Space Strategy document, published on June 17 (pdf). The document lays out the structure that is needed to achieve a comprehensive military advantage in space within 10 years.

Three key objectives are identified for the Space Force: to maintain Americas space superiority; to provide space support to all joint military operations; and to ensure space stabilityi.e., to deter aggression and uphold international agreements in space with a persistent presence, similar to how the Navy polices international waters.

A Long March 5B rocket lifts off from the Wenchang launch site on Chinas southern Hainan island on May 5, 2020. (AFP/Getty Images)

Space is now a distinct warfighting domain, demanding enterprise-wide changes to policies, strategies, operations, investments, capabilities, and expertise for a new strategic environment, according to the document.

John Venable, senior research fellow for Defense Policy, Center for National Defense, describes the document as foundational. He likens it to the 2018 National Defense Strategy that explicitly re-orientated the military as a whole to face China and Russia as military competitors.

There are important declarations in there, he told The Epoch Times.

Finally a War-Fighting Domain

Venable said that the Air Force recognized space would be a warfighting environment as early as the 1950s, as the space program began to take shape.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, however, had a different vision.

President Eisenhower himself set the standard for what the Air Force and DOD writ large would be able to do with space for the next 60 yearswhen he said he wanted space to be used as a peaceful environment, he said.

All the way up until the Trump administration, the military has been constrained on what it can do, said Venable, adding that the United States now has little choice but to counter Russian and Chinese weaponization of space.

While China and Russia have been actively developing ASAT (anti-satellite) programs and testing successfully those programs, weve been basically looking the other way.

According to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), China is second only to the United States in the number of operational satellites, with more than 120 devoted to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

PLA analysis of U.S. and allied military operations states that destroying or capturing satellites and other sensors would make it difficult to use precision-guided weapons, notes the latest DIA report on space (pdf). Moreover, PLA writings suggest that reconnaissance, communications, navigation, and early warning satellites could be among the targets of attacks designed to blind and deafen the enemy.'

An Existential Threat

China splits space into two basic domains, according to Rick Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, and an Epoch Times contributor.

First is the Earth-Moon system, which as it says, encompasses the Earth, the Moon, the space in between, and the strategic Lagrangian Points, Fisher told The Epoch Times via email. The latter are locations where there is sufficient gravitational pull between the Earth and Moon to sustain an object in space with little use of fuel.

The second domain is deep space, said Fisher. Lets say in 15 to 50 years, commercial space companies become very active on the Moon and Mars. Then, Deep Space control will become a key objective for the PLA.

Fisher said that the Chinese Communist Party sees control of space as central to its existence.

China cannot be convinced to stop its pursuit of space control because that is required to achieve political-military hegemony on Earth, which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) requires for its survival as a harsh dictatorship in China. In short, without space control, the CCP likely believes that it cannot survive.

The PLA very likely controls land-based anti-satellite laser weapons and anti-satellite interceptor missiles, said Fisher.

Space war-fighting is still something of an unknown quantity, according to Dr. Robert J. Bunker, adjunct research professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College.

Space warfighting is a still emergent component of great power conflict, Bunker told The Epoch Times via email. We can divide such a physical capacity into launch systems (single and multi-use rockets), spacecraft (manned and unmanned), deployable payloads, weaponry, and C4ISR functions.

Gen. John Raymond, U.S. Space Command and Air Force Space Command commander in National Harbor, Md. on Sept. 16, 2019. ( Tech. Sgt. Armando Schwier-Morales/U.S. Air Force photo)

C4ISR means Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissancethe central information-gathering and decision-making network of the military.

As would be expected, a first-strike capability to wipe out as much of U.S. military and commercial (which themselves have fall-back military utility) space assetsprimarily satellitesas possible is one strategy being explored by the CCP regime to destroy our global C4ISR capabilities.

Bunker said there is a danger that the United States is looking at space warfare operationally while China is looking at it strategically. China is actively shaping the space warfighting environmentthat is to say, creating the necessary conditions to achieve victory in the case of a limited or more sustained shooting war, or even better, to be able to achieve its desired end states without even having to fire a shot.

In other words, the U.S. is trying to get the most out of its poker hand and yet never seeing the bigger picture as its pile of chips dwindles whereas China is a grandmaster player engaging in a game of Go.'

(Military strategists have noted that unlike games such as chess, which have a clear moment of victory, Go is about growing occupied space.)

With space seen as the ultimate global high ground, he said, Beijing will guard its strategies carefully. Full-spectrum passive and active deception, propaganda, and political warfare programs will be in effect to protect such warfighting strategies and capabilities.

Moral High Ground

Fisher said that such deception has the added advantage of allowing China to try to seize the moral high ground.

China does not reveal its strategies for space warfighting, but they surely exist and are highly classified. This is done in part to allow China to deny that it has ambitions for military space control and to characterize as aggression, any American move to defend its interests in space.

The State Department has increasingly poured scorn on Chinas and Russias attempts to ramp up their military efforts in space at the same time as pushing various space arms initiatives.

A State Department official in April highlighted the example of a Russian satellite that launched another sub-satellite in space. That sub-satellite went on to maneuver around another satellite in space, before then firing a projectile at 250 kilometers an hour into space.

Alongside jammers and dazzlers, Russia has also demonstrated the capability of using satellites to flick other satellites out of orbit, which would destroy them without triggering a cascade of space debris that could endanger all satellites, said Venable.

A Long March-4C rocket lifts off from the southwestern Xichang launch center carrying the Queqiao (Magpie Bridge) satellite in Xichang, Chinas southwestern Sichuan province on May 21, 2018. (-/AFP/Getty Images)

The potential of cascading mutual satellite destruction has been interpreted by some as being akin to the MAD doctrine that neutralizes opposing nuclear weapons.

But Venable thinks the parallels dont hold, because Russia and China are less reliant on their satellite systems than the United States, presenting a strategic imbalance.

Their pilots navigate via maps. While they cant hit as accurately as we can, with their munitions, they can at least threaten our personnel, our vehicles, our facilities [without satellite systems]. We cant. And this is something where we have to develop backup capabilities.

He said that China and Russia regard the GPS system as the Achilles heel of the United States. If they can take that away from us, then they really hurt us.

Embedded Expertise

The creation of a Space Force, in addition to the newly minted Space Command, allows specialist expertise to better reach the battlefield, said Venable.

Before the creation of the Space Force, troops provided to the space domain had cut their teeth on training based around land, sea, and air warfare, which Venable said is limiting.

For example, if you want to accelerate in space, its completely different than in the atmosphere, he said. The tactics, the techniques, the tips, the procedures that airman know for the air and seamen know for the ocean, and army personnel knows for land warfare, are completely different.

The Space Force will be able to provide specialized units to combatant commanders.

He gives the example of how the Navy provides medics to the Marine Corps.

This will be the same thing that will happen with the Space Force. Youll have Space Force personnel assets deployed with Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel and they will be forward deployed, maybe not on the leading edge of the battlefield, but back at the combined operations center, for example.

The Space Defense Strategy also calls for cooperation with industry.

In this SpaceX handout image, a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the companys Crew Dragon spacecraft launches on the Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley onboard at Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla., on May 30, 2020. The Demo-2 mission is the first launch of a manned SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. It was the first launch of an American crew from U.S. soil since the conclusion of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. (SpaceX/Getty Images)

Venable believes that the United States will quickly start pulling ahead in the military space race.

Our corporate structure is going to develop the systems for us much faster than anybody can keep up with, he said.

Companies like Lockheed Martin and Boeing are doing extraordinary work for us, behind the scenes, developing sensors, allowing us to detect certain targets better than anybody else. Also [they are working on] offensive systems that we wont learn about for yearsif we ever do.
Norwegian citizen is found guilty of spying for Iran and of complicity in plot to kill Iranian Arab opposition figure.

A Danish court has sentenced a Norwegian citizen to seven years in prison for spying for an Iranian intelligence service and for complicity in a suspected plot to kill an Iranian Arab opposition figure in Denmark.

The 40-year-old Norwegian man, who has Iranian heritage, was arrested in October 2018 after a major police operation in which Denmark temporarily closed its international borders. The court did not give the mans name.

For several days in late September, the Norwegian had observed and taken photos of the home of an Iranian exile in Denmark, as well as the streets and roads surrounding the home, Roskilde District Court said in a statement on Friday.

The court found that the information was collected and passed on to a person working for an Iranian intelligence service, for use by the intelligence services plans to kill the exile, the court said.

The exile, who was also not named in the statement, is the leader of an Iranian Arab resistance group known as the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA).

Separately, Danish police have charged three members of ASMLA, including the groups leader, with spying for Saudi intelligence services and financing and supporting terrorism in Iran.

The Norwegian defendant has denied all charges.
Geneva: UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) on Friday (June 26) said that UN independent experts have communicated with the government in China regarding the repression of fundamental freedoms in the Communist nation. The experts have denounced the repression of protest and democracy advocacy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), impunity for excessive use of force by police, the alleged use of chemical agents against protesters, the OHCHR statement said.

The experts have also communicated about the alleged sexual harassment and assault of women protesters in police stations and the alleged harassment of health care workers, it said.

They have also "raised their concerns regarding a range of issues of grave concern, from the collective repression of the population, especially religious and ethnic minorities, in Xinjiang and Tibet, to the detention of lawyers and prosecution and disappearances of human rights defenders across the country, allegations of forced labour in various sectors of the formal and the informal economy, as well as arbitrary interferences with the right to privacy, to cybersecurity laws that authorise censorship and the broadly worrying anti-terrorism and sedition laws applicable in Hong Kong."

"They have expressed concerns that journalists, medical workers and those exercising their right to free speech online in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak and pandemic have allegedly faced retaliation from the authorities, including many being charged with spreading misinformation or disrupting public order," said the experts.

The OHCHR also cited the recent decision of the National Peoples Congress to "draft a national security law for the Hong Kong SAR  without any meaningful consultation with the people of Hong Kong  which would, if adopted, violate Chinas international legal obligations and impose severe restrictions on civil and political rights in the autonomous region."

"The national security law would introduce poorly defined crimes that would easily be subject to abuse and repression, including at the hands of Chinas national security organs, which for the first time would be enabled to establish agencies in Hong Kong when needed," it said.

According to the OHCHR, the draft law would deprive the people of Hong Kong, who constitute a minority with their own distinctive history, cultural and linguistic and even legal traditions, the autonomy and fundamental rights guaranteed them under the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration and the One Country, Two Systems governance framework."

"It would undermine the right to a fair trial and presage a sharp rise in arbitrary detention and prosecution of peaceful human rights defenders at the behest of Chinese authorities. The national security law would also undermine the ability of businesses operating in Hong Kong to discharge their responsibility to respect human rights in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

The independent experts also urged Chinese government to abide by its international legal obligations, including under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Sino-British Joint Declaration, and withdraw the draft national security law for Hong Kong.

The experts believe it is time for renewed attention on the human rights situation in the country, particularly in light of the moves against the people of the Hong Kong SAR, minorities of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the Tibet Autonomous Region, and human rights defenders across the country.

They acknowledge that the government of China has responded to the communications of UN independent experts, if almost always to reject criticism.

The experts also urged China to invite mandate-holders, including those with a mandate to monitor civil and political rights, to conduct independent missions and to permit those visits to take place in an environment of confidentiality, respect for human rights defenders, and full avoidance of reprisals against those with whom mandate-holders may meet.

They further urged the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to act with a sense of urgency to take all appropriate measures to monitor Chinese human rights practices.

Unlike over 120 states, China has not invited UN independent experts to conduct official visits, said the release.
The Royal Navy's two 6.4billion aircraft carriers do not have enough supply ships to keep them stocked with ammunition and food, the Whitehall spending watchdog has warned.

The Navy has just one vessel that can supply its biggest ever warships  the Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales  on operations, the National Audit Office said.

Three supply ships are 'crucial' in order for the force to operate, the damning report found.

Labour's Meg Hillier, chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, said the Navy could end up with a 'hollowed-out' force.

The Royal Navy's ability to operate its two new aircraft carriers may be severely restricted due to a lack of support vessels to keep them supplied, the Whitehall spending watchdog has warned. Above, a UK F-35 Lightning jet is pictured on HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time

The NAO report also warned that the carrier force's Crowsnest airborne radar system  which forms a crucial part of its defences  is running 18 months late.

This will further diminish its capabilities in its first two years, it said.

Officials are seeking new ways to deploy the carriers, possibly using drones rather than a frigate and a destroyer in support.

The MoD welcomed the NAO's acknowledgement that progress has been made.

The MoD has said it expects to meet its target of declaring an 'initial operating capability' for Carrier Strike with a fully-trained Lightning II squadron of up to 12 jets by December 2020, albeit with only a 'basic' radar capability.

However, the NAO said it faced a 'tight timetable' if it was to achieve its next milestone of developing a 'full operating capability' - with two Lighting II squadrons operating from one of the carriers - by 2023.

It said the MoD had long been aware the lack of support ships would restrict the force's 'operational freedom' but had yet to come up with a solution.

A competition to build three new vessels was scrapped due to concerns about value for money, delaying their introduction by up to three years.

It was now uncertain whether the first of the ships would be ready in time for 2028 when the one existing ship is due to be taken out of service.

At the same time the MoD had failed to developed an airlift capacity to support the force and was relying on ageing Merlin Mk 4 helicopters - which were to supposed to go out of service at the end of 2021 - to ferry people and and equipment to the ships.

One of four operational F-35B Lightning Jets takes off from HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first Carrier Sea training. The National Audit Office (NAO) said the Navy has just one supply ship able to keep the Carrier Strike force stocked with food and ammunition while on operations

The NAO said the delay to Crowsnest - due to failure by a sub contractor, Thales, to meet its commitments - meant the initial contracted capability would not be in place until September 2021, with the full capability delayed to May 2023.

While the MoD had originally planned to acquire 138 Lightning IIs, to sustain Carrier Strike to the 2060s, it has so far only committed to buying 48.

Since 2017, the approved cost of the Lightning II project has risen from 9.1 billion to 10.5 billion, due to capability upgrades, with further increases expected.

The MoD is now planning to review the number of aircraft it needs as part of the Government's integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy.

However, the NAO said any reduction would act as a further constraint on its ability to use the Carrier Strike force.

Overall, it warned the MoD may not have made sufficient provision in future years' budgets to reflect the full costs of operating the carriers.

Ms Hillier said: 'The Ministry of Defence has lofty ambitions for the carriers but hasn't put its money where its mouth is. Worryingly, it still doesn't know the full cost of supporting and operating Carrier Strike.

'It must now ensure that the three frontline commands involved sing from the same hymn sheet. Otherwise, the Royal Navy will be stuck with a hollowed-out capability and unable to satisfy expectations.'
NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said that the criminal justice system is 'imploding' as New York City sees a dramatic spike in street shootings and killings during the month of June.

During a meeting with reporters Wednesday, NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea addressed the rise in shootings throughout the city and the stagnancy of criminal cases.

'You have to step back and look at this. You have a criminal-justice system that is imploding,' Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said, according to the New York Post.

'Imploding. That's the kindest way to put it,' he added.

NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said the city's criminal justice system was 'imploding' while addressing the rise in shootings throughout the city

Shea also noted that many of the criminal cases supposed to be in process were 'ongoing,' 'stagnant' or 'deferred.'

'Each one of those represents somebody not being held accountable and no consequences,' Shea said.

Police believe that many of the people pulling the trigger in these shootings are either out on parole or have open cases - issues made worse by the city's coronavirus pandemic response.

'You hear terms such as supervised release right now, that is a fallacy,' Shea said, CBS New York reported.

'There is no supervision. There is just release, and you are seeing the repercussions of that across the city.'

Shea's comments come on the heels of a particularly violent week in NYC, during which 75 people were injured in 55 shootings over a seven day period.

Police released a picture of two gunmen who opened fire on a Brooklyn street Monday night

One fatal shooting caught on surveillance video Saturday showed a man shooting another man in the neck at point-blank range while he was washing his car in Brooklyn

Brooklyn was the site of four of the shootings that were reported over the weekend

These numbers represent a 342 per cent jump in shootings last week compared to the same period in 2019.

Between Friday and Sunday, two people died in 28 shootings, while 38 others were left injured, police said, according to WPIX.

One fatal shooting on Saturday, which was caught on surveillance video, involved clothing designer and graffiti artist Kenneth Singleton, 35, who was washing his car outside his home in Brooklyn, when a man walked up to him and shot him, point blank, in the neck.

On Monday, there were 11 shootings, which left 17 people injured.

Five people alone were wounded during a shooting at an 11pm vigil that night in Brooklyn, the New York Post reported.

There have now been 125 shooting incidents in New York City during the month of June alone, according to the NYPD.

'We have to go back to June of 1996 to get a worse start for June,' NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri told the New York Post on Monday.

Shootings were recorded as being up 24.3 per cent in 2020 thus far, compared to the same time in 2019.

The number of shooting victims was also on the rise - up 27.9 per cent from 359 people total in 2019 to 459 people in just the first half of 2020.

Earlier in the week, Shea told NY1 that the increase in violence seen now was on its ways from the beginning of the year.

'We have been trending this way for a while, and the shootings are just the latest symptoms,' Shea said. 'We need the criminal justice system to start working, quite frankly.'

He insinuated that criminal justice reforms, including the elimination of cash bail for certain offenses, has had a role in the increase in violence throughout the city.

'People do not want to talk about this, but I will not be shy and talk about it. There is literally almost no one in jail,' Shea said.

'When you ask the Police Department now to somehow wave a magic wand and fix when you are putting dangerous people back on the street, you're seeing what's happening. And the shame is again, this is not a surprise.'

Shea said that many of the shootings that took place over the past weekend involved 'three common nexuses: alcohol, marijuana and dice games.'

The shootings were therefore tied to quality of life offenses, which the NYPD has not been as focused on as they had been in the past.

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said that hundreds of police officers normally in desk jobs would be heading out onto the street as part of the 'Summer All Out' program which is beginning now.

These officers would be focusing on the 20 precincts throughout the city experiencing issues with gun violence - specifically those in the Bronx and North Brooklyn.

'We know when there's shootings they beget more shootings. We understand retaliation, we understand gang dynamics. And I've heard from a number of community leaders that they are increasingly concerned,' de Blasio said Monday.

He also said that part of the city's effort to keep the peace would be spending $10million to increase its crisis management system, which focuses on sending community-based organizations into neighborhoods where there are high numbers of gun violence.

On June 15, Shea revealed that the NYPD was disbanding its plainclothes, Anti-Crime Units, which specialized in targeting armed suspects.

In the wake of the George Floyd protests, de Blasio and the City Council have said that they would be cutting the NYPD's $6billion budget and moving some of the funds towards youth and social services.

'We need safety and we need fairness. We need safety and we need justice. We have to do both,' de Blasio said Tuesday.
Young American voters appear to favor presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden over President Donald Trump, according to newly released national polling data.

The survey released Wednesday by the New York Times and Siena College shows Biden leading Trump among registered voters aged 18-34 by 34 percentage points.

By comparison, in 2016, Hillary Clinton on election day won 55 percent of the vote among young voters to Trump's 37 percent -- a lead of 18 points.

In total, the poll shows Biden ahead of Trump by 14 points, with particularly strong leads among Black and Hispanic voters. Trump leads Biden by 19 points among White people without college degrees.

Since the 2018 midterm elections, trends have shown both an uptick in youth voter participation and their tendency to vote for Democrats.


An exterior view of the AFP Headquarters in Canberra, Australia, on June 6, 2019. (Getty Images)

Australian Politician Who Recently Praised Chinese Regime Has Home Raided by Feds, Spy Agency

A major national security operation was underway in Sydney as officers from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) raided the Sydney home of New South Wales Labor Party MP Shaoquett Moselmane.

NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay confirmed that she knew of the raids and the process was underway to suspend Moselmane from the party.

The ABC reported that a journalist had asked McKay whether the raid had anything to do with reports Moselmanes offices had been infiltrated by Chinese agents, to which McKay responded: Its dreadfully concerning, its terrible.

Moselmane resigned as Upper House assistant president in April after he was caught on camera praising Chinese leader Xi Jinpings handling of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.

Local newspaper The Australian reported that ASIO had confirmed that search warrants activity is occurring in Sydney this morning as part of an ongoing investigation.
Josie Norris, The San Antonio Express-News / Staff Photographer

With cases of coronavirus spiking around the state, Gov. Greg Abbott this week is slowing down the reopening of businesses and even talking about potentially "ratcheting back" the openings that have already been allowed. Plus a right-wing group that has previously swayed some of Abbott's decisions was caught on tape mocking him for being in a wheelchair.

Join the conversation featuring Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report and Houston Chronicle political writer Jeremy Wallace.
In April, Liberal MP Marwan Tabbara was arrested and charged with assault, break and enter, and harassment. Roughly a month later, media learned of the disturbing charges, and the Kitchener South-Hespeler MP stepped back from the Liberal caucus, but did not resign his seat. Tabbara revealed he was receiving counselling for anxiety and depression and that he would continue to work diligently for his constituents despite the charges  which may be difficult, given the circumstances.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

In April, Liberal MP Marwan Tabbara was arrested and charged with assault, break and enter, and harassment. Roughly a month later, media learned of the disturbing charges, and the Kitchener South-Hespeler MP "stepped back" from the Liberal caucus, but did not resign his seat. Tabbara revealed he was receiving counselling for anxiety and depression and that he would continue to "work diligently" for his constituents despite the charges  which may be difficult, given the circumstances.

The fact Tabbara was arrested in April but no one seemed to know until June is somewhat eyebrow-raising. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his disappointment at Tabbara for not sharing the news earlier, instead leaving the prime minister to read about the charges in the newspaper like the rest of us.

Christopher Katsarov / The Canadian Press Files Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears alongside Liberal MPs (from left) Marwan Tabbara and Bardish Chagger on April 17, 2019. After being charged with multiple criminal offences, Tabbara stepped down from the Liberal caucus but did not resign his seat.

For some reason, the Guelph police were quite discreet about the arrest. But, besides that, this is a story about criminal allegations made against someone who happens to be a politician.

At least, that was the story.

While it is conceivable that Trudeau was kept in the dark about the recent charges against Tabbara, it was soon revealed that the MP had also previously had allegations levelled against him. These allegations, which date back to the 2015 election, were that Tabbara had inappropriately touched and made sexual comments to a female staffer.

Journalists learned that at least some of the allegations were substantiated by the Liberal Partys internal investigation, but it was unclear what sanctions, if any, Tabbara had faced.

There was one penalty that Tabbara eluded: despite seemingly credible allegations of inappropriate behaviour, Tabbara was given the opportunity to run for re-election as a Liberal candidate. Following a longer-than-usual period of deliberation, the partys internal committee that approves or disapproves potential candidates "green-lit" Tabbara, and the incumbent MP went on to win re-election in the 2019 federal election.

That Tabbara was permitted to run as a Liberal is striking, for two reasons. First, the party has disallowed candidates for far less than the original allegations made against Tabbara; and second, the decision is hardly consistent with Trudeaus zero-tolerance policy on matters of sexual misconduct.

After all, Trudeau had permanently expelled two Liberal MPs, Scott Andrews and Massimo Pacetti, following allegations of misconduct made against them by another MP. "Its 2014  we have a duty to protect and encourage individuals in these situations to come forward," Trudeau argued at the time. "The action must be fair and decisive. It must be sensitive to all affected parties but, recognizing how difficult it is to do so, it must give the benefit of the doubt to those who come forward."

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The question is why Andrews and Pacettis careers were torched as a result of allegations of misconduct, while Tabbara was permitted to run again. It is difficult to know the answer when internal party investigations are shrouded in secrecy.

When asked whether he knew about the previous allegations levelled against Tabbara and, if so, why the MP was allowed to run again, Trudeau was cagey. "I am continually informed as leader of the Liberal Party of allegations of processes going forward and that have existed," he said. "We always ensure that there is a rigorous process in place whenever there are any sorts of allegations brought forward."

That seems to be a roundabout admission that Trudeau did know about the previous allegations made against Tabbara. And the word salad that Trudeau served up in response to the question is characteristic of the Liberal Partys approach to this simmering scandal. "The party does not confirm or comment on the specifics of complaints," Liberal Party spokesman Braeden Caley wrote in response to questions about previous party investigation of the allegations made against Tabbara.

I hope journalists keep up the pressure on both Trudeau and his spokespeople. Canadians deserve some clear answers, given the serious charges against Tabbara. Did Trudeau know about the previous allegations against Tabbara? If so, what role did the PM play in the process to green-light the candidate for re-election, and how was that decision arrived at?

While confidentiality is important in these matters, the recent criminal charges against Tabbara make it important for both Trudeau and his party to clear the air about its previous handling of the troubled MP.

Royce Koop is head of the political studies department at the University of Manitoba.
Photo: The Canadian Press Demonstrators react as the judge reads the ruling in the case of Const. Michael Theriault and his brother Christian in the beating of Dafonte Miller outside court in Oshawa, Ont., Friday, June 26, 2020. A Toronto police officer and his brother who are accused of brutally beating a young Black man more than three years ago are expected to learn their fate today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

A Toronto police officer has been found guilty of assault in the beating of a young Black man more than three years ago, but his brother has been acquitted.

Const. Michael Theriault and his brother Christian have also both been acquitted of obstruction of justice.

The Theriaults had pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault and obstruction of justice in relation to the Dec. 28, 2016, incident and its aftermath.

The judge-alone trial has heard Michael Theriault was off duty at the time, and Ontario Superior Court Justice Joseph Di Luca delivered his verdict today by videoconference.

Prosecutors alleged the brothers chased Dafonte Miller in the early hours of the morning, cornering the then-19-year-old between two homes in Whitby, Ont. and beating him so badly with a pipe that his left eye burst.

Defence lawyers argued the brothers caught Miller and his friends breaking into a vehicle and acted out of self-defence, alleging Miller was the one wielding a pipe.

In reading his decision Friday, Di Luca said he was mindful of the social context surrounding the case.

The case, and others like it, "raise significant issues involving race and policing that should be further examined," Di Luca said.

But the judge said his task was not to conduct a public inquiry on race and policing, or to deliver the verdict sought by the public  it was to determine the case based on the evidence.

Defence lawyers argued at trial that the brothers caught Miller and his friends breaking into a vehicle and acted out of self-defence, alleging Miller was the one wielding a pipe.

In their closing statements, lawyers for the Theriaults argued that Miller lied on the stand when he denied breaking into cars that night and, as a result, his testimony was tainted.

Prosecutors, however, said the brothers were not justified in chasing the young man and grievously injuring him, regardless of whether he was breaking into cars at the time.

They also argued that if Miller did, in fact, lie about the events leading up to the encounter, that would be understandable given that he was the one handcuffed and arrested that night even as he lay bleeding on the ground.

Miller, now 22, testified before the judge-alone trial last fall, and denied stealing from cars that night.

He told the court he was out walking with two friends when the Theriaults started questioning them about why they were in the area. He said the brothers began chasing him when he and his friends walked away.

Miller said he didn't have a chance to fight back, and only recalled seeing Michael Theriault with the pipe.

His lawyers have alleged outside court that race played a role in the attack.

The case has also spurred protests by members of Black Lives Matter and other anti-racism activists, and a rally was planned outside the Oshawa, Ont., courthouse Friday morning even though the hearing did not take place there.

Michael Theriault, who testified last, admitted to hitting Miller but said he only did so with his fists.

He said he was acting out of self-defence after Miller attacked him and his brother with a metal pipe or pole.

Theriault told the court they had caught Miller and another young man stealing items from a truck belonging to the Theriaults' parents and chased him to an area between two homes.

Theriault also said he never identified himself as a police officer, though he was later heard on a 911 call telling Miller that he was under arrest.

Christian Theriault did not take the stand.

The decision was initially scheduled for April, but was postponed in light of public health measures that dramatically reduced court operations.

Friday's hearing drew significant public attention, with thousands of viewers observing the livestream at various times.
Police in Englewood, Colorado, arrested a woman following a road rage incident that ended with a car crash outside the Englewood Police Department on Wednesday, June 24.

Police said 28-year-old Erika A Boudreaux was facing multiple charges after she was alleged to have rammed a mans vehicle through a landscaped area and into a security wall outside of the police department building on South Elati Street shortly before 7 pm Wednesday evening.

The incident was captured on CCTV. It shows the collision of the vehicles, and, when the driver gets out of one vehicle, the second one drives at him, but hits a light pole as he runs off.

Boudreaux has been charged with attempted first-degree assault, criminal mischief, menacing, driving under the influence, reckless driving, and driving with a suspended or revoked license. Credit: Englewood Police Department via Storyful
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[June 26, 2020] Tucson Electric Power Plans Dramatic Clean Energy Expansion, 80 Percent Carbon Emissions Reduction

Tucson Electric Power (TEP) plans to provide more than 70 percent of its power from wind and solar resources as part of a cleaner energy portfolio that will reduce carbon emissions 80 percent by 2035. TEP's 2020 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), to be filed today with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), outlines the company's energy portfolio over the next 15 years. It calls for a dramatic expansion of wind and solar power resources, supported by efficient natural gas fired generators and energy storage systems. It also proposes retirement of TEP's remaining coal-fired power plants over the next 12 years. "We're accelerating our transition to cleaner energy resources through a cost-effective plan that supports reliable and affordable service from increasingly sustainable resources," TEP CEO David G. Hutchens said. "We'll be reducing carbon emissions at a pace that places us at the forefront of global efforts to combat climate change." Key elements of TEP's IRP include: 2,457 megawatts (MW) of new wind and solar power systems, including 457 MW that will be coming online over the next year.

1,400 MW of new energy storage systems.

A proposal to ramp down and ultimately retire TEP's two units at the coal fired Springerville Generating Station (SGS) in 2027 and 2032. The timeline would allow TEP to reduce the plant's workforce through attrition rather than layoffs while providing time for the company to help the local community mitigate the impact of the units' retirement.

Eliminating the use of surface water for power generation and a 70 percent reduction in groundwater use.

Continued support for energy efficiency programs to reduce usage and peak power demands. Together, these changes will allow TEP to maintain a safe, steady energy supply while avoiding more than 50 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions over the next 15 years, the period covered by TEP's IRP. "We know our customers count on us to make smart energy choices that keep our service affordable and reliable while protecting our environment," said Susan Gray, TEP President and Chief Operating Officer. "Our new resource plan ensures we can continue satisfying our customers' high expectations while providing a clear path to a sustainable energy future for our community." TEP's CO 2 emission reduction goal was developed in partnership with the University of Arizona's Institute of the Environment with input from a diverse group of customers, community leaders, local government representatives and environmental advocates. The target represents TEP's fair share of worldwide efforts to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius under the 2015 Paris Agreement. TEP's plan would reduce CO 2 emissions by 80 percent compared to levels in 2005, a widely used benchmark year in carbon reduction goals. "Our goal is ambitious but realistic, reflecting what we can achieve using existing technology during the 15-year time period covered by our IRP," Hutchens said. TEP's future resource planning efforts will ontinue to focus on providing cleaner energy, supported by technological advancements that could allow even greater carbon reductions without compromising reliability and affordability.



"The steps we take to address climate change will define the legacy we leave for future generations," Hutchens said. "We plan to rise to that challenge on behalf of our customers, our community and our planet." Reducing Reliance on Coal

TEP's plan proposes reducing and ultimately eliminating its use of coal-fired resources, which produce about twice as much CO 2 as natural gas generation. That transition is already underway, as TEP is on track to retire more than 600 MW of coal generation by June 2022 through recent and scheduled closures at the Navajo and San Juan Generating Stations. TEP also receives some power from two units at the Four Corners Generating Station that are scheduled to close in 2031. Concern about climate change and other environmental impacts, low natural gas prices, and the increasing availability of low-cost renewable energy and storage resources are driving interest in alternatives to coal-fired generation nationwide. The planned closure of other coal-fired power plants also could lead to coal mine closures that limit long-term fuel availability. These trends created an opportunity to evaluate the long-term use of SGS Units 1 and 2. The reliable, well-run units in eastern Arizona remain critical to the company's current energy portfolio, but TEP will work to supplant them over the coming decade by expanding its use of wind farms, solar arrays and energy storage systems. SGS Unit 1 can produce up to 387 MW and came online in 1985, while Unit 2 can produce 406 MW and came online in 1990. Units 3 and 4 at the plant were completed in 2006 and 2009 and are owned by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and Salt River Project, respectively. TEP operates all four units with a team of 390 employees, including 65 who work for sister company Southwest Energy Solutions. TEP also owns and operates transmission lines that deliver energy from the plant to Tucson. "The Springerville Generating Station has played a pivotal role in the history of TEP, powering our community's growth for more than three decades," Gray said. "The plant and our employees there also remain an important part of our future, as they'll make it possible for us to provide reliable, affordable power as we transition to a new generation of energy resources." Beginning in 2023, TEP plans to transition to seasonal operations that idle one of the units during cooler months. Both units are still needed to meet summer peak demand. After the closure of Unit 1 in 2027, TEP plans to continue seasonal operations of Unit 2 through 2032. During this time, TEP will work closely with employees and local leaders to prepare for the units' closure and promote sustainable economic growth in the region. "We know our plant and our employees are a big part of the Springerville-area community, and we plan to work together over the next 12 years to support their long-term success," Hutchens said. TEP's plans for SGS will depend on ACC approval of a modified plan for timely recovery of the plant's remaining value. The company has not yet determined what rate changes it may request or the timing of any such request. Clean Energy (News - Alert) Expansion TEP's plan calls for a dramatic expansion of renewable energy resources, including some systems that are already underway. The company is working to complete two large, New Mexico wind farms and a local solar plus storage project that will more than double its community-scale clean energy resources by next year. But that's just the beginning. The IRP calls for enough new wind and solar generating capacity to provide more than 40 percent of the company's power in 2030, more than 60 percent by 2033 and more than 70 percent by 2035. The expansions coincide with the planned addition of energy storage systems, which are projected to cost significantly less after 2030 than they do today. "Maintaining reliable service with higher levels of wind and solar power requires responsive, efficient natural gas resources as well as storage, which is projected to become much more affordable over the next decade," Hutchens said. "Our plan is designed to capitalize on those price reductions to achieve ambitious carbon emission reductions without compromising on cost-effectiveness or affordability." For more details about TEP's 2020 Integrated Resource Plan, visit tep.com/resource-planning. TEP provides safe, reliable electric service to approximately 429,000 customers in Southern Arizona. For more information, visit tep.com. TEP and its parent company, UNS Energy, are subsidiaries of Fortis Inc., which owns utilities that serve more than 3 million customers across Canada and in the United States and the Caribbean. For more information, visit fortisinc.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005068/en/

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'You can see that in Chinese behaviour in the Yellow Sea, you can see it in their behaviour towards Taiwan, you can see it in their behaviour towards Hong Kong, you can see it on our border as well.

IMAGE: At the site of Krishna's butterball, a gigantic granite boulder sitting firmly on the slope of a hillock in Mahabalipuram, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi Modi with Communist Party of China General Secretary Xi Jinping, October 11, 2019.

"China's reaction to this partly, I think, because of the domestic stress and the economic stress at home is to rely on nationalism to unite the population," Shivshankar Menon, former national security adviser, former foreign secretary and former Indian ambassador to China, tells Karan Thapar.

Mr Menon, why have the Chinese chosen to do this now in the middle of an international crisis and an increasingly depressing economic crisis? Why now?

Well it seems to me that this is not just signalling because if it's signalling, it's the most inefficient way of signalling, where we're all guessing what the signal is.

Some people say it's because of the change in the status in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, some people say it's because of our relationship with the United States, other people have other explanations, so it's not signalling.

I think it seems to me that it's part of a general pattern and a general shift in Chinese behaviour in the way they deal with the world.

What I supposed the Chinese themselves have called wolf warrior diplomacy.

All governments, I think, feel under pressure in the present situation because none of them has covered itself in glory in dealing with the pandemic.

Secondly, it seems to me that all the powers are actually being diminished by the crisis and this is, as you said, a health crisis.

It's an economic crash and politically their prospects, everybody's prospects are much harder.

And I think there is both internal and external stress certainly on China and China's reaction to that has been to rely on ultra-nationalism.

In a sense you can see that in Chinese behaviour in the Yellow Sea, you can see it in their behaviour towards Taiwan, you can see it in their behaviour towards Hong Kong where they are now passing laws without consulting Hong Kong about introducing their own security laws in Hong Kong, you can see it on our border as well.

You see much more assertive Chinese behaviour.

They are in the midst of a tariff war with Australia.

You can see the kinds of comments that the US and China make about each other.

So all told it's a much more factual situation for China.

China's reaction to this partly, I think, because of the domestic stress and the economic stress at home is to rely on nationalism to unite the population.

Every government in the world, it's not only the Chinese, it's the Americans and others are busy blaming somebody else for the crisis -- the Americans are blaming China, the Chinese are blaming America, a lot of countries are blaming the WHO.

They are finding internal people to blame and this problem I think therefore exacerbates all these tensions and hotspots and flashpoints that we have.

So in a sense, the Covid crisis has actually added to the load on governments and they are retreating.

I think somebody once said that the last refuge of all scoundrels is patriotism covering themselves in the flag and demanding that their citizens rally around the flag.

So your explanation for why China is behaving in this way at this time is that this is a general almost across the board assertiveness that China is showing.

You mentioned their relationship with Australia, with America, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the South China Sea -- this fits into that pattern of an assertive wolf warrior that China is pushing itself forward, as you said, both for external reasons but also internal.

Is that a correct interpretation of your answer?

That is correct.

There is an alternative explanation which I don't hold to, but where people say that China thinks that now is her moment -- that the rest of the world has been so weakened by the Covid crisis that this is the time for her to assert primacy and in the world order.

I am not sure that is the case.

In fact, I think all powers have suffered in this crisis and I think they are all emerging out of it much diminished -- both in terms of economic power, in terms of political, military power, but also in terms of reputation and soft power.

IMAGE: Modi and Xi at their first informal summit in Wuhan, April 28, 2018. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

Let me put you a view expressed by Jayadeva Ranade in an article that he wrote for Strat News Global.

He is writing as president of the Center for Chinese Studies and Analysis.

He says there is a certain amount of domestic pressure growing against Xi Jinping and he mentioned things like dissatisfaction with his one-man rule, dissatisfaction with intrusive party surveillance, the initial mishandling of COVID-19, and the fact that apparently in March, unemployment in China touched levels of 70 to 80 million.

And he says that these domestic pressures might make it difficult for Xi Jinping to agree to any concessions to India without actually having some substantive gains to show.

In other words, Xi might not be able to back off.

He may want that one extra step for China to be recognised and accepted by India.

Do you think that this could also be a factor?

It seems to me this is what I meant when I said there's domestic stress there was obvious political public anger at the way that the COVID-19 pandemic was handled in China at the beginning.

And certainly, external tensions have proved a useful distraction for the regime in China.

Now, how much is personal to one leader or another, I don't know.

But all the signs of domestic stress are there -- including the Communist Party calling on officials to report honestly, and not to just report what leaders want to hear in a general circular which they published in the People's Daily.

So I think the signs are all there of domestic stress, and therefore all external distractions are welcome for the regime.

But this is equally true for other regimes today in the world, and this is why I think the crisis has made the world a much more dangerous place.

Now how far this reflects on individual leaders this I find very difficult.

Jayadeva knows China very well, in fact, we've served there together.

So if anybody in India knows how it works it's probably Jayadeva.

Edited excerpts from an interview with former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon by Karan Thapar for The Wire, June 12.

Production: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Wayne Wilkerson, who was convicted of healthcare fraud as the leader of the "Cream Scheme", told Judge Sandy Mattice in a 13-page letter that he checked with attorneys all along the way and he believed that everything was above board.

He said, "I don't blame the attorneys I engaged; they were doing the best they could with the little amount of information they had at the time. But I want you to know I never set out to commit fraud or violate the law. . . I would never have risked the incredible business I had worked extremely hard to build had I known my actions could be considered criminal and could risk my freedom. No amount of money is worth that."

Wilkerson also said his conviction of felony charges "has all but removed any hope I had of moving past this case and living a regular life. . . It's excruciating to think of not being able to marry the love of my life, Kasey Nicholson, and start a life together because of possible incarceration."

Ms. Nicholson was also convicted in the case. She is due to be sentenced on July 27 and Wilkerson on July 28.

He said he "left a great job making $175,000 a year to market a product I believed in and truly believed to be the future of pain management." He said he teamed with Brian Kurtz, who left a $220,000 job in Indiana.

Wilkerson said they went through tough times marketing the creams to doctors, depleting their savings and pay one another's bills. He said they spent $3,000 to $4,000 per month for lunches and dinners for presentations to physicians.

He said eventually over 300 doctors were prescribing the creams.

Wilkerson said he "truly thought I had discovered a break-through way to market my products by using tele-medicine and direct-to-patient marketing."

He said topical compounds had been around for a generation, but billing insurance for them only began in 2011. He said he entered the scene in 2013. He said, "In a sense we were learning as we went. There just wasn't a whole lot of guidance out there and little to no case law."

The whole process of the tele-medicine and direct-to-patient marketing operation just lasted about nine months, he noted.

Wilkerson said he became involved with Michael Chatfield, who prosecutors said was the top lieutenant to Wilkerson, when his wife, Natalie Chatfield, bruised her ribs in February 2014 and was seeking help with pain. He introduced her to the pain cream. He said Natalie Chatfield a blank prescription and she took it to Balanced Life MD in Ooltewah and saw Dr. Michelle Craven. He said Dr. Craven, who is also charged in the case, told Ms. Chatfield to have him (Wilkerson) come see her so she could introduce the cream to other patients.

He said the next day he met with Dr. Craven, Dr. Toni Dobson and Dr. Paul Miranda, telling them the creams did not get into the bloodstream and obviated the need for opioids. He said he "made it clear to the providers that the creams were expensive." Prosecutors said the creams were billed to insurance for as much as $15,000 per jar.

Wilkerson said, "The effectiveness of the products became apparent quickly as feedback from patients and the providers themselves began to build." He said Drs. Dobson and Suzy Vergot used the creams themselves.

He said on Dec. 12, 2014, "Everything changed when my office manager, Brande Breneman, told me a federal agent" came in asking questions pertaining to a federal criminal investigation." He said, "This rattled Brian and I to the core" and they moved to shut down the operation.

Wilkerson said they spent over $60,000 with legal counsel over four months to completely restructure the operation.

He said in September 2015 that Amanda Morgan Booker asked if he could help her now husband Keitha Booker access "the old school pain cream like he used to get." She said he had used the cream nine months earlier. He said he told her that insurance was no longer covering the cream and it was expensive and she would have to pay cash. He said it was then learned that the Hamilton County Schools, where Keitha Booker was employed, would cover the cost through its self-insurance.

He said Amanda Booker began marketing the creams to co-workers of Keitha Booker at Tyner High School. The county schools paid out over $940,000 for the creams.

Wilkerson said, "I have learned and lost much in the last five years. I've liquidated every asset I've ever owned to pay for my legal defense. I would never have gone to trial had I thought I was guilty. But I have learned some great life lessons. I have learned that true happiness comes from the people in my life not the possessions in my life."

He said, "Given the opportunity, I would have paid all the money back as opposed to risking my freedom and livelihood, but I never got that opportunity. . . I feel like the joy has been drained from me these days and sometimes it is hard to get through a normal day. I try to keep from being a cynical man, but I find it harder and harder to stay positive."

He stated, "I have lost all my pride, confidence and belief in myself. I am a broken man. I am deeply remorseful for the grief and heartache that my co-defendants, family and friends have been through. I can't help but feel responsible for this situation we are all in. I apologize for any and all of my actions that has led us here today.

"My only hope is you allow me the opportunity to prove myself as a man who has truly learned from this life-changing experience."
New York- The UNs Framework for COVID-19 Response has a clear entry point for the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), particularly in monitoring the risks of human rights violations, acting as a bridge between excluded populations and the state, and providing rights-based advice to governments discussed the delegates at the Tripartite Review Meeting of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) held on June 24-25.

The UN Secretary-Generals The Highest Aspiration: A Call to Action on Human Rights urges greater collaboration emphasizes the importance of NHRIs as contributors to the implementation of the SDGs and calls for enhanced support to NHRIs from the UN system.

In these challenging times we need to reinforce, support and work in partnership with NHRIs to address COVID-19. We also need to support member states to recover back better - to use inclusive approaches in their recovery towards achieving the SDGs and securing the social contract, stated Asako Okai, UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDPs Crisis Bureau in her opening remarks at the high-level session of the Annual Review Meeting.

Representatives of NHRIs, their regional networks, as well as UN agencies and other international partners discussed the urgency of human rights issues in the current context and how best to build the capacity of NHRIs to promote and protect human rights.

The UN Secretary-General has acknowledged the critical role of NRHIs in his Call to Action , launched this February, highlighting their important role in implementation of 2030 Agenda, multilateralism and in addressing deprivation and discrimination, stated Ilze Brands-Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General of OHCHR .

The newly revised voluntary common reporting guidelines for voluntary national reviews (VNRs) at the High-level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF) emphasizes the important role of NHRIs to meaningfully and effectively engage stakeholders in the VNR process and the 2030 Agenda implementation.

We need to expand our efforts on anti-discrimination. Human rights know no discrimination, but this promise has not yet materialised in practice. Leaving no one behind is our banner; lets not forget this dream, stated Carlos Alfonso Negret Mosquera, Chairperson of GANHRI.

UNDP has worked in over 100 countries supporting NHRIs, i.e. the NHRIs of Mali and The Gambia. In 2020, the ongoing efforts in Mali contributed to the release of 1,300 people from overcrowded prisons in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The NHRIs of Egypt, Ghana, Madagascar, and Mauritania received support in 2019 to navigate the internationally recognized accreditation process for NHRIs a process which is based on the Paris Principles.

The Tri-Partite Partnership since its inception has leveraged the respective mandates, expertise, and operations of its partners  and their regional networks  to jointly support national human rights institutions (NHRIs) around the world.

The conclusions of the Annual Review will contribute to the upcoming UNDP Annual Rule of Law and Human Rights Meeting from 29 June to 1 July.
(Natural News) As leftists all across the United States call for the removal of racist statues and the scrubbing clean of American history, should their call for historical revisionism extend to their own home states? Perhaps its time for New York and New York City to undergo a name change, since both were named after one of historys most prolific slavers.

New York was named after James Stuart, Duke of York, who would go on to become James II and VII, King of England and Scotland. Stuart captured several Dutch settlements along the Atlantic coast, including New Amsterdam, which was quickly renamed to New York. Stuart would begin expanding English involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Between 1672 and 1689, James, through his familys Royal African Company, transported between 90,000 to 100,000 African slaves to English colonies in the Caribbean and the rest of the Americas.

The slave trade in New York would not be abolished until a century later in 1799, when the state finally passed laws to emancipate their slaves.

While the origins of New York state may invoke a racist past, thats not to say that they dont also have monuments to slavery etched into the citys very streets. As of 2018, at least 24 streets, one high school and two upscale housing divisions in the state have been named after New Yorkers who were heavily involved in the slave trade between the 17th and 18th centuries.

These monuments to racism include Bayard street, named after the influential slave trading Bayard family. This family operated sugar mills that used slave labor and had stakes in at least eight slave-trading ships. Another is Stuyvesant High School and Stuyvesant street, named after Dutch colonial superintendent Peter Stuyvesant, who was once known as the largest private slaveholder in what was then called New Amsterdam.

Given New Yorks racist past, perhaps its time for the city to further reevaluate its current stance on streets, buildings and monuments named after and erected in the memory of figures relevant to the states history. Hopefully, New York can begin to understand why it should not try to hide its history.

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how people can make sense and find sanity in this insane world that is filled with contradictions.

New York pushing ahead with taking down historical monuments

As New York state continues to grapple with its own racist history, it has decided to go ahead and try and scrub clean its past anyway.

In New York City, Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio has created a commission to identify areas where discrimination continues to manifest itself in the city, with its main objective being to review whether or not certain historical landmarks such as statues or building decorations are appropriate.

One of the first targets of their plan to revise history is Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City. Chirlane McCray, first lady of New York, found that the house was built in 1799 by enslaves and indentured servants.

Perhaps worse still, the equestrian statue of former president and governor of New York Theodore Roosevelt outside New York Citys American Museum of Natural History will be taken down after a relentless decades-long campaign by historical revisionists. The bronze monument shows the former president on a horse with two men walking on either side of him  one Native American and one African. Activists have argued that the monument portrays the former president as superior to the two men simply because hes riding a horse. (Related: Rioters in Portland TEAR DOWN statue of Founding Father George Washington.)

Ellen V. Futter, president of the museum, said that the decision to remove the equestrian statue was not an indictment on Roosevelts character, but a critique of the statues hierarchical composition. Futter says that the museum will continue to honor the former president, especially for his role as a pioneering conservationist.

President Trump said he opposed removing the statue of Theodore Roosevelt from outside NYC's American Museum of Natural History. The statue shows Roosevelt on a horse, with a Native American man and an African man by his side https://t.co/A76mDr0M9t pic.twitter.com/AyDCbG4mfb  Reuters (@Reuters) June 22, 2020

Other historical monuments in New York state are set to be taken down as well, such as the statue of Philip Schuyler outside of Albany City Hall. Schuyler, who was born, lived in and died in Albany, was a major general and Revolutionary war hero, city alderman, state assemblyman, state senator and senator for New York. He was also the father of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, wife of founding father and former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton  who, despite what pop culture might have people believe, was not a pro-immigrant slavery abolitionist.

The city of Albany erected the statue of Maj. Gen. Schuyler in 1925 in his honor. However, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan has ordered city workers to erase history and take down Schuylers statue because he owned 17 slaves. The issue was raised by Albanys first ever diversity officer.

More and more statues of historical figures are either being taken down by authorities or being vandalized and destroyed by rioters. Stay on top of the Radical Lefts attempts to make American history politically correct by subscribing to PoliticalCorrectness.news.

Sources include:

NationalFile.com

NBCNews.com

NewYork.CBSLocal.com

NY.Curbed.com

NYTimes.com

TimesUnion.com

News.Harvard.edu
M Lhuillier Financial Services Inc. (M Lhuillier), the leading non-bank financial institution in the Philippines, continues to go above and beyond its commitment to serve Filipinos amid this health crisis. As frontliners brave the times to help ensure the health and safety of the public, the company rushed in to provide assistance and protective equipment.

M Lhuillier answered the call for personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers by donating over 4,000 face shields to different hospitals in Cebu City, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, Talisay City, Naga and Toledo. As the companys salute to their courage, dedication and hard work, there is an ongoing perk for healthcare workers that lets them do domestic send-outs to over 2,500 branches nationwide for free.

Aside from medical frontliners, M Lhuillier also donated supplies to local government offices, border checkpoints and areas badly hit by the pandemic.

Necessities like alcohol, food and water were distributed to frontliners stationed at various checkpoints in Cebu City. Over 4,800 bottles of Mont St. Michel purified drinking water were delivered to border checkpoints in Guadalupe, Labangon, Barrio Luz, Talamban, Gorordo, Mango Ave., Happy Valley, V. Rama, Mambaling, Pardo, Punta Princesa, Tisa, Tres de Abril, Cabancalan-Talamban, Subangdaku-Mabolo, North Reclamation Area and Hipodromo.

M Lhuillier also donated 455 face shields and 300 bottles of drinking water to the Department of Health Central Visayas, Mandaue City Hall, Lapu-Lapu City Hall and Consolacion Municipal Hall. On May 28, 2020, the Cebu-based company turned over 600 10-kilo rice packs to the City of Cebu through the Office of the Vice Mayor.

Unwavering Support for Every "PaMLyang Pilipino"

True to its promise of being the "Tulay ng PaMLyang Pilipino," M Lhuillier continues to be there for Filipino families as they tread through the pandemic.

Around 5,300 bottles of drinking water were distributed to residents and barangay frontliners of seriously affected areas like Brgy. Hipodromo and Sitio Zapatera in Brgy. Luz. M Lhuillier also lent a helping hand to Ilonggo families by coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Iloilo City to distribute gift packs to 60 households with a PWD (person with disability) family member. (Sponsored Content)
New Delhi:

Delhis home department has issued a notification regarding the appointment of 11 special public prosecutors (SPPs) for all cases related to the February riots in north-east Delhi after President Ram Nath Kovind signed off on the list approved by Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal.

Kovinds intervention was required after Delhi Police, which comes under the L-G, and the states elected Aam Aadmi Party government were locked in confrontation over the appointment of the special public prosecutors. While the L-G approved the panel of the public prosecutors proposed by the Delhi Police, the Delhi government rejected it and created its own. The L-G , on May 29, referred the matter to President Kovind for reference. In case of a difference between the states elected government and the L-G, the latter has to refer the matter to the President, whose decision is binding on both.

Senior police officers said on condition of anonymity that the President gave his decision in favour of the L-G, after which a notification was issued on Wednesday (June 24), appointing the panel of SPPs proposed by the Delhi Police. HT has reviewed a copy of the appointment order.

A media advisor to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the state government has to respect the Presidents decision. We opposed the move and demanded that an independent panel proposed by us be appointed. But now that the President has approved the panel recommended by the Police, the Delhi government has no option but to abide by the decision.

The L-Gs office did not respond to calls and messages seeking a comment on the matter.

The notification, signed by Delhis deputy secretary (home) Pawan Kumar, says the appointment of the special public prosecutors has been done exercising the powers conferred by sub-section (8) of section 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (2 of 1974) read with the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs notification...

It adds that the appointed SPPs shall conduct all court proceedings including bail, trial, appeals, and all the miscellaneous matters incidental to and connected with all the FIRs which have been registered in respect of riots in north-east district (police district), Delhi or any other matter related to those FIRs).

The 11 appointed SPPs named in the notification are Manoj Chaudhary, Rajiv Krishna Sharma, Nitin Raj Sharma, Devender Kumar Bhatia, Naresh Kumar Gaur, Amit Prasad, Jinendra Jain, Anuj Handa, Ram Chander Singh Bhadoria, Uttam Datt and Salim Ahmad.

We have received the list of 11 special public prosecutors through the notification. They will represent us (Delhi Police) in the courts in the north-east Delhi riots cases, said Delhi Police spokesperson Mandeep Singh Randhawa.

The appointed SPPs will start appearing in the courts from Saturday( June 27), said an officer from the Delhi Polices legal cell, requesting anonymity.

A total of 53 people were killed and at least 400 were injured in the communal riots that ravaged several parts of north-east Delhi in February. Around 750 first information reports (FIRs) were filed and at least 1,300 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, prompted by clashes between two groups, one for the Citizenship Amendment Act and the other against. The clashes soon escalated into a communal clash between Hindus and Muslims. The police have thus far filed charge-sheets in nearly 100 cases.

The confrontation between the L-G and the Delhi government over the appointment of SPPs began in April.

A senior police officer associated with the investigation into the riots said the city police sent to the L-Gs office the list of a panel of public prosecutors. The L-G endorsed the polices move and the file was sent to the Delhi government for perusal by home minister Satyendar Jain.

The state government suggested that a panel of independent and technically qualified special public prosecutors to be appointed to represent the state. Jain formed a fresh panel of lawyers, and issued orders on April 16 that they be notified as the special public prosecutors.

The Delhi Police subsequently withdrew its list and submitted a second list on April 24. This was rejected by the Delhi government with Jain reiterating his order of notifying the original panel suggested by him. Jain met the L-G on May 21, but the differences persisted. The L-G wrote to the government on May 23 and later invoked Article 239AA(4) of the Constitution (difference of opinion with the council of ministers) to refer the matter to the President.
A British teenager who threw a six-year-old French boy from a 10th-floor viewing platform at the Tate Modern art gallery in London with the intention of killing him was jailed for at least 15 years on Friday, the BBC reported.

Jonty Bravery, who was 17 at the time of the incident and said he carried out the act because he wanted to be on the television news, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder last December.

The unnamed victim, who was visiting Britain with his family, fell five floors and was found on a fifth-floor roof while his mother was heard by witnesses screaming: "Where's my son? Where's my son?"

The boy survived but suffered a bleed to his brain and a number of fractured bones. Bravery, now 18 who was arrested shortly afterwards, told police he had planned to hurt someone at the museum to be on television, prosecutors said.

The teenager, who has autistic spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and was likely to have a personality disorder, was being at the high security Broadmoor Hospital.

However, the judge decided he should be jailed when he sentenced him at London's Old Bailey court, the BBC said.

In an update last month on a fundraising website to help pay for his medical treatment which has raised almost 235,000 euros, the boy's parents said their son was recovering, but still remained in a wheelchair and had trouble speaking, eating and with his memory and mobility.

"There is still a long way to go but we are holding on," they wrote on his GoFundMe page.
Bank tellers in Ghana and the world are very important to the bank and to its customers. The bank teller job includes handling money transfers, money orders, deposits, withdrawals, and transactions. Bank tellers are one of the most influential groups of people in the bank as they interact directly with the customers, and the bank tellers salary in Ghana reflects this. But is it a lucrative career?

Image: pexels.com

Source: UGC

So, who is a bank teller? A teller is a bank employee who interacts directly with the customers. This position is referred to using different names, the most famous being a cashier or a customer representative The average bank tellers salary in Ghana ranges from 749 GHS to 1584 GHS. The exact amount that you will get will depend on the bank you are working for and the number of things you are responsible for. However, the amount should fall in this range.

Application for employment as a bank teller

Application for a bank teller job is not something that should be taken lightly. It is important to be well prepared before you take the first step. You will need to know what is required and what the job description is so that you can plan your way forward. It is important to remember that not everyone is cut out for this job. However, if you have all the requirements plus the qualities that will make you better at your job, then go for it.

The job description of a bank teller

Job descriptions are basically what your employer will expect from you if you get the job. It is important that you read it thoroughly and include as many of the qualities listed as you can in your resume. This will dramatically increase your chances of employment. Here is an example of a job description:

We are looking for a bank teller that will provide exceptional services to our customers, accept deposits, process payments, and handle withdrawals. You will also respond to customer requests and inquiries, recommend bank products, maintain and balance cash supplies, and keep track of all bank records. A professional and customer-focused attitude will be appreciated.

READ ALSO: Salary of nurses in Ghana: 2020

Bank teller duties and responsibilities

Image: pixabay.com

Source: UGC

At the beginning of a shift, a teller takes note of the amount of money that is in their drawer and does the same for the remaining cash at the end of their shift. This is to ensure that deposits are accounted for accurately. Tellers work from stations where they handle all of the customer transactions. Their responsibilities include the following:

Check cashing, deposits, transfers

Savings deposits and withdrawals

Issuing negotiable items: cashier's cheques, traveler's cheques, money orders, and federal draft issuance

Payment collecting

Bank product promotion

Business referrals(trust, insurance, lending, e.t.c.)

Cash advances

Listening to customers issues

Balancing the vault, cash drawers, ATMs, and TAUs

Ordering products for the customers like cheques and deposit slips

Batching and processing proof work like payment coupons and counter slips

READ ALSO: Application for employment as a cleaner sample

Bank teller requirements for the job

Image: pixabay.com

Source: UGC

Contrary to what most people believe, getting the bank cashier job is not easy. You will be required to provide documents that prove you are qualified for the job. The qualifications are vital since the bank will need to confirm that you can be trusted to handle the clients' funds. To land this job, you will need:

High school diploma, or any equivalent documents.

Bachelors degree (preferred).

Experience with handling cash. There are banks that offer on-the-job-training.

Basic math and computer skills.

To pass a background check.

Qualities of a bank teller

The customers view of the bank entirely depends on the teller. Because of this, there are qualities that the bank looks for that help tellers interact better with customers. Tellers are also the people most likely to spot fraudulent activities taking place at the bank and are solely responsible for preventing losses at a lot of banks. These are only some of the reasons why banks are very careful when hiring them.

Apart from the academic requirements, success in this job needs some qualities that not everyone has. This is the most important part to consider when applying for a position. Since the employees are vital to the performance of the bank, banks put a lot of emphasis on hiring the best tellers. This job involves interacting with customers during every minute of your shift. Every customer is different, therefore, you will need to have a different approach to keep each of them satisfied.

To be a great bank teller, you will need to have:

Excellent people skills.

Good communication skills.

Great attention to detail. In this job, mistakes can be very costly.

Ability to provide speedy service.

The ability to multitask.

Discretion. Bank tellers handle a lot of information that should remain private.

Motivation and enthusiasm for work.

A teller's job is a crucial one. They are the point of contact between the institution and its clients. Look up the banks near you to see which one you would like to work in. Ensure that you find out all the amounts they pay and pick the one you prefer to the others. Learn about bank tellers salary in Ghana and get your dream job today.

READ ALSO: How to write a funeral excuse letter for work

READ ALSO:

How to write a motivational letter for employment in Ghana

How to write handing over notes

How to write an application letter for employment in Ghana

Source: YEN.com.gh
Local churches continue to offer services to their congregants via alternative service options. Some have announced plans to allow congregants back into the buildings within the next few weeks. Others are sticking with the online service route.

Here's a list of where and when they're hosting services:

 First Baptist Church of Plainview announced that it will open its doors to churchgoers with services scheduled for 8:30 and 10:15 a.m. Doors will open 15 minutes prior to each service. Live streaming can still be found at https://firstplainview.com/media

 First Baptist Church of Floydada will begin hosting one service in the church at 10:30 a.m. Bible study (Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.) and Sunday School (Sundays at 9:15 a.m.) will still be held virtually. A number of changes to the services can be found on the churchs Facebook page.

 First United Methodist Church of Floydada is now hosting open services.

 Church of Christ at 9th and Columbia is opening up on Sunday with the service scheduled for 10 a.m. No classes will be held at this time.

 The Potters House streams its services on its Facebook page and encouraging congregants to watch from home. Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Sundays and 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Its Youtube channel can be found at

 Plainviews Church of God already streamed services on its Facebook page. Open services at the church started last week. A PayPal account for offerings and donations can be found at paypal.me/LivingHopeFWC.

 Rehoboth Christian Learning Center has been doing Zoom services. The meeting room number and password is posted on the churchs Facebook page prior to the services.

 Northwest Church of Christ is streaming its services online on YouTube.

 Trinity Life Church is allowing congregants into the church for services at 11:30 a.m. under guidelines that can be found on their Facebook page.

 First Presbyterian is allowing some churchgoers into the building for services and has a Youtube page and is streaming its services online.

 Calvary Baptist has opened up to its congregants with some restrictions, which can be found on their Facebook page where they will also continue streaming their 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday services as well as the 7 p.m. Wednesday service.

 Jerusalem Community Baptist Church is not only streaming services online, but those that would like to leave the house can attend the service in the parking lot of the church on Sundays at 11 a.m. Streaming can be found on Youtube.

 Bethel Baptist Church in Plainview is offering drive-in church services from now until further notice. The church will stream its services on FM 88.5 and will offer services in its parking lot. Services will also be streamed on Facebook Live.

 Harvest Christian Fellowship announced it is fully opening as normal on Sunday with services scheduled for 9 and 11 a.m. Services will stream on Youtube for those wishing to view from home. Kid City will also be reopened.

 First Christian Church will live stream its service on Sunday. The service will begin at 10:45 a.m. Services will be conducted this way until further notice.

 Living Hope Family Worship Center is hosting drive-in church services on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of 10th St. and El Paso. Those who wish to participate can drive to the church and tune in to the service on FM 88.5 to hear the Word of God while maintaining social distancing guidelines.

 College Heights Baptist Church reopened on May 24 with services at 9:30 a.m. for at-risk congregants and another service at 11 a.m. for others. There is also a Youth Sunday school livestream set for 11 a.m. on Sundays as well as Bible studies, games, and movies on the CHBC Summitt youth Facebook page. The church is also hosting adult Sunday school meeting on Zoom. CHBC will continue to post audio of worship services on its webpage. For additional information, visit https://www.collegeheightsbc.org/ or call the church office at (806)293-3644.

 Sacred Heart Catholic Church will celebrate Mass in the parking lot on Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. The service at 9 a.m. Sunday will be in Spanish and the other two will be in English. Those interested are invited to drive to the church and participate in the service from their vehicles. Tune in to station FM 100.7.

 Our Lady of Guadalupe began host its daily Masses online. Current daily Mass schedule is 8:30 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Weekend Masses return to the regular schedule this weekend. Saturday confessions start at 5 p.m., Mass at 6 p.m. (Spanish). Sunday Masses are 9 a.m. (Spanish), 10:30 a.m. (Spanish) and 12:15 p.m. (English).

 First Assembly in Tulia started letting congregants back into the building last week.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain was discharged from hospital on Friday after he tested negative for coronavirus COVID-19. Jain tested positive for COVID-19 on June 17, two days after he was admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH).

The 55-year-old minister was shifted to the ICU of Max Hospital, Saket, on June 19 after his condition worsened. Jain was moved out of the ICU of the dedicated COVID-19 facility on June 22, two days after he was administered plasma therapy.

On June 15, Jain was admitted to the RGSSH with high-grade fever, breathing difficulty and a sudden drop in oxygen levels. He was tested for COVID-19 on June 16 and his report came back negative. This was followed by his COVID-19 test for the second time and he was found positive.

Union Minister Amit Shah had tweeted, "Praying for the speedy recovery of Shri Satyendra Jain, Health Minister of Delhi who is battling with COVID-19 infection."

Notably, Jain had attended several meetings before he was hospitalised and addressed press conferences to provide update COVID-19 situation in the national capital.

He had also attended the meeting called by Union Minister Amit Shah on June 14 along with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Jain and Kejriwal had travelled in the latter's car together after the meeting.

Delhi CM Kejriwal had wished a speedy recovery to his cabinet colleague and said that Jain worked for the welfare of the people without thinking about his well-being.
26.06.2020 LISTEN

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) today condemned the forced closure of privately-owned independent television network in Hargeisa by Somaliland authorities.

According to information from Star TV journalists, dozens of police, many in uniform and others in civilian dress, have forcefully raided today at around 11:30am and shut down Star TV and started to occupy its premises. Police ordered journalists and other staff to leave and disconnected the broadcasting. Police continue to guard the offices.

Star TV director Mohamud Abdi Jama (Jawhar) said they did not know the reason that the TV network was raided as they only saw dozens of police officers who entered the premises forcefully and informed the staff to come out.

However, on the last two nights, Star TV broadcasted news reports and analysis about the Somalia-Somaliland talks held in Djibouti, whilst the TV network extensively analysed the implications of non-political social engagements agreed by the Federal Government of Somalia and Somaliland administration. These reports are believed to be the unstated motive behind the raid and closure of the TV station.

"This raid and closure is a blow to media freedom in Somaliland," said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary-General. "It is intimidation of the worst kind that suggests the authorities are trying to censor and control information and dictate to journalists what they can and cannot do."

Media observers in Hargeisa say Somaliland authorities did not like the way Star TV has been broadcasting news on Djibouti talks and the outcome, and there is abundant evidence of a policy to isolate and punish independent voices in media.

NUSOJ today warned that the continuing attacks on the media by Somaliland authorities is a potential disaster for emerging democratic governance in Somaliland, and called the leaders in Hargeisa to change course and to end their campaign against independent journalism.

"This latest action is evidence that independent practice of journalism in Hargeisa is under greater pressure than ever before," added Osman. We call on the authorities to end this arbitrary and unlawful closure of Star TV.
If Rahul Gandhi heeds the call of some of his party people and returns as Congress president, relieving his mother Sonia of the responsibility of leading the 135-year-old party, the first problem he will confront is on the human resources front.

The people nurtured and mentored by the 50-year-old as part of his core team have either quit the party or their positions since he resigned as president in May 2019, owning responsibility for the Congress s general election debacle. State unit chiefs such as Ashok Tanwar in Haryana, Pradyot Deb Barman in Tripura and Ajoy Kumar in Jharkhand, have all left the Congress Party.

Ajay Maken who was appointed Delhi chief in 2015, quit before the 2019 polls.

Senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia switched to the Bhartiya Janata Party in March after a longstanding rift with former Madhya Pradesh colleagues, Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh and the party central leaderships hands-off approach to the crisis in Madhya Pradesh.

And both of Rahul Gandhis appointees as Mumbai Congress chiefs, Sanjay Nirupam and Milind Deora, have stepped down from their posts. Rumours about them exiting the party refuse to die down, despite their own denials.

So why did so many key team members leave in the 13 months since Rahul Gandhi called it quits?

Nirupam answered with a question: Is it a coincidence that this is so or is there something of a bigger plan or strategy behind it?

The suggestion is that the team picked by Gandhi was sidelined by the old guard within the Congress party. In the ever-raging battle of the generations, his appointees stopped finding the support they needed to function in the partys Delhi headquarters, one argument goes.

Those who are entrenched in the system help each other, said Tanwar, who was picked as the Haryana Congress chief in 2019 and then quit the party in October last year ahead of the Haryana elections. Rahul is a well-intentioned man who tried to build a new leadership and bring in new reforms and initiatives but once he left, there was no one who would listen to us.

To be sure, none of those who left blame Gandhi I think he is still the bravest and nicest guy to work for, said former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer turned politician Ajoy Kumar, who quit as Jharkhand Congress head soon after Gandhi quit. He has now joined the Aam Aadmi Party. `After he resigned the protection needed to keep some not very nice people at bay disappeared. If he were there maybe they would not have succeeded in their designs.

Pradyot Deb Barman ,who was the Congress Tripura chief, said he had quit because of it a total lack of direction. There was no consistency in our policies. The old guard wasnt supportive at all, he said, adding, `How could the Congress have a different view on the Citizenship Amendment Act in Assam and a different one in Tripura? The Congress backed the NRC in Assam because of the original Assam accord but not in Tripura or other parts of the country.

But there are others cosely associated with Gandhi who remain in the party -- for instance, the deputy chief minister of Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot , and new Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Satav. Pilot, who declined comment for this story, has managed to build his own base within the party in Rajasthan. And Satav rejects the theory that Gandhi built an all-new, all young team. ``If you really look, you will find that Rahul Gandhi got along really well with Captain Amarinder Singh and with former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah (neither of whom is really nxt-generation). So he pushed anyone who had the capacity to perform. He pushed 100 people and 10 may have left, but 90 are still there.

Zoya Hasan, who taught at JNU and authored a book on the Congress says there is a larger problem with the party. I cant comment on who is leaving or not leaving. Thats been going on for a long time. The basic problem is that Congress doesnt have a full time president for more than a year which should be unacceptable at any time but more so when the ruling party has a strong leader and the leading opposition party has none. Its odd for a party to have an interim president (Sonia Gandhi) and defacto president (Rahul Gandhi) but no full time president. No political party can function without a full time president.
Facebooks research has found that the timeliness of an article is an important piece of context that helps people decide what to read, trust and share and that some news organizations have complained that sharing of older stories purported to be current news can misconstrue the state of current events. (Photo | AP)

San Francisco: Facebook said Thursday it was looking to add notifications about the source of coronavirus-related posts and will warn users when they share stories that are more than 90 days old.

The moves aim to add more context to stories shared on the leading social network and seek to stem the flow of misinformation.

Facebook Vice President John Hegeman said in a blog post the social media giant would be seeking to direct people to authoritative information about the COVID-19 outbreak through its hub on the pandemic.

For posts with links mentioning COVID-19, Facebook is considering a notification screen that provides information about the source of the link and directs people to the COVID-19 Information Center for authoritative health information, he said.

Through providing more context, our goal is to make it easier for people to identify content thats timely, reliable and most valuable to them.

Hegeman also said a notification would be added to warn users trying to share old stories which may have lost relevance.

To ensure people have the context they need to make informed decisions about what to share on Facebook, the notification screen will appear when people click the share button on articles older than 90 days, but will allow people to continue sharing if they decide an article is still relevant, he said.

Hegeman said Facebooks research has found that the timeliness of an article is an important piece of context that helps people decide what to read, trust and share and that some news organizations have complained that sharing of older stories purported to be current news can misconstrue the state of current events.

The move is one of a series of actions taken by Facebook and other platforms, which have been under pressure to stem the flow of false information and influence campaigns.

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As temperatures linger above 80 degrees this week with little or no rain, Aquarion Water Company is experiencing near-record water demands throughout its service area and residents of New Canaan, Darien, Greenwich, Newtown, Stamford and Westport have been issued mandatory water restrictions.

The company is restricting its customers in the six towns to watering lawns with sprinkler irrigation to only two days a week, with days determined by address.

The dry spell has made Aquarion hit its first drought trigger in southwest Fairfield County this year. Other towns are being asked to voluntarily conserve water as well.

Due to high water demands, customers are cautioned that they may experience temporary low water pressure and/or possible water discoloration.

Aquarion is advising customers to reduce their water use, said Donald Morrissey, Aquarion president. It is important for all of our customers to assist in this effort, to ensure towns have adequate water for fire protection and other vital needs.

With ongoing high temperatures and no significant rainfall in the forecast, Aquarion Water Company is asking customers to reduce nonessential water use. Aquarions June 26 announcement said: Large portions of Connecticut are currently experiencing conditions ranging from abnormally dry to moderate drought due to an extended dry spell, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as of June 26, 2020.

The towns listed as mandatory are communities with large expansive lawns and (that) use the most water, Town Councilman Robin Bates-Mason, also known for being head of Planet New Canaan, said.

The six towns are being asked to reduce water usage by 20 percent to lessen the potential for stricter restrictions this summer, according to Aquarion. Most customers can achieve this reduction simply by following the irrigation schedule below, according to the water company.

Residents with even number addresses can irrigate lawns Sundays and Wednesdays, 12:01 a.m. to 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. to midnight.

People with odd number addresses can water grass with sprinklers on Saturdays and Tuesdays 12:01 a.m. to 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. to midnight.

Properties with no numeric address can irrigate lawns on Sundays and Wednesdays 12:01 a.m. to 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. to midnight.

Drip irrigation, soaker hoses, and hand-held watering are allowed at any time, according to Aquarions website. and commercial customers may qualify for a variance from the schedule.

People across the world are putting water high on the list of things to use more efficiently, especially given the large fluctuations in the amount of rain and snow we receive. Plus, of course, the finite nature of the water supply and the essential role it plays in human, economic and environmental well-being, according to Aquarion.
Islamabad:

A Pakistani Christian womans appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn her death sentence in an infamous 2010 blasphemy case will be heard next week, the apex court today said as it gave her a new hope to escape the gallows.

Asia Bibi, a mother of five from Nankana area of Punjab province, was convicted of blasphemy in 2009 and has been on death row since 2010.

Her death sentence was upheld by the Lahore High Court in 2014 following which she lodged an appeal in the apex court.

The Supreme Court will hear the appeal on Thursday (October 13), according to the list of cases the court will hear next week.

The court may arrange several hearing before deciding the appeal.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Muslim-majority Pakistan, which introduced the draconian laws in 1985 in a bid to appease right wing parties. These laws have been often alleged to have been misused to settle personal scores.

Militants also target people blamed for blasphemy or those demanding changes to them.

Punjabs liberal governor Salman Taseer was killed in 2011 when he termed the regulations black law after meeting Asia Bibi after her conviction.

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Google is now expanding Business Messages through Maps and Search to help businesses connect with customers. In 2018, Google Maps for Android and iOS brought in this feature through which customers could directly contact stores. Google is now looking to add more functionality to the businesses through Google Maps, a report by 9to5 Google noted.

Google recently introduced new smart replies, visual product carousels, and unique welcome messages to businesses. The tech giant has also made a customer service agent accessible so that it's easier for customers to get in touch with a business.

"Messaging has become such a valuable way to connect with customers that twice as many businesses are messaging via Google now, compared to last year," Jake Mintz, Senior Product Manager, Business Messages noted in a blog post.

"Business Messages will also be available on mobile websites so that a business can add the ability to customers to quickly message right from their website and offer the same smart, automated replies, paired with live agent connection," Google said.

Mintz noted that the company was working on the communications tool to be more visible on the Google Search as brands connect with customers.

MyGov in India was one of the first organisations to try out the updated Business Messages. Users could get information, especially during the COVID crisis, about food and night shelters and COVID 19 related information.

"MyGov, with partner Amplify.ai, is providing help and answering live questions from Indian citizens about hours, COVID 19 helplines and ways to volunteer and donate, for more than 11,000 food and night shelters across India," Mintz noted.

Other than India's MyGov, Woolworths which is Australia's largest supermarket uses the feature. It allowed customers to search for products and see availability and aisle information at their local store and details about COVID 19 as well.Walmart, too, used businesses that helped customers find up-to-date information about store hours, pick-up and delivery options, precautions, and more.

Business Messages are currently available in English, with expanded coverage to other languages launching soon.

In related news, Google India launched its Grow with Google Small Business hub in India to help and assist small businesses. The hub will act as a single destination for all small businesses to get access to all the products and tools they need to go digital, maintain business continuity and get access to helpful resources like quick help videos and support pages to learn digital skills. Google also said it will help merchants in India by helping them with loans and crediting money in their accounts through Google Pay for Business app later this year.
Northern Ireland will be moving to a one-metre social distancing guideline from Monday as the pace of exit from lockdown picks up. (Adam Smyth/Greene King/PA)

Northern Ireland will be moving to a one-metre social distancing guideline from Monday as the pace of exit from lockdown picks up.

The reduction from the previous two-metre guideline has been widely welcomed, with a series of indicative dates for the reopening of churches, hotels and leisure facilities also announced by the First and Deputy First Ministers yesterday.

Arlene Foster told the daily briefing at Stormont that while "everybody's objective should be to stay two metres apart from those from other households wherever possible", it would be an important move, particularly to support the hospitality sector.

"A minimum one-metre distance between individuals can be considered acceptable in circumstances where appropriate mitigations are in place to manage that risk," she said.

The First Minister also announced the Executive has agreed indicative dates for the further easing of coronavirus lockdown measures, including the reopening of churches, gyms, leisure centres, seated venues, libraries and the resumption of competitive sport.

The further easements come after the Department of Health confirmed that no further coronavirus deaths have been recorded here in the past 24 hours, with one further case of the virus identified.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said that the level of community transmission, the R-rate, is between 0.6 and 0.9, which is "as low as it will reach in the absence of a vaccine".

"We will say more about weddings and funerals from Monday," she added.

But in announcing the indicative dates, there was a warning that people need to remain alert and sensible.

The chair of the BMA's Northern Ireland Council Dr Tom Black said the move to a one-metre guideline would expose people to a greater risk and that the effect would have to be measured carefully over the next few weeks.

"This will be welcomed by many sections of the population here, but it has to be reiterated that this virus is very much still circulating in the community and will be for some time," he said.

"Relaxing the physical distance rule will expose people to greater risks of getting Covid-19. However, given the prevalence of the virus is lower in Northern Ireland than in other parts of the UK, this change is acceptable only if accompanied by a clear and strong recommendation from our Government that people should wear appropriate face coverings in all indoor spaces outside of their own homes and in any circumstances outside of the home where there is potential contact at less than two metres.

"We also want to see how the Government will measure the impact of this latest relaxation and show there are clear and robust measures to ensure changes do not result in more people becoming infected, or contribute to a second spike which could overwhelm the health service should that occur this winter."

Economy Minister Diane Dodds said it will come as a significant boost for business.

"People will know that I have been advocating a relaxation in the two-metre rule so that local businesses, particularly those in the tourism and hospitality sectors, can have a realistic prospect of returning to something close to normality.

"Shops, bars and restaurants will be able to accommodate more customers. In many cases this could make the difference between a business surviving or not.

"It must be remembered that everyone, whether they be business owners, staff or customers, still has a responsibility to follow the rules and maintain distancing for the good of everyone.

"The First Minister, Deputy First Minister and I will meet representatives of the hospitality sector to reinforce our expectations on that front."

The news that places of worship will be able to open from June 29 will be met with relief, according to Rev Trevor Gribben, general secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

"With confirmation of that date, we can now look forward to being able to meet again with our brothers and sisters in Christ while ensuring that the required health and safety principles are met," he said.

"Each of our congregations must think carefully and responsibly about the practical preparations necessary to facilitate this long-awaited return. As a denomination, we have set out a robust set of guidelines to support our congregations.

Any decision when to resume services will be a local decision taken by the minister and elders together."
School boards in St. Paul, Minn.; Oakland, Calif.; Seattle; San Francisco, and two San Jose, Calif.-area districts all voted in recent days to suspend or dismantle school policing programsa wave of action that started with the a historic June 2 decision by the Minneapolis district.

Simultaneously, a different story played out in Los Angeles and Chicagorespectively the nations second- and third-largest school districts.

A proposal in Chicago to eliminate its recently overhauled $33 million school policing contract with the city police was narrowly defeated June 24 on a 4-3 vote. And Los Angeles board appeared close to paralysis on the issue June 23, with members unable to agree on any of three different plans for the future of its $70 million school police force, which the district has managed since 1984.

I would regret for the rest of my life if I left any student vulnerable, said Los Angeles school board President Richard Vladovic, who voted against the most aggressive of the plans, which would have gradually reduced the forces budget by 90 percent by 2024.

Taken in sum, the school board votes showed that advocates and student activists who oppose policing in schools have made major gains in some quarters, even as they acknowledge that the work in other cities could prove harder. The campaigns to eliminate cops from schools have caught fire amid larger national protests calling for the defunding of police after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police last month.

The developments are occurring right as new data from the EdWeek Research Center suggest that educators appetite for eliminating school police is mixedpotentially complicating efforts to expand the local activism nationwide. Many educators in that survey indicated that they value their school police officers and do not believe that they treat Black students differently.

All of that points in a few key directions for advocates: First, continuing to harness the power of youth, who, like with gun violence in 2018 and climate change in 2019 , have been at the forefront of the organizing and activism in the cities where the votes were successful.

Im ecstatic. Ive been crying for days now, tears of joy, said Judith Browne Dianis, the executive director of the Advancement Project, which supports police-free schools. As we see the country moving in this discussion around defund the police, young people, sometimes younger than high school, are finding their voice in this moment and telling their stories .

It also means, she said, that the movements continued success will depend on reframing school safety in new ways and challenging old paradigms of thinking. The number of armed police in schools has risen steadily since the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.to the point where the very concept of school safety has, fairly or not, become associated with police presence.

This is where the hard work come in. Police are the easy thing; thinking about the ways in which we could support young people [to feel safe] takes some creativity, and it also takes real political will, she said.

A Reckoning for SROs and Beyond

Americas racial reckoning with law enforcement extends far beyond school policing. Teachers and students are demanding anti-racist curricula that include the contributions of Black students and no longer sugarcoat the countrys bloodier historical moments .

Superintendents and boards have been confronted with the structural racism embedded in many common practiceslike which administrators are tapped to become principals. Some district leaders have even called out racism within their own governance ranks , as recently occurred in Oregons Salem-Keizer district.

But the front burner issue is that of school policing. Advocates for Black students have long argued that the same problems Black communities have experienced with punitive, disproportionate policing in their communities occur in the schools their children attend.

Research is mixed on whether the presence of police improves school safety, while federal data indicate that Black students are disproportionately likely to be arrested at school , and that they are more likely to attend school with police. Some studies attribute those patterns directly to the presence of SROs , while others fault overall school culture .

For school boards, the main debates have centered on whether to do away with school-based police altogether, or whether steps can be taken to reform them. Discussions around reforming police typically center around tighter job descriptions, better training, bans on the use of pepper spray and policing techniques like neckholds , and prohibiting school police from being involved in routine disciplinary matters.

For its part, the National Association of School Resource Officers recommends at least 40 hours of training covering the teen brain, sex trafficking, and how to mentor and build relationships with students among other things, and some states have moved to establish similar voluntary or mandatory guidelines for SRO programs.

Its not clear whether such training sufficiently covers all those topics in enough depth and whether it is reinforced in day-to-day school interactions, or how it dovetails with previously received messaging. (Many SROs come through regular police academies.) And even school safety experts wrestle with the philosophical question of whether the hierarchical, command-and-control nature of policing can be squared with the culture of schools, which is supposed be nurturing.

At last weeks board meetings, many of the youth who said that even when they havent personally experienced a bad interaction with police, their presence in school felt stigmatizing.

Having an SRO is like having a note on my back that says, Im not valuable, said one Chicago student during the boards public comment period.

Pros and Cons

For racial-justice advocates, several of the weeks actions were not only a breakthrough for students, but also carried symbolic resonance because of the past history of policing in those locations.

St. Paul has long faced tensions between students, teachers, and school police after a spate of attacks on teachers. The district overhauled its school policing several years ago even as Black Lives Matter advocates pushed for more drastic measures.

And in Oakland, where school police have been a controversial fixture since the 1950s, the vote made it the first to dismantle its own school police force; the Black Organizing Project has been advocating for nine years to force police out of schools.

Those deep roots have paid off, advocates said.

Youth of color have been working with organizers for years. So when there was the killing of George Floyd and the awakening our country had, and this infrastructure was already in place for youth to be connected to be organized, and to be educated to say: Not only do we not want police in schools, heres what our vision of safety looks like, and what being included in a school community looks like, said Cara McClellan, an attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Even though Chicagos vote fell short of advocates hopes, it was nevertheless an extraordinary rebuke of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who opposed the elimination of school police. (Lightfoot appoints the members of the school board, who rarely if ever challenge her positions.)

Still, the boards discussions also illuminated some of the limitations of the debate. Both advocates for and against the plans and board members themselves frequently drew on anecdote, personal experience, and emotion rather than data about student arrests or perceptions of school police.

Los Angeles board member George McKenna mounted a passionate defense of school police, insisting that the districts SROs are fundamentally different from municipal police. He suggested at one point that the students who had turned out were being manipulated by adult advocates. (Similar criticisms date all the way back to youth activism during the Civil Rights and Vietnam eras.)

In Chicago, two board members who voted against the resolution, Dwayne Truss and Lucino Sotelo, spoke at length about traumatic experiences of being threatened by gangs when they were young Chicago students. They both said they worry that fearful students will drop out rather than attend an unsafe school.

Our schools become a sanctuary because of the violence in their communities. We have communities under siege by gun violence, Truss said.

How Educators View School Police

Where data exist, they tend to show a distinctly mixed picture. Discipline referrals in Chicago schools and overall police notifications continue to fall but continue to disproportionately affect Black students.

Whats more, surveys from Chicago educators and community members showed distinctions in how students and administrators felt; only about a third of students felt that SROs tried to build relationships with students while over half of teachers felt that way and three-quarters of administrators did.

The new data from the EdWeek Research Center survey likewise suggest that educators views about school policing arent monolithic . The nationally representative survey included 1,150 responses from teachers, principals, and district leaders.

It found only small differences between those respondents who identified as white and nonwhite on the question of whether eliminating police could lead to more school shootings, with about 60 percent of each agreeing that it would.

But other responses divided along gender lines: 62 percent of men completely disagreed with the elimination of armed police officers from schools compared to 48 percent of women, in an echo of the split board votes in both Chicago and Los Angeles, were women favored the more aggressive plans to eliminate school police.

Strikingly, EdWeeks data showed that 65 percent of respondents whose schools are in the South said they completely disagreed with eliminating policing in schools, compared to 59 percent in the Midwest, 35 percent in the Northeast and 38 percent in the West. Those patterns could reflect different regional cultural attitudes and practices in tough on crime Southern statessome of which are likely traceable all the way back to the racist post-Civil War era Black codes.

Overall, educators who responded to the Education Week survey said they didnt see differences in treatment of students by their race. Ninety-one percent of the survey respondents said that armed police officers in their district treat students of color fairly a lot.

Safer Without Police?

Those data suggest that widespread efforts to rid schools of police could depend on continuing to win the hearts and minds of educators.

There are signs that thats starting to happen. Teachers unions have only within the last few years taken steps to condemn police presence in schools; the American Federations of Teachers recently passed a resolution to that effect . But the union has its work cut out to win over the rank-and-file. The EdWeek data found that nearly 40 percent of teachers agreed that school police were necessary because too many students are out of control.

McClellan, of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, sees the data in a different light. So many schools are understaffed that police officers may be pushed into filling the roles of mentors or homework helpers, and that may be why so many say they value their school police.

When educators may be talking about, I like our police officer, hes a great mentor to the kids, the reality is that our schools are understaffed and our kids are so desperate for mentors or help with homework, were using the resource to fill the gap when it doesnt require a police officer to do those things, she said. And in fact, the risk is that they can use the information theyre receiving to do criminal prosecutions. If youre saying, Our officer is super friendly, shes really great about talking to girls or mentoring them, theyre often not thinking about, Is she giving them Miranda warnings?

Other pressures could shape the evolving conversation, too. Two horrific school shootings in 2018 led to widespread demands for stronger police presence or armed personnel in school, noted Ken Trump, the president of the National School Safety and Security Services, a Cleveland, Ohio-based safety consulting firm, and those concerns arent going to go away.

I can tell you this: There is no question in my mind that in a year or two down the road, when incidents start to happen, not only are you going to have that other group of loud parents [who support school policing], but youll also see these districts are going to pay a lot more in civil litigation for incidents that probably could have been prevented because they reduced the standards of security, he said.

He added that hes deeply concerned that school districts have not given enough thought to what will replace their policing programs. (Most of the districts have said they plan to invest in counselors, who are universally in short supply in K-12 schools, among other supports; several have scheduled upcoming board meetings to discuss comprehensive plans).

We can try to quantify incidents and arrests, but its hard to quantify prevention, said Trump, who is not related to the president. You have to take reasonable steps to have a secure environment in which the counseling, prevention, and intervention services can be provided.

He acknowledged, though, that many school policing programs suffer from poor management and muddied purposes.

We often find that there is a well-written and agreed-upon memorandum of understanding between [school districts and police agencies], but those are typically executed at an executive and board member level. And when we get to the ground level, the principals and the officers themselves have never even seen the [agreements] and have no idea what the contents look like, he said.

School districts in Denver, Milwaukee, West Contra Costa, Calif., and the Edmonds, Wash., district have also this month paused or eliminated some, or all, of their SRO positions, while the city council in Rochester, N.Y., did so via its budgeting process. Madison, Wis., is expected to vote to end its program June 29.
As chief operating officer of the District of Columbia's largest charter school network, Dane Anderson is racing to clean the air in time for late August, when some students are expected to come back to a starkly different environment.

"We want the interior of our buildings to be essentially on lockdown related to virus," Anderson says of KIPP DC, a publicly funded and privately operated network of seven campuses with 1,200 employees and 7,000 students.

A majority of those students live in neighborhoods that have high concentrations of black, low-income residents - swaths of the city with the greatest number of coronavirus deaths as well as the highest asthma rates, according to the nonprofit DC Asthma Coalition. Nationally, African Americans have suffered disproportionately from the virus.

As Americans contemplate returning to schools, offices and other indoor spaces they fled under threat of the deadly virus this spring, building managers like Anderson are figuring out how to reopen safely and prevent infection. They are focused on spaces where the virus can spread, from workspaces to bathrooms to elevators and heating, ventilation and cooling systems - and balancing the cost and practicality of changes.

"Building owners and operators are looking at what they can do to make their buildings safer. It's not just a real risk, it's a psychological risk," said William Bahnfleth, an expert on indoor air at Pennsylvania State University and chair of the epidemic task force at ASHRAE, a global expert body on the management of building systems. "People aren't going to be inclined to go back into buildings if they're concerned about how safe they are."

When it comes to schools and office buildings, wearing face masks and cleaning surfaces are not enough, experts say. They are recommending a menu of additional measures, many of which call for different ways of circulating and filtering the air.

But these steps are often expensive, rarely mandatory, and generally require help from professional engineers. And they can run counter to modern building design, which aims to seal the so-called building envelope to reduce heating and cooling costs. In the time of coronavirus, the new goal is to bring in more fresh air.

"Across the nation, I'm really concerned about K through 12 schools and universities not being prepared for the fall, when students and staff and teachers come back," says Richard Corsi, dean of the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science at Portland State University, and an air quality expert.

Corsi says the steps being taken by schools like KIPP DC will lower risks, but he worries not everyone will be able to do the same. "It sounds like this school has the resources to do it right, and a lot of school districts don't have the resources," he said.

Elimination of all risk isn't possible, but keeping schools closed has its own costs, argues Joseph Allen, who runs the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health and co-wrote a report released Wednesday about reopening schools during the pandemic.

"There will be cases in schools," Allen said. "That's unavoidable at this point because of the choice our national government has taken in terms of this absolutely failed response to controlling cases. . . . We're stuck in this situation. But we still have to march forward. And I know that if we follow the science we can significantly reduce risk in schools."

- - -

The KIPP DC schools have an advantage when it comes to the coronavirus and building upgrades - they have modern infrastructure to begin with. Since the charter network opened its first D.C. school in 2001, it has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into new buildings and modernized older buildings it rents from the city. KIPP DC has heavy philanthropic support and financial resources that other charters and traditional public school systems lack. D.C. Public Schools, which educates just more than 50 percent of the city's 100,000 public school students, said it is still considering what it needs to do before reopening buildings, a spokesman said.

As early as February, the KIPP DC schools were considering what to do should the virus hit hard in the United States. In April, Anderson and board chairman Terry Golden, who has a real estate background and previously headed Host Marriott, discussed making sure the buildings were able to control air quality to prevent infection. Now KIPP DC is investing in a range of changes to increase safety, particularly when it comes to how air travels through these buildings.

At the KIPP DC Webb campus in the Trinidad neighborhood, for instance, roughly $50,000 has been committed so far to reprogram systems to bring in more fresh air and to install UV-C lights inside large building air handlers to kill viruses, among other measures.

KIPP DC has so far committed $350,000 for engineering upgrades in its seven campuses in the city, just one of many planned changes.

Experts say the greatest danger of coronavirus transmission is when one is in close proximity - usually within six feet - to someone who's already sick and coughing. While much remains unknown about transmission, mounting evidence suggests the virus can also travel in aerosolized droplets that are lighter and smaller than the large droplets produced in coughs, allowing them to float and linger in air.

This can happen when a person who is infected, but not necessarily showing symptoms, is talking or even just breathing. That's one key reason that public health experts say wearing a mask is one of the most effective ways to reduce the disease's spread.

"Aerosols can accumulate, remain infectious in indoor air for hours, and be easily inhaled deep into the lungs," a recent study in Science magazine noted.

ASHRAE, which writes standards for indoor air systems, has already determined that the risk of airborne coronavirus transmission indoors is serious enough that building systems should be modified to try to stop it.

Building engineers say the most important practice is to make sure that air turns over frequently, mixing in lots of fresh air, and that it passes through filters that remove viruses.

"It's the combination of ventilation and filtration that results in the indoor air quality," Bahnfleth said. "So if you've got a good level of filtration and a good level of ventilation, that could be sufficient in a lot of environments."

Some experts also recommend electronic devices, such as UV-C lights, that kill viruses and other microorganisms that may get past the filters.

"Every 10 minutes ... we'd like the air to touch a filter, or get diluted, or start to hit an electronic," said Raj Setty, an engineer who is president and principal at Setty and Associates and is advising KIPP DC on the reopening. "Something to kill things in the air."

- - -

Setty recommends that KIPP DC do everything from using sanitizing mats for students to walk across at entryways, to installing special closets for personal protective equipment in classrooms, to making water fountains touchless.

He is not a big fan of indoor barriers or partitions. Air vents tend to push air down from the ceiling and "pick up viruses and spread them around the room," moving around barriers, Setty said.

The goal should be to make sure the air is clean, rather than trying to prevent its circulation, he said.

To that end, the systems in the KIPP DC schools will be reprogrammed to admit more outside air. When it comes to filtering, meanwhile, KIPP's new and renovated schools have an advantage over many outdated buildings.

For instance, the large air handling units at KIPP DC schools already use an air filtration system, rated at a level known as MERV-13, that matches what is being recommended for the novel coronavirus. So much of the battle will simply involve properly maintaining these filters. That level of filtration should capture about 80 percent of the air particles that can convey the coronavirus, said Corsi, the air-quality expert at Portland State.

The coronavirus is about 500 times smaller than the width of a human hair, which measures around 50 microns or more, Corsi said. That's exceedingly tiny, but the virus would be traveling in somewhat larger aerosol particles, making them easier to be caught by filters. And when air passes through filters repeatedly, it is more likely virus will be captured, Setty said.

"If the MERV-13 filters are properly seated, and everything is done right, then a MERV-13 filter will remove a lot of the small, the tiny particles, down to about 1 micron, that can convey the virus," added Corsi.

An even more exacting air filtration system is called HEPA, or high-efficiency particulate air. But experts say HEPA is not easily adapted to large buildings because its filters are very thick and require large amounts of energy to clean the air, and because most large buildings weren't designed for this type of equipment. Stand-alone HEPA units can be installed in individual rooms.

"What we're trying to do is recommend things that can be implemented in the short term," said Bahnfleth, of Penn State. "If every building had to have its HVAC system overhauled, that just wouldn't be feasible."

- - -

Theoretically, ultraviolet light might sound like the ideal fix.

"With ultraviolet, for a long enough contact time, you'll deactivate or destroy pretty much any virus," Corsi said.

But there's a drawback - direct exposure to UV rays, and especially the shorter wavelength UV-C rays traditionally used for disinfection - can be dangerous to people. Therefore, the devices have to be put in empty locations, such as the dark interiors of air systems. The New York Metropolitan Transit Authority has been experimenting with using UV light at night on empty trains, said David Brenner, a physicist and radiation expert at Columbia University.

But it's unclear how long it takes ultraviolet light to kill coronavirus particles as they are flying through a building's air system, Corsi said.

That's being taken into account, Setty said.

"With each pass, we will get disinfection occurring and that is also why we are running the units two hours before and after occupancy," said Setty, who is recommending that KIPP place UV-C light inside central building air handlers. "We also have the ability to specify more intensity of the UV-C, which we will do if the air is moving too fast."

The ultimate solution may lie in research conducted by Brenner, which shows that there is a less-used wavelength of UV radiation, which he calls "far UV-C" light, that will kill viruses but will not penetrate the outer layer of human skin. That would theoretically allow the light to disinfect populated spaces.

"If you have a nice clean room at 5 in the morning, people will come into it and start coughing and sneezing," Brenner said. "So the idea is to be able to use that to decontaminate continuously over the course of the day." However, this idea remains under study for now, although Brenner says he feels the safety data at this point is encouraging.

- - -

Demand for solutions that clean indoor air and protect against the coronavirus is largely being driven by the market, not government regulation.

"There's nothing legislated. There's nothing mandated. That's going to take years," Setty said.

The result, in the near term, is likely to be a patchwork where some commercial buildings, schools, colleges and other facilities make investments while others don't.

Brenner and others think changes brought on by the coronavirus will at some point become standard.

"These approaches are nice because they're not only going to be helpful for covid-19, but for next year's flu season, and come the next pandemic, they're going to be helpful there, too," he said. "Developing a vaccine is going to be very specific to the covid-19 pandemic. So you can think of them as more long-term solutions."
Unicef has warned that millions of children could be pushed to the brink of starvation as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps across war-torn Yemen amid a huge drop in humanitarian aid funding.

It said the number of malnourished Yemeni children could reach 2.4 million by the end of the year, a 20% increase on the current figure.

The stark prediction comes in a new report by the UNs childrens agency, entitled Yemen five years on: Children, conflict and Covid-19.

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Whatsapp Children sit in front of mouldy bread in their shelter, in Aslam, Hajjah (AP)

The agency warned: As Yemens devastated health system and infrastructure struggle to cope with coronavirus, the already dire situation for children is likely to deteriorate considerably.

Yemens poor health care infrastructure is unprepared to battle the coronavirus pandemic after five years of war between a Saudi-led military coalition and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

The war has also triggered the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

The conflict erupted in 2015, when the Saudi-led coalition stepped in on behalf of the internationally recognised government, which the Houthis had forced into exile when they overran the capital, Sanaa, and much of the north the previous year.

The double threat of #COVID19 and conflict could push millions of children in Yemen to the brink of starvation.



Children are suffering. They need your help now.  UNICEF (@UNICEF) June 26, 2020

The situation in Yemen is only expected to get worse as donor countries recently cut back on aid.

Yemen has officially recorded more than 1,000 cases of Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, including 275 deaths.

However, the actual tally is believed to be much higher as testing capabilities are severely limited.

Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Unicefs representative to Yemen, said: If we do not receive urgent funding, children will be pushed to the brink of starvation and many will die.

The international community will be sending a message that the lives of children  simply do not matter.

Unicef also warned that unless 54.5 million dollars (43.8 million) is disbursed for health and nutrition aid by the end of August, more than 23,000 children will be at increased risk of dying because of acute malnutrition. It also said that five million others under the age of five will not have access to vaccines against deadly diseases.

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Whatsapp The average death rate over Covid-19 is much higher than global levels (AP)

International relief agencies are alarmed by the significant decline in humanitarian funding promised earlier by donor countries.

A virtual pledging conference for Yemen hosted by the UN and Saudi Arabia on June 2 saw 31 donors pledge 1.35 billion dollars (1.08 billion) for humanitarian aid  a billion dollars (805 million) short of what aid agencies needed, and half of what countries had pledged in 2019.

Unicef could only secure 10% of the 461 million dollars (371 million) it appealed for to cover its humanitarian response to the crisis in Yemen, and less than 40% of the 53 million dollars (42 million) it needs to handle the impact of Covid-19 on children, said the report.

Ms Nyanti said: Unicef is working around the clock in incredibly difficult situations to get aid to children in desperate need, but we only have a fraction of the funding required to do this.

Millions of children in Yemen could be pushed to the brink of starvation due to huge shortfalls in humanitarian aid funding amid the COVID-19 pandemic. New report.https://t.co/DxnGLCK4ZV  UNICEF (@UNICEF) June 26, 2020

The report follows a warning by UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock, who told a closed UN Security Council meeting that Yemen could fall off the cliff without massive financial support.

Mr Lowcock added that Covid-19 is spreading rapidly across the Arab worlds poorest country, killing about 25% of confirmed cases  five times the global average.

Half of Yemens health facilities are dysfunctional and 18% of the countrys 333 districts have no doctors.

Water and sanitation systems have collapsed, resulting in recurrent cholera outbreaks.

Around 9.6 million children do not have sufficient access to safe water, sanitation, or hygiene, and two-thirds of the countrys roughly 30 million people rely on food assistance.
Following her split with husband Jimmy, Nadia Bartel has had somewhat of a 'breakover'.

And the former AFL WAG modelled one of her raciest ensembles yet on Friday, going braless in a leather crop top.

The 34-year-old shared a selfie from a photo shoot where she modelled the top by Christopher Esber, worth $890.

Going hell for leather! Former AFL WAG Nadia Bartel exuded confidence as she went braless in racy crop top during a photo shoot on Friday

Underneath, the fashion designer and mother-of-two opted for no bra, and instead flaunted her very bronzed decolletage.

She looked radiant in the picture, with a hint of mascara on her lashes, eye liner and a nude lip.

Meanwhile, her luscious blonde locks were styled in loose waves that cascaded to her shoulders.

The single mother-of-two also shared a video from behind-the-scenes of the shoot.

Cheeky! Underneath, the fashion designer and mother-of-two opted for no bra, and instead flaunted her very bronzed decolletage

In the clip, she gave fans a small glimpse of her toned torso and ample cleavage before covering up with her arm.

Nadia's daring leather look comes after she recently wowed in a tight blush pink corset by Dion Lee, which drew attention to her toned physique.

She teamed the look with matching skinny ankle-grazing trousers and modelled the racy look in a mirrored dressing room, earlier this month.

Sexy! Nadia's daring leather look comes after she recently wowed in a tight blush pink corset by Dion Lee, which drew attention to her toned physique

Former flames: It's been a tough year for Nadia as she adjusted to life as a single mother following her split from Jimmy

It's been a tough year for Nadia as she adjusted to life as a single mother following her split from Jimmy.

The Bartels - who share sons Aston, four, and Henley, one - announced their separation on August 15, but it is believed they actually split two months prior.

They married in February 2014 in a lavish ceremony on the Bellarine Peninsula.

Jimmy has since moved on with Melbourne socialite Lauren Mand.
Reduced workloads, more flexible class times and shorter school days are being suggested as students ask for a greater say in their education following coronavirus lockdown.

Catholic Ladies' College in Eltham has already adjusted bell times, workload and assessment schedules after students relayed the benefits they'd felt while learning remotely.

Catholic Ladies College students Evangeline Hurrel and Kirra Johnston. Credit:Justin McManus

"The new bell times came out of girls needing time to get up and move and take a stretch break," Georgia Heffernan, one of the school's deputy principals, said.
The following editorial was published in the New York Daily News:

(TNS) With a disturbing surge of infections in coronavirus cases nationwide, Dr. Tony Fauci testified before Congress Tuesday that the next two weeks will be critical in controlling the spread.

The country has seen an increase in cases nationwide over the last two weeks, with the biggest in Oregon, Oklahoma, Florida, Texas and Arizona, where President Donald Trump visited Tuesday. In coming weeks, with hospitalizations also rising in many states, so too could deaths.

Alas, at this critical moment, when Americans desperately need a clear and sober voice to guide them, the president is again sowing seeds of confusion.

Saturday, at his superspreader rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he boasted of telling his team to slow down testing. Sunday, the White House claimed he was joking. Tuesday, Trump declared, I dont kid.

In their testimony, Fauci, CDC head Robert Redfield, testing czar Adm. Brett Giroir and FDA chief Stephen Hahn all agreed that they had not been told to slow down; they all urged more testing.

Yet Sen. Chuck Schumer separately asked the Department of Health and Human Services why at least $8 billion Congress authorized in pandemic response aid to the states, specifically for testing, had yet to be released.

In his testimony, Fauci again encouraged the following of CDC guidelines, especially by young people, including continued use of masks and social distancing. Of course, Trumps Arizona youth rally had little distancing and few masks.

With no coherent leadership at the top, is there any wonder that a deadly pandemic is now resurgent?
Pompeo's UN Move Against Iran Will Fail. Why Is He Still Pressing It? By Moon Of Alabama June 25, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is pushing at the United Nations to prolong the arms embargo against Iran. Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which solved the issue of Iran's civil nuclear program, the current arms embargo will be lifted in October. The U.S., which has left the JCPoA agreement, is using nonsensical arguments to force a renewed embargo. Other UN Security Council veto veto members will obviously reject the move. Pompeo's actions do not have the purpose to achieve something. They are campaign material targeted at a domestic audience. Part of Pompeo's campaign is a push of 'scary Iran' propaganda. Here is one example: Secretary Pompeo @SecPompeo - 16:59 UTC  Jun 23, 2020 If the @UN Arms Embargo on Iran expires in October, Iran will be able to buy new fighter aircraft like Russias SU-30 and Chinas J-10. With these highly lethal aircraft, Europe and Asia could be in Irans crosshairs. The U.S. will never let this happen. The tweet came with an attached map that shows the maximum distance the planes Iran might buy can fly at cruise altitude until they run out of gas.

bigger Pompeo is suggesting that Iran will spend tens of millions on planes, fly them unopposed through the radar coverage of several countries, to let Iranian Kamikaze pilots crash them into some temple in Nepal. This does not make any sense. No foreign politician will be impressed by this 'argument'. Pompeo's tweet is for consumption at home. At the UN the U.S. is trying to get a new arms embargo resolution against Iran: The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump introduced a long-awaited U.N. Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution extending an arms embargo on Iran that is due to expire in October, setting the stage for a great-power clash and likely veto in the U.N.s principal security body, according to a copy of the draft obtained by Foreign Policy.

...

If passed, the resolution would fall under Chapter VII of the U.N. charter, making it legally binding and enforceable. But the U.S. measure, according to several U.N. Security Council diplomats, stands little chance of being adopted by the 15-nation council.

...

Some council diplomats and other nonproliferation experts see the U.S. move as a way to score political points at home, not to do anything about Irans destabilizing activities in the region. The skeptic in me says that the objective of this exercise is to go through the arms embargo resolution, and when it fails, to use that as an excuse to get a snapback of the embargo, and if and when that fails too, to use as a political talking point in the election campaign, said Mark Fitzpatrick, a former State Department nonproliferation official now at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Since China and Russia are almost certain to ignore any U.N. arms embargo forced by U.S. maneuvers, the practical impact on Irans ability to cause mischief will be minimal, he said. Its not actually about stopping any arms from China and Russia, its about winning a political argument, he said. We explained that the U.S. does not have a 'snapback' option. Russia and China have also clarified that: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Chinese governments top diplomat, Wang Yi, both wrote to the 15-member council and U.N. chief Antonio Guterres as the United States threatens to spark a so-called sanctions snapback under the Iran nuclear deal, even though Washington quit the accord in 2018. Lavrov wrote in the May 27 letter, made public this week, that the United States was being ridiculous and irresponsible. This is absolutely unacceptable and serves only to recall the famous English proverb about having ones cake and eating it, Lavrov wrote. Washington has threatened to trigger a return of U.N. sanctions on Iran if the Security Council does not extend an arms embargo due to expire in October under Tehrans deal with world powers to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

...

Lavrov cited a 1971 International Court of Justice opinion, which found that a fundamental principle governing international relationships was that a party which disowns or does not fulfill its own obligations cannot be recognized as retaining the rights which it claims to derive from the relationship. Despite the evident failure to convince others the U.S. continues make stupid arguments: Russia and China will be isolated at the United Nations if they continue down the road to dystopia by blocking a U.S. bid to extend a weapons ban on Iran, U.S. Iran envoy Brian Hook told Reuters ahead of his formal pitch of the embargo to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.

...

We see a widening gap between Russia and China and the international community, Hook said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday evening. The U.S. has left the JCPoA deal and can not claim a right under that deal to snap back the sanctions that the deal has lifted. It is the U.S. that is isolated. Even its allies do not support the attempt: We firmly believe that any unilateral attempt to trigger UN sanctions snapback would have serious adverse consequences in the UNSC, the foreign ministers of Britain, France, and Germany said in a statement on June 19. We would not support such a decision which would be incompatible with our current efforts to preserve the JCPoA. The Trump policy against Iran has failed. He has tried a 'maximum pressure' campaign to blackmail Iran into more concessions. But despite sanctions and economic problems caused by them Iran is not willing to talk with him. Its conditions for talks are clear: We have no problem with talks with the U.S., but only if Washington fulfils its obligations under the nuclear deal, apologies and compensates Tehran for its withdrawal from the 2015 deal, Rouhani said in a televised speech. The U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, including the new sanctions against Syria under the 'Ceasar's Law', have been helping Iran to strengthen its position: Iran is reaping huge benefits, including more robust allies and resistant strongholds as a result of the USs flawed Middle Eastern policies. Motivated by the threat of the implementation of Caesar Law, Iran has prepared a series of steps to sell its oil and finance its allies, bypassing depletion of its foreign currency reserves. Iranian companies found in Syria a paradise for strategic investment and offered the needed alternative to a Syrian economy crippled by sanctions and nine years of war. Iran considers Syria a fertile ground to expand its commerce and business like never before. With Iran's influence growing and Russia making inroads even with once staunch U.S. allies like Saudi Arabia it seems that real U.S. influence in the Middle East is on a decisive downturn. Whatever Pompous Pompeo says or tweets will not change that. But there's a sucker born every minute. Some of those may still fall for the stuff he says. ---

Moon Of Alabama Is asking readers to support his blog. Please consider contributing. Post your comment below See also
Massachusetts Democrats in the House of Representatives on Thursday applauded the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which calls for sweeping nationwide reforms aimed at addressing generations of systemic racism and disproportionate violence against Black men and women in police custody.

The bill  which follows an uprising of broad support for the Black Lives Matter movement and urgent calls for reform in the wake of George Floyds May 25 death under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer  passed in the House after 8:30 p.m. Thursday following more than five hours of debate.

The bill bars police from using chokeholds; prohibits no-knock warrants in drug cases; requires officers to wear body cameras; enhances transparency on police misconduct; and expands the definition of excessive force, paving the way for victims to file claims against individual officers.

The bill passed 236-181 along party lines. The lack of any Republican support is a sign of challenges the proposal faces in the GOP-controlled Senate, where a separate police reform bill from Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina stalled Wednesday.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley applauded the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus in preparing the House legislation, which she touted as a critical step forward.

Speaking on the House floor, Pressley said she rose on behalf of every Black family that has been robbed of a child ... every family member that has been forced to see their loved one lynched on national television. Driving while Black. Jogging while Black. Sleeping while Black. We have been criminalized for the very way we show up in the world. Under the harsh gaze of far too many, my Black body is seen as a threat, always considered armed.

Centuries of institutionalized oppression will not be undone overnight, for racism in America is as structural as the marble pillars of this very institution, Pressley continued. With the power of the pen we must legislate accountability, dismantle these systems, and move in the direction of justice and healing.

Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, proposed incentivizing reform by making federal grants available to police departments that seek higher standards of training certifications. Scotts bill also calls for data collection on the use of force and a study on no-knock warrants.

An executive order signed by President Donald Trump last week also called for reform incentives in the form of federal grants, and would establish a national database of police conduct that would prevent officers with track records of excessive force from moving from department to department.

Both the House and Senate proposals make lynching a federal crime.

Senate Democrats blocked the Senate bill in a procedural vote on Wednesday, but lawmakers say a deal is likely.

Their language mirrored the language in the House, but it took out all the teeth, Rep. Richard Neal said of the Senate proposal in an interview Thursday. I think youre likely to have extensive negotiations with the Trump administration and Senate and hopefully a deal.

Neal, who called Floyds death and the ensuing protests transformative events, applauded the Democratic proposals improved transparency and accountability. He said outlawing chokeholds and the way Floyd was pinned to the ground by officer Derek Chauvin, who now faces a second-degree murder charge, makes a great deal of sense.

Neal also said the bill places greater emphasis on community in terms of community policing, establishes a lot of new standards and combats racial profiling.

The Congressional Black Caucus has pointed out that this is not defunding, its reforming police, Neal added. Chairperson Karen Bass has done a really nice job on this. She emphasized that point immediately.

Rep. Jim McGovern said the bill is all about fixing the broken status quo that has allowed racial injustice and police brutality to continue year after year after year. Its about damn time.

Americans of all backgrounds have been taking to the streets in unprecedented numbers with a single refrain: Black lives matter, McGovern said during House debate. People are demanding an end to police brutality. Not encouraging an end to it, not recommending an end to it, but finally demanding an end to it once and for all.

McGovern added that no one at all is suggesting that all police officers are racist or break the law.

But the sad reality is that if youre Black in America today, you are three times more likely to be killed by police compared to a white person, he said. Yet, it is the exception, not the norm, when officers who commit a crime are brought to justice. There are systemic problems here that require systematic solutions.

Rep. Joe Kennedy III, in a Twitter video posted before heading into House chambers, called it an important day for the House of Representatives.

This is something that is not partisan, Kennedy said. This is something that gets to the heart of what this country proclaims to stand for, and something we can do something about, but havent for far, far too long.

Morning from D.C.  Critical votes today in the House pic.twitter.com/iX4JJTz77Z  Joe Kennedy III (@joekennedy) June 25, 2020

For too long, our Black neighbors have been brutalized & killed, their bodies criminalized & dreams upended, Rep. Katherine Clark said in a tweet. With the #JusticeinPolicing Act, we begin reimagining public safety and we honor all those lost to racism.

Republicans have argued that Democrats pushed through a partisan bill without genuinely debating Scotts bill, the Justice Act.

The American people deserve police reform, but the Democrats have no desire to actually solve this issue before the election, Scott tweeted Thursday morning. It is shameful.

Senate Republicans on Twitter claimed the bills are nearly identical, and repeated criticism against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who said earlier this week that the GOPs reform bill was trying to get away with murder.

They dont want reform. They want chaos, the Senate GOP said.

Yesterday, Democrats blocked @SenatorTimScott's police reform bill.



They want you to believe the House bill is the only option for "real reform"



and that the GOP bill is "trying to get away with murder"



THE BILLS ARE NEARLY IDENTICAL.



They don't want reform.



They want chaos. pic.twitter.com/AULjgAP0Bm  Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) June 25, 2020

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California claimed on Thursday that the goal for many of those people who are looting, rioting and destroying was breaking down the rule of law in America and losing society as we know it.

Thats why  as one nation  we must stand against this kind of behavior, he said in an interview with Fox Business.

If we break down the rule of law in America, we will lose society as we know it. And that is the goal for many of those people who are looting, rioting, and destroying.



That's whyas one nationwe must stand against this kind of behavior. pic.twitter.com/06F2dVCWV9  Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) June 26, 2020

The competing House and Senate packages come as national and statewide polling show broad support for protesters calls for reforms in policing. American men and women of almost every race, age group and income level have largely rejected a binary choice between supporting police and calling for policing reforms addressing systemic racism.

In a Suffolk University poll of Massachusetts residents released Wednesday by WGBH, MassLive, The Boston Globe and State House News Service, more than three-quarters of respondents, 76.6%, said police do not treat Black people the same as everyone else. Seventy-five percent of the respondents were white.

An overwhelming majority, nearly 80% of respondents, said Floyds killing was not an isolated incident but rather a sign of broader problems in the treatment of Black people by police.

Related Content:
TRENTON  Protests against racism and police brutality have inspired state lawmakers to consider possible reforms to law enforcement in New Jersey.

The General Assembly last week passed a bill declaring that any law-enforcement officer who knowingly chokes another person is thereby using deadly force.

Prime-sponsored by Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, the legislation does not outright ban chokeholds but would hold cops accountable if they unnecessarily choke another person.

With this legislation, New Jersey takes a stand against the use of excessive police force, Reynolds-Jackson, a Trenton Democrat, said in a statement about Assembly Bill No. 4263. We have seen what can happen countless times with countless lives lost over the years. This is the step we must take to ensure it does not happen here in New Jersey.

If enacted into law, Reynolds-Jacksons bill would amend the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice to state that any law enforcement officer knowingly placing pressure on a persons throat, windpipe, or carotid artery, thereby hindering or preventing that persons ability to breathe, or interfering with the flow of blood from the persons heart to the brain, constitutes deadly force.

Many communities across New Jersey and the United States are demonstrating against racism and police brutality following the homicide of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody.

Four Minneapolis cops have been fired and criminally charged with the slaying, including Derek Chauvin, the white man who placed his knee in the area of Floyds head and neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, killing him, prosecutors said.

Deadly force in New Jersey is not justifiable unless a police officer reasonably believes he or she needed to use it in response to an imminent threat of deadly force, or to thwart the commission of a serious crime, or to prevent the escape of an arrested person from custody.

A New Jersey State Senate panel next month will openly discuss the topic of police reform beyond any legislation defining chokeholds as deadly force.

Democratic State Sen. Linda Greenstein of Plainsboro is preparing to host a series of hearings on the issue of police reform beginning Wednesday, July 15.

Our streets reflect the outrage shared throughout the nation over the senseless and horrific murder of George Floyd, Greenstein said in a press statement. As peaceful protests continue to take place across New Jersey, calling for an end of the racial injustices plaguing our nation and for police reform, it is our duty as elected officials to address these concerns here at home.

Greenstein chairs the Law and Public Safety Committee in the Senate and represents parts of Middlesex and Mercer counties, including Hamilton Township, a municipality with a public schools chief who stands against inequality, inequity, and racial injustice.

We the Hamilton Township School District, the Superintendent Scott Rocco said Wednesday, believe Black Lives Matter, and we are putting actions into that belief.

In the upcoming hearings, Greensteins committee plans to discuss updating the states use-of-force policy, creating a statewide professional licensure program for police and enhancing police training, according to a New Jersey Senate Democrats press release.

All Americans have the right to be treated and viewed as equal, regardless of race, Greenstein said in her press statement. The collective voices of the people protesting for justice will be heard, as New Jersey takes a proactive approach to ensure the rights of all individuals will be respected and valued.
Regarding Oakland cuts cops budget by millions (June 25): If I move my wallet from my left front pants pocket to my right, I havent saved any money. And sadly, that is all the Oakland City Council budget passed on June 23 does. Shifting officers from one Oakland department to another is not a savings or a cut; it is window dressing meant to cover the citys disinterest in addressing the serious abuses and systemic racism baked into our policing system.

In the face of thousands asking for change, and while residents  myself included  are being teargassed in the streets, the City Council pushed through a last-minute budget deal that shows it is more interested in protecting property and big donors than it is listening to the roar of the people. Five Oakland City Council members voted in favor of continuing to sacrifice the lives of our young Black and brown men to unchecked police violence, and against finding solutions. Well keep fighting for justice, for our community and for whats right  in the streets and at the ballot box. Its time for our city officials to come along, or step aside.

Ann Whidden, Oakland

Specify school districts needs

I am concerned that neither the budget cutting for the Oakland Police Department nor the elimination of the Oakland Unified School District police force have cited exactly what the 911 calls and calls from schools have been for. I was especially struck by the item on the OUSD report saying there were about 2,000 calls a year, with about three arrests. On one hand, Im glad that the arrest numbers are low, but I wonder what the other calls were about. My point is that we are making guesses about what the funds are needed for. I agree that we do not fund education, mental health and housing adequately, but I would hope that the city and the school district can be specific with both the needs and how to fill them.

Natalie Van Tassel, Oakland

Statue removal nuance

Statues were erected to memorialize individuals who were perceived to have provided key leadership during a particular historical era. The key word is leadership. In some instances, those leaders took their followers in directions that in retrospect we understand were wrong. Pro-slavery Confederate leaders, no matter how skilled on the battlefield, were leading their followers in the wrong direction. But other leaders, former President George Washington being one example, led us forward while at the same time being a person of their times. When removing statues, we need to take a nuanced look at which direction the memorialized person led us.

Riley VanDyke, San Francisco

A failure to act impartially

So, according to Judge rejects Nunes suit (Business, June 25), Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, claimed that allegedly defamatory statements on Twitter caused him to win his 2018 election by a margin narrower than normal? Perhaps a better explanation for this election result was that more voters realized that Nunes failed to act impartially when he headed the House Intelligence Committee. He clearly put protecting the reputation of President Trump after Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election ahead of conducting meaningful oversight on the U.S. intelligence community.

Charlotte Vickers, Woodside

A memorial for Harry Britt

Thanks for Leader of gay, progressive politics in S.F. (June 25), a memorial of the life of former San Francisco Supervisor and LGBT rights champion Harry Britt. At a time when the city was reeling from the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk, Britt stepped in and continued to bring the needs of gay and lesbian people into the everyday world of San Francisco politics. Although he was labeled as a progressive, Id prefer to call Britt a humanitarian. And he is certainly someone who should always be remembered during these June months of Gay Pride.

Charles Carrington, San Francisco

Explain context of art pieces

As a child growing up in San Francisco, I hardly noticed any of the sculptures or murals sprinkled around public spaces. I wish now that someone had pointed them out to me, along with contextual explanations. In this way I couldve learned about our cultural attitudes as well as been helped to reflect on how they matched up with what was going on at the current time. Rather than pretending that these historical sins didnt happen by hiding away these art pieces, why not preserve them in a specified space where their context could be clearly explained? Visits to these sites could be used for school field trips so that our students could learn about what really happened. Hiding away these sculptures does nothing to expand sensitivities. There are times when art must be explained.
Prayagraj, June 26 : The Allahabad High Court has asked the police authorities to make people aware about the adverse impact of lockdown violation instead of putting violators in jails which are already overcrowded.

The bench comprising Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh, stated, "In our opinion, it would be more advisable to create awareness and consciousness amongst people rather than putting them in jail or lockups which are already overcrowded".

The judges said this while disposing off a petition filed by local residents of Agra, who have been booked by the police for violating lockdown restrictions.

The court was hearing a petition, seeking quashing of FIR lodged against seven persons including Munna, Dilshad and Sharafat for violating lockdown restrictions on May 4 in Tajganj area.

All of them had been booked under section 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of IPC and for violating prohibitory orders by the Agra police.

The court observed that the only allegation against petitioners was that the protocol of social distancing was not followed by the crowd of 8-10 people at a public place, however, there was no allegation of any 'untoward incident' taking place.

The petitioners claimed that they were distributing food packets amongst the poor when some local people collected at the spot.

The court ordered that the petitioners will not be arrested in the case till submission of the police report.

The court was further of the opinion that the petitioners should be granted an opportunity to mend themselves.

They have been asked to give an undertaking before the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Agra stating that they will follow all norms and protocol of Covid-19 and will not breach them in future.

The court also stated, "There is no doubt that the denizens of the city are under obligation to follow the protocol of social distancing in collective fight of the country against the pandemic. It is the responsibility of each and every person to be aware of the protocol and follow it strictly".
CHAPPAQUA, NY  The Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps has shut down its youth corps temporarily amid news that some Horace Greeley High School students have tested positive for the new coronavirus since graduation ceremonies and parties took place last weekend.

New Castle has six active cases of COVID-19, up from two active cases June 21, according to Westchester County.

Greeley held its 89th annual graduation ceremony Saturday in a drive-in, livestreamed event. Watch here.

CVAC officials had just reopened their Youth Corps, which had been been shut down since the outbreak began to build in Westchester County in early March  but reversed course after hearing of the new local outbreak.

"Our duty is to our members and also to our patients," CVAC Captain Kate Clough told Patch.

None of CVAC's members have tested positive, she said. The volunteer group has been following all state pandemic protocols for first responders and is in weekly contact with state officials.



There were two active cases of COVID-19 in New Castle from June 18-21. The number jumped to five on June 22. There are six active cases in New Castle now, according to Westchester county's most recent report.

Commenters on social media alleged at least one student went to Florida, became infected and then attended graduation, where the school's pandemic protocols were not uniformly followed.



To people shaming 1 girl for spreading coronavirus around Chappaqua, youre wrong. people werent social distancing OR wearing masks. She may have brought it, but to blame it on her while you allow it to transmit Its not right. The source doesnt matter as much as the flow

 profit Bill * (@dopeymuffin) June 26, 2020

Florida was one of the targets of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut's governors, who on Wednesday issued a joint travel advisory for travelers from states with high coronavirus infection rates.

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SEE:





This article originally appeared on the Chappaqua-Mount Kisco Patch
Consumers can still take advantage of new 5G services outside of airports

Theres apparently been a deal cut regarding the chaos that AT&T and Verizons new 5G service would create on airplanes' instruments and guidance systems.

As the clock ticked precariously toward the launch of the 5G enhancement, the White House stepped in late Tuesday to referee the situation. It apparently was able to get the telecom companies to agree to delay 5G C-band deployment around key airports and help airlines avoid a rash of potentially canceled flights.

This ...
Nyxoah receives IDE approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its DREAM study

Study supporting the approval of Nyxoahs Genio system in the U.S. to be initiated in the coming months

Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium  25 June 2020, Nyxoah S.A., a healthtech company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative solutions and services to treat sleep disordered breathing conditions, today announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application to allow Nyxoah to commence its pivotal DREAM study of its Genio system to support its approval in the U.S. Nyxoah will initiate the DREAM study in the coming months.

We are delighted with the FDA approval of our IDE application. This is a significant milestone for Nyxoah that allows us to bring forth our plans for the U.S. introduction of the Genio system and further increase our global footprint alongside our existing presence in Europe and Australia. said Olivier Taelman, CEO of Nyxoah.

This major step will allow us to give the first U.S. patients suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) access to Genio therapy under the DREAM study and to provide U.S. physicians with the opportunity to build expertise with our solution. We are excited to partner with the selected DREAM study centers in the U.S. and internationally.

The DREAM study is a prospective multicenter trial that will enroll 134 moderate to severe OSA patients who failed first line CPAP therapy in approximately 25 centers in the U.S. and internationally. The study aims to confirm the safety and effectiveness of the Genio system.

About Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and the Genio system

OSA is the worlds most common sleep disordered breathing condition, affecting almost one billion people globally1. It makes a person stop breathing during sleep, while the airway repeatedly becomes partially (hypopnea) or totally (apnea) blocked, limiting the amount of air that reaches the lungs. OSA is a chronic condition that is associated with increased mortality risk and comorbidities, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression and stroke. The current standard of care consists of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy, a treatment whereby air is pushed into the upper airway to keep it open.

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The Genio system is the worlds first and only, battery-free, leadless and minimally invasive implanted neurostimulator designed to keep the upper airway open during sleep for certain people with OSA by bilateral stimulation of the hypoglossal nerve.

About Nyxoah

Nyxoah is a healthtech company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative solutions and services for sleep disordered breathing conditions. Nyxoahs lead solution is the Genio system, a validated, user-centered, next generation hypoglossal neurostimulation therapy for OSA, the worlds most common sleep disordered breathing condition that is associated with increased mortality risk2 and comorbidities including cardiovascular diseases, depression and stroke.

Following successful completion of the BLAST OSA study in patients with moderate to severe OSA, the Genio system received its European CE Mark in March 2019. The Company is currently conducting the BETTER SLEEP study in Australia and New Zealand for therapy indication expansion, and a post-marketing EliSA study in Europe to confirm the long-term safety and efficacy of the Genio system.

For more information, please visit www.nyxoah.com .

Caution  CE marked since 2019. Investigational device in the United States. Limited by United States federal law to investigational use.







1 Benjafield, Adam V et al. Estimation of the global prevalence and burden of obstructive sleep apnea: a literature-based analysis. Lancet Respir Med 2019 Published Online July 9, 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(19)30198-5

2 Young T. et al: Sleep Disordered Breathing and Mortality: Eighteen-Year Follow-up of the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort, Sleep. 2008 Aug 1; 31(8): 10711078.








ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A Russian computer hacker who facilitated $20 million in credit card fraud and ran a sophisticated clearinghouse for international cybercriminals was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison.

Prosecutors say Aleksei Burkov of St. Petersburg, Russia, filled a unique niche in the world of cybercrime, describing his Direct Connection website as the most exclusive criminal forum on the web. Would-be participants had to put up a $5,000 bond and have three existing members vouch for them. Once inside, members could buy and sell stolen credit-card numbers, hacking services and malware, and criminals with different skill sets could join forces to launch schemes.

Youve made it as a criminal once you get on Direct Connection because you have access to the best criminals in the world, prosecutor Kellen Dwyer said at Fridays sentencing hearing.

The website  which ran from 2009 until 2015, when Burkov was arrested  even had an arbitration feature to mediate disputes between members who conducted transactions on the site.

A second website, Card Planet, offered stolen credit-card numbers for sale from anywhere from $3 to $60, according to court records. More than 150, 000 numbers were offered for sale, mostly stolen from U.S. financial institutions. The site even offered money-back guarantees if a stolen number didnt work.

The charges against Burkov were filed in 2015. He was then arrested in Israel and spent several years in custody there while the Russian government fought extradition and filed its own extradition request. He did not arrive in the U.S. until November 2019.

The 9-year sentence was less than the 15-year maximum sought by prosecutors. He will also get credit for the 4 1/2 years he has served while awaiting sentencing. With credit for good behaviour, he could be out of prison in roughly three years.

Defence lawyers asked for a seven-year sentence.

Israeli officials have suggested Russia sought Burkovs release by offering an exchange for Naama Issachar, a 26-year-old Israeli woman who received a seven-year prison sentence in Moscow on marijuana charges. She was released in January after serving 10 months, receiving a pardon from Russian President Vladimir Putin roughly a week after Burkov pleaded guilty in the U.S.

It is unclear whether Russia will continue to agitate for Burkovs release. Judge T.S. Ellis III ordered that Burkov serve his sentence near the D.C. area to facilitate future discussions with his attorney that might be necessary for reasons I dont think need to be explained. Burkovs lawyer, Gregory Stambaugh, who requested that Burkov remain in the area, declined comment on whether Burkov could possibly be a part of some sort of prisoner swap.

In court, Burkov apologized for his conduct.

I recognize my guilt and I reconsider my life, he said through an interpreter.

.

Israeli officials have suggested Russia sought Burkovs release by offering an exchange for Naama Issachar, a 26-year-old Israeli woman who received a seven-year prison sentence in Moscow on marijuana charges.
People prepare to go tubing along the Comal River on Thursday in New Braunfels, Texas. The state has seen record numbers of coronavirus cases this week. (Eric Gay / Associated Press)

In a major reversal, the Republican governors of Florida and Texas rolled back their states aggressive reopenings Friday  which President Trump had touted as successful national models  ordering bars to close and restaurants to reduce capacity as coronavirus infections surged.

Florida banned alcohol consumption at bars as new coronavirus cases neared 9,000, almost double the previous record set two days ago. The state has reported 111,724 COVID-19 cases since March, more than a fifth of them this week, and 3,327 deaths as of Thursday.

Florida officials attributed the new outbreak to young people crowding bars that reopened three weeks ago at half capacity, although many patrons ignored social distancing restrictions. The states seven-day average for positive COVID-19 tests has tripled since the start of the month to 13.4%.

Infections have risen dramatically across the nation following business reopenings and protests that began last month after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

In Texas, where Vice President Mike Pence was scheduled to visit Sunday for an indoor Celebrate Freedom event at a 14,000-member Dallas megachurch, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced he was effectively closing bars and reducing restaurant capacity from 75% to 50%.

Democrats leading the states largest counties and cities have been pressuring the governor to reopen more slowly, to no avail.

Dallas Countys chief executive, Clay Jenkins, called on Abbott to limit public gatherings of 10 or more people ahead of the Fourth of July, noting the event that Pence planned to attend was not really safe, but they have a right to do it.

Wed all be better served if those leading the response were at their desks working their butts off instead of holding events, Jenkins said.

Texas major cities have seen hospitals fill with COVID-19 patients in recent days as Abbott refused to issue statewide mask or stay-at-home orders, insisting that reopening should proceed.

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This virus is out of control in Houston, said Marvin Odum, a former Shell Oil president serving as Houston's COVID-19 relief and recovery advisor.

Houston's infection rate has tripled during the last three months, with eight deaths Friday, for a total of 216. The average age of those testing positive has fallen from 50 to 40, officials said.

As concern mounted about large gatherings at parks and beaches this summer, Abbott on Friday ordered rafting and tubing outfitters to close and said outdoor gatherings of 100 or more must be approved by local government.

The announcement came less than two months after Texas began a phased reopening that Trump and other Republicans highlighted among the countrys earliest and purportedly the most effective. But as cases increased this month, leaders in the states largest cities and counties imposed mask requirements and lobbied for statewide restrictions to slow the virus spread.

Texas has reported more than 135,000 coronavirus cases and at least 2,317 deaths, mostly in the counties including Dallas and Houston. More than 17,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the last three days and a record number of positive tests  5,996  on Thursday. Hospitalizations also set a record, and Abbott suspended elective medical procedures in the states major cities to increase hospital capacity. The state infection rate reached 12%, a red flag that Abbott said led him to slow the states reopening.

As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10%, the state of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Abbott said in a Friday statement. At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars. The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health. We want this to be as limited in duration as possible.

Abbott urged people to stay home, warning that a massive outbreak is sweeping through Texas. He didnt say when the newly imposed restrictions would be lifted.

City and county leaders in Houston  Texas' largest city, in a county of more than 4.6 million people  announced that they had reached the worst COVID-19 threat level. Texas Medical Center, billed as the largest in the world, was expected to fill in days; a local arena was on standby for overflow. They called on Abbott to reinstate a stay-at-home order last invoked in March.

We find ourselves careening into an overwhelming and catastrophic situation, said Lina Hidalgo, chief executive of Harris County, which includes Houston.

Hidalgo appeared visibly upset as she explained that the latest report on public health data begs for aggressive and sustained action, that it took weeks to flatten the curve of infections this spring, and now we may not have weeks.

Local officials have required people to wear masks at Houston-area businesses, and violating the order carries potential fines. Hidalgo also announced a local ban Friday on public gatherings of more than 100 people through the Fourth of July. But she noted it was not within her power to issue a stay-home order  only the governor could do that, and she asked him repeatedly to do so.

What works is a stay-home requirement. What does not work is the status quo, Hidalgo said, calling anything in between a gamble and an experiment on our own people that is setting us up for failure.

She said that the state had reopened too quickly and that other parts of the country should learn from Texas mistake.

Consider us the canary in the coal mine, Hidalgo said. There are no shortcuts to getting around the crisis.

Arizona and Florida have seen similar COVID-19 increases after reopening this spring.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had been downplaying the widening outbreak, changed his tone this week, promising that state agencies would crack down on those violating COVID-19 restrictions. But like the Texas governor, DeSantis stopped short of requiring residents to wear masks or stay home.

Speaking at Gulf Coast Medical Center in Fort Myers on Friday, the governor said trying to police such mandates "would backfire."

Some Florida cities and counties already have required masks inside public buildings. DeSantis said those decisions are up to local officials.

"They're going to have to figure out how they're going to use the long arm of the law to enforce it or not," he said. "We're going to continue to put out the messaging, we're going to continue to put out the guidance, and we're going to trust people to make good decisions."
Similar to other funds, Epstein's victims will have to meet what are called evidentiary requirements. "We are looking for corroborative information. If a victim has contemporaneous with the time of the abuses - or even afterwards - reported the abuse to law enforcement or a friend or a parent or teacher, we'll look to that kind of information," said Feldman, adding that sexual abuse is a complicated topic. Epstein accusers Annie Farmer, left, and Courtney Wild, right, outside a New York courthouse last year. Credit:AP "Just the very nature of this kind of abuse doesn't lend itself to heavy documentary evidence." Some information extracted by reporters over the past few years will prove useful. Fund administrators will look to so-called collateral sources to cross-reference dates and places, records such as Epstein's flight logs, and Customs and Border Patrol notations of his arrival and departure from the US.

Once it is determined that a victim is eligible for compensation, then the question becomes how much. "This is the toughest question. First, we recognise that no amount of money is going to make this victim whole or erase their suffering," said Feldman, adding that factors can include the nature of the abuse, frequency, a victim's age at the time and the psychological impact on the victim. Virginia Giuffre, another alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein, now lives in Queensland. Credit:Bloomberg Compensation is also measured through the lens of similar funds such as the Catholic Church fund, giving the Epstein fund administrators a benchmark. Epstein, 66, was arrested last July 6 and was found dead in his federal prison cell in Manhattan on August 10. New York's medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging.

A friend of US presidents, British royalty and business moguls, he was investigated in 2006 for allegedly molesting scores of underage girls at his Florida mansion. Loading Represented by top-tier lawyers, Epstein won an extraordinarily lenient sentence on state charges, getting immunity from federal prosecution and by 2010 returning to his fortune in the Virgin Islands. Unique to the Epstein compensation fund, US Virgin Islands Attorney-General Denise George insisted that a child sexual abuse expert be part of the compensation process. Marci Hamilton, who heads Child USA and is an expert on child sexual abuse issues, will assist Feldman as a sounding board on matters where she feels input is needed. "It's kind of premature to say under what specific circumstances we would be doing that kind of outreach. I have a feeling we'll know it when we see it," said Feldman, who co-administered the September 11 fund.

West Palm Beach lawyer Spencer Kuvin, who said he represents four victims, scheduled a press conference to "educate" others who might want to step forward. "Epstein was able to perpetrate these horrific crimes for decades, thanks to his wealth and political connections, which eventually produced the now-infamous sweetheart plea deal for federal charges in 2009," Kuvin said. "The number of potential claimants could be in the hundreds." This is kind of the end of a long history for the victims. Jordana Feldman, fund administrator Some of Epstein's victims will skip the compensation fund and sue the estate directly. But those who wish to stay out of the spotlight now get a chance to make their claim without the adversarial atmosphere of a lawsuit. There is no monetary cap on compensation, and claims are settled on an individual basis without consideration of a sum of money set aside for the fund. No set amount has been offered, but one measure is that Epstein's estate was valued in the ballpark of $US560 million before the COVID-19 pandemic struck globally.

Even though Feldman has helped design numerous high-profile funds, she thinks the Epstein Victims' Compensation Program will leave its own mark. Loading "I don't know that this is necessarily different, but based on what we know at this point about the victims, and conversations we've had with their lawyers, they've been repeatedly denied opportunities to achieve any measure of justice - either through people turning a blind eye or people refusing to acknowledge what is happening," said Feldman. "This is kind of the end of a long history for the victims." Meanwhile, federal prosecutors in New York are continuing to investigate claims that decades-long abuse was enabled by a network of co-conspirators. Epstein's former girlfriend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, was described in a 2017 lawsuit as the "highest-ranking employee" of Epstein's alleged sex-trafficking enterprise.

It said she developed plans to recruit victims and helped conceal the activity from law enforcement. In sworn statements, she has denied wrongdoing. Prince Andrew pictured with Virginia Roberts in 2001 at the townhouse of Ghislaine Maxwell, right, in London. Roberts, now Giuffre, says she was recruited as an Epstein sex slave by Maxwell. On Wednesday, lawyers for one of Epstein's accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre who says she was made to have sex with Prince Andrew as part of her employment by Epstein, argued in court papers that a transcript of a seven-hour deposition of Maxwell and other documents from a since-settled lawsuit should be made public. Maxwell's lawyers have told a Manhattan judge that portions of her deposition should remain sealed because lawyers tried to force Maxwell "to answer intrusive questions about her sex life" and the media would exploit the information. The Miami Herald, whose reporting in 2018 brought fresh scrutiny to Epstein's crimes, argued in court papers that Maxwell's fear of embarrassment shouldn't stop the public from learning of "the sexual abuse of young girls at the hands of the wealthy and powerful"
Former President John Dramani Mahama is accusing the Electoral Commission (EC) of carrying out diabolic agenda to ensure that Ghanaians are excluded from voting in the interest of the ruling New Patriotic Party.

"It is deeply regrettable that the Electoral Commission, which should be independent, has made itself a willing tool in the execution of this most diabolic agenda. The exclusion of the old Voters ID card, which has been used to conduct several elections under the current leadership of the Electoral Commission and from which the current President derives his mandate is aimed at deliberately disenfranchising some Ghanaians who have falsely been branded foreigners without any basis.

"The restriction of primary identification to passports, Ghana Cards and the resort to guaranteeing for others is a ruse to create frustration in the hope that it will discourage millions from registering and in the process give advantage ab initio to a bungling incumbent."

He made the remarks on Thursday night, June 25, from the NDC's headquarters at Adabraka in response to the Supreme Court's ruling on the compilation of the new voter's register.

Mahama has rejected the ruling, accusing the Electoral Commission and the ruling New Patriotic Party of advancing exclusive democracy.

He stated that from the onset of the trial, the NDC knew that inclusive democracy was not going to be given a hearing.

He says all the NPP have done over the years is to promote exclusive democracy while the NDC striving to promote inclusive democracy.

"We are deeply disappointed and strongly disagree with the court over this outcome, which has confounded many legal experts and thrown the country into a state of confusion. Our legal team is examining this decision even as we await the full judgement. It is worrying that the Court deferred the reasons for its decisions to the 15th of July, by which time the EC would have been two weeks into the registration exercise," he emphasised.
Dozens of Secret Service officers and agents who were on-site for US President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last week were ordered to self-quarantine after two of their colleagues tested positive for coronavirus.

The news comes as another part of the fallout from Mr Trump's insistence on holding the mass gathering over the objections of public health officials.

The Secret Service instructed employees who worked the Tulsa event to stay at home for 14 days when they returned from the weekend trip, according to two people familiar with the agency's decision.

The order came in the wake of the discovery - hours before the president's Saturday evening rally - that at least six advance staffers who helped organise the trip had tested positive for the virus, including two Secret Service employees. Another two advance staffers tested positive after Mr Trump returned to Washington on Sunday.

On Tuesday, the Secret Service field office in Tulsa arranged for a special testing session at a hospital to determine if local agents had contracted the virus while assisting with the rally, according to two other people with knowledge of the testing.

It is still unknown how the rally may have affected Tulsa's count of coronavirus cases, which is rising swiftly. Tulsa County hit a record on Wednesday, with 259 new confirmed cases.

The move by the Secret Service to try to limit the spread of the infection shows how Mr Trump's decision to go forward with the rally increased the health risks and burden on the people who protect the president, former agents said.

A Secret Service spokeswoman declined to comment on how many of its employees have tested positive or were quarantined.

"To protect the privacy of our employees' health information and for operational security, the Secret Service is not releasing how many of its employees have tested positive for Covid-19," agency spokeswoman Catherine Milhoan said in a statement.

White House spokesman Judd Deere did not directly answer questions about whether the president regretted the trip.

"The president takes the health and safety of everyone travelling in support of himself and all White House operations very seriously," Mr Deere said in a statement.

The Trump campaign hoped the Tulsa trip would rally supporters in the heavily red state of Oklahoma amid polls showing an increasing number of voters concerned about the president's handling of the pandemic, a stall in the economy and racial unrest.

Before Mr Trump and his son Eric were scheduled to take to the stage in the BOK Centre in Tulsa, the campaign learned that six staffers who helped organise the event had tested positive for the coronavirus, including an advance agent and a Secret Service officer assigned to help screen attendees.

The two Secret Service employees had both attended a Friday afternoon planning meeting, where dozens of Secret Service staff gathered to review the logistics and their duties for the Saturday rally, according to people familiar with the situation.

Though the Secret Service employees who tested positive did not attend the rally, other Secret Service staff who were at the Friday meeting continued to perform their duties.

"The entire team should have been switched out," said one person familiar with the Friday meeting. "They were all exposed." ( The Washington Post)

 Washington Post
Oil prices have fallen below $40 as the U.S. sees a record spike in COVID-19 cases and fears of demand weakness increase.

For Global Energy Alert members there are now two new free reports available in your dashboard. The first of these reports is on how to interpret stock charts and the second outlines the three biggest mistakes made by traders today. Make sure you become a member to read these reports and many more.

Friday, June 26th, 2020

The two-month oil rally has stalled, with WTI falling back to $38 per barrel. The resurgence of Covid-19 across the U.S. has halted the markets positive momentum. In many ways, the rally was already overdone.

Coronavirus spread a big oil risk. Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered bars to shut down on Friday as the spread of the coronavirus continues to accelerate. With several states  and the U.S. as a whole  setting new daily records for positive cases, fuel demand faces enormous downside risk in the weeks ahead. For instance, Texas gasoline demand on June 24 was 17.8 percent lower than on June 17.

Californias new zero-emissions truck rule. California regulators approved a new rule requiring more than half of all trucks sold to be zero-emissions by 2035, with incremental targets beginning in 2024. The rule is estimated to lower the states greenhouse gas emissions by 17 million metric tons, and save truck operators $6 billion on fuel costs. It is also expected to spur manufacturing for electric heavy-duty trucks. Related: China Sees Tanker Traffic Soar As Oil Storage Runs Out

Judge shuts down Line 5. A federal judge ordered Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) to temporarily shut down the aging Line 5 pipeline after anchor support of the pipeline recently shifted. The judge will hold a hearing on Tuesday to weigh the state of Michigans request to keep the pipeline closed indefinitely. The pipeline carries 540,000 bpd of light crude and natural gas liquids from Alberta through Wisconsin, Michigan and then back into Canada at the oil hub of Sarnia, Ontario.

DC and Minnesota file lawsuits against Exxon, API, Koch. Washington DC and Minnesota each announced separate lawsuits against the oil industry this week. The DC attorney general sued ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), BP (NYSE: BP), Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX) over its decades-long campaign of climate disinformation. A day earlier, Minnesotas attorney general filed a similar lawsuit against Exxon, Koch Industries and the American Petroleum Institute. Unlike past cases, which sought damages for the companys role in fueling climate change, these cases hinge on consumer protection violations.

Occidental to take $9 billion write down. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) said it would write down $9 billion, or more than 10 percent of the companys assets.

Natural gas prices fall to 25-year low. Natural gas prices fell below $1.50/MMBtu this week, the lowest level since the 1990s.

Refiners stand in way of rally. Poor refining margins throw up a red flag to the oil rally. With demand still weak enough to squeeze margins, refiners may purchase less crude oil, sapping the momentum for inventory drawdowns.

House Democrats propose green tax incentives. House Democrats introduced a bill this week that would extend tax incentives for renewables and electric vehicles.

U.S. LNG exports plunge by half. U.S. LNG exports fell from 9.8 Bcf/d in March to just 4 Bcf/d by June. The glut of LNG worldwide is hitting American exporters particularly hard. Related: Underinvestment Could Send Oil Prices Soaring

PA grand jury announced criminal charges against gas industry. A Pennsylvania grand jury announced criminal charges against Range Resources (NYSE: RRC) and Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG), two prominent Marcellus shale gas companies. The grand jury also said that PA environmental agencies systemically failed to protect the public.

Coronavirus could kill Vaca Muerta. The coronavirus could lead the Vaca Muerta, or Dead Cow, to slaughter, according to a new report. Already struggling to be competitive, Argentinas highly-hyped shale formation is withering because of the pandemic and the market downturn.

Colorado setback provision revived. Activists in Colorado have revived a setback provision that failed in a 2018 referendum. The measure would require drilling setbacks to increase from 500 feet to 2,500 feet.

Trump admin to open up Alaskas NPR-A. The Department of Interior announced plans to open up 18 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) for new oil and gas leasing.

Iran plans new oil export route. Iran plans to export oil from a port on the Gulf of Oman by March, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

The IMF cut global growth forecast. The IMF warned of a longer and deeper recession, cutting its GDP forecast to negative 4.9 percent this year, from 3 percent previously. It lowered its 2021 GDP growth forecast from 5.8 to 5.4 percent.

Investors grow angry at executive pay. Failing oil and gas companies continue to reward executives, despite bad performance. It is the definition of heads I win, tails you lose. Management gets paid when the share price goes up, when the share price goes down and when the company goes bankrupt, a managing partner at a private equity company told the FT.

Dallas Fed survey finds gloom in Texas oil patch. Texas oil executives do not think drilling activity will return to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2022, according to the new Dallas Fed survey.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
(JNS) - The Jewish Democratic Council of America has affirmed that it will not support Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in her upcoming primary, but did not provide a endorsement to her chief primary opponent, progressive Antone Melton-Meaux.

Omar is set to face Melton-Meaux, who has been critical of Omar's anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements, in an Aug. 11 primary for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District.

When asked by JNS about whether JDCA would be taking on Omar, executive director Halie Soifer instead chose to comment on the activities of the Republican Jewish Coalition, rather than to...
Fifty one people have tested positive for coronavirus after going to a Michigan bar that reopened at 50 percent capacity two weeks ago - as the number of young Americans getting infected with the virus continues to surge.

Health officials say the cluster of cases has been linked to the Harper's Restaurant and Brewpub in Lansing in Ingham County.

All of the people with cases linked to Harper's are between the ages of 19 and 23.

A number are connected to Michigan State University.

Of those who have the virus, none have been hospitalized and most have mild symptoms. At least four cases have been asymptomatic, health officials said.

Health officials say the cluster of cases has been linked to the Harper's Restaurant and Brewpub in Lansing in Ingham County

At least two of the 51 cases are secondary, which means they didn't visit the bar but have come in contact with an infected person who was at the venue.

Due to the spike in cases, health officials are urging anyone who visited the bar between June 12 and 20 to get tested and to self-quarantine for 14 days since their visit.

Health officials said that during the self-quarantine, people should stay home, self-monitor for symptoms and distance themselves from other household contacts like family and roommates.

They say that even those who are tested and get a negative result should continue the self-quarantine because of the possibility of a false negative result.

'Given the number of cases in this outbreak, we consider this a higher risk exposure than a typical visit to a restaurant or bar,' said Ingham County Health Officer Linda S. Vail.

'There are likely more people infected with COVID-19 not yet identified. We need help from people who went to Harper's during the exposure dates so that we can contain the outbreak. We need everyone exposed to stay home.'

Data shows that 24 percent of the county's 888 cases are aged between 20 and 29.

The increase in Ingham County COVID-19 cases reported for June 22 was the largest the county has seen since May 27.

Due to the spike in cases, health officials are urging anyone who visited the bar between June 12-20 to get tested and to self-quarantine for 14 days since their visit. The spike in Ingham County COVID-19 cases reported for June 22 was the largest the county has seen since May 27

Data shows that 24 percent of Ingham County's 888 COVID-19 cases are people aged between 20 and 29. That age group accounts for the largest group in the county's cases

The local health department said that of the 51 cases, at least 34 are residents of Ingham County and others live in neighboring counties.

Health department inspectors say the owners of the bar were following the state-approved safety procedures related to employees, restaurant capacity and table spacing.

The owners of the bar voluntarily closed late Monday following the outbreak.

'Our small family business takes its role and responsibility in our community very seriously - especially when it comes to the health and safety of our customers and team members,' a statement from the bar said.

'That's why we have taken every measure to not only meet, but exceed, local, state and federal guidance for reopening during this COVID-19 health pandemic, which has been confirmed by the Ingham County Health Department.

'That's also why we have closed temporarily, to implement added safety precautions.'

Cases and deaths related to COVID-19 in the state of Michigan have been declining since mid-May. There have been nearly 69,000 cases and just over 6,000 deaths across the state.

It comes as health officials warn coronavirus cases are climbing rapidly among young adults in a number of states where bars, stores and restaurants have reopened - a disturbing generational shift that not only puts them in greater peril than many realize but poses an even bigger danger to older people who cross their paths.

Cases (bottom) and deaths (top) related to COVID-19 in the state of Michigan have been declining since mid-May. There are currently nearly 69,000 cases and just over 6,000 deaths across the state

In Oxford, Mississippi, summer fraternity parties sparked outbreaks. In Oklahoma City, church activities, fitness classes, weddings and funerals seeded infections among people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

In Iowa college towns, surges followed the reopening of bars. A cluster of hangouts near Louisiana State University led to at least 100 customers and employees testing positive.

There and in states like Florida, Texas and Arizona, young people have started going out again, many without masks, in what health experts see as irresponsible behavior.

'The virus hasn't changed. We have changed our behaviors,' said Ali Mokdad, professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle.

'Younger people are more likely to be out and taking a risk.'

Elected officials such as Florida's governor have argued against reimposing restrictions, saying many of the newly infected are young and otherwise healthy.

But younger people, too, face the possibility of severe infection and death. In the past week, two 17-year-olds in Florida died of the virus.

Cases rose across the United States by at least 39,818 on Thursday, the largest one-day increase of the pandemic

Authorities worry that older, more vulnerable people are next.

Health experts say the fact that younger people - who have so far been less likely to be hospitalized - are now accounting for a large number of the new cases could have have an impact on the death toll in several weeks.

They point to the fact that young people could currently be infecting their elderly relatives and other at-risk people, which could drive up hospitalizations and deaths.

'People between the ages 18 and 50 don't live in some sort of a bubble,' Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said.

'They are the children and grandchildren of vulnerable people. They may be standing next to you at a wedding. They might be serving you a meal in a restaurant.'

Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that almost as soon as states began reopening, people 18 to 49 years old quickly became the age bracket most likely to be diagnosed with new cases.

Although every age group saw an increase in cases during the first week in June, the numbers shot up fastest among 18- to 49-year-olds.

For the week ending June 7, there were 43 new cases per 100,000 people in that age bracket, compared with 28 cases per 100,000 people over 65.
A Tesco delivery truck in north London. Photo: Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty

Tescos (TSCO.L) customers made fewer trips to the supermarket during lockdown but did bigger shops when they did visit.

Shopping frequency fell by 32% in the 13 weeks to 30 May, Tesco said on Friday, but basket size jumped by 64%.

The change coincided with lockdown being announced in the UK, which prompted the government to urge Brits to only shop once a week for essentials. The period also coincided with an outbreak of panic buying before lockdown was announced, as Brits filled store cupboards in anticipation.

Tesco said that overall sales in its first quarter rose by 8.2% in the UK and Ireland when currency fluctuations are excluded.

A cashier at a Tesco supermarket works behind a protective perspex barrier in Croydon, south London. Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty

Through a very challenging period for everyone, Tesco colleagues have gone above and beyond, and I'm extremely proud of what they've achieved, chief executive Dave Lewis said in a statement.

Their selfless efforts, combined with our embedded strategic advantages in stores and online, have helped to ensure that everyone can get the food they need in a safe environment.

Sales were helped by Tesco more than doubling the capacity of its online ordering system from 600,000 slots per week to 1.6m. The upgrade, which cost 4m ($5m), helped drive a 48.5% rise in online orders in the first quarter.

One blot on Tescos copybook was its bank. The group said sales at Tesco Bank fell 26.5% as a result of the closure of its travel money business and a reduction in ATM usage. Tesco also warned that its bank would likely make a loss of up to 200m this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is expected to cause loans and credit card debt to go into default.

Tesco said it has spend 65m so far on PPE for staff and expects the pandemic to cost the company around 840m this year. That is down from an earlier estimate of 925m.

Shares initially dipped but were trading up 0.6% by just after 9am London time on Friday.
This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

Throughout his four decades as the first Muslim chaplain in the Texas prison system, Akbar Nurid-Din Shabazz somehow found a way to instill hope in inmates who were often without it.

In 1995, Charlesetta Myers of Dallas was, in her words, spiraling out of control. After violating parole, she was sent back to prison for a third time. She picked up a copy of the Quran and decided to go to a Muslim service, where she met Mr. Shabazz. She soon converted to Islam and took the name Rashidah Muhammad.

Mr. Shabazz just had a way of encouraging people, Ms. Muhammad said, crediting him with turning her life around. Twenty years after leaving prison, she is a small-business owner and an active figure in Dallas Muslim circles who travels to prisons each month as a volunteer teacher.
Indian soldier carry a roll of barbed wire as they return from the site of a gun-battle in Srinagar. AP photo

Srinagar: A CRPF jawan and a minor boy were killed when militants attacked a security forces team in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, police said.

The militants fired upon a road opening party of the CRPF 90 battalion near Padshahi Bagh bridge in the Bijbehara area of the south Kashmir district around 12 noon, a police official said.

He said a CRPF personnel and an eight-year-old boy were injured in the attack.

The injured were taken to a hospital in Bijbehara where both of them succumbed, the official said.

The CRPF personnel has been identified as constable Shamal Kumar, while the boy has been identified as Nihan Yawar, a resident of Yaripora area of the neighbouring Kulgam district, he said.

He said the security forces have cordoned off the area and a hunt has been launched to nab the attackers.

Meanwhile, National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah condemned the boy's killing.

"An innocent...boy is the latest victim of the violence in Kashmir. His death in a dastardly grenade attack by militants is tragic and condemned without reservation," he wrote on Twitter.
Cash-starved cities and states across the country are starting to weigh whether to raise taxes on homes, cigarettes, local businesses and global tech giants, hoping to rake in new revenue that might help them close the massive budget shortfalls created by the coronavirus pandemic.

The increases that have been proposed - and in some cases adopted - reflect the growing desperation on the part of government leaders nationwide. Many have found that recent spending cuts, furloughs and layoffs haven't been enough to shore up their sagging finances, forcing them to consider more politically noxious and economically risky moves in the middle of an economic crisis.

"No politician wants to lead with raising taxes," said Mark Mazur, the director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. "When they get there, it's because they've run out of other options."

Philadelphia increased fees on parking and raised wage taxes on workers who reside outside the city. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, D, said this month she couldn't rule out a property tax increase to cover her city's $700 million budget shortfall. From New York to Seattle, other states and municipalities have considered a wide array of prospective rate hikes in response major drops in once-reliable sources of income - and months of failed attempts to get Congress to authorize more federal aid.

Nashville leaders even took the eye-popping step in June to increase property taxes by about 34 percent, a move meant to help pay down rising public education costs - and one that quickly sparked a public outcry.

The city's rates long had been historically low, according to Bob Mendes, an at-large member of the Nashville Metro Council who helped craft the budget blueprint. An increase helped pave the way for the city to close an anticipated $216 million financial hole in the 2021 fiscal year without severely hamstringing much-needed public services, he said.

"I'm definitely worried," Mendes added about the budget, expressing lingering fears that Nashville is going to have to scrape to get by. "There's probably never been a revenue projection that's as wrong as this one is going to turn out to be."

Unlike the federal government, which can cut taxes and rack up huge deficits with impunity, localities generally must balance their budgets each year. The coronavirus pandemic consequently has left many cities and states slashing spending on public programs, halting upgrades to roadways and water systems and laying off some of their own staff. The deep cuts have contributed to a total of 1.5 million lost public-sector jobs since the pandemic began, federal data shows.

New tax increases can also help local governments offset the economic carnage caused by rampant unemployment and major slowdowns in shopping and tourism. But doing so is a risky proposition. It could imperil the country's economic recovery before it begins in earnest, economists say, leaving residents and businesses to foot a bill that they may not be able to easily afford.

Budget experts increasingly believe they may have little choice to consider those more drastic measures in the face of Washington intransigence. City and state officials have spent months pleading with federal lawmakers to authorize as much as $1 trillion in new aid to help them close their deficits and stave off the worst economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. But they have encountered steep opposition from President Trump and top Republicans - and partisan bickering that has prevented any progress on another relief package for months.

"Given the size of the problem, they're going to have to use every tool at their disposal," said Elizabeth McNichol, a senior fellow specializing in state fiscal issues at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank. "That includes spending cuts and revenue increases."

In New York, for example, more than 100 state assembly members and senators issued a joint public statement this month essentially calling on the state to tax higher-income earners to close a sky-high $17 billion budget deficit. "We will not allow state budget cuts without raising revenue from those who can most afford to pay more," lawmakers warned.

Some New York legislators have set their sights specifically on Amazon, Facebook, Google and other tech giants that have profited handsomely even as the pandemic wallops the rest of the economy. Andrew Gounardes, a Democratic state senator, has called in recent weeks for new taxes targeting the collection and sale of consumers' online data. (Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Similar proposals have been put forward by policymakers for years, including in California, the home of Silicon Valley, and Maryland, where lawmakers advanced an online advertising tax before the coronavirus pandemic gripped the nation. In Seattle, city council members have taken a different approach, offering a flurry of new proposals to tax Amazon and other large employers in the state. There, and across the country, policymakers stress they hope to overcome longtime resistance from tech companies and other corporate behemoths to help fund programs in disarray because of the coronavirus.

"It's just not possible to cut our way out of this hole," Gounardes said.

During the past three U.S. recessions - in the early 1990s, 2001 and the last major downturn beginning in 2008 - scores of cities and states found themselves in similar, dire financial straits. A wave of austerity soon swept city councils and statehouses nationwide, resulting in sweeping cuts to public spending and government workforces that in some cases did not return even after the economy improved.

Often, though, these cuts alone simply were not enough. During the Great Recession, some states raised income, sales and other business taxes along with a host of additional fees, according to a report at the time from the CBPP, which said the increases helped cover the costs of surging demand for government services.

More than a decade later, the economic carnage wrought by the coronavirus bears little resemblance to the recessions of years past. The economy had been booming before local leaders implemented stay-at-home orders to arrest the pandemic, and many cities and states entered the downturn with healthy cash reserves meant to protect them in the event of a recession. The extent to which these governments choose to close their new, unanticipated deficits through tax changes may hinge on the shape of the recovery - and a slew of epidemiological factors outside of economists' control.

Some local leaders may face political challenges, finding themselves reluctant to "increase taxes at a time when many businesses are closed and residents are experiencing unprecedented economic hardship," predicted a report from Moody's Investor Service this month that outlines the grim financial future facing many states.

But early evidence suggests the coronavirus could lend at least some new political momentum for long-simmering campaigns to raise fees on a wide array of products and services, including alcohol, tobacco and gaming, said Jared Walczak, a state budget analyst for the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, particularly if those taxes can offset debilitating cuts.

"There's going to be a sense in which any sectors that look comparatively healthy will be attractive targets for taxation over the next couple of years," he said.

This month, Georgia lawmakers are eyeing their first tax hike on cigarettes in decades, a move that has gained some traction since the pandemic cut an approximately $2 billion hole in the state's budget. In Colorado, meanwhile, legislators are forging ahead with their own plan to raise taxes on nicotine and vaping products, which is expected to raise more than $80 million in revenue next year. The tax, proposed before the pandemic took hold, will be put before voters later this year.

Initially, state legislators had hoped to put the new revenue toward funding preschool education, said Dominic Moreno, a Democratic state assembly member. But the coronavirus forced lawmakers to rethink their plans and instead channel money to the state's general fund to cover the cost of a public-health crisis they never anticipated - and a budget catastrophe for which Washington so far has provided only limited aid.

"If there were additional federal resources," Moreno said, "I don't think we'd be as desperate for revenue as we are now."
June 25, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - With only a few days left until 1 July, the date included in the Israeli government coalition agreement to further advance the annexation of occupied Palestinian territory, it has become clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump's team that their next colonial mission will be more challenging to execute.

Worldwide campaigns, a firm position by the Arab world, the prospects of an ICC investigation and unprecedented Congress efforts, as well as the significant grassroots efforts in the US, are all elements that were not taken into consideration when the Trump team drafted Israel's annexation plan.

Even for some of the current US administration's closest allies, such as the pro-Israeli evangelical camp, Israel's annexation is not a priority. Evangelical voices against annexation in the US are growing louder.

Likewise, many leading US Jewish voices have strongly opposed annexation, which if it took place could jeopardise their sacred bi-partisan support for the Israel lobby in Washington. A few days ago, over a hundred Democratic members of Congress signed a letter against annexation, while Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has expressed his own opposition to it.

All regional actors, as well as all Arab countries with strong connections in Washington, have warned against Israels plans. They have been clear that annexation undermines their national interests.

The secretary general of the Arab League has played an important role in the diplomatic efforts. The European Union has made it clear that annexation will negatively affect its relations with Israel. So, why would the US and Israel keep moving ahead with it?

'Now or never'

Trump and his team have dismissed international law and UN resolutions as tools for peacemaking and have instead endorsed some of Israel's most hardcore views. For the advocates of annexation, this is their historic moment and their short-term goals are clear.

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November's US election is pushing this camp to say: "It's now or never." The messianic cohort represented by US Ambassador David Friedman deeply feels that this moment will mark their legacy.

In their calculations, it is also possible that Israels leading trading partner, the European Union, is not going to be able to impose sanctions. They count on governments such as Germany's, which while firmly declaring that annexation is a violation of international law, also called upon the ICC not to conduct an investigation into Israeli crimes.

As Israel continues to reiterate its intentions to annex, no country has yet taken concrete measures such as recalling its ambassador to Israel or summoning Israeli ambassadors to their countries. On top of that, only last Friday, no EU country voted in favour of a resolution in the UN Human Rights Council calling for basic principles of accountability for Israeli violations in Palestine.

Several steps

Our position remains that stopping annexation is doable. Ending Israel's illegal colonial-settlement occupation is also achievable. We have taken several steps with this in mind, including ending all interim bilateral agreements after years of systematic Israeli violations.

A few days ago, thousands of Palestinians were joined by dozens of diplomats in Jericho to say no to annexation and yes to freedom for Palestine: a powerful image that showed the unanimous rejection of annexation outside the Trump-Netanyahu bubble.

UN resolution 3414 of 1975 requested "all States to desist from supplying Israel with any military or economic aid as long as it continues to occupy Arab territories and deny the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people." In 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on the annexation wall also included a set of responsibilities for the international community.

If this was implemented, Israel would not be talking today about annexation. The calls for annexation are a reminder for the need for accountability, including sanctions.

Our vision of peace was detailed to the UN Security Council and is based on international law and relevant UN resolutions.

This requires bold steps to reaffirm the international support for this formula, including the recognition of the State of Palestine and to stop treating Israel as a state above the law. An international peace conference has been one of our requests.

Neither Trump nor Netanyahu expected major condemnations or challenges to their annexation plans. But this is an understanding that their actions are not only an attack against the rights of the Palestinian people but about the international community as a whole.

As the world has spoken loudly against annexation, we shall continue working in coordination with international parties, from governments and parliaments to civil society, to stop with concrete measures Israels attempts at perpetuating apartheid in Palestine.

Dr. Saeb Erekat is the Secretary General of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestines Chief Negotiator - " Source " -

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A Deputy Attorney-General, Godfred Dame, has described as misleading remarks by the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, which suggested that his party had won its case against the Electoral Commission (EC).

After the Supreme Court verdict, Mr. Asiedu Nketia told the press that the NDCs key reliefs had been granted by the court.

The court has just delivered the verdict which has granted our request for the inclusion of the existing voter card as breeder document for the compilation of the new voters' register. We feel vindicated, the NDC General Secretary said.

But Mr. Dame, who represented Government in the case, condemned Mr. Asiedu Nketias misleading comments.

It's very despicable and sad for the General Secretary of the leading opposition party to be speaking like that because what he is seeking is actually amounting to pulling the wool over the eyes of his own party members, to deceive is own party members and to mislead them and its wrong. Clearly they walked away with nothing so I don't understand what Johnson Asiedu-Nketia is seeking to do, he said on Eyewitness News.

Mr. Dame, further stressed that the Supreme Court stated clearly that the old voters' ID cards are excluded from the upcoming voter registration exercise and that EC has the power to act strictly in accordance with C.I 126.

The issues in contention

The Apex Court on Thursday, June 25, 2020, ruled that the existing voter ID card and birth certificates cannot be used as proof of identity to register in the upcoming voter registration exercise.

The seven-member panel also gave the Electoral Commission (EC) the green light to compile a new voters' register for the 2020 general elections.

The NDC dragged the EC to court over a decision by the commission to exclude the existing voter ID card as proof of identity for the purposes of the planned voter registration exercise.

A Ghanaian citizen, Mark Takyi-Banson, also filed a fresh case, asking the Apex Court to make a pronouncement on the matter.

He argued that the EC's decision to compile a new roll of voters violated the 1992 Constitution.

Additionally, Mr. Takyi-Banson wanted the Court to rule against the EC for excluding birth certificates as proof of identity for voter registration.

The Supreme Court subsequently consolidated the two cases.

The Judgement

The court, presided over by a seven-member panel in its ruling, indicated that the election management body was independent and its action can only be guided by the court if it goes against the law.

By this decision, the Electoral Commission i.e. 2nd Defendants in Suit No. J1/9/2020 and 1st Defendants in Suit No. J1/12/2020 are hereby directed to commence the compilation of the voter registration exercise as scheduled. By these decisions and, by virtue of Article 130 (2) of the Constitution any court in which same or similar action is pending or yet to be filed shall apply the decision rendered by the Supreme Court in these consolidated suits, the Supreme Court directed.

---citinewsroom
This volunteer network was established in 1977 as part of a primary health care system to raise awareness and encourage community participation. Back in the 1970s, poverty, illiteracy and illness were the main obstacles of Thailand's development, particularly in remote localities, the frontline in battling diseases. However, Thailand's ratio of physicians per population back then made universal access to decent healthcare difficult. This is why the Ministry of Public Health initiated the ingenious village health volunteer programme, recruiting people from the local communities themselves, to fill in the shortage of medical personnel.

Primary health care development, including health volunteers, was incorporated into the 4th National Economic and Social Development Plan (1977-1981). Since then, the initiative has continued to flourish. Health volunteers have become one of the key components behind the overall picture of Thailand's economic and social development in the last four decades.

The project was built on the spirit of volunteerism and sense of kinship among community members. Therefore, trust and cooperation were easily gained. Volunteers must be literate, have an occupation, live and work in the village, be respected by others, and be willing to help the community. They would be trained and supervised by provincial health officials.

To date, there are approximately 1,055,000 volunteers throughout the country, an extensive and proficient network that has strengthened public health capacity during crises. Being one with the communities, the volunteers can detect potential problems and alert the government before the problems escalate. They also provide vital health information to villagers on a personal basis, a simple yet highly effective preventive measure, particularly when access to the internet is limited. The volunteers also serve as an excellent intermediary between the authorities and the communities who are more likely to listen and trust one of their own.

Chatchai Phongpornpaisal, head of the health volunteers in Ban Namtuang Village in the northern mountains of Nan province, elaborated that when people started returning home during the COVID-19 outbreak, the volunteers were tasked to collect information from those returnees, especially whether they came from high risk areas. Had this task been undertaken by the authorities, it would have been much more difficult due to the lack of trust and confidence.

Another interesting example is Narathiwat province. Volunteers were able to persuade Muslim communities to take precautionary health measures against COVID-19 by informing the villagers that they should cherish their bodies, as given by Allah, as much as possible.

When Thailand applied measures that led to temporary closures of many businesses, several thousand people became jobless and moved back home. Such exodus from the capital aroused concerns that COVID-19 could spread dispersedly. However, this mishap did not happen, partly because of the dedicated and resourceful volunteers who screened returnees and set up local quarantine systems in spite of the shortage of facilities.

Some even argued that it was actually beneficial for people to go back to their hometowns since local health volunteers could screen and monitor them more closely than would have been the case if they had stayed in Bangkok.

Scholars like Francis Fukuyama mentioned that this pandemic underlines the indispensable role of the state in managing crises. Other observers noted that the competent civil service plays a great role in the Thai case. However, the success of Thailand's village health volunteers reminds us that when a crisis befalls, the more stakeholders, the merrier. Besides being a perfect complement to existing state mechanisms, this initiative entails a simple but necessary participatory approach, empowering the people to take ownership of their own health status.

The health volunteer model can certainly be applied anywhere. The value of volunteerism and social service is universal and inspirational in this perilous time. Given their willingness to risk themselves for the greater good, the volunteers are Thailand's unsung heroes who expect nothing in return but the smile and laughter of people who appreciate their selfless deeds.

SOURCE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand
Toi Ohomai Head of Youth and Community Engagement Olivia Dhanjee has been appointed to the Bay of Plenty Regional Skills Leadership Group - a new Government initiative to support the regions changing labour market.

The group is one of 15 being established across New Zealand to identify better ways to meet future workforce needs, including helping to re-employ, redeploy or retrain workers who have lost their jobs, or owners who have closed their businesses.

Olivia is delighted with her supplementary appointment to the regional group, which she believes will play a vital role in ensuring positive outcomes for vocational education and training opportunities in New Zealand.

She is a passionate advocate for the seamless transition of rangatahi into sustainable employment and is excited about applying her blend of leadership experience at Toi Ohomai with her grass roots approach to her new role.

As we navigate our way through our recent economic interruption, the importance of vocational education and its ability to integrate applied training to industry need, particularly within workplaces, will become even more relevant. Accessing early work experience opportunities, better alignment of NCEA towards industry standards to support transition, and alignment to a Vocational Entrance Award are all critical elements in a post-COVID environment.

My mahi at Toi Ohomai, through secondary-tertiary transitions and community outreach, has definitely enabled me to form some deep and meaningful connections with local rangatahi, schools and kura, whanau and communities," says Olivia.

"Drawing from a strong connection to my whanau, hapu and iwi, Im proud to ensure that the aspirations and diverse voice of rangatahi across our rohe is represented at this table  it is critical that the voice of our young people is promoted and valued."

The Bay of Plenty group will be co-chaired by Andrea Blair, who brings a wealth of experience in the geothermal industry and governance, and Dr Chris Tooley, Chief Executive of Te Puna Ora o Mataatua.

In a statement, Andrea says the group intends to provide leadership and coordination across economic development areas and real-time information to the Government on the challenges facing the Bay of Plenty.

With our four economic development agencies, industry stakeholders and Maori all coming together, it is a great opportunity to work towards one overall regional plan.

Chris says the COVID-19 environment means the group will aim to coordinate the pipeline from unemployment to whanau ora support systems, and training opportunities through to job placements.

Maori have been disproportionately affected by our lockdown, so an integrated equity strategy will also be an important part of the regional plan, he says.

The Bay of Plenty group consists of regional industry leaders, economic development agencies, and iwi, worker and government representatives, who will all contribute their knowledge and local expertise. They will be supported by a team of data analysts, policy advisers and workforce specialists at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

The 15 Regional Skills Leadership Groups are being set up on an interim, one-year basis with a swift appointment process and a mandate to support an immediate response to the regional labour market impacts and disruption arising from COVID-19.

The groups will work closely with local and national initiatives, including six Workforce Development Councils - WDCs. WDCs will focus on industry specific training needs across all of New Zealand while Regional Skills Leadership Groups will offer a regional perspective.

In the longer term, the groups will develop Regional Workforce Plans, projecting labour supply needs, to ensure regions have the right skills and workforce planning to seize local economic opportunities.
Researchers have generally suggested quantities between three and 50. The bigger the pool, the more likely a positive case with a low viral load will be too diluted to trigger detection of the virus. Israeli researchers found that a positive sample was detectable in a pool of 32 and even a pool of 64, although the latter group might require more cycles of amplifying the virus. A large pool that contains a positive case also means more individual tests will have to be run to find the infected person. But researchers are also experimenting with ways to organize the samples that will make it easier to disaggregate a positive case from a pool.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 22:56:47|Editor: huaxia

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HANOI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam reported one new case of COVID-19 infection on Friday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 353 with zero deaths so far, according to the Ministry of Health.

The latest case is a 31-year-old Vietnamese man recently returning to the country from Cameroon, said the ministry, noting that he was quarantined upon arrival and is being treated in southern Ho Chi Minh City.

Meanwhile, one more patient recovered, bringing the total cured cases in the country to 330, said the ministry.

Vietnam has recorded no local transmission for 71 straight days while there are nearly 6,900 people being quarantined and monitored in the country, according to the health ministry. Enditem
As Covid-19 cases in Delhi continue to rise, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday urged Delhiites to not worry as the situation is under control. He said that the positive cases have increased by around 3000 per day but that is because the testing has increased. He added that of the total Covid-19 patients, about 45,000 have recovered. Most of the new cases that are being detected are mild and do not need to get hospitalised.

Sharing an update on the number of available hospital beds, Kejriwal said that around 6,000 beds have been occupied in the last one week despite almost 3,000 new cases being reported daily. This is because they do need hospitalisation. At present, over 13,000 beds are ready. The Chief Minister further added that that the Delhi government is working on adding more ICU beds. In the cabinet meeting, funds have been sanctioned to increase around 400 beds in a hospital in Burari. Furthermore, around 3,500 beds have been arranged in hotels.

On the efficacy and implementation of plasma therapy, the Delhi CM said that they have the permission to conduct plasma therapy at LNJP and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospitals. It has been observed that the number of deaths have come down to half since the start of plasma therapy at LNJP Hospital. He added that it may difficult to save serious patients with plasma therapy but it is helping moderate patients.

Patients under home isolation have been sent pulse oximeters. This will act as a Suraksha chakra. Plasma therapy is also helping many patients recover. https://t.co/Mcaas3O4ED  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 26, 2020

One of the major issues with coronavirus is that the oxygen level of patients drops suddenly. To deal with such situations, the Delhi government has provided oximeters to asymptomatic patients or patients with mild symptoms who are under home isolation. He also interacted with a Covid-19 patient who received a pulse oximeter and witnessed an improvement in his health. The total number of coronavirus cases in Delhi has reached 73,780, including 26586 active cases, 44,765 cured/discharged/migrated cases and 2429 death cases.

We are sending pulse oximeters that are like Suraksha Chakras for Corona patients in home isolation so they can check their oxygen saturation. I spoke to one such patient Mr Kanan on the phone yesterday. Listen in to our conversation. #DelhiFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/uW9VJcVjpZ  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 26, 2020

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Undeterred by the notice sent to her by the UP Commission for Protection of Child Rights over the former's remarks on reports of 57 inmates of a government women's shelter home at Kanpur being infected with Coronavirus and seven girls being pregnant, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday (June 26) dared the state government to act against her.

Priyanka, who has been targeting the BJP government in the state over different issues, also attacked the rival opposition parties in the state and termed them ''undeclared spokesmen'' of the BJP though in a veiled manner.

In a series of tweets, the Congress leader said that it was her duty as a ''servant of the people'' to bring the truth to light and not put forward the ''government propaganda''.

''UP government is free to act against me but it should not waste time in issuing me threats through its different departments....I will keep on putting the truth before the people,'' she said.

''I am the granddaughter of Indira Gandhi and not undeclared spokesmen of the BJP like some opposition leaders,'', Priyanka said apparently referring to BSP supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav.

The Commission has issued a notice to Priyanka asking her to withdraw her remark on the shelter home incident.

Earlier Priyanka had been sent a notice by the district magistrate of Agra over former's posts regarding death from Coronavirus infection in the district and asked her to retract the same. Priyanka did not retract her posts but did change some words in the same.

While Mayawati has gone soft toward the BJP, Akhilesh has been taking on the state government through tweets on a regular basis.

Priyanka's attack on the rival opposition leaders is being seen as an attempt to send a message that Congress is the only party, which is fighting the BJP in UP.
By IANS

MUMBAI: Filmmaker Ananth Mahadevan, whose film "Mai Ghat: Crime No 103/2005" is being screened at 'Marche du Film Online of 73rd Cannes Film Festival, says that the film holds more relevance in the present time than ever, considering police brutality is a global phenomenon now.

Mahadevan's film is based on the real-life story of Prabhavati Amma from Kerala, who lost her son Udayakumar due to police brutality in 2005.

Citing the example of the killing of African-American George Floyd by the police that took place in the US, Ananth said: "I think suddenly the rage against the police brutality has gone to its pick, a lot of protests are taking place worldwide. Whether it is in our country or in abroad, there are so many videos and news coverage we get to see on police brutality these days. Although it is not a new practice where innocents are brutalised by the police, the conversation around it has come into the forefront."

"On the other hands, the story of my film is also of quiet rage, and the battle of a mother who has to wait for justice to be served, for her son who died owing to police brutality."

The film features Usha Yadav as the female protagonist. It was selected for the Indian Panorama section and screened in International Film Festival in Goa last year. Usha bagged the Silver Peacock as Best Actress.

About casting Usha Yadav as his leading lady in his Marathi film, Ananth said: "Usha Yadav is a brilliant actress! In the film, she aged from the age of 25 to the age of 60 years old. With the kind of body language, expression she played the older version of the character, it is really impressive. For the rest of the characters, I cast actors from theatre because I looked for real faces."
Keep it aloft by noticing the goodwill of others, recognizing your own strength and by finding delight in unexpected places.

Salt Lake Community College is proud to announce the debut of its virtual commencement ceremony in honor of its graduating class of 2020. The ceremony is available to view at slcc.edu, and graduates are invited to watch at their convenience and celebrate their achievements with family and friends.

Commencement is the most anticipated and memorable event of the year at SLCC, with the colleges 2020 ceremony originally scheduled for May 8 at West Valley Citys Maverik Center. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic the event was cancelled, moving school officials to create a virtual tribute for its 2020 grads. This unique commencement still features traditional elements of past graduation ceremonies, including congratulatory messages from college faculty, musical performances and a message to students delivered by Dr. Deneece G. Huftalin, president of SLCC.

You would not be where you are today without resilience, courage and hope, said President Huftalin. As you move forward in life, keep an eye on the elevation of your soul and endeavor to keep it aloft. Keep it aloft by noticing the goodwill of others, recognizing your own strength and by finding delight in unexpected places.

To keep with its tradition of recognizing graduates individually as they receive their diplomas, SLCC invited each student to submit a photo for display while their name is read during the virtual ceremony. The college also sent celebration packages to each graduate that included a cap and tassel, a printed event program and an invitation to walk across the stage at next years commencement ceremony, scheduled for May 7, 2021.

In addition, during this years celebration SLCC recognized its Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters recipients Jerry M. Taylor of Taylor Electric, former KSL-TV host Edna Anderson-Taylor and president of Key Banks Utah Market Terry L. Grant. Also recognized were the colleges Distinguished Alumni Award recipients Davis M. Smith, founder of Cotopaxi, and Christina Andino, social worker for the Canyons School District. The Taylors, Grant, Smith and Andino will be honored during next years in-person ceremony as well.

SLCCs online commencement also features a video tribute to its 2020 Graduates of Excellence: Carroll Glidden, General Studies; Joshua Elkins, School of Applied Technology and Technical Specialties; Kaori Schrank, School of Arts, Communication and Media; Madison Cochrane, School of Business; Amanda Farris, School of Health Sciences; Anna Timothy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences; and Juman Al-Haddad, School of Science, Mathematics and Engineering.

Other individuals acknowledged at this years event were SLCCs Teaching Excellence Award winners, which include Assistant Professor of Communications Jodie Jones, Associate Professor of Visual Art & Design Kerry Gonzales and online anthropology instructor Marisa Maughan. The schools Spring 2021 Distinguished Faculty Lecturer, named each year during commencement, is music professor Dr. Craig E. Ferrin.

SLCCs class of 2020 consists of 3,518 students, including 1,527 who are the first in their families to attend college and 122 military veterans. The oldest graduate is 64 and the youngest is 16. Also among the graduates are eight students who earned their diplomas through the colleges Prison Education Program at the Utah State Prison.

Salt Lake Community College is Utahs largest open-access college, educating and training the states most diverse student body in 8 areas of study at 12 locations and online. The majority of SLCC graduates transfer to four-year institutions, and thousands contribute to Utahs vibrant economy by moving directly into the workforce.
Brushing aside canards being spread by certain lobbies against reforms, Power Minister R K Singh on Friday said the only challenge left is to make the sector viable through efforts like amendments in the Electricity Act and revising tariff policy.

"India is a power surplus nation. We are well connected (in terms of power transmission). Over one lakh MW electricity can be transmitted from one region to another region in the country. We have met all challenges in the sector but the only challenge left here is making it viable," Singh told PTI in an interview.

He said three canards are being spread against various reforms in the power sector which includes a claim that there would be infringement of states' rights to appoint members of state power regulators and this power is being transferred to the central government under the proposed Electricity Act.

The minister explained that there is no proposal to take away the power of appointment of members/chairpersons of State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERC) from state governments.

As per the draft of the Electricity Amendment Bill (circulated in April this year), the appointments of members/chairpersons of SERCs will continue to be made by state governments.

The Selection Committee currently has equal number of members from the Centre and states  one member from the central government and one from state governments.

The proposed Selection Committee in the draft Bill also has equal number of members from the Centre and states as earlier.

The only difference is that instead of the Selection Committee being presided over by a retired Judge of a High Court, it is proposed that the committee be headed by a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court, the minister explained.

Instead of multiplicity of Selection Committees, there will be one Selection Committee for drawing up of panels for the vacancies in the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and SERCs, he said.

He assured that the appointments will continue to be made by the Centre for CERC and by state governments for SERCs as before.

The reason for this proposed amendment is that currently every state has to constitute a separate Selection Committee for each fresh vacancy and this took time.

In some cases, the time taken for appointment was up to 2 years leading to disruption of work of the regulatory commission.

However, based on the suggestions received, the Centre is now considering to continue with the existing separate Selection Committees for each state  but make them Standing Selection Committees so that there is no need for constituting them afresh every time a vacancy occurs.

The minister said the second misconception is the DBT (direct benefit transfer) is against the interest of consumers, especially farmers.

"It has been argued that if states are not able to pay the subsidies on time, the electricity supply to the consumers may get disconnected. This is baseless," he claimed.

As per Section 65 of the Electricity Act, 2003, the state government is required to pay the amount of subsidy in advance to the distribution companies. The subsidy is now being proposed to be given into the account of the consumers maintained by the distribution companies through DBT.

He said it is being provided in the new tariff policy that the electricity supply shall not be discontinued even if the state government is unable to pay the subsidy in time or even if it fails to pay the subsidy for 3 to 4 months.

The DBT will benefit the distribution company by making sure that the subsidies due are received as per the number of beneficiaries.

It may be noted that the Centre has implemented DBT for 419 schemes pertaining to 56 ministries with cumulative savings of Rs 1.70 lakh crore.

He said the third misconception on reforms in the sector is that the power to set retail power tariff is being transferred from state to central government.

"Another misconception is that currently state governments fix tariff for retail supply of electricity to consumers and this is proposed to be taken over by the central government. This is again absolutely baseless. Presently, the tariff is determined by SERCs and no change has been proposed in the present arrangement," he added.
Additional reporting by Aoife Moore

Sinn Fein is ready for opposition and will "continue to fight for change", the party says.

Despite receiving the highest number of first preference votes in February's election, Mary Lou McDonald's party will now lead the opposition in the Dail. Finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said that the Fianna Fail-Fine Gael coalition represented a "circling of the wagons" by the Civil War parties.

"People voted for change in the general election, they voted for a fresh start and for a new beginning. They voted for a move away from the two parties that have shared power in this State for nearly one hundred years.

"Faced with the prospect of a Government of Change, the two old parties have come together to circle the wagons to exclude Sinn Fein, and they are using the Green Party as a fig leaf to do this.

"The reality is that the desire for change is even stronger now than it was in February. People know what it's like to have Fianna Fail and Fine Gael in power together."

Sinn Fein sources had indicated that the party would introduce the Occupied Territories Bill, which would ban trade with occupied settlements in Israel, in the early days of the government. This could require Fianna Fail and Green Party members to vote against a bill which they have previously supported. Party housing spokesperson Eoin O Broin said the move could happen within months.

There has been mounting speculation that Sinn Fein will table the Occupied Territories Bill in the first six months of the new government.

"I'm not so sure the people of Palestine can wait six months," Mr O'Broin said, who added it was "hard to say" how long the proposed government would last.

"I think once we successfully exit out of COVID-19 and that hasn't happened yet, I do think the public's concern is going to shift.

"I think once those issues of (housing and healthcare) bubble back up to the top of the political agenda, then if a government isn't dealing with those in an adequate way, that government is going to be short-lived, and if you consider the number of spats that we've heard between the three over the last number of weeks, if they're already at each other's throats before the government is formed.

"What's going to happen afterwards?"

Meanwhile, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said that the approval of the deal paved the way for "more of the same".

In voting for this Programme for Government the Green party have, in effect, given the green light to maintain the status quo rather than to bring about the change people voted for in the general election."
Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has said that third level students and their families are still finding it extremely difficult to access refunds for unused accommodation despite being months into the Covid-19 crisis.

Deputy Nolan had previously called on the Minister for Education, Joe McHugh to consider introducing a statutory obligation that would mandate private student accommodation providers to refund any fees or costs associated with unused accommodation services.

We are now months into this situation and private accommodation providers have had ample time to provide refunds to students and their families," she commented.

"Unfortunately, this is not happening in all cases despite the introduction of some very fair policies by a number of colleges and universities.

"I am also dealing with families and students who are being offered accommodation credits instead of actual refunds.

"This is just not acceptable as many students will have placements away from college depending on the year they are in.

"They need the money they have already handed out to pay for some of the expenses associated with these placements or simply just to put toward an alternative means of accommodation.

"One of the difficulties here is that refund or cancellation policies in student accommodation are normally set out in the license agreement signed at the beginning of the academic year.

"But these agreements may not have factored in for the occurrence of something like Covid-19. In that respect, we may be seeing practices like those the insurance sector tried to engage in.

"I would encourage all students and their families to be aware that under the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 students have access to the Dispute Resolution Services of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

"If their problems persist in terms of accessing refunds they should immediately engage with the RTB, concluded Deputy Nolan.
The federal government's response to covid-19 has been haphazard, mismanaged and ultimately deadly. Yet the Trump administration is trumpeting the country's "success" against the pandemic, with the vice president recently declaring that the U.S. response to covid-19 is "cause for celebration."

As doctors, we are not celebrating. With more than 125,000 people in the United States dead from covid-19 and new cases climbing in 29 states, this is no time to let down our guard. And while the issue may have faded from the headlines, health workers in many parts of the country still lack personal protective equipment (PPE). Doctors' and nurses' pleas for masks and gloves may no longer be trending on social media, but the nationwide PPE crisis persists.

We have seen colleagues and friends forced to make impossible decisions - putting their own lives at risk to care for covid-19 patients because they didn't have the proper protective equipment. Some health workers have lost their jobs for speaking out about these shortages. The danger is real: At least 939 health workers have died of covid-19 in the U.S., according to National Nurses United, and this is likely an undercount. These deaths were largely preventable.

Whether we're still in the first wave of covid-19 infections or preparing for the second, this much is true: We cannot abandon medical workers again by not providing the protective equipment they need. But to date, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has only issued voluntary worker-protection standards in health care settings. This leaves these standards unenforceable. Many complaints about potentially life-threatening safety issues have gone unaddressed.

With the Trump administration attempting to simply wish away the pandemic, it's again up to the states to shape the next phase of our response to covid-19. Crucially, this includes a responsibility to protect the health workers on the front lines in the weeks and months ahead.

This is why thousands of health professionals, including our organization, Physicians for Human Rights, are calling on governors in all 50 states to exercise their authority to protect front-line health workers during the pandemic. That means setting clear and enforceable workplace safety standards, and mandating the provision of personal protective equipment. Governors should also enact clear standards for social distancing and hygiene measures, and enhance whistleblower protections.

This week, Virginia proposed the country's first-ever pandemic emergency workplace safety standards - the clearest signal yet of OSHA's neglect of its duty to protect health workers. The new state regulations are expected to include mandatory guidelines for PPE, sanitation and other workplace safety guidance, as well as protections from retaliation for health workers who speak out about safety concerns. This is an encouraging development, but whether it will save lives depends largely on the state's enforcement practices.

Some states, including Maryland and New York, have OSHA-approved state plans that meet or exceed national standards. That means they can impose stricter safety rules in public health-care facilities, and in some cases private ones, too. In places where there is no state plan, governors and state legislatures must step in and institute emergency standards for worker safety and enforcement that go beyond OSHA's voluntary measures. OSHA's nonenforceable standards currently set a very low bar for health worker safety during a pandemic. The states aiming higher will save lives.

Given these gaps, it is crucial that Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, R, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D, the chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the National Governors Association, exercise their leadership to push for universal protections for health care workers across the nation. States can look to the California model, where there are standards set and generally enforced by the state for social distancing, face masks, hand sanitizing, washing and gloves. California also boasts regular workplace disinfection, increased ventilation and notification of infections.

Beyond passing new standards, it is essential that states enforce them. Once issued, relevant state agencies should be mandated to enforce standards under their own authority. States' attorneys general should likewise be mandated to enforce these standards through the courts. States should also not overlook the critical importance of protecting health workers from discrimination or dismissal for speaking out in the face of dangerous conditions. Likewise, health workers should not face retribution for bringing additional personal protection to their jobs when employers are unable to provide adequate PPE.

As physicians, we know that the U.S. is still facing the biggest public health emergency in our lifetimes. The leadership of governors across the country has been vital in mitigating an even deadlier disaster. As we enter the fifth month of the coronavirus crisis, state-level leaders must rise to meet the moment. That means protecting the health workers who protect all of us.

- - -

Heisler is medical director at Physicians for Human Rights and a professor of internal medicine and public health at the University of Michigan. Mishori is senior medical adviser at Physicians for Human Rights and a professor of family medicine at Georgetown University.
Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Shipping (Independent charge) and Chemicals & Fertilisers, New Delhi talks about the various initiatives being taken in India during COVID-19

"An ecosystem is being built for a self-reliant India, which will help in ramping up domestic production in pharmaceutical sector, health & hygiene sector. The government has already announced giving incentives for setting up of bulk drug park and medical device park in India. The government is ready to help the private sector if they want to set up such parks in India by equity participation. Such developments will act as a cog in the wheel of a self-reliant India.Also, traditional medicines are playing an important role in supporting the governments efforts to tackle the corona crisis

- Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Shipping (Independent charge) and Chemicals & Fertilisers, New Delhi.
History: Long Islander Pairs with Roosevelt Cousin to Become First Unaccompanied Women to Travel Around the World by Motorcar

Arts & Culture

By Ls Cohen Published: June 26 2020

Edna Olmsted joined Leila Roosevelt on the adventure of a lifetime in 1933.

In 1933, when Leila Roosevelt - a cousin of President Theodore Roosevelt - wanted a travel partner to journey around the world, she put an ad in a magazine looking for a female companion who could handle a gun and was a decent mechanic. Northport native, Edna Olmsted answered the call and according to the Northport Historical Society, the pair went on the adventure of a lifetime and made history at the same time.

The New York Times reported on the progress of their trip.

Mrs. Leila Roosevelt Denis and her companion and mechanic, Miss Edna Olmstead, have completed more than two-thirds of their 10,000-mile overland automobile trip from Antwerp to Singapore, according to word, received here yesterday, the paper reported on November 30, 1933.

The report also said that they crossed the Arabian Desert from Damascus to Baghdad in 26 hours of continuous driving. The drive was full of adventure and hardships.

Roosevelt and Olmstead returned home to New York a year later.

Watch a video by the Northport Historical Society about Edna Olmsteds epic history-making journey here.
Fianna Fails finance spokesperson Michael McGrath has said he is quietly confident that his partys members will vote in favour of the programme for government.

There had been a respectful debate within the party which had been policy-focused, he told RTE radios Morning Ireland.

Mr McGrath said he did not buy into the language of civil war politics, that was part of history. From now on voters would decide election-by-election on policies, he said.

He had no doubt that in the next election both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael would contest it as separate parties.

The Cork TD also denied that Fine Gael and Fianna Fail were similar. There had been major policy differences between the parties over the years, he said.

Going into coalition was a huge step, an historic step. This was an outstanding opportunity for Fianna Fail to secure its identity as a political party.

Another Cork TD, Fine Gaels Colm Burke, said it would be important for his party to keep its identity during the coalition.

He repeated Tanaiste Simon Coveneys GAA analogy of two rival parish teams joining forces to create a stronger team despite a history of taking lumps out of each other.

He said: "There will be practical challenges, but it would be important for both parties to work together in coalition."
Hun Sen Tempers Speculation Son Will Be Next Cambodian Leader

By Luke Hunt June 25, 2020

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has groomed his eldest son as a potential successor ever since that son, Hun Manet, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point almost 20 years ago, and is confidently predicting his ruling Cambodian People's Party will remain in power for another 100 years.

Analysts say, though, that that rise is far from certain and Lieutenant General Hun Manet  who also heads the army  will have to negotiate the CPP politburo, factionalism, a fickle public and China to win enough support to govern this one-party state.

Even Hun Sen, the region's longest-serving leader, has tempered recent speculation that the top job was his son's for the taking, saying there were many capable candidates who could contest any future leadership bid.

"It depends on people's voices. The first concern is whether the party would accept him. The second is the general elections," he said in a speech after the latest bout of leadership speculation.

"I will support and educate him to unleash his fullest potential."

Hun Manet's elevation through the military ranks was swift, and his recent appointment as chairman of the CPP's youth wing, alongside a political mission to China, and his father's authoritarian rule, had further fueled talk about his political ambitions.

Gavin Greenwood, an analyst with A2 Global Risk, a Hong Kong-based security consultancy, told VOA that in raising Hun Manet's potential succession, legitimate questions about Hun Sen's rule are also raised, ranging from the prime minister's health to military loyalty.

"It's always where the trouble is now, in places with a strong ruler. It's very rarely that the masses coming up from the bottom who are the threat, it's the people around you," he said, adding the leadership talk was one way keeping the troops in line.

"Why is he raising this whole issue now, specifically, or does he feel threatened?

"Is this essentially a warning to sections of the military that they need to remain loyal and to follow the dynasty and his son?" Greenwood asked.

"There's more questions than answers, but with autocracy that's usually the case," he said.

Hun Sen returned his country to being a one-party state in 2018 elections, widely derided as a sham, when the CPP won all 125 seats in the National Assembly, the lower house of the country's Parliament.

Victory was assured after the main political opposition party was banned, independent newspapers were closed or sold to government-friendly interests and human rights activists were jailed or fled.

Opposition leader Kem Sokha remains under house arrest on treason charges.

Carl Thayer, emeritus professor with the University of New South Wales, said that by grooming his son for leadership through political appointments but playing down his prospects in public, Hun Sen was limiting any potential rivals for the leadership.

"The minute Hun Sen says that; that's the anointed one, then it gives the opposition, disgruntled forces the opportunity to attempt to organize and block it. So to keep everybody guessing is probably the better game that there is," he said.

Prior to elections two years ago Hun Sen, 67, said, despite health concerns, he would lead Cambodia for another 10 years, until he is 75. He has also eschewed the West and its criticisms while forging closer ties with China, which has invested billions of dollars in Cambodia.

"China is absolutely crucial," Greenwood said in regard to any transfer of power. "Their record is that every country that borders China, China has  as far as its concerned  has issues with.

"The last thing they want in any of these countries is something that's going to affect stability and order and cause any sort of repercussions and resonances that's might come back over the border at them."

Thayer echoed those sentiments.

"Whenever there's a leadership transition, or about to be, China makes it clear to its friends who it doesn't like, who it sees as anti-China, and who it would object to.

"So, China's got to be convinced that Hun Manet will carry on like his father and protect China's interest and that the transition would not be destabilizing."

Until then, Thayer said Hun Sen would remain the sole person to determine who replaces him, and he would be ably backed by Hun Manet and another son Hun Manith who is also in the military and heads the Defense Ministry's Intelligence Directorate.

"Hun Sen is the center of that regime and his network protects him," he said. "He's got two sons in the military. They would ensure, in the meantime, that the military isn't used or moves against Hun Sen."

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North Dakota health officials on Thursday said 12 counties have reported new cases of the coronavirus, including seven positive tests each in Cass and Grand Forks counties.

Officials said 32 people were confirmed with COVID-19 in the last day, increasing the states total since the pandemic began to nearly 4,000. Nearly 3,000 tests were included in the update.

Other counties registering new cases Thursday were Burleigh, McKenize, Morton, Richland, Rolette, Sargent, Stark, Walsh, Ward and Williams. The state has now seen cases in all but five counties.

The number of hospitalizations dropped by two, to 25. The death toll remains at 78.

The report comes as outdoor visitation and limited indoor activities for residents have now been approved for nearly all of the long-term care facilities in North Dakota, the Bismarck Tribune reported. Close to one-fifth of them have met the state threshold for resuming indoor visitation with restrictions.

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.
"I am cautiously optimistic that the talks between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban negotiation teams will indeed start in the next few weeks in Doha, during the month of July," Deborah Lyons, the UN Ssecretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, told the Security Council on Thursday.

United Nations, June 26 (IANS) The top UN envoy for Afghanistan has expressed optimism about the peace prospects in the war-torn country, saying talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban could begin in July.

"As the two sides embark on what will likely be a long and complex series of talks, I have encouraged them to show the necessary flexibility and foresight, the commitment to peace and most importantly, compassion for their people, that will be needed to bring these negotiations to a successful conclusion," she said.

The announcement of a three-day Eid al-Fitr ceasefire in May by the Taliban and the Afghan government led to a welcome and much-needed reduction in violence, which is essential to an environment conducive for peace talks and will pave the way for an eventual permanent ceasefire.

But the recent spiraling levels of violence threaten this process, she noted.

Lyons saw encouraging commitment by the two sides on the issue of prisoner releases, which is an important confidence-building measure that has created momentum toward the negotiations.

"As I am speaking to you now, we are in the final stages, and it is noteworthy that both sides have agreed that the (peace) talks could start within a week of the completion of the prisoner releases. But again, this must be commensurate with a reduction in violence," she said.

Lyons recognized the efforts of the US, Qatar, and a number of other regional countries in bringing the Afghan government and the Taliban to this point.

"We all look forward to the formal commencement of the negotiations. The UN stands ready to support these direct talks, as required, and I have been in discussion with both sides to identify and address their needs going forward. We are working now very closely with a number of countries to build a network of support for the talks and for the parties, as needed."

Lyons also voiced concern over the impact of COVID-19 on the livelihood of Afghans.

"At the same time as peace rises out there on the horizon, COVID-19 is casting a huge shadow over Afghan daily life," she said.

The global pandemic also poses unique challenges for the operational posture of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which Lyons leads, and has limited its ability to fully deliver on its mandate, she said.

In light of the scale of the crisis and the crippling economic consequences, the UN humanitarian response plan for Afghanistan has been updated to incorporate the COVID-19 requirements for 2020.

In total, $1.1 billion is now required, she added.

--IANS

ksk/
BRUSSELS - Five mixed-race women born in Congo when the country was under Belgian rule who were taken away from their Black mothers have filed a lawsuit for crimes against humanity targeting the Belgian state.

With their claim, they hope Belgium will finally recognize its responsibility in the suffering endured by the thousands of mixed-race children, known as metis,? who were snatched away from families and placed in religious institutions and homes.

This systematic policy of racially motivated abduction is a crime against humanity, Michele Hirsch, a lawyer for the women, told The Associated Press on Friday. It is not enough to say: We apologize. Reality has to be taken into account. Their lives have been shattered.

Last year, Belgiums then-prime minister, Charles Michel, apologised to the metis children who were kidnapped toward the end of the colonization period in the 1940s and 1950s.

The five women, all born between 1945 and 1950, filed their lawsuit as the Democratic Republic of Congo prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the countrys independence amid growing demands that Belgium reassess its colonial past. In the wake of the protests against racial inequality in the United States, several statues of King Leopold II, who is blamed for the deaths of millions of Africans during Belgiums colonial rule, have been sprayed with paint, while a petition called for the country to remove all statues of the former king.

Hirsch said the five women  four who now live in Belgium and one in France  were aged between 2 and 4 when they were taken away at the request of the Belgian colonial administration, in co-operation with the local Catholic church authorities.

Their fathers were white and did not legally recognize their child, Hirsch said.

According to the legal documents, in all five cases the fathers did not exercise parental authority and the Belgian administration threatened the childrens Congolese families with reprisals if they refused to let them go.

The children were placed at a religious mission in Katende, in the province of Kasai, with the Sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul. There, they lived with some 20 other mixed-race girls and Indigenous orphans in very hard conditions.

They arrived without clothes or shoes, having lost all their affective bonds, Hirsch said. Some children were allowed to go to school, but they also needed to work.

According to the lawyer, the Belgian states strategy aimed at preventing interracial unions and isolating metis children, known as the children of shame, to make sure they would not claim a link with Belgium later in their lives.

After independence, the legal documents claim that the children were left abandoned by both the State and the Church, and that some of them were sexually molested by militia fighters.

The women have requested compensation of 50,000 euros each.

This is not for the money, Hirsch said. We want a law that can apply to all so that the Belgian State recognizes the crimes committed and the suffering endured by metis children.
June 26, 2020, held behind closed doors

Regulatory News:

Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies (Paris:ALHGR) (ISIN: FR0013451044, Ticker: ALHGR) ("Hoffmann Green" or the "Company"), a pioneer in low-carbon cement, informs its shareholders that its Combined General Meeting was held behind closed doors, without the physical presence of its shareholders or other people allowed to assist, on Friday 26 June, 2020 at 2:00 pm in Bournezeau, France, and chaired by Mr. Eric Cougnaud, President of the Supervisory Board.

Following this Combined General Meeting, Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies informs its shareholders that the number of shares held by shareholders who voted by post or by proxy was 11,642,040 out of the 13,592,517 shares with voting rights, representing a quorum of 85.65%.

All the resolutions of this Combined General Meeting were adopted.

The Company wishes to thank all its shareholders for their commitment and support.

The detailed results of the votes by resolution at this Combined General Meeting are as follows:

Resolution no Resolutions No of votes FOR No of votes AGAINST No of ABSTENTION Votes Result of the vote Ordinary General Meeting 1 Examination and approval of the statutory financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 19,578,462 0 0 For 100.00% Resolution adopted Against 0.00% Abstention 0.00% 2 Examination and approval of the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 19,578,462 0 0 For 100.00% Resolution adopted Against 0.00% Abstention 0.00% 3 Allocation of the result for the financial year ended 31 December, 2019 19,578,462 0 0 For 100.00% Resolution adopted Against 0.00% Abstention 0.00% 4 Examination of the special report of the Statutory Auditors on regulated agreements and approval of the said report 19,549,586 28,876 0 For 99.85% Resolution adopted Against 0.15% Abstention 0.00% 5 Reappointment of Mr Gil Briand as Supervisory Board member of the Company 19,364,855 213,607 0 For 98.91% Resolution adopted Against 1.09% Abstention 0.00% 6 Reappointment of Mr Herve Montjotin as Supervisory Board member of the Company 19,314,298 264,164 0 For 98.65% Resolution adopted Against 1.35% Abstention 0.00% 7 Determination of the global annual compensation amount allocated the Supervisory Board members 19,549,586 28,876 0 For 99.85% Resolution adopted Against 0.15% Abstention 0.00% 8 Delegation of authority to be granted to the Management Board to trade in the Company's shares 18,977,589 600,873 0 For 96.93% Resolution adopted Against 3.07% Abstention 0.00% Resolution no Resolutions No of votes FOR No of votes AGAINST No of ABSTENTION Votes Result of the vote Extraordinary General Meeting 9 Delegation of authority to be granted to the Management Board to issue, with preferential subscription rights maintained, shares and/or securities giving access to new shares of the Company 19,467,186 111,276 0 For 99.43% Resolution Adopted Against 0.57% Abstention 0.00% 10 Delegation of authority to be granted to the Management Board to issue, with preferential subscription rights cancelled, shares and/or securities giving access to new shares of the Company in accordance with Article L. 225-136 of the French Commercial Code (...) 19,212,029 366,433 0 For 98.13% Resolution Adopted Against 1.87% Abstention 0.00% 11 Delegation of authority to be granted to the Management Board to issue shares and/or securities giving access to new shares, with preferential subscription rights cancelled for the benefit of a category of people 18,771,073 807,389 0 For 95.88% Resolution Adopted Against 4.12% Abstention 0.00% 12 Authorization to be granted to the Management Board to increase, in accordance with Article L. 225-135-1 of the French Commercial Code, the number of shares to be issued in connection with the issuance or shares with or without preferential subscription rights 19,212,379 366,083 0 For 98.13% Resolution Adopted Against 1.87% Abstention 0.00% 13 Delegation of authority to be granted to the Management Board for the purpose of issuing shares and/or securities dedicated to employees who are members of a company savings plan, with preferential subscription rights cancelled in favor of such employees (...) 19,429,938 148,524 0 For 99.24% Resolution Adopted Against 0.76% Abstention 0.00% 14 Limits granted on cash issue authorisations 19,578,462 0 0 For 100.00% Resolution Adopted Against 0.00% Abstention 0.00% 15 Delegation of powers to be granted to the Management Board for the purpose of issuing securities giving access to new shares of the Company, with preferential subscription rights cancelled, in connection with an exchange offer 18,760,579 817,883 0 For 95.82% Resolution Adopted Against 4.18% Abstention 0.00% 16 Authorization to be granted to the Management Board to make free allocations of shares with preferential subscription rights cancelled to eligible employees or corporate officers of the Company and affiliated companies 18,615,211 963,251 0 For 95.08% Resolution Adopted Against 4.92% Abstention 0.00% 17 Authorization to be granted to the Management Board to grant stock options to eligible employees or officers of the Company or of related companies 18,311,745 1,261,012 0 For 93.56% Resolution Adopted Against 6.44% Abstention 0.00% 18 Delegation of powers to be granted to the Management Board to increase the share capital by incorporation of share premium, reserves or other items in accordance with Article L. 225-130 of the French Commercial Code 18,317,450 16,362 0 For 99.92% Resolution Adopted Against 0.08% Abstention 0.00% 19 Authorization to be granted to the Management Board to reduce the share capital by cancellation of treasury shares 19,562,100 334,137 0 For 98.29% Resolution Adopted Against 1.71% Abstention 0.00%

The minutes of this Combined General Meeting will be made available soon on the Company's website (in French): https://www.ciments-hoffmann.fr/investisseurs/espace-actionnaires/assemblees-generales/

Financial calendar:

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.fr

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005416/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
While 19,085 samples were tested for the virus during the last 24 hours, till date 7, 69,319 samples have been conducted and the government plans to test the entire population within a 3-month time-frame.

Amaravati, June 25 (IANS) A day after it crossed the 10,000-mark, Andhra Pradesh's overall tally of Covid-19 cases touched 10,884, including returnees from other states and abroad. The state nodal officer reported that 477 Covid new cases were detected in the 24 hours ending 9 a.m., on Thursday.

In all, 118 people were discharged in the last 24 hours. While the active cases stand at 5,760, the the number of people who have been discharged increased to 4,988 on Thursday.

Seven persons were reported dead from different parts of the state, taking the death toll to 136. Kurnool, Krishna and Guntur districts reported 2 deaths each while 1 death was reported from East Godavari district.

During the preceding 24 hours, new cases were reported from all the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh. Kurnool district reported the highest tally of 72 cases, followed by Guntur with 67 cases, and East Godavari with 64 cases on Thursday.

Thursday also saw a rise in the number of Covid cases among people returning from other states. Compared to 37 cases on Wednesday, there were 69 new cases detected among people belonging to this category on Thursday. While 33 of the covid positive samples belonged to returnees from Tamil Nadu, 27 positive samples belonged to returnees from Telangana, and 2 positive samples were of people returning from Maharashtra. On Thursday 3 positive samples were of people returning from Delhi, 2 cases pertained to returnees from Karnataka, and 1 each from Rajasthan and Jharkhand.

The overall tally of Covid positive persons who returned from other states currently stands at 1,730. Of this, the active cases tally is 652, while 1,078 persons have been discharged till date. There has been a constant flow of positive cases among foreign returnees also. On Thursday, 2 samples each were detected from people returning from Kuwait, Kazakhstan, and Bangladesh. There was also one positive case from a UK returnee.

The cumulative tally of covid patients in foreign returnees category is 371, while 80 persons have been discharged after getting cured. As of Thursday, 291 persons in this category are undergoing treatment in hospitals.

--IANS

pvn/skp/
NUR-SULTAN -- Police have detained two men who staged separate pickets outside the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan's capital, Nur-Sultan, demanding the release of relatives being held in custody in China's northwestern Xinjiang region.



Aqiqat Qaliolla and Zhenis Zarqyn came to an area next to the embassy on June 26 with their hands and legs chained and posters on their bodies with portraits of family members. Zarqyn chained himself to a metal fence near the embassy.



Both said their relatives are being held in so-called "reeducation camps" in Xinjiang and demanded that Chinese authorities release them.



Special police forces came to the site and took the two men away shortly after they started their protest.



Many similar protests have taken place in Kazakhstan in recent months, with demonstrators demanding Kazakh authorities officially intervene in the situation faced by ethnic Kazakhs in Xinjiang.

'Reeducation Camps'



In August 2018, the United Nations said an estimated 1 million Uyghurs and members of other indigenous ethnic groups in the region were being held in "counterextremism centers."



The UN said millions more had been forced into so-called "reeducation camps." China denies that the facilities are internment camps.



People who have fled the province say that thousands of ethnic Kazakhs, Uyghurs, and other Muslims in Xinjiang are undergoing "political indoctrination" at a network of camps.

Kazakhs are the second-largest Turkic-speaking indigenous community in Xinjiang after Uyghurs. The region is also home to ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Hui, also known as Dungans. Han, China's largest ethnicity, is the second-largest community in Xinjiang.
When the American Civil Liberties Union ran a test of Amazon.com Inc.'s facial recognition technology, the software falsely matched 28 members of Congress, many of them minorities, with mugshots of arrested people from police files.

Now, some of those lawmakers are drafting new legislation to curtail the use of facial recognition by police departments and government agencies. They're looking to harness the public outrage over police misconduct and racial inequities, which have also put tech companies on the defensive over their sales of these products.

Civil-rights advocates have long complained that facial recognition tools promote bias by misidentifying people of color. But it's taken the widespread anger and sorrow over the death in police custody of George Floyd, an African American Minneapolis man, to galvanize the debate.

"What I've learned is when there's public sentiment around an issue, you can move mountains," said Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a California Democrat who was among those falsely identified in the ACLU test and who is drafting a measure that addresses the accuracy concerns. "People are acknowledging that there is implicit bias in policing, and that leads to interactions that - for people of color - are harmful and can lead to death."

Lawmakers have introduced at least a dozen bills in the last year - including several since Floyd's death - and some are drafting new measures to curtail use of facial recognition by government agencies. But passing any of them won't be easy, with Congress hitting a deadlock this week over a broader police overhaul.

Big Tech is also rushing to catch up with the national reckoning over race. While Amazon contests the ACLU study, it recently announced it would stop, at least temporarily, selling its facial recognition technology to police forces. Microsoft Corp. has said the same. International Business Machines Corp. said it's permanently ending sales of the software. Alphabet Inc.'s Google stopped selling it in 2018.

Yet facial recognition software is already in wide use. The tech giants face formidable competition from smaller providers, such as Ayonix Corp. and Clearview AI Inc., which got a head start selling face-recognition products. So far, they haven't joined the moratorium and could end up controlling a market that's now estimated at $3 billion and could double in three years.

Widespread adoption of facial recognition tools could make the legislative debate rancorous if lawmakers try to limit their use - not just slow or stop future sales.

At least one fourth of all state and local police departments have access to a facial recognition system, according to a 2016 study by Georgetown University's Center on Privacy & Technology. Schools have installed it to secure their buildings. Homeowners have placed around their property cameras that are often connected to police departments, which use facial recognition software to identify potential intruders. Retailers use it to alert security about possible shoplifters.

Federal and local law enforcement use facial recognition to track suspects, find missing persons and keep tabs on protesters. The Federal Bureau of Investigation allows state and local police forces to search a database of more than 30 million photos. Federal agencies such as Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration have been experimenting with facial recognition to automate passenger verification.

While civil libertarians and a wide range of civil-rights groups want strict guardrails, some law-enforcement agencies and security professionals caution against moving too quickly. They say facial recognition in combination with human review is a potent tool for law enforcement.

The Security Industry Association, a trade group for companies that sell security services, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the tech trade group NetChoice and others have called on Congress to mandate uniform facial recognition rules that would override local laws but not impose a full moratorium on police use.

A recent case in Michigan shows the danger of police departments relying too much on the technology. The ACLU alleged in a complaint on Wednesday that the Detroit Police Department wrongfully arrested a man after a false positive by a facial recognition system.

The software inaccurately matched the man, an African American, with a grainy, still image from a surveillance video showing a man allegedly shoplifting watches from a boutique. But the police did little investigating beyond uploading the surveillance photo, the ACLU said. The case, which has been dismissed, may be the first known example of a wrongful arrest because of the technology, according to the ACLU.

Social activists want Congress to think big, and not just agree to a temporary time-out. "Lawmakers need to do their job and protect the public from a technology that research shows is not only racially biased but also just deeply invasive," said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future, a coalition of advocacy groups.

Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have been negotiating a broad bill that would limit all government use of facial recognition, but talks stalled after the death of Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the panel's chairman and the measure's biggest proponent.

Cummings' successor, Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, said she hopes to have legislation ready in the coming weeks. One draft of the bill's text, obtained by Bloomberg, says it would place a one-year moratorium on the new use of facial recognition technology by federal agencies and create an advisory committee to study its use by federal agencies.

On Thursday, two Democratic senators, Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, joined two Democratic House members, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, on a bill that would stop all government use of biometric technology, including facial recognition. The bill would also require state and local police forces to enact their own face-recognition moratoriums to get federal funds.

In the Senate, Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, and Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, are proposing that federal law-enforcement agencies obtain a warrant before using face-recognition technology to track an individual for more than three days.

"I was looking for a midpoint that I could get any Republican to agree to," said Coons, who added that he's open to stricter curbs. "Let's at least start the conversation and then see what the range of options are."

Big Tech's moratorium has potential loopholes. Neither Microsoft nor Amazon will say whether their moratoriums apply just to police departments or also to federal agencies. They also won't say say if they will pursue overseas sales or turn off access to the software to existing customers. Ring, the Amazon-owned doorbell camera-maker, hasn't said whether it will stop giving police departments access to footage.

In Congress, the proposals that have gained the most traction wouldn't address the Michigan case. The sweeping police-overhaul bill that the Democratic-controlled House passed largely on party lines Thursday night would only bar federal law-enforcement agencies from using facial recognition on body cameras and vehicles, leaving state and local governments to set their own rules.

The Republican counter-proposal ignores facial recognition altogether.

If Congress doesn't act, a patchwork of state restrictions may force its hand. Facial recognition critics are flocking to state legislatures and city councils to urge them to pass laws limiting the technology. California, Oregon and Washington have adopted restrictions.

Police use of facial recognition was hardly controversial until recently. Just last year, IBM, Microsoft and Amazon talked about the benefits of giving law enforcement access to the technology as they eyed a burgeoning market, which is expected to grow from $3.2 billion in 2019 to $7 billion by 2024, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets.

Clearview AI claims it has already supplied 2,400 of the more than 18,000 U.S. police departments. Officers can easily upload a photo of a suspect and the extensive database returns other photos scraped from LinkedIn, Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and other social media platforms, plus links to websites that mention the person.

The rapid growth of the program and the data the company has amassed led Markey to question whether the company is helping the government monitor protesters. Clearview Chief Executive Officer Hoan Ton-That said in a statement that the tool is intended to be used to help investigate crimes and "not as a surveillance tool relating to protests or under any other circumstances."

Civil rights activists cite research documenting problems identifying minorities. A 2018 study by researchers from MIT Media Lab and Microsoft showed software from IBM, Microsoft and Face++, a Chinese-developed product, performing worse on darker-skinned people, and especially women, than on whites.

Last year, researchers found similar issues with Amazon's Rekognition software. Amazon questioned the methodology and said its own tests found better results.

"With inaccurate systems, it leaves the harms and the consequences of abuse to fall more disproportionately on people who are already marginalized and vulnerable," said Joy Buolamwini, an MIT Media Lab researcher who worked on the studies. "We have to move the conversation beyond accuracy and look at potential for abuse as well."
A university here has been ordered to pay 60,000 for discriminating against an employee who had significant anxiety over contamination from using work toilets.

The woman has been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Adjudication Officer, Maria Kelly has found that the university failed to make reasonable accommodation for the womans disability and that she was discriminated against on the grounds of her disability.

The woman retired from her role due to ill-health last year as working full time was too stressful because of the toilet issues.

The woman stated that she saw no option but to retire for the sake of her mental health.

The woman commenced employment on November 23, 1998 and she retired on health grounds on January 25 2019.

The woman - who has a Higher Diploma and a Masters in Education - was previously hospitalised due to her OCD in 2008/09 and in 2012.

Due to the womans significant anxiety around using toilets at work, she avoided using the toilets if possible.

In 2018, the woman was diagnosed with incontinence and her doctors advised that not going to the toilet enough over the years had contributed to her developing this condition.

The medical advice to her was to go to the toilet at least every three hours and she advised HR of her disability and requested reasonable accommodation.

During her discussions with the universitys HR Partner the complainant put several suggestions about working part-time at home and part-time in the office, being accommodated with extra toilet breaks, being allowed time to go home to use her own toilet and working at home but collecting and dropping off work at the office.

She stated that all suggestions were rejected as she was told that her role was student-facing, team-based and breaks were twenty minutes in the morning, one hour for lunch.

She stated that the HR Partner was insistent that she could not work from home because of data protection issues.

The woman stated that HR said she could not take extended toilet breaks in the afternoon when she returned to full-time work.

In a letter, the womans consultant psychiatrist stated that he would support either two extra toilet breaks or an arrangement where the complainant works some of her time from home.

File image. Picture: RollingNews.ie

In her findings, Ms Kelly found that the university in not carrying out an individual assessment of the various options on working from home did not take appropriate measures to enable the complainant to continue to participate in employment.

In response to the womans discrimination claim under the Employment Equality Act, Ms Kelly has directed that the employer pay the woman one and a half years compensation as her ill health retirement was supported by strong medical evidence.

Ms Kelly stated that the working from home options were disregarded by the university as there was no working from home policy in place at that time.

Ms Kelly also stated that she was satisfied that the complainant was treated differently to one other member of staff who was facilitated with working from home, for a short period.

The university rejected that the complainant was discriminated against on the grounds of her disability.
A 52-year-old Tanzanian who mined the largest gemstones in his country's history, became a millionaire overnight after selling them for 7.74 billion Tanzanian shillings, or $3.35 million.

Saniniu Laizer said he planned to celebrate by having a big party. He wants to build a school and a shopping mall with the money in his home town at Simanjiro district in Tanzania's Manyara region.

"I want to build this school near my home. There are many poor people around here who can't afford to take their children to school," Laizer told the BBC.

The Tanzanian President John Magufuli expressed his happiness at the find saying, "This is the benefit of small-scale miners and this proves that Tanzania is rich."

Laizer's stones weighed 9.2 kilograms and 5.8 kilograms. While the largest tanzanite gem mined weighed about 3.3 kilograms, according to the BBC. He was mining for the stones at the northern Tanzanian mines.

The dark violet blue tanzanite gems are the rarest among gemstones and is used to make ornaments. The world's supply of the gemstone is likely to deplete in the next 20 years, a local geologist was quoted as saying by a BBC report.

Laizer, who has four wives and more than 30 children, said that he didn't want to let his new wealth change his lifestyle. He says he would continue to care for his 2,000 cows and live without security concerns.
ANN ARBOR, MI  One in three parents in several Midwestern states may not send their children back to school in the fall because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report from Michigan Medicine highlighting the nuanced measures parents and schools must make in the coming months.

The report, released Friday, June 26, surveyed nearly 1,200 parents of school-aged children in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois in June. It comes several days ahead of Gov. Gretchen Whitmers planned release of her Return to School Roadmap on June 30 that will guide districts on how to prepare for in-person learning this fall.

Michigan Medicine pediatrician and researcher Kao-Ping Chua, who led the research, said families are facing the difficult decision of whether to send their children back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the one hand, sending children to school could increase the risk of COVID-19 among children and family members, Chua said in a statement. On the other hand, children who dont return to in-person school may experience disruptions in their education. Some families simply dont have a choice because they need to go to work.

Michigan Republicans propose $1.3 billion plan for reopening K-12 schools this fall

Many respondents supported decreasing the number of children on buses, creating a hybrid in-person, online class schedule, and staggering drop-off and pick-up times as ways to decrease risk at school. Support wavered for other measures, including closing playground structures and stopping extracurricular programs.

A majority of surveyed parents also said they supported face coverings for school staff, at 61%. Support for mask requirements decreased for children in lower grades.

Testing in various situations received broad support, according to the survey. About three in four respondents supported daily temperature screenings and testing classmates of a COVID-19 positive child. Two-thirds said they support weekly random COVID-19 testing of staff and about half supported the same process for children.

Report offers Michigan schools plan to recover from coronavirus hiatus, $1.2 billion deficit

Researchers found differences in responses by race, according to the report. Black, Hispanic and Asian respondents were less likely than white respondents to report plans to send all of their children to school. Fifty-five percent of Black respondents said they would likely send their children to school, compared to 72% of white respondents, 62% of Hispanic respondents and 46% of Asian respondents.

Differences in opinion also showed in results compared by household income. Sixty percent of respondents with an annual household income below $50,000 said they would likely send all their children to school in the fall, with 40% of those households saying they were still unsure of their plans for at least one child. Meanwhile, 66% of respondents with a household income between $50,000 and $100,000 and 76% of households over $100,000 said they would let their children return.

The disparity by household income raises the possibility of potential educational disruption among less advantaged students, Chua said. Efforts should especially be made to understand and address barriers to school attendance for these students, and to ensure high-quality education for students who do not attend school in-person.

Gov. Whitmer optimistic Michigan schools can reopen this fall

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS AND MLIVE:

States handling of COVID in nursing homes worthy of critique, but GOP lawmakers miss mark, experts say

Ann Arbor-based manufacturer recalls laid off workers, looks to hire dozens more

Ann Arbor school board approves new 5-year contract for superintendent
NEW YORK, June 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company (Hamilton or the Company) (NYSE: HBB) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and indexed under 20-cv-02323, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise acquired Hamilton securities between February 27, 2020, and May 8, 2020, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.



If you are a shareholder who purchased Hamilton securities during the class period, you have until July 21, 2020, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

Hamilton was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia. The Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, markets, and distributes small electric household and specialty housewares appliances. The Company sells its products through a network of mass merchandisers, e-commerce retailers, national department stores, variety and drug store chains, specialty home retailers, distributors, and other retail outlets.

As a holding company, Hamilton primarily operates through its subsidiaries, which are located throughout the U.S. and internationally, including Mexico. According to the Companys most recent annual report on Form 10-K, Hamilton has two Mexican subsidiariesGrupo HB/PS S.A. de C.V. and Hamilton Beach Brands de Mexico S.A. de C.V.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about Hamiltons business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (i) Hamilton had inadequate disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, particularly with respect to one of its Mexican subsidiaries; (ii) consequently, the Companys accounting included certain irregularities with respect to the timing of recognition of selling and marketing expenses and the classification of certain expenditures within the statement of operations at this Mexican subsidiary, as well as potential misconduct with respect to the realizability of certain assets of the Mexican subsidiary; (iii) as a result of all the foregoing, Hamilton could not accurately attest to its financial results, particularly with respect to these metrics, and was consequently at an increased risk of delaying the filing of its periodic reports with the SEC; and (iv) as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On May 11, 2020, during pre-market hours, Hamilton announced that it could not timely file its 1Q20 10-Q because of certain accounting irregularities with respect to the timing of recognition of selling and marketing expenses and the classification of certain expenditures within the statement of operations at its Mexican subsidiary. Hamilton further stated that its Audit Review Committee has commenced an internal investigation regarding the realizability of certain assets of the Mexican subsidiary.

Following these disclosures, Hamiltons stock price fell $1.03 per share, or 8.99%, to close at $10.43 per share on May 11, 2020.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com .
By Sabrina Valle

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian miner Vale SA has signed an agreement on monitoring for possible coronavirus cases at its Itabira complex, a major iron ore production facility temporarily shuttered earlier this month out of health concerns, authorities said on Thursday.

A number of sanitary measures including testing all workers every 21 days were agreed with labor prosecutors in Minas Gerais state and with a local court, the authorities said, adding that Vale now had 15 days to draw up the details of a virus mitigation plan. Prosecutors will use reports the company has agreed to produce regularly to decide on possible new actions at the complex, where changes in production levels can potentially affect iron ore prices internationally.

The Itabira complex produced almost 36 million tonnes of iron ore in 2019, according to Vale, out of the company's total production of roughly 302 million tonnes. Vale reopened the mines after a coronavirus-induced lockdown on June 17, without changes in its annual production guidance. But scrutiny over the mines remains, as the death toll in Minas Gerais grows. Brazil has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases globally after the United States. Lawmakers were reported to be seeking to reverse the government's declaration that mining is an "essential industry," UBS analysts said in a note, citing a report by BNamericas.


CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar depreciated against its major counterparts in the European session on Friday, as a slew of positive company updates helped offset concerns about a resurgence in U.S. Covid-19 cases.



Sentiment was also bolstered after U.S. regulators eased bank rules that will free up billions of capital.



Further, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the worst of the coronavirus crisis may be over for the world, but the recovery will be restrained and incomplete.



Investors await personal income and spending data and University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for more direction.



The U.S currency fell to 2-day lows of 0.9469 against the franc and 106.86 against the yen, from its early highs of 0.9491 and 107.24, respectively. The next possible support for the greenback is seen around 0.92 against the franc and 104.00 against the yen.



The greenback dropped to 1.1239 against the euro, after rising to 1.1205 at 3:15 am ET. The greenback is seen finding support around the 1.14 region.



Data from the Destatis showed that Germany's import prices declined notably in May but the annual pace of fall slowed from April.



Import prices decreased 7 percent on a yearly basis in May, slower than the 7.4 percent drop seen in April.



The greenback weakened to a 2-day low of 0.6449 versus the kiwi and held steady thereafter. At yesterday's close, the pair was valued at 0.6429.



The greenback hovered at a 2-day low of 0.6896 versus the aussie and held steady thereafter. The pair was worth 0.6887 at Thursday's close.



In contrast, the greenback firmed to 1.2378 against the pound, setting a 4-day high. On the upside, 1.21 is possibly seen as the next resistance level for the greenback.



The greenback edged up to 1.3663 against the loonie, from an Asian session's decline of 1.3628. If the greenback rises further, it may find resistance around the 1.38 level.



U.S. personal income and spending data for May and University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for June are due in the New York session.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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WASHINGTON, DC, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Xalles Holdings Inc. (OTC: XALL), a fintech holding company providing technology and financial services solutions, today announces that it has executed a Share Purchase Agreement to acquire 100% of 1Rivet DRC, Inc., which is in the process of being renamed to become 1Rivet Global Inc. (1Rivet Global), and provides eGovernment solutions to developing countries. 1Rivet Global was previously a division of 1Rivet, which included 1Rivet US Inc., an award winning North American based consulting organization. 1Rivet US Inc. will continue to focus on their domestic clients in North America.



Xalles Financial Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Xalles Holdings Inc., will acquire all of the common shares of 1Rivet Global and its 2 wholly owned subsidiaries. 1Rivet Global is based in Washington, DC, and services international clients. 1Rivet Global, through its proprietary 1Rivet PublicWorks Platform "1RPP"TM provides eGovernment and payment services to developing and emerging markets. 1Rivet Global will continue to focus its short-term sales and deployment efforts in Africa.

1RPP combines open source frameworks and Microsoft technology for deploying quick-start / leapfrog eGovernment solutions. 1RPP contains rich functionality and best practices from 1Rivets years of experience deploying large-scale, complex public sector management information solutions across North America. 1RPP allows 1Rivet Global to implement solutions immediately without governments needing to have capital budgets, so that benefits can be realized while 1Rivet Global generates recurring revenue.

1Rivet Global will be led by two Managing Partners, Charlie Clavelli and John Patrick (JP) Foley. Mr. Clavelli brings 20+ years of U.S. and International IT Management Consulting and Professional Services experience specializing in Business Development, Operations, and Strategic Talent Acquisition. For the past 3 years, he has helped create and manage 1Rivet Globals portfolio of international opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa focused on Revenue Modernization and Acceleration transforming and greatly expanding emerging governments ability to increase revenue, promote transparency, and control fraud. This expansion led to the creation of 1Rivet PublicWorks Platform. Prior to founding 1Rivet US Inc. in 2005, Charlie was the Vice President, Business Development for a regional staffing firm building and deploying high performing teams in the Telecommunications and eCommerce sectors. Mr. Foley is a global technology industry veteran with over 25 years of executive leadership and entrepreneurial experience founding, leading and growing consulting companies. JP is the former co-founder of Dominion Consulting, Inc. (acquired by TeraThink), an award-winning company headquartered in Washington, DC. Under JPs leadership from 2009 through 2017, Dominion was recognized by Consulting Magazine in 2012 and SmartCEO Magazine in both 2015 and 2016 as an innovative public sector consulting leader. Dominion was also recognized in 2014 - 2016 by the Inc. Magazines Inc. 5000. Prior to founding Dominion Consulting, JP was the co-founder of Washington Consulting, Inc., an award-winning IT company headquartered in the DC area, from 2003-2009 (acquired by Alion Science and Technology in 2006). JP began his career at Andersen Consulting in 1992 following graduation from Virginia Tech.

1RPP will digitize revenue-generating activities and provide a centralized, secure integrated payment gateway supporting:

Royalty collections and recovery

e-Citizen services

Corporate and individual tax revenue collection

Import and export taxes and tariffs

ePayment gateway

1RPP will provide modernization of administration, development of e-Government, and revenue generation. It will provide several benefits to the government, including:

Increased productivity and administrative performance (back office), from administrative management using paper to full paperless electronic management

Strengthening intra- and inter-government communication to optimize administrative channels and decision-making processes

Improving the services provided to citizens and businesses

Real-time monitoring of revenues generated by public and private operators

1Rivet Globals Managing Partner, Charlie Clavelli, stated, The 1Rivet Globals team is excited to be working with the Xalles team to fully realize our vision. Millions of dollars were invested into the 1RPP solution and Xalles fintech and payment systems experience will allow us to deploy a solution that can result in tremendous financial benefits for each client government.

JP Foley, 1Rivet Globals other Managing Partner, also commented, 1Rivet Global, through the 1RPP system, will streamline public sector interactions with citizens and businesses. Each member of the public sector financial ecosystem will benefit. Our team has sales goals to make 1Rivet Global a dominant solutions provider in Africa and within other emerging regions.

Acquiring 1Rivet Global and its vast potential for strategic revenue dramatically helps Xalles in its goal for rapid growth, stated Thomas Nash, Xalles Holdings CEO. He added, 1Rivet Globals business connections and its world-class fintech system, 1RPP, will revolutionize the way emerging markets conduct government business.

Mr. Nash continued, A recent Forbes magazine article reported that fintech in Africa was up 60% over the previous 2 years. With nearly 66% of the population unbanked, you can see why business leaders such as Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey spent over a month meeting with tech entrepreneurs and had planned on moving to Africa for 6 months prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since 2005, the government of China has invested over $300 Billion in Africas infrastructures such as utilities, telecommunications, port construction and transportation. It is no longer a secret that Africa is potentially the next big global opportunity and the 1Rivet Global acquisition will strategically allow Xalles to have a larger footprint within this emerging ecosystem.

The acquisition agreement defines the closing date for this transaction as on or before July 31, 2020. Details of the agreement include Xalles acquiring 100% of 1Rivet Global in exchange for 25,000,000 of Xalles restricted common shares. The 1Rivet Global shareholders will also be eligible for profit-sharing. 1Rivet Global has a pipeline of over $250 million and is expected to generate $8 million in revenue in the first year after the closing date.

About Xalles Holdings Inc. (OTC: XALL)

Xalles Holdings Inc. is a holding company that focuses on acquisition and support of disruptive fintech companies. The company actively seeks targets in which it can partner with or acquire to accelerate growth, targeting companies with solid management teams and business models, large total attainable markets (TAM), and lucrative exit opportunities. The company places an emphasis on leveraging blockchain technologies to provide industry-leading financial reconciliation and auditing solutions, which, over time, will allow for the capture of recurring revenue streams. For more information visit: http://Xalles.com

About 1Rivet Global

1Rivet Global is an international consultancy focused on Revenue Modernization and Acceleration transforming and greatly expanding emerging governments ability to increase revenue, promote transparency, and control fraud. 1Rivets multi-million-dollar investment in research and development on its proprietary 1Rivet PublicWorks Platform (1RPP) will directly benefit international emerging government clients and help pave the way for tremendous socio-economic benefits for the citizenry of these countries. For more information visit https://www.1Rivet.com/International-Consulting

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainty and other factors that may cause our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. This press release should be considered in light of all filings of the Company that are contained in the Edgar Archives of the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov and in OTC Markets at www.otcmarkets.com

Investor Relations Contact:

Info@Xalles.com

www.Xalles.com

202.595.1299 Office

Corporate Communications:

NetworkNewsWire (NNW)

New York, New York

www.NetworkNewsWire.com

212.418.1217 Office

Editor@NetworkWire.com
MBABANE  The country has recorded its eight COVID-19 death. The patient, who is from the Manzini Region, was admitted to the Mbabane Government Hospital Isolation Unit on Monday after he presented with COVID-19 symptoms.



The holding room accommodates only one person for the entire referral hospital.

He died on Wednesday evening, the same day his results were released.



Information gathered from a reliable source was that the results were issued in the morning and the man, aged 70, died later on the same day as preparations to transfer him to the Lubombo Referral Hospital were underway. He said, while still making the preparations, there were challenges of a ventilator as the patient had difficulty in breathing. The plan was that the patient would be ferried to the referral hospital at around 7pm, stated the source.



Confirmed



However, he said around 5pm, the patient was confirmed dead. Coincidentally, two patients who were received at the Outpatient Department (OPD) presented with COVID-19 symptoms. The patients underwent COVID-19 tests and a room at the OPD was turned into an isolation area.



This then created unease as nurses who were supposed to work in the morning shift decided to withdraw themselves from their workstations situated next to the room where the suspect patients had been isolated. Subsequently, the OPD was closed and patients were prevented from entering the area.



Director of Health Services Dr Vusi Magagula confirmed the death of the elderly man. Magagula mentioned that due to the death at the Isolation Unit, the hospital had challenges admitting two suspected COVID-19 positive patients as the unit had not been fumigated. These patients were received on Wednesday evening and yesterday morning. According to Magagula, the patients would be moved upon the issuance of their results.



He said he was not sure when the results would be released as they were currently using manual test kits for COVID-19, which were very slow, adding that the samples came in batches. Meanwhile, Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) President Bheki Mamba said they found it difficult to understand why management failed to communicate on the developments at the OPD when taking the decision. Mamba said employees were taken by surprise upon their return to work the following morning to find a cordoned area at their workstations. No one bothered to report to the staff members about the situation, which is where management was wrong, Mamba said. He said the employees were justified to react in the manner they did as no one came out to explain the situation.
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According to a new research published by Polaris Market Research, the unified communications market is anticipated to reach over USD 186 billion by 2026. In 2017, the IT & telecom segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. North America is expected to be the leading contributor to the global market revenue during the forecast period.

The growing need to improve workforce productivity, streamline enterprise communication, and provide a collaborative working environment has boosted the adoption of unified communication. The penetration of mobile devices, and increasing trend of BYOD further support the growth of this market. Additionally, the increasing demand of unified communication from small and medium enterprises has supported market growth over the years. Increasing investments by vendors in technological advancements coupled with growing demand for cloud-based unified communication services would accelerate the adoption of unified communication. However, growing concerns regarding data security, and lack of interoperability is expected to hinder market growth. Growing demand from emerging economies is expected to provide numerous growth opportunities in the coming years.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/unified-communications-market/request-for-sample

The use of digital assistants and bots in unified communications is expected to increase in the coming years. Computer programs in the form of bots simulate conversation with users through chat windows and voice calls. They have the ability to perform a number of different automated tasks such as scheduling meetings, managing finances, and others. They also assist in successful use of unified communication tools. These bots could be used as an automated attendant monitoring the interactions on unified communication systems and offering instructions to users.

North America generated the highest revenue in the market in 2017, and is expected to lead the global market throughout the forecast period. The presence of established telecom and cloud infrastructure in this region, and growing trend of BYOD drive the market growth in the region. The growing demand of mobile devices, and technological advancements further support market growth in the region. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to growing demand of effective enterprise communication technologies in the developing countries of the region.

The end-users in unified communications market include BFSI, IT & Telecom, healthcare, retail, education, travel and hospitality, and others. In 2017, the IT & Telecom segment accounted for the highest market share owing to increasing need to improve enterprise communication, and improve productivity. The demand for unified communication has increased from startups operating in this sector to improve workforce collaboration, and reduce costs. The increasing adoption of cloud-based unified communication in this sector is expected to support market growth in the coming years.

Browse for full research summary: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/unified-communications-market

The well-known companies profiled in the report include Cisco Systems Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Avaya Inc., IBM Corporation, Verizon Communications, Inc., Polycom, Inc., BT Group, Alcatel-Lucent, NEC Corporation, Unify GmbH & Co. KG, Plantronics Inc., and ShoreTel Inc. among others. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers.

Unified Communications Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Platform Telephony Unified Messaging Conferencing Others

Unified Communications Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Deployment Model On-Premise Cloud-Based

Unified Communications Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by End-User BFSI IT & Telecom Healthcare Retail Education Travel and Hospitality Others

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Chennai, June 26 : The domestic market outlook for the truck industry this fiscal depends on when the Covid-19 lockdown is lifted while currently vehicle production is on, senior officials of Ashok Leyland Limited said on Friday.

They also said the company is also looking at increasing exports with a larger portfolio of products and it is not dependent on component imports from China.

Speaking to reporters, Vipin Sondhi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said the vehicle production at the company plants are happening and the components are being received from suppliers.

He said opening up of the economy is the biggest stimulus for the industry while the focus should be on Covid-19 containment zones to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Queried about the export markets, Sondhi said the company is looking at increasing its exports with its left- and right-hand drive commercial vehicles.

Sondhi said Ashok Leyland is present in the Middle East and in some parts of Africa. The major enabler for increasing the exports is the availability of both left- and right-hand drive vehicles in the company's portfolio.

Gopal Mahadevan, whole-time Director and Chief Financial Officer, too said that the business outlook depends on when the Covid-19 lockdown is lifted.

He said once the lockdown is lifted industry is expected to witness demand for vehicles. A lot depends on when the lockdown is lifted.

On the capex planned for this fiscal, Mahadevan said the company had already completed major investments in the modular vehicle platform AVTR and in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) project Phoenix.

He said the capex for FY21 can be told only during the second quarter of the current year.

With the recent violent face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers at the border and the subsequent calls to boycott Chinese products, Sondhi said Ashok Leyland is not directly dependent on components from China.

However, he added, the company's tier-I vendors may be importing components from China.

Queried about the report about large-scale retrenchment of workers at its Uttrakhand plant, Sondhi said all the permanent employees are still with the company while he remained silent on other class of workers.

Asked about the sale of BSIV emission norm trucks as 'scrap', Sondhi said the company has been focusing on cutting down the inventory of such vehicles.

Mahadevan added that scrapping happens at every company but it was not a strategy for Ashok Leyland. The company had planned to reduce the inventory in a methodical manner.

The company closed last fiscal with a consolidated revenue of Rs.21,951 crore and a net profit of Rs 460 crore as against the FY19 revenue of Rs 33,197 crore and a net profit of Rs 2,195 crore.
The newspapers on Friday, June 26, widely reported on the landmark ruling by an anti-corruption court that slapped Sirisia MP John Waluke and his co-accused Grace Wakhungu with a hefty fine totalling to KSh 2.1 billion, cumulatively.

The papers have also reported on President Uhuru Kenyatta's surprise purge on six allies of Deputy President William Ruto who were kicked out of various parliamentary committees they were heading.

READ ALSO: City driver vanishes with ex Wajir senator's KSh 2.1 million, abandons car at Nyayo House

Kenyan newspapers for June 26. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Mkahawa wa Kempinski watoa taarifa kuhusu video ya wafanyikazi walionaswa wakila tunda kazini

1 The Star

The refined Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) draft now proposes the position of a more powerful prime minister unlike what was contained in the initial document launched at Bomas of Kenya in November 2019.

The updated copy which has already been presented to the president envisages a prime minister with powers to chair Cabinet meetings, leading day to day government businesses and responding to questions in parliament.

The document also proposes the post of two vice prime ministers and the reintroduction of assistant ministers who would be referred to as deputy ministers.

However, the prime minister would still be appointed by the president from a party with the second highest number of MPs in parliament.

The Star newspaper for June 26. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

2. Daily Nation

A historic ruling by an anti-corruption court was made on Thursday, June 25, when Sirisia MP John Waluke and his co-accused Grace Wakhungu were slapped with a fine of KSh 727 million and 707 million respectively or risk a jail term of seven years each.

The two were found guilty of defrauding NCPB KSh 313 million and the court tasked them to pay double for each amount of money they were found to have pocketed from the syndicate.

Waluke and Wakhungu are still held at Kileleshwa Police Station as their legal teams battle to appeal for a more favourable ruling within 14 days.

The Sirisia MP risks losing his seat should he fail to pay the fine and remain in custody for more than six months.

Daily Nation newspaper for June 26. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

3 The Standard

President Uhuru Kenyatta has de-whipped more allies of Deputy President William Ruto who were still serving in various parliamentary committees.

The latest casualties are departmental committee chairmen Julius Melly (Education), Ali Wario (Labour and Social Welfare), William Kisang (Communication, Information and Innovation), Joseph Limo of Finance and Joash Nyamoko (National Planning and Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library)

The six legislators will join 16 others who have since lost plum positions in the House in the ongoing offensive targeting Ruto allies.

The Standard newspaper for June 26. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

4 Taifa Leo

Following the hefty fine that was meted on Sirisia MP John Waluke that has shocked the country, the Swahili publication looks other politicians embroiled in various scandals that may land them in trouble as well.

Lugari MP is facing a corruption case amounting to KSh 122 million

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and his Samburu counterpart Moses Lonolkulal, who have both been barred from accessing their offices, are facing graft charges to a tune of KSh 357 million and 84 million respectively.

Others are former governors Evans Kidero (Nairobi) and Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu) who are accused of defrauding county governments KSh 213 million and 588 million respectively.

Taifa Leo newspaper for June 26. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

5 People Daily

The publication reports on how top lawyers colluded with Waluke and Waakhungu to defraud NCPB million of shillings.

According to the court papers, city lawyer Ahamednassir received KSh 35 million from the racket which was paid to him as a legal fee.

On the same day, former deputy chief Justice Nancy Barasa received KSh 5 million while Soita and Saende Advocates received KSh 24 million.

The following day, Soita and Saende received another KSh 122 million while another KSh 5 million was wired to Ahmednassir's firm.

People Daily newspaper for June 26. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

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(Natural News) Editors note: Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano has released this powerful letter today to President Trump warning him that the current crises over the coronavirus pandemic and the George Floyd riots are a part of the eternal spiritual struggle between the forces of good and evil. You are not alone in your beliefs on life, faith, family and freedom.

(Article by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano republished from LifeSiteNews.com)

Join LifeSiteNews on the Frontlines of the battlefield as we work to expose the darkness and transform our culture through news media. Donate now through this secure link.

June 7, 2020

Holy Trinity Sunday

Mr. President,

In recent months we have been witnessing the formation of two opposing sides that I would call Biblical: the children of light and the children of darkness. The children of light constitute the most conspicuous part of humanity, while the children of darkness represent an absolute minority. And yet the former are the object of a sort of discrimination which places them in a situation of moral inferiority with respect to their adversaries, who often hold strategic positions in government, in politics, in the economy and in the media. In an apparently inexplicable way, the good are held hostage by the wicked and by those who help them either out of self-interest or fearfulness.

These two sides, which have a Biblical nature, follow the clear separation between the offspring of the Woman and the offspring of the Serpent. On the one hand, there are those who, although they have a thousand defects and weaknesses, are motivated by the desire to do good, to be honest, to raise a family, to engage in work, to give prosperity to their homeland, to help the needy, and, in obedience to the Law of God, to merit the Kingdom of Heaven. On the other hand, there are those who serve themselves, who do not hold any moral principles, who want to demolish the family and the nation, exploit workers to make themselves unduly wealthy, foment internal divisions and wars, and accumulate power and money: for them the fallacious illusion of temporal well-being will one day  if they do not repent  yield to the terrible fate that awaits them, far from God, in eternal damnation.

In society, Mr. President, these two opposing realities co-exist as eternal enemies, just as God and Satan are eternal enemies. And it appears that the children of darkness  whom we may easily identify with the deep state which you wisely oppose and which is fiercely waging war against you in these days  have decided to show their cards, so to speak, by now revealing their plans. They seem to be so certain of already having everything under control that they have laid aside that circumspection that until now had at least partially concealed their true intentions. The investigations already under way will reveal the true responsibility of those who managed the COVID emergency not only in the area of health care but also in politics, the economy, and the media. We will probably find that in this colossal operation of social engineering there are people who have decided the fate of humanity, arrogating to themselves the right to act against the will of citizens and their representatives in the governments of nations.

We will also discover that the riots in these days were provoked by those who, seeing that the virus is inevitably fading and that the social alarm of the pandemic is waning, necessarily have had to provoke civil disturbances, because they would be followed by repression which, although legitimate, could be condemned as an unjustified aggression against the population. The same thing is also happening in Europe, in perfect synchrony. It is quite clear that the use of street protests is instrumental to the purposes of those who would like to see someone elected in the upcoming presidential elections who embodies the goals of the deep state and who expresses those goals faithfully and with conviction. It will not be surprising if, in a few months, we learn once again that hidden behind these acts of vandalism and violence there are those who hope to profit from the dissolution of the social order so as to build a world without freedom: Solve et Coagula, as the Masonic adage teaches.

Although it may seem disconcerting, the opposing alignments I have described are also found in religious circles. There are faithful Shepherds who care for the flock of Christ, but there are also mercenary infidels who seek to scatter the flock and hand the sheep over to be devoured by ravenous wolves. It is not surprising that these mercenaries are allies of the children of darkness and hate the children of light: just as there is a deep state, there is also a deep church that betrays its duties and forswears its proper commitments before God. Thus the Invisible Enemy, whom good rulers fight against in public affairs, is also fought against by good shepherds in the ecclesiastical sphere. It is a spiritual battle, which I spoke about in my recent Appeal which was published on May 8.

For the first time, the United States has in you a President who courageously defends the right to life, who is not ashamed to denounce the persecution of Christians throughout the world, who speaks of Jesus Christ and the right of citizens to freedom of worship. Your participation in the March for Life, and more recently your proclamation of the month of April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, are actions that confirm which side you wish to fight on. And I dare to believe that both of us are on the same side in this battle, albeit with different weapons.

For this reason, I believe that the attack to which you were subjected after your visit to the National Shrine of Saint John Paul II is part of the orchestrated media narrative which seeks not to fight racism and bring social order, but to aggravate dispositions; not to bring justice, but to legitimize violence and crime; not to serve the truth, but to favor one political faction. And it is disconcerting that there are Bishops  such as those whom I recently denounced  who, by their words, prove that they are aligned on the opposing side. They are subservient to the deep state, to globalism, to aligned thought, to the New World Order which they invoke ever more frequently in the name of a universal brotherhood which has nothing Christian about it, but which evokes the Masonic ideals of those who want to dominate the world by driving God out of the courts, out of schools, out of families, and perhaps even out of churches.

The American people are mature and have now understood how much the mainstream media does not want to spread the truth but seeks to silence and distort it, spreading the lie that is useful for the purposes of their masters. However, it is important that the good  who are the majority  wake up from their sluggishness and do not accept being deceived by a minority of dishonest people with unavowable purposes. It is necessary that the good, the children of light, come together and make their voices heard. What more effective way is there to do this, Mr. President, than by prayer, asking the Lord to protect you, the United States, and all of humanity from this enormous attack of the Enemy? Before the power of prayer, the deceptions of the children of darkness will collapse, their plots will be revealed, their betrayal will be shown, their frightening power will end in nothing, brought to light and exposed for what it is: an infernal deception.

Mr. President, my prayer is constantly turned to the beloved American nation, where I had the privilege and honor of being sent by Pope Benedict XVI as Apostolic Nuncio. In this dramatic and decisive hour for all of humanity, I am praying for you and also for all those who are at your side in the government of the United States. I trust that the American people are united with me and you in prayer to Almighty God.

United against the Invisible Enemy of all humanity, I bless you and the First Lady, the beloved American nation, and all men and women of good will.

+ Carlo Maria Vigano

Titular Archbishop of Ulpiana

Former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America

Read the letter in PDF form here.

Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com
Second cycle institutions in Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly have received Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from the Ministry of Education to prevent the spread of Convid-19.



The items included; 80 Veronica buckets, 2,976 bottles of alcoholic based hand sanitizers, 36 non-contact thermometers, 80 receptive buckets, 80 gallons of liquid soap, 160 bundles of tissue papers and 8,926 pieces of face masks.



Final and second year Gold Track students who have just returned to school to resume their academic activities and prepare for their examinations are Benso Senior High Technical School, Tarkwa Senior High School, Fiaseman Senior High School, Catholic Womens Vocational Training Institute and Ideal College would benefit from the presentation.



Handling over the items to the Municipal Director of Education, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Tarkwa-Nsuaem, Mr Benjamin Kessie, said the government promised to provide the PPE to curb the spread of Convid-19 in schools.



He encouraged students to practice good personal hygiene protocols such as the compulsory wearing of nose masks, washing hands with soap under running water, observing social and physical distancing.



The danger is that if the situation is not properly managed and students get infested they would be asked to return home, he cautioned.



Mr Kessie was hopeful that the various schools would be disciplined to enable the government to fully open schools.



The Member of Parliament, Mr George Mireku Duker, eulogized the government for the massive infrastructure projects that were ongoing at Tarkwa and Fiaseman Senior High Schools.



Mr Duker said his office would complement the governments effort by donating more PPE when the need arises and therefore appealed to other benevolent organizations to help second cycle institutions within the Municipality.



The Municipal Director of Education, Mr Alex Kwaku Duah, thanked the government for the goodwill and pledged to ensure that students complied with the guidelines outlined by the World Health Organization and Ghana Health Service.











Source: GNA









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The last time the White Township Planning Board met in person, Jaindl Land Co. announced plans to build a 1.8 million-square-foot warehouse in addition to its proposed 800,000-square-foot warehouse between Route 519 and the Delaware River.

That was March 10, the week the threat of the coronavirus came into focus and shut down much of life as we knew it. The board has since met June 9 by Zoom after canceling its April and May meetings.

On Friday afternoon, a grassroots group plans to remind the community of its opposition to Jaindl building 2.6 million square feet of logistics space on 585 acres the company owns at Foul Rift and South Foul Rift roads.

Citizens for Sustainable Development is organizing a rally for 4 to 6 p.m. outside White Township Consolidated School at Routes 519 and 46.

"Anyone is welcome to attend," said Linda Van Setters, who is a member of the group with her husband, Butch. The couple, who live in Harmony Township, are planning to be there. They expect participants to number in the 20s.

"It's a rally, an informative rally," she continued. "We want to make the public aware of what's going on."

Participants are asked to wear masks to protect one another from the COVID-19 coronavirus illness, and to practice distancing from others.

The project, according to Butch and Linda Van Setters, threatens the rural way of life enjoyed by White Township and neighboring Harmony and Hope townships. They fear truck traffic on area roads to south to Route 22 and Interstate 78 and north to Interstate 80, and pollution from the warehouses themselves.

"It's not going to be safe on these roads, it's never going to be the same," Linda Van Setters said. "They're going to ruin prime farmland, 600 acres of farmland."

David Jaindl, president of the Jaindl Land Co., did not immediately respond to a call and email seeking comment Thursday. Nor could the developer's attorney for the project, Anthony Sposaro, be reached for comment.

Jaindl Land Co.'s 800,000-square-foot high cube warehouse proposed at the corner of Foul Rift and South Foul Rift roads in White Township is seen in an artistic rendering displayed Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, at a meeting of the township's planning board.John Best | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network also plans to take part in Friday's rally, said Fred Stine, citizen action coordinator for the Bucks County-based environmental advocacy group.

As weve seen in the Lehigh Valley, once one warehouse is built, more will follow, Stine said in a news release.

The Riverkeeper Network fears the impacts of the development on groundwater and the potential for stormwater runoff into the nearby Wild and Scenic Delaware River, Stine said.

The White Township Planning Board is scheduled to meet next June 30, again via Zoom or by telephone call-in. Details are available at white-township.com.

For more details on Jaindls Phase 1 proposal, click here and here for Phase 2.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers hailed his successor Jurgen Klopp's achievement in securing the club's first league title in 30 years as "an incredible moment in their history". The 47-year-old Leicester manager saw his Liverpool team lose out by just two points to Manchester City in the 2013/14 season. Rodgers said he knew how much the Premier League title would mean to the supporters and was delighted for them. The former Celtic boss said he had texted Klopp, captain Jordan Henderson and the club owners. "Having witnessed it first-hand (being Liverpool boss), it's an incredible moment in their history," Rodgers said ahead of Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea. "Having felt it while I was there, the desire for it, I'm delighted for Jurgen, and in particular these last few years going so close. "I'm delighted for Jordan Henderson, and for the supporters. "Wherever you travel in the world as Liverpool manager, they are there in their thousands. I'm pleased for the owners too. They came into it new, they're fantastic owners." Brendan Rodgers came close to winning the Premier League during his spell as Liverpool manager
Democratic presidential nominee and former vice president Joe Biden wants New Delhi to take necessary steps to restore rights of all Kashmiris and has expressed disappointment over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as well as the implementation of the National Register of Citizens in Assam.

These measures are inconsistent with the country's long tradition of secularism and with sustaining a multi-ethnic and multi-religious democracy, according to the policy paper -- Joe Biden's agenda for Muslim American community' posted recently on hos campaign website.

A group of Hindu Americans have reached out to the Biden campaign expressing their resentment to the language used against India and have urged them to reconsider their views. The group has also sought a similar policy paper on Hindu Americans.

The Biden campaign did not respond to questions in this regard.

Observing that Biden understands the pain Muslim-Americans feel towards what is happening in Muslim-majority countries and countries with significant Muslim populations, the policy paper clubbed together Kashmir and Assam in India with the forced detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims in western China, and discrimination and atrocities against Burma's Rohingya Muslim minority.

In Kashmir, the Indian government should take all necessary steps to restore rights of all the people of Kashmir. Restrictions on dissent, such as preventing peaceful protests or shutting or slowing down the Internet, weakens democracy, said the policy paper on Muslim Americans.

Joe Biden has been disappointed by the measures that the government of India has taken with the implementation and aftermath of the National Register of Citizens in Assam and the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act into law, it said.

Biden as United States Senator for decades and as vice president under President Barack Obama for eight years has been known as one of the best friends of India and Indian-Americans, it said.

He played a key role in the passage of the India-US civilian nuclear deal, and as vice president, he advocated increasing the bilateral trade to USD500 billion per annum. Well connected with the Indian Americans, Biden regularly hosted Diwali at his vice-presidential residence, it said.

Biden understands the issues impacting India, issues of cross border terrorism, influx of terrorism across borders in Kashmir, issue of Hindu minorities sufferings in Kashmir, issues in Indo Pacific region with China, and the rising role of India as stronger US ally in all areas including economic growth, counter-terrorism, fight for human rights, climate change and global security, Biden supporter Ajay Jain Bhutoria told PTI.

There are groups within various elected officials groups in US pushing language and agenda's highlighting misinformation and damaging facts on how India handled its own internal matter on Kashmir, Ladakh or immigration reforms related to NRC, rued Bhutoria, who is also on the National Finance Committee for Biden.

Bhutoria said US recently updated its immigration policy to block the H-1B and other visas for rest of the year to safeguard its own workers, which is completely questionable and will hurt the economy.

India too has a right to define its own Immigration policy to support its population and economy, he said.

I grew up in Assam, Guwahati and I have seen the influx of people across the border and taking away important jobs, resources from local people in northeastern states, he said.

The immigration reforms and NRC are welcome steps. Execution of these reforms and strategies need to be improved and India needs to do better in change management and rolling out of reforms, Bhutoria said.
Lady Colin Campbell has claimed Meghan Markle's biracial identity was 'welcomed' by the Queen and said Prince Harry 'wouldn't have been allowed to marry' a white Hollywood starlet.

The Jamaican-born British author, 70, has written the book about the Duke, 35, and Duchess of Sussex, 38, although it is not known whether she has ever met them.

In an extract seen by FEMAIL, Lady Colin Campbell claimed the Queen felt Meghan's biracial identity 'made the monarchy both reflective and representative of multicultural, multiracial Britain in a way that a white California-born actress who had been a cast member of a popular television series could never have'.

She continued: 'As a prince once told me, "Had Meghan not been a woman of colour, they would never have allowed the marriage. It was the only thing that was unreservedly in her favour".'

Lady Colin Campbell has claimed Meghan Markle's biracial identity was 'welcomed' by the Queen and said Prince Harry 'wouldn't have been allowed to marry' a white Hollywood starlet. Pictured: Meghan as Rachel Zane in Suits

Lady Campbell claims that the Queen approved of Meghan's mixed race background, and that she believed it would help the Royal Family appear modern.

She wrote: 'The Queen, who is well known to be a wit, said to a friend, "Mr Corbyn will find it much more difficult to get rid of us now that Meghan's in the family".'

The former actress, whose father Thomas Markle is caucasian and mother Doria Ragland is African American, was working on Suits when she met Prince Harry in 2017.

Back when the Duchess was a struggling actress in Hollywood, she picked up other roles including a briefcase girl on Deal or No Deal, and a part as an extra on 90210.

Lady Campbell claims that the Queen approved of Meghan's mixed race background, and that she believed it would help the Royal Family appear modern> Pictured: Meghan and Harry at the Commonwealth Day service in March

The star has been vocal about her experiences as a mixed-race woman, and has candidly spoken out against racism.

In the clip, which was filmed as part of the 'I Won't Stand For...' campaign for non-profit organisation Erase the Hate, Meghan discusses her biracial heritage, while detailing the racist behavior she has witnessed - including her mother, Doria Ragland, being called the N-word.

Lady C's comments come after a close friend told DailyMail.com that Meghan's instinct to leave the United Kingdom and move to California all makes sense to her now, because she believes she was 'destined' to help fight systemic racism in the United States.

The Duchess feels that her 'gnawing urgency to uproot from England' was fate so she could be at the 'forefront' of the movement, the insider explained.

The Queen (pictured with Meghan in June 2018), who is well known to be a wit, said to a friend, 'Mr Corbyn will find it much more difficult to get rid of us now that Meghan's in the family', according to Lady C

They added: 'Meghan said her work as a leader is more important than ever right now and that she' been speaking with Oprah and other community leaders on how she can be part of the solution.

'Meghan feels like her mission goes far beyond acting. She said she wants to use her voice for change and hasn't ruled out a career in politics.'

Lady C, who penned the 1992 biography, Diana in Private: The Princess Nobody Knows, recently claimed she believes Meghan has political aspirations and hopes to one day run for president.

Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family is set to be released worldwide online on August 11

The author has given a number of interviews about the couple in recent weeks, including one with The Sunday Times in which she said Meghan has 'squandered' the 'most wonderful opportunity' by leaving the royal family.

She also claimed the signs Meghan would 'not adjust' well to life as a royal were apparent shortly after her wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018.

Campbell said she believes the Sussexes moving to the US is part of the plan to make the shift into the political sphere.

'I know the Duchess of Sussex has political ambitions and I've been told that one day she wants to run for President,' Lady C claimed.

'I think everything she is doing, leaving the royal family and moving back to California is part of her plan and she has taken Harry along with her.'

At the beginning of the month Lady Colin told the Daily Mail about her new book,adding: 'It's called Meghan And Harry: The Real Story. There are plenty of revelations. I've had members of the Markle family to stay, but I'm not saying anything until closer to the book launch.'

The release of her book comes ahead of Harry and Meghan's new biography Finding Freedom in August, which is co-written by Harper's Bazaar journalist Omid Scobie.

Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family is set to be released worldwide online on August 11, with the hard copy on sale from August 20.

A description of the biography on Amazon promises to offer an 'honest, up-close, and disarming portrait of the confident, influential, forward' Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38.

The 320-page biography, due to be released in August, is expected to be a global bestseller. '
The prices of petrol and diesel continued their upward trend for 20th day in a row. On Friday, the petrol was retailing at Rs 80.13 a litre in Delhi and diesel price was Rs 80.19 a litre.

This was an increase of 21 paise in the price of petrol and 17 paise a litre in diesel price.

Except for Wednesday, the petrol price has also gone up across the country since June 7, when the daily revision of prices started after a gap of 82 days due to Covid-19.

Diesel prices in Delhi had shot past petrol prices on Wednesday for the first time ever.

Chairman of state-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Sanjiv Singh, had said on Thursday that higher diesel price in Delhi was a result of a steep hike in Value Added Tax or VAT by the state government.

He said VAT is lower in other cities which has meant diesel remains cheaper than petrol. The Delhi government had increased VAT on petrol from 27 per cent to 30 per cent and that on diesel from 16.75 per cent to 30 per cent on May 5, said Singh.

State-owned fuel firms benchmark retail rates to Arab-Gulf international oil prices and a formula decides them, the IOC chairman said, adding that demand dropped drastically in the aftermath of lockdowns imposed across the globe to curb spread of coronavirus, sending oil prices plunging to multi-year low.

This included oil futures falling below zero on one day in US trading. Reducing prices in line with that fall was not sustainable as cracks - the difference between crude oil (raw material) and petroleum product (finished goods) prices - were running negative, he said.

The Opposition has been relentlessly attacking the government over the fuel price hike. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said on Thursday that it has become clear that the Centre is only interested in picking pockets of the people even in times of crisis.

The Congress will hold mass protests across the country on Monday over the unprecedented rise in petrol and diesel prices.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav along with party workers held a cycle march protest against rising fuel prices in Patna on Thursday.

National Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to reduce the rates to provide relief to the common man.
Arvind Subramanian, the former chief economic adviser to Government of India, is set to join Ashoka University as a professor in the economics department and as founding director of the new Ashoka Centre for economic policy.



I am thrilled that beginning July, I will be joining @AshokaUniv as professor in the economics department and founding director of the Ashoka Center for Economic Policy which will attempt to do research and analysis on India and global development: https://t.co/rkRM6KPcAh

 Arvind Subramanian (@arvindsubraman) June 26, 2020

Subramanian, on June 26, tweeted that he will start the new assignment beginning July. He is presently the visiting lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School. At Ashoka Centre, Subramanian will engage in research and analysis on policy issues related to India and global development.

Last year, Subramanian kicked off a controversy saying Indias Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is overestimated by at least 2.5 percent between 2011-12 and 2016-17 due to a change in methodology for calculating GDP.

Subramanian argued that the GDP growth during this period should be about 4.5 percent instead of the official estimate of close to 7 percent. "India changed its data sources and methodology for estimating real GDP for the period since 2011-12. This paper shows that this change has led to a significant overestimation of growth," Subramanian had stated in his research paper.

"Official estimates place annual average GDP growth between 2011-12 and 2016-17 at about 7 percent. We estimate that actual growth may have been about 4.5 percent with a 95 percent confidence interval of 3.5 - 5.5 percent," Subramanian said.

Subramanian was appointed as the CEA in October 2014 after the post was vacated by Raghuram Rajan who joined the RBI as governor. In 2017, his term was extended by one year by the Narendra Modi government.

His work is widely published in academic journals including the American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings), Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of International Economics among others.

Subramanian obtained his undergraduate degree from St. Stephens College in Delhi, his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, and his M.Phil and D.Phil from the University of Oxford, UK.
The Galwan Valley skirmish and the COVID-19 crisis have both showed up our intelligence frailties

The confrontation between India and China in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis have laid bare a critical failure in Indias security apparatus.

When the first reports of Chinese intrusions into Galwan Valley emerged in May this year, the immediate expediencies overshadowed longstanding flaws in Indias security. What was also forgotten was another ongoing crisis that is linked to the happenings in Ladakh.

The Galwan Valley crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic are both security threats to India just months apart, and have the same origin, China. The Chinese threat to Ladakh began soon after August last year when the Indian government announced the abrogation of Article 370 which gave a constitutionally-mandated special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir.

The first reports of the COVID-19 virus emerged from Wuhan in November.

In either case, it is pertinent to note that Indias intelligence community failed to anticipate and mitigate either crisis. The reasons for this are manifold and systemic. They are in fact a national tragedy.

Failed reforms

For decades India has been trying to fix its intelligence apparatus to make it fit to deal with emerging threats. Unfortunately, every attempt at reform has been made after a crisis, making each of them reactive rather than comprehensive.

After the humiliating defeat in the 1962 war when India lost vast swathes of territory to China, there was a major attempt to reform Indias intelligence community. Between 1962 and 1968, the efforts of Ram Nath Kao, then then head of the Intelligence Bureaus (IB) foreign division, led the creation of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). He was a visionary and had a bold plan to change Indias intelligence apparatus and give it form and substance. However, his ideas were borne out of the failures of 1962 and failed to build a comprehensive approach that met the expectations and needs of all key stakeholders.

The early success of R&AW in the creation of Bangladesh before and after the 1971 war with Pakistan and the subsequent annexation of Sikkim hid many gaps in Kaos bold attempt to reform Indias intelligence community.

Similarly, the Intelligence Bureau never really grow out of its colonial mindset. Created by Britain as a tool to keep a watch on the Indian natives, IB remained an integral tool of the Government of India after independence, shaped more by the personal equation between its second director B N Mullik and prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. This is most visible in IBs role in the governance of Jammu and Kashmir where security and political ambitions intermixed to create an unhealthy nexus between the political masters and intelligence professionals. This problem of attitude remains a major bane in Indias intelligence community.

Naturally, several attempts to reform failed. Be it the move to create a national security council and secretariat in 1998-99, the Kargil Review Committee in 1999-2000 followed by the Group of Ministers report or the Naresh Chandra Task Force after the 26/11 attack on Mumbai  they all failed to address the core issues that dog Indias intelligence community.

Twin failures: Collection and analysis

Modern intelligence processes are based on the twin pillars of collection of intelligence followed by robust analysis. In India, both fail repeatedly.

As a result, while there are elaborate intelligence structures that could have anticipated Chinas new aggression to change the status quo in Ladakh, none of them worked to prevent the crisis. This is a political failure. No government in independent India has ever wanted to plug the gaps and professionalise Indias intelligence community to ensure that national security objectives are served above political interests.

As a result, not only have successive governments failed to assess the quality of intelligence being collected externally and internally, it has never looked at the analytical processes either. For instance, both the Galwan Valley and COVID-19 crises are a failure of external and internal intelligence both. Not only did they fail to produce any early warnings, they also failed to alert the countrys other key stakeholders when the crisis was emerging.

As a result, there were systemic failures in analysis. No one could comprehend as the Chinese intrusions deepened, or the COVID19 virus spread rapidly through district after district. None of the agencies used any modern methods for analysis, such as big data analytics or even basic data visualisation, which are now common tools for the private sector and academia across the globe.

Since 2003, a pandemic has been recognised as a national security threat by the National Security Council and subsequently, by the National Disaster Management Authority formally. However, there are no dedicated intelligence resources made available in the IB or the R&AW to actually deal with it even today.

In the case of the Chinese intrusions in Ladakh, it is a traditional threat and therefore makes the intelligence failure even more alarming. A quick reading of the Kargil Review Committee and its chapter and recommendation on intelligence reform in India are shocking. They are shocking because even 20 years after the report, key reforms have failed to take place.

In 1999, the Committee noted this: The political, bureaucratic, military and intelligence establishments appear to have developed a vested interest in the status quo. National security management recedes into the background at the time of peace and is considered too delicate to be tampered with at the time of war and proxy war. It also noted that There is no institutionalized mechanism for coordination or objective-oriented interaction between agencies and consumers at different levels. Similarly, there is no mechanism for tasking the agencies, monitoring their performance and reviewing their records to evaluate their quality. Nor is there any oversight of the overall functioning of the agencies.

The Chinese intrusions and the COVID-19 pandemic are urgent wake up calls to reform a broken intelligence system. Unless Indias political masters address this now, the country will continue to pay a high price in blood.
Incumbent Malawian president Peter Mutharika has conceded defeat to opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) in the just-ended presidential election re-run and has already vacated the nations official residence, amid widespread celebrations in the southern African nation, according to an official of the Ministry of Information and Civic Education.

Unofficial results of the presidential election indicate that the MCP and its partners amassed more than 60% of the total votes cast and Mutharikas Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) got at least 38%.

Speaking on VOA Zimbabwe Services call-in program, Livetalk, on Friday, Janet Dambula said the Malawi Electoral Commission is expected to announce the results of the presidential election re-run Saturday.

Right now we are all anxiously waiting for the Electoral Commission to give us the results. According to unofficial results, the Tonse Alliance is the party which made it  At the moment unofficial figures indicate that they have about 61.26% of the total votes while the DPP/UDF Alliance has about 38.1%. At the moment there is total excitement in the country.

As you know, many people were oppressed and they were tired of the oppression they had gone through, they complained about the tribalism and also complained about nepotism. The cost of living was just too high.

She said Mutharika had become unpopular in Malawi.

At the end of the last two months the president became so arrogant and started fighting some arms of government like the judiciary, the civil service. So, people were not happy. She dismissed reports that Mutharika would reject the results of the poll, citing alleged electoral fraud and violence.

Officials of the Malawi Electoral Commission were not available for comment as they were said to be tallying the votes at the nations command center.

Dambula said Malawi has shown the world that it is truly a democratic country.

Little-known Peter Kuwani of the opposition Mbakuwaku Movement for Democracy also contested the poll while Saulos Chilima, Mutharikas vice, is Chakweras running mate.

The Tonse Alliance comprises 10 political parties, including Chilimas United Transformational Movement, and former president Joice Bandas Peoples Party.




President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has decided to dismiss Andriy Balon as Head of Kirovohrad Regional State Administration, the press service of the Office of the President of Ukraine said.

"Several days ago the Security Service of Ukraine informed me that, mildly speaking, incorrect things connected with violation of Ukrainian laws are going on in the entourage of the head of the regional state administration. When I received this information, I said at once that I will fire the head of the regional state administration. And law enforcement agencies should take up all the rest," the president told the media during his working group to Kherson region.

"The one who steals must be jailed," he added.

Zelensky appointed the former deputy head of Kherson Regional State Administration and former investigator, Balon, as the head of Kirovohrad Regional State Administration in November 2019.

On June 25, the press service of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine reported that Balon and an official from the regional state administration were detained during an attempt to obtain improper advantage.

On June 25, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine agreed on the dismissal of Andriy Balon from the post of the head of Kirovohrad Regional State Administration.
A court in China has ordered two convicted drug dealers to be executed immediately during an open trial this week.

The pair, Lin Shanju and Li Zhiping, were caught dealing 9,511 grams (21 pounds) of heroin and 27,077 grams (60 pounds) of crystal meth in the southern province of Hainan in the space of one month, according to the court.

Four other drug dealers were put on the death row during the group sentencing on Wednesday.

The Hainan Intermediate People's Court in China held a group trial for drug dealers this week

Two were ordered to be executed right away and four others got suspended death sentences

Courts around China have sentenced dozens of drug traffickers in the past few days as the country cracks down on the crime during the National Drug Control Publicity Month in June.

According to the Hainan Intermediate People's Court, Mr Lin and Mr Li carried out drug trafficking between March and April in 2015.

The court said that Mr Lin hired an accomplice to drive a drug-laden van for some 150 kilometres (93 miles), from Xuwen County in Guangdong to Qionghai city in Hainan, on multiple occasions.

Once the heroin and meth reached Qionghai, Mr Lin would hide them in his car and drive the vehicle to a place near Mr Li's home before selling them to Mr Li.

The group sentencing took place at the Hainan Intermediate People's Court on Wednesday

Mr Lin, then 43 years old, was caught red-handed during one of those trips on April 25, 2015, and Mr Li was detained on July 16 that year, according to a government report.

Police also found 252.4 grams (0.56 pounds) of heroin, 163.8 grams (0.36 pounds) of caffeine and 140,000 yuan (16,000) of profit from drug trafficking at Mr Li's home.

The duo received capital punishment in April of 2017. They were put to death this week after the decisions had been verified and approved by the Supreme People's Court of Hainan, a statement said.

The Hainan Intermediate Court also gave a suspended death sentence with a two-year reprieve to four more criminals.

China has held various educational activities during the National Drug Control Publicity Month in June. Pictured, students look at drugs during an anti-drug publicity and education activity held by local police at Hunan University of Technology and Business on June 19 in Changsha

According to local Nanhai Net, one of them, 52-year-old Mr Liang, sold 1750.2 grams (3.9 pounds) of heroin to others in February, 2017.

Another two, 50-year-old Mr Lin and 44-year-old Mr Wang, traded 952 grams (2 pounds) of meth between them in August, 2013.

The last criminal, 42-year-old Mr Mo, sold 1,038 grams (2.3 pounds) of heroin to others in February, 2008.

Death sentence with reprieve is a type of death sentence under the Chinese Criminal Law.

The convicted individual is given a two-year reprieve from the execution.

At the end of the two-year term, the sentence will be reduced to life imprisonment if the individual does not commit further crimes within the period.

Elsewhere in China, the Wuhan Intermedia People's Court sentenced 18 criminals in relations to 13 drug-dealing cases between Monday and Wednesday, according to state media China News.

One of them, who was found guilty of selling 4,360 grams (9.6 pounds) of meth through post by hiding them in a water pump in 2017, was sentenced to death with immediate execution.

On Wednesday, four drug dealers were handed capital punishment by the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong.

Another three received suspended death sentences as 65 suspects concerning 34 cases stood trial, the Guangdong government said.
HOUSTON, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Valet Health , a healthcare digital marketing company, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with DataBiologics , a robust data collection platform for tracking patient outcomes in orthobiologics and minimally invasive procedures.

Across a rapidly changing landscape, regenerative physician experts today must rise above the noise to educate consumers on the success of orthobiologic patient outcomes. There is a prevalence of unqualified providers aggressively marketing and offering illegitimate regenerative procedures in markets across the nation. The FDA continues to crack down on disreputable clinics and as such, educating consumers on quality and evidenced-based care is key.



Dr. Gerard Malanga of New Jersey Regenerative Institute and Founder of DataBiologics expresses, "My vision was to create a service where doctors across the country can collect valuable insights into the success of their regenerative procedures. With DataBiologics, we've done just that. We're also proud to be partnering with healthcare technology companies who share our goals of making medicine in the 21st century easier and better for patients. Our strategic partnership with Valet Health empowers clinics with end-to-end support to manage online reputation, improve digital marketing performance and establish patient communication hubs in a data-driven methodology."

Matty Crescenzo, Founder and President of Valet Health, states "Stronger as one, Valet Health and DataBiologics are now providing a combined packaged solution for data-driven physician experts through optimization of online physician profiles and increased visibility to capture new patient referrals along with data collection and patient outcomes analysis from the DataBiologics platform. This dovetails with our overarching mission of connecting patients to highest quality in evidence-based care."

Recently at the TOBI 2020 Virtual Conference , Valet Health and physician leaders from DataBiologics engaged in meaningful discussions with physicians across the world regarding innovations in orthobiologics procedures and how technology is positively impacting the delivery of healthcare, especially amidst a unique climate like this in the world.

Dr. Christopher Rogers of San Diego Orthobiologics Medical Group and Co-Founder of DataBiologics shares "DataBiologics has developed the world's first international registry dedicated solely to patients who have received orthobiologic treatments. I use this unbiased data in my practice everyday, to help patients make informed medical decisions. DataBiologics physician members will soon have access to 'real world data' not available anywhere else. This information accelerates our understanding of best practices and will facilitate the standardization of regenerative medicine therapy."

Valet Health's immersion in not only supporting the science of orthobiologics but also delivering digital marketing support solutions to elevate the online visibility of research-focused physician leaders, is ultimately serving to efficiently connect patients to their physicians across the therapeutic journey.

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SOURCE Valet Health

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The energy industry is bracing for a possible slide in oil markets as a second wave of coronavirus cases nationally threatens prospects for a quick economic recovery.

Several states, including Texas, are reporting sharp spikes in coronavirus cases, raising the risk of depressed economic activity and with it, energy demand and prices. Rystad Energy, a Norwegian research firm, said this week that there are valid concerns that the world is in for a prolonged period of dealing with (the virus) consequences.

If infections and hospitalizations rise even more and a second wave becomes a reality, the market will get depressed again with demand declining, Rystad said.

Oil prices have made a swift and surprising recovery from the coronavirus-driven price collapse of March and April, closing above $40 a barrel on Monday. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, plunged to negative-$37 on April 20. WTI was trading at $38.47 midday Friday, down slightly from Thursday's settlement.

The recovery has been tenuous, however, as no one is certain whether a second wave of cases would lead to business shutdowns and depressed consumer activity. Harris County on Friday issued a new stay home, work safe advisory, asking residents to stay home except for essential needs, work from home if possible and to avoid unnecessary travel.

OIL RECOVERY: Oil crosses $40 milestone, but not out of the woods yet

Some analysts are concerned about a double dip in oil prices, which could lead to prolonged pain in the industry and in Houston, which employs tens of thousands of energy workers.

If this was a normal economic cycle and we were looking at lower prices because we had just been in a recession, we wouldnt expect a double dip, said Jennifer Rowland, a senior energy analyst at Edward Jones. But were in completely uncharted territory because this is virus driven. We dont know its trajectory and its hard to have any confidence in past parallels.

A double dip in oil demand and prices will depend on whether state and local governments impose another lockdown or allow businesses to remain open with mandates on face masks and social distancing.

If businesses are allowed to remain open and if consumers arent scared off, oil demand wont decline as much, Rystad said, as the extent of the lockdowns that we have experienced was too painful to bear for many countries.

Karr Ingham, a petroleum economist with the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, said it was hard for him to imagine state and local governments imposing the type of strict lockdowns seen in March and April. Its unclear how much political willpower there is to mandate a second lockdown, which will undoubtedly prompt public outrage, he said.

Im not sure we can tolerate another round of shut-ins, Ingham said. I think early on, people can extend a little grace, but Im not sure the population would stand for it now. You simply cannot prevent people from earning an income.
Burma Quarter of a Million Myanmar Workers Left Jobless Due to COVID-19

Workers are seen during rush hour in Hlaing Tharyar Township in Myanmar's Yangon Region in April. / Myo Min Soe

YANGONAround 250,000 Myanmar workers have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis both locally and internationally as factories, shops, restaurants and other major employers have been forced to close, the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population (MOLIP) said on Friday.

Deputy Labor Minister U Myint Kyaing said at the ministrys press conference on Friday that more than 110,000 Myanmar workers returned home from overseas countries including Thailand and China between March and June after losing their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, more than 140,000 locally based workers have been left without work due to the outbreak following the closures of 5,658 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and 270 large factories, shops and restaurants.

According to U Myint Kyaing, all migrant returnees have been listed at township-level labor departments in all regions and states. He added that the labor departments have recorded the skills of those returnees and would try to find jobs for them in local sectors.

The ministry said it had managed to find jobs for many returnees in the industrial and other sectors that have managed to resume operations.

Despite offering to send workers, Myanmar is having difficulty placing laborers abroad due to a lack of flights and continued lockdowns in many countries.

U Myint Kyaing also said that about 1.1 million Myanmar workers who are registered in Thailand under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreed by the two countries would be reemployed after their initial job contracts expire.

At the Thai governments request, the Myanmar government will facilitate the extension of the workers documentation, the deputy minister said.

The ministry is also in discussions with employers who have invested in Myanmar to find jobs for those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

We are implementing various methods to create employment opportunities, U Myint Kyaing said.

U Myo Myint Than, Myanmars ambassador to Thailand, said during a videoconference with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on June 2 that about 60,000 workers from Myanmar are currently waiting to travel to Thailand for employment under the bilateral MoU.

The Labor Ministry expects Thailand, which is the source of most foreign jobs for Myanmar workers, to resume employment at the end of July, while the second-most important source of jobs, Malaysia, would not be able to resume employing workers until after August due to the COVID-19 lockdown there.

We are ready to send labor abroad, as we have labor demand letters. But, we can only send them if the receiving countries allow it, U Myo Aung, MOLIP permanent secretary, said at Fridays press conference.

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, Myanmar has not been able to send any laborers abroad; it was able to create new local job opportunities for 9,300 people in April and for 6,000 people in May.

Before COVID-19, up to 30,000 workers traveled to nine countries monthly and more than 20,000 workers were employed locally each month, according to the ministrys data.

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President Donald Trumps administration late on Thursday asked the US Supreme Court to invalidate the law dubbed Obamacare that, introduced by predecessor, added millions of Americans to the countrys healthcare safety net.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) became invalid after the previous, Republican-led, US Congress axed parts of it, government advocate Noel Francisco argued in a filing to the court.

Nothing the 2017 Congress did demonstrates it would have intended the rest of the ACA to continue to operate in the absence of these three integral provisions, Francisco said.

The Trump administration signalled earlier in the day that it would asked the court to declare the ACA illegal, setting up what is likely to be a key political battleground in this years presidential election.

The Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier described the move as unfathomable cruelty amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has hit the United States harder than any other country.

It was the ACA that has prohibited health insurers from denying coverage to Americans with pre-existing health conditions.

Trump has criticized healthcare costs and coverage under Obamacare and has been promising since his 2016 campaign to replace it with a different plan.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden called the bid to overturn the law cruel, heartless (and) callous.

Democrats expect to make their promise to defend Obamacare a marquee election-year issue after they used a similar strategy in 2018 to win control of the House of Representatives.
Key dates in the history of Madagascar since independence from France 60 years ago on Friday.

Decolonisation

On June 26, 1960, Philibert Tsiranana becomes the Indian Ocean island's first president.

First republic in flames

Tsiranana faces popular anger over his perceived subservience to France.

In 1972 protestors set fire to city hall in the capital Antananarivo, the start of a popular uprising that is repressed with the loss of 40 lives.

The demonstrations force Tsiranana to resign, bringing an end to the country's first republic as he hands over to an army general, Gabriel Ramanantsoa.

Ratsiraka in power

In 1975 a socialist constitution is installed and Didier Ratsiraka becomes president.

General strikes paralyse Madagascar. Hundreds of thousands of people rally for months in 1991 in peaceful protests.

The opposition occupies ministries and establishes a transitional authority led by Albert Zafy.

The situation turns violent when guards open fire on a march at the presidential palace. More than 100 people are killed.

In 1992, a new constitution puts an end to the unrest. A year later, Zafy wins the presidential election but in 1996 is impeached for violating the constitution.

In elections the following year, Ratsiraka returns to power.

Battle for the presidency

After a nearly seven-month crisis, Marc Ravalomanana, a millionaire dairy mogul, is declared winner of presidential elections in 2002 against the outgoing Ratsiraka, who disputed the results.

Ravalomanana is reelected in 2006.

Mayor's 'coup'

In March 2009, Antananarivo mayor Andry Rajoelina seizes power from Ravalomanana with the backing of the military.

The international community denounces what it deems a coup and for nearly four years foreign aid and investment are frozen, driving the island deeper into poverty.

In September 2011, the main political factions draw up a roadmap to guide Madagascar to elections.

Rajaonarimampianina elected

In December 2013 with the support of the outgoing regime, Hery Rajaonarimampianina wins presidential election, taking over at the start of 2014.

Neither Ravalomanana nor Rajoelina ran against him, amid fears abroad that this would reignite political turmoil.

But just 16 months later, parliament votes overwhelmingly to dismiss Rajaonarimampianina for alleged constitutional violations and overall incompetence.

In June the Constitutional Court throws out the impeachment demand.

Protesters hit the streets of Antananarivo again in April 2018 over Rajaonarimampianina's efforts to change electoral laws that opponents say are intended to favour his party.

The crisis ends with the creation of a consensus government to stage polls by year's end.

Rajoelina president

In January 2019 Rajoelina is declared victor of the December presidential election as a top court throws out accusations of fraud by rival Ravalomanana.

Anti-COVID brew

In April 2020, Rajoelina launches a local herbal concoction claimed to prevent and cure the novel coronavirus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly cautioned that the brew needs to be clinically tested to support such claims.
SUMMERLAND, B.C.Rural communities in British Columbia are racing to establish temporary camp sites with washrooms and enough space for physical distancing for domestic farm workers from elsewhere in Canada.

Some workers have already arrived to pick early-season fruit, and hundreds more are expected to arrive in coming weeks, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The working conditions faced by migrant workers from other countries such as Mexico have been under the spotlight of late amid concerns over COVID-19 outbreaks and several deaths due to the virus. Meanwhile, for thousands of Canadian youth, picking fruit in the summer and autumn while camping in orchards rent-free is a long-standing way to save up money for school or other expenses.

But in the time of coronavirus, as evidenced by the migrant worker situation, some existing farm sites dont meet government health and safety standards.

In a statement this week, B.C.s Ministry of Agriculture said it is providing funds to local governments to create campsite accommodations.

The sites would meet health and safety requirements set by the provincial health officer to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Campsites are planned for the Oliver area in the southern Okanagan and two more are slated for Creston in southeastern B.C., with the province providing about $60,000 for each site. Campsite accommodations are also currently being explored in Summerland, Osoyoos, Naramata and the Similkameen.

Each year, between 1,500 and 2,000 domestic seasonal workers arrive in B.C., with the majority from Quebec. This season, approximately 1,000 workers are expected, an agriculture ministry spokesperson told the Star in an email.

Quebec leads Canada in the number of COVID-19 cases, with a total of 54,397 cases as of June 24, while B.C. has been able to flatten the curve with a total of only 2,849 cases provincewide so far.

In picturesque Summerland, on the west side of Okanagan Lake, where there are nearly 3,000 hectares of farmland, some residents have been anxiously waiting for weeks for details about planned campsites.

They are concerned that without proper protocols in place in time for arrivals, incoming workers from Quebec and Ontario could spread COVID-19 in the community.

Its super scary because domestic farm workers dont have to self-isolate like migrant workers, where farmers have to meet strict protocols for migrant housing, says Janine Sentes.

I dont want to say Canadians will be dishonest about whether they are feeling well or not, but  wed support mandatory self-isolation for domestic workers, too, she said.

Sentes was speaking to the Star at the Summerland Rodeo Grounds, which has been tabled by municipal council as a potential campsite for workers.

She has been vocal as part of the Summerland Rodeo Grounds Equine Development Committee, which says it appreciates the important role domestic farm workers play in the economy but wants the province to hold farmers responsible for meeting COVID-19 protocols so public spaces arent affected.

B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry issued a 10-page public health order on April 23 for employers and workers in the agriculture, aquaculture, forestry and resource sectors.

It is not mandatory for seasonal workers in these industries to self-isolate for 14 days when coming to B.C. from other parts of the country.

However, the order says employers must develop COVID-19 infection prevention and control protocols and maintain high levels of hygiene.

The problem is that regulations for domestic worker campsites have been minimal in the past and some farmers dont have the resources to make substantial upgrades, says Anthony Haddad, chief administrative officer with the District of Summerland.

Workers have had a variety of accommodations over years, some obviously better than others, which put pressure on public recreational washroom facilities in the past, Haddad said in a phone interview.

Were here to support our agriculture industry as well, which is a key economic driver in the south Okanagan, he added.

With fewer domestic workers coming to B.C. as well as fewer foreign workers coming from other countries, growers say they will likely lose crops because of the labour shortage.

Jonathan Boerboom, 32, whose family has owned the Mountain View nursery in Summerland since the 1960s, said his business doesnt normally employ Canadian workers from out of province, but would need to compete with other farmers to hire them this year.

The process of packaging and transferring the nurserys 21 million seedlings for storage is labour intensive, and the 20-hectare nursery usually employs a hundred people at peak season, including a mix of locals and workers from Mexico.

Its such a dense agricultural area so there is a lot of competition for labour and not enough local residents to work for the farms here, Boerboom said while giving a tour of the nursery, which supplies 12.3 million seedlings to the B.C. government to replenish forests destroyed in wildfires.

My concern is that after we have invested in our facilities (for foreign workers) using the current COVID-19 health and safety standards that the government has laid out, what will happen now? How can we keep our employees safe and fully utilize our facilities?

Boerboom said hes seen that provincial officials in Quebec are considering subsidies to encourage local workers to take on seasonal farm work, and he says it would be beneficial for governments across Canada to introduce subsidies to allow growers to offer more competitive salaries and better-quality lodgings.

Its a tough time for everyone in many industries, he said.

Toni Boot, mayor of the town of Summerland, says the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted that the living conditions of many farm workers require significant improvement, both those from overseas and other provinces.

Its unfortunate that were in crisis mode at this point, but the work were getting done now (to upgrade living facilities) will move us forward in the future, I think, Boot said.

Its something that shouldve been addressed years ago and now we have no choice. Lets make the most of it.

With files from The Canadian Press

Joanna Chiu is a Vancouver-based reporter covering both Canada-China relations and current affairs on the West Coast for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @joannachiu

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With all due sympathy to the Fort Erie woman who has been separated from her fiance in Kenmore, N.Y. since March, we hope the Canada-U.S. border doesnt reopen any time soon.

As the crow flies, only about seven kilometres separate Tricia-Lynn Pascia and Nick Crawley. The crow can fly over the border; fortunately, people cannot.

Until the United States gets its pandemic house in order, the border absolutely must stay closed, maybe even through the rest of 2020.

Its too bad: Our tourism industry, our shops and restaurants and wineries, are reopening and in need of revenue to help them get back on their feet and put people back to work.

But at what cost?

More than half of the 50 states are still seeing their case counts grow; 11 of them have reported an increase of 50 per cent or more just over the previous week; and the U.S now averages more new COVID-19 cases per day than at any time during the pandemic.

The numbers show that rather than flattening the curve, the U.S. has lost control of it like a loose firehose.

Even if New York state finally is managing its curve, the reason it was hardest hit so early is that it, and especially New York City, are travel hubs for the rest of the country. People from all over pass through it.

Open our borders in Niagara and visitors from any state might come through.

Erie County, right across the border, is still seeing its daily case count rise, although the increase is slowing.

Niagara, like Ontario and the rest of Canada, made the tough choices early on and paid a stiff, stiff price to get to the point where we can slowly reopen.

Simply, too many Americans and too many American leaders, werent willing to make the same sacrifice.

Led by an irresponsible president, too many governors were too willing to relax lockdown rules. They reopened and enjoyed that moment of instant gratification; now many, like Florida, Texas and Arizona, have to convince people to lock down and try harder this time.

Putting the toothpaste back in the tube, as it were, is never easy. Especially in a country where a noisy minority looks at even something so simple as wearing a mask as an infringement on their rights.

Even the European Union is apparently considering banning visitors from the U.S., as it plans to reopen to tourism.

The United States has always had a streak of isolationism. Because of resistance at home it was late entering the First World War and only joined the Second World War after it was attacked.

Through his immigration policies, President Donald Trump has done his best to keep people from many parts of the world out of the U.S. He continually complains that other countries have treated the U.S. badly and taken advantage of it in the past.

With the borders closed, maybe he is getting what he wanted all along  America First, and America alone.

International travel restrictions and the fear of COVID-19 will keep more Canadians vacationing in Canada.

Since many are being paid by the federal government through temporary assistance, or their employers are receiving government wage subsidies, its good to see Canadian money staying in Canada.

In Niagara, that at least should make up for the loss of international visitors. Its not perfect, and not viable in the long term.

But this year, a closed border and tourists visiting almost exclusively from Canada seems like the best recipe for what will pass for success in 2020.
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End of an era for Premier Padmini taxis on Mumbai roads



Lately, the most loved and fittest to survive on the Mumbai roads, these were put to gruelling endurance tests as taxis, doing all sort of good to odd jobs as demanded. It had become an almost indelible part of the Mumbai landscape and hundreds could be found in long traffic jams. They appeared in all hues of the maintenance spectrum from excellent to ramshackle conditions. A traveller had quipped "I could see the tar road from below the rusted and corroded floor of the taxi I had boarded."



By the end of the 1990's the taxi fleet went for massive engine transplants, using second hand imported Japanese outboard motor and car diesel motors. The older petrol engines were discarded. These already rans and written off older diesels, now reconditioned created havoc with the air quality, emitting jet black smoke and polluting the environment, though profit making for the cabbie. A R.K. Laxman cartoon in the late 1990's showed the common man with his wife on their house terrace. On seeing black smoke, the wife said "Its going to rain." The common man retorted "Its a taxi in the neighbourhood." That's when the first court directive came from the Bombay High Court just after the turn of the millenium directing scrapping of all "end of life" older commercial vehicles. This High Court decision was later upheld by the Supreme Court and became a rule of law for all metros. The Delhi Blueline buses too gained notoriety for polluting and that started the CNG era in Delhi and the NCR.



The Fiat/Premier taxis have been used by once strugglers who are now big names in Bollywood, politicians especially of the Maharashtra government, lower, middle and upper class passengers of all hues, struggling enterpreneurs who have made it big, travellers, foreign tourists and a host of other categories of passengers from all ends of the spectrum.



A very few Premier Padminis/ 137 D's had survived till this day, as the scrapping game was a continuous process that required annhilation of older commercial vehicles. Lately, friends would remark that during their short trip/s to Mumbai, they would be lucky enough to sight even one Premier taxi as sightings had become very, very rare since the last five years or so. The Mumbai landscape will never be the same and all Fiat/Premier lovers will badly miss their presence.







The Premier Padmini era is ending for Mumbai roads around this month viz. June 2020, when the last ones would be scrapped. The domination of Fiats in Mumbai's taxi trade commenced in the mid 1950's, when car imports started becoming scarcer. It began with the Fiat Millecento (1953), Elegant (1956), Millecento again (1958 with a new body), Select (1959), Super Select (1962) and lastly the Fiat 1100 Delight (1965). But around 1965 and till the early 1970's a motley mix of imported brands comprising Austins (the A 40 Devon was quite popular), Hillman Minx Mark III, Ford Prefect, Standard Super Ten, Chevrolet Fleetmaster, Plymouth P-10 (who can forget the Mehmood taxi in "Sadhu Aur Shaitan (1968)?) and some more dotted the Mumbai landscape, alongwith the newly emerging Fiats that were replacing most other ageing brands. Soon to follow were the Premier President (1972), the Premier Padmini (1974) and and lastly the Premier 137 D (1994), that almost monopolised Mumbai's taxi trade. By 1975, the surviving old imports from the 1940's and 1950's were reduced to very miniscule numbers.Lately, the most loved and fittest to survive on the Mumbai roads, these were put to gruelling endurance tests as taxis, doing all sort of good to odd jobs as demanded. It had become an almost indelible part of the Mumbai landscape and hundreds could be found in long traffic jams. They appeared in all hues of the maintenance spectrum from excellent to ramshackle conditions. A traveller had quipped "I could see the tar road from below the rusted and corroded floor of the taxi I had boarded."By the end of the 1990's the taxi fleet went for massive engine transplants, using second hand imported Japanese outboard motor and car diesel motors. The older petrol engines were discarded. These already rans and written off older diesels, now reconditioned created havoc with the air quality, emitting jet black smoke and polluting the environment, though profit making for the cabbie. A R.K. Laxman cartoon in the late 1990's showed the common man with his wife on their house terrace. On seeing black smoke, the wife said "Its going to rain." The common man retorted "Its a taxi in the neighbourhood." That's when the first court directive came from the Bombay High Court just after the turn of the millenium directing scrapping of all "end of life" older commercial vehicles. This High Court decision was later upheld by the Supreme Court and became a rule of law for all metros. The Delhi Blueline buses too gained notoriety for polluting and that started the CNG era in Delhi and the NCR.The Fiat/Premier taxis have been used by once strugglers who are now big names in Bollywood, politicians especially of the Maharashtra government, lower, middle and upper class passengers of all hues, struggling enterpreneurs who have made it big, travellers, foreign tourists and a host of other categories of passengers from all ends of the spectrum.A very few Premier Padminis/ 137 D's had survived till this day, as the scrapping game was a continuous process that required annhilation of older commercial vehicles. Lately, friends would remark that during their short trip/s to Mumbai, they would be lucky enough to sight even one Premier taxi as sightings had become very, very rare since the last five years or so. The Mumbai landscape will never be the same and all Fiat/Premier lovers will badly miss their presence. Last edited by anjan_c2007 : 25th June 2020 at 18:56 .
For years, Aleksei Navalny has chronicled alleged corruption and exposed potential misdeeds by President Vladimir Putin and some of his closest allies.

And for years, amid frequent stints in jail on charges supporters say have been trumped up, the vocal Kremlin foe has -- for the most part -- been pointedly ignored by Putin, his aides, and state media outlets.

That's why it came as a shock to friends and enemies alike when a program on Russia state-run television not only broadcast Navalnys name but also aired some of his criticisms of Putin's government.

60 Minutes is a popular talk show with a panel of guests slugging it out -- within tightly controlled limits  on the issues of the day as Kremlin-loyal hosts Yevgeny Popov and Olga Skabeyeva oversee the spectacle. Airing on the state-run Rossia-1 network, the June 25 edition dedicated time to discussing the delayed Victory Day parade held in Moscow a day earlier.

The military parade, with its thousands of soldiers and hardware on display in Red Square, was moved back due to the COVID-19 pandemic from its traditional date of May 9, when the Allied victory over Nazi Germany is normally commemorated in Russia.

Though lockdowns have rolled back, critics questioned the wisdom of spending lots of cash on a parade  and of holding it at all -- at a time when Russia continues to record thousands of new coronavirus infections daily. Russia has the third-highest number of coronavirus infections in the world after the United States and Brazil, with nearly 620,000 confirmed cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

And with social distancing judged to be the key to slowing the spread of the coronavirus, many felt it foolhardy to hold such a mass event.

Among the most outspoken critics has been Navalny.

"The whole country is amazed: What the hell do we need a parade for? What is it needed for?" Navalny said in a video posted to his YouTube channel. "Everyone in the country knows that all this madness is done for one person only."

Many Putin opponents say he timed the parade in a bid to stoke patriotic sentiment and bolster support for a June 25 to July 1 vote on constitutional amendments, including one allowing the 67-year-old leader to seek two more presidential terms and potentially rule until 2036.

On the 60 Minutes program, part of Navalny's YouTube video was aired as the two hosts and guest panelists stared up at the big screen.

On Twitter, blogger Rustem Adagamov posted a segment of the show, writing: "On Rossia-1 TV channel they are giving a lot of time to Navalny, who is blasting Putin for his carnival parade. Well done!"

The program also cited Lyubov Sobol, a lawyer and prominent opposition figure who is a member of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.

"My father turned on the television, by chance to Rossia-1, and there was your face, Twitter user Artyom Matveyev wrote in a post that included a screenshot of the show featuring Sobol. They were discussing something about criticism of the parade.

Several people who commented on social media said that although Navalny's stance was slammed on the program by the hosts and by many of the panelists  with the exception of the token government critic  his views seemed to be given a fair hearing and the show included a number of quotes from him and from Sobol.

Commentators also noted that the program focused on Navalny's breakdown of the cost of the parade.

In a blog post on June 22, Navalny said that the state had spent almost 1 billion rubles ($14.4 million) on the parade, not including expenditures from the military budget.



"You could buy medicine for pensioners for this money," he said in the post, in a comment that was not quoted on the show. "Two and a half months people [were] at home, half of them without work or salaries. A parade is the last thing on their minds. But this bunker grandpa wants a parade, he needs to show himself off on the reviewing stand."

Photo Gallery: Parade Amid A Pandemic: Russia Holds Massive WWII Victory Day Celebrations Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Russia staged a massive Victory Day military parade in Moscow on June 24 to commemorate the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The lavish event was supposed to have been held on May 9 but was postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Moscow's COVID-19 lockdown measures have since relaxed and President Vladimir Putin went ahead with the parade, seeking to solidify support ahead of a referendum that could pave the way for his extended rule. Share on Facebook

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Navalny himself had little to say about his inclusion on the program.

On his YouTube channel, Navalny -- who came in second in a Moscow mayoral election in 2013, has attempted to run for president, and is a trained lawyer -- noted with a laugh that he was described only as a blogger.

The 60 Minutes program also took aim at coverage by Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, questioning polling data broadcast by Current Time that suggested, among other things, that a majority of those Russians surveyed think Russian state media coverage involving World War II is "complete propaganda."

The sudden attention is a change, given that Kremlin officials have so assiduously avoided referring to Navalny by name that he has been likened to Lord Voldemort, the villain in British author J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels who is sometimes called He Who Must Not Be Named and You Know Who.

It could be aimed to appease opponents and present a softer stance amid the weeklong vote on constitutional changes. But it may not mark a major rethink by the Kremlin on Navalny, who has twice been convicted of financial crimes in cases he and supporters contend were fabricated to prevent him from challenging Putin in elections.

Earlier this month, Russian authorities opened a criminal case against Navalny, accusing him of slandering a veteran of World War II.

The case, announced on June 15 by the Investigative Committee, stems from comments Navalny posted on social media about a video on state-funded RT television.

In it, several prominent Russians speak in favor of the constitutional vote. Among those featured was 93-year-old veteran Ignat Artemenko.

Navalnys post criticized the people in the video, suggesting they were without conscience. The case against Navalny says the comments were false information discrediting the honor and dignity of a veteran of the Great Patriotic War.

Russian officials bridle at any criticism connected to the Red Armys actions in the war, especially as the country marks the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. If convicted, Navalny could face a fine of up to one years income or 240 hours of community service.

With reporting by RFE/RLs Russian Service
Over 100 bandits struck in two Katsina communities leaving a cop, five residents dead while five others including two pregnant women escaped death with severe injuries

The police public relations officer in Katsina State command, Gambo Isah, who confirmed this to newsmen in Katsina, said three victims each lost their lives at Kanakulere and Kanawa villages.

He disclosed that about sixty bandits stormed the two Katsina villages and started shooting rampantly where they killed their victims.

The bandits came to villages on foot without using motorcycles to commit the crime.



It was the rampant shooting from the guns of the bandits that attracted soldiers posted to Maidabina village to the two villages.

The quick arrival of the soldiers made the bandits flee from the villages, he said.

The PPRO said that the command had sent re-enforcement of mobile police to the two villages to provide more protection to the villagers.

Isah called on the people in the eight frontline local governments where bandits had been killing the residents to provide vital information to the security personnel about the activities of the bandits for actions.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Competition watchdog boss Rod Sims will not back down in his fight to challenge the sale of a key Queensland rail freight terminal saying the deal, between Pacific National and ASX-listed rail freight operator Aurizon, warrants a second look at the High Court.

"We think this is going to tell us a lot about the effectiveness of our merger regime, which is really important to the Australian economy because without competition the market economy really doesn't work. So we've really got to make sure that our merger rules can do the job," Mr Sims said.

The long-running case centres on a $205 million deal struck about three years ago between ASX-listed rail freight operator Aurizon and rail freight business Pacific National. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission opposed the deal, arguing it would damage competition in the sector.

Under the agreement Pacific National agreed to buy the Acacia Ridge intermodal terminal in south-east Queensland from Aurizon. Freight is transferred between Queensland's narrow gauge rail network and NSW's standard gauge at the terminal, and is also moved on and off trucks.
New Delhi: The intelligence agencies have rung the alarm bells after more than 200 youths from Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistani visa were found to be missing. The authorities fear that Pakistan has been trying to recruit them and could be training them to create trouble in Jammu and Kashmir.

Since January 2017, the Pakistan High Commission has issued Pakistani visas to 399 youth from J&K of which whereabouts of 218 are not known.

Intelligence sources said, "Pakistan has been targeting the youth from J&K by training, equipping and arming them to carry out terrorist attacks in J&K on the lines of February 2019 Pulwama attack."

Though, Pakistan, after rendering training to youth for terror attacks, claims that they are local resistance fighters.

India has managed to thwart many incidents with terrorists infiltrating from Pakistan, in the past few months. These infiltrators came back after receiving their training in Pakistan on the visa issued by the mission in Delhi.

On April 5, security forces had neutralised five among them three - Adil Hussain Mir, Umar Nazir Khan and Sajjad Ahmed Hurrah were from J&K and had travelled to Pakistan in April 2018 on the visa issued by the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

India earlier this week had announced that it will reduce the staff strength of Pakistan Hgh commission in New Delhi by 50% since it was "engaged in acts of espionage" and "maintained dealings with terrorist organisations".

After the catching DSP, J&K Police Devender Singh along with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists Naveed Babu and Asif Ahmad - the NIA in its investigation found one Assistant at Pakistan high commission Shafaqat was in touch with them and was the main conduit for hawala transactions.

In another case, the First Secretary Press at the Pakistani mission Mudassar Iqbal Cheema's name came up during NIA's investigation into the J&K terror funding case. Cheema, who was at the mission from September 2015 to November 2016, had given Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, the main accused in the case, Rs 70 lakhs in two instalments. Watali was the main conduit to send money to Hurriyat leaders from the Pakistani high commission.

Pakistani officials have also been found in espionage activity. On 31st May, 2 Pakistani high commission officials were caught red-handed trying to indulge in espionage activity in the heart of Delhi in Karol Bagh. Both were expelled within 24 hours. WION was the first channel to break that story.
The ruling was issued on June 26.

On June 26, the Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland found former Member of Parliament of Ukraine Mykola Martynenko guilty of laundering about EUR 2.8 million through the Swiss financial system "as part of a criminal group."

The court also convicted another citizen of Ukraine, Pavlo Skalenko, who, together with the former Ukrainian parliamentarian, appears in Ukrainian criminal proceedings of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), according to the Skhemy (Schemes) program, which cites three sources.

Read alsoRecord attempt to bribe chiefs of Ukraine's anti-graft agencies lands suspects behind bars

Martynenko was sentenced to 28 months in prison, 12 of which are "unconditional imprisonment." Skalenko will spend 24 months in prison.

The Criminal Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court met in the city of Bellinzona at 14:00 local time on June 26.

According to Swiss law enforcement agencies, Martynenko and Skalenko were suspected of opening accounts in Swiss banks used to buy real estate and assets in Switzerland and other countries with money obtained illegally in Ukraine and the Czech Republic.

According to the investigation, the former lawmaker instructed an accomplice, Pavlo Skalenko, to set up an offshore company in the Republic of Panama. Various citizens of Panama were its directors, but they all appointed Martynenko as their authorized representative.

Then, according to the law enforcement agencies, following Martynenko's instructions, his accomplice opened bank accounts in Switzerland on behalf of an offshore company, indicating Mykola Martynenko as the beneficial owner of the assets in respective documents.

Martynenko pleaded not guilty.

The case in Switzerland is connected with the Ukrainian case against the former MP and his accomplices, which was opened by NABU and SAPO and which is now being considered in Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court.
By Michelle Nichols and Humeyra Pamuk

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia and China will be isolated at the United Nations if they continue down the "road to dystopia" by blocking a U.S. bid to extend a weapons ban on Iran, U.S. Iran envoy Brian Hook told Reuters ahead of his formal pitch of the embargo to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.

The 13-year-old arms restrictions on Iran are due to expire in October under the terms of Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Russia and China have signaled they oppose extending the embargo.

While Washington has long argued that the embargo should not be lifted, the international community has been waiting for it to formally push the measure. Hook and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft made the case for why the 15-member council should support a draft resolution extending the embargo behind closed doors on Wednesday.

"We see a widening gap between Russia and China and the international community," Hook said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday evening.

"Russia and China were isolated at the (International Atomic Energy Agency) last week and they will be isolated in the Security Council if they continue down this road to dystopia," Hook said.

The IAEA's 35-nation board of governors on Friday called on Iran to allow the U.N. nuclear watchdog access to two sites suspected of nuclear weapons activities, and to cooperate fully. Iranian allies Russia and China opposed that move but could not block it, whereas at the Security Council they have veto powers.

A council resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, China, Russia, Britain or France to pass.

"There is no possibility for its adoption," said a Chinese diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, after Hook and Craft briefed council envoys. "The U.S. draft resolution is in essence a continuation of the U.S. maximum pressure policy [on Iran] and it has no value or basis for discussion."

Story continues

Earlier this month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on Russia and China to resist Washington's push, pledging to "increase our defense capabilities as we have been doing so even under sanctions."

'CLEAR LIMITS'

"Extending the arms embargo is the right and necessary thing to do and every member of the Security Council knows this whether they say this publicly or not," Hook said.

"The embargo has not prevented all Iranian weapons transfers, but the export and import bans have been effective at establishing clear limits on Iran's behavior," he argued.

The United States circulated the draft resolution on Monday after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reported to the council earlier this month that cruise missiles used in several attacks on oil facilities and an international airport in Saudi Arabia last year were of "Iranian origin."

If the United States is unsuccessful in extending the embargo, it has threatened to trigger a return of all U.N. sanctions on Iran under a process agreed in the 2015 nuclear deal, even though the United States quit the accord in 2018.

Such a move would kill the nuclear deal, touted by the United States and others in 2015 as a way to suspend Tehran's suspected drive to develop nuclear weapons, and diplomats say Washington would face a tough battle in the council.

The United States argues it can trigger the sanctions because a U.N. resolution enshrining the 2015 nuclear deal still names Washington as a participant.

Iran has breached parts of the nuclear deal in response to the U.S. withdrawal and Washington's reimposition of sanctions.

Rouhani said on Wednesday that Tehran would be open to talks with the United States if Washington apologizes for quitting the nuclear deal and compensates Tehran.

"We are happy to engage in conversations with them when the time is right but the conditions that suggest somehow we give a bunch of money to the Iranians so they can foment terror around the world is simply ludicrous," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Paul Simao and Grant McCool)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  The National Bureau of Investigation is inviting Filipino lawyer Mark Tolentino for questioning in relation to the $2.1 billion Wirecard scandal, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Friday.

Guevarra said Tolentino, who runs a law firm and is tagged as a trustee of the embattled German payments firm, will be probed to shed light on his involvement in the billions of missing cash.

Tolentino was a former assistant secretary in the Department of Transportation who was sacked by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018 for pushing for a railway project involving Duterte's sister.

The DOJ chief added that Immigration officials are also being investigated in connection with the travel records of Jan Marsalek, the chief operating officer of the German firm, who appears to have traveled to the Philippines earlier this week.

The Immigration database showed that the foreigner flew in June 23 and left for China on June 24 via Cebu, but there were no scheduled flights to the mainland that day. Covered by the investigation are members of the bureau's Management Information Systems division.

RELATED: Wirecard files for insolvency after ex-CEO arrested in $2 billion scandal

"The results of the investigation of the MIS personnel may lead to various scenarios, including the possibility of employing diversionary tactics to mislead Marsalek's pursuers," Guevarra said regarding Immigration employees.

On Thursday, Guevarra said BI records showed that the sacked Wirecard official arrived in Manila on June 23, and left for China from Cebu the next morning. However, there was no trace of him in the CCTV footage at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. The probe will establish if the record was merely caused by a glitch, or if there was some wrongdoing involved.

Initial information revealed that Marsalek traveled with his Filipina wife, which was how he got to enter the country despite travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Marsalek last visited Manila from March 3 to 5, right before lockdown measures kicked in.

In a fresh statement, Tolentino said he was being framed for the mess involving the German firm's finances, which has triggered the resignation of its chief executive officer Markus Braun and forced the company to file for insolvency.

Tolentino denied holding the missing cash or knowing where the funds are, saying he was only approached by men "early this year" who offered to make him a trustee for the shares of a local financial technology company they will put up.

"I cannot be a part of that group [when] I only knew these gentlemen in early this year," he said, noting that he couldn't possibly take part in the scheme "when the image and honor of the banking system of my country is at stake."

BDO Unibank and the Bank of the Philippine Islands, two of the country's biggest lenders, have denied that they held Wirecard's money. Tolentino said the money is probably hidden away in a private banking unit of an Asian or European institution, and that he may again be accused of secretly managing the missing funds.

He said six of his own bank accounts have been linked to Wirecard and are supposedly holding the missing money.

"It is possible that there would be fabricated documents which will surface in the future that contains my name as holder of accounts in international banks," Tolentino said.

The foreign payments firm saw its stock market value collapse by 90 percent in the span of a week following the report of the missing funds. Wirecard officials said the money may not have existed after all.

CNN Philippines' Anjo Alimario contributed to this report.
Ethiopia has reiterated it will start filling the reservoir of a controversial dam on the Nile  that has been at the centre of a decade-long dispute in East Africa  even without an agreement from Egypt and Sudan.

The construction of the $4.6bn Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile  which is more than 70 percent complete and promises to provide much-needed electricity to Ethiopias 100 million people  has been a contentious point among the three Nile River Basin countries.

We will go ahead with the filling of the dam next month even if theres no agreement reached, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew told dpa news agency on Friday, adding that Egypts insistence on controlling the river flow was hampering proceedings.

A decade of arduous talks involving the two downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan, and upstream Ethiopia have reached a deadlock with Egypt turning to the United Nations Security Council last week.

Egypt, which is almost entirely dependent on the Nile for its freshwater supplies, is anxious to secure a legally binding deal that would guarantee minimum flows and a mechanism for resolving disputes before the dam starts operating.





In a letter to the Security Council on Thursday, Sudan warned the lives of millions of people would be endangered if Ethiopia moved ahead with its plan before an agreement was reached.

INTERACTIVE: Could the mega-dams kill the mighty River Nile?

However, Ethiopia remains undeterred from starting to fill the 74-billion-cubic-metre reservoir when the rainy season begins in July, regardless of a deal being reached.

It seems like the political will is not equally shared by the three sides and that is why they cannot come back to the negotiating table, said Al Jazeeras Hiba Morgan, reporting from Sudans capital, Khartoum.

Ethiopia says the project is indispensable for its development and insists downstream countries water supplies will be unaffected.

The Egyptians want us to offer a lot, but they are not ready to offer us anything. They want to control everything. We are not discussing a water-sharing agreement, Andargachew said.
- ODM leader Raila Odinga was flown out of the country on Sunday, June 21, for a minor back surgery at a German hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

- Kenyans from all walks of life joined Joho in wishing a quick recovery to the former PM

- The governor said the AU infrastructure envoy will jet back home soon

- Raila's hospitalisation was done under shrouded secrecy which saw blogger Dennis Itumbi claim he was aware of the sickness and shared alleged details of the same

Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho has assured Kenyans former prime minister Raila Odinga is recuperating well at a hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), after undergoing surgery on his back.

Oburu Oginga, the elder brother to the AU infrastructure envoy confirmed he jetted out of the country on Sunday, June 21, for treatment abroad, ending speculations about his whereabouts.

READ ALSO: Video of Anerlisa Muigai in her wedding gown surfaces online

Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho (inset) has said Raila Odinga is recovering well at a Dubai hospital and will jet back soon. Photo: Hassan Joho.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Law Society of Kenya boss Nelson Havi terms MP Waluke's conviction fraudulent

Joho, who is also the ODM deputy party leader, said he spoke to Raila and got to know he was recovering well.

"I had an opportunity to speak to my party leader. I feel happy and encouraged that is he progressing really well. So for us as a people more so the ODM fraternity, we continue to pray for baba.

ODM leader Raila Odinga speaking at an event. He jetted out of the country on Sunday, June 21, for treatment abroad. Photo: Raila Odinga.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Jamaa aaga dunia kwa kutumia dawa ya kuamsha ashiki kupita kiasi

"I have no doubt he will come back to Kenya within the shortest time possible. We shall continue to stay strong. Let's not forget our leaders are human beings and they also face challenges. He is strong and recovering well after the procedure. We stand solidly behind him in his quest to unite Kenya,"said Joho in a video shared on Twitter

Oginga, the family spokesperson of the Odinga's, revealed the ODM leader aged 75 was admitted at a German hospital in Dubai.

The Germans have a good hospital facility in UAE where hes being monitored. He is not in China. The last time he was there, I think, was in November last year before the coronavirus pandemic. Right now, if you want to go there, you must be ready for a 14-day military quarantine. Thats not tenable, so there is no way he could have gone there, he said.

Kenyans took their time to wish the veteran politician a quick recovery.

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

I know my mum will walk one day - Anne Flavia | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
AUSTIN  Gov. Greg Abbott was certain that contact tracing would help dig Texas out from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

As he prepared to reopen the state in late April, the governor boasted that more than 1,000 tracers were in place to track down infections and advise anyone exposed to stay home. A website was up and running. Within weeks, thousands more tracers would be deployed and the technology to manage their progress available statewide.

What that process does is, it will box in the expansion of COVID-19, Abbott said in a press conference April 27.

But local health officials say standing up an army of tracers and the infrastructure to support them has been far more complicated than it may have seemed. Key components of state and local tracing programs were not in place as Abbott expanded reopenings in May and June, even as cases began to rise and testing for the virus fell short of expectations.

It was a plan, said Rebecca Fischer, an epidemiologist who leads a team of contact tracers at Texas A&M University. I think the impression was that it was ready to roll out.

The rushed debut, compounded by an outdated reporting system and delays in processing tests for the virus, made it difficult for tracers to head off the rise in cases now sweeping across Texas, according to health officials.

As its largest cities brace for a surge that has already tripled COVID hospitalizations in a month, the state is becoming a textbook example of the dangers of opening without time-tested public health measures fully in place.

TEXAS TESTING WOES: Testing stymied by delayed results, waning demand

On Thursday, the governor announced he is delaying further reopenings and postponing elective surgeries at hospitals in four of the states hardest hit counties to make room for more coronavirus patients.

There is a massive outbreak of COVID-19 across the state of Texas, Abbott, a Republican who was among the first governors to push for a re-opening, said in a TV interview Wednesday.

With cases multiplying, some city health departments are buried in paperwork, struggling to keep up.

If we look at the efficacy of contact tracing in other countries where that worked, that contact tracing happened when the places were generally shut down, when people were not moving around, Dr. Mark Escott, interim health director at Austin Public Health, told Travis County commissioners Tuesday. Thats not happening here. Things are still open, and were trying to contact when were getting hundreds, perhaps more than a thousand cases a day being reported in.

While state health officials acknowledge that the system was a work in progress, they said key pieces were in place by late April, as Abbott said.

We will be adding more functionality over time, but that core ability to do contact tracing was there on April 27 with Texas Health Trace, said Chris Van Deusen, a spokesman for the Department of State Health Services, referring to the states online tracing portal.

A spokesman for the governor declined to comment.

Still on hold

Unlike states that were broadsided by the pandemic early on, Texas had time to prepare. When the statewide lockdown was lifted in late April, the state had already unveiled Texas Health Trace. Anyone could enter their symptoms, see if they needed testing and potentially connect up with a tracer.

The more critical, behind-the-scenes components were not yet in place. The state was still unable to help with tracing in counties with stretched resources, and there was no way for local health departments to seamlessly input their case data each day. Some departments that are doing tracing themselves, including those in Houston and Harris County, are still not using Texas Health Trace to report their data.

We hoped this plan had all these new hires and this system was going to be a go any day, said Fischer, the epidemiologist at Texas A&M. Then week to week we were attending these conference calls and talking about redirecting staff, and every week it was like, were still on hold, still on hold.

By the end of May, the state had nearly tripled its tracing fleet but was still well short of the governors goal of 4,000, which itself was lower than some national models had recommended. The state health agency said it had enough tracers, and that local health entities were taking the lead whenever possible.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

The 4,000 was an estimate based on the population, Van Deusen said in early June. That gave us a broad target to start out with. But as weve started out, thats enough people right now to handle this, certainly at the state level to handle all the cases we get.

New cases, though, had already begun climbing after Memorial Day, and some tests werent processed for weeks as a limited network of health labs became inundated with samples. When turnaround slows, tracing is less effective because contacts who were exposed have time to spread the virus unwittingly.

With the state still working to update its data management system, cities and large counties that had opted to oversee their own response launched updated tracing programs. In College Station, the county hired a team of case investigators overseen by Fischer and set up its own data management system. The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District hired a contractor to conduct tracing through automated text messages.

Houston and Harris County hired hundreds of new tracers and partnered with the University of Houston College of Medicine to get them quickly trained.

The Houston Health Department launched an online tracing program just last week, and its currently only available in English  a challenge for the most diverse city in the country. It was still hiring and training staff when the state announced nearly all businesses could reopen in limited capacity May 18.

Having more time would have definitely put us in a better situation, said Kirstin Short, the departments bureau chief of epidemiology. A lot of it is logistics. Contact tracing is not an easy thing. Developing an online system is not an easy thing.

The Houston tracing application, while still new, likely has only about a 10 to 20 percent participation rate, Short said.

On one hand that seems low, but when youre looking at 900 cases, that could be 180 people who were reaching, she said.

Too many leads, too few callbacks

Health officials have always had challenges getting people to pick up the phone. Anita Kurian, assistant director of San Antonio Metropolitan Health, said earlier this week there were about 2,500 positive cases still under review. The health department had received responses from 300.

An overwhelming majority of folks are not contacting us back, she said.

Some agencies have had more luck than others, and it can be particularly challenging to reach those in and around the undocumented community, who may be nervous about giving information about themselves or their close contacts, according to health officials. Some have had better success when texting first, though it can still be a challenge.

Lets be honest, I dont care if you use an alias, Fischer said. You can say youre Winnie the Pooh, as long as I can get Tigger on the phone.

Several departments say they are falling behind as cases multiply and parts of the process are still stuck in the paper age. In Austin, Escott told commissioners Tuesday that test results are being faxed in, sometimes hundreds by the day.

Im concerned that the public is overly reliant on that contact tracing piece because public health has sold that as a solution, he added. Its a good solution; it works in some circumstances, but right now across the state of Texas were getting reports from jurisdictions that they simply cannot contact trace everybody.

jeremy.blackman@chron.com
Jenna Mourey, a YouTube personality who became one of the platforms first mainstream female stars as Jenna Marbles, said Thursday that she was going to stop her channel amid a backlash over old videos that she made in blackface and mocking Asian people.

Mourey, whose channel has more than 20 million subscribers, apologized in a video for the content, which she made in 2011 and 2012 when she had just established her channel. She said she was abandoning the platform to hold myself accountable.

I am ashamed of things I have done and said in my past, she said in a signoff video.

Unlike many other internet celebrities, Mourey has been making videos for more than a decade and managed to remain successful on YouTube, a platform that can be hugely profitable to people making content for it. Mourey said in the 11-minute video that she wanted to address the videos because were at a time where we are purging ourselves of anything and everything toxic.

I think now its hard for that content to exist at all because I think people watch it and dont bother to look at when it was posted or care about what path I took to get to where I am, Mourey said. It offends them now, and, if thats the case  where people will watch something and be offended now  I dont want it to exist.

Mourey said that some of the offending videos had previously been made private but that she was publicly addressing it because she was getting questions on social media about why she had done so. She explained that she did not want to contribute to putting out negative things in the world.

She said she wanted to address two clips specifically. She replayed one of her impersonating rapper Nicki Minaj in 2011 while wearing a pink wig and with her skin darkened.

It was not my intention to do blackface, she said in the video Thursday.

She also played another clip from 2011, which she called a bad year for me in judgment, that featured Mourey singing a rap song. In that video, Mourey is wearing a hat that resembles a Vietnamese non la and says sarcastically that she was being racist after mocking Asian people by performing an offensive stereotype.

She also apologized for a video that she made in 2012 ranting about girls sleeping around that she said demonstrated she had internalized misogyny.

Mourey said that she made other videos private because they could be hurtful to those struggling with gender identity, she added.

I am just a person trying to navigate the world, she said.

Mourey said she was going to move on from posting videos on her channel but she did not know for how long or whether it would be a permanent departure from the online world that she had created.

Her immediate plans: Just live and just be. Thats it, she said.

Mourey was the latest public figure to address the depictions of blackface in her past. This week, episodes of 30 Rock, the hit TV comedy series, were pulled from streaming services because they featured skits with white actors in blackface.

Late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon have each apologized for appearing in blackface. The apologies have emerged amid nationwide protests over racism and police mistreatment of Black people.

Mourey has expanded her work onto the livestreaming platform Twitch in recent years, where she shares a channel with her partner, Julien Solomita. The two appeared at TwitchCon in 2017 and were nominated for a Shorty Award in 2018 for their work on Twitch.

Many other YouTubers have also recently come under fire for racist skits, including Shane Dawson, who has been repeatedly criticized for old videos of him wearing blackface; and Jeffree Star, who was recently accused of making racist and offensive comments. This week, YouTuber David Dobrik faced backlash when an old video of him and Liza Koshy surfaced in which they imitated speaking Japanese.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
A particularly successful Russian hacker is about to serve time behind bars in the US. A federal judge has sentenced Aleksei Burkov, the operator of an elite cybercrime forum, to nine years in prison after pleading guilty in January to two device fraud charges. Hed faced up to 15 years in prison, but that plea apparently didnt help him avoid most of the punishment.

The invitation-only forum, DirectConnection, let hackers and other online crooks sell their services and stolen goods so long as they had $5,000 and the backing of three current members. The charges also revolved around Burkovs control of Cardplanet, a site that sold payment card numbers. Over $20 million in bogus purchases were made using stolen US credit cards.

The sentence is notable in part for the bitter fight to extradite Burkov to the US. Hed been arrested in Israel in 2015 and was supposed to have been extradited in 2017, but Russia fought that transfer for years. He was apparently one of the most connected hackers in the country, and the government may have been worried he knew too much about Russian hacking operations. Clearly, Russia didnt have much success  its not certain if Burkov turned informant, but he wont be leaving the US for a long while.
WASHINGTON  The House on Thursday passed an expansive policing overhaul bill aimed at combating racial discrimination and excessive use of force in law enforcement, as Democrats sought to respond to a nationwide outcry for racial justice and pushed through legislation that is doomed in the Republican-controlled Senate.

The bipartisan vote was 236-181 to approve the measure, the most sweeping federal intervention into law enforcement in years. It would eliminate legal protections that shield police officers from lawsuits, make it easier to prosecute them for wrongdoing, impose a new set of restrictions on the use of deadly force, and effectively ban the use of chokeholds.

But passage of the legislation, introduced as a response to the killings of black Americans across the country and a wave of protests that have followed, only underscored the depth of the stalemate in Congress over how to bring about law enforcement changes that both parties say are needed. Republicans have said the bill is a federal overreach into policing that will never pass the Senate, and the White House has threatened a veto.

Its approval came the day after Senate Democrats blocked a Republican effort to advance a much narrower bill that would encourage police departments to revise their practices, but not mandate any changes. That move all but extinguished the hope that Congress will be able to pass legislation this year addressing systemic racism in law enforcement, almost certainly shifting the debate over race and policing to the campaign trail, where the two parties will blame each other for the demise of the effort.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 00:01:59|Editor: huaxia

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Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa (2nd R) attends a donation handover ceremony of medical goods in Harare, Zimbabwe, June 26, 2020. State-owned Chinese companies operating in Zimbabwe on Friday made a donation of medical goods worth 55,000 U.S. dollars to help the country in its ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang)

HARARE, June 26 (Xinhua) -- State-owned Chinese companies operating in Zimbabwe on Friday made a donation of medical goods worth 55,000 U.S. dollars to help the country in its ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Operating under the banner of the Chamber of Chinese Enterprises in Zimbabwe, the companies donated medicines to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and surgical masks to various provinces, the Immigration Department and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.

The country's largest referral hospital, Parirenyatwa, received medicines worth 5,000 U.S. dollars, the Immigration Department got 40,000 surgical masks, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority 20,000 masks while Matabeleland South and Midlands Provinces each received 20,000 surgical masks.

The provinces are not only vulnerable to imported cases, but are among the most affected by COVID-19, along with the capital Harare and the second largest city of Bulawayo.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa received the medical goods at the State House.

He thanked the Chinese companies for the donation, saying the supplies will augment the country's efforts in mitigating the pandemic.

He said the support from China, among other donors, had helped to boost the country's capacity to respond to the pandemic.

He acknowledged that the country was ill-equipped to handle the disease when it first broke in March, but due to the early lockdown and support from China, it was now reasonably prepared.

"The first 21 days and second 14 days (of total lockdown) gave us reasonable time to prepare ourselves as a country to a reasonable level.

"When we felt we were reasonably prepared we then lowered the lockdown to Level 2 but most importantly we became reasonably prepared because of the support we received from our people, friends, organizations internally and externally and the People's Republic of China was among the first countries who sent in equipment to support our endeavor to fight the pandemic," he said.

China was also the first country to sent in a team to assist in capacitating the country's first isolation and treatment hospital in Harare to a reasonable standard, he said.

"We also had the fortune of a team of medical experts that was sent by the Chinese government to come and share their experiences with our own local medical teams here so our teams could benefit from those who had undergone the baptism of the pandemic in China. We are very grateful," Mnangagwa said.

He said the country was pleased that the influx of imported cases was coming at a time when the country was now reasonably prepared to handle such huge number of infections.

Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun praised the Chinese companies for the donation, which he said showed their adherence to corporate social responsibility.

"Today's event is of great significance, demonstrating that China not only fully supports Zimbabwe from the government level, but our business sector is also dedicated to assisting our Zimbabwean brothers and sisters," he said.

He said the donation was well targeted as all the recipients whom were at the frontline of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that staff at the country's 30 border posts were taking great risks to protect the safety of Zimbabweans from COVID-19.

China is among the countries that continue to complement Zimbabwe's efforts in fighting the pandemic through various donations since the first case was recorded in the country in March.

Guo commended Zimbabwe's efforts in combating the pandemic, and added that China will always stand by the southern African country in its fight against the respiratory disease.

Although Zimbabwe has recorded a spike in imported COVID-19 cases over the past weeks, local transmission have remained relatively low.

Out of the 551 cases that had been recorded by Thursday, 77 are local transmissions. Deaths remain at six while recoveries are 128.

Chamber of Chinese Enterprises in Zimbabwe vice chairperson and publicity secretary Shanel Liu said her organization was delighted to make a modest contribution towards Zimbabwe's fight against the pandemic.

"We have learnt with great joy that local companies are currently increasing their production of quality face masks. And our donation is a supplement to ease the current urgent need. We hope it will go a long way in ensuring the safety of those in the frontline and the various communities that will benefit from this donation," she said. Enditem
Ruben Salazar in 1963. (Associated Press)

To the editor: The article on slain Los Angeles Times journalist Ruben Salazar, who was killed by police in East Los Angeles in 1970 while covering a protest, noted he was honored with a postage stamp and a display in the Globe Lobby of the old L.A. Times building.

I would like to add another instance of recognition to his legacy. In 1979, the library building at Sonoma State University was named in his honor.

Salazar had connections to the area  he was a reporter for the local newspaper in Santa Rosa, the Press Democrat, from 1956-57. When Sonoma State built a new library in 2002, the building was renamed Salazar Hall.

It should be noted that Salazar's legacy extends far and wide and his importance to journalism reaches beyond the Los Angeles region.

Lois Ann Goossen, Signal Hill
In this Oct. 22, 2012, file photo, Park Sang-hak, a North Korean refugee who launched balloons carrying propaganda balloons toward North Korea for years, hurls anti-North Korea leaflets as police block his planned rally on a road in Paju near demilitarized zone, South Korea. South Korea's police on Friday, June 26, 2020 raided the office of an activist whose anti-Pyongyang leafleting campaign has recently intensified tensions with North Korea. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)



South Korea police on Friday raided the office of an activist whose anti-North Korea leafleting campaign has intensified tensions on the Korean Peninsula.



Police said officers visited the Seoul office of Park Sang-hak to confiscate leaflets, account books and other related materials. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said that Park will be summoned soon for an investigation.



Park, a North Korean refugee who has launched balloons carrying propaganda leaflets toward North Korea for years, has been in the spotlight after North Korea abruptly used his campaign as a justification for a series of provocative steps against South Korea. Among them was blowing up an empty liaison office built by South Korea on the North's territory.



South Korean officials later demanded police investigate Park for allegedly raising animosities with North Korea and potentially endangering residents living near the border.






Research into the new coronavirus has moved lightning fast since the global pandemic began, but uncertainty around how the virus affects kids and how infectious they might be has made decisions around reopening California schools especially fraught.

Children appear to be less likely to become infected with the coronavirus and when they do, theyre not often seriously ill, but its not clear how easily they spread the virus to others  a key question facing public health and education leaders.

Nonetheless, school administrators under intense time pressure to return students to classrooms in the fall will need to figure out how to do it safely  or safer, since there may be no way to avoid infections entirely  even as the virus almost certainly continues to spread widely.

This pandemic is so relatively new, and were gathering information at a lightning speed. But theres still so much we dont know, particularly in children, said Dr. Tara Greenhow, regional lead of pediatric infectious disease at Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

In the Bay Area, children and teens have made up about 10% of all coronavirus cases, or about 2,000 in all. Statewide about 13,300 people 18 and younger have tested positive for the virus, about 8% of the total cases. No children have died of COVID-19 in California.

Its hard to say how well those numbers capture the actual infection rates among children, infectious disease experts say. Children may be less likely to be tested, for several reasons  they are less often hospitalized, and more often experience symptoms that could be mistaken for some other respiratory virus, for example.

What the numbers do show is that children are not immune to the virus.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

Children still need to return to classrooms, even if the pandemic is hardly contained, many education and health experts say.

Schools should be prioritized for reopening, even if some parts of the economy remain closed, said Dr. Theodore Ruel, chief of the division of pediatric infectious disease at UCSF. Education is a critical public health issue, he said.

Children need to learn, and they need the development that comes from in-person teaching and interaction with their peers.

That view is somewhat contentious, and some school administrators say they may stick to virtual education in the fall if the coronavirus outbreak is still raging in their communities. But many public health and education leaders agree that in-person education should resume, though it may look very different from the classrooms kids left four months ago when schools closed.

Federal and state officials, along with experts in pediatric infectious diseases, have put together some general guidelines for how schools should reopen. Children should be taught in contained cohorts  groups of students who stick together throughout the day and dont interact with others outside their clusters. Administrators should avoid large gatherings at lunch and recess and not hold school-wide assemblies.

Children should be kept home when ill, and it may be wise to institute daily checks for temperatures or other symptoms of COVID-19. Students, teachers and school staff should wear face coverings if they can.

But figuring out the details of applying those guidelines  and the costs associated with them  may largely fall on counties and districts, or even individual schools. Theres not yet consensus on how big the cohorts should be, for example, or how to schedule classes so that schools arent too crowded. Its not clear if young children should be required to wear masks, or what the age cutoff should be.

Administrators will need to decide what works best for their communities  and what theyve decided is safest based on the available data about local outbreaks, infectious disease experts say. That may mean that education looks very different in one district than in its neighbor.

The message to families should be that they can trust that these are thoughtful plans being made, even though were doing this (based) on limited data, said Ruel, who has consulted with several Bay Area districts about reopening plans, and whos eager to send his own children back to school in the fall. They are thoughtful plans that have been catered to the situations in each county.

Infectious disease experts say that the data collected so far, though incomplete, support that the coronavirus is not as big a threat to children and teenagers as it is others, and older adults in particular.

Some children with COVID-19 have developed a secondary inflammatory response that causes serious complications, but that condition is rare and appears to be treatable. There is also some research that suggests people who dont have symptoms may still suffer lung damage; whether thats true in children is not known.

Early studies out of China, where the virus first took hold, found that children were infected at much lower rates than others. A study published last week, looking at infection and transmission rates in six countries, found that children and adults younger than 20 were half as likely to be infected as adults.

When they are infected, children are less likely to have noticeable symptoms, according to last weeks study. Less than a third of children under age 20 had symptoms, compared with half of people in their 50s and more than two-thirds of people age 70 and older.

Even if the data increasingly suggest that children are less directly impacted by the coronavirus, they may still be able to infect others. With most respiratory viruses, children are considered large reservoirs of disease  they are very often carriers who spread the illness among themselves and their families and into the community.

Its not clear if thats the case with the new coronavirus.

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.

We probably would have known more about kids, except in March kids got sent home from school, said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Stanford. School ended before we could really see what kinds of transmission could happen.

Its uncomfortable to say it, infectious disease experts acknowledge, but reopening schools is going to be a grand experiment. Educators and public health authorities may not know what strategy works best until they get kids back into class and see what happens.

Schools have reopened for in-person instruction in other countries, including South Korea and Israel, and in a few cases have closed again when students tested positive. But infectious disease experts said its hard to say whether those experiences overseas will be repeated in the United States, where the pandemic has played out on different  and often more damaging  trajectories.

These are some of the challenges of this kind of decision making, said Dr. Matt Willis, the Marin County health officer. In COVID time, trying to forecast into August is really challenging.

Last week, Marin County became one of the first counties in the state to release specific guidance for districts to resume in-person education. Teachers and community advocates already have questioned some parts of the guidance that they say will not let students maintain social distance and could risk spreading the virus.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

Willis said he watched the constant flow of new research on the coronavirus and how it affects children as he considered guidelines, and he acknowledges they could shift in the coming months. Research, new data from the pandemic and changes in rates of transmission in his community have made it hard to set policy for more than a couple of weeks out, he said.

I do think that evidence is important as we rebalance the risk and benefits (of reopening schools), the more we learn, Willis said.

Regardless of school plans to reopen, none is going to be flawless and districts should expect new cases among students, infectious disease experts said. A key part of their reopening guidelines needs to be how to identify and contain those cases.

Ideally children would be tested for illness regularly, said UCSFs Ruel, but thats unlikely to happen because of costs and the time it takes to conduct tests and get results. Checking kids for fevers and other symptoms will help, but it obviously wont catch all new infections if some large percentage of children never gets fevers or coughs.

The public needs to understand that as with all of this, whether its adults or children, as you expand contact with people, there are going to be more cases, Greenhow said. Theres no way to prevent all cases. So then its, how do we mitigate that in the best way possible?

Erin Allday and Jill Tucker are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com, jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday, @jilltucker
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View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/595205/If-You-Want-to-Make-Money-Online-as-an-Affiliate-Marketer-Then-You-Need-To-Read-This
Palestinians Israel Hamas supporters paint heir faces while mach with their green and national flags during a protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the West Bank and U.S. President Donald Trump's mideast initiative, after Friday prayer at the main road of Khan Younis City, Gaza Strip, Friday, June 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  The Israeli military said Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets into southern Israel late Friday, shattering months of near-total calm.

In response, Israeli aircraft attacked two military facilities for Hamas, the Islamic group ruling Gaza.

There were no reports of injuries in either incident and no Palestinian militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the rocket attack. The rockets, which hit in opens areas of Israel, were fired a day after Hamas warned of violence over Israeli plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military said the airstrikes will impede" Hamas' future abilities.

Tensions are simmering in the Palestinian territories over Israels annexation plans for the West Bank, including the strategically important Jordan Valley. The annexation would effectively dash Palestinian hopes of establishing a viable state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.

On Thursday, the armed wing of Hamas warned of violence if Israel proceeds with the annexation plans, saying such a move amounts to a declaration of war.

For most of the first half of 2020, the Gaza-Israel frontier remained calm as Hamas stopped weekend demonstrations that often turned violent. The threat of the coronavirus appears also to have contributed to the calm.

On Saturday, about 100,000 poor Gaza families will begin receiving $100 each as a donation from Qatar. The oil-rich Persian Gulf country has donated for nearly a year to help bolster calm and prevent Hamas and Israel from going to a war.
Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khans daughter Suhana is one of the most followed star kids on social media. Ever since she made a debut to Instagram, Suhana keeps sharing pictures with her siblings or friends. Currently, a throwback picture of hers is doing rounds on the internet.

The photo, shared by Bollywood Hungama on Instagram, shows Suhana having fun with her friend. Its a two year old image when she was studying in Ardingly College in Sussex, London.

Suhana and her friend appear to be shaking a leg at the college premises. The throwback photo has been uploaded with a caption that reads, "Pretty #SuhanaKhan with a friend in London (sic)."

SRKs daughter turned 20 last month. She posted some pictures on Instagram a day after her birthday, which she celebrated at her home, Mannat due to coronavirus lockdown. Sharing the pictures, she wrote, Im gonna be 30 in ten years. One of the images shows Suhana standing in the balcony of her home, clad in a floor-length spaghetti strap dress.

Among the photos, there is a slow motion video of hers, wherein she can be seen tucking her hair behind her ear with the wind blowing on them.

The post also has a photo of a birthday note, which appears to have been written by her younger brother AbRam. The note reads, Happy Birthday. You are the best sis in the world (sic).

The star kid is currently spending time with her family in Mumbai after returning from New York following the outbreak of the coronavirus.

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Linkedin Matthew Green and Emma Farge (Reuters) London/Geneva  Fri, June 26, 2020 08:03 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661bcecf 2 Environment Siberia,Arctic,climate,heatwave,climate-crisis,climate-change,scientists,environment Free

Pine trees are bursting into flames. Boggy peatlands are tinderbox dry. And towns in northern Russia are sweltering under conditions more typical of the tropics.

Reports of record-breaking Arctic heat  registered at more than 100 Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) in the Siberian town of Verkhoyansk on June 20  are still being verified by the World Meteorological Organization. But even without that confirmation, experts at the global weather agency are worried by satellite images showing that much of the Russian Arctic is in the red. That extreme heat is fanning the unusual extent of wildfires across the remote, boreal forest and tundra that blankets northern Russia. Those blazes have in turn ignited normally waterlogged peatlands. Scientists fear the blazes are early signs of drier conditions to come, with more frequent wildfires releasing stores of carbon from peatland and forests that will increase the amount of planet-warming greenhouse gases in the air.

"This is what this heat wave is doing: It makes much more fuel available to burn, not just vegetation, but the soil as well," said Thomas Smith, an environmental geographer at the London School of Economics. "It's one of many vicious circles that we see in the Arctic that exacerbate climate change."

Satellite records for the region starting in 2003 suggest there has been a dramatic jump in emissions from Arctic fires during just the last two summers, with the combined emissions released in June 2019 and June 2020 greater than during all of the June months in 2003-2018 put together, Smith said.

Atmospheric records dating back more than a century show Arctic air temperatures also reaching new highs in recent years. That leads Smith to believe the scale of the fires could be unprecedented as well.

"What we're seeing happening right now is the consequence of the past" industrial emissions, Smith says. "What will happen in 40 years' time is already locked in. We can't do anything about that. That's why we should be concerned; it can only get worse."

Although peatland covers only 3 percent of the Earth's land surface, those deposits contain twice as much carbon as all the world's forests together.

Read also: Siberian heatwave, early Greenland ice melt worry researchers

A new normal

Scientists have known climate change is causing the Arctic to warm twice as quickly as the rest of the world, and the Siberian heat wave, which began in May, is typical of that trend.

"It becomes like an oven," said Walt Meier, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado who specializes in sea ice. "You are doing that on top of the longer-term warming trend, so you are getting the oven nicely baking a pie to scorching it."

"What used to be extreme is becoming normal. Warmer temperatures are now relatively frequent," Meier said.

And as temperatures warm, and polar snow and ice melt, more Arctic area is left darker and absorbs heat faster, which contributes to more warming. The Arctic sea ice has lost 70 percent of its summer volume since the 1970s, with the area also shrinking to the point that last year saw one of the lowest ice covers on record.

Read also: Virus buffets largest Arctic expedition in history

"Warning cry"

The peat fires make the need to cut man-made emissions all the more urgent, say scientists, who warn that wider changes in the Arctic could trigger bigger impacts on the global climate system.

"It's a huge warning cry that's going off, but it's not the only systemic problem that's happening in the Arctic related to climate change," said Gail Whiteman, incoming professor of sustainability at Britain's University of Exeter and founder of the Arctic Basecamp group of scientists advocating for rapid climate action.

Whiteman and other researchers are also worried about the rising heat thawing Arctic permafrost https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/climate-change-arctic-methane faster than expected, which is liable to produce far larger quantities of carbon dioxide and methane than are being released by the fires.

Guido Grosse, head of the Permafrost Research Unit at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Germany, said the fires were stripping away peat and vegetation that normally would form a protective blanket over the permafrost.

"If you take this away the heat from the summer penetrates directly into the ground and warms the permafrost, and it starts thawing," he said. "You see this effect usually a few years after the fires."

The warming temperatures also appear to be making the Arctic wildfire season longer, said Jessica McCarty, an assistant professor of geography at Miami University in Ohio. Typically, the Arctic fire season runs from July to August, plus or minus a couple of weeks. This year, fires were detected in May.

And "as the peat burns  its neighbor next door gets warmer, and their neighbors get warmer," McCarty said. "We're burning up these ancient pools of carbon."
A psychic medium who developed a fear of falling after tripping over a sunbed on a luxury holiday has won over 50,000 compensation.

Lynn Morgan, 62, didnt see it coming when she tripped over a lounger beside the pool of a four-star hotel while on a 4,000 all-inclusive package holiday to Mauritius.

Mrs Morgan, of Llantarnam, Cwmbran, who works as a psychic medium using tarot, angels and various scrying techniques to help people.

She was on holiday with husband Nick when she fell, smashing her teeth and nose on the concrete floor.

Psychic Lynn Morgan, 62, tripped on holiday and has now won over 50,000 compensation

The medium was knocked out in the May 2015 accident and left bleeding profusely.

Following the fall, she sued travel agent, TUI, for compensation, including for her having developed a specific phobia of falling afterwards.

Now, after a trial at Cardiff County Court, Judge Milwyn Jarman QC has awarded Mrs Morgan 53,186 in compensation for her injuries.

The judge said her accident happened because the unlit sun terrace where she fell was too dark and the sunbed left protruding where she might trip.

The court heard Mrs Morgan and her husband had paid 4,000 for the trip to the Riu Le Morne Hotel, in the Mauritian resort of Bel Ombre.

The adults-only hotel claims on its website to offer an exclusive ambience, with four restaurants, five bars, a freshwater swimming pool and chill-out area.

Sue and NIck Morgan were both on holiday in Mauritius when the fall happened back in 2015

It was on her second night there that, while walking back to her room from a restaurant, she tripped and fell over the heavy wooden lounger.

She told the court she was knocked unconscious and, when she came round, was bleeding heavily and had severe pain in her nose and teeth.

She said it had been so dark that she did not see the sunbed and that a member of staff had to use a torch to help her afterwards.

Mrs Morgan said she had walked past the area en route to the restaurant when it was still light and all of the loungers had then been stacked up neatly.

Giving evidence at the trial, Mrs Morgan said the accident had ruined her enjoyment of her holiday and of her daughters wedding the following month.

She had also been left suffering from tinnitus and hearing loss, and would need therapy to overcome her newfound phobia of falling.

Lynn Morgan, of Llantarnam, Cwmbran, was staying at a four-star hotel when she was badly hurt

For TUI UK Ltd, barrister Navjot Atwal claimed that the accident probably happened because she was disorientated or not properly watching her feet.

Unusual fall phobia can ruin lives for sufferers Basiphobia is the medical name for a fear of falling It means the fear of a loss of gravity and is not common Extreme cases sees sufferers so affected they might refuse to walk or move. The fear can be so bad it can stop people from doing anything, instead being forced to rely on others to help them. Advertisement

sunbed was not invisible, he said, and most likely had a light coloured cushion on it at the time.

The hotels then manager also claimed that lighting that was subsequently added in the area was for ambience and not to improve safety.

Giving judgment, Judge Jarman found that, although it did not own or operate the hotel, TUI was liable for Mrs Morgans accident.

It was caused by the poor lighting where she fell, he added, although she contributed to it by not turning back when she realised how dark it was.

In my judgment, the preponderance of the evidence on how dark the accident spot was at the time shows that, whilst it was not pitch dark, it was dark enough to make it very difficult to see the dark wooden sunbed, especially when someone was walking from the lit pathway onto the unlit sun terrace, he said.

In my judgment, no criticism can be made of her in choosing initially the route she did. She was not expecting a sunbed to be in the way, having come that way without obstruction some two hours earlier.

Moreover, I am satisfied that she had only walked a few paces onto the sun terrace when the accident happened. She would only have had moments to realise that the way ahead was dark and to decide to turn back.

Nevertheless, in my judgment, by not doing so she failed to take reasonable care for her own safety, although this failure is proportionately small compared to that of the defendant and I assess contributory negligence at 20%.

Mrs Morgan was awarded a total of 53,186 for her injuries, dental work, her ruined holiday and clothes, and her reduced enjoyment of her daughters wedding.
But Professor Schmidt said that would be too late as universities must plan for 2021 now, and important research was on the chopping block.

University research has been subsidised by fee revenue from overseas students, which has plunged due to COVID-19. Education Minister Dan Tehan is consulting sector leaders and is expected to make an announcement on research by the October budget.

Australian National University head Brian Schmidt's comments came as several vice-chancellors backed a potential research funding model that would allocate money to fewer, higher quality projects, and cover more of their cost.

A leading vice-chancellor is warning the federal government's failure to articulate a vision for higher education will destroy universities, and a lack of new investment in research will tank Australia's long-term economic forecasts.

"There is an opportunity to fix this but we'd better fix it soon," he said. "I don't think they can do it without adding some extra money to the system. Anything budget neutral: someone is going to lose ... and lose badly.

"I really want to see a vision of what the government wants out of its university system and then we design the future around that vision, rather than just quite frankly not having that vision because it's going to kill us.

"And if we know what the government wants us to be, we will be that, even if there's a painful transition. I'd rather quit guessing, which is what I'm doing now."

If it decided the country did too much research, "that would tank Australia's long-term [economic] forecast," Professor Schmidt warned. "If they want that, model it, put it in forward estimates."

Vice-chancellors approached by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age backed moving to a model similar to that of Britain, which treats research funding as separate to teaching money, covers more of the cost, and gives priority to those with a track record of success.
[June 26, 2020] BioKansas Awarded Grant from Burroughs Wellcome Fund to Develop Novel Kansas-Based Training Program

BioKansas, a life science nonprofit committed to preparing students for careers in the biosciences, is pleased to announce the receipt of a grant from Burroughs Wellcome Fund. The grant supports one-year projects that model affordable and transferable approaches to improving trainees' readiness for stable and fulfilling careers. BioKansas is the very first state BIO affiliate to ever be awarded the Career Guidance for Trainees grant from Burroughs Wellcome Fund. The BioKansas program will allow students to interface with the state's bioscience landscape and explore how the broader bioscience ecosystem operates - from the process of moving a discovery beyond the lab to the marketplace or clinic, to a broader awareness of the economics and busines of science, as well as lessons in entrepreneurship and how communication plays a role in driving innovation. The program will be hosted by regional companies, allowing participants to hear from subject-matter experts while also exposing them to different work environments, company cultures, and professional networks. Taken together, these features aim to assist students in better aligning their career expectations while also becoming more knowledgeable of bioscience organizations within the region. Partnering organizations include the Bioscience & Technology Business Center, Hill's Pet Nutrition, Hovey Williams LLP, Kansas Department of Commerce, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association, KCAS Bioanalytical and Biomarker Services, Likarda, and Merck Animal Health.



"We want to immerse early career scientists in the scientific ecosystem while helping them develop a suite of in-demand business-related skills. We anticipate these experiences will help students establish realistic expectations of career opportunities, which will lead to greater job satisfaction, lower attrition, and the ability for them to more efficiently advance through their careers," said Sonia Hall, President & CEO of BioKansas. Due to the increasing focus on developing and providing robust professional development for early career scientists, BioKansas is designing the program to be scalable and transferrable for a variety of organization and institute types. Upon completion of the pilot, BioKasas will provide support and training to other organizations interested in implementing this program.

The application is open fall 2020. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005385/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to not take assistance from China to assemble the tunnel boring machine (TBM) that will be used for the construction of a 3km tunnel between Chowpatty and Malabar, a part of the 9km coastal road between Princess Street flyover and Worli.

The 12.9mm TBM was imported from China a month ago and BMC had to take assistance from the Chinese manufacturer to assemble it in the TBM shaft. This would have involved TBM manufacturing companys representatives flying to Mumbai. However, it has now decided to take assistance from Indian experts, and if required, experts from Singapore.

BMC claims this decision has nothing to do with the Indo-China clash at the border in Ladakh and was planned a few days before the conflict. According to BMC officials, the decision was taken considering the international travel difficulties owing to the Covid-19 crisis.

China was the first country to report Covid-19 cases, and looking at the situation, it would be difficult to get permission. Hence, before the Indo-China clash in Ladakh, we decided to not take assistance from China. We will take help from Indian experts, and if necessary, experts will be roped in from Singapore. Also, considering the manufacturer is in China, there may be some sort of assistance from there, if required, but we will not have them in Mumbai for the TBM assembly, said a civic official. Vijay Nighot, chief engineer of BMCs coastal road project confirmed the decision.

HT had reported on April 3, that BMC is likely to give a recommendation letter to allow 30 Chinese nationals to visit the city after one month, terming it a special case for tunnelling work of the ambitious coastal road project. The recommendation letter would help the 30 Chinese nationals  who would provide crucial assistance in assembling these machines  get visas. The civic body had said that it would give the letter only if the situation improves, and the Covid-19 spread is brought under control.

A 12.9-m wide TBM being used for the project arrived from China in the last week of April. We are yet not in the stage to start tunnelling work. Due to delays in the schedule, owing to the outbreak of Covid-19, we are running around two months behind. The actual work of tunnelling will now start in October, said a BMC official.

The coastal road project is already running behind schedule after the Bombay high court stayed the work in July 2019 for want of environment clearances. After BMC challenged the stay in the Supreme Court, pointing out that the project was exempted from the clearance and environment assessment as it had been completed, the Apex court stayed the HC order in December 2019. The coastal road projects completion has also been postponed to mid-2023 from the earlier deadline of end-2022, and now may get delayed further.
Logos of food delivery applications Yogiyo and Baedaltong operated by Delivery Hero / Courtesy of Delivery Hero



By Kim Jae-heun



Delivery Hero's $4 billion deal to acquire Woowa Brothers is faltering despite earlier predictions it would proceed smoothly.



The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) recently imposed a 468 million won ($388,156) penalty on Yogiyo, the No.2 player in the food delivery service market operated by Delivery Hero, for illegal price fixing of client restaurants' dishes.



Although the antitrust watchdog denied that one case would have such an effect on the M&A deal, it showed how Yogiyo could abuse its power to hurt both restaurant owners and customers at the same time. This clashes with several elements that the KFTC is considering on whether to approve the deal.



The antitrust watchdog's main role here is to make sure that customers are not negatively affected from the German and Korean firms' business combination.



"We cannot say much about this deal as it is a sensitive issue. But what we can say is that the M&A deal should not bring down the quality of service, increase delivery fees or prevent other competitors from joining the market," a KFTC official said.



Currently, Woowa Brothers operates the No.1 food delivery application Baedal Minjok (Baemin), which takes up a 55.7 percent market share, according to the Korea Franchise Association. Yogiyo and No.3 player Baedaltong, which is also operated by Delivery Hero, have a 33.5 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively.



If the KFTC approves Woowa Brothers' acquisition by Delivery Hero, the combined entity will monopolize the market with a 100 percent share.



Civic group Consumers Korea expressed its deep concern that people will face steeper prices because there will be no competitors in the market offering a better service or lower prices.



The antitrust watchdog said consumers don't order food with mobile applications that often, and when it expands the notion of the market to include phone and online orders, mobile application orders only make up 15 percent of the share in the food delivery service market, worth 20 trillion won in 2018.



When looking at the M&A between Auction and Gmarket, the top two players in the e-commerce market in 2009, the KFTC approved the deal under the condition that they would not increase their commission fees for three years.



If the antitrust watchdog does not limit the market to only mobile application services when reviewing the deal, experts predict it could approve Delivery Hero's acquisition of Woowa Brothers without any conditions.



KFTC Chairwoman Joh Sung-wook also mentioned that the Woowa acquisition could promote innovation in the field and she will balance this factor with other aspects that can harm consumers in the case of a monopoly when making her final decision.


(TNS) - Nate Youngs employees are used to handling the typical customer service mishaps at coffee shop and brewery King Stage: missing orders, long waits, fumbled drinks.But the polarizing politics around mask use wasnt something they were prepared, or trained, to manage. Customer service has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the stakes feel higher than ever.New local orders mean workers can no longer just encourage mask use. In some case they have to enforce it.The Hillsborough County mask order in particular, which went into force Wednesday evening, calls for businesses and their employees to not only deny entry to those without masks but require or compel those mask-less patrons to leave. Failure to do so could mean a $500 fine or up to two months in jail.Local business owners say theyre in favor of mask use, but the wording of the countys order puts too much pressure on an already stressed and struggling workforce. The person refusing to wear the mask is the one who should be fined, business owners said, not their employees or managers.Im all about masks, Young said, but asking my employees to enforce something thats already heavily heated between people? Its not as simple asking to wipe your feet at the door.National and state health officials have said mask use can help slow the spread of the coronavirus, especially from those who may not be aware theyre infected. But masks, their required use and how much they slow the spread of the virus has been debated over Facebook statuses and in grocery store lines for weeks.A now viral video that surfaced this week from an Orlando Walmart shows a maskless shopper shove his way past a worker after being told he needed to wear a mask. In May, police in Michigan said a security guard at a Dollar General was shot and killed after an altercation over a shopper without a face mask.At his Brandon bowling alley on Wednesday night, Jeff Boje says one of his bartenders was cussed out over a mask. Boje and his family own Brandon Crossroads Bowl and the Alley at SouthShore in Riverview and have been running the alleys for three decades.Boje said his employee told a man playing pool he needed to put on a mask in order to stay inside. Boje said the man responded by becoming irate, breaking a pool stick over his knee and throwing it at the bartender. He stormed out of the bowling alley and was gone before his employees could even think to call the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office, Boje said.These are people making $10 to $12 an hour and theyre supposed to put up with people spitting in their faces, cussing and throwing pool sticks at them?Some members of his bowling league also quit for the summer over the mask rule.The Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group created the rule on Monday, putting it into to place with a 5-3 vote. At first the order, like several others throughout the state, called for customers to be penalized. But Temple Terrace acting Mayor Andy Ross, a former sheriffs deputy, said law enforcement officers are tasked with too much to also become the mask police.The head of that policy group, County Commissioner Les Miller, did not want to create an order that had no mechanism of enforcement because people would ignore it. In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Miller said if individuals notice businesses are flouting the order, they can contact law enforcement. The Sheriffs Office said businesses dealing with conflict over face masks can call its non-emergency line, but the office would not comment further on the order.Sheriff Chad Chronister voted against the order and called mask use a personal choice during Mondays meeting. Even without customer penalties in the order, he still called it a burden to law enforcement.Florida added more than 5,000 coronavirus cases for the second day in a row Thursday. That brought the total since March up to 114,018 cases. On Wednesday, Florida made up about 15 percent of the 36,880 cases reported nationwide.The reason we did this is because the number of cases in Hillsborough County is growing, Miller said. Its not about trying to hurt small business or hurt business, it about containing the spread of the disease.Miller said, ideally, businesses would just be able to inform a person they need to wear a mask and that person would either comply or leave without being violent or combative.Boje attended the virtual policy group meeting on Thursday to encourage the board to reconsider the language of the order. During that meeting Hillsborough School Board chairwoman Melissa Snively said the group should reconsider the provision that puts the enforcement onus on businesses.There have been several unintended consequences,' she said.It will be considered when the Emergency Policy Group reconvenes June 29.Law enforcement is saying they cant enforce this, so to turn around and then say... lets take the owners and employees and turn them into our law enforcement agency, that makes no sense, Boje told the Times.Boje and other businesses shuttered because of the virus are struggling to stay solvent with their employees only recently returning to work and a pay check.Scott Shalley, president of the Florida Retail Federation, said his organization shares concerns raised about the Hillsborough order. Beyond that, he said Florida retailers are dealing with a patchwork of legislation that can differ by county and city. Hed prefer a statewide order so businesses had consistency.Young, the coffee shop and brewery owner, said he thinks its unlikely any of his workers would have deputies called on them over a customer without a mask. But he said whether or not it actually happens, that doesnt change the burden and anxiety put on his staff.The way the order is written, they could be on the hook. Theres little comfort in that, he said.Times Staff Writer C.T. Bowen contributed to this report.2020 the Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.)Visit the Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.) at www.tampabay.com
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday carried out searches in premises linked to Ratul Puri, the nephew of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath. The raids are being conducted in Delhi and Noida in connection with a new FIR filed against Ratul Puri and father Deepak Puri, both directors of Moser Baer Solar Ltd, in a case related to alleged loss of Rs 787 crore to a consortium of banks.

State-run Punjab National Bank, which had played a lead role in this consortium, had complained to the CBI.

In the view of Covid-19, all precautions regarding health and safety are being taken while conducting the searches including provision of PPE (personal protection equipment) kits to all the search teams, says RK Gaur, CBI Spokesperson.

A CBI official said a fresh case was registered against Ratul Puri on the basis of the Punjab National Banks complaint.

This is the CBIs second FIR against him. He was named in a Rs 354 crore bank fraud case in August last year.

The Enforcement Directorate had also moved in, accusing him of involvement in bank frauds amounting to Rs 7,900 crore. In its charge-sheet, the Enforcement Directorate had alleged that Ratul Puri misused funds loaned from the bank to maintain a lavish lifestyle including holidays abroad and travel in private jets.

Puri, a key accused in the money laundering probe linked to the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper purchase scam, was arrested in August last year and eventually released on bail in December.

Former chief minister Kamal Nath had accused the BJP of orchestrating raids by central agencies, claiming that the investigation against Ratul Puri was a victim of political vendetta.

The probe agencies, which have attempted to tie Puri to the VVIP chopper scandal, have said they had found print-outs of emails that is alleged to link Puri to corporate entities allegedly created to park money received as kickbacks in the AgustaWestland deal.

The AgustaWestland case centres on allegations that bribes were paid to middlemen, perhaps even politicians, when India agreed to buy 12 AgustaWestland helicopters built by Italian defence manufacturing giant Finmeccanica (now known as the Leonardo group) at an estimated cost of Rs 3,600 crore. The helicopters, manufactured by Finmeccanicas British subsidiary AgustaWestland were for the Communication Squadron of the Indian Air Force.

The purchase, cleared in 2010 by the previous United Progressive Alliance government, envisaged replacing ageing Mi-8 choppers to ferry VVIPs like the President, vice-president, Prime Minister and the other dignitaries. The deal was scrapped in 2014 over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of payment of kickbacks.
Radio has been a source of local news and feel-good content during the lockdown months. It has been one of the few mediums that is currently churning out interesting fresh content and new offerings for listeners as well as brands. According to various reports, the stay-at-home radio listenership during the lockdown went up by as much as 23 per cent, compared to pre-COVID-19 times.

Storytelling has become a game changer, along with branded communication becoming more customer-centric, allowing people to connect and resonate with the brands. If one thinks about it, radio is the ultimate storytelling medium  and always has been. Listeners can multi-task in their homes and at the same listen to the programs. Especially in the current crisis, radio has been playing a vital role in keeping informed and entertained, besides fighting fake news.

However, at the same time, like all other media, radio, too, has been under pressure due to the slowdown in the economy. In its letter to Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, in May this year, the Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI) had stated that without the Governments support, the private FM players might incur a loss of Rs 600 crore by September. AROI has sought a relief package worth Rs 300 crore from the government.

Even as companies are recalibrating their business strategies, several marketing pundits and experts are of the opinion that brands need to seriously look at Tier 2 and 3 markets to grow and find new customers. Given Radios wide penetration even in rural markets, brands need to relook at effectively tapping this medium to engage with their audience.

As part of Adgullys Strategic Move Series, we have brought together some of the best thinkers in the industry and the countrys radio business to discuss at length The Power of Radio and its Effectiveness.

Joining the discussions will be:

Abraham Thomas, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd (Moderator)

L V Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research

Rahul Namjoshi, CEO, MY FM

Smita Murarka, VP Marketing & E-Commerce, Duroflex

Amit Dave, National Head - Sales Strategy & Planning, RED FM

Shaileen Patel - Head - Business Development & Marcom - N K Proteins

Date: Saturday, June 27, 2020

Time: Between 4 pm and 5 pm

Click here to register.

There is no registration fee. Prior registration is mandatory.
Alberta prosecutors did the right thing this week when they dropped assault charges against First Nations leader Allan Adam.

Anyone who watched the 12-minute video of the brutal police takedown of this Indigenous man would have wondered why he was accused of wrongdoing in the first place.

Allan, chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, was stopped by an RCMP officer in Fort McMurray in March because the licence sticker on his truck had expired  no big deal in most cases. But Allan became angry. Tensions escalated. Then another RCMP officer arrived, tackled Allan and began punching him, leaving his face bloodied and bruised.

Based on what the RCMPs own dashcam video shows, the assault and resisting arrest charges laid against Allan were baseless. Justice was done when those charges were quashed.

But only partially. Canadians will only be able to say Chief Allan has received his due if the RCMP is held fully accountable for its actions and inactions. In addition  and this is the greater challenge by far  there must be a major overhaul of how policing is done in Canada.

The problems are deep-rooted and go beyond Allans mistreatment by two RCMP officers, as egregious as it was. Of course we need to know why a trivial dispute over expired licence plates escalated into violence.

The investigation launched by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team should answer this and other key questions. Lets hope the officers who arrested Adam face professional consequences of some kind. The public also needs to know why senior RCMP officials in Alberta failed to call for a review of Adams arrest. They insisted the use of force was justified  until the dashcam video was made public earlier this month and indicated otherwise.

Something has gone seriously wrong in Canada when a minor offence results in the beating of an Indigenous man by police, and their use of excessive force is officially sanctioned. There must be careful, nationwide soul-searching about how police in this country respond to calls involving racialized people, in particular Indigenous and Black people.

As the news of Allans violent arrest broke, Canadians were still stunned by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police. Then they saw what happened to Chief Allan. Then they learned that no fewer than six Indigenous people had been killed by police in Canada  just since April. Then they knew we had a problem with our police, too.

The concerns of fair-minded people can only have intensified when RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki denied that systemic racism exists in the national police force. Although Lucki reversed that position within days, its fair to ask whether shes the right person to lead the RCMP going forward.

If theres anything good to have come out of this turmoil, its that Public Safety Minister Bill Blair confirmed this week that the federal government is working with Indigenous communities to co-develop a legislative framework that recognizes First Nations policing as an essential service.

This, in fact, is a six-month-old federal government promise. Its about time they delivered. But Blair and the Liberals should broaden their reforms. Along with the provinces, they need to rethink how policing is done in Canada. What if the system this country has created is not only tainted with racism but structured in the wrong way and responsible for things that professionals other than the police could more capably provide?

True justice demands that we find out.
An aggrieved Kenyan mother has called for the arrest of three men who raped her 17-year-old daughter on seperate occasions in early June.



Recalling how the incident occurred, the girl said she knows only one of the men from Facebook and gave his name as "Vincent". She said he invited her to his home in Mbale, a distance of 210 kilometers from Mbita where she stays with her Aunt.

She said;



I met the man on Facebook. His first name is Vincent, and the surname indicates he is of Luhya ethnicity. He invited me to Mbale, Vihiga County so that I know where he stays  Hekima area. I usually stay with my aunt. I told her that I was going to pay mum a visit and return on Sunday, June 14.



He told me to use my money to travel to his place, and that he will refund once I get there. Vincent defiled and kicked me out of his house without giving me any money to travel back home.



While stranded, I met a boda boda rider, who promised to provide me with somewhere to shelter for the night. He further said that the following day, he will take me to Kisumu, where I will board a bus home. He took me to a lodging facility in Kakamega, where he defiled and stole my phone.



On returning to Mbale, I met yet another man, who took me to Vincents place. We found the door had been locked. The then-curfew cut-off hour of 7pm had clocked. So, the man told me he would take me to his place, where I would spend the night. While at his home, he defiled me and kicked me out the following morning.



I want this case to be pursued to the end. The men hurt me."



The rape victim who said a female Good Samaritan helped her seek medical treatment and file a report at Mbale Police Station on June 10, identified her last defiler as one Davies, who stays near Mbale High School.



The mother of the 17-year-old on her own part said;



My 17-year-old daughter stays with her aunt, who lives in Mbita. She (daughter) told me that she would come home on Friday, June 5. When I called her later Friday to inquire, why she had taken long to arrive home, she said I shouldnt worry, and that shed be home soon. In the evening, her phone line was unreachable. I did not know where she had gone to, or what had happened to her.



On Tuesday, June 9, I received a call from a police officer attached to Mbale Police Station. The cop asked me to go to the station because my daughter was seriously ill. I was shocked; I did not know how she got to Mbale in Vihiga County, a place that I, personally, had never set foot in. I was told that she met one of her defilers on Facebook.



K2TV reported that one of the suspects, David Nyangweso has been arrested and arraigned. He is being held in custody as investigations into the matter continue.

Source: LIB









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A Sweet Home man was arrested and briefly jailed after he left a court hearing Wednesday because a judge demanded he put on a mask.

John Kulbeth was scheduled to appear in court for a harassment charge and a traffic violation. When he showed up Wednesday morning, he said a court clerk told him masks were required in the courtroom.

Its my choice, and Im not going to wear one. Ill talk to the judge, Kulbeth, in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive, said he told the clerk.

Earlier this month, Gov. Kate Brown ordered masks be worn when people are in stores or other indoor public spaces in seven Oregon counties. Linn County, where Sweet Home is located, was not among them.

When the judge entered the courtroom, which held a box of masks and signs saying they were required, he told Kulbeth he needed to put one on. Kulbeth said he told the judge he had health issues and would not wear one. Kulbeth said he doesnt have any philosophical opposition to wearing a mask and doesnt judge those who do, but recurring bouts of pneumonia have left him with a sensitive respiratory system.

The judge threatened him with contempt of court, according to Kulbeth.

I said Fine, Ill just leave, Kulbeth said.

He went out to his truck with his daughter, who accompanied him to the courthouse. The police chief, who was in the courtroom, came out and told him the judge had issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of contempt of court and failure to appear.

Kulbeth called his wife, who came and picked up his daughter, and he was led back inside and held in a cell for about 90 minutes before the judge came back to talk to him. The judge granted him a continuance for the proceeding and told him he needed to wear a mask in the courtroom, Kulbeth said.

Kulbeth said he had no idea a mask would be required, a claim disputed by Ray Towry, the city manager in Sweet Home. Towry said a notice to appear was sent out May 28 with a paragraph spelling out new court procedures in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Towry said that if Kulbeth had a medical issue that needed accommodation, the court would have obliged, but Kulbeth never asked for such treatment.

He claimed medical issues, but he did not give the judge a chance to work out any accommodation, Towry said.

Towry also said Kulbeth was not arrested because he refused to wear a mask, rather because he walked out of the courtroom.

Anytime anyone walks out in the middle of an interaction with a judge, thats contempt, Towry said. Regardless of the reason, you cannot do that in a courtroom. It was his behavior that got the warrant for his arrest, not the mask.

Kulbeth and Towry met Thursday and had a respectful discussion, but Kulbeth said he doesnt think the judge has the authority to mandate everyone who enters his courtroom must wear a mask. Towry said if Kulbeth presents any evidence the judge acted out of line with his authority, they city would be open to revisiting the issue.

In our research over the past 24 hours, we havent found anything that says the judge exceeded his authority, Towry said.

-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale

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Linkedin Brad Brooks (Reuters) Lubbock, Texas  Fri, June 26, 2020 08:20 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661be180 2 World US,Texas,coronavirus,coronavirus-epicenter,coronavirus-effect,COVID-19,COVID-19-infection,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus Free

The governor of Texas temporarily halted the state's reopening on Thursday as COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations surged in the state and new daily cases around the country climbed to a near-record high.

Texas, which has been at the forefront of efforts to reopen devastated economies shut down in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, has seen one of the biggest jumps in new cases, reporting over 6,000 in a single day on Monday.

"This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business," Governor Greg Abbott, a two-term Republican, said in a statement.

Texas has also set record hospitalizations for 13 days in a row. Abbott has suspended elective surgeries in the Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio areas to free up hospital bed space.

Texas' rising numbers are part of a nationwide resurgence in states that were spared the brunt of the initial outbreak or moved early to lift restrictions on residents and businesses.

Also reporting record rises in cases this week were Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming.

While some of the increased numbers of cases can be attributed to more testing, the percentage of positive results is also climbing.

More than 36,000 new US cases were recorded on Wednesday, a few hundred shy of the record 36,426 on April 24.

The Trump administration has tried to soften nationwide concerns about the pandemic even as a dozen or so states see worrisome increases.

"We're working aggressively with states and local leaders in this situation but it's important for the American people to know this is a localized situation," US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told Fox News in an interview. The counties that are in hotspots are 3% of American counties."

Government experts believe more than 20 million Americans could have contracted the coronavirus, 10 times more than official counts, indicating many people without symptoms have or have had the disease, senior administration officials said.

People who have COVID-19 but show no symptoms are capable of spreading the disease, health experts say.

Pandemic shifts to south, west

The focus of the pandemic has moved to the US West and South, including more sparsely populated rural areas, from the early epicenter around New York, where more than 31,000 deaths have been recorded, more than a quarter of the country's total.

Oregon and Utah have also paused or slowed lifting the restrictions.

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, declared a budget emergency due to the pandemic.

Nearly 5,350 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, fewer than Wednesdays record of 7,149. But the number of Californians becoming very ill continued to rise, using about 34% of the available intensive care beds in the state, up from 29% on Wednesday.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut on Wednesday ordered travelers from eight mostly Southern states, as well as tri-state residents returning from those areas, to self-quarantine for two weeks on arrival.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday that New York reached a new milestone as the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 fell to 996, the first time since March 18 the number fell below 1,000.

Cuomo, a Democrat who has been sharply critical President Donald Trump's handling of the pandemic, during an interview on CNN appeared to blame Trump and other Republicans for the surges in other states.

"You played politics with this virus and you lost," Cuomo said on CNN.

Apple Inc said on Thursday it would close 14 stores in Florida due to the rise in coronavirus cases, following an earlier round of re-closures in Texas, Florida, Arizona, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Shares of Walt Disney Co fell 2% on Thursday after it delayed the reopening of California theme parks and resort it receives approval from state officials. Disney's stock price made back much of that loss in later trading.
Electric planes are touted as the future of air travel, allowing us to continue jetting off while protecting the planet. But how viable do they really look for mass commercial flight? Harry Wise takes a look.

As the worldwide airline industry remained grounded and the noise from Boeings in city skies gave way to the sound of birdsong, a piece of flight history was being made at a little-known airport in Washington State.

On May 28, a modified Cessna Caravan 208B, or eCaravan built by electric aircraft company MagniX and aerospace firm AeroTEC, flew in the air for 30 minutes above Moses Lake, Washington, after taking off from Grant County International Airport, in the US.

It was the largest ever flight by a commercial-style plane powered solely by electricity, one that its designers said was 'a significant milestone in disrupting the transportation industry and accelerating the electric aviation revolution.'

Britain's aviation industry is getting in on the act too. EasyJet has a partnership to develop electric planes and last week stuntman Andrew Dixon took off from Cranfield Airport in a six-seat Piper Malibu, the first-electric-powered flight of an aircraft capable of carrying passengers from a UK airport.

The eCaravan flew in the air for 30 minutes last month above Moses Lake . It was the largest ever commercial flight by a plane powered solely by electricity

Rather like the Wright Brothers' first flight in 1903, the eCaravan's half-hour adventure may have been a major accomplishment, but it showed just how rudimentary the technology for electric aircraft remains.

In a statement after the flight, MagniX's CEO Roei Ganzarski only expressed his ambition that such 'middle-mile aircraft' would operate 'from and to smaller airports.' He made no mention of running long-haul flights.

It was only last year that the world's first commercial all-electric passenger aircraft was launched. Israeli firm Eviation has created Alice - a prototype aeroplane whose creators claim is able carry nine people for up to 650 miles.

Electric aeroplane designers have to overcome severe stumbling blocks, especially with batteries. They are too heavy, they have too little power, and they only allow planes to travel short distances.

None of the planes in the test flights highlighted above could carry more than ten passengers and while the aviation industry believes it may realistically be able to get to a level where some private jets are electric within a decade, flying passengers en-masse remains a pipedream.

So holiday-goers who wish to travel to Marbella from Heathrow on their summer holiday, but do not want the guilt that comes from growing their carbon footprint, may have to wait decades before electric planes become mainstream.

Electric aeroplanes' most marked problem is its batteries. They are too heavy, they only allow planes to travel short distances, and they have too little power

'Even before COVID-19 it was simply impossible to say when electric aircraft will become an economically viable alternative to fossil fuel power,' says Dr Duncan Walker, a reader in applied aerodynamics at Loughborough University.

Dr Walker says that at the moment, current battery technologies have insufficient energy density for short-haul flights.

As for long-distance flights, he believes that even in the next 50 years, there is unlikely to be a wholly electric-powered aircraft that can carry hundreds of passengers.

A big issue he states is R&D expenditure. Developing electric aircraft technology requires a lot of research and development spending. Despite all that is being done by the airline industry, Walker says the costs are too great for firms to 'commit their future to such an unproven paradigm shift.'

However, he does see the potential for hybrid aircraft, which, like hybrid cars, would run off a mix of kerosene and electric power.

Dozens of hybrid-electric aviation projects are currently on the go. Slovenian manufacturer Pipistrel is developing the 4-seater Panthera, while French company VoltAero recently flew its Cassio prototype plane for the first time.

Aviation giants are also involved. Airbus has been in the electric aircraft game for at least a decade. In 2015, its twin-propeller aircraft E-Fan made a successful crossing of the English Channel and later made its recently-cancelled successor the E-Fan X with Rolls Royce.

Investment bank UBS estimates that demand for hybrid aeroplanes could reach 550 planes each year between 2028 and 2040.

Wright Electric is working in partnership with EasyJet to develop a 186-seat hybrid-electric airliner (above). It hopes to bring the aircraft into service by 2030

One pivotal advantage of electric planes is their lower fuel costs, which generally comprise a considerable portion of airlines' total operating expenses. Consequently, shorter routes could become more financially feasible.

The environmental benefits would also be notable. The Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) says the airline sector emitted 915 million tonnes of CO2 in 2019. Hybrid and electric aircraft can go some way to reducing the industry's harmful impact on the planet.

Wright Electric is working to address this dilemma. In partnership with EasyJet, the New York-based startup is developing a 186-seat hybrid-electric airliner.

It recently commenced its motor development programme for the aircraft and is planning to run flight tests in 2023 with hopes to bring the plane into service by 2030.

Stephanie Goulet, the firm's assistant chief of staff, says governments should be 'aggressively pursuing policy that transitions aviation to a less carbon-intensive industry as quickly as possible.'

She points to Norway, a country many consider a pioneer in electric transport, as a place that is leading the charge for a cleaner aviation industry. Along with its Nordic neighbour Sweden, Norway is aiming to make all its short-haul flights electric by 2040.

Airbus has been in the electric aircraft game for at least a decade. In 2015, its twin-propeller aircraft E-Fan made a successful crossing of the English Channel

That milestone can be reached as long as battery technology makes the necessary advances. Dr Hugh Hunt, a reader in Engineering Dynamics & Vibration at the University of Cambridge, states that batteries' heavy weight poses obstacles.

When a plane flies, it burns fuel, thereby reducing the total weight of the aircraft. But on an electric plane flight, the weight of a battery remains the same throughout the journey.

'For long haul, this is critical because an empty battery weighs the same as a full battery, so an electric plane doesn't get lighter with distance,' declares Dr Hunt.

When asked if he thought electric and hybrid-electric aircraft will ever become viable for long-haul commercial passenger flights, he gave a terse reply: 'Never.'

Lithium-ion batteries at present also have a lot less energy density than jet fuel; about 0.4 Megajoules per kilogram (MJ/kg) compared to around 40 MJ/kg for kerosene. That means battery-powered planes cannot travel very far.

Hunt's view is echoed by Professor Peter Wilson of the University of Bath, who says that 'weight is a crucial factor in airline economics and energy storage needs to be dramatically improved to make electric aircraft feasible.'

Wilson also asserts that the progress in electric aircraft technology would need to go hand-in-hand with greater investment in airport and power grid infrastructure to ensure planes can be recharged.

Norway, a country many consider a pioneer in electric transport, is seeking to make all short-haul flights electric by 2040, as does its Scandinavian neighbour Sweden

He adds that such expenditure 'obviously needs to happen at both ends of the journey, requiring multinational commitment to make this a reality.'

More money is certainly being put into electric aircraft tech, and the number of electrically-propelled aircraft projects is growing fast.

Global strategy consulting firm Roland Berger has calculated that there were 215 of these programmes ongoing in 2019, 30 per cent higher than the previous year, with the vast majority in the urban air taxi and general aviation sub-sectors.

The UK is a small player but is still getting in on the action.

Just in the last week, stuntman Andrew Dixon took off from Cranfield Airport in a six-seat Piper Malibu, the first-electric-powered flight of commercial-scale aircraft from a UK airport.

ZeroAvia, the company behind the flight, which has received funding from the UK government, is now intending to attach a hydrogen fuel cell to the plane for a 250-300 mile flight that will take off from the Orkney Islands.

A few hundred miles is practically walking distance in aerospace terms though. Plenty of Londoners travel up to Edinburgh every August for the Fringe festival, but many also love to go to Tuscany, St Tropez, or if you are a carefree school-leaver, Magaluf.

And that is just the destinations in Europe. Will we ever see travellers fly from London to New York or even Sydney on clean electricity alone? It is impossible to accurately predict in terms of timing, but it seems likely that technological progress will eventually make it possible.

Until we get substantial breakthroughs in battery technology that enable electric planes to travel farther and at an affordable price, green aviation will remain a niche pursuit though - hardly a recipe for creating a more sustainable planet.
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The diversification of the automobile sector has increased the scope for growth of ATV engines. Reports that evaluate the automobile industry have been made available by Market Research Future which creates reports on several industry verticals that review the market growth and prospects. The market is set to attain a CAGR of 5.38% while earning income worth USD 1,755.6 Mn in the forecast period.

The rise in outdoor adventure activities is anticipated to motivate the all-terrain vehicle engines market in the coming years. The growth of the tourism sector has significantly induced progress in the market for all-terrain vehicle engines. The advances in engineering have improved the efficiency of the high-performance engines, thus furthering the growth of all-terrain vehicle engines. Furthermore, the increasing popularity of ATV experience areas is expected to create favorable aspects for growth in the coming years.

Segmental Analysis

The analysis of the segments in the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) engines market is carried out on the basis of type, power, application, and region. Based on types, the all-terrain vehicle engines market has been segmented into 0-300cc, 800-1000cc, 500-800cc, 300-500cc, and 1000cc and above. Based on application, the all-terrain vehicle engines market has been segmented into aftermarket and OEM. The segmentation of the all-terrain vehicle engines on the basis of power comprises of Up to 80HP and Above 80HP. The geographical areas covered in the all-terrain vehicle engines market are South Korea, United States, China, Europe, Japan, India and Rest of the World.

Detailed Regional Analysis

The regional analysis of the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) engines market includes geographical areas such as South Korea, the United States, China, Europe, Japan, India and Rest of the World. The market for ATV engines in the US is encouraged by the incidence of key manufacturers in the region. An enormous surge in the sales of ATV engines due to their large-scale use in forestry, agricultural lands, and mountains has also been advantageous for the progress of the market. Amplified use of ATVs in adventure tourism and progressive engine design and transmission system are significant drivers supporting the growth of the market in the U.S. The European region is the subsequent major market for all-terrain vehicle engines market and is projected to develop at a CAGR of 5.20% throughout the forecast period. China is expected to appear as the rapidly growing market for all-terrain vehicle engines market at a CAGR of 5.50% due to factors such as favorable government policies, increasing per capita disposable income, and the prevalence of ATV engine manufacturers in the region.

Competitive Analysis

The market is projected to accomplish an absolute lead in the market place owing to improved strategies in specific areas. Additionally, the deals being coined in the market are likely to additionally inspire the development of the market in the impending years. The absorbed expenses in the market are readily dispensed with, opening more room for the development in the market. The companies functioning in the market are persistently taking on the hindrances to progress and are forming strategies that are projected to guide to a beneficial outcome on the market's advancement. The advancement of the market is upgraded chiefly due to the reduction in promotional and miscellaneous expenses. An intensified growth pace is observed due to the productive effect exerted by the market forces both externally and internally. The progress capability of the market is bolstered by the accretive nature of the assets available in the market.

The significant competitors functioning in the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) market globally are Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Textron Inc., Polaris Industries, Inc., Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., Massimo Motor Sports, LLC, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Taiwan Golden Bee Co. and CFMOTO.
Berlin: Chancellor Angela Merkel giving a government declaration at the Bundestag on Germany's priorities for its upcoming presidency of the European Council on 18 June. Photo: Jan-Philipp Burmann/City-Press GmbH via Getty

When Germany takes over the rotating presidency of the European Council on 1 July, it will be tasked with shepherding a 27-state bloc still battling the human and economic cost of the coronavirus pandemic.

As Europes most powerful economy, expectations for Germanys turn in the presidency are high. What could have been a six-month stint championing environmental and digital progress, will now be mainly dominated with handling the ongoing impact of coronavirus.

"The German presidency of the Council will take a different course than we had planned, German chancellor Angela Merkel said last month. It will be clearly dominated by the issue of combating the pandemic and its consequences.

Merkel told the Bundestag that Germanys job was to ensure that the coronavirus pandemic did not threaten EU integrity or weaken the single market, what she called Europes core element.

Currently in her 15th year at the helm, Merkel is riding high in the polls, with her approval ratings soaring after her timely and adept handling of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany.

The countrys relatively low number of COVID-19 deaths has boosted Merkels popularity in her final term. However, Germany is not out of the woods, with states forced to impose several new localised lockdowns this week.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Early testing and swift lockdowns prevented 'up to 100,000 deaths' in Germany

Germanys robust financial response to the crisis was to finally waive its strict debt brake. It will now borrow to partially finance its 130bn (118bn, $146bn) stimulus package to help the German economy recover from the crisis. That follows its 750bn initial rescue package, deployed in March.

Merkels stamina for negotiation and hammering out compromises honed over the years will stand her in good stead when it comes to the biggest challenge of the presidency: getting the member states to agree on the EUs coronavirus recovery fund and next seven-year budget.

Story continues

That is a gargantuan task as the 27 member states are at odds about how to offer financial support to countries that have been worst-hit by COVID-19, such as Italy and Spain.

The European Commission has proposed a 750bn EU recovery fund, with 500bn of that earmarked as non-repayable grants for countries in need.

Germany and France support the proposal, but a group made up of Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark  known as the Frugal Four  are against borrowing and assuming joint debt to support other states.

Working together with European Council president Charles Michel, Germany is pushing to get agreement on the recovery fund at the next meeting on 17 July, an ambitious goal given how far apart countries are on the issue.

Once the EU recovery plan and its next budget are approved, Germany still has to guide the bloc through Brexit trade deal, which will also happen during Berlins high-pressure presidency, not to mention ongoing interactions with a fractious Washington and redefining the EUs relations with China.

The German government has already urged other EU member states to get ready for a potential no-deal Brexit. In a document, first reported by Reuters, Berlin wrote that member states have to start putting contingency plans in place for what it called a no deal 2.0.

It also said that EU states should not agree at any price to the UKs plans for a rapid trade and security deal this summer, and that negotiations will enter a hot phase from September.

READ MORE: Germany advises EU to prepare for potential no-deal Brexit

The German government says it will also work to promote the EUs digital sovereignty, by boosting the blocs digital infrastructure and tech competencies to make it less reliant on US giants, for example for Cloud and data services.

Environment-wise, Merkel told the Bundestag last week that she would push for an EU climate protection law, with the goal of making Europe climate neutral by 2050.
UTEP Connect Celebrates Five Years

Last Updated on June 25, 2020 at 12:00 AM

Originally published June 25, 2020

By UC Staff

UTEP Communications

Alejandra Vasquez-Macias higher education journey was lengthy, filled with uncertainties and instability.

UTEP Connect, The University of Texas at El Paso's collection of fully online baccalaureate and graduate programs, and graduate certificates, has been providing online instruction since 2015. Photo: Ivan Pierre Aguirre / UTEP Communications

In 2011, she was near completion of her education degree, but raising two children, trying to figure out how to attend traditional classes and completing an internship became too much of a struggle. So, she left UTEP to focus on her family.

Several years later, Vasquez-Macias returned to The University of Texas at El Paso to finish what she started. This time, the venue to pursue her academic dreams was more suited to her circumstances.

Online learning made it possible for Vasquez-Macias to return to college. She graduated with a bachelors degree in Chicano Studies in Fall 2019.

I had taken a couple of elective classes online, but never really put forth the effort to dedicate myself to the classes and give it the time I should have allotted to it, she said in 2018. Now, with a combination of being much more mature and seeing all the benefits a higher ed degree could provide for my family, I find myself embracing the online experience. So far, this time around, my experience has been amazing.

Vasquez-Macias, who is now a busy mother of four children, took online classes through UTEP Connect.

UTEP Connect, the Universitys collection of fully online baccalaureate and graduate programs and graduate certificates, has been providing online instruction since 2015.

UTEP Connect was created with the idea of the nontraditional student, said Hector M. Gonzales, the director of UTEP Connect. These students may have full-time jobs, be in the military, live outside of El Paso or have other life commitments that do not allow them to attend classes on campus.

And there are students such as Vasquez-Macias who enroll in the University and after a year or two, have to stop.

Gonzales said based on the 2018-19 school year, 65% of UTEP Connect students were transfer students from institutions throughout the country, 33.8% were continuing students  students who attended UTEP but have been out for at least one academic year  and 1.1% were incoming freshmen. However, it is important to note that those incoming students are not recent high school graduates. Rather, they are individuals years removed from high school who realize the value of a college education and decide to enroll in an online program to accommodate their already busy lives.

UTEP Connect is a unit of UTEPs Extended University, which serves as the hub for nontraditional academic programs, professional training and education, and community enrichment.

UTEP has a long tradition of delivering high-quality online courses and degrees, with programs from the School of Nursing leading the way, said Beth Brunk-Chavez, Ph.D., dean of Extended University. In the past five years, we have taken a deliberate and careful approach to developing and delivering online programs across several colleges at UTEP. In collaboration with faculty, our focus is the experience of our students and their success. In all aspects of our work  from the course development process, to our marketing, from our enrollment counselors to our advisors  our guiding question is always, How does this decision affect the students? UTEP Connect programs succeed when our students do.

Extended University works with UTEPs academic colleges to coordinate and manage a rapidly growing inventory of fully online degree and certificate programs.

Between Summer 2015 and Spring 2020, 2,183 students graduated from UTEP Connect online programs, including 963 undergraduates, 1,175 graduates and 45 students in graduate certificate programs.

UTEP Connect offers eight bachelors programs, 10 masters programs (including three nursing programs), and five graduate certificate programs.

The professors who teach on campus are the same professors who teach our online students, Gonzales said. The quality of education online students receive is no different than those of the traditional students.

The number of classes UTEP Connect offers and the number of available spots in those classes has increased during the past five years.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 23:32:08|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 pandemic is retreating in Russia, President Vladimir Putin said Friday at a meeting with the volunteer movement "We Are Together."

"The volume of tasks for volunteers is starting to decrease slightly. You really did your job honestly. We can only be glad to say thanks again," Putin said.

Russia has confirmed 6,800 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, marking the lowest number of daily infections since the end of April.

"This is a very nice figure for us and we very much hope that this trend will continue in the coming days and weeks," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said earlier in the day. Enditem
AN Post customers with prepaid Money Currency cards have been left unable to access their money after UK authorities shut down activities of scandal hit German payments company Wirecard.

There are 50,000 of the currency cards in circulation, An Post said. The company could not confirm the amount of money involved.

An Post said its Money Currency cards - marketed as an affordable way for customers to bring and use money abroad  were issued by UK based Wirecard Card Solutions Limited.

The cards cannot currently be used by customers in Ireland or abroad, until further notice.

An Post greatly regrets this inconvenience to our customers and we are working to ascertain what impact this situation will have on customers who hold an An Post Money Currency Card. We will issue a further statement when more information becomes available, the company said.

No other An Post products, cards or services are affected.

The currency cards have been suspended after the UKs Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulators froze the British operations of Wirecard, including Wirecard Card Solutions on Friday.

The German parent company has collapsed with almost 2bn of assets unaccounted for, and the UK operations of the company are no longer allowed to dispose of any funds  even customers cash.

On its website the FCA said customers should contact Wirecard or their card provider directly and warned that Wirecard was not covered by the UKs Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) - which does not compensate customers of electronic money or payment services. Wirecard in the UK was obliged to hold customer funds separate from its own money, however, under the UKs customer safeguarding rules.
In the absence of sufficient action from governments to address climate change, the global impact investor network ' Toniic' , the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) whose members manage 30 Trillion , the German business network supporting the Paris goal, ' Stiftung 2 Grad' , family office and climate impact investment adviser Wermuth Asset Management GmbH , cohost the 5 th Berlin Green Investment Summit (BGIS), in the form of 45-minute webinars at tea time - 16h CET on each quarter's last Thursday - until we meet again - on

'How to close the climate finance gap'

During 'virtual high tea' sessions, treat yourself to a cup of tea, some scones with clotted cream and strawberries, learn from great speakers, participate in Q&A and break-out sessions and commit to act to address the greatest challenge and opportunity facing humanity.

The 25 June, 2020 webinar starts with Jochen Wermuth, climate impact investor and investment committee member of Germany's SWF KENFO stressing the urgency of the climate finance gap to be closed, the profitability of divest-invest strategies, and the need for a CO2 price reflecting externalities.

Laurence Tubiana, CEO, European Climate Foundation & Chair of the Board of Governors, French Development Agency will provide updates on the EU's Green Deal, on the UNFCCC COP26 finance track led by Mark Carney and France's Convention citoyenne pour le climat.

Those will be discussed by Peter Damgaard-Jensen (Chair, IIGCC), given key demands by IIGCC to G20, Phillipe Desfosses (Co-Founder Climate Endowment & ex-CEO, 40bn pension fund ERAFP), given the climate finance gap and disparity between the returns of large endowments (10%) and EU pension funds (3%), Dr. Gilbert Frizberg (former Chairman of the board of Verbund AG) given the launch of the Climate Endowment Hydropower Fund with >100x less CO2 emissions and 8% target returns, and Astrid Manroth, Director of Climate Finance, European Climate Foundation, given the need for blended finance initiatives to tab into the 150 trillion global debt & equity capital markets and to offer decent returns to citizens.

"Pension funds might not to be able to match their liabilities over the next 20 years without substantial changes to their asset allocation strategy. They can both lift returns and abate climate change by moving to alternatives with lower CO 2 footprints," says Phillipe Defosses, co-founder of the Climate Endowment.

Join via: www.eventbrite.com/e/berlin-green-investment-summit-high-tea-webinar-series-tickets-107695712776

Background info on key subject and institutions mentioned:

The Climate Finance Gap: https://www.ceres.org/initiatives/clean-trillion

The Ceres Clean Trillion highlights the need for an additional $1 trillion per year in clean energy investment [as estimated by the International Energy Agency and the International Renewable Energy Agency] to limit global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Global clean energy transition is both essential and irreversible, and it will generate tens of trillions of dollars of clean energy investment opportunities over the decades to come. Energy market dynamics have shifted in favor of clean energy such as wind and solar, which increasingly out-compete new fossil fuel and nuclear power sources. As the clean energy market continues to mature and expand into a mainstream, large-scale market, there is a growing and diversifying array of investment opportunities.

Achieving the Clean Trillion is eminently feasible, and our most recent research points to the significant opportunities for investors to scale up their clean energy investments while meeting their risk-return requirements. Companies likewise are realizing the economic benefits of shifting to clean energy as they make commitments to meet their energy demands with renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electrification of vehicle fleets.

Toniic: https://toniic.com/

We are a global community of asset owners seeking deeper positive net impact across the spectrum of capital.

Our members consist of more than 400 high net worth individuals, family office, and foundation asset owners who are deepening their impact across the spectrum of capital and personal resources in more than 25 countries around the world.

Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change: www.iigcc.org

Investors taking action for a prosperous, low carbon future:

Our mission is to mobilie capital for the low carbon transition and to ensure resilience to the impacts of a changing climate by collaborating with business, policy makers and fellow investors.

The investor voice on climate change:

The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) is the European membership body for investor collaboration on climate change and the voice of investors taking action for a prosperous, low carbon future. IIGCC has more than 240 members, mainly pension funds and asset managers, across 15 countries, with over 33 trillion in assets under management.

IIGCC's mission is to mobilize capital for the low carbon transition and to ensure resilience to the impacts of a changing climate by collaborating with business, policy makers and fellow investors. IIGCC works to support and help define the public policies, investment practices and corporate behaviours that address the long-term risks and opportunities associated with climate change.

Stiftung 2 Grad: https://www.stiftung2grad.de/

Our mission:

The most important aim of Foundation 2  German Businesses for Climate Protection is in the name: to limit average global warming to well below two degrees Celsius.

The exclusive and immediate aim of the foundation is to promote climate protection and the sustainable use of natural resources and natural ecosystems.

We are working to support politicians in establishing free-market framework requirements for climate protection, and to activate German businesses to find solutions for climate protection.

Cross-Industry Platform for Active Collaboration: Foundation 2:

Foundation 2 is more than just an alliance between businesses. It is a platform for active collaboration in which businesses from different industries work together in a solution-oriented manner to find answers to questions of corporate climate protection.





Under the umbrella of a not-for-profit, independent foundation, the supporting businesses can work toward more open outcomes and on more complex issues of climate policy than would be possible in individual businesses. In addition, the supporting businesses consciously form a small and flexible group which can react quickly to political and economic trends and developments.

Wermuth Asset Management GmbH, https://wermutham.com/

Incubated as the principal family's single family office adviser in 1999, WAM has evolved into a climate impact investment adviser with a focus on high risk-adjusted financial returns alongside positive climate impact across all asset classes.

Our Green Growth Funds invest in "exponential organizations" as defined by Singularity University, companies with the potential to solve a major problem of humanity (climate change in our case) profitably and grow exponentially.

Our forestry strategy turned operations covering 1m hectares, or 4x the size of Luxemburg, into a Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) compliant profitable operation.

Our long/short divest-invest strategy has returned some 10% per annum long-term.

Through the Climate Endowment Group we aim to offer institutional investors the ability to invest across all asset classes with positive impact on climate abatement. The ultimate aim is to also to "democratize" long-term alternative and climate impact investments by listing the assets, which the Climate Endowment Fund will hold, allowing any citizens to participate in this long-term endowment-style investment vehicle.

Climate Endowment Group, https://climate-endowment.com/

Climate Endowment is a climate-focused investment company employing the multi-asset class endowment style, pioneered by Yale and Harvard university endowments. We aim to achieve both solid long-term risk-adjusted returns and a significant reduction of CO2 emissions. It was launched by experienced investment professionals and entrepreneurs as an urgent response to the Climate Crisis and to the European voters' demand for a Green Revolution.

We seek lower risk and lower return investments than most of the private equity industry and aim to cater to the risk profile of more conservative investors. Climate Endowment focuses on investments in scalable platforms with infrastructure / hard asset characteristics based on proven technologies with significantly lower CO2 emissions.

Climate Endowment Hydropower Fund

The "Climate Endowment Hydropower Fund" will be the first product of the Climate Endowment Group. The fund will be launched as an open-ended Luxemburg RAIF to professional investors this summer. The fund aims to achieve 8% IRR through investments in green- and brown-field mid-sized run-of-river hydropower plants. "Run-of-river" implies that there is far less negative environmental impact than for larger hydropower plants that close off whole valleys with large barrages. Hydropower plants have a typical live of 80 to more than 100 years, generate stable cash flows and produce power at less than 1/100th the CO2 footprint per kilowatt-hour produced than the average for EU power production.





Media Contact:

Alina Mohaupt

info@wermutham.com

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A vintage car club from County Derry has been honoured by receiving the highest award available to voluntary groups in the UK.

Garvagh Clydesdale and Vintage Car Club has received the Queens Award for Voluntary Service in recognition of the work of its volunteers.

The club has been preserving history through vintage vehicles, farming methods and machinery, including Clydesdale horses, since 1995.

Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Alderman Mark Fielding, said the award highlighted the importance of volunteering.

Volunteers are at the heart of community life in the Borough and I was delighted to learn that two local groups have received the Queens Award this year  the equivalent of an MBE, he said.

Celebrating the spirit of volunteering is very important, and the ongoing pandemic has shown us its value across the Borough.

The Queens Award is the pinnacle of recognition for those who devote their time and energy freely to others.

I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to everyone associated with Garvagh Clydesdale & Vintage Vehicle Club.

Their volunteers collective efforts have led to this success, and they should be rightly proud of this achievement.

Club secretary, Michelle Knight-McQuillan, said its members were thrilled to receive the accolade.

We never expected it, its not something we ever thought about because we just do what we do because were passionate about it, she told the County Derry Post.

We love what we do and what we get out of it ourselves and what we give back to other people, so were still in a bit of shock.

For us to get it is quite unusual, but we do an unusual type of thing. We are one of very few in Ireland, certainly the only one in Northern Ireland, who combine horses and vehicles.

We host a show every year in Garvagh that has a Clydesdale competition in it. We have steam engines, tractors, stationary engines, and vehicles from the early 1900s through to De Loreans.

We try to keep the historical and cultural value of the rural past alive through our passion for vintage vehicles.

Covid-19 has curtailed the celebrations in what is the clubs 25th year, but Michelle says the setback will not affect things too badly, as everyone is well used to their role.

This is our 25th anniversary year, which is unfortunate because we would have loved a big celebration but with Covid-19, that has been curbed, she said.

We know what we get out of it, but we now realise how important it is to others. What we have been doing is of significant benefit to local people.

It gives us the boost to keep doing what we are doing. We arent going to change anything because its working.

Getting this award has given us that boost. We have a good way of working, everybody knows their jobs and it gets done. Its a well-oiled vintage machine.
There is no such thing as an official government-sanctioned face mask exemption card.

A group on Facebook called the Freedom to Breathe Agency (FTBA) boasted about face mask exemption cards, suggesting they could be used to alert businesses that the holder does not have to wear a mask.

The cards are fakes, and the Facebook page has since been taken down.

The website of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) website says the Department of Justice has been made aware of the cards, many of which have a seal that looks like the Justice Departments seal.

These postings were not issued by the Department and are not endorsed by the Department, the website said.

As someone with a profound disability, it's disgusting to me that people are using the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 to justify avoiding a minor inconvenience



These badly misspelled cards & their card-carrying members are using disabled people as shields to harm others pic.twitter.com/dNt8zWZ56z  Steven Spohn (@stevenspohn) June 24, 2020

The card reads: I am exempt from any ordinance requiring face mask usage in public. Wearing a face mask poses a mental and/or physical risk to me. Under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), I am not required to disclose my condition to you.

It includes a phone number to report violations.

It also threatens businesses that try to force customers to wear masks.

"If found in violation of the ADA you could face steep penalties. Organizations and businesses can be fined up to $75,000 for your first violation and $150,000 for any subsequent violations. Denying access to your business/organization will be also reported to FTBA for further actions."

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

While New Jersey requires face masks for most outings, if someone says they cant for medical reasons, business owners are not allowed to ask for details or demand proof in writing.

Gov. Phil Murphys office pointed to Executive Order 122, which says businesses must require workers and customers to wear cloth face coverings while on the premises, except where doing so would inhibit that individuals health or where the individual is under two years of age, and require workers to wear gloves when in contact with customers or goods.

It also says: Where an individual declines to wear a face covering on store premises due to a medical condition that inhibits such usage, neither the essential retail business nor its staff shall require the individual to produce medical documentation verifying the stated condition.

The N.J. Department of Health did not respond to requests for comment.

The Division of Consumer Affairs said it hasnt yet received any complaints about the cards, but it encourages consumers to file complaints on its website.

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 KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com.
New Kill Order Issued for Washington State Wolves Washington has issued a new order allowing the killing of up to two members of the Togo wolf pack in Ferry County. This may leave the wolf family with just one or two surviving members.



The kill order is out of compliance with the state's own protocols, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife admits it can't confirm that the targeted pack was involved in the calf attack that prompted the order.



Last month the Center petitioned Washington state to adopt enforceable rules requiring nonlethal measures before resorting to killing wolves. "Its irrational rush to kill these wolves shows exactly why Washington needs to create rules to protect the endangered animals. Killing wolves should only be a last resort," said the Center's Amaroq Weiss.



Learn more and support the Center's work to save wolves with a donation to our Wolf Defense Fund.
Shareholders approved all proposed resolutions

Regulatory News:

Lysogene (FR0013233475-LYS) (Paris:LYS) held its ordinary annual and extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on June 26, 2020, in closed session, which was chaired by Karen Aiach, Chairman of the Board of directors and chief executive officer, without the physical presence of the shareholders.

With a quorum of 53.64%, the shareholders have adopted all the resolutions recommended by the Board of Directors, including the financial statements for the 2019 financial year, the compensation policy applicable to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and the directors, as well as delegations granted to the Board of Directors related to financial transactions.

Shareholders also approved the renewal of Karen Aiach, Philippe Goupit, Peter Lichtlen, David Schilansky, Mathieu Simon and Carole Deffez as Board members.

Details on the vote results will be available on the company's website.

About Lysogene

Lysogene is a gene therapy company focused on the treatment of orphan diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). The company has built a unique capability to enable a safe and effective delivery of gene therapies to the CNS to treat lysosomal diseases and other genetic disorders of the CNS. A phase 2/3 clinical trial in MPS IIIA in partnership with Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. is ongoing and a phase 1/3 clinical trial in GM1 gangliosidosis is in preparation. In accordance with the agreements signed between Lysogene and Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc., Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. will hold exclusive commercial rights to LYS-SAF302 in the United States and markets outside Europe; and Lysogene will maintain commercial exclusivity of LYS-SAF302 in Europe. Lysogene is also collaborating with an academic partner to define the strategy of development for the treatment of Fragile X syndrome, a genetic disease related to autism. www.lysogene.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005116/en/

Contacts:

Stephane Durant des Aulnois

Chief Financial Officer

stephane.durant-des-aulnois@lysogene.com

+ 33 1 41 43 03 99
A Minneapolis bakery has apologized after a customer wearing a hijab claimed that staff were refusing to serve her because they did not accept her face covering as a mask designed to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Zahur Abdiaziz posted a video on Facebook this week saying she had been subjected to a 'corona type' of racism following the incident at Marissa's Bakery in the city.

Video of the encounter started when Abdiaziz filmed herself standing inside the bakery asking the female worker behind the counter why she wouldn't accept her hijab as a face covering.

Minnesota's health department recommends people wear face masks when inside stores to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Zahur Abdiaziz posted a video on Facebook this week saying she had been subjected to a 'corona type' of racism after an employee at Marissa's Bakery in Minneapolis refused to serve her because she wasn't wearing a mask

'So me wearing this is not a mask? Are you saying this is not a mask?' Abdiaziz could be heard asking the worker.

The worker responded: 'No face mask no service.'

When Abdiaziz said her hijab was her face covering, the worker responded: 'It's not a face mask. We don't accept that.'

The worker could be seen throwing her hands in the air and walking away as Abdiaziz said: 'So you're not going to serve me bread?'

Abdiaziz posted the video on Facebook, saying: 'Someone please tell me how is her face mask different than mine? This lady refused to sell me bakery because I am not wearing the same mask as her!'

When Abdiaziz said her hijab was her face covering, the worker responded: 'It's not a face mask. We don't accept that.' The worker could be seen throwing her hands in the air and walking away as Abdiaziz said: 'So you're not going to serve me bread?'

'This type of racism is called the corona type. I had to remain calm.'

The video has already been shared on Facebook more than 2,700 times.

In a statement on Wednesday, the bakery apologized to what it called a 'racial incident'.

'We are deeply saddened that one of our employees would address someone in that manner and refuse service,' the statement read.

'At this store we do not tolerate any form of discrimination to our Muslim brothers and sisters.'

The bakery said they were addressing the issue but it is not yet clear if the worker has, or will be, disciplined.
[June 26, 2020] DATA Communications Management Corp. Report of Voting Results

DATA Communications Management Corp. ("DCM (News - Alert)" or the "Corporation") (TSX: DCM) today announced that the annual and special meeting (the "Meeting") of the shareholders of the Corporation was held on June 26, 2020 in Brampton, Ontario. 36 shareholders holding a total of 26,652,508 common shares of the Corporation ("Common Shares") were represented at the Meeting in person or by proxy, representing approximately 61.91% of the total votes attached to all issued and outstanding Common Shares as of May 19, 2020, the record date for the Meeting. Appointment of Auditors The resolution to appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers (News - Alert) LLP, Chartered Accountants, as auditors of the Corporation, to hold office until the next annual meeting of shareholders of the Corporation or until their successors are appointed and to authorize the directors to fix the auditors' remuneration, was adopted on a vote by show of hands by a majority of the votes cast by the shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting. The votes cast by shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting for the appointment of the auditors were as follows:







Votes For Votes Withheld # % # % Appointment of Auditors 26,639,926 100.00 768 0.00

Election of Directors All seven directors proposed for election at the Meeting were elected on a vote by ballot. The votes cast by shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting for the election of directors were as follows: Votes For Votes Withheld # % # % William M. Albino 17,432,775 65.41 9,219,733 34.59 Michael G. Sifton 24,046,330 90.22 2,606,178 9.78 J.R. Kingsley Ward 19,406,641 72.81 7,245,867 27.19 Derek J. Watchorn 22,588,335 84.75 4,064,173 15.25 James J. Murray 22,147,216 83.10 4,505,292 16.90 Gregory J. Cochrane 24,356,579 91.39 2,295,929 8.61 Merri L. Jones 24,553,735 92.13 2,098,773 7.87 Long-Term Incentive Plan On a vote by ballot, the ordinary resolution (the "LTIP Resolution") to approve and re-confirm the amended and restated long-term incentive plan of the Corporation (the "LTIP") was passed by a majority of greater than 50% of the votes cast by shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting. The votes cast by shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting for the LTIP Resolution were as follows: Votes For Votes Against # % # % LTIP Resolution 17,914,932 67.22 8,737,576 32.78 Shareholder Rights Plan On a vote by ballot, the ordinary resolution (the "Shareholder Rights Plan Resolution") to approve and re-confirm the amended and restated shareholder rights plan of the Corporation was passed by a majority of greater than 50% of the votes cast by shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting. The votes cast by shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting for the Shareholder Rights Plan were as follows: Votes For Votes Against # % # % Shareholder Rights Plan 22,918,496 85.99 3,734,012 14.01 Revocation of the Preferred Share Resolution Prior to the Meeting, the board of directors of the Corporation elected to revoke the special resolution related to the proposed creation of a new class of preferred shares of the Corporation (the "Preferred Share Resolution"). As a result, the Preferred Share Resolution was not voted on at the Meeting. About DATA Communications Management Corp. DCM is a communication solutions partner that adds value for major companies across North America by creating more meaningful connections with their customers. DCM pairs customer insights and thought leadership with cutting edge products, modular enabling technology and services to power its clients' go to market strategies. DCM helps its clients manage how their brands come to life, determine which channels are right for them, manage multimedia campaigns, deploy location specific and 1:1 marketing, execute custom loyalty programs, and fulfill their commercial printing needs all in one place. DCM's extensive experience has positioned it as an expert at providing communication solutions across many verticals, including the financial, retail, healthcare, consumer health, energy, and not for profit sectors. As a result of its locations throughout Canada and in the United States (Chicago, Illinois and New York, New York), it is able to meet its clients' varying needs with scale, speed, and efficiency - no matter how large or complex the ask. DCM is able to deliver advanced data security, regulatory compliance, and bilingual communications, both in print and/or digital formats. Additional information relating to DATA Communications Management Corp. is available on www.datacm.com, and in the disclosure documents filed by DATA Communications Management Corp. on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005499/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday conceded that Goa had entered the stage of community transmission with cases springing up in various parts of the state with no apparent link to the first few local cases in the state.

The Chief Ministers statement comes at the end of a week in which the state saw a rise of 44-46 cases each day taking the number of total cases past the 1,000-mark.

We are getting cases across the state and it is being transmitted among contacts. But we will have to say that this is community transmissions. We will have to accept this. All the cases can be traced to some link or the other, Sawant said on Friday.

It has reached in a big way in various talukas, yet we have to take care to use masks and sanitizers and awareness and education and law enforcement from the police. If people cooperate then we will be able to control it, Sawant said.

All patients are stable and I am in touch with the hospitals and care centres. Monitoring is going on through the collectors for those in home quarantine, Sawant said.

On Friday, 44 new cases were detected taking Goas total count to 1039 of which 667 are active patients with 370 having recovered.

More than 90% of Goas cases were registered during the month of June. At the start of the month there were less than 100 cases registered in the state. Two persons have succumbed to the disease.

Sawant has assured that testing of all contacts and neighbours of those who have tested positive are being tested and quarantined.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Iran: Womens mass protest in Tehran, 1979 against the new Islamic (...)

On 8 March 1979, more than 100,000 women gathered on the streets of the Iranian capital to protest against the new Islamic governments compulsory hijab ruling, Photo by photojournalist Hengameh Golestan
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) chief S S Deswal on Friday said that the force was prepared to deal with all kinds of challenges in its service to the nation, while on a visit to countrys largest Covid care centre erected on the premises of a religious organisation in south Delhi. ITBP chief said that the forces experience in handling mass Covid treatment and quarantine facilities will come in handy in managing the facility that boasts of over 10,000 beds.

ITBP has gained experience in the last 4 months. Initially we managed a Covid quarantine center in Chhawla & then our 200 bedded hospital in Noida. Our medical team will help people in this crisis, Deswal was quoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier this year, the ITBP had created and managed a 1,000 bed quarantine centre in south-west Delhi. The Chhawla centre had treated about 1,200 people who arrived in the country on special evacuation flights from China and Italy after the outbreak of the disease. It is also credited with coming up with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the containment of the pandemic among the various Central Armed Police Forces and central and state police organisations.

The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19

Security forces & Armed Police forces are dedicated to the nation to deal with all kinds of situations. All challenges will be faced. Be it Army or ITBP they are dedicated to the nation for protection of integrity, sovereignty and borders of the nation, ITBP DG SS Deswal said in reference to the multiple roles played by the armed forces of the country.

Apart from handling a medical-humanitarian crisis in Delhi, ITBP is currently deployed along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, where border tensions with China have peaked in the past couple of months following incursions by the red army and clashes between the soldiers of two sides due to differing perceptions of territories.

The Radha Soami Beas establishment in Chhatarpur area of the national capital, will have two segments -- a Covid care centre (CCC) where asymptomatic positive cases will be treated and a dedicated Covid healthcare centre (DCHC). The CCC will have 90 per cent beds, while DCHC will have 10 per cent beds and the latter segment will also have an oxygen support system.

For Coronavirus Live Updates

ITBP took over the management of the centre on Wednesday on the request of the Union home ministry.

Deswal interacted with a team of doctors and paramedics who would run the facility and was updated about the medical and administrative protocols to be followed at the facility.

A team of over 1,000 doctors, nurses and paramedic staff of the ITBP and other paramilitary forces have been earmarked to work at the facility, a senior officer quoted by PTI said.

One thousand more ancillary and security staff will be deployed at the facility along with 75 ambulances, he said.
P olice have launched an investigation after hundreds of young people were filmed in what appeared to be a mass brawl on a beach in south Wales.

Officers were called to Ogmore by sea, Bridgend, to reports of a "large gathering and a disturbance taking place" at around 8pm on Thursday.

Police arrived at the scene and two men in their 20s were arrested.

The crowd dispersed and the council was ordered to close the neighbouring car park police said.

It came as a major incident was declared on Thursday as thousands flocked to beaches on England's south coast. Large gatherings have also been disbanded by officers in Brixton and Streatham in south London this week.

A South Wales Police spokesman said: "As yet no victims have been identified nor come forward."

Officers were once again called back to the same location later that evening at around 10.50pm.

They had received reports that members from the same group had returned to the seafront.

The spokesman added: "We are aware of videos circulating on social media of the incident and enquiries are ongoing."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned the Government will take action if social distancing measures are ignored as thousands flocked to the south coast on the hottest day of the year.

A beach at Bournemouth was packed on Thursday / PA

Mr Hancock told TalkRadio on Thursday the Government had the power to close public areas such as beaches if people flout safety restrictions.

It comes as Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council declared a major incident after services were completely overstretched as huge numbers of visitors crowded onto the beaches during the day.

Chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty later urged people to follow social distancing rules in the hot weather or risk causing a spike in coronavirus.

He wrote on Twitter: Covid-19 has gone down due to the efforts of everyone but is still in general circulation.

If we do not follow social distancing guidance then cases will rise again.

Naturally people will want to enjoy the sun but we need to do so in a way that is safe for all.

In an interview with TalkRadio, Mr Hancock said he was reluctant to go down the route of shutting public spaces as people have had a pretty tough lockdown.

But he added that if there was a spike in the number of coronavirus cases then we will take action.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council said extra police patrols had to be brought in following the irresponsible behaviour of crowds who gridlocked roads, dumped rubbish, abused refuse collectors and parked illegally.
MANILA, Philippines  Four more areas in Eastern Visayas are potentially the next hot spots for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to the Department of Health (DOH).

These areas include Ormoc City which has 38 COVID-19 cases; Southern Leyte with 33 cases; Samar with 61 confirmed cases; and Leyte with the highest number of cases at 133.

Based on DOH records, the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases recorded the highest in June.

Hindi pa po ganun karami ang mga kaso sa mga nasabing lugar ngunit nakikita natin na mas mabilis tumataas kumpara sa ibang lugar, noted DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

[Cases are manageable in the said areas but the number of infection is rapidly increasing as compared to other areas.]

To curb the spread of COVID-19, Vergeire said a strict and proper monitoring of cases in areas with high risk of infection like Central Visayas is necessary.

[Weve sent equipment] to ramp up the testing capacity of Cebu province and required the strict implementation of our public health standards with the help of the local government and the national task force in these emerging hotspots, Vergeire said.

She noted several factors that contribute to the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

Atin pong ine-expect na tataas pa rin ang kaso habang unti-unti nating binubuksan ang ating ekonomiya, bahagyang niluluwagan ang community restrictions at patuloy na tumataas ang ating testing capacity, the official said.

[We expect that cases to further spike while we gradually open our economy and restrictions are being relaxed and our testing capacity is improving.]

Nonetheless, the DOH observed that case trends in the National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby areas in stabilizing except in Cebu City and other parts of Central Visayas; thus the national government is putting more effort into the said areas. MNP (with details from Aiko Miguel)

The post Four towns in E. Visayas close to becoming COVID-19 hot spots  DOH appeared first on UNTV News.
CAIRO - Russian and other foreign mercenaries have entered Libyas largest oil field, the countrys National Oil Corporation said on Friday, describing the development as an attempt to thwart the resumption of halted oil production in the war-torn country.

In divided Libya, Russia is a leading backer of the east-based forces led by commander Khalifa Hifter, who has been waging war against the U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, which is mainly backed by Turkey.

The Russian mercenaries first met late on Thursday with the guards of Libyas vast southwestern Sharara oilfield, controlled by Hifters eastern-based fighters, according to a statement from the National Oil Corporation, or NOC.

Earlier this year, a militia known as the Petroleum Facilities Guard, which takes orders from Hifters forces, helped shut down oil production when Hifter-allied tribes led a blockade of Libyas oil ports  a challenge to the Tripoli administration.

While Hifters east-based forces control Libyas oil crescent, the Tripoli government in the west controls the national Central Bank reserves, mostly drawn from oil income. Although Libya has Africas largest oil reserves, it has been unable to export oil since Hifters blockade started in January, costing the state corporation over $6 billion in lost revenue. Libyas was producing over 1.2 million barrels per day before the shutdown.

While foreign mercenaries continue to be paid vast sums of money to prevent the NOC from carrying out its essential duties, the rest of the Libyan population suffers, said Mustafa Sanalla, the corporations chairman. He lamented the loss of oil revenues and the disastrous decay of our oil infrastructure due to the shutdown, which is preventing maintenance work at facilities.

The Russian mercenaries are said to be employed by the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-backed private security company. The group has provided between 800-1,200 mercenaries to bolster Hifters 14-month offensive to capture Tripoli, according to U.N. experts, paying some fighters up to $1,500 a month. Moscow has repeatedly denied playing any role on Libyas battlefields.

Hifters campaign largely collapsed earlier this month when Turkish-backed forces allied with the Tripoli government regained control of the capitals entry and exit points and drove their rivals from a string of western towns. Turkey, the main patron of Tripoli forces, has also deployed mercenaries, mainly from Syria, to help defend the capital from Hifters assault.

Tripoli forces now say theyre mobilizing to retake Sirte, a strategic coastal city that would open the gateway to Libyas vital oil fields and facilities. Hifter and his foreign backers, including Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, have pushed for a return to peace talks to avert a major escalation in the proxy war. Egypt last week warned that an attack on Sirte would trigger its direct military involvement in the conflict.

With global oil prices hitting historic lows because of the coronavirus pandemic and OPEC countries agreeing to slash production, Libyas oil corporation has sharply criticized what it describes as the international communitys indifference to the shutdown.

It is noteworthy that many countries are themselves benefiting from the absence of Libyan oil from global markets, said Sanalla, the chairman. Some states, he added, are working in the background to support blockading forces, in reference to Russia.

The U.S. Embassy in Libya condemned the occupation by the oilfield by Wagner and other foreign mercenaries as part of an unprecedented foreign-backed campaign to undermine Libyas energy sector.

Foreign powers meddling in oil-rich Libya are holding the countrys lucrative resources hostage, the embassy said, while ordinary Libyans continue to suffer from a crumbling economy.
Anunt de selectare a participantilor si participantelor la cel de-al doilea curs de instruire din cadrul Programului educational pentru dezvoltarea competentelor lucratorilor de tineret
A Midsummer Nights Dream (Bridge Theatre via NT at Home, YouTube)

Rating:

Verdict: A very naughty dream

The Grinning Man (Bristol Old Vic, bristololdvic.org.uk)

Rating:

Verdict: Gothic musical out of season

Rush (BBC iPlayer)

Rating:

Verdict: Dreary navel-gazer

Nicholas Hytners promenade production of Shakespeares comedy, starring Gwendoline Christie (above as Titania) and Oliver Chris, is a nicely naughty piece of work, but it does take some serious liberties

Do Shakespeare purists still exist?

If so, theyd better look away now. Nicholas Hytners promenade production of Shakespeares comedy, starring Gwendoline Christie and Oliver Chris, is a nicely naughty piece of work, but it does take some serious liberties.

It starts off by evoking the puritan world of Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale, with women dressed like nuns and men dressed like funeral directors.

This serves to heighten the difference between this and the rest of the frolicsome play, in which four young lovers escape to the forest  only to get caught up in a bitter feud between the King and Queen of the Fairies.

Minor naughtiness comes in the form of a good deal of ad-libbing, including when one actor borrows a phone from a spectator (Unlock your mobile, I beseech you!).

But the major meddling is Sir Nicholass. He swaps the roles of the Fairy King and Queen, so that we have Titania (Christie) getting one over on Oberon (Chris) by making him fall in love with a donkey.

Full marks for political correctness. But while Game Of Thrones star Christie is given more power, it also means that she has less fun.

The inimitable Chris (the original posh boy in One Man, Two Guvnors) bags the better part, getting some good same-sex love action with Hammed Animashaun as Bottom the weaver, after Bottom is translated into a donkey.

The pair even get to share a bubble bath while being serenaded by a soul diva.

The show really starts to cook in the second half, but until then the arena staging in the middle of the audience, with fairies hanging from trapezes, proves less enchanting on TV than it did in real life last year.

Even so, Animashaun is the best Bottom Ive ever seen. He takes eager, childlike delight in playing a character whose dreams have all come true at once. Make a date with him at least.

Louis Maskell is pictured above in The Grinning Man. Its a sprawling yarn about a disfigured boy in a war-torn kingdom who works in a freak show and longs to know the truth about his past

I first saw The Grinning Man in the depths of winter in 2016.

Now, in this scorching summer of 2020, the gothic musical based on Victor Hugos novel The Man Who Laughs feels oddly out of season.

Its a sprawling yarn about a disfigured boy in a war-torn kingdom who works in a freak show and longs to know the truth about his past.

Director Tom Morris turns the story into a lewdly theatrical, Black-Adderish romp, with the odd corpse singing from a gibbet.

There are hints of The Phantom Of The Opera and The Elephant Man, and its driven by a Beauty And The Beast romance between our mutilated hero (Louis Maskell) and his blind beloved (Audrey Brisson). The music is a murky, jagged and turbulent voyage in itself.

But while the dark and cavernous staging made sense in winter, it feels weirdly morose in midsummer.

Even so, it does feature one of my favourite actors, Julian Bleach, as an evil, pasty-faced court jester, with dark shad-ows around his eyes. Cackling in despair, he seems to embody how many of us have come to feel lately.

Don't worry if you cant catch Rupert Everett in a Zoom reading of Willi Richardss play Rush to mark LGBT Pride Month.

In the show, which is part of BBC iPlayers Culture In Quarantine series, Everett plays a rueful fiftysomething trying to hang on to his toyboy lover, whom he fears he is losing to another youth from the dating app Grindr.

With a good deal of navel-gazing about inter-generational gay sexual politics, the dialogue is flip and glib, and the plot is underpowered.

There are a few ooh-er Vicar! moments, with some explicit sex talk, and I did enjoy watching the grizzled Everett smoke a joint in front of his baronial fireplace.

But the other two characters are simply stooges, forced to cue up dreary ruminations.
Indias infection tally surged to 490,401 after 17,296 fresh cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the highest in a single day, were reported from across the country, according to the Union health ministry on Friday.

There are 189,463 active Covid-19 cases in the country and the death toll mounted to 15,301 as 407 people succumbed to the respiratory illness between Thursday and Friday morning, the health ministrys dashboard showed.

It showed that during the last 24 hours, 13,940 Covid-19 patients have been cured. So far, 285,636 patients have been discharged from hospitals, taking the recovery rate to 58.24%.

Also read| Covid-19: Order on mandatory centre visits revoked

The government has said cases per lakh population in India currently stand at 33.39 against the worlds 120.21 cases/lakh. It has said deaths per lakh population in the country is currently amongst the lowest in the world with 1.06 deaths/lakh against the world average of 6.24 deaths/lakh.

There have been 9.5 million infections and 488,824 deaths across the world so far, according to Johns Hopkins Universitys Covid-19 tracker.

Among the 28 states and nine Union territories in India, 12 have reported more than 10,000 cases and Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have the most number of cases pushing the countrys tally beyond the 4.9 lakh-mark.

A central team from Union health ministry will visit Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana from June 26 to June 29 and interact with state officials to coordinate with them to strengthen ongoing efforts for management of the pandemic, the government has said.

Maharashtra, which now has 147,741 Covid-19 cases and 6,931 deaths, has decided to extend some relaxations under its Mission Begin Again scheme.

Also read: Overcrowded shelter homes in Delhi face new coronavirus challenge

An order, which was issued late on Thursday, said that barbershops, salons and beauty parlours in 19 municipal corporations earmarked as red zones, will open from June 28, while in the rest of the state they shall open from June 27.

Delhi, which has overtaken Mumbai to become the worst-hit city in the country, has 73,780 Covid-19 cases and 2,429 deaths so far.

Authorities will launch a sero survey to cover 20,000 people across the Capitals 11 districts over the weekend to determine the spread of Covid-19 as the number of cases have risen in Delhi.

The National Centre for Disease Control, under the Union health ministry, and the Delhi government will jointly conduct the survey that will focus on antibody-based blood tests to find out residents past exposure to the Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid-19.

The sero surveillance is one of the five aspects of Delhis revised Covid-19 response plan that was developed after a meeting between Union home minister Amit Shah and Delhi government officials on Sunday.

Antibody tests began in Delhi in April but were put on hold after allegations over the quality of Chinese kits used at that time.

The government said in a release on Thursday that India now has 1007 diagnostic laboratories, including 734 in the government sector and 273 private facilities.

From limited COVID-19 tests in Jan 2020, 2,07,871 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative tests to 75,60,782, it said.
By Trend

UzAuto Motors JSC and Samarkand Automobile Factory LLC plan to open a plant for assembly of vehicles in Azerbaijan, representative of Uzavtosanoat told Trend.

According to representative, Uzavtosanoat JSC and AzerMash OJSC signed a memorandum of intent on organization of assembly production of motor vehicles of UzAuto Motors JSC and Samarkand Automobile Factory LLC at production facilities in Azerbaijan on October 21, 2019.

"Within this memorandum, in January 2020 in the course of negotiations in Azerbaijan it was defined such areas of cooperation as organization of large-unit assembly of cars of UzAuto Motors JSC and buses produced by Samarkand Automobile Factory LLC in the territory of AzerMash OJSC, supply of spare parts and component parts," said representative.

Besides, it was planned to establish cooperation between Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent and Azerbaijan Technical University.

"Opening of the motor vehicle assembly plant of UzAuto Motors JSC and Samarkand Automobile Factory LLC, previously planned for May 2020, has been postponed indefinitely due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus," stated the representative.

Uzavtosanoat is the Uzbek holding company controlling automotive manufacturing enterprises of the large-unit assembly (SKD), UzAuto Motor (former GM Uzbekistan), Samarkand Automobile Plant and MAN Auto-Uzbekistan.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
President Donald Trump speaks with Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott (R) as they participates in a ceremony commemorating the 200th mile of border wall at the international border with Mexico in San Luis, Ariz., on June 23, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Trumps Use of Military Funds for US-Mexico Border Wall Illegal, Federal Court Rules

A federal appeals court in California on Friday ruled that the Trump administrations use of Pentagon funding to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border was illegal.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Trumps diversion of defense and military funding violated the Appropriations Clause of the Constitution, which gives Congress the exclusive power of funding.

These funds were appropriated for other purposes, and the transfer amounted to drawing funds from the Treasury without authorization by statute and thus violating the Appropriations Clause, the majority wrote (pdf) in an opinion. Therefore, the transfer of funds here was unlawful.

Former President Bill Clinton-appointed Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas wrote the opinion, and fellow Clinton-appointed Circuit Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw agreed. President Donald Trump-appointed Circuit Judge Daniel P. Collins dissented, arguing that the money transfer was legal.

The panel concluded that the district court correctly determined that the border wall was not an unforeseen military requirement, and that funding for the wall had been denied by Congress. Absent such statutory authority, the Executive Branch lacked independent constitutional authority to transfer the funds at issue here, Thomas wrote.

The Supreme Court last year blocked an injunction against the use of military funding for the border wall. Its not immediately clear what effect the ruling will have.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who sued to stop the wall, praised the courts ruling.

A Customs and Border Control agent patrolling on the US side of a razor-wire-covered border wall along the Mexico east of Nogales, Ariz., on March 2, 2019. (Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)

They deserve to know that their hard-earned dollars are going where Congress intended  to benefit them and their communities, he said in a statement. We applaud the court for taking action to immediately halt Trumps unlawful money grab.

Last year, Trump declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border to free up more funding after a congressional spending bill allocated $1.3 billion for border security. The White House had sought more to fund the presidents signature project.

Earlier this week, Trump visited the border area in Yuma, Arizona, noting that about 200 miles of the border wall have been built to date. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that about 216 miles of the wall has been built.

Im thrilled to be in Yuma  to commemorate the completion of more than 200 miles of powerful border wall, he noted. Were on pace to complete 450 miles by the end of the year and 500 miles almost immediately thereafter.

During the visit, Trump signed a metal plaque marking 200 miles of construction.

Days before that, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administrations bid to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Good things will happen with DACA pretty soon, Trump said. Put your chin up, good things are going to happen.
Mikel Arteta has challenged Matteo Guendouzi to get behind his Arsenal rebuild as rumours of a summer exit for the Frenchman build.

The hot-headed midfielder enraged his manager and many fans by lashing out at Brighton's Neal Maupay after the forward scored the winner in the Gunners' miserable 2-1 defeat by the south-coast side.

Guendouzi escaped any retrospective action but was left out of Arteta's squad for the 2-0 win over Southampton on Thursday, with the Spaniard citing 'internal issues'.

Mikel Arteta wants Matteo Guendouzi to get on board with his rebuild amid exit rumours

The hot-headed midfielder was left out of the Arsenal squad to face Southampton

The midfielder has previously clashed with his boss at a Dubai training camp and has reportedly told Arsenal he wants to leave this summer, with Barcelona and PSG already circling.

'Whatever internal issues we have, we will deal with them privately and I am never going to make any of that public,' Arteta said responding to a possible Guendouzi exit.

'All the players that are here, I am counting on them. If they want to jump on the boat, they are more than welcome and that is always my mindset. I am here to help all of them to improve individually and collectively and that is my job.'

The Frenchman lashed-out at Neal Maupay after full-time against Brighton but wasn't banned

The midfielder has impressed in flashes but must do a lot more to prove his worth at Arsenal

Guendouzi, a former PSG youth prospect, was poached from Lorient as a teenager in 2018 and has showed flashes of his huge potential.

The 21-year-old was the driving force behind Arsenal's 3-2 comeback victory over Aston Villa in September, his driving runs and determination riling-up his team-mates.

However, as was shown against Brighton, Guendouzi's temper has a tendency to boil over and he has contributed too little in the effort to stop Arsenal's slide.

The Gunners sit ninth in the Premier League, six points adrift of fifth-place Manchester United after two defeats and one victory since the restart.
After the Trump administration spent three years trying to shave a couple hundred billion dollars off the trade deficit, the coronavirus pandemic has easily cost the U.S. economy several trillion dollars. Officials say Trump feels burned. Even if Beijing comes through on its purchasing promises, it wont make a dent in the overall economic damage that could have been avoided if China had contained the virus or, at least, been honest about it.
Colombian Carlos Velez (pictured), 20, dreamed of being Britain's next fashion icon

A jealous male model has been jailed for a minimum of 17 years after stabbing his lodger to death because he thought his victim had kissed his girlfriend.

Colombian Carlos Velez, 20, dreamed of being Britain's next fashion icon while living with his lover Ashlly Rondon-Diaz, 20, and chef David Martinez, 26, in Leyton, east London.

Velez flew into a jealous rage on March 6, a day after he claimed to have seen the devil, and repeatedly slashed Mr Martinez across the chest, legs, shoulder, neck and head, with a kitchen knife.

He denied murder but was convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey. Velez pretended to be mad in his police interview and claimed diminished responsibility from mental illness at his trial.

He described 'visions of the devil' which started in his childhood and claimed his memory went blank a day before the killing.

But a psychiatrist said it was 'unlikely' that any mental illness would cause such an amnesia and the jury convicted him of murder after deliberating for three hours.

After the attack his Spanish victim ran outside and collapsed on the pavement where he bled to death while Velez covered his face and fled to Portsmouth.

Velez flew into a jealous rage on March 6 and repeatedly slashed David Martinez (left) across the chest, legs, shoulder, neck and head with a kitchen knife after accusing him of kissing his girlfriend Ashlly Rondon-Diaz (right) at their flat in Leyton, east London

Velez was stopped by police riding the bicycle beside the M27 outside the Hampshire port early the next morning.

Judge Anthony Leonard QC said: 'You deliberately tried to lie your way out of this, when you realised you couldn't get out of it you decided to play madness.

'In the police interview it was clear you were putting on a performance. The doctor in his evidence described it as a crude attempt at fabrication.

'Your visions were likely a result of sleep paralysis, not from a psychiatric disorder.

'You calmly left the building and made your escape with your hood up, you took the knife with you and made your way to Portsmouth where you friend was, told lies and half-truths to those you met down there.

'You are a violent man with hot tempter, there was no justification for using a knife on that man.

'You have narcissistic traits which exist in absence of mania and sexual jealousy which explains why you are violent when you feel disrespected.

David Martinez (pictured), 26, was doing his laundry when Velez allegedly stormed in to find them having a friendly chat, the court heard today

'I accept that you suffer from anti social personality disorder, your use of skunk cannabis has made your condition worse.

'Your condition is not sufficiently severe to allow me to reduce your minimum sentence, you are a man with attempt which you can control when you want to.'

Judge Leonard accepted that the attack was not premeditated and followed an argument but noted its 'ferocity'.

The court heard Mr Martinez suffered two deep stomach wounds in quick succession, cuts to the legs and arms as he warded off blows.

Following his sentence the 20-year-old admitted punching a prison officer twice during his prison induction at Belmarsh, only ten days after he was remanded.

Velez has a history of violence with a conviction for cutting a chef's throat because he felt 'disrespected' and punching a man on the London underground after he thought he had looked at his girlfriend's bottom.

A forensic tent is seen pitched inside a police cordon at the scene in Leyton, east London, on March 7. Velez is said to have fled to Portsmouth, near where he was arrested

He also had an aggressive confrontation with a neighbour, who he suspected of having an interest in Ms Rondon-Diaz, jurors were told.

On the day of the killing, Mr Martinez texted a cousin, writing that Velez was acting 'all crazy and was asking if had kissed his girlfriend'.

In another message, he wrote: 'I am going to try to go on Friday else I'll end up dead.'

Victim David Martinez's family said he approached life with 'humour, intelligence and hard work' and had been left distraught and anxious by their loss.

Velez had written Psalm 143 in blood red ink on his ceiling, the court heard.

The inscription from the Bible ends: 'My God, teach me your will God. Rescue me Lord, as you have promised, and your goodness save me from my troubles or with your love for me kill my enemies and destroy all my oppressors for I am your servant.'

Velez had told jurors: 'When I first met the devil it was only a few times in one year, maybe 10 times, when I was about five, then after that I think I was about eight.

On the day of the killing, Mr Martinez (pictured) texted a cousin, writing that Velez was acting 'all crazy and was asking if had kissed his girlfriend'

'Then after that it happened when I was 13 then 16 and then it happened on 5 March.'

Velez's mental deterioration during his childhood was ignored by his parents, said his barrister Charlie Sherrard.

He will also suffer a tougher regime in prison because he punched a guard over not getting food during his induction to Belmarsh.

The barrister said: 'Carlos Velez is a very young man and a very young man in more than one sense.

'He has been very badly served in life so far.

'It is astonishing bearing in mind that it was certainly accepted by both parents when interviewed at the John Howard centre that there were signs of mental deterioration of personality disorder forming in his early years and yet they did nothing.

'It's not acceptable in my submission for parents to be like that, if they bring someone into the world their job is to protect them and do what is right.

'There was very little formulation of intent at all, it was out of control, he didn't really think it through, what he was doing.

'He turned to cannabis as a means of his own coping mechanism for dealing with what was going on in his head, all the more reason why he should have had treatment.

'It was something that wasn't premeditated, it was out of the blue completely.

'His sleep paralysis, his dreams, his hallucinations are genuine and real and he needs treatment.

'The ramifications of assaulting a prison officer when about to start a life sentence are quite significant, he will be submitted to a tough regime.'

Ms Rondon-Diaz heard screams from the bedroom and rushed downstairs to find Velez standing repeatedly knifing Mr Martinez-Valencia in the 'truly dreadful attack,' the court heard.

During the trial the heartbroken 20-year-old winced as she relived the moment she saw Velez 'giving it' to Mr Martinez with one of his mother's kitchen knives.

'He was angry and I was going to hug him and he asked me what I was doing in the kitchen with David,' Ms Rondon-Diaz wept.

'I said I wasn't doing anything but he was insisting that I had been doing something with David in the kitchen because he saw that I was very happy and he thought that I had just kissed him.

'We went back to my room and carried on talking. I said I hadn't done anything and he hit me in the face but it wasn't hard, it didn't hurt me. It was with the palm of his hand.

'David said 'no, why would I do that?' and David just laughed and then David went back to his room. He just said no and laughed and closed his door.

'I called his (Velez's) mother to tell her what had happened and then I hung up because she was at work. I closed my bedroom door and I was alone.'

'I went to the kitchen to get a gelatine out of the fridge Carlos was sitting at the kitchen table. He wasn't doing anything, he was just sitting down looking straight ahead. He didn't even look at me.

'I was in my bedroom and I was getting made up, putting my make-up on, as I was getting ready to go out with my girlfriend and within 20 minutes I heard screams. I thought Carlos was just screaming but I heard somebody say: 'Help me Ashlly.'

'I went to see where the screams were coming from, but I never thought it was what was happening. As there's no door to the kitchen I saw. I saw David and Carlos in the kitchen.

'Carlos had a knife which I had seen before which was green and he was giving it to David in the head and the stomach but it was very quick and I couldn't see very well because I was so upset.

'I ran out and opened the door and went to the street. I left that door open and I ran out and David came running behind me. He pushed me slightly aside and passed in front of me and said: 'Help me.''

Mr Martinez collapsed and died from his injuries in the street.

Ms Rondon-Diaz added: 'He ran out and then he just passed out on the pavement. David was on the floor and Carlos was leaning over. 'He was stabbing David with a knife. David was screaming trying to escape.'

Dr Frank Farnham said Velez had not experienced psychosis as 'severe' as schizophrenia and seemed able to understand the nature of his conduct.

The psychiatrist said: 'I think narcissistic daydreaming was referred to in the report and it's possible this tipped over into a psychotic experience.'

Following Velez's conviction, Devi Kharran, CPS Senior Crown Prosecutor, said: 'This was a vicious and frenzied attack fuelled by pure jealousy and possessiveness.

'David Martinez was murdered inside his own home where he should have been safe. The tragedy of this case lies in the knowledge that David was aware that his life could be in danger and had plans to move out of the flat.

'The prosecution case against Carlos Velez included strong witness testimony and forensic evidence, which was able to convince the jury of his guilt.

'When interviewed by police, Velez changed his story numerous times. First he claimed that he himself had been robbed of his phone at knife-point and had no knowledge of the murder.

'Then he went on to say he could not remember what had happened. Later he claimed to be having visions and hearing voices. At one point he even sought to blame the killing on his girlfriend.

'Velez will now spend a significant time in jail as a result of his actions.'

Velez, of Leyton, claimed diminished responsibility but was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum tariff of 17 years.
Life after graduation is always an unknown. But the coronavirus pandemic has added even more uncertainty for the nearly 4 million students expected to receive college degrees in 2019-20, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

"I feel like when you graduate, you go out into the real world," said Stephanie Fallon, 23, who graduated in May from Temple University in Philadelphia. But this world "almost doesn't feel real," she said.

Even though the real world has changed, the challenges most new graduates face haven't. Here's what the class of 2020 can do to answer three essential post-graduation questions during the ongoing pandemic.

Can you get a job?

The job market looked strong for 2020 graduates before the economy took a hit from the coronavirus. A survey in fall 2019 by the National Association of Colleges and Employers projected a 5.8 percent increase in hiring over the previous year.

Of course, much has changed.

"What (graduates) are facing now is just a horrendous market," said Edwin Koc, director of research, public policy and legislative affairs for NACE. "There really isn't any other way to put it."

A survey in 2018 from the recruitment agency Randstad found that the average job search lasts five months. Koc said it may take more time  and effort  to land a job in the current market. Here are some ways to improve your situation:

Be persistent with potential employers but understand if they can't give you a quick answer.

Look to your college career center for help, like connecting you with alumni at companies that are hiring.

Consider transitional work or opportunities outside your desired field.

Fallon, for example, plans to pursue a career in nonprofit work. While she currently has a part-time job with a national nonprofit foundation, she's also working two nanny jobs.

Can you get an apartment?

Many students live at home after graduation: Investment broker TD Ameritrade found in a 2019 survey that half of college graduates plan to move back in with their parents. You may have already taken this step when your college closed its campus this spring. But that doesn't mean you'll want to live at home indefinitely  or be able to.

For example, you may need to relocate for a job. Although a June 2020 poll from NACE found that 66 percent of employers plan to start new graduate hires remotely, you may need to find a place while still social distancing.

"The industry has adapted," said Meena Ziabari, chief operating officer and principal broker for Next Step Realty, a Manhattan-based real estate firm that helps new grads find apartments in New York City. "You should not be afraid of renting virtually."

Choosing an apartment without seeing it in person may be unnerving. What if you arrive to find no hot water, a pest problem or an entire bait-and-switch?

"Do you get landlords who are a little funny or shady? Absolutely," Ziabari said. But she said there are laws in New York City on things like an apartment lacking heat  or a kitchen.

To help avoid undesirable outcomes, consider hiring a real estate broker. You may have to pay a broker's fees; in New York City, these can cost you as much as 15 percent of a year's rent, for example. But their relationships with landlords could make that cost worth it.

If you don't want to pay a broker's fee or can't afford to, Ziabari recommends having a trustworthy person who can check out places to live for you in person.

How will you repay loans?

Roughly two-thirds of the class of 2018 graduated with student debt, according to most recent information from the Institute for College Access and Success. Those graduates owed an average of $29,200.

If you have student loans, there's some breathing room: Most come with a six-month grace period.

"Go ahead and take advantage of not having to pay," said Tara Unverzagt, a certified financial planner and founder of South Bay Financial Partners in Torrance, Calif.

But don't avoid your student loans altogether  find out how much you owe, then explore repayment options with a tool like the federal government's loan simulator. Options tied to your income could give you breathing room once repayment starts.

Unverzagt said your top financial priority now should be starting an easily accessible emergency fund. And if money is tight, understand your cash flow  and avoid the urge to rely on credit cards.

"That is a slippery slope into never-never land of debt," Unverzagt said.
Two people have died following a collision in Co Limerick involving a car and a bicycle.

Gardai are investigating the collision say the incident occurred at around 12:15am on the Hyde Road, Co Limerick.

The driver of the car and a cyclist were both pronounced dead at the scene. The ages of both have not yet been confirmed.

A front seat passenger in the car, a teenage boy, was also injured and was taken by ambulance to University Hospital, Limerick, with non-life threatening injuries.

No other injuries were reported.

The road remains closed for Forensic Collision Investigators and local diversions are in place.

Gardai at Roxboro Road are appealing for any witnesses to this collision to come forward. Gardai are also appealing for any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) who were travelling in the area at the time to make this footage available to Gardai.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Roxboro Road Garda Station on 061 214340 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
LATEST: June 28, 12:20 p.m.: Effective immediately, Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered the closure of bars and nightlife spots in seven counties due to spiking coronavirus cases.

Bars must close in Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, San Joaquin, and Tulare counties. The state is recommending, but not mandating, bars also close in Contra Costa, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Stanislaus and Ventura counties.

COVID-19 is still circulating in California, and in some parts of the state, growing stronger, Newsom said in a statement. Thats why it is critical we take this step to limit the spread of the virus in the counties that are seeing the biggest increases.

June 28, 8:30 a.m.: Fifteen California counties are currently being monitored by the state as they experience increases in coronavirus cases and patient hospitalizations.

Two of those counties, Contra Costa and Santa Clara, are in the Bay Area. In Contra Costa County, the local health department believes a move away from sheltering in place had led to a nearly 17% increase in average patients hospitalized over the last three days.

Santa Clara County is also experiencing an increase in hospitalizations for coronavirus, but the state believes much of this can be attributed to patients from other counties seeking care there. Patients transferred from long-term care facilities are also landing in county hospitals. Once the epicenter of the Bay Area outbreak, Santa Clara County's hospitals are some of the state's most experienced at treating COVID-19 patients.

"Although the percentage change in hospitalizations shows an increase, the increase in the absolute number of patients hospitalized is low relative to the size of the population in Santa Clara County and is low relative to the number of hospital beds available in the county," the California Department of Public Health said.

Other counties, like Stanislaus, are seeing an increase due to family gathering-related clusters and "decreased attention to personal protection measures such as face coverings and social distancing."

Counties on the state's watch list are working with the CDPH to identify the causes for any worrisome trends and next steps to mitigate the virus spread.

The full list of counties on the watch list are as follows:

Contra Costa County

Fresno County

Imperial County

Kern County

Kings County

Los Angeles County

Riverside County

Sacramento County

San Bernadino County

San Joaquin County

Santa Barbara County

Santa Clara County

Stanislaus County

Tulare County

Ventura County

June 26, 3:00 p.m. The Golden Gate Restaurant Association responded to Mayor Breed's announcement to push back moving into the next Stage of re-openings, saying that while outdoor dining is at this point unaffected by the change in timeline, the organization will continue to monitor things very closely.

"As of today, outside dining is not affected and San Francisco is still allowing outside dining," a spokesperson for the organization said. "Our biggest concerns remain with the health of our workers, patrons and residents of San Francisco and we will continue to closely monitor the situation and update everyone as soon as we are made aware."

June 26, 2:15 p.m. Santa Clara County will enter a "new phase" of reopening next week that will "that will mark the end of" a "sector-specific strategy" to business restrictions.

In a statement released Friday, county health officer Dr. Sara Cody stated she anticipates releasing a new health order next week.

"I anticipate issuing a new order next week that will mark the end of our sector-specific strategy and the beginning of a new phase, where many activities will be allowed to resume with appropriate risk reduction measures in place," she wrote. "And of course, many high-risk activities simply cannot safely resume here or elsewhere anytime soon. This new order and related materials are under development and will be shared as soon as they are ready, which I anticipate will be in the middle of next week. It will go into effect several days later, giving businesses time to put appropriate safety measures in place."

Santa Clara County recorded 100 new cases Friday, bringing the county total to 3,984. The county also announced it would be changing its methodology in reporting new cases and would now display the number of new tests administered every day.

"Both count of individuals tested and count of tests completed remain valid measures of COVID-19 response activity and the County continues to track both," a press release read. "However, the latter better measures activities in support of the Countys May 15 guidance that many individuals such as frontline workers be tested regularly."

June 26, 2:00 p.m. Contra Costa County is weighing whether to continue forward with its reopening process as the county records a 42% rise in hospitalizations over the last seven days. The county also announced a rise in the rate of positive test results, suggesting the uptick in cases "indicates a true increase in community spread."

As in other places, Contra Costa reported a rise in the number of cases in younger people, noting in April, those under 40 made up 38% of cases, but now they account for 55%. The rise could mean younger people are spreading the virus to those who may be more at-risk of hospitalization.

"There is concern that these increases may lead to a surge in very ill people that could overwhelm the local healthcare system. We realize many people are eager to resume normal activities," the release reads. "However, if we adjust the reopening timeline, it will be because we have a chance to prevent the pandemic from getting out-of-control in the county."

A push on the next stage for Contra Costa County would mean a delay in reopening for indoor dining, bars, gyms, hotels and some personal care services, including nail salons and tattoo parlors. Those businesses were previously permitted to reopen July 1.

June 26, 12:40 p.m. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state officials are directing Imperial County to re-impose a strict stay-at-home order.

Imperial County, located on California's southern border, has struggled to contain the virus in recent weeks after local officials attributed hospitalization surges to United States citizens living in Mexicali, Mexico, getting infected and coming across the border for treatment.

During a press conference Friday, Newsom stated that patients have been rerouted to hospitals in neighboring counties, such as San Bernardino and Riverside counties, to ease the burden on Imperial County's facilities, but due to recent spikes in those two counties, the state wants Imperial County to return to a stay-at-home order.

Newsom said the county's Board of Supervisors will convene to discuss returning to a strict stay-at-home order. The test positivity rate in Imperial County is 23%  a figure much higher than the state average of 5.7%. For reference, the percent positivity rate in most Bay Area counties is between 1% and 6%.

"If they are not able to come to some consensus, I am committed to intervening," the governor said.

June 26, 12:30 p.m. San Francisco will not move into the next phase of reopening Monday, Mayor London Breed announced, citing a rise of 103 new cases Thursday.

The next step allowed some higher-risk businesses to reopen, including hair salons, barbers, museums, zoos, tattoo parlors, massage establishments, nail salons, outdoor swimming and outdoor bars. The state granted San Francisco County a variance Thursday to reopen such businesses next week.

Read more from SFGATE Editor Alyssa Pereira.

June 26, 12:15 p.m. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a virtual press conference Friday that hospitalizations and ICU admissions in the state have "modestly" jumped, up 3.3% and 4.4% respectively.

There are now more than 200,000 cases in the state, with 4,890 positive cases counted in the last 24 hours. Seventy-nine people have died in the last 24 hours from COVID-19.

Newsom also added that the state has conducted 77,000 tests over the last 24 hours, and that the positivity rate in that time frame was 5.3%, a small increase from the 5.1%-positive rate recorded earlier this week. The 7-day positivity rate average is 5.7%.

June 26, 12:00 p.m. California Schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond appeared on CNN Friday to discuss new procedures and precautions for reopening California schools in the fall, noting the schools "will only open if it is safe to do so."

Thurmond added that school districts are preparing for a number of different scenarios and are open to both in-person classes and to continuing distance learning. Should the state re-launch in-class learning, schools will look different, starting with the teachers themselves.

"From our governor, we've already sent personal protective equipment to all of our 10,000 schools to be ready to be open, 14 million cloth masks, 2.4 million face shields for our teachers."

They've also measured space between desks where necessary and have explored expanding teaching areas to other parts of the school.

"Many of our childcare centers, they've been able to use outdoor portions of the campus for instruction, use the gym to broaden footprint of the campus," he said.

June 26, 10:10 a.m. Bay to Breakers, the century-old annual race across San Francisco, has been canceled for 2020. In March, the race was rescheduled from May to September, with organizers citing the coronavirus as the reason for the postponement.

But Friday, organizers say, "we have made the difficult decision to cancel the live event." The race will now follow suit with other canceled marathons across the U.S., and will "go virtual," meaning runners will independently log their runs. Bay to Breakers will also refund registrations to those who decide not to participate in the virtual run.

Read more from SFGATE Editor Alyssa Pereira here.

June 26, 8:45 a.m. An outbreak at the San Quentin Prison has now yielded more than 500 cases in inmates within the jail.

Inmates there say social distancing has been impossible, and though many are trying to take precautions by wearing a mask and washing hands regularly, infections are still spreading. One inmate says alarms at the prison ring every time an inmate is taken to the medical area; on Thursday alone, he added, it rang five times.

No official deaths have been recorded at the prison, although one man, 71-year-old Richard Stitely, who was on death row, died Wednesday. Inmates say he had been showing COVID-19 symptoms.

As of Friday morning, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports 539 cases at the jail.

June 26, 8:30 a.m. Santa Cruz will reopen its beaches beginning Friday, due in part to the fact that locals won't stop visiting, and it has become difficult for police to enforce the closure.

"We had hoped to continue the beach closure until after the Fourth of July weekend, but its become impossible for law enforcement to continue to enforce that closure, and people are not willing to be governed anymore in that regard, Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said Thursday.

The beaches had previously been closed between the hours of 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., except for those crossing to access the water.

June 26, 8:15 a.m. The Muir Woods National Monument announced the park will reopen Monday after being closed since March due to the coronavirus oubreak. The park's reopening won't see it return to business as usual, however. Park officials will curb the number of visitors each day.

While usually, the park admits up to 4,000 cars per day via reservation, on Monday Muir Woods will only allot 1,700. Pedestrians and bikers will continue to be able to enter the park without a reservation.

Additionally, the Visitor's Center will remain closed, though some park facilities, like the restrooms and cafe, will be open.

Read more from SFGATE Editor Andrew Chamings.

June 26, 7:30 a.m. Coronavirus cases in California have now surpassed the 200,000 mark, following the day which saw the highest daily total of new cases in the U.S. Thursday.

The state reported a total of 5,052 positive tests on Thursday, pushing it past the high threshold, the Mercury News reported. California also added an additional 81 deaths  more than half of which were in Los Angeles County bringing the toll in the state to 5,804.

The seven-day average for new cases in the state also jumped this week, up to 4,780 per day, though the increase may also be attributed at least in part to the more widespread availability of testing. Alameda, Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties each averaged a higher-than-previous number of cases over the last few days.

Coronavirus in the greater Bay Area: Links you need

COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENTS

Alameda County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

Contra Costa County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

Lake County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

Marin County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

Monterey County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

Napa County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

San Benito County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

San Francisco County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

San Mateo County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

Santa Clara County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

Santa Cruz County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

Solano County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

Sonoma County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Here are answers to your most frequently asked questions about coronavirus

Forget a return to normal: How experts see COVID-19 unfolding this summer

Despite protests and reopening, COVID-19 data is stable for now

WHEN WILL THE BAY AREA REOPEN?

Here are all the San Francisco restaurants reopening outdoor patio seating

Will Bay Area schools reopen in-class this fall?

Spike in coronavirus comes with economic reopening in California

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGate digital editor. Email: alyssa.pereira@sfgate.com | Twitter: @alyspereira


A doctor works on samples taken for the new coronavirus infection testing at a Ho Chi Minh City hospital, March 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

A Hanoian returning from Cameroon has tested Covid-19 positive, raising the nations active cases to 23, the Health Ministry confirmed Friday.

"Patient 353," 31, is a resident of Hanois Thach That District. He flew in from Cameroon, transiting in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Malaysia before arriving June 25 in Ho Chi Minh City on Vietnam Airlines flight VN9674.

He was quarantined upon arrival at the citys District 7 Hospital and moved to the Cu Chi field hospital in the eponymous district after he tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

On Friday afternoon, one more patient was announced Covid-19 free at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

This patient, a Vietnamese man repatriated from Russia on May 13, was admitted to the hospital on May 17. He has tested negative for the virus twice and is now in stable condition. He will remain in the hospital for medical monitoring for another 14 days.

With the latest updates, Vietnam has 23 active cases after the recovery of 330 patients. Vietnam has also gone 71 days without community transmission of the Covid-19 virus.

The nations most critical patient, a British pilot, has made great progress after being comatose for more than two months, and doctors are preparing to discharge him from HCMCs Cho Ray Hospital, where he has been treated for other serious health issues after recovering from Covid-19 more than a month ago.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected over 210 countries and territories and around 449,000 deaths have been reported so far.
The World Health Organization reported Wednesday that the fastest surge of COVID-19 is taking place in the Americas, which now has half of the 9.1 million confirmed cases globally, despite representing under 13 percent of the world population.

In a press briefing, Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the regional WHO office, lamented a tripling of confirmed cases in one month across Latin America and the Caribbean, from 690,000 to more than 2.1 million. The United States saw a 46 percent increase during the same period to a total of 2.4 million cases, the highest in the world.

The same day, Latin America and the Caribbean crossed the grim milestone of 100,000 coronavirus deaths, more than doubling in the last month. The virus has claimed more than 485,000 lives globally.

Brazil has recently been reporting the highest daily infections and deaths in the world. On Wednesday, Latin Americas largest country recorded 1,185 deaths and 42,725 cases, reaching the totals of 53,830 deaths and 1.19 million cases. Most countries in the region are now seeing increases in new daily deaths, with the highest increases in Chile, Peru and Mexico.

Dr. Etienne added that for the first time there is widespread transmission of the virus in Central America, where cases rose 28 percent in a week to nearly 60,000 and deaths increased 22 percent to 1,564. In the Caribbean, the neighboring countries of Haiti and Dominican Republic are experiencing the largest outbreaks.

The acceleration of the pandemic across the Americas is being driven by the lifting of restrictions on economic activities. This has been done to impose a prompt return to work and an aggressive increase in production, a central aim of which is to attract global finance capital as it scours the globe for profits to pay for the trillions in corporate bailouts by governments across North America and Europe.

While the fascistic president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has expressed this policy most clearly, insisting that COVID-19 is a little flu, all governments across the region are systematically abandoning their measures to contain the virus. Their policies have instead been aimed at defending the profit interests and wealth of their respective capitalist elites in the most unequal region of the world.

In Mexico, which is consistently reporting more than a thousand deaths and record new cases dailysurpassing 25,000 total deaths and 200,000 casesthe left populist president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is calling on the population to enjoy the sky, sun and fresh air.

As a result of such class-war policies, cases are growing fastest in the poorest neighborhoods, whose residents face overcrowding and limited access to potable water, health care, food, cooking gas and sanitation facilities. These areas are also most prone to underreporting of cases and even deaths.

An analysis by Forbes magazine published Wednesday found that in Mexico City, the epicenter of the accelerating pandemic in Mexico, the worst-affected areas are heavily populated low-income districts such as Iztapalapa, Ciudad Neza and Ecatepec. Nearly 8 out of every 10 patients who have died in the city were never connected to a ventilator.

In the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, where president Alberto Fernandez decreed yesterday the ending of obligatory quarantines for much of the country, more than 42 percent of COVID-19 cases and the largest recent surges have been reported among the 2 million people who live in the villas or slums.

For the PAHO and epidemiological experts, the central concern is that workers are being driven back to workplaces by halting any economic assistance to laid-off workers and the hundreds of millions who survive day by day in the informal sector that is being decimated by the crisis.

In her most severe warning during the pandemic, Dr. Etienne said on Wednesday: We will not overcome this crisis without addressing the needs of the most vulnerable: those most likely to fall sick and the least likely to receive care, such as indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, the urban poor and migrant populations. If we neglect them, we run the risk of the next two years looking like the past few months.

Dr. Etienne insisted on the early detection of suspect cases, laboratory testing, contact tracing and quarantine as the foundation of a targeted and sustainable strategy to control COVID-19, and said that the risk of reemergence will always remain unless we flatten the curve regionally and globally.

Yesterday, epidemiological researchers at Santiago University in Chile echoed the PAHOs warnings in criticizing the regional quarantines in Chile. Dr. Angelica Verdugo said that the issue consists in the conditions of enormous inequality for those quarantines If only 57 percent of the poorest [two quintiles] has received aid in money or food, it means that they are in no condition to obey the quarantine because they have no food security.

Dr. Verdugo then denounced the economic pressures to force workers to return to nonessential workplaces. And those forced to go to work are the poorest people, those with scarce resources.

The directives by health experts, however, are falling on deaf ears.

Regionally, the earlier lockdowns, which were not even implemented in some countries, are being replaced by colored maps and semaphores with varying levels of restrictions. While often claiming to base their decisions on undisclosed epidemiological reports, government officials are justifying the reopenings on the basis of protecting productive life and economic development, regardless of the rising toll in human lives.

The social conditions underlying the developing social catastrophe across Latin America are the product of a century of neocolonial plundering of the regions resources and labor by US and European imperialism. Nonetheless, all established political forces in the regionfrom the fascistic regime in Brazil and the right-wing governments in Colombia, Chile and Bolivia to the left nationalist authorities in Argentina, Mexico and Venezuelaare intent on further subordinating social and economic life to the imperative of competing for investments and markets for their products.

For this purpose, the ruling class seeks to capitalize on the pandemic crisis to accelerate its shift toward dictatorship and intensify the levels of exploitation. However, the class tensions that erupted in the mass protests and strike waves last year across Latin America, most significantly in Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia, have only increased. The official response to the pandemic, spearheaded by the return-to-work campaign, will thus further escalate the class struggle.

Initial signs of this growing opposition among workers include wildcat strikes across maquiladoras along Mexicos border with the US, strikes by transportation workers in Peru, and constant protests by medical professionals across the entire region demanding proper protective equipment.

In a recent statement, the International Committee of the Fourth International explained: All the actions required to stop the virusthe shutdown of nonessential production, quarantining, mass testing and contact tracingrun up against the profit interests of the ruling class. Ensuring support for all those impacted by these measures requires a massive redirection of social resources.

In other words, the only social force determined and capable of the necessary fight against the pandemic is the international working class, and this fight can be won only as part of a struggle against capitalism and for the transformation of the global economy on socialist foundations. This struggle requires the building of sections of the ICFI in every country across Latin America and the world.
Manitoba's chief public health officer spoke up for the province's long-haul truckers Thursday, saying they've been unfairly stigmatized during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/6/2020 (576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba's chief public health officer spoke up for the province's long-haul truckers Thursday, saying they've been unfairly stigmatized during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At a news conference, Dr. Brent Roussin said he's been disappointed to hear about such drivers being "refused service and treated adversely" in certain situations.

"We shouldn't be stigmatizing truck drivers; we should be thanking them," he said.

It wasn't the first time Roussin has gone out of his way to recognize truckers. On Wednesday he tweeted: "Truck drivers have kept Manitobans supplied with essential goods during #COVID19 and I want to thank them for their hard work and dedication during this challenging time."

Long-haul truckers often drive to jurisdictions with much higher COVID-19 incidence rates than in Manitoba. In the past 10 days, several provincial novel coronavirus cases have involved truck drivers.

The last two Manitoba cases  one identified Wednesday and another Thursday  are "individuals involved in the trucking industry... and are travel-related," a provincial spokeswoman said.

Truckers have been taking risks to ensure Manitobans have the goods they need and have been careful to limit any potential exposure to the virus, Roussin says.

"They're professionals. They're taking extra (precautions), and we're not seeing a number of contacts related to these cases," he said.

Truckers have been taking risks to ensure Manitobans have the goods they need and have been careful to limit any potential exposure to the virus, Roussin says. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Terry Shaw, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association, said only eight of the 316 COVID-19 cases recorded in the province to date have been truck drivers.

Yet, they've suffered discrimination in public other essential workers, such as nurses and first responders, have not faced, he said.

For example, he said, last week, a long-haul trucker, who was not working at the time, parked his semi at a chain restaurant in Winnipeg and walked into the establishment with his wife.

After patrons pointed out he was a truck driver, a front-counter staff member told the couple the restaurant, which Shaw did not name, would not seat them but would provide them with food to go.

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The truck driver had explained while he does travel out of province for his work, he was not experiencing any coronavirus symptoms and in his role as an essential service worker he is exempt from self-isolating for 14 days upon his return to Manitoba.

After the incident, the trucking association contacted the restaurant chain, which admitted the couple should not have been refused table service. It said it would take steps to ensure it would not happen again.

Shaw said while such incidents are not common, they shouldn't happen at all.

Long-haul truckers spend most of their working days alone, he said. When they stop at a shipping facility, cross the border and come back to their home base, they follow strict health and safety protocols that limit opportunities for the spread of the coronavirus.

"The people in that restaurant probably came into contact with more people in that day than a trucker would have in their work week," Shaw said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Singapore  Fri, June 26, 2020 18:00 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661fb34e 2 SE Asia Singapore,British,coronavirus,coronavirus-restrictions,COVID-19,COVID-19-lockdown,pandemic Free

Four British men have been banned from working in Singapore after going on a pub crawl in a breach of coronavirus curbs that sparked fury in the city-state, authorities said.

Singapore has been hit by a serious outbreak with tens of thousands of infections detected in dormitories housing foreign workers.

In April it imposed a partial lockdown to contain the virus, with people only allowed to leave their homes for essential purposes. Social gatherings were banned.

The Britons, all in their 30s, met at a popular bar and restaurant district in May when restrictions were still in place.

The men went to three bars and drank beer outside for about 45 minutes, local media reported. At the time, customers were allowed to order takeaway alcohol but not drink inside the premises.

Pictures of the group drinking outside circulated widely on social media, with some angrily complaining that foreigners were breaching restrictions at a time Singaporeans were being charged for violations.

They "knew but did not care that they were breaking the law by engaging in a pub crawl," a prosecutor said this week during a court hearing after the men pleaded guilty to breaking virus rules, according to local broadcaster CNA.

They were fined Sg$9,000 (US$6,500) each, and the ministry of manpower Thursday revoked their work permits and banned them from working in the city-state.

People are typically allowed to stay in Singapore for some time after their work passes are cancelled.

An American couple were also fined and banned from working in Singapore after they went to buy food in the same area, and stopped to buy takeaway beer.

They then offered a beer to an Austrian man, and the trio chatted for half an hour. The Austrian, a Singapore permanent resident, was fined.
FP Trending

A giant asteroid named 441987 shot past Earth on Wednesday, 24 June early in the morning.

According to a report by Express UK that cited NASA, the asteroid measures somewhere between 140 metres and 310 metres, which means that it is three times bigger than the 96-metre tall Big Ben.

The report mentions that the asteroid is travelling at a speed of 46,400 kmph and passed by at a distance of 3.76 million kilometres. This makes it a Near-Earth Object.

According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), NEO's are comets and asteroids that have been "nudged by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter the Earths neighbourhood."

The report by NASA further mentions that as leftover blocks of heavenly bodies from the time of the solar system formation, comets and asteroids offer clues to the chemical mixture from which the planets formed some 4.6 billion years ago.

According to a report by Mirror UK, NASA had earlier said that no one should be overly concerned about the Earth impact of an asteroid or comet.

According to NASA, the threat to a person from auto accidents, disease and other natural disasters are much higher than the threat from NEOs.

The 441987 or 2010 NY65 was discovered on 10 July 2019 by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft. According to NASA, the asteroid made close approaches to Earth from 2015 to 2022, thus making it an excellent candidate for observation.
The best friend of missing camper Russell Hill believes his mate was attacked after speaking to him hours before he vanished.

Mr Hill, 74, went camping with Carol Clay, 73, in the remote Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria's Gippsland region in March and they have not been seen or heard from since.

Rob Ashlin, a friend of Mr Hill's for almost three decades, is the last known person to speak to him via an amateur radio network around 6pm on March 20.

The couple disappeared sometime within the next 18 hours and their campsite was found with the tent burned to the ground and Mr Hill's Toyota Land Cruiser sitting next to it.

Russell Hill, 74, (pictured left) and Carol Clay, 73, (right) vanished while on a camping trip in the remote Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria's Gippsland region in March

Mr Hill's white Toyota Landcruiser was found with minor fire damage at their burnt campsite near Dry River Creek Track in the valley on March 21

Mr Ashlin said Mr Hill was an experienced camper who seemed upbeat and positive during their final conversation, The Herald Sun reported.

The friend said it was unlike Mr Hill to leave his camp unattended and believed the suspicious fire was set as a 'decoy' for an attack.

'Russell would never, ever leave his vehicle.

'He's been attacked, I believe there is more than one person involved,' Mr Ashlin explained.

Mr Hill had asked Mr Ashlin for directions to Dargo, about 70km away, and said he planned to drive there soon.

Mr Ashlin became concerned when his friend did not check in on the radio network the following night.

'The radio network was like a security safety net between all of us whenever we were away camping,' he said.

Mr Hills wife Robyn was also concerned by his absence from the radio network and soon reported it to police, prompting a mass search effort.

Three months have passed and there is no sign of the couple despite a massive search of the surrounding area.

Search and rescue officers believe the couple are not in the zone they have already searched and want to talk to people who were in the Wonnangatta area when the pair disappeared.

The couple are believed to have been in a secret relationship and didn't tell anyone where they were going. Ms Clay just told friends she would be gone for a few days.

Mr Hill's longtime friend Rob Ashlin believes the couple were attacked. Months of searches (pictured) have found no trace of the pair

Police sources have told Daily Mail Australia that police remained open minded about exactly what had happened to the pair.

Foul play is strongly suspected on the balance of probabilities, but there is no evidence and no suspects.

Another possibility is that the couple were flying Mr Hill's $2,000 drone and died of exposure after getting lost off the path looking for it.

The third is that they died lost in the bush, but have not been found because wild dogs ate their remains before rescuers found them.

Police are confident the pair did not fake their own deaths and do not believe it's case of murder suicide.

The pair went missing in the Wonnangatta Valley, more than 200km north east of Melbourne

The key to unlocking the case may have gone up in flames with the fire that destroyed their campsite.

Mr Hill's Toyota four-wheel-drive had been found by local police next to his burnt-out tent, but the pair were gone without a trace.

The vehicle itself had also sustained damage in the fire, but was still able to be driven away from the scene.

At the time, police had believed the fire was probably started by a dodgy phone charger or campfire spark and the couple had simply been lost in the forest.

But the fire could also have been lit by a thief rummaging around in the tent - or by a murderer trying to cover their tracks.

A spare set of keys was found hidden on the car, but it is believed Mr Hill took the main set with him.

The car was locked, indicating that the pair left the campsite voluntarily, probably to go for a walk or fly the drone.

The drone remains missing despite an extensive search that ended on April 6 without anyone finding a trace of them.

Russell Hill hangs onto a drone that he had with him when he went missing. The drone has not been found despite an extensive search of the area

A drone similar to the one that remains missing

If wild dogs had found the pair before police, their remains could have been eaten and scattered to the point they would be missed by searchers.

Dogs would have had plenty time to scavenge on the bodies because the pair were not reported missing for some days after their likely deaths.

Mr Hill had left his Drouin home on March 19 for a camping trip along the Dargo River in Victoria's northeast and planned to leave the region on March 26.

Ms Clay, meanwhile, had told friends she was going away for a few days and expected to be home by March 28 or 29.

Mr Hill had been a keen amateur radio enthusiast and made his last broadcast from the bush on March 20.

'This place is in the middle of nowhere,' the source said. 'It's just problematic in the extreme.'

Police are now certain the couple died within 18 hours after Mr Hill's last message, as a passing hiker saw the burned-out campsite about 2pm the next day.

Because the pair weren't due back until up to a week later, the alarm wasn't raised for days and precious time was lost.

The police source said despite the delay in the missing person squad being brought into investigate the case, the fire ravaged camp site was thoroughly investigated at the time.

Personal belongings (circled) were left in Russell Hill's vehicle, which sustained fire damage when his tent went up in flames

Carol Clay, 73, who was once the President of the Country Women's Association of Victoria, had been in a relationship with Russell Hill for many years in the lead up to their disappearance

Last month, bizarre new details emerged of an 'oddball loner' living in the Victorian Alps, who has been questioned over a number of mysterious disappearances.

Known as 'Buttons' or ominously, 'the Button Man', the expert bushman became a person of interest after concerns about his odd behaviour was raised by locals.

He is understood to have earned his nickname due to his hobby of using deer antlers to make buttons - which he then uses as large ear piercings.

'Being creepy is not illegal,' a police source has told Daily Mail Australia.

A police source confirmed there was nothing to indicate the mysterious loner had killed the couple, but what happened to them remains unknown.

'We don't think they're in Queensland living (a secret) life. They're too old really to drop off the grid and why would they?' the source said.

Police believe it is more likely than not that the pair met with foul play while out in the remote wilderness.

The area itself is considered an ideal spot to commit murder.

A new image of Mr Hill's white Toyota Landcruiser. It was found with minor fire damage at their burnt campsite near Dry River Creek Track in the valley on March 21

Victoria Police Missing Persons Squad Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper is leading the investigation into the mystery

Phone reception is practically nil and unlike some other areas popular with hikers, the remote Wonnangatta Valley does not see a lot of foot or road traffic.

While cold-blooded murder was an avenue of investigation, detectives remain open to all kinds of scenarios.

'There are a lot of people who go up there and do illegal stuff. Like people who go hunting in the national park and ride motorcycles. Has he had a dispute with one of them that turned bad?' the source said.

The pair had been carrying out a secret affair for years behind the back of Mr Hill's wife Robyn, who has described Ms Clay as a 'long time family friend'.

While the relationship was largely hidden from Mr Hill's devastated wife, it has been well known to police since the pair were reported missing by Mrs Hill days after her husband last made contact via radio.

When questioned about the couple's relationship in April, Victoria Police Missing Persons Squad Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper skirted around the question.

'It is delicate and we are being very respectful of both families wishes and concerns here,' he said at the time.

Russell Hill and Carol Clay were last heard from on March 20, with Mr Hill's wife unaware he was travelling with another woman

'Both of these people have large and loving families who are grieving at the moment, and they want answers about where their loved ones are.'

While detectives probed the couple's relationship, it was quickly ruled out as a likely reason for their mysterious disappearance.

Police are desperate for people who may have been in the area at the time to let them know so that they can be ruled out of the investigation.

Detectives are also keen to learn if anyone may be hanging onto dash cam footage that could help identify other leads.

It is understood the case remained 'very wide open'.

'It's a genuine mystery,' the source said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 00
Additional reporting by Paul Hosford and Aoife Moore

Green leader Eamon Ryan has said there is a "sense of responsibility" now on his party after 76% of members who voted backed the government deal with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, paving the way for the new coalition.

Some 76% of members voted yes and 24% voted no, meaning the two thirds threshold needed was reached.

A special sitting of the Dail will proceed today in Dublin's convention centre, where Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin will be voted in as the new Taoiseach.

The approval came after Fine Gael and Fianna Fail members earlier also gave their backing.

Speaking after the historic vote, Mr Ryan said there was a sense of responsibility on the party now and it had a job to do

He pledged that the Greens would work with their coalition partners as well as the Opposition in the Dail, to tackle issues such as sustaining the environment.

Without stable nature, there is no security for any of us, said Mr Ryan

Deputy leader Catherine Martin said that some members would be "disappointed" with the outcome. The total valid poll was 1,892, with 1,435 members voting yes and 457 voting no.

She said the goal of the Greens in government would be the implementation of policies.

We will work every day to ensure this programme for government works for everyone.

Fianna Fail voted to approve the deal by a margin of 74% to 26%.

The resounding margin was far above what some had predicted, with fears early on Friday that the party's membership would be narrowly split on the deal. In the end, 8,194 members of the 11,000 ballots voted in favour of the coalition with the Green Party and Fine Gael.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, gestures after announcing that Fianna Fail members have backed a deal to restore coalition Government. Picture: Damien Eagers/PA Wire

Only one constituency - Galway West - voted against the deal, with the home of longtime opponent to the coalition Eamon O Cuiv voting 235-131 against the deal. Party leader Micheal Martin's constituency of Cork South Central voted 94% in favour of the programme, with just eight members against.

Mr Martin said that the engagement in the "unique and historic exercise" was "very energetic".

"Democracy in our party is alive and well. I am delighted that the Programme for Government has been so overwhelmingly endorsed. I am grateful to the members for that. I am anxious we get on with the business of government."

Mr Martin said that he had not personally thought about the prospect of becoming the first Cork-born Taoiseach since Jack Lynch.

Fine Gael members voted in favour of the deal, 80% to 20%. Up to 674 votes were received in the special delegate conference, a 95% turnout.

All four sections of the electoral college in Fine Gael voted for the deal: A result that Fine Gael president Leo Varadkar said he "wasn't entirely sure" he'd win, and said it was a strong mandate for entering government.

"As president of Fine Gael I'm pleased to confirm that my party has voted 80% to 20% in favour of joining the coalition, all sections of the party, parliamentarians, national executive and constituencies voted in favour," he said.

"So Fine Gael is going to enter a third term in government and this new coalition united and strong, and we're looking forward to helping get the country through the Covid emergency, getting people back to work, businesses open and pursuing some of the reforms we got started in the last couple of years."

Mr Varadkar said he would be phoning colleagues to inform them of Cabinet positions on Saturday.


BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks advanced on Friday as a slew of positive company updates as well as hopes of more global stimulus helped offset concerns about a resurgence in U.S Covid-19 cases.



Sentiment was also bolstered after U.S. regulators eased bank rules that will free up billions of capital.



Closer home, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the worst of the coronavirus crisis may be over for the world, but the recovery will be restrained and incomplete.



The pan European Stoxx 600 rose by 0.9 percent to 363.15 after climbing 0.7 percent on Thursday. The German DAX gained 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 index rallied 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 1.5 percent.



Wirecard AG shares extended losses to plunge another 47 percent after the payments company filed for insolvency.



Software AG shares rose over 1 percent. The enterprise software company said it expects to break through the 1 billion euros revenue mark in 2023.



Vonovia SE, a residential property company, rallied 1.3 percent. The company is entering Dutch Residential Market with the acquisition of a 2.6 percent stake in Vesteda Residential Fund.



Air France-KLM shares jumped 3.4 percent after governments of France and Netherlands reached a deal on an aid package for the airline group.



AMS declined 1.7 percent. The company rejected media allegations of unlawful trading by management during its takeover of Osram.



Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB or H&M Group lost 2 percent. The company reported second-quarter loss after tax, excluding IFRS 16, of 5.03 billion Swedish kronor, compared to net income of 4.57 billion kronor in the prior year.



easyJet climbed 2.3 percent as it reported the sale and leaseback of six A320neo aircraft to boost liquidity amid the Covid-19 pandemic.



Aston Martin plunged 10 percent after the carmaker said it would raise about 260m by selling new shares.



Pub operator Marston's tumbled 4.3 percent after saying it was uncertain about its financial outlook in the short-term.



Weir Group surged 6.5 percent after the engineering company completed refinancing of its main banking facilities.



In economic news, French consumer confidence improved to a three-month high in June as coronavirus containment measures were relaxed, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed.



The consumer sentiment index advanced to 97 in June from 93 in May. Although the score was above economists' forecast of 95, the reading was below its long-term average of 100.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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AGE awarded SA Govt ADI funding and JMEI Distribution

Brisbane, June 26, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Alligator Energy ( ASX:AGE ) is pleased to announce it has been successful in its application as part of the South Australia (SA) Government's Advanced Discovery Initiative (ADI) Scheme. Following a stage 2 application to the Scheme in March of this year, the company has now been awarded $152,400 towards its "Greenfields exploration for ISR uranium deposits in the Cooper Basin".Key Highlights- Alligator awarded $152,400 exploration grant by SA Government towards its Greenfields ISR uranium exploration at the Big Lake project in the Cooper Basin.- Funding eligible to support a range of activities from initial seismic reprocessing leading to targeted passive seismic or EM geophysics through to potential drilling.- Exploration at the Big Lake project is targeting the discovery of channel hosted roll front resources comparable to existing resources such as Honeymoon, Four Mile and Beverley within the State.- Proprietary reprocessing of existing open-file 3D seismic data to be commenced.- Alligator is also pleased to confirm that Distribution Notices for JMEI Credits totalling $336,958 relating to the 2019-20 tax year have been despatched to Shareholders who participated in 2018-19 capital raisings.Funding is provided through the ADI Scheme, which forms part of the South Australian Government's Growth State Agenda, with the aim to accelerate mineral discovery through innovative exploration and research projects in regional and frontier terrains throughout South Australia.Alligator will use the grant to commence exploration activities on the Big Lake project. Initially proprietary reprocessing of existing seismic geophysics covering the license will be conducted with a view to defining shallow stratigraphy, palaeochannels and target regions from deep focused petroleum seismic datasets. Subsequent targeted geophysical surveys, and drilling will then be planned and conducted.Greg Hall, Alligator CEO said "We are hugely excited to receive such support and secure this funding from the South Australian Government to kick start exploration at our Big Lake Project! The grant combined with easing of access restrictions is the catalyst required to kick start exploration of the Big Lake project.The South Australian ADI Scheme is a fantastic program with strong competition for funding and shows the Departments committed and ongoing support towards the mineral industry with a combined $10m in grants to be awarded as part of the scheme.We are also very pleased to be able to return significant value through the Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive Scheme to those Shareholders who supported our capital raisings in 2018-19. In total both the above represents nearly $0.5 million additional value to Shareholders of the company."Big Lake Project SummaryThe Big Lake Uranium Project concept targets the margins of deep seated dome structures associated with known gas reservoirs within the Moomba Gas Fields of South Australia. REDOX and roll front uranium mineralisation is theorised to be hosted within the overlying sandstones of the Lake Eyre formation sourced from distal U-rich source rocks transported as oxidised fluids through palaeochannels.Proprietary isopach modeling completed by BLU showing variations in basement lithology depths due to constraining ridge lines and Hydrocarbon influenced domes has highlighted prospective ground within the cooper basin. Historic exploration is limited with only one known phase of uranium exploration conducted in the region which targeted known gamma anomalies around historic oil and gas wells. Anomalous uranium was identified during this past exploration which failed to test palaeochannels along which uranium is believed to have been transported and deposited within roll-front and REDOX environments proximal to dome margins.Strategy for the proposed work program1. The delineation of key target palaeochannels through:a. Reprocess open-file 3D seismic to determine best detail and location of palaeochannelsb. Undertake targeted geophysical surveys2. Commence drilling campaign to scout drill channels using RAB or aircoreThe outcome of this work program will result in the testing of the BLU project to potential uranium discovery level.Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive (JMEI) Credit DistributionIn March 2018, the Federal Parliament passed legislation introducing the JMEI Scheme with effect from 1 July 2017 for a four-year period based on an annual application process. The ATO is the administrator of the Scheme. The JMEI Scheme encourages investment in small mineral exploration companies that carry out "greenfields" mineral exploration in Australia, by allowing such companies to generate a tax incentive by choosing to give up a portion of their losses from "greenfields" mineral exploration expenditure for distribution to investors. The Scheme enables eligible exploration companies to create refundable tax credits to distribute to eligible shareholders.Alligator is now pleased to confirm that Distribution Notices for JMEI Credits relating to the 2019- 20 tax year have been despatched to Shareholders who participated in 2018-19 capital raisings conducted through both a Rights Issue and subsequent Placement by BW Equities. A total of $336,958 in JMEI Credits (calculated at a tax rate of 27.5%) were distributed to this eligible group of Shareholders. Australian resident shareholders that are issued with JMEI credits will generally be entitled to refundable tax offsets (for individual shareholders or superannuation funds) or franking credits (for companies). Receiving a JMEI credit could have tax consequences and Shareholders who are issued JMEI credits by Alligator should obtain independent tax advice specific to their personal circumstances.To view details on the JMEI Scheme, please visit:About Alligator Energy Ltd

Alligator Energy Ltd (ASX:AGE) is an Australian, ASX-listed, exploration company focused on uranium and energy related minerals, principally cobalt-nickel.

Alligator's Directors have significant experience in the exploration, development and operations of both uranium and nickel projects (both laterites and sulphides).
Hundreds of tickets have already been sold in an online raffle benefiting UCF Chabad's vital work enhancing Jewish life at UCF and Valencia.

All of the proceeds gleaned from the $36 tickets will go directly to fund programming; including a grand prize of $10,000, a second prize of two tickets to Israel and various other prizes.

The last few months as we are all dealing with the effects of the COVID-19, UCF Chabad has once again seen how vital their work is with the student community. Now more than ever, students are looking for meaning, connection, inspiration, and community. Every week C...
Twice, University of North Georgia (UNG) rising senior Zoe Rumbaugh has applied for a Critical Language Scholarship, and twice she was disappointed. In late spring 2020, she received some exciting news.

Rumbaugh and rising junior Phillip Ly were awarded the Freeman Awards for Study in Asia (Freeman-ASIA), which provide scholarships for U.S. undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need to study abroad in East or Southeast Asia.

"Honestly, I was surprised," said Rumbaugh, who explained her study abroad trip was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. "I knew I couldn't go this time because of the coronavirus, but I was still excited. I have also learned they will let me roll it over for next summer."

The 20-year-old from Roswell, Georgia, will use the scholarship funds for a study abroad to Taiwan. Ly, who won three other scholarships to study abroad, will use the money for study abroad trips to Japan.

"Winning the Freeman-ASIA scholarship definitely showed that I put in the work to receive the scholarships, and I won't stop at four," said the 19-year-old from Forest Park, Georgia.

Ly noted while he may not be able to defer all of his scholarships, a couple may be used next year. Earlier this year, he won the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, the Fund for Education Abroad scholarship and the Boren scholarship.

Ly, who is pursuing a degree in strategic and security studies, said the immersive experience of a study abroad to Japan will help him achieve his future goals. The member of the Corps of Cadets aims to work in the State Department or become a translator for the military.

"I know people who have learned another language are several steps ahead of those who don't," said Ly, who plans to commission as a second lieutenant in the Georgia National Guard upon graduation.

Rumbaugh, who is pursuing degrees in East Asian studies and modern languages with a Chinese for global professionals concentration, has a similar aspiration to Ly. She dreams of being a translator.

"Translation requires a strong language ability and a good understanding of the culture, country and surrounding area," she said. "With a study abroad experience, I will be more sensitive and accurate with my translations because I will be aware of the cultural differences."

Rumbaugh's bonus includes learning about her birth country. She was adopted from China, which sparked her interest in the language and culture.

"I knew if I wanted to understand the country that I was born in and its culture, then I needed to learn the language," she said.

Rumbaugh studied Chinese in high school and attended UNG's Summer Language Institute, which cemented her decision to major in the language and culture. She then chose to attend UNG because of its Chinese Language Flagship program despite being a dual-enrolled student elsewhere.

"After I came here, I found more that made me want to stay," said Rumbaugh, who is a resident assistant and a member of the Honors Program on UNG's Dahlonega Campus. "Through the Flagship program, I attend different events and have access to great professors and tutors in my field of study. The Chinese Flagship program and being an RA made me glad that I'm at UNG."

Ly, who picked UNG for the Corps of Cadets, said UNG's faculty and staff have helped him succeed.

"I definitely could not have done it without the help of Dr. Anastasia Lin and Dr. Victoria Hightower from the Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships," he said. "They walked me through the process and gave me the necessary critique for my essays to be successful."

Lin is vice president of research and engagement at UNG, and Hightower is associate professor of history and assistant director of Nationally Competitive Scholarships.

Students interested in learning more about nationally competitive scholarships, including Freeman-ASIA, should contact ncs@ung.edu for more information. Students interested in learning about study abroad opportunities through various programs may visit UNG's Center for Global Engagement.
The fire comes amid preparations for President Trumps visit to the monument for Fourth of July celebrations and fireworks next week. The state called in 117 firefighters, including from Colorado and Wyoming. Some wildfire experts have raised concerns that the pyrotechnics could spark more fires, especially because the region has seen dry weather this year. The fire started in Custer State Park on Wednesday burned an estimated 60 acres about 6 miles south of the 79-year-old stone monument. The governors office initially said the fire spanned 150 acres.
Ryanair has called on the EU Commission to block what it claims is "illegal state aid" of 3.4 billion to KLM.

The financing package was announced by the Dutch government to help its flag carrier survive during the coronavirus pandemic.

Conditions include a requirement for KLM to cut costs by 15pc, improve the airlines sustainability and reduce the number of night flights it carries out at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.

But Ryanair claims the package is "illegal", bad for consumers, and equates to "a subsidy of 200 on behalf of every man, woman and child of Holland".

"For this 200 KLM subsidy, every Dutch man, woman and child could buy five flights with Ryanair, instead of paying for the failure and inefficiency at Air France-KLM," CEO Michael O'Leary said.

KLM is part of the Air-France-KLM group since 2004.

O'Leary also called on the European Commission to block what he termed "subsidy doping" that would reduce competition.

Ryanair has aggressively opposed state rescue packages for European airlines, billing a 9 billion bailout of Lufthansa which gave the German government a 20pc stake as a "waste of taxpayers' money", for example.

However, KLM says it is "an unprecedented crisis" due to Covid-19 and that the financing was necessary to secure its future.

"With the financing package, KLM can continue to fulfil its important social role in economic recovery and sustainability," said CEO Pieter Elbers, who added that it would enable the airline to draw up a restructuring plan and adapt "to the changed economic reality".

KLM is a strategic asset for the Netherlands, and Im pleased to have seen the country rally around this national champion during this very challenging period," added Benjamin Smith, CEO of the Air France-KLM Group.

The Dutch state aid to KLM comes in addition to a 7 billion funding package granted by the French State to Air France this May.

The package is subject to parliamentary approval in the Netherlands.

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Pakistani opposition parties criticized Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday after he told parliament that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been "martyred" in 2011 by U.S. forces. Bin Laden, who masterminded the 9/11 attacks on the United States, was killed in a raid on his hideout in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad after eluding detection for nearly 10 years.

Pakistan was not aware of the operation, which involved U.S. helicopters flying deep into the country from Afghanistan. "I will never forget how we Pakistanis were embarrassed when the Americans came into Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden, martyred him," Khan said in his speech while recounting the lows of the relationship between Islamabad and Washington.

Opposition leader Khawaja Asif, the foreign minister in the last government, was among those who objected to the remark. He described bin Laden as the "ultimate terrorist". "He destroyed my nation, and he (Khan) is calling him a martyr," Asif said in his reply on the floor of the house.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whose Pakistan Peoples Party was in power when bin Laden was killed, accused the prime minister of appeasing violent extremism. The government's spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Khan's remarks and the opposition leaders' criticism.

Khan's speech came as the country's foreign office hit out at a U.S. State Department report that accused Pakistan of continuing to be a safe haven for "regionally focused terrorist groups". "While the report recognizes that al Qaeda has been seriously degraded in the region, it neglects to mention Pakistan's crucial role in decimating al Qaeda, thereby diminishing the threat that the terrorist group once posed to the world," a foreign office statement said on Thursday.

Also read: Pakistan to continue on 'grey list' of terror financing watchdog; here's why
Bollywood's diva Sonam Kapoor recently shared beautiful birthday wishes for her BFF Samyukta Nair who turned a year older on June 26. The actress shared a series of pictures on her Instagram page to celebrate the special day. Sonam while penning her sweet wishes wrote that no one can understand the inseparable bond between the two as they have been best friends since the time they were born.

Sonam Kapoor's birthday wishes BFF Samyukta Nair

In one of the pictures, the gorgeous actress can be seen in a conversation with the birthday girl. In the second picture, Samyukta can be seen hopping on someones back on a beach while posing for the picture. In the third one, she can be seen hugging her friend while striking a pose for the camera. While captioning the post, the Neerja actress extended the beautiful birthday wishes and called her a sunshine on a rainy day. Sonam tagged Samyukta as her sibling. She thanked the birthday girl for putting up with all her quarantine shenanigans and calling her out for the same. At last, she wrote that Samyukta is the best friend any person can have.

Read: Sonam Kapoor's Films That Did Not See Happy Ending For Her Characters

Read: Sonam Kapoor Featured In These Memorable Songs From 'Players'

As per reports, Samyukta is the daughter of Madhu and Dinesh Nair, co-chairman and MD of The Leela hotel group. She and her father started the gourmet Indian restaurant brand Jamavar which has five restaurants in India and one in London. Samyukta attended the hospitality management institute Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne in Switzerland before joining the family business.

Sonam is very close to her friends, so much so that she can even skip her work for them just bring a smile on their face. In 2017, on Samyuktas birthday, despite Sonam Kapoors shooting schedules for Pad Man, she took off to Sri Lanka to ring in Samyuktas birthday with her girl gang. The others included her sister Rhea Kapoor and the designer, Shehla Khan. This bestie group also has Pooja Dhingra and Masaba Gupta.

Celebrations turned double for the actress who even shared a post to commemorate the birthday of her cousin brother, Arjun Kapoor. On Arjun's special day, sisters Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and Rhea Kapoor posted adorable wishes for Arjun Kapoor. Sonam Kapoor Ahuja shared a series of childhood pictures with Arjun on her Instagram handle. The first picture shows the two stars looking super cute as they sit in a car together. Arjun Kapoor's somber expression in the next pic can't be missed.

Read: 5 Times Sonam Kapoor's Statements Reflected Her Love For Her Family

Read: Arjun Kapoor's Bday Wishes From Sonam Kapoor & Rhea Kapoor Scream 'love & Hugs'; See Posts

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.
She took to Instagram on Wednesday and shared about visiting her first winery, which was in a small town of Buellton in Santa Barbara County, California.

One day later and Courtney Stodden moved her summer getaway to the coastline for a day of sailing on the Pacific Ocean.

Turns out all the fun in the sun on the water sparked fond memories of spending time on a lake with her estranged father when she was a girl.

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Emotional: Courtney Stodden, 25, got emotional about her estranged father when she shared about going sailboating in the Santa Barbara region on Thursday

The Instagram model, 25, made the personal confession in the caption of a photo showing her soaking in the sun in a silver-patterned bikini as she sipped on a glass of white wine.

'Freedom #sailing fun fact: when I was little and super close with my daddy, he'd take me out on his boat and we'd get to the lake where wed go super fast!!!' she wrote before going deeper into her emotions regarding her father, who she claims 'doesn't want anything to do with her'.

'Ill always hold my father in my heart but never do i feel closer to him than when I'm on the water. It's weird feeling like your father is dead but he's actually alive.'

'She concluded the heartfelt confession by adding, 'Sucks! For now, I'll love him from the ocean.'

Living the good life: The Instagram model also shared a quick video of her time on the ocean

Summer getaway: One day earlier, the Instagram model took to Instagram and talked about visiting her first winery in Santa Barbara County

Summer breeze: The Washington state native shared a series of photos of herself striking poses in a yellow spaghetti-strap dress

Never one to be shy to show off her enhanced curves, the Washington state native shared a series of photos of herself striking poses at the Pence Winery in the Santa Barbara region on Wednesday.

'My first winery ... yes, I got drunk,' she wrote in the caption along with the hashtags: #winery #wine #winetasting'

Stodden most recently went public with their troubled relationship when she wished her dad, Alex, a happy Father's Day earlier in the week.

'Happy Fathers Day to a man Ill always love. I yearn for your support and love every single day. Maybe before either of us pass, we can say I love you and hug one another again. Until then, take care, Dad. #fathersday,' she wrote along with a throwback photo of the pair when she was a young girl.

Family drama: Stodden has had a fractured relationship with her father since she left home at 16 and married then 51-year old Doug Hutchinson

Heartbreaking: Stodden says her father doesn't want anything to do with her

The pair have had a fractured relationship since Stodden left home at 16 and married then 51-year old Doug Hutchinson.

'My father told me to never contact him again and that he does not have a daughter,' she revealed on social media last year.

'The thing is, if my father doesn't want to be a FATHER then I need to finally accept that,' she added at the time.

The publicity surrounding Stodden as a teen bride with a man more than 34-years her senior led to appearances on numerous reality television shows like Couples Therapy, with Hutchinson, and Celebrity Big Brother.

Over the years, the couple separated several times and eventually Stodden filed for divorce from Hutchinson in March 2018, that was later finalized just three months ago.
While Pence acknowledged the rising numbers of cases in the South and the West, he sought to play down the threat while heaping praise on Trump for how he has handled the pandemic. The vice president argued that many of the new cases are being found in younger Americans, who are at less risk of developing deadly complications from the virus than older Americans are. He also argued that states have told him they have enough medical equipment to deal with the surge in infections and repeated the misleading claim that more testing is the main reason for the rising numbers of cases.
The former Post Office boss at the centre of an IT scandal has stepped down from a Church of England ethics committee.

Paula Vennells, 61, has taken a leave of absence from the Churchs ethical investment advisory group.

It follows a complaint that the part-time priest breached the groups code of conduct because of her tenure as chief executive of the Post Office between 2012 and 2019.

Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of Post Office staff were sacked, bankrupted or wrongly convicted after cash appeared to vanish from their tills.

Mrs Vennells made the decision to fight postmasters in court in a compensation battle that cost the taxpayer 90million, despite being told years earlier that there could be flaws in the IT system

It was later ruled that shortfalls in the accounts of branches were the result of flaws in the Post Offices IT system, called Horizon.

Figures suggests more than 1,100 postmasters were affected by the scandal.

Mrs Vennells made the decision to fight postmasters in court in a compensation battle that cost the taxpayer 90million, despite being told years earlier that there could be flaws in the IT system.

She went on to land roles as an adviser to the Cabinet Office and chairman of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London. She resigned from her Cabinet Office position in March.

In the 2019 New Years honours list the married mother-of-two, who was paid 4.5million during her Post Office tenure, was made a CBE for services to the Post Office.

She receives 140,000 a year in total as a non-executive director of supermarket chain Morrisons and homeware retailer Dunelm. Her part-time role as a priest in Bedfordshire is unpaid.

This week, Mrs Vennells caused outrage as she sought to shift the blame for the scandal on to the Post Offices computer experts, lawyers and even postmasters.

MPs said she was throwing others under the bus to save her own skin, and that she had treated postmasters with contempt and derision.

The Daily Mail has led the way in exposing the scandal as part of the Save Our Post Offices campaign.

As a member of the Churchs ethical investment advisory group (EIAG), Mrs Vennells helps advise it how to invest its 12billion of assets in a way that is distinctly Christian and Anglican.

But the Church confirmed she had taken a leave of absence [from the EIAG] as she engages with an inquiry by the Commons business committee into the Horizon scandal.

The EIAG is not conducting an investigation, the Church said. An insider said the decision was Mrs Vennellss.

It comes after calls for her to be defrocked. Labour MP Karl Turner called on her to step back from her other public roles.

It was later ruled that shortfalls in the accounts of branches were the result of flaws in the Post Offices IT system, called Horizon

The former shadow attorney general said: Many hundreds of sub-postmasters were put through the wringer whilst she was at the helm.

'Any decent person would do the right thing and stand down from all posts paid or unpaid now. She cannot be trusted until we get to the bottom of this scandal.

Mrs Vennells said: It was and remains a source of great regret to me that these colleagues and their families were affected over so many years.

I am truly sorry we were unable to find both a solution and a resolution outside of litigation and for the distress this caused.

'I am currently engaging with the [Commons committee] inquiry and will do all I can to support efforts to get to the bottom of what has happened.
Both the Justice Department and the State Attorneys General will reportedly be meeting this Friday, June 26, to discuss the future of an ongoing case against Google for Antitrust practices. Based on a new report from The Wall Street Journal.

The talks may lead to a potential lawsuit down the road and help the journalism industry. According to a statement made by John Stanton, the former D.C. Bureau Chief at Buzzfeed and co-founder of the Save Journalism Project.

Though there is no guarantee that either party will move to sue Google over these practices, the chances are likely. If the decision to sue is made, there is possibility that it could come at some point during this Summer. That leaves a window of about three months however.

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As of right now, it could be anytime between now and the end of that three months. More is likely to surface about that decision following Fridays talks.

This Google antitrust lawsuit would be over the companys use of its dominant position in search

This wouldnt be the first time Google was under scrutiny for anti-competitive practices. Over the past five+ years its been in the lime light a number of times for various antitrust cases.

This particular investigation which might turn into a lawsuit, would be over how Google uses its dominant position in Search to stifle competition. Which directly impacts the journalism industry by forcing publishers into what could be construed as unfair agreements. A big part of that is Googles Accelerated Mobile Pages (also known as AMP) feature.

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With AMP, the Save Journalism Project alleges that this tool more than benefits Google but not publishers. Rather it harms publisher revenue.

State AG lawsuits may not be filed until the Fall

It was reported last month that both the Justice Department and the State Attorneys General were potentially looking into and investigating Google over these matters.

In that report it also echoed the same sentiments as this new report. That both parties would be looking to file lawsuits against Google. Though the Justice Department may be filing lawsuits sometime this Summer, that may not be the case with the State AG.

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Back in May, it was reported that the State Attorneys General would be looking to the Fall to file lawsuits. If lawsuits were to be filed at all. More is obviously needed to be discussed before both parties come to a decision. After those discussions take place, information about the decisions could present themselves as early as the same day.
For several Southeast Texas bar and brewery owners, Gov. Greg Abbotts shutdown order issued Friday morning was a shock to their recovering businesses, but not a total surprise given the rising number of COVID-19 cases and new mandates from county governments.

Scott Reeves, owner of Struggle Street Brewing Co. in Beaumont, said he and his staff had been discussing the possibility of some kind of shutdown after seeing the rise in cases in the last couple of weeks, but it didnt help soften the blown when he had to close the doors at noon Friday.

I thought they might back up to a lower occupancy first, but I didnt really see a shutdown coming with three hours notice, said Reeves, who launched the brewery last September.

Related: Abbott closes bars once again amid virus spike

The order hit Struggle Street after a pretty good day of business Thursday, Reeves said. Despite a mask mandate for Jefferson County delivered earlier in the week, he said the brewery had plenty of customers with masks, following the rules.

The brewery had just ordered boxes of disposable masks to hand out to customers who might not have one of their own.

Now, those will be put in storage as Reeves waits on a delivery of more cans and growlers in an effort to make up lost revenue with takeout orders.

Top hits: Get Beaumont Enterprise stories sent directly to your inbox

The Texas Restaurant Association sent multiple emails Friday with guidance about the order, but with no timeline for a reopening in sight, Reeves said he is a little worried.

I think that it is crazy, honestly, he said. Every brewery or bar Ive been in, like us, has been doing everything we can to comply and stay open. I dont understand targeting the bars unless its about weeding out small businesses.

Frankie Randazzo, a local restaurant entrepreneur, was forced to make plans for how to handle the closure of BarLocal in Beaumont and The Library Bar in Fort Worth.

He said he intends to asks employees from BarLocal if they would like to work at one of his operations in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which have been struggling with staffing since that state reopened businesses, but everything is still up in the air.

Unlike the last shutdown, this one comes with no federal support and most businesses have already exhausted any help they received from programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

There is no funding to support this shutdown, and if you were abated in March, April or May, those rents are due now, he said. This is going to be a defining moment for most businesses.

Related: Customers show frustration, understanding under mask order

Instead of being able to retain employees with aid from the federal program, Randazzo fears they could decide to leave the industry altogether for something that seems more stable.

The financial frustrations of an open-ended shutdown are exacerbated for Randazzo by what he sees as an inconsistent approach by the government and expectations that have been broken.

He said he understands why Abbott had to make the move after the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission had to crack down on bars in large metro areas for breaking occupancy rules, but its a mistake to paint the entire state with the same broad brush.

If the government wants to be part of the solution, there has to be consistency across the board, he said. The virus doesnt know what product we sell, and doesnt just stop outside the door of another business. I understand and support that something has to happen. I just dont know why its only happening to us.

Bartenders and staff across Southeast Texas were also hit with a new reality Friday as they tried to figure out what to do while their workplaces were closed again for an undetermined amount of time.

Tim Postlewait, a bartender and night shift manager at Thirstys in Beaumont, said he planned to stay with his small bar in the meantime and hope the small nest egg he built after the last shutdown will get his family through this shutdown.

Ive been there nine years now, and theyve taken care of me, he said. They told us to go get unemployment while we can, so we are just going to batten down and weather it as long as we have to.

Postlewait said he and staff had a feeling something like this was coming after Jefferson County made its mask order, but he wasnt exactly prepared to wake up Friday to a closed bar.

Related: COVID-19 scares close 2 restaurants in Beaumont, 1 in Nederland

The folks at Thirstys have been no stranger to closing shop for a disaster such as a hurricane, but he said the service industry is having to prepare while in the dark about when this particular disaster might be over.

As he checks in with his friends in the local bar and restaurant scene, he says he sees a lot of people scrambling to figure out whats next.

A report Thursday from the U.S. Department of Labor detailed another 1.5 million claims for unemployment benefits last week. About 700,000 people applied under the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program for workers such as contract employees who arent eligible for unemployment.

In May, Texas unemployment rate shrank slightly to 13%. The Beaumont-Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area also saw a small decrease, but its rate remained the highest of all 25 areas tracked by the Texas Workforce Commission.

At 17.8% unemployment, the Beaumont-Port Arthur MSA added almost 150,000 jobs in May and had an almost 50% bump in leisure and hospitality jobs compared to March, but didnt see the same boost in the sector as other areas. About 40% of the leisure and hospitality jobs recorded in the area during the same time last year were still unfilled in May.

Traci Tucker, owner of Cotton Creek Winery, said she would have to gather up all of her employees who were available and try to package some wine for pickup, but she just didnt have the energy to tackle that project just yet.

She was recovering from her second cancer surgery earlier in the week, but she had to make her way to the winery on Phelan on Friday to put a closed sign on the door.

Related: Beaumont more than doubles largest single-day coronavirus case growth

She said she hadnt had enough time to process the whole situation yet, but she was feeling frustrated at what appeared to be a never-ending cycle.

I understand the order, but it all goes back to these people who are too stubborn and cant handle people telling them what to do, she said. They have to realize you can protect people by not being selfish, but here we go again.

Before the pandemic, Cotton Creek was planning another tasting room location on Calder Avenue, but the latest shutdown could be another setback just as Tucker said business was reaching normal levels again.

Tucker ran a tight ship in Cotton Creek after reopening in May, she said, and she got plenty of comments about how strict her staff was about social distancing. But she didnt mind the remarks if it meant she could avoid TABC violations and help her business recover.

Now, she said she felt the time and money lost was pointless if people werent willing to work together to reduce infection and keep local businesses alive.

I know the governor is frustrated too because he has faith in the people to do what they need to do, but they arent, she said. Everybody has to do their part. One person cant do it.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jdickjournalism
Up to 20,000 jobs could go at Britain's airports, an industry group warned, calling on the government to do more to help an aviation industry that was shut down by the COVID pandemic and is now struggling to restart due to quarantine rules.

The Airport Operators Association (AOA), which represents more than 50 airports, said future passenger numbers at UK airports were expected to be significantly lower, and analysis of its members suggested up to 20,000 jobs were at risk.

Up to 110,000 jobs could be lost in industries supported by airports, AOA warned. Later on Wednesday, airport ground services and cargo handling company, Swissport said it could cut up to 4,556 jobs in the UK and Ireland.

AOA called on the government to scrap its quarantine regime, provide relief from business rates, extend a job retention scheme, directly fund the sector regulator and suspend air passenger taxes to help save jobs in the industry.

"These jobs figures clearly show that a key component of the UKs infrastructure is on its knees, with no relief to the current crisis expected," said AOA chief executive Karen Dee.

"Government needs to recognise the immense crisis facing the countrys airport communities and take action to support UK aviation and protect livelihoods."

UK-based airlines British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and easyJet have already announced close to 20,000 job losses between them. The country's biggest airport Heathrow has also started a voluntary redundancy scheme.

Also Watch:

Britain has a 14-day quarantine policy in place for arrivals into the country from abroad, which airlines, airports and the hospitality sector have said is deterring international travel at a time when they had been hoping for it to recover.

The rule is due to be reviewed on June 29, three weeks after it was introduced and could be replaced by "air bridges", which would allow restriction-free travel between countries with low infection rates.




Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services Commissioner General Paradzai Zimondi is on Monday next week expected to testify against three former top prison officers at Chikurubi Maximum Prison, who are facing charges of receiving $10 500 from a chicken project without telling their superiors.





Comm-Gen Zimondi is expected to testify against former Chikurubi Maximum Prison officer-in-charge Nobert Chomurenga and his then juniors, Cephas Chiparausha and Tonderai Mutiwaringa, who are being charged with fraud.





The trio, who are being represented by Oscar Gasva, denied the charges.





Harare magistrate Mr Amos Mbobo yesterday ordered the State to make sure that the witnesses, including Comm-Gen Zimondi, were available on the trial date since the matter had taken a long time to be finalised.





The prosecutor, Mr Ephraim Zinyandu, made an undertaking to ensure that the witnesses will be available on the day.





Allegations are that on September 25, 2017, Chomurenga and Chiparausha, who were acting in connivance with Mutiwaringa, entered into a memorandum of understanding with Humanity Earth Trust, which has links with jailed rapist Munyaradzi Kereke, in their personal capacities. It is alleged that from September 25, 2017 to August 2018, Humanity Earth Trust provided a total of 3 000 birds, feed, medicines and other sanitary requirements for the chicken-rearing project.





Further allegations are that the trio, as part of the agreement, provided space and labour in the form of prisoners, but for their personal gain.





When the chickens were being sold, the customers paid money into Chiparaushas EcoCash account and he received a total of $8 282.





In their defence, Chomurenga, Chiparausha and Mutiwaringa told the court that all their actions were with Comm-Gen Zimondis blessings.





In December 2017, Mutiwaringa, who took over as officer-in-charge after the promotion and transfer of Chomurenga, received $2 252 from Chiparausha through his EcoCash account as proceeds of the project.





In their defence, Chomurenga, Chiparausha and Mutiwaringa told the court that all their actions were with Comm-Gen Zimondis blessings.





The Commissioner General was fully briefed and was aware of the poultry project between Chikurubi Maximum Prison and Humanity Earth Trust, they said in their defence.





He was personally aware of the project as he visited and inspected the project when he toured Chikurubi Maximum Prison on several occasions when accused 1 (Chomurenga) was officer-in-charge and officer commanding Harare Metropolitan Province.





The poultry project was a brainchild of the Commissioner General and Humanity Earth Africa Trust and through Munyaradzi Kereke, as Kereke assisted Zimbabwe Prisons Service Commission with various projects. Herald












Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  Several Southeast Asian leaders supported the reopening of the region to business travelers as the current chair of their 10-member bloc on Friday noted the "heavy toll" of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.

The spokesperson of President Rodrigo Duterte, Harry Roque, said this proposal was discussed during the 36th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit, the first regular ASEAN Summit held virtually and hosted by current chair Vietnam.

"Nadiskurso na ng at least 3 heads of state, kung pupwede nang buksan sa rehiyon natin ang business travel subject to quarantine and health restrictions," he said in a regular media briefing.

[Translation: At least three heads of state raised the possibility of opening the Southeast Asian region for business travel, as long as quarantine and health restrictions are observed.]

In the Philippines, foreign nationals with some exceptions like diplomats and foreign spouses of Filipinos are still prohibited from entering the country following strict travel restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19.

ASEAN Chair Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc noted the importance of crafting a comprehensive post-pandemic recovery plan for ASEAN members to help address the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 by reinforcing trade and investment; cooperation in the digital economy; supporting micro, small and medium enterprises; and innovation. He said this includes the implementation of initiatives to boost the region's reserve of medical supplies and drawing up standard operating procedure for public health emergencies.

"We need to maintain good control over the pandemic. We should promptly repair the damage and revitalize our economy and resume economic development," Phuc said during the opening ceremony.

Duterte called for a sustainable plan to build a regional fund to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and help ASEAN members bounce back from the economic impact of the health crisis that has been affecting the world for at least six months now.

"I welcome your plan of action for strengthening economic cooperation. I join the leaders in asking our ministers to craft a recovery plan that is innovative and ambitious and one that will lead us to a greener and sustainable future," he said in his address.

Southeast Asian nations have been impacted by the pandemic differently, with hard-hit Indonesia grappling with more than 50,000 infections and more than 2,600 deaths, while Laos only has 19 cases who have all recovered.

Duterte also pointed to another threat that continues despite the COVID-19 pandemic: Terrorism.

"We must never forget there are also other threats that can further undermine our efforts. The pandemic has not killed terrorism. It remains alive, lurking in the shadows. As a time of great need, we must therefore be always on the alert," he said.
Leah Millis/Reuters

The same day that Attorney General William Barr insisted there is no pattern of him working to advance the personal interests of President Donald Trump, several sources cited by The New York Times said one of his first moves after being sworn into office in early 2019 was trying to find ways to undermine the conviction of longtime Trump fixer Michael Cohen.

Barr had reportedly repeatedly questioned prosecutors over the charges against Cohen, who pleaded guilty in August 2018 to financial crimes that included hush-money payments to women who alleged they had affairs with Trump. He went so far as to instruct Justice Department officials to draft a legal memo casting doubt on the legitimacy of Cohens conviction, according to sources cited by the Times, but they refused to do so.

Meanwhile, in an NPR interview published Thursday, Barr scoffed at the notion he has been promoting Trumps agenda at the expense of the rule of law, calling it a media narrative and saying there is no such pattern. He went on the defensive in the interview multiple times.

Barr has made several controversial interventions into cases involving President Donald Trumps associates. In early May, he chose to drop the Justice Departments case against Trumps former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, a decision that elicited blistering criticism, as Flynn had already pleaded guilty. Though Michael Flynn was the presidents National Security Adviser, Barr denied any political pressure to drop the charges against him: I don't know whether I would refer to him as a friend of any administration, he said.

And though Flynn admitted to lying to the FBI, Barr still cast the charges against the retired general as ludicrous: There was a lot of hinky stuff in the Flynn case. Everyone knew that. Everyone was wondering why was this case ever brought?

When asked about the chaotic removal last week of Geoffrey Berman, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who was involved in investigating many of Trump's allies, Barr dismissed the move as nothing more than a standard personnel decision.

Story continues

I certainly was aware that given the current environment, anytime you make a personnel move, you know, conspiracy theorists will suggest that there's something, there's some ulterior motive involved. But I felt this was actually a good time to do it because I was not aware of anything that should in reality, give rise to that, he said. He said Berman was living on borrowed time from the beginning.

Despite insisting he treats all cases equally, he apparently could not name a single case not tied to the president's inner circle where he had staged a last-minute intervention similar to that in the Flynn case.

When pressed about the presidents executive power, Barr echoed the commander-in-chiefs rhetoric and attempted to redirect the conversation. He scolded the press for failing to scrutinize state governors, who, in order to fight the new coronavirus, have been putting the entire population in home detention and telling people that they have to shut down their livelihood and their business, he said. The president has often said that the measures taken against the coronavirus are worse than the sickness itself. Barr reiterated another Trump talking point when he said that an election with a high number of mail-in ballots can take place securely. He said the evidence was obvious.

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Put primary schools at the heart of, and the start of, lifelong learning. We may not remember the individual maths lessons from second class, or how we learned to read, but each of us remembers how our teachers made us feel.

In the last 20 years the primary school curriculum has placed a lot more emphasis on the importance of celebrating diversity. Thankfully, there has been good progress in the direction of making our schools inclusive and welcoming places for all staff and pupils, but we should never become complacent, there is still plenty to do.

Challenges for our LGBT teachers remain. The Irish people spoke loudly when they voted to support same-sex marriage in the 2015 referendum but it also took until 2015 for the amendment of legislation that had allowed religiously run schools to discriminate against teachers because of their sexuality.

Until then, many teachers were afraid to mention their relationships over tea in the staffroom. Many were afraid that their colleagues, principal or their school's board of management would react negatively if they were seen doing the grocery shopping with their partner.

The INTO LGBT+ Teachers' Group, with the support of the INTO leadership, led a campaign to remove the element of the Employment Equality Act that allowed schools to discriminate against LGBT teachers for "undermining the religious ethos of the institution". The legislation was amended, but it takes more than a change in the law to shift attitudes and change cultures.

The INTO's Equality Committee conducted a survey to examine the experiences of LGBT teachers in our schools. The experiences reported were mixed. For some, being openly LGBT in their professional environment was not a difficulty. For others, particularly those in schools under a religious patronage, they were concerned about the reaction of their boards of management (or boards of governors in Northern Ireland) and parents.

Many worried that they might be discriminated against when applying for a job or promotion. Some 43pc of those surveyed in the Republic of Ireland, who are out in school, said that getting a permanent contract was an influence on them coming out in school.

One teacher said that they "came out very slowly to one colleague at a time. It was extremely scary and stressful". They added that "being in the closet causes an extreme amount of discomfort and stress".

Inclusive schools are built from the top down. Our principals play a key role in ensuring school environments are inclusive environments, but they are constrained if they aren't supported by their boards of management or governors. We know that there is a willingness among teachers to create LGBT inclusive schools and classrooms, but it can be difficult to know how to start. Teachers need support and training in understanding terminology and in improving LGBT inclusion and visibility within the curriculum. The INTO LGBT+ Teachers' Group has done great work to promote inclusion in schools. Every primary school in the State received a copy of the LGBT+ Inclusive Staffroom poster that outlined good practice guidelines for the inclusion of LGBT staff. The group also runs an annual Different Families, Same Love competition that encourages teachers to teach about different family make-ups, including same-sex parents.

The children in our schools come from many different homes and backgrounds. The Ann and Barry books of the past, showing families made up of mammy, daddy, two children, a dog and a cat, do not reflect the lived experiences of many of our pupils or teachers today.

There are many wonderful books that provide positive representation of LGBT characters in an age-appropriate way that can, and should, be included in our classroom libraries. LGBT identity should be openly presented and discussed across all curricular areas in the same way as ability, disability, culture and race.

And always, the INTO is delighted to represent the many teachers doing wonderful work to ensure that every pupil and teacher is safe and included in their school community. In response to our survey findings, and in recognition of the need for guidance on best practice, the INTO introduced a new online course to its summer programme on creating an LGBT inclusive school. The course was fully booked shortly after its launch.

Our LGBT teachers, pupils, parents and guardians have the support of legislation to be open about their identities and relationships in their schools, they also have the full support of the INTO. Let us all do our part to ensure that they also have the full support of the entire school community. Let's make our schools inclusive and welcoming for all.

John Boyle is INTO general secretary




Haiti - FLASH : Sunrise Airways resumes flights between Haiti and the Dominican Republic





Thursday, the Haitian airline Sunrise Airways announced in a press release the resumption of its international flights between Port-a-Prince (Haiti) and Santo-Domingo (Dominican Republic) from July 3, 2020.



The recovery will begin with four weekly flights from Monday to Friday until July 31, 2020 when frequencies are expected to increase.



Sunrise Airways makes the safety and health of its passengers a priority, in cooperation with the National and International Authorities.



Health security on board :

Our planes are disinfected, using an approved hospital grade aerosol, by electrostatic spraying. It is effective for up to 7 days against 99.9% of viruses and bacteria.



After each flight is insured : cleaning of the shelves, seat belt buckles, armrests, window blinds, doors and handles of hanging boxes. Every day, a thorough cleaning is carried out on all of this equipment.



In order to reduce contact between people and surfaces, on-board service is interrupted on all flights until further notice.



Before entering the airport :

Passengers must comply with government and company regulations. A temperature measurement is carried out on each passenger at the airport entrance, if it is greater than 38 degrees Celsius, access will be refused.



IMPORTANT :

You must wear a mask to access the airport and during your entire flight. Passengers will have to print or download and complete the Sunrise Airways "Health Monitoring Questionnaire", this document is required to access the check-in. It is available on the sunriseairways.net website.



Without this form, access to the airport will be refused. During the flight, each passenger must fill out a "Passenger Location Card (PLC)" provided by Sunrise Airways, without which it will not be possible to go through immigration.



Sunrise Airways has extended until December 31, 2020 the elimination of modification fees on existing tickets and those already booked before March 2020.



Sunrise Airways Flight program from July 3 to July 31, 2020 :



Monday :

Santo Domingo (JBQ) Port-Au Prince (Pap) 7:15 a.m. 8:05 a.m.

Port-Au Prince (PAP) Santo Domingo (Jbq) 8:35 am 9:25 am



Tuesday :

Santo Domingo (JBQ) Port-Au Prince (Pap) 7:15 a.m. 8:05 a.m.

Port-Au Prince (PAP) Santo Domingo (Jbq) 5.30 p.m. 6.20 p.m.



Thursday :

Santo Domingo (JBQ) Port-Au Prince (Pap) 7:15 a.m. 8:05 a.m.

Port-Au Prince (PAP) Santo Domingo (Jbq) 5.30 p.m. 6.20 p.m.



Friday :

Santo Domingo (JBQ) Port-Au Prince (Pap) 4:10 p.m. 5:00 p.m.

Port-Au Prince (PAP) Santo Domingo (Jbq) 5.30 p.m. 6.20 p.m.



Covid-19 measures :

In accordance with the "Health Surveillance Questionnaire", Sunrise Airways advises passengers not to travel if they do not feel well or if they have been exposed to the virus in the past 14 days. Staying at home is the best way to protect yourself and others from illness.



Latest news in Haiti :

Olivier Jean, Director General of the National Office of Civil Aviation (ONAC), told the media that Toussaint Louverture International Airport will not be able to accommodate more than two planes at the same time, departing and arriving, as a way to impose physical distance. In addition, the treatment of passengers will be changed and must arrive at the facilities three hours in advance "We want to avoid having too many travelers in the arrivals hall and also in the departures hall."



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30322-haiti-flash-sunrise-airways-repatriates-passengers.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-30289-icihaiti-notice-sunrise-airways-change-tickets.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30250-haiti-sunrise-airways-new-port-au-prince-santo-domingo-link.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29884-haiti-economy-sunrise-airways-announces-direct-flights-cap-haitien-santo-domingo.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24704-haiti-flash-sunrise-airways-a-haitian-success-story.html



S/ HaitiLibre


















The only Indian, alongside Anurag Kashyap, in a list of 50 celebrated filmakers and actors, Priyanka Chopra Jonas will be joined by names like Martin Scorsese, Alfonso Cuaron, Nicole Kidman, and Nadine Labaki in the 45th edition of the film festival this September.

Humanitarian and philanthropist Priyanka Chopra Jonas has been Bollywoods most successful import to the west. The global phenomenon has now become the only Indian actor to be listed among the 50 celebrated filmmakers and actors invited as ambassadors of Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this year. Marking its 45th edition, the festival is slated to run from September 10 to September 19.

The global icon will be joining celebrated international names and Oscar winning actors including filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Alfonso Cuaron, Taika Waititi, Ava DuVernay, Rian Johnson, Denis Villeneuve, and actors Nicole Kidman, Nadine Labaki, Riz Ahmed, Isabelle Huppert, Zhang Ziyi.

The actor-producer is ecstatic to be among the ambassadors and being able to to help TIFF deliver one of a king grand gala this year.

Also read: Need to stop selling the wrong dream that only fair is lovely: Bipasha Basu

Also read: Anushka Sharma on Netflix release Bulbbul: Always wanted to celebrate women and their spirit

In addition to the global superstar, celebrated filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is the only Indian celebrity who will be a part of the same. The 45th edition of the festival plans to screen 50 films during its first five days in physical theaters through socially-distanced screenings.

Interestingly, due to the pandemic, this year TIFF will host various digital screenings and virtual red carpets for the first time making it tailored to fit the moment.

TIFFs this years selection comprises a lineup of 50 new feature films, five programmes of short films, as well as interactive talks, film cast reunions, and Q&As with cast and filmmakers.

With Priyanka Chopra Jonas becoming the only Indian actor being a part of the prestigious festival, it cant get bigger and better than this.

Also read: Dil Bechara: Sushant Singh Rajputs last film co-starring Sanjana Sanghi to stream on Disney+Hotstar

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Five men were stabbed and police were abused and spat at as violence broke out on Britain's beaches yesterday - one of which ended with a 15-year-old being arrested.

Huge crowds of young people clashed by the seaside in South Wales, Kent and Exmouth on Thursday, with hundreds of people involved across the three sites.

Three men were stabbed near Bournemouth Pier as the beach was crammed with visitors yesterday, while fighting also broke out in Margate.

Two people were arrested after violence erupted on the South Wales beach on Thursday

More than 100 youths scrapped on Ogmore-by-Sea beach on Thursday, in scenes described as a 'contagion of stupidity' by South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Alun Michael

Violent scenes erupted in Ogmore-by-Sea, Bridgend in a brawl described as a 'contagion of stupidity'.

South Wales Police urged parents to 'check where your children are' after reports of 'large numbers of young people' gathering.

Two men in their 20s were arrested and police say one person was injured.

Footage of the brawl sparked a backlash on social media as locals slammed piles of rubbish that were left behind.

Chaotic scenes in Bridgend show youths brawling on the beach in Ogmore-by-Sea on Thursday

One wrote: 'This is disgusting there wasn't any need of this. You really should be ashamed of yourselves.'

Another said: 'Disgraceful and by your actions now threatens a second wave and more lockdown measures! Great and thank you!'

Lockdowns rules in Wales say people can meet just one other household outside and should not travel outside their local area.

South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Alun Michael described the scene as a 'contagion of stupidity' and said people were 'completely ignoring the risk to public health'.

Footage from the brawl has been described as 'disgusting,' with one user saying those involved 'should be ashamed'

A 15-year-old boy was arrested after the second day of fighting on Exmouth beach on Thursday

He said: 'We need people to use common sense and that has been the characteristic in south Wales throughout the pandemic to date. It seems to becoming a bit apart.'

The violence came after similar scenes on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent on Thursday.

Two men were stabbed as coach loads of revellers were bussed onto the island for a party on Leysdown Beach.

Shocking videos show the scene as partygoers unwind on the hottest day of the year.

And emergency services were scrambled after two men, in their 20s, were stabbed.

Both victims were taken to a London hospital in a serious but non life-threatening condition and a 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm.

Two men were stabbed as coach loads of revellers were bussed onto the Isle of Sheppey for a party on Leysdown Beach.

Thousands of people were spotted on Leysdown Beach on Thursday for what was advertised as a three-day event

Despite social distancing measures still being in place, a three-day event was advertised on the beach.

The organisers had security and a sound system for the ravers - who onlookers estimated to be in their thousands.

Wayne Norcross, 52, saw the revellers at around 7pm on Thursday, he said: 'I saw cars parked everywhere by the entrance to the beach.

'There were around two to three thousand people there. Coaches were driving into Sheppey and dropping people off.

'You couldn't get in or out because there were so many cars and coaches parked for the rave.

'I didn't see any attitude from anyone, everyone was well behaved. I didn't see any arguments, police were just milling around.'

He said it was dispersed at around midnight by the thunderstorm.

However the night took a dark turn as two men were stabbed.

Around 50 people were thought to be involved in the violence on Exmouth beach on Thursday, following a larger brawl on Wednesday

A police spokesman said: 'A 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm and remains in custody.'

Smashed bottles and laughing gas canisters were strewn across the beach after the rave at Leysdown, on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.

Elsewhere in Kent, a fight broke out in Margate, on Thursday between two groups of girls.

Footage from the beach in North East Kent shows a large crowd gathering to try and arguing between two groups of people.

Police have stepped up patrols around Bournemouth Pier after three men in their 20s were stabbed last night.

All three victims, who had travelled to seaside from London, were taken to hospital.

One was stabbed in the back, another in the face and the third in the chest and arm. None of their injuries are described as life-threatening.

Neighbourhood Inspector Jon Wasey, of Bournemouth police, said: 'I would continue to stress that we are asking people listen to the Government advice and if the beach is busy and you can't socially distance, please go home to protect our NHS.'

For the second consecutive day, violence broke out on Exmouth beach, with a 15-year-old arrested

A day at the beach ended in violence at Ogmore-by-Sea in South Wales on Thursday

Yesterday saw the second consecutive day of fighting on Exmouth Beach.

Around 50 youths were involved and a 15-year-old boy from Exeter was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly.

Yesterday, police were called to a large scale punch-up on the beach involving a crowd of youths. Later, a 20-year-old man from Exeter suffered serious head injuries in an incident near Exmouth train station that police believe was linked to the earlier incident on the beach.

Now, police have confirmed trouble flared up at the beach again last night.

This morning, a police spokesperson said: 'Whilst in attendance at Exmouth sea front yesterday evening, police became aware of large disorder shortly before 8pm.

'Officers attended the incident at Orcombe point where a group of up to 50 youths were fighting. Whilst in attendance, officers were verbally abused and spat at.

'A 15-year-old boy from Exeter was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly in a public place. He was taken into custody and later released under investigation pending further enquiries.
The Queensland government has struck a deal with Virgin Australia's anointed new owner to keep its headquarters in Brisbane.

Virgin administrator Deloitte agreed to sell the troubled airline to American private equity giant Bain Capital on Friday morning, after rival bidder Cyrus Capital Partners withdrew its rescue offer.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick outside Virgin Australia headquarters at Bowen Hills in Brisbane. Credit:Darren England/AAP

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick said while the ink was yet to dry on the deal, which would need to be approved by creditors in August, it was a "great day for Queensland".

"We haven't taken off yet but we are at the end of the runway and we are ready to take off," he said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Jagat Prakash Nadda on Friday stepped up his attack on the Congress, particularly the Gandhi family, by accusing party chief Sonia Gandhi of transparency.

PMNRF, meant to help people in distress, was donating money to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in UPA years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Who chairs RGF? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency, he tweeted on Friday.

PMNRF, meant to help people in distress, was donating money to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in UPA years.



Who sat on the PMNRF board? Smt. Sonia Gandhi



Who chairs RGF? Smt. Sonia Gandhi.



Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency. pic.twitter.com/tttDP4S6bY  Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) June 26, 2020

He also attached a list of donors to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in from years 2005 to 2008 along with his tweets.

People of India donated their hard-earned money to PMNRF to help their fellow citizens in need. To divert this public money into a family run foundation is not only a brazen fraud but also a big betrayal of the people of India, the BJP chief further said in his subsequent tweet.

One familys hunger for wealth has cost the nation immensely. If only they have devoted their energies towards more constructive agenda. The Congress Imperial Dynasty needs to apologise to the unchecked loot for self-gains! Nadda said sharpening his attack.

One familys hunger for wealth has cost the nation immensely. If only they have devoted their energies towards more constructive agenda.



The Congress Imperial Dynasty needs to apologise to the unchecked loot for self-gains!  Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) June 26, 2020

The BJP chief has been targeting the Congress party since its attack on the government, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after the face-off between the Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakhs Galwan Valley on June 15.

The Congress, and its former chief Rahul Gandhi, has accused the Centre of giving away Indias territory to the Chinese even after a statement by PM Modi at the all-party meeting that there is no presence of the Chinese in the Indian territory and not an inch of countrys land has been taken.

Sonia Gandho had said that the current crisis is a result of the mismanagement of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and the wrong policies pursued by it.

True to its character, the government is in denial. The intrusion was detected and reported on May 5. Instead of a resolution, the situation deteriorated rapidly and there were violent clashes on June 15-16. Twenty Indian soldiers were martyred, 85 injured and 10 went missing until they were returned, she said at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday.

Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh said that PM Modi should be always mindful of the implications of his words, a reference to the controversy stoked by Prime Minister Modis comments at the all-party meeting on Friday. Dr Singh also said that the government must rise to the occasion to ensure justice for Colonel B Santhosh Babu and other jawans who were killed in action.

It was then that Nadda launched a tweetstorm, saying the Congress party should stop insulting the security forces repeatedly and questioning their valour.

In a series of tweets, Nadda lashed out at Congress and said it is the Opposition right to ask questions and the all-party meeting with the Prime Minister last week saw healthy deliberations with several opposition leaders giving their valuable inputs. Nadda said they also fully supported the Centre in determining the way ahead. One family was an exception. Any guesses who? he tweeted without naming names.

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking investigation in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) entered into between the Congress party and the Communist Party of China in 2008.
The big thing about this problem isn't breaking it down into premises/conclusions. The thing to understand is context, similar to that of an SC question. To begin, the question splits into two categories: the "only if" vs "if". Most people catch that the question stem says "only if", pushing people to (A) or (B). This is what LSAT wants you to do; they want you to fall into this trap. As I explain below, watch the context. They want you to reverse a sufficient condition for a necessary condition, which is where most get tripped up in (A)

Diagram: Homelessness problem -- little being done -- ignoring doesn't work -- only if Gov. helps (and leads to taxes) will it go away (this is our conclusion)

Breaking down A and C further:

A: Measure should be adopted ---> Measure is required to solve a problem

C: Measure is required to solve a problem ---> then it should be adopted

The measure is taxation. Is taxation required to solve the problem? Nope. Government intervention is required, which will bring taxation. In other words: Only if taxation is required to solve a problem, it should be adopted. Reverses the correct answer.

This is not our conclusion. This says that if sufficient -- do it.

This is word for word what we want. If taxation is required to solve a problem, it should be adopted. Bingo

This says if it is sufficient then we should adopt. That is not what our conclusion is saying, so this is out

"any steps" is way off, as we only talk about one solution. Beyond this, same issue as D

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Politician: Nobody can deny that homelessness is a problem, yet there seems to be little agreement on how to solve it. One thing, however, is clear: ignoring the problem will not make it go away. Only if the government steps in and provides the homeless with housing will this problem disappear, and this necessitates increased taxation. For this reason, we should raise taxes.Which one of the following principles, if valid, most supports the politician's argument?(A) Only if a measure is required to solve a problem should it be adopted --(B) Only if a measure is sufficient to solve a problem should it be adopted --(C) If a measure is required to solve a problem, then it should be adopted --(D) If a measure is sufficient to solve a problem, then it should be adopted --(E) If a measure is sufficient to solve a problem, any steps necessitated by that measure should be adopted --_________________
Police are searching for a 22-year-old North York suspect wanted for second-degree murder in the targeted shooting death in London, Ont., of a man who may have been a suspected Liberian war criminal.

At around 4:40 a.m. Sunday, police said four masked men broke in to a home on 232 Pochard Lane near Gore and Clarke roads. The home owner was shot after an altercation with the men.

Bill Horace, 44, of Toronto, was rushed to hospital where he died from his injuries.

Its not random, Det.-Supt. Chris Newton told the Star in an earlier interview.

It was a targeted attack.

Police have since identified Horace as a former member of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, though they said the rebel group is not the primary interest in their investigation. The group fought in the countrys civil war from 1989 to 1996.

One of the four suspects, 22 year-old Keiron Gregory of North York, is now being sought on second-degree murder charges.

A warrant for his arrest was issued Saturday, and London police believe he may be in the Greater Toronto Area. Since no firearms were recovered by police after the break-in, police warned he may be armed.

If seen, citizens are advised not to approach him and to contact 911 immediately, police said in a public alert Thursday.

Investigators have yet to determine the identities of the three other suspects involved, London police told the Star.

Newton said investigators have learned the man is the same Bill Horace wanted for war crimes after he fought under former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who is serving a 50-year-term in a British prison for atrocities in the nation. Police confirmed the man may have been a former general with the group.

Taylor was accused of executing civilians and was found guilty in 2012 at the International Criminal Court in The Hague of 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity.

With files from Peter Edwards

Miriam Lafontaine is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @mirilafontaine
Melanie is a pink owl. Meeta is a sparkly unicorn.

Three-year-old Ava Carr has been missing her friends from daycare so much, she started naming her stuffies after them. She hasnt seen the real Melanie and Meeta since their daycare closed in mid-March due to the pandemic.

Since March, Avas mother, Maeve Carr, has worked 12-hour days from home while taking care of her toddler. That often means working until 2 a.m. and then rising at 5:30 a.m. to start the day with Ava.

As Ontario begins to ease coronavirus-related restrictions in June, some daycares have been allowed to reopen. Avas daycare in Toronto, Deer Park Extended Primary Education Program, was set to reopen on June 22.

Suddenly, Carr could see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Then, at 8:42 p.m. on the Friday before the big day, Carr received an email from the daycare: It looks like we will not be allowed to open the daycare on Monday, it read.

The email thread revealed the school board had told the daycare four hours earlier that, in fact, no child-care centres in Toronto schools were allowed to open yet.

Apologies for the delayed response, a school board staff member wrote. We are diligently working with a number of departments and stakeholders to support reopening, but we must ensure that we have processes in place that prioritize health and safety for all.

Carr, a single parent, was devastated.

Being able to bring Ava back to daycare would have meant a return to some semblance of sanity, she said.

I have no idea how to live my life right now. I cant prepare. I cant tell my boss when things are going to go back to normal, said Carr, who works in global finance. Im the only one with a young child in my department.

In a memo obtained by the Star, the Toronto District School Board informed child-care operators Wednesday that they could reopen as early as July 2.

But Carr questions why the school board waited until the last moment to tell the Deer Park daycare it could not open the following business day.

I dont blame the daycare at all, said Carr. I think she was blindsided too.

The Toronto District School Board told the Star it has been working as quickly as possible to reopen daycares in schools.

While some child cares may have been ready to reopen earlier, we had to take the necessary time to reopen as safely as possible, and we thank everyone for their patience, the statement read.

The school board confirmed that daycares with provincial authorization would be able to reopen starting July 2.

But Carr said she has not received any communication from the daycare or the school board since last week.

Theres been no followup from anybody. Theres no update at all.

Meanwhile, child-care advocates have criticized the province for not providing enough support, financial and otherwise, to child-care operators struggling to reopen.

The Ontario government announced that daycares across the province would be allowed to reopen starting June 12, provided they follow public health protocols.

Those protocols include, among other things, drop-off and pickup procedures, frequent cleaning and a COVID-19 response plan if a staff member or child gets sick.

In emails sent to parents last week, Deer Park Extended Primary Education Program outlined the steps it had taken to follow these protocols and announced it would open its doors to a handful of families on June 22.

The daycare declined the Stars interview request but said in a written statement, The staff worked really hard to prepare for opening and were denied by (the Toronto District School Board).

The approximately 320 child-care centres on Toronto District School Board property need the boards permission to reopen.

The daycares statement went on to say, Parents and child-care staff will need to continue to be patient and wait for an announcement for when we can reopen.

For now, Carr has resigned herself to letting her daughter sit on her lap during her work Zoom meetings. Its far from ideal, she said.

Sometimes its just better to avoid the occurrence of a meltdown. And then you become the parent who cant afford to have the noise and the crisis so you give them what they need, she said. You give them chocolate. Its terrible.

When Ava goes down for her midday nap, Carr will sometimes shut her eyes as well because she gets only a few hours of sleep a night.

Some days, Ava will take her mother on imaginary car rides where they pick up her imaginary friends, Virat  embodied by an Elmo stuffy  and Meeta, the unicorn, on the apartment balcony.

We pretend we are all going to the zoo together, said Carr. She is so lonely.
NEWS FLASH

LOT Polish Airlines will be adding new flights to Ohrid and Tivat next month. It comes after the airline outlined plans to launch thirteen new routes to Croatia





The Polish carrier will commence a seasonal three weekly service between Warsaw and Ohrid starting July 5. Furthermore, it has brought forward the resumption of its Warsaw - Skopje route to July 3, which will initially run on a reduced basis of two flights per week. Details for the new Warsaw - Ohrid service can be found here








With reported cases of the coronavirus surging, Warner Bros. on Thursday postponed the release of Christopher Nolan's "Tenet," further delaying Hollywood's summer kickoff.







The sci-fi thriller starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson will move from July 31 to Aug. 12, a Wednesday. In a statement, the studio stressed the need for flexibility.







"We are choosing to open the movie mid-week to allow audiences to discover the film in their own time, and we plan to play longer, over an extended play period far beyond the norm, to develop a very different yet successful release strategy," a Warner Bros. spokesperson said in a statement.







Movie theaters had been pinning their hopes on the film as a major July release that could bring audiences back to theaters.







Warner Bros. had planned to re-release Nolan's 2010 blockbuster "Inception" in early July as a way to lead in to "Tenet." "Inception" will now open on July 31, the studio said.







Movie theater chains had planned the widespread reopening of cinemas partially around the return of new releases like "Tenet" and Disney's "Mulan." The latter is currently scheduled for July 24 but it, too, is widely expected to be postponed again. On Wednesday, Disneyland in California also pushed back its reopening.







With reported COVID-19 cases surging in Texas, Arizona, Florida and elsewhere, the earlier plans for a nationwide mid-July cinema restart became uncertain. On Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New York would delay reopening cinemas while it continued to research the safety of indoor, air-conditioned venues. (AP)


Villager File Photo / Villager File Photo

Two additional mosquito samples have tested positive for the West Nile virus in the area of the Grogans Mill village in The Woodlands, prompting Precinct 3 crews to treat the area.

According to information from the Precinct 3 office, the first treatments were set to begin Friday evening. A second round of treatment will be Monday. Treatment will include spraying all streets and county rights of way within the affected areas.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Syracuse University said more than 100 students reported items missing from their dorm rooms after the school halted in-person learning and the campus emptied due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The school said in a press release on Friday that it believes that staff members and contractors who were provided keys to the dorm room are responsible for the missing items. Those workers were brought in to help clean dorm rooms, as well as pack, store and ship students belongings after they left campus due to the coronavirus.

To assist our students, we identified staff members and contractors who could assist with cleaning spaces and packing, storing and shipping students belongings, the school said in a statement. Disappointingly, it appears that some of the very individuals we trusted with this task  those who had key access to the rooms  are likely responsible for the thefts and missing items. It is clear we failed to have the proper processes, procedures and protocols in place at the time to support this effort. We apologize for the added stress this failure has created for our students and their families.

The school transitioned to online learning abruptly due to the pandemic. The school announced on March 10 that it would move classes online and encouraged students to bring supplies home with them for Spring Break. The schools break started four days after the decision to move classes online. Students who left campus for Spring Break were ultimately not permitted to return due to coronavirus concerns. At the time, the school did not indicate when students were expected to be allowed on campus again.

According to The Daily Orange, the schools student newspaper, the school invited students back to campus on March 22 to pick up their belongings. Students unable to come on that day were given the option to have them packed and stored until they were permitted to collect them between May 30 and June 14.

The school paper said that the schools Department of Safety crime logs listed burglaries and larcenies at Lawrinson, Ernie Davis, Watson, Haven, Shaw and Sadler Halls, as well as in the Brewster/Boland/Brockway Complex during that timeframe.

Syracuses announcement on Friday indicted that it will put new procedures in place for the fall to protect belongings that remain and those that are shipped to the university in advance of fall move-in times. Those procedures include having Department of Public Safety officers performing property checks, installing cameras in dorm room elevators and stairwells, restricting access to storage areas and main desks in dorms.

The school said it plans to add additional measures before students begin to ship belongings for the fall.

MORE ON SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Syracuse University makes staff cuts as part of coronavirus response

Syracuse University releases suggestions for fall reopening: Dont hold doors and keep 12 months of PPE

Syracuse University may look much different when students return: Sports, parties, office hours, more

Contact Chris Carlson anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1639
The Supreme Court in the Netherlands ruled Friday that the state is not legally obliged to repatriate Dutch women and children of Islamic State (IS) fighters held in Syria.

The legal team representing the 23 women who left their home country to join the terrorist group had asked the court to require the state repatriate the women and their 56 children. In November 2019, an appeals court judge in The Hague overturned a previous ruling that said the Netherlands must make all possible efforts to repatriate the children, most of whom are under 6 years old.

In its ruling Friday, the countrys Supreme Court maintained that because the women and children are outside Dutch territory, they cant invoke human rights treaties of which the Netherlands is a signatory. The court also noted that the women traveled voluntarily to the conflict zone and that they could present a national security risk should they return.

When IS lost its last shred of territory in the Syrian town of Baghouz in March 2019, thousands of IS fighters and their families were transferred to Kurdish-run detention centers and camps. Today, an estimated 68,000 suspected fighters and their relatives remain in the custody of the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces.

Save the Children estimates that more than 7,000 children of foreign nationalities live in the severely crowded al-Hol camp in the northeastern province of Hasakah. Miserable and sometimes deadly conditions have led to fears the camps could serve as a breeding ground for the next iteration of IS.

Hundreds of children are thought to have died from malnutrition, diarrhea and pneumonia in al-Hol camp. The camp population would be unable to cope should it get hit with a coronavirus outbreak, rights groups have warned.

Even amid coronavirus concerns, governments remain reluctant to bring their nationals home, said Anne Speckhard, director of the Washington-based International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, in an interview with Al-Monitor last month.

These people were already looked at as not worthy to come home, that theyre carrying a virulent ideology and theyll infect others, she said, adding, Well, now maybe theyre carrying COVID-19 too.

The Dutch government maintains its too dangerous to retrieve the women and children from the camps in northern Syria. But at least 20 countries have managed to travel into the Kurdish-held territory to collect their citizens, including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States, since mid-October alone, reports Human Rights Watch.

As of December, the United States had repatriated 23 Americans  eight adults and 15 children  from Syria and Iraq. The Department of Justice has charged six of those adults with terrorism-related crimes.
Break-ups can be really hard and in case of TV celebs, there are a few who know how to keep it under wraps, while others make it public and announce their split. There are also a few who leave no boundaries in throwing a jab at their ex-partners. Here's a list of TV actors who went through unfortunate breakups.

 YouTube/TellyMasala

Sana Khan and Melvin Louis made their relationship official on Instagram but it was only until a few months back when we got to know that they have parted ways. Sana also took to social media to announce their breakup and accused her partner of infidelity in the relationship with other claims like domestic violence. Melvin denied these accusations and replied through cryptic posts.

 YouTube/BollywoodBubble

Karan and Kritika's chemistry wasn't unknown and they became the most loved couple of the TV industry post their serial Kitni Mohabbat Hai. They even confessed their love for each other and made it public. However, they broke up in 2012 and moved on in their lives, on the personal and professional front.

 YouTube/TellyMasala

If there was one thing that made Bigg Boss even more dramatic, it was Gauahar and Kushal's love story in season 7 who found love on this reality show. The couple continued dating even after the show but that didn't go too well for both of them. Kushal took to Twitter to announce their breakup and wrote "Gauahar n I r no more together .....love and peace,"

 YouTube/TellyMasala

Neha Kakkar has always been outspoken about her relationship with Himansh Kohli but when they broke up, Neha made it quite apparent on her social media account. She also shared a couple of emotional posts and wrote: "I know I'm a celeb..I'm not supposed to write all this.. but I'm human too... and aaj kuch zyada hi toot gayi, isliye couldn't control my feelings." This put Himansh in the bad light, which is when he broke the silence and made it clear that it wasn't just his fault that the two broke up.

 Twitter/Rithvik Dhanjani

Rithvik Dhanjani And Asha Negi chemistry on Pavitra Rishta instantly made us fall in love with their on-screen chemistry. They were together in real life as well but unfortunately, even they called it quits, just a few months back. Rumours were rife when Asha took to social media and posted a few cryptic posts related to their breakup.

As per reports, Asha went vocal about it in an interview and said that relationships do fall apart but the compassion for the person never dies. They were together since 2013 and they also participated in Nach Baliye and even won the trophy.

 YouTube/TellyMasala

Rashami Desai and Arhaan might have entered Bigg Boss 13 as a couple but even their love story couldn't survive on the show. In one of the episodes, Salman Khan went public about Arhaan's marriage and his child on national television which led to a lot of meltdowns for Rashami as she was unaware about it. Post this point, there was no going back for the TV star and the couple eventually parted ways.

 YouTube/Crazy4TV

Faisal Khan and Muskaan who were seen on Nach Baliye 9 as a couple also parted ways on a sad note. They were together for over a year but as per reports, due to trust issues in their relationship, they both decided to take such a decision.

 YouTube/Crazy4TV

Karishma and Upen's love story was the most talked-about relationship back then. The couple met on Bigg Boss 8 and were together from the time of the show, They also announced their engagement after they participated in Nach Baliye, which was a year after the controversial show. However, even this didn't last for quite long and they called it quits, just a year after. Upen took to twitter and announced their breakup by saying "Me and Karishma have both agreed to part ways. Thank you for all your love." Their breakup was amicable and the couple parted ways on a mutual note!
MUMBAI: Unilever will drop the word fair from its Fair & Lovely skin lightening products, it said on Thursday, in the latest makeover of a brand in response to a global backlash against racial prejudice.

Skin lightening cosmetics have a huge market in South Asia, but their promotion is being questioned, especially in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson said it would stop selling skin-whitening creams in Asia and the Middle East, while PepsiCo said it would change the name and brand image of its Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup.

Unilevers Fair & Lovely brand dominates the market in South Asia. Similar products are also sold by LOreal and Procter & Gamble (P&G).

We recognise that the use of the words fair, white and light suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we dont think is right, and we want to address this, said Sunny Jain, president of Unilevers beauty and personal care division.

In India, the biggest market for Fair & Lovely, fairness products have long been endorsed by leading Bollywood celebrities, as well as other youth icons.

Adverts have regularly featured two faces showing skin tone transformation, as well as shade guides to show improvement.

Unilevers India unit, in which the company owns a 67% stake, said it had shifted from such marketing in 2019 and would continue to evolve it to feature women of different skin tones.

Several users on Twitter applauded the move, though some said it was too little, too late.

This is a big win, but its only the beginning, Nina Davuluri, who in 2014 became the first Indian American to be crowned Miss America, told Reuters.

While Unilever removing words such as fair, white, & lightening, and changing the ... brand name is a step towards inclusion, its only one piece of a much larger fight to end colorism.

Davuluri on Tuesday wrote an open letter to Unilever CEO Alan Jope, urging him to stop production of the products.

The name change is subject to regulatory approvals, Unilevers India unit, Hindustan Unilever, said. It declined to say what the new name would be.

Public records indicate Hindustan Unilever last week filed an application to trademark a logo for soaps, creams, shampoos and other products under the brand name Glow & Lovely.

In 2018, the company also registered trademarks to market skincare and haircare products under the brand names Even & Lovely, Always Lovely, Care & Lovely and I Am Lovely, among others.

Separately, a source at LOreal in India said the French company was also having discussions in view of the backlash.

LOreal India declined to comment. LOreal in France did not respond to an e-mail seeking immediate comment.
A Moscow court on Friday convicted acclaimed Russian theatre and film director Kirill Serebrennikov of fraud, after a case that supporters saw as a test of artistic freedom in Russia.

The three-year case which saw Serebrennikov accused of stealing about $2 million reached its finale despite nearly falling apart last year and hundreds of cultural figures in Russia and abroad speaking out in his support.

Serebrennikov, 50, was pictured at Moscow's Meshchansky District Court as hundreds of people gathered outside in support of him.

The judge ruled that the director and two co-defendants were guilty of misappropriating state funds that financed a theatrical project called Platforma, which many say paved the way for other daring arts projects in Russia.

A Moscow court on Friday convicted acclaimed Russian theatre and film director Kirill Serebrennikov (pictured in court) of fraud, after a case that supporters saw as a test of artistic freedom in Russia

The three-year case which saw Serebrennikov accused of stealing about $2 million reached its finale despite nearly falling apart last year and hundreds of cultural figures in Russia and abroad speaking out in his support. Pictured: Supporters outside court on Friday

Leading cultural figures in Russia previously claimed the charges were politically motivated because of conservative dislike of Moscow's Gogol Centre theatre, which Serebrennikov was director of.

He staged productions tackling issues including sexuality and corruption and his plays often featured onstage nudity and bad language.

At the time of his arrest in 2017, detective novelist Boris Akunin likened Serebrennikov's detention to the Stalin era, saying the order could have come only personally from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Serebrennikov and co-defendants Yury Itin and Konstantin Malobrodsky 'carried out actions directed at personal enrichment' and acted as a group to mislead employees of the culture ministry, judge Olesya Mendeleyeva said, according to an AFP correspondent in the court.

At the time of his arrest in 2017, detective novelist Boris Akunin likened Serebrennikov's detention to the Stalin era, saying the order could have come only personally from Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured)

A fourth defendant in the case, Sofia Apfelbaum, was 'unaware' of the fraud, the judge said.

The prosecution this week asked the court to jail Serebrennikov for six years.

Sentencing was expected after the judge had finished reading the verdict, which could take several hours or even days.

The case against Serebrennikov stalled last year when a judge handed it back to the prosecution due to 'inconsistencies'.

It restarted with a new judge, and the amount of the alleged fraud was slightly revised from 133 million rubles to 129 million rubles.

Leading cultural figures in Russia previously claimed the charges were politically motivated because of conservative dislike of Moscow's Gogol Centre theatre, which Serebrennikov was director of

Serebrennikov was released after several days in jail and placed under house arrest and finally allowed to return to work, leading many to believe the case would be dropped.

But the judge on Friday backed claims by the prosecution that Serebrennikov masterminded the theft of state money allocated to the Platforma project he ran between 2011 and 2014.

Serebrennikov and his co-defendants insisted they are innocent.

With coronavirus restrictions still observed in Moscow, only a small number of people were allowed in the courtroom, but hundreds of supporters gathered outside, greeting Serebrennikov with applause before the hearing.

He sat in the front row wearing a black facemask and sunglasses as the judge muttered through pages of the case, her voice barely audible.

Top arts figures have slammed the prosecution's claim that the Platforma project cost much less than the state funds provided.

Serebrennikov and co-defendants Yury Itin and Konstantin Malobrodsky 'carried out actions directed at personal enrichment' and acted as a group to mislead employees of the culture ministry, judge Olesya Mendeleyeva said, according to an AFP correspondent in the court

Bolshoi Theatre director Vladimir Urin this week told daily newspaper Kommersant that the prosecution's estimate treated the lavish stagings in the project as small plays, considerably low-balling the figures 'on purpose'.

The defence has argued the project actually required more investment than the provided state funds.

One of Russia's most acclaimed directors, Serebrennikov has created works spanning from opera to theatre and film, with productions regularly winning awards.

Serebrennikov, pictured while being arrested in 2017, has criticised growing censorship of the arts in Russia, warning that 'everything is returning to the most pathetic Soviet practices'

He has criticised growing censorship of the arts in Russia, warning that 'everything is returning to the most pathetic Soviet practices'.

Artistic figures in Russia and abroad have spoken out in his defence including Cate Blanchett and Ian McKellen.

Thousands this month signed an open letter to Russia's culture minister, Olga Lyubimova, asking her to drop the complaint against the defendants.

In 2017, Russia's Bolshoi Theatre cancelled the premiere of a ballet directed by Serebrennikov about bisexual dance legend Rudolf Nureyev just three days before its opening night.

The ballet has been hotly anticipated given Nureyev's legacy, after his defection to the West and his death from an AIDS-related illness in 1993.

No official reason was offered for the cancellation, however it is believed the biographical show's homosexual themes may have been deemed inappropriate for the Bolshoi.
By ANI

PATNA: The death toll due to thunderstorm and lightning strikes in Bihar has now climbed to 92, the state Disaster Management Department (DMD) said on Friday.

On Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had announced Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the deceased.

ALSO READ | Lightning kills over 100 in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh

Speaking to ANI, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav conveyed deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and appealed to the state government to provide immediate financial assistance to the aggrieved families.

Yadav said an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each should be given to the families of the deceased as all belonged to framers or poor families and their financial state is very weak.

"It is a black day for us. People have died due to lightning strikes. We are getting information that more people are affected by the incident. We appeal the government to provide immediate relief and financial assistance to the kin of deceased," one of the victims family members said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday had expressed condolences to families of those who lost their lives due to heavy rain and lightning in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Street vendors will be allowed to use sections of roads and pavements if they receive permission and pay fees for their business activities under a HCM City draft decision on road and pavement management.

A parking lot in Le Thi Rieng Park in Ward 15 of HCM Citys District 11.  Photo nld.com.vn

Ngo Hai Duong, head of the Land Infrastructure Management Division under the city Department of Transport, said the decision aims to better ensure safety for pedestrians, especially at intersections and on sections of roads with construction works.

The decision also urges the use of advanced technology in management and operation of roads and pavements, and the lease of some sections of these roads and pavements. Fees for using such infrastructure facilities should also be imposed.

However, at least a 1.5 metre section of pavement must be used for pedestrians, said Duong at a conference held by the Vietnam Fatherland Front's HCM City chapter last week.

Ha Ngoc Truong, an expert from the HCM City Centre for Road, Bridge, Port Technology Consultancy, said local authorities at the ward and commune level must be responsible for the implementation of the new decision.

Trinh Van Chinh from the HCM City University of Transport said street vendors should be granted permission via certificates that define the time and the areas for their business activities.

Chinh said such certificates could help give street vendors peace of mind and encourage them to be more responsible for their activities.

Most violations are caused by unlicensed street vendors. Many of them have paid fees 'under the table' for their business activities on streets and pavements, said Chinh.

To better control street and pavement business activities, agencies must focus on management and impose severe punishment on violators, Chinh added.

Illegal activities

Lawyer Nguyen Van Hau, deputy chief of the HCM City Lawyers Association, said that granting permission to street vendors for temporary use of roads and pavements could lead to uncontrolled licensing of certificates for organisations and individuals.

City authorities must charge fees for temporary use of roads and pavements and identify the agencies responsible for pavement management and for road and pavement usage fees, he said.

In many cases, violators are unlicensed street vendors who usually pay illegal fees "under the table" for good positions on streets and pavements, turning these places into street shops and motorbike parking lots.

Officials who violate regulations on granting licenses to vendors for street and parking lots must be punished, Hau said.

Expert Tran Kien from Hanoi National University said local agencies must take urgent and strong measures to combat illegal activities of so-called bouncers, who protect the vendors and take illegal fees, a practice which has been reported for decades.

To prevent or reduce bouncers activities, road and pavement management must be made public and open, and street and pavement managers must be frequently rotated, said Kien.

Tran Quang Lam, director of the HCM City Department of Transport, said the draft decision on temporary use and management of sections of road and pavement management in HCM City aims to better serve pedestrians. VNS
(Left) Propagule of the Asiatic mangrove, Rhizophora mucronata that had recently established itself on a sand bank. (Right) A cluster of mangrove apple, Sonneratia alba, that has been inundated during high tide. Credit: National University of Singapore

NUS ecologists showed that mangrove tree species with seeds/seedlings that float and survive shorter periods at sea have limited ability to disperse across the Malay Peninsula.

Southeast Asia, with its thousands of islands and complex geological history, is one of the most interesting regions in the world to test ideas about dispersal by sea. The distribution and genetic patterns of coastal organisms that we see today contain signatures of their past dispersal activities and allow us to examine how genes moved across this complex landscape impact dispersal activities at present.

A research team led by Prof Edward WEBB and comprising his then Ph.D. student, Dr Alison WEE from the Department of Biological Sciences, NUS used molecular tools to examine the genetic relationship among populations of four commonly occurring mangrove species in Southeast Asia. They showed that the Malay Peninsula functions as a filter to genetic exchanges between the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait. Mangrove species with seeds/seedlings that float and survive longer were able to disperse between coasts while those with lower dispersal potential were largely limited to one side of the peninsula. A closer look at mangrove populations along the Malacca Strait revealed that species with limited dispersal ability had a genetic structure that contains signatures of their historical colonisation route dating back 10,000 years ago. In contrast, species with higher dispersal potential showed that a greater proportion of the genetic structure is associated with recent migration.

Figure (right) shows the propagule morphology of the four species of mangrove plants used in the study. Credit: National University of Singapore

These results highlight the distinct lineage history of mangrove populations in this region and the effects of dispersal barriers, such as the Malay Peninsula, on genetic exchange. In particular, the findings underscore the importance of long distance dispersal in maintaining populations with naturally fragmented distribution, like mangroves.

Plots (left) showing the recent migrants along the Straits of Malacca as assessed by the BAYESASS software (used for inferring proportions of recent migrants among populations). Thicker lines depict highly connected population pairs. Migration from north to south is in red colour while migration from south to north is in green colour. Credit: Journal of Biogeography

Dr Alison WEE said, "When I first looked at the results I was surprised at how similar the patterns of genetic exchange in mangroves are to marine animals. We always see them as trees, but since their seeds/seedlings are dispersed by the sea route, their genetic patterns more resemble that of coastal animals with passively dispersed larvae."

"With increased research on the global genetic connectivity of mangroves, it is important to expand this study to include more mangrove species and across various physical barriers to construct an integrative biogeography of coastal plants," added Prof Webb.

More information: Alison K. S. Wee et al. Genetic structures across a biogeographical barrier reflect dispersal potential of four Southeast Asian mangrove plant species, Journal of Biogeography (2020). Journal information: Journal of Biogeography Alison K. S. Wee et al. Genetic structures across a biogeographical barrier reflect dispersal potential of four Southeast Asian mangrove plant species,(2020). DOI: 10.1111/jbi.13813
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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 16:31:37|Editor: huaxia

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PARIS, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) and China, two major players in global governance, have a shared responsibility in renovating multilateralism, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French prime minister, has told Xinhua.

When commenting on the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations (UN), Raffarin said that multilateralism was a slow and difficult construction that should not be deconstructed, and that multilateral renovation is the great cause of the moment.

France and China share the conviction that "today's world needs cooperation more than tension," the French politician said.

"Multilateralism is the only true peaceful vision based on respect for each other. We must not weaken our multilateral institutions. On the contrary, we must strengthen and constantly improve them," he said.

The world has changed a lot in the past 75 years, and multilateralism must evolve to take account of these changes, he added.

The UN, "like other multilateral institutions, must strengthen their legitimacy by further integrating the countries that have emerged, particularly in Africa and Asia," he added.

"Some of our major topics, such as viruses, climate change, or popular aspirations -- including environmental awareness -- are not sensitive to borders," Raffarin said. "We do have a global heritage to defend and a shared future to build. Modern politics must combine the life of nations with the destiny of humanity."

Calling health the world's number one concern right now, he stressed that the COVID-19 health crisis proves that international cooperation in global health is insufficient and should be strengthened.

"Health must be at the forefront of multilateral action and the World Health Organisation must therefore be strengthened, not weakened," he said.

On the ties between the EU and China, which held a video meeting on Monday, Raffain said that the two major players in global governance have many important common interests, as well as subjects for negotiation.

"We have many important common interests, such as peace and security, protection of the planet, revival of the world economy and response to the deviation of unilateralism," he said. "We also have subjects for negotiation -- for example, investment policy -- that we must discuss in order to achieve balanced cooperation. "

"It is good and useful that the dialogue between the EU and China is thus institutionalized and takes place regularly at the highest level," he said, adding that "discussion is the best way to overcome differences." Enditem
European and United States lithium technical and battery-grade prices held steady in the week to Thursday June 25, with the market watchful of the continued uncertainty surrounding the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lithium extraction and export operations in Chile  a key producer of lithium compounds  have not been affected so far by the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the country, sources familiar with the matter said.

US lithium producer Albemarle confirmed in an email to Fastmarkets that the company is taking strict preventative measures at its operational sites in Chile and at present there is no impact on its lithium production nor have they had to stop lithium production operations.

A deal for technical-grade lithium carbonate for Europe delivery was reported to Fastmarkets at $5.50 per kg during the assessment window, showing early signs of further weakness in the market, although most sources saw prices in a range of $6-8 per kg.

Domestic Chinese lithium prices and seaborne Asia prices have been rolled over for the week ending Thursday June 25 due to a public holiday in China and in line with Fastmarkets methodology.

Learn more about Fastmarkets lithium pricing methodology here and read the latest lithium price spotlight here Fastmarkets trade log for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China for June includes all trades, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.All lithium carbonate, hydroxide and spodumene prices are available in our Battery Raw Materials Market Tracker. Get a sample of the report here.
A giant humpback whale was caught on camera seeming to play with a fishing boat and making rock side to side.

Colin Sutton was searching for yellowfin tuna in the Sea of Cortez off San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, with his friends earlier this year when they were greeted by a 35ft-long visitor.

The enormous animal swims directly underneath the 28ft-long boat and knocks the side, causing it to rock.

A 35ft-long humpback whale swam underneath a fishing boat, making it rock side to side, in the Sea of Cortex off San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, earlier this year

The three men on the boat watched in awe as the whale swam past them and blew out of its blowhole for around 45 minutes

Mr Sutton and his friends, Reed Gunderson and David Reid, hold on to the sides of the vessel to steady themselves before venturing over to the other side to keep track of the whale's movements.

It begins to turn gracefully in the crystal clear coastal water before heading back toward the boat and spraying out of its blowhole.

The gentle giant played alongside the ship, owned by Mr Sutton's company IndiGo Adventures, for around 45 minutes.

Mr Sutton said in the eight years he has been running the business, which offers customs trips and activities including free diving, spear fishing, and sea kayaking, he had never had an encounter like it.

The whale was captured turning gracefully in the water and heading back to play with the boat a little longer

He said: 'For a whale to be focused on us like that for 45 minutes, it was genuinely magical.

'I've seen lots of marine life before, but nothing similar.

'The boat moved from the whale once or twice when it very gently nudged us, otherwise only a little from the swirling water from its tail and fins.

'Its energy was calm and curious.'
A digest of recent news from the EBRD

Helping banks to carry on lending

This week alone the EBRD provided circa 365 million in loans to financial institutions in six countries. The new financing for bank and microcredit firms enables them to keep lending to businesses in need of urgent liquidity as the private sector grapples with the impact of coronavirus.

In Egypt, the EBRD provided a US$ 200 million financing package to National Bank of Egypt, which also includes trade finance, and a US$ 100 million loan to Commercial International Bank.

Learn more here and here

In Serbia, financing for SMEs via local banks topped 210 million in recent weeks alone: Loans are available via the Serbian subsidiaries of Banca Intesa, Erste Bank, Eurobank, ProCredit Bank and UniCredit Bank.

Zsuzsanna Hargitai, EBRD Director for the Western Balkans, was quoted by Reuters as saying: Greater access to finance is a lifeline for many small businesses in Serbia as they face a drop in sales and cash-flow, and experience supply chain disruption.

Learn more

In Uzbekistan, the EBRD provided a US$ 40 million loan to UzPromstroybank (UzPSB) for on-lending to the private sector.

Learn more

In Kazakhstan, with an EBRD loan in Kazakh tenge equivalent to up to US$ 40 million the leading microfinance lender KMF will help local firms to continue their business activity and preserve jobs.

Learn more

In Armenia, private companies can access financing from ACBA-Credit Agricole which has received a US$ 20 million loan.

Learn more here and in a Reuters story

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the EBRD supported the mirofinance institutions Partner Mikrokreditna Fondacija Tuzla and Mikrofin d.o.o. Banja Luka, each with a 5 million loan for on-lending to small enterprises.

Learn more here and here

Meanwhile, the Bank also a 30 million loan for the upgrade of roads in the capital city Sarajevo and the surrounding Sarajevo Canton.

Learn more

In Montenegro, SMEs will benefit from loans offered by Hipotekarna Banka thanks to a 5 million loan from the EBRD.

Learn more

Turkish businesses receive EBRD support

Turkish companies have applied for more than

a fifth of the funding set aside by the EBRD to help businesses cope with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. Financial institutions have been the biggest beneficiary of the 944 million allocated to Turkish firms so far this year, Arvid Tuerkner, Managing Director for Turkey told the news agency.

Learn more

A decade of TurSEFF

As part of EU Sustainable Energy Week, the EBRD and the EU marked 10 years of joint investment in clean energy in Turkey. 650 million in EBRD loans have been channelled through nine Turkish financial institutions to support more than 1,600 energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to date. EU grants made loans more affordable and facilitated training of lenders.

Learn more

Ukraine passes reforms with EBRD support

The Ukrainian parliament passed an EBRD supported law creating the legal and regulatory framework for derivatives  a financial instrument that helps to provide hedging opportunities.

Learn more

The south Ukrainian city of Kherson signed the first-ever concession project in the country with an international consortium. A precondition for this agreement was the adoption of a concession law in 2019, the development of which the EBRD supported.

Learn more

Matteo Patrone, EBRD Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, told local media EBRD wants continue develop capital market in Ukraine.

Learn more

EBRD improves aid transparency rating

The EBRD has been ranked good in the 2020 Aid Transparency Index published by Publish What You Fund  The Global Campaign for Aid Transparency following significant improvement in its policies and delivery.

Learn more

Gender equality part of building back better

Speaking at a seminar co-hosted with the Women20 (W20) group, EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said that building gender equality - and private-sector oriented solutions - into the recovery from the pandemic is part of a vision for a better future, one that boosts economic resilience and sustainability for a long time to come.

Learn more

On Twitter

Labour market support in Montenegro

The EBRD and the International Labour Organization (ILO) publishes a report on the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the labour market in Montenegro. The study sets out a list of policy recommendations aimed at creating employment and protecting vulnerable workers and enterprises.

Learn more

Political scars of epidemics

The coronavirus crisis could undermine young people's trust in governments and political institutions for years to come, a study by EBRD economists shows.

Learn more here and in the Daily Mail

EBRD economists Cagatay Bircan, Zsoka Koczan and Alexander Plekhanov contributed to the new CEPR ebook "Covid-19 in Developing Economies",

On LinkedIn

Green hydrogen sustainable future fuel

As the world plans economic recovery efforts after coronavirus and trillions of dollars and euros are readied to invest in build-back-better approaches, an increasing number of scientists and policymakers are saying green hydrogens time has come.

Learn more

On Twitter

Client Stories

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Basma, a start-up based in Lebanon offered its patients a quick remote service to equip them with invisible teeth aligners delivered to their doorstep.

Learn more

Georgias restaurant Barbarestan, inspired by womens rights advocate and legendary cookbook writer Barbare Jorjadze, is reopening its doors after moving to home delivery due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Learn more

Newly approved projects

The Bank is processing new loans to financial institutions across its countries of operations:

US$100 million loan to Georgias TBC Bank

TBC Bank 10 million loan to Serbias Intesa Leasing Beograd

Intesa Leasing Beograd 3 million loan to North Macedonias NLB Banka Skopje under Green Energy Financing Facility

The EBRD is also working to provide working capital loans to:

10 million to Romanias Agricover, an agricultural firm

Agricover, an agricultural firm US$25 million to Borusan Makina in Kazakhstan, the distributor of Caterpillar heavy machinery

the distributor of Caterpillar heavy machinery 25 million to Slovenias energy company Petrol

energy company Petrol 20 million to Stadler Minsk, a Swiss manufacturer of railway rolling stock in Belarus.

Subscribe to instant email updates on EBRD news about topics such as coronavirus and climate finance

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The City of Laredo has confirmed Friday an additional 111 cases of the novel coronavirus locally, the greatest single-day increase in coronavirus positives thus far. 1,202 people have tested positive for the virus since testing began in March.

Of the total positives, 555 cases are currently active. 44 people are currently hospitalized in Laredo, with 20 people currently under intensive care.

According to interim health director Richard Chamberlain, the city continues to see an increase of cases specifically in the younger age groups. Of the new positives confirmed today, those between the age of 20 and 29 years old account for about 36.93 percent of the total. Those from 20-39 account for 53.15 percent of the 111 cases.

Acting fire chief Ramiro Elizondo said Laredo hospitals remain at capacity due to staffing shortages at the hospitals. However, city officials are expecting to receive relief from other medical professionals throughout the state.

Starting Friday, some local businesses, such as bingo halls and maquinitas, will be required to keep a log of visitors in order to assist city officials with contact tracing. The logs will have to be submitted to city officials starting Monday.

The city has provided additional information on the process, including a templates for businesses, on their website.

Bars were also included in the local emergency order mandating the logs. However, Governor Abbott's decision to close bars throughout the state Friday means they will not have to comply until they are allowed to reopen. According to Abbott's order, Texas restaurants will also have to reduce their capacity to 50 percent.

As of noon Friday, 8,022 tests have been submitted for COVID-19 in Laredo. Of those, 5,890 have returned negative.

920 tests are still pending, though 406 are presumed negative due to being over 30 days old.

Free coronavirus testing will be held in Webb County from next Thursday, July 2, to Sunday, July 5. Testing will be provided free of charge and will not require a prescription or previous appointment. The full schedule follows:

July 2: Bruni Community Center, 303 12th Street. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

July 3: Santa Teresita Community Center, 15014 U.S. Hwy 59. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

July 4: Larga Vista Community Center, 5401 Cisneros. 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

July 5: El Cenizo Community Center, 3519 Cecilia Ln, El Cenizo, Texas. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The number of coronavirus-related deaths remains at 23.
Police are mobilised to ong Tam Commune to maintain security on January 9, 2020.  VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI  The Ha Noi Peoples Procuracy on Thursday prosecuted 29 people for allegedly killing three policemen in ong Tam Commune of the citys My uc district in a violent incident earlier this year.

All the prosecuted persons are residents of Hoanh and ong Mit hamlets of ong Tam. Among them, 25 face murder charges while the four others are accused of resisting on-duty officers.

According to the procuracys indictment, despite being aware that the land lot at the Senh field of ong Tam Commune is used for defence purposes as confirmed by the Ha Noi Inspectorate and the Government Inspectorate, in 2013, Le inh Kinh (born in 1963, a resident in Hoanh hamlet) and others set up a so-called group of consensus with the aim of re-occupying and dividing the land lot among themselves.

They allegedly frequently incited locals to file complaints about the land management and use by the ong Tam administration, used social networks to spread false information that Senh field belongs to ong Tam Commune, and called on local people to struggle to keep the land.

From 2017 to 2020, Kinh reportedly directed the group of consensus and many other people to cause a number of disturbances.

Upon learning the Ha Noi Department of Public Security co-ordinated with the air defence  air force service of the Ministry of National Defence to deploy personnel to protect the force building fencing walls around the Mieu Mon airfield on Senh field, Kinh and his accomplices reportedly bought weapons with the aim of attacking the authorised forces.

In January 2020, learning that the police were about to come to ong Tam, Kinh and many others allegedly gathered at his house on January 6, 7 and 8 to plot a fight against the police.

When the police arrived at Hoanh village in the early morning on January 9, the group allegedly used handmade weapons to attack police. Although the authorised force used loudspeakers to repeatedly ask them to stop such acts, the rioters refused and resisted even more fiercely, with some allegedly throwing grenades at police.

While moving to arrest rioters, three police officers fell into a pit near Kinhs house. Some of the rioters allegedly poured gasoline into the pit and set it alight, killing the three policemen.

As the authorised forces broke into the house and found Kinh holding a grenade and calling on others to resist, they decided to shoot him dead, according to police.

Investigation results show indicate that Le inh Kinh and four others were the masterminds, who both directed others to commit and directly engaged in the murder of the policemen.  VNS
WASHINGTON  American intelligence officials have concluded that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan  including targeting American troops  amid the peace talks to end the long-running war there, according to officials briefed on the matter.

The United States concluded months ago that the Russian unit, which has been linked to assassination attempts and other covert operations in Europe intended to destabilize the West or take revenge on turncoats, had covertly offered rewards for successful attacks last year.

Islamist militants, or armed criminal elements closely associated with them, are believed to have collected some bounty money, the officials said. Twenty Americans were killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2019, but it was not clear which killings were under suspicion.

The intelligence finding was briefed to President Trump, and the White Houses National Security Council discussed the problem at an interagency meeting in late March, the officials said. Officials developed a menu of potential options  starting with making a diplomatic complaint to Moscow and a demand that it stop, along with an escalating series of sanctions and other possible responses, but the White House has yet to authorize any step, the officials said.
Tehran: An industrial gas tank exploded in Tehran overnight, Iran's defence ministry said Friday, after the blast lit up the night sky in images widely shared on social media.

The tank blew up around midnight, with Fars news agency saying "a number of social media users reported seeing an orange light" in the east of the Iranian capital.

"A gas tank exploded in the Parchin public area. Thank God, there were no casualties," defence ministry spokesman Brigadier General Davoud Abdi said.

The blaze was brought under control by firefighters, and investigations were underway to determine the cause, he told state television.

Fars, which is close to ultra-conservatives in Iran, said that according to "videos sent by (our) readers, this light was seen for a few seconds".

It cited an "informed source" and said the site of the incident was not related to the military.

"At the entrance of the (nearby) Parchin military zone, there is no movement or traffic of fire and rescue vehicles," the news agency added.

AFP could not immediately verify purported videos of the explosion that went viral on Twitter.

Fars said that the flash of light was caused by "an industrial gas tank explosion" near a facility belonging to the defence ministry.

Mehr news agency said a "terrible sound" was heard.

"The cause of this sound and light is not yet known, but it was clearly heard in Pardis, in Boumhen and surrounding areas" of the Iranian capital, it said.

State television said various institutions were investigating the incident. Fars said police were involved in the investigation.
West Australian egg producers are fearful for their futures given the push by supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths to ban caged eggs.

They say the cost of production will skyrocket as they try to keep up with demand, which is rising by 3 per cent every year while they also bear the costs of converting from cages to barn or free-range models.

WA's biggest egg producer, Golden Eggs, is run by Peter Bell and his family, out of Gingin.

What theyre trying to do is get barn eggs to be sold at a similar price to cage eggs and barn has its inherent costs, which is above what you would find for a cage facility, and then free range is a cost again on top of barn, says Commercial Egg Producers of WA president Ian Wilson.

The returns are very, very low.
Soweto, South Africa  Britain's Prince William went to Oxford University on Wednesday to meet patients taking part in a human trial of a promising coronavirus vaccine. But with cases of COVID-19 plummeting in England, researchers fear the trial involving 10,000 people may not yield results conclusive enough to prove the vaccine works.

They needed to test the drug in a place where more people are being exposed to the deadly virus. So, as the trial continues in England, researchers in South Africa and Brazil  where there are many more people contracting the coronavirus on a daily basis  have launched parallel human trials on the same candidate vaccine.

The Oxford formula is one of about 120 potential vaccines being worked on by teams around the globe. Based on drugs that have proven successful against similar viruses, the Oxford team's vaccine has moved quickly into the large-scale human trial phase. Already there has been huge investment, including from the U.S., to ensure millions of doses can be available as soon as it's proven safe and effective.

Another, even larger human trial of the potential vaccine is set to take place in the U.S. Oxford's pharmaceutical partner AstraZeneca plans to enroll 30,000 people, starting this month, in that trial after receiving $1 billion in investment from the U.S. government. The goal is to make some 300 million doses of the vaccine available in the U.S. before the end of the year  if it works.

For months Oxford's candidate vaccine, technically known as "ChAdOx1 nCoV-19," has been considered one of the world's best hopes for a lasting solution to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CBS News met some of the people volunteering to have the Oxford team's trial vaccine administered at a humble clinic in Soweto, just outside Johannesburg in South Africa.

The first South African volunteers in the Oxford trial waited patiently in the winter sun on Wednesday to receive the experimental vaccine. For the most part, they said they were excited to be part of history.

Story continues

Khensani Nkuna, 27, said she volunteered, "because it might save lives."

Despite a recent lockdown, and teams of contact tracers working to track down infected patients in South Africa, cases of COVID-19 continue to surge in the country.

Renowned vaccinologist Professor Shabir Madhi, who's leading the trial of 2,000 volunteers, says South Africa is likely still about eight weeks away from seeing infections peak.

"So our ability to be able to determine whether this vaccine protects against COVID-19 or not will probably be much greater than is currently the case in the United Kingdom," he said, adding that his team hopes to see results from the trial before the end of this year.

Coronavirus deaths soar in Latin America, Caribbean

The trial in Brazil, which is battling one of the world's most aggressive COIVD-19 epidemics right now, largely mirrors the South Africa experiment, with 2,000 volunteers expected to be administered the candidate vaccine.

Officials at the Federal University of Sao Paulo told the AFP news agency on Wednesday that they'd begun giving the drug to volunteers, focusing on front-line health workers to increase the likelihood of exposure to the coronavirus.

The results of all the trials, in the U.K., South Africa and Brazil and the U.S., can't come soon enough. If the experimental vaccine is proven effective, the Oxford team has already coordinated with manufacturers in several countries to have about 2 billion doses available by early next year.

Massive Saharan dust cloud makes its way to Southern states still battling coronavirus

Bubba Wallace on federal investigators' announcement of no charges, advocating for change

India's hospitals overwhelmed as coronavirus slams country
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen thought she had finally found a date for her wedding, but has now had to postpone it for a third time due to an EU summit, she said Thursday.

Many a wedding plan has been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic and it seems not even world leaders are immune.

"I am really looking forward to marrying this fantastic man," Frederiksen wrote in a Facebook post alongside a photo of herself and her fiance Bo.

"But obviously it can't be that easy, and now there is a council meeting in Brussels called, exactly on that Saturday in July when we had planned to marry," she wrote.

"But I have to do my work and take care of Denmark's interests. So we have to change plans again.

"Soon we should be able to get married. I'm looking forward to saying yes to Bo (who fortunately is very patient)."

The extraordinary European Council meeting on July 17-18, which will be held in Brussels in the presence of the 27 heads of the member states, was decided last week at a virtual meeting.

It will be the first summit where the leaders will actually be present since the coronavirus lockdown began months ago.

During the meeting leaders are set to discuss a recovery plan in response to the COVID-19 crisis and a new EU budget.
Anuja Susan Varghese By

Express News Service

KOCHI: Keralas excellent track record so far in fighting the SARS-CoV-2 has suffered a dent in recent days with allegations of insufficient testing being done. While the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka conduct 10,000 to 30,000 tests per day, Kerala is conducting only around 4,000 tests. Added to this are cases of people testing positive after arriving in other states from Kerala, which has put the testing strategy of the state under a cloud of doubt.

Experts advise that the state must ramp up testing and make tests mandatory for all those who arrive by road as well. According to many experts who have been closely monitoring the spread of the pandemic in the state, it is high time the state revised its testing strategy in view of the surge in Covid-19 positive cases in the state over the past one month.

The test positivity rate of Kerala is very low compared to other states, but the state needs to scale up testing. Antibody testing, which should be undertaken to understand the range and scale of transmission of the virus in all districts, has still not begun. Testing, tracing and isolation are the key to keeping the virus in check. If we falter at the first step itself without proper testing, especially those coming from other states by road, we will not succeed in containing the virus spread, said Rijo John, health economist and senior fellow at the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR).

There should be mandatory Covid tests for all entering the state especially since we are seeing a surge in positive cases, said Dr Tinku Joseph, pulmonologist at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences.

However, Rajeev Sadanandan, member of the governments expert committee on Covid-19, differs with this view. He said the number of tests being done is not as important as how intelligently the states surveillance system is designed.

There is no point in mass testing -- the world is moving from mass lockdown to focused population restrictions in particular areas, like what is being done in Beijing. There is no need to compare our numbers with other states; the concern should be where the pandemic, as far as Kerala is concerned, is going. It is not only the numbers that matter when it comes to issues relating to public health. A probability assessment of population and probability-based testing must be done. So far, the prevalence of the virus has been low and the numbers have remained low.

A population-proportional sampling based on a scientific model is required, said Rajeev. Testing is done in different states for different purposes and is designed as part of the strategy of each state. The testing methodology and purpose vary from place to place. For example, in Chennai, the prevalence rate of the virus has gone really high, so the tests are a mix of surveillance and case detection, said another member of the committee.

Meanwhile, Dr Anup R Warrier, infectious disease expert, said Tamil Nadu has gone way above the curve in testing, thanks to its RT-PCR testing facilities and laboratory infrastructure that are way ahead of Kerala. For Kerala, full-fledged virology institutes and PCR testing facilities are fewer in number, affecting our testing strategy. We have less than 25 testing centres for Covid, while this is above 40 for Tamil Nadu. However, we can revise our testing strategy by increasing the hospital-based tests at least, said Dr Anup.
Trump critic condemns term Kung flu' for COVID-19 cheered on by college students at rally

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President Donald Trump again referred to the coronavirus as the Kung flu before a packed campaign rally at an Arizona megachurch as fans cheered, drawing criticisms as some feel the term does more harm than good amid a rise in harassment and hate crimes against Asian Americans during the pandemic.

There has never been anything where there has been so many names, Trump said of COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday night before a packed crowd gathered at Dream City Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

Trump was speaking at a "Students for Trump" rally organized by the conservative advocacy group Turning Point Action.

I can give you 19 or 20 names for [the virus], Trump said. Its got all the different names.

As the president was listing different names, such as Wuhan Virus or the Chinese Virus, someone in the crowd shouted, Kung flu!

When the president used the term himself, the crowd of young people at the church erupted with applause.

Some people call it the Chinese flu, the China flu, right? Trump said. Ive never seen anything like it.

For months, Trump has been criticized in the media for using certain names for the virus, such as the Wuhan virus or the Chinese virus, with some commentators calling such remarks racist. Trump has defended the use of such terms as he has tried to drive home the point that the virus originated in Wuhan, China.

The Trump administration and other world leaders have criticized Chinas transparency and during the pandemic and accused the World Health Organization of covering up for Chinas mismanagement.

Since the spread of the virus worldwide, China's Communist Party has been actively campaigning state and national lawmakers to heap praise on the regime instead of condemning it. Sen. Roger Roth, Wisconsin Senate Speaker, said the CCP reached out to him twice to urge him to pass a resolution praising China for its "handling of the coronavirus." Roth said the CCP even sent him a written resolution to use in the state Senate, according to an Epoch Times investigative report.

Members of the administration had previously expressed outrage over an allegation that a White House official used the term Kung flu. In March, White House adviser KellyAnne Conway considered Kung flu to be highly offensive.

But in recent days, Trump has more than once used the term Kung flu, a play on words with the form of Chinese martial arts called Kung Fu and the animated film "Kung Fu Panda." He used the term in his campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, over the weekend and again on Tuesday night before the crowd at the evangelical megachurch.

Conway spoke with reporters Wednesday and tried to defend Trumps comments at the Tuesday night rally by stressing that the president has made very clear he wants everybody to understand ... that the virus originated in China.

And had China been more transparent and honest with the United States and the world, we wouldn't have all the death and destruction that unfortunately, we've suffered, Conway stressed.

She added that polls suggest that the number of Americans who view China as an adversary has nearly tripled.

Thats obviously owing to this global pandemic that were suffering, Conway said. China does not deny responsibility and well continue to look at that.

Ron Sider, the founder of Evangelicals for Social Action who has published over 40 books, including The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump, released this month, told The Christian Post that an investigation into the viruss origination in China is necessary.

But he warned that the use of terms like Kung flu only stoke racial tensions at a time when attacks and hate crimes against Asians in the U.S. have shot up during the pandemic.

Sider said several contributors in the new book, which features essays from 30 evangelical Christians, lament and condemn President Trump's frequent stoking of racist sentiment.

Honest insistence on careful scientific research into how COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China, is important and valid, Sider said. But racist labeling of COVID-19 is unchristian and will probably encourage more racist attacks on Asian Americans.

Tragically, Trump's use of the derogatory term fits with his continuing divisive actions and failure to unite the country as it grieves George Floyd's murder and demands that racism against American minorities end now, Sider added.

In her remarks to the press, Conway stressed that the president is only trying to say that China is responsible.

While the president is saying it, he is also saying, This virus came from China, she said.

In May, Human Rights Watch reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has fueled anti-Asian racism worldwide.

According to the international human rights monitoring group, government leaders and senior officials have in some instances directly or indirectly encouraged hate crimes, racism and xenophobia be using anti-Chinese rhetoric.

HRW accused several political parties and groups in the U.S., U.K., Italy, Spain, Greece, France and Germany of latching onto the Covid-19 crisis to advance rhetoric that demonizes refugees and foreigners.



Racism and physical attacks on Asians and people of Asian descent have spread with the Covid-19 pandemic, and government leaders need to act decisively to address the trend, Human Rights Watch Asia Advocacy Director John Sifton said in a statement.

Governments should act to expand public outreach, promote tolerance, and counter hate speech while aggressively investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.

Earlier this year, the media lashed out at Trump for referring to the virus as the Chinese virus, China virus or Wuhan virus.

Yet several lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle and news reporters have also referred to the virus by the location it derived from, using terms such as the Wuhan virus, Chinese coronavirus and foreign virus.

CNN referred to the coronavirus as the Wuhan virus and China virus in January, and The Wall Street Journal referred to coronavirus as the Wuhan virus around the same time. Similarly, NPR has described it as the Wuhan coronavirus in its news reports.

Additionally, several Asia-based news organizations previously referred to the virus by a similar name, Wuhan pneumonia.

There are many pandemics, viruses and diseases that are identified by the name of a specific location. Some of these include Lyme disease, named after Lyme, Connecticut; the Spanish flu, which killed 50 million people worldwide in 1918; Ebola, named after the Ebola River in Zaire; Omsk fever, named after its discovery in Omsk, Russia; the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome; and German measles (rubella virus), which infects around 100,000 people worldwide every year, just to name a few.
Is this the longest lunar eclipse of the century? What else can I see today?

July 5 2020 Lunar Eclipse: What is a Penumbral Eclipse or Upachaya Grahan, check India timings

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 26: The Penumbral Eclipse will take place on July 05 2020. This year has seen two Chandra Grahan and one Surya Grahan and the fourth eclipse will take place on the night of July 5.

However, it will not be visible in all countries in the world. The grahan would be visible in parts of north and South America and Europe. It will also be visible in the Western parts of Africa.

NASA astronaut shares striking 'ring of fire' Solar Eclipse 2020 images from space

Upachaya Chandra Grahan timings in India on July 5:

In India the people will not be able to view it, because it will take place during the day time. The first contact with the penumbra will be at 8.30 am and the maximum impact of the eclipse would be at 9.59 am. The last contact with the penumbra would be at 11.21 am.

The rituals:

According to the Hindu beliefs, a graham which cannot be seen with the naked eyes will not leave any adverse impact on the people and their natal charts also. On July 5, the moon will move through the outer part of the Earth's shadow or the regular umbra. The Upachaya Grahan takes place when the Sun, Earth and the Moon are imperfectly aligned.

During this the Earth blocks the sun rays from falling on the Moon and casts and impression on it with its outer shadow.

Significance of Chandra Grahan:

The significance of the Chandra Grahan is associated with Samudra Manthan episode that is related to Kurma Avatar of Lord Vishnu. The Devas and Asuras took part in the churning of the cosmic ocean to obtain Amrit.

Soon after this, Lord Dhanavantri appeared with a pot of elixir and then Svarbhanu snatched it and ran away. Following this Lord Vishnu appeared as Mohini to get the container back. Lord Vishnu cut the asura's head with his Sudarshan Chakra, which divided him into two parts. The head came to be called the Rahu, while the tail as Ketu.

Total lockdown in Guwahati for 14 days from Sunday after spurt in cases | Oneindia News

It is said that to avenge this, Surya and Chandra, Rahu swallows them temporarily and Ketu releases them.

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Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 17:25 [IST]
Bir-Lahlou, June 26, 2020 - President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO, Mr. Brahim Gali, has asserted that the failure of the UN Secretariat and the Security Council to act firmly in the face of Moroccos annexationist actions whose aim is to impose a fait accompli by force in the occupied Western Sahara has seriously undermined the credibility of the UN and deepened the loss of faith amid the Sahrawi people in the already fragile UN peace process.

President Brahim Gali , added in his letter to UNSC, H.E. Mr Antonio Guterress on the occasion of the the 75th anniversary of creation of The United Nations, that as a result, the entire UN peace process in Western Sahara has been completely paralysed. The delay in appointing a new Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara after the resignation of President Horst Kohler in May 2019 has only added to the state of paralysis.

President of the Republic went on sayinh that Twenty-nine years have already passed since the establishment of the MINURSO by the Security Council in April 1991. The United Nations however has so far failed in implementing the mandate for which MINURSO was created, namely the holding of a free and fair referendum by which the people of Western Sahara could exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence, and thus bringing to an end the decolonisation of the last colony in Africa.

The Frente POLISARIO and the Sahrawi people however can never accept that Morocco persists in its annexationist actions aimed to forcibly entrench its illegal occupation and impose a fait accompli in the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara while the United Nations remains completely silent. Moreover, while recalling our decision of 30 October 2019 regarding the reconsideration of our engagement in the UN peace process, the Frente POLISARIO reaffirms that it cannot engage in any political process or negotiations while the Moroccan occupying power persists in its attempts to create a fait accompli on the ground. Gali stressed in his letter

He has also said that the patience of the Sahrawi people is running out, and today they are saying to the United Nations and to the world, loud and clear, that enough is enough. As we have repeatedly warned, Morocco, the occupying power, is playing with fire. It would be making a serious mistake if it persisted in testing the patience of the Sahrawi people who are now more determined than ever to defend, with all legitimate means, their sacrosanct rights and legitimate national aspirations for freedom and independence.

The 75th anniversary of the United Nations may be a cause for celebration for world peoples, but it is also a strong reminder of the sacred responsibility of the United Nations towards colonised countries and peoples. What the Sahrawi people expect from the UN Secretariat and the Security Council, therefore, is to see serious actions that practically demonstrate genuine will to create the necessary conditions to enable our people to exercise freely and democratically their inalienable right to self-determination and independence in accordance with the UN-OAU Settlement Plan on which basis the mandate of MINURSO and the terms of the ceasefire were established. Frente POLISARIOSG concluded his letter to UNSG SPS

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President Moon Jae-in on Thursday marked the 70th anniversary of the Korean War with a call for reconciliation between the two Koreas.

"The ideological race between South and North Korea ended long ago," Moon said during a ceremony at a military air base in Seognam, Gyeonggi Province. "Our GDP is more than 50 times larger than North Korea's, while our trade amount is more than 400 times bigger."

But he stressed that his government "has no intention to force its system on North Korea" and urged Pyongyang to become a good neighbor before any discussion of reunification begins.


The Supreme Court Friday dismissed the anticipatory bail pleas of DHFL promoters Dheeraj Wadhawan and Kapil Wadhawan in a money laundering case of Yes Bank being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The Wadhawans, now arrested, have challenged the Bombay High Courts May 12 order rejecting their plea for pre-arrest bail.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B R Gavai dismissed a batch of four pleas after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Wadhawans, said that he was not pressing his prayer for relief.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED said that both the accused have been arrested and hence their plea for anticipatory bail becomes infructous. The bench dismissed the pleas as withdrawn.

The high court had refused to grant pre-arrest bail to DHFL promoters, noting that their custodial interrogation was required to unearth the conspiracy and modus operandi in the multi-crore scam.

The Wadhawans are in jail after being earlier arrested by the CBI in a separate case related to the Yes Bank scam.

They had moved the high court for anticipatory bail in the money laundering case and another case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the investment of employees provident fund of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL).

The high court had noted in its order that the applicants were not co-operating with the process of law and that the ED had issued several summonses to both Kapil and Dheeraj seeking their presence for questioning in the cases.

The court said although the Wadhawans responded to the summonses and notices issued to them by the ED, they evaded investigation by not appearing before the agency.

The response to the summonses speaks of apathetic and an indifferent approach. The lackadaisical approach of the applicants can be well noted in their response to the prosecuting agency, the court had said.

Wadhawans counsel had contended before the high court that no case has been made out for money laundering and the transactions in question were made in normal course of business.

They had argued that there was no case for any arrest or arrest warrant at this stage for his clients in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown in a matter of financial nature which is being investigated for the last six months.

The Wadhawans have claimed they have been made scapegoat of political quandary in the state. The court, however, refused to accept the excuse of the Covid-19 pandemic and had said this shall not deter the ED from investigating a serious offence of money laundering which has shaken the economy of this country.

Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan were arrested in April by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Yes Bank scam.

According to the CBI FIR, the scam started taking shape between April and June 2018 when Yes Bank invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of the scam-hit DHFL.

In return, the Wadhawans allegedly paid kickbacks of Rs 600 crore to former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor and his family members in the form of loans to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd held by the wife and daughters of Kapoor, the CBI has claimed.
NASAs Perseverance rover is all buttoned up inside the nose cone of the Atlas V rocket that will blast it towards Mars next month. Launch is scheduled for 22 July. The rocket, without Perseverance on top, also completed a propellant filling test known as a wet dress rehearsal. The Planetary Society has a comprehensive, continually updated guide to all 3 Mars missions launching next month at planetary.org/mars2020. Pictured: Perseverance being loaded into the nose cone. Image credit: NASA/Christian Mangano.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced Wednesday that the agencys headquarters building in Washington, D.C., will be named after Mary W. Jackson, the first African American female engineer at NASA. The building sits on Hidden Figures Way, which Bridenstine says is a reminder that Jackson is one of many incredible and talented professionals in NASAs history who contributed to this agencys success. Hidden no more, we will continue to recognize the contributions of women, African Americans, and people of all backgrounds who have helped construct NASAs successful history to explore.

As The Downlink publishes, 2 NASA astronauts are conducting a spacewalk to replace aging batteries on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS). One of the spacewalkers is Bob Behnken, who launched on SpaceXs Crew Dragon in May. Another spacewalk is scheduled for 1 July. Learn how the ISS helps prepare humans for deep space missions.

A group of scientists at Harvard and other universities has received NASAs first-ever funding to search for technosignaturesartificial signs of intelligent lifearound other stars. The scientists will look for signs of industrial pollutants in other planets atmospheres, as well as light reflected from solar panelsboth of which could indicate a civilization technologically similar to our own. Learn how and why we study exoplanets, planets around other stars.

Asteroid Didymos small moon, which was previously nicknamed Didymoon, has a new name: Dimorphos. Dimorphos is the target of NASAs Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), a mission that will slam a spacecraft into the moon and change its orbit around Didymos. The mission will verify one possible method of deflecting an asteroid on course to hit Earth. Learn more about DART here.
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death by suicide has shook the nation. It has also brought to light some of the lesser known facets that he had, such as his passion for science, his generosity and humility, and love for life. Sushant's school paid a touching tribute to the actor in a social media post.

Sushant Singh      ,         | FilmiBeat

Sushant studied at the St Karen's High School in Patna, Bihar. Remembering Sushant, the school wrote, "Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not sleep. I am the thousand winds that blow, I am diamond glints in the snow, I am sunlight on ripened grain, I am gentle autumn rain. As you awake with morning's hush, I am the swift up-flinging rush of quiet birds in circling flight. Do not stand at my grave. I am not there. I did not die."

Sushant was found hanging in his apartment in Mumbai, on June 14, 2020. It is reported that he was suffering from depression for around six months, and was undergoing treatment for it.

His death has reignited conversations around the treatment of talent with no prior connection to the Hindi film industry. Netizens and some celebrities are asking for reform within the industry.

Sushant's last film will be Dil Bechara, which is casting director Mukesh Chhabra's directorial debut. The film also stars debut actress Sanjana Sanghi. It has been announced that the film will be seeing a digital release on Disney+ Hotstar, on July 24. But some netizens are unhappy with this decision, and are requesting that Sushant's last film be released in theatres. Dil Bechara is a remake of the Hollywood movie The Fault In Our Stars.

ALSO READ: Farhan Akhtar Is Enraged To See Sushant Singh Rajput's Family Not Being Respected: It's A Circus


MONTREALIn response to Thursday's news that Wirecard AG has filed for insolvency in a Munich court, payment processing firm Paxum Inc. has announced some minor changes to its services.

Paxum's announcement follows:

As a regulated financial entity, Paxum holds accounts with numerous banks and financial institutions worldwide. This diversity enables Paxum to switch EUR funding instructions to an alternative bank to process clients' incoming and outgoing EUR payments. Paxum EUR funding instruction is being actively updated at the time of writing, and any client that needs assistance should contact Paxum directly for more information.

It is important to note that USD funding is not affected and remains fully available for Paxum clients.

Part of our strategy is to always have backups in place so we can weather any potential financial storm, said Paxum CEO Octav Moise. If any business client is having a hard time with the new EUR wire information, please reach out to me directly via email for assistance.

The Paxum SEPA Mastercard issued by Wirecard Card Solutions in the UK is currently operating normally without any interruptions. Wirecard Card Solutions Limited is a separate entity from Wirecard Bank AG and settlements do not go through Wirecard Germany but through a bank in the United Kingdom.

In the unlikely event that Mastercard revokes Wirecard Card Solutions' license, or if Wirecard Card Solutions goes out of business, all clients will have reasonable time to empty their card balance, plus a Paxum Unionpay card would be issued free of charge, with activation fees waived in order not to cause any inconvenience to Paxum account holders.

We continue to operate business as usual, and we sincerely value and appreciate the support we've received from our many global business partners and clients.

Paxum is an industry leader, and has been successfully offering a secure instant payment platform since 2007 to hundreds of thousands of clients that actively use its service. The award-winning payment company provides a cost-effective, user-friendly interface fortified with stringent security measures and multiple ways for clients to access their account funds, including an optional prepaid credit card. Paxum account users can easily send and receive money instantly all over the world.
NEW YORK - Sidewalk Labs says it has laid off just under 20 workers, a month after abandoning its plan to build a smart city in Toronto.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/6/2020 (576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A view of the Port Lands area from Cherry St., Toronto on Tuesday, June 25, 2019. Sidewalk Labs says it has laid off just under 20 workers, a month after abandoning its plan to build a smart city in Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj

NEW YORK - Sidewalk Labs says it has laid off just under 20 workers, a month after abandoning its plan to build a smart city in Toronto.

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The New York-based Google affiliate did not disclose an exact number of employees or the reason for the move, but said several of the workers are based in Canada.

The company walked away in May from its plans to build a neighbourhood with affordable housing, tall timber structures, heated pavement and "raincoats for buildings" on Toronto's waterfront.

At the time, it said unprecedented economic uncertainty around the world and in the Toronto real estate market made the project too difficult to be financially viable without sacrificing core parts of the smart city.

In a statement to The Canadian Press, Sidewalk Labs says it remains committed to reimagining cities, but has narrowed its focus to include factory-made mass timber buildings and a digital master-planning tool designed to help developers and communities achieve shared objectives.

The company said it is sad that this shift in focus means it will say goodbye to "some of our incredibly talented team members," but noted that some of its Toronto staff will remain with the business.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2020.
DETROIT - Six years ago, Ford made a Texas-size wager on the top-selling vehicle in America, rolling out a radical new version of the F-Series pickup with a lighter aluminum body instead of the customary steel.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/6/2020 (576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In a photo from, Wednesday, June 24, 2020, the new 2021 Ford F-150 truck is photographed in Ferndale, Mich. Six years ago, Ford bet big on the top-selling vehicle in America, rolling out a radical new version of the F-Series pickup with a lighter aluminum body instead of steel. Now it's time for another revamp, and Ford is playing it safe. On the outside, the truck changes little. The biggest differences are a gas-electric hybrid version, internet connectivity, and a revamped interior that turns the truck into more of a rolling office or even a place to nap. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

DETROIT - Six years ago, Ford made a Texas-size wager on the top-selling vehicle in America, rolling out a radical new version of the F-Series pickup with a lighter aluminum body instead of the customary steel.

Now its time for another revamp, and Ford is playing it safe with the companys crown jewel.

On the outside, the truck changes little, and the internal combustion engines and transmissions remain the same. The biggest differences are a gas-electric hybrid version, internet connectivity, and a revamped interior that turns the truck into more of a rolling office or even a place to nap.

Theres good reason for Ford to minimize changes. Since the 2014 revamp, it has sold nearly 4.5 million of the aluminum-clad trucks, holding its sales crown despite challenges from Chevrolet and Ram. Pickups also have been a bright spot during the pandemic as automakers cautiously restarted factories last month.

Annette Sykora, who runs Smith South Plains Ford in Levelland, Texas, said Fords conservative stance is smart. Its been the No. 1 seller for a number of years, and a good, tough truck that does the work, she said. We definitely dont want them to mess with that.

In a photo from, Wednesday, June 24, 2020, the interior on new 2021 Ford F-150 truck is photographed in Ferndale, Mich. Six years ago, Ford bet big on the top-selling vehicle in America, rolling out a radical new version of the F-Series pickup with a lighter aluminum body instead of steel. Now it's time for another revamp, and Ford is playing it safe. On the outside, the truck changes little. The biggest differences are a gas-electric hybrid version, internet connectivity, and a revamped interior that turns the truck into more of a rolling office or even a place to nap. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

F-Series pickups are so important to Ford that a mistake could cost the company at a critical time with a wobbly economy due to the coronavirus, restructuring costs and investment in new technologies draining badly needed cash.

The big pickups generate $50 billion per year in global revenue, about one-third of what Ford normally takes in. Thats more than revenue generated by entire companies such as Coca Cola or Delta Air Lines. The F-Series brings in $42 billion in U.S. revenue, raising more cash than every other consumer product except the iPhone, according to Boston Consulting Group.

In Texas, where more pickups are sold than any other state, one in every five new vehicles sold is a full-size pickup. Its one in every seven nationwide, according to Ford research.

Theres really nothing more important to us than the F-Series, Ford CEO Jim Hackett said in an interview. The aluminum body, he said, gives the trucks an advantage in handling over competitors that will carry over into the new version, he said.

Sam Pack, who owns four Dallas-area Ford dealerships, says the F-Series accounts for well over 40% of his sales. Company research pointed toward revamping interiors to make it easier to do office work in the cab, said Pack, one of the dealers who advises Ford on new vehicles.

Before doing the redesign, Ford employees lived with owners to see how they used their pickups, said Dawn Piechocki, the trucks engineering manager. They found that nearly one-third use a laptop in the truck, yet there was no place for it to sit because the gearshift was in the way.

Many rigged up computer holders with plywood or bungee cords, Hackett said, yet they still prefer conventional shift levers to dials or buttons that would free up space.

So the design team figured out how to collapse the shifter to make the centre console box lie flat, creating a desk-like space for laptops, he said. The flat space is an option on all trim levels.

Theres also a new tailgate work surface that has its own ruler, and customers can get optional front bucket seats that recline to lie almost flat for snoozing between jobs.

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The hybrid powertrain, with a 3.5-litre turbocharged V6 engine, can produce enough power to serve as an onsite generator. One version can run enough tools to frame a house, powered from outlets in the bed, Ford said. The battery can run the tools alone, but the engine may turn on depending on how much electricity is being used. Trucks powered by gas or diesel engines also have a generator feature available, although engines must be running.

Ford expects the hybrid system to produce the most torque and horsepower of any light-duty full-size pickup, although gas mileage, power and other specifications werent released.

The company predicts 10% of buyers will choose the hybrid because of its extra power and generator.

All F-150s will have internet-connected modems so owners can send documents directly from the truck. The modems also will let Ford fix problems and update software wirelessly, a first for big pickups. The trucks come with standard safety features including automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection.

Available is Fords new hands-free driver assist system, which can be used on over 100,000 miles of divided highways in the U.S. and Canada. The system uses a camera to make sure the driver is paying attention.

The truck, to be built in Dearborn, Michigan, and Kansas City, Missouri, arrives in showrooms in the fall. The price wasnt announced. The current truck starts at just under $29,000 but can run close to $80,000.
A charity for sick children championed by Prince Harry yesterday thanked Mail Force for donating desperately-needed face masks.

WellChild will pass the personal protective equipment on to families whose lives have been plunged into chaos by the Covid-19 crisis.

For them, lockdown was not just an inconvenience but a disaster.

Many were reliant on carers coming into their homes to help with the round-the-clock, complex medical care that their disabled children need.

But overnight, carers stopped coming over fears of passing the virus to the vulnerable youngsters or catching it themselves.

WellChild, charity for sick children championed by Prince Harry, yesterday thanked Mail Force for donating desperately-needed face masks

Thankful: The Mail Force van delivers masks to WellChild

WellChild will pass the personal protective equipment on to families whose lives have been plunged into chaos by the Covid-19 crisis. Pictured: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the WellChild Awards 2019

Some of the more severely affected children require 24-hour help and this has left their parents exhausted after three months of lockdown.

Yesterday the Mail Force charity delivered boxes of surgical masks to WellChild, whose patron is the Duke of Sussex.

Mail Force was set up by this newspaper and our partners to deliver PPE to those fighting the war against the virus.

During the pandemic, Harry has been speaking to charity staff and parents with sick children via video calls.

Tara Parker, director of programmes at WellChild, said: He always remembers the children he meets or speaks to, even if it was ages ago.

At the charitys awards ceremony last year, the prince told the audience: Speaking to all of you pulls at my heart strings in a way I could have never understood until I had a child of my own.

Mask supply 'will help us get our lives back' Normality: Chloe Harris, 13, and her mother Sally For Chloe Harris and her family, a supply of Mail Force PPE masks means they can start getting back to normal. The 13-year-old has a rare genetic disorder called nonketotic hyperglycinemia. Her parents have to monitor Chloe constantly as she cannot swallow or clear a cough herself and she can have up to 30 seizures a day. She is also prone to colds and if she caught Covid, it would be devastating, said her mother Sally. Before Covid, carers used to provide Mrs Harris and her husband a break. But they have been looking after her constantly since March. Now, thanks to WellChild and Mail Force, respite is in sight. Mrs Harris said: We are very grateful. I dont know what we would have done without this PPE. It will help us get our lives back. Advertisement

WellChilds mission is to help ill children thrive by supporting them in their family homes, often with the help of carers.

But Mrs Parker said when coronavirus struck, there was a real panic among parents as they were concerned that carers might unwittingly bring the virus into a house.

HERE'S HOW TO DONATE Mail Force Charity has been launched with one aim to help support NHS staff, volunteers and care workers fight back against Covid-1 in the UK. Mail Force is a separate charity established and supported by the Daily Mail and General Trust. The money raised will fund essential equipment required by the NHS and care workers. This equipment is vital in protecting the heroic staff whilst they perform their fantastic work in helping the UK overcome this pandemic. If we raise more money than is needed for vital Covid-1 equipment, we will apply all funds to support the work of the NHS in other ways. Click the button below to make a donation: DONATE NOW If the button is not visible, click here Advertisement

Mrs Parker, a former head of nursing at St Georges Hospital in south London, has a severely disabled daughter of her own and said: There was no way we could turn our back on these people. I knew the problems these families had.

In just ten days the charity set up a nationwide emergency PPE service, begging and persuading in order to build supplies.

WellChild has lost 60 per cent of its income this year and they have furloughed staff, according to the director of communications Matt James.

But he said they have now had a sudden surge in demand for help, adding: There are two options  either shut up shop and say see you on the other side, or meet the crisis head on.

'Our mission is to give sick children the chance to thrive and nothing changed that. So we just adapted  fast.

So far WellChild has helped over a thousand families by sending more than 145,000 items of PPE.

And now Mail Force has replenished stocks with 28,000 masks. It was part of an airlift of four million masks earlier this week  three million of which have been handed to the NHS.

Overall, two billion items of PPE have been delivered to the NHS and care homes by the Government since the start of the pandemic. And a further 28billion items have been ordered.

Mr James said without the ability to let carers back into their homes, many parents will reach breaking point.

But he added: Thanks to Mail Force, we can really help get things moving again.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday, lauded the efforts of Uttar Pradesh government for tackling both coronavirus and migrant crises proactively. PM Modi compared coronavirus-related deaths in Uttar Pradesh and European countries. He said UP, with same population size as European nations, had only a fraction of their death counts.

"England, France, Italy and Spain-these Europen nations at one time conquered the world and were the biggest powers of the world. However, if you add up their population it comes to 24 crore. In India, UP alone has 24 crore of population. UP has seen from the fact that that four European countries had 1,30,000 deaths due to coronavirus. However, in UP, the number of deaths is 600. It means that UP has been tackling the issue effectively," the prime minister said today.

Prime Minister Modi, who launched the 'Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rozgar Abhiyan' on Friday, added that every life mattered.

According to John Hopkins University, United Kingdom reported 43,314 coronavirus-related deaths; Italy 34,678; France 29,755, and Spain 28,330.

Whereas, according to the Ministry of Health, Uttar Pradesh has registered 20,193 cases of coronavirus, out of which 6,463 are active; 13,119 cured, and 611 dead.

The PM then showered praise on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The PM said, "Yogiji is a prudent person, he understood the seriousness of the pandemic. However, instead of worrying, he and his team went on war footing to ensure that every UP citizen could be safe".

"When Yogiji's father passed away recently, he put the people of Uttar Pradesh above his personal loss and continued to work," PM Modi added.

The PM interacted with villagers from six districts of Uttar Pradesh at the virtual launch of Atma Nirbhar Rozgar Abhiyan. The campaign is focused on providing employment and promoting local entrepreneurship. Villages across all districts of the state joined the event through Common Service Centres and Krishi Vigyan Kendras.

Also read: India-China standoff: ITBP internal memo warns personnel of Chinese phishing attack

Also read: Moser Baer fraud case: CBI searches Dipak Puri, Ratul Puri's premises
The parents of a Union County, New Jersey, teenager who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound two years ago have sued the school district, claiming he was bullied by fellow students for nearly a decade and that administrators and teachers did nothing.

Carthoris Carter Uziel was a sophomore at Westfield High School when he died by suicide at age 15 in June 2018, according to court papers.

Uziels parents, Gene and Francis, say their child was called racial slurs, stalked and physically attacked repeatedly by students in the district, according to the suit, filed June 16 in Superior Court of Union County.

The suit states Carter Uziel was thrown against lockers, knocked to the ground, hit in the face with an iceball, which broke his glasses, and sexually assaulted multiple times. The bullying occurred at Edison and Roosevelt Intermediate schools and later at Westfield High School, the suit claims.

Beginning in 2010, Carter Uziel was subjected to an ongoing pattern of harassment, intimidation and bullying by students of (all three schools), the lawsuit states.

Teachers, administrators and counselors were fully aware but deliberately indifferent to (the bullying), resulting in substantial harm to him and ultimately causing Carter to take his own life, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit names the Westfield Board of Education, the superintendent of schools and Westfield township. The complaint alleges negligence, civil rights violations, hostile environment and retaliation.

Mary Ann McGann, community relations coordinator for Westfield schools, said Thursday the district cannot comment on pending litigation. Kim Forde, spokeswoman for the town, also declined to comment.

Westfield township officials did not immediately respond Thursday morning to requests for comment.

The parents said they frequently called and emailed teachers and administrators but their complaints always fell on deaf ears.

On May 20, 2015, a student with a prior history of bullying and other inappropriate behavior pulled down Uziels pants in class. The student was not suspended for this action and Carter had to serve a detention, the suit states.

In the winter of 2016, Uziel was attacked and his notebooks, homework and school supplies were vandalized. The parents reported both incidents in emails and verbally to schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan, the suit states.

Suicidal thoughts and behaviors can be reduced. If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741.

In March 2016, the superintendent allegedly sent Gene Uziel a terse email accusing him of harassing district employees.

You are the single and only parent out of the thousands of parents of our Westfield Public School students who has consistently attempted to harass and malign teachers, counselors, nurses and administrators in three different schools over several years, Dolans email states, according to the suit.

I do not believe that the district must continue to respond to further inappropriate, intentionally offensive or harassing communications, the email allegedly said, adding that the district would no longer respond to the fathers complaints.

In December 2017, Gene Uziel emailed a school counselor to report his son had been punched in the nose by two students who had stalked him for two days. In the same email, Gene Uziel said students had cursed his son and used racially offensive names that derided his Jewish heritage.

In April 2018, the father reported to a Spanish-language teacher that his son was still being bullied and had been called racial slurs, the lawsuit states.

Carter Uziel killed himself on June 17, 2018. The day after his death, Superintendent Dolan released a letter to parents.

Words cannot convey the grief we feel in the Westfield Public Schools community, the letter said. This tragic loss touches us all and we extend our condolences to Carters family.

In a local blog post dated October 2018, Carter Uziel was remembered as a friendly student who told lighthearted jokes and had a passion for theater.

Carter was gentle. Patient. Funny. Vibrant. Genuine. He might not be here to see it, but the roots Carter planted will forever grow in WHS, the blog post states.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com.

More:

Gun owners are 4x more likely to die by suicide than non-owners, study says

Murder by proxy: Bill imposing stiffer penalty on those convicted of guiding suicide passes Pa. House

Prominent N.Y. doctor who treated countless coronavirus patients, and survived the illness, dies by suicide
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Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong checks the company's home appliances at its home appliance division in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, June 23. Korea Times file





By Kim Hyun-bin, Kim Yoo-chul







After an independent review of the ongoing prosecution investigation into Samsung Electronics Vice President Lee Jae-yong, a panel of experts concluded Friday that the de facto head of the Samsung Group should not be indicted.







"The members of the panel decided that prosecutors should stop their investigation of Lee and halt attempts to indict him. This recommendation was delivered to the top prosecutors' office," the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced.







The recommendation is a clear win for Samsung as the recommendation allows its lawyers to challenge any justification for the investigation to continue. The probe had zeroed in on alleged malfeasance by Lee and group executives in a controversial 2015 merger of two affiliates that would have cemented the transfer of control of Samsung to Lee from his father Lee Kun-hee, who has been incapacitated for three years following a heart attack.







Although the panel recommended that Lee not be indicted, the prosecution doesn't necessarily have to accept this conclusion. However, previous recommendations in eight cases have been respected by prosecutors, raising expectations that this latest decision will have an impact on the ongoing investigation.







Samsung's legal counsel said; "We respect the panel's decision as it will help Samsung and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong focus on business activities to overcome the current challenges."







The panel's review, held behind closed doors, began at around 10:00 a.m. and ended at 07:40 p.m. Analysts had earlier predicted that the process would be over by around 6:00 p.m.







Samsung's Lee Jae-yong didn't attend the meeting.







The 15-member committee was comprised of outside experts including lawyers, professors and representatives of civic groups. They listened to respective arguments from Samsung and the prosecution through presentations, and then questioned both sides before retiring for a vote.







"During the presentations, prosecutors argued that they should continue their investigation into Lee, saying there was sufficient evidence to indict him. Samsung's lawyers presented a 50-page positioning statement refuting this.







According to a source familiar with the proceedings "the vote on the recommendation wasn't unanimous, but there was a majority decision."







Civic groups have been calling for the prosecution to continue its investigation of Lee who has allegedly been involved in bribery and malfeasance. Unsurprisingly, the business sector worries that such an investigation will hurt Samsung and if Lee is indicted it will be a "devastating blow" to the country.







After President Moon Jae-in visited Samsung factories for a second time  a rare move for a sitting president  the conglomerate announced a massive investment in electric vehicle batteries and logic chips, industries identified by Cheong Wa Dae as new growth engines.







Also, since Japan implemented export restrictions on certain products needed by Samsung, the firm has supported local component companies developing core materials crucial to industries here. South Korean companies still rely upon Japan in sourcing some core materials.







In line with President Moon's fight against COVID-19, Samsung has teamed up with local partners to supply masks and has provided its hospitals to treat those who tested positive for the contagious disease.







Lee apologized for his alleged wrongdoings in the past and promised to the public not to hand down control of Samsung to his children in an unprecedented nationally televised news briefing.







Industry officials said while there are lots of outstanding issues that Samsung needs to address, prosecutors need to consider its role in various matters affecting the country.







"Whether you like Samsung or not, now is the time for the country to team up with conglomerates to address pending issues," an official said.







In accordance with President Moon's efforts to tackle COVID-19 and highlight South Korea's role in handling the virus, Samsung Biologics, a core part of Lee's succession plan, is partnering with top pharmaceutical companies to mass produce "potential drugs."







The prosecution believes that the controversial merger in question  between Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T  was designed purely to help Lee get greater control of the entire conglomerate. Lee has spent a year in prison and was released two years ago after the Supreme Court suspended his sentence.










The Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission passed the fiscal year 2021 budget without a reduction of police funding Thursday in a special called meeting. The commission also approved the movement of the Confederate monument on College Avenue and Broad Street to Timothy Place and a memorial project for the Linnentown neighborhood.

The budget passed 7-2 with no reduction to the ACC Police Departments funding. Police funding has been a highly-discussed topic recently in the wake of nationwide protests of police brutality against the Black community. Over 100 people gathered at City Hall to voice their opinions on the fiscal year 2021 budget on June 17. Many said they wanted a reduction in police funding in the budget.

The Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement held a rally on June 25 during the special called meeting. One of their goals was to stall the budget vote for more time for public input and to negotiate police funding.

The commission was originally scheduled to accept the budget on June 16 but pushed the vote to June 25. The county charter says the commission must adopt the budget by June 30, or else the budget for the previous fiscal year will be adopted for the next fiscal year. The fiscal year begins July 1.

Commissioners Mariah Parker (District 2) and Tim Denson (District 5) voted against the budget after a motion by Parker was not passed. Parker motioned to add a goal of exploring options to shrink investments in armed police officers by 50% and transition toward a broader definition of public safety over the next 10 years. This initiative, proposed previously by Parker and Denson, is called the 50/10 Plan.

In a June 18 work session, the commission discussed the 50/10 Plan and the S.T.A.R.T Athens Plan proposed by Commissioners Ovita Thornton, Patrick Davenport, Allison Wright, Mike Hamby and Andy Herod.

Some parts of the S.T.A.R.T. Athens Plan were added to the final budget, including a county minority purchasing officer to focus on procuring minority services, contracts and consultants for the county.

During the meeting, Parker advocated for a community participatory budget process for the next years budget, which means community members would have direct input in the budgeting process.

Hamby, the District 10 commissioner, highlighted an amendment in the budget that adds another mental health co-responder team to the police department and a social worker in the public defenders office. A co-responder team is made up of an ACCPD officer and a mental health specialist from Advantage Behavioral Health Systems to respond to people who are having mental health crises. The amendment also commits $350,000 toward public safety and community building that addresses police strategies.

The mayor and commission also voted to move the Confederate monument on College Avenue and East Broad Street to the site of the Battle of Barber Creek at Timothy Place and widen the crosswalk across East Broad Street. Mayor Kelly Girtz said someone will design an interpretative package with historical context for the monument.

Thornton, the District 9 commissioner, said she had issues with the Confederate monument being moved and wished that the money wouldve gone to building statues honoring Black leaders.

I dont think moving a statue erases racist hearts, Thornton said. Its part of the history.

The commission voted to close College Avenue between Clayton and Broad Streets, commonly called College Square, for six months. Girtz said that during the closure, the ACC government will evaluate if the closure could be made permanent to create a pedestrian plaza and space for outdoor dining.

District 3 Commissioner Melissa Link and Wright (District 4) also presented a motion to allocate $50,000 to paint a rainbow crosswalk near College Square, which passed. The total project cost is $500,000, Girtz said. Wright said the Legislative Review Committee hopes to pass an anti-discrimination ordinance by the time the asphalt at College Square was ready.

Girtz also said they would be launching a Linnentown Justice and Memory Project that would work with Linnentown residents, historians, economists and other community members to atone for the removal of the Linnentown neighborhood.

The Linnentown neighborhood was demolished in the 1960s to make room for three University of Georgia high-rise dorms  Russell, Creswell and Brumby Halls. The Linnentown Project has been lobbying for recognition and redress for the Black residents of Linnentown that were forced out by the universitys seizure of the land.

The Justice and Memory Project would involve formal site markers to acknowledge and apologize for the removal, recommendations for the creation of a Black history center and an enhancement of local efforts for housing equity.

This will be the first of several projects in the same frame of memory and justice, Girtz said.
A cloud of locusts that originated in Paraguay has caused massive damage to corn plantations and has for the past several days, spread through northeast Argentina devouring its crops.

On Thursday, it was in Corrientes province, some 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Brazil's border, according to Argentina's food safety and health authority, SENASA.

SENASA said that current climate conditions indicate it is most likely the cloud will travel to Uruguay in coming days.

Brazil has suffered plagues of the same species of locusts in 1938, 1942 and 1946 that originated in Argentina and entering the southern states.

Since 2015, clouds of locusts have repeatedly appeared in the region of Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina, the Brazilian agriculture ministry said in its statement, adding it is believed that climate change  with greater alterations in temperature and humidity  has caused the insects to swarm more frequently.

Brazil's agriculture ministry on Thursday declared a crop emergency in two southern states amid the possibility a cloud of locusts could enter the country from Argentina.

The "state of phytosanitary emergency" is a bureaucratic step paving the way for Brazil's government to implement plans to suppress the plague and take other emergency measures in case the insects reach the farmland in Rio Grande del Sur and Santa Catarina states.

(Image Credit Pixabay)
HOUSTON - Without major changes in almost every state, a national police misconduct database like what the White House and Congress have proposed after George Floyds death would fail to account for thousands of problem officers.

Lawmakers nationwide are struggling with how to reform policing following massive demonstrations, increased calls for change and a stark shift in public opinion on the topic. Democrats want to create a policing registry that would catalogue disciplinary records, firings and misconduct complaints; President Donald Trumps executive order calls on the attorney general to create a database to co-ordinate the sharing of information between law enforcement agencies.

Any eventual registry that emerges would depend on states reporting into it. But states and police departments track misconduct very differently, and some states currently dont track it at all. The result is a lack of reliable official data and a patchwork system in which officers can stay employed even after being arrested or convicted of a crime.

In the wake of Floyds death, lawmakers in several states have proposed bolstering their states powers to identify and remove problem officers.

I think the politicians have been reluctant to take a step that might be perceived as anti-police, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said.

Yost and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, both Republicans, have proposed giving their states police licensing agency the power to remove officers from law enforcement for racial profiling or other misconduct that doesnt lead to a criminal charge, a power many states already have.

The potential for reform is better than its been in my professional lifetime, Yost said. That doesnt mean its a certainty on how much were going to get, but theres a genuine interest and willingness to look at these things seriously and honestly.

One measure of police misconduct at a state level is decertification. Almost all states issue licenses to police officers by mandating standards and training. Most states can decertify an officers license to prevent a bad one from working in law enforcement.

The Associated Press this month asked all 50 states to provide the number of officers they decertified for the last five full years. Georgia said it decertified 3,239 officers between 2015 and 2019. Minnesota, where Floyd died after a white police officer pressed a knee on his neck for several minutes, decertified 21. Maryland decertified just one officer.

Minnesota revokes an officers license automatically only after the officer is convicted of a felony. Georgia can take an officers license on several grounds, including misuse of force, committing a theft that isnt prosecuted or lying in an internal investigation.

The suburban Minneapolis police officer who killed Philando Castile, a Black man, during a 2016 traffic stop was never decertified. The officer, Jeronimo Yanez, was acquitted of second-degree manslaughter and later left his department under a settlement. He is not working in law enforcement elsewhere in Minnesota, according to the state licensing board.

A federal requirement to collect police misconduct data already exists. According to criminal justice experts, the Justice Department has never met a requirement in the landmark 1994 crime bill  signed by then-President Bill Clinton, a Democrat  that it would acquire data about the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers and publish an annual summary.

Then-President Barack Obama created a task force on policing that in 2015 recommended the creation of a police misconduct registry, but no action was taken. And the outlook for a policing bill is newly uncertain after Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a Republican proposal from moving forward. The House approved a far-reaching police overhaul from Democrats on Thursday, but it has almost zero chance of becoming law.

In the meantime, the most complete information on officer shootings, sexual assaults and arrests has been compiled by university researchers and news organizations.

In 2015, The Associated Press found that nearly 1,000 officers had been decertified across the country over six years for sexual assault or other forms of sexual misconduct.

The APs investigation uncovered examples of officers who were accused of sexual misconduct at one agency, fired or allowed to resign, then rehired in law enforcement and accused of misconduct again.

Five states  California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island  have no decertification process at all. Neither does the federal government for most of its estimated 130,000 law enforcement officers, including agents in the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol.

The Department of Justice declined to comment on how it would implement Trumps executive order.

For now, states voluntarily submit the names of officers to a private database called the National Decertification Index that police agencies can use in hiring. But Georgia doesnt submit names to the index because it is not a governmental institution, according to Ryan Powell, deputy director of the states standards board. Meanwhile, Minnesota and almost all other states do.

The index was created and updated with Department of Justice grant funding but last received federal money in 2005, said Mike Becar, director of the organization that runs the index. He runs the database on roughly $1,000 a month.

The federal government could apply a lot more pressure, Becar said. The biggest hurdle is the 50 states with their own individual laws and regulations and legislatures.

In the meantime, the attorneys general of California and New Jersey, both Democrats, announced they support creating a system to decertify police officers in their states. And New York, which implemented police decertification in 2016, this month repealed a law that shielded police misconduct records from public disclosure.

Even if an eventual national registry of officers were incomplete, it would still be helpful, said Yost, the Ohio attorney general. Ohio decertified 93 officers between 2015 and 2019.

Some information is better than no information, Yost said. Because the thing is hard doesnt mean we shouldnt start and do what we can.

___

Associated Press reporters Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles and Colleen Long in Washington contributed to this report.
Representational image

Over 3.6 lakh Indians have returned to India from abroad after the government launched the ''Vande Bharat'' evacuation mission on May 7 in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said a total number of 5,13,047 Indians have registered their request with Indian missions abroad for repatriation to India on compelling grounds.

Of the people who have registered, 3,64,209 have returned under this Mission as of today, he said.

Repatriations from neighbouring countries have also been happening through land borders, he added.

"More than 84,000 Indians have returned through land border immigration checkpoints from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh," the MEA spokesperson said.

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"In the first three phases of the Vande Bharat Mission, around 875 international flights were scheduled for operation from over 50 countries across five continents. So far, more than 700 of these flights have reached India, repatriating around 1,50,000 Indians," Srivastava said.

The remaining 175 flights under the Phase 3 are expected to reach in the coming days, he said.

These Vabde Bharat Mission (VBM) flights have been instrumental in addressing the immediate requirements of stranded Indians from many parts of the world, Srivastava said.

"We are committed to bringing back our remaining compatriots particularly in the GCC countries, Malaysia, Singapore among other places. In order to continue with our efforts, Phase IV of VBM is being firmed up with effect from July 3, 2020," he said.

"Phase IV will particularly focus on countries where we still have a large number of Indians who have registered to return," Srivastava said.

Apart from these, chartered flight operations which commenced on May 26, have steadily increased over the past weeks, he said.

These flights have also brought back seafarers and crews of shipping companies stranded in various places, Srivastava said.

"Till date, 1,30,061 persons have returned on these flights. Demand for these flights remains very high especially in the Gulf region. Therefore, we are moving to further streamline the process," Srivastava said.

Noting that repatriations through naval ships have also been part of this mission, he said one such repatriation is presently underway.

INS Jalashwa reached Port of Bandar Abbas in Iran on June 24 to bring back Indian citizens and their embarkation was to commence on Thursday, Srivastava said.

Asked about Kerala government's suggestion that COVID-19 testing of those returning on Vande Bhrat flights be done, Srivastava said after consulting Indian missions in the Gulf countries, the MEA told the state government that there are practical difficulties in this regard.

"At present only UAE has arrangements for full testing, Qatar provides for limited testing and in other countries in the region prior testing is not possible as there are issues related to cost, time and availability of testing," he said.
NEW BERLIN  A weekly newspaper with a long history of keeping its community informed will continue publishing for another year and hope to continue even longer.

The New Berlin Bee announced that its publisher, South County Publications, would cease publishing it and the Pleasant Plains Press starting Wednesday. But a swell of support from the New Berlin community led South County Publications to decide to continue publishing the Bee for at least another year. The Pleasant Plains Press still will cease publication.

New Berlin residents have promised to help the Bee find more advertisers and subscribers to help it stay afloat after next year. Illinois residents can subscribe to the Bee for $50 year; subscriptions are $55 for out-of-state residents and $35 for seniors.

New Berlin village President Michael Krall said some of the essential functions the paper performs for the community include covering high school sports, posting minutes from Village Hall and serving as documentation of both community events and deceased community members.

Krall compared the possibility of losing the Bee to the closures of other essential businesses that small towns like New Berlin have experienced during the past several years.

Its kind of like a grocery store, Krall said. A community doesnt really appreciate that its there until it leaves.

Stephanie Snyder, president of New Berlin Area Community Development League, said the Bee also plays a crucial role in delivering information from the league to residents who are not active on social media and rely on print media for area news.

We rely on it a lot to keep information flowing and in the hands of our residents, Snyder said. Its a great tool for sharing info.

Snyder also appreciates the Bee for the work its staff does to highlight the achievements of students in the area and for reporting on local businesses.

Krall said he hopes the scare over the papers closure helps remind residents to subscribe to the Bee so it has the money to continue documenting the lives of the New Berlin community after next year.

The press is an asset, Krall said.

The staff of the New Berlin Bee did not return a call for comment.
After a legal battle lasting nearly 12 years the High Court will order the extradition of Liam Campbell, who was found civilly liable for the Omagh bombing, to Lithuania where he is wanted on international weapons trafficking charges.

Campbell (58) was arrested in Upper Faughart, Dundalk, Co Louth on December 2, 2016, on foot of a second European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by Lithuanian authorities.

The arrest warrant for Campbell stated that he allegedly organised the preparation for the smuggling of weapons in support of the terrorist grouping the Real IRA (RIRA) between the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007.

Campbell's legal team had objected to his surrender based on the length of time he had been subject to the warrant and had argued that he could be subjected to "inhuman or degrading treatment" in prison there.

Politicians at the scene of the Omagh bomb atrocity in which 28 people died and over 200 were injured in the no warning dissident republican explosion.

Mr Farrell added that the remand prison of Lukiskes, in Vilnius, had closed in July of last year, that his client's bail was "hanging over him for four years" and that the delay in proceedings was "shameful".

In a judgement returned this afternoon, Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly, said she was satisfied that an order for the surrender of Campbell may be made.

As the judgement was delivered electronically, Ms Justice Donnelly said she would formally make the order when Campbell next appears in person before the High Court on July 13th.
Soon after the lockdown was announced in March, famous Odia film actor Sabyasachi Mishra received a message on Twitter from Dhariti Patra, a Mumbai resident. Patras mother was a cancer patient and was due to be operated in AIIMS Bhubaneswar on March 28, but before it could happen, the hospital turned all its resources towards managing the Covid-19 pandemic. Desperate, 21-year-old Patra tweeted to the 35-year-old actor to help her mother get the treatment she needed. She also tweeted to the Odia chief minister Naveen Patnaik and Odia actor-turned-Member of Parliament Anubhav Mohanty on March 28.

Everyone thinks movie actors can work miracles in real life, but it does not happen that way. So I ignored the messages. But a few days later, I thought if I can help her in any way, let me try, said Mishra, an engineer-turned-actor, who came into prominence with the Odia movie Pagal Premi in 2007.

Mishra contacted a private hospital in Bhubaneswar and arranged for the mothers transportation from her village in Ganjam district, Odisha, to the capital city, where she underwent chemotherapy. When [Patra] called up from Mumbai to say she can never forget the help, I felt I can be of some help to people apart from entertaining them in movies, said Mishra.

I had become desperate as AIIMS had refused to operate my mother. I was in Mumbai and could not travel due to lockdown. Though I had tweeted to CM and BJD MP Anubhav Mohanty, I did not get any help. Luckily, Sabyasachi bhai saw the tweet and decided to help out. I cant be thankful enough, Patra said.

Two and half months later, Mishra, who is known for his romantic lover-boy roles, has helped thousands of migrant workers. Turning his home into a control room, he coordinated the return of Odia migrant workers from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, among others, several of whom had already started their journey back on foot. Since May 11, the actor has helped transport close to 3000 people through buses, trains, flights and car.

The biggest loss that [the migrants] have suffered is loss of willpower and dignity. They think they will die walking. Its important to talk to them, he said.

It started on May 11 when the actor received a message on social media from Rosalin Mishra, a student of Central Sanskrit University in Rajasthan seeking help for 80 stranded students there.

It was beyond my imagination to handle the arrangements for buses, getting travel permits and passes for inter-state borders. Initially, bus owners were reluctant to travel to Odisha and they wanted more money. But that was sorted out eventually, Mishra said.

Mishra hired two buses to ferry the students between Jaipur and Bhubaneswar on May 21, and paid the tickets of those who couldnt arrange for their own fare.

People began to get in touch with Mishra over social media. Mishra said that keeps his laptop and mobile phone on at all times.

Rosalin now helps manage his social media profiles as well. Together with two other students, they trawl through Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and communicate with people seeking Mishras help. Last week, I coordinated the return of 44 girl migrant workers from Odisha who had lost their jobs in Kerala and were desparate to come back, she said.

On May 31, Pandarinath Bidar, a photo journalist in Bangalore saw a labourer named Pradip Tandi, sitting on the skywalk of the Majestic bus stand. Tandi had been out of work for two months, and his landlord had evicted him and his family. I alerted the local youth Congress workers who made food and lodging arrangements for them. I also posted a video of the labourer and his family on Twitter which Sabyasachi Mishra saw and sought details for helping them, Bidar said.

Mishra bought seven air tickets for Tandi, his paralysed mother, and other members of his family. Between June 10 and 14, he coordinated the return of 120 girls from three districts of Odisha who were working in garment factories in Tirupur and Coimbatore and were unable to return after the lockdown began.

Mishra said that he has set an expenditure target of Rs 20 lakh for philanthropic activities and he is about to reach that amount. Luckily, people are also keen to help out, and Mishra is directing them to his trust, which he set up last year.

Though film actors do reach out to people in times of natural distress, Sabyasachi has gone several steps ahead. What is creditable is he has done it when the film industry has had no business and actors are unlikely to get any work for quite some time due to lockdown issues. He has set the bar high for everyone, Odisha Cine Artistes Association president Kuna Tripathy said.

Noted sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik recently made a sand illustration in praise of Mishras efforts at the Puri beach.

Recently on Twitter, when someone tagged Sonu Sood  the Bollywood actor who had helped migrants leave the city by organising buses for them  another user tagged Mishra. Brother.. when you have wishes of the entire nation with you then nothing is impossible. We will make sure everyone reaches back to their family. Yes bhai cant wait to meet you. Keep the good work going, Sood replied.
Irans underground church comes 'above ground' to aid Muslim neighbors during COVID-19

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Christians in Muslim-majority Iran are risking arrest to provide food and humanitarian aid to their neighbors struggling without jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the head of one of the worlds most prominent Christian persecution watchdogs.

David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA, an organization that monitors persecution in 60 countries, told The Christian Post that underground churches in Iran have surfaced amid the COVID-19 crisis to answer Jesus call to love their neighbors.

It just began with people spending their own time and their own money to make sure neighbors have the care and support they need because of lost incomes and the COVID pandemic fallout, Curry said, adding that efforts have become more organized over time as local church networks have gotten involved.

The church [serves] as a rally point [and] centers of care and compassion for Muslim communities that they are living in, he explained.

For security reasons, Curry could not go into detail about how many churches are involved in distributing aid and how the aid distribution works. He said that churches, which are already under tremendous societal pressure, are taking extra risk by trying to organize help for people who are struggling.

The remarkable thing about the Iranian church is their ability to mobilize online networks into offline outreach in this highly restrictive, risk-laden environment, Curry explained.

Iran is ranked by Open Doors USA as the ninth worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution.

Iranian society is governed by Islamic law and churches are banned from holding services in the nations most common language, Farsi. People caught attending underground house churches face arrest and many are arrested every year.

The Church has always been strong in the underground among supporting each other, Curry stated. This is something different because they are having to come above ground, so to speak. They are starting in their pockets and their communities and neighbors, people who they know who are hungry and need hygiene kits and things like that. But it has gotten more organized, which brings greater risk. They have not done this sort of above-ground relief before. Its a historic thing.

The bold effort comes as the Iranian economy was hit hard over the last few years. The situation has gotten worse thanks to alleged mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis by Iranian leaders.

So far, Iran has over 209,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 9,800 people have died. In recent weeks, it has been seeing more than 2,000 new cases a day.

The added pressure of sanctions and the COVID pandemic shutdown has really hurt, Curry said. The leaders are always going to make sure they have theirs. But the working-class people, the elderly are suffering greatly in Iran.

According to Curry, any type of underground church activity to serve neighbors in need is considered illegal in Iran because the regime has laws to interpret these kinds of things.

They would see that as trying to coerce people, he said. There is no evangelism involved in this. It is just Christians loving their communities. They will interpret it as a reason to crack down on Christians, certainly.

Curry assured that the distribution of food and hygiene packets does not involve evangelism.

This is just people loving each other in Jesus name. Of course, [there are] individual stories. There are people who recognize that these are Christian folks who are helping them, he said. But this is not about trying to preach sermons or evangelize to people, per se, but just do the right thing because their faith calls on them to do it.

Despite the risk, Curry said Open Doors felt compelled to share about the Iranian Churchs aid efforts because there are many people right now who need some good news.

They need an example of the Church being the Church in the midst of the very intolerant situation, he said. I just think it is a good example for us to stand up, be brave. There are people in worse situations that are doing this and it is having a tremendous impact and it is the right thing to do.

Despite the persecution, the underground church movement in Iran continues to grow. Open Doors estimates that there are over 800,000 Christians in Iran, a significant increase from the 450,000 Christians the group estimated in 2016. The 2011 census found 117,704 reported Christians in Iran.

Curry believes that the Church in Iran has been able to grow because people have been able to share their experiences of what Jesus has done for them on a personal level with their Muslim brothers and sisters who need hope.

You have a very smart connected community in Iran, which is a great country that has been victimized by this regime. It has really been very organic, Curry said.

Similar church-led aid efforts are happening in other countries where Christians are persecuted, such as India, where there have been reports of Christians being denied aid by radical Hindus.

We have organized, big movements to help Christian communities and Christians are being salt and light to those around them, Curry explained. The situation is different [in India]. There are major needs there. There are mostly Christians being isolated in radical Hindu communities from aid. Churches are having to help each other survive. So it is a somewhat different manifestation but there is a lot of issues intensifying persecution in various countries.
Russia's Central Electoral Commision (CEC) says overall turnout was about 9 percent on the first day of a weeklong vote for constitutional amendments that could pave the way for an extension of President Vladimir Putins rule by 12 years.



The CEC said on June 26 that just over 10 million voters casts ballots on June 25, including remote online voting -- a first-day turnout representing 9.2 percent of all registered voters.



Turnout for online voting by residents of Moscow and the Nizhny Novgorod region was 52.8 percent of those who applied in advance for permission to vote remotely -- or about 618,200 ballots cast, election officials said.



Putin proposed the sweeping constitutional reforms earlier this year and insisted on putting it to a nationwide vote even though it was not required by law.



The plan has sparked sharp criticism from opposition members and human rights groups who call it nothing more than an attempt at a power grab by Putin.



Under current rules, Putin is forbidden from seeking a third consecutive six-year term.

But if the constitutional changes are approved, Putin's presidential term-limit clock will be reset to zero -- opening the way for him to run for reelection when his current term expires in 2024, and again in 2030.



There is no minimum turnout required to make the vote valid. But analysts say the Kremlin fears a low turnout could undermine the perceived legitimacy of the constitutional changes.



Voting stations opened on June 25 for a week to help avoid crowds on July 1, the day designated for the nationwide vote, as Russia continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.



The vote already had to be postponed from its originally scheduled date of April 22 due to the virus outbreak. Early voting has been allowed since June 10 for people who don't have access to polling stations.



But journalists and opposition figures already are complaining about irregularities in the vote.



In one instance, Pavel Lobkov, a journalist and presenter on TV Rain (Dozhd), said he voted at a Moscow polling station in the morning, then an hour later he was able to cast another ballot online because he had originally registered to participate that way.



Case closedThe system counted two votes. Everything is filmed on video. It is clear that in this way from each state employee there will be 30 votes in favor, Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny tweeted after Lobkovs video appeared online.

With reporting by Reuters, Interfax, and TASS
Texas and Florida have clamped down on bars as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases per day in the US surged to an all-time high of 40,000.

Texas governor Greg Abbott ordered all bars to close, while Florida banned alcohol at all such establishments.

The two states joined the small but growing list of those that are either reversing or putting any further reopenings of their economies on hold because of a resurgence by the virus, mostly in the south and west of the country.

New data from our Coronavirus Resource Center shows a timeline of state social distancing policies and re-openings compared to trends in new COVID-19 cases and deaths. More here: https://t.co/HjottZHYQO  Johns Hopkins University (@JohnsHopkins) June 25, 2020

Health experts have said a disturbingly large number of cases are being seen among young people who are going out again, often without wearing masks or observing other social-distancing rules.

It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars, Mr Abbott said.

Mr Abbott had pursued one of the most aggressive reopening schedules of any governor. The Republican not only resisted calls to order the wearing of masks but also refused until last week to let local governments take such measures.

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Texas reported more than 17,000 new cases in the past three days, with a record high of nearly 6,000 on Thursday. In Florida, under Republican governor Ron DeSantis, the agency that regulates bars acted after the daily number of new cases neared 9,000, almost doubling the record set just two days earlier.

A number of the hardest-hit states, including Arizona and Arkansas, have Republican governors who have resisted mask-wearing requirements and have largely echoed President Donald Trumps desire to reopen the economy quickly amid warnings the virus could come storming back.

The White House coronavirus taskforce, led by vice president Mike Pence, held its first briefing in nearly two months, signalling a recognition that the administration cannot ignore the alarming increases.

Mr Pence gave assurances that the US is in a much better place than it was two months ago. He said the country has more medical supplies on hand, a smaller share of patients are being admitted to hospital, and deaths are much lower than they were in the spring.

The count of new confirmed infections, provided by Johns Hopkins University, eclipsed the previous high of 36,400, set on April 24, during one of the deadliest stretches. Newly reported cases per day have risen on average by about 60% over the past two weeks, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Elsewhere around the world, China moved closer to containing a fresh outbreak in Beijing. Another record daily increase in India pushed the caseload in the worlds second most populous nation towards half a million. And other countries with big populations like Indonesia, Pakistan and Mexico grappled with large numbers of infections and strained healthcare systems.

South Africa, which accounts for about half of the cases on the African continent with over 118,000, reported a record of nearly 6,600 new cases after loosening what had been one of the worlds strictest lockdowns earlier this month.
Hughes takes TPC lead over McIlroy, Schauffele and Hovland

GOLF: Mackenzie Hughes lit up TPC River Highlands in Connecticut yesterday (June 25), firing 10 birdies in a 10-under-par 60 to seize a three-shot lead in the US PGA Tour Travelers Championship.

Golf

By AFP

Friday 26 June 2020, 04:30PM

Mackenzie Hughes career-low round was the lowest in tournament history. Photo: AFP

The 29-year-old Canadians career-low round was the lowest in tournament history.

He came up short on a 40-foot birdie attempt at his final hole to miss out on a 59, but had a comfortable lead over world number one Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland, who shared second on seven-under-par 63.

It was pretty fun, Hughes said. The hole starts to look pretty big. Youre just thinking about making birdies. Unfortunately I came up one short, but I beat my career best so that made me feel pretty good.

Hughes shined over the same Cromwell, Connecticut, layout where American Jim Furyk fired a US PGA record 12-under 58 in the 2016 final round.

Four-time major champion McIlroy of Northern Ireland had six birdies and an eagle against a lone bogey to make it first in the clubhouse on seven-under.

Schauffele and Hovland followed suit in the afternoon, Schauffele reaching eight-under through 15 before a bogey at the 17th dropped him back.

Hughes teed off on 10 and launched his birdie binge with a 30-footer from the fringe at 11. He birdied five straight to close the back side.

It was a slow build, said Hughes, who rolled in a 31-foot birdie putt at 18. I just convinced myself to keep the pedal down and keep making birdies.

He followed a birdie at the second hole with three birdies in a row starting at the par-five sixth to give himself a chance to crack 60, draining a dramatic 30-footer at the par-three eighth.

McIlroy stays patient

McIlroy also opened on the back nine and rolled in an 11-foot eagle putt at the 13th. He followed with birdies 14 and 15 before missing the green for a bogey at 16.

McIlroy birdied four of his last nine holes as well, and said he was not concerned about having a hot start despite the low scores typical at River Highlands.

You get a little antsy and go a little quick if you start thinking that way, he said. As much as its low scores, you have to keep telling yourself to be patient.

Schauffele was three-under through four holes before a bogey at the seventh. He responded with four straight birdies from the eighth through the 11th - dropping three 18-foot birdie putts and one 17-footer.

Schauffele said his decision not to attack the pins made his birdie run kind of boring.

The fun part was making the long putts, he said.

Norways Hovland gained his share of second with a birdie at 18. The Norwegian had raced up the leaderboard with six straight threes on the back nine, a stretch that included a birdie at 12, an eagle at the par-five 13th and birdies at 14 and 15 - bookended by pars at 11 and 16.

McIlroys playing partner Phil Mickelson, playing his first US PGA Tour event since turning 50 on June 16, headlined a group on 64.

The Travelers marks the third event since the tour returned earlier this month from a three-month hiatus due to the deadly coronavirus.

Two caddies and one player tested positive before the event prompting six player withdrawals, but McIlroy said there was no cause for alarm.

I saw a couple of calls to shut the tournament down, which is silly from my point of view, McIlroy said. As a whole its been going really well.
A doctor accused of indecently assaulting sleeping patients at a Sydney clinic told police one of his alleged victims was a teenager, not 10 years old, and may have been all right with him putting his penis on her hand.

Ali Khorami, 49, a GP who worked as a night shift sleep technician at the Woolcock Clinic in Glebe, allegedly touched the teenager and four adult women while they were being filmed in overnight sleep studies in 2018. He is also accused of drugging one of the women with a sleeping tablet.

Ali Khorami leaves court last week. Credit:Wolter Peeters

He has pleaded not guilty to 25 charges including 21 counts of aggravated indecent assault.

Mr Khorami's barrister previously told a NSW District Court jury his client denies touching three of the women, but says he had permission to touch the teenager and the remaining woman as a form of alternative healing. Both deny giving permission.
The gloomy news of how a Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, Nigeria Mr. Thomas Obi Tawo (a.k.a General Iron) hired cult boys and hoodlums to bundle elderly men and women in his hometown of Boki Local Government Area, beat them up with sticks and rods, then steam machetes in fire, use and scald them on their bodies while tying them with ropes on stakes over his malaria dream that these poor, and hapless elderly people were fighting him while asleep in a vision is not only sickening but horrifying.

The elderly men and women were put through this horrendous attack to extract confessions for what they dont even understand. And some of them who attempted to escape the callous and barbaric treatment were further mangled. This is how a lot have been dragged to an unknown destination in the forest and their whereabouts remain a mystery.

This is beyond comprehension, and we strongly condemn this devilish act in no uncertain terms. We call on Governor Ben Ayade to immediately fire Mr. Thomas Obi Tawo from his administration.

The Inspector General of Police is also by this release called upon to arrest Mr. Tawo and investigate him for assault, battery and possible homicide.

Recently, theres been a spike in torture and killing of old men and women as well as children across the country, especially Cross River State, after stereotyping them as witches and wizards. This has been fueled by mendacious religious preaching churned out by pulpit theologians who have run out of ideas and mastery to maintain their steam of popularity, exploitation and extortionist gambit.

Sam Ikpe ItaumaUnfortunately, due to ignorance and unfounded fears, stigmatized men and women including children hardly have people who speak out or stand up for them. I hereby charge civil society organizations to rise up to the occasion and defend the right of people stereotyped on the grounds of witchcraft accusations.

Director,

Childs Right and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN)

www.crarn.net


Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  Members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community were arrested on Friday in Mendiola, Manila after holding a protest rally against the anti-terror bill and other pressing issues.

Around 20 demonstrators were apprehended at 10:30 a.m. and brought to the Manila Police District headquarters, according to MPD Chief Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Carlo Magno Manuel.

Napansin sila ng kapulisan at nilapitan. Tinanong kung may permit at wala silang maipakita, Manuel said. Hindi sila intensyon hulihin.

[Translation: They were noticed and approached by the police. They were asked if they had a permit, but they couldn't show one. It is not our intention to arrest them.]

Manuel added that one protester agitated one of the policemen, which started the commotion.

On the other hand, Bahaghari National Spokesperson Rey Valmores Salinas claimed that the protest was peaceful until the police came at the scene. Salinas added that the rallyists practiced social distancing and other safety protocols.

Salinas said the MPD did not notify the protesters what charges will be filed against them.

Hanggang ngayon ay wala pang sinasabi sa amin kung ano ba talaga ang nilabag namin, Salinas said in a video interview posted on Twitter.

[Translation: Until now they havent told us the laws that we violated.]

However, in a phone interview with CNN Philippines, Manuel enumerated the charges to be filed. Among them are illegal assembly, unjust vexation, and violation of R.A. 1132 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.

Aside from the controversial anti-terror bill, the group also protested against the jeepney phase out, the LGBTQ+ discrimination, and mass testing.

Pride month is annually celebrated in June.
eye-on-india Ideas For Profit | A good Q4 revenue show steered Cochin Shipyard to safe waters Led by the strong execution of order in hand, the company was able to navigate through the crisis.
Dennis W. Delzer, 73, Bismarck, died June 20, 2020, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 27, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 502 N 4th St., Bismarck. Guests are asked to follow social distancing guidelines. The service livestream will be available on Trinity Lutheran's Facebook page.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, June 26, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Pkwy, Bismarck. Burial will be held at Fairview Cemetery, Bismarck.

Dennis Wayne Delzer was born Nov. 3, 1946, in Bismarck, to Ruby (Olson) and Reinhold Delzer. He attended Roosevelt Elementary, Hughes Junior High, and graduated in 1964 from Bismarck High School. He received his Associate's in Arts from Bismarck Junior College and graduated with a Bachelor's in Business Administration from the University of North Dakota.

Dennis and his brother Jerry superseded their father in the operations of the Delzer Construction Company in the 1970s, focusing on underground sewer and rural water pipe laying, spearheaded by using their innovative new plow and technique. The plow was pulled by four huge crawlers, D-9's and Euclid's, that laid thousands of miles of pipeline. This helped pioneer and develop a novel method of expedient supply of clean water to rural communities of the Midwest.

On Dec. 20, 1968, he married his high school sweetheart, Linda Beglau. Dennis and Linda's first date was to see the movie To Kill A Mockingbird. Happily married for 51 years, God fruitfully blessed them with three beautiful children, Kamala, Jeb, and Charmaine.

Entrepreneur at heart, Denny had many businesses from Den-Del Tropicals, Trees Inc., Hi-Performance Car Washes, to scrounging for '32-'34 steel Ford cars, pipe organs, XR-1000's, British Triumphs & Egli-Vincent motorcycles. He built from scratch, restored, or refurbished many machines including street-rods, Falls-Flyers, Woody's, Vincent Rapides, an Austin-Healy, a Vincent Black Shadow & an Egli-Vincent. Numerous magazines have incorporated Dennis' projects and toys. In 2000, Denny orchestrated the Vincent Owners Club North American Rally to be hosted in Bismarck, with a proclamation from Governor Schafer, a good childhood friend. Dennis had a knack for researching, procuring then implementing many endeavors including land development, petroleum interests and others.

Growing up with the 21-Rank Minnesota Theatre Wurlitzer Pipe Organ, installed in his boyhood home and hearing his father and many famous musicians play it, as well as his sister singing and playing the piano, inspired Dennis for the love of music. Playing bass guitar and singing in his teenage 1960s band The Dimensions, led his soul to rhythm and blues, which progressed naturally into the funky B-3 Hammond sounds. Starting as a hobby, buying and refurbishing these gems, led him to transition to a full time worldwide B3Hammond.com business selling organs to world-renowned artists and others. He cranked on a B-3 in the Powerhouse & ZuZu Bands living the music along the way.

Dennis was a loving, Christian, family man. He and Linda were proud to have been chosen to be Godparents to Dazhe [Delzer] Bitz and Nicole Turner.

Papa was a kid at heart all the way to the end, which embodied his jovial smile and adventurous, playful spirit and outings, that made a profound, deep connection of love with each grandchild, family member, and person he met. This created meaningful friendships that made all feel they knew him for years even if they had just met. People gravitated to him.

Preceding him in death are his parents; sister, Dolores Sherman; and infant granddaughter, Lillian Ruby Delzer.

Left with cherished memories are his beautiful wife, Linda; children, Kamala Delzer Shafer (Steven), Jeb Delzer (Jennifer) and Charmaine Delzer; brother, Jerome Delzer; and wife, Valerie; brother-in-law, Terry Sherman; three sisters-in-law, Judith Walker, Janet Frohlech, and Diane (John) Birkholz; seven grandchildren, Alexandria Delzer, Alexander Delzer, Reese Shafer, Macie Delzer, Rhianna Shafer, Kaylin Delzer and Kyler Delzer; one great-grandson, Finnley Delzer.

To share memories of Dennis and to sign the online guestbook, go to www.parkwayfuneral.com.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has asked shoppers to remain calm after reports of bare toilet paper shelves in NSW following the reinstatement of product limits in Victorian supermarkets.

Toilet paper was in short supply at Coles and Woolworths at Roselands in Sydney's south-west on Thursday, the Herald has been told.

Empty toilet paper shelves at Roselands Woolworths, left, and Coles.

Posting on social media, shoppers also complained of empty shelves at Coles Merrylands and Woolworths Leichhardt in Sydney, as well as Coles Toronto in Lake Macquarie.

On Wednesday afternoon Coles, Woolworths and IGA said they would reinstate product limits for toilet paper, hand sanitiser, paper towels, flour, sugar, pasta, minced meat, long-life milk, eggs and rice at all their Victorian stores.
Amazon said Friday it was buying the self-driving car tech startup Zoox, in an effort to rev up the drive for autonomous ride-hailing.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a report in The Information said Amazon was paying more than $1 billion for the California startup developing autonomous technology in a field that includes Google sibling Waymo and others.

"Zoox is working to imagine, invent, and design a world-class autonomous ride-hailing experience," said Jeff Wilke, who heads Amazon Worldwide Consumer.

"Like Amazon, Zoox is passionate about innovation and about its customers, and we're excited to help the talented Zoox team to bring their vision to reality in the years ahead."

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Micheal Martin, Leo Varadkar and Eamon Ryan are set to play the key roles in an historic coalition government. Our political team look at each individual throughout their political careers.

FIANNA FAIL LEADER MICHEAL MARTIN

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Micheal Martin has seen Irish politics change all around him  and he has somehow managed to successfully navigate those changes.

When the Cork schoolteacher was first elected to the Dail in June 1989 his party, Fianna Fail, usually topped 40pc of the national vote. They generally also led the government, bar a few occasions when an ABFF coalition was pulled together by the other big beast of Irish politics, Fine Gael.

The Cork South Central TD was tipped as Taoiseach material for over 20 years. Eventually, that designation became a major liability as his less supportive party colleagues began to refer to him as the former future leader.

But Martin is nothing if not a fighter. He is also vastly experienced at the top in government, serving in the following ministries: Foreign Affairs (2008-2011); Enterprise (2004-2008); Health (2000-2004); and Education (1997-2000).

He was named on new Fianna Fail leader, Bertie Aherns first front bench in January 1995, and remained at the top of the party until their fortunes fell apart amid a bank collapse and a massive recession in early 2011.

The relationship with Ahern, it must be said, was not always a blessed one.

The then-Taoiseach appeared to enjoy watching him flounder as Health Minister in the period 2000-2004. Perhaps it took the gloss off a potential leadership rival.

While Martin had big problems as Health Minister in a time of plenty, he did score a late gain with the workplace smoking ban in March 2004, a measure since emulated across the globe.

He did also show some mettle by facing up to his boss, Ahern, in 2008, advising him to quit and stop trying to ride out a storm of controversy about his strange personal finances.

That same mettle came to the fore again in January 2011, when he took over the leadership of a battered Fianna Fail and led them to their worst ever election in the worst imaginable political circumstances.

The party was reduced to 21 TDs and a 17pc vote share. Some less-seasoned political observers were writing Fianna Fails political obituary.

But Micheal Martin applied himself to the revival project and made gains in local elections in 2014 as well as the 2016 Dail election, when he more than doubled their number of TDs. His specialty was bucking gloomy opinion-poll predictions and facing down internal opponents in the parliamentary party.

But the big things expected of him in February's general election did not happen. The party performed poorly, with 22pc of the vote and the loss of six TDs bringing them to just 38 Dail seats.

Since then, the outlook has appeared even gloomier for Martin and Fianna Fail, with a recent opinion poll putting them down as low as 13pc  four points below their 2011 electoral meltdown. But Martin hung in on coalition talks and is now in pole position  against the odds  to become the next Taoiseach. [By John Downing]

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FINE GAEL LEADER LEO VARADKAR

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It is only two weeks since the third anniversary of Leo Varadkars ascension to the position of Taoiseach. On June 14, 2017, after months, if not years of careful planning, he succeeded Enda Kenny as Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach.

Varadkars journey to the most senior political office in the country was not typical by any standards. The son of an Indian father and Waterford mother, he became involved in politics at a young age and made a name for himself in Fine Gaels youth wing during his university years.

While studying medicine he put his name forward to be a Fine Gael candidate in the 1999 local elections but polled a paltry 380 first-preference votes.

But he didnt give up and ran again five years later, topping the poll with a massive 4,894 votes.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny immediately recognised Varadkar's talent and put him on the ticket for the 2007 General Election. He didnt let his leader down and was elected as TD in Dublin West.

In opposition, Varadkar relished getting under the skin of Fianna Fail politicians who were in their pomp during the Celtic Tiger years. When the financial crash plunged the country into recession, he was even more scathing in his criticisms of Fianna Fail.

During his formative political years, Varadkar was considerably more right-wing than he is today. He was pro-life, anti-marriage equality and made policy suggestions that would make some republican party politicians queasy.

However, these views softened when the realities of serving in office kicked in after he was appointed Transport Minister in 2011.

Despite the country being in the grips of recession, Varadkar did enjoy some success in the Department of Transport, Sport and Tourism, such as The Gathering initiative and the commencement of the Luas Cross City project.

His next move was to the Department of Health where, like many who went before and after him, he struggled to make any real difference.

During this time, Varadkar publicly came out as gay ahead of a vote on marriage equality. After the 2016 General Election, he told Kenny he would only stay in Health if he received commitments on funding and staffing. The Fine Gael leader was not impressed with the demands and sent him to the Department of Social Protection.

However, the move allowed Varadkar to roam the country and build support ahead of Kenny stepping aside to allow a leadership campaign.

Simon Coveney decided to take on Varadkar for the position of party leader. However, the ill-prepared Corkman was no match for the operation Varadkar and his supporters organised in anticipation of the internal contest.

In the Taoiseachs office, Varadkar came in for criticism over the impression that he was choosing spin over substance with his controversial Strategic Communications Unit. There were also accusations of reckless spending as the cost of State infrastructure projects, such as the National Childrens Hospital and the States broadband plan, sky-rocketed.

He did oversee a landmark change in abortion laws and employment soared as the economy boomed. Varadkar also received plaudits for his handling of Brexit negotiations with Boris Johnson.

However, it counted for very little once he called a general election. Fine Gael focused too much on their Brexit record and failed to recognise that the publics mind was on housing and pensions.

Varadkar lost 12 seats and finished third behind Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail in poll results. His handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has seen his approval rating increase in opinion polls, but he still faces a major challenge in rebuilding his party. [By Philip Ryan]





GREEN PARTY LEADER EAMON RYAN

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The Green Party leader has spent much of the last decade attacking the record of successive governments on climate action. In 2015, he called Labour's Alan Kelly, the then Environment Minister, anti-green, and in 2018 he said Leo Varadkar didnt have a green bone in his body.

Now Mr Ryan, 56, has an opportunity to show he can do it better. Hes been here before, of course, as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in the ill-fated Fianna Fail-Green Government between 2007 and 2011.

One Former Fianna Fail Cabinet colleague described him as solid, very down to earth, very practical, even in the worst of the crises, another as very honourable, while a third noted that he took copious notes of the various crisis meetings during that tumultuous period.

While Ryan made some progress on ensuring the country derived more energy from renewables and got more people retrofitting their homes, there were a series of missteps, including tax incentives for diesel cars.

"Looking back, it was not the right solution because the car industry could not solve the problem, he later said.

Like the rest of the Greens, Ryan paid the price for the bank guarantee and the arrival of the Troika nine years ago when he lost the Dail seat in Dublin South he had held since 2002.

He was elected leader of the Greens within three months of that electoral drubbing and set about trying to rebuild the party with little or no money.

He went close to being elected to the European Parliament in 2014 before landing a Dail seat in the constituency next door to his old one, Dublin Bay South, in 2016. He retained that seat in Februarys General Election, when the Greens returned an unprecedented 12 TDs off the back of the publics growing interest and concern in climate-change issues.

Despite the electoral success, Ryans leadership has come under pressure internally, partly as a result of a series of gaffes, including calls for the reintroduction of wolves in Ireland, suggestions that rural people should carpool and, more recently, the use of the n-word in the Dail, for which he later profusely apologised.

It has not been enough for some in the party, who now want him replaced by deputy leader Catherine Martin. His first challenge as a Cabinet minister will not just be getting to grips with his new portfolio, but holding onto the leadership of the party, with the contest due to begin next week. [Hugh O'Connell]
Each year many immigrants come to live in the US. Some come to the country via legal means, hoping to eventually become US citizens, and others arrive to stay illegally. Those who immigrate illegally are most often escaping from dangerous living conditions in their country of origin which can include civil war, as well as hunger and a lack of a promising future for their children. According to Pew Research, about 10.5 million unauthorized immigrants came to the US in 2017, a number that represents 3.2% of the countrys entire population.

Do you know all there is to know about unauthorized immigration to the US? Now is your chance to catch up. Here are ten facts about illegal immigration to the country that you might not have known.

10. The Number of Unauthorized Mexican Immigrants is Declining

US-Mexican border in Arizona, USA. Image credit: Chess Ocampo/Shutterstock.com

When you think of people coming to live in the US unauthorized, people from Mexico may come to mind first. This is likely because we hear about this group in relation to illegal immigration often in the media. Mexico and the US share a very large border, and many Mexicans come to live in the country both legally and illegally. It is a fact, however, that the number of unauthorized Mexicans coming to live in the US has been declining since 2007. In 2017, for the first time ever, Mexicans comprised less than half (47%) of all unauthorized immigrants to the US, down 10% from 2007. There are now approximately 2 million fewer unauthorized Mexican immigrants (4.9 million) living in the US than there were in 2007 (6.9 million).

9. Illegal Immigration from Non-Mexican Countries is Going Up

Migrants from Central America cross the US-Mexico border to seek asylum in the United States. Image credit: Mike Hardiman/Shutterstock.com

As illegal immigration for Mexico dips, the number of unauthorized immigrants from other countries is going up. The number of illegal immigrants in the US coming from other countries in 2017 totalled 5.5 million, up from 5.3 million in 2007. Illegal immigrants coming from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, as well as from Asia have gone up. The number of illegal immigrants coming to the US from South America and Europe went down between 2007 and 2017.

8. 6 States Are Home to Over Half of All Illegal Immigrants

BURBANK, CA JULY 19, 2014: Protesters demonstrate against illegal immigration and amnesty for undocumented immigrants. Image credit: Dan Holm/Shutterstock.com

Unauthorized immigrants live in many places all across the US, but a large bulk are found in six specific states. More than half (57%) reside in California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.

7. More Are Staying For Longer

According to Pew Research Center, the number of unauthorized immigrants who have been living in the US for more than ten years has risen to 64%, compared with 41% in 2007. There has also been a decline in short term residents among this group.

6. India and the Philippines Are Top Countries of Origin

According to the Department of Homeland Security, some of the top countries people are coming from to live illegally in the US are not just found in the Americas, but further abroad. India and the Philippines are now also in the list of top countries of origin for unauthorized immigrants to the US.

5. Most Unaccompanied Children Are From Guatemala

People under the age of 18 are some of the illegal immigrants coming to the country. US Customs and Border Protection calls these migrants unaccompanied alien children (UAC). When UAC arrive at the border, they are referred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. These children are then cared for by this section of the government while their individual cases are examined. This process has garnered attention in recent years, with reports hitting the news that some children are living in squalid conditions when taken in by border agents, and are locked up in cells without adult supervision or enough food and water.

From where do they hail? UAC are coming to the US in the greatest numbers from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, places the UN refugee agency says have become some of the most dangerous places to live on Earth. Guatemalan UAC account for 54% of all UAC coming to the US. Some authorities say this is in large part due to the rise of MS-13 in these countries. MS-13 is a savage street gang that has its roots in US prisons, but now controls entire neighborhoods in places like El Salvador, with initiation rights that force new members-often at risk, empoverished teenagers- to committ murder.

4. A Minority of People Actually Sneak Across the Border

Sign at Organ Pipe National Monument, near the US and Mexico border, warns visitors to be aware of drug cartels and illegal immigration in the area. Image credit: Melissamn/Shutterstock.com

President Donald Trump has pushed the idea of constructing a wall all the way across the US-Mexican border. This is being done in an attempt to keep illegal immigrants from creeping into the US from Mexico via land. The border wall is said to be costing about $30 million per mile in Southern Texas, and is proving to be the largest federal infrastructure project in American history. It is a fact however, that the wall may function to keep some illegal immigrants from entering the US, but not all. According to Randy Capps, director of research for U.S. Programs at the Migration Policy Institute only one-third of unauthorized immigrants come to the US by sneaking across the border.

3. They Are Much Less Likely to Commit Violent Crimes

Unauthorized immigrants are 47% less likely than American-born citizens to commit violent crimes and to be incarcerated, according to a June 2018 research report from the Cato Institute. According to CBS News, an additional study done by researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that in areas where more undocumented immigrants live, violent crime in the US is lower.

2. They Do Not Benefit from Government Welfare Programs

Man holds sign saying "I love this country" in march for Immigrants and Mexicans protesting against Illegal Immigration reform by U.S. Congress, Los Angeles, CA, May 1, 2006. Image credit: Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock.com

Unauthorized immigrants cannot apply for government welfare benefits, as they are not technically supposed to be living in the US. This group of people also cannot apply to receive food stamps in the US, regular Medicaid or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Sometimes exceptions are made to "protect life or guarantee safety in dire situations," the National Immigration Forum has stated, but by and large, illegal immigrants are forced to fend for themselves once in the US.

1. Those Seeking Asylum Are Entering Legally

There can be some confusion as to what constitutes illegal immigration to the US. When it comes to legal immigration, in most cases people apply to immigrate from their home country and wait for their application to be processed. Most people need to be sponsored by an American citizen to be able to immigrate to the US. Once their case is approved, they receive either a Green Card or an immigrant visa. Other steps are then followed before they can immigrate to the country.

Some people do not arrive this way, however. They may seek asylum as refugees. This is a process that is entirely legal. Fewer than 23,000 people were granted refugee or asylum status in the US in 2018. Asylum is granted to people coming to the US who have "suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion," according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Being granted asylum takes years and requires applicants to provide extensive documented proof of their prior suffering, and to attend multiple interviews with government officials, among other things.
TOTOWA, N.J., June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- It is time for many Cedar Grove families to return to work. This reality has created a rising demand for senior home care as families look for safe, dedicated care options for their loved ones. The Senior Company gives families this option with its highly skilled home health aides.

The well-being of seniors is The Senior Company's top priority. For this reason, caregivers that work for the company must adhere to stringent safety methods including:

Getting screened before they enter a patient's home for the first time and when they return to work after taking time off

Wearing personal protective equipment (PPE)

Dispensing PPE equipment, hand sanitizer, germicidal wipes, digital thermometers and more to seniors and their families

These caregivers provide personalized care in the comfort of seniors' homes and, as fully licensed nurses, are qualified to administer a large variety of services including the following:

Bathing and dressing

Grooming

Housekeeping

Errands

Monitoring vital signs

Providing feeding tube support

Meal assistance

Managing medication on a weekly basis

Caring for wounds

Providing catheter support

Administering IV therapy and injections

Providing hospice care support

Hospital transfers

Dementia support

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"Home care administered by one caregiver, as opposed to impersonal care delivered in a facility setting, has made it possible to keep seniors safe from the virus during this challenging time. We take every precaution to protect our seniors. Families can return to work feeling confident about their loved one's care when they choose The Senior Company's services," said Steve Romano, CEO at The Senior Company.

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The Senior Company is a Dual Licensed, Dual Accredited, Bonded & Insured Certified Home Health Care & Certified Help Firm practicing in the North New Jersey area. The Senior Company provides Personal Care as well as Skilled Nursing Care services that are available to help seniors and families who are in need of assistance with activities of daily living. Some of these "ADL's" include bathing, toileting, dressing, light housekeeping, meal preparation, errands, hospice care and other personalized hourly or live-in home care services.

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Europe is facing pressure to include natural gas and nuclear power as part of its plan for sustainable finance.

Why it matters: Europe represents the progressive edge of the worlds response to climate change and controls a lot of finance in developing nations, so what it does on these controversial energy sources could set the bar globally.

Driving the news: The European Commission is poised to decide in the coming months to what degree natural gas and nuclear power, along with other types of energy technologies, are considered sustainable and worthy of investment.

The policy, known as sustainable taxonomy, is part of the European Green Deal, a sweeping climate policy the commission introduced late last year that has now been incorporated into the continents plan to economically recover from the pandemic.

Whats happening: In a report the International Energy Agency issued Thursday reviewing Europes energy policies, the influential intergovernmental agency urged Europe to include the technologies.

Natural gas and nuclear energy need to be covered under the taxonomy as transition technologies. If this is not the case, this may have wide impacts on private and public funding for these sectors.

The big picture: These two energy types have long been controversial for different reasons, but they both fill key roles in cutting emissions, either on an absolute basis (nuclear power emits zero heat-trapping emissions) or relatively speaking (natural gas emits half as much carbon dioxide as coal).

Yes, but:

Environmentalists and progressive politicians around the world are increasingly opposed to natural gas because although it reduces emissions relatively speaking, its still not enough to tackle climate change to the level scientists say we must.

Concern is rising about emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas thats also the primary component of natural gas. Europe is set to release a policy on this in the coming months, too.

As for nuclear power, the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine imprinted a vicious memory of the technology in the minds of many European nations downwind of the radioactive material spewing from the explosion.

What theyre saying:

We see gas, indeed, as an important transition energy source. Its an important part of our energy consumption now, said Ditte Juul-Jrgensen, director-general for energy of the European Commission, told Axios in a phone interview Thursday.

Juul-Jrgensen also described nuclear as a very important part of the European energy mix, but then deflected further by saying its a decision left up to each country whether they pursue the technology.

Reproduced from IEA; Chart: Axios Visuals

President Trump likes to tout that the United States leads the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but it's actually Europe.

The state of play: More energy efficiency, renewable energy and switching from coal to natural gas, which emits half the carbon dioxide than coal when burned, are the key reasons for the decline, per the International Energy Agency.

Go deeper: In Europes green recovery, natural gas faces uncertain future
President Donald Trump's transfer last year of $2.5 billion in military funds to pay for border wall construction was an illegal overreach of executive authority, a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled Friday.

The 2-1 ruling was a setback to the president's increasing reliance on the Pentagon to finance hundreds of miles of new barrier along the Mexico border. Its long-term implications were less certain, as the Supreme Court ruled in Trump's favor in a similar case last year and Friday's decision only affects a portion of the funds the White House has budgeted for what has become one of the largest federal infrastructure projects in U.S. history.

The president, who ran for office in 2016 promising that Mexico would pay for the border wall, has obtained more than $15 billion in U.S. federal funds for his signature project, including $5 billion provided by Congress through conventional appropriations. The president has tapped into Pentagon accounts for the remaining $10 billion, including the $2.5 billion transfer last year that the 9th Circuit said Friday was unlawful.

Some of those funds already have been awarded as contracts to the private builders hired to construct the barrier. In its ruling, the court said the White House "lacked independent constitutional authority to authorize the transfer of funds" from the military.

"The panel noted that the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution exclusively grants the power of the purse to Congress," the judges ruled. "The panel held that the transfer of funds violated the Appropriations Clause, and, therefore, was unlawful."

The Department of Homeland Security, a defendant in the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees construction of the barrier, did not immediately respond to questions about the financial impact of the ruling on work currently underway.

The Trump administration is expected to appeal Friday's ruling to the Supreme Court, which last year sided with the White House and lifted a 9th Circuit injunction freezing transfers of funds from military accounts. The Sierra Club and a collection of border activists sued the administration again last year when Defense Secretary Mark Esper tapped new funding streams for a fresh $2.5 billion.

Private contractors have completed about 220 miles of new fencing along the Mexico border, and DHS officials say they remain on track to deliver on Trump's pledge to finish 450 miles by the end of 2020.

The pace of construction has proceeded swiftest on federal land already under government control, including wildlife preserves, national forests and other protected areas, outraging environmental groups, tribal authorities and others who view the 30-foot steel structure as wasteful and destructive.

Gloria Smith, a Sierra Club attorney, called the ruling Friday "monumental" and said the court had "put a stop to Trump's unconstitutional wall construction."

"We should be protecting communities, our democracy, and the environment, not tearing these things apart as Trump hoped to do," Smith said in a statement.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has filed multiple challenges to the administration's construction plans, also hailed the panel's decision in a statement Friday.

"While the Trump administration steals public funds to build an unauthorized wall at the southern border, families across the country are struggling to pay their bills," he said. "They deserve to know that their hard-earned dollars are going where Congress intended - to benefit them and their communities."

The Supreme Court last year lifted the lower-court injunction without ruling on the legality of the administration's Pentagon transfers. But the administration has insisted the White House has the legal authority to pay for physical barriers as part of a wider effort to protect and defend the country's borders. The Trump administration also has argued in recent months that security at the southern border is a crucial element of preventing further influx of the coronavirus, though the outbreak within the United States is by far the worst in the world.

The court's conservative majority ruled that the government had "made a sufficient showing at this stage" that private entities could not challenge the transfer of money by the executive branch.

But the 9th Circuit panel said "it is for the courts to enforce Congress's priorities" and found the Sierra Club "may invoke separation-of-powers constraints, like the Appropriations Clause, to challenge agency spending in excess of its delegated authority."

The showdown between Trump and Democratic lawmakers over border wall funding led to a 35-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. It ended last January when the president dropped his funding demand for $5 billion, reaching into military accounts instead.

A three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit also ruled this year in favor of the administration, lifting a lower-court injunction blocking the use of military funds for barrier construction in the El Paso area.

- - -

The Washington Post's Robert Barnes contributed to this report.
COVID-19 has not only highlighted the flaws in the international system, but also downgraded the anniversary events.

The United Nations is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its founding document.

Some 50 countries gathered in San Francisco to sign the UN Charter in 1945.

Today, it has 193 member states.

Al Jazeeras James Bays reports.
Everybody has an opinion on Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Some, like Charlie Munger, don't agree with his methods, but others are fans of his brash entrepreneurial spirit. Count fellow billionaire Mark Cuban in the latter category.

"I like Elon Musk," Cuban told The New York Post in a story that published on Saturday. "He can be full of himself sometimes, but he is the only entrepreneur in my lifetime that truly takes on projects that most people would be afraid to even try, and [he] makes them work."

Take Musk's private aerospace company, SpaceX, which, for the first time on May 30, sent NASA astronauts into orbit. Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president, has described Musk's drive as "aggressive," especially when it comes to a project's timeline.

"First of all, when Elon says something, you have to pause and not immediately blurt out, 'Well, that's impossible,' or, 'There's no way we're going to do that. I don't know how,'" Shotwell said in a 2018 TED talk. "So you zip it, and you think about it, and you find ways to get that done."

To Cuban, that kind of trait is a positive. "The guy is a machine who gets things done and seems to have some fun along the way," Cuban said. "I admire that."

This isn't the first time that Cuban has been complimentary to Musk. Cuban has previously compared Musk to the late Apple founder Steve Jobs and Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos.

And after a strange 2018 Tesla earnings call, in which Musk called analysts' questions "boring" and "boneheaded," Cuban defended him.

"It's okay for [a CEO] to have an attitude," Cuban told CNBC's "Squawk Alley" in May 2018. "You don't have to be vanilla all the time  that's just life."

Cuban added that he respects Musk as a founder who "puts his heart out there," as well as his finances, in order to get ahead, he said on "Squawk Alley."

"You know, people respect Elon Musk for his genius, but you have to really respect him because he puts every cent that he has on the line," he said. (For instance, Musk used money he made from the sale of PayPal to start SpaceX in 2002. As of February, before the NASA launch, the company was valued at about $36 billion. And Musk reportedly initially invested $6.3 million in Tesla in 2004. Today the electric car company has a $178 billion market cap, and in May, Musk earned $775 million via an incentive-based payout.)

That said, Cuban doesn't approve of everything that Musk does. For example, during Tesla's Q1 earnings call in April, Musk called the Covid-19 stay-at-home orders "fascist" and unconstitutional.

"Anything that negatively impacts Tesla, Elon hates, period, end of story," Cuban said on "Fox News @ Night." "I don't think he has other people's interests at heart. I mean, I don't really know him at all, but that's just my take."

A representative for Musk did not immediately respond to CNBC Make It's request for comment.

Check out: The best credit cards of 2020 could earn you over $1,000 in 5 years

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[June 26, 2020] Insights & Forecast with Potential Impact of COVID-19 - Global Bare Metal Cloud Market 2020-2024| Shift from CAPEX to OPEX MODEL to Boost Market Growth | Technavio

The global bare metal cloud market is expected to grow by USD 7.89 billion during 2020-2024. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect the impact to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters - with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005205/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Bare Metal Cloud Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Request for Technavio's latest reports on directly and indirectly impacted markets

Market estimates include pre- and post-COVID-19 impact on the bare metal cloud market - Download free sample report The shift from the CAPEX model to the OPEX (News - Alert) model is the primary factor driving the adoption of bare metal cloud services in several industry verticals such as BFSI, healthcare, retail, and IT and telecom. The rising cost pressure due to uncertain business and economic conditions has compelled several companies to use flexible IT solutions. Bare metal cloud solutions offer flexibility as they are available in three deployment models, such as public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud. This enables organizations to build their cloud-based infrastructure based on business requirements. Bare metal cloud solutions are also available in pay-per-use model and have no fixed upfront costs, which is attracting end-users. With the growing shift from CAPEX model to OPEX model, the demand for bare metal cloud is expected to increase 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=IRTNTR44029



The global outbreak of COVID-19 has created financial pain for businesses across several industries. At the same time, the pandemic has increased the need for additional investments in the IT sector to support remote work. As a result, the IT industry is expected to witness a mixed growth in the coming future. Similarly, the bare metal cloud market is expected to have a neutral impact of COVID-19 pandemic. As per Technavio, the the rise in adoption of hybrid bare metal cloud storage systems 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.

Bare Metal Cloud Market: Rise in Adoption of Hybrid Bare Metal Cloud Storage Systems Hybrid bare metal cloud storage systems provide both on-premise and cloud-based bare metal data center storage systems to improve efficiencies of operations. They also offer benefits such as enhanced data management, improved IT infrastructure management, and better security and compliance. Owing to many such advantages, organizations are increasingly adopting hybrid bare metal cloud storage systems. This is expected to boost the growth of the global bare metal cloud market during the forecast period. "Factors such as the emergence of hyper-convergence technology, green bare metal data centers, and increasing adoption of centralized and micro-mobile data centers will have a significant impact on the growth of the bare metal cloud 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 Bare Metal Cloud Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the bare metal cloud market by end-user (BFSI, government, IT and telecom, healthcare, and others) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA). The North American region led the bare metal cloud market in 2019, followed by Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA respectively. During the forecast period, the North American region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to the increased adoption of secured cloud services 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/20200626005205/en/

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The left is going to riot in November no matter who wins the presidency. Leftists have established by precedent the premise that "mostly peaceful" rioting, arson, assault, and rampant property destruction are not only acceptable, but necessary in order to purge our nation of imagined original sin.

George Floyd was merely a stroke of luck for the left; if it were not for his murder, they would have needed to conjure up another excuse for the studied and deliberate anarchy we are experiencing today.

Having failed at winning the election and then again with their efforts to depose President Trump through investigation and impeachment, Democrats have concluded that revolution is necessary, and one cannot prosecute a revolution without practice.

What we are seeing today is Antifa, the paramilitary arm of the Democratic Party, and BLM, the propaganda arm (in conjunction with mainstream media) of the party, practicing for the "big show." They understand that their coup failed because their nefarious plot against President Trump was strangled in its crib by a constitution that works when followed. And they cannot allow that again.

Revolution is the way...

This has been coming for some time, certainly before Trump ever descended that escalator to announce his candidacy. It is what "cancel culture" is about: stealing agency from anyone who does not toe the line.

The movement to make people apologize to black people for their privilege and for the slavery and bigotry that no country has done more to address and eliminate is a means to create an acceptance culture among people who otherwise might object to the coming revolution.

Forbidding particular statues, wrong words, cultural appropriation, and borrowed slang, are all about establishing boundaries that shall not be crossed to create limits to potential dissent from their incipient rebellion.

People think that the Obama administration's debasing of the constitutional protections afforded to the accused with respect to sexual assault accusations in the nation's colleges was about pursuing justice for the women who should "always be believed."

It was not. It was a means of getting people to understand that going forward, the left will not allow the presumption of innocence. And if they can cancel that, they can cancel anything.

It was also a starting point.

It was initially Confederate statues that were overturned, but now it is any statue, because they want us to know that they are in control and we should, as we are doing now, stand down when they try to overthrow the government in November.

It is all a test to see if America will accept the negation of the values inherent in our constitution. With the slogan "black lives matter," they mean to force us to accept that the aphorism "all men are created equal" is outdated, because black lives are more equal and matter more than any others.

Yet it is not that they care one whit for black lives who perish in unimaginable numbers at the hands of other black lives; what they want is to establish a regime where the people of the United States accept that what they say matters.

Having established the policy, it is a small step to abrogating all of anyone's rights at any time. All that will be needed to destroy one's constitutional protections is for the left's allies in media to sell it to an uninformed populace as righteous and justified.

After all, who is not anti-rape, anti-racism, and pro-fairness?

The canceling, forced apologies, the looting, and the arson are all part of getting America ready to accept the rebellion the Democrats are planning for post-election.

And the destruction will not be "rebellion" or "revolution"; it will be peaceful protest.

The left acts under the premise that only leftists are right and just. This false assumption gives them both license and good reason to commit whatever despicable deed they must to eradicate opposing ideas. And if we have seen anything these last weeks, it is that Democrats have no aversion to using violence to get what they want, because when you believe that you are riding "the arc of history," breaking a few bones and burning down a city bend toward justice  as Barry would say.

The riots, the arson, the defund police movement, assaults of public figures, the canceling of people who drift astray of the left's orthodoxy  all are designed to inure people to the violence that will befall the nation immediately before and after 11/03/20.

We can expect the left to show little mercy, for cancel-culture leftists lack grace when the smell of blood inflames their nostrils. After all, they are mere victims striking out against oppressors, which we have allowed ourselves to be categorized as by our silence.

Knocked off their feet with the destruction of Chairman Hillary Mao in 2016, they reached into the mire within which they were ensconced to grab whatever excrement they could to throw at the president, and it did not work.

Their "Plan B" is to overthrow the system, and the widespread anarchy and destruction we have seen in recent days is merely prologue as preview.

Should Trump win, there will be widespread calls for negating the election because...this, that, or the other thing was used by the president to steal the election. That will be the justification for them to unleash the Kraken.

If Biden wins, they will riot to consolidate their gains and push their agenda. This will include gun confiscation and destruction of the 1st Amendment  just to start.

Yes, we all know what will happen in November. We have been witness to the arrogant display of slow-motion revolution for weeks now.

The more frightening question is, how can it be prevented?

Please follow the author on Twitter at @williamlgensert.
Dutch Caribbean Islands:--- A 2018 study of mosquito populations on the islands of Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius documented eleven different species, including two new species for Sint Maarten, a number of which are known to spread mosquito-borne diseases. Understanding mosquito populations can help local governments prepare themselves against the spread of mosquito-borne diseases as well as provide insight into the health of local ecosystems.

Mosquitoes often considered a pest, can provide important information concerning the presence of certain diseases. In addition, mosquitoes provide important functions in several ecosystems, as a food source, and serving as water filters and plant pollinators and when studied can give researchers insight into the overall health of the ecosystem. The Leeward and Windward islands (excluding Trinidad and Tobago) are known to host over 70 different mosquito species; although not all are known to feed on human blood.

With an increase in international travel, along with a change in land use through urbanization, there have been significant changes within mosquito populations over the last few decades. This is especially true within the Caribbean, where an increase in human population has been coupled with an increase in major mosquito-borne disease outbreaks. Some examples of this were the 2014 outbreak of chikungunya and the 2016 outbreaks of Zika and dengue.

2018 Survey

A 2018 study surveyed the islands of Sint Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten, to better understand the local mosquito populations. This study was part of the Naturalis biodiversity study of 2018 and was the first of its kind since the surveys in 1947 by Edwin van der Kuyp and 1949 by Pieter Wagenaar

file:///C:/Users/bibi_/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg" width="762" height="1090" />

Hummelinck. In addition to documenting specific species present, this study also provided a new key to

be used for species identification for both adults and larvae which will be helpful in future studies. The surveys were conducted between April and October of 2018 and included a one-week survey for each of the three islands during the dry season and a ten-day survey during the wet season for Sint Maarten and Saba. These surveys included setting ten trapping sites in a variety of urban, semi-urban and natural habitats. At each site, a combination of four different methods were used: two different mosquito traps, a net to catch free flying adults and an aquatic net, turkey baster and electric pipet to sample larvae.

Results

In all, a total of 871 adults were captured and adult and larvae specimens from eleven species were identified between the three islands; eight on Sint Maarten, six on Saba and two on Sint Eustatius. The two most common adults captured were the southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus (56 % of adults) and yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (35 % of adults). Of the eight species found on Sint Maarten two had never before been documented and are known to be potential disease carriers, the Florida SLE (Saint Louis encephalitis) mosquito, Culex nigripalpus, and black salt marsh mosquito, Aedes taeniorhynchus.

Shifting Mosquito Populations

Overall, this most recent study documented fewer retrieved species than previous studies, suggesting an overall loss of mosquito biodiversity within the mosquito populations. One species (Cx. habilitator), previously found on Sint Maarten was not retrieved from any of the islands during the 2018 survey. This species can be difficult to identify as the adult look very similar to Cx. bahamensis and the larvae appear similar to Cx. nigripalpus, so it is possible these were originally misidentified in the 1947. In addition, species typically found in areas with high human populations were found in abundance on Sint Maarten and Sint Eustatius, but were rare on Saba, highlighting the impact of habitat degradation and the

positive results of intensive vector control strategy on Saba, where on the other islands this is more

complicated.

There were also a series of interesting differences between the historical surveys and the survey conducted in 2018 between the islands of Saba and Sint Eustatius. Although these two islands are historically and geographically very similar, their mosquito populations had a few distinct differences. For example, natural forest indicator species (Cx. bisulcatus and Ae. busckii) had been previously noted on both islands, but were only found on Saba in the 2018 survey. The differences between these islands could be the result of sampling limitations, loss of suitable habitat or variations in mosquito control approaches, but due to a lack of data no definite conclusions could be made.

Importance of Future Studies

Understanding local insect populations can provide insight into the health of the environment. For

example, shifts of populations towards those known to be indicators of anthropogenic activity can

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show the impact of increased urbanization or degraded local natural habitat. Gaining an understanding for the biodiversity and population density of mosquitos can give researchers a clearer insight into the current natural state and help warn public officials of potential health concerns. More information and follow up studies are required to gain a more complete understanding of local mosquito populations.

Report your sightings

Please report any sightings or photos you have insects on https://dutchcaribbean.observation.org. This is a free website and app (iPhone (iObs) & Android (ObsMapp)) which allows local citizens to report sightings of plants and animals. These tools are available in over 40 languages and can be used by biologists and citizens and tourists alike. Species reports by local communities are invaluable for nature conservation efforts to help increase public awareness and overall species protection. Besides, Observation.org is working together with Naturalis Biodiversity Center on automated species identification software. Your uploaded photos are of great value to make this possible. For questions, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Receive nature-news

Stay updated about nature research and monitoring projects in the Dutch Caribbean through the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliances (DCNA) free digital newsletter BioNews. Sign-up here, its free: https://www.dcnanature.org/subscribe/
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) has formed a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) following a meeting between SDRPY Supervisor Ambassador Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber and UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Nahed Hussein on Wednesday.

Following a review of SDRPY's development goals and a briefing on its future projects in the environmental sanitation, social protection, food security and health sectors, the parties agreed to establish a joint technical team and a plan to partner with the Yemeni government during the transition from the phase of humanitarian aid to development.

UNDP and SDRPY agreed to define development priorities with regard to Yemen's current status, reviewed the efforts of international development bodies, and discussed measures taken to mitigate the economic, social and health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The parties also examined ways of working jointly to speed Yemen's economic recovery in light of current challenges to development work.

The two parties stressed the importance of creating a transformation plan to work in partnership with the Yemeni government and shift from relief work to development carefully, as the COVID-19 pandemic had brought about social change necessitating strengthened technologies for performing development work.

Ambassador Al Jaber clarified SDRPY's strategy in carrying out its development projects in cooperation with the Yemeni government, local authorities and civil society organizations in accordance with the needs of local communities. Al Jaber also explained that SDRPY intends to expand its forthcoming developmental projects by working with the Yemeni Ministry of Planning and Cooperation to build the capacities of the Yemeni government and local authorities in implementing development projects and restoring basic services that have a direct impact on daily lives.

Among the attendees were SDRPY development specialists Dr. Adil Al-Qusadi, Randah Al-Hothali, Dr. Hala Al Saleh and Faisal Sasa, along with development experts from the UNDP Isaac Diwan, Bassam Ramadan, and Maris Oliver.

SDRPY seeks to expand its development programs, create jobs and improve livelihoods to help overcome the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Yemen's economy. SDRPY is currently doing this through projects in 7 vital sectors to improve Yemeni living standards, launching 175 projects in two years: 18 health, 45 educational, 30 water, 26 government entities, 23 transportation, 20 energy, and 13 agriculture and fisheries projects.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1196879/SDRPY_Mohammed_Al_Jaber.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1196880/SDRPY.jpg
With COVID-19 now pervasive in Bexar County, public health experts are warning that no space is entirely safe from the virus that causes the potentially lethal disease  even your own home.

And predictions for the near future are growing increasingly dire.

As San Antonio sinks deeper into a crisis that has gripped Texas urban areas in recent days  the county reported 638 new cases on Thursday, its highest daily count yet, and 628 COVID-19 patients being treated in hospitals  one model by the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council expects 1,900 hospitalizations by mid-August, a figure that would overwhelm hospital staffing.

Were actually currently on the worst-case scenario curve of that model, said Dr. Junda Woo, medical director at the Metropolitan Health District.

The health district relies on the modeling by STRAC, which coordinates trauma services and emergency care for Bexar and 21 surrounding counties.

Another expert is projecting a catastrophic 8,000 new hospitalizations here in the next three weeks unless more people change their behavior by wearing masks and practicing physical distancing.

We will see our hospitals at full capacity in less than two weeks, said Dr. Juan Gutierrez, chairman of UTSAs math department who was selected by the city this spring to help project the course of the epidemic. This is not a speculation. We know that this happened in Italy. When hospitals became overwhelmed, people were sent home and we just hope for the best.

RELATED: San Antonio reports 638 new COVID cases, largest one-day jump on record

Gutierrez has published projections of the epidemic from its onset, accurately predicting an initial peak in May. After that relatively small spike, cases were in decline until infections and hospitalizations began surging exponentially this month.

Social gatherings  particularly with friends and family at home  are partly to blame, said Dr. Barbara Taylor, an infectious disease specialist who leads a health team advising city and county officials.

Your risk is raised if people who are not in your bubble of close contacts come over to your house, Taylor said. Were seeing a lot of that (in COVID-19 patients), people who stayed home but then had people over. Well, if the people arent in your bubble, then theyre a risk to you and a risk to others.

That includes even family members, she said.

Its hard because its your family, right? They feel like they should be in your bubble, Taylor said. But the reality is, if theyre not in your immediate bubble, they are high-risk to you and you are high-risk to them because theyre new.

Taylor offered more advice as the disease surges.

Some who fear exposure to the virus are rushing out to get tested, she said. But the results of any test will be negative up to two days after exposure regardless of whether someone is infected.

COVID-19 Tracker: Interactive maps track coronavirus cases in San Antonio, Texas counties and the U.S.

If youre asymptomatic and youve been exposed, you should wait for eight days to get tested, she said.

With the virus now so widespread, Taylor urged residents with any potential symptoms of COVID-19  even a runny nose or diarrhea  to self-isolate.

People with mild cold symptoms might not think, I have this new coronavirus, which sounds so scary, she said. Really, we should not be dismissing any symptoms that come with COVID at this point.

Taylor added, There is no safe space in our community right now. There is no risk-free space. But there are things that you can do to make those spaces less risky  wear a mask, wash your hands frequently and practice physical distancing.

Too many Texans took the states gradual reopening as a cue to stop doing exactly those things, said Jimmy Perkins, former dean of the UT School of Public Health.

Peoples perception was that something changed, but nothing had changed, Perkins said. The fact of the matter is, maybe 5 to 7 percent of the population has had COVID. So weve got at least 90 percent of the population thats a reservoir. All youve got to do is let those people loose and its going to increase exponentially.

The massive surge in cases in the past three weeks has increased the percentage of people who test positive for COVID-19 from around 4 percent to 18 percent. San Antonio had one of the lowest big-city infection rates in the country in May. Now it has one of the fastest-growing infection rates.

Its frustrating, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. We have seen a geometric rise in our case rates, and it's happened literally within a matter of three weeks. That acceleration, unless we work together to get a grip on this virus, this car is going full speed headed toward a brick wall.

A close-knit culture in San Antonio has likely contributed to the sudden rise in cases, said Cherise Rohr-Allegrini, an epidemiologist and a member of the health team led by Taylor.

Our culture is one thats very community focused, very family focused, she said. People get together, people hug, and not just San Antonio, but I think our Hispanic culture, and this is similar to Italian culture  people are very close. This is how we show our love and affection. And also our family size. Its a wonderful thing about our culture. It also makes it hard for us to physically distance.

Rohr-Allegrini added, We have to change our messaging so people understand the risks associated with that.

A critical message, Taylor said, is that family gatherings of any kind are high-risk.

This is a community disease and this is a family disease, she said. We see this go through families where everyone gets infected. Its really contagious. And its mostly people breathing on one another.

Gutierrezs theoretical maximum of total infections in Bexar County is a staggering 920,000 residents  about 40 percent of the population. Like Taylor and Perkins, he hopes a recent city-county order that compels businesses to force employees and customers to wear masks will reverse the upward trend.

There is ample evidence, scientific evidence, that (wearing masks) works, he said. So that is what people should be doing. Exactly that. Its the most important thing.

Perkins agreed.

I think there just has to be more messaging about wearing masks, he said. If we get good compliance on wearing masks and people decide to quit going into places where they congregate, like bars, then we can turn it around.

Doing so will take a collective effort, Gutierrez said.

This virus is new, but new in a way that we absolutely did not expect, he said. That is, we have never seen before in history, we dont have record of this, a respiratory virus driven by asymptomatics. We have not seen a respiratory virus whose numbers are growing in summer. COVID does not behave like other diseases.

This curve is growing, he added. Trying to stop this little curve from growing is going to be like trying to stop a 2-mile train. It might not happen quickly.

Staff Writer Marina Starleaf Riker contributed to this story.

bchasnoff@express-news.net
Union: The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood

By Colin Woodard

Viking. 417 pp. $30

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All nations have origin stories and, over time, national narratives and myths, however contested. When, how and by whose pens and voices over the course of the 19th century did the United States attain its dominant story? What indeed was the United States from its inception, traversing the cataclysm of the Civil War and Reconstruction, down to the era of World War I? A "federation" of sovereign states? A "nation-state in waiting" under God's "providential" design? An "ethno-nation," rooted in the fundamental belief in white supremacy? Or a "liberal republic" based on the creeds of natural rights, pluralism, popular sovereignty? These questions drive "Union: The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood," an unusual but engaging collective biography by Colin Woodard, a distinguished journalist and author of books on American character and regionalism.

Woodard succeeds in demonstrating the high stakes of master narratives, versions of the past that people choose as identities and stories in which they wish to live. National histories take countries to war, build and destroy empires, enslave and liberate people. This book will help readers grasp the staying power and the consequences of the idea - ingrained in generations - that American history is essentially a chronicle of progress, a saga of liberty unfolding under some illusive pattern of exceptionalism and divine design. This story has, of course, smashed full-on into several racial, political and economic reckonings that defy its very meaning. Indeed, we are now in the midst of one of those reckonings fundamentally challenging how we tell our national story.

Through five major American writers and public figures, Woodard traces the emergence of the competing visions of U.S. history. He calls his choices the "standard-bearers" and "lightning rods" in a contest to capture the historical imagination of millions of Americans. They include George Bancroft (1800-1891), a son of New England Puritanism, spokesman of profound Yankee certainty, Harvard-educated and nurtured, who became a well-traveled, highly productive popular historian (he wrote 10 volumes of his "History") of a nation and an Anglo-Saxon race chosen for a destiny of progress and greatness. Bancroft read widely in several languages, and met and conversed with nearly every intellectual and political leader in the Euro-American world, but his "research" in many libraries always sought the patterns of a predetermined outcome - "God's plan" for a favored American nation in the making.

William Gilmore Simms (1806-1870), the second leading light, born the son of a Charleston, S.C., tavern owner, although quickly orphaned, would become the Old South's most prolific poet and novelist, a man of letters in a region lacking that tradition, and in time a fierce defender of slavery, states' rights and the ill-fated Confederacy. Simms became a rival of Bancroft's, sought literary fame in New York but returned to his beloved Deep South to defend and continually rewrite its story of racial and cultural distinctiveness as it collapsed in defeat.

Woodard's third figure, and in some ways his wild-card hero, is former slave Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), who spent his first 20 years on Maryland's Eastern Shore and in Baltimore, and went on to write three classic autobiographies and thousands of abolitionist speeches and editorials. Douglass became the prose poet of an egalitarian American democracy in the era of the Civil War and gives Woodard a voice of an open, pluralistic nation, refounded and reimagined during Reconstruction. Douglass shared some elements of Bancroft's providentialism about the nature of history but none of the New Englander's beliefs in racial destiny. With Simms, Douglass shared nothing except a keen interest in slavery's place in human affairs and fiercely opposite conceptions of why the American republic was fated to fall.

The final two characters in this drama are both academics of a sort, although one became president of the United States. Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), a child of Presbyterianism, the pride and prejudices of the Deep South, the Civil War and Reconstruction, became by a stumbling path a political theorist, a historian, the president of Princeton University and at least at first a remarkably successful rhetorician and politician. Wilson's white-supremacist and deeply Anglophilic vision of America and its past did not come from libraries; they came from experience, associations and the foundational belief that the races of people had fixed capacities, never fully to be altered. Given his prominence, and as leader of the American crusade for democracy in World War I, Wilson is Woodard's misguided villain, a privileged voice who could never square his vision of internationalism with his racism.

Frederick Jackson Turner (1861-1932), a Midwestern son of Portage, Wis., and a historian trained in the first American graduate seminar based on the German "scientific" model at Johns Hopkins University, rose to fame largely because of a famous paper on "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," delivered at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. He went on to write many essays and one book that made Americans see their history as movement across geography, by regions and sections, and by the imagination forged in and by the West. A friend of Wilson's, although no philosopher of race, Turner's saga is in Woodard's telling a tragic one of a perfectionist in search of the next source, but who could never produce the big book. Although his name is forever associated with the professionalization of history and with big interpretations, he is rarely read today, despite his extraordinary fame in his lifetime.

Woodard devotes a great deal of space to developing the fascinating biographies of each of these men in short, snappy chapters that shift back and forth between all manner of confluences and coincidences, some useful and some not. We get to know them, their habits, temperaments and health crises. Bancroft dined with Hegel, met Lord Byron, knew all the presidents and brokered his way into Democratic politics as he became a kind of unofficial national historian of a triumphant story, no matter how high the body counts at Antietam. His youthful backpack hikes across Europe are stunning.

Simms fashioned the story of a nation - the slaveholding South - where the enslaved were loyal to their virtuous masters, where race determined human nature. He experienced many tragedies in his family life and mental depressions, but his proslavery ideology formed, as for so many white Southerners, a complete worldview untrammeled by doubt.

Through extensive use of block quotes from some of his major speeches, we see Douglass's vision of a re-created second American republic that could achieve its destiny as a "composite nation" of all races and religions. We also can feel his sense of irony about American hypocrisy and his sheer mastery of language, although Woodard chops up the great Fourth of July speech of 1852 in simplistic ways. It is also not clear why Woodard uses the names "Freddy," "Fred" and, finally, "Frederick" in the course of the former slave's coming of age. Those were not Douglass's labels for himself. A message embedded in the book, though, is that Wilson and Turner hardly seemed to know that Douglass had existed.

Woodard does make visions of history into a kind of human drama. He writes with a storyteller's pace and vividness. Indeed, the idea of the American mind is back in historical thinking. The saga of how deeply connected Wilson was to Thomas Dixon's and D.W. Griffith's massively popular white-supremacist film, "The Birth of a Nation," will be a revelation to many readers who may still see the first Southern-born president since the Civil War only as a foreign policy visionary. Turner came to advocate a "melting pot" vision of America and gave lots of public lectures, but he died surrounded by his books and staring into his notes, still trying to explain America to himself.

Woodard has read deeply into each of his figures; the book is drawn largely from many published biographies and collections of letters and speeches. It could also prompt a parlor game to suggest other voices of American narratives and nationalism he might have chosen (Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln, William James, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, W.E.B. Du Bois?). But the subtext for this book, like so much else these days, is Woodard's fear that the 19th-century belief in an American ethno-state (meaning white) not only survived into our own time but is reascendant in Trumpism's assault on "liberal civic nationalism." As Woodard warns, only fools or the ignorant will think this battle will ever really end, even when President Trump and his own profane myth are banished.

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Blight is a professor of American history at Yale and the author of "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom," which won the Pulitzer Prize in history in 2019.
Srinagar:

Suspected militants on Saturday night decamped with two rifles from cops guarding a minority picket in south Kashmirs Pulwama district, police said here.

Militants tonight snatched two SLR rifles from policemen guarding the minority picket in Tumlahaal village in Lassipora area of Pulwama, a police official said.

He said police has taken cognisance of the incident and senior police officials have rushed to the spot.

The official said a departmental inquiry would also be ordered to ascertain the details of the incident.

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After over three months of shutdown, hair salons in Maharashtra will be allowed to reopen from June 28. The state government, on Thursday, issued a revised set of guidelines as part of phase four of Mission Begin Again in adherence with standard operating procedures (SOPs) about hygiene and cleanliness.

As per the guidelines, only select services like hair cut and dyeing, waxing and threading will be allowed as of now in these outlets. Skin-related services will not be allowed.

Further, the government has mandated staff to wear protective gear, including gloves, aprons, and masks. The barbershop/ beauty parlour owner will have to ensure that proper sanitisation of the workplace is done after each service. Also, all common areas and floors must be sanitised after every two hours. The guidelines suggest salon owners use disposal towels napkins on customers. Non-disposal equipment should be sanitised and sterilised after each service, it said.

Salon operators in Maharashtra had demanded that they be allowed to do their business or else the government provides them a financial package. According to State Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar, as many as 12 barbers have committed suicide in the last three months due to financial losses suffered due to the lockdown in the state.

So far, under the 'Mission Begin Again', markets, shops, vehicular traffic and suburban train for essential services staff have started. Private and government offices with restricted staff have also started operating.

Also read: 1.25 crore jobs in UP: PM Modi to launch Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan today

Also read: Pakistan pilot licences issue represents 'serious lapse' in safety controls, says IATA
The city of Worcester on Thursday reported that 67 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified since last week, an average of eight cases a day.

Last week, officials reported that there were 47 new cases in a seven-day span, a daily average of seven new cases.

Worcester has seen a total of 5,172 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said.

At the start of the pandemic, the city held daily press briefings offering updates on new cases and information to prevent spreading the virus. The city then reduced updates to once a week. Today, Mayor Joseph Petty said it was the citys last scheduled press briefing regarding the virus.

Petty, Augustus and Dr. Michael Hirsh, the medical director of the citys department of public health, thanked the public for staying vigilant throughout the pandemic. They also asked residents to continue wearing masks and to wash their hands frequently in the hopes of keeping the rate of spread of coronavirus low.

The mayor thanked people who canceled important events like weddings and holidays, business owners who followed the states regulations and parents who became educators for children after schools shut their doors.

Because of you, because of your actions, the actions of your neighbors, we have flattened the curve, Petty said. Right now UMass has the lowest number of COVID inpatients since April 1. Were not done yet, but weve done a lot of great work together to keep this community healthy.

But, Augustus cautioned that the coronavirus is not done yet. He said he hoped that when people look back on this time, theyll think the city did the best it could to address the virus.

Weve had to make a lot of tough decisions, Augustus said. We did the best we could, always trying to figure out how to err on the side of keeping the people of this community safe. That was our north star. Thats what we were always striving to do.

When the state offered coronavirus testing for two days last week, urging residents who recently attended demonstrations protesting police brutality to take advantage of the free service, 1,600 people got tested at UMass Memorial Medical Center, Augustus said.

The positive rate of those 1,600 tests was 2.7%, said Augustus. State officials reported that across Massachusetts, 17,000 people took advantage of the testing and 2.5% were positive.

Hirsh said that in the last four weeks, the citys rate of positive coronavirus tests has been below the 10% mark, an indicator the CDC recommends for safe reopening.

I think that overall we can be pretty confident that the virus has really been at least suppressed, Hirsh said. It looks like there could be a reappearance sometime in the fall and we cant let our guard down.

Between Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester and the UMass Memorial Health Care system, there are currently 38 inpatients with coronavirus. Of those patients, 14 are in the intensive care unit, Augustus said.

The health care systems have seen a combined 333 deaths related to coronavirus, which is nine more since last Thursday.

A total of 362 employees of the hospitals have tested positive for the virus, Augustus said.

The Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center, which has been serving as a coronavirus recovery center, will switch back to its regular services as of June 30, Augustus said. On Thursday, there were 25 people being treated at the center, which has serviced 230 patients since April 1.

Additionally, the city is closing its temporary homeless shelter at North High School on Friday, Augustus announced. The 17 people staying there will be transferred to one of the SMOC shelters. During the pandemic, 34 people were able to be placed into more permanent housing or a residential treatment facility.

While numerous members of the citys homeless population did test positive for coronavirus, none died from associated illness, the city manager said.

Augustus said 120 volunteers worked for 2,800 hours to keep the North High and other shelters running in the last few months.

The city manager also announced that city spray parks, pools and beaches are slated to open July 1. People will not have to wear face masks while in the water, but will at all other times. Augustus said the city is trying to strike a balance between a fun summer and a safe summer.

Related Content:
Washington, June 26 : The US is becoming more diverse, especially among the youngest of its population, according to data released by the Census Bureau.

For the first time, non-whites and Hispanics made up for the majority of people under age 16 in 2019, the data revealed on Thursday.

While the number of non-Hispanic whites in the US has declined in the past decade as deaths surpassed births in this aging demographic, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We are browning from bottom up in our age structure," said William Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

"This is going to be a diversified century for the US, and it's beginning with this youngest generation." America's population is currently 60.1 per cent white, the lowest level ever recorded, according to the data.

There are 4.7 million fewer white Americans under the age of 25 today than there were in 2010, and 3.1 million more minorities under the age of 25 than there were nine years ago - an overall decline of almost 1.6 million.

Meanwhile, Asian-Americans represented the fastest-growing segment of the population over the last decade.

The number grew to 22.8 million, a 29 per cent increase.

Non-Hispanic whites are expected to be a minority in about 25 years.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) loyal to the suspended National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole has dared President Muhammadu Buhari over dissolution of its National Working Committee (NWC).

Following the recommendation of President Buhari, the National Working Committee of the APC was dissolved at the National Executive Council meeting on Thursday.

A few hours after the NWC was dissolved at the instance of Buhari, the 18 members dared the President and others at the NEC meeting by issuing a statement where they referred to themselves as officials of the party.

The NWC members, who said this in a statement signed by the acting National Chairman, Hillard Eta, and the acting National Secretary, Waziri Bulama, stated that they were consulting their lawyers and other stakeholders on the dissolution of the NWC and other decisions taken at the NEC meeting on Thursday.

They insisted that the NEC meeting was illegally convened by the suspended Deputy National Secretary of the party, Victor Giadom. The statement reads:

The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress wishes to reiterate its earlier position that Chief Victor Giadom has no authority whatsoever to convene a meeting of the National Executive Committee of our great party. Article 25(B) of the constitution of the APC is explicit that only the National Chairman or the National Working Committee is given the prerogative of summoning meetings of the National Executive Committee of the party either for statutory quarterly meetings or for emergency meetings. The same provision of the constitution makes it compulsory for a notice of minimum of 14 days in respect of statutory quarterly meetings and seven days in respect of emergency meetings.

We note that Chief Victor Giadom had convened and conducted a virtual meeting purportedly to be a National Executive Committee meeting of our party wherein certain far- reaching resolutions were purportedly reached. While the National Working Committee is studying the unfolding drama, it will be consulting with stakeholders and team of lawyers on the next line of action Therefore, all members of our great party and concerned Nigerians are urged to remain calm pending the outcome of the consultations.

According to Eta and Bulama, other NWC members who were part of this press statement include the National Vice Chairman (North-West), Inuwa Abdulkadir; National Vice Chairman (South-West) Pastor Bankole Oluwajana, and the National Vice Chairman, (North-Central), Alhaji Ahmed Wambal.

KanyiDaily recalls that the 18 NWC members loyal to Oshiomhole had declined attending the NEC meeting, insisting that President Buhari was blackmailed to support the illegal meeting convened by Giadom.
On Friday, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would make the District of Columbia the 51st state. While the bill is unlikely to survive the Republican-controlled Senateor President Donald Trumps veto penits still a milestone in the long battle for full political representation for the residents of the nations capital city.

D.C. residents have only had the right to vote for president since the passage of the 23rd Amendment in 1961, and to elect their own mayor and city council since 1973. Still, today, D.C. has no voting representatives in Congress, laws passed by the district government can be overturned by Congress, and it has no control over most local prosecutions oras recent events painfully showedits own National Guard.

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And a dog whistleladen speech on Thursday by Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton showed that some national attitudes toward Washington havent changed much since the civil rights era. D.C. statehood would likely result in two more Democratic senators, but the GOP tends to define its opposition to the idea as being a matter of hewing to the Constitution, which created a federal district as the seat of government. Not every Republican argument has feinted such high-mindedness, however. In his speech, Cotton questioned whether current Mayor Muriel Bowser or controversial former Mayor Marion Barryboth Blackcould be trusted with the powers of a governor. And he contrasted D.C. with Wyoming, noting that while the Western state has a smaller population, it is a well-rounded working-class state.

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Shortly before the vote, I called veteran D.C. reporter Tom Sherwood to discuss the state of statehood. Sherwood has covered local politics in D.C. for a number of outlets since the mid-1970s and co-authored the definitive history of the Barry years, Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington, D.C. Today, hes a columnist for Washington City Paper and co-host of the weekly Politics Hour on WAMU. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

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Tom Sherwood: Hi, Im just listening to Tom Cotton again to get my blood pressure up. Let me turn the damn thing off.

Joshua Keating: Thanks. So, listening to that debate, does it feel like the arguments against D.C.s autonomy and voting rights have changed over the years, or is it still the same talking points?

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No, theres long been a willful ignorance about the nations capital and intense discrimination and even racism in how its treated. Before home rule in 1973, D.C. was largely governed by segregationist Southern politicians who held sway in Congress and appointed the commissioners that ran the city. They helped define home rule as it was passed in 73. Theres a woeful and at time willful ignorance on the part of some to deny recognition to the people who live here.

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Across the country, candidates for office rail against those people in Washington. They may be specifically thinking of Congress and the White House, but we get lumped in.

It also still seems like theres this image of corruption and dysfunction associated with the city. D.C. government certainly has its problems, and you regularly write about them, but it doesnt seem that much worse than other places in this country.

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Well, for the sake of argument, lets just assume the district is a woefully corrupt place. If that were the basis for statehood, Illinois with its corrupt four governors in a row would have to give up statehood. Maryland would have had to give up statehood after their governor went to prison. Lord, lets not even talk about Louisiana. Its not a legitimate basis to decide if we should be a state or not. Its really superficial and shows either willful ignorance or racism.

As someone who covered Marion Barry for years, what do you make of the fact that hes still such a polarizing figure all these years after he left office, and still seen as so symbolic of the city?

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Barry is indelibly stamped on the District of Columbia as a place. Hes famous for his drug abuse and his arrest, which was a terrible thing. He never will be known in America for fixing firehouses that had never been fixed before he became mayor. Hell never be known for the summer jobs program that gave tens of thousands of poor people in the city access to jobs. Hell never be known for making sure that senior citizens homes got food and quality services. Hell never be known for those things because hes known for his outlandish comments and his drug use and his failure to pay income taxes for 13 years. Yes, hes a bad person in the big scheme of things, but many people hereAfrican Americans but whites alsoknow the good things he did as mayor. I always tell people, the one thing Marion Barry didnt have was discipline. He spent too much of his time and his smarts getting out of trouble. He once said at a press conference that hed suffered a thousand wounds. And the council member sitting next to me leaned over and said, Yes, all self-inflicted.

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Obviously, race is a major factor here, but the citys demographics have also changed a lot in recent years, becoming much wealthier and much whiter. Do you think thats changed the national view of D.C. at all?

Well, you know, about 30 years ago, the District of Columbia was 71, 72 percent Black. The most recent stats show that its 46 percent Black and 46 percent white. Thats a historic change. But I recently heard one guy say to me, Well, its all those Blacks and liberal whites that make it such a terrible place. So we all kinda get lumped in.

But thats one of the things that irritated me the most about Tom Cottons speech, when he said Wyoming was a well-rounded working class state. Wyoming is 93 percent white. It virtually has no Black people. Thats not well-rounded. Thats a bubble, and he lives in that bubble. Tom Cotton doesnt know local Washington. He flies in, he flies out. His call in the New York Times for federal troops to put down the insurrection here, it was just like the U.S. cavalry attacking the Native Americans in Wyoming back in the 1800s. The idea of using federal troops to attack American citizens, its just really distasteful. Im a Navy veteran. I grew up in a military family. And it was just disgusting.

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Do you think that the National Guard deployment and seeing armored vehicles on the streets of the city is itself a good argument for statehood?

I like to say that Americas national capital is in fact the most un-American place because of the absence of basic rights.  Tom Sherwood

Its not so much an argument, but its an example. The mayor who runs the city doesnt have control over the National Guard. I like to say that Americas national capital is in fact the most un-American place because of the absence of basic rights.

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To tell you one story, back when I was a police reporter, I remember going to the Mall and talking to this one couple from somewhere like Kentucky. And I asked them, do you think that residents of the District of Columbia should have voting rights in Congress? And the guy looked at me with a quizzical look and said, But you work for us. This gentleman thought the entire district population were all employees of the federal government. No, we have citizens who have nothing to do with the government. They go to their churches or mosques or synagogues, they go to their grocery stores. They might not even know where Lafayette Park is.

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I always tell D.C. Vote and other advocates, and Im going to tell the mayor today on the radio, why doesnt the district have a multimillion-dollar campaign to educate the people of America about who lives here? The people of America dont know us. Certainly, Tom Cotton and President Trump dont know us.

So how optimistic are you about statehood being achieved?

The vote today is important because the House will in fact approve it in the first vote since 1993. The Grim Reaper over in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, says he wont bring it up, so that will be it. The real test for statehood will come in November if the Democrats win the Senate, keep the House, and win the presidency. If that happens, its going to be possible for the Congress to vote for the district to become a state and for the president to sign it. There might be legal challenges, but thats the way that other states have gotten in.

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Its not a matter of how many people we have. If we just went by population, then California could be three states. New York City could be its own state. Its not the total number of peopleits whether we are a sustained independent territory. Do we have the economic wherewithal to sustain ourselves? Yes, we do. Do we have the voting population to qualify for representation in the House? Yes, we do. Do we pay taxes, do we fight in wars? Yes, we do. Why arent we a state? Theres no good argument for it. Maybe theyre worried if we got control of the National Guard, wed turn it on the White House.

Thanks so much for your time.

No problem, and if you happen to talk to Tom Cotton, tell him Id be happy to show him around town.

For more of Slates news coverage, listen to What Next: TBD.
ALEXI HOBBS

What could make more sense than building a cable to conduct inexpensive, renewable hydropower from Canada to New York City? As a matter of fact, few things make less sense than this proposed power line (Cuomo calls for new pair of power lines, May 27).

The ecological impact of the underwater cable on Lake Champlain and the Hudson River is uncertain. Indigenous communities in Canada are objecting to Hydro-Quebecs use of their land to make dams that lead to higher levels of toxic methylmercury in fish and mammals.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 12:46:32|Editor: huaxia

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SYDNEY, June 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. private equity giant Bain Capital has agreed to buy bankrupt airline Virgin Australia, administrator Deloitte revealed on Friday.

The news comes after rival bidder Cyrus Capital Partners withdrew its offer citing a lack of engagement with the seller.

Deloitte confirmed in a statement that it had entered into a sale and implementation deed with Bain Capital, which, subject to approvals including a vote by creditors in August, will result in the sale and recapitalization of Virgin.

"Bain Capital has presented a strong and compelling bid for the business that will secure the future of Australia's second airline, thousands of employees and their families and ensure Australia continues to enjoy the benefits of a competitive aviation sector," joint administrator Vaughan Strawbridge said.

According to Deloitte, the transaction will see the retention of thousands of jobs as well as honoring all employee entitlements and passenger travel credits and frequent flyer points.

Virgin went into voluntary administration in April setting off the eight-week sale process.

While the global travel industry has been decimated by COVID-19, those facilitating the sale said that interest in the airline showed a recovery was possible.

"We have certainly been heartened by the levels of interest shown by parties, in spite of the prevailing COVID-induced market conditions," Strawbridge said. Enditem
George Nader pleaded guilty to bringing a 14-year-old boy from the Czech Republic to engage in sexual activity.

A Lebanese-American businessman who was a key witness in special counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election  a businessman who also helped broker the release of American hostages  was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison sentence on child sex charges.

George Nader pleaded guilty in January to bringing a 14-year-old boy from the Czech Republic to the US 20 years ago to engage in sexual activity. He also acknowledged possessing child pornography.

Naders name appears more than 100 times in the Mueller report. It details Naders efforts to serve as liaison between Russians and members of President Donald Trumps transition team.

George Nader posing with US President Donald Trump in an undated photo [File/AP Photo]

In the 1990s, Nader served as a broker to facilitate the release of American hostages held in the Middle East.

The convictions carried a 10-year mandatory minimum. The judge could have imposed a longer term, though prosecutors also recommended a 10-year sentence.

Nader also agreed to pay $150,000 in restitution to the Czech boy he abused, who is now an adult and who testified at Fridays sentencing hearing in US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia by phone.

George destroyed practically my entire life, and I am trying to put it back together piece by piece, he said through a translator.

Long history of abuse

Naders interest in children and his status as a behind-the-scenes power player both extend back decades. And theres at least some indication that the latter shielded him from the consequences of the former.

Almost 30 years ago, Nader was caught by customs officials transporting two films, hidden in candy tins, of minor boys into the US. He received a six-month sentence, a term that prosecutors in the current case acknowledge is far below what would be expected of such a crime today.

In 1991, as he awaited sentencing, his case was twice delayed so he could continue his work on hostage negotiations. Court records cited by his current defense lawyers indicate that British hostage Jon McCarthy and American hostage Edward Tracy were released in July of that year  and that Nader played an outsized role in securing the release. Participants in the negotiations wrote letters to the judge on Naders behalf.

Later, in 2003, Nader was sentenced to a one-year prison term in the Czech Republic after being convicted there on 10 counts of sexually abusing minors.

Prosecutors say the abused boys were largely child prostitutes. The 14-year-old boy brought to the US also alleged he was victimised by Nader in the Czech case, though Naders lawyers say he wasnt convicted there. The two sides dispute the extent of abuse inflicted on the boy in the US, but Nader has admitted to one sex act.

Nader used his contacts and his wealth to accomplish bringing the Czech boy into the US, prosecutor Jay Prabhu wrote.

The current case against Nader began in 2018, when images were found on his phone after it was confiscated under a search warrant connected to the Mueller probe.

The report by then-special counsel Robert Mueller outlined Naders efforts to serve as liaison between Russians and members of President Donald Trumps transition team [File: Alex Brandon/AP Photo]

The images found in Naders phones at Dulles International Airport ended up not being the basis for the child-pornography conviction. Instead, prosecutors relied on images and videos Nader received via email in 2012 that in some cases involved sadistic depictions of infants or toddlers.

Even though it had no bearing on the sentence Nader received, defence lawyers and prosecutors continued to argue at Fridays sentencing hearing as to whether the images found on the phone were child pornography.

Naders attorney, Jonathan Jeffress, acknowledged that the photos showed naked children and were obscene, but said they amounted to dirty jokes and that Nader had put his struggles with child pornography behind him in 2012.

Prosecutors say the images included clear depictions of child pornography and bestiality and show that Nader is a lifelong recidivist.

Parts of the sentencing papers detailing Naders testimony to the special counsel remain blacked out.

Nader, for his part, apologised for his actions at Fridays hearing.

I have listened to whats been said about me, he said. I can say I am sincerely, deeply sorry for the suffering I have caused.
Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has denied saying he spent N35 billion on the elections of Presid...

Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has denied saying he spent N35 billion on the elections of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and 2019.





A report had quoted Tinubu as expressing regrets that he spent heavily on the president.





The report said while having a discussion with Bisi Akande, former interim chairman of the APC, on the dissolution of the national working committee of the ruling party, Tinubu accused the president of betraying him.





But in a statement Tunde Rahman, his spokesman, issued on his behalf, the APC national leader dismissed the claims.





The authors of the libelous report claimed Asiwaju made the allegation in a discussion with former APC Interim Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, the statement read.





Firstly, no one person elected President Buhari. He was elected by the generality of Nigerian electorate. Asiwaju Tinubu would not arrogate you himself the commendable decision taken by the people. Also, that outlandish claim only existed in the imagination of the authors of the story.





Asiwaju rooted for President Buharis election and in 2015 and re-election in 2019 along with other right-thinking political leaders and teeming members of APC and Nigerians across the country.





He has no reason to regret the rightful decision or describe President Buhari as ungrateful. He remains steadfast in his support for the president and the programmes and policies of his administration as he has always been.





Nothing has occurred to warrant any change of heart.





The statement said since reference was made to how Akinwunmi Ambode, a former governor of Lagos, could not secure another term, it is possible that those behind the report betrayed where they came from.





The report linked recent developments in APC to the fate suffered by former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in the 2019 governorship race in Lagos State, perhaps betraying where the authors were coming from, the statement read.





Asiwaju has put the events of 2019 behind him. He has moved on. Indeed, Lagos has moved on. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is providing good, purposeful and responsible leadership. Lagosian are enjoying the fruits of good governance under the able and dynamic governor Sanwo-Olu.





Asiwaju and governor Sanwo-Olu have the best of relationships, contrary to the impression the report sought to create.




Bhopal, June 26 : Amid the ongoing war of words between the Congress and his party, BJP national vice-president Prabhat Jha on Friday dubbed former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath a "Chinese agent".

He told the media here that there was a reason why the Congress and its leadership were talking in the "language of China". "It is because of Kamal Nath, who during his stint as the Minister for commerce and industry in the UPA government had acted at the behest of China," he added.

"During the UPA rule, there were many agreements between the Indian National Congress and the Communist Party of India. Despite the availability of certain items in India, at least 250 such items were imported from China. There was lesser import duty on such items. From the money thus earned, the Congress and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation were given money, which is a crime. Only one person was responsible for all this - the then Commerce Minister. All this is on record," Jha reasoned.

The BJP leader asked Kamal Nath to answer whether he was an Indian citizen or an agent of China.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden visited Lancaster, Pennsylvania on Thursday.

Sister station WGAL-TV was the only local TV station there from the Susquehanna Valley to speak with him one-on-one.

It was Biden's first local television interview since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden spent Thursday in Pennsylvania warning there are no miracles coming" to help the nation beat back the still deadly pandemic.



Amazingly, he hasnt grasped the most basic fact of this crisis: To fix the economy we have to get control over the virus," the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said of President Donald Trump while speaking at a community center in Lancaster. "Hes like a child who cant believe this has happened to him. His whining and self-pity. This pandemic didnt happen to him. It happened to all of us.

Biden has spent weeks arguing that the pandemic remains a clear and present danger that Trump is trying to wish away amid a desire to speed an economic recovery. The president counters that the country doesn't have to choose between its health and improving the economy.



Meanwhile, Trump visited a Wisconsin shipyard to emphasize job growth and reviving an economy hammered by the coronavirus. He was promoting a contract won in April by Fincantieri Marinette Marine to build as many as 10 Navy frigates. The company employs about 2,500 people now, and the deal could add 1,000 jobs. Its the first new major shipbuilding program for the Navy in more than a decade.

After long focusing on staging virtual rallies and other online appearances from his Delaware home, Biden has in recent weeks begun making frequent trips to Pennsylvania, allowing him to target a swing state without venturing far. Lancaster is about an hour and 15 minutes by car from Bidens house, and yet it is the farthest hes traveled lately, aside from a trip to Houston to meet with the family of George Floyd, whose death in police custody sparked protests around the nation.

Trump, by contrast, staged a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last weekend and spoke at a megachurch in Arizona on Tuesday. On Thursday, he visited Marinette in rural Wisconsin for a private tour of a shipyard and to participate in a town hall to be broadcast by Fox News Channel from an airport in Green Bay. Vice President Mike Pence also hit another key state, Ohio.

Arriving in Wisconsin, Trump acknowledged the power of incumbency, tweeting, Launching big new ship contract! Video on Twitter showed protesters just outside the airport, chanting Hands up, dont shoot, and I cant breathe. Meanwhile, an event page created by Fox News said attendees of the town hall event were required to wear a face covering.

Biden has also broken with Trump by spending weeks denouncing institutional racism and police brutality, siding with protesters around the country. Pence drove home that contrast on Thursday, participating in a police roll call during his stop in Youngstown, Ohio.

The vice president declared that promoting the rights of African Americans did not have to come at the expense of police rights. "Were showing we dont have to make that choice, Pence said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Despite what appears to be a terminal decline of US influence over the Middle East, Washington has no intentions of gracefully abandoning its aspirations of regional hegemony.







Air strikes carried out against Syria by Washington's Israeli proxies, a mysterious explosion near Tehran, and the current Iraqi Prime Minister's decision to round up leaders of Iranian-backed militias who helped defeat the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (ISIS) unfolded in quick succession in an apparent coordinated campaign aimed at Iran and its allies.



The Washington DC-based Al Monitor in an article titled, "Suspected Israeli airstrikes hit various locations in Syria," would claim:

Suspected Israeli airstrikes hit Syrian military and Iran-backed militia sites Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. There are differing reports on the casualties.



This mornings aerial assault targeted Syrian military sites outside the central city of Hama.

Days later, under orders by Iraq's new prime minister - Mustafa Al-Kadhimi - Iraqi security forces raided the headquarters of an Iranian-backed militia detaining several leaders.



Reuters in its article, "Iraqi forces raid Iran-backed militia base, detain commanders: government sources," would claim:

Iraqi security forces raided a headquarters belonging to a powerful Iran-backed militia in southern Baghdad late on Thursday, seized rockets and detained three commanders of the group, two Iraqi government officials said.



The officials said the militia group targeted was the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah, which U.S. officials have accused of firing rockets at bases hosting U.S. troops and other facilities in Iraq.

Iraq has been under significant pressure from the US to roll back growing ties with Iran and still hosts thousands of US troops illegally occupying its territory as well as a myriad of militant groups the US and its regional allies back either openly or covertly including Al Qaeda and ISIS itself.



More recently, a massive explosion took place just southeast of Iran's capital, Tehran. While Iranian officials claim it was an accident at a civilian gas storage facility, pro-war elements across the West have insisted it was the result of an attack on a military complex located in the region.



Should it turn out to be an attack - US proxies - either Israel or US-backed terrorists operating inside Iran are most likely responsible representing a strategy laid out by US policymakers as early as 2009 in their own papers - particularly and explicitly in the Brookings Institution's 2009 paper, "Which Path to Persia? Options for a New American Strategy Toward Iran" (PDF) under chapters including, "Allowing or Encouraging an Israeli Military Strike," and "Inspiring an Insurgency: Supporting Iranian Minority And Opposition Groups."



The timing of the explosion, following two highly provocative moves made against Iran and its allies in the region suggest the US is attempting to escalate tensions with Iran to save its fading influence in the Middle East.



New Iraqi Prime Minister's Checkered Past



Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi took office in May 2020.







While he has warned about deepening relations with Iran he has concurrently stated the importance of US backing - despite the US having illegally invaded, destroyed, and since occupied Iraq starting in 2003.



His past - including his exile in London and his US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) linked Iraq Memory Foundation as well as his regular contributions to the above mentioned Washington DC-based Al Monitor call into serious question his ability to protect Iraq's sovereignty as well as Iraq's best interests.



On the Iraq Memory Foundation's own website under "About," it admits its genesis as a spin-off of a US NED funded Harvard-based front called the Iraq Research and Documentation Project (IRDP). The website claims (emphasis added):

The Memory Foundation is an outgrowth of the Iraq Research and Documentation Project (IRDP), founded by Kanan Makiya at the Center of Middle East Studies at Harvard University in 1992. In 1993, the IRDP developed a plan to create an archive that would organize and preserve the documents already in its possession for more long-term scholarly purposes. Utilizing a 1993 grant from the Bradley Foundation, followed by a 1994 bridging grant from the National Endowment for Democracy, the IRDP began its work processing the small collection of documents in Makiyas personal possession and transcribing interviews conducted with Iraqi refugees. The IRDP continued to receive and process small datasets over the next ten years.

Regarding Al-Kadhimi himself, the website notes that he previously worked as:

the director of programming for Radio Free Europes Iraq service from 1999 to 2003. He also participated in launching the Iraqi Media Network as the Director of Planning and Programming immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein regime in 2003. Since leaving Al-Iraqiya he has worked with the Iraq Memory Foundation, researching, directing and producing numerous filmed oral history testimonies with survivors of the Saddam Hussein regime.

Radio Free Europe - according to its own website - "is funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM)."



In an age where simply holding views similar to that of nations like Russia earn among the Western media labels like "Russian agent," Iraq's current prime minister was literally on the payroll of the US government. The website also notes that he produced documentaries for British state programming including the BBC.



All of Al-Kadhimi's efforts fed directly into US war propaganda used to justify Washington's military aggression against Iraq for decades.



Al-Kadhimi also was a regular contributor to Al Monitor - which despite attempting to appear as a Middle Eastern news source - is actually based in Washington DC and headed by American corporate-funded think tank staff and lobbyists.



Al Monitor's president and chief content officer - Andrew Parasiliti - for example has an extensive background in US corporate-funded foundations and lobbying groups which regular receive money from big-oil, defense contractors, and other multi-billion dollar multinational interests to engineer and promote wars and interventions abroad.





The Al Monitor's biography for Parasiliti states:

He previously served as director of RANDs Center for Global Risk and Security and international marketing manager of RANDs National Security Research Division; editor of Al-Monitor; executive director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies-US and corresponding director, IISS-Middle East; a principal at the BGR Group; foreign policy advisor to US Senator Chuck Hagel; director of the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government; and director of programs at the Middle East Institute.

Al Monitor clearly serves as yet another vehicle for promoting US intervention and influence abroad.



And it was in Al Monitor that now Iraqi PM Al-Kadhimi wrote articles like his 2015 piece, "US-Iraqi relations need a reset," in which he presented a skewed version of history from 2003 onward - ignoring the false pretense used by the US to invade Iraq in the first place and the utter destruction and division sown throughout the country ever since.



He also mischaracterizes the appearance of ISIS in 2014 - failing to link America's supposed withdrawal from Iraq and the serendipitous appearance of the terrorist organization and the opportunity it provided the US to reoccupy Iraq on terms more favorable to Washington. Nothing about ISIS' US and Saudi funding and arming was mentioned.



He concluded the piece claiming:

US-Iraqi relations since 2003 demonstrate that when ties between the two countries become weak or marginal, it paves the way for external actors to enter and jeopardize common US-Iraqi regional interests. Thus, Washington and Baghdad need to reassess their relationship to develop an effective strategy to help restore the balance of power in the region and ensure their mutual interests.

When Iraq's current PM Al-Kadhimi talks about "restoring the balance of power in the region" he is referring to the balance of power the US created and whose benefits only the US and its closest proxies enjoy, all at the cost of everyone else. Al-Kadhimi also made reference in his Al Monitor op-ed to the US propaganda vehicle "the axis of evil" - years after even the US abandoned it as a viable excuse to remain militarily engaged in the region.



While it is difficult to say what sort of leader Al-Kadhimi will ultimately be, his checkered past and his unpromising start signal a period of heightened conflict and instability within Iraq as this previously eager US proxy attempts to steer Iraq in a direction its people and its national economic and political ties do not and cannot go.



US Middle East War is Unwinnable, but Far from Over



The US and its allies provide Iraq with no genuine political or economic ties or development - and are using the nation as a base for sowing conflict throughout the region - conflict that will ultimately negatively impact Iraq's own political and economic stability.



It is an unsustainable strategy since the vast majority of Iraqis - whether they are pro-Iranian or not - would chose political and economic stability over being an expendable pawn in Washington's overseas aggression.



The entire region is attempting - somewhat successfully - to move out from under the shadow of US hegemony and its corrosive effects. While in recent years the US has suffered multiple failures and is incrementally being uprooted from the region - it remains a dangerous hegemon with formidable military, political, and economic weapons arrayed against the Middle East.



Washington's desperation is highlighted by its increasing need to resort to increasingly less effective violence as the deterrence of its once global might fades and nations begin testing and rolling back the edges of its crumbling hegemony.



It will take time and patience to weather the parting blows of the "American Empire" and its presence in the Middle East - a parting that will take many more years to come and one in which acts of desperation could still lead to catastrophic, open regional war.



Despite the past of characters like Iraqi PM Al-Kadhimi - there is always the possibility that events on the ground will sway policies to continue away from American meddling and aggression and toward peace and stability - something Al-Kadhimi and everyone else in Iraq will benefit from far more than maintaining unawarded loyalty to Washington.



It will be a matter of nations like Iran and its allies keeping doors and avenues open for characters like Al-Kadhimi to escape through - tempting them in the right direction and away from the fate of other "successful" US regime change projects in places like Libya and Ukraine.



Tony Cartalucci, Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazine New Eastern Outlook.
Doctors have pleaded with people planning holidays to observe social distancing rules as Matt Hancock warned that the government could close down public spaces if necessary.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has set out guidelines for people in England, who will be allowed to visit hotels, bed and breakfast facilities and campsites from 4 July.

The plea came after a major incident was declared as thousands crammed on Bournemouth beach and other stretches of the Dorset coast on the hottest day of the year so far.

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, told TalkRadio on Thursday that the government had the power to close public spaces if social distancing restrictions were not observed.

Mr Hancock said he was reluctant to close down public spaces as people have had a pretty tough lockdown.

He continued, however the virus doesnt respect the fact that its a hot summers day, before urging the public to practise social distancing or risk stricter lockdown measures.

If we see a spike in the number of cases, we will take action.

Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, later urged people to follow social distancing rules or risk causing a rise in cases.

He wrote on Twitter: Covid-19 has gone down due to the efforts of everyone but is still in general circulation.

If we do not follow social distancing guidance then cases will rise again."

A major incident was declared after thousands flocked to Bournemouth beach and other stretches of the Dorset coast (AFP/Getty)

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council said extra police patrols had to be brought in following the irresponsible behaviour of crowds who gridlocked roads, dumped rubbish, abused refuse collectors and parked illegally.

Council leader Vikki Slade urged the public: Please do not come. We are not able to welcome you yet.

Ahead of the reopening of the tourism sector, the BMA has advised people not to travel if they are ill or have any Covid-19 symptoms, including a cough, temperature or loss of smell or taste.

The doctors' union has also said holidaymakers should be prepared to self-isolate for 14 days if anyone in their bubble develops symptoms or is told to do so by the NHS Test and Trace service.

Those who take prescribed medicines should make sure they have enough to last their trip and everyone should practise social distancing and hand washing on holiday.

The BMA has also encouraged people to wear a face covering when mixing with people from outside their bubble indoors.

Dr Peter English, chair of the BMA public health medicine committee, called on tourism providers and local authorities to consider how they can help mitigate the risk of the virus spreading and urged holidaymakers to act with extreme caution.

Dr Lucy-Jane Davis, chair of the BMA south west regional council, stressed that tourism hotspots in the region have limited NHS resources compared with the number of visitors anticipated.

She said it is vital that politicians, tourism operators and NHS leaders consider all the risks before 4 July, and that an effective contact-tracing system is in place before then.

Additional reporting by Press Association
Sensex and Nifty closed higher today after two sessions of fall after IT, bank and energy stocks gained amid firm global cues. While Sensex gained 329.17 points or 0.94 per cent to 35,171, Nifty surged 94.10 points or 0.90 per cent to end at 10,383.

On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 439.54 points or 1.26 per cent, while Nifty climbed 138.60 points or 1.35 per cent. Both indexes recorded a second straight week of gains.

IT and oil and gas stocks were the top gainers in session today. While BSE IT index gained 728 points to 15,125, BSE oil and gas index rose 349 points to 13,072.

On Sensex, Infosys, TCS, IndusInd Bank and ONGC were the top gainers rising up to 7%. Gains were led by IT stocks with BSE IT index rising 728 points to 15,125. ITC, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Bank were the top Sensex losers falling up to 3.54%.

Of 30 Sensex stocks, 16 closed in the green.

ITC stock closed 3.54% lower at Rs 195.10. The FMCG stock has fallen after 4 days of consecutive gain.

Market heavyweight Reliance Industries ended 1.43% or Rs 24 higher at Rs 1742 against previous close of Rs 1717.

Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President at Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities said, "Nifty trimmed some gains from the day's highest level of 10407 during the mid-session but eventually managed to close above 10400, which is broadly positive for the index.

Technically, the short term texture of the index is still in to the positive trend. Despite the correction in the last two days, from 10550-10195 levels, the index has still maintained higher bottom series pattern which indicates the uptrend is still intact and likely to continue if the index manages to trade above 10200."

Shares of UCO Bank closed 15.53% higher after the state lender reported a profit in the March quarter, compared with a loss a year earlier. In Q4, the state-owned lender posted net profit of Rs 16.78 crore helped by rise in other income and decline in provisions. The bank had posted a net loss of Rs 1,552.02 crore in Q4 FY19.

After an unbroken rise in the last two weeks, the markets turned a bit volatile this week, said Joseph Thomas, Head of Research - Emkay Wealth Management.

"This was mainly influenced by factors like the phenomenal rise in the coronavirus cases in the US and India, the military stand-off between India and China at the border, and also with the ongoing spat between China and the US on many issues including trade and the source of the pandemic," he said.

Market capitalisation on BSE rose to Rs 140.77 lakh crore today against market cap of Rs 139.69 lakh crore in previous session leading to a rise in investor wealth of Rs 1.08 lakh crore.

130 stocks hit their 52-week highs against 57 slipping to their 52-week lows on BSE.

On BSE, 509 stocks hit the upper circuit against 148 stocks falling to their lower circuits. Market breadth was positive with 1619 stocks rising against 1097 falling on BSE. 149 stocks were unchanged.

Broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices rose up to 0.27 per cent.

Global markets

Global equities rose, shrugging off rising coronavirus cases.

Bourses in Japan and Seoul ended with significant gains, while Hong Kong settled in the red. Markets in Shanghai were closed for a public holiday. Stock exchanges in Europe were trading over 1 per cent higher in early deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 1.27 per cent to USD 41.57 per barrel.

On the currency front, the rupee pared initial gains and settled on a flat note at 75.65 against the US dollar.

India registered its highest single-day surge of 17,296 coronavirus cases, taking the total to 4,90,401 with 15,301 deaths. Globally, COVID-19 cases have topped 96.2 lakh, with around 4.9 lakh fatalities.

Stocks in news: IRCTC, HAL, Ashok Leyland, CONCOR, Apollo Hospitals, Glenmark Pharma and more

Share Market Highlights: Sensex closes 329 points higher, Nifty at 10,383; Infosys, TCS, IndusInd Bank top gainers

This Tata Group stock has tripled in 3 months, did you miss the rally?
Geneva, June 26 : After admitting that the world may have a Covid-19 vaccine within one year or even a few months earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday said that UK-based AstraZeneca is leading the vaccine race while US-based pharmaceutical major Moderan is not far behind.

WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan stated that the AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine candidate is the most advanced vaccine currently in terms of development.

"I think AstraZeneca certainly has a more global scope at the moment in terms of where they are doing and planning their vaccine trials," she told the media.

AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by researchers from the Oxford University will likely provide protection against the disease for one year, the British drug maker's CEO told Belgian radio station Bel RTL this month.

The Oxford University last month announced the start of a Phase II/III UK trial of the vaccine, named AZD1222 (formerly known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19), in about 10,000 adult volunteers. Other late-stage trials are due to begin in a number of countries.

Last week, Swaminathan had said that nearly 2 billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine would be ready by the end of next year.

Addressing the media from Geneva, she said that "at the moment, we do not have a proven vaccine but if we are lucky, there will be one or two successful candidates before the end of this year" and 2 billion doses by the end of next year.

Scientists predict that the world may have a Covid-19 vaccine within one year or even a few months earlier, said the Director-General of the World Health Organization even as he underlined the importance of global cooperation to develop, manufacture and distribute the vaccines.

However, making the vaccine available and distributing it to all will be a challenge and will require political will, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday during a meeting with the European Parliament's Committee for Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.

One option would be to give the vaccine only to those who are most vulnerable to the virus.

There are currently over 100 Covid-19 vaccine candidates in various stages of development.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
In the meantime, clear screens are being installed on underwriting boxes, and opening hours and a rota system are being reviewed as well. As for the underwriting rooms capacity, this will be reduced to 45%.

Lloyds will also be operating two entrances and two exits to the building, with queuing and one-way systems installed in a variety of locations. Escalators in the Lloyds building will be operational for normal use, while lifts will be restricted to two passengers at a time.

In addition, the insurance marketplace announced the deep cleaning of the entire underwriting room and shared spaces prior to occupation. It said a fogging technique will be used every 30 days, while high touch points will be cleaned regularly throughout the day.

Other measures include the provision of temperature-check thermal cameras for voluntary use, and a click-and-collect take-away catering service for market participants.

In parallel with these changes to the way that the physical market operates, we have taken the opportunity to accelerate our plans to improve our digital connectivity both within the Lloyds building but also online with a virtual room, noted Lloyds.

This online environment will combine the best features of 1 Lime Street with digital technology to create efficient, smart, and collaborative ways of doing business, as part of our Future at Lloyds ambitions.
Lady Gaga has postponed her Chromatica Ball tour, in support of her sixth studio album, one whole year to summer 2021.

The 34-year-old artist is taking no chances with the coronavirus and hopes to bypass the pandemic by pushing back the six-date tour so far out.

The Oscar winner took to Instagram and Twitter Friday morning to break the news, including a pink-haired Chromatica visual alongside text listing the new dates and locations for the six-show mini tour across Europe and North America.

Good things come to those who wait: Lady Gaga's Chromatica Ball tour in support her sixth studio album has been postponed one whole year, to summer 2021

'The Chromatica Ball is officially moving to Summer 2021!' read the caption.

'We've been working hard to figure out the safest and soonest way to bring this show to you, but most importantly want everyone to be healthy and able to dance together at the shows as we always have,' Lady G continued.

'If you've purchased a ticket already, you'll find all of the new information in your email inbox. I can't wait to see you there!

'Keep dancing at home in the meantime,' she concluded, adding a kiss emoji.

'Most importantly want everyone to be healthy and able to dance together at the shows as we always have,' Lady Gaga said in the caption to the annoucement; seen here in 2011

The Chromatica Ball was initially supposed to launch July 24th of this year in Paris, and is now scheduled to commence July 25th of NEXT year in the French capital.

Following that show, Gaga and her crew will hit up London on July 30, 2021 before coming stateside for shows in Boston, Toronto, New Jersey and Chicago on an almost weekly basis throughout August.

The announcement comes as little surprise, as many artists have made similar moves  Luke Bryan, for example, pushed his Proud To Be Right Here tour from this summer and fall to kick off next spring instead.

Pink goddess: The announcement comes as little surprise, as many artists have made similar moves; Gaga seen here recently on Instagram

Gaga's decision to delay her shows in Paris and London makes sense especially considering the fact that Americans are currently at risk of being banned from entering Europe altogether in the near future, since this country's coronavirus rates have been spiking of late as compared to the rest of the world.

The album Chromatica itself was delayed in its release, initially scheduled to drop on April 10.

But with the pandemic peaking at the time, Gaga felt that it was more appropriate to push its release to May 29.

Delayed: Gaga's album Chromatica itself was delayed in its release, initially scheduled to drop on April 10 and instead arriving at the end of May; Gaga seen in a virtual fundraiser this month
But Allouache and others say understanding who is getting the virus and why has been hindered by Frances aversion to collecting data on race and ethnicity. While the United States and Britain have come to recognize that their racial minorities are dying disproportionately of covid-19, France inhibits itself from making that sort of assessment. Critics say that may limit the countrys ability to identify and protect vulnerable populations, especially in the event of a second wave of the pandemic.
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Linkedin Kanupriya Kapoor and Khanh Vu (Reuters) London, United Kingdom/Hanoi, Vietnam  Fri, June 26, 2020 07:50 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661bc4d9 2 News New-Zealand,Vietnam,coronavirus,coronavirus-restrictions,COVID-19,COVID-19-reopening,COVID-19-travel-ban,COVID-19-travel-restriction,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus Free

Laura Douglas' tourism start-up, a farm surrounded by snow-tipped mountains in southern New Zealand, was attracting hundreds of mostly foreign visitors a month until the coronavirus pandemic brought it to a sudden halt in March.

"It's like I've been mourning the loss of my business," Douglas, 33, said in a phone interview with Reuters, adding she had to take on a second job as a vet to pay the bills during a strict lockdown that included sealing the country's borders.

The rebound for New Zealanders who are reliant on tourism is expected to be slow, in marked contrast to how the tourism sector is faring in Vietnam, another nation that was hailed as a success story in Asia for containing the coronavirus.

Both countries have emerged from lockdown virtually virus-free, lifting all restrictions except those on international travel. While New Zealand's tourism sector is struggling pending arrivals from abroad, Vietnam's has rebounded, according to travel data and industry members.

This is thanks to how much domestic tourism has filled the gap, reflecting in part how badly the coronavirus hit the two economies. While New Zealand's economy is expected to contract by as much as 20% in the first half of the year, according to the central bank, Vietnam has kept its yearly growth target above 5%.

July is normally peak travel season in New Zealand but scheduled flights are down 40% compared to the same month last year and even many of those are being canceled, according to figures from travel analytics firm Cirium.

Weekly demand for Airbnb and Vrbo properties through July are down 55% from last year and a recovery is unlikely until later this year, according to forward-looking bookings from AirDNA.

Across the ocean in Vietnam, the story is very different. In July, more than 26,000 flights are expected to transport 5 million people, increases of 16% and 24% from last year.

Nguyen Thi Thuy Anh, owner of a travel agency called Minh Viet Booking, says he is handling a surge in bookings as businesses slash prices to attract local travelers.

"Many people who couldn't afford five-star services before are taking advantage of the programs to experience the services," he said, referring to central and provincial government efforts to boost mass domestic tourism.

In a country with poor rail and road infrastructure, air travel is already a popular mode of transport, and even more so now, with airlines adding routes and offering tickets for as low as 69,000 Vietnamese dong (US$3).

A Reuters analysis of flight data from FlightRadar24 shows that Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, along with Phu Quoc island and Cam Rahn bay - both tourist hotspots - were top destinations through mid-June after lockdowns were lifted in late April.

Weekend road trips

In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is asking people to "experience your own backyard". She is urging employers to consider four-day work weeks and has said the government is actively considering more public holidays this year so people can travel.

On Friday, Ardern is launching the country's ski season in the tourist destination of Queenstown, hoping that will give another boost to domestic travel.

Some New Zealanders appear to be heeding her encouragement and taking weekend road trips.

Demand for hotels and short-term rentals, while depressed overall, still ticks up over the weekends according to STR, an analytics firm that looks specifically at the hotel industry.

But tourism business owners say a pot of NZ$400 million (US$257 million) set aside by the government to subsidize wages and other costs for the industry will not be enough to tide it over while foreign tourists are still barred.

Foreigners account for around half the NZ$16.1 billion (US$10.34 billion) that tourism contributes to GDP in New Zealand, a hole economist Peter Clough says will be difficult to plug with just domestic travelers.

"Whatever we do, we're not going to fill that hole just by drumming up domestic travel or the Trans-Tasman bubble," he said, referring to a proposal that was touted last month to allow movement between Australia and New Zealand.

For Douglas, the downturn means digging deep in her own pockets and pivoting as much as possible to attract local travel to her 15,000-hectare (37,000-acre) farm.

"The farming mentality is that you're not always going to have good seasons," she said. "Right now, Kiwis are going to be the best gift for us and I'm hoping they will come with their gumboots on."
As Covid-19 cases increase in the country, the Indian railways has cancelled all regular train services till August 12. Passengers with tickets for journeys between 1 July and and 12 August will get a refund.

With a constant increase in the number of positive cases of coronavirus, the Indian Railways has decided to cancel all regular mail, express, passenger and suburban services till August 12. The tickets booked for regular trains from 1 July to 12 August will be refunded.

However, only the special trains that were announced in May and June, consisting of 15 pairs running on the Rajdhani routes since May 1 and 100 pairs operating since June 1 will continue working, the limited special suburban services which recently started in Mumbai to ferry essential services would also continue to operate.

In an official letter, strict instructions have been given for the cancellation and full refunds of the tickets booked in the regular timetabled trains. In the wake of the noxious and rising coronavirus in the country, the railway officials have asserted on the selling of coronavirus essentials like masks, gloves, sanitizers bedroll kits to be sold at the multi-purpose stalls at the railway platforms.

Also Read: China amassing troops along LAC, making untenable claims: MEA

Full refunds generated for all the tickets booked for the regular time-tabled trains for journey dates from 01.07.2020 to 12.08.2020, as they stand cancelled now: Ministry of Railways pic.twitter.com/0jmAWrku0L  ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2020

Also Read: Ashok Gehlot slams BJP, says Modi-Shah led NDA govt offers no breather for others

Another official said that the bedroll kits which are no longer given to the passengers on board due to fear of coronavirus spread will also be available at these stalls. India has recorded 16,922 new cases, taking the country count to nearly 5 lakh.

Also Read: Fair & Lovely to drop Fair from product line: HUL

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At this point in Russian President Vladimir Putins ongoing machinations over a potential fifth and sixth term, its tempting to say, Yeah, whatever. After all, the general public and even his close confidants may not know for more than three years whether he will seek reelection in 2024.

Instead, though, lets take a look at where Putins most recent remarks leave us, or leave the people who are in the midst of a weeklong vote that seems certain to hand him the option of ruling until 2036, and what they say about the bigger picture  about the state of, um, democracy in Russia.

First, a brief look back at the past 20 years, during which Putin repeatedly suggested that he would not take elaborate steps to extend his time in the Kremlin, and in one case  in 2008, when he steered Dmitry Medvedev into the presidency and became prime minister for four years  took pains to avoid altering the basic law without jeopardizing his grip on power.

January And June

Even in January 2020, when he proposed the most sweeping changes in Russias post-Soviet constitution since its adoption in 1993, Putin did not call for anything that would let him stay on as president past 2024. That closely choreographed bombshell  a phase that sounds about as awkward as the process looked at the time  was handed to cosmonaut and lawmaker Valentina Tereshkova to drop in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, on March 10.

Since that day, its been clear -- despite Putins declining popularity and the political and economic effects of the coronavirus -- that once the nationwide vote on the constitutional changes is over, Putin will have the option of running for reelection in 2024 and again in 2030.

Putins latest remarks on the matter came on June 21, when he said in a state TV documentary that he would not rule out running in 2024 but had not yet made up his mind.

If he does not announce a run, he said, I can tell you from my own experience that in about two years, instead of the regular rhythmic work on many levels of government, youd have eyes shifting around hunting for possible successors. Its necessary to work, not look for successors.

These remarks attracted plenty of attention. But did they really advance anyones knowledge on the question of whether Putin will run in 2024?

No, not really.

On the surface, they seemed to: Putin came out with a concrete argument suggesting that his absence from the race could create problems for Russia by setting off a search for a successor that would create tension and drain energy from the crucial task of governance at a time when unity is needed to deal with a list of challenges topped by economic troubles.

But giving a potential reason for running is far short of announcing a run, and for Putin, theres no downside to deepening the impression that youre not going anywhere -- unless you count dismay on the part of Russians who want him gone, as he evidently does not.

'Room For Maneuver'

Several analysts said Putins main aims in making the comments were to maintain a range of options as 2024 draws closer and  as he all but admitted in his comment about a wild-eyed search for a successor -- to avoid looking like a lame duck.

Analyst and author Anna Arutunyan suggested that jumping to the conclusion that Putins remarks mean he has resolved to remain president could be the result of reading only between the lines.

The truth could be a lot closer to his literal words than we assume, Arutunyan wrote in an article in the Moscow Times.

There is a certain logic to creating the impression that he has already decided to run for president in 2024 while leaving the option to decide, as and when he pleases, whether he will actually run for president or allow a vetted successor to run for president while he keeps an eye on things from a nominally powerful position, she wrote.

Mark Galeotti, a writer on Russia and a senior associate fellow at the British-based Royal United Services Institute, said he agreed with Arutunyans assessment, retweeting her article and writing that Putin wants to give himself room for maneuver [and] a sense of stability.

It's too soon to pretend we know he's staying to 2036, Galeotti wrote.

Arutunyan, however, added a caveat, warning that it remains to be seenhow much more of this kind of stability both the elites and the public are prepared to stomach. After all, theres nothing so autocratic as smiling away decisions until you finally feel like making them, and manipulating your laws to validate taking your sweet time.

'Unacceptable'

Putin might argue that he is not manipulating laws, and if he does run again in 2024, he will not be breaking them. But theres a big difference between stepping out of the presidency and then back in to adhere to constitutional term limits, as he did in 2008-12, and changing the constitution to scrap term limits for yourself while leaving them in place  and, in fact, tightening them  for everyone else.

In many cases, Putin can also claim that he is not going back on his word. For example, in his annual news conference in 2008, he said that he decided on his first day as president that he would never violate the existing constitution, and that he considers holding a leadership post for life, to the grave to be absolutely unacceptable.

Well, technically, he is not violating the existing constitution  only changing it. And holding the presidency until 2036, should Putin do so, does not necessarily mean holding it for life.

But Putin has at times uttered words that it would be hard for him to explain away now, such as when he said his attitude about the idea of a president serving three or more terms was negative.

And to critics, at least, its evident that he is violating the spirit of his promises and trampling on democracy.

To some, the constitutional change -- and Putins stated rationale for giving himself the option of running again in 2024 -- suggest that he is a weak president rather than a strong one: a leader who, despite holding the authority to shape Russia for more than 20 years, has failed to create institutions strong enough to weather a simple transition of power.

Its clear that all 206 amendments are [being proposed] for the sake of one thing, rock musician and protest bard Yury Shevchuk told the Russia-focused news outlet Meduza. They are aimed at crushing us for good with irremovable power, which will now be justified in the constitution.

Popular vlogger and Kremlin critic Yury Dud called the ballot shameful.

The only reason for this vote is to give Vladimir Putin the opportunity to remain in power until 2036, he wrote on Instagram.

And now, both ardent Kremlin opponents and Russians who simply want change now have another cause for concern: the nature of the nationwide vote on amendments to the constitution.

For one thing, even the state is not calling it a referendum, because it does not adhere to Russian law on referendums.

'Just Nod Your Head'

And then there is the timing. The vote had been set for April 22 but was postponed due to the coronavirus. On June 1, Putin announced that it would be held July 1 -- but in fact, voting began nationwide on June 25, making it a weeklong exercise.

The government cited concerns about COVID-19 and crowds on July 1, but opponents brushed off those explanations  citing, among other things, the removal of lockdowns two weeks before the vote and the military parade held the previous day on Red Square after a postponement from its initial May 9 date.

And right off the bat, critics found plenty to criticize.

On the first day of voting, images of what appeared to be polling places set up on outdoor benches, in the trunk of a car, and in the part of Ukraines Luhansk region held by Russia-backed separatists deepened suspicions about the credibility of the balloting.

In a tweet, one scholar of Russian politics called the vote a massive and bizarre fake.

And a mocking meme playing on official billboards advertising the vote showed a photograph of Putin, 67, altered to make him look like he might look in 2036, along with the satirical slogan My Country, My Constitution, My Zeroing  a reference to the amendment that will allow Putin to run for reelection by resetting his term count to zero.

On July 1, it said, just nod your head and keep paying us taxes.
As the United States faces its biggest crisis over civil rights in decades, Congress is poised to do nothing. Again.

What could have been a searing, soul-searching moment where Americas political leaders helped establish a new national accord on race and the role of police in society has instead devolved into a frenzy of political posturing, campaign sloganeering and ugly partisan fights.

The House on Thursday passed a sweeping police reform bill that would ban chokeholds, end the use of no-knock warrants, create a national registry for officers accused of misconduct, and make it easier to prosecute officers. Yet Democrats picked up only a few GOP votes, guaranteeing the proposal has no chance of moving in the Senate.

And the Senate cant even agree to begin debate on a police reform bill, with Democrats blocking efforts to take up a proposal drafted by Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), one of two Black Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Its really unfortunate, Scott said. Youd like to think that were all willing to get together on something as consequential as police reform in a moment like this.

Rather than restart their efforts to find a solution, party leaders are pointing fingers at the other, suggesting Washington's latest attempt at reform is all but finished. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other GOP senators were infuriated when Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Republicans are trying to get away with murder, actually. The murder of George Floyd. They demanded she apologize. Pelosi refused.

Then Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) angered Democrats when he suggested Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had a chokehold on the Republicans version of police reform. Democrats said that comment showed GOP leaders werent serious about addressing the issue of police brutality.

Things arent much better down Pennsylvania Avenue. The White House didnt make any effort to broker a compromise; instead, senior aides whipped House Republicans against the Democratic bill, according to GOP sources.

Story continues

President Donald Trump, trailing badly in the polls, has turned to repeatedly tweeting out Law and Order!, a clear sign that he isnt interested in anything Democrats were proposing. The president instead has threatened to use overwhelming force to end protests, urged long-term prison sentences for anyone caught tearing down statues, and accused the countrys first Black president of treason. Eric Trump, the presidents son, called Black Lives Matter protesters animals at a rally last week, to cheers from the crowd.

Its a level of nastiness between the two sides thats become common in the Trump era, grinding non-essential legislative work to a halt and sapping any energy to move big bills, be it on immigration and infrastructure, or gun control and policing.

The exception, of course, was the trillions of dollars that Congress approved this spring to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and stave off an economic meltdown  dual crises that forced both sides into rare bipartisan action. Although that, too, only came after weeks of theatrics from both parties. And with the explosive issue of police brutality and racism, what little opportunity there was for compromise quickly faded.

Its bad, said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). The last three and a half years, the presidents tried to divide this country and hes done a pretty effective job of it, and hes divided the Democrats and Republicans to almost a toxic environment.

Theres not one single conversation between a Democratic member and a Republican member in order to achieve a bipartisan bill in the House, complained Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.). At this moment of a presidential election year, a divided America, an economy in chaos, the health crisis, and layer on top of that we cant physically be with one another to work things out, it makes the outcome this screwed up and awful.

In the days after Floyds murder in Minneapolis, there seemed to be an opening for real action  a groundswell moment that would force Democrats and Republicans to set aside their differences and deliver something to a restive and angry American public.

But in recent weeks, the prospect of a bipartisan compromise has dissipated. Each party has refused to amend their version of the bill, even as they deliver soaring speeches from the House and Senate floor about the need for action and show up to demonstrations talking about getting something done.

Were just going to sit here and take shots across the building with a Senate bill and a House bill and no resolution. And then were going to fly home tomorrow, said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). In what universe is that the right thing to do?

For many senior lawmakers  particularly Black members who led this fight for decades  its exactly what they were afraid would happen from the beginning.

Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich., speaks during a media availability to discuss the state of women in our nation, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

My fear was that we might end up in a stalemate over significant legislation, maybe some of the most important legislation to come to the floor in my 15 years, said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), a former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

What I hope the American public will understand is that follow-through matters as it relates to credibility, Cleaver added.

Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.), another member of the CBC whose district has erupted in protests in recent weeks added: It doesn't matter if you have the best bill in the world if it never gets passed.

Frustrated rank-and-file members say they cast blame in both parties, with senior Republicans and Democrats working on their own separate tracks from the start. And it has infuriated many of the freshmen who rode a wave in 2018 vowing to end the Washington gridlock.

Many lawmakers left town after the House vote on Thursday disappointed in the failure to act and worried about how the country will react to the breakdown.

Its just too important to simply pass and move on to the next item. This is what were here for, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who has frequently lamented that leaders of both parties dont work toward consensus. Its always been my expectation, and frankly, dream, that [bipartisanship] starts in the very beginning But I think we do it in reverse here, too often.

Its kind of symptomatic of whats wrong with this place in general, and thats kind of evolved over a long period of time, added Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.).

Yet Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the CBC chairwoman who led the effort on the House Democratic bill, still believes that some kind of deal can be reached.

Well be talking, I spoke to Sen. Scott last weekend. I plan to call him today. I dont see this situation as over at all, Bass insisted. I have a long list of my Republican colleagues from Judiciary who expressed opposition to all sorts of things in the hearing. I think that leaves a basis from which to talk.

Also optimistic was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the high-profile freshman Democrat who has urged her own party to embrace more ambitious policy solutions to endemic problems of poverty and inequality.

I think the amount of people in the street and the pressure has created a unique circumstance where I do believe both parties are feeling the heat to pass something, Ocasio-Cortez said.

I think that people are working with the failures of institutions, she added. Theyre working around it in order to push through the changes theyre looking for.
Not long ago, Americans' knowledge of Denmark more or less started with Hamlet and ended with an unpopular cheese-filled pastry.

That has changed since Denmark became a global trend-setter with the food phenomenon Noma, its binge-worthy crime dramas "The Killing" and "Borgen," and a design sense that has everyone coveting blond wood and sheepskins.

So it was only a matter of time before Americans started wondering about another Danish wonder: One of the happiest populations in the world, according to annual surveys by the United Nations, among others.

Enter hygge (pronounced "hoo-ga"). It's a Danish word without a precise analog, but loosely translated as cozy contentment. It's an important part of the Danish world view  people talk about how hyggeligt it will be to get together, and how hyggelig that get-together was. And it's the subject of a lifestyle publishing boom.

More from BETTER:

How to relax and tap into a zen feeling (almost) instantly

How to turn your daily walk into a workoutor a meditation

Can 'windowed work' help ease the stress of working from home?

More than 20 books on hygge have been published in the past few years, with more to come. "The Little Book of Hygge" was published in the U.S. in 2017 after a successful run in the U.K. It's been compared to Marie Kondo's "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" and the feng shui movement. It was such a hit in Britain that the Oxford dictionaries named hygge one of its top 10 words of 2016, and Pinterest called it one of its top trends for 2017.

Appropriate to Denmark's climate (and our winter), hygge is about hunkering down: It's all candles, blazing fires, warm blankets and fuzzy slippers, reading nooks (called hyggekrog), comfortable pants (hyggebukser), wollen socks (hyggesokker) and tea.

But it's not about isolation; quite the opposite. Danes plan hyggelig evenings of cooking together or playing board games. It's possible to have hygge while curled up on a rainy day watching TV, but it's heightened if you are part of a casual gathering, preferably in a cozy cabin in the woods.

"Like the emergence of fireflies, when we hygger we shine individually but glow in unison to reveal an inclination toward a powerful collective harmony," writes Louisa Thomsen Brits in "The Book of Hygge."

Meik Wiking (pronounced "Mike Viking"), CEO of a think tank called The Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, describes hygge as "like a warm hug, but without the physical contact." Wiking, author of "The Little Book of Hygge," spoke with NBC's BETTER to explain hygge, the importance of candles and the persistence of Denmark's bleak crime dramas.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, how would you explain hygge?

I think the shortest label to put on it is "consciously cozy," or "the art of creating intimacy" or "the pursuit of everyday happiness."

But I think it's probably best explained with the anecdote that I think also opens the book: I was in Sweden with some friends and we had been out hiking and came back in the cabin and had the fire going and got the stew boiling on the stove and we were just relaxing, kicking back and enjoying silence and each other's company and one of the guys said, "could this be any more hygge?" And then one of the girls said "yes, if there was a storm outside." Because it's also this feeling of being sheltered from the outside.

We all have our cozy moments, but what are Americans missing?

I think you're missing the conscious part.That's the feedback I've been getting from readers in France and Poland and Portugal, where I've been  they say "I've been doing this all my life. I didn't know there was a word for it." And I think that helps people appreciate it more and I think it helps people both plan for it and acknowledge it when they experience it.

I think that's the difference between Danes and a lot of other people, that we have a word that describes that situation, and that makes us more aware of it and perhaps makes us plan for it more and appreciate it more. And then secondly the major difference is that we see it as part of our culture and part of our DNA, the same way Americans see perhaps freedom as part of their culture or DNA.
[June 26, 2020] Uniserve Announces Resignation of Director

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Uniserve Communications Corporation (the Company) wishes to announce the resignation of Louis-Vincent Gave as a director, effective June 10, 2020. The Company thanks him for his service. About Uniserve Uniserve Communications Corporation is a 2018 TSX Venture top 50 performance company.

Uniserve is a unified communications company which has been in business for 30 years, combining voice, data and media services all into one seamless solution, one bill and one point of contact. The unique selling proposition of the business is SMART People, Solutions, and Technology with over 13,000 customers spread across residential and enterprise centered around Vancouver, Calgary and Kitchener-Waterloo. Uniserve prides itself on world class customer service based in Canaa. When all else is equal, clients can trust Uniserve to have a great price, a great experience and to be a company that customers enjoy working with  we call it ONE click, call, connect.



This news release was prepared on behalf of the Board of Directors, which accepts full responsibility for its contents. Learn more at www.uniserve.com or at www.sedar.com .

Kelly Walker

President For more information please call 604-395-3961 or email [email protected] . Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Management has prepared this release and no regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. The statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward looking statements. Such statements are based on managements estimates, assumptions and projections using available information. Uniserve cautions that actual financial results could differ materially from the current expectations due to a number of factors.

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Statistics show that police officers from Minnesota who have had a history of misconduct or have previously been charged with criminal behavior often are reinstated back into the department.

Returning from disciplinary actions

According to the Wall Street Journal, since 2014, police officers who have appealed their terminations were reinstated approximately 50% of the time, as found in the records of the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services which stores a documented database of arbitration awards.

Study of the records showed that for the last 15 years, police officers from Minneapolis who previously faced criminal charges had been routinely allowed to go back to the department and that half of them are currently working there now.

The data reveals that those who have kept their jobs in law enforcement include one who punched a suspect in handcuffs and a deputy under the influence of alcohol who beat his police dog.

A previous investigation discovered that the phenomenon is a common occurrence across the United States but is more dominant in the area of Minneapolis where Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, killed George Floyd, an African-American man on May 25.

Chauvin was not part of the investigation as he had not filed for an appeal for his removal from the force. He did, however, have 18 previous complaints on his record, two of which caused the department to discipline him but no history of terminations.

Often, police officers are given special protections most other regular people don't have such as the right to appeal a case of severe disciplinary action before an arbitrator.

While the Minneapolis Police Department charged and fired the four officers involved in the killing of Floyd, it does not usually terminate its personnel.

Also Read: 'Disabled' Inmate in Handcuffs Beaten and Killed by Correctional Officer

Step by step reform

Mike Kjos, the assistant chief of the Minneapolis Police Department, said that the arbitrations do not show the entirety of the terminations, as reported by Star Tribune. Kjos added that they do not reveal the dismissal of officers until the end of the grieving process.

A news conference on June 10, Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced his withdrawal from contract negotiations with the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis. The chief also noted that the processes of arbitration and discipline have to be reformed.

Arradondo said that he was disheartened by the fact that police officers who have a history of misconduct or who were fired for such charges can return to the force through a third-party mechanism and continue to patrol communities.

In a news conference on Thursday, Arradondo, along with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other officials, emphasized that if the Legislature is sincere in reforming policies, it will focus on arbitration.

The New York Times reported that Chauvin had been working with the Minneapolis Police Department for nearly two decades and had faced at least 17 different complaints of misconduct. None of which, however, derailed his career with the force.

After some time, a federal review urged the police department to work on improving its system of dealing with problematic officers.

Of Chauvin's many horrific encounters with suspects and civilians, he had only received two reprimand letters.

The turning point came when the problem police officer was recorded on video pinning a black man on the ground with his knee. For nearly nine minutes, the police officer kept his pressure on the black man's neck. The event caused Chauvin to lose his job and being charged with murder.

Related Article: Ahmaud Arbery Shooting: Grand Jury Indicts Three Men in Murder Charges

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh Government will sign an MoU with Amul for the development of the dairy sector by July 15. According to state government officials, this will help the dairy farmers to get a better rate by bringing in better marketing facilities by putting modern technology to use.

During a review meeting on dairy development and sugar factories in the cooperative sector in Amaravati on Friday, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said all modalities for signing the MoU with Amul should be ready by July 15 besides taking all steps for the dairy development which provides dairy farmers a better price.

The Chief Minister has also asked the officials to prepare the guidelines for the MoU with cooperative giant Amul and added that steps should be taken for the wellbeing of livestock and strengthening cooperative sector to benefit dairy farmers. The officials apprised the Chief Minister of the previous conditions in the cooperative sector.

During the review meeting on the cooperative sugar factories, the Chief Minister said that units should be revived and the officials should draft a plan and proposals for healthy sugar factories in the cooperative sector.
By William Schwartz | Published on 2020/06/25

"It's Okay to Not Be OK" ascended to the top of the Good Data Report this week, boosted by social media discussion about Kim Soo-hyun's first drama since his mandatory military release as well as the drama's distinctive visual style. Fittingly Kim Soo-hyun and leading lady Seo Ye-ji also topped the list for performers, ranking first and second respectively.

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The second place drama remains the weekend drama "Once Again", which has attracted unusual hype in spite of its relatively low prestige timeslot. It has held second place for three straight weeks now. Two of its performers, Lee Cho-hee and Lee Sang-yi, also appear in the third and fifth spots for performers though neither is credited as the lead in this ensemble drama.

"Backstreet Rookie" premiered in third place, but much of the commentary regarding the new drama was negative. Viewers were uncomfortable with the kiss scene between a high school student and an adult man, as well as scenes of teen smoking and a scene discussing prostitution in a hybrid office living space. Ji Chang-wook alone appeared on the list for performers, ranking at number four.

"Kkondae Intern" was in fourth place with an overall drop in interest compared to previous weeks, while "Unfamiliar Family" and "Mystic Pop-Up Bar" had an increase in interest in fifth and sixth place. "Good Casting" had a considerable increase in interest for its final week, but its original numbers were low enough it could only reach seventh place, belying the drama's relatively strong ratings. The data for this iteration of the Good Data Report was obtained between June 15th and June 21st.

Written by William Schwartz
Its just another signpost on the journey, Mr. Jennings said. What weve seen over a few years now is a deterioration in the relationship with China, which has largely come with the Chinese government pushing the limits of what is acceptable behavior on a range of fronts and Australian authorities pushing back, which China doesnt like.

The investigation tied to the raids on Friday, which were first reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, most likely began before the pandemic. One former official said the case had been building for months. Mr. Jennings, who worked for more than a decade in senior defense and intelligence roles, said it was probably one of many investigations.

Under the mandate of the new laws, which broadened the definition of espionage, he said the authorities would be exploring whether covert activities or agents directed by Beijing had sought to influence Australian politicians or their employees, and if they did, whether those involved were aware of the Chinese governments efforts.

From the moment the new legislation appeared, I anticipated that our intelligence agencies would be looking for a case to test the laws out on, Mr. Jennings said. He added: This is possibly one of the most egregious ones, but there is a system at play that affects more than one person. There is a network of connections that now I think will be drawn out.

The Chinese government has long treated Australia as a petri dish for experiments in influence, and its playbook is relatively well known.

Chinese consulates and other agencies tend to work closely with civic organizations in Australia that are tied to the United Front Work Department, the partys arm for dealing with overseas Chinese. Leaders of these organizations frequently mix cultural events with politics and donations to political parties and candidates considered friendly to Beijing, or at least open to influence. Chinese-language media outlets directly or indirectly controlled by Beijing promote those they favor, and condemn those who resist.
Wisconsin regulators have allowed a Canadian pipeline company to put a hold on its request for the authority to take private land in order to reroute an oil pipeline around a Native American reservation in northern Wisconsin.

Enbridge Energy says it hopes to negotiate for the land it needs in Ashland and Iron counties and if successful will withdraw its application for eminent domain powers.

The company asked the Public Service Commission to stay the proceedings so it would not have to respond to numerous challenges and requests for a hearing before a judge, which would be unnecessary if Enbridge withdraws its application.

The PSC voted unanimously Thursday without discussion to grant the request, giving Enbridge until July 31 to withdraw. If Enbridge decides to go ahead with the eminent domain request, it will have until Aug. 7 to respond to challenges.

As a result of a lawsuit filed by the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe, Enbridge is planning to remove a 12-mile segment of its Line 5 pipeline from the Bad River Reservation and bypass the reservation with about 42 miles of new pipe.

The Sierra Club, Honor the Earth, the League of Women Voters, the Superior Rivers Watershed Association and 350 Madison, along with landowners who oppose the line, have sought a contested case hearing on the eminent domain request. Other groups, including Clean Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group, have sought to intervene in the proceedings.

The company says the line, which transports an average of 540,000 barrels a day between Superior and southwestern Ontario, is a key piece of energy infrastructure.

According to Enbridge, the line delivers liquefied natural gas to a Plains Midstream Canada terminal in Rapid River, Michigan, that supplies propane to dealers in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Opponents point to dozens of spills on Enbridge pipelines over the past 20 years, including a 2010 rupture in Michigan that cost $1.2 billion to clean up.

The Department of Natural Resources will hold a public hearing on July 1 on the scope of the environmental review for the project and Enbridges applications for permits to cross dozens of public waterways.

A Michigan judge ordered a temporary shutdown of Line 5 Thursday while the company investigates damage to a support of the pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Enbridge notified the state on Thursday that it had stopped transporting petroleum through the line after an anchor support on the east leg sustained significant damage but resumed operations on the west leg Sunday without discussing it with state officials.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has called for the line to be shut down permanently.

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26.06.2020 LISTEN

The All-Africa Students Union (AASU) has received with delight, the news of the decision of King of Morocco His Majesty King

Mohammed (VI) to give active and essential health assistance to other African countries during this COVID-19 pandemic.

The support is to aid the continental effort aimed at addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as schools begin to re-open in certain parts of the continent.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by Peter Kwasi Kodjie, Secretary-General of All Africa Students Union (AASU).

At least 15 African countries, from the various sub-regions of the continent, according to the statement received the donation by the kind gesture of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

They have received protective medical equipment to support their COVID-19 response efforts.

The beneficiary countries are, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,

Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Tanzania, Chad and Zambia. This initiative, the students union observed was a commendable example of Africans helping Africans "With a support package comprising nearly 8 million face masks, 900,000 visors, 600,000 hygiene caps, 60,000 coats, 30,000 litres of hydroalcoholic gel, as well as 75,000 packs of chloroquine and 15,000 packs of Azithromycin, this move will surely help the Continent to battle the coronavirus. It is also noteworthy that, all the items donated were procured from local Moroccan companies with the aim of retaining capital and providing a boost to the local economy.

The statement added "With over 200,000 confirmed cases in Africa, pragmatic, effective and timeous interventions are needed to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The kind gesture of His Majesty King Mohammed VI is an example of how African countries can provide the much-needed support to each other. As Africans, we must look within before we look outside for help.

AASU, the Students Union called on all other African countries to follow this sterling example and support one another according to their strength."

"If we are to defeat this virus that is wreaking havoc across the world, we can only do so together."

"Long live the Pan-African Spirit! Long Live King Mohammed VI" the statement concluded.
A chase early Friday morning stretching from west Alabama to Jefferson County ended with the arrests of four suspects by multiple law enforcement agencies, the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office said.

The Jefferson County Sheriffs Office was notified around 2 a.m. Friday of a pursuit entering the county on I-22 where Marion and Walker County sheriffs deputies were attempting to stop a vehicle in Hamilton. The vehicles occupants were burglary suspects.

When sheriffs deputies from Marion and Walker counties arrived on the scene, they noticed the vehicle was wrecked and they arrested two suspects. Another two suspects were arrested by the Jefferson County Sheriffs Offices K-9 unit from nearby Donaldson Correctional Facility.

Darryius Eugene Tompkins, 24, was taken to the Jefferson County Jail and arrested on an outstanding attempted murder warrant; his bail was set at $60,000. Leeco Demon Whittington, 23, was charged with receiving stolen property, possession of burglary tools and unlawful possession of marijuana; his bail was set at $36,000.

Information was not immediately available on the two other suspects who were arrested.
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The Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki has emerged winner of the primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP which held on ...

The Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki has emerged winner of the primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP which held on Thursday.





Obaseki will now fly the partys flag as candidate for the Septembers governorship election with the highest votes of 1,952 out of total accredited votes of 2024. 72 votes were, however, invalid.





Why reacting to his victory, Mr Obaseki said he would not disappoint the people of the state for the confidence reposed on him. He said he believed that by the grace of God, he will be governor of Edo State for another four years.





Today makes a defining moment for our dear state. With todays election result, it is clear that there is no mountain. I thank my family for the encouragement.





I salute all our party members for standing tall when it became necessary to do so.





I almost quit running for a second tenure all because of overbearing god-father, but the PDP cover provided us with the umbrella when it was heavily raining. Kenneth Imasuagbon and others made this possible.





Earlier, chairman of the PDP committee in Edo Guber primary election, Gov Balla Muhammed of Bauchi state while delivering his opening address congratulated other aspirants who out of the overall interest of the party stepped down for the incumbent.





According to him, I want to salute the courage of other aspirants who stepped down for my colleague, Governor Obaseki.
Chinas imported goods worth $19 billion from India in the first 11 months of 2020, up 16 percent.

The India-China border dispute has once again sparked discourse about Indias dependence on Chinese goods. Netizens on social media have tweeted their thoughts using #boycottchinesegoods. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which represents 7 crore traders in the country, launched a nationwide campaign to boycott Chinese goods. CAIT has, under the campaign Indian Goods  Our Pride, released a list covering more than 500 items to be boycotted from China, and instead Indian goods be used.

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale went a step further by seeking a ban on Chinese food, very well knowing that the food is prepared by Indian chefs using locally sourced ingredients. Its a no-brainer that these sentiments have little to do with Prime Minister's clarion call to make India self-reliant and is aimed at teaching China a lesson.

What led to the outrage?

At least 20 Indian Army soldiers died in clashes between Indian and Chinese troops at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh area of Kashmir. This is the first fatal clash since 1975 and the most serious since 1967. Soldiers on both sides often do not carry weapons in the area to avoid escalating conflicts. During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place with casualties on both sides, the Indian Army said.

Karni Sena supporters hold banners featuring Chinese President Xi Jinping and shout slogans during a protest against China in Ahmedabad, India, Wednesday, June 24. (AP)

While China did not release the number of casualties it suffered, a top Chinese official on June 24 said Beijing did not suffer heavy casualties in the violent clash. This standoff, which reportedly began in April, has evoked widespread anger against Chinese products.

Although taking a good look at our living room will tell us how dependent we are on Chinese goods, there are several reasons why India will use every trick in book except imposing a ban on imports from China.

Trade imbalance

Trade deficit here means that India buys a lot more Chinese products than what China buys from India. The trade deficit is not necessarily a bad thing because it lets a country focus on producing goods it can efficiently manufacture and import goods that other countries specialize in. While no country is self-sufficient, concerns emerge when one becomes dependent on a single country and there is lack of alternative.

China is Indias biggest trading partner. India also has a huge trade deficit with China  its largest with any country. India's exports to China stood at $15.54 billion during April-February 2019-20, while imports amounted to $62.38 billion during the same period. Exports and imports in 2018-19 were $16.75 billion and $70.32 billion respectively. These figures show how easy it is for China to replace India and not the other way around.

Impact on India

If imposed, trade ban or even a large-scale boycott will hurt Indian businesses at a time when they are struggling to cope with the effects of coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, even a slight increase in duties would raise the cost of import for vendors, which would eventually result in hiked prices for the consumers. For instance, if Chinese television sets were replaced with expensive Indian brands, a large section of people may not be able to afford, which will eventually cause a decline in demand.

As per reports, 75 percent of the smartphones sold in India are made by Chinese companies. Four of the five best-selling phones (Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme and Oppo) hail from China. At present, Xiaomi is the top smartphone maker in India with a 30 percent market share.

At least 45 percent of consumer durables imported to India come from China. The sector is estimated to be around Rs 763 billion ($11.2-billion in FY19). AC, refrigerators and televisions lead the pack.

In addition to the finished products, an overwhelming percentage of Chinese imports are in the form of intermediate goods such as electrical machinery, nuclear reactors, iron and steel, fertilisers among others. All of the aforementioned items are critical for production.

According to Trade Map, China exports a whopping 39 percent of electrical machinery and equipment imported by India. This shows that boycotting finished goods is no solution to our dependence on China as raw materials needed for manufacturing are also imported from the country.

Moreover, Chinese investments have played a huge role in the growth of Indian startups. From food delivery apps like Swiggy, Zomato to shopping apps like Paytm and Snapdeal, Chinese companies have invested heavily in Indian startups. Chinese investors have so far invested $263 million in Indian startups in the first half of 2020 across 15 deals, which is less than a quarter of the $1.23 billion they raised in 2019 through 47 deals.

Ant Financial, the fintech arm of Jack Ma's Alibaba Group, has invested millions of dollars in Paytm and Snapdeal. It has invested close to $2.7 billion in India across seven companies.

Tencent, another aggressive investor in the Indian startup ecosystem, has backed Flipkart, Swiggy and Ola. In China, Tencent runs an instant messaging platform WeChat and a host of gaming apps and e-commerce businesses. Shunwei Capital has invested $129 million across 17 companies, including food delivery giant Zomato, social commerce startup Meesho, messaging app Sharechat and lending platforms Krazybee and Loantap.

These numbers reflect how important China's capital is for Indian startups and if this inflow of capital ceases, it will hamper a number of startups seeking to raise money in order to scale their operations.

Will banning trade affect China?

A trade ban will adversely impact India much more than China. China's share in India's imports is around 14 percent while India's export to China accounts for a mere 5 percent. Indias imports from China are just 3 percent of Chinas total exports and good from India account for less than 1 percent of its total imports.

If India stops trading with China, the latter would lose only 3 percent of its exports and less than 1 percent of its imports, while India will lose 5 percent of its exports and 14 percent of its imports. The trade ban will barely affect China's economy and will hurt millions of Indian manufacturers, traders, sellers and consumers.

World Bank data shows that, in 2018, Indias total goods export was worth $322.29 billion. In comparison, Chinas was $2.49 trillion.

Experts speak

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President SK Saraf said India needs to be cautious while banning or restricting Chinese goods. "Banning Chinese goods is not feasible as we are dependent so much on China. India can cut its dependence on Chinese goods only when it becomes self-reliant and start producing the same goods in India or source from other markets," Saraf said.

CIIs statement concurred with FIEO President. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), a top industry body, said that the India-China standoff in Galwan Valley is a 'wake-up call' for the Indian companies to introspect. It said this is the right time to take some strategic and tactical decisions to ensure that India becomes economically more self-reliant, more competitive and more globally engaged.

Biswajit Dhar, an economics professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said putting any kind of trade restrictions on China may have implications for India. "Our dependence on China is huge on several critical products like APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients). There are no serious alternatives or market for us for those critical products and situation would not change in a day," Dhar said, adding that increasing tariffs or import duties will only burden domestic consumers.

"The only solution left is to strengthen domestic manufacturing in critical sectors," he concluded.

Way forward

As per the Department of Commerces Annual Report for 2018-19, India is the 19th largest exporter (with a share of 1.7 percent) and 10th largest importer (with a share of 2.6 percent) of merchandise trade in the world. These figures can be improved. India indeed needs to be self-reliant by cutting down on imports, particularly from China, and increasing exports to the global markets.

However, Rome wasnt built in a day. Similarly, India cannot replace China in a day, or even a year for that matter. This call for a boycott based on hyper-nationalism will not be feasible in the long run. It must, however, be based on a well-defined blueprint, which will enable India to become a manufacturing hub. A knee-jerk #BoycottChina reaction is unlikely to help India combat the economic crisis.

To conclude, it is imperative for India to resolve border disputes via dialogue. Letting the dispute turn into a trade war will not pave the path for Atmanirbhar Bharat.
- The World Health Organization aired some information about the possible vaccine for COVID-19

- Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that a vaccine is still uncertain by now

- He admitted that it would take a year for a firm to finish inventing an effective one

- However, he also mentioned that out of 100 vaccine candidates, one is at the advanced stage of development

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The World Health Organization (WHO) shared some important information about a vaccine that can effectively fight the dreadful novel coronavirus disease.

KAMI learned that Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the said organization, revealed that there are now more than 100 vaccine candidates against COVID-19.

He stated that one of them is already at the advanced stage of development.

Photo from Getty Images

Source: Getty Images

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However, in a recent report by Reuters, the said official claimed that an effective vaccine for the virus is still uncertain for now.

He mentioned that it could take a year before a medical firm finishes inventing it.

"It would be very difficult to say for sure that we will have a vaccine. We never had a vaccine for a coronavirus. So this will be, when discovered, hoping that it will be discovered, it will be the first one, Tedros quipped.

"Hoping that there will be a vaccine, the estimate is we may have a vaccine within one year. If accelerated, it could be even less than that, but by a couple of months. That's what scientists are saying," he added.

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In a previous article by , an Italian doctor claimed that COVID-19 is already getting weaker and may disappear without the need for a vaccine.

The novel coronavirus disease is undeniably one of the hardest health crises that has ever hit the Philippines and other countries. As of June 26, the total number of confirmed cases in the world has reached 9.7 million.

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!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
Katy Perry's evangelical preacher parents, Keith and Mary Hudson, are selling $20 face masks with proceeds going to help subsidize their glamorous lifestyle preaching around the world, which includes hosting 'retreats' at exclusive Marriott hotels.

On their website, Keith Hudson Ministries, they say they're a 'dynamic couple who've been ministering together for 40 years' and 'always had a strong prophetic ministry', with Mary hosting 'Prophetic Nights', where she speaks in tongues and claims to heal members of the audience.

Recently they've been asking on their various social media platforms for 'your donations [which] provides resources for women in shelters living in California & Hawaii.'

In return for giving $20, you'll receive a mask with a choice of inspiring words on it such as 'I Can, I Will', 'Faith', 'Believe', or 'Be Happy' - or get three for $50.

The link to donate automatically goes to the 'Becoming a Partner' page, where all donations fund their religious globetrotting, which they've called 'The Urgency Tour'.

Katy Perry's evangelical preacher parents, Keith and Mary Hudson, are selling $20 face masks and bracelets to fund their lifestyle preaching around the word

The $20 face masks come with different designs and messages that say 'I Can, I Will, 'Faith' and 'Believe'

In the past they have asked for donations to provide resources for women living in shelters in California and Hawaii. They're currently selling these bracelets with inspirational messages

On their website, Keith Hudson Ministries, they say they're a 'dynamic couple who've been ministering together for 40 years'

It states: 'God has given us a voice a voice that reaches out to women in domestic violence shelters and encourages them to overcome, a voice for teenagers to rise up and help change their generation for Christ. When you partner with us, your voice joins with ours to increase the impact we can have on this generation.

'God has called us to reach out to the world and we've called this outreach 'The Urgency Tour.' We believe that the time is now for us to do whatever we can do to reach this generation with the simple gospel.

Keith and Mary Hudson travel the globe preaching at evangelical churches after giving up their own in Santa Barbara in the eighties

'Your convenient, auto-debit gift of any amount is appreciated and establishes your commitment with this ministry as a friend and regular supporter. Giving is an expression of love and commitment to advance the work of the Kingdom of God. Know that your monthly donations help us to continue and expand our reach and help proclaim the Gospel worldwide.'

The couple are also asking for $50 donations and, in return, you'll receive a fabric and metal bracelet with the words 'Because you believed, it has happened'.

On Twitter and Instagram, they've posted photos with the caption: 'Make a difference today in a Diamond Girls life'.

When making a donation, it goes to the same 'Becoming a Partner' page.

Mary also hosts Arise Conferences all over the globe, usually in exotic and luxurious surroundings.

The Arise Conferences website states: 'The Lord gave her a word in 2006 that He would use her to raise up bold, trailblazing women who outside think the box. Over thirty Arise conferences have empowered women in such diverse locations as Hawaii, Malaysia, France, Belgium, Panama, Switzerland and the USA.

'Women from domestic violence shelters and drug rehabilitation homes are invited to attend and be transformed from victims to victors. Prophetic words are downloaded to Mary as she ministers throughout the congregation. Her ministry of encouragement has brought many out of darkness into His marvelous light.'

The couple are also asking for $50 donations and, in return, you'll receive a fabric and metal bracelet with the words 'Because you believed, it has happened'

On Keith and Mary's website there are numerous options to donate and become a sponsor, starting from $400 to $10,000

The next women's conference is in September in Hawaii at Kaua'i Marriott Resort, a four-star hotel on the beach, where rooms cost $309 per night plus taxes, on top of the $65 to attend the event.

The following month, there's a three-day event at Wailea Beach Resort, Hawaii, another Marriott where the most basic room costs at least $650-a-night for that time of year, plus $85 entry fee for the event.

In the blurb on the Arise Conference site, it quotes the bible that to 'Believe his prophets and you will prosper Join us and help encourage 40 ladies from local shelters be transformed by the word of God!'

There's also an 'Arise Kona' in Hawaii planned for May next year at Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort and Spa and 'Arise Santa Barbara' the following month.

Any of these events can be sponsored, although it's unclear from the Arise Conferences website where the money goes.

Katy's parents are due to become grandparents soon as their pop star daughter is expecting her first child, a baby girl, with actor Orlando Bloom

For $400, called 'LIFE Sponsor', you get a signed copy of Mary's book 'Joyful Parent = Happy Home'.

For $1000, as a 'HOPE Sponsor', you'll receive an invitation to the VIP reception, preferred seating and photo opps with the guest speakers.

It goes all the way upto $5,000 for a 'VISION Sponsor' - two free Arise Conferences tickets and 'breakfast with Mary Hudson'.

The top one is 'GLORY Sponsor' - for $10,000 you'll receive the VIP trimmings of the cheaper sponsor packages plus a 'special gift from Mary Hudson'.

Keith and Mary Hudson travel the globe preaching at evangelical churches after giving up their own in Santa Barbara in the eighties.

The couple believe that the Holy Spirit is within them and they believe in 'the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, and various kinds of tongues.'
In 1947, Daniel Dennett was sent to Saudi Arabia to study the route of the proposed trans-Arabian pipeline before heading to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to meet with Ethiopian and oil officials to discuss energy opportunities and airspace rights. The Cairo-based US petroleum attache and a communications specialist were also on board the ill-fated flight, which was also carrying 2,000lbs of secret radio equipment as well as an aerial camera.



The emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, had a strong anti-British sentiment and the United States was trying to increase its influence in the country. The passengers on board were due to meet officials in Addis Ababa from US-based Sinclair Oil, which had just been granted an exclusive mandate by the emperor to explore oil opportunities in Ethiopia. But before it could land, the plane crashed in mountains near the Ethiopian city of Dessie, killing all six Americans board.

The circumstances around the crash have been shrouded in secrecy ever since. In her new book, The Crash of Flight 3804: a Lost Spy, a Daughters Quest, and the Deadly Politics of the Great Game of Oil, Dennett looks into the mysterious circumstances surrounding her fathers death. Although Dennett was too young to remember spending time with her father, she found a connection with him through his line of work. Both of them have strong ties to the Middle East. Daniel Dennett was Americas top spy in the region for four years during the Second World War, while in the 1970s she worked as an investigative journalist in Beirut, covering Lebanons Civil war.
Occidental Petroleum expects to book after-tax impairments of up to US$9 billion of its oil and gas assets in the second quarter due to the collapse in oil prices earlier this year, the company said in an SEC filing on Thursday.

Like all other oil firms everywhere in the world, Occidental is struggling with the weak oil and gas prices, which impact the value of its proved and unproved oil and gas reserves.

The impairment estimate is primarily attributable to the expected prolonged period of lower commodity prices brought on by lower oil demand as a result of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to the worldwide economy, the company said.

Currently, Oxy estimates that this impairment will range between US$6 billion and US$9 billion after-tax in Q2, but warned that further write-offs could be considered if the current weak prices and macroeconomic conditions persist.

If the macro-economic conditions that exist as of the date of this prospectus supplement continue or worsen, our oil and gas properties may be subject to further testing for impairment, which could result in additional non-cash asset impairments, and such impairments could be material to our financial statements, Occidental said in its announcement.

Oxy warned that if current market conditions persist for an extended period of time, it might not be able to complete planned divestments on favorable terms, in a timely manner or at all.

Earlier this month, Occidental was said to be considering a sale of oil and gas assets in Oman to reduce its debt burden.

Last month, Total backed out of buying Occidentals assets in Ghana, after a snag in the sale of assets in Algeria as part of the Occidental-Anadarko deal last year.

The collapsed deal was another blow to Occidental, which was relying on the sale of Anadarkos African assets to receive a total of US$8.8 billion that could partially reduce the huge debt it had accumulated to buy Anadarko in what analysts now see as an ill-timed decision to pursue such a huge and leveraged transaction.

Story continues

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

Read this article on OilPrice.com
Trump is not just in denial but also indifferent to an unfolding American tragedy Its a public health train wreck in slow motion, in the words of one health expert, and the best President Donald Trump cares to offer the thousands more Americans projected to shortly die of Covid-19 is the unsubstantiated prospect of a beautiful surprise.

California reports more than 7,000 new coronavirus cases in a day, breaking its daily record again California, the countrys most populous state and the first to implement a state-wide lockdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak, is setting daily records for new cases this week.

Disney is postponing the reopening of Disneyland Disney is delaying the phased reopening of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, the companys flagship theme parks in California, the company said on Wednesday.

Dozens of Secret Service agents will be quarantined after Trumps Tulsa rally Dozens of Secret Service agents will be quarantined as a precaution following President Donald Trumps rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a law enforcement official told CNN on Wednesday.

Jeffrey Epsteins accusers can now seek compensation from fund Alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein, many of whom were underage girls at the time, may now file claims to be compensated for enduring his abuse.

NASA will name its headquarters after Mary W. Jackson, the agencys first African American female engineer NASA is renaming its headquarters after Mary W. Jackson, the agencys first African American female engineer who helped inspire the story behind the book and film Hidden Figures.

Olympus is getting out of the camera business Olympus is getting out of its 84-year-old camera business.

The new electric Mini Cooper is a blast. Too bad its also impractical By replacing the gasoline engine and transmission with batteries and electric motors, Mini has created the most all-around enjoyable Mini Cooper yet. Unfortunately, by packing it all into the smallest version of the car in the automakers lineup, it also made it impractical for a whole lot of people who might otherwise love the idea of an all-electric Mini.

Illegal lockdown parties hosted in online rentals Lockdown parties hosted in properties booked via online sites, including Airbnb and Booking.com, are putting communities at risk, the Bed and Breakfast Association has said. Hosts and residents have complained of groups of up to 30 breaking social-distancing rules and taking drugs. BBC News has been told of several such parties in the past month.

Covid-19 antibody test lacks proper assessment Covid-19 antibodies tests for NHS and care staff are being rolled out without adequate assessment, experts warn. The tests could place an unnecessary burden on the NHS, the 14 senior academics say in a letter in the BMJ, Last month, the government said it had bought 10 million antibodies tests and asked NHS trusts and care homes to make them available to staff in England.

Coronavirus: Australian army deployed in Melbourne as cases surge  BBC News Royal Mail is to cut 2,000 management jobs as is struggles to deal with the effects of the coronavirus crisis. The postal service had already been in serious financial difficulties before the pandemic, and saw a sharp fall in letter volumes after the UK introduced lockdown measures on 23 March.

Coleen Rooney disappointed by Vardy legal action Coleen Rooneys lawyers say its disappointing that Rebekah Vardys started legal action against her. Court records show that proceedings for defamation have been registered at the High Court in London. The women had a very public falling-out last year over what was nicknamed the Wagatha Christie affair.

New iOS 14 feature is bad news for YouTube (but good news for you) Ever wish you could keep listening to your favorite YouTube video in the background while using other apps on your iPhone? Well, you can, if you pay for a subscription to YouTube Premium. But do you ever wish you could listen to your favorite YouTube video in the background for free?

The 15 best TV shows of 2020 (so far) In an otherwise resoundingly terrible year, 2020 did give us the only thing anyone can count on anymore, which is television (for now anyway, before covid-19 production delays catch up with forthcoming release dates). From Netflix to Hulu to HBO Max, 2020 might well have turned your love affair with streaming into a full-time committed relationship.

Trevor Noah discusses the discrimination Black people face at work As the Black Lives Matter protests spread across America, many companies were quick to share their support online. But Trevor Noah isnt so sure that those same companies are practicing what they preach. In the video above, The Daily Show host breaks down the disparate struggle Black people face in finding employment, followed by the microaggressions theyre confronted by while working in corporate America.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV:BAY)(OTCQB:ATBHF)(FRA:6AY) ("Aston Bay" or the "Company") is pleased to present proposed drill hole locations for its recently-resumed diamond drill program at its Buckingham Gold Property located in Central Virginia, USA (see June 10, 2020 Aston Bay press release). Phase 2 of the 2020 Drill Program is underway and is expected to comprise approximately 800 metres (m) of additional oriented core drilling. The planned Phase 2 drill holes are presented in Figure 1 in relation to recently updated gold-in-soil geochemical data. The current data now includes the results from two orientation lines, comprising 29 soil sample sites, that were completed over the central portion of the Buckingham Main Zone and highlight the highly anomalous gold values in the zone.

Highlights

Approximately 800 m of drilling in up to eight diamond drill holes planned in Phase 2.

Drilling is underway with one hole complete.

Planned drilling will extend the zone of drilling by 100 m to the southeast and 100 m to the west.

Additional soil samples highlight the highly anomalous nature of the Buckingham Main Zone with gold-in-soil values of up to 10.3 g/t Au.

Assay results from the ten-hole 1,218m Phase 1 - 2020 drill program are expected in the coming weeks.

The locations of the eight proposed drill holes comprising the Phase 2 - 2020 Drill Program are presented in Figure 1 along with recently updated gold-in-soil geochemical data. Four of the proposed holes (A, B, C and D) are designed to test both the extension of the gold-bearing quartz vein 100 m to the southeast and highly anomalous soil samples. Two holes (B2 and C2) may be drilled to test the down-dip extension of the quartz vein. Proposed drill hole E will be drilled to test an extension to the main gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly at the zone for possible extensions to previously drilled zones of gold-bearing sericite-quartz-sulfide alteration zones that parallel the general north-south regional geological trend. Proposed drill hole F is designed to reduce drill hole spacing in the central portion of the structure and to confirm results from the previous operator (2016 drilling).

Figure 1. Drill hole locations and gold-in-soil results, Main Zone, Buckingham Gold Property, Virginia. The area of additional soil samples from orientation survey outlined by dashed line. Local grid.

The Phase 2 - 2020 Drill Program is underway with one hole (drill hole A) completed to a depth of 113 m and proposed drill hole B now being advanced. The proposed drill plan is subject to change and not all holes may be drilled.

The updated soil geochemical data illustrated in Figure 1 now includes a total of 29 additional samples located in two orientation lines that were completed over the central portion of the Buckingham Main Zone to investigate the effect of sample depth on gold content, as well as other key elements. Multiple samples were collected at each site from depths ranging from 6" (~15cm) to 30" (~80cm) and the result of these 'depth profile' samples showed no significant variance in the gold content within the top 30" of the saprolitic soils but did show that base metal concentrations tend to increase with depth, as expected. A sample depth of 6-12" (~15-30cm) was ultimately selected for the Buckingham soil sampling program completed earlier this year (see April 30, 2020 Aston Bay press release).

The east-west line orientation soil samples were collected across the central portion of the NW-SE trending Buckingham Main Zone, which comprises a series of visible gold-bearing quartz vein outcrops that extend over a strike length of some 150 m that have yielded grab sample assay values up to 701 grams per tonne (g/t) Au. Due to concerns regarding the potential loss (or downward dispersion) of fine gold within the saprolitic soil profile, the Company's soil sample analytical procedure was modified to include the crushing, homogenization and subsequent testing of the entire sample (coarse and fine fractions), which has the benefit of insuring that any coarse quartz vein material within a given sample will contribute to the overall geochemical signature of that sample. As a result, the newly added orientation sample data includes numerous highly anomalous (90th percentile) gold-in-soil values up to 10.35 g/t Au. These samples have helped to better define the extent of the Buckingham Main Zone and have been used to guide the completed Phase 1 and the recently initiated Phase 2 - 2020 Drill Programs.

A total of 1,218m were drilled in the ten diamond drill holes comprising the Phase 1 - 2020 Drill Program at the Buckingham Main Zone in March 2020 prior to the suspension of work due to Covid-19 concerns (see March 24, 2020 Aston Bay press release). All core samples from the initial (March 2020) Phase 1 drilling have been shipped to the laboratory for analysis by standard fire assay techniques, which will include metallic screen assaying of selected intervals with visible alteration and mineralization (including visible gold). Results are anticipated in the coming weeks. Logging of the core confirmed that the Phase 1 - 2020 drilling has intersected veining and alteration similar to that encountered in the 2019 drilling of the zone, which included core-length intercepts of up to 35.6 g/t Au over 2.03 m and 24.7 g/t Au over 3.57 m in gold-bearing quartz veins, as well as 2.2 g/t Au over 18.1 m and 1.9 g/t Au over 22.2 m in adjacent but separate sericite-quartz-pyrite alteration zones (see June 5, 2019 Aston Bay release).

The soil sampling program was completed by Aston Bay personnel and comprised the collection of approximately 0.5 kilograms of material from the top 30 centimetres of the soil profile. The samples were submitted for analysis at ALS Laboratories in Sparks, NV, where they were analysed by the AuME-TL44 technique, which is intended for regolith settings. The analytical technique includes gold plus 50 other elements using an Aqua Regia extraction from a 50 gram aliquot of dried, crushed and homogenized sample followed by an ICP-MS finish.

QUALIFIED PERSON

As per National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Andrew Turner, P.Geol., a consultant to Aston Bay, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has prepared, validated and approved the technical and scientific content of this news release. The Company strictly adheres to CIM Best Practices Guidelines in conducting, documenting, and reporting its exploration activities.

About Aston Bay Holdings

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 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 closing and the use of proceeds of the private placement, 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.

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/595299/Aston-Bay-Holdings-Presents-Proposed-Drill-Holes-and-Additional-Soil-Sample-Results-for-Its-Buckingham-Gold-Project-Virginia-USA
Some freight forwarders at the Tema Port have expressed their displeasure with the implementation of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) which they blame for increased rent charges and demurrage.

According to them, their protest against the ICUMS (which is also known as Uni-Pass) is against the implementation of an 'absurd system' and not political.



Mr John Kweku Mensah, a council member of the Ghana Freight Forwarders Association said it was not fair that importers were being made to pay for the cost of an inefficient system which was 'fraught with delays'.



He was addressing an Open Forum at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority on Friday.



Mr John Kweku Mensah, a council member of the Ghana Freight Forwarders Association



"We are facing a lot of problems, this is not political. This is because we need help," Mr Mensah said.



"We don't care about who is operating a system, we just want a system that works normally like the one GCNet was operating. The system must flow for us because all of us are paying huge rent and demurrage even though it is not our fault".



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Freight forwarders appeal to President over challenges at Tema Port



ICUMS problems: Freight forwarders appeal for waivers on rent charges and demurrages



Freight forwarders protest challenges with clearing system at Tema Port



Uni-Pass takes off at entry points but freight forwarders criticise move

Another freight forwarder, Mr Michael Johnson suggested that the former service provider, the Ghana Community Network Services (GCNet), should be allowed to operate the clearing system concurrently with ICUMS. He said this would allow them to clear their goods swiftly.



Chaos at GHAPOHA Revenue Office



The forum was preceded by a fact-finding mission by some members of the National Democratic Congress at the GHAPOHA Revenue Office.



When the NDC team which included the National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, former Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah and the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Mr Isaac Adongo entered the premises, some freight forwarders were seated in accordance with the social distancing protocols waiting to process a document called Delivery Order (D.O.).



However, they were soon mobbed by the previously seated freight forwarders who began telling them their concerns about the ICUMS.



When Mr Gyamfi began briefing the media about the purpose of the visit, some security personnel soon arrived to escort the NDC team out of the Revenue Office.



Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah



'ICUMS problems are technological'



Taking his turn at the forum, Mr Spio-Garbrah, a member of the NDC Manifesto Committee attributed some of the challenges to a technological deficit in Ghana's port operations.



He said: "We cannot explain to our brothers on the African continent, that simple technologies are not working in Ghana... When you see a problem like this and you know that 50 per cent is technological, not financial or legal and then technology is not working, otherwise you can clear your goods.



"If we are the headquarters of African continental free trade but our import and export regime is being badly managed then what kind of example are we setting for the rest of African?" he quizzed.



"The evidence we saw when we went into the room with all the pushing and shoving is that things are not working well".



He also advocated for a multi-stakeholder solution for the challenges being faced by the freight forwarders.



Mr Sammy Gyamfi



NDC to address ICUMS challenges



Meanwhile, the NDC will address challenges with the ICUMS next week.



Speaking at the forum, the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Mr Sammy Gyamfi, said the party wants to well-informed on the matter hence the decision to embark on a fact-finding mission at the port.



He said: "We didn't come here to talk. We came to listen. By Monday we will address the issues you have been speaking about at a press conference and we will not stop until the right changes are done for your business to progress".









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.

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World News: Fisheries subsidies work resumes in Geneva as COVID-19 restrictions ease

June 26,2020 | Source: WTO

All of our heads of government made a commitment to reach an agreement on fisheries subsidies by 2020 in the WTO. With restrictions in Switzerland being relaxed and meetings on WTO premises resuming, the time has come to pick up from where we left off. Gradual preparations beginning now will help members intensify negotiations before the end of the year, the chair said.



On 25 June, the chair will present to heads of delegations a document consolidating elements from members' proposals and from facilitators' working texts to curb subsidies to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; subsidies to fishing overfished stocks; and subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity, along with some provisions on definitions and the scope of what the agreement could cover. Another meeting will be held on 21 July for members to share their comments and for the chair to suggest the next steps for negotiations in the autumn.



Members had been working to conclude the fisheries subsidies negotiations at the 12th Ministerial Conference. However, this meeting , originally scheduled for 8-11 June 2020 in Kazakhstan, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since mid-March, all in-person WTO meetings had been suspended, so members conducted a written exchange of views on fisheries subsidies proposals and met virtually on other WTO work. As of 18 June, on-site meetings of WTO bodies have resumed while still observing social distancing measures.



Based on the mandate from the WTO's 11th Ministerial Conference, and the UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 14.6, negotiators are expected to secure an agreement in 2020 on disciplines eliminating subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and prohibiting certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, with special and differential treatment for developing and least-developed countries.
Yusuf Memon, a 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case convict and a brother of absconding accused Tiger Memon, died on Friday at Nashik Road Prison in Maharashtras Nashik district, a prison official said.

The cause of death was yet to ascertained and the body would be sent to Dhule for autopsy, he said.

Nashik police commissioner Vishwas Nangre-Patil confirmed Memons death.

While Tiger Memon was allegedly the mastermind of the blasts conspiracy alongwith fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, Yusuf was accused of allowing his flat and garage at Al- Husseini building in Mumbai for terrorist activities.

A special TADA court had sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Yakub Memon, another Memon brother who was arrested in the case, was hanged in 2015.

At least 250 persons were killed and hundreds were injured when 12 blasts ripped through Mumbai on March 12, 1993.

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Kourtney Kardashian recently joined sister Kim Kardashian and family for a social distanced getaway to Wyoming as her brother-in-law Kanye West owns a massive ranch in the landlocked state, situated in the western United States. Recently, the mother-of-three shared some adorable photographs of her children having the time of their life. Kourtney was also accompanied by her ex-husband Scott Disick on her Wyoming trip.

Also Read | Did Kourtney Kardashain Wear Scott Disick's Flannel Shirt? Fans Think So

Kourtney Kardashian shares photographs from her 'Wild Wild West' trip

The Poosh founder Kourtney Kardashian recently took to Instagram to give fans a sneak peek into her getaway to Wyoming with her three kids Mason, Penelope, and Reign along with sister Kim Kardashian and her kids North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm. After sharing a solo picture of son Reign sitting upon a boulder with his cowboy boots on, mother Kourtney has now shared a streak of pictures from her two-week-long trip to the 'Wild Wild West' on Instagram. In the first photograph shared by Kourtney, she along with her children and North West are seen all geared up for a ride on their four-by-four all-terrain vehicles around the plot. Sharing the post, she captioned it, "Two weeks in the Wild Wild West".

Also Read | North West Celebrates Her 7th Birthday With Fireworks, Mom Kim & Aunt Kourtney Post Wishes

Check out the post below:

In the IG post shared by Kourtney, Kim Kardashian appeared to be on the vehicle with her 4-year-old son Saint, next to daughter Norths ATV while Scott was all set to rock n roll behind them. In the next post, Kourtney and the kids soaked up the beautiful view in front of a picturesque canyon. Overall, everyone seemed to have a great time and unforgettable memories from sight-seeing to horse riding and Kourtney's Instagram post is proof.

Also Read | Kourtney Kardashian Misses The Set Life, Shares A Throwback Picture; Check It Out

It was also reported that former couple Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick are planning on reconciliation after originally splitting in 2015. These reports started making rounds on the internet due to Scott's presence in Wyoming. However, all the reports were rubbished by a source, in an interview with an online portal, who admitted that the pair are not planning to rekindle their relationship. Meanwhile, on the occasion of Father's Day, Kourtney shared a sweet message for the father of her children on her Instagram handle by sharing a photograph of their family. The caption of her post read, "Happy Fathers Day, thankful for you and these three special ones". Have a look:

Also Read | Kylie Jenner's Video Mimicking Khloe And Kourtney's Fight On KUWTK Amuses Fans; Watch

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A father dropping his children off at before-school care is believed to have stumbled across the body of a man in the car park of a primary school in Melbourne's south-east.

Dozens of police and homicide detectives descended on Rangebank Primary School early on Friday morning after the body of a 47-year-old Cranbourne East man was located about 7am.

The man's body was found in a Cranbourne carpark. Credit:Joe Armao

Homicide squad detectives were called to Lesdon Avenue, next to Donnelly Recreation Reserve, at 7.15am and remained there for most of the day.

Police do not know how long the body had been there. Authorities are urging anyone who witnessed suspicious behaviour in the area on Thursday night, or who may have dash-cam footage to contact police.
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Press Club has selected Maria Ressa, a fearless journalist convicted in the Philippines on trumped-up charges of cyber libel, to be honored with its international 2020 John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award.

Ressa, executive editor of Rappler, has been the target of repeated efforts by the government of President Rodrigo Duterte to silence her.



Last year, Ressa was named among the "Persons of the Year" in Time magazine's issue on Press Freedom. Ressa, a longtime journalist, is a Fulbright scholar, a Princeton graduate and former CNN bureau chief. She co-founded Rappler in 2012.

She has emerged as one of the leading voices for press freedom in the Philippines amid threats to independent journalism in the country.

Her conviction on June 14 prompted an outcry from press freedom organizations across the world, including the National Press Club and the National Press Club Journalism Institute. She could face up to six years in prison. In addition to the "cyber-libel" case, Ressa and Rappler have been accused of tax evasion and of violating laws barring foreign ownership of local media.

"Make no mistake they are looking to silence her outspoken and fearless voice, which is often in opposition to many of the restrictive and illegal policies of the government," National Press Club President Michael Freedman and NPC Journalism Institute President Angela Greiling Keane said in a joint statement following her conviction. In announcing this honor, they added, "To silence the press is to silence the people, silence accountability and silence truth. Maria Ressa's voice will not be silenced."

Each year, the Club gives its Aubuchon award to one journalist from the United States and one from overseas who bravely pushes to disclose the truth in trying circumstances. The National Press Club will announce the domestic award honoree in the coming weeks.

The John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award is named after a former Club president who fervently advocated for press freedom.

The Club will confer the 2020 Aubuchon awards later this year.

PRESS CONTACT: Lindsay Underwood for The National Press Club; [email protected], (202) 662-7561

SOURCE National Press Club

Related Links

http://press.org


WASHINGTON - There was no presidential appearance and no White House backdrop when the governments coronavirus task force briefed the public for the first time since April  in keeping with an administration effort to show it is paying attention to the latest spike in cases but is not on a wartime footing that should keep the country from reopening the economy.

The Friday briefing at the Department of Health and Human Services was held as the number of confirmed new coronavirus infections per day in the U.S. soared to an all-time high of 40,000  higher even than during the deadliest stretch in April and May. In light of the new surge, task force briefers chose their words carefully to update the public about COVID-19, which has become both a public health and political issue.

Vice-President Mike Pence had the most delicate line to walk. He acknowledged a surge in new cases across the South and West, while backing the presidents desire to get the economy up and running without mentioning that it will also help the prospects for reelection.

As we see new cases rising, and were tracking them very carefully, there may be a tendency among the American people to think that we are back to the place that we were two months ago  in a time of great losses and a great hardship on the American people, Pence said.

But the vice-president also took note of positive job numbers and added: The reality is were in a much better place.

Unbound by politics, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, sounded a more cautionary tone.

As you can see, we are facing a serious problem in certain areas, Fauci said. But he also was careful not to blame the recent spike on gatherings where people havent worn face masks or adhered to social distancing guidelines.

Pence deftly sidestepped pointed questions about the apparent dissonance between the administrations admonitions that Americans heed the guidance of local officials and President Donald Trumps decision to hold a political rally last week in Tulsa, Oklahoma, over the objection of health officials. And during a Trump event in Arizona on Tuesday, thousands of young attendees violated Phoenixs mandate to wear face masks.

Insisting that Trump was taking proper steps, Pence invoked the constitutional protection of free speech, saying, we still want to give people the freedom to participate in the political process.

The White House over the last two months all but eliminated coronavirus task force briefings and sharply curtailed public appearances by its medical experts as Trump shifted his focus to getting the country moving again. The return of the briefing was a sign that the administration knows it cant ignore growing anxiety over the increased number of cases as governors in some states pause or delay reopening.

But the briefings are not expected to come back with the same daily frequency. And its no coincidence, officials said, that Fridays briefing took place at HHS rather than at the White House. The president is still dead-set on cheerleading an economic resurgence even in the face of the spike in infections.

Pence announced that 16 states were seeing worrisome increases  up from 12 states on Wednesday. He said there still is work to do, but that it was important to reflect on how much the federal and state governments and health care workers have done to respond to the pandemic.

This moment in the coronavirus pandemic is different from the grim days when New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and New Orleans struggled under the weight of the outbreak, he said.

America has since accelerated testing to 500,000 a day, which has contributed to the increase in reported new cases, Pence said. He plans to travel next week to Texas, Arizona and Florida; the previously scheduled trips to the hot spots of COVID-19 were initially to be more political in nature, but will now include greater focus on the virus. He said Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force co-ordinator, will accompany him to Texas and Arizona.

I just encourage every American to continue to pray, Pence said in closing. Pray for all the families that have lost loved ones. Pray for our health care workers on the front lines. And just continue to pray that, by Gods grace, every single day well each do our part to heal our land.

Back at the White House, Trump held a jobs-focused event in the East Room and offered this can-do message:

We have a little work to do and well get it done. Were having some very good numbers coming out in terms of the comeback, the comeback of our nation and I think its going very rapidly and its going to be very good.

___

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Jill Colvin contributed to this report.
It is apparently the first and only randomized trial to test whether people who work out at gyms with modest restrictions are at greater risk of infection from the coronavirus than those who do not. The tentative answer after two weeks: no.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said, "There should be virtual session to discuss important issues. During the 1962 war, BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee demanded a session and the then Prime Minister accepted that demand."

New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) The Congress has demanded a virtual session of Parliament to discuss the Indo-China face-off and other issues pertaining to national importance, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the fuel price hike.

He said even the parliamentary committees should meet to discuss and raised questions as to why they were stalled.

The Congress said that Vajpayee even led a protest on the issue in 1962. "It is unfortunate that the presiding officers of both the Houses should have walked the extra mile in order to prevail upon the government, not should try and subvert Parliament in this manner and escape parliamentary oversight," said Manish Tewari while demanding for the session.

Former Union Minister Manish Tewari said, "It is extremely unfortunate and we say it with great regret that while you can have Russia, India, China trilateral summits virtually, while the G-20 can be held virtually and all party meeting on China can be held virtually, this Government has walked the extra mile in order to hide behind rules, in order to escape parliamentary oversight.

Tewari said, "This is nothing short of emasculation of Parliament".

He said, "It can be understood that you cannot possibly convene a full session of Parliament, though the Parliaments are meeting virtually around the world. Great Britain is an example, in Portugal the Parliament has met virtually, but, why can't the Standing Committee of Defence meet, why can't the Consultative Committee on Defence meet, why can't the standing committee on Health meet."

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, "We can have a special session of Parliament to discuss important issues, keeping in mind both social distancing and the importance of National Security."

Congress alleged that it is a sign of authoritarianism and it is only an effort by the BJP government to buy time so that it can escape the questions which have been asked by the people of India through the major opposition parties.

--IANS

miz/dpb
President Moon Jae-in takes part in a ceremony at the Seoul Air Base, June 25. Yonhap



By Do Je-hae



One of the most noticeable aspects about President Moon Jae-in's speech Thursday, the anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, was his renewed focus on a declaration to end the war.



The "end-of-the-war declaration," as well as "complete denuclearization" were some of the core objectives contained in the historic April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration signed by President Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.



But the declaration for officially ending the war has been shelved since the first Moon-Kim summit on the southern side of the border village of Panmunjeom as the denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea have not achieved Moon's expected outcome.



In particular, relevant parties such as the U.S. and China have not paid much attention to the declaration to officially end the Korean War. The two Koreas still remain technically at war as it ended it a truce, not a peace treaty.



During a ceremony to mark the 70th year since the outbreak of the war, the President stressed the need for "bold" action to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula and called on Kim to join him in efforts to end the war.



"I hope that North Korea will also boldly embark on an endeavor to end the most sorrowful war in world history," Moon said. "We pursue peace and intend to live well together. We will continuously search for routes that are mutually beneficial for both Koreas through peace."



He mentioned "ending the war" again to emphasize the tragic outcome of the war that is still impacting the lives of the people of the two Koreas.



"We cannot commemorate the Korean War in a genuine manner yet. That is because the war has yet to come to an end. Even at this moment, the threat of war continues, and we are engaged in a war not only against the visible threats but also against the invisible enmity within us. If we are going to talk about unification, we have to achieve peace first, and only after peace has continued for a long time will we be able to finally see the door to unification."



The conciliatory remarks came after the North Korean leader's order to withhold planned military action against the South this week, after earlier threats from his sister Kim Yo-jong following the destruction of an inter-Korean liaison office in Gaeseong.



Since Kim Jong-un's surprise instruction, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has also brought forth the need for a declaration to officially end the war.



"A declaration of the end of the war is essential to ending tension and confrontation and to transition to an era of lasting peace," DPK floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon said in a media interview, Thursday.



The DPK is pushing for a National Assembly resolution calling for the declaration.



But experts who talked to The Korea Times were divided on Seoul's renewed call for ending the war.



Fierce debate



Some have described it as an essential precondition for achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula.



"The Korean War is the ultimate forever war, a low-level conflict with dangerous flare ups that have claimed countless lives over the past seven decades. In fact, many forget this brutal conflict never officially ended through a peace treaty  only an armistice  and there is no sign it will formally be concluded anytime soon," said Harry J. Kazianis, the senior director of Korea studies at the Center for the National Interest.



"If such a war were to ever restart, the world would collectively face a North Korea that is far more dangerous thanks to its growing nuclear weapons arsenal and potential ability to attack the U.S. homeland with long-range missiles. It is no exaggeration to say that Pyongyang could kill millions of people within minutes thanks to the weapons of mass destruction the Kim regime has built.



"For there to be a real breakthrough in inter-Korean a well as U.S.-North Korea relations, an end of war declaration  even if not a formal peace treaty  is essential. All sides need to have some sort of closure, embracing the end of the Korean War as the first step of a long process of reconciliation and compromise that will lead to an overall lowering of tensions. If this is not realized, we will forever be condemned to the endless cycle of crisis after crisis that could someday ignite a conflict of historic proportions," he said.



But the opposition party is saying that North Korea's denuclearization must precede efforts to pursue such a declaration.



In this context, some experts have also pointed out that Moon's mention of ending the war was ill-timed, and are highlighting the need for North Korea to establish the right conditions first.



"President Moon's speech appropriately paid tribute to the sacrifices of previous generations and the value of international cooperation, said Leif-Eric Easley, an associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. "But there was no mention of China's role in the tremendously costly Korean War. Moon failed to mention Japan as a partner, instead alluding to it as a cause for Korean unity and a country that profited from conflict."



"Most glaringly, Moon did not address Pyongyang's responsibility for starting the war, maintaining the painful division, and continuing human suffering on the northern half of the peninsula. He claimed South Korea is strong enough to make peace, share prosperity and progress toward unification, but this is insufficient without recognizing North Korea's need to denuclearize, demilitarize and democratize," the professor added.



Others said given the North's continued threats and provocations, conditions were not right to pursue such a declaration. "That train may have left the station," said professor John Delury of Yonsei University's Graduate School of International Studies.


The governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has expressed sadness over the death of the immediate past governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi.

Mr Makinde, in a condolence message to the Ajimobi family, also directed that the states flags fly at half-mast on Friday.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported his death at a private hospital in Lagos after he spent weeks in intensive care for coronavirus complications, according to Akin Alabi, a federal lawmaker and political associate of the former governor.

He was 70.

Mr Ajimobis passing came a week after he was rumoured to have died at the same private hospital. That rumour turned to be false.

According to the condolence message, the governor said: I was so sorry to hear the news of the passing away of the immediate past Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, which sad event took place earlier today.

I cannot begin to imagine the pain the family must be going through at this time because of the loss of their patriarch. It is my prayer that God grants them all the strength to bear this great loss.

I join the good people of Oyo State as we mourn the death of a statesman. I have directed that flags fly at half-mast tomorrow in honour of our brother, friend and illustrious son of Oyo State.

Surely, he will be remembered for leaving a blueprint for some of the activities that our administration is now undertaking.

The Oyo State Government will be extending to his family, all the courtesies deserving of his personage. May his soul rest in peace.

Condolences pour in

Also, Delta Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has commiserated with the Ajimobi family.

In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifeajika, in Asaba, Mr Okowa said the passing of Ajimobi at this critical time of the countrys political history was painful and regrettable.

READ ALSO:

He said Mr Ajimobi contributed immensely to the Nigeria Governors Forum while he was Governor of Oyo State.

The late Ajimobi was a patriot and a political icon whose life-long dedication and indefatigable commitment to serving the people will be unforgettable.

He made history when he was re-elected in 2015 to become the first democratically-elected Governor of Oyo State to serve two terms.

His contributions to the social, political and economic development of Nigeria and indeed, humanity will forever remain indelible in our hearts.

Among those who have sent their condolence messages to the family and the people of the state is the Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi.

Mr Adeyemi, described the former Governor as a leader who demonstrated the rare combination of thinking and doing.

He added that Mr Ajimobi had exhibited the quality of a good leader who had the courage of not only taking actions but being ready to face the consequences of his actions.

Mr Adeyemi in a condolence message made available to PREMIUM TIMES by his Chief Press Officer, Bode Durojaiye, on Friday, remarked that the former Governor was more interested in people who can sustain his institutional reforms and other legacies.

The late governor was more interested in people who can sustain his institutional reforms and other legacies and not in his own personal preferences.

Ajimobi was the 20th governor that I have worked with. I have worked intimately as a son and as a governor. If you are brilliant, truthful and hardworking, he will work with you. He ran an inclusive government but you can only get something from him if you key into his vision of RTR, meaning reformation, transformation and repositioning.

We had seen infrastructural renewal across the state; we had seen demolitions, emotions, and expressions. The former Governor had proved that he did not lack courage.

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Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin, in his condolence message described late Ajimobi as a political leader who gave his best for the development of Oyo State and indeed Nigeria at every opportunity he had to serve.

Regardless of any political differences, Senator Abiola Ajimobi is a father to us in Oyo State. His contributions to the state as a former Senator of Oyo South Senatorial District, first Governor to serve two terms in Oyo State and of course former Acting National Chairman of his party APC are symbolic achievements and a proof of a life well spent.

Meanwhile, the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Edo and Delta states, Dawud Akinola, has expressed sadness at the passing.

Mr Akinola, who described Ajimobi as a national hero, described his demise as a huge loss to Islam, the good people of Oyo State and Nigeria at large.

Akinola described the demise of Senator Ajimobi as a huge loss to Islam, the good people of Oyo State and Nigeria at large.

While commending the former Governor for his wonderful contribution to the development of Oyo State with indelible marks that the people will continue to enjoy for years to come, the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Edo and Delta States, believes that the sterling contribution of his beloved brother and friend to Islam and their joint traditional heritage, Ibadanland, are legacies and memories that he will continue to always cherished, he said in a statement on Friday.
Increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS across wider sections of the Indian society has focused attention on particularly vulnerable groups, such as sex workers. Thus far, attempts to rehabilitate and to arouse social awareness have been sporadic and isolated. This paper argues for the need to evoke a wider awareness by looking to the historical circumstances surrounding prostitution and argues for a multi-pronged effort to combat HIV/AIDS.
A Black Lives Matter activist has claimed he was shot in the groin with a rubber bullet during a protest in Los Angeles, causing him to lose a testicle.

South African native Bradley Steyn, who was involved in anti-apartheid protests in South Africa when he was younger, claims the LAPD are responsible for his injuries, and he now plans to sue.

Steyn claims he was attacked by law enforcement during a May 30 George Floyd protest in Los Angeles' Fairfax district.

He has since started a GoFundMe page to cover his medical bills and legal funds, and is looking to raise $17,000.

On the page, he describes the events of May 30. 'I was marching peacefully with at the Black Lives Matter march on Saturday the 30th May, here in Los Angeles, near Fairfax in memory of George Floyd and so many other black Americans that have been murdered in America. Apartheid-style,' he writes.

'At the march I was shot by a member of the LAPD with a rubber bullet in the testicles. One of which was ruptured and led to me almost bleeding out on the streets of Los Angeles.'

South African native Bradley Steyn says he was taking part in a protest in Los Angeles when police officers shot him with rubber bullets at point blank range, one of which rupture his testicle. He says that he required emergency surgery later that day

Steyn shared pictures of him lying in a hospital bed, showing a mark on his chest where he claims he was beaten, and a large bruise on his left leg where he was shot, as well as a cast covering his groin.

In an interview with Select Times Live shortly after the incident, Steyn said: 'Police used batons to a young woman who was sitting on her knees.

'I tried to get him off her, and I was hit across chest by a police baton. A policeman saw me trying to physically push the cop off her and hit me in the chest. Then he aimed for my genitalia  he was two or three feet away  and shot directly into my genitalia.'

Speaking to South African network Newzroom Afrika earlier this month, Steyn said that the violence he witnessed reminded him of what he had witnessed in South Africa in his younger years.

'Growing up in South Africa, we were exposed to terrible violence and protests and police brutality,' Steyn said.

'Here, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, I thought that I could take my 10-year-old daughter to a protest and show her that you need to stand up to governments and authorities that abused their power.'

At the last minute, Steyn decided not to take his young daughter to the protests fearing that violence could break out.

He claims that the protest was largely a peaceful one, and that violence was escalated by the LAPD, and that his encounter with the police occurred when he tried to stand between an officer and a woman who was being hit.

Steyn says that this is when he was hit with two rubber bullets at point-blank range - one in the thigh and the other directly in the gentiles - causing his left testicle to rupture. He then claims he passed out from the pain and needed emergency surgery later that day.

He says that he has been told that while doctors saved his live, he may not be able to have children in the future.

Steyn shared pictures of his injuries on Facebook after returning home from the hospital. His groin is covered by a case, and he has large bruises on his thighs

In another photo shared on Facebook since having the cast removed, the bruising he claims was causes by the rubber bullet remains, and covers a large portion of his thigh

On the GoFundMe page, he also writes about his background in South Africa. He says at the age of 17, he was caught up in the Strijdom square massacre 1988 which saw a man kill eight people in a shooting.

He writes that 'innocent Black civilians were targeted by a racist white supremacist dressed like a policeman,' before acknowledging that by being white, he was not targeted himself.

He recalls how a black man lay in his lap dying as Steyn tried to stop the bleeding.

'That event changed my life forever though,' he writes. 'I dedicated my life to fighting evil and racism... We won the war against racist oppression in South Africa. We brought one of the most powerful and evil, racist security military complexes to its knees.'

According to the Wikipedia page about the Strijdom square massacre, Steyn is noted as a witness to the attack, and credited with creating a commemorative plaque that was placed in the square.

He has also spoken about how he suffered PTSD after witnessing the massacre at such a young age.

Pictured: People attend a Black Lives Matter protest outside the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles, California, USA, 24 June 2020

Pictured: An officer stands guard during a Black Lives Matter protest outside the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles, California, USA, 24 June 2020

He also goes into detail about how he joined the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, writing:

'I was covertly recruited as a white operative into Nelson Mandelas anti-Apartheid movement, the African National Congresss military wing, Umkhonto we Siswe (the spear of the Nation).

'I became a clandestine operator to infiltrate and spy against the feared security police, state military apparatus and their proxy white nationalist hit squad units.'

Protests have broken across the U.S. after the death of George Floyd on May 25 at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, who knelt on his neck for over eight minutes, asphyxiating him.

The killing sparked furious backlash over how police treat Black Americans in the country, and has again galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement.
Can incentivizing e-bikes support GHG goals?

Electric bikes (e-bikes) are quickly becoming common in U.S. cities and suburbs, but we still have a ways to go compared to our neighbors across the Atlantic. In recent years, e-bike sales have steadily increased with unprecedented growth in Europe, especially in the Netherlands. Can the U.S. catch up? E-bikes offer a cheaper alternative to car travel and also provide physical activity. Riders with limited physical ability find that e-bikes extend their overall mobility. Beyond the practical, e-bikes are also just fun to ride. In fact, e-bikes encourage users to cycle farther and more often than conventional bicycles. More importantly to local and regional U.S. governments, e-bikes could be a useful tool to address our current climate crisis by reducing transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

E-bike incentive programs in the U.S. remain relatively small in scale. Currently, California and Oregon offer statewide incentive programs that provide rebates towards the purchase of battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and (in California only) fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). These programs are intended to reduce state GHG emissions from the transportation system. Could incentivizing e-bikes also be a cost-effective way for regions to reach their greenhouse gas emission reduction goals?

Today the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University launches a new Electric Vehicle Incentive Cost and Impact Tool. This online tool enables policymakers, public stakeholders, and advocates to quickly visualize the potential outcomes of an electric vehicle incentive program made up of several vehicle types. The tool estimates the cost efficiency of a proposed program in terms of the cost per kg CO2 avoided by each mode over the course of one year. It also takes the proposed budget into consideration to calculate the potential number of incentives to be made available and the amount of total CO2 that would be avoided due to internal combustion engine automobile (ICE) VMT displacement.

To show you how it works, we tried out the tool with Oregon as a case study. Currently, the state sets aside about $12M per year for its Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, with rebates usually offered at $2,500 each for BEV and PHEV vehicles with battery capacity of 10 kWh or more and $1,500 for vehicles with batteries with less than 10 kWh. How do BEVs, PHEVs, and e-bikes compare in terms of incentive program cost efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions avoided?

USING THE EV INCENTIVE COST AND IMPACT TOOL: AN OREGON CASE STUDY

Creating your EV Incentive Program

First, let's get the tool set up with information for the state of Oregon. We've designed the tool with all of the data you need, and you simply choose the presets for your scenario. It's also easy to use your own data by just entering it directly into the tool. Apply presets with information for the electricity generation emissions profile from the US EPA eGRID, average car travel information from the NHTS, and national ICE fuel efficiency information from the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Next, apply some information about the vehicles you're looking to incentivize. Again, we'll just use presets that we've created:

The E-Bike preset is an average of the fuel economies of several e-bike models studied in a recent paper by Efficiency Vermont. It may be unreasonable to expect most people to completely replace all of their automobile VMT with an e-bike. To account for this, we specify that the average user will only replace 15% of their VMT with their incentivized e-bike.

The BEV preset is a weighted average of fuel economies provided by the US EPA of the current BEV fleet in Oregon.

Similarly, the PHEV preset is a weighted average of fuel economies provided by the US EPA of the current PHEV fleet in Oregon. Fleet information was obtained from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) based on historical rebate distribution within the state.

Lastly, we can set our incentive amounts and total budget. We can also choose how to distribute our budget among the vehicles we're incentivizing. Let's set the BEV and PHEV incentive to $2,500 and the total budget to $12M, similar to Oregon's current program. We'll try out an e-bike incentive of $350, and for this example we'll split the budget evenly among each vehicle type.

Once you're all done creating your incentive program scenario, you can export a report for quick reference when discussing options with other stakeholders.

Review the Results: What did we find in Oregon?

First off, we get some information about incentive cost efficiency. It turns out that the e-bike incentive is more cost efficient, in terms of cost per kg CO2 saved, than both the BEV and PHEV incentives.

Next, we can look at the total number of incentives our program is able to provide. Because the e-bike incentive is much lower in price, the program is able to impact almost 10 times as many people's lives with a new e-vehicle compared to the BEV or PHEV incentives given our $12M budget.

Lastly, let's look at the GHG impacts of our program over the course of 1 year. The program is able to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions of one year by about 25M kg thanks to the incentive program we designed. Given how we've structured this incentive program, e-bikes make up the largest portion of this CO2 savings, about 40% of the entire impact.

"What-if" Scenarios for E-bike Incentive Amounts

Let's do a quick set of "what-if" scenarios to see how changing the e-bike incentive from $350 impacts the results.

What if the e-bike incentive was $150?

What we found for a $150 e-bike incentive (versus $350):

The cost per kg of CO2 saved has decreased, from $0.40 to $0.17.

The number of e-bike incentives we can offer has more than doubled, from 11,314 to 26,400.

Similarly, the amount of CO2 avoided due to e-bikes has also more than doubled, from 10.2M kg to 23.9M kg. This accounts for 61% of the total CO2 savings in this case.

What if the e-bike incentive was $500?

What we found for a $500 e-bike incentive (versus $350):

The cost per kg CO2 saved has gone up from our initial case study, from $0.40 to $0.55 per kg CO2 saved. However, this is on par with the cost efficiency of the PHEV incentive.

The number of e-bike incentives that can be offered has decreased, from 11,314 to 7,920. However, we're still able to offer more incentives than the BEV and PHEV incentives combined.

Lastly, the total CO2 saved has also declined, from 10.2M kg to 7.2M kg, although it is still on par with the BEV and PHEV categories.

Final Thoughts

This case study has shown that e-bikes could be a strong player as part of a CO2 avoidance e-vehicle incentive program. In some cases, e-bikes could perform better than electric vehicles in terms of cost efficiency, number of incentives provided, and total CO2 saved.

The Electric Vehicle Incentive Cost and Impact Tool is available online, and is able to generate a downloadable report for sharing purposes.

Contact John MacArthur (macarthur[at]pdx.edu) with any questions or comments about the tool, and let us know how you used it!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

John MacArthur

Sustainable Transportation Program Manager

John MacArthur is the Principal Investigator for TREC's electric bicycle research initiatives. His research also includes low-/no-emission vehicle infrastructure in Portland metro, as well as a climate change impact assessment for surface transportation in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Before joining the TREC staff, John was the Context Sensitive and Sustainable Solutions Program Manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation's OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program.

Mike McQueen

Graduate Research Assistant

Mike McQueen is a second year master's student working with John MacArthur of TREC and Dr. Kelly Clifton of the MCECS Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Currently, Mike is researching e-bike travel behavior and micromobility as an Eisenhower Fellow. In the past, he has studied e-bike purchase incentive programs, the potential positive environmental impact of e-bikes in Portland, BIKETOWN, and the demographics of zero car households.

The Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University is home to the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), and other transportation programs. TREC produces research and tools for transportation decision makers, develops K-12 curriculum to expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engages students and professionals through education.

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This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
As the country moves into Phase 3, and parts of the world we once knew reopen, tonight could be seen for all intents and purposes as the last 'big night in' of the lockdown.

RTE and Comic Relief International plan to bid adieu to Phase 2 with a bang; a stew of comedy, showbiz and music that they hope will raise millions for charity.

There has been much talk of Zeitgeist-hitting sketches by the teams that bought us Normal People and Derry Girls, not to mention Huberbod taking on Chris O'Dowd and Dawn O'Porter in Lip Sync Battle.

Per Comic Relief tradition, think unexpected celebrity collaborations and famous types finding themselves in strange circumstances.

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Yet amid the firmament of stars lies a hefty helping of full-blown nostalgia. Some familiar faces are likely to cheer many a viewer, but we decided to bring you up to speed.

Whether you remember these classics from first time round, or are largely unfamiliar with their greatness, we've done up some pass notes.

1. The Panel

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The indie licks in the Stone Roses' Waterfall were the musical harbinger for a solid-half hour of salty banter, current affairs and topical comedy. Recorded originally in the Helix, Dublin, The Panel first aired in September 2003, and eventually wound down nine series later in 2011.

Dara O'Briain was the original master of ceremonies, before departing in 2006 (Neil Delamere, Colin Murphy and Craig Doyle picked up the reins thereafter). Ed Byrne, Andrew Maxwell, and Mairead Farrell were regular panellists, and the great and the good from the world of Irish showbiz showed up from time to time.

Video of the Day

Marty Whelan, Charlie Bird, Pauline McLynn and Ray D'Arcy are some of the more memorable guests from The Panel.

What to Expect: Insiders hint that the original gang - O'Briain, Farrell, Delamere -will be joined by a new tranche of comedians, including Aisling Bea, Jimmy Carr and David Mitchell.

2. The Den

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It's almost hard to believe, but The Den is now 33 years old. Ian Dempsey helmed the long-running kids' show until 1990, and handed the reins over to Ray D'Arcy (Damien McCaul and Francis Boylan Jr then presented the show, until its final run in 2005).

Taking a cue from CBBC's Broom Cupboard format, Dempsey's Den was broadcast live from a tiny, single-camera Presentation studio at RTE, used mostly for in-vision continuity. Sometimes the action came from a chip van, sometimes from a hair salon called On The Noggin.

In between presenting music videos and cartoons was mainly the human presenter's job to sit in between Zig & Zag (or later, Podge & Rodge) and make sure no one said anything too off-colour for after-school TV. Joining them were Socky the Sock Monster and Dustin the Turkey, a nearly ran in the presidential race and former Eurovision contestant. It was a stone-cold cultural institution and no mistake.

What to expect: Ray D'Arcy will reunite with Zig, Zag and Dustin. Given that they will be part of tonight's in-studio live offering, anything could happen.

3. Bull Mick

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David McSavage's homophobic, racist, bigoted creation was a publican on The Savage Eye (which began on RTE Two in 2009) and delighted, petrified and enraged viewers in one fell swoop. McSavage's biting satire poked fun at subjects dear to the collective hearts of the Irish people; to say it shaved close to the bone is putting it mildly.

What to expect: In today's particularly woke times, Bull Mick is likely to say an off-colour thing or two charity telethon or not.

4. Paths To Freedom

There are hardcore comedy fans who attest that Paths To Freedom is one of the finest Irish comedies ever made, and laid the groundwork for countless other shows, from The Young Offenders to Damo & Ivor.

Blackrock gynaecologist Jeremy (Brendan Coyle) and inner-city hero Rats (Michael McElhatton) are two men recently released from an Irish prison. In this mockumentary-style comedy, the camera follow each as they try to reintegrate back into society. Depending on whom you ask, Deirdre O'Kane, playing Jeremy's posh wife Helen, was one of the best things in it.

What to expect: Is it fair to say that Rats has something interesting up his sleeve? Seeing as O'Kane is organising the entire event, Helen might make a cameo, too.

5. Anne Doyle

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It's nearly a decade since Anne Doyle read her last RTE News bulletin (33 years to the day since her first). Though she has been a sporadic presence on Irish screens since then, appearing in RTE's series The Keys To My Life earlier this year, she has been enjoying a somewhat low-key retirement.

What to expect: Anne and Dustin the Turkey famously have a long-standing association, slash affection for each other. Could a reunion in front of the nation be on the cards?

RTE Does Comic Relief is on RTE One tonight from 8pm to 11.30pm, with a break at 9pm for the news. To donate on the night and for more details, see rte.ie/comicrelief
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Purdue University and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) have signed an agreement to collaborate on hypersonic research and related technologies.

Joseph Jewell, assistant professor in Purdues School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, said the research will make use of Purdue's "quiet" Mach 6 Ludwieg Tube, which is located at the Purdue University Airport and is a part of the Aerospace Sciences Laboratory. The Boeing-AFOSR Mach 6 Quiet Tunnel facility, which was completed in 2006, is the world's largest and most capable such wind tunnel.

"In a typical hypersonic wind tunnel, there are pressure waves, acoustic waves that come off the nozzle and into the test section, which can change the results of aerodynamic experiments significantly. Ours is designed so that the level of those disturbances is up to 200 times smaller," Jewell said. "This agreement with APL will allow us to collaborate in a way that's much smoother and easier in the future."

In addition to the collaborative research on hypersonic materials, guidance and navigation control systems, and sensors, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and Purdue's Institute for Global Security and Defense Innovation will collaborate to research several technologies. These include microelectronics, quantum information, integrated data science, artificial intelligence and robotics.

As part of the agreement, APL will also provide Purdue University faculty and students with access to its facilities, including APLs robust additive manufacturing hub at its Laurel, Maryland, campus, as well as its subject-matter experts in APLs Force Projection Sector, Air and Missile Defense Sector, and Research and Exploratory Development Department. The Laboratory also hopes to work further with graduate and doctoral students from Purdue, through internships, mentoring, and other avenues.

Kirk Shawhan, precision strike mission area executive at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, said the agreement will create a collaborative environment for APL and Purdue staff members and students.

This is a natural opportunity for our institutions to work together to expand our collective knowledge about hypersonic capabilities and more, he said.

The collaboration with APL is not the first of its kind at the Aerospace Sciences Laboratory, Jewell said.

"We do work for all of the big aerospace companies," he said. "We also work with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Office of Naval Research. These organizations come to us to do hypersonic projects because we are the only place in the world that can do low-disturbance testing at Mach 6 with good access to the test section for instruments."

In February, Purdue announced plans to build the world's first quiet Mach 8 wind tunnel. The Mach 8 quiet wind tunnel will be the first facility of its kind capable of collecting data at speeds greater than Mach 6. Collecting data at higher Mach numbers is critical to extending the understanding of flow physics, especially heat transfer and flight control effectiveness.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 6 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.

Writer and Media Contact: Steve Tally, steve@purdue.edu, @sciencewriter

Media contact for Johns Hopkins APL: Justyna Surowiec, Justyna.Surowiec@jhuapl.edu

Source: Joseph Jewell, 765-494-6549, jsjewell@purdue.edu

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Purdue renews, expands Sandia National Laboratories partnership
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Does Data on COVID-19 Permit Scientific Studies in India? | Indrakant (...)

Brief Research Paper on COVID-19

by Indrakant Sulibhavi2, Mahendran Arumugam1

Abstract

The paper seeks to examine the suitability of the available data on COVID-19 for studying the spatial variation in transmission of the disease. It looks into the format of the available data in drawing meaningful and useful inferences for policy formulation from the estimates of the parameters. It is observed that in Inter-country analysis some of the statistical and conceptual aspects do not receive attention which they deserve. Similarly, in inter-state analysis, suitable deflators need to be used. The format of the available data on COVID-19 does not permit us to make meaningful and reliable estimates of the fatality rate and the recovery rate. Even the method adopted by the Government to estimate these parameters seems to be defective. The data has to be grouped on the basis of the date of admission of persons in the hospital. The required parameters have to be worked out separately for each group. The average of these estimated parameters pertaining to sufficient number of groups would be meaningful, reliable and useful for policy formulation.

Keywords: Fatality rate, recovery rate, scientific method, data on COVID-19.

Introduction

Very often inadequate data prevent an in-depth study of a problem encountered by a society. Sometimes huge data (but not in required format) hinders scientific study. Presently every day the data on COVID-19, at global and national levels is being released through different channels by the concerned officials. This has encouraged (and to some extent prompted) Researchers, Academicians, Journalists, People with Social Concerns and many others to make use of the available data and draw their own inferences. The data on COVID-19 has been used for various purposes which include the spatial spread of COVID-19, the pace of transmission of the disease, the vulnerability of people belonging to different age groups and different ethnic groups, effectiveness of measures taken by the Government to control the transmission of COVID-19, response of general public to the Government Measures etc. Further, it is not uncommon to notice that most of the space in daily newspapers is occupied by matter relating to COVID-19. In this context, some important questions need to be answered. Does the available data on COVID-19 permit us to conduct scientific study? Whether the estimates generated from the available data reliable? Whether the inferences drawn from such estimates reveal ground reality? Are the findings useful for policy formulation? These are some of the questions which the present Paper seeks to examine.

inter-Country Comparison:

Many works have used the data on COVID-19 to study the extent of transmission of Corona virus across the countries and the reasons for the same. Some people are puzzled to note that in America the number of persons affected by COVID-19 is in lakhs and the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is in thousands. They even start questioning the claim of Americans that they have one of the best health infrastructures. There are few persons who appreciate the ability of China in controlling the impact of Corona virus with much smaller loss of lives. However, there are some persons who point finger at China for transmitting the disease to the continents of Europe and America. Some people even go to the extent of accusing China of using Novel Corona virus as a weapon in biological war to capture world market. It appears that most of the persons engaged in analysing the data on COVID-19 are using the data only to justify their strong belief as adequate precautions are not taken before using the data. Further, it must be noted that all the countries were not affected at the same point of time and hence for meaningful comparative study of countries this issue must also be considered. In addition, conceptual issues need to be examined. The practice of compiling the data is likely to vary from one country to another. Death of a diabetic patient affected by COVID-19 may be recorded as death due to COVID-19 in one country while another country may record it as a death due to Diabetes. Further, a person may die due to multiple complications. In such a case, it is not proper to attribute the death only due to COVID-19. No doubt, COVID-19 may have advanced the death of the person. Therefore, first step in any scientific study would be to focus attention on such short comings and clean the available data. Unfortunately, adequate attention to this aspect is not paid by the Researchers.

inter-State Comparison:

In India, people make use of State-wise data to assess the situation in their state in the background of national picture. People get panic when there is a spike in the number of positive cases and relax on days when no positive cases are reported. Indians draw some satisfaction from the fact that the number of affected people in India is only in few thousands while it is in lakhs in America and in European countries. Supporters of Prime Minister Modi give credit to him for announcing nation-wide lockdown at right time. There is a section of population, who attribute lower rate of transmission of COVID-19 in India to the better immunity power among Indians (which may be due to vaccination in their childhood). The practice of having cooked food at home, hot climatic conditions and lower addiction rate to smoking among Indians may have also contributed for the lower rate of transmission in India.

Inter-state comparison in terms of absolute numbers has one important limitation via; substantial variation in the size of the States. It is of no use to compare the number of deaths in a big state like Uttar Pradesh with the number of deaths in a small state like Uttarakhand. For a scientific study, it is necessary to neutralise for the differences in the size of the States by using suitable deflator like population of the state or the number of persons affected by the COVID-19 in the state. Many studies ignore this basic and fundamental step while undertaking inter-state comparative study.

Fatality Rate and Recovery Rate:

A common man generally deals with figures in hundreds and sometimes in thousands. He is panic driven when he comes across figures which mention the number of affected persons in lakhs and the number of deaths in thousands. He is demoralised and loses his confidence to encounter the disease. The same data can be used to convey positive message which will boost the moral of the general public. The data on COVID-19 can be used to estimate the fatality rate and the recovery rate. Fatality rate is the percentage of deaths among COVID-19 affected persons which will generally be small in magnitude and hence boost up the confidence of general public. In a Press Briefing on March 3, 2020, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Ghebreyesus reported that the fatality rate due to COVID-19 is only 3.4 percent. Experts admit that calculating fatality rate in case of COVID-19 is tricky due to long incubation period. Further, a declining trend in the fatality rate and an improvement in the recovery rate indicates a movement towards victory and hence will build the confidence of the general public to fight the battle against COVID-19 and achieve complete victory in the battle.

Fatality rate and recovery rate cant be computed scientifically from the data released by the Government of India to the general public. But the Users of the Government data generate some estimates of the fatality rate and the recovery rate. However, they do not explicitly spell out the method.

Scientific Approach:

Scientific method would be to make use of the data, based on the date of admission of the patient to the hospital. Suppose, 100 persons affected by COVID-19 are admitted to a hospital on April 1, 2020. Further, for the sake of argument, let us assume that by April 25, 2020, among these 100 persons, unfortunately 10 persons scumbed to the disease and 90 persons, thanks to the efforts of Doctors and Nurses, completely recovered and were discharged from the hospital. Now, the fatality rate and the recovery rate would be 10 percent and 90 percent, respectively and two rates would add up to100. Surprisingly, in the present context of COVID-19 pandemic this procedure seems to be not adopted either due to non-availability of the data in required format or due to the ignorance of the Users. For Users, other than Government the data may not be available in the required format.

Government Approach:

The Government has not explicitly spelt out the method adopted by it to estimate the fatality rate and the recovery rate. In this context, it is worth exploring the possible method adopted by the Government to arrive at fatality rate and recovery rate based on the data released by it. According to the Government data, out of 33,610 persons affected by COVID-19 till April 30, 2020, 1074 persons died and 8373 persons were discharged (The Hindu dated May 1, 2020) . So, the sum of number of persons who died and the number of recovered persons is 9447. It implies that out of 33,610 affected persons, still 24,136 persons (i.e., 33,610 - 9447) are still in various hospitals undergoing treatment for the disease. We dont know how many of them will survive. It appears that the Government has not considered this issue. The fatality rate has been computed as percentage of deaths to the total number of cases (i.e., 1074/33,610) which works out to 3.2 percent. Similarly, the recovery rate has been taken as percentage of persons recovered to the total number of cases (i.e., 8373/33, 610) which is about 25.2 percent. As explained earlier, fatality rate and recovery rate should add up to hundred which is not the case in the figures released by the Government. More serious defect in this method is the fact that the Government is estimating the required rates when the outcome of over 70 percent of patients, who are under treatment, is unknown. Such estimates fail to reveal the ground reality. Therefore, the Government has to group the available data with it on the basis of date of admission of persons and work out the fatality rate and the recovery rate for each group. Average of estimates so obtained for sufficient number of groups would be more reliable and meaningful for Policy formulation. Similar procedure may be adopted for examining the vulnerability of people belonging to different age groups or different ethnic groups.

Conclusion:

It is observed that in Inter-country analysis some of the statistical and conceptual aspects do not receive attention which they deserve. Similarly, in inter-state analysis, suitable deflators need to be used. The format of the available data on COVID-19 does not permit us to make meaningful and reliable estimates of the fatality rate and the recovery rate. Even the method adopted by the Government to estimate these parameters seems to be defective. The data has to be grouped on the basis of the date of admission of persons in the hospital. The required parameters have to be worked out separately for each group. The average of these estimated parameters pertaining to sufficient number of groups would be meaningful, reliable and useful for policy formulation.

References

The Hindu paper 1st May 2020,

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ySFt0jUabDaXpWrfmqXZTsHTy9mrkkvy/view

WHO Media Brief on COVID-19, https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---3-march-2020

The Economic Times March 25, 2020, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-will-be-under-complete-lockdown-starting-midnight-narendra-modi/articleshow/74796908.cms?from=mdr

The Authors:

2Indrakant Sulibhavi is Visiting Professor, Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Email: indrakant_s[at]yahoo.com

1Mahendran Arumugam is Assistant Professor in Economics, VIT Business School, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India Email: dr.a.mahendran[at]gmail.com, mahendran.arumugam[at]vit.ac.in

1Address for the correspondent:

Dr. Mahendran Arumugam

Assistant Professor in Economics, VIT Business School, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. Email: dr.a.mahendran[at]gmail.com, mahendran.arumugam[at]vit.ac.in
The paper starch market is expected to grow by USD 1,700.88 million during 2020-2024. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect the impact to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth.

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The global paper starch market will not see any major impact due to the spread of COVID-19. Consumers are neither expected to increase nor decrease their demand. However, the market outlook might change if the containment efforts go beyond Q2 2020.

Technavio's custom research reports offer detailed insights on the impact of COVID-19 at an industry level, a regional level, and subsequent supply chain operations. This customized report will also help clients keep up with new product launches in direct indirect COVID-19 related markets, upcoming vaccines and pipeline analysis, and significant developments in vendor operations and government regulations.

The education sector is one of the major end-users of the global paper market. Over recent years, the number of educational institutions and student enrolments in academic institutions has significantly increased worldwide. This can be attributed to the growing support for educational institutions and students through government initiatives and technological advancements and infrastructural development in the education sector. For instance, the budget for India's education sector was increased by nearly 12% during 2019-2020. With the new budget, the Indian government is expected to spend about USD 9.29 million on the development of infrastructure of institutions in various states across the country. This is expected to increase the number of educational institutions as well as student enrolments. Such rapid developments in the educational sector are expected to fuel the growth of the global paper starch market during the forecast period.

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As per Technavio, the booming e-commerce and packaging industry 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.

Paper Starch Market: Booming E-commerce and Packaging Industry

Factors such as the expansion of the middle-class population, the growth of organized retail, a rapid rise in exports, and the booming e-commerce industry are significantly contributing to the growth of the packaging industry. Besides, rapid internet penetration and the rising emergence of non-banking players in the payment industry have increased per-capita plastic consumption worldwide. The per capita packaging consumption is approximately 110 kg in the US, 65 kg in Europe, 45 kg in China, 30 kg in Brazil, and 10 kg in India per year. These factors are compelling paper companies to modify their packaging products in line with the demand from the e-commerce industry. Therefore, the growing e-commerce sector and the increasing demand for paper from the packaging industry is expected to positively impact the paper starch market during the forecast period.

"Emergence of various types of paper and the growing population of the emerging markets will further boost market growth during the forecast period", says a senior analyst at Technavio.

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This market research report segments the paper starch market by application (packaging paper and paperboard, printing and writing paper, and others) and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and MEA).

The APAC region led the paper starch market in 2019, followed by Europe, North America, South America, and MEA respectively. During the forecast period, APAC is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to the increased demand for recycled printing and writing paper in the region.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  The national government should reassess its strategies in battling COVID-19 and stop giving itself a pat on the back as cases continue to surge more than 100 days under quarantine, Vice President Leni Robredo said Friday.

Authorities were slow to act and have not caught up with the right policies to curb further coronavirus infections, with more than 33,000 confirmed cases in the Philippines and counting.

"Were headed in the right direction in the sense that finally we are prioritizing testing, if those are the numbers... Ang layo noong targets na sinet natin for ourselves [We are still far away from the targets we set for ourselves]. While were doing a lot of things, every now and then, we have to assess if okay pa ba tayo," Robredo told CNN Philippines' The Source.

Robredo noted that the country is far from maximizing its supposed 50,000 daily testing capacity as facilities are just processing about 15,000-16,000 samples per day. She also raised bottlenecks in the accreditation of hospitals and laboratories who want to run COVID-19 tests, as well as the delayed delivery of protective gear for health workers.

RELATED: Maraming marami: DOH admits weaknesses as it eyes improved COVID-19 reporting system, response

The government wants to test at least 1.5 percent of the population, or a little over a million Filipinos.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said that the Philippines was among the first in the region to lockdown the local epicenter of the outbreak. However, Robredo pointed out that the government was last to shut down international travel which could have prevented the entry of coronavirus carriers to Metro Manila, and eventually to the rest of the country.

Robredo also countered Roque's statement that people should be comforted with a declining death rate due to the disease, saying: "We should not be satisfied with that because one death is one too many."

At least 1,212 people have died in the country due to COVID-19, according to the Department of Health.

"We have to accept our failures para magawan natin ng paraan... If until now we keep on insisting that we are among the best in Asia, may problema nga tayo [then we have a problem]," she added.

RELATED: UP researchers forecast 40,000 COVID-19 cases by June 30

Compassion needed

Meanwhile, Robredo also called for a more humane handling of ordinary Filipinos caught violating quarantine rules.

She called out the way government is passing the blame to "pasaway" or hard-headed residents for the continued spike in coronavirus cases in the country particularly in Cebu City, saying mobility studies showed most people really stayed at home during quarantine.

"Okay naman sa aking hulihin [sila], pero dapat puso 'yung ginagamit. [It's okay to arrest them, but we should be guided by our hearts.] We have to be more compassionate," the Vice President said, recounting incidents where a former soldier was shot dead in a Quezon City checkpoint while another was allegedly mauled in Cavite. She explained some violators are only heading out to make a living as the lockdown rendered them jobless.

RELATED: NBI files murder charges vs. cop who shot Army veteran at checkpoint

Another issue is the apparent double standard in apprehending violators, wherein the poor and common folk are jailed for their actions while those in power  like Metro Manila police chief Debold Sinas for his mananita or birthday party during lockdown  walk free.

"What message are we sending to our people  na kapag nakakaangat ka, hindi mo kailangang magdusa ng ilang gabi sa kulungan pero kapag mahirap ka, kailangan mong pagdusahan iyong violation mo?," the official said, noting that people will cooperate with quarantine rules better if enforcement is fair and uniform.

[Translation: What message are we sending to our people  that if you are rich and powerful, you don't get to be jailed as a consequence of your actions but if you are poor, you have to pay for your violation?]

The process covering locally-stranded and overseas Filipinos who want to head home should also be crafted and communicated to the public properly, Robredo said.

The Office of the Vice President has been flooded with calls for help, which she thinks is out of "desperation" as these people  some of whom took shelter around the Manila airport and under the airport expressway  want to return to their provinces as soon as possible.

The government has been implementing its Hatid Probinsya and Balik Probinsya programs, which some local officials blame for the sudden increase in infections in provinces which were previously COVID-free.
New Delhi: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) under its national campaign titled Bhartiya Samaan-Hamara Abhimaan to boycott Chinese goods, has announced that it will boycott all products made in China for celebration of Diwali this year.

The announcement comes in the wake of the recent attack on Indian troops by the Chinese military. The traders' body also urged the traders to come together and use only India-made goods to celebrate Diwali.

The traders body added that the boycott of Chinese goods should be applicable to celebrate all other Indian festivals like Rakshabandhan and Janmastami.

CAIT national president BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal in a joint statement said that Chinese goods have made a deep penetration in the Indian markets and this needs to be stopped.

The traders body has also urged all the shopkeepers to sell only India made goods during festivals. It added that if the shopkeepers have any remaining buffer stocks, they should sell them by July 15.

CAIT has also urged the government to build a strong position against China and immediately cancel all the government contracts awarded to Chinese companies.
BOGOTA (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday said it was offering rewards of up to $10 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of two former leaders of Colombia's FARC rebel group.

Seuxis Hernandez and Luciano Marin, best known by their respective noms de guerre Jesus Santrich and Ivan Marquez, had originally supported the 2016 peace accord between Colombia's government and the Marxist-led Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). But both later rejected the deal.

The two "have a long history of involvement in drug trafficking activities, which resulted in their criminal indictments," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

The Colombian government, in a separate statement, said the capture of the men would contribute to the stability of the peace process.

Marquez, a FARC commander who was one of the negotiators of the peace accord, disappeared in 2018 after his nephew was arrested and bundled off to the United States.

Santrich had been set to serve in one of 10 congressional seats granted to former rebels under the deal. But he was indicted by the United States for drug trafficking that allegedly occurred in 2017, after the peace deal. The indictment sparked months of legal wrangling, including his arrest, before he too disappeared in mid-2019.

Both men reappeared in August 2019 in a video they said was filmed in the Amazon announcing a new offensive against the government.

The announcement was condemned at the time by President Ivan Duque's government, the United Nations and the FARC political party, whose leadership said the majority of former rebels remain committed to peace.

Implementation of the accord has been hampered by the murder of hundreds of former guerrillas and human rights activists. Delays in funding to create more economic opportunities for former combatants have also set back the peace process amid deep political polarization in the South American country.

(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Dan Grebler and Tom Brown)
Ukraine's government suggests engaging NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) to help handle the aftermath of recent floods in Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Zakarpattia, and Ternopil regions.

The ministry appealed to the partner states and the headquarters of international organizations, asking for help to overcome the consequences of the natural disaster, the ministry's press service told UNIAN.

Read alsoZelensky arrives in flood-hit Prykarpattia before his self-isolation expires

Separate appeals were sent to the EU and the North Atlantic Alliance.

"The Mission of Ukraine to the EU and the Mission of Ukraine to NATO have appealed to the EU institutions and Alliance structures to activate the EU civil emergency response mechanism and engage NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC)," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

The ministry counts on partners' support for the efforts of the government of Ukraine to protect the life and health of its citizens, critical infrastructure facilities, and reduce the negative impact of natural disasters on the economy.

As UNIAN reported earlier, heavy rainfalls in recent days caused serious flooding in Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Zakarpattia, and Ternopil regions. Three people in Ivano-Frankivsk region were killed as a result of the disaster.

About 300 villages and towns were flooded in four regions of Ukraine. Ivano-Frankivsk region, where more than 200 villages and towns were flooded, suffered most from the floods. Some 150 km of roads and 90 bridges were damaged in the region.

The Ukrainian government deployed 1,700 emergency workers and 470 pieces of equipment, including six helicopters, to deal with the immediate consequences.

The Cabinet of Ministers allocated UAH 672 million, or US$25 million, from the state reserve fund to overcome the aftermath of the flooding in the western regions of Ukraine.
Jodie Comer is fast-becoming one of the most recognizable actors around. Her big break in the States was on the BBC America show Killing Eve, where she stars as Villanelle alongside Sandra Ohs Eve. Her character is a psychopathic assassin who brings just as much drama and flair into her kills as she does into her wardrobe.

But Comer, of course, had to start somewhere, which included radio plays and BBC series. Comer wasnt always this well-known and received some unfair bias against her because of where she was from.

Jodie Comer at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 05, 2020 | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

RELATED: Jodie Comer Might Star in a New Film Adaptation of a Beloved 90s Film-Turned-Musical

Jodie Comer is a proud Liverpudlian who still lives there with her family

Despite the very believable Russian accent Comer uses most of the time as Villanelle, she is not from Russia. She was born and grew up in Liverpool in the U.K. and still lives there with her family. Shes currently quarantining with them as well during the COVID-19 shutdown. Comer didnt attend a big drama school, but rather a weekend school, which ultimately did help her break into acting.

On the Two Shot Podcast in 2018, Comer explained how she performed an impromptu monologue when she was kicked out of a larger group for a recital, and it got her noticed. From there, she went on to do BBC radio plays and signed with an agency. The rest is, of course, history.

And even though fans know all about Comers fabulous talent at adopting different accents to her own, before Killing Eve she faced some unfair judgment based on the fact that she was from Liverpool.

A director once told Comer she was surprised a Scouser could pull off a well-spoken role

In an interview with Glamour UK on June 25, Comer talked a lot about her newest role in BBCs Talking Heads and about her current success. When asked about a time she had to prove someone wrong, Comer brought up a time when she was 16.

The theater director revealed her Liverpool origins made them skeptical of her talents for a role. The part was a girl who was middle-class, RP, very well-spoken and from a very wealthy family. RP stands for Received Pronunciation which is the typical British accent.

I got there, it was obvious I mustve been the only Scouser and definitely girl from the Northwest of England, Comer said. It wasnt until I got the part that the director had told me that before I went in, she was like, Why have we brought her in for the audition because she had seen where I was from, and she didnt think I was capable.

Now, thats insulting in itself, but its not like Comer found out on her own or just guessed. The director of the production straight up told her. Comer was obviously taken aback.

When she told me, I was like, Wow, Comer said. Thats another thing I think is really interesting, because you just never know whats happening on the other side of that door. I was like, Wow, okay. Thats really interesting, that because I was from Liverpool, she didnt think I could do an RP accent.

RELATED: The Accent Jodie Comer Will Never Do as Villanelle on Killing Eve Is Too Close to Home for the Actress

Comer used to get asked a lot whether she could lose her Scouse accent

The interviewer brought up the classism of that train of thought, which Comer agreed with. She also recalled being in meetings where those in charge would ask her if she could lose her Scouse accent. Now, in hindsight, after three seasons of Killing Eve, that seems like an absurd question to ask her.

But I think it definitely is a classist thing, Comer said. I think its something that is ingrained in you without you even knowing, like Stephen Graham, I always talk about this imposter syndrome because of where youre from, you feel so lucky to be where youre at.

Comer then said that just because shes from Liverpool doesnt mean shes lucky to even be in a role.

Its like, Well, actually, no. You have as much right to be there as anybody else with any other kind of background, she said. But I think it is a subconscious thing.

She said that she never wants to feel like shes all settled into her job as an actor, and hopes to always get a thrill from it. She also said her family puts her in her place when needed, so the Liverpudlian is in good hands.

RELATED: Villanelles Relationship With Music Has Changed Throughout Killing Eve; What Does It Mean?
San Francisco will not move into the next phase of reopening Monday, Mayor London Breed announced, citing a rise of 103 new cases Thursday.

The next step was going to permit some higher-risk businesses to reopen, including hair salons, barbers, museums, zoos, tattoo parlors, massage establishments, nail salons, outdoor swimming and outdoor bars. The state granted San Francisco County a variance Thursday to reopen such businesses next week.

But today's abrupt announcement means those business owners will need to continue to wait until an undisclosed date in the future.

"COVID-19 cases are rising throughout CA," Breed stated in a tweet. "We're now seeing a rise in cases in SF too. Our numbers are still low but rising rapidly. As a result, we're temporarily delaying the re-openings that were scheduled for Monday. Yesterday we saw 103 cases. On June 15, when we first reopened outdoor dining and in-store retail, we had 20.

"At our current rate, the number could double rapidly. If that continues & we don't intervene, we'll be at such a high number that our only option would be to shut down. This is why it is important to follow protective health measures and utilize the tools we already have. Everyone needs to wear face coverings, maintain social distance, and practice good hygiene."

Lindsay Glaser, owner of Charles W. Thomas Salon in Presidio Heights, had sped up the reopening of her salon with the news earlier this week that her business was among the ones allowed to restart on June 29.

Glaser notified her client base of the earlier start date and even spent extra money to speed up the building of dividers between her shampoo stations, in order to get the salon ready  only to find out Friday that the reopening was delayed.

We prepared to open on July 13 and then [London Breed] said we can open Monday, said Glaser. So we opened our books and people were flocking to our schedule to fill it, and now we have to shut it back down. They shouldve just stuck to the date, instead of just running us around in a circle."

And we still dont have a [reopening] date now, she added.

Glaser understood the reasoning behind the delay, but at the same time, seven of her hairstylists were ready to be back and working and now they cant. She spent the early afternoon notifying clients that she will have to delay their appointments for the time being.

We cant live like this. This is our full-time income, this is our job, she said. Hairstylists have no job until we open  theres just no income. When does this end for us?

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Alyssa Pereira is an SFGate digital editor. Email: alyssa.pereira@sfgate.com | Twitter: @alyspereira


CORVALLIS, Ore. -- A recent study evaluating the effectiveness of Oregon's occupational health monitoring system concludes that the state needs to collect and share data about workplace dangers in a more timely, relevant fashion to allow for rapid intervention.

Occupational safety and health surveillance is a type of public health surveillance that collects data on work-related fatality, injury and illness and the presence of workplace hazards. In disseminating this data, occupational health agencies aim to help workplaces implement policies and procedures to keep workers safe.

"More timely, complete and sustainable surveillance is going to benefit Oregon workers," said study author Liu Yang, a recent Ph.D. graduate in Oregon State University's College of Public Health and Human Sciences. "The whole purpose for surveillance is to generate quality data that can be used for research and guiding practice. So if the system can provide more timely, complete data in a stable and systematic way, this is going to help improve work safety and health for Oregon workers."

One of the ways to accomplish this is to develop state-centric health indicators. When something like the COVID-19 pandemic arises, for example, focusing on more local and timely indicators would allow Oregon agencies to quickly provide safety guidance for industries throughout the state.

Yang's evaluation study, published this month in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, is a collaboration with the Oregon Occupational Public Health Program, which is currently funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to expand state-level surveillance.

The state occupational safety and health surveillance system is based on a national set of occupational health indicators covering work-related injuries, illnesses, and safety-related risk factors. This standardization allows states to report comparable data to national occupational health agencies.

But some of the sources of data have a much slower turnaround than others, so it's difficult to gather all the necessary information at the same time. In Oregon, this has resulted in a 2- to 3-year lag between when a workplace hazard or accident occurs, and when a new indicator is generated and disseminated. Oregon's 2015 health indicator report was not published until 2018.

For the study, Yang, co-author Laurel Kincl, an associate professor in Public Health at OSU, and researchers from the Oregon Health Authority collected data via onsite observations, interviews, focus groups and surveys among stakeholders, along with reviews of existing literature.

They found that Oregon's occupational safety and health surveillance system is easy to operate, regularly updated and flexible in adopting changes, and ranked as highly relevant to users. However, it is not timely; its funding source is not sustainable; and while the quality of data is good overall, there is room for improvement in its sensitivity and representativeness. Because of these shortcomings, most users ranked the system as "moderately" or "somewhat" useful.

To solve the timeliness issue, Yang said, Oregon should adopt state-specific occupational health indicators, using state agency data that can be compiled more quickly. In addition to disseminating safety information to workplaces faster, state-level indicators would produce data that better reflects specific local needs.

State surveillance leaders are already moving in this direction, and have started using emergency department visits and other real-time clinical health sources to track occupational health incidents.

While other types of public health surveillance, such as infectious disease monitoring, are funded as ongoing practice-oriented systems, occupational safety and health surveillance is paid for based on research projects. Program leadership has to come up with new research projects to secure money every five years, which leaves the surveillance system on unstable footing.

Surveillance is more important than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, as public health agencies need more time-sensitive methods for gathering data on viral outbreaks in workplaces across the state, Yang said. She hopes Oregon will continue to evaluate its surveillance system on a more regular basis going forward.

"Without evaluation, without taking a step back to reflect, you just keep doing things but you don't know whether you're doing right or wrong," she said.

###
A former gubernatorial aspirant in the just concluded primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Kenneth Imasuagbon, has stated he stepped down in the interest of his party and democracy.

Mr Imasuagbon stated this on Friday in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES.

Popularly known as rice mill in Edo State, the former aspirant stepped down for the incumbent governor, Godwin Obaseki, who recently joined the party from the ruling APC.

He was initially in the race with three other aspirants who all stepped down for the governor, leaving him unopposed.

The two other aspirants were Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama and Gideon Ikhine. Mr Imasuagbon was the last to step down at the venue of the primary election.

Obaseki has done well

Speaking further on his reasons for stepping down for the governor, Mr Imasuagbon said Mr Obaseki deserves another term in office because of the giant strides he has attained.

He said he did this despite the distraction posed by a godfather in the state.

He denied allegations that he was paid to step down, stating that he is priceless.

He added that by fighting within the PDP, democracy wont to be strengthened and have deep roots in the country and Edo State.

READ ALSO:

Mr Obaseki formally joined the PDP a week ago at the party secretariat in Benin City.

He was disqualified by his former party, APC, from seeking re-election allegedly for submitting questionable certificates.

The Edo governor later announced his resignation from the APC.

The former APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, whom Mr Obaseki blames for his travails, was sacked from office, following the decision of the APC NEC on Thursday.

Now, Mr Obasekis main challenger for the September 17 governorship election is Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC.

Both candidates are not new to each other and have only switched parties. In 2016, Mr Ize-Iyamu was the PDP candidate who lost to then-candidate of the APC, Mr Obaseki.
Texas, for example, allowed insurers to charge women higher premiums than men (a practice that was outlawed or restricted in 12 other states, mostly Northeastern ones). Individual market insurers could deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. The average individual market plan around that time came with a $222 monthly premium. The plan was not required to cover expensive benefits such as childbirth or prescription drugs.

Texas did run a high-risk pool, established in the late 1990s, in which those denied in the individual market could seek coverage. But patients seeking coverage would face a one-year waiting period to sign up and premiums twice as high as those in the general insurance market. The Duke Health Justice Clinic estimates the plan had only 24,972 enrollees as of 2011, a small share of the 4.5 million Texas residents with pre-existing conditions.

Since the start of the Affordable Care Acts marketplaces in 2014, Texas uninsured rate has fallen about five percentage points. The number of insured Texans has increased by about one million people, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Coverage gains were largest among people of middle income, older people and racial minorities. The insured rate for Hispanic Texans increased by 10.9 percentage points between 2013 and 2016, according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health. Over that same period, coverage increased 12.1 percentage points for Texans between 50 and 64 years old, and 10.2 percentage points for those describing their health as fair or poor.

Most Texans gaining coverage have done so through the health laws insurance marketplaces. The premiums in Texas have tended to be lower than those elsewhere in the country, but there have been some big increases in recent years. The monthly price of a midlevel individual market plan has increased to $462 this year, up from $359 in 2017.

The prices are significantly higher than those that existed before Obamacare and, nationally, expensive premiums have long been a pain point for the Affordable Care Act. But the plans that exist now offer a wider set of benefits and cannot limit annual or lifetime benefits. Thats a key trade-off that Obamacares architects felt was worth making: a requirement that insurers cover a wide range of medical conditions, even if that meant plans became more expensive.

Its not totally clear that Texans who buy their own coverage are actually paying more, either. In Texas, 91 percent of Obamacare enrollees receive federal subsidies that lower the cost of their monthly premiums, and 59 percent get financial help that reduces their deductibles and co-payments.
Many people suspect they've been infected with COVID-19 by now, despite the fact that only 0.5% of the UK's population has actually been diagnosed with it. Similar numbers have been reported in other countries. Exactly how many people have actually had it, however, is unclear. There is also uncertainty around what proportion of people who get COVID-19 die as a result, though many models assume it is around 1%.

We believe there has been over-confidence in the reporting of infection prevalence and fatality rate statistics when it comes to COVID-19. Such statistics fail to take account of uncertainties in the data and explanations for these. In our new paper, which has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in the Journal of Risk Research, we developed a computer model that took these uncertainties into account when estimating COVID-19 fatality rates. And we see a very different picture.

Our model, called a Bayesian Network, allows us to combine multiple data sources and assess how sensitive the infection prevalence and fatality rates are to two dominating sources of uncertainty.

One is the accuracy of serological (antibody) testing, which is crucially dependant on our ability to accurately measure whether an individual has antibodies. We account for factors such as false positives or negative rates for manufacturer test kits.

We also take account of the reliability of fatality data. This is important because the fatality rate, the probability of death for a COVID-19 infected patient, is defined as the death count divided by the number of infected people in the community. If either of these variables is uncertain, any policy decisions based on the resulting fatality rate will themselves be unreliable, or potentially dangerous.

Both of these factors are much more uncertain than is being reported. When we account for them in our model, we discovered high community infection rates in many regions across the world. For Kobe, Japan, our model suggested that over 800 times more people have had COVID-19 than has been reported. For England and Wales, this figure is 28 times more.

As for the fatality rate, the team from Imperial College in the UK, which is advising the UK government, has previously estimated this number to be 1%. But this is uncertain. The team states that its model "relies on fixed estimates of some epidemiological parameters such as the infection fatality rate," while also acknowledging that "amidst the ongoing pandemic, we rely on death data that is incomplete, with systematic biases in reporting, and subject to future consolidation."

When we adjusted for these uncertainties, we discovered that the fatality rate estimates are most likely to be in the range 0.3%-0.5% for the countries/regions we considered.

Although not covered in our study, we also applied our model to New York City data. Here the "actual" NYC fatality count is stated as 23,430, with an estimated fatality rate of 1.4%. But, when the data is input into our model, the estimate for the fatality rate can be adjusted down to range between 0.6% to 1.3%  potentially half of the official figure.

Uncertainties in death numbers

So how could we account for these uncertainties? Each country calculates deaths differentlywhich is a problem to begin with. And, in many countries, the "actual" fatality count is estimated by adding confirmed deaths, where COVID-19 appears on the death certificate alongside a positive COVID-19 test result, deaths where COVID-19 is on the death certificate but where no test took place, and a statistical estimate of "excess deaths" (how many more deaths it is believed there were than normal).

For example, in New York City the "actual" fatality count is the sum of confirmed 13,156 deaths, where COVID-19 appears on the death certificate alongside a positive COVID-19 test result, 5,126 deaths where COVID-19 is on the death certificate but where no test took place and 5,148 excess deaths. But we don't actually know whether some of these people died "of" or "with" COVID-19. Many of these deaths are labeled "actual" when they are actually highly uncertain.

What's more, excess deaths are often calculated by comparing against the preceding five years, excluding years with "bad" influenza seasonswhich is a problem. Also, COVID-19 may be accelerating deaths that were imminent. And if the effects of lockdown are preventing people with serious conditions such as strokes and heart attacks from accessing healthcare and dying as a result, there is a risk that including them as "excess deaths" due to COVID-19 has contributed to serious overestimation.

Herd immunity?

This sort of research is worth considering when debating if we are close to herd immunity, or whether a "second wave" of the virus is likely. Taking Sweden as an example, antibody studies show COVID-19 was much more prevalent, at 7% a few weeks ago, than confirmed cases suggested at that time. However, this is still far from the 65% assumed to guarantee herd immunity. If Sweden has not reached herd immunity and not mandated lockdown, why are their death numbers not increasing?

One controversial explanation that we didn't account for in our study is the existence of "antibody dark matter" that does not show up in antibody testing but nevertheless offers some protection against the virus.

The immune system involves two types of white blood cell: T cells and B cells. But only B cells produce antibodies. Studies show immunity might more rapidly develop from previous infections "similar" to COVID-19, such as SARS-v1, via immunity "T-cells" rather than the B-cells. This means many people may have had coronavirus but not developed antibodiesleading to an underestimation of the number of infections, including in our model.

So while one recent study claimed that about 10% of the population of England and Wales may in fact have been infected, the real number could in fact be even higher.

Clearly, we cannot fully trust statistics on death and infection rates before we get more accurate data and include it into a model such as ours.

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

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the daily CCP virus briefing at the White House in Washington, on April 19, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Pence Says Open Our Economy Up But Do It Safely

Vice President Mike Pence said at a briefing Friday that the Trump administration seeks to press ahead with reopening the country from pandemic-driven lockdowns but intends to do so safely as parts of the country experience a COVID-19 surge.

The count of new confirmed infections, provided by Johns Hopkins University, surged to an all-time high of 40,000 on Friday, eclipsing the previous high of 36,400, set on April 24, during one of the deadliest stretches in the crisis.

Amid the surge, the White House coronavirus task force, led by Pence, held its first briefing in nearly two months.

As we stand here today, all 50 states and the territories across this country are opening up safely and responsibly, but with cases rising, particularly over the past week throughout the South, President Trump directed our task force to brief the American people on several issues relating to the outbreak, Pence said.

He said that the United States is in a much better place than it was two months ago, noting the country has more medical supplies on hand now, a smaller share of patients are being hospitalized, and deaths are much lower than they were in the spring.

Deaths from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus in the United States are down to around 600 per day, compared with about 2,200 in mid-April. The virus is blamed for 124,000 deaths in the United States and 2.4 million confirmed infections nationwide, by Johns Hopkins count.

Pence said the administrations primary mission in the pandemic response is to save lives, adding that mitigation efforts have had the effect of flattening the curve.

Once we came out of the 45 days to slow the spread, what our task force has been focused on over the course of the past two months is to partner with states to save lives and safely reopen, Pence said.

He discussed the return of jobs that came with reopening.

Were seeing America go back to work, and in much of the country were seeing jobs expanding, economic activity expanding, Pence said.

We want to open our economy up. We want to move America forward, Pence said, adding that officials would take steps to protect American lives.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, urged young Americans who have recently tested positive for the virus to follow safety guidelines and be part of the solution not part of the problem.

You have an individual responsibility to yourself, but you have a societal responsibility.  We can either be part of the solution or part of the problem. [T]he only way were going to end it is by ending it together, he said.

Likely the people out in crowds, enjoying themselvesno blame thereunderstandably, Fauci said. But when you do that, you are part of a process. When you get infected, you will infect someone else who will infect someone else and ultimately you will infect someone who is vulnerable.

A risk for you is not just isolated for you, Fauci warned young people Friday. You are innocently and inadvertently propagating the process of a pandemic.

Pences and Faucis comments come after Texas reported more than 17,000 confirmed new cases in the past three days, with a record high of nearly 6,000 on Thursday. In Florida, the number of confirmed cases neared 9,000, almost doubling the previous record, set just two days earlier.

Texas and Florida have both scaled back their plans for reopening, closing bars.
Traffic stops are how most citizens encounter the police, so over the past 20 years Texas law enforcement reform advocates have pushed for information to analyze a basic measure of the fairness of their work: whether officers treat black and white motorists differently during traffic stops. 

Researchers say the information to do that isnt complicated. A department needs report why each traffic stop was made, whether the driver was searched and what if anything was found - separated out by the race of the driver. The most recent update to the effort, 2017s Sandra Bland Act, was supposed to do exactly that.

But the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, the agency in charge of collecting the information, left out one part  the drivers race.

Its too bad we lost out on the racial part of the racial profiling bill, said Scott Henson, director of Just Liberty and a longtime Texas criminal justice analyst.

The result: After two decades and three separate laws, efforts to identify which of the states nearly 2,000 law enforcement agencies have glaring racial disparities in their policing have largely failed, yielding only a patchwork of numbers with widely varying degrees of usefulness.

Experts say the statewide information gathered by TCOLE provides little utility to researchers, elected officials and the public.

Thats like a crime against public records requests, said Frank Baumgartner, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina and author of numerous racial profiling studies.

How well agencies track and analyze their policing practices by race is much more than a matter of good public record-keeping. The death of George Floyd after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes has prompted yet another national soul-search into the question of how and why law enforcement agencies continue to treat minorities differently than whites.

Studies across the country have shown that police stop, search, arrest, use force on and kill black people in numbers disproportionate to their population representation. Police say numbers alone dont tell the whole story, and often there are sound law enforcement explanations behind what appear to be biased behavior. Officers may be directed to more aggressively patrol high-crime areas where minorities live in greater concentration, for example.

Researchers also agree aggregate numbers showing unbalanced treatment by race in a department dont necessarily prove bias. Yet at the very least, they say, identifying which agencies seem to be unfairly targeting minority motorists is a crucial starting point.

Changes depend on somebody shining a clear light on the patterns in a way that helps the broader public to understand the patterns and their significance, said Charles Epp, a professor at the University of Kansas School of Public Affairs and Administration and author of Pulled Over: How Police Stops Define Race and Citizenship.

Texas, however, seems almost intent on not allowing an examination of that question.

What happens after the stop

Houstons population is less than a quarter African American. Yet more than a third of the traffic stops police made last year were of black drivers.

That may seem like clear evidence of racial profiling  policing based on the assumption certain races are more likely to be criminals. Yet police say  and researchers agree  that simply comparing the two percentages is not a good measure of whether a department disproportionately targets minorities during traffic stops.

Typically, more than half of cars pulled over by police departments are out-of-towners, making comparisons with the local population meaningless. Officers also say they seldom know the race of the driver before a stop. In 2018, the first year Texas police departments were required to report the information, most agencies said officers were aware of drivers skin color prior to pulling them over less than 10 percent of the time.

Studies have raised questions about their truthfulness. In May, Stanford University researchers found the number of black motorists police stopped dropped after daylight  when a veil of darkness masks ones race, suggesting bias in stop decisions.

Jon Shapley, Staff photographer / Staff photographer

The study observed the pattern at the Texas Department of Public Safety, whose officers last year reported knowing the race of drivers in only 2 percent of their stops. In a written response, the agency said it took profiling seriously and pointed to an audit by researchers at the University of North Texas concluding the department did not profile drivers by race.

Even if they dont report seeing a drivers skin color, however, police can anticipate it, Baumgartner said. We live in segregated cities, he said. So police can sit on the black side of town and pull everyone over, and not go at all to the white side of town.

Houston NAACP President James Douglas said police concentrated their patrols in Fifth Ward, Third Ward, Sunnyside  places heavily populated by African Americans. If you spend most of your time in areas populated by African Americans, it stands to reason you will arrest them more frequently.

So many researchers have concluded the best way to test racial bias is to examine what occurs after a stop, when police have no doubt of a drivers race. Clear differences in how people are treated on the side of the road could signal bias.

How many of those traffic stops turn into a ticket? Houston Councilmember Letitia Plummer asked. And then how many of those turn into a more serious issue? How many of those stops end up putting people in the criminal justice system?

Baumgartner said the most reliable test is a comparison of how motorists are searched, a decision often left up to officer discretion. Last year in Paris, northeast of Dallas, black motorists were searched at double the rate of whites. In Houston and Travis County, outside of Austin, sheriffs deputies searched blacks at about 2 times the rate of white motorists.

The disparities mirror a 2005 study, which found two-thirds of Texas police departments searched blacks and Hispanics at higher rates than white drivers. Texas isnt alone. Baumgartners research found departments nationwide almost uniformly search minorities at higher rates. In Nebraska, which has collected comprehensive statewide data for nearly 20 years, the reports consistently show blacks and Hispanics both stopped and searched more often than whites.

Police and their supporters have argued no useful conclusion can be drawn without knowing what the searches uncover. Even when black drivers are searched at a higher rate than whites, if police discover contraband at the same rate on all the searches it demonstrates solid police work, not bias.

Jon Shapley, Staff photographer / Staff photographer

As a result, analyzing search hit rates by race  comparing what the searches turn up  has become the meat and potatoes of the evaluation, said Alex del Carmen, a criminal justice professor at Tarleton State University who trains police how to comply with Texas law.

The Sandra Bland Act was intended to provide this final piece of missing information. Bland, a 28-year-old African-American woman, was stopped in 2015 by a Department of Public Safety trooper for failing to signal. The stop, captured on the troopers dash camera and Blands cell phone, escalated into a verbal, then physical confrontation. Bland committed suicide at the Waller County jail.

Among other changes aimed at keeping police more accountable, the new law was intended to compel departments to report on what their officers found when they stopped and searched motorists, said Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston), who sponsored it. While some Texas departments had done it on their own, many did not.

Criminal justice reform advocates celebrated.

Starting next year, well find out how often these consent searches are productive and whether the results are racially disproportional, Henson wrote at the time.

No race data from searches

But in the time between when the Sandra Bland Act passed and went into effect, TCOLE determined not to ask police departments to separate the search and contraband information by race  the key to any analysis.

I wish I knew what happened, said Dwight Steward, an Austin economist and researcher who has studied racial profiling in Texas police departments. What the commission produced, he said, is useless for measuring search disparities by race  and thus for identifying departments whose patterns suggest profiling.

Coleman said he, too, was baffled. I dont know why they didnt do it the way we wanted it done, he said. We were pretty clear. [TCOLE] should have known exactly what we meant.

Gretchen Grigsby, in TCOLEs Office of Government Relations, said the law enforcement commission did its best to interpret the intent of the Sandra Bland Act based on the information we had at the time.

We are certainly willing to work with the Legislature on any changes that need to be made to the report, she added.

Until then, many Texas police departments will continue to escape a meaningful analysis of their work as envisioned by the law. The states reporting requirements yield only hints of behavior in need of further examination.

Jon Shapley, Staff photographer / Staff photographer

In Tyler, nearly a third of all vehicle searches are discretionary  a high number, said Epp, the Kansas researcher. Yet who is searched, and what is found by race is unavailable. A spokesman for the department said its only racial profiling analysis was what TCOLE requested.

In 2018 in Brooks County, between Laredo and Corpus Christi, four out of five motorist searches conducted by sheriffs deputies were discretionary  yet fewer than 10 percent of the searches yielded any contraband, according to its TCOLE report. How that divides up among different races, however, is not required information. Sheriff Urbino Martinez did not respond to a request for comment.

Former Department of Public Safety commander Patrick OBurke helped oversee reforms after the 1999 Tulia scandal, when police in the Panhandle town arrested dozens of black residents based on a single informant later shown to be lying. Detailed traffic stop profiling data could have been very helpful, but it didnt ever achieve its full potential, he said. Instead, Its just a perfunctory exercise.

Other racial profiling components of the Sandra Bland Act also have had little impact. While the new law requires departments to make it easy to file a racial profiling complaint, departments differ in their approach. A review of reports that publish complaint information shows a tiny number with scant detail.

A Caucasian officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle with a Hispanic driver and Native American passenger due to the vehicles expired registration, according to the Plano Police Departments 2019 report. The officer greeted the two individuals and when the driver asked how the officer was doing he stated, good, as long as you dont call your friends to come shoot us up.

If two white women were in the car instead he might not have made that comment, the complaint said. The officer was cleared of racial bias.

There is no single place to analyze racial profiling complaints, but a review of individual department reports yielded none that was upheld; advocates and legal aid organizations said they were unaware of any sustained traffic stop racial profiling complaint in Texas.

Disparity, or bias?

Experts say even when armed with the best data demonstrating a police department conclusively treats minority drivers differently, proving bias is a challenge. A departments numbers may be skewed by the behavior of a few officers.

It is not difficult to measure whether there is disparity between racial/ethnic groups in stops made by police, said Don Arp, executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement, which collects and analyzes state data. The difficulty comes in identifying the causes for the disparity and whether or not it is based on race. Over the past decade, no Nebraska racial profiling allegation has been upheld, according to the reports.

Still, Matt Simpson of ACLU of Texas said comprehensive numbers at least offer a starting point for deeper examination of a local departments policing. People think this is going to be used for litigation, he said. But were really talking about adjusting policies and training.

Jon Shapley, Staff photographer / Staff photographer

Grigsby, the TCOLE spokeswoman, said it wasnt the agencys role to analyze or act on the profiling data it collected. Thats left to local elected officials, whose interest varies widely.

In Austin, the Office of Police Oversight last year asked the police to perform a deeper analysis than required by the state. It showed clear racial disparities across stops, searches and arrests  none of it a surprise to the citys minority residents, said Director Farah Muscadin. They said, Youre telling us what we experience.

Following the report, the oversight office invited citizens and police to meet. It later presented a dozen recommendations to the city manager, starting with an acknowledgment that racial disparity exists and is worsening and that previous methods of measuring the gaps were inadequate. It proposed statistical benchmarks to eventually close the stop and search disparities.

The report they had been doing was only what the state required, Muscadin said. We needed to ask for more to really look at what the data said.

eric.dexheimer@chron.com

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com

st.john.smith@chron.com
The families of South Koreans abducted by North Korea during the Korean War filed a lawsuit on Thursday against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The families are seeking W342 million in compensation for physical and psychological damage suffered by both the victims and their descendants (US$1=W1,205).

The lawsuit was filed by 13 people at the Seoul Central District Court.

A lawyer representing the plaintiffs said, "Abductions in wartime violate the Geneva Convention, which prohibits forced detention. The government has done nothing during the last 70 years to solve this problem, so we decided to file a lawsuit."


Katie Adams and Emily Fletcher, both neuroscience majors at Dartmouth College, were in the last term of their final year, in 2013, before they met.

Ms. Adams noticed Ms. Fletcher (left), both now 29, because the latter was perpetually late to a class they had together, and so had to sit in the back with the teaching assistants.

I really liked her hair, Ms. Adams said. Really nice curly hair, good ringlets.

Ms. Adams was a four-year varsity athlete and was a catcher on the schools softball team. Ms. Fletcher worked on the school newspaper and served as editor in chief in 2012. Their friendship groups did not intersect.

One of Ms. Fletchers columns, not quite published, figured prominently in their first romantic encounter.
The custodial deaths of two traders, Jayaraj P and his son J Benicks, have led to outrage Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin. A day after reports of the violent torture and death of two shopkeepers at the hands of Tamil Nadu Police, residents of the state as well as others on social media have been seeking action against the cops responsible for the deaths.

On Monday, police officers picked up P Jayaraj, who ran a mobile phone repair shop with his son Benicks as the store was open beyond coronavirus lockdown curfew. When his son, who is also being named as Benix or Fenix by several media reports, reached the police

Those in the know said police had assaulted both of them at the police station. Eyewitnesses also claim that the cops inserted metal objects into one of the victims' rectum.

The victims died in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday at the hospital after spending a brief period at the jail post being remanded to judicial custody.

After the Indian National Congress' twitter handle made public the caste names of the victims, the issue is also being seen from the perspective of a caste-based atrocity.

READ: '...We Pleaded With Them to Stop': Father, Son Die After Alleged Torture by TN Police in Custody

Many took to social media to speak up against the custodial killing and demanded strict action against the perpetrators of the brutality under the hashtag #JusticeFoeJayrajAnFenix. Some even called for those responsible to be hanged. Many shared images and artworks depicting the father-son duo and called out the misuse of power by the police.

TV anchor Sumantj Raman asked, "Why haven't the erring policemen been arrested yet?" Several others expressed their outrage against the police and government's inaction against the perpetrators.

Social activist and founder of the people's movement 'Arappor Iyakkam' Jayaram Venkatesan asked, "People say there are good cops and bad cops. What is the use of good cops if they don't stand by the victims and ensure justice for victims. Why are good cops not seeking the arrest of the killer police?"

Why haven't the erring policemen been arrested as yet? Tamil Nadu Police is one of the finest in the country but the rotten apples in its midst need to be removed. #JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix  Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) June 26, 2020

Ppl say there r good cops and bad cops. What is the use of good cops if they dont stand by the victims nd ensure justice for victims. Y are good cops not seeking arrest of the killer police? What r they fearing for? Whats d use if they dont speak now? #JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix  Jayaram Venkatesan (@JayaramArappor) June 26, 2020

India is probably the one country where police brutality during lockdown were shared as funny forwards on WhatsApp. Police in this country get away with bare terrorism with next to no consequences. They're quite literally untouchable #JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix  Ash (@Pewiwannadiepie) June 26, 2020

YOU CAN'T RAPE AND KILL SOMEONE FOR KEEPING THEIR SHOP OPEN A LITTLE PAST CURFEW. NO BODY DESERVES THIS KIND OF GRUESOME DEATH. STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND SPREAD AWARENESS, SIGN PETITIONS, AND REMEMBER THAT ALL COPS ARE BAD.#JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix#ACAB petition in thread.  AJ  // Geminist (@crackanksha) June 26, 2020

It is just barbaric wherein the very people who have sworn to protect the society and citizens, are found guilty of such a dark event. NOT ACCEPTABLE#JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix PLEASE SHARE THIS, yes it does make a difference. pic.twitter.com/aDaAzaOJ4l  Varun Narang (@narangV10) June 26, 2020

ACAB. This was cruelty and the acts of the TN government machinery reeks of indignity towards the victim and their families. The police, magistrate and the doctor who gave the fitness certificate must be all bought to justice.#JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix  shash (@smdsanghi) June 26, 2020

Police brutality is not just isolated incidents perpetrated by few bad apples, but a systemic rot fuelled by unchecked power and a glaring lack of accountability. So please file your 'Not all cops' along with 'Not all men' and say All Cops Are Bastards #JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix  Tablighi Jagannath (@bigdeekenergyy) June 26, 2020

What happened today to Jayaraj and Fenix can happen to any of us. What we need is not just justice for them. We need social and police reforms. So that a citizen in our country respects police not afraid of them. #JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix  Madan Gowri (@madan3) June 26, 2020

Unable to digest this at all!So inhuman and cruel! #JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix pic.twitter.com/KuYoyW12Z0  Satish (@ImSatishD) June 26, 2020

Pity for the guilty is treason to the innocent! #JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix pic.twitter.com/qzCLOp4PXc  Karthik (@Karthik64229556) June 26, 2020

I can change YOU can change HE can change SHE can change WE can change Let us all be the change to bring the justice to the lost souls. #JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix pic.twitter.com/N0WGQ14Jn0  Prakash (@Hereprak) June 26, 2020

Many even compared the killings to that of George Floyd in the US in May that sparked worldwide outrage and protests against racism and police brutality. Twitter users came forth to call out to Indians on the platform to tweet and raise awareness about the incident, much like they did for the 'Black Lives Matter' movement.

the term 'police brutality' doesn't even begin to encompass the torture inflicted on those two helpless men. please contribute the same energy you've directed towards BLM. ACAB, regardless of race or country.#JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix  maud gone (@fitzzherald) June 26, 2020

TW: gruesome violence please talk about this and raise awareness as much as you did for blm. stand up for the people from your own country too. hearing this is completely devastating and it breaks my heart tbh.#JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix pic.twitter.com/BAKCxED5of  #JusticeforJayarajAndFenix (@okthenksbye) June 26, 2020

IF YOU THINK TWEETING AND RETWEETING WON'T HELP THEN YOU ARE SIMPLY IGNORANT BECAUSE IT WILL HELP TO RAISE AWARENESS JUST LIKE IT DID FOR #GeorgeFloyd AND PUSH FOR JUSTICE.#JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix pic.twitter.com/hAhrwjinWp  Prisha Saha (@yoflamocard) June 26, 2020

if Bollywood doesn't speak up about this custodial death, then just know that the support they showed for George Floyd was performative at best and they don't give a shit about humanity. call them out for selectively using their platform.#JusticeForJeyarajAndFenix#ACAB  AJ  // Geminist (@crackanksha) June 26, 2020

Meanwhile, Madras High Court which took suo moto cognizance of the incident was informed that a high-level committee would soon form comprehensive guidelines to be followed by cops while implementing lockdown rules, Times of India reported.

In response the court reportedly said that the Tamilnadu Police should come up with solutions like Yoga and counseling sessions to alleviate the stress of police officers in time of COVID-19.
The commercial Taxes department in Karnataka has unearthed 60 goods and services tax (GST) registrations linked to a Chinese national from Wuhan and seized Chinese goods worth Rs 4 crore from an undeclared warehouse in Bengaluru during a raid.

A total of 25,446 Chinese made electronic and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) were seized from the warehouse on Old Airport Road during the recent raids, a department press release said.

The man had obtained the premises on lease, and over 60 registrations had been made, both under central and state jurisdictions of the GST Act, in the name of a number of persons for online trading of Chinese made goods.

Most of the registrations were found irregular in filing of returns and payment of tax and a majority of firms either filed nil returns or did not file returns, the release said.

The registration data showed that one business was registered in 2017-18, 43 in 2018-19, 14 in 2019-20 and two in 2020-21, the department said.

Most of the 60 firms were private limited companies and 24 persons were interchangeably directors in 58 firms.

During the raid, neither the Chinese national nor any of the other 59 registered taxable persons were available at the premises and none came forward to participate in the proceedings in spite of sufficient time being provided, the department said.

"It is learnt that the Chinese national is operating the business from Wuhan City since January 2020 with the assistance of some of his agents or employees in Bengaluru. It is also learnt that multiple registrations are being taken for better rating on E-commerce platforms," Commissioner of Commercial Taxes M S Srikar said in the release.

The warehouse has been sealed and an investigation initiated to ascertain the genuineness of the existence of all 59 registered persons, their transaction and tax compliance, he said.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 25, 2020 | 12:11 PM | FLORIDA





Trends show travelers are eager, but cautious to take summer vacations.AAA forecasts that this summer Americans will take 700 million trips based on economic indicators and state re-openings. That number is down nearly 15% compared to last July through September, and is the first decline in summer travel since 2009.AAA booking trends show that as Americans return to making travel plans, they are doing so cautiously and more spur-of-the-moment."Americans have spent the last few months dreaming about their summer vacations, Bevi Powell, the senior vice president of AAA East Central, said. There have been some changes in booking trends this year. Travelers are booking long-weekend getaways and impromptu trips, with many loading their cars and heading to their favorite sunny destination or national park."Car trips reign supreme accounting for 97% of the favored mode of transportation, and are expected to see the smallest decrease in travel volume (3% year-over-year). Air travel is expected to decrease by about 74%, while rail, cruise ship and bus travel will slide by 86%.AAA travel experts are seeing positive trends in travel, noting that hotel and rental car bookings have been gradually increasing since April. Also, the share of travelers making plans 48 hours to 7 days before departure  a sign that people are arranging last-minute trips  is significantly higher than normal.Travel restrictions have been lifted but social distancing is still recommended; 97% of summer trips this year have been road trips. Thats up from an average of 87% over the last five years.Prominent cities that typically draw large crowds haven't been as popular. Orlando, FL has dropped from the top searched city destination to number eight, while Denver, CO makes the biggest climb from number 10 to number one. The data is based on TripTik.AAA.com searches from March 15 - June 15.AAA Travel data shows that when top destinations, including Las Vegas, Orlando and New York City, were shut-down earlier in the year, bookings shifted to smaller destinations. As those top destinations begin to open, they are once again the top hotel destinations.Advance bookings in general are nearly 25% shorter than this time last year. Las Vegas, Orlando, San Diego and New York City are the top 10 most popular hotel destinations since mid-March based on AAA Travel bookings.No matter how a traveler gets to their final destination, AAA recommends checking the CDCs Covid-19 data tracker, municipal and state health departments, and local news for updates on coronavirus cases.Travelers can click the link below to see AAAs COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Map for the latest state and local travel restrictions.

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Wales centre Nick Tompkins will play for Pro14 side Dragons on loan from Saracens for the 2020/21 season, it was announced on Friday. The 25-year-old signed a new contract with the European champions in December and said his long-term future remained with Saracens. But the Premiership title-holders will be playing in the second tier of English rugby union next season after being relegated for salary cap breaches. Dean Ryan, the Newport-based Dragons director of rugby, said: "We're delighted to be able to welcome a player of Nick's calibre to the region. "He has enjoyed success in a Saracens shirt and he brings that winning mentality and attitude, as well as enjoying a fresh environment and competition in which to challenge himself." Tompkins scored on his Wales debut against Italy earlier this year and featured in all four 2020 Six Nations games before the last round was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. He has won four English Premiership titles and three European Champions Cup titles with Saracens, for whom he has played 118 times. "I love this place, it's my home," Tompkins said in a Saracens statement. "I wanted to sign my future here and make sure I can be here long-term." But he is eager for his new challenge with the Dragons. "The region is clearly making great progress under the guidance of Dean Ryan and I am really excited about contributing to the cause," he said. Loan move - Wales centre Nick Tompkins will play for the Dragons next season
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 06:17:10|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The city council of Minneapolis, U.S. state Minnesota's largest city where black man George Floyd died in police custody last month, unanimously approved a proposal on Friday that would amend the city's charter to allow the city police department to be dismantled.

The passage in a 12-0 vote is the first step toward making the decision a ballot measure in the November general election, local media reported.

The proposal requires the head of the city police department would be somebody with "non-law-enforcement experience in community safety services, including but not limited to public health and/or restorative justice approaches," according to a The Hill report.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, has previously said he doesn't support dismantling the police, criticizing the proposal as lacking clarity and being rushed, said the report.

Floyd, aged 46, died on May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, held him down with a knee on his neck for almost nine minutes. His death has prompted weeks of protests and civil unrest in at least 140 cities across the United States since then.

Several cities across the country have banned chokeholds and reduced police department budgets this month as a result. Enditem
Clwyd South MP praises the excellent work of Penley Rainbow Centre in House of Commons

This article is old - Published: Friday, Jun 26th, 2020

The excellent work of a local community organisation has been praised in the House of Commons by the Member of Parliament for Clwyd South.

Simon Baynes MP highlighted the efforts of the Rainbow Centre in Penley at Health and Social Care Questions earlier this week.

He asked Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, whether he agreed that combating loneliness is vital to ensuring the health and wellbeing of elderly people, something Simon has seen first-hand in the work of the Penley Rainbow Centre.

Although the Rainbow Centre has been unable to open throughout lockdown, their volunteers have been able to make home visits and welfare calls as well as meals on wheels, and advice and support with mental health and well-being.

Mr Baynes also mentioned the charity he helped set up called Concertina  Music for the Elderly, which helps overcome loneliness by providing live music to care homes and day centres across England and Wales.

In response, Health and Social Care Secretary, Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, said: When we set up the Loneliness Strategy in 2018, when I was the Culture Secretary, I had no idea that something like COVID-19 would make it so vital.

COVID has underlined the importance of loneliness as an issue which we must directly and actively tackle.

Speaking later, Simon Baynes MP said: Ive been involved in combating loneliness among the elderly through Concertina  Music for the Elderly for over 25 years.

Music not only brings joy to people but is also one of the best ways to communicate, particularly with people suffering from dementia.

Last week, we marked Loneliness Week, which is a problem at the best of times for many elderly people but has been particularly acute during the Coronavirus crisis.

It shows just how important the work by organisations like the Penley Rainbow Centre is in making elderly and vulnerable residents feel part of our community at this difficult time.
The First and Deputy First Ministers have denied a row over a Troubles pension held up funding for free school meals.

Stormont ministers were supposed to sign off on plans for free school meals this week as part of the June monitoring round.

Instead, it was reported that the DUP and Sinn Fein stalled the process after failing to agree on funding to administer the Troubles compensation scheme.

Yesterday Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill said there was never any question free school meals would be paid for.

Mrs Foster said: "We're not saying there's not a difference of opinion in relation to the victims' pension payment, there clearly is.

"We have resolved some issues in relation to the monitoring round and will now continue to work on all the other outstanding issues."

Mrs O'Neill added: "I want to see a victims' payment scheme in place, we clearly have a difference in opinion between ourselves over what that should look like. We have a June monitoring process... some people will agree with some things, some people won't agree with some things, but this is just the cut and thrust of everyday work which we do in the Executive."

Yesterday the BBC reported that 2.5m in funding to administer the Troubles compensation scheme will be announced on Tuesday.

A Stormont spokesman said: "The Finance Minister will outline the June monitoring round allocations in the Assembly on Tuesday."

Meanwhile, the political wing of the terrorist UDA has said those injured while carrying out attacks during the Troubles cannot claim to be a victim and should not apply for a pension.

The pension scheme was due to open last month, but Stormont and the UK Government have yet to agree on who will foot the 100m-plus bill.

Sinn Fein argues that the eligibility guidelines discriminate against a large number of people who have any type of conviction.

The NIO and the DUP have accused Sinn Fein of blocking the payments by refusing to nominate Stormont's Department of Justice to oversee the scheme.

The UPRG outlined its position in a statement. It reiterated its "abject and true remorse" to "completely innocent victims" for their suffering.

It said the purpose of the scheme was to acknowledge those harmed or injured during the Troubles and to promote reconciliation.

And it highlighted that the guidelines did not preclude anyone from applying to the scheme.

It said: "The current furore around the scheme is one created by Sinn Fein who would seek to conflate and confuse people around the notion of what constitutes a victim.

"We are very clear about this. Anyone who planted a bomb, shot and attacked security services or members of the public, and who in that process of committing those acts were injured, cannot claim to be a victim."

The statement added that any further delay was an "outrageous and deeply offensive" attempt by Sinn Fein to rewrite history.

On Monday a campaigner for the pension died before the measure was introduced. Paddy Cassidy was in his late 70s and suffered life-long pain after being shot in the spine by the UVF close to his home in Belfast in September 1971.
HURON COUNTY -- The rivers of Huron County were the source of large lumbering operations throughout the Thumb long before being known for canoeing and kayaking.

According to Diane Ellicott of the Huron County Historical Society, most of the rivers in Huron County played a big role in the logging industry of the area before the fires of 1871 and 1881.

With the Pinnebog River stretching more than 39 miles and the Pigeon River covering 13 miles, the area was a perfect hub for lower Michigan's lumber industry.

Another important river of Huron County is New River. Sue Porsondek of the Port Austin Historical Society has been working on transcribing handwritten histories that had been donated, one of which was about New River by an unknown author.

These handwritten documents talk about the fire of 1881 and states that the New River Cemetery was the first thing in Huron County to have a legal deed made out.

The Thumb Fire of 1881 was fueled by lumbering debris and severe drought, left 15,000 people homeless, and tipped the Thumb toward agriculture and away from lumbering.

With Huron County switching gears toward agriculture, the rivers once used to move lumber transitioned to more recreational purposes.

It's hard to say what life would look like if the Thumb Fire of 1881 never initiated the progression of agriculture in the Thumb.

Today Huron County is a prime location for fishing, kayaking, and boating.
Vice President Mike Pence will campaign in Florida on a bus tour next week despite a surge in coronavirus cases as the state recorded an alarming 9,000 cases in a single day.

Pence will will deliver remarks at a 'Faith in America' event in Sarasota, the vice president's office announced Thursday.

Pence is keeping up the example set by President Trump, who held a campaign rally in Tulsa Saturday night and spoke at an Arizona megachurch Thursday, in a state that is also experiencing a coronavirus spike.

Florida voters are welcome  so long as they agree not to hold the campaign or the venue responsible. Florida does not have a statewide mask-wearing order.

Vice President Mike Pence heads to Florida, where he has a campaign event Thursday

A total of eight Trump campaign staffers tested positive for the coronavirus immediately before and following the Tulsa rally, leading those that worked there to go into two-week quarantines. Dozens of Secret Service agents also went into quarantine after agents who attended a planning meeting in advance tested positive for the virus.

Afterward, Pence will tour Oakley Transport Inc. in Lake Wales and give a speech. The company is a leader in the 'liquid, food grade transportation sector,' according to its web site.

Pence touted his trip to Florida during a meeting of the coronavirus task force Friday  though he didn't mention the campaign event.

'Ill be traveling to Florida on Thursday of next week to get a ground report' on the coronavirus, Pence said.

The event is set for the Sarasota Events Center next Thursday

Pence's trip comes despite a jump in Florida coronavirus cases

FILE - In this June 20, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla.

Pence says people should defer to state and local authorities on masks

FINE PRINT: Those signing up my sign a waiver asserting they 'understand and expressly acknowledge that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present'

As at Trump's Tulsa rally, attendees are being required to sign a coronavirus waiver when they apply for tickets.

Those seeking to see Pence also must sign it.

It states: 'By registering for this event, you understand and expressly acknowledge that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present.'

'In attending the event, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19, and waive, release, and discharge Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.; the Sarasota Event Center; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers from any and all liability under any theory, whether in negligence or otherwise, for any illness or injury,' it says.

Pence on Friday refused to call on Americans to wear masks, saying they should listen to state and local authorities. He also dismissed a question about whether the campaign was setting the wrong example by holding a large indoor rally or an indoor event with young people who mostly avoided masks.

'I want to remind you again that the freedom of speech and the right to peaceably assemble is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States,' Pence said.
Bill Oxford/iStockBy ALEXANDRA MYERS and KAITLYN FOLMER, ABC News



(WASHINGTON) -- In what could be another blow to government efforts to ramp up coronavirus testing, federal officials said they are now investigating a reportedly bungled effort to supply 4 million COVID-19 test kits to state health agencies.



We are aware of the issues raised by some states that received Fillakit products, a spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a statement. FEMA and its partners at the Department of Health and Human Services, to include the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are currently analyzing the quality of the [supplies] in question.



The potential problem centers on $10.12 million FEMA contract to a Texas company called Fillakit, LLC to manufacture and supply the tubes used to hold and transport coronavirus test samples. According to a report by Mother Jones and ProPublica, the tubes were not standard medical vials but plastic containers that are designed to be expanded to be used as soda bottles. They were also reportedly produced in unsanitary conditions.



The containers produced by Fillakit are cheaper than glass vials, according to officials and experts cited in the report, and the way that Fillakit's tubes are designed, they were unable to fit into the racks that are used in the laboratory analysis of the test samples.



A senior FEMA official told ABC News that that they are concerned samples collected with the Fillakit sets could produce inaccurate results. Health officials have notified states that received the Fillakit sets and said not to use them, the official said.



Fillakit did not respond to requests for comment from ABC News. The company reportedly declined to comment in response to questions from Mother Jones and ProPublica.



FEMA officials said that they and their counterparts in state governments knew there was something wrong with the test kits in question.



Its apparently not sanitary and there were millions and millions of them sent out throughout the county, said the senior FEMA official.



According to federal records, Fillakit was contracted to provide 500,000 kits a week for eight weeks, starting May 11. So far, Fillakit has delivered about 3.8 million units of the 4 million ordered, and they have been distributed to all 50 States, Puerto Rico and other federal agencies.



The contract was awarded May 8, just days after it was created, Mother Jones and ProPublica reported.



The firm is one of 300 companies contracted by the federal government to supply COVID-19 test kits, according to the report, and many of them dont have a background in producing medical supplies.



FEMA remains committed to providing critically needed testing supplies in a timely manner to our state and local partners in response to the coronavirus, a FEMA spokesperson told ABC News.



Testing for coronavirus has been a key focus of controversy since the start of the virus crisis this year.



Officials have criticized the federal government for not making enough testing available early, leaving states like New York and New Jersey blind to the health-care emergency that was about to unfold.



And as recently as Tuesday, officials told a congressional hearing that they still have much to do to get testing levels where they need to be in order for health officials to know the true depth of the disease as it moves from community to community.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Police in Madison, Wisconsin, launched a hate crime investigation after a biracial African American woman said a group of white men doused her with lighter fluid and set her on fire.

Althea Bernstein, 18, told investigators she was stopped at a traffic light in the city at around 1 a.m. Wednesday when she heard someone yell a racial slur through her rolled-down window, according to a police department incident report.

"She looked and saw four men, all white. She says one used a spray bottle to deploy a liquid on her face and neck, and then threw a flaming lighter at her, causing the liquid to ignite," the report states.

Bernstein was able to pat out the flames and then drove home. Her mother told her to go to the hospital, where she was told that the liquid was believed to be lighter fluid.

A photo obtained by NBC affiliate WMTV in Madison shows injuries to Bernstein's neck and the side of her face.

Image: Althea Bernstein (WMTV)

Family spokesman Michael Johnson, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County, said Bernstein was driving to a friend's house when the men started yelling the N-word and then attacked her while she was at a red light.

Bernstein suffered second-and-third degree burns and will require further medical treatment, he told NBC News in a phone interview Friday.

Shes experiencing trauma right now but, for what happened to her, shes doing better," he said, calling her a strong young woman.

The family is focusing on Bernstein's health and recovery. In a statement released through Johnson, they said that they are saddened by what happened to Althea and the unprovoked attack on her body."

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said she spoke with Bernstein's family and called the alleged attack "horrifying and absolutely unacceptable."

"While we are still learning more about the details, current information suggests this may have been a premeditated crime targeted toward people of color, which makes the incident even more disturbing," she wrote in a statement.

Story continues

"Everybody in Madison deserves to feel safe, and it is up to every single one of us to make that true. We must show kindness and compassion for each other, and we must care about the safety and well-being of those around us."

Joel DeSpain, a police spokesman, said Friday that detectives are reviewing surveillance cameras to see if they captured the incident. So far, no arrests have been made.

Johnson said Bernstein does not know the men and despite what she's endured, she has forgiven them.

"She was telling me that she actually forgives the people who have done this to her and hopes that they get their lives together," he said.
Homalictus tatei - James Dorey 18JDEC356ii Homalictus female sp. 112p MPE 5x -James Dorey Credit: James Dorey, Flinders University

Ancestors of a distinctive pollinating bee found across Australia probably originated in tropical Asian countries, islands in the south-west Pacific or greater Oceania region, ecology researchers claim.

Describing the likely dispersal corridor for the ancestral lineage of the bee genus Homalictus will help understand the social evolution of the vibrant halictine bees, South Australian, Czech and PNG researchers say in a new paper.

It follows earlier research connecting the origin of other Australian bees to the polar south or Antarctica routes millions of years agohelping to explain the diversity and complexity of natural ecosystems and their resilience or susceptibility during periods of climate change.

Ecologists are hopeful that the diverse origins of native bees are giving them an edge in withstanding and adapting further to climate change.

"Homalictus bees are a leading generalist plant pollinator across Australia and as far north as southern China," says Flinders University Ph.D. candidate, photographer and native bee expert James Dorey.

"Our study highlights the importance of the habitat and ecology of tropical regions, including Papua New Guinea and the Fijian islands, for our endemic species and shows us how these bees might have expanded across the Pacific and possibly higher latitudes of Southeast Asia."

1_James Dorey-Homalictus hadrander Female-17FJ14 Female MPE 3x 54p 100um-Edit Credit: James Dorey, Flinders University

SA Museum senior researcher Associate Professor Mark Stevens says the ongoing research aims to better understand the origin and radiation of insects and other animals, help environmental management during changing climates and mitigate the effects of further human expansion and habitat destruction.

"Many species historically evolved under difference climatic conditions and those different histories may determine how they will cope with new climates," he says.

"As climates change, species that have narrow thermal tolerances that are unable to adapt either track their preferred climate by moving, or become extinct. We see this in our studies on tropical bees and also in the studies of Antarctic biodiversity."

"What has not been fully appreciated is the movement of bees in the southern hemisphere that included Antarctica as a likely dispersal corridor before it became the glacial continent that it is today."

Antarctica was the crossroads between South America, Africa and Australia as the supercontinent of Gondwana was breaking up. The last landmass connections between Australia and Antarctica finished about 35 million years ago while the interchange with Asia began about 20 million years ago.

120 Exoneura sp. M 2016-02-11-10.39.37 ZS retouched 17p bellows Credit: James Dorey, Flinders University

In contrast to the colorful tropical varieties, SA researchers have previously explored the origins of the cooler adapted and less colorful Exoneurine allodapine bees, believed to have originated in Africa but dispersed to Australia about 42-34 million years ago from Antarctica when there was still a land bridge connection to Tasmania.

Co-author on the online Homalictus paper, Associate Professor Mike Schwarz says Australia has the most unusual bee fauna in the world, resulting from three major eventsthe gradual breakup of Gondwana, then a period when the bees evolved in "splendid isolation", long before humans arrived.

"Thirdly, there was a northern influx of species from tropical Asia as the Australian continent collided with Asia. "Australia's complex systems diversity if a key ingredient for survival of our species," Flinders Associate Professor Schwarz says.

"Hopefully, the diversity of our native bees will make them more resilient to future climate scenarios, which will be critical for agriculture in a changing world.

Explore further Bees point to new evolutionary answers

More information: Sentiko Ibalim et al, Origin and dispersal of Homalictus (Apoidea: Halictidae) across Australia, Papua New Guinea and Pacific, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia (2020). Sentiko Ibalim et al, Origin and dispersal of Homalictus (Apoidea: Halictidae) across Australia, Papua New Guinea and Pacific,(2020). DOI: 10.1080/03721426.2020.1740957
Mumbai, June 26 : Bollywood actress Kiara Advani cannot wait to meet her girlfriends and she is missing them very much.

Kiara took to Instagram, where she shared a photo collage with her friends.

"I miss my girlfriends so so so much. I wish I could drive over and meet them but we're not risking it. This is an appreciation post for the girls that make every day a little more special," Kiara wrote.

She added that they don't hide anything from each other.

"There is probably nothing we can't share with each other. We met in school, ended up in the same college after four weddings and 3 different time zones, here we are still each others soul mates. #AShoutoutTotheGirls." Kiara has several films lined up in the coming months. She stars in the comedy film "Indoo Ki Jawani". She will also be seen opposite Sidharth Malhotra in "Shershaah", which is based on the life of Param Vir Chakra recipient army captain Vikram Batra.

Kiara has also has "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2". The film is a follow-up of "Bhool Bhulaiyaa", directed by Priyadarshan and released in 2007. The original film was an official remake of the 1993 Malayalam film "Manichitrathazhu".
Northrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/26/2020 -- The report "Protective Clothing Market by Material Type (Aramid & Blends, Polyolefin & Blends, Polyamide, and PBI), Application (Thermal, Chemical, and Visibility), End-Use Industry (Construction, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, and Mining) - Global Forecast to 2024", The protective clothing market is projected to reach USD 11.9 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 6.3% from USD 8.8 billion in 2019.



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Stringent regulations pertaining to the safety of personnel in developed economies is expected to drive the protective clothing market. Government authorities in the developed economies are increasingly concerned over the health and safety of the workers. Many government regulations and standards compel the end-use industries to provide protective clothing to the workers working under hazardous conditions. For instance, according to the 2010 memorandum of the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), it is mandatory for the workers in the oil & gas industries to wear heat- and flame-resistant clothing. It also requires the workers at construction sites to wear high visibility safety apparels, as they are exposed to either traffic or moving machinery. The increasing demand for protective material drives the market of advanced protective clothing.



Aramid & blends is the largest segment of the protective clothing market.

The aramid & blends segment is estimated to lead the protective clothing market, in terms of value, in 2019. The demand for aramid & blends is fueled by the increasing use of protective clothing for industrial safety & protection. The use of aramid fibers in the military grade equipment and protective gears is increasing, thus, driving the protective clothing market growth over the forecast period. The dominance of the aramid & blends segment is attributed to its ability to provide high tensile strength and durability with thermal, chemical, and radiation resistance.



Manufacturing is estimated to be the largest end-use industry segment of the protective clothing market during the forecast period.



The manufacturing segment is estimated to be the largest end-use industry of protective clothing during the forecast period. The selection of the material type for protective clothing to be used in the manufacturing industry depends on the desired application and performance. The use of such clothing helps to reduce the risk of on-job injuries and casualties. The growing infrastructural development and rising construction activities in the developing nations are likely to boost the growth of the protective clothing market during the forecast period.

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North America is estimated to be the largest market for protective clothing during the forecast period.

North America is the largest protective clothing market and is expected to continue dominating the global market during the forecast period. The market is largely driven by the increased awareness for safety and regulations that mandate the usage of protective clothing in various industries. Apart from the major producers, small companies are also focusing on developing advanced protective clothing that is used in making safety gloves and jackets. The market in North America is largely driven by innovation. The players in the protective clothing market are focusing on developing innovative products to widen their product portfolio and offer advanced products.



The key market players profiled in the report include as 3M Company (US), E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (US), Ansell Limited (US), Kimberly Clark Corp (US), Teijin Limited (Japan), Sioen Industries (Belgium), and Lakeland Industries, Inc. (US).



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Recent Developments :

- In October 2017, Teijin Limited launched a cooling vest that protects firefighters with heat-resistance, flame-retardance, and body-heat reduction through the use of small electric fans. The new product launch will enable the company to cater to the specific needs of its end customers.

- In December 2017, Ansell Protective Solutions AB (APS) signed a distribution agreement with Shigemitsu Works Co. Ltd. (Japan). The agreement includes the marketing, distribution & after-sales service and maintenance of the company's products across Japan.

- In October 2017, 3M acquired Scott Safety from Johnson Controls. The acquisition helped the company to widen its product portfolio of safety products & solutions.

In December 2016, Sioen Industries acquired Ursuit Group, a Finnish manufacturer of dry suits for diving, fishing, and professional use in an extreme environment. This has enabled the company to enter the Scandinavian market.

- In May 2016, Sioen Industries introduced innovation w-air for spring and summer monsoon. This type of protective fabric provides comfort, durability, lightweight, and flexible designing.



Key Questions addressed by the report :

- What are the major developments impacting the market?

- Where will all the developments take the industry in the mid to long term?

- What are the upcoming material types of protective clothing?

- What are the emerging applications of protective clothing?

- What are the emerging end-use industries of protective clothing?

- What are the major factors impacting market growth during the forecast period?



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COVID-19 Spending Bill

$500 million, to replenish the unemployment trust fund

$270 million, to reimburse state and local governments, and college and university COVID-19 spending;

$222.7 million, for the states Department of Education to hold face-to-face summer academic recovery camps for roughly 25,000 students who completed Kindergarten through third grade, add five days of instruction to the school calendar from four-year-old kindergarten through eighth grade, reimburse for food services and pay for cafeteria workers;

$125 million, for a hospital relief fund through the states Department of Administration;

$50 million, for internet broadband mapping and planning, infrastructure and mobile hot spots;

$42.4 million, for the states Department of Health and Environmental Control for statewide testing and monitoring;

$16.8 million, for the state Adjutant Generals emergency management division for PPE stockpile and supply chain; and

$10 million, for the third-party grant administrator firm, Guidehouse, that will vet, process and audit the federal relief.

(TNS)  An early effort to expand absentee voting ahead of the November general election failed on Wednesday as the South Carolina House agreed to spend more than $1.2 billion in federal COVID-19 relief, sending the legislation to the governor for his signature.After a roughly three-hour whirlwind debate on Wednesday, lawmakers adopted the legislation in a 109-2 vote, agreeing to changes made and adopted by the Senate on Tuesday.Lawmakers will hold onto more than $668 million of the $1.9 billion federal relief, money the state got through the federal CARES Act legislation signed by President Donald Trump in March to help offset states and taxpayers COVID-19 costs.House budget chairman Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, told reporters Wednesday that the leftover money could be used to bolster the states plan to further expand broadband internet, an issue now at the top of a priority list for lawmakers.What we need to concentrate on between now and September is developing a plan for broadband in South Carolina, Smith said.State lawmakers arent expected back in Columbia until mid-September, when legislators will be charged with passing a new state budget and other legislation. Then, lawmakers are likely to make another effort to expand absentee voting before hundreds of thousands of South Carolina voters head to the polls amid a coronavirus outbreak, which has surpassed 27,000 cases.Lawmakers fast-tracked a bill in May to expand absentee voting ahead of the June primary and runoff. But they did not extend the early voting option for all through the November election, unsure whether cases would continue to rise.On Wednesday, as the House debated the spending bill, the states public health agency announced another 1,291 positive COVID-19 cases. The announcement marked the states highest number of cases reported in one day.Whats wrong with ensuring everybody gets an opportunity to vote? said state Rep. David Mack, D-Charleston, who is retiring from the House at the end of the year after serving 24 years. This thing is not going away in a week-and-a-half. COVID is not going to be better in a month-and-a-half. To use a cliche, its going to be a minute.A handful of S.C. lawmakers avoided the House on Wednesday as more lawmakers donned masks and some face shields.Lawmakers not present included state Rep. Nancy Mace, a Daniel Island Republican running to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham. Mace said Tuesday that she tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the latest and second state lawmaker to acknowledge contracting the virus.I was feeling a little fatigued with a body ache this weekend but that is kind of normal on the campaign trail, Mace tweeted on Tuesday. I have a slightly stuffy nose and mild body ache, but I do not have a fever or cough.Included in the COVID-19 legislation is $500 million to help fill back up the states jobless fund, which since March, when the outbreak first hit South Carolina, has lost more than $540 million, or about 49 percent, of its initial $1.1 billion total.Another $270 million will go to reimbursement state agencies, local governments and universities for COVID-19 spending.And $50 million will be spent to expand broadband internet, despite the actual cost of a full expansion being more than $800 million, according to an experts estimate.An attempt to raise that amount to $100 million by state Rep. Wendy Brawley, D-Richland, failed.Asked how the Legislature might spend the second phase of federal aid in September, Smith said he expects a concentration of dollars to help reimburse state agencies and local governments. So far, more than $282 million has been spent by agencies, colleges, local governments and more for COVID-19 response. That could climb beyond the $632 million initially projected.When youre at the record levels of COVID infections, you would imagine that state ... agencies and local governments are going to spend more money, Smith said. (Were) projecting reimbursements may be a lot greater than what we see.Some lawmakers said Wednesday theyd like to see that money go to help small businesses.Others said they hope legislators will help essential workers.When we come back in September, we need to take the blinders off, we need to stop looking through these rose colored glasses, said state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg. And we need to decide that were going to do something for these essential workers. ... Since (were) so ready to reopen this state and reopen our economy, the least we can do in my view is to protect those workers, those invisible people who yall dont pay attention to.The House agreed with the Senate to spend:
The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) said a patient has tested positive to coronavirus in the facility despite the fact that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has not announced any confirmed case of COVID-19 in the South-South state.

The hospital management said it has already informed the NCDC of the recent development which added a new twist to the controversy trailing the COVID-19 free status of Cross Rivers State.

On Thursday, the NCDC announced 594 newly confirmed cases bringing to 22, 614, the total number of infections in all states across the country except Cross Rivers.

With recent developments, it does appear that the state (Cross Rivers) may not be free of COVID-19 as generally believed, an internal hospital memo exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES said. A recent rapid test carried out on a patient came out positive. However, the patient had recovered and was discharged from our isolation centre last week.

According to the memo dated June 25 and directed to all department units, staff and patients of UCTH by the hospitals chief medical director, Ikpeme Ikpeme, henceforth there will be strict entry and exit protocols into our facilities in furtherance to steps taking to protect staff and patients against the virus.

This is coming few weeks after PREMIUM TIMES reported how the lawmaker representing the Obudu State constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Godwin Akwaji, died of fever and other COVID-19 symptoms at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital Isolation centre.

Conundrum

Authorities in Cross River have continued to claim that the state is COVID-19 free despite been surrounded by states with confirmed cases, alleging that there is a plot to ensure the state records a case.

Last week, the state government accused the NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Health of shipping positive and negative test kits and cartridges to the Nigeria Navy Reference Hospital in Calabar, to violate the states COVID-19 free status.

The agency denied the allegation by the states Commissioners of Information and Health, describing it as a misinterpretation of the countrys COVID-19 testing strategy and efforts to protect the health of Nigerians from the disease.

Meanwhile, health authorities and federal officials who believe the government in Cross Rivers is discouraging tests for people with symptoms of COVID-19 are disputing the states free status.

There is enough anecdotal evidence to support the belief that cases of the COVID-19 disease exist in the (Cross River) State, Efik Leadership Foundation said recently in a letter it wrote to Muhammadu Buhari, requesting the Nigerian President to intervene in the matter.

The group said the Cross River government has been rejecting COVID-19 testing in the state.

In the internal memo, the UCTH management said the NCDC has approved the hospital as an independent isolation centre.

Mr Ikpeme, the hospital CMD said the implication of this is that henceforth we do not need to pass samples through the epidemiology unit of the state as was the case before.

The hospital can now send samples directly to NCDC accredited laboratories while the NCDC works to help set up and accredit our laboratory. We therefore urge everybody to honestly do the needful to ensure that our community is protected from the coronavirus pandemic.

The hospital Management also urged staff and patients to protect themselves as maximally as possible.

This is however without prejudice that health caregivers must make themselves available at all times to provide adequate treatment to patients without fear. Management, on the other hand, will do everything possible to ensure staff and patients are adequately protected in line with NCDC guidelines, the memo said.

Calls and texts Friday morning to Chikwe Ihekweazu, NCDC executive director, on seeking to know if the agency has duly been notified of the recent development and how it would respond were not responded to as of the time of filing this report.

BELOW IS THE FULL MEMO BY THE HOSPITAL

===========================

University of Calabar Teaching Hospital

P. M. B 1278

Calabar

-

CIRCULAR

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From: Chief Medical Director

To: Heads of Departments/Units, Staff and Patients

Date: June 25th 2020.

UCTH STAFF HEALTH ADVISORY: CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The Management of the University of Calabar teaching hospital is aware of the agitation and uncertainties associated with coronavirus pandemic in the state. With recent developments, it does appear that the state may not be free of COVID-19 as generally believed. A recent rapid test carried out on a patient came out positive. However, the patient had recovered and was discharged from our isolation centre last week.

Management, therefore, urges staff and patients to protect themselves as maximally as possible. This is however without prejudice that health caregivers must make themselves available at all times to provide adequate treatment to patients without fear. Management, on the other hand, will do everything possible to ensure staff and patients are adequately protected in line with NCDC guidelines.

The UHC management has been in direct contact with the NCDC director and the NCDC has approved the hospital as an independent centre. the implication of this is that henceforth we do need to pass samples through the epidemiology unit of the state as was the case before. The hospital can now send samples directly to NCDC accredited laboratories while the NCDC works to help to set up and accredit our laboratory. We, therefore, urge everybody to honestly do the needful to ensure that our community is protected from the coronavirus pandemic.

In furtherance of steps taking to protect our staff, patients and facilities, management will ensure strict compliance with measures geared towards protecting our population. This will involve strict entry and exit protocols into our facilities. We urge understanding, patience and cooperation.

Prof. Ikpeme A. Ikpeme

Chief Medical Director.
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Linkedin Rizki Fachriansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 16:03 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661f1d27 1 National children-rights,KPAI,Plan-International-Indonesia,COVID-19,virus-korona-indonesia Free

As the government reallocates most of its resources to the mitigation of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, children from across the archipelago have spoken up to raise concerns regarding their right to education and protection during these unprecedented times.

Speaking in an online forum held by the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) and Plan International Indonesia Foundation (Plan Indonesia), several children shared their aspirations regarding access to health care, protection from any form of violence, access to online learning, as well as child marriage.

A recent study conducted by Plan Indonesia showed that the current health emergency had had a significant impact on children.

Access to education, for instance, has been disrupted as a result of physical distancing measures. Furthermore, children are also prone to heightened levels of anxiety, fear and worry the study found.

Girls with disabilities from marginalized communities have also been affected by the so-called secondary impacts of the outbreak due to their age, gender and other related factors, according to the report.

Read also: COVID-19 killed more than 200 young children, Indonesian pediatricians suspect

The children involved in the forum represented several childrens organizations from various regions across the country, including the national and regional chapters of the Childrens Forum, Youth Coalition for Girls (YCG) in Riau, as well as Plan Indonesias Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) in Jakarta and East Nusa Tenggara.

Plan Indonesia executive director Dini Widiastuti said in a statement that she expected the forum to serve as a bridge between children and the government.

Around 50 children from various regions in Indonesia take part in online hearings with the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) and Plan International Indonesia Foundation on June 25, 2020. They talked about various issues related to childrens rights amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Courtesy of Plan Indonesia/-)

We support children in making their voices heard by the state commission, with the hope that they will be taken into account in the policy-making process and evaluation of policies in the context of protection and fulfillment of childrens rights, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dini said.

KPAI deputy chairperson Rita Pranawati conveyed her appreciation for the forum.

I am proud to see Indonesian children can deliver recommendations directly to the KPAI and will be used as a cornerstone of the KPAI in providing policy input to the government. Your passion encourages us to realize equal protection and empowerment of children throughout Indonesia, Rita said.
Ahha Tulsa will begin a phased reopening of its Hardesty Arts Center on Wednesday, July 1, with new exhibits and new visitor policies to help safeguard against the spread of COVID-19.

These policies include limiting the number of guests in the facility, minimizing touch points, increased cleaning and sanitization, and physical distancing reminders.

Face masks or coverings will be required. Ahha Tulsa will supply masks to guests who do not bring their own.

Executive Director Holly Becker said it is her belief that the arts can help with the healing process, as the city and the nation work to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

In such unprecedented times, its important to have an outlet, Becker said. We hope that by safely reopening our doors, we can serve Tulsans by giving them a place to reconnect and make art together.

Becker added that the center will offer free admission in July and August to any frontline or essential worker, calling it an opportunity to give back in a small way.

Regular admission to ahha Tulsa is $12.75 for adults, $8.75 for children.
In a bid to register their protest against the Chinese aggression in Ladakh's Galwan Valley which killed 20 Indian soldiers, a Hotel and Restaurants body based in Delhi has announced that it will not provide accomodation to Chinese nationals in hotels associated with the it.

The association has also decided to boycott Chinese goods.

The association has written to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and has extended its full support to boycott Chinese goods campaign.

Delhi Hotels & Restaurant Owners Association to boycott Chinese goods, not to provide any accommodation to Chinese nationals as mark of protest against recent Chinese aggression along Indian border  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 25, 2020





"We are pleased to inform you that our association has decided to wholeheartedly support the campaign of CAIT and as such we have decided to boycott Chinese goods which are being used in our hotels and restaurants and henceforth we shall not be using any Chinese products in our establishments," the Delhi Hotel Restaurant Owners Association said in the letter to CAIT.



The association said it has also decided not to provide rooms to any Chinese national at a time when China is repeatedly in attacking mode on our brave Indian force.

bccl

CAIT has welcomed the Delhi Hotels & Restaurant Owners Association's decision.

After the brutal clashes between the Indian and Chinese Army in Galwan Valley, calls to boycott Chinese products gained momentum across the country. Some people even threw out their TV sets, burnt pictures of Chinese Premier Xi Jinping and the Chinese flag.
An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan's Punjab province has sentenced five al-Qaeda terrorists to 16-year jail term each on different charges.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Gujranwala announced its verdict on Thursday.

Mohammad Yaqoob (commander), Abdullah Umair, Ahmadur Rehman, Asim Akbar Saeed, and Muhammad Yousaf, have been handed down five years imprisonment for terror financing, seven years for keeping explosives, three years for supporting proscribed al-Qaeda and one year for keeping literature of al-Qaeda.

The ATC has also ordered confiscating of the convicts' personal properties and imposed a fine of Rs 180,000 each on them.

The terrorists were also running a media cell of the al-Qaeda in the country.

"It is a very important verdict where al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operatives have been convicted after terrorism financing charges proved true against the convicts," the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police said in a statement.

The CTD said these terrorists were arrested last year.

"They had been running its (the outfit) propaganda campaign online and physically from a secret location in Karachi," it said.

Giving details of the convicts, the CTD said Muhammad Yaqoob, alias Gora, is a resident of Karachi and commander of local chapter of the organisation. He joined the AQIS in 2014.

"Yaqoob was also an expert in making forged documents. He was instrumental in running propaganda campaigns especially on social media," the CTD said.

Asim Akbar, alias Saeed, alias Baba, alias Bazurg, alias Jaffer, was a resident of Lahore associated with al-Qaeda since 2005.

"He was in charge of the media cell. He trained many activists of the AQIS in media graphics and animations with Abu Hasham who was killed in Afghanistan," it said.

Another convicted terrorist Abdullah Umair, alias Hanzala, is a resident of Karachi and he joined the organisation in 2010.

"Umair remained a close aide of the present operational/militant commander of AQIS Atif Ghauri, alias Yahya, who was in Afghanistan. He was coordinating activities of the AQIS in Pakistan and Afghanistan," it said.

The CTD further said that Ahmadur Rehman of Karachi joined al-Qaeda in 2015 and was trained for 'urban ambush' by previous emir of the organisation Asim Umar, who was recently killed in Afghanistan.

Convict Yousaf of Karachi is the brother of AQIS commander Yaqoob.
Islamabad calls report self-contradictory and selective as US singles out Pakistan for allegedly supporting Taliban.

Islamabad, Pakistan  Pakistans government says it is disappointed by a US State Department report on the countrys counterterrorism track record, with a foreign ministry statement declaring the report self-contradictory and selective.

Earlier this week, the State Department issued its annual country reports on terrorism for 2019, singling Pakistan out for particular criticism.

We are disappointed with the US State Departments Annual Country Report on Terrorism for 2019, which is self-contradictory and selective in its characterisation of Pakistans efforts for countering terrorism and terrorist financing, the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The United States has long accused Pakistan of tacitly supporting the Afghan Taliban and its allies, including the Haqqani Network (HQN) armed group, in their fight against US-led NATO forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The two countries have also worked together against other armed groups, including al-Qaeda, in the region, in a relationship that has been marked by continued engagement despite sustained mistrust.

Matters reached a low point in January 2018, when US President Donald Trump cut more than $1.1bn in security assistance to Pakistan, accusing the country of supporting the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan has consistently denied the allegations, although in 2016 the then Pakistani foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz had admitted that the government did have limited influence over the group.

Elements of the Afghan Talibans leadership have been based out of a town outside the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta for years. In May 2016, then Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor was killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan while en route to Quetta.

The US State Department report this week repeated those concerns.

Pakistan continued to serve as a safe haven for certain regionally focused terrorist groups, it said. It allowed groups targeting Afghanistan, including the Afghan Taliban and affiliated HQN, as well as groups targeting India, including LeT [Lashkar e-Taiba] and its affiliated front organisations, and JeM [Jaish e-Muhammad], to operate from its territory.





Reject insinuation about safe haven

Pakistan has been battling the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)  an umbrella organisation of armed groups that is also known as the Pakistani Taliban  since it was formed in 2007 with the stated objective of overthrowing the government and establishing a state based on a strict interpretation of Islam.

In 2014, the country launched a widescale military operation to take on the TTP, succeeding in displacing the group from its erstwhile headquarters in the North Waziristan district along the border with Afghanistan.

Violence has seen a corresponding drop across the country, with far fewer suicide bombings and targeted attacks reported in 2019 compared with previous years.

Pakistans foreign ministry defended the countrys track record on fighting the armed groups in its statement on Thursday.

The [US] report acknowledges the sharp decrease in the incidence of terrorist attacks in Pakistan, said the statement. However, it neglects to explain that this was only possible because Pakistans resolute counterterrorism operations have targeted proscribed groups and outfits without discrimination.

Pakistan also denied that it provided safe havens to any armed group.

We reject any insinuation about any safe haven, the statement said. Pakistan will not allow any group or entity to use its territory against any country. On the contrary, it is Pakistan that faces the threat of terrorism from externally based and foreign-sponsored groups.

Pakistan remains on a grey-list maintained by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body that monitors member states compliance with anti-terrorism financing and anti-money laundering regulations.

Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim
BAGHDAD - Iraqi security forces arrested over a dozen men suspected of a spate of rocket attacks against the U.S. presence in Iraq, the Iraqi military said Friday  the strongest action to date by the new government in Baghdad against perpetrators suspected of ties to Iran.

The arrests marked a bold move by the government to crack down on groups that have long been a source of tension for U.S.-Iraq relations. Two senior Iraqi officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the 14 men who were arrested had ties to an Iran-backed militia group.

A series of rockets have struck close to U.S. installations inside the Green Zone and an Iraqi army base near to the airport in the Iraqi capital since Baghdad embarked on strategic talks with Washington on June 11.

The U.S. has blamed Iran-backed militia group Kataib Hezbollah for orchestrating attacks against its embassy and American troops inside Iraqi bases, and criticized the Iraqi government for not identifying and arresting the culprits.

The recent attacks posed a challenge for Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who was sworn in last month. His administration pledged to crack down on the groups behind the attacks at the start of strategic talks, according to senior U.S. officials.

The raid carried out by Iraqs elite Counter-Terrorism Service late Thursday in Baghdads Dora neighbourhood was a step toward this promise. A military statement following the arrests did not explicitly state the 14 arrested had militia ties. It said a special investigative committee was formed to include the Interior Ministry and other Iraqi security forces to follow up on the case.

It was unclear who was holding the men, with one Iraqi official saying it was the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of paramilitary groups, while another said they were being held by the Interior Ministry.

It looks like Mustafa al-Kadhimi is continuing to try and put actions to words, said Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House.

Officials and experts speculated whether the move was part of a broader negotiation strategy with the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of Iraqi paramilitary groups, some of which are Iran-backed. Al-Kadhimi, who was the head of Iraqs intelligence prior to being named the prime minister, had a meeting with various leaders of the umbrella group on Thursday.

There was no immediate comment from Kataib Hezbollah.

The next test for al-Kadhimi rests on the ability of the courts to prosecute the men. Mansours research suggests Kataib Hezbollah wields some influence over Iraqs judiciary through key political officials. This will be difficult, he said.

Reactions from some political leaders and Iran-backed militia groups highlighted tensions that might arise between state security forces and militia groups in the aftermath of the raid.

Former prime minister and head of the State of Law party, Nouri al-Maliki said the Popular Mobilization Forces should be respected and spared any detrimental actions.

We must respect it and preserve its prestige, and it is not permissible to attack or diminish it, al-Maliki said in a tweet.

Another militia in the group, the Iran-backed Harakat al-Nujaba, warned in a statement against any attempt to target them and draw the parties into internal strife.

Following the arrests, armed groups in government vehicles entered the heavily fortified Green Zone without official approval and surrounded the headquarters of the counter-terrorism agency, the military statement said. The Green Zone houses government buildings and foreign embassies.

These parties do not want to be part of the state and its obligations and seek to remain outside the authority of the commander-in-chief, the statement said.

The raid was carried out according to a judicial order based on Iraqs anti-terrorism laws, and was issued following intelligence reports indicating the men had orchestrated attacks against U.S. installations at the Baghdad airport and inside the Green Zone.

The statement said further intelligence reports indicated another plot targeting the Green Zone. Two launching pads for rockets were discovered during the raid by security forces.

On Monday, a rocket struck in the vicinity of the airport without causing casualties. It was the fourth such attack targeting the U.S. presence since Baghdad embarked on strategic talks with the U.S. on June 11. Before that, four had hit inside the Green Zone near the American Embassy.

Following the attack, al-Kadhimi tweeted: I will not tolerate rogue groups hijacking our homeland to create chaos and find excuses to maintain their narrow interests.
Atty. Gen. William Barr in 2019. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)

In the friendly confines of a Fox News interview on Sunday, Atty. Gen. William Barr laid out his chief concerns and enforcement priorities heading into the election.

As two career Department of Justice prosecutors detailed in congressional hearings Wednesday, Barr has allowed improper considerations  most offensively, the president's political interests  to drive enforcement considerations. The bill of particulars against him includes misrepresenting the Mueller report, seeking a lesser sentence for Roger Stone, trying to dismiss the proved case against Michael Flynn and firing U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, who was investigating Trump dealings in New York. What Barr made clear on Sunday was his willingness to use the Department of Justice to interfere in the presidential election on President Trumps side, politicizing voting rights and the marketplace of ideas on the internet.

Picking up on Trump's bitter but unsubstantiated criticism of Facebook, Twitter and other internet companies, Barr is determined to rattle the DOJ's antitrust saber at Silicon Valley, and first up is the advertising and search giant Google. According to various news reports, the department is already drafting an antitrust complaint against Google and interviewing lawyers to prosecute the case. Thats after only a year of investigation, which is actually warp speed in terms of bringing an antitrust complaint.

Yet its unclear what theory the department would pursue. The Federal Trade Commission, which also has antitrust jurisdiction, looked closely at possible antitrust charges against Google in 2013 and concluded there was no basis to bring a case.

Thats not to say that a company the size of Google could not correctly be the subject of an antitrust case. However, the department would need to prove the company's market power is monopolistic and that it has an adverse effect on consumers, such as exorbitant advertising fees or a reduction in the quality of information available to consumers. As to the latter, its hard to see how a censorship case can be made given the innumerable sources of information of all stripes that Google presents.

Story continues

But the Fox interview provided a strong clue explaining the attorney generals fixation on Silicon Valley. Powerful internet companies, said Barr, are only presenting one viewpoint, and they can push the public in a particular direction very quickly. Removing any doubt about which direction he had in mind, Barr endorsed an assertion made by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare): Conservatives are being censored.

"One way that this can be addressed," Barr went on, "is through the antitrust laws and challenging companies that engage in monopolistic practices. In other words, the departments antitrust prosecutorial powers can bring Google, et al., to heel.

The Barr-Nunes premise is fanciful. As the Economist found in two painstaking statistical reviews of Google searches, theres no credible evidence of censorship, only stray anecdotes and phony "aha" moments from Fox commentators. Moreover, there clearly is robust debate on the web.

Beyond the problem of proving adverse effects, the blunderbuss of an antitrust prosecution is an inapt remedy for perceived bias. Trying to break up Google, Facebook or Twitter, in fact, hobbles the prosecution because it could give rise to a 1st Amendment defense. These internet giants could argue that if it were somehow proven that they had created politically biased algorithms, it would violate the Constitution for the department to prosecute them on the basis of their anti-conservative viewpoint.

Barrs second Trumpian target for the DOJ in coming months is even more ominous than clamping down on digital media: a threat to tighten up mail-in voting. Voting by mail, the attorney general said on Fox, absolutely opens the floodgates to fraud. Those things are delivered into mailboxes. They can be taken out. There's questions about whether or not it even denies a secret ballot.

More fantasy. Republican and Democratic officials in about two-thirds of the states have made it easy for voters to send in ballots by mail. Safeguards such as checking voter signatures against registration rolls are already in place for absentee ballots. Oregon is one of five states that holds its elections only by mail. In nearly 20 years, it has found only two cases of mail-in ballot fraud that were strong enough to gain criminal convictions. Two out of more than 50 million ballots cast.

In 2020 in particular, mail-in voting is perhaps the single most important device for ameliorating the scandal of voters in poorer neighborhoods having to wait on line for hours while a few miles away, in affluent neighborhoods, mostly white voters breeze in and out. Its a critical factor for ensuring safe voting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barr surely knows the real, wafer-slim record of voter fraud in this country. That he chooses to parrot myths about mail-in voting gives his game away. The GOP, which commands only a minority of American voters, seeks less, not more participation at the polls. Vote-by-mail efforts, as Trump told Fox & Friends not long ago, could mean youd never have a Republican elected in this country again. Any moves by the Department of Justice to impede vote-by-mail should be given their proper label: voter suppression.

Barr has shown himself willing to use his vast powers in the service of the presidents political interests. So when he lays out an election-year agenda that plainly coincides with Republican Party interests, we should take him at his word: The DOJ is gearing up for a battle on behalf of Trump. The conduct will be dressed up in law enforcement garb, but the attorney general is being nakedly partisan.

@HarryLitman
United Nations:

India has strongly rejected Pakistans references on Kashmir at the UN, saying such remarks are a self-serving attempt by Islamabad to bring extraneous issues to the world body for its territorial aggrandizement.



India, exercising the Right of Reply after Pakistans envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi raised the Kashmir issue at the UN, said on Saturday Pakistan had made references to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in a self-serving attempt to bring extraneous issues before the Committee.



Such efforts were a flagrant misuse of the body for Pakistans own territorial aggrandizement, India said, recalling that the Special Committee on Decolonisation was concerned only with Non-Self-Governing Territories. It asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.

Read: Home Minister Rajnath Singh talks tough, says India wont count bullets if attacked



Pakistan responded by saying that the United Nations recognised that all people under alien subjugation had a right to self-determination.Exercising its Right of Reply, Pakistan said India continued to perpetrate misinformation on the Kashmir issue year after year.



Raking up the Kashmir issue again at the UN, Pakistan had said the non-implementation of UN Security Council resolutions for a plebiscite in Kashmir is the most persistent failure of the UN.



The decolonisation agenda of the United Nations will remain incomplete without resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, among the oldest items on the UNs agenda, Lodhi had said yesterday at a debate of the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee in the General Assembly.

Read: No possible thaw in Indo-Pak relations under its current Prime Minister Modi rule, says Sartaj Aziz

She said for over six decades UN Security Council resolutions promising a plebiscite under UN auspices to allow the Kashmiri people to determine their destiny, have not been implemented.



This is the most persistent failure of the United Nations, she said, adding generation after generation of Kashmiris has only seen broken promises and brutal oppression.



She asserted that Jammu and Kashmir never was and can never be an integral part of India but is a disputed territory, the final status of which has yet to be determined in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Security Council.



Lodhi said the UN has a moral responsibility towards people suffering under colonial domination and foreign occupation.



There is an urgent need to bring the work on this unfinished agenda to closure and eliminate the last remaining vestiges of colonialism. We hope that we will be able to achieve this shared goal sooner rather than later, she said.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
When scores of protesters arrived at the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park the evening of Juneteenth to topple the Father Junipero Serra monument, they quickly took center stage in a worldwide debate about statues.

The group, responding to a call to action spread through texts and word of mouth, yanked down Serra, Francis Scott Key and President Ulysses S. Grant and splashed paint on others. Their handiwork cost $20,000 in cleanup costs and overtime for parks staff and prompted the toppled trio to be whisked to an undisclosed storage location for safekeeping as city leaders decide what to do with them.

Like pretty much any controversial move in San Francisco, the story went viral. People here and elsewhere were shocked  shocked I say!  by the disrespect shown to our historic leaders by this so-called mob.

Why, critics asked, did they not register their statue complaints with the appropriate city officials and let the democratic process play out?

Theres a simple reason: Past attempts to do just that in San Francisco havent worked.

In a city notorious for red tape and bureaucracy, years of complaints about a host of statues depicting people who owned slaves or conquered Native Americans have elicited mere shrugs from those in charge. And a three-year democratic effort to add a touch of diversity in the form of statues depicting women has resulted in absolutely nothing.

Lava Thomas, a Berkeley artist whose proposed monument to Maya Angelou outside the Main Library was kiboshed because it wasnt traditional enough, said San Francisco doesnt live up to its progressive reputation in many ways  its statues included.

Im not saying I support destroying property, but these acts were necessary to get the city to finally take action, she said, noting Mayor London Breed formed a committee to decide which statues should stay and which should go only after the Golden Gate Park toppling spree.

Sheryl Evans Davis, executive director of the citys Human Rights Commission, said many San Franciscans have been bothered by these statues for decades, likening it to having to walk past a monument to someone who committed a violent crime against you or your family.

It fell on deaf ears, she said. Its not about toppling statues  its about how do we change the narrative that made it appropriate for them to be memorialized that way in the first place. Who gets to tell the story?

But there has been progress, the anti-toppling crowd argues. Just look at the Early Days portion of the Pioneer Monument between the Asian Art Museum and the Main Library. Yes, the city removed it in 2018, but only after at least 25 years of complaints from Native Americans about the depiction of one of their ancestors lying nearly naked at the feet of a Spanish vaquero and a missionary.

Anybody got time for a quarter-century debate about Francis Scott Key?

The slaveholder wrote the lyrics to our mediocre national anthem featuring the ironic line about the land of the free. He also said African Americans were a distinct and inferior race of people. Theres no place for him in Golden Gate Park, and why did anybody think there was? By the way, we should adopt the far more beautiful America the Beautiful as our national anthem. It was written by a teacher named Katharine Lee Bates.

Well, you might say, the city removed Christopher Columbus from his perch in front of Coit Tower just the other day! Yes it did. But only because officials got wind of a plan by protesters to haul the monument of a man who discovered a continent already inhabited by millions of people off its pedestal and heave it into the bay. That could have hurt somebody, so the city, probably concerned about liability, beat the protesters to the punch.

The Columbus statue was vandalized so often, the city spent $60,000 in 2019 alone to clean it. That might have been a clue people had an issue with the monument, but still, it remained.

The Human Rights Commission issued a report back in 2007 called Discrimination by Omission that laid out a host of injustices against the Native American community and recommended the city remove its most problematic statues including Columbus, Serra and Early Days. Still, for more than a decade, they stayed in place.

Another approach, of course, would be to add people of color and women to the mix of the almost entirely white, male batch of historical figures honored with statues in San Francisco. But that hasnt worked either.

Three years ago, two female aides in then-Supervisor Mark Farrells office initiated an effort to increase the representation of women in the public realm to 30% by the end of this year. It was a worthy effort, but it has resulted in no change.

Back then, there were 87 statues in the civic collection, and just two represented real-life women: a bust of Sen. Dianne Feinstein at City Hall and Florence Nightingale outside Laguna Honda Hospital. In the past three years, no additional women have been added, but another man has: Gov. Gavin Newsoms bust at City Hall.

The plan was to install a third woman  the late writer Maya Angelou  outside the Main Library. An Arts Commission panel last year selected a modern monument designed by Thomas as its top choice, but Supervisor Catherine Stefani, who took over Farrells legislation after he left office, pushed for a more traditional statue.

Lava Thomas

The Arts Commission went back to the literal drawing board, and a three-person panel in March selected 19 artists as its favorites among more than 130 who applied. The process has since stalled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Im confident saying well know who the artist is by the end of the year, said Rachelle Axel, director of public and private partnerships for the Arts Commission.

So in 3 years, the city will have selected an artist to create one statue, but the statue wont have actually been created. Its a miracle anything gets done in San Francisco.

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Put all this together, and its not particularly surprising that scores of protesters took to Golden Gate Park on Juneteenth. The initial target was Serra, who founded Californias mission system, which Native Americans say destroyed their ancestors way of life in the state and contributed to many of them dying early.

In a classic San Francisco moment, David Miles, known as the the Godfather of Skate for making roller skating in Golden Gate Park an institution, happened to roll past the protesters. Miles, who is African American, told them that Key was nearby and had owned slaves. The toppling of Grant seems to have been less thought out  and the president who helped win the Civil War and who fought the Ku Klux Klan should be put back.

Miles said later he saw the protesters early on and thought they were just splashing paint, not realizing they were going to topple the statues.

Ive seen everything you could imagine in Golden Gate Park, but this was out of left field, Miles said, adding he didnt agree with toppling them.

But now I think they should stay down, he said. After you learn about it, these are not the examples of heroes you want to glorify. Maybe we should start thinking about putting some statues up that represent what we are about here in San Francisco.

He gave an interesting suggestion: his cousin, Ronald McNair, an astronaut who died in the space shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986.

Who would you like to see removed from the citys statue collection? Who should be added? Let me know. Answers may be used for a future column.

These are the kinds of discussions Dorka Keehn, an arts commissioner, is excited about as one of the leaders of the commissions response to the statue controversy. She said she doesnt blame protesters for toppling statues, but pointed out its expensive to remove them properly with cranes, store them and erect new ones.

So not only do San Franciscans need to decide who theyd like to see represented in monuments, but somebody needs to step up and pay for it.

Miles said he was initially ticked off that the protesters toppled statues, but the controversial move made him pay attention  and thats a good thing.

Who goes around thinking about statues? he asked. But if they cause the type of reaction that make people jump up and tie ropes around them and pull them down, maybe we should think about why that is and what we can do about it.

Exactly. And if it took muscle and rope to finally get the attention of city leaders, it was worth it.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf
Police bodyguards who protect Prince Charles and Prince William have expressed grave concerns over moves to strip junior royals and other VIPs of armed protection, according to a bombshell leaked report.

Officers who have to rely solely on Tasers to stop someone being attacked are playing Russian roulette with their lives and those of the people they are protecting, it adds.

The report, seen by the Daily Mail, accuses police chiefs of putting cost-cutting above the safety of VIPs, the officers who guard them and the public.

It says the lessons of the Westminster and London Bridge terror attacks  where police were attacked by knife-wielding jihadis  have been quickly forgotten and that a reckless trade-off of cost vs safety has taken place.

The Daily Mail can reveal that security measures have been downgraded for a number of senior politicians, community leaders and others previously deemed vulnerable to an attack. Bodyguards who protect Prince Charles and Prince William have expressed grave concerns over moves to strip junior royals and other VIPs of armed protection, according to a bombshell leaked report.

The Daily Mail can reveal that security measures have been downgraded for a number of senior politicians, community leaders and others previously deemed vulnerable to an attack.

Discussions have also taken place about removing armed cover for some former leading political figures, sources said.

Details of the damning report by royalty and specialist protection officers in the Metropolitan Police Federation  which represents rank and file officers in the force  can be disclosed days after a terror suspect, allegedly acting alone, stabbed three men to death in a Reading park.

Khairi Saadallah, a 25-year-old Libyan who was previously on the radar of MI5, is accused of going on a bloody rampage armed only with a knife.

The Federation report  also endorsed by officers based at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle  spells out the dangers facing those involved in the close protection of VIPs or on the frontline.

We are living in times of unprecedented uncertainty around terrorist threats, it says. In a hostile, premeditated attack on a Principal with intent to cause death or serious injury, the most likely weapon of choice would be a knife or other pointed or bladed article.

Taser, ASP (expandable batons) or CS spray are not fit for purpose to defend against an attack of this nature.

'One only has to read the witness testimonies from the London Bridge attack inquest relating to the have-a-go heroes struck down and murdered by terrorists armed with nothing more sophisticated than pink ceramic kitchen knives, purchased for 4 each from Lidl, duct-taped to their hands.

Emergency services at the scene outside the Palace of Westminster where PC Keith Palmer was fatally stabbed by Khalid Masood after he ploughed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge

The report continues: A protection officer relying solely on a Taser to neutralise an imminent threat to life is quite literally playing Russian roulette with their life and the life of their Principal.

Under the plans, which follow a Home Office cost-cutting review, Prince Andrew was due to have his armed police cover downgraded to officers carrying just Tasers.

But he has reportedly been allowed to keep his taxpayer-funded police protection team, which carries firearms, after complaining to the Queen.

It is claimed that armed cover for other royals, who the Mail has decided not to name, has also been earmarked for downgrades.

The measures are part of a wide-ranging reduction of police protection for junior royals, politicians and diplomats.

Met Police personal protection officers guarding the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and Prince William, as well as other royals, will continue to carry pistols.

Details of the row emerged after the Mail published two damning investigations last month into the 2017 murder of PC Keith Palmer by a knife-wielding terrorist at the Palace of Westminster

The Royal and VIP Executive Committee, a Home Office group, decides who gets armed protection.

The damning report was submitted to Scotland Yard chiefs last November.

It sets out a range of new security measures  known as Option 5  for those who will lose armed protection. The Mail has chosen not to outline these in detail.

We have also decided not to name the officers who put their names to the report.

Details of the row emerged after the Mail published two damning investigations last month into the 2017 murder of PC Keith Palmer by a knife-wielding terrorist at the Palace of Westminster.

Scotland Yard declined to answer any questions about Option 5 and royal and VIP protection. It said: We do not discuss matters of security.

The report reveals that having conducted a review of Option 5s practical application, the Mets Specialist Firearms Command training team were of the view that it falls short of properly mitigating risk against a Principal (file photo)

Taser, ASP (expandable batons) or CS spray are not fit for purpose to defend against an attack of this nature', the report said

Taser, batons or CS spray are no use against terrorist attacks: Exclusive investigation reveals VIPs are having their armed protection downgraded or removed altogether

By Richard Pendlebury and Stephen Wright

For a century, specialist British police officers have protected VIPs against the threat of assassination. In recent years the country has suffered a number of mass-casualty Islamist terror attacks.

And as last weekends multiple-fatality stabbing in a Reading park demonstrated, the threat of domestic terrorism  including that committed by far-Right extremists such as the killer of MP Jo Cox  remains as high as ever.

And yet because of a radical change in police tactics instigated earlier this year, the ability of specialist protection officers to prevent a deadly assault has been undermined, it is claimed.

In a series of recent articles, we have shown how security decisions  driven by budget concerns rather than tactical common sense  might have contributed to the death in March 2017 of unarmed police constable Keith Palmer at the hands the Islamic State sympathiser Khalid Masood outside the Houses of Parliament.

It was only the chance intervention by a passing armed protection officer which prevented greater loss of life.

Now, using the findings of a bombshell confidential report and the expert testimony of those inside the world of police VIP protection, the Mail can reveal the extent to which senior politicians, certain members of the Royal Family and other prominent figures in British public life deemed to be at risk of attack are having their armed protection withdrawn altogether and other security measures significantly downgraded.

Those subject to the new arrangements also include former senior politicians.

A new initiative codenamed Option 5 is being rolled out which will see the numbers of officers and vehicles who accompany such VIPs reduced.

The Mail can reveal the extent to which senior politicians, certain members of the Royal Family and other prominent figures in British public life deemed to be at risk of attack are having their armed protection withdrawn altogether and other security measures significantly downgraded (file photo)

Their firearms are being replaced by the Tasers and batons carried by the average bobby on the beat.

In the jargon of the new scheme, Option 5 police officers will be providing liaison rather than protection at a considerable financial saving to the Home Office.

But the move has caused consternation among officers serving in the Royalty and Specialist Protection unit and  unsurprisingly  those they are tasked to protect.

The report suggests that the VIPs had been left in the dark until the reduction happened.

Sources told the Mail that senior ministers had been misled by the Home Office and senior police officers about what levels of protection they would receive under the new measures and only found out the truth when they were implemented overnight.

The possible dangers of this approach are laid bare in a devastating secret report which has been presented to and allegedly ignored by police chiefs.

A copy of the same report has been obtained by the Mail.

The reports conclusion states: It would appear that the lessons learnt as a result of Westminster and London Bridge [terror attacks] are quickly forgotten and a reckless trade-off of cost vs safety has taken place, whereby once again cost is the winner that takes all.' Above, a police-released image shows officers at the scene of the attack

The lead author of the 32-page document is one of Britains most senior police personal protection instructors.

But it also carries the names  and endorsement  of the personal protection officers to the Prince of Wales and Prince William and three other officers responsible for the security of Windsor Castle  where the Queen is in quarantine during the pandemic  Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster.

The reports conclusion states: It would appear that the lessons learnt as a result of Westminster and London Bridge [terror attacks] are quickly forgotten and a reckless trade-off of cost vs safety has taken place, whereby once again cost is the winner that takes all.

Maximising the safety of the Principal [the VIP] must remain the primary objective, whilst simultaneously ensuring the risk to the public and police officers is minimised.

Officers who have to rely solely on Tasers to stop someone being attacked are playing Russian roulette with their lives and those of the people they are protecting, the report says (file photo)

'Any new tactic must be safe and fit for purpose. It is our view that this tactic, as implemented, is neither.

The report reveals that having conducted a review of Option 5s practical application, the Mets Specialist Firearms Command training team were of the view that it falls short of properly mitigating risk against a Principal.

Their informed professional opinion is that the tactic would not stand up to scrutiny at any public inquiry [following a serious incident or death].

It then asked: Why would you remove such a critical tactical option [firearms] from protection officers, if there is no need to?

We are living in times of unprecedented uncertainty around terrorist threats. Islamic extremists are . . . having their plans of random mass murder [regularly] thwarted by our colleagues in CT [counter-terrorism] and MI5, and far-Right extremists are targeting their local MPs to promote their perverted world view.

In a hostile, premeditated attack on a Principal with intent to cause death or serious injury, the most likely weapon of choice would be a knife or other pointed or bladed article.

'Taser, [baton] or CS spray are not fit for purpose to defend against an attack of this nature.

One only has to read the eye-witness testimonies from the London Bridge terrorist attack inquest relating to the have-a-go-heroes struck down and murdered by the terrorists armed with nothing more sophisticated than pink ceramic kitchen knives, purchased for 4 each from Lidl, duct-taped to their hands.

The report then warned: A protection officer relying solely on a Taser to neutralise an imminent threat to life is quite literally playing Russian roulette with their life and the life of their Principal.

As one of Britains most experienced close protection officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Mail last night: A Taser is fine to deal with a drunk standing in the middle of the street waving a knife and shouting. It will not stop a determined assassin.

The Principals have been told it is not a major change. But how can it not be when you go from having a protection team that can protect your life to one that cannot?

Security decisions  driven by budget concerns rather than tactical common sense  might have contributed to the death in March 2017 of unarmed police constable Keith Palmer at the hands the Islamic State sympathiser Khalid Masood (above) outside the Houses of Parliament

Another told us: Option 5 is like a suicide pact. A third said: We used to be the benchmark around the world for the provision of personal protection to VIPs. Now we are a laughing stock.

So who is to lose  or has already lost  their firearms protection?

The Mail has been made aware of the identities of a number of prominent individuals who have in recent weeks been downgraded from protection by armed police bodyguards to Option 5, or are about to be. In order not to jeopardise them further, they will not be named.

Nor, for the same reason, will we go into detail on how resources have been withdrawn beyond the exchange of guns for Tasers.

But some named cases are already in the public domain, or their relegation to Option 5 has been put on hold.

The Royal Family has so far managed to resist significant changes.

Sources told the Mail that the operational head of the Royalty and Specialist Protection unit, Chief Superintendent Zander Gibson, had this spring written to at least two junior Royals to inform them that their protection was being downgraded.

We understand that one of the recipients was Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. Gibson was then told to cease further correspondence.

The Princess Royal was also going to be put on Option 5 but that move has also been suspended, said a source.

It was pointed out to [police chiefs] that the Royal Familys engagements are published on open-access sources, sometimes months in advance. Senior management did not know that. They have backed off for the moment.

Princess Anne was the subject of a failed armed kidnap attempt on The Mall in 1974, in which her police protection officer and chauffeur were shot and wounded.

She was returning from a public event and her attendance had been publicised in advance.

Having stepped down from public life over the scandal of his associations with paedophile tycoon Jeffrey Epstein, her brother the Duke of York was also put on Option 5 at the start of this month.

Princess Anne was the subject of a failed armed kidnap attempt on The Mall in 1974, in which her police protection officer and chauffeur were shot and wounded. (Above, the Daily Mail front page from March 21 1974)

Prince Andrew was due to lose his police protection  which costs a reported 300,000 a year  altogether last week, a source told the Mail.

His team was told it was going to be redeployed elsewhere. But then the Queen stepped in and said no. It is unclear who is paying for the retention of the Duke of Yorks guard. There is no suggestion that the Queen, Charles or William are to have their protection downgraded.

A source told the Mail that former senior politicians were to have their security downgraded, starting this month with the security detail of one elder statesman.

His new arrangements were to be used as a test team for similar future downgrades.

A source told the Mail that several serving senior politicians were put on Option 5 almost immediately after the previous Chancellor Sajid Javid resigned.

The confidential report states: The [Home Office] did not want the principals [the VIPs], in line for this significantly reduced level of [protection] to become aware of their impending reduction in security until imposed and past the point of no return.

The Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was downgraded but had his firearms officers reinstated after complaining to Downing Street.

A source told the Mail that Wallace first realised that there had been a more radical change than he was led to believe when he was at an event and received a message that he had to return to the Ministry of Defence to speak on a secure line as soon as possible.

He told his protection team that he needed blue lights and [sirens] and to go as fast as possible. They said no, they could not do that under Option 5. So they drove him back silently at 30mph. He was not happy, to put it mildly.

It was a previous Defence Secretary Michael Fallons personal protection officer who shot and killed Khalid Masood after he had fatally stabbed PC Palmer and killed another three people and injured dozens of others using a vehicle on Westminster Bridge.

That officer was in the vicinity of the attack only because he was waiting for his minister to emerge from Parliament.

A number of near-miss reports have been lodged by protection teams since the instigation of Option 5.

Last month a very senior politician who had been downgraded to Option 5 was driven out of Downing Street and straight into a violent demonstration, in which his vehicle was trapped.

Unexpected incidents provide cover for opportunistic attacks. Last week, the car in which the Prime Minister  who still has full armed protection  was travelling was in collision with a car containing members of his protection team after a protester stepped out in front of his convoy.

The Reading attack is viewed by protection officers as a further warning of the dangers of complacently putting cost before safety. One told the Mail that it shows how crazy Option 5 is.

The 400 Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP) officers provide personal protection for the Royal Family, government ministers, ambassadors, visiting heads of state and others deemed to be at risk.

Aside from during the Princess Anne kidnap attempt and the shooting of Masood, officers have drawn their weapons on a number of occasions.

In 1982 a police bodyguard shot and critically wounded a Palestinian terrorist who had just shot the Israeli ambassador outside a Park Lane hotel.

In 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, then Labour leader, was having lunch at a cafe in Hoxton, East London, when his two protection officers intervened in a robbery taking place nearby.

When one of the robbers drew a knife, they drew their guns and an arrest was made.

Sources say that since the RaSP was founded in 2015 there has been a marked change of approach.

Some senior officers in the unit do not have a background in or working knowledge of firearms and protection. Recruiting criteria of junior officers has also changed.

They are coming in after only two or three years police service, said a source. Thats fine if the guy had done ten years in the Army on operations.

You get life skills. Not good if he is young and with little service. Its not enough.

The bottom line is that firearm-trained police officers of 15 years experience are much more expensive than a junior constable armed only with a Taser.

The idea behind Option 5 was first mooted in 2016. The report claims that there was little consultation with serving firearms officers before the tactics were presented to the Metropolitan Police Federation  the professional body  by the Home Office as a fait accompli in May last year.

The confidential report analysing Option 5 was then written by a senior Federation member close to protection experts.

It was presented to the RaSPs senior leadership team earlier this year. But they have simply ignored it, according to a source.

A number of firearms instructors who have lectured on close protection around the world are quoted in the report. One states: This feels very much like an option considered by someone who has little understanding of what the day-to-day job actually looks like, and the position they will be placing those officers in.

Another says: Im unsure as to how this option would stand up to scrutiny at inquest.

A source told the Mail that, as a result, a number of firearms officers who were recruited to RaSP from provincial forces and duty at Heathrow airport have now applied to return to their old posts.

You do it properly or you dont do it at all, one firearms officer told the Mail.

It would be better, he said, for Option 5 principals to be protected by martial arts-trained private security specialists or ex-special forces.

Policemen are not trained in hand-to-hand combat, which would be better than a Taser if you havent got a gun.

[Scotland Yard] say they have done risk assessments [prior to downgrading]. But that is untrue. The Home Office has said that it will shoulder that risk. But I dont believe that for a second either.

When something goes wrong, it will be the guys on the ground who get the blame at the cost of the life of an officer, a member of the public or the principal they are protecting.

Last night Scotland Yard refused to comment.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended lower on Friday, despite staying positive till the penultimate hour. Worries about global growth in the wake of reports showing spikes in new coronavirus cases in several parts of U.S. and in many other countries weighed on stocks. The benchmark SMI ended down 47.92 points or 0.47% at 10,041.91, after hitting a high of 10,172.15 and a low of 10,018.20 in the session. Novartis declined by about 1.6%. According to reports, Novartis and its former Alcon eye-care unit will pay more than $346 million to resolve U.S. criminal and civil charges that they bribed doctors, hospitals and clinics in Greece and Vietnam to prescribe their drugs and use their surgical products. Swatch Group, Swiss Life Holding, Swiss Re, Roche Holding, Sika, Richemont and Swisscom ended lower by 0.5 to 0.8%. Alcon gained more than 2.5% and Adecco moved up 1.6%, while LafargeHolcim, Givaudan and Lonza Group closed with modest gains. In the midcap section, Dufry declined nearly 6.5%. AMS ended 1.7% down on reports Austria's financial markets watchdog FMA is investigating AMS' top management on suspicion of illegal share transactions during the ongoing takeover of Osram. The company, however, has rejected the allegations. Helvetia and Dorma Kaba Holding both ened lower by about 1%, while Vifor Pharma lost 0.7%. Among the other major markets, Germany and France closed weak, while the U.K. ended marginally up. 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.
NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace's father has spoken out after images were released of the suspected noose in his garage that was determined by the FBI not to be a hate crime.

'We've had to jump through a lot of hurdles and put up with a lot of stuff  from when he was nine years old, up until today,' Darrell Wallace Sr told CBS This Morning on Friday.

Darrell grew emotional while recounting Monday's show of solidarity at Talladega, where all the drivers joined together to push Bubba's car to the front of the line after NASCAR claimed a noose had been found in a garage.

The FBI determined that the loop of rope resembling a hangman's knot had been hanging as a garage door pull in Bubba's car stall since last year, long before he was assigned the spot.

Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet, wears a 'I Can't Breathe - Black Lives Matter' t-shirt under his fire suit in solidarity with protesters

Bubba Wallace's father Darrell Wallace Sr grew emotional in an interview as he discussed the outpouring of support the race car driver has received after believing he'd seen a 'noose'

Bubba Wallace celebrates with his mom Desiree Wallace after winning the pole position during qualifying for the NASCAR Truck Series auto race in 2014

'They had his back. Everybody there has his back,' Darrell said of the support the other drivers showed his son. 'It's a proud moment.'

The father said he was overwhelmed by the sight of other drivers pushing Bubba's car, as NASCAR legend Richard Petty attended to embrace the young driver, who is the only full-time black driver in NASCAR.

'I texted to my family, "Who's chopping onions?" Because they was texting, everybody was crying,' he said.

Bubba was nine when his cousin Sean Gillespie, 19, was fatally shot in May 2003 by a Knoxville police officer who believed his cell phone was a gun. The officer was later cleared of wrongdoing in connection with the shooting.

The uproar over the 'noose' incident followed Bubba's successful campaign to get NASCAR to ban the Confederate battle flag at its events.

His father said it was 'the right thing to do' and noted people were 'uncomfortable' with the flag, himself included.

'There's only one flag I stand for, and so yeah, I'm uncomfortable with the flag, and if you're with me and you're uncomfortable with the flag, then I'm uncomfortable too,' he said.

NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch, left, and Corey LaJoie, right, join other drivers and crews as they push the car of Bubba Wallace to the front of the field prior to the starting line on Monday

Bubba Wallace takes a selfie of himself and of other drivers who had pushed his car to the front in the pits at Talladega Superspeedway before the NASCAR Cup Series auto race

The father said that Bubba has 'been having sleepless nights' after he was told of the rope found in his garage.

'I just see how it's weighing down on him and wearing him out,' he said.

NASCAR President Steve Phelps said cameras will now be added to garages, and NASCAR will require members of the racing association to complete sensitivity and unconscious bias training.

On Monday, NASCAR and the FBI both launched investigations into the matter, which revealed that the rope was previously used in the same stall by a white driver, Paul Menard, in 2019. Footage from earlier years showed similar garage door pulls being used by other drivers, although none can be described, exactly, as a 'noose.'

According to US Attorney Jay Town and FBI Special Agent Johnnie Sharp Jr., nobody could have known that Wallace would be assigned that specific stall prior to last weekend's race.

NASCAR has released a photo of the suspected 'noose' found in Bubba Wallace's garage stall at Talladega on Sunday that was investigated by the FBI as a possible hate crime before being revealed to be a garage door pull rope that had been in use for at least a year

A Youtube video from 2019 showed a pull rope featuring a noose (circled) hanging from the garage door in the same stall used by Wallace and his team at Talladega earlier this week. At the time the video was taken, it was being used by a white driver, Paul Menard

Circuit officials questioned representatives from every NASCAR track to learn exactly how many garage door pull-down ropes were tied in a similar manner. Of the 1,684 stalls across 29 tracks, only 11 had knotted pull-down ropes, and just one of those had been fashioned into a noose - the one in Wallace's stall - according to NASCAR.com.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS SURROUNDING 'NOOSE' FOUND IN BUBBA WALLACE'S GARAGE June 9 - Bubba Wallace, NASCAR's only black full-time driver on its top circuit, calls on the sport to permanently ban the Confederate flag

Bubba Wallace, NASCAR's only black full-time driver on its top circuit, calls on the sport to permanently ban the Confederate flag June 10 - NASCAR bans the Confederate flag at all races after 70 years

NASCAR bans the Confederate flag at all races after 70 years June 21 - Ahead of the scheduled start of the GEICO 500 in Alabama, a Confederate flag is flown over the Talladega track while a caravan of protestors drive rebel banners back and forth in front of the entrance

Ahead of the scheduled start of the GEICO 500 in Alabama, a Confederate flag is flown over the Talladega track while a caravan of protestors drive rebel banners back and forth in front of the entrance June 21 - After the race is postponed by rain, someone from Wallace's team discovers the suspected noose in his garage stall

After the race is postponed by rain, someone from Wallace's team discovers the suspected noose in his garage stall June 21 - NASCAR confirms the discovery of the 'noose'

NASCAR confirms the discovery of the 'noose' June 22 - The FBI launches an investigation into the suspected hate crime

The FBI launches an investigation into the suspected hate crime June 22 - All 39 other NASCAR drivers rally in support of Wallace ahead of the GEICO 500 restart, collectively pushing his No. 43 car to the front of the grid in a show of solidarity

All 39 other NASCAR drivers rally in support of Wallace ahead of the GEICO 500 restart, collectively pushing his No. 43 car to the front of the grid in a show of solidarity June 23 - The FBI reveals that the suspected 'noose' is a garage door pull-down rope that had been in use for at least a year

The FBI reveals that the suspected 'noose' is a garage door pull-down rope that had been in use for at least a year June 24 - Wallace praises the FBI for its investigation and says he is 'relieved' that he was not the target of a racist gesture

Wallace praises the FBI for its investigation and says he is 'relieved' that he was not the target of a racist gesture June 25 - NASCAR releases a picture of the garage door pull, showing a long length of rope fashioned into a loop with one end coiled around the knot

NASCAR releases a picture of the garage door pull, showing a long length of rope fashioned into a loop with one end coiled around the knot June 25 - NASCAR reveals that of the 1,684 garage stalls across its 29 tracks, only 11 had knotted pull-down ropes, and just one of those had been fashioned into a noose - the one in Wallace's stall Advertisement

It is not clear who tied the rope that way or when that person did so. A Talladega Superspeedway spokesman did not return the Daily Mail's requests for comment.

NASCAR President Steve Phelps did release a statement Thursday to explain the decision to report the rope to the FBI as a 'noose.'

'Upon learning of and seeing the noose, our initial reaction was to protect our driver,' Phelps said. 'We're living in a highly charged and emotional time. What we saw was a symbol of hate and was only present in one area of the garage and that was of the 43 car of Bubba Wallace,' Phelps said.

'In hindsight, I should have used the word 'alleged' in our statement.

'As you can see from the photo, the noose was real, as was our concern for Bubba' Phelps continued.

'With similar emotion, others across our industry and our media stood up to defend the NASCAR family - our NASCAR family - because they are part of the NASCAR family too. We were proud to see so many stand up for what's right.'

Wallace, who did not discover the noose and wasn't the person who reported it to NASCAR or the FBI, faced criticism for the misunderstanding on Wednesday, but described himself as 'relieved' that it was not intended as a racist threat.

'I think we'll gladly take a little embarrassment over what the alternatives could have been,' he said in a statement.

Wallace told NBC that he was actually suspicious the suspected noose was, in fact, a garage door pull-down rope, so he went looking for others to see if they were tied in a similar fashion.

'When I did find out, I was adamant about searching all the other garages and making sure that this wasn't a garage pull, and it ended up being one,' he told NBC on Wednesday.

As for his mistaken belief that the rope was a racist message sent from an anonymous antagonist, Wallace defended himself Wednesday by telling CNN that a 'straight-up noose' was found in his garage.

'The photo evidence that I've seen, that I have in my possession, of what was in our garage, is exactly a garage pull, it is, that is a noose,' he said before NASCAR released the photograph. 'I don't know when we get to the point to release that image, but anybody sees it, it's alerting and it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up for sure.'

He went on to say that he is 'p****d' with his critics who are using the incident to minimize accusations of racism within the sport.

Before the FBI halted its investigation, all 39 other NASCAR drivers rallied in support of Wallace at Monday's restart, collectively pushing his No. 43 car to the front of the grid in a show of solidarity.

In this October 2017 shot, several similar ropes are seen being used in the Talladega garages

Wallace, an Alabama native, became overwhelmed with emotion and fought back tears as his car owner, NASCAR legend Richard Petty, gave him a hug in the moments before the race began.

By Tuesday, the FBI investigation found that the item - which is described in a NASCAR statement as a 'garage door pull rope fashioned like a noose' - had been there since 2019.

Wallace stressed that he remains thankful for the outpouring of support he received before Monday's restart in Alabama from both his NASCAR rivals and his fans.

'Make no mistake, though some will try, this should not detract from the show of unity we had on Monday, and the progress we've made as a sport to be a more welcoming environment for all.'
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Linkedin Sri Wahyuni (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 15:43 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661efa90 1 National qurban,Idul-Adha,COVID-19,coronavirus,pandemic,COVID-19-protocol Free

Mosques have been urged to implement the COVID-19 health protocols if they decided to hold the qurban sacrificial ceremony to mark Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice)

The holiday derives from obedience to God Ibrahim (Abraham) demonstrates in his willingness to sacrifice his only son, Ishaq (Isaac). The qurban involves the ritual sacrifice of livestock, primarily of goats and cattle in Indonesia, with the meat apportioned among the congregation, as well as shared with the poor and other disadvantaged families in the area around the mosque.

The call comes from the Center for Halal Studies at the Gadjah Mada University (UGM) animal husbandry school ahead of Idul Adha, which falls on July 31 this year.

The center's director, Nanung Danar Dono, said that the ceremony should be conducted by minimizing the number of people gathering at the event to prevent possible transmission of COVID-19.

The objective is to protect the [organizing] committee and [attendees] from the disease while allowing them to perform the qurban, Nanung said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He emphasized that the ritual animal sacrifice should be performed only in those areas deemed safe by the government, or "green zones".

Mosque management were also advised to study and review the latest conditions in their region by taking into account edicts from ulema, the views of health experts and government regulations.

Nanung stressed that mosques should not hold the qurban if the region had even one confirmed case.

He also suggested that it would be better to have a licensed abattoir perform the qurban to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Otherwise, he urged mosques to hire a team of butchers that could perform the slaughter in compliance with both sharia and the COVID-19 protocols.

He advised mosque management to set up a special team for organizing and monitoring the ceremony, as well as to ensure that all members on the team were healthy.

No sick person may be present at the site of the [ritual] slaughter, said Nanung, underlining that the team should have limited membership and that the designated site be disinfected in advance.

Mosque management should also be equipped with hand sanitizers, water, hand soap, masks and face shields to make sure that all team members and others involved in the qurban followed the COVID-19 health protocols.

Meanwhile, UGM animal husbandry dean Ali Agus expressed the hope that its recommendations would help people better understand the necessity for maintaining the health protocols during the ritual sacrifice.

That way Muslims will be able to perform the qurban in a calm, orderly and comfortable manner, he said.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: The world is waking up to China's intentions to dominate the 5G telecommunications field amidst the coronavirus pandemic, unrest in Hong Kong, standoff with India and other efforts by Beijing to "conceal, coerce and co-opt the world," a top American diplomat has said.

Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach told reporters that Huawei's deals with the telecommunications operators around the world are evaporating because countries are only allowing trusted vendors of 5G networks.

"It's really giving the political will to government leaders around the world, and also to corporate leaders. Following the pandemic, Hong Kong, skirmishes at the Indian border, and so many other efforts by Beijing to conceal, coerce, and co-opt the world, it's waking up the citizens of the world to the Communist Party's true intentions to dominate 5G. And Huawei's efforts are running out of steam," he said during a news conference on Thursday.

ALSO READ| Had 'very frank' discussion with China on 'unprovoked aggression': US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

In telecommunications, 5G is the fifth generation technology standard for cellular networks, the planned successor to the 4G networks which provide connectivity to most cellphones currently. Spanish multinational telecommunications company Telefonica states in its digital manifesto that security is paramount.

Its CEO and chairman Jose Lopez this week declared that "Telefonica is proud to be a Clean Path company, and Telefonica in Spain and the UK are fully clean networks. Telefonica Deutschland and Brazil will be, in the near future, without equipment from any untrusted vendors," he said.

Just a few weeks ago, the big three telcos of Canada decided to partner with Ericsson and Nokia because Canadian public opinion was overwhelmingly against allowing Huawei into the 5G networks.

Krach said that the largest telco companies in major countries around the globe are also becoming "Clean Telcos". "In addition to Telefonica, we've seen this with Orange in France, Reliance in India, Telstra in Australia, SK and KT in Korea, Cosmote in Greece, NTT in Japan, and O2 in the United Kingdom," Krach said, adding that the momentum in favour of securing 5G is building.

The more countries, companies and citizens ask whom they should trust with the most sensitive data, the more obvious the answer becomes: not the Chinese Communist Party's surveillance state, the US diplomat said.

Krach said that the UK's decision to reconsider the use of Huawei and its 5G networks resulted in a dramatic backlash from China. It threatened to punish the British bank HSBC, and pull investment from major British infrastructure projects.

ALSO READ| US shifting military to face Chinese threat to India, Southeast Asian nations: Mike Pompeo

"Clearly, the Chinese Communist Party sees much more than mere financial benefit to having Huawei embedded in foreign 5G networks. I think it is no wonder why so many countries are reevaluating their partnerships with Chinese firms and standing up to the Chinese Communist Party's aggression, like Australia," he said.

Earlier this year, Huawei boasted that it had 91 5G commercial contracts signed. That list has dwindled down to low double digits. Krach said that Huawei's deals have evaporated in direct proportion to the threats to retaliate against any country taking steps to protect its citizens and businesses' most personal, sensitive information.

"For too long, Beijing bullied other countries and threatened retaliation if it did not get its way. China is a big marketplace, and consequences of retaliation are real. Just ask the people of Norway, who suffered economically for years after the committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize - and they bestowed that prize on a democracy activist who questioned the Communist Party," he told the reporters.

Alleging that the bullying is out of desperation, perhaps fear, he said China is feeling its 5G dream of global domination suddenly slipping through its fingers.

"We've all had experience with bullies in our lifetime, and if there is one thing we know about bullies, it's that they back down when they're confronted. And they really back down when your friends are standing by your side," Krach added.
A new Huawei facility intended to progress research and development on chips is now reportedly set to be built in the UK. The research center will eventually become the Chinese tech giants international headquarters of optoelectronics business if everything goes smoothly. For clarity, the technology is typically used in fiber optic communication systems. Those, in turn, are typically implemented in data centers or as part of network infrastructure build-outs.

With regard to the facility itself, Huawei says it plans to put no less than 1 billion into that. And thats just for the first phase of development. The 50,000-square-foot compound will eventually employ as many as 300 to 400 people. Presumably, that will include a significant number of employment for local workers and talent brought in.

If that estimate is accurate, the facility will boost Huaweis UK workforce from around 1,600 workers to between 1,900 and 2,000 workers.

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Huawei says that it will position the facility in Sawston. Thats just a few miles from the Cambridge city center  where companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and ARM also operate.

What is Huawei saying about its new UK research facility?

No exact timeline has been given for the build-out and finalization of the new Huawei research facility in the UK. And it isnt immediately clear either when it will become fully operational. In the meantime, Huawei has released a statement via its vice president, Victor Zhang.

Mr. Zhang indicates that the location for the companies new integrated innovation campus will suit the companies goals perfectly. Not only does the UK offer up some of the best talent in the world, but it also allows for close collaboration with those. Including those at research institutes, universities, and local industry.

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Huaweis underlying goals, according to the companys VP, are to advance the communication industry as a whole. Working with the UK is one part of that, particularly where optical communications technology is concerned. It will also, Mr. Zhang elaborates, help promote the nations broader Industrial Strategy, helping to enshrine the UKs lead in those technologies.

With those goals in mind, a local council for the region  the South Cambridgeshire District Council  approved the first phase of the project. Nine voters in the tally approved of the measure with one dissenting vote against.

This represents quite a lot of support in stark opposition to Huaweis global troubles

Now, Huaweis reputation globally has not necessarily aligned with the councils decision in this case. Or at least with the exception of the lone dissenter. The US and Huawei have effectively been locked in a heated debate over the past several years as part of a larger battle between the US and China.

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That has resulted in harsh consequences for the company in the US. In particular, Huawei was added to an Entity List in 2019 that prevents it from doing business with US companies. Thats continued on a rollercoaster of sanctions and reprieves, as some attempt to convince the government that Huawei and its networking merits are needed. While others are convinced that Huawei is spying for the Chinese authorities.

None of the evidence against the company has technically been made public and Huawei has denied the claims. But that hasnt stopped not just the US but also its allies from deciding not to do business with it either. In part because of threats that the US would impose further consequences on those nations that do.

Thats caused further mayhem, alongside ongoing global health concerns, for Huawei and other companies. For example, Taiwanese manufacturer TSMC has moved some production to the US and agreed not to sell parts to Huawei. Thats despite Huawei being its biggest client.

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So moving to secure its position even as some in the UK argue against Huawei being allowed to operate or to what extent is likely a smart move. At very least in terms of investing in the future to continue building on its 20-year tenure in the region.
Virgin Australia administrator Deloitte says it has agreed to sell the bankrupt airline to American private equity giant Bain Capital, after rival bidder Cyrus Capital Partners withdrew its rescue offer due to a "lack of engagement".

Cyrus - which was a founding investor alongside Richard Branson in Virgin America - said on Friday morning that it was pulling out of the sale because Deloitte had stopped returning phone calls or replying to its emails.

Virgin Australia went into voluntary administration in April with debts of $6.8 billion. Credit:AAP

Deloitte said in a subsequent statement that it had entered into a sale and implementation deed with Bain that will result in the sale and recapitalisation of Virgin.

Joint administrator Vaughan Strawbridge said in a statement that Bain had presented a "strong and compelling bid" for Virgin that would "secure the future of Australias second airline". However, neither Deloitte nor Bain would reveal the size of the bid, how many jobs will be lost or how much would be paid to creditors, which are owed $6.8 billion.
Since 2020s craziness began, Tucker Carlson has been brilliant. Hes talked us through speech-killing political correctness and cancel culture, a health panic that leftist politicians have used to break Trump supporters, and racism as bad as that during the Jim Crow era only with the races reversed. Carlson is always unafraid to tell the truth.

When the riots started, between his job at Fox News and his home base in Washington, D.C., Carlson has had a front-row seat for the spectacle of leftist protesters systematically destroying property and Americas heritage. It is a demoralizing show.

This demoralization was front and center in Carlsons monologue on Thursday night. He opened by saying theres a good chance that Trump can lose the election, making Biden president. (Were that to happen, I believe America would become the first country ever knowingly to elect to its highest office a man with dementia.)

Carlsons conclusion didnt arise because the polls show that the basement-dwelling Biden, whos trotted out every few days to prove hes still alive, is soaring in the polls. After all, voters remember 2016 and Hillarys lead. Carlson did observe that the Trump team is worried, but that wasnt driving Carlsons pessimism.

Instead, what concerned Carlson is that the Republicans have been supine in their response, first, to the lockdowns and, second, to the violent protests leftists have brought to Americas streets. He noted that Republican politicians were caught flatfooted because they are so naive they cant believe that the lockdowns and the riots are a planned and systemic attack on Americas conservative voters. They have therefore stood on the sidelines, he said, abandoning Americans to the mob.

To illustrate, Carlson played a disturbing call a panicked mother in Fredericksburg, Virginia, made to 911 when the mob trapped her in her car, only to have the 911 operator say no help was available, after which the mayor apologized to the rioters. What Carlson didnt mention is that 60% of Fredericksburgs citizens voted for Hillary. It is a leftist town.

While Carlson doesnt expect much from run-of-the-mill Republican politicos, he argued that Trumps apparent passivity means hes failing to do what voters in 2016 elected him to do: Stem the tide of leftism.

Voters saw which way the wind was blowing in 2016. They saw that Trump had for decades been prescient about Chinas rise and Americas simultaneous slide; they appreciated that he valued sovereignty, including secure borders; and they believed that he would take a stand against the breakdown of order in the streets and the governments expanded interference in and control over American lives.

But in 2020, once the fecal matter hit the fan and leftists revealed themselves in the statehouses and on the streets, Trumps reaction has been muted. Carlson acknowledged that Trump is exhausted from the Russia hoax, that his advisors are confused or disloyal, and that lawyers give stupid advice. More than that, though, Carlson contended that Trump is too passive. Hes failing, said Carlson:

I think Tuckers wrong. Trump is not silent because of fear or exhaustion. Instead, hes pursuing a deliberate strategy. Whether it works is another thing, but theres a strong rationale and intelligence behind Trumps response to both the virus and the riots.

First, Trump is living up to his principles: He is a true believer in the Founders view of federalism, which calls for a small federal government and greater states rights. During the Wuhan Virus, Trump slashed regulations (shrinking the government) to speed the manufacture of healthcare products, created a government-business partnership the likes of which hasnt been seen since WWII to meet the (probably erroneous) demand for ventilators, as well as other supplies, and signed off on legislative stimulus bills.

For the rest, he left it to Americas governors to determine their states policies. It is difficult to imagine any president other than Washington or Coolidge shrinking, rather than expanding, executive power during a crisis.

Second, Trump is allowing Americans to experience first-hand the immediate consequences of their political choices in Americas fifty laboratories of democracy. The dichotomy began with the Wuhan Virus. In Democrat-run states, Americans got total lockdowns, nursing homes turned into slaughterhouses, and economic destruction. In Republican-run states, Americans got some semblance of normal life, fewer deaths (in part because nursing homes werent petri dishes), and greater economic stability.

The dichotomy continued with the riots. In conservatively run states or cities, people were freely granted their First Amendment right to assemble peaceably but were immediately shut down when they turned to property destruction and violence. In Democrat-run cities or states, the politicos told the police to stand down (or hung them out to dry). The cities quickly turned into war zones, with looting, burning, racial violence, and systematic attacks on Americas cultural and religious institutions.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R, Ark.) understands that Trump, by sticking to his federalist principles, is making a point. As Cottons new video states, Elect Joe Biden and the anarchy will be coming to a town near you.

I understand Carlsons despair, for I sometimes feel it myself. But I also believe that Trump is forcing a real choice on Americans: They can vote for Biden and turn America into CHAZ or they can reelect Trump and, by making that statement, give him the power finally to shut down the left and its Deep State resistance.
By Cesar Chelala

June 25, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - So far its only a rumor. But the word all over Washington, DC is that Attorney General William Barr has insomnia. No one should take it lightly, because insomnia is a medical condition with devastating effects on a persons health, quality of life, and ability to make rational decisions. Several medical conditions may cause it, but I have an explanation for Barrs alleged insomnia.

Insomnia may lead some people to creativity. Franz Kafka had insomnia, and many people think this shaped much of this writing. This may not be the case of William Barr, though. Unless by creativity we mean the decision-making ability to undermine our countrys administration of justice, for which he has done an excellent job.

In 1989, Barr, as the head of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC,) justified the invasion of Panama for the purpose of arresting Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, a most valued Central Intelligence Agencys intelligence source. In December of that year, the United Nations General Assembly (75-20 with 40 abstentions), condemned the US the invasion as a flagrant violation of international law. The invasion caused the death of dozens of soldiers and hundreds of civilians, not to speak of $1.5 billion in property damages.

In 2019, Barr became the attorney general of the United States for the second time. Under Barrs leadership, the Justice Department sought to nullify the Affordable Care Act, thus depriving thousands of people of needed medical care, especially those with pre-existing conditions. Because children can stay on their parents health insurance plans up to age 26, more than three million previously uninsured young people qualified for insurance benefits as of 2012. Also, in 2019, Barr was held in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas. Predictably, the Justice Department declined to prosecute him.

Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election was documented in an official report submitted to Attorney General Barr on March 22, 2019. Upon receipt of the Muellers report, Barr sent a four-page letter to Congress attempting to summarize Muellers findings. Attorney General Barr added his own legal opinion stating that the evidence presented fell short of proving obstruction of justice by President Trump.

Special counsel Mueller responded that Barrs letter had misrepresented the report. Mueller stated that Barrs summary did not fully capture the context, nature and substance of his report, fueling public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation. Barr refused to release to the American public an introduction and executive summary of Mueller report.

However, after the publication of a redacted version of the actual report, news organizations and fact-checkers supported Muellers conclusion. In March 2020, Reggie Walton, a federal district judge appointed by President George W. Bush, said that Barrs characterizations of the Mueller report were distorted and misleading. This was not a crown of glory for the countrys main law-enforcement agent.

Barrs zeal for protecting the Executive branch of government extends to the presidents friends. Roger Stone is a case in point. A close associate of the president, Stone was convicted on seven counts in November 2019, including witness tampering and lying to investigators.

On February 10, 2020, the U.S. Attorneys office for the District of Columbia requested that Stone be sentenced to seven to nine years in prison. Around midnight, Trump called the sentencing recommendation a horrible and very unfair situation tweeting Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!

The following morning, a senior Justice Department official announced that the department would recommend a lighter sentence, followed in the afternoon by a revised sentencing memorandum in which the DOJ stated that those charges could be considered excessive and unwarranted under the circumstances. All four US Attorneys prosecuting Robert Stone withdrew from the case, and one of them, Jonathan Kravis, resigned from office. On February 20, 2020, Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison. He must report to prison by June 30, 2020.

Throughout his tenure as attorney general, Barr has demonstrated a lack of candor and a sustained effort to support President Trumps actions regardless of how irrational or unfair. Barrs insomnia may be due to several medical conditions, but I have an alternative explanation: Every time he looks at himself in the mirror, he sees a man who has steadily been undermining the rule of law that he has promised to uphold.

Cesar Chelala is a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award. He writes extensively on human rights and foreign policy issues.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.

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Lucknow, June 26 : Samajwadi Party (SP) workers were lathi charged by the Lucknow Police on Friday while they were protesting against the increase in petrol prices outside the Vidhan Sabha.

The prices of fuel have been rising in India for the past 20 days after oil marketing companies (OMCs) started daily revision since June 7.

Over a dozen of SP workers, including members of the youth wing, had gathered outside the UP assembly on Friday with placards to protest over the hike in fuel prices.

Some of the workers, who were heard raising slogans against the BJP and central government, were also detained by the cops.

The cops resorted to lathi charge as sloganeering increased.

Earlier, on Thursday, UP Congress Committee chief (UPCC) Ajay Lallu along with party workers had also protested against the government over the rise in prices of petrol and diesel.
T ravel giant Tui became the latest European company to secure a bailout today.

The company has been handed 1.2 billion in state aid from the German government as it fights to stay afloat.

Back in June Dutch airline KLM secured a 3.4 billion bailout from Dutch taxpayers to help it get through the coronavirus crisis. The subsidiary of Air France-KLM got 2.4 billion of state-backed funding and a further 1 billion in direct government loans.

The moves come on top of the 7 billion bailout of Air France from the French government, and a 9 billion handout from the German government for Lufthansa.

They highlight the stark difference in approaches between EU states and the UK when it comes to getting their travel and aviation industries through the crisis.

UK airlines have been given only a fraction of the amount of loan cash being handed out to some of the European flag carriers.

British Airways has only received 300 million and is believed to be seeking more, EasyJet has obtained 600 million, both under the same loan schemes as other big companies such as BP. The loans are for only one year and on commercial, albeit competitive, terms.

Forced to secure private sector funding to stave off the crisis, UK airlines are having to push through heavy job cut programmes, renegotiate lending facilities with banks and sell planes.

British Airways is even selling off works of art to keep itself afloat.

EasyJet is close to raising 2 billion through such means.

According to the Greenpeace tracker of agreed state funding packages, the latest rash of bailouts brings the continental total up to 24.3 billion.

In return for the bailout, KLM has to cut the number of night flights by 20% to cut aircraft news for residents around Schipol airport. It also has to take steps to encourage rail travel and half CO2 emissions by 50% per passenger by 2030.

The airline has to halt dividend payments and impose a restructuring plan that will involve some redundancies and pay cuts.

The conditions each European government has put on their bailout programmes have been diverse. When Paris handed over 4 billion to Air France, finance minister Bruno Le Maire insisted on a 40% curb to domestic flying and a pledge to be a "good customer" to Airbus, based in Toulouse.

It is not only European states who have opted to use taxpayers' money to keep their airlines strong. The US gave the aviation sector some $32 billion to cover six months of wages until the end of September. However, last night six unions demanded that be doubled to keep hundreds of thousands of employees in work until next Spring.

Executives in airlines have warned the industry is not likely to recover to pre-covid levels until at least two years, meaning job cuts were inevitable. Executives have been getting increasingly nervous about the recent pick-up of covid cases in several parts of the US. The aviation industry's executives have not yet asked for a further bailout.

As states around the world offer such huge aid programmes for their aviation sectors, some UK executives fear that they will be left falling behind with higher levels of debt to service and smaller operations.

As the industry reopens, it could be that bailed out airlines can use their advantage to grab market share from UK airlines, they warn, leading to longer term difficulties for the UK players.

However, others say that UK airlines will emerge with more efficient and flexible workforces and plane fleets. Taxpayers handing over their money to support inefficient businesses do not get good value for money, they argue.
[June 26, 2020] Visage 7.1.15 Now Available

SAN DIEGO, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Visage Imaging, Inc. ("Visage"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Pro Medicus Ltd. (ASX: PME), has announced the latest version of the Visage 7 Enterprise Imaging Platform, Visage 7.1.15, has been released for global availability. Visage is scheduling online demonstrations of Visage 7 coinciding with the virtual Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine 2020 (SIIM20) annual meeting, June 24-26. Visage 7 Workflow is now available as an option, offering native reading worklist management that enables customers to unify workflow with the simplicity of an additional tab in the Visage 7 smart-client. Customers now have the choice of driving reading workflow from independent workflow platforms, EHR-driven workflow, or natively with Visage 7. Also in Visage 7.1.15, Semantic Annotations provide a native framework to make annotations semantically meaningful. Semantic Annotations are created during routine diagnostic interpretation (or can be created retrospectively) and easily flow into the Visage research server and model training infrastructure to build new AI models. Positioned on both sides of the AI pipeline, Visage 7 is optimized to consume the output of AI models and integrate them directly into Visage 7. "The challenges of the continuing COVID-19 crisis required quick, thoughtful reactions by healthcare institutions and vendors alike, accelerating transformation. Especially at the beginning of the crisis, remote reading programs received considerable attention, launching programs that did not previously exist, while expanding established initiatives. We're proud to work together with customers in numerous ways, including cros-institutional AI research, combining the agility of Visage 7 and the creativity of the Visage team to meet the unprecedented situation before us. It's clear the modern capabilities of the Visage 7 platform provided significant advantages despite the ever changing delivery of emergent care," explained Malte Westerhoff, PhD, Visage Imaging Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer. Dr. Westerhoff continued, "Visage continues to innovate. With 7.1.15, Visage 7 now also offers native reading worklist management and the enhanced ability to control the AI pipeline via semantic annotations in a proven platform specifically engineered to overcome the historical barriers to cloud PACS adoption."



Visage 7.1.15 offers numerous additional enhancements, including: Visage 7 in the cloud. Incorporating the option of Visage's worklist, viewer and archive into a single offering highly optimized for cloud deployment, Visage 7 is the industry's first cloud-engineered server-side platform for complete PACS operations. Visage 7 in the cloud can offer the same ultrafast speed and functionality of on-premise implementations, but with the added security and scale of the cloud.

Incorporating the option of Visage's worklist, viewer and archive into a single offering highly optimized for cloud deployment, Visage 7 is the industry's first cloud-engineered server-side platform for complete PACS operations. Visage 7 in the cloud can offer the same ultrafast speed and functionality of on-premise implementations, but with the added security and scale of the cloud. Conference Labels. Visage 7 enables authorized users to mark studies for discussion in conferences and meetings with a convenient user interface designed for simplicity and immediate study accessibility. Visage is a Platinum Sponsor of virtual SIIM20 and presented "Next Stop, Cloud Nine: Your Ideal PACS Platform." A recording of Visage's presentation has been archived and is available to SIIM20 registrants for the next 12 months. To schedule a priority virtual demonstration of Visage 7.1.15, please visit this link.

About Visage Imaging, Inc. Visage Imaging is a global provider of enterprise imaging and advanced visualization solutions for diagnostic imaging. The Visage 7 Enterprise Imaging Platform delivers amazingly fast server-side rendered images streamed via an intelligent thin-client viewer with unmatched interoperability. Radiologists and referring physicians have a customized, protocol-driven workflow to natively view multi-dimensional imagery and multimedia using a One Viewer philosophy, scaled to support the world's most sophisticated healthcare organizations. Powerful solutions include enterprise interpretation and viewing; archiving, artificial intelligence, image enablement of EHRs; RIS/PACS, as well as anywhere mobile diagnostic access. www.visageimaging.com About Pro Medicus Limited Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) is Australia's leading imaging IT provider. Founded in 1983, the company provides a full range of integrated software products and services to hospital, imaging centers and health care groups worldwide. www.promed.com.au Visage, Visage Imaging, Visage Ease Pro, Visage Ease, One Viewer, ANV, and Deconstructed PACS are trademarks, registered trademarks and service marks that are licensed by Visage Imaging Inc. Other product and company names mentioned may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners or licensees. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/visage-7-1-15-now-available-301084320.html SOURCE Visage Imaging, Inc.

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Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Friday urged states to reduce power tariff for the industry, especially cold chain units, and bring it at par with the agriculture sector.

The minister chaired the second series of Food Processing Edition of Exclusive Investment Forum by Invest India, the national investment promotion and facilitation agency of the government, an official statement said.

The forum witnessed participation of senior most policymakers from the Centre and six state governments -- Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Besides, 193 companies from 19 countries participated in the forum.

Badal said the nationwide coronavirus lockdown was successful due to the government's effort to make essentials especially food available at every corner of the country.

She complemented the food industry for its efforts despite challenges such as fall in trade, unavailability of required number of workers and wastage of perishables.

Badal said these challenges have to be converted into opportunities by establishing a new normal in the food industry.

She urged all participants to follow the clarion call of the Prime Minister to become 'Atma Nirbhar' (self-reliant) and 'be vocal for local'.

The minister also said the food processing industry should work at its full potential as global companies are looking to source products from India.

Badal advised all investors to look at the low-hanging ready-to-eat (RTE) segment as a potential opportunity.

She also said superfoods of India need to be highlighted to the western world.

Badal advised states to share the most popular and nutritious local food which could be branded and marketed through big retailers in foreign countries to target the Indian diaspora.

"Union Minister urged the states to reduce power rates for food processing industry, specifically cold chain units, at par with agricultural rates," the statement said.

The minister also talked about the importance of modern technology for creating an aggregation portal at the national level for monitoring pan-India inventory of agri-food products. This could be helpful in catering to both domestic and global demand, she added.

Badal also informed the forum about the ministry's new scheme to be launched on June 29 to formalise the micro food processing enterprises, which would support them in accessing the latest know-how, affordable credit as well as new markets.

Minister of State for Food Processing Rameswar Teli said the central and state governments are taking strong policy decisions for all investors to take advantage of increasing growth opportunities in the Indian food processing sector.
Gettysburg officials said they are aware of an online event circulating on social media that encourages the burning of flags.

The event, which organizers described as a peaceful flag burning to resist police, allegedly sponsored by Antifa, is scheduled for July 4 in the National Cemetery.

In a press release, Gettysburg Borough and regional public safety officials said they know about the threat.

Robert Glenny, Gettysburg Borough police chief; Donald Boehs, Cumberland Township police chief; and Joseph Lachowski, Gettysburg National Military Park chief ranger, said their organizations will continue to monitor the situation and will collectively work together to ensure a safe Fourth of July.

The trio issued a statement, We asked all concerned to call their respective law enforcement agencies to report suspicious acts or things they feel may be out of place. We do appreciate the outpouring of support we are receiving from various groups.

They added, As earlier stated, we are aware of the threats and social media posts, if you are calling to alert us to those; we are watching them already.

We want to assure those we serve that we are taking all precautions at our disposal to maintain the safety of all residents and visitors to the area as well as the protection of property to include businesses, homes, monuments, churches and other historical treasures located in the greater Gettysburg area, Glenny said.

Jason Martz, Gettysburg National Military Park visual information specialist and public affairs officer, said he has heard of the event.

However, Martz said no group has applied for a permit for any activity on July 4, and this type of event is not permitted at the cemetery. There will be extra security available that day, he said.

In lieu of a traditional celebration of the three-day battle, Martz said Gettysburg National Military Park is offering virtual programs on its Facebook page.

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WASHINGTON - Police in the nation's capital were bracing Thursday night for protesters who planned to denounce and urge the removal of a statue of Abraham Lincoln, paid for by people who had been enslaved, that celebrates emancipation and depicts the former president standing over a kneeling African American man.

Federal and District of Columbia law enforcementpatrolled and erected barriers earlier in the day around the Emancipation Memorial, which stands in Lincoln Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Protesters have announced plans to gather at the statue both Thursday and Friday nights, though it was unclear whether they would seek to topple it or simply rally in favor of a more orderly removal.

District Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, argued for the latter approach at a news conference Thursday, saying the city should debate the fates of statues and "not have a mob decide they want to pull it down." On Monday, police broke up an effort to tear down a statue of former president Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square.

Critics say the Emancipation Memorial - which shows Lincoln holding a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation as an African American man in a loincloth kneels at his feet - is demeaning in its depiction of African Americans and suggests they were not active contributors to the cause of their own freedom.

The drive to remove the statue comes amid a wave of calls to take down monuments to figures ranging from Confederate Gen.Robert E. Lee to former president Theodore Roosevelt. The furor over the Lincoln statue represents a new front in that campaign, as demonstrators who decry racism set their sights on a monument to a president who is principally remembered for ending African American slavery.

But the current push to take down the statue is also an extension of a long and complicated history that in some ways mirrors the mixed legacy of Lincoln, who led the fight to end Southern states' tradition of human bondage but also defended the racist views held by many whites of his era.

More than 25,000 people attended the statue's dedication on April 14, 1876, the 11th anniversary of Lincoln's assassination, including President Ulysses S. Grant. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered the keynote address to the crowd which included many black Washingtonians. In that famous speech, Douglass captured the contradictions that defined Lincoln's work on behalf of black Americans.

"He was preeminently the white man's president, entirely devoted to the welfare of white men," Douglass said, while adding that for African Americans "the hour and the man of our redemption had somehow met in the person of Abraham Lincoln" and "under his wise and beneficent rule we saw ourselves gradually lifted from the depths of slavery to the heights of liberty and manhood."

The memorial has had detractors ever since it was put in place.

The statue was commissioned and paid for by African Americans, including many former Union soldiers and those who had been enslaved, but its design was overseen by an all-white committee. Critics say the image of a paternalistic Lincoln and subservient enslaved man discounts African Americans' role in winning their freedom. The model for the kneeling figure was Archer Alexander, a former slave who assisted Union troops and escaped on his own.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, the District's nonvoting representative in Congress, said this week that it should be placed in a museum.

"Although formerly enslaved Americans paid for this statue to be built in 1876, the design and sculpting process was done without their input, and it shows," Norton said in a statement. "The statue fails to note in any way how enslaved African Americans pushed for their own emancipation.

But some scholars are urging caution as such calls intensify.

The statue, they say, is hugely important in African American history. For many years it was the only statue commissioned and paid for by African Americans and was the only statue dedicated to the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation.

"Even though the image is problematic it's part of our history that African Americans themselves paid for this monument and it was their way of saying slavery had ended," said Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, chairwoman of the history department at Harvard University and a prominent African American historian.

"The detractors are right: The image it is setting forth is the image of Lincoln bestowing freedom on African Americans without capturing the sensibility that black men were fighting in that war," Higginbotham said. However, she added, "For a man of his time, the job Lincoln got done was astounding, and so African Americans had positive feelings about him and most still do."

Yale historian David Blight, whose biography of Douglass won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for history, agreed that the Emancipation statue is problematic but said he opposes its removal, in part because Douglass's speech at the dedication "was one of the greatest speeches of his lifetime."

"He didn't just honor Lincoln. He was very blunt, very direct," Blight said. "He delivered a warning to Grant and to the government that America was losing Reconstruction."

Today we would produce a different image to honor emancipation, Blight said, but he urged that the statue in Lincoln Park not be removed.

"The day it was dedicated there was a huge parade by black Washington," he said. "To just say get rid of it is in some ways an insult to those people. It was the way they chose to or had to choose to commemorate emancipation at that time. We don't have many monuments about emancipation in this country. We ought to be fighting to protect the ones we have and also build some better ones."

Early Thursday afternoon, construction workers in orange vests arrived at Lincoln Park and began encircling the Emancipation Memorial with tall metal fencing, reinforced by white concrete barriers.

After that, they placed similar protections around a nearby monument to Mary McLeod Bethune, a prominent African American educator, stateswoman and civil rights activist.

Bethune's memorial was the first statue built on public land in the nation's capital that commemorated an African-American woman. Angie White, a black Virginia resident who had come to see the Emancipation Memorial before it could be removed, broke off her conversation with another onlooker as she noticed the new precautions for the Bethune statue.

"Oh gosh," White said. "I guess they think they've got to protect her, too."

A half-dozen U.S. Park Police stood guard around the Lincoln monument. At a corner of the park, a set of D.C. police officers also stood watch, too. Three police cars blocked vehicles' access to North Carolina Avenue.

As nightfall approached, protesters began to gather, though only a handful had appeared by 7:30.

Pedestrians were still allowed in, and many District residents out for late-afternoon strolls, jogs or dog walks stopped to take in the new fencing and snap photos. Some approached police and asked why officials felt they needed to protect the statue. Others began discussing the history and symbolism of the monument, which demonstrators have said promotes white supremacy and neglects to acknowledge the role enslaved people played in fighting for freedom.

"This is a great example of something that should be a museum," said David Travis, 59. "It went up with good intentions, but this is just a different time."

Leslie Sinsay, 61, nodded in agreement. Sinsay, an African American teacher in the District, had walked past the statue almost every day for the past two decades. She never liked looking at the kneeling man who had been enslaved but tried not to think about it.

When she spotted the police and construction workers Thursday, she phoned her husband five times, growing more frustrated every time he failed to pick up. Finally, she ran back to the apartment and grabbed him. Sinsay wasn't hopeful that the protesters will actually manage to take the monument down on Thursday evening, but she planned to come back to the park around 8 p.m. to watch anyway.

If it happened, she didn't want to miss it.

- - -

The Washington Post's Jessica Contrera, Marissa J. Lang, Michael E. Miller, Samantha Schmidt and Perry Stein contributed to this report.
New Delhi:

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe on Thursday marked out India and China as the only countries that can drive economic growth across the globe and manufacturing companies have no other place to go.

Critical of the western nations over selective treatment on framing economic policies, he said: Asia will bail out the world (from the economic crisis), if it is allowed to frame the rules (policies).

WEF in Delhi this year says the world is expecting India to translate potential into action... we are at threshold of another historic moment. If the pace of reforms fails to pick up, companies may look elsewhere. Where elsewhere? It has to be India or China. Thats the hard truth. There is no other place to go today, Wickramasinghe said here.

Speaking at the India Economic Forum, organised jointly by WEF and CII, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister singled out the West for favouritism.

The rules were written by the West on globalisation, and we have (been) only played by it. When people here went and deposited part of their funds and assets in western countries, no one complained. When their own people (western countries) started going to Switzerland, they started complaining..., he added.

Asia will bail the world out... Otherwise, we create our own systems here (Asia). A very very stable system.

Speaking about Sri Lankas economic engagement with the US, he said both will take the process further after the presidential elections in the North American nation.

We have kept 500 acres of land for a gold course and Trump towers, Wickramasinghe said, jokingly referring to Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump, who is locked in a tight battle with Democrat Hillary Clinton.

With India, he said, Sri Lanka will ink the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) this year.

Earlier at the summit, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that in not so encouraging global economic environment, South and South-East Asia are going to be the engine of growth for the world.

She was clear that India is committed and driven towards equitable and inclusive growth. Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agrawal put an emphasis on India developing small and medium enterprises to push growth.

GE Hong Kong SAR Vice-Chairman John Rice, on his part, said India needs to lay more emphasis on exports and look at establishing an export credit agency.

For A T Kearney Global Managing Partner Johan Aurik, the answer lay in jobs and technological development for India to grow.

Harvard economist Gita Gopinath felt that India needs to ensure it can manage 8 per cent growth over a couple of decades.

Paytm CEO V S Sharma was of the view that the fourth industrial revolution will depend on affordable and accessible Internet for all.

According to Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, the country needs a radical restructuring of education and health sectors to sustain growth momentum.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
If those on the left are going to support Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals as a way to help Dreamers, they should at least take a moment to try to understand why  far from being a display of compassion  DACA is actually an act of cruelty.

They also wont find much compassion in a recent 5-4 Supreme Court decision that blocked an attempt to do away with the program.

The swing vote was Chief Justice John Roberts, who acknowledged that the Trump administration had the power to use its executive authority to end a program that was, after all, created by the executive authority of the Obama administration. What bothered Roberts was that Trump didnt end the program in the right way by considering alternatives and weighing the harm to participants.

The Tweeter-In-Chief caught that. After the ruling, Trump wrote on Twitter: The DACA decision, while a highly political one, and seemingly not based on the law, gives the President of the United States far more power than EVER anticipated. And he followed up with this: As President of the United States, I am asking for a legal solution on DACA, not a political one, consistent with the rule of law. The Supreme Court is not willing to give us one, so now we have to start this process all over again.

To think, DACAs defenders cheered the High Courts decision. These folks are used to being handed a crumb and calling it a feast.

Trump is ready to argue in this election year that  with more than 40 million people filing for unemployment since the pandemic began  America First means not just keeping out high-skilled foreigners who compete with Americans for jobs, but also getting rid of those who are already here.

Joseph Edlow, deputy director for policy at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, is onboard with Trumps quest to purge immigrants from this land of immigrants. After the Supreme Courts decision, he said in a statement: Todays court opinion has no basis in law and merely delays the Presidents lawful ability to end the illegal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals amnesty program.  The fact remains that under DACA, hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens continue to remain in our country in violation of the laws passed by Congress and to take jobs Americans need now more than ever.

If you lost your job and you think the government owes you another one, help is on the way.

But defenders of DACA need help, too. Many of them dont seem to understand the program theyre defending.

DACA is not a humanitarian program, or it would be permanent. The program is temporary and based on two-year deferments that have to be renewed so these immigrants can work. Immigrants are the ultimate essential workers because many of the native-born have forgotten how to work. DACA is an enforcement scheme.

And why is it cruel? In any negotiation, both parties must be on equal footing. It was heartless of President Barack Obama to unfairly take advantage of desperate folks stranded in the desert by offering them a sip of water  not because it was the humane thing to do but as part of a quid pro quo with strings attached and a trap door.

The desperate were going to agree to anything. In this case, more than 600,000 undocumented young people had to turn themselves into authorities, get photographed, be fingerprinted, and hand over their home address, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement could find their parents  who were also presumably undocumented.

Deferred action, eh? What action is being deferred? Its not citizenship, or a parade to welcome these so-called Dreamers as full citizens. Its deportation!

Maybe DACA recipients, and their families, didnt get that.

And, you can bet, it was always understood by Obama administration officials that this bill would come due one day. That includes the dastardly Janet Napolitano, the former Homeland Security Secretary, who bragged to Congress about how the number of deportations was going up and insisted for three years that the executive branch couldnt do what it ultimately did.

Welcome to America. Uncle Sam can be a slick salesman. But theres no free lunch.

Meanwhile, the young people trapped in this game think that Obama did them a favor by letting them put their head into the lions mouth, and that the Democratic Party is their friend and champion.

They dont call them Dreamers for nothing.

ruben@rubennavarrette.com
Gold prices climbed Rs 97 to Rs 48,234 per 10 gram in the Mumbai bullion market on weakness in dollar and firm global cues. The precious metal edged higher on spike in coronavirus infections in the US and other parts of the world supported by safe haven demand.

The rate of 10 gram 18, 22 and 24-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 36,176, Rs 44,182 and Rs 48,234 plus 3 percent GST.

Ravindra Rao, VP- Head Commodity Research, Kotak Securities, said economic data from major economies points towards nascent recovery post the virus slump. "US-China tensions rose after the US Senate passed legislation on June 25 that would sanction people or companies it deems in support of China's attempt to restrict Hong Kong's autonomy. Market players are becoming increasingly nervous that increased tensions could hamper the fragile trade deal signed in January, which is again supportive for gold."

Navneet Damani, Vice President, Motilal Oswal, said the broader trend on Comex could be in the range of $1,745-1,785 per ounce and on the domestic front prices could hover in the range of Rs 47,700-48,150 per 10 gram.

The gold/silver ratio currently stands at 99.89 to 1, which means the amount of silver required to buy one ounce of gold.

Silver prices jumped Rs 700 to Rs 48,234 per kg from its closing on June 25.

In the futures market, gold touched an intraday high of Rs 48,130 and an intraday low of Rs 47,802 on the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX). For the August series, the yellow metal touched a low of Rs 39,200 and a high of Rs 48,539.

Gold futures for August delivery gained Rs 115, or 0.24 percent, at Rs 48,056 per 10 gram in evening trade on a business turnover of 14,091 lots. The same for October delivery rose Rs 116, or 0.24 percent, at Rs 48,222 on a business turnover of 5,816 lots.

The value of August and October contracts traded so far is Rs 2,536.34 crore and Rs 25.50 crore, respectively.

Similarly, Gold Mini contracts for July jumped Rs 68, or 0.14 percent, to Rs 48,020 on a business turnover of 5,610 lots.

Gold has strong resistance at Rs 48,180-48,330 whereas support is placed at Rs 47,800-47,640, according to Motilal Oswal. The broking firm sees support for spot gold at $1,750-1,780 levels.

At 12:06 (GMT), spot gold was down $1.32 at $1,762.36 an ounce in London trading.
Sun-seekers will be able to travel to popular European destinations from July 4 if ministers agree 'travel corridors' to key countries today.

The Government's coronavirus committee, led by Michael Gove, will meet this afternoon to decide which countries will have the 14-day quarantine restrictions lifted.

The list will reportedly include 'the main Mediterranean destinations', with France, Spain, Italy and Greece all expected to make the cut. Other countries with low infection rates, such as Latvia, Slovakia and Croatia, could also be included.

But Portugal may not be added as there have been a spike in cases in the capital Lisbon. And Sweden is unlikely to be cleared because of concerns about high levels of infection.

Campaign groups have called for the whole of Europe to be opened up for British travel, because the Schengen open border area of the EU makes individual restrictions almost impossible to police.





Paul Charles, spokesman for the campaign group Quash Quarantine, which represents 400 of the biggest travel and hospitality businesses in Britain, told the Telegraph: 'You are not going to be able to stop British people flying in to Madrid, driving over to Portugal and then going back via Madrid.

'That's why it needs a pan-European travel corridor.'

The British Prime Minister is due to give the green light to foreign holidays next Monday when the Government unveils its long-awaited travel corridor plan. Pictured, an employee wearing a protective mask walks on the beach of the Divani Apollon Palace hotel in Greece

With Portugal supposedly left off the list, campaign groups have called for the whole of Europe to be opened up for British travel

Tourists walk by the Coliseum monument in Rome as the country eases its lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection

Tui cancels all Florida holidays until DECEMBER Tui has cancelled all holidays to Florida until December. The firm said it made the decision following new health and safety measures introduced at Walt Disney World Resort. A spokeswoman said: 'These changes would significantly impact the holiday experience for many Tui customers who plan their magical and often once-in-a-lifetime Florida holiday. 'As part of Tui's new holiday promise, the UK's biggest tour operator commits to only operating holidays where it's able to guarantee an enjoyable, relaxing and safe holiday without significant changes at their destination.' Customers are being offered a range of alternative options, including delaying their trip until next year or changing their destination - both with a booking incentive - or a full refund. Advertisement

The Foreign Office is expected to ease advice next week which warns against 'all but essential travel', making it impossible for holidaymakers to get insurance. The new moves means travellers should be able to book holidays from July 4.

The controversial quarantine rule  where visitors entering the UK must self-isolate for 14 days  was introduced this month. But the scheme will be partially dismantled next week to allow travel corridors in which reciprocal agreements mean that travellers will not have to isolate at either end of their journey.

It comes as the Eiffel Tower reopened yesterday amid warnings from the World Health Organisation that Europe has seen a resurgence in coronavirus cases since countries began easing lockdowns.

Some 30 countries who have lifted restrictions have seen cases rise in the last fortnight.

Henry Smith, the Conservative chairman of the all-party Future of Aviation Group, welcomed the 'first steps' but pointed out most EU countries have had a similar if not better experience with coronavirus to the UK.

He said it was a mistake not to open the corridors to all EU countries. 'I think that is the most straight forward and eloquent way to approach it,' he added.

It comes after it was revealed medium-haul destinations such as Dubai will reportedly be available for Britons to explore from mid to late summer, with trips to Vietnam and Hong Kong on the horizon from late August or September.

Britons are also expected to get the green light to visit Canada, Morocco and the Caribbean from August.

Ministers are even on the verge of coming to a deal with Australia, as long as flights connect via low-risk countries such as Singapore.

Britons began to arrive in Benidorm, Spain on Monday as coronavirus restrictions were eased amid the pandemic in Europe

Tourists take selfies in front of Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy on June 19 as travel restrictions were loosened after months of lockdown

'Air bridges' to France , Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey have been all but confirmed, sources disclosed, with the first flights set to take off on July 4

Dozens more countries will be added in coming weeks, including important business destinations, but the initial announcement will be focused on popular holiday routes to give an instant shot in the arm to Britain's crippled travel industry.

But Britons hoping to travel to the USA, Mexico and South American countries will likely have to wait until at least December, the Sun reported.

Mr Charles was reportedly assured by the Government that travel corridors will open as planned - subject to any coronavirus outbreaks.

He said 'intensive' phone calls are currently taking place across Europe to finalise the arrangements.

'The first phase will be Europe, and the second phase from August will be more long haul, with the Caribbean, Dubai and Morocco included,' he said.

'South America, and Latin America will likely be exempt from the end of the year. There is no way restrictions will be lifted there any time soon as they are at the epicentre of the pandemic at the moment.

'And it is unlikely that America will open up before the November election, partly because President Trump won't open it up, but also because the number of cases there is very high.'

France (pictured, Paris on Sunday) is among around 10 countries expected to be included in Britain's 'air bridges' to be announced on Monday

Greece (pictured, Oia on Santorini on June 14) is also among those expected to be announced by the Govenrment on Monday

At present, any traveller arriving in the UK - whether from Britain or a tourist - must quarantine for 14 days and provide their phone number and an address for self-isolation.

But some Britons have already ventured abroad after Spain lifted its ban on foreign tourists and opened its beaches in glorious 100 degree-plus heat earlier this month.

Travel firms also slashed the price of a one-week holiday to 300 as Downing Street signalled it could bring in these 'travel corridors' from July 4, with no 14-day quarantine on return to the UK.

The Foreign Office is expected to relax its warning against all but essential global travel for the first time since lockdown was imposed in mid-March.

Instead, the risk of Covid-19 will be set to low, medium or high depending on infection rates in individual countries.

The plans  to be announced on Monday  were finalised and signed off yesterday in a meeting with officials from Downing Street, the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Home and Foreign offices.

Airlines and airports were expecting to be briefed on the plans yesterday, giving them just over a week to prepare for the new holiday season.

Under the scheme, travel corridor nations are signing 'memorandums of understanding' with the Government, agreeing that whatever anti-coronavirus measures are taken in the UK must be mirrored by similarly stringent policies abroad.

Giving examples to the transport committee yesterday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the other country having an equivalent to our test and trace system was important.

He also spoke of the need to consider the 'level and trajectory' of the virus abroad.

Boris Johnson will give the green light to foreign holidays next Monday when the Government unveils its long-awaited travel corridor plan (Pictured: Beaches in Benidorm, Spain)

People sunbathe on Playa de Palma beach in Mallorca as Spain officially reopened its borders amid the coronavirus pandemic on June 21

Outlining the questions being asked by UK officials, he said: 'Do they have something equivalent to our NHS Test and Trace system? The Test and Trace system is enormous here now. We've got the capacity to test far more than is immediately required but that would allow for any uplift anywhere.

'Does the country we're talking to have that kind of capability?'

Mr Shapps added that introducing air bridges is a 'massive priority', stating: 'I understand entirely the pain that aviation is going through. I know both for airports, for airlines and actually for ground handlers as well, this coronavirus has been a complete disaster.

'The only thing which will be worse is if the country does not continue the work it's doing on getting on top of it.

'That's why quarantine has been introduced at a point where we were getting on top of it. I know there's a lot of arguments about what we should have been doing at the beginning.'

Travel corridors will come as welcome news to the beleaguered tourism industry, with holiday firms and airlines likely to launch big promotions for last-minute holidays as soon as the announcement is made.

Since June 8, all passengers - bar a handful of exemptions - have been required to go into self-isolation for 14 days when they arrive in the UK.

People who fail to comply can be fined 1,000 in England, and police are allowed to use 'reasonable force' to make sure they follow the rules.

On Monday, Matt Hancock used the press conference to reveal that details of the air bridges will be published shortly.

Passengers arriving from London wear face mask as they exit the arrival area at the El Part de Llobregat airport in Barcelona on Sunday

A man sunbathes in a designated roped-off area on Poniente Beach in Benidorm on June 21, as holidaymakers return to Spain

'A lot of work is being done on travel corridors, I've been working on it over the weekend,' he said.

'And we have a formal review date of the quarantine policy at the end of this month on June 29, and we'll make sure that in good time for that we publish what we plan to do next in terms of where we think - based on the epidemiological advice - we're able to formalise travel corridors.

'I know that people are really looking forward to getting this information, but we've got to make sure that we get it right and that work is going on right now.'

Ryanair has already seen a doubling of UK bookings for flights in July and August since the beginning of June, and price comparison site Travel Supermarket say demand for holidays to Spain has doubled over the past week compared to the week before.

This comes as more than 4,500 airport workers in the UK and Ireland face the axe after Britain's biggest airport ground handling company announced plans to shed more than half its staff. Swissport yesterday announced job cuts as the pandemic has damaged the aviation industry.

The firm employs 8,500 workers at airports across the UK, including baggage handlers and check-in staff.
South Africa: SA records a highest number of COVID-19 cases in one day

South Africa has recorded its biggest single-day spike of 6 579 new cases as the number of COVID-19 infections rise to 118 375 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has expressed his condolences to the families of the 87 people who succumbed to the respiratory illness.

Of the additional deaths, 53 are from the Western Cape, 17 from Eastern Cape, 15 from KwaZulu-Natal and two from Gauteng, which brings the toll to 2 292.

Also, the country has tested 43 118 people, the highest number of tests in one day bringing the total to 1 460 012.

While the Western Cape remains the epicentre, there are concerns that both the Eastern Cape and Gauteng are also playing catch up as the numbers continue to grow exponentially.

The hardest-hit provinces include the Western Cape with 56 780, followed by Gauteng 28 746, Eastern Cape 20 487 and KwaZulu-Natal 6 590.

The North West has 2 965, Free State 976, Limpopo 730 and Northern Cape 318.

The number of recoveries is 59 974 which translates to a recovery rate of 50.7%.

According to the World Health Organisation, there are currently 9 296 202 cases of which 167 056 were recorded in the last 24 hours globally, while 479 133 deaths of which 5 336 are new.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) shares were trading lower Thursday after the company announced it will delay the reopening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

What Happened: The company had previously announced a proposed phased reopening of theme parks beginning July 17, pending government approvals.

Disney said the state of California has now indicated that it will not issue theme park reopening guidelines until sometime after July 4.

Given the time required for us to bring thousands of cast members back to work and restart our business, we have no choice but to delay the reopening of our theme parks and resort hotels until we receive approval from government officials, Disneyland said in a blog post.

"Once the company has a clearer understanding of when guidelines will be released, we expect to be able to communicate a reopening date."

The Downtown Disney District will reopen on July 9 as previously announced with health and safety protocols in place for Disney cast members and guests.

The company said it has developed enhanced health and safety protocols for both staff and visitors at the Shanghai Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort, allowing them to reopen.

DIS Price Action: Disney shares were down 2.26% at $109.53 at the time of publication. The stock has a 52-week high of $153.41 and a 52-week low of $79.07.

Related Links:

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Photo by CrispyCream27.

See more from Benzinga

 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
New Delhi: In line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat, or self-reliant India, stance spelt out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recent weeks, India aims to double farm exports from US$ 30 billion now to US$ 60 billion by 2022, scout new markets hit by Covid-19, and put China at a disadvantage in bilateral farm trade, according to details of consultations to recalibrate the countrys agriculture trade policy set in 2018.

An interministerial assessment last week showed theres room to export more to the US, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, South Korea, Malaysia, Iran, and to China and its rival Taiwan, an official familiar with the developments said

Having invoked three Ordinances this month to liberalise the farm sector, its time to scout for new markets and boost exports. India is an agricultural powerhouse. Good export can help achieve doubling of farm incomes, a target set by the PM, the official said.

New export hubs for horticultural produce  fresh fruits and vegetables  will be opened in smaller cities as part of the strategy to provide direct global access to local farmers, according to the plan being discussed, he added.

The country has got market access for 35 agricultural products with eight countries this month. It will send out a few more over the course of the next few months, according to the plan.

India has a trade surplus with China when it comes to farm produce; in other words, the country sells more commodities, in value terms, to China than it buys from the neighbour. The aims is to widen this gap to Indias advantage, the official said.

To be sure, as a rule, as economies become developed, they sell more and more high-value manufactured items rather than farm-based products.

In 2018-19, Indias total agri-based exports to China, from raw cotton to shrimps, stood at US$ 1.9bn, a rise of 117% over the previous year. In the same year, Indias total agricultural imports from the neighbour was $282 million.

India framed a national agriculture trade policy for the first time in 2018. Officials said this policy needs to be retuned because of the global impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to changes being proposed, while India aims to export more farm produce to China, it will cut down on some.

Officials have identified 11 farm-based items which China imports from other trading partners, which India also has the potential to export.

These items will be put in so-called potential exports to China category, including maize, tobacco, tamarind, broken rice, coffee, cashew and pre-cooked meals. Bihar is one of the largest producers of maize.

On other hand, Indian imports from China included commodities in which India is self-sufficient, such as bamboo, wheat gluten and apple juice concentrate. A centrally sponsored scheme is currently on to promote bamboo products because of large plantations in the Northeast. We will now promote exports of bamboo products, rather than importing them, the official said. Marine products will receive special policy attention, the official added.

The country has concluded discussions on phytosanitary certifications for Indian mangoes with Iran.Phytosanitary certification is a formal declaration by an exporting country guaranteeing that shipments are free of pests and plant diseases, and meet the requirement of the importing country.

Taiwan will allow exports of Indian lily bulbs. Canada has cleared Indian mangoes, grapes, pomegranate, banana, litchi, papaya, custard apple and okra for export. Chile has approved coconut fibre and walnut. South Korea and Malaysia, too, have agreed to buy Indian mangoes. Equador is the latest country to clear Indian rice.

To give local farmers access to exports, India conducted trial international shipments of farm produce directly from Varanasi and Guwahati before Covid-19 struck. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, in association with the farm ministry, identified 70 districts as potential export hubs.

Shipments to Dubai from Varanasi contained chilli from Uttar Pradesh. Pineapples were sent from Guwahati and oranges from Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. Smaller cities, like Varanasi and Guwahati, will now have complete infrastructure for exports, including phytosanitary certification.

In a boost for mango exports, the US has agreed to shift pre-shipment inspection tasks to Indian plant quarantine authorities. The US has also agreed to bear the cost of these outbound inspections, which will bring down the cost of exports, a second official said.

India is one the worlds largest growers of cereals, vegetables, fruits and the second largest grower of sugarcane. It is also the largest producer of milk.

The government liberalised the farm economy through three ordinances announced on June 2. These aim to cut the governments powers in deciding how much produce traders can store by amending the Essential Commodities Act, boost contract farming and remove rules requiring farmers to only sell their crops to licenced middlemen in state-notified markets.

Indias agricultural exports grew five times from about $8.7 billion in 2004-05 to $42.6 billion during 2013-14. This fell to $33 billion in 2016-17. The countrys net exports (i.e. exports minus imports or the agricultural trade surplus) fell to $7.8 billion in 2016-17, falling a further 15 and 22 percentage points in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Ramping up exports will call for a whole lot of infrastructure and relook of tariffs too. Also, our non-farm imports tariffs are around ASEAN levels, between 18-20%, but agricultural tariffs are still very high, said Uma Kapila, an economist with the Academic Foundation.

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Coles, Woolworths and Costco supermarkets in Sydney have begun to run out of toilet paper after panic buyers cleared out shelves in Melbourne.

Shoppers complained on social media that toilet paper was in short supply at Coles supermarkets in Leichhardt, Merrylands and Roselands in Sydney on Thursday.

'Three different friends found empty toilet paper aisles in Sydney yesterday. #TPgate is back,' one woman wrote on Twitter.

Woolworths in Roselands and Coles Toronto in Lake Macquarie also experienced high demand for loo roll.

Sydney's toilet paper frenzy comes after Coles and Woolworths reintroduced shopping limits on products in Victoria and on the NSW border due to a spike in panic buying on Wednesday.

Coles has now gone a step further, limiting toilet paper and paper towel purchases to just one pack at all their stores across the country.

Empty shelves at Woolworths in Green Hills. Coles, Woolworths and Costco supermarkets in Sydney are running out of toilet paper after panic buyers cleared out shelves in Melbourne

Costco, which has stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and Adelaide, is limiting customers to one pack of toilet paper each.

A Woolworths spokesman confirmed there has been a 'higher than usual' demand for toilet paper in parts of Sydney and NSW.

'We saw pockets of higher than usual demand for toilet roll across parts of New South Wales yesterday (Thursday), but not anywhere near the levels we saw in Victoria,' the spokesman said.

'We'll keep a close eye on demand over the coming days. We continue to ask customers to buy only what they need, as there is plenty of stock to replenish our shelves.'

All Coles and Coles Express stores across the country now limit toilet paper and paper towel purchases to just one pack.

In addition, Victorian stores and those along the NSW border have two-item limits on hand sanitiser, flour, sugar, pasta, mince, UHT milk, eggs and rice.

Three Coles stores in Lavington, Albury and Deniliquin in NSW are affected since they rely on Victorian distribution centres.

'We ask that customers continue to shop normally so that everyone can have access to the food and groceries they need,' a Coles spokeswoman said.

Three Coles stores in Lavington, Albury and Deniliquin in NSW have brought back product limits since they rely on Victorian distribution centres.

Shoppers leave Costco after stocking up on essentials. Costco, which has stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and Adelaide, is limiting customers to one pack of toilet paper each

It comes after Coles and Woolworths reintroduced shopping limits on products in Victoria due to a spike in panic buying.

Shoppers are once again to be restricted on how much toilet paper they can buy in supermarkets across the state.

A Woolworths spokesman said the company had reimposed a two item limit on a number of essential items across its Victorian stores on Wednesday afternoon.

The limits apply to toilet paper, hand sanitiser, paper towel, flour, sugar, pasta, mince, life-long milk, eggs and rice. The limits will also apply to online order.

The move comes as concerned residents stripped some stores of the essential items as they face the possibility of mandatory lockdown amid a second outbreak of COVID-19 cases in outer-suburban Melbourne

There was an additional 33 cases confirmed on Thursday and 20 on Wednesday. An 80-year-old man also died on Tuesday night from COVID-19 in Victoria.

Shelves at Coles in Taylor's Hill in Melbourne are stripped of product on Tuesday as panic buying takes hold after new outbreak of COVID-19

Woolworths Supermarkets Managing Director Claire Peters said the company understands many Victorians are anxious about the recent community outbreak.

What are the limits in Victoria? Two items per person on items at Woolworths: Toilet paper Hand sanitiser Paper towels Flour Sugar Pasta Mince Long-life milk Eggs and rice Limits in items at Coles: Toilet paper 1 Pasta 2 Hand sanitiser 2 Mince 2 Paper towel 1 UHT milk 2 Flour 2 Eggs 2 Sugar 2 Rice 2 Advertisement

He said they can be assured their stores will remain open with plenty of stock.

'While we have healthy stock levels to draw on, we're taking this precautionary step to help prevent excessive buying and support appropriate social distancing in our Victorian stores.

'We have more than enough product for all of our customers if we all just buy what we need in our weekly shop.

'We'll closely monitor demand across Victoria in the coming days and look to wind back the limits as soon as we can.'

A Coles spokesman said the company is implementing a number of temporary measures to improve the availability of key food and grocery items in our Victorian supermarkets and to help our customers shop safely.

Coles Group CEO Steven Cain asked that customers continue to shop normally so that everyone can have access to the food and groceries they need

The move is in response to 'significantly elevated demand seen over the past 24 hours in certain parts of Melbourne'.

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said they 'won't rule out' reintroducing stay at home orders for coronavirus hotspots.

'Our government has said that if the public health advice from our experts is to reintroduce stay at home legal directions, in particular locations we will consider doing that,' Ms Mikakos told ABC Radio National Breakfast.

'Clearly some people think the pandemic is over. It's not over. We want people to remain at a heightened sense of awareness about physical distancing.'

On Tuesday, tensions were already on the rise in COVID-19 hot spots from Melbourne's west to east.

One Brimbank resident told Daily Mail Australia he had heard about people stockpiling again on morning radio and had come down to the shops to grab some rolls before they vanished.

Reports spread quickly that a local shopping centre within the same municipality had already run out of the product.

Australians have been warned to stay away from six council in Melbourne: Hume, Casey and Brimbank, Moreland, Cardinia and Darebin

A toilet paper shelf at Woolworths in Hillside was almost empty after shoppers scrambled to get their hands on a packet

'I'm not getting caught out again,' the man said.

He could later be heard calling family members telling them to stock-up as soon as possible.

Others worried when hoarders might start stockpiling other products.

The six hotspots have been identified as the local government areas of Hume, Casey, Brimbank, Moreland, Cardinia and Darebin.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said seven new COVID-19 cases are linked to known outbreaks, one was detected in hotel quarantine, nine were discovered through routine testing and three other cases are under investigation.

Mr Sutton said 241 cases in the state have been transmitted through the community.

'That's an increase of eight since yesterday. That number has been around 10 every day, but a decrease of eight is somewhat encouraging,' he said.

'It certainly means we're not getting an increase or an exponential increase in community transmission cases day-by-day.

A shopper does his grocery shopping at Endeavour Hills shopping

A woman carries a packet of toilet paper through Brimbank shopping centre on Monday

'But there are 141 active cases in Victoria, over 1,000 close contacts.'

Mr Sutton said the elderly man died on Tuesday evening but he was unable to give further details in respect of the family's request for privacy.

VICTORIA'S SPIKE IN CORONAVIRUS CASES 25/6: 33 24/6: 20 23/6: 17 22/6: 16 21/6: 19 20/6: 25 19/6: 13 18/6: 18 17/6: 21 Source: Department of Health and Human Services Advertisement

The death is the first in Australia in a month, taking the national toll to 103.

Three caravan parks on the Great Ocean Road announced they would cancel bookings from travellers who reside in COVID-19 hotspots before retracting the ban.

A statement shared to websites for the Lorne Foreshore, Torquay Foreshore and Anglesea Family caravan parks said the cancellations would apply to all bookings up until Monday July 13.

'To protect the health and safety of our staff, visitors and coastal communities, we will not be taking upcoming bookings, and will be cancelling all current bookings, from guests that live in the identified hotspot council areas of Hume, Casey, Brimbank, Moreland, Cardinia and Darebin,' the statement reads.

'We will not be lifting these restrictions until the Victorian Government advises that community transmission in these areas is under control.

'We regret that we have had to make this decision, but we must do everything we can to protect our staff, visitors and small coastal communities at this time.'

An updated statement on Wednesday said the restrictions for caravan park guests living in hotspot areas had been updated.

Pictured: A long queue of cars wait at a drive-through COVID-19 testing site in Melbourne on Tuesday

'We made the decision based on what we thought was best for our staff, guests and local communities,' it reads.

'We have now updated our decision based on advice from the Chief Health Officer and will welcome all guests, including our TMPs back into our parks.

'But please remember, if you feel unwell you should stay at home. If you have symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), however mild, you should get tested. It's up to all of us to make this work.'

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the message remained the same and that Australians should continue to keep their distance.

'It is vitally important. It can save your life, it can protect your life,' he said.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Coles for comment.
Sagicor now covers 60 doctors in the Eastern Caribbean and Belize for telemedicine claims since it began offering this extended coverage to clients in mid-April. This means that Sagicor customers have increased options if they need to see a doctor but prefer to do so virtually.





Telemedicine, which offers doctors an opportunity to meet with patients via secure online platforms, also means they can provide electronic prescriptions. Additionally, clients can feel secure that payment for service and completion of online claim forms can all be done electronically. Submission of claims is also done via email with payment of the claimed amount deposited to the clients bank account electronically. This means that the entire process  save for picking up prescriptions- is all done without face-to-face contact and without the risk of covid-19 transmission.





At the time of the launch on April 22nd, which was the height of the first phase of the covid-19 pandemic in the region, Sagicors Vice President, Group Insurance, Susan Boyea said, "In these unprecedented times, we see it as our duty to make healthcare more convenient, accessible and safe for our clients. Maintaining the health and well-being of the population, is a priority during this period of pandemic while protecting patients and practitioners from possible exposure.





Mr. Donald Austin, Chief Executive Officer for Sagicor Life Eastern Caribbean Inc reinforced the benefits of the remote medical practice. "Since the introduction of telemedicine coverage in the Caribbean, we have received calls from doctors to be included in our roster of providers that we cover. We have also shared information with our clients so that they can have a conversation with their practitioner who may not offer telemedicine, to consider adding telemedicine to their practice. Were happy to have contributed to the development of this initiative and we consider it a positive aspect of the new normal.




New York:

Despite facing severe backlash for his lewd remarks against women in a 2005 video, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump Saturday remained defiant and said he will not drop out of the race under any circumstances.

Id never withdraw. Ive never withdrawn in my life, Trump told The Washington Post in a phone call from his home in Trump Tower in New York.

No, Im not quitting this race. I have tremendous support. People are calling and saying, dont even think about doing anything else but running, Trump said when asked about Republican Party defections. Trump said running against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton makes keeping the party behind him easier.

Its because shes so bad. Shes so flawed as a candidate. Running against her, I cant say itd be the same if I ran against someone else, but running against her makes it a lot easier, thats for sure.

Trumps comments came less than 24 hours after The Post published a video where the New York business tycoon bragged in vulgar terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women during a 2005 conversation caught on a hot microphone. He later offered what many say was an insincere and even defiant apology.

In the wake of sharp criticism by Republican leaders, Trump issued a short video statement in which he offered a rare apology for his remarks.

I said it, I was wrong, and I apologise, he said in the video statement. He however said the video was a distraction from the issues we are facing today.

He said that his foolish words are much different than the words and actions of Bill Clinton, whom he accused of abusing women, and Hillary Clinton, whom he accused of having bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims.

Trump acknowledged in the phone call with the Washington Post that the video certainly has consumed the presidential race but said he has endured past controversies, not only during his 2016 bid but during his career.

Ive been here before, Trump said. Trump said thousands and thousands of backers have sent him letters and emails since the Posts story was published.

Trump referred to the past incident in which he had insulted Senator John McCain, by saying that he was not a war hero, as an example of how he has weathered political storms.

Everyone said, Its over, its over. The people didnt say that but the reporters said that, Trump said. He said he had met with his advisers and family Friday night at Trump Tower, his campaign headquarters, and agreed to record a video response.

Trump said he may make a speech or remarks in evening, as a way of encouraging his supporters but insisted that any possible speech would not be a departure from the race.

Forget that, Trump said dismissively of the suggestion. Thats not my deal.

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26.06.2020 LISTEN

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration says the Nigeria High Commissions building which was recently demolished was neither its Chancery nor residence as claimed by a section of the public.

The building in question is neither the Chancery nor Residence, but a property belonging to the Nigerian High Commission that was unfortunately pulled down by now identified private individuals, the Ministry said in a statement signed by the sector Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey.

The Minister in the statement also disclosed that the perpetrators of the act have been identified and will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

She also reiterated the Ghana Governments resolve to rebuild the demolished structure.

Let me on this note reiterate governments promise to bring the perpetrator to book while it ensures that the structure is restored to its original state.

What are the issues here

Parts of the one-storey structure belonging to the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana, located at Osu Ringway in Accra were demolished on Friday, June 19, 2020.

The Osu Stool which claimed the said land belonged to it accused the Nigeria High Commission of trespassing on its land.

The Stool in a statement insisted that the Nigerian High Commission has no legal title to the land.

There has till date been no response or acknowledgement in response to the stool's invitation nor has the trespasser proceeded to submit any documentation of permission upon which it demolished the original structure on the land and proceeded to erect a new structure, the statement added.

But the Nigeria High Commission insists that it has legal documents that the land in question belongs to it.

Dispute land rightfully belongs to Nigerian High Commission

Meanwhile, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has said that the Nigerian High Commission has duly made payment for that parcel of land, hence any encroachment on the property constituted a breach.

The Lands Commission will issue a letter to the Osu Traditional Council stating that in August 2000, a formal offer was made to the High Commission of Nigeria in respect of the parcel of land in question; the offer was accepted by the High Commission and payments made, accordingly constituting a contract. The Lands Commission will proceed to issue a Land Title Certificate to the High Commission of Nigeria to regularize its ownership of the property in question, she added.

---citinewsroom
T he US has made "remarkable progress" in dealing with coronavirus, Mike Pence has said, despite a record rise in daily case numbers and more than 120,000 deaths across the country.

Speaking at the first press conference held by the US coronavirus task force in nearly two months, the Vice-President told reporters that Americans could take comfort from slowing fatality rates from the virus.

But he acknowledged that the country still has "work to do", with cases rising rapidly in 16 states in the south of the country.

His comments come after new coronavirus cases hit an all-time high in the US, causing Texas and Florida to bring back some lockdown measures.

Vice President Pence leads Coronavirus Task Force briefing with Anthony Fauci watching on / (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

New daily infections nationwide reached around 40,000, surging past the previous daily record of 36,400. Texas alone has reported 17,000 cases in just three days.

In response, Texas closed all its bars on Friday, while Florida banned drinking alcohol in licensed premises.

Arizona also rowed back from plans to continue easing lockdown measures, with Governor Doug Ducey saying infection numbers "continue to go in the wrong direction."

Deaths have slowed despite the rising infection rate, with around 600 per day - down from around 2,200 in mid-April.

A nailbar in Texas / AFP via Getty Images

But coronavirus adviser Dr Anthony Fauci warned on Friday that "we are facing a serious problem in certain areas.

Mr Pence blamed the rise in cases on increased coronavirus testing rates, echoing comments made by Donald Trump in recent days.

But the rate of new cases significantly outstrips testing in many states, according to the Covid Tracking Project, which tracks coronavirus data at state level.

Mr Pence said that it was "a good thing that many of the new cases are among people under 35, who are generally less vulnerable to the virus than older people.

But he encouraged young people to take the virus seriously, adding: "None of us would want to bring [the virus] back to our grandparents" or to "an elderly friend" or someone who has an underlying health condition.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A police officer in the Scottish city of Glasgow has been stabbed while a male suspect has been shot by an armed officer in the heart of the city Friday.

The Scottish Police Federation, which represents the large majority of Scottish police officers, said in a tweet that it has notified the family of the officer.

Police Scotland's assistant chief constable, Steve Johnson, said he wanted to reassure the public that this is a contained incident and that the wider public is not at risk.

He said police are not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident and that a police officer who was injured is receiving treatment in a hospital.

There is a heavy police presence on West George Street with more than a dozen police vehicles in attendance.

Images on social media appear to show armed police entering a building and a large number of emergency vehicles outside.

According to Sky News, there have been a number of people injured.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the reports are truly dreadful and that she is being updated.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was deeply saddened by the terrible incident in Glasgow and that his thoughts are with all the victims and their families.
Mumbai, June 26 : "Yaariyan" actor Himansh Kohli says he has no motive of fighting against nepotism. However, he feels that everyone should get an equal opportunity.

He admits that good skills always outshine a good referral.

"I have no motive to fight against nepotism, it exists everywhere in the world, in every field. But I would urge all employers to give an honest chance to new talent and people you've not worked with before. This would ensure others get an equal chance too. While sources and connections do play an important role, like in every profession, your skills are more important than anything else," he said.

"Good work beats good referral any day. It can be disheartening to think about a project, its character for months, and then lose it. But highs and lows come in everyone's life. Some of my projects worked, some didn't. It doesn't mean my journey has ended," he added.

Talking about his journey in the industry, he said: "I'm a Delhi boy from Lajpat Nagar with no connections in the industry. I rose through TV and then came to movies. I remember when I got selected for 'Yaariyan', there were a lot of star kids in the queue, but I got a chance to be the male protagonist. Yes, I understand a lot of people say that I'm not doing a lot of films. But in every profession there's a struggle phase and a star phase. The good thing is that none of it is permanent." He went on to cite examples of actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar who were outsiders once upon a time, but made a name for themselves based on their abilities.

"It took a lot of time for stars like Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pankaj Tripathi, Rajkummar Rao, Ayushmann Khurrana and Kartik Aryan to be where they are and it was not an overnight journey. None of them are star kids and everyone made a name for themselves on their own," he said.

Himansh made his acting debut with Channel V's "Humse Hai Liife" in 2011 and entered Bollywood with "Yaariyaan" in 2014.

"I am thankful to the industry which gave me a chance and accepted me with open arms," he said.

He will be next seen in the film "Boondi Raita".

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The Delta state police command has arrested Fidelis Nwansa, a resident pastor of the Christ Holy Church, Asaba, over alleged possessio...





The Delta state police command has arrested Fidelis Nwansa, a resident pastor of the Christ Holy Church, Asaba, over alleged possession of six rifles.





Onome Onovwakpoyeya, the command spokesperson who confirmed the news on Thursday, said the rifles were discovered on the church premises.





Onovwakpoyeya disclosed that upon his arrest, the pastor claimed that he belonged to a local vigilante group in Anambra and was using the rifles to protect his church.





According to him, the command has since commenced an investigation to establish the purpose of the firearms.





Our men arrested the pastor and recovered six rifles. The police also nab the head of the vigilante identified as Freeman, Onovwakpoyeya said.





The six rifles were discovered in an uncompleted building within the premises of the church in Asaba.





Upon his arrest, the pastor claimed that he belongs to a vigilante group in Anambra and that he was using the guns to protect his church.





However, we are investigating the matter to ascertain the genuineness of the man.





Hafiz Inuwa, the state commissioner of police, also said the pastors arrest was made by the force during a mop-up operation.





Some people from across the Niger have started or are bringing in vigilantes and criminals to Delta State in the name of providing security for churches and hotels, forgetting the fact that it is illegal to do that, because a vigilante from another state cannot come and operate in this state, he said.





Secondly, they are carrying sophisticated firearms. There is every indication that once they bring these people, they are also engaged in criminality. So, we have recovered six pump action rifles.




The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a controversial clause that forced Uber drivers to arbitrate workplace complaints in the Netherlands is invalid.

The decision means a proposed $400 million class action against Uber can move ahead in Ontario, a lawsuit that could shake the foundations of the gig economy.

Fridays Supreme Court ruling stems from a 2017 case launched by UberEats drivers David Heller arguing that he and other gig workers were employees of the ride-sharing giant, not self-employed entrepreneurs.

The class action stalled because Uber argued it couldnt be sued in Ontario courts. According to a clause in its employment contract, drivers must take all workplace disputes to arbitration in the Netherlands  at a personal expense of more than $14,500.

After an Ontario court ruled that the arbitration clause was an unfair bargain for drivers, Uber appealed to the Supreme Court to uphold the requirement. On Friday, Uber lost that appeal.

Supreme Court Justices Abella and Rowe wrote in their decision that Ubers arbitration clause was unconscionable, paving the way for Hellers lawsuit against Uber to move through the Ontario court system.

Michael Wright, who acted as co-counsel for Heller said he was relieved at the decision.

We thought we had a good case, but its always very difficult to predict outcomes, said Wright, a partner at Toronto-based law firm WrightHenry LLP.

This was an arbitration provision that the court says was essentially designed to prevent access to justice. There was no realistic way to actually assert and protect rights, he added.

So the message is, that is not permitted in Canada.

In response to the ruling Friday, a spokesperson for Uber confirmed that the company plans to amend our contracts to align with the courts principles.

Going forward, dispute resolution will be more accessible to drivers, bringing Uber Canada closer in line with other jurisdictions, the spokesperson said.

We are proud to offer a flexible earning opportunity to tens of thousands of independent drivers throughout Ontario.

Fridays Supreme Court ruling found there was an inequality of bargaining power because the clause was part of a non-negotiable employment contract and that Heller could not be reasonably expected to know the full financial and legal implications of the clause.

Lawyer Lior Samfiru, who started the class action against Uber in 2017, said allowing Ubers arbitration clause to stand would have effectively ended employee rights in this country.

After all, all the legal rights in the world are of no value if there is no way to enforce them. For a company to try to require employees to give up the laws of Canada is unconscionable and offends our sense of fairness and common sense, he said.

The Supreme Court decision Friday did not weigh in on whether Ubers arbitration clause represented an illegal contracting out of provincial employment legislation.

As a result, the Ontario Court of Appeals original ruling that the clause did unfairly circumvent that legislation remains undisturbed, said Wright.

The gig economy is currently facing a legal reckoning centred around its employment model that designates workers as independent contractors  a category of worker that is not protected under employment laws and cannot unionize.

That is what Hellers lawsuit can now tackle. The first step is for the proposed class action to be certified as such by the courts.

Earlier this year, the Ontario labour relations board issued a groundbreaking decision ruling that couriers for food delivery app Foodora were not true independent contractors and had therefore had the right to join a union.

Drivers for Uber Black, the companys luxury ride-sharing service, are also challenging their classification as independent contractors and have filed for union certification.

I think the tide is turning, said Wright, who is also representing Uber Black drivers in their union case.

I think the population generally was very caught up with the convenience and accessibility of the various services that can be obtained through an app and didnt really think about much more than that. I think Canada more generally has started to appreciate that theres some gross unfairness.
A policeman in Assam is winning tremendous praise on Twitter for his actions. A tweet shared by Dibrugarh Police details how the cop jumped into the water to rescue two boys who were drowning inside. People on Twitter are showering praise for the policeman and his brave act.

We are proud of ASI Purnananda Saikia of Borboruah PS who did not think twice before jumping into the water to save 2 drowning boys. Such daredevilry during times of natural disaster doubles our josh to keep working for the public security, says the tweet posted by Dibrugarh Police. They also shared two pictures with the tweet.

We are proud of ASI Purnananda Saikia of Borboruah PS who did not think twice before jumping into the water to save 2 drowning boys. Such daredevilry during times of natural disaster doubles our 'josh' to keep working for the public security. pic.twitter.com/ryRSByTol6  Dibrugarh Police (@dibrugarhpolice) June 25, 2020

In another tweet, the handle mentions that ASI Purnananda Saikia has been felicitated for his actions.

We thank the @dc_dibrugarh for felicitating the officer along with SP, Dibrugarh. We are also immensely grateful to Hon'ble @DGPAssamPolice Sir for talking with ASI Saikia and offering a DGP Commendation.@assampolice @CMOfficeAssam @thebetterindia @mygovassam  Dibrugarh Police (@dibrugarhpolice) June 25, 2020

IPS Association also shared the tweet and praised the police official.

Well go to the deepest of trenches to get you out of it!



When ASI Purnananda Saikia from @dibrugarhpolice got to know of 2 boys drowning in water, he didnt wait for help to arrive. Instead, he jumped right into the water body and got them out - safe and sound!#GoodJobCop https://t.co/hTcQjShDgn  IPS Association (@IPS_Association) June 26, 2020

People on Twitter have shared a ton of comments thanking the official and appreciating his actions that saved two lives.

Wow, real hero hats off, wrote an individual. My salute to you sir, added another. Exceptional story, posted a third.

Parts of Assam have badly been affected by floods caused by heavy rain. Dibrugarh is among the areas affected. Rescue operations are underway.

Also Read | Mumbai cop donates blood to help 14-year-old undergo heart surgery, wins hearts



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What the community may not know, Rivera said, is that police officers are trained to go one step above the force being used against the officer. So, if someone comes at us with their fists, officers are trained to use a taser or baton, because if the officer used fists to fight back the arrestee could win the fight and then take the officers weapons, he said.
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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 00:27:21|Editor: huaxia

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A man wearing a face mask crosses a street in Dakar, Senegal, May 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Eddy Peters)

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent jumped to 336,019 as 11,313 new infections were confirmed as of Thursday afternoon.

ADDIS ABABA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Africa's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 336,019 after 11,313 new COVID-19 positive cases were confirmed as of Thursday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC in its latest situation update said that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across Africa rose from 324, 696 on Wednesday afternoon to 336,019 as of Thursday afternoon, eventually registering some 11,313 new COVID-19 positive cases across the continent during the stated period.

The continental disease control and prevention agency also disclosed that the death toll from the pandemic also rose from 8,618 on Wednesday afternoon to 8,856 as of Thursday afternoon.

The Africa CDC, which noted that the virus had spread into 54 African countries, said that some 160,833 people who were infected with COVID-19 had recovered across the continent as of the stated period.

Locals adhere to social distancing guidelines at an entrance of a building in Windhoek, capital of Namibia, June 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Ndalimpinga Iita)

The Africa CDC also said that the Southern Africa region is now the most affected area across the continent in terms of positive COVID-19 cases, overtaking the Northern Africa region.

Western Africa region is the third most affected area in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases.

Earlier this month, the Africa CDC revealed that some 43 African countries are under full border closure due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, according to the Africa CDC.

In addition to the 43 countries under full border closure, night-time curfew has been activated across 35 countries in an effort to halt the spread of the infectious virus. 
Healthcare CEOs of the Texas Medical Center said Thursday that a letter that was sent out to the community Wednesday regarding the hospital system's "increasingly stretched" ICU capacity level was "misinterpreted" and stressed the pandemic is not eclipsing hospital capabilities to care for COVID-19 positive patients as well as other patients.

Following reports that TMC had reached 97 percent capacity, Dr. Marc Boom, Houston Methodist president and CEO, said ICU capacity percentages in the 80s or 90s is "completely normal."

"We have the ability to go far higher than that in terms of the ICU beds we can utilize for COVID-19 patients," Boom said during a press conference. "...We have PPE (personal protection equipment) we have the capability, (and) we have learned enormous amounts about caring for people with COVID-19."

Dr. Doug Lawson, St. Lukes Health CEO, said hospitals are actively planning for anticipated increases over the coming months, which includes bringing in contract nurses and clinicians from other parts of the country to help with surges and doubling critical care capacity.

'ABSOLUTELY HORRIFYING': Coronavirus expert warns of dire health crisis amid Texas surge

"The reality is all of us have the ability to significantly expand capacity on a day to day, week to week, month to month basis," Lawson said.

Boom said overall, hospitals are seeing younger COVID-19 patients, who stay for a shorter period of time, and fewer deaths. Thanks to active surveillance programs and quick turnaround testing times, Boom and Mark Wallace, Texas Childrens Hospital president and CEO, said a "relatively low number" of hospital employees have tested positive for the virus. Texas Children's started accepting adult COVID-19 positive patients this week and is currently operating at a 74 percent ICU occupancy, Wallace said.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Houston ICU capacity could soon be exceeded as COVID-19 hospitalizations worsen, TMC projects

Dr. David L. Callender, Memorial Hermann Health System CEO, said the public needs to stay home if at all possible, wear face masks, practice social distancing and rigorous personal hygiene to "please help us help Houston."

"We need the community to do the right things to help bend this curve right now," Boom said.

rebecca.hennes@chron.com
- Anne Waiguru faced charges of gross violation of procurement laws, mismanagement of public fund as well as abuse of office

- There were also claims the governor had directed the closure of dispensaries and arbitrarily sacked striking health workers

- The committee noted the allegations were not substantiated thus failed the threshold for removal of a governor from office

Kirinyaga governor Anne Waiguru has survived an impeachment ouster after the Senate found no evidence of corruption and abuse of office against her.

The Cleophas Malala-led special committee said in its report findings that allegations which Waiguru was facing were not substantiated thus failed the threshold for removal.

READ ALSO: Makueni governor Kivutha Kibwana confirms he's joining 2022 presidential race

Anne Waiguru distributing foodstuffs to vulnerable Kirinyaga women. The governor survived impeachment motion. Photo: TUKO.co.ke.

Source: Original

READ ALSO: William Ruto meets Nairobi welders who make convertible benches, makes KSh 150k furniture order

Kirinyaga MCAs had voted to remove the county boss over gross violation of procurement laws, mismanagement of public funds as well as abuse of office.

Some of the accusations levelled against her were indirectly or directly influencing staff recruitment and presiding over the irregular award of tenders thereby dipping her hands in the cookie jar.

READ ALSO: Seneta Malala atimuliwa katika chama cha ANC

READ ALSO: Coronavirus update: Kenya records 149 more cases of COVID-19

"There was no evidence linking the governor with the establishment of the tender evaluation committee. The committee therefore finds that the allegation was not proved and therefore not substantiated," the committee said.

In terms of recruitment, one of Waiguru's former personal aide, Pauline Njoroge, was selected by the county service board to serve in the governor's office as administration director.

There were also claims the governor had directed the closure of dispensaries and arbitrarily sacking striking health workers who failed to take advantage of a moratorium.

The committee also found that there were no legal requirements making it mandatory for the county governor to convene a state of the county address within the assembly.

"The Committee also noted that there's no specific law that compels the governor to make the state of the county address in the county assembly.

The committee further noted that there's no county legislation to provide for the content of the annual state of the county address as required by section 30 (2)(k) of the County Government Act," the report read.

Further, the Malala team noted there was bad blood between the governor and the county assembly and called for a truce.

"The condescending attitude of the governor towards the county assembly is uncalled for and does not inspire confidence and trust in the county executive leadership. The committee recommends that the Senate invites the county assembly and the governor to a consultative process that will restore a functioning government to Kirinyaga," the commitee said.

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My mother did not want me, I was called a man eater - Antony Wanjiru | My Story | Tuko TV.

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Governor Whitmer's Office Statement on Line 5 Decision

Governor Whitmer's Office Statement on Line 5 Decision

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 25, 2020

Media Contact: Press@michigan.gov

Governor Whitmers Office Statement on Line 5 Decision

LANSING, Mich.  Today, Governor Whitmers office released the following statement from Press Secretary Tiffany Brown after Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James S. Jamo granted Attorney General Dana Nessels motion for a temporary restraining order requiring Enbridge Energy to cease all transport operations of its Line 5.

Governor Whitmer applauds the courts decision to issue a temporary restraining order to shut down Line 5 immediately, following severe damage to an anchor support. Enbridges decision to continue pumping crude oil through the Straits of Mackinac with so many unanswered questions was reckless and unacceptable. Enbridge owes a duty to the people of Michigan and must answer to the state for how it treats our Great Lakes. The governor will continue working to keep our water safe.

###
Fianna Fail TD Jim OCallaghan will not be offered the position of Attorney General, thus ending speculation linking him with the post.

There has been persistent talk that incoming Taoiseach Micheal Martin may appoint Mr OCallaghan, TD for Dublin Bay South and Senior Counsel  to the position which would allow him attend cabinet, but this has been ruled out.

Jim will not be Attorney General, one source said emphatically.

With Fianna Fail expected to hold six seats at the Cabinet table, Mr Martin has extremely limited scope for including more than one minister from Dublin.

This is because along with himself he will include Dara Calleary his deputy leader and Michael McGrath his Cork South Central colleague in his ministerial make-up.

Galway East TD Anne Rabbitte is likely to be selected both because of her geographical location and gender, despite annoying many internally in recent days by suggesting internal critics of the programme for government need to be slapped around the ankles.

There is also likely to be one minister from Leinster with Barry Cowen and Thomas Byrne in contention.

This would mean just one slot for a Dublin minister with Mr OCallaghan, and Fingal TD Darragh OBrien in contention.

As the Irish Examiner reported today, Fianna Fail appear to have secured the housing portfolio which could tip the balance in favour of Mr OBrien, hence the suggestion of the Attorney General role for Mr OCallaghan had been put forward.

However, this suggestion has now been ruled out completely by two sources familiar with the process.

Mr OCallaghan was also said to be opposed to the idea of serving as Attorney General, reportedly telling people:  I didnt knock on 20,000 doors to be AG.

Should the three parties approve the deal as expected later today, Mr Martin will be formally elected Taoiseach on Saturday with outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar assuming the role of Tanaiste.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have committed to a principle of parity of esteem between them sharing an equal number of ministries and the position of Taoiseach being rotated in 2022.
Three USCCB committee chairman write to US lawmakers encouraging them to consider proposals regarding policing and criminal justice.

By Vatican News

The bishop chairmen of three committees of the United States Bishops Conference have written to federal lawmakers in the US, urging them to consider proposals aimed at improving formation of police officers and accountability for police.

Released on Wednesday, the letter comes in the wake of the current re-examination of the evil of racism, both historic and present, and its devastating effects on individuals and society occasioned by the terrible and unjust killing of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and so many others.

Racism remains a problem

Archbishop Paul Coakley, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Bishop Mario Dorsonville, chairman of the Committee on Migration; and Bishop Shelton J. Fabre, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism acknowledge that law enforcement officers perform a great and needed service to society, but say it is clear that there have been too many failures in serving everyone, with tragic consequences.

They emphasize that racism remains a problem in the criminal justice system, pointing to evidence that people of color are often treated more harshly than other citizens in their encounters with the criminal justice system.

Policing with a style of mercy

The bishops quote Pope Francis in urging a style of mercy in policing, which involves understanding the needs and motivations of the people whom police encounter and applying mercy in the situations that police meet with every day.

In their letter, the bishops note that the purpose of law and law enforcement is the promotion of justice. Quoting Paul VIs axiom If you want peace, work for justice,  paraphrased, perhaps unconsciously, by protesters as No justice, no peace  the bishops maintain, This is the only solution to the challenges of this moment.

Concrete proposals

The bishops ask Senators and Representatives in the U.S. Congress to consider several proposals for police reform currently being discussed in the legislature, which they say, appear to be steps in the right direction. In addition to concrete measures such as ending racial profiling and the use of body cameras by police, the bishops also encourage greater accountability and a means of redress regarding those who exercise public authority.

It is clear, the bishops say, that long term commitment is needed to prevent further tragedies, especially greater accountability in bad uses of force as well as greater emphasis on promoting the common good of all.

Peacemakers working for justice

The bishops conclude their letter with a prayer that we may be peacemakers by working for justice on this issue and the many others that mark racial injustice in our criminal justice system and in our country.
By PTI

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government has capped the cost of COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals, fixing the maximum rate at non-NABH accredited facilities for patients who need to be kept in ICU with ventilator care at Rs 15,000 per day.

For isolation beds, including supportive care and oxygen (moderate sickness), the cost per patient per day has been fixed at Rs 8,000, the government said in an order issued on Thursday.

The cost for a COVID-19 patient with severe sickness requiring ICU facility without ventilator care will be Rs 13,000, and for those who need to be kept in ICU with ventilator care (non-invasive/invasive) the cost per day will be Rs 15,000, it said.

For National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) hospitals, the treatment cost per day for the three categories of patients will be Rs 10,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 18,000 respectively, the order added.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Anil Vij had told PTI the Haryana government will ensure affordable treatment even for those opting for private hospitals.

The government directed the hospitals to not charge any amount in excess of those prescribed for the treatment of COVID-19 patients and said not adhering to its orders could invite penalty under IPC Section 188 (disobedience to order issued by a public servant).

It said the prescribed rates is all inclusive as a package.

FOLLOW CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES HERE

The rates will include but be not limited to charges such as, all lab investigations, radiological diagnostics, monitoring charges, drugs, consumables including PPE/masks/gloves etc., doctor's visit or consultation, nursing care, physiotherapy, procedural charges such as intubation, catheterization of all types, chest tube, transfusion of blood and its components, cardioversion etc, said the order.

However, this will not include the experimental therapies like Remdesivir.

The rates will include the costs of medical care of underlying co-morbid conditions including supportive care and cost of medications thereof, for the duration of care for COVID-19.

Since many of the coronavirus patients have conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular problems etc, the charges for medical care of such co-morbidities will be a part of the package.

These rates will apply to pediatric patients as well, it said.

However, for pregnant women, costs of delivery (normal/C-section) and care of newborn are not included in the package and may be charged by the hospital extra as per prevailing PM-JAY rates of relevant packages.

The rates will not include the cost of COVID-19 diagnostic tests.

The hospital should provide seamless services to Coronavirus patients and not compromise on the standards of treatment of these patients, said the order.

The beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat scheme will avail the treatment on cashless basis.

The patients who are not Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries and are referred by civil surgeons to notified COVID-19 hospital will avail treatment on cashless basis.

The COVID-19 hospital should charge as per the package rates of the central government scheme and submit the bills against the provided treatment to the civil surgeon who referred the patient.

Persons having personal/family health insurance cover may avail treatment as per the terms and conditions of the individual policy.

The state government is making all effort to make healthcare accessible to general public and providing free testing and treatment in government hospitals across the state.

"However, the disparity in the charges across various private hospitals is hampering egalitarian and equal access for inpatient hospital care.

"Therefore, the rates of various facilities in private hospitals/medical colleges need to be standardised for COVID-19 patients, it said.

Before fixing the rates, the government took into account the recommendations of a Niti Aayog committee, financial viability of the private hospitals and studying the precedents in other states like Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Telangana, the order stated.
Baby Archie may just have turned 1 but he is already involved in his very first legal case, courtesy of his mom, Meghan Markle. The toddler, through his mom, is going to sue a photo agency that has reportedly violated his privacy.

One could only wonder how this makes Prince Harry feel.

Based on a High Court writ claim, the child's private information was misused. What are these photos exactly?

According to the Scottish Daily Mail, the case is said to be linked to the paparazzi photographs of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's baby Archie as he was being carried by his mom on a walk in a park while on Vancouver, Canada.

These photos were taken way before Megxit became official, back in January. However, it can be noted that this were already around the time when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has decided to step down from their senior roles.

The photos were being spread by the LA-based agency, Splash, showing Meghan Markle smiling while walking along a path. While it was obvious that it was Baby Archie who was being carried in a sling, neither his face nor any body parts were visible. He was wrapped in winter clothing, which makes it quite impossible to see him clearly. More so, it was apparent that he was facing away from the lens.

Regardless though, his privacy was deemed violated. Harry and Meghan after all, are big on privacy. It can be remembered that in the past, they specifically did a documentary claiming their privacy is constantly violated by the media, with Meghan Markle's actions scrutinized and then reported differently.

In addition, Meghan Markle filed a lawsuit against a publication for violating her privacy as her letter to her father was published without her consent. When they finally decided on Megxit and was already out of the UK, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle even wrote a letter to four UK tabloids, claiming they would boycott them and never allow them a chance to get news from and out of them, because all they did was spread lies. Given all these instances, it comes as no surprise that they are suddenly hell-bent on seeing Baby Archie achieves "justice."

The High Court writ was filed by the famous celebrity law firm, Schillings. Under the write, the names of Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor as well as the Duchess of Sussex, HRH can be seen. Markle was labeled as baby Archie's litigation friend. sounds cute, but it truly is just a legal term describing someone who makes decision for a child that figures into a legal situation.

Even though it is only being reported now, it was already filed on March 25. This brings into question why HRH is still written, when it was already two months after Harry and Meghan made the announcement that HRH titles would be dropped by them.

From its part, Splash agency said that said photos do exist and so does the lawsuit. But it does not intend to sit by, defenseless. "Splash confirms the existence of this claim, and intends to defend itself vigorously against it.
Jada Pinkett Smith was joined by her children at a rally at Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort on Thursday to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, who was shot dead by Louisville police officers while sleeping in her apartment in March.

Jaden Smith, Jada and husband Will Smith's 21-year-old son, posted a portrait of himself with his mother, 48, and younger sister Willow, 19, at the rally.

He included the caption: 'No Justice, No Peace. This Is Going To Be A Life Long Battle For Our Generation, Buckle Up, and get ready to vote. #justiceforbreonnataylor'

Showing up: Jada Pinkett Smith was joined by her children Jaden Smith and Willow Smith at a rally at Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort on Thursday to demand justice for the March killing of Breonna Taylor

Moments in solidarity: Pinkett Smith was also joined by rappers MC Lyte and Rapsody at the demonstration

At the demonstration, dubbed the Until Freedom rally, Jada spoke to hundreds of people who gathered at the capitol to demand action in the investigation of the officers involved in the fatal police shooting now that over three months have elapsed since Breonna's death.

'One thing I want you to know is that it does not go unseen that the revolution stands on your shoulders. I want you know that we want to say thank you, because it is you standing out here that's gonna keep shining a light on Breonna's name.

'And, what we need is justice for our sister Breonna and that's why we are here today' Pinkett Smith continued. 'And that's why my family is here today. From one family to another  to Tamika [Palmer, Breonna's mother], we wanted to come here, show her love and amplify your voice and amplify the life of your daughter.'

The Matrix Revolutions actress also took to social media to document the moment, posting a photo of herself with rappers MC Lyte and Rapsody at the rally.

Jada's words come as other celebrities from Janet Jackson to Amy Schumer continue to speak up on social media regarding Breonna's death, with Tiffany Haddish asking in a post on Thursday, 'How are you showing up for Breonna Taylor?'

Power in numbers: Willow and her brother also posted this visual from the event

Speaking out: The rally comes as other celebrities like P Diddy continue to speak up on social media regarding Breonna's death

Tiffany Haddish asked in a post on Thursday: 'How are you showing up for Breonna Taylor?'

In remembrance: Missy Elliott took to her social media with a stock photo of Taylor, adding in the caption, 'NEVER forget her name!'

In the caption, Haddish wrote, 'Its been 100 DAYS and still no justice!'

Taylor was an EMT who was killed on March 13th when her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, awoke in the night to find three cops who had walked in with a no-knock search warrant, leading him to assume they were intruders.

Gunfire ensued from both Walker's firearm as well as those of the police officers, with over 20 shots fired  including eight hitting Kenneth's sleeping partner Breonna.

Enough is enough: Celebs from Niecy Nash to Amy Schumer are speaking up on their platforms to demand justice, urging authorities to fire, arrest and convict all officers involved

The warrant to search Taylor's home was in connection with a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside.

To date, only one of the officers involved, detective Brett Hankison, has been fired.

Posts from Zoe Saldana, P Diddy and others demanding justice were timed with the rally on Thursday in Kentucky, where rapper Common spoke in addition to Pinkett Smith.

She 'refuses to be silent': Posts from Zoe Saldana and others demanding justice were timed with the rally on Thursday in Kentucky

Using her platform: Actress and dancer Jenna Dewan reposted this informative visual shared by Janet Jackson which shows how much more needs to be done in seeking justice for Breonna

Common wrote on Instagram alongside a video of his speech, 'Justice For Breonna Taylor Rally ... We flew out to #Kentucky earlier today to demand justice for Breonna Taylor at a special rally that was organized by @UntilFreedom and Breonnas Family.

'It has now been more than THREE months since she was murdered by police in her own home and still no justice,' he continued. 'We must continue to speak out and speak up. For the rally, I wrote a poem dedicated to Breonna and Black Women everywhere. We Love you Breonna.'

Taylor's family, hip hop artists and civil rights lawyers addressed the large crowd on the steps of the capitol to mark 100 days since she was killed.

Impassioned: Lupita Nyong'o posted this call to action on Thursday, writing in the caption, 'I am outraged; are you?'

In Minneapolis: A portrait of Breonna Taylor is pasted to a building on Thursday as protests and calls for police reform have been ongoing across the country

On Thursday afternoon, Taylor's mother Tamika Palmer thanked the crowd for their support for her daughter.

'Without you all, I swear I don't know where I would be right now, probably crying at home still by myself,' Palmer said. 'Know that she was full of love, full of life. Know that if it was one of you all, she would be out there [protesting].'

While Louisville police have fired one of the three detectives who served the warrant at Taylor's home, protesters at demonstrations around the country as well as those on social media are demanding that the three be criminally charged.

Taylor was killed 'in the sanctity of her own home,' said civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, who is representing Taylor's family, at the rally. 'If you can't be safe in your own home, where can you be safe?'

Grieving: Tamika Palmer (left), the mother of Breonna Taylor, addressed the crowd gathered on the steps of the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., on Thursday

Speech: Taylor was killed 'in the sanctity of her own home,' said civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, who is representing Taylor's family

The rally was organized in the state capitol to call attention to Daniel Cameron, Kentucky's first Black attorney general, whose office is reviewing the police investigation of the three officers. Many of the speakers urged Cameron to charge the officers Myles Cosgrove, Brett Hankison and Jonathan Mattingly.

Last week, Beyonce wrote an open letter to Cameron, urging him to move swiftly. Cameron has urged patience while a large-scale probe is being carried out. The FBI is also investigating the shooting.

Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, also appeared at the rally. Walker was originally charged with attempted murder after he fired a shot at one of the officers who came into the home. Walker has said he thought he was defending from an intruder.

The no-knock search warrant that allows police to enter without first announcing their presence was recently banned by Louisville's Metro Council.

Clear message: The rally was organized in the state capitol to call attention to Daniel Cameron, Kentucky's first Black attorney general, whose office is reviewing the police investigation of the three officers

Taking a stand: Protestors gathered on Thursday, which was also one month to the day after the police killing of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis
Ireland Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on June 25 said that the nation plans to lift 14-day quarantine restriction for people arriving from countries that have been able to control the outbreak of the deadly virus. While briefing a news conference, Varadkar said that the authorities will make a green list of countries and the tourist arriving from those nations wont have to quarantine. The new move by Irelands PM comes as the country is set to move to the third of the four-phase plan for reopening its economy from July 9.

While speaking at the news conference, Varadkar said that the list of countries and criteria for so-called air-bridges would be co-ordinated at an EU-level. He, however, also cautioned holiday-makers that the list would be reviewed and may change every two weeks. According to an international media outlet, under the plans, multiple European countries, including Italy and Spain, are set to be removed from the current 14-day quarantine.

READ: Pope Moves Against Polish Bishop Accused Of Hiding Predators

Even with quarantine measure being eased, it was also reported that Ireland may place a new measure on British travellers because of UKs significantly poor response to the coronavirus pandemic. As per reports, the British travellers will be excluded from plans to accept more international travellers to Ireland from next month. The country is set to place the UK under mandatory restricted movement list as COVID-19 continues to spread across the nation.

READ: Lufthansa Agrees To $562 Mn Cost-cutting Deal With Flight Attendants For Job Security

COVID-19 outbreak

Meanwhile, according to Johns Hopkins University tally, Ireland currently has over 25,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and the deadly virus has claimed nearly 1,727 lives in the nation. On the other hand, coronavirus, which originated in China in December 2019, has now claimed over 489,000 lives worldwide as of June 26. The pandemic has now spread to 188 countries and territories and has infected more than 9.6 million people.

(Image: @LeoVaradkar/Twitter)

READ: Ukraine's 'savage' Response To Russia's Throwback Pictures Takes Internet By Storm

READ: Spain Puts Forth Candidate To Lead Powerful Eurozone Group
In 2014, Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote a blog post titled Why Im No Longer Talking to White People About Race. In 2017, after finding virality, that blog post became a book of the same name. Last week, it topped the UK bestseller list, making her the first black Brit ever to occupy the position. Since the books publication, Eddo-Lodge has often joked that the avalanche of publicity that followed her blog and consequent book deal means she talks about race more than ever before.

I did what felt like dozens of press interviews on publication of the book and I would often speak to white journalists, and theyd say, So, here you are talking to me about your book! Eddo-Lodge told Lola Olufemi during a conversation in Cambridge in 2017.

The conditions under which Eddo-Lodges book once again climbed the charts last week are objectively tragic; black civilian George Floyd was killed after a police officer knelt on his neck, and a subsequent wave of protests swept the world. Eddo-Lodge herself has acknowledged that the books revival is bittersweet: To know there was a surge of people searching out anti-racism books after seeing what was essentially a film of somebody being murdered, she said. I cant uncouple those two things. It was confirmation that we live in a world where white people have to see a video of a black man being killed to believe that racism exists. But, as feminist neo-conceptual artist Jenny Holzer once said: When something terrible happens, people wake up.

There is a sense of beautiful symmetry, a dose of poetic justice, about how, in a time of global reckoning around race, Eddo-Lodges book is serving its original purpose. It seems the last month has seen reams of white allies asking their black friends and colleagues for unpaid education and guidance. But black people are tired of talking to white people about race when it suits them, so the fact that some people are actually referring to the books, documentaries, articles and movements weve been telling them to pay attention to for decades, is in some ways promising.

Eddo-Lodges experience of burnout from educating white people is an extreme one, but one I deeply relate to. As a black girl who grew up in very white spaces, Ive been talking about race all my life, but it really cranked up around 2014 when I arrived at Cambridge and decided to start writing and organising around it. Whiteness, racism and the remnants of the universitys colonialist legacy were a constant daily reality for students. Headline after scandal unfolded as college security would accuse a student, alumnus or academic of being a tourist, criminal or intruder. When I became the students union welfare officer, many students of colour who attended counselling told me that they experienced racism on the therapists couch. I embarked on a long campaign to change this, and started writing about racism wherever I saw it.

For most writers, speakers, workers or organisers who hold a stake in anti-racism, constantly talking about race like this can only carry on for so long. As Stormzy once said, there is racism in Britain (100 per cent, some might even say), and so anti-racist or decolonial thought isnt usually met with open arms. For me, it was defensiveness, a forcible attempt to turn the ideological tables: I was the true racist. I was the one making everything about something it was not. I was often told this by people at least twice my age. For Eddo-Lodge, defensiveness often manifested in the walls coming up: You can see their eyes shut down and harden. Its like treacle is poured into their ears, blocking up their ear canals.

Of course, there are capital-R racists who represent the racism proper that liberals theoretically stand against. In my case, those were scary too  my face was plastered on an alt-right white supremacist website, and I was called a half-monkey in the copy. But the racism that I came up against most often, the type that wore me down, was from the people who insisted they were not racist (or the slightly more irritating, nominal: not a racist). This was racism from my classmates, my teachers, people in management positions, people I saw on the TV or writing articles for centre-left publications  people who considered themselves to be the good ones. It often came in the form of aggressions, both micro and macro, tone-policing, insisting that black people take racism too seriously when we call it out, refusing to speak against racist structures or institutions, or seeing anything beyond surface-level commitments to diversity as too radical. As I see it, these are also the people who Why Im No Longer... is for.

In that conversation in Cambridge, which I felt lucky to bear witness to, Eddo-Lodge told Olufemi that white people often expect her to be some form of cult leader on the issue (sometimes I feel like if I said, jump in traffic, people would be like, OK!). But now is the time for white people to do their research and work it out for themselves. This doesnt just mean reading Eddo-Lodge, who gives a comprehensive overview of racism in the UK, but those who came before her, from author bell hooks, who explains the necessity of an intersectional feminist movement, to Angela Davis, who has written extensively on black liberation and prison abolition.

We dont know whether copies of Why Im No Longer... will be read, or whether they will gather dust on the shelves of white semi-detached households. But what we can see is that people, in their thousands, are wanting to learn about racism. As black people across the world experience the same burnout on a mass scale, all I can do is hope that Eddo-Lodges book is fulfilling its original purpose.

Reading a book wont transform you into an ally  only taking political and economic action can do that  but referring to the evidence, the record of what black people have been saying for decades, is one step towards it.

I wouldnt go so far as to say I am no longer talking to white people about race. But this past fortnight, as I hyperlink my peers to anti-racist reading lists and articles I wrote in 2015, Im asking them: have you done the required reading?
Johnny Depp asked his assistant for "happy pills", a court heard, as a lawyer for 'The Sun' claimed the actor assaulted his ex-wife after looking for Ecstasy.

News Group Newspapers is being sued by Depp over an article by Dan Wooton, its executive editor, which referred to him as a "wife beater".

The claim refers to accusations - strenuously denied by Depp - by the actress Amber Heard, who 'The Sun' lawyer said was assaulted in an alcohol and drug-fuelled incident in 2015.

Adam Wolanski, NGN's barrister, told the High Court that his client had obtained text messages between Depp and Nathan Holmes, his assistant, from Ms Heard's lawyers.

The texts referred to Depp seeking "happy pills", Mr Wolanski said, "obviously a reference to MDMA". MDMA is commonly known as Ecstasy and is available in pill or powder form.

Mr Wolanski also outlined references in the texts to "grams of coke" in the days preceding an alleged incident in Australia. One from Depp read in court asked Mr Holmes: "We should have more happy pills - can you?"

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Mr Wolanski referred to the "Australia episode" of March 2015, described as "a three-day hostage situation", in which Depp is said to have "subjected Amber Heard to a three-day ordeal of physical assaults".

He said the texts show "Mr Depp asking Mr Holmes to supply him with Ecstasy pills just days before the incident".

The lawyer has claimed these messages from a US case should have been disclosed by Depp's legal team, and requested the judge throw out the libel claim on this basis.

Depp's lawyers described the move by NGN as an "ambush" and said it was "tactical, just a distraction".

Mr Wolanski said Depp's "rage was triggered by Ms Heard seeing him use drugs and challenging him about his use of drugs".

She claims she "confronted" Depp after he "took out a bag of MDMA" and said it was "not on his 'not allowed' list".

Mr Wolanski told the court that Depp said: "I did not take MDMA or any other drugs in early March 2015."

The actor has said he broke his sobriety by having a glass of vodka, and has denied the allegations against him. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Following the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, Ukraine failed to escape Soviet control. Stalins collectivization of the countryside saw the confiscation of private property and farms, as well as all food. This policy was enforced by state police and local activists and as a consequence, at least 4 million Ukrainians  as well as several million more across the Soviet Union  died of starvation. The death toll, as well as the witness testimony from those times, tells a tale of staggering brutality. So why, then, do we hear so little about it?

Among the first people to ask this question was a young Welsh journalist called Gareth Jones, the main character of a new film available on iTunes, Mr. Jones, by Agnieszka Holland. Born in 1905, Jones graduated from Cambridge University with a First in Russian, German, and French, worked as a foreign adviser to the former prime minister Lloyd George, and  a talented journalist as well as a linguist  managed to snag an interview with Adolf Hitler in the early 1930s.

The film begins with Jones (James Norton) warning, to no avail, members of the British establishment that Hitler is a warmonger who will change Europe forever. After that, Jones travels to Moscow in hot pursuit of another scoop: an interview with Stalin about his five-year plan. Though the interview with Stalin never materializes, Jones unearths a story with far graver consequences: the horrific truth of a state-imposed famine, the Holodomor (which means killing by hunger), purposively ignored by the foreign press corps in Moscow.

The most influential journalists, such as Walter Duranty of the New York Times (who won a Pulitzer for his reporting) and Eugene Lyons of the United Press, were essentially feeding back Soviet propaganda. Foreign correspondents were kept in Moscow, not permitted into the Ukraine, and were heavily reliant on Soviet cooperation to get stories. Duranty had a Soviet-sponsored apartment and mistress and exclusive access to key officials (including, on multiple occasions, Stalin himself, who spoke approvingly of his favorable coverage). There is no doubt that they knew the inconvenient truth. Lyons later admitted: The famine was accepted as a matter of course in our casual conversation at the hotels and in our homes, but never in their reporting.

Story continues

When Jones broke his story, Duranty (whose Pulitzer, Mr. Jones reminds us, has never been revoked) continued to deny the truth and succeeded to a large degree in discrediting Joness story. Joness reputation never recovered, and he was murdered by Chinese bandits three years later in circumstances that suggest Soviet foul play.

Duranty, meanwhile, supped with Franklin Roosevelt (then governor of New York) and wrote of Stalins experiment in the New York Times (all the news thats fit to print) that to put it brutally  you cant make an omelette without breaking eggs. Sally J. Taylors 1990 biography of Duranty, Stalins Apologist, details how in addition to his inaccurate reporting, the correspondent participated in Satanic orgies as well as heavy drug and alcohol abuse. Taylor documents the bitter, ironic story of a man who had the rare opportunity to bring to light the suffering of the millions of Stalins victims, but remained a prisoner of vanity, self-indulgence and success.

While Mr. Jones accurately characterizes Duranty, Gareth Joness family complains that the same is not true of him. Joness niece, Margaret Siriol Colley, published her uncles notebooks in the 1990s, which are now exhibited at his old Cambridge college next to memorabilia belonging to fellow alumnus Isaac Newton. Joness family complained of the multiple fictions in the Mr. Jones screenplay. His great-nephew told the Sunday Times that Jones didnt witness any dead bodies or cannibalism, let alone take part in any. Nevertheless, Andrea Chalupas thoughtful screenplay is more about the truth Jones exposed. And in that regard, the script is in alignment with scholarship. Timothy Snyders Bloodlands recounts how in desperation people would eat the dead, including family members. Anne Applebaum candidly discusses cannibalism within families in her book Red Famine: Stalins War on Ukraine. As for the scene in Mr. Jones in which a crying baby is tossed with its mothers corpse onto a cart of dead bodies, that is taken from a survivor of the Holodomor, Chalupas own grandfather, whose memoir she interweaves in her book Orwell and the Refugees: The Untold Story of Animal Farm.

In Mr. Jones, Jones briefly meets Malcolm Muggeridge, a correspondent for the Manchester Guardian, who also managed to smuggle stories about the famine out of the USSR, publishing them anonymously. Back in England, Jones also meets George Orwell, a socialist writer, whose mind he seems to change about Stalins experiment. It is not clear that, in reality, the two ever met. But there is a symbolic truth here, too.

In Orwell and the Refugees, Chalupa explains that in 1947, shipments of the Ukrainian edition of Animal Farm  the first language other than English in which it was published  were intercepted by Americans who, seeing Stalin as a critical ally in the defeat of Hitler, handed them over to Soviet authorities. Luckily, around 2,000 books slipped through the net and were taken by Ukrainian asylum seekers across the world. Chalupa explains, I first learned of this incredible story from Christopher Hitchenss introduction to Animal Farm. Inspired, I decided to make it the hopeful ending to the dark screenplay I had been working on for many years about Stalins terror famine in Ukraine.

Up to 1939, and even later, the majority of English people were incapable of assessing the true nature of the Nazi regime in Germany, and now, with the Soviet regime, they are still to a large extent under the same sort of illusion, Orwell writes in the Ukrainian preface to his allegory. Mr. Jones begins with Orwell at a typewriter, writing Animal Farm  a reminder that real writers tell the truth, no matter the cost.

Editors note: This article has been amended since its initial posting.

More from National Review
The Cubans

By Anthony DePalma

Viking. 352 pp. $28

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Finding three meals a day in Cuba is often a punishing challenge. But when the largest island in the Caribbean gets whacked by a hurricane or a pandemic, Cuba is can-do: The country's Communist Party leaders, typically lethargic, leap into action - efficiently and ruthlessly. When the coronavirus became an inescapable threat in Havana in March, traced to an Italian tourist, the government shut the island down. Those who refused to wear a mask in public were fined heavily or sentenced to jail, charged with "spreading an epidemic."

An army of nurses was dispatched, clipboards in hand, to go door to door to look in on all residents. Shuttering the country's tourism-based economy (scheduled to reopen July 1) has not prevented mass suffering - Cuba has had about 2,400 confirmed cases and about 85 deaths - but it has braked a full-scale epidemic.

Door-to-door drills in Cuba have been in place since 1981, when the country was slammed by dengue fever. The following year, Decree-Law 54 was drafted to combat HIV/AIDS, granting the state full authority to separate infected Cubans from society. In 1986, the government did just that - compelling those afflicted, mostly young gay men, to live in sanitariums. There was withering criticism from human rights groups, but the mandatory quarantine stemmed the spread of HIV. With a population of 11.5 million, Cuba has recorded among the lowest numbers of per capita AIDS deaths in the world. The trade-off is clear: Cubans for the most part survive the worst that nature throws their way, but in return they are forced to endure an even tighter rein on their limited freedoms. Anyone questioning the equation can look 40 miles east to Haiti, where HIV/AIDS cases are the highest in the region.

That about sums up the good news and the bad news from the troubled island nation, 90 miles from Key West, that Anthony DePalma deftly delivers in his new book, "The Cubans." DePalma tells his tale through five ordinary Cubans in the off-the-tourist-track, potholed barrio of Guanabacoa. Think of this book as an anti-Fidel corrective to the scores of volumes fixated on the ruler-for-life-force-of-nature-movie-star dictator, who passed away in 2016.

If you have visited Cuba, no doubt you saw a lot of Havana and the silk-white beaches of Varadero, and perhaps the prehistoric mogotes of Pinar del Rio and the colonial seaport of Trinidad on the southern belly of the island. Chances are slim that you made it to Guanabacoa - unless you mistakenly jumped aboard an overstuffed ferry in Old Havana and crossed the harbor to this township of about 120,000 people. "Guanabacoa is the gritty 3-D reality most Cubans live with,"DePalma writes, with the eye and ear of a seasoned former New York Times foreign correspondent. "Hot. Smelly. Noisy. Raw." Here you find the teeming world of daily survival: inventando - as DePalma puts it, "the process of finding raw materials, but . . . what it often came down to was stealing" - and resolviendo, finding a solution or whatever it takes to survive. That might mean, for instance, making a gas tank out of a plastic soda bottle, or an antenna out of a hanger. If you're sick of Fidelismo histories of Cuba's interminable revolution and simply want to slip into the extraordinary lives of ordinary Cubans, this book is for you.

One of Havana's 15 municipalities, Guanabacoa is a hilly, 500-year-old enclave. Residents are more likely to offer up a throaty "Wanna-ba-COE-ah," not Havana, to describe their home, in the same way that Staten Island, not New York, is home to those who ferry across the harbor. It's a place where one can take a deep dive into Santeria religious rituals or visit one of its two Jewish cemeteries or myriad churches. But it's not on anyone's bucket list.

DePalma delves into the lives of five disparate souls to narrate his everyman tale: Arturo Montoto, who attended Havana's prestigious art school, studied in Moscow and lived in Mexico before settling in Guanabacoa, where he found unimaginable barriers to making his acclaimed art pieces - not to mention making dinner; Maria Lopez Alvarez, whose refusal to embrace state-mandated atheism derailed her career in the sciences but led to a marriage with another closeted Catholic and to a passion for Spanish dance; Fidelista firebrand Lili Durand Hernandez, whose front door reads "Presidente" of the local Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, Cuba's network of watch groups, also viewed as snitch societies. She was quick to say, "I am a revolutionary communist," with an ardor matched only by her son's contempt for the party.

Lili's good friend Caridad "Cary" Limonata is the heroic heart of DePalma's book and its most compelling storyteller. With her mahogany-hued skin, Cary was a beneficiary of the revolution's much-improved race relations; she had been a stalwart Fidelista, a Russian-trained engineer who rose to a vice minister's post. In March 2016, she was among those who met President Barack Obama during his historic trip to Havana - a visit that augured reconciliation between the two countries, albeit briefly. Some Habaneros even hailed the former president as "Santo Obama," in part because he looked - at least, to many - like one of them. But by then, Cary had grown utterly disillusioned with the revolution, had left the party and had become a clothing entrepreneur, hoping her son would take over her business. Instead, in 2018, he wangled a passport by leveraging the family's Jamaican heritage and left for La Yuma (Cuban slang for the United States, drawn from the title of an American Western movie). Around the same time, Cary's twin sister and children left Cuba, becoming part of a diaspora of 1.5 million.

Finally, there is Jorge Garcia, whose life is dedicated to memorializing 37 people lost at sea when they tried to flee the island in July 1994 on an aging tugboat called the 13 de Marzo. Packed with 68 Cubans seeking to cross the Florida straits, the craft was repeatedly rammed by government vessels until it split in two, tossing its passengers into the Atlantic. Garcia's son, grandson and 12 other members of his family were among the dead. Three weeks later, on Aug. 5, the island was rocked by El Maleconazo - an unprecedented protest by thousands who rushed the shoreline boulevard of Havana hoping for boats to take them north. By the end of 1994, some 35,000 Cubans had fled on ferries, tugs and rafts made of truck tires, known as gomas - the largest exodus of Cubans since the Mariel boatlift in 1980 brought 125,000 to U.S. shores. Eventually, Garcia would make it to Miami with his wife and daughter, who had barely survived the sinking of the tug.

It's a fair assumption that whatever scarcities of food and medicine prevail in Havana, matters are worse in Guanabacoa. Yet, a much-prophesized uprising against the party's leadership has never materialized, despite the efforts of several U.S. presidents to dislodge the Castros' 60-year grip on power. Cubans "have long been cursed by their own greatest strength - their indomitable adaptability and bottomless capacity to make do," DePalma writes. "The idea of making conditions on the island so intolerable that the people will rise up and crush the Castro regime ignores the Cubans' innate ability to find a way to survive." More tellingly, DePalma observes, Cuba revels in "the pretensions of a big country on a small island, a nation always playing a much bigger role than it had any right to play." That about says it all.

---

Bardach is a journalist and the author of "Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana" and "Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana and Washington."
While preparing to cook up a storm, Kourtney Kardashian shared a sultry snap of herself in just an over-sized Mickey Mouse T-Shirt on Thursday.

As she danced around the kitchen barefoot, the 41-year-old reality star stretched her toned left leg up and ended up needing to censor her underwear with just a black heart emoji.

'What's cooking,' she wrote on her Instagram Story, as she puckered up and went pants-free.

Censoring herself: While preparing to cook up a storm, Kourtney Kardashian shared a sultry snap of herself in just an over-sized Mickey Mouse t-shirt on Thursday

The mother-of-three paired her look with a gothic-inspired make-up look, dark lipstick and a sleek tousled high ponytail.

The Poosh founder's flirty ensemble highlighted her enviably toned legs, as her ex Scott Disick documented a fun day with their three children Mason, 10, Penelope, seven, and five-year-old Reign.

The Flip It Like Disick star, who dated Kourtney from 2006 to 2015, unveiled his 'new collection' created by their little ones on his Instagram Story.

Fit: The Poosh founder's flirty ensemble highlighted her enviably toned legs, as her ex Scott Disick documented a fun day with their three children Mason, 10, Penelope, seven, and five-year-old Reign

Following their father's footsteps, who founded his clothing line Talentless in 2018, the Disick kids successfully used a number of vibrant tie-dye spirals and circles in their designs.

Rumors regarding a potential 'reconciliation' between the former lovebirds- who originally split five years ago- began to circulate due to Scott's presence in Wyoming.

Scott unknowingly added fuel to the fire when he left a flirty comment on an Instagram post of Kourtney's that showed her wearing one of his flannel shirts.

Pals: She also posed for a selfie with dancer and Tik Tok star Addison Rae

Tie-dye fun: The Flip It Like Disick star, who dated Kourtney from 2006 to 2015, unveiled his 'new collection' created by their little ones on his Instagram Story

In a cheeky nod to the rumors, Scott commented, 'Cute shirt'.

However, despite the flirty comments, sources say the pair are not rekindling their relationship.

'Kourtney and Scott are not back together, are not getting back together and will not get back together,' a source told Us Weekly's Hot Hollywood podcast.

Incredibly close: Kourtney caused a stir with this snap of her wearing Scott's flannel shirt last week

Flirty: Following the buzz about the former couple Scott then left a comment on this snap of Kourtney

'Kourtney and Scott had so much fun with the kids in Utah and the kids want them to do family trips all together more often,' an insider told the Us Weekly.

The source added: 'Scott is so happy that he and Kourtney get along so well and how easy it is with her. Its weird to everyone else, but not to them. They are really like best friends.'

Last month Scott broke up with girlfriend of three years Sofia Richie, 21.

Last weekend, Kourtney publicly said she was 'thankful' for him in a sweet Father's Day tribute.
- The amendment was tabled before the National Assembly by the former majority leader Aden Duale before his ejection

- The act will take the responsibility of reporting graft cases to any member of the public and not the state officers only

- It will also make it mandatory for any individual to ensure he reports the incident to Ethics and Anti-Corruption within 24 hours

The government is seeking to tighten its noose on corruption cases in Kenya after proposing an amendment to the Section 14 of the Bribery Act.

The amendment which was tabled before the National Assembly by the former majority leader Aden Duale, will see Kenyans face KSh 5 million fine for not reporting bribery.

READ ALSO: John Waluke: Court orders Sirisia MP to pay KSh 727M or face 7-year jail term

READ ALSO: Court allows retrial of Kamiti prisoner whose daughter confessed to framing him in defilement case

If passed, the new act will take the responsibility of reporting graft cases to any member of the public and not the state officers only as in the current provision, Business Daily reported.

Any person who is convicted of an offence under this act, for which no penalty is expressly provided, shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding KSh 5 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or to both,it read.

READ ALSO: Kakamega: 42-year-old man dies in lodging after night of love making

EACC headquarters in Nairobi. Individuals who fail to report bribery cases will be fined. Photo: Daily Nation.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Picha ya mkewe Atwoli yazua mjadala mtandaoni

It will also make it mandatory for any individual who suspects such a crime to ensure he reports the incident to Ethics and Anti-Corruption within 24 hours.

According to Corruption Perception Index of 2019, Kenya improved slightly in the latest global ranking of countries based on the perceived levels of corruption in the public sector.

The country obtained a score of 28% in the global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released by Transparency International (TI) compared to a score of 27% in 2018.

The corruption perception index seen by TUKO.co.ke on Thursday, January 23, revealed Kenyas score was below the global average score of 43% and the Sub-Saharan average score of 32%.

Since 2012, Kenya has scored between 25 and 28, out of 100, having recorded a score of 27 in 2018, depicting slow progress in the fight against corruption, the report said.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

My mother did not want me, I was called a man eater - Antony Wanjiru | My Story | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Historically, half or more of people with type 1 diabetes develop kidney disease, which frequently progresses to kidney failure requiring hemodialysis or a kidney transplant for survival. The high rate of this diabetic complication has dropped slightly in recent years, with the advent of better ways to control blood glucose (sugar) levels and improved blood pressure drugs, "but diabetic kidney disease is still a huge problem," says Alessandro Doria, MD, PhD, MPH, Senior Investigator in Joslin Diabetes Center's Section on Genetics and Epidemiology.

Progression of kidney disease in type 1 diabetes is correlated with increased amounts of a compound in the blood called uric acid. Hoping that a drug that reduces these uric acid levels would slow the disease, Doria and his colleagues launched a multi-institution randomized clinical trial that enrolled 530 participants with type 1 diabetes and early-to-moderate kidney disease.

Results of the Preventing Early Renal Loss in Diabetes (PERL) study were just published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the leading clinical research journal. Unfortunately, this study did not show the desired clinical benefits. "This is not the result that we wanted," says Doria, "but it does give a very clear answer to an important scientific question."

A second trial by Australian researchers on patients with a variety of chronic kidney diseases, some with diabetes, published alongside the PERL study in the NEJM, found similar results.

The PERL trial grew out of several studies that followed a cohort of people with type 1 diabetes, including one in which Doria partnered with Andrzej Krolewski, MD, PhD, head of the Section on Genetics and Epidemiology. In a 2011 paper, the Joslin scientists demonstrated that in this cohort, people with higher levels of uric acid in their blood were more likely to display a high rate of kidney function loss. Two other research groups in Denver, Colorado and Copenhagen, Denmark obtained similar results.

This was an actionable discovery, because allopurinol, a drug that's been on the market since the 1960s, can easily reduce uric acid." Alessandro Doria, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School

Allopurinol is prescribed for gout, an inflammatory condition caused by excess uric acid, he explains. It's an inexpensive generic drug with known side effects that can largely be avoided. Additionally, allopurinol produced apparent benefits in much smaller clinical trials among people with chronic kidney disease, a minority of whom had diabetes.

Doria teamed up with S. Michael Mauer, MD, of the University of Minnesota Medical School to design and carry out a clinical trial with support from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and JDRF. The PERL consortium eventually grew to 16 sites.

Participants in the three-year, placebo-controlled and double-blinded trial received the current standard of care, including a renin-angiotensin system inhibitor--an existing type of drug shown in the 1990s to slow kidney damage, albeit incompletely.

The key measurement of kidney function for PERL was glomerular filtration rate (GFR), a measure of how much blood is filtered every minute by the kidneys. GFR drops as kidney disease progresses.

Over the three years of the study, levels of uric acid dropped about 35% on average among people given allopurinol compared to those who weren't. "But despite this very nice reduction in uric acid, we could not see any effect on GFR," Doria says.

He and his colleagues will continue to follow participants through their medical records and through national databases that track people who eventually progress to dialysis or kidney transplants.

Researchers at Joslin and other institutions continue to examine other potential routes to guard against kidney disease among people with type 1 diabetes.

Despite its disappointing conclusion, "PERL was a textbook example of using epidemiology to find treatment targets, and then designing a study to translate those findings and try to find a new intervention," Doria says. "In this case, it didn't work. But this is exactly why we do epidemiological studies, and how our scientific understanding advances."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 14:56:22|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The ruling Mongolian People's Party (MPP) won a landslide victory in the regular parliamentary elections held on Wednesday, according to the official results announced by the General Election Commission (GEC) on Friday.

The MPP took 62 seats out of 76 in the parliament, said GEC's chairman Choizon Sodnomtseren.

Mongolia's Democratic Party gathered 11 seats, while two coalitions, the Right Person Electorate Coalition and Your and Our Coalition, won one seat each, he said.

Former Mongolian Prime Minister Norov Altankhuyag, who ran as an independent candidate, got one seat, he added.

Voter turnout in the parliamentary elections reached 73.65 percent, the highest rate since 2000, according to the GEC.

The State Great Khural, Mongolia's unicameral parliament, consists of 76 lawmakers, whose term lasts four years. Enditem
Asserting that Pakistan did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to eliminate human trafficking, the United States has downgraded Islamabad to the Tier 2 Watch List on the country trafficking scale.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday released the US State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report for the year 2020. The report stated that religious minorities and children in Pakistan are highly vulnerable to trafficking.

The report also highlighted that terrorist groups in Pakistan kidnap children as young as 12 and force them to spy, fight and conduct suicide attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan is a destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labour--particularly from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Refugees and stateless persons from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Burma, as well as religious and ethnic minorities such as Christians and Hazaras, are particularly vulnerable to traffickers in Pakistan, the report read.

Non-state militant groups kidnap children as young as 12, buy them from destitute parents, coerce parents with threats or fraudulent promises into giving their children away, or recruit children from madrassas; these armed groups force children to spy, fight, and conduct suicide attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Traffickers have promised Pakistani boys admittance to Afghan religious schools but sold them to members of the Afghan security forces for bacha bazi, the report added.

The report acknowledged that the Pakistan government does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.

Unlike the previous reporting period, the government did not take action against credible reports of official complicity in trafficking, and organizations reported official complicity and corruption led to several high-profile trafficking cases being dropped during the year. The government continued to lack overall adequate resources for victim care, and only referred four per cent of all victims identified to care. Therefore Pakistan was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List, the report noted.

Tier 2 Watch List is a category denoting a country those meriting special scrutiny, on the grounds that it had failed to enact legislation to fully criminalize trafficking.

The report highlighted that the Pakistan government did not report any efforts to address local government officials reportedly endemic perpetuation of bonded labour, which created a culture of impunity for offenders.

Feudal landlords and brick kiln owners used their political connections to facilitate their use of forced labour. In some cases, when bonded labourers attempted to escape or seek legal redress, police refused to file a case and returned bonded labourers to their traffickers, the report stated.

The report said that Labour inspectors, who are front-line officials to inspect and identify forced and bonded labour, had inadequate training to identify indicators of trafficking, insufficient funding to conduct inspections, and a lack of standard procedures to refer potential forced and bonded labour cases to police.

Despite high incidences of child and forced labour in agriculture and domestic work, the majority of provincial labour laws did not allow labour inspectors to inspect these worksites for infractions, the report read.

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report sorts countries into four tiers -- Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-2 watchlist, and Tier-3-- based on their efforts to fight trafficking. Countries whose governments fully meet the TVPAs (Trafficking Victims Protection Act) minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking are categorised as Tier-1.

Those countries whose governments do not fully meet the TVPAs minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards are put under Tier-2.

Pompeo said that the US denied certain kinds of assistance to countries that were ranked in the Tier-3 category.
IRCTC share slipped over 5% in early trade today amid reports that Indian Railways has cancelled all regular trains till August 12, 2020. However, all special Rajdhani, mail and express trains will continue to operate. All the tickets booked for regular timetabled trains for the journey date between July 1 and August 12 stand cancelled, the Railway Board said on Thursday.

IRCTC also disclosed impact of the lockdown on company. The firm said its Q1 earnings of current fiscal are likely to be adversely impacted due to the lockdown. A fall in train journeys has led to a less number of ticket bookings during March, 2020, resulting in drop in e-ticketing earnings through convenience fee, the firm said.

Share price of IRCTC lost 5.65% or Rs 80 to Rs 1,341 against previous close of Rs 1421.35 in early trade on BSE. Total 1.04 lakh shares changed hands amounting to turnover of Rs 14.34 crore on BSE. The stock opened with a loss of 5.29% at Rs 1,346 today. Market cap of the firm fell to Rs 22,092 crore.

IRCTC share price has gained 47.11% since the beginning of this year. The stock trades higher than 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages but lower than 5 day and 20 day moving averages.

Abhijeet Ramachandran, Independent Analyst/ Co-Founder and trainer at Tips2trade said, "With recent developments of increasing Covid 19 cases in India, all train services are going to be massively impacted till August 12. This will have severe impact on IRCTC as even Q2FY21 earnings will be severely impacted. Technically, close below Rs 1,300 could lead to lower targets of Rs 1,200- Rs 1,115 which are good levels for new investors to enter the stock. Only a closing above Rs 1,510 will lead to a big uptrend in IRCTC."

IRCTC share slips over 4% after Railways cancels tickets for journey within Maharashtra

Keshav Lahoti, Associate Equity Analyst, Angel Broking, "Revenue of IRCTC is highly dependent on the level of operation of Indian Railways. Even if Indian Railways allows operation of regular trains, we expect the Company will take time to reach normal pre-covid level revenue.

IRCTC is the only entity authorized by Indian Railways to provide catering services, online railway tickets and packaged drinking water at railway stations and trains. In the next 2-3 years, we expect the company's market share of packaged drinking water at railway premises and trains will increase to 80% from 45% at the time of IPO due to commissioning of new plants. Full impact of the increase in convenience fees is only reflected for the second half of the year in the last financial year. The company also has a high dividend payout ratio. Long-term fundamentals are intact for the company. Considering all these, we are bullish on the long term prospects."

Meanwhile, Sensex was trading 212 points higehr at 35,054 and Nifty rose to 10,358, up 69 points in afternoon session

IRCTC share price fell to Rs 625 in March this year, the worst month for stock market ever as coronavirus roiled global markets. Since then, the stock has rallied 122.4% due to value buying and recovery rally in benchmark indices. On October 14 last year, the Indian Railways firm made its stock market debut with IRCTC share listing at Rs 644 on BSE and Rs 626 on NSE.

IRCTC cancels tickets booked before April 14; to give full refund

IRCTC said it has postponed board meeting for considering financial statements for quarter ended March 2020 and FY20 due to unavoidable circumstances. The next date of the meeting shall be intimated in due course.

Commenting on the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on its business, the firm said there has been a decrease in Train journeys due to restriction on public movement, which led to less number of ticket bookings during March, 2020, resulting in drop in e-ticketing earnings through Convenience Fee.

Due to suspension of train operations by Indian Railways in the wake Covid-19 Pandemic, booking of tickets on IRCTC e-ticketing platform (Website & Mobile App) has been adversely impacted. This drop in bookings is expected in the coming quarters also though in a decreased manner.

However, the impact of COVID-19 on the financials of FY20 will be minimal.

The firm said revenues and profitability are likely to be adversely impacted for the April-June quarter of 2020. The company expects the business situation to normalise during 3rd and 4th quarter.

On sales of rail neer, the firm said, "Due to suspension of majority of passenger trains, sales of Rail Neer is expected to be low in upcoming six months. The company has, however, supplied 1,35, 10,444 Railneer bottles to Shramik Special Trains during the movement of migrants from one state to another amid the lockdown."

Stocks in news: IRCTC, HAL, Ashok Leyland, CONCOR, Apollo Hospitals, Glenmark Pharma and more

Share Market Live: Sensex trading 200 points higher, Nifty at 10,358; IndusInd Bank, ITC, Infosys top gainers
Security forces on Friday gunned down three militants during a gun battle in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district, officials said.

Troops had launched an operation at Chewa Ullar in Tral of Pulwama District on Thursday evening after receiving information about the presence of militants in the area.

Officials said the first militant was killed early on Friday morning and two more were killed later as the operation progressed. The militants, believed to be locals, were hiding in a house which was damaged during the gun battle.

Two AK-47 assault rifles were recovered from the site, a spokesperson of the Indian Army said.

A police spokesman said that, during a search operation, the militants were given an opportunity to surrender. However, they fired indiscriminately on the joint search party, which retaliated and this led to the gun battle.

Arms and ammunition, including two AK rifles, six AK magazines, five AK rounds, a pistol, a pistol magazine, four pistol rounds and other incriminating materials were recovered from the site. All the recovered materials have been taken into case records for further investigation and to probe their role and complicity in other terror crimes, the spokesman said.

The spokesman further said that the bodies of the three militants have been sent to Handwara for conducting the last rites after completing medico-legal formalities, including collection of DNA.

In case any family claims the killed terrorists as their kin, they can come forward for their identification and participation in the last rites at Handwara, he said.

Security forces have stepped up the offensive in Kashmir Valley and killed more than 100 terrorists in operations since the beginning of this year. Forty militants were killed this month alone, and most of them were killed in south Kashmir, which is considered the hotbed of militancy in the region.
Al Mohler: Trump is 'huge embarrassment' but 'alternative is increasingly unthinkable'

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Southern Baptist leader Albert Mohler Jr. said that while he considers President Donald Trump a huge embarrassment, he finds voting for any alternative unthinkable.

In an interview with the New Yorker that was published Monday, the head of the Louisville, Kentucky-based Southern Baptist Theological Seminary spoke about his views on Trump.

When asked if Trump being supported by a majority of evangelicals is an embarrassment, Mohler admitted, "Yes. President Trump is a huge embarrassment. And its an embarrassment to evangelical Christianity that there appear to be so many who will celebrate precisely the aspects that I see Biblically as most lamentable and embarrassing."

He said that he was reluctantly voting for him in 2020, taking issue with many of the moral qualities of the president.

I have to make a distinction between voting for a candidate and rationalizing for a candidate, much less being enthusiastic about what I would see as the character faults of a candidate, said Mohler.

I will not become an apologist for the misbehavior of the president and for what I see as glaring deficiencies in his private and public character.

Mohler, who did not vote for Trump in 2016, went on to note that when it came to the upcoming election, the alternative is increasingly unthinkable.

He also critiqued how the national discourse often defines the term evangelical when discussing political support for the president.

"As a theologian and as a churchman, when I define evangelical, Im really talking about a self-consciously orthodox classic Protestantism that is deeply connected to the church and deeply committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ," he explained. "And then you have the media definition of evangelicals, which means anybody who isnt Catholic or Jewish or something else and, especially as demographers look at the white population, identifies as some kind of conservative Protestant. They just are called evangelicals. Thats the problem.

If you look at evangelical leadership in the United States, you see a tremendous reticence to enter into the Make America Great Again euphoria. But, with the populist base of the Republican Party, and the populist base of American evangelicalism defined the way that especially the media defines evangelical, you do. Theyre not co-extensive, but they overlap considerably.

In April, Mohler indicated in an "Ask Me Anything" episode that he was going to support Trumps reelection, despite maintaining moral concerns about the president.

I dont have a different moral estimation of Donald Trump. Even in office he continually leaves me very frustrated in how he presents himself, how he speaks, but he has been more consistent in pro-life decisions, executive orders  than any president of the United States in any party, he stated.

The move by Mohler to support Trump was met with criticism, including an open letter posted to Facebook by Louisville Baptist Pastor Joel Bowman.

"It grieves me to say you have, in my estimation, lost all moral credibility. You no longer have a prophetic voice. Now, you simply blend in with popular, politicized evangelical thought," wrote Bowman.

"Rather than being an apologist for the Gospel, you have become an apologist for political conservatism."

Mohlers stated intention to vote for Trump comes as some are reporting that white evangelicals, long a crucial Republican voting bloc for the president, are waning in their support.

David Brody, chief political analyst at the Christian Broadcasting Network, told Politico that recent issues may lead enough evangelicals to vote for Joe Biden, which could sway the election.

Heres the problem for Trump: He needs to be at 81 percent or north to win reelection. Any slippage and he doesnt get a second term, and thats where Joe Biden comes into play, explained Brody.

In this environment, with everything from the coronavirus to George Floyd and Trump calling himself the law-and-order president, Biden could potentially pick off a percent or 2 from that 81 percent number.
Tasmania is planning to reopen its borders to mainland Australia in four weeks - while South Australia will welcome travellers from all states on July 20 despite a significant spike in coronavirus cases in Victoria.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein has announced the island state intends to ease border restrictions on July 24, depending on public health advice.

He said the state will review the coronavirus situation in other jurisdictions over the next month, paying particular attention to a spike in Victoria.

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Tasmania will reopen its borders to mainland Australia in four weeks. Pictured: The Hobart skyline

'If the public health advice is that we should maintain our restrictions, then we will maintain our restrictions,' Mr Gutwein told reporters on Friday.

Australia's least populous state was the first to close its borders, but has not had a case of the virus for 41 days.

South Australia will stick with its plan to lift border restrictions to all states, including Victoria, as COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease.

Premier Steven Marshall said Victoria was getting on top of its cases, but SA would continue to monitor its progress as the July 20 date nears.

The announcement comes despite Victorian health officials announcing another 30 cases of COVID-19 in the state on Friday.

With stage three of restriction easing commencing on June 29, Mr Marshall also said theatres and the Adelaide Casino will reopen next week.

South Australia will stick with its plan to lift border restrictions to all states on July 20 despite a significant outbreak of COVID-19 in Victoria. Pictured travellers wearing masks at Adelaide Airport in April

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday afternoon after a meeting of the National Cabinet Australians should be reassured the government was working to get Victoria's new outbreak under control.

'There will be outbreaks, what matters is the response,' he said.

'As you see the response on the ground, that is a reassurance to Australians all around the country that we can deal with this, and we will continue to deal with this.

Premier Peter Gutwein has announced his state intends to ease border restrictions on July 24

'We're all working together to ensure that where these things happen then we can appropriately respond with all the resources that are necessary, with a tailored plan to deal with the very specific nature of any particular event.'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison also on Friday lifted the rule allowing one person per four square metres.

Mr Morrison said Tasmania and Western Australia have already moved to the two-square metre arrangement but other jurisdictions now have the flexibility to consider the change.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the media in a Matildas scarf the same day FIFA announced Australia and New Zealand would host the Women's World Cup in 2023

Pictured: The Royal Oak Hotel in Double Bay after coronavirus lockdown rules were lifted

The Northern Territory has had no restrictions on pubs since COVID-19 restrictions were first lifted.

The prime minister also urged states and territories to open their borders, despite a second wave outbreak in Victoria.

'I'm for all the borders to go and for the jobs to open,' he said.

Mr Morrison said he expected borders across the country to open in July and that it would be reasonable to exclude travellers from coronavirus hotspots.

VICTORIA'S SPIKE IN CORONAVIRUS CASES 26/6: 30 25/6: 33 24/6: 20 23/6: 17 22/6: 16

21/6: 19 20/6: 25 19/6: 13 18/6: 18 17/6: 21 Source: Department of Health and Human Services Advertisement

'The Northern Territory Government is opening up and I commend the Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, for that approach,' he said.

'If you've come from a hot spot, well, you'll have to go into quarantine and that's entirely reasonable.'

The Northern Territory will push ahead with plans to lift border restrictions from July 17.

Mr Gunner said people travelling to the territory will need to sign a declaration that they have not been through a hot spot in the previous 28 days.
GLEN CARBON  Colleen McCracken from Edwardsville has become a Gold Award Girl Scout, a designation she earned by addressing a widespread lack of awareness about Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).

POTS is a form of Dysautonomia, or disorder of the autonomic nervous system, that affects one in every 100 teenagers, but is misdiagnosed frequently  an experience which Colleen endured.

I came up with the idea for POTS education after struggling to get an accurate diagnosis to my ongoing health problems, she said.

McCracken realized that current and future healthcare professionals needed more education about POTS, so she delivered a series of presentations in the community. She addressed emergency medical technicians at Edwardsville Fire Department, nursing staff at the Madison County Health Department, school nurses at Edwardsville Community District 7 and students in kinesiology class at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

During her presentations, she explained how to identify, diagnose and treat the disorder. Afterwards, she held an open discussion, where she found many of the medical professionals believed they may have encountered someone with the POTS, but could not find a diagnosis at the time. After her lesson, the kinesiology course added a unit on POTS to the syllabus permanently.

To spread awareness even further, she collaborated with Edwardsville City Council to have October proclaimed Dysautonomia Awareness Month in the city. When the proclamation was presented at the City Council Meeting, she gave a speech. In addition, McCracken used social media to reach a global audience. Her accomplishments were even featured by the advocacy organization Dysautonomia International.

I have had other POTS patients who have seen my advocacy work reach out to me both for advice and in gratitude, McCracken said.

Gold Award Girl Scouts change the world for the better, and they change it for good. The Gold Award is earned by girls in grades 9-12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership in developing sustainable solutions to local, national and global challenges. Since the highest award was established in 1916, Girl Scouts have answered the call to drive lasting, impactful change. The Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable. Along with making a difference in her community, McCracken also gained confidence in her ability to change the world.

Through my Girl Scout Gold Award project, I have learned how to make an effective presentation to educate people and how to make a difference in their lives, she said.

McCracken is a Trifecta Award Girl Scout, a designation she received by earning the Girl Scout Bronze Award, Girl Scout Silver Award and Girl Scout Gold Awards. She is the daughter of John and Stacey McCracken. She is a member of the class of 2020 at Edwardsville High School in Breese. After graduation, she plans to attend Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver to study flute performance.
Benchmarks firmed up once again in afternoon trade. FMCG shares witnessed profit booking. At 12:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 325.44 points or 0.93% at 35,167.54. The Nifty 50 index added 93 points or 0.9% at 10,381.90.

The central board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is holding its first meeting since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic today. The board is expected to discuss the state of the economy, and the banking sector in particular.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.8% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.63%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1652 shares rose and 807 shares fell. A total of 143 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 0.88% to 29.46.

The Nifty July 2020 futures were trading at 10,295, at a discount of 75.2 points compared with the spot at 10,370.20.

On the options front, the Nifty option chain for 30 July 2020 expiry showed maximum call open interest (OI) of 18.56 lakh contracts at the 11,500 strike price. Maximum put OI of 20.98 lakh contracts was seen at 9,000 strike price.

Buzzing Segments:

The Nifty FMCG declined 0.62% to 29,926.85, ending its six days winning streak. The index rose nearly 6% in the past six days.

Varun Beverages (down 2.63%), United Breweries (down 2.35%), ITC (down 1.36%), HUL (down 0.98%), Nestle India (down 0.54%), Jubilant Foodworks (down 0.5%) and Dabur India (down 0.49%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Sterling and Wilson Solar was locked in an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 199.25 after it announced that its US based subsidiary Sterling and Wilson Solar Solutions Inc has won its largest solar project order in USA which is worth $99 million (approx. Rs 747 crore).

Camlin Fine Sciences hit an upper circuit of 10% at Rs 53.35 after the company recommenced trial production at its manufacturing unit located at Dahej on Thursday, 25 June 2020. The chemical maker had informed on 4 June 2020 about the temporary shutdown of the said unit after it was severely affected due to massive explosion in the adjoining unit belonging to Yashashvi Rasayan.

Vedanta rose 0.63% to Rs 112 after the firm said it has received shareholders' nod for delisting the company. Vedanta in a regulatory filing on Thursday announced that the special resolution (for voluntary delisting of the equity shares of the company from BSE and NSE has been approved by the members with requisite majority. While 93.34% of the votes were in favour of the proposal, 6.65% were against it, the filing said. The proposal required approval of at least 66.7% of minority shareholders.

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I figured Steve would be happy not to spend two or three months salary on a single piece of jewellery, but apparently I didnt know him quite as well as I thought. If I dont get you a ring, he said, people will think Im cheap. When I announced the news to my parents, I reiterated my disinterest in engagement rings. You have to have a ring, my dad said. Its tradition. I hadnt expected so much opposition to what felt like a logical position of not wasting money on a ring I didnt need or particularly want. With both Steve and my dad arguing against me, I realised it wasnt the ring that bothered me so much, but the diamond. Dogs are mens best friends, but girls get stuck with diamonds? Id rather have an engagement dog. Everything about diamonds frustrated me, especially as I read up on what Id assumed was a centuries-old tradition but turned out to be the result of a ludicrously successful 1940s marketing campaign from De Beers: A diamond is forever. In fact, De Beers was responsible for creating practically the entire diamond industry, dating back to the formation of De Beers Consolidated Mines in 1888.

Within a few decades, this cartel took control of all aspects of the diamond trade, enabling it to maintain the illusion of the stones scarcity. In fact, literally tons of diamonds were being dug out of its South African mines. Despite being intrinsically worthless hunks of carbon, the price of diamonds has increased since the 1930s with a reliability unmatched by commodities such as rubber, grains or even gold, all thanks to De Beers. It wasnt until De Beers hired the US ad agency N.W. Ayer in 1938, however, that they began to change American  and by turns Western  culture. Investigative journalist Edward Jay Epsteins 1982 article in The Atlantic, Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?, describes the marketing tactics the agency used. They read like psychological warfare. Movie stars were given diamonds, and newspapers and magazines began to feature such celebrities showing off their diamonds as symbols of indestructible love. Lecturers travelled cross-country to speak to high-school students about diamond engagement rings under the apparent guise of providing educational content. Men and women alike were barraged with the message that only a diamond truly symbolised love, and the size and quality of the diamond were directly proportional to the depth of that love, as well as the stature of the man offering it. As diamond sales soared, so did De Beerss marketing budget. Now, diamond engagement rings are the norm in Japan, and are gaining popularity in China and India.

Loading Maybe if Steve or I had an elderly relative offering to retrieve a great-aunts ring from a dusty jewellery box, I would have acquiesced. But we didnt, and by the time Steve and I were debating diamonds, Leonardo DiCaprios Blood Diamond had made any diamond purchase feel like tacit support of a destructive industry, at least for socially conscious consumers. Even if Steve bought a conflict-free Canadian diamond, wed still be supporting environmentally destructive strip-mining practices just so I could have a stupidly expensive rock blinging up my left hand. Still, Steve insisted on a ring. I had to agree that our engagement didnt feel official. There was something missing, and that something was the visual cue that should be glittering on my hand, catching the light to announce to everyone that I was properly beloved. Steve could inform friends and family he was engaged and no one doubted him. But when I shared the news, peoples gaze dropped to my hand as if for confirmation. Seeing no ring, they looked back up at me, uncertainty in their eyes, as if maybe I was just joking.

If its that important, I told Steve, we could get a ring with a fake stone. And if you still want to spend a huge chunk of cash so people dont think youre cheap, you can donate it to my Peruvian students. Id recently spent six months teaching in an impoverished community near Arequipa, and still thought of the kids Id worked with as an extended part of my family. Steve might have argued for a real diamond for its sense of permanence. A supposedly inferior stone might only imply impermanence, he could have said. It might even suggest we were symbolically dooming our marriage before it started. I would have deemed that superstitious nonsense. Our relationship would be what it would be regardless of the molecular compound adorning my ring finger. Steve, however, knew a good compromise when he heard one. OK, he said. Lets do it. The more I thought about cubics, the more the idea appealed. It might be the start of something bigger. Once my friends see how great my cubic zirconia looks, I thought, why would any of them want a diamond? We booked an appointment with a custom jeweller, a broad-shouldered woman with thick glasses and short, feathered hair. When Steve told her we wanted a cubic, her eyes caught mine in a Now, honey, dont let this guy talk you out of what you deserve look.

Aloud she asked, Am I understanding this correctly? I thought shed try to up-sell us, but when I replied, I prefer a cubic, she earned my eternal respect by nodding and pulling out the keys to her display cases. Loading The ring we chose had a wide band that curved upward on either side of the stone, hugging it in place. It was solid and bold, the way I envisioned our marriage. Maybe this was the true purpose of the engagement ring: not as a holdover from the era of dowries, not a perpetuation of women being financially reliant on their future husbands and expecting to be bribed with sparkly jewels, but as a tangible expression of commitment between two people. Or maybe it was all of that at once. The ring was beautiful. The chickpea-sized cubic cost five bucks, the white-gold band a few hundred more. As agreed, Steve donated a thousand dollars from what he would have spent on a diamond to my former non-government organisation in Peru. I glowed every time I glanced at the ring, filled with joy for the students I adored finally getting dental check-ups and eyeglasses, and even more for the compromise the ring represented.

The cubic zirconia glittered like any diamond. No one could tell the difference. We noticed the only give-away one evening at our local bowling alleys 80s night, when a friend and I compared our rings under the black lights. Her diamond sparkled in colour. My stone only reflected white light. It wasnt the sort of detail anyone who wasnt primed to look for it would notice. And even if they did, I felt smugly superior about my ring. It was still off-balance. I thought Steve should at least have a T-shirt reading, I am also engaged. But it was a step in the right direction, so much so that I was sure it was going to start a cultural revolution. I was the change I wanted to see  or at least, I was wearing it. I felt bound to be

a trendsetter, empowering women to break free of the diamond industrys greed-fuelled brainwashing. Dont tell your grandmother, my dad said when he saw the ring. That was fine. The anti-diamond revolution wouldnt start with her generation. White-haired women would peer at my hand approvingly and exclaim, What a gorgeous ring. He must really love you! I wanted to point out that from his perspective, the ring wasnt about love. It was about convincing people like them that my future husband wasnt a cheapskate. With everyone younger than my grandmother, I launched a crusade. I made a point of telling unmarried friends about the ring, wedging it tangentially into every conversation I could. Look, I persisted, long past the point when their eyes had glazed over, Steve and I marked our engagement by sharing our privilege instead of hoarding it, and I still have some shiny bling to post in selfies.

I swiped through photos of my Peruvian students on my phone while gushing about how my friends could use their engagement-ring money to make the world a better place. I pictured myself as noble. In reality, I sounded like every other detail-obsessed bride harping on about how her wedding was different. Loading Friends nodded along, but no one was inspired. Then and now, when they got engaged, theyd thrust their diamond rings towards me as if Id never expressed any feelings on the topic. What a gorgeous ring, Id lie. Who was I to think I could overturn decades of diamond-centric marketing? Steve and I had our boisterous party. Friends came from five countries. The wedding cake was a four-tiered pinata, iced in white crepe paper. My wedding band, made by the same jeweller, features cubic zirconia as well. That was a decade ago. More and more, when my ring receives the occasional compliment, I say only thanks, feeling a twinge of complicity. What matters is our marriage, our love for each other, which remains solid and bold, regardless of any jewellery.
BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua)  Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, recently exchanged congratulatory messages with Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima on the birth of a giant panda cub in the European country.

Xi and Peng said in their letter that the new cub, born in May by giant panda Wu Wen in a Dutch Zoo, is a cause for celebration.

The cub, they said, is a beautiful fruit of China-Dutch friendship and an important achievement in bilateral cooperation in biodiversity conservation.

Meanwhile, they noted that since the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic, the governments and people of the two countries have given each other a helping hand and written a beautiful tale of friendship that features them sticking together through thick and thin and helping each other.

China, they added, attaches great importance to the development of bilateral relations, and stands ready to work with the Netherlands to turn challenges into opportunities, promote epidemic control and bilateral exchanges in a coordinated way, and lift bilateral ties to new levels.

The Dutch royal couple, for their part, said they were greatly delighted and heartened by the birth of the cub.

The new life, they added, is not only a symbol of the fruitful relationship between the two countries, but also a contribution to the protection of global biodiversity.

The Dutch side pays high attention to bilateral cooperation against COVID-19, they said, adding that only with solidarity and cooperation can countries around the world prevail over the global crisis.

Noting that Netherlands-China relations enjoy a solid foundation, they said the Dutch side is willing to continue to work with China to cope with the impact of the pandemic and bring bilateral exchanges back to normal as soon as possible.



(Source: Xinhua)
The museum has been closed since mid-March and has spoken of the tentative possibility of reopening by the end of July, depending on how Chicago does at keeping the spread of COVID-19 to a minimum as it enters the fourth phase of its five-stage reopening plan. But whenever the Art Institute opens back up, city rules will limit attendance to 25% of capacity, and the encyclopedic Michigan Avenue museum is bracing for major revenue shortfalls.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked all nations to make it an urgent responsibility to suppress transmission of the coronavirus and save lives, as research into vaccines and therapeutic continues.



It said the number of Coronavirus cases was expected to reach 10 million cases within the next week as more than 9.1 million cases with about 470,000 deaths have been reported to the WHO presently.



Dr Tredous Anamom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director General, said at a media briefing that the most effective way of saving lives was to provide oxygen to patients who needed it.



He said several news reports highlighted the vital role of oxygen in treating patients with severe and critical COVID-19.



Those patients could not get enough oxygen into their blood by breathing normally and needed higher concentrations of oxygen and support to get it into their lungs, he said.



The WHO Director General said when left untreated, severe COVID-19 deprived the human cells and organs of the needed oxygen, which ultimately led to organ failure and death.



"WHO estimates that at the current rate of about one million new cases a week, the world needs about 620,000 cubic meters of oxygen a day, which is about 88,000 large cylinders, but many countries are now experiencing difficulties in obtaining oxygen concentrators," he noted.



Dr Ghebreyesus said WHO and its United Nations partners were working with manufacturers across the world through a variety of private sector networks to buy oxygen concentrators for countries that needed them the most.



Through such networks in recent weeks, the WHO had succeeded in buying 14,000 oxygen concentrators to be sent to 120 countries in the coming weeks.



It had also identified a further 170,000 concentrators that could be available over the next six months, with a value of US$100 million dollars and has bought 9,800 pulse oximeters, a simple device used to monitor oxygen in a patients blood, which are being prepared for shipment.



Dr Ghebreyesus said another challenge was that many patients with critical disease needed a higher flow rate of oxygen than was produced by most commercially available concentrators.



"WHO is supporting several countries to buy equipment that will enable them to generate their own concentrated oxygen in larger amounts. This is a sustainable solution for COVID-19 and beyond, but requires technical expertise for maintenance."

In a related development, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to announce the end of the Ebola outbreak in the east of the country, after almost two years of struggle.



In total there have been almost 3,500 cases, with about 2,300 deaths and 1,200 survivors.



Dr Ghebreyesus said the WHO was proud to have worked under the leadership of the Government of the DRC to bring the outbreak under control.



"This has been possible, thanks to the service and sacrifice of thousands of Congolese health workers, working side by side with colleagues from WHO and many other partners."



The Director General observed that many of the public health measures successful in stopping Ebola were the same measures now essential for suppressing COVID-19, thus finding, isolating, testing and caring for every case and relentless contact tracing.



These were the measures that must remain the backbone of the response in every country as there were no short-cuts, he said.

Source: GNA









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BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:

South Korean companies can develop activities in certain economic sectors of Turkmenistan, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

The issue was discussed during a videoconference between the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Turkmen-Korean commission on trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation.

The parties discussed issues of cooperation in the field of energy, textile industry, shipbuilding and digital technologies.

In particular, South Korean companies that participate in the construction and modernization of petrochemical complexes, can develop their activities in Turkmenistan, said the report.

The sides also discussed the issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, the timeliness and effectiveness of mutual actions taken in this context was noted.

On February 22, 2019, the 7th meeting of the intergovernmental Turkmen-Korean Commission on trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation was held in Seoul.

During last year's meeting, the prospects of bilateral relations between Turkmenistan and the Republic of Korea were also discussed.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 15:53:39|Editor: huaxia

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TALUQAN, Afghanistan, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Seven people including four police and three militants have been confirmed dead as clash erupted in Afghanistans' northern Takhar province on Friday, provincial government spokesman Mohammad Jawad Hajari said.

The clash erupted after a group of Taliban insurgents stormed a police checkpoint in Chaqlo area outside provincial capital Taluqan city early morning and police retaliated, forcing militants to flee after leaving three bodies behind and five more injured, the official asserted.

Four police were killed and eight others injured in the firefight which lasted for two hours, the official further said.

The Taliban outfit has yet to make a comment. Enditem
Sympathisers in their number, on Thursday evening, stormed the private residence of former Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi, located at Oluyole estate following the announcement of his demise.

The mourners, many of who said they thought the death news was a rumour, were seen weeping at the residence.

The sympathisers comprised political associates, friends and extended family members.

READ ALSO  BREAKING: Ex-Oyo Governor Ajimobi Is Dead

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Meanwhile, a family source said the corpse is expected to arrive Friday morning from the Lagos hospital, where he breathed his last. The source said arrangement for the burial was ongoing at the time of filing this report.

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US moves to protect lobster industry, threatens tariffs on China

June 25,2020 | Source: Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum aimed at protecting American lobster fishermen who have found export markets drying up, a White House adviser dubbed the "lobster king" said on Wednesday, adding China could face new tariffs.



"If those purchase commitments are not met, the United States Trade Representative has been directed to use his discretion to impose ... reciprocal tariffs on the China seafood industry," trade adviser Peter Navarro told reporters. He was referring to $150 million in purchase commitments Beijing made under the so-called Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal.



In the memorandum, Trump also directed the U.S. Agriculture Department to provide lobster fishermen with the same type of assistance other parts of the agriculture sector are receiving to protect them from harmful trade practices, Navarro said.



Senator Angus King of Maine welcomed the decision and said it would make a huge difference for Maine lobstermen who had been hurt doubly by Chinese tariffs imposed in 2018 and the collapse of sales to restaurants during the coronavirus lockdowns.



"This is definitely good news," he told Reuters. "The timing is good. This has been a tough summer for our lobstermen."



The U.S. Trade Representative's office and the Maine Lobstermen's Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



Trump earlier this month called Navarro the "lobster king" at a Maine event, threatening to impose tariffs on European Union cars if the bloc did not drop its tariff on American lobsters.



U.S. lawmakers from Maine have repeatedly called for aid for the lobster industry, which supports the livelihood of 4,500 state-licensed lobstermen and an additional 10,000 people, generating about $1.5 billion in economic impact each year.



Navarro said the memorandum also called on the USTR to develop recommendations over the next 90 days on how to address a loss of market share American lobster fishermen have faced due to a Canada-Europe trade agreement.

 Reuters

Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade.
LOS ANGELES, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Discovery Behavioral Health, Inc, (DBH) an expanding network of evidence-based mental health, substance abuse and eating disorder treatment centers, has announced the appointment of Corey Procuniar as Vice President, Human Resources.

Procuniar will oversee all personnel policies for DBH, which has nearly 3,000 employees who work in treatment centers in 12 states as well as at the company's corporate headquarters in Southern California. Prior to his appointment at DBH, he was head of HR for Cambridge Healthcare Services in Orange County, CA where he worked for 10 years. He holds a B.A. degree in pre-med, chemistry from Brigham Young University.

As an HR executive, Procuniar will face a job market with unprecedented volatility caused by the current national health emergency. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are being buffeted by civil unrest in many parts of the country and a renewed call for racial and ethnic diversity in the workplace. Procuniar says that he already has learned valuable lessons from the multiple crises, which will continue to inform him in his leadership role.

"The pandemic forced us to initiate a work-at-home policy for many of our employees. At first, we were concerned about productivity, but we discovered, as have many other companies, that our employees became more productive. That will inform our decision-making as we finalize plans for our new corporate headquarters," he said.

While many DBH employees will continue to work at home even after COVID-19 subsides, he still envisions a workplace where team members can gather on occasion for face-to-face meetings about projects or special events. "As effective as video conferencing has been proven to be over the last few months, there's still the need for the kind of nuanced communication and cohort bonding that's only possible from in-person gatherings," he says.

Over the next three years, DBH plans to add several hundred employees as it acquires existing treatment facilities or opens new ones. To keep the company's various moving parts running smoothly, Procuniar will utilize the latest in human capital management system (HCMS), a comprehensive and strategic approach to building and developing effective staffing in organizations. "HCMS provides the kinds of staffing analytics that will facilitate the growth of the company in the coming years," he said.

In a recent survey conducted by The Conference Board of employees nationwide, 62% said that they would not work for an organization if they disagreed with their stated beliefs. With a renewed focus on diversity in its hiring, retention and promotion of staff, DBH will conduct an audit during the next six months by an outside consulting firm of its current employee practices "Our company is committed to fostering a workplace culture where every voice is welcomed and respected regardless of race, ethnicity, cultural background, sexual identity or religion, and where diverse thinking is encouraged," he said. "Diversity is an essential element in the execution our company's mission: saving lives with compassionate treatment, evidence-based care and an unwavering alliance among staff, patients and communities."

In his new position, Procuniar will report directly to DBH Chief Executive Officer John Peloquin.

"Corey's honed management skills and in-depth human resources expertise promise to serve the company well in these times of unique challenges for employers and employees alike. He will be integral in our efforts to make DBH a model of diversity and inclusion for the profession and the industry of behavioral health," said Peloquin.

About Discovery Behavioral Health

Discovery Behavioral Health is a leading U.S. behavioral health network delivering accessible, evidence-based care within hospital and community-based centers. Treatment programs include substance use, eating disorder and mental health centers. With more than 100 treatment centers nationwide, Discovery's levels of care include detoxification centers, residential, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs for teens and adults. The company was established in 1998 and is headquartered in Orange County, California. More: https://discoverybehavioralhealth.com

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The Huntsville city council voted Thursday night to accept the Confederate monument, located downtown at the Madison County Courthouse, at a historic city-owned cemetery as an alternate site.

In a unanimous vote, the council approved a resolution to make available space for the monument at Maple Hill Cemetery  which is almost 200 years old and includes burial sites for hundreds of Confederate soldiers.

The move is part of a tedious process by which the city and the county are banding together in an effort to adhere to state law and shift the monument away from a high-profile location on the downtown square that has been a target for critics for years. The issue now has unseen momentum in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd last month.

Related: Huntsvilles controversial Confederate statue is a 1960s replica

The county commission voted unanimously June 10 to seek a waiver from the review committee established in the 2017 state law that prohibits the removal or relocation of historical structures such as the Confederate monument, which was placed in 1905.

While the cities of Birmingham and Mobile removed Confederate monuments without review committee permission and paid the $25,000 fine stipulated in the law, the county commission has opted to remove the monument through the legal pathway provided.

The office of attorney general Steve Marshall told AL.com earlier this month that the law does not allow removals of monuments that have been in place 40 or more years. The statement concerned the letter of the law and was not directed at the Madison County monument.

Having an alternate site available for the monument  particularly one with the history of Maple Hill  could help sway opinion in favor of relocating the Madison County monument, according to councilman Bill Kling.

Kling sponsored the resolution approved by the council.

"It's possible that the attorney general may see that, in compliance with state law, it is a step forward to be putting the statue in a historically-significant area by comparison to the courthouse, which is roughly about 60 years old," he said. "We'll try this and see if it works."

County Commission Chair Dale Strong said that having a suggested site for the monument would be part of the commission's presentation to the review committee. Strong said the commission's goal is to make its presentation to the review committee at its July 9 meeting in Montgomery.

City officials also have a bipartisan group of state legislators working on their behalf. House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, and Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, have both said they support placing the monument at Maple Hill, Kling said. The cemetery is located in Reynolds' district.

The resolution the Huntsville council approved also called on the state legislature to "pass legislation that would allow cities to be granted waivers from the 2017 Alabama Monument Law when they can show that they intend to relocate monuments to areas of historical significance."

Five former Alabama governors are buried at Maple Hill as well as five U.S. senators.

The Huntsville council earlier this month approved a resolution in support of the county commissions desire to remove the monument.
The Nigerian government says it is distributing 66, 000 cocoa seedlings and other essential inputs to smallholder farmers to mitigate the effects of the new coronavirus pandemic on the sector.

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mustapha Shehuri, disclosed this on Thursday when he flagged off the exercise in Oyo State.

He said the seeds are being given to farmers free of charge while other inputs are given at 75 per cent subsidy.

The Ministry is also distributing over 18,000kg of organic insecticide to combat armyworm infestation in maize, he said.

Mr Shehuri called for a robust synergy with state governments and other critical stakeholders to avert food insecurity posed by the COVID -19 pandemic .

President Muhammadu Buhari had in his Democracy Day broadcast on June 12 said Nigerias revenue from cocoa and sesame seeds has increased by $79.4 million and $153 million respectively in the past year.

Our efforts on growing non-oil exports have started to yield some results. For instance, in the past year, our revenue from cocoa and sesame seed increased by $79.4 million and $153 million, he said.

Mr Shehuri on Thursday spoke on the need to boost agricultural production in Nigeria, noting that a number of countries have banned or drastically reduced food exports to avoid scarcity of food.

With dwindling oil revenues and limited opportunity to import food from other countries, one would only wonder what Nigeria would have been experiencing today, in terms of food supply, if this Administration had not taken the right policy steps and remained focused and steadfast in investing in agriculture, he said.

The minister said the ministry is supporting breeder and foundation seeds production and linking up with private seed companies to make certified seeds available to farmers for improved yield.

He said since smallholders are the most vulnerable, the government decided to support them with inputs, especially seeds, which he called the most important factor that influences farmers yield. He said the support is in order to enable farmers to recover quickly from the setback of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Through this effort and other complementary interventions by different stakeholders, the government hopes to increase the resilience of farmers and the national food systems in general.

He said the ministry is also supporting kenaf farmers through the Kenaf Producers, Processors and Marketers Association (KEPPMAN) with 19,672 kg kenaf foundation seeds.

Mr Shehuri said yam farmers are also being supported with about 12 metric tonnes of foundation seed for the production of certified seeds through their national association and other cooperative groups.

In our input distribution efforts, at least 35 per cent of the inputs are targeted at women farmers in line with the targets set in our National Gender Plan and Policies aimed at ensuring increased opportunities for women. This has been communicated to the Farmer Associations accordingly, he said.

The Ministry and its research institutions are working towards making Nigeria self-sufficient in good quality seeds and its availability to farmers as a foundation for attaining food and nutrition security as well as industrialisation, he concluded.

In his remarks, the Oyo state governor, Oluseyi Makinde, represented by the secretary to the state government, Olubamiwo Adeosun, called for the transformation of the agriculture sector.

Hesaid the countries that have successfully managed their own agricultural transformation have incorporated the following processes: modernizing business, strengthening the links between process, production and market.

While appreciating the proactive move of the federal government toward ensuring that Nigeria averts food scarcity next year, he said Oyo has also adopted innovative and modern technology to ensure a data-driven process that is empirically documented and evidence-driven.

The state Commissioner of Agriculture and Rural Development, ,Ojekunle Ojemuyiwa, described the gesture of the federal government as very apt.

He said the COVID- 19 pandemic is a monster that all hands must be on deck to curtail and eradicate.

In his vote of thanks, the permanent secretary of the agriculture ministry, Abdulkadir Muazu, who was represented by the director, federal department of agriculture, Karima Babaginda, said Oyo State was chosen for the ceremony because the state is the hub of agricultural institutes in Nigeria and also contributes significantly to the production of yam and cocoa among others.
With many Americans just now learning about the Tulsa Race Massacre, there have been many questions about how to best memorialize victims of the attack while celebrating the accomplishments of Black Wall Street. How can art reckon with this knowledge gap?

QURAYSH ALI LANSANA Its important to know that there have been three major reawakenings of Black Wall Street, moments when the public becomes conscious of what happened here. The first was immediately after the massacre in 1921. The second was right after the highway was built through Greenwood in the 1960s. And we are now living through a third wave of recognition.

JERICA WORTHAM One of the most significant challenges we have now is that we cant build our own community. Oklahoma [State] University owns a large portion of the Greenwood district; everything has to be approved through them. And new construction  condos and facilities  isnt necessarily bringing in more black people. But these new arts projects are meant to discuss what Black Wall Street was and what it could be in the future with the right resources and economic opportunities. Its also important for us to shine a light on the fact that there are several black businesses thriving in Tulsa despite those barriers to access.

LANSANA Clara Luper, one of Oklahomas most noted civil rights leaders, once said, My biggest job now is making white people understand that black history is white history. Black Wall Street wouldnt exist without the forced relocation of black people who traveled West as slaves of Native American tribes on the Trail of Tears, those who intermarried or as freedmen given land allotments; it wouldnt exist without the Civil War and some of the harshest segregation laws in the country. Yet at one point, Oklahoma had as many as 50 all-black towns, more than anywhere else in the country. But what distinguished Greenwood from other notable black neighborhoods like Harlem in New York, Bronzeville in Chicago, and the Hill in Pittsburgh was land ownership.

WORTHAM There are some Tulsans who are willfully ignorant of this history. But the point is that if a race massacre could happen in Tulsa, then it could happen anywhere. And while we are showing most of the Greenwood art projects in the district, were also taking the initiative to neighborhoods with people who might otherwise avoid North Tulsa.
BRIDGEPORT  In less than a week, gun violence has killed three people and wounded more than a handful of others in the city, according to police officials.

Thursday night saw two male victims and two female victims shot, according to Police Chief Armando Perez. He said one of the male victims died from his injuries.

Bridgeport police called in mutual aid from surrounding communities and Connecticut State Police to help city police officers on scene at Bridgeport Hospital following the shooting.

The chief attributed Thursday nights gun violence to violent groups in the city, ones that have targeted each other for years.

Were not going to stand for this, Perez said later Thursday night. Were going to protect the citizens of the city of Bridgeport.

The gunshots rang out shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday, sending police to the area of Huntington Road and Boston Avenue. Medics were also dispatched.

Scott Appleby, the citys director of emergency communications and emergency management, said preliminary reports indicate three people had gunshot wounds and were taken to Bridgeport Hospital. He said there was no further information on the extent of injuries.

Perez later confirmed that shooting wounded four victims, one fatally.

This marks the citys ninth homicide of the year, and the third just this week.

Multiple people were injured, two fatally, in a series of separate shootings in the city starting late Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning.

Two victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries at a Harral Avenue shooting around 5 p.m. Monday.

The citys seventh homicide took place in the area of Fairfield Avenue and Albion Street shortly after 6 p.m. Monday. Police identified the victim as 18-year-old Eugene Stinson. A close family friend said he was known as Stink.

The eighth homicide in Bridgeport this year killed 52-year-old Wayne Wollcock on William Street around 10:45 p.m. Monday, police said.

One man was in critical but stable condition after a shooting around 12:40 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Ellsworth Street and Fairfield Avenue.

Another individual had non-life-threatening injuries after a shooting on Dover Street Tuesday morning around 11 a.m.

Detectives continue to investigate these incidents and homicides.

Anyone with information can call the Bridgeport police tips line at 203-576-TIPS.
Coronavirus infections with an unknown source are at their highest levels since the pandemic reached Victoria, placing the state in a "dangerous situation" as authorities grapple with a growing numbers of outbreaks.

Cases in which someone has been infected with the virus but doesnt have links to known outbreaks have recently overtaken infections in returned travellers, an analysis of Department of Health and Human Services data by The Age has revealed.

A man in Pakenham wearing a face mask on Friday. Credit:Joe Armao

Thirty new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Friday, the tenth consecutive day of double-digit growth in infections in Victoria.

More than a third of the new infections confirmed between June 17 and June 23 are suspected to have been picked up somewhere in the community not linked to identified outbreaks.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping police reform package crafted by Democrats late Thursday night, after a Senate effort to advance policing legislation collapsed one day prior.

It's unclear whether Democrats and Republicans will try to resolve their disagreements and produce a bipartisan deal that can become law. A cloud of acrimony hangs over the Senate, which edged closer to meaningful action on police reforms than it has in decades only to be thrust back into partisan division.

"Conferencing is always an opportunity, but you need the Senate to move," said U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam. "I think basically all that will happen because of the sense of the public, which is overwhelmingly in favor of reforms."

After blocking debate on a Republican policing bill, Senate Democrats have called for the Judiciary Committee to debate both the Republican and Democratic bills in order to craft a bipartisan version. But the chair of that committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Thursday that would be a waste of time and police reform "seems to be" a dead issue in the Senate.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday night a bipartisan deal must come from the Senate, deepening some doubts.

"The Senate has to negotiate with itself first, Pelosi. They have to come up with something. They can sit down together, get something that can pass the Senate.

As expected, the House vote was mostly party line with three Republicans joining Democrats to vote in favor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Those Republicans were Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, who is not seeking re-election. No Democrats voted against the package.

Backed by some civil rights groups, the Justice in Policing Act would require police to report "use of force" data, increase body camera usage, block departments from receiving some military equipment, and place negligent officers on a national registry. It bans chokeholds  which most departments already prohibit  and no-knock warrants. The bill would change the federal standard for prosecuting police misconduct from willfulness to recklessness, eliminating the need to prove intent.

A change opposed by Republicans, the bill would limit "qualified immunity," which gives police officers legal protection for actions performed on the job. The change could open cities and police departments to liability in lawsuits when police officers violate individuals constitutional rights.

At the last minute, House Democrats removed a provision of the bill that would have made lynching a federal crime, preferring to have that issue addressed in stand-alone legislation. The House has already passed legislation to make lynching a federal crime, but the Senate has yet to act on it.

Congress was compelled to make policing reforms after weeks of protests following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man, at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.

"Americans in communities of all colors are calling out and demanding action to address racial injustice in our country," said Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-Rhinebeck. "Today, the House took an important step in that direction by increasing transparency and accountability in policing."

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, who voted against the Democrats' legislation, urged Democrats to reconsider Republicans' bill, which Senate Democrats rejected Wednesday.

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"Republicans reached out to House Democrats following the tragic murder of George Floyd to begin what we hoped would be bipartisan conversations on a police reform bill, Stefanik said. Unfortunately, Democrats completely shut us out of the process and drafted a partisan bill with zero input from their colleagues across the aisle."

Frustration has emanated from the Republican caucus this week after the Senate vote. In a fiery speech, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the lone black Republican senator and author of the GOP bill, accused Democrats of blocking his bill not because of its substance but because of "who" wrote it  the GOP. He said Democrats wanted to deny Republicans any opportunity to extend a hand to minority communities in an election year.

I blame an elite political class, Scott said. I'm going to compete for their vote. Are you?

Senate Democrats said they opposed the Republican bill because it lacked the enforcement mechanisms their bill contained, although many concepts were similar. Senate Democrats said they were not ensured that they could amend the Republican bill, so they voted to block debate on the measure.

Tonko said he thought Senate Democrats made the right call.

"I think there is a need for genuine, sincere, fundamental reform and if that is what it takes to drive the leadership of the Senate and the members of the Senate together to have the dialogue, to be really be frank about the reforms that are needed, then yes it is the right decision," Tonko said.
Police Arrest Protesters in Hong Kong Amid Growing Fears Over New Law

2020-06-25 -- Police in Hong Kong on Thursday arrested 14 people after a protest in a shopping mall in the city, where China is getting ready to impose a draconian new subversion law.

Riot police raided the YOHO mall in Yuen Long after a crowd gathered there chanting slogans of the protest movement that has shaken the city since June 2019.

Chanting "Free Hong Kong, revolution now!" and "Disband the police," the protesters gathered at the mall as the city marks one year since protests erupted against plans by chief executive Carrie Lam to allow extradition to mainland China.

Police said they arrested nine males and five females aged from 14 to 55 at the mall.

The arrests came amid continuing concerns over provisions in the new law that will allow Lam to appoint judges to preside in trials under the national security law, which will see China's feared state security police given free rein to operate in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) said edited details of the draft law released by state news agency Xinhua at the weekend were "worrying."

"Any such arrangement, if implemented, would be unprecedented and would undermine judicial independence in [Hong Kong]," the HKBA said in a statement this week.

Currently, judges are appointed on the basis of their professional qualifications and experience by an independent commission of local judges, legal professionals, and public figures from other sectors, while executive involvement is kept to a minimum, it said.

Neither Lam nor any other executive officer has the power to decide which judge should be appointed to hear a specific case, and the new law will change that by giving her additional powers in cases brought under the forthcoming national security law, the HKBA said.

"Under the proposed national security law ... what is proposed ... confers a power upon the chief executive... which is currently exercised by the judiciary," it said, adding that the executive will already be prosecuting such cases, and shouldn't also be involved in picking judges to try them.

Vote likely this week

China looks set to forge ahead with draconian new legislation targeting acts of "secession, sedition and subversion" in Hong Kong, with a vote likely in its National People's Congress (NPC) standing committee this week, a top adviser to Beijing has said.

State news agency Xinhua confirmed in a long article on the law on Saturday that it would target acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign or external forces that endanger national security.

The law requires the setting up of a national security office under the direct control of the ruling Chinese Communist Party in Beijing to oversee the implementation of the law, the report said.

A national security committee of cabinet officials, chaired by chief executive Carrie Lam, will also ensure the law is implemented in the city, it said.

According to Xinhua, the city's police force has already set up a separate national security department to bring cases under the law, and the justice bureau will follow suit.

It added that some "special cases" would be handled directly from Beijing, but gave no indication of what might constitute a "special case."

A former deputy director of the pro-Beijing Basic Law Committee of advisers, Elsie Leung, said Beijing had deliberately not published the full text of the national security law for fear of sparking social unrest.

She said Beijing had carried out "enough" consultation with people in Hong Kong to go ahead with the plan, which requires the city's executive, legislative, and judicial arms to prevent, suppress, and punish acts that "endanger national security," while election hopefuls will need to pledge to uphold the law before being registered as candidates, Xinhua said.

Beijing will appoint a national security adviser for Hong Kong, which the city will take "necessary measures to strengthen the supervision and control of schools, social organizations, etc., in matters relating to national security," it said.

But the agency was silent on whether the new law would be applied retroactively to actions that took place before it became law.

New law widely condemned

In a move widely condemned by foreign governments and rights groups as signaling the end of Hong Kong's autonomy and status as a separate legal jurisdiction, the law will be imposed on the city by the standing committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), bypassing Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo).

The move has been criticized by foreign governments, legal experts and rights activists as being in breach of China's obligations under the 1984 treaty governing the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, and as paving the way for further political prosecutions of peaceful critics of the government, democracy campaigners, and rights activists.

Jimmy Pang, president of Sub-Culture Limited, which publishes books considered politically sensitive to Beijing, said his company still plans to bring sensitive titles to this year's fair, including existing books about last year's anti-government protests, the Tiananmen Square crackdown, and critiques of China and its leaders.

He said some bookstores are worried that some publications will be regarded as "inciting" readers to subversion and secession as they deal with themes of protest, the pro-democracy movement, and independence.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui said Beijing is hoping that a protest backlash will come after the law is implemented, so that its opponents can be prosecuted under its provisions.

"They know there's going to be a backlash," Hui said. "So they would rather ... it came when the law is already in effect, so that if you go out to protest you can be imprisoned under the much harsher terms of this law."

In its annual Country Reports on Terrorism 2019, issued on Wednesday, the U.S. State Department said that last year "authorities in Hong Kong falsely characterized the acts of pro-democracy and human rights protesters as terrorism.

"The PRC spokesman in Hong Kong also falsely described the actions of protesters as showing 'signs of terrorism,'" the report added.

Reported by Wong Lok-to for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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T wo young men are in a serious condition after they were stabbed amid a large gathering on an Isle of Sheppey beach, Kent Police have said.

Kent Police said that officers responded to reports of an assault on two men on The Promenade in Leysdown at around 11.55pm on Thursday.

A 24-year-old man from London has been arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm and remains in custody, they added.

Earlier on Thursday evening, officers had been called to reports of a large number of people gathering in Leysdown.

Many people in the crowd had travelled from outside the area, police added.

Photos and footage showed crowds of people congregating on the beach.

The force attended the scene to remind people of the latest social distancing advice, but just before midnight reports came in that two people had been assaulted on The Promenade.

The two men, also both from London and aged in their 20s, were rushed to a hospital in the capital by the South East Coast Ambulance Service with injuries consistent with stab wounds.

Police said their injuries are described as serious but not life-threatening.

Officers are now appealing for information and witnesses.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Kent Police on 01795 419119, quoting reference 25-2132 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
The only way out of the military stand-off between Indian and China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) would be for Beijing to stop building new structures, Indian envoy to China was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.

Only way to resolve military standoff along LAC is for China to stop erecting new structures, Vikram Misri told PTI.

China should stop creating obstructions and hindrances, the envoy said, in normal patrolling of Indian troops. Misri also rejected Chinas claim of sovereignty over Galwan as completely untenable, something the government has repeated over time, adding that such exaggerated claims are not going to help the situation.

Chinas attempt to alter status quo on ground can have ripples and repercussions in broader bilateral relationship, the envoy added.

In a strongly worded statement on Thursday, the external affairs ministry squarely blamed China for the violent faceoff at the LAC, saying Beijing had massed troops along the disputed frontier since May, violated a recent understanding to disengage in Galwan Valley and disregarded all mutually agreed norms for border patrols.

Twenty Indian soldiers died in the line of duty fighting Chinese troopers on June 15.
Brands that want to engage their customers need to tap into their New Zelandness according to a new study.

Kantar New Zealand has been studying the evolving values and behaviours of Kiwis in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, conducting weekly surveys since March and has identified the trends to help brand strategists and customer experience managers answer this question.

Kantar executive director Jason Cate says the pandemic has also created a sense of all being in it together - a sense of shared connection and purpose as a result of a shared experience and there is a mutual concern for things beyond myself that comes from that.

The shared connection and mutual concern are playing out with New Zealanders wanting to support local brands and businesses, he says.

"A well-articulated and crafted brand will have an emotional core, but it is possible to dial up and dial down attributes within that.

"The implication is that brand strategists need to tap into their brands New Zealandness at a time when supporting local businesses and, by extension, New Zealandness as an economic concept is increasingly important."

In addition to the values, Kantars research identified three behaviours that emerged or strengthened during COVID-19 and are likely to stick - flexible working, local purchasing and online shopping among a minority of consumers. Customer experience is an increasingly important part of brand management that also must be taken into account.

"New Zealand has changed and brand managers and customer experience managers need to keep up with the values that are most important to us right now and our evolving behaviours to stay relevant."

Jason says the research provides guidance and insight for companies kick starting their marketing again post COVID.

"Plenty of brands want to action things sooner than later, and brand owners need reassurance they have not lost relevance or connection.

"Any brand that seeks to understand or evoke New Zealandness has to stay in touch with consumer changes because what we value and how we behave is dynamic. There is a clear need for brands to identify how New Zealandness resonates with their customers and dial up or dial down their messaging accordingly."

Another key finding is that COVID-19 has been a catalyst for Kiwis to re-connect with a number of basic cultural values, most notably their sense of humour, practicality, inclusivity and fairness, and connection to the environment, says Jason.

"Our sense of humour was a coping mechanism during the lockdown. Sense of humour comes up when people have been through a tough time. Its a natural response. We have seen typical Kiwi self-deprecation, and humour relating to things not being as bad as they could have been.

"Practicality is something we pride ourselves on. It was on full display during lockdown. Our attitude has been This is a challenging situation - lets get on with it.

"The environmental dimension however is not straightforward. Lockdown was a period of conflicted sustainability. A lot of people took sustainability shortcuts during lockdown but there were other dimensions of sustainability like traffic and air pollution reductions which people felt good about. Also, consumers sustainability concerns have shifted towards doing good for people and the community in response to the economic pressure of the moment."

Kantar chief executive officer Jason Shoebridge says, "This research has provided excellent insight into the behaviours and attitudes of New Zealanders as we moved through the various alert levels and now under level 1.

The challenge for all marketers in New Zealand is now how they adapt to the ongoing changes in these attitudes and behaviours as they develop strategies for their organisations to recover."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday launch a 125-day campaign to provide employment to migrant workers and others in Uttar Pradesh, who lost their jobs during coronavirus pandemic, under various central and state government schemes.

Modi will launch the Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan, being undertaken as part of the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan that the Prime Minister started on June 20 for 116 districts in six states in the country, virtually.

The Prime Minister will also interact with villagers from six districts of Uttar Pradesh at the virtual launch on Friday morning.

Villages across all districts of the state will join the event through Common Service Centres and Krishi Vigyan Kendras.

Heres all about the job scheme in UP:

* A slogan Rojgar ka naya abhiyan, har shramik ko kaam (A new campaign for employment, jobs for all workers) has been given to the Garib Kalyan scheme in Uttar Pradesh that has seen the arrival of over 30 lakh migrant labourers following the recent lockdown in the country.

* The Atmanirbhar UP Rojgar Abhiyan is focused on providing jobs, promoting local entrepreneurship and creating partnerships with industrial associations and other organisations to create employment opportunities.

* Uttar Pradeshs 31 districts have been covered under the scheme and the state government is likely to use the occasion to showcase the work it has been doing for the welfare of the workers.

* A target of providing work has been given to different departments with a focus on 25 categories of works and 1.25 crore workers or labourers will get work.

* This will include work to be given to 60 lakh workers per day and 10.06 crore man-days will be created under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

* The ceremony will also mark distribution of loan of 5,900 crore to 2.40 lakh industrial units and 3,226 crore to 1.11 lakh new industrial units.

* Appointment letters will be also given to 1.25 lakh workers by private construction companies at the programme that will also see the distribution of toolkits to 5,000 workmen under the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana and one-district-one-product scheme.

* UPs 31 districts covered under the campaign include Siddharthnagar, Prayagraj, Gonda, Maharajganj, Bahraich, Balrampur, Jaunpur, Hardoi, Azamgarh, Basti, Gorakhpur, Sultanpur, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Banda, Ambedkar Nagar, Sitapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Ayodhya, Deoria, Amethi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Unnao, Shravasti, Fatehpur, Mirzapur, Jalaun and Kaushambi.
St Louis (US):

Donald Trump had a feisty exchange of words with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton over his lewd remarks about women as he expectedly brought in rape and sexual assault allegations against her husband and former US President Bill Clinton.



While Clinton alleged that the video reflects the real Trump, the Republican presidential nominee accused her husband Bill Clinton of sexual assault of women over the past several decades.



Like everyone else, Ive spent a lot of time thinking over the last 48 hours about what we heard and saw. You know, with prior Republican nominees for president, I disagreed with them on politics, policies, principles, but I never questioned their fitness to serve. Donald Trump is different, Clinton said in response to a question.

Read: As it happened: Highlights of second US presidential debate



I said starting back in June that he was not fit to be president and commander-in-chief. And many Republicans and independents have said the same thing. What we all saw and heard on Friday was Donald talking about women, what he thinks about women, what he does to women. And he has said that the video doesnt represent who he is.

Also read: Clinton stands good chance of winning if she scores in two swing states as Trump faces public wrath over lewd comments



But I think it is clear to anyone who heard it that it represents exactly who he is. Because we have seen this throughout the campaign. We have seen him insult women. We have seen him rate women on their appearance, ranking them from one to ten. We have seen him embarrass women on TV and on Twitter. We saw him after the first debate spend nearly a week denigrating a former Miss Universe in the harshest, most personal terms, she said.

This is who Donald Trump is, she charged.

Also read: Trump made lewd comments on daughter too; termed her voluptuous

Trump, who again apologised for his remarks, said this was a locker room conversation. Im not proud of it. I apologise to my family. I apologise to the American people. Certainly I am not proud of it. But this is locker room talk ... Yes, Im very embarrassed by it. I hate it. But its locker room talk, and its one of those things, Trump said in response to a question in the early phase of the debate.



The former realty television star refrained from giving a direct answer to the question if he actually kissed women or groped them without consent. I have great respect for women. Nobody has more respect for women than I do ... Ive said things that, frankly, you hear these things I said. And I was embarrassed by it. But I have tremendous respect for women, the White House nominee said.



Have you ever done those things? moderator Anderson Cooper of the CNN asked again. And I will tell you: No, I have not, Trump said.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Oregon lawmakers are on track to vote on the final passage of six police accountability bills Friday, after a legislative committee acted unanimously to advance the proposals Thursday night.

Sen. Lew Frederick, D-Portland, said it is a sign of progress that some provisions he has pushed for years are finally on the verge of passing during the special session.

To people who dont believe ingrained practices and institutions can change, Frederick said the bipartisan support for the bills shows that we can.

Youre showing it, Frederick told his colleagues after the House-Senate committee voted on the last of the bills around 9 p.m. I am really proud to be part of this group.

The committee voted Thursday to move the following police bills to the House and Senate for floor votes:

Several of the bills were scaled back with amendments during the Thursday night proceedings. For example, a proposed ban on tear gas and acoustic crowd control devices was reworked into a limited tear gas ban that would only allow its use when police declare a riot and after officers provide a warning.

The Portland Police Bureau currently faces a more restrictive mandate under a court order, not allowed to use tear gas unless theres a life-threatening situation.

Under the police discipline database plan, the state would publicly disclose when officers certifications are suspended or revoked. Officers personnel files, including complaints, would be available to law enforcement agencies and they would be required to look up those records before extending an offer of employment.

The state Senate is scheduled to hold a floor session at 10 a.m. Friday and the House is set to reconvene at 11 a.m.

Reporter Maxine Bernstein contributed to this report.

-- Hillary Borrud: hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command said that it intercepted two Russian maritime patrol planes within 50 miles of Alaska late Wednesday.

The Russian IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft were intercepted by two NORAD F-22 Raptors and a US Transportation Command KC-135 Stratotanker near Unimak Island, along Alaska's Aleutian island chain, military officials said Thursday.

NORAD tweeted Thursday that the Russian aircraft entered the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone and spent about four hours in the area before exiting.

NORAD revealed that two F-22 Raptors (pictured, file image) participated in an intercept of Russian IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft Wednesday

NORAD said the Russian IL-38 (file image) flew in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone for four hours before leaving

NORAD said the Russian planes came within 50 miles of Alaska, but stayed in international airspace and did not enter US or Canada sovereign airspace

The Russian planes stayed within international airspace 'and at no time did the aircraft enter United States or Canadian sovereign airspace,' NORAD wrote.

The incident marked the fifth time this month that such an intercept has taken place, Gen. Terrence J. OShaughnessy, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said in a release.

'The mission assurance measures we are taking to protect our people ensure we are meeting the challenges and operating through the COVID-19 environment to defend our nations, just as NORAD forces have for more than 60 years,' O'Shaughnessy said.

Most recently, on June 16 NORAD F-22s, KC-135 Stratotankers and E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System - aka an AWAC - were involved in two intercepts of Russian bomber formations entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone.

NORAD said that this was the fifth time in three weeks that Russian aircraft have had to be intercepted by NORAD after entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone

The F-22 Raptors were accompanied by a Stratotanker during the intercept on Wednesday

A US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker (file image) flew along with the F-22s during the intercept

Previously, on June 16, NORAD F-22s and other planes carried out two intercepts of Russian bombers near Alaska. An F-22 is shown flying beneath a Russian Tu-95 bomber during one of the incidents that day

The first intercept involved a formation consisting of two Russian Tu-95 bombers, two Su-35 fighter jets and an A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft, which came within 20 nautical miles of Alaskan shores.

Later in the day, the second intercept involved two Russian Tu-95 bombers supported by an A-50 that came within 32 nautical miles of the Alaska air defense zone.

The Russian planes stayed in international space during both of those early June intercepts, as well.

Capt. Cameron Hillier, a NORAD spokesperson, said this is the ninth such incident off Alaska or Canada this year. He said all the interactions are 'safe and professional.'

Since Russia resumed long-range aviation activities in 2007, there has been an average of around seven intercepts a year, though the number in any given year has been zero to 15, Hillier said.
Dixie Chicks Drop The Dixie

The Dixie Chicks have changed their to just The Chicks. We want to meet this moment, reads a message signed by members Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines and Emily Strayer.

The name change follows a similar shift by country music colleagues Lady A (formerly Lady Antebellum) who dropped Antebellum because of its association with the slavery-era in U.S. history.

As part of the re-branding, The Chicks have already moved to a new website at thechicks.com and updated their social media footprint.

Along with the new branding, the group also debuted a new single March March with a music video that shows footage of both historical and recent protests.

Originally formed in 1989 as a four-piece bluegrass and country music group, the Dixie Chicks found success in 1998 with their fourth studio album Wide Open Spaces.

They courted political controversy in 2003 when they told a London audience in the leadup to the invasion of Iraq that they were ashamed that President George W. Bush was from Texas.

The critical comment did not go over well with the groups fans in heartland America and they quickly found themselves dropped from rotation on country music stations across the U.S.

However, they returned in 2006 with another #1 country album Taking the Long Way.

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A union representing New Jersey State Police troopers filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the attorney general and the superintendent of the State Police to stop the release of names of troopers who have committed serious disciplinary violations.

In addition to the lawsuit, six of the top police unions in New Jersey issued a joint statement Thursday threatening legal action against the states top law enforcement officials to stop the wide release of the officers names.

The lawsuit comes a day after the police unions met with Attorney General Gurbir Grewal to discuss his order, which instructs law enforcement agencies to publicize an annual list of officers who were fired, demoted, or suspended for more than five days due to a disciplinary violation. The order, announced June 15, also permits law enforcement agencies to name officers who have been disciplined in the past. The order does not give a specific time frame, but by way of example, it says the State Police will release names going back 20 years.

The statement issued by the unions said, Troubling, the meeting began with the Attorney General reading, word-for-word, a legal disclaimer which made it explicitly clear the meeting was not a negotiation.

It continued, For nearly two hours we discussed many extremely problematic issues with his directives. ... Unfortunately, the firm deadline of July 15 for the publication of names coupled with the Attorney Generals outright denial to negotiate in good faith has left us with no other option than to file litigation and seek temporary restraints until our arguments are heard in court.

So far, only the State Troopers Fraternal Association has filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Mercer County. Pat Colligan, the president of the New Jersey State Policemens Benevolent Association, said his union requested a stay with the attorney general to hold off on releasing the officers names.

The statement from the unions, which echoes the language in the STFA lawsuit, says the unions are concerned with revealing the names of the officers who have been disciplined for privacy and safety concerns.

For every individual Trooper named there is the strong likelihood that with the publication of their name it will be relatively easy to determine where they live and work, the lawsuit said. It will unnecessarily impact the families of these Troopers who may have not been involved in the underlying disciplinary matter.

The release of the names, the lawsuit said, could also indirectly identify a victim of a crime or a victim of domestic violence.

A spokesperson for the attorney general said in a statement, We believe that transparency helps to build trust. Were sorry to see that the police unions disagree.

The attorney generals order was seen as a giant step toward more transparency in law enforcement as the conversation surrounding the secrecy of police disciplinary records has changed in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Protestors have called for greater transparency and reform. Earlier this month, New York lawmakers repealed a decades-old law that has kept police officers disciplinary records secret.

Critics say the attorney generals order isnt true transparency because internal affairs records are still not public.

We need actual (internal affairs) records, not just the list of names that we cant even verify is accurate, said CG Griffin, an attorney who specializes in the states Open Public Records Act.

In a letter written earlier this week, three of the unions  the State Troopers Fraternal Association, State Troopers NCO Association of New Jersey and State Troopers Superior Officers Association  said theyre not trying to protect bad apples, but that the broad release of disciplined officers names serves no legitimate purpose other than to harass, embarrass, and rehash past incidents during a time of severe anti-law enforcement sentiment.

In Paterson, the state PBA, Paterson Police PBA Local 1 and Paterson PBA SOA Local 1 received a temporary injunction to prevent the release of officers names from disciplinary incidents of the past 20 years.

(The order) is not about protecting bad cops, said a joint statement from the unions. No one, including us, wants a bad cop in our ranks. But releasing information from an officers personnel file should involve a measured approach rather than a blanket document dump that does not tell a complete story about an officer or his or her ability to serve the public honorably.

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

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Emergency responders near a scene of reported stabbings, in Glasgow, Scotland, June 26, 2020.

JATV Scotland via Reuters

A suspected attacker has been shot dead by police in Glasgow, Scotland, police have confirmed.

Police confirmed six people are in hospital with injuries. The BBC reported that three victims had been stabbed to death.

Police have sealed off the street around the scene at the Park Inn Radisson hotel.

They say the situation is contained.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A male suspected attacker has been shot dead by police in central Glasgow on Friday, according to Scottish police.

In the tweeted statement, Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson also confirmed that six people are in hospital receiving treatment for their injuries, including a police officer.

Officers responded to the area by the Park Inn Radisson hotel on West George Street in the Scottish city.

Three of those stabbed are believed to have died the BBC reported.

A large number of police closed off the street and said as of 3 p.m. local time that the situation was contained.

Linda Sinclair, a BBC reporter at the scene, tweeted a video of a large police presence at the scene, saying she had seen a person being taken away on a stretcher.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted that her thoughts are with everyone involved in the "truly dreadful" situation.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "deeply saddened by the terrible incident in Glasgow," the BBC reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
FLORENCE/MILAN  With unsold luxury handbags and clothing gathering dust in their workshops, Italys artisans fear for their future as brands cut orders and in some cases demand discounts and payment delays.

Italy accounts for around 40% of global luxury goods manufacturing and has been hit hard by a dramatic drop in demand triggered by the coronavirus crisis, with several artisans saying they have no new orders beyond the summer.

German fashion group Hugo Boss and Italian company Max Mara both wrote in May seeking price reductions on existing orders of 8% and 7% respectively, suppliers told Reuters, which also saw emails detailing the requests.

This illustrates how some mid-size luxury brands are attempting to protect their margins to make up for sales lost during weeks of lockdowns.

Everybody is affected and has to take actions to have the possibility to come through the crisis and to survive, Markus Knisel, Hugo Bosss senior head of procurement for menswear, said in one email seen by Reuters.

Hugo Boss and Knisel did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for Max Mara declined to comment.

Reuters spoke to half a dozen Italian artisans supplying top luxury brands who said they had seen a cut in orders of between 20% and 50% in May and June compared with last year.

Hugo Boss has also asked for payments to be delayed to 120 days after delivery, from 10 days in normal times, one of the groups Italian suppliers, who asked not to be named, said.

Production cuts and price negotiations now threaten the survival of thousands of small and medium artisan workshops tanning leather, sewing handbags and shoes and weaving fabrics.

If things dont go back to normal in the next couple of months, the worry is that from September onwards the situation will deteriorate further and that many luxury suppliers, particularly the smaller ones, will go bust, David Rulli, head of fashion at business lobby Confindustria in Florence, said.

Luxury brands shut shops and idled manufacturing sites as the coronavirus first emerged in China, a key market for the sector, and then spread to the rest of the world.

A person stands inside a deserted Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, on the third day of an unprecedented lockdown across of all Italy imposed to slow the outbreak of coronavirus, in Milan, Italy, March 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters

With major economies facing recession, demand for high-end clothes and accessories is expected to fall by up to 35% this year and revenues may take until 2022-23 to return to an estimated 2019 level of 280 billion euros ($314 billion), according to consultancy Bain.

Labels are grappling with piles of unsold stock and in most cases the prospect of widespread markdowns.

Top brands from Chanel to LVMHs Louis Vuitton and Kerings Gucci have raised prices of some of their most coveted products in a bet they can still lure the wealthy.

However some houses, including Gucci and Michael Kors, are scrapping or delaying new collections and say luxury should stop mimicking fast fashions hectic delivery cycles.

We have enough orders to keep going until July but I am very concerned about the second part of the year which for us is crucial, Filippo Baldazzi, CEO of silk manufacturer Serica 1870 which works with Brunello Cucinelli, Kering and French rival LVMH, told Reuters.

At this time of the year I would be presenting my fabrics for next years fall and winter collections but no one is thinking about that now. Plus you cant show fabrics by video, people have to touch it, he said.

Two U.S. clients had cancelled orders because they could not pay and others had asked for payment delays, Baldazzi added.

Supplier support

While Italys government has earmarked more than 20 billion euros ($22.5 billion) to help fund temporary layoffs, many small businesses say they have yet to receive the money.

Some luxury labels say they are juggling their own goal to reduce production and keep a lid on costs with the needs of struggling suppliers who they cannot afford to lose.

Chanel has scaled back orders while trying to maintain a minimum level of activity with suppliers in France and Italy to make sure they dont go bankrupt, its finance chief Philippe Blondiaux told Reuters in a recent interview.

Italy and France are between them by far the two main producers of European luxury goods.

Dior, one of the LVMH conglomerates biggest labels, also pointed to the need to support suppliers as it said this week that it was sticking with its 2020 fashion show programme.

Some executives in the industry, which in Italy alone employs 400,000 people, say the crisis could accelerate a trend where big brands snap up artisan workshops to tighten their grip on the supply chain and ensure prized manufacturing skills do not vanish.

Real luxury is in the small details. I think many groups, including foreign ones, have realised that once those artisans are forced to close, that kind of sophisticated work ends with them, Baldazzi said.
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Linkedin Lim Sungnam (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 11:02 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661d1762 3 Opinion Moon-Jae-In,ASEAN,korea-asean-partnership,multilateral-relations,South-Korea Free

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea unveiled the New Southern Policy in November 2017 in Jakarta, aiming to upgrade the Korea-ASEAN partnership in the areas of people, prosperity and peace. Now, after two and a half years, it is high time to consider where the New Southern Policy stands and explore its way forward.

Thus far, the highlight of Koreas New Southern Policy has been the ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit, held in Busan last November to celebrate a 30-year partnership. There, a number of concrete actions were agreed upon.

The size of the ASEAN-Korea cooperation fund was doubled to US$14 million a year. From 2020 to 2022, a Korea-led project called Higher Education for ASEAN Talent, worth $8.3 million, will provide 90 ASEAN postgraduate students with full PhD scholarships. A separate program for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), worth $6.9 million, will help to lay the foundation for the enhancement of human resources in ASEAN member states. Korea will also work with the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Center in a $3.5 million project to improve ASEANs disaster management capacity.

In a nutshell, President Moon and ten ASEAN leaders pledged to build a people-centered community of peace and prosperity between Korea and ASEAN. In addition, President Moon has shown a strong commitment to the Korea-ASEAN partnership by becoming the first Korean president to visit all 10 ASEAN member states in less than two years, as he promised.

In 2019, the two-way trade volume between Korea and ASEAN was $151 billion. Korea is ASEANs fifth-largest trading partner, while ASEAN is Koreas second-largest. Last year, ASEAN was also the most popular region for Korean travellers, with more than 10 million Koreans visiting Southeast Asian destinations, including Bali. In 2019 alone, Koreas investment in ASEAN was $8.3 billion, while about 10,000 Korean companies employ millions of ASEAN workers. All in all, through the New Southern Policy, Korea has been laying, gradually but consistently, the meaningful grounds to upgrade the Korea-ASEAN strategic partnership.

COVID-19 appeared unexpectedly early this year, creating an environment unfavourable to the full-fledged strengthening of cooperative ties between Korea and ASEAN. As a result of domestic lockdowns and flight bans, people-to-people exchanges have been suspended and the flow of goods has been severely affected.

COVID-19, however, has also provided Korea and ASEAN with an opportunity to further expand cooperation in human security and beyond. After all, people have always been at the center of the three pillars of Koreas New Southern Policy. It was against this background that President Moon emphasized the importance of timely support for the regions quarantine and medical needs at the Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19, held on April 14 by video conference.

To implement these commitments, the Korean mission to ASEAN has recently launched a project titled Enhancing the Detection Capacity for COVID-19 in ASEAN Countries, a Korea-ASEAN joint program worth $5 million. Test kits, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) equipment and personal protective equipment will be provided to each and every ASEAN member state, including Indonesia.

Korea will also do its share when the ASEAN COVID-19 response fund is established. In the very near future, Korea will unveil a new public health initiative on a much larger scale to support ASEANs efforts to address the COVID-19 crisis, as well as its mid- and long-term needs and concerns.

While the COVID-19 situation is different in every country, we firmly believe that solidarity and cooperation among nations will be the only path to victory over the virus in the end. In this spirit, the Korean government will continue to work with ASEAN in the coming months and years until we are all free of COVID-19.

Furthermore, with our unwavering commitment to the strategic partnership between Korea and ASEAN, I am sure that we will not just be able to overcome this crisis but also turn it into an opportunity for further cooperation to revitalize our trade and people-to-people exchanges sooner rather than later.

With the socioeconomic changes brought about by COVID-19, Korea and ASEAN will work together to find new opportunities for cooperation in areas such as 4IR, fintech, smart cities and digital industries. In this context, the Financial Cooperation Center, the Science and Technology Cooperation Center and the Industrial Innovation Center between Korea and ASEAN, which will be created in accordance with an agreement made at the Commemorative Summit, will play pivotal roles as facilitators of new kinds of cooperation in these areas.

Just as the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s led to the birth of regional financial cooperation through the Chiang Mai Initiative, the crisis at hand could work to our advantage depending upon our wisdom and determination. Koreas New Southern Policy will continue to be expanded and upgraded so that the Korea-ASEAN strategic partnership will provide a regional platform for both sides to overcome COVID-19 and move forward.

***

The writer is ambassador of the Republic of Korea to ASEAN and former vice foreign minister.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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WATERLOO REGION  To comprehend what is going on today means understanding Canadas entrenched history of erasing Indigenous peoples and anti-Black violence, a panel heard Thursday.

At the virtual panel discussion on anti-racism and changing current systems, speakers addressed Canadas legacy of trauma and hurt inflicted on Indigenous and Black peoples.

That start of Canada with trafficking and enslavement of Africans and clearing Indigenous people from their territories so the land could be enclosed within a fort and taken for profit tells a lot about what is going on with us today, said panellist Ruth Cameron, executive director of The AIDS Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Area.

Panellist Ciann Wilson, assistant professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, agreed with Cameron that Canada was built on enslavement and genocide, clearing the land of its original inhabitants for exploitation and profit, and financed through proceeds from the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Erasure is part of the whitewashing of history, said Wilson. We need to acknowledge that bloodshed and that really vicious and violent history.

The violence is still faced by the two groups, she said.

Cameron and Wilson were one of six speakers at the discussion, which was organized by the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation and attracted more than 300 remote attendees.

There is a long history of Black people in Waterloo, particularly the settlement of Queens Bush in the 1850s, but it is often erased in the retelling, said panellist Fitsum Areguy, co-founder of Textile Literature.

We talk about Mennonite settlement histories, German histories. We do not talk enough about deep Indigenous histories. We do not talk about Black histories here, he said.

Lori Campbell, director of the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre at the University of Waterloo, said the police forces were created in Canada to clear the plains of Indigenous peoples.

Thats how we got locked up on reservations, she said. The police force was against Indigenous peoples. The service is for the settlers and the colonizers.

Campbell said the police have never protected us. Police hunted us, confined us and dragged us back to the reserves.

Campbell said Indigenous people teach their children how not to get killed by police. The narrative is different for white settler Canadians and what they teach their children about police, she said.

The first police in the U.S. were started to control and surveil enslaved African people and haul them back to their masters if they sought freedom, said Wilson.

Campbell said no equity or diversity program is going to lead to outcomes that Black and Indigenous peoples are looking for because systemic racism is built within the existing systems. Hiring more Black and Indigenous officers is not a solution, she said.

Instead, Indigenous communities need the resources to claim back their own legal systems, education and kinship to make their peoples healthy again, she said.

For the panellists, defunding the police is the only way to move forward to help the Black and Indigenous communities. Money would be reallocated from police to services that are trained to deal with social and mental health issues.

Folks are so deeply entrenched in white settlerism that they cannot for the life of them imagine a world without the police, Wilson said.

We are not sacrificing community safety, Areguy said.

Wilson said some people get their backs up against the wall when they hear calls to defund the police.

When we say defund the police, we mean abolish, said Cameron. The police were created to kill us in the name of profit. The police are an invention.

Before police were created, Black and Indigenous communities had rules, laws and practices on looking out for another, she said.

We know how to take care of one another in a world without police, she said.

Cameron said police reform is not an answer and she wont have a conversation with people who want to blend reform and abolition.

Its (police reform) continuing to kill us in fewer numbers, she said.

Donna Dubie, executive director of the Kitchener-based Healing of the Seven Generations, said Indigenous peoples dont need to be confronted by armed police.

When we call for support services for people suffering, we dont need guns pointed at us. We dont need to be Tasered, she said.

We need to put money into services that are truly going to benefit people who need compassion, she said.
Social distancing signs and one-way systems among sights which will greet Wrexham pupils on return to school

This article is old - Published: Friday, Jun 26th, 2020

A Wrexham primary school has outlined the intense preparations put in place to welcome back pupils in circumstances which are anything but normal.

Social distancing signs and one-way systems are just some of the sights that will greet youngsters when they return to All Saints School in Gresford on Monday to ensure they are protected from the coronavirus.

Many schools across the county have either been fully or partially closed since the outbreak started in March, but All Saints is one of those which has kept running for vulnerable and key workers children.

The Welsh Government said the aim was for some pupils across the country to return before the summer break in mid-July to check in, catch up, and prepare for the summer and September.

Headteacher Richard Hatwood said teachers and support staff had been hard at work to ensure both children and parents feel safe from them to do so.

He said: Its things around limiting the number of children weve got in the school, so well be having no more than a third of our capacity in school at any one point.

Were going to use the front half of the school for drop off and collection for some groups of children, so were reducing the number of people using the entrance and exit points.

Were having a slightly staggered start, so people have got ten minute intervals over a 40 minute drop off time and the same with collection.

Weve got some child friendly signage going up around the school and grounds just to remind them.

A lot of it is common sense like using one-way systems around the corridors and keeping their distance as much as they possibly can, but weve tried to do it in a child friendly way because we dont want the children to feel scared coming back.

Children will return in three day blocks with no more than eight pupils per group.

The school will then be kept empty for a day to allow a deep clean to take place.

Mr Hatwood said the feedback from parents had been positive, with 85 per cent of youngsters due to come back.

He added the main aim of the three week period would be to check on pupils wellbeing and help them to use home learning technology.

He said: The focus is on the check in, catch up and prepare so its not going to be the formal or normal kind of lessons.

Its going to be the focus on the childrens wellbeing, giving them the opportunity to see and interact with their teacher and to help to prepare them around routines and all the other things theyve not been able to have in a school setting since March.

Its also around supporting them when theyre in school with regards to the distance learning theyve been doing at home.

He added: Teachers have been setting work at home for them and weve had printed copies of it for people who may struggle with access.

Itll be supporting the children to use that technology as best as they can.

Schools across the area have been required to carry out individual risk assessments, taking into account considerations such as classroom capacity and building layouts.

The plans then require sign off from the local authority and governing body before being fully implemented.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is available for staff to care for pupils for first aid and similar incidents.

Mr Hatwood said outdoor learning would be encouraged as much as possible and videos have been prepared to show youngsters how the new layout looks ahead of their return.

He also expressed his thanks to all staff at All Saints for their efforts to prepare for Monday.

He said: The staff have been fantastic. All the way through, theyve gone above and beyond with everything. Both teaching and non-teaching staff have been absolutely amazing.

That includes the admin staff, cleaners and caretakers. All of those people are the unsung heroes as well.

By Liam Randall  BBC Local Democracy Reporter (more here on the LDR scheme)
Nissy Solomon and Gazi Hassan

The ongoing political tension between India and China is transcending into an economic clash.

While the Indian defence is busy handling the territorial borders, various agencies believe that boycotting Chinese goods would be one of the best ways to curb Chinese dominance. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has called to boycott Chinese goods by substituting it with indigenously produced goods. India is also mulling tough economic measures to limit Chinas market access to India. However, this move has invited criticism owing to the current national capabilities, and the strong dependency of the world on Chinese goods.

As per the data released by the Department of Commerce, Indias import of Chinese goods accounted for 13.68 percent in 201819. The latest figure (April 2019  February 2020) stands at 14.08 percent. The figure is higher by 3.5 percent if we consider Indias trade with Hong Kong.

On the other hand, Indias export to China stood at 5.08 percent in 201819. For the months from April 2019 to February 2020, this share rose to 5.3 percent. Notably, Chinas exports to India account for only 2 percent of the total Chinese exports. Seen against this backdrop, the impact of the boycott on the Chinese economy is insignificant; while for India, it means a losing game.

Some of the vital sectors of the Indian economy are deeply entrenched in Chinese goods. This integration with Chinas supply chain is apparent even in the export segment. Indias top export products include automobiles, electronics and pharmaceutical products. China provides crucial intermediary components to these domestic manufacturing units.

For instance, in the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, Indias market size is $2 billion and the share of Chinese products constitutes approximately 60 percent. Any restrictive measures placed on China will be a major impediment to our exports and global competitiveness.

One of the reasons why China could succeed in cementing its presence in India is because it could tap the price-sensitive characteristics of the Indian market. The bilateral trade and investment with China have been a positive sum game. It has given price-conscious consumers more purchasing power parity; it has accorded capital-starved Indian startups a much-needed financial impetus, and created employment opportunities through investments.

This points to some of the fundamental challenges that India faces today, such as inadequate capital, lack of investment funds, credit and ease of doing business. Chinas dominance in the Indian economy is only reflective of Indias failure in creating opportunities. The ongoing political mayhem, which is fast translating into a trade war, discounts these benefits, inadvertently creating a class privilege only the affluent few can exercise.

The Indian publics response is largely emotional and barely logical. At a time when India requires an immediate boost to revive the manufacturing sector, any economic measure against China will substantially disrupt supply chains and thwart the domestic economy.

While Indias motive to limit import-dependency and boost manufacturing is well-intended, the measures being mooted around protectionism may be counter-productive.

There are two ways in which India can reduce dependency. One, identify an alternate cost-effective source to plug its demand for essential materials; and two, boost Indias domestic capabilities. Both the scenarios, in the immediate term, are delusional.

China is synonymous to cost-effectiveness. Low-cost alternates are minimal and boosting domestic manufacturing capabilities is not an overnight operation. In fact, Indias manufacturing sector has failed to take-off despite the flagship campaign of Make in India launched in 2014. This failure is also reflected in the changing export composition of India. Between 20112016, India lost its market share in 61 products, where it once held global competence. India ceded its market to regional competitors such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, in the garments and gems and jewellery sector.

Many reasons contributed to the downfall of these industries that showed traditional prowess erstwhile. The external factors include regional competitors offering favourable conditions. However, India losing its share to smaller nations has more to do with internal barriers.

Protectionism existing in India on key industrial raw materials has shut sourcing options for domestic industries, making the final goods expensive and uncompetitive in the global market.While the objective of protectionism is to further Make in India, it is not composed to help domestic firms to make export-oriented production.

Protectionism, by default, prompts uncertainty in the business ecosystem and repels investors. In the wake of geopolitical tension and the subsequent economic measures mooted, India will only lose its position as China's alternative to a manufacturing base, by averting investors looking to diversify investments. The solution lies, not in protecting domestic firms from competition, but in equipping them to be competitive.

Other factors underlying this sluggishness in the manufacturing sector include inadequate infrastructure, lack of R&D, restrictive labour and land laws. The combined effects of these factors restrict Indias competitiveness on a global scale. We need policies that would spur innovation in trade in order to build the right ecosystem to strengthen our foothold in the global value chains.

Trade should not operate on isolationist policies. It is of mutual interest to leverage the comparative advantage offered by the two countries. India needs to undertake long-term measures to awaken the animal spirit in entrepreneurial innovation. The way out is not a complete boycott, but adoption of strategic alternatives such as diversifying import portfolios and creating the right institutional support enabling an open and technologically-innovative ecosystem.
A new API is now available for developers to take advantage of for brand-new AR experiences on Android and Unity. First announced late-last year, the new API lets developers blend digital objects in the physical world. This is all done with a single RGB camera  boy, AR sure has come a long way.

The way that Google puts it, occlusion is the ability for digital objects to accurately appear behind real world objects. This makes it so that objects accurately hide behind things like walls, tables, couches, or anything that would obstruct it relative to the surface that you place the digital item, this making AR feel more realistic.

Game studio Illumix has already integrated this new API into its latest game: Five Nights at Freddys: AR: Special Delivery. There are also a couple of Snapchat lenses that take advantage of the new API including the Dancing Hotdog and Undersea World lenses.

ToF sensors are not required for this API, but having will eventually improve these experiences. Samsungs Quick Measure app will eventually begin using ARCore Depth API on the Galaxy Note10+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra.

The Depth API is available in ARCore 1.18 and is compatible across hundreds of millions of compatible Android devices.

Source
Wirecard's headquarters in Munich, Germany. (Matthias Schrader/AP)

German payments firm Wirecard (WDI.DE) on Thursday collapsed into insolvency, just days after a 1.9bn (1.7bn, $2.1bn) hole in its accounts came to light.

In a statement, the company said that it had decided to apply to the Munich district court to open insolvency proceedings, citing impending insolvency and over-indebtedness.

Shares of the company were suspended on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange prior to the announcement.

After claiming last week that the 1.9bn had gone missing from escrow accounts in the Philippines, and that it may have been the victim of considerable fraud, Wirecard then admitted that there was a prevailing likelihood that the funds did not exist.

Over the weekend, banks in the Philippines said documents produced by Wirecard appeared to be false, and the countrys central bank also said the money had never entered its financial system.

READ MORE: German authorities looking to arrest sacked Wirecard chief operating officer

The company said on Thursday that it was currently evaluating whether it would have to initiate insolvency proceedings for subsidiaries of the Wirecard group.

The accounting woes meant that Wirecard, long a darling of the European technology sector, was facing a severe cash crunch. The company had been holding emergency talks with its lenders to secure a financial lifeline.

Insolvency proceedings mean that Wirecards creditors are likely to face protracted negotiations with administrators regarding the break-up of the companys assets.

Creditors include Germanys Commerzbank (CBK.DE) and LBBW, as well as Dutch lenders ABN Amro (ABN.AS) and ING (INGA.AS).

Markus Braun, the companys founder, resigned as chief executive at the end of last week, shortly after chief operating officer Jan Marsalek was dismissed.

James Freis, an experienced compliance specialist, was appointed to lead the company on an interim basis.

Accused of market manipulation, Braun was arrested by authorities in Munich on Monday (22 June). Braun has since been freed on bail, on the condition that he report to police on a weekly basis.

Story continues

This hole in the accounts emerged after a disclosure from accounting firm EY, which refused to sign off on the company's 2019 accounts.

Wirecard joined Germanys DAX (^GDAXI) in 2018, bumping Commerzbank out of the blue-chip index.

Hailed as a shining example of Germanys fintech prowess, the company has now become a national embarrassment.

READ MORE: Millennials and Gen Z feel less stressed despite economic turmoil

As prosecutors investigate the issues at the company, BaFin, the countrys financial regulator, is likely to face scrutiny over its failure to spot the glaring discrepancies in the companys accounts.

In May 2019, a whistleblower told the Financial Times about financial and accounting irregularities at the payments firm.

On top of issuing an almost outright denial of the report, Wirecard accused the newspaper of being involved in market manipulation.

In October, a further report in the Financial Times based on internal spreadsheets and correspondence appeared to indicate a concerted effort to fraudulently inflate sales and profits at various Wirecard divisions.

The controversy prompted the company to appoint KPMG to conduct an independent audit, and subsequent problems were finally discovered by EY, who were long-time auditors of the company.
The idea of an open forum, so basic to democracies, already lies a-moldering in the grave of academia, at least in the humanities and social sciences. Imagine applying for a job in Gender Studies and saying you oppose abortions after, say, Week 38. The term for such a person is unemployed. Imagine merely calling for a discussion on the pros and cons of affirmative action, taking the negative side, and hoping to win tenure in political science, sociology, anthropology, or history. Bad career move. There is more robust political debate at the Academy Awards.
At a time when the world is facing an unprecedented pandemic and every effort is being made to contain it, the last news one wishes to hear is the resurfacing of feuds between nations that were thought to have been buried decades ago such as the Indo-Chinese conflict in northwest India.

The Indo-Chinese border clashes earlier this month came as a shocking surprise as they unleashed a buried feud that had lain dormant for almost five decades after the Indo-Chinese War in 1962 when a border dispute over the regions of Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh in the Himalayas escalated into a war with thousands of casualties on both sides. Most of the fighting occurred in rugged mountainous border zones and involved no aerial units. However, the former Soviet Union supplied India with jet fighters, though the US and UK refrained from doing the same.

On 15 June this year, the first clash of its kind in over 45 years of peace between the two gigantic nations occurred and left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead together with an unspecified number of Chinese. Exchanges of accusations between the Indian and Chinese foreign ministries then took place, during which Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that the Chinese had attempted to erect a structure inside Indian territory. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi claimed that the Indian forces had initiated the hostilities and had attacked first.

The soldiers of these two nuclear-armed powers did not use any firearms or artillery in the clashes, but instead used clubs, crude weapons or hand-to-hand combat in fighting that lasted for hours. The clashes also occurred some 4.2 km above sea level on the mountainous border between the two countries. The reason for the lack of weapons is that the area is nearly completely demilitarised and border soldiers on both sides are not allowed to carry guns.

The alarming aspect of all this is not simply the renewed clashes, but also the fact that the clashes took place at all between these two countries with very large populations. China has some 1.44 billion citizens followed by Indias 1.32 billion. These gigantic countries represent some 36.17 per cent of the global population, and, to make matters worse, China has the worlds third most-powerful army, while India is ranked fourth in the world.

Both countries possess significant nuclear capabilities and a varied arsenal of lethal armaments. Moreover, China is the second-largest economy in the world, while India is the fifth. These numbers indicate the gravity of any feud between the two countries, let alone a fully-fledged war.

The situation could not be kept under wraps for long, and news of the clashes spread across the world with the potential of the conflict to escalate. On 20 June, Indian jet fighters and helicopters were moved to forward bases near the border with China. Indian warships have also been deployed in the Bay of Bengal in anticipation of further Chinese moves. Similarly, the Chinese have not sat idly by, but have moved a large force close to Indias borders.

According to Indian sources, the Chinese army has been ramping up a large force for months at the 3,488 km border separating the two countries. This has included new installations and fortifications being constructed in the area. Chinese jet fighters such as J-11 and J-8 fighters as well as bombers have been deployed at Chinese bases in Tibet. All these arrangements and displays of force have indicated a Chinese desire to keep a strong presence in the region and to retain the upper hand, even as this will not be easy given the enormous strength of the Indian army.

The insanity of this conflict that could escalate into a fully-fledged war if cooler heads do not prevail is that it is taking place over a no-mans land contested by the two countries for nearly five decades. The uninhabitable area of the Galwan Valley near Aksai Chin is mountainous and nearly unpopulated due to its high elevation and extremely cold weather even in summer.

On the other hand, India is no stranger to border conflicts, and it has had several with Pakistan, the last of which took place in 2019 and resulted in casualties. The escalating tensions in northwest India may be an unwelcome surprise to Indian politicians, who have kept up their cool demeanour throughout the week. But as the Indian nation mourns its officers and soldiers killed in the skirmishes, the government has had no alternative but to issue warnings to China and to make military moves in case the conflict escalates further.

The Chinese government is facing many challenges at the moment as a result of the coronavirus outbreak originating from its Wuhan region and then spreading across the world. This has caused worldwide suspicion of the Chinese governments initial reactions and transparency about the nature of the virus, which some believe could have been nipped in the bud had China been more transparent about its dangers. That said, other opinions have cleared China of responsibility for how the virus has spread, though some countries, among them Australia, have still requested an investigation into the origins of the virus in China, a stance that has immensely irked the Chinese government.

Moreover, tensions in the Chinese province of Hong Kong are escalating as clashes between the security forces and protesters against a new law passed by the Hong Kong parliament has placed what some see as further restrictions on the freedom of expression in Hong Kong. The latter was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 under a unique constitutional principle called one country, two systems. This has provided Hong Kong citizens with a form of self-rule and considerable freedoms, and these have benefited the Chinese state on many levels as Hong Kong has become its export arm and the catalyst for its meteoric economic rise over the past two decades.

However, many believe that the new law could jeopardise Hong Kongs unique status, as the central government in China will now likely be more involved in the regions governance. Furthermore, the situation with the United States is becoming steadily worse, and US President Donald Trump has issued a warning that the possibility of a complete separation between the Chinese and US economies is looming. Chinese officials have replied that such a step will harm US economic interests.

Such global and regional tensions represent a growing challenge to the Chinese state, and a border dispute with a giant such as India is the last thing the Chinese may desire at the moment. A war between these two nuclear powers and the two countries in the world having the largest populations will be a world war in itself even if it only involves these two countries. Therefore, all possible peace initiatives must be tried in order to deescalate the situation before it is too late to do so.

The writer is a political analyst and author of Egypts Arab Spring and the Winding Road to Democracy.*A version of this article appears in print in the 25 June, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 21:22:05|Editor: huaxia

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BAGHDAD, June 26 (Xinhua) -- A total of 14 militia members were arrested in a raid in Iraqi capital Baghdad, the Iraqi military said on Friday.

Acting on intelligence reports, an Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) force raided the militia members' hideout and detained them with two rocket launchers, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a statement.

The arrested militia members previously carried out rocket attacks on the heavily fortified Green Zone and Baghdad airport, and were preparing for new attacks.

"We detected new intentions to carry out operations on government targets inside the Green Zone," the JOC statement said.

The militia members "are in custody until the investigation is complete, and then the judiciary will decide their fate," it added.

After the detention, armed groups in government vehicles approached the government headquarters inside and outside the Green Zone to challenge. They also approached one of the CTS headquarters inside the Green Zone in an attempt to stir a tension with the security forces.

"These groups do not want to be part of the state and its obligations, and seek to remain outside the constitutional and legal authorities of the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Forces," the statement added.

Meanwhile, a police source told Xinhua that the CTS carried out a raid on Thursday night in Albu Eitha area in southern Baghdad, targeting a site belonging to a Shiite militia known as Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH), part of the government-backed Hashd Shaabi paramilitary forces.

The raid resulted in the arrest of 14 militia members and seizure of rocket launchers, rockets and various materials.

The latest raid came after the U.S. and Iraqi officials held a strategic video dialogue on June 11, where the United States pledged to continue cutting down on its forces in Iraq and confirmed that it does not seek permanent military presence in the country.

The Iraqi-U.S. relations have witnessed a tension since Jan. 3 when a U.S. drone struck a convoy at Baghdad's airport, which killed Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces.

The U.S. airstrike prompted the Iraqi parliament on Jan. 5 to pass a resolution requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in the country.

More than 5,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces in the battles against the Islamic State militants, mainly providing training and advising to the Iraqi forces. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-25 23:06:32|Editor: huaxia

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People spend their afternoon by the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington D.C., the United States, June 21, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

-China's imports of U.S. agri-products increased by 1.1 times to about 5 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter this year, among which, the soybeans totaled 7.814 million tons, an increase of 2.1 times.

-U.S. companies have announced 2.3 billion dollars in new direct investment projects in the Chinese market in the first quarter, almost the same as last year's quarterly average.

-Even U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a long-time China hawk, has admitted that "the challenges of American economic growth and prosperity are deeply intertwined today with the Chinese economy."

by Xinhua writer Lu Jiafei

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday predicted that the global economy will shrink by 4.9 percent this year, a bleak economic outlook as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ripple across the globe.

This is a moment when China and the United States should work even closer, not the other way around. As the world's top two economies, they shoulder a special responsibility in stabilizing global economic growth, and in delivering a robust economic bounce-back from the pandemic-induced contraction.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, shake hands after signing the China-U.S. phase-one economic and trade agreement during a ceremony at the East Room of the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, Jan. 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

The China-U.S. phase-one economic and trade agreement signed in January has cleared some clouds overshadowing the global economy, and injected a dose of certainty for a perplexed world.

However, the deal's implementation went off to a bumpy start as the sudden strike of the coronavirus pandemic has crippled global trade and battered the world economy. Some skeptics even questioned whether the trade deal would risk a short shelf life.

Despite all these bad news, China has so far honored its commitment in the trade deal. According to Customs data, China's imports of U.S. agri-products increased by 1.1 times to about 5 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter this year, among which, the soybeans totaled 7.814 million tons, an increase of 2.1 times.

The Wall Street Journal, noting that the U.S.-China trade jumped by almost 43 percent in April from March, called China "a rare bright spot for U.S. farmers and other exporters" amid the ravaging coronavirus outbreak.

Containers of China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited are seen at the Port of Long Beach in Los Angeles County, the United States, Feb. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

And China has made it abundantly clear in this year's government work report that it "will work with the United States to implement the phase one China-U.S. economic and trade agreement."

Nonetheless, it takes two to tango. For the bilateral trade relations to prosper, and the world economy to return to growth, the United States has a critical role to play. Yet what has been going on in Washington is indeed troubling.

Some China-hardliners and trade hawks in the current U.S. administration have used the pandemic to crank up economic nationalism and trade protectionism, and to sell their "de-coupling from China" theories to the American public.

A few days ago, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro even declared on TV that America's trade deal with China is "over," a claim only later dismissed by U.S. President Donald Trump, who tweeted that the agreement is "fully intact."

Despite all the anti-free trade rabble-rousing in Washington, the confidence of American businesses in the Chinese market remains strong.

Anti-tariff posters are seen on a life vest outside the building of U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington D.C., the United States, June 17, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

According to a new study by the Rhodium Group, U.S. companies have announced 2.3 billion dollars in new direct investment projects in the Chinese market in the first quarter, almost the same as last year's quarterly average.

Even U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a long-time China hawk, has admitted that "the challenges of American economic growth and prosperity are deeply intertwined today with the Chinese economy."

A successful implementation of the China-U.S. trade agreement relies on both sides to honor their respective commitments. Washington should realize that by seeking economic and political tensions with Beijing, it is risking derailing the prospect of the trade agreement.

A break-up of the hard-won trade deal serves no one's interests. Washington should check its own protectionist impulse and start working with Beijing in good faith, so as to ensure that the trade pact that has cost the two sides almost two years to build will not collapse.

Cooperation is the only right option for China and the United States. As the international community is still grappling with the pandemic and its economic fallout, it is more imperative than ever for the two sides to join hands and work together. 
KidSafe Advertising Provider Connects to Partners with New Programmatic Connection

ANGUILLA, BWI / ACCESSWIRE / June 25, 2020 / Kidoz Inc. (TSXV:KIDZ) (the "Company"), kid-tech software developer, owner of the KIDOZ Safe Advertising Network (www.kidoz.net), the KIDOZ Kid-Mode Operating System, the KIDOZ publisher SDK, and the Rooplay edu-games platform (www.rooplay.com), announced today that, to expand the reach of its KIDOZ Safe Advertising Network, it has officially launched a programmatic header bidding adapter on PreBid.org to enable network connections from new advertising sources - Prebid.js is the header bidding "container" or "wrapper" that is most widely used by advertising sources to enable their network connections.

Prebid is a transparent, open-source solution that increases advertiser demand while maintaining a fast and responsive user experience. Prebid.js launched in 2015 to make header bidding easy for publishers by bringing conformity and simplicity to the header bidding process. By creating a simple, open tech layer upon which companies could add their code to a standard but optimized foundation, Prebid.js made it easier to implement header bidding, and offered the largest repository of working adapters. The Kidoz prebid adapter joins an open-source selection of over 200 bidder adapters from networks looking to expand the reach of their programmatic networks. Kidoz will maintain its own Prebid.js adapter, to enable it to provide the freshest code for publishers.

"Kidoz is investing in programmatic advertising technology to connect our industry leading mobile KidSafe network to as many complementary publishing and demand sources as possible," stated Jason Williams, Kidoz Co-CEO. "Our prebid adapter enables new app, connected TV, and web publishers to access Kidoz campaigns programmatically with an easy and direct connection. Management believes that as we continue to advance our programmatic systems, our network's scale will increase more rapidly; the service provided to advertisers will improve; and the revenue we derive from impressions on our network will grow."

Corporate Update

The Company has granted an additional 2,745,000 incentive stock options (the "Options") to its employees, consultants, directors and officers. All of the Options were granted under the Company's shareholder-approved incentive stock option plan and are exercisable in accordance with the terms thereof at a price of CAD$0.45 per share for a period of 5 years. The shares subject to these Options constitute 2.0% of the fully diluted share capital of the Company.

About Kidoz Inc.

KIDOZ Inc. (TSXV:KIDZ) owns the KIDOZ Safe Advertising Network (www.kidoz.net) that reaches more than 100 million kids a month. The Kidoz Publisher SDK powers the network and is installed in more than 3,800 kids apps making it the market leading kid-focused mobile SDK & network for kids' brands, content publishers and families. KIDOZ is certified safe by Google and Apple approved for use in the App Store. Trusted by Disney, Hasbro, Lego and more, the KIDOZ Safe Ad Network helps the world's largest brands safely reach and engage with kids. The KIDOZ OS solution enables partners such as Lenovo, Acer, and PBS Kids to bring a kid-focused experience to their family devices, in a fully GDPR and COPPA compliant way. KIDOZ's Rooplay (www.rooplay.com) offers an interactive learning experience with original content featuring Moomin, Mr. Men, Little Miss, Mr. Bean and hundreds more kid-focused learning games.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by the company) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements relating to anticipated future success of the company. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the company. For a description of additional risks and uncertainties, please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Specifically, readers should read the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on April 22, 2020, and the prospectus filed under Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act on March 9, 2005 and the SB2 filed July 17, 2007, and the TSX Venture Exchange Listing Application for Common Shares filed on June 29, 2015 on SEDAR, for a more thorough discussion of the Company's financial position and results of operations, together with a detailed discussion of the risk factors involved in an investment in Kidoz Inc.

For more information contact:

Henry Bromley

CFO

ir@kidoz.net

(888) 374-2163

SOURCE: KIDOZ Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/595297/Kidoz-Launches-Official-PreBidorg-Adapter-Corporate-Update
(Photo : Photo by Jon Nazca on Reuters ) Thanks Facebook, the Huge Internet Pedophile Conspiracy Far-Right Group Has Spread to 3M Members (Photo : Photo by Kon Karampelas on Unsplash) Thanks Facebook, the Huge Internet Pedophile Conspiracy Far-Right Group Has Spread to 3M Members

An old already-established but banned Facebook page and accounts with different names such as 'Q,' '17,' and known as 'QAnon' have now returned to the social media platform, with more members. The Guardian made a remarkable investigative report about the groups' visibility on the platform, once user searches for Trump supporters, anti-vaccine, or anti-quarantine.

Controversial far-right 'QAnon' is back on Facebook; Here's what it is

In an exclusive report from The Guardian writer Julia Carrie Wong, she discovered an interesting find on Facebook on Thursday, June 25.

Brian Friedberg, a senior researcher at the Harvard Shorenstein Center's Technology and Social Change Project who has been studying the conspiracy group QAnon for years, found more than 100 pages and groups of 'QAnon' groups on his recommendation page. This was after searching and liking pages related to pro-Trump, anti-lockdown, and anti-vaccine.

"Once I started liking those pages and joining those groups, Facebook just started recommending more and more and more to the point where I was afraid to like them all in case Facebook would flag me as a bot," said him.

'QAnon' groups or sometimes called '17' referring to the letter 'Q' on the alphabet is one of the biggest conspiracy groups on the platform. The 'Q' represents the anonymous figure that claims knowledge about the famous and powerful pedophiles and human traffickers in the limelight. One of these examples was when Hillary Clinton allegedly had a secret cabal for a 'child sex ring' in Washington D.C.

The group has not yet proved anything on its pages. However, people are still interested in being a part of the 'Q.'

The Guardian found "more than 100 Facebook pages, profiles, groups, and Instagram accounts with at least 1,000 followers or members each dedicated to QAnon, the largest of these have more than 150,000 followers or members, the documented pages, groups, and accounts count more than 3m aggregate followers and members, though there is likely significant overlap among these groups and accounts."

Facebook opens a platform for 'QAnon'

Facebook already commented on the issues and said that they previously banned all pages and groups related to 'Q.'

"Last month, we took down accounts, Groups, and Pages tied to this conspiracy theorist movement for violating our policies," a company spokesperson said in a statement. "We also remove Groups and Pages that violate other policies from recommendations and demote in search results. We're closely monitoring this activity and how our policies apply."

They also reiterated that what Friedberg found on the recommendation pages had been removed by the platform though Facebook did not show any evidence to prove this claim.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By Nancy Lapid

June 26 (Reuters) - The following is a brief roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

COVID-19 antibody tests not backed by solid data

Studies assessing the accuracy of COVID-19 antibody tests had major shortcomings, an analysis released on Thursday found, indicating that existing research does not prove the tests can confirm with certainty whether people have been infected with the novel coronavirus. Cochrane, a British-based journal that reviews research evidence, looked at 54 studies that sought to measure the reliability of the antibody blood tests. The studies were often small, did not use the most reliable methods, and their results were often incomplete, the analysis found. The analyzed studies looked at nearly 16,000 blood samples, 89% of which had a high risk of bias because patients were unlikely to match the general population. The review identified data from 25 commercial COVID-19 tests, a fraction of the roughly 300 such tests that exist. The review did not include tests offered by Roche or Abbott Laboratories, which were approved by regulators after the analysis began. (https://reut.rs/2CAXSf1; https://bit.ly/2YyTxlb)

Pregnant women have greater risk for severe COVID-19

Pregnant women face an increased risk of severe coronavirus infections, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released on Thursday showed. Pregnant women with COVID-19 are 50% more likely to need intensive care and 70% more likely to be put on mechanical ventilators than non-pregnant women, although pregnant women did not have a higher risk of death, CDC researchers reported in the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black pregnant women appear to be disproportionately affected by the coronavirus infection during pregnancy, the study also found. Earlier in the pandemic, researchers in China and Britain reported no extra risk for pregnant women. But last month, a large study in Sweden found pregnant women infected with the virus were more than five times as likely to need intensive care and four times more likely to need invasive mechanical ventilation. The CDC study did not include data on how COVID-19 affects the outcomes of pregnancies. (https://reut.rs/38aqHe3; https://bit.ly/2CKVF0P)

Coronavirus traces found in Spanish sewage from March 2019

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Spanish researchers have found traces of the novel coronavirus in Barcelona wastewater collected in March 2019, nine months before COVID-19 was identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan. University of Barcelona virologists led by Albert Bosch had been monitoring wastewater since April of this year. When they decided to test older samples, they said they found genetic material from the virus in one sample from March 12, 2019. The presence of the virus genome so early in Spain, if confirmed, would indicate the pathogen appeared much earlier than previously thought. In their not-yet-peer-reviewed paper posted on Friday on medRxiv, the researchers also said they found the virus in Barcelona wastewater from Jan. 15 of this year, 41 days before the first case was officially reported there. Joan Ramon Villalbi of the Spanish Society for Public Health and Sanitary Administration said it was still early to draw definitive conclusions based on these findings. "When it's just one result, you always want more data, more studies, more samples to confirm it and rule out a laboratory error or a methodological problem," he said. (https://reut.rs/2Zb8sBb; https://bit.ly/382ZNot)

Flu vaccine use in elderly may be linked to community coronavirus mortality

COVID-19 death rates may be lower in communities where large proportions of elderly residents received flu vaccines, based on data from more than 2,000 counties around the United States. Researchers found that a 10% increase in vaccination coverage among people older than 65 was associated on average with a 28% decrease in the COVID-19 death rate in a given county. It is possible that social, economic and health factors contributed to lower coronavirus mortality in counties where more seniors got flu vaccines, the researchers said. Their findings were based on data reported by counties, not by individuals. Still, the researchers said, "The significant public health implications of this possibility point to an urgent need for studying the relationship between influenza vaccination and COVID-19 mortality at the individual level, to investigate both the epidemiology and any underlying biological mechanism." On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said flu vaccination during the pandemic is very important to reduce the overall impact of respiratory illnesses on the population and ease burdens on the healthcare system. (https://bit.ly/3dBQnkP)

Bring sick kids for medical care during lockdown, doctors say

With lockdown orders in place, parents may hesitate to take sick children to the doctor. But research by pediatricians in Britain concluded that if medical care is delayed - particularly when a child appears seriously ill - "the unintended consequences of the lockdown will do more harm and claim more children's lives than COVID-19." Among nearly 2,500 pediatricians surveyed for the study published on Thursday in Archives of Disease in Childhood, one in three said they had dealt with medical emergencies in children who probably would have sought medical care before becoming so ill were it not for the pandemic. Children with diabetes were most often involved, but also those with life threatening blood infections and cancer, survey responses indicated. (https://bit.ly/3i4CSNY)

Open https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/yxmvjqywprz/index.html in an external browser for a Reuters graphic on vaccines and treatments in development.

(Reporting by Nancy Lapid, John Miller, Caroline Humer, Emma Pinedo, Nathan Allen and Inti Landauro; Editing by Will Dunham)
A Lebanese American businessman who was a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's report will be sentenced on child sexual abuse charges Friday.

George Nader, 61, was charged last June and pleaded guilty in January to bringing a 14-year-old boy from the Czech Republic to the US 20 years ago to engage in sexual activity. He also acknowledged possessing child pornography.

The convictions carry a 10-year mandatory minimum. Prosecutors in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, are not seeking a longer sentence than the one expected at Nader's sentencing hearing on Friday, but the judge could still impose one.

Nader's name appears more than 100 times in the Mueller report, which details his efforts to serve as liaison between a Russian banker with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of President Donald Trump's transition team.

George Nader, Lebanese American businessman who was a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's report, is slated to receive at least a 10-year prison sentence on child sex charges Friday

Nader's name appears more than 100 times in the Mueller report, which details his efforts to serve as liaison between a Russian banker with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of Donald Trump's transition team. Pictured is special counsel Robert Mueller

The Mueller report became the basis for the impeachment of Trump, who later was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Nader is also under indictment in Washington along with seven others on charges of conspiring to conceal the source of more than $3.5 million in political donations to Hillary Clinton.

In the 1990s, Nader also served as a broker to facilitate the release of American hostages held in the Middle East.

Nader also served as an adviser to the United Arab Emirates, a close Saudi ally, and in 2017 wired $2.5 million to a top Trump fundraiser, Elliott Broidy, through a company in Canada, The Associated Press reported in 2018.

The goal was to persuade the US to take a hard line against Qatar, a longtime American ally but now an adversary of the UAE.

Nader was previously convicted in the Czech Republic of 10 cases of sexually abusing minors and sentenced to a one-year prison term in 2003.

In the 1990s, Nader also served as a broker to facilitate the release of American hostages held in the Middle East

Nader also pleaded guilty to a charge of transporting child pornography images in Virginia in 1991.

The current investigation of Nader began in 2018, when images depicting child pornography and bestiality were found on his phone after it was confiscated under a search warrant connected to the Mueller probe.

The images found in Nader's phones at Dulles International Airport ended up not being the basis for January's child-pornography conviction.

Instead, prosecutors relied on images and videos he received via email in 2012 that in some cases involved sadistic depictions of infants or toddlers, according to disclosures at an earlier hearing.
Thursday, June 25, 2020

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, UNITED STATES, June 25, 2020 / EINPresswire.com / -- Well-rounded Attorney Kelly Hyman has been staying busy. While the country grapples with issues concerning the COVID-19 outbreak, Kelly Hyman, a television commentary and attorney based in Florida has been using her time wisely. Lending her opinion as part of the "Think Tank" on Court TV recently, attorney Kelly Hyman helps viewers understand the legal ramifications of trending situations.

On a Recent Court TV Appearance, Attorney Kelly Hyman Gave Her Opinion

Over 20 years ago, college freshman Kristin Smart disappeared near her California Polytechnic State University campus. Due to a recent popular podcast, the cold case has been revived. The Court TV panel is comprised of attorney Kelly Hyman, along with two other attorneys who offered their reflections on why the case has been re-invigorated. Attorney Kelly Hyman states that the law enforcement officials involved in searching a suspects home may be looking for computer evidence.

Attorney Kelly Hyman Opines On Defiant Pastor

Some clergy people are deciding to hold services despite the stay-at-home orders issued by the local governments. Attorney Kelly Hyman discussed with the "Think Tank" and the Court TV host whether or not the pastors defiance of the "no gathering" rule was constitutional. Weighing in on these quarantine protests are important in this uncertain time. Many citizens are unsure if they must comply with their local and federal governments quarantine and stay-at-home mandates. Having Kelly Hyman offer her opinion is reassuring.

Attorney Kelly Hyman Discusses The Pandemic

Legal Analyst, Kelly Hyman has a lot to say about quarantine protests because they are happening all across the country and, as a matter of fact all over the world. A pandemic of this size has not occurred in over 100 years. Resultantly, many are opposed to blindly following the mandates of elected leadership. However, Kelly Hyman asserts that keeping everyone safe is of paramount importance. This is an interesting intersection of the law and an individuals rights.

Attorney Kelly Hyman Talks About Another Coronavirus Protests

In an unrelated protest, a parent groups actions were discussed on Court TV. A group of parents decided to stage a play date at a local park in defiance of a stay-at-home order. Attorney Kelly Hyman offered that the parents could have come up with a different way of expressing their frustration with the stay-at-home orders. Moreover, Kelly Hyman stated that being arrested in front of their children was not the best way to show how to get things done.

Kelly Hyman Doesn't Rest On Her Laurels

Being active in the legal community is nothing new for attorney Kelly Hyman. She is admitted to the Colorado, D.C., New York, and Florida State bar. A well-rounded social advocate, Kelly Hyman has appeared on numerous television shows.
BL Shirelle, deputy director and a producer for the label Die Jim Crow. Her debut album, "Assata Troi, released June 19  Juneteenth  is the label's first full-length album. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

BL Shirelle has been in prison twice since she was a teenager. The first time, at 18, she was incarcerated after a shootout with an undercover cop. She served six years at Pennsylvania's Cambridge Springs correctional institution for aggravated assault.

I was shot a few times, kicked around, ribs, jaws, all that stuff, she recalls of the incident that landed her in prison. When it's life and death and you have to make that decision, it's fight or flight. Some people fight, some people flight. Ninety-nine percent of us end up dead regardless.

And any time a member of the Black community is murdered, she says she gets survivors remorse.

For me to actually see people who die for selling cigarettes or allegedly trying to pass a fake $20 bill, its like, 'Wow, why the hell am I still here? I literally shot back [at the officer].'

Shirelle, 32, is now the deputy director of Die Jim Crow  the first nonprofit record label for formerly or currently incarcerated musicians in America. She is also its inaugural solo artist.

On June 19  or Juneteenth, the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States  Die Jim Crow released its first full-length album, Shirelles Assata Troi.

This album really is about coming of age, but not of age 21, more like of age 28, where you're just starting to realize certain things, Shirelle says. "It's all about that moment of growing up, where you're looking at things from a different point of view.

Die Jim Crow was founded in 2013 by Fury Young, an artist and activist. Young (nee Yuvi Brozgold) grew up on the Lower East Side of New York with his therapist mother and social worker/artist father. Inspired by Occupy Wall Street and motivated after reading Michelle Alexanders 2010 book The New Jim Crow, Young took to Kickstarter to raise funds for a one-off record featuring incarcerated artists, generating nearly $20,000.

I was looking for a cause that really drew me in, and having known some people who've been incarcerated, when I read the book, it hit home for me, he recalls.

Story continues

Fury Young, founder and executive director of the record label Die Jim Crow. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

At the time, Young was a carpenter who built film sets. His earnings allowed him to take off weeks at a time to travel to prisons to record the artists who wound up on the 2016 digital release of a six-song EP, Die Jim Crow.

With the creation of a full-fledged label, Young and his team of eight staffers, all of whom work remotely, are trying to give a voice and a face to members of society who are often ignored.

They are people who are formerly and currently incarcerated, and that's a voice that's not really heard from in the mainstream, says Young, 31. And to do it in the form of music that's accessible and good quality, I think that will reach people on an artistic level and on an emotional societal level as well.

More than 50 years since the end of Jim Crow, the state and local laws that legalized racial segregation, the Black community still faces widespread racial discrimination by the U.S. criminal justice system. At a time when the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have spurred protests and subsequent calls to defund the police around the country  as well as abolish prisons  Die Jim Crow is trying to call attention to a prison population that is often mistreated, exploited and rendered invisible.

Young and engineer (and sometimes co-producer) dr. Israel (born Douglas Bennett), 51, are working on three albums recorded in prisons, involving 19 artists. Since 2015, they have recorded more than 55 collaborators in five prisons. In March 2019, they traveled south to record Albert Woodfox, who spent 43 years in solitary confinement at Louisiana's Angola Prison  longer than any prisoner in U.S. history  before his 2016 release, as well as four rappers at juvenile prisons in Mississippi and 22 artists in South Carolina. Faced with such an abundance of talent, Young decided to start a full-fledged record label.

Die Jim Crow founder Fury Young holds a hat given to him by ex-cons with their inscriptions written all over it. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The team behind Die Jim Crow consists of formerly incarcerated individuals: Shirelle, who in addition to her time at Cambridge Springs also did a stint for drug possession; Andy Dixon, a producer and songwriter who served 27 years on a kidnap-for-ransom conviction in Tennessee; and Eric Borsuk, a writer and member of Die Jim Crows board of directors, who served five years in a penitentiary for planning a heist and stealing an original copy of Darwin's "Origin of the Species" from his college library (his story has been documented in his 2018 memoir and film American Animals).

Dixon liked the idea that Die Jim Crow could help change societys perspective on current or former inmates. Contrary to a lot of people's ideas, people in prison aren't always just negative and violent, Dixon says. They want to find redemption. They want to find a way back home, back to the person they were before they committed the act that forever changed their lives.

Young reached out to Shirelle after seeing a video of her 2014 TEDx talk and musical performance recorded while she was incarcerated in Muncy State Prison. I wrote him quite a few songs and he happened to really like two, both of which ended up on the Die Jim Crow EP, Shirelle says. Then when I came home, we met up and recorded some more.

BL Shirelle (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

On her debut LP, Shirelle turns her trauma into power and draws from her experience as a Black lesbian who came of age during the crack epidemic. Rocker Conspiracy details how in Pennsylvania the charge of conspiracy is the same as committing a crime, while the raging YAGAF (Ya Aint Give a ...) reflects on her experience growing up with an addict mother, and on the disproportionate punishment for crack possession versus cocaine. [Society] punished the Black community for the epidemic, Shirelle says.

The recent police killings of Floyd and Taylor have weighed heavy on Shirelle. She and her wife, Latoya Ross, whom she met at SCI Cambridge Springs, have been protesting every day in her hometown of Philadelphia to demand justice. [We] can't have a real policy change in someone's name if you didn't even arrest the officers who murdered her, Shirelle says of Taylor.

Though shes been focused on the protests, Shirelle hasnt forgotten about the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a top-two fear to get sick in prison because [theres] a deliberate difference [in] our healthcare, she says.

Fighting COVID-19 in prisons has become central to Die Jim Crows cause. The known infection rate for COVID-19 is about 2.5 times higher for prisoners , and more than 67,000 people in American prisons and jails have been infected.

Spoon Jackson, a poet who has collaborated with Ani DiFranco and contributed lyrical poems to Die Jim Crow, has been serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for murder with special circumstances since 1978. As an inmate at Solano State Prison in California, Jackson fears what happens when the pandemic hits his 250-person dorm.

It's going to be catastrophic, Jackson says. I'm trying to practice social distance in a place where it's almost impossible to do that, due to the overcrowding.

Jackson was drawn to Die Jim Crow's purpose. "I want to put a human face on people that should be considered human anyway, he says. Because we all walk with one foot in darkness and one foot in light.

In April, Die Jim Crow created a GoFundMe to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) for inmates across the U.S., which has raised more than $15,000 and resulted in more than 11,000 pieces of PPE. And when Bandcamp waived 100% of its sales on June 5 to donate to organizations in support of racial justice, the label allocated its sales to the families of Taylor and Jamel Smith, a 35-year-old Black man who died in Metropolitan Detention Center after being maced by correctional officers in his cell.

Die Jim Crow founder Fury Young (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

At a time when calls to defund the police and abolish the prison system have penetrated everyday conversation, Die Jim Crow's launch seems particularly well timed. Perhaps surprisingly, though, neither Shirelle nor Young fully support the abolition of prison.

There are people who belong in prison, Shirelle says. I do believe that prison has saved certain people's lives. I do believe that sometimes people need a reset to be able to gauge the potential that they have.

Young is hypothetically in favor of it  Do I think prison abolition is a cool idea? Yeah, I do but worries about its practical application. You just never know until you get the wheels on the ground. Are people ready for that?

Following the release of Shirelles Assata Troi album, Die Jim Crow has a series of projects on deck from incarcerated and formerly incarcerated artists, including monthly singles. Later this year, the label will release an album called Territorial from seven artists currently serving time at the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility, and in 2021, it will issue an LP from 10-member hip-hop collective the Masses, from Allendale Correctional Institution in South Carolina.

"[Society] might look at you and just see the crime you committed, but with Die Jim Crow, all they hear is good music," Shirelle says. "We're not doing it for charity, like, 'Hey, you want to do a song?' No, these artists are the s. They inspire me."
Cmon. Everyone knows that when you rent a vacation house online, you read the reviews first.

So maybe if Theo and Susanna, the upscale couple in You Should Have Left, had read the reviews before renting their lovely getaway house in Wales, just maybe theyd have come across that creepy guy who says in the film, Some dont leave. He doesnt seem to mean it in a good way.

In any case, soon after they arrive in the picturesque countryside with their young daughter, things start feeling strange to Theo and Susanna  and no, not in a good way. And we, the viewers, start asking the obvious question: Why the heck dont they just pack up and get out?

But like so many families in haunted house horror pics before them, they just dont seem to get that leaving is an option, while it still is. Instead, they wander the lonely halls incessantly  like the Torrance family in The Shining  until its Too Late, as someone mysteriously scrawls in Theos journal.

Oh, speaking of The Shining: youll be thinking about it a lot during You Should Have Left, because this Blumhouse film, directed by David Koepp, is sort of a Shining Lite. No, there are no creepy twins. And this haunted house may not be as spectacular as the Overlook Hotel, but its pretty cool: All exposed brick and blond wood, sleek and shiny and devoid of extraneous decor, its the real estate version of a very hip, very tailored mens gray suit.

Kevin Bacon is Theo, a banker markedly older than his infectiously charming wife (Amanda Seyfried), a Hollywood actress. Before they even get to Wales, we learn that Theo has a checkered past: He visits her film set, and the security guy blanches when he recognizes Theos name. We also learn that tightly wired Theo is jealous, very jealous, when it comes to his wifes relationships and is working on bettering himself through journaling and a meditation app. Still, he knows the passwords to her devices and uses them.

But Susie, as he calls her, seems to be genuinely in love with Theo  its not always clear why  and the two have an adorable 6-year-old, Ella (Avery Essex, excellent and a dead ringer for a young Seyfried). So when Susie has a film shoot planned in London, the family decides on a quick restorative getaway beforehand.

Restorative? Hardly. Immediately, everyone starts having terrible nightmares. Also, theres no decent food around, and seemingly little to do. And there are those endless hallways, and doors that appear and disappear, and mysterious light switches. People keep getting lost, and the clocks go haywire.

Yet the family sticks around, long enough for painful secrets to be told, old wounds to be exacerbated, truths to be admitted.  and things to get a lot scarier, obviously.

Bacon gives his usual committed performance as Theo, who is no longer a writer in this adaptation of the novella by Daniel Kehlmann, but nonetheless has a journal, so we can see creepy scrawlings a la Jack Torrance (but nothing as scary as All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy ). Seyfrieds appealing warmth gives the marriage a genuine feel.

But the characters and their relationships are frankly more interesting than the plot, with its heavy emphasis on Theos tortured psyche and the constant possibility that everything we see is being dreamed or imagined. The tension escalates quite effectively, but the payoff feels weak, because the thing  or person, or whatever  that were supposed to be most scared of is hardly as scary as the buildup.

The Welsh countryside looks lovely, even though the movie was shot in New Jersey. It makes you want to find a cool vacation house in Wales, OR New Jersey, yourself  whenever people are able to start doing things like that again.

But hey, maybe read those online reviews first.

You Should Have Left

2 stars

RATED: R (for some violence, disturbing images, sexual content and language)

WHEN: Now streaming for rental

WHERE: iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, Apple TV and other on-demand services
The logos of mobile apps Facebook and Google displayed on a tablet in this file photo. (Denis Charlet/AFP via Getty Images)

Critics of Facebook, Google Say Business Model Is Highly Flawed

Monopoly over advertising and content is anti-competitive and harmful

Facebook and Google are money-making machines, given the monopoly they hold over internet advertising and content. Two of their critics, speaking at the Collision from Home virtual technology conference on June 24, suggest that the internet giants are manipulating the types of content we see, profiting from our personal data, and attempting to minimize or silence certain voices.

They also say that the two big tech multinationals ought to be broken up and that theyre not providing a service for free, even if it might look that way.

We have been conditioned to believe that our privacy has no inherent value, said Camille Dundas, co-founder and editor-in-chief at ByBlacks.com, a Black online magazine.

When people pay, they are directly making a choice. But under the current framework or business model of Facebook and Google, no money changes hands. Users dont pay to use their services and these companies also dont pay for the information they obtain from their users, which they then translate into advertising dollars.

They are manipulating us by breaking the price signals that let us decide whether we want to buy goods and services, said Matt Stoller, research director at American Economic Liberties Project and author of the book Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy.

Dundas and Stoller agree that either people should be paying upfront for using the services and having their data collected, or Facebook and Google should pay users to collect their data.

Stoller added that the tech behemoths business model of advertising should be changed so that they generate revenue based on providing trusted information to audiences and not intrusively surveil people, manipulate them.

Controls the News of the World

Facebook and Google wield considerable power via the information they provide to users either in news feeds or search results.

Mark Zuckerberg is the most powerful editor in the entire world, Dundas said about Facebooks CEO. It controls the news of the world. That in itself is a problem.

Stating that Facebook is a media publishing company, Dundas reminded Collision attendees that users do not own any of the content they post on that platform.

She says, however, that Facebook is not in a position to manage the editorial and ideological decisions its faced with and that the content created by users can be removed or blocked seemingly subjectively by Facebooks moderators.

Camille Dundas, co-founder and editor-in-chief of ByBlacks.com (L); Ryan Heath, senior editor at Politico (R); and Matt Stoller, research director at American Economic Liberties Project discuss some of the issues with big tech in society at the Collision from Home virtual technology conference, hosted in Toronto, on June 24, 2020. (Collision from Home screenshot)

The Epoch Times recently reported that a former Facebook content moderator says the company allowed death threats against right-wing personalities it blacklists.

Meanwhile, Google has the eye of U.S. Attorney General William Barr given allegations that it was censoring conservative-leaning news outlets.

Stoller accuses the companies of destroying local newspapers and niche publishers that have loyal audiences. Facebook and Google have the ability to prioritize what contentor clickbaitthe user sees, and it can be thus very difficult for smaller voices to reach an audience.

He thus adds that the business models of the two companies are fundamentally anti-competitive.

Facebook and Google have repeatedly faced criticism and lawsuits for their anti-competitive practices. The two also reportedly controlled nearly 60 percent of the U.S. internet advertising market in 2018, according to a report from the consultancy PwC.

Striking the Right Balance Between Competition and Regulation

Stoller and Dundas say Facebook and Google need to be broken up with the remnants getting better regulated.

Cant rely on these companies to self-regulate, Dundas said.

The U.S. Department of Justice is calling for legislation to restrict the liability protection of internet companies who arbitrarily censor their users and fail to police illegal content.

Stoller says the companies appear to be receptive to addressing the concerns from policy-makersincluding privacyexcept to when it comes to their Holy Grail of advertising.

The way forward would move toward fostering more competition over who can provide the services to have a greater semblance of a free marketdisempowering the monopolists, as Stoller put it.

Dundas and Stoller are championing more transparency over the collection of personal information and greater protection for differing viewpoints on the internet.
State health officials tried to shed some light this week on an out-of-control outbreak of COVID-19 at a southern New Mexico prison campus, but its doubtful families of inmates and staff are satisfied with the answers.

And they shouldnt be.

According to the latest numbers, 848 inmates and detainees have COVID-19 at the Otero County prison campus, which separately houses federal and state inmates. That number includes 427 state inmates, 275 federal inmates and 146 federal detainees, all located at the complex outside Chaparral, between Las Cruces and El Paso.

By contrast, only three state inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 at other state prisons, one at each facility; only 35 federal inmates outside Otero Countys facilities, again at three sites, have COVID-19.

It remains a mystery why cases have skyrocketed at the Otero County complex since early May when a staff member tested positive. The first inmate started showing symptoms on May 15, and the virus has grown to the point that 76% of state inmates there have contracted COVID-19. Eight of the prisons state inmates are currently hospitalized, while three others have died related to the virus. Three federal inmates are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. The Journal has learned the virus has spread through the prison staff, with 21 employees at the federal unit and three at the state unit contracting COVID-19.

State officials said Wednesday that corrections officials are doing everything they can to slow the spread, but that does exactly zero to assuage valid concerns of the families of inmates and staffers. Health Secretary Dr. Kathy Kunkel and epidemiologist Dr. Chad Smelser said the Health Department is pleased much of the outbreak is contained to the single prison campus in Otero County, but having the equivalent of a leper colony is hardly good public policy. How can you send an inmate there in good conscience, and who on Earth would apply for a job at a prison where more than three-fourths of the inmates have COVID-19? How will the complex be able to maintain staffing levels amid this out-of-control outbreak?

State officials accused federal authorities of not being sufficiently aggressive with testing and standards at their two facilities. But since authorities at the federal facilities have not laid out their policies and procedures, we have no idea what they are, or are not, doing. And there is no excuse for the feds and state not to be working closely since their inmates share the campus  and the outbreak is affecting all three facilities.

The rapid spread through the state facility is puzzling given the states other prisons have so far contained the virus  again, just one COVID-19 case each at the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County, the Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County and the Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County.

New Mexico Corrections Secretary Alisha Tafoya Lucero said officials at the Otero prison have implemented face coverings, increased sanitation and implemented daily screening for incoming staff and social distancing when possible. The Corrections Department is conducting weekly testing of all staff and testing inmates in isolated units every two to three days. Kunkel said officials continue to look for additional infection control techniques and solicit outside advice, but Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham conceded during a news conference Thursday that once a facility becomes infected with the coronavirus, there are very few strategies to manage it. Moreover, a spokesman for the Corrections Department says that although inmates with COVID-19 have been separated from inmates without the virus, its likely the virus has again infiltrated the negative inmate population.

Inmates, families of inmates, staff members and their relatives deserve real answers and real action, real fast. These inmates are someones child, sibling, parent; these staff members go home to their families every day. All deserve a safe living/working environment. Clocking in, awaiting adjudication or serving a debt to society should never be a de facto illness or death sentence.

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.
Ukrainian railways turn to European practices of component procurement, expert says

Ukrainian state-owned railway company Ukrzaliznytsia has been introducing for several months 2020 European practices in its procurement process of goods and components and it took place almost for the first time since its existence.

From now UZ is attempting to ink several long-term contacts with manufacturers unlike past year practices when railway company proposed to conclude maximum of one-year agreements, Volodymyr Golovko, Center for Political Analysis head says. For example, in such way different types of steel  rails, sheets, plates, channels, wire rod and angles - are bought from metal traders.

Moreover, contracts for the supply of diesel fuel and lubricants turn out to be even shorter, several-month term. So, UZ purchasers usually hold short tenders with delivery date of December 31.

However, this year Ukrzaliznytsia decided to abandon its long-standing habit of playing shortly. For example, the company announced several tenders for the purchase of natural gas until April 30, 2021. This was followed by even longer auctions for the procurement of wheels, tires and brake pads until December 31, 2022.

While UZ is only taking first steps in this direction the entire European railway industry has been living with the long-term contracts. They are common practice for railways such as Deutsche Bahn, French SNCF, Austrian OBB, Spanish RENFE, according to Golovko.

He also mentioned that its not a surprise that the Belgian railways SNCB ink 10-year contract with Alstom for the supply of signal systems, or the French SNCF negotiates with Bombardier for the purchase of rolling stock for 5 years. The expert also noted that similar contacts are signed in Germany: Siemens with SFBW, as well as Deutsche Bahn orders sets of wagons from Talgo for a period of 30 years.

Golovko also emphasized that the same practices refer to smaller components. For example, Talgo are going to supply locomotive trolleys for the Danish DSB Railways until the end of 2023. Similarly, Deutsche Bahn buys railway wheels only for 5-year contacts. Even Avis company, the railway operator from an African country of Mauritania, has announced a tender for the purchase of components for a period of 3 years with an extend option for another 3 years.

Previously, Ukrzaliznytsia was called the state in the state for its excessive closeness. But in recent years, the company has embarked on the path of reforming and implementing European management approaches. Until now, this has not affected the procurement sector, however, a series of dismissals in UZ top management has led the company cautiously to apply European practices in this segment, Golovko says.
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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 27 2020

With concerns over economic catastrophe taking center stage at the 36th ASEAN Summit, which kicked off virtually on Friday, some country members of the regional grouping are calling for the opening of an ASEAN travel corridor.

Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo is one of the country leaders proposing the regional travel corridor arrangement, saying it could be a crucial measure to accelerate economic recovery.

I understand that some of us, including Indonesia, have started bilateral talks both with fellow ASEAN countries and with countries outside ASEAN regarding travel corridors. However, it is time for ASEAN, as a community, to think about ASEAN travel corridor arrangements, Jokowi said in his speech, delivered from Bogor Palace in West Java on Friday.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 01:06:08|Editor: huaxia

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MOGADISHU, June 25 (Xinhua) -- A newly launched emergency call center is boosting health response in the fight against COVID-19 in Somalia, the UN said on Thursday.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-backed center is receiving more than 8,000 daily calls from those who feel sick or need advice on COVID-19 in Somalia.

"These services are critical in a country where health education is limited and there are widely held misunderstandings about the virus, including how it spreads and how it can be treated," the UNDP said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.

Those who seek advice on COVID-19 have to call 449 -- the government's toll-free hotline set up to offer fast, effective access to emergency health support.

According to UNDP, the emergency number is open 24 hours a day and run by young volunteers from different backgrounds, including health workers and students from local medical colleges.

It said some callers are given advice, while those with symptoms of the disease are taken to designated hospitals by an ambulance service.

"We only refer to the hospital for the critically ill and those with underlying health conditions such as blood pressure, asthma or diabetes," said Deka Adan, a doctor who works at the center.

"We ask others to stay home because our healthcare system is weak and we want to avoid overloading the hospitals," Adan added.

The Horn of African nation has so far confirmed 2,878 COVID-19 cases, 868 recoveries and 90 fatalities as on Thursday, and the cases are largely community transmissions.

Liban Abdi, a volunteer said the doctors who work at the helpline are divided into three teams so that callers can quickly get the most suitable response.

Abdi said the first team provides general information on the virus and how to keep safe while the second team deals with less serious cases and advises callers to visit the hospital if necessary.

According to Abdi, the third team deals with critical cases, providing advice and arranging ambulances to De Martini Hospital, which has been central to testing, case detection and critical care support in Somalia.

UNDP has supported the center with office equipment, staffing, transport for volunteers and communications as part of a wider COVID-19 response. Enditem
(CNN)  The US Senate passed a pair of bills by unanimous consent Thursday that would punish China for moves its making that lawmakers fear will crush democratic freedoms in Hong Kong.

One of the bills, the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, would impose sanctions on businesses and individuals that help China restrict Hong Kong's autonomy. That bill was authored by GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.

"What the government of China is doing in Hong Kong is unacceptable," Van Hollen said on the floor. "They are taking away the rights of people in Hong Kong. They are snuffing out freedoms that exist there right now."

A second measure from Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley is a resolution condemning China for violating a 1984 agreement to guarantee autonomy for Honk Kong.

Hawley said a new national security law being adopted by China would "deal a mighty blow to the freedoms and liberties that Hong Kongers have enjoyed for decades now. It's a permanent break from the one country, two systems principle that has governed that city since 1997."

The measures, which were combined into one bill before passing, still need to be passed in the House before going to President Donald Trump's desk.

Van Hollen said he hopes Trump will sign the bill, but also raised concerns that the White House could have already imposed sanctions under current law and that "despite some statements from the secretary of state, this administration is still taking no action" to rebuff China on Hong.

This story was first published on CNN.com Senate passes new sanctions to punish China over Hong Kong
In 2020 new vocabulary has seeped into global consciousness. From 'new normal' to the more practical yet equally disliked 'social distancing', the additions to this year's dictionary paint a bleak, dystopian picture.

Safer and restricted zones

Layered approach

The visa or travel authorisation process, where passengers apply for entry into a country. We can see that this requirement might increase due to the pandemic and that health information, or a health declaration, will be incorporated into these checks up to the point of departure. Travellers will be asked to confirm where they will be staying during the visit, and their travel within country might be restricted to minimise any risk of movement into higher risk areas. This also supports the passenger by providing clarity and enabling them to plan their travel. Collecting advance passenger information (API) and travel booking data, or PNR data as its called, from the airlines before travel. This enables the government to do additional risk assessments, including whether the passengers are traveling from high risk areas. We dont see that health information will be incorporated into this data in the short term, but this might be something that happens in the future. This will require governments to come together with the airlines to define standards in this area. At the point of check-in, where the government can pre-clear a passenger to fly in real-time. Governments who have an advance passenger processing, or interactive API, solution in place can deny boarding of a passenger who is deemed high risk, or for example, has not completed the mandatory health declarations. Weve been supporting governments around the world in adapting their Advance Passenger Processing pre-clearance checks in response to Covid-19. For example, during the early part of the pandemic we enabled governments to stop passengers from high risk countries check-in to their flights, limiting the spread of the virus. On arrival at the destination airport and at the border control point itself. In the airport terminal we should expect to see special lanes and social distancing management to ensure travellers from different corridors, or risk levels, avoid coming into contact with each other. Low risk passengers should be able to travel through the airport and across the border in a seamless, low-touch way using biometrics and mobile technologies, without the need for excessive queuing at immigration, which by itself can add to the risk. Travellers using restricted corridors might be asked to undertake additional screening or testing on arrival.

Trust and collaboration

But in the last few weeks, fresh terms are being met with interest from wanderlust-stricken travellers and cautious optimism from governments and businesses hoping to rebound from the economic damage of Covid-19.Travel bubbles, travel corridors and air bridges are terms to describe formal agreements between governments allowing travellers to bypass strict quarantine measures based on the countries they travel between. Its a simple but elegant idea to help combat the likelihood of Covid-19 resurgence, in particular second waves sparked by passengers arriving from high-risk regions.As promising as this sounds, the practicality of protecting these bubbles is fraught with technical, operational, and governmental challenges.As countries begin to ease air travel restrictions, they will be very mindful of preventing a resurgence of cases. Governments will therefore want to take a controlled manner to open up their borders and might take different approaches based on the risk profile for each travel corridor destination.Where the virus risk is low, were beginning to see specific regions wishing to allow movement within safer zones first, for example the trans-Tasman bubble between Australia and New Zealand which is being discussed. This will enable open travel between countries within the zone, although might still be subject to additional health checks and close monitoring to avoid the risk of outbreaks.There are also countries deemed higher risk, where travel corridors might be restricted to certain categories of traveller or under strict conditions, for example the Singapore-China fast lane corridor. These restricted travel corridors will allow some movement for critical travel, including sponsored business travel.Both models require an information-driven approach based on real-time data and they need to be responsive to handle rapidly changing situations.Many governments take a layered approach to border management, starting well in advance of travel. If they can identify high risk passengers and limit their travel, this will support airports and airlines relaxing some of the measures for lower risk passengers at the airport.There are four primary steps in this layered approach:Post-travel, governments can also use the information collected to provide passenger outreach support by identifying passengers who might have come into contact with someone with the virus during their journey.For example, they will have data on where people were sitting on the aircraft, as well as their contact information to trace them and request them to isolate or go for testing, if they were sitting near someone who subsequently was identified as having the virus. The risk status of the travel corridor can also be re-assessed in real-time using this data, enabling countries to react quickly if an outbreak occurs.Collaboration between governments, airports and airlines will be vital for travel corridors to work effectively. They will be placing trust in each other to ensure risks are managed effectively, and real-time data is required to respond to issues with speed.Standards are also important to ensure all stakeholders are working in the same way and data privacy is protected  were handling sensitive information, including potentially data about peoples health, and therefore we need to ensure all data sharing has a legitimate use and data is only retained for as long as necessary.While traveling in 2020 and beyond will be a different experience for all, there is some hope the new environment can steer us all towards a future featuring safe and seamless air travel.
Barmer:

Amid rising tension in Indo-Pak ties, Union Minister Rajnath Singh will assess security arrangements on the border in Barmer district of Rajasthan.

Singh along with Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju today arrived at Barmer from Jaisalmer, accompanied by Border Security Force (BSF) officials, sources said.

The Home Minister yesterday chaired a meeting in Jaisalmer with the home ministers and senior officials of four states that border Pakistan.

The meeting was attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarats Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Brij Raj Sharma.

The security arrangements are being reviewed on the border in the wake of tension between India and Pakistan after surgical strike by army on terror camps across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Many celebrities are welcoming the decision by a major brand to stop using the words 'fairness', 'lightening' and 'whitening' from their line of products. Actor and filmmaker Nandita Das, who has been the face of the 'Dark Is Beautiful' campaign, says she did not see this coming, and is pleasantly surprised. She feels this is a symbolic gesture which will lead to a wider debate on the discrimination based on skin colour.

Mumbai Mirror quoted Nandita as saying. "In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of social wrongs have found a surprisingly sympathetic audience. The announcement today by Hindustan Unilever that they will remove the words 'fairness', 'whitening and 'lightening' from their line of products, is something I don't think anyone saw coming. Even though it is more symbolic (after all they have not discontinued the product, just changed the messaging), it is still a big step forward. Many brands spend hundreds of crores of rupees to spread the absurd message of fair being lovely in a largely dark country. So, when a market leader steps in, at the very least, it will certainly lead to an even wider debate."

Hindustan Unilever, on Thursday, announced that it will make its portfolio more inclusive, and will drop the word 'fair' from its 'Fair & Lovely' product.

Nandita added, "The world is ridden with so many forms of discrimination - n the basis of religion, caste, gender, sexuality, language and, of course, skin colour. A given identity, that one is born with, has become the most defining factor. But increasingly, it is being challenged, and thankfully, cannot be ignored."

Others like Suhana Khan, Bipasha Basu, Richa Chadha and Abhay Deol took to their social media handles to welcome this decision by the brand.

ALSO READ: Richa Chadha Flaunts 'Not Fair But Lovely' T-shirt: It's 2020 And A Lot Of BS Is Getting Dismantled
Demonstrators protest on June 6 near the White House over the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died while in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

The House of Representatives voted Friday to make Washington, D.C., a state  the first time in history the proposal has passed a chamber of Congress.

The bill, decades in the making, passed the House on a 232-180 vote, almost completely along party lines, with one Democrat voting no, and no Republicans joining the majority.

That is likely where the fight for statehood ends, at least for now. The legislation has little chance of being considered by the Senate, and the White House has said President Trump would veto it if it did pass.

Introduced by D.C.s nonvoting House delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, the bill would shrink the federal capital to a small area comprising the White House, the Capitol building, the Supreme Court and other federal buildings along the National Mall.

The rest of the city, and its 705,000 predominantly nonwhite residents, would become the 51st state, named the Washington, Douglass Commonwealth. As a state, it would have two votes in the Senate and one in the House; the city's residents currently do not have voting representation, although they are allowed to vote for president.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters Friday that the population, which is larger than two states, has been disenfranchised for too long. The House last considered statehood for the district in 1993, although advocates have pushed the issue decade after decade.

People in the District of Columbia pay taxes, fight our wars, risk their lives for our democracy, and yet in this place, they have no vote in the House and Senate about whether we go to war and how those taxes are exacted and how its all played, Pelosi said.

Republicans, including Trump, have accused Democrats of wanting to turn the reliably blue district into a state to seize control of the Senate. Since 2000, the Democratic presidential nominee has on average received at least 89% of the vote in the district.

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called the move a naked power grab during a speech on the Senate floor Thursday, adding Democrats "want two new Democratic senators in perpetuity."

Story continues

"The Democrats are angry at the American people for refusing to give them total control of the government for going on a decade now, so they want to give the swamp as many senators as your state has."

Pelosi said that the politics of a place shouldnt determine whether its citizens get a voice in Congress. She also noted that the politics of a state can, and do, change over time.

Cotton dismissed the district as having little to offer as a state other than lobbyists and federal workers.

Yes, Wyoming is smaller than Washington by population, but it has three times as many workers in mining, logging and construction, and 10 times as many workers in manufacturing. ... In other words, Wyoming is a well-rounded working-class state, Cotton said.

"What vital industries would the new state of Washington represent? Lobbying? Bureaucracy? Give me a break. By far, the largest group of workers in the city are bureaucrats and other white-collar professionals. [It] would be nothing more than an appendage of the fed government."

Labor statistics for the district in 2019 show about 25% of the workforce was employed by the federal government.

The vote was scheduled following weeks of friction between Trump and Washington city leaders over the proper response to people protesting racism and the killing of Minnesota resident George Floyd. That tension reached a peak with the Trump administration mobilizing federal law enforcement to forcibly remove peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square, just north of the White House, so Trump could visit a nearby church for a photo op.

The administration brought National Guard troops from across the country and stationed active duty military around the area, threatening to send them in if necessary. In response, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had the words Black Lives Matter painted on the pavement of the street leading to the White House.

Bowser said in a news conference Thursday that the situation drove home why the city needs full autonomy.

D.C. has been governed since 1973 under a home rule charter that allows it to have a mayor and city council, but still gives Congress control of the city budget and allows it to invalidate any law or initiative the D.C. government or its voters pass.

"Not only do we not have voting senators and our congresswoman not have the right to vote, the whims of the federal government can encroach on our even limited autonomy, and it can do so in ways that are threats to all of the American states and all of the American people," Bowser said.

"Let's fight back against the cries that we're too liberal or we're too Black or there are too many Democrats. Who we elect is our business, and the business of America is to make sure that each person is represented fully in this House and in the Senate of the United States of America."
Standing on the steps of Albuquerque Police Department headquarters Thursday evening, Veronica Ajanel said calling 911 on her father was the biggest mistake Ive ever made.

An APD officer fatally shot her father, Valente Acosta-Bustillos, on March 30 when, police said, he swung a shovel at them as they tried to arrest him on a warrant. Ajanel had asked police to do a welfare check on Acosta-Bustillos.

He didnt deserve to die, not in the way he did, Ajanel, surrounded by family, said to a large crowd in the street below. Still, we cant even believe hes gone.

More than 100 protesters gathered Thursday evening as they have several times in recent weeks to speak out against police brutality in the wake of George Floyds death. This time, outside APDs Downtown headquarters, they demanded something closer to home: the firing, arrest and prosecution of the officers who killed Acosta-Bustillos and Orlando Abeyta, 28. Abeyta was shot by APD officers Jan. 6 after, police said, he pointed what turned out to be a BB gun at passengers on a bus on East Central.

Through a microphone, Satya Vatti lamented the lack of action against the officers involved.

The only time they are arrested, they are fired, they are charged with a crime, is when people like us come into the streets and fight back, said Vatti, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

An APD spokesman said on Thursday the investigations into both shootings found the lethal force was within policy. The spokesman also re-released summaries of the incidents.

That didnt quiet the voices of those outside APD headquarters, amid the sweltering heat, hoisting signs that said jail killer cops, and justice for Valente.

From there, the group chanted and marched to the home of Acosta-Bustillos as the sun set low and police vehicles kept their distance but quietly cleared the way for the procession.
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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 27 2020

The recent death of an Indonesian peacekeeper from a surprise attack in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this week has served to highlight the vulnerability of serving in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

An Indonesian Military (TNI) officer died on Tuesday while another remains in intensive care after their convoy was ambushed by rogue militia allegedly from a neighboring country, which sparked a review process by Indonesia on the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).

According to a TNI situation report, an engineering company comprising 12 personnel and escorted by a battalion from Malawi was ambushed late Monday around 20 kilometers from the city of Beni in North Kivu province, just as they were returning to the central operation base.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  Two suspected terrorists, with alleged ties to bomb expert Mundi Sawadjaan, were killed in a joint police and military search operation on Friday.

A media release sent by the security forces said the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines carried out a search operation on Bensaudi J. Sali and his wife Jolo-native Merhama Abdul Sawari in Better Living Subdivision in Paranaque City.

It said the couple fired upon the authorities during the implementation of the search warrant, leading to a firefight, which ultimately ended in the death of Sali and Sawari.

Authorities said the couple was allegedly planning terrorist activities. They were also tagged as the financial conduit of Daesh-East Asia because of their confirmed connection with bomb expert, Mundi Sawadjaan.

"Their presence in Paranaque City has something to do with the coordination and planning of terrorist activities. Information further disclosed that the couple were engaged in illegal firearms transaction," authorities said.

Authorities recovered two ISIS flags and several pieces of ammunition on the scene, including 2 hand grenades, improvised firing device, a rifle, hand guns, and blasting caps.
TORONTO, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Clean Air Metals Inc. (formerly Regency Gold Corp.) ("Clean Air" or the "Company") (TSX.V: AIR) is pleased to announce that the shareholders of the Company approved all matters at its annual general meeting ("AGM") held on June 25, 2020, as follows:

(i) setting the number of directors at five (5);



(ii) the election of Abraham Drost, James Gallagher, Dean Chambers, MaryAnn Crichton and Ewan Downie as directors of the Company for the ensuing year;



(iii) the approval of a new Bylaw No.1 and repeal of all existing bylaws of the Company;



(iv) the appointment of Manning Elliott LLP as Auditor for the Company for the ensuing year; and



(v) the approval and confirmation of the Company's stock option plan.

The Company is pleased to welcome Ewan Downie to the board of directors of Clean Air (the "Board of Directors"). Mr. Downie has been President & CEO of Premier Gold Mines Ltd. since its inception in 2006. He has been working in the mineral exploration and mining industry for more than 25 years, was the founder of Premier's predecessor, Wolfden Resources Inc., and has participated in several gold and base metal discoveries. Awards include the 2003 recipient of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada's Bill Dennis Prospector of the Year and several Exploration and Development acknowledgements from the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association.

At the post-AGM meeting of the Board of Directors: (i) Jim Gallagher was reappointed as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.; (ii) Independent Director, Dean Chambers, was reappointed as Chair of the Audit Committee; (iii) Independent Director, MaryAnn Crichton, was appointed Chair of the newly formed Sustainability Committee; and (iv) Independent Director, Ewan Downie, was appointed as Chair of the Compensation Committee. The members of Clean Air's senior management team were also reappointed in their current respective capacities.

The Company also announces that it has filed its condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended April 30, 2020. Full details of the financial reports and operating results for the first quarter ended April 30, 2020 are described in the Company's condensed interim consolidated financial statements with accompanying notes and related Management's Discussion and Analysis, available on the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

First Quarter Financial Highlights

In Q1/20, the Company:

Generated gross proceeds of $15 million through the issuance of 75 million subscription receipts at $0.20 . Upon satisfaction of certain escrow conditions, each subscription receipt was convertible into one unit consisting of one common share and-half common share purchase warrant, exercisable at $0.30 until February 11, 2022 . As at April 30, 2020 , a total of $15 million was included in trade and other payables representing the common shares issuable upon conversion. Subsequent to April 30, 2020 , all escrow conditions were satisfied and the subscription receipts were converted.





through the issuance of 75 million subscription receipts at . Upon satisfaction of certain escrow conditions, each subscription receipt was convertible into one unit consisting of one common share and-half common share purchase warrant, exercisable at until . As at , a total of was included in trade and other payables representing the common shares issuable upon conversion. Subsequent to , all escrow conditions were satisfied and the subscription receipts were converted. Had a $14.1 million cash balance at April 30, 2020 .





cash balance at . Incurred $637,242 of operating expenses.





of operating expenses. Entered into a definitive agreement with Benton Resources Inc. ("BEX") (the "Benton Transaction") whereby the Company has acquired an option to acquire a 100% right, title and interest in the Escape Lake property. In addition, BEX also assigned to the Company its rights under a letter of intent previously entered into with Panoramic Resources Inc. ("PAN") pursuant to which BEX acquired the right to acquire 100% of PAN's subsidiary, Panoramic PGMs ( Canada ) Ltd., which owns the Thunder Bay North project. (See press release dated February 10, 2020 for full details on the Benton Transaction.) As at April 30, 2020 , $295,429 was included in deferred acquisition costs representing the costs incurred related to the Benton Transaction prior to closing. Subsequent to April 30, 2020 , the Benton Transaction was completed and Panoramic PGMs ( Canada ) Ltd. became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

Subsequent to April 30, 2020, the Company completed a flow-through financing of common shares at $0.50, generating aggregate gross proceeds of $6.7 million enhancing the Company's liquidity position. The proceeds of the financing will be used to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenditures" that will qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures" (as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada)), including expansion of the drilling program on the Escape Lake intrusion area of the Company's Thunder Bay North project.

CEO Abraham Drost stated that "we are very pleased to welcome Ewan Downie as an independent Director to the Board of Directors of Clean Air Metals Inc. Ewan is an experienced executive who has supervised the transition of a successful junior explorer to a successful exploration-oriented junior producer with substantial revenues from mineral production. Ewan's appointment complements a strong Board of Directors and senior management team of the Company, all of whom were re-elected for the coming year."

The Company further announces the grant of 750,000 incentive stock options to purchase common shares of the Company to certain directors, employees and consultants, subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. The stock options are exercisable at $0.32 for a period for 5 years from the date of grant, and subject to vesting provisions. The option shares issuable upon exercise of the options are subject to a four-month statutory hold period from the original date of grant.

COVID Policy

Clean Air Metals Inc. has adopted COVID-19 avoidance and personal protection measures for its geological staff, drilling contractor and service suppliers. Personnel are required to maintain physical distance, self-monitor and self-isolate or elect to work from home. Management had previously eliminated plans for a camp setup to service a planned diamond drill campaign on the Escape Lake Project. The Company is aware of Thunder Bay Health Unit guidelines that provide for "mandatory" self-isolation for returning overseas and inter-provincial travel. The guidelines previously also "strongly recommended" self-isolation after travel into the Northwest region from other areas of the Province. Mineral Exploration and Development has been deemed an essential service in the Province of Ontario (http://www.netnewsledger.com/2020/03/23/ontario-covid-19-business-allowed-toremain-open-list-march-23-2020/). The Company has procured the services of a locally staffed and serviced diamond drilling contractor to complete the Phase 1 and commence the Phase 2 diamond drilling program.

Clean Air Metals Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Panoramic PGMs (Canada) Ltd. acknowledge that the Escape Lake Property is on the traditional territory of the Fort William First Nation and the Red Rock First Nation, signatories to the Robinson-Superior Treaty of 1850.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"Abraham Drost"

Abraham Drost, Chief Executive Officer of Clean Air Metals Inc.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note

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 the TSXV listing, risk related to the 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 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, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

SOURCE Clean Air Metals Inc.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / There is a movie quote that goes "As every good housewife knows, the first check you write is for the mortgage, but the second is for the insurance," and even though this statement may hold true. Not everyone is a "good housewife" that knows that ins and outs of finances. Good thing Anthony Bowers can help you learn the ropes of finances and achieve financial security.

There is a movie quote that goes "As every good housewife knows, the first check you write is for the mortgage, but the second is for the insurance," and even though this statement may hold true. Not everyone is a "good housewife" that knows that ins and outs of finances. Good thing Anthony Bowers can help you learn the ropes of finances and achieve financial security.

Anthony Bowers Jr. is the founder of Bowers Enterprises, a financial services company determined and committed to providing the information and education necessary to make quality financial decisions at the family level.

He graduated from the University of California, Riverside, where he holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, which focused on principles of Psychology relating to the financial services market. After this, he decided to gain more knowledge in finance and took a Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis on Finance at Maryville University. Before founding the company, Anthony was exposed to the situation of underprivileged children while teaching mathematics to Title 1 students in the inner city.

With the goal to redefine finance, Anthony Bowers established Bowers Enterprises to help individuals and families learn essential financial practices and educating in financial principles. Anthony hopes to help and guide individuals, families, and businesses to make smarter decisions to achieve their goals.

Whether decreasing debt, providing tax strategies, helping receive returns on long-term investments, and protecting assets, Bowers Enterprises prides on providing its clients with quality service. The company also offers the lowest price per investment and the highest gains for their clients.

With Anthony's proven experience in executive management, clients can rest assured that they receive quality service. Individuals, families, and businesses, can put their trust in Anthony and his company when it comes to guiding them in saving, investing in insurance, and long-term investments.

When Anthony established Bowers Enterprises, he made sure that his heart was in the right place. He knew that he wanted to help people escape their living from paycheck to paycheck nightmares and help them achieve financial independence. It was Anthony's passion and determination to inspire people that fueled his desire to bring change.

And despite these commitments, Anthony Bowers is first and foremost a family man, Anthony never fails to give his wife and daughter the love and care they deserve and spends his free time with them for him they are his strength and inspiration to continue what he is doing.

If you want to know how Anthony Bowers can help you, you may reach him via e-mail at Bowersenterprises17@gmail.com or his contact number at 661-802-3486.

SOURCE: Bowers Enterprises

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/595310/For-a-Brighter-Future-Let-Anthony-Bowers-Help-Insure-Your-Future-Through-Financial-Security
A Chinese professor was found guilty by a judge of trade-secret theft and an even more serious and rarer charge of economic espionage, marking the latest conviction in the Trump administration's pursuit of Chinese scientists and engineers.

At an unusual in-person courtroom hearing Friday during the coronavirus pandemic, a federal judge in San Jose, Calif., announced the verdict against Hao Zhang.

Arrested in 2015 when he flew to Los Angeles for a conference, Zhang was accused of conspiring with a colleague from the University of Southern California to steal and sell American secrets to the Chinese government and military through a shell company in the Cayman Islands.

Zhang was charged during an aggressive U.S. crackdown on Chinese theft of intellectual property that began under former President Barack Obama has continued under the Trump administration, which has applied heavy scrutiny to Chinese scientists doing research in the U.S. He faces up to 15 years in prison for economic espionage and 10 years for theft of trade secrets, according to a court filing.

Friday's verdict comes amid worsening ties between the world's two biggest economies. Despite meetings that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held with his Chinese counterpart in Hawaii last week, relations remain soured over issues from China's handling of the coronavirus to its move to enact legislation restricting Hong Kong and its treatment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang province.

The Pentagon this week published a list of 20 Chinese companies it said were owned or controlled by China's military, potentially exposing them to further sanctions in the U.S. On Thursday, the U.S. won an arrest warrant for the former president of China's state-owned chipmaker as part of the Trump administration's "China Initiative" targeting trade-secret theft, hacking and economic espionage.Zhang's lawyers argued that his work at one of China's most prestigious technical universities to develop radio-filtering technology used in mobile phones was about advancing scientific knowledge -- and not for the benefit of the Chinese state.Zhang and his lawyers chose to make his case before U.S. District Judge Edward Davila instead a jury in what legal experts called a "damage control" defense. His lawyers conceded evidence including emails that prosecutors said contained trade-secret data and admissions he made while being questioned by the FBI. In closing arguments, his lawyers also made a strategic choice to focus on the more serious espionage charges instead of the trade-secret theft allegations.

Prosecutors said the secrets Zhang stole came from a former employer, Skyworks Solutions Inc., based in Woburn, Massachusetts, and San Jose-based Avago Technologies Ltd., which acquired Broadcom Inc. in 2015. The technology at issue filters out unwanted signals in mobile phones and other devices, which has become more difficult as wireless products have become ubiquitous.

Zhang went to work for Skyworks after earning his doctorate in electrical engineering at the University of Southern California in 2006. At USC he met Wei Pang, who went on to work at Avago and, according to prosecutors, was Zhang's key co-conspirator. Both men returned to China to teach at Tianjin University, a premier technical school.

At TJU, the professors allegedly used stolen information to refine radio-filter technology, apply for patents in the U.S. and China, and sell it through a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Zhang was the first of six defendants to go to trial -- and probably the only one because the others are in China.

Davila said during Friday's hearing that the evidence presented at trial -- much of it agreed to by both sides -- showed Zhang knew the information at issue was a trade secret. "He filed patent applications using the stolen secrets and listing himself as the inventor," the judge said.

In support of his finding Zhang guilty of economic espionage, Davila cited evidence that professor's plan was sponsored by TJU.

Zhang's lawyer had no immediate comment on the verdict. Sentencing is set for Aug. 31.
With the popularity of food trucks, we saw this as a way to relate to our students and provide mobile food options that will allow us to travel out into the community, Burke County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Larry Putnam said. We are grateful for our friends at Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge and the Blue Ridge HealthCare Foundation for their willingness to partner with us on this venture that will truly have an impact on students lives. The food truck will serve our students not only by providing meals, but also by providing the real life work experience for high school culinary students.

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In a typical summer, we feed about 600 students at two elementary schools, Burke County Public Schools Child Nutrition Director Daniel Wall said. We are in different times now with COVID-19 and are feeding kids grab-and-go style through car rider lines at five of our schools and off one yellow bus. We have been able to double the number of students served so far this summer and expect that to only increase with the arrival of the food truck. This truck is an opportunity for kids to access meals they might not be able to get otherwise.
Protesters may find that ripping down statues creates a desire to know why those statues were raised in the first place. This exploration naturally leads to an assessment of the radicals themselves. The process can be historically clarifying, as in the case of Confederate monuments. Americans are asking whether the rebels effort to break up the United States to create a new nation more explicitly dedicated to white supremacy is one we wish to honor. By a wide majority, the answer is no  and the statues are coming down.
Google announced today that it's working on a "new news experience" that will launch later this year, for which it will pay publishers to license their content.

Axios broke the news, with Google's Brad Bender offering more details in a blog post, in which he said the project will first launch on Google News and Discover, and will "help participating publishers monetize their content through an enhanced storytelling experience that lets people go deeper into more complex stories, stay informed and be exposed to a world of different issues and interests."

The extent to which the large internet platforms generally  and Google specifically  pay publishers has often been a contentious topic. Both Facebook and Google have bankrolled sizable news initiatives that combine direct funding for journalism with new products, research and partnerships. However, some publishers and regulators have also pressed Google to pay for including snippets of news content in search results.

"While weve previously funded high-quality content, this program is a significant step forward in how we will support the creation of this kind of journalism," Bender said. "To start, we have signed partnerships with local and national publications in Germany, Australia and Brazil."

The blog post mentions Germany's Spiegel Group, Australia's InQueensland and InDaily and Brazil's Diarios Associados as some of the participating publishers. Apparently Google is also offering to pay publishers to provide free access to otherwise paywalled content.

"We are always keen to explore innovative ways to attract readers to our high-quality content, said Spiegel Group Managing Director Stefan Ottlitz in a statement. This interesting new partnership with Google will allow us to curate an experience that will bring our award-winning editorial voice into play, broaden our outreach and provide trusted news in a compelling way across Google products.
Payments firm Wirecard collapsed into insolvency on Thursday (25 June). Photo: Tobias Hase/Picture Alliance via Getty

The UK subsidiary of scandal-hit German fintech business Wirecard has been ordered to immediately stop all regulated activities by the UKs top consumer watchdog.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Friday that Wirecard Card Solutions Limited must immediately halt all regulated activities and is forbidden from offloading any assets or funds. Customer cash will be frozen.

The announcement threw many of Wirecards UK customers into crisis. ANNA Money, a freelance business account provider, told users on Twitter to urgently withdraw their money.

Dionne Griffith, a spokesperson for ANNA Money, said the Wirecard suspension came without prior notice and the company had to quickly update our 20,000 customers with this announcement.

The main point is to reassure them that their card details and their funds are still secure, Griffith said, promising a further update later on Friday.

Card management service Curve, which has around half a million customers, told users to carry a backup card as Curve would be suspended with immediate effect.

A spokesperson for Curve said: In April, Curve announced we would bring more processes in house such as card issuing and e-money and move away from a reliance on Wirecard.

"This disruption is expected to last for a limited time only and we are focussed on completing this transition as quickly as possible."

The freeze follows the collapse of Wirecards German parent company on Thursday, following an accounting scandal. The company, once worth over 20bn (18bn, $22bn), collapsed after admitting to a 1.9bn hole in its balance sheet. Former chief executive Markus Braun has been arrested by authorities in connection with the case, while the companys former chief operating officer is currently being pursued by prosecutors.

READ MORE: Embattled payments firm Wirecard collapses into insolvency

Our primary objective is to protect the interests and money of consumers who use Wirecard, the FCA said in a statement.

Story continues

Following last weeks news of 1.9bn missing from the accounts of the German company, Wirecard, we immediately placed requirements on the firms UK business so that it should not pay out or reduce any money it holds for its customers except on their instructions. We have been working closely with Wirecard UK and other authorities over the past few days to take action that protects consumers.

We are continuing to do this and on 26 June, we took additional measures to require the firm to cease all regulated activities in order to further protect customer money. This now means customers money cannot be accessed.

The FCA said customers whose funds are affected should contact Wirecard directly.

Balances are not protected under the UKs Financial Services Compensation Scheme but the terms of Wirecards UK licence require it to separate customer funds from the companys balance sheet in order the safeguard it.
Linda Lawyers first reaction to last weeks surprise Supreme Court decision was, Oh, finally,  a sentiment shared by many in Charlottes LGBTQ+ community.

The 72-year-old Charlottean, who identifies as a lesbian, said shes been waiting for this ruling for decades.

The Supreme Court ruled June 15 that the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination, also protects LGBTQ+ workers from workplace discrimination. Before the decision, it was legal in more than half of the country  including North Carolina  to fire workers for being gay, bisexual or transgender.

People who believe they were discriminated against in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity can now successfully file lawsuits.

In the past, LGBTQ+ attorney Connie Vetter said consultations about discrimination cases have been very short because theres not much people could do.

The answer never feels good. The truth is, if they were discriminated against because of gender identity or sexual orientation, the case would never get very far, she said.

There were no protections until last week for someone being threatened at work or terminated for being LGBT, so this is a huge and wonderful change.

LGBT attorney Connie Vetter said conversations with clients in the past about workplace discrimination were often short because there was nothing they could do.

Living a double life

A 2018 Human Rights Campaign report shows that half of LGBTQ+ workers are closeted at work. Lawyer didnt come out for decades at her job at Duke Energy. She feared being outed in a hostile environment and then subsequently harassed or fired.

I came to Duke Energy in 1982, and that was everybodys biggest fear  being outed in the place you worked, she said. The No. 1 rule among LGBT people was Dont out anyone.

For most of her 31-year career at the company, Lawyer said she lived a double life, as did most LGBT-identifying people.

Most people didnt talk about their personal life, or they made up stories, she said. You had to be so careful. And you didnt have pictures at your desks, which looked so different from someone elses desk who was straight.

Story continues

Linda Lawyer said she has been waiting for this Supreme Court ruling for decades.

D Evans never came out at work.

Evans, who identifies as a lesbian biracial woman, did social work and provided medical support to people infected with HIV and AIDS for three years. At her former job, she felt uncomfortable giving presentations to the nearly all-white room. She said she felt like her colleagues already didnt pay attention to her because she was a person of color. Evans decided she didnt want to come out as a lesbian in a workplace that was already hostile.

I knew I couldnt be out at work. I know of things that work said in the workplace, that being gay was wrong, Evans said. It was very difficult.

Evans said this also meant having to hide the identity of her partner, never able to share who she was spending time with on the weekends.

D Evans never felt safe enough at a former workplace to come out.

Co-chair of Charlotte Black Pride Gelisa Stitt, who works in information technology and finance at Wells Fargo, said that she, too, has never felt discriminated against at work, and was surprised at the decision made by the majority-conservative Supreme Court.

It is interesting that were getting marriage equality before the opportunity to be safe at our jobs, she said. But Im happy that things are turning out for the better.

Gelisa Stitt, co-chair of Charlotte Black Pride, was surprised when she heard about the Supreme Courts unexpected decision last week.

Darryl Logsdon, who works at Wells Fargo, has always been out at his workplace, even though he knew he wasnt protected by law. Though his experience was largely positive, he said he cant stress enough what an exception his case was.

Though hes pleased about the ruling, Logsdon believes its overdue.

While I welcome it, its so strange it happened in this order. If you had told me back then it was going to take 50 years to achieve job protections, I would have never believed that, he said. Conversely, if you had told me wed have marriage equality in my lifetime, Id think thats impossible. In the early days, we thought job protections were going to come first, and then it would change society.

Darryl Logsdon, second from left, at last years Pride 94 anniversary panel discussion.

A domino effect

Logsdon said one of the big dynamics of this fight for equality in the workplace was that many people already believed LGBTQ+ people were protected under the law.

That was maddening over the years  all the pain and suffering for such a basic civil right, and people think you already have it, he said.

Though he also expressed confusion at the order in which LGBTQ+ rights were granted in recent years, Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce President Chad Turner described last weeks decision as the single most important ruling for LGBTQ+ people in my lifetime.

The Civil Rights Act affects every aspect of our daily lives, he said. Theres going to be a domino effect of challenges in other areas.

Chad Turner, president of the Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce, called the Supreme Courts ruling the single most important ruling for LGBTQ+ people in my lifetime.

And activists say theres still work to be done. Though LGBTQ+ rights are now protected in the workplace by federal law, state law in North Carolina bans local governments from enacting anti-discrimination policies for groups not explicitly mentioned in the Civil Rights Act.

There have been several Charlotte lawsuits related to LGBTQ+ discrimination in recent years. In 2017, a Charlotte-based Bojangles was ordered to pay $15,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retailiation lawsuit from a transgender former employee, and a North Carolina man filed a lawsuit in 2018 after reportedly being harassed at work after his boss learned he was gay.

This ruling is so important because people get to bring their whole selves to work and not have to try to maintain that closet, which is exhausting, Vetter said. They can focus on doing their job and solely be judged by the job theyre doing.
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OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada has cleared the way for Uber drivers to take the next step in their fight to be recognized as employees.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In this Monday, Sept. 12, 2016, file photo, a self-driving Uber sits ready to take journalists for a ride during a media preview in Pittsburgh. The Supreme Court of Canada is set to release a decision Friday morning that could advance the fight to get Uber Technologies Inc. drivers recognized as employees in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS-AP/Gene J. Puskar, File

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada has cleared the way for Uber drivers to take the next step in their fight to be recognized as employees.

In a ruling Friday, the high court upheld an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that opened the door to a possible class-action suit aimed at securing a minimum wage, vacation pay and other benefits for drivers.

The man behind the planned class action, David Heller, is a Toronto driver for UberEats, a service that delivers food from restaurants to customers at home.

He argues that Uber drivers are employees, which entitles them to protections under Ontario's Employment Standards Act.

Uber, a global company that operates in more than 600 cities, has been present in Ontario for eight years.

To become an Uber driver, Heller had to accept the terms of the firm's standard services agreement.

Ontario's highest court said a clause in the agreement that requires all disputes to go through arbitration in the Netherlands was an unfair bargain and amounted to contracting out of an employment standard.

Heller earns about $400 to $600 a week before paying taxes and expenses, using his own vehicle and working 40 to 50 hours a week, amounting to revenue between approximately $21,000 and $31,000 annually.

He says this works out to $10 to $12 an hour, while the minimum wage in Ontario is $14 an hour.

The mediation and arbitration process entails up-front administrative and filing fees of US$14,500, plus legal fees and other costs.

In its decision, the Supreme Court said the arbitration agreement is invalid, noting someone in Heller's position could not be expected to appreciate the financial and legal implications of the arbitration clause.

"We agree with the Court of Appeal. This is an arbitration agreement that makes it impossible for one party to arbitrate," said seven of the nine high court justices.

"There was clearly inequality of bargaining power between Uber and Mr. Heller. The arbitration agreement was part of a standard form contract. Mr. Heller was powerless to negotiate any of its terms. His only contractual option was to accept or reject it," wrote Rosalie Abella and Malcolm Rowe on behalf of the seven judges.

"There was a significant gulf in sophistication between Mr. Heller, a food deliveryman in Toronto, and Uber, a large multinational corporation. The arbitration agreement, moreover, contains no information about the costs of mediation and arbitration in the Netherlands."

Justice Russell Brown, who also sided with Heller, went even further, saying the arbitration agreement with Uber effectively bars him from accessing a legally determined dispute resolution, imposing undue hardship on Heller and undermining the rule of law.

Lawyers for Heller welcomed the Supreme Court decision, saying the next step is to seek certification of the class action in Ontario.

In a statement, Uber said it would review the ruling more closely in coming days.

Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

"We can, however, share our plans to amend our contracts to align with the court's principles. Going forward, dispute resolution will be more accessible to drivers, bringing Uber Canada closer in line with other jurisdictions."

More and more people are working in precarious, gig-style positions and it is increasingly obvious they lack some basic protections, said Iglika Ivanova, a senior economist and public interest researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

"Globally we are in a phase where we are seeing that there is a need to modernize our workplace protection with the emergence of this gig economy," she said.

"Nobody's really yet developed the right way to do it so we're all experimenting and trying to figure out what's going to happen."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2020.

 With files from Tara Deschamps and Paola Loriggio in Toronto
Police leading the search for missing Belfast schoolboy Noel Donohoe described the recovery of his backpack as a significant development.

PSNI Superintendent Muir Clark revealed that the green backpack, containing the 14-year-olds laptop and a book, is now being forensically examined by specialist teams.

Superintendent Muir Clark said the discovery was made following a call from a member of the public.

The detective also said a 26-year-old man has been arrested following a social media post about the St Malachys secondary school pupil.

The man was detained on suspicion of improper use of a public electronic communications network.

During a press conference on Friday, Superintendent Clark said: I have previously commented about various rumours circulating about Noahs disappearance.

"I explained that this type of commentary and rumour was distressing for Noahs family and unhelpful as we continue our search to find Noah.

Last night we became aware of social media posts. We are aware of the content of these social media posts and are content at there is no truth behind their content."

Noah's bicycle, helmet, training shoes, mobile phone and other items of clothing have already been recovered but, despite an intense search operation now in its fifth day, nothing has emerged to indicate his whereabouts.

Our search for Noah continues," Superintendent Clark added.

"We have not yet found his khaki green North Face coat and grey sweat shorts."

We need to find these outstanding items. If anyone has found any of these items and not yet come forward, please call us immediately on 101.

Again, I would like to thank everyone who has contacted police so far with information. If you have any information that you think might help. If you have any CCTV or dashcam footage that you think might help and have not yet come forward, please call us on 101 straight away."
Rapper Huey has been killed in a shooting (AP/Jason DeCrow, File)

A St Louis rapper who went by the stage name Huey was killed in a shooting that also wounded another man, authorities say.

St Louis County police said in a news release that the shooting happened just before 11pm on Thursday in Kinloch.

Police identified the man who was killed as 32-year-old Lawrence Franks Jr, known by fans as Huey.

Expand Close A home in Kinloch, Missouri, where authorities say Huey was killed (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp A home in Kinloch, Missouri, where authorities say Huey was killed (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

The Kinloch native was best known in the rap community for his 2006 debut single Pop, Lock & Drop It.

It eventually reached the No 6 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The music video has more than 50 million hits on YouTube.

A 21-year-old man who was wounded in the shooting remained in hospital on Friday with non-life threatening injuries.

Police said in a news release that detectives believe as many as 10 other people were there when the shooting happened.

Police released no details about how the shooting unfolded or a possible motive. They also have not said whether they have any suspects.
Sir Keir Starmer today knocked back Jeremy Corbyn and other left-wing Labour MPs as he refused their pleas to reverse his decision to sack Rebecca Long Bailey for sharing an article that contained an 'anti-Semitic conspiracy theory' blaming Israel for George Floyd's racist murder.

The new Labour leader faced Mr Corbyn in a crunch meeting with at least 12 front and backbench members of the hard-Left Socialist Campaign Group this morning after initially declining to see them at all.

At the meeting Sir Keir is said to have refused to bow to Mr Corbyn and his allies Diane Abbott and John McDonnell, whose petition calling for Ms Long Bailey to be reinstated as shadow education secretary reached 10,250 signatures by Midday. Former shadow home secretary Ms Abbott told the Evening Standard today: 'The petition speaks for itself'.

The meeting, described as 'businesslike and constructive' by sources close to the Labour leader, came as Momentum threatened civil war and warned he will 'regret' sacking her because it will upset many of their 500,000 hard-left members now threatening to leave the party.

Ms Long Bailey's allies also claim Sir Keir grabbed his first chance to fire his leadership rival and Mr Corbyn's former right-hand woman to reduce the hard-left influence in the shadow cabinet.

Sir Keir Starmer has gone to war with allies of Jeremy Corbyn after sacking his former leadership rival Rebecca Long Bailey for sharing an article that contained an 'anti-Semitic conspiracy theory' and faced Jeremy Corbyn and other left-wing MPs to explain why he sacked her

Actress Maxine Peake was accused of peddling an 'anti-Semitic conspiracy theory' yesterday in The Independent

Ex-Shadow Education Secretary Ms Long Bailey was fired from the frontbench after retweeting a link to the interview peddling a conspiracy theory

A petition calling for Ms Long Bailey to be reinstated as shadow education secretary reached 10,250 signatures by Midday and is backed by John McDonnell and Diane Abbott

Angry viewers call for boycott of Maxine Peake and demand BBC never use her again after she wrongly linked Israel to death of George Floyd Viewers have called for Maxine Peake to be boycotted after she shared an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about George Floyds death - the latest in a history of outbursts from the actress. The inflamatory remarks saw Labour politician Rebecca Long-Bailey sacked for sharing them, with leader Keir Starmer standing firm this morning to resist calls to reinstate her from hard-left supporters. But it is just the latest in a string of controversies from Peake who has years of form in contentious comments, including calling for 'violent revolution' in 2017 and claiming there were 'no working class actors' in Hollywood in 2011. And while she portrays herself as a dyed in the wool socialist she was brought up in a family she said aspired to be 'middle-class'. She only got into politics after moving in with Communist Party member grandad Jim who told her about the cause. Last night there were calls for Peake, 45, to be dropped from acting roles for the remarks, with people urging the BBC to stop using her. Advertisement

She was fired hours after sharing an article by friend and actress Maxine Peake that made the extraordinary and inaccurate claim that Israeli special forces had trained the officers that murdered George Floyd. The shadow education secretary called her 'an absolute diamond'.

Her allies have said that left-wing supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are 'leaving as we speak' with one former shadow minister telling The Times: 'It's a nightmare'. Jon Lansman, who founded the Momentum movement, said there was nothing antisemitic about Ms Peake's article in the Independent and called the sacking 'a reckless over-reaction'.

But today President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Marie van der Zyl, praised Si Keir Starmer's 'swift' action and called Rebecca Long Bailey response 'pathetic'.

She said: 'This was anti-Semitic because somebody has dreamed up a theory that links Israel to the horrific cold-blooded vile murder of an innocent man. The Israelis had nothing to do with it and there is a group desperate to blame them and Jews for every wrong in the world. I don't think anybody comes out of this happily - and Rebecca Long Bailey's response was pathetic'.

She added: 'Keir Starmer has made a very good start on tackling Anti-Semitism in the party. He has taken decisive action. It is very reassuring to the Jewish community after the Corbyn years of delay, intransigence and prevarication on the issue'.

Corbynistas including Lloyd Russell-Moyle, a shadow environment minister, ex-Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Diane Abbott and Richard Burgon are 'very disappointed' with Sir Keir. Mr Russell-Moyle did not rule out resigning, while several shadow ministers including Marsha de Cordova, Andy McDonald, Cat Smith and Dan Cardenare are also said to be on 'resignation watch'.

A senior Shadow Cabinet source told The Daily Telegraph that Sir Keir has decided to 'reset the bar' after five years of Mr Corbyn's divisive leadership, adding: 'It may divide the Labour party but very much increase Keir's perception as strong and as someone determined to bring about change.'

In a move that enraged John McDonnell and Laura Alvarez, Mr Corbyn's wife, Sir Keir ousted Ms Long Bailey, then Shadow Education Secretary, after she praised a controversial interview with actress Maxine Peake.

The 45-year-old 'Shameless' star told The Independent yesterday that Israeli security forces had taught US police 'neck-kneeling' techniques which led to the killing of George Floyd.

Blairites including Lord Mandelson, a chief architect of New Labour, and former Home Secretary Lord Blunkett praised Sir Keir's boldness in a move interpreted by Corbynistas as a declaration of war.

The row kicked off yesterday after Ms Long Bailey shared a link of the interview Peake - a constituent - gave to The Independent yesterday with the caption 'absolute diamond'.

Peake, a Jeremy Corbyn supporter, also said that the people who had left Labour under Mr Corbyn could 'hang their heads in shame' and claimed Sir Keir was an 'acceptable face' for people who 'aren't really Left wing'.

She later said her comments were 'inaccurate', adding that she found anti-Semitism 'abhorrent'.

Ms Long Bailey was sacked almost immediately after she shared a link to the article on Twitter.

Sir Keir has been desperately trying to rebuild trust with the Jewish community by vowing wipe out the 'stain' of anti-Semitism from Labour and rip out the 'poison' that dogged the party under his predecessor.

His spokesman said: 'The article Rebecca shared earlier today contained an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

'As Leader of the Labour Party, Keir has been clear that restoring trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority. Anti-Semitism takes many different forms and it is important that we all are vigilant against it.'

Jewish organisations praised Sir Keir's swift actions, with Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl saying: 'I would like to thank Keir Starmer for backing his words with actions on anti-Semitism.

Keir Starmer (pictured left with Ms Long Bailey in April) has been trying to rebuild trust with the Jewish community

Tony Blair called Sir Keir a leader who 'looks as though he could be Prime Minister', while John McDonnell, the former Shadow Chancellor, claimed that Peake's interview had not peddled anti-Semitism

'After Rebecca Long Bailey shared a conspiracy theory, we and others gave her the opportunity to retract and apologise. To our surprise and dismay, her response was pathetic.

Maxine Peake: The Communist Corbynista former Shameless star who called for a violent revolution Peake claimed that Israeli spies taught US police tactics that resulted in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis Maxine Peakes political leanings were forged in her childhood by her grandfather. The actress grew up in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in a working class family. When her parents divorced when she was just nine and she carried on living with her mother. But when she moved away to live with a new boyfriend, Peake went to her grandad Jims house to stay, who she said was a communist. She said in an interview with the Guardian the grandparent became her mentor and gave her a political education. Peake has previously said she joined the Communist Party aged 18 but said she left three years later. She said in 2018: My grandfather had a life-changing influence on me. He never had any ambitions to be a politician  he worked on the assembly line at Leyland Motors  but his life was politics. He was a self-educated man and he had a thirst for knowledge. He was a member of the Communist party I left the Communist party at 21, when I went to London to drama school, for no other reason than that I could not fulfil my commitments to it. But I am still a socialist. Advertisement

'Her position as Shadow Education Secretary was therefore untenable.

'There can be no space for this sort of action in any party and it is right that after so many challenging years Labour is now making this clear under its new leader.'

Jonathan Goldstein, chair of the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), told MailOnline: 'We saw significant action from Sir Keir Starmer in ensuring there is zero tolerance for anti-Semitism within the Labour Party.

'His actions show he understands the severity and harm that anti-Semitic conspiracies do to our politics. We welcome this decisive leadership and firm action.'

Tony Blair called Sir Keir a leader who 'looks as though he could be Prime Minister'. Lord Mandelson said Sir Keir had shown 'strong character and judgment', while Lord Blunkett described the move as a 'very clear message'.

However, senior Corbynistas denounced the sacking as a 'reckless overreaction', with Mr McDonnell, the former Shadow Chancellor, saying that the article had not peddled anti-Semitism.

Amid a storm of protest at her initial tweet, Ms Long Bailey then added: 'I retweeted Maxine Peake's article because of her significant achievements and because the thrust of her argument is to stay in the Labour Party. It wasn't intended to be an endorsement of all aspects of the article.

'I could not do this in good conscience without the issuing of a press statement of clarification. I had asked to discuss these matters with Keir before agreeing what further action to take, but he had already made his decision.'

But it was not enough to avoid being removed from her frontbench role, sparking uproar from her supporters.

She said she posted a further tweet to clarify after learning 'many people were concerned by references to international sharing of training and restraint techniques between police and security forces'.

'In no way was my retweet an intention to endorse every part of that article,' she said.

She said after she agree the clarification with Labour leader's office she was ordered to take both tweets down.

But Sir Keir justified his action telling the BBC: 'The sharing of that article was wrong, because the article contained anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.'

Ms Long Bailey described Peake as a 'diamond', before trying to clarify she had not been endorsing 'all aspects of the article'

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell weighed in to insist that Peake's comment was legitimate criticism of Israel

Lord Blunkett described Sir Keir's sacking of Ms Long Bailey as a 'very clear message' while Diane Abbott is said to be one of several senior Corbynistas who are going to war with Sir Keir

Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge, who is Jewish and was a leading critic of Jeremy Corbyn, said: 'This is what zero tolerance looks like.' Jewish groups also lined up behind the move

Mr McDonnell, who endorsed her for leader, later weighed in, saying: 'Throughout discussion of antisemitism it's always been said criticism of practices of Israeli state is not anti-Semitic. I don't believe therefore that this article is or @RLong_Bailey should've been sacked. I stand in solidarity with her.'

Momentum founder Jon Lansmann branded the sacking 'a reckless over-reaction': 'I don't believe there is anything antisemitic in the interview and sacking Rebecca is a reckless overreaction by Keir Starmer.

'It's been clearly documented by Amnesty International that many US police departments do train in Israel. The original Independent article even backed up the claim.

'In the leadership campaign Rebecca signed up to the Board of Deputies pledges and made clear she is committed to tackling antisemitism in our party.

'More than 135,000 Labour members voted for Rebecca in the leadership election. Keir says he wants to party unity, yet sacks her from the front bench for no good reason. I stand in absolute solidarity with Rebecca Long-Bailey, as does the rest of Momentum.'

The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said: 'We have been critical of Sir Keir Starmer's early handling of incidents within the Labour Party and the fact that he has not yet announced a timetable for reforming the Party's broken disciplinary process. His swift and firm action in this case appears to indicate that he is taking our comments on board and has shifted up a gear.

'Sir Keir's decision to sack Rebecca Long-Bailey for retweeting an antisemitic conspiracy theory sends a clear message to those in the Labour Party's ranks who still think that antisemitism is a grey area.'

Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge, who is Jewish, tweeted: 'This is what a change in culture looks like. This is what zero tolerance looks like. This is what rebuilding trust with the Jewish community looks like.'

Dame Margaret previously described Sir Keir Starmer's predecessor Jeremy Corbyn as racist following claims he had failed to take strong enough action on anti-Semitism within the party.

Labour MP Stella Creasy said: 'Maxine Peake interview textbook ''casual antisemitism'' - Even organisation that first made link she repeats as if matter of record or motivation for heinous crime has withdrawn it as a piece of libellous conspiracism. Being anti racist means countering, not indulging, such tropes.'

In the same interview, Peake, a former member of the Communist Party of Britain in Salford, Ms Long-Bailey's seat in Manchester, took aim at anyone who refused to vote for Jeremy Corbyn - branding them all Conservative supporters.

She said: 'Those people who were normally Labour supporters who felt they couldn't vote Labour? Well I'm sorry, they voted Tory as far as I'm concerned.

'And it breaks my heart, because you know what? I didn't like Tony Blair, but I still voted Labour because anything's better than the Tories.

'There's a lot of people who should hang their heads in shame. People going, 'Oh, I can join the Labour Party again because Keir Starmer's there,' well shame on you.'

In 2018 the passionate Labour supporter, an outspoken critic of Tory spending on the NHS, was accused of hypocrisy after pocketing taxpayers' money to appear in an NHS recruitment advert.

The star of hit TV series including Shameless and Silk was paid to do a voice over on a film as part of the health service's 8 million 'We Are The NHS' campaign.

Funded by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, the campaign was launched to coincide with the NHS's 70th anniversary and features real health workers and patients.

Ms Peake reportedly received a four-figure sum for her contribution. In contrast, in the past celebrities including Nick Hewer and Barbara Windsor have donated their time for free when appearing in publicly-funded health campaigns.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group against Anti-Semitism said it welcome the decision to sack her.

In a statement released on Twitter, co-chairs Catherine McKinnell and Andrew Percy said: 'We welcome Sir Keir Starmer's zero tolerance approach and decisive action. Members of Parliament have a duty to challenge anti-Semitic conspiracy theories not share them.

'We will work with all political parties to ensure anti-Semitism plays no part in public life, and our group will always work to educate colleagues about it.'

The hard-Left candidate for leader who rated Jeremy Corbyn '10 out of 10' after he led Labour to general election humiliation

Rebecca Long Bailey was the highest ranking remnant of the Corbyn era still remaining on Labour's front bench.

The 40-year-old ran against Sir Keir Starmer in the protracted leadership election that followed the party's election humiliation in December and Mr Corbyn's subsequent resignation.

But despite the backing of the then senior hierarchy, she trailed in a distant second to Sir Keir, who ran on a platform of healing a divided party.

She was made shadow education secretary in his new-look shadow cabinet as an olive branch to the old regime.

During her leadership election campaign Ms Long-Bailey said Mr Corbyn has been a 'prefect 10' as Labour leader

But today's gaffe, which praised an interview with actress Maxine Peak in which she shared an 'anti-Semitic conspiracy theory' about Israel and the death of George Floyd, was a step too far.

Mr Starmer has been at pains rebuild bridges with British Jews after five years in which Labour was rocked by a series of anti-Semitism scandals.

Ms Long-Bailey, is the hard-Left daughter of a Salford docker, groomed to take the helm of the Corbynite project by self-declared Marxist John McDonnell.

He and older Corbynistas like Diane Abbott and Richard Burgon threw their weight behind her campaign, during which she described Mr Corbyn as '10 out of 10' as leader.

The remark came weeks after he led Labour to its worst election defeat since the 1930s, handing Boris Johnson an 80-seat Tory majority.

She grew up in Old Trafford, Manchester, where she was exposed to left-wing politics from a young age.

The 40-year-old ran against Sir Keir in the leadership election that followed the party's election humiliation in December

Her father Jimmy worked as a docker at Salford Quays and trade union representative at Shell at a time when workers' collectives wielded enormous power and threats of staff walkouts struck fear into ministers.

On graduating from a Catholic high school, she worked in a pawn shop - an eye-opening experience which she says taught her 'more about the struggles of life than any degree or qualification ever could'.

After holding down other jobs such as a call-centre operator, a furniture factory worker and a postwoman, she eventually studied to become a solicitor.

She became Labour MP for Salford in 2015 on the retirement of Hazel Blears and quickly held a series of roles as Mr McDonnell's political protegee.

She was made shadow business secretary in February 2017, a role she held until Mr Starmer took over in April.
Florence Pugh has said she is truly sorry for appropriating other cultures in the past.

The Little Women star said that to address racism we have to look at ourselves and see how we were adding to this problem.

She said she was uneducated and unread at the time, adding that stupid doesnt even cut it.

Pugh, 24, said she discussed cultural appropriation with a friend when she was 18 after she had styled her hair into corn rows.

Her friend told her the hairstyle was banned at her school because it is cultural appropriation.

She began to explain to me what cultural appropriation was, the history and heartbreak over how when black girls do it theyre mocked and judged, but when white girls do it, its only then perceived as cool, she said.

It was true. I could see how black culture was being so obviously exploited.

I was defensive and confused, white fragility coming out, plain and simple.

Video of the Day

Pugh said that as a teenager she also braided her hair and painted a hat in the colours of the Jamaican flag to go round to her friends house.

Im truly sorry to all of you that were offended for years or even just recently, she said.

I cannot dismiss the actions I bought into years ago, but I believe that we who were blind to such things must acknowledge them and recognise them as our faults, our ignorance and our white privilege, and I apologise profusely it took this long.
The social justice movement sweeping the country is forcing the K-12 education system to take a hard look at how it treats students of color, why it has taken so long to recognize the need for change, and what approaches would work best to build a better system for all students.

To get a clearer picture of where educators stand on these issues and how they think schools should address them, the EdWeek Research Center conducted a survey June 17-18 of 1,150 teachers, principals, and district leaders. It found that most educators support the Black Lives Matter movement; they oppose measures to remove armed police officers from schools; they overwhelmingly believe school police officers in their own districts treat students of color fairly despite nationwide statistics to the contrary; and most attribute racial discipline disparities in schools to discrimination.

Here is a look at five key findings from that survey:

1. Educators Are More Likely Than the General Population to Voice Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement

As racial justice protests have swept the nation in response to the death of a Black man at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer, support for the Black Lives Matter movement has reached unprecedented levels. Levels of support increased almost as much in the two weeks after George Floyds death as it had in the past two years, according to the survey research firm Civiqs . A Pew Research Center poll conducted online June 4-10 found that 67 percent of Americans say they somewhat or strongly support Black Lives Matter.

Support is even stronger among the nations teachers, principals, and district leaders, the EdWeek Research Center found: 81 percent of educators report that they support the movement.

Roughly 80 percent of the nations educators are white. However, compared with the white population as whole, educators are still more likely to say they support Black Lives Matter (83 percent versus 61 percent, according to the EdWeek Research Center and Pew).

Eighty-five percent of non-white educators reported supporting the movement. (Because educators are overwhelming white, we are not able to provide statistically viable results for specific races or ethnicities because too few educators from those groups responded to this survey.)

Among educators, support for the movement is stronger among females, Northeasterners, residents in suburban and urban areas and towns, and those who work in districts with higher percentages of Black students. Support is weaker among males, Westerners, residents of rural areas, and those who work in districts with lower percentages of Black students.

2. Some Black Lives Matter Activists Say Armed Police Should Be Removed From Schools. Educators Disagree.

The Black Lives Matter movement started in 2013 in response to the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager who was shot and killed by a white man in the gated Florida community where Martin was visiting relatives, was acquitted of murder. It later became associated with protests related to other Black people, such as George Floyd, who died while in police custody. In the wake of these protests, some activists have demanded that the movement call for the abolishment of police in schools. School board members in districts including Minneapolis, Denver, and Portland, Ore., have responded , severing or considering severing ties with local police departments. The American Federation of Teachers, the nations second largest teachers union, issued a resolution this month supporting Black Lives Matter and replacing local law enforcement with [s]chool security personneltrained as peace officers and integrated within the school community, with a focus on nonviolent resolution of conflicts with a minimal use of force.

Despite their high levels of support for Black Lives Matter and the reexamination of the role of law enforcement by school boards and union leaders, most of the rank-and-file educators who responded to the EdWeek Research Center survey oppose the removal of armed police officers from schools. Just 23 percent say that armed police officers should be eliminated from our nations schoolsalthough support for severing ties with law enforcement ranges from 36 percent in the Northeast to 13 percent in the southern United States.

Fifty-eight percent of schools in the United States had a sworn law enforcement officer on campus at least once a week in 2017-18, the most recent year for which federal data is available, according to the National Center for Education Statistics . And 54 percent of survey respondents believe that armed police officers belong in the schools in districts where they work.

The perception that armed officers belong in local schools is significantly more common among high school teachers and principals (67 percent) than among those who work in elementary schools (51 percent). Its also more prevalent among teachers, principals, and district leaders in large districts with 10,000 or more students (69 percent) than in smaller districts with less than 2,500 students (41 percent).

Support for the presence of armed officers in local schools is significantly higher in the South, where 71 percent of teachers, principals, and district leaders say its necessary, compared with other regions in the country, which hover around 50 percent.

3. Most Educators Support Police Because They Want Protection Against Outsiders, Shootings. But Nearly 1 in 3 Want Protection Against Students.

Research is mixed when it comes to whether or not police officers actually make schools safer. Yet nearly 3 out of 4 teachers, principals, and district leaders say that they need armed school police officers in case someone comes into the building with the intent of doing harm to students and staff.

A much smaller percentage say schools need officers to protect teachers from students rather than outsiders. Thirty percent of survey respondents say that they need armed police officers in their schools because too many students are out of control. This view is much more common among teachers (39 percent) than among principals (20 percent) or district leaders (22 percent).

A forthcoming study to be published in the peer-refereed journal Social Problems found that school police officers in a mostly white and affluent district tended to see their role as protecting schools from outsiders while their counterparts in a district with higher percentages of Black and Hispanic students were more likely to perceive that the threats came from the students themselves. The two districts were located in communities with similar juvenile arrest rates, suggesting that the officers were not responding to actual disparities in youth crime.

School shootings are an additional and common justification for placing police in schools. A little more than half of survey respondents (58 percent) believe the country would have more deaths from school shootings if armed police officers were eliminated from schools.

4. Despite Evidence to the Contrary, Educators Believe That School Police Officers Treat Students of Color Fairly

National statistics show that Black students are disproportionately impacted by the presence of police in schools. For example, an EdWeek Research Center analysis of federal data found that, in 2013-14, Black students made up 16 percent of the student population, but represented 33 percent of the students arrested at school. Statistics like these are sometimes cited by Black Lives Matter activists as reasons why armed police officers do not belong in schools, especially since Black students are more likely to attend schools with police officers than are white students.

Yet the vast majority of survey respondents who work in districts where armed police officers are stationed at schools strongly believe that those officers treat students of color fairly. Asked to what extent, if any, the armed police officers in their districts schools treated students of color fairly, 22 percent of teachers, principals and district leaders said they did not know. (Respondents were only asked the question if they indicated that their districts schools did have armed officers.) Of those who did have an opinion, 91 percent selected a lot, meaning they strongly believed officers treated students of color fairly.

One reason why Black Lives Matter activists are concerned about school arrest rates is that even an apprehension for a relatively minor infraction can ensnare students in the criminal justice system, leading to longer-term involvement as adults.

Yet fewer than 1 in 4 teachers, principals, and district leaders (23 percent) believe that armed police officers contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline by disproportionately arresting/ticketing students of color. The percentage of educators who share this belief ranges from 17 percent in the South to 33 percent in the Northeast. Urban educators are more than twice as likely as their rural counterparts to hold this view (40 percent versus 15 percent). This view is also significantly more common among educators in districts where three quarters or more of the students are non-white (33 percent) than among those in districts where less than a quarter of the students are non-white (19 percent).

5. Educators Are Most Likely to Attribute Black/White Student Discipline Disparities to Discrimination.

In addition to facing higher rates of arrest at school, Black students are also much more likely than whites to experience so-called exclusionary discipline measures such as suspension or expulsion that lead to missing out on instructional time.

On the EdWeek Research Center survey, teachers, principals, and district leaders were asked the extent to which nine different factors explained why this is the case.

The respondents were most likely to say that Blacks faced higher discipline rates than whites because whites encounter less discrimination. Eighty-seven percent said discrimination contributed to the disparity. This belief was more common among educators in lower-poverty districts where less than a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals than in the highest-poverty districts where three quarters or more of students are from low-income families (97 percent versus 87 percent).

That response was also more common in the Northeast, Midwest, and West, where more than 90 percent believe discrimination plays a role, than in the South, where 83 percent share that view. White educators were more likely than non-whites to blame discrimination (91 percent versus 83 percent). And, while 95 percent of urban educators say discrimination leads to discipline disparities, 85 percent of their rural counterparts agreed.

The second most commonly accepted explanation was that whites live in lower-crime neighborhoods. Eighty-two percent said this helped explain the disparity.

Educators are less likely to blame neighborhood crime if they work in higher-poverty districts, and/or live in the Southern United States.

A majority of educators (78 percent) also said that disparities in white and Black families incomes led to white/Black discipline disparities. And 3 out of 4 say Blacks get disciplined more than whites because whites attend higher-quality schools. This view was slightly less common in the South than elsewhere in the United States.

Seven percent of educators said that white/Black discipline disparities are at least slightly attributable to genetic factors that lead white students to commit fewer infractions than Black students. Nineteen percent say Blacks are disciplined more than whites because white parenting is more effective, a perspective that is more common among males than females and among urban than suburban educators. And nearly 1 in 3 educators (31 percent) say discipline disparities are at least slightly explained by white parents valuing education more than Black parents and/or white students being more motivated than their Black counterparts.
The coronavirus outbreak in New Jersey has now claimed the lives of at least 14,914 residents, with 170,584 total confirmed cases as the state continues to press forward with Stage 2 of its reopening plan by allowing amusement rides, theme parks and water parks to reopen with restrictions.

The latest numbers, announced Friday afternoon, include 44 new deaths and 524 new cases. New Jersey has seen steady declines in both since the peak of the states outbreak in April.

The figures were announced a day after New Jersey health officials reported probable COVID-19 deaths for the first time, which increased the states death toll from the pandemic by at least 1,854 who were likely  but not confirmed with a test  to have died due to COVID-19.

At least 14,914 people have died since March.

At the same time, the COVID-19 transmission rate has increased in 16 of New Jerseys 21 counties over the past week  with six counties rising at least 50%  as the state moves forward with reopening. But the overall rate remains below the key 1-to-1 mark used to track the spread of the outbreak, officials noted.

ALSO: N.J. schools will reopen with masks, social distancing and sweeping new rules under just-released plan

The news comes two days after Gov. Phil Murphy joined New York and Connecticut officials in a travel advisory asking travelers from nine other states where cases have spiked are to observe a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

While coronavirus cases are surging elsewhere in the nation, New Jerseys new cases have fallen significantly since peaking in April and remained relatively flat for weeks as testing has expanded. The state hit a one-day high in deaths, 468, on April 30 and a one-day high in new cases, 4,305, on April 3.

The number of coronavirus patients at New Jerseys 71 hospitals also remains well below the peak of more than 8,000 patients in mid-April. There were 1,118 patients as of Thursday night, the latest stats available, down slightly after two days of increases that state officials said they were tracking closely.

During his daily coronavirus briefing Friday afternoon, Murphy once again urged residents to continue taking safety precautions, like wearing masks in public, keeping hands clean and maintaining a safe distance from other people.

We are still in the fight. We are still in the war, the governor said, noting big spikes in coronavirus cases in other states around the nation during recent weeks. Weve come a long, long, long way in New Jersey, but we had to go through hell to get here, and we will do everything we can to stay in a good place.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

The coronavirus outbreak has now infected more than 9.6 million people globally with more than 490,000 deaths, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University and Medical Center.

The United States has reported more than 124,500 deaths, the most of any country. New Jersey ranks second in the United States for deaths, after New York.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN EACH COUNTY

Here are the latest county-by-county breakdowns of confirmed cases and fatalities as of early Friday afternoon, according to the state coronavirus tracking website:

Bergen County: 19,264 cases, with 1,718 confirmed deaths and 263 probable deaths

Hudson County: 18,788 cases, with 1,274 confirmed deaths and 171 probable deaths

Essex County: 18,666 cases, with 1,778 confirmed deaths and 237 probable deaths

Passaic County: 16,843 cases, with 1,029 confirmed deaths and 148 probable deaths

Middlesex County: 16,685 cases, with 1,110 confirmed deaths and 200 probable deaths

Union County: 16,356 cases, with 1,143 confirmed deaths and 180 probable deaths

Ocean County: 9,535 cases, with 872 confirmed deaths and 68 probable deaths

Monmouth County: 9,057 cases, with 709 confirmed deaths and 93 probable deaths

Mercer County: 7,621 cases, with 539 confirmed deaths and 38 probable deaths

Camden County: 7,245 cases, with 431 confirmed deaths and 47 probable deaths

Morris County: 6,698 cases, with 646 confirmed deaths and 146 probable deaths

Burlington County: 5,092 cases, with 376 confirmed deaths and 38 probable deaths

Somerset County: 4,831 cases, with 443 confirmed deaths and 81 probable deaths

Cumberland County: 2,925 cases, with 128 confirmed deaths and 12 probable deaths

Atlantic County: 2,811 cases, with 194 confirmed deaths and 14 probable deaths

Gloucester County: 2,531 cases, with 173 confirmed deaths and 7 probable deaths

Warren County: 1,225 cases, with 144 confirmed deaths and 11 probable deaths

Sussex County: 1,185 cases, with 154 confirmed deaths and 37 probable deaths

Hunterdon County: 1,065 cases, with 67 confirmed deaths and 55 probable deaths

Salem County: 754 cases, with 68 confirmed deaths and 4 probable deaths

Cape May County: 706 cases, with 64 confirmed deaths and 4 probable deaths

There are another 701 positive cases that remain under investigation, with the patients home counties not confirmed.

ALSO: Town-by-town breakdowns of coronavirus cases in N.J.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Len Melisurgo contributed to this report. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
As the coronavirus spread through Philadelphia, the staff at the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission, the citys largest mens shelter, braced as if for a hurricane. To shelter those inside, they hunkered down, encouraging residents not to go outside during the day, turning away new arrivals, and barring nonresidents from a daily meal service that hundreds had previously relied on.

But Jeremy Montgomery, the shelters executive director, knew that was unsustainable given the growing and unmet need.

As Philadelphia reopens, he said, We expect to get flooded with new people requiring shelter because theyve been couch surfing or other creative solutions, and they really do need that shelter. So he turned to a new rapid-response effort by the nonprofit Community Design Collaborative, recognizing that reopening during the coronavirus pandemic is not only a public-health problem, but also fundamentally a design problem.

The volunteer effort, which mustered a corps of architects and designers to create a concept in just a week, is rooted in the idea that many simple and low-cost design choices can significantly impact how people interact not only with a space but also with each other. Signage and distance markers can remind visitors to stay at least six feet apart. Way-finding systems can direct the flow of traffic to prevent crowding or collisions. Flexible furniture can allow people to sit farther apart from strangers, or together with family. Soothing colors and welcoming artwork can create a sense of calm in an unsettled moment.

The Community Design Collaborative, run by the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects, normally takes on projects that are months in the making, like a whimsical makeover of an aging South Philadelphia Catholic school, a new public park at the edge of Elfreths Alley, and an initiative to bring life into underutilized sacred spaces across the city.

But during the pandemic, the collaboratives director of design services, Heidi Segall Levy said, We felt we needed to do something more immediate, to provide immediate assistance to the nonprofits we work with that are on the front lines. So, they created Design A.I.D., short for Design Assistance in Demand.

 READ MORE: New Jersey adds 1,854 probable coronavirus deaths to total after review, sees uptick in transmission

She sees the interventions  informed by CDC guidelines, as well as emerging best practices in the industry  as the first wave of a long-term shift in design, reducing touch points like elevator buttons and door handles, introducing signage and furnishings that will both encourage and allow for social distancing, requiring one-way traffic through hallways.

Its really important to think about how much impact the built environment has on behavior and emotional and physical well-being, she said. Not just keeping the guests six feet apart, but also how do we reduce the anxiety levels?

That was critical at the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission, a shelter just north of Chinatown that saw dozens of COVID-19 cases in May despite precautions like reducing capacity, spacing out beds, and creating a quarantine unit in a multipurpose room. Eventually, the entire shelter was put under a 14-day quarantine before getting cases under control. Now, Montgomery is looking to a return to something like normal.

 READ MORE: Philadelphia set to be first U.S. city to protect workers against retaliation for calling out coronavirus conditions

After a virtual walk-through, conducted via Zoom videoconference, a group of 10 volunteer designers came up with a plan to transform the dining room into an inviting space and create clear, color-coded signage directing those not staying in the shelter to a separate, outdoor, grab-and-go meal service. They suggested installing spacers to mark six-foot intervals, hanging artwork of familiar Philadelphia sights to make visitors feel welcome, and bringing in Mural Arts Philadelphia to add a festive mural along the Pearl Street alleyway where guests wait in line for meals.

We have been able to implement and execute a lot of their ideas, Montgomery said. Day to day we dont have time to stop and think about ... what color our walls should be painted. I think about, how should I care for someone? But we know the physical environment goes a long way in how we care for people.

Building on that pilot, the collaborative assembled another Design A.I.D. group to work with Berean Baptist Church in North Philadelphia, which will have to juggle social services, support-group meetings, religious services, and more as congregants and organizations return.

A third round of work supported the Nationalities Service Center (NSC) in Center City, where administrators were puzzling through how they could begin restoring language classes, a clothing closet, food pantry, and numerous other services for immigrants and refugees. On a recent afternoon, after a whirlwind week of planning, the volunteer group presented their ideas for both welcoming clients back into the space and communicating messages about how to navigate the space to visitors who may know little English.

The suggestions were comprehensive, from the sneeze guard on the reception desk to six-foot bubbles marked on the floor to the replacement of keypads with contactless access cards to enter secure spaces. The designers created a plan for one-way traffic, moving counterclockwise through the space, with colors, shapes, or origami-inspired decals to mark each destination. They recommended hands-free bathroom fixtures, including a mop sink that could serve as a foot-washing station for Muslim clients to use before praying.

The theme, said Katherine Antarikso, an architect with the firm HOK, was a sense of welcome. But the designers also sought to address logistical issues that suddenly loomed important, suggesting offices be reorganized into neighborhoods of more public, less public, and private spaces, with diminishing risk of social contacts.

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered.

The presentation, with its dozens of suggestions, was almost more than the NSC staff could take in all at once. Margaret OSullivan, the nonprofits executive director, told the designers she was not sure where to start with implementation. The organization, which is returning to work slowly over the summer but will not restore full operations in 2020, was in triage mode, trying to decide which changes were urgent and which could wait. Cost, she said, is a key consideration  especially since the Design A.I.D. architects had advised her that the safest choice to replace the centers failing HVAC system would require a half-million-dollar upgrade.

But, she told the designers, Its very inspirational. It does help you think about, in the midst of such a tragic time, things could get so much better in the building because of it.
Georgia peach farmers are celebrating a triumph after dismal projections gave way to a bumper fruit yield in the 2020 harvest.

Besides fearing for their crops amid uncertain weather conditions, fruit farmers were worried that the novel pandemic would adversely affect demand for produce. However, a spokesperson for the farming community revealed that 2020 has yielded decent returns so far.

When COVID-19 started, it looked kind of dismal, Jaemor Farms owner Drew Echols told WSB-TV. You didnt know where demand was going to be. The restaurants. The schools. All those shutdowns.

However, Georgia was the first state to reopen when its shelter-in-place order expired on April 30, reports Fox Business, which had a hugely positive effect for the states farming industry.

The Jaemor Farms market in Hall County has been busy ever since, far surpassing farmers most optimistic projections, said Echols. Orchards in northern, central, and southern Georgia are experiencing higher-than-normal demand for their fruit, profit-promoting sale prices, and near-perfect weather.

About every week or 10 days, we get about an inch of rain, Echols explained to WSB-TV. So Glenn and all the meteorologists down there at WSB, yall just keep on doing what youre doing. If we can order it, if farmers can order it, well take an inch a week!

The Georgia peach harvest is expected to continue through to mid-August.

(Illustration  Kalen Martin-Gross/Shutterstock)

Many are touting fresh peaches as the feel-good fruit of the summer, the co-founder of peach wholesaler Genuine Georgia, Will McGehee, told Fresh Plaza. With these uncertain times  Everyone needs a taste of familiar comfort these days.

Georgia, fondly nicknamed the peach state, has long been associated with the fuzzy summer fruit. During peach season, Georgias roads are habitually lined with farm stands selling fresh produce and peach-branded merchandise.

Notably, while Georgia is known as the Peach State, South Carolina has produced a higher annual peach yield than Georgia since 1984, reports Greenville News. Peach production in California, with agricultural land roughly five times the size of South Carolinas, consistently dwarfs peach production in both eastern states combined, however.

(Illustration  Katherine Welles/Shutterstock)

In summer of 2018, interstate peach rivalry hit fever pitch on social media. A program of Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Grown, took to Twitter to reclaim the title in the name of taste, despite that South Carolina was harvesting a higher volume.

SCDAgriculture says they harvest three times more peaches than GA, Georgia Grown wrote. We say ours are 3 X SWEETER.

South Carolina Department of Agriculture only responded with a sassy comeback: Bless your heart, @GeorgiaGrown.

While the contest for the fuzzy fruit title may persist, at least peach farmers in both states can take comfort in bountiful 2020 harvests despite all the year has thrown at them so far.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
Dog owners considering letting their pets take a dip in the Charles River this summer should think again.

The Charles River Watershed Association issued an advisory Thursday warning of cyanobacteria, a toxic blue-green algae, in parts of the river in Greater Boston.

The associations water quality model found the harmful algae in locations between the Museum of Science in Boston and the Harvard Bridge.

Public health officials recommend that people and pets avoid contact in areas of algae concentration and rinse thoroughly in the event of contact, the CRWAs advisory said.

Boaters should avoid contact with water as well, the association warned in a tweet.

**BREAKING**

We are officially issuing a public health advisory for toxic blue-green algae found at sites from the Mass Ave Bridge to the Museum of Science. Boaters should avoid contact with water. Do not let your dogs swim in this area, cyanobacteria blooms are toxic to pets pic.twitter.com/7bMTPzWj0y  Charles River Watershed Association (@charlesriver) June 25, 2020

Red flags are being flown at four locations, including the Charles River Yacht Club in Cambridge, the Union Boat Club in Boston, the nonprofit Community Boating, Inc. in Boston and Paddle Boston, a boat rental business in Kendall Square.

The CRWA said its water quality models are predicting blue flags for all other boathouses.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health will sample water from the river again when algae bloom is no longer evident, according to the CRWA. The department requires at least two samples, conducted one week apart from each other, before rescinding an advisory.

The agency recommends that members of the public and animals keep away from large concentrations of the algae. Cyanobacteria can form near embankments and in areas where people may be swimming or engaging in other recreational activities.

They can also move around in the water body and grow quickly, making management of them difficult, the public health department said. Exposure to high levels of cells and toxins is dangerous, and the more serious published reports of acute health effects from cyanobacteria typically involves exposure to dense blooms and scums.
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Linkedin Made Anthony Iswara (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 11:34 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661d59a5 1 National drug-abuse,UNODC,society,crime,Southeast-Asia,Golden-Triangle,trafficking,Indonesia,COVID-19 Free

The pandemic could change the future of the drug market for the worse, warns the annual United Nations report on drug use and intervention recommendations.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report 2020, published on June 25, shows that the health crisis and attendant economic downturn could lead to greater vulnerability among the poor and disadvantaged to drug use and the illicit drug trade.

"The impact of the COVID-10 pandemic [on drug markets] is unknown and hard to predict, but it could be far-reaching," the UNODC cautions in its executive summary, which compares the pandemic's potential impact to that of the 2008 financial crisis.

COVID-19 is going to leave youths jobless. If people are losing jobs, they are more vulnerable to organized crime, [...] illicit trafficking, and being dragged into an illicit economy. Because joblessness and poverty put a lot of pressure on people, UNODC executive director Ghada Fathi Waly said at a teleconference on Thursday.

Published to coincide with June 26, the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the report is a wake-up call for many countries. It urges them to continue to clamp down on the illicit drug trade within their borders and to continue providing prevention and rehabilitation programs during the pandemic.

According to UNODC data, the world had an estimated 269 million drug users in 2018, or 5.3 percent of the global population and an increase from the 210 million users recorded in 2009. Adolescents and young adults comprised the largest proportion of drug users.

On the supply side, COVID-19 restrictions on movement could force producers "to seek out new ways to manufacture drugs" and traffickers to find new routes and methods, said the UNODC.

"Border and other restrictions linked to the pandemic have already caused shortages of drugs on the street, leading to increased prices and reduced purity," it said in the press release accompanying the report's publication.

Countries have already reported drug shortages, which could have negative health consequences for people with drug use disorders as they search for more harmful alternatives while treatment services are hobbled during lockdowns.

But the measures implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are having a mixed impact on drug trafficking in different regions.

In Southeast Asia, COVID-19 restrictions had less impact on drug trafficking, as the regions most widely consumed drug, methamphetamine, was locally produced and used, UNODC statistics and survey chief Angela Me said during the teleconference.

Read also: Crystal meth now cheaper, 'stronger' in Indonesia as drug busts rise: UN report

In Indonesia, disruption to the illicit supply chain due to COVID-19 had forced some users to switch to other drugs, while others had started to produce their own low-quality, high-risk alternative drugs, said National Narcotics Agency (BNN) head Heru Winarko.

Heru told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, however, that the agency was not facing any significant hurdles in tackling drug abuse and trafficking during the health crisis, thanks to its many partnerships.

For example, it has partnered with ride-hailing companies Gojek and Grab on gathering information regarding any suspicious deliveries, particularly as online deliveries have been on the rise as air and sea transportation tighten their surveillance during the pandemic.

It is also working with other countries in exchanging information on drug trafficking and conducting joint operations.

Cross-border cooperation is vital, since Asia is home to the Golden Triangle (Laos, Thailand and Myanmar) and the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan), two centers of illicit drug production.

To mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse, BNN is launching on Friday an online portal for one-stop BNN services, which includes facilities to report drug abuse and obtain legal consultations and drug tests.

Drugs are not an option for healing. Stay away from drugs, urged Heru, who also expressed his optimism that the number of drug users would not rise during the epidemic.

Equal treatment: Drug convict Tri Retno "Nunung" Prayudati cries while her husband July Jan Sambiran holds her, during a press conference on July 22, 2019 at the Jakarta Police headquarters. Nunung was found guilty of drug abuse in November and sentenced to 1.5 years in rehabilitation. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)

Indonesia has some of the toughest drug laws in Southeast Asia, as it is the region's largest market for narcotics. It is also a strategic transit country for drug traffickers due to its proximity to the Golden Triangle and foreign markets like Australia.

Because drug use and trafficking is regarded as both a criminal and moral issue, the Indonesian judiciary and law enforcement have extensive public and government support for taking a harsh punitive approach, even though this has earned the country wide criticism over its human rights violations.

Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics, which carries the death penalty, maintains the criminalization of drug use and makes little distinction between drug traffickers and drug users.

Read also: Imprisonment does more harm than good for drug users

Rights organizations have long lambasted criminal punishment for drug use, especially for medicinal purposes, as they deem the measure ineffective in combating drug abuse and trafficking.

In one recent case, the Kupang District Court in East Nusa Tenggara sentenced Reyndhart Rossy Siahaan to 10 months in prison for using cannabis as an alternative medicine to treat spinal cord compression.

As with the UNODC report, program manager Bambang Sulistyo of AKSI Keadilan, which provides support for drug users, expected that increased stress during the epidemic and its impacts would likely cause a spike in drug use, particularly as drugs were still available in the domestic black market and the nation's prisons.

Bambang called the government to take control of the supply chain and legalize drugs for medicinal and recreational purposes with strict conditions, as criminalizing drug use would only burden the country's overcrowded prisons.

"We hope that as the authorities commemorate the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, they will also try to look through other lenses," said Bambang.

"They never see how mothers cry their hearts out and sell everything they can to keep their child out of prison. They never see the children whose fathers are in jail [for drugs]. They never see the women who are left on their own [because] their husbands are in prison," he said.
The government has pledged to find a permanent solution to the perennial fires in Nairobis Gikomba Market after another inferno left traders counting losses Thursday.

The morning fire razed down the markets cereals and second-hand cloth sections, with President Kenyatta directing the Interior Ministry and Nairobi Metropolitan Services to probe the incident.

Responding to Uhurus order, Interior PS Karanja Kibicho, NMS Director General Major Mohammed Badi, Housing PS Charles Hinga, and Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan Abdi visited the scene and hosted leaders from Gikomba Market after assessing the damage caused by the fire incident.

We shall work with the Police Service, intelligence agencies, residents, leaders and business people of Gikomba to arrest and prosecute the culprits behind the frequent arson attacks in the market, said PS Kibicho.

We in government do not believe these fires are natural. We believe that there are some people who think that by displacing the business people here they will have an opportunity to develop this land on selfish grounds, he added.

We hear that some people had made social media posts predicting that this fire would occur. We have opened a desk at Nyayo House, 5th floor. All this information including the intelligence we have received from business people here will not be in vain. I know such promises have been made before but we want you to test us this time around, said the PS.

The Interior Ministry further outlined some of the measures it will take to solve the frequent arson attacks and congestion in Gikomba Market.

The Government will in approximately three months time install high mast CCTV security cameras, a perimeter wall, a borehole, a 100,000-litre water tank, and solid waste management and drainage system, the Ministry tweeted.

PS Kibicho also said the government would compensate traders who lost goods in the fire.

The 399 households affected by the Gikomba Market fire will receive Govt support. We have also asked the @NPSOfficial_KE, the NMS & @SafaricomPLC to work together to install CCTV security cameras, tweeted Kibicho.
A former bar manager at the legendary Rainbow Bar & Grill in West Hollywood has jumped to the defense of accused sex predator Ron Jeremy, saying: 'Yes he's a groper but he's no rapist.'

Eliot Preschutti, 46, ran the famous rock bar on the Sunset Strip for two years from 2017-2019 and claims Jeremy came in four nights a week without fail.

He said he spent hours with the adult star and witnessed first hand how he was mobbed by dozens of female fans almost every night.

Jeremy was charged with forcibly raping three women and sexually assaulting another in separate incidents dating back to 2014, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced Tuesday.

Eliot Preschutti, 46, was the bar manager at the legendary Rainbow Bar & Grill in West Hollywood where porn star Ron Jeremy would frequent. The men are pictured together at the bar

The star was charged with three counts each of forcible rape and forcible penetration by a foreign object and one count each of forcible oral copulation and sexual battery.

Preschutti believes Jeremy - nicknamed The Hedgehog - has been wrongly accused by women who want to make a name for themselves.

'I saw all the people that come toward him, the people that flock around him,' he said.

Preschutti ran the famous rock bar on the Sunset Strip for two years from 2017-2019 and claims Jeremy came in four nights a week without fail

'I know him a lot more than most people do and while I can't speak for any of the situations that he's being accused of, I would just assume it's just another transparent attempt to take him down.

'I'm not his best friend, but I've had hours and hours of conversation with him and seven to eight hours, four times a week watching his behavior.

'I've seen the guy in action, he just doesn't need to do this, to rape women. There's plenty of women making themselves available to him.

'Yes he's a groper, he has admitted that himself. He will grab a girl's ass if they want a picture with him because he's a porn star and he will put his mouth near their boob and try to make a funny picture for them to go show their friends, again because he's a porn star.

'The same way when you get a picture with a boxer, they're going to pretend to punch you in the jaw.'

Jeremy stands accused of forcibly raping a 25-year-old woman at a home in West Hollywood in May, 2014.

He also is charged with allegedly sexually assaulting two women, ages 33 and 46, on separate occasions at a West Hollywood bar in 2017, as well as forcibly raping a 30-year-old woman at the same bar in July 2019.

It's not clear at which bar the alleged incidents took place, but Jeremy was a regular at the Rainbow.

Preschutti cites one incident in the bar when a woman 'falsely' accused Jeremy of attempted rape.

He said the woman came into the bar around a year ago and was talking to Jeremy when she followed him to the back.

Preschutti claims he witnessed the sequence of events and says the woman came running out screaming: 'He just tried to rape me'.

He recalled: 'I was in the kitchen the whole time and Ron came in the back and some woman, a black woman - she was heavier and not very attractive - was following him into the back area.

'She was all over him, this and that. And I walked by and I was like "oh, there's another girl all over Ron".

'Then I heard all this commotion. And I went out and it turns out that she was going, "he's trying to rape me, he's trying to rape me". And then the woman runs out and she's got her boyfriend with a camera standing outside of the area videotaping.

'And she jumps around in an absolute transparent attempt to maybe extort money or get a lawsuit or get attention, I don't know, but it was a lie, it was pathetic. He did not try to rape that girl.'

Jeremy was on Tuesday charged with raping three women and sexually assaulting another. He is pictured appearing in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles

Jeremy is pictured being led by a guard in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles during his arraignment

Preschutti claims the boyfriend called the police but he says the attending officers quickly realized the woman was acting crazy and it's understood no action was taken.

DailyMail.com has been unable to verify the claim, however, and the LAPD has in the past investigated very similar allegations.

Preschutti believes Jeremy was targeted.

'You know this kind of thing happens in Los Angeles a lot, especially now with social media, you've got these losers that are desperate, that do stuff like this,' he said.

The former bar manager also doubts whether the 67-year-old 5ft 6in overweight porn star would have the physical strength to carry out a forcible rape.

'First of all, he's almost 70-years-old and can't even hold up his arms. My little sister can wiggle out of his grasp,' he said.

''He's not strong enough to rape a woman. And secondly he gets enough action that he doesn't need to go chasing down girls.

'He actually has the most beautiful girls in the world coming and sitting on his lap and fighting over that lap.'

He added: 'And here's the weird thing that a lot of people don't understand. The guy has narcolepsy. He would sit on a stool at the bar and then would nod off for like a half an hour and then sit up. He doesn't drink, he doesn't do drugs, but everyone would presume he was sat at the bar wasted.'

The former bar manager said he spent hours with Jeremy and witnessed first hand how he was mobbed by dozens of female fans each night

It's not clear at which bar the alleged incidents took place, but Jeremy was a regular at the Rainbow Bar and Grill in West Hollywood

Preschutti, who left the Rainbow in September last year to pursue screenwriting work, says Jeremy would hang out on the front patio of the bar and regularly had long conversations with the bar manager.

'We'd talk and he was just a really intelligent, sweet guy,' Preschutti said. 'Everybody knew him, all the bartenders knew him, he'd sit at the bar at the end of the night eating cherries.'

And the former bar manager said Jeremy never acted inappropriately with any of his female bar staff.

Preschutti said that fans, mostly tourists, would flock around him though.

'It was mostly guys. They'd be like, "no way Ron Jeremy", and they would run over and get pictures. He'd give thumbs up. Then their girlfriends wanted pictures.

'The girls would be like, "Oh my God, he grabbed my butt". And Ron goes, "well, I asked her boyfriend". But it was all taken in fun.

'But that's what he does, that's his schtick. In a way it's expected and it has been expected for 20 years. And then all of a sudden things have changed.'

Then there would be the groups of female fans.

Preschutti said he found it hilarious how Jeremy managed to attract such beautiful women, who pored all over him.

'The guy doesn't even shower, he doesn't lift his feet when he walks, he wears sweatpants, Crocs and a dirty shirt with a Mickey Mouse on it. It was impossible for me to believe that these girls were all over him, but they were,' he said.

'Some of the girls would request for a glimpse of his penis but he never pulled it out.

'He would grab butts, he is a groper. I never saw him bite a breast, he would open up his mouth and put it near one for the camera, he is an actor.

'I don't condone that behavior, but I don't vilify it either, that was between him and his fans.'

He added: 'It's not like he was running around like a predator. He was just basically touching the meteors that came his way. And it's as simple as that from what I saw.

'Honestly, any sane man would dismiss such allegations with contempt, especially when it's four five years ago.

'All they're going to do is ruin his life and I feel sorry for him, he doesn't deserve this.'

Stuart Goldfarb, left, defense attorney for the adult film star, addressed the media after Jeremy's arraignment at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Cente

In 2018 it was reported that the Los Angeles District Attorney was reviewing a sexual battery case against Jeremy over an alleged groping incident at the Rainbow.

A woman claimed Jeremy followed her into the bar bathroom in December and groped her.

More than a dozen women accused Jeremy of sexual assault spanning three decades in a Rolling Stone article in December, 2017.

One actress claimed Jeremy raped her twice in December 1997, while others accused him of assaulting them at conventions.

Jeremy threatened to sue anyone who accused him of rape and released a statement defending himself.

'As for the charges of Groping, I say yes, I AM A GROPER. And by groper, I mean I get paid to show up to these shows, events, and photo shoots and touch the people and they touch me. I'm not the young stud I was, but I still draw a crowd. And we are talking about things that are within reason, in front of police officer's and security that are always there as well as the tons of cameras and the general public,' he said in the statement.

'But seriously, if you were going to be around Ron Jeremy, wouldn't you assume that I'd be a little bit touchy feely? Yes. This is what I do for a living. I am not Kevin Spacey, Louis CK, Weinstein or Cosby.'
A prominent Texas official says an irate man smacked his hand when he tried to persuade the man to don a face covering Wednesday.

The man was berating a cashier at a Lowe's home improvement store in the San Antonio area for requiring him to wear a mask, when Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff intervened, a Wolff spokeswoman said.

Following the incident, a 47-year-old Texas man - Terry Toller - turned himself in to the Bexar County Sheriff's office the day after he was accused of striking the Judge.

Toller was taken into custody on a charge of assault on a public servant, but prosecutors dropped the felony at Wolff's request and instead cited Toller for using profanity in a public place, said Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales.

Toller could be fined up to $500, if he's convicted of the low-level misdemeanor.

Nico LaHood, Toller's lawyer, said his client was not yelling at the cashier and never touched Wolff. 'This case was extremely overblown,' he said.

Toller was released less than three hours after he turned himself in and was not booked into jail, a sheriff's spokeswoman said.

Bexar County Judge Nelson W. Wolff, takes part in a news conference in San Antonio in this April 22, 2009 file photo. Bexar, a prominent Texas judge says an irate man smacked his hand when he tried to persuade the man to don a face covering Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Heres video of the mask requirement incident Wednesday afternoon involving Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff at Lowes on IH 10 at Callaghan. pic.twitter.com/OAJEMvewdz  550 KTSA (@ktsanews) June 24, 2020

His confrontation with Wolff, the county's top executive, came after the judge ordered businesses to require face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19. The order comes with a possible fine of $1,000 per violation.

Security camera footage of the Wednesday incident shows Toller swat a proffered business card out of Wolff's hand as the two men are at the store's checkout.

There is no audio with the footage, but LaHood said Toller's calm demeanor as he can be seen placing items by the register shows he was not berating the cashier.

Wolff said in a statement that he told the district attorney he did not want to pursue criminal charges against Toller as it might draw focus from efforts to address the drastic rise in hospitalizations and cases of the new coronavirus.

'We do not need any distractions from our mission to make sure this virus does not continue to spread within our community,' he said.

During the incident, Wolff phoned Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar so he could hear the exchange.

Pictured: Bexar County Sheriff's Office, where a 47-year-old Texas man - Terry Toller - turned himself in after allegedly smacking the hand of a judge during a row

'It was one-sided, certainly,' Salazar said on Wednesday, adding that the man 'was just berating the judge. Language that you wouldn't want anyone, you certainly wouldn't want your wife or your children hearing that kind of language in broad daylight, not in a retail establishment.

'He was certainly berating the judge and what he thought of the law,' he added.

Wolff offered the man his business card and asked him to call, Salazar said. The man smacked the card out of Wolffs hand and left.

Wolff followed him outside, got his license plate number and turned it over to Salazar.

'Well, we'll see what he thinks of the assault charge he's going to catch,' Salazar said on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Texas governor Greg Abbott halted elective surgeries in the state's biggest counties and said he would 'pause' it's aggressive economic reopening statewide.

Texas has reported more than 17,000 new cases in the last three days with a record high 5,996 on Thursday. The state has seen a doubling of the infection rate to more than 10%.
Number of new cases is highest since May 30, way above daily average of 498 seen over the last seven days.

France has reported more than 1,500 new confirmed novel coronavirus cases, an increase unseen since May 30.

Sixteen NBA players have tested positive for the new coronavirus in the first wave of mandatory tests as the league restart approaches.

United States Vice President Mike Pence has said that 16 states are seeing an increase in cases of the novel coronavirus.

More than 9.6 million people around the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while nearly 4.8 million have recovered, and more than 489,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Here are the latest updates:

Friday, June 26

20:30 GMT  Mexican economy suffers record contraction amid pandemic

Mexicos economy shrank by a record 17 percent during April as the coronavirus lockdown devastated economic activity, official data showed, and recovery is expected to be a long, hard slog with new infections still surging.

With factories closed, manufacturing took a big hit. So did hotels, restaurants and retail as consumers stayed home.

Adjusted for seasonal swings, Latin Americas second-biggest economy contracted 17.3 percent from March, the biggest fall since modern data began being published in early 1993, according to figures put out by national statistics agency INEGI.

20:00 GMT  Costa Rica to accept tourists from countries with virus under control

Costa Rica will will open its international airports on August 1 to tourists from countries that have controlled transmission of coronavirus, Health Minister Daniel Salas said.

Starting from this weekend, Costa Rica will also open more public spaces such as cinemas, shopping centres and beaches in most of the country, Salas said.

19:45 GMT  Key US medical group adds steroids to treatment guidelines

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has updated its treatment guidelines to include generic steroid pills for patients hospitalised with severe COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The only other drug the medical group recommends for COVID-19 patients outside of a clinical trial is remdesivir, the intravenous antiviral medication made by Gilead Sciences Inc.

The IDSA late said its change was based on recent data from a United Kingdom study showing that a low-cost and widely used steroid called dexamethasone reduced death rates by around a third among the most severely ill hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

19:10 GMT  Coronavirus traces found in March 2019 sewage sample in Spain

Spanish virologists have found traces of the novel coronavirus in a sample of Barcelona waste water collected in March 2019, nine months before the COVID-19 disease was identified in China, the University of Barcelona said.

The discovery of virus genome presence so early in Spain, if confirmed, would imply the disease may have appeared much earlier than the scientific community thought.

The University of Barcelona team, who had been testing waste water since mid-April this year to identify potential new outbreaks, decided to also run tests on older samples.

18:40 GMT  South Africa to reopen casinos and cinemas

South Africa will allow casinos and cinemas to reopen and restaurants to resume sit-down meals on Monday in a further easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions despite a sharp rise in infections.

The country began easing restrictions put in place in March last month and at the beginning of June allowed people outside for work, worship, exercise or shopping, and let mines and factories to run at full capacity to try to revive the economy.

It has recorded 118,375 infections of the highly contagious respiratory disease and 2,292 deaths and daily case numbers rose by more than 6,500 on Thursday after fewer than 1,000 in April.

South Africa has recorded 118,375 infections of the new coronavirus so far [Reuters]

18:10 GMT  France reports more than 1,500 new coronavirus cases

France reported more than 1,500 new confirmed novel coronavirus cases, a spike unseen since May 30, while the number of additional fatalities linked to the virus rose by the highest amount in three days.

French health authorities said in a statement the total of newly confirmed infections rose by 1,588, way above both the daily average of 498 seen over the last seven days and the 430 daily average since the beginning of June.

The number of people who died from the disease increased by 26 to 29,778, compared to 21 on Thursday and 11 on Wednesday and an average of 19 over the past seven days.

The number of people who died from COVID-19 in France was 29,778 as of Friday [Reuters]

17:30 GMT  White House scales back practice of taking temperatures of visitors

The White House cut back on temperature checks for visitors amid the coronavirus pandemic but said anyone in close proximity with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence would still be checked for the virus.

White House spokesman Judd Deere said the decision was prompted by the city of Washington entering the second phase of its reopening, which allows for more activity.

In conjunction with Washington, DC entering Phase Two today, the White House is scaling back complex-wide temperature checks, Deere said.

17:00 GMT  Pence says 16 US states seeing increase in coronavirus cases

United States Vice President Mike Pence said 16 states are seeing an increase in cases of the novel coronavirus, with new cases concentrated in certain areas, while 34 are showing a measure of stabilising.

At the first US coronavirus task force briefing in months, Pence said the US government is focused on rising cases in the South and called on Americans to embrace social distancing to minimise the spread of the deadly respiratory disease.

Pence called on Americans to embrace social distancing to minimise the spread of the virus [File: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]

16:30 GMT  Microsoft to close physical stores, take $450m hit

Microsoft Corp said it would close its retail stores and take a related pretax asset impairment charge of $450m in the current quarter.

The Redmond, Washington-based software giant said it would continue to serve customers online, with team members working remotely from corporate facilities.

15:45 GMT  Sixteen NBA players test positive as league restart nears

The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association said that 16 players tested positive for coronavirus in the first wave of mandatory tests done in preparation for the restart of the season.

Those 16 players were part of a pool of 302 tested on Tuesday. Tests continue for all 22 teams that will be participating in the restart at the Disney campus near Orlando, Florida, next month.

The player names were not disclosed. However, some players, such as Malcolm Brogdon of Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings teammates Jabari Parker and Alex Len have publicly acknowledged they have tested positive.

The league and the union say that any player who tested positive will remain in self-isolation until he satisfies public health protocols for discontinuing isolation and has been cleared by a physician.

Malcolm Brogdon of Indiana Pacers has publicly disclosed the tested positive for coronavirus [Reuters]

15:15 GMT  Texas governor orders bars to close amid surge in virus cases

Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the closure of all bars that get 51 percent of their gross receipts from alcohol, and the curbing of other business activity due to surging cases of the novel coronavirus in the state.

Abbott also said rafting and tubing outfitters on Texass popular rivers must close and that outdoor gatherings of 100 people or more must be approved by local governments.

At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars, Abbott said. The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health. He did not say when bars might reopen again.

Texas has reported more than 17,000 confirmed new cases in the last three days with record high positive tests of 5,996 on Thursday.

Governor Greg Abbott did not say when bars might reopen again [ File: Eric Gay/AP]

14:45 GMT  Brazil university in talks to test Italian coronavirus vaccine

The Federal University of Sao Paulo (Unifesp) is in talks to test a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Italian researchers, the dean of the Brazilian university told the Reuters news agency.

We are already in advanced discussions with Italys Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute, Unifesp President Soraya Smaili said in an interview. We expect to bring it here, the accord is already moving forward and well be able to do a lot of studies with this vaccine.

The Italian researchers want to conduct mid-stage trials and final Phase III studies involving thousands of subjects in Brazil, Smaili said.

14:30 GMT  IMFs Georgieva: Virus crisis could ultimately test IMF resources

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that the global economic crisis spurred by the coronavirus could ultimately test the funds one trillion dollars in resources, but we are not there yet.

Georgieva told the Reuters news agency that it was now clear that recovery from global business and travel lockdowns would have to get under way amid the widespread presence of the virus, and that IMF member countries were standing by to provide more support to the fund if necessary.

Georgieva says IMF member countries are ready to provide more support to the fund if necessary [Remo Casilli/Reuters]

14:00 GMT  Astrazeneca most advanced in COVID-19 vaccine race: WHO

AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine candidate is probably the worlds leading candidate and most advanced in terms of development, the World Health Organizations chief scientist said.

Soumya Swaminathan said that Modernas COVID-19 vaccine candidate was also not far behind AstraZenecas, among more than 200 candidates, 15 of which have entered clinical trials.

The WHO is in talks with multiple Chinese manufacturers, including Sinovac, on potential vaccines, she said.

Swaminathan, speaking to a news briefing, called for considering collaborating on COVID-19 vaccine trials, similar to the WHOs ongoing Solidarity trial for drugs.

13:40 GMT  American Airlines to stop limiting seat capacity

American Airlines said on Friday it would stop limiting the number of seats it sells on each flight from July 1.

The US carrier also said tickets for travel through September 30 would not incur change fees prior to travel.

Hello, this is Umut Uras in Doha taking over from my colleague Zaheena Rasheed.

12:32 GMT  Ivanisevic, the coach of Djokovic, tests positive for virus

Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, who now coaches Novak Djokovic and attended the top-ranked players exhibition series in Serbia and Croatia, said he has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Croatian great, who won his only Grand Slam title at the All England Club in 2001, wrote on Instagram that he tested positive after two negative tests in the last 10 days.

Ivanisevic, who said he has no symptoms, attended the Adria Tour exhibition series, a charity event hosted by Djokovic in Belgrade and at the Adriatic resort of Zadar in Croatia.

Four players from those events, including Djokovic and his wife, have said they have the virus. Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki all said they also have it.

11:20 GMT  Beijing eases lockdown as mass testing gathers pace

Beijing has partially lifted a weeks-long lockdown imposed in the Chinese capital to head off a feared second wave of coronavirus infections after three million samples were taken in two weeks, officials said.

Dozens of residential compounds across the city were shut down, with authorities rolling out a mass testing campaign to root out any remaining cases.

China is trying to contain the outbreak linked to the Xinfadi wholesale food market, Beijings biggest supplier of produce and meat [Getty Images]

The lockdown was eased on Tuesday for seven apartment blocks after residents tested negative for the virus, officials said at a Friday briefing. The remaining blocks are still in lockdown.

Eleven new virus cases across Beijing were announced on Friday, bringing the total number of infections in the capital since the June 11 outbreak to 280.

10:50 GMT  Indias cases spike again to near half-million

India neared half a million confirmed coronavirus cases with its biggest 24-hour spike of 17,296 new infections, prompting a delay in resumption of regular train services of more than a month.

The new cases took Indias total to 490,401. The Health Ministry also reported 407 more deaths in the previous 24 hours, taking its total fatalities to 15,301.

The ministry said the recovery rate was continuing to improve at 57.43%. Also, deaths per 100,000 stood at 1.86 against the world average of 6.24 per 100,000, it said.





Indian Railways was due to resume regular train service on June 30 but said Thursday that it wouldnt fully resume until August 12.

Trains were halted when the government declared a nationwide lockdown in late March. Special trains linking main cities have been running since mid-May as part of an easing of the lockdown.

09:35 GMT  Record rise in virus cases as Ukraine warns of serious wave

Ukraine reported a record daily increase in coronavirus cases as authorities warned lockdowns may have to be re-imposed if people continued to flout restrictions.





Health authorities recorded 1,109 new coronavirus infections in the previous 24 hours, bringing Ukraines total to more than 41,000.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly complained that people are ignoring social distancing and other safety rules after anti-virus restrictions were eased last month.

09:00  GMT  Indonesia reports 1,240 new coronavirus cases

Indonesia reported 1,240 new coronavirus infections, taking the total number of cases to 51,427.

There were 63 more deaths recorded, with total fatalities now at 2,683, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.

The death toll from COVID-19 in Indonesia is the highest in East Asia outside of China.

08:15 GMT  Vietnam PM warns of economic calamity at ASEAN summit

Vietnam warned the virus pandemic had swept away years of economic gains as Southeast Asian leaders met online for a summit also dominated by anxiety over Beijings moves in the flashpoint South China Sea.

It has swept away the successes of recent years threatening the lives of millions of people, Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a sobering opening address.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (C) addresses The 36th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit video conference [Reuters]

He emphasised the serious consequences of the pandemic for economic development among ASEANS members.

ASEAN General Secretary Lim Jock Hoi confirmed the bleak outlook, warning the regions economy is expected to contract for the first time in 22 years.

08:12 GMT  Russia reports lowest daily rise in cases since late April

Russia on Friday reported 6,800 new coronavirus cases, the first daily rise below 7,000 since late April, taking its nationwide tally to 620,794.

The countrys coronavirus response centre said 176 people had died of the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 8,781.

07:50 GMT  How the coronavirus crisis exposes Indias social inequalities

Under Indias healthcare system, everyone should be able to receive either free or highly subsidised care at those public hospitals depending on their income.

But the system has been chronically underfunded, meaning government hospitals are overburdened and patients often face days-long waits for even basic treatments.

Read more here

06:53 GMT  Australia gets second wave of toilet paper hoarding

Australias supermarket chains reintroduced purchase limits on toilet paper and other household items as a spike in coronavirus cases in the state of Victoria set off a fresh round of panic-buying over fears of a new stay-at-home order.





Woolworths Group Ltd and Coles Group Ltd, which together account for two-thirds of Australian grocery sales, said they were once again limiting purchases of toilet paper and paper towels to one or two packs per person after photos circulated on social media showing empty shelves in stores.

With only 7,500 cases in total and 104 deaths, Australia has been easing restrictions on movement, but a string of double-digit increases in cases in the second-most populous state, Victoria, led to a pause in the reopening there  and prompted shoppers to hoard.

06:44 GMT  Pakistans coronavirus testing continue to fall

Testing has continued to fall in Pakistan, one of the countrys with the fastest rates of growth of the coronavirus.

On Thursday, Pakistan tested 21,041 patients, of whom 2,775 tested positive, a test-positive rate of 13 percent. Pakistans countrywide tally of cases rose to 195,745 cases on Thursday, with 59 deaths taking the death toll to 4,037.

Sindh and Punjab provinces, the countrys two most populous regions, appear to be the main areas where testing has dropped, according to government data.

Testing in Sindh has roughly halved over the course of this week to 6,458 tests, while in Punjab testing remains at a level more than 2,000 tests below its peak.

05:49 GMT  Millions of Yemeni children may starve amid pandemic

Millions of children could be pushed to the brink of starvation as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps across war-torn Yemen amid a huge drop in humanitarian aid funding, the UN childrens agency warned.

The stark prediction comes in a new UNICEF report, Yemen five years on: Children, conflict and COVID-19. It said the number of malnourished Yemeni children could reach 2.4 million by the end of the year, a 20 percent increase in the current figure.

As Yemens devastated health system and infrastructure struggle to cope with coronavirus, the already dire situation for children is likely to deteriorate considerably, UNICEF warned.

If we do not receive urgent funding, children will be pushed to the brink of starvation and many will die, said Sara Beysolow Nyanti, UNICEFs representative to Yemen. The international community will be sending a message that the lives of children  simply do not matter.





05:40 GMT  Severe COVID-19 can damage the brain, preliminary study finds

A preliminary study of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 has found the disease can damage the brain, causing complications such as stroke, inflammation, psychosis and dementia-like symptoms in some severe cases.

The findings, published in the Lancet Psychiatry journal on Thursday, are the first detailed look at a range of neurological complications of COVID-19, the researchers said, and underline a need for larger studies to find the mechanisms behind them and assist the search for treatments.

This (is) an important snapshot of the brain-related complications of COVID-19 in hospitalised patients. It is critically important that we continue to collect this information to really understand this virus fully, said Sarah Pett, a University College London professor who co-led the work.

The study looked in detail at 125 cases from across the UK.

05:28 GMT  Indias cases spike again to near half-million

India neared half a million coronavirus cases on Friday, recording its biggest 24-hour spike with 17,296 new infections.

The cases took Indias total to 490,401. The health ministry also reported another 407 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 15,301.

Indian Railways was due to resume regular train services on June 30 but said on Thursday that services would not fully resume until August 12. Special trains linking main cities have been running since mid-May as part of the easing of the lockdown.

Supporters of opposition Congress party wearing protective gear attend a protest in Kolkata demanding better treatment for people infected with the coronavirus disease [Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters]

05:19 GMT  Vietnam warns of economic calamity at ASEAN summit

Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc warned the pandemic had swept away years of economic gains as Southeast Asian leaders met online to discuss a regional emergency fund to tackle the crisis.

In a sobering opening address, Phuc emphasised the serious consequences of the pandemic for economic development among ASEANS members, saying: It has swept away the successes of recent years  threatening the lives of millions of people.

A high-priority project for Fridays summit is the establishment of an ASEAN COVID-19 response fund, which could be used to help member states purchase medical supplies and protective suits. Thailand has pledged to contribute $100,000.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc addresses The 36th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit video conference [Luong Thai Linh/Pool via Reuters]

04:16 GMT  China posts a further decline in infections

China reported a further decline in newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Friday, with 13 cases.

Eleven were in Beijing, where mass testing has been carried out following an outbreak that appears to have been largely brought under control.

The other two cases were brought by Chinese travellers from overseas, according to the National Health Council.

03:39 GMT  US sets one-day record for COVID-19 cases

The number of US coronavirus infections rose by at least 39,818 cases at the end of Thursday, according to a Reuters news agency tally, marking the biggest daily increase in the country since the start of the pandemic.

Several states across the US have reported record rises in cases this week, including Texas, Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming.

More than 36,000 new cases were recorded nationwide on Wednesday, a few hundred shy of the record 36,426 on April 24.

Tubers prepare to float the Comal River in Texas despite a recent spike in COVID-19 cases [Eric Gay/ AP]

02:55 GMT  US sent $1.4bn in relief payments to dead people

Nearly 1.1 million coronavirus relief payments totalling some $1.4bn went to dead people in the United States, according to a new government watchdog study.

The finding came in a Government Accountability Office report that reviewed payments from a $2.4 trillion coronavirus relief package enacted in March. The erroneous payments were made because of confusion over whether dead people should receive payments, the report said.

While the government has asked survivors to return the money, it is not clear whether they have to.

01:47 GMT  Mexico passes 25,000 coronavirus deaths

Mexico pushed past 25,000 reported coronavirus deaths and 200,000 confirmed cases on Thursday, as the finance minister said he tested positive and would self-isolate while working from home.

The Health Department reported 6,104 newly confirmed infections, one of the highest 24-hour counts so far. That brought the countrys confirmed cases to 202,951. Deaths increased by 736, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 25,060.

Mexicos Finance Ministry said it has initiated epidemiological contact tracing after Finance Minister Arturo Herrera tested positive for the coronavirus.

Herrera said he had only minor symptoms.

Sabina Hernandez Bautista, 59, prepares food in a stall inside Mexico Citys Mercado de San Cosme, where some vendors have put in place their own protective measures against coronavirus while others continue to work without masks or barriers [Rebecca Blackwell/ AP]

01:33 GMT  Nike posts quarterly loss after store closures

Nike lost $790m in the fourth quarter, with soaring digital sales failing to make up for the loss of revenue from shuttered stores in most of the world.

The worlds largest sports apparel maker said its revenue fell 38 percent to $6.31bn in the three-month period ending May 31.

Nike said 90 percent of its stores in North America, Europe and Latin America were closed during the period because of the coronavirus pandemic. Sales fell 46 percent in both North America and Europe, but just 3 percent in China as stores reopened there.

01:25 GMT  WHO warns of very significant resurgence in Europe

Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, the World Health Organization regional director for Europe, expressed concern over a resurgence of coronavirus infections on the continent, saying that last week that Europe saw an increase in weekly cases for the first time in months.

Some 30 countries have seen increases in new cumulative cases over the past two weeks, he said in a statement. In 11 of these countries, accelerated transmission has led to very significant resurgence that if left unchecked will push health systems to the brink once again in Europe.

The WHO later identified the 11 countries and territories as Armenia, Sweden, Moldova, North Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Kosovo.





00:20 GMT  Europe-wide study shows child virus deaths extremely rare

Fewer than one in a hundred children who test positive for COVID-19 end up dying, though a small but significant percentage develop severe illness, according to a new Europe-wide study.

A team of researchers led by experts in the United Kingdom, Austria and Spain looked at the outcomes of 582 children under age 18 who were infected with the new coronavirus, and found more than 60 percent required hospital treatment and 8 percent needed intensive care.

Only four died.

On the other hand, more than 90 children, or 16 percent, showed no symptoms at all.

Marc Tebruegge, from University College Londons Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said that while the results should not be extrapolated for the general population, they were nevertheless reassuring.

The case fatality cohort was very low and it is likely to be substantially lower still, given many children with mild disease would not have been brought to medical attention and therefore not included in this study, he said.

Overall, the vast majority of children and young people experience only mild disease, added Tebruegge, lead author of the study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal.

Nevertheless, a notable number of children do develop severe disease and require intensive care support, said Tebruegge, and this should be accounted for when planning and prioritising healthcare resources as the pandemic progresses.

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Im Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives.

You can find all the key developments from yesterday, June 25, here.
Image: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 will be Samsung's next smartwatch to launch in the market, however, there is currently no confirmation when will it be launched. Right now, what we have are leaks, and the latest comes with renders of the purported watch and details about some of its specifications.The latest lead comes via Evan 'evleaks' Blass The images put out by the tipster show the model number SM-R840 of the device at the back of the dial.The smartwatch will come with a 45 mm stainless steel case and Gorilla Glass DX for display protection. It will sport a 22 mm black leather band and have a rating of 5 ATM for water resistance.Galaxy Watch 3, which is MIL-STD-810G certified, will feature a rotating bezel and two physical buttons on the right side of the screen.The face of the smartwatch will come with an analog design showing weather forecast and battery life. It will also have a heart rate monitor and GPS support.Earlier, it was predicted that Samsung's new watch would be called Galaxy Watch 2. However, the predictions proved to be wrong when a certification filing with Thailand's NBTC revealed that it would be called Galaxy Watch 3.Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is expected to come in four versions ? two in a 41 mm size and the other two in a 45 mm size. It is likely to feature blood pressure monitoring.It is being predicted that the tech giant may launch Galaxy Watch 3 at an event for the Galaxy Note20 series and the Galaxy Fold 2 on 5 August.Original Source:
At least three people have been killed in Glasgow's stabbing, The Sun reported.

Witnesses said they saw at least one man covered in blood after the attack.

A male suspect was reportedly shot by armed cops. According to the BBC, three people are believed to have died in the stabbing.

Downtown Glasgow is cordoned off by police, law enforcement officers continue to work at the scene.
He shot to fame for being Married At First Sight star Jessika Power's brother.

And while plenty of women around Australia may have their eye on the hunky personal trainer, it seems he only has eyes for controversial ex-NRL WAG Arabella Del Busso, 30.

The 28-year-old has been busted liking racy photos of the busty brunette on Instagram.

Like what you see, Rhyce? Jessika Power's brother has been busted liking controversial ex-NRL WAG Arabella Del Busso's racy Instagram posts

On Tuesday, Arabella shared a picture of herself posing in a corridor wearing a revealing black bikini.

'Dream Big... Stay Focused and make it happen,' she captioned the picture.

Eagle-eyed fans immediately noticed that Rhyce had liked the photo.

He approves! On Tuesday, Arabella shared a picture of herself posing in a corridor wearing a revealing black bikini. Eagle-eyed fans immediately noticed that Rhyce had liked the photo

Just two days later, Rhyce was caught liking another snap of the lingerie model on Instagram.

The second picture featured Arabella posing in the same corridor wearing a grey tracksuit that showed of a section of her torso.

'Nothing better than the comfy Monarch tracksuit set by @amytaylorcollection,' she wrote in the caption.

And again! Just two days later, Rhyce was caught liking another snap of the lingerie model on Instagram

In the past Rhyce has been linked to MAFS' star Tamara Joy and he briefly dated Love Island Australia's Vanessa Sierra in 2018.

After they split Vanessa filed for an intervention order banning Rhyce from contacting her again after he allegedly assaulted her on a trip to Thailand.

Rhyce later denied the allegations in a lengthy statement shared on Instagram at the time.

In the past Rhyce has been linked to MAFS' star Tamara Joy and he briefly dated Love Island Australia's Vanessa Sierra in 2018

Arabella is also no stranger to controversy when it comes to her personal life after a tumultuous relationship with NRL star Josh Reynolds.

The former couple had met on Instagram in 2018 and had a one-night stand, after which she claimed she fell pregnant with twins.

Josh announced he was expecting twins by sharing footage of his gender reveal on social media in December 2018, but she later claimed she had miscarried.

The case of the ex: Arabella is also no stranger to controversy when it comes to her personal life after a tumultuous relationship with NRL star Josh Reynolds

Then in March 2019, Arabella claimed she had fallen pregnant a second time, but only weeks later miscarried again.

The couple's heartache was short-lived, and in June she was pregnant for a third time.

But speaking on 60 Minutes last month Josh revealed that his suspicions were once again raised in August that year after Arabella sent him her 12-week ultrasound scans.

The former couple had met on Instagram in 2018 and had a one-night stand, after which she claimed she fell pregnant with twins

'The scan she sent me was off. I went to my mates and showed them and they were like, "Mate, that is not a proper scan",' Josh said.

Arabella claimed she couldn't remember where she'd had the ultrasound done.

When asked on 60 Minutes if the scan actually belonged to her, Arabella clarified: 'No... [I did it] because I was being spiteful.'
Before Memorial Day, the majority of coronavirus cases were found in people 45 and older.

Now, the opposite is true.

People under 45 made up 42% of cases before Memorial Day weekend but 55% of cases reported since then, a new USA TODAY analysis has found.

The trend holds in places where new cases are surging and in those that are not, according to the analysis of data from 25 states and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The rapid growth in coronavirus infections among younger Americans is one factor behind why some states have broken single-day records this week, and it marks a new phase in a U.S. pandemic that first gained widespread attention with a Washington nursing home outbreak in late February and early March.

Although COVID-19 has been known mainly for its impact on seniors, experts said the disease can debilitate patients in young age cohorts as well. And they warned that an expansion in cases among younger people ultimately threatens any vulnerable person with whom they come in contact.

Inevitably, infection will spread, said Stephen Kissler, a postdoctoral researcher and epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. So I think that just because infection is currently mostly spreading in young people is not really a reason to breathe a sigh of relief.

Memorial weekend crowds flocked to Eddy's Bar, part of the Shangri-La resort at Oklahoma's Grand Lake.

A shift toward younger patients also has ramifications for school officials making decisions in coming months about reopenings, from K-12 to college.

Total cases among people younger than 45 have grown nearly twice as fast as for people 65 and older since late May, USA TODAY's analysis of CDC data shows. The younger the age cohort, the more rapid the pace of growth. Had all age groups experienced the same, lower growth rate as seniors, the country would have added 30% fewer new cases over the past month.

More: Young Americans less likely to social distance as coronavirus cases continue to rise, survey says

Experts say the shift toward younger patients to some degree reflects a change in testing practices. States that have ramped up their testing capacity are better able to identify people with less severe symptoms, who tend to be younger. Contact tracing is also turning up more children of infected adults.

Story continues

But in most states, disease trackers say, the data show its not just a matter of increased detection. Children, young adults and middle-aged people are being infected more often than before Memorial Day.

One possible reason: They have moved out of lockdown mode more readily than seniors as businesses reopen.

Tyler Workman, 24, recently traveled from Seattle to visit a friend and her friends sister in Phoenix, where the group went out together a lot, shopping at Nordstrom and eating at restaurants. Just as the trip ended, Workman learned that her friends sister had developed COVID-19.

For me, in Seattle, you don't even see people walking on the street without their masks on. If they see you on the same sidewalk, theyll cross the street, she said. Being in Arizona, younger people werent taking the precautions they should be. Pretty much all the bars were packed.

Arizona is one of the nation's leading coronavirus hotspots.

Some experts speculate that while older Americans have continued to be cautious about exposure and diligent about precautions like wearing masks, younger age groups have been more likely to return to working and to gathering in person without social distancing.

We have clearly not reached that population well, said Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, public health officer for Stanislaus County in California and chairperson of the public health committee of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

More: Remember Lake of the Ozarks party pics? Many other places boomed Memorial Day

Unlike earlier clusters, which often were linked to particular events or workplaces, Vaishampayan said, an increasing number of cases in her county cant be tied to a particular place. People  most of them younger  are simply doing more in the community and often without wearing masks or staying 6 feet apart, so there are multiple opportunities to become infected and to infect others.

Its making it difficult to control and stop spread because its getting overwhelming, she said.

Taking risks

Workman, the Seattle resident who recently traveled, knew it would be a risk when she left to visit her friend Claudia Ligidakis in Los Angeles. And the 24-year-olds also knew they were heading into a coronavirus hot spot when they drove to Phoenix last Thursday to visit Ligidakis family.

Both had been working from home and, for months, had left only to buy groceries or go on a run. Unlike some of their older relatives who believe the coronavirus is a hoax, they have tried to do everything right to stay safe and avoid making others sick.

When they went with Ligidakis family to restaurants and shops that Arizona had allowed to open weeks earlier, they wore masks. At Nordstrom, they were surprised to see other customers refuse workers requests to put on a face covering.

More: In person, online classes or a mix: Colleges' fall 2020 coronavirus reopening plans, detailed

When Workman, Ligidakis and the sister went to a nighttime DJ event to dance for the first time in ages, they were handed a mask at the door but told, We have to pass you this, but you dont have to wear it.

The three women were among the few who actually did cover their faces.

It was really awkward, Workman said.

You look like such a nerd, Ligidakis added, chuckling.

Shortly after returning to L.A. on Monday, Ligidakis learned her sister had gone to the hospital and tested positive for the coronavirus. Her mother, too, tested positive. She doesnt know if they got each other sick or where they became infected. Her father, who usually skips wearing a mask and doesnt try to social-distance, mightve picked it up from work in the wine industry and brought it home.

On Wednesday, the two women were working from Ligidakis home and waiting for their own test results to come back.

More: See case trends and reopening status state-by-state

Workman cant understand why some places in the country are acting so much differently than others. After seeing it for herself, Ligidakis is less surprised that cases are growing in Arizona.

Seattle and L.A. are both pretty hardcore quarantined and Phoenix is really not, she said. It was eye-opening how different they really are.

Link to surges

In addition to national statistics, USA TODAY examined 25 states with published age data available from late May and the past week.

In 18 states with recent increases in new daily case counts, a USA TODAY analysis found that people under 50 comprised 56% to 73% of new infections since late May. Before that, this younger age group accounted for 42% to 65% of all cases.

People under 19 in Arizona accounted for more new cases since Memorial Day than those 65 and older.

The fact were seeing rising numbers along with a higher proportion of tests in some states suggests that, in certain places, it is most likely that there are more infections happening in young people, either through workplace interactions or things opening back up, said Natalie Dean, a biostatistician specializing in infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Florida.

Even in some states where the coronavirus spread has slowed, total cases are growing faster among people younger than 50 than those who are older.

Indiana is among states where daily new cases have declined in recent weeks. Still, a greater share of their positive test results are coming from younger residents. In the last month, the total number of cases has grown by about 50% for people under age 50, but 30% for people older than that.

More: Study indicates 'virus has slowed its spread' in Indiana

A similar trend can be seen in North Dakota, where new case reports are flat. The total number of North Dakota children through middle-age adults who have been infected grew by 43 percent since late May -- compared with 35 percent for people 50 and older.

Deaths and hospitalizations

Nationally, increasing daily case numbers haven't yet translated to an equally large spike in deaths.

That could be because more cases are among people with less risk for severe symptoms. It might also be because there is a delay between when people test positive and when their cases become acute.

They may be there weeks or even months before they die, said Dr. Preeti Malani, chief health officer for the University of Michigan and a professor of infectious diseases. Even if they survive, theyre left with a lot of debilitating conditions.  A lot of younger people are not hospitalized, but theyre also not working. Theyre at home and have prolonged recoveries.

According to CDC data from 14 states, hospitalizations for people under 50 and older have been declining, but the younger group are a growing share of COVID-19 patients filling beds. The data do not cover some surging states such as Texas, where state records show an increase in hospitalizations. The CDC also notes that its hospital counts are subject to lags in reporting.

A nurse with a COVID-19 patient on a ventilator at Connecticut's Stamford Hospital on April 24.

Infectious disease experts cautioned its only a matter of time before new outbreaks  even among people who are younger  lead to more deaths among Americans of all ages.

In Michigan, cases were generally on a downward trend until an uptick in the past two weeks. Malani celebrated the states early success but cautioned the victory is not absolute.

That gap between being contained and being completely uncontrolled is narrow, she said. It could be a matter of one event or one large gathering. That could be the difference between an entire community being at risk and the spread being contained.

Growth in Michigan cases since Memorial Day was 20% for people under 50, about double the growth rate for older people.

Dr. Nirav Shah, co-founder of Covid Act Now and a scholar at the Stanford University Clinical Excellence Research Center noted that the number of nursing home deaths was directly correlated to the rate of coronavirus infections in the broader community.

Individual decisions lead to collective outcomes, he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19 surge featured rapid growth among younger people
The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is one of the most popular vehicles in the certified pre-owned models in the dealership's inventory. Learn more about the entire program today.

Toyota vehicles are engineered with such care and precision that they go on to serve second or third owners on the pre-owned market. A small percentage of the pre-owned vehicles available at Serra Toyota will be in such good condition when they come into our showroom, they can deliver additional benefits and protections to a new generation of owners. These special cars, trucks and SUVs will go through a special process to become part of the Toyota Certified Used Vehicle program. The team of product experts at Serra Toyota felt that not enough people were aware of what certified pre-owned vehicles had to offer and they have been excited to spread the word. Additionally, they wanted to educate potential customers about a couple of special options.

How do certified vehicles get picked?

Not every used Toyota vehicle that arrives at Serra Toyota will be accepted into the certified pre-owned program. In order to earn the certified status, a vehicle must be within six years of the current model year and have less than 85,000 miles on it. Assuming both of those criteria are met, the vehicle will go through a strict 160-point inspection that is meant to find any defects that could disqualify the vehicle.

Among the most popular certified pre-owned vehicles that can be found at Serra Toyota is the Toyota Prius. This is the platform that put hybrid technology on the map in the United States. Not only has the Prius continually improved its handling characteristics, but it also continues to offer some of the best fuel economy scores in the industry. Most trim grades can break the 50-mile per gallon barrier in the city and on the highway.

Potential customers can also choose the hybrid variant of the Toyota RAV4. The crossover SUV delivers all of the interior cargo volume of the popular vehicle while also delivering strong fuel economy scores. Some models of the certified pre-owned RAV4 Hybrid will be able to achieve up to 41 miles per gallon in the city. A few model years of the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid can also do some light towing.

Anyone can view the entire Serra Toyota inventory by visiting the dealerships website, http://www.serratoyota.com. The showroom is located at 1300 Center Point Parkway, Birmingham, AL 35215. Customers can learn more about the Toyota Certified Used Vehicle program and all of its available options by calling 205-847-1841.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans decision to fly a banner of the Confederate flag and a message that read DEFUND NASCAR over an Alabama speedway is in no way reflective of Columbia and its core values, Mayor Chaz Molder said.

The mayor described the community as a welcoming, modern city also led by Vice Mayor Christa Martin, one of the first Black female vice mayors in state history and the first in the city's own history.

"The only connection that the Sons of Confederate Veterans has to Columbia is that their headquarters and museum is located here," Molder said. "That's where the connection stops. That group does not represent Columbia. Period. We are a close-knit community. United. Diverse. Compassionate. Determined.

"Our focus is on building a better community for our children and their future, not on divisive issues of the past," Molder added. "We do not intend to ignore our history, because there is indeed much to be learned from it. But, we should not repeat mistakes of the past by dividing our united country of today."

Last week, the city announced that it would become the first municipality in the state to declare Juneteenth, a day commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States, an official holiday.

"We are citizens of the United States of America," Molder said. "We have one flag. It has 13 stripes and 50 stars. It is a symbol of peace and prosperity. It is a beacon of hope. The United States of America flag tells the story of our country, and it does so in a respectful, positive way. That's the flag we should be flying. That's the flag we should honor."

The Columbia-based nonprofit organization, known for erecting and maintaining Confederate memorials and graves from the American Civil War hired a small airplane to pass over the track before the race, which was postponed Sunday and completed Monday.

The flyover occurred earlier this week after NASCAR banned Confederate flags from its events last week at the request of driver Bubba Wallace, who is Black.

"It is the hope of the Sons of Confederate Veterans that NASCAR fans will be allowed the fundamental American right of displaying pride in their family and heritage," said Paul C. Gramling Jr., chief commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in an interview with The Daily Herald.

"The Sons of Confederate Veterans is proud of the diversity of the Confederate military and our modern Southland," Gramling said. "NASCAR's banning the display of the Confederate battle flag by its fans is nothing less than trampling upon Southerners' First Amendment Right of free expression."

The U.S. Department of Justice completed investigation of a noose that was found in Wallace's garage stall, saying no hate crime was committed.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans headquarters is at Elm Springs, a two-story brick Greek Revival house built in 1837, located southeast of Columbia's downtown at 740 Mooresville Pike.

A second, 17,000-square foot structure at the property will be home to a museum and archive. Leaders have previously said the he new site will be at the center of the organization's cause, offering what the group says will be a presentation of the historical facts of the Civil War.

In response to the recent flyover, Molder said the City of Columbia has its own story to tell.

"This city is the birthplace of a civil rights movement that helped create equal opportunity for all. We are going to tell that story by focusing on the future, not the past," Molder said. "I prefer to look forward, not backward. Positive, not negative. Hopeful and helpful. Respectful and joyful. It's what I was taught in church, what my parents taught me at home, and what we try to teach our kids.

"As Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: '[T]here comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.' This is my conscience. And, this is my heart. I am mindful that these comments may not be popular with all of you. But, I am also mindful of the hurt that the banner flown over Talladega Superspeedway had on so many of my friends. And, that hurt compels me to speak up today."



2020 The Daily Herald (Columbia, Tenn.)

Visit The Daily Herald (Columbia, Tenn.) at www.columbiadailyherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
New Delhi: Pending West Bengal Higher Secondary (class 12) exams which was scheduled to be held on 2nd, 6th & 8th July stands cancelled, announced Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee in Kolkata on Friday (June 26).

The WB education minister said, "Board of Higher Secondary Education is discussing on how to carry out an evaluation."

Earlier in the day, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) submitted before the Supreme Court that the board examination results will be declared by July 15.

Both the education boards also told the top court that they might give an option to the class 10 students to write the exams at a later stage as well.

On Thursday, the boards told the apex court that the remaining class 10 and 12 CBSE exams, which were earlier rescheduled to be held between July 1 to July 15 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, have been cancelled.

CBSE exams for class 10 students stand cancelled, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had reportedly told the apex court and added that they don`t have to give any examinations. Mehta had also submitted that as soon as conditions are conducive, CBSE exams for class 12 students, who opt for it, will be conducted.

ICSE had also informed the court that it will also cancel the class 10 and 12 board exams. It, however, disagreed with allowing the students to give the exam later.

Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today clarified that assessment from the performance of students in the cancelled examination will be done based on the assessment scheme as suggested by a competent committee of the CBSE for declaration of result for both Class-X and Class-XII.

Nishank also added that CBSE will conduct an optional examination for class XII students in the subjects the examination for which were scheduled to be conducted from 1st July to 15th, 2020 as soon as conditions are conducive.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal government today announced that night curfew will remain in force between 10 pm to 5 am, instead of current 9 pm to 5 am, during the extended coronavirus lockdown till July 31. Earlier, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had extended the lockdown in the state till July 31.

Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, she said, "Political rallies cannot be allowed during this time but some parties are holding rallies without police permission. Some parties are breaking the law and shouting why police cases are being registered. They are using provocative language. Freedom of speech is present but maintaining it is important."
The coronavirus pandemic has again delayed  or been blamed for delaying  5G spectrum auctions, this time in Brazil and Croatia.

Brazil has dropped plans to hold its 5G frequency auction at the end of this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, said Leonardo Euler, head of sector regulator Anatel, earlier this week, adding that the auction would now take place during the first half of 2021.

Its not the first time that the date for Brazils auction of 5G spectrum has been put back, but on this occasion the delay is said to be related to testing. The coronavirus seems to have interrupted what has been described as a crucial 3.5GHz testing programme focused on the coexistence of mobile broadband and TV services in the band.

Its true that 3.5GHz is not the only band likely to host 5G services; the range also includes frequencies in the 700MHz, 2.3GHz, and 26GHz mmWave bands, albeit some frequencies are better suited to specific services (like broadband or IoT) than others.

In fact, Anatel has also suggested that operators can adapt their networks to use already awarded frequencies in the 700MHz and 2.3GHz bands to provide the first 5G applications. However, that may be difficult; Anatel has acknowledged that the 5G device ecosystem remains underdeveloped in Brazil.

A similar testing issue seems to have delayed plans by the Croatian Postal & Electronic Communications Agency to auction 5G-capable frequencies in the 700MHz, 3.6GHz and 26GHz bands by the end of this year. The auction will now take place in the first half of 2021 and the Croatian regulator has reportedly opened a consultation into the allocation of 5G-capable spectrum alongside 800MHz and 900MHz frequencies.

In this case it was the migration of TV broadcasts from the 700MHz range that was delayed by the pandemic. The effect of the virus on operators finances has also been mentioned. Whatever the reasons, Brazil and Croatia join a lengthening list of countries delaying 5G auctions due to the pandemic, including Poland, Portugal, Austria, Spain, France and the Czech Republic.
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The Republican Partys entire response to the coronavirus crisis has been rooted in a magical belief that the U.S. could fix its economy without controlling the pandemic that tanked it. Both Donald Trump and GOP leaders in Congress bet that allowing states to reopen for business would set the country up for a quick, V-shaped economic recovery without causing the pandemic to spiral out of control, sparing lawmakers from having to pass another expensive relief package and saving Trump the hassle of orchestrating a coherent public health response.

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That gamble is playing out just as poorly as everyone should have expected. COVID-19 is now blazing across the Sun Belt, with terrifying flare-ups in Arizona, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, and Southern California. On Wednesday, the number of new daily cases in the U.S. hit its all-time high since the pandemic began, while hospitalizations have reached new peaks in seven different states, putting to rest the idea that rising infection counts are simply a result of increased testing. We do not know exactly why the disease has begun roaring across the South and West. But as the Atlantics Alexis Madrigal and Robinson Meyer explained in a lengthy piece Monday, what unites some of the most troublesome states is the all-or-nothing approach they took to pandemic suppression. In the mad dash to get back to normal life, some of these states allowed businesses and churches to rapidly reopen with loosely enforced capacity restrictions, without pushing for residents to wear masks. Texas and Arizona even went as far as to ban cities and states from enforcing their own, tighter social distancing rules. (To be fair, SoCal is having problems despite a much more cautious approach.)

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What does this mean for the economy Republican leaders were so antsy to reignite? It appears to be sputtering.

After the government released a better-than-expected jobs report for May, Trump gave a triumphant press conference where he declared that the economy was lifting off fast. Weve been talking about the V, he said. This is better than a V. This is a rocket ship. To anybody paying close attention to the data, the optimism seemed obviously premature. Employment had ticked up as states first began to reopen and small businesses received funds from the Paycheck Protection Program to rehire staff. But with the coronavirus still raging, and many businesses still closed or stuck operating at partial capacity, there was plenty of reason to think that job growth would slow back down. At the moment, thats what appears to be happening.

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On Thursday, the Department of Labor reported that another 1.5 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. The fact that job losses are still happening this long after states first shut down in March suggests that more businesses expect a long-lasting downturn and may be folding entirely. (Coincidentally, Yelp reported that of the 140,000 businesses on its platform that reported still being closed, 41 percent have been shuttered permanently.) Meanwhile, after falling sharply last month, the share of workers on the unemployment insurance rolls is now barely inching down, from 12.9 percent the week ending May 16 to 12.3 percent the week ending June 13. In short, the rocket ship appears to have made it a few hundred feet, veered off course , and started decelerating while whirling toward the sea because, oh, crap, there wasnt actually enough fuel in the boosters and the crew all had hacking coughs.

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Why arent people returning to work faster? In all likelihood, its because even in states that jumped to reopen, the recovery has been losing steam. Take Texas. On measure after measure, economic activity in the state flatlined or began to droop in June. Hours worked at small businesses. Consumer spending. Restaurant bookings and revenues. All stalled out. And on Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott finally announced that he would pause any further reopening of the state in order to slow the coronaviruss accelerating spread. He tried to put a positive spin on the move. The last thing we want to do as a state is go backward and close down businesses, he said. This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business. But it underscored the fundamental impossibility of fully restarting the economy when theres a plague raging. Other Sun Belt governors have yet to take official action like Abbott. But even in those states, the recovery has showed similar signs of slowing, perhaps because there are a limited number of Americans who are willing to risk their lives in order to go get brunch.

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When Trump began talking about a quick reopening in March, back when he was fantasizing about church pews full in time for Easter, countless experts and pundits warned that it was a path leading to disaster, a worst-of-all-worlds scenario where the economy would be unable to fully recover because Americans would still be unable to live their normal lives due to the virus. One weak lockdown and trillions of dollars in aid later, the presidents and the Republican Partys unwillingness to take this pandemic seriously seems to have landed us in exactly that awful position. And if Congress doesnt act before the end of July, the economy stands to collapse further as crucial unemployment benefits expire and out-of-work Americans see their incomes collapse by more than half, on average. Were not riding a rocket ship. Were in its wreckage.

For more of Slates news coverage, listen to What Next: TBD.
This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or an invitation to offer or buy or subscribe for, securities. An investment in the Offered Shares involves substantial risks and uncertainties. Prospective investors must read the entire Prospectus, and, in particular, should read Section 2 (Risk Factors) for a discussion of certain factors that should be considered in connection with an investment in the Offered Shares, including the risks relating to the fact that (i) Hyloris has a limited operating history and has not yet generated any substantial revenues. Hyloris has incurred operating losses, negative operating cash flows and an accumulated deficit since inception resulting in a negative equity at the date of the Prospectus and Hyloris may not be able to achieve or subsequently maintain profitability. Hyloris is executing its strategy in accordance with its business model, the viability of which has not been demonstrated, (ii) Hyloris performance depends primarily on the success of its product candidates, a majority of which are in the early reformulation development stage and have not yet received FDA approval of the 505(b)(2) application or ANDA or the other approvals required before they may be commercially launched, (iii) even if Hyloris receives regulatory approval for any of its product candidates, it may be unable to launch the product successfully and the revenue that Hyloris generates from sales of such product, if any, may be limited, (iv) Hyloris has entered into arrangements with related parties and these arrangements present potential conflicts of interest, (v) certain of Hyloris directors and members of Hyloris executive management hold directorships or shareholdings in other pharmaceutical companies, which could create potential conflicts of interest, and (vi) after closing of the Offering, certain significant shareholders of the Issuer may have different interests from the Issuer and/or from the minority shareholders and may be able to control the Issuer, including the outcome of shareholder votes. Every decision to invest in the Offered Shares must be based on all information provided in the Prospectus. Potential investors must be able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the Offered Shares and to undergo a full or partial loss of their investment.





PRESS RELEASE - ADVERTISEMENT

Hyloris Pharmaceuticals Raises approximately EUR 61.81 million in Successful Initial Public Offering

Liege, Belgium  June 26, 2020: Hyloris Pharmaceuticals SA (Hyloris and/or the Company), an early-stage innovative specialty pharmaceutical company focused on adding value to the healthcare system by reformulating well-known pharmaceuticals, announces the results of its initial public offering of new shares, with the admission of all of its shares to trading on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels under the symbol HYL, launched on 17 June 2020 (the Offering).

The final offer price for the Offering has been set at EUR 10.75 per share, giving the Company an initial market capitalization of approximately EUR 253.18 million, or approximately EUR 262.45 million, assuming the exercise in full of the Over-allotment Option (defined below). Gross proceeds for the Company from the Offering amounted to approximately EUR 61.81 million, or approximately EUR 71.08 million, assuming the exercise in full of the Over-allotment Option.

The orderbook has been built with strong support from high-quality long-term specialist and Belgian retail investors, as well as interest from a mix of institutional investors across continental Europe, the UK and the US.

Stijn Van Rompay, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Hyloris Pharmaceuticals, commented: We are delighted to have successfully completed our IPO, an important step for the Company as we seek to bring to the market reformulated drugs with added value to the healthcare system as quickly as possible. This significant raise will support Hyloris strategy and will be used for the development of our existing portfolio of product candidates, the establishment of a commercial team in the United States for our IV Cardiovascular portfolio, to fund the expansion of the pipeline both internally and through business development opportunities, as well as for general corporate purposes. Im pleased and proud that we have been able to secure investment from high-quality institutions within the EEA and the US as well as broad support from retail investors across Belgium.

Results of the Offering

The final offer price for the Offering is set at EUR 10.75 per share (the "Offer Price").

The offering period of the Offering ended on 25 June 2020 at 16:00 (CEST) for retail investors and on 26 June 2020 at 13:00 (CEST) for institutional investors.

The Company has decided to increase the number of the 5,000,000 initially offered new shares by 15% (i.e., with 750,000 additional new shares). The total number of shares subscribed for in the Offering amounts to 5,750,000 new shares of the Company (the "New Shares", and each existing share and New Share representing the Company's share capital a "Share").

In order to facilitate stabilization by the Stabilization Manager (see below), the Stabilization Manager over-allotted 862,500 Shares in the Offering (the Additional Shares, together with the New Shares, the Offered Shares).

In order to cover the aforementioned over-allotments or short positions, if any, resulting from the over-allotment, an over-allotment option to subscribe for 862,500 additional new Shares at the Offer Price has been granted to (and is expected, on the Closing Date (as defined below), to be subscribed for by) KBC Securities, as stabilization manager (the "Stabilization Manager"), acting on behalf of KBC Securities and Kempen & Co (the "Over-allotment Option"). The Over-allotment Option will be exercisable for a period of 30 calendar days following the Listing Date (as defined below) (the Stabilization Period). The Company will announce if and when the Over-allotment Option is exercised.

The Stabilization Manager may engage in stabilization transactions aimed at supporting the market price of the Shares during the Stabilization Period. These transactions may stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the Shares or any options, warrants or rights with respect to, or other interest in, the Shares or other securities of the Company during the Stabilization Period. These activities may support the market price of the Shares at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. Stabilization will not be executed above the Offer Price. Such transactions may be effected, on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels, in the over-the-counter markets or otherwise. The Stabilization Manager and its agents are not required to engage in any of these activities and, as such, there is no assurance that these activities will be undertaken. If undertaken, the Stabilization Manager or its agents may discontinue any of these activities at any time and they must terminate at the end of the Stabilization Period.

The gross proceeds of the Offering for the Company amount to approximately EUR 61.81 million, or approximately EUR 71.08 million, assuming the exercise in full of the Over-allotment Option. The implied market capitalization of Hyloris Pharmaceuticals is approximately EUR 253.18 million, or approximately EUR 262.45 million, assuming the exercise in full of the Over-allotment Option.

Given the strong local support from retail investors, the Company has decided to allocate more of the Offered Shares to retail investors than the legal minimum of 10%. 1,217,473 Shares, representing approximately 18.4% of the Offered Shares in the Offering, have been placed with retail investors in Belgium. The allocation table applicable for Shares applied for by retail investors can be found below.

Trading of Hyloris Pharmaceuticals Shares on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels under the symbol "HYL" is expected to commence, on an "if-and-when-issued-and/or-delivered" basis, on or about 29 June 2020 (the "Listing Date"). Payment and delivery of the Offered Shares will occur on 30 June 2020 (the Closing Date), subject to the successful closing of the Offering.

The investors (including members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Management of the Company) (the Participating Investors) that committed to, irrevocably and conditional only on completion of the Offering, subscribe for New Shares in the Offering for a total aggregate amount of EUR 22,725,000 (the Pre-commitments), have each been allocated 100% of their individual Pre-commitments in the form of New Shares. In the aggregate, 2,113,937 New Shares were thus allocated to the Participating Investors in the Offering on the basis of their Pre-commitments.

KBC Securities and Kempen & Co acted as Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners in the Offering.

The Company has agreed to a standstill of 360 days, subject to customary exceptions and conditions.

The Shares applied for by retail investors will be allotted according to the allocation table below.

Number of shares applied for Requests submitted with the syndicate Requests submitted with other financial intermediaries % of allocated Shares 1-500 85% 60% 501-1,000 85% 60% 1,001-2,500 80% 55% 2,501-5,000 80% 55% 5,001-10,000 75% 50% >10,000 70% 45%

-Ends-

For more information, please contact:

Hyloris Pharmaceuticals

Stijn Van Rompay, CEO

+32 (0)4 346 02 07

contact@hyloris.com





Consilium Strategic Communications

Amber Fennell, Chris Welsh, Lucy Featherstone, Taiana De Ruyck Soares

+44 20 3709 5700

hyloris@consilium-comms.com

Note to Editors

About Hyloris Pharmaceuticals SA

Based in Liege, Belgium, Hyloris is an early-stage innovative specialty pharmaceutical company focused on adding value to the healthcare system by reformulating well-known pharmaceuticals. Hyloris develops proprietary products it believes offer significant advantages compared to currently available alternatives, with the aim to address the underserved medical needs of patients, hospitals, physicians, payors and other stakeholders in the healthcare system. Hyloris portfolio spans three areas of focus: IV Cardiovascular, Other Reformulations and Established Market (high-barrier generics). Hyloris currently has two early commercial-stage products, Sotalol IV for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, commercialized through its partner AltaThera, and Maxigesic IV, a non-opioid analgesic product for the treatment of pain, developed with the Companys partner, AFT Pharmaceuticals. Additionally, Hyloris has 12 product candidates in various stages of development across the Companys wider portfolio. Read more at www.hyloris.com . Hyloris stands for high yield, lower risk and relates to the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway for product approval on which the Issuer focuses, but in no way relates or applies to an investment in the Shares.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The material set forth herein is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer of securities for sale or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities in the United States, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Israel, Japan or South Africa or any other jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is unlawful. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or the securities laws of any state in the United States, and may not be offered or sold within the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state laws. No public offering of securities has been or will be made in the United States. Subject to certain exceptions, the securities referred to herein may not be offered or sold in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Israel, Japan or South Africa, or for the account or benefit of, any national, resident or citizen of Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Japan or South Africa. Copies of this material are not being, and should not be, distributed or sent, directly or indirectly, into the United States, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Israel, Japan or South Africa.

This information does not contain a solicitation for money, securities or other consideration and, if sent in response to the information contained herein, will not be accepted. This announcement contains statements which are "forward-looking statements" or could be considered as such. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words 'believe', 'estimate', 'anticipate', 'expect', 'intend', 'may', 'will', 'plan', 'continue', 'ongoing', 'possible', 'predict', 'plans', 'target', 'seek', 'would' or 'should', and contain statements made by the Company regarding the intended results of its strategy. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are warned that none of these forward-looking statements offers any guarantee of future performance. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. The Company makes no undertaking whatsoever to publish updates or adjustments to these forward-looking statements, unless required to do so by law.

Any purchase of, subscription for or application for, Shares in the Company to be issued in connection with the Offering should only be made on the basis of information contained in the Prospectus issued by the Company, and published on the Companys website ( www.hyloris.com ) in connection with the Offering and any supplements thereto, as the case may be. Potential investors must read the entire Prospectus before making an investment decision in order to fully understand the potential risks and rewards associated with the decision to invest in the securities. This document is not a Prospectus. The Prospectus contains detailed information about the Company and its management, risks associated with investing in the Company, as well as financial statements and other financial data.

The date of completion of listing on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels may be influenced by things such as market conditions. There is no guarantee that such listing will occur and a potential investor should not base its financial decisions on the Company's intentions in relation to such listing. Acquiring investments to which this announcement relates may expose an investor to a significant risk of losing the entire amount invested. Persons considering such investments should consult an authorized person specializing in advising on such investments. This announcement does not constitute a recommendation concerning the Offering. An investment in Shares entails significant risks, as the value of the Shares can decrease as well as increase.

This announcement is addressed to and directed at persons in member states of the European Economic Area ("EEA") other than Belgium pursuant to applicable exemptions under the Prospectus Regulation, including but not limited to "qualified investors" within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation. In addition, in the United Kingdom, this announcement is only addressed to and directed at (i) persons having professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within the definition of "investment professionals" in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"), (ii) high net worth entities, etc. falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order, and (iii) any other person to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The intended offering, as the case may be, will only be available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe for, purchase, or otherwise acquire securities will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this announcement or any of its contents.

KBC Securities NV/SA and Van Lanschot Kempen Wealth Management N.V. (the "Joint Global Coordinators") are acting for the Company and no one else in relation to the intended offering, and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections offered to their respective clients nor for providing advice in relation to the intended offering.

INFORMATION TO DISTRIBUTORS

The Joint Global Coordinators have informed the Issuer that the following information is intended for distributors only. The information is provided by the Joint Global Coordinators and the Issuer does not assume responsibility for it.

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), the Joint Global Coordinators have informed the Company that they have submitted the shares subject of the proposed offering (Shares) to a product approval process, which has determined that such 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 proposed offering.

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.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is urging nations to make major investments in education to bridge a widening global inequality gap created by the coronavirus crisis.

"Financing education has got to be taken seriously," said Brown, a UN special envoy for global education who served as the British leader from 2007 to 2010.

"A human tragedy is unfolding if we do nothing and leave education completely underfunded," he warned, saying "hope will die" if poorer nations aren't able to address education investment as part of their coronavirus crisis response.

The United Nations has described the disruption from Covid-19 on education as "unparalleled" and experts fear that low and middle income countries with meager education budgets won't have the resources to meet the needs of their students.

''As well as persuading countries that they cannot build for a long-term future without investing in education, we have to remind them that education unlocks opportunities for employment,'' Brown added.

The former prime minister was addressing a web forum hosted by the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) entitled "Education Disrupted, Education Reimagined."
Chicago Activist Seeks Meeting With Black Lives Matter on Citys Gun Violence

A Chicago activist said he understands what Black Lives Matter is attempting to do but wants the groups help in combating the rampant gun violence thats plagued the city in recent years.

Im one of the guys that was on the frontline when it came down to standing up against police brutality and excessive force. And I understand where Black Lives Matter, what theyre attempting to do. I understand that, Tio Hardiman, executive director of Violence Interrupters, said Thursday night.

But at the same time, we need help to do our best to stop gun violence in Chicago. The entire nation should be outraged when a three-year-old is executed on the streets of Chicago and a 13-year-old young young girl was killed on the west side [of] Chicago as well.

Hardiman, who was speaking during an appearance on Fox News The Story, added, Black Lives Matter, theyre raising millions and millions of dollars. We should have a meeting and see how we can actually work together in order to stem the tide of gun violence in the inner city.

The meeting would be about how we can organize and unify together, he explained later.

Black Lives Matter Chicago didnt return requests for comment.

A Chicago Police officer monitors an area outside a music festival in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 1, 2019. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

The group recently released a list of 10 demands, none of which reference the gun violence seen on city streets other than violence perpetrated by police officers, which represents a minority of the shootings this year.

Demands include establishing an elected Civilian Police Accountability Council, publishing the names of any police officers involved in killing anyone in Chicago, and defunding the police.

Ten murders took place in Chicago from June 8 to June 14, the last week statistics were available from the Chicago Police Department.

The city has seen 268 murders so far this year, a 22 percent increase from the same time period last year.

The spate of violence included 104 shootings on Fathers Day weekend, leaving 14 people dead.

Chicago Police Supt. David Brown told reporters Sunday: Bullets dont just tear apart the things they strike. Bullets also tear apart families. Bullets destroy neighborhoods and they ruin any sense of safety in a community.
I dont like to sit at home doing nothing and without a purpose, he said. I have to thank God Im still able to work, but I dont have enough to ever be able to thank (the family) who have done this for me, it has made me so happy.
Tennessee State Legislature Adjourns Sine Die Leaving Many Critical Issue Unaddressed

Last Friday, at 3:15 a.m. CST, the Tennessee State Legislature adjourned this legislative season without addressing several critical issues facing our state. As Speaker Pro Tempore Dunn graveled out of the 111th General Assembly, I couldn't help but remember Repr. Love's remarks on the House floor earlier this month, "You can't just say you like black people... you have to also make policy that helps them and doesn't lower their value." Recalling his speech, I found myself asking the question, did some of my colleagues even listen to what he had to say.

In the wake of George Floyd's murder and massive protests around the world, several state and local governments righted the wrongs of the past generations and removed symbols of hate and oppression. Regrettably, our state did not rise to the moment. Instead of trying to promote racial healing and advance criminal justice reform, the legislature saw fit to debate legislation increasing the penalties, from a misdemeanor to a felony, for protesters who camp on or vandalize state property. In addition, the legislature also refused to advance legislation addressing the bust of Nathen Bedford Forrest, a budget request expanding postpartum health insurance for low-income and uninsured woman, police reform, telemedicine, and COVID-19 liability. It's hard not to feel disappointed with several of my colleagues who chose not to act in the state's best interest.

Legislation to Watch



HB2623, by Chairman Curcio, otherwise known as the Tennessee Recovery and Safe Harbor Act, would enact that an entity would not be liable for damages, injury, or death that results from, or in connection with, a health emergency claim related to coronavirus unless the claimant proves clear and convincing evidence. HB2623 failed due to a lack of constitutionality, and unresolved issues between the House and Senate. While protecting our small businesses should be one of our top priorities, the bill, in addition to the sponsor admitting to the bill's unconstitutionality, would still allow small businesses to be sued and be liable for any legal fees.

HB1699, by Rep. Smith, makes various changes to the law concerning the electronic delivery of health care and its coverage under insurance policies. This bill, which I voted for, made various positive changes and passed out of the House unanimously. However, the Senate refused to take up the conference report that passed out of the House.

Amendment 2, by Rep. Lamar, to HB2131 would remove the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest. The floor amendment was withdrawn in good faith that there would be continued talks about the removal of the statue.

Earlier this month, my fellow Democratic members and I introduced several amendments to the HB2291, by Rep. Hulsey. Dubbed the "8 Can't-Wait", these amendments sought to provide Tennesseans with much-needed police accountability and police reform. The amendments failed to gain enough bipartisan support, and HB2291 was held on the clerk's desk.

Absentee Ballots

In a major win for voting rights in the State of Tennessee, Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle, ruled that the state's limits on absentee voting during the pandemic constitutes "an unreasonable burden on the fundamental right to vote guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution." Her ruling mandates that the State of Tennessee must give all eligible voters the option to vote by mail in the upcoming 2020 elections because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the following day the State of Tennessee filed a motion to stay the Chancellor's order along with a motion for interlocutory appeal, which would allow a direct appeal to the Court of Appeals before the Chancery Court makes its final ruling on the injunction. Following the State's motion to stay, Chancellor Ellen Lyle ruled that the State of Tennessee must comply with the court's order and instructed the state to fix its absentee voting request forms. Anyone who deems COVID-19 a risk to their health or others will be able to request an absentee ballot. The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that it will not block the order allowing mail-in ballets to all eligible voters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

First Time Voters: It is unclear at this monument whether first time voters will be able to vote absentee. In the Chancellor mandate, she states that "any eligible Tennessee voter". However, in her order, she does not specifically state first time voters.

On election day, if there is a dispute on your ability to vote you can request and cast a Provisional Ballot.

Copy and paste the below link for voter registration information and registration process.

https://ovr.govote.tn.gov/

Copy and paste the below link for absentee ballot information and application.

https://sos.tn.gov/products/elections/absentee-voting



New COVID-19 Testing Sites in Chattanooga

On May 21, the Hamilton County Health Department announced the opening up four new COVID-19 testing sites located at Brainerd High School, East Lake Academy, Hardy Elementary, and Orchard Knob Elementary. The announcement comes after the Health Department's decision to no longer continue COVID-19 testing at that Bonnyshire Emissions Testing Center due to vehicle emission testing returning in certain parts of the state. It is important to note that testing will not occur inside the school building. These testing centers were strategically placed within the most populated areas of the county to ensure easy accessibility by everyone and maximum testing. All testing at these locations will be performed in a drive-through and walk-in tents around the school's parking lots. Testing at all four sites will take place between 7-11 a.m. Physician referrals, appointments, and present symptoms are not required to get tested. All COVID-19 testing is free. The new COVID-19 testing sites will operate through July.

For questions about COVID-19 testing and information, call the COVID-19 hotline at 209-8383.

Testing dates Monday-Sunday

Hardy Elementary School - 2100 Glass St., Chattanooga, TN 37406

June 22-28

July 6-12

July 20-26

East Lake Academy of Fine Arts - 2700 E 34th St., Chattanooga, TN 37407

July 6-10

July 20-24

Brainerd High School - 1020 N Moore Road, Chattanooga, TN 37411

June 15-21

June 29-July 5

July 13-19

July 27-Aug. 2

Orchard Knob Elementary School - 2000 E 3rd St., Chattanooga, TN 37404

June 29- July 3

July 13-17

July 27-31
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday sent notices to the Uttar Pradesh government and the state's police chief in connection with the reported murder of a journalist over his purported coverage of the sand mafia, a senior official said.

According to reports, the journalist worked for Kanpur-based newspaper Kampu Mail, he said.

The NHRC has taken cognisance of media reports on the murder, and issued notices to UP Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, the official said.

The journalist was murdered allegedly over his report on the "sand mafia", he said.
No justice, no booty! was one of the rallying cries during a PDX Stripper Strike protest on Wednesday afternoon.

About 100 people gathered for the event, which marched along Southeast Stark Avenue in the Montavilla neighborhood past two strip clubs, Club 205 and The Venue Gentlemens Club.

At least two of the protesters walked a mile and a half in platform stiletto heels.

Cat Hollis, lead coordinator with the Haymarket Pole Collective, which works to implement anti-discrimination policies in the adult industry, delivered letters of demands to both clubs. The protesters want all Portland clubs to provide cultural sensitivity training for employees and offer more equitable scheduling for dancers of color.

We are not asking dancers to stop working, were asking that the clubs sign on and that the rest of the community show their support for this, Hollis said. Were not asking for a boycott, were asking you to ask your local businesses what their anti-discrimination policy is and what theyre doing to make things better.

To date, Hollis said, 27 local clubs have agreed to the collectives demands. Another 17 have not yet responded.

Brianna Cistrunk, a former dancer, founded the Jezebel Project two months ago to give a platform to Black strippers and entertainers that find themselves either discriminated against or without a voice.

Black dancers network with each other very well and unfortunately we know where were allowed to dance, where were even allowed to audition, Cistrunk said. If we do get hired, were usually kept on day shifts or shifts during the week which historically are not the more lucrative shifts.

Issues of racial discrimination extend to musical choices.

We have clubs that will tell us were not allowed to play hiphop or rap music, but will allow white dancers or dancers of lighter complexion to do that, she said. Were always told it attracts the wrong crowd  the wrong crowd most likely being people who look like me.

Coacoa Green, a Black dancer in Portland, said shes experienced this kind of discrimination at several Portland area clubs.

You get through the audition process and then its no call back, but then you send your other dancer friend in there, and shes white  and she gets hired that same day, Green said. And it goes further than that. Sometimes you get in the club and they treat you differently, youre monitored more.

Strippers are generally classified as independent contractors, which means they dont qualify for the benefits and federal protections offered to employees. But that doesnt mean clubs are off the hook for claims of discrimination. Laws that prevent discrimination by a place of public accommodation would apply even when there isnt an employee/employer relationship.

Public accommodations include places that do business with the public, wrote Jenny Smith, spokesperson with Oregons Bureau of Labor and Industries. In your example, if a club was refusing to audition or book dancers of color because of their race or national origin, that would be illegal discrimination.

The PDX Stripper Strike movement posts a list of clubs that are supporting its efforts on its Instagram account, @pdxstripperstrike.

The group is planning another march at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, starting outside Portland Fire and Rescue Station 21 at 5 S.E. Madison St., and walking to downtown Portland.

We dont want any work stoppages at clubs that are actively trying to improve themselves, Hollis said. Go out to clubs, throw some money on butts, especially Black butts. Weve been systemically disenfranchised, and what were trying to do here is make sure people hear us this time.

-- Samantha Swindler; sswindler@oregonian.com; @editorswindler

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Sainiu Laizer, a Tanzanian miner, became a millionaire overnight after he sold off two Tanzanite gemstones for 7.7 billion Tanzanian shillings or $3.4 million. Gemstones are extremely rare but these two were the largest ever found in the country making them unique, according to the BBC.

Laizer had discovered the two gemstones while mining last week, they weighed 9.2 kg and 5.8 kg respectively. He brought them to a trading event in the region of Manyara on Wednesday where he sold them for the massive amount.

Laizer is reportedly a father to more than 30 children. He told the news organisation that he plans to use the money to build a shopping mall and a school for his community in the Simanjiro district of Manyara.

"I want to build this school near my home," he told the news outlet. "There are many poor people around here who can't afford to take their children to school."

Lazier also said that he is not educated but still be would like to run things in a professional way. He told that he would let his children run the business professionally. '

Laizer said that he would continue to look after his herd of 2,000 cows despite his newfound wealth. He said that he was going to slaughter one of his cows and host a big-party to celebrate soon.

Laizer was congratulated by Tanzanian President John Magufuli over the phone. Magufuli said that Laizer's find showed the benefit of small-scale miners and "proves that Tanzania is rich."

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The World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter calls on workers at Jefferson North and throughout the auto industry to organize rank-and-file safety committees to protect worker health and save lives. For assistance in forming these committees, contact us at wsws.org/rankandfile.

Read the statement of the Jefferson North Rank-and-File Committee.



Update Friday 3:30 p.m.: Workers at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit are still refusing to work after at least three workers tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. FCA management, along with the UAW, attempted to restart production after the 1:38 p.m. break. The line was restarted but workers refused to work.

We arent working, everyone is back on blue line, a worker told the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter. They just started the line, but nobody moved. Only five Jeeps have been produced today. They are upset were sticking together and fearless. They hate it. There is angry disbelief, that they keep lying to us about the COVID cases and then expect us to work like it is business as usual. SHAP, Toledo and the other plants should be out with us too. None of these factories are safe.

The job action began with A Crew workers who downed their tools and forced production to stop Thursday at noon. B Crew workers continued the work stoppage from 4:30 p.m. Thursday to nearly 2 a.m. Friday morning when management and union officials forced some workers, including temporary part-time workers (TPTs), who have no job security, to resume partial production.

When C Crew workers reported to the plant around 3:30 a.m. Friday morning, however, they resumed the work stoppage. Workers have posted videos to appeal for support.

FCA is now calling in B Crew workers to start production by 4:30 p.m. One B Crew worker told the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter: They have not told us not to come in. Are you kidding? We were down for 8 1/2 hours yesterday and produced only 67 Jeeps, one-tenth of the normal output. If we made only one-twentieth it would have been worth it for them. Those 67 Jeeps sell for $55,000 each and that brought in $3.68 million in revenue.

They are more concerned about profits than workers lives. Now you have Trump and Pence going around saying the only reason there is a big jump in COVID cases is because there is more testing. Thats like saying there would be no police brutality if no one reported police brutality.

The news media has blacked out any news of the work stoppage at the factory, fearful that opposition will spread, and the industry will be shut down like it was after a series of wildcat strikes in mid-March. Autoworkers from around the country, however, who have learned about the job action from the WSWS, have expressed their solidarity with Jefferson workers.

I feel that they should shut all the plants back down until they get this under control. We shouldnt have to risk our lives to be able to work while the UAW takes our money and doesnt fight for our lives. I work at a plant, so I understand what you all are going through. I heard some have been sick over here to and they are keeping it on a down low saying its in other departments. But its in the building and everyone is using the same bathrooms and lunchrooms. Its impossible for them to keep something like this under control in a plant.

Update Friday noon: Workers at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit are refusing to work after at least three workers tested positive for COVID-19. The job action began with A Crew workers who downed their tools and forced production to stop Thursday at noon.

B Crew workers continued the work stoppage from 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon to nearly 2:00 a.m. Friday, when management and union officials forced some workers, including temporary part-time workers (TPTs), who have no job security, to resume partial production.

When C Crew workers reported to the plant around 3:30 a.m. Friday morning, however, they resumed the work stoppage. Workers have posted videos to appeal for support. One worker involved in the action Friday told the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter, We (C) crew arent working. We are protesting and everyone is on the blue lines (away from the assembly line). The union is nowhere to be found.

B crew stood their ground, but management made the TPTs work toward the end. We are refusing to start the line back up and run. At least half the plant isnt working. There is angry disbelief that they keep lying to us about the COVID cases and then expect us to work like it is business as usual.

All the other plants should be out with us too. These factories are not safe.

***



Day shift workers at the Fiat Chrysler Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit were sent home early Thursday afternoon over health concerns after workers staged a protest amid reports that three workers were diagnosed with cases of COVID-19 at the plant. As of this writing, workers on the second shift, known as the B Crew, have refused to resume production, although supervisors and union officials have used a combination of threats and false claims to convince workers to restart the assembly line.

Autoworkers inside the Fiat-Chrysler Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit. (Credit: Twitter/@FiatChrysler_NA)

The action comes as COVID-19 cases are surging in wide areas of the US after the ending of lockdown measures and the reopening of factories, restaurants and other workplaces, including the restart of auto production. On Monday, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Ford resumed full operations at factories across North America.

A worker at Jefferson told the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter, There were three confirmed cases on A Crew and they were forced to shut the line down 3 1/2 hours before the end of the shift, around 12 noon. It wasn't management or the union, it was the workers who shut the line.

People are super-pissed. They haven't started production on B Crew yet. They are ready to walkout. The union officials are nowhere to be found. People are saying, Why are we here when people got sick? We heard it was one worker in engine and two workers in trim who tested positive."

A worker writing on the United Auto Workers Local 7 Facebook page reported, Someone got sick and threw up on parts that have been distributed around the plant since 8am. Where is our union to handle these situations? People are being threatened for refusing to work with those parts...

Another worker posted, Someone had COVID on A crew and they stopped the line at 12 and refused to work. All I know is when we got here, engine line refused to work and we only did a few cars, then we stopped. Now the whole plant is down. There were 3 cases of COVID in here today.

An evening shift worker wrote, The Axle loop has refused to work because of the 3 positive COVID-19 on A crew today. Ive seen everyone in a huddle for hours now. The plant manager, the entire management team seems to be there now. Our UAW reps... everyone who is anyone is over there trying to negotiate with the peeps from the Axle group. But they are standing firm and STILL refusing to work.

One worker posted his support on Facebook: Hope yall shut down; we came back too early anyway they knew this could happen Greed.

A female worker told the Autoworker Newsletter, "Line still not working at JNAP. Only 10 cars or 2 minutes on production on 'B' Crew. Someone got sick on the line. The workers on engine and axle are refusing to work. The plant manager and the UAW officials are trying to get them to restart production, but they won't. But company officials will not shut down the plant. Its just too much potential money for them. If they could get 45 minutes of production out of us between 2:15 and 3:00 am, they would do it.

In late May there had been reports of an unexplained illness at the Jefferson plant that caused several workers to collapse. There was no interruption of production or even measures taken to ensure the disinfection of the plant.

This is not the first report of job actions over COVID-19 concerns since the auto plants reopened on May 18. Last month, workers at the Ford Dearborn Truck plant briefly stopped production after the discovery of coronavirus cases. Some workers at the General Motors plant in Wentzville, Missouri also staged a walkout after workers tested positive for COVID-19.

In mid-March, unofficial job actions by workers at Windsor Assembly, Sterling Heights Assembly, Dundee Engine and Toledo North forced FCA and then all automakers to suspend production. Production was restarted last month in concert with a propaganda campaign by the corporations, the media and the UAW that new safety protocols would protect workers from the deadly disease.

The wildcat actions were taken by workers in defiance of the UAW, which has worked as a police force for management throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

While FCA has boasted of resuming full operations and vowing not to carry out another shutdown of operations, the auto companies are facing high levels of absenteeism due to the resistance of workers to exposing themselves and their families to COVID-19. Manpower shortages continue despite the hiring of more temporary part-time workers, extended shifts and Sunday overtime. A worker at Sterling Heights Assembly reported that he had heard of one worker who put in 120 hours in one week.

Workers are exhausted, he said. They are more susceptible to illness. Some are getting off at 3am and then going back at noon.

Even as it subjects workers to the danger of COVID-19, FCA is the beneficiary of a $6.9 billion bailout from the government of Italy and massive tax cuts from city officials in Detroit.

No one is going to defend the lives and health of workers but workers themselves. That is why workers must elect rank-and-file safety committees, independent of the bribed UAW, to assert control over health and safety conditions, including work hours and line speeds. Where conditions are unsafe, there must be a stoppage of work. At the same time, workers must demand full protective gear, regular testing, universal health care and guaranteed income and the distribution of information. FCA workers should unite with workers throughout the US and internationally in a unified struggle against capitalism, a system that sacrifices human life for corporate profit.
Members of the dissolved national working committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) say they are consulting with stakeholde...

Members of the dissolved national working committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) say they are consulting with stakeholders and a team of lawyers on the next line of action.





The NWC was dissolved at a national executive committee (NEC) meeting of the party that was held at the presidential villa on Thursday.





A caretaker committee chaired by Mai Mala Buni, Yobe governor and former national secretary, was set up in place of the dissolved NWC by the highest decision making organ of the party.







At the meeting, President Muhammadu Buhari warned that there would be dire consequences for any member who chooses to ignore the partys directives.

The NEC meeting was convened by Victor Giadom, former deputy national secretary of the party, who had announced himself as acting chairman before the dissolution of the NWC.





In a statement on Thursday, 18 members of the former NWC said Giadom did not have the authority to call for a NEC meeting.





They said article 25(B) of the partys constitution provides that only the chairman or the NWC has prerogative to call for a NEC meeting.





They argued that the partys constitution makes it compulsory that a minimum of a 14-day notice is given for quarterly meetings and seven days for emergency NEC meetings.





We note that chief Victor Giadom had convened and conducted a virtual meeting purportedly to be a NEC meeting of our party wherein certain far reaching decisions were purportedly reached, the statement read.





While the NWC is studying the unfolding drama, it will be consulting with stakeholders and a team of lawyers on the next line of action.





Some of those who signed the statement are; Hilliard Eta, Waziri Bulama and Lanre Issa-Onilu.





The late Abiola Ajimobi, who was deputy chairman (south), was also listed on the statement. Coincidentally, his death was announced on the same day the NWC was dissolved.





The leadership crisis in the party began after the appeal court upheld the suspension of Adams Oshiomhole as APC national chairman.





While Ajimobi was announced acting chairman following Oshiomholes suspension, Giadom said he was in charge of the party.





The president eventually endorsed Giadom as rightful acting chairman.
P olice were forced to disperse crowds at an unlicensed music event in south London after huge numbers of people packed out the park.

Multiple police vans were spotted at Streatham Common on Thursday night after another party in the area.

It comes after violence at a street party in nearby Brixton on Wednesday night left 22 officers injured.

Police officers attempting to disperse crowds at an unlicensed music event in Notting Hill have were also attacked by revellers on Thursday night.

In south London, footage from the scene at Streatham Common shows large numbers of people gathered in the park, with many dancing to music.

One passerby said on Twitter: "Move on from lockdown? Allow people to make decisions on how to proceed from here.

"Many moved where I live. Look at Streatham Common this evening at sunset. Ridiculous. Neighbouring Brixton last night too."

Officers said the crowds had mostly dispersed by 1am and there were no reports of any violence.

Lambeth Police said last night: "Officers are currently at Streatham Common where an unlicensed music event is taking place.

"They have engaged with a large number of those in attendance and the crowd has now almost entirely dispersed."

Issuing a warning after the street party in Brixton, BCU Commander Colin Wingrove said officers will remain highly visible throughout Lambeth and further incidents "will be managed swiftly".

Scotland Yard also said in a statement on Facebook late on Thursday that its officers were undertaking an enhanced policing operation across the capital.

Commander Bas Javid said extra officers, clad in personal protective equipment, had been called in to ensure there was an effective and prompt response to any reports or disorder.
South Korea's finance ministry said Friday it has approved $75.5 million in health care aid for 13 nations to better combat the coronavirus pandemic.



The approval is part of the nation's plans to provide more than $400 million in loans and grants to developing nations this year to help them push for health projects against the novel coronavirus.



The 13 nations included Ethiopia and Myanmar, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement.



The fund is expected to help developing nations build testing and tracing systems to fight the virus and expand containment facilities in the nations, the ministry said.













South Korea will also expand its funding for public health projects run by international organizations, including the Asian Development Bank, to $10 million, the ministry said.



Globally, more than 9.6 million people have been infected by the new coronavirus and more than 480,000 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. (Yonhap)
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced guidelines capping treatment cost of coronavirus patients at private healthcare facilities amid complaints of "exorbitant charges levied, reducing and capping them from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,250.

She also put a cap on the cost of PPE kits and doctors consultation charges.

"The PPE and other protective equipment costs will be capped at Rs 1,000 per day and doctors consultation charge will be Rs 1,000 per day. Many hospitals charge doctors consultation fees as high as Rs 5,000 a day.

"Earlier, we requested private hospitals to consider the treatment costs of coronavirus patients and some of them responded to it. This time, these guidelines will be sent to private hospitals and more caps and guidelines are to be announced shortly. The chief secretary and health department officials are working on it, she said.

Covid-19 tests are conducted free of cost in state-run hospitals.

Earlier, the Chief Minister made admission of coronavirus positive patients mandatory at private hospitals. She also said if a private hospital denies admission, it will be booked under Clinical Establishment Act, 2017, and licence of the healthcare unit might be revoked.

In case of state-run hospitals, disciplinary actions will be taken against a doctor or concerned persons for violating norms of service rules, she had said.

The state government also issued an instruction to display the number of vacant beds for coronavirus patients and keep the health department in the loop with the latest details that can then be uploaded to the designated website and subsequently accessed by people who seek more information.

West Bengal recorded 542 fresh COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths today, taking total number of cases to 16,190 and death toll to 616. Number of active patients stands at 5,039.
Thiruvananthapuram:

A case has been registered against a Kochi school for allegedly teaching objectionable content to students and encouraging them to die for the sake of Islam. Further, police even suspect that the school's curriculum has been drafted after consultations with people close to controversial preacher Zakir Naik.

The Peace International School at Thammanam in Ernakulam is run by a trust headed by some "influential local businessmen". Police have registered a case under Sect 153A and 34 IPC against the school principal, administrator and three trustees, police sources told PTI.

The case was registered on the basis of a report filed by the Ernakulam District Education Officer, stating that "what was being taught was not secular". "The case was registered for teaching students objectionable content in the syllabus... what was not secular. Islamic curriculum was being followed and students were being exhorted to lay down their lives for Islam", the sources said.

The school has classes from the LKG to eighth standard. "We suspect that this school's curriculum has been drafted with persons close to controversial preacher Zakir Naik, of Mumbai based Islamic International School," the sources said.

Naik, an Islamic televangelist, was in the eye of of a storm recently for allegedly preaching radical views. Abdul Rashid, one among the 21 persons from Kerala who had gone missing and is suspected to have joined ISIS, had worked as Public Relations Officer at the school there.

His wife Mariam, had worked as a teacher in the school. Recently, six persons were arrested in Kerala for suspected links with the ISIS.

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Ciro Guerra, the Colombian film director behind Embrace of the Serpent and Birds of Passage, is denying allegations of sexual harassment and abuse made against him in a June 24 report published by the feminist journal Volcanicas. The filmmaker said in a video posted online, I want to state that the publication today of grave accusations in the online magazine Volcanicas against me are completely false. I committed none of the falsehoods I am accused of.

In view of the nature and gravity of those accusations, I dont have any other option but to pursue legal avenues to clear my name, he continued. I ask that you wait before passing judgment for justice to reveal the truth in this case.

More from IndieWire

In the report published this week by Volcanicas, seven women accused Guerra of sexual harassment and one woman claimed the director sexually abused her at his home. The alleged incidents took place between 2013 and 2019 in Colombia, New York, Berlin, and Mexico. Three of the harassment incidents reportedly took place at the Colombian Film Festival, the Cartagena Film Festival, and the Colombian Embassy in Berlin. One report claims harassment took place during pre-production on Guerras Netflix series Green Frontier.

Guerra originally denied the allegations in an interview with Volcanicas, saying he has never made unwanted sexual advances against women. I have to prepare to defend myself because these are very serious accusations, which are not true, he added. Guerra also said that he had taken a sexual harassment workshop with Netflix.

A source close to Netflix confirmed to IndieWire that harassment training sessions are in place on all of the streamers productions. Netflix did not have a comment on the allegations made against Guerra.

Story continues

A representative from Dynamo, the production company behind Guerras Green Frontier Netflix series, said in a statement to IndieWire, At Dynamo we have a zero-tolerance policy and we work to protect our crew and cast. We are currently investigating the case of Ciro Guerra. We have nothing additional to share at this time.

The Colombian Film Festival in New York, where one of the alleged incidents took place in 2019, shared its own statement with IndieWire. We are deeply concerned by the recent allegations made against one of our award winners stemming from an event that coincided with our 2019 program in a non-CFF venue or event, a representative from the organization said. The Colombian Film Festival has zero-tolerance of any act of sexual violence or aggression.

Following the publication of the allegations, Guerras collaborator Jacques Toulemonde took to Facebook to issue a statement in support of the women. Toulemonde co-wrote Embrace of the Serpent and Birds of Passage with the director. I really hesitated to write this. It hurts so bad. But silence is comfortable and accomplice, Toulemonde wrote. Abuses of power, sexual harassment and manipulations cant go on, either in theater or anywhere. My sympathy will always be with the victims.

Guerra has a new film, Waiting for the Barbarians coming to digital and VOD platforms in the U.S. on August 7. The film, an English-language production starring Johnny Depp, premiered last fall at the Venice Film Festival where it was acquired for U.S. distribution by Samuel Goldwyn Films. A representative from the company told IndieWire, This is the first we are hearing about accusations against Ciro Guerra. We take this very seriously and are looking into the situation.

Additional reporting by Eric Kohn.

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Ottawa, June 26 : Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has dismissed calls from former parliamentarians and diplomats to release Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who the US accuses of helping the of Chinese telecommunications giant dodge American sanctions on Iran, and unilaterally end her extradition process, it was reported.

A group of 19 persons, including former foreign affairs ministers Lloyd Axworthy and Lawrence Cannon, penned a letter to Trudeau this week saying Justice Minister David Lametti should intervene to free Meng, CBC News said in a report on Thursday.

They said Meng's release would give Canada the chance to "redefine its strategic approach to China".

"There is no question that the US extradition request has put Canada in a difficult position. As Prime Minister, you face a difficult decision. Complying with the US request has greatly antagonized China," the letter said.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, is being sought by Washington on charges that she committed bank fraud and violated US sanctions on Iran by misleading banks about the business her company allegedly conducted in that country through a subsidiary called Skycom.

She was was arrested at the request of the US on December 1, 2018, in Vancouver where she was making a stopover on a trip from Hong Kong to Mexico City.

Last month, a Canadian judge declined to invalidate a request from the US for her extradition, saying that Meng's interpretation of "the double criminality analysis would seriously limit Canada's ability to fulfil its international obligations in the extradition context for fraud and other economic crimes".

Responding to the letter, Trudesu told reporters on Thursday: "I respect these distinguished Canadians who put forward that letter but I deeply disagree with them... They're wrong in their approach." Trudeau said he was sympathetic to the plight of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, the two Canadians who were detained in China shortly after Meng's arrest, but he said Canada cannot "let China get away with this sort of hostage diplomacy", reports CBC News.

Trudeau said his government is firmly committed to the rule of law and Meng's case will be handled by the country's justice system.

"We need to continue to be absolutely crystal clear that Canada has an independent judiciary and those processes will unfold independently of any political pressure, including by foreign governments," Trudeau said.

"We deplore what China did." When asked if he would consider levying sanctions on top Communist party officials, Trudeau said his government was open to any action against China that does not "endanger other Canadians in the future".
The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has expressed his determination and readiness to stop looters who have been stealing from the country, saying no amount of blackmail and mischief will deter him.

He made the vow on Thursday while receiving a delegation of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Federal Capital Territory Council, who paid him a solidarity visit at the Corporate Headquarters of the EFCC in Abuja.

According to Magu, the prospects of Nigeria are great and must not be allowed to be wasted or stolen by corrupt elements without resistance. Nigeria is our common wealth.

This wealth must be protected at all times and all hands must be on deck to stop looters of our wealth.

Speaking further he said: Those stealing, embezzling, hiding and carrying our wealth away are not our friends. We must stop them. We must stop looters. We must stop the industry of corruption by all means and we shall surely stop them.

On the numerous distraction thrown at the fight against corruption, Magu said, Fighting corruption is not a tea party. More than ever before, fraudsters are devising new techniques and strategies every day to beat established rules and systems.

Besides, several fight-back ploys are also being fashioned to distract and discourage genuine fighters of corrupt practices. For us, all these strategies are all too- known.

We are familiar with the desperation of fraudsters. We are familiar with their blackmail and campaign of calumny but we will not give up. We will continue to expose and bring corrupt elements to book. We will never give up!

He expressed more dedication and commitment to the anti-corruption fight, stressing that the EFCC is too focused to be distracted. We are too focused to be distracted, we have lot of results to show for our efforts. The results will keep getting better. We are on course.

He also charged Nigerians to rise up and make corrupt practices less attractive. We must fight to make corruption unattractive, he said.

Magu thanked the media for its unwavering support, describing it as the most important partner in the fight against corruption. The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has always been a formidable voice and development  focused organization in Nigeria.

As the fourth estate of the realm, the Press is a pillar in our democracy, he said. He tasked the media to rise up more than ever before to the task of fighting corruption, refuse to celebrate ill-gotten wealth and publicly own the anti-corruption fight.

The leader of the delegation and Council Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Ogbeche, said the NUJ officials came on a solidarity visit to Magu for his steadfastness and determination in the anti-corruption fight despite distractions and assured the EFCC of the continued cooperation of the Council members as partners in the war against corruption.

He called on the EFCC to continue its crack down on fraudsters and tasked it to track the management of funds being deployed to the fight against Coronavirus.

Other management staff of the EFCC that received the NUJ delegation include the Director of Organizational Support, Dr. Aminu Gusau mni; Director of Operations, Umar Mohammed Abba; Acting Director of Public Affairs, Hajiya Aisha Larai Musa; Special Assistant to the Chairman on Media & Publicity, Mr. Tony Amokeodo and Head of Media & Publicity and Spokesperson of the Commission, Dele Oyewale, amongst others.
By Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan LONDON (Reuters) - European stocks look poised to make up ground on Wall Street in the second half of 2020 as Joe Biden consolidates his lead over Donald Trump ahead of the November U.S. presidential election and a surge of new COVID-19 cases threatens the U.S

By Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan

LONDON (Reuters) - European stocks look poised to make up ground on Wall Street in the second half of 2020 as Joe Biden consolidates his lead over Donald Trump ahead of the November U.S. presidential election and a surge of new COVID-19 cases threatens the U.S. economic recovery.

The U.S. stock market has consistently outperformed Europe since the 2016 election of Trump, which was followed by a rally widely dubbed the 'Trump bump'.

Fund flows suggest a shift in sentiment. Bank of America's latest weekly report on Friday showed $6.6 billion left U.S. equity funds, the largest exodus in seven weeks, while $800 million made their way into European ones.

The pan-European STOXX 600 has outperformed world stocks by about 1.5% in the last month, while Wall Street's S&P 500 has underperformed by the same extent.

Among factors boosting European assets is Europe's relative success in gradually reopening its economy and the European Union's proposed 750 billion euro ($841.73 billion) recovery fund to help countries deal with the fallout from the coronavirus crisis.

The spending plan, which could be approved in July, would bring the EU closer to a fiscal union and as such has boosted sentiment and soothed recurrent worries about peripheral euro zone countries such as Italy.

The common currency has risen 4% since France and Germany unveiled a joint proposal for the recovery fund on May 18.

APPEAL

"The strengthening of the euro reinforces the appeal of European equities, particularly for U.S. investors", said Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays.

"There's a very strong re-rating potential for the European market which has long been underinvested and undervalued."

Before the COVID-19 financial crash, the S&P 500 had gained over 60% since November 2016, about twice as much as the pan European STOXX 600.

"We are warming up to European assets as the region steps up its policy response and demonstrates relative success in tamping virus growth," BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, told its clients on Monday.

Similarly, Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating for Europe to "overweight" for the next three months, citing "a combination of favourable tailwinds".

Investors were pleasantly surprised this week when IHS Markit's euro zone Flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), seen as a good gauge of economic health, reached 47.5, moving closer to the 50 mark separating growth from contraction.

Meanwhile, the U.S. newsflow was less favourable, with record COVID-19 infections and jobs data suggesting the labour market could take years to recover.

Opinion polls give Biden a substantial lead over Trump both nationally and in key states, and betting odds currently give the Democrat candidate a 60% chance of winning.

Goldman Sachs said the possibility of a Biden victory - and the possible reversal of Trump's 2017 tax cuts - wasn't fully priced into markets.

Given the uncertainty of the race and bearing in mind the surprise win of Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016, many may choose to stay on the sidelines and wait for the dust to settle.

"European equities may get an edge over their U.S. peers as we get closer to the U.S. election," Morgan Stanley's head of cross-asset strategy Andrew Sheets told Reuters.

Wall Street lags on virus, election angst https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/nmovajjrdpa/Pasted%20image%201593164697028.png

(Reporting by Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan in London; Editing by Gareth Jones)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 05:18:20|Editor: huaxia

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Video: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for a networked, inclusive and effective multilateralism "at a time of colossal global upheaval and risk." (Xinhua)

"We need to give multilateralism the capacities to confront our challenges, not only to meet immediate needs but to enable future generations to meet theirs," says the secretary-general.



UNITED NATIONS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for a networked, inclusive, and effective multilateralism "at a time of colossal global upheaval and risk."

"We need a networked multilateralism, bringing together the UN system, regional organizations, international financial institutions and others," the UN chief told the press at the virtual launch of the UN Comprehensive Response to COVID-19.

"We need an inclusive multilateralism, drawing on the indispensable contributions of civil society, business, cities, regions and, in particular, with greater weight given to the voices of youth," he said, noting that in the 21st century, governments are no longer the only political and power reality.

The secretary-general also called for "an effective multilateralism" that can function as an instrument of global governance where it is needed.

Speaking about the challenges facing the international community, Guterres said that "from COVID-19 to climate disruption, from racial injustice to rising inequalities, we are a world in turmoil."

In the face of many fragilities, world leaders "need to be humble and recognize the vital importance of unity and solidarity," the UN chief noted.

"We need to give multilateralism the capacities to confront our challenges, not only to meet immediate needs but to enable future generations to meet theirs," said the secretary-general. 
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 207 points in early afternoon trading on Friday 26. If this triple-digit loss holds, it would close out a rollercoaster week for the TSX and its peers south of the border. Today, I want to look at three top TSX stocks priced below the $10 mark.

Cheap TSX stock in healthcare

In early June, I explained why investors should continue to target TSX stocks in healthcare. Biotherapeutics has been one of the fastest-growing subsectors in this space. Knight Therapeutics (TSX:GUD) operates as a specialty pharmaceutical company in Canada. Its shares have climbed 28% over the past three months at the time of this writing.

The company released its first-quarter 2020 results on June 26. Key events included the launch of Cresemba, which will be used for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis and invasive mucormycosis in Brazil. It also obtained the exclusive Canadian commercial rights to Trelstar, which has been approved for the treatment of prostate cancer.

Knight has put itself in the position to be a global player in the pharmaceuticals space. The stock was priced at $6.70 in early afternoon trading today. Investors should consider stashing this TSX stock for the long term.

Keep your eyes on energy

Shawcor (TSX:SCL) is a Calgary-based company that provides products and services for the infrastructure, energy, and transportation markets in North America and around the world. Its shares have plunged 76% in 2020 at the time of this writing.

However, Canadas energy markets have managed to gain some momentum in the second half of spring, which is why this TSX stock priced below the $5 mark is worth watching.

In the first quarter, Shawcor saw revenue drop 9% year over year to $319 million. Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA dropped 78% to $6 million. On the plus side, Shawcors order backlog came in at $575 million as at March 31, 2020  up from $513 million as at December 31, 2019.

The company is fighting major headwinds in this crisis, but management has taken measures to dramatically reduce costs.

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Shares of Shawcor last had a favourable price-to-book value of 0.2. Regardless, this TSX stock in the energy space is an interesting gamble in late June.

Some gold stocks are still undervalued

Energy has been pummeled in this crisis, while other sectors have thrived. Gold miners have enjoyed one of the best stretches in nearly half a decade. Id suggested that investors should continue to pour into TSX stocks in this space.

Kinross Gold is one of the top gold producers in Canada. Its shares have climbed 78% year over year as of early afternoon trading on June 26. In the first quarter of 2020, Kinross saw adjusted net earnings increase 53% to $127.4 million, or $0.10 per share. Meanwhile, the company boosted its financial position and now boasts total liquidity of $1.9 billion.

Shares of Kinross last possessed a P/E ratio of 11 and a P/B value of 1.5. The spot price of gold was one of the few elements in the green today.

It has now climbed above the $1,780 mark and is threatening the $1,800 threshold. Im still bullish on gold stocks this summer, and Kinross offers nice value.

The post Top TSX Stocks Under $10 appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

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Fool contributor Ambrose O'Callaghan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends ShawCor.

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
During the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last July, the citys central plaza became an ideological Star Wars canteen. Burly Christian fundamentalists hoisted signs denouncing Islam a few feet from a publicity-seeking Muslim with an AR-15 slung across his back. Clusters of communists chanted America was never great! while Bikers for Trump paraded around in MAGA hats. Off to one side, Daryle Lamont Jenkins, a longtime activist in the militant left-wing anti-fascist movement, sat on a bench beside me surveying the rabble, pointing out various white supremacists whod come to town to celebrate Donald Trumps ascension.

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Hed already seen the Traditionalist Worker Partys Matt Heimbach, who a few months earlier had assaulted a black female protester at a Trump rally in Kentucky. Hed spotted Richard Spencer and Nathan Damigo, who, a year later, would make news for their high-profile roles in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Looking into the crowd, Jenkins drew my attention to a stocky shaven-headed man in a St. Vincent T-shirtMatt Forney, an internet personality whose work blends racism with mens rights activism. (His oeuvre includes How to Beat Your Girlfriend or Wife and Get Away With It.) A handful of young men hovered around him. Theyre organizing, theyre recruiting, theyre going around talking to people, and theyre trying to basically beef up their numbers, Jenkins said. He was there to watch them. Ive been taking video of every Nazi Ive seen, he told me.

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Ive been taking video of every Nazi Ive seen, Jenkins said.

Jenkins, 49, is a black man who has devoted his life to fighting white supremacists, sometimes literally. He is the founder of the One Peoples Project, easily the most mainstream and well-known anti-fascist, or antifa, organization. (Its motto is Hate Has Consequences.) Unlike other left-wing groups that track the far right, One Peoples Projectwhich Jenkins runs with the help of a network of about 15 volunteersconfronts its enemies, whether that means getting in their faces at protests, doxing them, or contacting their employers. A volunteer named Laura, a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, described her work with OPP as antifa CIA.

After the riot in Charlottesvillewhere Jenkins was pepper-sprayedantifa is suddenly making headlines. The term antifa refers to a loose network of militant left-wing activists who physically square off against the far right, and often try to prevent those they deem fascists from speaking publicly. Antifa is sometimes used as a synonym for black bloc anarchiststhe scruffy kids in black bandanas or balaclavas known for smashing Starbucks windowsbut while the movements overlap, theyre not identical. Jenkins doesnt wear a mask, and Laura is an upper-middle-class suburban woman with grown children. The movement appears to be growing rapidly under Trump, though its impossible to put hard numbers to it; there are no membership rolls.

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As antifa becomes more prominent, Jenkins has been called on to explain its strain of left-wing militancy to a fascinated but deeply wary wider world. The last time I saw him, on Thursday, he had just finished an interview on Sirius XM and said he would soon be appearing on 20/20. Hed been frustrated with mainstream coverage of antifa, which tends to paint it as mindlessly reckless, though he also said the movement bears some blame for failing to speak to media on its own behalf. If you want to know what antifa is about, talk to antifaif you can find people in antifa that will talk, he said. Hell talk, and has become the public face for a diffuse, nonhierarchical movement. Daryles important because hes an elder in our community, said James Anderson, part of the editorial collective that produces the anarchist website Its Going Down. He added: Daryles very brave.

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Many on the right have tried to paint antifa as the moral equivalent of violent white supremacists. Antifa: The Other Evil Political Force, says a headline on an essay in the American Conservative that ran last week. Trump, at his notorious Aug. 15 press conference, seemed to refer to antifa when he placed part of the blame for Charlottesville on the alt-left which he called very, very violent. Liberals, in general, dont like antifa much more. They see their tactics as counterproductive at best, and worry that theyre ceding the moral high ground to the right. In The Rise of the Violent Left, a recent Atlantic piece, Peter Beinart wrote about how antifa threatened to disrupt an annual parade in Portland, Oregon, if it included a contingent of Trump supporters; the parade ended up being canceled. The people preventing Republicans from safely assembling on the streets of Portland may consider themselves fierce opponents of the authoritarianism growing on the American right, wrote Beinart. In truth, however, they are its unlikeliest allies.

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Its certainly true that antifa refuses to eschew violence. According to CNNs Jake Tapper, left-wing counterprotesters assaulted at least two journalists in Charlottesville. The riot is our version of the strike, said Anderson, even as he acknowledges a disconnect between some of antifas tactics and its goals. Step one, broken window. Step two, we dont know. Step three, classless and stateless society, he said wryly. I dont think it works like that.

But at a moment when Trumps violence on many sides rhetoric has installed a one-dimensional image of antifa in the wider imagination, Jenkins insists that large-scale standoffs are only part of what the movement doesand not the most important part. Antifa also aims to shame white supremacists, heightening the social cost of involvement with racist organizations. Youve got to be proactive against them when theyre not rolling 500 deep, he said. Thats where doxing comes in. In the wake of Charlottesville, he points out, Unite the Right rallygoers are being identified online, with lasting consequences. One has left college, another has been fired from his job at a Berkeley, California, hot dog stand. These are kids who thought it was funny hassling people online and think they can get away with it in real life, said Jenkins. And then they learn the hard way: Real life is different than online.

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Daryle Jenkins roots lay in the punk scene, which was the crucible of antifa organizing in America. In 1983, a multiracial skinhead crew called the Baldies formed in Minneapolis to oppose racist skinhead gangs. Five years later, members of the Baldies joined with other groups nationwide to form Anti-Racist Action, an anarchist network that set out to expose, oppose, and confront white supremacists. Central to ARAs mission was no-platforminga concept borrowed from Europes Anti-Fascist Actionwhich meant denying racists the opportunity to speak publicly. The whole thing about defending the Nazis freedom of speech before even recognizing that theyre trying to take ours away has always been a problem for me, Jenkins said.

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After spending the late 1980s serving in the Air Force, Jenkins hooked up with antifa in the 1990s. Our mission in life was to chase every neo-Nazi out of whatever music scene we were in, he said. We used to fight all the time. In 1995, while living in Cleveland, he started a chapter of ARA. Five years later, hed returned to New Jersey, where he worked with several progressives groups to coordinate a response to a July Fourth rally organized by the white supremacist Richard Barrett. Jenkins and his allies called their effort the One Peoples Coalition. Back then the internet was still fairly new, and Jenkins set up the groups GeoCities website to publicize demonstrations against Barretts group. After the rally he kept the site going, eventually renaming it the One Peoples Project.

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One Peoples Project is run on a shoestring. Though Jenkins has a few donors, he supports himself by working as a truck driver. He and his volunteers attend as many right-wing events as possible, from the Conservative Political Action Conference to hardcore Nazi gatherings. When white supremacists are arrested, Jenkins tries to sit in on their trials. You actually have to go out there and do the legwork, he said. One of his prouder moments was exposing an act of racist violence by the anti-immigrant activist Marcus Epstein. One day in 2009, Jenkins was bored and on a whim ran Epsteins name through a criminal database. He found out that Epstein had been arrested two years earlier, though no information about the arrest was available online. So Jenkins went to D.C. Superior Court and pulled his records. It turned out that in 2007, a drunk Epstein had called a passing black woman a nigger, then tried to hit her with a karate chop to the head. A Secret Service officer who witnessed the attack took Epstein into custody, and Epstein eventually entered an Alford plea to the charge of misdemeanor assault. (An Alford plea is when a defendant maintains innocence but admits that the state has sufficient evidence to convict him and agrees to be treated as guilty.) Epstein satisfied the conditions of his Alford plea, withdrew the plea, and the charges against him were dismissed.*

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When Jenkins discovered Epsteins arrest, it was in the middle of the contentious confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Epstein was working as executive director of a political action committee co-founded by former Rep. Tom Tancredo, who called Sotomayor a racist and compared her to members of the KKK. The revelation of Epsteins racist assault made national news, helping to undermine the opposition to Sotomayor.

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Much of what OPP does is this sort of individual exposure, a precursor to the crowdsourced doxing campaigns currently being run against white supremacists who were photographed in Charlottesville. Both Jenkins and Laura maintain white nationalist sock-puppet accounts on social media, which they use to communicate with the members of the movement online, and they monitor far-right message boards. Laura described how she got a Virginia white supremacist named Wendy fired. Laura said that Wendy, a psychiatric nurse, posted on the far-right racist site Stormfront about how when she gives out medication to people who are Jewish or black, that she wishes she could give them all cyanide. Though Wendy had been posting under an online pseudonym, Laura told me she figured out her real name and contacted her employer.

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Though violence on many sides rhetoric has defined antifa in the public imagination, Jenkins insists such standoffs are only part of what the movement doesand not the most important part.

But Jenkins and his crew arent simply out to ruin the lives of their opponents; hes also helped shepherd people out of racist movements.

Though hell fight white supremacists, hell also talk to them whenever he sees an opening. He can cut an intimidating figurehes a tall, broad mountain of a manbut hes also warm and, given his lifes work, surprisingly nonjudgmental. Jenkins father was a drug treatment counselor, and his mother is a Pentecostal missionary. He credits his parents for instilling in him an impulse to reach out to people. Im my fathers son, Im my mothers son, Jenkins said. Ill talk. Sometimes, when white supremacists start nurturing doubts, he said, Im the only person that will talk to them, really talk to them like theyre a human being.

When Bryon Widner, who was once an ultraviolent Nazi skinhead, and his wife, Julie, wanted to leave the movement, Julie turned to Jenkins for help. They knew me because of how everybody used to complain about the work I do among their circle, Jenkins said. He would spend hours on the phone with Bryon, bonding with him over their shared love of punk rock. After the couple made a decisive break from their racist past, the Southern Poverty Law Center paid for Bryon to undergo a series of 25 excruciating laser surgeries to remove his Nazi facial tattoos, procedures that were chronicled in the 2011 documentary Erasing Hate.

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In the film, Julie tells Jenkins what hes meant to them: Just being able to talk to you about what we went through, and getting out, and all the death threats, and giving us the hope that were doing the right thing, she says. Jenkins responds, I appreciate that, but listen. Its not me. Its you.

None of this, of course, is what most people think of when they think of antifa. The popular image of antifa is of black-masked anarchists spoiling for a fight, and its an image rooted in reality. Jenkins makes no apologies for antifas aggressive stance, which he describes in conservative-sounding terms of community self-reliance. It is apparent that Donald Trump is not going to do anything to keep these groups from flourishing, so we have to. It is our job as citizens of this country, he said. If we care about it, were the ones who need to go out there and do what needs to be done. He carries a gun, though hes never had to use it. More and more to the hard left, you start seeing people willing to bear arms, said Jenkins. I dont run with people who dont care for guns all that much.

For many liberalsa category in which I include myselfantifas willingness to use violence and eagerness to shut down right-wing speech seem both morally wrong and strategically obtuse. Shortly before he was fired, Steve Bannon said that racial unrest is good for the administration: If the left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats. Trump appears to be making the same calculation, sowing discord to shore up his base.

Some progressive groups that work to stem the growth of the far right worry that antifa plays into their enemies hands. Earlier this year, the Southern Poverty Law Center released a guide for college students about how to deal with alt-right figures on campus. It urges students to avoid confrontation with visiting right-wing speakers, and to instead hold separate, alternative events. When an alt-right personality is scheduled to speak on campus, the most effective course of action is to deprive the speaker of the thing he or she wants mosta spectacle, says the guide. Alt-right personalities know their cause is helped by news footage of large jeering crowds, heated confrontations and outright violence at their events.

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But from the perspective of people inside antifa, Charlottesville proves that confrontational tactics are necessary. The weekend of the rally, the swaggering white nationalist Christopher Cantwell was showing off his weapons to a Vice reporter. A few days later, he posted a video of himself choking back tears after hearing that there was a warrant out for his arrest. I dont know what to do, he said, adding, We have used every peaceful and lawful means by which to redress our grievances, and our enemies just will not stop! Thats the sort of thing Jenkins loves to hear. When you get Christopher Cantwell crying, you know that they did not want this, he said.

Anderson, the anarchist website editor, is audibly exasperated when I ask him to respond to those who say that facing off against white supremacists only gives them the publicity they crave. Those people got their wish on Friday night, he said, pointing out that, in the absence of antifa, torch-wielding marchers on the University of Virginia campus attacked a group of students and other activists holding a small, quiet counterdemonstration. (According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, a UVA employee who was injured while trying to protect students had a stroke shortly after the clash and ended up in the ICU.) They beat the shit out of them, Anderson said. They called them niggers and hit them with torches. Nobody came to their defense. There was actually a church full of people singing songs with Cornel West not that far away. Thats what happens when you ignore them.

On Saturday in Charlottesville, when antifa did turn out, many of the peaceful progressive protesters credit it with defending them. West, who was demonstrating with a group of clergy, told Democracy Now!s Amy Goodman, [W]e would have been crushed like cockroaches if it were not for the anarchists and the anti-fascists. Charlottesville pastor Seth Wispelwey, who was standing next to West at Saturdays demonstration, told me that at one point the clergy were charged by a battalion of armed white supremacists, with the police nowhere to be seen. The clergy regrouped, linking arms and preparing to risk being assaulted, but more than 200 antifa activists massed between them and 100 or so Nazis. Without antifa, said Wispelwey, We would have just been trampled and beaten.

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Wispelwey, who is committed to nonviolent civil disobedience, has philosophical and strategic differences with antifa, but he doesnt condemn it. I have different tactics, but overall I say, as a clergy person, its dangerous to wait for the perfect at the expense of the good when actual bodily safety is on the line, he said.

In Charlottesville, the police stood down in part because of the presence of armed right-wing militias. Their presence as a private security force for an increasingly public coalition of white nationalist factionsKu Klux Klan followers, neo-Nazis, and alt-right supportershas transformed a movement that has already demonstrated a willingness to threaten violence, reported Politico. Trump has made it clear he has little interest in defending those who would stand up to violent racists. So no matter how much hectoring there is from the right for progressives to denounce the alt-left, theres no reason to believe that antifa will stop gaining ground anytime soon. If people believe that their government hates them and established institutions are incapable of staving off fascism, they will inevitably take matters into their own hands, whether that means exposing people online or fighting with them offline.

For Jenkins, the lesson of Charlottesville is clear: Antifa needs to redouble its efforts. Weve got to be a little bit more forceful, he said. And that doesnt mean we go out there and get even more physically aggressive with these guys. It means that we really try to put the pressure on so that they are marginalized, as they were a couple of years ago. Because whats going on right now, they dont feel marginalized. They feel like nothings going to get in their way. Hes going to get in their way.

*Correction, Sept. 11, 2017: This piece originally misstated that Marcus Epstein pleaded guilty to simple assault. He entered an Alford plea to the charge of misdemeanor assault; the charge was later dismissed.

Top image: Daryle Lamont Jenkins, center, argues with supporters of President Trump as Rutgers University students and supporters gather to express their discontent with Trumps executive order halting some immigrants from entering the U.S., on Jan. 31 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Photo by Mel Evans/AP.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan stunned the public this morning after announcing 110m of police cuts just hours after Met chief Cressida Dick vowed to crack down on London's illegal raves.

The top officer, 59, said 140 force staff had been hurt trying to break up the outlawed gatherings which she branded 'completely utterly unacceptable'.

She insisted the police had managed to stop a number of the lockdown-breaking events, including one in Mitcham last night.

Met Commissioner Cressida Dick spoke with Priti Patel over the illegal raves this morning

But it came as Mr Khan said he expected to have to make huge cuts to police funding due to a 493million shortfall sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.

He insisted: 'The scale of the challenge is far beyond anything that any local or regional authority could have prepared for. My first priority is to protect frontline emergency services, which is why we have outlined proportionately smaller savings for the police and fire brigade.'

The developments came hours after a phone call between Dame Cressida and Home Secretary Priti Patel this morning.

Mrs Patel had said yesterday she wanted a 'full explanation' after fear police were losing control of the streets.

Sources close to the Home Secretary said she had requested the conversation.

The commissioner said violence broke out at a gathering in Notting Hill 'where some missiles were thrown and some aggression shown to the officers which is completely utterly unacceptable'.

She added: 'These events are unlawful. They shouldn't be happening and we have a duty to go and close them down and to disperse them.

'The local communities hate them, (it is) incredibly anti-social behaviour, very noisy during a pandemic and sometimes violence.

'For our officers who are simply doing their duty to be attacked is utterly unacceptable.'

Social media showed terrifying scenes in Brixon where thugs attacked police

No officers were injured during the Notting Hill violence which the commissioner described as 'very unacceptable behaviour but very much less serious' than the trouble at a block party in Brixton on Wednesday night.

More than 20 officers were injured during the trouble in Brixton which included three 'really quite nasty injuries'.

The commissioner added: 'It was a really really horrible incident for them to deal with, really vicious attacks by people using bottles, glasses and anything they could pick up.'

She estimated that 'well over 100' officers have been injured during the series of protests, including Black Lives Matter demonstrations, which have taken place in recent weeks.

The commissioner, who noted that some injuries may not be reported until after the incident, suggested that the number of police injuries is now 'heading up to 140-odd officers, I think, in the last three weeks'.

She added she was in Brixton last night, added: 'What I saw was Met officers poised to deal with what was required, ready in full kit should there be any violent or aggressive crowds to deal with.

'The officers on the ground have to make a decision when they are called to do something and how to do that most safely.

'I am not going to second guess all the decisions on the night at Brixton, suffice to say I have set out as commissioner to ensure that my people are as well supported and as well equipped as they possibly can be.'

In a message to the public, she said: 'Tell us about unlicensed music events. We will come and close them down.

'My message to my officers is that I will support you and I will do everything I can to ensure that you are able to do your job to your best ability and that you are well equipped.'

There have been criticism of the Met's reaction in dealing with the pop-up music events

Former Met detective Peter Bleksley has slammed the force's tactics and said today: 'Wednesday evening, Brixton, police in high-vis and flat caps. Thursday evening, Notting Hill, police in full public order kit. Inconsistent. Are senior officers making it up as they go along?'

Nigel Farage told MailOnline he fears a summer of violence after a second night of attacks on police in London.

He said: 'There is more to come. Respect for the police is gone'.
An Independent Financial Adviser report cited AIOFP executive director Peter Johnston as emailing Members of Parliament to outline LIFs impact on the risk industry. According to Johnston, there has been a dramatic drop in new policies being written.

The AIOFP official asserted that the decline, in turn, has led to premium hikes, insurance company losses and redundancies, and lower government revenue. More importantly, it is said to be widening the life underinsurance in the country.

The nations underinsurance position has increased from $1.7 trillion in 2016 to over $2 trillion today, Johnston, referring to unintended consequences, was quoted as saying in his email.

Under LIF, upfront adviser commissions are capped at 60%  a slash from the previous 120%.
Photo credit: Ash Adams

From Good Housekeeping

For the first 37 years of my life, I considered myself largely exempt from the blind spots of white privilege. Intellectually, I knew the definition of the phrase: White privilege is the inherent advantages that come with being white. But I assumed I knew better than to let those advantages hinder my progressive way of life. I had worked in New York City media for years, leaving a big job in magazines to become director of creative engagement for Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign. I helped to organize the Womens March. I started my social impact agency Invisible Hand to assist companies like Instagram and organizations like Planned Parenthood as they put good work into the world. I was your favorite progressive's favorite progressive.

Photo credit: Nick Merril

Then, I met Jordan. He was so handsome, I thought I might die. He was sharp and charismatic and when he smiled it looked like he was lit from within. I cringe to say that I loved him immediately, here's the thing: but I pretty much did. We did not take it slow. In fact, we shoehorned a decades worth of life into our first 24 months together. We moved in together, started companies, got pregnant, miscarried, renovated an apartment and got pregnant again, only to spend the last trimester of the pregnancy living apart while I pursued a fellowship in a different city. In the beginning, when we fought  which we did, kind of a lot  I chalked it up to the stress of cramming all of that life into such a short span of time. But before long, I started to realize something bigger was at play: He is a Black man raised in the south. I am a white woman raised in Alaska. My whiteness, and my white privilege, really got in the way.

Related video: Angelina Jolie speaks out about white privilege

Of course I knew that Jordan and I would have cultural differences. On our first date, he asked me if he was the first Black man Id dated (he was not), and told me that his relationships had spanned the map, too. We discussed how we thought our families would react, and the role our upbringings had played in our identities. I kind of thought we had it covered. We did not. Almost immediately, I began to understand my white privilege and unconscious bias in new, upsetting ways.

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Just a few examples:



Last winter, Jordan and I were driving on a highway in New York headed upstate to look at real estate, when I casually mentioned that our license plates were about to expire. He got so angry with me that I worried he would crash the car.

Do you realize that if a cop pulls us over for expired tags, I could be killed? he said.

I had not realized.

Then, just this weekend, while driving the same stretch of highway, he mentioned that we were in the same borough where Eric Garner was murdered.

I mean, I really had not realized.

Photo credit: Genevieve Roth

Then there was the time I pushed him to negotiate for a higher salary, thinking that the problem with his offer lay in his negotiating skills and not realizing that black men are serially underpaid, considerably more so than white women. And black women have it even worse.

I fought for pay equity my entire career. This, I had not realized.

Or the time we spent New Years with friends, in Malibu, California, and I gave him a hard time for isolating himself in our room with his iPad instead of joining group activities. He finally said, You dont get it. Yall white people move through the world like the way it is for you is the way it is for everybody. Im trying to tell you that its not. People treat me differently here. They cross the street when they see me coming. Stop trying to get me to go on your hike.

I had not realized.

Or every single time we fight and I say, When you start yelling, I stop listening, without realizing that what I hear as a yell is just how they talk in his family, and that half the time I think Im fighting with Jordan he isnt even mad. Im not used to that tone because I never had to yell in order to be heard: The world was always listening. But instead of moderating my reaction, my impulse is to ask him to speak differentlyhey, husband, change your tone to make me feel more comfortable. Make yourself familiar to me, please. Come over to my side of the road.



I have too many stories like this, and the moral of them is always the same: It does not matter how many marches I have planned or how many progressive candidates I have campaigned for or how many times I have chanted Black Lives Matter in the streets: I am rife with internalized racism and unconscious bias. And to all of the non-Black folks reading this, we need to get clear on something: So are you.



To be raised white in America is to be told in countless small ways that how you live is correct. It means having your image and your values reflected back at you  in the education you received, the toys you were sold, the ideals of beauty you were given. Over time, this message imbeds itself so deeply in us that we can no longer recognize it as the false narrative that it is. We lose our sense of culpability, misunderstanding racial inequality as something to empathize with instead of something that we created and are uniquely required to solve.

This spring, when Dominique "Rem'mie" Fells, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd were murdered, a fog rose up in our house. As protests raged across the country, I wondered what we would tell our daughter, now two years old, about the people marching down our street. Just weeks before, we were teaching her to wear a mask when leaving the house. Now, we were adjusting our rituals, adding, Goodnight Protestors! We love you! to the rounds of blessings we wished upon the city each night at bedtime. During the days, I did what I normally do when our country takes a hit: I got down to business, working with fellow activists to fight for policy change and advising companies and friends about how to get involved in the hard work of making systematic change. It wasnt feeling like enough.

Photo credit: Genevieve Roth

Systematic change is critical. Better schools. A functioning justice system and an end to police brutality. Reparations. But until white women like myself do the work to examine our role in this racist system, and to repair the collateral damage we have caused, Black people in this country will never truly be liberated. Systems, hearts and minds  thats the combo.



Recently, with my husbands blessing, I took to Instagram, outlining ways in which my own bias and internalized racism had hurt our partnership. I hoped that by spelling it out, it would help my family and friends start the work of examining their own culpability.



It is hard work. It is embarrassing and shameful, and every time I post, I fear that this latest confession could be the one that will expose me as irredeemable  too privileged to be deserving of the man I love, too far gone to be a suitable mother to my black daughter.

But every time I do, I get a message from a white friend saying something like, I drove with expired tags just yesterday, or, I had no idea about the pay gap. Ive worried about centering myself in these stories (something white women are awfully prone to do), but my Black friends and family have been broadly generous, saying they are grateful not to have to do the work to break down clearly the things they live with every day (even though, as one said, Its like racism 101 up in your feed, but if this is what the people need, please dear god, give it to them.). If I can redirect some of the labor  or even the trolls  that too often gets sent in their direction, well, thats a good day's work for me.

I am the mother of a black daughter.

I am the wife of a black man.

If I want to be worthy of them  and I do  I have to at least start here.

Will you join me?



Genevieve Roth is the founder of Invisible Hand, a social impact and culture change agency based in New York. Previously, she was a Shorenstein Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, served as the creative engagement director for the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and as an executive director of special projects at Glamour Magazine. She is a born and raised Alaskan, which she feels is important for you to know. You can connect with her on Instagram. Genevieve donated the fee for this essay to Black Lives Matter.

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Prayers go up, search underway after Amish teen goes missing while walking home from church

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Earnest prayers to God and a search are now underway for an 18-year-old Amish girl from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, five days after she went missing after attending church on Sunday.

East Lampeter Township police said the teenager, Linda Stoltzfoos, who is about 5-foot, 10-inches tall and 125 pounds, was last seen on a farm around 12:30 p.m. Sunday on Stumptown Road, near Bird-in-Hand where a church service was held. She was wearing a tan dress, white apron and white cape, NBC10 reported.

Multiple state, local, federal authorities, as well as volunteers are involved in the search for Linda, and a spokesman for District Attorney Heather Adams office said the case is a top priority.

While there is a well-known history of young people leaving the Amish community in rebellion, investigators say this does not appear to be the case with Linda.

"This is unlike her," Lt. Matthew Hess told NBC10. "There are certain teenage Amish kids who would have that personality or would express that interest, want to see the world. There was no indication that this is the case for Linda."

The simple, family-centered Amish culture in Lancaster County keeps the devout faith community separate from their more secular countrymen. They believe in a literal interpretation and application of Scripture as the Word of God, including biblical commands to separate themselves from the things of the world. They believe worldliness can keep them from being close to God, and can introduce influences that could be destructive to their communities and to their way of life.

Sparky Grace who rents industrial space from Lindas grandfather for his wood shop, explained in a statement on Facebook how Lindas father, Lloyd Stoltzfoos, just months ago prayed with him through a difficult period. Now, he said, he has been trying to support her devastated father in his dark moment.

Christmas night of 2019 Lloyd (Lindas father) exited the rear of his shop to find me in my truck. I was chain smoking overwhelmed by sadness. His gait is always relaxed and casual. He approached me with concern and held confusion in his eyes. He asked why I was there on such a significant holiday. He could see my tears and his face filled with the most genuine of compassion. He comforted me as I was broken. Little did I realize hed fall into my arms at 4 a.m. on Monday morning, sobbing, and emit these words, We cant find Linda, Grace wrote. Confusion filled my head and my only immediate thought was prayer. The man who once consoled me, now was shattered and broken.

Grace also shot down speculations of abuse or suggestions that Linda might just be rebelling against her community.

I cant read things posted anymore on this situation. People proclaim suspicions of abuse or a rebellious teenager. Im telling you, that is NOT the case. My last memory of Linda was before Christmas. I drove the whole family to a Christmas party. She was singing hymns with her sisters in the back of the van. Not a word was spoken as these girls serenaded all of us. The moment was surreal and filled with peace from the voices of innocents. Having a two year established relationship with this family, I will tell you theyre beyond rare, Grace said.

The kids are always polite and filled with gratitude. The parents and grandparents are people that resonate with wholesome values and unwavering faith. My life will forever be touched by the generous acceptance and compassion by the Stoltzfoos family. I now ache for them beyond what I can express, he wrote.

A Facebook page called Amish Girl Missing - Linda Stoltzfoos has been posting regular updates on the search for Linda, including multiple videos of daily prayer and singing to God for her safe return. Another prayer meeting is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. Friday.

At the dawn of a new day, the hope is alive in finding Linda today. The search continues, the page administrators noted Friday in a post with a serene photo of farmland.

Where is Linda? Sometimes you gotta lie in bed, stare at the ceiling and talk to God about confusing things in life and tell Him youre gonna trust Him even though nothing makes sense right now, another post noted.

Grace, in his post, said local police have been leaving no stone unturned in the search for Linda and encourage people to just pray for the family.

People ask me what they could do. This Amish community is resilient. They even take shifts 24 hours a day to sit by the phone (even all night) in case Linda would call. The reality is; the best thing you could offer is prayer, he wrote.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 14:05:54|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia has reported three new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking its total to 219, the country's National Center for Communicable Disease (NCCD) said on Friday.

"A total of 171 tests for COVID-19 were conducted across the country on Thursday and three of them were positive," the NCCD's head Dulmaa Nyamkhuu told a daily press conference.

The newly confirmed cases are Mongolian students who took a chartered flight on Thursday to return home from Russia, Nyamkhuu said.

Meanwhile, one more patient has recovered, raising the national count to 170, he added.

No local transmissions or deaths have been reported in Mongolia so far. Enditem
QuisLex Very little true leadership, in my view, comes purely from titles. The people who become terrific leaders are true to themselves, are sincere in what they do, listen more than they speak, and dont seek out a leadership role purely for that roles sake.

Ram Vasudevan, CEO of QuisLex, a leading alternative legal service provider long-recognized as a pioneer in the industry, recently shared his experiences and advice on The Becker Group Business Leadership Podcast.

Vasudevan studied law in India and came to the US in the early 1990s to attend Cornell and Columbia. He founded QuisLex, which has grown into an award-winning, international business, with more than 1,100 employees worldwide, serving clients globally.

When asked what it takes to be an effective leader, Ram Vasudevan imparts, Very little true leadership, in my view, comes purely from titles. The people who become terrific leaders are true to themselves, are sincere in what they do, listen more than they speak, and dont seek out a leadership role purely for that roles sake.

For more insight from a successful lawyer-turned-entrepreneur, click here to listen to the conversation between Ram Vasudevan and The Becker Group Business Leadership Podcast host, Scott Becker.

About QuisLex

QuisLex is an award-winning legal services provider that specializes in managed document review, contract management, compliance services, legal spend management and legal operations consulting. Our full-time highly-trained attorneys, process experts, legal technologists, statisticians and linguists work closely with our clients to reduce cost, mitigate risk and maximize efficiency. QuisLex is regularly acknowledged as a leader in the legal services industry and proud to be recognized by the Financial Times as an FT Intelligent Business 35, Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) as an ACC Value Champion, Chambers and Partners as a Band 1 Legal Process Outsourcing Provider, New York Law Journal as a Top Managed Document Review Services Provider and the IACCM as its Outstanding Service Provider for contract management solutions. To learn more, visit http://www.quislex.com.


New Delhi, June 26 : The disruption cased by Covid-19 would cause a significant decline in India's enterprise software market this year, tapering down the growth to mere 3.8 per cent (year-on-year), a new IDC report said on Friday.

The pandemic has forced enterprises to relook at their IT spend.

Enterprises at this point are focusing on operational resiliency, return on investment (ROI), business continuity plans, and parking aside all noncritical projects for the next three to six months at least, according to the report.

However, there has been an increase in spending on remote work enablement and cloud adoption.

There will be heightened demand for collaborative applications, application platforms, security software, system and service management software, and content workflow and management applications, said IDC.

As per IDC's latest Worldwide Semiannual Software Tracker, 2H19 (July-December), the India software market grew by 16 per cent year over year (YoY) in 2H19 compared to 2H18. For 2019, the India software market achieved a revenue of $6.48 billion.

"India stands as the second-largest software market in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan and China) and also managed to keep its growth pace stronger than some of the major economies in the region," said Mohsin Baig, market analyst, enterprise software, IDC India.

"The growth was shaped by demand for cloud application, application modernization, increasing IT spend by the small and medium-sized business (SBM) segment, cloud-native software start-ups, and government initiative for data localization," he added.

The majority of India enterprises have digital transformation (DX) initiatives in place or plan to implement in the next 12-24 months.

Modernising legacy applications, using as-a-service model, and harnessing emerging technologies to enhance customer and employee experience are some of the key DX initiatives, which are acting as the driving factors for the software market in India.

The ongoing pandemic has pushed many enterprises to implement work-from-home (WFH) policies for the first time, and this has created a demand for collaborative applications as well as an increase in security threats.

The IDC expects a rise in demand for technologies such as VPN, authentication, endpoint security, encryption and application security.

"The outbreak of Covid-19 have resulted in the partial/complete transformation of working models with the use of collaborative platforms. New software implementations, upgrades, or migrations will be delayed by a few quarters, unless extremely critical," said Shweta Baidya , senior research manager, enterprise software and IT services, IDC India.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
NEW DELHI : An agriculture ministry proposal to ban a set of widely used pesticides has kicked up a storm, with the chemicals ministry opposing the ban, and advocacy groups supporting it, citing cases of pesticide poisoning.

On 14 May, the agriculture ministry issued a draft order banning the manufacture and sale of the 27 pesticides likely to involve risk to human beings and animals". One reason behind the ban was that manufacturers did not submit complete data on resurgence of pests, toxicity and bio-efficacy. The order followed an expert committee report of December 2015.

On 2 June, the chemicals department wrote to the agriculture ministry that a sudden ban" will not only render investments (by the industry) wasteful, but also cause loss of export earnings for India".

The Association for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA), a farm policy advocacy group, entered the dispute on Thursday, accusing the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers of acting as a partisan front of the industry" at the cost of the right to life" of agricultural labourers and farmers.

On the list of 27 molecules, which are proposed to be banned is monocrotophos, a widely used red-triangle" pesticide (extremely toxic), which is banned in 112 countries, including the European Union, the UK, Brazil and China.

In 2017, several cases of death and poisoning by monocrotophos were reported in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

Malathion, labelled as a blue-triangle" (moderately toxic) pesticide, and currently used to counter locust swarms, also figures on the list.

There is no reason for the agriculture ministry to ban blue- and green-triangle pesticides, which are relatively safe. The ban will impact emergency control of invasive pests, such as locusts, and widespread use of fungicides (such as thiram) for seed treatment," said Bhagirath Choudhary, founder director, South Asia Biotechnology Centre. The 27 generic molecules are used to manufacture more than 130 formulations. They cannot be suddenly banned."

Following representations from the pesticides industry, the agriculture ministry lifted the ban on the export of these molecules on 10 June. It also extended the date to submit comments on the draft order by three months, from the 45 days mandated earlier.

The agriculture ministry took a hasty decision. The industry has already submitted 80% of the required data and we are working closely with the ministry on filling the remaining gaps," said Rajesh Aggarwal, managing director, Insecticides India Ltd.

According to Aggarwal, allowing only the export of the 27 molecules will erode the industrys global competence in the generics market. Currently, Indias pesticide industry registers annual sales of 400 billion, with half the revenues coming from exports.

We are hopeful that following discussions with the ministry, we will be able to save most of the 27 molecules. This will benefit small and marginal farmers in India who depend on cheaper generic pesticides," Aggarwal said.

Activists pressing for the ban, however, argued that at least 17 of the 27 molecules did not undergo any bio-safety assessment and were deemed to be registered" when India introduced the Insecticides Act in 1968. If data to prove the safety of these pesticides are available, it should be put out in the public domain for independent scientific scrutiny," said Kavitha Kuruganti, co-convener, ASHA.

Short-term profits for the industry cannot be the reason to take away the right to life of agricultural workers and farmers, or to do irreparable harm to the environment," Kuruganti added

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Kolkata, June 26 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday opposed the Centre's move to allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country's coal sector, saying it would "send a wrong message".

"Allowing 100 per cent FDI in coal for MNCs will carry a wrong message as it would contradict the very essence of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and also kill the vision of self-reliant policy that we have been following since the beginning," sh said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

She said in many under-developed and developed countries, there has been continuous resistance by the locals against any effort of their possible exploitation. As a result it would create a great impact on the domestic economy in the long run.

"As regards the possibility of multinational corporations bringing in new technologies in the thermal coal sector, it may be mentioned that relevant technologies are universally available in this sector and our companies are already using them widely," Banerjee said in the letter.

She also opposed to the Coal India Limited (CIL) decision to shift desk offices of four of its subsidiary companies -- Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) -- from Kolkata to their respective headquarters in other areas.

"It will be extremely detrimental to the interest of all stakeholders of the coal sector, including the employees," she asserted.
An artist of whom Russia should be proud is being debased and humiliated, he said in a statement when Serebrennikov was called in for questioning in 2017. He said that because Serebrennikov is a person who is known for his independence and love of freedom, a person who has more than once made brave political declarations, these sudden repressions look particularly foul.
Here is a selection of people starting new roles with companies and organisations in Ireland, including Bank of Ireland, Nitro Software, Alana, Sonica, Aviva Life and Pensions and Accenture.

Eoin Lowry has been named as head of agri sector on Bank of Irelands (BOI) business banking team. He joins from the Irish Farmers Journal, where he was agri-business editor upon joining the paper in 2014, and served as deputy editor from 2017. He also has extensive experience in Irish and international agri-business, including five years as managing director of Target Fertilisers. His new role will focus on supporting existing and potential Bank of Ireland agri customers and farmers nationwide to scale and grow their businesses, providing them with a range of supports to help mitigate the impact of commodity price volatility, adjust their operations to deal with environmental and climate challenges and navigate the existing Covid-19 landscape whilst planning for the future. Eoin will also oversee the development of BOIs strategy for the agri sector.





Mark Flanagan has joined global document productivity firm Nitro Software as senior vice president of worldwide sales. Based in Nitros Europe, Middle East and Asian headquarters at Charlemont Place in Dublin, he will lead the sales team globally. He will focus on revenue growth through the execution of sales and marketing strategies aimed at winning customers. He will oversee a team of 50 sales colleagues across Nitros four offices. Nitro is rapidly expanding its footprint in the digital workflow space. Nitros Irish customers include Bank of Ireland, Linesight, Laya Healthcare, Permanent TSB, and KN Group.





Ciara Byrne has joined the advisory board of Alana, the new Cork-based fashion and beauty platform for consumers including a same-day delivery service allowing customers to shop locally from retailers and independent boutiques. She is managing director at Beacon AI, the global privacy company. She has also worked Starwood and Fota Island hotels and in senior roles with Voxpro, Capita and PGI. She led the formation of the West Cork chapter of Network Ireland and was 2019 president. She has led fundraising for Cork Simon Community and is a advocate for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. She will bring her extensive experience in international sales and marketing and her passion for female entrepreneurship, fashion and beauty to the team.





Dan Ryan has joined fit-out and construction company Sonica as construction director. He will oversee all future construction operations, supporting Sonica in targeting large scale business projects both locally and internationally. He brings 18 years of construction experience, notably as project director and operations manager on commercial and residential projects of between 10m to 50m. He has also worked on construction projects in the US, with experience of construction teams in Alaska. Dans appointment is the latest in a series of appointments by Sonica in recent months, including Andreas Heil as head of design and architecture.





Dave Elliot has been appointed as CEO of Aviva Life and Pensions Ireland following Tom Brownes decision to retire after 40 years of working life. Dave is currently Avivas group chief of staff and he was previously chief financial officer for Aviva International and director of investor relations. A qualified chartered accountant, he joined Aviva in 2009. He has been a director of Aviva Life and Pensions Ireland since June 2018. Dave will take up his new role in August and will work closely with Tom Browne over the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition. Dave said: I look forward to taking Aviva Life and Pensions Ireland on to the next stage of its development in Ireland. I believe we are well prepared to address the changing and challenging market landscape in 2020 and beyond. I look forward to meeting and working closely with our people, brokers and customers.





Donal Og McCarthy has been appointed as managing director to lead the cloud business at Accenture, the global professional services company. He will help clients design intelligent cloud solutions. He joins with over 20 years experience in tech and engineering, during which time he led large-scale, business critical enterprise delivery programs globally in public sector, healthcare, insurance and telecomms. He has also worked directly with cloud service providers building client solutions, joint marketplace offerings and growing local cloud delivery capability in Irish and international markets. Donal Og holds a BEng. in Electronic Engineering from UL.
New Delhi, June 26 : A study conducted by Mumbai's KEM doctors alongside academicians from School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School have found that the extended closure of the Red Light areas (RLAs) in India could delay the peak of COVID-19 cases by up to 23 days and the toll could be reduced by 67 per cent.

The model projects that while West Bengal's red-light areas will experience over 2,000 deaths of sex workers and red light area residents if RLAs reopen, Maharashtra too would be one of the worst affected states.

"Compared with re-opening RLAs, extended closure of RLAs could reduce COVID-19 cases by 32-60.2 per cent in cumulative cases and reduce cumulative COVID19 deaths by 44-67.6 per cent at the peak of epidemic.

"Moreover, extension of closure of RLAs after lockdown could delay the peak of COVID-19 cases in India by 8-23 days," the report by Code Red COVID read.

Code Read COVID is a global coalition of doctors and researchers from Harvard Medical School, Yale Medical School, KEM Hospital, and other institution.

The study further revealed that there could be over 400,000 infections and 12,000 deaths among red light area workers and residents in the next one year if they are reopened. "There would also be a 43-67.6 per cent reduction in the cumulative number of COVID-19-related deaths nationally," the study said.

The study also suggested that it could take at least 18 more months for a vaccine to be development and distributed throughout India may. "In the capital city of New Delhi, the GB Road Red Light Area could experience 2,774 cases, 386 hospitalizations, and 91 deaths," the study said.

Speaking about the findings of this study, co author of this study, Dr Abhishek Pandey from Yale University said, "It is impossible to practice social distancing during sex. Residents of red-light areas including sex workers, pimps, and brothel managers are at higher risk of infection. By keeping red light areas closed till there is an effective preventive measure, thousands of deaths among residents of red-light areas can be averted." "In the absence of efficacious treatments or vaccines for COVID-19, there are limited public health interventions that can substantially reduce COVID-19 cases and deaths when re-opening a country as large and diverse as India. Extended closure of RLAs in India may be one of these interventions -- and it is feasible," the study suggested.

It further suggested that across all RLAs in India, at least 39.2 per cent of cumulative hospitalizations, 39.9 per cent of cumulative ICU admissions, and 42.9 per cent of cumulative deaths could be averted by the date of the peak of epidemic if the RLAs remain closed.

Not only this, the closure of these areas in cities like Kolkata, Pune and Nagpur could avert all ICU admissions and at least 94.6 per cent of their cumulative hospitalizations and at least 92.9 per cent of cumulative deaths by the date of the epidemic peak.

In Pune's Budhwar Peth, 4,795 cumulative cases and 162 deaths can occur. In Mumbai's Red-Light Area of Kamathipura, Grant Road, and Faulkland Road, 3,494 cases can come up and 114 deaths can happen. In Nagpur, Itwari Chowk can face 1,667 cases, 236 hospitalizations, and 56 deaths.

Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC), an NGO working for the welfare of sex workers, has a membership that includes about 65,000 sex workers spread across 50 red light areas in the state.

Smarajit Jana, a doctor and chief advisor of DMSC, said "It would be of great danger if the sex workers are allowed to operate as soon as the lockdown is lifted. Due to their nature of work and the congested way in which they live, one single case can infect a hundred".

"The Indian government has implemented smart and effective measures to flatten the curve, but it is unlikely for the pandemic to be resolved until there is a vaccine. It is therefore important that red light areas remain closed until a vaccine is developed and widely distributed to protect sex workers and the population at large," said co author Dr. Sudhakar Nuti, Harvard Medical School commenting on the report.

"Government restrictions on this part of the informal economy have not been outlined in COVID-19 directives, but a sex worker in Mumbai was quoted in a media story stating "There will be no business in Kamathipura for at least next two years. We can only return when there's a COVID-19 vaccine," Dr Nuti added.

The study also recommends that sex workers need opportunities to gain skills that provide employment in lower-risk jobs. "There are many social, economic, and health challenges, alongside the spread of COVID19, that sex workers and their families will face under extended closure," it said.

The study states that the residents of these red light areas live in confined, communal living spaces and without sex work they have very limited access to food and other vital living supplies. "Many sex workers lack government approved documentation and thus are unable to benefit from the government's financial relief packages," the study said.

The study also recommends that closure of these areas should be matched with commensurate programs that extend payments to sex workers as financial relief, ensure sex workers have access to additional resources via robust financial institutions that visibly offer better alternatives to high-interest lending schemes that entrap them in debt bondage.

"The COVID-19 crisis highlights the oft-neglected plight of sex workers and the global health burden that the RLAs impose in the context of infectious diseases. These global health burdens are also associated with extensive socioeconomic tolls. With regard to averting the public health and socioeconomic burdens, it would be beneficial for RLAs to remain closed until COVID-19 prevention and treatment strategies are developed and distributed," the report concluded.
Police take back the streets at around midnight after firing copious amounts of tear gas to disperse protesters and rioters outside the Minneapolis Police 5th Precinct during the fourth night of protests and violence following the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 29, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Minneapolis City Council Advances Proposal to Dismantle, Replace Police Department

The Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted to advance a proposal that would change the citys charter to allow for the police department to be abolished, a radical move that comes about a month after protests and riots erupted nationwide in the wake of George Floyds death.

The proposal was passed 12-0, but it doesnt mean the department is abolished. The move still faces a number of hurdles, including a citywide ballot vote, before it can become a law.

The City Council voted today to advance a proposed ballot measure that would ask Minneapolis voters to amend the City Charter to create a new Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention and remove the Police Department as a charter department, the City of Minneapolis wrote in a statement on Friday.

The vote comes after cries to defund or abolish the police became popular among some activists after George Floyd died while in the custody of Minneapolis police in late May. Nationwide protests, riots, vandalism, and arson attacks were sparked following his death.

A police officer stands amid smoke and debris as buildings continue to burn in the aftermath of a night of protests and violence following the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 29, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

It is time to make structural change, Minneapolis Council Member Steve Fletcher told The Associated Press. It is time to start from scratch and reinvent what public safety looks like.

A draft amendment posted online suggests that the police force will be replaced with a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention. It didnt elaborate on what that entails.

The proposed department would consist of peace officers and would ensure public safety through a holistic, public health-oriented approach, according to the citys website. The ordinance provides that the City may maintain a division of law enforcement services composed of licensed peace officers subject to the supervision of the Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention, the website said.

State Police stand guard as smoke billows from buildings that continue to burn in the aftermath of a night of protests and violence following the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 29, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, earlier in the month told a crowd of protesters that he doesnt support defunding or abolishing the department. A crowd of protesters then booed him and told him to leave the rally.

Last month, the mayor ordered a police station to evacuate as rioters burned the building to the ground.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender told CNN that fear of abolishing the policeand calling 911 on a home intrudercomes from a place of privilege.

However, top Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and presidential candidate Joe Biden, said they dont support the calls to defund the police.

The deadline for submitting questions about the election ballot is Aug. 21. The proposal, if approved by voters, would become law on May 1, 2021.
You know all those fireworks going off across the five boroughs, keeping you awake and inspiring conspiracy theories? Well, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has finally said he would crack down on the illegal fireworks  and replace them with legal ones. The mayor established a police task force to target suppliers and distributors of the pyrotechnics, though he added that those actually setting them off were not an enforcement priority. But anyone hoping for a reprieve, rest assured, there will be none! The same day he announced the crackdown, de Blasio said that instead of one big Macys fireworks show on July Fourth, the company would instead put on smaller displays across the city in the three days leading up to the holiday and splice those together for a televised event.

Keep reading for the rest of this weeks less noisy news.

Pandemic primary

Voters headed to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots with the coronavirus pandemic still lingering in New York. While a top candidate emerged with a commanding lead in some races, many others wont be decided for weeks after thousands of absentee ballots are counted from those who wanted to avoid in-person voting due to the coronavirus. Among the election night winners were Jamaal Bowman, who bested longtime Rep. Eliot Engel in the Bronx and Westchester County. State Sen. Chris Jacobs won the special election for Western New York seat vacated by former Rep. Chris Collins, besting Democrat Nate McMurray. Jacobs clinched his partys nomination for November as well. In Westchester and Rockland counties, Mondaire Jones apparently emerged victorious in the race to replace Rep. Nita Lowey, as did New York City Council Member Ritchie Torres in the South Bronx to succeed Rep. Jose E. Serrano. In both districts, Democrats are essentially guaranteed victory in November, so if their leads hold, the pair would become the first openly gay Black members of Congress. Across New York City, progessive candidates and insurgents, including some backed by the Democratic Socialists of Americas New York City chapter, also performed very well, with many holding early leads over incumbents.

However, Election Day was plagued by numerous voting issues, including long lines, understaffed polling sites and misprinted ballots. Perhaps most significantly, there were widespread reports of Democratic voters in New York City only receiving one page of the two-page ballot. The presidential primary was on one, while state and congressional primaries were on the other. Issues arose in Westchester and Rockland counties, where voters faced long lines, glitchy machines and polling sites that were unable to handle the volume of voters that resulted because of the consolidation of locations. On top of everything else, some people never received an absentee ballot in the mail despite applying for one in time for the election.

Occupy City Hall begins

After weeks of protests following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, New York City activists have coalesced around a single goal: defunding the New York City Police Department. They are calling for a cut to the NYPDs budget by at least $1 billion this year. The City Council said it would meet that number, but just days before the city budget is due, it has not released a detailed proposal on how it would achieve the reduction. So protesters have been camped out at City Hall for days in an Occupy Wall Street-style protest to pressure lawmakers to make good on their promise and commit to further reducing the police departments budget.

Officer faces charges for illegal chokehold

About two weeks after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law criminalizing the use of chokeholds by police officers, and days after the New York City Council passed similar local legislation, an NYPD officer is facing criminal charges for using the move during an arrest, which was caught on camera. Initially, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea announced Officer David Afanador had been suspended after the cellphone video surfaced. But several days later, Afanador was arrested, making him the first officer in the city to face charges under the new state law.

Quarantining New York

Once, New York was the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States and other states wanted to keep its residents out, or put visitors in quarantine. Now, the tide has turned and New York has among the lowest rate of new infections as states around the country hit new highs. The state has even avoided seeing a new wave of cases following weeks of anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests. So now Cuomo has announced, along with New Jersey and Connecticut, that travelers from new hot spots  Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Utah  must self-quarantine for two weeks upon arriving in the tri-state region.
Sygnature Discovery, a leading independent integrated drug discovery and pre-clinical solutions provider, has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Dr Paul Overton as Senior VP of Business Development, focusing primarily on expanding Sygnatures North American market. In this newly created role, he will work alongside Dr Paul Clewlow, Senior VP, Business Development and Executive Board Director.

From left to right: Dr Paul Overton, Dr Simon Hirst, Dr Paul Clewlow

Dr Overton has more than 20 years experience in business development roles within the CRO sector. He joins Sygnature from the Global testing specialist Eurofins, where he was Head of European Sales, Marketing and Key Account Management. His previous employers include Evotec and Aptuit where he was Global Head of Business Development and Marketing. Paul has a biological sciences background with a PhD in cell biology obtained from the University of Surrey. After several years working in various research laboratories, he made the move into business development.

Sygnatures established reputation for quality and scientific excellence in drug discovery was a real attraction to Dr Overton.

This is an exciting, dynamic and fast-growing science-driven company. I am really looking forward to building stronger relationships with existing US customers and creating further strategic partnerships with major pharmaceutical and biotech companies. A key part of my role will be to build up the US-based business development team in our office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and expand our footprint in other key areas, including San Diego and San Francisco." Dr Paul Clewlow, Senior VP, Business Development and Executive Board Director

Related Stories Sygnature Discovery supports New York Medical College pharmacologist in the fight against Covid-19

Dr Clewlow welcomes the fact that Dr Overton is to lead business development activities in North America. More than half of our business is currently in the US, with a mixture of big pharma and VC-backed biotech clients, he says. I have known Paul for a number of years and his experience in business development and drug discovery will be invaluable in accelerating our business growth there. He will also make a significant contribution to our global sales and marketing strategy.
Theater director Serebrennikov gets suspended sentence for $2 mln embezzlement

 RAPSI, Kirill Ryabchikov

16:59 26/06/2020

MOSCOW, June 26 (RAPSI)  Moscows Meshchansky District Court on Friday passed a 3-year suspended sentence and a 800,000-ruble fine on the Gogol Center theater director Kirill Serebrennikov for embezzlement of 129 million rubles (about $2 million) of budget funds allocated for the theater project Platforma, RAPSI reported from the courtroom.

The court held that the defendant's chronical decease, numerous rewards for professional achievements and upbeat assessment of personality may be considered as mitigating circumstances.

Ex-head of Seventh Studio stage company Yury Itin also received a 3-year suspended term and a 200,000-ruble fine. Producer Alexey Malobrodsky was given a 2-year suspended sentence and a 300,000-ruble fine.

Director of the Russian Academic Youth Theater Sophia Apfelbaum received a fine but was released from its payment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

The court also granted a 129 million-ruble civil suit. Serebrennikov, Itin and Malobrodsky are to pay the money. Serebrennikovs assets including a flat in Berlin will remain seized until he pays the claim.

The court found that Serebrennikov and Itin had committed embezzlement involving Malobrodsky in the crime. However, Apfelbaum was not aware of their criminal plans but provided for the approval of the Platforma financial plans submitted by Serebrennikov. However, the court found Apfelbaum guilty of negligence resulted in grave damage.

On June 22, a prosecutor demanded a 6-year jail sentence and an 800,000-ruble fine for Serebrennikov, for 5 years in penal colony with a 300,000-ruble fine Malobrodsky, 4 years behind bars with a 200,000-ruble fine for Itin and Apfelbaum each.

In late 2019, the court commissioned the third complex financial and economic, and art valuation examination. A previous evaluation in 2018 failed to establish a fact of embezzlement. According to the results of the third examination, over 129 million rubles were embezzled from the arts project Platforma.

Ex-chief accountant of Seventh Studio Nina Maslyayava is tried separately. She admitted guilt in full.

Other defendants pleaded not guilty calling charges against them pointless and absurd. Moreover, Serebrennikov and Malobrodsky lay the blame on Maslyayeva.

One more defendant, producer Yekaterina Voronova has been put on the international wanted list and arrested in absentia.

According to investigators, defendants in the case stole 133 of 214 million rubles ($3.3 million) of budget funds allocated to the Seventh Studio company in 2011-2014 for development and popularization of contemporary art in Russia as part of the project Platforma.

Serebrennikov was arrested in late August 2017 and then placed under house arrest. In early November, Moscows Basmanny District Court seized assets belonging to Serebrennikov including apartment, car, and money in the amount of more than 360,000 rubles ($5,300), over 60,000, and $4,000.

Investigators believe that he was an organizer of the budget money embezzlement. He allegedly created Seventh Studio stage company to actualize Platforma project for promotion of art and called alleged accomplices into the organization.




A French court gives its verdict Monday in the trial of former premier Francois Fillon on charges of setting up a fake job for his wife that paid her over a million euros in public funds, a scandal that demolished his 2017 presidential bid. Fillon, 66, was widely tipped to win when the Canard Enchaine newspaper reported that his wife Penelope had been his parliamentary assistant for 15 years -- except there was no evidence that she did any work. The revelations dealt a body blow to Fillon's carefully honed image as a stern budgetary steward, despite his insistence that his wife earned the 1.05 million euros ($1.2 million) she was paid from 1998 to 2013. They also cast a harsh spotlight on decades of nepotism within the French political class, an issue that fuelled the "yellow vest" anti-government protests of 2018-19. It later emerged that Fillon also used public money to pay two of his children a combined 117,000 euros for allegedly sham work while he was a senator, before he became premier in the government of president Nicolas Sarkozy. Last but not least, he was accused of getting the millionaire owner of a literary magazine to pay his wife 135,000 euros for "consulting work" that was largely fake. The owner of La Revue des Deux Mondes, Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere, pleaded guilty to the charges in December 2018, and was given a suspended eight-month prison sentence and a 375,000 euro fine. His conviction loomed large over the Fillons' trial earlier this year, when their lawyers struggled to provide documented evidence of Penelope Fillon's work. Prosecutors noted that her parliamentary assistant contract ended in 2013, when a new French transparency law requiring politicians to declare all their earnings came into effect. The Fillons and a third defendant, Marc Joulaud, who stood in for Fillon in parliament when he was a cabinet minister and also hired Penelope Fillon as an assistant, face up to 10 years in prison on charges including misuse of public funds and conspiracy. If found guilty, they may also face a hefty bill -- France's National Assembly has joined the case as a civil party, and said it could seek over one million euros in compensation. - 'Penelopegate' - An avowed Catholic who campaigned as a man of integrity, Fillon has also been charged for failing to declare an interest-free loan of 50,000 euros from Ladreit de Lacharriere in 2013. "Penelopegate", as the scandal became known, torpedoed the career of one of France's rightwing stars, who was the youngest member of parliament when first elected at just 27 years old. He met his Welsh-born wife while she was studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, and the couple soon married and moved to an imposing country estate near Le Mans where they raised their five children. Penelope Fillon told the court she spent a lot of time sorting her husband's mail, attending public events near their rural manor and gathering information for his speeches. But investigators seized on a 2016 newspaper interview in which she said: "Until now, I have never got involved in my husband's political life." Fillon insists he was set up for "political assassination" by his rivals and was also the victim of a biased judiciary. Those claims were revived this month when the former head of the Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) told lawmakers she had sustained "pressure" aimed at bringing charges quickly against Fillon. Fillon's lawyers have demanded his case be reopened and President Emmanuel Macron -- whose path to the Elysee Palace was cleared by Fillon's downfall -- has asked for an investigation. The court will rule on the request at Monday's hearing. Francois Fillon was widely tipped to win the 2017 French presidential election when the fake jobs scandal broke.
The popular NBC show The Office has edited one of its episodes to change a character wearing blackface, according to a report.

During the episode Dwight Christmas from the shows ninth season, the character Dwight wanted to get the Dunder Mifflin staff to celebrate a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas. Dwight dresses up as Belsnickel and has a warehouse worker, who is white, dress up as Black Peter, Belsnickels sidekick, according to the tradition in the show.

According to a report from the Hollywood Reporter, creator Greg Daniels has cut the scene from the episode, which is now found on Netflix.

The Office is about a group of people trying to work together with mutual respect despite the inappropriate actions of their boss and assistant manager, Daniels said according to the report.

The show employed satire to expose unacceptable behavior and deliver a message of inclusion. Today we cut a shot of an actor wearing blackface that was used to criticize a specific racist European practice. Blackface is unacceptable and making the point so graphically is hurtful and wrong. I am sorry for the pain that caused.

The change comes during a time of national protests over racial injustice, during which time food brands, as well as television shows, have revisited past behaviors, depictions or mascots that might be concerned racist.

The Office has become the latest show to remove scenes in which blackface is depicted. According to the report, 30 Rock, Scrubs, and Community all either removed episodes or removed scenes in which blackface was portrayed.

Television hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel each also apologized for previous sketches in which they wore blackface in their careers.
FCA announces voting results from its Annual General Meeting

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA or the Company) (NYSE: FCAU / MTA: FCA) announced today that all resolutions proposed to shareholders at the Companys Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) held today in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, were passed.

The AGM advised positively in relation to the 2019 Remuneration Report and adopted the 2019 Annual Accounts.

The AGM re-elected all FCA directors standing for re-election. John Elkann, Michael Manley and Richard Palmer were re-elected as executive directors of the Company. Ronald Thompson, John Abbott, Andrea Agnelli, Tiberto Brandolini d'Adda, Glenn Earle, Valerie Mars, Michelangelo Volpi, Patience Wheatcroft and Ermenegildo Zegna were re-elected as non-executive directors of the Company. In addition Ernst & Young Accountants LLP were appointed as independent auditors of the Company.

The AGM also renewed, for a period of 18 months from the date of the AGM, the existing delegations to the Board of Directors of FCA of the authority to issue common and special voting shares, to grant rights to subscribe for common and special voting shares, and to limit or exclude pre-emption rights for common shares. Furthermore, the AGM renewed, for a period of 18 months from the date of the AGM, the existing authorization of the Board of Directors to repurchase up to a maximum of 10% of the Companys common shares issued as of the date of the AGM. Pursuant to the authorization, which does not entail any obligation for the Company but is designed to provide additional flexibility, the Board of Directors may repurchase common shares in compliance with applicable regulations, subject to certain maximum and minimum price thresholds.

Finally, the AGM approved the proposed amendments of the Companys Remuneration Policy and of the special voting shares terms and conditions.

Details of the resolutions submitted to the AGM are available on the Companys corporate website ( www.fcagroup.com ).

London, 26 June 2020

Attachment
HONOLULU - The body of a paraplegic woman rowing from California to Hawaii was headed to Tahiti after she was found lifeless in the water over the weekend, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday.

A friend of Angela Madsen, 60, contacted the Coast Guard Sunday after not hearing from her for more than 24 hours, Chief Petty Officer Sara Muir said.

Madsen, who had been at sea for 59 days, was about 1,145 miles (1,842 kilometres) east of Hilo, Hawaii, when she was last heard from, Muir said. Madsen had been planning to go for a swim.

She was out in the middle of the ocean, with not really anything around, Muir said.

The Coast Guard reached out to commercial vessels in the area of Madsens last known location and asked an Air National Guard flight crew headed from California to Hawaii to fly over the area.

The air crew could see that she was in the water, tethered to the vessel, but there was no reaction to their presence, Muir said. She was unresponsive.

The Polynesia, a ship in the area, retrieved her body. Now theyre continuing on their scheduled course and theyre going to take the body to Tahiti, where the family will do whatever they need to do to get her home to California, Muir said.

Madsens family couldnt immediately be reached Thursday.

According to a website, rowoflife.org, Madesen was a three-time Paralympian and Marine Corps veteran who aimed to be the first paraplegic and oldest woman to row the Pacific Ocean.

We are processing this devastating loss, said a message on the website by Debra Madsen, her wife, and Soraya Simi, who was making a documentary about her. To row an ocean solo was her biggest goal. She knew the risks better than any of us and was willing to take those risks because being at sea made her happier than anything else. She told us time and again that if she died trying, that is how she wanted to go.

In 2014, while getting ready to row from California to Hawaii, she said rowing is a venue where partially paralyzed people can excel.

You get out of your chair and just get on a boat and nobody knows the difference between you and anybody else out here, Madsen said.
- Comedy group Ikorodu Bois has been invited to attend the Extraction movie premiere in Hollywood

- The young comedians were invited by the Russo Brothers who directed the movie

- Nigerians have expressed great joy and congratulated the boys over the good news

Congratulations are in order for Nigeria's Ikorodu Bois as they may soon be on their way to Hollywood.

The boys have been invited to the premiere of the second season of the Extraction movie after recreating its trailer.

READ ALSO: Police arrest Kisii woman who hired goons to kill her husband

READ ALSO: William Ruto meets Nairobi welders who make convertible benches, makes KSh 150k furniture order

Ikorodu Bois is a team of 3 brothers and their cousin, Babatunde Sanni, Muiz Sanni, Malik Sanni, Fawas Aina.

Together they formed a comedy group to be recreating and mimicking multi-million dollar music videos and Hollywood movie trailers.

As usual, they recreated the 2020 American action-thriller film, Extraction, and shared it on their Twitter handle.

READ ALSO: Radio host Celina Njoki appeals for help to raise KSh 800k hospital bill after complicated birth

The young actors had urged their fans and followers to help them reshare the video until the directors of the movie came across it.

A few hours after they shared the video, it caught the attention of the Russo Brothers who are the directors of the movie.

Quoting the boy's tweet, the Russo Brothers greatly complimented their initiative.

READ ALSO: Gov't to demolish over 800 homes in move to reclaim grabbed Ngong Forest land

The American directors went ahead to extend an invite to the boys to the premiere of the second season of the movie.

Excited at the lifetime opportunity, the boys responded that the invitation would be a dream come through as they have waited all their lives for the moment.

As expected, Nigerians who do not hold back from celebrating their own took to the comment section of the Russo Brothers to congratulate the Ikorodu Bois.

READ ALSO: 17-year-old girl who never missed class receives over KSh 45M in scholarships

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
Five months ago, President Trump fired up thousands of fans at a campaign rally in Milwaukee with a boastful question for a state he barely won in 2016: How are your 401(k)s doing? he bellowed.

In Wisconsin, the unemployment rate has reached its lowest level in history, the president told the crowd, betraying his confidence that he would win the state again in November. Hows that for a sound bite? How do you beat that sound bite, right?

On Thursday, Mr. Trump returned to a state whose economy has been ravaged by the coronavirus shutdown, with an unemployment rate that has soared to just above 14 percent from below 4 percent. Appearing at a shipyard on Lake Michigan that builds ships for the Navy, he sought to recapture some of his past optimism.

With the help of everyone here today, this shipyard will continue to prosper, the president told workers at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette. This state will continue to thrive. And this nation that we love will climb to new heights of glory and to greatness.
Goa Class 12 result 2020 released | The Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE) has declared the class 12 or HSSC results today; steps to check your score

Goa Class 12 result 2020 declared | The Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE) has declared the class 12 or HSSC results today (26 June, Friday), reports said.

According to Indian Express, the result was declared at 5 pm on official website gbshse.gov.in, however, the website has gone unresponsive. India Today too said that the result has been declared.

Students who appeared for the exam can check their scores on alternative websites.

The Class 12 exam was conducted in March. However, two exams reportedly couldn't be held because of the coronavirus lockdown. Reports said that the remaining exams were conducted in the last week of May.

Over 3,000 students appeared for the Class 12 Marathi examination held on 20 May, which was earlier postponed after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Social distancing norms were followed while conducting the examination, the boards 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 was quoted as saying by PTI. The examination was held hassle-free and almost all the students appeared for it, he added.

As seen in 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 20 March, but was postponed in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

How to check Class 12 results on official website

1. Log on to the official website  gbshse.gov.in

2. Click on the 'Goa Board Website' link

3. Select the Class 12 results option

4. Fill in your details and print out the results for future reference

How to check results via SMS:

Students who appeared for the Class 12 exams can check their results via SMS in addition to the official website.

Type <RESULTGOA12> followed by Class 12 roll number without space and send it to 56263.
The owner of Britain's biggest shopping centres Intu Properties has collapsed into administration but will keep all its malls open.

The owner of Manchester's Trafford Centre made the announcement today as it failed to secure a debt repayment holiday from its creditors.

The company, which had lined up KPMG as its administrator this month, said application is being made for James Robert Tucker, Michael Robert Pink and David John Pike of KPMG to be appointed as joint administrators for the group.

Intu employs nearly 3,000 staff across the UK, while a further 102,000 work for the shops within its shopping centres.

The owner of Manchester's Trafford Centre made the announcement today as it failed to secure a debt repayment holiday from its creditors

Lakeside in Essex is another shopping centre owned by Intu, which will remain open

Intu Properties previously said talks with lenders have failed to reach an agreement and warned that it is on the verge of calling in administrators.

On Tuesday the company, which owns 17 shopping centres, warned malls may be forced to shut if it was unable to secure the standstill agreement.

In a statement, the group, which had until midnight on Friday to reach a deal, previously said 'insufficient alignment and agreement has been achieved', adding: 'The board is therefore considering the position of Intu with a view to protecting the interests of its stakeholders.

'This is likely to involve the appointment of administrators. A further announcement will be made as soon as possible.'

A source earlier told Sky News it was '90 per cent certain' that Intu would enter administration.

Speaking earlier this week, Intu's operations director Gavin Prior said footfall had risen by more than 300% after shops reopened across its malls, including at the Trafford Centre

The unnamed source, who is thought to be close to negotiations, added: 'There is a glimmer of hope, but only a glimmer.'

The group, which also owns Lakeside in Essex, confirmed earlier this week that it had put KPMG on stand-by to act as administrators.

It is hoping to arrange a so-called standstill agreement with lenders and warned that if it cannot reach a deal 'there is a risk that centres may have to close for a period'.

Intu Metrocentre in Gateshead has more than 200 retailers and is the group's largest site

The Victoria Centre is one of two shopping malls operated by Intu in Nottingham

Lakeside in Essex is one of the biggest shopping centres in the country, with more than 160 stores

The collapse of the heavily-indebted group, which has suffered a plunge in revenues due to the lockdown, would place thousands of jobs at risk.

Intu's 17 UK shopping centres include: Intu Braehead (Glasgow) Intu Broadmarsh (Nottingham) Intu Chapelfield (Norwich) Intu Derby Intu Eldon Square (Newcastle) Intu Lakeside (Essex) The Mall at Cribbs Causeway (Bristol) Manchester Arndale Centre Intu Merry Hill (Brierley, near Dudley) Intu MetroCentre (Gateshead) Intu Milton Keynes Intu Potteries (Stoke-on-Trent) St David's (Cardiff) Intu Trafford Centre (Manchester) Intu Uxbridge Intu Victoria Centre (Nottingham) Intu Watford Advertisement

The group has struggled under a 4.5 billion debt burden for the past year, but has been hammered by significantly lower rent payments from retail tenants since the coronavirus outbreak.

In May Intu warned it faced 'significant market uncertainty' as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown.

Only essential stores have been able to keep open at its 17 centres across the country, until lockdown measures were eased earlier this month.

The group is responsible for some of the biggest shopping centres across Britain, including Lakeside in Essex, the MetroCentre in Gateshead and the Trafford Centre.

Its largest mall - the MetroCentre - boasts 202 stores, while Lakeside has 166 and the Trafford Centre has 145.

Footfall figures suggest its Eldon Square mall in Newcastle had 35million visitors in 2018, while the Trafford Centre welcomed 31million shoppers through its doors.

A report by analytics firm GlobalData named nine Intu malls within the UK's top 20 shopping centres for 2019.

After months of locked shops and empty aisles, the easing of lockdown measures saw a 51% surge in customers heading to the high street, new data shows.

Between Monday June 15 and Sunday June 21 the number of shoppers was up compared with the week before but remain at historic lows, according to Springboard.

Across all UK retail destinations, footfall was up 45% despite Wales and Scotland keeping non-essential stores closed.

Footfall increased by more than 300% at Intu shopping centres following the reopening of non-essential retailers.

Gavin Prior, operations director at Trafford Centre owner Intu, said: 'Footfall increased towards the weekend and Saturday and Sunday were our busiest days so far.

'Visitor numbers were up by 321% on last weekend across all Intu centres, with more than half of the stores in our centres now open.'

Intu sold its Bromley centre, The Glades, for a figure thought to be around 200million in 2016.

Earlier this year it sold mall in Asturias, Spain, for around 245million.
Assam Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna on Friday cleared speculations suggesting that Bhutan had stopped supply of irrigation water to areas in Assam. Krishna said that the supply was disrupted because of boulders in the channel and that the neighbouring country had actually assisted in clearing the blockage.

Speaking to ANI, Krishna reiterated that there was no dispute with Bhutan and said that it is wrong to blame the kingdom.

"Bhutan shares a border with a district in Assam. There is a normal channel through which the water flows into Indian fields. The water was stopped because there were boulders in the channel," said Krishna.

"The district magistrates of both the sides talked and the issue was resolved. There is no dispute with the country and to say that Bhutan has stopped the water is wrong," added Krishna.

READ: Bhutan PM thanks PM Modi for medical supplies; hails India's 'genuine friendship'

Bhutan clarifies

Issuing a statement, the kingdom of Bhutan, stated that media reports alleging that they have stopped the supply of irrigation water to areas in Assam "are totally baseless" & "deliberate attempt by vested interests to cause misunderstanding between friendly people of Bhutan & Assam." They have said that the allegations are "distressing."

The statement said: "Baksa and Udalguri districts in Assam have been benefitting from water sources in Bhutan for many decades and they continue to do so even during the present difficult times when we are faced with COVID-19 pandemic."

READ: Monsoon-hit irrigation system hampering Bhutan restarting water supply for Assam farmers

The reports came that paddy farmers in Baksa district of Assam staged protests after water supply to their paddy fields were stopped by Bhutan. These farmers have been using water flowing from a man-made irrigation system also known as dong since 1953. Under the banner of Kalipur-Bogajuli-Kalanadi Anchalik Dong Bandh Samiti, the farmers staged a protest and sought the Centre to take up the issue. However, the Centre has now clarified that Bhutan is helping the Indian side and water flow is smooth.

READ: Coronavirus Live Updates: International flights banned till July 15; cases at 490,401

READ: China eyes Bhutan as a part of its expansionist strategy post clashes with India: Sources

(with inputs from agencies)
Manitoba has lifted its ban on travel to northern areas as the province announced two more cases of COVID-19 on Friday, for a total of 318 cases.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba has lifted its ban on travel to northern areas as the province announced two more cases of COVID-19 on Friday, for a total of 318 cases.

Dr. Brent Roussin, the provinces top doctor, encouraged remote reserves to ease their own lockdowns.

"We cant shut down everything; we can't shut down our health system. We need to find ways to live with these viruses," he said in a livestreamed meeting with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs on Friday.

In mid-April, the province barred most people who dont live north of the 53rd parallel from visiting the region because of sparse health-care resources and a higher rate of people who have conditions that put them at risk of COVID-19 complications.

Roussin said Friday that Manitoba's low caseload, and the negative effects of isolation, means its time to open up the north.

He added that northern and remote bands should reconsider the requirement for people who return from dialysis and cancer treatment in cities to isolate upon their return home.

"The risk is at a point now where it's probably not justified to have a blanket 14-day mandatory self-isolation," Roussin said.

Barry Lavallee, a University of Manitoba physician who works with northern chiefs, said he was confident reserves can remain free of COVID-19, because First Nations have dealt with the threat of new diseases for centuries.

"While it may be frightening for many, this is not new for us," Lavallee said. "Right now, we encourage you to consider your restrictions, and consider possibly lifting them at this point in time."

The two new cases reported on Friday involve Winnipeg residents. The case of a man in his 30s is related to travel, while a woman in her 50s is believed to have contracted the virus after contact with an infected person.

Three-hundred Manitobans have recovered from the virus since the pandemic reached the province in mid-March. Seven people have died.

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.

Roussin stressed Friday that people must continue to follow physical distancing, and practise good hygiene.

"We need to expect to see COVID cases in Manitoba, for the near future. We need to anticipate seeing cases in schools," he said.

Currently, people from Western Canada, the North and northwestern Ontario can travel to the province without self-isolating for two weeks. Roussin said that area might expand soon

"We're watching the rest of Canada closely, and we think we could be lifting those in the coming weeks."

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
New Zealand has confirmed another three cases of Covid-19, bringing the number of active cases to 13 just weeks after prime minister Jacinda Ardern declared the virus had been eliminated in the country.

Of the three new cases, two were reported in Christchurch, the largest city on New Zealands South Island, and one in Rotorua, a town on the North Island.

All three infected persons had arrived separately in the country from abroad on 20 June.

The first reported case was a woman who arrived from Peru and had been staying under managed isolation at the Ibis hotel in Rotorua, travelling the 138 miles from Auckland airport by bus.

All passengers on the bus, and the driver, are being checked following the womans positive test, according to New Zealands health ministry.

The two cases in Christchurch were men who had arrived from different regions of India.

Both men had been staying at the Commodore Airport Hotel when they tested positive on their third day of a mandatory two-week managed isolation.

Health officials said they were working to establish who the men may have come into contact with before testing positive.

New Zealand lifted social distancing restrictions on 8 June after health officials reported there were no longer any active cases of Covid-19 in the country.

Since then, there has been a trickle of new cases in arrivals from foreign countries with the current number of active cases standing at 13.

The first set of new cases were reported on 16 June, coming from two women who had arrived from the UK and were allowed to leave Auckland airport without being tested for the virus.

Ms Ardern called their release without testing an unacceptable failure and later employed New Zealands military to enforce airport checks for arrivals.

The country has recorded 1,169 confirmed cases and 22 deaths since the initial coronavirus outbreak.
There are, of course, others. Im exposed to more than most since my wife is a podcast consultant for Audible (none of these are Audible offerings), and among the others you might want to check if these dont satisfy are Cocaine and Rhinestones, Dolly Partons America, In the Dark, Punch Up the Jam, Throughline, Heavyweight, Ear Hustle and, I would be remiss not to mention, The Mincing Rascals, the WGN-plus news-chat podcast on which Im a regular panelist.
A Turkish court on June 19 banned access to content in a title on The Sour Dictionary, one of the most popular social media platforms in Turkey. That title is Emine Erdogans Purse. It's about a notorious handbag that cost some $50,000, and it has become a symbol of public criticism of the lavish lifestyle of the presidents family and palace life. The court has banned reader access to more than 200,000 entries on The Sour Dictionary.

There is an intriguing pattern in Turkey's political scene. State oppression on freedom of expression and access to information is worsening. All the while, public chatter  particularly from the ruling Justice and Development Partys (AKP) conservative base, who are mostly small-business owners  is increasingly critical. The recent events increased the visibility of fast-brewing social tension. Even the AKPs most loyal supporters are asking where the money is  or, in other words, is this how state funds are being spent?

On June 15, a donation campaign led to street protests and clashes between AKP supporters and security forces in Ankara. After the 2016 failed coup attempt, Recep Tayyip Erdogan had declared that all of those who lost their lives were martyrs, and all of those who were wounded were veterans. These terms not only have religious connotations but also financial payoffs such as monthly salaries. Normally reserved for active duty soldiers or security personnel, the titles, benefits and salaries are structured accordingly.

After the coup attempt, Erdogan said these martyrs and veterans are my real siblings. Anyone who hurts them should know that they will have to answer to me. And it was Binali Yildirim, then prime minister, who announced, Anyone with even a nail scratched on July 15 will be considered a veteran. The campaign raised more than 300 million Turkish liras, which became 339 million Turkish liras in December 2019 at the bank with interest, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced.

On June 8, after months of negotiations and delays, a group of veterans began a protest in Ankara over why they still had not obtained proper official veteran status and had not been given the money they were promised four years ago.

On June 15, reportedly based on a tip that Erdogan was in the building, they marched in front of AKP headquarters in Ankara. Their chants were harsh. Some included, Soylu (Interior Minister) come here," "The center of the Gulen terror organization is here (pointing to AKP headquarters), and Traitors and crooks. Police brutally charged at the veterans.

In an attempt to discredit the protesters, some AKP trolls posted tweets that the protesters were not real veterans but Gulen movement members.

A day after the protests, ultranationalist Good Partys proposal for immediate payment to the veterans was shot down by AKP and Nationalist Movement Party votes. And after speaking with the interior minister, protesters decided to stand down.

A senior AKP bureaucrat told Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity that these people are like the Janissaries of Erdogan. Now they are flipping their cauldrons and threatening the government to meet their demands. Turning their big pots upside down was how Ottoman soldiers signaled their unhappiness to the sultan.

The senior bureaucrat added, On the night of the coup, these people organized through WhatsApp chat rooms to defend Erdogan. There are now about 2,700 who were promised benefits and pay. Only about 250 to 300, I believe, received proper payoff. About 1,500 of the veterans or their immediate family members have been provided government jobs. The bureaucrat was candid that unrealistic promises were made to these men. "It will be more difficult to find martyrs for Erdogan next time around, he joked.

Although negotiations between veterans and government representatives have been ongoing, these men are angry that their rights were blocked by Gulen members still in the government. The government has been quite worried about their protests and tried to dissuade them from taking to the streets. Veterans explained that the officials offered to pay them 1,000 Turkish lira ($146) through the foundation to appease them, but the sizable group that came out to protest refused the offer.

Prominent political analyst and author Levent Gultekin told Al-Monitor he did not view the protest as the Janissaries revolt. I rather see that people who have been devoted Erdogan supporters react emotionally due to their disappointments. They have been pushed to the background as Erdogans alliance with the ultranationalists and other groups expand. Gultekin explained that he views the newly created parties of former top AKP elites as a reflection of this alienation and disappointment. Erdogan is known to turn the tables around on his core supporters  conservatives and Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers  such as those who were victims of the Mavi Marmara flotilla. After supporting their cause for years, in 2016 Erdogan abruptly disowned them.

Another problem here is the issue of diminishing resources, which has challenged Erdogans clientelist relations with his base. The idea that the AKP  like any other political party  is corrupt but is at least getting business done is to a large extent based on the returns these groups received for their loyalty and, as Gultekin emphasized, the publics lack of trust toward the alternatives. Now, these returns are not trickling down and there are alternatives. Opposition mayors are transparent in their budgets. They take pride in being accountable and broadcast live their decision-making gatherings.

There were big promises made right after the coup attempt and during the transition into the presidential system, and now unfulfilled expectations are generating frustration. Disillusionment leads to louder demands to know where all the government funds are being spent.

Gultekin attributes the indifference of the AKP base to significant corruption allegations to the polarization in the country. The base believes these are exaggerated claims. However, on minor issues such as a fee on plastic bags, which hits their own interests directly, there is an outcry. Erdogan must be aware of the growing discontent  in April, banks provided credit for over 300,000 small-business owners.

These types of public outbursts and clashes with police are rare ruptures in the AKPs voter base, but times are changing. Today, even the most dedicated AKP members whisper jokes about the lavish Palace lifestyle and the infamous purse in friendly circles.
A top judge dealing with a backlog of personal injury cases has called on people open to settling their cases to do so without having to come before court.

President of the High Court Ms Justice Mary Irvine said there were 320 personal injury cases due before her which had been postponed on 18 March last because of the impact of Covid-19 measures.

In a statement, Ms Justice Irvine said that what she was asking parties to do now was what they would be doing anyway if their cases were listed for hearing.

When I applied for the position of President of the High Court, I promised that I would do everything in my power to minimise the effects of Covid 19 on those requiring access to justice, she said.

She said that 97% of all personal injury claims were settled and that 89% of those that reach the door of the court settle.

Regrettably, however, a substantial number of claims only settle on the day they are listed for hearing, Ms Justice Irvine said.

In practical terms this means that if cases cannot be listed for hearing (as is currently the case because of Covid-19), they will neither be fought nor settled but will remain in limbo.

She said: The claims causing me most concern are those amongst the 320 cases I have just mentioned which would have settled had it not been necessary to adjourn them.

She said in those cases, the plaintiffs have been held out of the money they would have received as result of such settlements.

And, as we all know, delay in litigation of this nature can cause great economic hardship or even unwarranted additional mental or physical suffering.

Many plaintiffs who have sustained serious injuries are unable to work and need their compensation to replace their earnings and there are those who without their compensation who will not receive the medical treatment or care they need.

The senior judge said that because of the impact of Covid-19 public health measures on the ability of court to hear personal injury proceedings she was requesting all of those involved in the 320 claims to negotiate with each other in the immediate future.

This would bring about the result that would have been achieved if those cases could have been listed for hearing.

But she stressed she wasnt trying to influence peoples decisions: Let me make it absolutely clear that I not asking any defendant to settle a claim in respect of which they consider they have no liability or where they consider the sum claimed to be excessive or even possibly fraudulent.

Obviously, defendants must contest rather than settle such claims. Neither am I asking any defendant, who would in the normal course of events have settled a particular claim, to pay anything more than they would have paid to settle the claim on the date it was due to be heard.

Ms Justice Irvine added: All I am asking is that the parties do what they would have done over the past three months and over the next five weeks, had the court been able to list these claims for hearing in the normal way.

And, if the parties embark upon such negotiations in the same way as they would have done had the cases been listed for hearing, justice will be the winner with hopefully 89% or thereabouts of those cases being settled.
by Nirmala Carvalho

For Archbishop William Dsouza, the tragedy compounds burdens, problems, difficulties and sufferings people have had to face in recent months because of the pandemic.

Patna (AsiaNews)  At least 92 people were killed yesterday by lightning in Bihar, state authorities reported.

The Bihar Disaster Management Department said that Gopalganj district suffered the most casualties, 13, with additional deaths reported in 22 other areas in the state.

The families of the victims will receive the standard compensation of US$ 5,300, said Sandeep Kumar, an official with the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority.

I am shocked and alarmed at the unexpected deaths of 92 people in various districts of Bihar due to lightning and thunderstorms, said Archbishop William D'Souza SJ of Patna speaking to AsiaNews.

For the prelate, this tragedy comes on top of the burdens, problems, difficulties and sufferings people have had to face in the past four months of pandemic. This is added misery.

Extending his condolences to survivors, victims and affected families, Card D'Souza noted that, in light of the situation, The Catholic Church will reach out to the families with relief and rehabilitation, food and shelter.

In an appeal to the government, he said that that the authorities must reach out on compassionate grounds, and offer immediate relief measures with adequate compensation for loss of lives and property.

Finally, he called on the faithful pray for the bereaved families, that God may give them strength and consolation".
MARINETTE, Wis. (AP)  Despite enormous economic headwinds and sky-high unemployment numbers, President Donald Trump sought to showcase his record as a job creator on Thursday during a visit to a shipyard in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

Trump boasted of his aptitude for manufacturing and again offered a rosy prediction that the coronavirus-battered economy is set to turn a corner even as the U.S. marked its 14th straight week with more than a million workers making unemployment claims.

Trump made the comments during a tour of the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard, the recent winner of a $5 billion federal contract to building up to 10 new guided missile frigates. The Marine shipyard is a United States subsidiary of Italian enterprise Fincantieri, one of the worlds largest shipbuilders.

Wisconsin, a state he narrowly won in 2016, is expected to be one of the most hotly contested battlegrounds as Trump looks toward his reelection effort.

I understand manufacturing," Trump said during an address to the shipyard employees. Remember, manufacturing was never going to come back. Well, it did come back. It came back big."

But times have changed in Wisconsin and throughout the country.

Unemployment has surged to 12% in Wisconsin, a rise on par with job losses nationwide because of the pandemic. When Trump last campaigned in the state in January, the unemployment rate was 3.5%.

Trump's standing in Wisconsin appears to be suffering from the extraordinary period of turmoil, and his visit was part of a concerted effort to shore up support in friendlier areas that can make or break his reelection chances. The trip came days after he dispatched Vice President Mike Pence to the conservative Milwaukee suburbs.

Before his visit to Marinette, Trump participated in a town hall, later aired by Fox News Channel, from an airport in Green Bay. Trump used the town hall to repeatedly attack Biden's acuity and lash out against former national security adviser John Bolton over his tell-all book. He also warned that the potential defeat of longtime Rep. Eliot Engel in Tuesday's New York primary is a sign of the growing strength of the radical fringe" in the Democratic Party. (The Associated Press has yet to declare a winner in that contest.)

The two parts of Wisconsin that Trump targeted this week  suburban Milwaukee and the Green Bay media market in northeast Wisconsin  are areas where he needs to run up a big vote advantage in November.

Story continues

Trump noted that he has pushed for a 355-ship Navy fleet by the end of his first term, though left unsaid is that the Navy is on track to have have just over 300 ships by 2025. Still, Trump knocked Democrats as doing too little for the military.

I will tell you that Democrats dont like approving money for the military for whatever reason," Trump said.

Some polls have suggested Trump has ground to make up in Wisconsin. A Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday showed Democrat Joe Biden with an 8 percentage point lead over Trump. Trump trailed Democrat Hillary Clinton in nearly every poll conducted in Wisconsin in 2016  often by similar margins  before he won the state by fewer than 23,000 votes.

Marinette County helped deliver that win. Trump carried the county, about 170 miles (275 kilometers) north of Milwaukee along the shores of Lake Michigan's Green Bay, with 65% of the vote.

Unlike Trump's rally in Oklahoma last weekend and his visit to a Phoenix megachurch Tuesday, his tour of the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard was not open to the public.

Trump, who generally refuses to cover his face, did not wear a mask for his speech at the shipyard, though many of the employees who gathered for the address did.

Marinette has not been a hotbed for the virus, with just a few dozen cases and three deaths. Thirteen employees at the shipbuilder have tested positive for COVID-19, but they have all recovered and returned to work, the shipbuilders spokesperson Eric Dent said. Everyone who enters the facility is now screened, he said.

Trumps appearance gave him a chance to score points with blue-collar workers who know the importance of the shipbuilder to the regions economy, said John Nygren, a Republican member of the state Assembly who was born and raised in Marinette.

Granted, Trump is not traditional in a lot of ways, but its a great opportunity from a working-class standpoint to show Republicans can stand up for them, Nygren said.

Trump promoted a contract won in April by Fincantieri Marinette Marine to build as many as 10 Navy frigates. The shipbuilder plans to invest $200 million to expand the Marinette facility because of the contract. The company employs about 2,500 people now, and the deal could add 1,000 jobs and be worth $5.6 billion if all the ships are built. Its the first new major shipbuilding program for the Navy in more than a decade.

Biden said in a statement Thursday that Trump was coming to Marinette to take credit for Obama-Biden administration-fueled successes in an attempt to paper over the fact that Wisconsin has been bleeding blue-collar manufacturing jobs over the past few weeks. Instead of offering real relief to working families, hes trying to claim credit for progress in Marinette he did not build.

Before departing Washington, Trump and first lady Melania Trump marked the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War by visiting the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall.

Trumps visit to Marinette is believed to be the first time a sitting president has come to the city. As a candidate, John F. Kennedy campaigned in Marinette in 1960, when he gave a speech on the importance of loans for farmers. Pence was at the same Marinette shipyard in November to promote Trumps trade deal with Mexico and Canada.

___

Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sbauerAP.

___

Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game.
GroupSolver, Inc. Platform "GroupSolver has always been agile; this will add speed and continued innovation" says Caitlin Wege, President of Tech Coast Angels - San Diego

We are delighted to announce that GroupSolver has raised $2M which marks the 3rd fundraising round since its inception. The round was led by Eterus Capital, Slovak private equity fund, with Tech Coast Angels and others contributing.

The completed financing brings fresh growth capital to a start-up that doubled its revenue last year and achieved profitability. We are excited to continue our journey of transforming online surveys into a smarter and more effective insights tool. This capital infusion will help us keep up with market demand while speeding-up introduction of several transformative product features our customers have asked for, said Rasto Ivanic, GroupSolvers co-founder and CEO. Innovating quickly for the post-COVID consumer will be a major differentiator of success for our customers. GroupSolvers ability to make their consumer research faster and more insightful is proving to be a critical ingredient of such success.

Eterus Capital has now joined Neulogy Ventures and Tech Coast Angles in supporting the growing business. GroupSolver has shown a stellar operational and financial performance since its founding in 2014. Its unique capabilities in providing insights to global leaders such as Adidas, Amazon, Google, or IRi provide a truly solid foundation for future growth. The transaction was conducted as an increase in the company's equity capital, which is aimed to accelerate GroupSolvers expansion of its SaaS offering and service delivery capabilities said Boris Kostik, Director at WOOD & Company.

We are thrilled for GroupSolver, said Caitlin Wege, President of Tech Coast Angels - San Diego. Rasto and the team think consciously about their business decisions, keeping financial viability at the forefront, while delivering growth. This new capital infusion comes at the perfect time; the launchpad is in place; now, it is time to lift off and reach further into the market with product expansion, and distribution. GroupSolver has always been agile; this will add speed and continued innovation.

About GroupSolver:

GroupSolver is a market research technology company based in San Diego, with operations in Utah and Slovakia. It has built an intelligent market research platform (think "online survey with a brain") that helps businesses answer their burning why, how, and what questions faster and with more confidence. By combining machine learning and crowd intelligence, the GroupSolver technology helps decision-makers and researchers find insights that traditionally remain hidden from online surveys or focus groups.

Learn more at: https://www.groupsolver.com

About Eterus Capital:

Eterus Capital is a Slovak private equity fund focused on investments in growth-phase small and medium-sized companies that have been operating in the market since 2008. The fund is managed by WOOD & Company, a leading investment group with a strong position in the Central European market. The fund also focuses on providing transaction advisory, securities trading, and asset management.

Learn more at: https://eterus.sk/en/

About Tech Coast Angels:

Tech Coast Angels (TCA), the largest angel investor group in the U.S., has been fueling the growth of innovative companies and entrepreneurs in Southern California since 1997. TCA identifies, mentors and funds early-stage companies to help get their ideas to market, and where TCA members devote their time, expertise and capital to help companies grow and succeed.

TCA members number over 450 and consist of experienced CEOs, senior executives, current and former entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and other professionals. Members not only invest but frequently serve on boards and assist companies with relationships, strategy, supply chain, team building, and additional fundraising.

Since 1997, TCA members have invested over $250 million in more than 450 companies and have helped attract more than $1.7 billion in additional capital/follow-on rounds, mostly from venture capital firms.

Learn more at: http://www.tcasandiego.com
LONDON, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federation of St Kitts and Nevis honoured the work and service of illustrious nurse Sylvia Mary Agatha Garnette by renaming a health centre in her native Tabernacle. In a ceremony held on June 25th, Prime Minister Timothy Harris also announced the construction of more health facilities across the twin islands. The fund option under the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme supports the development of healthcare in St Kitts and Nevis.

Retired in Florida, the 89-year old inspired generations and was instrumental in immunising pre-school children by law. PM Harris recounted her guiding role in overcoming leadership challenges. The Federation successfully contained the spread of COVID-19, guided by health and science advice, with no related deaths and recovery of all 15 cases. The economy is reopening gradually yet borders remain closed for now, the PM clarified.

"I take great pride and pleasure in declaring [that] from henceforth this facility shall be referred to as the Sylvia Garnett Primary Health Care Facility," the PM said. "I am extremely grateful for such high recognition," Mrs Garnett told attendees via video link and thanked "the entire Federation for their love and support."

"We have a plan," the prime minister. "I am looking forward to the buildout of other health support systems throughout St Kitts and Nevis and I am looking forward to attending more ceremonies  one is to come in Saint Peter's, one is to come in Conaree, one is to come in Basseterre," PM Harris announced.

In recent years, St Kitts and Nevis registered significant improvements in many aspects of social and economic life. The Citizenship by Investment Programme alone assisted with repaying IMF debts, supporting tourism development, sponsoring the Poverty Alleviation Programme and the Skills Training Empowerment Programme. To attract investment, PM Harris introduced the Sustainable Growth Fund under CBI as the fastest, safest and most family-friendly route to second citizenship.

After passing due diligence checks, foreign investors make a minimum contribution of US$150,000. They can receive citizenship within 60 days with the added Accelerated Application Process. Investors and their future generations earn the right to live, work, and study there, and easily travel to two-thirds of the world's countries. The list of visa-free destinations keeps growing, with Foreign Minister Mark Brantley adding 17 more in the past five years.

CONTACT: [email protected], www.csglobalpartners.com

SOURCE CS Global Partners
Ukraine has received from Poland 13 trucks with 134 tonnes of disinfectants, medical masks, gloves, protective suits and face screens, the Health Ministry of Ukraine said on its website.

"Poland's humanitarian convoy is the largest humanitarian aid Ukraine has received over the time of the coronavirus pandemic," the ministry's press service said, citing Deputy Health Minister for European Integration Ihor Ivaschenko.

Ambassador of Poland to Ukraine Bartosz Cichocki, representatives of the International Solidarity Fund and the European Commission attended the ceremony to hand the freight over to the Ukrainian side.

According to the EU Delegation to Ukraine, the freight consists of 40,000 medical masks, 50,000 pairs of gloves, more than 11,000 face screens, over 100,000 liters of disinfectant for hands and surfaces, 7,000 protective coats, 1,000 sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) and shoe covers. The PPE was purchased by the International Solidarity Fund.
By The Associated Press Jun. 26, 2020 | 06:57 AM | FRANKFORT

Hundreds of people rallied at Kentucky's capitol on Thursday to urge action in the investigation of three officers in the fatal police shooting of a Black woman, Breonna Taylor, at her Louisville home.

Taylor's family, hip hop artists and civil rights lawyers addressed a large crowd on the steps of the capitol to mark 100 days since Taylor was killed.

The 26-year-old woman was shot eight times by officers who burst into her Louisville home March 13, using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation. The warrant to search her home was in connection with a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside.

On Thursday afternoon, Taylor's mother thanked the crowd for their support for her daughter.

Without you all, I swear I dont know where I would be right now, probably crying at home still by myself, Palmer said. Know that she was full of love, full of life. Know that if it was one of you all, she would be out there (protesting).

Louisville police have fired one of the three detectives who served the warrant at Taylor's home. But protesters at demonstrations around the country have called for the three to be criminally charged.

Taylor was killed in the sanctity of her own home, said civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, who is representing Taylor's family. If you cant be safe in your own home, where can you be safe?

The rally was organized in the state capitol to call attention to Daniel Cameron, Kentuckys first Black attorney general, whose office is reviewing the police investigation of the three officers. Many of the speakers urged Cameron to charge the officers, Myles Cosgrove, Brett Hankison and Jonathan Mattingly.

Hankison was fired on Tuesday.

Last week, Beyonce wrote an open letter to Cameron, urging him to move swiftly. Cameron has urged patience while a large-scale probe is being carried out. The FBI is also investigating the shooting.

Other speakers Thursday included the rapper/actor Common and Jada Pinkett Smith, who told Palmer she wanted to keep shining a light on Breonna's name.

We wanted to come here, show our love, and amplify your voice and amplify the voice of your daughter, Pinkett Smith said.

Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, also appeared at the rally. Walker was originally charged with attempted murder after he fired a shot at one of the officers who came into the home. Walker has said he thought he was defending from an intruder.

The no-knock search warrant that allows police to enter without first announcing their presence was recently banned by Louisvilles Metro Council.
By Arthur I. Cyr





"Leaflets of punishment."



That is how the weird Hermit Kingdom of North Korea describes new efforts to distribute propaganda-filled paper in South Korea. Apparently, the internet remains too avant-garde. Pyongyang blames defectors for provoking this move.



The South Korean military used to send propaganda North. However, that practice ended in 2010 and Seoul discourages such efforts.



Meanwhile two important anniversaries for Korea occur near the end of June. On June 26, 1945, the Charter of the United Nations was signed in San Francisco, California. On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea in a surprise attack, launching the brutal Korean War.



On June 26, 1945 in San Francisco, new United States President Harry S. Truman addressed delegates from around the world. He had assumed the office on April 12, following the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.



World War II was still in progress. Nazi Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 8, but the costly total war with Japan would continue through the summer.



Truman early in his speech stated: " in this most destructive of all wars, you have won a victory against war itself." The new president praised President Woodrow Wilson, whose frustrated effort to bring the U.S. into the League of Nations following World War I nevertheless set the stage and began the national debate that culminated in the creation of the U.N.



In August 1941, FDR and Britain's Prime Minister Winston Churchill secretly met off the coast of Newfoundland. This was a daring venture: most Americans remained committed isolationists, the U.S. was still formally a noncombatant, and German submarines then dominated much of the Atlantic Ocean.



Killing Churchill would have been a singular victory.



After successful negotiation, the secret summit went public. Churchill and Roosevelt announced the United Nations, also daring given that the Axis then had the military initiative.



In late June 1950, President Truman immediately supported the U.N. decision to resist with force the North Korea invasion. The U.S. led the international effort to protect the South, and persevered until President Dwight D. Eisenhower finally secured an armistice in 1953



The capstone of South Korea's transition to democracy was the election of Kim Dae-jung as president in 1998. In 2000, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Earlier, a principal symbol of democratic activism, he was imprisoned by the Park Chung-hee dictatorship. On another occasion, South Korean agents kidnapped and planned to kill him. Intervention by U.S. CIA official Don Gregg saved his life.



South Korea's remarkable domestic accomplishments have unfolded while the country becomes increasingly influential in global arenas. Ban Ki-moon, a career South Korean diplomat, served as U.N. Secretary General from 2007 to 2016.



In March 2012, the Obama administration shrewdly nominated President Jim Yong Kim of Dartmouth College, who was born in Seoul Korea, as president of the World Bank. Despite challenges, the U.N. has expanded international cooperation since the end of the Cold War era.



The original vision of the United Nations combined competing goals of favoring the most powerful nations and inclusive global representation. Ban Ki-moon and Jim Yong Kim personify South Korea's significant expanding role as a bridge between developed and developing nations.



The United Nations today is relatively strong, confirming the vision of two great visionary allied leaders early in World War II. The UN is no longer divisive in U.S. party politics.



Also confirmed is the decision in 1950 to defend South Korea.





Arthur I. Cyr (acyr@carthage.edu) is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin and author of "After the Cold War" (Macmillan/Palgrave and NYU Press).


Optimism is supposedly back in oil markets, with the Global Research team at Bank of America lifting its oil price forecast for this year and next as demand recovers from coronavirus-linked shutdowns, the OPEC+ output cut deal curtails supply, and producers slash capital expenditure. The bank now sees Brent crude oil averaging $43.70 per barrel in 2020, up from a previous estimate of $37. In 2021 and 2022, the bank forecasts average prices of $50 and $55 a barrel respectively. BofA also forecast that a pattern of falling inventories across most regions should emerge as we move into H2 2020. As a result, we expect the full Brent crude oil curve to return into backwardation by year-end. Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy, however, has warned that the downside risk in oil markets is still very much alive. In its weekly webinar, Rystads Head of Oil Markets, Bjornar Tonhaugen stated that Brent prompt futures are under pressure this morning with bearish traders selling below US$40, in a reminder that not all is well yet in the market. He also indicated that while mainstream analysts are optimistic and see a recovery and upward potential for oil, the short-term reality is far from certain.

When looking at the foggy picture currently being painted by the news, publications, and facts on the ground, the only real conclusion that can be drawn is that the ongoing price rally is not yet based on market fundamentals. The ongoing demand hike, as shown by some analysis in Asia, is not based on recovering demand of consumers or industry, but largely caused by refinery runs that are taking advantage of the relatively low oil prices. Using oil in storage to produce oil products is a normal economic phenomenon, preparing higher-margin products for the future while also opening up some additional storage space for new imports.

Related: Iraq Considers A String Of Massive Oil Deals With China

Overall, then, optimism should be tempered, as there are not yet any real signs of improvement available in the major economic regions, especially in the U.S. and EU, that would suggest a move towards a pre-coronavirus economy. Oil market analysts and investors seem to forget that current economic figures, which are already extremely bad, are possibly only the tip of the iceberg. When looking at the economic situation in the Eurozone-area, and the EU in general, positive economic figures are largely the result of governmental financial support and will worsen when that support is reduced. Current stimulus packages are not sustainable, and a high level of bankruptcies and lay-offs are to be expected before the end of the summer.

The economic backbone of major industries in Europe, automotive, airlines, tourism, and even manufacturing, is facing a bleak and very insecure couple of years. Demand for crude oil and products will be hit hard if the expected rise in unemployment becomes a reality. The U.S. and other major markets are not looking any better. The current U.S. stimulus packages are propping up some sectors of the economy, while already historically high unemployment figures will lead to foreclosures, higher credit debts, and failed repayments of car loans, etc. Demand for crude oil, in the worlds second-largest consuming market, seems to be heading towards a cliff.

Asian figures, which are being presented by several parties as looking promising, are again unlikely to meet expectations. Chinese production figures and GDP growth were already a subject of much debate before the global pandemic, and now it is going to suffer from lower demand in trade and possible political conflicts. A combination of trade wars, the EUs reluctancy to keep its doors open to Chinas economic might, and a continuing struggle to stave off an internal economic crisis, does not bode well for the Asian giant. Demand for Chinas products is down and will continue to decline if its main clients (the E.U. and U.S.) are hit by an economic recession.

Even within the physical oil market itself, it seems that optimism is being misplaced. OPEC+ production cuts are holding, but compliance is at less than 90 percent, which means the main producers are still hitting the markets with additional unwanted oil volumes. Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait are keeping to their commitments, but Iraq and others are struggling. At the same time, a prolonged production cut strategy is no longer sustainable for several producers as their economies are in shambles, and unrest is brewing. Non-OPEC producers are also looking for a way out, and Russia has indicated that it doesnt see any long-term options for a production cut. U.S. oil production, which has been hit by both COVID and an OPEC+ oil price war, is currently struggling but has the potential to come back online quickly. If oil prices remain in the $35-40 per barrel range, we will see a re-emergence of several shale oil players and additional (unwanted) volumes in the market. Furthermore, global crude oil storage volumes are still at historically high levels. Last weeks optimistic forecasts of draws of storage volumes is likely a one-off. The fact remains that there is still too much oil available, but SPRs are being used to improve storage figures.

Related: Oil May Never Hit $100 Again



Another reason for our overly optimistic outlook is that the profit strategy of downstream companies has resulted in higher volumes of product in storage, as demand for products is low. This can be seen in U.S. crude stockpiles which were reported to have grown by more than expected, adding to worries about oversupply. American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.7 million barrels last week, well ahead of analysts expectations for a 300,000-barrel build. While product volumes showed a storage draw, optimism here is based on the fact that fuel consumption is picking up as some economies ease lockdown measures. When looking at the real figures, demand for products is still way below normal figures for the same time last year. Another major worry is that China, the worlds top crude importer, is also expected to slow crude imports in the third quarter, after record purchases in recent months, as higher oil prices hurt demand and refiners worry about a second virus outbreak.

Looking at fundamentals, combined with increased economic and geopolitical unrest globally, there is no real justification for oil market optimism in 2020. Both the summer and autumn of 2020 will be volatile periods for oil markets, with a possible economic recession of an unknown magnitude hitting the global economy. Optimism should instead be pointed towards 2021. A combination of low investments upstream, combined with potential new unrest in MENA (Libya-Iraq) or removal of the weak parties in upstream, will lead to a supply crisis. Beneath the fog of the current demand discussions and fake optimism about the economic growth of Asia and other regions, there is a supply crisis forming which will hit the market hard. The year 2021 will recharge oil and gas with a bang, as we jump from a demand-driven market to a supply-driven situation. Prices will increase, even with a global economic crisis, but revenues will be distributed to new power players that will replace the current U.S.-E.U. centric oil and gas upstream sector. An average crude oil price (Brent) of above $40 per barrel is wishful thinking in 2020. We may witness hikes, but general fundamentals are showing a $30-$34 range rather than a $40-45.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Louvre Abu Dhabi reopened on Wednesday.  AFP/VNA Photo

ABU DHABI  Visitors in masks and gloves returned to the Louvre Abu Dhabi on Wednesday as it reopened its doors after a 100-day closure under coronavirus restrictions.

The usual paper maps were replaced with a phone app, thermal scanners were in operation and valet parking, a common service in the United Arab Emirates, was suspended for now.

Entrance is by timed ticket and visits last a maximum of three hours.

With travel into and out of Abu Dhabi still restricted, residents of neighbouring Dubai, just a 90-minute drive away, cannot yet enter.

"Of course, it has been a challenging time," said the museum's director Manuel Rabate, acknowledging that restrictions would limit visitor numbers.

"Our purpose is really to make sure that all the visitors have the best experience on the safest experience," he said adding that in difficult times, art could help people find "solace and appeasement".

Countries around the world have closed museums and cancelled cultural and sporting events in a bid to slow the pandemic's spread.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi opened in late 2017 and attracted some two million visitors in its first two years of operation.

Under a 30-year agreement, France provides expertise, lends works of art and organises exhibitions -- in return for one billion euros (US$1.16 billion).

The Louvre in Paris, home to the Mona Lisa, is to reopen on July 6 after the government eased restrictions on museums and historic sites.  AFP
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 20:49:41|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry has dismissed the recent U.S. report on terrorism, Tasnim news agency reported on Friday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Thursday that the "Islamic Republic of Iran categorically rejects and condemns the U.S.' annual Country Reports on Terrorism because that regime is blatantly shifting the blame onto others, is utterly insincere, and has double standards in the fight against terrorism."

A U.S. government annual terrorism report on Wednesday alleged that Iran continues to increase its support for extremists.

"The United States of America's regime, known as the biggest state sponsor of terrorism and the main sponsor of the aggressive and occupying Zionist regime, is in no position to claim to be fighting against terrorism and make judgments about this issue," Mousavi said. Enditem
The U.S. House responded to the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody by voting Thursday to ban chokeholds, stop racial profiling and limit the use of deadly force.

The legislation, named for Floyd, passed 236-181, largely along party lines. It was drafted by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus and backed by 138 civil rights organizations.

The measure now goes to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said it was going nowhere. President Donald Trump threatened to veto the measure if it reaches his desk.

The only path toward preventing more Black people from being killed by the very people who are sworn to protect them is to implement meaningful accountability, transparency, and reform of police practices like whats included in the Justice in Policing Act, Booker said after the vote.

The House action follows a series of high-profile killings of unarmed Blacks, subsequent demonstrations across the country, and a change in attitudes towards law enforcement. In a Monmouth University poll released earlier this month, 57% said officers were more likely to use excessive force against Blacks, up from 33% in December 2014.

Police brutality in our communities of color has been a national pandemic for decades, said Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-10th Dist. We understand what it feels like to be afraid of the very men and women who are supposed to protect you. We understand that we are considered dangerous based on the color of our skin.

The rash of police killings of unarmed Blacks was the same issue that drew President Barack Obama to Camden in 2015, where he touted its county-run police department as a symbol of promise for the nation with an increased number of police on the streets and strong relationships with residents.

Its not us versus them. Its we, Rep. Donald Norcross, D-1st Dist., said as he discussed the Camden policing changes during his floor speech.

The most controversial section in the House bill would reduce the legal immunity police now have for their actions, including those that result in the deaths of unarmed black men such as Floyd, who died after an officer pressed his knee against the victims neck for more than eight minutes.

The measure, co-sponsored by all 10 House Democrats from New Jersey, also would set up a national database to track use-of-force incidents, create national standards for police departments, ban no-knock warrants in drug cases, require bias training and change the standard for using deadly force to necessary rather than reasonable.

State and local police departments would have to make similar changes to their rules to receive federal law enforcement grants.

And it would restrict the transfer of military equipment to local police departments. Obama announced such a policy in Camden but Trump revoked it during his first year in office.

Reps. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., and Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., joined most other Republicans in opposing the legislation.

Van Drew said the Democratic bill hurts our law enforcement, plain and simple.

Smith said limiting immunity would be an engraved invitation to sue law enforcement officers.

Moreover, it will deter police from using force where the use of force is necessary to save life or protect property  diminishing the ability of police to provide public safety in dangerous situations, he said.

The National Association of Police Organizations also came out against the immunity provision.

We believe in holding officers accountable for their actions, but the consequence of this would be making criminals out of decent cops enforcing the laws in good faith, executive director William Johnson said in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee.

Van Drew and Smith joined their GOP colleagues in co-sponsoring an alternative measure that does not reduce officers legal protections nor ban profiling and allows chokeholds, though only when deadly force is authorized.

It tracks the House Democratic bill in providing for more training, in tracking use-of-force incidents, and in making lynching a federal crime.

Thats the bill sponsored by the only Black Republican in the Senate, Tim Scott of South Carolina. It failed to attract enough support Wednesday to reach the Senate floor when most Democrats voted against it.

The measures proposed by Senate Republicans and the Trump White House would hand our community a Band-Aid for a gaping wound, said Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist.

Civil rights groups agreed that the Republican bill would not address the problem.

The lack of police accountability and enforceable policies put forth in this bill fails to answer the problems faced by many people of color across this country, said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACPs Washington Bureau.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant.
Chandigarh, June 26 : In the first of its kind state-wide drive, Punjab Police on Friday destroyed several quintals of illicit drugs at various places across all 24 districts, in a symbolic gesture to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The destruction of the drugs came amid Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's assertion that his government would not rest till every single drug smuggler or peddler is behind bars.

Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said teams of Punjab Police took over the task of destroying 62.140 kg of heroin, along with 326.52 quintals of poppy husk, 12.536 kg of charas, 490 grams of sulfa, 755.905 kg of smack, 1.970 kg of brown sugar and 148 kg of intoxicant powder.

In addition, 41.880 kg of opium was deposited in Government Opium and Alkaloid Factory, said Gupta, reiterated the department's commitment to eliminate drugs from Punjab, which has seen a marked increase in the number of drug users joining the state government's de-addiction programme since the imposition of curfew and lockdown in Punjab.

Around 1.3 lakh drug users have joined the de-addiction programme since March, indicating reduction in the availability of drugs in villages and towns, which had a total of 12 lakh harmful or dependent drug users in the state.

The efforts of Punjab Police, including the Special Task Force (STF), have led to manifold increase in heroin seizure in the state in less than four years - from 207 kg in 2016 to 410 kg in 2018, 464 kg in 2019 and 504 kg in 2020.

Cracking down heavily on the drug mafia and traders on the directives of the Chief Minister, Punjab Police have made a single largest ever record heroin seizure of 504 kgs in 2020, said the DGP, adding that major successes have been notched this year in recovery of drugs and arrests of top drug ring members, including Afghan nationals, this year.

This year has also seen the unravelling of some major international narco-terror networks with the arrest of some big fish, said the DGP.
We, as ECPM MEPs, are concerned about the freedoms and rights of Christians in Iran. Estimates say there are between 300,000 and 1,000,000 Christians (<1% of the population) living in Iran and many of them are harassed, beaten or jailed regularly for their faith. In jail they are often tortured and denied healthcare. The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights has called on Iran to temporarily release all its political prisoners during the pandemic.

Brussels, 19 June 2020- ECPM Members of the European Parliament are greatly concerned about the situation of Christians in Iran and thus, make the following statement:

We, as ECPM MEPs are concerned about the freedoms and rights of Christians in Iran. Estimates say there are between 300,000 and 1,000,000 Christians (<1% of the population) living in Iran and many of them are harassed, beaten or jailed regularly for their faith. In jail they are often tortured and denied healthcare. The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights has called on Iran to temporarily release all its political prisoners during the pandemic.

The only Christian minority tolerated in Iran are people of Syriac or Armenian ethnicity. It is not allowed for a Muslim to convert to Christianity. It is illegal to produce Christian literature or to hold religious services in any other language than Syriac or Armenian and churches have been shut down for conducting religious services in Farsi.

We find it disturbing that in 2018 as well as in 2019 there has been a rise in arrests of Christians and other religious minorities (Bahai, Sufi, Sunni) in Iran, with Christians being specifically targeted at Christmas. We draw attention to the fact that the US has been designating Iran a country of particular concern (CPC) since 1999 under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedoms.

Religious freedom represents more than the freedom to believe privately. It is also the freedom to talk about and act in accordance with your core beliefs without interference from the government. Iran blatantly disregards this. We utterly condemn the Iranian government's systematic persecution, surveillance, harassment and torture of Christians and other religious minorities.

We call on all EU institutions to denounce Irans violation of religious freedom and human rights and to pressure Iran into fulfilling its international obligations under the UDHR and the ICCPR. Iran must commit to protecting the freedom of Christians and of the other religious minorities in the country.

We urge NGOs active in this area to report violations of the Freedom or Religion or Belief perpetrated by Iran and we urge world leaders and NGOs to continue to advocate for the speedy release of Christians imprisoned in Iran because of their faith.

Iran is acting in a totalitarian and oppressive way towards women, religious minorities or anyone who dares to speak against the regime. The EU has had a permissive attitude towards Irans behavior so far, but we call on the EP, the Commission and the Council to reconsider its diplomatic and economic stance. The European Union can only be credible towards its own citizens and member states if it upholds the same values at home and abroad.
The community should do everything in its power to stem the current rising tide of infections so this type of facility is not required, Bencivengo said. The volunteers could be used in other communities to provide care or they could ultimately not be used.

While the city and county have described a surge plan where backup medical facilities would be available if hospitals became overwhelmed, the June emails provide more detail about what one of these pop-ups would look like.

The city's request included more than 20 registered nurses, four doctors, and nearly 70 other medical personnel, including physician assistants, respiratory therapists and paramedics to staff the 100-bed site, according to the emails.

The positions would last for an undetermined duration and would require 12 hour shifts on a seven-day rotation  with the volunteers working one week, and off the next, the emails said.
An Australian city has seen job advertising almost double in a positive sign that the economy is back on track as businesses begin to reopen following months of lockdown.

The job market in Townsville, Queensland is returning to normal as coronavirus restrictions ease, with job ads almost double what they were in April.

With unemployment sitting at 7.5 per cent, the city has 624 available jobs with a further 200 positions available within 50km.

Townsville in Queensland is s boasting 624 available jobs with a further 200 positions available within 50km (pictured: some positions available in the city)

Trades and services sector has currently advertised 171 positions in Townsville (stock)

However, recruitment boss Clayton Cook from TP Human Capital warns there is a long way to go before the economy returns to pre-pandemic levels.

'The indications from (employment website) SEEK and from what we are experiencing are that some activity is starting to return to the labour market as businesses prepare for a recovery,' Mr Cook told the Townsville Bulletin.

'These are positive signs. We are not back to pre-COVID levels yet but we are trending in the right direction.'

There are currently 171 job vacancies in the trades and services sector, followed by 147 in healthcare and medicare, and 95 positions in manufacturing, transport and logistics.

The community service and development industry has advertised 82 positions in Townsville, 65 in hospitality in tourism, and 64 vacancies for education and training.

Mr Cook said the positions have probably been advertised as employees remain on Jobseeker rather than return to work.

'If JobSeeker is more than what you were earning beforehand, the attraction of returning to work for some people won't be as high,' he explained.

'At the end of the day, those people are letting down their employer.'

The hospitality industry has advertised for 65 positions as restrictions continue to ease (stock)

New figures show close to one million jobs were lost between mid-March, before the shutdowns, and the end of May.

The number of payroll jobs plunged by 7.5 per cent or about 980,000 in 11 weeks, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed on June 9.

Inner-city areas of Sydney and Melbourne had suffered an even steeper 10.6 per cent plunge during the same time period.

Nationally, the number of people with a job has fallen from 13million to 12million in little more than two months.

The unemployment level surged from 5.2 per cent in March to a five-year high of 6.2 per cent in April as the closure of non-essential hospitality businesses caused 600,000 Australians to either go on the dole or give up looking for new work.

The rate would have been higher if not for the numbers on the temporary JobKeeper wage subsidies program which will end in September.

The unemployment figures for June won't be released until July 16.
A former mayor has resigned after comparing Black Lives Matter protesters to monkeys jumping on a car.

Peter Kraus, 68, resigned as a councillor after putting the images side-by-side on his Facebook page.

The images showed a group of monkeys on top of a car at a safari park paired with an image of black protesters stood on a police car during riots.

It was later deleted after residents and fellow councillors in Pembroke Dock, West Wales, protested about the 'racism' from their ex-mayor.

Mr Kraus first claimed he was hacked but later admitted he had posted the images.

Peter Kraus, 68, has resigned as a councillor after uploading side-by-side images on his Facebook page which appeared to compare BLM protestors to monkeys at a safari park

Mr Kraus initially claimed he had been hacked when the post appeared, but later admitted it

Grandfather Mr Kraus - who served as Pembroke Dock Mayor between 2012 and 2013 - said: 'I have lots of black and white friends around the world.

'I have never in my whole life been racist in any way or form.'

'The picture in question actually means to me that some people are worse than animals and enjoy destroying things, whether it be vehicles, buildings or statutes.'

Peter Kraus pictured together with his wife Doris during his spell as mayor of Pembroke Dock

His fellow ward councillor Joshua Beynon complained to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman about the post.

Labour member Mr Beyon said: 'I'm sad to see another derogatory post, this time one that compares black people to monkeys, it is the lowest of the low.

'While it seems that there is a lot of hatred and negativity around, this whole event has highlighted the urgent need to fight racism that is clearly evident in our county.

'I will continue to call it out when I see it.'

Pembroke Dock Town Council confirmed Mr Kraus has resigned by letter.

The statement said: 'Members of the Council would like to thank Peter for all his hard work which he has undertaken over the years throughout the Town and for his continued efforts within the Town Council.'

Labour councillor Joshua Beynon (pictured) confirmed on Twitter that Mr Kraus has been reported to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for the post

The 22-year-old had recently campaigned for purple lights to illuminate the town in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement

Residents from the town in south west Wales had taken to social media to criticise Mr Kraus for his post, with many accusing the former mayor of racism.

One user said: 'Cllr Kraus has shared this disgusting racist post on his Facebook. He is an elected official. This is an outrage.'

Another added: 'This is the kind of thing we're dealing with in Pembrokeshire, the post shared by local town councillor Peter Kraus.

'I've called out racism locally this last week on various posts and been labelled a 'lefty' and a 'snowflake.''
Only those International scheduled flights will be allowed that have been approved by a competent authority, says DGCA's latest circular.

In the wake of rising cases of Covid-19 in India, International commercial passenger flights shall remain suspended till July 15. The Ministry of Civil Aviation, in its latest order on Friday, stated that all scheduled international commercial passengers flights to/from India will remain suspended till July 15. However, the restrictions will not be applicable to international all-cargo operations and flights approved by DGCA.

Only those International scheduled flights will be allowed that have been approved by a competent authority, in reference to Vande Bharat Mission flights. Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri had earlier tweeted that Vande Bharat continues to be a mission of hope and happiness for Indians around the world. So far, about 140K Indians have returned and 48K have flown out.

On the resumption of International flights, the minister had said that the decision to resume international flights would be taken in July. Before putting any timeline out there, he wants to take all stakeholders and passengers into confidence. He added that they are trying to ensure that the government of all states are first ready for international flights. He has received many requests, suggestions and demands from the flyers to resume international flights but this may only be possible once the entire ecosystem is ready.

The scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India shall remain suspended till 15th July: Government of India #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/zhvrlDBTdz  ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2020

Nearly 140K Indians have returned to India on Vande Bharat flights since 6 May 2020 & more than 48K have flown out of the country so far. VBM flights steadily continue to bring back stranded Indians everyday. Today 3866 people have returned from different parts of the world. pic.twitter.com/15LDIqxp34  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) June 25, 2020

Also Read: Bhutan denies reports of stopping water supply to Assam, calls it a baseless and distressing allegation

Also Read: Bhutan is helping clear channels of irrigation, says Assam official refuting dispute reports

India recorded the highest single-day spike of 17,000+ Covid-19 cases on Friday. The total number of cases in the country has now reached 4,90,401, including 1,89,463 active cases, 2,85,637cured/discharged/migrated cases and 15,301 deaths.

Also Read: Sonia Gandhi claims China has occupied Indian territory in Ladakh, asks for Modi govts plan of action

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
REGINA - Saskatchewan says it wants in on the federal money Ottawa is sending to eastern tourism industries hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Premier Scott Moe tweeted a letter to federal Economic Development Minister Melanie Joly that expresses disappointment Western Canada was left out of a $46 million package to help Quebec and Atlantic Canadas tourism industries.

Joly said earlier this week the countrys tourism industry has been hard hit by the global health crisis. A lot of the money going to the Quebec and Atlantic Canada had been earmarked in the federal budget.

Saskatchewans minister of parks, culture and sport accused Ottawa of only being interested in supporting the tourism sector in Eastern Canada.

In the letter, Gene Makowsky calls it outrageous and says the Saskatchewans tourism industry put more than 70,000 people to work last year.

It is my expectation that there will be a more substantial announcement made in support of Western Canada in the coming days to ensure all regions in Canada receive equitable treatment through these unprecedented times, he says.

Makowsky says the province received about $1.5 million in support for its tourism sector, with Western Canada getting $3.45 million. He says Saskatchewan should be entitled to $4.3 million.

I dont think a tour operator in Saskatchewan is less hurt than in Quebec, he said. Our operators are hurting just as much as anywhere.

I think were getting short-changed here in the West.

Ottawa says there has indeed been support for the industry in the West.

The federal government says the four Western provinces are receiving more than $300 million through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund, which was set up to help businesses through COVID-19, and theres more support coming for tourism in Saskatchewan.

Covering those who dont qualify for existing programs, including many tourism operators, the (fund) has already seen myriad applications from Saskatchewans tourism businesses, says a statement from Terry Duguid, parliamentary secretary to the federal minister.

Our message to Saskatchewans tourism businesses and those whose livelihoods depend on them is clear: Weve been here for you with immediate measures, were here for you now as our economy reopens and well get through this together. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2020.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) factored in the responses of various states before deciding to cancel the board exams for Class 10 and 12 scheduled in July this year to ensure the well-being and safety of children and their families.

The Competent Committee of the CBSE formed the opinion that in view of changed circumstances and the issues as highlighted above, it was not advisable to conduct the examination from July 1 to 15 across the country as "health, safety and security of children is the first priority."

Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia recently wrote to Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank that conducting board exams was not feasible keeping the Covid-19 situation in mind. "The examinations of 29 subjects proposed to be conducted in July should not be conducted at all," he said.

Other states including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Odisha also conveyed their inability to conduct examinations.

In response to Supreme Court's question on safety of conducting the exams in July, the board informed that the competent committee held deliberate discussions with a number of states that have "communicated that the conduct of exams during this period will not be feasible".

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Palaniswami has written to the HRD Minister stating that "in the welfare of students/teachers postpone the examination till the situation becomes conducive for the conduct of examinations," the board said.

Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra has communicated that "considering the challenges, the Hon. Minister of the School Education Department has indicated that the Government of Maharashtra will not be in a position to grant the required permission for the conduct of the remaining CBSE Examinations in July 2020, for all the school students appearing in the state of Maharashtra," the board added.

The committee was of the view that exams cannot be carried out in a piecemeal manner and have to be conducted uniformly across the country. The board informed that a stress-free and conducive environment for the students, parents and schools was necessary to conduct the exams.
The principal and the teachers of the "Lycee technique agricole" are opposing the planned merging of the smaller groups ahead of the summer break. The school hopes to obtain an exemption from the nation-wide merging of alternate classes.

The LTA school administration explained in an open letter that it is much more difficult to merge the technical and vocational education classes than it is to reunite regular classes at other primary and secondary schools.

The school committee also cited the problem of school transport. The school currently relies on minibuses to guarantee physical distance between the pupils. This option is no longer possible once the smaller groups are reunited, the committee explained. The signatories of the open letter demand that the trade unions support their request.

Alternate classes in primary and secondary school across Luxembourg will merge on Monday.
Bengaluru-based small business focused startup Instamojo has launched InstaCash a working capital product for businesses which are selling on its platform.

The company said it will offer merchants loans up to Rs 1 lakh for a period of 7 to 14 days. Once the merchant places a request for the credit, Instamojo will transfer the funds including convenience and processing fee charges. This money will help businesses till the next payment is received by them.

"The current situation has left micro-businesses reeling under pressure to source funds for day-to-day operationswe identified that instant funds were the need of the hour. Through InstaCash, we aim to not just empower micro-businesses through digitization, but act as an enabler by addressing key challenges and thus, facilitate smooth operations," said Sampad Swain, Chief Executive Officer, Instamojo.

Several traditional financial institutions have been unable to cater to the demand for capital due to the lack of access to granular data on these small businesses with reference to sales, customers and other metrics. Since these companies sell through Instamojo, the company can gauge their cash flows and repayment capabilities, hence are in a better position to extend credit.

Instamojo provides a host of services ranging from digital payments, logistics to lending for MSMEs. The company today works with and enables over a million MSMEs to build, manage and grow their business.

Follow our coverage of the coronavirus crisis
IT'S hard to imagine Micheal Martin and Leo Varadkar retiring to an alcove in the Merrion Hotel to trash out a solution to a difference between their parties over a quiet pint.

For starters, neither are big drinkers but more importantly their relationship has always been very formal and business like.

They are now set to share the Office of the Taoiseach and their political careers are entwined for the next five years.

Martin needs Varadkar to ensure he can fulfil his life-long goal of becoming the leader of the country he has dedicated much of his life to serving.

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Similarly, Varadkar needs Martin to convince Fianna Fail TDs to vote him into office in two and half years time. Theres no guarantee this will happen.

Martin has always been a man of his word but by December 2022 there is every chance Fianna Fail will be preparing for life after the Cork TD.

Martin may set out his exit strategy before his leaves the Taoiseachs office but this is unlikely given his determination to hold on to power for as long as possible.

Either way, he will spend the coming years looking over his shoulder for Varadkar and his would-be successor.

From tomorrow afternoon, Martin will be the Taoiseach and will have the upper hand in the relationship for the next five years.

No matter what way you look at it, the Taoiseach holds more power and responsibility than the Tanaiste, even if it is a beefed up office.

This will take some adjusting to for Varadkar, who has become accustomed to the trappings of office.

One of the first things he will have to do is pack his bags and move out of the State-owned Stewarts Lodge on the Farmleigh Estate and move back to his two bed apartment.

Clearing out the office tonight. This portrait has hung proudly over the fireplace for 9 years. Beidh se ar ais pic.twitter.com/f822EciGKR  Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) June 26, 2020

The EU and international leaders he has built relationships will now call Martin to get Irelands views on matters of importance.

He will be counting down the days until he returns to Taoiseachs Office.

If the arrangement is to work until and beyond there will have to a level of trust between the two leaders who have spent years tearing strips off each other.

Trust comes with time and cannot be rushed.

But it will suit Varadkar to have Martin in place when his time comes to take the top job  better the devil you know, especially if he has a reputation for keeping his word.

This shared interest in holding power, while fight off the more extreme Climate Action measures proposed by the Greens, might make for good partnership.
In the very early 2000s, back when he wrote for the Toronto Stars editorial board, Bruce Campion-Smith sat next to the office of Don Sellar, the Stars ombudsman, a position that would later be known as the Public Editor.

Don was on the phone all day talking to readers, recalled Campion-Smith.

And it struck me then just how important his job was.

Nearly two decades later, Campion-Smith is leaving his post as a reporter in the Stars Ottawa Bureau and moving into the public editors office at 1 Yonge St., succeeding editor Kathy English, who announced her resignation after 13 years in the position earlier this week.

Campion-Smiths appointment comes after he spent 17 years reporting in Ottawa, where hes covered federal politics and policy and events on Parliament Hill. Over the course of his career, hes travelled with prime ministers to global summits, covered five federal elections and reported from the White House and on conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Campion-Smith has also served as Ottawa bureau chief, assistant city editor, editorial writer, transportation reporter and general assignment reporter. His career began in the Stars radio room, where he covered breaking news unfolding across the city as it came in.

His reporting has resulted in several awards and nominations, including the Ross Munro Award from the Canadian Global Affairs Institute in 2005 and a nomination for a National Newspaper Award in the category of editorial writing in 2002.

His decision to take on the new role is, in part, due to his interest in soliciting reader feedback.

A key part of this job is listening to readers and understanding their concerns with our coverage. As a journalist, its not easy getting feedback from your readers who are critical of your work, but you realize that, at the end of the day, were better for it. Its part of a relationship with our readers that we should never take for granted, he said.

Eight journalists have served as the Stars public editor since the job was created in 1972. In that time, the position has undergone various changes and reimaginings of its purpose. During Englishs tenure, the position served to provide an opportunity for readers to understand journalistic processes and tricky editorial decisions.

The platforms of communication have changed, but I think the same theme remains true to this day, said Campion-Smith.

This is a way for readers feedback to get directly through to the newsroom.

When he begins the new job next week, Campion-Smith hopes to focus on the importance of media literacy, reader feedback and diversity both in the newsroom and in news.

Its critical that our coverage reflects the city we serve. The Star has made commitments to act on that front, and I think we have a lot of work to do to ensure that were reflecting the city properly.

He says his first column will likely be about the value of reader feedback.

Weve formed valuable relationships with readers over the years whove addressed errors and shortfalls in our coverage. It makes us better, and it shows that readers care about the news they receive and they care enough to offer their comments.

Thats a relationship that we should never take for granted.

Jacob Lorinc is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @jacoblorinc
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 06:09:45|Editor: huaxia

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GENEVA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that the WHO-led global response to COVID-19 needs 31.3 billion U.S. dollars for therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics over the next 12 months, including two billion doses of vaccines.

The money would go to the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, or ACT-Accelerator, a global collaboration initiated in April to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.

WHO said some 3.4 billion dollars have been contributed to date, resulting in a funding gap of 27.9 billion dollars, of which 13.7 billion dollars of the remaining gap is urgently needed. It plans to scale up delivery of 500 million tests and 245 million courses of treatments to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by mid-2021, as well as two billion vaccine doses, of which one billion to be purchased for LMICs, by the end of 2021.

"The investment required is significant, but it pales in significance when compared to the cost of COVID-19," said WHO in a statement, adding that the total cost of the ACT-Accelerator's work is less than a tenth of what the International Monetary Fund estimates the global economy is losing every month due to the pandemic.

The ACT-Accelerator is led by the work of WHO's partner organizations collaborating under four pillars, including diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines and the health systems connector. The vaccine pillar, with the combination of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has the estimate that it will cost up to 18.1 billion dollars to deliver two billion doses by the end of 2021. In addition, 950 million doses will need to be procured by self-financing high-income countries and upper middle-income countries.

Countries have been racing to find an effective COVID-19 vaccine. Earlier on Wednesday, China's inactivated COVID-19 vaccine candidate has started its phase-3 clinical trial globally in the United Arab Emirates, according to the vaccine developer China National Biotec Group (CNBG).

"The good news is we have over 200 vaccine candidates at some stage of clinical development, 15 of them are now on human clinical trials," said WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan at the press briefing of the organization on Friday.

According to her, at least four Chinese companies are ready going from phase two to phase three trails for vaccine candidates and the WHO is in the process of exchanging documents, signing confidentiality agreement with them in order to provide advice and support, and facilitate conduct of clinical trials. Enditem
55.5% of respondents to the Pcpo poll agree with ending all forms of collaboration on intelligence and security. In Gaza, the strongest consent to the hard line (65%), in the West Bank the figure is 49.1%. But only 18.7% are convinced that it will improve the living conditions of the Palestinians. And 48.7% that it will have negative repercussions in the fight against Covid-19.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - Over half of Palestinian population (55.5%) agrees with the decision made by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to stop collaborating with Israel on security and intelligence issues.

The measure was announced in May by President Abu Mazen in response to the new government's plan to annex up to 30% of the occupied West Bank territories.

The data emerges from a survey published yesterday by Nabil Kukali, a Palestinian Christian, former professor of statistics at the University of Hebron, president and founder of the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (Pcpo) research institute.

The inhabitants of Gaza are the staunchest supporters of the hard line (65%), while in the West Bank the figure stops at 49.1%.

Palestinian fears and concerns clearly emerge from poll number 205, in a context of increased uncertainties worsened by the new coronavirus pandemic. The poll was carried out between June 14 and 22 and involved 1250 Palestinians over the age of 18 from the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Nabil Kukali maintains the unilateral move by Israel, supported by the United States but opposed by the UN and most of the international community, will undermine the last chance of "creating an independent [Palestinian] state".

The survey also reveals "the deterioration of economic and living conditions" in the Palestinian Territories, which is counterbalanced by "mutual collaboration" between the two realities in the common struggle against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Returning to the research, against a 55.5% of supporters of the policy of the rigor of the PNA there is a 44.5% of Palestinians (50.9% in the West Bank and 35% in Gaza) who consider the choice made by the Palestinian leadership "wrong".

At the level of governorates, those who support the choices of the Palestinian leadership most strongly are Al-Bireh & Ramallah (81.8%), Jerusalem (62.8%) and Jericho (55.6%). In contrast, those who harbor greater distrust and disagree with the official line are Bethlehem (84.1% against the hard line towards Israel), Qalqilia (72.2%) and Jenin (66%). In the Strip, the highest figure in the consensus was recorded in Rafah (78.1%), while in Gaza City 63.9% were in favor.

The curators of the survey also asked respondents if the termination of the collaboration in intelligence and security will improve or worsen the economic and living conditions of the Palestinian people.

18.7% of the interviewees are optimistic and say that they will improve; the majority (52.3%) are convinced that "they will get worse" and 15.8% "it will have no effect" (13.2% say they have no opinion on the matter).

Finally, 48.7% believe that this move will have negative repercussions in the fight against the new coronavirus.
A plane full of Japanese business travelers has landed in Vietnam for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic prompted each country to issue travel bans.

The countries agreed to ease restrictions since local infections appear to be under control.

150 people boarded the plane at Narita Airport near Tokyo. The airline provided passengers with protective gowns and face masks.

The plane touched down in northern Vietnam. Passengers must take a PCR test at the airport, before starting two weeks of self-quarantine.

Their arrival is a relief for companies, which had to limit production after losing access to Japanese workers.

Electronics maker Sharp is set to receive about 130 Japanese workers at this Vietnamese factory.

Sharp Manufacturing Vietnam Chairman Wada Kazuhito said, "I am more relieved, than happy. We will now have the human resources we need to restart our operations."

Japan's Foreign Ministry is likewise looking to lift the entry ban for workers from Vietnam. That includes those who qualify for short-term contracts under Japan's "technical trainee" program.

One Vietnamese trainee says, "The agreement means I may be able to go to Japan. I'd be able to earn money to support my family."

Japan currently bans entry for people from more than 100 countries and territories. But it hopes to similarly ease travel restrictions with Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.
Kherson port concession project signed in Ukraine

EBRD and IFC provided technical assistance to the project

New investment opportunities in Ukraines transport sector

The first-ever concession project in Ukraine, structured in line with best international practice, was signed today. The consortium of RISOIL, Ukraines leading stevedoring and agro-industrial company, and the Georgian Industrial Group, the largest industrial holding in Georgia, was awarded a 30-year concession for the seaport of Kherson following an open international tender.

A precondition for this agreement was the introduction of a concession law in Ukraine in 2019 that regulates the concessional use of state and communal property and increases its efficiency, as the legal framework for the project.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provided technical assistance for the preparation of this law. Together with the government of Ukraine and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Bank helped organise the concessional tender and brought the project to a commercial close, making it the first ever public-private partnership in Ukraine.

The concessionaire will be responsible for the operation and modernisation of the seaport over the 30-year period and will invest around US$ 15 million in port facilities and supporting infrastructure by 2030. It will have to increase the volume of cargo transhipment, up to 80 per cent of which must be delivered by rail or water transport modes to improve the environment in the city of Kherson, an important port on the Black Sea in southern Ukraine.

RISOIL will also be aiming to introduce modern logistics and transport solutions for the seaport to limit the volume of cargo transport by road and relieve congestion for the city. The Kherson concession project highlights new investment opportunities in Ukraines transport sector and puts the country on the global map for international transhipment and stevedoring companies. It will also serve as a model for future concessions across different sectors of the national economy.

The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost 15 billion through 466 projects in the country.
A rally was held in front of the Constitutional Court of Armenia last night.

Argishti Gevogyan, Chairman of the Central Board of the Youth Union of ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party of Armenia, posted a video about this.

One of the protesters said that the Constitutional Court was occupied by the executive and legislative branches of power. "The current authorities have gone the way of privatizing the Constitutional Court," he said.
Le ministere du Commerce a eu laval du gouvernement pour revoir cette loi qui regule les barres de fers, les fils en acier entre autres utilises dans le pays.

Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Protection would review the Steel Bars and Steel Wires (Mauritian Standard Specifications) Regulations 1988 so as to align these Regulations with the latest standards for steel bars, steel wires and steel fabrics. Henceforth, all steel bars, steel wires and steel fabrics used in Mauritius, including for projects under G2G Agreements, would have to comply with the applicable standards.

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Amaala, the ultra-luxury destination located along Saudi Arabias northwestern coast, has selected a design inspired by the optical illusion of a desert mirage by UK-based architectural and design firm Foster + Partners for its new international airport.

The terminal and control tower design was conceptualised by Foster + Partners, while the airport master plan was designed by Egis, an international consultancy and engineering group. It will incorporate unique design practices, drawing inspiration from its location.

The airport is due for completion in 2023 and is estimated to accommodate one million travellers per year once it officially opens.

On the new airport, CEO Nicholas Naples said: "A gateway to Amaala, visitors will be greeted by personalised experiences from the moment they step off the plane. From design to personalisation, this will be no ordinary airport. Immersed in the spirit of Amaala, the airport will create an environment that embodies the philosophy of the destination beyond."

"This will be a unique space that personifies luxury and marks the start of memorable experiences for the worlds most discerning guests. We are delighted to work with Foster + Partners and Egis on this project," remarked Naples.

"On approaching the airport, travellers will see stunning land art from the air. Entering the terminal, visitors will be greeted with a sleek mirrored edifice rising from the desert," he explained.

"The structure takes its inspiration from the surrounding environment, resulting in a mesmerising mirage effect. A spacious courtyard will anchor the terminal and will be complemented by contemporary interiors complete with unique artwork and tailored experiences," he added.

According to Naples, the airport will reflect Amaalas ultra-luxury hospitality spirit, providing an exclusive private-club experience perfectly encapsulating its pillars of art and culture; wellness and sport; and sea, sun, and lifestyle.

Among the list of amenities provided by the airport are climate-controlled hangars that will be available for private jets as well as a ground transfer service that is accessible from inside the arrival hangar.

On the 'mirage' design, Senior Executive Partner Gerard Evenden said: "Focusing on the themes of art, wellbeing and sport, the Foster + Partners design seeks to establish a new model for private terminals that provides a seamless experience from resort to aeroplane."

"Responding to the surrounding landscape, the terminal building will form an exclusive gateway to the Amaala resort. The passenger experience through the entire building will be akin to a private members club  luxurious and relaxing," he added.

Egis Aviation Director (Middle East & South Asia) Jacques Khoriaty, said: "Along with embodying the luxurious spirit of the resort, the Amaala airport meets the highest environmental design and sustainability standards, is operationally versatile and incorporates the latest airport technology and best practice standards on offer."

"It has been a privilege to have worked closely with Amaala to define the requirements of this unique project and we look forward continuing our support all the way through to the opening of the airport in 2023," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Telephone conversation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V.Makei with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia

On June 26, 2020, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, had a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics at his initiative.

The problem of countering the coronavirus infection in Belarus and Latvia, measures to strengthen international cooperation to overcome the impact of the pandemic.

At the request of Edgars Rinkevics, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus commented on the current situation around the presidential election campaign in Belarus.

The Foreign Ministers exchanged views on a number of topical bilateral issues, as well as Belarus-EU interaction, including the Eastern Partnership initiative.

The Parties agreed to maintain operational contacts.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 19:44:25|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, June 26 (Xinhua) -- British car production plunged by 95.4 percent in May amid the coronavirus pandemic compared with the same month last year, marking the worst May since 1946, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said Friday.

Data showed that only 5,314 vehicles rolled off production lines across Britain as car plants either closed or restarted at a reduced capacity due to COVID-19, with 4,260 units being exported and just 1,054 for domestic buyers.

"While some two thirds of the UK's automotive plants started getting back to business during the month, capacity was severely held back by social distancing requirements and reduced demand, with key global markets only just beginning to reopen and the UK remaining in lockdown," said the SMMT.

Meanwhile, in the first five months this year, British cars manufactured reached 324,763 units, representing a decline of 41.7 percent from the same period in 2019, with "the full year outlook now expected to be fewer than one million units," the business organization said.

It warned that "potentially up to one in six jobs is at risk of redundancy" when the furlough scheme, a move launched by the government to support employees to keep jobs and receive a certain amount of wages, comes to an end in November.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said: "May's figures are yet more evidence of why the UK industry, like its global rivals, needs dedicated support to drive a successful restart."

"Government assistance so far has been vital in keeping many businesses afloat, but the job isn't done," said Hawes, adding that "measures to boost cashflow, including additional and tailored finance schemes, tax relief and business rates deferral would deliver immediate results when liquidity is most acute."

"We have to retain the highly skilled jobs the sector provides but also ensure the business conditions are competitive so we can unlock the investment that will drive long-term recovery -- a green recovery -- which is inextricably linked to the sector's success," Hawes added. Enditem
Gary also reported no additional virus deaths Thursday. The city so far has seen 775 cases and 56 deaths. Mayor Jerome Prince said the rate of new infections appears to be slowing slightly with less than 10 cases per day since June 6, he said.
Televangelist Kenneth Copeland says his faith is protecting him from 'creep' coronavirus

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Televangelist Kenneth Copeland said Tuesday that his faith in God is shielding him from the new coronavirus, which he dismissed as a creep and the flu. He also urged born-again Christians to put their angel to work by activating their faith against the disease.

Im talking now to Holy Spirit born-again, Holy Spirit baptized, Holy Spirit speaking in other tongues, healing, believing Christians that dont watch anything but COVID-19 on the television. Your faith is idle and dumb, Copeland said in a clip from his ministrys Victory Update.

He warned that repeatedly watching news reports about the pandemic instead of feeding their minds with faith-building content is leading them to make covenants with wrong spirits like fear, leaving them vulnerable to attacks from the devil and little work for their guardian angel.

Your angel has nothing to do because all youre listening to is the news broadcast, and youre exalting this creep that you have authority over, he said.

Oh yes but brother Copeland what happens if I get it? Well, get healed, dear God! he declared.

Copeland insisted that Christians who opened the door to fear from the coronavirus will most likely get infected but argued that if they stand in faith against it they wont get sick.

And youll get it, yeah youll get it. Youll draw it into your home. The devil will see to it that youll get in contact with someone that has it. But when you stand in faith and say, No, I dont mind telling you, I will never have COVID-19. I will never have any other kind of sickness and disease because thank God forevermore, He bore my sins in His own body on the tree and He said be dead to sin and live under righteousness by whose stripes I was healed glory to God. Im not healed now, I was healed then. And grace is given into me now. Im not the sick trying to get healed. Im the healed and the devil is trying to give me the flu! Well, I dont take it, he said lifting his arm to his face like a shield.

He also declared that with his faith as his shield, he will not get sick from the coronavirus.

I have my shield up, thank you very much. Glory to God! You couldnt give me that flu even if you tried.

Copeland, who leads Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Newark, Texas, has been speaking out against coronavirus since the pandemic began. In April, he called forth a supernatural heatwave to kill the virus in New York City, which was being ravaged at the time.

As conditions improve in New York City and across New York State, the virus is now exploding across Texas as well as multiple southern and western states.

In an interview with KBTX Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said that Texas reached an all-time high of more than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases and urged residents to stay home whenever possible.

The governor also raised concern that too many Texans arent taking the virus seriously.

The first obligation that we have is to make sure people around the state really comprehend the magnitude of the challenge were dealing with, Abbott said. There remain a lot of people in the state of Texas who think that the spread of COVID-19 is really not a challenge.
O ne-hundred and forty days since voters went to the polls, the Republic of Ireland has a new government after Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Green Party ratified a coalition deal.

Green Party members approved the draft programme for government this evening, after it was backed by supporters of the two main parties earlier today.

Following the deal's approval, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin is expected to be elected taoiseach around lunchtime on Saturday.

He will then be due to hand the job over to Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar, the current caretaker taoiseach who has led the country since 2017, in two-and-a-half years time.

It is the first time Ireland's two dominant parties, which both have their origins in the Irish civil war, have served in government together.

The coronavirus outbreak had brought a halt to coalition talks following February's election, where no party received a majority.

A deal was agreed by the three parties earlier this month. After 74 per cent of Fianna Fail members backed the agreement, party leader Micheal Martin described it as a "moment of opportunity and hope".

It was supported by 80 per cent of Fine Gael members, but there had been questions whether the Green Party's near 2,000 members would agree to the power-sharing deal.

Some 74 per cent of Green members eventually voted to approve the deal, said returning officer Mary Ryder.

Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar, the current caretaker taoiseach, will take over from Mr Martin in 2022 / PA

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said: Theres a sense of responsibility on us now because we do have a job to do.

We have to go in and help work with our coalition partners in government in actually getting our country out of a really severe economic crisis.

People at home who are losing their jobs or maybe risk of that, they want a government to get up and stand up for them and get everyone back working.

We commit to doing that to tell you everything we can, theres work to be done, and were the ones to try and help make it happen.
New Jersey Opens New Unemployment Call Center

While call centers across the country have seen a spike in demand  or at least a change in the way customers are reaching out  few are seeing as much volume as those handling unemployment claims. Faced with millions of new applications and existing claimants, unemployment call centers have struggled to meet volume while simultaneously attempting to protect their own workers from infection.

The New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development announce last week that 1.24 million workers, or 28 percent of the states current labor force, have file for unemployment since the COVID-19 pandemic began in mid-March, according to ROINJ. The DOL said it took in 26,392 new unemployment claims for the week, a 14 percent increase from the week before. During the height of the pandemic, the department experienced nearly 215,000 claims in a week. Keeping up with these claims has presented a challenge.

To address the volume, the state opened a new call center last week. The center was open for testing and training on Monday, had a soft open on Tuesday and was operational starting on Wednesday, according to Labor Department spokeswoman Angela Delli-Santi.

The call center is supplementing the many dedicated call center staff who have been working overtime for many weeks to get to as many calls as possible, Delli-Santi said. Some of those calls are relatively quick, less than five minutes. Others take considerably longer to resolve. But, all agents continue to do the best they can to get to as many calls as possible.

In addition to taking more calls, the center has implemented more self-service technologies that should reduce applicants needs to speak to a human representative. These technologies include back-end IT improvements, the automation of certain functions, a chat feature, improved website FAQs and an email intake form.

The state has warned, however, that despite the new call center, some New Jersey unemployment applicants may still experience lengthy waits for a live agent.

Callers dont need to use a new number to reach the center, Delli-Santi said. They can use the regional numbers posted on the Department of Labors website.

Edited by Maurice Nagle
Locals left people in no doubt about their objections to the proposed crematorium.

The long-running saga over the controversial plan to build a crematorium in North Cork has finally been laid to rest after it emerged An Bord Pleanala has ruled against the facility.

Just last month an appeals board source told The Corkman a decision on the proposed facility on the site for the former Duhallow Park Hotel at Drumcommer Beg, Kanturk, had been delayed and would not be forthcoming before mid-August.

However, following an appeal by Classic Lodges (Ireland) Ltd, An Bord Pleanala has decided to uphold Cork County Council's ruling against the crematorium announced in January of this year.

The crematorium proposal had galvanised the local community into action, with more than 50 observations/submissions lodged with Cork County Council against the initial application and an online petition calling on people to voice their objections to the facility.

Concerns raised included the level of traffic the facility would generate along an already busy stretch of the N72 Mallow to Killarney Road, and the potential impact it might have on public health and the surrounding environment.

In their ruling, council planners cited one reason for the refusal saying that on the basis of the information submitted they were "not satisfied that the proposed development would not adversely impact on public health and the environment by reason of serious air pollution".

While it had been hoped this would finally draw a line under the issue, there were concerns it might be appealed, with one local conceding "the battle has been won, but the war still carries on".

As it transpired these concerns were not without foundation after an appeal was lodged against the refusal in February. The lengthy submission said an air-quality dispersion report demonstrated there would be "no impacts to air quality and no impact to public health or the environment as a result of the proposed development".

It went on to insist that all other issues of concern raised by council planners, including traffic and safety, noise assessment, the design of the facility, connection to mains gas supply, surface water and wastewater treatment and public lighting had also "been dealt with to the satisfaction of the planning authority."

It further pointed out that the planning authority, as stated in the senior planners report, had indicated their approval of the development in principle from a land-use and roads-impact perspective, and that the majority of site-specific issues raised by further information requests had been adequately addressed.

However, in their ruling An Bord Pleanala cited two reasons behind its decision to uphold Cork County Council's original ruling.

In a somewhat ironic twist the controversial high court ruling earlier this year to reinstate an EU directive declaring the River Blackwater a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) was behind one of these.

The appeals board said it was not satisfied that in regard to the absence of any mitigation measures, surface water run-off from roadworks, required to insert a turning lane into the site, would not pollute the River Blackwater.

"The board is not in a position to conclude that the proposed development individually, or in combination with other plans or projects, would not adversely affect the integrity of the European Site the Blackwater River (Cork/Waterford) Special Area of Conservation," read the ruling.

The board further said, given the location of the site and its exclusive access off the N72, it felt the site of the proposed crematorium would "adversely affect the roads operating efficiency and prejudice its strategic traffic function".

"The proposed development would be contrary to the principles of good traffic management, would adversely affect the use of a national road and would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area," the Bord ruling concluded.

The An Bord Pleanala ruling has been welcomed by Cllr John Paul O'Shea, who was among those to make an observation to Cork County Council in relation to the original planning application.

"I was bitterly disappointed that no consultation took place with the local community prior to the submission of the plan, and it came as a great shock to us all when it was submitted," said Cllr O'Shea.

He said it was not patently clear the proposed crematorium was "never a suitable option for this site".

"I hope this site will be utilised at some juncture into the future, but it is critical that whatever plans are put in place in the future, there is appropriate consultation with the local community first," he added.
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Any disruption of trade ties between India and China will substantially hurt Indian businesses given their limited manufacturing ability. On the other hand, defence is the only sector which may emerge as winner if the stand-off prolongs," Siddhartha Khemka, Senior Vice President | Head-Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services said in an interview to Moneycontrol's Sunil Shankar Matkar.

Edited excerpt:

Q: Do you think India-China border situation is really a big concern now?

We believe that both the nations would make an effort to resolve the situation with dialogue as escalation could have political, economic, diplomatic and cultural consequences. In case it aggravates, it would be a big challenge in front of India as it heavily relies on China for imports.

China accounts for around 14 percent of India's total imports, while India's total exports to the country is a mere 3 percent. This trade deficit with China, also a major contributor to India's overall trade deficit, is one of the world's biggest trade deficits between two nations. Thus this geopolitical tension could add further uncertainty to companies that are already reeling under the coronavirus pandemic.

A large extent of companies import parts or capital from China; thus they would have to find alternative sources if tensions escalate.

Further, there is a huge amount of Chinese investment in India. Thus any disruption of trade ties between the two countries will substantially hurt Indian businesses given their limited manufacturing ability.

On the other hand, defence is the only sector which may emerge as winner if the standoff prolongs.

Q: Market after consolidation again gained strength to march upwards, though there is still risk in terms of rising coronavirus infections. Do you global liquidity (or any other strong reason) can take it above 11,000 mark in coming weeks?

Indian equity markets moved up sharply by more than 35 percent from its panic bottom in March 2020 as investors ignored near-term growth concerns and cheered the gradual easing of the lockdown and good monsoon prediction.

Given the sharp rally witnessed, we may see the Indian markets consolidating or taking a breather for some-time before starting the next leg of rally.

While the momentum may continue in the near term, one should be cautious going ahead as the fundamentals continue to be weak and valuations seem to be expensive at around 21x FY20 P/E. As of now, we expect Nifty EPS to growth to remain flattish in FY21E with a marginal growth of around 2-3 percent to Rs 485. Going ahead, we believe, if the situation continues to constantly improve, we may reach 11,000 in a span of 2-3 months along with the support from the global liquidity.

Q: Reliance Industries achieved its net debt free target well ahead of its target of March 31, 2021. Do you think the stock can cross Rs 2,000 mark soon?

Decline in overall debt by Reliance Industries is a major factor, can lead to next leg of rerating of the stock. Overall the company has raised more than Rs 1.68 lakh core in two months since April.

This reaffirms Jio's potential transformation as a technology giant in the eyes of global investors. Reliance Jio's dominant position should allow it to garner strong consistent growth over the long term.

We are positive on Reliance Jio's multiple monetization avenues coming from increasing long-term ARPUs and other digital applications with the Facebook deal.

Reliance Retail, too, has maintained robust performance amidst a slowing economy. Its grocery segment is likely to support revenues during the lockdown phase and its strategic venture with Facebook to connect local kirana stores should provide synergies and scale its online business further.

Q: Midcap and Smallcaps traded in line with benchmarks for last three weeks. Does it mean that the worst is over now?

We have seen increased market interest in Mid/Smallcaps in the last few days as market optimism increased over the gradual reopening and faster than expected recovery in the economy. Management commentaries from various companies across sectors are pointing out towards a pent-up demand which atleast takes care of the near term. Mid / small caps have been underperforming the larger peers over the last 2 years.

The Nifty Midcap 100 P/E ratio now trades at around 15-17 percent discount to largecaps. However given the uncertain times, markets are likely to remain volatile. Hence we would suggest investors to largely stay with quality largecaps while midcaps may be looked upon on a selective basis.

Q: Banking and financials has been the key factor for directional move on either side in the last one month or so. What does it indicate, as it is the backbone of the economy?

Further, COVID-19 pandemic has significantly dented the earnings/asset quality outlook for the banking sector. Lending being a leveraged business faces significant valuation risks in such an uncertain environment however banking subsidiaries which have gained significant scale / profitability are relatively well placed to withstand current environment.

The monetization of subsidiaries in the past has helped banks in raising funds and shoring up capital. Thus the SOTP story for banks provide a significant support to overall valuations. The contribution of subs to consolidated profits has thus been increasing steadily with banks facing asset quality challenges while subsidiaries reporting better trends and gaining share.

We continue to maintain our preference for ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI.

Q: What are your thoughts on the Supreme Court's comments on the AGR issue? And also what is you take on entire telecom space and do you expect more tariff hikes in coming months as there are only three players?

View on telecom remains positive as we believe that the system recognizes the strategic significance of sector. Also, we believe that Vodafone Idea needs to survive, and India cannot be a two-player telecom market, as it would result in an extended effect on other sectors such as Banking, telecom vendors, technology partners, and others.

Deferring the hearing to the third week of July 2020, the Supreme Court asked telcos to create a proposal to either make a reasonable upfront payment or furnish undertakings to claim the benefit of staggered payments. The biggest positive was that the SC took cognizance of VIL's statement that it did not have the means to make additional bank guarantees and would be compelled to shut shop, witnessing major repercussions, if asked to pay immediately. However, the SC seems unrelenting and determined to not concede without any concrete plan. We believe another tariff hike is inevitable, driven by VIL's need for survival, the stressed balance sheets of the telcos, and an increase in the sector's importance due to the current crisis. Given both Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio's better cashflow positions, these companies could see strong benefit from the potential tariff hikes.

Q: Which sectors should one - stick to; and avoid now?

Post COVID-19 pandemic, some of the themes /sectors we believe could emerge as leaders are Telecom, Healthcare, Speciality Chemicals, while one can look at Rural consumer space as a recovery play. We expect Cyclicals, Infrastructure and Commodities to underperform till we see more stability in global and domestic economy.

Telecom is one sector which has seen rise in usage and continued business operations during the past few months. With the lockdowns and work from home, usage of phone and data has increased multifold. With consolidation phase over in telecom, we can expect improving tariffs / ARPUs along with low capex going ahead to support financials over the next 2-3 years. Bharti Airtel is our preferred pick in the space followed by Jio through Reliance Industries.

Healthcare is a defensive play. Though the sector had been under pressure for last few years, the pandemic has opened up lot of opportunities for the sector. We have not only seen improved regulatory environment, but also higher demand. We like diversified players like Dr Reddy's Labs. Some unique plays would be API manufacturers (Divi's Lab, Alkem Labs), Diagnostic labs (Dr Lal Pathlabs), medical insurance (ICICI Lombard) in the overall healthcare space.

Indian Specialty Chemical manufacturers are benefiting from the Increasing trend of de-risking of procurement from China by global chemical leaders. Additionally, depreciation of rupee and sharp correction in crude price should also benefit. We like companies like PI Industries and SRF in this space.

The rural economy is looking attractive due to various leavers like good Rabi Crop Season, forecast of a Normal Monsoon, Government Spending and increase in MSP, Urban migrant labor going back to the villages. All these are likely to boost demand for the rural economy. Within the rural plays one can look at segments such as Tractors (M&M), Two-wheelers (Hero MotoCorp), and Select FMCG (HUL, Britannia)

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

"Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd which publishes Moneycontrol."
As I write, protesters are seeking the destruction of the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C., a statue paid for entirely by freed slaves. Abraham Lincoln is not the only one of Americas indispensable men to have had his likeness publicly threatened or vandalized this year, either; statues of George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant have been subject to similar fates. The human race has never been short of people who enjoy breaking things just for the sake of it, and the recent outbreak of vandalism might be less ideologized on the whole than the apocalyptic jeremiads of Tucker Carlson suggest. But its clear that those Americans on the left who think that the nation is essentially, rather than occasionally and incidentally, evil are getting louder and louder. And if their cult of national masochism continues to gather momentum, they will eventually make their presence felt on the international stage, to the worlds detriment.

The ability to effectively project power abroad is greatly diminished when a politically influential slice of the electorate believes that Americas existence is regrettable at best and downright evil at worst. The more influential that view becomes in the Democratic Party, the more difficult it will be for a Democratic president to pursue a robust foreign policy. Some sort of conviction that American primacy on the world stage accrues to the benefit of the whole human race has been a bipartisan conviction since the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The Obama administration clearly had its doubts about the Pax Americana, but more and more Democrats today are going a step farther. During the Democratic primaries last year, Beto ORourke told a group of immigrants at a roundtable event in Nashville that this country was founded on white supremacy. A similar sentiment was expressed by Lijian Zhao of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs when President Trump signed bills into law supporting the Hong Kong protest movement:

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In Washington, the white seldom go to SE area, as its an area for the black. President Trump even demanded 4 women lawmakers of color to leave US. Out of respect for President Trump, US & the black there, please follow America First policy & take care of racial discrimination.  Lijian Zhao  (@zlj517) November 28, 2019

Americas geopolitical rivals have mounted such propagandistic attacks on her moral credibility for decades. When President Reagan began his military buildup in the 1980s, an alarmed Soviet Union promoted videos of homeless people in the United States to bolster the American Lefts opposition to defense spending. One imagines that the Kremlin would also have agreed with left-wing criticisms of the Apollo program on similar grounds.

The presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, clearly feels the need to express public solidarity with domestic critics of this kind for electoral purposes. Biden recently took a trip to a Texas Whataburger with ORourke and ORourkes wife, Amy, during which the former vice president indicated that he is coming for Beto if the Democrats take back the White House. Even if Biden is lying through his teeth about a potential cabinet appointment, the fact that he feels the need to allude to it at all shows that ORourkean masochism is on the march.

Whatever else we may or may not want to import from China, we do not want to import the CCPs assessment of the American Experiment into the heart of our government. Doing so would have concrete, disastrous consequences in the South China Sea, in the race to 5G, and in areas of the world such as the Arabian Peninsula, where American influence is the greatest safeguard against a cataclysmic SaudiIranian conflict. Whats more, a federal government that accepted the moral premises of Americas enemies would be drained of the civilizational self-confidence necessary to be a global hegemon. As the title of Jan Morriss fantastic work of history indicates, the Liberal British Imperials of the 19th century believed that they were undertaking colonial expansion at Heavens command, to civilize the nations of the Earth. The United States is different in that it is not an imperial power, but its foreign-policy triumphs have nevertheless been spearheaded by a belief in the moral, as well as the military, might of the America. I dont think that this belief would collapse under a Biden presidency  the former vice president himself seems to have an instinctive affection and admiration for his country  but it will continue to atrophy in his party if present trends continue. If Biden does plan on welcoming ORourke and his ilk into the heart of executive government, American power really will start to wither on the vine. As Richard Weaver observed some time ago, ideas have consequences.

The governments of the Peoples Republic of China and the Russian Federation do not appear to have similar doubts about whether they deserve to be globally or regionally dominant. This is not necessarily a good thing in moral terms. The United Statess sensitivity to its own historic shortcomings is indicative of a well-developed national conscience forged in the crucible of the civil-rights movement, and should be looked upon as a strength that neither Communists nor kleptocrats can avail themselves of. But when the contemplation of ones own sins leads to masochism instead of reform, conscience has become destructive of the ends of true religion and human flourishing. This is true of nations and individuals alike. The Mandarin Chinese word for China is Zhongguo, which translates in English to Middle Kingdom. The name dates to around 1000 BC, when the leaders of the Zhou dynasty used it to describe their own jurisdiction on the North China Plain. The Zhous believed that their empire was the center of the world and the height of civilization, surrounded on all sides by barbarians. The ideology of the Middle Kingdom has been embraced by the Chinese Communist Party, and the CCPs pursuit of global dominance has thus far been completely unencumbered by moral considerations. Americans who believe the United States to be a pernicious actor on the world stage ought to take a look at some of the reporting on the Uighur Muslim concentration camps in Xinjiang and ask themselves which of the two superpowers they would like to see come out on top in the coming geopolitical conflict. There are no other contenders.

One of the most interesting passages in Steven Haywards fantastic two-volume biography of Ronald Reagan involves the discussions between Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev at the various SovietAmerican summits. Hayward notes that while most previous summits had been characterized by methodically pre-prepared exchanges over the minutiae of this or that missile-defense system, Reagan and Gorbachev would actually debate the morality of the Soviet and American systems. The policies of President Reagan that won the Cold War have been chronicled and debated over and over, but its important to recognize that the foreign-policy achievements of the United States in the 1980s were driven by Reagans moral clarity, and his insight into the essential fragility of a regime constructed upon the flagrant and frequent violation of the laws of God and the rights of man. Without that moral clarity, the United States is unlikely to triumph in the next major clash of civilizations.

The great benediction for all American policy-makers, foreign and domestic, was given by Abraham Lincoln at what was then the Cooper Institute in February of 1860: Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. If the citizens of the United States believe that their country has been excommunicated from that faith by its own actions, then that other, more familiar creed, that might makes right, will reclaim the territory that it lost during the American century, territory bought with the blood of millions of heroic soldiers and the wounds of millions more who still walk among us.

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New Delhi/Islamabad, June 26 : Former President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, has warned that Balochistan is on the brink of a rupture and will be uncontrollable if another Baloch leader is assassinated.

Zardari's warning, according to media reports in Pakistan, is unprecedented and exceptional, indicating a grim situation in Balochistan where a popular uprising against the Pakistani military has been going on since 1948 and is now in its fifth phase since Pakistan's creation.

Zardari, leader of the Opposition party, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), cautioned in a conversation with former minister Qamar Zaman Kaira that the state must remain restraint itself in Balochistan, Pakistani journalist Aijaz Mahar said on his YouTube news channel.

Zardari said if another incident like the killing of Nawab Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti occurs, the situation in Balochistan will get out of control.

Nawab Bugti was the head of the Bugti tribe in Balochistan, who served as a minister and governor of the Balochistan province. He led an armed struggle against the Pakistani military, demanding greater autonomy for Balochistan, but was killed in 2006.

Media reports said that Zardari also appealed to Baloch nationalists and insurgents to abandon violence and join the dialogue process.

Thousands of Baloch nationalists have disappeared from Balochistan. The families of the victims allege that Baloch nationalists are kidnapped, tortured and then massacred by Pakistani security agencies. Mainstream media in Pakistan is rarely allowed to visit or write on Balochistan.

Last week, Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) Chief Akhtar Mengal in Pakistan's national assembly announced his party's withdrawal from the federal government coalition led by Prime Minister Imran Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Mengal said that Khan's PTI "is the latest among a long list of culprits to have backtracked on its promises" about Balochistan since 1948. In grave despair, he asked the federal government to declare the province as "occupied Balochistan", given the blatant use of death squads and human rights violations committed by the state.
Nearly 1.5 million workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, according to the US Labor Department, the fourteenth week in a row in which the number topped one million. In addition, 728,000 independent contractors, self-employed and gig workers who are out of work but do not qualify for regular unemployment benefits, filed last week for aid from the federally funded Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.

Although millions of workers have been forced back to work due to the premature and catastrophic reopening of the economy, joblessness remains at levels not seen since the Great Depression. The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending June 6 was 30.5 million, the Labor Department reported. By contrast, there were only 1.5 million people collecting such benefits in a comparable week in 2019.

People wait in line for help with unemployment benefits at the One-Stop Career Center in Las Vegas [Credit: AP Photo/John Locher]

The official jobless figures are a gross underestimation of the real situation because they do not count undocumented workers, those who have still not been able to collect benefits and those who have fallen out of the labor force. Nevertheless, even the official rates paint a devastating picture. The states and territories with the highest rates in the week ending in June 6 were Nevada (22.6), Puerto Rico (20.6), Hawaii (18.3), New York (17.8), California (17.3), Michigan (16.9), Louisiana (16.2), Massachusetts (16.2), the Virgin Islands (16.2), and Connecticut (15.8).

Despite the latest data indicating a growing economic catastrophe for tens of millions of workers, the stock market rebounded Thursday after an initial fall over concerns about the rapid spread of the pandemic in Texas, Arizona and other states.

By the end of trading, the New York Stock Exchange was up 300 points on news of a further lifting of government regulations on Wall Street banks, which will allow them to make large investments in venture capital funds and other speculative activities. The Trump administration, with the full backing of the Congressional Democrats, has made trillions available to financiers who are guaranteed a government backstop no matter how dire the situation in the real economy and for the working class.

When we think about a recession of the magnitude that we have, theres going to be some credit write-offs by banks, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities told CNBC. The fact that theyre going to have more working capital makes markets breathe a sigh of relief.

After a contraction of the US economy by five percent in the first quarter, economists project that the second quarter, which ends next week, will see the biggest quarterly economic contraction in records dating back to 1947, the Wall Street Journal reported.

I dont think a V-shaped recovery is realistic at all, John Johnson, chief executive of Edgeworth Analytics, a data consulting firm, told the Journal, referring to optimistic projections from the White House that the economy will quickly bounce back to pre-pandemic conditions.

It is increasingly clear that the crisis sparked by the pandemic is being used by corporations to push through a major restructuring of class relations. This week several companies announced major layoffs.

* General Motors has announced that it is eliminating the third shift at its assembly plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, wiping out 680 jobs.

* Macys department store is laying off nearly 4,000 workers. Nutritional supplement retailer GNC declared bankruptcy Tuesday, outlining plans to close at least 800 of its 1,200 stores. This is the latest bloodletting in the retail industry, which has seen the bankruptcy of Pier 1, JC Penney, J. Crew and Neiman Marcus, and the elimination of 114,327 jobs through April, the highest job loss in the retail sector on record.

* New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned on Wednesday that the due to the economic impact of the pandemic the city might have to lay off 22,000 municipal employees, the largest cuts in decades. This is part of a wave of attacks on public sector workers, including the imposition of furloughs and an 11 percent pay cut on 96,000 custodians, nurses and other California state employees, and warnings that 300,000 or more teachers could lose their jobs across the US.

* Tyson Foods will close its Columbia, South Carolina plant, eliminating 150 jobs. The companys last South Carolina plant, which makes taco meat and pizza toppings, will close in mid-August.

The job cuts in the US are part of a global wave of layoffs, including German automaker Daimler (10,000) and Lufthansa (22,000); Britains Royal Mail (2,000); Canadas West Jet airlines (3,300) and Australian carrier Qantas (6,000).

While US billionaires have seen their collective wealth increase by half a trillion dollars, largely due to the government bailout of the stock market, the Trump administration has made it clear it has no intention of continuing the $600 per week supplement to state unemployment benefits, which is due to expire the week ending on July 25.

In a measure of the precarious state workers were in before the pandemic, the $600 a week benefit, plus the one-time $1,200 Economic Impact Payment, along with the payments to self-employed workers, prevented a rise in poverty for 159 million people, and, in many cases, led to a rise in incomes over and beyond what they were making while they were employed.

The elimination of the $600 benefit will mean a 60 percent or more cut in income for unemployed workers, given the fact that state benefits average only $370 a week. The Democrats are proposing an extension of the benefit, knowing full well it will not pass the Republican-controlled Senate. Both parties are using the specter of destitution and hunger to force workers back into unsanitary factories and workplaces, where they will catch and spread COVID-19, in order to pump out the profits needed to pay for the bailout of Wall Street and the giant corporations.

With food prices rising at the fastest rate in over 50 years, the percentage of families concerned about getting enough to eat has more than doubled during the pandemic, according to a study released Thursday by the Brookings Institution. Overall, households worried about their food supply jumped from 8.5 percent in February to 23.0 percent on average from late April through mid-May, and food insecurity more than tripled among households with children, from 9.3 percent to 29.5 percent, the report said.

Unemployment increased by more among workers with low levels of education. Families with children lost school meals. Weve also had the biggest increase in food prices in 50 years. Thats a perfect storm, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, the director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, told Brookings.
On June 25, 2020, Mayor Jim Kenney and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw held a press conference regarding the police response to the demonstration on I-676 on June 1, 2020. Read more

Good news, everyone. I cracked the case.

It took me all night, but I figured out why Mayor Jim Kenney and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw waited until Thursday to express shock and remorse over Philadelphia police teargassing peaceful protesters who marched onto I-676 way back when on June 1: They must have hit their monthly limit of free stories on Inquirer.com.

Otherwise, theres no way to buy Outlaws claim that she was moved to humbly apologize only after she viewed the New York Times unforgiving video re-creation of the now-infamous teargassing incident.

The second I find out as the leader of this department and organization that theres contradictory information to what I personally came out and said  its important for me to come out and clarify what now Ive seen, Outlaw insisted.

The second, Commissioner? Because its been weeks since The Inquirer, WHYY, and other local news organizations reported multiple times on the contradictory video and eyewitness accounts of that day.

Unrepentant city officials had claimed that the reaction was a last resort taken after protesters flooded an open highway, surrounded a state troopers car, and threw rocks at officers.

Except people who were trapped on the highway insisted there was no reason for police to use military tactics against civilians. Certainly no reason for an officer to violently rip the face masks off kneeling protesters to douse their faces with pepper spray. As usual, it was the cops narrative vs. the community narrative, and, despite hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets across this country to call for police accountability, not much has changed.

For his part, Kenney called what he saw on the video completely unacceptable and offered his own apology: I now know that my statements were based on inaccurate information being relayed from the scene.

Kenney and Outlaw were so disturbed and sickened by the video that in a remarkable Game of Thrones-type plot twist, they offered up a human sacrifice right there in the middle of the afternoon news conference.

I and I alone gave the approval, said Dennis Wilson, the deputy commissioner who authorized the use of tear gas on I-676, and who spoke in such precise and scripted language that I expected to see Outlaw and Kenney mouthing the words right along with him.

Me and me alone  , Wilson repeated, before saying he was taking a voluntary demotion that would have been much more appropriate prior to his working protests as recently as Tuesday.

The whole thing was a stunning display of arrogance by leadership, followed by performative shock and apologies that, for future reference, might have packed a bigger dramatic punch if, say, an Inquirer reporter hadnt live-tweeted the whole incident while choking on tear gas along with everyone else scrambling to escape.

But then, maybe, our public officials arent big on social media, either?

OK, thats a joke because we all know Mayor so-sad-sometimes Kenney likes him some Twitter. In fact, he posted his mea culpa as a Twitter thread that was nice and all, but wont hold up like that 2014 tweet.

Because, lets face it, these days, who isnt so sad sometimes? Especially with a reactive administration that is spectacularly fumbling its response to citizens exercising their right to call out injustice.

And this is where I have to call your attention again to Managing Director Brian Abernathys comments at a City Council budget hearing earlier this month:

I was dumbfounded by how out of touch I truly was, he said. And how I had underestimated the anger and rage and frustration of folks Im hired to serve.

Meanwhile, out in the real world, the rest of us are dumbfounded by how people who admit theyre blowing their job still get to keep it after what can only be described as dereliction of duty.

Not just on that highway, but also at the mostly Black 52nd Street business corridor in West Philly, where tear gas forced at least one family to escape their home, and firefighters who were battling a blaze had to call off tear gas-happy cops because the gas was preventing them from doing their jobs.

And in Fishtown and South Philly, where rabid, white, cop-bro mobs were allowed to run rampant in the name of protecting police, their neighborhood and a statue of Christopher Columbus thats treated with more care and respect than many Black and brown people could ever hope for in this city.

Not to mention the outrageous arrests of reporters doing their jobs  though nowhere near as outrageous as what happens to people without public platforms or company lawyers to come to their aid.

But hey, while police continue to investigate, maybe the New York Times will keep compiling videos  a box set maybe. And maybe someone can lend our public officials a password to their Inquirer.com subscription  because, I promise you, theres no need to wait for the movie. Its all right there, in black and white.
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Members of District Peace Committees in four Assemblies in the Northern Region have undergone training to empower them to engage the youth in their communities to eschew violence before, during and after this year's elections.

They were taken through election related security situations, violent incidents and early warning signs, peace building, conflict resolution and Anti-Vigilantism and related Offences Act, and electoral processes for the 2020 elections.

The District Peace Committees are composed of traditional authorities, religious leaders, political parties, youth groups previously noted for political vigilante activities amongst others from the Tamale, Savelugu, Gushegu and Nanton Assemblies.

They were constituted by the Centre for Active Learning and Integrated Development (CALID) and the League of Youth Association, both non-governmental organisations, as part of their Vigilant Citizens for Peaceful Election 2020 project, which is being implemented in the four Assemblies with funding from the STAR Ghana Foundation.

The project, which will end in February, 2021, seeks to amongst other things ensure peace before, during and after the 2020 elections.

The District Peace Committees work to identify youth groups, who have the potential to cause violence in the build up to election 2020, engage them to appeal to their conscience to refrain from violence and embrace community development and embark on peace campaign to advocate peaceful coexistence.

Mr Salifu Saeed, Northern Regional Minister, whose speech was read on his behalf during the two-day training, which ended in Tamale on Thursday, called for education of the public especially the youth to abide by the country's laws to ensure incident-free elections.

Police Superintendent, Mr Iddrisu Mohammed Tanko, Tamale District Police Commander, who made a presentation on the topic: Electoral Related Security Situations: Violent Incidences and Early Warning Signals and Electoral Hot Spots, said the Police Administration had created various units to promote peace in the upcoming 2020 general election.

Superintendent Tanko mentioned some of the units, which included; Counter Terrorism to curtail all sorts of violence, where there would be the use of weapons, Formed Police, Ballot Security Agencies, and standby men at all polling stations.

Reverend Father Thaddeus Kuusah, Executive Secretary of the Northern Regional Peace Council, who made a presentation on Peacebuilding, Conflict Resolution and Early Warning Signs, and Anti-Vigilantism and related Offences Act, expressed the need for the residents to live at peace with one another.

Reverend Kuusah advised the youth not to be misled by unscrupulous persons to foment trouble before, during and after this year's elections, saying there were severe sanctions for those who would flout the laws.

Mr Lucas Yiryel, Northern Regional Director of Electoral Commission explained the electoral processes for the 2020 elections and urged all qualified citizens to participate in the elections.

Mr Mohammed Awal Sumani Bapio, Executive Director of CALID said We all are aware that the activities of youth vigilantism in the past had potential of threatening the existing peace the country is enjoying. We must not allow the peace of our country to be destroyed by political vigilantism.

Mr Bapio, therefore, reminded members of the District Peace Committees that you are seen as peace ambassadors of your various districts and communities, urging them to play their roles effectively to ensure incident-free elections this year.

Some of the participants said the training had equipped them with skills to manage and resolve conflicts in their communities in the lead up to this year's elections to ensure peaceful polls.

GNA
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Linkedin Mardika Parama (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 13:05 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661da6c4 1 Business Boeing,air-filtration,aviation,health,protocols-COVID-19 Free

American aircraft manufacturer Boeing aims to alleviate passengers health concerns by promoting the cabin ventilation and filtration systems on its planes, claimed to be able to kill viruses, as the aviation industry seeks to revive demand battered by COVID-19.

Boeing product marketing director Jim Haas told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that all new Boeing models were equipped with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, while they could also fit filters on older airplanes.

The circulation system on its planes has vertical airflow that prevents droplets from spreading.

The air is also exchanged every two to three minutes, faster than in office buildings and even in most hospitals. Some of the air is recirculated and it goes to a HEPA filter that is extremely efficient in removing viruses out of the air, he said during an online press conference.

The company is promoting its cabin safety after social restrictions to contain COVID-19 hit the aviation industry, forcing people to cancel travel plans. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates a 49 percent drop in passenger numbers and an $8.2 billion decrease in revenue for the Indonesian airline industry this year.

However, Haas says airlines should still disinfect their cabins frequently. The company has provided a guideline for airlines on how to clean the airplanes cabin and flight deck.

Passengers and aircrew should also wear face masks during the flight, he added, although the company said airlines did not need to block off the middle seat.

As long as [protective] actions are taken, we dont see the need to block middle seats, he said.

National airlines have rearranged seating configuration on flights to maintain physical distance between passengers. The measure is based on a recently issued aviation health protocol by the Transportation Ministry that details measures to maintain health and safety. The regulation also allows passenger numbers per flight to reach 70 percent of the aircrafts capacity.

However, a 2012 study led by Qingyan Chen from Airliner Cabin Environment Research (ACER) also shows that small droplets exhaled from a passengers cough could stay in the cabin for about four minutes before being extracted by the ventilation system.

Most of the droplets were transported within one row of the index patient in the first 30 seconds and then could be transported to the entire seven-row cabin with uniform droplet distribution in four minutes, the study reads.

Earlier in May, Boeing's global competitor, Airbus, also touted its ventilation system, which uses hospital-grade HEPA air filters, according to the company's presentation released in May.

Airbus cabin airflow is also vertical, preventing droplets from circulating.

Indonesian National Air Carrier Association (INACA) chairman Denon Prawiratmadja told the Post that national airlines were in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organizations (ICAO) guidelines and Transportation Ministrys regulations, and not Boeings guidelines, in maintaining airplanes' hygiene and sanitation.

We dont follow guidelines set by airplane manufacturers,but rather those published by the ICAO and the government, he said in a phone interview.

He further said that Indonesian airlines would continue to implement seat blocking in accordance with government regulation.

Both the ICAO and Boeing have released similar statements saying that physical distancing isnt effective inside an airplane. However, our consumers are still wary of flying and we decided to implement seat blocking to give our passengers assurance, he said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Export of chemical products from Turkey to Turkmenistan dropped by 18.68 percent from January through May 2020 compared to the same period of 2019 and made up $42 million, Turkeys Trade Ministry told Trend.

In May 2020, Turkey's export of chemical products to Turkmenistan slumped by 45.66 percent compared to the same month of 2019 and amounted to $7.6 million.

Turkey's export of chemical products to the world markets dropped by 17.2 percent in the first five months of 2020 compared to the same period of last year and stood at $7.2 billion.

This indicator amounted to 11.7 percent of the countrys total export from January through May 2020.

According to the ministry, in May 2020, Turkey's export of chemical products to world markets amounted to slightly over $1.1 billion, which is 39.1 percent less compared to the same month of 2019.

Meanwhile, Turkey's export of chemical products made up 11.8 percent of the countrys total export.

During the last 12 months (from May 2019 through May 2020), Turkey's export of chemical products to world markets amounted to $19 billion.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
[June 26, 2020] Document Security Systems, Inc. Announces Full Exercise of Over-Allotment Option by Underwriter in Public Offering

ROCHESTER, N.Y., June 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Document Security Systems, Inc. (NYSE American: DSS), a multinational company operating businesses focused on brand protection technology, blockchain security, direct marketing, healthcare, real estate, and securitized digital assets, today announced that the underwriter of its previously announced public offering of 769,230 shares of the Companys common stock, has fully exercised its over-allotment option to purchase an additional 115,384 shares of common stock. The price to the public in the offering was $7.80 per share and the gross proceeds to the Company from the exercise of the over-allotment option were approximately $900,000 before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to fund development and growth of new business lines and acquisition opportunities, general corporate and working capital needs, and costs related to the closing of unprofitable business lines and facilities.

The total gross proceeds from the public offering, including the full exercise of the over-allotment option, will be approximately $6.9 million. Aegis Capital Corp. acted as sole bookrunner for the offering. The offering was made pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-238587) previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and declared effective by the SEC on June 16, 2020. A final prospectus describing the terms of the proposed offering has been filed with the SEC and is available on the SEC's website located at http://www.sec.gov. Electronic copies of the final prospectus may be obtained by contacting Aegis Capital Corp., Attention: Syndicate Department, 810 7th Avenue, 18th floor, New York, NY 10019,by email at [email protected], or by telephone at (212) 813-1010.



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 or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. About Document Security Systems, Inc.

DSS is a multinational company operating businesses focused on brand protection technology, blockchain security, direct marketing, healthcare, real estate, and securitized digital assets. Its business model is based on a distribution sharing system in which shareholders will receive shares in its subsidiaries as DSS strategically spins them out into IPOs. Its historic business revolves around counterfeit deterrent and authentication technologies, smart packaging, and consumer product engagement. DSS is led by its Chairman and largest shareholder, Mr. Fai Chan, a highly successful global business veteran of more than 40 years specializing in corporate transformation while managing risk. He has successfully restructured more than 35 corporations with a combined value of $25 billion. For more information on DSS visit http://www.dsssecure.com. Investor Contact: Dave Gentry, CEO

RedChip Companies Inc.

407-491-4498

[email protected] Safe Harbor Disclosure This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions 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. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to the Company's intended use of proceeds and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, include: risks relating to our growth strategy; our ability to obtain, perform under and maintain financing and strategic agreements and relationships; risks relating to the results of development activities; our ability to attract, integrate and retain key personnel; our need for substantial additional funds; patent and intellectual property matters; competition; as well as other risks described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the prospectus and in our other filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, our reports on Forms 8-K and 10-Q, all of which can be obtained on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made and reflect management's current estimates, projections, expectations and beliefs. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
CHICAGO, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Technomic hosted its first virtual conference as part of the Foodservice Planning Program and shared a State of the Industry presentation, covering long-term concerns, the effects of dine-in closures and when we may see a full recovery. The data points from this presentation highlight what is offered in a new program launched by Technomic, Economic Impact Navigator.

"Dine-in closures are certainly changing how we do business today, causing restaurants to quickly change their business models to offer off-premise services," Joe Pawlak, managing principal at Technomic, stated in the presentation. "On the other side of things, dining room openings cause a new wave of shifting business operations. Overall, 31% of operators surveyed the week of May 31 said they are taking a 'wait-and-see approach' to reopening and, in the meantime, exploring how to address new cost burdens such as hyper-sanitization, PPE, labor, packaging and the rising cost of food supplies."

Key findings from the session included:

53% of operators are very confident or somewhat confident about their business survival

Looking at a second wave of COVID-19 by the end of the year, 77% of consumers are either concerned or very concerned

By mid-April, 42% of restaurants added curbside pickup

The Economic Impact Navigator offers insight into the impacts of major events and guidance on strategic planning for businesses focused on the foodservice industry. Members receive biannual reports covering an economic outlook and forecast updates, online dashboard access, custom questions through our operator or consumer surveys and access to our 12-week series of COVID-19-focused reports spanning from March to early June 2020. Learn more: https://www.technomic.com/economic-impact-navigator.

Contact: Patrick Noone, (312) 506-3852, [email protected]

About Technomic

Technomic, Inc., a Winsight company, was founded as a management consulting firm in 1966. Since then, Technomic's services have grown to encompass cloud-based B2B research tools, consumer and menu trend tracking, as well as other leading strategic research and analytic capabilities, to prioritize and size business opportunities. Our clients include food manufacturers and distributors, restaurants, retailers and multiple other business verticals aligned with the food industry that are looking to make informed decisions to support their business growth. Visit Technomic at www.technomic.com.

SOURCE Technomic

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https://www.technomic.com/


Bhubaneswar, June 26 : As many as 12 opposition parties in Odisha on Friday staged a protest at Master Canteen Square in Bhubaneswar targeting the Odisha government and the Centre over mishandling of COVID-19 and rising fuel prices.

They also submitted a memorandum to Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal in this regard. The parties included the Congress, CPI, CPIM, RJD, NCP, AAP, Samajwadi Party, among others.

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Niranjan Patnaik said the people are suffering a lot as both the Centre and state government have failed to manage the coronavirus crisis.

Senior Congress leader Pradeep Majhi said both the governments have looted money, which was allocated for the management of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Odisha government is the first government in the country which has swindled the money meant for COVID-19. We need to make the people aware of this. This is why 12 opposition parties have come together," said Majhi.

Reacting to the protest, ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Pramila Mallick said the state government has taken all measures for the people being affected by the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Commissionerate Police slapped a fine on the PCC president and several others for violating COVID-19 restrictions.
The city of Beaumont on Friday more than doubled its largest single-day increase to that point.

The city logged 56 new cases. The health department, which has jurisdiction over all of the northern part of Jefferson County also confirmed one new case each in China, Hamshire and Cheek.
WASHINGTON - Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., mounted a fresh assault on President Donald Trump's efforts to kill the Affordable Care Act Thursday, accusing Trump of putting Americans' lives at risk during a pandemic.

At a campaign trip to the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania and on Capitol Hill, Biden and Pelosi sought to heighten public attention to the sprawling health-care law that brought insurance to millions of Americans.

The remarks were timed to coincide with the filing of legal briefs by the Trump administration and Republican attorneys general in a major lawsuit trying to rescind the ACA.

The signature domestic achievement of President Barack Obama has been a whipping post for Republicans - and a point of pride for Democrats. The insurance marketplaces created by the ACA and its expansion of Medicaid have helped insure 20 million Americans. And they've assumed new importance in recent months as the coronavirus has devastated the U.S. economy, causing people to lose jobs and the health benefits that came with them.

In his remarks, Biden said that some coronavirus survivors could lose their comprehensive health-care coverage if the lawsuit to overturn the ACA is successful. He also said that if the law were invalidated, insurance companies could refuse ongoing coverage of those with covid-19, deeming it a preexisting condition.

"Those survivors, having struggled and won the fight of their lives, would have their peace of mind stolen away at the moment they need it most," Biden said. "They would live their lives caught in a vise between Donald Trump's twin legacies: his failure to protect the American people from the coronavirus, and his heartless crusade to take health-care protections away from American families."

Biden also railed against Trump's handling of the coronavirus.

Trump is "like a child who can't believe this has happened to him. All his whining and self-pity," Biden said. "Well, this pandemic didn't happen to him. It happened to all of us. And his job isn't to whine about it, his job is to do something about it."

Trump has stated repeatedly that he would protect preexisting conditions, though his administration has not presented any policy proposals for how it would do so. Ahead of Biden's event on Thursday, the Trump campaign ridiculed Biden for supporting a public insurance option, which would allow Americans to buy into a government health-care plan such as Medicare.

"The public option would be a disaster, and really all it is is opening the door to a government monopoly on health care," Tim Murtaugh, the communications director for the Trump campaign, said on a conference call with reporters. "It limits choices and reduces quality."

Health care was a central issue during the Democratic primary, one that pitted Biden, who wants to expand the ACA, against the more liberal wing of the party, which called for a fulsome embrace of Medicare-for-all, a single-payer system.

Now that he is the presumptive nominee, Biden's campaign has developed a general-election strategy that tries to rally the public around universal health-care coverage. He has argued that a public option is now vital as unemployment increases and people lose their employer-based health-care coverage.

He said Thursday he will outline a new proposal "in the next few weeks" to guarantee that no one would have to spend more than 8.5 percent of their income on health insurance. Poor Americans would pay even less.

During a Tuesday night fundraiser with Obama, the duo argued for building on the original measure. "Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, was always designed, as has been true with all major big social welfare initiatives, to be a starter home, a foundation to build off of," Obama said. "We know it was imperfect. It was what we could get at the time."

On Capitol Hill, Pelosi appeared to do just that, introducing a bill Wednesday that would broaden the reach of the ACA and make it available to more Americans. Criticizing Trump, she said that trying to overturn the health-care law "was wrong at any time . . . Now, it is beyond stupid. Beyond stupid."

The bill would penalize states that do not expand Medicaid and expand subsidies for people who buy private health plans in the insurance marketplaces created under the law for individuals and families who do not have access to affordable health-care benefits through a job.

"The pandemic, of course, points out the further need to make [health care] more affordable and accessible," she said during a Thursday interview with Washington Post Live.

The latest legal battle over the law moved forward Thursday in the Supreme Court, with each side filing briefs largely restating the arguments that persuaded the court to take the case.

The lawsuit was initially considered unlikely to gain much traction, and even some legal scholars who oppose the ACA thought its arguments were weak. Its central argument is that a change in tax law, eliminating a penalty for people who flouted a requirement that most American carry health insurance, meant the law's insurance mandate no longer had a constitutional basis - and so the whole law was invalid.

In December 2018, a conservative federal district judge in Texas ruled the entire law unconstitutional nationwide. The law has stayed in place during appeals. Last December, a New Orleans-based federal appeals court ruled that the insurance requirement - which Congress had by then eliminated - was unconstitutional. The appellate judges sent back to the lower court the question of whether the rest of the law could remain intact.

In January, a coalition of Democratic-led states, the parties in the case trying to preserve the law, asked the Supreme Court to review it, and the court took the case in March. The court has twice upheld the law's constitutionality.

The Center for American Progress, a liberal-leaning think tank, released a letter to Trump on Thursday, signed by nearly 800 public health officials beseeching his administration to reverse its support for the lawsuit, California v. Texas, lodged in early 2018 by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, and nearly 20 GOP counterparts. The seven-paragraph letter contends that the prospect of losing the insurance gains could fall particularly hard on essential workers in health-care settings and grocery stores who have been affected by the coronavirus.

"If the Supreme Court effectively overturns the ACA with your assistance, imperiling the health insurance of the millions who have risked their lives for the rest of us during this pandemic, it will be a cruel thanks for their sacrifice," the letter says.

Earlier in the week, the center issued a new analysis predicting that more than 23 million Americans would lose health benefits if the law were struck down. The estimate is about 3 million higher than previous ones.

Meanwhile, the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health research organization, issued an analysis Thursday that finds 4.7 million people in the United States would become eligible next year for Medicaid, the public insurance safety-net program, if 14 states that have not expanded the program to people with slightly higher incomes, as the ACA allows, chose to do so.

The analysis estimates that 1.9 million of those people are suddenly at risk of losing health benefits because they have lost a job during the pandemic.

In choosing Lancaster, Biden's campaign set his Thursday afternoon event in a county that Trump won by about 20 points in 2016. Trump protesters gathered outside and could be heard chanting "USA!" and "Four more years!" as Biden met in a courtyard with a group of families who have benefited from the Affordable Care Act.

"Hey guys, how are you?" Biden said as he arrived, to a group all wearing masks and practicing social distancing. "This is kind of strange, isn't it? Nice to see you all."

Biden told the group that he was worried that the Supreme Court would strike down the ACA, but expressed optimism his proposals could become law if he's elected.

"If Donald Trump refuses to end his senseless crusade against health coverage," Biden said during his speech, "I look forward to ending it for him."
CCTV footage has been released showing the moment a car being driven by a relative of senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat hit a police checkpoint in East Jerusalem.

The footage shows the silver Hyundai Accent colliding with a small police hut. The video, released by the police, then shows the moment they shot and killed Ahmad Moustafa Erekat.

In a statement accompanying the footage, Israeli Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said: "Yesterday [Tuesday] at 16:00 an attack took place and the terrorist was shot and killed."

The statement continued: "In the footage the terrorist drives his vehicle towards the security crossing, slowly and then drove in the direction towards the female border guard at an angle and the female officer was injured lightly and taken to hospital."

However, Mr Erekat's family insist he lost control of the vehicle which he was using to transport members of his family to his sister's wedding.

According to a family statement, Mr Erekat had hired the vehicle and was collecting his mother and sisters from a beauty salon in the West Bank town of Bethlehem and transporting them to the family wedding that evening.

"We believe that if something happened then it must have been a car accident or loss of control over the vehicle. As usual, police are quick to pull the trigger," said the family member.

Ahmad Erakat was a nephew of Saeb Erekat, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), the chief negotiator over the past 30 years of peace talks and a key figure in the peace process.

Accusing the Israeli police of "murder" and accelerating a "kill first justify later policy", Mr Erekat demanded an independent investigation.

"Ahmed Erakat was murdered in cold blood at the Wadi al Nar road block, by Israeli occupying forces. They continue their lies and claim he tried to run over the soldiers. Netanyahu is responsible," Mr Erekat senior said.

Story continues

"The car was going at less [than] five kilometres an hour. This is not the speed needed for an attack. We demand an international investigation."

The video shows the car approaching the checkpoint slowly before turning towards the police hut and accelerating.

One border police officer is seen being thrown into the air. The officer was later admitted to hospital with minor injuries.

The driver of the vehicle is seen getting out seconds after the impact. The video was pixilated by police before its release so it's not possible to verify precisely how Mr Erekat was acting in the seconds before he was shot.

Writing in Israel's Haaretz newspaper, the dead man's cousin, Dalal Iriqat, who is the vice president for International Relations at the Arab American University in Palestine said: "Our fight is to stop the killing of our people. When we cry for help, will anyone listen? Do Palestinian lives really matter?"

"He was executed by the Israelis after he lost control of his car and crashed into a checkpoint. They left him bleeding for more than an hour. The occupation army prevented an ambulance from getting to him, it prevented civilians from approaching to comfort him, it prevented witnesses who could record the details of the crime."

Video of the moments after the incident shows the man moving on the ground and confirms that no medial assistance was given to him at that point.

The police say medics were on the scene within minutes but were forced to declare him dead shortly after

Over the past few years, there has been an increase in car-ramming attacks as well as shootings and stabbings carried out by lone Palestinian attackers with no connection to armed groups.

There have also been instances of innocent people mistakenly identified as a threat.

Last month, Israeli police shot dead Eyad Hallaq, 32, who they believed to be carrying a weapon.

He ran away from them and was shot. He was later identified as autistic and walking to a nearby school for students with disabilities in Jerusalem's Old City.
Months after the news broke out that Prince Andrew is involved in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Queen Elizabeth is finally stepping in. Enough disgrace is enough!

According to the June 29 issue of the Globe Magazine, Queen Elizabeth is intervening now to make sure Prince Andrew will never get into trouble once more and that he would not escape Britain in the middle of the investigation.

Queen Elizabeth is specifically said to be allowing her disgraced son Prince Andrew to keep his security team - composed of three people yet amounting to $380,000. The costs might be worth it though because their job now is no longer to just protect him, but to protect the palace's reputation by keeping him out of humiliating schemes.

The Duke of York has a lot of reasons for wanting to bolt England.

Apart from investigations getting more intense about his involvement in his perv pal Jeffrey Einstein's sex trafficking business, with the emergence of more witnesses willing to drop him, he is also no longer a respected royal member.

He is removed from most of his royal duties and any appearance with the royal family had to be done with caution.

According to a royal insider however, the Queen truly believes he can still do something to clear his damaged reputation, and bolting is the last thing he should do for that to happen.

The insider said, "Andrew is in legal hot water and desperate to escape the Epstein scandal by running to a country that won't honor requests for extradition or cooperate with prosecutors." However, the Queen wants him to just stay put because worse can come from running. His royal protection team is ordered to ensure he does stay put.

Allegedly, the US DOJ has secretly filed a Mutual Legal Assistance request with Britain's Home Office. This is it officially making a request for help from the UK to compel the prince to give evidence. The MLA often revolves around criminal cases. Its approval means that Andrew would be forced to appear in a British Court as a witness just within months.

Queen Elizabeth believes in the legal process wholeheartedly, which is why she is willing to foot the bill of his costly three-man security team. Otherwise, it was already slated to disband back in May 31.

Queen Elizabeth may have already stripped from Prince Andrew his royal duties and cut down on his allowance, but this does not mean she does not believe she can still clear his name, or at least not look MORE guilty by fleeing.

At present, Prince Andrew already has made an alleged escape but was caught. Moreover, US prosecutors claim that he has not cooperated in the investigation at all. Andrew's lawyers have refuted the claims, claiming the Duke himself had offered to talk to them not just once or twice, but thrice!

Frankly the Queen is right. Bolting would just shame the palace more. If Prince Andrew did nothing wrong, then he could defend his actions as a witness of his friend's crimes. If he did something wrong, then he could face these with dignity as opposed to just running and expecting his mom to understand.

The fact that his own daughter, Princess Beatrice is getting married and wanting to do so without all these controversies must be enough motivation for him to stay put.

READ MORE: Prince Harry Anxiety: Baby Archie 'Files' First Lawsuit, Meghan Markle His 'Litigation Friend'
Planned Parenthood endorses Joe Biden, plans to triple spending for Democrats in 2020

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The political fundraising arm of Americas largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, has endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president as the organization and its partner groups have vowed to triple their spending in the 2020 election cycle.

This election is a fight for our countrys very survival, Planned Parenthood Action Fund Acting President Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement.

We have seen the Trump administration dehumanize us, and disregard our health, our rights, and our lives. Trump has attacked access to abortion and reproductive health care, and he has attacked the people that Planned Parenthood health centers serve: women, black people, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community and more, she claimed.

According to Johnson, Biden is the only candidate left in the race who will stand up for abortion at a time when the Trump administration has enacted policies that limit government funding for organizations that provide abortions domestically and overseas.

Last year, various state governments enacted pro-life laws designed to restrict abortion past certain points of pregnancy. As many as 58 life-affirming laws were passed and signed into law across 22 states.

A pro-life law in Louisiana requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals is being considered by the Supreme Court this year. It's the first abortion-related case to be argued before the Supreme Court since the confirmations of Trump appointees Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.

[Biden] was instrumental in the creation of the Affordable Care Act, which expanded birth control with no co-pay to 63 million women, and in helping to ensure that sexual and reproductive health care was accessible across the country, Johnson said. Biden has committed to champion access to sexual and reproductive health care  including access to abortion  and to fight for our communities.

Biden had a 100% voting record from Planned Parenthood before he left the Senate in 2009 to become vice president under President Barack Obama.

As a candidate, Biden has vowed to expand access to contraception and protect abortion rights, including with his judicial nominations.

According to Planned Parenthood, Biden has also vowed to reverse policies enacted by the Trump administration and some states relating to abortion.

Such policies include Trumps Title X rule that prevents clinics that receive Title X family planning funding from referring patients for abortion. The rule led to Planned Parenthoods decision to leave the Title X program, which provides funding for contraceptives, cancer screenings, STD testing and other health care services for low-income patients.

Planned Parenthood has labeled the policy a gag rule.

Planned Parenthood is also opposed to a policy enacted by Trump in 2017  what it calls a "global gag rule"  prohibiting taxpayer funding from going to organizations that perform abortions overseas.

Donald Trump is dangerous. We must do everything we can to get him out of office this November, Johnson argued. "This election we have a choice  between Donald Trump, whose incompetence and disregard for the law are a danger to us all, and Joe Biden, who is committed to fighting for reproductive health and rights for all.

In 2016, Planned Parenthood Action made its first-ever presidential endorsement when it endorsed Democrat nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Some believe that Clintons support for late-term abortion up to birth hurt her in the election. Trumps pro-life supporters say that a defining moment of the election came in October 2016 when Trump and Clinton debated late-term abortion and the Republican nominee went on to describe what a late-term abortion entails. Meanwhile, Clinton defended her position that the government should allow abortion during the last days of pregnancy just before birth.

During the 2020 campaign, Biden has shifted his views on abortion, as he no longer supports the Hyde Amendment, a law that prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to support abortion.

In the past, Biden, a Catholic, has said he believes that life begins at conception but doesnt want to impose his view on others who might not feel the same way. Last October, Biden was denied communion at a South Carolina church over his stance on abortion.

The denial of communion came after Biden publicly opposed a proposal to outlaw abortions in South Carolina after six weeks of pregnancy, including in cases of rape or incest.

Planned Parenthood's endorsement of Biden comes as its advocacy and political organizations announced they will spend $45 million in key battleground states during the 2020 election.

In January, Planned Parenthood Votes launched its We Decide 2020 campaign, a people-powered electoral program to elect champions for reproductive rights up and down the ballot in 2020.

Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations around the country will be mobilizing 15 million Planned Parenthood supporters to help people get involved and build on their power for the upcoming election, a statement from Planned Parenthood Action reads. Planned Parenthood Action Fund also plans to mobilize over half a million Action Fund members this election to volunteer for and elect our endorsed candidates including Vice President Joe Biden.

In the 2016 election, Planned Parenthoods affiliated political groups spent just under $15 million on federal elections.

Susan B. Anthony List, an influential advocacy group that opposes abortion, and its political action committee, Women Speak Out PAC, have budgeted over $52 million toward a grassroots campaign to inspire Americans to vote based on pro-life values in 2020.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, SBA List pledged to make 4 million visits to voters in battleground states. But since the pandemic has limited the ability for canvassers to have face-to-face interactions, SBA List workers have reached out to voters by phone.

SBA List Vice President of Communications Mallory Quigley told The Christian Post in a recent interview that the SBA List is optimistic it will hit its fundraising goal for 2020. She said SBA List has not seen a drop in donations even though the pandemic has pushed many people out of work.

When the coronavirus hit and the states started closing down, out of concern for not only our canvassers, we suspended door-to-door canvassing and immediately switched everyone over to the phone calls, Quigley said. We have been making direct voter phone calls for [about three] months. We wanted to keep the canvassers active during this time so that we can immediately relaunch as it is safe to do so.

She said that SBA List workers have spoken with hundreds of thousands of people in six states over the phone. While the organization has field offices set up in Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina, Quigley said the organization is hiring for field directors and canvassers in Michigan, Montana, and Pennsylvania.

Canvassers, she said, visited over 800,000 voters before suspending field operations.

In 2016, SBA List canvassers canvassed 1.1 million homes and 2.7 million in 2018. Compared to past election cycles, Quigley said voters have been more eager to talk over the phone.

Nothing compares to a face-to-face conversation. This is a difficult issue and a very personal issue, she said. Since 2014, I have gone canvassing with the team. Because our field team is passionate about the pro-life issue, it is more than just a political conversation happening at the door.
New Delhi:

The Supreme Court has constituted a fresh bench of three judges to hear an age-old dispute related to the sharing of Cauvery water between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The new bench would comprise justices Dipak Misra, Amitava Roy and AM Khanwilkar and will take up all the issues arising out of the Cauvery water dispute on October 18.

Earlier, on October 4, a bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and UU Lalit had agreed to the counsels representing both the sides that the matter had to be heard by a three-judge bench.

The bench was told during the last hearing that when the appeals were filed against the order of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal, it was decided that the matter would be heard by a three-judge bench.

In the meantime, the bench, in an interim order, had directed Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu from October 7 to 18, while deferring its order asking the Centre to set up the Cauvery Water Management Board till it finally decided on appeals relating to the dispute.

Instead, the apex court had agreed to the suggestion that a Supervisory Committee, comprising officials and technical experts from the Centre, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry, be set up to inspect the Cauvery basin for assessing the ground realities.

The committee was asked by the bench to file its report by October 17. The matter will be taken up a day after the court reopens after the Dussehra break.

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By Laura Sanicola NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Friday, erasing earlier gains, as new coronavirus cases spiked in the United States and China, and on growing concerns about rising U.S. output ticking up while crude stockpiles sat at record highs.

By Laura Sanicola

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Friday, erasing earlier gains, as new coronavirus cases spiked in the United States and China, and on growing concerns about rising U.S. output ticking up while crude stockpiles sat at record highs.

Brent crude futures were 14 cents lower at $40.91 at 1301 EDT (1701 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 27 cents at $38.45.

Brent was on track for a weekly decline of 3.1% and U.S. crude was headed for a weekly drop of 3.6%, after record U.S. crude inventory data dragged prices down on Wednesday. [EIA/S]

Earlier gains, supported by optimism over rising road traffic boosting fuel demand, were erased in early U.S. trading on fears that spiking COVID-19 infections in large gasoline-consuming U.S. states could stall the demand recovery. Cases have risen sharply in California, Texas and Florida, the three most populous U.S. states.

Friday morning, Texas Governor Greg Abbott reversed the state's reopening plan, ordering most bars to close due to the surge in cases.

That could undermine the steady increase in refining output, with U.S. refiners now operating at nearly 75% of their capacity, per official government data.

"Employers are delaying the return of their employees back to the office and that will impact the return of gasoline demand," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.

(GRAPHIC: April gasoline demand - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/yzdvxrrybvx/SC.JPG)

The global economic outlook has also worsened or at best stayed about the same in the past month, a majority of economists polled by Reuters said, and the recession under way is expected to be deeper than earlier predicted.

A survey of executives in the top U.S. oil and gas producing region by the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank found more than half of executives who cut production expect to resume some output by the end of July.

U.S. and Canadian energy firms cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating to a record low again this week, according to data from Baker Hughes.

(Reporting by Laura Sanicola in New York; Additional reporting by Shadia Nasralla in London, Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo and Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Matthew Lewis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The death of George Floyd and nationwide protests against racial injustice have again highlighted the prominence of Confederate memorials in Virginia. Our governor and the city council of Richmond plan the removal of Confederate statues on Monument Avenue, and memorials are coming down in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Charlottesville and across the country. Those seeking removal decry the honoring of leaders who fought to preserve slavery and white supremacy, while those arguing for protection of the memorials say we should not erase history.

Lynchburg has at least four memorials to Confederate soldiers and leaders, including those in front of the Old City Courthouse, the Jubal Early monument at Fort and Memorial avenues, the John Warwick Daniel memorial on Park Avenue and the cavalry monument in Miller Park. Comments by our city council members and candidates this past March and in 2017 favored preserving our history, i.e. the statues, while adding context and adding statues of non-white community leaders.

As noted in these pages by University of Lynchburg professor Adam Dean in March, monuments are not history; they are representations of history, and most of the Confederate memorials were constructed at the turn of the century as part of a movement to glorify the Lost Cause and reinforce white political rule. Early was a leader in the movement, and Daniel promoted it. Since it was suggested in 2017, no context has been added to our Confederate memorials to explain what they really represent.

The Legacy Museum of African American History presented an exhibit in 2014 about African American life during and after the Civil War, but that exhibit is long gone, as is the 2016 Library of Virginia traveling exhibit about Virginia and the American slave trade hosted by the Lynchburg City Museum. A photo displayed in the latter was of a slave jail on Horseford Road in downtown Lynchburg; there is no memorial to that.

It is time for a permanent site to educate our residents and visitors about the real meaning of these memorials and their context by presenting them along with our history of slavery and the Jim Crow era. Several former Communist-ruled countries including Russia, Hungary and Lithuania preserve and present statues of disgraced former leaders such as Lenin, Stalin and local officials in statuary parks. Lynchburg could do the same in Riverside Park, which already presents remnants and text regarding two significant artifacts: the canal packet boat that carried Stonewall Jacksons body, and one of our whites-only city pools, filled in rather than be integrated. The Old City Cemetery also preserves and presents 19th and 20th century city history.

This is a perfect time for collaboration between the Legacy Museum, the Lynchburg Museum System, the Old City Cemetery, the Lynchburg Historical Foundation and others to identify all relevant sites and objects, assemble together artifacts and statues that can be displayed together, provide the context and education needed, and assemble a walking/riding/driving tour for sites that cannot be moved so that we can all understand and remember the long, painful history of slavery and segregation here, the fight to preserve them, and the struggle to overcome them.

David Neumeyer is a resident of Lynchburg, an attorney and a community volunteer.
NICOSIA, Cyprus - The Hungarian government is very concerned that the coronavirus pandemic will trigger more waves of migrants trying to reach Europe from poorer nations where the disease will have a greater impact, the countrys foreign minister said Friday.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said European Union leaders are obligated to help citizens who lost jobs due to the pandemic by stemming labour-oriented migration that is definitely against the interests of Europe.

Szijjarto said he thinks the EUs migration policies must be scrapped because they can be understood as an invitation for those who consider coming to Europe illegally.

We reject all attempts for legalizing illegal migration, he said after talks with the foreign minister of Cyprus. We consider migration as a dangerous phenomenon, from a security perspective. Theres a cultural risk, and now there is a health care risk as well.

Szijjarto said the EU must wage a strong battle against human traffickers and take action against non-governmental organizations that in his view basically co-operate with these trafficking organizations.

Hungary will take a very tough position in upcoming EU discussions on the migration, the minister said.

The foreign minister of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, said the east Mediterranean island nation faces its own migration challenges. Cyprus ranked first among EU member countries for three consecutive years in number of first-time asylum applications relative to population.

Asylum applications filed in Cyprus increased 76% last year compared to 2018, Christodoulides said.
Learn to listen: I grew up in a racist Georgia in the 1950s and 1960s. I can tell you some horror stories about white people and the things they did to me and my family. I can think of a gazillion reasons to hate white people today. But it wouldnt do me any good. And I wasnt raised that way. I was raised to love people no matter what. The white people here that I know didnt do anything to me. Im not going to go around saying I hate people. I hate what people did to me. This leads to change. What we dont do today is to educate people in school about the history of America. Even when I was in school, we werent taught the history of America. I had to learn about history and live through history. We need to educate ... people and bring them together. Learn how to talk even to your enemies and learn how to listen.
Built in 1949, the Midcentury gem dazzles with terrazzo terraces, cork floors and walls of glass. (Alex Zarour)

The famous Case Study Houses  a group of 36 experimental homes scattered across Southern California designed to address the post-World War II housing shortage  feature the work of some of the most prolific Midcentury architects at the top of their game.

One of the most notable names at the time, Richard Neutra, mocked up four homes for the collection, but only one came to fruition  officially, that is. Case Study House No. 13, which Neutra designed for the program in 1947 but was built independently two years later, just listed for $5.999 million in South Pasadena.

A perfect example of Neutras clean, crisp, minimalist style, the modernist gem catches the eye with covered terrazzo terraces and plate glass doors. Inside, a dual-sided brick fireplace is sandwiched by cork floors and redwood tongue-and-groove ceilings.

Spanning nearly 3,000 square feet, the open floor plan includes a restored kitchen, a dining area and a living room that surveys the verdant grounds through walls of glass. The guesthouse tacks on 800 square feet; together, the two homes combine for five bedrooms and five bathrooms.

Lush landscaping surrounds a swimming pool out back. Lawns and patios complete the property, which covers three-quarters of an acre.

Anthony Stellini and Elisa Ritt of RSR Real Estate at Compass hold the listing.

A few different Case Study Houses have surfaced for sale in recent years, including No. 10 in Pasadena, which sold for $2.96 million in 2017, and No.16 in Bel-Air, which traded hands for about $3 million late last year.
NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP >> Newtown Township will be applying for federal funding to bolster its career firefighting force. And its crossing its fingers and hoping the third times a charm. At its Jan. 12 meeting, the board of supervisors voted unanimously to resubmit its SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to...
PLANO, Texas, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Integer Holdings Corporation (Integer) (ITGR), a leading medical device outsource manufacturer, announced the opening of The Galway Research and Development (R&D) Innovation Centre in Ireland. The new facility will further enhance Integers capability to provide high-quality medical devices and technologies that help sustain and save the lives of patients worldwide.

The Galway R&D Innovation Centre will enable Integer to provide a collaborative environment where both Integer and our customers teams can work together to ideate and develop new and innovative devices.

Integer continues to make key investments to help support our customers innovation and growth, said Payman Khales, president of Integers cardio and vascular business. The Galway R&D Innovation Centre will allow us to enhance our current capabilities, while accelerating the development of a broad range of cardio and vascular products.

Located in Claregalway, six kilometers from Integers main Galway, Ireland, facility, the new, fully dedicated 8,500 square foot facility will support Integers customers across the globe, including the significant medical device cluster in Ireland. The facility features a versatile workspace for the R&D team to collaborate with customers on innovative technical solutions that meet their evolving needs. There is also a significant increase in development lab space, providing the team room to grow and add capabilities, including space for a cleanroom pilot line. In addition, the opening of this new dedicated facility, frees up space allowing the Galway manufacturing site to expand, increase capacity and add new equipment as required to meet customers needs.

Integers Galway R&D team brings significant medical device experience across various disciplines and works with some of the leading medical device companies in the industry.

About Integer

Integer Holdings Corporation (ITGR) is one of the largest medical device outsource (MDO) manufacturers in the world serving the cardiac, neuromodulation, vascular, portable medical, advanced surgical and orthopedics markets. The company provides innovative, high-quality medical technologies that enhance the lives of patients worldwide. In addition, it develops batteries for high-end niche applications in energy, military, and environmental markets. The companys brands include Greatbatch Medical, Lake Region Medical, and Electrochem. Additional information is available at www.integer.net .
(CNN)  California, the most populous US state and the first to implement a statewide lockdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak, is setting daily records this week for new cases as officials urge caution and dangle enforcement threats to try to curb the spikes.

The virus is spreading at private gatherings in homes, and more young people are testing positive, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. Infections at some prisons are raising concerns.

Counties that don't enforce health orders that aim to halt the spread could see state funding withheld, Newsom said, urging residents to wear face coverings and social distance. The fiscal threat comes amid a surge in cases across several states and highlights tensions between public health guidelines and the push to resume life as it was before the pandemic.

"California has a responsibility and obligation legally and otherwise to enforce those laws," Newsom said, adding that it may utilize "the power of the purse" to do so. "That will be an exception and we hope we never have to trigger that."

The state broke a record Tuesday with an increase of more than 7,000 cases in a day, obliterating a record hit a day earlier, when more than 5,000 new cases were recorded, officials reported Wednesday.

The state's positivity rate  how many people test positive compared with how many in total are being tested  has also been on the rise in recent days, as have hospitalizations, which are up nearly 30% in two weeks, the governor said.

Governor points to family gatherings

Newsom chided residents who are hosting private events at their homes, including family gatherings, children's play dates and birthday parties.

"Many of us understandably developed a little cabin fever. Some of us, I would argue, developed a little amnesia. Others have just frankly taken down their guard," the governor said Wednesday.

"People are mixing and that is increasing the spread of the virus," he added.

The governor's words echo reports from several parts of the state where health officials attributed a number of new cases to family gatherings.

In Northern California, the Shasta County Health and Human Services reported Tuesday several people tested positive for the virus after attending a graduation party.

Earlier this month, the county reported nearly 20 people were in quarantine after a man in his 20s who tested positive for the virus attended a large family gathering. Several of the people quarantined had symptoms, officials said.

Sacramento County, recorded "by far" its highest one-day increase this week, with 131 new cases, the county said on Facebook Tuesday. Contact tracers determined most new cases are linked to "gatherings among friends and extended family," the county said.

"Avoid in-home gatherings with individuals who do not live in the same household," county officials wrote.

Cases in younger people

The governor also noted there's been an increase in the number of young people testing positive for the virus.

"There is a sense that a lot of young people, well you're young so you feel a little bit more invincible but, respectfully, often that can be a selfish mindset," Newsom said.

Even if younger people may not show as many symptoms, they are still spreaders of the virus.

"And they can spread it to people that simply cannot handle the virus as younger healthier people can," he said.

The governor's warning fits with those made by city and state leaders in other parts of the US  including across the South  who have said an increasing number of young people are testing positive.

Some officials across the country have pointed to parties, bars and other gatherings as where that spread is happening.

Unclear if protests had an impact

Because of the high volume of cases that have been coming in, officials have not been able to "pinpoint whether or not the exact source of an exposure was a protest," Los Angeles County Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said.

"I do want to say that it's highly likely, given the increased numbers that we're seeing that some of this is in fact people who may have been in a crowded situation at one of the protests where there was spread," Ferrer said.

CNN has reached out to the county's health department for further details.

The state's health department said late last week there was not sufficient data to "assess the impact of the recent protests."

In San Francisco, officials said some testing sites that offer free testing don't ask people getting tested if they recently participated in any demonstrations.

And in Alameda County, spokesperson Neetu Balram said in a statement there was still no "clear correlation between protest activities and increases in testing or positive cases."

"We monitor our data continuously to inform our guidance and reopening actions. We are encouraging anyone who protested to get tested," the statement said.

Some prisons a concern

Following a reporter's question during his news conference, Newsom also mentioned a number of prisons as a concern for the state.

One of them  San Quentin State Prison  has more than 450 inmates who have tested positive. About 42% of the prisoners in the facility are medically vulnerable, Newsom said.

And according to data from the state's corrections department, 433 of the new cases in the facility came in the last two weeks.

The governor said the state recently submitted a plan to the courts to have a number of inmates who are approaching their release date to be let out of prison early, to help bring down facility populations.

That process will begin July 1 and will be expedited for facilities like San Quentin, Newsom said.

Twenty inmates have died throughout the state's prison system and there are more than 1,800 who are currently positive, according to data from California's corrections department.

This story was first published on CNN.com "California breaks coronavirus records. Gatherings in homes may fuel spread as more young people get sick"
The ruling paves the way for a class-action suit calling for Uber to recognise drivers in Canada as company employees.

Canadas Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favour of a driver in a gig economy case that paves the way for a class-action suit calling for Uber Technologies Inc to recognise drivers in Canada as company employees.

UberEats driver David Heller had filed a class-action suit, challenged by Uber, aiming to secure a minimum wage, vacation pay and other benefits like overtime pay. Drivers are now classified as independent contractors and do not have such benefits.

Hellers lawyer said the decision allowing him to sue was important, but only a small first step in a case that will probably take years to litigate.

The ride-hailing companys contract allows arbitration, but not class-action lawsuits. After the ruling, an Uber spokeswoman said the company would amend its contracts to align with the courts principles, without giving details.

Going forward, dispute resolution will be more accessible to drivers, the spokeswoman said in a statement.

Two days ago, California said it plans to ask a state court judge to force Uber and Lyft Inc to classify their ride-hail drivers as employees rather than contractors.

Canadas 8-1 Supreme Court ruling dismisses an Uber appeal to an Ontario High Court ruling that said the Ubers arbitration clause violates provincial labour rules and is invalid and unenforceable.

This was an access to justice case, said Michael Wright, one of Hellers lawyers. The court essentially ruled that a stronger party was taking advantage of a weaker party in an unfair manner, said Wright.

Now Heller can restart his class-action suit, Wright said, but the matter will not be settled soon.

This is the first round in a series of rounds, said Wright, a labour and employment lawyer with Wright Henry LLP in Toronto, adding that it could take a few more years.

Uber shares were down 2.7 percent around noon Eastern Time.
Strawberry donuts from Donut Man, which opens to today in Grand Central Market (Mariah Tauger/Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)

This week in food news:

Donut Man Grand Central Market

The Donut Mans stall inside Grand Central Market is now open. The famed Glendora doughnut shop had planned to launch downtown in February, but its debut was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The new location will be open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, thedonutmanca.com

Nueva

Yours Truly chef Vartan Abgaryan and Lucques alum Mesraim Llanez will open Nueva, a modern Mexican cantina, next month in Marina del Rey. Expect a cocktail list highlighting mezcal and tequila and weekend brunch service on an expansive outdoor patio.

822 Washington Blvd., Marina del Rey

Tacos 1986 Burbank

Tacos 1986, the Tijuana-style taco shop from Jorge Joy Alvarez-Tostado and Victor Delgado, will open a location in Burbank next month, its fourth.

4005 W. Riverside Drive, Burbank, tacos1986.com

Pasta | Bar

San Fernando Valley restaurateurs Phillip Frankland Lee and partner Margarita Kallas-Lee have opened an eight-seat dining counter in Encino called Pasta | Bar. A $85 tasting menu featuring dishes such as tagliatelle with duck ragu and housemade mozzarella caprese will be offered nightly; reservations are required.

16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 250, Encino, pastabarencino.com

Moto Ramen

Moto Ramen is open in Culver City for takeout and delivery (dine-in service is planned soon). The modern Japanese noodle shops menu includes shio chicken, tan tan men and black garlic tonkotsu ramen, as well as pan-fried gyoza, blue crab rolls and agedashi tofu.

11172 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 815-8776, motoramen.com

Brandoni Pepperoni

Former Providence and Best Girl chef Brandon Gray has opened a takeout pizza pop-up in West Hollywood called Brandoni Pepperoni, open Fridays through Tuesdays. The Steady Mobbin is topped with squash blossoms and lemon ricotta; the Straight Up Menace includes spicy lamb sausage, wild arugula and pickled peppers.

7100 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 306-4968, brandoni-pepperoni.com

Story continues

Mariscos Jalisco West L.A.

Boyle Heights institution Mariscos Jalisco has expanded to West L.A. with a new food truck location, parked along La Cienega Boulevard just north of the 10 Freeway. The truck will serve its signature crispy shrimp tacos and ceviches Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

La Cienega Boulevard and 18th Street, Los Angeles, twitter.com/mariscosjalisco

Uncool Burgers

Uncool Burgers is open in Larchmont Village. The casual, all-day restaurant from the owners of Tacos Tu Madre serves burgers and chicken sandwiches, including vegan options, breakfast burritos, hand pies and milkshakes.

139 1/2 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 417-7900, uncool.fun

Little Coyote

Little Coyote, a pizza, wine and sandwich shop co-owned by Jonathan Strader of Hatchet Hall and former L&E Oyster Bar chef Jack Leahy, is open on Long Beachs Retro Row. The menu includes pizza by the slice, meatball subs, antipasto salad and a selection of natural wines and craft beer.

2118 E. 4th St., Long Beach, (562) 434-2009, littlecoyotelbc.com

Lost Parrot Tiki

The Lost Parrot Tiki Pop-Up, a tiki bar in a bag created by South Pasadena's Lost Parrot Cafe and the Cocktail Academy, is offering $50 tropical cocktail kits for pickup and delivery. Each kit includes enough for four drinks, garnishes and straws, a reusable cooler bag, crushed ice and tiki tumblers.

lostparrottiki.com

The Varnish cocktail book

The Varnish co-founder and veteran bartender Eric Alperin has released a memoir, Unvarnished: A Gimlet-Eyed Look at Life Behind the Bar. The book includes 100 recipes pulled from the Varnishs list of classic cocktails.

Closures:

Kogi Taqueria

Kogi Taqueria has closed after four years in Palms. Roy Choi said he plans to reopen the restaurant on the Westside; meanwhile, a Kogi Taqueria food truck is now parked outside the former location on Overland Boulevard.

Bibo Ergo Sum

Beverly Grove cocktail bar Bibo Ergo Sum has closed. The Art Deco-themed drinking den, backed by the bar team behind Normandie Club, lasted for 2 1/2 years.

Lincoln Pasadena










Can organic fertilisers have an effect on Luxembourg's water currents? Mara Rachel Manieri, laureate of the Young Researcher 2020 contest, explains her project.

For her first participation in the national contest for young scientists, 17-year old Mara was awarded the prestigious EUCYS award for her project about the effects of manure on bacterial and non-bacterial aquatic microorganisms.

In the context of her work, she could observe the following: the bigger the amount of manure in a sample of pond water, the more rapidly the number of bacteria is increasing, and the less other aquatic microorganisms are present.

The young scientist from Lycee Classique de Diekirch was given the opportunity to present her research in the context of the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS).

Mara lives in the north of Luxembourg and explains that fields are the main feature of the landscapes surrounding her. Depending on the time of year or the location, manure is used on these fields.

In order to find out what effects organic fertilisers have on water currents or bodies of water; she decides to apply a scientific approach. Mara states: "I am fascinated by scientific thinking and I think it's great. It's important that we think about our surroundings and take a closer look at them".

Thus, the passionate student took samples from the Our, the Sure, and the Moselle by using test strips. She assessed the presence or absence of nitrites, nitrates, and phosphates in Luxembourg's waters. These components are indicators of agricultural activity. If their concentration in water currents or bodies of water is too high, it is an indication of poor water quality. In that case, the balance of these aquatic ecosystems as well as the survival of the beings living in them is in danger.

Thanks to her samples, Mara discovered that the Moselle (at Schengen) is the water current with the highest concentration of nitrate and phosphate. Meanwhile, the Upper Sure Lake showed the lowest concentrations. Mara explains: "I didn't manage to prove the presence of nitrites in my samples, probably because the tests were not effective enough. Therefore, I can't claim that there were no nitrites present".

Assessment of the effects of manure on aquatic microorganisms

Mara was especially interested in finding out what effects a concentration of nitrites, nitrates, and phosphates had on aquatic microorganisms. They include a substantial variety of living beings, which are all of significant importance to the balance of the food chains as well as for the proper function of the different cycles (breathing/carbon).

If only one of these players is missing or multiplying too quickly, the entire balance of the aquatic habitat is disrupted. Among the aquatic microorganisms are for example bacteria, algae, cyanobacteria, or plankton (phyto- and zooplankton).

After intensive research, she made a first hypothesis: the higher the amount of manure, the less abundant microorganisms are.

In order to check this, Mara collected water from a pond in Bettborn (close to the cultural centre Op der Fabrik) and stored it in a number of containers under different conditions (temperature, brightness).

She filled each of the containers with a different amount of manure and measured the concentration of nitrites, nitrates, and phosphates.

Legend: Water samples from the pond in Bettborn, each containing different amounts of manure  Mara Rachel Manieri  Young Researchers

In order to observe the effects of these concentrations on aquatic organisms, the young researcher used a haemocytometer. Mara explains: "This grid allows you to calculate the abundance and to identify the different species of microorganisms in a current according to their size under a microscope".

Depending on the scale, it is possible to differentiate between a number of species of aquatic microorganisms, especially bacterial and non-bacterial.

Bacterial growth and dying out of aquatic microorganisms

Thanks to the results analysis, the young scientist was able to observe the following: "The bigger the amount of manure in a water sample is, the bigger the concentration of nitrates and, consequently, the lower the abundance of non-bacterial aquatic microorganisms. However, a growth in bacteria can be observed.

Mara already has multiple ideas for a continuation of her project but also for new research activities.

One thing is for sure: She wants to focus on medical research and study medicine after secondary school.

Author : Constance Lausecker

Photo :  Pixabay
The Fight for Amazons Injury Data

A dispute has erupted over Amazons withholding of government-mandated logs of injuries and illnesses at its warehouses. A federal judge calls it disturbing, but Amazon says its commercially sensitive.

A lawsuit filed by the Center for Investigative Reporting against the U.S. Department of Labors (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) regards one of the worlds largest corporate goliaths: Amazon.

Amazon has never really had a great reputation for workplace injuries. Theres been many testimonies on workers dissatisfaction of how the company treated their injuries and illnesses. Within the last few months during the coronavirus pandemic, this reputation has only gone under more fire after many workers complained about the companys safety measures and lack of employee safeguards.

The center sued the U.S. Department of Labor in September 2019 after OSHA refused to turn over workplace safety records for Amazon warehouses in Massachusetts, Ohio and Illinois, explains one article.

After the suit was filed, OSHA released employee statements provided to OSHA investigators for Amazons Stoughton, Massachusetts warehouse and a few pages of heavily redacted Form 300As, logs of workplace injuries and illnesses, for warehouses in Ohio and Illinois. Still, the center is challenging the redactions and withholding of injury logswhich, according to the government, are necessary to protect confidential business information.

One side (the center) is appalled that a company would withhold injury data, and the U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim called it disturbing. However, the U.S. Department of Labor defends its decision, quoting a June 2019 policy decision in the Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media case that ruled disclosure of food stamp spending data at specific stores could financially harm retailers.
A phone call may have smoothed prickly feelings between a Democrat administration and a rebellious, sometimes derisive Republican county.

More importantly, the call and things discussed likely helped flatten a COVID-19 spike that made Lebanon County last in Pennsylvania to qualify for green reopening status.

Lebanon County finally got the news it wanted Friday, when Gov. Tom Wolf announced it qualifies to go green on July 3, meaning schools and daycares can reopen and businesses can operate with substantially fewer restrictions.

Im pleased. I hope its in time to save a lot of our businesses, Lebanon County Commissioner William Ames said.

Reserved maybe, but it was a more cordial reaction than Republican officials expressed a week earlier, when they learned Lebanon would be the last county stuck in yellow.

Many said the decision was based on partisan politics rather than public health and directed assorted unkind remarks at Wolf, calling him a dictator who county residents should ignore.

But on Tuesday, county commissioners participated in a conference call with state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine and members of Wolfs staff, according to county Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz.

Litz, a Democrat, said she initiated the call, but her two fellow commissioners, both Republicans, agreed to participate.

She said she asked if the county could go green, or at least move to a modified yellow of eased restrictions. The answer was no, she said, but the call was productive. By the end of the meeting [Levine] said if your numbers are going down, a promise I will give them to the governor, according to Litz.

The countys numbers were in fact going down. During the two weeks leading up to last weeks decision to keep Lebanon yellow, the county had registered 226 new cases. Cases have grown by only 74 since then, showing a lower rate of increase.

Now were on a downward trend, Litz said Friday.

Litz said there are additional things that helped arrest the surge.

She said the state pushed resources into Lebanon including increased testing and contact tracing. That has lead to more infected or exposed people being identified and isolated, she said.

Litz also said that, following last weeks disappointing announcement and the divisive reaction, she took to social media, calling for everyone to work together and do what they must do to slow the spread, including social distancing and wearing a mask in public.

Her posts were shared and liked many times with the reaction mostly positive, she said.

Moreover, she believes the surge that held Lebanon back came as a shock and a wakeup call to many in the county, including some who had grown lax about social distancing.

Im not saying they have to stay home and lock themselves in the house. But when you go out, please follow these basic rules, she said of her message to county residents. Our destiny is in our own hands, and we have to make it a good destiny.

Ames said the phone call may have done some good. Ive always believed that if you have a disagreement if you can just get the parties together and talk  usually you can come up with something that can work, he said.

Still, he maintains Lebanon should have been moved to green sooner and questions the validity of numbers the state used to make decisions. Nor is he convinced Wolf didnt hold Lebanon back as payback for commissioners vote to move to yellow without state approval  a resolution Ames concedes didnt amount to much, since most businesses obeyed the restrictions rather than jeopardize their license.

Of Fridays result, he said, He gets what he wants and we get what we want a week later, or two weeks later, than we should have.

The state has said its decisions are based solely on the numbers, and whether they reflect a stable, low or decreasing case count, with the same standards applied to all counties.

Health department spokesman Nate Wardle on Friday said the decision to move Lebanon to green centered on two numbers: its number of cases during the two previous weeks, and its percentage of positive tests, which need to be under 10% over the previous 14 days.

Wardle said Lebanons number of new cases was 15% less then during the prior two weeks, a number he called decreasing and stable. The rate of positive tests was 6.6%, down from 10.9%, he said.

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"Local government agencies are among the largest employers in every single bay area county," said report co-author and IFPTE Local 21 Research Specialist Timothy Mathews. "As such, these agencies through their policy and budget decisions can help drive a recovery or prolong a recession, all while they face increased demands due to this current economic disruption. Before anyone goes dusting off the same austerity playbook used in response to the 2008 recession, it's important to understand whether that playbook worked, and if not, if there are better alternatives."

Bay area local governments alone shed 17,500 workers in response to the 2008 financial crisis and continue to lag pre-2008 staffing to population ratios by nearly 7%. Prior research has shown state and local government workers represent 13% of total employment and their budgets contribute to 9% of the nation's GDP. Ultimately, it has been found that the 2008-era cuts to local government services, cost the American economy 2.3 million jobs  half of which would have been created in the private sector as a result of increased aggregate demand.

Among other things, the report links deep austerity cuts in terms of both staff and employee benefits  from the '08 recession to continued challenges related to service delivery, recruitment and retention of public service workers across the bay area. It notes the City of San Jose, which suffered California's first known COVID 19 fatality, currently has the lowest staff to population rate of any major California city. At least one regional government has seen staff vacancy rates as high as 20%, and in Contra Costa County, there were nearly 1,000 vacancies in health services in 2018 alone.

The report also associates bay area local government agencies' inability to restore 2008 service cuts with the failure of the region's largest cities to pursue new revenue measures during the recovery. It notes that the state's GDP growth since 2008 outpaced local government revenues by almost two to one.

"Looking at the data, it would be hard to credibly argue that austerity cuts following the crisis of 2008, and the resistance to new revenue measures during the muted recovery that followed did anything but undermine this region's recovery and its capacity to meet the unplanned spike in demand for services from this pandemic," said report co-author and IFPTE Local 21 Research Specialist Kristen Schumacher. "The good news is that the sacrifices that workers made during the 2008 crisis have left local agencies with billions in reserves that could be deployed alongside additional federal support to avert another round of cutbacks."

Through a combination of layoffs, furloughs, unfilled jobs and benefit cuts borne by employees, Bay Area Governments have accumulated more than $3.6 billion in structural reserves over the past decadereserves they did not have in 2008. Mathews argues that while reserves can be used to meet the COVID-19 induced economic shock, the longer-term expansion of public services to address emerging pandemic-related needs and ultimately expand staffing and service levels to pre-2008 thresholds will ultimately demand additional revenue.

"The past few months have highlighted the fact that local government budgetsand their reliance on economically sensitive tax revenues in particular--lack the resilience needed to sustain services in a contingency like this pandemic," said Gus Vallejo, IFPTE Local 21 President. "This is a strong argument for progressive revenue measures like the Schools and Communities First Act on the November 2020 ballot because it would protect the working families that have suffered the biggest hardships from the current recession, while create a reliable revenue stream for the housing, education healthcare, and other services our communities need to recover."

Schools and Communities First would close a loophole in Proposition 13 that exempts many of the state's wealthiest corporations from paying taxes on commercial property. Mathews' notes that if the measure were passed in November, Bay Area governments could expect $4.2 billion in new revenue in 2021-2022, and as much as $27 billion in new revenue over the next decade.

Vallejo continued, "At the end of the day, this report shows that Bay Area governments have strong alternatives to austerity that did not exist in 2008, and would likely produce better outcomes both for their workers and the communities they serve."

Read the Report, "Bay Area Public Services in the Era of COVID-19: Lessons from an Era of Austerity"

https://ifpte21.org/sites/ifpte21/files/pictures/COVID%20and%20Public%20Sector_v2004.pdf

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 21 represents more than 11,000 public service workers across the bay area, including more than 5600 employees of the City and County of San Francisco. Learn more at www.ifpte21.org.

SOURCE IFPTE 21

Related Links

http://www.ifpte21.org


Thiruvananthapuram, June 26 : The CPI-M in Kerala seems to have finally realised that the proliferation of information technology will benefit all, and starting Saturday, the weekly study class for its cadres will be held online.

This was announced on the CPI-M Facebook page which said that from Saturday, online classes would commence with politburo member S. Ramachandran Pillai delivering a lecture on the relevance of Marxism today.

"In the first round, there will be eight classes to be held every Saturday from 7.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.," said the Facebook post.

The CPI-M in Kerala has 2,093 local committees and a message has been sent to all its cadres to 'like' the Facebook page of the party.

In the wake of the COvid-19 outbreak, the party was founding it difficult to reach out to its cadres, as all sorts of public gatherings were banned.

Against this backdrop, it first held its politburo meeting online and then held its state committee meeting online where more than 80 members took part.

And now the party is looking to take its virtual endeavour to the grass-roots level, as it wishes to galvanise the cadres ahead of the crucial local body polls to be held in October.

The local body polls is considered as the semifinal ahead of the grand Assembly elections scheduled in May 2021, where the Pinarayi Vijayan government is aiming to create history by becoming the first government to retain power by winning two successive elections.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
An Ontario tribunal has struck down a health authority order that restricted bunkhouses to a maximum of three migrant workers during self-isolation, a measure that had been meant to control the spread of COVID-19.

In siding with the challenge by a farm owner, the Health Services Appeal and Review Board ruled the local health officials in Haldimand-Norfolk did not have reasonable and probable grounds to impose the measure introduced on March 24.

The Board finds that the requirement of a maximum of three migrant farm workers per bunkhouse is arbitrary and does not take into account the specifics of each bunkhouse, the three-member panel concluded in a judgment published Thursday.

There was no convincing reason given as to why there is a limit of three to a bunkhouse, the panel said in removing the requirement from the Haldimand-Norfolk Health and Social Services self-isolation plan checklist for migrant farm workers.

It also suggested that each bunkhouse would instead have to be evaluated individually to determine the appropriate number of workers able to self-isolate there.

The local health authorities have appealed the boards decision. The restriction is still in effect until the Ontario Divisional Court hears the case.

We are disappointed by the boards decision. While the Health Unit has approved the vast majority of area farmers isolation plans, the above changes will mean that increased public health resources will be needed in order to avoid delays in future plan approvals, the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit said in a statement.

The Health Units section 22 order is reasonable and effective at protecting farms from the disastrous effects of a widespread outbreak of COVID-19 during migrant workers initial self-isolation period.

On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. A week later, the Ontario government declared a state of emergency. The federal government subsequently imposed border restrictions and a mandatory 14-day isolation on all individuals coming into Canada.

On March 24, Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, Haldimand-Norfolks medical officer, issued the local regulations and a checklist that local employers must abide before migrant farm workers are allowed entry to Canada.

Schuyler Farms Ltd. appealed the three-worker-per-bunkhouse rule to the tribunal.

The farm agreed to all other guidance to workers self-isolation, but said the bunkhouse capacity requirement was arbitrary and unreasonable.

It argued that farm bunkhouses vary in size and facilities, and questioned why more than three workers could not maintain social distancing in a bunkhouse that measures 5,000 square feet.

Witnesses for the countys health unit, however, maintained that it was not possible or would be extremely difficult to maintain physical distancing at all times, even in a large bunkhouse, if there were more than three occupants.

The tribunal found unreasonable the argument that its impossible to self-isolate more than three people in a bunkhouse regardless of design, size, layout and amenities.

Brett Schuyler, owner of Schuyler Farms, said farm operators are doing their best to follow the rules and hope to work with local health authorities to resolve their differences, all being well before the appeal drags on in court.

Our workers health, our communitys health and our food security are our pillars. The farm community is hoping to work with the health unit to stop the appeal, Schuyler told the Star.

By the time this is heard at the end of July, its everybodys loss.

Advocates called the tribunal decision a slap in the face of justice, especially during this pandemic, when thousands of migrant farm workers are risking exposure to coronavirus to secure Canadas food supply.

Hundreds of farm workers in Ontario, many of them seasonal migrant workers, have tested positive for COVID-19, and there have been at least three deaths.

How many more workers must die before we take steps to level the playing field so workers are accorded fairness and decency? asked Chris Ramsaroop of Justicia for Migrant Workers.

We will continue to fight this system of apartheid that treats Black and brown migrants differently because of race and immigration status.
WAYNE COUNTY, MI - Three years after they were seen in Michigan for the first time, Asian Tiger mosquitoes have again been found in Wayne County.

State health officials today are warning residents about the discovery, as this type of invasive mosquito is known to transmit viruses such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika.

The insect was first seen in 2017 in an industrial area of Livonia. The following year, it was found in another industrial spot, this time in Romulus.

Today, Wayne County health officials said it was identified in an industrial area in Taylor.

These mosquitoes are widespread from tropical to temperate regions of the globe, including many parts of the U.S., health officials said in a news release. They do not occur naturally in Michigan, where winters are usually too harsh for them to survive. However, warming climate trends are supporting the spread of these mosquitoes into more northern regions.

While no illnesses associated with Asian Tiger mosquitoes have been reported here, heath officials say its important to take precautions against this type of mosquito as well as others, which can spread diseases like West Nile.

We urge Michiganders to take precautions such as using an EPA-registered insect repellent when outdoors, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services chief medical executive and chief deputy director for health.

South of Michigan, the Asian Tiger mosquito has become established in Midwest spots like Indiana, Ohio and parts of Illinois. They sometimes travel in containers of commercially-shipped products, which may be how the current batch arrived, officials said.

This summer, state and local health officials are partnering to conduct surveillance for mosquitoes that can carry Zika and other tropical viruses.

To protect yourself from disease-carrying mosquitoes, health officials recommend:

Eliminating sources of standing water such as wading pools, old tires, buckets and containers by dumping water to prevent mosquito eggs from hatching or larvae from developing into biting adults.

Wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants and socks when outdoors.

Applying an EPA-registered insect repellent according to label instructions.

Making sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens.

For more information about mosquito-borne viruses and mosquito surveillance in Michigan, visit Michigan.gov/emergingdiseases.
Coronavirus took a terrible toll on an icon of French culture -- the corner bistro -- but it will survive, says chef and restaurateur Alain Fontaine. "If bistros disappear, it's life that disappears," Fontaine told journalists at Le Mesturet, the bistro he has run for 18 years in the heart of Paris, on Thursday. The bistro is a place where one can "talk nonsense or discuss very important things," he said, likening the French institution to the Irish pub. Think of it as a "people's parliament", the 62-year-old said, quoting Honore de Balzac, the prolific chronicler of early 19th-century French society. The numbers were already alarming before the crisis, dropping from 200,000 bistros and cafes at the beginning of the 20th century to a little over 50,000 after World War II to 25,000 today, Fontaine said. The coronavirus lockdown imposed in mid-March was a "disaster" for the sector, he said, noting that bars and restaurants remained open throughout the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. But he dismissed dire predictions that up to 40 percent of the businesses would not survive the crisis, saying many would simply change hands. Unfortunately however, large restaurant chains will snap up many small eateries, Fontaine predicted, telling members of the Paris-based Anglo-American Press Association: "The vultures are already here." Cafes, bars and restaurants were finally allowed to reopen on June 2, though in the Paris region, considered at high risk of ongoing coronavirus spread, eating and drinking establishments were initially allowed to serve clients only at outside tables. It was Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo who "saved me" with the idea of cordoning off sections of streets to make room for outside tables, said Fontaine, who is spearheading a drive to win UNESCO recognition of the French bistro and cafe as intangible cultural heritage. Le Mesturet is able to serve its traditional meals -- like blanquette de veau and magret de canard, recipes that Fontaine learned from his mother -- to an additional 40 diners outdoors thanks to the measure. Eateries like Fontaine's have been allowed to spread out along sidewalks and even set up tables in parking spaces and outside neighbouring businesses if the owners did not object. "Anne Hidalgo knows her electorate," Fontaine said, alluding to the fact that the mayor is tipped to win re-election on Sunday. - D-Day redux - The COVID-19 epidemic has claimed more than 29,000 lives in France, one of the world's highest reported tolls. Fontaine said Parisians need to be lured back to the bistro after months of self-isolation and working from home. In addition, he joked, "we need a new D-Day landing" of tourists, noting that 30 percent of his clientele are visitors from abroad. France -- normally the world's most visited country -- lifted restrictions at European borders on June 15, and the tourism industry hopes that foreign visitors will start pouring in again as the summer season kicks off. Neighbours Britain, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain make up the bulk of foreign visitors, with the United States and China not far behind -- in normal times. Fontaine, also heads an association of maitres restaurateurs -- essentially chefs who insist on preparing all meals on site from fresh, raw ingredients. If French bistros win UNESCO's nod, the time-honoured institution will join the likes of Mexican mariachi music and Mongolian calligraphy on the list of intangible heritage worthy of being safeguarded for future generations. But Fontaine is not bothered if the dossier does not succeed next year, which would mean waiting another two years for the honour. If it wins in 2023 it will be right before the Paris Olympics of 2024 -- providing an excellent showcase for what he calls an "anchor of France's art of living". Fontaine at Le Mesturet in late May before lockdown measures were lifted Fontaine dismissed dire predictions that up to 40 percent of the businesses would not survive the crisis, saying many would simply change hands
OCEANA COUNTY, MI  At least 127 coronavirus cases in Oceana County are linked to outbreaks among workers at five farms or manufacturing facilities in the rural county, health officials say.

Thats about 60 percent of the countys 214 confirmed positive cases, according to data from District Health Department #10, which serves 10 northwestern Michigan counties including Oceana, Newaygo and Mecosta.

Health officials held a press conference Friday, June 26, to discuss a recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Oceana County. The number of new daily cases tripled this week compared to the week before.

RELATED: Coronavirus cases surge in rural West Michigan county after farms, businesses report outbreaks

The sudden rise in cases is linked to farms and manufacturing facilities, where many workers had the virus but did not initially show symptoms, and therefore passed all screening efforts by their employers, health officials said.

Health officials say 102 workers at the five facilities have since tested positive for the virus. Two facilities have had had very large outbreaks, health officials said.

The facilities were not identified by the health department.

Many of Oceana Countys farms rely on migrant laborers who live in housing units on site. The fear of losing work due to infection with COVID-19 has been a concern among migrant workers, said Dr. Jennifer Morse, the health director for District 10.

And some farmers have been known to pressure workers to keep working, she said.

Certainly, weve had outbreaks in other counties where theres a fear of not working because of fear of losing work, so its really multifactorial, Morse said when asked about outbreaks in migrant housing. And again, some have employer pressure to not leave work if theyre sick. So you know, not in any particular county, but any of the farming situations is definitely a struggle with housing and fear of loss of income.

When asked if the surge in Oceana Countys cases has been among migrant workers, Jeannine Taylor, a spokeswoman for the health department told MLive its a combination of people.

There are some migrant workers included, but they include individuals that work in farms, in factories, and we dont want to pigeonhole them, Taylor said.

Contact tracing found that the asymptomatic workers exposed their co-workers to the virus, as well as family and household members, who eventually became infected by the virus.

Twenty-five of the countys total cases are family members who were exposed to the virus, Morse said.

Of the countys 214 total cases, 81 residents have recovered from the virus. Three deaths have been linked to the virus as of Friday, data shows.

One outbreak in Oceana County started in May and continued into this month, health officials said. The other four have all sparked in the month of June.

There have been two very large outbreaks that account for a large portion of the countys cases, but health officials declined to provide numbers of how many cases were found at the two facilities.

Weve been working very hard with those facilities to help them to do everything they can to stop those outbreaks, Morse said.

Oceana County reported 81 new coronavirus cases over the past week, compared to 27 new cases reported the week before. That compares to the start of the month, when the county reported only four new cases between June 4 and June 10.

With a population of about 26,467, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Oceana Countys 214 infections represent about 0.8 percent of the total population. Thats almost double that of Muskegon County, where 791 cases have been reported among a population of about 173,566, or 0.45 percent.

The county saw its highest number of newly reported cases on June 19, when health officials reported 19 new positive cases.

Newaygo County has also experienced outbreaks at facilities in the area, although not as significant as Oceana County, health officials said.

Twenty-two percent of Newaygo Countys 157 confirmed cases are linked to outbreaks at seven different facilities, Morse said. The largest outbreak was 17 cases tied to one facility, she said.

Young residents make up the largest portion of Oceana Countys coronavirus cases. Health officials reported that 46 residents who have tested positive for the virus are ages 19 and under, and 39 residents are in their 20s.

Thats followed by residents in their 40s, who make up 37 of the countys total cases, and residents in their 30s, who make up 33 of the countys positive cases.

Only 11 residents who tested positive for the virus are over the age of 70, while 23 residents are in their 60s. However, all three of the countys three reported deaths were older adults. Two residents were over the age of 70, and one resident was in their 60s.

Oceana County, while mostly rural, is on the shore of Lake Michigan and attracts tourists to Silver Lake State Park and the tourist town of Pentwater. In addition, hundreds of people are expected to attend the Sherwood Forest music festival, a miniature Electric Forest, at Double JJ Resort this weekend.

Hundreds of visitors are expected to flock to Oceana County this weekend for a knockoff electric music festival planned at the original site of Electric Forest, which was canceled this year due to the coronavirus crisis.

The Sherwood Forest Appreciation Weekend is set to take place June 26-28, the same weekend as Electric Forest would have been. The event is hosted by Double JJ Resort in Oceana County, which typically hosts the Electric Forest music, art and camping festival.

The new Sherwood Forest event did not require any local government approval, according to Rothburys village clerk, Carol Witzke. As a gathering of fewer than 5,000 people, at a resort center using its own zoned areas for serving alcohol, the camping event required neither a special event permit, nor a special liquor license, Witzke said.

PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

More on MLive:

Sherwood Forest knockoff festival planned at site of Electric Forest

Coronavirus cases surge in rural West Michigan county after farms, businesses report outbreaks

Coronavirus cases continue month-long downward trend in Muskegon County
Technavio has been monitoring the continuous basalt fiber market and it is poised to grow by USD 67.53 million during 2019-2023, progressing at a CAGR of over 11% 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/20200626005286/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Continuous Basalt Fiber Market 2019-2023 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report of 2020-2024 on COVID-19 Impact

The market is highly fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Jiangsu Green Materials Vally New Material T&D, JiLin Tongxin Basalt Technology, Kamenny Vek, Shanxi Basalt Fiber Technology, and Technobasalt-Invest are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

The advantages of continuous basalt fiber has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Continuous Basalt Fiber Market 2019-2023: Segmentation

Continuous Basalt Fiber Market is segmented as below:

End-user Construction Molding Electrical And Electronics Automotive

Geographic Landscape The Americas APAC EMEA



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download latest free sample report of 2020-2024: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30014

Continuous Basalt Fiber Market 2019-2023: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our continuous basalt fiber market report covers the following areas:

Continuous Basalt Fiber Market size

Continuous Basalt Fiber Market trends

Continuous Basalt Fiber Market analysis

This study identifies increase in renewable power generation as one of the prime reasons driving the continuous basalt fiber market growth during the next few years.

Continuous Basalt Fiber Market 2019-2023: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the continuous basalt fiber market, including some of the vendors such as Jiangsu Green Materials Vally New Material T&D, JiLin Tongxin Basalt Technology, Kamenny Vek, Shanxi Basalt Fiber Technology, and Technobasalt-Invest. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the continuous basalt fiber market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Continuous Basalt Fiber Market 2019-2023: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2019-2023

Detailed information on factors that will assist continuous basalt fiber market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the continuous basalt fiber market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the continuous basalt fiber market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of continuous basalt fiber market vendors

Table Of Contents:

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Market segmentation analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing 2018

Market size and forecast 2018-2023

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY APPLICATION

Market segmentation by application

Comparison by application

Construction Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Molding Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Electrical and electronics Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Automotive Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Others Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Market opportunity by application

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Americas Market size and forecast 2018-2023

EMEA Market size and forecast 2018-2023

APAC Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 11: MARKET TRENDS

Increasing renewable power generation

Increasing demand for sustainable building materials

Use of basalt fiber in 3D printing

PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Jiangsu Green Materials Vally New Material T&D

JiLin Tongxin Basalt Technology

Kamenny Vek

Shanxi Basalt Fiber Technology

Technobasalt-Invest

PART 14: APPENDIX

List of abbreviations

Research methodology

PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005286/en/

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It is deeply disheartening and concerning that the FEC will again be missing in action as the country enters the home stretch of the 2020 election. The American people need a watchdog devoted to enforcing the anti-corruption laws on the books and ensuring transparency of the billions of dollars being spent to influence their votes, Meredith McGehee, executive director of Issue One, which supports greater regulation of money in politics, said in a statement.
Trump has long called Obamacare a disgrace, but Republicans have yet to propose a popular replacement for the law.

President Donald Trumps administration petitioned the United States Supreme Court to invalidate the Obamacare law introduced by his predecessor that added millions to the healthcare safety net, seeking to scrap coverage during the novel coronavirus crisis.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco, in a filing late on Thursday night, argued for the administration that the Affordable Care Act (ACA)  one of former Democratic President Barack Obamas signature achievements  became invalid after the previous, Republican-led Congress axed parts of it.

No further analysis is necessary; once the individual mandate and the guaranteed-issue and community-rating provisions are invalidated, the remainder of the ACA cannot survive, Francisco wrote, adding that lawmakers in 2017 did not show that they intended for the ACA to continue in the absence of these three integral provisions.

Protesters, mostly handicapped, line the hallway outside the Senate Finance Committee hearing room hours before a hearing on the Republican effort to repeal Obamacare on Capitol Hill [File: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]

The move is sure to ignite further political controversy and elevate healthcare as a major election issue. Trump is seeking re-election in November against Obamas vice president, Joe Biden, who has promised to protect health insurance coverage for Americans under the law.

The Trump administrations filing came the same day the US set a new record for a one-day increase in cases of the fatal and highly contagious coronavirus. The disease has killed thousands of Americans and forced millions to lose their jobs, including any employer-based health benefits they may have had.

Cruel and immoral

Democrats, who had asked the top court separately to declare that ACA did not violate the US constitution and have proposed to shore up the laws provisions, blasted the move as cruel and immoral, particularly amid the outbreak.

President Trump and the Republicans campaign to rip away the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus crisis is an act of unfathomable cruelty, Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.









Biden, in a campaign speech on Thursday, warned that without the law insurers could consider COVID-19 complications a pre-existing condition and refuse to pay for any needed care.

Its cruel, its heartless, its callous, he said.

The US is the nation worst-hit by COVID-19, with more than 124,000 deaths and 2.4 million infections.

Passed in 2010, the ACA helped about 20 million Americans obtain medical insurance either through government programmes or through policies from private insurers made available in government-run marketplaces.

It also includes some popular provisions such as prohibiting health insurers from denying coverage to Americans with known health conditions.

Truck driver Oswaldo Monroy, 62, is tested for COVID-19 at an International Brotherhood of Teamsters testing site, as the spread of the coronavirus disease continues in California [Lucy Nicholson/Reuters]

Unlawful failure

Republicans view the law as excessive government intrusion into the healthcare market. Trump has criticised its costs and promised a different plan since his 2016 campaign, although he and his fellow Republicans have yet to propose a formal replacement. He has also said he supports protecting those with pre-existing medical conditions even as his administration has moved to invalidate the law.

Obamacare has been an unlawful failure and further illustrates the need to focus on patient care, White House spokesman Judd Deere was quoted as saying by The Washington Post after Thursdays filing, adding that Congress should work on a bipartisan basis with the president to provide quality, affordable care.

Representatives for the White House could not be reached immediately for comment early on Friday.

Texas and 17 other Republican-led states have joined the Trump administration in seeking to challenge the law.
Moselmane has publicly praised Xi Jinping's "unswerving" leadership during the pandemic - FACEBOOK

Australian intelligence officers and police raided the home and office of an opposition politician Friday as part of an investigation into alleged Chinese influence operations, officials said.

Security agents searched the properties linked to New South Wales state legislator Shaoquett Moselmane, amid long-standing allegations of links to the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation confirmed to AFP that "search warrant activity is occurring in Sydney as part of an ongoing investigation".

They added that there was no "specific threat to the community."

Moselmane's pro-Beijing stance has long raised eyebrows even among colleagues in the Labor Party.

New South Wales Labor Party leader Jodi McKay told reporters she was informed about the operation on Moselmane's home and office and said she had begun the process of suspending his membership of the party.

"It's dreadfully concerning," she said. "It's important that every MP focuses on the people in their state."

Moselmane has publicly praised Xi Jinping's "unswerving" leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, contrasting it favourably with Australia's own response.

Local media have reported he hired a staffer who trained at Beijing's Chinese Academy of Governance, a school of party members going into public office.

The operation is another signal of Australian authorities' new willingness to tackle allegations of Chinese subversion of Australian politics and is likely to raise the temperature in an already fractious relationship between Beijing and Canberra.

Last year the former head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Duncan Lewis, said China wanted to "take over" Australia's political system with an "insidious" and systematic campaign of espionage and influence peddling".
Fidelis Nwansa, a resident pastor of the Christ Holy Church, Asaba, the Delta state capital, has been arrested by the police in the state over allegation of possessing six rifles.

Onome Onovwakpoyeya, the police spokesperson confirmed the news on Thursday, saying the rifles were discovered on the church premises.

According to Police spokesperson, when the pastor was arrested, he claimed that he belonged to a local vigilante group in Anambra and was using the rifles to protect his church.

According to him, the command has since commenced an investigation to establish the purpose of the firearms.

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Our men arrested the pastor and recovered six rifles. The police also nab the head of the vigilante identified as Freeman, Onovwakpoyeya said.

The six rifles were discovered in an uncompleted building within the premises of the church in Asaba.

Upon his arrest, the pastor claimed that he belongs to a vigilante group in Anambra and that he was using the guns to protect his church.

However, we are investigating the matter to ascertain the genuineness of the man.

Read Also: Police Arrest Man For Impersonating Abba Kyaris Widow

Hafiz Inuwa, the state commissioner of police, also said the pastors arrest was made by the force during a mop-up operation.

Some people from across the Niger have started or are bringing in vigilantes and criminals to Delta State in the name of providing security for churches and hotels, forgetting the fact that it is illegal to do that, because a vigilante from another state cannot come and operate in this state, he said.

Secondly, they are carrying sophisticated firearms. There is every indication that once they bring these people, they are also engaged in criminality. So, we have recovered six pump action rifles.
People line up for COVID-19 tests at a makeshift clinic at Wangsung Church in Seoul, Friday, after one of the churchgoers tested positive for the virus. Yonhap



By Bahk Eun-ji



Health authorities said Friday they will allow family members to visit patients in nursing homes and care facilities from July 1, following growing complaints from patients and their families.



All elderly care facilities have been shut down since March to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among the vulnerable population.



But the quarantine authorities have imposed some conditions.



Visits will only be allowed in a space near the facility's entrance or outdoors. Reservations will be required and visitors will be asked to disinfect their hands and wear masks and plastic gloves. They will also be checked for virus symptoms and have their temperature taken.



Transparent barriers, such as glass doors or curtains, should be installed to prevent physical contact. There also will be restrictions on eating food.



"We will allow visits in a limited way at nursing homes and facilities from July," said Yoon Tae-ho, a senior official at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters, during a regular briefing at the Government Complex in Sejong.



As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued for more than five months, concerns have been raised that patients and residents who cannot see their families have been feeling more isolated and depressed.



Under the conditions, where a patient has mobility difficulties, visitors will be required to wear personal protective gear and the meeting will take place in a single room where they are separated from others.



The authorities will require facilities to be disinfected and ventilated frequently. After visits, patients will be monitored for any suspicious symptoms such as coughing, a high fever or a sore throat.



"Based on the rate of occurrence of the virus infection cases by region, the city and provincial governors can decide whether or not they are going to allow visitors to those facilities," Yoon said.



"The level of quarantine measures for visiting the nursing facilities can be adjusted according to changes in the virus situation and the stage of social distancing measures."



The health authorities, however, still remain anxious over the steady rise in infection clusters and imported cases and they are putting in extra efforts to contain the spread of the virus.



According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (KCDC), the country added 39 cases Friday, including 27 local infections, raising the total caseload to 12,602. The death toll remained unchanged at 282.



Of the local infections, at least 12 were traced to a church in southern Seoul, the KCDC said. Health authorities are conducting tests on about 1,700 people who came in contact with the patients. The infections appeared linked to close contacts via choir activities or a workshop program.


This 1998 file frame from video provided by C-SPAN shows George Nader, then-president and editor of Middle East Insight. Read more

ALEXANDRIA, Va.  A Lebanese American businessman who was a key witness in special counsel Robert Muellers report and who helped broker the release of American hostages was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison sentence on child sex charges.

George Nader pleaded guilty in January to bringing a 14-year-old boy from the Czech Republic to the U.S. 20 years ago to engage in sexual activity. He also acknowledged possessing child pornography.

Nader's name appears more than 100 times in the Mueller report. It details Naders efforts to serve as liaison between Russians and members of President Donald Trumps transition team.

In the 1990s, Nader served as a broker to facilitate the release of American hostages held in the Middle East.

The convictions carried a 10-year mandatory minimum. The judge could have imposed a longer term, though prosecutors also recommended a 10-year sentence.

Nader also agreed to pay $150,000 in restitution to the Czech boy he abused, who is now an adult and testified at Friday's sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria by phone.

George destroyed practically my entire life, and I am trying to put it back together piece by piece, he said through a translator.

Naders interest in children and his status as a behind-the-scenes power player both extend back decades. And theres at least some indication that the latter shielded him from the consequences of the former.

Almost 30 years ago, Nader was caught by customs officials transporting two films, hidden in candy tins, of minor boys into the U.S. He received a six-month sentence, a term that prosecutors in the current case acknowledge is far below what would be expected of such a crime today.

In 1991, as he awaited sentencing, his case was twice delayed so he could continue his work on hostage negotiations. Court records cited by his current defense lawyers indicate that British hostage Jon McCarthy and American hostage Edward Tracy were released in July of that year and that Nader played an outsized role in securing the release. Participants in the negotiations wrote letters to the judge on Naders behalf.

Later, in 2003, Nader sentenced to a 1-year prison term in the Czech Republic after being convicted there on 10 counts of sexually abusing minors and sentenced to a one-year prison term in 2003.

Prosecutors say the abused boys were largely child prostitutes. The 14-year-old boy brought to the U.S. also alleged he was victimized by Nader int he Czech case, though Naders lawyers say he wasnt convicted there. The two sides dispute the extent of abuse inflicted on the boy in the U.S. but Nader has admitted to one sex act.

Nader used his contacts and his wealth to accomplish bringing the Czech boy into the U.S., prosecutor Jay Prabhu wrote.

The current case against Nader began in 2018 when images were found on his phone after it was confiscated under a search warrant connected to the Mueller probe.

The images found in Naders phones at Dulles International Airport ended up not being the basis for the child-pornography conviction. Instead, prosecutors relied on images and videos he received via email in 2012 that in some cases involved sadistic depictions of infants or toddlers.

Even though it had no bearing on the sentence Nader received, defense lawyers and prosecutors continued to argue at Friday's sentencing hearing as to whether the images found on the phone were child pornography. Nader's attorney, Jonathan Jeffress, acknowledged that the photos showed naked children and were obscene, but said they amounted to dirty jokes and that Nader had put his struggles with child pornography behind him in 2012.

Prosecutors say the images included clear depictions of child pornography and bestiality and show that Nader is a lifelong recidivist.

Parts of the sentencing papers detailing Naders testimony to the special counsel remain blacked out.

Nader, for his part, apologized for his actions at Friday's hearing.

I have listened to whats been said about me, he said. I can say I am sincerely, deeply sorry for the suffering I have caused.
TIRANA, Albania - An Albanian appeals court on Friday ordered the re-trial of a former interior minister who was convicted of abuse of office last year.

The basis for the Tirana Appeals Court judges decision to overturn last years conviction was not immediately clear. The former minister, Saimir Tahiri, called Fridays ruling a return to point zero that is unfair and told journalists, I guarantee I have never committed a crime.

A lower court In September sentenced Tahiri to three years of probation for abuse of office but acquitted him of charges based on his alleged ties to a criminal network suspected of trafficking large amounts of marijuana.

Prosecutors first accused Tahiri of alleged links to drug trafficking, corruption and involvement in a criminal organization. They tied the case to some of Tahiris relatives who were arrested or jailed for drug trafficking in Italy and Albania.

Tahiri, who served as interior minister during 2013-2017, resigned as a lawmaker with the governing Socialist Party in May 2018 and briefly held under house arrest.

Albania was once known as a European crossroads for marijuana trafficking, but there are now more cases involving the trafficking of heroin and cocaine trafficking to Western European countries.
As it reopens to visitors, Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, on behalf of the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada, today announced emergency federal support for the Vancouver Aquarium.

Federal support for iconic BC tourist attraction affected by COVID-19

Totaling $2 million, this federal funding will support essential services at the aquarium, assisting it through the recovery period. This will help it to reopen to visitors, cover operational costs and ensure the survival of its marine animals.

Operated by the Ocean Wise Conservation Association, the Vancouver Aquarium has been an iconic BC attraction for over 60 years, thrilling residents of the Lower Mainland and tourists from around the world. Yet COVID-19 has resulted in its closure over the past few months, hurting revenues, imperiling jobs and threatening the aquarium's ability to provide for the thousands of animals in its care.

The Government of Canada is committed to providing the support and resources needed to ensure that British Columbia remains a world-leading tourist destination.

Quick facts:

Operated by the OWCA, the Vancouver Aquarium is a marquee tourist attraction offering a rich mixture of marine conservation, education and scientific programming, and is Canada's only marine mammal rescue facility.

only marine mammal rescue facility. The Vancouver Aquarium is home to thousands of ocean species, including rescued seals, sea lions and otters.

According to Destination BC, the tourism industry in British Columbia generated $20.5 billion in revenue in 2018 and employed 161,500 people.

Quotes

"From majestic sharks to adorable sea lions, it's not hard to see why the Vancouver Aquarium is one of British Columbia's most beloved tourist attractions. While COVID-19 has had a serious impact on tourism, this significant support from Western Economic Diversification Canada will help the aquarium keep delighting visitors from across the Lower Mainland and around the world. Our message to the tourism industry is clear: we're working with you to support good jobs and help BC tourism come back strong."

- The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada

"Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, over 1 million visitors a year experienced the rich mixture of education and scientific programming offered by the Vancouver Aquarium. This funding will allow the Ocean Wise Conservation Association to continue inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards while providing the critical conservation work that keeps our oceans safe."

- Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard and Member of Parliament for Burnaby North  Seymour

"British Columbia's tourism sector has been hard hit by COVID-19 pandemic and needs help to recover in time for Canadians to explore their communities this summer and beyond. That is why we are providing targeted support to facilities like the Vancouver Aquarium that help attract visitors and support our local economy. We will continue to make every effort to keep Canadians safe while helping communities rebuild in the post-COVID-19 economy."

- Terry Duguid, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (Western Economic Diversification Canada) and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change (Canada Water Agency)

"Ocean Wise is very grateful to the federal government for this emergency funding. Since closing the not-for-profit Vancouver Aquarium in March due to COVID-19, we lost almost all revenues while still being faced with more than $1 million a month in animal care and facility costs. We are still fighting for the Vancouver Aquarium's long-term survival, but this support from Western Economic Diversification Canada is crucial. We are hopeful that the community will continue to support the 64-year-old Vancouver Aquarium, by buying a ticket and coming back to visit us, once we reopen to the public on June 26th."

- Lasse Gustavsson, President and CEO, Ocean Wise Conservation Association

Additional links

Follow the department on Twitter: @WD_Canada

WD Homepage

WD Toll-Free Number: 1-888-338-WEST (9378)

TTY (telecommunications device for the hearing impaired): 1-877-303-3388

IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.

SOURCE Western Economic Diversification Canada

For further information: Alexander Cohen, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, [email protected]; Amanda Costa, A/Regional Communications Manager, Western Economic Diversification Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, 604-603-9480, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.wd.gc.ca/


The most recent occurrence of alleged police brutality has once again led to the death of an African-American man, George Floyd. As the incident was recorded, we were able to witness the sheer callousness and disregard for life demonstrated by the officers. Literally, we see Mr. Floyd gasp his last breath under the knee of a white policeman, while begging for help from his deceased mother. It is with disbelief, heartbreak, and ,sometimes uncontrollable anger, that we stand watching our beloved country and its leaders accept and condone these actions.

Ahmaud Arbery, the young black man who lost his life while simply exercising his civil right to jog on a public street, was cornered and killed by these white men because of their racial motivation. You only have to view the video of Ahmaud Arbery to realize the wanton and sick disregard the McMichaels had for the life of this young man. This image raises the memory of so many dark days in America, such as the Emmitt Till murder, and far too many others.
Iran's defense ministry said an explosion near a key military site was caused by a gas tank leak, a blast that lit up the night sky over Tehran and shook residents.

No military installations have been affected by the incident close to the Parchin base south of the capital, ministry spokesman Davoud Abdi said in comments broadcast on state TV early Friday. The fire was put out by emergency services and no casualties were reported, Abdi said.
Manitoba students should anticipate in-person instruction in September, the education minister said, but the decision about how classes will roll out in the fall isn't expected until Aug. 1.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/6/2020 (576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba students should anticipate in-person instruction in September, the education minister said, but the decision about how classes will roll out in the fall isn't expected until Aug. 1.

Schools are to prepare for three scenarios: in-class learning for all grades, with near-normal conditions; in-class learning with physical distancing in kindergarten to Grade 8 and potential blended learning for high schoolers; and remote learning with a limited use of school facilities.

In the first case, students would be able to resume school in full classes while maintaining good hygiene.

Kindergarten teacher, Kristy Frohwerk, prepares her classroom at Lord Nelson School for the eventual return of students by covering up a LEGO table on June 25, 2020. (Shannon VanRaes / Winnipeg Free Press)

The second scenario would involve in-person instruction in smaller classes or regular groups in rooms with adequate space for desks to be two metres apart, as well as cohorting (creating groups  whether they be a single class or grade, multiple classes or grades, or otherwise  in which students are allowed to intermingle).

K-8 students would be able to attend school five days a week, but high schoolers may experience blended learning, if schools cannot accommodate physical distancing with full attendance. If space in a high school is limited, Grade 9-12 students would be expected to attend a minimum of two days of classroom instruction weekly.

"All signs indicate right now that based on how things are proceeding in Manitoba that we should have all students back in class in September (for the second scenario)," Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen said Thursday, flanked by Dr. Brent Roussin, at a news conference at the legislature.

If the third option is selected, classes would mostly be taught from afar, but teachers would be able to invite students back for limited in-person instruction. The options available to students would be similar to what schools offered throughout June.

Stairs and hallways are marked with coloured tape at Lord Nelson School in Winnipeg to encourage social distancing. (Shannon VanRaes / Winnipeg Free Press)

Ultimately, public health officials will pick a scenario halfway through the summer, before teachers and students return, on Sept. 2 and 8, respectively. They will take into account a combination of figures and trends. Roussin said experts will look at the COVID-19 case count, the rate of positive tests, community-based transmission, the number of respiratory-related visits to emergency rooms and the availability of hospital beds.

No matter the scenario, students who have compromised immune systems or who live in a household with someone who is at risk will be able to learn remotely.

Goertzen said families can be confident Manitoba Education will follow "good public health advice." Such advice will dictate a return with fewer, if any, large assemblies, socially distant extracurricular activities and staggered recesses. Phys-ed, music class and high school elective lists are expected to be different next year.

"The priorities have to first be on those core subjects, if there is a space challenge," the minister said, naming math, science and literacy.

A poster advises of COVID-19 restrictions at Lord Nelson School. (Shannon VanRaes / Winnipeg Free Press)

Kamlesh Sharmas family met the announcement with optimism. "My kids would love to (go) back to school because theyve had a long winter," said Sharma, whose daughter will enter Grade 4 and son will enter Grade 7 in Seven Oaks School Division next year.

One of the biggest challenges for families, Goertzen said, will be getting children to school  a task the province will rely on parents to help with. Students from the same household will be able to share a school bus seat; otherwise, each seat will be assigned to a single student.

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.

"Its going to be a challenge, but were up for the challenge," said Kristy Frohwerk, a kindergarten teacher at Lord Nelson School. "No matter what, we plan to meet all students' needs; our goal is really just for them to feel happy, safe and welcome coming back."

Kindergarten teacher, Kristy Frohwerk, prepares her classroom at Lord Nelson School for the eventual return of students. (Shannon VanRaes / Winnipeg Free Press)

Every September, Frohwerk teaches her students about germs, but she said this years lessons will be even more robust. In a way, she said she has the benefit of teaching students who are new to school for the first time  even though they will undoubtedly struggle with social distancing while lining up and walking down hallways.

Manitoba Teachers Society president James Bedford said hes pleased there is a framework for a return to school, but teachers have questions about everything from cohort size to how music class can be taught. Its unclear how substitute teachers will operate if they are working at a number of schools during the week, Bedford said.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
Pakistan's foreign office claims India had committed 1,440 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control in six months

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday said it was not in favour of escalating tensions with India, days after it told Islamabad to reduce the staff in its high commission in New Delhi by half.

The Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday the Charge d'Affaires of Pakistan High Commission was summoned and informed about the decision which was based on instances of involvement of Pakistani officials in "acts of espionage" and "dealings with terrorist organisations".

The activities of the two Pakistani mission officials caught red-handed and expelled on May 31 this year was one example, the MEA said in a statement.

India would "reciprocally reduce its own presence in Islamabad to the same proportion. This decision, which is to be implemented in seven days, was conveyed to the Pakistani Charge d'Affaires," the statement said.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui told the media that India's move to reduce the Pakistani High Commission's staff strength by 50 per cent was a part of its desperate attempts to divert attention from Kashmir.

"Pakistan has no desire to escalate the situation. We have always reacted with restraint. However, violation of diplomatic norms by Indian officials in Islamabad and India's continued belligerent attitude is a threat to regional peace and security," she said.

"Pakistan has been consistently sensitising the world community that irresponsible policies of the BJP government are increasingly imperiling regional peace and stability," she said.

When asked about the possibility of cooperation with India to contain the COVID-19 and locusts, she said the "global pandemic is a common challenge demanding international cooperation among all the countries."

Farooqui also said that Pakistan under the aegis of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was participating in meetings with India, Afghanistan, and Iran on a weekly basis and having a fruitful exchange of information regarding the border areas of Pakistan and India.

"We believe that the respective Technical Teams have been coordinating appropriately through FAO," she said.

Farooqui claimed that India had committed 1,440 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control in six months, resulting in 13 deaths and serious injuries to 104 innocent civilians.

"We condemn the targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian forces, which are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding and in complete disregard for international human rights and international norms," she said.

The spokesperson also said that the Afghan peace process had reached a critical stage following the signing of the landmark US-Taliban Peace Agreement. "We hope that the release of prisoners will be completed as agreed in the US-Taliban Peace Agreement at the earliest to pave the way for the start of Intra-Afghan Negotiations, she said.

Farooquis said it was up to the Afghan parties to decide the venue for Intra-Afghan negotiations.

To another question on a new US law which calls for "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020", she said the issue of Xinjiang was an internal matter of China.

"Pakistan's position is clear and consistent. We believe matters related to Xinjiang are China's internal affairs, she said.
Burma Top Myanmar General, Indian Defense Chief Talk Border Security, Insurgency

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing visits India. / Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services

NAYPYITAWMyanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met this week to discuss how to promote ties between their countries armed forces, border security and counter-insurgency operations along the border.

The two met in Moscow on the sidelines of an event to mark the 75th anniversary of Russian Victory Day, which commemorates the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945 at the end of World War II.

The [Myanmar military] is already friendly with the Indian military. [The two] discussed border stability, border region management and [plans] to prevent terrorists from hiding along the border, Myanmar military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy.

The spokesman said Myanmar has a policy of zero tolerance towards any armed organization attempting to use its territory to launch attacks against the government of a neighboring country. He said that, based on this policy, the Myanmar military carried out an operation against anti-Indian government rebels in 2019.

In May, the Myanmar government handed 22 ethnic Assam and Meitei rebels over to the Indian government in Sagaing Region as the rebels belong to groups fighting against the Indian government from bases along the Myanmar-India border.

Myanmar received its first submarine from India last year, a Russian-made Kilo-class diesel-electric attack submarine, and India continues to provide technical support for the submarine, according to the military spokesman.

The submarine we acquired from India was originally slated to be officially commissioned into service before March 27 [Myanmars Armed Forces Day], but this had to be suspended due to COVID-19. When [the pandemic] is under control, we will officially put the submarine into service, said Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun.

Political analyst Dr. Yan Myo Thein said military cooperation is part of increasingly close ties between the two governments.

The Myanmar military has attached greater importance to its ties with India in order to balance out Chinese influence. The defense cooperation will mainly focus on defense equipment and joint military operations, said Dr. Yan Myo Thein.

Last year, New Delhi made the bold move of inviting Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing to India shortly after the US announced that the Myanmar military chief and his deputy, Vice Senior General Soe Win and two other senior military officers were banned from entering the country. Indias invitation came amid increasing pressure and sanctions from some Western countries against the Myanmar military over human rights abuses as well as prolonged fighting in Rakhine State.

The senior general and the Indian defense minister discussed how to cooperate on security to ensure the successful implementation of the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project across the Mizoram border, according to Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun.

The project is expected to open sea routes and a highway transport system linking the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata with the countrys landlocked northeastern state of Mizoram through Myanmars Rakhine and Chin states.

Chin States Paletwa Township and the north of adjacent Rakhine State have seen heavy fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) since late 2018.

Last year, the AA disrupted the movement of materials for the Indian partnership project along the Kaladan river. It kidnapped Indian employees traveling by boat from Paletwa to Kyauktaw and an Indian man died in detention.

According to some observers in Myanmar, India believes that China is playing a part in the AAs disruptions to the Kaladan project.

Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun has also said that a foreign country is behind the AA, citing the modern technologies the AA has allegedly used in mine attacks on the military in Rakhine State.

The spokesman once told The Irrawaddy that the ethnic armed group, which the Myanmar government and military declared a terrorist organization earlier this year, has modern technologies to trigger landmines via mobile phones, walkie-talkies, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

During his visit to Russia, Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing told Russia-based RT News Agency that the Myanmar military is planning to hold the 75th Anniversary of Armed Forces Day after it had to postpone the event due to COVID-19 in March.

We intend to hold the event if and when COVID-19 can be controlled to a certain extent. So, if circumstances allow, we will take action to hold it, said Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Military: Rakhine Internet Blackout Still Required to Protect Military Secrets

Chinese-Made Arms Due for Myanmar Seized on Thai Border

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New Delhi: The National Company Law Tribunal on Friday asked the government to appoint two nominees to the governing body of Delhi Gymkhana Club as well as set-up a five-member committee to look into the alleged irregularities, officials told Hindustan Times.

The NCLT in its verbal judgment also said that the Delhi Gymkhana club, which is in the midst of a take-over battle by the Centre, will be allowed to make no new policy decisions, appoint new members and/or begin new constructions. The next date of hearing has been set at 7 September when the five-member committee will submit its report.

Delhi Gymkhana president Lt. Gen. D.R. Soni (retd.) said that the club will work with whatever orders are issued.

We will do our best to follow whatever orders are issued, earlier restrictions have been continued, Soni told Hindustan Times.

This a big win for the government as the interim orders addresses the concerns that were raised, an MCA official privy to the developments told Hindustan Times.

The Delhi Gymkhana, which shares a wall with the Prime Ministers residence, has been under investigation for around three years. The central government has cited parivarwaad (nepotism), financial irregularities, misuse of allocated land and issues related to membership as the primary reasons behind its move to acquire the Delhi Gymkhana Club.

The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) filed a petition, seen by the Hindustan Times, with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking to take over the premier club.

The government had asked for the dissolution of the governing body and the appointment of an administrator as interim relief.

Not all feel that the order favours the government. A former Delhi Gymkhana official told Hindustan Times that the order was neither a win nor a loss for either side.

The order is primarily saying two things  one, that the administration of Gymkhana is allowed to continue, said the former Gymkhana official. The two nominees that will be appointed will be filing two vacancies. So basically NCLT has said that the government will fill the vacancies.

The former Gymkhana official added that the second point was that the NCLT is not yet convinced of all the irregularities, and has hence, asked the government to appoint a five-member team.

The team is investigative in nature, not administrative, the former official said adding that the case was still wide open and could go anywhere.

A Gymkhana board member, however, said that the order was not exactly a positive for the Club.

The governing council has been allowed to function, which is a good thing considering it is a democratically elected body, said the official. But we have to realise that a handful of people who hold a grudge against the Club have caused all these troubles.

The official added that there was no clarity on the mandate of the committee or the observers that the government has been asked to appoint. We will have to wait for the written order to understand the nuances.

As a member for last 49 years, all I can say is that this is not tenable in a court of law. The case has a weak leg to stand on. Once the Club lawyers receive a copy of the judgment, they will be able to respond better, said Sameer Singh.
The B.C. government says it is extending temporary layoff provisions until the end of August, giving employers and workers more flexibility to support economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Labour Minister Harry Bains says the extension to a maximum of 24 weeks allows employers and employees to work out agreements during the pandemic, while still protecting a worker's right to receive severance pay.

The government extended the period to 16 weeks last month, but employers and the Opposition Liberals were calling for a further extension to help businesses facing bankruptcy and to align with the federal Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

Bains says the government heard from employers that the extension was needed.

He says it's important to make sure that workers know they have to be involved in the agreement with their employer to extend the temporary layoff and have a right to decline the layoff and accept compensation.

Opposition Liberal labour critic John Martin says if the extension was not granted, thousands of people would have lost their jobs, and many businesses would have gone bankrupt.

Recall rights should be extended: hotel workers

But not everyone was pleased with the announcement.

Zailda Chan, the UNITE HERE Local 40 president, said there are still no protections for workers themselves, saying they are vulnerable to a wave of terminations come September.

"We are incredibly disappointed by the government's decision today to extend temporary layoffs and delay severance to help the business community without any protections for workers," Chan said in a statement.

James Milling, a doorman at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, was laid off from his job halfway through March. He says he's been lucky because his wife, an essential worker, is still able to work but he's worried about making ends meet when the CERB period ends.

Milling says he's worried he will lose his job because he is nearing the deadline of his recall rights  the right of an employee to return to the job they were in.

Story continues

"If an employee is unable to work or does not work for a set period of time, at the end of that period they would be considered terminated by that employer," Milling said.

"What it means is at the end of the September, the employees that they have currently in limbo  like myself  will simply no longer have a job."

Milling says he's hoping the government can extend recall rights for workers, so that if they are forced to remain laid off for the next few months, they wouldn't lose their jobs.

"Vancouver is a world-class destination ... it may take some time, but we're all here waiting, myself and my colleagues ... to get back to work and welcome people back."
President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian today hosted Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France Jonathan Lacote; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy Vincenzo del Monaco and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Lithuania Inga Stanyte-Tolockiene. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Avet Adonts also attended the meeting.

The head of state particularly touched upon the situation created as a result of the coronavirus and talked about a number of challenges, including the economic hardships, the issue of food safety, the recent events in Armenia, as well as the Constitution and the constitutional reforms and answered the diplomats questions regarding these topics.

Talking about the constitutional reforms, President Sarkissian said the following: The Constitution needs to be balanced and based on checks and balances. I am glad that the government has started working in this direction. I support implementation of the constitutional reforms.

Taking the opportunity, the head of state expressed gratitude to Armenias international partners for supporting Armenia in these difficult times. Stating that everyone is living in difficult times and that they will continue for a long time, the President attached importance to mutual assistance and joint efforts. If we dont work together, we will limit our success. I am thankful for our friendship, he said.
LONDON (Reuters) - Famed for snapping up glitzy real estate and stakes in troubled international banks during the global financial crisis, sovereign wealth funds are investing more at home, a trend set to accelerate in the wake of the economic carnage wrought by COVID-19.

Some of these state-owned entities, such as Singapores Temasek Holdings, already acted more as development funds aimed at supporting their countries economies, but many of them are considered rainy day funds - meaning they will have a big role in helping governments to manage the fallout from the pandemic.

There has been a flurry of recent domestic deals, such as Turkeys fund injecting 21 billion lira ($3.1 billion) into three state banks and Temasek supporting a $1.5 billion rights issue by Sembcorp Marine.

Thats in addition to withdrawals from the Nigerian and Norwegian funds to help their governments deal with the economic impact of the virus.

While the lions share of sovereign fund investments is still overseas, domestic deals are on the rise. They accounted for 21% of private equity deals in 2019 - already a doubling from 2015 levels, according to the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF).

GRAPHIC: Sovereign wealth fund direct investments - here

Id expect greater levels of investment in domestic economies going forward, said Will Jackson-Moore, global private equity, real assets and sovereign funds leader, PwC.

That said, the best opportunities in international markets are going to be in the next 18 months. If theres demand for short-term emergency funding (from governments) then that could be more of a conflict and it will come down to how governments and sovereign wealth funds balance that.

Analysts say returns at home may not necessarily be poorer, particularly if funds can cherry pick deals. Also, many are located in emerging markets, where expected gains can be larger. The rub comes if their remit also includes aiding the development of local economies, in which case some of the payback can flow to the economy as well as the fund.

Qatar made its name more than a decade ago in the aftermath of the global financial crisis when its sovereign fund vehicles snapped up stakes in Credit Suisse, Barclays and Volkswagen at a time when illiquidity meant many asset prices were low.

This year, Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund (PIF), which manages over $300 billion in assets, is making similar waves, last month disclosing stakes in Boeing Co (BA.N), Citigroup Inc (C.N), Facebook Inc (FB.O), Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) and Marriott.

Still, the PIF is redoubling its domestic focus, said a source familiar with the fund. Its aim is to ensure its portfolio of local assets under management sits at 75% by the end of 2020. PIF did not respond to a request about its current weighting.

Its a not dissimilar story for other funds.

Many sovereign wealth funds will support national budgets to finance the recovery or support healthcare systems, said Javier Capape, director of sovereign wealth research at the IE Center for the Governance of Change, pointing to the examples of the sovereign funds of Iran, Kuwait and PIF.

Irelands fund formed a rescue package for small and medium-sized enterprises, while Temasek has helped accelerate the production of a vaccine. Abu Dhabis Mubadala was set to play a key role in propping up neighbouring Dubais economy by linking up assets in the two emirates, sources said last month.

Mubadala declined comment at the time.

RAINY DAY

While the financial pain caused by the virus is undoubtedly the rainy day sovereign funds have been built for, governments are having to weigh their use of resources now against the prospect of providing windfalls for future generations. That dilemma is especially stark in the case of oil wealth funds as hydrocarbon revenues are expected to wane in future years.

Even before the coronavirus and the plunge in oil prices, drawdowns from Kuwaits General Reserve Fund, managed by the countrys sovereign fund, meant its assets are estimated by Fitch Ratings to have fallen for the sixth year in a row.

The Kuwait Investment Authority didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority, not an oil-based fund, will raise the liquidity of its portfolio to ensure it can provide funds for maintaining Hong Kongs monetary and financial stability, while meeting the governments needs in withdrawing fiscal reserve deposits to deal with the epidemic, a spokesperson said.

A recent IFSWF survey of oil and non-oil sovereign funds found only two out of 10 said their governments had sought funds, with the same number saying they had received requests to support additional government projects.

Instead of tapping their rainy day funds, several governments including Gulf states and Kazakhstan have tapped debt capital markets to cover budget shortfalls. Mubadala last month raised $4 billion in bonds.

It is interesting the use of leverage to finance the buying spree, it makes sense that sovereign wealth funds prefer to go to the debt markets than withdrawing private equity valuable positions at a loss nowadays, said Capape.

($1 = 6.8578 liras)
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 26, 2020) - Clean Air Metals Inc. (formerly Regency Gold Corp.) (TSXV: AIR) ("Clean Air" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the shareholders of the Company approved all matters at its annual general meeting ("AGM") held on June 25, 2020, as follows:

setting the number of directors at five (5); the election of Abraham Drost, James Gallagher, Dean Chambers, MaryAnn Crichton and Ewan Downie as directors of the Company for the ensuing year; the approval of a new Bylaw No.1 and repeal of all existing bylaws of the Company; the appointment of Manning Elliott LLP as Auditor for the Company for the ensuing year; and the approval and confirmation of the Company's stock option plan.

The Company is pleased to welcome Ewan Downie to the board of directors of Clean Air (the "Board of Directors"). Mr. Downie has been President & CEO of Premier Gold Mines Ltd. since its inception in 2006. He has been working in the mineral exploration and mining industry for more than 25 years, was the founder of Premier's predecessor, Wolfden Resources Inc., and has participated in several gold and base metal discoveries. Awards include the 2003 recipient of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada's Bill Dennis Prospector of the Year and several Exploration and Development acknowledgements from the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association.

At the post-AGM meeting of the Board of Directors: (i) Jim Gallagher was reappointed as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.; (ii) Independent Director, Dean Chambers, was reappointed as Chair of the Audit Committee; (iii) Independent Director, MaryAnn Crichton, was appointed Chair of the newly formed Sustainability Committee; and (iv) Independent Director, Ewan Downie, was appointed as Chair of the Compensation Committee. The members of Clean Air's senior management team were also reappointed in their current respective capacities.

The Company also announces that it has filed its condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended April 30, 2020. Full details of the financial reports and operating results for the first quarter ended April 30, 2020 are described in the Company's condensed interim consolidated financial statements with accompanying notes and related Management's Discussion and Analysis, available on the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

First Quarter Financial Highlights

In Q1/20, the Company:

Generated gross proceeds of $15 million through the issuance of 75 million subscription receipts at $0.20. Upon satisfaction of certain escrow conditions, each subscription receipt was convertible into one unit consisting of one common share and-half common share purchase warrant, exercisable at $0.30 until February 11, 2022. As at April 30, 2020, a total of $15 million was included in trade and other payables representing the common shares issuable upon conversion. Subsequent to April 30, 2020, all escrow conditions were satisfied and the subscription receipts were converted.

Had a $14.1 million cash balance at April 30, 2020.

Incurred $637,242 of operating expenses.

Entered into a definitive agreement with Benton Resources Inc. ("BEX") (the "Benton Transaction") whereby the Company has acquired an option to acquire a 100% right, title and interest in the Escape Lake property. In addition, BEX also assigned to the Company its rights under a letter of intent previously entered into with Panoramic Resources Inc. ("PAN") pursuant to which BEX acquired the right to acquire 100% of PAN's subsidiary, Panoramic PGMs (Canada) Ltd., which owns the Thunder Bay North project. (See press release dated February 10, 2020 for full details on the Benton Transaction.) As at April 30, 2020, $295,429 was included in deferred acquisition costs representing the costs incurred related to the Benton Transaction prior to closing. Subsequent to April 30, 2020, the Benton Transaction was completed and Panoramic PGMs (Canada) Ltd. became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

Subsequent to April 30, 2020, the Company completed a flow-through financing of common shares at $0.50, generating aggregate gross proceeds of $6.7 million enhancing the Company's liquidity position. The proceeds of the financing will be used to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenditures" that will qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures" (as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada)), including expansion of the drilling program on the Escape Lake intrusion area of the Company's Thunder Bay North project.

CEO Abraham Drost stated that: "We are very pleased to welcome Ewan Downie as an independent Director to the Board of Directors of Clean Air Metals Inc. Ewan is an experienced executive who has supervised the transition of a successful junior explorer to a successful exploration-oriented junior producer with substantial revenues from mineral production. Ewan's appointment complements a strong Board of Directors and senior management team of the Company, all of whom were re-elected for the coming year."

The Company further announces the grant of 750,000 incentive stock options to purchase common shares of the Company to certain directors, employees and consultants, subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. The stock options are exercisable at $0.32 for a period for 5 years from the date of grant, and subject to vesting provisions. The option shares issuable upon exercise of the options are subject to a four-month statutory hold period from the original date of grant.

COVID Policy

Clean Air Metals Inc. has adopted COVID-19 avoidance and personal protection measures for its geological staff, drilling contractor and service suppliers. Personnel are required to maintain physical distance, self-monitor and self-isolate or elect to work from home. Management had previously eliminated plans for a camp setup to service a planned diamond drill campaign on the Escape Lake Project. The Company is aware of Thunder Bay Health Unit guidelines that provide for "mandatory" self-isolation for returning overseas and inter-provincial travel. The guidelines previously also "strongly recommended" self-isolation after travel into the Northwest region from other areas of the Province. Mineral Exploration and Development has been deemed an essential service in the Province of Ontario (http://www.netnewsledger.com/2020/03/23/ontario-covid-19-business-allowed-to-remain-open-list-march-23-2020/). The Company has procured the services of a locally staffed and serviced diamond drilling contractor to complete the Phase 1 and commence the Phase 2 diamond drilling program.

Clean Air Metals Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Panoramic PGMs (Canada) Ltd. acknowledge that the Escape Lake Property is on the traditional territory of the Fort William First Nation and the Red Rock First Nation, signatories to the Robinson-Superior Treaty of 1850.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"Abraham Drost"

Abraham Drost, Chief Executive Officer of Clean Air Metals Inc.

For further information, please contact:

Abraham Drost, Chief Executive Officer of Clean Air Metals Inc.

Phone: 807-252-7800

Email: adrost@cleanairmetals.ca

Website: www.cleanairmetals.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note

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 the TSXV listing, risk related to the 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 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, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

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India has warned China of consequences if it doesn't execute the disengagement understanding both sides agreed upon along the LAC (Line of Actual Control) in eastern Ladakh.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a lengthy statement, cautioned that prolongation of the current situation would adversely impact the development of bilateral relations between two countries.

The ministry pointed out that the on-ground situation along the LAC could not persist indefinitely adding that India expects "the Chinese side to sincerely follow up on this understanding and ensure expeditious restoration of peace and tranquillity in border areas." It further stated that the continuation of the current situation "would only vitiate the atmosphere for development of the relationship".

The statement added, "At the heart of the matter is that since early May, the Chinese side has been amassing a large contingent of troops and armaments along the LAC. This is not in accordance with the previous provisions of our various bilateral agreements."

Also Read: Now, India throws the gauntlet! Imports from China held up at ports since June 22

In what is seen as the sharpest criticism of Chinese conduct over the past few weeks, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that Chinese forces completely disregarded all mutually agreed norms.

He added that "it is a reasonable expectation that patrols will not be obstructed in the discharge of their legitimate duties". The reference was made to Indian patrolling routes along the LAC, comprising areas like Galwan Valley, Depsang, and Pangong Tso.

In response to strong criticism of the MEA by the Chinese foreign ministry earlier, Srivastava answered that "Chinese actions thus far have led to increase in tension in the region and also the violent face-off of June 15 with casualties."

He highlighted that in early May, Chinese soldiers began hindering "India's normal, traditional patrolling pattern in the Galwan Valley area." Although the issue was addressed locally, Chinese forces tried to change the status quo in other parts of the western sector in mid-May, he underscored.

Also Read: India-China conflict: Power firms nudged to exit Chinese contracts

Holding China responsible for the Galwan Valley clashes, the MEA said that Beijing was expected to comply with the agreements reached on June 5. The ministry also "sought to erect structures just across the LAC".

"When this attempt was foiled, Chinese troops took violent actions on June 15 that directly resulted in casualties," the MEA statement underlined adding that India's "counter-deployment" was only in response to Chinese conduct.

This is the first time India has put on record that Chinese behaviour has become more and more aggressive along the LAC, clearly in violation of all understandings and agreements.

"Unfortunately, we have experienced in the last many years, obstruction to patrolling that often accompany efforts to unilaterally change the status quo," MEA enunciated.
Potential Severn Trent Plc (LON:SVT) shareholders may wish to note that the CEO & Executive Director, Olivia Garfield, recently bought UK320k worth of stock, paying UK25.42 for each share. Although the purchase only increased their holding by 7.0%, it is still a solid purchase in our view.

Check out our latest analysis for Severn Trent

Severn Trent Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Olivia Garfield was the biggest purchase of Severn Trent shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of UK24.72. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK532k for 20.95k shares. But insiders sold 21945 shares worth UK527k. Overall, Severn Trent insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

LSE:SVT Insider Trading Volume June 26th 2020

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership of Severn Trent

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.2% of Severn Trent shares, worth about UK9.6m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

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So What Does This Data Suggest About Severn Trent Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. We would certainly prefer see higher levels of insider ownership but analysis of the insider transactions suggests that Severn Trent insiders are expecting a bright future. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Severn Trent (1 is potentially serious) 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.

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.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
(Bloomberg) -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has appointed a longtime veteran to replace Pierre Poignant as Lazada Group Chief Executive Officer, the latest top-level reshuffle at the Chinese e-commerce titans Southeast Asian operation.

Chun Li, who currently runs Lazadas Indonesian business, will take the reins from July, Lazada said in a statement. Li served as chief technology officer for Alibabas business-to-business division between 2014 and 2017 before joining Lazada. He was a chief architect of the firms technology platform and currently serves as a Lazada president, the Singapore-based company said.

Lazada has gone through frequent management shuffles since getting absorbed by Alibaba. Poignant, who co-founded Lazada for Rocket Internet in 2012, was promoted to CEO in 2018 and will now become special assistant to Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang.

Over the past three years, at the regional and country level as well as on the technology and business fronts, I had a full view of both the enormous opportunities as well as challenges facing us, Li said in an email to staff on Friday. He said Lazada will double down on technology investment in the region. With a customer-first mindset, we will strategize better, work smarter and fight harder.

Read more: How Alibabas Lazada Turned Discarded Vegetables Into a Business

Lazada was the first e-commerce outfit to serve six countries in Southeast Asia. The company has grown into an instrumental facet of Alibabas push to expand beyond its home market, spearheading the Chinese firms thrust into a region thats one of the worlds fastest-growing e-commerce and digital payments arenas. Lazada aims to serve 300 million Southeast Asians by 2030, up from 65 million now, Poignant told Bloomberg News earlier this year.

But fiercest rival Shopee, a unit of Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed Sea Ltd., has expanded aggressively in the past year and overtaken Lazada as the regions most visited website in 2019, according to research firm iPrice Group. In Indonesia, the largest and most promising market, Alibaba-backed Tokopedia ranks as the top e-commerce company based on web traffic, followed by Shopee, Bukalapak and Lazada.

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The fundamental shift in global business environment as a result of Covid-19 has created new expectations for Lazada in how to better serve our customers and create value. Under Chuns leadership, I believe we will broaden our horizons and further leverage our technology, Lazada Chairwoman Lucy Peng said in a statement.

Read more: New Alibaba Chief Explains Why He Wants to Kill His Own Business

(Updates with incoming CEOs comments from the fourth paragraph)

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

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2020 Bloomberg L.P.
When Megan Mullally first met Nick Offerman in 2000, she thought he was older. That might have had something to do with his mustache and bald head, shaved for the play they were doing, rather than the fact that the 29-year-old actor and skilled craftsman was living in someone's unfinished basement with no real floor or walls.

"When we met, I was 41, and I'd always had younger guys pursue me, and I was really sick of it," Mullally shared with GQ. "And so I met Nick and I thought, Oh, great,'cause this guy's like 38!'"

She soon found out that he was more than 11 years younger than she is"and I was pissed," she admitted. But what's a few moons difference between soul mates?

In fact, it was only a matter of time before they were sealing the deal, in front of some curious coyotes in a rustic park nestled off one of Los Angeles' famed canyons.

"It was early on and I feel like so many of the pleasures in our marriage have been cruise-directed by Megan, and this was no exception," Offerman said in recalling their date night tryst on a 2018 episode of the podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. "After our play one night, we went to a fancy grocery store, which was a new thing for me, and got a baguette and cheeses and a bottle of nice wine, and she knew the park. She may have been there before me"

"It wasn't my first coyote," Mullally quipped.

But there's been no one she'd rather mate with since.

Surprising Secrets of the Longest Celebrity Relationships

Offerman's look at the time, however, was "not cute," Mullally said, describing her future husband and co-star in an Evidence Room Theatre Company production of The Berlin Circle. "There was a lot of back hair."

Furthermore, upon their first meeting, Offerman was wearing gold-colored overalls that he'd use as a notepad because "he couldn't afford paper," the Will & Grace star continued. And his basement room was so ramshackle, "he could just urinate indiscriminately in any given corner of his lodgings."

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"I would get a few feet away from my bed," Offerman offered. "I wasn't an animal."

"So that was the jumping-off point," Megan noted wryly.

Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally

We could've listened to this banter all day, as there is no detail too spicy or mundane about Nick Offerman and Megan Mullallyco-authors of the 2018 book The Greatest Love Story Ever Toldthat wouldn't be welcome knowledge. Thankfully, their podcast that they started last year, In Bed With Nick & Megan, which they're still recording virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, have kept the intimate tidbits coming even during the stay-at-home era.

But this is how it's always been with these two, a preternaturally made-for-each-other couple who got married 18 months after Mullally first got a glimpse of those golden overalls, and have been each other's best friend, romantic obsession and occasional co-star ever since. And Offerman is celebrating his 50th birthday today, so... if you see sparks over Los Angeles...

Will & Grace Cast: Then & Now

"She's often been a hero to me, and so getting to work with her as a peer in any way is likeI feel like Luke Skywalker getting to go into lightsaber battle standing next to Obi-Wan Kenobi," Offerman praised his wife to BuzzFeed upon the release of the 2013 indie film, The Kings of Summer. At the time they were also onstage together in Annapurna.

"And I'm like, 'Alright, me and you. Let's take 'em on.' I have the best seat in the house in our play, to watch Megan, and she's amazing."

Asked how he navigated achieving his level of success some years after his wife achieved hers, Offerman told New York magazine, "One great benefit of our relationship is that Megan has gone through everything a couple of chapters ahead of me, so there's an easy student-master quality to it. When your wife is a legend of comedy, you have to be a huge jackass not to assume the student role."

Eventually they both became grand masters.

Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, 2017 Oscars, Vanity Fair After Party

Offerman, who's from Illinois, was doing theater in Chicago when he was encouraged to make a move to warmer climes.

"I had a girlfriend at the time who was from Mexico," Offerman remembered his 1997 move in an interview with The Believer in 2012, "and she said, 'No, motherf--ker. I've been in Chicago for five years. We're moving to where it's warm...' Then she flaked out and disappeared. She turned up back in MexicoI think she is a really successful Mexican actress nowbut I already had everything in motion, so I came here by myself."

Before landing the life-changing role of socialite sociopath Karen Walker in Will & Grace in 1998, Mullallyan L.A. nativestarred on How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and played Rizzo in Grease on Broadway. She was married to casting director Michael Katcher from 1992 until 1996, and when she met Offerman, she told Conan, she'd never dated a guy like him before.

"I had only ever dated these very skinny, boyish, kind of hairless" fellows, she shared. And then I met Nick and I didn't really know what to make of it all."

Ranking the Parks and Recreation Couples

For Offerman, though, as he told The Believer, "She was literally the answer to my prayers. I was drinking a lot of bourbon. I was miserable. I was starting to get work, but it wasn't remotely satisfying. It was garbage compared to the theater I was doing. I realized what I needed to do was find a piece of theater that I could sort of reestablish my manhood upon."

"Megan and I, neither of us knew anyone else in the whole production," he continued. "We had both come to it in the same way, where we were like, 'I really want to do something good in theater right now.' It was right after season two of Will & Grace."

Not that her TV star status swayed him in any way. For starters, he didn't have a television and had never seen Will & Grace, and he told the people at his audition, "I don't need some TV chick in the play."

Oh, how wrong he was.

"At the first read-through, Megan was so funny," Offerman said. "And cute. But that didn't hit me yet. We were both staunchly single at the time. I was like, 'Whatever. She's cute.' I was in some kind of denial."

From Co-Stars to Couples

"Gruff man of few words" sounds very much like an Offerman role.

In fact, he went right up to Mullally and told her she was super funny and he thought the play would be really fun. Then he grabbed his tool belt and went back to building the set, which he was also doing for the theater company.

"She thought, I guess they haven't cast this part yet, and they're having the plumber friend read it," Offerman surmised. "Partway through, she thought, The plumber's pretty good. They should cast this guy."

Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally

As he remembered those early days to New York magazine, "When I met Megan, we were both very staunchly single. But becoming friends with somebody backstage at a play is one of the greatest friendships ever: It's like making each other laugh in church. But Megan made me work for it."

He called up to ask her to go watch a country band with him, but he left the message on her fax line, so she didn't get it for a week, leaving him to thinkwhile they were rehearsing the playthat she was giving him the brush-off.

"Yeah, but we were getting to know each other and flirting," Mullally told New York.

"Every day I would go home to my best friend," Offerman told GQ in 2017, "and say, 'I can't believe the filthy things this woman said to me today. She talks like us, but she's gorgeous!'" They wouldn't elaborate, but Mullally noted, "I hadn't had real experience with his balls at that pointI was merely speculating."

The big move was finally made, Mullally told New York, when, "Shortly before opening night, we went out to dinner and he held my hand and I had butterflies, and I thought, Oh! A couple of nights later, we kissed. After the previews, we made out. We saw a lot of coyotes at that time, so we took it as some kind of magical symbol."

Now we know what she meant, but Offerman offered Swansonesquely at the time, "We were in tune with Gaia; the forces of lust and nature were flowing strong in us."

Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally

His version as told to Parade went like this: "After rehearsal one night we went and drove around. I put my hand on hers on the gear shift in the middle and that was very electric. She gave me a stern talking to about how yes, there might be 'some interest' in me but she wasn't about to 'get involved' with somebody she was doing a play with. So it would have to wait until the play closed. And I said, 'OK, I can handle those terms.'"

However, then they parked in front of an apartment building in Los Feliz and made out for two hours, Beck's "Beautiful Way" on repeat in the CD player.

"Opening night, somebody saw us making out and then the cat was out of the bag," Mullally told New York. "And then we were dating. Then I wouldn't let him come to my apartment. Then I would let him come in, but he had to sleep on the couch. And then he could sleep on the bed but we still hadn't had sex yet. By the time we did, it was long anticipated and well worth the wait. There was a Glen Campbell concert at the Hollywood Bowl that put us in a very lustful mood apparently. We're both big Glen Campbell fansit's one of the things that united us in eternal love."

"I mean, we're Americans so, like oxygen and food, we love Glen Campbell," Offerman told GQ in 2012. "When we started dating in 2000, we went to the Hollywood Bowl for the Fourth of July to see him. The second to last song was 'Rhinestone Cowboy,' and there were fireworks, both literal and figurative. That was the first time Megan invited me to be her boyfriend."

After that, they got serious pretty quickly and it wasn't just baguettes and fancy cheese Mullally introduced to Offerman.

"I was living in somebody's basement and doing plays and carpentry," he told Parade. "Meanwhile, we're going to the Emmys and the Golden Globes. So, without pointing out that I needed a tux, she said to me, 'Listen, I don't know how to tell you this, but we're gonna have to get you another pair of socks, my friend.'"

He proposed in London in 2002 and they tied the knot in their backyard in front of 20 loved ones who didn't know they'd been invited to a wedding on Sept. 21, 2003, the night before the Emmys.

2019 Emmys: Red Carpet Couples

Meanwhile, Offerman appeared on an episode of Will & Grace in 2001 and started to book more and more TV work on 24, NYPD Blue, Deadwood, George Lopez, etc. He also attended all but a few Will & Grace tapings until it ended (the first time) in 2006 and showed up for shenanigans on her eponymous talk show, which lasted two seasons. Mullally then joined the cast of the dark comedy Children's Hospital, and Offerman appeared on a bunch of episodes of that, too.

His life-changing role, that of desk-chair philosopher and libertarian manly man Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, came along in 2009.

"We're very supportive of each other," Mullally told New York magazine in 2010. "I don't know when I've been happier than when he got Parks. That was one of the most exciting things that ever happened."

And she was made for the recurring role of Tammy Two, Ron's second of two ex-wives named Tammy, and his erotically explosive foil.

"It was really good therapy, because in any relationship you have love times and you have who-didn't-do-the-dishes times," Offerman told New York magazine about a memorable sex scene the couple shared on the sitcom. "We've worked together before in different ways, but we've never had the opportunity to be a team, and in that episode we were like a two-fisted weapon, battering comedy in the audience's face."

Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally

Added Mullally: "We basically destroyed the diner. We ran the gamut of wild, crazy, exhibitionist sex acts and screaming at the other patrons, throwing things, berating the manager and..."

"We actually tore the table off the wall," Offerman admitted. But it was an accident, Mullally said.

She told Backstage in 2012, "I started Will & Grace when I was 39, and Nick started Parks and Rec when he was 39. And he's really on the same trajectory; it's all happening with the same timing. It's so funny to see it all happening again."

Since then they've worked together whenever possibleand when respective projects took them away from each other, they try not to be apart for more than two weeks at a time.

When Mullally was on Broadway in Young Frankenstein, for instance, Offerman set up shop in Red Hookliterally, a wood shop, where he built a canoe and bicycled back and forth each day between Brooklyn and their apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. That sojourn to New York led to Offerman working with Upright Citizens Brigade and joining the cast of the based-on-the-Robert-Durst-story All Good Things with Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst.

Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, "The Greatest Love Story Ever Told" book cover

In addition to guest-starring in each other's shows (Offerman turned up again on the Will & Grace reboot playing a suitor for both title characters), they've been in a slew of independent movies together, including 2012's Smashed, 2013's The King of Summer (they were going to do a live re-watch on Instagram in May but postponed it out of respect for George Floyd, whose May 25 death led to protests erupting around the country), 2014's Date and Switch, the live variety show Summer of 69: No Apostrophe, which was shown on Epix in 2017; and 2019's Infinity Baby.

"I always hear some couples can't work together, and I don't get that. We have the most fun when we're working together," Mullally told Backstage.

Offerman took it a step further, telling BuzzFeed, "We do things well on our own, but when we combine our powers, we can save the planet."

And there's nothing they love more than to wield those powers from the comfort of home.

"One of the things that made us click, and is very much one of the varieties of glue in our relationship, is that we are simple, boring people," Offerman told Parade. "We cling to each other. We go home and read books and put together jigsaw puzzles and play cards, to protect ourselves from the craziness of this business and all the people trying to hustle. You know, people selling things, like themselves. We don't like to do things that are quote-unquote 'cool' or 'fashionable.'"

Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally

Of course, by being their inimitable selves they've become both extremely cool, with a style all their own. At one point they had sworn off social media and shared an email address, which nowadays would have made them exponentially cooler, but they eventually relented and are on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (with separate Mr. and Mrs. accounts).

"It occurred to me that my reticence to know anything about Facebook and Twitter was not proper etiquette," Offerman told The Believer, reminiscing about how he used to ask his buddies with the most followers, like Conan O'Brien, to promote his latest projects on their accounts.

He and Mullally continue to share just about everything else, though, including the utmost admiration for each other, a seemingly insatiable sex drive and an adorably off-kilter sense of humor. Conan may have been joking when he informed the couple that he considers them to be one person, he wasn't too far off.

Talking to GQ, the couple speculated that being a family of just two (not including their beloved dogs) is part of the reason why they're such a cohesive unit.

"I never had a burning desire to have children," Mullally explained. "But then I met Nick, and I thought 'This is the only person I'd do this with.' So we tried, but I was a little long in the tooth for that sort of thing. But we didn't turn it into a soap opera. We tried for about a year or so, and it didn't happen, and took that to mean it wasn't meant to be."

Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Pre-Emmys 2018, Party

"Our attempts may not have been great because we still haven't had full-on sex," Offerman joked.

Considering they conducted that interview via Skype from bed, claiming right off the bat to be freshly "post- and pre-coital," and Mullally's main piece of advice for a successful marriage was "'f--k,'" that joke wasn't his best work.

"That's one thing that I like about Nick," Mullally said on Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend in 2018, "is that he's a really nice guy, but he's also sort of like a demonic serial killer, so there's both sides of that. If somebody's too nice all the time, you just want to punch them in the face."

Offerman didn't seem fazed by that comparison whatsoever.
A British woman whose husband died in the Tunisia terror attack says that 'while time passes' the 'family's grief doesn't' as she speaks out on the fifth anniversary of the atrocity.

A total of 38 holidaymakers, including 30 British holidaymakers, were killed in the attack at the Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Sousse on 26 June, 2015 - including Cheryl Stollery's husband John, 58.

The couple from Nottinghamshire were on holiday with their son Matt when the attack took place.

Cheryl, whose husband was shot dead next to her as they tried to flee, has spent the last few years campaigning for lessons to be learned from what happened as well as improving the support available for grieving families.

Cheryl Stollery, from Nottinghamshire, lost husband John, 58 (pictured together), in the Tunisia terror attack at the Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Sousse on 26 June, 2015

'I remain as committed as ever to bring about effective change to help all victims and survivors of terrorism but in particular overseas victims,' she explained.

'These families can often be forgotten as time progresses. However, our need for support is quite often more complicated by the nature of the terrorist incident taking place overseas where different laws, languages and customs are in place.'

Cheryl has been working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, charities and campaign groups the Counter-Terrorism Advisory Network and the Counter-Terrorism Victim and Survivors group.

John worked with children in care at Nottinghamshire County Council, and his wife said 'he made a difference and gave his best to others.'

She added: 'While time passes our family's grief for John doesn't. He was a wonderful husband and father who always wanted the best, not only for our family but others in society through his job as a social worker.

'We are determined to honour his legacy by campaigning for change to create a more tolerant and cohesive society.

John (pictured), a social worker, worked with children in care at Nottinghamshire County Council

'We never want other families to go through what we have but it's important that there is better awareness and understanding of the support available to families who may need it if the worst did happen.

'It's vital to ensure that all agencies and organisations work together to help make a positive change.'

In 2017 an inquest into the deaths of the 30 Britons killed concluded they were unlawfully killed. In 2019 a number of conspirators were jailed in Tunisia for their role in the Sousse attack.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell represents the families of 22 Britons who lost their lives as well as more than 50 Britons, many of whom suffered life changing injuries including gunshot and shrapnel wounds.

Kylie Hutchison, a specialist international serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell and one of the team of lawyers at Irwin Mitchell representing victims, commented: 'The hurt and pain families continue to face is as strong now as it was five years ago.

'Many of our clients still face challenges to overcome the physical and psychological trauma of what they have been through.

'We are continuing to support families and are pursuing legal proceedings against TUI, the tour operator that organised our clients' holidays. Allegations against TUI include multiple failures in security measures at the Tunisian hotel.

'Our clients may mark the fifth anniversary in their own way, but they are united in their determination for lessons to be learned to improve safety standards for tourists.'
EDWARDSVILLE  With the inundation of new data and mandated safety protocols, the world is trying to mirror Elsas proven strength as we all move forward Into the Unknown. Perhaps among those knowing the lyrics to the Frozen song best are children, many of whom will experience a different way of activity and learning when they re-enter schools and early childhood learning environments in late summer and early fall.

Staff at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Early Childhood Center (ECC) are among those preparing for a modified educational setting that will likely include arrival screenings, classroom and outdoor arrangement to ensure social distancing, frequent handwashing and sanitizing, and the wearing of masks.

The ECC teachers masks will be as welcoming and familiar as possible for attending children, thanks to the creative work of longtime ECC friend and retired Edwardsville educator Kathy Weber. Weber is using her talents to sew 50 protective masks for the ECC educators and staff.

In true Kathy fashion, she jumped to the challenge and immediately had ideas how to use fun fabric and patterns to make masks that are enjoyable for the staff to wear and not too intimidating for the children to see, said ECC Willow Room teacher Stephanie Henschen. Shes using patterns and photos sent to her by the staff to sew the masks. They will be washable and have a pocket for a replaceable filter.

A 1984 Illinois Teacher of the Year, long-time Edwardsville elementary school educator, former SIUE early childhood education instructor and well-known puppeteer, Webers knack for creativity and high-quality teaching has shone for decades.

The masks that Im creating are just a way of helping these teachers be able to get back in the classroom and work with those kids that have missed out for the spring, and get them back to learning and enjoying in the safest possible way, Weber said. I have lots of unique fabrics to use. I dont think Ill have two that are alike!

Henschen and Webers relationship is coming full circle with this latest effort. In 1990, Henschen was a teaching assistant in the second grade open classrooms of Weber and Shirley Ward at N.O. Nelson Elementary in Edwardsville.

They were a dynamic duo, Henschen recalled fondly. There was so much enthusiasm. I was able to have a front row seat to some amazing teaching and learning experiences in the classroom.

At that time, Webers son attended the SIUE ECC. She mentioned a job opening, which Henschen secured in 1991, and the rest is history.

Stephanie was my granddaughters teacher when she came to the ECC, said Weber. Then, I became the grandma of the Center, bringing my puppets and stories, projects and activities with the units that they taught. I also led some professional development sessions with the faculty. Stephanie is a natural in the classroom. Children respond to her, and she leads them on many paths of learning.

I love the Center and feel at home whenever I visit, she added. The whole faculty is welcoming, and I see the best environments for learning and growing.

Webers continued love for teaching and inspiring was supported by her national involvement. She was a member of the Illinois State Teachers of the Year chapter and served on the national board as president of the National State Teachers of the Year organization.

Its amazing the fabulous people that you meet across the United States when youre able to gather together and share best practices, Weber noted. I have always felt because of these distinguished opportunities, that I had a responsibility and a mission to share, give back and encourage others to do more than what was in the textbooks.

As the educational environment changes amid the ongoing pandemic, and as educators pave a way forward with safe new ways of teaching, one thing remains the same: with a true love for children, all challenges can be overcome despite moving Into the Unknown.

My career as an educator of young children was influenced by Kathy Weber, Henschen said. She modeled for me what excellence in teaching actually looks like. She encouraged me to apply for a teaching position at the ECC, and 30 years later she continues to support me and my coworkers in true Kathy fashion, with joy, kindness and understanding.
Call between Mitsotakis and Erdogan focused on the consequences of coronavirus, issues relating to border reopening.

The leaders of Greece and Turkey held a rare phone conversation, after months of increasing tension between the two neighbouring countries.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday addressed ways of handling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the reopening of borders and the re-establishment of tourist flows, a statement from Mitsotakiss office said.

The two agreed to maintain bilateral channels of communication open, the statement read.

Erdogans office also said the leaders discussed tourism, security, as well as cooperation on economic issues and the battle against COVID-19.

A Greek source with knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press news agency however that the two leaders did not discuss policy matters.

Discussions focused on broader talks within the European Union on the access of nationals from third countries when borders open to tourists. The official said Greece does not in principle object to supporting Turkeys inclusion in the list of countries that would have access.

Tensions between NATO allies Greece and Turkey have been high in recent months.

Athens has accused Ankara of using migrants to pressure it, after Turkey declared in late February that its borders to the EU were open to all those who wanted to cross.

Thousands of migrants gathered at Turkeys border with Greece, demanding to be allowed in.

Greece and Turkey are also at loggerheads over oil and gas exploration rights in the Mediterranean and over territorial issues in the Aegean Sea dividing the two countries.

The two have come to the brink of war three times since the mid-1970s.
A potent windstorm is causing the rapid spread of wildfires across the southwestern United States -- and forecasters say conditions won't ease up until Tuesday.

"The period from June through August is typically a quiet time in terms of large-scale wind events over the southwestern U.S.," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll said.

A portion of the Bush fire burns through the Tonto National Forest, Tuesday, June 16, 2020, as seen from Apache Junction, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

"Weather systems are often relatively weak as the jet stream has shifted northward into southern Canada and a large area of high pressure typically rules the Western states during the summer months," Doll explained.

There can be exceptions at times during the summer months. One such departure from the normal is ongoing as a southward dip in the jet stream has allowed a storm to bring cooler air, rain and even summertime snow to parts of the West.

Winds will also align near the ground and high up in the atmosphere, to produce stiff breezes and strong gusts from the southwest and west.

Gusty winds were already wreaking havoc in portions of Utah during Saturday night. Dozens of homes were evacuated as new fire, dubbed the Traverse Fire, grew near Lehi and Draper, Utah.

During Sunday, a wind gust of 84 mph was reported near Eureka, which sits at an elevation of around 6,500 feet along U.S. 6 in west-central Utah.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

Through Monday evening, the swath of stiff breezes with strong gusts will extend from the southern parts of California and Arizona to western Colorado and south-central Wyoming. AccuWeather Local StormMax wind gusts are forecast to be in the neighborhood of 70 mph.

Not only will the gusty winds cause trouble for firefighters battling existing large wildfires in the region, but they will also greatly raise the potential for new blazes to ignite and spread rapidly, as was evidenced in Utah on Sunday.

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A lower-than-average amount of rain and mountain snow during late winter and spring left places from Northern California and Oregon to Colorado and New Mexico to face abnormally dry conditions to extreme drought. Adjacent areas of the southern High Plains and portions of the Northwest are experiencing similarly dismal conditions.

The precipitation deficit, combined with dry air and surges of early-season heat, has led to dry soil and fast-drying vegetation.

Dozens of fires have erupted over the West in recent weeks.

As of June 26, more than 1 million acres have burned across the U.S. with the vast majority of the fires west of the Mississippi River, according to data from the National Interagency Fire Center.

Currently, active fires have consumed close to half of the 1-million-acre figure, the agency reported on Friday. More than three dozen fires were active in the West, and of these, there were a dozen large blazes in progress. The largest fires charred Arizona with the Mangum, Bush and Bighorn fires consuming hundreds of thousands of acres alone.

"With the windy conditions through Monday, the number of fires and acres burned may increase substantially," Doll said.

Lightning strikes from spotty thunderstorms, which are expected to arrive along with a transition from hot to cool weather, may also spark blazes in the region. However, cooler air and moist vegetation over some of the ridges and peaks will deter the fire risk over the high country.

"You just don't typically see this kind of a large wind event this time of the year, and with many fires in place, it is going to be a major problem, to say the least," added Doll.

The invasion of much cooler air, combined with lesser winds, should ease the fire risk from west to east spanning Monday and Tuesday. Unfortunately, the damage may already be done by that point.

People are urged to avoid the use of power equipment, fireworks and open flames with the upcoming weather conditions. Experts recommend that people avoid parking a vehicle over dry brush as the exhaust system from an idling or recently used vehicle is hot enough to quickly start a blaze.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Padma Lakshmi, the longtime host and executive producer of Top Chef, recently spoke out against such products, and in a phone interview said that colorism permeated her childhood in India. Once she got to the United States, she said, I never felt that I was on any comparable level to my white peers because of my skin color, because I got that message in so many different ways, subtle and overt.

It came, she said, through ads, magazine covers and even family advice to stay out of the sun, reinforcing that she was too dark to be desirable. These things also come at you at a very vulnerable time in your life when youre worried about your appearance, she said. Its really a shame to have this added baggage of wanting to be something youre not. Ms. Lakshmi added that it took leaving the United States for Europe for a time during her modeling career for her to learn her complexion could be seen as attractive.

The preference for fairness in South Asia is also perpetuated through Bollywood movies and celebrities. The industry has also long favored lighter-skinned actors and has employed brownface in several films.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas is among several Bollywood celebrities who have faced an online backlash recently over their previous endorsements of fairness creams. Her recent social media posts calling attention to Mr. Floyds killing and the Black Lives Matter movement have prompted people to circulate images of her advertising fairness creams from Garnier.

Though Ms. Chopra Jonas has mentioned in previous interviews that she regretted advertising such products, she has not responded to the wave of criticism this month, and other Bollywood stars who have also promoted similar products have remained largely silent.
Entos Pharmaceuticals Announces Selection of Lead DNA Vaccine Candidates for COVID-19 and a $4.2M Award to Move Forward with Phase I/II Human Trials

Details Category: Vaccines Published on Friday, 26 June 2020 13:00 Hits: 1992

In preclinical studies, two lead Fusogenix DNA vaccine (Covigenix) candidates demonstrated high immunogenicity and efficacy

Lead candidates to be evaluated in SARS-CoV-2 animal challenge studies and advanced to human clinical trials during summer 2020

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) awards $4.2M grant to John Lewis, PhD., to be used for development of COVID-19 DNA vaccine

EDMONTON, Canada I June 25, 2020 I Entos Pharmaceuticals (Entos), a healthcare biotechnology company developing nucleic acid medicines with its Fusogenix drug delivery platform, today announced the selection of two lead candidates for a pan-coronavirus Fusogenix DNA vaccine (Covigenix) from its prototyping program launched at the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The selection of two lead candidates is based on strong preclinical results demonstrating high immunogenicity, high levels of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies, and the potential for no antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE).

DNA vaccine approaches are advantageous over traditional and mRNA vaccines because they can be developed to express multiple epitopes, which may be essential for generating protection from pan-coronavirus infection. In collaboration with academic and industrial partners, Entos rapidly developed a panel of recombinant plasmid DNA vaccine candidates encoding in silico-optimized and conserved regions of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

The two lead Covigenix candidates showed robust preclinical in vivo results, achieving all vaccine profile targets, including potency, ADE safety assessment, high immunogenicity, and efficacy. Lead Covigenix candidates stimulated neutralizing antibody levels and balanced T helper cell immunity in mouse models. In addition, no weight loss was observed at multiple doses of vaccine candidates.

Based on the preclinical in vivo safety and efficacy data, we believe our Fusogenix DNA vaccine candidates have the potential to be safe and highly potent vaccines that will provide protection against COVID-19 as well as future coronavirus threats, said John Lewis, CEO of Entos Pharmaceuticals. These results reflect the potential of our Fusogenix drug delivery platform which has allowed us to quickly advance lead vaccine candidates to animal challenge studies. We look forward to continue working closely with our collaborators to initiate Phase I/II human clinical trials this summer.

A $4.2M grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Research Nova Scotia (RNS), and the Institute for Ageing (IA) will be used to further develop the Covigenix vaccine candidates through animal challenge studies and human clinical trials. Entos will partner with the Clinical Trials Research Center at the Canadian Center for Vaccinology (CCfV) in Nova Scotia, Canada to initiate Phase I/II human clinical trials which will evaluate the safety, tolerability, immunogenicity and efficacy of the Covigenix vaccine candidates in late July.

Entos aims to develop a safe and effective Covigenix DNA vaccine for COVID-19 in one year. Its Fusogenix drug delivery technology provides the ability to rapidly develop and scale up production of the optimal Covigenix vaccine candidate. Partnering with other institutions and companies will allow Entos to scale GMP-manufacturing capacity with the goal of providing millions of doses of the vaccine.

About the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

At the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) we know that research has the power to change lives. As Canada's health research investment agency, we collaborate with partners and researchers to support the discoveries and innovations that improve our health and strengthen our health care system.

About the Canadian Center for Vaccinology

CCfV, a Dalhousie University Center affiliated with the IWK Health Centre and the Nova Scotia Health Authority, is an integrated, collaborative, interdisciplinary research group that spans the full spectrum of vaccine research from basic vaccine discovery to evaluation to policy, programs, and implementation.

About Entos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Entos develops next generation nucleic acid-based therapies using their proprietary Fusogenix drug delivery system. Fusogenix is a proteo-lipid vehicle (PLV) formulation that uses a novel mechanism of action to deliver molecules, intact and unmodified, directly into the cytosol of target cells. The technology is applicable to a wide range of therapeutic types including gene therapy, mRNA, miRNA, RNAi, CRISPR and small molecule drugs. For more information www.entospharma.com.

SOURCE: Entos Pharmaceuticals
NEW YORK - President Donald Trump has taken issue with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasios plan to paint Black Lives Matter in giant letters on the street in front of Trumps namesake Manhattan tower.

Trump tweeted Thursday that de Blasio wants to paint the fabled & beautiful Fifth Avenue, right in front of Trump Tower/Tiffany, with a big yellow Black Lives Matter sign.

Pigs in a Blanket, Fry Em Like Bacon, referring to killing Police, is their chant. NYC Police are furious! his tweet said.

But that has not in fact been a common chant at protests in New York or elsewhere since the death of George Floyd one month ago in Minneapolis.

City Hall officials announced Wednesday that the Black Lives Matter rallying cry would be painted in bold letters on the street in front of the presidents midtown skyscraper.

The president is a disgrace to the values we cherish in New York City, de Blasio spokesperson Julia Arredondo said. He cant run or deny the reality we are facing, and any time he wants to set foot in the place he claims is his hometown, he should be reminded Black Lives Matter.

De Blasio announced earlier this month that the city would paint Black Lives Matter on streets at locations around the city. The first such block-long message was put on a street in Brooklyn. The announcement follows the move by officials in Washington, D.C., to paint the slogan in enormous yellow letters on the street leading to the White House.

Arredondo said work will start in the coming week on the mural in front of Trump Tower, which was not on the citys original list of locations.

De Blasio tweeted back at Trump on Thursday evening, saying, Only warped minds equate the words Black Lives Matter with violence. Its a movement to recognize and protect the lives of Black people.

Trump lived in Trump Tower before he took office as president but has spent little time there since. He changed his official residence to Florida last year. His business empire is still headquartered there.
WASHINGTON  A bitter dispute erupted in a congressional hearing room on Friday, with Republicans refusing to wear face coverings and Democrats insisting that they do so.

Why is this so complicated? a frustrated Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said at one point in response to Republican intransigence, speaking through what appeared to be an N95 respirator. Theres one thing we can do to try to protect other people when were together, which is put on a mask. It doesnt cost us anything. Why would we not do that? Why is it some kind of macho thing, like, If I dont wear a mask, Im tough?

Republicans did not appear to be moved by his appeals, or those of other Democrats. The charge against mask wearing was led by Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., a physician who was also a major in the U.S. Army. Green said he could cite many other professionals who advised against protective face coverings.

Green did not proceed to cite any such professionals.

Surgical masks and respirators can keep particles of the coronavirus from spreading, but President Trump and many of his allies in the Republican Party have cast the coverings as a symbol of liberal overreaction and onerous statism. Virtually every public health agency in the nation, including most prominently the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommends the wearing of face masks in public.

Doing so could cut down viral transmission by as much as 85 percent, according to the World Health Organization.

Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn. (Screengrab via House.gov)

The face mask culture war arrived in full force on Capitol Hill on Friday, a day in which the United States continued to see cases climb. More than 126,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19, the lower-respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The virus is surging in Florida, Arizona and Texas, all states where Republican governors are close allies of the president who have shared his skepticism about safety measures like mask guidance.

Green decided to denounce masks as part of his opening statement at a coronavirus-focused hearing held by a House Oversight subcommittee.

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The hearing was intended to examine the Government Accountability Offices response to the pandemic, but it was at times derailed by the mask debate, as well as other partisan battles. At one point, for example, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a close ally of the president, asked that the GAO investigate China for its handling of the pandemic. The hearings primary witness, U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, explained that the GAO does not have authority to investigate China, as it is a sovereign nation.

Green, the subcommittees ranking Republican member, seemed especially bothered by a scene that he had witnessed earlier that morning. As I came in today, he said angrily, I saw a gentleman running on the sidewalk. There was no one within a hundred yards of the guy, yet he was wearing a mask while running. This speaks to the irrational fears this dishonest representation of the data by the media has caused, Green concluded.

Despite the claims Green and other Republicans have been making about masks, 65 percent of Americans say face covering should be required, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

The diatribe did not sit well with Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., the subcommittees chairman. Clyburn noted that if the committee was to continue to hold in-person meetings, as opposed to digital ones, its members would have to adhere to the guidance of the attending physician of the U.S. Congress, Dr. Brian Monahan.

As members of Congress returned to Washington this spring, Monahan wrote that face coverings should be promoted at all times. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ordered that masks be worn in committee hearings, but Republicans intense dislike of her  coupled with the coronavirus skepticism of many GOP legislators  all but ensured that the guidance would become a political battlefield of its own.

Please rest assured, I will exert what control I do have, said Clyburn through a mask showing an outline of Washington, D.C., embossed with the number 51. That same day, the House of Representatives was set to vote for statehood for the nations capital. Republicans strongly oppose such a move.

Rep. Mark Green, left, and Rep. James Clyburn. (Screengrabs via House.gov)

If we wish to have these meetings in person, Clyburn said, were going to have to adhere to the attending physician, or I will not have these meetings in person. Just that simple.

Jordan then tried to make a point about Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, who has faced criticism from conservatives for his handling of the pandemic. Clyburn did not take kindly to the comment. I have absolutely no control over the governor of New York, but I do have some control over this subcommittee. And I will exert it.

Later, Green, who had led the anti-mask charge in the hearing, appeared to make something of a concession to Clyburn. If you say, Green, I want you to wear a mask, sir, Ill wear a mask, youre the chairman of my committee. He did not, however, put on a mask. He also said he was telling his constituents in Tennessee not to wear masks unless they were in a high-risk population.

Speaking to Yahoo News after the hearing, Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., expressed dismay at the ongoing mask debate. I have no idea why they are so resistant, when it is really not a terrible inconvenience at all to wear a mask, he said of his Republican colleagues. Why not just take some of these precautions?

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Read more from Yahoo News:
A new study has found that increased physical activity is associated with a lower risk of obstructive sleep apnea, a common sleep-related breathing disorder. The study is the largest to date focused on the relationship between sleep apnea and levels of physical activity in the general community.

It has been published as an accepted paper in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine

Researchers reviewed lifestyle, medical, socio-demographic, and sleep health data collected from more than 155,000 adults participating in the Ontario Health Study. Based on the physical activity of participants with and without sleep apnea, the investigators determined that a modest increase in physical activity, including walking, is associated with a 10 per cent reduction in the risk of developing sleep apnea.

Our results highlight the importance of physical activity as a preventive measure against developing sleep apnea. One surprising finding was that not only vigorous physical activity but also just walking alone was associated with a decreased risk of sleep apnea, said senior author Lyle Palmer, who is professor of genetic epidemiology at the University of Adelaide in Australia.

The authors found that adding 20 minutes to a daily walk and increasing vigorous daily activity by eight minutes would be enough to achieve a lower sleep apnea risk. The finding is independent of other known risk factors for sleep apnea such as sex, age, ethnicity, and obesity.

It is estimated that more than 29 million American adults have sleep apnea, many of them undiagnosed. Untreated sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and other potentially serious conditions.

The rates of sleep apnea in children and adults are continuing to rise. Therefore, understanding the role of modifiable protective factors for sleep apnea is important. Exercise is one such protective factor and has many other positive effects on general health. Sleep health care professionals should be trying to get their patients to exercise more, said Palmer.

The cross-sectional, population-based study analyzed baseline questionnaire data from 155,448 adult residents of Ontario, Canada (60 per cent women and 40 per cent men). Their mean age was 46 years, and about 75 per cent were white.

About 6.9 per cent of participants reported being told by a doctor that they have sleep apnea. Those with sleep apnea were more sedentary, sitting for a median of 4.4 more hours per week than those without sleep apnea.

Due to the cross-sectional nature of the study, the authors were unable to make temporal inferences on the observed associations between physical activity and sleep apnea. However, they report that previous studies also have suggested that physical activity can reduce the severity of sleep apnea.

In a related commentary, also published as an accepted paper in JCSM, Dr. Joyce Lee-Iannotti and Dr. James Parish write that the studys findings give sleep physicians another tool to treat mild to moderate sleep apnea that may be more appealing to patients.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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Cosmo receives positive EMA CHMP Opinion recommending approval of Methylene Blue MMX for the visualization of colorectal lesions during colonoscopies

Dublin, Ireland - June 26, 2020. Cosmo Pharmaceuticals NV (SIX: COPN) today announced that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion for Methilthioninium Chloride Cosmo (Methylene Blue MMX), its drug for the visualization of colorectal lesions during colonoscopies.

The CHMP recommendation will now be reviewed by the European Commission, which has the authority to approve medicines centrally for the European Union. Access to the centralised procedure had been granted to Methylene Blue MMX on the ground of its significant innovation and interest for patients. The final decision on the Marketing Authorisation Application for Methylene Blue MMX is expected in the next couple of months. The granting of a centralised European licence will be effective simultaneously in all EU Member States as well as in the European Economic Area (EEA) countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Alessandro Della Cha, CEO of Cosmo, said: "This positive CHMP opinion is great news for Cosmo. It confirms that Methylene Blue MMX has the potential to become an important aid during colonoscopies for the visualization of those 'easy to miss' lesions and to enhance the overall performance of endoscopists by increasing their Adenoma Detection Rate."

Mauro Ajani, Chairman of Cosmo, said: "The positive recommendation for Methylene Blue MMX by the EMA is a very significant achievement for Cosmo and a great advancement in the fight against colorectal cancer. I wish to thank all those that helped Cosmo get to this point."

The CHMP adopted the positive opinion based on the data stemming from the single phase III trial performed by Cosmo worldwide in 20 sites involving 1249 randomised patients. The study was powered to show a statistically significant difference between Methylene blue MMX 200 mg and placebo (corresponding to High-Definition White Light [HDWL] colonoscopy - the current standard of care) in the detection of patients with at least one adenoma or carcinoma (Adenoma Detection Rate [ADR]). The study met its prespecified endpoint: the ADR was higher in the Methylene Blue MMX arm as compared to HDWL colonoscopy (56.29% vs 47.81%, respectively; difference: 8.48%; RRI 17.7%; OR [95% CI]: 1.41 [1.09, 1.81]; p-value: 0.0099).

Important prespecified secondary endpoints showed that Methylene Blue MMX increases the detection of patients with at least one adenoma and does not produce an increase in the False Positive Rate (FPR) as compared to HDWL colonoscopy. Additional endpoints showed that Methylene Blue MMX increases, in particular, detection of non-polypoid (flat) lesions (the most frequently missed lesions).

Based on the benefits of Methylene Blue MMX in terms of increase in ADR and on the lack of major safety issues, the CHMP adopted a positive benefit/risk balance.

The indication of Methylene Blue MMX recommended for approval by the CHMP is as a "diagnostic agent enhancing visualization of colorectal lesions in adult patients undergoing screening or surveillance colonoscopy".

About Cosmo Pharmaceuticals

Cosmo is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercialising products to treat selected gastrointestinal disorders and improve endoscopy quality measures through aiding the detection of colonic lesions. Cosmo has also developed medical devices for endoscopy and has recently entered into a partnership with Medtronic for the global distribution of GI Genius its artificial intelligence device for use in coloscopies and GI procedures. Cosmo has licensed Aemcolo to Red Hill Biopharma and is the licensee of Byfavo(Remimazolam) for the U.S. for procedural sedation, which it has sub-licensed to Acacia. For additional information on Cosmo and its products please visit the Company's website: www.cosmopharma.com

Financial calendar

2020 Half-Year Results July 30, 2020

Contact

Niall Donnelly, CFO & Head of Investor Relations

Cosmo Pharmaceuticals N.V.

Tel: +353 1 817 03 70

ndonnelly@cosmopharma.com

Disclaimer

Some of the information contained in this press release contains forward-looking statements. Readers 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 in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Cosmo undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

This communication is not an offer of securities of any issuer. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from the registration requirement of the US Securities Act of 1933.

This press release constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy securities and it does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of article 652a and/or 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange or any similar document. The offer will be made solely by means of, and on the basis of, a securities prospectus to be published. An investment decision regarding the securities to be publicly offered should only be made on the basis of the securities prospectus.

This press release is made to and directed only at (i) persons outside the United Kingdom, (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order"), and (iii) high net worth individuals, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this press release or any of its contents.

This press release does not constitute an "offer of securities to the public" within the meaning of Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Union (the "Prospectus Directive") of the securities referred to in it (the "Securities") in any member state of the European Economic Area (the "EEA"). Any offers of the Securities to persons in the EEA will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive, as implemented in member states of the EEA, from the requirement to produce a prospectus for offers of the Securities.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has described the death of the former governor of Oyo State, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, as shocking a...

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has described the death of the former governor of Oyo State, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, as shocking and devastating.





Ajimobi reportedly died on Thursday evening in a private medical facility in Lagos after a brief sickness.





The condolence is contained in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Malam Abba Anwar, on Friday in Kano.





His death came calling when we needed him the most. He was undoubtedly a detribalised leader and a pillar of national development.





This death would continue knocking hard on us for a very long time, he said.





He prayed for Almighty Allahs blessing and forgiveness to the reposed soul of the late Ajimobi.





Ganduje also commiserated with Ajimobi family, urging them to strive hard and follow his footsteps of unrelenting commitment to nation-building and patriotic leadership.





It is on this note that I, on behalf of my family, government and the good people of Kano State, send our condolences to the family of our late respected and in-law, the government and people of Oyo State, over this unbearable demise of the former governor, Ganduje said.





He then prayed for Almighty Allah to forgive all his shortcomings and reward his good deeds.
Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has postponed her wedding for the third time for a European Union summit and to protect Denmarks interests. Taking to Facebook, she announced on June 25 that right after she thought she had found an appropriate date to marry fantastic man she had to change plans again. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many weddings across the world have been either postponed or reduced to virtual ceremonies. However, Denmark PMs post revealed that even world leaders are struggling to do the same.

Frederiksen credited fiance, Bo for being patient and said that she is looking forward to marrying him. But, she added that obviously it cant be easy because the EU council meeting is called on the exact same date which is July 18. However, showing optimism for keeping the countrys interests over personal wish to get married soon, Danish PM declared that the date has been postponed again.

"I am really looking forward to marrying this fantastic man," Frederiksen wrote in a Facebook post alongside a photo of herself and her fiance Bo. But obviously it can't be that easy, and now there is a council meeting in Brussels called, exactly on that Saturday in July when we had planned to marry," Denmark PM wrote.

"But I have to do my work and take care of Denmark's interests. So we have to change plans again. Soon we should be able to get married. I'm looking forward to saying yes to Bo (who fortunately is very patient)," she added.

Read - Dutch Minister Throws Carrier KLM 3.4 Billion Euro Lifeline

Read - US Citizens May Be Kept Out As Europe Reopens

Extraordinary summit

EU Council Presidents spokesperson had recently announced that Charles Michell has called an extraordinary summit on July 17 and July 18 to discuss the coronavirus recovery package. This will be the first since the pandemic that Brussels will convene for an in-person summit to decide the long-term budget of the bloc after suffering the blow of unprecedented outbreak of deadly coronavirus.

Moreover, even European Commissions chief Ursula von der Leyen said that the summit in July might not be the last one that would be concerned with EUs Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027 along with the Next Generation EU package. The announcement had come after a virtual meet of EU leaders on the updated proposal of the MFF and the recovery package of the Commission.

On 17 and 18 July @eucopresident will call an extraordinary #EUCO on the Recovery Package and the MFF.



The physical meeting will start on the 17th at 10am in the Europa building.



Practical details on logistics will follow.  Barend Leyts (@BarendLeyts) June 23, 2020

Read - Ukraine Asks EU, NATO To Help Deal With Damage From Floods

Read - Pompeo Says US, EU Working To Resume Trans-Atlantic Travel


The Maharashtra government has asked the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to deploy its staff in the citys private hospitals to verify the medical bills being charged from the Covid-19 patients.Shiv Sena leader and Member of the state Legislative Council (MLC), Ambadas Danve, told this to PTI.

He said the instructions were given to the AMC during a meeting of all-party representatives in Aurangabad with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday.The meeting, which was held on Thursday night, was attended by state Industries Minister Subhash Desai, state Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta and others.

The public representatives urged the government to take necessary steps to control Covid -19 pandemic in the district.AIMIM leader and Lok Sabha member Imtiaz Jaleel raised the issue of shortage of medicines, while Rajya Sabha member Dr Bhagwat Karad demanded adequate number of staff for the super specialty wing of the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), a district official said.

Talking to PTI after the meeting, Ambadas Danve, who is also Shiv Senas district unit president, said, The government assured that issues related to medicines will be addressed in a couple of days and orders to that effect have been issued. The process to get the adequate medical stqaff is also on. It was decided to increase the testing and quarantine the number of contacts of Covid-19 patients On the issue of hefty fees being charged by private hospitals, Danve said, The state administration has ordered the AM to deploy its staff in private hospital to carry out the audit of bills.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- A nurse charged with manslaughter and child abuse in the death of Cornelius Fredericks did nothing criminal, her attorney said in a statement released Friday, June 26.

Heather McLogan, a former nurse at Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo, is innocent of the charges brought against her of involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse, asserts Anastase Markou, a criminal defense attorney at Levine and Levine Attorneys at Law.

McLogan was one of three people charged with involuntary manslaughter, and other charges, in connection to the May 1 death of Cornelius Fredericks, a 16-year-old who was restrained at the local youth facility and later died.

This is a terrible tragedy, Markou said in the statement. Our hearts go out to his loved ones and the Kalamazoo community. However, justice cannot be served by an injustice. My client, Heather McLogan, has done nothing criminal and when the evidence is in, she will be vindicated.

Related: Lakeside Academy students death ruled homicide

The involuntary manslaughter charges stems from allegations of gross negligence and failure to perform her legal duty to obtain medical care, Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting said during a press conference Wednesday, June 24.

Fredericks was found unresponsive at Lakeside Academy when Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety arrived on Wednesday, April 29. Police confirmed the teenager was restrained after throwing a sandwich in the cafeteria.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services investigation found that seven staff members were involved in the restraint on Fredericks. Based on video footage reviewed as part of that investigation, the state claims the restraint lasted 12 minutes.

Video footage from the incident shows it took 12 minute before nurses and staff members began CPR and called 911, according to the MDHHS report the department released to MLive on Monday, June 22.

When reached by MLive Friday afternoon, Markou said no arraignment date has been set for McLogan, but that they are working with the prosecutors office to arrange a time for her to voluntarily surrender.

Markou said his office, together with McLogan, want to emphasize their sympathy for the family. But McLogan was not involved in the restraint of Fredericks and did not do anything wrong, the attorney said.

Its a terrible tragedy, but its not a crime, Markou said.

Involuntary manslaughter is a felony offense that can result in up to 15 years in prison. Second-degree child abuse is a felony offense punishable by 10 years in prison.

On Wednesday, the Kalamazoo County prosecutor also authorized charges against Michael Mosley and Zachary Solis. Both men were physically involved in the restraint, Getting said.

Mosley and Solis were charged with involuntary manslaughter and knowingly causing Fredericks harm by laying across his abdomen. Each were also charged with second-degree child abuse and another count of second-degree child abuse for a child care organization violation causing death.

The family of Fredericks is suing Lakeside Academy for $100 million, claiming negligence leading to wrongful death. The civil lawsuit was filed Monday, June 22, in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.

Detroit-area attorneys Jon Marko and Geoffrey Fieger are representing the teens family. Apparent parallels between Fredericks death and that of George Floyd in Minneapolis, highlighted by Marko and Fieger in announcing the lawsuits filing, have drawn national attention to the case.

Related: Lakeside Academy students death ruled homicide

While Fredericks was unresponsive, staff members tapped him, splashed water on his face and lifted his head before checking his pulse. Some staff interviews indicate Fredericks was foaming at the mouth and appeared to be choking on his tongue, according to the MDHHS report.

Fredericks was eventually transported to Bronson Methodist Hospital. He died two days later from cardiac arrest.

An autopsy later ruled Fredericks death a homicide. Dr. Ted Brown, who performed the autopsy, told MLive the cause of the teenagers death was sequelae of restraint asphyxia, meaning Fredericks was receiving a lack of oxygen and blood flow.

In my opinion, the complications of him being restrained, on the ground in a supine position by multiple people, is ultimately what led to his death, Brown said.

In the investigation, MDHHS states improper restraints are a repeat violation at the facility. The report details an incident from January involving Fredericks, where seven staff members pushed and forced Fredericks onto a couch and then the ground. All seven restrained him, including some who laid across his body. The report says this went on for an excess of 30 minutes.

In the wake of the students death and the MDHHS probe, the state has suspended Lakeside Academys license and started the legal process to revoke it.

Additionally, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a statement saying she directed MDHHS Director Robert Gordon to take every step necessary to ensure Sequel Youth and Family Services no longer provides services for facilities licensed by the department. The contractor provided staffing at Lakeside Academy, and also does at other similar facilities.

Whitmer called Fredericks death intolerable and heartbreaking. In the wake of the incident, MDHHS announced it will eliminate the use of restraints against youth in its care, and review and reform its policies to prevent future tragedies.

Also on MLive:

Family of Lakeside Academy student seek answers about his death

Students removed from Lakeside Academy after 16-year-olds death

37 students, 9 staff members test positive for coronavirus at Lakeside Academy

Nothing like this has happened before, Lakeside Academy board chair says of student death
The Pune Customs and city police crime branch seized drugs worth Rs2.10 crore on Wednesday.

The Customs department seized narcotics from two trucks which were intercepted on their way to Pune from Solapur. The trucks had commenced their journey in Andhra Pradesh and are believed to have aimed drop-offs in various parts of Maharashtra.

Narcotics Cell of Pune Customs had received a specific input regarding trafficking of narcotic drugs loaded on trucks coming from some remote locations of Andhra Pradesh and destined for various places in Maharashtra. Based on the same, officers of the cell kept vigil and surveillance on the Naldurg- Solapur road, near Boramani village, Solapur, from 16:30 hrs onwards, on Wednesday.

The Customs officials raided the trucks at 4:30 pm on Naldurg-Solapur road, near Boramani village, Solapur.

Four persons (one driver and one helper in each vehicle) were detained, all aged between 30 and 35 and hailing from Maharashtra, read a statement from PK Behera, commissioner of Pune Customs.

Upon inspection of the trucks, the officials found 868 kilogrammes of marijuana, approximately valued at 1.04 crore. The officers also found 7.5 kilogrammes of hash (charas), estimated to be worth another Rs.0.75 crore, according to the Customs officials.

On spotting the trucks at Boramani-Naldurg road, the team of Customs officers followed the vehicles and finally intercepted the same in Pune. Upon rigorous search of the vehicles, it was noticed that ganja had been concealed in the cavity created on the roof of the vehicles, read a statement by Vaishali Patange, joint commissioner, Pune Customs.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman commended Pune Customs and tweeted, Keep up the good work.

Two held with 56 grammes of methamphetamine

The Pune police crime branch officials arrested two men with 56 grammes of methamphetamine (MD)z.

The accused have been identified as Saqlain Abdul Baki Qureshi (23) a resident of Bhimpura in Camp area of Pune and Shakeel Rouf Sayyed (41) a resident of Bhagyodaynagar in Kondhwa.

This is the second case of MD seizure, earlier in the month, 12 grammes of MD was seized. In all the cases registered by the crime branch, we try to investigate all forward and backward links. Action by Anti-Narcotics Cell of the crime branch is continuing to make Pune a drug-free city, said Bachchan Singh, deputy commissioner of police (crime), Pune.

(With agency inputs)
SAN FRANCISCO - Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Friday that Facebook will remove posts that incite violence or attempt to suppress voting - even from political leaders - and that the company will affix labels on posts that violate hate speech or other policies.

The moves amount to major concessions amid public pressure, employee unrest and a burgeoning advertiser boycott over Facebook's long-standing refusal to more aggressively address hate speech and other platform violations from politicians such as President Donald Trump.

The shifts are at least a partial retreat from the company's traditional deference to speech it deems "newsworthy." That includes Facebook's decision this month to not label or remove a post by Trump that said, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." Other companies, such as Twitter, which affixed a warning label on a similar post, have been more forceful at responding to what they deemed to be policy violations, including from politicians.

"There are no exceptions for politicians in any of the policies that I'm announcing today," Zuckerberg said in a town hall that was streamed live Friday.

The announcement did little to cool complaints from civil rights leaders, who say they've spent years trying to get Facebook to understand the seriousness of the problems on the platform and had won only modest concessions. They noted that Facebook already supposedly had strict policies against voter suppression and hate speech and that Friday's announcement did little to further address those issues.

"Facebook is feeling pressure, which is good," said Brandi Collins-Dexter, senior campaign director at Color of Change, an activist group long critical of Facebook. "I still think, at the end of the day, they still have a long way to go."

The most consequential change may be Facebook's new willingness to affix warning labels on problematic posts - a step that Zuckerberg long has resisted. The implications could reverberate far beyond the United States at a time when political leaders in many other nations have been exploiting the latitude Facebook has traditionally offered them to lie, misinform and engage in hateful characterizations of other people.

Social media companies are under an especially bright spotlight this year in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, facing pressure to control hate speech and misinformation on their sites - something that still haunts them from rampant disinformation that spread online during the 2016 campaign.

Facebook in particular has faced harsh criticism in recent weeks for its decision to leave up posts from the president that many advocates said clearly incited violence.

In the May post, Trump referred to protesters as "THUGS" and wrote, "Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

The new policies are not retroactive, meaning Trump's controversial posts over the last several weeks will remain untouched.

But even if they were posted again tomorrow, Facebook's updated policies would not apply to the May post, Facebook spokesman Tom Reynolds said. That post applies to a different policy involving "state use of force," which Facebook is currently reviewing but has not yet announced any changes for, he said.

"A handful of times a year we make a decision to leave up content that would otherwise violate our policies because we consider that the public interest value outweighs the risk of that content," Zuckerberg said in the town hall.

Facebook for years has been wrestling with how to enforce its policies against hate speech, disinformation and other violations when the person posting the content is Trump or some other political leader. As the company massively ramped up its teams for detecting and acting against content that violated policies - hiring tens of thousands of people in the process - it explicitly carved out an exemption for posts or advertisements from politicians, even though they had emerged as a leading source of disinformation and other problematic content in many nations.

The White House and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Zuckerberg has repeatedly expressed his reluctance to have Facebook serve as an "arbiter of truth" and has worked to neutralize claims by conservatives that the company was biased against them and their ideas, even though no systematic evidence of such bias has ever emerged. Zuckerberg for weeks defended his company's decisions, even appearing on Fox News and telling employees the tweet on looting did not constitute a policy violation.

But Friday's action suggested that Facebook's balancing act had grown untenable in light of intense and visible employee backlash, including some high-profile departures, as well as the advertiser boycott.

That it has grown to include in recent days such prominent corporate staples as Verizon, Hershey, Coca-Cola and Unilever is a worrying sign for a company that generates its multibillion-dollar profits and massive stock market valuation by maintaining a robust flow of advertising dollars. Its stock price fell by more than 8 percent Friday, far steeper than the market overall on a down day.

While Facebook's business prospects have bounced back before from major controversies over privacy and disinformation, it has struggled to recover its previously strong reputation among consumers and encountered increasing hostility in Washington from leaders of both major parties.

Facebook said Trump's post on mail-in ballots, which Twitter labeled with a fact-check notice, does not violate Facebook's policies on voter suppression. All posts that mention voting in any way going forward will receive a label to point users to more information about voting, but Trump's posts would not have received a "newsworthiness" warning.

Facebook's Reynolds said that in the future any posts that do violate the voter suppression policy, from the president or otherwise, will be removed. "Our voter suppression policies apply to everyone, including politicians," he said.

The unwillingness to act against such posts remains a major source of tension with civil rights leaders, who for years have lobbied Facebook to take issues of systemic racism more seriously on the platform.

The company announced a policy in November banning posts that suppress voting - even if they come from politicians. Civil rights leaders who worked on that say Trump's recent posts bashing mail-in voting as somehow equivalent to fraud violated that policy and should have been removed because of the potential to confuse voters and potentially dissuade them from participating in a legal means for casting ballots.

Overall, said Vanita Gupta, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a Washington-based umbrella group, Zuckerberg hasn't gone nearly far enough in announcing effective policies or enforcing them appropriately.

"They're useful. They're good. But they're super incremental," Gupta said. "They miss the bigger picture of the weaponization of the platform and undermine the prospects of a fair election in November."

Issues related to hateful and violent speech have crystallized in recent weeks amid rising national unrest about police violence. Trump's bid for reelection - following his shrewd and effective use of the platform four years ago - remains a major source of anxiety within the company.

As Facebook has avoided confronting Trump, rival Twitter has started more aggressively labeling posts from him and other politicians in the past few months. It has slapped some sort of warning label on five of Trump's tweets. That also includes one with a doctored video and one that said protesters would be met with force if they tried to set up an Autonomous Zone in the District of Columbia.

Trump lashed out at social media companies over Twitter's labeling, signing an executive order that sought to open the door for a crucial law, Section 230, to be rethought. The law ensures that social media companies are exempted from legal liability for nearly everything their users post on the sites.

In the last week, a growing number of advertisers have pulled their ads temporarily from Facebook as part of the civil rights group-led Stop Hate for Profit campaign, which urges advertisers to put financial pressure on Facebook to implement stricter policies against hate speech.

Facebook said its changes Friday were made after discussions with civil rights groups.

Facebook will prohibit more hate speech in ads, including political ads, such as claims that people from a specific group - of the same race, immigration status or sexual orientation - are a threat. The ads policies will also prohibit language that suggests refugees, immigrants or other groups are inferior in any way.

The company will also point users to official information on voting when they post about the topic and remove posts that try to intimidate or suppress voters.
FRUSTRATED taxi drivers picketed the Office of the Premier in Providenciales on Thursday (June 25) to demand their stimulus payments.





The out of work cabbies congregated outside the Hilly Ewing Building while Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson held a press conference inside to address other issues.





The peaceful protest was organised by the Turks and Caicos Taxi Association.





Quincy Parker, who represented the drivers, told the Weekly News that they have been without work for months due to the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.





He claimed the Government is turning a blind eye to their plight and refuses to pay them the $1,200 stimulus grant promised months ago.





"The country has been on lockdown for about three months now and the Government said that they were going to take care of the tourism/hospitality industry in the form of a stimulus.





"Taxi drivers are yet to see anything from the Government as far as the stimulus is concerned.





"We put in our applications for the stimulus only to get a response saying that we filled out the wrong forms and we were supposed to fill out the small business forms.





"So we were presented with the small business forms and we filled out the small business forms only to hear that the next reason our application didnt qualify was for the main fact that our work permits werent up to date.





He explained that the majority of public service operators are indigenous people who are allowed to operate without work permits.





"We dont need work permits, so how could they come back to us saying our work permits werent up to date? We dont pay or need work permits.





Parker said the constant hassle from the Government is tantamount to deception.





"So we felt as though we are being given the royal run around, which is something that the Government tends to do.





He stressed that taxi drivers continue to face excessive and "unnecessary bureaucracy from the Government even now during a crisis.





"That brings up not only just the stimulus package but a lot of other issues that we have as taxi drivers in our industry, where they have us doing so many things.





"Its so hard to get your business registered to be able to operate every year.





Parker said that annually drivers have to fork out money for a range or requirements in order to ply their trade and they usually do so without protest.





"We already paid so many different fees to the Government in so many different areas.





"If they need, we can do a list of all the payments weve made from business licence to registering our vehicles, to paying certificates just to say weve done our refresher courses every year, to mid-year inspection and then having to take into account that we have vehicles to fix.





"We have to buy parts; we have to pay mechanics. Not only that, but we also have our insurance to pay. We have to make sure that the guests that we are taking are insured.





Parker called on the Government to alleviate the pressure drivers face by cutting back or reducing some of the payments.





"So its a lot that weve already paid, he said "now were being asked to pay NIB and NHIP.





"While I do agree that these things are necessary and we should pay them I think they should give us a leeway somewhere. This is not fair. Its not only not fair but its not right.





Parker went on to say that many Islanders are struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic, and the Governments relief is either too slow or non-existent in some cases.





"Were at a place right now where we dont know how we will feed our families. Were in the middle of a crisis, we cannot work for ourselves.





"Theyre a lot of Turks Islanders who havent gotten any relief from the Government since the borders have shut down.





"If you watch the news youll see most countries have given their people some sort of relief in order for them to get through this crisis.





"We as the people of Turks and Caicos Islands have not seen a relief from our Government.





President of the All Island Transportation, Blineva Greene, said taxi operators have a myriad of issues that need addressing but the Government continues to brush them aside.





"I dont think that this Government takes taxi drivers seriously. Weve been ignored for years and all were asking for is the assistance that they offered during this trying time.





"Were a group of locals, were the first the guests meet when they arrive on island. When the guests are leaving, we are the last to hear what they have to say, whether they like or dislike their experience here in Turks and Caicos.





"Weve been ignored. This Government seems as if they have no sympathy for the people.





Theres a lot of hungry, hurting people in this country.





She added: "The airport is opening up in a matter of weeks. No one reached out to taxi drivers to see if we have the necessary tools to be able to operate.





Waiting on information

Briefly addressing taxi drivers concerns during her press conference, Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson said she recently met with the taxi association.





She acknowledged that residents are reeling from the pandemic lockdown measures and are in dire need of assistance.





"It is really disheartening to see people demonstrate for stimulus, she said.





"There is absolutely no doubt in the Governments mind that people are hurting. Thats why in this period we still allocated $15 million that we really cant afford for those persons that are hurting.





"There are systems and policies that have been put in place that demonstrate how much we want to get these monies into peoples hands.





She said the taxi drivers in particular met with her and she is still awaiting some information from them.





"It was probably about a week ago when those issues were raised at a meeting and I literally said to them, help me to help you by providing me with the information as to how widespread this is so that we can address the policies to get the money into your hand.





Cartwright Robinson said she is currently waiting for the taxi drivers to meet with her again.





She explained that she asked the association to determine how many members did not receive their stimulus payment.





"So even while theyre demonstrating out there, Im still waiting for information that is not tedious.





"Just to understand what is the position of the majority of their members as it relates to national insurance, as it relates to having a valid business licence so that we can tailor a policy as this Government has always been doing straight through to make sure they get their monies.





However, Greene told the Weekly News that the premier has all the information she requested from the association at her fingertips.





"I think the premier was very disrespectful and dishonest in trying to make it seem like shes waiting for information from taxi drivers.





"When she has access to the database - her office is above national insurance - she wanted to know who is registered with national insurance and who has business licence.





Greene lamented that that information is lodged with the Revenue Control Department and Road Safety Department as well.





"Individuals just cant walk up to these various departments and request that information.





"The traffic department has access to all taxi drivers, so that can be accessible to her.





"So this is a poor excuse that she made during her address and Im very disappointed and its really sad.





TCI citizens who work in the hospitality or tourism industry are entitled to a $1,200 pay out as part of the TCI Governments economic stimulus programme.





So far more than 6,000 people have received the grant while thousands are yet to receive it.






WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With an unprecedented surge in new cases and deaths reporting in a day, coronavirus infections in the United States reached its peak on Thursday, surpassing the record figures witnessed in late April.



With 40,943 new cases reporting in the last 24 hours, the total number of cases in the U.S. increased to 2422312, as per Johns Hopkins University's latest update on Friday.



The daily tally provided by state health departments is 39,327.



The highest single-day tally since the pandemic hit the country in January was partly driven by spikes in California, Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri and Nevada. Many of these states reported their highest daily toll.



As infections and hospitalizations go beyond control in the state, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the next phase of reopening will be delayed.



Thursday, the country also witnessed an unprecedented spike in COVID-related deaths. The coronavirus death toll rose to 124,415 with 2436 additional deaths reporting in the last 24 hours. This is three times what was reported on the previous day, and the highest since the pandemic turned fatal in March.



The unusual surge in death toll was mainly due to the addition of 1796 deaths to New Jersey's overall tally.



The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the number of infected people in the U.S. is most likely 10 times higher than what was officially reported.



CDC Director Robert Redfield told reporters in a conference call that his estimate is based on growing data from antibody testing. That means as many as 24 million Americans might have contracted the coronavirus.



Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that global infections are expected to top 10 million next week.



Following is the latest infection and casualty data of the states worst-affected by the pandemic.



New York (31301 deaths, 390415 infections), New Jersey (14872 deaths, 169892 infections), Michigan (6133 deaths, 68989 infections), Massachusetts (7962 deaths, 107837 infections), Louisiana (3164 deaths, 53415 infections), Illinois (6810 deaths, 139434 infections), Pennsylvania (6557 deaths, 88141 infections), California (5806 deaths, 201114 infections), Connecticut (4298 deaths, 45994 infections), Texas (2317 deaths, 134558 infections), Georgia (2745 deaths, 71095 infections), Virginia (1675 deaths, 59946 infections), Maryland (3129 deaths, 65777 infections), Florida (3327 deaths, 114018 infections), Indiana (2586 deaths, 43655 infections), Ohio (2772 deaths, 47651 infections), Colorado (1669 deaths, 31463 infections), Minnesota (1441 deaths, 34123 infections), Arizona (1495 deaths, 63281 infections) and Washington (1300 deaths, 30367 infections).



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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The Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus is at the stage of community spread.

So said epidemiologist Dr Avery Hinds yesterday as he noted the detection of the variant in a number of people who had no recent travel history.

Hinds was speaking during the Ministry of Healths virtual news conference yesterday.
New Delhi, June 26 : Over 700 employees of Hindu Rao Hospital would stage a protest against North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Friday morning over non-payment of their salaries since April. The staff includes paramedical, nurses, and Class IV employees of the hospital. However, the employees said that only 40 or 50 people would gather to stage the protest keeping COVID situation in mind, and the norms of social distancing would also be followed.

Tejinder Singh, president of the Paramedical technical staff welfare association, said that the corporation is forcing the employees to go on a protest when they are needed the most. "The government hails us as Corona warriors but do not treat us like one," he commented.

"We all have families. Many amongst us have taken loans, live on rental accommodation, and have children whose schools and colleges are demanding fees. How would we incur our expenses when we are not paid? We repeatedly asked the corporation to clear our dues, but our requests fell on deaf ears. We don't have any option but to go on protest," he said.

Besides, Singh also said that the staff of Hindu Rao had not received arrears of seventh pay commission, bonus and dearness allowances for two years. "These are our rights which we are being denied. The protest is to call out injustice and ignorance we face from the administration," he added.

The nurses of the hospital corroborated with Singh. However, they also added the issues they are facing since the pandemic started that they would be rising through the protest.

Nurses complain lack of facilities despite hospital gearing up as dedicated COVID care Indumati Jaiswal, president of nurses' welfare association of the hospital, said that apart from salaries, the hospital is not providing many facilities required by the staff to battle the pandemic. The Delhi government had designated the hospital as a dedicated COVID facility on June 16.

"The preparedness for such responsibility is completely shoddy. There is no provision for air conditioners and coolers for us. We have to work wearing PPE kits for six hours straight under ceiling fans. The lack of AC and coolers amplifies our struggle to stay under PPE kits for longer hours. We can't even drink water in that duration. It's just inhumane," Jaiswal said.

Jaiswal also said that the hospital is facing staff crunch, yet, have not prepared a roster for the nurses. "The hospital has 238 nurses on 700 doctors. This is opposite to the prescribed guidelines of the Indian Nurses Council that suggests four nurses per doctor as a healthy ratio. Here, we have less than five nurses per doctor. A complete opposite of an ideal scenario," she complained.

Jaiswal said that the room for donning and doffing the PPE kits should be outside the ward. "In the hospital, it's within the ward, and the nurses have to cross through the patients to wear in and out the PPE suits. It increases the risk of contracting COVID-19 from the patients," she said.

The hospital employees informed that more than 40 healthcare workers from Hindu Rao had contracted the COVID-19 infection.

The corporation argues lack of funds behind delay in salaries Indu Singhal, the deputy commissioner of North Delhi Municipal Commissioner, told IANS that the corporation is in the process to resolve the salary issues of the Hindu Rao Hospital's staff. "We have received their complaints and pursuing the matter. We will release their dues as soon as we receive the funds from the government," she said.

However, a senior official of the corporation revealed that the corporation is reeling under an acute shortage of funds. "Even the employees working in the corporation have not been paid salaries. The employees of A-grade are not paid since March," the official said.

Singhal said that the dispersion of salaries starts from the lower base. "Many officers, including I have not been paid," she added.
Marc Geiger Exits WME, Lucy Dickins Named Music Co-Head

On Thursday, WME confirmed reports that had been circulating this week that Marc Geiger, WME Partner and Worldwide Head of Music, is exiting the company after 17 years.

Under Marcs leadership, WMEs Music division has become a global powerhouse, Lloyd Braun, President of Endeavors Representation businesses said in a press statement. During his tenure, Marc led countless agency initiatives and firsts for the music industry, including the creation of Festivals and EDM divisions and building out WMEs leading London and Sydney music teams. We thank Marc for his countless contributions to WME and wish him all the best going forward.

The past 17 years have been an incredible ride, and Ive been fortunate to work with some of the worlds best artists and colleagues, added Geiger. Im proud of all that we accomplished, most especially the team we built during my time with the agency. I know they will achieve great things in the future.

Geiger, who co-founded the Lolllapalooza festival and online music retailer ARTISTdirect, joined WMEs predecessor William Morris in 2003 as a Senior Vice President in the music division.

When WME merged with Endeavor in 2009, Geiger stepped up to oversee the music department and reps some of the biggest names in music, including David Byrne, Roger Waters, Ozzy, Tony Bennett, and Lady Gaga among others.

In addition to the announcement of Geigers exit from the agency, WMEs Co-Head of Music Sara Newkirk Simon is also transiting out of a leadership role at WME and will become a consultant for WMEs parent company Endeavor.

In Geigers place, Lucy Dickins has been promoted to Co-Head of WMEs Music division, creating a triumvurate with Scott Clayton and Kirk Sommer who will remain in their roles as Co-Heads.

Scott, Lucy and Kirk have distinguished themselves through the artists they have championed, the reputations theyve built, and the leadership theyve demonstrated at WME, said Braun. Each brings unique experience, relationships and perspective that will help shape the future of our Music division.

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Given his bright eyes and bundles of energy, it is hard to believe Tauranga toddler Taika Macefield was born with a life-threatening heart defect.

So far in his short lifetime, he has undergone major heart surgery and spent three months at Starship Hospital in Auckland.

Taikas mum Natalie Mankelow says her life turned upside down when faced with the possibility of losing her baby.

She found out about his rare heart defect after a pregnancy scan at 23 weeks gestation.

The midwife called to say there was something wrong with his heart, that it looks like it is the wrong way round.

"It was pretty devastating to hear because you are not sure if they are going to survive, and there is such a long wait. It is all so unknown."

The 16-month-old boy has Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries.

CCTGA is a rare heart defect in which the hearts lower half is reversed.

According to the Adult Congenital Heart Association, two ventricles and their attached valves are reversed so that the weaker, larger right ventricle grows on the hearts left side. It pumps blood around the body.

The stronger, smaller left ventricle grows on the hearts right side. It pumps blood to the lungs.

Natalie, her partner Leon Macefield and their daughter Maila moved to Auckland when she was 37 weeks pregnant so Taika could be born under the care of the pediatric cardiologists at Starship.

He was taken to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit immediately after being born.

At only 12 days old, Taika underwent a major surgical procedure that had only been performed a couple of times previously.

To the familys delight, the double switch surgery was a success. They spent the next three months in Auckland while Taika recovered in hospital.

Reflecting on Taika's journey brings Natalie to the point of tears.

"There is a rollercoaster of emotions you go through. Part of it is grieving the normal pregnancy you were supposed to have, and then when the baby is born you have to face the possibility of losing the baby.

"There's also the financial pressure you are put under. We are small business owners, and I was on maternity leave. There was no income because Leon needed to be with me."

Nowadays, the only sign of Taikas heart defect is the large scar that runs down the middle of his chest.

He lives day to day life like a normal boy, but needs to stay clear of large gatherings due to his low immunity.

We dont see external symptoms at the moment which is pretty cool - its just like hes a normal boy, Natalie says

But she reiterates the heart defect will stay with Taika for the rest of his life, with there being a good chance he will require another open-heart surgery.

It doesnt just go away. Thats a misunderstanding we had  that after the first surgery that would be it.

There are a few things still wrong with his heart, and they have said he will need another surgery but we dont know when.

Natalie and Leon agree their journey would have been much harder if it werent for HeartKids.

The not-for-profit organisation provides ongoing support in the form of food, resources, advice and hugs.

They know exactly what you are going through. At the hospital, they would always poke their head in  and they could just read the room.

They would always know what you needed  a listening ear, a hug or a coffee.

Emotional support from HeartKids staff was crucial to getting them through.

Its so important to have that support  because you have never confronted anything like that before and you dont know whats coming next.

It is so nice to have someone who has seen what you are going through."

Every week in New Zealand 12 babies are born with a heart defect, that is one in every 100 births.

A congenital heart defect is the most common birth defect and it is the number one cause of death in babies and newborns.

Every year, more than 600 major heart surgeries are performed on children or babies, sometimes in their first few hours of life, says Heart Kids spokesperson Nicola Garland.

For many, this wont be their last operation and they will continue to face the day-to-day challenges associated with their heart condition for the rest of their lives  and thats what we are here for.

Natalie believes the family will have a strong relationship with the organisation for years to come.

An important lesson learnt on this journey with Taika is to value the time you spend with your kids, Natalie says.

When you are faced with their mortality, it brings it into perspective.

Taika has enabled us to adjust our parenting and our perception of how long you should stay at home with your kids. We really value the time we have.

She cant wait for the day Taika is running around with his mates at Kohanga Reo, but says for now they are just making the most of having him home.
An Alabama Department of Corrections worker has died from COVID-19, the first employee death in the state prison system.

ADOC officials announced the death Thursday night. They did not identify the employee but said he or she worked at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka. The staff member recently had tested posted for COVID-19, said spokeswoman Samantha Rose.

The ADOC extends its heartfelt condolences to the employees family and loved ones during this difficult time and is forever grateful for the employees service to the department,' Rose stated in the press release. This is the departments first COVID-19-related staff or contracted staff death.

Five state inmates have died so far after testing positive COVID-19, the most recent happening earlier this week when 59-year-old Allen Barton, serving a 99-year sentence for rape, died Tuesday at a hospital. Hed been transferred to the hospital from Statons infirmary on June 18 when he tested positive. He was considered high-risk due to his advanced chronic health conditions.

Additionally, Rose announced Thursday that ADOC was informed via self-reporting that one staff member employed at the Criminal Justice Center in Montgomery and one staff member employed at Tutwiler have tested positive for COVID-19. Both promptly self-quarantined under the direction of their healthcare providers.

The ADOCs Office of Health Services has initiated an investigation to determine which, if any, ADOC inmates or employees may have had direct, prolonged exposure to these staff members. OHS will advise any staff with direct exposure to contact their healthcare providers and self-quarantine for the recommended 14-day period, or as advised by their healthcare providers.

In total, 80 COVID-19 cases among ADOC staff and contracted staff remain active. Seventy-two staff members who previously self-reported a positive test have been cleared by medical providers to return to work. Among the inmate population, 62 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, 39 of which remain active.
Washington, June 26 : The White House coronavirus task force will hold a press briefing on Friday, marking the first time the group will speak on camera to the public in nearly two months.

The briefing will take place at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and will be led by Vice President Mike Pence, who chairs the task force, the Hill news website said in a report.

The task force has been publicly absent for the last two months after the White House halted what had been near-daily briefings on the pandemic.

The last task force briefing occurred on April 27, just a few days after President Donald Trump sparked widespread backlash by suggesting scientists study injecting light and chemicals into the body as a potential treatment for the virus.

Trump is not expected to be present at Friday's briefing.

The briefing comes as the US continues with the world's highest number of COVID-19 infections and fatalities as of Friday morning, with 2,418,570 cases and 124,355 deaths, according to thee Johns Hopkins University.

The US reported on Wednesday its largest one-day total since the start of the pandemic: 36,880 new cases, more than two months after the previous high, Xinhua news agency quoted The New York Times as saying.

The tally of new cases, based on the newspaper's database, showed that the outbreak was stronger than ever.

The elevated numbers were a result of worsening conditions across much of the country, as well as increased testing.

The recent resurgence is concentrated largely in the South and West of the country.

States including Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas reported their highest single-day totals on Wednesday.

California, the country's most populous state and the first to implement a statewide lockdown to combat the pandemic, has set daily records for new cases this week.

Texas, one of the fastest states to ease its shutdown, halted steps to reopen its economy on Thursday after a sharp rise in recent cases.
File Photo

New Delhi: The aviation regulator DGCA said on Friday that it is extending the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights in the country till July 15 but added that some international scheduled services on select routes may be permitted on a case-to-case basis.

AirlinesScheduled international passenger flights were suspended in India on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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The competent authority has decided that scheduled international commercial passenger services to or from India shall remain suspended till 23:59 hrs IST of July 15, 2020, said the DGCA circular.

Flight servicesHowever, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case to case basis, said the circular by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

India resumed scheduled domestic passenger flights on May 25, after a gap of two months.
Sauti Sol guitarist, composer, and producer Polycarp Otieno alias Fancy Fingers is coming to a YouTube channel near you.

The musician and his wife, Landy Mandy, have unveiled a cooking show dubbed Meals in Minutes with The Os!. According to the lovebirds, the show has been a long time coming.

we have always wanted to share our unconventional ways of cooking that will literally spice up your life! When lockdown started many of us got more interest into cooking at home more. Its way healthier and most times cheaper than eating out everyday. And we thought why not let you into our kitchen and explore all kinds of different plant based foods, said Otieno.

He noted that the show is for everyone, including meat lovers and vegans.

This show will appeal to meat eaters who want to try different kinds of foods that are not necessarily meat and for vegans who want to try new ways of making their foods. Its for EVERYONE!  he said.

On her part, Lady Mandy could not hide her excitement as the couple prepares to premiere the first episode on Saturday.

Ommgggggggg guys come close!!! We are shouting, so I guess all y all at the back are covered! ?????

We ( Mr O and I) ? have a cooking show guys!!! Meals in minutes with the O s, welcome to our kitchen, welcome to where our family has the most fun: cooking and eating well! said the Burundian who is expecting their first child.

Polycarp further hinted that they will eventually incorporate their child in their family videos.

Subscribe to our channel The Os on YouTube for this and much more about us and our family(little one coming soon! ?? ) he said.
Africa Education Watch (AEW), an education policy research and advocacy organisation, has proposed the scrapping of training allowance for teacher trainees in the country.



The move, according to a statement issued in Accra on Saturday by the organisation, was to help government accelerate developmental agenda of the country, and to allocate resources to the needed areas.



The organisation, led a 30 group of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) proposed 40 policies for the two main political parties in the country, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to consider in their 2020 manifesto.



Dubbed: Civil Society Education Manifesto 2020, it was proposed by 30 CSOs, including ActionAid, World Vision, the Ghana Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) among other institutions working at the school, community and policy level within the educational sector.



Among the major policy recommended by the CSOs were the adoption of a local language policy that would allow flexibility in the use of indigenous languages to teach at the lower primary level and the scrapping of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).



The CSOs also advocated the use of National Standardised Tests, which are part of the new curriculum, to determine placement of students into Senior High School (SHS),



Africa Education Watch also called for enforcement of performance contracts for all basic school heads, and the setting up of a skills development fund with 50 per cent corporate social responsibility budget contributions from industry, to finance skills training and development.



The group presented the 40 embodiment policy proposals to the Chairman of the NDC Manifesto Committee, Professor Kwaku Danso Boafo, who promised the partys consideration of the proposals.



Earlier, the group had discussions with the Chairman of the NPP, and submitted the same proposals to the party.



The AEW promised to embark on a campaign to engage the public, political actors and the media on the policy proposals in the Civil Society Education Manifesto 2020 before political parties launch their manifestoes in August.

Source: The Ghanaian Times









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

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Democratic congresswoman Maxine Waters has claimed that president Donald Trump cares more about protecting Confederate monuments, than he does about US deaths due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of coronavirus cases in states across the US has risen in the last few weeks, after businesses reopened and social distancing measures were eased, with the support of Mr Trump.

Over the same time period, monuments to Confederate officials were removed in numerous states, after Black Lives Matter protesters criticised them following the death of George Floyd.

The president condemned the removal of statues, and on Thursday, the representative for California released a statement that criticised Mr Trumps actions over the last few months.

One would hope that the president of the United States would rise to the level of leadership that our country needs in confronting the deadly uptick in coronavirus cases in America, Ms Waters said.

Instead, we are left with Donald Trump, an incompetent and heartless man who is more focused on saving statues of slaveholders, Confederate generals, and racists than protecting the health of living and breathing Americans, the 81-year-old added.

Recommended CDC chief says US coronavirus cases may be ten times official number

Ms Waters comments came on the same day that the country recorded its highest daily total of coronavirus cases, since the pandemic began.

The previous highest daily total of positive Covid-19 cases of 36,426, was recorded on 24 April, but two months later on 25 June, the US announced 39,327 new coronavirus infections.

The United States remains the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 2.4 million cases and more than 124,000 deaths. My home state of California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida have seen their coronavirus cases skyrocket in the past two weeks, the congresswoman wrote in her statement.

On Tuesday, Texas and California set records for having more than 5,000 coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period, and 33 states have reported a spike in their weekly average of coronavirus cases.

Instead of using the full power of his office to fight this deadly pandemic, Donald Trump would rather ignore the coronavirus and call in US marshals to confront protestors who are taking down memorials to racist Confederate generals and slaveholders, Ms Waters added.

Recommended Walmart joins calls to remove Confederate symbol from Mississippi flag

A renewed discussion around Confederate monuments was sparked following the death of Mr Floyd, who died after his neck was knelt on by Derek Chauvin, who at the time was a Minneapolis police officer.

On Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, multiple Confederate statues were toppled across the US, including one of general Albert Pike, in Washington, DC.

In reaction to the protests, the president asked US Marshals to protect national monuments.

Mr Trump also announced that he is preparing to issue an executive order that will protect statues and monuments, even if they have ties to the Confederacy, according to CNN.

After a statue to former president and Union leader Ulysses S Grant was toppled last week, Mr Trump said that protesters had gone too far.

Recommended Protesters topple Confederate monuments across the US on Juneteenth

I think many of the people that are knocking down the statues dont even have any idea what the statue is, what it means, who it is when they knocked down, he said.

Now they are looking at Jesus Christ, they are looking at George Washington, theyre looking at Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson. Not going to happen, not going to happen while Im here.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 2.4 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 124,509.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
The Queen has thanked serving members of the military and veterans for their work ahead of Armed Forces Day on Saturday.

In the year that marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day, the commemoration will mostly be celebrated virtually for the first time in history, with military bands performing via the Armed Forces Facebook and Twitter pages.

On Saturday, the Red Arrows will fly over Scarborough, where official celebrations were due to be held, the British Armys Catterick Garrison, and RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire.

The Royal Air Force Red Arrows pass over the Horseguards Parade during a flypast in central London to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day (Yui Mok/PA)

In a statement, the Queen said: The Duke of Edinburgh and I join many around the United Kingdom in celebrating Armed Forces Day, and the efforts of our military both at home and overseas.

Today provides an opportunity for thanks, and a recognition of the dedication and risks faced by those serving our nation.

We also have cause to thank veterans, who continue to contribute to our way of life, long after they leave the Armed Forces.

Having had members of my family serve in each of the Armed Services, I know only too well of the pride service personnel take in their duty.

As your Commander-in-Chief, I send my warmest best wishes to you all, your families, and the entire Armed Forces community.
Bolaji Tunji, the special adviser on communication and strategy to the late ex-Governor Abiola Ajimobi has penned a tribute for his late boss revealing how the politician made a journey of no-return from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to Abuja, Nigerias federal capital.

He said it was during that fateful trip that Mr Ajimobi took ill and did not recover.

Mr Ajimobi, the immediate past governor of Oyo State, died in Lagos on Thursday from complications arising from COVID-19.

He was until his death the deputy national chairman (South) of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Below is Mr Tunjis tribute in full which he published on his Facebook Page on Friday morning.

=============================

It was just like yesterday. He (Abiola Ajimobi) had received a call to come to Abuja. It was to discuss party matters. He was not sure of who would follow him. Because it was a private flight, he had limited options. He only went with his security aide.

He had told us earlier in our office in his Oluyole home that we would talk about the movement to Abuja since he had become the Deputy National Chairman. Our office had to shift to Abuja. He was in his usual caftan and cap, always impeccably dressed even at home except when he does his exercise every morning in his blue track down and blue stripe Tee-shirt and branded cap. With his earpiece and phone in hand, he would walk around the building several times to exercise.

We will leave by 2.00 pm, he said that fateful day. A special private flight had been arranged for him.

He radiated good health and we still marvelled that he still looked so good for his 70 years. Being 70 meant a lot to him and would jokingly call himself Baba 70. As he left our wing of the house to the other side, a few of us in our usual manner trailed him. He spoke with a few people in the courtyard before he left to prepare for that trip. I never knew it was going to be the last time I would see him.

But in his usual organised manner, there was no pending issue. He had taken care of everything. He had signed all the letters of appointment for the peace and reconciliation committee.

I still cant wrap my head around what happened. He was so healthy, he was neat, he took all the necessary precautions even while he sat with us in our open office he was always with his face mask, we always observe social distancing. We were always quick to give him hands sanitizer anytime he touched something. We were conscious of his age and did all we could to ensure safety. We had three spots where you had to wash hands before entering the premises. One at each of the main entrance gates and another by the entrance to our office. We observed all due protocols. So what happened? How did it happen? None of us was sick. So where did this come from? I am still trying to find answers.

He never wanted anything else after the general election. He only wanted to take a long, due rest after serving for 8 years without break. But another position was thrust on him. He never solicited for us and he did not want. But they convinced him to accept. I know because in his usual forthrightness, he narrated how it happened. He took the positions because he felt it would benefit his people.  I have done my bit. There is nothing I set out to achieve that I did not, I cannot be governor again, but I can not leave you people,  he would say.

But what went wrong? I am at a loss. I was so sure he would get up the sickbed. I was so sure because there were unfinished businesses. There were so many tasks that he had planned ahead to better the lot of the people. So I was convinced he would come to complete those tasks, those plans. I never knew it would end this way.

A legend is born with the death of a hero. You will forever remain in my heart, in our heart. I have learnt so much from you. You were a willing teacher. You would deliberately sit with us and tell us about life experiences. The idea was to learn from you. And we learnt. You would have been surprised if we had not learnt. As you were quick to point out, you never had an academic PhD, but you had a PhD in experiences and what life had to teach.

I can go on and on reminiscing about you. About that other side that people never saw. That soft part of you that people never knew existed.

This is cathartic for me because I am still in shock. Am at a loss. Everything within a month.

Did we see this coming? No. Not this. Not that you would go so soon.

Were there signs? Yes. From the most unlikeliest of sources. But not like this. Not to death

Though the music stopped (for Mr Ajimobi), the melody continues. You will forever be remembered. Good night Sir. Just the way I always text you.
Neither the #MeToo movement nor the term systemic racism was on the top of public mind in 1996 when California voters passed an initiative to ban affirmative action. The dream, or perhaps the illusion, of a colorblind and merit-based society was a propelling argument for the law that effectively prohibited public universities to consider race or gender in admissions or for state or local governments to offer contract preferences to businesses owned by women or people of color.

Its past time to reconsider those assumptions that led to the passage of Proposition 209.

California voters will get that opportunity after the state Senate voted Wednesday for ACA5, which would repeal the prohibitions on affirmative action in the state Constitution.

Much has changed in the states political landscape in the 24 years since Republican Gov. Pete Wilson was a prominent advocate of the measure being pushed by UC Regent Ward Connerly. The states demographics have shifted dramatically (53% white then, 36% now) and Republicans now account for less than 25% of registered voters. Not a single statewide office is held by Republicans.

What has not changed is that people of color remain underrepresented in many of the critical indicators of opportunity, from higher education admissions to public contracts. The racial disparities are particularly acute in the University of Californias most competitive campuses in Berkeley and Los Angeles. The Prop. 209 restrictions put UC at a disadvantage against private schools in recruiting top-flight students from underrepresented groups.

The movement to repeal Prop. 209 has been stirring for years, but one of its roadblocks had been opposition from some Asian American groups who worried that the return of affirmative action could work against Asian American applicants to the UC system. That political impediment all but dissolved this week when the Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus endorsed ACA5. As Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento put it, opposition to affirmative action is not colorblind  its blindness toward structural racism.

A reconsideration of Prop. 209 is long overdue, and it comes at a time when Americans are confronting the uncomfortable reality of inequities that have not gone away.

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.
- In his argument, Havi stated Waluke and Wakhungu were contracted by NCPB to supply maize but the grains dealer breached the agreement

- The city lawyer said the High Court had ordered the payments to the duo

- His remarks sparked a debate on Twitter with most netizens wondering why he was criticising the findings yet he was on the forefront asking all and sundry to obey court orders

The Law Society of Kenya president Nelson Havi has touched a raw nerve after saying convicted Sirisia MP John Waluke and his co-accused Grace Wakhungu did not commit a crime in the KSh 313 million National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) scandal.

The city lawyer angered many after saying the duo's conviction was wrong as he asked Kenyans not to celebrate what he termed as "fraudulent convictions".

READ ALSO: William Ruto meets Nairobi welders who make convertible benches, makes KSh 150k furniture order

Law Society of Kenya boss Nelson Havi at a press conference. He said the court wrongly convicted MP Waluke and his co-accused Grace Wakhungu. Photo: LSK.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Ahmednasir denies taking part in NCPB looting: "I was paid legal fees, I have zero apology"

In his argument, Havi stated the duo was contracted by the government agency to supply maize but the grains dealer breached its agreement prompting an arbitration by the High Court and the Court of Appeal which ordered the payments.

"John Waluke and Grace Wakhungu contracted with NCPB. NCPB breached the contract. Arbitrator ordered payment. Award was enforced by High Court. NCPB lost before High Court and Court of Appeal and paid the decree. How can that be a crime? Do not celebrate fraudulent convictions,"his tweet read.

Havi's remarks sparked a debate on Twitter with most netizens wondering why he was criticising the judgment yet he was on the forefront asking all and sundry to obey court orders.

Here were some reactions sampled by TUKO.co.ke.

MP John Waluke and Grace Wakhungu at the Milimani Law Courts after they were found guilty of fraud. Photo: Zipporah Weru/TUKO.co.ke.

Source: Original

READ ALSO: Jamaa aaga dunia kwa kutumia dawa ya kuamsha ashiki kupita kiasi

"David Onundu: Nelson Havi is on record asking all and sundry to obey court orders. How can he then so harshly criticize this finding? There are legal avenues to register his displeasure.

Sirisia MP John Waluke risks losing his seat if he fails to pay the fine as ordered by the court. Photo: John Waluke.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Jubilee Asili: Registrar refuses to list new political outfit associated with William Ruto

"So which maize did they deliver? You cant collude with corrupt officials inside NCPB to con the taxpayers and get away with it? Justice have to be served one way or another,"Monique Shii wrote.

Lilian Owinga: Nelson Havi is a disgrace to this country Kenya! Havi must resign and go together with Ahmednasir. They are looting this country dry.

"Havi is the chairman of LSK cartels and deputised strongly by the Grand mullah, this is a combination that is hellbent in ensuring justice for Wanjiku remains an illusion,"Phil Odhiambo opined.

Waluke and his co-accused were found guilty of defrauding NCPB in the KSh 313 million maize scandal by Milimani Law Courts magistrate Elizabeth Juma on Thursday, June 15.

They were ordered to pay a fine of over KSh 700 million each or serve a seven-year jail term in default.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

I now have hope for life - Joy Mukwanjeru | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
By Trend

Iran will save 12 million liters of gasoline per day while providing 1.4 million cars with dual fuel, Director of CNG Project at the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) Hamid Ghasemi Dehcheshmeh told Tasnim news agency, Trend reports.

The director emphasized that with saving the funds, Iran can build two Tehran-sized refineries.

Ghasemi Dehcheshmeh added that this amount of savings in gasoline consumption with the alternative use of CNG fuel is a great investment in the industry.

On Nov. 15, 2019, the price of gasoline sold on quota increased from 10,000 rials (23 cents) to 15,000 rials (35 cents) and the price of gasoline sold free from the quota increased to 30,000 rials (71 cents) in Iran.

On December 2, 2019, the Economic Council of Iran, based on a joint proposal of the Ministry of Oil and the Planning and Budget Organization, adopted a decision to reduce transportation costs and imporve environmental protection. According to the decision, 1.46 million taxis, pickups, vans and private passenger cars will be supplied with CNG gas.

During the first stage, the government will spend $570 million for the project, said the report.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Ritik Kumar, 24, said he was heading home from the fields at lunchtime under a heavy rain in the village of Khajuria when lightning ripped across the sky. He heard crashing thunder, then saw a ball of fire fall on another villager walking just ahead of him.
Closing non-essential access to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation puts lives ahead of livelihoods, Blackfeet tribal leaders said of their new COVID-19 restrictions.

Some people thought wed flattened the curve, and then the cases shot up, Blackfeet Incident Command Director Robert DesRosier said on Friday. This coronavirus is not going away, and we cant afford to be letting our guard down. We have a vulnerable population here. So well regroup and come back in 2021.

The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council on Thursday evening extended the reservation closure through at least Oct. 1, after previously planning to re-open on June 30. That means all non-essential travel through the reservation, including access to five roads on the eastern border of Glacier National Park, are closed. It also extends the closure of all non-essential businesses and advisories to wear personal protective equipment throughout the reservation.

Montana recorded its 22nd COVID-19 death on Thursday, a patient in Rosebud County. The state reported 29 new cases and 829 cases total as of Friday. After staying relatively flat for most of May, the daily case count has been on a steep upward trend.

Seven cases have been reported in Glacier County, which overlaps the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. But neighboring Flathead County to the west has had 52 cases in total, while Toole County to the east has had 31.

Look at it this way, Blackfeet Tribal Business Council member Mark Pollock said in a video announcement accompanying the closure extension. Our elders have a lot of knowledge that has not been passed on yet. Once that knowledge is gone from them, if it hasnt been shared, that knowledge is gone forever. If we let the coronavirus in somehow, then that knowledge could be gone.

Blackfeet tribal spokeswoman Eileen Henderson said the reservation community faces a greater risk than other parts of the state due to local housing conditions.

We have multiple families living in one home, and these are the ones we need to look out for, Henderson said. We dont have a live-in shelter (for quarantine patients), and thats stretched our community thin.

The Blackfeet Tribe has received about $30 million in federal assistance through the Cares Act and other grants, but that money is being held for a covid-related outbreak, not for economic stimulus or payments to tribal members, Henderson said.

Motorists on U.S. Highway 2 and Highway 89 may still stop for gas and food in reservation communities such as East Glacier and Browning. Travelers may also get overnight lodging for single nights. But all other non-essential activity such as camping, hiking, or boating is prohibited by the ordinance.

That leaves Glacier Park with only one major entrance at West Glacier. Hotels and businesses in and around the entrances at East Glacier, Two Medicine, St. Mary and Many Glacier will remain closed for the rest of the 2020 summer season. And due to the closure of the Canadian border to non-essential travel, access to Waterton Lakes International Peace Park in Alberta is also blocked.

In 2019, about 127,000 motorists entered the four east-side gateways to Glacier in July, compared to about 150,000 vehicles that month through West Glacier. Hotels, businesses and the Fish Creek campground at Lake McDonald on the west side are open for visitors, but with significantly reduced services due to virus-related safety measures. All front- and backcountry camping reservations in Glacier have been canceled and are now being offered on a first-come, first-served basis for sites that can be reached.

The Going-to-the-Sun Road across the middle of Glacier remains blocked by snow for motorists and is not likely to be cleared before July. Once drivers are able to cross Logan Pass, however, they will have to return the way they came because exits arent allowed through the St. Mary gateway. National Park Service staff are still evaluating plans to open the St. Mary front-country campground this year, according to Glacier spokeswoman Gina Kerzman.

The need for single-occupant housing to provide virus protection meant Glacier Park had to hire about 25 percent fewer seasonal staff this year. With access to the trails and facilities on the east side so limited, park employees spent much of Friday evaluating how best to deploy rangers and workers in the places the public can still visit. Superintendent Jeff Mow said he expected changes day to day.

Were building the plane as were flying it, Mow said of the park operations. There is no guidebook or template for how this should work.

For example, park restrooms must have lowered capacity to give enough social distance space for visitors. But they also have to be cleaned and disinfected much more often than in the past for virus safety. And with workers unable to share vehicles to avoid passing infections, the whole staffing equation needs rethinking.

Meanwhile, predictions for how much visitor traffic will actually show up this summer are as clear as McDonald Creek in spring runoff. The gradual release of pandemic lockdown measures has prompted many local residents to daytrip into the park, while summer vacationers remain an unknown quantity. Mow said anecdotal reports hint that many tourists may be renting vans or camper-trailers and staying at private sites to maintain hygienic isolation. But the hard evidence isnt available yet.

Since weve been open in the two weeks after June 8, were probably seeing 60-70 percent visitation we normally would for this time of year, Mow said. Thats healthier than what I might have expected before we opened. But its a little curious to me. Ive talking to folks at local chambers of commerce. Theres an awful lot of cars, but the hotel occupancy rate isnt close to 60 percent. Theyre still down.

The closure order will force many tourism-dependent businesses on Glacier's east side to write off the 2020 economic year. In East Glacier, Mountain Pine Motel owner Ryan Sherburne said adaptation has become a requirement for success there.

If this business can last 73 years, Im sure it can last more, said Sherburne, whose great-great grandfather was the namesake for Sherburne Lake in the Many Glacier Valley. Some people are a little freaked out by the monetary side. But I think its smart to listen to what the tribe wants to do. The health of the community is far more important than anybodys opportunity to profit.

Sherburne said businesses in the closed areas were still eligible for federal paycheck loans and other economic stimulus programs, although he was concerned those might fade out as the rest of the nation attempts to resume business as usual this summer.

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26.06.2020 LISTEN

Any country that does not expeditiously judiciously apply its laws, does not see much development and prevalence of justice but abundance of roguishness, corruption and all sorts of manifestations of crimes and high level propensity to commit crimes by the daring criminals.

It is undisputable fact that people do go missing or get murdered under mysterious circumstances in Ghana with many of the investigations initiated by the police not yielding any conclusive results. The missing persons are neither found alive, nor dead.

There was a year in recent times in the life of Kumawu where more than five people went missing without any trace of them until today. Again, in the first week of March 2020, a two and a half to three year-old baby son of my younger brothers wifes sister went missing in a broad daylight at Ntunkumso near Effiduase in the Ashanti region. The baby has not been found. Surely, he is presumed kidnapped, and probably dead by now.

In such a country, do we take it seriously, meriting criminal investigations, when someone comes out of the woods to publicly declare to the whole world that he knows someone who kills people, or we should simply ignore the person making such revelations?

There is one Reverend Obofour in Ghana who on a video trending on the social media boastfully declaring amid threats in front of his concurring junior pastors that he knows a rich media mogul who drinks blood and has time and patience to kill people in Ghana. He goes on to threaten that should anyone dare him, he will blow the cover off the identity of the said person.

Why should the police not invite him for interrogation to help the nation find the killer to arrest and curb the rate at which people go missing or are murdered without any trace?

In any civilized nation where the countrys success has always been dependent on the speedy and judicious application of their laws, Reverend Obofour would have been invited by the police long ago.

Are Ghanaians nonchalant about people getting missing or murdered? Yes, they are, by view of how Rev. Obofour has not yet been arrested or invited for investigations over his serious allegation as hereby recounted.

He cannot claim his allegation was merely a banter. No, he was serious about it.

May I ask the nations lawyers and judges if self-confession to a committed crime or knowledge of such a crime is an enough acceptable evidence to incriminate one for prosecution, especially when such self-confession statement was not made under duress but voluntarily?

I insist on the police inviting or arresting Rev. Obofour for investigations into his serious allegation of knowledge of someone in Ghana drinking blood and killing people.

The police and the National Security will be a complete joke if they dont act on this allegation by Rev. Obofour of personally knowing someone who is into the business of murdering people.

I am waiting to read from the papers that Rev. Obofour has been interrogated by the police about his knowledge of some rich person in Ghana having a media house and infatuated with killing people.

Why are the law enforcement agents so slow and weak to act even when prodded to by the availability of credible evidence in the public domain? This case in discussion is a classic example to prove the nations investigative system weak and sluggish.

Are they waiting for someone to petition the President of the Republic of Ghana who will, in turn, direct them to investigate the case? The police must even count themselves fortunate that Rev. Obofour is in a way making their job of detecting and arresting murderers easier so they had better invite him over for interrogation and more information.

Is it not the work of the law enforcement agents, e.g. police, to protect lives, property and to prevent crimes through the enforcement of the citizens adherence to the laws? Why then is this sluggishness or weakness, if not nonchalance, in this case under discussion?

Rockson Adofo

Friday, 26 June 2020
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 21:20:23|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, June 26 (Xinhua) -- An autistic teenager who threw a six-year-old boy off the Tate Modern museum's viewing platform in London last year was sentenced Friday to at least 15 years in prison.

The 18-year-old Jonty Bravery, from Ealing in west London, pleaded guilty to attempted murder after hurling the victim from the 10th floor of the museum.

The victim and his family were on holiday from France. He survived the fall, but suffered life-changing injuries -- including a bleed on the brain and multiple broken bones -- and remains in a wheelchair. He will require round-the-clock care support until at least 2022.

Bravery, who admitted attempted murder, was said to have a "big smile on his face" in the wake of the incident and told the boy's father "Yes I am mad."

When Bravery was arrested, he said he had travelled to the museum gallery with the intention of hurting someone so he could be on the TV news that evening.

Sentencing Bravery, Mrs Justice McGowan, judge of the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales in London, known as the Old Bailey, said "the fear he (the victim) must have experienced and the horror his parents felt are beyond imagination. You had intended to kill someone that day -- you almost killed that six-year-old boy."

She said Bravery's autism spectrum disorder did not explain the attack, and acknowledged the expert evidence that he presents "a grave and immediate risk to the public".

The court heard Bravery was under one-on-one supervision with Hammersmith and Fulham Social Services at the time of the attack, but was allowed to go out unaccompanied for four-hour periods. Enditem
(Natural News) As coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to infect people throughout the globe, health experts advise the public to practice social distancing and wash their hands thoroughly using soap and water to help prevent further infections.

To maintain proper hygiene, people often use antibacterial hand sanitizers in the absence of soap and water. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that hand sanitizers from a certain manufacturer in Mexico should be avoided at all costs because they contain methanol, a toxic chemical.

Eskbiochems toxic hand sanitizers

The FDA cautioned consumers to avoid buying nine kinds of hand sanitizers from Eskbiochem SA de CV, a manufacturer based in Mexico, because they may be toxic.

Testing has revealed that the nine products all contain varying amounts of methanol, a type of alcohol that can be poisonous once it is absorbed through the skin or ingested. (Related: Coronavirus fears continue to spark panic buying of isopropyl alcohol and hand sanitizer across the USA.)

On June 19, the FDA published a letter warning against the use of Eskbiochem hand sanitizers, stating that methanol is not an acceptable ingredient for hand sanitizers and should not be used due to its toxic effects.

The federal agency warned that anyone who has been exposed to methanol-based hand sanitizers must seek medical treatment as soon as possible to address the toxic effects of methanol poisoning.

The FDAs findings revealed that the CleanCare No Germ line contained 28 percent methanol. Eskbiochems Lavar Gel contained a shocking 81 percent of the toxic chemical.

The letter included a list of the nine toxic products from Eskbiochem:

All-Clean Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-002-01) CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-008-04) CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-009-01) CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-003-01) CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-005-03) Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-007-01) The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-010-10) Lavar 70 Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-006-01) Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-001-01)

The FDA concluded that anyone who uses Eskbiochems hand sanitizers is at risk of methanol poisoning, particularly small children who may accidentally ingest the products and adults who attempt to drink the products as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute.

Fast facts on methanol

Methanol, also called methyl alcohol, wood alcohol or carbinol, is a colorless, watery liquid with a strong odor. The chemical occurs naturally in humans, animals and plants.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that methanol is also manufactured as a solvent, pesticide and alternative fuel source.

Methanol can be toxic when ingested, inhaled in high concentrations or absorbed through the skin, like when someone uses methanol-based hand sanitizers. According to the CDC, methanol is toxic because of its metabolic products that cause an accumulation of acid in the blood, or metabolic acidosis.

Initial symptoms of methanol poisoning include:

Confusion

Drowsiness

Headache

A reduced level of consciousness (CNS depression)

Ataxia (the inability to coordinate muscle movement)

The toxicity of methanol increases the longer its in your body, highlighting the importance of early medical treatment. Unfortunately, the signs of methanol poisoning may not be apparent for at least 72 hours after exposure.

According to the FDA, exposure to these methanol-based hand sanitizers may cause side effects like:

Blurred vision

Heart and respiratory failure

Nausea

Permanent blindness

Seizures

Vomiting

Using methanol-based hand sanitizers can also cause coma or even death.

Reported cases of methanol poisoning

Methanol poisonings are rare, but in 2013, over 1,700 cases were reported in America.

In January 2016, two Tennessee high school students died after they ingested a mixture of Mountain Dew and methanol from racing fuel.

In April 2018, a man from Massachusetts died after drinking alcohol contaminated with methanol.

According to the FDA, it advised Eskbiochem to recall its hand sanitizer products off shelves on June 17. But as of June 22, the company has yet to take action regarding the matter.

Hygiene tips to prevent the spread of coronavirus

Below are some tips from the World Health Organization (WHO) on maintaining proper hygiene and protecting yourself from COVID-19.

Use running water to wash your hands thoroughly. Alternatively, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to kills viruses that may be on your hands.

Maintain at least 1 m (3 feet) distance between yourself and others to avoid liquid droplets expelled via sneezing or coughing by someone who may be infected.

Avoid crowded places.

Dont touch your eyes, nose and mouth to avoid spreading viruses.

Cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Dispose of the used tissue immediately and wash your hands thoroughly.

Keep alcohol-based hand sanitizers away from children and teach them how to use sanitizer properly.

Dont touch your eyes, mouth and nose right after using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to avoid irritating your skin.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers recommended to protect against coronavirus are flammable. Dont use them before handling fire or cooking.

Dont let drink or let children swallow a methanol-based hand sanitizer to avoid its fatal side effects.

The FDA recommends washing your hand thoroughly with soap and warm or hot water for at least 20 seconds to protect yourself from coronavirus.

If you dont have access to soap and running water, the CDC suggests using hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent ethanol. Unlike methanol, the WHO considers ethanol safe to use for hand hygiene.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Health.com

Who.int 1

Who.int 2
Those of us who are deficient in the vitamin  an oft-cited study puts the number at over 40 percent of the U.S. population  may reap benefits from raising their levels. We know that having very low levels of vitamin D is bad for a lot of things, especially bones, Nadolsky says. It's certainly associated with a lot of things, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular health, even early death. Vitamin D deficiencies have also been linked to breast cancer. Problem is, it's hard to tell if a deficiency of this type is a consequence of ill health, or its cause.

There is some encouraging research that suggests that boosting your level of D and bringing it back to safe levels may improve health outlooks. A recent study published in Seminars in Cancer Biology, for instance, suggests a good vitamin D status may be beneficial both in cancer prevention and in the prognosis of several cancers. And organizations such as the National Osteoporosis Foundation consider both vitamin D and calcium to be essential to maintaining dense, strong bones as you age.

And although a clear connection with COVID-19 has not been found, a 2017 study involving more than 11,000 participants found evidence that vitamin D may help protect against upper respiratory tract infections.

Why the sun is still the best source

One of the best ways to get enough vitamin D is through sun exposure, since skin absorbs ultraviolet-B (UVB) rays to manufacture the nutrient. Evidence shows this can happen even if you're wearing sunscreen. There are a number of studies that show using sunscreen does not prevent the formation of vitamin D, says Henry Lim, senior vice president of Academic Affairs at the Henry Ford Health System, in Michigan. In a 2019 British Journal of Dermatology study, researchers noted an increase of vitamin D in participants who wore sunscreen during a week of cloudless weather.
Irans defence ministry spokesperson says blast happened at gas storage facility in a public area of Parchin.

An explosion took place at an Iranian gas storage facility in an area which houses a sensitive military site near the capital, Tehran, according to a defence ministry spokesperson.

Irans defence ministry spokesperson Davoud Abdi told state TV on Friday the blast happened at a gas storage facility in a public area of Parchin.

He added that firefighters put out the fire. Investigations were under way to determine the cause of the incident. No casualties were reported, he added.

The tank blew up around midnight on Thursday, with Fars news agency saying a number of social media users reported seeing an orange light in the east of the Iranian capital.

First video report of a massive explosion with red light around Tehran, heard by many residents. Reports of a military outpost around there. #Iran pic.twitter.com/lQT4CPFLUC  Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) June 25, 2020

Fars said that the flash of light was caused by an industrial gas tank explosion near a facility belonging to the defence ministry.

Mehr news agency said a terrible sound was heard.

The cause of this sound and light is not yet known, but it was clearly heard in Pardis, in Boumhen and surrounding areas of the Iranian capital, Mehr reported.

Al Jazeera could not immediately verify purported videos of the explosion that went viral on Twitter.
Just a couple of months ago before the lockdown started, the dominant political buzz in Bihar was about second-guessing the viable alternative to Nitish Kumar. Three plausible scenarios were offereda BJP-led coalition with local parties; a Prashant Kishor-managed third front roping in leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi, Kanhaiya Kumar and others; and an RJD-led existing alliance.

With Amit Shah effectively shooting down the idea of the BJP deserting the JD(U) and the Prashant Kishor initiative proving to be a non-starter, only the RJD-led alliance remains a relevant option. However, it is pertinent to ask whether the RJD is a viable opposition to take on the Nitish-led NDA in Bihar. The test of viability of any political party or alliance in Bihar since 1990 is contingent on it meeting two criteria: the necessary condition and the sufficient condition.

While the necessary condition requires a party/alliance to fully command the loyalty of its core support base, the sufficient condition requires it to win over a section of the oppositions core support base. No party or alliance in Bihar has won state elections without meeting both the criteria. In other words, an electoral victory necessitates the winning of a section of caste/community who are perceived to be politically hostile to the party seeking their accommodation.

For instance, Lalu Yadav was able to sustain his 15-year hegemony from 1990-2005 not only by holding on to the larger segments of OBCs, Dalits and Muslims, but by effectively winning over a section of upper caste Rajputs who otherwise were dead opposed to the Mandal movement. Similarly, the Nitish-led NDA managed to trounce the RJD in 2005 and 2010 not only by commanding the loyalty of the new core-support base of upper castes, non-Yadav OBCs and Mahadalits, but also by garnering the support of a section of Muslims despite their opposition to the BJP.

The same was true for the 2015 state Assembly election wherein Nitish succeeded in fetching the support of upper castes despite being in an alliance with Lalu. Thus, in every case, the electoral victory fulfilled the twin criteria of commanding ones core support base and splitting the same of the rival party/alliance. Let us measure the state of the RJD in terms of its ability to meet these yardsticks.

In post-Lalu RJD, the line of succession is unambiguously clear in favour of Tejashwi Yadav. Despite his lacklustre leadership and lack of political maturity, he is the supreme leader of not only the party but also his caste men.

Though he lacks the charisma of his father, no other Yadav leader in any party in Bihar can match his appeal among their caste electorate. Further, the flip-flop by Nitish on his alliance with the BJP and support to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, augur well for Tejashwi as an overwhelming majority of Muslims are left with no other option but to support him as he heads an opposition party with some electoral relevance. In this sense, the RJD meets the first condition of commanding its core support base of MY (Muslims and Yadavs) that accounts for nearly 30% of the electorate. However, it is on the second condition of winning over a segment of the politically hostile support basecrucial for electoral victorythat the RJD fails the test miserably.

Three reasons are responsible for the same. First, the current RJD leadership has lost the battle of perception. It has successively failed in striking a chord with its erstwhile support base of non-Yadav OBCs in general and EBCs and Mahadalits in particular. The image of the RJD still remains that of a caste party whose reign signified a partnership between the criminal organisations and the government. Even the partys recent agitation over the killing of RJD leader J P Yadav was perceived as a case of selective outrage due to caste association rather than a concern for law and order. His own allies, Hindustan Awam Morcha Secular (HAM (S)) president, Jitan Ram Manjhi, and RLSP leaders took exception over the inconsistencies in exhibiting outrage.

Thus, in popular parlance, the RJD is still caught in its old image of being a Yadav-centric party.

Second, the party tried to address this lacuna by aligning with other subaltern caste leaders like Mukesh Sahni, Upendra Kushwaha and Jitan Ram Manjhi. However, the communities that these leaders claim to command have successively demonstrated a distinct pattern since 2014. Overwhelmingly, they voted for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections (2014 and 2019) and Nitish (2015) in the state election. In fact, these leaders themselves lost the election from their chosen constituencies. Hence, these alliances will not help the RJD in reaching out to the majority of the non-Yadav OBCs and Dalits.

Thirdly, in striking contrast to Lalu, who garnered the support of upper caste Rajputs despite intensifying the rhetoric of Mandal discourse, its a long shot for Tejashwi to retain even a fraction of them. Not only has the ageing Rajput leadership of the party already lost its appeal, there seems to be intense infighting among them. The resignation of senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh from the party post is a case in point. Thus, unlike Lalu and Nitish in the past, the current RJD doesnt pass the second criterion of moving beyond its core support base and winning over the segments that appear to be otherwise opposed to it.

The core MY support base would place it as the prime opposition, but the perception of its parochial association with the same will prevent the party from putting up a spirited fight. Hence, the ensuing election in Bihar is going to be a one-way affair.

Rajan Pandey Freelance journalist

Sajjan Kumar Political analyst associated with Peoples Pulse

(sajjanjnu@gmail.com)
(Newser)  Texas EMT Ron Barbosa says COVID-19 swept through his extended family after a single infected relative attended a surprise party for his daughter-in-law's 30th birthday. Barbosa says seven relatives were infected at the party, which around 25 people attended for various amounts of time, and they went on to infect another 11 family members, the Dallas Morning News reports. "It was only a couple of hours," Barbosa says. "But during that brief time, somehow the other 18 family members are now infected with COVID." Barbosa says his parents, who are in their 80s, and his sister, who has breast cancer, are still hospitalized almost a month after the May 30 party, but other relatives are recovering. The family is encouraging anyone with COVID-19 antibodies to donate blood.

story continues below

Texas has not limited gathering sizes during the pandemic but Barbosa, whose wife is a doctor, says they did not attend the party because they feared it would be unsafe. "We knew this was going to happen, I mean this whole time this has been going on we've been terrified," he tells WFAA. He says the unknowingly infected relative who attended the party was a construction worker who thought his mild cough was work-related. In California, which has prohibited large indoor gatherings, health officials in Shasta County say a cluster of around a dozen cases was the result of a man attending a "large family gathering" despite showing coronavirus symptoms, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. (Read more coronavirus stories.)
Major legal publisher Thomson Reuters says it is reviewing its relationship with prolific author and former High Court justice Dyson Heydon, after an internal investigation by the court concluded he sexually harassed six former judge's associates.

Mr Heydon, 77, is the author of several leading legal texts that have been required reading for generations of lawyers and students.

Former High Court judge Dyson Heydon has vehemently denied wrongdoing. Credit:Joel Carrett

It includes Heydon on Contract, the latest edition of which was published by leading legal publisher Thomson Reuters in May last year. The text retails for close to $300.

In a statement on Friday, Thomson Reuters' senior vice president of corporate affairs, David Crundwell, said the company was "aware of the High Courts public statement regarding the findings of their independently-commissioned investigation into the conduct of former Justice Heydon".
Click here to read the full article.

Brick-and-mortar retail has another casualty, with Microsoft deciding to nix its physical stores.

After 11 years, the tech giant said Friday it will permanently close all 83 of its stores, except for four locations  in New York City, London, Sydney and its Redmond, Wash. campus  that will morph into experience centers without merchandise for sale.

More from WWD

The company isnt planning any furloughs or layoffs in conjunction with this decision, saying only that retail employees will keep serving customers in its corporate facilities or remotely.

In terms of direct sales, Microsoft will focus on e-commerce exclusively. It notes that its digital storefronts on microsoft.com, and stores in Xbox and Windows reach up to 1.2 billion monthly customers in 190 markets, according to the announcement.

Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success [in] serving customers beyond any physical location, said David Porter, Microsofts corporate vice president, in a statement. We are grateful to our Microsoft store customers and we look forward to continuing to serve them online and with our retail sales team at Microsoft corporate locations.

For years, tech company-branded stores have been regarded as something like vanity projects or perhaps consumer research labs, where companies can see how the public interacts with their products. The outlier, of course, is Apple and its high-value stores, which were raking in about $5,500 of revenue per square foot annually before the pandemic.

Like most stores, Apple suspended physical retail operations due to the health crisis. The iPhone maker began reopening in May, only to re-close as many as 32 locations as COVID-19 cases spiked again.

The collateral damage in all of this might be malls, where many tech company stores are located. The mall business has seen dwindling foot traffic over the years, and thats now punctuated by cornerstone department store closures.

Companies like Microsoft will likely not feel much pain as it shifts more toward digital sales. Malls, on the other hand, are facing a reality of surviving with fewer anchor businesses to draw shoppers.
Fairhope City Hall is closed to the public, and customers to the citys Public Utilities/Public Works office are being asked to make an appointment before arriving.

The city, in an announcement Thursday, said the building closure is related to a city employee testing positive for COVID-19.

Fairhope announced Wednesday that multiple people who attended the Fairhope City Council meeting on Monday have been or may have been exposed to COVID-19 through contact with third parties who have tested positive for the virus.

According to a city news release, the measures are being taken with careful consideration of the health and well-being of our employees and citizens.

Customers to the Fairhope Public Utilities/Public Works building are required to call 251-928-8003 to make an appointment before arriving. All visitors to the building are required to wear a face mask.

The city is also canceling its annual Fourth of July fireworks due to concerns over the virus. The Fairhope City Council, in a 3-1 vote Thursday, decided to cancel them this year.

Fairhopes moves come as the coronavirus pandemic explodes across Alabama, with record-setting single-day spikes occurring statewide this week. In nearby Mobile County, 110 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. That represented the countys largest single-day recording to COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in March. Another 48 positive confirmations were recorded on Wednesday.

In Baldwin County, close to a quarter of the countys 462 COVID-19 cases have been recorded over the past 14 days.

The increases have been attributed to a rise in younger people being tested positive for the virus. Hospital capacity in most counties is still adequate, according to public health officials.
The Portuguese Prime Minister on Thursday announced that around 1 million residents of the greater Lisbon area will have to be confined to their homes due to a fresh outbreak of the new coronavirus.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced the decision after Thursday's Portuguese Cabinet meeting, confirming that the lockdown will run until July 14th.

A total of 19 parishes will be affected, but however the downtown area of Lisbon, known for its tourism, will not be under lockdown.

The decision comes after 311 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed by the country's Health Ministry.

Over three-quarters of these new cases were in the greater Lisbon area.
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Friday, June 26th, 2020 (2:07 pm) - Score 102,161

Disney has confirmed that it will soon no longer be possible to watch their linear TV channels via Sky (Sky Broadband) or Virgin Media after carriage talks failed to produce an agreement. Instead the channels will be moved to the companys new Disney+ video streaming service from 1st October 2020.

The internet video streaming service launched across the UK back in March 2020 and has so far managed to attract 54.5 million subscribers worldwide in its first 7 months of operation (starting in the USA). Customers in the UK typically pay 5.99 per month or 59.99 per year (15% saving) for access to the new service.

Nevertheless Disney+ remains a new platform, with a lot of costs to balance under the hood, and thus many will be surprised by the news that Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior will all be leaving both Sky and Virgin Medias UK platforms so soon after its launch. You can of course still access the content via the Disney+ app or website, but obviously thats an extra cost if you were previously receiving it via an existing package.

In a statement Disney said: From 1 October, Disney+ will become the exclusive home for content from Disney Channel, DisneyXD and Disney Junior in the UK  The Walt Disney Company remains committed to our kids channels business and continues to execute distribution agreements for Disney channels in many markets where Disney+ is also available, with the goal of giving our fans multiple entry points to our storytelling.

A Spokesperson for Sky said: We have over 5,000 episodes of on demand content alongside our brilliant linear channels, from our partners Viacom and Turner, and were investing more in our own Sky Kids Originals too, like Moominvalley and Morph. Kids can watch favourites like Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol, SpongeBob Squarepants and the Amazing World of Gumball, all the wonderful LEGO content and much, much more. And it is all available in one place  together with the best apps, like Disney+ and Netflix  on Sky Q.

A Virgin Media Spokesperson said: Virgin Media will continue to give its customers thousands of hours of fantastic kids programming, such as Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol, across a range of channels and apps as well as on demand and on the move.

End.
New York state Democratic lawmakers will open an inquiry into Governor Andrew Cuomos handling of coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes, the Niagra Gazette reported on Friday.

Around 6,300 residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities in New York have died during the pandemic, accounting for roughly one quarter of the states total coronavirus deaths. Critics of Cuomos response to the virus tend to cite his March 25 executive order mandating that nursing homes readmit residents even if they tested positive for coronavirus. The order was backed by New York health commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker.

[Cuomo] has spent a lot of time pointing fingers at other people rather than taking ownership of his own mistakes and really thoughtfully addressing the problem, State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, a Democrat representing parts of the Bronx and Westchester, told the Gazette.

Cuomo said earlier this week on MSNBC that asymptomatic nursing home staffers may have spread coronavirus when coming to work. Biaggi commented, Its a way for the governor to pass the buck and to avoid responsibility for what the states role here is.

State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried (D., Manhattan) said lawmakers would hold a hearing on the issue in the near future.

Hopefully, our hearing will make a lot of issues clearer and highlight the long-term problems at nursing homes with state funding and the oversight of nursing homes, Gottfried said.

During the worst months of the pandemic in March and April, Cuomo saw his favorability rating among New Yorkers skyrocket, according to polls by Siena College. Cuomos favorability rating was 77-21 percent in April, with voters trusting Cuomo over President Trump 78-16 percent to guide the states reopening.

However, New York has seen a death rate of about 8 percent among coronavirus patients. New York City was hit especially hard by the pandemic, with 17,500 deaths and one in 50 residents of the city infected.

More from National Review
By Paulo Prada

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico City's chief of police was shot and injured and two of his bodyguards killed in a dramatic assassination attempt early on Friday that he quickly blamed on one of Mexico's most powerful drug gangs, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

The city's public security chief Omar Garcia Harfuch suffered three bullet wounds as he and bodyguards came under heavy fire around dawn in an upscale Mexico City neighborhood, where the attack was captured on security cameras.

Some three hours later, apparently from his hospital bed, Garcia sent out a message on Twitter blaming his injuries and the death of two bodyguards on a "cowardly attack" by the CJNG, a gang notorious as one of the most violent in Mexico.

A 26-year-old woman traveling in a car with relatives to sell street food nearby was killed in the gunfire that ripped through the Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood. The area is home to many wealthy people and has ambassadorial residences.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said the attack showed that authorities were putting pressure on criminal gangs in the capital, which has rarely witnessed such brazen outbreaks of violence.

"There will be no turning back," Sheinbaum told a news conference.

Still, the early morning mayhem was the latest in a series of public security lapses that have raised tough questions about the president's ability to control gang violence.

Grainy security camera footage broadcast on Mexican television showed a group of heavily armed men in an open-backed truck disguised as a work vehicle, and an SUV blocking off a road to open fire on Garcia's automobile.

Separately, fast-arriving police could be seen shouting and moving towards the high caliber gunfire that rang out for several minutes just after 6.30 a.m. local time (1130 GMT).

Television footage of Garcia's armored SUV showed a vehicle riddled with bullets cordoned off by police.

Story continues

Garcia was wounded in the shoulder, collarbone and the knee, Security Minister Alfonso Durazo told a news conference.

Late on Friday evening, Garcia wrote on Twitter that he had come out of surgery and was well.

NOBODY OFF LIMITS

The assassination attempt served as a warning that "nobody is off limits" and was reminiscent of previous attacks on officials during Mexico's drug war, said Gladys McCormick, a security analyst at Syracuse University in New York.

It fit the CJNG's modus operandi "to a T" and had the hallmark of the cartel staking out its turf, she said.

Led by a former police officer and based in the western state of Jalisco, the CJNG has been blamed for fueling record levels of violence in Mexico during its battles to eliminate rivals for control of drug trafficking and crime rackets.

Lopez Obrador took office 19 months ago vowing to pacify the country, but homicides hit a new high last year and are on track be higher still in 2020.

The shooters fled. Mexican authorities said 12 suspects were quickly rounded up and that two others were later caught in the State of Mexico, a region bordering the capital.

Late on Friday, the Mexico City attorney general's office said three more suspects, including the alleged mastermind of the attack, were detained in the capital's Tlahuac borough.

Police recovered military-grade long guns including a Barrett rifle from the crime scene.

Videos posted on the internet by the CJNG have featured gunmen brandishing high-performance weapons used by the gang in its bloody feuds with other outfits, notably the Sinaloa Cartel of captured kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

(Reporting by Paulo Prada; Additional reporting by Raul Cortes, Dave Graham, Tomas Bravo, Lizbeth Diaz, Anthony Esposito, Daina Beth Solomon, Julia Love and Noe Torres; editing by Steve Orlofsky, Diane Craft, Grant McCool and Himani Sarkar)
Perverse situation could see workers reluctant to come forward for testing because of the financial consequences

This article is old - Published: Friday, Jun 26th, 2020

The First Minister has said there could be cases where people have not come forward for testing due to the financial impact such a test could have on them, or their families.

This morning Health Minister Vaughan Gething answered questions to media in North Wales ahead of First Minister Mark Drakeford taking the daily Welsh Goverment briefing.

Wrexham.com as is usual took that opportunity, and put forward questions related to the local outbreak.

The First Minister announced that the current total of confirmed coronavirus cases linked to the outbreak in Wrexham stands at 166. The factory remains open and operational at this time.

First Minister Drakeford said the outbreaks in Wrexham and Llangefni are a sobering reminder that coronavirus has not gone away.

At lunchtime we pointed the First Minister to comments he made last week where he said he had spoken with a union regarding the Rowan Foods site.

We noted the statement this week where Unite the Union said they were extremely concerned, and went as far as saying workers are frightened for their own families safety. We asked the First Minister if he was aware of that latest statement, and what had changed in a week.

Mr Drakeford said: I spoke again to Unite yesterday and know of their concerns of course and the actions they are taking as a union

It is why we were determined that the advice that we will publish later this afternoon was jointly created with our trade union colleagues as well as the regulators.

The Health and Safety Executive was in Rowan Foods yesterday. I made it clear that the Outbreak Control Team must take the views of union members at that factory seriously, because if you want to understand what is happening on the factory floor, then the representatives of the workers who are there need to be heard and need to be part of the intelligence that the Outbreak Control Team bring together

I was very grateful for the opportunity to discuss again with Unite national leaders their concerns about the plant, and to make it clear to them I would be insisting that the people on the ground responsible for the outbreak make the views of union members central to the way they are understanding this outbreak.

In a meeting of the Town Centre Forum earlier today Wrexhams MS Lesley Griffiths also gave an update on the Rowan Foods outbreak. We pointed the to example of balance needed on keeping factories open, and asked a wider question over if a factory closes who pays for staff who are not sick. There appears to be concerns around staff who could seek alternative employment, and therefore possibly widen a spread of the virus unknowingly.

We asked if there were any plans for direct economic support in such situations so finance is taken out of public health questions ?

The First Minister replied: I intend to write to the Prime Minister today on this point because I think there is something important that we can contribute to from the experience we have had in North Wales to the national debate.

What we do not want is for people to feel pressurised to take actions that they know are not the right ones for themselves or others because they are fearful of the financial consequences of coming forward to be tested, and then have to isolate and other people they are associated with then having to isolate for 14 days.

There are at least two ways I will suggest to the Prime Minister that that could be resolved.

First of all UK Government could simply extend its furlough scheme in these circumstances. Millions of people have benefited from the furlough scheme. In a marginal sense in cost it would not cost very much at all to be able to say to people in the context as we have seen in North Wales that if you end up having to self isolate, your wages will be paid by the government during that period and you have no reason financially not to come forward

Or, we could simply make it obligatory on employers to come forward and cover those costs for that period.

We are discovering there may be some individuals who knew that they should have had a test but were reluctant to come forward because the financial consequences would be so difficult for them and their families.

That is perverse and nobody wants that to happen, and there are ways in which it can be tackled and Ill be writing to the Prime Minister to suggest them this afternoon. 

This morning we conveyed to the Health Minister the surprise of many local people that the Rowan Foods factory remains open, and asked at what point it would be reasonable to expect it to be closed?

Mr Gething said: We are working with a range of the different regulators here, theres a Food Standards Agency that look at the animal welfare and food hygiene issues.

Then of course you have the Health and Safety Executive who are interested in safe systems of work. There is a blurred line in terms of the public health issues and health and safety issues.

If the operation of the plant amounts to a health and safety threat for workers, thats obviously an issue, so things like social distancing, difficult challenges, like the way that these food plants sometimes operate in normal time to keep people safe can actually be a challenge with Coronavirus.

We have had a team go in to inspect the business. We will have that report, then will have a conversation with the employer, the health service, the Health and Safety Executive and the Food Standards Agency. We will also be talking to the trade union side to get a broad picture of intelligence around whats happening.

If its clear that the right thing to do from a public health point of view, to ask that business to close, well do that. If that request doesnt go ahead, then weve got powers to close this, or any other business. So were not looking to go after Rowan Foods, and were not at a point where wed say that theres any blame attaching to this, far from it.

Its the reality for any business that may be affected and what we might need to do to protect the business, and the businesss employees and workers, but also the wider community in which they operate in.

Earlier this week in answer to our question on the outbreak the Health Minister pointed to some language issues on getting across key messaging.

Yesterday saw the publication of a range of posters in different languages from Albanian to Urdu on the Welsh Government website explaining the Track Trace Protect (TTP) system and other information.

Today we asked the Health Minister if that information should have been in place at the start of the TTP system, and what work is being done to solve the language issues, and how that is being tackled without triggering social tensions.

The Health Minister said: There are a range of challenges in there. We started a wholly new system in a matter of weeks, and weve got that up and running in English and Welsh and we always knew wed have to have more languages available.

We have got a range of other community languages available, and European languages in particular, so theres a range of information that should now be available to go out.

The business themselves knowing theyve got the workforce from different parts of Europe are used to having to communicate with their own workforce in a variety of means.

So were not starting from ground zero in that sense, if we could always do things quicker then Id always want to. But actually, it was a real significant challenge to get us up and running in the period of time we had. I think people in Wales should be really proud of what our Test Trace Protect service has managed to do so quickly,

If we didnt have that service, then these outbreaks would have been more significant before wed been able to act and intervene. That would have been a much bigger impact on the local community.

We touched earlier on some people were would be concerned about the pictures from Bournemouth, other people that were thirsting to get out and do more things.

There are businesses that are desperately worried about whether theyll still be in business, for them to operate. So theres got to be a balance in what we do. That underpins the approach that were taking. So the messaging should be reassuring for both the wider community about impact on the effectiveness of the Test, Trace, Protect service, and reinforce to everyone please follow the advice. Its for your benefit, and for everyone else.

Public Health Wales gave their promised update this afternoon, confirming the 166 figure, and Dr Robin Howe, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: Testing of the workforce associated with an outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Wrexham area is continuing.

We are in the process of combining information to identify the full scope of the ongoing testing process and total number of positive cases. To date a total of 166 cases have been identified, an increase of 69 cases reported in the past 24-hours.

The identification of additional cases does not mean that the infection is increasing. However, it also reminds us that COVID-19 has not gone away and remains in the community.

Rapid contact tracing also continues, and as expected, is identifying additional cases associated with the workforce.

There is no evidence that the employer is the source of the infection, but we continue to review the situation and work with our multi-agency partners, the employer, their workforce and wider community to bring this outbreak to a swift conclusion.
Crisis-torn Wirecard has collapsed with debts of more than 3billion in Germany's worst accounting scandal.

The financial technology company said it would make a filing at a district court in Munich 'due to impending insolvency and over-indebtedness'.

The implosion came a week after auditor EY refused to sign off the payment systems provider's 2019 accounts, forcing out chief executive Markus Braun and leading Wirecard to admit that 1.7billion of its cash probably did not exist.

Wirecard chief exec Markus Braunwas forced to resign after auditor EY refused to sign off the payment systems provider's 2019 accounts

The scandal saw Braun arrested on suspicion of market manipulation and inflating financial numbers earlier this week before being freed on bail.

Wirecard has a UK subsidiary, Wirecard Card Solutions Ltd in Newcastle, and its most recent accounts showed it had 69 staff.

Adding to the damage to Germany's corporate reputation was the reaction of the financial regulator, Bafin, when media reports last year questioned the company's accounting.

Rather than investigate Wirecard, it targeted investors in what one German politician described as 'a documented failure of supervision'.
HALIFAXThe remains of four of the six Canadian Armed Forces members killed in a military helicopter crash in April arrived Thursday in Nova Scotia, where two separate motorcade processions allowed residents to pay their final respects.

As the motorcades left Halifax Stanfield International Airport, one group of vehicles headed south to the Halifax area and another to Truro, which is 45-minute drive to the north.

The remains of three members of the Royal Canadian Air Force: Capt. Brenden MacDonald, Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin and Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins, were taken to a funeral home in Dartmouth, following a procession that travelled through the 12 Wing Shearwater military airbase on the east side of Halifax harbour.

Sub-Lt. Matthew Pykes remains were to be taken to a funeral home in Truro, his hometown. Pyke served as a naval warfare officer with the Royal Canadian Navy.

MacDonald, a pilot, grew up in New Glasgow, northeast of Halifax. Miron-Morin was an air combat systems officer originally from Becancour, Que., and Cousins was an airborne electronic sensor operator originally from Guelph.

As the sun went down after a hot and humid day, hundreds of people lined the route through the Halifax area, many of them in shorts and T-shirts, holding Canadian and Air Force flags. At the funeral home in Dartmouth, three flag-draped coffins were carried inside as a military pipe band played.

The helicopter carrying the military members  a relatively new CH-148 Cyclone  crashed off Greece on April 29, killing all six people aboard.

A ceremony for Capt. Kevin Hagen will be held in Victoria on Saturday. The Royal Canadian Air Force pilot was originally from Nanaimo, B.C.

A funeral procession for 23-year-old Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough, a Royal Canadian Navy marine systems engineering officer originally from Toronto, was held May 11 in the Halifax area. Her remains were found in the Mediterranean Sea shortly after the crash.

The crash marked the largest loss of life in one day for the Canadian Armed Forces since six Canadian soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan on Easter Sunday in 2007.

An Air Force flight safety investigation is focused on aircraft systems and human factors as possible causes.

Earlier this month, the military said preliminary findings indicated the helicopter did not respond the way the crew expected as the aircraft was coming around to land on the Canadian frigate HMCS Fredericton, which is based in Halifax.

Air Force officials said investigators have recreated the circumstances surrounding the crash using information from the Cyclones flight data recorders.

They say the pilot attempted to make a number of manoeuvres while the Cyclones flight director, or autopilot, was still engaged.

Rather than turning off, the autopilot started to work against the human pilot before the helicopter crashed into the water at high speed.

The investigation also confirmed this rare anomaly only occurred under a very specific and narrow set of circumstances.

The crew would have had no previous experience with this type of situation, investigators said.

The Cyclone was deployed aboard the Halifax-class frigate as part of a NATO mission patrolling the Mediterranean and Black seas.

On June 3, the Canadian Armed Forces ended its mission to retrieve the wreckage of the helicopter, known as Stalker 22.

At the time, Maritime Component commander Rear Admiral Craig Baines said crews had recovered the important pieces ... that were necessary for the investigation.

The wreckage was found at a depth of 3,143 metres.

The recovery effort required the use of a U.S. navy drone launched from a civilian supply ship. It wrapped up after eight days of operations.

Meanwhile, the fleet of naval helicopters purchased from U.S.-based Sikorsky resumed flying on June 16.

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She grew up in Southern California.

And Emily Ratajkowski showed it when she stepped out for a grocery run in Los Angeles this Thursday, modeling a Lakers mask with Kobe Bryant's number on it.

The 29-year-old, who recently went blonde, let her luxurious new hairdo flutter freely in the breeze as she picked up her supplies.

Looking fab: Emily Ratajkowski showed her SoCal upbringing when she stepped out for a grocery run in Los Angeles this Thursday, modeling a Lakers mask

Emily slid her enviably trim supermodel figure into a fitted pink floral dress that was perfectly suited to the summery weather.

She teamed the dress with a pair of white sneakers and used both arms to lug her bulging shopping bag down the street.

Emily debuted her new status as a blonde bombshell on her Instagram page this week for the brand Kerastase.

Stepping out: The 29-year-old, who recently went blonde, let her luxurious new hairdo flutter freely in the breeze as she picked up her supplies

When you got it: Emily slid her enviably trim supermodel figure into a fitted pink floral dress that was perfectly suited to the summery weather

For over two years the sizzling sensation has been the face of Kerastase, a Paris-based brand that is a subsidiary of L'Oreal.

Firing up her Instagram this Wednesday she uploaded a string of smoldering bikini snaps to celebrate 'Day 1 as a blondie.'

Emily, her husband Sebastian Bear-McClard and their dog Colombo are currently hunkering down at her parents' home in Los Angeles.

New look: Emily debuted her new status as a blonde bombshell on her Instagram page this week for the brand Kerastase

Connections: For over two years the sizzling sensation has been the face of Kerastase, a Paris-based brand that is a subsidiary of L'Oreal

This past Sunday she wished a happy Father's Day both to her own 'Papa' John David Ratajkowski and to Sebastian, 'Colombo's Dad.'

Although the couple were initially hunkering down in New York City, then the American epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, they flew to Los Angeles on April 15.

The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention had issued an advisory on March 28 asking 'residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately.'

Details: Emily, her husband Sebastian Bear-McClard and their dog Colombo are currently hunkering down at her parents' home in Los Angeles
Verona, N.Y.  Although its not required to by law, the Oneida Indian Nation announced today it will impose a 14-day quarantine for any of its 5,000 employees who travel to certain states where the coronavirus is still spreading rapidly.

The quarantine mirrors one imposed Wednesday by the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

We are aligned with the policy coming from the state, said Joel Barkin, vice president of communications for the Oneida Nation.

The Oneidas policy, like the states, advises employees not to travel to Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and Texas. Any employee who does so will be required to quarantine for 14 days when they return.

The Oneidas, through Oneida Nation Enterprises, are one of the biggest employers in Madison and Oneida counties. Its primary businesses are three casinos: Turning Stone in Verona, Oneida County; and Point Place in Bridgeport and Yellow Brick Road in Chittenango, both in Madison County.

Those casinos opened for business June 10, again with health and safety protocols that are not required but which mirror state rules.

New Yorks non-Indian casinos, meanwhile, are still closed and waiting for a green light from the state to reopen. That could happen within the next few weeks.

Indian casinos operate under agreements with the state called compacts. The Indian nations, including the Cayugas, Senecas and Mohawks, are not strictly bound by the executive orders issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in response to the coronavirus.

All of them closed their casinos voluntarily in March after Cuomo issued his order closing non-essential business. The Cayugas and Senecas have since reopened casinos and gaming hall, with health and safety protocols in place. The Akwesasne Mohawk Casino near Hogansburg in Northern New York remains closed.

A handful of Oneida Nation employees, less than five, have tested positive for Covid-19, Barkin said, including at least one at Point Place. None of those cases were contracted in the workplace, he said.

Because of employee screening and contact tracing procedures in place, the exposure from those employees has been minimized, he said.

Our employees know if they test positive not to come in, Barkin said.

These are the protocols the Oneidas are following at their casinos:

Limit access to guests who travel from within 120 miles within New York with valid New York State issued drivers license or non-driver ID.

All employees are required to have daily screenings, including temperature checks. Employees who handle commonly touched items with guests are required to wear gloves, including in all restaurants, at registration desks and on the gaming floors.

Guest and employee entry and ID verification protocols that allow for contact tracing, if necessary.

Mandatory face coverings for all employees and guests, as a condition of entry, even in administrative areas.

Occupancy limits and distancing in all restaurants, lounges and smoking areas.

Enhanced cleaning measures include new technology that alerts guests with an on-screen notification of the exact time the slot machine was last sanitized. The new Automated Game Sanitization system also notifies the casino cleaning staff when a guest finishes playing on a machine so the slot machine can be cleaned.

HVAC air changeover levels will be maintained at significantly greater capacity, and will exceed those required by the standard commercial code.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Coronavirus update: 2 new deaths and 33 new cases in Onondaga County

New York will use random checks to enforce quarantine policy, Cuomo says

Coronavirus in NY: Central NY cleared for phase four, hospitalizations below 1,000

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
NY imposes quarantine, fines up to $10,000 for travelers from coronavirus hotspots

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New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced a joint incoming travel advisory Wednesday with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut, imposing a two-week quarantine on anyone coming from states that are currently coronavirus hotspots.

The quarantine order that went into effect on Thursday applies to any person coming from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Utah or any other state where there is a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

"In New York we went from the highest number of cases to some of the lowest rates in the country  no one else had to bend the curve as much as we did and now we have to make sure that the rate continues to drop in our entire region," Cuomo said. "We've been working with our neighbors in New Jersey and Connecticut throughout this entire pandemic, and we're announcing a joint travel advisory that says people coming in from states with a high infection rate must quarantine for 14 days. We've worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down and we don't want to see it go up again because people are traveling into the state and bringing it with them."

While there is no enforcement mechanism in place yet, individuals who fail to quarantine in New York could be subject to a judicial order and mandatory quarantine. A first violation of the order could result in a $2,000 fine and could go up to $10,000 for subsequent violations.

"Working together as a region has proven to be immensely successful as our respective states are leading the country when it comes to our response with low infection and positivity rates relative to increased testing capacity," Lamont said. "We have made difficult decisions throughout this pandemic, but we have proven to make many of the right decisions. This step to inform travelers form states with hot spots to self-isolate is meant to protect our residents and maintain our incredible public health progress."

In a call with reporters Thursday, Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, said the agency does not have any data showing that quarantines for travelers work.

I dont think we have any clear evidence right now, he said. The individual states are making their individual decisions.  We dont have any evidence-based data to support the public health value of that decision.

Redfield further noted that an estimated 25 million people in the U.S. or 10 times more the current figure of confirmed cases may have been infected by the coronavirus.

"This virus causes so much asymptomatic infection," Redfield said. "We probably recognized about 10 percent of the outbreak."

As of Thursday morning, Johns Hopkins University confirmed nearly 9.5 million coronavirus infections globally with more than 483,000 deaths. The United States alone has contributed nearly 2.4 million infections to that number with nearly 122,000 deaths.

"This outbreak is not over. This pandemic is not over. The most powerful tool that we have, powerful weapon, is social distancing," Redfield said. "We have [a] responsibility to practice the social mitigation strategies to protect the vulnerable, to protect the elderly."

Redfields comments Thursday come in the wake of news that the U.S. reported more new coronavirus cases on Wednesday than on any single day before, according to a tally by NBC News.

Cases showed increases of 5% or more in 31 states across the country, including Florida, Arizona, Texas, Montana and Idaho, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. Coronavirus hospitalizations are also on the rise.
2020 Honda CR-V Chicago-land Review by Larry Nutson +VIDEO

2020 Honda CR-V

One of the best gets better

By Larry Nutson

Executive Editor and Bureau Chief

Chicago Bureau

The Auto Channel

My last drive in a Honda CR-V was the 2017 model which at that time was all-new. Riding on a new platform with longer wheelbase and wider track the CR-V had been completely redesigned with more style and flair. The interior had been revised and made more spacious, and there was a new turbo engine.

Now for 2020 this fifth-gen CR-V has been freshened with a new look up front featuring a new grille and fascia. In back theres new taillights, and new 19-inch wheels as well as new designs for the 18-inch wheels to round things out.

Four trim levels continue to be offered, namely LX, EX, EX-L and Touring and all are powered by the same 190-horsepower 1.5-L turbo engine mated to a CVT automatic. Either front-wheel or all-wheel drive are offered in each trim.

Also new is the standardization of Hondas suite of automatic driver-assist safety (ADAS) features, under the moniker Honda Sensing.

A recent addition to the lineup is the 2020 CR-V Hybrid, the first electrified SUV from the Honda brand in America. The CR-V's advanced two-motor hybrid powertrain, shared with the current Accord Hybrid, combines two electric motors with a 2.0-liter, 16-valve DOHC Atkinson cycle engine for 212 total system horsepower. The CR-V Hybrid is offered in all-wheel drive only.

CR-V prices range from $25,050 to $34,750. The CR-V Hybrid starts at $27,750 and goes up to $37,950. Destination charge for all is $1,120.

EPA test-cycle ratings for the CR-V AWD are 29 mpg combined, with 27 city mpg and 32 highway mpg. Front-drive models are rated one mpg higher in city and two mpg higher in highway. The CR-V Hybrid is all about low fuel consumption. EPA combined rating is 28 mpg, with 40 city mpg and 35 highway mpg. As you can see, the big hybrid benefit is in lower speed city-type driving.

For my revisit with the 2020 CR-V I drove a top-line AWD Touring model finished in an attractive Aegean Blue Metallic.

In my jaunts around my Chicago home the 190-horsepower made its presence known with the CR-V delivering decent acceleration as well as good mid-range passing ability. The entire powertrain combination worked well together to provide balanced all-around performance.

Ride comfort is also decent too, with good suspension compliance and overall well balanced handling. Theres good NVH control providing an overall comfortable driving experience, although I did notice a bit of wind noise at higher highway speeds.

The cabin is nicely finished with good looking material and trim bits. The leather trimmed seats, heated front seats as well as heated steering wheel, power moonroof, hands free power rear hatch, and 9-speaker audio all make for a pleasant driving experience.

I thought the faux woodgrain trim a bit too faux for my taste. But, thats a subjective observation. Ive driven many new vehicles and experienced the many new design approaches for selecting automatic transmission gears. Some of the rotary and push button selects are quite good. That said, I was a bit startled by the pure mechanical lever selector on the CR-V. It does work just fine. I guess I was expecting something more refined. That said, the new CR-V Hybrid has a push button selector that might just make its way into the non-hybrid.

Front seat comfort is good and theres adequate room. The rear seat is nicely large for grown adult size people. Storage cubbies, trays and pockets abound on the CR-V. A combination of mechanical and digital controls are used for audio, HVAC, Nav system and the like. Steering wheel controls make it easier for the driver.

The CR-V has 39.2 cu.ft. of rear cargo volume the increases to 75.8 cu.ft. with the rear seat folded. A 2-tier cargo floor allows for versatility in providing some hidden storage or space for a taller object.

More details and specifications on the 2020 CR-V can be found at www.automobileshonda.com. Theres not a lot of choices beyond selecting trim levels and colors but there is an accessory program that allows for some customization.

Hondas CR-V is one of the original compact SUVs and America's best-selling crossover of the past two decades.

The freshened 2020 Honda CR-V and all-new CR-V Hybrid have been named the 2020 Green SUV of the Year by Green Car Journal, the second time Honda has won Green SUV of the Year, and the sixth time a Honda vehicle has earned recognition from Green Car Journal.

Honda has said that by 2030 they want two-thirds of their global vehicle sales to come from electrified products, as part of their effort to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

 2020 Larry Nutson, the Chicago Car Guy
Police fire at crowd of motorcycle taxi drivers protesting against arrest of colleague for flouting coronavirus laws.

Kenyan police killed three people when they fired at a crowd of motorcycle taxi drivers protesting against the arrest of a colleague for flouting coronavirus restrictions.

Police shot at the crowd in the western city of Lesos after clashes on Thursday, a police statement said.

I have ordered the arrest of the officers involved in the shooting and we regret the loss of these lives, the police inspector general, Hillary Mutyambai, said. A thorough investigation will be carried out and action will be taken. They must face the law.

According to a police statement, the first shots fired killed a 40-year-old man after motorcycle taxi drivers attacked one of the officers. Two more people were shot dead after the crowd followed the officers back to their police station, it said.

LESOS SHOOTING INCIDENT pic.twitter.com/JLVkeak7pl  National Police Service-Kenya (@NPSOfficial_KE) June 25, 2020

The case, which has been referred to the countrys Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), comes as Kenyan police face increasing scrutiny over alleged excessive force and unlawful killings, especially in poor neighbourhoods.

Earlier this week, a Kenyan policeman was charged with the murder of a 13-year-old boy while enforcing the COVID-19 curfew order.

Officer Duncan Ndiema Ndiwa, who is accused of shooting Yassin Hussein Moyo on March 30 on a balcony at his parents home, denied the charges on Tuesday.

Moyos death has caused widespread protests in Kenya, and calls by the public for an end to police brutality.

Cops kill lots of people in Kenya and accuse them of some vague crime later, we would have been a statistic if not for weird luck or whatever made them let us go.

Kenya Police are a menace, a murderous outfit existing only to enable oppression by the state.  I am (@mackio_) June 13, 2020

In recent weeks, hundreds have turned out to protest in solidarity with those allegedly killed by police in Kenya, as well as the killing of George Floyd in the United States.

Rights activists claim that including Moyo, 19 people, all from low-income areas, have died from police enforcement of the coronavirus curfew.

In April, Human Rights Watch accused Kenyan police of imposing curfews in a chaotic and violent manner, from the beginning, sometimes whipping, beating or using tear gas to force people off the streets.
PHOENIX, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Insurance is often one of those things we forget about until we need it. June 28 is National Insurance Awareness Day, and it's a good time to evaluate the risks of college life.

One out of four students who enroll in college, don't complete their degree. As a result, college families can benefit from taking steps to overcome risks that could disrupt their child's education.

If your student has to withdraw from college due to a serious illness, injury or accident, it is unlikely that you will receive a 100% refund. If your student has to withdraw from college due to a serious illness, injury or accident, it is unlikely that you will receive a 100% refund.

"Paying for college is usually the second largest investment college families make," says John Fees, co-founder of GradGuard, a student benefits platform designed for the collegiate market. "Families are smart to protect that investment."

GradGuard recommends the following tips:

Know Your School Refund Policy: If your student has to withdraw from college due to a serious illness, injury or accident, it's unlikely that you'll receive a full refund. Tuition insurance can provide a refund, however, when schools do not. If you cannot afford the cost of an extra college semester, then it is essential to purchase tuition insurance coverage prior to the start of classes. The good news is that college families can protect their investment by purchasing tuition insurance starting at $39.95 for $2,500 of coverage per term.

Confirm Health Insurance Coverage: Many colleges offer health insurance plans to students and require them to purchase or opt-out by showing proof of alternative insurance. According to the American College Health Association, about 10 percent of students get their health insurance through their school. A college health insurance plan may make sense for some students. But if you have family health insurance, your college student can remain on a parents' plan until the age of 26. Be sure to confirm the requirements to use your student campus health clinic and be sure not to pay twice for coverage.

Understand the Risks of Living on Campus: For many of the nearly 3 million students who live in student housing, this is the first time they are living independently. Chances are, they're not aware that their college or university is unlikely to replace stolen or damaged student property.

98% of colleges and universities do not replace stolen or damaged student property (HigherEdStudy)

1,999 fires are reported in campus-based student housing (Clery Act Reports from 2009-2019)

69,500 property crimes were reported on campuses nationwide (FBI Crime Report)

As a result, students are smart to consider purchasing renters insurance, particularly given that a recent review of the top 20 home insurance companies found that only 35% of them provide coverage for students living on-campus. For about $.50 cents a day, GradGuard's college renters insurance contains an exclusive student endorsement that provides world-wide property coverage, a low-deductible and no credit check, making renters insurance a must-have consideration for college families.

GradGuard's college insurance search tool can make it easier to find the insurance programs that are right for your college student, or even recommended by their institution. For more information, visit gradguard.com.

About GradGuard : GradGuard is a pioneer and a technology-enabled pioneer in developing innovative protections designed to reduce the risks of college life. Since 2009, GradGuard has partnered with more than 330 colleges and universities, providing protection to more than 700,000 students and families. Visit GradGuard.com to use its college insurance search tool to find the insurance programs that are right for your college student or recommended by their college or university.

Contact: Natalie Tarangioli

GradGuard

650-302-5656

[email protected]

SOURCE GradGuard
Rev. Michael Aaron Poindexter, 32, is Albany's Metropolitan New Testament Mission Baptist Church youth pastor. Eight years ago, he founded a childrens summer camp that welcomes hundreds from under-served communities. He implemented early childhood education programs and school-based health services for the Albany city school district. He earned a bachelors from SUNY Albany and is pursuing a second Master's in Social Welfare from SUNY Albany.

All this causes me to lean on my faith more. Ive gone to peaceful protests as a black man, the father of a black son, two black daughters and husband of a beautiful black wife.

America must acknowledge its original sin, the impact of slavery and systemic racism on generations of African-American families. Land of the free and home of the brave is amazing, but not yet accessible to everyone. White Americans need to acknowledge white privilege exists and provides protections not available to me due to my skin color.

At times, I feel like I have PTSD. Countless videos of black men and women being murdered by law enforcement has had an incredible impact on me. There are times when I leave my home, I know theres a possibility I may not make it back alive if Im pulled over by police for any reason.

Q: Can white people use white privilege to combat racism?

A: Yes. White people can use their privilege to bring awareness to the struggle and inequities black people encounter daily. Speak up if you see a black person in danger in police custody. Speak out about inequities and injustices that happen around us every single day. Write that email or make that phone call when you witness police brutality and excessive force.

I need a bystander, an ally, to do whatever he or she can to keep me alive if Im in a life or death situation.

I understand thats a bold statement.

But this is the time to be bold and show courage.

3 1 of 3 photo by Shawn Gomes Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Submitted Show More Show Less 3 of 3





I have close friends who are police officers. They take their oaths with the highest degree of integrity. There are black police and retired officers in my congregation. Black Lives Matter isnt about hating the police, dishonoring the flag, or being disrespectful to our military.

Black Lives Matter is speaking out against systemic racism and police brutality. It is the courage to speak about systems that held generations of black communities back. Its speaking out against police officers who violated their oath of protecting and serving. The tragic murder of Mr. George Floyd forced the entire world to stop and see what black people have dealt with since we were stolen and brought to America.

Slaves werent captured and brought here; humans were: sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, kings, and queens. Mr. Floyds death made Americans more aware of what was always there, institutionally racist systems surrounding the private prison industry, lack of employment, inadequate access to housing. COVID-19 exacerbated what we already knew about healthcare disparities for black and brown people.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

Q: Did your parents have "the talk" with you about interacting with police?

A: I was 12 when Amadou Diallo was killed in 1999.

(Editor's note; four New York City policemen fired 41 shots at Diallo in front of his apartment building; 19 bullets hit the unarmed man. Police said they mistook his wallet--which Diallo took from his pocket to show his ID--for a gun. The trial changed venues to Albany where the shooters were acquitted and released).

My mother and father sat me down and said, understand you are at risk in ways a white child would not be. If you are stopped by police, out playing with friends or walking, you must carry yourself in an approachable way. You need to know you may be seen as a threat at any time.

Imagine that, from age 12, I knew I was at a higher risk of being killed because I am black.

Q: Do you let yourself hope these protests will have a revolutionary anti-racism impact?

A: America needs to continue public displays of unity. Im for peaceful protest but we must also seek policy reform. Like me at age 12, the world is now grappling with racism that always existed. The silence of so many for so long cant go on.

Q: What counsel would you give people of faith, people with values wanting to end racism?

A: We worship the same God. He wants you to speak up. He wants you to join the fight for justice. We must love the Jesus who liberates, just as much as we love the Jesus who loves.
Lucknow, June 26 : With the whole world in the grip of coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the Uttar Pradesh government for its efforts in handling the unprecedented crisis.

Modi on Friday launched the 'Aatmanirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan' to provide employment to migrant and daily wage workers who had returned to the state during the lockdown imposed to check the spread of coronavirus.

The Prime Minister also held talks with beneficiaries of the campaign which provides employment to more than one crore people, saying that UP had launched a major plan for its implementation.

Modi said, "The work done by the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh was instrumental in preventing the spread of the pandemic in the most populous state." "Under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath, the state government had left behind developed countries such as France, Italy and Spain in the precautionary measures and solutions to save its citizens from the pandemic. The government had not missed the chance to turn disaster into opportunity and fought effectively against the global crisis." Modi said, "While other states are struggling in the fight against corona, UP has launched major development plans. Once again, many congratulations to you for starting these employment opportunities." The other states of the country, he added, could also learn a lot from this approach.

"UP people must be saved from the coronavirus. No drug or vaccine has come till date. The only medicine against this pandemic is maintaining a gap of two yards from one another and covering mouth, using face cover or a scarf. Until the corona vaccine is devised, we would be able to prevent it with this medicine," he added.

The state's doctors, paramedical staff, sweepers, policemen, anganwadi workers, bank and post-office staff, transport department, migrant workers, etc had contributed to fight this menace with full devotion. Uttar Pradesh's efforts and achievements are huge as it is a bigger state than many countries combined in the world, he said.

Modi said, "The hard work by the UP government, in a way has helped save the lives of at least 85,000 people (as the death toll could have reached that figure without precautions). Today if we are able to save the lives of our citizens, it is a matter of great satisfaction."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
President Donald Trump was on the campaign trail in Wisconsin, Thursday. While there, he attended a town hall hosted by Fox News Sean Hannity. When the topic of gun violence came up, Trump was quick to call out some of the more violent cities in the U.S. Chicago is an example, said Trump. It's worse than Afghanistan. Trump pointed out that some of the larger Black urban communities, like Chicago, Detroit, and Baltimore are especially bad. Trump said, These cities... it is like living in Hell. He also claimed that Black people often thank him for making observations like these. While Trump did not provide a plan for curbing the violence, he did suggest a very controversial policing tactic. I know it's very controversial to say, stop and frisk, said Trump. Stop and frisk - you take guns away. Trump praised the stop and frisk practice, which was implemented by New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. It was a great thing he did for New York, claimed Trump. Despite current protests calling for a reduction in policing, both Hannity and Trump think the practice could promote law and order. We can stop [violence] quickly, said Trump. And at some point, in the not-too-distant future, I'm going to do it.

Video Transcript

SEAN HANNITY: I don't know how people can pursue their happiness and dreams in life if they don't have basic fundamental security.

DONALD TRUMP: You can't. You can't. Look, Chicago is an example. It's, like, worse than Afghanistan. It's worse than-- I shouldn't say, because they're working with us-- Honduras.

KYLIE MAR: President Trump was in Wisconsin Thursday, where he attended a town hall hosted by Sean Hannity. And when the topic of gun violence came up, Trump claimed cities like Detroit, Baltimore, and Chicago are worse than some of the most violent countries in the world.

DONALD TRUMP: They say, oh, is that a racist statement? It's not a racist-- frankly, Black people come up to me, say thank you, thank you, sir, for saying it. They want help. These cities, it's like living in hell.

Story continues

KYLIE MAR: While Trump did not provide a plan for curbing the violence, he did suggest a very controversial policing tactic.

DONALD TRUMP: I know it's very controversial to say-- stop and frisk, OK? Stop and frisk. You take guns away. Rudy Giuliani was a great mayor. He did it in New York.

KYLIE MAR: Human rights groups have been vehemently opposed to the controversial policing practice, which Trump's longtime friend Rudy Giuliani implemented when he was the mayor of New York. And despite recent protests calling for a reduction in policing, both Hannity and Trump think the practice could promote law and order.

SEAN HANNITY: What they did is, they went into the areas that had the highest incidents of crime--

DONALD TRUMP: That's right.

SEAN HANNITY: --and saved a lot of lives. So we're Americans, I think we can do anything. I'm that optimistic. We could stop the violence, right?

DONALD TRUMP: We could stop it quickly. And at some point in the not-too-distant future, I'm going to do it.
NEW YORK, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Constantine Cannon is pleased to announce a $57 million settlement of the False Claims Act lawsuit its whistleblower client brought against the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY). VNSNY is the largest not-for-profit home health care agency in the country, serving roughly 150,000 patients a year in New York, most of whom are elderly and/or disabled. A copy of the settlement can be found here.

The whistleblower who filed this action, Edward Lacey, was an executive at VNSNY for 16 years. In his complaint, Mr. Lacey alleged that VNSNY failed to provide its patients all the critical nursing and therapy visits and services their doctors prescribed under the patient Plans of Care. He contended that by failing to provide this care, VNSNY endangered the welfare of tens of thousands of its patients while maximizing the company's Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.

This is the first reported False Claims Act settlement involving allegations of a home health agency failing to follow patient Plans of Care. It also is the largest non-kickback False Claims Act settlement ever against a home health care company and the second largest settlement of any home health care fraud case.

Mr. Lacey's claims concerning alleged Plan of Care failures impact the entire home health care industry. That is why the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, a trade association that represents the interests of thousands of home health care agencies across the country, came to VNSNY's defense in this action. In a brief it submitted to the Court, the association argued that a decision in this case "has the potential to impact over 6.6 million claims submitted for Medicare payment of home health services provided to over 3.4 million Medicare beneficiaries annually by nearly 12,000 Medicare and Medicaid participating home health agencies."

Mr. Lacey alleged that under VNSNY's "accept all referrals" policy, the company took on patients regardless of whether it had the capacity to handle them. According to the complaint, even though VNSNY only provided a fraction of the visits and services the Plans of Care prescribed, the company still collected hundreds of millions of dollars of Medicare and Medicaid payments without disclosing pervasive Plan of Care failures.

Mr. Lacey alleged additional misconduct by VNSNY, including reporting and billing for nursing and therapy visits the company never provided and failing to comply with home health aide supervision requirements.

Gordon Schnell of Constantine Cannon, counsel for Mr. Lacey, stated "we hope this settlement sends a message to the entire home health care industry of how important it is to follow patient Plans of Care and provide all the visits and services referring physicians have prescribed."

Marlene Koury of Constantine Cannon added: "Mr. Lacey came to us with grave concerns regarding VNSNY failing to provide critical home health care to elderly and sick New Yorkers. We are very pleased with the result and hope that yet-to-be whistleblowers are inspired by Mr. Lacey's courage and determination."

Dan Vitelli of Constantine Cannon further added: "This case reinforces the important role whistleblowers play in bringing lawsuits under the False Claims Act, a role that has grown even more important across all industries with the government's extensive payouts related to the impacts of COVID-19."

Hamsa Mahendranathan of Constantine Cannon stated: "Home health agencies provide vital services to some of our most vulnerable neighbors, many of whom do not have the ability or resources to demand the care they have been prescribed. We hope this settlement encourages other whistleblowers to be a voice for the voiceless."

As he stated in his complaint, Mr. Lacey originally brought his concerns to the attention of VNSNY's senior management and filed this case only after the company failed to take the corrective actions Mr. Lacey believed were warranted. He filed the lawsuit in 2014 under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permits whistleblowers to file lawsuits on behalf of the government for fraud committed against the government.

The False Claims Act entitles whistleblowers like Mr. Lacey to receive a whistleblower reward of up to 30% of the government's recovery. Because of the valuable contribution Mr. Lacey brought forth with his filing of this matter, the government has decided to make Mr. Lacey an award at the high end of the allowable range.

In addition to Mr. Schnell, Ms. Koury, Mr. Vitelli, and Ms. Mahendranathan, Mr. Lacey was also represented by Max Voldman, Leah Judge, Gary Reilly and Ginger Buck, all of Constantine Cannon. Constantine Cannon is the largest international law firm dedicated to representing whistleblowers, with offices in New York, London, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Click here to learn more about Constantine Cannon's whistleblower practice, and here for more information about home health care fraud.

About Constantine Cannon LLP

Constantine Cannon has the world's largest international whistleblower practice, with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and London. The firm's team of dedicated whistleblower lawyers represent whistleblowers under federal and state False Claims Acts as well as the whistleblower programs of the IRS, SEC, CFTC, DOT, and others.

Constantine Cannon's experience spans across multiple practice areas that include antitrust and complex commercial litigation, whistleblower representation, government relations, securities, and e-discovery. The firm's antitrust practice is among the largest and most well recognized in the nation.

CONTACT:

PRCG | Haggerty

Isaac Benjamin

[email protected]

(212) 683-8100

SOURCE Constantine Cannon LLP
The New Patriotic Party has expressed shock at the passing of the late Mr. Sam Cudjoe, Ashanti Regional Second Vice-Chairman of the Party.



Mr Cudjoe, who was a key member of the Party since the inception of the Fourth Republican Constitution, died on Friday, June 26, at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hopsital, Kumasi, after a short illness.



He will always be remembered for his selflessness, dedication and commitment to the Party, Mr. Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi, the Regional NPP Chairman, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA).



The demise of the late Cudjoe, he said, was a big blow to the Party given his experience and knowledge.



Mr. Antwi-Boasiako said: Ghanas political fraternity has lost a gem.

The Regional NPP Chairman assured of the Partys resolve to support the bereaved family as they went through the difficult moments.



Meanwhile, the Regional Executive of the Party has visited the North Suntreso residence of the late Cudjoe to commiserate with the bereaved family.





Source: GNA









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

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On May 11, Adam Levin, executive chairman of Hightimes Holding Corp., held an investor webinar. Levin appeared in front of a Zoom background of the Hollywood hills, whose well-known sign had been changed to spell High Times.

So many people keep popping up on the thing, he said, excitedly reading the chat box. Good evening from Virginia. Hi, from San Diego. Memphis is here. Hi from Mexico, from Moscow. He couldnt stop grinning. The whole world knows High Times.

Eventually, Levin and his colleaguesPaul Henderson, the companys president; and Peter Horvath, its new CEOgot down to business. They were pitching a chance to commit funds to the forthcoming initial public offering of Hightimes Holding Corp.: With a minimum investment of just $550, any one of these hundreds of virtual attendeessome fans of the magazine, some aspiring investors, most a little of bothcould hold shares of a company pivoting into a different business, from publishing to products, and from counterculture to corporate.

ICYMI: Objectivity isnt a magic wand

Id be lying if I said I never missed reporting on cannabis when the plant was still outside the gravitational pull of big capital. Today, cannabis is a multibillion dollar industryone that intersects with alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals. And High Times is not the only counterculture symbol-turned-brand-turned-commodity. A private equity firm in Seattle called Privateer Holdings is behind the official Bob Marley-branded cannabis products, called Marley Natural. The company behind alcohol brands such as SVEDKA and Corona invested $4 billion into a cannabis company in Canada, Canopy Growth, turning it into one of the most valuable cannabis companies in the world.

When I began to cover cannabis in 2010, it was the end of the era represented by High Times run as (primarily) a print magazine. Then, covering cannabis meant covering a movement, more so than an industry. I remember reporting that year from the office of NORML, an organization that has pushed for legalization since its founding in Washington, DC, in 1970just four years before the printing of the first issue of High Times. In that office, the High Times archive stood like a shrine.

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On November 6, 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize cannabis for adult use. That night, I was in Seattle, reporting alongside the campaign as the results rolled in. When it comes to covering cannabis, I remember it as both a beginning and an end.

Nearly 50 years after High Times founding as an irreverent magazine that often served those growing cannabissay, in their closetsthe Hightimes Holding Corp. wants to slap the High Times brand on cannabis stores and on those things sold inside. Just days before Levins investor webinar, Arizona-based Harvest Health and Recreation, one of the largest cannabis companies in the US, announced it would sell several of its California shops to High Times.

When I imagine the magazines founder and early readers saying IPO, I think of the caterpillar from Disneys Alice in Wonderland, a bit mocking and a bit cool, forming each letter from a puff of smoke. This was a magazine so ahead of its time that when writer Victor Bockris asked Susan Sontag in 1978 why she agreed to speak to him for an interview for the magazine, at a time when she was giving few interviews, she said, Im giving an interview because because its High Times. I was intrigued by that, sure.

In many ways, the High Times story is also a media-industry story: The decline of print advertising. The shift to digital. The decline in the value of digital ads. And, as the result of an effort to get more ad revenue via more clicks, the deepening canyon between quality and quantity.

And as the media industry reels from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, so, too, does High Times. The company told potential investors that while events were a large percentage of our revenue prior to the pandemic  retail sales will make up a large percentage of our revenue going forward. High Times, as one of their many emails about the IPO said, will emerge a different company.

High Times is not the only media company to explore revenue streams through products. BuzzFeed sells Tasty brand non-stick cookware in Walmart. But for the High Times brand, this pivot to plant-touching assets, as the company described it, feels like a pivot too far. Maybe the company is poised to thrive in this bear market! as they said in one of the dozens of emails theyve sent to promote the IPO to potential investors. Maybe the flag of High Times will fly as the face of the recession-proof plant we all know and love. Maybe fortunes are made on the darkest days, as they wrote after sharing the famous quote from 18th century British nobleman Baron Rothschild: Buy when theres blood in the streets But even if they have decades of history that will be infused into our stores, will it be the High Times that, as Levin said on the call, the whole world knows?

On that investor webinar, Horvath sat in a cavernous, dim room. Behind him was a large cabinet, lit inside to showcase a wall of expensive liquor. Later on, someone would call out Horvaths track record of jumping from company to company. (In March, he departed a cannabis company called Green Growth Brands, founded in 2018.) Another commenter would ask if the IPO will actually happen; Levin first announced a High Times IPO in 2018, not long after he acquired the company. Since then, the company has had three CEOs, including Horvath. This time, Levin assured them, was for real. Those on the call were reminded that, even though the company is operating in the red, more than 30,000 people have signed on.

GREAT MAGAZINES: Praising Arizona

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Nushin Rashidian is the research lead on the Platforms and Publishers project at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism. She also teaches at the Columbia Journalism School. @nushinrashidian
Tropical rainforests form an important part of our planet. These forests are generally located near the equator where both temperatures and humidity are high. They are dominated by broad-leaved trees that create a dense canopy, rich in biodiversity. There are currently around 2.4 million square miles of tropical rainforest on Earth, but there was once as much as triple that amount.

Tropical rainforests have been in decline in recent years. Farmers often clear-cut their land in places like Brazil, in order to make way for crops. Cassava, a starchy root, is grown, as well as other plants, and space is made to graze cows. Unfortunately, the ground beneath a tropical rainforest is ill suited for farming. Sadly, the soil does not keep many nutrients. Because of this, farmers often stay in one place for just a couple of years, and then move onto clearing another parcel of land to suit their needs. This practice, coupled with vast forest fires that have scourged the rain forests in South America in recent years, are causing these valuable tropical forests to decline at an alarming rate.

Here are ten reasons why we need to continue working to protect the planets tropical rainforests, in order to enjoy them for years to come.

10. They Provide Us With Oxygen

It is a fact that Earths oceans are responsible for providing us with much of the oxygen we breathe. Scientists estimate that phytoplankton, marine plants in ocean waters, produce about 80% of the worlds oxygen. Some say the oceans produce only about 50% of our oxygen, but whatever the case may be, it is true that much of this needed gas comes from our planets salty waters. The rest comes from-you guessed it- the plants growing on land. Trees, grasses, shrubs, and other plants produce oxygen via photosynthesis. This process has plants breathe in carbon dioxide, and expel oxygen. Humans, in turn, breathe in this oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. We are two sides of a coin that must work together.

The Amazon rain forest, in particular, is so vast that it is said to produce 20% of all the Earths oxygen. As we cut it all down, we are drastically impacting the amount of oxygen available on our planet. Rain forests are not our only source of oxygen, but they produce enough of it to be a significant contributor in providing us with clean air we need. As such, it is important that we protect their presence.

9. They Are Home To Undiscovered Medicinal Treatments

Scientists are exploring the rainforest near Puyo, Ecuador. Image credit: goran_safarek/Shutterstock.com

Tropical rainforests have been used throughout history as a source of medicine to treat traditional peoples. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) indigenous people such as the Yanomamo have grown a large body of knowledge in reference to the chemical compounds found in plants and animals living in the tropical rainforest. This has been passed down from a medicine man or shaman, to an apprentice for thousands of years. Modern western medicine has yet to study all the medical applications available in these rainforests. Depleting the forests could erase knowledge and resources that could be key to providing medical treatments for many diseases we have yet to cure.

8. They Are Home To A Large Number Of Animals

Colourful macaws in the Amazon Forest in Peru. Image credit: Pat Guanais/Shutterstock.com

In addition to being a source of medicine, tropical rainforests are rich in biodiversity. The Amazon rainforest is home to 10% of the worlds known species, and according to the Nature Conservancy, 4-square-mile (2,560 acres) area of rainforest contains about 400 species of birds, and 150 different types of butterflies. Keeping this rich area safe for animals to live in is important for the balance of biodiversity on Earth.

7. They Have Many Undiscovered Animal Species

Large parts of the Amazon rainforest still remain unexplored as the dense growth makes these parts nearly impenetrable. Image credit: Ammit Jack/Shutterstock.com

Scientists are just beginning to discover all that lives in tropical rainforests. Reports indicate that a two-year study done in the Amazon rainforest across nine South American countries between 2014 and 2015 discovered the existence of 381 new species including 93 new fish, 32 new amphibians, 20 new mammals, and 19 new reptiles. These forests are said contain almost half of all Earths plants and animals, and as such, should be protected.

6. They Are Home To A Large Number of Plants

Inside of a Coca plant held by a traveler in the Amazon Rainforest at Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve. Image credit: Sarah Gotham/Shutterstock.com

Many types of plants also call tropical rainforests home. The Amazon rainforest in particular is unparalleled in terms of the botanical biodiversity. According to the WWF, it houses somewhere between 40 and 100 species of trees in just 1 hectare of land. This tropical forest houses 80,000 plant species in total, which are important to the survival of both the local animals and people.

5. They Are Home To Undiscovered Plants

As with the undiscovered animals, tropical rainforests are also home to many plants that have yet to be classified and analyzed. By cutting down the forests, we lose this rich pot of natural resources.

4. They Take Time To Replace

Palm oil plantation at rainforest edge in Malaysia. Image credit: Rich Carey/Shutterstock.com

It is true that you can replant a tropical rainforest, and it can grow back. In fact, plants grow surprisingly quickly in warm climates. It does take years, however, and the secondary forest is sometimes not the same as the old growth one. A study conducted along the Panama canal by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute found that even after 32 years of re-growth, parts of a formerly disturbed tropical rainforest did not yet have the same levels of biodiversity as the original forest.

3. Old Growth Forests Are Vital For Their Seeds

For new rain forests to grow where they have been cut down, the seeds of an old growth forest are required. Sometimes these seeds are naturally left in the ground when the forest is first cut. If all old growth tropical rain forests are depleted however, researchers say they fear that secondary forests will not be able to regrow with the same biodiversity, which includes genetic diversity.

2. They Are Vital to Earths Water Cycle

According to scientists at Yale University, tropical rainforests play an important role in the movement of water in our atmosphere. If we cut them down in abundance, major shifts in the Earths water cycle could happen, resulting in drought in key agricultural areas in China, India, and the American Midwest.

1. They Are Home To Lots Of Carbon

Finally, tropical rainforests are home to the single largest depository of above-ground biomass carbon stores in the world. According to Nature.com, they contain approximately 195 petagrams of carbon (PgC).

As such, these forests play a key role in preventing and controlling climate change, and should be protected.

The vast benefits presented by tropical rainforests on Earth from enormous biodiversity in animals and plants, to the presence of medicinal solutions, their role in the water cycle, and in providing us with clean air indicate just how important these forests are to the health of our people and home.
The differences in proximity to coronavirus sickness and death align, too, with political attitudes, the survey shows. More than 8 in 10 black Americans say that, in deciding which presidential candidate to vote for in the November election, the coronavirus outbreak will be one of the most important factors or very important. Nearly as many Americans who are Hispanic say they hold that view  but fewer than 6 in 10 who are white say the same.
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged NAC Foundation, its Chief Executive Officer Marcus Andrade, and political lobbyist Jack Abramoff with conducting a fraudulent, unregistered offering of AML BitCoin, a digital asset security the defendants claimed was a new and improved version of bitcoin.

The SEC alleges that Nevada-based NAC Foundation raised at least $5.6 million from more than 2,400 investors by selling tokens that could later be converted to AML BitCoin. According to the SECs complaints, NAC and its CEO portrayed AML BitCoin as superior to the original bitcoin, with anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism, and theft-resistant technology built into the coin on NACs own privately regulated public blockchain. The SECs complaints allege that in reality none of the touted capabilities existed and the development of AML BitCoin and its blockchain was in the very early stages.

According to the SEC, NAC and Andrade falsely claimed that multiple government agencies were negotiating to use AML BitCoin, and Abramoff and Andrade falsely claimed that they were on the verge of advertising AML BitCoin during the Super Bowl in an effort to create interest in the offering, despite NAC being unable to afford the cost of the ad. Abramoff also allegedly arranged for NAC to pay for purportedly independent articles about AML BitCoin that included many of the misleading statements. The SEC further alleges that Andrade directed a market manipulation strategy to boost the tokens trading volume and price and diverted approximately $1.1 million from the offering for his personal use.

We allege that these defendants repeatedly misled investors into funding non-existent technology, falsely claiming that the technology would make digital asset transactions more secure, said Kristina Littman, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Divisions Cyber Unit. Investors are entitled to truthful information so they can make fully informed investment decisions.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California announced parallel criminal actions against Andrade and Abramoff, charging Andrade with wire fraud and Abramoff with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and lobbying disclosure violations.

The SECs complaints, filed in the Northern District of California, charge NAC, Andrade, and Abramoff with violating the antifraud and securities registration provisions of the federal securities laws, and also charge Abramoff with broker-dealer registration violations. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement, and civil penalties, as well as injunctions prohibiting NAC and Andrade from participating in future securities offerings, and barring Andrade from serving as a public company officer or director. Abramoff has agreed to a settlement imposing permanent and conduct-based injunctions, officer-and-director, industry, and penny stock bars, disgorgement of the $50,000 in commissions he received, plus prejudgment interest of $5,501, and reserves the issue of civil penalties for further determination by the court upon motion of the SEC. The settlement is subject to court approval.
Protesters scuffle with police during a march against police violence in Manhattan on April 14, 2015 in New York City.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, named in honor of George Floyd, whose May 25 killing at the hands of police has sparked widespread protests.

The bill passed 236-181, with only three Republicans  Reps. Will Hurd of Texas, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Fred Upton of Michigan  voting alongside Democrats in favor.

The legislation, which calls for broader police accountability and transparency, now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, named in honor of George Floyd, who was killed on May 25 after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.

Floyd's death has reinvigorated widespread Black Lives Matter protests around the country.

The bill passed 236-181, with only three Republicans  Reps. Will Hurd of Texas, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Fred Upton of Michigan  voting alongside Democrats in favor.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Karen Bass of California, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, and Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, now heads to the Senate for consideration.

On Wednesday, Senate Democrats blocked a Republican police reform bill released as an alternative to the Democratic one, claiming that the bill did not reach far enough to address racial inequality.

Both Democrats and Republicans have stopped short of reforms advocated by some rights groups, including Black Lives Matter and the ACLU, which have called for funds to be diverted away from police toward social-welfare programs. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and other progressive leaders have voiced support for the defund-the-police movement.

What does the House bill say?

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other members of Congress gather at the Emancipation Hall, kneel as they take moment of silence to honor George Floyd, and victims of racial injustice on Monday, June 8, 2020.

Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Story continues

The 140-page House bill aims to "hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct in court, improve transparency through data collection, an reform police training and policies."

The legislation prohibits the use of chokeholds and pledges to reform qualified immunity, which protects police officers from being held personally responsible for violating people's constitutional rights. It would also grant power to the Department of Justice to issue subpoenas to conduct "pattern and practice" investigations into discriminatory policing practices.

The bill creates a national police misconduct registry and establishes a national framework to ban racial profiling at the federal, state, and local levels. It also puts in place new requirements for law enforcement officers and agencies, including the use of body cameras, more detailed reporting on police incidents where force was used, and broader training on implicit bias and racial profiling.

In remarks before the vote on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the new bill would "fundamentally transform" the US police culture and would "save lives."

"Today, with the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the House is honoring his life and the lives of all killed by police brutality, and pledging: never again," she said. "We have the opportunity and the obligation to ensure that his death, and the deaths of so many others, are not in vain."

The bill has recieved widespread support from rights groups and members of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Family members of Black individuals who have died at the hands of police in recent years released a statement on Thursday in support of the bill.

"The unjust killing of a loved one, especially at the hands of law enforcement, is a pain too many families have been forced to endure," the statement, written by Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner; Samaria Rice, mother of Tamir Rice; and John Crawford, Jr., father of John Crawford III, said.

House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) June 26, 2020

"We are proud to support this effort because it's the right thing to do."

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) applauded the bill's passage in a statement on Thursday.

"The legislation represents unprecedented action to prevent and address violence against the Black community by law enforcement all over the country," the statement wrote. "For far too long, police across the country have operated with impunity and no regard for the people they are sworn to protect and serve."

The NAACP called on the Senate to pass the bill and "seize this extraordinary moment in time to push for the elimination of racism in policing and in the criminal justice system writ large, and to rid our society of the structural inequality that has tormented and held back our nation for far too long."

Kristina Roth, Senior Program Officer for Criminal Justice Programs at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement that the legislation is "a bold first step at policing reform." Still, Roth said the bill did not go far enough to eliminate qualified immunity for all state actors.

"We strongly believe that the functions of this bill do not require new funding," Roth said. "The inclusion of hundreds of millions of new dollars to state and local law enforcement agencies is a slap in the face to the millions of people who have taken to the streets in the wake of George Floyd's killing, who have been demanding that funds be redirected to community-led solutions."

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 23:28:54|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- German housing company Vonovia said Friday it acquired a 2.6-percent stake in the Dutch residential investor Vesteda Residential Fund (Vesteda).

With this acquisition, Vonovia was taking its "first step" into the Dutch residential market, creating a basis for developing a "better understanding" of the local market as well as gaining "practical first-hand experience," according to the company.

Both companies agreed not to disclose the purchase price. According to Vonovia, the Dutch real estate fund Vesteda would own around 27,000 residential units in the "highly attractive" Randstad region, which also includes Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

The Netherlands, along with Austria, Sweden and France, would be one of the four target markets for Vonovia's residential properties outside Germany, the company said.

In 2018, Vonovia acquired a 10-percent stake in the French residential portfolio Fonciere Vesta. Enditem
French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott next week for a summit of West African leaders to discuss the tough campaign against jihadists in the Sahel region, his office said Friday.

Macron will make the trip to the West African desert state Tuesday for face-to-face talks with the leaders of Niger, Chad, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Mali -- countries which contribute to the G5 Sahel force fighting a growing Islamist insurgency.

The G5 force works with the over 5,000-strong French Barkhane force which has been deployed in the region for the last seven years but has encountered increasing resistance from jihadists.

The meeting in Mauritania comes six months after a summit in the French city of Pau where the leaders vowed to intensify the fight against jihadists.

After the Nouakchott meeting, the six leaders will hold video talks with other key figures including European Council President Charles Michel and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said a French presidential official, who asked not to be named.

Half-a-year following the Pau summit, the security situation is getting better but remains "deeply fragile", according to French Defence Minister Florence Parly.

The summit comes after France earlier this month was able to claim one of the biggest successes of its deployment -- the killing of the head of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Abdelmalek Droukdel.

Operations have also intensified in the region on the borders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger seen as a sanctuary for fighters of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS).

The IS-GS was designated in January as the number one enemy of France's Barkhane and has itself been fighting Al-Qaeda affiliated groups.

Macron earlier this year signalled that all the options were on the table for the future of the French force, including withdrawal. But now officials in Paris emphasise that while French troops will not be there for ever, it is too soon to pull out.

The president's predecessor, Francois Hollande, had launched the deployment in 2013 to chase out jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda who had overtaken key northern cities in Mali.

At the Pau talks in January, Macron and Sahel leaders discussed growing dissatisfaction on the ground with France's military presence.

Local protests and criticism of the Barkhane force have riled French officials, not least after 13 soldiers were killed in a helicopter collision in Mali in December 2019 while pursuing jihadist fighters -- the deadliest toll for the French military in nearly four decades.

Macron has said he is wary to send soldiers to countries where their presence was not "clearly wanted", saying in December: "we need the political conditions to accompany the military work we do."
Rosie Lee Tompkins (born Effie Mae Martin) in 1985, with one of her best known, most jubilant velvet quilts, whose patches of scaled-down piecing, often framed, form multiple mini-quilts. It resembles a wall hung with paintings.

Rosie Lee Tompkins (born Effie Mae Martin) in 1985, with one of her best known, most jubilant velvet quilts, whose patches of scaled-down piecing, often framed, form multiple mini-quilts. It resembles a wall hung with paintings. Eli Leon

A triumphal retrospective at the Berkeley Art Museum confirms her standing as one of the great American artists  transcending craft, challenging painting and reshaping the canon.

In 1997 I walked into the Berkeley Art Museum to be greeted by a staggering sight: an array of some 20 quilts unlike any I had ever seen. Their unbridled colors, irregular shapes and nearly reckless range of textiles telegraphed a tremendous energy and the implacable ambition, and confidence, of great art.

They were crafted objects that transcended quilting, with the power of painting. This made them canon-busting, and implicitly subversive. They gave off a tangible heat. I left in a state of shock  I knew I had been instantly converted but I didnt yet know to what.

In memory the show became a jubilant fugue of small squares of velvet in deep gemstone hues, dancing with not much apparent order yet impeccably arranged for full effect. My first thought was of Paul Klee, that kind of love-at-first-sight allure, seductive hand-madeness and unfiltered accessibility, only bigger and stronger.

TK TK TK UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell

The planets had aligned: Id happened on the first solo show anywhere of Rosie Lee Tompkins, an exemplar of one of the countrys premier visual traditions: African-American improvisational quilt-making  an especially innovative branch of a medium that reaches back to African textiles and continues to thrive.

Tompkinss work, I came to realize, was one of the centurys major artistic accomplishments, giving quilt-making a radical new articulation and emotional urgency. I felt I had been given a new standard against which to measure contemporary art.

Rosie Lee Tompkins was a pseudonym, I would learn, adopted by a fiercely private, deeply religious woman, who as her work received more and more attention, was almost never photographed or interviewed. She was born Effie Mae Martin in rural Gould, Ark., on Sept. 9, 1936. At the time of the show, she was 61 and living in nearby Richmond, Calif., just north of Berkeley.

Over the years, I would be repeatedly blown away by work that was at once rigorous and inclusive. Tompkins was an inventive colorist whose generous use of black added to the gravity of her efforts. She worked in several styles and all kinds of fabrics, using velvets  printed, panne, crushed  to gorgeous effect, in ways that rivaled oil paint. But she was also adept with denim, faux furs, distressed T-shirts and fabrics printed with the faces of the Kennedy brothers, Martin Luther King Jr. and Magic Johnson.

A typical Tompkins quilt had an original, irresistible aliveness. One of her narrative works was 14 feet across, the size of small billboard. It appropriated whole dish towels printed with folkloric scenes, parts of a feed sack, and, most prominently, bright bold chunks of the American flag. What else? Bits of embroidery, Mexican textiles, fabrics printed with flamenco dancers and racing cars, hot pink batik and, front and center, a slightly cheesy manufactured tapestry of Jesus Christ. It seemed like a map of the melting pot of American culture and politics.

The size of a small billboard, this 1996 quilt pieces together a folkloric dish towel, chunks of the American flag and a mass-produced tapestry of Jesus. UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Justin T. Gellerson for The New York Times

While works like this one relate to Pop Art, others had the power of abstraction. One of her signature velvets might be described as a failed checkerboard. Its little squares of black and dark green, lime and blue, slide continuously in and out of register, creating the illusion of ceaseless motion, like a fractal model of rippling water.

This surface action, I discovered, reflected her constant improvisation: Tompkins began by cutting her squares (or triangles or bars) freehand, never measuring or using a template, and intuitively changed the colors, shapes and size of her fabric fragments, making her compositions seem to expand or contract. As a result her quilts could be deliriously akimbo, imbued with a mesmerizing pull of differences and inconsistencies that communicates impassioned attention and care.

I think its because I love them so much that God let me see all these different colors, Tompkins once said of her patchworks. I hope they spread a lot of love.

That 1997 Berkeley show was my first Rosie Lee Tompkins moment. Organized by Lawrence Rinder, the museums chief curator, it helped boost her reputation beyond the quilt world centered in and around San Francisco. This September many more people will have similar moments of their own, and feel the love implicit in her extraordinary achievement, when Rosie Lee Tompkins: A Retrospective  the artists largest show yet  opens its doors once more at the Berkeley Art Museum for a run through Dec. 20. (It debuted briefly in February before the coronavirus lockdown.) The museums website currently offers a robust online display and 70-minute virtual tour.

This exhibition, again organized by Mr. Rinder, the museums director until March, with Elaine Y. Yau, a postdoctoral curatorial fellow, marks the end of a 35-year saga. Though it began with Effie Mae Martin, it came to include a small, nervous collector named Eli Leon, who met her in 1985, fell in love with her quilts and those of many other African-American creators in and around Richmond  and devoted half his life to acquiring and studying, exhibiting and writing about their work.

In a velvet quilt from 1992, the viewer is startled into closer attention by an eruption of black and white (upper right) in a field of rich colors and patch of small green and black squares framed in burnt orange, a quilt-within-a-quilt (lower left). UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Sharon Risedorph

The Saga of Effie and Eli and Rosie Lee

Rosie Lee Tompkins grew up the eldest of 15 half-siblings, picking cotton and piecing quilts for her mother. In 1958 she joined the postwar phase of the Great Migration, relocating to Milwaukee and then Chicago, eventually settling in Richmond, Calif., a busy port and shipyard that had become a destination for thousands of African-Americans who moved out of the South, many bringing with them singular aspects of rural culture.

She studied nursing, and for the next two decades or so worked in convalescent homes, a job she is said to have loved. During this time she married and divorced Ellis Howard, raised five children and stepchildren and started to make quilts to sell at the areas many flea markets, along with other wares. She even had a printed business card that offered Crazy Quilts and Pillows All Sizes. By the late 1970s, according to the current exhibitions catalog, she was earning as much as $400 a weekend from sales and was able to quit her nursing job.

The flea markets were a quilters paradise in the 1970s, 80s and beyond, places where the necessary materials were plentiful and cheap: printed, embroidered and sequined fabrics, beaded trim, crocheted doilies, needlepoint, buttons, secondhand clothing, costume jewelry  all of which, and more, Tompkins incorporated into her art.

UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell

The area was also paradise for quilt collectors, one of whom was Eli, born in the Bronx in 1935 and trained as a psychologist, whose collecting instincts verged on hoarding. Eli had also worked as a graphic designer and sometime in the late 1970s, after years of haunting the areas flea markets and yard sales for whatever appealed, he zeroed in on the visual vibrancy of quilts, evolving into a self-taught scholar. He lived frugally in a small bungalow in Oakland that was eventually packed to its rafters with quilts, except for his dining room and kitchen. These were menageries of previous flea-market obsessions, artifacts of between-the-wars popular culture  crafts, milk glass, dolls, cookie tins, but also meat grinders, toasters and enamel saucepans  mostly in the jade greens.

Around 1980, Eli turned his gimlet eye to searching out African-American quilts and interviewing their makers. At flea markets he would approach anyone selling anything to ask if they knew of quilts for sale. One day he asked a woman selling kitchen utensils  Effie Mae Howard. He would later write, She was evasive, but eventually let on that she herself dabbled in the craft.

Thereafter he bought everything she would sell him, sometimes going into debt to do so. They were the jewels in the crown of a collection of African-American quilts that would eventually number in the thousands.

More wall-hanging or even street mural than quilt, this work from around 1996 juxtaposes images of black athletes and political leaders with crosses made of silk mens ties to evoke the complexities of succeeding while black in America. UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell

Rosie Lee and Eli were an odd pair, both willful, defensive and fragile. Each had survived a nervous breakdown or two; Rosie Lees, coming sometime in the late 70s, deepened the spirituality and intensity of her work, making it more than ever a haven from the world. Elis first came early, after his wife of five years left him. (They had met as students at Reed College and married, even though they both knew he was gay.)

Eli believed Rosie Lee was a great artist and at one point made notes about illustrating an essay about her with works by Michelangelo, Mondrian and Picasso. The quilter felt she was an instrument of God and saw her work as an expression of her faith and his designs. If people like my work, she once told Eli, that means the love of Jesus Christ is still shining through what Im doing.

Rosie Lee Tompkins at her home in Richmond, Calif., 1997. Eli Leon

In photographs, Rosie Lee looks tall, of regal posture. Elis devotion to her work made him a supplicant, willing to do anything  bring her fabrics and art books  to help with her work. He also wanted to promote it, devising Rosie Lee Tompkins as her art name, to preserve her privacy. Some people thought she might not exist, that Eli had made the quilts himself.

His promotional efforts, however, did not involve much selling: Eli was almost congenitally incapable of parting with any of his quilts, or anything else, that he accumulated. But within a year he began building a resume of articles, exhibitions and lectures about the importance of African-American quilts as well as their frequent emphasis on improvisation and their links to African textiles. In doing so, he contributed to the national awareness of quilts of all kinds by African-Americans, which have been increasingly studied and exhibited since around 1980, thanks to the combined influences of the civil rights movement, feminism and multiculturalism.

Eli Leon in the annex he built at his Oakland cottage for his quilts. He met Rosie Lee Tompkins at a flea market and became her fan, eventually bequeathing his collection to the Berkeley Art Museum. Randi Malkin Steinberger

His 1987 show, Whod a Thought It: Improvisation in African-American Quiltmaking, included a catalog essay by the well-known Africanist Robert Ferris Thompson alongside his own. It opened at the San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum in 1987 and, over the next decade, toured to 25 museums  including the American Craft Museum in New York City in 1989. (It was written about in the Home Section of The New York Times, but significantly not in the Art pages.)

Eli made three trips to the South  on a Guggenheim grant in one instance  to meet the relatives of quilters he knew and collected around Oakland. In Arkansas he visited Rosie Lees mother, Sadie Lee Dale, and bought one of her quilts, too.

Mr. Rinders Rosie Lee Tompkins conversion took place in a show of black and white quilts by African-Americans that Eli organized in 1996 at the Richmond Art Center. The textile of hers that jumped out at Mr. Rinder is impressive even in photographs. Made from a family of velvets, it resembles Op-Art, only softer, less mechanical and altogether more appealing.

Eager for more information about the artist, Mr. Rinder called up Eli, who responded, You like that piece? You should see what she does with color!

A rugged appliqued quilt begun in 1968, completed in 1996, celebrates California, Tompkinss adopted state, with tourist trinkets, starlet-worthy rhinestone trim, beaded embroideries and in the lower right corner, what seems to be the back of a jacket embroidered with an image of Native Americans. UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell

Beyond Labels

Though I never met Tompkins, her quilts became stuck in my mind, sometimes at the forefront, sometimes in a corner. I mentioned her work in my writing when I could. Initially she seemed to belong to the first rank of outsider artists who began reshaping the American art canon around 1980, such geniuses as Martin Ramirez, Bill Traylor and Joseph Yoakum. Like Rosie Lee, they were artists of color. (Others, like Henry Darger and James Castle, were white.) She was the only female artist I knew who seemed of their stature  perhaps beyond it  which was doubly exhilarating.

But the self-taught or outsider labels were inaccurate for quilters. Effie Mae Martin had grown up as her mothers apprentice in a kind of atelier: a small town full of female friends and relatives who quilted, the older ones showing and telling the younger ones how it was done. More and more I saw her as a great American artist, no qualifier needed.

She reminded me of George Ohr, the unparalleled turn-of-the-century potter from Biloxi, Miss., whose work was rediscovered in the early 1970s. Ohrs precariously thin-walled vessels, unlikely shapes and inspired glazing shared a kind of bravura with Tompkinss works. They both possessed an extraordinary skill and idiosyncratic abandon that creates a new sense of the possibilities of the hand, visual wit and beauty in any medium.

Cotton, cotton flannel and silk crepe with beads and sequins are among the fabrics that turn this small quilt from 2002 into an almost Cubist landscape of standing and floating crosses accompanied by the embroidered names of the Four Evangelists. The scraps of silk crepe, worthy of a flappers party dress, provide rhinestone angels above and the Mount of Olives below. UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell

As with Ohr, Tompkinss work triggered a kind of joy on first encounter. You could hear it in the reviews of the 2002 Whitney Biennial, which Mr. Rinder organized during his stint there as curator of contemporary art. He put three of her quilts in the show, one of which the Whitney acquired.

After a final decade that was a nearly vertical trajectory, hurtling toward art world fame, Rosie Lee Tompkins died suddenly, at 70, in December 2006, in her home. There were obituaries in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Boston Globe.

Then, in 2013, Eli began to leave me urgent phone messages: You have to come out here. I need help, his thin reedy voice said. He had received a diagnosis of dementia, and was worried about what would become of his collection, which he wanted to keep intact. It was overflowing not only his house, but also a small, climate-controlled annex he had built behind it.

Eli Leons dining room in 2013 contained all manner of folk art collectibles, especially if they were a shade of jade green. Here a quilt top, folded in half, is held by bulldog clips fastened to the molding. John Storey

I visited him that fall, to be stunned all over again when Eli and Jenny Hurth  his exemplary friend, assistant, fellow quilt-lover and, after 2011, his most constant caregiver  unveiled a succession of Tompkins velvets, clipping them to the molding above the double doors between his living and dining rooms. I listened as Eli spoke about Tompkins, her life and work, and also his. (Eli was not shy about his considerable brilliance.) Wedging myself into the narrow gaps between the shelves of folded quilts in the annex, I got an inkling of how much I hadnt seen.

With this visit, I joined a scattered group of individuals who had been seduced by Elis dedication but mainly by his collection, and were now concerned for its fate. In addition to Mr. Rinder and Ms. Hurth, it included Elsa Longhauser, then director of the Santa Monica Museum of Art (recently renamed the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles).

No one quite knew the actual size of his holdings  Eli provided only the vaguest of numbers when asked  but it seemed immense, judging from the two- and three-foot-high stacks of quilts that had to be navigated to get through his darkened living room.

I saw Eli once more, in 2016, when I went to Berkeley to review the inauguration of the museums new building. His dementia was much further along but he smiled as Ms. Hurth introduced me to another dimension of Tompkinss creativity: the words and numbers that she awkwardly whipstitched to her quilts, adding a layer of personal meaning in a spidery script that sometimes resembled graffiti done with a Rapidograph. She signed nearly everything with her real name, Effie, or some combination of Effie Mae Martin Howard, and often added her nearly palindromic date of birth, 9.6.36, or the birth dates of her sons, her parents and other relatives she wanted to honor.

Some of Tompkinss quilts grab you instantly; others, like this small one from around 2005, sneak up on you but take hold just as firmly. It has the looseness of a drawing, but the selvage edges give the crosses a hint of solidity and raking light. UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell

Sometimes the embroidery reflected her daily Bible reading, including the Gospels, as did her addition of applique crosses. Occasionally she stitched the addresses of the places she had lived, and Elis home. The information suggested talismanic properties, perhaps prayers. She also said they were meant to improve the relationships between the people evoked by the numbers. In her Three Sixes quilts  inspired by the sixes in the birth dates of three family members  she acknowledged them by limiting her palette to three colors: orange, yellow and purple.

Eli died on March 6, 2018, at 82, in an assisted-living home. To raise money for his care, Ms. Hurth oversaw multiple yard sales for the contents of his house  except the quilts. The question of their destiny hung uneasily in the air.

In this medley of blue denims, Tompkins pays homage to her grandfather, a farmer, and her sons, with scraps of worn overalls and the pockets and labels of jeans of more recent vintage. UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell

Elis Surprise

Then, several months later, came the amazing news: Eli had bequeathed his entire quilt collection to the Berkeley Art Museum, a tribute to the early advocacy of Mr. Rinder. The final count of the Eli Leon Bequest was 3,100 quilts by over 400 artists.

Tompkins  represented by more than 680 quilts, quilt tops, appliques, clothing and objects  is undoubtedly the star. Laverne Brackens, a well-known fourth-generation quilter in Texas, runs a close second, with around 300 quilts in the collection.

While fraught with obligations regarding care, storage, display and access that few museums, large or small, would take on, the bequest automatically transforms the Berkeley museum, and its parent institution, the University of California, Berkeley, into an unparalleled center for the study of African-American quilts. Interest and support are coming forth: The museum has already received a $500,000 grant from the Luce Foundation for a follow-up survey of Elis entire gift in 2022, which should be every bit as surprising as this one.

In a gallery in Rosie Lee Tompkins: A Retrospective at the Berkeley Art Museum, a quilt made mostly of double knit polyester (far left) holds its own against a quilt with a similar house motif in various kinds of velvet. Johnna Arnold/Impart Photography

On the plane out to San Francisco in February, I read the exhibition catalog cover to cover. The organizers excellent essays included Mr. Rinder vividly relating Tompkinss use of improvisation to the innovations of Ornette Coleman and his no-hold-barred free-jazz sensibility. (Although he notes that she was an opera fan who listened to disco while doing her work.)

Ms. Yau provides the foundational account of Tompkinss life, her working methods and the role of family ties and religion. And Horace D. Ballard, a former divinity student who is now a curator and art historian at Williams College and its museum, writes that Tompkins lived in service of a higher calling, tying her efforts to sacred music, texts and architecture.

But even they couldnt prepare me for the visual force of the 62 quilts and five assemblage-like memory jugs, dating from the 1970s to 2004. Spread out in the museums sky-lighted galleries, the works beauty is more insistent than ever.

UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell

Because of Tompkinss improvisation, a close look doesnt reveal refinement or rote technique  skill for skills sake. It shows small individual adjustments made and liberties taken, almost granular expressions of imagination and freedom. In addition, the fabrics  variously elegant, every day and ersatz  bring a lot with them, not just color and texture, but also manufacturing techniques and social connotations. Do you think that polyester double knit might look cheap used in a quilt? Think again. Cotton flannel and beaded and sequined silk crepe might not be a winning combination? Likewise. Such physical realism is all but impossible to achieve with paint.

A measure of Tompkinss ambition is that she preferred to concentrate on the free-jazz aspect of her work: piecing the quilt tops. Other women finished the quilts by adding a layer of wadding and the back, a standard practice. Most of the pieces in this show were quilted by Irene Bankhead, whose work Eli also collected.

The show begins by demonstrating Tompkinss unusual range and versatility, juxtaposing quilts in smoldering velvets with a medley of found denims  a homage to her grandfather and other farmers in her family.

A remarkable early quilt from the 1970s is pieced almost entirely of blocks of found fabric embroidered with flowers  old and new, machine- and handmade. They bow to an ancient craft and, at the quilts center, a spare image of the risen Christ blessing. Above and to the right a circle of twisted bands and leaves suggests both a crown of thorns and a laurel wreath. Was Tompkins aware of this possible reading? Perhaps, but the main point is that her work is open to the viewers response and interpretation.

This early Rosie Lee Tompkins quilt from the 70s is an ecumenical sampling of found embroideries of flowers  old, new, hand- and machine-made  which function as offerings to the center medallion showing the risen Christ, bearing the wounds of stigmata upon his hands. UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Ben Blackwell

As an artist, Tompkins may have taken improvisation further than other quilters. She all but abandoned pattern for an inspired randomness with an emphasis on serial disruptions that constantly divert or startle the eye  like the badge of a California prison guard sewn to an otherwise conventional crazy quilt. Another narrative quilt is more like a wall-hanging, or maybe a street mural, pieced with large fragments of black and white fabric and T-shirts printed with images of African-American athletes and political leaders. Rows of crosses made from mens ties evoke the pressures of succeeding while black in America.

Her big velvet quilts  the exultant heart of the show  are most often disrupted by dramatic shifts in color and scale. In one, several blocks of stark black and white triangles break through an expanse of rich colors like icebergs in a dark sea. The opposite corner features a distinctive Tompkins device: a small framed area composed of tiny squares that creates a quilt-within-a-quilt  which reads as a witty self-reference to the quilting process, and pulls us into the intimacy of making.

One of Tompkinss most spectacular velvets is edged with these framed mini-quilts, which surround an enormous field of blue velvets that creates a kind of van Gogh night sky; they can read as small painted side panels on an altarpiece. Some feature abutting triangles that suggest desert landscapes and pyramids, perhaps the Flight into Egypt. (In the catalog, Mr. Ballard resonantly likens the field of blues to the vault of a cathedral and the borders to clerestory windows.)

In this masterpiece of velvet, velveteen, faux fur and panne velvet, Rosie Lee Tompkins conjures a night sky as the center of an altarpiece devoted to heaven itself. UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Sharon Risedorph

There are many museum exhibitions on lockdown in the United States right now. They closed in one world and will reopen in a very different one, and the relevance of Rosie Lee Tompkins: A Retrospective has only expanded in the hiatus. The sheer joy of her best quilts cannot be overstated. They come at us with the force and sophistication of so-called high art, but are more democratic, without any intimidation factor.

Her work is simply further evidence of the towering African-American achievements that permeate the culture of this country. A deeper understanding and knowledge of these, especially where art is concerned, must be part of the necessary rectification and healing that America faces.

Tompkins seems to have been an artist of singular greatness, but who knows what further revelations  including the upcoming survey of the Eli Leon Bequest  are in store. The field of improvisational quilting by African-American women is not small, but beyond the great quilters of Gees Bend, Ala., and a few others, their work is not widely known. Rosie Lee Tompkinss version of what Eli Leon called flexible patterning may have been more extreme than anyone elses. Or perhaps not. It would be gratifying to learn that she did not act alone.

Roberta Smith, the co-chief art critic, regularly reviews museum exhibitions, art fairs and gallery shows in New York, North America and abroad. Her special areas of interest include ceramics textiles, folk and outsider art, design and video art. @robertasmithnyt

Grid image credits: UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Eli Leon Bequest; Sharon Risedorph and Ben Blackwell

Produced by Alicia DeSantis, Gabriel Gianordoli, Laura ONeill and Josephine Sedgwick.
To reflect the new corporate environment following the coronavirus pandemic, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, backed by Mumbai-based realtor K Raheja Corp and private equity firm Blackstone Group, has revised its draft prospectus. It is looking to raise Rs 1,000 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).

The company informed market regulator Sebi that it has leased an additional 7 lakh square feet to tenants across various properties since April 1 and it has completed an additional 3.3 million sq ft of new office space since its previous filing last year.

Since all of our business and operations are located in India, the COVID  19 pandemic affects our operations due to majority of our tenants limiting their operating staff and hours while others are opting to work from home, interruption in construction activities at our underconstruction sites due to the government directives to contain the spread of COVID -19, negative impact on the business and financial condition of some of our tenants and their ability to pay rent, it said.

The company said it did not incur significant COVID-19 related disruptions to its operations during FY20, collected 99.4 percent of gross contracted rentals for March and that the properties were not fully occupied by tenants in April and May.

As of May 31, the committed occupancy of the companys portfolio was 92.4 percent and in-place rent across its portfolio was Rs 52.5 per sq ft.

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 derive 99.4 percent of our gross contracted rentals from leasing of office premises, and we have not seen a significant decline in rent receipts during these two months (we have collected 97.8 percent and 95.2 percent of our gross contracted rentals for April and May, respectively), the company said.

Since April 1, the company has leased 0.7 million square feet of area, of which 40.5 percent was leased to its existing tenants and 59.5 percent was leased to new tenants, including the pre-committed 42,567 sq ft of area in their under-construction asset, Commerzone Porur.

The companys portfolio comprises five integrated business parks and five independent offices, totalling 29.5 million sq ft of total leasable area.

As of March 31, the company has pre-committed 0.2 million sq ft of area in its under-construction assets, Mindspace Airoli West and Mindspace Madhapur. "About 9 percent and 11 percent of area is expected to be completed in FY21 has been pre-leased as of March 31 and May 31, respectively. Over the projections period, on-campus developments are expected to contribute approximately Rs 1,724 million, or 23.8 percent, of the total increase in the companys net operating income," it said.

This will be India's second REIT listing after Embassy Parks launched its first REIT in 2019. In April last year, Embassy Office Parks, a joint venture between the Bengaluru-based property developer and private equity firm Blackstone, had put 33 million sq ft of office and hospitality assets under its proposed REIT comprising of seven business parks and four city-centric buildings spread across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Noida.

Earlier this week, Blackstone sold 67 million shares, or 8.7 percent, in Embassy REIT for around $300 million.

REIT is an investment tool that owns and operates rent-yielding real estate assets. It allows individual investors to make an investment in this platform and earn income. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had notified REIT's regulations in 2014, allowing setting up and listing of such trusts, which are popular in some advanced markets.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A retired NYPD officer from Staten Island stands accused in an incident where a bystander was struck by a stray bullet at a sushi restaurant in Queens.

Dwayne Chandler, 52, faces up to 25 years in prison if he is convicted in the incident in Howard Beach, according to a news release from Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.

Katz alleges that shortly after 7:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Chandler became involved in a verbal dispute with another patron inside a sushi restaurant on Cross Bay Boulevard. Witnesses told authorities that the incident escalated when Chandler brandished a firearm and fired.

The bullet struck an innocent bystander, a 31-year-old man, according to information supplied by police and prosecutors.

Katz said that a man inside the restaurant heard the gunfire and immediately felt a sharp pain in his back. He was taken to an area hospital and currently has no sensation in his legs and is unable to move his toes, as a result of the bullet that pierced his back.

Police said the shooting occurred in the rear of 163-35 Cross Bay Blvd. Frenasia restaurant is located at that address, according to public records.

Chandler was arrested around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, according to police.

Authorities did not release his exact address.

He was arraigned on Thursday morning before Queens Criminal Court Judge Danielle Hartman on a complaint charging him with assault in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and reckless endangerment in the first and second degree.

Hartman set bail at $20,000 bond/$10,000 cash.

Chandlers next court date is July 24, according to Katz.

A message left for his attorney was not immediately returned.
Nine committees of the Iranian parliament (Majles) have called on President Hassan Rouhani to change his administration's policies and improve its effectiveness before it is too late.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, a member of the Majles presidium and a member of parliament's economic committee warned Rouhani to announce a practical plan to solve the problem of the rising cost of living or lawmakers will summon him to the Majles for questioning.

Some of the new lawmakers belonging to hardliner groups and many close to the Revolutionary Guard had said during their election campaigns that they would question or impeach Rouhani for his administration's failures. A few even threatened that they will take Rouhani to court. However, some analysts doubt if Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would allow this.

The criticism directed by the newly elected hardliner parliament comes after their rivals in the reformist camp were disqualified to run.

The attacks against Rouhani by hardliners intensified after the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and the countrys economic situation deteriorated. As many people in repeated protests have blamed the foreign policy of the country, dictated by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as a reason for economic hardship, hardliners have been trying to pin all the blame on Rouhani.

The call for a change in Rouhani's approach to management and government was made while Rouhani has less than one year before the next presidential elections and around 14 months before leaving the presidential palace at Sa'dabad in Tehran.

Describing Iran's current situation as "painful," the letter that was published on the official website of the Majles on Friday June 26, says Rouhani "should change the way he has been managing the affairs of the state during the first seven years of his presidency to alleviate the nation's financial problems and to stabilize the markets."

The heads of the Majles committees reminded Rouhani that he has sworn "to guard and implement a constitutional provision that calls for decent housing and employment for every individual in the nation." They also reminded Rouhani of the "gap between national objectives and what Rouhani has been able to do" during the past seven years.

Some key members of parliament asked Rouhani "to look in the face of children who are searching the garbage for food, and those who are working at a fragile age" when he is on his way to the office.

They asked Rouhani whether he was aware that some Iranian citizens who cannot make ends meet have to work three shifts a day.

"Are you aware of foodstuff prices?" the lawmakers asked, adding if Rouhani is aware of how the food basket of a worker, an office clerk and a teacher is less than the minimum basket for survival.

They also reminded Rouhani that parts of his administration obstruct the activities of entrepreneurs and industrialists while the officials simply regret what is happening rather than trying to reform the organizations they are managing.

Meanwhile, the heads of the Majles committees accused individuals around Rouhani of lethargy and lack of motivation, adding that this spirit has led the nation to believe that the government has left them alone.

The chairmen of Majles committees further criticized Rouhani for finding about events and catastrophes too late and responding with just a smile. They said this behaviour was "unacceptable."

They further reminded Rouhani that the current Majles is revolutionary in nature and warned Rouhani that lawmakers will not remain silent when people's rights are compromised.

The move by hardliners to hijack the issue of economic hardships, trying to portray themselves as defenders of impoverished citizens, they have turned a blind eye to lethal force used against ordinary Iranians who came out last November to protest corruption and poverty.

Quite a few Iranian analysts have pointed out that Rouhani used to pretend to be on the people's side, when he needed their votes. After his second election as president in 2017, he no longer needs votes and sees his future in appointed positions rather than elected ones. So, he pretended to be a revolutionary in order to appease Khamenei. What he did not expect, was a new parliament full of self-proclaimed young revolutionaries he cannot compete with.
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San Francisco, 26 June 2020: The Report Docking Station Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Connectivity (Wireless, Wired), By Product (Laptop, Smartphones & Tablets), By Distribution Channel (Offline, Online), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2025

The global docking station market size is expected to reach USD 1.62 billion by 2025 registering a CAGR of 5.6%, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Rising popularity of Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) work culture to reduce expenses and increase flexibility and efficiency is supporting the industry development. Furthermore, wide product application scope in several industries including, e-commerce, supply chain, and warehouse management will fuel the market growth.

The laptop docking stations segment led the global market in 2018 and accounted for more than 72% of the total revenue share. These products allow consumers to connect their laptops at home or office to the monitor, keyboard, printer, mouse, speakers, and external USB hard drive. In addition, over the past few years, sales of laptop docks have grown significantly.

The wireless connectivity segment is expected to witness the fastest growth at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2019 to 2025. Manufacturers in the industry have been incorporating the wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, WiGig, in their products considering the growing demand. For instance, recently, Samsung Group launched DeX, a wireless docking station, along with Samsung Galaxy S8. It allows the smartphone to connect to the power supplies, monitors, wireless mouse, keyboard, and network ports. It also enables the smartphone to convert into a touchpad.

Based on regions, North America held the largest share of the global market in 2018 and will expand further at a steady CAGR during the forecast years. This growth is attributed to the increasing product demand and rapid growth of the IT sector in countries, such as U.S. and Canada. Some of the major companies in this market include The Targus Corp.; StarTech.com; Dell Technologies, Inc.; ACCO Brands Corp.; HP Development Company; Lenovo Group Ltd.; Plugable Technologies; Toshiba Corp.; Apple, Inc.; and Samsung Group.

Access Research Report of Docking Station Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/docking-station-market

Further key findings from the study suggest:

Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest CAGR due to the rapid expansion of the IT sector in developing countries including India and China

Based on products, the laptop docking stations segment led the global docking station market in 2018. However, smartphones & tablets segment will register the maximum CAGR from 2019 to 2025

The offline distribution channel segment accounted for the largest share of the global market in 2018 and will expand further at a steady CAGR over the forecast years

The online distribution channel, however, is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 6% from 2019 to 2025

Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/electronic-and-electrical

Grand View Research has segmented the global docking station market on the basis of product, connectivity, distribution channel, and region:

Docking Station Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

Laptop

Smartphones & Tablets

Others

Docking Station Connectivity Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

Wired

Wireless

Docking Station Distribution Channel Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

Offline

Online

Docking Station Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Central & South America

Middle East & Africa

Access Press Release of Docking Station Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-docking-station-market

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.

For More Information:www.grandviewresearch.com
At least 250 staffers at the Hindu Rao Hospital, including paramedics, nurses and sanitation staff, protested at the hospital premises on Friday morning demanding salaries due for the past two months and arrears pending since a year and a half.

Around 600 workers have not received their salaries for April-May. Even June is about to end now and there is no certainty as to when will we get our dues. It has become difficult to survive. We had written multiple letters to the administration as well as the mayor, but to no avail. Hence we had to sit in strike in order to be heard, said Tajender Gujjar, a technician and president, Para Medical Technical Staff Welfare Association.

He added that workers were surviving on borrowed money. Anyways, we have been putting in extra hours because of the pandemic. People have run out of money. Everyone has bank loans and school fee to be paid. How do we survive like this?

A senior official from the North Corporation, under which the hospital falls, said that they had not received funds from the Delhi government for this quarter had hence, could not pay the staff. We are pursuing the matter with the Delhi government to release the funds for this quarter. As soon as we get the funds, salaries will be disbursed, the official said.

Delhi government officials could not be reached for comment.

Indu Jamwal, nursing officer, who has been with the hospital for long, said, It is very difficult to manage without money these days. This has been the case for at least five years that payment of salaries has been erratic. We are made to suffer between the tussle between the corporations and the Delhi government.

Recently the resident doctors association of the hospital too had written to the administration for not having received their salaries since April 15.

The hospital is one of the biggest medical facilities run by the North Corporation. The hospital was declared to become a covid-dedicated facility on June 14 but is yet to start admitting covid-19 patients, as it is still in the process of procuring logistics for treatment of such patients.
OTTAWA  A decision by the Supreme Court of Canada is clearing the path for a proposed, C$400 million class-action lawsuit by drivers against Uber over whether they are in fact employees of the multinational company.

Legal experts say the high courts decision, released Friday, could have big consequences for the validity of online contracts common in the gig economy.

The case was first launched in 2017 by David Heller, a driver in Toronto for the companys food-delivery service UberEats. He alleged the firm was breaking the terms of its contract with workers as well as Ontarios employment law. The lawsuit argued that he and other drivers were, in fact, Ubers employees, the court said in a backgrounder on the case.

At issue was the requirement that, to become an Uber driver, Heller had to accept terms laid out by the company to resolve any disputes with the firm through mediation and arbitration in the Netherlands. The court noted that launching such a process came with a start-up administrative fee of $14,500  which was most of Hellers annual income  in addition to other legal bills, travel costs and lost wages.

In Fridays Supreme Court ruling, the majority of justices agreed the courts should decide if an arbitration clause in Ubers contracts with those who work for the company was unfair. In its decision, the high court also deemed the arbitration agreement invalid.

There was clearly inequality of bargaining power between Uber and Mr. Heller, said the ruling, which only had one dissenting voice among the nine judges.

The arbitration agreement was part of a standard form contract. Mr. Heller was powerless to negotiate any of its terms. His only contractual option was to accept or reject it. There was a significant gulf in sophistication between Mr. Heller, a food deliveryman in Toronto, and Uber, a large multinational corporation.

Uber argued it could not be sued by Heller in Ontario courts because the clause in the online contract agreement he clicked when becoming one of its drivers stated such a dispute must go to arbitration. Heller argued the arbitration clause was unconscionable or so unfair it was invaild.

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A lower court sided with Uber and stayed the lawsuit in favor of arbitration to determine if the clause was unfair, but Ontarios Court of Appeal agreed with Heller that the agreement was invalid.

What some of the experts say: Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor, wrote in a tweet Friday that the Supreme Court decision has enormous implications for online contracts given its analysis of why the Uber arbitration clause is unconscionable. These kinds of terms are very common for online, non-negotiated terms and their validity [is] now in doubt, wrote Geist, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law.

Brenda McPhail, director of the Privacy, Technology & Surveillance Project at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, wrote on Twitter that the outcome supports fair access to dispute resolution in these online contracts. This decision is going to help with privacy claims and support digital rights for people in Canada, she said.


Connecticut will try reopening public schools full time and in person this fall.

That is the guidance offered up Thursday by state officials  two months before the start of school in September and with a summer of COVID-19 uncertainty still to get through.

We are not going back to normal by any stretch of the imagination, Commissioner of Education Miguel Cardona acknowledged in releasing the guidelines during the governors daily pandemic briefing.

At the same time, he said students want to get back to school and the state is at the point where officials feel students can be brought back safely all day, every day  if the infection rate of COVID-19 in the state continues to decline.

Gov. Ned Lamont agreed.

Our kids have not been a classroom in months now, Lamont said. We wanted to make sure we have as close to a traditional classroom experience as we could for these kids.

But during the press briefing, the governor also called schools the most complicated part of the states reopening efforts.

Built into the guidance is the recognition that there may have to be a plan B and even a plan C if cases of the virus, which shut down all schools to in-person learning in March, rise dramatically.

After schools moved to distance learning, the governor and commissioner moved the targeted reopening date more than once before announcing in early May that distance learning would continue for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year.

Also in May, the state issued guidelines for running summer school. The rules were so involved that many school districts decided it best to continue instructing students remotely over the summer.

So much has changed since late April, Cardona said of the fall plan. If we continue the trajectory, we are able to provide a safe learning environment for students with the safeguards we have identified.

The Dos and Donts

The one-page overview of the reopening guidance issued Thursday will be followed up on Monday with a more comprehensive, 50-page plan that officials said is still being finalized.

The plan calls for schools to put in the state-mandated 180-day school year and hold full, five-day weeks for the states 535,000 students.

Lamont said that was important to give parents and employers something they could bank on in terms of schedules that allow them to get back to work.

Cardona said his department is working with school districts to carve out space in schools so social distancing can occur in gymnasiums, auditoriums and cafeterias. It is also helping districts develop plans to help students who have lost academic ground or who have been left traumatized by the pandemic.

The exact amount and source of those extra resources is still under discussion.

Lets see what the budgets come back with, Lamont said. We dont have an infinite amount of money but we are there to be supportive.

Students and staff, where possible, will be required to wear masks that cover mouth and nose when in school buildings. Even young students.

We want it to become a norm in school, Cardona said.

Exceptions will be made for students or staff who cant safely wear masks and for teachers when they are instructing a class.

The commissioner conceded there is no way to keep students from hugging teachers or each other.

There will be frequent hand washing but students wont be tested for the virus and temperatures will not be taken when they enter school.

The plan is to encourage students in kindergarten through the eighth grade to stay together with the same group or cohort all day but the state is not dictating class sizes, simply saying desks should be spread apart as much as possible.

The plan calls for school buses to run at near capacity with extra cleaning protocols in place between rides.

It will be up to districts to come up with strategies for how to serve school breakfasts and lunches and how to successfully reroute hallways and stagger dismissals.

A step in the process

Most school districts, at the state Department of Educations directive, have been working on their own re-opening plans.

Lamont said a statewide plan provides consistency.

On Thursday, Bridgeports Acting Superintendent Michael Testani said he is definitely OK with the idea of going back to school full time.

In his district, many students were not able to access at-home lessons on computers this spring.

Some parents have asked Testani during his Friday Facebook live sessions if they can continue distance learning in the fall if they dont feel comfortable sending their children back.

Cardona said parents should be given the option of continuing remote learning.

We need to respect everyones level of comfort, Cardona said.

A return to distance learning, or some combination of in- and out-of-school learning, needs to be planned for if there is a resurgence of the virus, he added.

There will be a red to green color-coded Covid-spread chart to indicate the intensity of community transmission of the virus. A return to full-normal wont come until there is full containment or a vaccine, he said.

Cardona said the reopening guidance was developed with input from educators, parents and students and in close consultation with the state Department of Public Health.

But some are already raising concerns.

Don Williams, executive director of the Connecticut Education Association, the states largest teachers union, said bringing all students back at the same time presents a lot of challenges.

The safety protocols will only be as good as the weakest link, Williams said.

Social distancing in schools is no good if students are riding school buses to and from schools that are at capacity, he said.

Williams also wants more assurance that the state will adequately fund efforts to keep students safe and make up for learning lost last spring.

Chris Phipps, acting chairman of the Ansonia Board of Education, said he would be reviewing the comprehensive report, as will his school boards re-entry committee.

Im a little surprised that they seem to have lessened all the social distancing requirements, he said. Health and safety of the students and the staff have to be the first concern.

Norwalk Board of Education Chair Sarah LeMieux also had reservations.

Im really, deeply concerned, LeMieux said.

What might make sense for rural parts of the state is unlikely to work in more densely populated Fairfield County and urban centers where the needs are greater, she said.

It seems to be a really inequitable plan to me, LeMieux said. Im hopeful that people will think twice about this.

In New Haven, before Thursdays announcement, a New Haven Public Schools task force had prepared for two possibilities: a fully online return to school and a hybrid model with students attending school in person only five days every two weeks.

We may need to tweak a few things, because it looks like everyone is coming back at full capacity, said New Haven Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey.

Tracey said the states guidance to maximize social distancing is likely to be difficult in an urban district such as New Haven with 21,000 students.

A packed school like (Wilbur) Cross, when they transition its like being on Broadway. How will they do that? she said.

I guess well have to take out some of the added furniture in some classrooms to see how best we can spread the space out, she said.

She said the district may consider installing plexiglass around teachers desks.

As districts were encouraged by the state to spread students out by using their entire building plan, Tracey said it sounds like the district might need to hire more teachers.

That will have fiscal implications, she said.

Additionally, having transportation operate at full capacity will prove difficult because of requirements to have adult bus monitors ride with students.

We need to exude the confidence that everyone will be safe when they return, she said.

lclambeck@ctpost.com; twitter/lclambeck
On This Day The Day Anti-Chinese Riots Erupted in Myanmar

The 1967 anti-Chinese riots in Yangon.

Yangon  On this day in 1967, anti-Chinese riots hit Yangon (then the capital, Rangoon) in which over 30 Chinese nationals were killed, and the Chinese Embassy, Chinatown and Chinese schools were attacked.

Starting as clashes between Burmese and ethnically Chinese students, who were influenced by Chinas Cultural Revolution and defied a government instruction not to wear Mao Zedong badges or carry copies of Maos Little Red Book to schools and universities, the incident grew into a major communal conflict.

The riots lasted for a few days and spread across the country. A junior Chinese diplomat was stabbed to death and over 30 Chinese nationals were killed. Many more were beaten and houses and shops suffered arson attacks.

In response, around 200,000 protesters gathered outside the countrys embassy in Beijing, prompting the ambassador to set up a makeshift staircase with empty pine boxes so he could escape into the Congolese Embassy at the back in case the protest turned into a riot.

The killings led to the severing of diplomatic relations, which were not restored until the 1970s.

Some suggested that the riots were instigated by the military regime of General Ne Win to channel public anger away rice shortages in an agricultural country.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

You may also like these stories:

The Day Deadly Prison Riot in Rangoon Jail Erupted

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The four strains were originally cultivated in different areas of Okinawa, labelled on the diagram. Credit: OIST

Since the 1980s, in seaweed farms dotted along the coastline of the subtropical islands of Okinawa, farmers have cultivated the edible brown alga Okinawa mozuku (Cladosiphon okamuranus). Popular in Japanese cuisine, this superfood produces high levels of fucoidana slimy substance that has a myriad of health benefits, including the suppression of blood clots and tumors.

Every year, farmers harvest over 15,000 tons of this brown algae crop, contributing billions of Japanese Yen to the local economy. However, this once bountiful yield is now suffering due to increasingly warm, acidic and polluted waters.

In 2016, researchers from the Marine Genomics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) deciphered the genome of the S-strain, the first strain of Okinawa mozuku that was developed, shedding light on the molecular underpinnings of this brown seaweed. Now, OIST researchers have decoded the genomes of three more strainsthe O-strain, the C-strain and the K-strain. Their findings, published in BMC Genomics, could help the Okinawan seaweed farming industry adapt to growing environmental stresses, as well as providing novel insights into the underlying biology of brown algae.

"Despite the ecological and economic importance of brown algae, very little genetic research has been conducted so far, with researchers focusing more on their morphology, taxonomy or ability to regenerate," said Dr. Nishitsuji, first author and staff scientist from the Marine Genomics Unit. "This is partly because of difficulties in extracting DNA and RNA from algal cells due to the accumulation of polysaccharideslong carbohydrate chainsin their cell walls."

But Dr. Nishitsuji believes that obtaining basic genomic information is essential to improve cultivation methods and to characterize each strain, with the OIST Marine Genomics Unit spearheading this effort. In 2019, Dr. Nishitsuji and his then colleague Dr. Asuka Arimoto were awarded the Okinawa Research Encouragement Prize as recognition for their contribution to Okinawa for their work on deciphering the genomes of many algal crops, including Okinawa mozuku.

"As far as we are aware, only seven brown algae genomes have been published worldwide, and OIST decoded five of these genomes," said Dr. Nishitsuji.

Extracting genomic secrets

The scientists were provided with samples of the four strains from the Okinawa Prefectural Fisheries Research and Extension Center. They estimated that the draft genomes of the K-, 0- and C- strains contained 12,511, 12,548 and 12,182 genes that coded for proteins, respectively. For the S-strain, they also modified their previous estimate of 13,460 protein-coding genes down to 12,999.

After decoding the genomes, the researchers used sequences of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA to investigate how each strain of Okinawa mozuku evolved. They found that the four strains likely diverged at different times, with the S-strain diverging first, followed by the K-strain. The researchers believe that the O-strain and the C-strain evolved the most recently. During diversification, each strain developed its own unique morphology.

The phylogenetic (evolutionary) tree was constructed by comparing 200 nuclear genes. The scalebar unit is substitution per site. The four strains form their own unique group within brown algae and another edible seaweed, ito-mozuku (Nemacystus decipiens) is their closest relative. The four strains of Okinawa mozuku differ in size, texture and level of branching. While the S-strain has a soft body and reaches a large size with long branches, the K-strain has thicker and tougher branches, and reaches a middling size. The O-strain has an even tougher texture and is smaller in size with more dense branching. Finally, the C-strain is similar in texture to the K-strain, with an intermediate size and thinner branches. Credit: OIST

When the scientists compared the whole genomes, they found that each strain was more genetically distinct than expected, with around 2-3.5% of genes that were unique to each strain.

"To put this into context, only around 0.79% of genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, the most well-studied land plant, are unique to each strain," said Dr. Nishitsuji. "The level of genetic difference that we see in Okinawa mozuku is far higher, potentially providing a case for classifying each strain as its own subspecies. This could have exciting economic benefits, as it could allow farmers to market their own unique, genetically distinct brands of Okinawa mozuku."

Due to a lack of genetic data on brown algae, the researchers have not yet pinned down the functions of these unique genes. However, they hope that further study could help identify whether some of these unique genes are involved in morphological variation or changes in physiology, which could provide differing levels of tolerance towards environmental stresses, like heat or acidity.

Combating the threats of climate change

The threat of climate change and growing levels of ocean pollution and acidification are the main driving force behind the unit's investigations into the genetics of Okinawa mozuku.

"The genic and genomic information we have acquired could help us identify strains of Okinawa mozuku that are more tolerant to heat, and which underlying genes provide this valuable property," explained Dr. Nishitsuji.

Ultimately, the unit aims to develop new strains that are tolerant to the effects of climate change by cross-breeding existing strains together. While crossbreeding is commonplace for land plants, it has so far been unsuccessful in algae. To achieve this feat, the team first plans to develop genetic markers to distinguish both the sex and strain of the algal cells involved in reproduction.

"Not only could this research help improve cultivation of mozuku in Okinawa, but it also has global implications, contributing towards a number of United Nation's Sustainable Development goals," added Dr. Nishitsuji. For example, as a carbon negative crop, seaweed farming has the potential to help mitigate climate change, and in the future, it could be an important marine resource for growing food sustainably.

"Maintaining production and improving the cultivation of Okinawa mozuku, along with other edible seaweeds is therefore a main priority," said Dr. Nishitsuji.

More information: Koki Nishitsuji et al, Comparative genomics of four strains of the edible brown alga, Cladosiphon okamuranus, BMC Genomics (2020). Journal information: BMC Genomics Koki Nishitsuji et al, Comparative genomics of four strains of the edible brown alga, Cladosiphon okamuranus,(2020). DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-06792-8
(Newser)  It's not quite a stampede, but a migration of conservative Twitter users to rival Parler accelerated this week after Twitter shut down two prominent pro-Trump accounts. Some 500,000 new users signed up to Parler in the space of three days, boosting its total to 1.5 million, compared to 330 million on Twitter, Mediaite reports. Conservative meme creator "Carpe Donktum" was permanently banned from Twitter this week for repeated copyright violation and the account of National Pulse editor Raheem Kassam was locked after he shared graphic video of a stabbing attack in England. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said Thursday that he had joined Parler, which calls itself a "non-biased" Twitter alternative, because it "gets what free speech is all about."

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Other conservatives, including Donald Trump Jr. and Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, have also recently set up accounts on Parler, which launched in 2018. The site was already used by some commentators banned from Twitter, including Alex Jones and Katie Hopkins. Turning Point USA's Benny Johnson declared Wednesday that he was done with the "communist gulag dumpster fire" of Twitter and was moving to Parler, although he continued to use his Twitter account, the Hollywood Reporter notes. Parler says it will never censor political speech, although it will remove content like pornography. In its "Declaration of Internet Independence," it calls Twitter a "Tech Tyrant" that "has banned millions of Americans for their political ideology." (Read more social media stories.)
EDWARDSVILLE  At least 40 people joined a Zoom conference call Thursday with Edwardsville Police Chief Jay Keeven and Edwardsville NAACP President John Cunningham to learn more about how the department hires and trains its officers.

As part of the citys two community action groups, Police Chief Jay Keeven met with people for the third time this month, this time in a virtual setting. After his presentation, he answered some commonly asked questions from the general public.

How much force is an officer allowed to use when making an arrest? Keeven said courts have decreed that the force is whatever is reasonable and necessary to effect an arrest.

Its not reasonable to shoot somebody if you tell them theyre under arrest and they dont want to go, Keeven said. He said they train in use of force tactics as well as de-escalation techniques.

Another frequently asked question relates to chokeholds. Keeven said they do not train for or use chokeholds and that state law does not permit chokeholds unless deadly force is authorized.

I will tell you that our use of force policy is heavily rooted in Illinois Law, Keeven said. State law dictates the greatest percentage of what kind of force can be used by police agencies.

He said in seven years he has not received one use-of-force complaint about any of his officers, however, there have been a minimum of five use-of-force cases in a year but last year, they logged 18 such cases, he said.

Keeven said they do not investigate their own use-of-force cases. They would ask the Illinois State Police (ISP) to investigate in such instances. If, for some reason, the ISP was unavailable or refused to investigate, Keeven said, they would ask the Madison County Sheriffs Office to handle it.

Next, Keeven answered audience questions live while Major Michael Fillback handled the questions through the chat function. This proved to be a lively and thoughtful exchange of views.

One attendee asked Keeven how he is creating a culture of compliance and leading by example.

I will tell you the two things in my estimation that are the most important to ensure your officers are doing the right thing  proper training and supervision and proper leadership.

Another attdendee asked if the department is considering doing any implicit bias training.

Yes, and we have had some training in the form of bias training but there are lot of opportunities out there, Keeven said. I would like to include in our block of 24-hour, in-house training. I know that our Southern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission (SILEC) will offer that type of training as well. We would be foolish to believe that bias, or implicit bias doesnt exist.

Some questions came in that referenced police actions or tactics in larger cities that do not directly translate to Edwardsville.

I am open to improving any aspect of our department, Keeven said at one point. I think we stop growing once we think weve learned it all and we think theres nothing we can learn from anyone else.

Some wanted to know if Keeven tolerated the display of Confederate flags and/or insensitive cartoons or remarks. They also asked him about his authority to discipline officers when required.

We do not tolerate the display of the Confederate flag within our department or insensitive cartoons or remarks, he replied. Yes, I do have the authority to discipline officers if there is bad behavior. As chief, I can provide documented counseling, verbal or written reprimands and up to two days suspension. Any discipline beyond that, including termination, would have to come from the citys civilian board of police and fire commissioners.

Keeven may have even discovered a future police officer in a recent SIUE graduate and attendee. First, he asked about what the departments educational requirements are to become a police officer.

Right now, we require an associates degree in criminal justice or a related field or a bachelors degree in almost any field as long as its from an accredited college, Keeven replied. Candidates must pass the written exam as well as the physical ability test or Power Test.

Keeven said that he is hopeful that there will be another written exam in August or September. In the meantime, he recommended that Kohlmiller check with SWIC Police Academy in Belleville about taking a Power Test.

Both Glen Carbon and Edwardsville police departments adopted the 10 Principles of Policing, approved by the NAACP and the ILACP.

Keeven has been the police chief of Edwardsville since February 2013. Prior to that, he served for 27 years with the Illinois State Police, where he retired as a major. Keeven said within the smaller working group they should consider other topics they could discuss at a future Zoom meeting.

Reach reporter Charles Bolinger at (618) 659-5735
LUND, Sweden, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alfa Laval will release second-quarter earnings on July 21st at 07:30 CET. The telephone conference will start at 10:00 CET.

To join the telephone conference - hosted by Alfa Laval's President and CEO, Tom Erixon, and CFO, Jan Allde - sign up in advance via the link below. Once registered, you will receive a phone number, a participant pin and a conference pin. Please dial in 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the event.

http://emea.directeventreg.com/registration/1855447

You can also follow the conference via a live webcast. A webcast link will be available on www.alfalaval.com/investors.

If you want to listen to the replay, call +44 (0)3333 0097 85, conference ID 1855447. The recording will be available until July 23rd. After that, you can go to www.alfalaval.com/investors to watch and listen to an on-demand version of the webcast.

Contacts:

Joel Davidsson

Alfa Laval

Tel: +46-46-36-77-72

Beata Ardhe

Alfa Laval

Tel: +46-46-36-65-26

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/alfa-laval/r/invitation-to-alfa-laval-s-second-quarter-conference-call,c3142638

The following files are available for download:

SOURCE Alfa Laval
A coronavirus outbreak exploding through San Quentin State Prison has reached Death Row, where more than 160 condemned prisoners are infected, sources told The Chronicle on Thursday.

One condemned inmate, 71-year-old Richard Eugene Stitely, was found dead Wednesday night. Officials are determining the cause of death and checking to see whether he was infected.

State prison officials declined to confirm that the virus has spread to Death Row, but three sources familiar with the details of the outbreak there provided The Chronicle with information on the condition they not be named, and in accordance with the papers anonymous source policy. Two of the sources are San Quentin employees who are not authorized to speak publicly and feared losing their jobs.

There are 725 condemned inmates at San Quentin, and of those who agreed to be tested for the coronavirus, 166 tested positive, the sources said.

Courtesy of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation /

They include 136 prisoners in East Block, which exclusively houses people on Death Row, and 30 from a portion of the Donner building, which acts as an extension of housing for the condemned population.

Prison officials do not force the in-custody population to be tested, said prison spokeswoman Dana Simas.

If inmates refuse they are held in quarantine for a minimum of 14 days out of an abundance of caution, she said in an email.

Its an aging population on Death Row, said Marylou Hillberg, a Sebastopol attorney in private practice who represents two condemned men and said she has visited the prison to speak with Death Row clients for nearly 20 years. Theres a lot of folks who have medical conditions that make them especially fragile: heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, hypertension.

She said she was worried about her clients and felt totally helpless to do anything for them.

Stitely was found unresponsive in his single cell at 8:38 p.m. Wednesday, according to prison officials. He was pronounced dead less than 30 minutes later.

Officials said there were no signs of trauma. His cause of death and coronavirus status will be determined by the Marin County coroner, and the state Office of Inspector General is overseeing the prisons investigation into his death.

Stitely was convicted in Los Angeles County for the rape and murder of 47-year-old Carol Unger, who was last seen leaving a bar in Reseda with Stitely on Jan. 19, 1990. A jury sentenced Stitely to death on Sept. 14, 1992, and he was admitted in Death Row on Sept. 23, 1992.

It is unclear whether Stitely was infected with the coronavirus. He refused to be tested, according to the three sources with knowledge of the situation.

If Stitely tests postive, his death could mark the first coronavirus fatality in Californias oldest prison, where prisoner cases have rocketed from zero infections in late May to 515 by Thursday evening. Additionally, 73 San Quentin staff members have tested positive.

The infections were touched off by a botched transfer of 121 men on May 30 from the virus-swamped California Institution for Men in Chino, which until Thursday was the state prison with the largest number of infected inmates.

San Quentin has surpassed Chinos current tally of 507 cases, and now holds more incarcerated people who have tested positive for the virus than anywhere else in the state. There have been more than 4,000 confirmed cases throughout Californias prison systems, with 20 prisoner deaths attributed to COVID-19. Sixteen of those deaths came from the California Institution for Men in Chino.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

As of Thursday, there were 16 San Quentin prisoners who were receiving care from outside hospitals because of COVID-19 complications, according to Liz Gransee, a spokeswoman for the prisons health care system.

Nearly two weeks ago, a team of UC Berkeley and UCSF health experts warned prison medical officials that theyd need to cut San Quentins population in half to avoid a potentially catastrophic outbreak there.

In response to the virus, prison officials have expedited the parole of some people and paused intakes from county jails, but have yet to allow the type of widespread releases that health and prison reform advocates say are necessary.

Gransee said officials are utilizing the information provided by UC Berkeley and UCSF, along with lessons learned from ongoing response efforts, to address the outbreak at San Quentin and other institutions.

Details of the joint effort between prison and prison health officials are being finalized, she said in an email.

Inside the newsroom Anonymous sources: The Chronicle strives to attribute all information we report to credible, reliable, identifiable sources. Presenting information from an anonymous source occurs extremely rarely, and only when that information is considered crucially important and all other on-the-record options have been exhausted. In such cases, The Chronicle has complete knowledge of the unnamed person's identity and of how that person is in position to know the information. The Chronicle's detailed policy governing the use of such sources, including the use of pseudonyms, is available on SFChronicle.com. See More Collapse

Megan Cassidy and Jason Fagone are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com, jason.fagone@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy, @jfagone
Laredo City Council voted this week to remove the rebel flag insignia from city buildings, cars, uniforms or logos in the city.

The most significant example of this is the large rebel flag on the floor of the Laredo International Airport.

Council decided on replacing the rebel flag with the first flag of the Confederacy, sometimes called the Stars and Bars, which looks similar to the first flag of the United States. This is what is currently displayed at City Hall and in the citys updated logo.

Due to Laredos history as the capital of a short-lived independent nation, the Republic of the Rio Grande, Laredo flies seven flags rather than the six that the rest of Texas has lived under.

The motion was originally made by Councilwoman Nelly Vielma. She had said that said she does not want to erase Laredos history under the Confederacy but wished to show its history accurately. She said that the Stars and Bars is what would have flown over Laredo during the Civil War rather than the rebel flag, which is now widely regarded as a hate symbol.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
Laverne Cox and US Senator Kamala Harris shared their thoughts on defunding the police Thursday while guests on Watch What Happens Live.

The 48-year-old actress was asked by host Andy Cohen, 52, to share what she has found valuable in regards to whites addressing racism following the death of George Floyd.

'What I'm seeing that I'm most excited about is more white folks having conversations with each other. ...So that with love and empathy they are able to have the conversations, because Black folks we have been aware of the situation for a very long time. And so seeing white people have conversations with each other is important,' Cox said.

Social reform: Laverne Cox said she welcomed the conversation about defunding the police on Thursday's episode of Watch What Happens Live

She added that in addition to winning 'hearts and minds' that policy change also was required.

'The fact that there is a national conversation about defunding the police, I think is remarkable. That people of all races are having that conversation is really exciting to me,' Laverne said.

Cohen then asked former presidential nominee Harris, 55, to talk about the defunding the police movement after pointing out the misconception by some that it means abolishing police departments.

'At its essence, Andy, it really, I believe, is about re-imagining public safety and how we achieve it. For far too long the status quo thinking has been to believe that by putting more police on the street you're going to have more safety. And that's just wrong, that's not how it works,' Harris said.

Former contender: 'At its essence, Andy, it really, I believe, is about re-imagining public safety and how we achieve it,' said US Senator Kamala Harris about the defund the police campaign

'The fact is that if you go to upper middle-class suburban neighborhoods you will not see that police presence. You will not see that patrol car driving up and down the street stopping teenage boys. But what you will you see in those communities is you will see very well funded schools. You will see high rates of home ownership. You will see families that the parents have enough of an income from their jobs to not worry about putting food on the table by the end of the month,' she added.

'You will see people who have the ability to afford the health care they need and the mental health care they need. You will see small businesses in those communities that have access to capital. So we have to re-imagine how we achieve public safety and understand that healthy communities are safe communities,' Harris she said.

Harris said the way to create 'healthy communities' was by investing in core community needs such as educational opportunities, jobs, home ownership and affordable housing.

Remote viewing: Andy Cohen hosted the show remotely from the Hamptons and welcomed Harris and Cox into the virtual Bravo clubhouse

'Those are the things that create healthy communities that are by definition safe communities,' concluded the junior Senator from California.

Cohen also noted that former presidential nominee Amy Klobuchar, 60, recently had withdrawn from being considered for vice president by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, 77, while endorsing a woman of color for the position.

The host then asked Harris if she had spoken to Biden about becoming his running mate against Republican incumbent President Donald Trump, 74, and Vice President Mike Pence, 61, in the upcoming November general election.

Good question: The junior Senator from California was asked if Joe Biden has talked to her about becoming his vice president running mate

'In all candor and seriousness, this is truly what I mean. I want Joe Biden to win and I want him to pick whoever helps him win. I will do, in whatever capacity I'm in, everything in my power to help him win,' Harris said.

Harris during a game segment called Kamala Share With Us revealed that she watches The Real Housewives Of Atlanta.

She earlier shared that her Housewives tagline would be, 'I'll give you my opinion, but my beliefs are never up for debate'.

Good one: Harris earlier shared that her Housewives tagline would be, 'I'll give you my opinion, but my beliefs are never up for debate'

Cox was on the Bravo talk show promoting her new Netflix documentary Disclosure in which leading transgender creatives and thinkers share their perspectives and analysis about Hollywood's impact on the transgender community.

The actress rose to fame in 2013 with her role as Sophia Burset on the Netflix series Orange Is The New Black.

Harris and US Senator Cory Booker, 51, both Democrats, have sponsored the Justice In Policing Act of 2020 in the Republican-controlled Senate, while similar sweeping police reform legislation sponsored by Representative Karen Bass [D-California], 66, passed the US House Of Representatives on Thursday with a bipartisan vote of 236-181.
In a major crackdown against diesel mafia operation in sea around the Mumbai harbour, the property cell of Mumbai Polices crime branch along with the Port zone team conducted surveillance and patrolling on Thursday wee hours and seized a boat and 10,000 litres of diesel. Four to five accused who were on a boat managed to flee.

Police got information that some people from Dadar village in Raigad are involved in diesel smuggling. They brought diesel from cargo ships in Uran at a low price, three times lower than the market rate, and sold to fishermen and others at slightly less than market price, said police inspector Kedari Pawar of the property cell.

Following the tip-off, a police team of property cell along with Port zone hired a private boat and started conducting surveillance and patrolling and around 2am on Thursday spotted a suspicious boat. Police then chased the boat from Hay Bunder to till Ghaslet Bunder, added Pawar.

The accused then left the boat in mangroves, jumped into water and fled. There were four to five people on the boat, said Pawar.

The boat and around 10,000 litres of diesel have been seized. After inquiring with the people in the village, we have identified two accused, Jahangir and Gulam, said Pawar. The police are trying to identify the other accused and nab them, added a police officer.
Cases surpass 10,000: San Antonio coronavirus cases continued to rise exponentially Sunday, topping 10,000 as local hospitals scramble to find enough hospital beds and nurses to care for the wave of new patients in the last two weeks.

June 27

Nearly 800 cases in a day: Bexar County saw its largest single-day jump in coronavirus cases today with 795 new cases, according to Bexar County data. The data also reports two new deaths in the past 24 hours. See more with our COVID-19 tracker on ExpressNews.com.

June 26

Spike continues in San Antonio: Officials reported 405 new COVID-19 cases and one new death Friday as leaders of the citys major hospital systems implored residents to take precautions to slow the march of the coronavirus.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Bexar County has now reached 8,857, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at the daily city-county coronavirus briefing.

The latest death brings the countys total to 105. The victim was a Hispanic woman in her 50s who had been hospitalized at University Health System, Nirenberg said.

Some 699 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Friday evening, an increase of 71 from the day before.

That is an alarming jump from where we were just two weeks ago, Nirenberg said.

Of those hospitalized, 221 were in intensive care, 19 more than on Thursday, and 117 were dependent on ventilators to breathe, an increase of 23.

Those numbers were significantly higher than at the start of June, when there were fewer than 100 COVID-19 patients in area hospitals, 39 in intensive care and 20 on ventilators.

The hospital system as a whole continues to be under significant stress, the mayor said.

June 25

More than 600 cases in a day: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the San Antonio area shot up by 638 on Thursday, the largest one-day increase since the start of the pandemic in March.

The new cases brought Bexar Countys total to 8,452  double the number reported less than two weeks ago.

A total of 104 people have died of COVID-19 in Bexar County. No new deaths were reported Thursday.

Elective surgeries banned in major cities: Gov. Greg Abbott is ordering four of the state's largest counties to postpone all surgeries that are not immediately necessary, to preserve hospital beds for the growing surge of COVID-19 patients. Abbotts order is directed at Bexar, Dallas, Harris, and Travis counties.

These four counties have experienced significant increases in people being hospitalized due to COVID-19 and todays action is a precautionary step to help ensure that the hospitals in these counties continue to have ample supply of available beds to treat COVID-19 patients, Abbott said in a statement.

June 24

More deaths as surge continues: San Antonio officials reported four new COVID-19 deaths and nearly 350 new cases Wednesday as the coronavirus continued its relentless spread.

Traveling Texans now face quarantine: Texans traveling to New York, New Jersey or Connecticut will now have to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, marking a turning of the tables from when the Lone Star State did the same in late March at the start of the pandemic. The move is the latest sign of Texas emerging as a hotspot for COVID-19 in the U.S.

June 23

Surge continues: On Tuesday, San Antonio reported 311 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths. That brought the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 7,467.

Texas has hit an all-time high in new coronavirus cases: Texas has surpassed 5,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day for the first time, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday, urging people to take caution and stay indoors whenever possible. The seven-day average is now nearing 4,000, up from about 1,500 two weeks ago.

June 22

Cases pass 7,000: The number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise sharply Monday across Bexar County, with 274 more people confirmed to have the virus  pushing the total past 7,000 since the start of the pandemic.

Wolff on second lockdown: Wolff said he would not support a return to stay-at-home orders because the economy, locally and nationwide, is in a serious financial condition, with a federal debt that is off the charts.

I dont think well go back to that. The economic devastation is huge, he said.

Under the countys mask order, which Wolff signed last Wednesday, every business must have a health and safety policy that, at a minimum, requires every employee and all customers age 10 or older to wear a face covering. Mayor Ron Nirenberg has issued a matching citywide order.

June 21

Coronavirus tally: Bexar County officials reported 538 new coronavirus cases Sunday  the largest one-day increase since the start of the pandemic  and one new death.

The number of patients in San Antonio-area hospitals and in intensive care units also continued to rise, deepening concern that the hospital system could be overwhelmed.

The newly confirmed cases brought Bexar Countys total to 6,882, the Metropolitan Health District reported.

The countys death toll from the virus, which began spreading in the community in March, now stands at 97. The latest victim was a Hispanic man in his 50s. Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the man had no underlying health conditions.

On ExpressNews.com: A timeline of COVID-19 in San Antonio

Testing locations in S.A.: Find a list of testing centers below. For more information, call 311 or the citys COVID-19 hotline, 210-207-5779, or visit covid19.sanantonio.gov.

- Freeman Coliseum: Testing type: Drive-thru testing by appointment; Cost: free; 3201 E Houston St.; (210) 233-5970; 8 a.m - 4 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday through Sunday.

- Texas MedClinic (SE Military and Roosevelt): Testing type: in building testing (walk-up); Cost: Fees may apply; 1111 SE Military Dr.; (210) 927-5580; 8 a.m.-11 p.m. 7 days a week.

- Quality Urgent Care-Palo Alto: Testing type: in building testing (walk-up and appointment); Cost: Fees may apply; 8526 IH 35 S, Ste. 101; (210) 564-9972; 8 a.m.-8 p.m. 7 days a week.

- CentroMed - Palo Alto Clinic: Testing type: Drive-thru testing by appointment; Cost: free; 9011 Poteet Jourdanton Fwy; (210) 922-7000; 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.

- Texas MedClinic: SW Military + Zarzamora: Testing type: Drive-thru testing by appointment; Cost: free; 2530 SW Military Dr.; (210) 233-5970; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Saturday
If Trumps intention is to convince his own base not to vote in November, evidence suggests he is doing a good job.

As own goals go, President Donald Trumps continued fixation on and bad-mouthing of mail-in voting ahead of the United States November general election may end up being one of the factors that cost him  along with many other players on the Republican team  the match.

In a town hall meeting aired on Fox News Thursday night, Trump said an audience members query about the topic was the most important question Ill be asked.

Repeating a trope he has hammered away at for weeks now, Trump attacked state officials in California and elsewhere who are, he claimed, mailing out millions and millions of ballots that could be counted fraudulently, going so far as to claim that a country like China could print millions of ballots using the exact same paper in an attempt to interfere in the election.

In an interview with NPR, Attorney General Barr defended his claim, without providing any evidence, that foreign countries could potentially counterfeit "millions" of mail ballots in November. Election officials say that's "preposterous" and "false."https://t.co/jU1GeNxxqg  NPR (@NPR) June 26, 2020

The allegation  echoed by Trumps Attorney General, William Barr in an interview with National Public Radio on Thursday  was widely ridiculed as preposterous by people who actually know about such things. Safeguards such as bar codes and signature checks, not to mention the fact that ballots in each voting jurisdiction in the US often look dramatically different from locale to locale, would make such an undertaking all but impossible to carry out.

Regardless, Trump persists. The president, in what has been seen as an attempt to call into question the outcome of the vote in case he loses, is clearly dead set against the prospect of states making it easier for their citizens to vote because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mail-in voting is a scam, hes tweeted. Its dangerous. Its crazy. Its fraudulent. The Democrats are trying to steal another election, he wrote.

The United States cannot have all Mail In Ballots. It will be the greatest Rigged Election in history. People grab them from mailboxes, print thousands of forgeries and force people to sign. Also, forge names. Some absentee OK, when necessary. Trying to use Covid for this Scam!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 24, 2020

If another of Trumps intentions is to convince his own voters not to participate in November if they are still worried about COVID-19, anecdotal evidence has emerged that he is doing a pretty good job.

In the battleground state of Pennsylvania, which passed a law last year allowing anyone to vote by mail for any reason, about 1.9 million people requested mail-in ballots for the primaries this year. In 2016, the number was 107,000. And 71 percent of them have been Democrats, according to an analysis by the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper.

In Northhampton County, Pennsylvania  one of three counties in the state won twice by former President Barack Obama before flipping red and siding with Trump in 2016  the chairwoman of the local Republican Party, Lee Snover, said they are not pushing people to vote by mail.

Our county kind of is a Trump county. Were kind of listening to Trump on this, Snover told the Inquirer. Hes spoken about it. Hes tweeted about it. He doesnt want us to do it.

More than one person, she added, has told her that Trump doesnt want us mailing in, [so] Im not mailing it in.





In Florida, Democratic Party officials crowed this week about the avalanche of requests for mail-in ballots there. Since the March primary in that state, they said in a statement, Democrats have convinced 350,000 voters to sign up to the programme, compared to the 160,000 voters signed up by Republicans.

The trend, the party said, should be cause for alarm at the Florida GOP headquarters.

Robert Stein, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston, Texas, has been surveying voters attitudes toward mail-in voting there since shortly after the pandemic erupted. Generally speaking, he found, Democrats prefer mail-in voting and Republicans favour doing so in person.

Interestingly, Stein reports, only one day after Trump started tweeting against mail-in voting, the pollsters noticed a drop in the percentage of Republicans who said they were in favour of remote voting  from 41 percent to 34 percent. Initially, Stein was puzzled because so many Republicans there have voted by mail in past presidential elections.

But, he said, Republican voters follow the lead of their party and president.

Despite President Donald Trumps attacks on them, officials from both parties are encouraging voters to opt for mail-in ballots for the November general election [File: Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo]

The thing is, voters are not following the lead of their party. They are following the lead of the president. Outside of Trumps West Wing/Capitol Hill echo chamber, Republican officials across the country are almost uniformly in favour of mail-in voting.

Despite the reticence from local GOP leaders in Northampton County and elsewhere, the state Republican party in Pennsylvania has gone all out to promote voting by mail, calling it both safe and smart.

Democrats will use the new mail-in ballot to greatly increase their turnout, the party correctly predicted on its website earlier this year. Republicans would be smart to do the same so that we have the advantage.

Trumps incessant drumbeat against the messaging of his own party would be remarkable were it not so predictable. Through words and actions throughout the campaign, the president has made it clear that the election is not about the Republican Partys prospects. Its about Trumps prospects.

US Senators, members of Congress and other down-ballot Republicans be damned.
Wilma and Jack Jacobs booked their 50th anniversary trip far before COVID-19 began. They had planned a cruise in July through Ireland, England, Scotland and the Netherlands.

When the pandemic began to unfurl, the trip was off, and the couple got refunds on some of their costs, such as their hotels. But the two biggest costs, the cruise deposit and the airline tickets, would not be refunded, they were told. Instead, they would get credit for both: $960 for the cruise deposit, and $2,487.94 for the Air Transat flight.

Though they have 24 months to use that credit, Wilma Jacobs said they dont plan on using it, and feel a refund is in order.

Theres no way we would  step on an airplane or get into a cruise, because were very high risk for COVID, said Jacobs. Its a useless offer that theyre making to us.

The couple are two of thousands of Canadians whose flights were cancelled due to COVID-19. Most did not receive refunds, offered credit instead. Some have signed petitions; others have joined class-action lawsuits. And though Canadas airline watchdog initially sided with the airlines, it appears to be reconsidering its position, leaving the future uncertain for both the airlines and their customers.

On March 25, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) said in a statement that airlines were not obliged to refund passengers for flights cancelled due to COVID-19, only to provide vouchers unless their contracts dictated otherwise, in accordance with the new Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) that came into effect December 2019. This was in contrast to the United States and the European Union, which are both requiring that airlines offer refunds.

A statement a month later clarified that the earlier statement wasnt binding, and that customers have a right to demand a refund based on their contract with the carrier.

Members of Parliament from the opposition parties grilled airlines at Mondays health committee, demanding explanation for why the companies couldnt provide refunds.

And this week, Scott Streiner, head of the CTA, said officials should rethink whether or not airlines have an obligation to refund passengers in such situations, and said Canada may need to address gaps in the APPR.

This particular gap is one that airline passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs cautioned could be a problem back in February 2019. He said Canadian law dictates that passengers should be receiving refunds, and that the APPR does not properly outline this right.

The APPR states that if a flight is cancelled for a reason within an airlines control, the passenger has a right to a refund. If the reason is out of the airlines control, however, it states that they are only owed alternate arrangements.

Lukacs urged Canadians to push back when offered credit, or to try and get chargebacks from their credit card companies.

Passengers have to put up a fight, he said.

They need that cash to stay alive

The airlines have been through layoffs due to COVID-19  Air Canada lost more than $1 billion last quarter. The government is offering a bridging loan program for large employers such as Air Canada.

Jacobs feels for the airlines, but thinks they shouldnt be considered for government money if theyre not refunding consumers.

Our government is supporting the airlines  but they should also be supporting consumers on this.

Lukacs doesnt think the situation is as dire as the airlines are making it seem, and he is calling on the government to uphold the law and ensure Canadians get refunds.

James Brander, a professor at UBCs Sauder School of Business,believes the federal government and the CTA have been trying to walk a fine line because the survival of Canadian airlines is in question. The government could mandate that the airlines offer refunds right now, he said, but theyre not.

Its a tradeoff between a large financial blow to a big company, and spreading that blow out across the customers instead, Brander said.

Eventually the customers will either fly or get their money back.

John Korenic, an adjunct professor at Sauder, doesnt think airlines current difficulties justify not offering refunds to customers whose flights were cancelled.

If youve bought a product and its not delivered, then you should get a refund.

He said whats happening now could inform consumer behaviours in the future  for example, customers might be more inclined to buy last-minute tickets instead of booking ahead.

Ben Dachis, director of public affairs for the C.D. Howe Institute, said airlines have high fixed costs that dont just go away, and so the companies are hanging onto what they have.

They need that cash to stay alive, said Dachis.

But, people are understandably frustrated, he said. Theyve paid cash, and theyre not getting cash back.

Grant Bishop, associate director of research at C.D. Howe, said he can understand airlines reticence to try and retain the cash they have.

But, he said, that comes at the expense of consumer goodwill.

I had no choice

Some Canadians accepted the credit offered by airlines, only to find out there were additional costs involved.

Tomislav Rokis mother Lucija arrived in Toronto with her grandson from Croatia on March 6, just before the COVID-19 pandemic began shutting down flights, stores and schools across Canada.

Her flight home, scheduled for May 19, was cancelled, and she was offered credit by the website the ticket was booked through, CheapoAir. The credit could be used only on an Air Canada flight, and booked through Air Canada or CheapoAir.

But when Tomislav Roki tried to rebook his mothers return flight for June, he was told the price of the flight had risen  to the tune of around $900 extra per person.

The agent told him there were very few tickets available, said Roki, but he saw many available on the website, he said. After asking them to look again, the agent came back with another price, closer to $700 per person.

Exasperated, Roki booked the flight. I had no choice, he said. I said, Ill pay it.

A $2,246 trip became $3,714. But Roki believes the airline should have provided the new flight at no extra cost.

This is just honouring the ticket (she) had, he said.

In an email, an Air Canada spokesperson said the airline is offering refunds to customers who purchased refundable tickets, and have refunded $1 billion since the beginning of the year.

Its important to remember that airfares are and have always been dynamic and will fluctuate both up and down based on a number of factors including day/time/destination, they wrote.

Air Canada quietly changed its policy this week to allow refunds for some customers originating from outside Canada. And earlier this month, WestJet broadened its refund offer for flights with a U.S. or U.K. city as the destination or origin.

Lukacs believes that had the Canadian carriers offered refunds from the start, Canadians might have more of an appetite for a government bailout of the industry.

There would have been more public support, he said.

The airline companies missed the mark here in terms of public relations.

Jacobs said it seems unfair that so many Canadians arent getting refunds, especially when others in the United States and Europe are.

Were more than frustrated, she said.

With files from Canadian Press

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Area animal shelters showered with funds in memory of Betty White

The online fundraiser challenged fans of actress Betty White to donate to a local animal rescue or shelter in honor of her Jan. 17 birthday.
SANTA ROSA, Calif., June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Radiant Ventures, Inc., a cannabis supply chain management company with manufacturing and distribution operations in California, today announced the hiring of Virender Ahluwalia as Chief Financial Officer.

Mr. Ahluwalia brings decades of executive financial leadership experience managing and building high-performance teams at early stage and high growth ventures, including Shutterfly, Singularity, Vintners, Rafter, iLogistix and most recently, California cannabis company Coastal. He has built and scaled multiple billion-dollar enterprises spanning the cannabis, alcohol/beverage, retail, e-commerce, manufacturing and high-tech industries, and has managed more than $300M of equity capital.

"We are thrilled and honored to have Mr. Ahluwalia join the Radiant family and steer execution of our ambitious plan to become California's top supply chain management firm, offering sustainably sourced, in-house manufacturing and distribution operations to the industry's most revered legacy brands," said Chief Executive Officer Aaron Selverston. "Virender has a sterling record of success building world class enterprises from the bottom up, and expect the same result here."

Mr. Ahluwalia joins Radiant Ventures after successfully setting up a California Central Coast-focused, vertically integrated cannabis firm where he was instrumental in scaling the company from a small, founding team to a multi-million-dollar, multi-location retail and delivery operation. In doing so, he also successfully set up IRS 280-E optimized accounting processes, FINCEN compliant practices and strong company-wide financial controls. His operational experience in the cannabis industry is rare to find in a CFO with his notable record of success.

About Radiant Ventures

Radiant Ventures, Inc. is a cannabis holding company which owns and operates Radiant Farm, Inc., doing business as Cosmic Distribution. Cosmic Distribution offers statewide distribution to more than a dozen multi-award-winning brands, including Kind Medicine, Wonder Extracts, Arcanna, Woodstock Heritage Strains, Stoned Age Edibles, Ridgetop Botanicals, Fleur D'Elite, Madame Munchie, Herbanology, and its own in-house extracts brand, Cosmic. Cosmic Distribution operates distribution centers in Santa Rosa and Los Angeles, providing service to more than 200 licensed retail dispensaries in California.

SOURCE Radiant Farm, Inc.
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Linkedin Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) Lancaster, Pennsylvania  Fri, June 26, 2020 08:00 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661bcc38 2 World Joe-Biden,Donald-Trump,US-presidential-election,US-presidential-race,health,politics,campaign,politics-of-covid-19 Free

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Thursday condemned President Donald Trump for fighting to gut Obamacare, accusing the Republican of threatening healthcare protections for millions of Americans in the midst of a raging pandemic.

In a speech in the must-win election battleground of Pennsylvania, Biden blasted the Trump administration for its expected filing on Thursday asking the US Supreme Court to declare the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, illegal. The law was the signature legislative achievement of Biden's time as Barack Obama's vice president.

"It's cruel, it's heartless, it's callous," Biden said, and would force families to "live their lives caught in a vise between Donald Trump's twin legacies: his failure to protect the American people from the coronavirus and his heartless crusade to take healthcare protections away."

Biden, who has mostly stayed in his Delaware home since March amid coronavirus concerns, is slowly resuming some campaigning.

Trump, his opponent in the Nov. 3 election, traveled on Thursday to Wisconsin, another swing state, where he visited a shipbuilding facility in a bid to tout his record on manufacturing.

Recent polls show Trump trailing Biden in both states. On Wednesday the number of new coronavirus cases around the country climbed to a near-record high. In a later statement, Biden also criticized the Trump administration for ending direct funding of some coronavirus testing sites.

The president has said his decisions to restrict travel and encourage social distancing helped curtail the virus, but the United States has by far the most coronavirus cases and deaths in the world.

Trump has criticized the cost and coverage under Obamacare and has been promising since his 2016 campaign to replace it with a better plan.

"The president will always support coverage for people with pre-existing conditions," said Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh.

It was the ACA that prohibited health insurers from denying coverage to Americans with pre-existing health conditions.

Democrats expect to make their promise to defend Obamacare a marquee election-year issue after they used a similar strategy in 2018 to win control of the House of Representatives.

House Democrats unveiled a bill on Wednesday to provide more tax credits for low-income people's insurance and more healthcare funding for states. Republicans are unlikely to support the bill.
The 36th ASEAN Summit themed Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN took place in Hanoi on June 26 under the chair by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The 36th ASEAN Summit themed Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN took place in Hanoi on June 26 under the chair by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The online opening ceremony saw the participation of leaders of the 10 ASEAN member countries, Vietnams National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman and Chair of 41st General Assembly of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA 41) Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, NA Permanent Vice Chairwoman and head of the delegation to AIPA Tong Thi Phong, and Deputy PM, Foreign Minister and Chairman of the National ASEAN 2020 Committee Pham Binh Minh.

Ambassadors of the ASEAN member nations, and representatives from foreign diplomatic missions and international organisations in Hanoi also attended the event.

In his opening remarks, PM Phuc highlighted the theme of the Summit in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic which is hitting the region and the world.

He applauded the spirit of solidarity and coordination among the countries, and prompt actions they are taking in the fight against the disease.

The PM called for stronger cooperation among the ASEAN member nations to effectively cope with the pandemic, affirming that Vietnam will continue to closely work with the other ASEAN member nations in the combat.

He said ASEAN leaders will discuss measures to address the social and economic impact caused the COVID-19 crisis, post-pandemic recovery plans for the regional countries in the immediate time, and orientations to accomplish cooperation and integration goals of ASEAN in the year.

PM Phuc thanked leaders of the ASEAN member nations and the blocs partner countries for their coordination with and support for Vietnam in joint efforts to respond to the pandemic, especially strong commitments at the Special ASEAN Summit and the Special ASEAN 3 Summit on COVID-19 in April.

He expressed his hope that the 36th ASEAN Summit will be an opportunity for the regional countries to affirm their solidarity, strong political will and high determination to overcome all the challenges.

The Vietnamese leader said he looks forward to the adoption of a Vision Statement on ASEAN's cohesion and proactive adaptation at the summit.

ASEAN focuses on priorities, initiatives in 2020

During the meeting, ASEAN leaders are scheduled to review the building of the ASEAN Community since the 35th summit, and discuss the implementation of priorities for this year as well as the groupings external affairs in the time ahead. They will also exchange views on regional and international issues of shared concern.

In this special circumstance, the leaders will focus on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and how to enhance the blocs recovery capacity.

The summit brings together leaders of nations and ministries in charge of politics-security, culture-society, and economy from the 10 ASEAN member countries, ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi, heads of ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) and ambassadors, among others.

It will feature a special session of the ASEAN leaders on womens empowerment in the digital age initiated by Vietnam to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

The session aims to affirm the ASEAN leaders commitment to fully and effectively implementing goals set in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, promoting gender equality and improving womens role in socio-economic development and ASEAN cooperation.

Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi, and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Armida Alisjahbana are invited to the event.

There will be a dialogue between leaders of the ASEAN countries and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) led by Ngan, who is also the President of AIPA-41. NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong, head of the Vietnamese delegation to AIPA, will attend the dialogue.

During the event, the ASEAN leaders and AIPA representatives will seek ways to enhance coordination between the two organisations in building the ASEAN Community towards the people and for the people.

The leaders will also hold a dialogue with ASEAN youths on promoting the role of the latter in the community building.

In another dialogue, representatives of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) are scheduled to present recommendations of the business community to the ASEAN leaders, in order to promote enterprises participation, and investment-trade freedom and facilitation in the region and the world.

The ASEAN leaders are expected to adopt the ASEAN Chair Statement on the outcomes of the 36th ASEAN Summit, a vision statement on ASEANs cohesion and proactive adaptation, and an ASEAN declaration on human resources development for the changing world of work.

The 36th ASEAN Summit offers an opportunity for Vietnam and the other ASEAN member countries to continue seeking measures to build the ASEAN Community, strengthen solidarity and unity, enhance mutual support, improve cooperation efficiency and focus on implementing priorities and initiatives in 2020, while improving ASEANs proactiveness in response to regional and international challenges, including COVID-19.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs remarks at ASEAN-36 Summit's opening ceremony

Following is the full text of PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc's opening speech.

Your Majesty,

Dear Colleagues,

Mdm. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, President of AIPA 41,

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is my great pleasure to warmly welcome the leaders of ASEAN and all of you to the Opening Ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit.

1. For the first time in more than half a century, our ASEAN Summit has been held virtually. The recent 73rd World Health Assembly and various other major international meetings were also held on the cyber-networks that link our world. This reflects the reality that the ways we conduct our work must now change, due to not only the advances of science and technology, but also the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which broke out and quickly became widespread from the beginning of this year, has swept away the achievements that humankind had accumulated for years, deprived and threatened the lives of millions. A World Bank report on 8 June projected that the global economy would experience a serious decline with a 5.2 percent contraction in global GDP. Per-capita income would drop by 3.6 percent. Seventy to a hundred million people would fall into extreme poverty, and the risk of social instability would mount. More than 40 percent of all manufacturing industries and business sectors across countries are being directly affected by lockdown and restrictions imposed for disease control.

The pandemic is fanning the flames of dormant challenges within the political, economic and social environment of the world and in each region. International institutions and international law are being seriously challenged. Strategic friction among the major powers are exposing themselves and escalating. While the entire world is stretched thin in the fight against the pandemic, irresponsible acts and acts in violation of international law are still taking place, affecting the environment of security and stability in certain regions, including in our region.

The strong advances of science and technology and the digital transformation taking place around the globe present both opportunities and challenges to countries, especially the developing ones. Social conflicts stemming from social disparities, discrimination and stigma have deteriorated due to the pandemic, further widening the divide within countries.

In such context, countries need to uphold the spirit of solidarity, cooperation and the sense of responsibility towards the international community. The role and mission of major countries, and of multilateral and regional organizations have become more prominent than ever.

2. ASEAN is pursuing the theme of Cohesive and Responsive amidst volatilities in the regional and global landscape. 5 years since the establishment of the Community, we are now standing before the opportunities and challenges generated by the global geo-strategic shift and the impacts of COVID-19. Against that backdrop, our ASEAN Community has well displayed its mettle. Our unity has given us the strength to effectively harness the opportunities and rise above those challenges.

In the early months of this year, COVID-19 has taken heavy toll on the economy and society of ASEAN member states. It pains us to witness the suffering of tens of thousands of families whose loved ones passed away due to the disease. We empathize with the damage and difficulties endured by hundreds of thousands of disrupted businesses and millions of workers deprived of their livelihood, particularly those in the tourism and service sectors. Yet we shall not falter!

ASEAN has taken timely actions as a responsive and cohesive Community. ASEANs health emergencies response network and cooperation with partners were activated from the very first days. ASEAN countries have engaged in active information and experience sharing, and coordination in disease control. Thanks to the highest of political commitment and a cohesive and comprehensive approach at the national and regional level, ASEAN as a whole, has embodied the fortitude of a united and cohesive group, full of sharing and caring.

Let me thank you, ASEAN leaders and ASEAN partners, who have joined their hands with Viet Nam  the ASEAN chair  in the collective response against the pandemic, especially the strong commitments you have pledged at the Special ASEAN and APT Summits on COVID-19 in April.

Despite the complex developments of the pandemic, the ASEAN members have essentially kept the situation under control. Compared to the global average, we are enjoying a high proportion of recoveries over total confirmed cases. Fatalities are low and the rate of fatality is dropping. For many days now, in several ASEAN countries, there has been no new case of community transmission. While slower growth rates are projected for this year, ASEAN economies are expected to sustain stability.

3. In the latter half of 2020, the heavy burden rested upon the governments of ASEAN members and upon us as the leaders is to lead ASEAN out of this period of adversity. The successful completion of this task will stand as a testament to the lasting values and vitality of our Resilient and Dynamic Community.

I expect that the 36th ASEAN Summit will be an occasion for ASEAN member states to reassert our spirit of solidarity, our strong political will and commitment to rise above the adversities of the pandemic and keep forging ahead. On the one hand, we need to maintain good control over the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other, we should promptly repair its damage, and revitalize our economy and resume our economic development. This should be coupled with efforts to realize the set targets for ASEAN cooperation and integration of this year.

At this Summit, we will discuss a comprehensive post-pandemic recovery plan for ASEAN, and hasten the implementation of new initiatives, including the creation of the ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund, the building of an ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies, and the establishment of an ASEAN Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Public Health Emergencies.

We will conduct the mid-term review of the implementation of the Blueprints under the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, provide feedbacks on a post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision, and improve the efficiency of ASEAN work by evaluating the enforcement of the ASEAN Charter.

ASEAN will also actively engage the various sectors and stakeholders in society in the process of building a People-Oriented and People-Centered Community.

Today, we will have the first-ever Special Session on Women's Empowerment in the Digital Age. This is a strong message as to ASEAN's commitment to promoting gender equality and enhancing women's role and contribution in social life. The session is also a concrete way to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on Gender Equality. We will also have useful interfaces with the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), Youth representatives, and the businesses of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) on this occasion.

The efforts to strengthen connectivity and promote equitable and sustainable development of ASEAN these past years will continue to be bolstered during this year. Such initiatives as the ASEAN Smart Cities Network and Connecting the Connectivities need to proceed effectively and extensively. In addition, we should also pay due attention to enhancing the complementarities between sub-regional cooperation, including the Mekong sub-region, and ASEAN agenda, in terms of the sustainable management and use of water resources.

As an open community and a partner for sustainable peace and development of the international community, ASEAN will tirelessly seek to expand and deepen its equal and mutually beneficial cooperation with our partners. ASEAN is advancing ties with the United Nations in 2020  when both Indonesia and Viet Nam are non-permanent members of the UNSC and are actively contributing to the UNs efforts to maintain peace, security and development. We are strongly committed to economic liberalisation and integration, and are determined to quickly conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

To uphold ASEANs centrality in the region, we have been improving our mechanisms for dialogue, cooperating to build trust, and reinforcing an open, transparent and rules-based order. At the same time, ASEAN will continue to promote and uphold rules and norms of conduct, advance the relations among countries in the region in accordance with the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC). ASEAN observes and promotes the full and strict compliance to the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and is making every effort to establish an effective Code of Conduct (COC) in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

4. The common denominator of shared interest, which has brought the ASEAN members together over the last five decades, has multiplied in the wake of adversity and challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic is a test of ASEAN's mettle as a maturing community.

I am deeply confident that after every storm and typhoon, the stalks of padi rice on the logo of ASEAN will grow tighter-knit, and from it more grains of rice will spring forth, filled with the love, care and solidarity that define our big ASEAN family.

At this Summit, I look forward to the adoption of the ASEAN Leaders' Vision Statement on a Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN: Rising above Challenges and Sustaining Growth. This shall be the compass for ASEAN to move ever confidently forward.

In this spirit, I declare the 36th ASEAN Summit open.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I wish you good health and many successes./.VNA

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and delegates render salute to ASEAN flag at the opening ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit (Photo: VNA)

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Chairman of ASEAN 2020, delivers opening speech at the opening ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit (Photo: VNA)



Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivers opening speech at the opening ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit (Photo: VNA)



Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who is also Chair of the 41st General Assembly of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, and delegates attend the opening ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit (Photo: VNA)





Arts performance at the opening ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit (Photo: VNA)



Arts performance at the opening ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit (Photo: VNA)





Delegates attend the opening ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit (Photo: VNA)



Delegates attend the opening ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit (Photo: VNA)
They are few and far between, but Maheoo (The Creator) often sends people of special ability, talent and heart when the people most need them. One such for the Northern Cheyenne was Buffalo Calf Road Woman (also Brave Woman) born in 1850, just about when the Cheyenne people were in great need of heroes capable of remarkable and selfless deeds - in this case it was a heroine.

In 1876, already married to Black Coyote and mother of two children, Buffalo Calf Robe Woman traveled with the Northern Cheyenne and Sioux to the Little Big Horn. There in a remote valley they were engaged with the US Military in what is now called the Battle of the Rosebud. During the fight, her brother Comes In Sight had his horse shot from underneath and was left on the valley floor under deadly enemy fire.

Buffalo Calf Road Woman who had already been on the warrior trail, did not hesitate. Leaping onto a war horse, she raced down into deadly fuselage, swung her brother up behind, carrying him to safety. The Battle of the Rosebud, largely counted as a draw encouraged the tribal people and they continued on to the Little Big Horn, victory in their hearts, greatly inspired by Buffalo Calf Road Woman.

A depiction of Buffalo Calf Road Woman appears on the Yellow Nose Spotted Wolf Ledger, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

There is a tradition, though rare, within the Cheyenne Tribe of warrior women, that is, those who literally opt to follow the warrior trail, fighting alongside brothers, husbands and others. Though they were often relegated to being camp tenders (making camps, caring for extra horses, hauling word, hunting and preparing food), this role too was essential for successful war parties.

These rare women voluntarily put themselves into harms way, willing and able to defend themselves and others when necessary. Buffalo Calf Road Woman decided at a young age to walk this road.

About a week after the Rosebud Battle, Buffalo Calf Road Woman found herself in another fight  the Little Big Horn. There she fought as fiercely as any man, it being said that a cavalry soldier would rather face several warriors than deal with this fierce woman. Historical speculation has it that she may have been the one to inflict final fatal wounds upon Custer, but as few actual Indian battle participants would speak of their roles in the Battle, that has not been conclusively documented.

Buffalo Calf Road Woman lived many years after that, going to Oklahoma and helping fight the way back to Montana, only to become ill and die in 1880 near Miles City, four short years before the Northern Cheyenne reservation was created.

Clara Caufield can be reached atacheyennevoice@gmail.com

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JUNE 24

Kevin Christopher Ohara, 43, of Dothan was arrested and charged with possession of synthetic narcotics.

Incident/offense reportsJUNE 17

An information report was filed from Mack Street.

JUNE 18

Larceny/theft of article from auto and larceny/theft fourth degree (less than $500) were filed from Lindsey Lane. One work bag ($50), $4 in change, two channel locks ($50), one pair of work gloves ($25), and six keys ($12) were reported stolen.

Larceny/theft of article from auto and larceny/theft third degree ($500-less than $1,500) was filed from Lindsey Lane. One bracelet ($50), $200 in clothing, one Louis Vuitton wristlet containing various debit cards ($500), one Vera Bradley tote ($100), and $50 in makeup were reported stolen.

Burglary (no force) third degree was filed from Cheneyhatchee Drive. One DeWalt grease gun ($150) and one pneumatic impact wrench ($150) were reported stolen.

Larceny/theft of article from auto and larceny/theft (firearms) first degree were filed from Stapleton Drive. One Colt .45 handgun ($1,300) was reported stolen.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Hundreds of people have signed a petition to Cleveland City Council to get rid of Little Italys Christopher Columbus statue and replace it with Chef Boyardee.

Columbus is not someone we should celebrate, the petition says. He was a racist monster who initiated the genocide against indigenous Americans. He pioneered the Transatlantic slave trade and likely sent more enslaved people across the sea than any other person. The trade in enslaved Indians was the forerunner to and the basis for the trade in enslaved Africans.

The petition says that Cleveland Italian-Americans should celebrate someone like Ettore (Hector) Boiardi, also known as, Chef Boyardee, known for his food and iconic mustache.

Boiardi and his brothers built a canned food empire from the ground up, opening a factory in Milton, Pennsylvania, the petition says. During World War II, this company produced canned food for American soldiers 24/7. The U.S. government recognized his contributions to the war effort by awarding Chef Boyardee with a Gold Star in 1946.

Already, one statue of the famous explorer has been taken down at Columbus State Community College, another statue outside Columbus City Hall is slated to be dismantled as well, and discussions are being held about the fate of a third statue outside the Ohio Statehouse.

Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday said he doesnt mind the removal of statues of Confederate leaders around the country, though he questioned how far people should go in tearing down monuments of Christopher Columbus and other controversial figures.

The petition likely wont have much traction at Cleveland City Council.

Last year, Councilman Basheer Jones proposed that Columbus Day be replaced with Indigenous Peoples Day  something more than 100 communities and at least six states have done -- but got pushback from Italian-Americans, including some of his council colleagues. Council designated a separate Indigenous Peoples Day in August.

Jones said this month he did not intend to pursue removing the Columbus statue.
Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghanas supreme court Thursday dismissed a suit filed by the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC) to stop the Electoral Commission (EC) from compiling a new voters register for this years general election
Funds parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through India-based branches, fell nearly 6 per cent in 2019 to 899 million Swiss francs (Rs 6,625 crore), annual data from Switzerland's central bank showed on Thursday. This marks the second consecutive year of decline in aggregate funds of Indian clients with all Swiss banks, taking the figure to the third lowest level in more than three decades since 1987 when the Swiss National Bank (SNB) began compiling the data.

The total amount of CHF 899.46 million, described by the SNB as aggregate ''liabilities'' of Swiss banks or ''amounts due to'' their Indian clients at the end of 2019, included CHF 550 million (over Rs 4,000 crore) of customer deposits; CHF 88 million (Rs 650 crore) held via other banks; 7.4 million (Rs 50 crore) through fiduciaries or trusts; and CHF 254 million (Rs 1,900 crore) as ''other amounts due to customers'' in form of securities and various financial instruments.

All the four components declined during 2019. These are official figures reported by banks to the SNB and do not indicate the quantum of the much-debated alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland. These figures also do not include the money that Indians, NRIs or others might have in Swiss banks in names of third-country entities.

According to the SNB, its data for ''total liabilities'' of Swiss banks towards Indian clients takes into account all types of funds of Indian customers at Swiss banks, including deposits from individuals, banks and enterprises. This includes data for branches of Swiss banks in India, as also non-deposit liabilities. Indian and Swiss authorities have earlier said that a more reliable measure for deposits by Indian individuals in Swiss banks is given by the ''locational banking statistics'' of the Bank for International Settlement (BIS), which showed a marginal increase of 0.07 per cent in 2019 to $90.6 million (nearly Rs 646 crore).

This figure takes into account deposits as well as loans of Indian non-bank clients of Swiss-domiciled banks and had shown a decline of 11 per cent in 2018 and of 44 per cent in 2017. It peaked at over $2.3 billion (over Rs 9,000 crore) at the end of 2007. Swiss authorities have always maintained that assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland cannot be considered as ''black money'' and they actively support India in its fight against tax fraud and evasion.

While an automatic exchange of information in tax matters between Switzerland and India has been in force since 2018. Under this framework, detailed financial information on all Indian residents having accounts with Swiss financial institutions since 2018 was provided for the first time to Indian tax authorities in September 2019 and this is to be followed every year.

In addition to this, Switzerland has been actively sharing details about accounts of Indians suspected to have indulged in financial wrongdoings after submission of prima facie evidence. Such exchange of information has taken place in hundreds of cases so far. According to the SNB data available since 1987, the lowest level of funds held by Indians in Swiss banks was seen in 1995 at CHF 723 million, while the second lowest was in 2016 at CHF 676 million. The amount had peaked at CHF 6.5 billion in 2006, before declining for five consecutive years. Since those record levels, there has been a rise only three times -- in 2011 (12 per cent), 2013 (43 per cent) and then in 2017.

Overall, customer deposits in all Swiss banks rose marginally by 0.3 per cent to CHF 1.8 trillion (more than Rs 130 lakh crore). Of this, domestic customer deposits rose by CHF 25.3 billion to CHF 1.25 trillion, while foreign customer deposits declined by CHF 20.5 billion to CHF 567.6 billion (nearly Rs 42 lakh crore).

Aggregate liabilities of Swiss banks, including amount due to customers and banks and through holding of various securities, rose by 2.9 per cent to CHF 3.3 trillion (over Rs 240 lakh crore). This included CHF 1.3 trillion (nearly Rs 95 lakh crore) towards their foreign clients, which rose by nearly 2 per cent.

The countries for which Swiss banks reported rise in amounts due to clients from there included the US and UK, while the money parked by individuals and enterprises from Pakistan and Bangladesh also declined during 2019. Just like India, the issue of alleged black money in Swiss banks has been a political hot potato in the two neighbouring countries as well.

While Pakistani money in Swiss banks declined by nearly 45 per cent to CHF 410 million (about Rs 3,000 crore), the figure for Bangladesh fell 2 per cent to CHF 605 million (Rs 4,500 crore). As per the SNB, there were 246 banks in Switzerland at the end of 2019. Of these, 216 reported profit totalling of CHF 13.1 billion, while the remaining 30 reported losses amounting to CHF 12.3 billion, resulting in aggregate profit of CHF 752 million (Rs 5,500 crore) -- reflecting a huge decline of over 93 per cent from the 2018 levels.

The aggregate balance sheet total for all banks in Switzerland rose by 2.9 per cent to CHF 3.3 trillion. Customer holdings of securities in bank custody accounts increased by 15.9 per cent to nearly CHF 6.8 trillion, while fiduciary funds administered by banks were also considerably higher in 2019 and closed the year at CHF 197 billion with an increase of over 23 per cent.

The banks saw a pronounced rise of CHF 15.7 billion in fiduciary deposits invested in Swiss francs, increasing that currency''s share from 2.5 per cent to 10 per cent. The headcount of Swiss banks declined by 1,304 to 1,06,084, which the SNB said was mainly attributable to big banks having transferred staff to other group entities not included in the banking statistics.

Also read: 1.25 crore jobs in UP: PM Modi to launch Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan today
This new legislation follows last year's successful passage of PEESA in the annual U.S. defense budget bill.

U.S. House Representatives Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Denny Heck (D-WA), Mike Turner (R-OH), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) on June 25 filed a bipartisan House companion bill of the U.S. Senate's Protecting Europe's Energy Security Clarification Act.

"[The document] will impose sanctions that make it impossible to complete the Nord Stream 2 pipeline," the press service of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine said on its website on June 26.

"Naftogaz is once again grateful to the U.S. House Representatives, their Senate counterparts, and other friends of Ukraine in the United States who ensured passage of the Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act (PEESA) last year and have now introduced the PEESA Clarification Act in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate," it said.

Read alsoU.S. Congress members call on Pompeo to hit Russia with sanctions over Nord Stream 2

This new legislation follows last year's successful passage of PEESA in the annual U.S. defense budget bill, which sanctioned the use of deep-sea pipe-laying vessels to build Nord Stream 2.

The PEESA Clarification Act will impose sanctions against: (1) companies that engage in any "pipe-laying activities," which are defined as "activities that facilitate pipe-laying, including site preparation, trenching, surveying, placing rocks, stringing, bending, welding, coating, lowering of pipe, and backfilling"; (2) companies providing "underwriting services or insurance or re-insurance" services for pipe-laying vessels; (3) companies providing "services or facilities for technology upgrades or installation of welding equipment for, or retrofitting or tethering of," pipe-laying vessels; and (4) companies providing "services for the testing, inspection, or certification necessary for or associated with the operation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline."

UNIAN memo. The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction and operation of two gas pipeline branches with a total throughput capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. It should connect Russia's Ust-Lug and Germany's Greifswald. This new pipeline bypassing Ukraine is to be built next to the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The construction of the pipeline was expected to be completed before the end of 2019. The pipeline will be 1,220 km long. The project is being implemented by Russia's Gazprom in alliance with European companies  ENGIE, OMV, Shell, Uniper, and Wintershall. Ukraine stands against the construction of Nord Stream 2 as it will most likely lose its status of a gas transit country, while its potential revenue losses are estimated at US$3 billion annually. The project is also highly criticized by the U.S., Poland, and the Baltic States.

Over the sanctions approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, the companies involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline were not able to complete it.

As UNIAN reported, U.S. senators filed a new sanction-imposing bill, the PEESA Clarification Act, in early June. Developed by representatives of the Republican and Democratic Parties, the document should make it impossible to complete the construction of Nord Stream 2 gas.

On June 25, 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on European countries to take own security more seriously, in particular, threats from China and Russia.
Germany is preparing to strike back against the U.S. if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to kill off the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with additional sanctions.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's administration is considering pressing for coordinated European Union action, according to two German officials familiar with the discussions. An economy ministry paper seen by Bloomberg News said such measures by the U.S. would be new and could hit significantly more German and European companies and banks as well as state agencies.

Anna Sophie Eichler, an Economy Ministry spokeswoman, said at a news conference Friday that she is unaware of any counter-sanctions being considered by the German government.

The 745 mile (1,200-kilometer) pipeline under the Baltic Sea, designed to pump Russian gas directly to Germany, has triggered deep division between EU member states. But the prospect of a direct U.S. intervention in the 27-member bloc's energy interests should prompt a collective response, said the officials, who asked not to be identified.

The new German strategy adds the possibility of further escalation between the transatlantic allies, with the U.S. this week announcing potential tariffs on $3.1 billion of products from Germany and other European countries. Trump has also reiterated his intention to cut the number of U.S. troops in Germany and renewed a threat to hit the German auto industry with a new set of levies.

Flash points between the two sides are multiplying as Trump's reelection campaign runs into trouble and the covid-19 pandemic threatens to get out of control in the U.S.

On Friday, EU diplomats are holding talks over whether to maintain a ban on U.S. travelers when external border controls begin to lift last week. The officials are aiming to draw up a list of which countries' nationals will be allowed in and may use infection rates as one of their criteria, which would potentially see the U.S. excluded.

In a Twitter post, German Health Minister Jens Spahn pointed to new infections in the U.S. as a sign that the pandemic has yet to peak.

The Europeans though are trying to ease the friction over digital taxes after the U.S. pulled out of talks aimed at finding a global agreement on how to tax internet giants like Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin seen by Bloomberg News, France, the U.K., Italy and Spain offered to initially limit the tax to automated digital services like search and social media, while excluding retailers like Amazon.

Trump has been ramping up his attacks on Germany since Merkel helped to derail his plans for a Group of Seven summit at Camp David this month and Nord Stream, owned by Gazprom PJSC, is a long-standing target. He told a rally last week in Tulsa, Oklahoma that Germany is "delinquent" on defense spending and dispatching "billions" to Vladimir Putin.

"We're supposed to protect Germany from Russia, but Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars for energy coming from a pipeline," Trump said. "Excuse me, how does that work?"

U.S. sanctions signed by Trump that targeted pipe-laying vessels in December threw the pipeline's completion into disarray. While German officials said the project would merely by delayed, new measures proposed by U.S. senators could put Nord Stream in permanent danger, the German officials said.

But any response, including sanctions, would have to be weighed carefully, one official said. With Trump's poll numbers sagging four months ahead of the U.S. presidential election, he could follow through on previous tariff threats -- notably on German autos, the official said.

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier issued a warning over the legality of the new measures earlier this month, signaling that imposing them could bring a new low to transatlantic relations.

"The German government has long had the view that sanctions with extraterritorial effects are in conflict with international law and that they're not a contribution to advancing international cooperation," Altmaier told reporters in Berlin on June 12. "This position hasn't changed."

Bundestag lawmakers on the economic affairs committee discussed potential retaliation in a June 17 meeting. The committee chairman, Klaus Ernst of the anti-capitalist Left Party, said parties were in agreement that such measures violated international law.

"The government is called upon to develop and put forward proposals for a measured, clear reaction on behalf of Germany and the European Union," Ernst said in a statement after the closed-door meeting.

German industry is concerned that the new raft of sanctions may prompt counter sanctions in Europe, which it opposes on the strength of U.S.-EU trade ties and traditional allegiances, Michael Harms, the managing director of the BDI lobby's East European Committee, told reporters last week. Some 670 companies from 25 nations have worked on the pipeline, according to Harms.

Gazprom, which has vessels docked off Germany's Baltic coast, is set on completing the pipeline in the face of U.S. resistance. It made a request with authorities in Copenhagen to operate so-called DP3-class vessels in Danish waters.

The Akademik Cherskiy, a vessel that Russia could use to build the remaining stretch of the gas-export link, arrived at a German Baltic port last month after a two-month voyage from the Sea of Japan.

The German ministry paper said it was unclear how the Russians planned to proceed with some 150 kilometers remaining for the pipeline but it would need to resume work this summer to complete the work by early 2021.
Chinese handset maker Xiaomi has begun covering its retail store branding with white 'Made in India' logo amid fears of vandalism at outlets against the backdrop of Sino-India border tension, the All India Mobile Retailers Association said.

The association had written to Chinese mobile brands to highlight the threat of vandalism at offline stores by people amid calls for boycotting Chinese products in certain sections.

"In our letter, we had requested the brands to allow retailers to cover these signages with cloth/flex or to remove the boards from the storefront for a few months given the situation... Xiaomi has started putting 'Made in India' banners in white colour on its boards," AIMRA National president Arvinder Khurana said.

He added that other companies are yet to take any such steps but are keeping a watch on the situation.

Xiaomi did not respond to an e-mailed query.

Khurana said some anti-social activists recently visited several markets in various parts of the country and threatened to damage the mobile phone stores, and asked them to remove Chinese branding from their outlets.

"This could be a threat to the safety of retailers in case the aggression increases. Damage to the boards displaying Chinese branding should not be the retailer's liability," he said.

Asked if these sentiments have affected sales, Khurana said there has been an impact.

"Customers are saying they don't want to be shown Chinese products, and Samsung will benefit from this given that is the only major non-Chinese brand in the country. I think the focus should be on promoting Indian players, maybe provide extra support like the Chinese government gives to its companies," he added.

While mobile phone makers have remained mum, industry executives, not wishing to be identified, have said sales have largely remained unaffected.

Factors like almost two months of lockdown and people working and studying from home have created a pent-up demand for smartphones, and many firms have had to resort to expensive imports to meet the spurt in demand, they said.

However, Chinese firms are keeping a close watch on the developments, and monitoring the situation on ground as well as on social media.

Xiaomi India Head Manu Jain has also said the anti-China sentiment was limited mainly to social media and it had not impacted its business in the country. In a tweet on June 24, Jain had said Xiaomi's Redmi Note9 Pro Max was out of stock in less than 50 seconds during a sale.

Four of the top-five smartphone brands in India (Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme and Oppo) are from China, and accounted for almost 76 per cent share of the 32.5 million smartphones shipped in India during the March 2020 quarter (according to IDC data).

South Korea's Samsung, which ranked third and cornered 15.6 per cent share of shipment in the said quarter, is the only non-Chinese firm in the top-five ranking. India is the second-largest smartphone market after China and clocked a shipment of 152.5 million smartphones in 2019.

Photograph: PTI Photo.
Ukraine is making every effort to implement the agreements reached by the leaders of the Normandy Four countries in Paris and to hold the next such summit in Berlin as soon as possible.

"The Ukrainian party is doing everything possible to implement the agreements of the leaders of the countries participating in the Normandy format reached in Paris on December 9, 2019 to ensure the holding of the next summit in Berlin as soon as possible," the press service of the Office of the Ukrainian President said on Thursday, following a videoconference of the Trilateral Contact Group, which comprises Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE.

The participants in the Normandy format on settling the situation in Donbas are Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and France.
A disfigured Black doll hangs on a noose suspended from a South Lake Tahoe power line on Tuesday. (South Lake Tahoe Police Department)

A Black doll was found hanged from a power line in South Lake Tahoe this week with a noose around its neck.

Police responded to the incident Tuesday, and a power company helped take the doll down later that day, a news release said.

In the last week, Californians have found and reported three nooses as protests against police violence and racism continue. The other two were found in Sonoma and Santa Clarita.

The Sonoma County Sheriffs Department launched an investigation into a twine noose found hanging from a tree at Sonoma Raceway. The incident Saturday at the Bay Areas largest auto racing venue came a day before a noose was discovered in the Talladega Superspeedway garage of driver Bubba Wallace, NASCARs only full-time Black driver. In a statement Tuesday, NASCAR said an FBI investigation concluded that the noose had been in the garage since fall.

In Santa Clarita, Christian Nelson came across a noose-like rope as he walked Monday evening. His mother, Kelly Bruno Nelson, shared images of it on Facebook. The next morning, Christian Nelson cut it down.

The rope itself appears to be a boating-type rope, said Lt. Ignacio Somoano, a deputy with the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department's Santa Clarita Valley station. Somoano said the ropes loop-end was manufactured, not tied with a slipknot.

The noose-like rope found in Santa Clarita hangs from a tree on Monday evening. (Christian Nelson)

Kelly Bruno Nelsons Facebook post received more than a thousand comments, many of which criticized her and her son, claiming they overreacted because the rope wasnt literally a noose.

Was it actually a noose? No, it wasnt. But it symbolized what it symbolized, and theres absolutely no reason for it to be there, said Kelly Bruno Nelson, expressing frustration with the comments.

Deputies initiated an investigation into the rope, which Somoano suggested may have been used for exercise, such as tree climbing or swinging. One source claimed the rope had been there for two or three months, Somoano said.

Story continues

Kelly Bruno Nelson said the tree stood off the beaten path and that she didnt believe someone firmly fixed the looped rope there to play.

Its not a place where kids would go, or where anyone would hang a swing, she said. Her son saw empty alcoholic beverage cans around the tree, she added.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department is investigating who hung the doll. At this time, we have not located any witnesses or leads, Lt. Shannon Laney said in the departments news release.

Laney told The Times the incident appears to be "racially motivated."

"I think it is disgusting and does not represent the South Lake Tahoe Community in any way," he said.

Police took the disfigured doll hanged from a noose down from a South Lake Tahoe power line on Tuesday. (South Lake Tahoe Police Department)

The incident does not amount to a hate crime because it did not target a specific person, he said, but is being investigated as a "hate incident."
By Jeff Mason MARINETTE, Wis. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, trailing in national opinion polls ahead of the November election, visited a shipbuilding facility in Wisconsin on Thursday to tout his record on manufacturing and shore up support in the politically crucial state

By Jeff Mason

MARINETTE, Wis. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, trailing in national opinion polls ahead of the November election, visited a shipbuilding facility in Wisconsin on Thursday to tout his record on manufacturing and shore up support in the politically crucial state.

Trump went to Fincantieri Marinette Marine, a naval construction company in Marinette, after making an initial stop in Green Bay to take part in a town hall meeting with Fox News.

The U.S. Navy in April awarded Italy's Fincantieri a $5.5 billion contract to build its newest class of warships known as frigates, something Trump lauded in a post on Twitter as he arrived in the Midwestern state.

Trump is well behind former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, in polls in Wisconsin, a state Trump won narrowly in 2016.

The Republican president has come under pressure for his responses to the coronavirus pandemic and to civil rights protests across the country. Advisers want him to focus on his economic record before the pandemic and convince voters that he is best placed to bring the country back to economic strength.

Trump has long pledged to bring manufacturing back from overseas, equating that effort with American renewal. At the shipyard, he said the future of the facility had looked bleak not long ago but "then a lot of good things came along."

"Manufacturing, remember, manufacturing was never going to come back. Well it did come back. It came back big," Trump said.

Biden, who traveled to the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Thursday, said Trump did not deserve credit for the success of the area he was visiting.

"Today, Donald Trump is in Marinette to take credit for Obama-Biden administration-fueled successes in an attempt to paper over the fact that Wisconsin has been bleeding blue-collar manufacturing jobs over the past few weeks," he said in a statement. "Instead of offering real relief to working families, he's trying to claim credit for progress in Marinette he did not build."

Wisconsin is one of a handful of states that Trump's advisers have focused on for his re-election strategy, along with Michigan, Pennsylvania and increasingly Arizona, which the president visited on Tuesday.

The two trips this week have been official, White House-led trips rather than campaign-sponsored ones, but the choice of states was not coincidental. Trump's official return to the campaign trail on Saturday in Oklahoma drew attention for the underwhelming size of the crowd, spurring officials to rethink his signature rallies.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Daniel Wallis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
What has it been like to volunteer during the pandemic? Social enterprise Bread n Butter  one of the charities supplied by our Help The Hungry appeal partner, The Felix Project  closed its doors at the end of March.

However, its founders saw a growing need among the citys most vulnerable for regular home-cooked, nutritious meals, so they joined with community centres Stonegrove Community Trust and the Hive Trust.

Since then, Bread n Butters team, aided by volunteers, have been cooking and delivering more than 1,000 meals a day to Londoners in need in Barnet, Enfield and Brent. Here, we speak to four people who keep this project going.

I learned the power of working together

Richard Simon, a furloughed IT worker, joined the Stonegrove Community Trusts OneStonegrove project in Edgware at his wifes suggestion. The 52-year-old said: Working in the kitchens was like being on Ready Steady Cook. You dont know what ingredients youre going to be working with, so you have to think on your feet. The father of two, who dedicates 20 hours a week, added that the biggest thing he had learnt was the power of working together.

For a group of people who dont know each other, we just get on with it, working flat out. No one is being paid, were just working for a great cause. It has been extraordinary.

Its been transformative

Joanne Karbritz, 47, works up to five hours a day, four days a week at OneStonegrove community centre. The former Oxfam shop worker, who has high-functioning autism, said that because of her condition, having a structured day is incredibly important. Without routine, I cant cope, she said. I would not be here if it wasnt for this project.

Ms Karbritz, who is also anorexic, said working with food had been transformative. Working to create healthy, nutritious food everyday has changed my relationship with it. I have also learned how to cook, whereas before I lived out of tins.

I feel I am belonging

Mariana Bassi Da Silva, a software developer, wanted to volunteer as she was not working due to the pandemic. A keen cook, the 34-year-old volunteered for OneStonegrove and said the project had helped develop her love of cooking. The Brazilian-Italian, who moved to London seven years ago, said the greatest impact the project has had on her was the sense of belonging.

It is hard to settle in when you move, she said. Here, I have a community. The people have been really welcoming of me into their community.

I felt guilty sitting at home not doing much

Max Dickson, 27, decided to take up volunteering for the first time after being furloughed. The project manager from Colindale felt guilty about sitting at home while supported by taxpayer money through the furlough scheme. I wanted to help others, he said. He and his girlfriend signed up to work one day a week at OneStonegrove.

He said: We have spoken about doing this when its all over. Its great to help out.

Readers have just three more days to bid for a piece of Sir Peters Blakes pop artwork, Our Fans, to raise money for Help The Hungry. The auction of the giant mural  which echoes Sir Peters design of The Beatles Sgt Pepper album and was draped over the London Mandarin Oriental hotel during its 2017 renovation  closes at midnight on Friday. There are 100 fragments, each featuring a famous face such as Ringo Starr or Annie Lennox.

The Independent is encouraging readers to help groups that are trying to feed the hungry during the crisis  find out how you can help here. Follow this link to donate to our campaign in London, in partnership with the Evening Standard.
Returning to campus for fall semester Earlier in June, Emory leaders announced several key decisions concerning the return to campus. They include:  Faculty, staff and students will have options for returning to campus or interacting remotely.  Both online and in-person classes will be offered to help meet student needs.  Classes will begin Aug. 19 and end by Thanksgiving, with final exams conducted remotely. Classes will be held through the Labor Day holiday and fall break. Graduate and professional schools may amend this schedule slightly to meet curricular needs.  Face coverings/masks will be mandatory for everyone on campus, both inside and outside.  COVID-19 testing will be mandatory for all students living in residence halls, along with those taking in-person classes, upon or shortly before returning to campus, and will be available at any time during the semester for those who are symptomatic and for their close contacts. Faculty and staff will have access to testing on demand.  Campus residence halls will reopen, with no more than two students per room.  Enhanced cleaning protocols will be employed for residential, classroom and common spaces.

As Emory welcomes students back to campus for the fall semester, much will remain the same  challenging classes taught by world-renowned faculty, access to the deep resources of a leading research university, and the opportunity to live and learn in a supportive campus community.

But while these core elements of the Emory experience will not change, how they are provided will, as the university implements a vast array of health protocols in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory Campus Life and the student-led Emory College Council organized a virtual town hall on Tuesday, June 23, to give students a clearer picture of how the universitys acclaimed academic programs and transformative college experiences will be provided when classes resume Aug. 19.

Through social media channels and during registration for the event, Emory College students were encouraged to submit their questions and concerns to leaders playing a pivotal role in the reopening of the university this fall: Michael Elliott, dean of Emory College, and Enku Gelaye, vice president and dean of Campus Life, along with several of their key staff members.

The town hall, held via Zoom, addressed dozens of questions from more than 300 student participants. It was moderated by College Council President Aditya Jhaveri and Riya Mehta, the councils vice president of communications.

Many questions focused on how new safety protocols  from physical distancing measures to enhanced cleaning efforts  will help students stay healthy, as well as how these protocols will impact classrooms, labs, residence halls, dining and other facets of the on-campus Emory experience.

We are in the midst of two pandemics at this moment: the global pandemic of coronavirus and COVID-19, but also a global response to the pandemic of racial injustice and the violence that it has wrought upon both American society and the world, said Elliott in opening the town hall.

The fall of 2020 will be a historic moment. As students at this moment, you may not have had a chance to really step back and realize what a pivotal time youre living in, and how it is affecting everything in ways that no person whos alive right now could have predicted or at least was really prepared for.

While Emory will no doubt be a changed place in the fall, Elliott noted, it will also be an especially meaningful time to be part of a university community and to experience together the ways the world can change positively in a time of stress. Were pledged to do what we can to support all of the members of the Emory community, he said.

That pledge includes protecting the health and safety of students, faculty and staff, while also meeting academic expectations, Gelaye said.

Whether its remote or in-person, were doing the best we can to deliver an equivalent Emory experience for you, knowing the necessity of health and safety protocols, she told students.

She continued, Were committed to delivering quality academic programs and doing what we can to improve your lives, and the lives of the people around us, by teaching and mentoring and doing research, doing the salient work of the university that compelled you to apply.

Gelaye stressed to students that returning to campus this fall requires a collective, coordinated, transparent effort between them and Emory administrators, faculty and staff.

We all have to commit to ourselves to wearing face masks and hand-washing and all the safety protocols were rolling out, because ultimately our success as a university  our ability to stay together as a community when fall [arrives]  will be based on our collective willingness to keep each other safe.

Elliott explained that while he, Gelaye and other administrators are working diligently in real-time to address the concerns of students, faculty, staff and parents, they dont know all the answers yet. Student input has been critical to the process of returning to campus for the fall, and he and other Emory leaders have done their utmost to be as transparent as possible along the way.

Because this is really uncharted territory, Elliott said. Theres no template for opening a university in a pandemic.

Classes in the time of COVID-19

Fall classes at Emory, as at many universities across the country, will be a combination of online and in-person experiences, depending on the needs of students and faculty, and the nature of the coursework.

The new course atlas will be available on or close to July 1, and reregistration will begin on July 9 for seniors, and then be staggered afterward for other undergraduate students.

Courses available online this fall will be different than the ones students adapted to in the spring, when faculty were forced by COVID-19 to quickly switch to virtual learning, Elliot said.

[Fall classes] will be purpose-built online classes, Elliot said. More than 650 of our faculty right now are taking online teaching training to think about how to remake their classes for an online environment, because they want to reach the standard of Emory excellence that they were able to achieve in person.

These new, enhanced online classes will be available to students on campus, as well as those who opt to stay at home and attend Emory fully online, Elliott said. Its going to be very unlikely that you will have a schedule that is entirely in-person classes, he said.

Tuition will remain the same for all courses, regardless of the method in which they are taught, although those who opt to study from home will not incur the associated costs of housing, dining and other campus-based fees.

Lab classes, too, will be a mix of in-person and online learning. Students may have access to physical laboratory facilities, but also will perform lab work virtually.

Other types of specialized coursework, especially in the performing arts and physical education, have presented additional obstacles, as both often require close proximity and exertion. Vocal and choral lessons may be particularly problematic, and plans for these courses remain under discussion. While there will be some PE courses offered in the fall  mainly those oriented toward health and wellness  Emory will waive PE course requirements for all graduating students this academic year, Elliott said. All other students will receive an exemption for one physical education course moving forward.

Focus on health and safety

Most of the changes to academic courses are being done for the safety and wellness of both students and faculty. For example, in-person classes will now be a standard length of 75 minutes.

Our best information is thats the best way of keeping the classroom safe, Elliott said. There's evidence that being in [close] physical proximity to a group of people in an enclosed, inside location [increases] the rates of infection substantially from about one hour to two hours.

Students will also notice once they arrive on campus that learning and other spaces have been reconfigured to maximize physical distancing and improve health outcomes, he said.

The entire physical campus will all feel different, Elliott said. Small classrooms will be used as group study spaces. The library will be open, but it will be configured differently. And there will be places where youll not be able to congregate with as many people as you once did.

A lot of campus activity will be encouraged to be outside  where its healthier to be, he said. There will be tents used for various purposes, including places to study and eat.

Across its campuses, Gelaye said Emory will be attuned to guidance from the CDC, local health experts and our own really expansive set of public health educators, doctors and experts on how to best prevent and respond to COVID-19 illnesses.

Students on campus this fall will be subject to mandatory COVID-19 testing at no cost for those living in Emory and Oxford residence halls or those taking in-person classes. Face coverings will also be required for everyone both inside and outside.

Some students wanted to know if masks and hand sanitizers would be available for free to members of the campus community who may not able to afford them. We are committed to making sure those resources are available to all students equitably, and we're working on a plan where we hope we will deliver kits as students are moving into the residence halls, Gelaye said.

Living together as a campus community

Residence halls will be open, but with a maximum of two students per room. Gelaye noted that single rooms will be available, and students who have need for single rooms based on pre-existing medical conditions or other circumstances will be prioritized. Cleaning of common spaces and bathrooms will be done more frequently and intensively.

For students living in the residence halls, Emorys testing, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine strategy will include providing support services, Gelaye said, such as dedicated housing away from well students, health care services, food delivery, laundry service and access to academic coordinators.

As for campus events that contribute immensely to the college experience, such as student-led clubs, organizations and other activities, social gatherings and in-person programs will be allowed, but they must follow physical distancing guidelines that the university is still developing, Gelaye said. These are not decisions we would make unilaterally. As weve said before, this is a consultative process.

We know that the safest mode of delivery right now is for routine gatherings and meetings to be virtual, she emphasized. So were going to work with our clubs and organizations and student leaders to figure out how to make [their activities] relevant and still meaningful for the students who will be here in the fall.

How these new health protocols and norms on campus will be enforced was another concern of students.

We're currently calling it the Emory Community Compact, Elliott said. It will be both a statement of principles and a set of expectations, for which there will be repercussions if they are violated If you show a repeated [disinterest] or inability to respect the community health standards, you might be asked eventually to no longer be on campus.

The people who will be really leading this will be you and your peers, Elliott continued. We will be empowering you as students to set and execute the standards for the community. And thats because in some ways we know that you have the most at stake in being on campus We think that with our resources, and frankly with our tradition of student leadership, that Emory can be an example about how to do this.

More questions answered

In addition to the questions asked by the student moderators during the town hall, more than 120 additional questions were answered live in chat during the 90-minute meeting. For more answers to some of these common student questions, including details about campus dining and meal plans, mental health services, and other topics, please watch the full video of this first back-to-campus Emory College student virtual town hall.

A lot of what Emory is deeply engaged in now is the work to really understand COVID-19 and how to interrupt its impact on the world, Gelaye said.

As the university moves forward with its plans to make campus the safest environment possible for students this fall, administrators are committed to keeping everyone in the Emory community updated, she added. We will have an email outreach effort as we learn more, but stay connected to the Emory webpage for the latest information as we learn it and plan it, she said.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden walk through the Crypt of the Capitol for Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony, in Washington on Jan. 20, 2017. (J. Scott Applewhite/Getty Images)

No Holds Barred: Barr, Durham Must Investigate Obama and Biden Too

Commentary

Roughly a week ago, Attorney General William Barr made two noteworthy comments in an interview with Foxs Maria Bartiromo.

The first was that we would likely learn some significant information from U.S. Attorney John Durhams investigation into the provenance and conduct of the Russia probe by the end of summer.

The implication was that some people were going to be in legal jeopardy. Barr didnt name them, but we can imagine Messrs. Brennan, Comey, Clapper, Strzok, McCabe, and others could be among them.

Its also noteworthy how these same individuals have suddenly been less in the public eye, not appearing ad nauseam on MSNBC and CNN and sparing us their tweets (mostly), perhaps on advice of counsel.

All to the good. May justice finally be served.

But Barrs second major point raised some eyebrows in conservative and libertarian circles. He averred that former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden werent under investigation.

One can imagine his reasons. The attorney general has long said he wants to take the politics out of justice, and he could fear, with some justification, that indicting (or doing something similar to) Obama and/or Biden would divide a country already riven as never since the Civil War.

Of course, that didnt stop the other side that investigated, and continues to investigate, President Donald Trump until the proverbial cows come home, but, as Gandhi famously told us, an eye for an eye has got to stop somewhere.

Nevertheless, something is wrong here, increasingly wrong as we were reminded just the other day by the release of yet another heretofore lost (or was it missing?) page of notesriddled with redactions, needless to sayfrom the Department of Justice, this one the scribblings of disgraced FBI Lothario Peter Strzok himself.

Strzok was reporting on what he heard of the January 2017 Oval Office meeting with the then-president and vice president, James Comey (then-director of the FBI), and that woman of preternatural loyalty, Susan Rice.

The topic du jour was Trumps national security adviser-in-waiting, Michael Flynn, and his (supposedly suspicious) private phone calls with Russian Ambassador Kislyak.

Obama, Rice informs us ad infinitum in an email she suddenly saw fit to send to herself weeks later, insisted that the investigation of Flynn be conducted by the book.

Strangely, however, Strzok quotes the presidentyes, its secondhandas saying he wanted the right people to conduct the investigation.

En anglais, thats significantly different from by the book. In the same notes, Strzok writes there was no derogatory evidence that Flynn committed a crime and that Comey indicated the phone calls to Kislyak appear legit.

Nevertheless, as we know, the investigation went on. And on. Obama must have gotten the right people.

As for his sidekick Mr. Biden, he apparently urged Flynn be investigated for breaking the Logan Act, that obscure hundreds-year-old law thats never utilized and many think is unconstitutionalnot that that would have particularly bothered the vice president, who is known to have plagiarized in law school.

The impetus of much of this back and forth reported by Strzok, which I tend to believe all the more since it was hidden from the public for so long, was Obamas deep hatred of Flynn. He was the enemy of the former presidents sainted Iran deal, among other putative sins, making him the equivalent in Obamas eyes, as he told Trump, of Kim Jung Un.

Talk about motivation for a crime.

Okay, none of this is necessarily probative, but its far more than what we are told launched the entire Russia probe in the first place, a vague and innocuous conversation between retired Australian politician Alexander Downer and Trump campaign outlier George Papadopoulos.

Which brings us back to the attorney general and his responsibility. Barr must know that without a full investigation that includes Obama and Biden, this incredible story of possible treason will never be put to rest.

If Obama is to skate, if this all wasnt at heart and at base Obamagate, as many call it, then Obama must be fully exonerated by Barr and Durham. They must explain to us how this could have happened without him.

Otherwise, they wont only have launched a thousand books, now into infinity, they will have launched an equal number of conspiracy theories, at least one of which will be more than a theory.

And they will have split the country in a deeper, more enduring way by obviating the rule of law in the process. It will never be the same.

I sympathize with Barr, who seems to me in many ways a remarkable man. He now has his greatest challenge. I fervently hope he doesnt let us down.

Roger L. Simon is an award-winning author, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, and the co-founder of PJ Media. His most recent books are I Know Best: How Moral Narcissism Is Destroying Our Republic, If It Hasnt Already (non-fiction) and The GOAT (fiction).

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
SANAA, Yemen - Fierce fighting continued in southern Yemen between Emirati-backed separatists and the countrys internationally recognized government Thursday, security officials said, a blow to the Saudi-led coalitions declared ceasefire between the factions.

Battles in the flashpoint Abyan province between Saudi-backed government forces and Emirati-funded southern secessionists killed at least 54 fighters on both sides over the last 24 hours, said Yemeni security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to brief the media.

The Saudi-led coalition, which is mired in a years-long conflict with Iranian-supported rebel Houthis, said earlier this week that the separatist and government forces had reached a truce. The agreement aims to close the rift between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, powerful regional allies in the U.S.-backed Arab coalition against the Houthis.

Clashes in various provinces between the nominal allies in recent months had reopened a new front inside the larger civil war, complicating international efforts to broker a broader peace agreement.

The coalition deployed troops this week to observe the ceasefire in Zinjibar, the Abyan provincial capital. The monitors, who are shuttling between the two sides trying to establish a mechanism to restore the calm, expect to be deployed east of Zinjibar in the next few days, said security officials, even as each faction accuses the other of violating the truce.

The secessionist council, which is an umbrella group of heavily armed and well-financed militias propped up by the United Arab Emirates since 2015, hopes to restore an independent southern Yemen, which existed from 1967 until unification in 1990.

Saudi Arabia supports the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who was driven into exile in 2015 when Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of the countrys north. The ensuing war has killed over 112,000 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, and set off what the U.N. has labeled the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

Also on Thursday, fighting erupted between government forces and Houthi troops amid a shaky U.N.-brokered truce around Yemens crucial port city of Hodeida, which is the countrys main gateway for international aid. Three civilians, including two children, were killed when mortar shells fired by the Houthis crashed into a southern residential neighbourhood, according to witnesses and security officials. Three combatants also were killed in the exchange of artillery, they added.

The flare in violence comes as Yemen struggles to cope with a major coronavirus outbreak. Although testing remains limited, the number of people dying from COVID-19 symptoms has dramatically surged across the country.

Saudi Arabia announced a unilateral cease-fire earlier this year, citing the pandemic, but it quickly collapsed. The division in southern Yemen between the government and separatists has further hobbled health authorities response to the virus in the Arab worlds poorest country.
China loses appetite for salmon, seafood on coronavirus contamination worries

June 25,2020 | Source: Reuters

China's appetite for salmon and other seafood has crashed this month, after a resurgence in coronavirus infections in Beijing was traced to chopping boards for imported salmon in a wholesale food market in the capital.



Exporters all the way to Europe are feeling the pinch as the virus scare prompts supermarkets and e-commerce players such as Taobao, JD.com and Meituan in China, the world's top consumer of frozen and fresh seafood, to slash salmon sales.



"I have cleaned out frozen fish from the refrigerator at home and won't buy more," said Ma Xuan, a government employee.



"I will wait till the origin of this new wave of virus is clear," the 40-year-old said. "Maybe I overreacted, but who knows? I don't want to risk the health of my family."



Alibaba's (BABA.N) Taobao and JD.com 9618.HK (JD.O) have cut imported salmon sales in Beijing, Reuters checks show, while food delivery giant Meituan Dianping (3690.HK) said it has pulled all salmon products from its platform nationally.



Meituan Grocery said it had stepped up examination of raw and fresh products, adding searches for Japanese cuisine and seafood on the Meituan app had plummeted across China since June 12, a day after the recent Beijing market outbreak started.



Ele.me, Alibaba's food delivery arm, has also halted sales of all imported seafood in Beijing.



JD.com and Alibaba did not respond to a request for comment.



Panic about the coronavirus has extended to other farm products like beef and mutton, forcing some grocers to pull them from shelves.



China's soybean buyers have asked exporters to guarantee their cargoes are not contaminated, while overseas meat and fruit suppliers said China's customs had asked them to sign declarations ensuring the safety of their shipments.



Sushi and hotpot restaurants in Beijing that saw business pick up after virus-related curbs were eased in April are once again struggling amid the renewed worries.



Barron Qin, owner of a fish hotpot restaurant called Yufu Yuzai, said customers had been lining up everyday but now the restaurant was half empty despite not serving salmon.



"My hope is like a soap bubble, burst by the new round of the outbreak," he said.



More than 250 people have been infected in Beijing in the past two weeks, the city's worst outbreak since the virus first emerged in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019.



"Seafood consumption in June will collapse due to public panic that seafood may be the culprit for the second wave of virus," said Dan Wang, an Economist Intelligence Unit analyst.



She expects China's seafood imports to drop 3 per cent this year.



China imported 4.44 million tonnes of seafood last year, worth 106 billion yuan ($15 billion), from suppliers including Russia, Peru and Vietnam, customs data shows.



Norway's Bravo Seafood said its exports to China initially looked promising, but the Beijing cases had changed everything despite Chinese and Norwegian authorities concluding salmon from Norway was not the source of the coronavirus.



"We have not even sent one piece of salmon to China since June 13," Bravo's Asia sales director Chen Qiao said.



"No one dares to buy salmon now no matter the origin. We expect minimal sales to China in the next one to two months."

Theme(s): Others.
She may not have been crowned the winner of Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders last year.

But Laura Choong, 31, has plenty to celebrate after welcoming a baby girl one week ago with her partner, Kev Bracks.

Laura shared a sweet photo of her daughter, Evie, to Instagram this week to celebrate seven days since the child's birth.

Growing family: Australian Survivor's Laura Choong has revealed that she and partner Kev Bracks (together, right) welcomed a baby daughter named Evie (left) one week ago

'A big day for our @evie.bo.bracks today - one week old and meeting the Aussie grandparents, Aunt and Uncle,' Laura captioned the photo.

'Quickly gathering a tribe of people wrapped around her little pinkie.'

Earlier this year, the couple held a baby shower amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and Laura shared a photo of the celebration to Instagram.

Time to celebrate! Earlier this year, the couple held a baby shower amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and Laura shared this photo of the celebration to Instagram

'We'll take any excuse for a party of 20 right now but celebrating the final days before Baby Bracks' arrival seems like a good one to us,' she captioned the post.

'And we snuck it in just in time!'

Laura was the first to be eliminated from Australian Survivor in 2019, and she told 10 Daily at the time that her short stature had worked against her.

The council has spoken: Laura was the first to be eliminated from Australian Survivor in 2019, and she told 10 Daily at the time that her short stature had worked against her

'I was devastated that so much of it was weight and strength based in the beginning, which really worked against me,' she said.

Despite only having a brief stint in the jungle, Laura revealed on Instagram that she'd had a blast filming the series.

'What an absolute wild ride,' she wrote following her elimination.

'I'm rapt to have been a part of such an epic experience and now be a lifetime member of the #survivorAU club. It's pretty damn exclusive!'
BOISE  Concordia University School of Law, which planned to reopen this fall as an affiliate of Concordia University St. Paul, will instead shut down.

The Statesman reports that interim Dean Latonia Haney Keith informed students, faculty members and staff on Thursday afternoon that the law school's original sponsor, Concordia University in Portland, and Concordia St. Paul could not reach a final agreement for the transfer.

"It's incredibly disheartening for us today," Haney Keith told the newspaper."This was unforeseen and inexplicable in many respects. We were expecting to fully transition to St. Paul, but it unraveled in such a surprising way."

In February, Concordia University in Portland announced it was closing due to financial troubles. The law school found a willing partner in Concordia University St. Paul and spent months working out a transfer agreement and obtaining approval from the American Bar Association.

The deal unraveled over the past few days. Haney Keith would not elaborate, saying due to pending litigation she couldn't say anything.

Hotchalk, a private California company that helped run Concordia Portland's online education program, has sued the Portland school. It says Concordia owes $300 million.

Concordia St. Paul offered to buy the Boise campus for market value. But because of the lawsuit and liens placed on the property, Concordia Portland could not sell it.

Concordia University St. Paul is deeply disappointed that our institution is unable to acquire the Concordia University Portland Law School in Boise, the university said in a statement. The parties worked diligently with a unified objective to transfer and maintain the Concordia law program.
New factual series Emergency, filmed at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, premieres on Nine in early July.

Produced by WTFN (Paramedics, The Living Room, Bondi Vet), the 10 part series was filmed before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

Nines Head of Content, Production and Development, Adrian Swift, said: Emergency goes beyond the simple cases that arrive, sirens blaring, into ED at Royal Melbourne Hospital. It tells the stories of the doctors and the nurses, the lives they lead, their relationships and the amazing work they do saving lives. Its confronting, heartwarming, tear jerking and amazing, all at once. Its a world rarely truly seen and Nine is proud to bring it to Australian screens.

WTFNs Director of Content, Steve Oemcke, said: We are thrilled to partner with Victorias most famous hospital on this compelling new series. Australia has fallen in love with the heroes of Paramedics, and were excited to now tell the story of the doctors and nurses at The Royal Melbourne.

Emergency will reveal the tribulations and triumphs of the Royals dedicated doctors and nurses as they deal with victims of vicious assaults, horror car crashes and other tragedies, caring for the constant stream of patients coming through the door every day.

This 10-part series offers incredible and unprecedented access behind the scenes, with roving and fixed cameras in trauma bays, examination rooms and triage. From the moment a patient is rushed into the hospital, each step of their dramatic journey is captured. As events unfold, personal interviews with doctors and nurses tell the gripping story of each compelling case.

These are the frontline heroes trying to save patients at their most vulnerable, suffering from critical injuries and life-threatening illness. They reveal the challenging procedures, vital decision making and emotional toll it all takes.

Patients and families open up about the harrowing and often heartbreaking circumstances that have brought them to the emergency department, where the care and compassion of highly skilled medicos can mean the difference between life and death.

From life-threatening conditions like strokes and heart attacks to victims of accidents, violence and major public emergencies, the series will reveal the bravery and extraordinary composure of The Royal Melbourne Hospitals medical teams as they battle around the clock to save lives.

8.30pm Wednesday July 8 on Nine.
During college they saw each other on weekends, usually at family gatherings.

I feel like there was an event every week, she said, and during the week and Saturdays, he worked at his familys truck repair business.

He works hard and plays hard, she said. He likes to be around family all the time.

Mr. Gonzalo said she was nervous about going to law school. But he recalled telling her, Its not going to be easy, but you got to do it. She pushed me through college. I gave her support through law school. She passed the bar in one shot.

He proposed in May 2018 at her law school graduation party, in front of 80 guests, after she was sworn into the New Jersey bar.

My boss swore me in at the party, she said. My parents were holding the Bible, and then she recalled Mr. Gonzalo grabbed her hand, and said, Im very proud of you. Youre going to be an awesome attorney, but I know youre going to be an even better wife, and then he got down on one knee.

By the end of the year they moved into their house in Little Falls, N.J., with their two Maltipoo dogs, Mason and Ava.

Hes definitely not skinnier than me anymore, she said, and now he drives his own little red Corvette. (His father still has the Hummer). He works hard for the future, spending as much time with me as he can so that we have everything we envisioned growing up. Were living the American dream.

They originally planned to marry on May 24 at the Ss. Joseph and Michael Church in Union City, with 150 guests, and now plan to renew their vows there next April. They decided to get legally married June 27 in their backyard in Little Falls. The grooms sister Jessica Kovach, affiliated with the American Marriage Ministries, officiated at a small ceremony with their immediate family.
Deepika says it's the right to come together with Hrithik Roshan for Fighter: I mean, have you seen us?
Microsoft has announced that it's closing 83 of its Microsoft stores across the world, marking an exit from the retail space from the Windows (and Xbox) developer.

According to a press release, this permanent closure follows a temporary one that began with the spread of COVID-19. With reopenings coming to a screeching halt across the country, it doesn't appear that Microsoft's sleek, first-party-focused storefronts will be able to make a return. The company will keep four locations open in London, New York, Sydney, and its Redmond Campus.

For those interested in Microsoft's quarterly financials, "the closing of Microsoft Store physical locations will result in a pre-tax charge of approximately $450M, or $0.05 per share, to be recorded in the current quarter ending June 30, 2020," according to the release.

Microsoft's release somewhat addresses what will happen to the employees of its stores. It describes a series of "retail teams" that have moved to virtual work and run workshops and sold technology online to firms dealing with the pandemic, and that those teams "will serve consumers, small-business, education, and enterprise customers while building a pipeline of talent with transferable skills."

However in the release, Microsoft doesn't fully commit to retaining 100% of former retail employees, or fully delineate the difference between teams built from retail employees with the corporate Microsoft Store team.

The company states that Microsoft.com, as well as digitial storefronts based on its Xbox and Windows platforms, would take over the workshops, support, and workshops that were key aspects of the physical stores in malls and shopping centers across the world.

We've reached out to Microsoft for clarification on its plans to retain Microsoft Store employees, and will update this story when they get back to us.

Update: A Microsoft spokesperson told Gamasutra that "All employees will have the opportunity to stay with Microsoft."

Photo by Wpcpey.
BRUSSELS - European diplomats are poised to approve an agreement on which foreign travelers they want to welcome starting July 1 as the European Union reopens its external borders for the first time since March. But with the coronavirus still raging in the United States, the possibility of allowing American tourists hasn't even figured into the discussion, according to six diplomats familiar with the talks.

Europe's draft in-and-out list reflects its assessment of how well other countries have managed to control their outbreaks. EU countries were among the world's hardest-hit by the pandemic this spring, but most now have the virus under control and have been willing to consider opening their borders to other countries where the novel coronavirus is similarly in check.

China is among the 15 countries set to make the cut, despite EU skepticism about how transparent it has been about its outbreak. Visitors from China would be allowed to enter Europe only if Beijing drops measures against EU travelers.

Also expected to be approved: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay. The list is subject to final approval Saturday, but diplomats said it was unlikely to change. The rest of the world would continue to be kept out for nonessential travel.

The decision underscores the perception here that the United States has failed in its coronavirus response. European leaders and health experts have watched with unease as many American states insist on reopening, even as infections spike in many parts of the country.

EU members have seen clusters of infections since they began relaxing their own restrictions. Germany, Spain and Portugal are among those that have reimposed localized lockdowns. But for the bloc as a whole, diagnoses have slowed to 16 cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks, the main measure Europe is using to determine whether countries make the cut.

The United States, by contrast, stands at 122 cases per 100,000 people, and numbers are getting worse. Florida has set records for the past 19 days in a row.

Wary of being pulled into a diplomatic brawl with each country they continue to exclude, European leaders have strained to keep their internal discussions focused narrowly on issues of science and epidemiology.

"The European Union has an internal process to determine from which countries it would be safe to accept travelers," Eric Mamer, a spokesman for the European Commission, told reporters Thursday as the discussions were underway. "Our internal process is related, obviously, to considerations based on health criteria."

But there are clear political pressures.

Continuing the ban on travel from Russia will exacerbate diplomatic tensions with an already volatile neighbor. Extending restrictions on travel from the United States will strain Europe's most important geopolitical relationship, even if it was President Trump who moved first to block European travelers in March.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday acknowledged the desire in Washington to open up the world for travel again.

"We're all taking seriously the need to figure out how to get this open. We need to get our global economy back going again," he said in an online discussion hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. "We'll work closely with our European friends, broadly, because I know there's different views, again, inside the European Union." He cited "a dozen or more" countries that were interested in opening up to Americans, without naming any of them.

The EU list is a recommendation, not a requirement, because each EU nation retains sovereign control over its borders. But EU members have strong incentives to go along with the decision, since, if they do not, the gradual process of restoring border-free travel within Europe could be placed on hold or reversed, diplomats said. The EU plans to review its list of acceptable countries every two weeks.

European diplomats, gathering in person in a Brussels conference room, negotiated for hours in multiple meetings in recent days. The blandly technocratic discussions masked the human drama caused by the travel disruptions. Couples have been stuck on opposite sides of the Atlantic for months. Business negotiations are on hold. Long-dreamed-of vacations have been delayed. Europe's airports, once bustling connectors for the world, have been eerily quiet. In Brussels, the airport usually has 300 flights a day. It expected 435 for all of next week, according to a spokeswoman.

People fell into two camps during the discussions, according to diplomats who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about the closed-door negotiations. Those from poorer, tourist-dependent southern European nations - led by Greece and Portugal - favored approving more countries, hoping to salvage at least a scrap of their fast-dwindling summer season. Other EU nations, especially in the richer north, wanted to proceed more cautiously.

The talks were further complicated by the fact that European caseloads vary widely. Sweden, the worst-off in Europe, reported 155 cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks. Portugal, the second-worst, stood at 44. Britain, which is no longer a member of the EU but until the end of the year is subject to many EU decisions, was third at 24.

The diplomats debated which outside countries' public health numbers they could trust. There was extensive back-and-forth about China, which has been reporting lower infection rates than the EU and which has imposed travel restrictions on some EU countries but not others.

The EU plans to consult with its delegations on the ground to decide how much stock to put in each country's official figures.

Negotiators also had to make judgment calls about countries that are trending worse, even though their overall infection levels remain relatively decent.

Much of the talks focused on where, precisely, to draw the line for the list. Turkey, Canada and Egypt all had backers and detractors, the diplomats said, since they have slightly worse infection rates than the E.U. Ukraine was on the list, then dropped off. Tiny Georgia, a country of 3.7 million people, steadfastly remained.

- - -

The Washington Post's Elinda Labropoulou in Athens contributed to this report.
Managers who think gender bias no longer exists in the workplace are more likely to value male employees over women and give them higher wages, a study found.

Experts from Exeter University conducted an experiment where managers in a profession with a high proportion of women employees were asked to evaluate fake workers.

Despite the only difference between reviews being the gender of the employee, the researchers found that managers still rated the male workers more highly.

Managers who think gender bias no longer exists in the workplace are more likely to value male employees over women and give them higher wages, a study found (stock image)

'Managers who thought gender bias is no longer an issue recommended annual pay that was 2,564 higher for men than for women, said paper author and social psychologist Christopher Begeny of the University of Exeter.

'This represents an eight per cent gap  which closely matches the real pay gap we see in our study field of veterinary medicine.'

Dr Begeny and colleagues chose to focus on this field as it is one which had traditionally been very male-dominated, but now has a strong representation of women among its ranks.

'When you break this down, it's like going to that male employee after an hour's work and saying: "you know what, here's an extra 1.60 - not because you're particularly qualified or good at your job, but simply because you're a man".'

'And then the next hour, you go back and give that male employee another 1.60, and the next hour another 1.60.'

The researchers conducted two separate studies to determine what the key drivers were behind gender bias in veterinary clinics.

For one study, the team used a so-called randomised double-blind experiment, in which managers were presented with a fake veterinary surgeon's performance review  where each review was identical, except for the vet's name.

Some of the reviews were presented as being for an employee named 'Mark', while the rest were for one called 'Elizabeth'.

The managers were then asked to evaluate each vets performance and indicate what salary they would advise if the employee was in their own practice.

The team found that most managers rated the male worker, 'Mark', as being more competent than 'Elizabeth' and recommended that he receive a higher salary  despite their both having the exact same credentials.

The team found the key drivers for this phenomenon were those managers who believed that gender bias did not exist, while those who did in contrast recommended 'roughly' equal pay between 'Mark' and 'Elizabeth'.

'The resulting evaluations were systematically biased among those who thought gender bias was no longer an issue,' said paper author and psychologist Michelle Ryan, also of the University of Exeter.

'Unsurprisingly, these biased evaluations led to lower pay recommendations for female vets.'

'We have worked closely with the British Veterinary Association, and when presenting these findings to managers in the veterinary profession they are often shocked and concerned,' Professor Ryan added.

Dr Begeny and colleagues chose to focus on veterinary medicine as it is a field which had traditionally been very male-dominated, but now has a strong representation of women

In the second study, the team surveyed vets about their work experience  finding that women were more likely than men to experience discrimination and were simultaneously less likely to be rated fairly by their colleagues.

The researchers also found that vets were undecided when asked whether gender bias still existed within their profession.

Women who were viewed as being 'less competent' were also not likely to be given managerial responsibilities and were not encouraged to pursue promotions or other opportunities.

The team found that the biased views were held by managers regardless of their own gender, years of experience and how long they had been in their profession.

'Managers who thought gender bias is no longer an issue recommended annual pay that was 2,564 higher for men than for women, said paper author and social psychologist Christopher Begeny of the University of Exeter

There are more than 20,000 vets in the UK, 60 per cent of whom are women, which may be why some people incorrectly assume that gender biases have disappeared.

'With many professions working to increase the number of women in their ranks, companies need to be careful not to equate gender diversity with gender equality  even with equal numbers you can have unequal treatment,' Dr Begeny said.

'There is no "silver bullet' to ensure gender equality has been achieved.'

In the UK, the gender pay gap has fallen from 17.8 per cent in 2018 to 17.3 per cent in 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics.

'It is also important to have "guardrails" that help prevent discrimination, including by removing names from job applications  which can signal the applicant's gender  and ensuring standard questions in interviews,' Dr Begeny added.

'This research highlights a rather insidious paradox that can arise when individuals misperceive the level of progress made on gender equality in their profession.'

Thus, he added, 'those who mistakenly think gender bias is no longer an issue become the highest risk for perpetuating it.'

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Science Advances.
The Alberta government has extended until October an investigation into whether foreign groups are funding anti-oil protests in Canada, the Canadian Press reports, citing Energy Minister Sonya Savage.

According to Savage, the initial findings of the investigation had suggested the investigators needed more time to complete the work.

The original deadline for the completion of this investigation was July 2.

Last year, the Conservative government announced the launch of an energy war roomthe Canadian Energy Centreto improve the public image of the province's top revenue generator.

"For too long, the reputation of Alberta's energy sector has been damaged by a deceitful campaign to landlock the oil sands. The Canadian Energy Centre will focus on improving perceptions about the oil and gas industry," Alberta's Energy Minister said last October, adding that it would apply a "fact-based approach to counteracting the misinformation about our industry."

Earlier in 2019, Savage slammed several media outlets for misrepresentations of the Alberta oil sands industry, including Politico and, more notably, National Geographic, which ended up editing a storytwicethat had several facts about Alberta's oil industry wrong.

Meanwhile, the government went after foreign organizations that allegedly finance anti-oil coverage. In the summer of 2019, it announced it had allocated almost $1.9 million to a fund to investigate these foreign organizations, which it claims are leading a concerted effort to tarnish the image of the oil sands industry.

Now, in addition to extending the probe, the government will also increase the funds dedicated to investigating the alleged involvement of foreign players in Canadian energy protests, by US$730,000 (C$1 million), to come from the Canadian Energy Centre.

The investigation, which was an election promise of Premier Jason Kenney, has drawn criticism and even a legal complaint by environmental law firm Ecojustice, which asked the court to strike down the probe, claiming it was outside the jurisdiction of Alberta and that it was politically motivated and rested on prejudged conclusions.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:


Regan Russells family is seeking answers after the animal rights activist was killed while protesting outside a Burlington slaughterhouse.

Russell, 65, died after being struck by a transport truck outside Fearmans Pork at Appleby Line and Harvester Road last Friday morning.

Witnesses said she had been giving water to pigs inside the trailer of a truck entering the meat processing facility shortly before she was hit.

A news release issued Thursday by Russells family said they have hired Hamilton lawyer Anandi Naipaul, who specializes in personal injury cases, to investigate the matter.

Mark Powell, Russells partner of 19 years, told the Spectator he assumes her death was a tragic accident, but they want to gather all of the facts surrounding it.

The release calls her death senseless and preventable.

Halton police continues an investigation of the incident, said media relations officer Steve Elms in an email to The Spectator: A determination on charges will made by the collision reconstruction unit once the investigation is complete.

A vigil was held last Friday night outside the Fearmans facility to honour Russell, but additional tributes have spread far and wide.

A video included in the news release, posted by Animal Save Movement, shows supporters mourning her death in countries such as Argentina and Italy, holding signs with messages such as Thank you Regan Russell.

Powell said the support is overwhelming and surreal.

The memorial is being done daily, around the globe, and its not only unbelievable, but so comforting, he said.

A GoFundMe campaign has been created to continue Regans work and assist the family, said the release.

Sofina Foods, owner of the meat plant, said in a statement on its website that the company is saddened by Russells death, and is fully co-operating with the investigation ... Our thoughts and prayers go out to the individual and her family ... We also recognize the impact that this event had on our employees and have been providing support to them in these very difficult times.

Powell said Russell had been protesting Bill 156, passed at Queens Park on June 17.

According to language in the legislation, the bill is intended to prohibit trespassing on farms and other properties on which farm animals are located and to prohibit other interferences with farm animals to protect the safety of farmers and workers at animal processing facilities, as well as the safety of drivers of motor vehicles transporting farm animals.

This is a fight for the sanctity of our rights as free citizens to demonstrate for what we believe in, reads the familys news release. For years activists have been attempting to engage these plants, and the (agriculture) industrys utter lack of compassion has led to various incidents ... While she championed many causes, Regans last moments were spent standing for what she most deeply believed in, alongside beloved friends supporting animal rights.

Powell said hes certain his partner never felt her activism put her own life in danger.

Regan was a seasoned pro, and she kept others out of harms way. She knew what she was doing ... But we shouldnt have to worry about our safety just because we want to peacefully protest.
DOJ is overseeing 500 investigations into riots, Antifa: AG Barr

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The U.S. Department of Justice is overseeing around 500 investigations into violent riots that have occurred nationwide in the last few weeks, Attorney General William Barr has said.

Barr was a guest on an episode of the Verdict with Ted Cruz podcast, hosted by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and The Daily Wire's Michael Knowles, and posted on YouTube Thursday.

When Knowles asked, How do we restore order? Barr explained that efforts were being launched at both the state and federal level, with the latter stepping up its efforts.

The federal government is best positioned to address this kind of violence and lawlessness after it occurs because we dont have FBI agents walking the beat, said Barr.

When the real violence started around May 25, 26, so forth, we started using our joint terrorist task forces around the country, and there are 35 of them around the country. It involves all state and local in those jurisdictions and all the federal agencies. And its the system we designed to follow terrorists.

Barr said that federal authorities were now cranking out investigations and indictments against the people who are involved in this violence.

Weve had scores of indictments already for such things as arson, destruction of federal property, things like that. And we have right now about 500 investigations underway, he continued.

So its picking up pace and we are committed to holding accountable the people who are engaged in this. But we still have to try to stop it before it happens. And thats where the burden is right now on state and local. And in many places, theyre not stepping up to the plate.

Cruz asked Barr about how much coordination there was in the protester violence, in which Barr noted that groups like Antifa were suspected of being involved.

We are seeing strong evidence of coordination in many of these violent episodes. Fundamentally, what you have here is you have demonstrators, some of them go there with the intent of demonstrating. But you have a group of provocateurs and agitators, sometimes a significant group, that try to convert those into violent activity, Barr said.

A number of them are associated with the movement called Antifa, but they go by various names, but frequently anarchistic. They want to tear down the country. They are different than many traditional groups.

Barr assured Cruz and Knowles that we will go after people involved in destroying statues and other federal property, saying that such actions came from people who dont care about history at all.

Because in some places, the local police are not doing an adequate job, were going to have to step up the federal effort, he added.

We have to do a better job to stop these groups before they are able to do damage to these monuments and statues.

Following the highly publicized police-involved killing of George Floyd, the U.S. has experienced large-scale protests and violent riots in several cities. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has estimated that the damage done to over 1,000 local businesses and new residential housing for low-income families to be at over $500 million.

Some demonstrations have led to riots and acts of vandalism against businesses, churches, and statues representing historical figures.

During his campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, President Donald Trump said that voting for Democratic opponent Joe Biden would be a vote for that type of violent activism.

Do you want to bow before the left-wing mob, or do you want to stand up tall and proud as Americans? Trump asked his supporters.

The unhinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize our history, desecrate our monuments, our beautiful monuments, tear down our statues and punish, cancel and persecute anyone who does not conform to their demands for absolute and total control.
Technavio has been monitoring the clove cigarettes market in APAC and it is poised to grow by USD 7.89 billion during 2019-2023, 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/20200626005309/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Clove Cigarettes Market in APAC 2019-2023 (Graphic: Business Wire).

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report of 2020-2024 on COVID-19 Impact

The market is fairly concentrated, and the degree of concentration will accelerate during the forecast period. British American Tobacco, Djarum, Gudang Garam, Japan Tobacco, KT G, and PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

New product launches have been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Clove Cigarettes Market in APAC 2019-2023: Segmentation

Clove Cigarettes Market in APAC is segmented as below:

Product Machine-made Clove Cigarettes Hand-rolled Clove Cigarettes

Geographic Landscape Indonesia Malaysia Singapore India Rest Of APAC



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download latest free sample report of 2020-2024: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30410

Clove Cigarettes Market in APAC 2019-2023: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our clove cigarettes market in APAC report covers the following areas:

Clove Cigarettes Market in APAC Size

Clove Cigarettes Market in APAC Trends

Clove Cigarettes Market in APAC Industry Analysis

This study identifies the rising consumption of clove cigarettes among the young demographics as one of the prime reasons driving the clove cigarettes market growth in APAC during the next few years.

Clove Cigarettes Market in APAC 2019-2023: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the clove cigarettes market in APAC, including some of the vendors such as British American Tobacco, Djarum, Gudang Garam, Japan Tobacco, KT G, and PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the clove cigarettes market in APAC are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Clove Cigarettes Market in APAC 2019-2023: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2019-2023

Detailed information on factors that will assist clove cigarettes market growth in APAC during the next five years

Estimation of the clove cigarettes market size in APAC and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the clove cigarettes market in APAC

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of clove cigarettes market vendors in APAC

Table Of Contents:

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

2.1 Preface

2.2 Preface

2.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Market segmentation analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing 2018

Market size and forecast 2018-2023

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY PRODUCT

Market segmentation by product

Comparison by product

Machine-made clove cigarettes Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Hand-rolled clove cigarettes Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Market opportunity by product

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Indonesia Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Malaysia Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Singapore Market size and forecast 2018-2023

India Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Rest of APAC Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 09: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 10: MARKET TRENDS

Rising consumption of clove cigarettes among the young demographics

Shifting consumer preferences toward flavored cigarettes

Growing influence of online retailing

PART 11: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario

PART 12: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

British American Tobacco

Djarum

Gudang Garam

Japan Tobacco

KT G

PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT

PART 13: APPENDIX

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

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SYDNEY, Australia - An Australian state lawmaker was suspended from his party Friday and his home was searched in an investigation of alleged influence by China.

Police and intelligence officers searched the Sydney home of New South Wales state lawmaker Shaoquett Moselmane and also had a warrant for his parliamentary offices, said state Labor leader Jodi McKay.

Australian Federal Police confirmed theyd searched a home in Sydney as part of an investigation and there was no threat to the community.

Moselmane has not been charged with any crime and it is not clear what sparked the investigation. He did not speak about the investigation to reporters Friday.

In April, he stood down as assistant president of the New South Wales upper house after praising Chinese President Xi Jinpings response to the coronavirus pandemic. He said Xi had demonstrated unswerving leadership and decisiveness.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Moselmane had taken nine privately funded trips to China since entering the state Parliament in 2009, with disclosure records showing his transport and hospitality costs were often met by Chinese government officials or agencies.

McKay, the state Labor leader, said the search came as a surprise to her. Its dreadfully concerning. Its terrible, McKay said.

She said there is an expectation that whatever members of Parliament do is in the best interests of the people.

Id hope every single MP in the Parliament  not just on the Labor side but the Liberal and National Party side and cross bench  has that at the heart of their actions, she said.

McKay said Moselmanes party membership was being suspended and he would no longer sit in the Labor parliamentary caucus.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the conservative Liberal party said he was aware of an investigation that had been going on for some time.

Its elevated to a new level today, he said. The need to take action is necessary and the government is absolutely determined to ensure that nobody interferes with Australias activities. We wont cop anyone coming and seeking to interfere in our political system.

Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter said espionage and foreign interference threaten Australian national security.

It is worth saying that the government is sharply focused on activity in this area as evidenced by the complete rewrite of the laws applying to espionage and foreign interference and also foreign influence, he said in a statement.

China and Australia have been increasingly at odds in recent weeks. Morrison last week said a state actor he refused to name was increasing cyberattacks against Australia. Many assume he was referring to China.

That came after China banned beef exports from Australias largest abattoirs, ended trade in Australian barley with a tariff wall, and warned its citizens against visiting Australia.

Those measures are widely interpreted as retaliation for Australias advocacy of an independent probe into the origins and spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
EVANSTON, IL  As Illinois enters the next phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's "Restore Illinois" coronavirus reopening plan, there are fewer than 30 Evanston residents with active cases of the coronavirus, according to public health officials. As of Friday afternoon, the deaths of 68 residents have been linked to COVID-19, the infectious respiratory disease caused by the virus.

Another 682 Evanstonians have recovered, according to the city's health and human services department, which classifies anyone who has tested positive for the virus and is not hospitalized or in isolation as recovery. And the rate of new cases of the coronavirus has slowed in June, according to the city's health department. Fewer than 10 new infections have been reported every day since May 29.

Hospital admission rates are also headed downward. According to city staff, there are fewer people hospitalized at Evanston Hospital, St. Francis Hospital and Glenbrook Hospital than at any point in the nearly three months the city has been tracking the data. Nearly half the beds in the intensive care units in local hospitals are now available.

Find more Evanston coronavirus data on the city's coronavirus case dashboard. (City of Evanston)

Mayor Steve Hagerty noted Evanston has a significantly higher coronavirus fatality rate than any of its neighbors, with nearly 9 percent of people who test positive having died  compared to less than 4 percent in both Wilmette and Skokie.

The mayor attributed the discrepancy to the relatively high number of nursing homes located in Evanston. The infection rate of 102 cases per 10,000 residents remains lower than that of either Chicago or any other north suburban Cook County municipality.

On Monday, Evanston is hosting a second COVID-19 community health screening and testing event at James Park. A week earlier, 75 people were tested at the first such event.

Evanston's Health and Human Services Department partnered with St. Francis Hospital management to offer a pair of COVID-19 testing to Evanston residents who might not otherwise have access to screening or telemedicine.(City of Evanston)

And then on Tuesday, Hagerty and city staff are set to hold a coronavirus question and answer session to be broadcast live at noon on public access television and social media.

Community members can submit questions in advance via an online form or view past videos.

This article originally appeared on the Evanston Patch
Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City are planning to more than triple the scale of its drainage system to 2,095 square kilometers from the existent 650 square kilometers in an effort to mitigate inundation in the southern economic hub.

The municipal Peoples Committee has recently sent a document to the local Party Committee regarding the expansion of the drainage system, which it said is necessary for the citys development.

The plan includes many projects that will be carried out until 2030, with a vision set for 2050.

The current system only covers 650 square kilometers, now becoming obsolete as it was part of a development plan established in 2001, according to the administration.

Local authorities are considering expanding the drainage system to 23 of the citys 24 districts, with the outlying Can Gio district being the only exception, spanning an area of 2,095 square kilometers upon completion.

The plan will also study the projects impact on neighboring provinces, including Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc, and Long An in order to make necessary adjustments and yield optimal results.

The new system will be suited to the citys urbanization process and facilitate the expansion of residential and commercial areas in District 2, District 9, District 12, Binh Tan District, and Tan Phu District.

It will take into consideration the impacts of climate change, sea level rise, and subsidence.

The new drainage system is hoped to gradually deal with flooding across the metropolis.

Taking nature into account

Urbanization has filled a lot of natural canals in the city, one of the primary reasons for frequent floods, according to Dr. Pham Viet Thuan, head of the Institute for Environment and Resources.

Statistics provided by Dr. Thuan showed that 35 million square meters of natural lakes and ponds were filled up between 1995 and 2015.

Climate change and subsidence have also exacerbated inundation in Ho Chi Minh City.

As it is now impossible to restore the lost areas, the most effective measure to mitigate flooding is dredging existing canals, the expert stated.

In some cases, new drainage canals can be dug but authorities must first take care of site clearance.

The construction of ecological lakes in residential areas in low-lying regions can be effective and feasible as well, Thuan elaborated.

These lakes should cover an area of one to three hectares and should not be built with concrete to boost permeability, he added.

It is necessary to understand the topography and terrain of the city to formulate a drainage plan suitable for the local water flow.

We need to take nature into consideration to achieve sustainable development, the expert stressed.

Larger-scale expansion

Without the expansion of the drainage system, flood issues may never be solved, said Dr. Vo Kim Cuong, former chief architect of Ho Chi Minh City.

Given the serious impact of climate change, the expansion should not just stop at 2,095 square kilometers. Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City and other localities in southern Vietnam should join hands in developing a drainage system for the entire region, Cuong remarked.

The public and private sectors should provide the funds, he added.

The expansion plan will be financed by World Bank loans, according to the citys Urban Infrastructure Construction Investment Projects Management Unit.

A consulting consortium including Denmarks SWECO Company and Japans NIHON SUIDO Company is drawing up a detailed scheme for the expansion and it is expected to be completed by September.

The plan will then be sent to relevant agencies and experts for feedback before being submitted to the prime minister for approval.

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Tesco shareholders inflicted one of the biggest-ever FTSE 100 pay revolts on the supermarket group yesterday.

More than 67 per cent of investors voted against the 6.4m package for departing boss Dave Lewis  a stinging parting shot to the executive dubbed 'the bloke who saved Tesco' after he turned around Britain's biggest supermarket.

Shareholders were outraged that online grocer Ocado had been removed from a list of rivals used to assess Lewis's performance.

Parting shot: Dave Lewis was dubbed 'the bloke who saved Tesco' after he turned around Britain's biggest supermarket

The move boosted the payout for his long-term bonus from 800,000 to 2.4m.

Yesterday Tesco's board were accused of being 'completely out of step' with the views of shareholders. The vote will sit alongside other historic shareholder revolts including the 70 per cent vote against Royal Mail boss Rico Back's pay in 2019 and the 90 per cent vote against shamed banker Fred 'The Shred' Goodwin in 2009.

Tesco also reported an 8 per cent increase in sales to 13.4billion in the three months to May, thanks to the lockdown, but said profits would remain flat due to rising costs. It launched a price war against the discounters amidst fears the recession could drive shoppers to cheaper rivals.

Ahead of yesterday's annual general meeting, Tesco's bosses had repeatedly defended the bonus in public with chairman John Allan saying it was 'right and fair'.

Luke Hildyard, of the High Pay Centre, said: 'Moving the goalposts so blatantly to help the chief executive plunder more money at a moment of national economic crisis shows the Tesco board must be completely out of step.'

But the vote is not binding and Lewis has so far refused to hand back his bonus.

The retail supremo brought the supermarket back to profit from a 6.4billion loss in 2014. Once nicknamed 'Drastic Dave' for brutal cuts at Unilever, he told investors Tesco's turnaround was 'complete' when he announced his departure last October.

As the UK heads into a recession, Tesco extended its 'Aldi price match' offer to 500 products in a bid to try and protect its market share. Aldi and Lidl have chipped away at the major players' market share over many years  and bosses are worried the trend will accelerate as families tighten their belts.
With unsold luxury handbags and clothing gathering dust in their workshops, Italys artisans fear for their future as brands cut orders and in some cases demand discounts and payment delays.

Italy accounts for around 40% of global luxury goods manufacturing and has been hit hard by a dramatic drop in demand triggered by the coronavirus crisis, with several artisans saying they have no new orders beyond the summer.

German fashion group Hugo Boss and Italian company Max Mara both wrote in May seeking price reductions on existing orders of 8% and 7% respectively, suppliers told Reuters, which also saw emails detailing the requests.

This illustrates how some mid-size luxury brands are attempting to protect their margins to make up for sales lost during weeks of lockdowns.

Everybody is affected and has to take actions to have the possibility to come through the crisis and to survive, Markus Knisel, Hugo Bosss senior head of procurement for menswear, said in one email seen by Reuters.

Hugo Boss and Knisel did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for Max Mara declined to comment.

Reuters spoke to half a dozen Italian artisans supplying top luxury brands who said they had seen a cut in orders of between 20% and 50% in May and June compared with last year.

Hugo Boss has also asked for payments to be delayed to 120 days after delivery, from 10 days in normal times, one of the groups Italian suppliers, who asked not to be named, said.

Production cuts and price negotiations now threaten the survival of thousands of small and medium artisan workshops tanning leather, sewing handbags and shoes and weaving fabrics.

If things dont go back to normal in the next couple of months, the worry is that from September onwards the situation will deteriorate further and that many luxury suppliers, particularly the smaller ones, will go bust, David Rulli, head of fashion at business lobby Confindustria in Florence, said.

Luxury brands shut shops and idled manufacturing sites as the coronavirus first emerged in China, a key market for the sector, and then spread to the rest of the world.

With major economies facing recession, demand for high-end clothes and accessories is expected to fall by up to 35% this year and revenues may take until 2022-23 to return to an estimated 2019 level of 280 billion euros ($314 billion), according to consultancy Bain.

Labels are grappling with piles of unsold stock and in most cases the prospect of widespread markdowns.

Top brands from Chanel to LVMHs Louis Vuitton and Kerings Gucci have raised prices of some of their most coveted products in a bet they can still lure the wealthy.

However some houses, including Gucci and Michael Kors, are scrapping or delaying new collections and say luxury should stop mimicking fast fashions hectic delivery cycles.

We have enough orders to keep going until July but I am very concerned about the second part of the year which for us is crucial, Filippo Baldazzi, CEO of silk manufacturer Serica 1870 which works with Brunello Cucinelli, Kering and French rival LVMH, told Reuters.

At this time of the year I would be presenting my fabrics for next years fall and winter collections but no one is thinking about that now. Plus you cant show fabrics by video, people have to touch it, he said.

Two U.S. clients had cancelled orders because they could not pay and others had asked for payment delays, Baldazzi added.

SUPPLIER SUPPORT

While Italys government has earmarked more than 20 billion euros ($22.5 billion) to help fund temporary layoffs, many small businesses say they have yet to receive the money.

Some luxury labels say they are juggling their own goal to reduce production and keep a lid on costs with the needs of struggling suppliers who they cannot afford to lose.

Chanel has scaled back orders while trying to maintain a minimum level of activity with suppliers in France and Italy to make sure they dont go bankrupt, its finance chief Philippe Blondiaux told Reuters in a recent interview.

Italy and France are between them by far the two main producers of European luxury goods.

Dior, one of the LVMH conglomerates biggest labels, also pointed to the need to support suppliers as it said this week that it was sticking with its 2020 fashion show programme.

Some executives in the industry, which in Italy alone employs 400,000 people, say the crisis could accelerate a trend where big brands snap up artisan workshops to tighten their grip on the supply chain and ensure prized manufacturing skills do not vanish.

Real luxury is in the small details. I think many groups, including foreign ones, have realised that once those artisans are forced to close, that kind of sophisticated work ends with them, Baldazzi said.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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Surveillance camera, alarm installed to discourage the uninformed and unconcerned.

In an ordinary year, wead be just a few weeks away from the start of Mt. Fujias climbing season, with hikers headed up Japanas tallest mountain to rise above the summer heat and appreciate the countryas natural beauty from a one-of-a-kind vantage point.

2020 has been anything but ordinary, though, with the coronavirus disrupting just about all aspects of life. So instead of officially opening the mountain to hikers on July 10, as had been the plan, the governments of Shizuoka and Yamanashi Prefectures recently announced that Mt. Fuji (which straddles the border between the two prefectures) will be closed to visitors for the entire summer, and in effect the remainder of the year, since the climbing season was scheduled to end on September 10.

Theyare serious about the restriction, too. This week Yamanashias Fujiyoshida City, where the Yoshida Trail (one of the most popular routes to the peak) starts, installed barricades to prevent hikers from making their way up Fujias slopes.

Two barricades have been set up, with the first checkpoint consisting of metal bars that stretch across the footpath flanked by signs in Japanese, English, and Chinese explaining that the mountain is closed. Should would-be hikers ignore all that, about 30 meters (98 feet) further down the path is a sturdier fence with an alarm that sounds if anyone approaches, while a recording announces aDanger! Do not enter.a The area is also monitored with security cameras.

While the barricades look like they can be pretty easily bypassed with a half-dozen steps off the beaten path and into the underbrush, the purpose of the barricades is less to turn Mt. Fuji into an impregnable fortress and more to remind people that the ado not entera order is more than just a friendly suggestion. The city also wants to make sure that those who havenat heard about the hiking ban donat start making an ascent, and posters explaining that Mt. Fuji is closed for 2020 are also going up at tourist attractions, travel facilities, and outdoor/sporting goods shops in Yamanashi.
Britain today moved one step closer to finally getting a DIY Covid-19 antibody test - including one that gives results in just 10 minutes.

Ministers promised Brits would be able to get pregnancy-test style blood kits to tell them whether they've ever had the virus back in March.

But three months down the line the 'have you had it tests' still haven't materialised for the public, as officials have still yet to approve at-home kits.

Public Health England today announced it is looking for at least 2,500 volunteers to test the reliability of Covid-19 home antibody tests.

One of the kits set to to be evaluated is made by a consortium of Oxford University scientists and four British manufacturers.

The team behind the finger-prick kit - which doesn't need samples to be sent off to laboratories for analysis - say it is highly accurate and hope it will be approved.

It also comes after a major scientific review yesterday concluded antibody tests may not work unless they are carried out at certain times.

The 300-page report, by the Cochrane institute, ruled the kits are only proven to be accurate between three and four weeks after someone has had Covid-19.

Ministers promised Brits would be able to get pregnancy-test style blood kits to tell them whether they've ever had the virus back in March. Pictured, a rapid Covid-19 antibody test made by Derby-based firm SureScreen

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. 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. Advertisement

The road to antibody testing across Britain has been a messy long haul riddled with money-wasting setbacks.

Health officials finally approved two lab-based tests made by pharma giants Roche and Abbott last month.- Ministers eventually bought 10million of the kits.

But currently the kits - which are only approved for blood samples taken from the veins - are only available for health and social care staff.

Regulators last month commandeered antibody tests in the UK and blocked private firms from selling people home tests over fears about accuracy.

The ban affected Superdrug, which offered to test for past Covid-19 infection for 69 - using the same equipment that is now being used for NHS staff.

Health bosses say the antibody tests were being used wrongly because they are only approved when used with blood taken directly from veins, not the finger.

The Rapid Test Consortium, which also involves four UK manufacturers as well as a team at Oxford University, claims its device can give results in just 10 minutes.

It claims results have shown it is highly accurate - but no publicly available data on its specificity or sensitivity has been released.

Both are key measures of antibody test accuracy that reflect its likelihood to mistake coronavirus for another pathogen, or to miss the infection altogether.

The four companies behind the test - a lateral flow immunoassays - are BBI Solutions, CIGA Healthcare, Omega Diagnostics and Abingdon Health.

Chris Yates, chief executive of Abingdon Health, said progress was being completed at 'extraordinary speed' in an update released earlier this month.

He said: 'We are delighted with the progress made to date and are working hard to bring a quality home test at scale to the UK public.

'We have an excellent team of scientists and I would like to thank them for their dedication and hard work in getting the project to where it is today.'

The consortium announced it hoped to scale up the process this month, before the test is available to be mass-manufactured.

No details have yet to be released about the test - including how much it will cost or when manufacturing will be scaled up.

ANTIBODY TESTING IN THE UK: A TIMELINE March 19: Boris Johnson promised to get antibody tests 'as simple as a pregnancy test' available for people to use at home. March 25: Public Health England's Sharon Peacock said the UK had bought 3.5million antibody tests and was evaluating them with a view to getting them available 'within days'. March 30: British testing companies including BioSure and SureScreen said they had been approached by the Government and told their services might be needed, but heard nothing more. April: The Department of Health said PHE already had 800 blood samples to test for antibodies. Health Secretary Matt Hancock claimed the antibody test being used on those samples at Porton Down was 'ultra-high accuracy' but data has never been released to back this up. April 3: Universities and private labs caused uproar when they revealed the Government had turned down their offers to help with swab testing, to check who had the disease currently. April 5: Professor Sir John Bell, at the University of Oxford, published a blog titled 'Trouble in testing land', revealing that no tests he had seen so far were any good. He said it would take at least a month to make one. April 8: Professor Bell accused PHE of being unhelpful and not providing enough blood samples to analyse tests with, in leaked emails seen by The Telegraph. April 16: The New York Times reported that Britain had spent 16.5million on antibody tests that it no longer wanted to use. April 18: PHE's Professor John Newton warned people not to try to buy or use antibody tests not approved by the Government, saying 'they may put you, your family, or others at risk'. April 20: Professor Derrick Crook, from John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, published a study showing none of the antibody tests bought by the Government were good enough to use. April 24: Chief medical officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, told MPs on the Science and Technology Committee that currently available antibody tests were good enough for population surveillance but not good enough for diagnosis. May 1: Mologic, a British company given 1million by the Government in March, reveals the early results of its antibody test. It is 98 per cent specific and 96 per cent sensitive  below the MHRA's standard of 98/98. May 14: The approval of Roche's antibody test by PHE goes public, with claims it is a 'game changer' and 100 per cent accurate. May 15: The approval of Abbott's coronavirus test is revealed in the Daily Mail, with more claims of near-perfect accuracy and reports of millions being bought by Britain straight away. May 21: Matt Hancock announces on TV the early results of antibody surveys being done in the UK. He said they suggest 17 per cent of people in London have had the disease, along with five per cent elsewhere in the country. May 25: UK's first Government-provided antibody tests become available to healthcare workers. May 28: Office for National Statistics publishes its first antibody testing data. It found 60 positive results in a pool of 885 samples in England, suggesting a national infection rate of 6.78 per cent (3.7million people). May 29: PHE published evaluation of a third antibody test, made by Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, to no fanfare. It was found to be 77.4 per cent sensitive and 99.7 per cent specific. Advertisement

But the blood samples do not need to be sent to a laboratory to be analysed, unlike other antibody tests available on the market.

Two other British firms - Mologic and BioSure - have teamed up to produce another self-testing kit, which also gives results in just 10 minutes.

Both companies are thought to have already started to mass-produce the kits, even though they have yet to be given the green light by health chiefs.

Another firm that makes rapid antibody tests for Covid-19 - Derby-based SureScreen - says giving results in 10 minutes has 'huge time and cost savings when compared to laboratory screening'.

Public Health England today announced it is looking for at least 2,500 volunteers to test the reliability of Covid-19 home tests, including the Oxford-made one.

A spokesperson said: 'No reliable home test has yet been found, and we do not know whether antibodies indicate immunity from reinfection or transmission.

'This research is part of our ongoing surveillance work to increase our understanding of how to tackle this virus.'

Volunteers will be recruited who have tested positive for the coronavirus previously, alongside those who have tested negative.

Officials said it was 'essential that we understand exactly how effective these home kits are when used by the public, and how easy they are to use'.

A number of the rapid kits are to be studied - MailOnline has asked for more details about the research but has yet to hear back.

Britain's antibody test hunt began on March 19 when the PM pledged to get tests 'as simple as a pregnancy test' available for people to use at home.

PHE's Professor Sharon Peacock that week said officials were evaluating tests, had bought millions, and would have them available 'within days'.

Antibodies are substances produced by the immune system which store memories of how to fight off a specific pathogen.

They can only be created if the body is exposed to it by getting infected for real, or through a vaccine or other type of specialist immune therapy.

Generally, antibodies confer immunity because they are redeployed if the pathogen enters the body for a second time, defeating the bug quickly.

But the evidence on immunity is still murky, with no concrete proof that coronavirus survivors are protected from ever being reinfected.

Knowing you are immune to a virus can affect how you act in the future, which may have repercussions if immunity is short-lived.

Survivors may protect themselves less if they have been infected, or medical staff may be able to return to work in the knowledge they are not at risk.

Counting the numbers of people who have antibodies is the most accurate way of calculating how many people in a population have had the virus already.

This can be done on a small sample of the population and the figures scaled up to give a picture of the country as a whole.

In turn, this can inform scientists and politicians how devastating a second outbreak might be, and how close the country is to herd immunity.

Herd immunity occurs when enough people have been exposed to the virus already that it would not be able to spread again.

Experts believe around 60 per cent exposure would be required for herd immunity from Covid-19 - but the UK does not appear to be anywhere close to that.

Early estimates suggest 17 per cent of Londoners have had the virus, along with five per cent of the rest of the country  fewer than 5million people.

Antibody tests are only accurate when used between three and four weeks after you've had Covid-19 and 'won't work' if used at the wrong time, major review warns

Coronavirus antibody tests are only known to be accurate between three and four weeks after someone has had Covid-19, a scientific review has found.

They may also not work on people who have only had a mild illness, but researchers admitted they can't be sure because almost all of the studies have been carried out on patients who were so badly ill they were hospitalised.

One scientist said the evidence showed no antibody tests currently available on the market are good enough to be used outside of hospitals.

The 300-page independent review, led by the Cochrane institute and the University of Birmingham, analysed data from 54 scientific studies of antibody tests used on 16,000 blood samples.

The tests examine people's blood to look for antibodies  substances made by the immune system  that indicate whether they have had Covid-19 in the past.

In the UK the tests, which Boris Johnson once promised people would be able to take themselves at home, are not currently widely available.

The accuracy of them is a huge sticking point  they can detect fewer than 30 per cent of positive results if used at the wrong time, the review warned.

And scientists still aren't really sure what they mean. In usual medicine, the presence of certain types of antibodies means someone is almost guaranteed not to get an illness again  but there is still no proof Covid-19 survivors are immune.

Antibody tests examine someone's blood to look for signs that they have been infected with Covid-19 in the past. In the UK they are only available in hospitals or as part of government surveys (Pictured: A blood sample collected by West Midlands Ambulance Service)

Professor Jon Deeks, a medical tests expert at the University of Birmingham, was one of the scientists behind the international review.

He said: 'Weve analyzed all available data from around the globe  discovering clear patterns telling us that timing is vital in using these tests.

'Use them at the wrong time and they dont work.

'While these first Covid-19 antibody tests show potential, particularly when used two or three weeks after the onset of symptoms, the data are nearly all from hospitalized patients, so we dont really know how accurately they identify Covid-19 in people with mild or no symptoms, or tested more than five weeks after symptoms started.'

The Cochrane review found that the third and fourth week after someone has been infected with the coronavirus are the optimum time to use them.

CDC WARNS EVEN GOOD TESTS MAY BE WRONG 50% OF THE TIME - SO HOW DO THE TESTS FALL DOWN? The US's Centers for Disease Control & Prevention last month warned that coronavirus antibody tests may be wrong 50 per cent of the time even if they are high quality. It warned that the antibody testing is not accurate enough for it to be used for any policy-making decisions, as even with 95 per cent test specificity (the accuracy of negative results), 'less than half of those testing positive will truly have antibodies'. This is why: Antibody tests with what could be considered a high level of accuracy can still produce large margins of error if only a small proportion of a population has been infected. A 95 per cent specific test, for example, will always produce five false positive results from a group of 100 people. Even if it is sensitive enough to detect all the people who have genuinely had the disease, it will still return five false positives, and the effect this has on the results of a survey can be large if the number of true positives is low. If the prevalence of antibodies is low - for example, only five per cent of people in the group have had the illness - the results could end up half wrong. The 95 per cent test, in that situation, would be expected to return 10 positives - five of them right, five of them wrong. This means the functional accuracy of the test, known as its true predictive value, is only around 50 per cent. The effect of these false positives is magnified if the prevalence of the virus in the population is low, and less noticeable if the prevalence is high. For example, if 30 per cent of the population have been infected, those five false positive results would be counter-balanced by 30 true positives, making the test more like 85 per cent accurate. A more specific test can reduce this effect; by comparison a 99.9 per cent specific test would return one wrong result per thousand - 100 per million. Advertisement

Too soon, and they are inaccurate, but too late and their accuracy is completely unknown.

If someone took one of the blood tests within two weeks of developing symptoms, studies found, only seven out of 10 Covid-positive people would receive a positive result (70 per cent test sensitivity).

Between 15 and 35 days after symptoms, this accuracy increased to more than 90 per cent, on average.

For patients who had symptoms 35 days ago or longer, there were 'insufficient studies' to estimate how well the tests could work.

The researchers looked at studies evaluating 27 different types of antibody test - out of approximately 200 on the market - and said there was not enough data available to show whether lab-based tests were definitely better than hand-held ones.

Explaining how the accuracy they saw in the studies would affect real-world results, the researchers gave the following breakdown:

Results from tests three weeks after symptoms started (the most accurate timing) would reveal the following if 50 out of 1,000 had had the virus already (five per cent - on par with the UK population estimate):

58 people would test positive for Covid-19. Of them, 12 people (21 per cent) would not have Covid-19 (false positive result)

942 people would test negative for Covid-19. Of these, four people (0.4 per cent) would actually have Covid-19 (false negative result).

Doing the same tests on a set of 1,000 healthcare workers, of whom 500 had had the virus already (50 per cent), antibody tests would produce these results:

464 people would test positive for Covid-19. Of these, 7 people (two per cent) would not have Covid-19 (false positive result).

537 people would test negative for Covid-19. Of these, 43 (eight per cent) would actually have Covid-19 (false negative result).

The scientists said it is impossible to know how well the antibody tests would work on someone who was not so seriously ill that they ended up in hospital.

The review said: 'We do not know how well the tests work for people who have milder disease or no symptoms, because the studies in the review were mainly done in people who were in hospital.'

Dr Jac Dinnes, a Birmingham researcher who worked on the review, said the studies that had been done on antibody tests so far were not of high quality.

She said: 'The design, execution and reporting of studies of the accuracy of Covid-19 tests requires considerable improvement.

'Studies must report data broken down by time since onset of symptoms.

'Action is needed to ensure that all results of test evaluations are available in the public domain to prevent selective reporting. This is a fast-moving field and we plan to update this review regularly as more studies are published.'

Scientists responding to the review said it showed that the tests should be treated with caution and limited weight given to the results they produce.

One said none of the currently-available tests are good enough to be used outside of hospitals.
- Kris Aquino recently announced a good news for students through a social media post

- She said that she will be giving away laptops to be used by students for their education

- The well-known celebrity mentioned that she will do everything to help other people in these trying times

- The Queen of All Media disclosed the details regarding how a student can become a beneficiary

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Kris Aquino announced on social media that she will be giving away laptops to poor students who are affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

KAMI learned that the prominent celebrity admitted that she already purchased a total of eight 2-in-1 laptops to be used by students for their education.

It can be remembered that face-to-face learning has been suspended temporarily due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines.

Most students will rely on the internet to continue their studies amid the serious health crisis that the country is experiencing.

Photo from Kris Aquino's Instagram account

Source: Instagram

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The Queen of All Media revealed through the same post that the arrival of the electronic devices that she ordered is on June 29.

She also mentioned that she wants to invest for the future of the country and she knows that all parents want their children to pursue education.

Lahat ng magulang ang hangarin mapagtapos sa pag-aaral, maging maganda ang kinabukasan, at maging masaya ang mga anak nila. Yesterday, I could really feel the love & guidance of my parents, she wrote.

Come what may, ano man ang pagsubok, gagawin ko ang makakaya ko para tumulong sa kapwa para makabangon tayong muli... I have read your requests kaya pinag-isipan ko at nagawan ng paraan, she added.

Kris provided other details regarding how a student can be a beneficiary of her charity work. She said she will announce the winners on July 1.

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In a previous article by , Kris responded to a netizen who called her out for not wearing a face mask during contract-signing.

Kris Aquino is a prominent showbiz personality in the Philippines. After a long hiatus, she finally decided to sign a contract with Cornerstone a few days ago.

POPULAR: Read more news about Kris Aquino!

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!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
The newcomers were in the general population for only two days before they were transferred. One had a high fever and all four had been coughing. The guards said nothing as they moved them out, but the detainees dry hack told Danilo de Leon more than he wanted to know.

The 27-year-old from Guatemala had been dreading this moment for weeks. In early March, he had boarded a crowded plane from California to Texas, moved on to a packed bus, and joined more than two dozen other men in a cramped room inside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Joe Corley Detention Facility in Conroe.

No one was wearing a mask and social distancing was impossible.

His dorm-style room had 16 bunk beds in tight rows, three toilets and showers shared by up to 32 men. There was no space for privacy and nowhere to hide from your cellmates, let alone from a virus.

Soon after the four coughing men left, de Leons unit was quarantined. The detainees could no longer go in the common area to exercise. The library was off limits, their food arrived on disposable plates and a nurse took their temperature twice a day.

It was only a matter of time, de Leon thought.

The virus spreads

The nations first case of an immigration detainee with COVID-19 was reported on March 24, a 31-year-old Mexican national in ICE custody at the county jail in Hackensack, N.J.

Three months later, nearly 2,500 detainees have tested positive nationwide, with Texas accounting for 40 percent of all cases. Testing capacity varies by detention center, so the number is probably higher. Whats clear is that immigrants continue to be callously endangered when there are safer and even cheaper alternatives to detention.

Activists and lawmakers have called on the Trump administration to release immigration detainees, especially those with higher health risk due to age or chronic illness, but the federal government has mostly failed to act.

On Monday, U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, and Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, toured two Texas facilities and asked for the release of all detainees who are not a safety risk.

The conditions are bad, Castro said during a media call. These people are living in a petri dish.

The Trump administration has sought to cast immigrants as criminals, as troublemakers the second they set foot on American soil, but most detainees have no criminal record. In March, more than 60 percent of people in ICE custody had no conviction, not even for a petty offense, according to Syracuse Universitys Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

Many others arent even accused of violating immigration rules. They are being held while their asylum claims  a legal process recognized by international and U.S. law to protect people fleeing persecution  go through the immigration system.

De Leon is one of them.

Running out of air

In April of 2019, de Leon had made the long journey from Guatemala and across Mexico to reach Tijuana, fleeing gangs he says extorted him because he owned a small store. He climbed the fence, turned himself over to the Border Patrol, and as is his right under law, requested asylum. He spent time at a detention center in California, where his case was considered and denied. He appealed, and while it was being reviewed, he was transferred to Texas.

After a few days under quarantine, de Leon began feeling sick. His temperature spiked, his body ached, and he started to cough. Others in the cramped quarters soon joined him. All of them had the same feeling: The guards were paying little attention to their worsening illness.

I felt like I had a needle in my throat, and when I pulled in air it would sting me, de Leon said. He tried shallow breaths to control the pain, but that was difficult. He had piercing headaches.

The detainees had fashioned their own masks by tearing up towels to protect themselves from the refrigerated air that seemed to burn their lungs.

One night, de Leon couldnt breathe.

I thought I wasnt going to make it. I thought this was the end of my story, he said.

A Mexican detainee who spoke English used a call button inside the cell to ask for help. De Leon was taken to the infirmary, where he was given acetaminophen and sent back.

With symptoms raging, it felt like throwing Tylenol at an elephant.

Claims of neglect

Multiple lawsuits filed across the country point to poor conditions in detention centers. Lawyers and activists claim that immigrants are being given no protective equipment, such as masks or gloves, even as theyre forced to share close quarters. There is also a lack of cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer.

The government says it is keeping inmates safe and following guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but even if they follow those instructions, it may not be enough.

There are gaping holes in those guidelines, including failure to contemplate population reduction and failure to provide adequate guidelines for testing, Dr. Scott Allen, an independent health expert who has worked with the Department of Homeland Security, testified this month before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In the real world, he said, the guidelines are failing to stop the spread.

COVID confirmed

De Leon made it through the night and was finally tested for COVID-19, five days after his symptoms started.

Two days later, an officer tapped him on the shoulder during breakfast. His test had come back positive. He was being moved to a separate room.

As the guard opened the door, de Leons eyes went to the rooms only other occupant. A man, his back turned in his bunk, had littered the floor with soiled tissues. Some were stuck to drying blobs of bloody phlegm.

Im not going in there like that, he said, recoiling. Take the man to the infirmary, he told the guard.

Lets see what we can do about it, the guard responded, and left. Shortly afterward, he returned with a higher up who took the man away.

What about the room? de Leon asked.

The guard shrugged. It was his problem now.

Needless risk

So far, two detainees have died in ICE custody across the country. Carlos Escobar-Mejia, 57, a Salvadoran who had lived in the United States for 40 years, died May 6 in California. Santiago Baten-Oxlaj, 34, from Guatemala, died in Georgia on May 24.

The relative youth of the immigrant population has kept the death toll from rising, but the danger is ever present as the number of cases continues to increase.

Its unconscionable for our government to needlessly force asylum-seekers such as de Leon, with no criminal background and who pose little threat to public safety, to endanger their lives in detention. There are effective alternatives, including GPS monitoring devices and regular check-ins with immigration officials, that could just as effectively prevent immigrants from absconding if a judge orders deportation.

Americans must continue to push the administration, and our representatives in Washington, to release these detainees. We cant trust that a federal agency and a for-profit detention system  which time and again have been accused of failing to provide adequate health care and respect for human rights  will do the right thing.

The system already pushes desperate immigrants to die in our deserts and to drown in the river. We cannot add choking to death, lungs crushed by an implacable disease, to the list of things we are willing to tolerate in the name of deterrence.

Time to heal

Eventually, 10 other detainees would join de Leon in isolation. Men who hailed from India, China, Bangladesh, Honduras and Guatemala. They took turns doing the cleaning by heating water in a small microwave and advocating for each other as their symptoms ebbed and flowed.

After a difficult week, de Leons symptoms improved. He knows hes lucky. I prayed to God to help heal me, that I could see my family again.

He read a Bible that was given to him when he was detained in California and remembered a prayer that an African detainee had taught him. Learn to say, Lord, I love you, I appreciate you. I am in trouble, but I still love you. I have troubles, but I still love you. I dont feel well this morning, but I still love you

Things started getting back to normal, with some men doing push-ups and sit-ups while others stayed up late watching action movies on a small, wall-mounted television.

They talked about what they would do when they got out, how they would feel afterward. They knew they were doing better, but no one told them anything, what was happening or what was next.

At night, de Leons mind wanders. He imagines his 2-year-old son, whom he hasnt seen for more than a year, toddling after him like he used to. His chubby hands picking up limes from the tree in their backyard, before tossing them toward Daddy.

He worries about his wife, a nurse back home. While he fights the virus here, she takes her own risks and fights her own battle in Guatemala, where in late April, deportees from the U.S. made up 20 percent of the COVID-19 cases in the country.

After a difficult May, de Leon was back to a larger room with the general population. He got tired simply walking with the small plastic box with his personal effects, he said, so it will probably take time to fully recover.

A man from Nicaragua asked where he was coming from.

Ive been in isolation with COVID, he said. The mans expression changed.

I would be afraid, too, de Leon tried to put him at ease.

There were still no masks and no chance of social distancing.

God willing, Im fine, he said. But if I wasnt, I was already there with them. What are you going to do?

Carrasco is an editorial writer and member of Houston Chronicles editorial board. Email him at luis.carrasco@chron.com.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Bajaj Auto says first COVID-19 case reported on June 6; 140 cases reported so far, two workers with co-morbidities have succumbed

Waluj factory, which largely caters to export demand, to operate normally while following all necessary safety measures

Reports had earlier said 79 employees tested positive for the virus and that the factory had been shut down

Rajiv Bajaj had criticised government's complete lockdown in the first phase as draconian

Domestic two wheeler major Bajaj Auto Ltd has rebutted reports that it had to shut down operations at its Waluj factory in Aurangabad after 140 of the over 8,100 employees at the factory tested positive for coronavirus. Two employees who had underlying conditions of hyper tension and diabetes have succumbed to the infection.

The factory that primarily makes motorcycles for export had resumed operations after a month long shutdown on April 24.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus: PepsiCo China suspends operations at plant after employee tests positive

"It has come to our attention that there are reports circulating that Bajaj Auto's manufacturing facility at Waluj in Maharashtra has shut down due to incidence of COVID-19 amongst some employees there. At the outset we want to clarify that our manufacturing facility at Waluj is functioning normally," said Ravi Kyran Ramasamy, Chief Human Resources Officer, Bajaj Auto Ltd. "We at Bajaj Auto, like the country at large, are now learning to live with the virus. We will continue our normal business operations, while taking all necessary safety measures, as the alternative is to shut down our operations with 'no work, no pay' which will have a drastic impact on our employees and supply chain."

The company said it did not have any COVID-19 case at the Waluj factory between April 24 and June 6 and the first case was reported on June 6. Initial reports had said at least 79 employees had been infected by the virus but while clarifying the number on Friday evening, Bajaj Auto said it accounts for less than 2 per cent of the overall employee strength at the plant.

"We have more than 8,100 employees and contractors employed in our Waluj plant. Our current incidence of 140 cases of COVID-19 is less than 2 per cent of our strength," Ramasamy said. "Two of our infected employees with underlying conditions of hyper tension and diabetes have unfortunately succumbed to the infection," the company stated

The company also reasoned that the incidence could be due to the progressive easing of the lockdown restrictions in the country since the start of the month, which has also resulted in a general increase of cases across the country. Bajaj also has factories in Chakan and Akurdi in Pune and in Pantnagar in Uttarakhand. Waluj has a capacity to produce over 500,000 bikes every year.

ALSO READ: BT Buzz: 80% auto dealers now open; a blip or sign of sustained recovery?

"From April 24th till June 6th 2020, we had no COVID-19 incidence at our Waluj plant. However, as is well known, post the easing of lockdown progressively from June 1st, there has been a general increase across the country in the rise of infection including amongst industries, armed forces, police, media and government institutions," Kyran said. "Post the country wide lockdown, our Waluj facility has been ramping operations from April 24, 2020 onwards. As part of the ramp-up, detailed cleanliness and health check protocols have been drafted and implemented in consonance and compliance with all Government regulations and guidelines. These protocols have been reviewed and approved by appropriate authorities and adherence is strictly monitored by our in-house health and security staff."

"We have taken all necessary measures for testing, contact tracing, self-isolation and complete sanitation as per protocol. All incidences were reported to the appropriate authorities. We continue to provide all support including medical assistance to affected employees," he added.

Rajiv Bajaj, the managing director of the company, was one of the few industrialists in the country who had criticised the government's severe lockdown restrictions between March 25 and May 31. Bajaj had instead called for a more lenient mechanism that allowed factories to operate in areas with negligible or low incidence of the virus.

MUST WATCH: Industrialist Rajiv Bajaj says the lockdown failed as it flattened the wrong curve
W hat has it been like to volunteer during the pandemic?

Social enterprise Bread n Butter  one of the charities supplied by our Food For London Now appeal partner, The Felix Projectclosed its doors at the end of March.

However, its founders saw a growing need among the citys most vulnerable for regular home-cooked, nutritious meals, so they joined with community centres Stonegrove Community Trust and the Hive Trust.

Since then, Bread n Butters team, aided by volunteers, have been cooking and delivering more than a thousand meals a day to Londoners in need in Barnet, Enfield and Brent.

Here, we speak to four people who keep this project going.

I learned the power of working together  Richard Simon, 52

A furloughed IT worker, he joined the Stonegrove Community Trusts OneStonegrove project in Edgware after his wife suggested he sign up.

He said: Working in the kitchens was like being on Ready Steady Cook. You dont know what ingredients youre going to be working with, so you have to think on your feet.

The father-of-two, who dedicates 20 hours a week, added the biggest thing hed learnt was the power of working together.

For a group of people who dont know each other, we just get on with it, working flat out. No one is being paid, were just working for a great cause. It has been extraordinary.

Its been transformative  Joanne Karbritz, 47

Ms Karbritz works up to five hours a day, four days a week at OneStonegrove community centre.

The former Oxfam shop worker, who has high-functioning autism, said because of her condition, having a structured day is incredibly important.

Without routine, I cant cope, she said. I would not be here if it wasnt for this project. Ms Karbritz, who is anorexic, said working with food had been transformative.

Working to create healthy, nutritious food everyday has changed my relationship with it. I have also learned how to cook, whereas before I lived out of tins.

I feel I am belonging  Mariana Bassi Da Silva, 34

The software developer wanted to volunteer as she wasnt working due to the pandemic.

A keen chef, she volunteered for OneStonegrove and said the project had helped develop her love of cooking.

The Brazilian Italian, who moved to London seven years ago, said the greatest impact the project has had on her was the sense of belonging. It is hard to settle in when you move, she said.

Here, I have a community. The people have been really welcoming of me into their community.

I felt guilty sitting at home not doing much  Max Dickson, 27

Mr Dickson decided to take up volunteering for the first time after being furloughed.

The project manager from Colindale felt guilty about sitting at home while supported by taxpayer money through the furlough scheme.

I wanted to help others, he said. He and his girlfriend signed up to work one day a week at OneStonegrove.

He said: We have spoken about doing this when its all over. Its great to help out.
And here Im called to say that there is much about the South that is precious to me. I do my best teaching and writing here. There is, however, a peculiar model of Southern pride that must now, at long last, be reckoned with.

This is not an ignorant pride but a defiant one. It is a pride that says, Our history is rich, our causes are justified, our ancestors lie beyond reproach. It is a pining for greatness, if you will, a wish again for a certain kind of American memory. A monument-worthy memory.

But heres the thing: Our ancestors dont deserve your unconditional pride. Yes, I am proud of every one of my black ancestors who survived slavery. They earned that pride, by any decent persons reckoning. But I am not proud of the white ancestors whom I know, by virtue of my very existence, to be bad actors.

Among the apologists for the Southern cause and for its monuments, there are those who dismiss the hardships of the past. They imagine a world of benevolent masters, and speak with misty eyes of gentility and honor and the land. They deny plantation rape, or explain it away, or question the degree of frequency with which it occurred.

To those people it is my privilege to say, I am proof. I am proof that whatever else the South might have been, or might believe itself to be, it was and is a space whose prosperity and sense of romance and nostalgia were built upon the grievous exploitation of black life.

The dream version of the Old South never existed. Any manufactured monument to that time in that place tells half a truth at best. The ideas and ideals it purports to honor are not real. To those who have embraced these delusions: Now is the time to re-examine your position.

Either you have been blind to a truth that my bodys story forces you to see, or you really do mean to honor the oppressors at the expense of the oppressed, and you must at last acknowledge your emotional investment in a legacy of hate.
Mumbai, June 26 : Veteran actor Anupam Kher has recalled shooting with the late Amrish Puri.

Taking to Instagram, Kher recalled how Puri would to call him his "bachcha", and spoke of his habit of punctuality.

" I miss #AmrishPuri ji. He was the gentlest person I had the privilege to be friends with. He was calm and compassionate. He had a childlike innocence. And yet he played the toughest villains in Indian and international cinema. One of the most professional actors. Punctual and disciplined. He would often say to me, 'yaar! tu bada naughty bachcha hai!' Not many people have called me a bachcha (young boy). It felt great. And I would reply, 'Amrish Ji, tussi great ho!' And he would giggle like a baby. Amrish ji, you will always be great," posted Kher.

Along with it, Kher posted a picture in which he can be seen posing with Amrish Puri, who passed away on January 12, 2005.

Kher and Amrish Puri had worked together in several films, including "Jeene Do" (1990) and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (1995).

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Jaguar Land Rover has thrown its support to the City of Oslo in building a wireless, high-powered charging infrastructure for taxis in the Norwegian capital.

This would make the city of Oslo the worlds first metropolitan area to install wireless, induction-based high-powered charging stations for electric taxis.

Known as ElectriCity, Norway wants to make its cab system emission-free as early as 2024. Eventually, it wants all new cars sold in the country to have zero emissions by 2025.

JAGUAR I-PACE ELECTRIC TAXIS

Were delighted to welcome private enterprises to help us to turn our vision into reality," said City of Oslo's Vice Mayor for Environment and Transport, Arild Hermstad.

As part of our commitment to reducing emissions by 95 per cent before 2030, we have put many exciting measures in place, but transport continues to be a key challenge."

"By improving infrastructure and providing better charging to the taxi industry, we are confident that by 2024 all taxis in Oslo will be zero emission. To reach our goal, the public sector, politicians and private enterprises must come together, as we do in this project.

Jaguar Land Rover will join the biggest taxi network in the Nordic region, Nordic Taxi operator Cabonline (NorgesTaxi AS). Cabonline will be tasked to operate the fleet as part of Oslos ElectriCity programme.

The team will also be joined by the regions largest charge point operator Forum Recharge, who will be supporting the installation and electrification of the project.

Meanwhile, US technology developer Momentum Dynamics is in charge of constructing the wireless, high-powered charging infrastructure for taxis in the Norwegian capital.

JAGUAR I-PACE ELECTRIC TAXIS

Land Rover will provide 25 Jaguar I-PACE models to Cabonline. The I-PACE has been specifically designed to enable Momentum Dynamic's wireless charging technology, making it the ideal vehicle to drive the program.

To make its use more efficient, taxi drivers need a charging system that allows them to stay on route during working hours. Multiple charging plates rated at 50-75 kilowatts each are installed in the ground in different pick-up-drop-off points.

Story continues

This allows the taxi to charge itself even while queuing for the next fare. The system engages automatically, and gives an average of 6-8 minutes of energy per each charge up to 50kW.

All cables will be situated below ground, so the vehicle doesn't require any physical connection between the charger and vehicle.

JAGUAR I-PACE ELECTRIC TAXIS

"Were extremely proud of our track record in electrification and were committed to making electric vehicles easier to own and use. The taxi industry is the ideal test bed for wireless charging, and indeed for high-mileage electric mobility across the board," said Jaguar Land Rover Chief Executive Sir Ralf Speth.

"Were delighted to be part of ElectriCity and to continue to lead the field in electric vehicle technology. This is a great step forward to reaching our Destination Zero mission."

The Oslo ElectriCity partnership is part of Jaguar Land Rovers goal to make societies healthier and safer, while reducing emissions in the air. Delivered through relentless innovation to adapt its products and services to the rapidly changing world, the company aims to achieves Destination Zero, where vehicles have zero emissions, zero accidents and zero congestion in the near future.

Photos from Jaguar Land Rover

Also Read:

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Since their first battles in 1664, the elite Royal Marines have worn their uniforms with pride.

And so it will be, no doubt, with their brand new kit  a state-of-the-art uniform fit for modern combat.

It is the biggest makeover the Royal Marines have seen since the Second World War, and is being brought in as part of plans to modernise the commando unit.

And for the first time in their 350-year history, the marines will now wear the White Ensign flag on their sleeve in a nod to their colleagues in the Royal Navy.

The Royal Marines have been given a brand new state-of-the-art uniform fit for modern combat

For the first time in their history, the Royal Marines will wear the White Ensign flag (pictured) on their sleeve in a nod to their colleagues in the Royal Navy

The new US-made lightweight jackets and combat trousers have greater tear resistance and are more breathable than the previous uniform, while the camouflage pattern will be altered slightly.

It's a far cry from the woollen camouflage kit of the Second World War, which  rather impractically for the amphibious unit  soaked up water like a sponge and made swimming even harder.

Then, boots had hobnails and webbing belts carried ammunition pouches, water  and doubtless something harder.

But on the 80th anniversary of the first commando raid of the war in 1940, when troops landed on the beach in Calais as German patrols crawled along the coast, the marines have also drawn on their history  by returning to their traditional insignia.

The redesigned 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines 'Fairbairn-Sykes dagger patch' follows the first pattern of their specialised fighting knife, made in 1940.

The American made jackets and trousers have greater resistance and are more breathable than the uniforms they had before

The redesigned 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines 'Fairbairn-Sykes dagger patch' follows the first pattern of their specialised fighting knife, made in 1940

Royal Marine Lieutenant Colonel Ben Reynolds said: 'The Royal Marines are integral to the Royal Navy and an extremely versatile elite force, able to operate from mountains and Arctic wastes to jungles and shores.

He said the uniform now 'reflects our distinctiveness and the unique capabilities we bring to defence, in addition to the Royal Navy's eagerness to invest in our development'.

He added: 'The practical benefits shouldn't be underestimated. It has been specifically selected to serve commandos as they carry out operations all around the globe in the most extreme environments.'

The marines will begin wearing the uniforms in autumn, when moves to shake up the way the unit operates come into force.

The Royal Marines will be wearing the brand new uniforms in the autumn later this year

Under the Ministry of Defence's Future Commando Force programme, the marines will increasingly return to operating from sea.

The programme promises the unit will have new technology and be maintained at a state of high readiness  whether to conduct commando raids or provide humanitarian aid in natural disasters.

James Heappey, minister for the Armed Forces, said: 'It is fitting that on the 80th anniversary of the first commando raid, this uniform now bears the traditional Royal Marine Commando insignia.

'It is a poignant link to their history as the commando force embarks on a modernisation programme that will keep them in their place as the world's best amphibious force.'
New Delhi:

Amid burgeoning tensions, ceasefire violations by Pakistan and terror attacks in Kashmir, Air Force Chief Arup Raha clearly stated that the armed forces are prepared to give a befitting reply to sub-conventional threats and any other challenge facing the country.

Raha said that the armed forces "are there to deliver and they are doing the job" as he refused to comment on the political slugfest over the cross-LoC surgical strikes on terror camps.

Rahas remarks come on the 84th Foundation Day of IAF. Celebrations for which are going on at Air Force Station Hindon in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district.

The most spectacular air display was made by the most awaited Tejas India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft.

Also Read: (Top 10 things to know about indigenous fighter Tejas debuting at Indian Air Force Day aerial show in Hindon)

World is in a flux today. Terrorists attacks in Uri and Pathankot show the troubled times we live today., Raha said in his customary address.

In his message on official Facebook page of the IAF Indian Air Force, Power to Punish launched today, the Air Force chief said the force is operating some of the most modern weapons and equipments and the air warriors exercise ceaseless vigil of skies.

We continue to train to take up any threat and are fully prepared to undertake any challenge in most befitting manner, Raha said.

Asked about the rising threat from Pakistan, Raha asserted that the armed forces are well prepared to take on any sub- conventional threats. Sub-conventional threats refers to proxy war that Pakistan indulges in against India through the use of terrorists.

Raha said that terrorists can always get better but the armed forces can neutralise them. With each incident, the forces are getting smarter and learning new lessons. he said.

Also Read: (Indian Air Force Day: Tejas makes debut at Indian Air Force Day's aerial show in Hindon)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Congress raided Social Security, and that's why the program's trust fund is running dry. At least that's what many people believe about why this popular retirement program is in serious financial trouble. There's just one problem with this often-repeated theory: It's not true.

There are a few reasons people believe it is, but the facts actually tell a very different story.

Why do people believe that Congress raided the Social Security trust fund?

There are two big reasons people incorrectly believe that money in the Social Security trust fund has been used improperly by Washington lawmakers.

The first is an accounting change that took effect in 1969. Before that there was a separate budget for Social Security's trust fund. However, having multiple budgets for different federal programs was confusing, so President Lyndon Johnson created a "unified budget" in 1968. Under the unified budget system, transactions to Social Security's trust funds were presented along with the larger budget for all federal spending.

To be clear, the money collected in Social Security taxes was never mixed with general revenue, and the money in Social Security's trust fund never became part of the general operating fund. It was just treated differently for accounting purposes for a brief time. This changed again when Social Security was amended in 1983, and the program has been off-budget since 1990.

The second source of confusion comes from the fact that the money in the Social Security trust fund is on loan to the federal government, so it technically is used to fund the spending included in the general budget. But that doesn't mean that Congress has stolen this money -- instead the government sold special issue bonds that the trust fund is invested in, as required by law.

These bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, they've always been paid back in full, and they will always continue to be paid back in full (as long as the country doesn't default on its debt, in which case there would be much bigger problems than the future of Social Security).

Without the government borrowing from it, Social Security would be in more serious financial trouble

Still concerned about the fact that Washington is borrowing from Social Security, even though they're using special interest bonds to do it?

Here's why you shouldn't be: The Treasury bonds that the trust fund has invested in are a very safe investment that have produced substantial income for it. In fact, the trust fund's investments in Treasury bonds produced $77.9 billion in interest income for the Social Security retirement benefit program in 2019 alone.

If the trust fund money weren't invested and were just sitting in a lockbox somewhere waiting to be used to pay out benefits, the program's finances would be in worse shape. So next time you hear someone say that the trust fund was raided by Congress, tell them that the reality is very different.
[June 25, 2020] Optum, Wider Circle and Helping Hands Community Partner to Deliver Free, Fresh Food to Vulnerable People in Los Angeles County During COVID-19 Pandemic

Optum, a leading health services company, and Wider Circle, a tech-enabled community-based health care services company that drives better health for older adults and other vulnerable communities, have partnered with Helping Hands Community (HHC) to launch the "Community Food Circle" initiative to bring food to thousands of Optum patients in Los Angeles County during the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative supports Optum's goal of helping people reach their health and well-being goals, including addressing social determinants of health. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200625005929/en/ According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, more than half a million households face barriers accessing nutritional foods. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the problem. Even as some restrictions are lifted, older adults - especially those with chronic conditions - may still choose to avoid places with groups of people such as grocery stores. They may also lack transportation. The "Community Food Circle" initiative connects food donations and deliver to people in need.



"Our goal through this collaboration is to get food to people who are in urgent need," said Jaime Ramos, M.D., regional medical director for Optum California. "Food security and health are so intertwined. Together with partners who share our commitment, we're working to address this issue and build healthier communities." During today's event, Optum volunteers from its AppleCare and HealthCare Partners physician groups, Wider Circle staff, volunteers from HHC and other community partners, packed and loaded food supplies into Uber vehicles. Uber drivers then delivered the food to Optum patients across Los Angeles County. HHC provides a tech-enabled platform that connects businesses and nonprofits who want to help, with local residents in need to create seamless, organized volunteer efforts.

"Helping Hands Community is thrilled to work with Optum and Wider Circle to bring our technology, volunteers and partnership with Uber to help facilitate and scale this massive delivery effort," said Jeff Miller, CEO and co-founder of HHC. "With shelter-in-place orders lifting, the virus still presents a significant risk to the many LA residents vulnerable to COVID-19. HHC will continue to partner with nonprofit and corporate organizations to enable scalable delivery solutions to those in need." Since the beginning of California's shelter-in-place order, Optum and Wider Circle have offered social support and meal delivery services free of charge to more than 20,000 Optum patients in Los Angeles County. Today's partnerships with HHC expands the meal delivery service by offering it to an additional 60,000 Optum patients. Each food package provides an individual 10 days of food. "Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Wider Circle has partnered with Optum to facilitate social support services like peer-to-peer phone calls, meal delivery and virtual support groups that have been especially critical for seniors and other vulnerable populations," said Darin Buxbaum, president and chief operating officer of Wider Circle. "Collaborating with Uber and Helping Hands Community allows us to further expand our efforts to alleviate food insecurity for thousands of seniors during this challenging time." About Optum California Optum California is an integrated health system that serves more than 1.4 million patients across Southern California through its family of medical groups and provider networks, including OptumCare Medical Group, HealthCare Partners, AppleCare Medical Group, Monarch HealthCare and North American Medical Management of California. More information is at www.optum.com. About Wider Circle Wider Circle works with health plans nationally to deliver unique community care programs that connect neighbors for better health. Centered on trusted relationships, Wider Circle connects health plan members with familiar neighbors to inform, support and motivate one another, empowering them to be more proactive about their health. Wider Circle's trusted delivery network has been proven to drive resilience, improve member experience and engagement, and reduce hospitalizations. Today, Wider Circle offers its unique neighborhood care programs to more than 135 communities nationwide, including specialized COVID-19 support for vulnerable populations in isolation via virtual programming and peer-to-peer community support. About Helping Hands Community Helping Hands Community is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving those most vulnerable to COVID-19: senior citizens, the immunocompromised, and people with pre-existing medical conditions which put them at additional risk. Our community of volunteers deliver groceries, medicine, and other necessary supplies, and our local and national partners help us identify and reach those in need wherever they may be. The Helping Hands Community platform makes community volunteerism easy and reliable, while providing a tech-enabled solution for partners to scale their impact. Founded by veterans of Uber, Facebook, and Google (News - Alert) and students beginning their careers, the Helping Hands Community comprises more than 150 volunteers from around the world. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200625005929/en/

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The continuing search for missing teenager Noah Donohoe has brought painful memories into even sharper focus for a Belfast father who was in the same helpless situation three years ago.

Dean McIlwaine, a 22-year-old hairdresser from Glengormley, had disappeared on July 13, 2017, and for nine long days his father Rod was left praying for the best as the search for his son carried him on an emotional roller-coaster.

For the McIlwaine family, the unfolding nightmare being endured by the family and friends of 14-year-old Noah - who left his home in south Belfast on June 21 at approximately 5.30pm on his black Apollo mountain bike and hasn't been seen since 6.11pm that same Sunday evening - has brought echoes of their own loss rising to the surface again.

Read More

The McIlwaine family's nightmare ended in tragedy, with the body of Dean discovered at Cavehill on July 22, and while Rod said his family's hearts go out to Noah's relations and that they are hoping and praying he is found safe and well, he knows only too well what they are going through.

"This Saturday will be three years to the day since Dean was best man at a family wedding in Cyprus," said Rod.

"Those should be happy memories, but every year we go through the nightmare again. It never gets any easier.

"We're watching another family go through it and it's difficult. This is all happening at the same time of year and it's heartbreaking to watch someone else go through the same pain as we did.

"Our hearts go out to them."

It's all very close to home for the McIlwaine family. They see the community gather to search in the same way.

They see the appeals across social media, very similar to the appeals that were put out by the family and friends of their own beloved son.

Read More

Dean McIlwaine was a young man who seemed to have a bright future ahead of him. On the verge of opening his own barber shop, he had secured a position teaching barbering at Belfast Met. He was also in the process of moving into a new house with his girlfriend, Demi-jo McMahon.

But in the blink of an eye, with no warning this time three years ago, Rod and his wife Karen found themselves making their own emotional appeals. The last confirmed sighting of Dean had been at the Co-op garage on Carnmoney Road on the outskirts of Glengormley.

Read More

He had left the shop at 1pm on a Thursday afternoon and had not been seen since. His mobile phone had been switched off and he had not used his bank cards since withdrawing 30 from a cash machine on the day he went missing. "He has literally been plucked off the face of the earth, vanished without a trace," the distraught couple said in the days after his disappearance.

"As the days go on, you can't help think the worst. Some days are positive, some days aren't, but he has to be somewhere, where is anybody's guess - it's a nightmare and your emotions take you everywhere." Three years on, the pain of that experience is still raw in the voice of a father who lost a son.

"It was the same time of year, the start of the summer, when we were thrown into the media spotlight but we would have done anything to find Dean," he said.

"It's hard to deal with but you just do. All you want is news, someone to have seen something that keeps you going. You're carried through it all in a blur," he said.

Three years on and the McIlwaine family still grieve for their son.

They remember the community gathering for searches. They remember the efforts of police and emergency services. They see it all happening again. This time it's a different name in the headlines, and Rod said he and his family are praying for a different outcome.

"This has brought everything back for us all in the public domain, though we do go through it as a family ever year," he said. "It's a terrible thing to have to deal with.

"The feelings never leave you and we are hoping and praying Noah's family get a better outcome than we did."
Three people are feared to be dead after the attack in Glasgow city centre. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

The attack in Glasgow city centre that left six people injured, including a police officer, is not being treated as terrorism, police have confirmed.

Six men are being treated in hospital, including the 42-year-old officer who was stabbed during the incident, according to the Scottish Police Federation.

Emergency services descended on West George Street at 12.50pm on Friday afternoon.

The male suspect was shot dead by armed officers inside the Park Inn Hotel.

Armed police at the scene of the major incident in Glasgow. The attack is not being treated as terrorism. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

Multiple reports shortly after the stabbing speculated that three people were feared dead.

Images on social media show armed police entering the building in the city centre.

The incident has been assessed by Counter Terrorism Police HQ in London and is determined not to be a terror-related incident.

Read more: Glasgow stabbing: Police shoot dead suspect after six injured in hotel attack

A spokeswoman for campaign group Positive Action In Housing said the 91-room hotel was housing asylum seekers for an organisation called the Mears Group, which moved them there during the coronavirus lockdown.

A man is led away by police officers at the scene in West George Street, Glasgow. (PA)

Tom Flanagan Kartunnen, of the Radisson Hotel Group, said: We are deeply saddened by the tragic event that happened today on West George Street in Glasgow.

Read more: Glasgow stabbing attack: Witnesses describe 'people screaming for help' in city centre

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the hotel has been occupied for temporary housing.

He added: We are working with the hotel owner and all the relevant local authorities, including Police Scotland, to support the investigation.

Emergency services attend the scene of the incident in Glasgow. (@Milroy1717 via AP)

In a statement on Twitter, assistant chief constable Steve Johnson said: The individual who was shot by armed police has died.

Six other people are in hospital for treatment to their injuries including a police officer, who is in a critical but stable condition.

We are continuing to deal with the incident on West George Street #Glasgow and would ask people to avoid the area.

We would urge the public not to speculate about this incident or share unconfirmed information on social media.
A Queensland coroner has found the man behind the wheel of a ute that crashed into a far north Queensland cafe, causing a fatal explosion that killed two people and injured more than a dozen others, was not fit to drive.

The blast at the Serves You Right Cafe rocked the quiet Tablelands town of Ravenshoe in June 2015, killing cafe manager and mother-of-two Nicole Nyholt, 37, and 83-year-old grandmother Margaret Clark, and injuring 18 others.

Northern coroner Nerida Wilson scrutinised medical practitioners, government departments and family and friends of driver Brian Andrew Scutt before delivering her findings on Friday, making multiple suggestions to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

Ms Wilson found there should have been attempts to stop Mr Scutt from driving before he suffered an epileptic seizure and lost consciousness, crashing into a 180-kilogram LPG gas cylinder in the small town about 115 kilometres south-west of Cairns.
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Erdene Resource Development Corporation (TSX:ERD | MSE:ERDN) (Erdene or the Company) is pleased to announce its shareholders voted in favour of all items of business brought before them at the Company's Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) held on June 25, 2020 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Details of the AGM are provided below.



Appointment of Board and Executive

At the AGM, shareholders voted in favour of Erdene managements nominees to the board of directors, with details of the proxy voting results as follows:

Nominee Votes For % For Votes Withheld % Withheld Peter C. Akerley 75,256,981 100.00 50 0.00 Dr. Anna G. Biolik 75,756,981 100.00 50 0.00 John P. Byrne 75,456,981 99.60 300,050 0.40 T. Layton Croft 74,957,031 99.60 300,000 0.40 Kenneth W. MacDonald 67,639,064 89.28 8,117,967 10.72 Cameron McRae 75,653,158 99.86 103,873 0.14 David V. Mosher 75,254,981 100.00 2,050 0.00 Hedley Widdup 75,724,981 99.96 32,050 0.04

Following the AGM, Erdenes board of directors appointed its officers for the coming year, namely: President and Chief Executive Officer  Peter Akerley; Chairman of the Board  T. Layton Croft; Chief Financial Officer  Robert Jenkins; and Corporate Secretary  Suzan Frazer.

Auditor Re-Appointed

KPMG LLP was re-appointed Auditor of the Company to hold office until the next AGM or until its successor is duly appointed, and the directors were authorized to fix the Auditors remuneration.

Approval of Continuance of the Shareholder Rights Plan

At the AGM, shareholders approved the continuance of the shareholder rights plan (Rights Plan). The Rights Plan was adopted by Erdenes board of directors to ensure the fair treatment of shareholders in connection with any takeover offer for the Company. Under the terms of the Rights Plan, the shareholders of Erdene must affirm the Rights Plan every three years.

Approval of DSU Plan Amendment

The shareholders also approved the proposed amendment to the Companys deferred stock unit plan (DSU Plan). A detailed summary of the DSU Plan and the amendment is included in the circular sent to shareholders in connection with the AGM, which is available under Erdenes profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Story continues

About Erdene

Erdene Resource Development Corp. is a Canada-based resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious and base metals in underexplored and highly prospective Mongolia. The Company has interests in three mining licenses and three exploration licenses in Southwest Mongolia, where exploration success has led to the discovery and definition of the Khundii Gold District. Erdene Resource Development Corp. is listed on the Toronto and the Mongolian stock exchanges. Further information is available at www.erdene.com . Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information regarding Erdene contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Although Erdene believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Erdene cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, most of which are beyond its control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what Erdene currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the ability to obtain required third party approvals, market prices, exploitation and exploration results, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The information contained herein is stated as of the current date and is subject to change after that date. The Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE CONTENTS OF THIS RELEASE

Erdene Contact Information

Peter C. Akerley, President and CEO, or

Robert Jenkins, CFO
Unions representing tens of thousands of airline employees asked lawmakers on Thursday for $32 billion in additional government aid to maintain their jobs through the end of March, as air travel demand remains low because of the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. passenger and cargo airlines, as well as airline contractors, had $32 billion in federal aid to keep paying workers under the $2 trillion CARES Act that was signed into law in March. Terms of that aid prohibit the airlines from laying off or cutting the pay rates of employees through Sept. 30.

Congress is likely to begin negotiations on the next major coronavirus relief bill in July.

The unions on Thursday urged House and Senate leadership to pass "a clean extension" of the CARES Act, arguing that doing so would minimize additional applications or negotiations between the Treasury and airlines.

"This is the simplest and fastest way to maintain Congress' historic commitment to keep aviation workers on payroll  many of whom are on the front lines of this deadly virus," said a letter signed by unions representing flight attendants, pilots, mechanics and other employees to congressional leaders.

Spokespeople for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell did not respond to a request for comment.

All major U.S. passenger airlines accepted federal support, but executives have warned that job cuts are possible once the terms expire this fall. A spokesperson for Airlines for America, which represents American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest and other major carriers said it "is not currently seeking additional federal assistance."

Airlines are posting their first losses in years as the virus, and measures to stop it from spreading, sent demand tumbling to the lowest levels in more than five decades. Some executives don't expect demand to recover to 2019 levels for more than a year.

Airlines have parked hundreds of jets, cut scores of routes, and thousands of workers have volunteered unpaid or partially paid leave in an effort to save cash.




CommsPlus Signs Master Agent Agreement for Avaya Cloud Office in Australia

CommsPlus Distribution, a provider of solutions for communication vendors in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea is dedicated to providing its partners with innovative solutions. In a move to further tap into the growing cloud-based UC market in Australia it recently signed a new Master Agent agreement with Avaya.

The new partnership will allow CommsPlus to distribute Avayas UC platform to its vendor partners including products from Avaya like Avaya Cloud Office so businesses have the cloud communications tools they need to collaborate better and deliver top quality services - wherever they are working from.

Included in the all-in-one UCaaS platform are team messaging capabilities, conferencing, voice calls, file sharing, and more. This latest reseller agreement also includes the distribution of Avayas open SIP, multi-platform devices, and IP Office solution for agents, value-added resellers, and system integrators.

With this partnership announcement, were continuing to modernize the experience and communication technology market in Australia and around the world, said Steve Williams, Channel Director Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) at Avaya.

Avaya Cloud Office provides Australian organizations with the tools to adapt to the new world of work while saving time, resources, and money on their communications strategies. With CommsPlus, we will enable our joint partners and agents to accelerate their ability to help Australian organizations to innovate quickly and simply without having to make heavy, up-front investments.

Avaya was the perfect choice for CommsPlus as it has training and technical centers located in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane and can provide needed support for the local market. This was a great fit for the agent recruitment efforts CommsPlus has launched in the area to offer pre- and post-sales support, billing and subscription management, marketing and tech training, and ore for resellers.

Commenting on the new partnership and its perfect timing to assist with distributed workforces, Paul Bailye, Group General Manager at CommsPlus said, When you combine Avayas solution set with our services portfolio, our partners have the opportunity to expedite their customers adoption of comprehensive cloud communications no matter how diverse or dispersed their operations may be.

This partnership also enables our voice resellers to easily create and build recurring revenue streams and expand their own portfolios as part of the markets wider adoption to cloud communications.

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Edited by Maurice Nagle
Japan's railway operator is concerned that the planned opening of a super-fast magnetically levitated train system may be delayed due to a dispute with a local government.

Central Japan Railway, or JR Tokai, is planning to launch the next-generation railway service between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027. It will later be extended to Osaka.

Construction is underway in many areas, but a plan to build a tunnel in Shizuoka Prefecture is behind schedule.

The prefectural government has yet to approve the project citing the potential impact on local water resources. It argues that the work could reduce water flow in a local river.

On Friday, JR Tokai President Kaneko Shin and Shizuoka Governor Kawakatsu Heita met for the first time to discuss the matter.

Kaneko called for the governor's understanding that preparatory work for construction needs to start as soon as possible to open the maglev train service as planned.

Kawakatsu replied that it's necessary to sign a deal to protect the environment in accordance with the prefecture's ordinances. He also said the local government will decide whether to give approval for the preparation work based on the ordinances.
In what comes as a relief for airlines, Supreme Court has said that the middle seat need not remain vacant. The Supreme Court upheld an order by Bombay High Court and dismissed Air India pilot Deven Kanan's plea that challenged the Bombay HC order.

A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Bhushan Gavai dismissed the plea and allowed occupancy of the middle seat for Air India as well as other domestic airlines.

The plea had originally flagged occupancy of the middle seats on Vande Bharat flights that brought back Indians from abroad. The scope of the plea was widened later and the petitioner sought to keep middle seats vacant to ensure social distancing norms.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had submitted that an expert panel was constituted to oversee measures for safety of air passengers. It said that the recommendations of the panel were adopted and incorporated in an order on May 31.

The recommendations by the expert panel had allowed airlines to decide if they wanted to keep the middle row vacant, according to passenger load and seat availability.

The Bombay High Court order had noted that the recommendations and the subsequent standard operating procedure (SOP) address the concerns on safety and health of passengers.

Also read: International commercial fights suspended till July 15
Washington

The Army will take a few limited steps to counter racial divisiveness among its force, but is delaying a number of more contentious decisions, including recommendations on banning Confederate symbols and changing the names of bases.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy announced Thursday that beginning in August the service will no longer include soldiers' photos when soldiers are being considered for promotion. McCarthy and Gen. James McConville, the Army's chief of staff, said that they are still reviewing whether to redact the box on the form that identifies a person's race. Some bits of personal information, such as religion and marital status, are currently redacted.

They said the Army will wait for broader guidance from Defense Secretary Mark Esper on whether to ban the Confederate flag and other symbols. They declined to detail their own recommendations on whether bases named after Confederate leaders should be renamed. McCarthy noted that President Donald Trump has made known his objection to renaming, and the issue is now in Congress' hands.

Trump two weeks ago said his administration "will not even consider" changing the name of any of the 10 Army bases that are names for Confederate Army officers. Members of Congress, however, are pushing for change. The Senate's top Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has said he would be OK with renaming bases.

Confederate monuments and military base names have become a national flashpoint in the weeks since the death of George Floyd. Protesters decrying racism have targeted Confederate monuments in multiple cities, and some state officials are considering taking them down. Such moves are facing vehement opposition in some areas.

Trump's opposition to the renaming of bases appears to have stalled other military movement on several of the issues. McCarthy and Esper both had indicated this month that they were open to discussions about renaming bases, but are now relying on Congress.

Instead, the services are shifting to studies and task forces to come up with recommendations.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

McCarthy said he has ordered a study into how military justice is meted out, and whether there are disparities based on race. McCarthy said he want a report back in 60 days.

The Navy, which had begun steps to direct the removal of Confederate symbols, has not finalized or put in place the plan. But on Thursday, Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations, announced the creation of a task force to examine service policies and "identify and remove racial barriers and improve inclusion within the Navy."

Army Col. Carl Wojtaszek, who is in the office of manpower analysis, said a study last year showed that promotion boards, which can include between nine and 17 members, show differing results when photos of candidates are available. He said that when the photo is not included, the board members' scores are more closely aligned, it took them less time to vote on each soldier and "the outcomes for minorities and women improved."
It is always a good thing to support local businesses but these tough times call for an even bigger step. Most local and small businesses have taken a major hit during the lockdown which is why celebrations for United Nations Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) Day this year will be as big as they can possibly be.

With most shops still following lockdown rules, online selling is their only reprieve and platforms like Amazon are taking this job seriously. They will host the third edition of its annual sale event - Small Business Day (SBD) 2020 on June 27, on the occasion of the United Nations Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) Day.

Medium

This specially curated event will help small businesses, artisans, weavers, micro-entrepreneurs and start-ups to showcase their unique products and creations to millions of Amazon customers.

Amazon Small Business Day offers customers the opportunity to discover and purchase unique and hard-to-find products from start-ups, women entrepreneurs, artisans and weavers under its various programs such as Local Shops, Amazon Launchpad, Amazon Saheli, and Amazon Karigar as well as enjoys deals extended by lakhs of small businesses.

Here are a few hidden gems that you will find during this event:

Blue Art Pottery from Jaipur -

Amazon

These pieces are moulded with 16 elements involving intricate processes that take about 10-15 days. Master potters of Jaipur decorate this glazed pottery with free-hand Persian style patterns.

Tribal jewellery from Nagaland -

Amazon

The artists utilize natural resources to craft ornamental pieces that have traditional roots yet augment contemporary styles. A fine example is this beaded necklace with two brass heads and fishtails, that that are considered a symbol of fertility by the Naga tribes.

Dhokra from Chhattisgarh -

Amazon

These artisans use the Lost wax metal casting to forge art pieces in a way that no two pieces can be the same. It involves intricate patterning of a clay core with wax ribbons and then coating it carefully with a mix of clay and hay. The wax is melted off, and the cavity formed is filled with molten metal.

Ikat -

Amazon

Its origins can be mapped to the art murals of Ajanta that date back to 2nd century BC. Resonating tales of the glorious past, the Pochampally Ikat spins a magical spell with every weave. 50 meters fabric of weaved Ikat takes almost around 1 month for completion. Labour-intensive process, this popular weave even made its way to the White House to adorn its windows with vibrant curtains.

Natures Tattva 

Amazon

You can use Nature Tattva products to whip up your own concoctions allowing you to choose and customize products based on your skin type. The seller has taken great care to ensure that these products come with clear instruction manuals describing its ingredients and their benefits, making it super easy to use.



Himalayan Organics -

Amazon

Himalayan Organics is a popular brand famous for its natural products that are free of fillers, binders, chemicals or artificial ingredients. They offer a wide range of products that will solve your beauty or skin-related issues in no time. Known for their high-quality standards, choose to fall back on this brand for any wellness and beauty solutions you may need.

Amazon

One can also find products distributed region-wise, diving into North India, shoppers can choose from pretty Phulkari from Punjab or Banarasi drapes from Uttar Pradesh. Cassy hand-stitched shoes from Agra or add a touch of elegance to the home decor with hand-embroidered pieces from Delhi.

Amazon

From South India, you can replenish your wardrobe with handloom sarees from Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh; upgrade the interiors with metal brass crafts and idols from Tamil Nadu and add a hint of earthiness with wood crafts from Karnataka.

Amazon

In West India, one can discover a plethora of culturally rich products which truly reflect the heritage of our country. Intricately crafted blue art pottery from Rajasthan, Chanderi silk or Maheshwari sarees from Madhya Pradesh.

Amazon

The rich history of East India is clearly visible in the works of the artisans and weavers hailing from the region. The historically famous Jamdani, handmade all-natural fibre crafts, and bamboo crafted baskets and coasters from Bengal, and Sambalpur sarees from Odisha Handloom.

Amazon Small Business Day store is a bustling hub of such contemporary Made in India products that cater to the diverse taste of Indian consumers! The sale goes live on June 27, so check out the best of Indian tradition and innovation support these homegrown small businesses.
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Syracuse, NY -- Two men on pocket rocket motorcycles led a procession of at least 20 cars down Wyoming Street.

The procession paused as the men burnouts in the intersection of Marcellus and Wyoming streets. Smoke filled the air.

Then a Jeep came toward the intersection and a young boy held up a collage. The images were of Chariel Osorio and they had been taken to celebrate his graduation Saturday from Corcoran High School.

On Thursday, the collage was used to memorialize Chariel, 17, who was shot near the intersection on the same day of his graduation. He died Thursday.

I dont want a mother to go through what Im going through right now. Ever, said Chariels mother Marcela Ornelas. I wouldnt even give this feeling to my worst enemy. It hurts like hell. The memories hurt even worse because they make me want to hug and kiss him.

On Thursday night, at least 150 people mourned Chariel at Performance Park, where he was shot. Just before the shooting started Saturday, Chariel had tried to make peace between groups at the party, his aunt said people told the family.

Ornelas called for justice for her son, asking that any further violence that could follow her sons murder stop.

Chariel was shot at a Rye Day celebration, an annual birthday party typically held in the South Side for community member Ryedell Davis. This year, the event was moved to the park, a common space at the intersection of Marcellus and Wyoming streets on the Near West Side.

Nine people were injured in the shooting; Osorio was the only person to die. None of the others were critically injured. At least six people opened fire at the party in what is believed to be a gang-related attack, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said. No one has been arrested.

He was supposed to bury me, Ornelas said. Not the other way around.

Tealights spelled out CHARIEL. About 10 people arrived at 6:15 p.m. to set up the memorial and about 150 people showed up by 7 p.m.

Chariels friends showed up in sunglasses and with bottles of Remy Martin, Belaire Luxe and Hennessy. A granite-colored Dodge Caravan outfitted with speakers pounded out Changes by Tupac, If I Ruled the World by Nas and a selection of Lil Durk songs.

Several people made signs for Chariel with white poster board and sharpies.

I love you to the moon and back x1000, one read.

On Thursday, Ornelas and Chariels aunt Esmerelda Martinez left Upstate University Hospital for the first time since Tuesday. Chariel had been on life support until he died Thursday.

Ornelas and Martinez had to stay at the hospital because Upstate was concerned if they left and came back, they might bring in the coronavirus, Martinez said.

Martinez took a shower and saw her six-year-old son.

The two picked out a casket Thursday and will pick out a headstone and burial site in the coming days, Martinez said.

They only found out about the vigil from others, whod planned it while they figured out the logistics of Chariels funeral.

Ornelas wore a Corcoran High School Class of 2020 shirt to the vigil. A baby blue band with her name on it was still wrapped around her wrist from her time at the hospital.

Chariel s graduation was supposed to mark the end of one portion of his life and the beginning of another. He planned on moving to Florida with his father and maybe going to college or to the army.

He was trying to be better. He was trying to get out of Syracuse, Ornelas said. He was was trying to be a better man and they took that from him.

She recalled that on the day of Chariels graduation, Martinez and Ornelas cooked for the family. Chariel came home and yelled to his mom that he was hungry.

Ornelas turned around to see a smile widening across his face.

If you dont stop yelling..., Ornelas yelled back.

The two started laughing.

As she recalled the memory, she paused and buried her head into her sisters shoulder.

At least he got to eat at home, Ornelas said.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter.
Denmarks Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, thought she had finally found a date for her wedding, but has now had to postpone it for a third time due to an European Union summit, she said on Thursday.

IMAGE: Danish PM Mette Frederiksen and her fiance Bo Tengberg. This will be the third time that the couple push back their wedding date. Photograph: Mette Frederiksen/Instagram

EU leaders are scheduled to meet face-to-face on July 17 for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic to discuss the European budget and the plans for recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.

"I'm so looking forward to marrying this man," wrote Frederiksen in a post that featured herself and her fiance Bo Tengberg. "The Council meeting in Brussels has been convened exactly on the Saturday in July when we had planned our wedding. Damn. But, I have to do my job and protect Denmark's interests.

"I'm looking forward to saying yes to Bo (who is fortunately very patient)," she added.

Denmark has recorded 12,836 coronavirus cases and 603 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. It was one of the first Western countries to begin easing lockdown restrictions in April after the number of cases in the country remained low.

The leader of Denmark's center-left Socialist Democratic party became the country's youngest prime minister last year at the age of 41.
Still unanswered is why it took the police two months to release the video taken by officers body cameras when Mr. Lopezs family had almost immediately asked to see it. Regina Romero, Tucsons first Latina mayor, said on Thursday that there had been a breakdown inside the Police Department and that she had not learned of Mr. Lopezs death until last week, when the police chief called her. Even then, she said, the citys lawyer warned her and the City Council not to say anything publicly because it could be seen as an effort to influence the internal investigation, which was still underway.

My first instinct is, you need to put this information out there to the community, said Ms. Romero, who heeded the lawyers advice. After she was shown the video this week, she urged the police to make it public as soon as it could be played for Mr. Lopezs family on Wednesday.

An autopsy report by the Pima County medical examiners office found that Mr. Lopez died of sudden cardiac arrest, with physical restraint by officers and cocaine intoxication as contributing factors. In an unusual move, the medical examiners office ruled that the manner of death was undetermined, leaving open the question of whether Mr. Lopez died of natural causes or whether his death was a homicide.
Rabbi E. Arnold Siegel is always available to local individuals and families who need a rabbis guidance and perspective.

Its a time in our lives that isnt easy for anyone, and we all go through at some point. When a loved one or even we ourselves get sick or approach the end of life, an essential part of what we need is a listening presence and a voice of hope and healing. That is exactly what JFS Orlandos Rabbi Siegel provides.

Some of the comments from those Rabbi Siegel has helped:

 Its a much-needed service you provide to those of us in need. Thank you always for yo...
The Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (BCECEB) has extended the last date for submitting applications for DCECE till 2 July

The Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (BCECEB) has extended the last date for submitting applications for DCECE till 2 July. The BCECEB earlier pushed back the last date till 28 June.

The last date of fee payment through challan after submission of payment is 3 July, while the deadline for paying application fee via online mode is 4 July. Submitted application forms can be edited from 5 to 8 July.

Those who want to apply can do so by visiting the official website of the board at bceceboard.bihar.gov.in.

Diploma Certificate Entrance Competitive Exam (DCECE) is held for admission to various professional courses of medical, engineering and agricultural streams in the institutions of Bihar.

The BCECEB has also informed that the server will not function from 7.30 pm on 26 June till 7.30 am on 29 June due to maintenance.

The dates for releasing the admit cards and holding the DCECE 2020 will be notified later.

DCECE 2020 was initially scheduled to be conducted on 19 and 20 April, but got postponed due the coronavirus lockdown, reported NDTV.

DCECE exam pattern

DCECE, a pen-paper based exam, is conducted separately for engineering, paramedical courses and paramedical dental. The exam for PPE and PE (Engineering) asks questions from Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The paper contains 30 questions of each subject and is of 450 marks.

The exam for paramedical courses has questions from General Science, Hindi, English, General Knowledge and Quantitative Aptitude. It also has 90 questions and carries 450 marks.

On the other hand, the paper for paramedical dental tests the candidates knowledge of Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Biology, Hindi, English and General Knowledge. There are total 90 questions and the test is of 450 marks.

How to apply

Candidates who have already registered on the website of the BCECEB bceceboard.bihar.gov.in can fill the form by signing in. On the other hand, those who have not created a log in account will have to first do so by selecting the course for which they want to apply and providing the required details like name, date of birth, mobile number and email ID, among others. After successfully creating the log in account, fill the form and upload signature and photograph in the prescribed format. Pay application fee and take printout of the filled application.
The census can help us to understand exactly what that all looks like, Chirico said. It is really, really important we understand that and we can make adjustments within our community so we can continue to be just a wonderful place to raise a family, to have a career, to retire and all those things that make Naperville a great city.
Nurse's wipe down the clinical assessment room, St George Hospital, Sydney, NSW Australia May 15, 2020. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

New COVID Cleaning Courses for South Australian Workers

Up to 5500 employees will be upskilled through accredited COVID Clean training as South Australia continues to ease restrictions.

The state government-funded infection control courses aim to educate workers in prevention and preparation.

They will be rolled out across a number of industries including hospitality, retail, tourism, transport, logistics, security and cleaning services.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation will provide the training through its education centre under a contract with the Department of Innovation and Skills.

In a statement, the federation said the state had been a world leader in crushing the COVID curve and the program would help avoid community transmission in the future.

SA branch chief Elizabeth Dabars said healthcare workers and the community should feel proud of their efforts to stop the spread of the virus.

We have sadly seen COVID-19 spikes across the eastern border, and we want to avoid this happening here, Dabars said.

This training will enable a wide range of businesses and workplaces to gain the knowledge they need to stay COVID clean.

The course will be delivered through face-to-face training and an online program from July 1.

The state has reported no new cases for the past month.

Emily Cosenza
Friday, June 26, 2020

Travis Kupp, a member of our Emerging Fellows program checks the possibility of shaping an Asian Union in his sixth blog post. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the APF or its other members.

Asian regionalism has a complex past and an uncertain future. Events of the 20th century including a tumultuous process of decolonization, industrialization, and ideological reconciliation have set the stage for stronger relationships between Asian nations. The growth of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) provides a potential starting point in the eastern part of the continent that could lead to broader unification, continuing its legacy of increased economic cooperation. Central Asia could serve as another point of origin for unification with its compelling location as the geographic heart of Eurasia. Regardless of where an Asian Union emerges, its approach to international rules and normsespecially from a security standpointwill ultimately determine how firmly it takes root and how successfully it grows.

The expansion of ASEAN over the years provides a thread toward increased economic cooperation across the continent at a minimum. Originally exclusive to southeast Asia, the Association has added a Plus Three component to include economic heavyweights China, Japan, and South Korea, as well as an East Asian Summit that includes India, Australia, and New Zealand. This trajectory could continue into the creation of an East Asian Community that looks similar in nature to that seen in Europe as a precursor to a deeper Asian Union. However, it may be unpalatable to nations in Central and Western Asia who may not be keen on joining an organization that developed over many years without any of their influence in the process.

Alternatively, the dormant seeds of the short-lived Central Asian Union (CAU) could sprout in the fertile soil of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative. The establishment of this bloc would initially serve as a counterbalance to the Chinese - and Russian - led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which includes many nations that continue to be wary of each others intentions. The CAU could then be instrumental in leading to a more equitable framework for continental integration. As the geographic nexus between cultures in every direction, Central Asia could be a more acceptable birthplace for an all-inclusive union.

Whether emerging from East or Central Asia, negotiating existing international relationships and norms will make or break an Asian Union. For instance, many ASEAN nations enjoy a relationship with both China and the USA and would rather keep it that way. However, China has an interest in unchecked access to disputed seas along its entire coast. This could lead to an attempt at forcing the hand of these countries to side with Asia for handling its own regional security, thus creating the conditions for potentially decades of intra- and international conflict. Central Asia would similarly need to play a careful balancing act between Chinese and Russian interests without picking sides. Even if successful in this endeavor, the region has historically not integrated well with the existing world order and may not have much incentive to push for the non-hostile establishment of a Union.

An Asian Union that spans the entire continent is an unlikely future for 2050 but should not be disregarded as impossible. Tremendous shifts that have taken place over the last century both within and between Asian states, in particular through the development of economic infrastructure under Western security guarantees, make such a regional institution worth considering. This could emerge from Chinas relationships with Central Asia and Russia in the west, or with from Chinas involvement with ASEAN in the east. Either way, a successful Asian Union will need to carefully navigate its security framework in order to avoid provoking the distrust and potential opposition of the rest of the world. An Asian Century without a broad Union is a more probable outcome in the next few decades.

 Travis Kupp 2020
The post-pandemic environment is becoming quite challenging for investors. While markets have staged a quick rebound since hitting the March low, their journey upward has been quite volatile.

If youre a TFSA investor looking to buy and hold stocks over the long run, you can still make money in this uncertain environment. The challenge for you is to identify stocks that will be able to ride through this tough period successfully.

You can find such stocks in some of the most boring areas of the market. Banks, insurance companies, telecoms, and power utilities are among the defensive stocks that you can consider.

TD Bank: A top TFSA stock

If youre on a hunt for such stocks, then I strongly recommend adding some of Canadas largest lenders in your TFSA portfolio. Canadian banks are consistent in rewarding investors through steadily growing dividends.

Their main strength comes from their strong local presence, ability to grow south of the border, and that they operate in a regulatory environment thats among the best in the developed world.

And among the Canadian lenders, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD)(NYSE:TD) is one of my top recommendations for TFSA investors. In my view, TDs balance sheet strength and its quality of assets make the lender a relatively safe stock to buy when the economy is in a recession after the pandemic.

No doubt, TD will suffer when millions are losing their jobs and businesses are closing down. TDs net income for the three-month period ending April 30 sank 52% year over year to $1.5 billion. On an adjusted basis, TD earned $0.85 per share. Analysts, on average, expected $0.88 in per-share profit.

Position of strength

But that weakness offers a good entry point to long-term TFSA investors, as the lender will rebound quickly once the economies reopen and the pandemic is contained.

TD entered this operating environment from a position of strength, with a high-quality balance sheet and strong liquidity and capital positions, CEO Bharat Masrani said in a press release, after the April earnings release.

Story continues

Another factor that makes me confident to recommend TD for your TFSA portfolio is that the lender has an excellent payout policy. It distributes between 40% and 50% of income in dividends each year.

After a 7% increase in its payout this year, income investors in TD stock now earn a $0.79-a-share quarterly dividend, which translates into a 5.18% annual yield.

The bank is forecast to grow its dividend payout between 7% and 10% each year going forward  an impressive growth rate at a time when other assets arent offering good returns.

Bottom line

TD is a great stock to hold for the next 10, 20, or even 30 years inside your TFSA. It will slowly add to your wealth, and you will have a chance to grow your savings by unlocking the powerful process of compounding.

The post TFSA Investors: Why Youd Be Smart to Buy This Top Dividend Stock Now appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

More reading

Fool contributor Haris Anwar has no position in the stocks mentioned in this article.

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
A court has dismissed a motion by seven short-term landlords to appeal the decision of a provincial tribunal that sided with the citys regulations of Airbnb-style accommodation in November.

The City passed a bylaw amendment restricting short-term rentals in late 2017 and the rules were supposed to take effect in June 2018.

The Citys regulations were expected to put many short-term landlords out of business even before Airbnb and other rental platforms were ravaged by the fall in tourism from COVID-19.

But an appeal by landlords to the Local Appeal Planning Tribunal (LPAT) delayed the implementation of the zoning and accompanying licensing rules.

In the divisional court ruling, Justice David Corbett provided no reasons for his judgement, released Thursday.

It followed a day-long hearing via video conference on Friday, June 19, in which a lawyer for the landlords told the court that the LPAT made several errors in law when it upheld the Citys zoning bylaw amendment. This allows short-term rentals to take place only in a landlords principal residence and stipulates stays cannot exceed 28 days. Homeowners can rent up to three bedrooms in their home for an unlimited number of days per year. But an entire home can be rented for no more than 180 nights annually.

Following the LPAT ruling, Toronto declared the bylaws to be in effect, but it is still working out enforcement and accompanying licensing details. Those were to have been released in the fall, but COVID-19 means new timelines are expected this summer, a City spokesperson said.

The landlords appealing the LPAT ruling are short-term rental hosts who do not live in their rental units. They include Westhaver Boutique Residences, Whitehall Suites, Red Maple Suites, Living Suites, Royal Stays, IHM Limited and Premium Suites.

On Thursday, Jason Cherniak, a lawyer representing the landlords, said there is still a possibility his clients, who were operating before the regulations took effect, could be allowed to continue their operations.

The possibility of pre-existing short-term rentals continuing to operate remains unresolved and my clients are going to take some time to decide what to do next. Hopefully, the City will be willing to open a dialogue and work with the local small business operators to reach a solution, he said.

Cherniak said that, technically, the landlords have until Tuesday to appeal the court dismissal before a panel of three judges. He did not say if they planned to do so.

City lawyer Sarah Connor said she was pleased with the court decision. The City told the tribunal and the court that the bylaws permit homeowners to earn rental income from their properties. But they also protect the citys housing stock and keep hotels from operating in residential neighbourhoods, including high rise condos.

It would be a disaster to allow short-term rentals to operate in condos in the midst of a pandemic, Eric Gillespie, a lawyer representing Fairbnb Canada, told the court on Friday.

You cannot control a pandemic with that kind of activity, he said, citing short-term tenants use of lobbies and other common areas.

This is a win for all Torontonians who have been squeezed out of the citys long-term rental market by Airbnb operators whove turned thousands of homes into ghost hotel suites. We now have to focus on getting the City to fast track the licensing and registration process, and, of course,  enforcement, said Fairbnb spokesperson Thorben Wieditz on Thursday.

The court ruled that the landlords must pay court costs of $7,500 to the City and $3,500 to FairBnb.

It seems likely that there will be further administrative proceedings and potentially litigation respecting the underlying issue of using residential premises for certain kinds of short-term rentals, Corbett wrote in his ruling.
Top US airlines are expected to propose a range of coronavirus checks on passengers as pandemic flares up again.

The chief executives of major United States airlines are set to hold a meeting on Friday to discuss a range of coronavirus-related travel issues including the industrys push to convince the federal government to mandate temperature checks for passengers, three people briefed on the matter told the Reuters news agency.

The meeting with Vice President Mike Pence and other senior US officials is expected to include the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways Corp, the sources said.

The discussions will also include potential extended European Union travel restrictions on US travellers, contact tracing of passengers and the impact of COVID-19 on travel demand, among other issues, the sources said.

The airlines and the White House declined to comment on the meeting.

The proposed measures come amid a surge in coronavirus cases in parts of the US. Several states set single-day case records this week, including Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas and Oklahoma.

Lockdowns have been significantly eased in many states, leading to an increase in people venturing out again. Health officials now believe that as many as 20 million Americans have contracted the coronavirus. That is nearly 10 times as many infections as the 2.3 million cases that have been confirmed.

US airlines are pushing the administration of US President Donald Trump to require temperature checks for passengers in a bid to reassure customers about the safety of travel in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Airlines for America, which represents the largest US airlines, said on Thursday that its members voluntarily pledged to refund tickets for passengers with high temperatures during federal screenings.

Reuters news agency reported on May 9 that the US government has been studying imposing temperature checks at airports, but two US officials said on Thursday that no decision has been made  and the government still has not decided what agency would conduct tests.

Many believe the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) would conduct tests, but questions remain including whether passengers with high fevers would be reported to public health authorities.

Nobody wants to be the person that tells a flying, paying customer they cant fly that day, United Executive Chairman Oscar Munoz said during a video conference on Thursday.

US officials said temperature checks would not eliminate coronavirus risks but could deter unwell people from travelling.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the White House wants a plan in place by September 1 for airlines to collect contact tracing information from US-bound international passengers after convening a high-level meeting.

The White House tasked an interagency working group with adopting an interim solution by June 30 and ahead of any potential coronavirus second wave.

In February, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an interim final rule to require airlines to collect five contact data elements from international passengers and electronically submit them to Customs and Border Protection to facilitate contact tracing.

In the face of airline opposition, the CDC plan has not taken effect.

Airlines for America said earlier this month that its members strongly support contact tracing.
Our people Nobel Prize winner William Campbell celebrates 90th birthday Dr. Campbells research led to significant decline in river blindness and lymphatic filariasis

Sunday, June 28, marks the 90th birthday of retired Merck scientist and Nobel Prize winner Dr. William Bill Campbell. We are honored to celebrate Dr. Campbells life; he is an important part of our companys rich history of following the science to save and improve lives. Dr. Campbell and Japanese microbiologist Dr. Satoshi Omura were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015 for their research discovery of a novel therapy that has helped eliminate river blindness and lymphatic filariasis (LF) in certain countries in Africa and Latin America. River blindness, which is transmitted by black flies that live near streams and rivers, can cause severe itching, visual impairment, and, ultimately, blindness. LF, also known as elephantiasis, is transmitted by mosquitos and damages the lymphatic system, causing swelling of the limbs and genitals. Both river blindness and LF are on the World Health Organizations (WHO) list of neglected tropical diseases targeted for elimination globally.

During the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony, Professor Hans Forssberg, member of the Nobel Assembly, said that Drs. Campbell and Omura have made discoveries that have led to drastic decline in these diseases and that will hopefully eradicate them within ten years.

He continued, Your discoveries represent a paradigm shift in medicine which has not only provided revolutionary therapies for patients suffering from devastating parasitic diseases but also promoted well-being and prosperity for individuals and society. The global impact of your discoveries and the resulting benefit to mankind are immeasurable.

Dr. Campbell began research on a therapeutic treatment for river blindness in the 1970s. In the early 1980s, our own Dr. Mohammed Aziz, who died from cancer in 1987, collaborated with WHO to successfully design and implement field studies in West Africa on the disease. The work of these scientists has helped save millions of lives around the world and continues to touch more than 300 million lives each year. Through our public-private partnership established more than 30 years ago, our company helps vulnerable communities in developing countries combat river blindness and LF. Perhaps Dr. Campbells extraordinary achievements are matched only by his humility.

I have often been asked in recent weeks how it felt when I heard that I had won the prize, Dr. Campbell said during his Nobel Lecture in 2015. I can say without hesitation that my mind was instantly flooded with two emotions: one an emotion of joy and gratitude, and the other emotion, one of sadness. And the sadness [was] because  all the people who contributed to this drug and made it a success could not be named individually.

Dr. Campbell was born in Ramelton, Ireland, and moved to the U.S. after graduating from the University of Dublins Trinity College in 1952. He received a masters degree and doctorate from the University of Wisconsin before working at Merck from 1957 to 1990. Now retired, Dr. Campbell currently lives in North Andover, Massachusetts, with his wife Mary.

Dr. Campbell is Irelands only Nobel Prize winner for Medicine. This week, he released his memoir, Catching the Worm. He will be discussing his life and career at 3 p.m. ET online on Sunday with the Royal Irish Academy.

Happy birthday, Dr. Campbell, and thank you for strengthening our companys resolve to combat infectious diseases and serve patients around the world.
LONDON/HANOI  Laura Douglas tourism start-up, a farm surrounded by snow-tipped mountains in southern New Zealand, was attracting hundreds of mostly foreign visitors a month until the coronavirus pandemic brought it to a sudden halt in March.

Its like Ive been mourning the loss of my business, Douglas, 33, said in a phone interview with Reuters, adding she had to take on a second job as a vet to pay the bills during a strict lockdown that included sealing the countrys borders.

The rebound for New Zealanders who are reliant on tourism is expected to be slow, in marked contrast to how the tourism sector is faring in Vietnam, another nation that was hailed as a success story in Asia for containing the coronavirus.

Both countries have emerged from social distancing virtually virus-free, lifting all restrictions except those on international travel.

While New Zealands tourism sector is struggling pending arrivals from abroad, Vietnams has rebounded, according to travel data and industry members.

This is thanks to how much domestic tourism has filled the gap, reflecting in part how badly the coronavirus hit the two economies.

While New Zealands economy is expected to contract by as much as 20 percent in the first half of the year, according to the central bank, Vietnam has kept its yearly growth target above five percent.

July is normally peak travel season in New Zealand but scheduled flights are down 40 percent compared to the same month last year and even many of those are being canceled, according to figures from travel analytics firm Cirium.

Junk boats transporting Vietnamese tourists are seen at Ha Long Bay after the Vietnamese government eased the social distancing following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, May 19, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Weekly demand for Airbnb and Vrbo properties through July are down 55 percent from last year and a recovery is unlikely until later this year, according to forward-looking bookings from AirDNA.

Across the ocean in Vietnam, the story is very different. In July, more than 26,000 flights are expected to transport five million people, increases of 16 percent and 24 percent from last year.

Nguyen Thi Thuy Anh, owner of a travel agency called Minh Viet Booking, says he is handling a surge in bookings as businesses slash prices to attract local travelers.

Many people who couldnt afford five-star services before are taking advantage of the programs to experience the services, he said, referring to central and provincial government efforts to boost mass domestic tourism.

In a country with poor rail and road infrastructure, air travel is already a popular mode of transport, and even more so now, with airlines adding routes and offering tickets for as low as VND69,000 (US$3).

A Reuters analysis of flight data from FlightRadar24 shows that Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, along with Phu Quoc Island and Cam Ranh Bay  both tourist hotspots  were top destinations through mid-June after social distancing was lifted in late April.

Views from a beachside restaurant are seen at the Mango Bay resort in Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam, June 16, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Weekend road trips

In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is asking people to experience your own backyard.

She is urging employers to consider four-day work weeks and has said the government is actively considering more public holidays this year so people can travel.

On Friday, Ardern is launching the countrys ski season in the tourist destination of Queenstown, hoping that will give another boost to domestic travel.

Some New Zealanders appear to be heeding her encouragement and taking weekend road trips.

Demand for hotels and short-term rentals, while depressed overall, still ticks up over the weekends according to STR, an analytics firm that looks specifically at the hotel industry.

But tourism business owners say a pot of NZ$400 million (US$257 million) set aside by the government to subsidize wages and other costs for the industry will not be enough to tide it over while foreign tourists are still barred.

Views from a beachside restaurant are seen at the Mango Bay resort in Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam, June 13, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Foreigners account for around half the NZ$16.1 billion (US$10.34 billion) that tourism contributes to GDP in New Zealand, a hole economist Peter Clough says will be difficult to plug with just domestic travelers.

Whatever we do, were not going to fill that hole just by drumming up domestic travel or the Trans-Tasman bubble, he said, referring to a proposal that was touted last month to allow movement between Australia and New Zealand.

For Douglas, the downturn means digging deep in her own pockets and pivoting as much as possible to attract local travel to her 15,000-hectare (37,000-acre) farm.

The farming mentality is that youre not always going to have good seasons, she said.

Right now, Kiwis are going to be the best gift for us and Im hoping they will come with their gumboots on.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 22:44:44|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The legal liability for the recent COVID-19 outbreak at a slaughterhouse of German meat processing company Toennies is being evaluated, an official said Friday.

"It is currently being evaluated very carefully whether and against which rules the company has violated and where it can be held liable," Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state Armin Laschet told the German media RND, stressing that he would consider Toennies "as responsible."

In the wake of the outbreak that has left more than 1,500 Toennies employees infected with COVID-19, Laschet criticized the company's lack of cooperation with the local authorities. "There was no cooperation anymore, there were orders," Laschet said earlier this week.

A series of recent COVID-19 outbreaks at a number of German slaughterhouses have prompted criticisms of the working conditions in the meat industry and of the use of cramped communal housing for subcontractors.

In May, the German government adopted an employee protection plan for the entire meat industry. As of next year, the hiring of subcontractors as well as labor leasing models would be prohibited for German companies whose main business is slaughtering and meat processing.

On Tuesday, Toennies said it would cancel all its subcontract arrangements effective January 2021 but to employee workers and would "quickly create sufficient and appropriate living space" for its employees.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak at the Toennies plant, severe restrictions have been reimposed in the affected districts which will remain in force until June 30 in order to protect the population.

By Friday, the district of Guetersloh that was most affected by the outbreak at the slaughterhouse had recorded around 178 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the last seven days, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Enditem
Prince Edward Island has invited Express Entry, Labour Impact, and Business Impact candidates to apply for a provincial nomination

PEI holds 3 PNP draws in June Prince Edward Island has invited Express Entry, Labour Impact, and Business Impact candidates to apply for a provincial nomination

PEI holds 3 PNP draws in June Prince Edward Island has invited Express Entry, Labour Impact, and Business Impact candidates to apply for a provincial nomination

PEI holds 3 PNP draws in June Prince Edward Island has invited Express Entry, Labour Impact, and Business Impact candidates to apply for a provincial nomination Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Prince Edward Island invited 90 immigration candidates over three draws in June.

The PEI Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP) normally releases draw dates for the year ahead of time, but this year draws had to be rescheduled due to coronavirus service disruptions.

The first draw held on June 10 invited nine Express Entry and Labour Impact candidates. Then on June 18, there were 10 invitations issued for candidates in the same categories.

A total of 91 invitations were issued in the June 23 round. It was the first time Business Impact candidates were invited since the pandemic gripped Canadian businesses. With 20 invitations issued to immigrant entrepreneurs, it was the biggest round of the year for this category.

The same draw also invited 71 Labour and Express Entry candidates.

PEI Express Entry Category

The PEI PNPs Express Entry Category is an enhanced program which means it is aligned with the Canadian governments Express Entry system.

Express Entry manages the applications for three economic class immigration categories: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, and Canadian Experience Class.

Eligible candidates are given a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score for human capital factors such as age, work experience, education, and language proficiency in English and French.

Express Entry candidates who receive a provincial nomination are given an additional 600 points toward their CRS score, and are effectively guaranteed an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence in a subsequent Express Entry draw.

In order to be considered for a provincial nomination from PEI, Express Entry candidates need to create an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile with the PEI PNP.

EOI profiles are given points based on the provinces unique points grid. The highest-scoring candidates are then invited to apply through monthly draws.

The PEI PNP did not provide a breakdown of how many Express Entry and Labour Impact candidates were invited, nor the minimum EOI score required for each category.

Labour Impact Category

Candidates in the Labour Impact Category were also invited in all three June draws.

This immigration category is for foreign nationals who have a valid job offer in PEI, and have support from their employer. It is divided into three streams: Skilled Worker, Critical Worker, and International Graduate.

Candidates in this category must also submit an EOI profile in order to be considered for a provincial nomination through the Labour Impact Category.

Business Impact Category

The PEI PNP issued invitations to 20 candidates with an EOI profile in the Business Impact: Work Permit Stream.

Those invited needed to have a minimum EOI score of 117.

The Work Permit Stream is for entrepreneurs who wish to own and operate a business in PEI.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs

 2020 CIC News All Rights Reserved
In a major development, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) general secretary Abhay Singh Chautala called on former Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar at his residence in Sirsa on Friday.

Chautala reached Tanwars residence around 11 am and the two leaders spoke for over two hours, amid speculations that the latter is set to join the INLD.

Later, talking to Hindustan Times over the phone, Tanwar said that Abhay Chautala had made courtesy call to his house.

We discussed the political landscape of Haryana wherein the ruling party has failed to address the publics concerns and the opposition too is silent, Tanwar said while adding that people are now looking at an alternative opposition to raise their concerns.

Tanwar had quit the Congress ahead of the 2019 state assembly polls after he was replaced by Kumari Selja as the state unit chief.

In his four-page resignation letter to interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Tanwar had said that the grand-old party was going through an existential crisis-- not because of its political opponents but because of the internal rift. He was known to have had differences with senior Congress leader and two-time chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and had also even accused some senior party leaders of selling tickets after his loyalists were not nominated to contest the polls.

When asked if he would join the INLD, Tanwar said that he is not thinking of joining any party as of now but maintained that anything is possible in politics.

Politics is all about the right timing. I can assure the public that I will remain in the opposition. My main focus will be on raising the issues of farmers, labourers, students and employees, he added.

INLDs lone MLA from Ellenabad, Abhay Singh Chautala said that Bhupinder Singh Hooda is supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party-Jannayak Janta Party government as they had cleared the way for his son Deepender Singh Hoodas entry into the Rajya Sabha by not putting up any contestant against him.

I met Ashok Tanwar today and our meeting was fruitful. Many leaders of other parties are in touch with me and they will join the INLD in the coming days. Our party is the main opposition party on the ground and we are committed to raise public issues, Abhay added.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Standard Bank came under fire from activists over climate issues at its annual general meeting on Friday, though shareholders did not heed their calls to vote out directors over links to fossil fuels.

Climate advocates have increased the pressure on Africas largest bank by assets in recent weeks after it declined to table two climate-related resolutions from activist shareholder, JustShare, at the AGM.

Activists from JustShare and other groups flooded the virtual meeting with questions and concerns about Standard Bank directors with ties to fossil fuels, its climate-related disclosures and its involvement in projects including a Ugandan crude oil pipeline and gas developments in Mozambique.

Please can you explain how the development of massive new oil and gas projects in Africa, many of which Standard Bank is involved in funding, are in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement? Tracey Davies, director of JustShare, wrote, referring to the 2015 pact signed by almost 200 countries.

In response, David Hodnett, group chief risk and ethics officer, said that agreement recognised that the transition to a greener economy will take longer in Africa especially where access to affordable energy constrains development.

South African lenders have not kept pace with international peers on issues including the end of funding for coal-fired power projects, leaving some concerned they were not being proactive enough on climate change.

Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala said it was firmly and irrevocably committed to tackling the climate emergency, and that work was underway on some of the issues at the centre of the resolutions proposed by JustShare.

The bank told Reuters after the meeting it aimed to make its first climate-related financial disclosures in the next three or four months, and outline a policy on lending to oil and gas projects by the end of the year.

JustShare also recently sent letters to shareholders calling on them to vote against the re-election of five non-executive directors because of their links to fossil fuels, such as holding board positions at energy companies.

Shareholders voted in favour of the re-election of all five directors on Friday.
The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr has won his defamatory suit against Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Agyapong.

Mr Baako sued the loud MP after he used words he deemed were defamatory against him.

In his statement of claim, Kweku Baako stated that, on July 18, 2018 and on several occasions thereafter, Mr Agyapong published several statements against him on Oman FM, Net 2 TV, Adom FM and Asempa FM which are defamatory.

According to him, on certain occasions when the hosts of the programmes on which he made those defamatory comments against him asked him to retract or provide facts to back the claims he [Agyapong] made failed to do so.

According to Kweku Baako, Mr Agyapongs assertions have affected his image and reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of the society.

Mr Agyapong also dared Baako to pursue a lawsuit against him.

However, on Friday morning, the High Court came out with its verdict and ruled in favour of Mr Baako.

The court has consequently given Mr Agyapong 30 days to retract and apologise three times on the platforms he used to defame Mr Baako.

The court also awarded damage of Ghc100,000 with cost of Gh30,000.

---starrfmonline
A public partnership with the UAE would have been a political windfall for Benjamin Netanyahu, who has sought to build ties with Arab countries without making progress on a peace accord with the Palestinians

Tel Aviv: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel announced a new partnership with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday to cooperate in the fight against the coronavirus, portraying it as the latest advance in the Jewish States efforts to build stronger ties with Arab States.

But Netanyahus ebullient description was contradicted a few hours later when the Emirates issued a much more muted statement, announcing what it described as an agreement between two private Emirati companies and two Israeli companies to develop technology to fight the virus.

The Emirati statement took the wind out of what Netanyahu had touted as a diplomatic coup, suggesting that despite the deepening ties, the two countries were still at odds over Netanyahus vow to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

Addressing graduates at an air force base near Tel Aviv, Netanyahu spoke in grand terms of what he described as a new partnership that could benefit the broader West Asia.

Our ability to work against the corona pandemic can also serve the entire region, he said. It creates opportunities for us for open cooperation that we have not known so far with certain countries.

The partnership would include cooperation in research and development between the Israeli and Emirati health ministries in medical projects related to the coronavirus, he said.

To seal the deal, he said, the two ministries would announce the agreement in a few moments.

But it was unclear why the Emirates would agree to take such a public step at a time when Israel was drawing up plans to annex parts of the West Bank, a move that Arab countries, including the Emirates, have repeatedly denounced.

And four hours later, as Israeli officials stewed, the answer came in a Twitter posting from an Emirati Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.

In light of strengthening international cooperation in the fields of research, development and technology in service of humanity, two private companies in UAE sign an agreement with two companies in Israel to develop research technology to fight COVID-19, wrote Hend al-Otaiba, the spokeswoman.

There was no mention of a State-to-State partnership between the two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations but whose ties have improved in recent years, and nothing about their health ministries.

It was unclear Thursday whether the two countries had privately reached an agreement that came apart as it was coming to light, or what caused the daylight between the two announcements. But it seemed that Netanyahus annexation plans had made Emirati officials uncomfortable with such a public step toward Israel.

Barbara A Leaf, a former US ambassador to the Emirates and a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said it appeared that Netanyahus statement had pushed the Emirates into making a statement it was not ready to make.

If stronger State-to-State contacts were in the works, it was clear that the Emirates did not want to make them public.

They are not on the same page at a point in time when the Israeli government is openly discussing not whether but how much of the West Bank to annex, Leaf said.

Netanyahu has vowed to annex up to 30 percent of the West Bank as soon as 1 July, a move that much of the world views as a violation of international law and a new barrier to the establishment of a future Palestinian State.

Just two weeks ago, the Emirates ambassador to the United States, Yousef al-Otaiba, wrote a landmark article in a leading Israeli newspaper warning Israelis directly that annexation will definitely, and immediately, reverse all of the Israeli aspirations for improved security, economic and cultural ties with the Arab world and the United Arab Emirates.

Its Either Annexation or Normalisation, the headline said.

Al-Otaiba did not respond to a request for comment.

A public partnership with the Emirates would have been a political windfall for Netanyahu, who has sought to build ties with Arab countries without making progress on a peace accord with the Palestinians. While some Arab leaders reject the possibility of any ties with Israel, others have long considered an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement a prerequisite for any warming of ties.

In recent years, Persian Gulf monarchies have shifted away from seeing Israel as the oppressor in its conflict with the Palestinians and instead view it as a valuable partner in trade, security and their rivalry with Iran.

Shimrit Meir, and Israeli analyst of the Arab world, said that the announcements Thursday were still significant, despite the apparent miscues.

Saying we have two private companies cooperating with Israeli companies on COVID: In the language of [West Asia], this is almost unheard-of, she said.

Noting that the two countries had previously worked together secretly, she said, I think the outing of this is both important and bold.

The two countries had collaborated covertly on combating the virus recently, when the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, quietly acquired some equipment Israel needed to fight the coronavirus from Gulf States, according to European news media reports.

While Israel remains deeply unpopular across much of the Arab world, the Palestinian cause has diminished in importance to the region as Arab States have turned inward to deal with economic crises, popular uprisings and the rise of terrorist groups such as the Islamic State.

Persian Gulf countries such as the Emirates and Saudi Arabia have come to see Iran as a primary threat to regional stability and recognised Israel as a potential partner in confronting it.

The UAE has changed its approach to relations with Israel only in light of the Iranian danger, which they also perceived as threatening to them, said Eli Avidar, who ran an Israeli mission in Qatar in 1999-2001 is now a member of the Israeli Parliament.

That led to a gradual ramping up of covert dealings with Israel among Gulf States on issues including security, technology, agriculture and most recently health.

Ronen Bergman and Ben Hubbard c.2020 The New York Times Company
China would trade detained Canadians for Meng Wanzhou. Some top legal minds say Ottawa can do it  and should, June 24

If the United States was a true ally, it would withdraw its request for the extradition of Meng Wanzhou.

The alleged misconduct is, frankly, not the crime of the century, particularly when one considers the types of cases for which extradition is typically sought. Indeed, U.S. President Donald Trump seems willing to abandon the prosecution in exchange for better trade arrangements.

Canada is in a corner on this one. If it declines to proceed on the basis of Trumps conduct, we may face the wrath of an unpredictable and thin-skinned man.

If Canada declines out of hope for the release of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, it sets a dangerous precedent. There is also no guarantee China would release them anyway.
Emma Jade Dorge (pictured) is a regular climate change protester

A young activist who caused gridlock traffic during a climate change protest was seen struggling to breathe during a 'forcible and vigorous' arrest by police.

Emma Jade Dorge was fined $1,400 for her involvement in an Extinction Rebellion demonstration in Brisbane on August 6 last year.

She was among three protesters charged for blocking traffic in the city's CBD while calling for urgent action on climate change.

Police body-camera footage presented in court showed her screaming 'get off my neck' as an officer laid on top of her, according to the Courier Mail.

An officer was even seen kneeling on her neck for 15 seconds as she struggled underneath.

The unemployed midwife claimed police were excessively forceful when they pulled her off the street and into the back of a paddywagon.

Emma Jade Dorge (pictured) was fined $1,400 for her involvement in an Extinction Rebellion demonstration in Brisbane on August 6 last year

Dorge claimed she was pinned to the ground by a large officer who was lying on top of her and kneeling on her neck for 15 seconds.

During the trial at the Brisbane District Court on Friday it was revealed she was visibly struggling to breath as a result of the officer's actions.

Her solicitor Justin Sibley argued the situation had been traumatic for the activist because of her slim build.

Magistrate Anthony Gett described the officer's arresting technique as 'questionable'.

But while he found the actions were 'forcible and vigorous' he ruled the force was reasonable because of Dorge's attempts to resist arrest.

The court heard the activist had struggled when officers tried to arrest her, including trying to break an officer's grip by putting her entire body weight on him.

Magistrate Gett found she had brought the violence upon herself as a result of her own struggles.

She was among three protesters charged for blocking traffic in the Brisbane CBD after the August 2019 protest (pictured) while calling for urgent action to a climate emergency

Climate activists (pictured, left to right) Emma Dorge, Clancey Maher and Holly Porter hold a sign in protest outside the magistrates Court in Brisbane

Dorge was found guilty of blocking traffic and obstructing a police officer, and fined $1,400 over the offences.

However no convictions were recorded.

Co-accused Clancy Jade Maher and Holly Joanne Porter were also found guilty for their roles in the protest.

Dorge has been convicted for several other protest offences, including obstructing a railway and assaulting or obstructing police during a coal mining protest.

Global protests were sparked after American man George Floyd died after having a white police officer kneel on his neck for eight minutes, prompting debates about aggressive police tactics.
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Linkedin Adrian Wail Akhlas (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 13:08 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661db5d3 1 Business digital-economy,tax,VAT,technology,OTT,Netflix,zoom,Spotify,finance-ministry,tax-office Free

Six over-the-top (OTT) technology firms are ready to collect value-added tax (VAT) from consumers as the government ramps up collection efforts to fund the countrys fight against COVID-19, a government official said Thursday.

Tax office chief Suryo Utomo said six OTT companies with significant economic presence would collect VAT from consumers in August, adding that the government was also in talks with several other firms to collect VAT.

Suryo, however, declined to name the companies. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has repeatedly mentioned the government is targeting Netflix, Spotify and Zoom.

We will announce the firms that will collect VAT on digital goods and services in early July, Suryo told reporters during a streamed news conference. Consumers who buy the platforms' products or services will have to pay taxes starting Aug. 1, a month after the policy comes into effect on July 1, he added.

Suryo said the six internet firms were preparing infrastructure to implement the government regulation, adding that the government would need to reach an agreement first before announcing the companies.

The government is pressing ahead with collecting digital tax despite an announcement by the United States Trade Representatives (USTR) to investigate such policy, which the US said was aimed squarely at its technology giants.

Read also: Indonesia defends digital tax policy despite US scrutiny

However, the government has maintained that the VAT was not the subject of investigation by the US, which is focusing more on corporate income tax plans for technology companies, a topic of discussion led by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

We are trying to impose the VAT first as were still waiting for the OECDs consensus on how to impose corporate tax to find a long-term solution, said Suryo.

The government has been struggling to collect more revenue to fund its cash-strapped budget as the COVID-19 pandemic hits almost all business sectors. Ministry data shows state revenue reached Rp 664.3 trillion (US$47.41 billion) as of May, down 9 percent year-on-year (yoy), as tax income dropped 10.8 percent yoy to Rp 444.6 trillion.

Law No. 2/2020 stipulates that the government is able to charge VAT on taxable intangible goods and/or services sold through e-commerce platforms. It can also charge income tax or electronic transaction tax on e-commerce operated by foreign individuals or digital companies that have a significant economic presence.

Netflix did not immediately respond to an inquiry by The Jakarta Post.
As coronavirus COVID-19 cases continued to spiral in the national capital, the screening in every house of the containment zones in Delhi will start from Saturday (June 27). According to the new COVID-19 Response Plan of the Delhi government, the screening will get completed by June 30 and results will be released by July 10.

Nearly 1,100 teams comprising two members each have been formed to conduct the mega exercise. This is the biggest practice of coronavirus screening in the national capital.

A Delhi government's revenue department official told news agency PTI that around 100 teams have been formed in every district and each team has accredited social health activists (ASHA) and auxiliary nurse midwives (ANM) as its members. According to the 2011 Census, there were over 34.35 lakh households in the national capital, including 33.56 lakh in urban areas and 79,574 in rural areas.

The teams are armed with a mobile application which will send real-time details to a dedicated web portal set up by the government. Apart from basic details like name, age, address and contact number, the teams are feeding the mobile application with information such as every individual's travel history, whether or not they use the Centre's Aarogya Setu app and if they have symptoms of influenza.

Another official told PTI that this is a trust-based exercise, adding, "We cannot force somebody to undergo the test. We only update the information based on the answers to our questionnaire and conduct the rapid antigen test on those who have COVID-19-like symptoms."

In the last 24 hours, Delhi recorded 3460 new cases, 2326 recoveries and 63 deaths. The total cases so far reached 77240, total recoveries at 47091 and deaths at 2492. The total number of active cases are 27,657 and patients in home isolation are 16249. In the last 24 hours, 21114 tests were done in the national capital, the maximum single day test so far. Till June 26, 459156 tests have been done in Delhi.

In Delhi, 16249 people are undergoing treatment in home isolation. According to the health bulletin, out of 13411 beds in COVID-19 hospitals, 7190 are vacant and 6221 patients are admitted. The recovery rate reached 60 per cent and positive cases were around 17 per cent.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said his government will set up ICU beds on a large scale, but asserted that the COVID-19 situation in the city was still under control.
The Don Carlos Resort in Marbella, part of the Catalonia-based Selenta Group, has presented a compulsory redundancy plan to end the contracts of all its 94 full-time employees, according to the chair of the workers' committee, Marcos Rivero, of the Comisiones Obreras union.

The company is negotiating this redundancy plan (known as an ERE) when it still has a temporary furloughing plan (an ERTE) in place for staff due to the coronavirus crisis.

The five-star hotel complex, which has 299 rooms and is a well-known landmark near the A-7 east of Marbella, has been closed since the state of alarm and has still not announced when it plans to reopen, unlike most other high-end hotels on the Costa del Sol.

Company sources said that due to the current crisis, the owners have decided to move from year-round operations to summer season opening.

"An attempt has been made to reach an agreement to change existing contracts to this new way of working but it hasn't been possible. So we've had to put this ERE on the table," they said.

The workers' representative said that this reason isn't correct and that what the company wants isn't to close in winter but to "keep it open 12 months, weakening the working conditions of all the full-time workers, converting their contracts into 58.33% part-time". When the workforce didn't accept this, the company put forward the redundancy proposal, according to the workers' version.

Unions are opposed to the mass redundancy. "It is outrageous," said union leader Lola Villalba who pointed out that this is the first redundancy plan in a Costa hotel due to the coronavirus crisis.

"It is exceptional and unheard-of for a company of this standing to get rid of its staff after 52 years with the excuse of the pandemic," Villalba added. The workers say they were asking to move to a voluntary furloughing scheme rather than opt for redudancy.

The company has announced its plans while rules are in force that stop companies making redundancies for economic or production reasons, which means the ERE redudancy plan could cost the hotel more than usual, including paying back state help received in recent months.
GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alta. - Premier Jason Kenney says his governments blueprint to reboot Albertas distressed economy will be announced Monday in Calgary.

It will be a bold and ambitious plan to make strategic investments to get people working right now when we need it most, but also to invest in the long-term productivity of our economy, Kenney said Friday.

He said it will involve the largest ever spending on public infrastructure, including areas such as health care and transportation.

There will be also be a focus on diversifying the economy in critical growth sectors while buttressing the existing oil and gas industry.

It will be a plan for a province that was looking at a $7-billion budget deficit this year before the COVID-19 pandemic drained away jobs and business activity, and a global oil price war collapsed profits for its wellspring industry.

The budget deficit for this year is now pegged at $20 billion.

In March, Kenney announced a 12-member economic advisory panel, including former prime minister Stephen Harper, to provide guidance on the relaunch.

Kenney has been sharply criticized by the NDP Opposition for pursuing growth strategies in oil and gas while ignoring emerging industries such as high-tech and artificial intelligence.

Kenneys government, when it took power, cancelled tax incentives designed to grow high-tech. He said those programs were ineffective as they reached a small percentage of the tech market.

On Thursday, Kenney said part of Mondays plan will include the outline of a new program to incentivize job-creating investment in the information technology, digital and innovation sector.

We will be outlining a number of sectoral strategies in areas of our economy that we need to grow in order to diversify while also articulating policies that ensure a strong future for the oil and gas sector.

Kenney won last years election on a promise to galvanize Albertas economy, struggling even then with low oil and gas prices. He promised a pan-economic, less-is-more approach, championing broad incentives and then letting the free market take its course.

To that end, his government cut the corporate income tax rate, reduced the minimum wage for those under 18, and scrapped the provincial consumer carbon tax, though that levy was later replaced with a federal version.

Albertans have the lowest overall tax burden among Canadian provinces, and Albertans do not pay a provincial sales tax.

Since then, as the oil and gas economy has continued to struggle, Kenney has assumed a more direct interventionist approach.

In March, his government agreed to provide $1.5-billion to Calgary-based TC Energy Corporation, enabling the completion of the KXL pipeline to ultimately take Alberta crude across the United States to refiners and shippers on the Gulf Coast.

The $1.5 billion in equity investment will be followed by a $6-billion loan guarantee next year.

Kenney has said Alberta will be able to sell its shares for a profit after the pipeline is built and it will generate a net return of more than $30 billion through royalties and higher prices for its oil over the next two decades.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2020

 By Dean Bennett in Edmonton
The great-granddaughter of Australia's first prime minister has backed a call for his statue to be removed amid the Black Lives Matter movement.

Sir Edmund Barton was the first national leader after Federation in 1901 and played a key role in drafting the precursor to the White Australia policy.

He also framed a constitution that did not recognise Aboriginal people.

In the wake of slave trader statues being torn down in the U.S and U.K, activists have now started a petition to move a monument of Sir Edmund in Port Macquarie, on the mid-north coast of NSW, away from an Indigenous burial site.

Anne Barton, Sir Edmund's great-granddaughter, has thrown her support behind the campaign, claiming she believes 'he was a man of his time and was deeply racist.'

Sir Edmund Barton was the first national leader after Federation in 1901 and played a key role in drafting the precursor to the White Australia policy.

Anne Barton, Sir Edmund's great-granddaughter, has thrown her support behind the campaign, claiming she believes 'he was a man of his time and was deeply racist'

Ms Barton said she understood why the petition was created and thinks it is time to reevaluate the location of the statue.

'I think there's a principle here - if we look at the idea of authentic reconciliation, this needs to be part of that,' Ms Barton told the ABC.

'It's been our say - white settler's society - about what we put up where, and it's time I think to rethink that.'

Sir Edmund was a NSW politician before becoming prime minister and a founding member of the High Court.

Ms Barton said she respected her great-grandfather, but recognised his involvement in the persecution of Indigenous Australians.

'A lot of the people in the Black Lives Matter movement are talking about how police cannot see black people as humans - that's what my great grandfather did - he and his mob.'

His statue was unveiled in 2001 at the Town Green park in Port Macquarie on the mid-north coast of New South Wales - ten metres from a plaque recognising the area as containing an 1,800-year-old Aboriginal graveyard.

Sir Edmund Barton (pictured) statue was erected in Port Macquarie in 2001

Aboriginal activists started a petition to remove a monument of Sir Edmund from an Indigenous burial site in Port Macquarie on the mid-north coast of NSW

Local woman Arly Mehan, who created the petition, said the statue had always been an issue in her family and was ' not appropriate'.

In the petition, Ms Mehan said the monument is 'offensive' and representative of the fact that 'Port Macquarie is not a culturally inclusive town'.

'Edmund Barton was representative for 'White Australia', and this is linked to contemporary inequitable ideologies and racism.'

The petition has garnered over 4,000 signatures and will be tabled at the local council's meeting on July 1.
WASHINGTON - A federal judge has ordered Roger Stone to report to prison July 14, granting him a two-week delay because of the coronavirus pandemic, but not the two months that President Donald Trump's confidant had requested with prosecutors' assent.

Stone, 67, had been due to surrender June 30 to a federal prison in Jesup, Ga., while he appeals his November conviction for lying and witness tampering in a congressional investigation.

In an order and sealed opinion late Friday, U.S. District Amy Berman Jackson granted a two-week delay. Prosecutors had not opposed Stone's request for a delay until Sept. 3, saying the Justice Department's policy during the pandemic has been to grant up to a 60-day extension upon defendants' request "without respect to age, health, or other covid-19 risk factors."

In a short public notice, Jackson said she agreed to a two-week extension based on reasoning explained in a sealed opinion, which she asked if both sides would agree to unseal next week.

"This affords the defendant seventy-five days beyond his original report date," Jackson added in the notice, noting she originally ordered Stone to surrender to prison within two weeks after she denied his motion for a new trial in mid-April.

Jackson also allowed Stone to remain under home confinement until then, in according with Justice Department policy and "the strong medical recommendation submitted" by his defense. Jackson's notice indicated that would allow Stone time to quarantine so as not to bring virus from South Florida into prison.

Stone, a longtime GOP operative and friend of Trump's, was expected to seek a stay of his 40-month prison sentence since he appealed his case in April to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The judge's order came days after a federal prosecutor testified that top Justice Department officials pressured government lawyers to cut the longtime Trump adviser "a break" in his sentencing.

Briefing for Stone's appeal is expected to continue into October, making any decision unlikely before the presidential election. Trump has also strongly suggested that he will pardon Stone.

Stone has been out on bail since Jackson sentenced him in February and denied his request for a new trial in mid-April.

Stone was convicted by a federal jury in Washington of lying during his September 2017 testimony to the House Intelligence Committee to conceal his central role in the 2016 Trump campaign's efforts to learn about Democratic computer files hacked by Russia and made public by WikiLeaks to damage Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Stone, the last defendant charged in special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison. He lost his motion in district court for a retrial April 16.

Before Stone's sentencing, Attorney General William Barr and senior Justice Department officials intervened to recommend a lower sentence for the longtime Trump ally, prompting all four front-line prosecutors to quit the case and 2,600 former prosecutors to call for Barr to resign.
USS Preble Returns After Successful Counter-Narcotics Deployment

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS200625-10

Release Date: 6/25/2020 4:47:00 PM

From U.S. 3rd Fleet Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88) returned to their homeport of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam following the ship's surge deployment to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations, June 25.

Preble, along with a detachment from "Easyriders" from Helicopter Maritime Squadron (HSM) 37, deployed in March 2020 to conduct U.S. Southern Command and Joint Interagency Task Force South's enhanced counter-narcotics operations missions in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean.

During their deployment, Preble, with their embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET), recovered 100 bales of suspected cocaine totaling an estimated 2,000 kilograms, worth over an estimated wholesale value of $40 million.

"The success of this deployment was due to our Sailors and embarked Coast Guardsmen working together daily for a common cause  enhanced counter-narcotics operations," said Cmdr. Leonardo Giovannelli, Preble's commanding officer. "We thank our Preble families and friends whose unwavering support made it possible for their loved ones, our Sailors, to succeed at sea and complete our mission."

With the deployment conducted in a COVID-19 environment, the primary focus of ship's leadership was crew safety.

"We took all available precautions before the start of the deployment," said Cmdr. Peter Lesaca, Preble's executive officer. "I credit our Sailors for understanding the gravity of the pandemic, keeping themselves in good health, and taking care of their shipmates to keep the ship safe."

Preble joined other U.S. Navy warships, numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperating in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, are all playing a role in counter-drug operations.

U.S. 3rd Fleet leads naval forces in the Indo-Pacific and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary for an effective global Navy. U.S. 3rd Fleet works with U.S. 4th Fleet to complement one another and provide commanders capable, ready assets across the spectrum of military operations in the Pacific.



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KAMPALA  Following the commissioning of 42 MW Achwa II hydropower plant in October 2019 in the absence of a power evacuation medium, today government is losing shs 39.4 billion from the 2020 energy ministrys shs 2.6 trillion budgetary allocation for paying for the deemed energy. The raising debt is due to governments failure to secure land for the construction of transmission line to evacuate power to the national grid.

According to Uganda Electricity Transmission Company (UETCL), its noted that delays in land acquisition to construct transmission lines to evacuate power from 42mw Achwa hydropower dam are causing the government to pay for deemed energy.

For instance, UETCL noted that the construction of evacuation lines for Achwa plant will be ready in two years. The government could lose more than initial cost shs 290 billion investment for establishment of the project. If multiplied with the average rate of US cents 9.83 per kilowatt hour charge, the government will pay about shs 224 trillion as deemed energy in two years.

Indeed, the revelations about Achwa commissioning without securing land for transmission lines raise fresh questions about 600mw Karuma project and other hydropower plants. The initial cost of the karuma project was $ 1.7 billion but has been delayed twice and extended its construction time from the original planned 5 years to now over 7 years.

According to new vision June 23, 2020, confidential document, it indicates that each month of delay costs the government $12m (about shs 44b) in expenditures and $17m (about sh 62.4b) in lost generation revenue. Consequently, a year of delay amounts to $144m (about shs 535.8b) in expenditures and $204m (about shs 759b) in lost generation revenue.

Lack of transparency in the signing of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for electricity projects has wrecked the Achwa, Karuma and other Hydro Power Project that was hoped to guard against a return to longs periods of load shedding due to insufficient power generation. Without transparency, Ugandans will continue suffering from both insufficient power and expensive tariffs. In the end, they will not benefit from national, regional and global initiatives such as the Rural Electrification, the SE4ALL initiatives and others intended to help the increasing power access, reliability and affordability to drive socio-economic development.

Today, electricity access for lighting and other simple services stands at 22% and over 95% of Ugandans continue to rely on biomass (firewood and charcoal) for their cooking needs because they cannot afford to use electricity beyond lighting, charging phones and other simple tasks.

Moreover, Uganda has surplus hydro-electricity. Of the 1,2000MW installed capacity in Uganda, citizens consume approximately 700mw. The government will soon commission the 600mw Karuma hydropower plant. Ugandans are already paying high power tariffs because of the excess power that is being produced and is not consumed. Citizens should not be further exploited by making them pay for deemed power which is not required.

In addition to the above, the government continues spending on paying thermal power companies such as Jacobsen and Electro-Maxx as capacity charge for contributing to the national grid.

As you may recall, Ugandas government entered into PPA with thermal energy generator Jacobsen and Electro-Maxx to supply power to the national grid in 2005 when the country suffered a power deficit following prolonged drought.

The fact that Ugandans continue to pay for expensive power in the face of surpluses is highly exploitative and unfair.

We, therefore, request the MEMD to do the following;

The MEMD should urgently conduct a new assessment for all the shs 89.4 billion invested as deemed energy for the 42mw Achwa hydropower and cost implication of delay commissioning of the hydropower dam on socio-economic development of the country. The government should also assess the reasons why in the region and world as whole, Uganda continues to produce high power tariffs that do not benefits Ugandans.

iii. Enabling parliament and public access to power Purchase Agreements (PPA) signed by government with Jacobsen and Electro-Maxx to explore options of cancelling the agreements without costs to the taxpayer.

Edwin Mumbere is a Web Developer / Content Creator / Blogger/ Data Analysist / Climate Activitist

Related
C oronavirus may cause brain damage in as many as six in 10 critically-ill patients in hospital, a preliminary study has suggested.

British researchers examined 125 people hospitalised with COVID-19 and found the disease can cause complications such as stroke, inflammation, psychosis and dementia-like symptoms in some severe cases.

The most common brain complication seen was stroke, which was reported in 77 of 125 patients, or 62 per cent, with most cases in those aged over 60, and caused by a blood clot in the brain, known as an ischaemic stroke.

The findings are the first detailed look at a range of neurological complications of COVID-19, the researchers said, and underline a need for larger studies to find the mechanisms behind them and assist the search for treatments.

Coronavirus infecting a cell - In pictures 1 /9 Coronavirus infecting a cell - In pictures Coronavirus infecting a cell EPA An image captured and color-enhanced at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland, USA and made available by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows a colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (red) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow) EPA The SARS-COV-2 virus begin the infection process of cytoplasm of the cell, inside which is the nucleus, responsible for storing the genetic material of the cell EPA Tthe SARS-COV-2 virus particles after infection and viral replication inside the cell (white circle in the left corner) EPA A series of dark spots, which are viral particles of the SARS-COV-2 virus, trying to infect the cytoplasm of the cell, inside which is the nucleus, responsible for storing the genetic material of the cell EPA An arrow pointing to a novel coronavirus particle attached to cell membranes, displaying its typical glycoprotein spike 'corona' on the viral surface (issued 02 April 2020), seen in an electron microscope image, the first black and white portrait of the SARS-CoV2 virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease EPA An image captured and color-enhanced at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland, USA and made available by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows a colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (purple) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow) EPA

Published in the Lancet Psychiatry journal on Thursday, scientists from the universities of Liverpool, Southampton, Newcastle and University College London analysed data collected between April 2 and April 26 - when the disease was spreading exponentially in the UK.

Almost a third of patients developed psychosis, or dementia-like symptoms; nine had unspecified brain dysfunction, known as encephalopathy, and seven patients had inflammation of the brain, medically known as encephalitis.

In addition, up to a third of people who fall severely ill with coronavirus develop dangerous blood clots, which can trigger deadly strokes if they migrate to the brain and cut off its blood supply.

Scientists are unsure exactly why the clots form, but it's believed they're caused by severe inflammation due to the Covid-19 infection.

This inflammation in major arteries leading to the brain is thought to be behind the psychiatric problems seen in some patients.

Sarah Pett, a University College London professor who co-led the work said: This (is) an important snapshot of the brain-related complications of COVID-19 in hospitalised patients.

"It is critically important that we continue to collect this information to really understand this virus fully."

However, Benedict Michael, co-lead researcher from Liverpool University stressed that the study only focused on severe cases selected by doctors, and was too small to draw firm conclusions.

Mr Michael said: We now need detailed studies to understand the possible biological mechanisms ... so we can explore potential treatments."

Independent scientists have said the findings are "probably relatively rare" in most Covid-19 patients, so people should "not worry too much".

Michael Sharpe, professor of psychological medicine at the University of Oxford, said: "This report describes often striking cases of neurological and psychiatric illness as being sometimes associated with severe Covid-19 in hospitalised patients.

"It reminds us that Covid-19 is more than a respiratory infection and that we need to consider its link to variety of other illnesses.

"However, because this is only a series of case reports of patients seen by certain types of hospital specialists, we cannot be certain that these illnesses were in fact caused by Covid-19 or were simply co-occurring."
VIRGINIA  Virginias board has approved roughly $15,000 in TIF funding to help repair a downtown building after one of its exterior wall was damaged in a storm.

Straight-line winds from a storm a few months ago caused major damage to brick work near the roofline of the former bank building at 112 E. Beardstown St., owner Daniel Moffett said. That damage then led to some minor damage to the buildings interior.

It has to be fixed; otherwise itll put the building in a precarious position, Moffett said. I had already done some renovations to the building, so it was in pretty good shape before the storm.

Without the villages help, Moffett wouldnt be able to fix the damage because his insurance company denied it was caused by the storm, he said.

While the building is privately owned, the village board didnt want to see the building fall into disrepair and have to be torn down like other buildings on the square, Mayor Reg Brunk said.

Its a unique old building and we dont want to see it disappear from the square, Brunk said.

Built in 1888, the building has been leased for businesses in the past.

Its a landmark building on the square, Moffett said. Im big on history and I cant own the building and not be responsible for it.

Bricks saved from the demolition of the squares former theater building will be used to help repair Moffetts building because the two were built around the same time.

It has been empty for about 18 months, but Moffett plans to lease the building once it is restored and cleaned, he said.

Work on the building was scheduled to begin this week.

The buildings today dont have the near the craftsmanship or detail of the older buildings, Moffett said. If we dont preserve them, theyll disappear.

In Pittsfield, one older building isnt being saved.

The city council bought the lot and building at 122 E. Adams St. to demolish the building after an exterior wall became a safety threat, Mayor John Hayden said.

Like most of the buildings on the square, this one was quite old and it fell into disrepair, Hayden said. The top corner of the roof caved in and it caused a bunch of safety concerns.

A building next to the one slated for demolition was removed and, before the exterior wall of the purchased building could be reinforced and sealed, it collapsed, Hayden said.

The city bought the lot for $5,000 and will cover the cost of demolition. It also will help with the cost of sealing the wall of an adjoining building to prevent a similar incident. The total cost for the project has not been determined.

Once (this building is) down, the wall to the next building will have to be looked at to make sure there isnt a domino effect, Hayden said. We need to keep that wall safe and keep the people in that building safe.

A decision on what to do with the empty lot once the building is demolished will be made at a later date, Hayden said.
The management of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital) has initiated investigations into circumstances surrounding the death of the wife of the Director of the Ghana Institute of Languages, Dr Emmanuel Kuto.



In a post on Facebook, Dr Kuto alleged that his wife, Kafui, died after surgery at the hospital because a doctor prescribed the wrong medication for her.



In response to the post, the Medical Director at the hospital, Dr. Emmanuel Srofenyoh, has said that preliminary investigations have begun to ascertain the exact course of death.



He added that and that a committee of enquiry will be set up to probe the death.



Dr Kuto chronicled the events that led to the demise of his 48-year-old wife.



They had three kids with the eldest being 15-years-old.



Read the narration below



Folks, last night I lost my wife at Ridge Hospital.



My wife checked in at the hospital Sunday evening. She had been due for surgery Monday morning.



We agreed that I would return to the hospital in the afternoon when she would have returned from the theater.



Thats how it happened. I returned to her. She narrated the experience to me. I stayed with her till 8pm when the orderly came to ask me to leave.



When I returned the next morning, my wife had taken a turn for the worst. She was sweating profusely and was in severe pain. The change was really dramatic.



I asked her if the doctor had seen her. She said no but the nurse had given her medication earlier on. She asked me to take her to the washroom. By this time she was screaming in pain.



I managed to sit her on the WC. But as she attempted to relieve herself she suddenly went limp and crumbled onto the floor. She was unconscious.



I rushed out to seek help. A couple of nurses came in to help. She regained consciousness but she was in a terrible shape.



The next one hour was hell as there was no doctor immediately available.



After about an hour the doctor arrived. He examined my wife and asked the nurse what medication had been administered. The nurse mentioned something I dont remember. The doctor asked if she was sure and she said yes.



The doctor then went through my wifes folder for a few minutes.



 But I didnt prescribe that , he said.



My heart missed a beat.



There was a back and forth between the doctor and the nurse, which attracted two other nurses.

One of the new entrants said yes, he the doctor didnt prescribe it but another doctor did so later.



The doctor said he was going to call him right now. He walked out the room followed by the nurses.



I followed them into the lobby.



He picked the phone and called someone. From the conversation, it was clear that the other doctor had promptly admitted to prescribing the drug.



Folks, I swear by my fathers grave that my wifes doctor said something like this.



 I cant believe you have done this again. This is the second time. This womans case is similar to the other one but you have done it again.



Folks, at this point I started feeling very cold.



What happened next is the reason I am writing this. But for it I would never share this on social media.

As our doctor was scolding the other doctor, they nurses were laughing heartily. Even the doctor was scolding his colleague somehow jokingly.



Yes, my wife lay dying and the nurses were laughing that a doctor had apparently prescribed the wrong medication for her. I was not angry and I was not mad.



I just felt cold. Very cold.



A lot happened subsequently as they tried to save her. They prescribed some drugs which I bought. Then they prescribed some more drugs which I bought. Then they prescribed more. Then they wanted a test done which we did. Earlier, my sister-in-law who had held the fort while I went to see the kids had also been made to buy drugs.



In the end I was left alone with my wife.



At 8 pm the orderly came to ask me to leave.

I drove home filled with a huge feeling of emptiness. I could not sleep. I tossed around in bed the whole night. At around 4 am I fell asleep.



My sister-in-law was to take up the relay this morning. I was to go and teach my students and then return to replace her. We took turns taking care of my wife.

My sister-in-law called me at 6 am which is the visiting time at the hospital.



I had overslept.



Brother Imma, are you coming? The doctors want to see you immediately.



I am on my way, I lied. I hurriedly jumped into a crumpled jeans and an old Lacoste. I did not bath. I did not brush my teeth. I dont know how I drove to Ridge Hospital.



My wife died at 11 pm last night, three hours after I left her.

A lady in the ward told me she collapsed and died. Just like that.



By the way, my sister-in-law told me that when she got to the ward this morning she overheard doctors and nurses arguing over wrong medication.

I am not angry. I am sad. Deeply sad. Indescribably sad.



Folks, lets be clear. I have no evidence that the wrong medication killed my wife. I have requested for an autopsy.



I also appreciate the efforts made by some of the nurses to save the life of my wife. One particular nurse was very kind to me and I pray Gods blessings on her.



What I cannot accept, and why I am writing this, is that health workers find it funny that the wrong medication had apparently been administered to my wife. They were laughing. It was a joke. My wifes life was a joke.



My wife heard the whole story unfold. How did she feel lying there listening?

I kept thinking Is my wifes life worth so little?



Is that all she is worth? Cant they see she is my wife? Cant they see me standing there listening to them?



Now I have been thinking. I am a senior public servant, the head of a public tertiary institution. If this happened to me then I shudder to think of what can happen to an ordinary person in our country.



Folks, I am not courting sympathy. I have thought carefully before posting this.



Here is the thing:

Nobody, absolutely nobody deserves to experience this. It falls far below any idea of human decency. This should never happen again.



That is why I am calling out Ridge Hospital.



I am asking you a special favor. Please, help me call out Ridge Hospital.



It is me today. It could be you tomorrow.

Please, share my post again and again till it gets to the authorities of Ridge Hospital.



Hopefully they will sit up. Hopefully they will stop treating human life like statistics. Hopefully, they will understand that every patient is a person, a wife, a husband, a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a son, a daughter, a cousin, a grandmother and a father that is dearly beloved by someone.



Thank you.





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.

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The Federal Government has condemned the attack on the Nigerian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia by Nigerian citizens, describing the act as disgraceful and criminal.

Aggrieved Nigerians living in Indonesia destroyed properties of the embassy during a protest against discrimination and targetted raids by immigration officers.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, condemned the act on Friday via Twitter. He vowed that perpetrators would be identified and punished accordingly.

Absolutely deplorable and disgraceful criminal behaviour by Nigerian hooligans who without justification attacked the Nigerian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia today.  Geoffrey Onyeama (@GeoffreyOnyeama) June 25, 2020

Every effort will be made to identify them and see they are severely punished. Totally unacceptable behaviour. #StayHomeSaveLives #COVID19 @NigeriaGov @DigiCommsNG  Geoffrey Onyeama (@GeoffreyOnyeama) June 25, 2020

Onyeama wrote; Absolutely deplorable and disgraceful criminal behaviour by Nigerian hooligans, who without justification, attacked the Nigerian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia today.

Totally unacceptable behaviour.

Every effort will be made to identify them and see they are severely punished, he tweeted.
China has not disclosed the number of casualties on its side of the LAC with India, though a report by India Today said Indian forces turned over the bodies of 16 Chinese soldiers

In the same week that Chinese and Indian soldiers engaged in a deadly brawl, one of Chinas submarines cruised through the waters near Japan, prompting a scramble of aircraft and ships to track its furtive movements. Chinese fighter jets and at least one bomber buzzed Taiwans territorial airspace almost daily.

With the world distracted by the coronavirus pandemic, Chinas military has encroached upon its neighbours territories on several fronts throughout the spring and now into summer, flexing its military might in ways that have raised alarms across Asia and in Washington.

Chinas military assertiveness reflects a growing sense of confidence and capability, but also one of confrontation, particularly with the United States over the pandemic, the fate of Hong Kong and other issues that China considers central to its sovereignty and national pride.

China claims all of its recent operations are defensive, but each increases the risk of a military clash, whether intended or not. That appears to be what happened on the night of 15 June, when Chinese and Indian soldiers fought along their disputed border in the Himalayas.

It was the bloodiest clash on that frontier since 1967. According to Chinese analysts, Indian news reports and US intelligence reports, it also caused an undisclosed number of Chinese deaths, the countrys first in combat since its war with Vietnam in 1979.

I think the possibility of an accidental shot being fired is rising, Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said at a conference in Beijing this week, unveiling a report on US military activity in the region.

China has long acted forcefully to defend the countrys territory and interests, but it is now operating with greater military firepower than ever before.

Its power is growing at a much greater rate than the other regional powers, said Adam Ni, director at the China Policy Centre, a research organisation in Canberra, Australia. This has really given Beijing more tools at its disposal to push its more assertive and aggressive agenda.

The increased operational tempo this year follows a military modernisation program that began in the 1990s and accelerated under Chinas ambitious and authoritarian leader, Xi Jinping. He steadily purged the militarys top ranks of corrupt or insufficiently loyal officers and shifted the focus of the Peoples Liberation Army from heavy ground battles to more agile joint operations using air, naval and, increasingly, cyber weapons.

Xi has also made the military an even greater priority in the wake of the pandemic. Chinas premier, Li Keqiang, announced last month that the military budget would rise 6.6% this year, to nearly $180 billion, about a quarter of the US defence budget, even as overall government spending was set to decline because of the global economic slowdown.

At the National Peoples Congress, Xi noted the role the military played in Wuhan, where the outbreak began in China, and warned that the pandemic posed challenges to national security. The country, he said, should step up preparations for military struggles, flexibly carry out actual military training, and comprehensively improve our militarys ability to carry out military missions.

Chinas military is widely thought to remain far behind US armed forces, but it has caught up in some areas, including the expansion of its naval power and the deployment of anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.

By the end of last year, China was believed to have at least 335 warships, more than the United States, which has 285, according to a report last month by the Congressional Research Service in Washington.

The report said China now posed a major challenge to the US Navys ability to achieve and maintain wartime control of blue-water ocean areas in the Western Pacific  the first such challenge the US Navy has faced since the end of the Cold War.

China has stepped up its military activity near Taiwan after the self-governing islands president, Tsai Ing-wen, won reelection in January by beating a candidate viewed as less hostile to Beijing.

One of Chinas two aircraft carriers cruised along the eastern coast of Taiwan in April, accompanied by five other warships. Chinese aircraft have repeatedly buzzed Taiwanese airspace in the last week, in what analysts said were tests of the islands defences. China plans to hold a military exercise in August that will reportedly simulate the seizure of Taiwans Pratas Islands, a cluster of atolls known in Mandarin as the Dongsha Islands.

China has also expanded its claims to the South China Sea, creating two new administrative districts to govern the islands it controls in the Paracel and Spratly chains and menacing other neighbors. In April, Chinas coast guard rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat. The same month, a Chinese government research ship stalked an oil vessel in waters Malaysia claims as its own, prompting the United States and Australia to send four warships to monitor the situation.

In the East China Sea, the patrol by a Chinese submarine last week was the first detected since 2018, when Japanese warships forced a nuclear attack submarine to surface. It follows rising tensions over Japans administration of the Senkaku Islands, which the Chinese call the Diaoyu Islands.

When China views it is being challenged in these other sovereignty disputes in this era, it will respond with a very tough line, said M Taylor Fravel, director of the Security Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an expert on Chinas military.

China never had the ability to assert itself in the maritime domain until really in the last 10 or 15 years, Fravel said, noting the steady buildup of Chinas naval and air forces. He added, That has enabled China to press its claims in the East and South China Sea more than before.

It has also stepped up patrols in the skies over the region. General Charles Q Brown Jr, commander of the Pacific Air Forces who will soon take over as the Air Force chief of staff, said Wednesday that China had only occasionally flown missions of its H-6 bombers but was now doing so almost daily.

Those bombers, while old, have been revamped and equipped with new missiles that China put on display at the military parade in October commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China.

For all of its recent activity, Chinas military remains untested. The clash with the Indians was an isolated fight with rocks and clubs, not firearms, so it was hardly a test of Chinese military preparedness. It did raise questions about training and discipline.

Details of the brawl remain sketchy and impossible to verify independently, but according to some accounts in the Indian news media, a tense, but manageable situation spiraled out of control because inexperienced replacements from other parts of Tibet did not observe the usual protocols for defusing confrontations.

China has not disclosed the number of casualties on its side, though a report by India Today said Indian forces turned over the bodies of 16 Chinese soldiers. A US intelligence official in Washington suggested that China was deliberately hiding its losses, which were comparable to India, ranging from 20 to 30.

Song Zhongping, an independent military analyst, said the figure was lower than the Indian claims but would not be released to avoid stimulating intense sentiment in India.

While the tensions with India are important, they are not the core Chinese military priority: Confronting what it considers US aggression in Chinas neighbourhood.

The United States, too, has stepped up its military activity in the region. It has sent US warships through the South China Sea and stepped up support for Taiwan and its military  issues that came up this month when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Chinas top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in Hawaii.

Pompeo said in a radio interview Tuesday that the administration is now preparing a sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan.

The Chinese blame the United States for the tensions in the area, accusing the US military of routinely interfering in a region where it has no territorial claims.

Zhu Feng, executive director of the China Centre for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea, who contributed to the report on US military activity there, warned that the possibility of confrontation would increase as the US presidential campaign heated up.

The United States has pinned China down with the two talons of the South China Sea and Taiwan issues, he said.

Steven Lee Myers c.2020 The New York Times Company
(Natural News) Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced on June 24 that she would be slashing the budget of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) by $20 million, a five percent cut from a $400 million budget. Durkan says that the budget cut aims to rebalance the citys expenses, which have been devastated due to spending on the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The SPD are set to experience the largest budget cut among all other department reductions in the budget rebalancing.

The rebalancing document the city published shows that Seattle is also considering deeper cuts into the police budget in the future. The city expects to spend around $233 million this year on the coronavirus, with much of the money going to emergency food and housing support, coronavirus testing, support for first responders, adaptations made for the citys facilities and new hires made to help handle the crisis. The city has also stated that they will be focusing much of their spending on the needs of the citys most vulnerable Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.

In total, Durkans office said that the city needs to find $378 million to balance the budget, due to the aforementioned spending on the coronavirus pandemic, as well as a massive decrease in city revenue due to lockdowns and economic restrictions.

Durkan presented her proposed budget to the Seattle City Council, which is almost entirely composed of Democrats, on June 24.

Ben Noble, Seattles budget director, said that layoffs in most city departments will be inevitable by 2021. This is the biggest financial hit the city has ever seen, he said. The local economy is getting smaller, significantly smaller.

As part of the 2020 and 2021 budget, we will be looking at @SeattlePD's culture and budget. Police should not always be first people on the scene to deal with every call for help. Not every 9-1-1 call requires someone with a firearm to show up.  Mayor Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) June 23, 2020

Durkan: SPD must prepare for deeper budget cuts in the future

Along with the five percent cut to the SPDs budget, which includes a pause on a $4 million project to build a new North Precinct building, Durkan has also proposed a hiring freeze on new police officers starting in 2021 until the department can come up with a new staffing model that reflects the communitys actual public safety needs.

Furthermore, Durkan has asked both her office and the office of SPD Chief of Police Carmen Best to prepare models by the end of July of what the department would look like if its budget were cut by 20, 30 and possibly even 50 percent in the future.

We have to rethink and reimagine policing, including our culture and budget, said Durkan on Monday, June 22. We are asking police officers more and more to deal with all the problems society has created.

In response to the possibility of budget cuts, Best wrote a letter to the community, wherein she stated that her department is reviewing which of its responsibilities it feels it can pass on to other agencies or completely hand off to their respective communities.

With regards to reinvesting the SPDs resources into the community, Best agrees with Durkan, saying that the SPD have long been vocal about their concern that officers are being asked to play larger and larger roles in the community, and that people have no choice but to turn to police officers because of a series of failures by other city safety nets, many of which do not receive enough funding.

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how the Democratic Party is planning to abolish police departments in Americas largest cities, plunging these already crime-ridden urban areas into total chaos.

Durkans budget cuts a down payment on a promise to Black Lives Matter

Andre Taylor, leader of the organization Not This Time! which is working to reduce police violence in Seattle, called Durkans cut to the police budget a down payment on a promise and that the mayor is putting her money where her mouth is by partially acceding to the Black Lives Matter movements demand to defund and abolish the police department. (Related: Black Lives Matter is spreading: Number of protests in rural America growing.)

Many of the Black Lives Matter rioters, who have been the dominant voice in Seattle since the beginning of the engineered civil unrest, have said that the five percent budget cut is not enough. Their demand is that the SPDs budget be cut by 50 percent, or around $200 million. This is part of a massive defunding campaign that has rocked the nation, and has resulted in many other cities considering budget cuts for police or the abolition of police departments altogether.

Durkans proposed budget cuts, while supposedly in response to the coronavirus pandemic, have also come amid heightened tensions and civil unrest over the engineered rioting in the city that followed the death of George Floyd, along with the illegal occupation of six city blocks in the Capitol Hill neighborhood known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), an area from which the SPD retreated from during the height of the protests in early June.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

CrossCut.com

FoxNews.com

SeattleTimes.com

TheHill.com
By Natalia A. Ramos Miranda and Aislinn Laing SANTIAGO, June 26 (Reuters) - Chile's mines minister Baldo Prokurica on Friday cited figures projecting a decline in the country's copper output of 200,000 tonnes as a result of the growing impact of the new coronavirus on the industry.

Prokurica said the Cochilco copper commission's projection, representing around 3.5% of Chile's total 2019 production, was a best guess since the combined impact of the virus and economic fallout made it "very difficult" to predict with certainty. He applauded the Thursday announcement to suspend work at the foundry and refinery at state-run copper miner Codelco's second-largest Chuquicamata division to protect workers. "Mining has taken and is willing to take all necessary measures to protect the life and health of the workers who are our main capital, and that is what we have asked companies to do," the minister said in a statement.

Prokurica said he would be meeting the Interior Ministry's Crime Prevention undersecretary on Friday to outline an audit of the mining industry's anti-coronavirus measures being carried out by Chiles Geology and Mining Service (Sernageomin).

His statement came as the company in an internal memo, seen by Reuters, confirmed the death of a fourth Codelco. The man, named as Jimmy Rojas Mondaca, was the third worker at Chuquicamata to die, and one of four staffers to have died from COVID-19 so far. The death of a fifth man, Omar Manosalva, a contractor working at the Ministro Hales division, was also reported on Friday. Chile on Friday confirmed 4,296 new confirmed virus cases, taking the total to 263,360, and 5,068 deaths.

Copper prices touched a five-month peak on Friday amid growing fears of disruption to Chilean copper output. "There is mounting evidence that Chile is starting to struggle with pockets of outbreaks at mines and the pushback from trade unions for safer working practices," said Kieran Clancy, assistant commodities economist at Capital Economics. (Reporting by Aislinn Laing; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
LOS ANGELES, June 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bestselling author Erik Seversen releases book highlighting the power of human will and the rewards of human relationships with people different from ourselves. To make the book available to everyone, it is listed for $0.99 during book launch June 24-30, 2020.

In his first book, "Ordinary to Extraordinary" (Thin Leaf Press 2018), Mr. Seversen wrote about true adventures of traveling through Africa, living with a remote Indian tribe in the Amazon, and more. Mr. Seversen challenged our assumptions of Meaning. Highlighting exotic places and the meeting of remarkable people around the world, "Ordinary to Extraordinary" shows how all of us can choose to be Extraordinary.

Now, in his second book, "Explore: Extraordinary Adventures of Vulnerability and Strength," Mr. Seversen continues to take lessons from interactions with people very different from himself, but in "Explore" he now challenges our common cultural assumptions of Happiness and Success.

"Reading this book will not only transport you to the Amazon Jungle and the Alaskan Wilderness, but to the very center of your search to live life on your own terms," says Adam Carroll, Author of "The Build a Bigger Life Manifesto." "I'm inspired to be a better human and to experience all that life promises us (but doesn't guarantee)."

According to Mr. Seversen, it is more important than ever to embrace difference and strive to understand the unconscious patters of similarity rather than difference with other people. He hopes that "Explore" will get people to search outwardly and inwardly to discover how both happiness and success are within our own control and no one else's.

About the Author:

Erik Seversen holds a master's degree in anthropology and is a certified practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. He has been to over 80 countries and all 50 states in the USA. Erik takes from years of teaching at the university level and years of real-life experience to motivate people to take action. Erik lives with his wife and two boys in Los Angeles, California.

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Relatives of people killed in the Philippine drug war hold banners and pictures while staging a protest in Quezon City calling for an independent investigation into the anti-narcotics crackdown by the Duterte administration, July 9, 2019.

The Philippine presidential palace lashed out at United Nations experts on Friday for what Manila said was a lack of impartiality in calling out alleged human rights abuses in the country.

Thirty-one U.N. special rapporteurs and other experts, in a joint statement issued from Geneva, renewed a call for an independent, impartial and on the ground probe into the Duterte administrations bloody crackdown on illegal drugs. The government has flatly rejected such a proposal in the past.

We maintain that the Philippines has continuously discharged its obligations to punish violations of human rights, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

The conclusion they have reached and the sanctions they have demanded confirm the lack of impartiality that has unfortunately tainted the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations when it comes to the Duterte administration, he said.

In their statement, the experts also urged U.N. member states to impose sanctions and prosecute individual Philippine officials who have committed, incited or failed to prevent human rights abuses.

The rapporteurs and experts blasted Manila for the staggering cost of the relentless and systematic assault on the basic rights of the Filipino people.

The climate for human rights in the Philippines had reached a level of gravity requiring robust intervention by the world body, they said.

The Human Rights Council must do everything in its power to prevent the continuation of widespread and systematic human rights abuses against the Philippines people, the rapporteurs said.

They released their statement on Thursday ahead of the U.N. Human Rights Councils 44th regular session in Geneva, scheduled to run from June 30 to July 20.

Michelle Bachelet, the U.N.s High Commissioner for Human Rights, is expected to release her offices report on the Philippines during that period.

The Philippines had existing laws and mechanisms to address torture and enforced disappearances, among other concerns related to human rights abuses, Roque emphasized

We have a working and independent judiciary that deals with violators of the human rights, regardless of who they may be, Roque said, adding that Philippine courts stood ready to receive and rule on any complaint.

We call on the special rapporteurs to respect our legal system and the Philippines as a sovereign state, he said.

Upon assuming office in mid-2016, Duterte launched a bloody war on drugs that has since left at least 6,000 suspected drug addicts and dealers dead, based on an official police count.

Rights groups, however, said the figure could be as high as 20,000 and 30,000.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a report published earlier this month, placed the figure at 8,663, with more than 220,000 drug personalities arrested. Seventy-three of those killed were children.

The U.N. experts also noted that Duterte had ordered police forces to shoot dead anyone found to be protesting a lack of food aid as the Philippines went into a lockdown earlier during the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 has further accelerated the downward spiral of the human rights situation in the Philippines. Police and the military have used violence and lethal force to enforce a quarantine imposed without due consideration for the situation of the poorest and most vulnerable communities, the experts said.

In response to the protests of poor Filipinos demanding food aid amid the COVID-19 lockdown, President Duterte reportedly authorized police and security forces to kill protesters saying: Do you understand? Dead. Instead of causing trouble, Ill send you to the grave.
A Gastonia, N.C. man was sentenced in federal court Thursday to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty a year ago to secretly recording nude videos of underage females aboard his yacht called Yachts O Trouble.

William Richard Hilliard, Jr., 51, will also be required to serve a lifetime of supervised release and register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

The sentence was handed down by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Martin Reidinger in federal court in Asheville.

Hilliard was also ordered to pay $88,476 as restitution to five victims and a $5,000 special assessment fee.

According to information contained in filed court documents and statements made in court, Hilliard was arrested on June 11, 2018, by Myrtle Beach, S.C., law enforcement officers on charges of video voyeurism.

Hilliard had been discovered secretly recording nude videos of unsuspecting females, including minor and adult guests, aboard his yacht, said a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Western District Office in Charlotte.

Through an extensive multi-state and muli-agency investigation headed by the FBI, law enforcement discovered that, over the course of eight to 10 years, Hilliard had secretly produced multiple secret recordings of at least 16 child victims at various locations in the Carolinas and Alabama, including aboard his yacht, in his homes, in various hotel rooms and elsewhere.

Court records also show that, at times, Hilliard produced secret recordings of victims he had hired as babysitters for his young children, and used multiple hidden devices to record his victims from different angles while they were using the shower and changing clothes. Some of the victims were as young as 5 years old.

On April 22, 2019, Hilliard pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography.

He is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray, head of the Western District of North Carolina, thanked the FBI's Charlotte Division, the Myrtle Beach and Horry County (S.C.) police departments and the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office for their investigation of the case. They received assistance from FBI offices in Knoxville, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala., as well as Homeland Security Investigations, and the Cherryville and Gastonia police departments. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice, aimed at combating the growing online sexual exploitation of children.

You can reach Michael Banks at 704-869-1842, email mbanks@gastongazette.com and follow on Twitter @MichaelBanksNC.



2020 Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, N.C.

Visit Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, N.C. at www.gastongazette.com

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An estimated 43 percent of COVID-19 deaths have occurred in assisted living facilities and nursing homes. If reducing deaths is a public health priority, these facilities deserve special attention. In one April week in Connecticut, 90 percent of all COVID-19 deaths occurred in nursing homes.Its not unexpected that older Americans would be more likely to experience the worst effects of the virus. Higher rates of underlying conditions, compromised immune systems and other health issues are common in this demographic. But its also easy to see how living in close proximity to other at-risk seniors is a significant risk factor in itself.In the rush to prepare critical care facilities and staff to deal with a potentially overwhelming influx of patients, senior care facilities were neglected . In one instance, nurses at a New York nursing home facility who had tested positive were sent to work with the blessing of the state Department of Health.Legislators have been proposing a variety of solutions and strategies to help improve outcomes. Some examples: Delaware HB346 amends state code to allow any resident to vote by mail. In explaining the need for this change, the bill cites both the vulnerability of persons over 60 and the CDC recommendation that nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and senior living facilities should not be used as polling places. HR915 incalls for the impeachment of Gov. Tom Wolf for misbehavior in office. One of the five articles of impeachment is that he failed in his duty to protect residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. In support of this charge, it points to March guidance from the states Department of Health that, according to the resolution, urged these facilities to admit and readmit patients who had tested positive for COVID-19. HCR13 highlights the challenges the pandemic has created in providing adequate care for elderly persons with dementia, a population particularly susceptible to COVID-19. It notes that almost half of residents of nursing homes suffer from dementia. Among other things, it directs the states Department of Health to develop protocols for testing all residents of these facilities and to maintain a Web platform that provides searchable, de-identified COVID-19 data from all long-term care facilities. It also calls for isolation and treatment protocols, and essential care standards that can help provisional staff provide appropriate treatment to patients with dementia.

HB20-1410 , abill, calls for a portion of the $1.7 billion the state received from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to be used to support virus containment by preventing individuals and families from becoming homeless. Medicaid clients who are living in nursing homes are among the priorities for distribution of the rental assistance program outlined in the bill.

S8461 inmandates that nursing home facilities in the state prominently display the most recent rating they have earned according to the inspection system of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and that the ratings be displayed on the state Department of Healths website. It observes that past investigations have discovered violations that could cause harm have been found in nearly one in three nursing homes, and that the CMS ratings are easily understood resources for families at times of crisis. H966 appropriates $20 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to provide grants that would enable employers to give hazard pay to front-line workers placed at risk by the nature of their jobs. Employers of persons who work at assisted living facilities, nursing homes and residential care homes would be eligible for the grants.
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik and seven others were fined Rs 500 each for violating social distancing norms during a demonstration by 14 political parties in Bhubaneswar over the alleged decline in COVID-19 tests in the state.

"About eight persons have been fined Rs 500 each for violating social distancing norms. The process to identify and fine other persons who violated the norms during the demonstration is on," said Additional CP Anup Kumar Sahoo.

Police said seven other politicians including Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka, All India Forward Bloc Odisha unit's general secretary Jyoti Ranjan Mahapatra, state secretary of CPI(M) Ali Kishore Patnaik, AAP's Nishikant Mohapatra and others were fined.

However, Patnaik insisted that he had maintained social distancing during the demonstration. "In April, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced that 15,000 samples will be tested every day but the number of tests being done is less than 4,000 per day," he alleged. He also claimed that all migrants returning to the state are not being tested before they are sent to their homes.
Development trajectory: PM to interact with DMs of various districts today

India reports 3,33,533 new COVID cases in last 24 hours, recovery rate at 93.18 per cent

Govt allows airlines to fly 45 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic passenger flights

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, June 26: The government on Friday permitted Indian airlines to increase their number of domestic passenger flights to 45 per cent of their pre-COVID capacity, according to an official order.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation had restarted domestic passenger services from May 25, after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. However, the airlines were allowed to operate only one-third of their pre-COVID capacity.

Modifying its previous order of May 21 where it had put the limit on the number of domestic flights, the ministry issued an order on Friday stating that, "One Third (1/3) capacity may be read as 45 per cent capacity."

Total lockdown in Guwahati for 14 days from Sunday after spurt in cases | Oneindia News

International flights to remain suspended until July 15

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday tweeted, "In one month since recommencement of calibrated domestic civil aviation operations in the country, our skies & airports have been busy. 18,92,581 passengers have flown so far on 21,316 flights across the country."

Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country since March 23.
A special court here denied temporary bail to Sanjeev Khanna, an accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, who had sought relief citing the risk of contracting coronavirus in Arthur Road Jail.

Khanna was arrested in August 2015 for his involvement in Sheenas killing and has since been lodged in Arthur Road Jail.

While rejecting the accuseds interim bail plea on Wednesday, special CBI judge J C Jagdale said, Undoubtedly, some of the inmates of Arthur Road Jail have been affected by Covid-19, but at present the situation is far better. According to the authorities, of the 181 Covid-19 cases detected in the jail so far, 151 patients had recovered and only 30 were in treatment, he noted.

He pointed out that no one had died of the deadly infection at Arthur Road Jail, indicating that the recovery rate there was better than other parts of Mumbai.

The judge also noted that Khanna had tested negative for the infection.

The accused, a resident of Kolkata, had told the court that he would stay with a relative in suburban Bandra if he gets bail.

The judge observed that the number of Covid-19 cases in Bandra was increasing at an alarming rate with each passing day.

All precautionary measures were being taken in the jail and adequate medical facilities were also made available there, he said and scrapped Khannas plea.

Sheena (24) was allegedly strangled in a car by her mother Indrani Mukerjea, her driver Shyamvar Rai and Khanna in April 2012. Her body was burnt in a forest in neighbouring Raigad district.

Former media baron Peter Mukerjea, who was later arrested for allegedly being part of the conspiracy, is currently out on bail.
The dog units Sgt Andrew Rawson with Buzz and members of Warwickshire forces armed response unit.

Photos by Mark Williamson/copyright Stratford Herald. To enquire about purchasing photos call 01789 266261

When not busy catching baddies, police dog Buzz recently found time to stand to attention and bark his thanks outside Coventrys hospital during the Clap for Carers, reducing some of the nurses present to tears.

That noble vision sums up the dedication, heroism and compassion of the Warwickshire police dog section.

Newly liberated from its ties to the West Mercia division, the WPD is making the most of its fresh start, with new dogs being trained and even establishing its own Twitter account.

The section consists of ten human handlers, who usually look after one or two dogs.

Buzzs handler, Sgt Andrew Rawson, told the Herald how it worked.

Every handler has a general purpose dog, which is a big dog, some of which are trained to work with firearms teams  they are called firearm support dogs.

Generally, the big dogs look for criminals, missing persons, and search for people who have run off crime scenes or burglars hiding in buildings etc.

They will look for disgarded items, such as weapons at a crime scene or property thats thrown from a burglary. The dogs will identify peoples scent on items and show the handler where the item is  like thrown into a ditch, or wherever it might be.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Sgt Rawson says they have also been busy helping people to understand what the lockdown rules are and how to abide by them.

He added: Unfortunately theres still a criminal element that are busy.

Sgt Rawson, left, with Buzz and colleagues Pc Tom Wright with Ziva and Pc Mark Heath with Kuga.

As well as the big dogs, which tend to be German shepherds or a hybrid (Buzz is a German/Belgian shepherd mix), most handlers also have a specialist search dog  usually spaniels.

Sgt Rawson said: All dogs are good at sniffing things out but obviously its difficult to hold a German shepherd at head height. Size-wise, if you have a spaniel they are easier to handle if youre searching for explosives, drugs or firearms.

Pc Tash Susnik and Koko locate a man hiding in a storage unit.

As well as big dog Buzz, Sgt Rawson now has black-and-white springer spaniel Bella, who is seven months old and especially adorable. Is it hard not to treat them like pets and become attached to them?

As I spend more time with the dogs than the wife, then you do get very attached, explained Sgt Rawson, whose dogs live with him at home but sleep outside.

But they are not pets, but service dogs, and you work as a team. Ultimately they are there as a tool to do a job, and will if necessary save the life of their handler or a member of the firearms team. You have to judge the risk against the tactics to do the job, and ultimately if they have to save a life, a dog must do its duty.

Sgt Rawson has been in the force for 27 years, joining WPD five years ago after working in traffic and firearms divisions. Whats required to be a good dog handler?

Obviously you have to love animals. Everyone else hangs up their keys or their gun when they go home, but these dogs live with you and they need looking after every day of the year. You also have to have the right mindset  the desire to go and catch bad people.

The animals are tools, like a Taser or any use of force, so you have to justify its use and have that presence of mind to remain calm in any situation.

You have to be able to work a dog efficiently and effectively before you deploy it on anybody  they have 42 teeth and will cause damage. Most of the time, just because of the size of the dogs bark, the subject will perceive the risk and behave themselves.

Sgt Rawson added: After 27 years, my ability to catch people on a straight chase has been reduced! To catch a 20-year-old in trainers as I approach 50, its easier to have a dog!

Follow Warwickshire police dog section @WarksPoliceDogs on Twitter.
Jerusalem, June 26 : Israeli research companies and private companies from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will work together to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced.

The partnership comes less than a week before the earliest date for the government to possibly apply sovereignty in parts of the West Bank, and after UAE officials warned doing so will hurt steps towards normalization between the countries, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Speaking at an Israel Air Force pilots' course graduation ceremony on Thursday, Netanyahu said: "This cooperation will be in research and technology development, in areas that will improve the health security of the entire region." Netanyahu said the partnership is a result of continued, intensive negotiations in recent months.

"This will bring a blessing to many in our region," he added.

Newly-appointed Director-General of the Health Ministry Chezy Levy said of the decision that "this scientific and medical cooperation bridges historic political challenges in the region through the reality of the human priority to find a solution to the coronavirus".

In a report last month, The Jerusalem Post said that three Gulf States had expressed interest in cooperating with Israel on combating the coronavirus pandemic.

Bahrain and another Gulf state reached out to Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, expressing interest in the hospital's response to the pandemic.

In addition, UAE Ambassador to the UN Lana Nusseibeh said in a webinar that Israeli scientific research on treatment for COVID-19 is "very exciting" and said there is "potentially room for cooperation here".
ROME  Officials in northeastern Italy are testing the bloodstained clothes of two men after an attack landed them in the hospital this week. Investigators hope to extract enough DNA to identify the perpetrator.

Which happens to be a bear.

And while the regions governor signed an ordinance to euthanize the bear, several animal rights groups have initiated legal actions for a stay of execution until the matter is investigated  a sentiment echoed by the countrys environment minister in a case that highlights the balance between ensuring human safety and protecting animal welfare.

I trust in being able to optimally reconcile the safeguarding of public safety with the conservation and protection of wild species, the minister, Sergio Costa, wrote in a letter to the governor that Mr. Costa made public on Thursday.

The attack took place on Monday as the two men  a 59-year-old father and his 28-year-old son  were walking on an Alpine path on Mount Peller, part of the Dolomites in Trentino. We werent prepared  that area is normally peaceful, Christian Misseroni, the son, said in a telephone interview on Friday.
It could take the next few weeks, maybe even months, to resolve (or not) the border stand-off with the Chinese in eastern Ladakh. This gives the government another chance at adopting a clearer strategic communications strategy. Over the last two months, if there is one lesson that should leap out at those who manage the messaging of the Narendra Modi government, it is this: Throwing a veil of secrecy over whats happening on the ground in the upper reaches of the Himalayas has only led to the proliferation of rumours, fake news, WhatsApp memes and often, a last-laugh advantage to our adversary.

Yes, every serious journalist understands that operational details cannot and must not be disclosed. And yes, every serious journalist who follows the military would have cultivated enough sources to ferret out an approximate version of how events unfolded.

But that has not prevented multiple contradictions, denials and obfuscations at the official level. And tragically, it has led to the smearing and slandering of military veterans who have dared to express scepticism or ask tough questions.

I witnessed this information clampdown first-hand in Ladakh after spending four days at ground zero. Returning 21 years after the Kargil conflict, which I had the privilege to report from the frontline, the contrast could not have been more glaring. News teams were allowed to go no further than the city limits, and even within that, the headquarters of the 14 Corps was off-limits. Journalists could gaze up at the clear blue skies to see fighters and Apaches break the silence of the town every 15 minutes. But the road to Galwan was blocked 300 kilometres from the last accessible point on the Leh-Manali road. Restrictions on physical movement may still make sense, of course, but to not brief, even on background, reporters present on the ground  and to not allow the military to do so either  is self-defeating. Think of Kargil, a pre-live telecast war, fought before there were mobile phones and satellite vans in Jammu and Kashmir. There was no notion of the journalist embedded with the military then in India. We were a handful of young reporters ready to take risks. But, even in the middle of an ongoing war, right at the frontline, we were allowed to meet and talk with soldiers and briefed regularly on what we could say, show and not say. Back in Delhi, officials of the external affairs ministry and the Indian Army joined hands to host daily afternoon briefings. General Bikram Singh, who went on to become the Chief of the Army Staff and Raminder Jassal, the fine, ever-smiling diplomat who never flinched from a single question, became the face of those televised interactions. The result  the news media became a force multiplier for Indias interests. There was an unprecedented outpouring of solidarity for the soldiers. The country stood united against Pakistan. And there was a singular narrative to the Kargil story.

This time, the government first chose not to share the fact of the Chinese transgression with the public. Then, when 20 of our men died in the line of duty, fighting close to 300 troops of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), what followed, in terms of communication, was a classic lesson in what not to do in times of a sensitive military challenge. Prime Minister (PM) Modis own comments at the all-party meeting had to be clarified. Even the clarification took a day. By that time, the Chinese had waded into the swamp of information chaos.

Even today, we have only dribs and drabs of information, often contradictory, on what is happening with the Chinese in sensitive areas such as Pangong Tso and the Depsang plains. In Ladakh, villagers from the border areas like Durbuk and Shyok told me, Where our horses used to once go for pasture, we now see the Chinese. The head of the Ladakh Buddhist Association, PT Kunzang, an admirer of the PM, told me that people in Leh hoped for the same response in Ladakh as the government had after Pulwama. If we dont act strongly now, the Chinese may be sitting right here in Leh next.

Those who understand mountain warfare know that drawing parallels with Pulwama is easier said than done. As Colonel Sonam Wangchuk, a hero of the 1999 war, who ousted the Pakistanis from a vertical peak of 18,000 feet, told me, To militarily oust the Chinese from the heights would need the wherewithal of war. You cant do this with small arms. You need artillery, maybe even artillery as direct firing.

No one is advocating war. But to manage expectations, sentiments and above all the Chinese, you need a cohesive, coherent, real-time strategic communication model.

To lose the information war is to let down our soldiers who are fighting on the actual battlefield.

Barkha Dutt is an award-winning journalist and author

The views expressed are personal

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Pompeo: US, EU Should Confront China Together

By VOA News June 25, 2020

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on the United States and the European Union to cultivate a shared understanding of China in order to create an effective resistance strategy to Beijing's increasing economic power.

The remarks, made Thursday at an event hosted by the German Marshall Fund, came as Pompeo announced his intent to join EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Europe this month for discussions concerning China.

Via video link, Pompeo emphasized the bilateral nature of the actions, stating that "this isn't the United States confronting China, this is the world confronting China."

The EU has previously expressed concern over China's alleged predatory trade practices and alleged intellectual property theft but has stopped shy of joining Washington in a trade war.

Instead, the bloc has attempted to forge a middle path, mitigating trade relations while hesitating to escalate tension.

The EU, the world's biggest trading bloc, held talks with the Chinese leadership on Monday, reportedly putting pressure on China to revamp its negotiation efforts for a trade deal and increased investment in the EU.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that while the talks were important symbolically, more needed to be done to ensure the continued partnership between China and the EU.

"We have the intentions, the words put on paper, but we need the deeds,'' she said.

In his speech at the Brussels forum, Pompeo said that the EU-China dialogue was necessary not only to protect U.S. interests, but to protect the bloc's economy from encroachment by China.

He also said that he hoped his upcoming conversations with EU leaders on the issue would provide a "catalyst for action."

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PHOENIX - A drive-up testing site equipped for several hundred people in West Phoenix was swarmed on Saturday by about 1,000 people, leaving some baking in their cars for hours.

A nearby testing station has already reached capacity for this weekend, appointments vanishing within minutes. Hospitals are filling up. Restaurants are again shutting down, more than a month after Arizona reopened its economy under the mantra "Return Stronger."

Arizona has emerged as an epicenter of the early summer's coronavirus crisis as the outbreak has metastasized, flaring across new parts of the country and, notably, infecting more young people.

Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, is recording as many as 2,000 cases a day, "eclipsing the New York City boroughs even on their worst days," warned a Wednesday brief by disease trackers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which observed, "Arizona has lost control of the epidemic."

But physicians, public health experts, advocates and local officials say the crisis was predictable in Arizona, where local ordinances requiring masks were verboten until Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, reversed course last week. State leaders did not take the necessary precautions or model safe behavior, these observers maintain, even in the face of compelling evidence and repeated pleas from authoritative voices.

"We have failed on so many levels," said Dana Marie Kennedy, the Arizona director of AARP, who said her organization has yet to receive a response to four letters outlining concerns to the governor. She is working on a fifth.

Neither the governor's office nor the state health department responded to requests for comment.

At critical junctures, blunders by top officials undermined faith in the data purportedly driving decision-making, according to experts monitoring Arizona's response. And when forbearance was most required, as the state began to reopen despite continued community transmission, an abrupt and uniform approach - without transparent benchmarks or latitude for stricken areas to hold back - led large parts of the public to believe the pandemic was over.

And now, Arizona is facing more per capita cases than recorded by any country in Europe or even by hard-hit Brazil. Among states with at least 20 people hospitalized for covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, no state has seen its rate of hospitalizations increase more rapidly since Memorial Day.

This week, Arizona reported not just a record single-day increase in new cases - with Tuesday's tally reaching 3,591 - but also record use of inpatient beds and ventilators for suspected and confirmed cases. Public health experts warn that hospitals could be stretched so thin they may have to begin triaging patients by mid-July.

Soon, the only option might be "crisis standards of care," said Will Humble, a former director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. "If you're in a bed, normally they'll keep you for a few days, but they're going to send you home with oxygen."

Ducey, speaking to reporters Thursday, said hospitals are "likely to hit surge capacity very soon."

"This virus is everywhere," the governor said.

The situation in Arizona - as President Donald Trump this week paid his second visit in as many months to the state, which could be a battleground in November - has exemplified the march of the virus across the Sun Belt, where it has also thrashed Florida and Texas, creating conditions as dire as at any point during the pandemic. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, on Thursday paused his state's reopening and ordered hospitals in four counties to postpone elective surgeries.

Physicians fear there is now less buy-in from a public weary of restrictions and polarized by a highly partisan response to the health crisis. In Southern states, some epidemiologists also are cautioning about what they are calling a "reverse summer effect," with warm weather - once thought to interrupt the spread of the virus - driving residents into indoor spaces with recycled air.

"My level of frustration is high," the AARP's Kennedy said. "We could have stopped this."

The last time she met with Ducey was March 11, Kennedy said, when she stood by his side as he declared a health emergency and promised to safeguard nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. He has failed to follow through on those efforts, she argued, saying testing of facility staffers has remained inadequate and equipment needs have gone unmet. Cara Christ, Ducey's health director, has been absent as well, Kennedy said, pulling out of plans for a virtual town hall meeting with AARP members in April.

Now, a crisis that crashed down first on the state's elderly population is increasingly taking hold among younger people.

The mean age of Arizonans killed by covid-19 fell from 78 on April 27 to 69 on June 14, according to data processed by a modeling team made up of experts at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona. The average age of patients testing positive for the virus dropped from 51 on April 5 to 39 by mid-June. While older individuals are known to be at greater risk from the virus, Arizona has three times as many positive tests among people age 20 to 44 as it does in any other age bracket, according to state data.

The state's cases began rising dramatically about May 25, 10 days after Ducey allowed the state's stay-at-home order to expire, said Joe Gerald, an associate professor and public health researcher at the University of Arizona who is part of the academic team providing models to the state health department.

Ross Goldberg, president of the Arizona Medical Association, said that "people thought it was back to normal times."

That mistaken view has persisted, even as new cases mount.

"I have to see somebody sick, directly related to me or close to me, in order for it to become like reality," said Joshua Kwiatkowski, strolling this week at an open-air shopping center in Tempe, Ariz. "So it hasn't really, I guess, sank in."

Kwiatkowski said he was not inclined to wear a mask unless required to do so - unless, as he put it, "an Uber driver is feeling some type of way or a store makes you wear it."

Requirements designed to stanch the spread of the virus have expanded since Ducey changed course last week and allowed local governments to impose stricter rules on masks than the recommendations issued by the state. A petition urging him to mandate face coverings statewide gained signatures from more than 1,000 medical professionals. Ducey also shifted his stance toward businesses, directing them to develop policies in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which had previously only been recommended.

"There will be enforcement, and they will be held accountable," the governor said.

Numerous cities responded immediately with mask ordinances and emergency proclamations, including Scottsdale, where a tony neighborhood of bars and high-end boutiques had come to epitomize disregard for social distancing guidelines still technically in effect but largely unenforced. Photos and videos of packed businesses accumulated on social media as Ducey and other officials - frequently appearing themselves without masks - insisted most people were behaving responsibly.

The area, known as Old Town Scottsdale and ordinarily packed even on a weekday, fell quiet this week after the wave of new restrictions unleashed by Ducey's about-face. Most businesses had only a smattering of customers, while some bars and restaurants had already closed their doors for the evening, despite banners hanging from their facades welcoming customers.

Still, resistance to health precautions remains pronounced. At an anti-mask rally Wednesday, a member of the Scottsdale City Council, Republican Guy Phillips, shouted the dying words of George Floyd - "I can't breathe" - before ripping off his mask, enlisting a rallying cry of the nationwide protests against racial injustice to inveigh against face coverings that reduce airborne transmission of tiny droplets. Hours later, he issued an apology "to anyone who became offended."

Phillips, who did not respond to an email seeking further comment, runs an air-conditioning business, and, according to his council biography, is a member of the Better Business Bureau, the Arizona Small Business Association and the North Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce, among other business groups.

At virtually every stage of the state's pandemic response, the interests of business have held sway, said Nathan Laufer, the founder of the Heart and Vascular Center of Arizona, a medical practice with locations in Phoenix and nearby counties, and a former director of the state medical association.

Ducey is a former chief executive of Cold Stone Creamery. The head of the state's restaurant association, Steve Chucri, is also a Republican supervisor in Maricopa County. He did not respond to requests for comment.

"It's fine to be pro-business, but you have to be pro-citizen first," Laufer said. The governor, in belatedly handing local authorities more control, is "playing catch-up," he added, "but it's too little, too late."

Some residents noted that the Republican governor was following his party's standard-bearer. "Hindsight's 20/20, but yeah, it was a little late," said Greg Cahill, loading his car with groceries outside a Costco at Phoenix's Christown Spectrum mall. "I think he was a little slow. But he's a conservative man and he wanted to do what Trump said."

"It's scary," the 58-year-old said of the rising cases.

Saskia Popescu, an epidemiologist affiliated with the University of Arizona and George Mason University, said the seeds of the crisis were planted in early May.

Protests were mounting at the state capitol over Ducey's stay-at-home order. Lawmakers in his party were pledging to invalidate it. County sheriffs were refusing to enforce it.

And Trump, who was urging governors to jump-start their economies, was coming to Arizona to tour a Honeywell plant and to convene a discussion about issues facing Native Americans.

The day before the president's visit, Ducey announced plans to accelerate the reopening of his state's economy, lifting restrictions on salons and barbershops and allowing restaurants to resume dine-in service. A chart displaying the number of new cases, which did not show the 14-day decline recommended by White House guidelines, "really doesn't tell you much," Ducey said at his May 4 news conference.

That evening, the state ended its partnership with the university modeling team whose projections plainly showed a rising caseload in Arizona. It was resumed following an outcry.

Two days later, top health officials acknowledged having changed the testing count to include viral tests confirming an infection and serology tests determining the presence of coronavirus antibodies - a move with the potential to artificially lower the positivity rate touted by Ducey at his May 4 briefing.

"This is a good trajectory for Arizona," he affirmed at the time.

Ducey's original order reopening the state - and preventing local officials from setting their own rules despite mounting evidence about the benefits of masks and social distancing - was in keeping with a top-down approach to governance that critics say has characterized his tenure. In 2017, he signed a bill approved by the Republican-controlled legislature that allowed any state legislator to direct the Arizona attorney general to investigate a local regulation for a possible violation of state law. Consequences included potentially losing revenue from the state.

"The biggest challenge has been Governor Ducey tying the hands of mayors and county health departments," said Regina Romero, the Democratic mayor of Tucson, who said she weighed an emergency proclamation mandating masks in mid-March but was advised against it by her city attorney. Her city's budget is about $566 million, Romero said, more than a fifth of which comes from the state.

"There's a real threat with money involved," the mayor said.

Limited resources have also hampered the ability of the hardest-hit counties to conduct thorough contact tracing. Maricopa County shifted in the early weeks of the pandemic to what it called a "mediated" approach in which all sickened people are interviewed but are then made responsible for notifying their own contacts.

A spokesman for the county health department, Ron Coleman, confirmed this week the limited approach is still in use, even as cases soar.

Hugh Lytle, chief executive of Equality Health, said the willingness of people in Phoenix to wait for hours to be tested at the drive-in site organized by his medical group over the weekend has been a wake-up call.

State officials are taking note, he said, of the "overwhelming level of fear and anxiety that's causing people to say it's worth sitting in my car for a couple hours."

- - -

The Washington Post's Jacqueline Dupree contributed to this report.
On this day five years ago, a large crowd gathered by the Arch in downtown Athens for an impromptu celebration held by Athens PRIDE, according
Russia is giving its troubled Pantsir S1 (SA-22) anti-aircraft system one more chance to be useful in combat. A new version, Pantsir S1M, was shown in public for the first time in a June 24th parade in Moscow. S1M was first made public over a year ago at the Dubai (UAE) IDEX 2019 trade show. S1M systems wont be delivered to customers until 2021.

It was specifically noted that the S1M model had changes based on combat experience in Syria and Libya. That combat experience was disastrous, with over twenty Pantsir S1 vehicles destroyed by Turkish and Israeli aircraft and electronic countermeasures. Most of the losses were incurred in Libya where Russia supplied one of the two factions (the LNA or Libyan National Army) fighting a civil war there with over 20 Pantsir S1 vehicles. Most were lost to Turkish Bayraker TB2 UAVs firing laser-guided missiles after the Pantsir S1s had been blinded by Turkish Koral jammers. Israel used similar tactics in Syria.

The Pantsir S1M is equipped with a new, 75-kilometer range, radar plus an advanced electro-optical target tracking system. Electro-optical systems cannot be blinded easily and certainly not by electronic jammers. The S1M is now equipped to detect and take down all manner of UAVs, no matter what their size or operating capabilities. S1M now uses a new missile with a range of 30 kilometers and an improved internal guidance system. At the same time, there has been a less publicized effort by the Russian army and navy to obtain a new system to replace Pantsir, which they have lost confidence in. Given the dismal state of the defense budget, it may be a while before a Pantsir replacement can be developed and delivered. Meanwhile, Russia is apparently going to put the S1M model to the test in actual combat. While Turkey and Russia are allies, they avoid killing each others personnel in Syria and Libya and the new Pantsir S1M would be out to destroy Turkish UAVs. That will cost Turkey some hardware and reputation if S1M works but wont do the kind of diplomatic damage Russians killing Turkish troops does.

Pantsir-S1 is a mobile, truck-mounted system. Each vehicle carries a radar, two 30mm cannon and twelve Tunguska missiles. The original 90 kg (198 pound) missiles had a twenty-kilometer range and the radar a 30-40-kilometer range. The missile can hit targets at up to 8,400 meters (26,000 feet). The new Tunguska is heavier, has a longer (30 kilometers) range and presumably can hit targets at higher altitudes.

The 30mm cannon is effective up to 3,200 meters (10,000 feet). The vehicle can vary, but the most common one carrying all this weighs 20 tons and has a crew of three. Each Pantsir-S1 vehicle-mounted system costs about $15 million, the S1M costs about a third more. Typically, four to six Pantsir vehicles are organized as a battalion along with a command post and support vehicles. Larger numbers of Pantsir vehicles are organized into a regiment of two or three battalions and more support vehicles. These consist of electronic and mechanical repair vehicles as well as other vehicles carrying spare parts and missile reloads and 30mm ammunition. There is also a system simulator that is carried in a truck or trailer. Russia has made a tremendous investment in Pantsir and does not want to scrap the system. If S1M doesnt work in combat, Pantsir will have to go if only because its survival depends so much on export customers.

Russia has already gone to extraordinary lengths to protect Pantsir in the media. In a rare incidence of Russian damage control, Valery Slugin, the lead designer of the Pantsir-S1 air defense system, gave a media interview to a Russian newspaper in early 2020. Slugin explained how a Syrian Pantsir vehicle was destroyed by Israel forces in early 2019. The Israelis released a video of the incident. Slugin explained that it was the fault of the Syrian crew, which had fired all of their missiles and were waiting for the missile resupply vehicle. Meanwhile, the Israelis noted the missiles being fired, found the Pantsir and destroyed it with a missile. Slugin explained that if the Pantsir crew had moved the vehicle the Israelis might not have found and destroyed it. Slugin also stated that this Pantsir had just destroyed eight targets, presumably Israeli cruise missiles, while firing its twelve missiles. The Israelis reported that the target of their cruise missiles was destroyed and only two cruise missiles failed to hit the target. Nevertheless, the state-owned Russian firm that developed, manufactured and markets Pantsir to export customers felt it necessary to let the world know what they believe actually happened. Russian media also released a video of Pantsir missiles exploding in the air. In response, Israel revealed that the cause of this was that its Delilah cruise missiles carry a radar jammer that makes Pantsir to lose track of their target. When that happens Pantsir missiles self-destruct rather than hit the ground and risk friendly casualties. Russia implied that the missile was exploding near an unseen target. This was accurate, but not the way the Russians wanted it to be.

Another marketing effort in late 2019 publicized the fact that over 30 Pantsir-S1 systems had been sent to Syria, and implied that this many Pantsir-S1 vehicles could defend all of Syria from air (warplanes, UAVs, cruise and ballistic missiles) attack. The problem with Pantsir is that only Russia and Syria claim the system is effective. Its opponents (Israel, the United States and Turkey) have another perspective that contradicts Russian and Syrian claims. Moreover, the Russian air defense systems used by Syria have, since 2011, brought down only one aircraft, an elderly Turkish RF-4E reconnaissance aircraft shot down by accident in 2012. The Turkish aircraft was flying off the coast and apparently not expecting to be attacked. Syria was then using Cold War era Russian equipment. When the Russians intervened in 2015 they brought more modern air defense systems with them, including the Pantsir. The problem is that the much hyped Pantsir has been a flop. No proof of any Pantsir kills has ever been presented and Israeli airstrikes consistently destroy their targets, even when Pantsir is present and firing lots of those Tunguska missiles.

Then there was an earlier incident where Russia was caught suppressing bad news about the performance of Pantsir-S1 in Syria. In one case the comments were from a Russian source. This took place in late 2018 when Islamic terrorists used multiple small, explosives-armed UAVs to launch several attacks on the Russian controlled Hmeimim (or Khmeimim) airbase in Syria. Russia reported that these attacks failed because Russian air defense systems shot down over fifty of the small UAVs. Unofficial reports, via the Internet, indicated that the two short-range anti-aircraft systems guarding the base performed very differently. The older Tor-M2U system used its missiles successfully to shoot down the UAVs while the more recent Pantsir-S1 missiles all missed. Russian Internet censors were quick to take down some of the negative comments but the news was now out and spreading. Around this time Russia was also given lots of publicity to new, much improved, Pantsir models. Most of the upgrades were in the radar and fire control systems. These new Pantsir S2, S2E and SM models entered service in late 2018 and early 2019. Not all Pantsir vehicles have been upgraded and the overall impact of the upgrades does not appear to have been dramatic.

The late 2018 incident was not the first time Pantsir-S1 has been described as a failure. The Hmeimim airbase incidents were important because they involved a Russian controlled airbase in a combat zone. Hmeimim was built by Russia in 2015 near the port city of Latakia, which is 85 kilometers north of the port of Tartus and 50 kilometers from the Turkish border. Russia brought in Pantsir-S1, Tor-M2U and S-400 air-defense systems to protect it from attack.

The irony of this is that the Tor-M system is much older, with development begun in the 1970s while Pantsir-S1 development began twenty years later. The major difference between the two was that Tor-M was more successful and more expensive. The cost factor was one reason for developing the Pantsir-S1 but at first only export customers could afford it because the Russian military procurement budgets were sharply cut in the 1990s. In 2010, three years after the first foreign customer (Syria) received the Pantsir-S1, the Russian Air Force began getting some. The Russian economy was recovering sufficiently to expand defense spending. Initially, the Russian Air Force received the S1E version, with an improved radar (36-kilometer range) and missile (more reliable). Curiously, the air force used their first ten Pantsir-S1s to guard S-300 anti-aircraft missile bases around Moscow. There was no explanation from the Russians as to why they felt a mobile, low level anti-aircraft system was needed to guard a larger, high altitude one. Perhaps as additional protection against cruise missiles.

These ten Pantsir vehicles for Moscow were supposed to arrive in 2008, but there were more technical problems. There's been a pattern of that with Pantsir-S1. Development began in the 1990s. Work was sporadic for nearly a decade because there was little cash available. Meanwhile, several Arab nations were persuaded to order a total of about 150 Pantsir-S1 vehicles and most of those have not yet been in combat. Russia does not want these customers to question Pantsir's reliability. After all the system has worked during test firings and is a very profitable export.

Yet the main problem with Pantsir-S1 is that in combat it doesnt work. Failures have been reported at least three times since 2007, and all occurred in Syria. Two months after Syria received Pantsir-S1s in 2007, Israel bombed a Syrian nuclear weapons development facility. The Syrians were very dismayed at how ineffective the new Pantsir-S1 systems were during the Israeli strike. The 2007 failure was attributed to Israelis figuring out how to blind these systems electronically. In 2017 Pantsir S1 again failed during an Israeli attack and the excuse this time was that the Pantsir-S1s were not turned on. The 2018 failure was with operational Pantsir systems firing missiles at UAVs and missing while Tor-M2U systems detected UAVs and regularly shot them down with missiles. The video of Israeli weapons destroying a Pantsir vehicle was something the Russians felt they had to explain away, or at least try to.

The Tor-M has been around since the 1980s and has no autocannon, just missiles. It has been frequently updated. A late 2015 upgrade for their 30-year-old Tor-M (SA-15) enabled the launcher vehicle to fire its guided missiles while on the move. The latest version of Tor is the Tor-M2U which can hit aircraft up to 12 kilometers away and cruise missiles at a distance of five kilometers. The missile launcher vehicle has a crew of three (commander, driver and missile systems operator). The 176 kg (378 pound) missiles are three meters (ten feet) long, 235mm (9.25 inches) in diameter and carry a 15 kg (33 pound) warhead. Each battery has search radar and command center vehicles controlling four launcher vehicles (each carrying eight missiles, and another radar.)

The original tracking radar on the missile vehicle could track one target at a time but the latest (Tor-M2) can track four at a time. Missiles can be launched from the vehicle at three second intervals. The original missile carrier/launcher vehicle was armored (against small arms and shell fragments), tracked and weighed 34 tons. Since then a cheaper towed (on a wheeled trailer) version has appeared followed by a version on a 6x6 truck that proved more maneuverable, comfortable and cheaper than the armored version.

In 2018 a major upgrade was introduced; Tor-E2. With this model, the tracked vehicle was redesigned and upgraded to operate independently. The Tor-E2 carries sixteen missiles and its own search radar. The range of the missile has been increased to 15 kilometers.

Russia was the original user but Tor-M has also been exported to fourteen other countries including Greece, Venezuela, China, Iran and Egypt. Russia prefers to sell export customers the Pantsir but knowledgeable customers keep ordering the more expensive Tor-M because they know it works.

Now Russia is trying to do for the Pantsir what they did with Tor-M, keep improving it until it works.
A group of men in Maryland were caught on camera shooting illegal fireworks towards a resident at point-blank range and laughing hysterically.

The disturbing footage was taken this week in Baltimore, just one of several cities across the US that was recently inundated with illegal fireworks going off at all hours of the night.

Cell phone footage of the incident shows at least nine mean standing in a roadway with a number of illegal fireworks in their possession.

Suddenly, the group turns their attention to a shirtless man who jumps out of a nearby car as they begin aiming explosive fireworks at him.

The men can be seen holding fireworks in their hands while chasing after the targeted man, who attempts to flee the flying pyrotechnics.

Any acknowledgement of danger is shrugged off as the men, on several instances, aim the fireworks at the victim at point-blank range.

The targeted man escapes off the roadway and onto a nearby sidewalk, but the group of firework users follow him.

They back the shirtless man against the wall and begin to let loose several firework displays at once.

The man repeatedly tries to block the incoming projectiles with his hands to no avail.

An unidentified man (pictured) in Baltimore, Maryland, was the target of a fireworks attack when several men aimed lit pyrotechnics at him

The targeted man attempted to block the incoming fireworks, but footage showed he was hit on his arm, chest, head and hands

Witnesses can be heard screaming as the group herds the man down the street and continue to aim fireworks.

The fireworks can been seen hitting the man on his back, chest, hand and head throughout the incident.

The man tries to run back into the roadway, but one of the firework users grabs a red garbage can and throws it over his head.

The man falls down while the group further breaks down into hysterics.

It's unclear what transpired before or after the incident, but Baltimore residents were shocked by the hazardous incident.

'You throw it the wrong way, it hits you in the face, you lose an eye. It can wedge into your belt, you know, you can have some serious injuries that way,' resident Dan Zywan, of Baltimore, told WBAL-TV.

The group of men managed to herd the unidentified victim towards a building, where they cornered him and let loose several fireworks

Joseph Lewis shared similar sentiments, adding: 'It's just dangerous. I mean you have to make better choices.'

Maryland State Fire Marshal Brian Geraci said scenes like that are very dangerous, but are only exacerbated because homemade explosives are now showing up on the streets.

'They may look like fireworks, but they are not they are commonly known as M80s, M1000s or M100s,' said Geraci.

'These devices are illegal explosive devices, and they are powerful enough to cause severe amputations and death.

Maryland's fireworks laws mandate that it's illegal to have displays explode mid-air and even possessing them can come with a $250 fine per firework.

Baltimore residents have noticed a surge in out-of-state firework discounts being advertised on billboard and on radio programs.

Pictured: the unidentified victim being hit with a pyrotechnic explosive by a group of men in Baltimore, Maryland

Maryland State Fire Marshal Brian Geraci said residents are now using homemade explosives in addition to illegal fireworks

They want local authorities to pursue the sellers and buyers.

'I don't particularly care for it. It's scary. A lot of times, they go off and you don't know what it is and it scares me and my grandchildren,' said Brenda Knotts.

'I think fireworks and stuff like that has its own place.'

Across the United States, residents have repeatedly complained for weeks of loud booms and heavy-duty fireworks, like Roman candles, going off throughout the night.

In some cases, fireworks have become another rallying cry for protesters fighting police brutality and racism after the death of George Floyd.

Other residents said the fireworks are celebratory over the fact that coronavirus pandemic restrictions are gradually loosening.

According to Brooklyn resident Djani, who was one of the several people setting of fireworks, its being done in celebration.

'Were basically celebrating the fact that we survived,' he told The New York Times, referencing the coronavirus pandemic and quarantine.

'You know when you have a storm and finally the rain is letting up.'

Pictured: a New York City resident in Harlem sets off a firework explosive in his hand on June 20 as some admitted to using the pyrotechnics as a peaceful, nonviolent form of protest against law enforcement

Nights in New York City have become overwhelmed by large booms from firecrackers, bottle rocks and other explosives that were set alight across all five boroughs as thousands of complaints have been made by residents over ongoing noise throughout the night

Between January 1 and June 21, New York City's 911 centers received 13,315 calls for illegal fireworks

In New York City, more than 1,700 complaints related to illegal fireworks and noise disturbances were made in the first half of June. The same period last year only saw 21 complaints.

Between January 1 and June 21, New York City's 911 centers received 13,315 calls for illegal fireworks.

311 call centers were overwhelmed with 11,534 calls over illegal fireworks in the same time span.

Footage taken in all five boroughs shows a plethora of launched pyrotechnics both into the sky and at other New Yorkers,

Last week, separate footage showed a group of men aiming fireworks at each other in a local park.

Two men were reportedly injured in separate incidents involving the explosives. A 33-year-old man was hit in Brooklyn and a teenager was struck in the chest in the Bronx. Both men were said to be in a critical condition.

Cell phone footage taken last week in New York City showed a number of residents setting off large Roman candle fireworks in the middle of the night

Five days later, cell phone footage showed a 66-year-old homeless man being set on fire after he was intentionally hit with a firework while he slept on the street.

And one day later, at least six people were arrested during a citywide crackdown on fireworks. Authorities seized $6,000 worth of explosives.

In response to the barrage of fireworks in the city, residents drove outside New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's home in the middle of the night and honked their horns.

'If we cannot sleep, we will not let the mayor sleep,' New York City Councilman Chaim Deutsch, who addressed a crowd of protesters on Monday, said.

Deutsch led chants of 'If we don't sleep, you don't sleep' and, 'We need leadership.'

Since June 1, there have been more than 4,500 calls to the police complaining of fireworks in Brooklyn alone.

De Blasio later announced that city authorities would crackdown on firework suppliers and assemble a special task force.
Earlier this week, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield testified that about 27,000 or 28,000 people are doing contact tracing work across the country. He later acknowledged that he estimates the necessary workforce to be about 100,000 tracers. Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden thinks the country will need even more, up to 300,000.

The White House advised states not to reopen until they had built the infrastructure to conduct widespread testing and contact tracing, though the federal government did not specify what a robust tracing infrastructure would look like. Rather than developing a coordinated national tracing plan, which some countries, such as Germany, have done, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sought instead to support local efforts.

"It's not going well. I have to tell you, it's not going well," Fauci said in an interview with CNBC's Meg Tirrell that was aired by the Milken Institute. "What we need to do is we need to rethink, and we are right now, the idea of many more tests getting into the community and even pooling tests."

Contact tracing occurs when trained personnel contact infected people to investigate where they might have been infected and who they might have exposed to the virus. Along with widespread testing and ability to isolate potentially infectious people, tracing is an age-old public health intervention now being ramped up at an unprecedented scale.

There's just a handful of interventions proven to curb the spread of the coronavirus . One of them is contact tracing, and "it's not going well," White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday.

"To just say you're going to go out and identify, contact trace and isolate, that doesn't mean anything until you do it," Fauci said. "Not checking the box that you did it, but actually do it. Get people on the ground. Not on the phone. When you identify somebody, have a place to put them to get them out of social interaction."

In lieu of federal leadership on tracing, underfunded and overwhelmed local health departments have scrambled to get the necessary systems in place, contact tracing specialists who previously spoke with CNBC said. States have submitted their plans to ramp up tracing through July to the CDC, Redfield told reporters on a conference call Thursday.

The CDC has allocated more than $10 billion for states to ramp up testing, tracing and isolation, but Fauci said he doesn't see local officials making the kind of progress he'd like to see. He added that some states have done well in ramping up their programs. Getting more jurisdictions to do that work in preparation for the fall, when Fauci said he expects cases to surge again, will be key.

"When the fall comes, we better be ready that there will be surges in cases, and as I've said so many times now for months, we have a few months to prepare for that," he said. "So when that happens, we have to be able to do the proper and effective way of identification, isolation and contact tracing."

To ramp up testing more rapidly, the coronavirus task force, which Fauci is a member of, is now considering "pooling tests," he said. That's when health officials conduct up to 40 tests all at once and if it comes back negative, it indicates that everyone in the group is not infected.

"If you get a positive, then you backtrack and try to figure out who that positive is," he said. "We really need to start doing that, because the idea of doing individual identification, isolation, contact tracing, particularly in some communities where people don't want to cooperate  they don't want to tell you where they've been and who they've been with."

It appears that infected people can spread the virus before they develop symptoms or have only mild symptoms, Fauci said, which underscores the need to conduct even more tests than the U.S. is already doing. He said he personally is an advocate of "flooding the system with testing, so you really get a good handle about what is going on in the community."

"I think we need to do that," he said.

The nation's seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases reached a record high of more than 33,000 cases on Thursday compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. Since the start of the outbreak there have been more than 2.42 million cases confirmed in the U.S. and at least 124,468 people have died.

As coronavirus cases spike Fauci warned Friday that the country will soon "be seeing more deaths."
RICHMOND, Va. - Democratic leaders of the General Assembly are pledging to pass laws later this summer that address issues of police misconduct raised by recent protests across the state and country.

Top members of the state Senate on Friday unveiled a list of legislative priorities for overhauling a law enforcement and judicial system that they said has mistreated African Americans, and House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, announced plans for public hearings to formulate proposals for lawmaking.

Their target is a special legislative session that Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, has said he'll call sometime in August. Originally aimed at solving tough state budget issues raised by the novel coronavirus pandemic and shutdown, the session appears all but certain to tackle criminal justice issues as well.

"Our constituents want change and we hear that loud and clear from them," Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, said Friday in a news conference called by several senators who have been holding online "community conversations" on topics of police violence and social justice.

"It's quite clear that we're ready, and we need change," Filler-Corn said in an interview. "There's no reason to wait until the start of the special session, we need to start now."

Four weeks of protests nationwide against police brutality, touched off by the killing of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, have sparked reviews of policy across the region. Lawmakers in the District acted early this month to ban the hiring of officers with a history of misconduct and make the disciplinary process more transparent.

In Maryland, state House Speaker Adrienne Jones, D-Baltimore County, has convened a work group to review police practices and make legislative recommendations ahead of next year's General Assembly session.

The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus released a list of priorities earlier this week and said its 23 members are working on legislation for the expected August session. Many of the proposals have languished for years as Republicans controlled the legislature, but Democrats won majorities in both chambers last fall and now have the votes to act.

"The pressure generated by the protests has generated a larger public shift and facilitated avenues for such changes to be made in new and creative ways," the caucus said in a news release.

The proposals include declaring racism a public health crisis; a menu of police accountability measures such as establishing a civilian review board with subpoena power and standardizing police training and accountability policies; and requiring police to summon mental health professionals in certain crisis situations.

"A lot of those are great ideas," Northam said Thursday when asked about the list during a news briefing. He said he will urge lawmakers to take up police-related topics at the special session on the pandemic in August.

"There is clearly a need to address issues of racial injustice and police reform," he said, adding that he is in talks with legislators and community members about potential legislation.

On Friday, Senate Democrats rolled out seven categories of proposed legislation that had been assembled by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, including "bringing equity to Virginia policing," "reduce racial profiling opportunities for law enforcement" and "restore equity to the sentencing process."

Within those categories were 28 specific proposals that the senators hope to take up during the special session, in addition to longer-term issues that they said should be priorities during the regular General Assembly session that starts in January.

"We're not going to be able to fix it all overnight, but we can make a big improvement over what we have," Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, said.

Goals for the special session include limiting the types of force that law enforcement officers can use, such as chokeholds and shooting at moving vehicles, and creating mechanisms to weed out officers who have misused force.

The senators also proposed reducing the crime of assault on a law enforcement officer from a felony to a misdemeanor, which they said had been the category for that offense until the 1980s. The threat of such charges, Surovell said, are often used to enable aggressive tactics against people of color.

The proposals also include giving prosecutors and judges more flexibility to drop charges or show mercy, and creating avenues for mental health responses instead of law enforcement.

"We're going to do as much as we can to try and restore peoples' faith in the justice system," Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, said.

Filler-Corn said she has been flooded with public input about police-related legislation, such as banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants and preventing police officers with a history of abuse from continuing to work in law enforcement.

She plans to hold three joint sessions of the House Public Safety and Courts of Justice committees in July and August. The hearings will be online and made open to the public, with ways to offer spoken or written comments. Dates are still being worked out, she said.

"My goal is to get as much input as possible from as many Virginians as possible prior to the special session," Filler-Corn said. "There's a strong cry for input."
Faith leaders pray with President Trump during a rally earlier this year for evangelical supporters in Miami. (Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)

White evangelical voters have been the staunchest supporters of President Trump, putting aside misgivings over his crass statements and messy personal life because of his promise to stack the judiciary with conservative judges sympathetic to their views on issues such as religious liberty and abortion.

He successfully nominated two Supreme Court justices, giving the body a majority chosen by Republican presidents. But recent rulings by the high court, notably a 6-3 decision expanding gay and transgender rights that was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump's first addition to the bench, have drawn widespread criticism from evangelical voters and caused some to question the compromises they made in casting their last presidential ballot.

This has definitely introduced doubt, said the Rev. Rob Schenck, a prominent former evangelical activist. It kind of takes away the one thing that gives him an edge with that type of evangelical voter  a skeptical evangelical voter, a less certain one.

There are more than four months to go until the general election, and other significant decisions on issues such as abortion and religious discrimination are expected in coming days. But questions are bubbling over whether that disenchantment undermines support for the president among his most steadfast backers.

Some say, however, that the ruling on LGBTQ rights and a second decision that left intact California's "sanctuary" law giving protections to those in the country illegally will prompt socially conservative voters to double down on Trump.

While there might be some disappointment in a political sense, in the end, Christians are people of principles, said Costi Hinn, a conservative evangelical pastor and author in Arizona. Im hearing 100% get the president back into office so that the job can be finished and pushed further.

Trump almost certainly needs a strong turnout of white conservative evangelical voters to win a second term in November. The group makes up about one-fifth of registered voters, and exit polls in 2016 found that 81% voted for Trump.

Story continues

Trump spent months on the campaign trail warning that if Hillary Clinton were elected president, her appointments to the Supreme Court would tilt the country to the left for a generation.

Its our last chance, he told supporters in 2016 at a steamy summer rally in Phoenix. And that includes Supreme Court justices. Remember that.

Trump has successfully nominated Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the high court, creating a 5-4 majority of justices nominated by Republicans.

Since then, while Trump has seen notable drops in support among many voter groups, white evangelicals have largely stood by the president.

Polling by the Pew Research Center in February found that 81% of white evangelicals believe that Trump battles for what they believe in, but 66% have either expressed doubts about or do not approve of his conduct.

Whatever their concerns, the survey "showed very clearly that white evangelicals overwhelmingly see Trump as someone who stands up and fights for them, said Greg Smith, Pews associate director of research.

That polling took place before the coronavirus crisis, the vast increases in unemployment caused by the economic shutdown to slow the virus spread, the police killing of George Floyd, the nationwide protests over police brutality and the broader discussion of systemic institutional racism in the aftermath.

Pew polling in March and May showed that white evangelical approval of the presidents handling of the coronavirus crisis had declined, though they still supported him at higher levels than any other religious group.

No religious or political expert has predicted that large numbers of white evangelical voters will desert Trump. But if presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden can peel off a small percentage of these voters who are turned off by Trumps handling of the various crises as well as by the Supreme Court rulings, it could make a difference in key states such as Wisconsin and Michigan, said John Fea, a history professor at Messiah College in Pennsylvania.

That may be enough, said Fea, who is evangelical. Trump needs to keep all 81%, and maybe more, because hes going to lose nonreligious, independent-type voters.

Another difference is that Biden is on the ballot, not Clinton. When the former vice president ran with Barack Obama, their campaign courted evangelical voters and ultimately won 26% of the white evangelical vote in 2008 and 21% in 2012.

Trump appears cognizant of how crucial it is to keep these voters in his column. After the court's recent rulings, the president promised to release a shortlist of conservative judges he will consider nominating for the Supreme Court if he wins a second term.

"These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives," Trump tweeted last week. "We need more Justices or we will lose our 2nd. Amendment & everything else. Vote Trump 2020!"

He then warned supporters at a rally that Biden would nominate extreme and radical justices who would overturn the American way of life.

The next president could make multiple nominations to the Supreme Court. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer are in their 80s, and Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito are in their 70s.

Trumps recent argument is identical to one he made during the 2016 election that helped swing conservatives his way.

The motivating factor for me being able to shift from Ted Cruz to Trump was the Supreme Court and him rolling out that list of potential Supreme Court nominees, said GOP strategist Alice Stewart, who had misgivings about Trumps sometimes liberal past as well as his treatment of Cruz during the 2016 election.

Stewart, who worked on the presidential campaigns of Cruz and several other Republicans, described herself as discouraged but not defeated by the recent court rulings. She was confident that the judiciary would over time swing to the right because of Trumps nominees, as well as the 200 federal judges he has seen confirmed since taking office.

The promise of building a wall that Mexico will pay for has a lifespan of zero," she said, "but a Supreme Court nominee and confirmation lasts a lifetime.
The number of people in emergency accommodation has dropped below 9,000 for the first time since 2017.

Figures show 8,876 people were homeless last month, which is 459 fewer than the figures recorded in April.

The Department of Housing said there are fewer families in emergency accommodation today than at any point in the last three years.

Wayne Stanley, the Simon Communities Head of Communications, said there is a fear numbers may increase once Covid measures are lifted.

Mr Stanley said: "The emergency prevention measures have been really effective. We have to look at whether we extend those, there is a strong case to be made for extending it.

"But we also have to look at all those people that have been impacted by Covid who may now be in housing distress and might be, if we lift the restrictions, forced to end up in homelessness."
WCPO aired a special segment looking at a move by an Ohio State Senate committee to consider a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis. Black Americans are twice as likely as other groups to die of COVID-19. Even before they pandemic, they faced higher levels of heart disease, stroke and maternal mortality; publicly documented cases have found doctors failing to trust Black patients' descriptions of their own symptoms. What would it mean for Ohio to recognize racism as a public health crisis? Chris Lewis, MD, vice provost at the University of Cincinnati and associate professor of family medicine, discusses social determinants of health and the impact racial inequalities have on public health as part of WCPO's coverage.

See the special WCPO segment online.

Featured photo is of Chris Lewis, MD, in the UC College of Medicine by Colleen Kelley/UC Creative + Brand.
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.
All shareholders whether major or minor will be subject to capital gains tax from 2023, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday. This expands the scope of the tax, which currently only applies to those who own over around W1 billion in a single stock (US$1=W1,205).

The new tax system will apply to people who earn more than W20 million of net profits from the entire stocks they have. They will be taxed at 20 percent up until W300 million, and at 25 percent for earnings above.

The new tax system covers gains from stocks, funds, bonds and derivatives. On the other hand, the government will gradually lower the tax on stock exchange transactions from 0.25 percent to 0.15 percent by 2023.

Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki said he expects the burden on small investors to be actually lightened due to the lower transaction tax while only the top five percent will be affected.
[June 26, 2020] mCloud to Discuss Acquisition of kanepi Group with Host RCA Financial Partners

VANCOUVER, BC, June 26, 2020 /CNW/ - mCloud Technologies Corp. (TSX-V: MCLD) (OTCQB: MCLDF) ("mCloud" or the "Company"), a leading provider of asset management solutions combining IoT, cloud computing, artificial intelligence ("AI") and analytics, today announced that the Company will participate in a video conference call hosted by RCA Financial Partners Inc., a consulting and advisory firm focused on data resource innovators, located in Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA. During the conference call CEO Russ McMeekin and Chief Growth & Revenue Officer Costantino Lanza will discuss with Wayne Andrews, President of RCA Financial Partners, the benefits and synergies of the proposed acquisition of kanepi Group Pty Ltd ("kanepi"), an information, visualization, and analytics software technology company. The video conference call will be held on Monday June 29th, 2020 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time, 8:00 AM Pacific Time. The call may be accessed by registering at: https://bit.ly/2NzYqnU



Shortly following the video conference call a recording will be available at www.mcloudcorp.com and www.rcafinancialpartners.com. About mCloud Technologies Corp.

mCloud is creating a more efficient future with the use of AI and analytics, curbing energy waste, maximizing energy production, and getting the most out of critical energy infrastructure. Through mCloud's AI-powered AssetCare platform, mCloud offers complete asset management solutions to three distinct segments: smart facilities, power generation, and process industries including oil and gas. IoT sensors bring data from connected assets into the cloud, where AI and analytics are applied to maximize their performance. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada with offices in twelve locations worldwide, the mCloud family includes an ecosystem of operating subsidiaries that deliver high-performance IoT, AI, 3D, and mobile capabilities to customers, all integrated into AssetCare. With over 100 blue-chip customers and more than 48,000 assets connected in thousands of locations worldwide, mCloud is changing the way energy assets are managed. mCloud's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol MCLD and on the OTCQB under the symbol MCLDF. mCloud's convertible debentures trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol MCLD.DB. For more information, visit www.mcloudcorp.com . Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE mCloud Technologies Corp.

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A bizarre row broke out between a senior Chinese state media journalist and an Australian cameraman covering Scott Morrison's media conference.

Tensions flared in the prime minister's courtyard when Bai Xu, the chief of Xinhua New's Canberra bureau, became angry that a SBS cameraman was filming her.

The Australian cameraman turned the lens on the Chinese reporter after witnesses claimed a photographer Ms Xu was with was taking photos of other journalists on Friday.

A bizarre scuffle broke out between a senior Chinese state media journalist (pictured) and an Australian cameraman covering Scott Morrison's media conference

Tensions flared in the Prime Minister's Courtyard when Bai Xu (pictured), the chief of Xinhua's Canberra bureau, became angry that a SBS cameraman was filming her

The unusual scene became even more heated when Ms Xu put her hand over the lens and told the cameraman to stop filming.

But as the incident drew the eye of other Australian journalists and the federal police, the two Chinese reporters quickly left the room, the Daily Telegraph reported.

As she departed, she was followed by the prime minister's security team, who later said she did hold a permanent media pass but the photographer did not.

The photographer is also understood to have refused to answer when asked where they worked.

Ironically, one of the subjects touched on at the press event was the issue of foreign interference by China.

Earlier that morning, the Sydney home and office of New South Wales Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane was raided by ASIO officials and the federal police.

The Lebanese-born backbencher known for singing the praises of Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party - is now the target of the new national security and espionage laws.

Shaoquett Moselmane (pictured) is outspoken in his praise for the Chinese Communist Party and the authoritarian leadership Xi Jinping

The Labor backbencher's Sydney home and office was raided by ASIO officials and the federal police on Friday, who are pictured arriving

Mr Moselmane has now become the target of new national security and espionage laws (pictured, investigators emerge from the MP's home)

Australian intelligence services are investigating whether Mr Moselmane and the NSW parliament, has been compromised by the authoritarian regime.

'It's been an investigation that has been going on for some time. It's elevated to a new level today,' Prime Minister Morrison told reporters at today's media conference.

'We won't cop anyone coming and seeking to interfere in our political system, in our energy sector, in any area of the perceived area of opportunity for an outside actor.

'We won't cop it. We are a resilient people. We will stand up to it and we will take action, as what you've seen today demonstrates.'
(Bloomberg) -- Shale fracturing crews, mired in a glut of idled equipment, are putting some of their pumps back to work as oil prices rebound.

The number of active U.S. frac crews, which bottomed out at 45 last month, has since jumped to 78 last week, according to industry consultant Primary Vision Inc.

Shale explorers started slashing frac work late last year amid shareholder pressure to spend less, and they brought activity to a minimum as oil prices plunged below zero in April. In response to declining demand for their services, pumpers started taking the unprecedented move of scrapping idle fracturing equipment in order to get pricing higher.

While almost 200 frac spreads have been eliminated, the total industry supply still stands at roughly 400 crews, according to research from B Riley FBR Inc. That means roughly 20% of supply is being put to work today, according to the bank.

The initial pickup in demand has been stronger than anticipated, but the supply excesses will take time to purge, Thomas Curran, an analyst at B Riley FBR, wrote Friday in a note to investors. The landscape isnt just structurally oversupplied, but overcrowded.

Though there has been a pickup in fracturing, the last stage in the development of a shale well, explorers are still not drilling for new prospects.

The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. has slumped by more than 70% this year, with the count falling by 1 to 188 this week, Baker Hughes Co. said Friday.

In the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, the number of rigs was at 131, its lowest in records going back to 2011.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Janine Laubscher joins Eclipse Communications

Eclipse Communications has appointed Janine Laubscher as an account director for its Cape Town business unit. Laubscher will be tasked with ensuring that the Cape Town team is achieving its strategic objectives for clients as well as the business, maximising business opportunities, bringing in new clients, and creating new opportunities with existing customers.



Laubscher has more than 10 years' experience in content production, public relations, and digital communications, and has managed a multitude of lifestyle and FMCG brands throughout her career. Laubscher says the lockdown has made it challenging for businesses to connect with their audiences in a meaningful way, and she and her team have been using this time to conduct research and garner insights and come up with solutions on how brands can better connect with their audiences.
In an address to the Pak National Assembly which has gone viral on Twitter, PM Imran Khan has slammed the US for humiliating the country by initiating "covert" attacks despite Pak being an ally in war on terror.

Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday raked up yet another controversy by calling a slain terrorist and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden a shaheed (martyr) while addressing the National Assembly.

A viral video clip showed how the PTI leader lashed out at the United States for how Laden had been killed in Abbottabad. Khan said, shaheed kar diya.

We helped the Americans in war on terror but the embarrassment we had to face for their allegations of Pakistan being a safe haven for terrorists is very terrible. Our ally is secretly coming into our country and killing a terrorist and we dont even have an idea, he added.

Also read: Pakistan grounds 150 pilots over dubious licences

Also read: US report claims Pak serves as a safe haven for terrorism

The clip, posted by journalist Naila Inayat on Twitter, seems to be from the Parliament of the country.

PM Pakistan Imran Khan considers Osama bin Laden a martyr. pic.twitter.com/tax0t3V5wg  Naila Inayat   (@nailainayat) June 25, 2020

Osama bin Laden was the head of the global terror group Al Qaeda and the brain behind the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States in 2001.

Osama bin Laden was killed in a military operation by US Navy Seals in 2011 at the garrison town Abbottabad. He was accused of engineering a number of terror attacks worldwide, particularly targeting the American installations including the 9/11 incident of 2001 when close to 3,000 people lost their lives when five planes were hijacked to target American cities.

This is, however, not the first time that Imran Khan has showed a soft corner for bin Laden.

In September last year, during his US tour, Khan said Pakistan had informed the American security agencies about the presence of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad. But he stated that the US should not have undertaken a covert operation to kill bin Laden keeping Pakistan completely in the dark.

Also read: Pakistan remains on FATF grey list

For all the latest World News, download NewsX App
London: Iran's Defence Ministry said a gas tank exploded near a military site on Thursday night, local time, rocking the capital.

No military installations had been affected by the incident close to the Parchin defence base south of Tehran, ministry spokesman Davoud Abdi said in comments broadcast on state TV.

He didn't provide any details on the cause of the blast, which caused a fire that was put out by emergency services.

No casualties have been reported.
26.06.2020 LISTEN

Religious advocate Dr. Emmanuel Acheampong Manu, popularly Known as Lord Ayass Baba has ardently noted that it is about time the country starts making animal sacrifices on Independence and Republic days.

This he believes will ensure that God will protect the country's sovereignty and also bless the citizenry.

He said if the whole nation can even rally behind Muslims during the day of animal sacrifice and dedicate it to the greatness of this country, blessings in multiform will cover the country.

Also the two most important days in Ghana, Independence and Republic days, should have sacrifices made on those days to the glory of God, this is what the prophets did to make their nations great; animal sacrifice to God is not Satanic he added.

He said, there are basically two groups of religions in the world...the ABRAHAMIC (SEMETIC) and the Eastern religions.

The ABRAHAMIC religions comprise, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all these religions have Prophet Abraham as their Father. Prophet Abraham is called the friend of God both in Christianity and Islam.

All these 3 religions record an account of God testing Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, according to the Bible or Ishmael according to the Quran, but the two scriptures agree on the fact that Prophet Abraham passed the said test and so God rather present him with a RAM to be sacrificed in place of his son.

This act by Prophet Abraham was actually ordered by God to be made for him, after the sacrifice, God blessed Abraham and made him great.

This act of the prophet is what has been passed on from generation to generation and we see Muslims doing same every year he said.

Find how the Bible and Quran wrote about the account of the sacrifice of Prophet Abraham, Genesis 22:1-19, Quran 37:102-110.

He said sacrifices are mystical acts that do away with evil, obstacles and suffering, it must be noted that sacrifices have nothing to do with a person's salvation

Bad omen and even premature death are prevented by making sacrifices; this is like a spiritual formula which the prophets of old practiced regularly. Prophets David and Solomon performed sacrifices for various purposes.

Prophet David performed sacrifices to prevent people from being killed by the ARK OF COVENANT. It can be recalled that, THE ARK OF COVENANT killed a man when he touched it and Prophet David made that sacrifice to prevent such incidence from happening. Find how 2 Samuel chapter 6, 2 Chronicles 6:7- 13 made the presentation.

Prophet Solomon, following the steps of his father David as has been laid down by God for his people, also performed sacrifices with the priests when he was consecrating the great temple of God. He made a lot of animal sacrifices and prayed to ask for blessings of God for the temple. God readily answered by sending fire to consume the sacrifices, 2 Chronicles 5:5-6.

He said many other forms of sacrifice, which includes fruit, grain, and water and alcohol sacrifices were also made. God requested sacrifices from Cain and Abel, and we know Cain sacrificed lean animals and Abel presented fresh fruits. This is a lesson that God accepts animal or fruit sacrifice as an offering but it should be in good nature and from a pure heart.

He said those who are against sacrifice buttress their points on the fact that the blood of Jesus has done everything for us.

According to him, the esoteric essence of the sacrifice of Jesus was to realign mankind to the spiritual evolutionary ladder and this is what we call salvation

It must be noted that Jesus never condemned the sacrifices made for him when he was 8 days old in the temple, Luke 2: 21-24 he added.
Hundreds of thousands of largely Muslim Rohingya have been escaping from Myanmar since 2017.

A group of Rohingya refugees rescued by fishermen in Indonesian waters has disembarked in the province of Aceh.

Ninety-nine people were on board the vessel, including 28 children.

Human rights groups have praised the local community for their efforts, but say governments in the region must do more to protect Rohingya refugees.

Al Jazeeras Jessica Washington reports from Jakarta, Indonesia.
In October 2015 a team of the Technische Universitat Darmstadt published the discovery of a new variation of radioactivity in the Nature magazine. In this very rarely occurring variation of gamma radiation a radioactive quantum state of an atomic nucleus simultaneously emits two gamma quanta, hence, highly-energetic light particles with wave lengths below the x-ray range.

This way it makes a quantum leap into an energetically lower-lying state, although this leap would have been possible by emission of only one gamma quantum. This rare process has the scientific name competitive double-gamma decay and is denoted by the symbol /.

The Darmstadt nuclear physicists observed that in the nuclide Ba-137 this process ouccurs with a probabiliy of only two to one million.

Now an international research team from Romania, Japan, Italy and Germany confirms the existence of the / decay. The nuclear measurements were conducted at the EU-funded European Extreme Light Infrastructure  Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) at the Romanian National Laboratory IFIN-Horia Hulubei near Bucharest, employing a dedicated experimental setup which has been constructed over two years.

The experiment was led by the ELI-NP employed Swedish scientist Par-Anders Soderstrom, who previously gained scientific qualification as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Nuclear Physics of TU Darmstadt within the research group of Professor Norbert Pietralla, one of the discoverers of the new decay. The new data confirm the probability of occurrence of this new variation of radioactivity, and yield a more precise value.



The more precise data give new insight into the properties and possibilities of scientific exploitation of this new kind of radioactivity. By a comparison of the  compared to Darmstadt data  more precise measurement of the distribution of energy over the two gamma quanta in the double-gamma degay, new conclusions on their electro-magnetic radiation character were drawn.

The new data show that the radiation emitted in the / decay from the nuclide Ba-137 is a combination of electric octupole and magnetic dipole radiation.

This observation is at contrast to simple nuclear structure models, that the Darmstadt discovery had first been compared to, and which found a combination of electric and magnetic quadrupole radiation to be underlying the / decay in the nuclide Ba-137.

A world-leading group of scientists in nuclear theory from Japan was now able to give an explanation for the dominance of electric octupole and magnetic dipole radiation in the / decay in the nuclide Ba-137 through demanding calculations on the Japanese super-computer K at the Tokio research center RIKEN.

The computer models show that the / decay processes are very sensitive on the interactions among protons and neutrons in an atomic nucleus, and therefore are especially suitable for precision tests of our scientific understanding of the structure of atomic nuclei and the nuclear forces.

The new data are published in Nature Communications:

P. -A. Soderstrom, L. Capponi, E. Aciksoz, T. Otsuka, N. Tsoneva, Y. Tsunoda, D. L. Balabanski, N. Pietralla, G. L. Guardo, D. Lattuada, H. Lenske, C. Matei, D. Nichita, A. Pappalardo & T. Petruse, Electromagnetic character of the competitive /-decay from 137mBa, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS 11, 3242 (2020).

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16787-4

Publication from 2015:

C. Walz, H. Scheit, N. Pietralla, T. Aumann, R. Lefol, V.Yu. Ponomarev, Observation of the competitive double-gamma nuclear decay, Nature(London) 526, 406 (2015).

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature15543

About TU Darmstadt

The Technische Universitat (TU) Darmstadt is one of Germanys leading technical universities. TU Darmstadt incorporates diverse science cultures to create its characteristic profile. The focus is set on engineering and natural sciences, which cooperate closely with outstanding humanities and social sciences. We are enjoying a worldwide reputation for excellent research in our highly-relevant, focused profile areas: cybersecurity, internet and digitalisation, nuclear physics, fluid dynamics and heat- and mass transfer, energy systems and new materials for product innovation. We dynamically develop our portfolio of research and teaching, innovation and transfer, in order to continue opening up important opportunities for the future of society. Our 308 professors, 4,500 scientific and administrative employees and close to 25,200 students devote their talents and best efforts to this goal. Together with Goethe University Frankfurt and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, TU Darmstadt has formed the strategic Rhine-Main Universities alliance.

www.tu-darmstadt.de

MI-Nr. 36e/2020

P. -A. Soderstrom, L. Capponi, E. Aciksoz, T. Otsuka, N. Tsoneva, Y. Tsunoda, D. L. Balabanski, N. Pietralla, G. L. Guardo, D. Lattuada, H. Lenske, C. Matei, D. Nichita, A. Pappalardo & T. Petruse, Electromagnetic character of the competitive /-decay from 137mBa, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS 11, 3242 (2020).

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16787-4
WASHINGTON  A month after the killing of George Floyd by the police in Minneapolis ignited a wave of nationwide protests, Democratic Party officials are expressing broad support for significantly reallocating funds away from police departments, with positions that go well beyond that of the partys presumptive presidential nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Interviews with 54 Democratic National Committee members, convention superdelegates and members of a criminal justice task force convened by Mr. Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders found a near-unanimous sentiment that local governments should redirect more money toward social services, education and mental health agencies.

Very few advocate fully defunding or abolishing the police, as some activists have called for. But they are aligning themselves, as have city councils in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Denver, Portland, Ore., and other cities, with an increasingly popular movement to drastically rethink the priorities surrounding law enforcement.

Their views exceed those adopted by Mr. Biden, who opposes defunding but has proposed policing changes and said that federal aid to police departments should be conditioned on meeting basic standards of decency and honorableness. They also go further than what the Biden-Sanders task force will recommend to the partys platform committee and the Biden campaign later this month, according to several members of the group.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is thumping President Donald Trump in the polls. As of Friday, Biden led Trump by 10 percentage points in the RealClearPolitics national average and by six to nine points in each of four key states: Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. But many Democrats refuse to trust these numbers. They feel burned by 2016, when Hillary Clinton lost after leading in the polls for months. Theyre afraid Trump will come back again.

That could happen. But it probably wont, and one reason is that Biden isnt Clinton. You can argue that public antipathy toward Clinton was sexist, based on lies, or propelled by the media. But that antipathy was a fact, and polls consistently documented it. Now polls are showing something else: On identical questions, posed by the same pollsters at the same stage of the campaign, Biden is doing far better than Clinton did. Hes more broadly liked and less broadly disliked than she was.

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To measure the difference, I chose a single questionwhether you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the candidateand selected pollsters who tested both Clintons favorable rating in June 2016 and Bidens favorable rating in June 2020 (or, in one case, the end of May). Six pollsters met this standard: Monmouth University, Quinnipiac University, the Economist (YouGov), Fox News, ABC News and the Washington Post, and NBC News and the Wall Street Journal. By comparing their 2020 numbers to their 2016 numbers, we can measure Biden against Clinton.

His very unfavorable rating was only about 30 percent. That gives him a lot more room to work with.

Clintons scores were atrocious. In all six polls, most respondents viewed her unfavorably. In the five polls that reported degrees of antipathy, 39 percent to 49 percent viewed her very unfavorably. Trumps scores were even worse. But if youre wondering why so many people who disliked Trump voted for him anyway, a big reason is that they didnt like the alternative.

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Bidens ratings are better. Over the past month, in polls taken by the same six organizations, most respondents did not view him unfavorably. His net favorabilitythe percentage of respondents who liked him, minus the percentage who disliked himwas 15 points better than Clintons. And his very unfavorable ratingthe percentage of people who strongly disliked himwas only about 30 percent. That gives him a lot more room to work with.

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Among independentsthe voters least captive to partisan loyalties and therefore most likely to vote based on feelings about the candidatesthe gap is even bigger. In each of the five polls that reported results for this group, Clintons unfavorable rating topped 60 percent. Bidens unfavorable rating among independents ranged from 42 to 54. On average, his net favorable rating in this group was 22 points better than hers. Clintons very-unfavorable rating among independents averaged 50 percent; Bidens was 28 percent. Thats a big chunk of independents who deeply disliked Clinton but not Biden.

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Clinton struggled to win male voters, and Biden does better with them. Across the five polls that reported results by sex, his net favorable rating among men was 19 points better than hers. But he also outperformed her by 10 points among women. Clintons very-unfavorable rating, on average, was just under 40 percent among women. Bidens was just under 30 percent.

Republicans will try to drive up Bidens unfavorable ratings, as they did to Clinton. But that probably wont work. Biden has endured a yearlong smear campaign by Trump and the GOP, with little to no effect. And long-term data show no sign that Biden can be vilified as successfully as Clinton was. In the 183 polls that tested Clintons unfavorable rating in 2016, she averaged 54 percent. Only once did she manage to get that number below 49. This year, Biden is averaging 47.

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If youre looking for reasons to remain scared that Trump might win, you could point to his favorability ratings, which are better than they were four years ago. In the six polls examined here, his average unfavorable rating in June 2016 was 61 percent. Now its 55 percent. But thats because he consolidated support from Republicans who, as of June 2016, hadnt yet accepted him. Among independents, his average unfavorable rating hasnt budged. And Clinton, unlike Biden, never held a 10-point lead over Trump in the Real Clear Politics polling average.

Why is Biden less disliked than Clinton? The polls discussed here dont shed much light on that question, but one factor seems to be trust. When the June 2016 Quinnipiac poll asked whether Clinton or Trump was more honest and trustworthy, voters picked Trump, 44 percent to 39 percent. But when the June 2020 Quinnipiac poll asked voters to assess each candidates honesty, Biden easily outscored Trump. By a 26-point margin, respondents said Trump wasnt honest. On Biden, they were evenly split.

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Well learn more about the Biden-Clinton discrepancy if pollsters repeat some of their questions from 2016. The June 2016 Monmouth poll, for instance, asked, How important is it to you to make sure that Hillary Clinton does not get elected president? Forty-one percent said it was very important; another 10 percent said it was somewhat important. The June 2016 Fox poll asked, What are you more likely to do when Hillary Clinton comes on televisionchange the channel or turn up the volume? Most said they would change the channel. The June 2016 Quinnipiac poll asked which candidate youd rather watch on TV for the next four years or invite to your backyard barbecue. In both cases, voters chose Trump over Clinton. All of these questions could be asked about Trump and Biden.

For now, the numbers send a clear message: Biden is in a much better position than Clinton was. When Trump came back to win the Electoral College in 2016, he was working with an electorate that strongly disliked the Democratic nominee. Voters were willing to set aside their unease with Trump in order to defeat his opponent. This time, they arent.
At least five dead in separate gun battles as number of rebels killed in disputed territory this year surpasses 100.

At least five people, including a six-year-old boy caught in the crossfire, have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The child was in a car that drove into a gun battle between suspected rebels and paramilitaries near the town of Bijbehara, a police officer told AFP news agency on Friday.

The boy and a soldier were injured during the exchange of fire and both later died in hospital, said the officer, who asked not to be named.

Three rebels were also killed in a separate gunfight at Chewa, near the regions main city of Srinagar, in a battle that lasted 20 hours, army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.

This came after at least 11 fighters were killed by Indian security forces over a span of three days in separate incidents.





Since the nationwide coronavirus lockdown was imposed in late March, New Delhi has stepped up military operations against rebels in Kashmir, with at least 33 separatist fighters killed this month.

More than 100 fighters have been killed this year, according to police.

India and Pakistan claim the mountainous territory of Kashmir in full but administer separate portions of it. The two nuclear-armed neighbours have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.

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Rebel groups on the Indian side have fought for decades for the regions independence or its merger with Pakistan.

India, which has 500,000 soldiers stationed in its section of Kashmir, accuses Pakistan of supporting the Kashmiri fighters, a charge Islamabad denies, calling them freedom fighters.

Tensions have soared between Pakistan and India since last August, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist government revoked a special status granted to the Muslim-majority region.

Since early May, China and Indian troops have been engaged in a standoff on their disputed border in Ladakh region, which was carved out of Kashmir last August.
Polarized is a weekly series featuring Americans from all 50 states sharing their views on the 2020 elections. Click here if you would like to be a part of this project

Mary Kirby is about as much of an independent as they come.

A 67-year-old grandmother from Helena, Montana, Kirby says in a recent interview that she typically leans to the left on social issues, and to the right when it comes to fiscal policies.

Shes voted for Democrats, Republicans, and, in 2016, Kirby even cast a ballot for Gary Johnson, the libertarian candidate who ran as an independent and picked up 3 per cent of the vote.

I really hate the division in this country where we cant even talk to each other anymore. We cant even talk in my family about politics because everyone gets all up in arms, and were always painting the other guy with a broad brush, she says. That concerns me, because when you start labelling people, you start dehumanizing them  and then it suddenly becomes very easy to go further than that.

As she is above the age of 65 and has diabetes and asthma, Kirby says shes been continuing to follow the 2020 campaign trail as much as she can while constantly working to protect herself from Covid-19.

She has been practising social distancing measures and avoiding public events and gatherings so as not to risk her health  and she feels frustrated by the way Donald Trumps administration has handled the coronavirus pandemic.

I want to see that Covid-19 gets taken care of, Kirby says, adding: I havent seen much leadership out of Trump. It seems like his people are more concerned with their own economic health than the publics personal health.

(Photo courtesy Mary Kirby (Photo courtesy Mary Kirby)

Kirby believes the president calling the virus a hoax when it first began sweeping through the country, refusing to wear a mask at multiple public events and sowing confusion about the severity of the outbreak contributed to a culture of selfishness surrounding the pandemic in the United States.

You know, with all of these people screaming, I dont want to wear a mask! We really need to be more passionate and more concerned about our fellow citizens, and not be so selfish and self-centered, she says. It seems like were kind of going in that direction in this country for a lot of people.

At this point, Kirby says theres virtually no way shes casting her ballot for the Republican incumbent come November.

However, as someone who describes herself as a pro-life independent, Kirby did not want to support any progressive candidates calling for expanded access to womens reproductive rights. She says she wishes abortion access was more restricted in the US, which none of the more than 25 major Democratic candidates who launched presidential bids this election season would support.

But then came the former vice president, Joe Biden, one of the last candidates to throw his hat in the ring.

Though the Biden is pro-choice, he has previously described himself as personally opposed to abortion and supported restricting federal funding of abortions for decades  until his 2020 presidential campaign.

Thats enough for Kirby, who says Bidens honesty on the issue is an attractive quality for her as a voter.

Click here to read more of The Independents series, Polarized: Voices From Across America

Im comforted by the fact that hes personally pro-life  thats what he said at one point in time, anyway, that because hes Catholic, hes personally pro-life but hes not going to try and put his religious beliefs on other people, she says. Id like to see it be more restricted, but at the moment its the law of the land. Its like a lot of other things I believe that arent necessarily illegal.

Trump, on the other hand, doesnt stand for anything when it comes to womens reproductive rights, Kirby says.

I dont like Trump, and I dont believe him for a minute that hes pro-life. I believe hes an opportunist  Ill put it that way, she says. Hell say what you want to hear, and I think theres a lot of people getting fooled by that, and its sad. As a person, he is disgusting to me.

In Montana, a moderately Republican state that typically goes to the GOP but went blue for the former president Bill Clinton in 1992, every vote cast by independent voters is seen as even more crucial than ever before.

Though shes an independent voter, Montana conducts open primaries, so Kirby decided to mail-in a ballot supporting the former vice president earlier this year.

I voted for Joe Biden, Ive always kind of liked him  he does have a tendency to put his foot in his mouth, but on the whole, I pretty much agree with his politics for the most part, she says. I am pro-life, so thats where we disagree  but I have a very strong belief system that people should be honest, and that they should not be doing stuff like Trump has been doing in the past.

I ask Kirby if theres anything Trump could do to earn her vote  or, on the other hand, if Biden is capable of losing her support, either by choosing a vice president too far to the left or finding himself at the heart of some unseen controversy before Election Day.

No, she responds without a second of hesitation, because I just cant stand Trump. So Im almost more of an anti-Trump voter.

Getting Trump out is my top priority, she adds. I think hes done so much damage to our standing in the world, and hes just not presidential at all. Hes a liar all the time, as far as Im concerned. How can you trust someone who lies all the time?
Now that youre taking to the streets again and interacting with people outside your household, thinking of what to wear is only natural. Even if youve been working from home, and heading to

a fashion store has been the last thing on your mind for the past couple of months, it may be time for something new  even if just to spark a little much-needed joy.

It might seem trivial to pay too much attention to clothes as we emerge from a global pandemic, but some of the most interesting moments in fashion history have come after extreme disruptions. Think of the shimmering, liberated flappers of the 1920s following the Great War. Or Christian Diors New Look in 1947, immediately after World War II and amid widespread rationing. Besides, dont we want to know if we can keep wearing all those tracksuits we bought in isolation, and whether well ever don high heels again?

H Brand coat, Bassike knit and track pants, Reliquia jewellery and Zegna bag. Credit:Jedd Cooney

The good news is that the answer is yes, on both fronts. According to Sunday Life fashion editor Penny McCarthy, tracksuits arent mere tracksuits any more. Theyre not just for flopping around the house in, having reached something approaching cult status. Theyve also proved to be wonderfully versatile.

The next few months will be about finding ways to pivot your iso wardrobe by wearing the relaxed pieces we all turned to at home, but in more interesting ways.
Annette Glenn and Sarah Schulz are both seeking to represent the Midland area in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Glenn is the incumbent, and the two are competing for election during November's general election.

Annette Glenn, 56, of Midland, is the incumbent 98th District state representative.

1. What are the duties of Michigans 98th District state representative?

As state representative for the people of Bay and Midland counties, my duties are to:

 Vote and work to enact laws that serve the best interests of the people as a whole, not the demands of particular factions or special interest groups.

 Assist individual residents of our district with any question, concern, or need you may have regarding any issue involving our state government. People desperate for help, who dont even live in our district, have called my office, saying we have a reputation for effective constituent service on issues such as helping file unemployment claims.

 Shoulder my share of the responsibility for crafting our state budget, which will be extremely challenging this year after losing billions of dollars in state tax revenue caused by the COVID-19 economic shutdown.

My first obligation is to show up. Out of respect for the hard-working families its my duty to represent, I have a perfect voting record, never missing a vote on the House floor, and having missed one committee meeting (for surgery).

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee responsible for setting our state budget, I serve as chair of the subcommittee on Military & Veterans Affairs and State Police, vice chair of the Subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, vice chair of the Subcommittee on Department of Natural Resources and Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Im also a member of the Health and Human Services subcommittee and the School Aid & Department of Education subcommittee.

2. How would you accomplish the above duties?

Out of a sense of duty to continue to represent and serve the people of Bay and Midland counties.

During COVID-19, Ive not just driven to Lansing to cast votes and chair budget meetings, but have made or participated in hundreds of phone and conference calls with constituents, government officials, business leaders, and medical professionals  from the White House, Congressman Moolenaar and Sen. Stamas, the governors office, state agencies, and state police to hospital administrators, mayors, county commissioners, school superintendents, and township trustees.

Ive spoken with concerned physicians, including  via translator  a Peruvian doctor now living in Midland. At multiple physicians requests, I successfully intervened to ensure doctors remain free to prescribe treatments they think medically necessary for their COVID patients. Long-time Daily News medical columnist, Dr. John Pfenninger, wrote that my actions may have indeed saved many lives, certainly a humbling thought.

Ive called local business owners, urging them to retool to manufacture Personal Protection Equipment; just one such call produced 50,000 gowns and 15,000 masks to date.

Ive personally helped people, over the phone, file their unemployment claims.

And after the flood, Ive attended hours of emergency management meetings, toured damage with the Army Corps of Engineers and state police, organized volunteers, and volunteered myself to help multiple home owners clean out their muddy basements. One flood victim wrote, "If you work as hard for the state as you did in my house, were in great hands," a standard Ill continue to work to live up to.

3. What, if any, changes would you make as state representative?

Getting Michigan safely back to work, and adopting or preserving policies that encourage speedy economic and job recovery rather than hinder it, will be my overriding priority the remainder of this year and the next legislative session.

Similarly, the needless regulations that make delivery of health care more difficult, which were suspended by executive order during COVID-19, should be permanently eliminated. Certificate of Need regulations  which restrict access to certain medical services by requiring providers to get approval from the state before expanding or modifying their services  should not return. The same is true of state rules that previously limited the number of hospital beds and mobile healthcare facilities.

Certified nursing aides should continue to be free to treat patients with the same autonomy as certified nurses, and nurses should be able to renew their licenses with hours worked responding to COVID-19 satisfying all continuing education requirements. Nurses who meet uniform licensing requirements in any state should continue to be free to work in person or through telemedicine in Michigan, and vice versa.

An executive order expanding access to telemedicine, allowing patients to visit their doctor via webcam, should become law.

Even after losing billions of dollars in state tax revenue, this fiscal year and next, the Legislature and governor must work together to ensure Michigan students still receive the quality education they deserve. And we should protect the freedom and flexibility of parents who, having tried it during COVID-19, may choose to continue alternative methods of educating their children.

4. What challenges will state representatives encounter?

I believe in offering voters a clear choice. On the issue of protecting Michigan jobs and ensuring a speedy economic recovery, heres an example.

I strongly support Michigans Right to Work law, a civil rights measure that not only prohibits job discrimination on the basis of union affiliation, guaranteeing individual freedom and rights of conscience on the job, but is widely known to be a major attraction to new business and industry, job creation, and income growth in Michigan.

I will vote against any attempt by Lansing special interests to repeal that freedom-of-choice, new jobs, higher income policy, while my Democratic opponent promises on her campaign website that she fully supports repealing Right to Work, turning back the clock to the days when it was legal in Michigan to force employees to pay up or be fired and discriminate against and fire anyone who chose not to join or financially support a union.

The last thing our economy needs is to reimpose discriminatory policies on Michigan workplaces that make it harder to attract new business and industry. As a member of the Health and Human Services subcommittee, Ill continue to work to ensure Michigan families are free to choose their doctors, their treatment, and their insurance  automobile and medical  and Ill vote against any attempt to remove coverage from individuals who have preexisting conditions.

As a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on K-12 School Aid, Ill work to protect our schools from the economic damage of the COVID-19 shutdown.

Sarah Schulz, 42, of Midland, is vice president of People Services for City Year, INC.

1. What would you say are the main jobs and duties of a state representative?

The main duty of a state representative is to serve all the people in their district  no matter their party. That is why my campaign color is purple, a combination of red and blue. If we value relationships and conversations, it is possible to have progress that benefits all of us. I have always worked in mission-driven organizations and I see becoming a state representative and serving Michigan as an extension of my lifes work. In 2008, I lost my job, so my husband and I and our two babies, both in diapers, moved into our heavily mortgaged single-wide trailer. The trailer had a leaky roof, no running water and the furnace only worked some of the time. But this is not a story of a family that pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. No. This is a story of a young family who needed helpand got it. From donated childcare while we looked for jobs to enrolling the kids in MI Child state health insurance to using food banks  we could not have done it without our community. And I want to make sure there is a strong safety net for other families who need it as well. I believe true leaders put people over politics so everyone can reach their full potential. Because when that happens, we are all better off.

2. As our state representative, how would you accomplish the above duties?

We all have high hopes for a future where our leaders see their work as a sacred service to our community. Because of that, Im on a journey to serve our community, to help restore the middle class, and to heal society where weve become so very broken. Ive tried to live my whole life in service to others. Very often, I hear about lost jobs and low wages and mounting healthcare debt and food insecurity. These neighbors of mine are full of love and hope and complexity, and they are a valuable part of our community. They deserve to reach their full potential, and as state representative, I would work to get them there. Progress is always worth it; by seeing things differently, we can realize a common vision. No matter someones political party affiliation, we agree so much more than we disagree. Its time to put people over politics, because most of the people I know are so over politics.

3. What, if any, changes would you make as state representative?

We need businesses that provide good jobs to ensure stability to raise a family, pay the bills, and plan for the future. I will fight for legislation to empower Michiganders with a living wage so that full-time work provides economic stability. Work should be humane, rewarding, safe, and fair. Unions help us achieve those goals, so I fully support repealing Right to Work. I will protect current and future pensions of public servants, like police officers and firefighters, and fight to repeal the pension tax. I will lead the charge to assemble a commission to stabilize drug prices, create a price cap on insulin, and work to allow FDA approved drugs to be sold from Canada so nobody will have to choose between putting food on their table or buying the medicine they need to live. I will prioritize investment in our schools, respect and equip teachers with the tools they need, support skilled trades, and stand up to anyone who wants to divert resources away from public schools. Our students need to have an equal chance at success no matter if they live in the country or the city. I pledge to work to restore local revenue sharing income so that local communities have the services they need, to hire police and firefighters, maintain the cemeteries of our loved ones, and provide garbage services. I will work to invest in infrastructure, like wifi access in all of our district so our farmers can function in the global market.

4. What challenges do you anticipate state representatives will encounter?

The extreme political polarization of our time is a massive challenge to finding common ground and crafting good legislation addressing issues that truly matter to people. Government doesnt have to be a zero-sum game where one side wins only if the other side loses. I believe that when people from all perspectives come together to have real conversations, there is more agreement than disagreement. As a state representative, I promise that everyone will have a seat at the table. I will continue to work to overcome party politics and find common ground no matter the challenges we encounter.

Representatives are challenged by pressure to fall in line with their party instead of truly representing the people of their district. My family business is not politics, but I come from a long line of blue-collar folks who all know the value and pride of a hard-days' work. My dad worked in the auto factories for 30 years and one of my first memories is helping him take off his boots after a long day in the shop. The values of hard work and family are so important in our community and to me. I believe it is critical for a representative to represent the people of their district  not their party. I would not be running to represent this district if I could not truly represent your interests. I promise I will not just fall in line with party politics, but will truly represent the district and the values we share.
New Delhi: Amid an ongoing war of words between the government in the Centre and opposition parties over the Sino-India standoff in eastern Ladakh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Congress of receiving huge donations from the Chinese Embassy in 2005-06 and alleged that the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was misused during the UPA rule.

Citing a list of donors of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, the BJP asked the Congress the need for taking the donation from a foreign country. "Was this part of the Congress party's strategy for lobbying for free trade agreement, for which Rajiv Gandhi foundation received a bribe from the Chinese embassy and India's trade deficit with China jumped 33 times during Congress-led UPA government?" BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad asked the grand-old party.

The charges were however dismissed by the opposition party as an attempt to divert the attention of the country from issues of national security.

Alleging a 'secret' relation between Congress and China, the BJP chief said the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received Rs 90 lakh from China and its embassy in 2005-06. "PMNRF, meant to help people in distress, was donating money to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in UPA years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Who chairs RGF? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency," he tweeted on Friday.

"People of India donated their hard-earned money to PMNRF to help their fellow citizens in need. To divert this public money into a family run foundation is not only a brazen fraud but also a big betrayal of the people of India," he tweeted.

"One familys hunger for wealth has cost the nation immensely. If only they have devoted their energies towards more constructive agenda. The Congress Imperial Dynasty needs to apologise to the unchecked loot for self-gains!" Nadda said in a series of tweets.

The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) was set up on June 21, 1991, to realize the vision of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.The foundation is chaired by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi. The other trustees include former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and P Chidambaram.

In a veiled attack at Congress, the BJP president said, "There are many forms of corruption, there are many ways to bring people in your favour... . 43,000 square km of Indian land lost due to the mistakes of one family."

Responding to the claims by the BJP, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "Please stop living in 2005 and start answering questions in 2020." Surjewala said when the country wants to know answers on the issues concerning securing the borders and Chinese transgression, the BJP is trying to divert the attention of the nation.

"Attempts are being made to divert the attention from issues of national security, territorial integrity and the Chinese transgression in Indian territory," he said.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma too hit back at BJP's charges, saying the Congress led India's freedom movement and is one of the oldest political parties of the world. "Questioning its patriotism is outrageous," he said. Sharma listed the BJP delegations that traveled to China and also pointed out the meetings between Chinese and BJP leaders.

Congress sources, meanwhile, told PTI said that in 2005 there was an equivalent matching grant given by the governments of India and China to the RGF for helping the disabled as also undertaking studies by researchers on Indo-China relationship. The grant has been duly audited by the Income Tax department and all other authorities, the sources said.
The Standing Orders/Procedures that govern the conduct of proceeding in the Parliament of SVG may just have been used to prevent honest debate, infers the Opposition NDP.

Leader of the Opposition Dr Godwin Friday maintains that the Unity Labour Party (ULP) did all in its power to prevent the debate on the Private Members Motion, brought by the New Democratic Party at the June 22 meeting of Parliament.





The Motion, captioned Covid-19 Pandemic and the Management and Social Consequences of the Pandemic, called, inter alia, for the establishment of a broad-based task-force comprising persons from various sectors of the economy and civil society, "who would bring insight, experiences and expertise that would help government to fashion meaningful and effective policies and measures to aid and achieve economic and social recovery amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.





Dr. Friday elaborated, via Facebook, on the content of the Bill after he had left Parliament late Monday. It also addressed the manner in which the funding assigned to COVID-19 relief "is to be managed, and the manner in which society was going to cope with managing the crisis and the recovery process, he said.





The days proceedings closed without any member of the opposition being given the opportunity to discuss the motion.





"These are some important issues that we wanted to debate today, and we put a motion on the Order Paper, and the government again blocked it They dont want the matter to be debated; its been their practice for the past 19 years of being in the House, Dr. Friday said.





Under the Standing Orders of the House, Private Members Motions are given until 5p.m to be recognized and debated. If this is not possible, the motion falls. The majority can pick it up at another time.





But Friday contended that under the Standing Orders of Parliament, the motion ought to have been given precedence.





Ministerial statements





During the actual proceedings on Monday, Opposition Parliamentary Representative for Central Kingstown, St Clair Leacock first raised the issue of the Private Members Bill shortly after Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves announced that there was going to be four ministerial statements, inclusive of statements related to COVID+19 by the Ministers of Agriculture, Health and Finance.





About a minute into Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves statement, Leacock was allowed to inquire "whether the contribution on COVID by members on the other side could not be incorporated in the debate and or discussion on the motion?





The Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves rose to remark that every time the Opposition brought a motion, they expected the rest of the business of the day to go awry, and suggested that it could be accorded if the time permitted.





"It doesnt mean that because the Opposition puts down a motion that everything else must be vacated, he said.





Speaker of the House Carlos James said that while he understood the point that Leacock was making, the proceedings were guided by the Order Paper which, at the time, had ministerial statements listed, and that the Motion would be dealt with once time permitted.





Leacock again asked for the ministerial statements and the motion to be discussed together.





"It is clear abuse of the privileges of the House and a denial of the opportunity for this motion that we have, Leacock asserted.





Opposition Senator Kay Bacchus-Baptiste supported her colleague, saying that the ministerial statements contained information that was also contained in the private motion.





"This is the peoples House and the peoples business; there is only one special time when we have the opportunity to debate a members Bill, she said.

Time runs out





Parliament resumed for the Question and Answer portion at 4:15pm and went on for a further three hours, beyond the 5pm mark.





According to Dr. Friday, although it said that the private members motion must be considered before 5 pm, the rules state that any business not reached should stand over to the next sitting.





But Dr. Gonsalves countered, saying that although the motion may be on the order paper for the next sitting, it did not have any precedence because unless it is picked up by a member of the majority, then it falls and has no precedence at the next meeting of the House.





Parliamentary Representative for West Kingstown Daniel Cummings joined in the discussion and accused the government of bringing up all types of shenanigans to "steam roll the intent.





"Some people think that they in government for life, the shoe will be on the other foot. We must not stifle debate, we must allow for the hearing of the voices that are not like ours  that is what Parliament is about, Cummings proffered.





But the Prime Minister insisted that part of Parliamentary work was to plan time properly.





"The point of it, the opposition actually do not want the motion to be debated, they want it to be said that we did not allow for the motion to be debated, Gonsalves said.





Similar fates as begot this Motion have characterized early efforts by the NDP to have Private Members Motions debated. Among these are the Spiritual, Social and Redemption Charter; Integrity Legislation; Motions on Electoral Reform, and the Motion of No-Confidence.




TOTAL S.A TOT recently strengthened its partnership agreement with Sonatrach to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG). The companies announced a three-year extension of the existing supply contracts.



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Particularly, TOTAL is one of the largest private global LNG players with a global market share of 10% and a strong position across the LNG value chain. The company sells LNG in all geographies via its stakes in liquefaction plants located in Qatar, Nigeria, Russia, Norway, Oman, and other places.



TOTAL has been making efforts to solidify its LNG portfolio, globally. In May 2019, the company had acquired 10% stake in Arctic LNG 2, a LNG development, led by Novatek on the Gydan Peninsula, Russia. Courtesy of TOTALs existing share in Novatek and the acquisition of additional interest in the same, its overall economic ownership in this new LNG project now stands at nearly 21.6%



Prior to this, TOTAL had purchased Engies LNG assets, making the company the second largest player in LNG business on a global scale. Moreover, in 2018, it had also signed a MOU with Sempra Energy SRE for the development of North America LNG Projects. Such initiatives by the company are helping it expand its LNG arm and the trend is likely to continue.



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[June 26, 2020] Indonesia Focused East Ventures Raises New Seed Fund for Tech Startups in Aftermath of Pandemic

The new vehicle will be East Ventures' eighth fund, as the firm remains bullish on the ASEAN's digital economy and predicts that innovative startups will transform the region's post-lockdown landscape for the better. Quick Facts: Southeast Asia's most active early-stage tech investor has reached a first close on its latest seed fund, designed for Southeast Asian innovation in a post-COVID-19 era.

most active early-stage tech investor has reached a first close on its latest seed fund, designed for Southeast Asian innovation in a post-COVID-19 era. The new fund will be East Ventures' eighth tech investment vehicle to date, with the firm aiming to raise US$88 million from limited partners.

from limited partners. The capital is being raised from institutional investors, global funds, and family offices.

East Ventures was recently named the most consistent top performing VC fund globally by Preqin.

In addition to funding new startups in Southeast Asia , the firm is also working closely with existing portfolio companies and advising on how best to implement wartime leadership. JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier today, Southeast Asia's most active early-stage tech investment firm East Ventures announced that it has reached the first close on a new venture fund for innovative startups in the region. The new seed fund is designed for digital companies emerging in the post-lockdown aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund is East Ventures' eighth investment vehicle to date, and the firm aims to raise no more than US$88 million from limited partners. As the world has slowed down in the time of COVID-19, businesses in the region continue to struggle and lives have been changed forever. Local entrepreneurs are forced to rethink how they operate, understand what is truly essential, and learn how to live with less physical contact. As a result, many are now accelerating to the point where they're leap-frogging into digital transformation and bypassing years of the usual adoption process. East Ventures' latest fund is attracting global and regional institutional investors. "We are excited to continue our partnership with East Ventures. The firm is well-positioned in Southeast Asia to guide entrepreneurs to achieve their full potential," said Tow Heng Tan, CEO of Pavilion Capital. Sunil Mishra, Partner of Adams Street Partners added, "Adams Street is pleased to be committing to the new East Ventures fund. We are impresse with the track record of the team, their local market reputation, ability to work with young founders to guide them and hope that they will continue to generate strong returns."



Crisis Brings Clarity East Ventures' management team believes new global conditions have provided unprecedented clarity for startup decision-makers.

"The pandemic has created a chance for a new breed of entrepreneurs to think about new problems and how to solve them in efficient ways via technology," says East Ventures' Managing Partner Willson Cuaca. "We remain optimistic about the future of Southeast Asia's digital economy, and we're particularly bullish on the Indonesian market. We feel the current situation proves our core hypothesis that great founders will find a way to make their companies thrive, even in times of crisis. Great people withstand the test of time." Cuaca adds that East Ventures' eighth fund will remain sector agnostic, as exceptional founders exist across the board, in a multitude of industries. According to East Ventures, the team intentionally seeks to keep its latest fund under US$100 million, as this makes it easier to deploy money into early-stage companies. In turn, the fund is designed to help East Ventures more quickly achieve its key objective of being the best asset class for its limited partners. Investment Focus East Ventures' management team believes the main objective in early-stage investing is to find product-market fit as quickly as possible. As such, it makes a point of working with fledgling founders to navigate the market and neutralize biases. By having full teams in multiple cities and understanding both Singapore and Indonesia deeply, East Ventures is able to bridge geographic and cultural biases. This is useful for Singapore-based startups looking to expand to Indonesia. It's also useful for Indonesia-based startups that need to use global practices to become locally dominant. The same principle can also extend beyond Southeast Asia. Over the past 11 years, East Ventures has formed a knowledge-base and playbook for tech investment success, born from one of the most advanced emerging markets for digital innovation. East Ventures has developed a concise theory of Indonesia having a "flywheel effect." The firm works closely with all stakeholders -- local industry players, family offices, entrepreneurs, early-stage startups, and growth companies -- to build a frictionless flywheel. It has formed a complete startup life cycle from investing at the early-stage, finding product-market fit, creating value and scaling, and finally exits and re-investing. COVID-19 Response "We realized that the majority of our CEOs have never been in crisis before," explains Cuaca. "Because of this, we are doing health checks with our portfolio companies. Instead of immediately advising on tactical business plans, we first try to help the founder understand the crisis and how severely it is impacting their company. Only after founders understand these things can they begin to cultivate their own strategy and implement it tactically. In this respect, we're trying to convey the importance of wartime leadership." The Bigger the Market, the Bigger the Flywheel Representing approximately 40% of the region's economy, Indonesia's internet economy has progressed rapidly -- starting as a humble e-commerce-based game and blooming into an everyday staple that touches all industries. Regionally, venture capital has become a relatively new asset class for investors. East Ventures has established an outstanding track record as one of the first movers. The firm has grown its portfolio value significantly and assisted in the successful exits of multiple companies. Some of the firm's deals have reached 1,000x in terms of Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC). East Ventures claims a Distributions to Paid-in Capital (DPI) rate as high as 7x, with notable exits including Grab's acquisition of Kudo in 2017, as well as GoJek's more recent purchases of Loket and Moka POS. Two out of four East Ventures funds have returned beyond the amount of capital invested by limited partners. About East Ventures Founded in 2009, East Ventures is an early-stage sector-agnostic venture capital firm. The firm has supported more than 170 companies in the Southeast Asian region that are present across Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. An early believer in the startup ecosystem in Indonesia, East Ventures is the first investor of Indonesia's unicorn companies, namely Tokopedia and Traveloka. Other notable companies in the portfolio include Mercari, Ruangguru, Warung Pintar, Fore Coffee, Kudo (acquired by Grab), Loket (acquired by Gojek), Tech in Asia, Xendit, IDN Media, MokaPOS, ShopBack, CoHive, Koinworks, Waresix, and Sociolla. In 2019, East Ventures remains the most active startup investor in Southeast Asia and the firm was recently named the most consistent top performing VC fund globally by Preqin. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200626/2841728-1 SOURCE East Ventures

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Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said he would become the ambassador of the Kashmiri people to raise their issues.

Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to drum up international support against India for withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special status on August 5, 2019 and bifurcating it into two Union territories.

India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 was its internal matter. It also advised Pakistan to accept the reality and stop all anti-India propaganda.

Khan said August 5 would be observed with the determination that "India would not be allowed to succeed in its designs" in Kashmir.

He announced that he would become the ambassador of the Kashmiri people and tell the entire world about the "threats" they were facing.

Khan said during his meetings with various heads of state and government he had raised the issue of Kashmir.
Chinese handset maker Xiaomi has begun covering its retail store branding with 'Made in India' logo in white colour amid fears of vandalism at outlets in the backdrop of the Sino-India border tension, the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) said.

The association had written to Chinese mobile brands to highlight the threat of vandalism at offline stores by people amid calls for boycotting Chinese products in certain sections.

"In our letter, we had requested the brands to allow retailers to cover these signages with cloth/flex or to remove the boards from the storefront for a few months given the situation... Xiaomi has started putting 'Made in India' banners in white colour on its boards," AIMRA national president Arvinder Khurana said.

He added that other companies are yet to take any such steps but are keeping a watch on the situation.

Xiaomi did not respond to an e-mailed query.

Khurana said some anti-social activists recently visited several markets in various parts of the country and threatened to damage the mobile phone stores, and asked them to remove Chinese branding from their outlets.

"This could be a threat to the safety of retailers in case the aggression increases. Damage to the boards displaying Chinese branding should not be the retailer's liability," he said.

Asked if these sentiments have affected sales, Khurana said there has been an impact.

"Customers are saying they don't want to be shown Chinese products, and Samsung will benefit from this given that is the only major non-Chinese brand in the country. I think the focus should be on promoting Indian players, maybe provide extra support like the Chinese government gives to its companies," he added.

While mobile phone makers have remained mum, industry executives, not wishing to be identified, have said sales have largely remained unaffected.

Factors like almost two months of lockdown and people working and studying from home have created a pent-up demand for smartphones, and many firms have had to resort to expensive imports to meet the spurt in demand, they said.

However, Chinese firms are keeping a close watch on the developments, and monitoring the situation on ground as well as on social media.

Xiaomi India head Manu Jain has also said the anti-China sentiment was limited mainly to social media and it had not impacted its business in the country. In a tweet on June 24, Jain had said Xiaomi's Redmi Note9 Pro Max was out of stock in less than 50 seconds during a sale.

Four of the top-five smartphone brands in India (Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme and Oppo) are from China, and accounted for almost 76% share of the 32.5 million smartphones shipped in India during the March 2020 quarter (according to IDC data).

South Korea's Samsung, which ranked third and cornered 15.6% share of shipment in the said quarter, is the only non-Chinese firm in the top-five tallies. India is the second-largest smartphone market after China and clocked a shipment of 152.5 million smartphones in 2019.

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Next week, one of the first movies to debut as theaters reopen will be The Outpost, an adaptation of Jake Tappers book that tells the true story of the U.S. soldiers who battled a Taliban attack on their camp in a mountainous remote area of northeastern Afghanistan.

The project, directed by Rod Lurie, tells of the soldiers risky assignment at Combat Outpost Keating, made all the more dangerous by the placement of the camp in a valley surrounded by the steep terrain. But it was an element of a counter-insurgency strategy, as the outpost was close to the border with Pakistan. Eight Americans died in the attack, but by the end of the day, the soldiers regained control. Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha and Staff Sgt. Ty Carter were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the battle.

Starring Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones and Orlando Bloom, the movie opens July 3 in limited release and VOD.

In a Q&A, Tapper tells Deadline about why he thinks its important that this story be told, even as the attention of the country is on the pandemic, racial justice and massive economic uncertainty.

DEADLINE: Given how much time you spent interviewing these veterans, did you have any hesitation of how this movie would be adapted?

JAKE TAPPER: I did a lot of due diligence in terms of who we got involved. Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasay, who wrote the screenplay, have a lot of experience bringing true life stories to the screen. And then [director] Rod Lurie, who attended West Point, had a real special feel for the project, not just in terms of how compelling a movie it could be, but how important a story it was. When he signed on, I said to him, Youre going to meet all these incredible men and women, veterans and Gold Star families and others, and theyre going to become a part of your lives for the rest of your life, as they have with mine.

Nothing was more important to me and more nerve wracking than last October, when we showed it to them. It was right around the time of the 10th anniversary of the battle, and Millennium Films flew in a number of the Gold Star families, anybody who had a loved one depicted in the film who had been killed in the battle. It was nerve wracking for both Rod and myself, and for other producers, because we wanted them to appreciate the film for what it was, but also its tough to imagine what theyre going through. A, Gold Star families, people who have lost their sons or their husbands in battle, and B, watching those last ones depicted on screen, and then C, and most importantly, and most devastatingly potentially, seeing their loved ones death depicted on screen.

Story continues

Then after the film, I walked around to each one of the families in addition to the veterans, and was very heartened to hear that every one of them told me that they thought that the film honored their loved one. And so I think what Rod did is [he] really achieved a very difficult task, which is he made a very, very compelling film that really immerses you in Combat Outpost Keating, while also doing so in such a way that is truly reverent and respectful, so that even the toughest critics, potentially the family members, felt positive about their loved ones stories being told.

DEADLINE: Since your book was published, does it surprise you that that were still there?

TAPPER: It is astounding to me that we are still there. Theres a line in the book about how the United States had not fought a 10-year war. It had fought a one-year war, 10 times. And its the same thing going on. We havent fought a 19-year war, we fought a one-year war 19 times. One of the great things about the military is that whatever task our politicians send them to do, they address it with, Okay, we can do that. We will do that and we will succeed. And its a great attitude. But then, that also doesnt necessarily address the idea of whether the mission is the right one. And so, yeah, its, its stunning to me that were still there, and that many of the same mistakes are still being made, in terms of whether the mission is too broad for any foreign occupying force to achieve, whether at the end of the day, this is something that the Afghans need to do or not do on their own, [and] whether the Afghans even want to have a country where this province has to report to Kabul. I mean this these are just big questions, and theyve been going on for centuries.

DEADLINE: What about the efforts at reaching a peace deal with the Taliban. What do you think that reaction would be of these veterans, if the Trump administration entered into something like that?

TAPPER: I dont know.  On the one level you know you dont make peace with your friends You make peace with your enemies, and so any sort of sustained peace that would have negotiated with the Taliban. But by the same token, I think there are serious questions as to whether or not the Taliban has truly renounced terrorism or relationships with al Qaeda, or ISIS. I dont know. I know that these men and women have sacrificed so much for this mission. And I do feel like sometimes our leaders, Democrats and Republicans, have not been worthy of the troops serving under them.

DEADLINE: You wrote about this kind of deep-rooted inertia that was to blame for not closing or better fortifying Outpost Keating. Do you have any sense, talking to these veterans, that the U.S. is any better at counterinsurgency?

TAPPER: The U.S. has learned the lesson about putting these small difficult, if not impossible to defend outposts scattered throughout Afghanistan. That seems to have been rectified, that they are more fortified and safer locations than they used to be.

One of the reasons I set about writing the book was, when I heard the story, and everybody was talking about the fact that it didnt make any sense to put this outpost at the bottom of [the] mountains, I wanted to know why it was put there.  And then the Army did its study, its after-action report after the battle, and it just concluded that it shouldnt have been there, but again they never answered the question. I found the guy that put the outpost there, and the reason it was put there was because most of the helicopters were in Iraq, and they didnt have many helicopters in Afghanistan. So in order to set up a base it needed to be by the road, and the roads are in the valley, not on the top of the mountain. So it was that simple really.

DEADLINE: What surprised you the most about the movie when you first saw the completed project?

TAPPER: Rod did such a fantastic job of just immersing the viewer in the camp, so you feel like youre there. And it has that quality of, almost like the beginning of Saving Private Ryan, where you just really feel like youre on one of those ships. one of those boats coming to the to the beach.

There is some conflation of characters, but I guess what surprises me the most is how much is just true, how much just happened, how much is accurate. I was watching the trailer last night, with some friends, and at the very end of the trailer, where Clinton Romeshas character, played by Scott Eastwood, says in the throes of battle after losing the camp, Were taking this bitch back. That sounds like a movie line, but Clint Romesha really said that.

DEADLINE: This movie is also going be released in theaters  one of the first after reopenings. What is your take on that?

TAPPER: I dont know, I mean it really depends on the theater.  Were in the middle of a health crisis, so its tough to complain about a film not getting the wide release that you want it to because 120,000 Americans are dead. Thats seems like a minor complaint given the overall issue. I just hope people follow health officials advice, wherever they are, and then see the film.

DEADLINE: What do you think its important to tell the story now? The reason I ask is you can make the case that there is even less attention to the fact that the U.S. is still over there than there was in 2012 or in 2009.

TAPPER: Amazingly, I think youre right. One of the reasons I wrote the book was, even though I was a White House correspondent and covering the Afghanistan war, it wasnt getting a lot of coverage. And now [we are] in the midst of everything going on in this country, with the pandemic, and policing reform, and unrest and of course the 2020 election. And to be honest, a lot of politicians are not talking about Afghanistan. I dont think its getting as much attention as it should. My impression is President Trump and Vice President Biden, probably given their druthers, would land basically in the same place on the war, which is to say they would they would basically like to have some sort of peace process completed and leave behind some sort of counterterrorism force, but a very small footprint in Bagram [Air Base], and then withdraw most of the other troops.

Im not saying that thats hundred percent whats going to happen, but honestly a few months ago, when I had Vice President Biden on my show, I asked him about the latest developments on the peace process, and he wasnt up to speed on it. And he used to be chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate, and obviously has a lot of foreign policy chops, so I do think that its something to note. And not to pick on Biden. I dont hear President Trump talking about Afghanistan very much and he is commander in chief. So I do think that its something that has fallen by the wayside, which is a shame because we still have thousands of Americans over there.

DEADLINE: How difficult is it getting the network to do segments on Afghanistan.

TAPPER: It is not difficult. I can do it any time I want. The truth is, I do spend a lot of time focused on the war when it comes to social media. But there havent been major developments out of that country, and the peace process has still been ebbing and flowing with no major achievements. There havent been any major battles in recent weeks. So I do cover it when I can, but there havent been any major developments, partly I think because the footprint has been reduced as much as it has. But it shouldnt be blamed on [CNN chief Jeff] Zucker. I mean, I have two shows and I can cover it anytime I want. So thats on me. Thats not on thats not on anyone else.

DEADLINE: In writing your book, what did you learn about what questions to ask these veterans and how to ask them?

TAPPER: The book remains the single piece of journalism I am proudest of in my life, period. Not even close. Nothing else comes close. And it was about educating my readers but also educating myself, and getting to know a culture that I have not really been in any way a part of. Its tough talking to a stranger, me, about the worst day of your life. Part of journalism to a degree is finding people, and talking to them about the worst things that have ever happened to them. So that wasnt new. But then just also trying to respect the boundaries that they had and moments that they had where they were vulnerable. I mean its humbling for somebody, like myself, who has not served, to be talking on the phone with somebody who has, and having them weep on the phone, telling me their story. And that happened a number of times.

Let me put it this way. One day I came back from a lunch. I went to lunch with two guys who served with the 101st Airborne, David Roller and Alex Newsom, who are in the book, and they were telling me about their friends they have lost and in being there from 2007 to 2008. And I came back and I told my wife, These guys, Im just garbage. The thing about Dave and Alex is, they came from relatively privileged backgrounds. Coral Gables Florida and Beverly Hills, California. And so these guys have sacrificed everything, and Ive done nothing. Ive done nothing. Everything Ive done has just been for my own career. And these guys were doing this for their country, not even knowing if their country knew what they were doing. My wife said that you can tell their stories. You can make sure that people know about them. And so there is some solace in feeling like, OK, well that is my role. Here are these brave people doing these wonderful things and courageous things. And yeah, Im not them. But I can make sure my platform that that people know the names of Ben Keating and Clint Romesha and the others.

DEADLINE: You have not been to see the actual location of Outpost Keating. Do you think there will be a time when you will get to that area?

TAPPER: Ive been [to Afghanistan] twice now while researching the book. Once with President Obama on Air Force One, and then another time, I was embedded, and I got as close as I could. I got to Forward Operating Base Bostick, which has since been turned over to the Afghans.  I asked one of the guys, Captain Matthew Schachman, if we could go there. He said, Well, in Afghanistan, you can go anywhere. You just cant get back. So I dont know is the short answer. I mean that part of the country, that part of Afghanistan, is so beautiful. And if there ever were peace and prosperity in that region, it would be an amazing place for people to go on vacations. But I dont know that thats gonna happen in my lifetime.

DEADLINE: Did you get to the set?

TAPPER: They were filming in Bulgaria [in 2018]. They found this place outside of the city of Sofia. And they recreated the entire base at the base of one mountain. The other two mountains are CGI. It was incredible, because I never got to see the outpost. I never got to see it. It was gone by the time I really even heard of that story. But there were three soldiers who served as actors and consultants on the film  Ty Carter, Hank Hughes and Dan Rodriguez  and all three of them said it was so similar that it was eerie, but also cathartic to be there.

But yeah, it was weird because the whole origin of my interest in the story was, my son was born October 2, 2009, and the outpost was attacked October 3, 2009. So sometime in that week, I was sitting in the hospital with my wife in her room holding my son, and watching the news and hearing about eight other sons taken from this planet. There was something very poignant in the moment, that set me on this path to tell the story. And so flash forward to 2018, nine years later, and Dan Rodriguez, who was the first one fired upon that morning, at 6 AM hes walking across the [camp] and the Taliban start firing, and he runs. And Im watching Dan Rodriguez recreate that run with my son. I was just, Wow, I couldnt even believe I was watching this. The whole experience had come full circle, where that son that I was holding was now learning this story first hand, in the recreation of the combat outposts. It was just so meaningful because I want my family, I want my children to understand, in a way that I not did not understand when I was their age, what the sacrifice of these people, who served for us, what they go through.

DEADLINE: What do you hope people take away from this?

TAPPER: I hope that people just learn their names. Ben Keating and Rob Yllescas and Stephan Mace and Josh Kirk and Josh Hardt and all the others out there. Learn more about their stories. And at the very least I hope that they just think about the fact that we send these men and women to these places for our security, and that we should be paying more attention to what were asking them to do.

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Aer Lingus has called for more immediate clarity on the Governments planned relaxation of travel restrictions; warning that jobs and inbound tourism depend on it.

While welcoming the plan to lift restrictions and the 14-day quarantine requirement for incoming passengers from July 9, Aer Lingus said the fact that no detail exists on which countries are involved and what criteria will be applied to their selection totally undermines the initiative.

This further delay will be very damaging to the Irish economy and to jobs within it, the airline said, eliminating the prospect of any inbound tourist and business passengers for at least the month of July.

The level of success in containing and controlling the spread of Covid-19 in European countries is equivalent to Irelands success. That is the case now and it should not take two more weeks to assess this, Aer Lingus said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said on Thursday that travel restrictions to and from a so-called green list of countries would be relaxed from July 9. He said countries on that list will be compiled by that date. Passengers from those countries will not have to be quarantined for 14-days upon arrival in Ireland.

Meanwhile, Ryanair has called on the EU to block a planned 3.4bn Dutch government bailout for KLM.

The planned support payment follows the French government announcing a 7bn bailout package for Air France, KLM's parent, in April. As part of the package, the Dutch government said it will appoint an observer to KLMs board to ensure taxpayer money is spent only on the Dutch subsidiary, but wont have control of the business.

Ryanair said the European Commission should block the subsidy doping to KLM, arguing that it will further reduce competition and consumer choice in the Dutch and French markets.

Sixteen years after Air Frances takeover of KLM, every Dutch citizen now has to pay 200 each to prop-up Air France-KLM, while each French citizen will only pay a subsidy 100. This is a poor deal for the trading nation, which likes to lecture other EU countries about fiscal rules but has no problem breaking these rules when it comes to subsidising KLM, said Ryanair group CEO Michael OLeary.

In the UK, the Unite trade union has met with investors in IAG  which owns British Airways (BA) and Aer Lingus  in a bid to ramp up pressure against BAs plans to cut 12,000 of its staff.

Unite is also lobbying for a change in UK laws to allow BA to be stripped of some valuable take-off and landing slots at Londons Heathrow Airport if the airline proceeds with its plans.

Meanwhile, US private equity group Bain Capital has agreed with the administrator of Virgin Australia to buy Australias second-biggest airline for an undisclosed sum, banking on an aviation industry recovery.

Airline stocks fell further amid lingering fears of a second Covid-19 wave and uncertainty around an initial industry recovery.

-additional reporting Reuters
P ubs in England are back from July 4 but Marstons boss Ralph Findlay wont be reaching for the champagne just yet.

The industry veteran today warned the near-term outlook remains uncertain, with many potential customers likely to need more time before visiting public places.

Those who return to Marstons pubs for the first time since March will see enhanced hygiene and distancing measures but not extensive use of plastic screens or PPE. Findlay expects that 85% of the companys pubs in England will re-open next weekend.

He warned: The challenges facing the sector should not be underestimated and much rests on consumer confidence which may take time to rebuild.

Investors took heed of his comments today after Marstons also reported a sharp drop in underlying profits to 9.4 million in the six months to March 31. The slide from 34.2 million last time was driven by a 40 million revenues hit in March.

Shares fell 5% to 61.55p today, having been as low as 22p in mid-March. Opening night nerves were also on show elsewhere in the pub sector, with Mitchells & Butlers and JD Wetherspoon both down 2%.

There was a lot more cheer in the wider London market, with a rocky week caused by fears of a second wave of Covid-19 ending. The FTSE 100 index was 69.48 points higher at 6,216.40.

A rise in oil prices helped heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell to climb 1%.

There was also a rise of 2%, or 86p, to 3,647p at InterContinental Hotels Group after broker Peel Hunt backed the companys midmarket, domestic-focused locations to recover from the pandemic before operators with more upscale city-centre hotels.

Peel Hunt initiated coverage with a buy recommendation and a 5000p target price, calling IHG a V-shaped company with an L-shaped share price.

The FTSE 250 index was up 134.02 points to 17,245.74, with engineering group Weir among the biggest risers after completing the refinancing of its main banking facilities. Its mining markets have also remained robust, with the disruption to production levels seen in April and May now starting to ease. Shares rose 6% to 1,092.5p.

And a busy week for easyJet following its share placing ended with a flourish when the airline announced the sale and leaseback of six aircraft for just over 206 million.

The proceeds, which will be further used to strengthen its financial position, helped shares to rise 10.2p to 680.2p.

Small-cap spotlight

Keywords Studios, the video gaming services company involved in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Assassin's Creed Odyssey, has struck its first deal since raising 100 million in a share placing last month.

It is buying Coconut Lizard, a provider of game development engineering services , in a deal worth up to 2 million.

Shares in AIM-listed Keywords rose 1% to 1,838p, having more than doubled in value so far this year.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government is all set to kick off year-long birth centenary celebrations of former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao starting Sunday.

The arrangements are in full swing at Gyan Bhoomi - the samadhi of Narasimha Rao at Necklace Road in Hyderabad on the banks of Hussainsagar lake - for the centenary celebrations.

An official release from the chief ministers office said the state government had earmarked Rs 10 crore for celebrations throughout the year. A committee, headed by Rajya Sabha member K Kesava Rao, had been constituted to conduct various programmes all through the year.

The official release said a memorial for Roa would be set up in Hyderabad on the lines of former President APJ Abdul Kalams memorial in Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. Five bronze statues of PV would be installed at Hyderabad, Warangal, Karimnagar, Vangara (the birthplace of Rao) and Telangana Bhavan in Delhi.

A portrait of PV should be kept in the Telangana state legislative Assembly, the chief minister said.

He also announced a resolution would be adopted in the state assembly in its next session, recommending to the Centre to award Bharat Ratna to Narasimha Rao on the occasion of his birth centenary.

However, the state governments decision to celebrate Rao through the year has angered a section of Muslim groups in the state.

Jamaat-e-Islami Telangana unit spokesman Hamid Mohammad Khan said the TRS government had hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community by deciding to celebrate Raos birth centenary throughout the year.

It is a known fact that Narasimha Rao was responsible for the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. He deliberately remained silent when the mosque was being razed. The Muslims of this country would never forget this historic mistake committed by him, Khan told Hindustan Times.

The JeI spokesman alleged that the government wanted to exploit the Telangana sentiment and gain political mileage as the former PM hailed from the region.

Though they have no immediate plans to stage any protest rallies in the wake of prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, Khan said his organisation would write a letter to the chief minister conveying the sentiments of the Muslim community.

Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) president Amjad Ullah Khan said by deciding to celebrate PV birth centenary celebrations, the TRS chief had shown his true colours and scant respect for the Muslims.

Why did KCR own up a person like Narasimha Rao who had been disowned by his own party - the Congress. Why did he ignore the birth centenary celebrations of former chief minister Dr Marri Channa Reddy, who had played a key role in the first Telangana movement in 1969? he asked.

The MBT leader alleged that KCR wanted to be in the good books of RSS which hold the former Prime Minister in high regard.

Interestingly, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi, who had fought a battle for Babri Masjid in the last two decades, has not yet come out with any statement protesting the TRS governments decision. Efforts to reach out to Owaisi seeking his reaction proved futile and he did not respond to the text messages either.
Kolkata, June 26 : To contain the number of increasing Covid-19 cases, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that the Ministry of Civil Aviation should immediately stop international flights under Vande Bharat Mission to Kolkata.

"The Centre had initially asked the foreign returnees to go for paid institutional quarantine for seven days. But no protocol is being followed. No checking is happening at the airports. They are all going back home directly posing a threat to various neighbourhoods," she said.

Banerjee, however, suggested that it is okay to allow one international flight to land in the city every month till the situation normalises.

"How do we control the situation then? How can we trace if you can't stop them," she said, adding that there had been a few incidents of foreign returnees who had refused to stay in institutional quarantine after landing back home.

"Such negligence will harm Bengal. This might lead to community spread. We can't allow someone to destroy our efforts. We have not received anything, any help from the Centre to tackle corona, thus will not accept their negligence too," the CM told a press conference. She said her government is trying to manage the situation in Bengal with utmost priority.

Talking about the Trinamool Congress' annual flagship Martyr's Day rally on July 21, she said that the event would be observed this year in a much different way.

"We only organise one big political event every year. This year we will not observe the occasion like previous years. We will hold a meeting on July 3 and make some changes in our programmes this year," Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool supremo, said.
Washington, D.C., June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JACK AND JILL FOUNDATION ELECTS NEW BOARD MEMBERS



WASHINGTON, D.C., June 25, 2020: Jack and Jill of America Foundation elected new Board Leadership at its 53rd Annual Meeting on June 20, 2020. These Trustees will continue supporting the Foundations vital work with resources and expertise. The Foundation Board works in partnership with the Executive Director in advancing the organization while it serves as the fiduciary responsible agents.

Jack and Jill Foundation works to build strong families, improve health/wellness and advance educational opportunities in underserved communities. Our newly elected Foundation Officers and Board Members will continue to steer the organization to a sustainable future and advocate to our vision - transforming African American communities, one child at a time, said Pier AH Blake, executive director of the Foundation.

Elected officers are:

President  Dr. Icilma Icy Fergus Rowe is a New York based Cardiologist and member of JJ Rockland Orange Chapter. She is a nationally renowned advocate for Health Equity. She has served on numerous boards throughout her career including the Association of Black Cardiologists (Past President) and the American Heart Association (Immediate Past President, Westchester Board). On these boards she has contributed to significant fundraising efforts and philanthropy. She is Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Cardiovascular Disparities at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City and the founder and director of the Healthy Hearts Series, program which since 2011 has impacted and improved the lives of many communities at highest risk for chronic health conditions including Heart Disease.

Vice President  Anthony Trotman from Charlotte North Carolina. Anthony presently serves as the Assistant County Manager and Health & Human Services Agency Director for Mecklenburg County Government. He provides executive leadership for all county health and human services functions, including Public Health, Social Services, Community Support Services, Community Resources, and Child Support Enforcement. Anthony is responsible for a $300 million annual budget that includes oversight of 2,700 employees. Previously, he served as the Director of the Department of Job and Family Services for Franklin County, Ohio and Chief of Staff at the State of Ohio Department of Job and Family Services with a $19 billion annual budget.



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Treasurer  Hope Knight from New York. Ms. Knight is President & CEO of Greater Jamaica Development Corporation (GJDC), a community-building organization that plans, promotes, coordinates and advances responsible real estate development to revitalize Jamaica, Queens, and strengthen the region. Previously, she was COO of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, a Vice President at Morgan Stanley in the Institutional Equities Division and a Vice President of Strategic Planning and E-Commerce at Morgan Stanley, Japan.



Secretary  Carla Kirkland from Jackson, MS. Ms. Kirkland is the founder and CEO of The Kirkland Group, which provides professional development, technical assistance, and standardized test preparation to school districts. A life-long educator, Mrs. Kirkland is a co-author of several education books and facilitates mathematics workshops around the country.



New Community Trustee- Bridgette B. Coleman from Baton Rouge, LA. Ms. Coleman is the CEO/President of Coleman Consulting Group, LLC where she oversees federal grants and contracts with FEMA in response to national disasters and recovery. A graduate of Southern University, Ms. Coleman has served in leadership positions on several national and local boards. It is an honor to serve on the Foundation Board said Bridgette P. Coleman.



The Board recognized the service of two long-serving members whose time with the board has ended.



Charles W. Noble, III most recently served as Board President and elected as an Emeritus member. He served 6 years on the Foundation Board, and his family made a Legacy Gift of $10,000 to start the JJ College GAP Fund, which provides scholarships for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Christine M. Govan most recently served as the Immediate Past Treasurer with 12 years of service on the Foundation Board as a Community Leader and a Legacy Donor. She issued a challenge to the Board to match up to $10,000 to benefit the JJ College GAP Fund each year. Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Metropolitan Chapter also honored Ms. Govans service. Ms. Govan funds a Boost Scholarship benefiting college students to honor her mother Gwendolyn Govan. My mother was an educator with the Head Start program in the Bronx, so I want to make a difference in the life of a college student, while leaving a legacy in her name, Ms. Govan said.

About Us: The Jack and Jill of America Foundation was cultivated out of the segregation of the Civil Rights Movement after being refused a seat at the table. And, today, we support more than 40,000 voices across 200 communities of Black families by investing in Transforming African American Communities, One Child at A Time. The Foundation galvanizes around our focused goals to advance educational opportunities, improve health and wellness resources, and build strong families to persevere our fight for justice and equality.

Join us on this journey. For over five decades, Jack and Jill Foundation has amplified the voices of those

least considered and last heard, and we encourage all allies to stand with us as we aspire to effectuate sustainable change across our nation.

Text CloseTheGap to 44321 to support the College GAP Fund to educate students from HBCUs, or make a general contribution to https://jackandjillfoundation.org/donate-now to support our programs in Education (College Prep, STEM and Reading Corners), Health/Wellness (health fairs, mental health resources) and building strong families with Our Village grants.

Pier A. H. Blake

Office: (202) 232-5290

pblake@jackandjillfoundation.org


Irvine, Calif., June. 25, 2020 -- Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, in collaboration with their colleagues from Beijing, China, have gained new insights into the development of poorly understood malignant skin cancers collectively known as Paget's disease. The team identified new biomarker genes that highly correlate with Paget's disease. The group then used a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug to target one of the newly identified molecular features of Paget's disease, leading to prominently improved clinical symptoms in a small cohort of Chinese patients. Their results have been published online in Cell Research.

"This is a prime example on how sophisticated computational analysis and interdisciplinary collaborations facilitate biomedical discoveries. Single-cell genomics is becoming a major emerging tool to delineate cellular and molecule machineries that encode diseases, and recently UCI has made tremendous stride in this fast-growing research area," said Qing Nie, a study co-author and Chancellor's Professor of mathematics and developmental & cell biology at UCI.

Paget's disease are rare skin cancers. At the cellular level, these cancers manifest themselves as having easily identifiable large, "clear"-looking cells, called Paget cells. The origin of these unique looking cancer cells is currently under debate, but their emergence in skin is a useful feature marker that helps with Paget's disease diagnosis.

Very little is known about the underlying workings of this disease, and unsurprisingly, there are no known drugs that can efficiently slow down or revert the condition. The primary approach to treating Paget's disease consists of trying to surgically remove it, or destroy it with chemotherapy, radiotherapy or laser ablation- approaches that are not very effective and associate with disease recurrence.

"Developing a new understanding of the 'molecular nature' of Paget's disease will undoubtedly uncover novel 'disease genes.' At least some of these genes might be targeted using medicines that are already FDA-approved for unrelated conditions. This approach could dramatically speed up the development time frame for Paget's disease medicines," said Maksim Plikus, study co-author and associate professor of developmental & cell biology at UCI.

To study how Paget's disease develops at the molecular level, the Beijing- and Irvine-based researchers comprehensively examined gene features of Paget's disease tissue samples from human patients using a new technique called single-cell RNA-sequencing. The technique allows for the identification of all extant cell types based on their unique genes. This helped the team identify previously unrecognized but prominent new disease biomarkers. One such biomarker was the gene called MSI1, or Musashi-1. Inside of cells, MSI1 binds to many RNA molecules, regulating how they encode diverse proteins.

Because studying the roles of new biomarker genes in humans has limitations, the team of researchers developed new transgenic mice, whose skin was made to have high amounts of MSI1, potentially imitating human Paget's disease. Strikingly, just after a few days, these mice developed prominent changes in their skin that closely resembled human Paget's disease, including the formation of large and "clear"-looking Paget-like cells. Further molecular studies with the new model uncovered many more previously unappreciated gene changes that are likely relevant to Paget's disease cancers in human patients.

Extrapolated from mutant mouse studies, the scientists identified one specific molecular change - highly overactive mTOR signaling, which stands for the mammalian target of rapamycin. Activation of mTOR has been previously and conclusively identified as a key molecular feature of other cancer types, including certain intestinal cancers.

Because mTOR is so involved in other diseases, FDA-approved drugs, such as rapamycin, currently exist which efficiently block mTOR signaling. Using this information, the researchers conducted a small-scale clinical study, in which Paget's disease patients were treated topically with rapamycin cream. A few weeks of rapamycin treatment lead to a clinically positive response in all enrolled patients, including a reduction on the number of Paget cells; thickness of epidermis in lesioned skin; as well as the morphology and organization of epidermis became normal. While this result is very preliminary and a larger-scale clinical study is clearly needed, it is nonetheless encouraging.

"We have made the exciting discovery of a new gene that drives the pathogenesis of Paget's disease. In the future, we want to further explore and uncover new gene regulators of MSI1 to better understand the upstream molecular drivers of this rare, yet debilitating disease," said Dr. Christian F. Guerrero-Juarez, co-first author of the article and Chancellor's ADVANCE Postdoctoral Fellow of mathematics and developmental & cell biology at UCI.

###

Study contributors include Yongli Song, Zhongjian Chen, Yichen Tang, Xianghui Ma, Cong Lv, Xueyun Bi, Min Deng, Lina Bu, Yuhua Tian, Ruiqi Liu, Ran Zhao, Jiuzhi Xu, Xiaole Sheng, Sujuan Du, Yeqiang Liu, Yunlu Zhu, Shijun Shan, Hong-duo Chen, Yiqiang Zhao, Guangbiao Zhou, Jianwei Shuai, Fazheng Ren, Lixiang Xue, Zhaoxia Ying, Xing Dai, Christopher Lengner, Bogi Andersen and Zhengquan Yu.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 222 degree programs. It is located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit http://www.uci.edu.

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.
Emergency orders to slow the spread of COVID-19 twice delayed the election to find Covington's next councilman at-large.

But it appears the third try will be the charm, with early voting underway through July 4, and election day set for July 11.

Four candidates are in the running for the citywide election, including former Councilmen Jerry Coner and Rick Smith, as well as political newcomers Steve Stokes and Grant Waters.

Coner previously served six non consecutive terms on the council and was term-limited as the District B council member last year. He opted to run for an at-large seat but finished third in a three-man race behind Patrick McMath and current at-large member Larry Rolling. McMath's seat on the council came available when he was elected to the state Senate in November, necessitating the special election now set for July 11.

Smith also was term-limited after two terms representing District E, and he made a bid for mayor last year, losing to Mark Johnson in the primary.

Coner and Smith tout their council experience as reason why voters should return them to public office. The current council has four members who first were elected last July, and another who came aboard in a special election less than two years ago. Rolling, who like Smith was elected to the council in 2011, is dean of the current group.

Stokes and Waters are hoping that voters crave new leadership as Covington grapples with drainage, development and infrastructure needs, much like other parish municipalities.

Johnson has told the current council he wants to give raises to Covington police, who are the lowest paid in the parish, and discussion has centered on proposed water and sewer rates to fund the salary hikes. The city has had a problem retaining officers in recent years, and several shootings in recent months, specifically in the low-income West 30s neighborhood, has city leaders looking for solutions.

Early voting will continue daily through July 4, with the exception of Sunday, June 28.

JERRY CONER

Coner, who lists no political party, is a lifelong Covington resident and a U.S. Air Force veteran. He holds a business administration degree from Troy State University in Alabama and has owned his own tax consulting business since 1971. Coner served four consecutive terms on the city council beginning in 1987, and after an eight-year hiatus, was elected to serve again in both 2011 and 2015.

Coner said hed work to improve infrastructure in the city and research the most effective ways to finance the projects. He said the Covington Police Department needs additional funding to combat crime, and he said the city could offset the cost of improving its sewer plant by charging impact fees to parish properties wanting to tie into the system, as well as those infilling property in town.

Coner also would like the city to start its own recreation district or join with another area district to make better use of recreation dollars, with savings rededicated for police.

Coner mentors students in a reading program at Lyon Elementary School, volunteers with the Council on Aging St. Tammany and Volunteers of America, and he has served on the boards of the St. Tammany Parish Community Action Agency and Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West.

RICK SMITH

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Smith, a 63-year old Republican from New Orleans, attended Nicholls State University and the University of New Orleans. Hes lived in Covington for 26 years and works as an insurance and retirement planner. Smith ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2003 and 2019, though he enjoyed two successful terms on the City Council between those campaigns.

Smith said its imperative that Covington upgrade aging sewers, drains and streets, and find ways to ease traffic snarls that have become all too common in the city. Mitigating flood concerns is also key, he said.

Smith said addressing those problems will require cooperation with parish, state and national officials, and he feels the relationships he built during his eight years as a councilman will ease that process. He added that his history of working within city budgets helps him know which projects need to be prioritized for funding.

With my experience, I can hit the ground running and not have to deal with a large learning curve, he said.

STEVE STOKES

Stokes, a 57-year old Republican, was born in New Orleans but has lived in Covington since he was a child. He attended LSU, Loyola University and Southeastern Louisiana University and is owner of Syk Digital Marketing and Media Co. This is his first run for political office.

Stokes said retaining Covington Police Department officers is a main tenet of his campaign, and hed increase pay for police and offer better benefits to keep them from leaving for better paying gigs with other area departments.

Stokes, like most, thinks drainage has to be addressed, and hed convene a panel of residents to help develop a plan to fix the issue. Stokes also said diversifying Covingtons business offerings is important.

I want to challenge entrepreneurs within the community to bring a range of businesses within city limits, create jobs and (give people) more reasons to visit Covington, he said.

As a lifelong resident, Stokes said he understands Covington and he cares about making sure its a safe and productive place for future generations. He said his background in sales, sales management, marketing and finance make him a good choice to promote the city and drive it forward.

GRANT WATERS

Waters, a 33-year old Independent, is director of operations for the New Orleans zone of PepsiCo Inc. A North Carolina native, he graduated from UNC-Asheville with a psychology degree and a minor in economics. He moved to Covington five years ago, and this is his first run for office.

Waters agrees that Covington needs to address the way it charges residents for water and sewer services. The city has subsidized private utility bills for nearly a decade, with more than $2 million needed this year alone to prop up billing shortfalls. Mayor Johnson and the council have said that money could be better spent, and Waters said hed work to find innovative means to meet current and future infrastructure needs.

Waters also supports raising pay for first responders and public works employees to make their pay competitive with that of other area cities. He also wants to have more neighborhood meetings and community forums to foster communication between government and citizens.
NORTH WALES  A man vandalized a public building by spray painting a wall at about 11:50 p.m. June 23, North Wales Borough Police Department said.

The man, who entered the area on foot, is described as a white male; 5 ft., 10 inches tall; 170 pounds; last seen wearing a light-colored ball cap worn backwards, a dark-colored North Face type coat with a hood, skinny jeans with the cuffs rolled up, and boots, police said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Officer Luke Miller at lmiller@northwalesborough.org or 215-699-9270.
Friday, June 26, 2020



Market indexes on Thursday turned early morning selling into robust buying by the closing bell. This morning, were starting out the same way  down on COVID-19 updates in the South and Western U.S. and the subsequent obstacles to a clean reopening of the economy. Will we see mid-day news that reverses the markets trajectory as we did yesterday with the FDIC loosening bank investment restrictions?



If we do, it would likely come from the only economic data report hitting the tape after the opening bell: Consumer Sentiment for June, from the University of Michigan. Expectations are for a continuation of the uptrend weve seen since bottoming out a couple months ago at 71.8. Last month posted a 78.9, and estimates for the current month are at 79.3. Although its hard to see how a much bigger number here would tell us anything truly surprising, thus setting off a fresh buying spree  everyone knows there is pent-up consumer demand; should it be hotter than expected it would likely move the needle only a little bit.



Ahead of todays open, Personal Income and Consumer Spending for May came in, demonstrating the wild volatility weve begun to grow accustomed to in the market. Todays Personal Income headline of -4.2% was better than anticipated; analysts had been looking for this metric to take out the all-time low of -4.7%, following the previous months all-time high +10.8%. Coronavirus-led layoffs, congressional bailout measures and now the expiring of relief programs are taking this on a real rollercoaster ride.



For Consumer Spending, we get a mirror image: +8.2% for May blew away the previous all-time high back in the 1950s of 2.8%, following an upwardly revised -12.6% from the -13.6% originally reported. Consumer Spending, which makes up 2/3 of the U.S. economy, reflects the perceived wealth in income gains for Americans from the month before. Eventually, these figures will start settling down.



Currently, the U.S. accounts for slightly more than 25% of all COVID-19 cases reported, worldwide. Though it appeared for a moment wed be overtaken as the main global hotspot for the coronavirus by Brazil, our charts have returned to previous highs, with little apparently ready to pull it back. We currently have had 2.5 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. to date, with a fatality toll of more than 126K.



Mark Vickery

Senior Editor



Questions or comments about this article and/or its author? Click here>>



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The federal government says it has begun recruiting a new set of Batch-C N-Power beneficiaries.

The humanitarian ministry had last week announced the disengagement of thousands of graduates comprising of both Batch A and B volunteers benefiting from the federal governments monthly N-Power scheme.

It subsequently began enrolling a fresh Batch C of volunteers today.

The ministry explained that the decision followed efforts to provide economic opportunities for more Nigerian youth.

In tweets posted on the N-Power page on Friday, the government highlighted steps and procedures for intending applicants willing to apply to the scheme.

According to the post, N-Power portal would reopen for fresh applications from 11:45 p.m. tonight.

Dear Intending N-Power 2020 Applicants, Here is how to prepare for the N-Power application. Remember

1. Portal opens 11.45pm, June 26th, 2020.

2. Application is FREE. Do NOT pay anyone to apply on the N-Power portal.

3. Get a printout or accurate details of your BVN.#NPowerNG pic.twitter.com/q9enxbvzCP  N-Power (@npower_ng) June 25, 2020

The ministry also urged the general public to report anyone trying to extort money from them. It said the application process is free.

We encourage all intending applicants to follow the authentic N-Power pages on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Disregard information from pages that are not ours. If we have not stated it then it remains untrue. #NPowerNG

We encourage all intending applicants to follow the authentic N-Power pages on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Disregard information from pages that are not ours. If we have not stated it then it remains untrue.#NPowerNG  N-Power (@npower_ng) June 26, 2020

REPORT anyone who is trying to extort you for money on any of our channels. The application is FREE!#Npower2020Recruitment#NPower2020#NPowerNG  N-Power (@npower_ng) June 26, 2020

Similarily, the personal assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on new media, Bashir Ahmad, also urged interested applicants to visit the N-Power portal to register https://t.co/2ZzGc1IUow

FLASH: N-Power reopens its portal for fresh applications from 11:45pm tonight. Interested and eligible applicants should visit https://t.co/2ZzGc1IUow to register. All the process is completely free! Kindly SHARE for others. Best of luck! Allah ya bada saa.  Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) June 26, 2020

The N-Power Programme was inaugurated by President Buhari in 2016 to reduce poverty, unemployment and social insecurity among Nigerians.

It involves the deployment of thousands of unemployed graduates to schools and other institutions to work there while the government pays them a stipend of N30,000 monthly.
OTTAWA COUNTY, MI -- Witnesses told police a driver was passing several vehicles on M-231 before he crashed into an oncoming vehicle.

The driver, a 49-year-old Detroit man, was seriously injured and taken to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital following the crash about 6:50 p.m. Thursday, June 25.

Ottawa County sheriffs deputies said the Detroit man was driving a Mitsubishi SUV north on M-231 and passing several other northbound vehicles when the SUV struck a southbound vehicle.

Two people in the southbound vehicle, a Cadillac sedan, had minor injuries. The occupants, a 49-year-old woman and 15-year-old male, both from Grand Haven, sought their own treatment.

Police said alcohol appeared to be a factor in the crash.
Iraqi security forces have raided a base belonging to a powerful Iran-backed armed group in southern Baghdad and detained at least 14 militia members, sources have told Al Jazeera.

The raid late on Thursday was the most brazen action by Iraqi forces against a major Iran-backed group in years and targeted the Kataib Hezbollah faction, which United States officials have accused of firing rockets at bases hosting US troops and other facilities in Iraq.

Al Jazeeras Simona Foltyn, reporting from Baghdad, said Iraqs elite Counter Terrorism Service seized at least 10 rockets during the operation, which was carried out an in effort to pre-empt an impending rocket attack on the Green Zone and Baghdad International Airport, both of which house US troops.

Subsequently, dozens of armed Kataib Hezbollah fighters arrived in the Green Zone and laid siege to one of the buildings belonging to the Counter Terrorism Service, demanding the release of the detainees, claiming they were arrested illegally without an arrest warrant, she said.

Kataib Hezbollah itself is part of Iraqs security apparatus, she noted, as the group is part of the state-funded Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a Shia paramilitary dominated by Iran-backed armed groups.





The raid was the first sign that the government of Iraqs new prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, intends to make good on promises to take tough action against groups that have targeted US installations.

It took place after a number of rocket attacks near the US embassy in Baghdad and other US military sites in the country in recent weeks.

If those detained are released, this would be a rather embarrassing to the new government, said Foltyn, as the raid was carried out on al-Kadhimis orders and the prime minister has made it one of his priorities to constrain the weapons in the hands of the state and to rein in groups such as Kataib Hezbollah.

Fears of escalation

The Reuters news agency said a spokesman for the US-led coalition in Iraq and Iraqi paramilitary sources denied claims that any of those arrested had been handed over to the US military.

One government official told Reuters three commanders of Kataib Hezbollah had been detained during the raid. One of those commanders was an Iranian, he said. But a second PMF official told the agency no commanders of Kataib Hezbollah were arrested.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran especially on Iraqi soil have been high for at least a year.

It nearly spilled into regional conflict in January after the US killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and PMF commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a drone strike at Baghdad airport.





Foltyn said Thursdays events were very much a throwback to December 31 of last year, when Kataib Hezbollah laid siege to the US embassy inside the Green Zone after the US attacked its base on the Iraqi-Syrian border.

She added: Those events ended up escalating, culminating in the killing of Qassem Soleimani on Iraqi soil. There is fear that events could once again escalate.

Yasmin Amin-Zaki, Iraq analyst and former chief of communications for the United Nations mission in Iraq, described the raid as an effort by al-Kadhimi to assert control over the state.

Since the defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), its been increasingly clear that the biggest threat to the Iraqi state is these Shia militias, she told Al Jazeera from Memphis in the US.

But curbing the PMFs influence remains a huge challenge for al-Kadhimi because of Irans support for the paramilitary force, meaning the proxy war between US and Iran was likely to continue in Iraq, said Ami-Zaki.

What well likely see now is a stalemate between the two, as they continue with this proxy war. And I think its increasingly clear now  particularly following the events of December 31  that these two countries are not necessarily interested in going to war with one another. But they are very much interested and motivated to continue this proxy war in Iraq, she added.

Both Tehran and Washington supported al-Kadhimi in becoming prime minister in May.
She's been in isolation with boyfriend Liam Beaumont during the coronavirus lockdown.

And Charlotte Crosby looked delighted as she reunited with her Geordie Shore co-stars Holly Hagan and Sophie Kasaei as they celebrated her In The Style launch on Friday.

The TV personality, 30, and her pals posed up a storm as they modelled matching skintight co-ords for the sizzling Instagram snap.

Together again: Charlotte Crosby looked delighted as she reunited with her Geordie Shore co-stars Holly Hagan and Sophie Kasei as they celebrated her In The Style launch on Friday

Taking centre stage, Charlotte looked incredible as she showcased her slender physique and taut midriff in a grey and white crop top and matching form-fitting trousers.

The Newcastle native put her hand on her hip as she sultrily posed for the snap with her girls.

Charlotte wore her tresses in cascading curls, which she added an extra touch of glam with a rich palette of make-up.

Looking good: The TV personality, 30, and her pals posed up a storm as they modelled matching skintight co-ords for the sizzling Instagram snap

Reunited: Captioning the snap, Charlotte wrote: 'Finally together again..... #sisters. (All wearing @inthestyle cos the owner let us gather at his house)'

Meanwhile, Holly, 27, donned a pink and white co-ord set, with the crop top perfectly highlighting her toned abs.

Sophie, 30, also looked fabulous in her pale blue and white number, which perfectly off-set her bronzed tan.

The girls appeared in good spirits as they larked about at In The Style founder Adam Frisby's home, and donned outfits from his brand for good measure.

Captioning the snap, Charlotte wrote: 'Finally together again..... #sisters. (All wearing @inthestyle cos the owner let us gather at his house).'

Charlotte also documented their evening as she enjoyed a 'socially distanced cheers' with her pals.

Cheers to the weekend: Charlotte also documented their evening as she enjoyed a 'socially distanced cheers' with her pals

Their party appeared to go up a notch as the group enjoyed a dance in the living room as they let their hair down ahead of the weekend.

Sophie also documented their merriment on her Instagram stories, showing her pals showcasing their best moves.

The group were also thrilled when their Geordie Shore co-star Nathan Henry arrived for the party.

It comes after Charlotte credited the government's Chief Medical Officer Chris Witty behind the success of her flourishing romance with Liam Beaumont.

Party people: Their party appeared to go up a notch as the group enjoyed a dance in the living room as they let their hair down ahead of the weekend

Look who it is: The group were also thrilled when their Geordie Shore co-star Nathan Henry arrived for the party

The former Geordie Shore star insisted it was the coronavirus advisor, 54, who acted as an unlikely cupid and made her take 'the leap of faith' with her beau.

Charlotte had been dating videographer Liam for a mere few weeks when the UK's coronavirus lockdown was put in place, meaning that the couple had to make a big decision over their budding romance.

And the Just Tattoo Of Us host said that it was Chief Medical Officer Chris who made her take the plunge and begin living with Liam.

She told The Sun On Sunday: 'We had to either move in together or not see each other.

Happy: It comes after Charlotte credited the government's Chief Medical Officer Chris Witty behind the success of her flourishing romance with Liam Beaumont

'It was hearing the Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, who advised that if you want to see your boyfriend or girlfriend you have to move in  so you could say Chris made us take the leap of faith.

'Before then wed only spent about two or three weeks together in total, so we had to make that decision right then and there, which was really scary.'

And while living together so soon could spell disaster for some, Charlotte insisted that cohabiting with her tattooed beau was the best decision she's made.
Nearly 300 Portland employees have taken bereavement leave in the last two weeks after Mayor Ted Wheeler encouraged city workers take paid time off to grieve the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black people killed by law enforcement or in apparent racist acts nationwide and locally.

That number could be higher by next week once the city processes time cards for the latest pay period, Natasha Eberth, a Bureau of Human Resources spokesperson, said Thursday. She said its unclear if all 295 employees whove requested 40 hours of paid leave since Wheelers June 8 email did so because of the mayors message. She said the city doesnt track why staff request bereavement leave.

Eberth said she couldnt provide any demographic information about the employees whove taken leave as of Thursday and suggested The Oregonian/OregonLive file a public records request. Similarly, she could not immediately say which bureaus the employees work for.

In the email to all city employees, Wheeler announced the city was temporarily expanding its rules on funeral and bereavement leave and that hed ordered managers and supervisors to approve requests without questioning any employees who request leave.

We acknowledge that Black employees are experiencing a collective grief and trauma coming from a culmination of oppression that is over 400 years old, Wheeler said in the email. We hear and understand that many of our employees, especially our [Black, Indigenous and People of Color] employees, are deeply impacted by these recent events and are hurting.

City employees received an email Tuesday from the Human Resources bureau saying the intent was to give staff a chance to grieve over the recent loss of Black lives in America and the trauma that has accompanied this.

The intent centered on the citys Black and other employees of color as well as white staff who have immediate relatives who are people of color, the email said. The message also said the bureau wouldnt make judgments about who should or should not take this leave, and urged white employees to think about how they could help cover the work of their colleagues who chose to step away.

We are asking particularly white employees to reflect on why and how they are taking this time if they so choose, and we ask white employees to consider how they can support BIPOC colleagues, the email said. We are also encouraging BIPOC communities, particularly Black employees to take care of their needs and know that the City of Portland acknowledges that Black Lives Matter.

The city employs more than 7,600 people and about 2,000 are people of color, according to city data as of Thursday. Of the city workforce, 73.5% are white; 7.1% Latinx; 7% Asian; 6.8% Black; 1.1% Native American and 0.5% Pacific Islander. Another 3.9% identify as multi-racial and 0.1% of employees have declined to tell the city their ethnicity.

The majority of city employees work for Parks and Recreation, the Police Bureau and Bureau of Transportation.

City data shows about 620 of the citys employees of color work in Parks and Recreation, followed by close to 230 each in in the Transportation and Police bureaus.

The majority of white city workers, nearly 1,200, also work in the Parks bureau. About 990 are employed in the Police Bureau and around 740 people in the Transportation bureau.

-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey

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BISHKEK -- Journalists, rights activists, and media-freedom groups in Kyrgyzstan and abroad are urging President Sooronbai Jeenbekov to reject new legislation that they say would curtail press freedom in that post-Soviet republic.

Lawmakers on June 25 passed the second and third readings of the draft law, On Manipulating Information, by a vote of 79 to 10.

All it needs now to go into effect is the president's signature.

Its backers say the bill's main goal is to protect citizens from fake information on the Internet.

But the bill's sweeping scope, allowing the blocking of websites without a court order and compelling companies to store and possibly hand over private user data, in addition to other powers, has prompted warnings of a chilling effect on journalism and media freedom.

The head of the Kyrgyz Independent Union of Journalists, Azamat Kasybekov, told RFE/RL that the president should return the bill to parliament for reconsideration, saying it "threatens freedom of speech and negatively affects the work of journalists."

Under the draft legislation, the authorities are able to shut down or block websites containing information deemed to be "inaccurate" or "false" and to shut down social-media accounts deemed misleading without a court order.

It also requires real-name registration for website owners and social-media-account owners, according to the draft.

Internet service providers would be required to store user data, including photos, audio, and video, for up to six months and share them with government agencies upon request.

It is unclear how such requirements would be enforced, according to the New York-based Committee to Protest Journalists (CPJ), which also warned that the text fails to define "manipulation" or "false" information.

The bill also doesn't specify the entity that would make such determinations or the mechanism for shutting down or blocking websites or accounts, it said.

"The vague nature of Kyrgyzstan's proposed legislation on media manipulation is sure to create a climate of uncertainty for journalists and promote self-censorship," Gulnoza Said, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said in a statement.

The president "should reject this law unless he is intent on taking part in the kind of repression that we already see among Kyrgyzstan's neighbors in Central Asia," she added.

Kyrgyzstan has faced problems including politically charged prosecutions of former officials, but also achieved its post-Soviet region's first peaceful presidential transfer of power between elected heads of state and is widely seen as a democratic leader in Central Asia.

Meanwhile, activists appealed to the recently appointed head of the State National Security Committee, Orozbek Opumbaev, to launch proceedings against lawmakers they accused of abuse of office.

The activists allege that a number of parliament deputies were caught voting on behalf of colleagues absent from the June 25 session at which the media bill was passed, which they claim went ahead without a quorum.
Amaravati:

Advancing the deadline for construction of the Andhra Pradesh's new capital city by a year, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday promised to build Amaravati by Vijaya Dasami (Dussehra) in 2017.

The state government initially set 2018 as the deadline for completing the phase-1 of the capital city development but with Sunday's announcement the target now stands altered.

"With the blessings of Goddess Kanaka Durgamma and Krishnamma (river Krishna), I am confident of giving a definite shape to a world class capital city Amaravati by Vijaya Dasami next year," Naidu said in an open letter to the people on the eve of Dussehra festival.

"Construction and development of a world class people's capital is crucial and mandatory to usher in economic growth and prosperity, create employment opportunities in large numbers and achieve progress in all socio-economic sections of society," he said.

"I pray to the Goddess to bless the people of Andhra Pradesh to come out victorious from the bifurcation blues. I vow to transform this sunrise state into a world class place, with Amaravati standing tall as its mighty capital city and a gift to the present generations and posterity," the letter read.

He said is envisioning a great future for the state through an inclusive growth strategy and a planned development model and the government is committed to develop Amaravati as one of the best cities, and also to be among the top five best cities in the world.

"The city is going to be an environment-friendly Green City," the chief minister said. "I am grateful and deeply indebted to the people of Amaravati region, particularly the small and medium farmers who have wholeheartedly come forward to handover their land holdings in the innovative land pooling scheme for the construction of the capital city.

"Our land pooling scheme won laurels at the national level and all major states are examining this as a case study to emulate in their states," Naidu claimed. As part of efforts to make Amaravati the education hub of the country,?13 leading international schools from across the globe expressed keen interest in setting up their campuses in the new capital," he said.

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Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chinese and Japanese governments have strongly recommended use of Favipiravir to treat the disease. Currently, over 100 countries have included Favipiravir as part of their treatments. Originally developed by Toyama Chemical Co., Ltd., Favipiravir was approved as strategic stockpile as a countermeasure for virus in Japan. In 2016, the patent of Favipiravir was exclusively franchised to Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (HISUN), which cooperated with CMAM to develop Favipiravir tablets. The finished drug was approved rapidly in February 2020.

Data from Favipiravir's clinical tests published by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China at an official press conference indicated Favipiravir has shown good clinical efficacy against the disease, and the tablet form makes it easily accessible. Once Favipiravir was launched in the Chinese market, it was included into the Major Anti-pandemic Materials by China's State Council, and the Chinese government has unified the allocation of Favipiravir supplies. All Favipiravir tablets in China are manufactured by HISUN. As the situation with the disease is improving, the medication has been sold through omni-channel across China. It has also been used to support over 30 countries and regions in battling COVID-19. Favipiravir's outstanding contribution in fighting COVID-19 has earned its producer, HISUN, the honorary title of "Ordnance Factory" responding to the COVID-19 crisis by the Chinese State Council.

Know more about Favipiravir: http://www.hisunpharm.com/en/favipiravir.php.

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnO2gmBUVP4



Contact:

Ms. Li Huimin

Mobile: +86-13718025966

Email: [email protected]



SOURCE Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd

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The Maharashtra government on Friday has called off final year and final semester exams of professional as well as non professional courses. CM Uddhav Thackeray has further written to PM to instruct top education authorities to endorse his decision.

The Maharashtra government has cancelled all the university exams (final year/end semester exams) of both professional and non-professional courses in the state in the wake of ongoing coronavirus crisis. After calling off the exams, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has written to PM Modi to instruct the top authorities like AICTE, COA, PCI, BCI, NCTE, and the National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology to validate the decision of the state government and issue guidelines on the same to universities.

The state government told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that it cannot permit the ICSE exams to be conducted in the state because of the Covid-19 situation. CM Thackeray has even urged Prime Minister to instruct the Medical Council of India to reschedule their exams, which are slated to be conducted by the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, MUHS, Nashik.

Medical Education Department tweeted on Wednesday saying that the MED GoM decides to hold exams for medical, AYUSH, and other MUHS Courses. Direct Directorate of Medical Education Research and MUHS to publish timetable 45 days before the date of exams and a days gap between each of the papers. Students have been waiting for a final decision on their exams so that the ongoing confusion about the same comes to an end.

Maharashtra Govt decided to not conduct final year/final semester exam of non-professional/professional courses as present atmosphere is not yet conducive to conduct any exam or classes. Also decided to award degrees based on formula decided by universities: CMO Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/qQFNFIKtWz  ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2020

Also read: Covid 19: HRD Minister asks UGC to revist exam guidelines

Also read: Karnataka conducts SSLC exams amid Covid-19

After the Medical Education Departments tweet, the education minister of Maharashtra, Amit Deshmukh tweeted that under the leadership of CM Uddhav Thackeray, GoM (Government of Maharashtra) has taken steps to conduct medical exams of all branches of health sciences as per the guidelines of the National Medical Commission. He also said that they are watchful of the COVID-19 pandemic, student safety and interest is their top priority.

Also read: Shashi Tharoor urges Kerala CM to postpone university exams

For all the latest Education and Jobs News, download NewsX App
Mumbai, June 26 : In a major decision, the Maharashtra government has permitted families of police personnel, who succumbed to Covid-19, to continue living in their official staff quarters till the concerned deceased police personnel's normal date of retirement, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Friday.

"No bereaved family of any police personnel, who lost their lives on the frontline in the war on Corona, should be worried about the roof on their heads," Deshmukh assured.

Accordingly, all the families of the police personnel who were felled by Covid-19, shall be allowed to continue occupying the officially allotted residence till the concerned personnel's due retirement date, he announced.

In Maharashtra, around 4,400 police personnel are affected by Corona and around 54 have lost their lives Covid-19.

The home minister said the government has taken this decision on humanitarian grounds in view of the grave crises before the state.

"It is heartening that 3,282 of these have recovered but it is also tragic that 54 of them have succumbed," he added.

Besides the state government is already giving a compensation of around Rs 65 lakhs to the kin of the police personnel who lose their lives in the war against the virus.

The move was welcomed in police circles as it would prevent abruptly uprooting the families of the deceased cops and create problems of jobs or education for their children.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Samsung, in partnership with Servify, has officially launched its Samsung Care+ program for Galaxy smartphone users across India. When active, the program will offer a protection plan against accidental, physical and liquid damage and also technical/mechanical failure.

The launch follows the success of a pilot program that ran in March 2020, where more than 1 lakh customers enrolled into the program. Samsung Care+ will be offered in 4 packages:

Extended Warranty : Covers technical and mechanical failure for one year beyond the warranty period.

: Covers technical and mechanical failure for one year beyond the warranty period. Screen Protection : Covers front screen damage for one year from the plan purchase date.

: Covers front screen damage for one year from the plan purchase date. Accidental Damage & Liquid Damage (ADLD) : Covers accidental front and back screen damage and liquid damage for one year.

: Covers accidental front and back screen damage and liquid damage for one year. Comprehensive Protection: Covers accidental physical and liquid damage (including screen) and technical or mechanical failure for two years.

Care+ is automatically activated once it is purchased and claims are approved within one business hour. Samsung will offer free pick up and drop facility for their Galaxy smartphone in select locations. The price of Care+ will depend on the Galaxy smartphone that the customer wishes to purchase.

Commenting on the launch of the program, Pramod Mundra, Senior Director, Mobile Business, Samsung India said:

At Samsung, consumers are at the core of everything we do. With Samsung Care+, we are offering complete peace of mind to a wide-range of consumers looking to buy a new Galaxy smartphone. Samsung Care+ not only keeps you protected beyond the standard warranty, but also covers for all accidental damage for up to two years.

Source
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 19:43:04|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Iran's confirmed novel coronavirus cases rose to 217,724 on Friday after an overnight registration of 2,628 new infections, according to official IRNA news agency.

During her daily briefing, Sima Sadat Lari, the spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said out of the new cases, 1,356 were hospitalized.

The pandemic has so far claimed the lives of 10,239 Iranians, up by 109 in the past 24 hours, she said.

So far, 177,852 have recovered and been discharged from hospitals and 2,912 remain in critical condition.

According to Lari, 1,557,872 lab tests for COVID-19 have been carried out in Iran as of Friday.

Iran's health official said that the provinces of Kordestan, Kermanshah, Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Bushehr and West Azarbaijan are in high-risk condition.

Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 19.

In mid-February, at the early stage of the coronavirus outbreak in China, Iran lit up the Tehran Azadi (Liberty) Tower to show its solidarity with China, and donated 3 million masks to China.

In return, China has delivered several shipments of medical supplies to Iran. On Feb. 29, a five-member Chinese medical team visited Iran for a month-long mission to help Iran fight the pandemic. Enditem
Basel, June 25, 2020  Novartis has reached settlements with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) resolving all Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigations into historical conduct by the Company and its subsidiaries. As part of the settlements, Novartis and certain of its current and former subsidiaries will pay USD 233.9 million to the DOJ and USD 112.8 million to the SEC.

To resolve the DOJ investigation, Novartis Hellas S.A.C.I. has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (Novartis Hellas DPA) pertaining to inappropriate economic benefits provided to Greek healthcare professionals from 2012 to 2015 in connection with the ophthalmology product Lucentis. The Novartis Hellas DPA also covers books and records issues pertaining to the Lucentis conduct and to conduct related to a 2009 epidemiological study.

Todays resolutions contain no allegations relating to any bribery of Greek politicians, which is consistent with what Novartis found in its own internal investigation.

With todays agreements, all outstanding FCPA investigations into Novartis are now closed.

Alcon Pte Ltd, a former Novartis subsidiary, has entered into a separate deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ (Alcon DPA) pertaining to inappropriate economic benefits provided to Vietnamese healthcare professionals and books and records violations from 2011 to 2014 in Vietnam. This conduct related to a consultancy program run by a distributor in Vietnam.

To resolve the SEC investigation, Novartis AG has reached an agreement pertaining to internal controls and books and records violations in Greece, Vietnam and South Korea. The violations in Greece pertain to the Lucentis-related conduct covered in the Novartis Hellas DPA as well as controls issues with Novartis Hellas post-approval studies identified by internal review in 2012 and resolved by 2013. In Vietnam, the violations relate to the activities involving an Alcon distributor that are the subject of the Alcon DPA. And in South Korea, the violations relate to conduct for which Novartis has already taken responsibility in South Korea, where the Company is in the final stages of resolving these issues with the local authorities. Finally, the SEC agreement addresses certain internal controls and books and records issues related to Alcon Chinas placement of surgical devices.

Story continues

As recognized by the DOJ and SEC, Novartis and its subsidiaries, current and former, fully cooperated with these investigations and have already implemented appropriate remedial measures.

Shannon Thyme Klinger, Group General Counsel of Novartis, said: We are pleased that all outstanding FCPA investigations into the company are now closed. Todays settlements represent another milestone in our commitment to resolving legacy compliance issues and ensuring that Novartis truly lives its values. We have implemented and continue to implement initiatives to ensure we operate with the same high ethical values wherever we do business, and we remain focused on building trust with society.

Since the time periods at issue in these legacy investigations, Novartis has made significant changes to enhance its approach to ethics, risk, and compliance. The Company has strengthened its governance by adopting principles-based compliance policies, reinforced its speak-up culture so associates can more effectively raise concerns about potential misconduct, and combined its risk management and compliance functions to enable more effective risk management and mitigation efforts.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as will, milestone, continue, focused, intent, journey, efforts, commitment, expectations, to enhance, potential, or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding settlements by Novartis to resolve legacy FCPA investigations by the DOJ and the SEC, and regarding our efforts to enhance legal and ethical compliance at Novartis. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that our initiatives to ensure we operate with high ethical values globally will be successfully implemented in any particular time frame, or at all, or achieve any or all of their intended goals and benefits. Neither can there be any guarantee that we will successfully comply with the terms of our settlement agreements with the DOJ or SEC, or successfully prevent future breaches of our legal and ethical obligations. Nor can there be any guarantee regarding the reactions of healthcare professionals, customers, strategic partners and other stakeholders to the settlements discussed in this press release. In particular, our expectations regarding such settlement agreements and our initiatives to ensure we operate with high ethical values globally could be affected by, among other things, potential adverse reactions to such settlement agreements and initiatives by healthcare professionals, customers, strategic partners or other stakeholders; potential or actual failures to comply with our legal and ethical obligations in the future; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AGs current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend peoples lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the worlds top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 109,000 people of more than 145 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at https://www.novartis.com.

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The ruling New Patriotic Party has expressed shock at the passing of the late Mr. Sam Cudjoe, Ashanti Regional Second Vice-Chairman of the Party.

Mr Cudjoe, who was a key member of the Party since the inception of the Fourth Republican Constitution, died on Friday, June 26, at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hopsital, Kumasi, after a short illness.

He will always be remembered for his selflessness, dedication and commitment to the Party, Mr. Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, also known as 'Chairman Wontumi', the Regional NPP Chairman, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

The demise of the late Cudjoe, he said, was a big blow to the Party given his experience and knowledge.

Mr. Antwi-Boasiako said: Ghana's political fraternity has lost a gem.

The Regional NPP Chairman assured of the Party's resolve to support the bereaved family as they went through the difficult moments.

Meanwhile, the Regional Executive of the Party has visited the North Suntreso residence of the late Cudjoe to commiserate with the bereaved family.

GNA
[June 26, 2020] TAICCA Shares Taiwan's Immersive Content Innovation at Cannes XR Keynote Forum

TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Taiwan's immersive content has emerged as an international powerhouse and featured in the 2020 Cannes XR program keynote forum, "How to Build an Ecosystem for XR? Taiwan as an example" along with the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA). Due to the pandemic, the forum was held online at the official site of Cannes Marche du Film on June 25 from 21:00 to 22:00 GMT+2. The president of TAICCA, Lolita Ching-Fang HU, who is also the chairperson of the Immersive Content Grant international jury panel, moderated the forum. She invited speakers from across the XR industry including, Wen-Hao HUANG, the Chairperson of Digital Art Foundation and well-known art curator; Shou-Jung PENG, Technical Director of Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI); Grace Huai-Chin LEE, VR Programmer of Kaohsiung Film Archive and Kaohsiung Film Festival; and Jimmy CHENG, Director of Content & Business Operations of Iconic Engine. Chairperson HUANG opened up the discussion by sharing his experiences in XR archives and story-telling. "The Digital Art Foundation views VR development from the perspective of contemporary art. We hope to be a professional third-party platform for creators and anyone unfamiliar with VR to enter this field through promotion and experiment." HUANG added, "we too can explore the possibilities of VR as museum pieces." Regarding Taiwan's technology-end of the XR industry, ITRI Technical Director PENG, who helped and supervised building the first Volumetric Capture Studio in Taipei, spoke about how the innovation combines culture with technology. "ITRI hopes to create a hub here in Taiwan to connect with international organizations within the industry," said PENG, who stressed the importance of the 5G network, which will allow audiences to enjoy the exciting breakthrough of immersive content from mobile devices. President HU added that aside from co-operating the 4DViews Lab with TAICCA, ITRI also assists artists to in utilizing technology, which can be exemplified by Huang Yi Studio's human-robot dance duet. Award-winning film producer Grace Huai-Chin LEE touced on immersive content trends and how Taiwan seizes this opportunity to join the global supply chain. In 2017, Taiwan already noticed that major international film festivals, including Cannes, Sundance, Tribeca, and Venice film festivals, were expanding their completion to the VR domain. In the same year, Taiwanese Director John Han-Chiang HSU and Serendipity Films' "Your Spiritual Temple Sucks" amazed the world through the newly-developed Microwave Camera, proving technological breakthroughs are no less important than creative minds.



An essential part of the XR ecosystem is the market. Iconic Engine's Director of Content, Jimmy CHENG, shared feedback from international VR platforms and buyers on Taiwan's immersive content. He also spoke of the expectations from international markets. CHENG pointed out how global telecommunications companies, including Taiwan, are all developing their strategies for ways to showcase 5G capabilities  and the answer is through VR. In terms of themes of and subjects for immersive content, CHENG believes that the sentiment of Taiwan's culture and history is easily relatable for a global audience. For instance, the short VR film, "The Abandoned Deity," talks about a missing deity statue with an underlying element of familial relationships and emotions. "It's a universal topic. TAICCA can help our creative content creators promote their works to the world. Maybe to start with film festivals, then to the telecom platforms," said CHENG, who also believes by allowing buyers to understand these works will make Taiwan's cultural content convincing and reach a further audience.

Chairperson HUANG commented on the changes VR brought to art. "When VR technology is introduced to the art world, it allows creators to think from different compositions and narrative structures. This young form of art reconstructs time and space. It gives the audience the power and to alter the dramatic intensity for the experience." As a final remark, President HU emphasized her belief in the somatosensory experience VR creates, which could transform an audience into a participant. HU concluded, "cultural content is everything, and technology, after all, comes from human beings. We are the ones who use technology to activate our imagination for the future." Taiwan has already enjoyed a reputation as a key player in immersive content production. As an intermediary organization, TAICCA is devoted to support and promote Taiwan's cultural content industries, and to serve as a platform for international and cross-industry collaborations. To encourage multinational XR content development in Taiwan, TAICCA has launched the first edition of the Immersive Content Grant for International Joint Ventures or Co-Productions in March 2020, offering NT$3.5 million (US$118,000). TAICCA recently announced the grant recipients at a press conference on June 22. The grant recipients are all projects with co-production partnerships with Taiwan-based teams: an unannounced game developed by UK-based Oiffy, "The Starry Sand Beach" by French-based Lucid Realities, "Anthem to the Fading Flowers" by Taiwan-based [email protected] Lab Theater, "Missing Pictures" by Taiwan-based Serendipity Films Ltd., and "Through the Body" by Virtual & Physical Media Integration Association of Taiwan. The full recording of the forum will be available on TAICCA's official YouTube site on June 25 from 9 PM to 10 PM Central European Time (June 26 from 3 AM to 4 AM CST) for audiences in Taiwan and the world to join the discussion. # # # Cannes XR: https://taiwancinema.taicca.tw/annecy/ TAICCA YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe-xwPRzRoxpNXsWL7lqlyA About TAICCA The Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), established in June 2019 and supervised by the Ministry of Culture, is a professional intermediary organization working to promote the development of Taiwan's content industries including film and TV, publishing, pop music, ACG and more. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/taicca-shares-taiwans-immersive-content-innovation-at-cannes-xr-keynote-forum-301084492.html SOURCE Taiwan Creative Content Agency

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LILONGWE, Malawi - The opposition looks poised to win a historic presidential election in Malawi, where a court overturned the original vote last year citing widespread irregularities including the use of correction fluid on ballots.

This is just the second time in Africa that a court has overturned a presidential election, following a ruling on Kenyas vote in 2017.

Malawis state broadcaster on Thursday night said opposition Malawi Congress Party leader Lazarus Chakwera was leading with 59% with all votes counted, while President Peter Mutharika had 38%.

But Malawi Electoral Commission chair Chifundo Kachale told reporters they were expected to announce the winner in the next 36 to 48 hours.

Kachale said the delay is in line with legal requirements that commission must physically verify the results received. He said the commission also is verifying the null and void votes to ascertain if they could be reconsidered.

Mutharika is yet to make a statement on Tuesdays election.

The constitutional Court on Feb. 3 unanimously struck down Mutharikas victory and ordered that the May 2019 election be held again, ruling that the results were not valid because of widespread, systematic and grave evidence of irregularities and vote tampering.

Months of sometimes deadly unrest had followed the announcement of the election results as people in long-peaceful Malawi went into the streets to protest.

The 79-year-old Mutharika wants a second and final five-year term. Incumbent Vice-President Saulos Chilima had been expected to run but instead decided to stand as Chakweras vice-presidential running mate in a bid to maximize chances of unseating the president.

The contest appears to be very close. A poll in early June by Malawis Institute of Public Opinion and Research said the Chakwera/Chilima ticket could win 51% of the vote,
Several users on Twitter applauded the move, though some said it was too little, too late

MUMBAI: Unilever will drop the word fair from its Fair & Lovely skin lightening products, it said on Thursday, in the latest makeover of a brand in response to a global backlash against racial prejudice.

Skin lightening cosmetics have a huge market in South Asia, but their promotion is being questioned, especially in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson said it would stop selling skin-whitening creams in Asia and the Middle East, while PepsiCo said it would change the name and brand image of its Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup.

Unilevers Fair & Lovely brand dominates the market in South Asia. Similar products are also sold by LOreal and Procter & Gamble (P&G).

We recognise that the use of the words fair, white and light suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we dont think is right, and we want to address this, said Sunny Jain, president of Unilevers beauty and personal care division.

In India, the biggest market for Fair & Lovely, fairness products have long been endorsed by leading Bollywood celebrities, as well as other youth icons.

Adverts have regularly featured two faces showing skin tone transformation, as well as shade guides to show improvement.

Unilevers India unit, in which the company owns a 67% stake, said it had shifted from such marketing in 2019 and would continue to evolve it to feature women of different skin tones.

Several users on Twitter applauded the move, though some said it was too little, too late.

This is a big win, but its only the beginning, Nina Davuluri, who in 2014 became the first Indian American to be crowned Miss America, told Reuters.

While Unilever removing words such as fair, white, & lightening, and changing the ... brand name is a step towards inclusion, its only one piece of a much larger fight to end colorism.

Davuluri on Tuesday wrote an open letter to Unilever CEO Alan Jope, urging him to stop production of the products.

The name change is subject to regulatory approvals, Unilevers India unit, Hindustan Unilever, said. It declined to say what the new name would be.

Public records indicate Hindustan Unilever last week filed an application to trademark a logo for soaps, creams, shampoos and other products under the brand name Glow & Lovely.

In 2018, the company also registered trademarks to market skincare and haircare products under the brand names Even & Lovely, Always Lovely, Care & Lovely and I Am Lovely, among others.

Separately, a source at LOreal in India said the French company was also having discussions in view of the backlash.

LOreal India declined to comment. LOreal in France did not respond to an e-mail seeking immediate comment.
Scientists examined hundreds of samples taken along the global ridges that contain recycled ancient oceanic crust in variable amounts. "Depleted" segments of the ridge received lower than "normal" amounts of recycled crust, while "enriched" segments contain a larger proportion of recycled crust. Credit: Caroline McNiel/National MagLab

Thank goodness for the Earth's crust: It is, after all, that solid, outermost layer of our planet that supports everything above it.

But much of what happens below that layer remains a mystery, including the fate of sections of crust that vanish back into the Earth. Now, a team of geochemists based at the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory has uncovered key clues about where those rocks have been hiding.

The researchers provided fresh evidence that, while most of the Earth's crust is relatively new, a small percentage is actually made up of ancient chunks that had sunk long ago back into the mantle then later resurfaced. They also found, based on the amount of that "recycled" crust, that the planet has been churning out crust consistently since its formation 4.5 billion years agoa picture that contradicts prevailing theories.

Their research is published in the journal Science Advances.

"Like salmon returning to their spawning grounds, some oceanic crust returns to its breeding ground, the volcanic ridges where fresh crust is born," said co-author Munir Humayun, a MagLab geochemist and professor at Florida State's Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science (EOAS). "We used a new technique to show that this process is essentially a closed loop, and that recycled crust is distributed unevenly along ridges."

In addition to Humayun, the research team included MagLab postdoctoral researcher Shuying Yang, lead author on the paper, and MagLab Geochemistry Group Director and EOAS Chair Vincent Salters.

The Earth's oceanic crust is formed when mantle rock melts near fissures between tectonic plates along undersea volcanic ridges, yielding basalt. As new crust is made, it pushes the older crust away from the ridge toward continents, like a super slow conveyer belt. Eventually, it reaches areas called subduction zones, where it is forced under another plate and swallowed back into the Earth.

Scientists have long theorized about what happens to subducted crust after being reabsorbed into the hot, high-pressure environment of the planet's mantle. It might sink deeper into the mantle and settle there, or rise back to the surface in plumes, or swirl through the mantle, like strands of chocolate through a yellow marble cake. Some of that "chocolate" might eventually rise up, re-melt at mid-ocean ridges, and form new rock for yet another millions-year-long tour of duty on the sea floor.

This new evidence supports the "marble cake" theory.

Scientists had already seen clues supporting the theory. Some basalts collected from mid-ocean ridges, called enriched basalts, have a higher percentage of certain elements that tend to seep from the mantle into the melt from which basalt is formed; others, called depleted basalts, had much lower levels.

To shed more light on the mystery of the disappearing crust, the team chemically analyzed 500 samples of basalt collected from 30 regions of ocean ridges. Some were enriched, some were depleted and some were in between.

Early on, the team discovered that the relative proportions of germanium and silicon were lower in melts of recycled crust than in the "virgin" basalt emerging from melted mantle rock. So they developed a new technique that used that ratio to identify a distinct chemical fingerprint for subducted crust.

They devised a precise method of measuring that ratio using a mass spectrometer at the MagLab. Then they crunched the numbers to see how these ratios differed among the 30 regions sampled, expecting to see variations that would shed light on their origins.

At first the analysis revealed nothing of note. Concerned, Yang, a doctoral candidate at the time, consulted with her adviser. Humayun suggested looking at the problem from a wider angle: Rather than compare basalts of different regions, they could compare enriched and depleted basalts.

After quickly re-crunching the data, Yang was thrilled to see clear differences among those groups of basalts.

"I was very happy," recalled Yang, lead author on the paper. "I thought, 'I will be able to graduate!'"

The team had detected lower germanium-to-silicon ratios in enriched basaltsthe chemical fingerprint for recycled crustacross all the regions they sampled, pointing to its marble cake-like spread throughout the mantle. Essentially, they solved the mystery of the vanishing crust.

It was a lesson in missing the forest for the trees, Humayun said.

"Sometimes you're looking too closely, with your nose in the data, and you can't see the patterns," he said. "Then you step back and you go, 'Whoa!'"

Digging deeper into the patterns they found, the scientists unearthed more secrets. Based on the amounts of enriched basalts detected on global mid-ocean ridges, the team was able to calculate that about 5 to 6 percent of the Earth's mantle is made of recycled crust, a figure that sheds new light on the planet's history as a crust factory. Scientists had known the Earth cranks out crust at the rate of a few inches a year. But has it done so consistently throughout its entire history?

Their analysis, Humayun said, indicates that, "The rates of crust formation can't have been radically different from what they are today, which is not what anybody expected."

Explore further The Kerguelen oceanic plateau sheds light on the formation of continents

More information: "Elemental constraints on the amount of recycled crust in the generation of mid-oceanic ridge basalts (MORBs)" Science Advances (2020). Journal information: Science Advances "Elemental constraints on the amount of recycled crust in the generation of mid-oceanic ridge basalts (MORBs)"(2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba2923
Syria faces an unprecedented hunger crisis with over 9.3 million people lacking adequate food while the country's coronavirus outbreak, though apparently controlled for now, could still accelerate, U.N. aid agencies said on Friday.

The World Food Programme (WFP) told a briefing in Geneva that the number of people short of essential foodstuffs had risen by 1.4 million in the past six months.

Food prices had also soared by more than 200% in less than a year due to the freefall in neighbouring Lebanon's economy and COVID-19 lockdown measures in Syria, WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said.

After nine years of armed conflict, more than 90% of Syria's population lives under the $2 per day poverty line and humanitarian needs are growing, Akjemal Magtymova, the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Syria, told a separate briefing.

Fewer than half of Syria's public hospitals are functional, whi1e half of the medical workforce has fled since the conflict began, she said, with those remaining facing a "pervasive threat of kidnapping and targeted killings".

Authorities have reported 248 coronavirus infections, including 9 deaths in government-held areas, while a further 5 cases and one death have been recorded by the Kurdish-led administration in the northeast, WHO figures show.

"The official numbers represent a likely underestimate of the true numbers, and that's not unique to Syria at all," said Richard Brennan, WHO's regional emergency director.

After a slow start, COVID-19 outbreaks in Iraq, Egypt and Turkey accelerated and the same is expected in Syria, he said.

"What we do know in Syria is you don't have an explosive outbreak, you can't cover up, you can't miss an explosive outbreak. The health facilities are not overwhelmed, so this is why we still have an opportunity to scale up our preparedness to blunt and mitigate the worst of the outbreak," Brennan said.

No infections have been reported in the rebel-held northwest, he said. But the heavily-populated region only has one functional laboratory and the risk of the new coronavirus spreading rapidly is high, he added.

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The Jalisco cartel has risen to prominence since splitting off from the Sinaloa Cartel around 2010. It has gained territorial control over much of Mexico and has violently clashed with other cartels during that expansion. But it has seldom attempted to assassinate high-level Mexican officials.
OnePlus is planning to launch a new smartphone soon. The name of that phone will probably be OnePlus Nord, and a landing page for the device is now up and running.

This landing page has surfaced on Amazon India. OnePlus has confirmed that the phone will be coming to India and Europe first, so it makes sense. This basically a confirmation that it will be sold via Amazon India.

The OnePlus Nord is not mentioned by name on this landing page

OnePlus does not mention the device by name on that landing page, not at all. The company is quite cryptic when it comes to its name, as its teasing both consumers and tipsters.

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As far as the landing page itself is concerned, it does come with a Notify Me option. You can leave your email if youd like to be notified on the developments when it comes to the OnePlus Nord.

It is also worth noting that the company is promising a chance to win exciting benefits to those of you who do opt to subscribe. The company may hand out some goodies with a purchase of OnePlus Nord, or perhaps discounts.

On that landing page, youll also see a short message from OnePlus, and a link to an Instagram page. The Instagram page in question is that for the @OnePlusLiteZThing.

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That is the official Instagram page for this device, as the company is in full on teaser mode. If youd like to be in tune with whats going on, subscribing to that Instagram page may be a good idea.

The OnePlus Nord is expected to arrive next month. July 10 has been mentioned as its launch date by tipsters, though OnePlus still did not confirm anything.

A documentary series is also coming

The company did announce that a documentary series is coming, though. The company will show us what it takes to release a new smartphone, as this documentary series is all about the OnePlus Nord.

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That series will come in four parts, and the first will premiere on June 30. So, the last part is expected to land once the OnePlus Nord launches, or after that.

The OnePlus Nord, or whatever it ends up being called, will be a spiritual successor to the OnePlus X. It will be a mid-range smartphone, thats for sure. You can also expect aggressive pricing from the company.

The phone will ship with a fullHD+ 90Hz AMOLED display, and the Snapdragon 765G SoC. It will support 5G connectivity, and chances are 30W fast charging will also be included.
This week, United States President Donald Trump expressed his support for a second stimulus check to be distributed to Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic devastation it brought with it.

Second stimulus check confirmed?

According to Fox Business, the president noted in a previous interview with Scripps personnel Joe St. George that he is planning on sending out a second stimulus check to the American people.

Trump added they were working on passing another stimulus package and noted it would be much more generous than previous attempts.

Allegedly, Trump told his private aides that a second stimulus check would help improve the country's economy and increase his chances of being re-elected in the upcoming elections.

The White House, however, has not decided on a second stimulus payment, and President Trump refused to reveal how much would be included in the next package.

Trump did say that he expects the proposal to garner bipartisan support among politicians and said it would most likely happen within the next few weeks.

The second stimulus checks will be distributed under the proposed HEROES Act, which consists of $3 trillion to be given away to individuals and families, as reported by CBS News.

The previous stimulus check under the CARES Act faced criticism of its exclusion of several citizens. It provided stimulus payments to every dependent under 17 years old, which resulted in millions of seniors and juniors in high school above the age limit, not getting any financial assistance.

Lawsuits are swarming Trump's administration for the Act's exclusion of immigrants and their families from receiving the stimulus payments.

Also Read: Second Stimulus Check Could Be 25% Higher Than the First One

More financial aid

The HEROES Act would also provide more payment to each individual than the CARES Act, with an increase of about 25% from $1,729 to $2,170. The increased amount resulted from more payment being delivered to dependents who were mostly excluded from the first stimulus.

The final decision for the second stimulus check would most likely come in July when Congress returns from its annual vacation. If or when it passes, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a system to handle and distribute the checks properly.

According to CNET, however, it would take weeks for the stimulus check to be delivered to individuals.

While millions of Americans have gotten their first stimulus checks, several more are waiting for the financial support to arrive.

As of June 3, the IRS had distributed 120 million stimulus checks as direct payments to bank accounts, 35 million checks via mail, and four million in prepaid debit cards.

An estimated 35 million American citizens have yet to receive their stimulus checks from the first payments.

The HEROES Act would use a similar eligibility test as the CARES Act, where individuals who earned a specific amount per year would receive payments. It also has a similar phase-out process for different income tiers, and those who make much more than others in a year would not receive payments at all.

Related Article: Fact Check: Did Donald Trump Confirm Second Stimulus Checks are Coming?

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Roads were closed in Glasgow city centre due to a 'serious police incident'. (PA)

Male suspect shot dead by armed officers, police confirm

Six people injured and being treated in hospital, including police officer

Police say incident was contained and wider public is not at risk

Incident not being treated as terrorism

Nicola Sturgeon says reports are truly dreadful and urges people not to share unconfirmed information

A male suspect has been shot dead by police after a stabbing attack in a Glasgow hotel.

Six people were injured, including a police officer who is in a critical condition, during the serious incident at the Park Inn Hotel on West George Street at around 12.50pm on Friday afternoon.

Police Scotland have confirmed the attack is not being treated as terrorism.

All six injured people, including the 42-year-old officer, are being treated in hospital.

Read more: Glasgow stabbing attack: Witnesses describe 'people screaming for help' in city centre

The other victims were men aged 17, 18, 20, 38 and 53.

The individual who was shot by armed police has died. Six other people are in hospital for treatment to their injuries including a police officer, who is in a critical but stable condition, assistant chief constable Steve Johnson said.

We are continuing to deal with the incident on West George Street, Glasgow, and would ask people to avoid the area.

Police and forensic officers at the scene in West George Street, Glasgow. (PA)

We would urge the public not to speculate about this incident or share unconfirmed information on social media.

Read more: Glasgow stabbing attack in city centre hotel is not terrorism, police confirm

Earlier, Johnson said the incident had been contained and reassured the public that police are not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident.

Multiple reports shortly after the stabbing speculated that three people were feared dead.

A man is led away by police officers at the scene in West George Street, Glasgow. (PA)

Confirming the injured officer is male, Scottish Police Federation chairman David Hamilton said in a statement: Whilst there is understandable and considerable public interest in the major incident in Glasgow earlier today, our focus at this time is in assisting the family of our colleague who has been seriously injured.

Story continues

This is obviously an anxious time for them and we ask that they be left alone as their attentions are very obviously directed towards the care of their loved one.

First minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: My thoughts are with all those who have been injured in the incident in Glasgow today. My sincere thanks go to our emergency services.

1/ My thoughts are with all those who have been injured in the incident in Glasgow today.

My sincere thanks go to our emergency services. The injury of a @policescotland officer is a reminder of the great bravery our police officers show every day as they work to keep us safe. https://t.co/qf3cGMLmUy  Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 26, 2020

2/ Please follow @policescotland for official updates. Some of the information that has been circulating is unconfirmed/inaccurate - and the situation is serious enough without that. And lets all keep the injured and their families uppermost in our thoughts  Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 26, 2020

Images on social media showed armed police entering a building and a large number of emergency vehicles, while some reports said witnesses had seen multiple people being helped by paramedics.

Witness Craig Milroy, who saw the aftermath of the incident from a nearby office building, said he saw four people taken away in ambulances.

He told the PA news agency he saw a man lying on the ground with no shoes on, saying He was on the ground with someone holding his side  I dont know if it was a bullet wound, a stab wound, or what it was.

A police officer was among three people reportedly injured in the stabbing. (PA/@JATV_scotland)

Police have reassured the public that the incident is contained and the wider public is not at risk. (PA/@JATV_scotland)

He said the man was one of the four taken away by medics, adding: After that we saw commotion, ambulances further up and we saw armed police all running into the hotel next to the Society Room.

We were still standing outside, after that the police all came down, the riot police and triage team told us to go back in and lock the door.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: Deeply saddened by the terrible incident in Glasgow, my thoughts are with all the victims and their families. Thank you to our brave emergency services who are responding.

Deeply saddened by the terrible incident in Glasgow, my thoughts are with all the victims and their families.



Thank you to our brave emergency services who are responding.  Boris Johnson #StayAlert (@BorisJohnson) June 26, 2020

Deeply alarming reports coming from Glasgow.



Please follow police advice and avoid the area.



Thoughts are with the emergency services as they continue to respond to this incident.  Priti Patel (@pritipatel) June 26, 2020

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: Deeply alarming reports coming from Glasgow. Please follow police advice and avoid the area.

Thoughts are with the emergency services as they continue to respond to this incident.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: Extremely concerning reports about an incident in the West George Street area of Glasgow. My thoughts are with all of those who are involved. Please following the @GreaterGlasgPol advice and avoid the area.

Armed police officers leave the Park Inn hotel in West George Street, Glasgow, after a suspect male was shot by an armed officer. (PA)

Police say the incident has been contained and the area remains safe to the public. (PA)

Scotlands Justice Minister Humza Yousaf urged people not to circulate rumours or hearsay, saying: Police Scotland will share information publically [sic] as and when appropriate.

The 91-room Park Inn Hotel was housing asylum seekers for the Mears Group, which moved them there during the coronavirus lockdown.

Tom Flanagan Kartunnen, of the Radisson Hotel Group, said: We are deeply saddened by the tragic event that happened today on West George Street in Glasgow.

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the hotel has been occupied for temporary housing.

He added: We are working with the hotel owner and all the relevant local authorities, including Police Scotland, to support the investigation.
If approved, Xolair (omalizumab) will provide patients who have severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, not adequately controlled by intranasal corticosteroids, with the first anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody specifically designed to target and block IgE, a key driver in the inflammatory pathway



(omalizumab) will provide patients who have severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, not adequately controlled by intranasal corticosteroids, with the first anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody specifically designed to target and block IgE, a key driver in the inflammatory pathway Decision based on results from the Phase III POLYP 1 and 2 studies, in which omalizumab* significantly reduced the size of nasal polyps (defined by Nasal Polyp Score) and improved nasal congestion (defined by Nasal Congestion Score) compared with placebo* 1





Among secondary endpoints, omalizumab reduced post-nasal drip and runny nose, improved sense of smell, and patients reported an improvement in quality of life measures 1



Omalizumab has a well-established safety record from over 1.3 million patient years of exposure and real-world evidence in severe allergic asthma and chronic spontaneous urticaria1

Basel, June 26, 2020 - Novartis today announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion recommending the approval of Xolair (omalizumab) as an add-on therapy with intranasal corticosteroids (INC) for the treatment of adults (18 years and above) with severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), for whom therapy with INC does not provide adequate disease control. If approved, omalizumab will be the first treatment for nasal polyps specifically targeting and blocking immunoglobulin E (IgE), which helps to reduce the size of nasal polyps (as defined by Nasal Polyps Score; NPS) and improve symptoms. The European Commission reviews the CHMP recommendation and usually delivers its final decision within two months.

"Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps suffer from persistent symptoms, such as nasal congestion, facial pain, loss of sense of smell and taste, difficulty breathing and sleep problems, which can significantly impair their quality of life. Unfortunately, many patients continue to experience symptoms despite standard-of-care, and multiple sinus surgeries," said Professor Philippe Gevaert, Upper Airway Research Laboratory, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium. "Omalizumab is specifically designed to block immunoglobulin E, which is a key driver in the inflammatory pathway; if approved, it will provide patients, for whom intranasal corticosteroids do not provide adequate disease control, with a treatment option that has been shown to improve both symptoms and quality of life."

The CHMP positive opinion is based on results from the Phase III POLYP 1 and 2 studies, which were published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in June 20201. These replicate studies demonstrated that patients treated with omalizumab achieved statistically significant improvements in mean NPS (POLYP 1: -1.08; p<0.0001, POLYP 2: -0.90; p=0.014) and daily Nasal Congestion Score (NCS; POLYP 1: -0.89; p=0.0004, POLYP 2: -0.70; p=0.0017) compared to placebo at Week 241 (co-primary endpoints). All patients received INC (mometasone nasal spray) as background therapy. In both studies, patients treated with omalizumab demonstrated significant improvements in NPS and NCS as early as first assessment (Week 4), compared to placebo1.

Among secondary endpoints, improvements were observed in the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22; a health-related quality of life assessment), the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), the Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS) and in sense of smell. Additionally, reductions in post-nasal drip (posterior rhinorrhea) and runny nose (anterior rhinorrhea) were seen1. In the studies, omalizumab was generally well tolerated and its safety profile was consistent with previous studies1.

"Novartis has a mission to reimagine and advance the care of respiratory patients by developing innovative treatment options that treat the disease, reduce symptoms and improve quality of life," said Linda Armstrong, MD, Respiratory Development Unit Head, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. "This CHMP positive opinion builds on the established efficacy and safety profile of omalizumab, which has over 1.3 million patient years of exposure and the potential to become an additional treatment option in the EU for patients with severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps."

Novartis is committed to bringing omalizumab to patients with severe CRSwNP and additional regulatory filings are currently underway in multiple countries, including the US and Switzerland.

More broadly, Novartis is dedicated to addressing unmet needs in the wider respiratory area, developing innovative medicines for diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and more.

*All patients received INC (mometasone nasal spray) as background therapy.

About Xolair (omalizumab)

Xolair (omalizumab) is the only approved anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody treatment specifically designed to target and block IgE. By reducing free IgE, down-regulating high-affinity IgE receptors and limiting mast cell degranulation, Xolair minimizes the release of mediators throughout the allergic inflammatory cascade.

An injectable prescription medicine, Xolair is approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe or severe persistent allergic asthma in more than 100 countries, including the US since 2003 and the EU since 2005. Xolair is approved for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria in over 90 countries including the EU and for chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU), as it is known in the US and Canada. Xolair has over 1.3 million patient years of exposure. In addition, a liquid formulation of Xolair in pre-filled syringes has been approved in the EU and in more than 20 countries outside of the EU, including Canada, the US, and Australia. The self-administration indication for Xolair in pre-filled syringes was also approved in the EU in 2018, and has since been approved in several other countries, including Australia, Taiwan, Argentina and Brazil. In the US, Novartis and Genentech, Inc. work together to develop and co-promote Xolair. Outside of the US, Novartis markets Xolair and records all sales and related costs.

If approved, Xolair will be indicated as an add-on therapy with intranasal corticosteroids (INC) for the treatment of adults (18 years and above) with severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, for whom therapy with INC does not provide adequate disease control; the first approval in the world for omalizumab in this indication.

About POLYP 1 and POLYP 21

POLYP 1 and POLYP 2 are replicate Phase III studies designed to determine the efficacy and safety of omalizumab compared with placebo in adult patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) who have had an inadequate response to daily intranasal corticosteroid (INC) therapy. All patients received INC (mometasone nasal spray) as background therapy. Both trials were randomized, multicenter, double-blind and placebo-controlled. POLYP 1 involved 138 patients and POLYP 2 involved 127 patients, with and without a history of surgery or prior use of systemic corticosteroids. The co-primary endpoints for both trials were change from baseline in average daily Nasal Congestion Score (NCS), and change from baseline in Nasal Polyp Score (NPS) at Week 24. Patients in the studies were administered either omalizumab or placebo by subcutaneous injection every 2-4 weeks.

Secondary endpoints included change from baseline at Week 24 in Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22), University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), mean daily sense of smell, post-nasal drip, runny nose, and Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS); change from baseline at Week 16 in NPS and NCS; and percentage of patients requiring rescue therapy (systemic corticosteroids for =3 consecutive days and/or nasal polypectomy) by Week 24. Reduction in need for surgery through Week 24 was predefined as patients achieving NPS of =4 (=2 for each nostril) and at least minimal clinically important difference improvement (=8.9 points) in SNOT-22. The percentage of patients with comorbid asthma demonstrating minimal clinically important difference improvement (=0.5 points) in Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) through Week 24 was also assessed.

Exploratory endpoints included percentage of patients in the pooled population achieving =2-point and =1-point improvement in NPS and =1-point improvement in NCS. Adverse events (AEs) were assessed for severity and potential causal relationship to the study drug. Patients were monitored to Week 28 as safety follow-up.

About Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps (CRSwNP)

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) impacts up to 4% of people worldwide. It is a potentially debilitating condition in adults that is characterized by inflammation of the nose and paranasal sinuses with the presence of benign inflammatory polyps (nasal polyps) on the lining of the nasal sinuses or nasal cavity, which can block normal airflow2-4. It is possible to have a single polyp or several, and the size of the polyps can vary from microscopic to several centimeters5,6.

Symptoms can include nasal blockage/obstruction, nasal congestion, nasal discharge, facial pain/pressure and reduction in, or loss of, sense of smell2,3. CRSwNP is diagnosed by physical examination with endoscopy. The condition can be associated with asthma, cystic fibrosis and aspirin sensitivity7. It is also associated with significant morbidity and decreased health-related quality of life, with quality of life impairment8-13. Patients with CRSwNP experience significantly lower health-related quality of life than the general population, with a greater impact for patients with more severe disease, other conditions (comorbidities), or whose CRSwNP has not responded to treatment (refractory disease)11.

Currently, after standard-of-care, surgery and systemic steroids are the main treatments for this disease all over the world. Many patients choose them; however, they are often not effective in controlling chronic symptoms over time, due to nasal polyps regrowth. After sinus surgery, nasal polyps recur in up to 80% of people, with approximately 40% requiring at least one additional surgery8. Approximately 80% of people remain uncontrolled 3-5 years after sinus surgery14.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "may," "could," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "seek," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 109,000 people of more than 145 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at

https://www.novartis.com (https://www.novartis.com).

Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at https://twitter.com/novartisnews (https://twitter.com/novartisnews)

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For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com (mailto:media.relations@novartis.com)

References

1. Gevaert P, et al. Efficacy and safety of omalizumab in nasal polyposis: two randomized phase III trials. J Allergy and Clin Immunol 2020; In Press Journal Pre-Proof. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2020.05.032.

2. Stevens W, et al. Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2016;4(4):565-572.

3. Newton JR and Ah-See KW. A review of nasal polyposis. Ther Clin Risk Manag 2008;4(2):507-512.

4. Bachert C. Evidence-based management of nasal polyposis by intranasal corticosteroids: from the cause to the clinic. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2011;155:309-321.

5. Nasal Polyps. Available at: https://patient.info/ears-nose-throat-mouth/nasal-polyps-leaflet (https://patient.info/ears-nose-throat-mouth/nasal-polyps-leaflet). Accessed June 2020

6. Could nasal polyps be the cause of your stuffy nose. Available at: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/articles-and-answers/ask-the-expert/stuffy-nose-nasal-polyps (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/articles-and-answers/ask-the-expert/stuffy-nose-nasal-polyps). Last accessed June 2020.

7. World Allergy Organization. Nasal Polyposis: A Multifactorial disease. Available at: https://www.worldallergy.org/educational_programs/world_allergy_forum/sydney/pawankar.php (https://www.worldallergy.org/educational_programs/world_allergy_forum/sydney/pawankar.php). Last accessed June 2020.

8. Bachert C, et al. Current and future treatment options for adult chronic rhinosinusitis: focus on nasal polyposis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2015;136:1431-1440.

9. Erskine S, et al. A cross sectional analysis of a case-control study about quality of life in CRS in the UK; a comparison between CRS subtypes. Rhinology 2016;54:311-315.

10. Hoehle L, et al. Symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis differentially impact general health-related quality of life. Rhinology 2016;54:316-322.

11. Khan A, et al. The GALEN rhinosinusitis cohort: chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps affects health-related quality of life. Rhinology 2019;57:343-351.

12. Naclerio R, et al. Clinical research needs for the management of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps in the new era of biologics. A National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases workshop. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2020;8(5):1532-1549.e1. doi:10.1016/j.jaip.2020.02.023.

13. Ye Z, et al. A head-to-head comparison of EQ-5D-5 L and SF-6D in Chinese patients with low back pain. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2019;17:57.

14. van der Veen J, et al. Real-life study showing uncontrolled rhinosinusitis after sinus surgery in a tertiary referral centre. Allergy. 2017;72(2):282-290. doi:10.1111/all.12983.

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Novartis Media Relations E-mail: media.relations@novartis.com (mailto:media.relations@novartis.com) Peter Zuest Phil McNamara Novartis Global External Communications Global Head, Respiratory Communications +41 79 899 9812 (mobile) +41 79 510 8756 (mobile) peter.zuest@novartis.com (mailto:peter.zuest@novartis.com) philip.mcnamara@novartis.com (mailto:philip.mcnamara@novartis.com) Eric Althoff Novartis US External Communications +1 646 438 4335 eric.althoff@novartis.com (mailto:eric.althoff@novartis.com) Novartis Investor Relations Central investor relations line: +41 61 324 7944 E-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com (mailto:investor.relations@novartis.com)




Back in August 2018, Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex attended a benefit performance at Londons Victoria Palace Theatre of Hamilton, the multi-award-winning musical about the American revolutionary Alexander Hamilton.

It was in aid of Harrys charity Sentebale, which helps young people with HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.

After the performance, Harry took to the stage himself to join the cast and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the show and took the title role in the original Broadway production.

Now two years later, with the film version of the musical about to hit TV screens, Lin-Manuel says he still pinches himself at the memory.

Lin-Manuel Miranda who lives in New York, reflected on the success of his stage production Hamilton, as a live recording of the Broadway show is set to be released on Disney+. Pictured: Original cast members (from left) Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos and Lin-Manuel Miranda

I thought I was playing it so cool, he laughs when we catch up by video link from his home in Washington Heights, New York.

But I look at pictures from that night and you can see how stressed out I am. I have this rictus look of, Oh my God! It was surreal, because Harrys sixth great-grandfather, George III, is a character in the show.

Harry and the duchess were fans of the show, which took away some of the surrealness.

'Wed arranged that hed come up to the stage afterwards and hed joked about singing Youll Be Back [the song King George sings in the show to the rebelling American colonies], and Id said, If youd like to do that Ill write you some lyrics. As it was, he just sang the first two notes, which was all it needed because there was this immediate deafening noise of cheers.

Audiences will soon be able to hear not only the whole song, but the now-legendary production itself, which won 11 Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Fusing hip-hop, R&B, pop and traditional showtunes, it was a sensation on Broadway when it opened in 2015 and has since been a sell-out in London.

This Friday, 3 July, Disney+ will release Hamilton the film, a live recording of the Broadway production featuring the original cast, including Lin-Manuel.

The idea of filming the staged version came from Lin-Manuels frustration that rocketing theatre ticket prices put it out of the reach of most people.

We were strapped to a rocket ship that first year in terms of the success of the show  and by success I mean that everyone who saw the show told five other people about it and it became very difficult to get a ticket.

Lin-Manuel Miranda explained the idea of filming the stage production came from his frustrations that most people were being priced out of theatre tickets. Pictured: The Sussexes with Lin-Manuel and his wife

'I knew something was going on when I got an email from the late, great Aretha Franklin asking me for tickets! I dont know how she got my email address, but I was thrilled to get the tickets for her.

Nevertheless, he remained aware that most potential audience members were not so fortunate as Aretha.

We struggled with accessibility  we made the two front rows $10 a ticket via lottery, and every time we put out inexpensive tickets people would buy them up and sell them for way more. We realised we had to film this moment while the principal cast were all there. And we did.

We were strapped to a rocket ship of success

Its hard to plan a movie shoot while youre doing eight performances a week, but we were able to pull it together literally a week before I left the show. We shot the film at the end of June 2016, and many of the original cast left the show the next weekend.

He was inspired to write the show by Ron Chernows 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton  the story of a poor boy born out of wedlock on a Caribbean island who came to America and rose to prominence in the newly founded American government, only to be killed in a duel with his rival and former friend, Vice President Aaron Burr.

Lin-Manuel, who is mostly of Puerto Rican descent, revealed that he found what he loved to do very early on because his high school had a theatre group. Pictured: Jonathan Groff as George III in Hamilton

Its about a young man who came from incredibly tough origins and arrived on the American mainland just as the Revolutionary War was starting.

'Its an immigrant narrative, about someone who comes here from somewhere else and writes his way out of poverty and into the formation of his country. Its as much of this guys life as I can pack into two and a half hours.

Famously, except for a cameo by King George III, the cast of the play is predominantly non-white.

The reason for that, says Lin-Manuel, who is mostly of Puerto Rican descent, was partly to bring the audiences attention to the issue of slavery, and partly for the pragmatic reason of providing work for his fellow non-Caucasian actors.

Ive been making up my own songs since I was a child, and had a stroke of luck in high school because we had a theatre group that put on plays directed by students so I found what I loved to do very early on.

'But after I left school the real world hit. In high school you can play lots of different parts, but out in the world if I wanted to act in musical theatre the only parts were Bernardo in West Side Story and Paul in A Chorus Line.

The father-of-two claims Hamilton has been successful because he's married to a person who doesn't like musicals all that much. Pictured: Renee Elise Goldsberry won a Tony in the role of feisty Angelica, Hamiltons sister-in-law

So I started to create the kind of musicals I didnt see when I was growing up, to provide a platform for black artists and brown artists and artists of colour to shine. It came from a desire to be in the world of musical theatre and not play Bernardo.

Whats interesting with Hamilton is people say its an American show because it deals with American history, but its also a UK show because it deals with our relationship.

Off screen Lin-Manuel has two children with his high school sweetheart Vanessa Nadal who, he says, is nothing to do with the theatre  shes a lawyer.

I often tell people that the secret of Hamiltons success is that Im married to a person who doesnt like musicals all that much. She gets bored.

'Hamilton moves like a freight train and the reason for that is that Im trying to impress my wife!

Hamilton premieres on Disney+ on Friday, visit disneyplus.com.
BELIZE CITY, Belize, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, the Prime Minister of Belize made the official announcement that Belize's international airport (BZE), the Philip Goldson International Airport will be opened on August 15, 2020, as part of the country's five-phase re-opening strategy for tourism. The opening of the international airport will kick-off Belize's third phase of re-opening, allowing for further travel relaxation and open entry for chartered flights, private aviation and limited re-opening of international leisure travel with approved hotels only.

Enhanced health and safety protocols for hotels were also approved by the Honourable Jose Manuel Heredia, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, which serve as the foundation for the destination's newest "Tourism Gold Standard" Recognition Program for hotels, restaurants and tour operators. This 9-point program seeks to enhance the tourism industry's health and safety standards by adapting new behaviors and procedures to ensure both employees and travellers are confident in the cleanliness and safety of Belize's tourism product. Some of these new standards include:

Hotels

Social distancing and the use of face masks while in public spaces



Online check-in/out, contactless payment systems, and automated ordering/booking systems



Hand sanitizing stations across the property



Enhanced room cleaning and increase sanitization of public spaces and high touch surfaces



Daily health checks for guests and employees



Designated 'Isolation/Quarantine rooms' for suspected Covid-19 cases and action plans for handling suspected employees or guests

Tours, Archaeological Sites & National Parks

New capacity restrictions for all tourism sites to ensure social distancing can be maintained



Smaller tour groups to provide a more intimate tour experience



Sites and Parks to manage tours by appointment to limit the number of persons on site



Enhanced sanitization of tour equipment

Although limited in scope, this phased approach allows for the industry to re-open responsibly, to test new entry protocols, and to allow for adjustments as necessary to ensure the wellbeing of Belizeans and visitors. As the country re-opens for travel, Belize wants to assure travellers and residents that hotels and restaurants will be cleaner and safer than ever before.

The Travel Journey

Travelers to Belize will be comforted to know that based on proper management and containment efforts applied during the height of the pandemic, Belize was able to enjoy over 50 days of a Covid-19 free environment. Ongoing efforts will offer vacation opportunities with minimal risk of contracting Covid-19 while in Belize. In addition, with Belize having such low population density and being just a short flight away from most major US cities, the destination is well poised for post-Covid-19 travel.

All travelers to Belize will be required to adhere to health and safety measures implemented by the Government of Belize (GOB) including social distancing, hand sanitization, proper hygiene and the wearing of face masks in public spaces.

Pre-Travel Arrangements

All passengers travelling to Belize will be required to download the Belize Health App and complete the required information prior to boarding the flight to Belize. A QR code with a unique ID number will be returned to the passenger, and will be used for contact tracing while in Belize . Passengers are encouraged to take a Covid PCR test within 72 hours of travel to Belize .

As a part of the pre-travel process, the passenger should start by booking their flight and hotel. Opening of hotels will be in a phased approach, and the first grouping of hotels that will be allowed to open include properties that:

Have achieved the Tourism Gold Standard Certificate of Recognition, and Provide full service to guests. This means that these hotels are able to provide all amenities, so as to contain the guest on the property, and minimize opportunities for guest interaction within the local community. These amenities include having transportation to offer pick-up/drop-off services from the airport; access to a restaurant on property; have a pool or access to beach front; and be able to provide isolated tours, limited to guests of the property only.

Passengers are therefore encouraged to book Gold Standard approved hotels. A list of the Gold Standard approved hotels will be available at www.travelbelize.org in the coming weeks.

Entry Requirements

Passengers that provide certification of a negative test result from a Covid-19 PCR test done within 72 hours of travel, will be allowed immediate entry into Belize via a 'fast track' lane. Passengers that do not provide a negative Covid-19 test, must test upon arrival in Belize , at the passenger's expense. A negative test result will allow entry into Belize . Passengers who test positive for Covid-19 at the Belize International Airport will be placed in mandatory quarantine for a minimum period of fourteen (14) days at the passenger's expense.

All visitors to Belize will be required to:

Wear a mask during the entire landing, deplaning and arrival process, and while inside the airport.

Undergo temperature checks using non-contact digital infrared thermometers or Thermal Imaging Cameras.

Adhere to social distancing guidelines in all queues for health checks, immigration and customs inspections.

Follow and respond to the comprehensive, pro-active, contact tracing guidelines to facilitate appropriate and rapid response from health officials, should Covid-19 symptoms develop.

Utilize the sanitizing stations to sanitize hands frequently and facilitate other health screening requirements on arrival.

At the Airport

The Philip Goldson International Airport (PGIA) has implemented enhanced cleaning and sanitization protocols. These include:

Installation of barriers and sneeze guards between passengers and Immigration & Customs officers

Hand sanitizing stations throughout the terminal building to assist with proper hand hygiene

Floor markers placed 6 feet apart to promote social distancing and assist passengers in the queuing process

Sanitization of passenger luggage prior to transfer into the terminal building.

Departure

Residents and visitors departing from Belize will also see new enhanced health and safety measures implemented. Some of these new measures include:

Limiting entry into the terminal building to only ticketed passengers

Mandatory use of face masks at all times while in the terminal building

Safety barriers installed at check-in counters and the Immigration area

Social distancing to protect passengers

Preparation for the return of visitation via land borders and cruising are still underway and re-opening plans will be announced at a later date. The Government of Belize, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Tourism & Civil Aviation, and the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) continue to actively monitor this very fluid situation.

For the official Government Press Release please click here. To access the detailed health and safety protocols, we invite you to visit: https://belizetourismboard.org/belize-covid-19-update-for-travellers/. For questions or concerns, contact the Belize Tourism Board at [email protected]

SOURCE Belize Tourism Board

Related Links

http://www.travelbelize.org


In the same week that Chinese and Indian soldiers engaged in a deadly brawl, one of Chinas submarines cruised through the waters near Japan, prompting a scramble of aircraft and ships to track its furtive movements. Chinese fighter jets and at least one bomber buzzed Taiwans territorial airspace almost daily.

With the world distracted by the coronavirus pandemic, Chinas military has encroached upon its neighbors territories on several fronts throughout the spring and now into summer, flexing its military might in ways that have raised alarms across Asia and in Washington.

Chinas military assertiveness reflects a growing sense of confidence and capability, but also one of confrontation, particularly with the United States over the pandemic, the fate of Hong Kong and other issues that China considers central to its sovereignty and national pride.

China claims all of its recent operations are defensive, but each increases the risk of a military clash, whether intended or not. That appears to be what happened on the night of June 15, when Chinese and Indian soldiers fought along their disputed border in the Himalayas.
Read this weeks overview of culture and travel stories from Slovakia.

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Your locality: Bratislava Weather forecast for today 07:00 -2  Risk of collision: 15% 10:00 0  Risk of collision: 15%

A new free-of-charge beach, Tyrsak, has been opened in Bratislava. The beach was created on the previously unused space between Theatre Arena and the Old Bridge. People can play beach volleyball for free and enjoy some drinks and food there. Theres also a childrens zone. DJ Phonotic will mix soul, funk and disco music at the beach on Friday, June 26.

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TRAVEL

Visitors to Ruzomberok may discover historic, natural and culture localities via a free touristic passport. If they manage to collect at least five passport stamps, theyll receive a gift.

The meadowy hill reaching 970m in height on the Slovak-Moravian border is the highest peak of the White Carpathians. The summit is decorated with the cult television and radio broadcaster and a memorial stone.

Bohemia is planning five educational cruises a day. Travellers will learn the history of the water dam and water travel in Domasa.

The Bohemia ship launches on the Domasa water dam in Kvakovce on June 15, 2020 (Source: TASR)

The first Czechoslovak president, T. G. Masaryk, spent every summer at the remarkable house when he was in power. Other presidents stayed there as well, the last being A. Zapotocky in 1951.

More information about travelling in Slovakia

Please see our Please see our Spectacular Slovakia travel guide

SPECTACULAR SLOVAKIA PODCAST

Test your knowledge of Slovak regions in the new quizcast episode, which is part of our Spectacular Slovakia podcast series. How many questions can you and your friends get right? Click here to listen >>

HISTORY CALENDAR

The nationwide 1955 Spartakiad is held in Prague (Source: TASR)

The first national Spartakiad, the largest gymnastics event in the communist Czechoslovak Republic, took place on June 23, 1955. A total of 16,200 young amateur gymnasts from all over the country showcased their physical capabilities at the Strahov Stadium in Prague following several weeks of training in their hometowns. The Spartakiad, held every five years, was a product of the Soviet Union to oppose the Olympics.

WEEKEND READS

The Slovak National Gallery is the biggest and most important gallery in Slovakia, but it does not house all of the nations notable artwork. Pay a visit to local and regional galleries too.

Physicist Peter Skyba has been named Slovakias Scientist of 2019 for his study of the properties of substances at ultra-low temperatures. He claims low-temperature physics will become even more vital in our lives than it is nowadays.

 The research in the field of low-temperature physics in Slovakia is done on a European scale. It would therefore be advantageous for the state to support this.  Physicist Peter Skyba

Viktor Kubals 1977 film, Zbojnik Jurko, became the first Slovak animated feature. He offered a different perspective on Janosik - no dialogue and a bag full of gags.

Jurko with other outlaws, including Hrajnoha (centre) and Zbojnicek (Source: Kinoklub.sk)

4| IN SHORT: New archaeological findings in Zvolen

The reconstruction of Sturs Park in the centre of Zvolen revealed bases of the cemetery wall under the pavement while a well was discovered nearby. Archaeologists also expected to find the remains of an old middle school. However, they have not had any luck so far.

The next Spectacular Slovakia Weekly will be published on July 3, 2020.

Read last week's roundup.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 01:15:19|Editor: huaxia

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The White House is seen in Washington D.C., the United States, on May 21, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

"These threats constitute improper interference with the independence of the ICC and could also have potential adverse impacts on human rights defenders, civil society organizations and victims' representatives."

GENEVA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government's decision to sanction staff of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a direct attack on the institution's judicial independence and could undermine victims' access to justice, a group of UN human rights experts said Thursday.

In a media statement, the dozen or so experts said that the use of unilateral sanctions against international judges and international civil servants constitutes a clear violation not only of their privileges and immunities, but also of a broad spectrum of rights of the targeted individuals.

"These threats constitute improper interference with the independence of the ICC and could also have potential adverse impacts on human rights defenders, civil society organizations and victims' representatives," the statement said.

On June 11, U.S. President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13928 on Blocking Property of Certain Persons Associated with the International Criminal Court.

The U.S. government declared it would revoke or deny visas to members of the ICC involved in investigations against U.S. troops in Afghanistan or elsewhere, and sanction any person "directly engaged in any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any United States personnel without the consent of the United States."

The move is in response to the ICC Appeals Chamber's decision in March, which authorized a probe of alleged war crimes in Afghanistan committed by all sides in the conflict, including American forces.

Experts signing Thursday's media statement include Diego Garcia-Sayan, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, and Alena Douhan, UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights. 
Whats New: Chinese Politburo member Yang Jiechi had a constructive dialogue with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Hawaii Wednesday. Both sides agreed to take action to implement in earnest the consensus reached by their leaders and to maintain contact and communication, Chinas official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The two sides had in-depth exchanges on Sino-U.S. relations as well as global and regional issues of mutual concern, and fully expounded their respective stances, Xinhua said, without elaborating on details.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that Pompeo stressed important American interests and the need for fully-reciprocal dealings between the two nations across commercial, security, and diplomatic interactions. The statement added that Pompeo also stressed the need for full transparency and information sharing amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The background: The meeting came amid escalating U.S.-China tensions over a series of issues including the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart President Donald Trump had agreed to work together to combat Covid-19 during a phone call this March. According to a statement issued by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time Trump said the U.S. would focus on working with China to fight the outbreak without interference. However, since then relationships have deteriorated over the pandemic.

Yang and Pompeo,had exchanged views on the phone at least three times this year before their meeting, in April, March and January. The last time they held face-to-face talks was in New York last August. The two also met in 2018s U.S.-China Diplomatic Security Dialogue in Washington, a high-level bilateral dialogue mechanism launched in 2017, co-chaired by the two sides top diplomats and defense officials. The dialogue was suspended last year.

Contact editor Marcus Ryder (marcusryder@caixin.com)
John Bolton, the former White House national security adviser for the Trump administration, had a one-on-one interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on June 24.

Bolton said that he does not have confidence in President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and that the President turned a blind eye when the pandemic started because he did not want to hear any bad news from his friend, Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Exposing Trump

Bolton was a guest in Wolf Blitzer's "The Situation Room" and he said that he thinks there is an empty chair in the Oval Office because Trump did not want to hear any bad news about Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He added that Trump did not want to hear about the potential impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy of the United States and its possible effect on his reelection this November.

Bolton told Blitzer that Trump turned a blind eye to all of the early signs of the pandemic, and it affected the country's ability to deal with the situation.

Blitzer asked Bolton if he had confidence in President Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and he said he does not. Bolton responded that he is afraid that the erratic nature of the policies that had evolved since January has characterized the country's response.

Medical experts began warning the public and the Trump administration about the pandemic and its possible consequences if no action is taken. Bolton said that in a country like the United States, the state and local authorities should have a massive role, but at the federal level, the response to the pandemic has not been consistent.

Also Read: Appeals Court Panel Orders to Dismiss Michael Flynn's Case

Bolton's interview with CNN is part of his promotion for his tell-all book titled "The Room Where it Happened." Bolton and the Trump administration were in a legal battle for months because of the contents of the book in which the Trump administration described as confidential, as reported by CNN.

However, just last week, a judge denied the Trump administration's request to stop the publication of the book. When Blitzer asked Bolton if he was prepared to go to jail because he allegedly breached non-disclosure agreements and that he might face criminal charges for exposing classified information connected to national security, Bolton said that he does not see any reason why he would be locked up.

Trump is not a racist

Blitzer asked Bolton if Trump is a racist, for the President has a history of saying racist remarks such as saying that Mexicans are "rapists" and that African countries are "sh*tholes", but Bolton said that he does not think so. Bolton said that Trump is accused of being insensitive, but not racist.

Bolton also confessed that he had his resignation letter ready the whole time that he was working for Trump. He admitted that he knew what the public said about Trump before he took the role of the national security adviser, and he only accepted the position because he believed he can make it work. He added that he did his best and that everything that happened during his stay in the White House is written in his book.

Related Article: Federal Judge Denies Trump's Attempt to Block Bolton's Tell-All Book

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Once again the taps have gone dry in Texas bars. On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered bars closed, restarting a ticking clock for bar owner Tony Coss, who knows its a matter of time before the money runs out for him and his staff.

We just issued our last paycheck on the 20th. Now we dont have any more money to give them, and theyll have to rely on unemployment, said Coss, who owns three bars in San Antonio. I dont know how long this is going to last. Were hoping its only a couple weeks.

Coss, who owns La Roca Cantina downtown, Boxcar Bar on the near East Side and The Green Lantern on the far North Side, had already closed La Roca and The Green Lantern after staffers tested positive for COVID-19. Boxcar, his only remaining source of revenue, had a large brunch event planned Saturday that would have helped cover some of the bills. Now, Coss will have to cancel.

Abbott ordered Texas bars to close by noon Friday and restaurants to scale back to 50 percent capacity starting Monday. The shutdowns likely will doom many bars that had been open for less than a month. Bars were allowed to reopen May 22 at 25 percent capacity, but many waited until the capacity cap was raised to 50 percent June 12.

Coss isnt immediately concerned that hell have to close his bars for good, but the pressure is mounting. The federal governments Paycheck Protection Program ends Tuesday, and the federal CARES Act expires July 31. Both helped Coss and his crew stay afloat.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio restaurants still may not survive coronavirus shutdowns

Weve exhausted our PPP loan money, and bills are still due, Coss said. We have some money put away. Worst case scenario, if we have to pay all the bills in full and dont get any assistance, we can probably keep the businesses alive for six months. After that, its bankruptcy.

As bars and restaurants face closures andstaff reductions, the status of unemployment benefits under the CARES Act is up in the air as well. Workers who had been receiving $600 a week in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation on top of their state benefits will see those benefits end July 31 unless Congress extends the payments. So far, those efforts are at a standstill.

The shutdown was particularly shocking for bartender Vicki Cox, a 20-year veteran of the industry. When she heard the news, she figured her traditional 10 a.m. Friday shift would be canceled at Sir Winstons Pub, a dive bar on San Antonios Northeast Side.

She was told to come in and sling a few last drinks.

Nobody saw this coming, Cox said. I got out of the shower and heard the news. I didnt know if I was supposed to come in to work or not. Its just a horrible situation all the way around  scary not to know if you or the bar will be able to pay the bills from here on out.

Staff at Sir Winstons were obeying operating and distancing rules imposed by the state. Customers were instructed to sanitize their hands upon entry and wear masks when not seated. Chairs were properly distanced.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio bars reopen after 2-month coronavirus shutdown

We did everything that was instructed for us to do, Cox said. Thats the part thats really frustrating. Nobody could point a finger at us and say that were irresponsible.

Seated on two stools and listening to a backdrop of 1980s music, Trey Dinn and Anthony Robertson sipped their last few drinks as the clock counted down to noon. Dinn said bars were an easy target for shut-down, but admitted that some of them didnt act as responsibly as they could have.

You kept seeing young people that werent following the guidelines, and unfortunately, the bars are the ones that are going to take the hit on that, Dinn said. Bars are an easy target, because you can say that they are the least essential business. Maybe thats true, but you cant tell me that a lot of them are not going to go away forever, because they have to be able to pay the bills.

Abbotts latest order allows establishments that receive more than 51% of their gross receipts from the sale of alcoholic beverages to continue offering delivery and takeout service under previously established guidelines. To-go alcohol purchases must come in manufacturer-sealed containers and accompany a food order. That works for restaurants with a bar program, but hangs alcohol-only establishments out to dry.

Breweries with canning capability had already grown accustomed to operating as takeout businesses and were ready for the shift. Black Laboratory Brewing, which recently opened in the Hackberry Market on San Antonios near East Side, took to Facebook Friday morning to explain its plans.

If you havent heard yet, we are being ordered to shut down and operate as to go only as of noon today. Dont worry though! Youre (sic) awesome staff at Black Laboratory had a feeling this might happen so we stocked up our cooler with cans to go, the post read. All of our beers are available in crowlers to go, even our latest release Galaxy Space Force.

On ExpressNews.com: What its like to eat out on San Antonio restaurants reopening day

A number of San Antonio bars and restaurants already had closed temporarily over the last few weeks in response to a spike in COVID-19 infections. They include Mi Tierra Cafe and Bakery, Chicken N Pickle, R&J Saloon San Antonio, The SandBox and Hills and Dales Ice House.

Some closed to protect their staffs and customers from getting sick, including the Monte Vista Italian restaurant Barbaro and the Southtown Asian cafe Hot Joy, both owned by restaurateur Chad Carey.

On Facebook, Carey told customers, Given the alarming local data from last week, theres simply too much risk to our employees and to our customers to continue to serve you.

Patrick Richardson, whose restaurants include three Silo properties, two Nosh locations and two La Fogata operations, said the rollback to 50 percent capacity is in sync with customer demand.

Weve been staying around 50 percent, because the public is dictating that more than government regulation, he said. Although patio business has been strong at the two La Fogatas and Silo Oyster Terrace, the restaurants arent filling up beyond that.

Customers have been keeping their distance in the dining rooms, he said, and though masks were uncommon in the early days, now he doesnt even have to prompt people to put them on. Theyre complying on their own.

Richard Peacock, who owns the burger joint Chris Madrids and the Alamo Heights Mexican favorite Paloma Blanca, said the reduction wont affect his business as severely as others.

We are fortunate in that both restaurants seat a large number of people inside and also have large patios, he said. I am more concerned with those who have smaller restaurants. They are going to be more substantially affected, unfortunately, especially if they have no patio.

On ExpressNews.com: Meat price spikes mean big business for San Antonio-area ranchers

Emily Williams Knight, president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association, said the industry supports the move in the name of public health, but its not sustainable.

Any business cant cut its capacity in half, She said. More than 70 percent of restaurants in a recent survey said they wont even break even this year.

At Lucy Coopers Texas Ice House on the North Side, owner Braunda Smith resisted the urge to reopen until she was able to operate at 50 percent capacity starting June 12, knowing she wouldnt be able to turn a profit. She restocked her bar with food and beverages and estimates that it cost her $20,000 to turn the lights back on and bring back her staff.

Two weeks later, the lights are off again.

This is devastating news for us, Smith said. I thought we had one shot at doing this reopening the right way, and we did everything in our power to do it the right way.

Not all bars are the same, Smith added. We are set up the same as a Twin Peaks or a Hooter model  the only difference is that we decided to cater to only a 21-and-over crowd. Anybody that sees our property would see that we were in full compliance with the orders.

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
Two workers at a coffee dispenser warehouse in Springfield, Ill., were fatally shot and another critically wounded after a co-worker opened fire on Friday morning, the authorities said.

The gunman fled and was found dead in his vehicle more than two hours later, the Springfield police chief, Kenny Winslow, said at a news conference.

The chief identified the gunman as Michael L. Collins, 48, who was employed at the warehouse, which is run by Bunn-O-Matic. He said Mr. Collins had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that two handguns were found in his vehicle in Morgan County, which is about 35 miles west of Springfield.

The authorities said at a Friday evening news conference that they were still investigating a motive for the shooting, which was reported a little after 11 a.m. local time.
Xiaomi India MD Manu Kumar Jain doesn't believe that anti-China sentiment will have a major impact on the company

Xiaomi has started covering the branding of its retail store in India with Made in India banners. The company, as per reports, has also asked the employees at its retail stores to not wear uniforms fearing miscreants might try to damage the stores or attack employees amid the growing anti-China sentiment in the country.

The development comes as the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) wrote a letter to Chinese retailers in the country including Oppo, Motorola, Lenovo, OnePlus, Realme and Vivo to tone down their branding in face of potential violence by the people. Mi (Xiaomi) has started putting 'Made in India' banners in white colour on its boards," Arvinder Khurana, National President, AIMRA, said in a statement to IANS.

We are requesting that if tomorrow some boards get damaged, the security deposit of retailers should not be forfeited or they should not be made to pay for it," he added.

Meanwhile, Xiaomi India MD Manu Kumar Jain in a series of tweets highlighted the Indian-ness of the company. Super proud to share that majority of our TVs are #MadeInIndia! Flag of India...We employ thousands of team members across our #India factories. Factory #ProudIndian, he wrote in one tweet.

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Get yours via https://t.co/pMj1r73VxA & @amazonIN.#Xiaomi  pic.twitter.com/6hWG5YqN33  Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) June 24, 2020

Jain in an interview with CNBC-TV18 had also said that he didnt expect the present circumstances to have a major impact on the company. We are more indian than any of them because all our phones are made in india, most of our TVs are made in india, our power banks are made in india. And not just made in india but even the components are locally sourced, he said.
(TNS)  A citizen group has filed a lawsuit alleging the city of Vallejo violated state law when the city council authorized the purchase of a cell site simulator in March.Oakland Privacy alleges Vallejo failed to approve a usage policy for the device, and the policy posted to citys website days after the purchase is inadequate because it allows use of the device without a warrant in the event of any threat of bodily injury without meeting the laws requirement that the bodily injury be serious, and the policy does not indicate by job title the personnel authorized to use the device and access the data from it, according to a news release from the group.The group is asking the court to issue an injunction blocking the citys purchase of the equipment until the council approves a usage and privacy policy which complies with state law.The council unanimously agreed on March 24 to spend $766,018 with KeyW Corporation for the cellular site simulator, also known as a stingray. That cost includes a purchase of a vehicle and installation of the equipment inside the new vehicle.By violating state law, the City of Vallejo deprived the citizens of Vallejo of the ability to review and comment on the Citys cell site simulator policy, which itself was not in compliance with California state law, said Mike Katz-Lacabe, research director for Oakland Privacy, in the same news release.Vallejo spokeswoman Christina Lee issued a statement Wednesday night stating that the city attorneys office was still evaluating the claim.However, the City disagrees with their position that the adoption of the Citys usage policy violates the law, Lee told the Times-Herald. In fact, it fully complies with state law. Unfortunately, thats all we can comment on because it is an ongoing litigation matter.The device masquerades as a cell tower as all cell phones actively ping a cell tower allowing the user to text, call, or use their data. When deployed, a simulator acts as a cell tower, diverting cell signals to the simulator.In a report to the council, police staff said the simulator would only capture international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) numbers and not telephone numbers. IMSI are unique 15-digit numbers assigned to a SIM card within a cell phone.Vallejo also signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with KeyW Corporation restricting information about the technical capabilities of the device, group officials said. They also said the NDA requires the corporation be notified prior to the fulfillment of a public records request about the device and its possible use.As a long time resident and business-owner, my experience is the City of Vallejo and the Vallejo Police Department regularly disregard the laws around transparency and civic engagement, said plaintiff Dan Rubins in the same news release. Now, during a severe health and economic crisis that is already causing a $12M budget shortfall, they want to spend almost $1M to buy a powerful and unnecessary surveillance device while they write its use policy in secret. Their actions flout transparency and procurement regulations that give people a forum to raise these issues that impact all of our civil liberties.City staff previously said funding for the equipment will come from three different sources: About $400,000 from the citys general fund, $204,000 from various law enforcement grants, and $162,000 from asset forfeiture.
Eight new Covid-19 cases have emerged in Mumbais Dharavi on Friday, taking the total number of coronavirus cases to 2,218, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

A day earlier, on Thursday, slum colony Dharavi recorded 11 new cases of Covid-19, taking the tally to 2,210, the citys civic agency had said.

According to a senior BMC official, no fresh deaths were reported in Dharavi in the past 24 hours. The death toll in the slum dwelling remains unchanged at 81.

ALSO READ | In sharp turnaround, Covid-19 growth rate dips to 1.02% in Mumbais Dharavi in June

Among the total patients, at least 1,108 have been discharged from hospitals following recovery from the coronavirus infection.

The congested slum area has about 1,021 active cases at present.

Spread across an area of 2.5 square km, Dharavi is known as the largest slum of Asia with a population of an estimated 6.5 lakh.

Recently, the Union health ministry had said that due to proactive measures and containment strategies adopted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the Covid-19 growth rate in Dharavi has dipped to 1.02% in June. In the month of May, the growth rate for the Covid-19 disease in Dharavi was about 4.3%, a significant dip from the earlier 12% in April.

ALSO READ | Over 17,000 new Covid-19 cases take Indias infection tally beyond 4.9 lakh; death toll at 15,301

The number of Covid-19 cases in India increased by a record 17,296 in the last 24 hours for the first time on Friday pushing the total count to 4,90,401, over half of which have been reported from 10 cities and districts, according to Union Health Ministry data.

The countrys death toll climbed to 15,301 with 407 new deaths. This is the seventh day in a row that India registered over 14,000 cases.

Delhi, Chennai, Thane, Mumbai, Palghar, Pune, Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Ahmedabad and Faridabad are 10 districts and cities that have reported a larger number of Covid-19 cases between June 19 and June 25, contributing to about 54.47 per cent of the total caseload, a health ministry official said.
The Prairie Doc: Do your part for the person across the table

columns
Photograph: Kate Munsch/Reuters

A growing movement to get police officers out of US schools saw a major victory this week when Oaklands school board voted to eliminate the school districts dedicated police department.

But in Chicago and Los Angeles, despite protests by youth activists, support from teachers unions, and an outpouring of public support, school boards voted to keep police in public schools, at least for now.

Since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, calls to shrink police budgets and invest taxpayers dollars in non-violent strategies to promote public safety have gained political support across the country.

Minneapoliss city council has vowed to disband its police department entirely, while major cities like New York and Los Angeles are contemplating big cuts to police department budgets.

Related: Elijah McClain: Colorado appoints special prosecutor to investigate 2019 police killing

In Oakland, one of the cities that has seen large peaceful protests in support of defunding police, the city council voted this week to shave only a small amount off the police budget and wait to consider bigger cuts  including a potential $150m reduction in the police budget.

In Los Angeles, the city council made steps this week to shrink the police budget by more than $133m, a number that local Black Lives Matter activists say is still too small a cut, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Several large school districts across the country, including in Minneapolis, St Paul, Portland, Denver, and San Francisco, have moved towards getting police officers out of schools entirely, endorsing the concerns of activists who have long argued that having law enforcement in an educational setting harms black and brown students and fuels a school to prison pipeline.

Federal education data shows that black students are disproportionately likely to be both disciplined and arrested at school.

Black students represented 15% of the total student enrollment, but 31% of students who were referred to law enforcement or arrested during the 2015-2016 school year.

Story continues

In Oakland, black students made up 26% of the enrollment and yet made up 73% of arrests in schools, according to the school boards resolution to eliminate the school police department. Over the last four years, it noted, there have been 9,000 calls for service to the police to deal with Oakland schoolchildren.

In Los Angeles, the countrys second-largest school district, the school board heard nearly 12 hours of public comment this week, with most speakers calling for reducing or eliminating the 460 officers currently inside the citys public schools.

You cant expect us to do as well in school as white students if we feel criminalized every time we walk into campus, said Amara Abdullah, a freshman at Hamilton high school and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles Youth Vanguard.

But the school board ultimately voted against major cuts to the school police budget, with at least one board member suggesting that he feared that police were necessary to keep students in American schools safe.

Related: Tucson police chief offers to resign over death of man placed face-down in custody

I would regret for the rest of my life if I left any student vulnerable, any student in danger, the board member Richard Vladovic said.

Mo Canady, the executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, a group that represents police who work in schools, has argued that officers can be trained to work appropriately in an educational setting and warned that schools without police might be more vulnerable to school shootings.

In Oakland, where activists at the Black Organizing Project had worked for nearly a decade to build political will for eliminating police in public schools, the school boards vote was greeted as a historic moment, and one they hoped would make schools a more nurturing place for black and Latino students.

Its emotional, said Desiree Mims, a parent and Black Organizing Project member. I definitely feel some sort of healing myself, after all I went through in the school system.
BEAUMONT, Texas, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As images and conversations around racial injustice and COVID-19 dominate the news, families across the Beaumont area continue to seek ways to keep their children active and safe during the summer break. Phalen Leadership Academies (PLA) has partnered with Summer Advantage USA to bring hope, enrichment, and inspiration through a free virtual summer learning experience for PLA scholars at Jones-Clark Elementary and Smith Middle School in Beaumont, TX.

"Our scholars need us now more than ever," said PLA CEO and Founder Earl Martin Phalen . "With everything that has happened this year, we have become even more determined to uplift our scholars. We have provided our Jones-Clark and Smith families with the technology to stay connected and reduce further learning loss over the summer months. Our program will work to provide our children with quality education and enrichment activities that help to support academic gains, improve self-esteem, and inspire them to be leaders in their communities and the world."

Kindergarten through 7th-grade scholars at Jones-Clark Elementary and Smith Middle School will meet for half-day learning with live teachers about math, science, and literacy. They will also engage in small group activities, virtual field trips, and enrichment from June 29 - July 31st. Staying true to its mission to improve the lives of children through education and empower children to reach their innate potential, the summer program features celebrity guest speakers who join scholars online in the morning to help inspire them to keep climbing, in spite of all that is happening in the world.

Scholars will hear from many celebrity guests throughout the summer from various careers and backgrounds including celebrity chefs, entrepreneurs, medical professionals, and entertainers. They'll share their stories and encourage scholars to continue to dream and excel despite adversity.

About Phalen Leadership Academies (PLA): PLA is a transformative school turnaround operator with 22 schools and over 10,000 scholars across Ohio, Texas, Indiana, and Michigan. PLA has already transformed multiple F-rated schools into A-rated schools.

About Summer Advantage USA: Summer Advantage USA has been inspiring the brightest learners to be leaders since 2009 and currently serves children from communities in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Texas.

SOURCE Phalen Leadership Academies

Related Links

www.phalenacademies.org


MEDIA COURTHOUSE  A Springfield woman was given five years of probation and ordered to pay more than $250,000 to the estate of her mother after pleading guilty Tuesday to a theft charge.

Bernadette Branson-Lawler, 55, of the first block of Meetinghouse Lane, was originally reported to have stolen $337,715 from her 78-year-old mother over a period of nearly seven years, according to a release from the Delaware County District Attorneys Office issued Jan. 28, 2019.

Assistant District Attorney Erica Parham told Common Pleas Court Judge Margaret Amoroso Wednesday that Branson-Lawler had repaid $208,134 of the total $253,285 restitution amount being sought.

She will continue making payments of $500 per month over the next five years to satisfy the remaining $45,151 under the negotiated guilty plea worked out by Parham and defense attorney Matthew Sedacca. Neither Branson-Lawler nor her attorney said anything prior to the sentence being handed down.

Detective Sgt. Anthony Ruggieri of the Delaware County District Attorneys Office Criminal Investigation Division Senior Exploitation launched an investigation in September 2017 after law enforcement received information about the possible financial exploitation of a 78-year woman, according to the release. The victim, who is non-verbal and predeceased by her husband in August 2009, was residing in a secure unit of an assisted living facility for individuals with dementia, the release states.

Following the death of her husband, the victim appointed her daughter, Branson-Lawler, as her power of attorney. Branson-Lawler remained an agent for the victim until July 2013, when she petitioned the Orphans Court of Delaware County to become guardian for her mother due to her diminished mental capacity and other health related issues, the release says. Branson-Lawler was appointed plenary guardian by the court until she was removed by the Orphans Court in October 2017 and replaced by a court-appointed attorney.

Brandon-Lawler sold her mothers house in Springfield for $269,000 in January 2013, then moved her mother to an assisted living facility, according to the release. In July 2017, Branson-Lawler failed to file the annual guardians inventory and the annual reports of the person and the estate, as required by the Delaware County Orphans Court.

After failing to submit the required guardian paperwork and not appearing for court, a court-appointed attorney reviewed all of the victims financial records and discovered suspicious withdrawals made by Brandon-Lawler.

When questioned, Branson-Lawler admitted that she withdrew money from her mothers accounts for personal expenses, such as her interior design business, her electric and insurance bills and gym membership. She also indicated she wrote herself checks, according to the release.

An investigation ensued and Branson-Lawler was ultimately charged with 21 counts of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and false impression, and receiving stolen property, all second-degree felony offenses. The remaining counts were dropped under the plea deal.

Parham indicated that the commonwealth would not object to termination of the probationary sentence early if Branson-Lawler completed making restitution payments early.
Renowned film editor G Jayachandran breathed his last on June 25 (Thursday) in Chennai. He was 58, and had reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest. He began his career with the 1986 crime action film Oomai Vizhigal starring Vijayakant and Arun Pandiyan. He has collaborated with Vijayakanth in several movies which includes Maanagara Kaaval, Bharathan and Captain Prabhakaran among others.

The actor took to his social media handle to express his condolences. "It may not be an exaggeration to say that the time I worked with Jayachandran was a golden era. He was a very talented person, and his death is a loss to the film industry", Vijayakanth wrote.

Jayachandran had also produced a few films like Manidha Dharmam and Thanga Pappa. He has almost worked in 150 films with Sathya Vaakku, Oomai Vizhigal and Thaai Naadu being few of his major hits. Celebrities from the film industry showered condolences to the late editor's family on social media. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Thalapathy Vijay Takes Inspiration From Tom Cruise For His Beach House!

Thala Ajith's Valimai: A Major Change In The Script!
In Memory: Dr. William Bill Tietz (PU PhD 61)

A veterinarian who earned his PhD at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine and went on to become president of Montana State University, Dr. William Bill Tietz (PU PhD 61), of Bozeman, Mont., died June 10. He was 93.

A native of Hinsdale, Ill., Dr. Tietz served six years in the US Navy, and then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from Swarthmore College in 1950, followed by a Master of Science degree in zoology from the University of Wisconsin. He then spent time in the Arctic studying the metabolism of small mammals, and briefly worked at Baxter Laboratory in Illinois before earning his DVM degree at Colorado State University in 1957. He then came to Purdue where he earned his PhD in physiology and pathology in 1961.

Dr. Tietz joined the Purdue faculty and served as an assistant professor of veterinary physiology until 1964 when he left to become an associate professor of radiobiology and physiology at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He later was appointed chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, and also served as the associate director of the CSU Agricultural Experiment Station before being named CSUs vice president for student-university relations and then dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

His tenure at CSU provided valuable experience that prepared him for his next challenge, which came when he was named Montana State Universitys ninth president in 1977, a position he held until 1990. Dr. Tietz is credited with bringing to the Bozeman campus a research-oriented vision, an abundance of intellectual and physical energy, the capacity to weigh and take risks, and both a determination to set new standards of teaching, research, and creativity, and the skills to institute them.

His accomplishments included acquiring funds for a greatly-enlarged sabbatical-leave program, which raised morale and attracted new talent; reviving and enlarging the undergraduate Honors Program; instituting a widely-imitated writing center; elevating the universitys libraries to national standards; putting in place a core curriculum; and establishing an advanced technology park to draw young entrepreneurs to the Gallatin Valley, engage students in real-world product development, and transfer technology to the universitys financial benefit. Dr. Tietz also believed and invested in diversity and inclusion at the university, increasing the recruitment and retention of under-represented students, the number of women in STEM related disciplines and the number of Native American students choosing to enroll at Montana State University. Upon his retirement, he developed endowed funds to create the Presidents Native American Excellence Scholarship for Native American students who had been accepted into the Master of Arts program in Native American studies.

Dr. Tietz received Honorary Doctorate degrees from both Purdue University (1982) and Montana State University (2020). In 2007, Montana State University renamed its Animal Resources Center the William J. Tietz Hall in his honor. In retirement, Dr. Tietz continued to serve both the local community and the state of Montana. He also loved and spent much time with his family and continued annual trips to the Canadian wilderness well into his eighties. He also is remembered for his love of animals and model trains, as well as being an avid woodworker and always having pearls of wisdom to share.

Click here to view a complete obituary.

Writer(s): Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu
President Donald Trump has had a turbulent relationship with many books.

Many have been written by former aides, allies and staff: Unhinged, A Warning, Team of Vipers, Let me Finish.

Others have been penned by journalists and political strategists: Fear, Trumpocracy, Fire and Fury, A Very Stable Genius.

Withering attacks on the president have become a genre unto themselves, but the latest may be the most devastating: The Room Where it Happened by John Bolton, his former national security adviser.

The book reads like an indictment, with Bolton in the role of prosecutor documenting transgression after transgression.

Everything in the administration is torqued around Donald Trumps personal needs, Bolton told USA Today. This happens over and over again, this fusing of legitimate government interests with Donald Trumps personal needs.

In this view, patriotism means loyalty to the president, not to the United States. If it helps Trump, it is irrelevant if it damages the country. The president serves only one subject  himself.

The most benign of the allegations is that Trump thought Finland was part of Russia. Being dense is not a crime. The most heinous? There are so many from which to choose, but a good candidate is his effort to solicit the Chinese government to help him win re-election by purchasing goods from American farm states.

There really isnt any guiding principle that I was able to discern other than whats good for Donald Trumps re-election, Bolton told ABC News.

A copious note taker whose credibility had never been questioned  although his hawkish worldview certainly has  Bolton paints a dark, amoral portrait of the administration, with the president willing to tolerate actions from other countries that conflict with our own deep-seated values. Some Democrats have raised the possibility of another impeachment hearing, but it would be wiser, with the election so near, to forego another traumatic inquiry. Let the people serve as judge and jury.

The book is so inflammatory that Trump tried to foil its publication. His effort failed, but the attempt to stifle its distribution helped ensure it would become a phenomenal success. The book was an Amazon bestseller before a single copy hit the bookstores.

In his ruling to deny the temporary restraining order, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth acknowledged the book raised grave national security concerns. But the attempt to seek a temporary injunction came too late. The book had already been printed, with thousands of copies sent to bookstores across the country.

The horse  seems to be out of the barn, the judge said in a virtual emergency hearing.

Despite the order, the issue remains alive. The judge said Bolton gambled with the national security of the country, rebuking him for apparently cutting short a White House classification review of the book. The Trump administration also seeks any profits the author may earn from the books sale.

He was a washed-up guy, Trump told Sean Hannity of Fox News. He couldnt get Senate-confirmed, so I gave him a non-Senate-confirmed position, where I could just put him there, see how we worked.

As the controversy rages, the question of whether Bolton receives any royalties seems irrelevant. What happens to one man takes a back seat to what happens to the citizens of the United States. How will this affect free speech in the coming years, and, how will it affect the political landscape, especially the 2020 election?

Bolton has accused the House Judiciary Committee of impeachment malpractice for limiting its inquiry to abuse of power in connection with the effort to pressure Ukraine into investigating Trumps Democratic presidential rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. There were numerous other abuses to probe, Bolton said. But the former national security adviser refused to testify before the committee, and it is hard to probe allegations that arent revealed.

Im not paying any money for a book, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters during her weekly news briefing last week. I dont want to pay any money for a book that was a substitute for testifying before Congress about the well-being of the American people.

Opportunist or patriot: What is Bolton? Ultimately, it is up to the voters and readers to decide.
Even teleprompter could not take so many lies: Rahul's dig at PM Modis Davos speech

Don't be afraid, speak truth: Rahul Gandhi to PM Modi in latest attack on Chinese intrusion

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, June 26: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday stepped up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government over Ladakh clash, asking him to speak up and tell the truth to the country on whether China has occupied any Indian territory.

In a video message, part of the Congress party's 'SpeakUpForOurJawans' campaign in honour of martyred Indian soldiers, Gandhi said the Prime Minister had stated that not even an inch of Indian territory has been taken away by anyone and there has been no intrusion, but satellite images and experts say China has occupied Indian territory at three points in eastern Ladakh.

"If you (the PM) say Indian land has not been taken by China and it has actually been taken, then China will stand to benefit," Gandhi said.

Priyanka Gandhi slams Mayawati; Calls BSP Chief as 'undeclared BJP spokesperson'

Noting that the entire country is standing together behind the Prime Minister, the former Congress chief said, "We have to together fight China and throw them out".

Total lockdown in Guwahati for 14 days from Sunday after spurt in cases | Oneindia News

"Prime Minister ji, speak up and do not be scared. You will have to tell the truth to the country. Don't be scared to say that yes, China has taken our land and we are going to act against them. The whole country is with you," he said.

Referring to the 20 Indian soldiers who died following a clash with the Chinese army personnel at Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh earlier this month, Gandhi asked the government to explain who had sent the Indian soldiers without weapons to the border.

On Friday, he was joined by his mother Sonia Gandhi, the Congress interim chief, and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party's in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, who also launched similar attacks on the government.

"The Prime Minister says China did not infiltrate but on the other hand, Defence Ministry and External Affairs Ministry keep discussing it. Today, when we are paying tributes to our martyrs, India wants to know why and how our 20 soldiers were killed in Galwan Valley," Sonia Gandhi said in her video.
DUBLIN, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Calibration Services Markets. Strategies and Trends with Forecasts by Type of Calibration, by Industry and by Country. Includes Custom Analysis and World Metropolitan Area Market Sizes. 2020 to 2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This 2020 edition of the industry-standard report provides valuable information and insight. The report doesn't just look at market size. It examines key operational principles and industry best practices provided by industry veterans. Look at acquisition and divestiture opportunities. Revise pricing and service terms. Develop new service packaging and offerings. Consider integrated marketing programs.

A growing market. Key growth drivers. An industry protected from economic cycles. An industry-driven forward by increasing global regulations and security. The future of the calibration services industry is explored with detailed market forecasts and strategic analysis.

This latest version of the report includes the Major Metropolitan Market Size Table 2019. If their country is not already listed purchasers can request Individual Country Market Size information, or other customization, without additional charge.

All the important facts are here. Industry growth rates. Geographic, instrumentation and industry breakdowns of market size. Explore the potential of the industry and gain an appreciation of the big picture for a relatively new industry that is expanding onto a global stage. All report data is available in Excel format on request. Make investment decisions and valuations with confidence using the latest data.

Key Topics Covered:



Calibration Services Market - Strategic Situation Analysis & COVID Impact

Guide for Executives, Marketing, Sales and Business Development Staff

Guide for Management Consultants and Investment Advisors

1. Introduction and Market Definition

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Market Definition

2. Market Overview

2.1 Manufacturer Practices

2.1.1 Difference Between Manufacturer and other Vendors

2.1.2 Difference Between Electronic and Mechanical Segments

2.3 Accreditation

2.3.1 Accreditation Recognition

2.3.2 Two Tiered Accreditation Standard

2.4 Segments and Capability

2.4.1 An Overview of Segmentation Practice

2.4.2 Segmentation by Company Size

2.4.3 On-site Service as a Segment

2.5 Industry Structure and Participants

2.5.1 The International System of Measurement - A Primer

2.5.2 Current Industry Participants

2.5.3 Industry Structure

2.6 Geographic Influences

2.6.1 Geographic Preference

2.6.2 Implications for Laboratory Management

2.6.3 Growing Demand for On Site Service

3. Market Trends

3.1 Factors Driving Growth

3.1.1 Impact of Climate Change

3.2 Factors Inhibiting Growth

3.2.1 Recalibrate Versus Replace

3.3 The Changing Role of the Manufacturer

3.3.1 The Position of Trust

3.3.2 Customers Have an Equipment Management Need

3.3.3 Effect on Repair Demand

3.3.4 Manufacturer's Rethink Service and Support

3.4 Services Packaging

3.4.1 Services Packaging Today and Tomorrow

3.4.2 Reduced Services Play a Role

3.4.3 Basic Calibration Changes

3.4.4 The Role of On Line Value Added Services

3.4.5 Change in Demand for Accreditation

3.4.6 Pricing for On Site to Change

3.4.7 Contract Agreements to Change

3.5 Technology Development

3.5.1 Three Important Technology Developments

3.5.2 Calibration Services Look to Installed Base

3.5.3 Calibration Intervals Change

3.5.4 Impact of Self Calibration

4. Pricing and Business Development

4.1 Calibration Service Pricing and Plans

4.1.1 Variable Factors in a Calibration Service

4.1.2 Fee Based Pricing

4.1.3 Approaches to Pricing

4.1.4 Pricing and Geography

4.1.5 Surcharges

4.1.6 Limited Calibration

4.1.7 Volume Discounts

4.1.8 Mobile Pricing

4.1.9 Service Plans

4.1.10 Asset Management

4.1.11 Customer Commitment

4.1.12 Personnel Rental

4.2 Promotion

4.2.1 Sales Promotion Practice

4.2.2 A Calibration Services Marketing System

4.2.3 Services Marketing Program Tools

4.2.4 Company Website and Marketing Strategy

4.3 Customer Service

4.3.1 Customer Service Measurement

4.3.2 Teamwork in Customer Service

4.3.3 The Role of Leadership

4.4 Merger and Acquisition

4.4.1 Economies of Scale

4.4.2 Caveats and Factors Unfavourable to Merger Activity

4.5 Competition

5. Industry Segmentation Analysis

5.1 Aerospace/Defense

5.2 Agriculture and Food Production

5.3 Automotive

5.4 Biomedical/Pharmaceutical

5.5 Communication

5.6 General Manufacturing

5.7 High Technology

5.8 Material Production

5.9 Other

6. Recent Market Activity

Recent Developments - Importance and How to Use This Section

Importance of These Developments

How to Use This Section

Vision Engineering's Cal Lab Attains ISO 17025:2017

NMI Metrology is Expanding Calibration Services across Nigeria

Mitutoyo America Corporation Introduces New Processor

Package with Profile Projector

Transcat Acquires TTE Laboratories, Inc

Michigan State Police launch investigation of breathalyzer calibration

State Police launch investigation of breathalyzer calibration Endress+Hauser builds new Calibration Laboratory

Transcat acquires Infinite Integral Solutions Inc

Keysight opens new calibration facility

Transcat Acquires Gauge Repair Service

Trescal Announces 3 Aquisitions

Newbow Aerospace Expands Calibration Laboratory

Instron's Calibration Laboratory goes global

Trescal Acquires QTI and QTI Validaciones

Trescal Announces 2 Acquisitions

Cross Company Acquires J. A. King

Trescal Acquires Diamond Technical and Acteam

Boonton Electronics and Noisecom Receive ISO 17025:

Accreditation

Transcat Acquires Angel's Instrumentation Inc

Trescal and Stahlwille UK sign partnership agreement

Laboratory Testing Inc. Acquires TAC Technical Instrument

Trescal Acquires Metriccontrol

Keysight Technologies Acquires Thales Calibration Services

Transcat Acquires NBS Calibrations

7. Key Players

ABB

Ametek

Beamex

Bruel & Kjaer

Consumers Energy

e2b calibration

Emerson

Endress & Hauser

ESSCO Calibration Laboratory

Fluke

GE Kaye

Innocal ( Cole Parmer )

) Instron

J. A. King

Keysight Technologies

Lockheed Martin

Mettler-Toledo/Troemner

Micro Precision Calibration

Optical Test and Calibration

Rhode & Schwarz

SGS

Siemens

Simco

Technical Maintenance Inc

Tektronix

Teseq

Tradinco Instruments

Transcat

Trescal

8. The Global Market for Calibration Services



9. Global Calibration Markets - By Type of Calibration

9.1 Electrical Calibration

9.1.1 Table Electrical Calibration - by Country

9.1.2 Chart - Electrical Calibration Growth

9.2 Dimensional Calibration

9.2.1 Table Dimensional Calibration - by Country

9.2.2 Chart - Dimensional Calibration Growth

9.3 Mechanical Calibration

9.3.1 Table Mechanical Calibration- by Country

9.3.2 Chart - Mechanical Calibration Growth

9.4 Thermal Calibration

9.4.1 Table Thermal Calibration - by Country

9.4.2 Chart - Thermal Calibration Growth

9.5 Other Calibration

9.5.1 Table Other Calibration - by Country

9.5.2 Chart - Other Calibration Growth

10. Global Calibration Markets - By Industry

10.1 Calibration Market Aerospace & Defence

10.2.1 Table Calibration Market Aerospace & Defence - byCountry

10.2.2 Chart - Calibration Market Aerospace & Defence Growth

10.2 Calibration Market Agro & Biomedical

10.2.1 Table Calibration Market Agro & Biomedical - by Country

10.2.2 Chart - Calibration Market Agro & Biomedical Growth

10.3 Calibration Market Electronic & Communications 255

10.3.1 Table Calibration Market Electronic & Communications - byCountry

10.3.2 Chart - Calibration Market Electronic & CommunicationsGrowth

10.4 Calibration Market Industry & Manufacturing

10.4.1 Table Calibration Market Industry & Manufacturing - byCountry

10.4.2 Chart - Calibration Market Industry & Manufacturing Growth

10.5 Calibration Market Other Industry

10.5.1 Table Calibration Market Other Industry - by Country

10.5.2 Chart - Calibration Market Other Industry Growth

11. Market Sizes and Forecasts World Metropolitan Areas

11.1 World Metropolitan Areas Datatable. 2019 Market Size Forecasts

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/c3doe6

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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German Police have arrested 32 individuals and detained 11 after a series of raids targeting users of an illegal underground economy forum.

According to prosecutors in Frankfurt and Bamberg, the German Police have arrested 32 individuals and detained 11 after a series of raids targeting users of the crimenetwork.co illegal underground economy forum.

The operation involved 1,400 agents that raided sites in 15 of 16 states in Germany and in Austria and Poland.

As a result of the raids on 232 sites, the agents have found weapons, drugs, computers, around 50,000 euros ($56,300) in cash, cryptocurrency, the police also seized 300 terabytes of data.

The crimenetwork.co underground forum was an aggregation place for crooks and hackers trading illegal goods and services.

The raids targeted users of crimenetwork.co, an underground economy forum that trades almost exclusively in illegal goods and services according to the Frankfurt prosecutors. reported the German website TheLocal.

These include drugs and narcotics, counterfeit money, data including credit card information, forged documents and cash, malware and hacker tools including botnets.

Local authorities arrested a 26-year-old man suspected to be the administrator of the forum in May 2019 while he was entering Germany.

The investigation is still ongoing, the police are investigating users of the platform since August.

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs  hacking, underground forum)
D ebt-laden shopping malls giant Intu today said it was likely to collapse into administration following the failure of talks with lenders, bringing the prospect of some of Britain's biggest shopping centres having to close.

The company, struggling under 4.5 billion of debts and facing a massive fall in rents from struggling retailers, has been in a desperate scramble to persuade lenders to agree a standstill on its loan agreements ahead of a midnight deadline tonight.

It warned on 23rd June that it could be forced to put the company into administration if the talks failed.

Today it said: "Since that update, discussions have continued with the Intu group's creditors in relation to the terms of standstill-based agreements. Unfortunately, insufficient alignment and agreement has been achieved on such terms."

"The board is therefore considering the position of Intu with a view to protecting the interests of its stakeholders. This is likely to involve the appointment of administrators. A further announcement will be made as soon as possible."

Some analysts expect that to come later today.

KPMG has been waiting in the wings to be appointed as administrator for some time, and Intu has warned that unless creditors stumped up 12 million to pre-fund the administrators' work, shopping malls would have to close for a period

Intu's malls include Watford and Lakeside in the London area and employ some 3,000 staff UK wide but a further 102,000 work for the shops in its centres, making it a major plank of many local economies around its 17 locations.

Intu was in a catastrophic position even before covid struck as its tenants got into financial difficulties due to the drift of shoppers away from "bricks and mortar" stores to internet shopping.

It ran up huge debts, and as time went on, the loans structure became increasingly complicated. Some loans are secured against individual shopping centres while others are taken against the group as a whole. Further complexities arise from the way the company "buys" services such as shopping centre support staff from subsidiaries of the group.

However, the forced closures of its shop tenants during the lockdown put its likely demise on fast-forward and made it increasingly unlikely that an agreement could be reached in time for tonight's deadline on its covenant waiver.

Intu now stands as a poster child for the crisis facing retailers and their landlords. Retailers are claiming landlords have had it too good, for too long, with upward only rent reviews and demands for three months' rent in advance. Landlords respond that retailers agreed the contracts and should honour them, citing that they, too, have pension funds and bank loans relying on them getting their rents paid in full.

The outcome of the Intu debacle is still most likely to be a restructuring where creditors take over the equity of the business, possibly through a break up of the group if the complex web of debts can be disentangled.

However, analysts point out that banks and hedge funds who own the debt are not experts in running shopping malls. Some were still keen to retain Intu management's services.

Analysts at Stifel today cited press speculation stating that any deal was vetoed by the junior 250 million lender to the Trafford Centre, who wanted to take control of the mall itself as it was unwilling to accept the standstill conditions.

Without the Trafford Centre being included in the group, lenders on the whole company's revolving credit facility - the business equivalent of an overdraft - would not give their support.

"It is now likely that the individual lenders on assets, or groups of assets, will take direct control and appoint their own asset managers. This process could take three to six monthsand the lenders will need to continue financial support during that time in order to keep the assets operational."

Lenders will be caught between not wanting to accept losses on their loans and not wanting to lose further rental income by closing the malls.

After rent quarter day this week, just 13.8% of rents were collected from retailers by landlords.

Many of the biggest chains in difficulty have demanded cuts in rents or put themselves into a form of administration called a CVA in which landlords have to accept closures of many stores and rent cuts.

Landlords have often tried to be accommodating with rent holidays and a move from paying three months in advance to one month, easing the cashflow crisis being faced by tenants.

All Saints is the latest stores group thought to be mulling a CVA.
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Public sector lender Bank of India on June 25 has reported a net loss of Rs 3,571.4 crore in the quarter ended March 2020, largely due to higher provision, though the tax write-back capped the losses.

The bank had registered a profit of Rs 251.8 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Net interest income during the quarter declined 6.2 percent to Rs 3,793 crore compared to the year-ago, while the net interest margin (global) declined by 3 basis points to 2.90 percent YoY.

Provisions and contingencies more than doubled to Rs 8,141.9 crore in March quarter 2020 compared to Rs 4,015.2 crore in the previous quarter, but year-on-year the increase was significant at 329 percent due to additional provisions.

"In Q4FY20 due to uncertainty of recovery, additional provision of Rs 3,941.36 crore has been made in 6 NPA accounts," said Bank of India in its BSE filing.

In respect of RBI referred NCLT accounts (List 1 & 2), as on March 2020, bank said it held 100 percent provision of the outstanding value of Rs 3,959.34 crore, while it had made additional provision of Rs 271 crore in four Accounts, where the viable Resolution Plan has not been implemented within 180 days of review period.

But the bank's provision coverage ratio improved to 83.74 percent at the end of March 2020, compared to 77.2 percent as of December 2019.

Find All Earnings Related News Here

Asset quality improved given the lower slippages. Gross non-performing assets (NPA) as a percentage of gross advances fell 150 bps sequentially to 14.8 percent and net NPA dropped 210 bps QoQ to 3.9 percent in Q4FY20.

Bank of India said slippages at the end of March quarter 2020 stood at Rs 2,764 crore, against Rs 6,716 crore in December quarter.

"Q4 slippages were down 58.8 percent QoQ. We have hit the bottom in terms of provisions but NCLT recovery remains uncertain," said AK Das, MD & CEO in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

"The bank's focus was mostly on PSU & PSU-backed entities for loan growth and we expect loan growth of 8-9 percent for FY21," he added. "We expect pressure on net interest margin to continue and credit cost to be around 1.5 percent for FY21."

Non-interest income during the quarter grew by 14.1 percent to Rs 1,687.76 crore YoY, supported by a rise in treasury income, said the bank, adding pre-provision operating profit increased 15.2 percent to Rs 2,652.56 crore YoY.

The bank has reported a tax write-back of Rs 1,918 crore for Q4FY20, against expenses of Rs 154 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The stock was trading at Rs 53, down 3.46 percent on the BSE at 14:19 hours IST.
The Rajasthan CM accuses PM Modi and Amit Shah of "hijacking" the NDA government, dismantling India's democratic fabric, as Amit Shah reacts on the 45th anniversary of the Indira Gandhi imposed National Emergency.

Reacting sharply to Amit Shahs remarks on the Congress on the 45th anniversary of Emergency, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot accused the Home Minister along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of hijacking the BJP and NDA government with no breather for other leaders.

Gehlot said that BJP leaders are not fit to question the democratic values of Congress and Congress Working Committee (CWC).

It is shocking that apart from three-four ministers, the public does not even know who all are there in Modis cabinet. Amit Shah along with Modi has hijacked the BJP and NDA government with no breather for other leaders. They are not fit to question the democratic values of Congress Party and CWC, Gehlot said in a series of tweets.

Also read: Kejriwal introduces video call facility for Covid-19 patients at LNJP Hospital

Also read: Covid curve in Mumbai may flatten by mid-July, normalcy of life by August: Health expert

Gehlots remarks came in response to Shahs tweets who accused Congress of unceremoniously sacking its spokesperson and asked the opposition party to self-introspect as its leaders are feeling suffocated.

I am not surprised to see that out of all opposition parties Mr Modi and Amit Shah are worried only about Congress.

1/  Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) June 25, 2020

Gehlot accused the BJP of dismantling the democratic, ethnic and social fabric of the nation in six years of its rule.

It has merely been six years of BJP and we can see how they have dismantled the democratic, ethnic and social fabric of this nation. May we know why there is no one beyond Modi-Shah in BJP? I am not surprised to see that out of all opposition parties Modi and Amit Shah are worried only about Congress, he said.

He cited veteran BJP leader LK Advanis observations in 2015 that the forces that could crush democracy were stronger and the Emergency could happen again.

The Rajasthan Chief Minister said that the insecurities and fear of both Shah and Modi were evident because only the Congress had the courage and strength to take on the tyranny of the current regime.

I am not surprised to see that of all the Opposition parties, Modi and Shah are worried only about the Congress, Gehlot said, asserting that it was the Congress which had built, protected and nourished democracy.

Gehlot said that India was the only robustly functioning and flourishing democracy in the South Asian region, thanks to the magnanimous role played by the Congress in the 70 years of history of the country.

He credited Congress for encouraging and empowering cadre and ground workers like him to hold a high position.

It is no secret that for the last three decades, no one from the Gandhi family has held any position of power. They have always encouraged and empowered the cadre and ground workers like me If at all we are disconnected with the public, why is Shah so worried? he said.

The Rajasthan Chief Minister said that sacrifice is inherent in Congress DNA  right from former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrus time to date, adding that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sacrificed her life for the nation and her contribution in creating Bangladesh a new nation will always remain Indias greatest diplomatic victory and will be remembered for generations to come.

Also read: Sacrifices made during emergency to preserve democracy will not be forgotten: PM Modi

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
In One Good Meal, we ask cooking-inclined creative people to share the story behind a favorite dish they actually make and eat at home on a regular basis  and not just when theyre trying to impress.

At this time of year, Jesse Kamm would typically be living off the grid. Shed be down in Panama with her husband, Luke Brower, and their 11-year-old son, Julien, on their annual three-month break, living in a cabin they built in 2009, just a few years after Kamm launched her eponymous Los Angeles-based womens wear brand. Since then, the line, which transformed tomboyish sailor pants into a style known around the internet as Kamm Pants, has amassed a trove of devotees. Kamm usually works nine months a year designing these casually chic trousers, then spends the summer surfing with her family in tow.

This year, because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, Panama is seeming unlikely. So Kamm, 44, and Brower (who serves as her companys chief operating officer) have decamped instead to Ojai in Southern California, where they bought a 1960s ranch house earlier this year. There they can hike and bike and still find ways to surf. Throughout the week, Kamm oversees her small brands assortment of high-waisted pants, canvas chore coats, dead-stock cotton tees and crushable bucket hats. The company makes pieces based on her own personal style, honed during her previous career as a fashion model, and sold at 30 international retailers  though her own website is her biggest account, a blessing during the coronavirus shutdown. On Sundays, she heads to the local farmers market to load up on fresh produce for a dish she calls the Veggie Delight. Its essentially a deconstructed quinoa bowl, though she would never think of it in such culinary terms. Its easy to make, and its full of nutrition and it tastes good, she says. Those are my simple qualifications.
Les membres du cabinet remanie ont pris note que le Premier Ministre va presider un task Force afin de construire les 12,000 maisons sociax dans la pays, que les habitants de Rodrigues et dAgalega pourront venir a Maurice a partir du 1er Juillet 2020, que le ministere du Commerce va revoir le Steel Bars and Steel Wires (Mauritian Standard Specifications) Regulations 1988, la promulgation du Beach Authority (Traders Licence) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 etre autres.

1. Cabinet has taken note that a Task Force would be chaired by the Prime Minister to look into the construction of the 12,000 social housing units across the whole island, as announced in the Budget Speech 2020/2021.

2. Cabinet has taken note that with regard to travelling within the Republic of Mauritius, no restrictions except wearing of masks, would be imposed on Mauritians proceeding to Rodrigues or Agalega as from 01 July 2020. The modalities are being worked out by Air Mauritius.

3. Cabinet has taken note that the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management would make Regulations under the Local Government Act to extend the timeframe for the payment of trade fees at the Corporate and Business Registration Department (CBRD) for the financial year 2019/20 up to 31 August 2020, given that most businesses have not been working during the confinement period and in order to avoid possible overcrowding at counters of the CBRD.

4. Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Protection would review the Steel Bars and Steel Wires (Mauritian Standard Specifications) Regulations 1988 so as to align these Regulations with the latest standards for steel bars, steel wires and steel fabrics. Henceforth, all steel bars, steel wires and steel fabrics used in Mauritius, including for projects under G2G Agreements, would have to comply with the applicable standards.

5. Cabinet has taken note that the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism would promulgate the Beach Authority (Traders Licence) (Amendment) Regulations 2020. The Beach Authority (Traders Licence) Regulations of 2004 are being amended with a view to exempting the holder of a licence, issued prior to June 2020, from payment of the licence fee, in respect of any licence for the years ending 30 June 2021 and 30 June 2022, as announced in Budget Speech 2020/2021.

6. Cabinet has agreed that the allowance payable for the month of June 2020 under the Wage Assistance Scheme and the Self-Employed Assistance Scheme to Workers and self-employed individuals in the tourism sector and all those whose work premises or business operations had to remain closed after the lifting of the curfew be extended to the undermentioned businesses:

(a) restaurants, pubs, tables dhote holding a tourist enterprise licence;

(b) contract car businesses, event management companies; and

(c) attractions, amusement parks, natural sites and museums.

This extension would apply to the above businesses whose turnover had fallen by more than 50 percent in June 2020 as compared to the corresponding turnover in June 2019. This criterion would not apply to an enterprise which had been set up after June 2019.

7. Cabinet has agreed to:

(a) the importation and sale of second-hand motor vehicles being restricted to only duly registered authorised dealers; and

(b) the current restriction on the issue of new dealers licences in importation and sale of second-hand motor vehicles being extended by a further period of two years up to 30 June 2022.

The Consumer Protection (Importation and Sale of Second-hand Motor Vehicles) Regulations 2004 and the Consumer Protection (Control of Imports) Regulations 2017 would be amended, accordingly.

8. Cabinet has taken note that on 23 June 2020, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued a statement to the effect that Hajj 2020 would be restricted solely to people residing presently in Saudi Arabia. The Islamic Cultural Centre has already issued a Press Communique to relay the information to the public.

9. Cabinet has taken note that Mr Keshoe Parsad Matadeen, GCSK, former Chief Justice, has been nominated to sit on the SADC Electoral Advisory Council. The main objective of the Council is to advise SADC on issues pertaining to elections and the enhancement of democracy and good governance.

10. Cabinet has taken note of the composition of the Standing Committee on Medical Negligence with Me L. Nuckchady, Barrister at Law as Chairperson. The Committee would conduct preliminary investigations only into alleged medical negligence at the level of public health institutions.

11. Cabinet has agreed to amendments being made to the Road Traffic (Examination of Motor Vehicles and Trailers) Regulations 2016 to provide for an increase in the examination fees, payable by owners of vehicles calling for fitness tests at the private Authorised Vehicle Examination Stations as from 01 July 2020.

12. Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development would promulgate the Institutions Agreees (Amendment) Regulations 2020 which would designate the Mauritius Investment Corporation Ltd as an institution agreee.

As announced in the Budget Speech 2020/2021, investment would be made through the Mauritius Investment Corporation Ltd to, amongst others,:

(a) support important and viable companies in Mauritius, which are financially distressed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic;

(b) assist companies geared towards a smart and innovative-driven future Mauritius; and

(c) invest in projects of strategic national importance to the country.

13. Cabinet has taken note that the International Day of Cooperatives 2020 would be celebrated on Saturday 4 July 2020. The theme chosen for this year is Cooperatives for Climate Action. The Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, in collaboration with the National Cooperative College, Cooperative Federations and other stakeholders, would organise a gathering for co-operators at the National Cooperative College Auditorium at Terre Rouge on 4 July 2020. A wreath laying ceremony would also be held at the stele of cooperatives at Jardin de la Compagnie, Port-Louis, in collaboration with the Mauritius Cooperative Alliance Limited.

14. Cabinet has taken note of the activities being organised by the Ministry of Health and Wellness for the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, observed on 26 June, namely:

(a) a visit to the Nenuphar Ward at Long Mountain Hospital to meet the patients at the Centre;

(b) a sensitisation programme on the dangers of illicit drugs; and

(c) live interventions by health professionals at peak hours on MBC radio and TV.

The theme for this year is Better knowledge for better care.

15. Cabinet has taken note of the appointment of Mr Sudeven Chengebroyen as General Manager of the Beach Authority.

16. Cabinet has taken note of the reconstitution of the following Board and Committees under the Mental Health Care Act:

(a) the Mental Health Board with Dr Paramasiven Motay, Consultant Psychiatry as Chairperson;

(b) the Mental Health Commission with Ms Diya Beesoondoyal, Principal State Counsel as Chairperson;

(c) the Accounts Committee with Mr Latanraj Ghoorah, Lead Analyst, Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, as Chairperson; and

(d) the Managerial Committee with Dr Deodas Rughoobur, Medical Superintendent as Chairperson.

17. Cabinet has taken note of the appointment of Mr Jean Francois Chaumiere as Chief Executive Officer of the National Empowerment Foundation.

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Scientists across the globe can share their data on a new digital platform, pooling their knowledge, discoveries and skills to fast track vital treatments for COVID-19.

The International Data Research Alliance and Data Analysis Workbench aims to entice researchers to share their findings, data-sets, or metadata securely to uncover treatments that could save thousands of lives and curb the suffering caused by coronavirus.

The workbench aims to break down the silos hampering efforts to find COVID-19 treatments fast. Credit:Paul Harris

The alliance co-founders and major donors include Australias Minderoo Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Mastercard and Wellcome. The international consortium hopes the workbench will break down research silos that stymie progress and open access to emerging data to accelerate the development of therapies for COVID-19.

"The only way were going to relegate COVID-19 to the dustbin of history is through open data sharing and collaboration," Minderoo Foundation chairman Andrew Forrest said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  The new Bayanihan bill will have "more specific" fund allocations for the COVID-19 response compared to the previous law, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said Friday.

"Noong unang Bayanihan...Overwhelming 'yung problema, so basically we gave them the authority maglipat-lipat ng funds," said Cayetano in an interview, referring to the first Bayanihan: We Heal As One Act which lapsed on Wednesday.

[Translation: With the first Bayanihan bill...The problem was overwhelming, so basically we gave them the authority to move funds around.]

"Now, we want to be more specific na sabihin nila sa amin saan gagamitin ito (so they have to tell us where the funds will be used)," he added.

The House is eyeing 140 billion to 200 billion for the bill which seeks to help agencies address the health crisis, the Speaker said.

He added that Congress is expected to hold a special session to discuss the second Bayanihan bill either next week or the week after.

Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Miguel Zubiri said they are also in favor of a special session. Gatchalian added that 300 billion is needed for the bill.

The Senate earlier passed the Bayanihan To Recover As One Bill on second reading but failed to pass it on third and final reading before they adjourned session, after Malacanang refused to certify the measure as urgent.

The proposed measure allocates 140 billion to several socio-economic and health programs.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Two Kalamazoo elementary schools once in danger of being closed for poor performance will no longer be part of a partnership agreement with the state after charting three years of academic improvements.

Woodward School for Technology and Research and the Washington Writers Academy will both be released June 30 from a partnership with the state of Michigan. The partnership was initially implemented to prevent the schools from being closed for poor performance, according to a news release from Kalamazoo Public Schools.

I am extremely proud of the teachers, staff, students and families, Washington Writers Academy Principal Lanisha Hannah-Spiller said. Thank you to all of our community partners and mentors for being a part of our village.

Over the past three years, school staff have worked hard on data analysis, intervention planning, core instructional best practices and trauma-informed care and strategies, Hannah-Spiller said.

A huge thank you to the families who chose to stick by us and had unwavering faith in us during very uncertain times, she said. All of us (teachers, students, staff, etc.) owned where we were and brought open minds along with a willingness to do the work. It was not easy but we did it.

The partnership was established in May 2018 to prevent the schools from closing their doors. Woodward and Washington were among 38 schools across the state slated for closure by Michigans School Reform Office in 2017 because of poor performance on state assessments.

The schools entered into a partnership agreement with the state. Both local elementary schools also implemented a balanced, or year-round, calendar, which began with the 2018-19 school year. About halfway through the term of that partnership agreement, schools leader saw encouraging improvements in student outcomes.

Michael Rice, current state superintendent with the MDE, was superintendent of KPS at the time of the partnership agreement.

Earlier this year, Woodward was honored by the Michigan Department of Education for improvements in student performance. Department officials nominated the school for a national distinguished school award for exhibiting exceptional student performance and academic growth, the district said in a news release in January of this year.

Related: Kalamazoo school once under threat of closure honored by state for improvements

Cindy Green, assistant superintendent for Teaching and Learning Services, said the schools have done excellent work over the last few years developing systems to support student achievement, including teachers working in small groups and setting goals with measurement checks and creating more family activities to encourage parental support.

Principals Lanisha Hannah-Spiller and Frank Rocco are leaders who continually learn and implement change with passion to make a difference for student success, Green said. The district celebrates the hard work from both principals, teachers and staff to make a positive difference for their school communities. Congratulations!

Rocco, who is principal at Woodward School for Technology and Research, said broad community support was key to the schools success.

This was years of hard, dedicated work from the entire Woodward community, Rocco said. I would like to thank the Woodward staff for once again rising to the occasion. Id also like to thank our community partners, the district support staff, our friends at Washington Writers Academy, as well as all the families that stuck with us through this process. Were extremely pleased with this outcome.

Also on MLive:

Kalamazoo school budget hearing postponed after technical issues

Kalamazoo schools seek parent input on reopening this fall

Kalamazoo superintendent to survey students, parents about police-free schools
Owners of Google Assistant-enabled smart displays with cameras can now make Google Meet and Duo calls. As with other platforms for the apps, users can reportedly call up to 32 people all at once with Duo. Similarly, as many as 100 people can participate via Google Meet.

Another great feature as part of these updates is that Google Duo users can create a group on mobile. Those groups will be available on their smart display as well  if theyre using the same account. But that doesnt mean that all 32 users will be visible at once. Instead, only eight participants will show at a time. Thats the user and seven additional participants.

Its not immediately clear how the system will decide which participants to show. Users can also start a group with a tap or voice commands too.

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Google Meet, of course, isnt necessarily intended for everyday users. Rather, meetings are joined via typing in a meeting code after using Hey Google or Okay Google to grab the Assistants attention. Then, users will need to say join a meeting.

Users can also join in via a calendar thats been synced with the smart display in question. That will be enabled for G Suite account holders and those who have Meet meetings on the calendars. Google effectively added in an option for admins providing beta access to Google Assistant to make that happen. The primary account on the display needs to have a G Suite account holder.

But the company is working to make account switching on displays easier for those who use the smart home hubs for both business and personal use. Starting a meeting in Google Meet, conversely, sends a notification to the associated phone on the account. That contains the requisite UI for adding more users to the meeting.

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Of course, those with Google Meet invitations should be able to join in.

Theres at least one exception for Duo and Meet on smart displays, for now

Now, the primary drawback to these new additions on Assistant- and camera-enhanced smart displays centers around auto-framing. Primarily associated with Nest Hub Maxs auto-framing features, those help users stay centered in the camera while moving around to a certain extend.

In Google Duo, users of Nest Hub Max smart displays will still have access to auto-framing. So theyll be able to get some things done in the immediate area without moving too far out of frame. For Google Meet, thats just not going to happen. At least for now. The feature isnt supported at launch and wont be available on any other Assistant smart displays that have auto-framing either.

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Theres no word with regard to when the feature will be supported either.

These features, like others, will make the devices more usable

The latest features, like others Google has recently launched, should go a long way toward making the devices a better value. And while the feature should arguably have been there, to begin with, this is a case of better late than never.

Googles messaging team, and subsequently its messaging efforts and platforms, have been sporadic at best over the past several years. With Google Duo and Meet added, alongside the messaging endeavors being placed under individual leadership, the company can now direct its focus toward improving the services across all available platforms. So more good changes should be in store moving forward.

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One such feature is the addition of a new speed dial-like feature referred to as household contacts for smart displays and speakers. Those have been rolled out today as well and allow users to set up pinned contacts for quick access and calling. After household contacts have been set up, anybody with access to the Assistant-powered IoT display or speaker can use their voice  or taps for displays  to call those contacts.
Iran Assigns Large Steel Project To Chinese Company Without Holding Tender

Radio Farda June 25, 2020

Iran's state-owned Esfahan's Mobarakeh Steel Company has assigned a large steel project to China's Xian Heavy Equipment & Technology without holding a tender, Sharq newspaper reported on Thursday.

The newspaper says the project will cost 200 million euros more than a similar contract with a previous German partner despite the fact that the Chinese company has no prior experience in steel production.

The German company  SMS Group -- had won the contract at a cost of $400 million in a tender in 2017 but abandoned the project due to U.S. sanctions. The company had a long history of working with Esfahan's Mobarakeh since its establishment in 1993.

According to the Financial Times, Xian Heavy Equipment & Technology Co., Ltd was founded in 1994 and its line of business includes the wholesale distribution of industrial machinery and equipment.

Many Western and other firms pulled out of joint projects with Iranian companies when the United States reimposed sanctions in 2018. The biggest case was a decision by the French energy giant total that dumped a large gas project in the Persian Gulf.

Hamidreza Azimian, the CEO of the Iranian steel company has told Sharq newspaper that the company had to assign the project to the Chinese company because "all international companies with the required technology have refused to sign a contract because his company has been sanctioned by the United States".

Azimian claimed that Xian Heavy Equipment & Technology has the required technology and a "positive history of cooperation" with its Iranian partner.

It is not clear how Xian Heavy Equipment & Technology can ignore U.S. sanctions and enter a joint project with the Iranian company. Washington has imposed direct sanctions on many non-Iranian entities that have entered into transactions with banned Iranian firms or rendered services to them.

Esfahan's Mobarakeh Steel Company, the largest steelmaker in the Middle East and North Africa, is located 65 km south-west of Esfahan, the capital of a province of the same name in central Iran. The company produces hot and cold rolled sheets and coils, pickled coils as well galvanized coil and several other steel products for the country's manufacturers of cars, home appliances, heavy metal equipment and construction. The company's output is around 7 million metric tons per year.

Informed sources have told Sharq newspaper that despite being one of the profitable companies in the steel sector, in the past two years the company's debts have increased tenfold.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-assigns- large-steel-project-to-chinese-company- without-holding-tender/30690202.html

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

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Public transport across Britain will be taken out of mothballs to help the nation come out of lockdown next month and provide a massive economic boost.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today revealed that bus and train services will be geared up to 85 per cent of pre-pandemic levels from July 4 and July 6 respectively.

The move coincides with Boris Johnson's plan to reopen pubs and hairdressers among a swathe of measures designed to bring the economy back to life.

It comes amid widespread fears that wide swathes of business will take a massive hit if a large proportion of the public continue to work from home for a long period.

Tory MPs have urged Boris Johnson to take steps that will help high street businesses including those in the 'lunchtime economy' of cafes and coffee shops recover.

Despite the massive upswing in transport frequency, Mr Shapps said people will continue to be urged to avoid public transport where possible.

Strict facemask rules have been in place for buses, trains and trams since the beginning of the month and he said today: 'As more businesses across the country prepare to reopen, we are increasing rail and bus services to boost capacity and meet additional demand for travel, helping people to travel safely.

'Our guidance remains that people should avoid public transport if possible and to walk or cycle instead.'

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today revealed that bus and train services will be geared up to 85 per cent of pre-pandemic levels from July 4 and July 6 respectively

The move coincides with Boris Johnson's plan to reopen pubs and hairdressers among a swathe of measures designed to bring the economy back to life.

Large parts of England's hospitality industry will reopen on July 4, including pubs, restaurants, hotels and visitor attractions.

But worries remain about how people will be expected to get to work safely. If people are worried to travel they are likely to remain working from home, damaging businesses that rely on their trade for survival.

Coffee chain Pret has admitting its sales have collapsed by 85 per cent in lockdown.

A survey by the Office for National Statistics today found that more than four in 10 Britons believe the lockdown has made their live better in some ways.

Of them, almost a quarter (24 per cent) said that working from home had been the best aspect of the lockdown.

Former Brexit minister David Jones, Tory MP for Clwyd West, told MailOnline this week that the lunchtime economy was taking a major hit.

He said; I can fully understand these (businesses) must have had a heck of a hit to their income. I have a feeling that whether Pret like it or not it is going to be a bit of a sea change and more and more businesses are going to be allowing their people to work from home'.

Former Brexit minister David Jones, Tory MP for Clwyd West, told MailOnline that the lunchtime economy was taking a major hit and fears a swathe of coffee shops could end up closing if Boris Johnson doesn't get more people back to the office

He added: I just wonder whether the business model is going to be as sustainable as it once was. There was a stage a few years ago where every third shop open seemed to be a coffee shop. Coffee shops are going to be the sort of place you go to at the weekend with the family but business districts, they will actually lose an awful lot.

Earlier this week Mr Shapps revealed plans to 'renationalise' Britain's railways using emergency coronavirus measures.

The move would see the end of the current franchise system, which was set up by John Major in the early 1990s.

It has been beset with problems in recent years with firms having to be replaced and bailed out as they struggle to operate.

Mr Shapps has claimed the pandemic has provided the government the chance to build a 'different type of railway'.

Under the plans, the government would give train operators a fixed fee to seize control of all routes and collect fares.

Mr Shapps' new system, which he will likely oversee as part of a board, would give control of fares and timetables to ministers.
Police in Navakholo, Kakamega County, Kenya are holding in custody a 57-year-old man accused of physically assaulting his 38-year-old wife.

Issa Arafat, a resident of Emukhambi Village, is said to have battered his spouse over allegations that she was cheating on him with her workmate.

The suspects wife, Afusa Namiswa, works as a tea lady at a private hospital in Kakamega County, whereas her alleged lover dresses patients wounds at the same facility.

Arafat said he knew about his partners unfaithfulness when he visited his ailing father, who had been admitted at the hospital where Namiswa works.



Namiswa, however, denies her husbands allegations.

I am not unfaithful. I serve tea at the hospital; the man he is accusing me of secretly seeing, cleans patients wounds after surgical procedures. The nature of my work demands I greet people before serving them. On several occasions, when I meet the man he is accusing me of cheating with, I have to greet him and know how he is doing. So, when my husband saw me talking to my colleague, he thought I was flirting with him. I have never cheated on him, said Namiswa.

Upon returning home on Tuesday evening, Arafat is said to have descended on his wife with kicks and blows. The victims screams attracted the attention of neighbours, who rushed to the scene and rescued Namiswa.

The suspect, thereafter, embarked on removing the doors of his house, the roof and bringing down the walls, while saying: I dont want my cheating wife to live here anymore.

A neighbour, Maselina Mitungu, told K24 Digital that Arafat often complained publicly that his wife, the mother of their eight children (five daughters and three sons), was adulterous.

Arafat and his spouse have been married for at least 15 years.

The suspect was arrested Tuesday evening for causing grievous bodily harm to his wife.

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Sen. Chuck Grassley, the president pro tempore of the Senate, begged President Trump in a Friday tweet to read a Wall Street Journal op-ed that predicted Joe Biden would be the next president.

'Will somebody w access to the Oval Office read the WSJ editorial 'The Trump Referendum' to President Trump. We won't [have] more good scotus justices or the best economy in 50 years like we [have] had if he doesn't follow that advice,' Grassley wrote.

Pundits Tucker Carlson and Joe Scarborough also chimed in Friday, with Carlson opining Trump 'could well lose' and Scarborough theorizing that Trump didn't want four more years.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, sent out a tweet telling President Trump to read a Wall Street Journal op-ed that predicted he would lose the White House to Joe Biden if he didn't come up with a second-term agenda

Sen. Chuck Grassley sent out the tweet Friday, asking someone from the White House to get the editorial from The Wall Street Journal in front of President Trump's face

Another ally, Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson, wrote an op-ed for the network's website Friday predicting that President Trump could lose the election

Friends-turned-critics Mika Brzezinski (left) and Joe Scarborough (right) of 'Morning Joe' wondered Friday morning if President Trump was trying to sabotage his re-election chances because he didn't want to be in the White House for four more years

'This guy that you and I have known for many years, not only is he not acting like he doesn't want to get re-elected, he's acting like he really wants to lose badly and take the Republican party down with him,' Scarborough said to guest Donny Deustch.

Scarborough, the co-host of MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' and a former GOP lawmaker, had been friends with Trump, but turned critic after the billionaire real estate developer moved into the White House.

Scarborough has been targeted by Trump's tweets, as the president has continually floated a conspiracy theory that he killed a staff aide when he was a member of Congress. The story isn't true.

Scarborough said Friday he knew that his theory was zany, but he also couldn't fathom why the president was taking certain positions.

'None of this would make sense in the conventional sense,' Scarborough said. 'But you look at every single move he's making. He's on the 25 per cent of a 75/25 issue. And it keeps happening every day.'

'This looks like a deliberate attempt to drive his campaign into the ground every day. He knows what he's doing is going to lower the poll numbers. And they are. They are collapsing every day,' Scarborough continued.

His co-host and wife Mika Brzezinski agreed.

'He doesn't want four more years,' she said.

'That's clear. You can tell by his behavior. His attitude toward the health of the American people, he doesn't want to be there,' she added.

Carlson, a Fox News Channel host, wrote a meandering op-ed on the network's website Friday with one main takeaway: 'Not many people are saying it out loud on the right, but the fact is that President Trump could well lose this election.'

'In fact, unless fundamental facts change soon, it could be tough for him to be reelected.'

The Wall Street Journal said the same thing.

'President Trump may soon need a new nickname for 'Sleepy Joe' Biden. How does President-elect sound?' the op-ed writers said. 'On present trend that's exactly what Mr. Biden will be on Nov. 4, as Mr. Trump heads for what could be an historic repudiation that would take the Republican Senate down with him.'

The Wall Street Journal pointed out a number of problems with the president's recent behavior.

He turned the coronavirus taskforce briefings into 'brawls with the bear-baiting press and any politician who didnt praise him to the skies.'

'Lately he has all but given up even talking about the pandemic when he might offer realism and hope about the road ahead even as the country reopens. His default now is defensive self-congratulation,' they wrote.

Trump also didn't sooth over racial tensions.

'The country also wants firm but empathetic leadership after the death of George Floyd, but Mr. Trump offers combative tweets that inflame. Not long ago Mr. Trump tweeted that a 75-year old man who was pushed by police in Buffalo might be an antifa activist. He offered no evidence,' it said. 'Americans dont like racial enmity and they want their President to reduce it.'

But The Journal also gave Trump a solution: outline a second-term agenda.

'The one issue on which voters now give him an edge over Mr. Biden is the economy,' it read. 'An agenda to revive the economy after the pandemic, and restore the gains for workers of his first three years, would appeal to millions.'
THE CROATIAN Coronavirus Task Force sent a press release with new information about the coronavirus in Croatia. There are 95 new coronavirus cases today, which is the second-worst day from the beginning of the epidemic. We had 96 coronavirus cases on April 1.

We have had 95 new cases in the last 24 hours, with a total of 2,483 infected.

There is one new case in Brod-Posavina County, on in Sibenik-Knin County, one in Virovitica-Podravina County, one from Split-Dalmatia County, one in Varazdin County, two in Istria County, two in Sisak-Moslavina County, five in Zadar County, seven in Zagreb County, nine in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, 25 in the city of Zagreb, 40 in Osijek-Baranja County.

74,657 people have been tested so far, with 919 having been tested in the last 24 hours.

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42 people are being treated in hospitals. There are no patients on respirators.

The total number of recovered individuals is 2,149, thereof 4 in the last 24 hours.

There have been 107 deaths."




Kabul:

An Afghan official says eight Afghan army soldiers have been killed after a military helicopter crashed in northern Baghlan province.

Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said today five crew members and three army soldiers were killed.

The crash took place in Dand Ghori district while the helicopter was supplying a military base. Waziri blamed a technical problem with the aircraft.

However, spokesman for the Taliban Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for downing the helicopter, saying in a statement to the media that it was shot down by their fighters.

Taliban insurgents have increased their attacks on Afghan security forces in northern Baghlan and neighbouring Kunduz provinces.

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Cooper's Hawk Esquire Interior We are honored to receive a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award. At Coopers Hawk Esquire, we strive to meet our guests wherever they are in their wine journey. We take pride in our curated collection of luxury wine.

Coopers Hawk Esquire, the flagship location from Coopers Hawk Winery & Restaurants has been honored by Wine Spectators 2020 Restaurant Awards with a Best of Award of Excellence for their expansive wine list. The annual program, which recognizes restaurants around the world as the top destinations for wine lovers, successfully moved forward this year despite the effects of COVID-19. Recipients of this award are celebrated for their excellent breadth across multiple wine growing regions and a significant vertical depth of top wines. Coopers Hawk Esquire is one of 1,387 restaurants in the world to receive a Best of Award of Excellence this year.

This years Wine Spectator Restaurant Award program celebrates restaurants resilience, dedication and bravery during these unprecedented times, said Marvin R. Shanken, Editor and Publisher, Wine Spectator. We hope that all of our award winners and the people who make them special will find their way through the crisis to once again welcome us through their doors. We look forward to raising a glass together, and to new beginnings.

Coopers Hawk Esquire, located in the historic Esquire building in downtown Chicago (58 E. Oak Street), spans 23,000 square feet and three levels. Opened in November 2019, it delivers an immersive experience and celebrates wine and its long global history. Coopers Hawk Esquire is the first of 43 restaurants in the collection to include wines from outside the Coopers Hawk portfolio. The vast selection of hidden gems and showcase cult wines includes collections from around the world, hand-selected by Master Sommelier Emily Wines and Esquire Sommelier Jordyn Sotelo.

The collection is vast, with over 1600 bottles, but it is curated and condensed to a 250-selection list of Wines of the World. The smaller list removes the intimidation factor that large lists can provide. The larger list, called The Coopers Hawk Collection, is available at all times and that is where the deep verticals of cult Napa Cab, Bordeaux and Champagne reside. Multiple vineyard and vintage offerings of Napa Valley gems such as Bond, Dalle Valle, Diamond Creek, Harlan and Opus One allow guests to explore the nuances of what makes these wines great. A deep collection of first and second growth Bordeaux pays tribute to the region that has long inspired winemakers from around the world. All wines are kept in temperature-controlled areas including an all-glass 50-foot wine tower with a winding staircase that guests can explore.

Coopers Hawk Master Sommelier, Emily Wines said, We are honored to receive a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award. At Coopers Hawk Esquire, we strive to meet our guests wherever they are in their wine journey. We take pride in our curated collection of luxury wine but take equal joy in opening the door to the pleasure of wine for those who are just beginning. We know that Chicago is a big wine-loving community, so it only makes sense that our tribute to the world of wine be in this historic location and the hometown of our brand.

With the largest wine club in the country with nearly 500K members and 7 million restaurants guests annually, Coopers Hawk produces and sells over 60 of their own wines each year. Sold in-restaurant, their Napa style tasting room and and direct to the wine club, the brand focuses on food and wine discovery, celebration and experiencing the good things in life. While many sommeliers speak to the 1% of world wine consumers, Coopers Hawk is focused on the 99% and offers selections for newbies and those in-the-know.

Coopers Hawk has a long history in Chicago. Founder/CEO, Tim McEnery, who grew up in Orland Park, opened the first Coopers Hawk (and its first winery) in his hometown in 2005. 14 years later, there are 13 Coopers Hawk locations in Chicagoland, and 43 across the country  each with a loyal following of Wine Club members who contribute to the companys ranking as home to the largest wine clubs in the United States. Coopers Hawk employs nearly 6,000 team members across the country. The opening of Coopers Hawk Esquire is a next step in the brands evolution and will provide a deeper and trusted journey into wine.

About Coopers Hawk Winery & Restaurants: Founded in 2005 by CEO Tim McEnery, Coopers Hawk Winery & Restaurants is built upon the belief that food and wine hold the power to forge lasting connections. A lifestyle brand focused on creating memorable moments that enrich lives, the company is home to nearly 500,000 Wine Club members and currently operates 43 locations. The concept is a fusion of familiar elements  modern casual restaurant, Napa-style tasting room, and artisanal retail market combined to create an entirely new hospitality experience. Coopers Hawk has won over 500 awards for its wine and has been named the Official Wine of the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Connect with Coopers Hawk Winery & Restaurants:

Website: chwinery.com

Instagram: @CHWinery

Twitter: @CHWinery

Facebook.com: /coopershawk

About Wine Spectator: Wine Spectator is the worlds leading authority on wine. Anchored by Wine Spectator magazine, a print publication that reaches around 3 million readers worldwide, the brand also encompasses the Webs most comprehensive wine site (WineSpectator.com), mobile platforms and a series of signature events. Wine Spectator examines the world of wine from the vineyard to the table, exploring wines role in contemporary culture and delivering expert reviews of more than 15,000 wines each year. Parent company M. Shanken Communications, Inc., also publishes Cigar Aficionado, Whisky Advocate, Market Watch, Shanken News Daily and Shankens Impact Newsletter.
Two Baton Rouge teenagers have been indicted on murder charges in the February shooting death of another teen near the Mall of Louisiana.

Freddie Tate, 16, of the 3000 block of Huron St., and Ihmond Street, 15, of the 1400 block of Lake Calais Court, were charged Thursday with second-degree murder in the slaying of Gyron LeBeuf, 17.

Their case will be handled in the 19th Judicial District Court.

The case of a 14-year-old also arrested in the case on a second-degree murder charge is being handled in East Baton Rouge Parish Juvenile Court.

LeBeuf was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds near an apartment complex in the 10100 block of The Grove Avenue, not far from the mall, police have said. He later died of his injuries.

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No motive has been released.

LeBeuf had been setting up chairs at the family's home in the Lobdell-Woodale neighborhood and putting the final touches on decorating for his mother's 39th birthday on Feb. 8 when he left to buy her a gift from the mall, his family said.

His mom didn't notice him slip out of the house. Then, she received a call from her daughter telling her to get to the hospital because Gyron had been shot.

LeBeuf was a junior at EBR Readiness Superintendent's Academy.

+2 'Everyone loved him': former Broadmoor High student killed near mall was buying mom's birthday gift Gyron LeBeuf had been setting up chairs and putting the final touches on decorating for his mother's 39th birthday on Saturday when, his famil

The case has been assigned to state District Judge Beau Higginbotham.
TORONTO, June 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a ground-breaking decision released this morning, the Supreme Court of Canada made it easier for workers to challenge unfair contractual terms imposed by companies that hire them, whether or not they are in a formal employment relationship. The court sided with Uber drivers and reached a decision that addresses the concerns about access to justice highlighted by ISAC and PCLS in their submission before the court.



Todays decision in Uber Technologies Inc. v. Heller is a win for drivers who were forced to accept a standard mandatory arbitration agreement when they signed up on the Uber app. According to Uber, this meant that the drivers could no longer go to court or the Ministry of Labour with workplace disputes. Instead, they would have to go before a private decision-maker in Amsterdam, in a process that is both secret and expensive. In a 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court decided that the agreement could not stand, and the drivers could go ahead with a class action to determine whether they are employees.

ISAC and PCLS teamed up to intervene in the case to argue that workers right to seek justice in our public institutions cannot be signed away or privatized, said Nabila Qureshi, staff lawyer at ISAC who provided oral arguments before the Supreme Court. Otherwise, employers can sidestep laws that guarantee workers rights.

In siding with Uber workers, a majority of the judges held that the mandatory arbitration agreement was unfair, or unconscionable. The court recognized that Uber is in an unequal relationship with its drivers, Qureshi added. Companies cannot use this power imbalance to strip workers of their rights under the guise of an agreement.

This decision strengthens protections for workers who may be taken advantage of by the companies that hire them, said John No, staff lawyer at PCLS. To show that an agreement was unconscionable and therefore invalid, a worker will no longer be required to prove that their employer knowingly took advantage of the workers vulnerable status. This is an important victory for workers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, previously undervalued workers, like farm workers, food delivery gig workers, and cleaners, have been recognized as essential to our community and achieved important gains, No added. But like grocery stores that cancelled pandemic pay, employers still have great power over workers. To have a more just and fair society, we need to transform working conditions and the systems that allow for exploitation.

In an earlier decision in this case, the Court of Appeal for Ontario had found that mandatory arbitration agreements imposed by employers are always illegal because they violate Ontarios Employment Standards Act. The Supreme Court did not disagree with that ruling, but left that issue to be determined on another day.

Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) is a community legal clinic with a mandate to advance the systemic interests and rights of low-income Ontarians around income security programs and low-wage precarious employment.

Parkdale Community Legal Services (PCLS) serves low income residents of Parkdale and Swansea neighbourhoods in Toronto. Since its founding in 1971, PCLS has advised and represented thousands of employees and former employees against their employers.

For more information, contact Nabila Qureshi, ISAC Staff Lawyer, at qureshn@lao.on.ca,(416) 597-5820 ext. 5156; or John No, PCLS Staff Lawyer, at noj@lao.on.ca, (416) 531-2411, ext. 227.
Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales at the unveiling of the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park, London. (PA Wire)

The Queen has spoken of the pride felt by those who serve in the UK Armed Forces as she thanks military personnel past and present on Armed Forces day.

She said having so many family members who have served in some way means she knows only too well of the pride felt by those in service.

The message from the Queen, who is the Commander-in-Chief, came as the Duchess of Cornwall was given a new vice-patronage of a soldiers charity which will see her work alongside her mother-in-law.

The full message from the Queen said: The Duke of Edinburgh and I join many around the United Kingdom in celebrating Armed Forces Day, and the efforts of our military both at home and overseas.

Today provides an opportunity for thanks, and a recognition of the dedication and risks faced by those serving our nation. We also have cause to thank veterans, who continue to contribute to our way of life, long after they leave the Armed Forces.

Having had members of my family serve in each of the Armed Services, I know only too well of the pride Service personnel take in their duty. As your Commander-in-Chief, I send my warmest best wishes to you all, your families, and the entire Armed Forces community.

The Queen herself served during the Second World War, as part of the Womens Auxilliary Territorial Service.

Read more: Prince Charles fascinated by 'dig for victory spirit' which 'swept through' Britain during coronavirus pandemic

The Queen inspects the Guard of Honour before a visit of the Royal Navy's HMS Ocean. (Getty Images)

Her grandson Prince Harry served in the army in Afghanistan, and his brother Prince William trained at Sandhurst, and went onto be a pilot in the RAF.

Her son Andrew also saw war action in the Falklands. Charles ranked as a commander and a flight lieutenant, but Edward, the youngest brother, withdrew from his training.

Philip, her husband, gave up his burgeoning military career when she became Queen.

The Duchess of Cornwall has marked Armed Forces Day by taking on a new vice-patronage, with ABF The Soldiers Charity. The Queen has been patron since 1953 and will remain in this position.

Story continues

It sees Camilla add another military patronage to her collection, as she is already Patron of the Royal British Legion Poppy Factory and the War Memorials Trust.

Camilla said: We owe a huge debt of gratitude to all those in the Armed Forces, who steadfastly serve our country. I am therefore delighted to become Vice Patron of ABF The Soldiers Charity, an organisation of which Her Majesty is Patron, which does such wonderful work to support soldiers, veterans and their immediate families.

Read more: Things you never knew were on the Queen's land - from fast food chains and shopping centres

Camilla will become a vice-patron of the Soldiers' Charity. (Getty Images)

Major General (Retd) Martin Rutledge, Chief Executive, ABF The Soldiers Charity, added: ABF The Soldiers Charity is most grateful and delighted to announce that Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall has become its Vice-Patron.

The Army Benevolent Fund, as we were known originally, was formed in 1944 to support those returning from combat in the Second World War. Our name may have changed, but our purpose has not: we exist to ensure that soldiers, veterans and their families can live a life of independence and dignity.

We are honoured that The Duchess of Cornwall has chosen to support ABF The Soldiers Charity and the work we do to ensure the wellbeing of the British Army family; and we look forward to working with Her Royal Highness in years to come.
A new study demonstrates for the first time that dolphins can learn foraging techniques outside the mother-calf bond  showing that they have a similar cultural nature to great apes. The findings, led by an international research team including academics at the University of Bristol, are published in Current Biology.

The scientists have been studying the dolphins of Shark Bay, Western Australia, for almost 40 years and, in the mid-1990s, they were able to document the first instances of an extraordinary new foraging technique called shelling.

Co-author Dr Simon Allen, of Bristols School of Biological Sciences, said shelling was a tactic used by dolphins to target prey that hide inside large empty shells of giant sea snails in Shark Bay. The dolphins chase the fish into the shell, then insert their beak into the opening and lift the shell to the surface, shaking it about until the trapped prey falls into their jaws, Dr Allen said.

In a collaborative project led by the University of Zurich, the team conducted boat-based surveys in the western gulf of Shark Bay between 2007 and 2018 to quantify how shelling behaviour spread across the population. From over 5,000 dolphin group encounters they identified more than 1,000 different individuals. A total of 42 shelling events were documented, performed by 19 individual dolphins.

Dr Allen said foraging techniques in Shark Bay were typically passed on from dolphin mothers to their offspring in what researchers refer to as vertical social transmission. This transmission between generations was considered the primary way in which young dolphins learned their foraging methods, he explained.

But the new study demonstrates that some of Shark Bays dolphins have actually learned this foraging method outside the mother-calf bond, from their peers.

This study sets an important milestone, as it shows that the cultural behaviour of dolphins and other toothed whales may be more similar to that of great apes, including humans, than previously thought. Although their evolutionary histories and the environments they inhabit are vastly different, there exist striking similarities between cetaceans and great apes. Both taxa are long-lived, have high cognitive abilities, and they are capable of innovation and social learning, says Allen.

These findings represent the first quantitative evidence of non-vertical transmission of a foraging tactic in toothed whales, providing further evidence of cultural similarities between dolphins and great apes. Chimpanzees and humans have also demonstrated a broad range of socially learned foraging behaviour outside the mother-calf bond.

The study was conducted by Dr Sonja Wild for her PhD through the University of Leeds. Dr Wild is now a postdoctoral researcher based at the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour at the University of Konstanz in Germany.

Dr Wild said: The results are quite surprising, as dolphins tended to be conservative, with calves following a do-as-mother-does strategy for learning foraging behaviour.

However, our results show that dolphins are definitely capable, and in the case of shelling, also motivated to learn new foraging tactics outside the mother-calf bond, she added. This opens the door to a new understanding of how dolphins may be able to adapt to changing environments, as learning from ones peers allows for the rapid spread of novel behaviour across populations.

For example, an unprecedented marine heatwave was responsible for wiping out Shark Bays critical seagrass habitat in 2011. There was a subsequent die-off of fish and invertebrates, including the gastropods that live in those giant shells.

While we can only speculate as to whether this prey depletion gave the dolphins a boost to adopt new foraging behaviour from their associates, it seems quite possible that an abundance of dead giant gastropod shells may have increased learning opportunities for shelling behaviour.

Paper

'Integrating genetic, environmental and social networks to reveal transmission pathways of a dolphin foraging innovation' by Sonja Wild, William J.E. Hoppitt, Simon J. Allen, Michael Krutzen in Current Biology
The alarm was sounded as early as March: Canada had a supply problem when it came to procuring N95 respirators.

Deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland likened the market for the disposable tight-fitting masks to the Wild West.

Nurses across Ontario pleaded with provincial officials to secure more and avoid a shortage crisis.

In April, global demand was so great that U.S. President Donald Trump blocked three million of them from entering Canada.

And just last week, a Hamilton researcher said he was short thousands of the mask whose efficacy he was meant to study.

The frenzy over personal protective equipment, as concerning as it was and still is, prompted a question from one Waterdown-based company: What if the solution wasnt to secure more N95 respirators, but to use more of those we have  and safely?

Stryker, a medical technology company that supplies equipment to hospitals across the country, is one of a handful of manufacturers who were approved by Health Canada amid the pandemic to ship sanitization equipment out to front-line workers.

Using a production facility in Quebec, Stryker has shipped 56 sterilization units as far as British Columbia and the Yukon.

The units look like a refrigerator and can sanitize hundreds of N95 respirators an hour. They also triple the amount of time the masks  which double as filters for airborne particles  can safely be reused.

Were only at 70 per cent of our order (approved by Health Canada), and we plan on shipping to all seven provinces and three territories, said Stryker president Scott MacNair.

While Stryker primarily produces surgical, orthopedic and neurotechnology equipment, MacNair said the company was inspired to diversify when federal and provincial governments called on the private sector to help with COVID-19 supplies.

The process of gaining Health Canada approval for a product can often take months, but it took about eight days for Stryker, MacNair said.

Health Canada really accelerated looking for personal protection options during the pandemic, MacNair said, noting the sterilizing units were approved in late April. There was a lot of work being done to secure equipment for front-line workers, and we wanted to help out.

With 26 units left to ship, MacNair said playing a role in extending the life cycle of a critical piece of equipment during the pandemic has been humbling for the company. The added bonus?

Its really great that its manufactured in Canada.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Friday on statehood for Washington, D.C. Theyre doing this, as is clearly allowed by the Constitution, as simple legislation: The bill would shrink the constitutionally mandated federal district to include just the federal government buildings and monuments, while putting all the districts residents into the 51st state.

Its a good idea. While it wont happen this year, the chances of its happening the next time Democrats have unified control of government are now pretty high.

Why do I say that? In practical terms, statehood for the district  which is overwhelmingly Democratic  has become almost completely a partisan fight. Democrats want the two extra senators they would surely get; Republicans oppose it.(1) It wasnt always the case that Democrats saw D.C. statehood in terms of party advantage. The last time statehood got a vote, in 1993, the Democrats split (all but one Republican opposed it).

Several things have changed since then. Both parties are now more likely to see everything in terms of future party advantage. And on the Democratic side, it matters that Black party actors in addition to Black voters have become a more important part of the partys coalition. Theres a good chance the districts senators would be Black, and the party collectively is more comfortable showing itself as truly diverse.

It also helps within the Democratic Party that at a time when Black protesters are demanding progress in many difficult policy areas, statehood for Washington would also serve as an easy symbolic gain. Thats not to say its only symbolic, but to the extent that it is, the issue can be fully resolved with no complicating consequences. (As opposed to, say, fundamentally restructuring local policing.)

Combine all those things, and the question of D.C. statehood has moved from being a marginal policy question to a fairly high-ranking item on the Democratic Party agenda. That explains the House vote on Friday, and signals that Democrats will almost certainly try to make this happen once they regain control of Congress and the White House, whenever that happens.

Story continues

The big obstacle in that case will be a Senate filibuster by Republicans seeking to block it. Yet as the Democrats chances of winning the presidential election and possibly gaining a Senate majority in addition to the House have been increasing, so have the odds that they will move to eliminate the legislative filibuster.

It wouldnt be the D.C. statehood issue that would prompt 50 Democratic senators to go nuclear and end the filibuster  the number necessary for that to happen  even if there are as many as 55 Democrats after a hypothetical landslide. The likely impetus for that to happen, as Scott Lemieux points out, is that Democrats may enter the White House and establish a Senate majority at a time when the economy is in serious trouble and with Republicans blocking any stimulus.

It would take 60 votes in support of the stimulus to stop the filibuster, and it would be hard to see any Republicans breaking ranks to reach that number or be willing to reach a compromise. After all, Republicans right now are ambivalent about any further economic relief even though they are the party that would benefit from it in the coming elections.

In 1993, with the economy improving anyway, the Democratic majority in the Senate was willing to allow a Republican filibuster to defeat a stimulus measure. In 2009, Democrats had a large enough Senate majority that they were able to pass a huge stimulus bill with minimal Republican help. In 2021, if they have regained that majority, they likely wont get to the filibuster-proof 60 votes nor are they likely to accept the derailing of their entire legislative agenda. Given those circumstances, the filibuster is likely dead. And once its dead, D.C. statehood needs only a simple majority.(3)

Looking away from the partisanship for a minute, no legitimate justification exists for disenfranchising some 700,000 U.S. citizens who live in Washington.(2) The framers of the Constitution just got this one wrong in giving Congress the power to exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) set up as the Seat of the Government of the United States.

They likely didnt even consider the possibility that hundreds of thousands of Americans might live in such a district, most of whom having nothing whatsoever to do with the federal government. After all, the entire concept of an extended republic  a democracy larger than a city-state  was something they were basically inventing from scratch. At any rate, people who live in Washington are as entitled to self-government and representation in Congress as those in New York or Texas or Alaska.

The question (again, leaving partisanship aside) is whether D.C. should be a separate state or returned to Maryland. Both options are better than the status quo, but statehood has some real advantages. Washington is certainly large enough to be a state. It would join six current states with fewer than a million residents, more populous than Wyoming and Vermont and a bit smaller than Alaska and North Dakota. As for being geographically tiny? Thats a feature, not a bug.

The U.S. Senate is currently heavily biased against cities. Wyoming gets two senators for fewer than 600,000 residents. Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth and El Paso, each with more people than all of Wyoming, have to share their two senators with one another and millions of other Texans. Though theres no legitimate reason at all for the malapportionment of the Senate, were basically stuck with it.

Making one good-sized city a state wouldnt even the score, but it would balance things at least a little bit. Perhaps in the long run it would even push Republicans to care a bit more about cities, just as Democrats dont completely ignore rural areas, even if they cant win there.

Again, I dont expect this fight to be won or lost on the merits. This will eventually be a partisan decision, just as the creation of many states (two Dakotas?) were partisan acts of, essentially, gerrymandering the Senate. But on the merits, D.C. statehood is a good idea.

(1) There would also be a House seat that a Democrat would win; assuming that the House remained at 435 members, it's basically a toss-up whether the eliminated seat in any future reapportionment would come from one party or another. And of course 1 of 435 is a lot less important than 2 of what would be 102.

(2) Indeed, the threat of D.C. statehood and other Democratic agenda items should push Republicans towards seeking compromises on the highest Democratic priorities in order to retain their ability to defeat other things by filibuster. That's not what Republicans did when Barack Obama was president, and it probably won't be what they do if Biden becomes president.

(3) The July 2019 census estimate for Washington is 705,749. Presumably not all of those are citizens, but the population is increasing (up 17% since the 2010 census) so the number of residents is probably higher than last year's number.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. He taught political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University and wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

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

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2020 Bloomberg L.P.
The year 2020, which has already been quite disturbing, may take a turn for the worse, for India and some other Asian nations. A series of ominous warning signals ignored amid internal differences in the last 8 years have brought us to a perilous brink. From battling the coronavirus pandemic, we have come to fighting the Chinese aggression along the Ladakh-Tibet border and South China Sea. The belligerence of China is fraught with ramifications for America, India, Russia and other South Asian nations.

Since the formation of People's Republic of China, in October 1949 by Mao, his Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, has been the unchecked power centre. It invaded and captured Tibet in 1950, and became a strategic concern for India. Our mute acceptance then was a cardinal mistake as challenging China, already embroiled then in the US-Korea War, could have saved Tibet.

Indian troops in Ladakh. (Photo: Reuters)

Once Tibet was conquered, the CCP eyed areas south of the Himalayan watershed. With this ambition, the Chinese Army (PLA), intruded India in August and October 1959, leading to loss of lives at Galwan and Longju. This was followed by a war in 1962, which ended in our defeat. We still carry that scar.

As of today, both armies are locked in a grim face-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh and Sikkim. The skirmishes have been bulletless but intense, with deaths and injuries on both sides. The Galwan clash where 20 of our solidiers went down fighting and killing the PLA ambushers with bare hands, is a grim echo of 1962. From June 6 to June 23, military talks were held at unprecedented Ladakh Corps Commander levels. But the Chinese troop mobilisation has only expanded, now threatening Pangong Lake, Depsang plains and the Daulat Beg Oldie airstrip. It is imperative to analyse the larger picture which has led to the face-off, that the American President Donald Trump has been terming as a 'Raging conflict between India and China'.

Should the current crisis be seen along with the Wuhan virus outbreak?

The face-off at the LAC cant be seen in isolation, as reactions from across the world against China over the pandemic are sharply critical. That China is to be directly blamed is a fact beyond doubt. Enough research indicates that the virus leaked out of the only BS 4 level laboratory in China, either deliberately or accidentally. Despite being aware of the spread of the virus in December 2019, China went into a brutal internal lockdown, halting all inland travel, but strangely continued international flights, even from Wuhan.

Thus Shanghai and Beijing were virtually unscathed, but the US, Italy and other nations landed in chaos. The US has lost more citizens to Covid-19 than in all its wars, after and including Vietnam.

In India, the social media storm against the Chinese, resulted in the government instituting stricter controls over Chinese contracts and investments in India, so much so that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the people of India, called for a nationwide movement to shun imports and focus on Make In India.

The Chinese concept of warfare articulates the use of unrestricted warfare in open terms. The Chinese promise to use all means, armed force or non-armed force, lethal, non-lethal, military, non-military to compel the adversary to accept one's interest. We can add biological, water, climate, chemical and nuclear warfare to these options.

Warfare is all about control of the economy and majority population. To control the economic markets and minds across the world, every trick or tactic is fair for the CCP.

BRI: Central to the Chinese Constitution

The other reasons that have brought upon this aggression by the PLA could be a fallout of several factors. In 2017, India categorically refused to have anything to do with China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as the road leads through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, and a breach of Indian sovereignty.

It was soon after the first international BRI conference in Beijing and India's refusal to participate that China violated Bhutanese territory at Doklam, towards the right shoulder of Chumbi Valley. The Indian Army which is a trusted partner of Bhutan, swiftly mobilised to defend the territorial integrity of our borders. The standoff ended with loss of face for China.

In August 2019, Indian Parliament revoked Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir. The revocation led to the creation of two distinct Union Territories that China and Pakistan opposed vociferously. On maps, but not in immediate intent, the areas allotted to Ladakh included parts of Aksai Chin which are under Chinese occupation.

It also covers Gilgit-Baltistan, currently under illegal Pakistan occupation and strategic for CPEC, that is part of the larger BRI scheme of China. Thus, the Doklam standoff, revocation of Article 370 and refusal to join BRI, all irked Beijing, thereby presenting China with an excuse to teach New Delhi a lesson for obstructing their global BRI ambitions.

The area where the 20 Indian soldiers were martyred. (Photo: Satellite image)

The CCP has gone through a transition from being a rigid communist regime to a market-oriented state. But with internal dissent growing, CCP rigidity has returned to Tiananmen days, as we are witnessing in Hong Kong. The internal politics of China has never been more ruthless than now, due to growing civil unrest, poverty and resentment in high circles over Xi Jinpings anointment as Chairman for life.

His endless rule is central to the success of BRI. The huge investments already made and damage to global economy due to the coronavirus is a setback. BRI has been added into the constitution of China. Hence technically, BRI and one China policy are enshrined in the Chinese constitution and their rejection is a diplomatic affront. The focus on BRI to the point of no return and its failure will be the beginning of internal collapse.

Balance of military power in Asia

From an Indian military point of view, any aggressive step by the CCP is a larger ploy to force CPEC acceptance and to divert world attention from China. The arm-twisting tactics are a message to smaller nations. Most dangerously, our friendly neighbour Nepal has yielded to this coercion by tabling and unanimously approving an anti-India border resolution. The passage of this resolution in both houses of their Parliament is an ominous diplomatic failure and opens a potential third front after Pakistan, which is a virtual Chinese colony today.

Reports emerging since the end of 2018 highlighted increase in PLA troops in Tibet. Apart from deploying regular troops to forward areas, they have upgraded airfields at Shigatse, Lhasa and Ngari with more fighters and radar units inducted. Since the last armed escalations in 1967 (Cho La) and 1987 (Sumdorong Chu) or Doklam, there hasnt been a face-off as tense as the ongoing one.

The CCP would like to believe that it can bully the Indian military with its aggressive behaviour, but India today, is different from the one in 1962. If India succumbs to pressure, Ladakh will be lost in near future to a joint Sino-Pak offensive. China will next have its way in its ambitions for South China Sea and Taiwan under their one China constitutional vision.

Beijing is seized of the situation in the South China Sea rim, but China won't precipitate a situation where the USA is called out for retaliatory action, due to treaty obligations.

That leaves only India, as a regional power that China can take liberties with, while providing weapons to its vassal Pakistan, to continue the ongoing proxy war in J&K.

In short, keep India occupied on two-and-a-half fronts, in order to scare smaller nations. China wants to demonstrate its power, knowing that India is facing its worst internal crisis, which has been triggered by Chinas own coronavirus. Since May, skirmishes with PLA have taken place in Sikkim, Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso sectors. Galwan riverbed is the strategic gateway to the Aksai Chin valley. The tragic loss of our 20 soldiers at Galwan, who even with bare hands fought to the end and took down many of their PLA ambushers, can once again be a prelude to a larger conflict soon.

Options for India and developing a national resolve

The Chinese art of warfare revolves around winning a conflict through surprise and psychological pressure, without firing a shot. Thats why the confusion over perception of the LAC has lasted so long. There is a vast Info War machinery embedded in India to mount campaigns against the government. Nibbling tactics have led to loss of precious territory by us and bitter political battles, which China takes advantage of.

Despite the standing military balance stacked in favour of China, it must be remembered that in mountains, it is always the man behind the machine and his resolve to fight that win wars. The Indian soldier fights where he's ordered to, under whatever circumstances. On the contrary, the same cant be guaranteed of the Chinese PLA soldiers, who have been seen to be risk averse under fire. It has happened in Vietnam, Sikkim, as well as during Sudan UN Operations. The one child policy is a major factor for the Chinese soldier. The PLA today is weaker than it was during the Korea war and in 1962. They may have reached Pangong Tso and Galwan, or maybe inching towards DBO and Depsang now, but we need to fire the first shots to throw them out.

The key battle factors

The crucial factor of surprise has been lost. But eviction is imperative to hold off both China and Pakistan from developing a crushing pincer on Ladakh and Siachen. This can be achieved by a nationwide mobilisation of all our forces.

Once mobilisation is demonstrated, bring all paramilitary border forces, under operational control of the army for six months. Next, clearly announce complete re-raising of the Brahmastra mountain strike corps. Relocate strategic assets to launch pads in the East. Aggressively expand the war zone into the high seas. Completely dominate the Indian Ocean and create multiple pressure points for China up to the Malacca Strait.

It is time to answer China in its own language. (Photo: Reuters)

Areas where India has terrain advantage, like Sikkim and Arunachal, need to be intruded into by elite units to show solidarity with the Tibetans. Clearly, the decision for escalation to the point of shots being fired needs to be with the junior commanders. The forces must also issue a call-out notice to all veterans of last four years, below brigadier ranks, to rejoin their regiments.

This will be a clarion call and a signal to both China and Pakistan.

History has shown that no two major nations with common borders can be at peace for long. More than a vacillating US, it is to the age-old friend Russia that is more uncomfortable with Chinas increasing ambitions, and who we must look towards. If we lose today, the bear may be the next victim of the dragon. Defense Minister Rajnath Singhs visit on Russias Victory Day would have had many significant decisions taken.

Since intrusions commenced in April, the crisis will last till October. This gives enough time for the world to recover from the corona crisis. Primarily, US, UK, Australia, Russia, Germany, Taiwan and Japan will react to make the corona bio-war, a rallying point to take punitive actions. The message to China from the world should be that hegemony is unacceptable and both Tibet and Taiwan need their freedom.

China of 2020 is worse than the battle-hardened China of 1962. The residual powers of CCP can last only for 5-10 years, before internal dissents, poverty, collapse China. We must re-seize the initiative to achieve victory even if it has to come after great sacrifices. For more inspiration, we only need to look at tiny Vietnam or Israel. Or re-read the order to a despondent 4 Corps by FM Manekshaw, the greatest Gorkha Leader ever: Gentlemen, there will be no retreat without written orders and those orders will never be written.

Jai Hind!

Also Read: How India can hit China where it hurts them most
At least 100 Rohingya refugees were rescued by Indonesian fishermen, including 79 women and children, in Aceh province after officials said they were planning to push them back out to sea.

Countries around Southeast Asia have been unwelcoming and grown increasingly reluctant to accept refugee boats as they battle the novel coronavirus, but the Acehnese fishermen rescued the Rohingya believing it was their moral duty, Reuters reported.

Reuters

It is nothing more than a sense of humanity and part of our tradition in the north Aceh fishermen community, a local fisherman Hamdani Yacob was quoted as saying by Reuters. We hope that the refugees will be looked after in our village.



Authorities in Aceh confirmed the refugees had been taken ashore on Thursday and provided temporary housing. The fishermen had rescued them earlier in the week and they were anchored just off the coast, but officials had said they planned to push them back out to sea with a new boat, gasoline and food.

Reuters

Local authorities capitulated following protests from the local fishermen.



If the government is incapable, us the community will help them, because we are human beings and they (the Rohingya refugees) are human too and we have a heart, another local fisherman, Syaiful Amri, told Reuters.

Reuters

Fleeing persecution in Myanmar and refugee camps in Bangladesh, the Rohingya have for years boarded boats between November and April, when the seas are calm, to get to Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.



The crisis has worsened this year as regional states have shut their doors amid the coronavirus pandemic, leaving some boats drifting for weeks with hundreds of Rohingya aboard.
ALTON  An Alton baker and a restaurant chain have struck a deal to not only help save a local business but also show UniTEA in diversity.

Yvonne Campbell, head baker and owner of My Just Desserts in Alton, recently accepted a deal with McAlisters Deli, in Edwardsville, and saved her from a potential financial crisis.

This really has been a blessing, financially, Campbell said. Because of COVID, we have been operating at a third of capacity.

The deal also has been about spreading awareness through a campaign promoted by McAlisters called Love Your Neighbor. The campaign seeks to find local, black-owned businesses to help spread a message of unity  or as the campaign states #uniTEA  during the nations current civil rights movement.

For Campbell, her part of the deal was to produce 33,000 cookies for 17 locations across the bi-state area as well as in Iowa and Kentucky. But, there was one catch.

Were famous for pies and brownies, she said. We dont make cookies.

While My Just Desserts normally doesnt offer cookies as an option, Campbell said she couldnt turn down the work, nor the message. So she had to get creative. To bake the cookies, she reworked her famous Toll House brownie recipe into a cookie recipe.

It has worked better than I ever thought it could, she said.

After fulfilling the order, Campbell said she does not plan on stopping there.

It has worked so well, she said. We could even see these cookies in our stores.

Campbell also has considered working with Schnucks, as the grocer is offering goods made by local businesses as grab-and-go items.

My Just Desserts, 31 E. Broadway, has been located in Alton since 1986. Campbells first job in high school was at the bakery and cafe and after studying culinary arts, she moved back into the baking world.

Campbell will celebrate her second year as owner July 2.

My Just Desserts is currently open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, but Campbell said that if a steady flow starts to pick up business, her hours might expand to accommodate patrons.

For those who want to try one of the 33,000 cookies, Campbell said McAlisters in Edwardsville is one of the 17 locations slated to receive the sweet treats.

For more information visit www.myjustdesserts.org or follow its Facebook page @AltonDesserts.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has drawn flak for calling the slain al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden a shaheed or martyr, leading parliamentarians to seek an apology.

Speaking in parliament on Thursday amid rising criticism of his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, Khan connected the issue to the US criticism of Pakistans role in the war on terror. They came into our country and killed Osama Bin Laden, martyred him, all the world criticised us instead. Khan said Pakistan supported the war on terror but US continued to blame Pakistan.

We were even blamed for their failures in Afghanistan... we were not sure whether America was our ally or our enemy, he said.

Laden was killed in a military operation by US Navy Seals in 2011 in Abbottabad.

Slamming Khans speech, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari of PPP said, I can only compare this to how the state of Pakistan sent soldiers to fight in Kargil. They sent them to their deaths and we did not even acknowledge them.

Khawaja Asif of the opposition PML-N said Khans speech was riddled with errors on history and politics. He said Osamabrought terrorism to my country. He destroyed my country and Imran Khan has declared him a shaheed.

Asif said, Zia ul Haq brought Osama to Pakistan and Imran Khan has called him a shaheed.

The row came as Islamabad rejected the US state departments annual report on terrorism as self-contradictory and selective in its characterisation of Pakistans efforts to counter terrorism and terror financing.

The US report has accused Pakistan of continuing to be a safe haven for terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad.

PIA GROUNDS A THIRD OF ITS FAKE PILOTS

Pakistan International Airlines said on Thursday it has grounded almost a third of its pilots for holding fake or dubious licences, a month after one of its planes crashed into houses killing 97 people. The move came after the government released a preliminary report into the May 22 crash in Karachi. PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan said a probe had found about 150 of its 434 pilots were carrying either bogus or suspicious licences.

We have decided to ground those 150 pilots with immediate effect, he said.
By Express News Service

DEHRADUN: Traders at border areas in Uttarakhand who largely depend on Nepal are staring at an uncertain future due to the ongoing rift with the neighbouring country.

Banbasa, a border town at Indo-Nepal border which is located about 330 km away from Dehradun, is an entry point for those going to Nepal from Champawat after crossing a bridge over Sharda river.

Shankar Lal Verma, a Banbasa-based trader and state secretary of Uttarakhand Vyapar Mandal said, "The tension between Indian and Nepal is going to hit us hard. We have over 80% of customers from the other side of the border and only about 20% from this side. I hope the tensions get resolved soon."

Traders added that business has gone down to 5% of what they used to have. Traders from Nepal used to mainly buy vegetables, ration items, hardware, cloth, and cosmetics.

There are around 550 traders in Banbasa who have traditional trade relations with their counterparts in Kanchanpur, Nepal.

After the tensions in Indo-Nepal relations, the Indian traders are majorly concerned about their business which largely depends on their customers from Nepal.

Responding to the queries related to the matter, the Uttarakhand government officials said that they are aware of the issues faced by the traders in Banbasa.

Madan Kaushik, state cabinet minister and state government spokesperson, said, "I hope the governments of the two countries will resolve the matter soon. The state government can try to address the issue of the traders."

Apart from this, pharmaceutical industry owners in Uttarakhand claimed that prices of raw material for production of medicines have increased by up to 30%, which could result in costlier medicines. This comes amidst on going border tensions with China.

At present, there are over 100 pharmaceutical manufacturers operating from State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIDCUL) areas in Haridwar and Rudrapur. Most of the raw material for the pharmaceutical industry is imported from China because of the lower cost than locally available salts, say industrialists.
Star real estate agent Fredrik Eklund took to Instagram on Thursday to mark a very special occasion  the ten year anniversary of meeting his now husband, Derek Kaplan.

The snap that the Bravo star uploaded was a simple two-shot of the handsome smiling couple: 'No filters, just us, two husbands celebrating 10 years together,' as he described in the lengthy and touching caption.

'Babe I think we did it? In fact we did the impossible,' he continued.

Star real estate agent Fredrik Eklund took to Instagram on Thursday to mark a very special occasion: The ten year anniversary of meeting his now husband, Derek Kaplan

'When I knocked on your shoulder summer of 2010 in Mykonos we were so young, you were an aspiring artist living in London with a car company, like an Uber before Uber, and I was an up-and-coming real estate agent in NY with what some might say too big dreams.

'During our first night together,' Eklund continued, inserting a fire emoji, 'the very initial contract from Bravo came in via fax at the hotel and I tried to explain to you why I was excited about it.'

The Swedish star of Million Dollar Listing New York continued in the message to reminisce about how they then married in New York State, in 2013.

Touching: 'Babe I think we did it? In fact we did the impossible,' Eklund said in the lengthy and touching caption

Grooms: The Swedish star of Million Dollar Listing New York continued in the message to reminisce about how they married in New York State, in 2013

But because gay marriage was not yet federally recognized at the time, the Harare, Zimbabwe-born Kaplan had to leave back to the U.K.

'Ill never forget when our marriage was accepted by everyone in the US, that June when people were dancing on the streets of New York, it was actually the same week as our wedding episode aired. And you could come home permanently,' Fredrik remembered sweetly.

He then went on to discuss their twin children Milla and Fredrik Jr., two, whom they welcomed via surrogate in 2017.

Dads: He then went on to discuss their twin children Milla and Fredrik Jr., two, whom they welcomed via surrogate in 2017

'It might feel long ago today, but I look at our kids and I can see all the struggles back then in a good way. You had Kai [Derek's son] who I instantly loved and I wanted kids of our own too and told you about the dreams of this little girl I called Milla as long as I could remember.

'But then when our surrogate Misty became pregnant with twins I started seeing visions of a little boy and girl holding hands in the distance - she was going to have a brother!' Eklund continued.

'10 years later you are my Big D, my sex on legs, my best friend and my daddy angel. We traveled the world together, literally, and spiritually. Kids, dogs, nannies, our Monkey, big families, careers, Stockholm, London, New York and now Los Angeles. You are always so kind, so helpful, so generous, even when you are overwhelmed which is easy with me,' the Stockholm-born reality star concluded.

'It might feel long ago today, but I look at our kids and I can see all the struggles back then in a good way. You had Kai [Derek's son] who I instantly loved and I wanted kids of our own too'

Intimate moments: '10 years later you are my Big D, my sex on legs, my best friend and my daddy angel,' Fredrik wrote to Derek in the caption

'You always take the time to listen and never, ever judge. Im so incredibly thankful that you picked me - you could have had anyone. Love you'

At the end, Fredrik added the emoji for a family of four, plus the hashtag #pridemonth in honor of June as Gay Pride Month in the US.

The tribute came days after Fredrik shared another touching post for Father's Day, captioned 'Happy Fathers Day from us Daddies' that contained a fun gallery of family and couple shots.

The eighth season finale of Million Dollar Listing New York aired in October of last year, with a ninth season on the way.

From New York to Los Angeles: 'You always take the time to listen and never, ever judge. Im so incredibly thankful that you picked me - you could have had anyone. Love you,' Eklund added
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(Kitco News) - Gold prices are holding above $1,750 an ounce, which was the top of its former trading range and is now acting as chart support, as markets collectively ponder whether the surge in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and elsewhere will lead to more supportive measures by authorities to prop up the economy and markets, said Bannockburn Global Forex. The number of U.S. cases is reaching records, and at least a couple of states are stopping their reopening efforts, Bannockburn said. Several other countries, including parts of Australia, Japan and Germany, are wrestling with the same thing, And some emerging markets, like Brazil and Mexico, have not experienced a lull. Still, Asia Pacific and European equities traded higher overnight, although stock-index futures in the U.S. are softer. Benchmark 10-year yields are mostly a little lower today, with the U.S. yield near 67 bp [basis points], Bannockburn said in an early-day research note. On the week, the U.S. and Germany have seen yields slip 2-3 bp. The U.S. dollar has a heavier bias against most major world currencies. Gold is consolidating its gain to new multiyear highs this week and is finding support above the top of the old range (~$1750), Bannockburn said. It is the third consecutive weekly gain.
Boris Johnson has faced calls to open 'air bridges' to all of the EU at once because freedom of movement makes it impossible to stop tourists crossing borders.

The British Prime Minister is due to give the green light to foreign holidays next Monday when the Government unveils its long-awaited travel corridor plan.

'Air bridges' to France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey have been all but confirmed, sources disclosed, with the first flights set to take off on July 4.

Ministers will say Britons can visit any one of around ten countries without having to quarantine  reviving summer holidays after almost four months of travel restrictions.

But with Portugal supposedly left off the list, campaign groups have called for the whole of Europe to be opened up for British travel, The Telegraph reports.

The British Prime Minister is due to give the green light to foreign holidays next Monday when the Government unveils its long-awaited travel corridor plan. Pictured, an employee wearing a protective mask walks on the beach of the Divani Apollon Palace hotel in Greece

The travel corridors are unenforceable, according to Paul Charles, spokesman for the campaign group Quash Quarantine, which represents 400 of the biggest travel and hospitality businesses in Britain.

He told the newspaper: 'You are not going to be able to stop British people flying in to Madrid, driving over to Portugal and then going back via Madrid.

'That's why it needs a pan-European travel corridor.'

Henry Smith, the Conservative chairman of the all-party Future of Aviation Group, welcomed the 'first steps' but pointed out most EU countries have had a similar if not better experience with coronavirus to the UK.

With Portugal supposedly left off the list, campaign groups have called for the whole of Europe to be opened up for British travel, The Telegraph reports. Pictured, two men set up sun umbrellas at the beach in Portugal's Algarve coast on Thursday, June 4

Tourists walk by the Coliseum monument in Rome as the country eases its lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection

He said it was a mistake not to open the corridors to all EU countries. 'I think that is the most straight forward and eloquent way to approach it,' he added.

It comes after it was revealed medium-haul destinations such as Dubai will reportedly be available for Britons to explore from mid to late summer, with trips to Vietnam and Hong Kong on the horizon from late August or September.

Britons are also expected to get the green light to visit Canada, Morocco and the Caribbean from August.

Ministers are even on the verge of coming to a deal with Australia, as long as flights connect via low-risk countries such as Singapore.

Britons began to arrive in Benidorm, Spain on Monday as coronavirus restrictions were eased amid the pandemic in Europe

Tourists take selfies in front of Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy on June 19 as travel restrictions were loosened after months of lockdown

'Air bridges' to France , Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey have been all but confirmed, sources disclosed, with the first flights set to take off on July 4

Dozens more countries will be added in coming weeks, including important business destinations, but the initial announcement will be focused on popular holiday routes to give an instant shot in the arm to Britain's crippled travel industry.

But Britons hoping to travel to the USA, Mexico and South American countries will likely have to wait until at least December, the Sun reported.

Mr Charles was reportedly assured by the Government that travel corridors will open as planned - subject to any coronavirus outbreaks.

He said 'intensive' phone calls are currently taking place across Europe to finalise the arrangements.

'The first phase will be Europe, and the second phase from August will be more long haul, with the Caribbean, Dubai and Morocco included,' he said.

'South America, and Latin America will likely be exempt from the end of the year. There is no way restrictions will be lifted there any time soon as they are at the epicentre of the pandemic at the moment.

'And it is unlikely that America will open up before the November election, partly because President Trump won't open it up, but also because the number of cases there is very high.'

France (pictured, Paris on Sunday) is among around 10 countries expected to be included in Britain's 'air bridges' to be announced on Monday

Greece (pictured, Oia on Santorini on June 14) is also among those expected to be announced by the Govenrment on Monday

At present, any traveller arriving in the UK - whether from Britain or a tourist - must quarantine for 14 days and provide their phone number and an address for self-isolation.

But some Britons have already ventured abroad after Spain lifted its ban on foreign tourists and opened its beaches in glorious 100 degree-plus heat earlier this month.

Travel firms also slashed the price of a one-week holiday to 300 as Downing Street signalled it could bring in these 'travel corridors' from July 4, with no 14-day quarantine on return to the UK.

The Foreign Office is expected to relax its warning against all but essential global travel for the first time since lockdown was imposed in mid-March.

Instead, the risk of Covid-19 will be set to low, medium or high depending on infection rates in individual countries.

The plans  to be announced on Monday  were finalised and signed off yesterday in a meeting with officials from Downing Street, the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Home and Foreign offices.

Airlines and airports were expecting to be briefed on the plans yesterday, giving them just over a week to prepare for the new holiday season.

Under the scheme, travel corridor nations are signing 'memorandums of understanding' with the Government, agreeing that whatever anti-coronavirus measures are taken in the UK must be mirrored by similarly stringent policies abroad.

Giving examples to the transport committee yesterday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the other country having an equivalent to our test and trace system was important.

He also spoke of the need to consider the 'level and trajectory' of the virus abroad.

Boris Johnson will give the green light to foreign holidays next Monday when the Government unveils its long-awaited travel corridor plan (Pictured: Beaches in Benidorm, Spain)

People sunbathe on Playa de Palma beach in Mallorca as Spain officially reopened its borders amid the coronavirus pandemic on June 21

Outlining the questions being asked by UK officials, he said: 'Do they have something equivalent to our NHS Test and Trace system? The Test and Trace system is enormous here now. We've got the capacity to test far more than is immediately required but that would allow for any uplift anywhere.

'Does the country we're talking to have that kind of capability?'

Mr Shapps added that introducing air bridges is a 'massive priority', stating: 'I understand entirely the pain that aviation is going through. I know both for airports, for airlines and actually for ground handlers as well, this coronavirus has been a complete disaster.

'The only thing which will be worse is if the country does not continue the work it's doing on getting on top of it.

'That's why quarantine has been introduced at a point where we were getting on top of it. I know there's a lot of arguments about what we should have been doing at the beginning.'

Travel corridors will come as welcome news to the beleaguered tourism industry, with holiday firms and airlines likely to launch big promotions for last-minute holidays as soon as the announcement is made.

Since June 8, all passengers - bar a handful of exemptions - have been required to go into self-isolation for 14 days when they arrive in the UK.

People who fail to comply can be fined 1,000 in England, and police are allowed to use 'reasonable force' to make sure they follow the rules.

On Monday, Matt Hancock used the press conference to reveal that details of the air bridges will be published shortly.

Passengers arriving from London wear face mask as they exit the arrival area at the El Part de Llobregat airport in Barcelona on Sunday

A man sunbathes in a designated roped-off area on Poniente Beach in Benidorm on June 21, as holidaymakers return to Spain

'A lot of work is being done on travel corridors, I've been working on it over the weekend,' he said.

'And we have a formal review date of the quarantine policy at the end of this month on June 29, and we'll make sure that in good time for that we publish what we plan to do next in terms of where we think - based on the epidemiological advice - we're able to formalise travel corridors.

'I know that people are really looking forward to getting this information, but we've got to make sure that we get it right and that work is going on right now.'

Ryanair has already seen a doubling of UK bookings for flights in July and August since the beginning of June, and price comparison site Travel Supermarket say demand for holidays to Spain has doubled over the past week compared to the week before.

This comes as more than 4,500 airport workers in the UK and Ireland face the axe after Britain's biggest airport ground handling company announced plans to shed more than half its staff. Swissport yesterday announced job cuts as the pandemic has damaged the aviation industry.

The firm employs 8,500 workers at airports across the UK, including baggage handlers and check-in staff.
Deepika Singh recently took her Instagram account to give an update to her fans and followers about her mothers health. The Diya Aur Baati Hum fame actress revealed that her mom had recovered from COVID-19 and has returned home. However, she added that her grandmother is still undergoing treatment for the virus.

Deepika shared a picture with her mother and grandmother and wrote, Thankyou to all of you for your immediate help , support, for wishing and praying speedy recovery of my mother. Shes back home & safe. Grateful to everyone who have been a big support in this journey. Dil se shukriya. Now just waiting and praying for my grandma to recover as she has also been diagnosed positive & still in hospital. Please do keep her in your prayers. Although Thank you is not enough but I dont have a better word. Really Grateful to all of you @msisodia.aap #Vijaysinghshishodia @VSshishodia @delhigovernment @rvishal2356 #DrVikaskhatri @vneha2159 @shwetabishnoi #Tanvikhanna @nishi7mishra @anamika.aashi11. (sic)

For the unversed, Deepika had seeked help from Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for her mother on social media earlier this month. The video message was quickly picked up by many media outlets as it went viral on social media. Many fans and well-wishers of the actress ensured to spread the word whilst flooding her posts with their messages. The Delhi government was quick to step in and help her 59-year-old mother get admitted in a hospital.

Deepika had thanked the authorities by wroting, Thank you to Delhi Govt & health minister for the immediate response to my tweet & video. Finally my mother got admission in Sir Gangaram hospital. Hoping for her speedy recovery. (sic)

ALSO READ: Deepika Singh Desperately Seeks Help From Delhi CM For Her COVID-19 Positive Mother; WATCH VIDEO

ALSO READ: Mohena Singh Is Back Home After Spending 10 Days In Hospital; Continues To Be COVID-19 Positive
Brute force prevailed over legal thought in Armenia, said human rights activist Avetik Ishkhanyan on Friday.

According to him, the political forces that proclaimed the ideas of 'democracy', 'liberalism', and 'the rule of law' left defense lawyers and several judges defenseless.

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan took to his Facebook on Thursday to share an update on the constitional amendmends bill passed earlier by the MPs: The Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia has promulgated the amendments to the Constitution of Armenia in a newsletter.

The amendments will enter into force in a few hours.

Based on those amendments, the incumbent president of the Constitutional Court of Armenia will be dismissed, and the powers of members of the Constitutional Court Felix Tokhyan, Alvina Gyulumyan and Hrant Nazaryan will terminate starting from 00:01.
Iran will send to France next month the black boxes from a Ukrainian passenger jet that Tehran's armed forces mistakenly shot down in January, killing all 176 people on board, French aviation investigators said Friday. Iran has requested help with repairing and downloading data from the Cockpit Voice Recorder and the Flight Data Recorder of the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, the Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Authority tweeted. "Technical work (is) planned to start July 20... The safety investigation is led by Iran," it added. The Boeing 737 was struck by two missiles and crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran's airport on January 8. The Islamic republic admitted days later that its forces accidentally shot down the Kiev-bound jetliner. Many of the passengers on board were Canadian, and Ottawa has demanded for months that Iran -- which does not have the technical means to decode the black boxes -- send the items abroad so that their content can be analysed. The black boxes are expected to contain information about the last moments before the aircraft was struck. Iran has said the delay in sending the boxes was caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen most international flights cancelled. The Ukrainian passenger jet was struck by two missiles and crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8
Tensions over how to tackle allegations of anti-Semitism within the Labour party continued to rage after Sir Keir Starmer fired leading left-winger Rebecca Long-Bailey from the front bench.

Ms Long-Bailey, who was branded the continuity Corbyn candidate in the recent leadership battle, was sacked after she shared an article on social media which Sir Keir claimed expressed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.

In the article, actor Maxine Peake said police linked to the death of George Floyd in the US had learned their tactics from the Israeli secret services.

7.I am clear that I shall continue to support the Labour Party in Parliament under Keir Starmers leadership, to represent the people of Salford and Eccles and work towards a more equal, peaceful and sustainable world.  Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) June 25, 2020

The claim has been denied by Israel, and Ms Peake later said it was wrong.

Ms Long-Bailey, who said she did not endorse all aspects of the article, acknowledged that the claim had caused extreme concern but said politicians should speak out on issues such as claims of police brutality.

She told the Daily Mirror: There is a valid concern about police practices across the world and I dont think that, worded in the right way, its racist or anti-Semitic to draw attention to that.

As leading left-wing figures in the party spoke out about the sacking of Ms Long-Bailey, the Salford and Eccles MP said Sir Keir needed to live up to his leadership campaign promises of bringing Labour together.

Ms Long-Bailey said: I completely agree with the need for us to intensively rebuild our relationship with the Jewish community and the wider electorate. I can understand the difficulties of Keirs position.

Whilst we dont agree on everything, we agree on the need for a Labour government and Ill still do everything I possibly can to make sure that happens.

Story continues

The only way that well win a general election is by being unified as a party thats why its so important for me to make the choice not to be critical about the way I might have been treated.

The article was written by Maxine Peake (Isabel Infantes/PA)

But, Ms Long-Bailey said she was incredibly upset by Sir Keirs decision to remove her from her shadow cabinet role, while Jewish groups praised Sir Keir for his swift action.

Sir Keir said his primary objective was to rebuild trust with the Jewish community after years in which Labour has been embroiled in allegations of anti-Semitism under Jeremy Corbyn.

I do not consider sharing that article furthered the cause of rebuilding trust with the Jewish community and thats why I stood Rebecca Long-Bailey down, he said.

I didnt do that because she is anti-Semitic, I did it because she shared the article which has got  in my view  anti-Semitic conspiracy theories in it.

I retweeted Maxine Peakes article because of her significant achievements and because the thrust of her argument is to stay in the Labour Party. It wasnt intended to be an endorsement of all aspects of the article. https://t.co/3k6P3hcCgJ  Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) June 25, 2020

Ms Long-Bailey originally tweeted a link to the interview with Ms Peake on Thursday morning, describing her as an absolute diamond.

She later tweeted a clarification in which she said she had shared the article because of the actresss significant achievements and her support for Labour.

She added: It wasnt intended to be an endorsement of all aspects of the article.

Senior Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge, who is Jewish and a fierce critic of Mr Corbyn, said: This is what a change in culture looks like. This is what zero tolerance looks like. This is what rebuilding trust with the Jewish community looks like.

Sacking @RLong_Bailey is an unnecessary over-reaction to a confected row. Unity is too important to be risked like this.  Len McCluskey (@LenMcCluskey) June 25, 2020

However, there was an angry response from key allies of the former leader on the Labour left.

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell tweeted: Throughout discussion of anti-Semitism its always been said criticism of (the) practices of (the) Israeli state is not anti-Semitic.

I dont believe therefore that this article is or (that) Rebecca Long-Bailey shouldve been sacked. I stand in solidarity with her.

Unite union general secretary Len McCluskey tweeted the sacking of Ms Long-Bailey was an unnecessary over-reaction to a confected row. Unity is too important to be risked like this.
Animatronic dogs take the lead in SpaceX launching site. American robotics company Boston Dynamics is currently in collaboration with SpaceX for testings done by the latter. The former has provided the aerospace company with an animatronic dog. This robot dog was seen surveying and inspecting one of SpaceX's testing grounds.

According to Mail Online, a video was posted on Youtube regarding this matter. The title of the Youtube video is "SpaceX's Zeus Sniffing SN7 After Test to Failure." The location in which the video was taken in is in Texas, USA in the community of Boca Chica.

In the video, it can be noticed that SpaceX was doing a test run on its SN7 prototype. A trial involving cryogenic pressure was held in the SpaceX testing grounds. White smoke that is known to be liquid nitrogen was surrounding the whole area of the SpaceX prototype.

The SpaceX Starship SN7

The SpaceX Starship SN7 was created to bring astronauts to the Earth's Moon and Earth's red friend Mars. Test runs like this are there to make sure that the SN7 will work out fine in the end. SpaceX will be coordinating with Boston Dynamics for the meantime until the SN7 is deemed ready to be launched into space.

The mechanical dog that Boston Dynamics provided SpaceX with is called "Spot." Spot has been observing the test runs of SpaceX, walking around the vicinity to check if anything has gone wrong with the test run.

The Youtube video indicated the whereabouts of the animatronic dog during the whole cryogenic pressure test. Spot was patrolling the testing grounds of SpaceX's SN7, observing where the SpaceX spacecraft failed at operating.

During the test runs done with Boston Dynamics, Spot did a great job in inspecting the SpaceX space vehicles that Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has built the dog its own house to live in while in the headquarters of the aerospace company.

Read Also: [New Video] See the Close Up of the Proud SpaceX Crew Dragon as it Flaunts the NASA Logo and the American Flag

Elon Musk's Zeus

Musk has also taken a liking to the robot dog that he renamed it "Zeus," despite its original name being Spot within the staff of Boston Dynamics. The mechanical dog that is now named "Zeus" was developed continuously by Boston Dynamics for many years now.

This partnership with the American aerospace firm shows the readiness of robot dogs helping and assisting space research activities for NASA, ISS, and other space-related companies. The robotics company has created this animatronic dog for many purposes and has instilled many smart features into it.

Sensors and cameras were incorporated into Zeus to help it detect its environment. In addition to all of that, the mechanical dog can also walk up the staircase and open the door for people.

Because of the highly advanced technology that was embedded in the internal systems and software of the robot dog, it is able to do many tasks that mere humans will have a difficult time completing. An animatronic dog from Boston Dynamics would cost $75,000 each.

Read Also: [Video] Watch the Soyuz Capsule Dock on the ISS: Comments Claim that it was Edited?
As the pandemic lockdown took hold of the countrys economy this spring, Nadine Spencer and the Black Business and Professional Association that she heads quickly decided to open up their helpline for 24 hours a day.

Spencer took the calls herself during off-hours, with distraught business owners sometimes reaching out in the middle of the night just to talk things through with someone.

The hotline offers tips to help navigate the many government programs, loans and lines of credit on offer during the pandemic. More than that, though, it offers a sympathetic ear to small-business owners who are on the brink.

Its just despair, Spencer says.

And thats not just from seeing business evaporate overnight due to the lockdown, she says. Its despair compounded by systemic racism that steadily undermined economic growth and access to capital during the before times, and is now exacerbated by the pandemic.

After some research to see if Spencers suspicions were true, the association found that, yes indeed, Black businesses are not getting the kind of financial support that the rest of the countrys private sector is getting from governments these days  despite the commitments from federal politicians to extend a hand to everyone who needs it, and repeated vows to act quickly on systemic racism.

The association surveyed 120 members across Ontario at the end of March and beginning of April, mirroring a series of questions asked to the broader small-business sector by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. And while Spencer warns that her associations findings arent scientific, theyre alarming enough to warrant attention. Glaring, she calls the results, which is regretful.

The association found that 80 per cent of its respondents said they couldnt be helped by the federal governments wage subsidy, compared to 37 per cent in the broader private sector at the time. The wage subsidy is Ottawas marquee instrument of aid for companies struggling to stay afloat, and covers 75 per cent of the payroll of firms that have seen their revenues drop by 30 per cent.

The association also found that four out of five Black businesses in its survey didnt believe they would qualify for emergency business loans, compared to just one in five in the broader private sector. The emergency loans are the primary tool Ottawa uses for small business support.

And the association found that 80 per cent of its respondents didnt have enough cash on hand to pay their April bills, 85 per cent said they wouldnt be able to survive another month, and 98 per cent said they didnt have the capacity to take on more debt. Those numbers are twice as high as the broader private sector.

So whats happening here? Obviously, the government didnt insert a clause into its pandemic support telling lenders and officials to withhold the funding from Black-run businesses. But Spencer says many small homegrown businesses run by Black entrepreneurs dont have payroll documentation that fits the bill. Or they operate in an informal way, often using cash until they can get well-established. Or they know they need to go through local bankers to have access to the government loans, and the bankers are suspicious from the get-go.

To their credit, federal leaders realize that the panic of the pandemic and the myriad of government programs mean many businesses are stymied by the labyrinth. Ottawa has set up a hotline of its own (1-866-989-1080) staffed by chartered accountants. Not 24 hours a day with the personal touch like Spencers, but still.

Plus, the government has tweaked and expanded and revised its programs fairly quickly in response to feedback from the private sector.

And when the Parliamentary Black Caucus produced a to-do list for the prime minister last week, in the wake of outcry over the killing of George Floyd, Justin Trudeau committed to acting right away, starting with the economy.

The success of Black-owned businesses, Black entrepreneurs and young Black professionals has been something Ive had many discussions on over the past couple of years with members of the Black community in Canada, Trudeau said. We will be moving forward on a number of those recommendations.

That list included requests to target economic development aid directly to Black business, and to allot a proportion of procurement contract for Black suppliers.

Its been done for Indigenous business, but the Liberals want to consult more with community leaders before they commit to concrete measures. The talks, they say, are moving at an accelerated pace.

The problem is, the damage from the pandemic is moving far faster than bureaucracy, and for Black communities, its devastating.

Already, theyve been feeling the brunt of the virus as it spread through crowded neighbourhoods in Toronto and Montreal, and through front-line occupations such as personal support work. Now, their entrepreneurial attempts to innovate their way through an economic crisis face barriers, too  barriers that we know how to tear down.

Read more about:
The Arab Winter

By Noah Feldman

Princeton. 192 pp. $22.95

---

When Egyptians gathered in 2011 in Cairo's Tahrir Square to demand an end to the regime of president-for-life Hosni Mubarak, they did more than topple an unpopular dictator. Through their bravery, they sent a message to their fellow Arabs and to the world at large that change, finally, was coming to the Middle East.

Today the heady dreams of 2011 seem from another era. A military coup in Egypt returned that country to tyranny, a Saudi military intervention on behalf of the regime in Bahrain ended the hopes of demonstrators there, and civil wars in Libya, Syria and Yemen have made a bloody mockery of visions of a new era of democracy. The only democratic revolution still standing is in Tunisia, where the protests began and the first dictator fell. As Noah Feldman contends in his important new book, "The Arab Winter: A Tragedy," "the Arab spring ultimately made many people's lives worse than they were before."

A professor at Harvard Law School, Feldman served as an adviser to U.S. officials in the early days of the Iraq occupation and after 2011 engaged with Tunisians seeking help as they designed their first real democratic constitution. "The Arab Winter" reviews four major incidents of the Arab Spring - the Egyptian uprising and coup, the Syrian civil war, the Islamic State "caliphate," and Tunisia's fitful progress toward democracy - to make its main points.

Feldman's book is a reflection on the Arab Spring and, as its title suggests, its disastrous ending. "The Arab Winter" is not a history. Rather, it is an argument, in the best sense of that word, couched in political philosophy. To get the most out of the argument (for who doesn't want to argue back?) the reader should be somewhat familiar with the Middle East. An engaged Washington Post reader would appreciate the book, but it's not for the uninitiated.

Agency and meaning are at the heart of Feldman's argument. For centuries, outsiders, be they Ottoman, British, French or American, controlled the fate of the Middle East. No longer. "The central political meaning of the Arab spring and its aftermath is that it featured Arabic-speaking people acting essentially on their own, as full-fledged independent makers of their own history." In Egypt, the people spoke when they invited the army to remove Mubarak, and they spoke again two years later when they invited it to remove the democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood government led by Mohamed Morsi. Feldman respects their choice even as he disagrees with it. "They took their fate in their own hands - and gave it away."

Agency means uncertainty, and personalities loom large in "The Arab Winter." In both Egypt and Tunisia, no strong institutions guided the process from revolution to democracy, allowing leaders to exert tremendous sway. The Tunisian Islamists of Ennahda proved more compromising than the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, in part because their leader, Rached-el Ghannouchi, recognized the need for compromise. In contrast, "Morsi almost invited the crisis that built against him," failing to work with political opponents. This scorn led intellectuals and Western-learning Egyptians to turn to the military as a savior, legitimating the coup and even, in Feldman's eyes, making it a reflection of the people's will.

Two ideas that have shaped the Middle East for decades, Arab nationalism and political Islamism, grew hotter in the fires of revolution and then were transformed in the crucible. The Arab Spring itself highlighted the power of Arab nationalism, with Arab satellite television stations like Al Jazeera spreading images of the protests from one country to another, making a revolution that was once unthinkable seem inevitable. At the same time, as Libya, Syria and Yemen painfully demonstrated, ethnic, sectarianian, tribal and other divisions proved that Arab identity, by itself, is not enough to unify.

Feldman points out that political Islam is even more in flux, and today it is unclear how Islamists hope to achieve their vision. In Syria, the Islamic State rejected any form of democracy in the name of Islam, but its caliphate ended in ruins. In Egypt, efforts to use the democratic process to impose Islamism led to a popular coup. In Tunisia, Ennahda won at the polls but to survive moved toward a liberal version of politics, accepting that it would not use political power to impose Islam directly.

Feldman's focus on agency leads him at times to understate factors beyond the control of the crowds and the leaders they opposed. In Syria, the Sunni Muslim protesters could not implore the military to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, as his Alawite regime had long co-opted and politicized it. So, as Feldman notes, the protesters did not trust the military and loathed the minorities favored by the government, with the Alawites receiving the most hatred: "Christians to Beirut, 'Alawis to the grave," they chanted. Because the regime baked the country's sectarian divides into its structure, both the protesters and Assad and his cronies saw compromise as impossible: The regime would hang together, or they would hang apart. Although Feldman is careful to note this tension, it is an important caveat to his stress on agency.

Feldman's book also ignores how Iran's military backing of the Syrian regime, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates' support for the coup in Egypt, helped tip the precarious balance of forces and, conversely, how the lack of outsider meddling in Tunisia gave leaders there more freedom. Arab publics and the regimes they opposed made their own politics during the Arab Spring, but they were not always alone.

The United States under Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, however, often shunned responsibility. In Syria, "to put it bluntly, U.S. policy was to strengthen the forces threatening the regime enough to keep them in the fight, while refusing to take definitive steps that would make them win," Feldman writes. He contends that Obama did not want to be blamed either for Assad winning or for the chaos of a post-Assad Syria. Trump, I'd add, simply doesn't care.

Can democracy flourish in the Arab world? The Arab Spring's collapse is upsetting for those of us who would argue yes. However, in the end, I found myself convinced, and even slightly comforted, by Feldman's claim that "continued dictatorship is the most probable result; yet the struggle to do better still carries profound meaning." The Arab Spring still inspires, even as the winter that followed is a cause for despair.

---

Byman is a professor at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of "Road Warriors: Foreign Fighters in the Armies of Jihad."
The Covid-19 pandemic has come as a kiss of life for government schools of Punjab. More than 2.1 lakh new students were enrolled in these schools till the second week of June. An estimated 70,000 new admissions were made in pre-primary sections. The rest are students who shifted from private schools.

Government Senior Secondary School (Multipurpose), Ludhiana, for instance, achieved a rare feat. For years, it was teaching only 1,700 students. The school was closed due to the lockdown and summer vacation but 905 new students enrolled themselves in it. The principal demanded 15 more teachers to deal with the increased workload.

It seems hundreds of students in Punjab were waiting for corona to happen before they could shift from so-called teaching shops to temples of learning. A deputy district education officer also underwent a change of heart and enrolled his son in a government school.

SLEEPING BEAUTY AND THE PRINCE

The situation reminds us of the fairytale of sleeping beauty. Sleeping beauty was under a curse to sleep for 100 years until a prince kisses and wakes her up. The prince, in this case, is the virus. The government and school education department of Punjab have acted as the good fairy. Earlier, education department officials cared two hoots for rules to increase enrolment in government schools.

It happened during the lockdown. Schools, government and private, were ordered to be closed. Government schools dont charge more than a nominal fee, so they did not. Private schools were prohibited from demanding any fee from parents and show-cause notices were issued if some schools sent a reminder for dues. Private unaided self-financed schools were also asked by the government to pay salaries to their staff.

An FIR was registered against private schools found open. On the other hand, government school staff was asked to go door to door for enrolment. Many a child was waiting to get enrolled in a government school and leave the private school that was fleecing the parents. It was not difficult to know.

SHARING DATA OF CHILDREN

The education department prepared separate lists of children studying in private affiliated and associated schools. These lists were based on the data uploaded by these schools at e-Punjab portal, a compulsory exercise for all schools.

These lists showing the name of private school, name of child, name of class and mobile phone of the child/parents were provided to the staff of government schools by district education officers. Justifying it as a necessary step in times of competition, they saw nothing wrong in the act, which was termed as breach of childrens privacy by management bodies of private schools.

In fact, the Punjab education department, the custodian of password protected data of e-Punjab portal, was sharing data of children, as young as pre-nursery, with WhatsApp groups of government school teachers. There are 1,01,439 government school teachers and a large number of them have been given verbal orders to go and get the students. Students were asked to walk in and there was no need for a school-leaving certificate at the time of admission.

In this process, private schools found that more than one lakh students vanished from their books submitted to e-Punjab.

It may be true about a microscopic minority, but all unaided private schools, affiliated and associated, are not fleecing parents. A large majority can be termed low fee private schools or budget private schools.

TURNING JOB CREATORS

Government schools in Punjab came to their senses only after they found their credibility low as compared to private schools. In a way, private schools have done a service to government schools. They taught government school officials the value of competition. They have been acting as job creators.

A greater number of people earn their living working with low fee private schools. They provide good quality elementary education to rural and small town children. They pay their bills. They are not a burden on public money. In such a case, government schools should aspire to make progress but not with a heavy boot on the chest of low-fee private schools. All schools, existing outside the public sector, are not teaching shops.

amanpreetdu@gmail.com

The writer is convener, courses committee on social sciences, CBSE. Views expressed are personal
The southeastern US states have become the focal point of the upsurge in the coronavirus throughout the month of June, in the wake of the decisions by state governments throughout the region to reopen businesses and encourage the population to engage in the type of social interaction that public health authorities have warned is highly dangerous.

A person is taken on a stretcher into the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas after going through testing for COVID-19 earlier this year. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

This article reviews the course of the pandemic and the criminal negligence of state governments across the nine states from the Texas state line on the west to the Atlantic Ocean. There are seven Republican governors and two Democrats, but both parties serve the business elite and push for reopening the economy no matter the cost in lives.

Arkansas is confirmed to have 16,083 cases. March 24 saw the first death in the state, and it required just shy of two months, to May 18, to reach 100 deaths, before doubling in the next month, to over 200 on June 18, reaching 240 deaths now. Nearly 70 percent of the deaths are of people aged 65 and older, mainly from the working class.

Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson denied that his lifting of restrictions and lock-down measures had opened the way to an upsurge, claiming, We have not seen a correlation between lifting restrictions and the new cases that we have. Contradicting himself in the next breath, Hutchinson said, The new cases actually are coming out of some of the essential industries that are open regardless. Lies!

Lee County, a small Arkansas county with a population of 8,668, has encountered a disaster at the East Arkansas Regional Unit, a Department of Correction prison in Brickeys, Arkansas, with a capacity of 1,492. Some 550 inmates had tested positive for the coronavirus by early June, along with 44 correctional officers and staffers.

In Louisiana, 50,239 people have been infected, 3,117 having succumbed to the disease. The Louisiana Department of Health had reported 882 more coronavirus cases and 18 more deaths on Wednesday, following 1,356 additional cases on Tuesday.

Louisiana Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards on Monday had announced that Louisiana would stay in Phase Two of reopening due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases and related hospitalizations. Edwards stated that his Phase Two order would be extended another 28 days, maintaining occupancy limits and various other mild restrictions.

In Mississippi, 22,287 people have been confirmed to have been infected, and 978 have perished. Increased hospitalizations are leaving fewer and fewer beds available, exhausting medical supplies, and making it impossible for medical personnel to perform their job duties. Hinds County, which includes the state capital Jackson, has 1,186 confirmed cases and 26 deaths.

Republican Governor Tate Reeves issued executive orders to extend the Safe Return order that will end June 29 at 08:00 CDT. Amendments to the order will include the lifting of a 10 p.m. closing of bars and restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages, allowing gyms and fitness centers to increase occupancy to 50 percent of maximum, and permitting indoor and outdoor arenas to open with social-distancing restrictions, limiting seated capacity at 25 percent.

These incremental steps to open the state, restart the capitalist economy, and expose workers to the coronavirus, completely contradict Reeves statement in a tweet, proclaiming, COVID-19 is real, contagious, and deadly. We cannot avoid taking it seriously.

Alabama has set a new record for the most coronavirus cases in a single day at 1,129. On top of being rocked by three consecutive days of reporting its highest number of cases, the state has experienced 30,444 confirmed cases, with 841 deaths.

Republican Governor Kay Ivey, having issued a state of emergency 100 days ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has largely been silent on the acceleration in numbers of cases and infection rate. On Monday, Madison County, population 372,909, had 711 COVID-19 cases, with health officials in Huntsville, the main city, saying 20 percent of cases require hospitalization.

Statewide, the hospitalization figures trend ever-upward. The Alabama government reported Thursday that 695 patients were hospitalized across the state, and that over the past 14 days, the state has seen nearly 700 new cases a day. Despite this alarming increase, Governor Ivey is moving toward the gradual re-opening of the economy, subjecting workers to the coronavirus by imposing only the mildest of restrictions.

In Tennessee, with 932 new confirmed cases, the current tally is 35,553 infected and 531 deaths, including 14 new deaths recorded Thursday. Republican Gov. Bill Lee claimed that the increase of coronavirus cases as the result of lifting restrictions is manageable. The five most populous counties, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Shelby, and Sullivan, may only continue adhering to individual, county-specific reopening plans in consultation with the state.

The states health secretary, Lisa Piercy, declared, I dont know that anyone has the appetite for massive shutdowns again, ignoring the reality of mass opposition to the homicidal back-to-work policy. In a statement May 15, Governor Lee declared, Our state continues to see downward trends in case growth and meets the White House criteria for a phased reopening. This progress has been hard-won, and we can build upon it by reopening while also maintaining common-sense safety measures like mask-wearing and good hygiene. In practice, such measures have been largely abandoned.

In Georgia, where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is headquartered, there have been 2,745 deaths, with a ghastly 71,095 confirmed cases. The rate at which these cases are rising is nearly 1,100 a day. A total of 10,457 patients have been hospitalized.

Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order June 11 relaxing many restrictions put in place since April, including no limits on capacity of volume at restaurants along with the green light for conventions and venues to resume hosting live performances.

Florida has had the highest percentage rise in infections, up a prodigious 350 percent since the start of the month, highest of all the 50 states, forcing Apple to re-close all of their retail stores in the state. Florida has 109,000 confirmed cases, reaching a daily increase of more than 5,000 per day. Infections amongst those between the ages of 18 and 44 are too rising at alarming rates.

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis cynically stated in a June 17 press conference, I think that weve started to see you know some erosion in the social distancing from probably some of the younger population. Notwithstanding the inordinate amount of evidence to the contrary, he said nothing of the deplorable working conditions of factory, meat-packing, and autoworkers.

South Carolina has contracted an additional 1,284 cases, bringing the total to 25,701, resulting in 659 total deaths. The auto industry, which reopened on May 18, has been witness to new outbreaks, evidenced by BMW in Spartanburg having acknowledged 14 confirmed cases.

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster issued Executive Order 2020-40 promoting capitalist economic development at the expense of workers lives: the State must remain flexible to account for the evolving nature of the ongoing emergency, while simultaneously continuing to focus on facilitating and encouraging economic recovery.

In North Carolina, which is reporting its highest-ever levels of new COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. Confirmed cases number 57,183, with 1,332 deaths

Democratic Governor Roy Cooper said re-imposing restrictions would be a last resort. We want to avoid going backwards if we possibly can. Cooper announced on Wednesday the state will remain in Phase Two for another three weeks, extending Phase Two from June 26 to July 17, while making face coverings mandatory in public, effective June 26.

Meanwhile, eight workers at Daimler truck manufacturing, located in Cleveland, North Carolina, have been reported to have the virus.
(Reuters) - Card Factory <CARDC.L> said on Friday top boss Karen Hubbard would be stepping down at the end of June after being at the helm for four years, at a time when it expects high-street transactions to be hurt due to social distancing measures.

The British card retailer also said non-executive Chairman Paul Moody would take on an executive chair role until it names a new CEO.

"Karen and the board have agreed that this is an appropriate time to transition to new leadership committed to the longer-term successful implementation of the next phase of the group's return to growth," the British greeting card retailer said.

Shares of the company, which gained as much as 2.8% in early trade, changed course to shed 1.8% to 48.90 pence by 0719 GMT

The company, which has more than 1,000 stores in the UK and Ireland, earlier this month warned of a hit to its business from social distancing measures, although online sales had seen a surge during Britain's coronavirus lockdown.

The Wakefield-based firm also scrapped its dividend payout this year as it grappled with lower footfall, online competition and higher costs of maintaining brick-and-mortar stores.

(Reporting by Shanima A in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Uttaresh.V)
A preliminary study of patients hospitalised with Covid-19 in the UK has found the disease can damage the brain, causing complications such as stroke, inflammation, psychosis and dementia-like symptoms in some severe cases. The findings are the first detailed look at a, range of neurological complications of the virus, the researchers said, and underline a need for larger studies to find the mechanisms behind them and assist the search for treatments.

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OP Soni

Chandigarh: Punjab Medical Education and Research Minister O.P. Soni today lauds the efforts of Dr Raj Bahadur,Vice Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Principal Dr Deepak John Bhatti & the Medical Superintendent Dr Rajiv Joshi, Dr. Ravinder Garg (Medicine deptt), Dr. Neetu Kukar (Blood Transfusion deptt), Dr Neerja Jindal (Microbiology deptt) and Dr. Divya Kavita (Critical Care deptt) of Guru Gobind Singh Medical College & Hospital Faridkot for successful treatment of critically ill Covid-19 Patient with convalescent Plasma Therapy as a part of novel treatment modality.

O.P. Soni said that the therapy was given on June 12th, to a seriously ill patient of Covid-19 by a team of doctors at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College & Hospital Faridkot.

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Op Soni This hospital has become one of the pioneer institutes in the country to initiate this therapy, as a part of National Clinical Trial under the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research), said the Minister.

Soni pointed out that this was the first ever therapy given in Punjab to a patient of Covid-19. Few days back the plasma of a recovered patient of Covid was collected and stored for this purpose at GGS Medical College Faridkot, said Soni.

CoronavirusMinister exhorted that more people, who have recovered from Covid-19, should come forward for this noble cause. He further said that this remarkable achievement of GGS Medical college and hospital will help Punjab Government to register win on Covid-19 under Mission Fateh.

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While appreciating the feat of GGS Medical College and Hospital, Principal Secretary Medical Education and Research D K Tiwari disclosed that GMC Amritsar has also done Plasma therapy to two patients and both the patients are recovering speedily.
The Mayo Clinic researchers said that while the mortality rate decreased, the patients in the latter part of the study were less critically ill. They also said the decrease may be in part due to improved medical care based on increased knowledge during the pandemic and that more of the patients received the plasma earlier in their hospital treatment.
As a part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package, the project is to focus on providing employment and creating partnerships in Uttar Pradesh for migrants returning in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan at 11 am on Friday through video conferencing in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Speaking on the occasion, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed the Prime Minister and thanked him for taking up the initiative. During the COVID-19 crisis, the way the Prime Minister has shown the direction to the country and gave the message of Jaan bhi aur Jahaan bhi is highly appreciable.

Following a similar direction, Uttar Pradesh is working for the welfare of its labourers by providing them employment. The step has been taken under Prime Minister Modis dream of Self-reliant India, the Chief Minister said.

Also read: China retreats to depth areas in Galwan Valley

Also read: Tamil Nadu suspends inter-district movement till June 30

Over 1.25 crore migrant workers who lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic are likely to benefit from this unique initiative. Over 35 lakh migrants returned to Uttar Pradesh and over 30 lakh migrant workers were also covered under skill mapping, he said.

The initiative is intensely focused on providing employment, promote local entrepreneurship and create partnerships with industrial associations and other organisations to provide employment opportunities.

The Centre announced the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package to stimulate various sectors. In order to generate employment with a thrust towards creating infrastructure in backward regions of the country, Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan was launched on June 20.

In Uttar Pradesh, nearly 30 lakh migrant workers have returned. Thirty-one districts of Uttar Pradesh have more than 25,000 returnee migrant workers.

These include five aspirational districts. The Uttar Pradesh government envisaged a unique initiative Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan which details programmes of the Centre and state government while creating partnerships with industry and other organisations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse impact on the workforce in general and migrant workers in particular. A large number of migrant workers returned to several states.

The challenge of containing COVID-19 was compounded by the need to provide basic amenities and means of livelihood to migrants and rural workers.

Villages across all districts of Uttar Pradesh joined this program through the Common Service Centers and Krishi Vigyan Kendras, maintaining the norms of social distancing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also read: Covid-19: Maharashtra, Delhi to receive first batch of Remdesivir

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
Standardbred Canadas Member & Stakeholder Relations Department is seeking an enthusiastic summer student/intern to assist with various member and customer service related activities. Knowledge of horse racing is an asset.

The position requires an energetic self-starter with strong interpersonal and computer skills, outstanding organizational and presentation skills, and experience in social media and digital communications. This individual will have the ability to work independently while contributing to a team.

The successful candidate will work remotely from their own home office.*

Some of the duties include:

Data entry & analysis

Report writing

Writing for website

Assisting with SCs Member Value Program

Assisting with writing web stories for National Caretaker Appreciation Day

Assisting with industry research and member surveys

Administrative duties as required

Qualifications:

Currently enrolled in a Communications, Marketing, Journalism, or Business Administration program

Detail oriented with outstanding time management skills

Customer Service training an asset

Knowledgeable about horse racing is an asset

Computer skills required:

Excel/MS Office/Power Point

Experience with SurveyMonkey & DirectIQ

Experience with social media tools

Experience with using Canva is an asset

Applicants must be returning to a post secondary program in the fall of 2020. Duration: 8-9 weeks (start date of mid-July)

Please submit applications via email no later than Tuesday, June 30 at 5 p.m. to:

Kathy Wade Vlaar

Manager of Member & Stakeholder Relations

[email protected]

(*in the event that the SC head office in Mississauga reopens before the end of the students work term, the student should be available to work at head office.)
ConsumerAffairs is not a government agency. Companies displayed may pay us to be Authorized or when you click a link, call a number or fill a form on our site. Our content is intended to be used for general information purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment based on your own personal circumstances and consult with your own investment, financial, tax and legal advisers.

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Most of the county sheriffs in the Charlotte area said they will not enforce the new state order that requires people to wear face coverings in public areas.

That includes the sheriffs offices in Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell and Union counties. The office for Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden did not respond to multiple requests for comment Friday. The Lincoln County Sheriffs Office also did not respond to a request for comment.

At least 15 N.C. sheriffs offices have said they would not enforce the mandate, which took effect at 5 p.m. Friday as the latest way to try to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department wont be enforcing individual use of face masks, Deputy Chief Jeff Estes said Friday.

Businesses can be cited for not following the mandate, according to the order, and customers who refuse to wear masks or leave local businesses can be cited for trespassing.

The new provision states that individuals must wear a face covering in public spaces like businesses, restaurants, public transportation and child care facilities. In most cases, it will fall to the establishment to enforce the face mask requirement on their property.

Sheriffs offices across North Carolina have said the language of the new Executive Order prevents them from charging individuals who refuse to wear a mask in public.

Scooter riders head up the sidewalk along Tryon Street in uptown Charlotte ,while wearing masks, on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday the state will remain in Phase Two for another three weeks while making face coverings mandatory in public.

Law enforcement personnel are not authorized to criminally enforce the Face Covering requirements of this Executive Order against individual workers, customers, or patrons, the order reads. The rules will operate on an honor system that the state hopes will prevent people from putting others at the risk of serious illness or death.

Gaston County Sheriff Alan Cloninger called the honor system described in Coopers order unenforceable.

Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell posted a statement on the county sheriffs Facebook page Wednesday expressing similar sentiments.

I firmly believe that the order mandating face coverings is not only unconstitutional but unenforceable, Campbell wrote. We have no intention of enforcing this order nor can we enforce this order.

Story continues

Educating the public

Exceptions to the mask mandate include people who have a medical condition preventing them from wearing a mask, children under the age of 11 and people who are exercising. The order includes 11 exceptions and states that people who refuse to wear a mask do not have to provide proof that they fall under one of the exceptions.

If someone says they have a breathing problem and cannot wear one, you cant question them. So its basically unenforceable for law enforcement, Cloninger said.

The only circumstance in which the sheriffs office or other law enforcement can enforce the mandate is if an individual is violating trespassing laws, Cloninger said.

If a business asks a customer without a mask to leave the premises and they refuse, the sheriff can intervene. Multiple sheriffs offices said they would uphold trespassing laws as they normally would before the mandate began.

Trespassing is trespassing, Union County Sheriffs Office spokesman Tony Underwood said. You have no choice but to enforce a trespassing issue.

The order also states that businesses or organizations do not need to ask customers without masks to provide proof that they fall under one of the exceptions listed in the order.

Several local sheriffs offices said they do not expect to face issues with non-compliant businesses.

Tessa Burchett, a captain at the Cabarrus County Sheriffs Office, said her office would repeatedly try to educate non-compliant businesses first before ever approaching the district attorneys office.

When we respond to complaints about this type of thing, we really try to proceed with compliance through education  just explain what the orders are, what they are about, that type of thing, Burchett said.

Cloninger said his offices powers have essentially been limited to suggestions.

The most law enforcement can do is remind individuals without a face mask that masks are now mandated, Cloninger said. We can just tell them, and move on.
Prithviraj Chavan

Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Friday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that his remark that 'nobody intruded into the Indian territory' made him popular in China.

Addressing a press conference, the former Maharashtra chief minister said that China's incursion into Ladakh was a matter of "deep concern", but Modi's 'no intrusion' remark benefited the neighbouring country.

He also alleged that his remark demoralised the Indian armed forces.

Twenty Indian soldiers died after a fierce clash with the Chinese army personnel at Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh earlier this month.

During an all-party meeting held last week, the PM had said that neither is anyone inside our territory nor has any Indian post been captured.

However, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had later said that the focus of Modi's remarks at the meeting was the events of June 15 at Galwan that led to the loss of lives of 20 Indian military personnel.

"The prime minister's observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forces," the PMO had said.

Referring to Modi's comment, Chavan said, "China praised the Indian PM for his statement and he has become popular in that country."

"But the PM's statement is not acceptable to the Congress. The PMO tried to justify it, but that was not enough. The government should come out with a clarification on his remark," he added.

"It is expected that the PM, while speaking on such a big and serious issue, should be more responsible, but that has not happened. It is the duty of the opposition to ask questions to the government and giving reply to those queries is the constitutional duty of the government," he said.

"Any decision taken by the government in view of the safety of the country will be supported by the Congress. But PM Modi's statement that China has not infiltrated on the Indian soil has proved to be beneficial to China and also left a major impact at the international level," Chavan said.

"We are concerned over the Chinese intrusion in Galwan valley and are proud of our jawans stationed at the borders. Protecting the borders and preventing intrusion is the main responsibility of the government. Congress has been raising this issue but the government had neglected it," he said.

Chavan alleged that there were divergent views on the Galwan valley incident even within the government.

"The foreign minister admitted the presence of Chinese soldiers and construction activities along the Indian side of the Line of Actual control (LAC). But, at the all party meeting, Modi said that there was no intrusion," he said.

Chavan said that former PM Manmohan Singh advised Modi that nothing should be said that would give strength to China.

"He made it clear that it was the duty of the opposition to question the government when the country is facing a crisis and the government should respond adequately," Chavan said.

The Congress leader claimed that as per the satellite images, Chinese soldiers were constructing tents within the Indian territory.

"Army vehicles and bulldozers are visible in the satellite images. There are 10,000 Chinese soldiers in the Galwan valley. We want to know how many times China intruded in Galwan valley and why did Modi say that there was no intrusion. Has India's power to negotiate diminished due to these comments?" he asked.

"PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met 19 times in six years, but it looks like that those meetings have not benefited India at all...Our foreign policy seems to be wrong. So far, we had managed to keep China in check, but today the situation is not the same," Chavan added.

He said the Congress launched a state-wide agitation on Friday to seek answers to key issues from the government and also paid tributes to the 20 martyred soldiers.

Earlier in the day, state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat and his cabinet as well as senior party colleagues staged a peaceful agitation at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi near Mantralaya in Mumbai over the Centre's handling of the China issue.

As part of the state-wide agitation, 'Shahidon Ko Salaam' day was observed.

An online campaign #SpeakUpForOurJawans was also launched by the party.
Late Thursday night, amid a coronavirus pandemic that has now killed over 120,000 Americans, Donald Trump's administration made new moves to take away healthcare from working Americans.

The Trump administration told the Supreme Court late Thursday that the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or "Obamacare") is invalid, including the protections it provides for people with "pre-existing conditions," like asthma, diabetes, cancer, and the long-term damaging health effects of COVID-19.

In the filing Thursday, U.S. Solicitor Gen. Noel Francisco said, "The individual mandate no longer can be construed and upheld as a valid exercise of Congress's taxing power because Congress eliminated the tax."

From Bloomberg News:

Filing a brief late Thursday in a case the court is set to hear around the time of the November election, the administration said "the entire ACA thus must fall" because of a tax law change made by the Republican-controlled Congress in 2017. The administration is backing efforts by Republican-controlled states to invalidate the 2010 law, which is being defended by 20 other states and the District of Columbia. A federal appeals court found part of the measure unconstitutional and left doubt about the rest of it. Trump's presumptive opponent in the November election, Democrat Joe Biden, said earlier Thursday that the president would let insurers drop coverage for people with asthma, diabetes, cancer and complications from Covid-19. Trump is trying "to strip health coverage away from tens of millions of families, and to strip the peace of mind away from more than 100 million people with pre-existing conditions," Biden said at a campaign event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

More at Bloomberg:

Trump Administration Urges Court to Topple Affordable Care Act
The Maryknoll Missionary dedicated his life to creating mature communication between the Churches of Asia. He was also a member of the Pontifical council for social communications.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - Fr Robert Astorino, Maryknoll missionary and founder of Uca News, a missionary news agency for Asia, died yesterday in the United States. He was 77 years old.

For 30 years he led the agency making it a communication tool for the Churches of Asia. For many years, in the 1990s, Uca News and AsiaNews worked together in Hong Kong.

Fr Astorino was born in New York in 1943. In 1970 he was ordained a priest in the Maryknoll missionary institute and was sent to Hong Kong the following year, where he worked with young people, children of refugees from China.

Working in the world of communications, in 1979 he launched the Uca News agency, convinced that the Churches of Asia must communicate to the world through Asian journalists, with editions in different languages of the continent. Uca News has grown to have 14 offices in 22 Asian countries.

Uca News has become an authoritative source of information and a tool to train many young people, not just Asians, to professional journalism. Fr Astorino was also among the supporters of the East Asia Catholic Press Association, with annual seminars attended by Catholic journalists from many Asian countries, to increase the professionalism and missionary nature of information in the Catholic media. In the late 1990s, the agency's central office moved to Bangkok.

In 1998, Fr. Astorino was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

After 30 years, the agency passed into the hands of the Jesuits and the successor of Fr. Astorino is now Fr. Michael Kelly.

Photo: Ucanews
Friday, 26 June 2020 17:53:13 (GMT+3) | Istanbul

The FNV labor union has stated that workers at Tata Steels IJmuiden plant in the Netherlands will go onstrike again as no agreement could be reached in negotiations with Tata SteelEuropes management, as reported by Reuters.

Workers at Tata Steels IJmuiden plant had suspended their strike action until the afternoon of June 26, upon the companys request for negotiations, as previously reported by SteelOrbis.
OTTAWA - Canadians who buy online from stores in the United States or Mexico will get a bit of reprieve from taxes and duties next week but only if their packages are delivered by a private courier.

If Canada Post is the one tapped to drop the package in the mailbox or on the doorstep, the old rules will still apply, leaving a two-tiered tax system for the same goods.

We are just mystified that the government would be setting consumers up for that surprise, said Andrea Stairs, president of eBay Canada and chief marketing officer for eBay North America.

The change is part of the new Canada-U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement, which comes into effect on Canada Day. Within the trade deal, Canada agreed to lift the very low limit it had applied for duty and tax-free consumer imports, known as the de minimis threshold.

It used to be that any goods purchased and imported by mail or courier would be subject to duty and GST if the total value was anything over $20. On July 1, that threshold is rising to $40 before GST gets applied and $150 before customs duties are added, for all packages delivered by couriers such as FedEx or UPS.

The changes do not include Canada Post, for which all tax and duties will continue to be applied after $20. It means if consumers have a choice in how their package is shipped, they can choose to avoid paying the GST by picking a private courier. But consumers dont always have that choice, said Stairs.

She also said postal rates are usually the most competitive for shippers, so this change means the modest break on taxes that consumers could expect from the new trade deal might be eliminated, since it costs more to use a private courier.

Its really unfair to middle-class Canadians and its also very unfair to rural Canadians who just dont have the option in some cases of having courier service to them, said Stairs.

She estimates about 80 per cent of the packages delivered across the border from eBay sellers are shipped by the postal services.

I think consumers fully anticipate that the new thresholds that were negotiated in CUSMA were going to apply to all imports from the U.S. and I think when they realize that actually the majority of those are excluded from the modest increases there is going to be some pretty significant shock at the doorstep, said Stairs.

Graham Robins, the president of A&A Customs Brokers in Surrey, B.C., said the changes are causing confusion and concern for customs agents who now have more work to try to sort out whether packages need to go through customs or not.

Robins also said shippers will be deciding if its more economical to simply avoid the post office.

A spokesperson for Canada Post said the Crown corporation will follow the rules and pay the fees set out by the federal government and had no further comment on the changes.

Stairs said she met early in 2020 with Procurement Minister Anita Anand, who is responsible for Canada Post, and felt Anand understood the issue, but that ultimately the decision was up to Finance Minister Bill Morneau. A spokesperson for Morneau had not yet responded to questions about the matter by Thursday evening.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2020.

 With files from James McCarten in Washington, D.C.
Emily Abigail Waife summoned up a bit of chutzpah in 2013, after talking it over with friends. She wanted to tell Eli Michael Kaufman she had feelings for him.

I always thought he was funny and I loved his passion for Judaism, said Ms. Waife, a paternal great-great granddaughter of Sholem Aleichem, the Yiddish author and playwright best known for his stories of Tevye the Dairyman, the inspiration for the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof.

She had joined the on-campus Jewish organization Hillel, of which Mr. Kaufman was president, after she first got to Goucher College, from which they each graduated, she cum laude. He was that guy everyone knew on campus.

He was clueless as her feelings for him grew during spring semester of freshman year after she joined the Hillel board and regularly teamed up with him after Shabbat dinners to play the board game Settlers of Catan. (They were also in the same Judaic studies class and sometimes studied together in the library).
Historic St. John's Church vandalized; Seattle mayor says CHOP to be shut down 'at night'

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The historic St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., was vandalized Monday night as protesters attempted to set up a "Black House Autonomous Zone" while a similar area in Seattle is set to be gradually dismantled.

Amid ongoing demonstrations around the country that have involved the desecration of monuments and the toppling of statues of historical figures in major cities, the pillars of St. John's Church were spray-painted by protesters to display the letters "BHAZ," video footage shows.

In the wake nationwide protests spurred by the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, riots in Washington led to the torching of a basement nursery at the historic church, which is sometimes referred to as the "church of the presidents."

The following day, President Donald Trump and a few cabinet officials walked from the White House to the church where he held up a Bible. Supporters of the president saw the move as a sign of strength during a tumultuous time, while his detractors considered it an inappropriate and exploitative photo-op.

Monday night's church vandalism occurred alongside an unsuccessful attempt at tearing down a statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park. Metropolitan Police officers intervened before it could be toppled. And police subsequently established a perimeter around the demonstrators at the historic church.

"There will never be an 'Autonomous Zone' in Washington, D.C., as long as Im your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!" Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. Twitter subsequently labeled the tweet to be a violation of its user rules.

On Monday, the president commented on Twitter about the vandalism in Lafayette Park, warning rioters that vandalizing monuments on federal property is a federal crime.

Numerous people arrested in D.C. for the disgraceful vandalism, in Lafayette Park, of the magnificent Statue of Andrew Jackson, in addition to the exterior defacing of St. Johns Church across the street. 10 years in prison under the Veterans Memorial Preservation Act. Beware!," Trump said.

The murmurings of a protestor-established autonomous zone in the nation's capital across the street from the White House emerged following weeks of an occupied zone in Seattle called the Capitol Hill Organized Protest area, formerly known as the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone or CHAZ.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, who previously backed the demonstrators and defended the zone as a legitimate expression of peaceful protest, announced Monday that CHOP would be shutting down "at night" and police would be returning to the East Precinct.

Its time for people to go home, it is time for us to restore Cal Anderson and Capitol Hill so it can be a vibrant part of the community, Durkan said Monday, The Seattle Times reported.

The impacts on the businesses and residents and the community are now too much.

Durkan's statement comes after rapes, robberies and three shootings were reported from inside the autonomous zone. Horace Lorenzo Anderson, 19, was shot and killed Saturday in the autonomous zone and a 33-year-old man was critically wounded and transported to a nearby hospital. In the same area on Sunday, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the arm and was subsequently treated and released.

Police were met with hostility when they were called to the scene following Saturday's shooting so they could treat the victim and clear a safe path for emergency responders to enter the area. As police entered, they were shouted at and informed that Anderson had been taken to the hospital in a private vehicle.

"On Monday, Best seemed to pin blame for Andersons death on the Seattle City Council, which last week passed a ban on the use of tear gas and similar munitions by police, even though that law has not yet gone into effect," The Seattle Times added.

A life might have been saved if not for the circumstances created by hasty legislation, Best said. Right now what officers have is their riot batons and their handguns and that is not sufficient.
By Trend

Despite that situation with COVID-19 has improved in Europe, globally it is not encouraging, Head of the WHO office in Azerbaijan Hande Harmanci said.

Harmanci made the remark in Baku at a briefing of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers, Trend reports on June 25.

One vaccine is being tested and it is expected to be available till late 2020, head of the WHO office in Azerbaijan added. A batch of personal protective equipment was supplied to Azerbaijan and two more batches will be supplied.

---

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MEXICO CITY - At least a dozen armed men staged an attack Friday on Mexico City's top security official, who narrowly escaped the apparent assassination attempt that left at least three people dead.

The gunmen shot 50-caliber weapons at the SUV carrying Omar Garcia Harfuch, Mexico City's secretary of public security, in one of the capital's most exclusive neighborhoods. Garcia Harfuch was injured in the attack but was in stable condition. Two police officers and one passerby were killed, officials said. Twelve people were detained.

Violence has continued to rise across Mexico, even during the coronavirus pandemic. Mexico City's wealthier enclaves have typically been spared, though, making Friday's attack particularly startling for residents here. Photos of Garcia Harfuch's Chevrolet Suburban show the vehicle ripped apart by bullets.

Several hours after the attack, Garcia Harfuch wrote on Twitter that one of Mexico's largest drug cartels, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known by its Spanish acronym, CJNG, was responsible for the attack.

"This morning we were cowardly attacked by the CJNG, two colleagues and friends of mine lost their life, I have three bullet wounds and several shards," he wrote. "Our Nation must continue to confront the cowardly organized crime. We will continue working."

The Jalisco cartel has risen to prominence since splitting off from the Sinaloa Cartel around 2010. It has gained territorial control over much of Mexico and has violently clashed with other cartels during that expansion. But it has seldom attempted to assassinate high-level Mexican officials.

The United States has actively targeted members of the cartel, arresting hundreds of people associated with the group and extraditing others.

At 38, Garcia Harfuch is among the youngest people ever to ascend to the top of Mexico City's security apparatus. Many see him as a promising leader, willing to take on the country's growing problem of narco-violence.

On Friday afternoon, the Mexico City attorney general's office interrogated suspects. In a statement, Attorney General Ernestina Godoy Ramos said detainees admitted that a total of 28 gunmen were recruited about three weeks ago and were promised cash in exchange for their participation.

After the attack, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador suggested that it was Garcia Harfuch's willingness to take on organized crime that made him a target.

"It has to do, without a doubt, with the work that is being carried out to guarantee peace and tranquility both in Mexico City and in the country," Lopez Obrador said at a morning news conference.

Earlier this week, six police officers were ambushed and killed in the state of Guerrero. Last weekend, 12 people were killed in the state of Sonora during what officials described as a clash between two rival criminal groups.

- - -

Gabriela Martinez in Mexico City contributed to this report.
With 161 Days Consecutively Operating At Sea, Dwight D. Eisenhower and San Jacinto Break U.S. Navy Record

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS200625-01

Release Date: 6/25/2020 6:25:00 AM

From Carrier Strike Group TEN Public Affairs

ARABIAN SEA (NNS) -- As of June 25, 2020, the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) and its escort ship, the guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56), have been continuously at sea for 161 days, setting a new record for the U.S. Navy.

Both ships departed their homeport of Norfolk, Va., on Jan. 17, for the strike group's Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) and follow-on deployment to the U.S. 6th and 5th Fleet areas of operation.

Although Naval History and Heritage Command does not specifically track continuous days underway for naval vessels, it has two modern documented days-at-sea records, both of which are now broken.

In Feb. 2002, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) operated for 160 days straight in support of post-9/11 response. And it was again, Ike, who held the record of 152 days consecutively underway during the Iran hostage crisis in 1980.

"Our ships remain undeterred in the face of adversity and this monumental feat will only make our crews and the Navy stronger," said Capt. Kyle Higgins, Ike's commanding officer. "I'm so proud of the young men and women I see on the deck plates each and every day. Their dedication to the mission is what makes our Navy the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen."

Due to the corona virus (COVID-19), Ike and its accompanying strike group ships have remained at sea to minimize the crews' exposure to the virus.

"In March, I suspended liberty port visits to reduce the chance of spreading and contracting the virus across the Fleet," said Vice Adm. Jim Malloy, commander U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet, and Combined Maritime. "Throughout this pandemic, maintaining the Fleet's warfighting readiness while ensuring the safety and well-being of our Sailors has been my top priority."

Both Ike and San Jacinto's crews have maintained mission readiness and effectiveness despite restrictions related to COVID-19.

"San Jacinto and Eisenhower have proven their ability to remain a flexible, adaptable and persistent force while staying on station in the Arabian Sea," said Capt. Edward Crossman, commanding officer of San Jacinto. "Both crews have been resupplying and refueling, performing repairs and upkeep, and maintaining overall readiness while continuously at sea. The two ships have spent the last five months conducting operations and exercises with foreign partners, other U.S. service branches, and U.S Navy ships in the region."

The ships also participated in a "rest & reset" period at sea, coming off-station for a short period of time to allow the crew to relax and reenergize with morale events such as swim calls and steel beach picnics.

While all deployments bring challenges, especially ones of record-breaking duration, they also bond Sailors together through shared memories that last a lifetime.

"We've made it this far and I'm incredibly proud of the crew for all their hard work," said Crossman. "The fact of the matter is our work isn't done. We aren't headed home yet, and we're on path to blow the previous record out of the water. The San Jacinto Gunslingers are the most motivated, professional Sailors I have ever served with."

Ike and San Jacinto remain at sea, deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and three critical chokepoints for the free flow of global commerce.

"Ike and San Jacinto, along with the rest of the Ike CSG, have continued to stand the watch in this critical region of the world, conducting routine operations and maintaining constant readiness and I couldn't be prouder," said Malloy.

An interesting fact, the first USS San Jacinto was also underway during a yellow fever epidemic during the Civil War. On May 5, 1862, under the orders of President Lincoln, San Jacinto and other union warships bombarded Sewell's Point, Virginia. On August 1, 1862, it was reported that yellow fever had broken out on the ship, so San Jacinto sailed north, laid anchor, and quarantined for four months.

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The Los Angeles City Council has voted to approve a resolution to declare racism a public health crisis in the city. The resolution, put forward by Councilmembers Herb Wesson, Curren Price, and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, also calls on City of Los Angeles departments to review their internal policies and procedures to ensure that racial justice is a core element of city government.

The health disparities that were seeing by race is a result of our long history of systemic racism in this country, said Wesson. The question now becomes what we are going to do to change these systems for future generations.

This move builds on Wessons track record of meaningful action related to racial justice reform in local government and the city generally. In the last several years, he has been instrumental in the creation of the City of Los Angeles Department of Civil and Human Rights, in addition to authoring the motion to establish an Office of Racial Equity in the city.

According to Wessons original motion, across LA County, a third of black households experience severe rent burdens. In South LA, the share of black households experiencing severe rent burden is about 50 percent. And while African Americans make up approximately 8 percent of the overall county population, they make up 29 percent of LA Countys jail population, and 42 percent of the homeless population.
Early Thursday evening, shortly after this editorial was published online, the CMHR announced the immediate departure of president and CEO John Young.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/6/2020 (576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Editorial

Early Thursday evening, shortly after this editorial was published online, the CMHR announced the immediate departure of president and CEO John Young.

It could fairly be argued that officials at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights are trying to do the right thing.

Whether theyre succeeding is another question altogether, on which Manitobas LGBTTQ+ community would undoubtedly have some very strong opinions  about the museums recent practices, about the apology it issued after its egregious conduct was revealed, and about the leadership that allowed it to happen.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES The Canadian Museum for Human Rights

The museum issued an apology last week after admitting staff were sometimes ordered to hide content regarding the rights of the LGBTTQ+ community at the request of certain guests, including religious school groups.

Officials confirmed that from January 2015 until the middle of 2017, the museum agreed to requests by schools and classes for that content  including stories about diverse sexual orientations and gender identities  to be excluded.

In at least one case, a CMHR staff member from the LGBTTQ+ community was reportedly asked to physically block a same-sex marriage display from a passing group.

"This practice was wrong and was ended," the museums apology letter stated. "This practice is contrary to the museums mandate, and contrary to everything we stand for as a museum for human rights."

In the wake of this scandal, chief executive officer John Young accepted responsibility for the censorship policy and announced he will not seek reappointment when his contract ends in August.

That response seems insufficient, considering the outrageous nature of this betrayal of the communitys trust, and the length of time the practice of accepting requests to hide LGBTTQ+ content was allowed to remain in place. Mr. Young could have offered a more forceful gesture by stepping down immediately.

This was not a one-and-done mistake; this was a long-standing practice at a museum whose clearly stated mandate is "to enhance the publics understanding of human rights, to promote respect for others, and to encourage reflection and dialogue."

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Related Items Click to Expand Articles Aug 8, 2020: Progress not on permanent display at CMHR Niigaan Sinclair

Condemnation was swift and forceful. Former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray, the first openly gay mayor of a major North American city, resigned from the fundraising arm of the museum, saying the censorship flies in the face of the reason the museum was created.

Pride Winnipeg has cancelled a planned welcome reception for the Fierte Canada Pride conference that was to be held at the museum in 2022. And this week, a non-profit mandated to memorialize the purge of federal employees  which saw thousands of civil servants, including Canadians in the military and RCMP, fired because of their sexual orientation from the 1950s to the 1990s  suspended talks with the CMHR over a planned exhibition.

It would be shameful for any visitor to deliberately avoid museum content because they believe the rights of some human beings are not equal to the rights of others. For a museum dedicated to celebrating human rights to voluntarily agree to facilitate such blatant censorship simply because it had received requests to do so is nothing short of a disgrace.

Mr. Young deserves credit for taking responsibility for this deeply troubling practice, but he should have realized a more forceful gesture was in order.

Having balked at the opportunity to do the honourable thing after accepting responsibility for the CMHRs massive misstep, Mr. Young would be well advised to make the best use possible of his final weeks on the job.

It will be impossible in that short time to fully atone for the wrongs that occurred under his watch, but he owes it to the public whose rights the institution is pledged to defend to ensure his successor inherits a CMHR that is decidedly more committed to its mandate.
[June 26, 2020] COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Analysis- Global Network Security Market 2020-2024 | Growing Adoption of M2M Communication to Boost Market Growth | Technavio

The network security market is expected to grow by USD 5.64 billion during 2020-2024. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect the impact to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters - with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005012/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Network Security Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Request for Technavio's latest reports on directly and indirectly impacted markets Market estimates include pre- and post-COVID-19 impact on the network security market - Download free sample report The growing adoption of M2M communication in enterprises is one of the major factors driving network security market growth. M2M communication is increasingly being used to manage and monitor the physical assets of an organization. M2M communication uses various technologies like sensors, a global positioning system (GPS), radio-frequency identification (RFID), and bar codes. With the growth in M2M adoption, maintaining security becomes essential to ensure the confidentiality of data. Therefore, the increase in M2M adoption will stimulate the demand for network security during the forecast period. To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.echnavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43379



The global outbreak of COVID-19 is posing significant challenges to the world economy and business landscape. However, the outbreak is expected to have a positive impact on the growth of the network security market. This can be attributed to the growing emphasis on remote working and e-learning, which is driving the use of Internet, thereby stimulating the need for network security. Thus, the extension of containment efforts will further drive the growth of network security market during the forecast period. As per Technavio, the increased adoption of BYOD concept 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.

Network Security Market: Increased Adoption of BYOD Concept The adoption of BYOD is an emerging trend in this market space. Enterprise mobility has gained ground in the corporate world in response to employees' preferences to use their smartphones, tablets, and portable computers at work. However, BYOD demands specific network security solutions and IT service delivery frameworks to guarantee electronically secure and productive work environments. Vendors are hence, providing network security solutions to provide an environment where the employees can use their own devices through robust internet and connectivity infrastructure. Thus, the increased adoption of the BYOD concept can be expected to boost the growth of the network security market. "Factors such as the increasing demand for cloud-based solutions, and the increasing number of companies emphasizing on building strategic partnerships will have a significant impact on the growth of the network security 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 Network Security Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the network security market by type (hardware and software) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA). The North American region led the network security 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 the strong presence of IT, healthcare, BFSI, retail, and education industries in the US, and the increased prevalence of insider fraud, data breaches, and hacking. 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/20200626005012/en/

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UP 10th, 12th Result 2020: Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad, commonly known as UP Board, will announce the class 10, 12 results on Saturday, June 27, 2020. Nearly 56 lakh students are anxiously waiting for their results. As per the UP boards official website, the class 10th results is likely to be declared at 1:30 pm.

After the results are declared, students of class 10 and 12 who have appeared in the UP Board exams will be able to check their results online at upmsp.edu.in and also on upresults.nic.in and upmspresults.up.nic.in.

Out of the students who appeared in UP high school and intermediate examinations, 3.02 million were in high school and 2.58 million in intermediate examinations.

UP board this time may issue digitally signed e-mark sheets to its high school and intermediate examinees of 2020.

UP Board class 10th exam was conducted from February 18 to March 3 while the UP Board class 12th exam was held from February 18 to March 6.

Students can also check their UP Board results on our Hindustan Times Result portal.

UP Board 10th, 12th Results 2020: How to check the results on hindustantimes.com after it is declared

1) Visit the official website of Hindustan Times at hindustantimes.com

2) On the home page, go to the Education section and click on Exam Results section

3) Go to the UP Board tab

4) Click on the link that reads UP Board 10th result 2020 or UP Board 12th result 2020 under the exam results section on the right-hand side of the homepage near the bottom

5) Key in your roll number in the rectangular box provided for the purpose and submit
Recent headlines were saturated with the alarming uptick of new coronavirus cases in several states. Accordingly, the stock market experienced a sell off. Yet, stocks of companies engaged in the search for a COVID-19 vaccine or treatment took the news as a bullish signal.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) skyrocketed over 100% this week, after the coronavirus vaccine maker disclosed it had been given $71 million by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). This will go toward the manufacturing of its Cellectra 3PSP smart device and the purchase of Cellectra 2000 devices. These are the devices through which Inovios COVID-19 DNA vaccine candidate INO-4800 is delivered into the skin.

INO-4800 is currently in a Phase 1 trial with interim data expected in June. A Phase 2/3 trial of INO-4800 should also kick off in the summer.

Maxim analyst Naureen Quibria argues the new contract represents vindication for Inovios vaccine program.

The DoD coming on board for manufacturing of the delivery device ahead of the vaccine reaching approval is supportive and validating for INO-4800 in our view As such, while the focus in the space seems to still be on mRNA based vaccines, a vaccine approach that has never yet been approved for any indication (oncology, infectious diseases, etc), Inovio's DNA-based vaccine is making substantial progress, has support from multiple groups and the platform has a pedigree of safety and success in clinical trials for multiple indications, the analyst commented.

Quibria, therefore, reiterated a Buy on Inovio shares, while bumping the price target to $24 (from $18). (To watch Quibrias track record, click here) After Inovios latest surge, the stock is currently trading below the analysts price target.

Overall, among the 8 analysts to have posted a review of Inovio over the last 3 months, 5 recommend Buy while 3 say Hold. INO's Moderate Buy consensus rating comes with a $17.57 price target attached. However, the Street has some catching up to do, as the figure currently represents downside of 26%. (See Inovio stock analysis on TipRanks)

To find good ideas for biotech stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.
Facebook has also been grappling with an internal uproar over Mr. Trumps inflammatory posts. Employees staged a virtual walkout this month in protest of Mr. Zuckerbergs position of allowing the posts to remain. Some of the companys earliest workers have also implored the chief executive to change his mind in an open letter.

Mr. Zuckerberg has refused to budge, though he said he and others on his policy team will review the companys rules.

Since then, Facebook has made modifications that do not require it to pull down hateful speech but that give people more options with such posts. The company said this month that it would allow people in the United States to opt out of seeing social-issue, electoral or political ads from candidates or political action committees in their Facebook or Instagram feeds, for example.

On Friday, Mr. Zuckerberg said in a livestreamed address to his employees, Im committed to making sure Facebook remains a place where people can use their voice to discuss important issues, because I believe we can make more progress when we hear each other.

He added, But I also stand against hate, or anything that incites violence or suppresses voting, and were committed to removing that no matter where it comes from.

He said the definition of hate speech would grow to prohibit ads that claim people from a specific race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, gender identity or immigration status are a threat to the physical safety, health or survival of others. He said the policy would expand to protect immigrants, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from ads suggesting these groups are inferior or expressing contempt, dismissal or disgust directed at them.

For posts on voting, the company said it would attach links to what Facebook calls its voter information center, an initiative it has pushed in recent weeks to provide users with more data on elections.
People wear protective masks as they walk a corgi on the National Mall in Washington on May 2, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

House Democrats Pass Bill to Make DC the 51st State

House Democrats approved a bill to admit the District of Columbia as a state on Friday, marking the first time that a congressional chamber has passed a measure to make the city into a state.

The measure was introduced by Washingtons nonvoting House member, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, and it would limit the federal capital to a small area that encompasses the White House, Capitol, Supreme Court, and other federal buildings.

Norton wrote that it [marks] the first time since the creation of the District of Columbia 219 years ago that either chamber of Congress has passed a bill to grant statehood to D.C. residents and, with it, equal citizenship.

The remaining part of Washington would become the 51st state, called the Washington, Douglass Commonwealth. The area would have a population of around 700,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

President Donald Trump and numerous GOP members have said they wont support the measure, with Trump saying that it will guarantee two more Democratic senators and at least one Democratic member of the House of Representatives.

DC will never be a state, Trump told the New York Post. You mean District of Columbia, a state? Why? So we can have two more Democratic  Democrat senators and five more congressmen? No thank you. Thatll never happen.

The White House issued a statement on Wednesday, formally opposing Nortons bill. He vowed to veto the measure if it reached his desk.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said in its own statement that the president would be advised to veto the bill if it clears the Senate.

President Donald Trump walks to the White House residence after exiting Marine One on the South Lawn in Washington on June 25, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

In addition, H.R. 51 would create an opportunity for a new State of Washington, D.C. to dominate the capital and render those who meet there beholden to its interests, rather than the interests of the Nation as a whole, the OMB statement said.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters that Democrats are committed to getting it to be law, and as long as it takes us. Were going to take John Lewiss advice.

Were going to keep our eye on the prize, which is statehood, for the District of Columbia, he added.

Republican lawmakers said that the statehood measure would require a constitutional amendment.

Rep. Gregory Murphy (R-N.C.) told the House floor that Congress should give the land back to Maryland instead of making the city its own state.

The move is simply unnecessary when ceding D.C. back to Maryland is a viable, cost-effective and common sense option, Murphy said, adding that the District of Columbia requires a constitutional amendment to change.

The Framers of the Constitution  were very clear about this, he added. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this in 1949.

Its the first time that Congress has voted on the D.C. statehood initiative since 1993, although the issue has been debated for decades.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Fox News last year that the push for statehood is full-bore socialism on the march in the House, adding that as long as Im the majority leader of the Senate, none of that stuff is going anywhere.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a supporter of the bill, said on the House floor that statehood for the district is about showing respect for our democracy, adding that it is about democracy for the American people and for our US Constitution.
Whos the best to articulate what the future is? McCarthy said. To me, whos best to rebuild, renew and restore America? Whos best to rebuild this economy? Is it going to be Joe Biden? Does anyone know what Joe Bidens policies are? . . . Joe Biden hasnt really been out of the basement yet. I think when you have that contrast going, President Trump will get reelected.
Lightning claims 110 lives in Bihar, UP; 10 districts in red zone

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Patna, Jun 26: Thunderstorms and lightning have wrought havoc in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh over the past two days, claiming 110 lives, leaving at least 32 injured and causing widespread damage to property, officials in the two states said on Thursday.

The lightning strikes were more devastating in Bihar, where 83 people have lost their lives since Wednesday, according to the figures released on Thursday by the Disaster Management Department in Patna. More than 20 people have been injured in these incidents and hospitalised, they said.

Lightning strikes Bihar,PM Modi expresses anguish at loss of lives

China muscle flexing: US reviews troop deployment after India-China tensions rise | Oneindia News

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, at least 24 people died when they were struck by lightning on Thursday, while 12 were injured, officials said in Lucknow. Three had perished to lightning strikes in the state on Wednesday, they said.

Coming back to Bihar, the state's Disaster Management Department said that Gopalganj district accounted for the maximum number of casualties at 13. Other deaths were reported from: Nawada and Madhubani (eight each); Siwan and Bhagalpur (six each); East Champaran, Darbhanga and Banka (five each); Khagaria and Aurangabad (three each); West Champaran, Kishanganj, Jehanabad, Jamui, Purnea, Supaul, Buxar and Kaimur (two each); and Samastipur, Sheohar, Saran, Sitmarhi, Madhepura (one each), it said. The lightning has also caused widespread damage to houses and belongings of the residents.

In Uttar Pradesh, nine people were killed in Deoria, six in Prayagraj, three in Ambedkar Nagar, two in Barabanki, and one each in Kushinagar, Pratapgarh, Balrampur and Unnao, an official report released in Lucknow said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives. "Received tragic news about death of several people in some districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar due to heavy rains and lightening. The state governments are engaged in relief work with promptness," he tweeted in Hindi.

Expressing grief over the deaths, the two chief ministers announced a payment of Rs 4 lakh as ex gratia to the next of the kin of each deceased in their respective states. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appealed to the people of the state to remain alert and stay indoors as far as possible during bad weather conditions. He also asked them to follow advisories issued by the Disaster Management Department in this regard.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also directed officials to provide best healthcare facilities to those injured.

Meanwhile, the weather department in Patna has forecast that inclement weather could persist for some more days. An IMD release said thunderstorms are likely to lash all the 38 districts of the state over the next few days along with "heavy to very heavy rainfall" in the northern, flood-prone districts, bordering Nepal.

The Met department in Lucknow has forecast heavy rain at isolated places over east UP on June 26. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall, thunderstorm and lightning on Friday in at least eight districts of Bihar, where more than 80 people were killed in several parts of the state on Thursday.

Siwan, Gopalganj, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Supaul, Araria, Kishanganj and Katihar will receive heavy rainfall along with thunderstorm, lightning and squalls on Friday, according to the weather bureau.

East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalgunj, Siwan, Saran, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Kishanganj, Katihar, Madhepura, Purnia, Saharsa and Araria will continue to receive heavy rainfall on Saturday.

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Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 10:38 [IST]
The administration of US President Donald Trump appealed to the Supreme Court the striking down of Obamacare, asserting that the individual mandate is unlawful and it struck down the rest of the law.

On Thursday, the late-night brief that was filed amidst the coronavirus pandemic conveys a major repercussion for the upcoming presidential election. If the request of the administration will be agreed upon, insurance coverage over 20 million Americans will be affected and their protections for the pre-existing conditions will be nullified, NBC News reported.

The administration's brief came along with the US recorded deaths from Covid-19 of around 120,000 and about 2.5 million confirmed cases in the US. On Wednesday, the state recorded its highest daily new infections with more than 45,500.

For about 25 million people, who are out of work and accumulating jobless benefits, the ACA's marketplaces and expansion of Medicaid bestow avenues on gaining funded health insurance with consumer protection.

In 2016, Trump advocated on canceling the ACA but fell short in Congress in 2017. His legal position is unwavering with his will to overrule the achievements of President Barack Obama.

Health care is a primary concern of voters in surveys, and Joe Biden, the presumed nominee of the Democratic and the vice president when the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare became law, has made it a top priority to enhance and protect it if elected.

According to CNN, in the brief, Noel Francisco, US Solicitor General, together with other officials of the Justice Department sided with Texas in a case headed by Republican attorneys general, asserting that after the Congress has scrapped the penalty for nonconformity the requirement for citizens to buy insurance is no longer justifiable.

Read also: Second Stimulus Check: Is It Coming to Americans With an Increase to $2,000?

The statement released by the Justice Department says that the individual mandate could not be separated from the whole legal Act.

The brief covers a section arguing that the pre-existing condition rules of the Affordable Care Act must be repealed as well. Those rules prohibit insurers from turning down customers or charging them depending on their gender, age, and health status. The position contradicts what President Trump insists that he will guard the Americans with the pre-existing conditions.

In a report by BBC, it was stated that the White House failed to prepare a replacement proposal in case the appeal succeeds in court.

While overturning the ACA is a hot topic with conservatives, some Republicans want to let go of the matter due to fear of political blowback. The repercussions of Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare did some favor to the Democrats in capturing the majority of the House in 2018.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chair of the Senate's health committee, named the position of the Justice Department as far-fetched.

Legal experts commented that the case is a long shot. Chief Justice John Roberts and together with the four liberal-leaning members are the ones who upheld Obamacare in 2012 against a constitutional challenge.

The DOJ's late-night filing has been criticized by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

In Thursday night, Pelosi uttered that Trump and the Republicans' crusade to tear off the benefits and protections of the Affordable Care Act amidst the coronavirus pandemic is an inscrutable cruelty act.

Related article: Trump Admires 'Big, Beautiful Wall' Along Border in Mexico During Visit

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In a highly tragic incident, over 100 people were left dead due to lightning and thunderstorm across various parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The lightning strikes were more devastating in Bihar, where 83 people have lost their lives since Wednesday, according to the figures released on Thursday by the Disaster Management Department in Patna.

Representational Image

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, at least 24 people died when they were struck by lightning on Thursday, while 12 were injured, PTI reported citing officials said in Lucknow.



Three had perished to lightning strikes in the state on Wednesday, they said.

Coming back to Bihar, the states Disaster Management Department said that Gopalganj district accounted for the maximum number of casualties at 13.

Representational Image

Other deaths were reported from: Nawada and Madhubani (eight each); Siwan and Bhagalpur (six each); East Champaran, Darbhanga and Banka (five each); Khagaria and Aurangabad (three each); West Champaran, Kishanganj, Jehanabad, Jamui, Purnea, Supaul, Buxar and Kaimur (two each); and Samastipur, Sheohar, Saran, Sitmarhi, Madhepura (one each), it said.



The lightning has also caused widespread damage to houses and belongings of the residents.

In Uttar Pradesh, nine people were killed in Deoria, six in Prayagraj, three in Ambedkar Nagar, two in Barabanki, and one each in Kushinagar, Pratapgarh, Balrampur and Unnao, an official report released in Lucknow said.


While counties in populous metropolitan Atlanta had the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the initial weeks following Georgia's first reported case, it was rural Southwest Georgia counties, with a higher number of black residents and lower number of ICU beds, experiencing the highest rates of infection and death per capita, investigators report.

Among those counties with more than 10 cases, Terrell and Dougherty counties, both included in the Albany, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, along with the Southwest Georgia counties of Randolph and Early, had the highest mortality rates in those first seven weeks ending April 24. By the end of their assessment period, Georgia counties with 50% or greater black residents had a 79% higher incidence rate than those with less than a 50% black population, and twice the mortality rate.

These more rural Georgia counties also had a lower number of intensive care beds and primary care physicians per 100,000 population, Dr. Justin Xavier Moore and his colleagues report in the Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians. They also had more individuals age 60 and older earning under $20,000 compared to counties experiencing lower mortality rates.

It's likely that higher death rates in counties with less ICU beds are tied to treatment delays resulting from the need to transport patients elsewhere, investigators say. These counties identified as hotspots for COVID-19 are known as well for higher death rates from diseases like stroke and sepsis, corresponding author Moore and his colleagues say.

"Hospital critical care capacity represents the most important medical care factor for preventing deaths from COVID-19," they write. "Understanding the geographic areas that have the highest disease burden and morbidity will allow policy makers, public health professionals and critical care providers to appropriately allocate resources and adequately prepare for the disease pandemic for specific populations."

Race and rurality often are connected in disease, as they are in COVID-19, says Moore, epidemiologist in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. "It's like these are different ingredients of a horrible recipe."

That recipe also consistently includes poor social determinants of health, such as the conditions where you live, learn and work, mixed with a low proportion of health care services in many of these areas, which tends to have a multiplier effect that can overwhelm health services that are available and enable disease, Moore notes. An established history of distrust of health care systems by blacks, resulting from realities like the 40-year Public Health Service/Tuskegee Institute study in which black men with and without syphilis were followed for decades with some care but no actual treatment for syphilis, make some hesitant to seek care, Moore adds. Conflicting information that emerged and continues to emerge about COVID-19 likely also fuels that flame.

MCG investigators and their colleagues at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, encouraged state and local governments to strongly support the southwestern portion of the state with more ICU beds, ventilators and emergency medical staff. "We can't just take our foot off the gas pedal," says Moore.

"As a nation, we need to really rethink how we approach public health," he says to dramatically reduce lost lives and to prevent already struggling economies from being decimated by disease. Systemic racism plays a huge role and work must be done to repair relationships, he says.

"I honestly believe a lot of people are afraid to seek certain care because of discrimination," so people may present with more advanced cases of all kinds of diseases, including COVID-19. Now is a good time to make permanent change, rather than a trend that passes like a hashtag, he says.

Initially one out of every two people who got seriously ill with COVID-19 died in Georgia's rural, largely black communities, he notes, while today death rates are closer to 10% and to those from other serious medical problems like sepsis in the rest of the country, he says.

Lung cancer, sepsis, colorectal cancer, diabetes ... they all have a different pathophysiology in the sense of how they break down your body, but the problem is we have a persistent and long history of systemic racism disadvantages that have made it to where the social determinants of health are so heavily skewed in a negative way for blacks, Hispanics, the darker you are basically. It's not surprising; it's saddening and frustrating. The thing is, we just need better health care for people, period. I don't know how else to put it." Dr. Justin Xavier Moore, Epidemiologist, Department of Population Health Sciences at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

Through April 24, there were 22,147 confirmed cases and 892 confirmed fatalities from COVID-19 in Georgia. As of June 22, the Georgia Department of Public Health was reporting 64,701 cases and 2,643 deaths in the state; Moore is currently doing a data review to see if the clear disparities he saw early in the disease spread continue to hold. Looking at deaths per 100K population more recently, the Southwest Georgia counties of Turner, Terrell, Randolph and Early were leading the state in mortality rates, according to the Department of Public Health. In May, largely black and rural Hancock County in Central Georgia also emerged as a hotspot with high death rates.

Fulton County in metropolitan Atlanta --which has the largest population in Georgia and is about 45% black according the latest U.S. Census Bureau facts -- had the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, in fact the first two cases reported in Georgia were in Fulton County, the Georgia Department of Public Health reported March 2. The two individuals lived in the same household and one had recently returned from Italy.

Georgia counties with a larger percentage of male residents also had significantly higher (19%) mortality rates from COVID-19 than those with higher percentages of females, investigators at MCG and their colleagues say. Other studies have suggested that males are more likely to have serious disease and to die.

The current study looked at the impact of COVID-19 in all 159 Georgia counties from March 3 through April 24 and got the county specific information on confirmed cases and deaths from the Johns Hopkins 2019 Novel Coronavirus Data Repository. Investigators then linked COVID-19 data with county-level data on related issues like socio-demographics, access to health care and hospital critical care infrastructures from sources like Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services hospital reports, Moore says.
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The R.H. Macy and Co.flagship department store is seen in midtown New York

By Uday Sampath Kumar

(Reuters) - Macy's Inc <M.N> said on Thursday it would lay off about 3,900 employees in corporate and management positions as U.S. businesses try to save cash in the face of dwindling demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The department store chain, which had about 123,000 employees at the end of January, said it expects to save about $365 million in fiscal 2020 and about $630 million every year as a result of the layoffs.

Macy's had in May warned of nearly $1 billion in operating losses in its first quarter and said it would turn into a "smaller company".

The job cuts come at a time when unemployment figures in the United States are already high. Rising coronavirus infections in many U.S. states including California, Texas and Florida are likely to hurt employment further as some people stay away from consumer-facing establishments.

"Expect more layoffs akin to Macy's to be announced in the coming months," said Matt Fox, founder of Ithaca Wealth Management in New York.

"Retailers that were struggling before the pandemic hit will re-evaluate their operations and cut jobs out of necessity to stay afloat until the economy recovers."

Macy's said it has also reduced staffing at its stores, supply chains and customer support network and would adjust their levels as sales recover.

The company, which reopened its flagship Manhattan store on Monday, said it would bring back most of its remaining furloughed employees in the first week of July.

It expects the layoffs to result in pre-tax charges of about $180 million in fiscal 2020.

Macy's shares were down about 2% in morning trading.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M. and Arun Koyyur)
The race in finding an effective vaccine against the novel coronavirus is very much on. With more than 9.58 million people having been infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), finding a vaccine is of utmost importance.

Now, China is ready to run its large-scale phase III clinical trial of its novel coronavirus candidate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Over a dozen experimental vaccines are being trialed across the globe, but Chinas vaccine is the first one to proceed to phase III human trials.

Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2: This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (round gold objects) emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. SARS-CoV-2, also known as 2019-nCoV, is the virus that causes COVID-19. The virus shown was isolated from a patient in the U.S. Credit: NIAID-RML

Joint efforts

China National Biotech Group Co. (CNBC) was approved to run its phase III trial for its coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines in the UAE. The firm will collaborate with an Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company, G42.

The company spearheaded the launching ceremony of Sinopharm China National New Crown Inactivated Vaccine International Clinical (Phase III) simultaneously in Beijing, Wuhan City, and Abu Dhabi in the UAE. The participants attended the launch via video conferencing.

During the ceremony, the UAE Minister of Health and Prevention, Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais, issued a phase III of the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine clinical approval certificate to Ni Jian, the Chinese Ambassador to the UAE. Meanwhile, Dr. Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, the UAE Ambassador to China, issued the clinical approval of the vaccine to the Chair of CNBG, Yang Xiaoming.

The phase III trial of a vaccine will involve thousands of participants and usually occurs in a country where the virus is widespread, so the vaccines efficacy can be seen in real-life situations. With Chinas cases declining over the past months, the country looked for other countries where it can test its vaccine.

CNBG announced the collaboration in a social media post in Weibo, without naming the vaccine to be tested.

What happens in a phase III trial?

The inactivated vaccine developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products under CNBG, have already been tested on about 2,000 people in phase I and phase II trials in China.

The results show that having two injections of the vaccine produced high titers of antibodies, which are vital in fighting off the coronavirus infection. In fact, for the patients who received two injections at an interval of 28 days, the seroconversion rate of neutralizing antibodies reportedly reached 100 percent. The results of the other vaccines efficacy are to be released on June 28.

The clinical research of vaccines is typically divided into three phases  phase I, phase II, and phase III. The initial phase will determine the safety of the vaccine, while phase II will evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine. The last phase will assess the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in a larger population.

In a vaccines phase III trial, thousands of people participate to help scientists determine any possible adverse effects. Once a vaccine is proven effective and safe in this phase, the trial will be deemed successful, and the vaccine can then enter large-scale manufacturing phase.

The companys senior executives and more than 1,000 employees already received the shots. The employees were given voluntary vaccines if they will travel abroad or if they live in high-risk locations in Beijing, which has reported a recent spike of coronavirus cases.

Other companies in China are seeking to trial their vaccines abroad, including Clover Biopharmaceuticals and Sinovac Biotech, which is expected to commence its phase III trial in Brazil, with about 9,000 volunteers.

The coronavirus disease is still ravaging across the globe, with millions infected and at least 488,000 dead. The United States and Brazil record the highest numbers of infections, with 2.42 million and 1.22 million cases, respectively.

Many countries, especially those with poor health systems, grapple with the skyrocketing cases of the viral infection. The only hope is to find an effective vaccine or treatment that can stop the spread of the deadly virus.

Source:
Rajinikanth's Annaatthe is undoubtedly one of the highly-anticipated movies of the year. The shoot of the movie is currently on halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. The cast and crew were on a long schedule shoot in Hyderabad went the outbreak struck the world. There were also reports suggesting that the film has completed 60% of the shoot and its release date has been pushed from Dasara to Diwali 2020.

Well now, we hear that the next leg of shooting, which was supposed to take place in Kolkata and Pune, has been dropped by the makers. It is said that the movie will be shot in Chennai by bringing a major change in the script. The makers are said to have decided so due to the travel restrictions, which might delay the shoot and eventually, the release of the movie. Well, we are sure this piece of news has excited Thalaiva fans, who are eagerly waiting for the big release.

Rajini's 168th film is helmed by Siva, known for films like Viswasam, Vivegam and Vedalam among others. Annaatthe is the maiden collaboration of the actor and director.

The story set in the rural background is expected to be a family drama. Bankrolled by Sun Pictures, Annaatthe will have Lady Superstar Nayanthara, Keerthy Suresh, Khushboo, Prakash Raj, Suri and Meena in pivotal roles. Senior actress Khushboo is returning to the film industry after 10 years and is joining hands with Rajinikanth after 28 years.

Celebrated music composer D Imman is composing music for the film. Recently, the makers of the movie had released the title poster of the film, which excited his fans and followers. Well, we are sure with the best cast and crew members, the movie will turn out to be a huge success at the theatres.

Rajinikanth's Annaatthe Pongal 2021 Release Confirmed By Sun Pictures!

Rajinikanth To Join Hands With Karthik Subbaraj Yet Again For Petta 2? Director Drops A Hint!
Gloria Wesley left most of her 33million fortune to a pair of interior decorators

When Gloria Wesley, the Dowager Countess Bathurst, left most of her 33million fortune to a pair of interior decorators, it caused a major shock.

Now, the two men are selling many of her familys precious heirlooms.

Grant White, an interior designer based in Fulham, and New Yorker Geoffrey Bradfield have put the artefacts up for auction at Christies in London. They are expected to fetch more than 2million.

Last night, her stepson Earl Bathurst, 59, branded the dowager countess callous and told of his fury that his family history would be sold off.

This is a terrible tragedy and incredibly sad for my family to see long-term possessions of historical importance being hawked for sale to the highest bidder, he told the Mail.

Grant White (left), an interior designer based in Fulham, and New Yorker Geoffrey Bradfield (right) have put the artefacts up for auction at Christies in London

Referring to the former American model  who was married to his father, the 8th Earl, for 33 years until his death in 2011  he said: This callous woman came into the family and we welcomed her. My father entrusted her with these precious possessions with his clear understanding and belief they would be returned to the family on her death.

Gloria has broken his trust, and there are now chattels of national and historical significance from within a family collection, dating back over 11 generations, being dispersed. These items... could have been held on display for the enjoyment of the nation and in the place that they belong. Instead they will be split apart, hanging on the walls of strangers as interior decor.

The former American model was married to the 8th Earl Lord Bathurst for 33 years until his death in 2011

There are items which we would love to have back in Cirencester [Park, the familys Gloucestershire stately pile] but I suspect that that will never be. The lots include portraits of his ancestors, the Apsleys, dating back to the 17th century, his great-grandmothers tiara, gifts from Queen Anne and paintings by Philip de Laszlo of his grandparents and great-grandparents.

Before the dowager countesss death aged 90 in 2018, she and the earl were locked in a bitter court battle after Gloria demanded to enter Cirencester Park  where Princes William and Harry have often played polo  to make an inventory.

The Christies sale includes treasures from Lady Bathursts first marriage, to the wealthy widower David Rutherston.

This has disgusted his son, art dealer Max Ruthertson, who told the Mail: Gloria was a malicious woman. This sale reflects very badly on her and also on her beneficiaries. The lots should have been offered first to the families.

A spokesperson for the co-executors said: `The 8th Earl of Bathurst owned outright and unconditionally some personal effects which he bequeathed to Countess Bathurst, to whom he had been married for over 34 years, as he was legally entitled to do.

`Countess Bathurst stated in her will that she wished her personal effects to be sold at auction. These included items the Countess Bathurst inherited from her first husband David Rutherston and which she acquired herself during her lifetime.

Nothing precluded any members of the wider Bathurst family purchasing all or any of the items at auction. Indeed, ahead of the auction, the co-executors were delighted to have agreed with Viscount Apsley and the Bathurst Trustees that seven paintings should be acquired and placed in a new trust safeguarding them for the future and making them accessible to the public.'

Stately pile: The estate at Cirencester Park, where William and Harry have played polo

Among the items being auctioned are the Bathurst family tiara (left), worth 300,000, and an 18th century porcelain dinner service (right), worth 25,000

An embroidered bedcover (left) which was a gift from Queen Anne (worth 40,000) and an 18th century pearl necklace (right) (worth 15,000) will also be on auction
Amazon unveils a new service known as Honeycomb, which makes it possible for users to and Amazon Web Services customers to build their apps without coding background.

According to a Business Insider report, the service will be offered for free among 20 users maximum. After this, customers will have to invest in to add more users and storage.

"Many teams try to use simple spreadsheets as a Band-Aid to manage these tasks, but spreadsheets lack true database-like capabilities to sort and filter data, make collaboration with others hard to do, and are difficult to use on mobile devices," Amazon said in a statement.

This particular service is devised for companies that require to build apps for fields such as inventory tracking, content management, event scheduling, and managing customer relationships. Instead of using spreadsheets to track these data or hiring developers with the coding background to build these apps, Amazon hopes that this will serve as a recommended alternative.

First trials

Slack and SmugMug, an image-sharing service, are among the first to utilize and try how Honeycode works. Now, it is available in Oregon and coming in more regions and locations worldwide, the report added.

The interface of Honeycode is in the form of a spreadsheet, making it simpler for everyone to manage the app-building, even without the formal training on coding. The AWS-development database powers the back-end.

"Customers try to solve for the static nature of spreadsheets by emailing them back and forth, but all of the emailing just compounds the inefficiency because email is slow, doesn't scale, and introduces versioning and data syncing errors," the company added.

How to use

The official website of Amazon detailed how to use Honeycode. Users may customize these apps at any given time, and these changes will be applied immediately. They can start with empty tables and import data in the CSV form.

They may also utilize the built-in, trigger-driven tools that generate email alerts and table alterations.

First, create your account on the website. Then, they will be able to see My Drive, the location where their data are. Click Create Workbook. Then, choose the Simple-to-do template. You will then be able to see the tasks displayed on your screen.

On the Tasks screen, there is automation to let you find out which are done and which are ongoing. To build your app from scratch, click Create Workbook and Import CSV file, or choose Start from Scratch. Click the Tables icon and create the spreadsheet. To build the app, click the Apps icon.

The Automations icon is for time-driven automations. Once your app is ready, you can Share like how you share photos or posts. Click the Shape app so your entire team can see it.

The detailed instructions with screenshots to compare while you get started on your first app are here.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 17:22:19|Editor: huaxia

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WELLINGTON, June 26 (Xinhua) -- A new five-year funding agreement for the Reserve Bank will mean it can boost its work to protect New Zealanders' finances, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said on Friday.

"New Zealand has a strong and stable financial system. Financial stability is an area that we are not prepared to cut corners for, particularly during the global recession created by the COVID-19 pandemic," Robertson said in a statement.

The government is committed to continued investment, so New Zealanders can maintain confidence in their banks and financial institutions through increased supervision and greater enforcement capability to deter and deal with bad behavior, Robertson said.

The Reserve Bank funds itself with revenue from its own operations, meaning the funding agreement does not require money from the government's budget. Its five-yearly budget requires agreement between the finance minister and the Reserve Bank governor.

The new agreement has been signed by both the minister and governor, and will be ratified by Parliament on June 30, the statement said.

The new agreement provides the Reserve Bank with an annual average of 115 million NZ dollars (74 million U.S. dollars) a year for its operations over the next five years, with a further average of 13 million NZ dollars a year for the issuance of currency, it said.

This funding will support greater supervision of banks and other financial institutions following the government's work to review and modernize the Reserve Bank Act, it added.

The Reserve Bank typically pays a dividend to the government each year when revenues are greater than its expenses.

"While the new funding agreement will mean the Bank retains more of its revenue before paying a dividend to the government, this is critical to make sure the bank can keep New Zealand's financial system strong and secure," Robertson said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 18:51:39|Editor: huaxia

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-- Asia-Pacific countries, with a flattened curve of infected cases or no case at all, are gradually loosening the grip to give their severely affected businesses and people a chance to relax and revive.

-- Precautionary measures are being implemented to prevent the resurgence of the conoravirus.

HONG KONG, June 26 (Xinhua) -- How to balance COVID-19 restrictions and socio-economic sustainability is a tricky thing for the world.

When the summer comes, Asia-Pacific countries, with a flattened curve of infected cases or no case at all, are gradually loosening the grip to give their severely affected businesses and people a chance to relax and revive, yet with precautions.





"PRODUCTION WAS IMPACTED"

"Honey is a seasonal output. We were in lockdown just when it was usually the busiest season. Therefore, the production was impacted. Market demand also fell dramatically as the world went into quarantine mode," said John Qin, a New Zealand honey factory owner.

Qin, a Chinese New Zealander who owns a honey factory in Auckland for more than 20 years and exports high-quality honey products to China, the United States, and all the way to Europe -- except for this year -- as his business was hit badly by the COVID-19 pandemic, both in market demand and production.

"Our business may not earn much profit this year. But I guess it will be still slightly above breakeven," he said.

Bee keepers work at Matakana Village, the North Island, New Zealand, Feb. 11, 2020. (Photo by Sally Chen/Xinhua)

Joseph Dante, a Filipino construction worker, lost his job as another 7.3 million Filipinos did and relied on others' generosity for financial or food aid, after his country imposed a lockdown in Luzon island in mid-March to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Thalpege Ranjith Premadasa, an administrative manager of Tri-Zen Residential Development Project in Colombo, along with his fellow workers, had to go back home and waited for further notice, when the Sri Lankan government started imposing a national curfew on March 20, closing down construction and suspending projects.





"DEMAND PICKS UP"

As New Zealand's new COVID-19 cases have become scarce in recent days, it moved to COVID-19 Alert Level 1 at 11:59 p.m. local time (1159 GMT) on June 8, with life and economy back to normal except continuing border controls.

With the ease of restrictions, Qin sees light at the end of the tunnel, as the honey production and demand have just picked up recently.

"During the post COVID-19 recovery, when consumers pay more attention to how to keep fit and enhance immunity, our products will see a surge in the market need," he explained.

"I feel positive to the future business forecast. That's why I'm investing in online marketing," he added.

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows Thalpege Ranjith Premadasa (3rd, L), an administrative manager of Tri-Zen Residential Development Project in Colombo, checking information of workers ready to return to Colombo to work in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, May 28, 2020. (Xinhua)

On May 11, the Sri Lankan government decided to allow Colombo to gradually restore economic activities. Ranjith immediately returned to the company and decided to send out buses to Trincomalee, Kandy, Batticaloa and other places to pick up workers back to the capital city.

By now, more than 50 workers have been taken back to work in Colombo by the tailored bus service. For Ranjith, seeing the big smiles on the workers' faces makes him most happy.

On June 1, the Philippine government decided to ease the quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila and several provinces in the country in a bid to gradually restart the economy.

Dante heaved a sigh of relief after hearing the news, saying that he can finally make a living again. He picked up his ordinary scissors and combs and headed out to look for clients on the streets. Barbering, which used to be only a part-time job, has now become Dante's main source of income.

"Someday, I'd like to set up my own barbershop," 44-year-old Dante said in mask and gloves, yet with a smile.

A hairdresser gives a customer a haircut at a barbershop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 10, 2020. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

"I FEEL PRETTY SAFE"

In a barbershop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, local resident, who identified himself as "Mr. Tee," had his hair cut for the first time in three months.

"I felt cool and refreshed," he said.

Mr. Tee said he did not feel much worried. "They have done the disinfection, had my temperature taken and put the disposable protective cloth on me, so I feel pretty safe."

The barber, Raj, said more than 30 customers had come as of noon on June 10. "We have closed for a long time, so many people come today."

Both customers and their hairstylists need to get used to the strict measures set by the Malaysian government to prevent further spread of the virus.

Barbers and beauticians are required to wear face masks, face shields, and gloves. Customers are required to have their temperatures checked, contacts recorded, and to put on face masks too. Many barber's and beauty salons only provide haircut service for the moment.

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows workers brought back to work by a tailored bus service at a construction site in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 13, 2020. (Xinhua)

For Jarrad White, founder of the Australian Premium Wine Group, many adjustments had to be made at his vineyards during the COVID-19 lockdown, and to be maintained though the restrictions were eased.

"Across the vineyards, procedures were immediately implemented for our hand-picking crews, ensuring social distancing was strictly adhered to and pickers used only their own buckets," he said.

White said the most notable adjustments were with the changeovers between day and night shifts. "Between the changeovers, hand rails, pumps and control screens et cetera were all cleaned and sanitized to ensure the winery remained free of any COVID-19 cases."





"I FELT CONFIDENT TO COME OUT"

After a further easing of restrictions in Australia in early June, people in Canberra are able to go to the National Museum of Australia to enjoy an exhibition of Captain James Cook's great voyage.

"This exhibition tells a really epic story," said Shona Coyne, curator of the exhibition, which honors both Cook's great voyage of scientific and geographic exploration and the rich Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture that has thrived in Australia for at least 65,000 years.

Passengers wearing face masks wait in line to have their body temperature checked before boarding a train on the first day when the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were further eased in Manila, the Philippines, June 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

Precautionary measures are being implemented.

"We have installed the hand sanitizer, so whenever you use an interactive, you can clean your hands before and afterwards, and then have fun with the activities we've created," Coyne said.

"Actually we have a task force go around each one of the interactive activities and make sure we had certain measures in place," she said, noting that at the drawing station, all the pencils are for single use only and visitors could take them home.

She told Xinhua that the museum also used a booking system to control the number of people allowed into the exhibition space.

"I am satisfied with the museum's measures as well as local government's handling of coronavirus," said a visitor named Garrett Turtill. "That's why I felt confident to come out to the exhibition." Enditem

(Xinhua reporters Lu Huaiqian from Wellington, Tang Lu from Colombo, Bai Xu from Canberra, Yang Ke from Manila, Lin Hao from Kuala Lumpur contributed to the story.)

(Video reporters: Lin Hao, Zhu Wei, Zul Iskandar, Tang Lu, Bai Xu, Lu Huaiqian, Qiu Bo; Video editor: Chen Sihong)
RTHK: Texas halts reopening as US virus cases surge

The governor of Texas temporarily halted the state's reopening on Thursday as Covid-19 infections and hospital admissions surged in the state and new daily cases around the country climbed to a near-record high.

Texas, which has been at the forefront of efforts to reopen devastated economies shut down in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, has seen one of the biggest jumps in new cases, reporting over 6,000 in a single day on Monday.

"This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business," Governor Greg Abbott, a two-term Republican, said in a statement.

Texas has also set record hospital admissions for 13 days in a row. Abbott has suspended elective surgeries in the Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio areas to free up hospital bed space.

Texas' rising numbers are part of a nationwide resurgence in states that were spared the brunt of the initial outbreak or moved early to lift restrictions on residents and businesses.

Also reporting record rises in cases this week were Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming.

While some of the increased numbers of cases can be attributed to more testing, the percentage of positive results is also climbing.

More than 36,000 new US cases were recorded on Wednesday, a few hundred shy of the record 36,426 on April 24.

Government experts believe more than 20 million Americans could have contracted the coronavirus, 10 times more than official counts, indicating many people without symptoms have or have had the disease, senior administration officials said.

People who have Covid-19 but show no symptoms are capable of spreading the disease, health experts say. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Thursday that it had designated four steel, aluminum and iron companies operating within Iran's metals sector, including one subsidiary of Iran's largest steel manufacturer Mobarakeh Steel Company, reports Xinhua news agency.

Washington, June 26 (IANS) The US has announced sanctions against four Iranian metal companies and several foreign sales agents of a blacklisted Iranian steel company.

The sanctions list also included one Germany-based and three United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based sales agents owned or controlled by Mobarakeh Steel Company, which had been designated by the US since 2018.

"These sales agents generated tens of millions of dollars annually from the foreign sale of Mobarakeh Steel Company products, providing significant contributions to the billions of dollars generated overall by Iran's steel, aluminium, copper, and iron sectors," said the statement.

According to the designation, all property and interests of the property of designated entities in the US have been blocked and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.

President Donald Trump's administration announced sanctions against Iran for two consecutive days.

On Wednesday, the US designated five Iranian tanker captains who delivered Iranian gasoline to Venezuela.

Since its unilateral exit from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Washington has been mounting pressure on Tehran through a series of sanctions.

Iran has maintained a tough stance and scaled back its nuclear commitments in response.

--IANS

ksk/
As China imported its highest-ever volume of crude oil in May, its imports from the worlds top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, nearly doubled to the highest on record after fuel demand in the worlds top oil importer recovered and refiners purchased crude at bargain prices in April.

Chinese imports of crude oil from OPECs largest producer, Saudi Arabia, surged by 94.9 percent on the year and by 71 percent on the month in May, to reach 2.16 million barrels per day (bpd), according to data from Chinas General Administration of Customs reported by Reuters.

Saudi Arabia beat Russia for the spot of Chinas top oil supplier last month, with Russian shipments to China at 1.82 million bpd, up by 21.3 percent from May 2019.

Year to date in May, Chinese imports of crude from Saudi Arabia jumped by 20.8 percent, while imports from Russia rose by 17.8 percent.

Total crude oil imports into China surged to an all-time high of 11.34 million bpd in May, preliminary data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs showed earlier this month. China smashed its crude oil imports record as manufacturing activity picked up and lockdowns eased. But refiners also took advantage of the cheapest crude in years in April to snap up cargoes for delivery in the following months.

According to the customs data, China imported in May its first cargo of U.S. crude oil since November 2019, while Refinitiv data shows that a record amount of U.S. oil is set to be delivered to China in July after refiners had bought cheap U.S. oil in April when prices slumped to the low teens.

China didnt import any oil from Venezuela in May, according to its customs data, while shipments from Iran also plummeted as buyers are steering clear of U.S. sanctions.

Yet, shipping data suggests that China continues to receive crude from Venezuela, mostly through ship-to-ship transfers.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Police in Ho Chi Minh City have arrested 12 members of a drug ring and confiscated approximately 86 kilograms of synthetic drugs and several types of weapons.

The anti-drug unit under the municipal Department of Police confirmed on Thursday it had broken up the large-scale ring that smuggled narcotics from Cambodia into provinces in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam before transporting them to Ho Chi Minh City.

The criminals were armed and would use their weapons to fight back when pursued by police officers.

Their illegal operations were first discovered in mid-April.

From late April to mid-May, officers under the citys anti-drug police unit and police divisions in Tan Binh, Binh Tan, and Binh Chanh Districts raided two operations headquarters of the ring.

A drug ring member is held at a police station in Ho Chi Minh City in a supplied photo.

Seven suspects were apprehended, while 26 kilograms of multiple types of synthetic drugs, a K54 pistol, 20 bullets, and two automobiles were confiscated.

Officers expanded their investigation and captured five more suspects, including the kingpin, on June 21.

An extra 60 kilograms of synthetic drugs were confiscated, along with a CZ 75 pistol, five bullets, and three cars.

Police are wrapping up their probe to press suitable charges against the ring members.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 09:19:43|Editor: huaxia

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by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang

UNITED NATIONS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Some 40,000 Chinese "blue helmets" have already been dispatched to conflict-affected countries and areas in 25 UN peace operations over the past 30 years, making China one of the most important countries firmly and unhesitatingly upholding world peace and security.

Dating back to April 1990, it was the first time that China had ever joined a UN peace operation by dispatching five observers to the UN Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East. As three decades have passed, the number of "five" has become a history.

A "small step" 30 years ago taken by China, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, has evolved into a "giant leap," given not only the big number of Chinese peacekeepers serving under the UN flag, but also the country's generous and selfless financial support to UN peace operations.

What Chinese peacekeepers have contributed to peace and security of this planet has won acclamation from the global community.

TOPNOTCH REPORT CARD

Thirty years of dedication and sacrifice by the Chinese peacekeepers has added one after another significant scores to the "report card."

They have newly built and repaired nearly 15,000 km of roads and more than 300 bridges, and cleared more than 10,000 landmines and unexploded ordnance. More than 1.3 million tons of various materials and equipment have been transported by them, covering a total distance of more than 13 million km.

They have also treated more than 200,000 patients and completed numerous long and short distance patrols and armed escorts.

Heroes who sacrificed their young lives have made the "report card" even more special. So far, 15 Chinese peacekeepers have laid down their lives for the cause of world peace.

On June 2, 2016, the UN told a story on its website about Shen Liangliang, a 29-year-old First Sergeant, who was killed in a terrorist attack on May 31, 2016, in Mali's northern town of Gao, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at a UN camp.

During an unexpected attack, Shen saved a fellow soldier at the cost of his own life. Shen was later honored as a martyr and awarded the first-class merit citation.

Facing the massive challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese peacekeepers, while ensuring "zero infection" of themselves, have been actively introducing China's successful experience in epidemic prevention to peacekeeping forces from other countries, the Peacekeeping Affairs Center of China's Ministry of National Defense has said.

"They have honored their promise of 'bearing moral obligation with an iron shoulder and upholding peace with arms in hands' and demonstrated China's responsibility as a major power in safeguarding world peace," it said.

SHOWERED WITH PRAISE

Thanks to their strict self-discipline, high-quality and hard work, and the record of "zero violation of discipline and zero repatriation," all Chinese peacekeepers have been awarded UN peacekeeping medals.

The Dag Hammarskjold Medal, the highest-ranking medal for UN peacekeepers, has been awarded posthumously to all Chinese peacekeepers whose life was cut short in dangerous operations. Additionally, some peacekeeping missions have awarded the Chinese peacekeepers with other awards for quality engineering and other outstanding performances.

When the Ebola virus swept across Africa in 2014-2015, soldiers of the engineering detachment of Chinese peacekeeping troops to Liberia carried out continuous construction for 28 days despite the risk of infection and built the Ebola diagnosis and treatment center, an aid program by China to Liberia, more than 30 days ahead of schedule.

In March 2017, intense armed conflicts broke out in Yei, a border town in South Sudan, and seven UN civilian staff were trapped in the dangerous conflict area. Knowing about this, the Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion assigned 12 soldiers to rescue them.

When she first participated in a peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Hou Dan, head nurse of the Chinese medical detachment, was shocked by the situation in the war-devastated state.

Hou recalled that medics from the Chinese peacekeeping force in the DRC once treated a 19-year-old girl bitten by a hippo, with her legs festering when she sought their medical assistance. They tried their best to save the girl who has fortunately pulled through.

Seeing the poverty, hunger, disease and turmoil of war with her own eyes, Hou said she wants to "bring hope of peace to people there with her love."

From Mali, South Sudan, to the DRC and Liberia, stories like these have happened now and again wherever Chinese peacekeepers are stationed.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Atul Khare said that China is not only a permanent member of the Security Council, but also a major troop contributing country and the second largest financial contributor to peacekeeping budget, adding that only China has these three glorious responsibilities at the same time.

In December 2018, China's share of the UN peacekeeping budget for 2019-2021 was raised from 10.24 percent to 15.22 percent, making it the second largest contributor only after the United States.

MARCH FURTHER FORWARD

Over the past 30 years, the Chinese peacekeepers have left a string of solid footprints on their journey of safeguarding world peace and security.

In September 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged at the UN Peacekeeping Summit that China would take the lead in setting up a permanent peacekeeping police squad, build a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops, and provide free military aid of 100 million U.S. dollars to the African Union, as Africa has the biggest peacekeeping needs.

"Chinese peacekeepers -- civilian, military and police -- have played a valuable role in several UN operations over the past 30 years and I commend them for their service under the blue flag," UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told Xinhua, one day prior to the International Day of UN Peacekeepers that falls on May 29.

"I extend my gratitude to all the Chinese peacekeepers past and present," said Lacroix.

UN peacekeeping operations are important measures to safeguard international peace and security. They arise from and adapt to the evolving times, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

As this year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, the "Action for Peacekeeping" initiative put forward by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has entered a crucial stage of implementation, and peacekeeping operations are at a new starting point, he said.

At present, more than 2,500 Chinese peacekeepers are carrying out peacekeeping missions in nine mission areas, with more Chinese young men and women expected to join them. Enditem
Salman Anees Soz By

India faces a confluence of three interlinked crises. The Covid-19 pandemic is first and foremost a health crisis that threatens millions of people. It is swamping the countrys health systems. It is converting a pre-existing economic slowdown into a full-fledged crisis. This second crisis could leave lasting damage in its wake. Of course, the China border crisis completes the triad.

Its timing cannot be divorced from the other two crises. India is struggling with the pandemic, as is much of the world. The US, Indias most powerful ally, is struggling as well. Soon, the presidential election will suck up a lot of that countrys attention. Chinese strategists cant be oblivious to such realities.

To safely navigate India out of these troubled waters will require considerable thinking, meticulous planning, flawless implementation and teamwork at a national scale. By visualising these three crises as part of a bigger whole, policymakers can craft more effective and efficient responses. This will also help develop much needed synergies between economic policy, foreign policy and national security policy.

Everything begins with understanding the nature and likely impact of these three crises. We must also be willing to learn from past lessons and be ready to innovate and put the country on a credible path of recovery and resilience.

On the economic front, India was in pretty bad shape as Covid-19 struck. Economic growth was slumping, investment was listless, while unemployment and poverty were rising. A clogged financial sector choked the economy even as battered public finances were of limited help. Why was India in that situation? Part of the problem is lack of genuine reforms that could unleash economic activity. Part of the problem lies in enacting destructive policies like demonetisation. The lesson here is to take the advice of experts and think through the consequences of major decisions very carefully.

Of course, we cant blame the government for the Covid-19 pandemic. It is a global phenomenon. However, could India have had a better policy response? For a month and a half after the first Covid-19 case in India, US President Donald Trumps visit and the Delhi riots distracted the country. Putting on a show for Trump became a priority. The pandemic was not a priority. The riots are a result of politics that, frankly, is undermining Indias economic and national security.

But even when the government did act, the policy response seemed hurried with little application of mind. The economy came to a screeching halt. Millions of workers walked home listlessly, some dying on the way, even as the entire economy came to a standstill. As our eyes were transfixed on a slow moving humanitarian disaster, the world too was watching. For all the talk of a five trillion dollar economy, the roar of Make in India, and bullet trains connecting smart cities, the reality was entirely different. Limited state capacity and centralisation of decision-making resulted in a breathtakingly incompetent Covid-19 response. Surely this did not escape Chinas attention.

By all accounts, the Chinese took their time in preparing for the confrontation at Galwan Valley and at Pangong Tso. They struck at an opportune moment, when India was struggling, and killed and captured Indian officers and soldiers. But it should not have come to this. Locals in the border areas have been raising an alarm over Chinese encroachment of grazing lands for months. The PMs assurance that not an inch of India is under Chinese control appears divorced from ground realities.

All three criseshealth, economic, and national securitycould do lasting damage. For example, the economy may not be able to recover to its pre-Covid-19 trajectory for years. In the US, there are fears that the economy may take a decade to recover from the pandemic and related lockdowns. Mind you, the lockdowns in the US were nowhere close to the stringent lockdowns in India. On the national security front too, Indias confrontation with China could have serious implications. Friend and foe alike are taking notice of Chinas aggressive use of PM Modis statement as a propaganda tool against India.

Despite the severity of these crises, the government can limit the damage and ensure a quicker recovery. While it isnt possible to offer detailed recommendations through this column, I list broad principles that must inform the governments policy framework. First, do no harm. Think through the consequences of policies before enacting them. Second, ensure that humanitarian needs and the weakest implementation links receive the highest attention.

Third, decentralise decision-making, ensure transparency and accountability, and effectively communicate information. Fourth, bring in expertise to help fill gaps. It is abundantly clear that the government does not have all the answers. Fifth, especially on national security, ensure that the opposition is fully informed and on board with the governments strategy.

Finally, it is important for the country to have social inclusion and cohesion. Instead of targeting opposition voices, journalists and dissenters, the government must strengthen democratic institutions. Only a united India, unequivocally wedded to the Constitutions values, can navigate this perfect storm. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise.

Salman Anees Soz

Deputy Chairperson of the professionals wing of the Congress

(Views are personal.Tweets@SalmanSoz)
His relatives, friends, colleagues and fellow activists had taken the same winding, dusty, bumpy path 36 years ago to the Bouarada cemetery, 72 km south-west of Tunis. It is there, in this wild, mountainous landscape scattered with olive trees, in this hilly vastness battling with the winds, that they had come to bury Sadok Hichri, the leader of the Arab nationalist Baath Party, who was found mysteriously dead on 20 June, 1984, at the age of 36. And it is there again that Tunisians returned on 20 June 2020 to pay tribute to his memory.

Flowers, bouquets, tears and speeches were shared by the grave. The moment of collective remembrance was solemn. But something has profoundly changed since the funeral of the lawyer and nationalist activist: no security agent watched over Saturdays gathering, which was joined early in the morning by representatives from Tunis of the World Organization Against Torture, the Tunisian League for Human Rights and several members of the National Bar Association. The absence of soldiers, police and intelligence agents who closely controlled the area at the time of Sadok Hichris burial and wrote reports against all those who came  lawyers, judges, intellectuals and political opponents  shows how things have changed in Tunisia since the 2011 revolution.

A tribute in the hands of the young

It is thanks to activists for human rights and freedom of organization and expression, men who are ready to go to extremes to defend their values and principles, such as Sadok Hichri, that we enjoy all our fundamental rights today and that the police are no longer on our heels. He deserves this tribute, said Khalifa Fetati, Baath Party representative at the ceremony.

The dominant profile of those present at the cemetery on this windy morning also seemed very different from the day of the funeral under heavy guard. Young people from the two local associations Volontaires de Bouarda and EcoRada filled the place, cameras in hand. They were, in fact, the real organizers of this day of commemoration, taking charge of the cultural programme, the production of a documentary on the life and work of the Martyr of Bouarada and the details of how the tribute would take place.

Omar Oueslati is a well-known personality in this small agricultural town in the southwest. He is the real linchpin of this commemorative event. An independent and dissident judge in the time of President Ben Ali, an activist with the Tunisian League for Human Rights and vice-president of the highly publicized High Independent Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HAICA), this 46-year-old magistrate remains rooted in his hometown, even though he lives and works in Tunis. It was he who in 2016 created the Association Volontaires de Bouarada (Bouarada Volunteers Association), most of whose members are under 25 years of age. I wanted the girls and boys of the association to take ownership of the history of their city and to identify themselves with it particularly through the knowledge of the personalities who have lived there. Our memory embodies our richness as well as being a reference point for the whole community, he explained.

From military academy to dissent

But theres a catch. Despite repeated requests from many associations, the municipality still refuses to name a square after Sadok Hichri. Hence the rally on 20 June. After the publication of several protest statements, we decided to take action and organize this event, which is part of our transitional justice and collective remembrance work. We are seeking to broaden public support for our project, added Omar Oueslati. During the speeches by Sadok Hichris companions and relatives, held at the citys Maison de la Culture, the young Bouarada Volunteers immersed themselves in the various phases of the extraordinary journey of this activist, whom some call a hero.

So many travels, clandestine departures, exile, secret missions, commitments, meetings, writings, speeches, threats, persecution and police harassment indeed marked Sadok Hichris life. At the age of 16, he entered the military academy but was banned from continuing his studies there after organizing a demonstration in support of Palestine in 1967. Tried by the Military Tribunal, he was sentenced to four years in prison and five years under house arrest. But the young man managed to escape the tight police surveillance of President Bourguiba. In 1974, he went clandestinely to Algeria, where he obtained his baccalaureate and then, in 1974, a degree in Arabic literature. However, because of his political activism and his friendships with political opponents, he was expelled to Tunisia, where he was once again subjected to the repressive system of administrative control that forced dissidents to check in several times a day at the police station.

Sadok Hichris office, kept as it was at his old firm.  Association Volontaires de Bouarada

Law, human rights, theatre and politics

With letter after letter, Sadok Hichri succeeded in convincing the authorities to lift the control he was subjected to like a hostage. He was then recruited as a teacher in a high school in the region, while continuing his law studies to make an old dream come true: to be a lawyer to defend those banished from the Earth, the vulnerable and the victims of social and political injustice. At the end of the 1970s, he was barely 30 years old when he founded the regional section of the Tunisian League for Human Rights, created the youth section of the Baath party and launched a cultural magazine, Le chercheur (The seeker), as well as a committed art troupe, Le Theatre des gens (Peoples Theatre). His profession as a lawyer seemed to double his energy and motivation. His political work was increasing. In the party, his dynamism and charisma made him the man for difficult missions. For example, he was in charge of collecting funds for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and coordinating the money transfer operation in Lebanon, where the PLO leaders were located. His aura and network extended to most Arab countries.

Following an article published in February 1984 criticizing Gaddafis Libyan regime  which at the time had unionist ambitions in the Arab world  a car started following him constantly. The Tunisian authorities warned him that his life was in danger. He was offered protection but he refused for fear of being spied on by the regime. On 20 June 1984, Sadok Hichri was found dead in his bathtub.

Mysterious death

He died of gas asphyxiation in his apartment in downtown Tunis, claimed Khalifa Fetati. Strangely, no medical examiners report has been published and no investigation has been opened into the circumstances of this sudden and obscure death, he said.

The Baath Party accused the Tunisian authorities of being behind the elimination of Sadok Hichri, a man who had become a nuisance in a political system that tolerated no opposition and abhorred all Arabist ideologies. But others see in the tragedy a settling of scores by the Libyan authorities, made possible with Tunisian complicity.

This mysterious case of Sadok Hichris death will be opened on 2 July before the specialized transitional justice chamber in Tunis.

In the hall of the Maison de la Culture, speeches were interspersed with poetry readings in homage to Bouardas prodigal son, patriotic songs and short plays. A documentary was shown on Sadok Hichris fight for freedom and dignity. In his lawyers office, filmed by a young director who is a member of the Volunteers association, we noticed that the walls were decorated with photos of Saddam Hussein, the absolute leader of the Iraqi Baath party. The atmosphere, good-natured and lively, was full of emotion. The public, who came in large numbers from a town where nothing happens and whose cultural scene is lacking, shouted repeatedly: Faithful forever to the blood of the martyrs!. The youth of the Baath Party was very present in the hall. Its members were dressed in T-shirts bearing the effigy of the founding father of their movement.

Mayor stays away

But neither the mayor, a member of the Islamist movement Ennahdha, nor any representative of the municipal team was present at the commemoration.

For Tarak Zakraoui, of the regional section of the Tunisian National Bar Association, the country has not left the sad legacy where a town representative does not attend an event organized in homage to a representative of another political movement, so as not to be accused of treachery. Partisan lines still dominate and take precedence over the interest of the commune, said Zakraoui. Democracy is based on plurality. If we want to exclude peaceful activists from their right to remembrance because we disagree with their ideas, we will automatically return to the monolithic way of thinking, from which we have suffered for decades, he added.

As Adel Maizi, former president of the Commission for the Preservation of Memory at the Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD)  the Tunisian truth commission that published its final report in March 2019  recalled, the preservation of memory is, according to the law on transitional justice, a right guaranteed to all successive generations of Tunisians. It is also an obligation of the state and all the institutions under its jurisdiction, including municipalities. The IVD has devoted a good part of its report to proposing all forms of memorials, museums, commemorations and tributes, in order to encourage the population to work on remembrance and recognition of past violations without politicizing this process.

The mayor, for his part, defended himself from criticism. We named the street where Sadok Hichri lived after him and we named last summers town festival Sadok Hichri Season. What more do we want? Never before has a martyr been so honoured. The naming of the place claimed by his friends and supporters, which is central to the town, is not unanimously supported by the city council. There are differences of opinion on this project. We recently decided to call it Revolution Square, said Mongi Ben Metjaoual.

It was 2 p.m. when the cars left the house of culture to cross the town, where many streets sink into anonymity. Only a series of numbers name the roads of Bouarada. The vehicles finally stopped in front of the square which faces both the city council and the police station. It is here that Sadok Hichri had appeared daily, more than forty years ago, to confirm his presence under house arrest. Slogans in homage to the martyr were now ringing out  as if to reach the ears of a mayor and a city council that had remained deaf to their request.
Just after midnight on June 28, 1969, eight police officers entered the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City.

What followed has been called a pivotal event in the gay rights movement.

And now the LGBTQ landmark is struggling during the prolonged closure because of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Rolling Stone, fundraisers have been launched to help the historic bar stay afloat.

The Stonewall was a bar for gay, lesbian and transgender people.

At the time, homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois.

Bars and restaurants could be shut down for having gay employees or serving gay patrons. Most gay bars and clubs in New York at the time (including the Stonewall) were operated by the Mafia, who paid corruptible police officers to look the other way and blackmailed wealthy gay patrons by threatening to out them, according to history.com.

On June 24, according to history.com, police raided the Stonewall, arrested some employees and confiscated illegal liquor. The bar was targeted for operating without a liquor license.

A second raid was planned for Friday, June 27, into Saturday, June 28.

In addition to the bars employees, they also singled out drag queens and other cross-dressing patrons for arrest. In New York City, masquerading as a member of the opposite sex was a crime, from history.com.

Journalist Eric Marcus said before Stonewall, For most people, there was no out, there was just in.

A newspaper from 1969 hangs on the wall near the front entrance at the Stonewall Inn on June 24, 2016, in New York City. President Barack Obama designated the Stonewall Inn and approximately 7.7 acres surrounding it as the first national monument dedicated "to tell the story of the struggle for LGBT rights." The tavern is considered the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement, where patrons fought back against police persecution in 1969. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)Getty Images

Here is the account from history.com:

Accounts vary over exactly what kicked off the riots, but according to witness reports, the crowd erupted after police roughed up a woman dressed in masculine attire (believed to be lesbian activist Storme DeLarverie) who had complained that her handcuffs were too tight.

People started taunting the officers, yelling Pigs! and Copper! and throwing pennies at them, followed by bottles; some in the crowd slashed the tires of the police vehicles.

According to David Carter, historian and author of Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, the hierarchy of resistance in the riots began with the homeless or street kids, those young gay men who viewed the Stonewall as the only safe place in their lives.

Two transgender women of color, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, were said to have resisted arrest and thrown the first bottle at the cops, respectively. Although Johnson later said in a podcast interview with historian Eric Marcus that she had not arrived until the uprising was well underway.

The exact breakdown of who did what first remains unclearin part because this was long before the smartphone era and there was minimal documentation of the night's events.

Close to 4 a.m. June 28, 1969: Police retreat and barricade themselves inside Stonewall.

As the paddy wagon and squad cars left to drop the prisoners off at the nearby Sixth Precinct, the growing mob forced the original NYPD raiding party to retreat into the Stonewall itself and barricade themselves inside.

Some rioters used a parking meter as a battering ram to break through the door; others threw beer bottles, trash and other objects, or made impromptu firebombs with bottles, matches and lighter fluid.

Sirens announced the arrival of more police officers, as well as squadrons of the Tactical Patrol Force (TPF), the citys riot police. As the helmeted officers marched in formation down Christopher Street, protesters outsmarted them by running away, then circling the short blocks of the Village and coming back up behind the officers.

Finally, sometime after 4 a.m., things settled down. Amazingly, no one died or was critically injured on the first night of rioting, though a few police officers reported injuries.

June 28-29: Stonewall reopens, supporters gather. Police beat and tear gas crowd.

Despite having been torn apart by the cops, the Stonewall Inn opened before dark the next night (though it wasnt serving alcohol). More and more supporters showed up, chanting slogans like gay power and we shall overcome.

Again, the police were called out to restore order, including an even larger group of TPF officers, who beat and tear gassed members of the crowd. This continued until the early hours of the morning, when the crowd dispersed.

June 29-July 1, 1969: Stonewall becomes gathering point for LGBT activists.

Over the next several nights, gay activists continued to gather near the Stonewall, taking advantage of the moment to spread information and build the community that would fuel the growth of the gay rights movement. Though police officers also returned, the mood was less confrontational, with isolated skirmishes replacing the large-scale riots of the weekend.

On the first anniversary of the raid and riots, gay activists in New York organized a march as part of the first Gay Pride Week. The march grew to include thousands of people that marched to Central Park. The march inspired activists in other cities to hold gay pride events.

In 2016, The Stonewall Inn was dedicated as a national monument. The marker there says this:

The events that began at the Stonewall Inn in 1969 marked a monumental change for lesbian, gay, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) Americans.

Stonewall, which occupied 51-53 Christopher Street, was a gay bar that was raided on June 28, 1969. Patrons and the crowd outside resisted, and confrontations continued over the next few nights in nearby Christopher Park and on adjacent streets. The uprising catalyzed the LGBTQ civil rights movement, resulting in increased visibility for the community that continues to resonate in the struggle for equality.

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Four people, including a student leader, were injured after unidentified miscreants attacked them with a bomb in the Gopiganj area of this Uttar Pradesh district, police sources said on Friday. According to sources here, three unidentified, motorcycle-borne miscreants aimed at student leader Manish Yadav and attacked him with a country-made bomb, late Thursday night.

The incident caused panic in the area as three bombs were thrown indiscriminately. Manish Yadav, one Adarsh Gupta and two passers-by were injured in the incident. Enraged with the attack, people created a jam at the highway.

The incident could be related to another matter which took place between students, two days back. Following the incident, the assailants fled from the spot. Upon receiving information, a large police force reached the spot including Kotwal Krishnanand. All the injured have been admitted to the Community Health Center (CHC), Gopiganj.
Leh: The deadlock on the border between India and China continues these days. If the Chinese Army is planning ambush near Ladakh, then the Indian Army is also fully prepared. Amidst all this, the central government has taken a big decision. The government is now going to improve connectivity in remote areas of Ladakh. This will facilitate contact with the army as well as the people living there, which is very important from the strategic point of view in the present situation.

The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), a department working under the Union Ministry of Communications, has started implementing the plan to provide communication facility in 354 villages located in remote areas of the country. It was being demanded for a long time. This ambitious project of the Government of India is for all the villages along the border, where the facility of communication has not yet been reached.

Of these 354 villages, 144 Union Territories fall in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. Of these, 87 are in Jammu and Kashmir as well as 57 villages in Ladakh. After completion of this project, 100 percent residents of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh region will get the facility of communication. The Ministry of Communications has planned to set up 812 Digital Satellite Phone Terminal (DSPT) in remote areas of the country.

'China has grabbed the land of the country in three places' says Rahul Gandhi

Corona wreaks havoc in Pakistan, thousands of infected patients reported in 24 hours

After all, why did CM Bhupesh Baghel write a letter to PM Modi?
Uttarakhand high court (HC) on Thursday directed the state government, Uttar Pradesh (UP) member of legislative assembly (MLA) Aman Mani Tripathi and his 11 supporters to submit their replies before the court within 10 days, questioning how the lawmaker and his aides were given permission to visit Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines amid the coronavirus disease-(Covid-19)-induced lockdown restrictions, said Gopal K Verma, the counsel of the petitioner, Umesh Kumar.

The court has asked the state government to explain in what circumstances and capacity the additional chief secretary (ACS) had given permission to the MLA and his 11 supporters, said Verma.

Dehradun based-Kumars PIL had sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter, the counsel added.

On May 29, the HC had issued notices to lawmaker Tripathi, his 11 supporters, chief secretary (CS), director-general of police (DGP), ACS, home secretary, and district magistrates (DMs) of Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Pauri Garhwal and Dehradun to submit their replies within three weeks.

On Thursday, the counsel said the DGP and DM Dehradun had submitted their replies, while the permission to the MLA was issued by the additional district magistrate (ADM), Dehradun.

The rest of the respondents sought another 10 days, which the court agreed to, he said.

Verma said the ACS had instructed state officials to give MLA Tripathi the permission to visit Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines to perform the rituals for UP chief minister Yogi Adityanaths father, Anand Singh Bisht, who had died in New Delhi on April 21 amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

MLA Tripathi and his 11 supporters were booked by Uttarakhand Police at night on May 3 on charges of flouting lockdown norms.

They were booked under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and Section 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other relevant sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, and Disaster Management Act, 2005, said Ashok Kumar, director-general of police (DGP) (law & order), Uttarakhand.

The MLA and his supporters returned to UP after the police prevented them from proceeding towards the shrines that were also closed for the prevailing lockdown restrictions.

Earlier, the DGP (law & order) had said though they had a pass for nine people, 12 were found to be travelling by three cars.

However, the lockdown norms stipulate that only two passengers and a driver are allowed to travel by a car, he had added.

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We had cake and ice cream, singing, hugging and everything, Frieson said. That Friday we were together. That following Sunday we were together. The whole (concept) of social distancing had not even been discussed yet and we were all around each other like we normally are at different events.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said overseas Filipino workers in a viral video were not scavenging for food from garbage, but were sorting out rejected food by groceries.

That truth of the matter, I was a witness of things like this, sa mga groceries in Riyadh, ay mga nagde-deliver na kapag ni-reject ng groceries, yun ang pinag-aagawan ng mga kasama natin, Bello said during a Friday hearing with the House committee on public accounts.

[Translation: The truth of the matter, I was a witness of things like this, in groceries in Riyadh, there are those who deliver deliveries that were rejected were those being sorted out by Filipinos.]

He also said he does not believe that any Filipino will eat garbage, and that he has never seen one yet.

Philippine Ambassador Adnan Alonto also warned OFWs there to strictly follow cyber laws of Saudi Arabia. He said if ever there will be criminal charges pressed against them, it will be harder to bring them back to the Philippines.

A video of OFWs that seem like scavenging for food from garbage in Saudi Arabia went viral last week. DOLE recently said that an investigation is ongoing regarding the matter and appropriate actions will be imposed.

It also said that it is already arranging flights to bring home the 12 OFWs seen in the video. Labor Attache Nasser Mustafa said the company of these workers has agreed to discuss their evacuation.

READ: Labor Dept. working on evacuation of OFWs seen picking food from trash

Meanwhile, Bello also said that Filipinos selling blood to earn has been a long time practice for some even before the pandemic came. He said that this is for them to send additional money back to their families in the Philippines.
She was like, I remember that day, you lied to my face! But I had to. She doesnt really think its safe, and she doesnt want me out there. But at the end of the day, Im going to be out there and its better for me to tell her where I am. It actually brought us closer. We keep having these sentimental moments where shes just super-proud of me and shell start crying.

Tiana: My dad is from Richmond, which is a rougher part of the Bay Area. And he worked his butt off  he worked five jobs at one point  to make sure that we could live in a house in a nice area. I think he kind of sheltered me, or tried to shelter me, from the hardships of being a Black American.

And come to find out, my dad was part of the movement against police brutality after Rodney King. My grandfather was part of the Black Panther movement. I have so much Black history in my life.

You never knew about this before?

Tiana: Not until two weeks ago! At the protest, I spoke about how Ive lived in my city for over 15 years and police still racially profile my family. When my dad is driving, they pull him over and run his plates and ask him where hes going. He says, Home, like the rest of you. We all live in this community, and its sad to see my Black brothers and sisters discriminated against. We have the right to live here just like you do, but we have to work two times harder to get here.



When I finished speaking, my dad was crying. He said, You remind me of myself. I was like, Why? And he goes, Because I was an activist at your age. I said, What? Why didnt you tell me? I was so mad at him! He said, Yeah, your great-grandfather was too. So now I know, its in my blood.



Brianna, you grew up in St. Louis, where you said that your parents put books about Black liberation in your hands as soon as you could read. Do you think that led to your activism as an adult?

Brianna, 19: My parents pushed me to become educated about Black history in part because they worked really hard to put me in private schools. And they knew that going to a predominantly white institution would not teach me about my history.
Air Canada (TSX:AC) just increased refunds on some tickets.

The news provides thousands of customers with some hope that they might get their money back for flights cancelled due to COVID-19. Investors might not be as excited. In fact, there could be a contrarian buying opportunity on the horizon.

Refund risks

The airline is under pressure from customers to get money back on cancelled trips. Instead of refunding tickets, Air Canada switched many tickets to vouchers. The low-priced tickets that didnt come with cancellation provisions essentially became a coupon for a future flight.

This has a significant impact the companys liquidity. In a recent statement, Air Canada said it had reimbursed $1 billion to customers who paid for the more expensive refundable tickets but continues to hold $2.6 billion of customer money on tickets for flights already paid but not used.

The expanded refunds are not on all tickets. Air Canada is reimbursing flights originating in the European Union, Switzerland, and Iceland that were cancelled due to the virus outbreak. After intense pressure, it appears the airline is changing its position to meet E.U. regulations.

One-way flights from Canada to Europe are not covered in the new refund program. Round-trip tickets from Canada to Europe are also not included.

WestJet recently expanded its refund policy to include flights to the United States or the United Kingdom.

Refunding all tickets would put Air Canada in additional financial stress. The government sided with the company in recent months on that issue and avoided pressure to force Canadian airlines to reimburse all flights cancelled due to the pandemic.

One solution could be a loan from the government to cover the value of the ticket refunds.

Liquidity

Air Canada reported a net loss of $1 billion for Q1 2020.

Unrestricted liquidity was $6.5 billion at the end of March. In April, the company took a US$600 million term loan secured by planes and spare engines. Air Canada also concluded a bridge financing of $788 million for 18 A220 planes.

Story continues

Air Canada subsequently raised an additional $1.6 billion. The sale of stock at $16.25 per share raised about $575 million. In addition, the company issued $1 billion in new unsecured senior convertible notes.

This pushed total liquidity above $9.5 billion, giving the airline solid breathing room.

Air Canada said it is burning through more than $20 million per day in Q2. The company reduced the 38,000-person payroll by roughly 20,000. In the Q1 statement the company said Q2 capacity was reduced by 85-90% compared to the second quarter of last year.

Should you buy the stock?

If the airline is eventually forced to refund the full $2.6 billion in prepaid tickets, it will provide a serious hit to the balance sheet.

Canada continues to maintain travel restrictions, despite intense pressure from airlines and the broader business community. The recent spike in coronavirus cases in the United States doesnt bode well for a quick recovery in air travel.

At the time of writing, Air Canada trades for $16.75 per share. A steep correction in the broader equity market due to second-wave fears would likely hit the airlines hard. In that scenario, it wouldnt be a surprise to see Air Canada retest the March closing low near $12.

Given the uncertain outlook for air travel in the coming months, I would probably search for other cheap stocks today.

The post Air Canada Increases Refunds: How Does This Impact the Stock? appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

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Fool contributor Andrew Walker has no position in any stock 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
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has dared the Uttar Pradesh government to take whatever action it wants against her, but she will keep highlighting the truth.

As a public servant my duty is towards the people of Uttar Pradesh, and that duty is to bring the truth in front of them. My duty is not to propagate the government propaganda. Uttar Pradesh government is wasting its time in trying to threaten me. Take whatever action you want to, I will keep highlighting the truth. I am the granddaughter of Indira Gandhi, not an undeclared spokesperson of the BJP like some leaders, she tweeted in Hindi on Friday.

..      ,             ,           ..2/2  Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) June 26, 2020

Gandhi has been attacking the Uttar Pradesh government in various issues, including the spread of the coronavirus disease in the state.

On Sunday, the Congress leader in a Facebook post cited a media report to claim that 57 girls tested positive for coronavirus at the state-run child shelter home in Kanpur, with two girls being found pregnant, including one HIV positive.

She had equated the incident with the Muzaffarpur shelter home case in Bihar, where cases of alleged sexual abuse were reported.

The state child rights panel on Thursday issued a notice to Gandhi, asking her to file a reply within three days for her misleading comments on the shelter home.

On June 22, Gandhi had tweeted to say that 28 corona patients died is Agra hospital after being admitted in 48 hours. She had also said that the Agra model propagated by the Uttar Pradesh government stands exposed. The Congress leader had attached a news report in her tweet.

Taking cognizance of the tweet, Agra District Magistrate Prabhu Narain Singh on Tuesday asked the Congress general secretary to withdraw the tweet.

But undeterred, Gandhi attacked the Uttar Pradesh government on the same day over the high Covid-19 mortality rate in Agra. She said on Twitter that chief minister Yogi Adityanath should clarify within 48 hours who was responsible for pushing people into these adverse circumstances.

Tagging a media report, she had said the Covid-19 death rate in Agra was 6.8 per cent, which was higher than Delhi and Mumbai.
Hyderabad: Private hospitals are demanding additional charges from Covid 19 patients for possible complications. This money has to be paid before admission. Those who cannot pay are being told there are no beds.

Senior doctors who are referring patients to hospitals are finding themselves at the receiving end as the patients in a severe condition are having to go from one hospital to another, if they are unable to make the payment. This has also put them in a fix as they are not sure which hospitals they can refer their family and friends to.

A senior doctor, who faced the predicament, told Deccan Chronicle, The patient was short of Rs 50,000 and I had to give my word to the hospital that it will be paid.

The deposits are said to range from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. Some hospitals charge Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 as deposit. They state that these amounts are collected in advance for additional expenses for personal protection equipment, isolation wards and disinfection.

Hospitals say this is one of the prime reasons that mild cases are urged to be managed at home for those who have the facility of an extra room and bathroom.

But those who do not have the facility are in a fix. A family of six or 14 members when infected together has no one to take care of them. They all cannot be managed at home.

All of them are rushing to hospitals. There is now a case in every lane and corner of the city and as testing accelerates it is becoming more and more difficult to manage.

Mujtaba Hasan Askari, president of Helping Hand Foundation, said, Home care is possible for the upper middle class. But there are many who are not able to understand doctors instructions on video counselling. These are becoming a challenge to manage at home level."

Meanwhile, an appeal has been made to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao to impose curfew in Old City as 15 per cent symptomatic patients are rushing to hospitals and five per cent of them are turning critical. Most of these patients are not able to afford private hospitals and are trying for admission in government hospitals.
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Marston's plc (MARS.L) reported Friday that its first-half loss before tax was 33.2 million pounds, compared to last year's profit of 16.3 million pounds. Basic loss per share was 4.4 pence, compared to profit of 2.2 pence a year ago. Underlying profit before tax was 9.4 million pounds or 1.2 pence per share, compared to 34.2 million pounds or 4.6 pence per share last year. Total revenue was 510.5 million pounds, lower than last year's 553.1 million pounds, mainly reflecting the impact of COVID-19 on both Pubs and Bars as well as Marston's Beer Company. The company's pre-COVID-19 revenues were in line with last year. COVID-19 had a material impact on revenues estimated at about 40 million pounds. The company has plans for pubs to reopen from July 4, while initial revenue and earnings profile remain uncertain. Ralph Findlay, CEO said, 'Whilst there is short term uncertainty as the sector emerges from lockdown, we are focussed on offering a great guest experience, synonymous with Marston's hospitality, to welcome our customers back into our pubs within a safe trading environment.' As announced earlier, the company is unable to provide outlook, however it naturally anticipates a reduction in expectations for financial year 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.
In line with the Centres plan to promote local manufacturing, Haryana has proposed to set up a bulk drug park spread over 1,000 acres in Panipat and a medical devices hub in Karnal. The Panipat park has been proposed to be set up over developed industrial land under the Centres scheme for the promotion of production drugs in bulk.

The Panipat park would reduce manufacturing cost of bulk medicines in the country and dependency on other countries for them, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Friday while addressing an inaugural session of CIIs Pharmascope event through a virtual platform here, an official statement said.

Speaking as the chief guest in the inaugural session of CII Pharmascope - a step towards Atmnirbhar Bharat - Made in India, Made for the World, Khattar said the state also plans to set up a medical devices manufacturing hub, spread over 225 acres in Karnal, just 25 km away from the proposed Panipat park.

He said the proximity of Panipat to New Delhi is an added advantage and Panipat being centrally located would be able to supply raw materials for bulk drugs to neighbouring states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, New Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Haryana has more than 150 pharmacy colleges, institutions and universities ensuring sufficient availability of skilled manpower to cater to the need of bulk drug park, he added.
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San Francisco, 26 June 2020: The Report Insulation Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (EPS, XPS, Glass Wool, Mineral Wool), By Application (Infrastructure, Industrial, HVAC & OEM), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2025

The global insulation market size is expected to reach USD 76.93 billion by 2025, as per a new report by Grand View Research Inc. It is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 5.7% during the forecast period. Rapid urbanization, population growth and industrialization in developing countries is estimated to boost the growth.

Moreover, government initiatives to promote energy efficiency and sustainable development through insulation technologies are estimated to fuel growth of the global insulation market. Initiatives through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) by the U.S. government through federal funding to encourage the use of thermal insulation in low-income households are likely to drive the market growth in North America.

Strict insulation codes and laws effectuated by the European regulatory authorities have contributed to the rising awareness regarding rising energy costs and the need for energy efficiency. The market for industrial insulation is estimated to exhibit high growth owing to the growing thermal energy production which calls for the extensive need of insulation to maximize efficiency.

Additionally, the U.S. industrial insulation market is expected to benefit from recovering nonresidential building construction expenditures, particularly in the office and commercial segments. Rising awareness regarding environmentally friendly construction practices is expected to propel insulation use with an aim to reduce energy consumption.

Access Research Report of Insulation Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/insulation-market

Further key findings from the report suggest:

EPS insulation emerged as the largest product segment with a market share of 26.69% in 2018 and is estimated to continue its dominance over the forecast period owing to its lightweight and high-tensile plastic foam insulation property

Glass wool was the second largest product sector and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.5% over the forecast period owing to its thermal and acoustic insulation properties such as high tensile strength

Infrastructure sector accounted for the largest market share in 2018 and is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 5.9 % over the forecast period owing to increasing number of insulation-intensive buildings in urban areas in comparison to rural ones

Transportation sector, comprises automotive, marine, and aerospace, emerged as a significant application segment in the global insulation market in 2018 as automakers are constantly looking to enhance the safety and comfort vehicles

Huntsman International LLC is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals, serving various end markets including footwear, clothing, fuels and energy, construction, home life, and transportation

Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/specialty-glass-ceramic-and-fiber

Grand View Research has segmented the global insulation market on the basis of product, application, and region:

Insulation Product Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

Glass Wool

Mineral Wool

EPS

XPS

CMS Fibers

Calcium Silicate

Aerogel

Cellulose

PIR

Phenolic Foam

Polyurethane Nitrous Oxide and Carbon Dioxide

Insulation Application Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

Infrastructure

Industrial

HVAC & OEM

Transportation

Appliances

Furniture

Packaging

Insulation Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Central & South America

Middle East & Africa

Access Press Release of Insulation Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-insulation-market

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.

For More Information:www.grandviewresearch.com
Labor suspended NSW MP Shaoquett Moselmane on Friday as federal agents raided his home and parliamentary office for evidence of links to a Chinese government interference plot in one of the most significant ASIO investigations in recent history.

A NSW Police special constable remained outside Mr Moselmane's office on level 11 of NSW Parliament House on Friday evening, hours after plain-clothed federal officers first entered the building as part of the ASIO-led probe.

NSW upper house MP Shaoquett Moselmane leaving his home on Lennox Street in Rockdale during a raid by federal agents. Credit:Kate Geraghty

As the raids were under way on Friday morning, Labor leader Jodi McKay declared Mr Moselmane would be stripped of his membership and forced to sit on the crossbench, describing the matter as "dreadfully concerning".

"I, in the last hour, have asked the general secretary of the party to begin the process of suspending his membership of the Labor Party. It's the right thing to do," Ms McKay said on Friday morning.
Visitors from coronavirus hotspots will not be permitted free access to the NT

Travellers from coronavirus hotspots will be subject to extra restrictions when they visit the Northern Territory.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Friday announced he would implement several measures to keep the Territory safe after the planned border reopening on July 17.

'If your suburb or local government area has been declared a hotspot by your state or territory government or by the Australian Health Protection Principle Committee, then you will not be permitted free access to the Northern Territory,' he said.

Visitors from coronavirus hotspots will have to isolate before visiting the Northern Territory (Kakadu National Park pictured) when its borders reopen on July 17

Chief Minister Michael Gunner (pictured) said visitors from coronavirus hotspots who flouted the rules would be subject to harsh penalties and up to three years in jail

Mr Gunner said that special rules would apply to anyone who had travelled through a coronavirus hotspot in the last 10 days.

'You will be required to be self contained for 14 days in a regional centre and at your own cost before you can apply. ... This direction will apply on the day of your arrival in the Territory,' he explained.

The Chief Minister said people travelling to the territory would need to sign a declaration that they had not been through a hotspot in the previous 28 days.

Mr Gunner said any visitors who lied on the statutory declaration would be subject to harsh penalties including large fines and a prison sentence of up to three years.

'If you are from interstate and you live in a hotspot area, your own government is telling you the area is not safe and you should be in lockdown.

'If you are meant to be in lockdown, then you shouldn't be leaving your home, you shouldn't be coming here,' he warned.

Mr Gunner said he understood Territorians were concerned about a second wave of coronavirus and that he was prepared to defeat it.

'I know the eventual opening of our borders worries a lot of Territorians, I get it. It worries me too. It's a big step, a scary step.'

'If or when corona comes back to the Territory, we will jump on it and we will smash it, we will track it down and if we need to we will lock down the area where we find it until it is gone,' he said.

The Chief Minister said the COVID-19 spike in Victoria was concerning but the territory could not remain closed any longer.

'I know a lot of concern comes from what's happening in Victoria right now. I want to remind Territorians, this is why we waited,' he said.

Victoria has recorded 33 new coronavirus cases overnight and six local government areas have been identified as hotspots.

Australia recorded 37 new cases on Thursday, 512 still active, with four new infections in NSW.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks the press conference at the State Department in Washington on May 20, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

The Tide Is Turning From Huawei Toward Trusted 5G Vendors: Pompeo

More and more countries and telecom companies are waking up to the danger of the Chinese Communist Partys surveillance state and allowing only trusted vendors in their 5G networks, excluding Huawei from deals with their telecommunications operators due to the Chinese companys ties with the Chinese military, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

Companies like Huawei are required by Chinas security law to share any information that they have and that includes the private information, whether thats health care information or other personal information of a citizen from the Czech Republic or a citizen of Germany or France, Pompeo said at the German Marshall Fund of the United Statess Brussels Forum 2020 on Thursday.

Huawei can easily intercept any information that transits its system without even needing a backdoor or any secret access because they own the infrastructure, Pompeo said. That information will be in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party as Huawei has a legal obligation to provide it to them.

This is the most egregious privacy violations in the world, he added.

A man walks past a 5G sign in Monaco, on Nov. 28, 2019. (Eric Gaillard/Reuters)

Among European countries that allow only trusted 5G vendors to build their 5G networks are the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden, Estonia, Romania, Denmark, and Latvia, Pompeo said in the statement.

Greece agreed to use Ericsson rather than Huawei to develop its 5G infrastructure, the statement said.

In March, the largest Greek mobile service provider, Cosmote, selected Ericssona Swedish telecommunication company as an exclusive 5G supplierfor its 5G infrastructure, according to Ericssons statement.

Cosmote, which is part of the Deutsche Telekom Group, plans to launch commercial 5G services in 2021, the statement said.

Polish President Andrzej Duda signed a joint statement with President Donald Trump during his visit to the White House on Wednesday, which stipulated that Poland and the United States will only deal with what is a diverse supply chain of trusted 5G vendors.

Some of the largest telecom companies around the world also use only trusted 5G vendors. Among them are Orange in France, Jio in India, Telstra in Australia, SK and KT in South Korea, NTT in Japan, and O2 in the United Kingdom, Pompeo called these Clean Telcos.

In addition, Canadas top three telecom giants have already excluded Huawei from their 5G networks. Earlier in June, Bell Canada selected Ericsson as its 5G network partner and Telus Mobility will use both Ericsson and Nokia as its 5G service providers. Rogers Communications had already chosen Ericsson in 2018.

Huawei entered the Canadian market in 2008 and its equipment was widely used by Bell and Telus.

Public opinion in Canada was overwhelmingly against allowing Huawei to build Canadas 5G networks, Pompeo said in the statement.

The CEO of another multinational telecom giant operating in South and Central America and Europe, Telefonica, said recently that it is proud to be a 5G Clean Path company.

Telefonica Spain and O2 (UK) are fully clean networks, and Telefonica Deutschland (Germany) and Vivo (Brazil) will be in the near future without equipment from any untrusted vendors, the State Department said in a statement.

Excluding untrusted vendors from 5G networks is especially important for the five countries that share intelligence through the Five Eyes Alliance. Canada is the only country that has not made yet a decision to ban Huawei from the construction of its 5G network.

The United States, Australia, and New Zealand had already banned Huawei from participating in their 5G networks, and the UK has also decided to expel Huawei from its market within three years.
The release of Christopher Nolan's highly-anticipated big budget movie Tenet has been delayed - again.

The film had been moved from its scheduled July 17 opening date to July 31 in anticipation of movie theatres re-opening in mid to late July as states got a handle on the coronavirus pandemic.

However, with spikes in COVID-19 cases continuing, Warner Bros. announced that Tenet has been pushed back to August 12.

Delayed again: The theatrical release of Christopher Nolan's highly-anticipated big budget movie Tenet has been pushed back to August 12, Warner Bros. announced on Thursday

A surge in COVID_19 cases means movie theatres are still putting off re-opening and Nolan has insisted that Tenet will only be shown on the big screen in 70mm and IMAX formats

While studios have opted to release some of their planned 2020 films digitally on demand rather than hold them over, British filmmaker Nolan has insisted that Tenet was made for the big screen and will be shown in 70mm and IMAX formats in theatres.

However, theatres have been closed since mid-March when the coronavirus crisis took hold in the U.S.

In a statement, as reported by THR.com, Warner Bros. said it remains 'committed to bringing Tenet to audiences in theaters, on the big screen, when exhibitors are ready and public health officials say its time.'

The studio added: 'In this moment what we need to be is flexible, and we are not treating this as a traditional movie release. We are choosing to open the movie mid-week to allow audiences to discover the film in their own time, and we plan to play longer, over an extended play period far beyond the norm, to develop a very different yet successful release strategy.'

Hush hush: Little is known about Tenet except it has a budget int he region of $200 million, deals with international espionage and the time continuum and was shot in seven countries. Pictured are two of the film's stars, Robert Pattinson and John David Washington

Head-scratcher: Pattinson has conceded that he struggled to get his head around the 'incredibly complicated movie' even while making the sci-fi thriller

With a budget in the region of $200 million, it is one of the most expensive original films ever made.

Little is known about it except it deals with international espionage and the time continuum and was shot in seven countries: Denmark, Estonia, India, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Even the film's stars Robert Pattinson and Kenneth Branagh have conceded they struggled to get their heads around the plot even while making the sci-fi thriller.

'There were months at a time where Im like, Am I . . . I actually, honestly, have no idea if Im even vaguely understanding whats happening',' Pattinson admitted in an interview for Esquire's recent profile of his Tenet co-star John David Washington.

'Its an incredibly complicated movie, like all of Chriss movies,' Pattinson said. 'I mean, you have to watch them when theyre completely finished and edited three or four times to understand what the true meaning is.'

Branagh told the UK's Total Film: 'I kid you not, I read this screenplay more times than I have ever read any other thing I have ever worked on.'

He went on: 'It was like doing the Times crossword puzzle every day, I would imagine. Except the film and the screenplay didn't expect you, or need you, to be an expert.'

Baffling: Kenneth Branagh told the UK's Total Film : 'I kid you not, I read this screenplay more times than I have ever read any other thing I have ever worked on. It was like doing the Times crossword puzzle every day'
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In another brazen attack on the U.S., a Russian military intelligence unit has secretly paid bounties to Taliban-linked fighters to kill U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, according to a bombshell New York Times report.

The report represents a deadly escalation in Moscow's repeated efforts to undermine U.S. policy, and came as the administration was seeking to find ways to extract itself from the decades-long war by making peace with the Taliban.

President Donald Trump was briefed on the activity months ago, the New York Times reported Friday, citing officials with knowledge on the matter  but the U.S. took no evident action.

U.S. Intel believed the operation to have been initiated by the notoriously violent Unit 29155 of the G.R.U, an arm of Russias military intelligence agency.

U.S. intelligence concluded a Russian unit paid bounties to Taliban elements for killings of U.S. troops, it is reported

President Donald Trump delivers remarks to U.S. troops, with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani standing behind him, during an unannounced visit to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, November 28, 2019. A Russian military unit paid Taliban fighters bounties to kill American forces, according to the New York Times

In recent years, the unit has been linked to assassination attempts or revenge plots aimed at destabilizing the West.

Yet it would be the first time that it was known to have initiated attacks on Western troops, a major escalation of force against the U.S.

There were times when the bounties were in fact paid, according to the paper, although it did not identify specific U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan were killed as a result of the Russian bounty payments.

According to the paper, the money went to Islamist militants.

Twenty Americans were killed last year in the bloody Afghan war, which began in 2001, but it was not clear if any of these deaths were under suspicion.

The matter was discussed at the White House national security council as early as March.

According to the paper, U.S. policy members developed a 'menu' of options, from a diplomatic slap to further increases in U.S. sanctions or other unnamed responses.

What is the G.R.U? The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, often called the GRU, was founded during Russia's civil war in 1992. Today, it uses a combination of covert special-forces operations, spying, cyber attacks and internet trolls to destabilise its enemies. It has its roots in the intelligence-gathering agency that bolstered Trotskys Bolshevik Red Army. The GRU sits apart from the SVR, the external spying service, and the domestic FSB), which were created when the KGB was split in 1991. The agency is s based in a headquarters nicknamed The Aquarium on an airbase near Moscow. It deploys six times as many agents in foreign countries as the SVR. Agents often have a military background, such as Sergei Skripal, who was recruited after serving in the Soviet army. Advertisement

But officials said the White House has taken no response to date and no explanation for the delay was given.

The bounties allegedly came as peace talks to end the long-running war in Afghanistan were ongoing and information was kept a closely guarded secret until the administration began expanding briefings this week.

They also shared intelligence with the British government whose troops are said to be among those targeted.

The news hit the Trump Administration as it was already grappling with the coronavirus pandemic and as Trump hoped that a peace deal with the Taliban would end the Afghanistan War in the last few months of his re-election campaign.

Russia fiercely denied the allegations on Friday night, accusing the New York Times of fake news and claiming that the story had placed the lives of employees of the Russian embassies in the United States and the United Kingdom at risk.

'In the absence of reasons to #BlameRussians, @nytimes is there to invent stories,' the Russian embassy in Washington D.C.. tweeted Friday night, adding that journalists 'obviously lack information on cooperation between Russia and U.S. on the Afghan peace process, on Syrian, North Korean, Venezuelan, Iranian agendas'.

With the tweet, the embassy shared images of previous tweets and stories they said backed up the co-operation.

'Baseless and anonymous accusations of Moscow as mastermind behind killing of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan have already led to direct threats to the life of employees of the Russian Embassies in Washington D.C. and London,' they added in a second tweet.

'Stop producing #fakenews that provoke life threats,' it continued, tagging the New York Times.

'We demand the relevant U.S. authorities take effective measures to ensure the fulfillment of their international obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.'

Earlier Friday, the New York Times had reported that The Kremlin was not yet aware of the accusations.

'If someone makes them, well respond,' said Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

The Russian embassy in the United States fiercely denied the allegations in a Twitter thread on Friday night

Exact details of the Russian operation have not been shared but the New York Times states that information came, in part, from interrogations of captured Afghan militants and criminals.

Russia has previously been accused by American officials of providing arms to the Taliban in destabilizing attempts.

A February agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban, however, had led to a peaceful period in recent months after four American troops were killed in combat early this year.

It is not known how high-ranking those involved may be in the Russian government or the reason why the operation would begin now.

Some that it is an attempt to disrupt peace talks while others claim it may be a revenge plot over the deaths of numerous Russian mercenaries in a battle in Syria in 2018.

The G.R.U. unit, otherwise known as Unit 29155, believed to behind the operation is notoriously violent.

Officials believe the group has been operating for a decade and is responsible for attacks including the nerve agent poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom.

The former Russian spy and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned with potentially deadly novichok in March 2018.

Putin is also believed to have sent Unit 29155 to stage a coup in Montenegro, which failed, according to intelligence sources who also blame the unit for a campaign to destabilise Moldova and the poisoning of Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev in 2015.

In this photo taken on June 6, 2019, US soldiers look out over hillsides during a visit of the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General Scott Miller at the Afghan National Army (ANA) checkpoint in Nerkh district of Wardak province

A U.S. Army carry team moves the transfer case containing the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Goble during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base, December 25, 2019 in Dover, Delaware. The Times did not identify which of 20 American forces were killed after alleged bounty payments from a Russian military intelligence unit

A key factor in Unit 29155's operations is that they are often apparently sloppy, with their methods easily noticed by law enforcement in the countries they target.

But spy sources said it was unclear whether that was due to poor planning or a deliberately cavalier attitude, intending for their attacks to become public as a warning to potential targets.

It is comprised of veterans from wars with Afghanistan, Chechnya and Ukraine and the outfit appears to function as a tight-knit community.

Two G.R.U cyberunits are also believed to have hacked into Democratic Party servers and then used WikiLeaks to publish embarrassing internal communications, interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election,

Trump received substantial criticism during the 2016 campaign for his repeated calls to improve relations with Moscow. Then after he took office, he came under fire for his closed-door meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin with only translators present, and for publicly accepting Putin's denial of interference in the elections.

Former Trump national security advisor Micahel Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts after urging the Russian ambassador not to retaliate against U.S. sanctions imposed during the Obama administration for election interference.

The U.S. has already sanctioned Russia following the country's interference in the U.S. elections, which prosecutors connected to President Vladimir Putin. The Trump administration took no action to retaliate for the bounties, according to the report

Afghan Taliban fighters and villagers attend a gathering as they celebrate the peace deal signed between US and Taliban in Laghman Province, Alingar district on March 2, 2020

Flynn then sought to reverse his guilty plea.

The revelation follows serious allegations in a new book by former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who claims Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help his reelection by buying U.S. farm products.

Trump weathered a House Democratic impeachment effort after the release of his call to the president of Ukraine urging investigations of rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Trump said the call was 'perfect' and was acquitted of impeachment articles on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

The CIA, the NSA, and the Pentagon all declined comment to the paper.

In February the U.S. inked a deal with the Taliban that would bring about an end to the war, the longest in U.S. history, while slowing drawing down U.S. forces.

'I really believe the Taliban wants to do something to show that were not all wasting time,' Trump said after the U.S. and the Taliban reached the agreement in Doha. He said he would be meeting with Taliban leaders and added: 'They will be killing terrorists. They will be killing some very bad people. They will keep that fight going.'

Russia has longstanding ties to Afghanistan, having been ousted by Mujahadeen forces who got American backing in the 1980s after Russia's 1979 invasion.

Last fall, Trump called off secret meetings with the Taliban planned for Camp David during one phase of peace talks after a car bomb attack in Kabul. The talks eventually resumed.

Taliban officials held talks in Moscow in September following the collapse of U.S.-Taliban balks. Russia publicly stressed dialogue at the time, Al Jazeera reported at the time, quoting Russia's TASS news agency.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Friday marks the last day of school for New York Citys public school students -- wrapping up the unusual and unique 2019-2020 school year with a half-day.

Instead of celebrating with cheers, hugs, and tears, students will be celebrating from the comfort of their home this year after the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak shut down school buildings in mid-March.

It wasnt the school year anyone was expecting. When the schools moved to a distance learning model, teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and therapists quickly had to adapt to a new way of teaching and engaging students from 3 to 18 years old.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

When Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on March 15 that schools would close and move to remote learning, there was only one week to prepare for the tools and resources educators would need to successfully conduct remote learning -- something that has never been done on this scale before.

What the schools have pulled off is nothing short of a miracle, Michael Mulgrew told the Advance/SILive.com in April. I mean, theres never been a plan or training or anything about this stuff. And you have certain schools, Oh we use Google. Using Google inside a classroom with the children sitting in front of you is one thing versus using Google with 27 kids all at a different house.

Teachers had to prepare lesson plans and assignments, while also missing the students they wouldnt see for the rest of the school year. And parents -- many who may still be working from home or are essential workers -- were thrust into a teacher role to help their kids with daily assignments and projects if needed. Many teachers are also parents themselves -- juggling educating their students remotely while also helping their own children.

SUMMER LEARNING

Summer learning will continue remotely for nearly 200,000 students citywide during the pandemic, beginning in the next one to two weeks depending on the childs grade.

Students who attend the citys public schools in District 75 programs and have disabilities will begin summer learning on July 1 and it will continue through Aug. 13. Third through eighth grades and ninth through 12th grades will begin on July 13 and go through Aug. 18 and Aug. 21 respectively.

The city is working with private partners across the five boroughs -- like libraries and museums -- to launch new resources to help keep restless children entertained and engaged throughout the summer, the mayor said. Different E-books will become available, as well as virtual clubs to help children stay social and connected, as well as tours and other engagement.

In addition to learning in the summer, New York City will open its beaches to swimming on July 1. Lifeguards will be on duty daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; swimming is unsafe and strictly prohibited at all other times.

On Staten Island, residents will be able to visit Midland and South beaches and Cedar Grove Beach on the boroughs East Shore and Wolfes Pond Park Beach on the South Shore.

The city announced in April it was closing public pools for the summer.

Additionally, the city will allow privately-run summer camps -- including the YMCA and church groups -- to operate in New York City parks, on the condition all activities are kept outside.

SCHOOL IN THE FALL

The future of what school will look like in September is still unknown, including the 2020-2021 academic calendar, which is typically released in the spring. The city Department of Education (DOE) hasnt released the school calendar, which would include the first and last days of school and time off for holidays.

While the first day of school is still up in the air, the DOE has started discussing what school will look like in the fall.

Since we cannot yet predict what September will look like, we can -- and we must -- be prepared for a range of possibilities, said city Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza in a letter to school leaders earlier this month. Our job is to be ready and nimble.

The DOE has created a Fall Framework that consists of eight key areas that will guide the planning and organization of schools reopening, according to Carranzas letter. That could include ensuring appropriate amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE), phased start dates, split student schedules, and a hybrid learning model of both in-person and online learning.

The education department is considering a rolling or phased start to the school year, taking a cue from other countries that are modifying schedules or starting different groups of students in-person at different times.

The DOE would need to ensure school buildings and other office buildings are equipped to handle health requirements such as PPE, equipment, supplies, social distancing protocols, and monitoring of health indicators to protect students, teachers, and staff. Building operations will need to be adjusted to ensure safe, healthy places for students and staff. Building procedures will need to allow for limitations of student and staff movements in, out, and within the building.

De Blasio has previously said he is confident New York City public schools will reopen for September. He recently announced that education leaders, experts and advocates will sit on a council to help guide New York City in reopening school buildings in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

He said during a recent previous press conference that the city is looking at any and all options when it comes to reopening schools in September.

The mayors goal is to return to the normal school day with the full functioning of schools as quickly as possible. If that cant happen, there are other plans the city is looking at -- such as a hybrid approach or staggered school hours.

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Gov. Ned Lamont announced on Thursday that Connecticut will try to reopen public schools full time and in person this fall.

Scroll through to see exactly how the Connecticut State Department of Education plans to do this.
A former crime scene technician who murdered her friend was 'flirty and playful' with police officers as they interrogated her about whereabouts of missing woman.

The body of former policewoman Taylor Wright, 33, was discovered on a remote Florida farm after she had been shot in the back of her head, buried on the edge of property and covered with concrete and potting soil.

Detectives had a line-up of suspects to investigate including her ex-husband from whom Taylor stole $100,000, her new live-in girlfriend Casandra, and her best friend Ashley McArthur, the last person to see Taylor alive.

Two years after her body was found, Ashley, 41, was found guilty of killing her friend and received a life sentence, after it was discovered that she'd stolen $34,000 from Taylor before killing her at her parent's farm.

New Crime+Investigation series Murder Masterminds, delves into the case, and shows prosecution lawyer Bridgette Jenson explain how Ashley was 'playful' while speaking to police and lying about her friends whereabouts.

Ashley McArthur (pictured), 41, from Florida, was 'flirty and playful' with police officers as they interrogated her about whereabouts of missing woman

The body of former policewoman Taylor Wright (pictured), 33, was discovered on a remote Florida farm after she had been shot in the back of her head

Jenson was intent on playing the full six hours of Ashley's police interrogation to the Jury, explaining that her 'change in demeanor' was an important piece of evidence.

She told: 'I think that was important, because the jury got to see Ashley.

'If you look at the first interview she was flirty, maybe a little playful with law enforcement. In the second interview her demeanor was different. I think she knew she was caught.'

In her first interview, Ashley told the detective that she had picked Wright up on the morning of September 8th and they drove to various locations during the day before going to McArthurs family property to ride horses.

Ashley received a life sentence in prison after it was discovered that she had stolen $34,000 from Taylor. She is pictured depositing the stolen money

Taylor had been shot in the back of her head, buried on the edge of property and covered with concrete and potting soil. Pictured, weapon's seized from Ashley

Ashley then claimed they then travelled back to her residence where Wright had left in an Uber to go to a bar.

In the police interview, Ashley was heard saying: 'I don't believe Taylor's been harmed, I think Taylor is doing what Taylor does, but I don't know, you know.

'She's always come across as being tough. She's always carrying weapons whether it's knives, or guns, or whatever. She's not an easy target.'

Elsewhere, when an officer asked if Taylor had ever 'come on to her', Ashley replied: 'Taylor asked me on time to have a threesome with her and some guy, and I was like, "No thank you".'

However the story Ashley was spreading to her friends and boyfriend was very different, with trial witnesses claiming Ashley was bragging of her plans to kill Taylor.

Taylor entrusted $32,000 to her friend, Ashley for safe keeping - with no knowledge that her friend was facing money troubles of her own

Ashley told the detective that she had picked Wright up before going to McArthurs family property pictured) to ride horses

One local bar tender and friend of Ashely, Audrey Warne, alleged in court that she had told her plans to overdose Taylor on cocaine.

'She said she was going to put it [cocaine] in Taylor's beer, said Audrey. 'She said this world would be better if Taylor wasn't here and she wasn't a good person, once that she was too small to hurt anybody so she'd just shoot them.'

Before Taylor's death, the private investigator withdrew $100,000 from her and her husbands bank accounts - to keep the funds away from the spouse she was in divorce proceedings with.

Taylor entrusted $32,000 to her friend, Ashley, for safe keeping - with no knowledge that her friend was facing money troubles of her own.

Bank records showed that on August 16, McArthur deposited a cashiers check in Wrights name for the amount of $34,000 into McArthurs personal checking account

McArthur was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2019

After embarking on an affair with a man called Brandon Beaty and spending a huge chunk of her income on him, Ashely used Taylor's $32,000 to buy him a boat.

On September 8, 2017, the pair met so Taylor could obtain her money and Taylor and her girlfriend, Cassandra, communicated back and forth via text until about 11:20 am.

Wrights girlfriend continued to try to communicate with her with no success until 7:58pm, when she received a text from Wrights phone stating that she needed time to think and get her life on track.

During the investigation, McArthurs bank records, phone records and text records were obtained and discrepancies were found in her original interview.

During the investigation, McArthurs bank records, phone records and text records were obtained and discrepancies were found in her original interview

Mobile phone tracking showed that the pair had travelled to the remote Pensacola farm much later than Ashley was claiming

Mobile phone tracking showed that the pair had travelled to the remote Pensacola farm much later than Ashley was claiming.

When quizzed on the mistake in her original interview, she revealed that Taylor had wanted to collect the lockbox containing the money she had entrusted her with earlier.

Bank records showed that on August 16, McArthur deposited a cashiers check in Wrights name for the amount of $34,000 into McArthurs personal checking account and that the money had since been spent.

McArthur was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

The first episode of Murder Masterminds airs on CRIME+INVESTIGATION on Tuesday 7h July at 9pm. The series is available on all catch up and on demand services
Cloud computing is one of the most important investments in modern IT and its grown to become a top priority for all organizations. That means IT professionals with cloud skills are in high demand and certifications can help make you even more hirable by validating your cloud skills and expertise. And cloud certifications can go a long way in boosting your IT salary.

The most popular cloud job roles are cloud architect and cloud engineer and the average salary for a cloud professional in North America is $138,320 per year, according to the Global Knowledge 2019 IT Skills and Salary report. IT professionals with six or more certifications reported earning $10,000 more than those who only held one certification.

Whether youre just getting into cloud computing or youre ready to take the next step in your IT career, theres a certification that can help get you where you want to be. Heres a roundup of the most valuable and sought-after cloud computing certifications for 2020, according to data from Global Knowledge. Salary and pay data for each certification comes from the Global Knowledge report unless otherwise noted.

10 most valuable cloud certifications

Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect

Google Certified Professional Data Engineer

AWS Certified Solutions Architect  Associate

AWS Certified SysOps Administrator

AWS Certified Developer  Associate

Microsoft Certified: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate

Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert

Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP)

CompTIA Cloud+

Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect

The Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect certification covers the skills and knowledge IT professionals need to work with Google Cloud technologies in the enterprise. The exam covers your ability to design, develop and manage scalable and secure business solutions in the cloud, including topics such as designing and planning, managing and provisioning and implementing cloud architecture. Youll also be tested on how to design cloud apps and services with compliance in mind, and on your ability to analyze and optimize business processes.

Average salary: $175,761

Google Certified Professional Data Engineer

The Google Certified Professional Data Engineer certification is designed for data engineers working with the Google Cloud Platform. The certification exam covers your ability to design, build, operationalize, secure and monitor data processing systems. Youll be tested on designing data processing systems, building and operationalizing data processing systems and machine learning models. Its recommended to have three or more years of experience, including at least one year of designing and managing solutions on Googles cloud.

Average salary: $157,185

AWS Certified Solutions Architect  Associate

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect  Associate certification is designed for solutions architects with one or more years of experience designing systems on AWS. The certification validates your knowledge of application architecture and how to deploy secure applications on Amazons cloud. Youll be tested on your ability to pinpoint solutions based of customer requirements and to provide implementation guidance throughout the lifecycle of the project based on architectural design principles.

Average salary: $130,883

AWS Certified SysOps Administrator

The AWS Certified SysOps Administrator associate certification is designed for systems administrators with at least one year of experience in deployment, management and operations on AWS. The exam covers deploying, managing and operating scalable systems on AWS as well as implementing and controlling data flow, choosing an AWS service based on requirements, identifying AWS operations best practices, reducing costs and migrating workloads to AWS. Its recommended to have at least one year of experience monitoring and auditing systems; to have an understanding of networking, virtualization and security concepts; and to have hands-on experience with AWS, CLI, SDK and API tools.

Average salary: $130,610

AWS Certified Developer  Associate

The AWS Certified Developer  Associate certification is designed for cloud professionals working in development who have one or more years of experience developing and maintaining AWS-based applications. The certification exam tests your knowledge of programming languages, AWS core services, AWS architecture best practices and application life cycle management. Its also important to know how to develop, deploy and debug cloud-based applications in Amazons cloud and to write code for serverless applications.

Average salary: $130,272

Microsoft Certified: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

The Microsoft Certified Microsoft Azure Fundamentals certification validates your knowledge of cloud concepts and Azure. The exam covers the fundamentals of cloud concepts, core Azure services, Azure pricing SLAs and lifecycles. Youll also cover the basics of security, privacy, compliance and trust as they relate to Azure. The Microsoft Certified Azure Fundamentals certification does not expire, so you once you pass the exam you wont have to worry about recertifying.

Average salary: $126,653

Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator Associate

The Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator Associate certification is for IT professionals working in cloud environments using Azure. The certification exam covers your ability to manage Azure identities and governance, implement and manage storage, deploy and manage Azure resources, configure and manage virtual networks and monitor and backup Azure resources. Its recommended to have at least six months of experience administering Azure and a strong understanding of core Azure services, workloads, security and governance. Youll also need experience with PowerShell, Azure CLI, Azure portal and Azure resources management templates.

Average salary: $125,993

Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect Expert

The Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification is for cloud professionals responsible for advising stakeholders and building reliable cloud solutions based off business requirements. The expert-level exam covers an extensive amount of information, including your ability to deploy and configure infrastructure, implement workloads and security, and create and deploy apps. Youll also be tested on designing a data platform solution, a business continuity strategy and an infrastructure strategy. Youll be asked how to implement authentication and secure data, develop for the cloud and Azure storage, determine workload requirements, design a data platform solution, design a business continuity strategy, design for deployment, migration and integration, and design an infrastructure strategy.

Average salary: $120,559 per year, according to PayScale

Certified Cloud Security Professional (CSSP)

The Certified Cloud Security Professional certification is offered through the International Information System Security Certification Consortium, known as (ISC). It validates your ability to design, manage and secure data, applications and infrastructure in the cloud, while also following the best practices established by the (ISC). The exam covers cloud concepts, architecture, design, security and risk and compliance. The CSSP certification is best suited for those working with cloud technology in a role as an enterprise architect, security administrator, systems engineer, security architect, systems architect or security consultant, engineer or manager. Its recommended to have at least five years of experience in IT, three of which must be in information security and one year of experience in one or more of the six domains in the CSSP Common Body of Knowledge.

Average salary: $116,025 per year, according to PayScale

CompTIA Cloud+

The CompTIA Cloud+ certification is designed to validate that cloud professionals have the skills necessary to maintain and optimize cloud infrastructure services. The exam is vendor-neutral and covers several relevant vendors so you can gain a larger picture of cloud infrastructure services. Youll learn and be tested on configurations and deployment, management of cloud resources, maintenance of systems, security and troubleshooting. Its recommended to have at least two to three years of experience in system administration before taking the exam.

Average salary: $78,600 per year, according to PayScale
On Tuesday, the Haines Borough Assembly updated its 14-day quarantine recommendation to mirror the states new mandate for travelers entering Alaska.

Under current state mandates, travelers are able to avoid quarantining for 14 days through a t...
When David Bowie invited Chic guitarist and all-around funk/disco guitar genius Nile Rodgers to make an album of hits in Switzerland, Rogers remembers thinking, okay, hits with David Bowie, thats an awesome project. The way he deadpans might make us think he wasnt super stoked about it, but the fact is, its hard to impress Nile Rodgers. He has produced, written, and played guitarthe very Stratocaster hes holding in the video aboveon hundreds, maybe thousands of records, he says. Whats one more, with one more superstar?

The album, it turned out, would become Lets Dance, runner-up to Thriller for album of the year in 1984, containing such danceable hits as the title track, Modern Love, and China Girl. It was to be Bowies best-selling albumas he described it, a rediscovery of white-English-ex-art-school-student-meets-black-American-funk. He certainly brought the first part of that equation, a tune he strummed for Rogers on his 12-string acoustic that sounded like folk music to me, the guitarist says.





Since I knew David loved jazz and he understood the vernacular, I said to him, David, can I do an arrangement of this song? (What he has remembered saying elsewhere is much funnier: I come from dance music. You cant call that thing you just played Lets Dance.) Rodgers shows how he substituted and moved Bowies chords, giving the song its distinctive voicing. Running away from funk because of the whole disco sucks thing, Rodgers says, he simplified his strumming, letting a delay effect make the groove.

While he may not have gone into the experience expecting much more than the usual hit-making collaboration, the experience, changed my life, he says, it changed Davids life, and we wound up working together on another five projects over the next five years. In an NPR interview last year, Rogers debuted the first demo of Lets Dance with Bowie singing over his new arrangement. You can hear just above.

The video at the top is part of Fender Guitars educational series, so Rodgers wraps up with an essential takeaway for guitarists about the importance of good theoretical knowledge, the basis of his Lets Dance transformation from folk to jazz to New Wave post-funk. Sadly, we cannot hear from Bowie himself or from his other famous guitarist-collaborator on Lets Dance, Stevie Ray Vaughan. But Bowie also credited the Texas legend for helping him access his inner American to create music, as he once observed, with a European sensibility, but owed its impact to the blues.

via Boing Boing

Related Content:

Stream David Bowies Complete Discography in a 19-Hour Playlist: From His Very First Recordings to His Last

David Bowie Became Ziggy Stardust 48 Years Ago This Week: Watch Original Footage

David Bowie Picks His 12 Favorite David Bowie Songs: Listen to Them Online

Josh Jones is a writer and musician based in Durham, NC. Follow him at @jdmagness
The Morrison government has overseen the largest budget deficit in history with new figures revealing the nation's finances are $64.9 billion in the red with still another month of the financial year to run.

Data released by the Finance Department on Friday showed that through May, the budget bottom line deteriorated by $24.9 billion - or almost $1 billion a day - as tax revenues collapsed and the government sought to protect the economy from the coronavirus pandemic.

Josh Frydenberg handing down the 2019-20 budget in April last year, predicting the first surplus in a decade. New figures show the budget in its largest deficit on record. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

This year was supposed to show the first budget surplus in more than a decade, with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg predicting in December a $5 billion surplus for the 2019-20 financial year.

Instead, analysts now believe the deficit this year could approach $90 billion and next year's deficit climb beyond $200 billion.
Home Search ICH Will Biden Remain Tone Deaf to Palestinian Rights? By Medea Benjamin and Ariel Gold June 25, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Joe Biden wants you to believe that he is opposed to Israels likely annexation of parts of the West Bank that Netanyahu plans to carry out in July. I do not support annexation, he said during a call with American Jewish donors on June 16. But only a month ago, Biden senior foreign policy advisor Tony Blinken insisted that under absolutely no circumstances, not even the annexation of the West Bank, would Biden consider reducing or withholding U.S. military aid to Israel. And contrary to the position of his former boss, President Obama, Biden also pledged that if elected, he would keep disagreements with Israeli policies private. Thats not what the American people want. In a new Washington Post poll, 67 percent of respondents said that it is acceptable or actually the duty of elected representatives to question the Israeli-American relationship. Among Democrats, that number was an overwhelming 81 percent. The call to be more openly critical of Israeli policy reflects Israels continued lurch to the right and President Trumps embrace of that, as well as diligent campaigning by Palestinian-Americans and progressive American Jews. Another factor was the example set by Jewish presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who talked passionately about Palestinian rights. This sentiment that US leaders must take a critical look at Israeli policies is reflected in a letter recently sent to Biden by over 100 groups, calling on him to adopt policies toward the Israeli government and Palestinian people based on the principles of equality and justice for all. Endorsers of the letter include the American Friends Service Committee, American Muslims for Palestine, CODEPINK, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), If Not Now and Jewish Voice for Peace. The letter came out of concern that Bidens positions on Israel/Palestine are to the right of those of President Obama  who openly clashed with Israel regarding such issues as settlements and the Iran nuclear deal  and only a pinch less hawkish than those of Trump. Bidens positions were made painfully clear in a May 18 statement on his campaign website entitled Joe Biden and the Jewish Community: a record and a plan of friendship, support, and action. It opened by conflating the Jewish state with Jewish values, and went on to brag about Bidens role in increasing military aid to Israel at the end of the Obama administration. It also promised that Biden, in violation on the First Amendment, would continue attacks on individuals and organizations that boycott Israel for political reasons and referred to Palestinian choices to commit violence. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Within days of the statements release, the backlash was so fierce that the degrading language of Palestinian choices was removed. But the statement remains a testament to Bidens unwavering support for the rightwing Netanyahu government. While Biden represents a candidate who is tone deaf to changing U.S. sentiment towards Israel, many in the Democratic party are leaving him in the dust. The sea change among Democrats in general, and young Jews in particular, was best captured in a few key moments during the Democratic presidential race. The first was in March 2019, when eight out of the ten Democratic presidential candidates refused to attend the conference sponsored by the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), recognizing the pro-Israel lobby as an impediment to achieving a just and lasting peace in Palestine/Israel. Another key moment was at the October 2019 conference organized by the liberal Jewish group J Street, when the audience burst into applause after then candidate Bernie Sanders suggested leveraging the $3.8 billion the US gives to Israel towards pushing Israel to respect Palestinian human rights. On the debate stage during the primaries, Bernie Sanders was also lauded for accurately referring to Saudi Arabias Mohammed bin Salman as a murderer and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a racist. When Sanders suspended his run for the Democratic nomination, Biden indicated that he would integrate some of the politics of the partys progressive wing to reflect the energized grassroots movement the Sanders campaign had built. He set up task forces to focus on health care, immigration, education, criminal justice reform, climate change and the economy, and tapped popular politicians such as Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. But no task force was set up for foreign policy, and Biden has done nothing to incorporate progressive concerns into his Israel/Palestine platform. Thats why the letter to Biden by over 100 organizations is so critical. It points out that by giving Israel unlimited diplomatic protection and massive military financing, the US has enabled the country to entrench its occupation, expand its illegal settlements, impose a 13-year-long siege and wage three wars against Gaza, pass laws that officially deny equal rights to Israeli citizens who are not Jewish, all under the veneer of peacemaking. The letter lays out the tenets of a strategy based on fairness and equality, including: explicit opposition to Israels occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and its unlawful blockade (abetted by Egypt) of the Gaza Strip;

recognition of Israels obligations toward the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, a protected population, according to international law;

support for conditioning US military funding to Israel on an end to Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights and adherence to all relevant US laws;

support for H.R. 2407, the Promoting Human Rights for Palestinian Children Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act, to ensure that no US dollars contribute to Israels a military detention, interrogation, abuse and/or other ill-treatment of Palestinian children;

calling on Israels government to repeal the Jewish Nation-State Basic Law and to ensure that Palestinian citizens of Israel and other non-Jewish citizens in the country enjoy equal rights with Jewish citizens by passing a basic law guaranteeing those rights;

opposition to the use of US security assistance against protected populations, including in Gaza, and calling on Israels government to protect civilians from settler violence;

support for Palestinian refugee rights consistent with international law and relevant UN resolutions;

promise to relocate the US Embassy back to Tel Aviv until such time as the international status of East Jerusalem has changed from its current status as occupied territory;

a promise to provide full US cooperation with the International Criminal Courts investigation into alleged war crimes committed by all sides in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip;

rejection of US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over any territories now occupied, absent an internationally recognized final agreement with the Palestinians. The groups want Biden to oppose illegal and immoral Israeli policies such as annexation with deeds, not just words. To be fair, Biden is far from the only Democratic Party leader paying lip service to opposing annexation while acting to maintain the status quo. Recently, 120 lawmakers in the House and 30 in the Senate sent letters voicing their opposition to annexation. They include such stalwart backers of Israel as Chuck Schumer, Robert Menendez, Ben Cardin, and Steny Hoyer. Hoyer is known for being the closest member of Congress to AIPAC and Schumer, Cardin, and Menendez were three of the only four Senate Democrats to support Israels opposition to the Iran nuclear deal in 2015. They are also leaders of the Israel Anti-Boycott Act to outlaw the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, even at the expense of the First Amendment. While it is a remarkable achievement that so many Democratic lawmakers registered their opposition to annexation, without measures to hold Israel accountable such statements are toothless. With annexation imminent, a case pending in the International Criminal Court for war crimes, and Gaza trapped in a 12-year-long siege complicated by a pandemic, the stakes are high. Bidens unconditional support for Israels rightwing government is not only less and less popular among Americans, but it guarantees continued repression against Palestinians and continued unrest in the region. Lets hope this letter from over 100 organizations shows Biden the widespread support for him to shed his Israel-right-or-wrong position and instead openly and explicitly distinguish right from wrong. Medea Benjamin is cofounder of CODEPINK for Peace, and author of several books, including Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the US-Saudi Connection. Ariel Gold is the national co-director of CODEPINK and runs the organizations Middle East Program. Post your comment below See also Bidens Dumbed-Down Pro-Israel Pandering: In order to secure pro-Israel cash for his presidential run he must out-Trump Trump when it comes to mouthing slavishly pro-Israel platitudes. Search Information Clearing House === The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load.
The GOP-led state rules committee on Thursday denied a state agencys request to implement rules prohibiting the use of conversion therapy by licensed therapists, counselors and social workers to attempt to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules voted along party lines to suspend the proposed rule changes without holding a public hearing or allowing in-person testimony from the state Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board, which brought forth the proposal  drawing heated criticism from Democratic members.

I think thats a true disservice to democracy and to the citizens in this state ... 100% of the contacts that I have had are in favor of this rule, Rep. Gary Hebl, D-Sun Prairie, said during the meeting. Its really amazingly disappointing, especially during pride month, that were looking at not protecting all individuals in this state.

Committee co-chairman Sen. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, said during the meeting that a public hearing was not required and the proposal was denied on the basis that such a change would run counter to legislative intent.

Bills proposed in the 2017-18 legislative session to prohibit conversion therapy failed to gain any traction in the GOP-led chambers.

Theres a number of problems here that the Legislature should deal with, if they would want to, and not a department, Nass said during Thursdays committee meeting. When you jump the fence on that and dont corral the departments they can begin to willy-nilly change whatever rules.

Nass office did not respond to request for comment.

The proposal would have updated state rules for marriage and family therapists, professional counselors and social workers to include provisions prohibiting discrimination while providing services based on gender, gender identity, ethnicity and biological sex.

The rule also would have prohibited practitioners from employing or promoting any intervention or method that has the purpose of attempting to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity, a practice known as conversion therapy.

Committee vice chairman Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, said he supports the prohibition of practices such as conversion therapy, but said he would vote against the proposed rule because the language was too generic and could lead to unintended consequences for therapists simply attempting to help their patients, not manipulate them.

Critics of conversion therapy say the practice can cause psychological harm to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth and lead to issues such as depression and substance abuse. More than a dozen national associations, including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and American Medical Association have denounced the practice.

At no point were the supposed merits of conversion therapy ever even discussed by Republicans in the hearing, Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said in a statement. Instead, they hid behind bogus procedural claims, which stalled this rule at the expense of real people who remain vulnerable to predatory practices under the guise of therapy.

Members appointed

The Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board falls under the Department of Safety and Professional Services and consists of governor-appointed members, including appointees from both former Republican Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

The original scope statement that led to the rules proposed Thursday was approved by Walker in early 2018 with the objective of making revisions to create clarity, remove obsolete provisions and ensure the chapter is current with professional standards and practices, according to the statement.

Larson said legislation to ban conversion therapy can be proposed again next legislative session, but added there is no guarantee it will gain any traction.

Both Milwaukee and Madison banned conversion therapy in 2018.

Friday marked the five-year anniversary of the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage.

Late rent fees

The committee also on Thursday voted along party lines to block an administrative rule to temporarily prohibit landlords from charging tenants late fees or penalties for failing to pay rent on time until August.

Democratic committee members described the provision, which was proposed by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, as much-needed assistance for Wisconsinites struggling to make timely rent payments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Republican members said DATCP didnt have the authority to implement such a rule and raised concern that waiving penalties could discourage tenants from making timely payments and result in increased evictions.

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Pune Customs seized 868 kg of marijuana and 7.5 kg of hashish in an operation on Wednesday. The total value of the seized narcotic drugs is worth Rs 2.10 crore. The custom officers detained four persons who were in two vehicles, the official release issued on Thursday stated.

The Narcotics Cell of Pune Customs had received information regarding the trafficking of narcotic drugs from remote locations of Andhra Pradesh to various locations in Maharashtra. Based on the input, officers kept surveillance on the Naldurg-Solapur Road, the official release informed.

READ | Delhi violence: Police file charge sheet against 7 in murder case

Customs officers followed the suspicious vehicles and intercepted them in Pune. Upon rigorous search of the vehicles, it was found that marijuana had been concealed in the cavity created on the roof of the vehicles. The officers also recovered hashish from one of the two vehicles.

READ | With 276 fresh cases, Assam's COVID-19 tally climbs to 6,646

Air Customs seizes over 2.50 kgs of gold

On Monday in another incident, about 2.65 kgs of gold was seized by customs officials from four passengers from the Middle East, who landed at the Karipur International airport in two separate chartered flights. Air Customs officials said that the total value of the seized gold was worth Rs 87 lakh.

About 1.25 kg of gold concealed in paste form was seized from a passenger who arrived from Sharjah in an early morning Air Arabia flight. In another seizure, nearly 1.40 kg of gold was seized from three passengers who arrived from Dubai in a chartered flight operated by Fly Dubai.

READ | Fire at garage in Pune; 10 four-wheelers gutted

READ | 725 new cases of coronavurus found in Pune district; 16 die

(With inputs from ANI) (Image ANI)
Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporations (UMC) newly appointed commissioner, Dr Raja Dayanidhi took charge on Friday. Dayanidhi replaced Sameer Unhale, who held the position for only a month in Ulhasnagar.

He assured that he will work on ways to control the spread of Covid-19. On my first day, I am trying to understand the situation and the spread of the outbreak in Ulhasnagar. We shall form a stronger system to fight the pandemic, said Dayanidhi.

Dayanidhi is an IAS officer from 2016 batch and was posted in Gondia as the chief executive officer of Zilla Parishad.

Gondia has a zero Covid fatality rate, but Ulhasnagar is a municipal corporation, and many people here travel to Mumbai regularly. Moreover, it has a huge population as well, hence the way to handle the pandemic is different here. However, providing proper facilities and increasing awareness among the residents will be the focus, said Dayanidhi. Ulhasnagar has, so far, reported 1,326 positive cases, 39 deaths.

There have been instances of people gathering in large numbers and bodies of Covid victims being handed over to families for the funeral, that led to an increase in positive numbers. Although the police have filed a complaint against those organising such events. Strict measures, to ensure social distancing norms are followed, needs to be in place here, said Sarita Khanchandani, activist, Ulhasnagar.
Tubers prepared to float the Comal River despite the recent spike in COVID-19 cases Thursday in New Braunfels, Texas. Read more

AUSTIN, Texas  Republican Gov. Greg Abbott shut down bars in Texas again on Friday and scaled back restaurant dining, the most dramatic reversals yet as confirmed coronavirus cases surge.

Abbott also ordered rafting and tubing outfitters on Texas' popular rivers to close and said outdoor gatherings of 100 people or more must be approved by local governments. The abrupt actions reflect how Texas is now scrambling to contain an outbreak less than two months after an aggressive reopening that was one of the fastest in the U.S.

At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars, Abbott said. The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health.

He did not say when bars might reopen again.

Texas has reported more than 17,000 confirmed new cases in the last three days with a record high positive tests of 5,996 on Thursday. The days tally of 4,739 hospitalizations was also a record. The states rolling infection rate hit nearly 12%, a level not seen since the state was in a broad lockdown in mid-April.

Until this week, Abbott had maintained that worsening trends in June were a matter of concern but not alarm. But he quickly struck a newly urgent tone, urging people to stay home while warning that a massive outbreak is sweeping through Texas.

The figures include a doubling of the infection rate to more than 10%  a mark Abbott said in May would be a red flag in his reopening plan, which at the time he said was backed by the White House.

Under the newest rollbacks, restaurant dining rooms must scale back to half capacity starting Monday. The shuttering of rafting and tubing businesses comes after people consistently packed waterways since the state reopened in May, and ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend that typically sees big turnouts.

Abbott is not the only governor backpedaling following a swift reopening. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, also a Republican, is also telling residents to stay home and on Thursday declaring the state on pause as hospitals accelerate toward capacity.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the COVID-19 virus without feeling sick.
Photo: Ramgoat Buckaman / Facebook

A Coast Mountain Bus Company transit operator says that a man on a Vancouver bus said a number of hateful, racist comments to him this week.

In a now-removed Facebook post, Ramgoat Buckaman, a CMBS transit operator, states that he discovered an object that looked like a noose on the bus he was driving in Vancouver. However, he says that he didn't want to make a scene over it.

"Within a few minutes, my fears were confirmed after man later got on the bus and asked if Im gonna hit Broadway. Told him yes, [and] he locked his stroller and sat down," writes Buckaman.

"Suddenly I heard him say Oh look driver, someone left you a noose, perfect for hanging." I instantly panicked as I didnt know what the outcome of such outburst was gonna be. He further said, I think you should hang yourself with it at the end of your night. I would understand if you did hang yourself!"

Following the remarks, Buckaman says he "froze" and that his, "heart sank, eyes popped open, heart was racing and I was sweating profusely...all while driving across Granville bridge."

Buckaman adds that the bus was completely silent after the incident, and that no one said anything: "It was like nothing happened."

When the Broadway stop was announced on the speaker a short while later, Buckaman writes that the man said, you must be so happy Im getting off at the next stop huh?"

A week prior to the incident on the bus, Buckaman says that, "Karen called the cops on me for washing my car outside."

TransLink Spokesperson Ben Murphy tells Vancouver Is Awesome in an email that Coast Mountain Bus Company and Transit Police are currently investigating the incident.

We are aware of a deeply concerning incident involving one of our bus operators," writes Murphy. "Coast Mountain Bus Company and Transit Police are now investigating. Racism has absolutely no place on our transit system and should not be tolerated under any circumstance.

Metro Vancouver Transit Police Spokesperson Sergeant Clint Hampton tells V.I.A. in an email that Transit Police are aware of the, "Deeply disturbing social media post," but that the incident was not reported to them. That said, he notes that Transit Police,"take all reports of this nature very seriously."

"There is no place for hate, racism or biases on the transit system," writes Hampton.

Last year, V.I.A. asked our readers who they would nominate for the citys most awesome bus driver.

Here is what a reader said about Buckaman in February 2019: "I am nominating Ramgoat Buckaman as the best and kindest bus driver I have ever met in my long bus riding experience. He is always courteous and polite to all passengers. You feel safe. Treat him fine, he deserves it."

Metro Vancouver Transit Police are currently investigating the incident and will follow up with Buckaman.
New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Class 10 and Class 12 board results will be declared by Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) tomorrow (June 27, 2020). Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, who also holds the secondary education portfolio, informed that the results will be announced at around 12:30 pm.

Candidates are advised to keep a check on the official website upresults.nic.in.

The UP Board Class 10 and Class 12 examinations 2020 were held on March 6, but the evaluation of the answer sheet and the results were delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent countrywide lockdown imposed to stop the spread of the virus.

Candidates can also get their results on their mobile phones via SMS. To do so, class 10 students will have to go to the message option and type UP10ROLLNUMBER - and send it to 56263. Class 12 students will have to send the message on the same number by typing UP12ROLLNUMBER.

Here's the steps to follow to check result online:

- Step 1: Visit the websites - upmsp.edu.in or upresults.nic.in or upmspresults.up.nic.in

- Step 2: Click on the link that reads UP Board Result 2020 Class 10 or UP Board Result 2020 Class 12 on the homepage

- Step 3: Enter the required details like roll number and centre

- Step 4: Press enter and your result with subject wise score will be displayed on your screen.

The UP government has already promoted students of classes 1 to 8 of all government schools without examination in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
N ot everyone is hoping for shares to continue their bumpy recovery since the trough of March, it seems.

Terry Smith, the fund manager behind the respected Fundsmith stock picking giant, has set up a hedge fund with a view to taking "short" bets against stocks which are overvalued, Citywire reported today. It's deemed a significant move because Smith has such a big name in the investment world, having seen huge successes with his long-only strategies at his other funds.

Fundsmith Long/Short is not thought to have begun trading yet but today would not have had a good day for its short punts if forecasts are anything to go by.

The FTSE-100 jumped 88.3 points to 6234.38, along with similar decent gains in Germany and France.

The Federal Reserve last night capped dividends and banned share buybacks from big banks in the US after its analysis of Covid-19 has the potential for triggering $700 billion of loan losses, pushing some banks close to their capital limits. Share prices of banks there jumped in advance of the announcement of stress test results but some then fell in after-hours trading, with Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo both falling more than 3%.

The Fed set new capital requirements which some analysts calculated put Goldman slightly below its new minimum. However, it also freed up some of its previous restrictions to make it easier for banks to lend to certain categories such as private equity investments.

Generally the news lifted sentiment in global markets and Asian shares were up today more than 1%, setting a fair wind for European stocks. Later this morning will see French consumer confidence numbers for June with a likely strong rebound from the improving May figures. Later comes US data on personal income and spending - a key measure of consumer confidence in the world's biggest economy.

Intu's 4.5 billion debt negotiations failed to succeed today and it appointed administrators this afternoon, meaning some of its huge shopping malls could be forced to close. The owner of Lakeside has created a dizzyingly complicated debt structuring, borrowing both at group levels and on the individual mall properties. It was in a crisis long before covid arrived.
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 26.06.2020:

 A total of 759 COVID-19 new cases have been reported in Armenia, bringing the total number to 23,247.

The death toll in the country has reached 410.

The total number of tests conducted so far is 105,046.

According to the latest data, 12,149 people have recovered thus far.

 Some more Armenian MPs - My Step faction MP Hakob Simidyan and My Step MP Aren Mkrtchyan - have tested positive for COVID-19, Lilit Minasyan, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armenian parliament told NEWS.am.

Minasyan added she was also informed by the press today that COVID-19 had been confirmed also in Arman Abovyan, secretary of the opposition Prosperous Armenia faction, and Prosperous Armenia MP Iveta Tonoyan.

Earlier, My Step four MPs, as well as parliament's vice president Vahe Enfiajyan have confirmed their positive results.

 Europe has faced an increase in weekly COVID-19 cases for the first time in months as restrictions are eased, BBC reported referring to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In 11 countries, including Armenia, Sweden, Moldova, and Northern Macedonia, accelerated transmission has led to "very significant resurgence", said Regional Director Dr. Hans Henri Kluge.

According to him, his warnings about the risk of resurgence became a reality. And if nothing is done, health systems would be "pushed to the brink".

 Armenia is not on the draft list of countries that will be allowed to enter the EU when the borders reopen.

The EU and the Schengen area plan to reopen their borders as of July 1.

There are 54 countries on the aforesaid draft list, Euronews reported.

According to diplomatic sources, however, there have been disagreements between the countries regarding the criteria used for the adoption of this decision, and some even claim that the COVID-19 data are not reliable in some countries.

 Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to his Facebook on Friday night to share an update on the constitutional amendments regarding the Constitutional Court (CC) of Armenia.

Minutes after midnight, the PM wrote: "The constitutional amendments came into force. From now on, Hrayr Tovmasyan is not the president of the CC, and Felix Tokhyan, Hrant Nazaryan, and Alvina Gyulumyan are not members or judges of the CC.

Three new judges of the CC must be elected within two months.

All state bodies of Armenia are obliged to take note of this reality and be guided by it."

In the meantime, a rally was held in front of the Constitutional Court of Armenia last night right after the decision came into force.

"The current authorities have gone the way of privatizing the Constitutional Court," one of the protesters said.
John J. Mooney, an inventor of the catalytic converter, the small and ubiquitous device that makes the engines that power everything from cars to lawn mowers less polluting and more fuel efficient, died on June 16 at his home in Wyckoff, N.J. He was 90.

The cause was complications of a stroke, his daughter Elizabeth Mooney Convery said.

Mr. Mooney was a high school graduate working as a clerk at a gas company when his colleagues encouraged him to pursue a college education. After earning a bachelors degree and two masters degrees, he went on to receive 17 patents during his 43-year career with the Engelhard Corporation in Iselin, N.J. (now the Catalyst Division of the German chemical manufacturer BASF).

Among them was the three-way catalytic converter, which has been described by the Society of Automotive Engineers as among the 10 most important innovations in the history of the automobile.

The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that tailpipe emissions from the newest passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, trucks and buses generate about 99 percent less smog-producing exhaust and soot than those from the 1970 models did.
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK car production was the worst for May since 1946 as plants either remained closed or restarting at reduced capacity, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT, reported Friday. Car manufacturing output declined 95.4 percent from last year in May. Only 5,314 vehicles rolled off production lines. This was slight improvement from April, when 197 units were manufactured but it still marked the worst May since 1946. With key global markets only just beginning to reopen, about 4,260 cars were exported in May, most into the EU, the US and China. Exports were down 95.5 percent. At the same time, production for domestic market decreased 95.2 percent from the previous year. During January to May, factories turned out 324,763 cars, representing a decline of -41.7 percent on the same period last year, with the full year outlook now expected to be fewer than one million units. Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive said, 'May's figures are yet more evidence of why the UK industry, like its global rivals, needs dedicated support to drive a successful restart.' 'Government assistance so far has been vital in keeping many businesses afloat, but the job isn't done. Measures to boost cashflow, including additional and tailored finance schemes, tax relief and business rates deferral would deliver immediate results when liquidity is most acute,' Hawes added. 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.
[June 26, 2020] Syngenta Announces Plans for New Seeds R&D Innovation & Customer Experience Center in Northern Illinois

Syngenta announced today plans to build a new R&D Innovation and Customer Experience Center in the heart of the US Corn Belt. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005046/en/ Syngenta Seeds announces investment in a new R&D Innovation & Customer Experience Center in the heart of the US Corn Belt to help bring leading innovation and technologies to US farmers (Photo: Business Wire) The 90-acre site will be located in Malta, Ill., DeKalb County, about one hour west of Syngenta's global and North America Seeds offices in Downers Grove. The site was selected for its location, soil type and accessibility, and will provide facilities for large-scale events and engagement with growers on corn and soybean technology and innovation. "This new site will enable us to accelerate our innovation in Seeds R&D while strengthening our focus on delivering new capabilities through investments in breeding and digital technologies," said Trevor Hohls, Global Head Seeds Development. "This is a strong statement of our commitment to innovation and providing our scientists with the resources to bring the best products and technologies to solve the key problems that growers face." In addition to showcasing Syngenta's leading technology and innovation, this new site will spotlight how Syngenta is transforming product development through on-farm collaboration with growers. "I'm really excited about this strategic investment and how it will bring us even closer to the center of the US seeds market, as well as providing access to world-leading agriculture and digital talent in the Midwest," said Justin Wolfe (News - Alert), Regional Director Seeds North America. "We're committed to US farmers, and this site will allow to us to collaborate even more with our customers." This investment builds on Syngenta's continued commitment to Seeds R&D in the US. In addition to Syngenta's global innovation center in Research Triangle Park, N.C., the company opened a new $30 million Trait Conversion Accelerator in Nampa, Idaho last August.



Construction on the Northern Illinois site is expected to begin early next year with the site scheduled to open by the end of 2022. For more information about Syngenta's innovation, visit Syngenta.com/innovation-agriculture. Join the conversation online - connect with Syngenta at Syngenta-us.com/social. About Syngenta

Syngenta is one of the world's leading agriculture companies. Our ambition is to help safely feed the world while taking care of the planet. We aim to improve the sustainability, quality and safety of agriculture with world class science and innovative crop solutions. Our technologies enable millions of farmers around the world to make better use of limited agricultural resources. With 28,000 people in more than 90 countries we are working to transform how crops are grown. Through partnerships, collaboration and The Good Growth Plan we are committed to improving farm productivity, rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com. Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) at www.twitter.com/Syngenta and www.twitter.com/SyngentaUS. Web Resources: Syngenta Innovation

Syngenta Newsroom

Syngenta U.S. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This document may contain forward-looking statements, which can be identified by terminology such as 'expect', 'would', 'will', 'potential', 'plans', 'prospects', 'estimated', 'aiming', 'on track' and similar expressions. Such statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from these statements. For Syngenta, such risks and uncertainties include risks relating to legal proceedings, regulatory approvals, new product development, increasing competition, customer credit risk, general economic and market conditions, compliance and remediation, intellectual property rights, implementation of organizational changes, impairment of intangible assets, consumer perceptions of genetically modified crops and organisms or crop protection chemicals, climatic variations, fluctuations in exchange rates and/or commodity prices, single source supply arrangements, political uncertainty, natural disasters, and breaches of data security or other disruptions of information technology. Syngenta assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors. 2020 Syngenta, 2001 Butterfield Rd, Suite 1600, Downers Grove, IL 60515, USA. The Syngenta logo is a registered trademark of a Syngenta Group Company. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005046/en/

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Days after a border clash with China this month in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, New Delhi told firms to find ways to cut imports from China. But two big industries, automobiles and pharmaceuticals, say this is easier said than done.

Like many countries, India relies on China for products such as electronic components and drug ingredients because it cannot make them or source them elsewhere as cheaply, company and industry figures say.

Thus any moves to curb imports or make them costlier without developing alternatives will hurt local businesses.

"We don't import because we like to, but because we have no choice," said R.C. Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd , the country's biggest carmaker.

"To attract companies to produce locally, we need to be more competitive and lower our costs compared with other countries."

India imported around $70.3 billion of goods from China in the fiscal year to March 2019, and exported just $16.7 billion - its widest trade deficit with any country.

The government is now consulting with companies on tightening curbs on 1,173 non-essential products, a trade body official said on condition of anonymity. They include toys, plastics, steel items, electronics and specific auto components - which feed vehicle manufacturing.

This is on top of plans to raise trade barriers and import duties on around 300 products from China and elsewhere, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's self-reliance campaign.

In April, India also tightened rules for investments from neighbouring countries, including China, to prevent opportunistic takeovers after the pandemic.

"If things do escalate, then India stands to lose a lot more than China," said the chief of corporate strategy at one of India's top 10 drugmakers. "We cannot afford this."

"NO KNEE-JERK REACTION"

Over a quarter of India's auto part imports - $4.2 billion - came from China in 2019, including engine and transmission parts, according to data from the Auto Component Manufacturers' Association of India (ACMA).

Some of these components are critical and hard to source elsewhere immediately, said Vinnie Mehta, director general at ACMA, whose members include companies such as Bosch , Valeo and Minda Industries .

"We cannot have a knee-jerk reaction, especially when we are emerging from the disruption caused by the pandemic," he said.

Chinese supplies have also been a key factor in India's booming drug industry, which exports cheap generic medicines.

Some of India's largest drug companies, such as Sun Pharmaceutical Industries , Lupin and IPCA Labs , rely on China, and India overall gets about 70% of its supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from there, industry officials said.

"In the immediate future, we are going to continue to be reliant on China," said Sudarshan Jain, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, which represents major drug makers, although he believed there was only "a very low likelihood" of API supplies being cut off.

However, this still leaves manufacturers dependent on low Chinese prices to be able to meet price controls on the home market and stay competitive abroad.

This month, China increased prices of the common pain reliever paracetamol and of ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic used to fight respiratory infections, by 25%-27%, one senior industry executive said.

"This is an important antibacterial drug. If we don't buy from the Chinese, there will be shortages," the executive said. "Ramping up capacity in India is a gradual, long-drawn process."
Participants in the Medicare for All Rally in Los Angeles California on February 4, 2017.

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to wipe out Obamacare, arguing that the individual mandate is unconstitutional and that the rest of the law must be struck down with it.

The late-night brief, filed Thursday in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, carries major implications for the presidential election. If the justices agree, it would cost an estimated 20 million Americans their insurance coverage and nullify protections for pre-existing conditions.

The Trump administration's brief comes as the U.S. has recorded more than 120,000 deaths from COVID-19, with nearly 2.5 million confirmed cases. On Wednesday, the nation hit a new record for the highest daily total of new infections reported with more than 45,500.

For the roughly 25 million people out of work and collecting jobless benefits, the ACA's marketplaces and Medicaid expansion provide avenues to gain subsidized health insurance with consumer protections.

Trump campaigned in 2016 on repealing the ACA but fell just short in Congress in 2017. His legal position is consistent with his determination to undo President Barack Obama's achievements.

Health care is a top issue for voters in surveys, and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden  the vice president when Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act, was signed into law  has made it a high priority to protect and enhance it if elected.

In the brief, U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco and other Justice Department officials sided with Texas in a case led by Republican attorneys general, arguing that the requirement for people to buy insurance is no longer valid after Congress scrapped the penalty for non-compliance in 2017.

The Justice Department added: "The individual mandate is not severable from the rest of the Act."

The brief includes a section pointedly arguing that the Affordable Care Act's pre-existing condition rules must be overturned as well. Those rules forbid insurers from turning away customers or charging them more on the basis of factors like age, gender and health status. The position contradicts Trump's insistence that he will protect people with pre-existing conditions.
An investigation is under way after a video went viral on social media showing a man shooting at images of the prime minister and other government figures at a firing range in Malaga.

The man in the video, a former legionnaire from Rincon de la Victoria, was identified and arrested last Friday, accused of making threats to institutions of the State. However, the man has insisted that he only sent the video to one friend as a joke and apologised for it going viral and any offence caused. He has been released with charges.

There have been conflicting reports about the origin of the images, however. The individual in the video claims that they were already at the firing range. The owner, however, says the images were brought in by the man who also intended to obtain a shooting licence.
Politics being politics, not many city councils or mayors are willing to promise a recipient of city money that this years funding will be around five years from now.

But just that kind of commitment has soothed the worst of fears for the VIA Metropolitan Transit budget, and the strained relationship between the transit agencys leaders and Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

At least for now. Some on the VIA board have publicly pressed for an election this November to allocate part of the citys sales tax to make possible an expansion of bus service they say is essential to the citys economic recovery. Board members on Tuesday backed off a decision to place it on the ballot but plan to consider it again next week.

Nirenberg has opposed such a move as premature, even as he assured VIA CEO Jeff Arndt this week that an ongoing city funding agreement signed in 2017 would continue to send $10 million annually to VIA to enhance 18 high-volume bus routes.

Nirenberg cant really guarantee that, because every year the City Council will have to re-approve the funding. But the citys verbal commitment at a time of budget brinksmanship was enough to convince Arndt that he could plug $50 million  five years at $10 million per  into his budget projections. That has been the lynchpin, Arndt said  it reduced a huge projected deficit he once estimated at $126 million by 2025.

VIAs cries for help would have sounded less alarming if Arndt had included that $50 million from the beginning, and Nirenberg touched off some harsh feelings with VIA board members by pointing that out.

Arndts original projections didnt count on the city money and instead foretold drastic service cuts affecting as many as 150,000 people, including 1,400 people with disabilities riding VIAtrans, which he had predicted in briefings to his board, city leaders and the media were almost certain within two years.

On ExpressNews.com: VIA cuts San Antonio bus service again on all but its busiest routes

Arndt portrayed his worst-case scenario budgeteering as just logical. But others in city leadership thought it was, perhaps, misleading.

I understand what the critics are saying, Arndt said. But can you show me any guarantee of the citys $50 million? Would you build your personal budget on some friend promising you $100 a week for the next five years?

Both sides should have discussed it, and no one should have used a public forum before they had spoken to the other side, Councilwoman Adriana Garcia Rocha said Wednesday. This is what happens when we dont all share the information.

The VIA budget brushfire comes at a time when the bus agency, members of its boards and its influential public relations firm, KGBTexas Communications, are campaigning to win support for VIA taking over a much-coveted 1/8-cent per dollar sales tax as a funding source during a time when ridership and sales tax revenues have plummeted due to the coronavirus pandemic. VIA now gets city sales tax revenue, and another 1/8-cent share would bring in $36 million under this years collection estimates.

On ExpressNews.com: COVID-19 darkens hopes for big expansion of S.A.s VIA transit system

VIA is just one of dozens of transit agencies across the nation that have suffered ridership declines of 50 to 80 percent since March. It operates about 90 routes now, with masks required and a limit of 16 socially-distanced passengers per bus, but many routes are on limited schedules that reduce frequency.

Technically, the sales tax would be shared equally with the Advanced Transportation District, with each getting 1/16th of a cent, but the ATD is the parent organization of VIA and its boards are identical. The ATD board has the ability to place the issue on the November ballot.

In revised budget projections that Arndt showed Mayor Nirenberg and City Manager Erik Walsh earlier this week, both sides agreed, after some haggling, that the drastic service cuts VIA had forecasted were no longer necessary.

With updated projections of future sales tax income, Arndt amended his forecast of a $126 million five-year deficit down to $111 million. Cut that by adding in the citys $50 million, and VIA said it had a manageable deficit that could be reduced further with deferred spending, a hiring freeze through 2020 and reduced operating costs. Federal CARES Act stimulus funding of $92 million was already figured in.

I simply say we presented an alternative budget that was justified by the numbers we had at the time. Things change. Projections change, Arndt said.

William Luther /Staff

VIA board members such as Ezra Johnson, an attorney and 2012 Democratic candidate for the U.S. House, and Amanda Merck, a health researcher for Salud America!, said the contentious budget discussions might distract from the broader need for a permanent improvement of funding of mass transit in San Antonio.

The public discussion should be about addressing systemic social injustices that have built the most segregated city in the country, said Merck, who was appointed to the VIA board in 2018. Im not seeing that with city leaders right now, but I am seeing that with (VIA) board members.

Merck said 13 percent of San Antonio households dont have a motor vehicle, and she questioned how they would get to any workforce development programs that city leaders are contemplating as part of an equitable recovery.

Johnson, Merck and other VIA boardmembers have pushed for a November election to move the sales tax to transportation needs and away from its current use protecting the Edwards Aquifer and maintaining linear parks. The boards chairwoman, Hope Andrade, told them Tuesday she wanted to keep talking to city leaders, and board members agreed to give her time to do that. The board plans to consider the matter again Thursday.

Im tired of our getting close to pulling the trigger and someone says, `Now is not the time, Johnson said. I disagree that we are creating a false sense of urgency. The time to start isnt May (2021, the next general election)We have to take bold action and support people who dont have a seat at this table.

Andrade, has spent much of this week meeting with Nirenberg, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and individual council members in what Arndt said was not lobbying or advocacy, but just answering their questions about transit funding and VIAs pursuit of the sales tax money.

Nirenberg had championed the sales tax switch to transportation before the pandemic hit in March, but has made clear he favors delaying the election until next year at the earliest.

City Councilwoman Ana Sandoval, one of several city leaders who support transportation as fervently as the VIA board, said it might not be pragmatic to ask voters to make the decision in November.

Public transit is woefully underfunded in this town, Sandoval said. But if we lost in November, how far would it set us back? But there really are few, if any, reasonable alternatives for a permanent source of significant funding.

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
The man who got into an altercation with Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff in a checkout line over the order requiring masks in stores said through his lawyer that Wolff was the aggressor and that he never assaulted him.

Terry Toller, 47, turned himself in to authorities early Thursday. The charge against him was reduced from assault on a public servant, a felony, to disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500 upon conviction. Toller was given a citation and released.

His lawyer, former Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood, said he would contest the misdemeanor charge.

I think this is a situation of overreaching, for sure, LaHood said.

On ExpressNews.com: Irate customer has altercation with county judge

Toller and Wolff, 79, encountered one another Wednesday at a Lowes home improvement store at Callahan and Interstate 10.

Wolff signed an order last week mandating that Bexar County businesses require customers and employees to wear masks. Toller was not wearing one.

Toller runs Cambridge Auto Center at 9823 Fredericksburg Road, near the Lowes, and appears on a Saturday afternoon radio show on WOAI Radio called Under the Hood.

On security video, Toller is seen emptying his shopping cart at a cashiers station while Wolff, his face wrapped in a bandanna, enters an adjacent checkout line. Wolff approaches Toller and offers his business card. Toller turns and appears to knock the card from the judges hand.

The incident encapsulated the controversy in San Antonio and across Texas over whether governments have the right to require masks in public places to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Wolff, Mayor Ron Nirenberg and public health officials have said masks are the essential to tame the pandemic and save lives

But some Texans have bridled at mask rules as an infringement on personal freedom. Gov. Greg Abbott, while recommending people voluntarily wear masks in public, has refused to make it mandatory. Abbott also has barred local governments from requiring individuals to wear masks.

On ExpressNews.com: Abbott wont resist Bexar County judges mask rule

Thats why Wolff issued his order putting the onus on businesses.

County officials said that in the Lowes store Wednesday, Toller grew angry when an employee told him customers had to wear masks. Wolff tried to calm Toller and offer him a business card so the two could discuss the matter later by phone, officials said.

LaHood disputed that narrative. He denied that Toller was verbally abusive toward the cashier.

LaHood said Wolff had initiated contact with Toller earlier over his failure to wear a mask and then approached Toller a second time in the checkout area.

Toller was trying to pay and leave the store when Wolff put a card in his face, LaHood said.

On the security video, Toller is seen shifting a long tool handle from his right hand to his left, then extending his right hand toward Wolff.

Because of the camera angle, its difficult to discern whether Tollers hand made contact with Wolffs or whether Toller simply swiped the card out of the judges hand.

On ExpressNews.com: Wolff calls Abbotts bluff on mask regulations

Mr. Toller, bottom line, has always said that he did nothing wrong, LaHood said. He was having a very normal, professional conversation, to our understanding, with the young lady that was helping him check out. Hes handing his stuff over. His basket is full of products. And hes just trying to check out and pay money for products and leave. Thats when Judge Wolff approached him.

LaHood acknowledged Toller was not wearing a mask but said that wasnt relevant to the case.

His point was, I never assaulted this guy. I didnt go up to him. He came up to me, and I was just trying to buy some products, LaHood said.

District Attorney Joe Gonzales said the felony charge against Toller was rejected at magistration at Wolffs request.

The remaining disorderly conduct charge was for using profanity in a public place, the district attorney said.

Gonzales made a point of saying that wearing a mask, scarf or other face covering is a sign of respect to the people around you.

While this issue has become divisive and political, it is my hope that everyone will follow the order voluntarily, he said.

Wolff declined to be interviewed about the incident. In a statement, he said he told Gonzales he didnt want to pursue any sort of criminal complaint against Mr. Toller.

I did not want this to be a distraction of our main focus of requiring businesses to have customers wear masks and continuing to ensure the health and safety of everyone in our community, Wolff said. We are experiencing a drastic rise in cases and hospitalizations. We do not need any distractions from our mission to make sure this virus does not continue to spread within our community.

Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. To read more from Scott, become a subscriber. shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
STEPANAKERT, JUNE 26, ARMENPRESS. President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan visited today the Tigranakert training range to watch the combat tactics phase of the military exercise involving different military units of the Defense Army, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

Accompanied by Defense Minister Jalal Harutyunyan, the President of Artsakh got acquainted with the latest local and foreign production sights and cameras, their technical capacities.

Arayik Harutyunyan thanked the commanding staff of the Army for organizing the military exercise at the highest level, stating that the demonstrated results once again prove that the Armenian Armed Forces are the real restraining measure of the aggressive behavior of the adversarys military-political leadership.

The military exercise was also attended by Armenias Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan, as well as other officials.
A teenager who smiled and laughed after throwing a six-year-old boy off the Tate Modern viewing platform has been jailed for life and warned it is likely he will never be free again.

Jonty Bravery, 18, claimed to be on top of the world after carrying out the horrifying attack, scooping up the young boy who was skipping in front of his parents and launching him head-first over the side of the tenth-floor balcony.

The boy, from France, survived the fall but suffered devastating injuries, including a bleed on the brain and spinal damage, and now needs round-the-clock care.

Bravery, who had been allowed out unsupervised despite a spiralling history of violence, sniggered as he was surrounded angry Tate visitors and the boys hysterical parents, shrugging as he said: Yes, I am mad.

The teenager, who is autistic, later revealed he had been plotting the attack for weeks in a bid to get himself locked up and hoped the attack would be on the news.

Sentencing Bravery this morning, Mrs Justice McGowan imposed a life sentence with a minimum term of 15 years, but warned him: You may never be released.

She said the crime was at the worst level, almost killing the boy and leaving him with devastating injuries that will affect the rest of his life.

You thought out how best to kill someone, you considered different methods of killing and the likely sentences, and you chose a small child because of his vulnerability, she said.

The judge said Bravery appeared to have revelled in the notoriety, and agreed with doctors assessment that it may never be safe for him to leave prison.

What you did on the day of this offence and the way you behaved before and after the offence prove you are and will remain a grave danger to the public, she added.

Bravery, who appeared at his sentencing hearing via videolink from Broadmoor secure hospital, will now be detained in prison after the judge ruled that she saw little prospect of rehabilitation.

The attack happened on the tenth floor viewing platform of the Tate Modern on August 4 last year, as the boy was visiting the attraction with his parents on the fourth day of their holiday to London.

Bravery was then 17 and living in supported accommodation in Northolt, under the care of Hammersmith and Fulham Council as a looked-after child.

His barrister, Philippa McAtasney QC, said it beggars belief that the teenager was allowed out alone despite being under police investigation for a string of assaults and having a history of violence.

Bravery admitted he headed into central London that day with a plan in mind, hoping to throw a stranger from the top of The Shard but he could not afford the ticket price.

Undeterred he went to the Tate Moderns 360 degree viewing platform, stalking possible child victims for 15 minutes before finally settling on the six-year-old boy who had skipped ahead of his parents.

Ahead of him and facing (the boy) was the defendant, who scooped him up and - without any hesitation - carried him straight to the railings and threw him over, said prosecutor Deanna Heer.

(Bravery) could be seen to be smiling, he had his arms raised, she said. At one point he appeared to shrug and laugh.

The boy landed on the fifth floor roof of the gallery, while Bravery was surrounded by angry tourists and the youngsters parents, proudly declaring: yes, I am mad.

Following his arrest Bravery told police he wanted to be locked up, saying he believed he was not getting proper treatment for his mental health problems.

He said he had to prove a point to every idiot who said he didnt have mental health problems, that he shouldnt be in the community, said the prosecutor.

Bravery, who asked am I a murderer? and said he hoped the boy would die so that his sentence would longer, laughed when shown video of the attack again.

He admitted contemplating shooting and drowning a young girl, researched sulphuric acid and an attack on the Tube, before deciding to throw a stranger from a tall building.

The boys parents said in an impact statement their life is in ruins since the attack, with the boy facing years of recovery, round-the-clock care, and learning how to speak and eat again.

How can one explain to a child that someone deliberately tried to kill him?, they said yesterday. How can he now ever trust mankind?

Doctors told the court yesterday that Bravery has signs of psychopathy, and Ms McAtasney urged the judge to see his comments after the attack as symptoms of his mental health difficulties.

Bravery admitted attempted murder.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council has ordered a serious case review in the wake of the attack.
Israels Channel 13 reported June 25 that Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen recently visited Jordan and met with King Abdullah. Cohen was apparently sent there directly by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to pass a message to the king concerning the annexation plan.

What that message was the reports did not reveal. But one can assume Netanyahu was trying to reassure the king, who has been engaged in recent weeks in an all-out campaign against the annexation. Recent publications indicate that Netanyahu may not include the Jordan Valley in the first phase of his annexation plan, limiting the vote on July 1 to a symbolic annexation of some settlement blocs near Jerusalem.

Jordan has doubled it efforts in the diplomatic arena against the annexation plan. On June 16, Abdullah warned that Israels planned annexation would threaten stability in the Middle East. Speaking at a video conference with US Congress members, the king warned that any unilateral Israeli measure would be unacceptable and would ruin the prospects of achieving peace and stability in the region.

Two days later, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi made an unexpected visit to Ramallah, meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. During his visit, Safadi warned that Israel's plan would pose an "unprecedented danger" and would have wider consequences for peace in the region.

The border with Jordan is the longest  and most quiet  one Israel has. Apart from efficient security cooperation, Israeli and Jordanian groups and institutions are engaged in different forms of cooperation, mainly in regard to the preservation of the Jordan River biodiverse environment and its water management.

A June 14 publication of the Institute for National Security Studies claims that annexation could damage Israels peaceful relations with Jordan, including "a reduction or even freeze of the bilateral security cooperation, which would threaten the security of Israels longest border and undermine the stability of the Hashemite Kingdom, which provides Israel with strategic depth to the east."

Netanyahu might opt for leaving the Jordan Valley out of his July 1 plan, to appease Amman. Still, judging by the Jordanian statements in recent weeks, the kingdom is making a point of not separating its objection against annexation of the Jordan Valley from its campaign against the annexation of settlements in the West Bank. The visit of Safadi to Ramallah was probably designed to signal to the Palestinians and to Israel exactly that.

On the other hand, a June 25 report of the Israel public broadcasting corporation Kan claimed that Cohen has also met recently with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, and that the two agreed that Egypt and Jordan will publish a harsh statement after the July 1 annexation vote, but will not take any dramatic concrete steps. Jerusalem did not react to any of the recent reports.
Outgoing Gaeltacht minister Sean Kyne has expressed disappointment at the Government decision to approve early re-opening of offshore islands to visitors from Monday.

The Attorney General had advised the Cabinet that there could be legal consequences if it did not abide by the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), Mr Kyne confirmed.

Offshore communities had been taken by surprise when NPHET announced a week ago that travel to and from islands could resume from June 29.

The Governments road map had originally set from August 10 as a date for all but essential travel to and from the islands.

Mr Kyne said he contacted Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Cabinet colleagues about the need for a more phased approach, given the lack of time to prepare for anticipated large numbers of domestic visitors.

Mr Kyne confirmed that he had received appeals from Aran island medical professionals urging caution, but had also been contacted by tourism interests seeking an early reopening.

He said that NPHETs advice to Cabinet was that there was no reason on public health grounds for curtailing visitors to the islands.

I am disappointed - I expect some businesses will decide against reopening on Monday, Mr Kyne said.

Two Aran islands  Inis Oirr and Inis Mor  held surveys which overwhelmingly rejected an early reopening.

All three Aran islands are in a declared Irish Water drought category, and have had water rationing due to the severe dry spell.

In Inis Oirrs case, 92% of residents and businesses voted against re-opening for the remainder of the summer due to fears over the spread of Covid-19.

A number of other islands have limited health facilities, lack of provision for public toilets, and limited scope for social distancing on piers during busy ferry berthing periods.

"The Government seemed to be more afraid about protecting itself against lawsuits by businesses than our public health," one island resident said.

Earlier this week, the Irish Islands Federation , Comhdhail Oileain na hEireann called on the Government and NPHET to provide clear guidance and protocols on the safe re-opening of islands to visitors.

The federation pointed out it had not received any written reply to submissions to State agencies "seeking direction and supports for the offshore islands".

Government Covid-19 data suggests that up to six electoral districts with islands had less than five cases of the virus, but the Department of Health would not comment further. Island representatives are only aware of one case on the largest Aran island of Inis Mor and a very small number on Achill island, Co Mayo, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge.

The island federation had no comment to make today.
A familiar sense of disappointment and anger rippled through the Black community Friday as an off-duty Toronto police officer was found guilty of lesser charges, and his brother completely acquitted, in the brutal beating of Dafonte Miller.

Everything about the Theriault brothers brutalization of Dafonte Miller is another instance of anti-Black racism within the systems that fail to uphold justice, said Sandy Hudson, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto.

Dafonte was brutalized and permanently harmed, and yet he had his value as a person picked apart in the verdict.

The judgment handed down against Const. Michael Theriault  guilty of only assault, although charged with aggravated assault and attempting to obstruct justice  and his brother Christian  who faced the same charges and was cleared on all counts  came as cities and police forces around the globe face a day of reckoning over decades of systematic anti-Black racism.

It was nearly four years ago that Miller attacked by Michael Theriault on a residential Whitby street.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Joseph Di Luca handed down his ruling on Millers assault, which took place a few years ago, in the aftermath of the recent cultural flashpoint brought about by George Floyds killing by the Minneapolis police.

The interval highlights just how big the Black communitys struggle is with policing.

Friday was a stark reminder for many of just how quickly hope for justice can be quashed.

The people who are responsible for this will not face proper accountability, said Hudson, who noted that Michael Theriault remains a Toronto police officer, albeit suspended with pay.

Although there is a conviction on the record, lets not forget that the only reason we know about this case, the only reason a charge was filed, is because Dafontes lawyer questioned why another police department was doing the investigation, and why this case did not go to the SIU, she added.

(Its) another failed accountability measure.

Where is the consequence for failing to go through the proper channels of accountability?

Christian will now be let back into our communities, she said. Michael will eventually be released into our community. And lets be honest, theres likely to be an appeal. Both could potentially be back on the streets with an endorsement of their behaviour from our so-called justice system.

Fridays proceedings were held online. Many outside the Oshawa courthouse heard the judges decision played on a speaker. Many more people watched via livestream on their phones, and they shared Hudsons sentiments.

A small crowd of about 80 people gathered to support Miller, most wearing T-shirts with his picture and the words: Justice for Dafonte.

Regardless of the verdict, Black Lives Matter, Cristal Hines one of the organizers of the gathering, said before the decision, as she led the group into chants of Justice for Dafonte, Black Lives Matter and No Justice, No Peace.

People were shouting shame! by the time Di Luca issued his final decision, four hours after he started reading it.

We know that these institutions dont work for us. Now, today, we got the evidence, demonstrator Walied Khogali said. This is miscarriage of justice. This is wrong. However, our work does not stop. Lets continue to stand for justice!

Noreen Etto, a demonstrator, said the verdict was extremely appalling, but not surprising.

This happens all the time. We expect justice, and, in the end, get nothing, she said, as she fought back tears.

A young man was brutally assaulted. We come out and listen to all the reading for three or four hours, and this is what you give us?

Its ridiculous.

Hines told disappointed supporters that the work of speaking against injustice must continue. She urged them to show up to future protests.

Im in pain. Im enraged. Im upset, she said following the judgment. But the work must continue.

Take your anger and act, mobilize against police brutality and violence against Black folks!

Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, a University of Toronto criminologist who researches policing and race, commended Di Luca for acknowledging racism in his verdict along with the impact that has on Black peoples perception of police

Police often criticize Black communities for not wanting to engage and staying silent when theyve either been victims or witnesses, and a judge acknowledging that racism within policing leads to a distrust of the police and therefore influences how people engage with the police to me is a very important acknowledgment, Owusu-Bempah said.

While he called the legal decision sensible and intelligible, Owusu-Bempah was left, overall, feeling disappointed and disheartened. He remained troubled by the brothers self-defence claim and some of the language used in the verdict, which sounded all too familiar.

Throughout the testimony you could hear the judge reciting what Michael Theriault had said about how he felt that his life was in danger, he feared for his safety, he feared for the safety of his brother, which is the typical language that police use to justify their force.

Correction  June 26, 2020: This article was updated from a previous version that mistakenly said Dafonte Miller was 16 in 2016 at the time of the incident.
Strong links between Offaly and the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) are being highlighted this month as part of DIAS 2020, a year-long programme of activities marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of DIAS.

When it was founded by Eamon de Valera in 1940, DIAS was only the second institute for advanced studies in the world (after the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton in the USA)  and the first such institute in Europe.

Over the past eight decades, DIAS has conducted ground-breaking research and attracted renowned academics from all over the world in its core disciplines of Celtic Studies, Theoretical Physics, Astrophysics and Geophysics. The Institute has pioneered space research in Ireland; revealed hitherto unknown facts about Celtic society and its legacy; and contributed to greater global understanding of the underpinning mathematical principles of nature.

DIAS connection to Offaly

Offaly native Prof. Peter Gallagher leads solar physics and space weather research at DIAS and is Head of the Astrophysics Section at the Institute. His research is primarily concerned with understanding the fundamental physics of solar storms and their impacts on Earth. He has a long association with the European Space Agency and NASA.

He is head of the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) project at Birr Castle. LOFAR is an international network of state-of-the-art telescopes used to observe the Universe in unprecedented detail at low radio frequencies. It is one of the largest astrophysics projects in Europe, consisting of 12 international stations spread across Germany, Poland, France, the UK, Sweden and Ireland, with additional stations and a central hub in The Netherlands.

The project uses state-of-the-art data processing and storage systems as well as sophisticated computing techniques to combine the entire network into a telescope with the effective size of the European continent. It allows Irish astrophysical research to be integrated into one of the most sophisticated telescopes on the planet.

Donation to Offaly County Library

The DIAS 2020 campaign was launched at the beginning of this year, and includes a range of activities and events to celebrate the 80th anniversary of DIASs establishment. As part of the campaign, DIAS is this month donating a copy of Ingenious Ireland to Offaly County Library  and to every county library across Ireland.

Written by the late Mary Mulvihill  a pioneer of science communication  Ingenious Ireland contains a county-by-county breakdown of intriguing inventions and discoveries, showcasing Ireland's rich heritage of research, scientific curiosity and inventiveness.

Call for Offaly people to share DIAS memories and connections

As part of the DIAS 2020 programme, the Institute is planning a celebratory event, Christmas Stars, this December, which will bring together people with connections to DIAS, past and present.

Commenting today (15.06.20),Dr. Eucharia Meehan, CEO and Registrar of the Institute said: Over the last eight decades, the researchers at DIAS have included refugees from Nazi Germany; scientists who worked on NASAs first moon landing; the holders of prestigious international awards; and people who went on to contribute to Nobel prize-winning research. We have been lucky to attract leading academic talent, both from Ireland and further afield.

Anecdotally, we know there are hundreds of families throughout Ireland who have strong DIAS connections and memories. In our 80th year, we are calling on any Offaly family or individual with a link to DIAS to get in touch with us, and to attend our celebratory event at Christmas. If you had a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or long-lost family friend who worked at DIAS in the past, we want to hear from you!

Families or individuals with a connection to DIAS, can contact the Institute at communications@dias.ie / 01-6140100. Further information about DIAS 2020 is available at www.dias.ie/dias2020/
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 11:03:08|Editor: huaxia

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MACAO, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government on Thursday night reported a newly confirmed imported COVID-19 case, adding the total confirmed cases to 46.

The 46th case is a 57-year-old Macao resident flying from Manila of the Philippines to Hong Kong on Thursday. He arrived in Macao by ferry and received a 14-day medical observation in a local hotel before being diagnosed with the disease.

The patient was now treated in Macao's Centro Hospitalar Conde de Sao Januario.

Macao had reported its 45th COVID-19 case on April 8 with no new cases for 78 consecutive days. All those 45 patients were discharged from hospital after recovery. Enditem
Cars line up at a COVID-19 testing site in Los Angeles. Trump wants to leave millions of Americans uncovered by health insurance. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Over the years, there have been many reasons to fear the reckless, heedless policies emanating from the Trump White House, like a miasma. Thursday brought us a reminder of what may be the scariest of all: The administration's determination to overthrow the Affordable Care Act.

We're talking about the government brief in a case brought by Texas and a score of other red states seeking to have the ACA declared unconstitutional. The brief is based on a theory that has been ridiculed by legal experts from one end of the political spectrum to the other.

Its impact would be almost indescribably profound, ripping health coverage from some 23 million Americans in the teeth of a pandemic that already has claimed more than 120,000 American lives and condemned untold others to years, possibly decades, of chronic disease.

This case has had nothing to do with law as we conventionally understand it. It's an exercise of raw political power.

Nicholas Bagley, University of Michigan

The brief "manages to be both mind-numbingly dumb and completely terrifying," veteran healthcare expert Christen Linke Young of the Brookings Institution judges. That's putting it mildly.

We've written before about the crackpot legal theory underlying the plaintiffs' case and its endorsement by Trump. Before revisiting its arguments, let's examine its consequences, should a majority of at least five Supreme Court justices buy in.

Generally speaking, the lawsuit and the White House endorsement reflect the Republican Party's approach to healthcare and health coverage in the U.S., which is essentially vandalism. The GOP in Congress treat healthcare as a privilege, not a right.

The party doesn't see health as a communal good, but merely something to be endowed upon those who can afford it; all others be damned.

That's why 100% of its healthcare policy since the ACA was enacted in 2010 has been devoted to tearing down the law, and 0% to crafting an effective replacement. The Republican mantra has been "repeal and replace," yet they've aimed for the first but never even tried to achieve the second.

Story continues

Although most people think of the ACA chiefly in terms of the individual insurance exchanges that provide otherwise uninsured low- and middle-income households with subsidized health coverage, and of the Medicaid expansion that has brought no-cost coverage to the lowest-income households in the District of Columbia and 33 states that have accepted it, the law is much broader.

Overturning the ACA as unconstitutional would eliminate subsidized coverage for 10 million Americans and Medicaid coverage for 17 million more.

Non-white Americans would bear the brunt of an increase in uninsured rates after full Obamacare repeal. (Urban Institute)

Protection for an estimated 133 million Americans whose preexisting medical conditions would freeze them out of the insurance market or condemn them to coverage exclusions or heavy premium surcharges  the obstacles they faced before the ACA  would be gone.

So too would the ACA's ban on annual and lifetime limits on health benefits, limits on out-of-pocket expenses, a guarantee that every health plan cover 10 "essential benefits," including prescriptions, hospitalization, maternity and newborn services, and mental health services.

The closing of the infamous Medicare prescription "donut hole," which raised prescription prices for seniors, would end. The right of children to remain on their parents' insurance until age 26 would be eliminated.

The ACA has been crucial in bringing healthcare services to Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, in part because it has spurred demand for testing and treatment, and because the economic crisis caused by the pandemic has forced millions off their employer-based plans and into the individual or Medicaid market.

Overturning the ACA would increase the number of uninsured Americans by more than 65%, raising it to 50.3 million from 30.4 million, the Urban Institute projects. Ethnic minorities and low-income Americans would be most severely affected.

More than 10.5 million people would lose their coverage in coronavirus hot spots such as Arizona, Texas, Florida, California, Georgia and the Carolinas, according to an estimate by the Center for American Progress.

Quite obviously, this spells disaster. Trump and his minions in the GOP evidently don't know how to read.

That brings us to the legal argument, which has made its way through the federal courts since 2018. The plaintiffs' case is based on the tax cut passed by a Republican Congress and signed by Trump in December 2017.

"The entire [Affordable Care Act] thus must fall with the individual mandate." That's @realDonaldTrump's Justice Department right there, arguing that the Supreme Court should rip insurance away from millions during a global pandemic. https://t.co/4aEZ9onsMi  Nicholas Bagley (@nicholas_bagley) June 26, 2020

Unable to muster the votes to repeal the ACA outright, the Republicans chose in the tax cut measure to reduce the ACA's penalty on Americans who failed to acquire health coverage to zero from about $700 per adult per year, with a maximum of about $2,000 per household. That effectively suspended the individual mandate, since there was no longer any cost from flouting it.

Texas and the other red states argued that this invalidated the entire ACA. Their reasoning was that the Supreme Court, in a 2012 decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, had upheld the ACA by terming the penalty a "tax," which Congress had an unchallengeable right to impose.

Reducing the "tax" to zero meant there was no tax, and therefore no mandate, and therefore no constitutional protection; because the ACA had to survive or fall as a whole, the plaintiffs asserted, the entire law must fall.

This argument came before a right-wing federal judge in Texas, Reed O'Connor, who bought it. His ruling invalidating the law was appealed to the conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

A three-judge appellate panel punted in a decision that legal scholar Nicholas Bagley of the University of Michigan derides as "blending arrogance and cowardice in equal measure"  arrogant because it ignored the essence of Roberts' ruling, cowardly because it sent the case back to O'Connor without ruling itself on whether the whole law, or only parts of it, had to go.

Low-income households would lose insurance at the highest rates. "FPL" refers to the federal poverty level, which is $26,200 for a family of four. (Urban Institute)

Meanwhile the Trump administration threw in its lot with the plaintiffs by refusing to defend the law in court. The defense has been taken up by the now-Democratic House and a coalition of blue states led by California.

Instead of leaving things to O'Connor, the Supreme Court accepted the case. It's not expected to rule until after the November election.

Whether one expects the court to uphold the law or kill it, or find a middle ground, this is arguably a big problem for Trump and the GOP. That's because they can be blamed for leaving a crucial healthcare reform in limbo as the need for a functioning healthcare system grows more urgent by the hour.

The administration waited to file its legal brief with the Supreme Court on Thursday night to beat the filing deadline by minutes, so it might not be too proud of its handiwork  with good reason.

Legal experts see the government brief as replicating all the flaws of the underlying argument. The government argues that by reducing the individual mandate penalty to zero, Congress eliminated the "tax" because a tax that raises no revenue isn't a tax.

But as Bagley notes, that's not true  many taxes raise no revenue or have been suspended temporarily, but still remain in effect. That's the case here.

Even if the Supreme Court holds that the individual mandate is invalid, there are no grounds to hold that the entire ACA must stand or fall as a whole  that its provisions are inseverable, in legal parlance.

"The ACA's interlocking web of provisions cannot function as Congress intended" without the individual mandate, the government brief maintains. That's absurd.

Numerous provisions of the law are unrelated to the individual insurance market the ACA established. Many relate to Medicare or to general healthcare policy and practice. Others set standards for health policies outside the individual market, such as employer plans.

As for whether Congress intended the zeroing out of the penalty to invalidate the entire law, there's no evidence for that. Congress didn't say so when it passed the tax cut bill.

The government brief weasels its way around this issue. It acknowledges that "Congress did not speak in general terms about ... severability," when it passed the tax cut, but addressed only the "specific issue" of the penalty.

But it says that even if overturning the ACA was "not what its Members expected in 2017 when they amended the ACA," that doesn't matter ("there were likely Members on both sides" of the issue, the brief admits)  the penalty is "directly relevant to severability" and the court should consider the whole law inseverable.

Bagley observes: "This case has had nothing to do with law as we conventionally understand it. It's an exercise of raw political power." By asking the court to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, "the Trump administration is begging the court to give it an excuse to stop enforcing the entire law altogether."

He's right. This is an expression of Trump's method of injecting chaos into everything he touches, as though the purpose of government is to make human existence harsher, crueler and more stupefying and terrifying than anyone could have imagined.

Throwing the healthcare system into anarchy at the very moment when millions of Americans face sickness and death from an implacable pathogen? So much the better. Welcome to Trump's vision of America.
WASHINGTON  As coronavirus cases rise in more than half of the states, the Trump administration is urging the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

The administrations high court filing at 10:30 p.m. Thursday came the same day the government reported that close to half a million people who lost their health insurance amid the economic shutdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 have gotten coverage through HealthCare.gov.

The administrations legal brief makes no mention of the virus.

More than 20 million Americans could lose their health coverage and protections for people with preexisting health conditions also would be put at risk if the court agrees with the administration. Nothing will happen immediately. The case wont be heard before the fall.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted the administrations latest move in a partisan battle over Obamacare that has stretched on for a full decade since the laws passage in 2010. Pelosi is planning a floor vote early next week on her own bill to expand the ACA, sweetening its health insurance subsidies so more people will be covered.

There is no legal justification and no moral excuse for the Trump administrations disastrous efforts to take away Americans health care, she said in a statement.

Just as the nation seemed to be getting better control over the virus outbreak, states including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Texas are reporting a surge in cases. Overall, more than half the states are seeing case increases and some are tapping the brakes on reopening plans.

Anger over problems with Obamacare was once a winning issue for Republicans, helping them gain control of the House in 2010 and the Senate in 2014. But the politics of the issue flipped after President Donald Trump failed to deliver in 2017 on his vow to repeal and replace the health law and provide lower-cost coverage for everybody. Democrats were energized by their successful defense of the ACA, and that contributed to their winning back the House.

In the case before the Supreme Court, Texas and other conservative-led states argue that the ACA was essentially rendered unconstitutional after Congress passed tax legislation in 2017 that eliminated the laws unpopular fines for not having health insurance, but left in place its requirement that virtually all Americans have coverage.

Trump has put the weight of his administration behind the legal challenge.

If the health insurance requirement is invalidated, then it necessarily follows that the rest of the ACA must also fall, Solicitor General Noel Francisco wrote Thursday. Its the third time the court is being asked to undo Obamacare. Two previous attempts failed.

At the White House on Friday, there was no turning back.

A global pandemic does not change what Americans know  Obamacare has been an unlawful failure, White House spokesman Judd Deere said Friday in a statement. He said it limits choice and forces Americans to purchase unaffordable plans.

Other prominent Republicans, including Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, have said Congress didnt intend to bring down the whole law by striking the coverage penalty.

Alexander, who leads the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, has repeatedly said theres no way Congress would repeal protections for people with preexisting conditions. He says senators intended to repeal the penalty for people who go without coverage, and thats all.

The Trump administrations views on what parts of the ACA might be kept or replaced if the law is overturned have shifted over time. But in legal arguments, it has always supported getting rid of Obamacare provisions that prohibit insurance companies from discriminating against people on account of their medical history.

Nonetheless, Trump has repeatedly assured Americans that people with preexisting conditions would still be protected. Neither the White House nor congressional Republicans have specified how.

The government report showing rising sign-ups for health coverage under the ACA amid the coronavirus shutdown came from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The figures are partial because they dont include sign-ups from states that run their own health insurance marketplaces. Major states like California and New York are not counted in the federal statistics.

An estimated 27 million people may have lost job-based coverage due to layoffs. That means they would be eligible for a special sign-up period for subsidized plans under the Obama-era law. Many may also qualify for Medicaid.

Thursdays report from the government showed that about 487,000 people signed up with HealthCare.gov after losing their workplace insurance this year. Thats an increase of 46% from the same time period last year.

Its unclear from the government numbers how many of the new enrollees lost their coverage because of layoffs due to the pandemic. CMS also made no estimate of how many people will ultimately seek coverage through the Obama health law as a result of economic shock waves. Generally theres a 60-day window to apply after losing coverage.

However, the report found a clear connection. While the magnitude may be unclear, job losses due to COVID-19 have led to increased enrollments on HealthCare.gov, it said.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, seen in an October 2019 picture, said the social network will step up efforts to curb hateful content and also add tags to rule-breaking posts that are "newsworthy"

Facebook said Friday it would ban a "wider category of hateful content" in ads as the embattled social media giant moved to respond to growing protests over its handling of inflammatory posts.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook also would add tags to posts that are "newsworthy" but violate platform rulesfollowing the lead of Twitter, which has used such labels on tweets from President Donald Trump.

The initiative comes with the leading social network facing a growing boycott by advertiserswith soft drink behemoth Coca-Cola and Anglo-Dutch giant Unilever joining Fridayas activists seek tougher action on content they deem to promote discrimination, hatred or violence.

The new policy on hateful content in ads will "prohibit claims that people from a specific race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, gender identity or immigration status are a threat to the physical safety, health or survival of others," Zuckerberg said.

"We're also expanding our policies to better protect immigrants, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers" from hateful ads, he continued.

Facebook has underscored its moves to stem racism in the wake of civil unrest triggered by the May 25 killing of African American George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

"We invest billions of dollars each year to keep our community safe and continuously work with outside experts to review and update our policies," a spokesperson said.

"The investments we have made in (artificial intelligence) mean that we find nearly 90 percent of hate speech" and take action before users report it.

Consumer products giant Unilever said it would pause ads on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter through 2020

'Newsworthy' exception

Zuckerberg said the "newsworthy" exemption normally occurs "a handful of times a year," when Facebook decides to leave up a message that would ordinarily be removed for rule violations.

Under the new policy, Zuckerberg said, "we will soon start labeling some of the content we leave up because it is deemed newsworthy, so people can know when this is the case."

He said users will be allowed to share the content "but we'll add a prompt to tell people that the content they're sharing may violate our policies."

Twitter in recent weeks has labeled at least one Trump tweet misleading and has flagged others as violating platform rules, accessible only when users click through a warning. The move has angered the president and his allies.

Internet platforms have faced intense pressure from activists following Floyd's death.

A coalition including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has been urging companies to stop advertising on Facebook, using the #StopHateForProfit hashtag.

At the same time, Trump and his allies have voiced anger over what they claim is biased against conservatives.

Facebook said it revamped some policies based on "feedback from the civil rights community"

Brand boycott accelerates

Zuckerberg made no mention of the ad boycott but said the changes were based on "feedback from the civil rights community and reflect months of work with our civil rights auditors."

Coca-Cola, a major force in global advertising, said it would suspend ads on social media for at least 30 days as it reassesses its policies, though it said the decision was not related to the #StopHateForProfit campaign.

"There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism on social media," James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, said in a brief statement.

He said social media companies need to provide "greater accountability and transparency."

Unilever, home to brands including Lipton tea and Ben and Jerry's ice cream, said it would stop advertising on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the US until the end of 2020 due to the "polarized election period."

American Honda said it would halt ads on Facebook in July, "choosing to stand with people united against hate and racism," adding to a list that includes US telecom giant Verizon and sporting goods makers Patagonia, North Face and REI.

The Facebook move on hate speech in ads "is welcome but (they) account for a small portion of harmful content on the platform," said Graham Brookie, director of the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensics Research Lab, which monitors social media disinformation.

Michelle Amazeen, a Boston University professor of political communication, said details still remain unclear.

"Will Facebook allow independent verification of which content they tag and the subsequent effects on diffusion?" she asked.

Explore further US civil rights groups call for Facebook ad boycott over hate speech

 2020 AFP
India's desire for peace is born out of strength, should not mistaken otherwise: Army Chief Naravane

Indo-China stand off: Army Chief briefs Rajnath Singh on situation along LAC

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 26: Indian Army Chief, General M M Naravane today briefed Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh about the situation along the Line of Actual Control.

The chief was on a two day visit to eastern Ladakh, where he took stock of the situation amidst the rising tensions with China.

The Indian Army in its assessment says that the situation along the LAC is a tricky one.

There is mutual consensus for a disengagement, but the continuing build up by the Chinese army is a cause for concern.

Also Read :

The assessment to be put out by the Army Chief would be crucial for the political leadership to chart out the next course of action. The assessment is also crucial as tensions are high at the LAC, although there has been no flare up after the June 15 incident.

In addition to this the Army Chief would also be holding discussions with Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat and the Indian Air Force and Navy chiefs.

He would brief them about the force requirements on the ground. A decision on this would be handled by the CDS.

Delhi CM cautions Covid patients, says oxygen drops suddenly in some cases | Oneindia News

General Naravane would also provide the political leadership with an assessment on the ground, after the new satellite images emerged.

During his two day visit, he had an on the spot assessment about the stand off points with China in east Ladakh. He had also directed the troops to enhance patrolling of all the 65 points on the Line of Actual Control with the support of the Indo-Tibet Border Police.

Even as diplomatic talks continue, India still remains skeptical of China. Following the virtual meet of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs said that both sides promised to implement disengagement.

During the talks, both sides emphasised on the importance of respecting the Line of Actual Control. The MEA said that the Indian side conveyed its concerns on the recent developments in Eastern Ladakh, including on the violent face-off in the Galwan Valley area on June 15 that had resulted in casualties.

In New Delhi, officials say that the issue is far serious than the one that was at Doklam. We know this is a long haul and we do not see the Chinese disengaging in any meaningful manner. The primary intent of the Chinese is to change the way India sees itself and also on how it deals with the rest of the world. Hence China is forcibly changing the status quo on the ground, the officer cited above said.

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Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 14:36 [IST]
A federal appeals court on Friday ruled against the Trump administration in its transfer of $2.5 billion from military construction projects to build sections of the U.S. border wall with Mexico, ruling it illegally sidestepped Congress, which gets to decide how to use the funds.

In two opinions, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a coalition of border states and environmental groups that contended the money transfer was unlawful and that building the wall would pose environmental threats.

The rulings were the latest twist in the legal battle that has largely gone Trumps way.

Last July, the Supreme Court allowed the $2.5 billion to be spent while the litigation continued, blunting the impact of the latest appeals court action.

The administration has already awarded much of the money, including a $1.3-billion job in Arizona that was announced last month.

President Donald Trump signed his border wall during a trip to Yuma, Arizona

President Trump's visit was to mark 200 miles of the wall being completed

Trump visited Yuma, Arizona, on Tuesday to mark completion of the 200th mile of border wall during his administration, much of it with the transferred military funds that the 9th Circuit panel found illegal.

After the $2.5 billion transfer of military funds, the Pentagon diverted another $3.6 billion that an appeals court in New Orleans ruled in January could be spent.

Still, critics of Trump's wall praised the rulings on Friday for upholding the Constitution, which grants Congress the power of the purse.

'The funds that he is pilfering, which were appropriated by Congress, are vital to support the safety and well-being of the brave men and women in uniform, as well as their families,' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat.

The 9th Circuit ruled that the Trump administration not only lacked the authority to authorize the transfer of funds, 'but also violated an express constitutional prohibition designed to protect individual liberties.'

The vote on both rulings was 2-1 with judges appointed by former President Bill Clinton in the majority and a Trump nominee dissenting.

The panel said the government was proceeding with border wall construction without ensuring compliance with any environmental regulations, thereby harming the interests of Sierra Club members who visit the border region for hiking, bird watching and other recreational activities.

The panel also held that the government failed to show that construction would halt the flow of illegal drugs. It said the administration had cited drug statistics but didn't address how the wall would have an impact on the problem.

The wall is made up of individual steel rods spaced close together

'The executive branch's failure to show, in concrete terms, that the public's interest favors a border wall is particularly significant given that Congress determined fencing to be a lower budgetary priority and the Department of Justice's data points to a contrary conclusion,' the majority wrote.

After the Supreme Court gave the green light last year to begin work on the wall using Defense Department money, the Justice Department vowed to continue to defend the administrations efforts to protect the southern border.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who led a 20-state coalition of attorneys general that sued the administration, praised the court decision.

'While the Trump administration steals public funds to build an unauthorized wall at the southern border, families across the country are struggling to pay their bills,' Becerra said. 'They deserve to know that their hard-earned dollars are going where Congress intended - to benefit them and their communities.'

The American Civil Liberties Union, which sued on behalf of Sierra Club and Southern Border Communities Coalition, said if the Trump administration appeals, the case will go back to the Supreme Court where the ACLU will seek to tear down sections of the wall that were built with the military money.

'Theres no undoing the damage thats been done, but we will be back before the Supreme Court to finally put a stop to this destructive wall,' said ACLU staff attorney Dror Ladin.
With a troubled start in life, Ken Phillips, 83, was a self-confessed no-hoper. Then he met his wife Norma, 76, and together they farmed, raised a family, fostered countless children and calmly handled home-invading horses.

Ken and Norma Phillips have fostered "maybe a hundred" children. Norma says: "From when we married, it was always in our minds that we would foster. If you can give other kids love and affection, why wouldnt you?" Credit:Kristoffer Paulsen

KEN: In 1962, I was tipping tomatoes onto a conveyor belt at Leeton cannery, in southern NSW, when I saw Norma. She was very attractive. She had a cap on, and a uniform, and was going to the kiosk for her morning tea. She always seemed happy. She was 17 and I was 24.

We were going out for about six months, then canning season ended, and Norma got a position as a domestic worker at a farm further south near Deniliquin. I said to her, I am a bloody no-hoper, Ive got nothing. If you find a better prospect, then fine. So we had a agreement, as it were, that we would see other people. But she came back after a year and we carried on.

By then I was working on the land. Id always said that if I wasnt married by 25, I wasnt going to get married at all. Then a job on a rice farm came up not far from Leeton in Gogeldrie that wanted a married couple. The boss said, Youve got a girlfriend. How about it? Norma and I had a serious conversation. What she wanted was pretty much what I wanted: for her to be a proper mother. Not like my mother.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V., (NYSE: PAC; BMV: GAP) (the Company or GAP) announced today that it successfully completed the issuance of 42 million long-term bond certificates in Mexico (Certificados Bursatiles) at a nominal value of Ps. 100 each (one hundred pesos 00/100), for a total value of Ps. 4.2 billion, issued jointly. The amount of the issuance was up to Ps. 3.0 billion with a greenshoe option of up to 40%, which was reached at the closing of the issuance.

The bond certificates were issued in accordance with the following terms:

6.02 million bond certificates were issued under the ticker symbol GAP20-2, at a nominal value of Ps. 100 (one hundred pesos 00/100) each, for a total value of Ps. 602 million (six hundred and two million pesos 00/100). Interest will be payable every 28 days at a variable rate of TIIE-28 plus 85 basis points; the principal will be due at maturity on June 22, 2023.



35.98 million bond certificates were issued under the ticker symbol GAP20-3, at a nominal value of Ps. 100 (one hundred pesos 00/100) each, for a total value of Ps. 3.598 billion (three point five hundred ninety-eight billion pesos 00/100). Interest will be payable every 182 days at a fixed rate of 8.14%; the principal will be due at maturity on June 17, 2027.

Proceeds from the issuance will be allocated to fulfilling investments in Mexico for 2020 and part of 2021.

This issuance registered a demand of over 40% of the estimated amount, which demonstrates the market confidence and credit soundness of the Company.

Company Description

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GAP) operates 12 airports throughout Mexicos Pacific region, including the major cities of Guadalajara and Tijuana, the four tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz and Manzanillo, and six other mid-sized cities: Hermosillo, Guanajuato, Morelia, Aguascalientes, Mexicali and Los Mochis. In February 2006, GAPs shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PAC and on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GAP. In April 2015, GAP acquired 100% of Desarrollo de Concesiones Aeroportuarias, S.L., which owns a majority stake in MBJ Airports Limited, a company operating Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica. In October 2018, GAP entered into a concession agreement for the operation of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica. In October 2018, GAP entered into a concession agreement for the operation of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica and took control of the operation in October 2019.

Story continues

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are statements that are not historical facts, and are based on managements current view and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. The words anticipates, believes, estimates, expects, plans and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting financial condition, liquidity or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, and operating factors. Any changes in such assumptions or factors could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

In accordance with Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and article 42 of the Ley del Mercado de Valores, GAP has implemented a whistleblower program, which allows complainants to anonymously and confidentially report suspected activities that may involve criminal conduct or violations. The telephone number in Mexico, facilitated by a third party that is in charge of collecting these complaints, is 01 800 563 00 47. The web site is www.lineadedenuncia.com/gap . GAPs Audit Committee will be notified of all complaints for immediate investigation.
Kareena Kapoor has shared an adorable childhood picture with sister Karisma Kapoor on Instagram. The actor has asked her fans to share their childhood memories as well and support her in the cause of saving vulnerable children during coronavirus pandemic.

The picture shows young Kareena and Karisma busy eating at a function. Sharing the picture, Kareena wrote, Some of my happiest memories are from my childhood, which shaped me into what I am today. But thats not so for many children around the world who miss out on a safe, healthy and happy childhood. The #COVID-19 pandemic is only going to make it worse. UNICEF is providing urgent and lifesaving support for vulnerable children. I have seen their work and have donated to support their cause of saving precious lives.

She added further, Join me and support the #ChildhoodChallenge by sharing your happiest childhood memories and donate to @unicefindia the amount equal to the year you were born in. By taking part in this challenge you can help avoid a lasting crisis for children.

Kareena had recently wished Karisma on her birthday with a montage of throwback videos and photos on Instagram. The Jab We Met actor took to Instagram to post the special video, which brings back the beautiful memories shared by the two sisters.

Starting from the childhood pictures of the Kapoor sisters to their recent family pictures, the video was a complete package of moments that the two had spent together over the years. The video also had stills from films featuring the Raja Hindustani actor.

Also read: TV shoots resume post Covid-19 shutdown: Deven Bhojani comes on set in makeup, JD Majethia provides PPE kits to crew

To the most purest, most precious love ever! My sister, my second mother and my best friend...To the ultimate Diva... Happy birthday Lolo @therealkarismakapoor! May our morning phone chats last forever, the 39-year-old actor wrote in the caption.

Both Bebo and Lelo are extremely close to each other and are often seen hanging out and spending time together with their other friends.

(With ANI inputs)

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Russians Start Voting On Reforms, Multiple Voting Already An Issue

By RFE/RL June 25, 2020

Russians have begun casting ballots in a vote on constitutional reforms that could pave the way for an extension of President Vladimir Putin's rule by 12 years.

Voting stations opened on June 25 in all 14 administrative regions of Russia's Far Eastern federal district, regional election commissions and administrative bodies said as the seven-day voting period on the measure kicked off.

The opening of polling stations for a week is aimed at helping avoid crowds on July 1, the day designated for the nationwide vote, as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.

The vote has raised concerns among health officials as the number of new confirmed infections remains stubbornly high at above 7,000 a day.

Explainer: What's In Russia's Constitutional Reforms Package?

The vote already had to be postponed from its originally scheduled date of April 22 due to the pandemic. Early voting has been allowed since June 10 for people who don't have access to polling stations.

Putin announced early this month that the vote would be held July 1 on constitutional amendments that among other things would allow him to run in the next two presidential elections.

The plan has sparked sharp criticism from opposition members and human rights groups who call it nothing more than an attempt at a power grab by Putin.

One of the changes that will result from the reforms if they are approved is that Putin's presidential term-limit clock will be reset to zero, opening the way for him to run when his current term expires in 2024, and again in 2030.

Under current rules, after his current term expires, Putin is forbidden from seeking a third consecutive term.

"It is a violation of the constitution, a coup," opposition campaigner Aleksei Navalny has said of the changes.

Several journalists and activists also pointed out that within hours of the start of voting on June 25, it was possible to cast two ballots, once at polling stations and then again online.

In one instance, Pavel Lobkov, a journalist and presenter on TV Rain (Dozhd), said he voted at a Moscow polling station in the morning, then an hour later he was able to cast another ballot online since he had originally registered to participate that way.

"Case closedThe system counted two votes. Everything is filmed on video. It is clear that in this way from each state employee there will be 30 votes in favor," Navalny tweeted after Lobkov's video appeared online.

The Kremlin has dismissed the concerns, saying that Russia has been able to slow down the spread of the coronavirus and it has assured people that all the necessary measures will be taken to ensure the safety of the voters.

Putin proposed the sweeping constitutional reform earlier this year and insisted on putting it to a nationwide vote even though it was not required by law.

Final approval of the changes will come if more than half of the country's voters support them in the nationwide vote. The constitutional changes are expected to be approved, meaning Putin would be able to run for two more back-to-back six-year terms after his current one expires in 2024.

Putin hosted a Victory Day military parade in Moscow on June 24 commemorating the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The parade is traditionally held on May 9, but it too had to be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Russia has reported more than 600,000 coronavirus infections, giving it the third-highest number in the world, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Deaths stand at more than 8,500, but real numbers are believed to be much higher.

During the Victory Day parade, the Kremlin limited access in Red Square to the area where Putin sat along with foreign leaders and World War II veterans of Soviet forces.

Those veterans had been under quarantine ahead of the parade. The same was true of soldiers taking part in the parade.

With reporting by Reuters and TASS

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-voting- referendum-putin/30689554.html

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

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Why Western Democracies Are No Longer Interested in Truth

Commentary

As a young boy, I often asked my father, a man who had been a political prisoner in communist Cuba from 1965 to 1970, why politicians dont tell the truth.

It was an innocent question, coming from a boy. At that time, my parents, sister, and I were living in Miami, not as immigrants, but as political refugees. As Catholics, my parents refused to have their small children indoctrinated in the ways of communism.

I followed up on my question throughout my teenage years and high school education, into my undergraduate university life, and throughout my 20s.

My idea was that if politicians are elected to occupy public servant positions, they should lead by informing their constituents about the intricate inner workings of the challenges they face as leaders.

In my 20s, I began to understand the inspiration behind my childhood question in terms of words like transparency and oversight, which are fancy bureaucratic words that suggest honesty. Part of my disillusionment grew from the realization that there are always greater powers at work than meet the eye.

As a middle-aged man, I now realize my innocent transgression: One cant conceive oversight and progressive bureaucracy in the same sentencecirca 2020. This naivete gives one away as an unwashed and unsophisticated person, reminiscent of the town idiot of old.

But, why? To answer that question in good faith requires even greater knowledge of the 20th century political and cultural conditions that delivered Western democracies to our current nihilistic, backdoor socialism.

The fundamental grown-up answer to my innocent childhood question is that, today, the world lacks statesmanship. Statesmanship is, by definition, a quality found in leaders of democratic nations only.

This is because democratic, open societies must contend with problems and difficultiesincluding by fifth columnists within these societiesthat are meant to destabilize the culture and psyche of people in free nations. This is one reason why stability and tranquility in democratic nations today is so rare.

Lets make no bones about it: The disinformation campaigns used by enemies of liberty to destabilize democratic societies originate in bad will, not misunderstanding. This should hardly come as a surprise to people who have lived under or studied the goals of communism throughout the 20th century.

Its obvious to people of goodwill that today, statesmanship must combat a vat of evilwill that it must nullify or neutralize. This requires decisive action. This is also why free nations cultivate so few statesmen in the 21st century. A good example of this is the great degree of difficulty that Konrad Adenauer encountered when he tried to rebuild Germany into a democratic nation post-World War II.

The basic definition of statesmanship is the skill to manage public affairs. Management of public affairs ought to be a practical concern that aims to coalesce the demands brought about by conglomeration, as this condition informs the often conflicting views of human reality of individual persons.

Healthy democracies require goodwill from statesmen and the public. In Western democracies, statesmanship is always up against lawlessness and the totalitarian impulse. The upkeep of healthy democracies requires goodwill; the enemies of democracy exploit that by debunking statesmanship and the cowardly character assassination of those who rise to the task.

This brings me to statesmanship in 2020, which is, in effect, an aberrant postmodern world of make-believe run by infantilism. Its mind-boggling to fathom that a world that tolerates communist governments that possess nuclear weapons enjoys a relative but precarious peace. The absence of statesmanship leaves a power vacuum to be exploited and filled by radical ideologuesexecutioners-in-training.

The communist mindset is patient. Communism is about envy and resentment, hatred, and powernot governance. The 20th century is proof of that.

Communism, and its many variants, regardless of its perpetual rebranding, is secular messianism: If not this generation, maybe the next will enjoy world domination, the totalitarian psyche has been trained to accept.

Victory, communists are promised, will be theirs in the long run. Then comes the firing lines, gulags, reeducation camps, and the unveiling of statues of their latest martyrsheroes who fought for the victory that the current generation of fanatical criminals in power enjoy.

Pedro Blas Gonzalez, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Barry University and author of several books, including Human Existence as Radical Reality: Ortega Y Gassets Philosophy of Subjectivity and Ortegas The Revolt of the Masses and the Triumph of the New Man.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Jackson also ordered Stone to remain under home confinement until July 14, in accordance with Justice Department policy and the strong medical recommendation submitted by Stones defense. Jacksons notice indicated that the delay would allow Stone time to quarantine himself to ensure he did not take the novel coronavirus from his home in South Florida to the prison.
YEREVAN.  The Constitutional Court did not issue any statement yesterday, the staff of the Constitutional Court may have issued the statement of the now former three members of the Constitutional Court and of one judge. Judge Vahe Grigoryan of the Constitutional Court (CC) of Armenia on Friday stated this in a conversation with journalists in front of the Constitutional Court, referring to the statement issued Thursday by Constitutional Court president Hrayr Tovmasyan and three members of the Constitutional Court.

"I do not comment on it. I regret that such a comment was disseminated. I believe that this very long statement and other such statements will be the subject of an examination of the legal and political science mind of Armenia. I regret that they can be personified in time," he said.

To the remark that those members of the Constitutional Court intend to appeal what has occurred and even reach the European Court of Human Rights, Grigoryan said. "If they consider that they have violated rights, it is only commendable that they will apply for the restitution of those rights."

Vahe Grigoryan also touched upon the method chosen by the authorities to resolve the issue of the Constitutional Court, noting that this question should be asked to the people who made this or that choice.

To the remark that he is assessed as the Constitutional Court judge to the "liking" of the incumbent halls of power, Grigoryan said: "Ever since I took the oath of office as a judge, I am a judge of the Constitutional Court, regardless of what personal relations I have, had with the bodies of the state authorities, other organizations; the same is maintained now.

He considered it obvious that the National Assembly (NA) had consciously taken that step. "If there is a problem of democratic legitimacy, no one can stay and continue to hold office in the highest court of instance," Vahe Grigoryan said, noting that all his previous assessments are still valid.

As for the fact that the parliamentary faction of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party has submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court and is disputing the NA decision on the constitutional amendments, Grigoryan said. "If there is such a petition, it means that there will be a procedure, and the [Constitutional Court] judges will have to express their position, and they will have to express it in judicial acts."
A recent routine traffic stop resulted in the seizure of a firearm and $500,000, according to Laredo police.

READ MORE: Laredo PD to step up DWI enforcement in advance of Independence Day

Authorities arrested Manuel Amador Perez-Ortiz, 38, in connection with the case. Perez-Ortiz was charged with possession of a firearm by a person admitted into the United States under a non-immigrant visa.

Laredo police pulled over a white Jeep Cherokee at about 2:10 p.m. on June 19 near the 3700 block of East Saunders Street. Police said the vehicle had two occupants, the 42-year-old driver and Perez-Ortiz.

During a pat down, authorities said Perez-Ortiz, was in possession of a Sig Sauer, model SP 2022, .40 caliber with 11 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. LPD requested the assistance of a K-9 unit.

The K-9 unit allegedly alerted to the rear compartment of the vehicle. Officers searched the area and located a cardboard box containing approximately $500,000 in $100 denominations, according to police.

Perez-Ortiz stated he was a citizen of Mexico. He added he had crossed the money from Mexico through the Rio Grande to purchase land in Laredo. Perez-Ortiz said the driver was the person who would build the house at the lot, according to an arrest affidavit filed on June 21.

LPD officers seized the firearm and the money, and detained both occupants for further investigation.

Officers contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to assist with the investigation of the firearm. At LPD headquarters, Perez-Ortiz allegedly agreed to provide a statement.

In response to officers questions, Perez-Ortiz stated that he crossed into the United States from Mexico across the Rio Grande River on June 18, 2020. Perez-Ortiz admitted to being in possession of the firearm, and stated that he took possession of the firearm in the United States, states the affidavit.

Perez-Ortiz knew he was prohibited from purchasing firearms in the United States due to his immigration status, according to court documents.

READ MORE: No bill returned by grand jury in shooting death of Laredo firefighter

With the assistance of the U.S. Border Patrol, special agents confirmed that Perez-Ortiz was admitted into the United States under a non-immigrant visa, and that his last crossing into the United States through an international bridge dates back to 2019, according to court documents.
Chandigarh, June 26 : The Punjab government on Friday appointed 1987-batch Punjab cadre IAS officer Vini Mahajan as the new Chief Secretary, replacing Karan Avtar Singh.

Mahajan becomes the first woman Chief Secretary of the state.

1984 batch officer Karan Avtar Singh has been posted as Special Chief Secretary of Governance Reforms.

The only Punjab cadre officer currently in the state who is empanelled to hold position as Secretary with the government of India, Mahajan was till now serving as Additional Chief Secretary with the Investment Promotion, Industries and Commerce, Information Technology and Governance Reforms and Public Grievances.

She has been playing a crucial role in steering the state government's response to the Covid crisis as Chairman of the Health Sector Response and Procurement Committee.

An economics graduate from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, and a postgraduate from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta, she was pivotal in the state's success in attracting over Rs 20,000 crore new investments every year during her tenure in Investment Promotion and Industries and Commerce department.

In fact, it was with her at the helm of the department that Punjab participated for the first time in the World Economic Forum at Davos in 2019, and held a highly successful Investor Summit, with focus on MSMEs, in December 2019.

She served in the office of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from 2005-2012, and handled matters relating to finance, industry and commerce, telecom, IT, etc.

She was part of the core team of the central government that put together India's domestic response, during and following the 2008 global financial crisis.

She also participated in the global response through the G-20 mechanism.
BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - ams said it has rejected media allegations of unlawful trading by ams management. Earlier there reports that the Austrian financial market authority is investigating ams's management on suspicion of illegal share transactions during the ongoing takeover of Osram Licht. ams clarified that it is not aware of any investigation by, or regulatory request related to, its employees, board members or the company and its subsidiaries by any financial markets or other authority. ams said that the reports made reference to historic allegations made by media outlets in 2019, Already back then ams clearly stated that it had no knowledge of any investigation by financial market authorities against any employee or board member of ams. ams said that it has policies and procedures in place which govern employee, management and other trading transactions. They are reviewed regularly and compliance is actively monitored. 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.
Behind the scenes, the country's top judge is warm and engaging  and known for her love of Rottweilers. The 66-year-old spent many years in her early career as a rarity in a profession exhibiting no shortage of men. When she was admitted as a barrister in 1975 there were just two other women at the Queensland bar. It was "the first time that there had been so many women", she later recalled. In an oft-told anecdote, she disarmed a roomful of male clients as a young barrister by hand-rolling and smoking a cigarette, a common habit at the '70s-era bar that she has long since kicked. In 1987 the then 33-year-old became the first female barrister in Queensland to be appointed Queen's Counsel, or silk. During a break in her career, she obtained a Masters in Law from the University of Cambridge, where she met her husband.

But it was not an express train to the top: the Sandgate District High School alumna left school before her fifteenth birthday and began her working life as a legal secretary, and later a legal clerk, while studying law part-time through the barristers' admission board. She was appointed a judge of the High Court in September 2007, when Dyson Heydon had been on the bench for four-and-a-half years. How does she run the court? In November 2016 the Turnbull government appointed her the country's first female High Court chief justice. She took the reins officially in January 2017. A former judge of the Federal Court and Queensland Supreme Court, Chief Justice Kiefel worked alongside Heydon for more than five years before he retired from the court in March 2013 at the mandatory retirement age of 70.

The ceremony to mark her swearing-in as chief justice of the court was attended by a bevy of her former High Court colleagues  William Gummow, Michael Kirby, Ken Hayne and Susan Crennan  but not by Heydon. Chief Justice Susan Kiefel. Credit:Joe Benke Her public comments suggest her judicial style differs markedly to Heydon's. He was known to be acerbic in his criticism of colleagues and often made a point of writing judgments alone rather than with colleagues. "Some of my colleagues ... dont write grammatically," he told the ABC in 2013. In a speech in January 2013 the then Justice Kiefel remarked that "courts can no doubt function with some judges who are not collegiate" but "collegiality is as important in the workplace of judges as it is elsewhere".

A #MeToo reckoning? At the time of her appointment to the court in 2007 there was just one other woman on the seven-judge bench: Justice Susan Crennan, who has since retired. Women are still marginally outnumbered on the court but Chief Justice Kiefel is now joined by Justices Virginia Bell and Michelle Gordon. Last year, the peak body for the legal profession, the International Bar Association, released a report titled "Us Too?" which exposed high rates of harassment in the Australian profession. The worldwide #MeToo moment helped break down some of the reluctance among young lawyers to report their experiences, and in 2019 some of Heydon's alleged victims approached the court. Barrister Larissa Andelman, president of the Women Lawyers' Association of NSW, applauded the "victim-centred approach" adopted by the Chief Justice in relation to Heydon.
Woodbine Mohawk Park hosted a 13-race qualifying session on Friday (June 26), and a pair of fillies that debuted impressively last week came back with better performances during this week's card.

The track was rated 'good' by the AGCO judges for the first six of the 13 qualifiers, with a one-second variant applied.

Warrawee Welcome showed her winning performance from a week ago was no fluke with a solid second qualifier, the fastest of the five carded for two-year-old trotting fillies.

An off-the-pace winner a week ago, Warrawee Welcome was pointed to the lead in this week's test for trainer-driver Mario Baillargeon and the filly responded impressively. After opening fractions of :30.4, 1:01.1 and 1:31, Warrawee Welcome trotted home in hand with :28.3 final quarter speed to cross under the wire in 2:00.1. The debuting Meadowview Lilly (Mark Etsell) followed along impressively in second, a length back of the winner with Classy Carol (Paul MacDonell) a solid third.

Purchased from the 2019 London Selected Yearling Sale for $41,000, Warrawee Welcome (Muscle Mass - Noble Peace Prize) is owned by Thestable Welcome Group of Guelph, Ont.

On the pacing side, Twin B Sunkissed showed her manner extend onto the racetrack as well with a swift and wrapped-up 1:56 score to record the fastest pacing mile of the morning. Another off-the-pace winner from a week ago, Twin B Sunkissed and driver Bob McClure made every call a winning one this week after early fractions of :29.1, :57 and 1:26 to cruise home five lengths better than Annies Legacy (Jody Jamieson) and Jackieofalltrades (Sylvain Filion).

A $20,000 Harrisburg purchase, Twin B Sunkissed (Sunshine Beach - Western Heat) is owned by trainer Francis Dumouchel of Princeton, Ont. with Ecurie CSL of Sorel-Tracy and 9174 7998 Quebec Inc. of St-Janvier-Mirabel, Que. The filly made headlines before stepping foot on the racetrack after her connections posted a video of the filly and her barn-mate Bruno that went viral on Facebook, gathering more than two million views, and was featured in SC's Standardbred Canada's digital Twos In Training Report this past May.

The baby races continue at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday (June 27) with 10 dashes carded for two-year-old male pacers.

To view the results from Friday's qualifying session, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Baby Races).
Hours after Gov. Jay Inslee, D, ordered Washington state residents to cover their faces in public, a Republican sheriff in a rural swath of the state's southwest suggested they should be doing no such thing.

"Here's what I say," Lewis County Sheriff Robert Snaza told the crowd outside a church Tuesday, carrying a megaphone and sporting his green and beige uniform but no face mask. "Don't be a sheep."

Few of the people cheering on Snaza covered their faces either, according to video of the scene taken by the Daily Chronicle of Centralia, Wash. Indeed, the words on a billboard above the crowd seemed to capture their feeling about the pandemic: "Oh, no! A virus. Quick - burn the bill of rights."

With coronavirus infections rapidly spreading across the American South and West and more states making masks a requirement, dozens of sheriffs like Snaza are staging a rebellion against state governments. An adherence to their interpretation of Constitution, they say, comes before any kind of public health advice.

Since April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said people should cover their faces in public to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 122,000 people in the United States to date. But Snaza said he did not believe masks were effective, arguing they should be optional instead.

"My frustration is we continue to listen to the governor's requests without asking questions, without saying: 'Well wait a minute, there's the other side to this,' " Snaza told Oregon Public Broadcasting.

He is not alone. In Nevada and North Carolina on Thursday, multiple sheriffs said their Democratic governors' mask requirements were "unconstitutional and unenforceable." After five California counties ignored a similar directive, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D, threatened to withhold state funds. Another Washington state sheriff called Inslee an "idiot."

As they battle through viral Facebook posts and appearances on local TV and radio, these mostly Republican sheriffs have effectively blocked their governors' orders. If they refuse to enforce their rules, it is unclear who else will.

Public health officials have insisted that masks are an easy way to protect the whole population.

"Everybody should wear a mask when out public," Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease specialist, told the Sacramento Press Club this week. "It should not be a political issue. It is purely a public health issue."

At a news conference Wednesday, Inslee spoke out against the sheriffs objecting to his "Mask Up, Washington" campaign, saying that mask wearers should not be compared to "barnyard animals."

"We have to be disappointed in any law enforcement officer who would encourage illegal behavior," Inslee said. Mask wearing, he added, "is about demonstrating our respect and care for the other people around us."

Still, two Washington sheriffs insisted they can only "educate" residents instead of strictly enforcing the mask order. Snaza's twin brother, who heads up the sheriff's department in a neighboring county, said he will not require his own deputies to cover their faces, fearing it could put the officers in jeopardy in high-risk situations.

In North Carolina, at least 10 sheriffs this week said they would not be carrying out a similar directive from Gov. Roy Cooper, D. The minor nature of the offenses as well as a lack of resources, many said, meant they had more serious things to worry about.

"I certainly encourage people to be careful and take safety precautions," Wes Tripp, sheriff of Halifax County, wrote on social media, according to WWBT. "The wearing of a mask is a personal decision, not one of a governor in Raleigh."

While a wave of newly elected black Democratic sheriffs has radically changed the face of law enforcement in North Carolina, many of those who spoke out against Cooper's mask order were white, male and Republican.

But joining them was Paula Dance, the Democratic sheriff in Pitt County, who in 2018 was elected as the first black female sheriff in the state's history.

"These are very tense and polarizing times in so many ways," she wrote in a memo to residents of her county, in North Carolina's mostly agricultural eastern end. "So many issues in 2020 have tried to divide us. I pray we prove once again that the people of Pitt County are better than this and can rise above the conflicts of elsewhere."

The trend of "constitutionalist sheriffs" standing up against state laws is hardly new. Many of the country's most prominent law enforcement officials, like Arizona's Joe Arpaio, rose to fame on such campaigns.

But the pandemic has created a particularly ripe opportunity to rebel against left-leaning governors, as law enforcement officials feel emboldened to speak up on behalf of the more conservative voters who brought them into office.

A May analysis by the Marshall Project found that at least 60 sheriffs across more than a dozen states were publicly resisting stay-at-home orders and other virus-related restrictions issued by governors. Three-quarters of those sheriffs were in states governed by Democrats.

As NPR has reported, sheriffs can give voice to political frustration that is especially tangible in more conservative, rural areas - including those in Washington and North Carolina - where top state officials were voted in by an urban majority.

Some scholars, however, also trace the sheriffs' refusal to enforce laws they disagree with back to more sinister roots: from the Ku Klux Klan to the far-right Posse Comitatus movement of the 1980s and eventually the quiet founding of a group for hundreds of sheriffs who refuse to enforce all laws they find unconstitutional.

Since his speech Tuesday, Sheriff Robert Snaza clarified that he wants to take the mask order on a case-by-case basis - while getting people to think, too.

"Just because I said 'don't be sheep' does not mean that I'm outwardly saying I want you to violate the orders," Snaza told OPB.
Scheana Shay has revealed she recently suffered a devastating miscarriage at six weeks pregnant, after believing she couldn't get pregnant naturally.

The 35-year-old Vanderpump Rules star tearfully opened up about her loss on the new installment of her Scheananigans with Scheana Shay podcast on Friday.

'A few weeks ago, we found out that I was pregnant, and for those of you who have followed my fertility journey and freezing my eggs the last year and a half, I didnt think I could get pregnant on my own,'

Scheana Shay has revealed she recently suffered a miscarriage at 6 weeks pregnant

'My doctors told me that it would be close to impossible.' she added.

Scheana said she missed her period and felt sick one morning after drinking, so didn't initially guess she was pregnant. She later bought a pregnancy test and took it while FaceTiming with boyfriend Brock Davies.

When she got a positive result, the Sur server said she bought four more tests and then got it confirmed by her doctor with a blood test.

Overjoyed at the prospect at becoming a mom, Scheana told her her mother and sister and also babysat a friend's child to practice her childcare skills.

She also planned to tell her dad the news on Father's Day last weekend by making a surfboard with stickers to surprised him with the news he was going to be a grandfather.

'We were freaking out, but just so excited because we didn't know or think this was possible,' she said.

However, things took a turn for the worse during a trip to San Diego earlier this month when Scheana said she felt 'off' and started to freak out after bleeding all weekend.

On Friday's installment of her podcast Scheana said she and boyfriend Brock Davies were very excited to find out she was pregnant. 'We were freaking out, but just so excited because we didn't know or think this was possible,' she said.

Hopes: The 35-year-old star was told by doctors it would be 'impossible' for her to get pregnant on her own so the news was even more exciting

The reality star said she tried to stay positive despite going to the doctor again and finding out that her progesterone levels had dropped significantly.

She was prescribed progesterone pills but still felt something wasn't right.

'My OB got me in early, they did an ultrasound and there was no heartbeat,' she said, voice cracking with emotion.

'There was just nothing progressing, nothing going on inside. There were parts that he could see were starting to form, and it just didnt. So obviously, [that was] just devastating. We were so excited. Gone so quickly. Its still been a lot to process.

'Now I'm at home and I'm just waiting to naturally miscarry I'm just literally sitting here waiting, feeling normal but still treating my body as if I'm pregnant, which is a complete mindf**k because I know there's still something there, but I haven't passed it yet.'

Scheana tearfully continued, 'Even though I was only six and a half weeks, that doesn't make it any easier. We still got so excited for something that isn't happening anymore. It's been really tough to wrap my head around.'

Loss: During a trip to San Diego earlier this month for Brock's birthday Scheana said she felt 'off' and was freaking out after bleeding all weekend

Dreaming of a family: In a recent interview with Maria Menounos, Scheana revealed her desire to have 'at least two children' with Brock, who she's been dating for nearly a year

The brunette beauty went on to say it's been 'really hard' for Brock and he's been feeling angry because of the roller-coaster of emotions.

Scheana's miscarriage news comes after pal Stassi Schroeder, 32, confirmed her pregnancy at the weekend, revealing she's expecting a girl with fiance Beau Clark.

She went on to say she is 'so happy' for her former co-star - who was fired from Vanderpump Rules amid a racism storm earlier this month - despite her own heartbreak.

Scheana has been open about her fertility struggles and revealed in January 2019 that she had frozen some of her eggs after being told her ovarian reserve was very low for her age.

On Instagram she shared a photo from hospital during the procedure and wrote in the caption: 'Todays the day! Bye bye eggs! For me personally, this has been a very easy, painless and awesome experience. Everyone is different Im sure,

Back up plan: Scheana revealed in January 2019 that she had frozen some of her eggs and shared a photo from hospital during the procedure

Baby news: Scheana's miscarriage news comes after pal Stassi Schroeder confirmed her pregnancy at the weekend and revealed she's expecting a girl with fiance Beau Clark

'I am single and no where near trying to have a baby. So for me- yes, this was an easy process and when i say painless, Im referring to the needles which i have no problem with.'

Scheana explained that her doctor had recommended the procedure 'to have a better chance at a healthy baby down the road,' adding, 'You never know what will happen in life.'

The reality star followed up with a second round last summer.

After the egg retrieval process, eggs are frozen, unfertilized, for future use. When Scheana is ready to have children, the eggs will be thawed, combined with sperm and implanted in the uterus via in vitro fertilization (IVF).

In a recent interview with Maria Menounos, Scheana revealed her desire to have 'at least two children' with Brock, who she's been dating for nine months.

Brock, a personal trainer from Australia, is already father to two children from a previous relationship.

'If in a crazy off chance, [I] get pregnant naturally, twins also run in my family,' she said at the time. 'If I have twin boys, Im definitely trying again for a girl.'
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall, thunderstorm and lightning on Friday in at least eight districts of Bihar, where more than 80 people were killed in several parts of the state on Thursday.

Siwan, Gopalganj, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Supaul, Araria, Kishanganj and Katihar will receive heavy rainfall along with thunderstorm, lightning and squalls on Friday, according to the weather bureau.

East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalgunj, Siwan, Saran, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Kishanganj, Katihar, Madhepura, Purnia, Saharsa and Araria will continue to receive heavy rainfall on Saturday.

IMD had said earlier that a situation conducive for enhancing rainfall activities is likely to prevail over the foothills of the Himalayas along with Bihar-Nepal border and adjoining areas.

Eighty-three people were killed and 30 others injured in the thunderstorm and lightning on Thursday.

The Nitish Kumar-led government in the state asked people to adhere to safety norms during bad weather conditions and follow guidelines issued from time to time by the disaster management department.

The chief minister secretariat said financial help to those who lost animals and cattle was also being extended.

The maximum number of people, 13, died in Gopalganj, eight each lost their lives in Madhubani and Nawada, six each in Siwan and Bhagalpur, five each in East Champaran, Darbhanga, and Banka, three each in Khagaria and Aurangabad, two each in West Champaran, Kishanganj, Jehanabad, Jamui, Purnia, Supaul, Buxar and Kaimur and one each in Samastipur, Sheohar, Saran, Sitamarhi and Madhepura.

Reports from Gopalganj said all the victims were farmers from Barauli, Manjha, Vijaipur, Uchkagaon and Kateya areas. The lightning struck them when they were working in their fields.

In Khagaria, a woman died and five minors were injured in Choutham locality. More than 15 cattle deaths were also reported.

In Darbhanga, which saw five deaths, Pushpesh Kumar, in charge of disaster management, said the fatalities included a woman from Uchhati village who was planting paddy in the field when the lightning struck.

Reports from Madhubani said that eight people, including four of a family, besides a farmer and two others, were killed in Phulparas and Benipatti police stations areas.

In East Champaran district, a 49-year-old man died and three others were injured at Belwatiya village under Sagauli police station. A 14-year-old girl from Surendra village under Raxaul police station was also killed in the lightning.

Three others injured are undergoing treatment at the local hospital in Sagauli and the body of the deceased has been sent to Motihari Sadar Hospital for autopsy, Mithilesh Kumar, station house officer of Sagauli police station, said.

In neighbouring West Champaran, two villagers were killed in Narkatiaganj.

Widespread rain after a gap causes more thunderstorm and lightning activity. Since its a favourable time of crop sowing, more people are out in the fields and they are the most vulnerable to a lightning strike, Anand Shankar, a weather scientist at Patna IMD centre, said.

He said that a similar incident took place in April this year but since people stayed indoors, the damage was less.

MeT has mobile apps like Damini and IndarVajr, which give an early alert of thunderstorm and lightning. People are advised to use this app and stay alert during monsoon, he said.

Last year, lightning had killed 39 people in Bihar.
Demand in U.S. hospitals for a cheap, commonly used steroid has surged more than sixfold since British research showed it reduced the mortality of patients who are severely ill with covid-19. Vizient, a drug-purchasing group that works with more than half of U.S. hospitals, said Thursday that in six days, orders for dexamethasone increased 610 percent.
Weve made many changes in our lives over the past months, since the onset of the corornavirus pandemic. Among the most visible sign of living through a pandemic is wearing a face mask while in public, which many have done, based on the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC has advised using face masks to reduce risk of infection with the new coronavirus, particularly in settings where social or physical distancing is difficult to maintain. But according to a report by Healthline, there have been rumors that wearing face masks for an extended time can impair breathing or even poison us with excess carbon dioxide (CO2).

Is this something we need to worry about?

According to the Healthline report, on April 23, a New Jersey driver passed out behind the wheel and crashed into a pole. The driver told responding police officers that it was wearing an N95 face mask for too long that made him unconscious. The report said that Lincoln Park, New Jersey police posted the incident to their Facebook page.

According to the post, We believed the excessive wearing of an N95 mask was a contributing factor to this accident. While we dont know this with 100% certainty, we do know that the driver had been wearing an N95 mask inside the vehicle for several hours and ultimately passed out while operating the vehicle.

*****This post has been updated***** Considering the overwhelming response this post has received, the following should... Posted by Lincoln Park Police Department on Friday, April 24, 2020

Heres why we dont need to worry.

Healthline reports however, that experts confirm that the mask could not have been a factor.

There is no risk of hypercapnia (CO2 retention) in healthy adults who use face coverings, including medical and cloth face masks, as well as N95s, Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, told Healthline. Carbon dioxide molecules freely diffuse through the masks, allowing normal gas exchange while breathing.

What we should know about N95 masks.

According to the report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that the general public use cloth face masks. They specify, The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators.

However, the reason the CDC emphasizes that we shouldnt be using N95 masks isnt health-related. Its because they must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, the report said.

Darrell Spurlock Jr., PhD, RN, the director of the Leadership Center for Nursing Education Research at Widener University and a professor in Wideners PhD in Nursing program, said: Rebreathing tiny amounts of CO2 from wearing either properly fitted N95 respirators or more loosely fitted cloth or surgical masks is of no concern for the vast, vast majority of people, the report quoted.

According to Spurlock, even workers, including medical providers, wearing surgical or cloth masks for a whole shift should have no concerns about retaining CO2 and shouldnt worry about negative effects from wearing a mask, the report said.

The report quoted Spurlock: The dose of CO2 we might rebreathe while masking is quickly and easily eliminated by both the respiratory and metabolic systems in the body, he said. I worry a thousand times more about viral transmission than any negative effects arising from mask wearing per CDC guidelines.

What about those with lung disease?

The report quoted Glatter: In persons with sleep apnea or severe lung disease who require oxygen, the masks may pose a risk to normal air entry and gas exchange, making breathing problematic. He emphasized that these patients should discuss wearing a mask with their physician, the report said.

Spurlock explained in the report that someone with severe lung disease, already struggling to maintain oxygenation and balanced CO2 due to lung damage may be more sensitive to CO2 levels. But he clarified, Even then, higher CO2 levels actually stimulate breathing to blow off the excess CO2 in the blood first.

Spurlock added that only those with very specific chronic respiratory disease need to check with their health provider before wearing a face mask, and according to the report he said, It could be argued that they should avoid exposures to the virus at nearly any cost, regardless, so their need for masks is minimal.

Heres the correct way to wear a mask.

The report quoted Dr. Sigfredo Aldarondo, a pulmonologist and the chief medical officer of PN Medical: The cloth or surgical mask should cover both mouth and nasal openings, and Aldarondo specified that in order to prevent droplets or aerosols from contaminating nearby surfaces or people, the mask should be large enough to sit flush over the surrounding skin surface.

Aldarondo also recommended that mask wearers be mindful of their respiratory pattern and consider doing several slow deep healthy breathing maneuvers before and after donning the mask. Periodic breaks, when feasible are advisable.

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Scotland trawler catches down 40% due to Covid, says Fishermen's Federation

by Hamish Burns

Fish landings at one of Scotland's biggest trawler ports are down 40% and prawn catches by half as a result of Covid-19, according to the Scottish Fishermen's Federation.



The industry body's chief executive Elspeth Macdonald told MSPs the crisis has had a "very significant" impact on fleets after demand from the hospitality sector dried up.



Holyrood's Rural Economy Committee also heard evidence on Wednesday from the Scottish Seafood Association that owners were not given clear guidance on whether to tie up their boats.



Macdonald said catches at Peterhead were down around 40% and prawn fishers have been among the hardest hit as they rely heavily on the food service industry.



She said: "We're currently catching half the volume of prawns that we were this time last year, for half the price. So the impact has been very significant."



Macdonald added: "When you look at the landings at Peterhead market from the period March to May this year, compared to last year, they were down by about 40%.



"The market has been very volatile. Whilst there still is a market for white fish, it has been very unpredictable and it had been hard to plan landing to meet demand."



Jimmy Buchan, chief executive of the Scottish Seafood Association, said scallop and prawn processors continue to be affected.



There had initially been some confusion around which food businesses could remain open, he said.



Buchan told the committee: "I felt there was a lack of clear guidance for food producers in the initial stages. There was total confusion, we didn't know if we were key workers or if we weren't key workers because we weren't given the correct guidelines quick enough.



"Therefore a lot of businesses went into shutdown when possibly there was no need to do that, only to find two or three weeks later they were back again."

 2020 Insider Publications Ltd

Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods.
Indigenous and other racialized Canadians have been shaping the countrys history and culture for centuries, but a new poll suggests most Canadians have a lot to learn about most of them.

The survey commissioned by Historica Canada, creator of the popular Heritage Minutes, asked 1,000 respondents a series of 24 questions aimed at determining their knowledge on a range of issues.

Only 16 per cent of respondents were able to pass the quiz, which featured facts about the contributions of prominent Canadians ranging from Olympic athletes to scientists.

The poll found survey participants generally knew the least about figures from Indigenous or other racialized backgrounds, with the exception of civil rights crusader Viola Desmond.

Less than six per cent of respondents recognized figures such as Indigenous filmmakers and human rights activists, or the first RCMP officer to wear a turban.

Historica says despite the low polling numbers, there are signs that the public is eager to expand its knowledge of Canadians who have remained on the margins of history and society.

We are all coming to understand that we need to hear more voices from more places, at greater volume, speaking directly to us, said Anthony Wilson-Smith, Historicas chief executive officer. There has not been the same attention paid to the pioneers and heroes from (Indigenous and Black) communities.

The survey presented participants with 24 statements about Canadian doctors, innovations or other notable figures and asked them to identify whether they were true or false.

The vast majority of respondents, 84 per cent, were unable to complete the 13 correct answers needed to pass the quiz.

Survey participants often failed to identify the accomplishments of various figures from marginalized communities. Most did not know, for instance, that William Peyton Hubbard, the son of slaves who came to Canada via the Underground Railroad, helped co-found the company known today as Hydro One.

Few knew that Chief Dan George was the first Indigenous actor to be nominated for an Academy Award, or that the first Indigenous doctor to head up a North American medical association was the Quebec-born Innu surgeon Stanley Vollant.

The poll found participants also struggled to separate fact from fiction related to figures with more name recognition.

About 91 per cent of respondents, for instance, incorrectly said that environmentalist David Suzuki once hosted a childrens television program called Dr. Daves Junior Science Club.

The quiz also asked respondents to identify their degree of familiarity with a list of accomplished Canadians.

Decorated Olympian Clara Hughes garnered the most name recognition, though still with just 35 per cent of survey participants saying they knew who she was. Desmond came in second with 29 per cent.

On the other end of the spectrum were Indigenous filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, RCMP officer Baltej Dhillon, and Indigenous human rights activist and feminist Mary Two-Axe Earley. No more than six per cent of respondents said they were familiar with their names or accomplishments.

Though the survey did not track Canadians appetite to learn more about these and other figures, Wilson-Smith said other evidence shows the social justice protests and conversations of recent weeks have led to a serge in interest.

He said Historica has tracked online visits to the Canadian Encyclopedia in recent weeks and noticed a pronounced spike in article views on issues ranging from Canadas long history with slavery to the residential school system that targeted Indigenous children.

Sometimes you see upticks because we know its exam time for certain issues, he said. Thats not the case with this. Its just a matter of direct interest.

The poll, conducted by Ipsos, surveyed 1,000 adult respondents online between June 12 and 15.

The polling industrys professional body, the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error as they are not a random sample and therefore are not necessarily representative of the whole population.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

By Eldar Janashvili  Trend:

The contactless transactions of MasterCard international company in Azerbaijan have increased by 30 percent, Erdem Cakar, head of the representative office of MasterCard in Azerbaijan, told Trend.

"During our Bravo Campaign, our cardholders gained draw participation, right 10 times more for a contactless transaction compared to traditional methods like swipe or chip and pin," Cakar added. "This campaign helped overall contactless transactions to rise up to 50 percent in Bravo activation. Masterpass has grown similarly thanks to new card registrations and increase in usage. "

"As Mastercard, we are keen to support the Azerbaijani government's initiatives towards a cashless economy," head of the representative office said. "As you may know, the government of Azerbaijan launched a state program for increasing the share of digital payments in the national economy in 2018-2020. "

"The primary goals of the program include increasing the volume of cashless, as well as innovative payments, reducing the share of cash turnover, helping the banks grow their investment opportunities, fighting the shadow economy and etc.," Cakar said. "In that regard, we chose to support the government support programs in order to enable digital payments and avoid disadvantages of cash usage.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @eldarjanashvili
OTTAWAThe federal government is outsourcing the administration of its COVID-19 grant program for student volunteers to a Toronto-based global charity that works with the prime ministers wife, and will pay the organization based on how many placements it fills before the end of October, a Liberal cabinet minister said Thursday.

Bardish Chagger, the Liberal minister for diversity, inclusion and youth, told the Star the government will monitor the program  estimated to cost more than $900 million  run by WE Charity to make sure it does not allow free student labour to replace paid work at not-for-profits over the next four months.

Chagger did not say how much WE Charity will get from the government to administer the program, but that the payment will depend on how many volunteers use the grants.

She also dismissed a question at an earlier press conference about whether Sophie Gregoire Trudeaus involvement with WE is a conflict of interest, citing her confidence that government officials have done all the checks and balances to ensure that everything will be successful.

Gregoire Trudeau is a WE ambassador and ally and hosts a podcast on mental health for the charity. The Prime Ministers Office confirmed that Gregoire works with WE on a voluntary basis.

For Duff Conacher, co-founder of the advocacy group Democracy Watch, that amounts to the appearance of a conflict of interest for the Trudeau government under Canadian law  even if she doesn't get paid for her work with WE.

Youre not allowed to further your own interests or those of your relatives or friends, he said, citing the federal Conflict of Interest Act. Her interests are aligned with the organizations interest.

Conacher also questioned why the government isnt using its own bureaucrats to administer the program. Theres no reason to involve a private organization and to make a private organization  that is not subject to any of the conflict of interest rules  the gatekeeper, he said.

The PMO said the decision to outsource the grant program to WE was made on the recommendation of the federal labour department.

Speaking by phone with the Star, Chagger said an agreement inked with WE Charity empowers the organization to approve postings to a new online portal for what she called service opportunities  volunteer work for which Ottawa will pay post-secondary students and recent graduates up to $5,000 for at least 500 hours between now and Oct. 31.

About 23,000 postings are already available for a range of volunteer gigs across the country, she said, adding that WE Charity already has an extensive network and presence in schools to connect young people with not-for-profits, and that there will be safeguards on which positions are made available for government-paid student volunteerism this summer.

We know that not-for-profits are needing volunteers because of the uptake of their programs and services during the pandemic, Chagger.

This is not a replacement for employment. These are not employment opportunities. These are service opportunities.

The deal with WE Charity also says the organization will get paid based on the uptake of the program, Chagger said. In April, the government estimated the service-grant program would cost $912 million.

Asked whether that gives the charity an incentive to approve as many gigs as possible under the volunteer program, Chagger said everything is public and we are going to make sure that Ill be monitoring this program, as well as my team.

WE did not respond to questions from the Star before deadline Thursday.

Nicole Brayiannis, deputy chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students, said there is a fine line between volunteer work and labour that should be paid and that the organization is also keen to make sure the student-grant program doesnt replace paid positions.

She also lamented how it took more than two months for the federal government to launch the grant program after it was announced April 22 as part of a $9-billion aid program for students during the pandemic. To get the full, $5,000 grant, students will have to volunteer at least 28 hours per week from now until Halloween.

This is unrealistic for students, whether theyre studying right now or studying in the fall, she said. Its not something that students are going to be able to achieve.

Volunteer Toronto spokesperson Cara Eaton said by email that her organization is concerned the program could redefine volunteerism for an entire generation by creating an expectation of compensation for community service. Eaton added that Volunteer Toronto is disappointed the grant program is only available to students and recent graduates. It also only applies to people younger than 31.

The grant was announced Thursday as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled new spending on initiatives designed to help students during COVID-19 crisis.

Statistics Canada has reported the employment rate of Canadians aged 20 to 24 plummeted from almost 53 per cent in February to less than 30 per cent in April. In a survey of 100,000 post-secondary students this spring, the agency also found that 55 per cent of respondents who planned to continue working the job they had in March had either lost the job or been laid off two months later.

There are fewer jobs and co-op, internship and community service placements because of the pandemic, Trudeau told reporters Thursday morning.

If youre a student and new grad, were creating tens of thousands of jobs for you, Trudeau said. Were making sure that you can still learn new skills, gain valuable work experience, make money for the year ahead, and contribute to your community.

Trudeaus office said the federal government will spend $60 million to add another 10,000 jobs to the 70,000 positions already covered under the Canada Summer Jobs program; $186 million for another 20,000 spots through the Student Work Placement Program; and $40 million to create internships with small and medium businesses.

In April, the government also created a pandemic emergency benefit for students  which pays $1,250 per month, and up to $2,000 to students with disabilities or dependants  and suspended interest payments on student loans for six months.
Innisfree's cosmetic products (top) used cauliflower mushrooms for their skin rejuvenation efficacy. SCINIC's soothing essence used sea wind-dried wormwoods from Geomun Island for its skin soothing product.





By Ko Dong-hwan







The herb Robert

Korean environment minister Cho Myung-rae said the government is betting on biomaterial technologies as a key future sustainable asset.







He made the comment after visiting a cosmetics research and manufacturing firm in Seongnam that uses biomaterials as ingredients, Thursday.







Cho's visit to Cosmax in the Gyeonggi provincial city was his fifth since February to local companies that use eco-friendly technologies in power generation, sewage disposal and other areas.







He visited Cosmax after the ministry on June 3 allocated 37.6 billion won ($31.3 million) of 695.1 billion won it requested from the National Assembly for its third supplementary budget this year to support the country's biomaterial sector.







The ministry's projects include selecting about 120 companies to benefit from the government's support, building a "test-bed" infrastructure of 11,000 square meters at the Tech Hive business park for environmental companies in Incheon, and research-and-development for biomaterial technologies to tap into more sectors of cosmetics and medicines.







The ministry also anticipates the industry, which uses sustainable natural materials to create products and fuels, can replace chemical products and fossil fuels that contribute to ecological damage.







"The biomaterial industry is the most futuristic and a core industry to ramp up the country's global competitiveness," Cho said.







Cosmax last year applied for a patent to verify  with the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR)  the efficacy of the herb Robert's extract in anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory and skin regeneration.







The company also used cauliflower fungus from Jeju Island, which has skin rejuvenation effects, for Korean cosmetic brand Innisfree's products, and the skin soothing effect of wind-dried wormwoods from Geomun Island in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, for SCINIC's soothing essence.







The original development manufacturing (ODM) firm  delivering its products to local sellers and distributors  has some 600 buyers worldwide and recorded almost 1.3 trillion won in sales in 2019.







The number of Korea's native natural materials found to be good for biomaterial development number 153 as of May, according to NIBR and the National Institute of Nakdonggang River Biological Resources. Among them, 76 were found useful for their anti-oxidization effect and 68 for anti-inflammatory properties.







NIBR shared with The Korea Times a list of 148 registered patents in the country, as well as in the United States and the Europe, that are based on more than 100 natural materials including beautyberry tree, red clover, wasp spider and frog embryo.


A healthcare worker who spent 12 years and thousands of dollars on treatments to cure her acne has transformed her skin in weeks with a $45 supplement from one of Australia's leading health food labels.

Brittany Hodder, 24, developed severe issues with her skin at the age of 12.

The enrolled nurse from Townsville, northeastern Queensland, suffered from painful cysts, redness, oiliness and extreme sensitivity, but dermatologists could never determine the cause of her problems.

Desperate to achieve a clear complexion, Ms Hodder paid for expensive sessions of microdermabrasion and laser therapy and invested in best-selling skincare products, but nothing made the slightest difference.

'At times I gave up because there was nothing that helped,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

Scroll down for video

Queensland nurse Brittany Hodder before (left) and weeks after (right) starting a course of $45 JSHealth Skin + Digestion tablets

But in early June, just weeks after she started taking JSHealth Skin + Digestion tablets, Ms Hodder saw a huge improvement.

'I noticed that my skin wasn't as oily anymore and felt smoother,' she said.

Developed by Sydney nutritionist Jessica Sepel, the Skin + Digestion tablets are laced with zinc and vitamins B2 and C which have been proven to relieve inflammation and reduce the severity of pimples over time.

This cocktail of minerals also speeds up cell and tissue repair, collagen production and wound healing, which allows skin to recover faster from breakouts and reduces the risk of infection around spots.

JSHealth Skin + Digestion tablets laced with zinc and vitamins B2 and C, which are proven to relieve inflammation and reduce the severity of pimples over time

JSHealth founder Jessica Sepel, a nutritionist from Sydney who specialises in natural solutions for chronic health issues

The tablets are available from the JSHealth Vitamins website along with a range of other supplements that claim to strengthen hair, eliminate bloating and ease anxiety.

Ms Hodder is proof of its efficacy, with friends remarking that she skin looks clearer and less inflamed than it has in years.

She said the tablets which she takes twice a day have also strengthened her hair and improved her digestion and given her the clearest complexion she's had in her adult life.

'I've had so many compliments about my skin lately. So many people have commented that I don't have redness anymore, and how healthy and beautiful my skin is looking,' she said.

Ms Hodder said the vitamins have given her 'a confidence boost I've never had before' and is 'honestly amazed' by the rapid results after so many years of trial and error.

And she's not the only woman attesting to the power of the supplements.

JSHealth customer Rose, who took sent the brand these progress photos to show how its supplements had changed her skin

Customer Jo, who saw this incredible change in her complexion just three weeks after she started taking the zinc and vitamin B laced tablets

Last month, another first-time customer who gave her name as Rose sent a direct message to JSHealth's Instagram account to prove how quickly the tablets had altered her spot-prone skin.

'I wasn't expecting such a dramatic and noticeable change but I'm someone who likes to monitor my progress and I was amazed to see how my skin turned out,' she said.

'I'm so glad I found your brand. It has helped significantly with my combination acne and eczema-prone skin.'

Customer Jo agreed, saying the supplement has given her 'clear, smooth and glowing' skin for the first time ever.

Instructions on the brand's website advise taking one tablet with breakfast and another with lunch. It cautions against taking them at night as the ingredients can disrupt sleep.
A Fort Erie man has been placed on probation for 12 months in connection with a road rage incident on the Queen Elizabeth Way which left a motorist with a serious facial fractures.

Shane Moore, 37, pleaded guilty Thursday in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines to a charge of assault causing bodily harm stemming from a July 5, 2019, incident on the QEW near Lyons Creek Road.

The defendant and another male were driving in the southbound lanes in Niagara Falls when their manner of driving annoyed each other and they pulled over to the right shoulder, said assistant Crown attorney Grace Pang.

Several independent witnesses provided statements to police, court heard, which offered different versions of events. Several people told police the victim ran at the defendant and threw the first punch.

All of the witnesses described Moore as a younger, larger and more muscular man than the 53-year-old victim.

Court heard Moore then punched the man, resulting in facial fractures requiring the insertion of eight plates to repair the damage.

Defence counsel Brenda Sandulak said the victim instigated the confrontation and her client acted in self-defence.

She said Moore sustained serious injuries following a motorcycle accident several years ago and had been told any further injury to his head could have fatal consequences.

He is quite remorseful the one punch did that level of damage, she told the judge.

In an unrelated matter, a 31-year-old Mississauga man pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving and driving while impaired in connection with another incident on the highway.

A number of people called police Feb. 5, 2019, to report a motorist was driving erratically and at a high rate of speed on the QEW.

When the car left the highway and entered an on-ramp in Grimsby, court heard, he rear-ended a slower-moving vehicle, resulting in significant injuries to the other driver.

Police questioned the driver, Wade Harris, and found him to be under the influence of a drug.

A subsequent drug test indicated Harris had cannabis and MDMA in his system. He was also found with 15 grams of marijuana in his pocket.

Harris is expected to return to court Oct. 5 for sentencing.
Orchid Underwriters Agency, LLC, an independent managing general underwriters focused on catastrophe-exposed residential and commercial lines properties, has launched CrossCover Insurance Services, a new MGU that will underwrite middle-market commercial properties for wholesale broker clients.

Formed in partnership with Scott Hanson, a veteran property insurance executive, CrossCover is a new MGU set to launch early next year, according to Brad Emmons, Orchid Insurance president and CEO. Hanson serves as president of CrossCover and most recently held dual responsibilities as chief underwriting officer and chief capacity officer at AmRisc.

According to Hanson, Orchid will enable CrossCover to provide underwriting transparency and accurate, timely portfolio metrics through its existing portfolio tools and infrastructure.

We believe that the current market loss results reflect an excessive focus on CAT-driven accounts, at the exclusion of other profitable E&S business, as well as an over-dependency on CAT modeling results, Hanson said. We are hiring occupancy class experts to write both non-CAT as well as CAT accounts that consider modeling results in combination with their class expertise, and knowledge of the risk.

Hanson said in doing so CrossCover will deliver a diverse portfolio and better loss results.

Founded in 1998 and based in Vero Beach, FL, Orchid Insurance provides specialty insurance products for homeowners and businesses throughout the United States, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. Personal and commercial property insurance products are available including wind and wind-only, general liability, primary and excess flood, earthquake, builders risk, and others. Orchid Insurance has expertise in the E&S market with coastal-exposed risks and coastal CAT-exposed market areas in the East and Gulf Coast states. In 2018 private equity group TowerBrook Capital Partners made a majority investment in Orchid.

TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P. is an international investment management firm with more than $12.4 billion assets under management, is based in New York and London. The firm focuses on investing in North American and European companies through private equity and structured opportunities strategies.

Topics InsurTech Excess Surplus Insurance Wholesale Startups
Nearly half of schools have reported access to broadband and technology as being a problem during the coronavirus lockdown.

New ESRI research shows students from disadvantaged areas and those with special needs have suffered the most from the switch to remote learning.

It found that students from DEIS schools and rural areas had less access to the technology needed to engage with online learning.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, ESRI Research officer Dr Gretta Mohan said the pandemic has thrown the digital divide into sharp relief.

Students of schools located in areas with poorer broadband and lower incomes have less access in their homes to information and communication technology, she said.

That is the laptops, computers and broadband that have been used for distance learning over the Covid-19 school closures.

The fear is that these students are more disadvantaged and have missed out on their learning outcomes over the three months.

She said the divide means students in Irelands cities have a clear advantage over their rural counterparts.

When we split the schools by poorer broadband areas, which by-and-large are rural, we saw this issue of the digital divide much more prominently, she said.

57% had that issue compared to areas where they have more universal broadband and that would typically be urban areas or town centres so there has been a real split there.

She said Leaving Cert students were hardest-hit by the shutdown  with 84% of schools warning that it had negative effects on the wellbeing of their sixth years.

Meanwhile, up to 70% of schools said their Leaving Students motivation and engagement was a lot lower due to the pandemic.

The study was carried out in partnership with the Department of Communications and ComReg.

Communications Minister Richard Bruton said the findings underline the importance and urgency of rolling out the National Broadband Plan (NBP). We must bridge the divide between those who have access and those that do not, he said.

By providing high-speed broadband to every home and school in the country, the NBP will ensure that every child in the country has the same opportunity to access online resources.
The Supreme Court on Friday accepted the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) decision to scrap the examinations for Classes 10 and 12 scheduled to be held from July 1 to July 15, and gave a green signal to the alternative assessment scheme prepared by the board.

The results, based on the new scheme, will be declared by July 15.

As regards CBSE examinations, the CBSE has presented a draft notification for our consideration. After perusing the same and taking into account the suggestions given by the counsel appearing for the concerned parties, we see no difficulty in permitting CBSE to issue the said notification forthwith, the bench, led by justice AM Khanwilkar and also comprising justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna, said in its order.

The order was notified by CBSE on its website immediately after the conclusion of the hearing.

Before Covid-19 forced the suspension of examinations, at least 23 papers were pending for Class 12 students [12 across India and 11 in northeast Delhi]; while the six pending papers for Class 10 were only for students in north-east Delhi schools, where communal riots earlier in the year forced the process to be pushed back.

HT reported on the Friday that the assessments, under the new scheme for the cancelled papers, will work in the following way: If a student appeared for more than three subjects before the examinations were suspended, an average score will be calculated taking into account the three subjects in which the student scored highest. This will be allotted to the remaining subjects. For those who appeared in three examinations, the average will be based on the two highest scoring subjects and allotted to the remaining papers. For those who appeared in less than 3 exams, results will be calculated based on the marks in the appeared subjects along with their performance in internal/ practical/ project assessment.

CBSE said it will also conduct an optional examination for Class 12 students -- in subjects where exams were cancelled -- when conditions become conducive. Students can opt to write this optional exam if they wish to improve the score secured based on the assessment scheme.

Since admissions to higher education institutions are either based on marks scored in school graduating examinations or require pass percentage in such examinations, the CBSEs scheme and the courts order will now enable students to apply and seek admissions in higher education institutions in India and abroad, once the results are declared on July 15.

Officials in the Delhi University (DU) on Friday said that they would consider the boards alternative plan of evaluation for these subjects.

After the CBSE halted the exams due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it came out with a notification on May 18 saying exams for the remaining subjects would be held from July 1 to July 15.

This was challenged before the Supreme Court by four parents who submitted that their children would be exposed to Covid-19 if they were to appear for the exam.

The [CBSE] notification for holding of the remaining examinations and that too in the month of July 2020, wherein as per the AIIMS data, the said COVID-19 pandemic would be at its peak, is arbitrary, the petition had stated.

Solicitor general (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBSE, informed the top court on Thursday about the decision taken by the board to scrap the remaining examinations. He had also filed an affidavit setting out the assessment scheme.

The court had then kept the matter for hearing on Friday for passing appropriate orders.

The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which holds the ICSE (Class 10) and ISC (Class 12) examinations, also accepted the suggestions of CBSE. The remaining ICSE and ISC examinations were scheduled from July 1 to 14, but have now been cancelled.

Senior counsel Jaideep Gupta, appearing for CISCE, told the court on Friday that it will extend the choice of giving optional exam to Class 10 students in addition to Class 12 students. The ICSE and ISC assessment scheme (for calculating marks for cancelled subjects) will also be different for that of CBSE, and will be notified on the website of CISCE within a week, Gupta told the court.

Rest of the stipulations in the draft notification of CBSE, referred to above, are acceptable to ICSE in principle, which would be reflected in the proposed notification to be issued by the ICSE in that behalf, the court said.

It is a historical moment. The Supreme Court by its intervention ensured that right to life of students is protected and I am thankful to the court for the same. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and I have to thank CBSE which did not treat this petition as an adversarial litigation. It came out with a pro-student scheme which could find use in future too, advocate Rishi Malhotra, who represented the parents before the Supreme Court, told HT.

Delhi Parents Association president Aparajita Gautam said parents are mostly relieved by the order since they were not in the favour of students appearing for their exams amid the pandemic.
BRIDGEPORT  A Stratford teenager is accused of firing multiple shots at two 14-year-old boys.

Jacob Hernandez, 19, of Wiklund Avenue, was arrested Thursday at his home. Police said he was found with a .38-caliber handgun that had previously been reported stolen and 16 bags of marijuana.

Hernandez was charged with stealing a firearm and sale of a controlled substance and two counts of attempted first-degree assault, two counts of risk of injury to a child and one count of first-degree reckless endangerment.

According to police, on Feb. 9, two 14-year-old Stratford boys had been out driving around in a friends car. When they got on Mt. Carmel Boulevard, another car pulled up alongside them and a man pointed a handgun at them from the passenger side window, police said.

Police said the teens bolted from the running car as a shot rang out. More shots went off as they ran down the street, police said.

The car was still there running when police arrived.

Police said they later found five spent bullet casings in the street.

One of the teens identified Hernandez as the shooter from a photo array, police said.

During Hernandezs arraignment hearing on Friday, Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Cornelius Kelly said Hernandez was suspected in other shootings in the area but when police went to question him in the teens shooting police, they learned he had apparently fled the state.

Hernandezs lawyer, John R. Gulash, urged Superior Court Judge Kevin Russo to set a lenient bond, arguing that his client was prepared to live under house arrest with his mother. He later declined comment on the case as he left the Fairfield County Courthouse.

Russo ordered Hernandez held in lieu of $35,000 and continued the case to July 27.
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Linkedin Riza Roidila Mufti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 09:18 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661c3d64 1 Business Turkey,Indonesia,infrastructure-project,National-Strategic-Projects,Public-Works-and-Public-Housing-Ministry,investment,construction,new-capital,capital-relocation Free

The Turkish government and businesspeople have expressed their interest in building infrastructure in Indonesia, including for the new capital city to be developed in East Kalimantan.

Turkish Ambassador to Indonesia Mahmut Erol Kilic said only a few dozen Turkish companies were operating in Indonesia despite the latter being the worlds 16th biggest economy and the largest in Southeast Asia.

Of course, we have more capacity than this, especially in the field of constructon, as Turkey had really successful projects in Astana, in Doha and in many other [places], he said during the Turkey-Indonesia contracting sector business forum, which was held online on Tuesday. We are eager to enter the Indonesian market.

Indonesia has been extensively developing infrastructure in the last five years to help support its economic growth. Public Works and Housing Ministry data show that the government has built 1,500 kilometers of new toll roads, 3,867 km of other roads, 58,346 meters of new bridges and 61 water reservoirs during the period of 2015 to 2019.

According to the ministry, Indonesia plans to add 2,500 km of toll roads, 3,000 km of other roads, 60,000 m of bridges and 35,000 m of overpasses and underpasses from 2020 to 2024.

Indonesia currently has 223 key national projects worth around Rp 4.2 quadrillion (US$295.25 billion) on its priority list, ranging from seaports and airports to special economic zones and priority tourist destinations. Recently, the government announced a plan to add another 89 projects to the list for the next five years.

It also plans to move its capital city from Jakarta to North Penajam Paser in East Kalimantan, with construction to begin in 2021 and estimated to cost Rp 466 trillion.

Indonesias infrastructure development has captivated Turkish contractors as they are eager to expand their market in Asia after being involved in many projects in Eurasia and the Middle East.

We would like to diversify our market; we would like to find new markets, and we are more focused on Indonesia and the Phillipines, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said in the same event.

Turkish Contractor Association (TCA) data show that South Asia and Far East countries contributed only 3 percent to the more than 10,000 projects worth $403 billion in 127 countries that the associations members have had from 1972 up until May.

We hope our contractors can take part in [more Indonesian projects], especially with regard to moving the capital city. Our engineers and constructing companies are very much willing to take part in such projects, said Pekcan.

In addition, Turkish companies were interested in toll roads, energy facilities, waterworks and transportation-related infrastructure, he added.

Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuldjono encouraged both countries to have follow-up working groups to talk further about possible cooperation, such as on the trans-Sumatra toll road and water dam projects.

This is the opportunity for Turkish contractors to come and participate in constructing the toll road, either as contractors or as investors through public-private partnerships, said Basuki.

He also invited Turkish architects to see the new capitals urban planning design and welcomed future discussions.

Indonesian Ambassador to Turkey Lalu Muhammad Iqbal said it was the right moment to tighten bilateral ties as the Indonesia-Turkey trade volume was quite small at only $1.6 billion in 2019.

Meanwhile, Investment Coordinating Board (BPKM) data show that Turkeys total direct investment to Indonesia amounted to $24.8 million last year, placing Turkey 29th on the list of foreign direct investors.
Bengaluru, June 26 : Marijuana or ganja has emerged as the most peddled and seized drug in Karnataka in the first six months of 2020, said a police official on the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on Friday.

"As many as 510 ganja cases have been registered, leading to the seizure of 312 kg of ganja in 2020," Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Crime Branch, Kuldeep Jain told IANS.

Cases and seizures of other drugs paled in comparison to marijuana. Only one case each has been registered for brown sugar, opium and others.

Hashish was the only other seized narcotic which weighed more than a kg, at 17 kg while the rest of the drugs were all were under a kg.

Other banned substances included charas, cocaine and MDMA.

Police also seized 91 papers of LSD and 550 tablets belonging to the Yaba, Restyl, Anxit and Nitrosun category of drugs.

A total of 781 Indians and 14 foreigners have been arrested in the drugs cases.

Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Director General of Police Praveen Sood and Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao were among the officials who commemorated the event.

"Bommai reaffirmed the pledge to fight against drugs and continue the policy of zero tolerance," said Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil.

Police showcased the seized haul of drugs to Bommai in the past one year, who later rewarded the policemen involved in cracking the drugs cases.

"Karnataka Police has been taking strict action against the drug peddlers while at the same time creating awareness among youth," Patil said.

Police also roped in celebrities such as Milana Nagaraj, Darling Krishna and Anil Kumble to send across the message to give up drugs.
There are plenty of leftists swaggering these days. Cities have blazed, municipal and state governments have been humiliated, police forces are cowering, mighty corporations are trampling each other to apologize for things they had absolutely nothing to do with.

At first glance, this appears to be the lefts moment in the sun, something theyve looked forward to for many years, if not generations. Throughout the 20th century, the lefts problem with the United States was the lack of a proletariat to lead against the oppressors. The American working class was the farthest thing in the world from an oppressed  they lived better than all but the ruling classes in most societies. What did they have to revolt against? Thanks to this, a revolutionary situation simply refused to develop. No thesis, no antithesis, and certainly no synthesis. The Lefts recent history was a forlorn search for an American proletariat it could place itself at the head of. First it was labor unions, then the blacks, and lately college students. American blacks, who had in fact suffered true oppression, were the most dependable.

By 2020, it must have seemed to many that the moment had arrived. Institutions had been suitably debased. The country was suffering from a universal pandemic along with an economic crisis brought about an incompetent near-hysterical response from bogus experts in fields ranging from epidemiology to economics.

From the Lefts point of view, the murder of George Floyd (and it was a murder, the video allows no doubt about that) came as a godsend. [See update, below.] The Left immediately framed it as a racial crime, in the process obliterating the actual question, which has been staring us in the face for decades: why are psychopaths and demented narcissists allowed  not to say encouraged  to join police forces? (In particular, police forces in ultra-blue municipalities such as NYC, Baltimore, and yes, Minneapolis.)

Thats all that needs to be said about George Floyd. Because Floyd, God rest him, is a pretext. It could have been anything or nothing that set the Left off. Antifa has been frothing at the mouth and raging for violence for years. (How is it that everyone has forgotten how Antifa and its related groups called for the uprising to begin each November 4th year after year?)

Murder went down, the pretext went live, and the hard Lefts plans went into effect. And theres no question that this planned -- the preplaced brick supplies, weapons caches, and communications on social media allow no other conclusion.

We cant overlook the obvious desperation here either. Early this year the Orange Godzilla stood in pure triumph. Every last single effort to take down Donald Trump  the emoluments clause, the 25th amendment, Russia collusion, Crossfire Hurricane in its various iterations, and finally that forgotten impeachment, I think the term is  ended in complete ignominy. Not just failure, not even catastrophe, but pure irrelevance. Not even COVID dented his popularity. With the pandemic tapering off, it became apparent that the accompanying economic slowdown was in fact a natural disaster recession, with a vee-shaped recovery coming rather the u-shape of a standard recession, or, God forbid, the lengthy rectangular shape of a true depression. Add in the fact that his Democrat opponent a half-senile ancient dogged with numerous ethical, sexual, and criminal scandals, and we can see why the Left was running scared.

The BLM uprising was designed to take out the president, based on the example of 1968, when Lyndon B. Johnson was forced to abandon his reelection campaign largely due to unending riots caused by racial antagonism and opposition to the Vietnam War.

The Left figured that once American cites were occupied by BLM and Antifa stormtroopers, Trump, being a racist and a tyrant, would immediately respond with a massive military intervention. This would in turn encourage further uprisings and enable the Left to play the fascist card in the leadup to the Fall elections.

But the Left assessed their opponent poorly. Instead of exploding, the President behaved like the leader of a federal republic, demanding that the states and cities fulfill their responsibilities to the citizenry while assuring the public that he was ready to move if necessary. The cities in which Antifa has run wild  Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis  are all hyperliberal environments to which the President owes nothing and whose governments have uniformly displayed contempt for Trump personally along with sympathy for the insurgents. This left the President with absolutely no reason to intervene. To paraphrase a previous statesman who confronted similar problems  downtown Seattle is not worth the bones of single National Guardsman.

Trumps response has confused a lot of people. Weve become so ingrained to an overactive federal government leaping into action every time a tree branch falls that a lack of response seems strange, even though thats how our system is designed to work. The mayors and governors are supposed to put their fingers in the dyke while the feds make the arrangements for further repairs. This has not been the practice since the New Deal. Even some conservatives, who should know better, have criticized Trumps lack of abrupt action (Im speaking here of serious conservatives, not the #NeverTrump crowd). They need to remind themselves that the United States is not Imperial Rome.

As for the establishment Left -- the institutional leftists among pols, media, and NGOs, the ones who pose as liberals when its convenient -- the uprising has become a blow upon a bruise. The pandemic, and specifically the botched elite response to it, has exposed most Democrat state governors as either sloppy with peoples lives (Cuomo, Murphy, and Wolf), or thirsting for absolute power to an extent unacceptable to any sane individual (all the above, with Newsome, Whitmer, and Mills added). By April, the reputation of the Democrat political establishment lay in shambles, with further thrashing yet to come as cases involving businesses being ground under and granny being sent to the extermination center inevitably make their way to the courts.

The Antifa uprising simply carpet-bombed the rubble. To the panic, hysteria, and callousness of COVID we can add the gibbering idiocy of the current Dem leadership. Jay What, me worry? Insby had to take refuge in willful ignorance. Mayor Jenny Durkan burbled on about street festivals and the summer of love. Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis whimpered like a small child, while Chicagos Lori Lightfoot, a true Dem superstar, being black, female, and lesbian, was revealed as nothing more than a petulant, foulmouthed harridan. The American Left collapsed in the face of both great crises of 2020, and furthermore, they were seen to fail.

As for insurgents themselves  the flip side of the left-wing coin -- well, weve all seen The Road Warrior and Escape from New York. The fact that the best that the Left, the tribunes of the people, can come up with is a reflection of the worst dystopian nightmares of decades past speaks for itself. Warlord Raz Simone handing out beatings, the extortion of merchants and shopowners, random shootings, everyday working people crouching in terror behind their locked doors as the black-clad Antifa goons parade outside. How can this possibly be spun in any positive way?

How to explain this? How did the party of FDR, Harry Truman, and JFK  or even such ineffectual but decent types as Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale -- come to this? The question beggars speculation, even from somebody who knows the left well. The best I can come up with is a comparison to the banzai charges of the late Pacific War, a crazed, screaming mass deprived of any rational alternative scrambling madly toward some impossible victory. We know how those worked out.

And where does it go from here? What could possibly be the next move? Does Joe Biden don a black ninja outfit? Does he choose some purple-haired loon as a running mate? Does he arrange for the Democratic convention to occur within CHAZ or CHUMP or whatever theyre calling it this week? In truth, the insurgents are likely to come to him. Their road leads nowhere else but to Chicago 1968.

And that is the way it should be. There is no move that the Dems or their leftist allies can make that is not even more catastrophic, more humiliating, and more revealing. The Antifa mob holds downtown Seattle? Let them keep it. The people of Seattle, and Milwaukee, and Chicago, voted for this  have been voting for it for decades  and now here it is. Its time to pay the piper. They deserve whatever theyve got coming, and I have no sympathy for them. No city and no state has any right to put the nation as a whole in jeopardy, and that is the end of it.

In the late 70s, New York City was on the verge of complete financial and moral collapse. In response, the city government begged the feds to effectively make NYC the first city to be put on what amounted to federal welfare. The feds, under the leadership of (of all people) Jerry Ford, told them, according to the Daily News to Drop Dead. This shock treatment kicked off a slow and grueling climb out of the abyss that led through Ed Koch to Rudy Giuliani. The fact that theyve thrown it away in the past two decades is neither here nor there. Thats how its done, and Seattle, Milwaukee and Chicago must follow that path. They made their beds  they created a situation in which they could be utilized as weapons by hard leftists against the rest of the country. Its up to them, and nobody else, to make it right.

The left is notorious for complete self-delusion. So let them swagger. Antifa has already been declared a terrorist organization. Arrests and indictments will follow. The investigations will undoubtedly uncover some very interesting connections to our elites. Antifa and BLM, like all revos, will have to learn what it means to go underground.

UPDATE 2021.04.08: With new information available -- the coroner's report about the drugs in Floyd's system and the body cam showing that Chauvin had pressure on Floyd's shoulder, not his neck -- it is no longer reasonable to believe that Chauvin murdered Floyd. American Thinker's subsequent articles reflect this changed point of view based upon the new information.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Amidst mounting tensions between India and China, Power and renewable energy minister R K Singh on Thursday said that his ministry has proposed a 20-25 per cent basic customs duty (BCD) on solar modules from August this year and a 10-15 per cent BCD on solar cells in an effort to cut down on import dependence.

China is one of the largest sources of solar equipment for Indian solar projects and solar modules generally account for over 60 per cent of a projects cost. According to the minister, these duty levels will be for the first year, after which the levies will be gradually increased to as much as 40 per cent. Singh made the announcement during a press conference, noting that this was being done specifically to discourage imports from China.

He added that the government will place a clear trajectory for the duty increases to make sure there was no uncertainty in the policy. The new BCD will be imposed after the earlier safeguard duty of 15 per cent on solar cells and modules lapses at end of July this year. This duty had been imposed in July 2018 in an effort to protect domestic manufacturers from the sharp rise in imports from China and Malaysia for a two-year term.

The sheer dependence of the sector on Chinese products may make the duty increases costly for solar power projects, say to experts. India imports over 85 per cent of its solar equipment requirements, with around $1.18 billion worth of modules and cells imported from China in FY20 as of December 31, 2019.

Meanwhile, ratings agency ICRA in a report said that the lack of scale and backward integration in the domestic manufacturing process is likely to pose constraints on the governments plans to increase local solar equipment manufacturing.
Over 3.6 lakh Indians have returned to India from abroad after the government launched the ''Vande Bharat'' evacuation mission on May 7 in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said a total number of 5,13,047 Indians have registered their request with Indian missions abroad for repatriation to India on compelling grounds. Of the people who have registered, 3,64,209 have returned under this Mission as of today, he said.

Repatriations from neighbouring countries have also been happening through land borders, he added. "More than 84,000 Indians have returned through land border immigration checkpoints from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh," the MEA spokesperson said.

"In the first three phases of the Vande Bharat Mission, around 875 international flights were scheduled for operation from over 50 countries across five continents. So far, more than 700 of these flights have reached India, repatriating around 1,50,000 Indians," Srivastava said. The remaining 175 flights under the Phase 3 are expected to reach in the coming days, he said.

These Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flights have been instrumental in addressing the immediate requirements of stranded Indians from many parts of the world, Srivastava said. "We are committed to bringing back our remaining compatriots particularly in the GCC countries, Malaysia, Singapore among other places. In order to continue with our efforts, Phase IV of VBM is being firmed up with effect from July 3, 2020," he said.

"Phase IV will particularly focus on countries where we still have a large number of Indians who have registered to return," Srivastava said. Apart from these, chartered flight operations which commenced on May 26, have steadily increased over the past weeks, he said.

These flights have also brought back seafarers and crews of shipping companies stranded in various places, Srivastava said. "Till date, 1,30,061 persons have returned on these flights. Demand for these flights remains very high especially in the Gulf region. Therefore, we are moving to further streamline the process," Srivastava said.

Noting that repatriations through naval ships have also been part of this mission, he said one such repatriation is presently underway. INS Jalashwa reached Port of Bandar Abbas in Iran on June 24 to bring back Indian citizens and their embarkation was to commence on Thursday, Srivastava said.

Asked about Kerala government's suggestion that COVID-19 testing of those returning on Vande Bharat flights be done, Srivastava said after consulting Indian missions in the Gulf countries, the MEA told the state government that there are practical difficulties in this regard. "At present only UAE has arrangements for full testing, Qatar provides for limited testing and in other countries in the region prior testing is not possible as there are issues related to cost, time and availability of testing," he said.

Also read: Unlock 2.0: International flight operations likely to resume, say sources
The U.S. State Department on Thursday designated North Korea as one of the worst human trafficking nations for the 18th consecutive year.



The U.S. State Department on Thursday designated North Korea as one of the worst human trafficking nations for the 18th consecutive year.



The department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report said the North Korean government did not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and did not make significant efforts to do so, leaving it in the lowest category of Tier 3.



"During the reporting period, there was a government policy or pattern of forced labor in mass mobilizations of adults and children, in prison camps as part of an established system of political repression, in labor training centers, and through its imposition of forced labor conditions on DPRK overseas contract workers," the report said, referring to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.



"It used proceeds from state-sponsored forced labor to fund government functions, as well as other illicit activity. The government did not demonstrate any efforts to address human trafficking," it added.






AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets has completed, on behalf of clients, the forward purchase of a 919-unit affordable housing for rent portfolio in the Madrid region of Spain for 150 million. The portfolios vendors are Tectum Real Estate, a dedicated build to rent company, and Locare Real Estate, a

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Or consider Australia, whose economy has benefited enormously from Chinas rise. As a result, Canberra had sought friendly relations with Beijing. No more. Australian officials reportedly suspect China of mounting a string of cyberattacks against the country, while reports also suggest Beijing has intimidated Chinese students studying there to remain loyal and used Chinese businessmen in the country as agents of influence. In 2017, Australias head of domestic intelligence, Duncan Lewis, testified to its Parliament that foreign interference  meaning Chinese  was occurring on an unprecedented scale and had the potential to cause serious harm to the nations sovereignty, the integrity of our political system, our national security capabilities, our economy and other interests. More recently, after Australia called for an inquiry into the origins of the novel coronavirus, China moved to restrict Australian imports and discourage tourism there, while state media said Australia was gum stuck on the sole of Chinas shoes.
STOCKHOLM, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The shareholders of Bambuser AB, reg. no. 556731-3126, (the "Company"), are hereby convened to the extra general meeting to be held on Monday 13 July 2020, at 10.00 at Baker McKenzie's premises at Vasagatan 7 in Stockholm.

Information with respect to the coronavirus

Due to the development of the coronavirus the goal is that the extra general meeting shall be swift and effective to minimize spread of disease. Shareholders should carefully consider the possibility to vote in advance, please see below, as well as the possibility of participating by way of proxy or video. 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, have visited a risk area, or belong to a risk group, are in particular encouraged to utilize such possibility. The board of directors of the Company has resolved on the following measures to minimize the risk of the spread of the coronavirus at the extra general meeting:

Possibility to vote in advance and participate remotely via video.

|Registration for the general meeting will commence at 09.45.

External guests will not be invited.

No food or refreshments will be served.

The Company follows the development and the recommendations of the authorities and will, if necessary, update the information about the extra general meeting on the Company's website, bambuser.com

Right to attend the extra general meeting and notice

Shareholders wishing to attend the extra general meeting must:

i. on the record date, which is Tuesday 7 July 2020, be registered in the share register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB. Shareholders, whose shares are registered in the name of a nominee, must temporarily register the shares in their own name at Euroclear Sweden AB. Shareholders whose shares are registered in the name of a nominee, therefore must, no later than on Tuesday 7 July 2020, via their nominee, temporarily register the shares in their own name in order to be entitled to participate at the general meeting; and

ii. notify the participation at the general meeting no later than Tuesday 7 July 2020. Notice of participation at the general meeting shall be sent by regular mail to EGM, Bambuser AB, Baker & McKenzie Advokatbyra KB, Attn: Ian Gulam, Box 180, 101 23 Stockholm or by e-mail to [email protected]. Upon notification, the shareholder should state their full name, personal identification number or corporate registration number, address and telephone number, and, where applicable, details of representatives, proxy holders and advisors. A shareholder who wishes to be represented by proxy shall issue a written and dated proxy to the proxy holder. If the proxy is issued by a legal entity, a certified copy of the registration certificate or corresponding document ("Registration Certificate") shall be enclosed. The proxy must not be more than one year old, however, the proxy may be older if it is stated that it is valid for a longer term, maximum five years.The proxy in original and the Registration Certificate, if any, must be available at the general meeting and a copy should well before the meeting be sent to the Company by regular mail or e-mail at the address stated above, and should, in order to facilitate the entrance to the general meeting, be at the Company's disposal no later than on Tuesday 7 July 2020. A form proxy will be available for downloading on the Company's website bambuser.com.

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. The Company 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 spread of the infection.

A special form shall be used for advance voting. The form is available on bambuser.com. 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 Tuesday 7 July 2020. The completed and signed form shall be sent to the address stated under "Right to attend the general meeting and notice" 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. The same apply for shareholders voting in advance by proxy. The shareholder may not provide special instructions or conditions in the voting form. If so, the vote is invalid.

Further instructions and conditions is included in the form for advance voting.

Attend remotely

The shareholders might attend the extra general meeting either physically, in person or by proxy, or remotely (via video conference) and vote in advance. Those who are willing to attend the extra general meeting remotely and would like to utilize their voting rights can do so by participating in person, via video conference, via proxy or vote in advance. The Company will distribute the video conference details to the shareholders that have notified the Company of their intention to attend the general meeting remotely, no later than on Friday 10 July 2020.

Proposed agenda

1. Opening of the meeting and election of the chairman of the general meeting

2. Preparation and approval of voting list

3. Approval of the agenda

4. Election of one person to certify the minutes

5. Determination of whether the general meeting has been duly convened

6. Resolution regarding approval of the board of directors' resolution to issue shares

7. Resolution regarding approval of the board of directors' resolution to issue shares

8. Resolution regarding Stock Option program 2020

A. Resolution regarding adoption of performance-based stock option program

B. Resolution regarding issue of warrants

C. Resolution regarding transfer/disposal of the warrants to the participants or otherwise to third parties

D. Resolution regarding authorization for the board of directors to resolve to issue warrants to a third party

9. Resolution regarding Stock Option program to CEO 2020

A. Resolution regarding adoption of performance-based stock option program

B. Resolution regarding issue of warrants

C. Resolution regarding transfer/disposal of the warrants to the participants or otherwise to third parties

D. Resolution regarding authorization for the board of directors to resolve to issue warrants to a third party

10. Resolution regarding issue authorization

11. Establishment of the number of members of the board of directors, establishment of fees for members of the board of directors and election of members of the board of directors

12. Closing of the meeting

Proposals for resolutions:

Item 1: Opening of the meeting and election of the chairman of the general meeting

The board of directors proposes that Joakim Falkner, attorney at law, Baker & McKenzie Advokatbyra, is appointed as chairman of the general meeting.

Item 6: Resolution regarding approval of the board of directors' resolution to issue shares

The board of directors proposes that the extra general meeting resolves to approve the board of directors' resolution to issue a maximum of 41,123,392 shares, without preferential rights for the Company's shareholders dated on 25 June 2020 in accordance with the following:

The total increase of the Company's share capital can amount to a maximum of SEK 2,056,169.60.

The subscription price for the new shares shall be SEK 0.050 per share, corresponding to the quota value of the share, in total SEK 2,056,169.60 if all shares are subscribed for.

Right to subscribe for the new shares, without the shareholders' preferential rights, shall be attributed to Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ) for transfer to the investors who have notified their interest in the accelerated book-building procedure carried out by Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ).

Subscription shall be made at a subscription list on 13 July 2020. The board of directors is entitled to extend the subscription period.

Payment for subscribed shares shall be made to a designated account no later than 14 July 2020. The board of directors is entitled to extend the last day for payment.

The new shares will entitle to dividends for the first time on the record date for dividends that occurs following the registration of the new shares with the Swedish Companies Registration Office and Euroclear Sweden AB.

The reason for the new share issue of shares, with deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights, is to diversify the shareholder base among Swedish and international institutional investors and at the same time raise capital in a time efficient manner and at attractive terms in order to enable the continuous expansion. The proceeds from the share issue are intended to e.g., to be used to increase the growth of the Company's operations through primarily appointing new resources in an accelerated tempo. This is to deal with the increased interest from new customers as well as to faster facilitate expansion to new markets. Furthermore, the Company intends to continue to increase the technological advantage and ensure a leading market position. The subscription price has been determined to the quota value of the shares.

The board of directors or anyone appointed by the board of directors is given the right to make the adjustments necessary in connection with the registration of the resolution at the Companies Registration Office and Euroclear Sweden AB.

Item 7: Resolution regarding approval of the board of directors' resolution to issue shares

The board of directors proposes that the extra general meeting resolves to approve the board of directors' resolution to issue a maximum of 2,793,391 shares, without preferential rights for the Company's shareholders dated on 25 June 2020 in accordance with the following:

The total increase of the Company's share capital can amount to a maximum of SEK 139,669.55.

The subscription price for the new shares shall be SEK 0.050 per share, corresponding to the quota value of the share, in total SEK 139,669.55 if all shares are subscribed for.

Right to subscribe for the new shares, without the shareholders' preferential rights, shall be attributed to Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ) for transfer to Joel Citron, chairman of the board, and Murifield Invest AB (a company associated with board member Carl Kinell) who has notified his interest in the accelerated book-building procedure carried out by Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ).

Subscription shall be made at a subscription list on 13 July 2020. The board of directors is entitled to extend the subscription period.

Payment for subscribed shares shall be made to a designated account no later than 14 July 2020. The board of directors is entitled to extend the last day for payment.

The new shares will entitle to dividends for the first time on the record date for dividends that occurs following the registration of the new shares with the Swedish Companies Registration Office and Euroclear Sweden AB.

The reason for the new share issue of shares, with deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights, is as part of the offer in accordance with the board resolution from 25 June 2020 to issue shares pursuant to the authorization granted by the annual general meeting and item 6 to include the chairman of the board and Murifield Invest AB in the accelerated book-building procedure. The subscription price has been determined to the quota value of the shares.

The board of directors or anyone appointed by the board of directors is given the right to make the adjustments necessary in connection with the registration of the resolution at the Companies Registration Office and Euroclear Sweden AB.

Item 8: Resolution regarding Stock Option program 2020

The board of directors of the Company proposes that the extra general meeting resolves to increase the proposal presented for the extra general meeting on 3 July 2020 to adopt a stock option program for certain of the employees in the Bambuser Group domiciled within and outside of Sweden (the "Stock Option Program 2020") in accordance with the below.

The purpose with increasing the already presented proposal is to adjust for the dilution following from the share issues in accordance with the board's resolution on 25 June 2020 and item 6 and 7 for certain of the participants. As also stated in the proposal for the extra general meeting on 3 July 2020 the proposal is to create conditions to retain and increase motivation with senior executives, employees and other key individuals in the Company. The board of directors believes that it is in the interest of all shareholders that senior executives, employees and other key individuals, which are assessed to be of importance for the development of the Company, have a long-term interest of a positive value growth in the Company's shares. Through the program, a long-term ownership engagement is expected, which stimulates an increased interest in the business and the earnings development in general as well as increasing the motivation for the participants.

8. A Resolution regarding adoption of performance-based stock option program

The following terms shall apply to the Stock Option Program 2020:

A maximum of 1,021,301 additional stock options may be allotted to the participants in the Stock Option Program 2020. Allotment shall occur as soon as practicably possible following the approval by the general meeting.

Allocation shall comprise approximately 43 employees in the Bambuser group. The participants are divided into different categories based on size and responsibility classification of roles within the group. In accordance with the principles and assumptions stated herein, allocation will occur in the following way, in addition to the proposal presented for the extra general meeting on 3 July 2020:

Senior Executives consisting of up to 6 positions, of which each may be offered an additional maximum of 170,217 stock options, totalling a maximum of 500,000 stock options per person together with the proposal for the extra general meeting on 3 July.

1/3 of the allotted Stock Options will vest 12 months (the year 2021) after the time of the allotment, an additional 1/3 will vest 12 months thereafter (the year 2022) and an additional 1/3 will vest 12 months thereafter (the year 2023).

Allocation of stock options is in each case conditional upon (i) that the relevant participants' employment with the Company or its subsidiaries has not been terminated or discontinued and (ii) that the participant has entered into a stock option holder agreement with the Company. The Board of Directors shall ensure that the agreements with the participants contain terms that prohibit transfers or pledges of the stock options and that stock options not yet vested will, subject to certain exceptions, be forfeited should the employee no longer be employed in the Company or the subsidiaries.

The stock options shall be allotted to the participants free of charge.

Exercise of the stock options is conditional upon that the market value, corresponding to the average volume weighted price for the Company's share, from and including August 1st, 2023 up and including August 15th, 2023, of one share in the Company being at least SEK 5.00. The Board of Directors shall be entitled to recalculate the performance condition in the event of corporate actions that justify such a recalculation and to adjust the performance condition if special circumstances occur, whereby the adjustment shall aim to maintain an appropriate target level and not make it harder or easier to satisfy the performance condition.

After the Stock Options have been granted and vested, and provided that the performance condition has been fulfilled, each stock option entitles the holder a right to, during the period September 1st, 2023 up and including October 31st, 2023, as decided by the Company, either (a) acquire one (1) share in the Company to a price corresponding to the quota value (the current quota value is SEK 0.05 per share) or, (b) free of charge be allocated a warrant which entitles to subscription of one (1) share in the Company to a price corresponding to the quota value.

Participation in the Stock Option Program 2020 is in each case conditional upon that such participation is legally possible as well as possible with reasonable administrative cost and financial efforts according to the assessment of the Company.

The Board of Directors shall be responsible for preparing the agreements with the participants and the administration of the Stock Option Program 2020. In connection therewith, the Board of Directors may make adjustments in order to fulfil specific rules or market conditions outside Sweden. Further, in extraordinary cases, the Board of Directors is entitled to limit the extent of the Stock Option Program 2020, or terminate the Stock Option Program 2020 in advance, in whole or in part.

The number of shares that may be acquired for each Stock Option shall be recalculated in the event of share splits, rights issues and similar corporate actions with the aim that the economic value of a Stock Option shall be unaffected by such actions.

Dilution and costs etc.

The maximum dilution as a result of the Stock Option Program 2020, including the warrants proposed to be issued in accordance with the proposal for the extra general meeting on 3 July 2020 and warrants that may be issued pursuant to the authorization according to item 8.D, will not exceed 0,82 per cent of the outstanding shares in the Company. The dilution has been calculated as additional shares in relation to current and additional shares.

For information regarding the Company's other share-based incentive programs and outstanding warrants, please refer to the Company's annual report, see page 6.

Upon reaching the performance criteria for the share price, the Stock Option Program 2020 may entail costs in form of social security contributions. The total costs for social security contributions will depend on the number of warrants that will be vested and on the value of the benefit that the participant finally will receive, i.e. on the value of the warrants when utilized 2023. Based on the assumption that all warrants will be vested, an assumed share price of SEK 12.5 when the warrants are utilized, and an assumed average social security rate of approximately 31.42 percent, the total costs for social security contributions will amount to approximately SEK 4 million. The Company intends to hedge the entire cost of social security contributions through the issue of Warrants, which is why the Board of Directors proposes authorizations in accordance with item 8.D.

The total cost for the Stock Option Program 2020 will be distributed over the years 2020-2023. Since 1/3 of the options vest per year, the cost will be distributed over the period. Given the above assumptions, and that the program had been introduced in 2019 instead, it is calculated that the yearly costs for Option Program 2020/2023 will amount to approximately 11 percent in relation to the Company's salary costs for employees (including social security contributions) for the 2019 financial year. (The company's average number of employees during 2019 was 13 people. As of May 31, 2020, the company has 25 employees. The company has previously announced that it intends to significantly strengthen the organization by increasing the number of employees.) The majority of the costs does not have an impact on the Company's cash flows.

Preparation of proposal

The Board of Directors has prepared the Stock Option Program 2020 in consultation with external advisors and the Company's main shareholders. The suggested plan is supported by the Company's main shareholders.

8.B Resolution regarding issue of warrants

In order to secure the delivery of shares pursuant to the Stock Option Program 2020, the Board of Directors proposes that the Company, issues a maximum of 1,021,301 warrants, entitling to subscription of new ordinary shares in the Company as follows and possibly increase the share capital with maximum SEK 51,065.05 after full exercise of the warrants.

The right to subscribe for the warrants shall, with deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights, be granted to the, by the Company, wholly owned subsidiary Bambuser Incentive AB (the "Subsidiary"), with the right and obligation to dispose the warrants according to item 8.A and 8.C.

The reason for the deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights is that the issue of warrants ensures delivery of shares to the participants in the Stock Option Program 2020.

The warrants shall be issued free of charge.

Subscription of the warrants shall take place within eight weeks from the date of the resolution to issue warrants. The Board of Directors shall have right to extend the subscription period.

The warrants may be exercised for subscription of shares during the period September 1st, 2023 up and including October 31st, 2023.

Each warrant shall entitle subscription to one (1) share at a subscription price corresponding to the quota value of the share (the current quota value is SEK 0.05). Recalculation may occur in accordance with the "Terms and Conditions for Warrants 2020/2023:3", which are held available at the Company and the Company's website.

The newly issued shares that are issued after exercise of warrants shall entitle to dividend for the first time on first the record date that occurs after completion of subscription.

Otherwise, for the warrants, terms and conditions presented in "Terms and Conditions for Warrants 2020/2023:1" shall apply.

The Board of Directors, or the person that the Board of Directors may appoint, shall be authorized to make the adjustments as may be required in connection with registration with the Swedish Companies Registration Office.

8.C Resolution regarding transfer/disposal of the warrants to the participants or otherwise to third parties

The board of directors also proposes that the subsidiary may transfer/dispose of the warrants to the participants or otherwise to third parties for the purpose of delivering shares to the participants in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Stock Option Program 2020. The subsidiary may only transfer/dispose of the warrants for this purpose.

8.D Resolution regarding authorization for the board of directors to resolve to issue warrants to a third party

The board of directors furthermore proposes that the general meeting resolves to authorize the Board of Directors to resolve to issue no more than 320,893 warrants to subscribe for common shares to a bank or securities company, all on the terms set out for the Stock Option Program 2020. The purpose of the authorization and the reason for the deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights is to have the option to hedge the Company's exposure against social security costs incurred in connection with the Stock Option Program 2020, by way of, to a third party with whom the Company has an agreement, issue warrants which can be exercised to subscribe shares that thereafter are sold at market value.

The warrants shall be issued free of charge. Each warrant shall entitle to subscription of one (1) share in the Company, thus, the share capital will increase with maximum SEK 16,044.65 after full exercise of the warrants.

The right to subscribe for the warrants shall, with deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights, be granted to a Swedish bank or Swedish securities company.

The warrants may be exercised for subscription of shares from September 1st, 2023 up and including October 31st, 2023.

Each warrant entitles the holder to subscription of one (1) share at a subscription price corresponding to the quota value (the current quota value is SEK 0.05). Recalculation may occur in accordance with the complete warrant conditions.

The Board of Directors, or the person that the Board of Directors may appoint, shall be authorized to make the adjustments as may be required in connection with registration with the Swedish Companies Registration Office.

Item 9: Resolution regarding Stock Option program 2020

The board of directors of the Company proposes that the extra general meeting resolves to increase the proposal presented for the extra general meeting on 3 July 2020 to adopt a stock option program for the CEO of Bambuser (the "Stock Option Program to CEO 2020") in accordance with the below.

The purpose with increasing the already presented proposal is to adjust for the dilution following from the share issues in accordance with the board's resolution from 25 June 2020 and item 6 and 7. As also stated in the proposal for the extra general meeting on 3 July 2020 the Stock Option Program to CEO 2020 is to within the framework of a Stock Option program offer the CEO, who does not represent any major shareholder, ownership in the Company. Furthermore, the purpose is to create privity between the Company's shareholders and CEO to work for that the company reaches its best possible business- and value growth.

9.A Resolution regarding adoption of performance-based stock option program

A maximum of 2,735,849 additional stock options may be allotted to the participants in the e Stock Option Program to CEO 2020. Allotment shall occur as soon as practicably possible following the approval by the general meeting.

Allocation shall comprise only the CEO of Bambuser. In accordance with the principles and assumptions stated, CEO may be offered an additional maximum of 2,735,849 Stock Options.

1/3 of the allotted Stock Options will vest 12 months (the year 2021) after the time of the allotment, an additional 1/3 will vest 12 months thereafter (the year 2022) and an additional 1/3 will vest 12 months thereafter (the year 2023).

Allocation of Stock Options is in each case conditional upon (i) that the relevant participants' employment with the Company or its subsidiaries has not been terminated or discontinued and (ii) that the participant has entered into a stock option holder agreement with the Company. The Board of Directors shall ensure that the agreements with the participants contain terms that prohibit transfers or pledges of the Stock Options and that Stock Options not yet vested will, subject to certain exceptions, be forfeited should the employee no longer be employed in the Company or the subsidiaries.

The stock options shall be allotted to the participant free of charge.

Exercise of the stock options is conditional upon that the market value, corresponding to the average volume weighted price for the Company's share, from and including August 1st, 2023 up and including August 15th, 2023, of one share in the Company being at least SEK 5.00. The Board of Directors shall be entitled to recalculate the performance condition in the event of corporate actions that justify such a recalculation and to adjust the performance condition if special circumstances occur, whereby the adjustment shall aim to maintain an appropriate target level and not make it harder or easier to satisfy the performance condition.

After the Stock Options have been granted and vested, and provided that the performance condition has been fulfilled, each stock option entitles the holder a right to, during the period September 1st, 2023 up and including October 31st, 2023, as decided by the Company, either (a) acquire one (1) share in the Company to a price corresponding to the quota value (the current quota value is SEK 0.05 per share) or, (b) free of charge be allocated a warrant which entitles to subscription of one (1) share in the Company to a price corresponding to the quota value.

Participation in the Stock Option Program to CEO 2020 is in each case conditional upon that such participation is legally possible as well as possible with reasonable administrative cost and financial efforts according to the assessment of the Company.

The Board of Directors shall be responsible for preparing the agreement with the participant and the administration of the Stock Option Program to CEO 2020. In connection therewith, the Board of Directors may make adjustments in order to fulfil specific rules or market conditions outside Sweden. Further, in extraordinary cases, the Board of Directors is entitled to limit the extent of the Stock Option Program to CEO 2020, or terminate the Stock Option Program to CEO 2020 in advance, in whole or in part.

The number of shares that may be acquired for each Stock Option shall be recalculated in the event of share splits, rights issues and similar corporate actions with the aim that the economic value of a Stock Option shall be unaffected by such actions.

Dilution and costs etc.

The maximum dilution as a result of the Stock Option Program to the CEO 2020, including the warrants proposed to be issued in accordance with the proposal for the extra general meeting on 3 July 2020 and warrants that may be issued pursuant to the authorization according to item 9.D, will not exceed 2.21 per cent of the outstanding shares in the Company. The dilution has been calculated as additional shares in relation to current and additional shares.

For information regarding the Company's other share-based incentive programs and outstanding warrants, please refer to the Company's annual report, see page 6.

Upon reaching the performance criteria for the share price, the Stock Option Program to the CEO 2020 may entail costs in form of social security contributions. The total costs for social security contributions will depend on the number of warrants that will be vested and on the value of the benefit that the participant finally will receive, i.e. on the value of the warrants when utilized 2023. Based on the assumption that all warrants will be vested, an assumed share price of SEK 12.5 when the warrants are utilized, and an assumed average social security rate of approximately 31.42 percent, the total costs for social security contributions will amount to approximately SEK 10.7 million. The Company intends to hedge the entire cost of social security contributions through the issue of Warrants, which is why the board of directors proposes authorizations in accordance with item 9.D.

The total cost for the Stock Option Program to the CEO 2020 will be distributed over the years 2020-2023. Since 1/3 of the options vest per year, the cost will be distributed over the period. Given the above assumptions, and that the program had been introduced in 2019 instead, it is calculated that the yearly costs for Stock Option Program to the CEO 2020 will amount to approximately 29 percent in relation to the Company's salary costs for employees (including social security contributions) for the 2019 financial year. (The company's average number of employees during 2019 was 13 people. As of May 31, 2020, the company has 25 employees. The company has previously announced that it intends to significantly strengthen the organization by increasing the number of employees.) The majority of the costs does not have an impact on the Company's cash flows.

Preparation of proposal

The proposal of the Stock Option Program to CEO 2020 has been prepared by certain shareholders in consultation with external advisors and the board of directors.

9.B Resolution regarding issue of warrants

In order to secure the delivery of shares pursuant to the Stock Option Program to the CEO 2020, the board of directors proposes that the Company, issues a maximum of 2,735,849 warrants, entitling to subscription of new ordinary shares in the Company as follows and possibly increase the share capital with maximum SEK 136,792.45 after full exercise of the warrants.

The right to subscribe for the warrants shall, with deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights, be granted to the, by the Company, wholly owned subsidiary Bambuser Incentive AB (the "Subsidiary"), with the right and obligation to dispose the warrants according to item 9.A and 9.C.

The reason for the deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights is that the issue of warrants ensures delivery of shares to the participants in the Stock Option Program to the CEO 2020.

The warrants shall be issued free of charge.

Subscription of the warrants shall take place within eight weeks from the date of the resolution to issue warrants. The Board of Directors shall have right to extend the subscription period.

The warrants may be exercised for subscription of shares during the period September 1st, 2023 up and including October 31st, 2023.

Each warrant shall entitle subscription to one (1) share at a subscription price corresponding to the quota value of the share (the current quota value is SEK 0.05). Recalculation may occur in accordance with the "Terms and Conditions for Warrants 2020/2023:4", which are held available at the Company and the Company's website.

The newly issued shares that are issued after exercise of warrants shall entitle to dividend for the first time on first the record date that occurs after completion of subscription.

Otherwise, for the warrants, terms and conditions presented in "Terms and Conditions for Warrants 2020/2023:1" shall apply.

The Board of Directors, or the person that the Board of Directors may appoint, shall be authorized to make the adjustments as may be required in connection with registration with the Swedish Companies Registration Office.

9.C Resolution regarding transfer/disposal of the warrants to the participants or otherwise to third parties

The board of directors also proposes that the subsidiary may transfer/dispose of the warrants to the participants or otherwise to third parties for the purpose of delivering shares to the participants in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Stock Option Program to the CEO 2020. The subsidiary may only transfer/dispose of the warrants for this purpose.

9.D Resolution regarding authorization for the board of directors to resolve to issue warrants to a third party

The board of directors furthermore proposes that the general meeting resolves to authorize the Board of Directors to resolve to issue no more than 859,604 warrants to subscribe for common shares to a bank or securities company, all on the terms set out for the Stock Option Program to the CEO 2020. The purpose of the authorization and the reason for the deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights is to have the option to hedge the Company's exposure against social security costs incurred in connection with the Stock Option Program to the CEO 2020, by way of, to a third party with whom the Company has an agreement, issue warrants which can be exercised to subscribe shares that thereafter are sold at market value.

The warrants shall be issued free of charge. Each warrant shall entitle to subscription of one (1) share in the Company, thus, the share capital will increase with maximum SEK 42,980.20 after full exercise of the warrants.

The right to subscribe for the warrants shall, with deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights, be granted to a Swedish bank or Swedish securities company.

The warrants may be exercised for subscription of shares from September 1st, 2023 up and including October 31st, 2023.

Each warrant entitles the holder to subscription of one (1) share at a subscription price corresponding to the quota value (the current quota value is SEK 0.05). Recalculation may occur in accordance with the complete warrant conditions.

The Board of Directors, or the person that the Board of Directors may appoint, shall be authorised to make the adjustments as may be required in connection with registration with the Swedish Companies Registration Office.

Item 10: Resolution regarding issue authorization

The board of directors of the Company proposes that the extra general meeting resolves on an authorization for the board of directors to, with or without deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights, on one or more occasions until the next annual general meeting, decide on new issue of shares, warrants and/or convertibles in the Company. The total number of shares covered by such new issues may in total correspond to a maximum of ten (10) percent of the shares in the Company at the time the authorization is used. Payment for subscribed shares, warrants or convertibles may be paid in cash, by set-off or by subordinated debt or on terms referred to in chapter 2 section 5 of the Companies Act.

The purpose of the authorization and the reasons for a possible deviation from the shareholders' preferential right is to enable further financing of the Company's operations, to finance company acquisitions or acquisitions of businesses or assets, to be able to issue the said instruments as remuneration in such acquisitions and in the Company strategic collaborations, to enable emission to industrial partners and to broaden the shareholder group.

The board of directors, or the person that the Board of Directors may appoint, shall be authorized to make the adjustments as may be required in connection with registration with the Swedish Companies Registration Office.

Item 11: Establishment of the number of members of the board of directors, establishment of fees for members of the board of directors and election of members of the board of directors

The nomination committee and major shareholders proposes the following:

The board of directors shall be increased by one member and thereafter consist of six members elected by the general meeting.

The proposed director shall not receive any board remuneration.

Further to the investment made by Harmony Partners in the share issues announced on 25 June 2020, it is proposed that Mark J. Lotke is elected as new director. Furthermore, Mikael Wintzell has informed the board of directors and the nomination committee that he wishes to resign from the board of directors effected as of the election of Mark J. Lotke.

Mark J. Lotke is born in 1968. Mark is the Founder & Managing Partner of Harmony Partners, a highly differentiated venture capital firm that makes expansion stage investments in high growth software, internet, and techenabled companies. Mark has been investing in technology companies since 1993, founding Harmony Partners in 2010. He began his venture career at General Atlantic and was pre-IPO Managing Director at Internet Capital Group. Prior to founding Harmony, Mark led the software group at FTV Capital. Over the past 27 years, Lotke has invested over $750 million in 75+ technology companies, including Anaplan, AppDynamics, Alation, Aveksa, E*TRADE, Iterable, Natera, Postmates, Priceline, Scopus, SS&C, Swiggy, UiPath, and Zerto. Mark received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating summa cum laude with a dual concentration in entrepreneurial management and finance, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Majority requirements

A resolution in accordance with item 6 and 10 is valid where supported by shareholders representing at least two thirds of the votes cast and the shares represented at the general meeting.

The resolution in accordance with item 7 subject to the provisions of Ch. 16 of the Swedish Companies Act and a valid resolution therefore requires that this proposal is supported by shareholders representing at least nine tenths of the votes cast and the shares represented at the general meeting.

The resolutions regarding the stock option programmes in accordance with item 8 and 9 each constitutes an overall decision, and each proposal shall be resolved upon as one decision and a valid resolution therefore requires that such resolutions are supported by shareholders representing at least nine tenths of the votes cast and the shares represented at the extra general meeting since the issue and transfer of warrants is subject to the provisions of Ch. 16 of the Swedish Companies Act.

Number of shares and votes

The total number of shares in the Company as of the date hereof amounts to 108,001,988 shares, with a corresponding number of votes. The Company holds no shares of its own.

Further information

A proxy form, complete proposals and other documents that shall be available in accordance with the Swedish Companies Act are available at the Company at Malmskillnadsgatan 32 in Stockholm and at the Company's website bambuser.com, at least two weeks in advance of the extra general meeting and will be sent to shareholders who request it and provide their e-mail or postal address.

The shareholders hereby notified regarding the right to, at the extra general meeting, request information from the board of directors and managing director according to Ch. 7  32 of the Swedish Companies Act.

Processing of personal data

For information on how personal data is processed in relation the meeting, see the Privacy notice available on Euroclear Sweden AB's website: https://www.euroclear.com/dam/ESw/Legal/Privacy-notice-bolagsstammorengelska.pdf.

Contact information:

Maryam Ghahremani,

CEO

+46-8-400-160-02

[email protected]

or visit bambuser.com/ir

Certified Adviser

Erik Penser Bank AB

+46-8-463-83-00

[email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/bambuser/r/notice-of-extra-general-meeting-in-bambuser-ab,c3142551

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/15749/3142551/1270213.pdf 2020-06-26 Notice of extraordinary general meeting in Bambuser AB https://mb.cision.com/Public/15749/3142551/ac9a4ad635032692.pdf Bambuser - Proxy form

SOURCE Bambuser
LONDON - A 28-years-old man pleaded guilty Friday to immigration violations in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people found inside the back of a container truck in England in what police have described as an apparent human-smuggling tragedy.

Alexandru Hanga, of Tilbury, England, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. He appeared via video link at Central London Criminal Court and will be sentenced at a later date.

The victims, all Vietnamese nationals, were found Oct. 23 in an industrial park in the English town of Grays inside a refrigerated container that had arrived by ferry from Belgium.

The victims came from impoverished villages and are believed to have paid people smugglers to take them on risky journeys to better lives abroad.

The police have been steadily rounding up suspects in the case.

The trucks driver, Maurice Robinson, 25, admitted 39 counts of manslaughter in April. He had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
MEXICO CITY - The dramatic assassination attempt on Mexico Citys police chief was just the latest and clearest sign that Mexicos powerful criminal element is bringing the violence it has unleashed on the general population directly to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obradors door.

More than 35,000 Mexicans were murdered last year, the highest number on record and a grave threat to the presidents ambitious agenda.

Police Chief Omar Garcia Harfuch was nearly added to this years murder total Friday when more than two-dozen gunmen executed a carefully co-ordinated plan to intercept his armoured vehicle at dawn with grenades, assault rifles and a .50 calibre sniper rifle on the capitals grand boulevard. Garcia survived with three bullet wounds and within hours blamed the Jalisco New Generation Cartel for the attempt that killed two of his bodyguards and a bystander.

It came less than two weeks after a federal judge and his wife were gunned down in their home in the western state of Colima. The Jalisco gang is also suspected in that attack.

The cartel declared war on the government of Lopez Obrador, said Samuel Gonzalez, a security analyst and the man who established the Attorney Generals Office special organized crime unit. He doesnt have any other option than to go after them, because otherwise attacks on high-level government officials could continue.

It didnt take long for Lopez Obrador to disagree.

Were not going to declare war on anyone, he said Saturday afternoon in a video broadcast through his social media. Were not going to violate human rights. Were not going to allow massacres. But were going to stop these attacks from being orchestrated, and were not going to make any agreements with organized crime as we did before.

The president said the key will be perseverance, with help from the intelligence services, which reportedly gave some warning that Garcia might be targeted by an attack.

Now we have given great importance to intelligence, Lopez Obrador said. Before, the CISEN (National Intelligence Center) was used to spy on opponents. That is over. Now we have an intelligence centre to prevent, and that is why these attacks have been prevented or the most regrettable and serious results of these attacks have been avoided.

Last year this intelligence showed some problems.

In October, a botched operation to capture a son of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman in Culiacan, Sinaloa, resulted in the young drug capos release after cartel gunmen wreaked havoc on the city. Lopez Obrador said this month that he ordered the release to avoid more bloodshed.

At the time, Lopez Obrador pushed aside criticism that it was a sign of weakness that organized crime would continue to exploit. The president responded that his government will not be forced into a drug war.

This is pacifying the country by convincing, persuading without violence, offering well-being, alternative options, better living conditions, working conditions, strengthening values, he said then. He asked for one more year to completely change this.

Eight months later here we are.

On June 17, Raul Rodriguez a columnist for El Universal, one of Mexicos largest newspapers, wrote in a column that Mexican intelligence had intercepted a conversation between Jalisco gang operators in which it was clear they were planning to hit a major target in the city.

Rodriguez wrote that two unnamed security officials had confirmed the information and that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had confirmed the authenticity of the conversation. No names were mentioned, but analysts determined that the four potential targets were three members of Lopez Obradors cabinet and Garcia.

Its the way the mafiosos communicate with governments to tell them, You touch me and were going to kill your most important officials, said Edgardo Buscaglia, an organized crime expert at Columbia University.

When this happens, organized crime understands that the government is taking measures that are going to hurt its business and they begin to kill members of the political elite, Buscaglia said.

Earlier this month, Santiago Nieto, the head of Mexicos Financial Intelligence Unit, announced that in collaboration with the DEA, the unit was freezing nearly 2,000 accounts believed to be used by the Jalisco gang. Nieto was mentioned as one of the potential cabinet-level targets of the cartel this month. There are also nearly a dozen pending extraditions of Jalisco gang associates, Buscaglia said.

The administration should continue to pressure the cartel while increasing security to protect its political elite, starting with Lopez Obrador who continues to fly commercial and travel with little security, he said.

On Saturday, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum shared a photo with Garcia smiling from his hospital bed and said that he was doing well and had more energy than ever. She praised Mexico Citys police for a rapid response that likely saved his life.

Since the attack, authorities had made 19 arrests in the case, she said, including the alleged mastermind of the plot. Lopez Obrador had not made any comments since early Friday.

Later, Ulises Lara, spokesman for the capitals prosecutors office, confirmed the arrests and listed the weaponry recovered. It included 34 rifles, a grenade launcher and five .50 calibre sniper rifles.

Mexicos security strategy  some question whether it is coherent enough to merit the label  bears little resemblance to the hugs, not bullets slogan that Lopez Obrador campaigned on.

Last years soaring murder rate already challenged his longer-term goal of attacking the root causes of violence. The economic devastation worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic is making clear those policies will have little chance as more Mexicans are pushed into poverty.

All thats in place now is not a coherent, integrated security strategy, but one that is very much almost exclusively reliant on force, on militarized force specifically, said Franko Ernst, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group. He warned that increasing military pressure on the Jalisco gang, which has already suffered from internal rifts and splintering, could lead it to break apart into warring factions as has happened with other dominant cartels in recent years.

Ernst noted that last month the government decreed that the military will continue policing the country, a task Lopez Obradors newly created National Guard was supposed to take over but has shown itself incapable doing. Now the Jalisco gangs leader, Nemesio Oseguera, aka El Mencho, has finally established himself very firmly as the inevitable public enemy of the Fourth Transformation, Lopez Obradors term for his administration.

Its just going to push some other more integrated, more sound security policies further into the future, he said.
SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / For years, Realtor and CPA Kathy Huang has been helping homebuyers, sellers and investors in San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area turn their dreams to reality. Now, she's not only helping her clients build wealth through real estate; she and her brokerage, AARE, are making a difference with meaningful charitable contributions through the AARE Generous Giving Program.

"AARE's Generous Giving is an innovative program through which we are able to generate substantial financial contributions to support charities and their ongoing work in the US and throughout the world," said Huang.

To participate in the program, clients who are interested in buying, selling or leasing property anywhere in the United States, whether residential or commercial, can have their real estate transaction support a charity of their choice. The client and their charity can work with AARE and when their transaction closes, a significant percentage from the company's and Huang's commission will be donated to their charity.

Kathy Huang is an award-winning Realtor and has been honored by the San Diego Magazine 10 years in a row as a "Five Star Real Estate Agent - Exceptional Client Satisfaction and Service." This distinction is only awarded to the top 2-5% of realtors in San Diego each year. In addition, she has been featured in Forbes Magazine.

Huang is adept at explaining the tax implications and financial aspects of buying or selling a home throughout the escrow process and she leverages her CPA training and financial expertise to analyze and negotiate the best deals for her clients.

About Kathy Huang, Coastal San Diego Homes

Kathy Huang specializes in North San Diego County, on the coast from Carmel Valley to Carlsbad, and inland from San Marcos to Rancho Bernardo. She also assists her clients with their real estate needs in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kathy proudly offers complimentary staging services to help her sellers realize the best price and terms for their home. For more information, please call (858) 692-8066, or visit http://www.CoastalSDhomes.com.

SOURCE: Kathy Huang, Coastal San Diego Homes

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/594992/Award-Winning-Coastal-San-Diego-Realtor-Kathy-Huang-Implements-Generous-Giving-Program
TCN News

Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council in the latest session have urged India to immediately release activists who have been arrested for anti-CAA protests.

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The Principal Rapporteurs  Mary Lawlor and Leigh Toomey chaired the session of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, which is composed of independent human rights defenders and global experts. The session discussed Indias citizenship laws that provoked nationwide protests, pointing that it is the blatant exclusion of Muslims from access to citizenship.

Speaking about the Act, the experts said that it is met by criticism from not just Muslims but also Hindus, on the grounds that it violates the secular foundations of Indias constitution.

The Council mentioned the student activist Safoora Zargar who was detained for two months despite her pregnancy, reminding that it was against humanitarian grounds under the international standards of laws. It said that these protestors, mostly student activists, appear to have been arrested simply because they exercised their right to denounce and protest against the CAA.

Authorities should immediately release all human rights defenders who are currently being held in pre-trial detention without sufficient evidence, often simply on the basis of speeches they made criticizing the discriminatory nature of the CAA, the UN Human Rights meeting stated. The session iterated that although demonstrations ended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Indias Supreme Court had also issued an order to decongest jails due to infection spread concerns, the authorities still continued to detain protestors.

It further detailed that all of the 11 individual cases against rights activists include serious allegations of failures of legal procedure, custodial torture and ill-treatment. UN experts then echoed their support for Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Safoora Zargar, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal, Khalid Saifi, Shifa Ur Rehman, Dr Kafeel Khan, Sharjeel Imam and Akhil Gogoi, all of who are detained arbitrarily or under false charges. It resonated that the one thing common among the 11 cases is that they questioned the discrepancy within the system thus exposing loopholes in the governments management of institutions. In this regard, the Council expressed that such arrests are clearly designed to send a chilling message to Indias vibrant civil society that criticism of government policies will not be tolerated.

The Special Procedures Council further highlighted that the authorities response to anti-CAA protestors has been discriminatory as they have not investigated allegations of incitement to hatred and violence by CAA supporters, who were seen on rallies and public speeches through ample video and audio reach to have chanted shoot the traitors slogans.

Flagging that the Indian authorities were invoking counter-terrorism or national security legislation, and using procedural police powers, to deny bail to protesters and issue charges carrying heavy sentences, it concluded that the UN Human Rights Special Procedures Committee is currently in contact with the Government on this matter.
Virgin Australia's administrators Deloitte are hoping to seal a sale of the collapsed airline to US private equity giant Bain Capital and avoid liquidation by giving every customer owed flight refunds or frequent flyer points the chance to vote on its future.

Deloitte on Friday said it had signed a binding agreement for Bain to buy Virgin, after a rival bidder, Richard Branson-linked Cyrus Capital Partners, withdrew its rescue offer saying Deloitte had stopped returning its phone calls or replying to its emails.

An empty Virgin Australia check-in area at Brisbane domestic airport. Credit:AAP

Bain and Deloitte would not reveal the size of the winning bid, how many jobs will be lost from Virgin's 9000-strong workforce or how much will be paid to creditors owed $6.8 billion.

But in a statement Bain said it would protect "as many Virgin Australia jobs as possible", honour frequent flyer points and travel credits for cancelled bookings, and back Virgin's current management led by chief executive Paul Scurrah.
By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Thursday that would impose mandatory sanctions on people or companies that back efforts by China to restrict Hong Kong's autonomy, pushing back against Beijing's new security law for the city. The measure also includes secondary sanctions on banks that do business with anyone found to be backing any crackdown on the territory's autonomy, potentially cutting them off from American counterparts and limiting access to U.S.

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Thursday that would impose mandatory sanctions on people or companies that back efforts by China to restrict Hong Kong's autonomy, pushing back against Beijing's new security law for the city.

The measure also includes secondary sanctions on banks that do business with anyone found to be backing any crackdown on the territory's autonomy, potentially cutting them off from American counterparts and limiting access to U.S. dollar transactions.

The "Hong Kong Autonomy Act" passed by unanimous consent. To become law, it must also pass the House of Representatives and be signed by President Donald Trump.

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, a lead sponsor, said in the Senate the legislation would send a clear message to Beijing that there would be consequences if it acts to undermine Hong Kong's autonomy.

The Hong Kong sanctions bill almost passed last week, Van Hollen said, but was blocked by Republican Senator Kevin Cramer - who had co-sponsored it - at the request of the Trump administration, which made a late request for technical corrections.

The delay underscored the complications of passing legislation pushing back on China, as the administration pursues a trade deal and the two powers grapple for international influence and clash over human rights.

U.S.-China relations have worsened since the coronavirus pandemic, which began in China, hit the United States.

China's security legislation prompted Trump to initiate a process to eliminate special economic treatment that has allowed Hong Kong to remain a global financial center.

China hawks in Congress have pushing for a strong U.S. reaction to any clampdown in Hong Kong.

"This could be our last opportunity to stay Beijing's hand before it destroys what is left of freedom in the city," said Republican Senator Josh Hawley.

The Senate also passed a resolution, introduced by Hawley, condemning the proposed security law.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Steve Orlofsky and Alistair Bell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
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New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will announce class 10, 12 board results by July 15, board's exam controller Sanyam Bhardwaj said.

CBSE BoardClass 12 students will get a chance to sit for optional exams to improve score, Bhardwaj said, adding that if class 12 students appear for optional exams, marks obtained will be treated as final score.

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The Centre and the CBSE on Thursday had informed the apex Court that they have decided to cancel the Class X and XII examinations scheduled from July 1-15 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and they would be conducted later.

CBSE board results 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 nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24.
C Shivakumar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: There are no direct flights from Chennai to Mumbai or Ahmedabad for the last one month due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in these cities but people from here are still able to reach airports in Tamil Nadu by flying via a third city sparking alarm over the spread of the virus.

Till now, a total of 217 passengers flying to Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu have tested positive in the last one month.

Sushmita Sharma, who got stranded in Mumbai, desperately wanted to fly to Chennai to join her parents. Unaware that there are no direct flights to Chennai, she booked a ticket four times and each time it got cancelled.

Ajay Sharma, former Indian Navy officer and father of Sushmita, said that for every transaction his daughter has to pay Rs 400 extra. "Why are the airlines keeping the online counters open when they know there are no direct flights to Chennai," says Sharma, who has even complained to the aviation ministry.

Desperate, he asked his daughter to book a ticket to Delhi and from there take the next flight to Chennai. "The usual three hour journey took 18 hours for Sushmita to reach Chennai and rather than any strict testing regimen, she underwent the usual home quarantine," says Sharma.

"We just received a call from the Chennai Corporation asking about her whereabouts and later they did not disturb us," says Sharma.

Interestingly, Sharma is questioning the decision to clamp down on direct flights to Mumbai and Gujarat when passengers from these parts are able to reach Chennai. "Why cause inconvenience to passengers when people from these places are still able to reach Chennai airport," he says.

When The New Indian Express contacted revenue department officials, they said it is impossible to test every passenger. "We are undertaking thermal screening and suspected cases are taken for institutional quarantine," he says.

It is learnt that screening of passengers has not been that strict and all they have to undergo is a thermal scan following which they are allowed to travel after they are stamped with a quarantine seal. Many times, even senior citizens are taking the aerial route despite standard operating procedures urging them not to travel, said a CISF official patrolling the airport.
Joe Biden appears to face limited political pressure from U.S. voters about whom to choose as his running mate, with no contender emerging as a clear favourite and the great majority of people saying that race should not be a factor in his decision, according to polling conducted by The New York Times and Siena College.

Biden has pledged to select a woman as his nominee for vice-president, and his advisers are vetting more than half a dozen people for the job. In recent weeks, amid ongoing demonstrations against racism and police violence, a number of prominent Democrats have pressed Biden to select an African American woman. And his search committee has been reviewing at least five Black women, one Latina and one Asian-American candidate.

Earlier this month, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, a white moderate, removed herself from consideration for vice-president after sustained criticism of her record as a prosecutor, and she publicly urged Biden to put a woman of colour on his ticket.

In the Times poll, four in five registered voters said that race shouldnt be a factor in Bidens selection of a running mate. That group included three-quarters of the Black voters polled, and more than eight in 10 white and Hispanic voters.

About a fifth of Black voters said they would like to see Biden choose a Black running mate. The largest group with that preference was very liberal voters, at 37 per cent; 27 per cent of voters with postgraduate degrees said the same.

The poll asked respondents if they thought Biden should chose a Black running mate or a white running mate or if race shouldnt be a factor. The poll did not ask about the possibility that Biden could choose a Latina or an Asian-American candidate, but he is seriously considering women of both backgrounds.

In the six most important battleground states, voters professed indifference to race was even stronger. Nine in 10 registered voters in those states said race should not be a factor in Bidens choice of running mate, including 91 per cent of Black voters and 85 per cent of Hispanics.

The polls had margins of sampling error of 1.8 percentage points in the battleground states and three percentage points nationally.

Bidens eventual choice is certain to face intensive scrutiny, in part because of Bidens age. If he is elected, Biden, currently 77, would be the oldest president ever on the day of his inauguration, and he would turn 80 about halfway through his term, a reality that worries some voters.

Biden has said he is looking for someone who shares his overall approach to governing and who would be prepared for the presidency on Day 1. He has also said he would prefer a running mate with strengths that complement his own, as well as someone who would be willing to challenge him rather than being cowed by the office of the presidency.

Follow-up interviews with poll respondents suggested that many voters are in tune with Bidens stated approach.

I dont believe that the problems in America can be solved just by having, for example, a Black president or a Black vice-president, said Garfield Campbell, 54, of Scottsdale, Ariz., a poll respondent. Campbell, who is Black, continued, The right person has to be someone that can sort of counterbalance, or add value and strength, to Joe Biden, in areas where he may not be as strong.

Bidens wide lead over President Donald Trump in national polls  he was ahead by 14 percentage points in a Times/Siena survey this week  could give him an unusually free hand in choosing a running mate: He is not desperately seeking a sidekick who could help him shake up the race, as John McCain did in 2008 when he put the charismatic but obscure Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, on his ticket. Nor is Biden confronting questions about his own readiness for the presidency, as Barack Obama did when he selected Biden.

Christine Matthews, a Republican pollster who has been critical of Trump, said that the political impact of Bidens selection might be limited because he is so far ahead in the race.

It matters less this year, because of his large lead and his appeal to fairly broad constituencies, said Matthews, adding that her own view was that Biden ought to choose a Black woman.

Yet the size and diversity of Bidens emerging coalition presents delicate dynamics of its own, as his choice of running mate may well excite one element of his political base at the cost of upsetting another.

Of the women known to be under consideration, only a few have prominent national profiles. None of the better-known women appeared in the poll to be a runaway favourite with voters.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was the best-known contender, and she was seen favourably by 45 per cent of registered voters and unfavourably by 42 per cent. Warren inspired the strongest reactions of any candidate tested in the poll, with three-fifths of very liberal voters saying they had a very favourable view of her and an equal share of very conservative voters expressing a strongly negative view. A majority of moderate voters had a somewhat or very favourable opinion of her.

In the swing states, Warrens favourability rating was evenly split, with 41 per cent of people saying they had a favourable view and the same share saying the opposite.

Ellen Schiffman Adelstein, 78, of Tucson, Ariz., said she admired Warrens work on consumer protection matters but worried that her positions on issues like health care were too far to the left, posing a risk to the ticket if Biden selected her.

I want a new president, Schiffman Adelstein said. I dont want anything to mess up getting a new president in there.

But Khalil Skerritt, 30, of Tallahassee, Fla., said that Warren would push Biden to move urgently on promises of structural reform.

Shell be the one to be like, No, we have four years to get stuff done, said Skerritt, who supported Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary.

Sen. Kamala Harris of California, another well-known candidate in the vetting process, had similarly mixed numbers, with 40 per cent of voters expressing a favourable view and 35 per cent seeing her unfavourably. Two-thirds of Black voters had a positive impression of Harris, a few percentage points better than Warren.

Harris was somewhat less well-known in the battleground states and showed few pronounced points of strength or weakness there. Thirty-five per cent of swing-state voters said they had a favourable view of her, and 30 pet cent said the opposite.

The public was far less familiar with two other Black women under consideration: Rep. Val Demings of Florida, a former police chief who is among the most serious vice-presidential prospects, was unknown to four in five voters both nationally and in her expansive home state. Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia governor candidate, was seen favourably by about a third of registered voters nationwide but was unknown to nearly half.

Allison Bryan-Harris, 41, of Eagle Lake, Fla., said she planned to cast an unenthusiastic vote for Biden  I could vote for a box at this point, she said  but expressed excitement about Abrams, calling her forward-thinking and progressive.

Wilfredo Torres, 71, a Hispanic military retiree from Charlotte, N.C., favoured Demings for vice-president, saying he believed its a good time to have somebody African American on the ticket. He also said her law enforcement experience was an asset.

Two white women from the Midwest who have spoken with Bidens vetting team, Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, drew positive marks in their home states, suggesting that either could be well positioned to help Biden cement his lead in a key battleground.

But Biden is already leading both of those states by substantial margins, and it is not clear that he needs help from a running mate to lock up a local victory.

A third Midwesterner, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who is Asian American, was also unknown to most voters.

Elaine Meyer, of Detroit, spoke highly of Whitmer. But she added, I dont want to lose her as governor. A 41-year-old white librarian, she said she hoped Biden would choose a Black woman as his running mate.

Meyer said she had seen Biden speak in person and found him to be engaging and very competent. But she said she still found his age a little worrisome.

Voters showed no interest in the idea that he could pledge to serve just one term as president, a possibility briefly debated by some of Bidens advisers early in the presidential race.

Eighty-five per cent of registered voters nationwide said a one-term pledge would make no difference in their decision to vote for or against Biden.

Rebecca Wabish, a Biden supporter in New Hanover, Pa., said it was plain enough to her that Biden would be a one-term president. For that reason, Wabish, 67, said she hoped he would ensure there was strong leadership coming up behind him.

You dont have to look so far in the future: Hell never make it through a second term because of his age, Wabish said. I think what he has to do is get a very, very strong VP.

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After 70 per cent of the Covid-19 positive cases in the Bellari district of Karnataka reported to be coming from Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel plant, the steel producer has tightened measures to combat the spread by restricting entry of migrant labour at its plant. We are not allowing nearly 11,000 migrant labour coming from nearby villages to work at the plant and instead will continue operations with balance 17,000-18,000 workers present at our four colonies and at plant site, Vinod Nowal, deputy managing director at JSW Steel Ltd, told Business Standard today.

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If China was setting out to sow political divisions in Canada in the case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, it must have been frustrated by the political unity it has encountered in this 18-month saga  until this week.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is getting a remarkable degree of cross-partisan support for his firm decision to not intervene in Mengs extradition case, despite a letter from 19 prominent Canadians urging that he do just that.

But the letter has highlighted one political schism that is a recurring theme in Trudeaus career  the one between this current regime and Liberals who governed before him.

Jean Chretiens signature was not on the letter signed by 19 of some of Canadas most serious legal and foreign-policy thinkers, including former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour and former justice minister Allan Rock.

But Chretiens name has been surfacing almost from the moment that this Canada-China tension exploded, and consistently on the side of political intervention to release Meng. As Joan Bryden of the Canadian Press reported, Chretien called Rock this week to convey his support for the letters arguments in favour of Mengs release.

Chretien also turns up in the new book by John Bolton, the former national security adviser to Donald Trump. Bolton doesnt write much about Canada in his nearly 600-page tome  but the Meng case, and Chretien, made the cut.

Canada was under great domestic pressure, which Trudeau was having difficulty resisting, Bolton writes in The Room Where it Happened. Former prime minister Jean Chretien, never a friend of the U.S., was arguing that Canada should simply not abide by our extradition treaty.

Bolton may be exercising a bit of literary licence there with this great domestic pressure reference. Conservatives are onside with Trudeau staying out of this, including the two top leadership contenders, Peter MacKay and Erin OToole, who restated their support for non-intervention this week.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh went on the record ages ago to distance himself from one of his own MPs, Don Davies, who was arguing for Canada to stay out of the politically motivated extradition.

Not exactly great domestic pressure on Trudeau then, until that letter surfaced this week, which the prime minister immediately rejected as a bad idea. Had Bolton been a little more acquainted with Canadian politics, he would know that Trudeau has not had much difficulty resisting voices from the past  especially the Liberal past.

Another former prime minister, Brian Mulroney, was floating Chretiens name a year ago as the best envoy to deal with China in this complex web of extradition and political detention of two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. That idea went nowhere.

Put simply, some key Chretien-era Liberals and Trudeau Liberals have definitely not been on the same page when it comes to Mengs extradition  though it should be said that both are motivated by the goal of ending this nightmare for the two Michaels as soon as possible.

Chretiens former deputy prime minister, John Manley, publicly and controversially announced in December 2018 that Canada screwed up when it arrested Meng. Manley argued that authorities should have exercised some creative incompetence and simply failed to catch the Huawei executive as she was passing through this country.

One thing should be clear to anyone who has been watching Trudeaus life in the politics  this is not a prime minister likely to be persuaded by arguments from former Liberals. From the moment he ejected Liberal senators from his caucus as a newly elected leader in 2014, Trudeau has shown a near-complete lack of deference to Liberals who came before him, including those who worked with his father. His clear no to the letter this week very much echoed the tone of the senators ejection.

Its not so much hostility (although it isnt hard to find Liberals of earlier vintage who are deeply offended by Trudeaus disregard for them). The letter this week, even though it came from more than just Liberals, was another reminder of the wall Trudeau has erected between himself and the Liberals past.

All that said, there may be one Liberal ghost influencing Trudeau at this juncture, and thats former attorney-general Jody Wilson-Raybould. Thanks to the 2019 controversy over SNC-Lavalin, which also revolved around whether politicians should be dabbling in the legal process, Trudeau would be understandably averse to going down that road again  even if the two cases are very different.

Some political struggles are sweeping and global  such as the current one between China and the United States. Other political battles are historical and intensely domestic  such as the Liberals versus Liberals in Canada.

This week, those two types of political intrigue collided in one letter, reminding us again that relationships within Canadian political families can be just as complicated as battles between international superpowers.
The Western Cape Health Department has introduced an automated chatbot app which confirms delivery of chronic medication to patients' homes. It also allows high-risk chronic patients to confirm an existing appointment before accessing services at their attending healthcare facility, so they do not have to wait in long queues when going to a facility.

Ensuring safety

Since the soft launch took place in mid-May 2020, over 700 users have accessed the chatbot, with over 500 completed orders to receive chronic medication. Additionally, approximately 100 users have requested call-backs from healthcare providers in their respective facilities through the platform. These users all heard about the tool by word of mouth from existing users and made their requests from all over the Cape Town Metropole, from Mitchells Plain, Plumstead and Edgemead, to the CBD.The department wanted a system that would respond to high-risk chronic patient queries timeously and to give people peace of mind that their medication will be delivered to their homes. The system also allows our high-risk healthcare workers the opportunity to assist clients with their queries without placing their lives in danger as well, said Mohamed Sonday, pharmacist at Mitchells Plain Hospital.Not only has the chatbot been of value in helping communities receive their medication, but it has also been an easy way for patients to manage their health without increased risk of contracting Covid-19 and simplified the medication distribution process for staff at our healthcare facilities, said Sonday.Lyanne Mapani, product manager at Aviro Health, which helped develop the app, says that there have been lessons on how the platform can better accommodate users who are requesting deliveries on behalf of patients.Together with the department, we are looking at ways to improve the chatbot so that it can be responsive and better serve users who are accessing it to make requests for their loved ones and fellow community members. The tool is clearly of value, but we want to make sure that we are reaching patients where they are. We are looking forward to launching additional features in the future such as, offering the service in multiple languages and supporting users in booking appointments, says MapaniBetween April and May 2020, the department ensured that approximately 159,000 pre-packed chronic medication parcels were delivered to stable patients homes residing in the Western Cape Metropole since the Covid-19 lockdown was implemented. To ensure the safety of our vulnerable patients, the department has provided all stable and high-risk patients with a two-month supply of chronic medication. Once their medication has been depleted, the community health workers will deliver medication to their homes.Our data shows people with co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, TB, HIV/Aids, cancer, chronic lung disease and heart disease are at higher risk of becoming severely ill with Covid-19. These people are invited to join the chatbot to confirm their medication delivery by adding the number 087 240 6122 to their mobile phones and send a message saying hi to start the WhatsApp chatbot conversation.
25/06/2020  Tax Transparency in Africa 2020, launched today as part of the Africa Initiative, depicts the state of play for 32 African Union Member States, members of the Initiative and three non-members. It shows the progress achieved on the two cornerstones of the Initiative: (i) raising political awareness and commitment, and (ii) developing capacities in tax transparency and exchange of information (EOI). Tax transparency and EOI have a crucial role to play in helping African governments stem illicit financial flows (IFFs) and increase domestic revenue mobilisation.



"The ongoing COVID-19 crisis will completely end any tolerance towards all forms of tax evasion, said Maria Jose Garde, Chair of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.



Main findings from the report



African countries EOI network has been expanding rapidly. It reached 3 262 bilateral relationships in 2019, compared to 685 in 2013. This is mainly due to the growing number of countries joining the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. The amount of EOI requests sent by African countries increased more than eightfold since the start of the Initiative in 2014. These impressive developments directly translated into additional tax revenue, allowing a group of eight African countries to secure USD 189 million extra revenue between 2014 and 2019.



Encouraging evolutions were also observed in the implementation of automatic exchange of information (AEOI): Ghana started exchanging in 2019, joining Mauritius, Seychelles and South Africa. Nigeria is expected to start in 2020 and Morocco in 2021. Assistance is ongoing with five countries to help them move towards the implementation of this standard. Interest in AEOI had been awakened by the remarkable outcomes of voluntary disclosure programmes launched prior to the first exchanges, with EUR 102 billion recovered globally, including USD 82 million in Nigeria and USD 296 million in South Africa.



Expanding partnerships for tax transparency



Three additional African countries joined the Global Forum in the last year and six added their weight to the Yaounde Declaration. Active partnerships with the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, the African Tax Administration Forum, the Cercle de Reflexion et d'Echange des Dirigeants des Administrations Fiscales, the West African Tax Administration Forum and the World Bank Group significantly contributed to the fight against IFFs and have helped raise political advocacy across the continent.



H.E. Prof Victor Harison, Commissioner for Economic Affairs of the African Union Commission, called on all Member States to participate in the international tax cooperation by implementing fiscal transparency strategies that fight against illicit financial flows (IFFs), and mitigate tax evasion on the continent". He further noted that domestic resource mobilisation is essential for the transformation, self-reliance and sovereignty of the continent in order to build an endogenous economy and achieve Agenda 2063.



Remaining challenges



Despite the progress, important challenges remain ahead, among which the expansion of staffs knowledge, the availability of beneficial ownership information and the effective implementation of AEOI. Thirty training events have been organised since 2015 and more than a thousand officials from 44 African countries have been trained.



According to Mr Logan Wort, Executive Secretary of ATAF, now more than ever, the work on increasing transparency is important for Africa, and the collaborative efforts of ATAF and the Global Forum will ensure that African countries increase their exchanges of information while contributing to the fight against illicit financial flows.



The Global Forum and its partners will continue to support African countries to address outstanding issues and help them close the gap with other jurisdictions.



 Download the report

 Read more about the Africa Initiative

Tax Transparency in Africa 2020 is a joint publication of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of information for Tax Purposes, the African Union Commission and the African Tax Administration Forum. It is an outcome of the Africa Initiative which the African Development Bank, the Cercle de Reflexion et dEchange des Dirigeants des Administrations Fiscales, the West African Tax Administration Forum and the World Bank Group also support. The Africa Initiative is financially supported by the European Union, France (Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs), Norway (Norwegian Agency for Cooperation and Development), Switzerland (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs) and the United Kingdom (Department for International Development).



For further information on the report, please contact:



African Union Commission: Dr. Yeo Dossina, Head of Economic Policy and Research, DossinaY@africa-union.org and/or Ms. Djeinaba Kane, Economic Policy and Research Division, KaneD@africa-union.org, Department of Economic Affairs, African Union Commission.

OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration and Global Forum: Mr Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, pascal.saint-amans@oecd.org or Ms. Zayda Manatta, Head of the Global Forum Secretariat, zayda.manatta@oecd.org.

African Tax Administration Forum: Mr Logan Wort, Executive Secretary, African Tax Administration Forum, lwort@ataftax.org.

For media inquiries, please contact:



African Union Commission: Ms. Doreen Apollos, Department of Information and Communication, ApollosD@africa-union.org, African Union Commission.

Global Forum: Mr Julien Dubuc, julien.dubuc@oecd.org, Communications Officer, Global Forum.

African Tax Administration Forum: Mr Romeo Nkoulou Ella, Manager Media and Communications, African Tax Administration Forum, rnkoulouella@ataftax.org.

Related Documents
Support, dont punish! As international organisations working actively with people who use drugs, we carry this slogan loud and clear, particularly every June 26 by calling for a radical reform in drug policy, prioritising respect for fundamental rights and promoting access to health.

More than ever this year, this slogan is topical in view of the effects induced by COVID-19. Indeed, the pandemic has led some countries to introduce some changes to their repressive approach to drugs and, better still, has encouraged others to innovate their harm reduction methods and support for the human rights of people who use drugs. Though unexpected, these effects are extremely welcome and should not only be sustained but also applied at global scale.

Unexpected effects of the COVID-19 response

We recognise and pay tribute to the actions of Governments worldwide that recognised particular risks of COVID-19 among people in prison and releasing nearly one hundred thousand people in prison worldwide, many of whom are people who use drugs or people charged with minor drug-related offences. Admittedly, these people who were previously in prison were released to limit Covid-19 transmission, which can be easily spread due to unsafe conditions within prison settings. However, this action illustrates the paradoxical and futile repression towards people who use drugs. Drug dependency cannot be cured with a prison sentence. If anything, harm and rights violations, including right to health, are increased, as appropriate support is rarely available in a prison setting.

The second major action linked to the pandemic context included providing shelter for homeless people. This is positive as we know that some people who use drugs face challenges in accessing safe and affordable accommodation. In France, Germany or Greece, for example, homeless people have been relocated to hotels. We know stabilising accommodation and providing access to essential services or minimum income support can enhance people who use drugs access to care for a range of health priorities.

Finally, the most promising actions in terms of health and economic benefits are those that have been implemented by some countries to maintain and adapt harm reduction policies in the context of the pandemic. Established in the 1980s, these policies seek to reduce health-related harms among people who use drugs (reducing risk of infections, and preventing overdose mortality) and to provide psychosocial support, particularly in case of problematic drug use.

As such, in France and in many countries around the world, given the physical distancing restrictions as a result of COVID-19, services changed policies to ensure that people had more flexible access to therapies for opioid dependence. This included an increase in access to take-home doses of therapies for opioid dependence and an increased flexibility and reduced need for daily clinic attendance to avoid unnecessary visits to the doctor. The distribution of injection equipment (disposable syringes and injection kits) and overdose prevention medication as Naloxone was increased to allow people who use drugs to build up stocks.

One of the most innovative initiatives came from Switzerland: this country, renowned for its pioneering role in harm reduction, authorised the home delivery of medical heroin. It was the first time ever that this happened. The provision of home delivery of medical heroin sought to limit the need for interaction with other people and reduce the risk of overdose, which prove to be higher during a pandemic, due to a harsher black market offering lower quality products.

COVID-19 has made clear the critical role of communities in responding to health crises. Communities of people who use drugs and community-based harm reduction services have stepped in quickly the world over to ensure that people who use drugs have access to harm reduction services, reaching those who are otherwise unreachable and bridging the gaps of inadequate healthcare systems.

Towards an effective drug policy

During COVID-19, there was a move to introduce drug policies that have been advocated for many years that aim to support rather than condemn people who use drugs. All these exceptional measures taken in the COVID-19 emergency should thus become the new normal. They are invaluable advances. Giving up these measures would be a regrettable step backwards.

Unlike repressive policies which have never reduced drug consumption or traffic, support and harm reduction measures have proved to work. In Switzerland, the so-called four pillar model which combines prevention, therapy, harm reduction and repression, has shown impressive health and safety results: decreases in HIV and Hepatitis C incidence among people who use drugs; lower death rates related to drug use; and a decline in drug-related crime.

These harm reduction and support strategies do not merely prevent serious health and social problems, and allow people who use drugs to better manage their consumption and improve their quality of life, but they are also extremely cost-effective. This can be seen in results obtained with experiences related to opioid substitution treatment in Indonesia, needle and syringe programs in Russia and naloxone distribution in the United States. These programs have helped to reduce the number of overdoses as well as prevent new HIV and hepatitis infections; leading to significant health sector savings!

An economic opportunity

In addition to reducing spending, drug policy reform can generate an economic rebound that is particularly needed, as the post-pandemic economic horizon remains highly uncertain. The International Labour Organization predicts huge revenue losses estimated between 860 and 3400 billion dollars by the end of 2020.

In the context of a coming recession, wouldnt opening the therapeutic cannabis market be an urgent opportunity to seize? The value of the global market for medical cannabis continues to grow. In Africa, green gold could represent almost 7 billion euros by 2023 while in Europe, the cannabis industry already weighs more than 18 billion euros according to Prohibition Partners.

Anticipating the economic opportunities that such a market can offer, some have already taken the leap by adapting their legislation. Faced with very serious debt, Lebanon legalised therapeutic cannabis last April so as to boost the countrys economy. Two months earlier, Israel, medical cannabis pioneer, allowed its export.

Rethinking drug policies is now an absolute necessity for our health and for us to coexist. However, this can only be done by prioritising the needs and voices of people who use drugs, by respecting their fundamental rights, by ensuring they are able to meet their health and social needs and by systematically and meaningfully involving them in the development of health strategies and programs.

In this regard, the Covid-19 crisis started an unprecedented movement of progressive reforms, lets keep it up!

Signatories: Coalition PLUS, international network of organisations working in the AIDS and viral hepatitis response, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) Harm Reduction International(HRI), International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD), International Network on Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU), Correlation  European Harm Reduction Network (C-EHRN),

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The government and health authorities in Northern Ireland have said they are still unable to confirm the number of COVID-19 deaths that have occurred in Derry care homes.

It is now over 90 days since the Public Health Agency published its first Coronavirus surveillance bulletin which included COVID-19 deaths and positive cases.

On April 13 the Derry News lodged a Freedom of Information request with the PHA asking for a breakdown of outbreaks and deaths in local care homes.

Under FOI legislation it has 20 working days to respond but nothing has been provided over two months later.

The PHA says staff who would normally deal with such requests are involved in other duties because of COVID-19.

It has since emerged that the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) is the official source for COVID-19 related deaths but it, nor any other organisation, is able to state how many deaths have occurred in care homes in each council area.

NISRA, the PHA, the Department of Health (DoH), health watchdog RQIA and the Western Trust have all been asked to provide figures for the number of care home deaths in Derry but say the information is not available despite detailed collation throughout the pandemic.

At a Western Trust media briefing on June 12 senior officials at the trust provided a comprehensive update on care home outbreaks but said details of care home deaths are not accessible.

DEATHS

Latest figures published by NISRA on June 19 show that the tragic COVID-19 death toll has risen to 802, up to the week ending June 12.

Of this total, 407 (50.7%) took place in hospital, 340 (42.3%) in care homes, eight (1.0%) in hospices and 47 (5.9%) at residential addresses or other locations.

The 348 deaths which occurred in care homes and hospices involved 78 separate establishments.

The comparative number of deaths reported daily by the Department of Health to June 12 was 540  almost a third less than NISRA.

Further analysis, which includes deaths of care home residents in hospital shows that of the 412 deaths of care home residents involving COVID-19 in the year to date to June 12 2020, 82.5% (340) occurred in a care home, with the remaining 72 occurring in hospital.

On this basis, deaths of care home residents account for 51.4% of all COVID-19 related deaths.

NISRA has however noted that no assumptions can be made in relation to where or when the deceased contracted the disease.

NISRA statistics also show that there have been 27 COVID-19 deaths in Derry and Strabane.

The council area has the second lowest number of positive COVID-19 cases with 177, according to DoH statistics.

REPORTING

At the beginning of the pandemic the PHA collated information around deaths and Coronavirus cases, based on data provided by NI health trusts.

It last published a daily report on April 19.

Since then the Department of Health NI has taken over responsibility for daily updates.

It experienced issues at the beginning and a dashboard the department launched was taken down because it contained an incorrect figure.

The nature of the error was never made public.

At the time the Derry News highlighted a mistake regarding Altnagelvin Hospital COVID-19 admissions before the dashboard was taken down and didnt receive any explanation.

The Department of Health was then criticised by the UK statistics authority.

Director General for Regulation Ed Humpherson said information should be released in a transparent, easily accessible and orderly way.

The dashboard has improved with more detailed information throughout the crisis.

Concurrently, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) has been publishing weekly reports since April 10 based on death certificates where COVID-19 is mentioned.

Deaths in the community are included meaning the totals are considerably higher than the DoH statistics.

NISRA reports cover deaths from the week prior to publication.

These reports have become more complex as time has evolved to include a breakdown of total deaths for each council area.

However, statistics have never been broken down to show the number of people who have died in care homes in each council area.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: NISRA is the official source for statistics via their weekly bulletin regarding registered COVID-19 related deaths.

At this stage the data is not available which could be used to provide a breakdown by setting in each local authority district.
US House votes 232-180 to approve long-denied rights for 711,000 residents of the US capital city in a symbolic move.

For the first time in US history, a chamber of the United States Congress voted 232-180 on Friday in favour of giving Washington, DC statehood  a move towards fuller voting rights for the citys majority Black population.

The vote was along party lines, with Democrats who control the House supporting it and while historic, it was symbolic as Republicans in the Senate and President Donald Trump oppose the move.

Across the United States today, Americans are taking down the remnants of the Confederacy as symbols of inequality, just as the House of Representatives is raising up in our nations capital to ensure equality for its citizens, said Eleanor Holmes Norton, who is Washingtons non-voting delegate to the Congress.

Norton, 83, has represented the District of Columbia in the US Congress since 1991. Norton cannot vote on legislation in the House but otherwise enjoys the privileges of a member of Congress. DC has no US senators.

My life as a third generation Washingtonian has marched toward this milestone, Norton said at a news conference at the US Capitol on Thursday.

Symbolic vote

Recent events in Washington, DC prompted House Democratic leadership to bring the DC statehood bill to a vote. In April, Republicans in the US Senate shorted the city $755m when the Congress doled out emergency funding for the coronavirus fight.

More recently, city residents and local leaders were outraged when federal law enforcement violently cleared protesters from Lafayette Square, a public park near the White House, and President Trump called up military troops to be on standby at bases just outside the city.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recognises DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, left, during a joint news conference in advance of Fridays historic House vote on District of Columbia statehood bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC [Yuri Gripas/Reuters]

If Washington, DC were a state its residents would be protected from the kind of civil rights violations we saw in Lafayette Square, said Representative Steny Hoyer, the number two Democrat in the House.

This [is] not just an issue of local governance and fairness. It is a major civil rights issue as well. We must bring to an end the disenfranchisement of 711,000 American citizens, Hoyer said.

Voting rights

Statehood is the only way to recognise the full voting rights of DC residents and bringing the bill to the House for a vote now is a way to show respect to the citizens of DC who have been denied the right to representation in Congress for two centuries, Hoyer said.

In 2016, 86 percent of DC voters said yes to a referendum authorising the City Council to petition Congress for statehood.

Signs supporting DC statehood are on display outside a voting place in Washington, DC in 2016 when residents voted to become the USs 51st state [File: Susan Walsh/AP Photo]

The bill is unlikely to become law unless Democrats gain a majority in the Senate in the upcoming November election. Even then, it would face an uphill climb requiring support from Republicans.

They want to make Washington [DC] a state to rig the rules of our democracy and try to give the Democratic Party permanent power, Senator Tom Cotton told NBC News on Thursday.

In May, Trump told the New York Post newspaper: DC will never be a state. Why? So we can have two more Democratic  Democrat senators and five more congressmen? No, thank you. Thatll never happen.

The balance of power between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate is a point of discontent. While Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, they represent fewer Americans than do Senate Democrats.

Tomorrow there will be a historic vote on #DCStatehood in the House. Its unacceptable that 700,000+ Americans in the capital of our democracy63% of whom are people of colorhave no voting representation in Congress. We must forever end this injustice: DC statehood now!  Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) June 25, 2020

The District of Columbia is comprised of 10 square miles (26sq km) of land ceded to the federal government by the state of Maryland in 1788. At the time, the US government was still in formation. George Washington was not yet installed as the first president in 1789. The city of Washington was an undeveloped swamp.

The US constitution mandates that a federal district serve as the seat of government that falls under the jurisdiction of Congress. The bill would shrink that district to encompass a smaller area to include the US Capitol, the national mall and a number of federal buildings, the rest of the land would become a state.

The Washington metropolitan area, including adjacent cities and suburbs of Virginia and Maryland, is now the sixth-largest metro area in the US with a population of more than six million.

With 711,000 residents, DC has a greater population than two states, Vermont and Wyoming. North Dakota and Alaska are similar in population.

The last time new states were admitted to the union was Hawaii and Alaska in 1959. Washington, DC residents received the right to vote for the president in 1961 and DC carries three votes in the US Electoral College which determines the winner of presidential elections.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

Trend

Azerbaijans Azercosmos OJSC has analysed the images taken by Azersky satellite during the monitoring of fires set by the Armenia in the occupied Azerbaijani territories in June this year, Trend reports.

The monitoring results were presented in the joint press statement of the company and Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry.

The analysis revealed that the Armenia set the fires in the village of Goyarkh and adjacent areas in Terter district occupied by Armenia, which are close to the line of contact in the direction of Armenian positions. In total, the fires were set in this territory covering 866 hectares.

Since early June this year, large-scale fires have been observed in the occupied settlements of Khidirli, Seyidli, Sarijali and Yusifjanli of Aghdam district, occupied Mughanli settlement of Khojavend district, as well as occupied Ashaghi Veysalli, Garakhanbeyli, Ashaghi Seyidahmadli, Ashaghi Abdurrahmanli and Horadiz settlements of Fizuli district.

As a result of theenvironmental crimes committed by Armenia, the territory covered by the fires reached 2,422 hectares. As of now, daily monitoring of these territories by Azersky satellite is underway.

"Armenia, as its seen, continues its illegal activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, including the setting of arsons and performing other actions harmful to the environment. The activities aim to prolong and reinforce the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts of Azerbaijan, as well as to prevent the return of Azerbaijani IDPs to their households.

Armenia, grossly violating the norms of international law, including humanitarian law, and the legislation of Azerbaijan, continues illegal activities in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region and surrounding districts of Azerbaijan. Armenian physical and legal entities, as well as other persons and companies, bear administrative and legal responsibility for being involved in the illegal activities in the occupied territories, said the document.

The military occupation of the Azerbaijani territories is temporary, and these lands will be returned to the control of Azerbaijan. Armenia will pay the Azerbaijani side for the damage and bear legal responsibility for all the illegal actions," the joint statement concluded.

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.
By Samantha J. Gross, Ben Wieder, and Sarah Blaskey | The Miami Herald

As the state struggles with a dramatic spike in Covid-19 cases, its also contending with criticism from the woman who designed the states public display of Covid-19 data, Rebekah Jones.

Jones, who earned a dual bachelors degree in geography and journalism at Syracuse University in 2012, was unceremoniously fired after claiming her supervisors were trying to make her manipulate data.

Rather than go away quietly, Jones designed her own competing dashboard, one that draws upon state data but offers an expanded menu of metrics, including hospital bed availability by facility, a key number, especially now as the number of confirmed cases soars. She says the state continues in its effort to twist the Covid-19 data for political reasons.

In a tweetstorm Tuesday night, Jones informed her nearly 42,000 followers that multiple health department sources have told her staff is being asked to "change the numbers and begin slowly deleting deaths and cases so it looks like Florida is improving next week in the leadup to July 4, like they've 'made it over the hump.' "

"I've independently verified they've deleted at least 1200 cases in the last week."

BREAKING 3 OF 3 I've independently verified they've deleted at least 1200 cases in the last week.They're only reporting all these cases now so they can restrict reporting next week to make everyone think it's over. I've had two DOH employees in different offices confirm  Rebekah Jones aka #Insubordinate #scientist (@GeoRebekah) June 23, 2020

She was interviewed on CNNs morning show, New Day, Wednesday morning. Asked for evidence to back up her claim, Jones appeared to mute her criticism, indicating her main issue with the states numbers is that the official tally doesnt count out-of-state residents who die of Covid-19 in Florida.

Thats a disparity that has been pointed out by many, but it is not the same as deleting deaths.

Jones did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was asked about Jones' latest broadsides at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

"You're embarrassing yourself," the governor said, accusing the Miami Herald of "chasing the conspiracy bandwagon."

Later Wednesday, Jones discussed her concerns on WLRNs Sundial program, expressing concerns that if the state were to alter numbers ahead of the July 4 weekend, it could give Florida residents false confidence about the current danger posed by Covid-19.

"That could cost a lot of lives," she said.

The Herald has questioned the state numerous times about apparent inconsistencies with the data it has released. Earlier this week, for example, a news release from the Florida Division of Emergency Management cited a different count for the number of new Covid-19 cases in the state on June 22 than the states dashboard.

Alberto Moscoso, a spokesman for the Department of Health, said that the state had previously produced two different numbers each day, reflecting different time periods, but would report only one of the two numbers going forward.

Previously the Herald asked Moscoso about wild fluctuations in Covid-19 case counts at long-term care facilities over the course of a few days and was given little explanation for the variation.

The data on Covid-19 cases, deaths and testing in long-term care facilities were released only in response to pressure, including a lawsuit filed by the Herald and several other news organizations.

Since announcing its first positive case of the coronavirus in Florida on March 1  after weeks of tracking suspected cases but not telling local hospitals, much less the public  the state has generated voluminous data, much of it displayed on the public dashboard that is updated daily. Earlier this month, a Miami Herald investigation revealed how the governor had proceeded with reopening Florida despite indications in the data that the state might no longer be meeting federal guidelines.

Jones, the geographic information system manager for DOH's Division of Disease Control and Health Protection, caused a storm last month after multiple media outlets published an email she wrote that stated authority over the dashboard had been taken away from her office. The sharply worded email, shared with the Herald by a recipient of the message, was addressed to users of the state's data portal, which includes researchers and journalists.

In that and other emails, first provided to Florida Today, she appears to be instructed to not just revoke access to certain data, but to take down the whole site because it provided access to the data.

"This whole site needs to come down," Scott Pritchard wrote in one of the emails Jones provided. "It literally has all the data files."

She was fired for insubordination.

Pritchard was the states interim director of infectious disease prevention and investigations section in the Bureau of Epidemiologys Division of Disease Control and Health Protection, most recently leading a team of epidemiologists involved in the Covid-19 response, according to the Department of Health.

After 15 years of service, he left his role at the department in June. Moscoso, the DOH spokesman, said Pritchard "decided to resign to pursue other professional goals."

Pritchard, who according to his Facebook is on a cross-country road trip, did not return a request for comment.

Scott has a very strong work ethic, is creative in his approach to epidemiology, and sets high standards for himself and also for the people around him, said Richard Hopkins, a former colleague at DOH. He has  or used to have  very little tolerance for excuses.

One former department employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Pritchard expressed fear that he would be the scapegoat blamed by DeSantis when case numbers "started exploding."

The former employee said Pritchard officially resigned June 11, the day DeSantis announced a plan for K-12 schools to reopen in August.

Jones has raised more than $183,000 on a GoFundMe website for her rival dashboard, where she says the data will not be "fudged." The new dashboard, which she calls Florida COVID Action, looks a lot like the state health department's and draws upon state data, but has some differences.

For one, it shows which Florida counties are ready for the next phase of reopening (she reports only three are). It also highlights the number of intensive care unit beds available across the state and provides information on testing locations across the state.

Jones includes extensive documentation for each element of her dashboard and explains how her data presentation and calculations differ from those provided by DOH. Jones includes positive antibody tests in her total number of cases, for example.

The Herald was unable to independently verify her claim that 1,200 cases had been deleted by DOH in the last week. The Herald compared DOH case line data published on June 21 and June 22 to look for discrepancies in cases. For cases dated March 1 through June 20, the Herald analysis showed 10 cases appeared to have been dropped from one data publication to the next. All of those cases were from June.

Speaking on WLRN, Jones said that former colleagues she remains in contact with at DOH tell her they are regularly asked to manipulate data to make Florida's numbers look better.

"Every day," she said.

She said she has preserved thousands of pages of emails and other documents and has been in contact with numerous lawmakers, and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, investigating her claims.

There are definitely receipts and they will be made public, she said.

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R yanair chief executive Michael O'Leary today called on the EU Commission to block the bailout of KLM.

It comes as Dutch airline KLM today secured a 3.4 billion bailout from Dutch taxpayers to help it get through the coronavirus crisis.

The bailout follows the 7 billion bailout of Air France from the French government, and a 9 billion handout from the German government for Lufthansa.

But O'Leary wanst the commission to step in and block the deal.

He said: 16 years after Air Frances takeover of KLM, every Dutch citizen now has to pay 200 each to prop-up Air France-KLM, while each French citizen will only pay a subsidy 100. This is a poor deal for the trading nation, which likes to lecture other EU countries about fiscal rules but has no problem breaking these rules when it comes to subsidising KLM.

"This Dutch government subsidy is also bad news for competition and consumer interests as it will further delay the necessary reforms at the bloated Air France-KLM. For this 200 KLM subsidy, every Dutch man, woman and child could buy 5 flights with Ryanair, instead of paying for the failure and inefficiency at Air France-KLM.

" We call on the European Commission to block this subsidy doping to KLM, which will further reduce competition and consumer choice in the Dutch and French markets.
New Delhi, June 26 : The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday took suo motu cognizance of an incident where a journalist was allegedly killed in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh by the sand mafia.

"Reportedly, the victim Shubham Tripathy was working as a correspondent with a Hindi daily. He had been reporting about illegal sand mining in the district and had received threat to his life from the sand mafia. His opponents had also lodged a complaint against him with the District Magistrate," the human rights body said in a statement.

After taking cognizance of the matter, the Commission issued a notice to the UP Chief Secretary and DGP, asking for a detailed report.

The state government has also been directed to get an impartial enquiry done into the matter by an independent agency, preferably the Crime Branch or the CID, and to ensure safety of the family of the victim and the witnesses in the matter.

"The call details and other forensic evidences gathered during the inquiry should be preserved. The response is expected within four weeks," the statement said.

The Commission has observed that the news report had mentioned that in many cases, mediapersons were targeted by the anti-social elements and in most of the cases, no action against the culprits was taken by the police authorities.

"In a democratic system, the media is considered as the fourth pillar of the government which cannot be allowed to be victimised by the anti-social elements in such a cruel manner," the rights body said.

It is the duty of the state to provide adequate safety and security to the mediapersons who in the public interest keep taking great risks to highlight the illegal activities prevailing in the society, it added.

The death of Shubham Tripathy in this case is a matter of concern for the Commission and also an issue involving violation of human rights, it said.
There is no environment in Rome more international than that of the Pontifical Universities. Every year hundreds of young clerics and lay people from around the world arrive in the Eternal City to begin a course of academic studies, theological and otherwise. Very often the studies are related to second and third levels of study (licences and doctorates), but it is not uncommon to find students also working toward their bachelors degrees at the Capitoline universities, often lodging in the various colleges of their countries of origin. For this reason, the sudden interruption by the pandemic has upset life in these environments more than elsewhere. When the lockdown began it was just a few weeks after exams had ended for the winter session, and lessons for the second semester had just begun. How did the Catholic universities react? And more importantly, what are they planning and how are they preparing for the next academic year?

I would say that the reaction was swift and positive for all the institutions, explained Fr Mauro Mantovani, Rector of the Salesian University and President of the Conference of Rectors of the Pontifical Universities and Institutes of Rome (Cruipro), which coordinates the 22 academic institutions present, nine of which are universities. It is significant that this positive evaluation should come precisely from the Rector of the university most stricken by the virus: with at least 62 people infected, several individuals hospitalized, and Fr Gregorio Jaskot who lost his life. But from the Rectors words it seems clear that the sorrow over the loss of a beloved confrere does not diminish the will to respond and return to the universitys inspiring mission as soon as possible. We immediately implemented distance learning, strengthened by the fact that we had already been experimenting for some time with forms of digital instruction. After all, our university is also known for the bachelors programme in social communication science. But we are very well aware that the best of technologies can never replace the value of in-person participation in the educational relationship, as was also explained clearly in the recent indications offered by the Congregation for Catholic Education on 7 May. You can imagine that for the children of Don Bosco the difference between mere learning and the educational process is something that is part of our DNA. As is well known, we also offer lay, so to speak, baccalaureate courses in psychology, education, communication science, thus we also have a significant proportion of lay students. In the Easter season we distributed a questionnaire to all our students in order to monitor how they were adapting to these extraordinary learning methods, and I must say that the results have been very encouraging. In keeping with the tradition that aims to keep our psychology department among the most prestigious in Italy, we also launched a psychological support system for our students and their families, cognizant of the correlated widespread psychological harm that the virus is spreading.

As for the next academic year we have already prepared the course schedule, which is in complete continuity with those of prior years; all courses are confirmed. We are planning as if the lessons will be able to be face-to-face, but if this is not possible we will work with the flexibility of online teaching, bolstered by the experience of these recent months. Likewise, if there are students who still cannot be present in Rome in October, we will certainly accept them, and by video they will be able to follow the lessons taking place in the classroom. We will definitely not leave anyone by the wayside. I think that even when the situation returns to normal, the use of multimedia in teaching will continue, making our lessons richer and more stimulating.

The one real concern at the moment is with regard to visas and entry permits for non-European students. I hope there will be a particular sensitivity to this aspect on the part of the government; but I repeat that if any student is unable to arrive in time for October, he or she will not be left behind. One point I would like to emphasize as President of the Conference of Rectors is that there has never been such a strong collaboration among all the Pontifical Universities in Rome as there has been in this situation. And it is a wealth that will not be dispelled. I would like to thank LOsservatore Romano for giving us this opportunity to send a message to all its readers, especially bishops and major superiors: do not be afraid to send clerics, seminarians, novices and lay people to Rome next year as usual: they will be guaranteed health safety and the customary high-level curricula that all our universities offer.

At the Gregorian the situation is not much different, if not for the higher number of foreign students, mostly residents in the national colleges. In total they are nearly 75 per cent of our 2,800 students, noted Fr Mark A. Lewis, Vice Rector of the prestigious academic institution, but few returned to their countries when the pandemic broke out he continued, adding that:

At the end of February when the situation began to become serious we gave ourselves three objectives: maximum attention and care for the health conditions of our staff and our students; immediate activation of distance learning and online submission of all educational materials necessary for continuing studies; a commitment not to modify the universitys academic calendar, also confirming the dates of both grades and advancement, whether online or in-person. We sought to digitize as much material as possible in order to remedy the lack of access to the library. Our library consists of approximately half a million books. Our three reading rooms reopened on 18 May with their seating capacity reduced to a third, that is, 75 seats, which can be reserved online. We are pleased to say that the entire periodical section is now accessible online, and this is a great help to our doctoral candidates. Thus, we are pleased with our ability to respond, Fr Mark continued. Even the programming for next year is proceeding swiftly: we have confirmed the commencement of the academic year on 5 October, and we are well prepared to proceed with a mixed system of online and in-person participation. We have modified classroom logistics to allow for social distancing. And we are recording preparatory Italian language lessons for new students, in order to help them begin their courses with a basic knowledge; especially for cases of delayed arrivals to Rome due to visa problems. We are also coordinating with the principal national colleges where most of our students generally stay, so that they too will be ready for the annual return. We are maintaining the same tuition fees as this year, but we hope that with the global economic uncertainty there will not be a decrease in the vital flow of scholarships that the Propaganda Fide and other foundations dispense to our students. Fr Nuno da Silva Goncalves, Rector of the Gregorian, had no hesitation: We will definitely be prepared to welcome and support both the students who are in Rome and those who are not able to get here due to difficulties with international travels or visas. We will not leave anyone behind or alone.

In the splendid setting of the Aventine Hill, the University of SantAnselmo stands out like a fortress visible from most of Romes historical centre. Prof. Bernhard Eckerstorfer, an Austrian Benedictine monk, is the Rector of the Anselmianum which, along with the faculties of Theology and Philosophy, is famous for the Pontifical Liturgical Institute and for the institute of monastic spirituality. His strong, purposeful energy does not hide his subtle amazement over events: Do you understand? I was appointed Rector of this university last 16 December. My head was filled with plans and new ideas. I had barely a few weeks to look around me and meet the professors, and this pandemic swooped in on us! But I can assure you that none of the development projects that we have in mind for the university will be set aside.

With regard to SantAnselmo as the Pontifical University with the greatest number of foreign students in Rome, I am very confident that we will have no defections. Our institution is both university and college; we host, in our monastic way of life, approximately 120 students, out of 700 enrolled. Did you know? I am very proud: none of our students has left the college due to the coronavirus! And this is because of our specific characteristic: la stabilitas monastica. Which in this instance is not just a spiritual lifestyle but also a guarantee of health security. No one leaves the abbey unless absolutely necessary, while guaranteeing a satisfying and stimulating living environment. Indeed we have started to receive enrolment applications for next year, actually conditioned on lodging at the college. Bishops, abbots and superiors feel more at ease knowing that their students will be in a protected study environment that does not require transfers. After all, as you well know, in 15 centuries of Benedictine monasticism there have been many stories of abbeys and monasteries that have been formidable bulwarks against epidemics and plagues. In the practical sphere, we immediately began working online, strengthened by the fact that we had already been offering e-learning courses on one of our platforms for several years. We also have a great focus on asynchronous lessons: in case students are unable to come to Rome, they will still be able to follow the lessons regardless of the time zone. For this reason we are investing some 7,000 euros per classroom in order to equip each one with cameras and suitable technologies for recording and transmitting lessons. And, in respect of copyright laws we are seeking to digitalize as many texts as possible from our library, which is a treasure trove of unique liturgical and monastic materials. I think that at the end of this pandemic we will be stronger than before. I am thinking especially of two aspects: multimedia will finally allow us to bring theological culture even into our cloistered monasteries around the world, and moreover will make lessons more stimulating, allowing for outside interventions by experts and digitally-visiting professors. And then tell me: how can anyone give up the opportunity to study theology in Rome? It is a unique experience in life; unmissable.

If one cannot give up Rome, imagine giving up Jerusalem. Fr Alessandro Coniglio, OFM, is a professor and secretary of the faculty of Franciscan biblical studies in the Holy City, the SBF, connected with the Antonianum University of Rome. Our institution is highly specialized and small in numbers, in which we provide only second and third level courses. Since last March we too have been doing only online lessons and three licentiate dissertations have already been defended with this method. The impact of the pandemic in Israel has not been as tragic as in the rest of the world, and the country is already recovering. We too hope to recommence soon, because in-person participation is essential for us; our advantage is studying immersed in the environment of the Holy Land. From Rome like Jerusalem the message especially to bishops is the same: We are ready. We are restarting. Do not be afraid to send your students. With flexibility from instruments, of course, but with our longstanding quality and passion.

Roberto Cetera
Russias leading rocket-space enterprise S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia will be offering a special ride to space to two space tourists starting 2023.

The unique experience being offered on the tour is a chance to take a spacewalk outside the International Space Station.

Twitter

The tour will be a part of Energias new contract with Space Adventures that promises to take two space tourists to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2023.

The proposal gets even more interesting, as one of these tourists will be able to conduct a space walk outside the ISS. With this, the tourists will be the first private citizen in history to experience open space, says Space Adventures in a statement.

However, it clarifies that only accepted and secured candidates will be able to take part in the tour. The participants will also be required to complete specialized training and simulations to prepare themselves for the spacewalk.

The experience will be the next step of a long standing partnership between Space Adventures and Energia, which has previously sent eight tourists to the ISS between 2001 and 2009.

Space tourism heats up

An ESA astronaut on a space walk outside the ISS (Image: NASA)

Energia is not the only space firm planning to offer ultra-rich tourists an experience in space. Just like the Russian firm, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism firm has also signed a deal with NASA to promote similar tourism following a special training program in the U.S.



A similar announcement was made by SpaceX in March, wherein the worlds biggest private space technology firm promised to take up to three people on board of the Crew Dragon by as early as next year.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft was successfully used in the first ever manned SpaceX flight to the International Space Stations this month. With the mission, SpaceX and NASA were able to bring manned space flights to the US for the first time ever.

Prior to the historic SpaceX launch, NASA used to depend on Russias Soyuz rockets for sending its astronauts to the ISS. With the US space agency now increasingly using the SpaceX rockets, Soyuz is not as much in demand, allowing Roscosmos to employ it for private tours like these, after more than a decade.
Gorakhpur : , June 26 (IANS) The centre has approved the proposal for setting up of Uttar Pradesh's first vulture conservation centre, known as Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre, that will come up in Maharajganj district.

The CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund) Budget for this financial year has been already approved. The government has asked the district forest officer to submit a detailed project report within 10 days.

The divisional forest officer (DFO), Gorakhpur, Avinash Kumar said that the Principal chief conservation of forest (PCCF), Uttar Pradesh, Sunil Pandey, had informed that the project has been approved by the central government.

"He has asked me to submit a detailed project report within 10 days," said Kumar.

The DFO said that technical expertise for the project will be taken from Bombay Natural History Society.

Lab shelter, residential complex for doctors and other facilities will be a part of the project.

The DFO said, "As per our estimate, the entire project will require Rs 4 to 5 crore. However, the detailed report is yet to be prepared.

"A budget of Rs 82 lakh has been approved by the state government. The centre will be built on a 5-hectare land in Bhari-Baisi village in Farenda tehsil of Maharajganj district." He said that in the first phase, infrastructure of the centre will be built, while work for conservation of vultures will be done in the second phase. The breeding phase will start in the third phase.
Queenslanders will remain in the dark over the weekend about whether or not the state's borders will reopen on July 10.

Following a meeting of the nation's leaders on Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said all state and territories had agreed to continue with their plans to ease restrictions, despite the outbreak in Victoria.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will announce a decision about borders on Tuesday. Credit:Dave Hunt/AAP

"There is the existing date of July 10 and I understand they [the Queensland government] are reviewing that and will be making further announcements about that date in coming days," Mr Morrison said.

"As far as I am aware the date is July 10 and if there is any change to that, that is something the Premier will advise."
Balancing a hat on top of a hat, David Dobkins Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga tries to add even more humor to an event already legendary for its excesses and battiness. The result is a movie so eye-searingly extra it makes Mamma Mia! look bashful.

Seemingly operating on the belief that volume plus glitter equals comedy, the movie (streaming on Netflix) introduces Lars (Will Ferrell), a motherless man-child, and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams), a shy music teacher who speaks to elves. As the duo Fire Saga, they perform in the rowdy bars of their tiny Icelandic fishing village  a place where everyone speaks English in an accent reminiscent of the Swedish chef on The Muppets. To gain respect from his disapproving father (Pierce Brosnan), Lars dreams of representing Iceland at Eurovision. Sigrit, of course, just wants Lars to fall in love with her.
The coronavirus has changed the Lehigh Valley, reaching into every corner of our lives.

In late March, as the rate of COVID-19 cases raced toward a peak, Pennsylvania shut down to protect public health, first by closing non-essential businesses, then by rolling out stay-at-home orders. One for the Lehigh Valley took effect on March 25.
Vice President Mike Pence defended the Trump campaign's decision to resume its signature in-person rallies despite a worrying spike in coronavirus cases.

At a White House coronavirus task force briefing Friday  the group's first in nearly two months  a reporter asked Pence why the campaign forged ahead with the rallies, which have drawn tens of thousands of President Donald Trump's supporters in the past.

"The freedom of speech, the right to peaceably assemble, is enshrined in the constitution of the United States," replied Pence, who leads the task force.

"And we have an election coming up this fall," he added. "We still want to give people the freedom to participate in the political process, and we respect that."

Another reporter grilled Pence for justifying the public gatherings while insisting that people follow state and local social distancing guidelines.

"Even in a health crisis, the American people don't forfeit our constitutional rights," Pence said. "I think it's really important that we recognize how important freedom and personal responsibility to this entire equation."

TCNN TWEET

Pence said that he and Trump believed in "taking proper steps" in their approach to hosting rallies amid the pandemic. At the most recent rally in Oklahoma over the weekend, attendees received masks, hand sanitizer and temperature checks before entering the Tulsa arena where Trump spoke. But wearing the masks was not mandatory.

The vice president noted that attendees were screened at recent events, and added that Oklahoma's positivity rate for Covid-19 cases appears to be on the decline as of Friday. "That's a great testament to the fact that people are using common sense, they're being responsible."

While Trump had regularly held rallies throughout his 2016 election bid and during much of his first term in office, the campaign suspended rallies for more than three months as the pandemic spread throughout the United States.

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has also been off the campaign trail, appearing mostly during virtual events and interviews. Despite his physical absence, Biden has surged ahead of Trump in general election polls.

The Trump campaign's reboot in Tulsa yielded as much controversy as it did exposure to his reelection pitch, with top health officials in the area recommending the event be postponed. Turnout at the 19,000-capacity convention center also fell well below the hype that the campaign had built up, marring the enthusiastic image the president's reelection team was hoping to convey.

On Tuesday, Trump spoke to a packed megachurch in Phoenix, Arizona.

The president has regularly claimed that America has been more effective in combating the virus than any other country, even though the U.S. has reported the highest numbers of cases and deaths from Covid-19. During a speech in Marinette, Wisconsin, on Thursday, Trump once again claimed that the U.S. is seeing an increase in coronavirus cases because it is testing more extensively than other nations.

More than 2.4 million coronavirus cases and at least 124,468 deaths have been confirmed in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Pence, who as recently as last week had assured Americans that the "panic" over a so-called second wave of the virus was "overblown," admitted at the briefing Friday that "we now have seen cases rise precipitously across the South."

"If there's one message that comes through today I hope it is saying to younger Americans in these states, and in these counties in particular, that they are a big part of the numbers that we are seeing in new cases," Pence said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently said that the U.S. is still in the first wave of the pandemic.

Pence told reporters it was "encouraging" to see that roughly half of the new infections reported are in people under 35 years old, as that age group is less likely to be seriously harmed or killed by the virus than older demographics.

But Fauci warned that young people can still spread the disease to more at-risk populations.

"People are infecting other people and ultimately you will infect someone who's vulnerable," Fauci said at the briefing.

-- CNBC's Noah Higgins-Dunn contributed to this report.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  A company that provides passenger and baggage handling services at Gerald R. Ford International Airport is laying off 55 employees.

Swissport, an aviation services company headquartered in Switzerland, says reduced air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic has left it without enough revenue to maintain its current workforce.

The company began laying off employees in late April and expects to complete its last layoffs by the end of June, the company told the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.

The layoffs are expected to be permanent.

About 2,000 people work at the airport, including airline employees, companies that provide airline support services, food vendors and more.

The layoffs come amid a challenging time for the commercial airline industry. The coronavirus pandemic has sharply reduced at Gerald R. Ford International Airport and elsewhere.

In May, for example, daily passenger traffic was down 86 percent, according to airport figures. Thats up from a 90 percent decline in April.

There have been other staffing reductions at the airport besides Swissport.

The Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority, the organization that operates the airport, has reduced its staff through 11 separations and 13 retirements or resignations, according to the airport authority.

By the end of this month, the job reductions will have reduced the authoritys staff from 111 to 87, said Stephen Clark, the authoritys business development manager.

Clark declined to discuss what specific positions were eliminated but said the reductions were made throughout our organization.

He cited the decline in passenger traffic when asked about the reason for the layoffs.

We continue to operate, but with fewer passengers, the airlines have fewer flights, Swissport is handling fewer bags, we are parking fewer cars, etc, Clark said.

We are seeing signs of a rebound and are optimistic that we will be at about 50-55 percent of traffic by the end of the year.

Clark did not provide an estimate on how much revenue the job reductions would save the airport authority on an annual basis.

Read more:

Priority Health donates thousands of diapers to families across Southwest Michigan

More than 36 cars stolen from Grand Rapids area dealerships in about two weeks: police

Popular Traverse City wineries, restaurants on possible COVID-19 exposure list
On the opposite side of the Square, facing King Street, the statue of Hans Christian Heg honors an outspoken abolitionist and Wisconsin Civil War hero who gave his life to end slavery. He also was a prison reformer.

Both statues were toppled by misguided vandals. Both must be restored and go back up.

State Street businesses were just starting to open after months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, followed by mass protests over the horrific police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The protests were justified and mostly peaceful. They helped lead to murder charges against the officers involved and prompted a national discussion and legislation to improve law enforcement. They have built momentum for real change.

But looting and smashing stores on State Street  some of them owned by people of color  was wrong weeks ago. So was the violence and destruction Tuesday night. Beating up a state senator (and gay rights leader) wont further the goals of justice and equality. Nor will starting fires, trashing the state Capitol, threatening random people with violence or toppling monuments to noble causes.
Latest poll shows majority of people in the territory do not support the legislation that Beijing is imposing.

A majority of people in Hong Kong are opposed to Chinas plan to impose a national security law in the territory, saying the legislation undermines the one country, two systems framework under which the city is governed and will limit the citys existing rights and freedoms, according to a survey commissioned by Reuters.

The survey, conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute between June 15 and 18, showed the legislation is opposed by 57 percent of people in the territory. Some 49 percent said they were strongly opposed to the law.



The poll was conducted when Beijing had announced its intention to introduce the legislation against terrorism, subversion, separatism and foreign interference but few details were known.

While the draft of the new law is yet to be finalised, key features of the legislation have since been released, revealing that Communist Party authorities in Beijing will have overarching powers over its enforcement, including final interpretation rights.

Support for the legislation added up to 34 percent, with the rest indifferent or undecided.





I object to the law because the [Beijing] government is interfering in Hong Kongs business, 29-year-old engineer Charles Lo, 29, who participated in the survey, told Reuters. It will also suppress our freedom of speech and hinder the democracy movement.

Protest support dips

The poll also found that support for the pro-democracy protests that began a year ago had slipped, although a majority of the population continued to back the action.

Protests escalated last June when millions marched through the streets over a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed people to be extradited to mainland China for trial. As the protests continued, they evolved into a call for greater democracy, involving sometimes violent clashes with the police.

The demonstrations calmed this year as the city battled COVID-19, which limited gatherings. While protests have resumed since the bill was announced, far fewer people have taken part.

The poll showed support for the protests at 51 percent, compared with 58 percent when Reuters conducted its last poll in March. Opposition rose to 34 percent from 28 percent.

It may be psychological, because Hong Kong people see Beijing is getting more hardline, said Ming Sing, associate professor of social sciences at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

If you keep insisting [on the demands], its impractical.

Most demonstrations in recent weeks have been attended only by a few hundred people and have ended quickly. Police, citing coronavirus restrictions, have not given permission for rallies and have arrested large numbers of those who have turned up.





The shift in backing for the protests has occurred mainly at the extremes, with those who strongly support them dropping to 34 percent from 40 percent and those who strongly oppose them rising to 28 percent from 21 percent. The number of those who somewhat support or oppose the protests remained stable.

Security law looms

The particular demands of the movement have also seen a drop in support. The request for an independent commission of inquiry to look into how police handled the demonstrations saw a 10-percentage-point drop from March to 66 percent.

Universal suffrage, another key demand, had the backing of 61 percent of people, down from 68 percent. The resignation of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam was supported by 57 percent compared with 63 percent three months ago.

Opposition to the demands rose to 21 percent from 15 percent.

Samson Yuen, assistant professor in the political science department at Lingnan University, said support for the protesters demands was still high but could have dropped because the security law had overtaken the protests as the main topic in public debate.

Who would still talk about [protest] demands when the national security law is coming? Yuen asked.

Lams office and Chinas Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, which comes under the State Council, or cabinet, did not respond to requests for comment.





The national security law has raised fears that Beijing is further eroding extensive autonomy promised to the territory when the United Kingdom handed it back to China under the one country, two systems formula in 1997.

Question of trust

Hong Kong and Beijing authorities have repeatedly said the legislation would only target a small number of troublemakers, while rights and freedoms would be preserved. They say it will bring stability to a city rattled by the protests.

Before June last year, I didnt think Hong Kong needed national security laws because we were so peaceful and safe, but now I think its necessary, said another survey respondent, Hui, a retiree in her 50s.

KK Leung, a 49-year-old ship maintenance officer, disagreed.

I dont trust Chinese laws, Leung said. Our freedom of speech will be affected if the law is implemented. I wouldnt dare say Down with the Communist Party or Carrie Lam, step down in protests like I do now.

The poll also showed that support for the idea of Hong Kong independence, which is anathema to Beijing and is expected to be a focal point in the looming legislation, remained relatively unchanged at 21 percent. Opposition to the idea grew to 60 percent from 56 percent.

For the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points, 1,002 respondents were randomly surveyed by telephone. The results were weighted according to the latest population figures.
We expect to learn our political fate at about 7pm today.

It has been a long haul and the uncertainty has persisted right to the end with all eyes still on the Green Party's 1,962 registered voters and doubts about whether they would clear the two-thirds majority bar.

From here, there are five distinct possibilities, depending on the outcome of the vote by the Greens and the other two parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

None of these outcomes is ideal - but some are worse than others. Here are the scenarios in order of likelihood:

Yes from all parties sets coalition on uncertain journey

Since the vote counting concluded way back on Tuesday, February 11, Dail arithmetic has said this Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party line-up looked most likely. But there were many talks about talks before we even got started.

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael finally agreed to open government negotiations on April 14, a historic move which almost passed unnoticed amid coronavirus trauma and show-stealing by the Greens.

The Green Party did, despite internal machinations, eventually agree on May 14 to start talks with the other two. A draft deal was finally agreed on June 15.

Along the way there was persistent speculation about all three parties not getting into serious talks; about the ability of such disparate groupings being able to cut a deal; and finally whether the three party memberships would ratify it.

Now speculation may in this scenario switch focus to how long this coalition can last.

But let's be optimistic. All three parties are heavily invested so far.

Likelihood: 4/5

Another election as early as coronavirus permits

If this draft deal is not ratified by the members of all three parties today, one way or another we will be headed back to the ballot box.

After 139 days of talking and internal debates - pretty much twice the last record in 2016 - it would be hard to countenance still more talks about other options.

But since coronavirus will push the election prospect into the autumn, more party and Independent TD talks will fill at least the interim space. There is no guarantee another election would give us a more clear-cut result.

The President has sole power to refuse a Dail dissolution. Given his half century of political experience, President Michael D Higgins could advise our TDs to try again for a government. There are, however, limits to everything. We are moving all the time towards a more European model of politics.

Where coalition-making once took mere days, and then weeks, we are now in the realms of months. It took 70 days in 2016 and is today on 139 and counting. Another general election would be a better bet than trying to "out-Belgium the Belgians".

Likelihood: 3/5

A Fianna Fail-Fine Gael plus Independents government:

It's all about getting to 80-plus TDs and a majority to sustain a government in office. Just hold that thought.

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael total 72, and there are some 20 Independent TDs. Perhaps 10 or more of these Independents could be persuaded to come on board with the two traditional parties.

There would be huge naysaying about potential government instability. That danger is obvious - but does not have to automatically follow.

In the recent past, government-support deals with Independents endured. In some cases, when the heat came on, the Independents lasted better than the loyalty of individual party TDs.

Many of these Independents are seasoned politicians who know how to make a workable deal. Talks would not be easy and a deal could take some time. But a result could emerge long before another election is allowable due to coronavirus.

Likelihood: 3/5

Sinn Fein-Fianna Fail and others coalition

Numerically this is highly doable - politically it is extremely problematic. The numbers tell us Sinn Fein's 37 TDs and the same number for Fianna Fail takes us to 74 - a short walk to the required 80-plus majority.

Labour and the Social Democrats with six TDs each will be talked about. But each of these has already appeared decidedly uninterested in joining any coalition and would take some coaxing.

The Soc Dems' focus is trying to build a party - Labour is trying to rebuild shattered political fortunes.

The idea of the Greens coming on board occurs again here, and some in the party believe they can more easily make common cause with Sinn Fein.

But other Green stalwarts point to Sinn Fein's opposition to the local property tax and rejection of current proposals for carbon taxes. Surely a non-starter.

However, the biggest bugbear of all with this scenario is the antipathy between the leadership of both parties. Granted, some in Fianna Fail believe they can easier operate with Sinn Fein than with Fine Gael.

But Micheal Martin has totally bet his fortunes on having no truck whatsoever here. His strong attacks on Mary Lou McDonald's party during the general election campaign not only closed that door - they nailed it shut.

Serious moves to coalesce with Sinn Fein could utterly split Fianna Fail.

It is also likely that all Sinn Fein's fulminations about being excluded from coalition-making amounts to rhetoric as it relishes ownership of opposition.

Likelihood: 2/5

Fianna Fail-Fine Gael minority coalition with external Green Party support

This would assume the Green Party membership vote did not clear the required two-thirds majority bar. If the Green Party would not manage to fully join government, how would a kind of associate membership go?

On the plus side many of the opponents of the three-party coalition had urged a national government of all parties and groupings. This arrangement could be presented as a diluted form of that at a time when government is required.

But realpolitik is totally against this idea for too many reasons. Firstly, it would be hard to get Fianna Fail and Fine Gael buy-in and establish trust. Secondly, it could again involve going back to the Green Party membership for renewed consultation, further enflaming strained relations.

Unless something extraordinary and unforeseen happens, it is hard to see this idea gaining traction at all.

Likelihood: 1/5
Baghpat : , June 26 (IANS) The Baghpat Police have arrested a Delhi woman who had allegedly orchestrated the murder of her husband.

The woman was arrested on Thursday. As per the police information, she did not want him to share property with his three other wives. The accused woman is the first wife of the deceased.

Baghpat Superintendent of Police, Ajay Kumar Singh, said, "Rajni, the accused, gave Rs six lakh to a contract killer, Sudhir Singh, to carry out the murder. Sudhir hired three local youths for the task. Sudhir and Rohit Singh -- one of the three shooters who shot the victim -- have been arrested." Two other accused, Sachin Singh and Ravi Singh, are absconding.

The victim, Vikas Singh, who owned a placement agency in Delhi, had come to his village in Baghpat a few days ago. He was shot dead in the village on June 19.

"It was a blind case which was meticulously worked out by the Baghpat Police. There were many dimensions to the case, but it was solved in a short span of time," said Praveen Kumar, Inspector General (IG) of Meerut range.

According to the police, Rajni got married to Vikas in 2009, and the couple had two children. But, between 2017 and 2020, Vikas married three other women also.

"Rajni was worried about the future of the children. She feared that Vikas would give her a divorce and share his properties with the three women," the police officer said.
Notes Prove Obama, Biden Involved in Investigation of Flynn

Commentary

The Spygate scandal continues to grow at an exponential pace.

Without making it publicly known, Attorney General William Barr in early January appointed U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Jeffrey Jensen to go to the U.S. attorneys office in Washington, and conduct a secret investigation of both the FBIs Crossfire Hurricane team and the Mueller special counsel offices handling of the case against President Donald Trumps former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn.

As I have spent more than two years documenting here at The Epoch Times, the Flynn case is one of the strangest, most heart-breaking, most puzzling, and most infuriating cases the DOJ has ever handled.

It was on April 24 that Jensen suddenly appeared in the district court for the District of Columbia to change history by handing off some sealed documents to the defense team for Flynn, a retired three-star Army general.

Describing what Jensen found inside that office as explosive is a vast understatement. The unsealed documents blew the Flynn case open and starkly exposed what can only be described as an organized criminal plot by top FBI officials to target and frame an innocent man they knew had committed no crime.

Before Jensens sudden appearance in the Flynn case, the media thought they had the full story of the Spygate scandal and of Flynns case written in stone.

To hear them tell it, Spygate was a wacky conspiracy theory to deflect from the very serious Russian collusion crimes that allegedly involved Trump and his close associates.

The historyas written by the mediawent on to state that Flynn was a traitor to his country whod been caught lying to FBI agents and was convicted forevermore of the crime of making false statements.

But the mainstream medias history was wrong.

Its no longer a wacky conspiracy theory that both the FBIs Crossfire Hurricane team and Muellers special counsel office were withholding exculpatory evidence in the Flynn case. Its now been proven and documented.

Jensen has surfaced again, this time leaving FBI headquarters, where he has been investigating for the past several weeks to give more sealed documentary evidence to the Flynn defense team.

When the new documents were unsealed, they revealed a bombshell: both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were directly involved in the FBIs investigation of Flynn, President-elect Trumps incoming NSA adviser.

Peter Strzok, who was the former FBI agent in charge of the counterintelligence probe of the Trump campaign, was fired by the bureau after his text messages with FBI attorney Lisa Page were discovered. His handwritten notes reveal that it appears to have been Biden himself who brought up the idea of using the Logan Act as the pretext to target Flynn for the subsequent bogus investigation that followed.

The major issue raised by the revelation of Strzoks notes is that both Obama and Biden have stridently insisted many times they took no role in any FBI investigation.

These notes now clearly demonstrate that both men have been misleading.

For the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to suddenly find himself in the middle of the growing Spygate scandal and the fake investigation to frame Flynn is a huge plot twist for the 2020 election.

The next logical step in the Spygate revelations would be for the DOJ to reveal who the criminal was that leaked about phone calls between Flynn and then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak to the Washington Post in order to hang a target on Flynns back for supposedly violating the Logan Act, a 1799 law that forbids private citizens from engaging in unauthorized correspondence with foreign governments.

Rep. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) seems to know something. CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge reported on Grassleys recent letter to the Pentagons Office of Net Assessment (ONA) asking for any information regarding anyone at the ONA office having disclosed anything about the Flynn/Kislyak phone calls to the news media.

Grassley also is demanding to know at what point the ONA became aware that one of its contractors, Cambridge professor Stefan Halper, was directly involved in the FBIs Crossfire Hurricane counterintelligence investigation of Trumps campaign.

What a difference two months can make. In mid-April, Flynn likely was headed for prison, with the Mueller prosecutors angrily accusing him of having breached his plea deal.

The same day that first batch of exculpatory evidence was unsealed in late April, lead Mueller prosecutor Brandon Van Grack quickly resigned from the case and hasnt been seen since.

Now, Flynn has been completely vindicated while the Crossfire Hurricane team and the Mueller special counsel office have been revealed to be incredibly corrupt.

Imagine that.

In trying to get Flynn by framing him for a fake crime, more than a dozen corrupt and power-drunk former government officials have left themselves open to potentially massive criminal liability.

Flynn is going to walk away a free man.

But they wont.

Brian Cates is a writer based in South Texas and the author of Nobody Asked For My Opinion  But Here It Is Anyway! He can be reached on Twitter @drawandstrike.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
UPDATE: Fast-moving storms could raise Lake Michigan water levels by 1 foot.

A line of severe thunderstorms will likely race across Lower Michigan late this afternoon or this evening. Here are the latest thoughts as of late Friday morning.

The highest chance of severe thunderstorms has been fine-tuned to take up the southern third of Lower Michigan. Also the chance of severe storms hitting northern Lower Michigan has been reduced. In other words, the area most likely to get hit by severe storms is becoming more clear.

Severe weather outlook issued at 8:48 a.m. from the Storm Prediction Center

The Enhanced Risk area shows the expectation. A line of storms should develop this afternoon in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, and then move east into southern Lower Michigan. I think we can use I-94 as the axis of highest chances of severe storms.

Heres a radar forecast from a model that works well in these situations.

Radar forecast from noon today to 2 a.m. Saturday, June 27, 2020

Timing on this radar forecast says sometime between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. the storms will be moving into southwest Lower and making it to the Detroit area by 10 p.m. to midnight.

The line of thunderstorms could develop into a bow echo, which is when the line of storms takes the shape of an archery bow. This storm configuration is usually a straight-line wind gust generator.

Chance of wind gusts over 57 mph for Friday afternoon and evening, June 26, 2020

The highest chance of scattered quick, damaging wind gusts is in southwest and south-central Lower, including Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Lansing, and Jackson. Ann Arbor and Detroit are in a lesser risk of severe winds because the storms will hit you after 10 p.m., when storms typically are on the decline.

Chance of a tornado within 25 miles of any given point for Friday, June 26, 2020

If there is a tornado or two, they would probably occur in the southwest corner of Lower Michigan in the 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. timeframe.

Chance of hail larger than one inch for Friday, June 26, 2020

Widespread large hail is not expected to be the big severe weather story with this system.

Put at the forefront of your mind that you may have to take cover for an hour or two from storms late this afternoon or evening. This is mostly true for southwest and south-central Lower Michigan. MLive will go live on Facebook if the severe storms become numerous. Like, follow and allow notifications for MLive before this afternoon.
To improve their yields and incomes, African cassava farmers need regular and reliable access to high quality planting materials of the newest and best varieties. Access to such cassava stems, however, is often a problem. Agrodealers dont sell them, and free distributions by NGOs and government programmes are sporadic and unreliable. Consequently, many cassava farmers are obliged to save stems of older varieties grown in their own fields or buy uncertified stems in informal markets of questionable quality and unknown identity.

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and its partners are working to address this problem by developing a new and more sustainable cassava seed system that makes high quality stems of high yielding varieties available for sale to African farmers. This work started in Nigeria five years ago as a program called Building an Economically Sustainable, Integrated Cassava Seed System (BASICS). Some 150 cassava seed enterprises were created in Benue, Abia, Akwa Ibom, and Imo States to multiply and sell cassava stems, following a business model that is both profitable and beneficial to its farmer clients. A sister project in Tanzania nurtured a similar network of cassava seed entrepreneurs. Government agencies certify the stems to ensure quality.

In June, this programme benefited from a new investment of $14.3 million by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to consolidate and expand this work in both Nigeria and Tanzania under the project name of BASICS-II.

The goal of the project is to provide farmers with access to affordable, quality-assured seeds of the cassava varieties in demand by local food and processor markets through the establishment of a commercially viable seed value chain operating across breeder, foundation, and commercial seed levels. BASICS-II will create a more efficient dissemination and trigger the adoption of new varieties to improve productivity; raise incomes of cassava growers and seed entrepreneurs; enhance gender equity and contribute to inclusive agricultural transformation in Nigeria and Tanzania.

The approval of BASICS-II provides a window of opportunity for cassava farmers to create new lines of income while at the same time catalyzing the diffusion of new varieties, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, Director General, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), said today ahead of the launch of the project on Thursday, 25 June 2020.

According to Alfred Dixon, IITA Director for Development & Delivery, and Technical Adviser to BASICS-II, the coming of BASICS-II would not only create seed enterprises, it would also spark the diffusion and adoption of improved disease-free cassava varieties that would offer farmers higher yield.

To me, this is the most exciting part of the project, he added.

Over the years, IITA and its national partners have developed over 40 cassava varieties but the diffusion and adoption of these varieties have been low due to the absence of a functional seed system to incentivize their multiplication, distribution, and sales.

The 5-year project will be led by IITA, working in partnership with Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), IITA GoSeed, Umudike Seed, Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Ltd., Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), and Tanzania Official Seed Certification (TOSCI).

Lawrence Kent, Senior Program Officer, Gates Foundation, said this new phase of the BASICS project will strengthen and expand its innovative approach to the supply of cassava planting materials, helping farmers in Nigeria, Tanzania, and eventually additional countries to access and purchase disease-free stems of the most productive, most demanded, and promising cassava varieties.

Known as a poverty fighter, cassava is grown mostly by resource-poor farmers, but its productivity has been constrained by lack of access to improved varieties with national average yield reported at less than 10 tons per hectare in Nigeria. Even when the best of agronomic practices is employed, yields remain poor if the seeds are not right.

Through the activities of BASICS-II, it is envisaged that this narrative will be changed, says Lateef Sanni, Project Manager, BASICS-II.
Delhi now has surpassed Mumbai in terms of the number of cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the country as the infection tally has spiralled in the Capital.

The Capital, which has a population of nearly 18 million, has witnessed 73,780 infections and 2,429 deaths so far. With more than 20 million residents, Mumbais case count has gone up to 70,878 and its death toll stands at 4,062.

Chennai has 47,650 Covid-19 cases and 694 people have died in the capital of Tamil Nadu.

Follow latest updates on coronavirus here

The national capital had recorded 3,947 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, its largest single-day spike till date. It currently has 26,586 active cases, less than half of the number of cases registered in the city-state.

Delhi had reported its first Covid-19 case on March 2 and has added, on average, more than 3,320 cases in each of the last seven days compared with Mumbais 1,134.

The Capitals case fatality rate (CFR) or the proportion of death to the total number of cases till June 24 was 3.36%, that of Mumbai 5.70% and Chennais 1.46%.

Mumbai has managed to plateau its new cases in the last month and Chennai did so 10 days ago. Delhi, on the other hand, seeing a very steep rise in new cases in the past few weeks.

Click here for complete coronavirus coverage

Indias financial capital has the doubling time of coronavirus disease cases at 40 days, in Delhi, it is 12.1 days and 19.4 days in Chennai.

Indias infection tally surged to 490,401 after 17,296 fresh cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the highest in a single day, were reported from across the country, according to the Union health ministry on Friday.

There are 189,463 active Covid-19 cases in the country and the death toll mounted to 15,301 as 407 people succumbed to the respiratory illness between Thursday and Friday morning, the health ministrys dashboard showed.
michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[music]

michael barbaro

Today: Texas has become the latest hotspot in the pandemic, forcing its governor to pause the states reopening process after a surge of infections and hospitalizations. My colleague, Manny Fernandez, on the states dilemma. Its Friday, June 26. Manny, what is the story of how Texas has handled the pandemic and how it is we got to this point?

manny fernandez

So really, theres a couple of things to know about Texas. And that is that historically, Texas has been mistrustful of government. This is a state where the state legislature meets once every two years.

michael barbaro

Wow.

manny fernandez

This is a state where most people who ride a motorcycle dont have to wear a helmet. And the government doesnt necessarily force them to wear a helmet. Its this idea that youre on your own. You want to wear a helmet, go for it. You dont, and you get hurt, well, OK. Its on you. And especially during the Obama years, this was happening. Where Texas sued the government for overreach several times on several different issues.

archived recording Joined now by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Youve brought suits against the administration some 30 times. Correct? archived recording (greg abbott) This is the 31st lawsuit that Ive brought against the Obama administration, having won more than half of them. But Martha, this may be the most serious one. Because 

manny fernandez

And the attorney general at the time had this famous line where the attorney general says, You know what? My job is very simple. I wake up in the morning. I go to the office. I sue the Obama administration. And then I go home.

archived recording (greg abbott) If a president can get away with extending his powers to do things like this, there could be no constitutional limitation on what the president could do. That is why 

manny fernandez

And so all of that sort of changes or looks a little bit different after Trump takes office. Now the Republicans in Texas no longer have that big enemy. And they dont have somebody to go after in their fight over limiting government overreach. And so they identify a new enemy.

[music]

manny fernandez

And thats the Democrats who lead the major cities like San Antonio, Austin, Houston. And so this sort of war of words and war of policy begins, where the governor and the Republican leadership of Texas has come into the cities and said, San Antonio, you know, we want you to cooperate more with the federal authorities on immigration. Austin, you have a homelessness crisis, and were going to get involved. Houston, you have some failing schools, and we want to do a state takeover of the public schools in Houston.

michael barbaro

So this is kind of a strange contradiction youre describing here. Where the Republicans who run the state say they want less government, told the Obama administration they want less government. But now in the era of Trump, they are interfering in the government of their local Democratic cities in a way that may not feel like less government.

manny fernandez

Its a complete contradiction. And that is the situation thats happening as coronavirus hits Texas. And in fact, that attorney general who said how much he loved to sue Obama, well, that attorney general is now the governor, Greg Abbott. And hes the one whos responsible for the states response to the coronavirus.

michael barbaro

OK. So given that very complicated stew that you have just described, how does Texas, under this governor, Greg Abbott, respond to the virus? What does his handling of this look like?

manny fernandez

Overall, you have the governor making some contradictory moves. Starting back in March, you have the coronavirus spreading in the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast. California is the first state to issue a stay at home order. New York follows. Ohio. But in a lot of other states, like Texas, there is no similar move. And a lot of these states, some of them in the South, dont kind of register the same sort of crisis happening in their own states. And then, on March 23,

archived recording Gov. Patrick  Lt. Gov. Patrick agreed to join us tonight were happy that he did. Lieutenant Governor, thanks so much for coming on.

manny fernandez

You have Dan Patrick, whos the lieutenant governor of Texas. Hes Texass second in command.

archived recording (dan patrick) Yeah, I turn 70 next week. You know, so Im automatically in the high risk pool.

manny fernandez

Dan Patrick goes on Fox News and basically says 

archived recording (dan patrick) And you know, Tucker, no one reached out to me and said, As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren? And if thats the exchange, Im all in.

manny fernandez

He and other grandparents are willing to die to reopen the economy. And we also have happening is that Abbott around this time, hes shutting schools. Hes prohibiting visits to nursing homes. Hes doing a lot of little things, but not doing that big important one, which is to issue a statewide stay-at-home order. And so meanwhile, you have the local officials who run a lot of the big cities and counties in Texas saying, OK, were going to do this on our own. And were going to enact local policies. You have the mayors and the officials who run the counties that have Houston and Austin and San Antonio and El Paso all doing different things to try to control the virus. Some of them are issuing curfews. Some of them are issuing local stay-at-home orders. And Abbott is kind of letting all that happen and not really getting involved.

archived recording (greg abbott) I am also modifying my previous executive order about social distancing protocols in Texas.

manny fernandez

But then he does get involved.

archived recording (greg abbott) Im issuing Executive Order G.A. 14 that establishes, or that maximizes the number of lives we can save. Im establishing essential services and activities protocols.

manny fernandez

He does eventually issue a statewide stay-at-home order. But he doesnt call it that.

archived recording (greg abbott) This is not a stay at home strategy. A stay at home strategy would mean that you have to stay at home. You cannot leave home under any circumstances. That obviously is not what weve articulated here. This is a standard 

manny fernandez

And so that leads to a lot of confusion among not just politicians, but just, you know, Texans. Wondering the very basic question, OK, does Texas have a statewide stay-at-home order or not?

michael barbaro

And does he ever clarify it?

manny fernandez

He does clarify it.

archived recording (greg abbott) This is Gov. Greg Abbott. With Covid-19 spreading across Texas, I issued this executive order that requires all Texans to stay at home, except to provide essential services or do essential things like going to the grocery store. Now I know this is a great 

manny fernandez

And its clear that that was a statewide stay-at-home order.

archived recording (greg abbott) And we will make it through this challenge together. Thank you. And God bless you all.

manny fernandez

And the war between the blue cities and the red state comes up again. Because Abbott, after issuing the statewide stay-at-home order, basically later on tells the cities and the counties, OK guys, my state orders supersede your local orders.

michael barbaro

Hmm.

manny fernandez

You cant do anything thats tougher than what Im doing on coronavirus.

michael barbaro

Interesting.

manny fernandez

And it sort of nullifies and sort of ties the hands of the local officials in doing their own local action on coronavirus.

michael barbaro

So after being very laissez faire and, maybe, classically Texas in a hands-off approach, this Republican governor is now telling these cities and counties who acted in his place that his late actions now supersede their earlier solutions.

manny fernandez

Yes, exactly. And theres a lot of confusion. But it has a real effect on peoples lives.

michael barbaro

How so?

manny fernandez

Well it has to do with, can you wear a mask when youre out in public in San Antonio or not? You know, the locals say, yes, I do have to. Abbott says no. Like, what is going on, you know? It has a very real world impact. And 

archived recording Shelley Luther is the owner of Salon A La Mode. She arrived here defiantly opening the doors to her salon.

manny fernandez

Another thing happens where a Dallas salon owner is not supposed to open. She does reopen.

archived recording Luther says she fully expects to get arrested today. But she says she has also filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court.

manny fernandez

And she is sent to jail for reopening.

michael barbaro

Right. I remember this. She was arrested.

archived recording (sean hannity) We have a disturbing story out of the great state of Texas tonight. In Texas, a local salon owner, her name is Shelley Luther.

manny fernandez

And she becomes a conservative celebrity 

archived recording (sean hannity) She was given a seven day jail sentence, fined $7,000, all because she opened the doors to her business in spite of quote, local lockdown orders.

manny fernandez

 who was trying to sort of provide for her family by reopening, by restarting the economy. And shes punished and sent to jail for it. And the governor does something that, again, frustrates the local officials and fuels this war between the blue cities and the red state.

archived recording Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has modified his orders to eliminate confinement as punishment, effectively freeing Shelley Luther.

manny fernandez

Abbott says, Hold on, guys, on my statewide orders, you cant send someone to jail for a violation.

michael barbaro

Hm.

archived recording (CROWD CHANTING) Shelley free! Shelley free!

manny fernandez

Because the uproar among conservatives was so loud and so fierce for that Dallas salon owner, he had to backtrack that.

michael barbaro

So this is becoming a very high stakes Abbott and Costello kind of routine, where the governor is undercutting the cities and the cities are saying this is the rule. And then the states saying, no, its not. And Im guessing that the people of Texas are pretty baffled.

manny fernandez

When Abbott publicly does an about-face and says, Actually, sorry, guys, you cant send someone to jail, we cant be that tough, that moment helped create this atmosphere of almost a little bit of anything goes then. Where its, like, what are the rules for coronavirus in Texas? What are the penalties? What can people do? What cant they do?

michael barbaro

And how seriously should it be taken?

manny fernandez

And does it matter? And whos going to enforce it? And you know, in that moment, Abbott helped Texans let their guard down. And that only increases as the reopening continues.

michael barbaro

Well be right back.

archived recording (greg abbott) My executive order to stay at home, that was issued last month, is set to expire on April the 30th. That executive order has done its job to slow the growth of Covid-19. And I will let it expire as scheduled.

michael barbaro

Manny, how long does this shutdown in Texas last?

manny fernandez

Not very long at all. Texas had one of the shortest shutdowns in the country, 28 days.

archived recording (greg abbott) Now its time to set a new course, a course that responsibly opens up business in Texas. We will open in a way that uses 

michael barbaro

And how does Gov. Abbott explain having such a short shutdown in the face of a national coronavirus pandemic?

manny fernandez

His explanation is effectively, the coronavirus is bad around the country, but its not that bad in Texas.

archived recording (greg abbott) More than 1.9 million claims have been filed. And over $2 billion has been paid out in unemployment benefits. Now our goal, of course, is to get those Texans back to work.

manny fernandez

And he doesnt want to hurt the economy more than he needs to.

archived recording (greg abbott) We are Texans. We got this.

michael barbaro

So what exactly does the reopening look like? I mean, how quickly does it go from stay at home to something that actually looks like a pretty open society again?

manny fernandez

You know almost immediately. The reopening started on May 1. Im in Houston, and I remember driving around Houston on that day. And I remember being at an intersection. There were two guys standing with these signs with big arrows that said, Open for dine-in. It was a little bit of a celebratory feel. And meanwhile, you had some Republican conservatives saying Restaurants are open, other businesses, great. But what about the gyms and the hair salons? Those are still closed. So you had some conservatives saying, Great, governor. Lets do some more here. Whats wrong? And then meanwhile, you had Democrats, including many local officials, saying, I dont like this. We have to do it. We have to go along with it. But were in a little bit of a risk zone, heading towards the danger zone.

michael barbaro

And once this reopening is well underway, Manny, just how quickly do the infections start to rise?

manny fernandez

It doesnt happen immediately. You have the numbers going up in May. But theyre going up at sort of a steady, but not alarming, clip. And then, in the last couple of weeks, as more phases of the reopening have taken effect, as more businesses have reopened, those numbers have hit the ceiling.

michael barbaro

What do you mean?

manny fernandez

The numbers of new cases skyrocketed.

archived recording 1,935 as of Monday.

manny fernandez

And the numbers of hospitalizations skyrocketed.

archived recording Reported yesterday as more than 2,200. North Texas has 

manny fernandez

There was more testing being done. But that didnt account for such a high number so quickly 

archived recording 2,504 new cases reported 

manny fernandez

 happening in cities in South Texas near the border 

archived recording 41 percent increase over the past two weeks.

manny fernandez

 in cities in West Texas, in cities in Central Texas, in Austin, outside of Austin 

archived recording More than 4,400 new positive cases.

manny fernandez

 parts of Waco, Houston area, East Texas. You have the numbers 

archived recording Coronavirus rose nearly 60 percent.

manny fernandez

 kind of going up in a lot of different places, a lot of different hot spots. You had nursing home numbers being very high. You also had the numbers of meatpacking plants, those numbers were very high.

michael barbaro

So its clear that this is plain old community transmission, Texans infecting other Texans and not social distancing.

manny fernandez

A lot of local officials believe that. And a lot of the public health experts believe that. Yes. They are saying that this uptick is tied to more and more Texans letting their guard down, not wearing a mask, going to restaurants, going out, going to the beaches, having more gatherings. That the reopening is directly tied to the increase in the number of new cases, and so you get to the point where we are now, which is Texas sort of daily breaking records of new cases.

michael barbaro

And when you say records are being broken, what are the specific numbers?

manny fernandez

Yesterday, Texas had the most new cases its had since the pandemic started in a single day. And that was more than 6,200. So there were more than 6,200 new cases in one day, yesterday, in the state of Texas. And one of the biggest alarm bells that rang was one of the most prominent infectious disease experts and vaccine experts in Texas, its a doctor named Dr. Hotez out of Baylor Hospital in Houston, he put out a tweet over the weekend. And his tweet said that if the numbers in Houston continued to go up the way they were, that Houston would be the hardest hit city in America as far as the outbreak goes.

michael barbaro

So that brings us to Thursday, and the governors decision to pause this opening?

manny fernandez

Yes. And so the governor isnt rolling back the reopening. Hes not shutting the state down. Hes just saying, From hence forward, were going to pause any new reopening. Now a lot of people have said, Well, theres a problem with that. You know, Texas is basically fully open right now. Restaurants right now in Texas are allowed to operate at 75 percent capacity. And 75 percent capacity versus 100 percent, its not really going to make that much difference.

michael barbaro

Right. I mean, given the conditions youre describing, it feels like were basically back to where we were in late March. Where the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, for all the reasons that we touched on earlier, is afraid once again to order a shutdown when it is perhaps the best solution to the conditions on the ground. And back in March, the question around a shutdown was very urgent because it might have prevented a crisis. Now Texas is in a crisis. And a shutdown would be perhaps required to contain it.

manny fernandez

Thats absolutely it. Its this inherently contradictory dance where hes saying, Folks, Texas is open. But stay indoors. Texas, you should wear a mask. But Im not going to order you to wear a mask. Texas is open. We are now in a crisis with our numbers going up. Im not going to stop that reopening. Im just going to pause any new reopening we might have done down the road.

michael barbaro

From the outside, there is a sense that states like Texas had extra time, at least from the perspective of a place like New York or Seattle. They had time to watch and learn from the experiences of the hardest and earliest hit communities in the country. And that they should have known that this was going to happen. And that what is happening right now in Texas, as a result of closing down late and opening early, was fairly predictable and yet is now a very serious public health crisis. So what would Gov. Abbott say, do you think, to the least charitable version of this question, which is, is there really any excuse for Texas being in this situation right now?

manny fernandez

I dont know what Gov. Abbott would say. But I know that it comes down to world view and the Texas ideology. Because it comes down to, youre absolutely right, Texas just needing to look around at other states, and see what was happening, and see the writing on the wall. But Texas didnt want to do that. Texas wants to follow its own path, even in a pandemic.

[music]

michael barbaro

Manny, thank you very much. And stay safe.

manny fernandez

Thank you so much. And thanks for having me on.

michael barbaro

On Thursday, based on the results of antibody tests, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the number of infections in the U.S. is probably 10 times higher than has been reported. That would mean that so far about 23 million Americans, or 7 percent of the population, have been infected. Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that immigrants seeking asylum do not have the right to make their case in federal courts, siding with the Trump administration as it seeks to speed up deportations. The 7 to 2 ruling upheld a 1996 law passed by Congress that limited the role of federal courts in reviewing rejected claims of asylum. Such a review process, the justices ruled, would overwhelm the nations immigration system. And amid growing calls for police reforms, officials in three states, Arizona, Colorado, and New York, are confronting cases of alleged brutality by their police officers.

archived recording To demonstrate my willingness to take accountability for these mistakes, I am offering my resignation to the mayor, city council, and city manager, which they can accept or handle as they deem appropriate.

michael barbaro
An online meeting of the ASEAN Women for Peace Registry (AWPR) on June 5. VNA/VNS Photo

The session, initiated by Vietnam, aims to affirm ASEAN leaders commitment to promoting gender equality and womens role in the building of the ASEAN Community and the socio-economic development of the bloc.

It also marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

At the third ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Women (AMMW), themed 'Social Protection for Women and Girls: Towards the ASEAN Community Vision 2025' in Hanoi in 2018, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said women and girls play an important role in ASEAN Community building, noting they must have equal rights in both family and society.

Since ASEAN was established in 1967, women have made significant contributions to the growth and prosperity of member countries.

They have worked hard to improve their position, with the establishment of the ASEAN Community Womens Circle in Hanoi in 2015, grouping wives and female officials of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representative offices of the ASEAN member countries in Hanoi.

Over the past five years, the group has organised cultural activities and people-to-people exchanges, enhancing intra-bloc connectivity.

The ASEAN Women for Peace Registry (AWPR) was also formed in the Philippines in 2018 to promote womens participation and contributions to peace processes, the settlement of traditional and non-traditional security challenges emerging in the region, and the implementation of ASEAN leaders Joint Statement on Women, Peace and Security in 2017.

Vietnam has gained remarkable achievements in gender equality, which have contributed to spurring national socio-economic development.

To promote gender equality and increase social security for women and girls, the Government has implemented and integrated relevant regional initiatives and priorities into national programmes and projects.

It spends about 2.6 per cent of the national gross domestic product (GDP) each year on policies and programmes on social assistance covering women and girls.

The country has made efforts in implementing the Law on Gender Equality 2006 and the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

A national strategy on gender equality for 2011-20 was promulgated to raise public awareness of the importance of gender equality, narrowing the gender gap and improving womens position.

There are more women engaging in political activities at all levels, with the rate of female parliamentarians 27.1 per cent, higher than the global figure of 23.4 per cent and the Asian rate of 18.6 per cent.

Vietnam has a National Assembly Chairwoman and three female Politburo members for the first time.

Notably, the first Vietnamese female officers have joined UN peacekeeping missions.

Vietnamese women have also proven their role in business and other spheres, with the rate of female labourers standing at 48 per cent.

Still, Vietnam is continuing to perfect its relevant policies and laws, and optimise resources to ensure gender equality and womens empowerment.
by Thomas Han

Card Soo-jung Yeom celebrated the Eucharist in Myeongdong Cathedral marking 70 years since the start of the Korean War. The prelate remembered the victims of persecution, and called for the reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula.

Seoul (AsiaNews)  With a 10 am Mass celebrated at the Myeongdong Cathedral, the Archdiocese of Seoul yesterday marked the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, which started on 25 June 1950 when North Korea launched its invasion of the south.

Archbishop Card Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul, who is also Apostolic Administrator of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, led the service. During the celebration, he declared his intention to dedicate the Diocese of Pyongyang to Our Lady of Fatima.

Four auxiliary bishops co-celebrated the liturgy: Vicar General Benedict Son Hee-Song, Timothy Yu Gyoung-chon, Peter Chung Soon-taek, and Job Koo Yobi, along with several priests from Seoul, including Mgr Matthew Hwang In-kuk, Vicar of the Diocese of Pyongyang, Fr Achilles Chung Se-Teok, and Fr Luke Lee, president and vice president of the National Reconciliation Committee, which organised the event.

Also present were Mgr Mario Codamo, charge d'affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature, and the ambassadors of Mexico, El Salvador, Timor Leste, and the Philippines.

Lay worshippers and members of the clergy filled the cathedral within the limits set by anti-coronavirus health and safety regulations.

At the entrance, temperatures were taken. Inside the church, people were required to wear a mask and sit at least a metre apart. The organ played music, and there was no singing.

Some seventy members from different countries of the Neocatechumenal Way, including seminarians from the Redemptoris Mater seminary in Seoul, sat among the worshippers

As one of the few bishops who lived through the Korean War, Card Yeom (born in 1943) could not hide his emotions. In his homily, he mentioned the soldiers and civilians who died on both sides (almost 2 million in all), as well as the tragic fate of the refugees and the persecution of Christians.

As one who directly lived the June 25th War, said the prelate, the reason I am looking back on our history of 70 years ago is to to ask you to unite all your energy and hearts in order to serve in some way the construction in our Korean Peninsula of a society in which all the people, of the South and the North alike, freed from the shackles of the past through the purification of memory, live a truly human life in a true peace that the Lord gives us, (cf Jn 14:27).

Last year, at the autumn plenary assembly, the Bishops of Korea decided to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War on 25 June 2020 at the diocesan rather the episcopal level. For this reason, the Archdiocese of Seoul held a solemn yet simple Mass, focused on international solidarity.

By God's grace, people were able to mark this truly historic day in Korea. With his homily and dedication of the Diocese of Pyongyang to Our Lady, persecuted amid the shadows, the cardinal tried to encourage the faithful to undergo spiritual renewal and engage in the new evangelisation of the Korean Peninsula.
YEREVAN.  I will continue to work; I will continue my activities. Alvina Gyulumyan, whose powers as a member of the Constitutional Court of Armenia have been terminated Friday, under the recently-passed constitutional amendments, on Friday stated this in a conversation with journalists outside the Court.

Asked whether she was concerned that she may be forcibly removed from Constitutional Court and how this issue is regulated, Gyulumyan noted that this issue is regulated in a certain specified way. " So far no one has recorded that my powers are terminated over. The constitutional norm has been adopted, but there is a law on Constitutional Court which regulates the organization and activity of the Constitutional Court. In this case, we are still working by law.

In court when someone's powers have ceased, a protocol decisionso to speakof the court session was adopted on it, which confirmed the fact of termination of the given person's powers. There is no such document yet, whereas announcements are not grounds for me or you to be dismissed from work, she said.

In addition, according to the judge, there should also be a legal basis that the decision applies to her, too, whereas statements are not such a basis.

To the clarifying question as to whether she will continue to come to work, Gyulumyan responded as follows, in particular: "I will just fight for my rights."

Alvina Gyulumyan confirmed that she will take legal steps in this regard. " It must be the protection of our rights, judicially. If they think that there are no domestic courts in that regard, then we will apply to the European Court of Human Rights, she added.
Police say that they have arrested and charged Kenrick Thomas, 62-year-old businessman of Arnos Vale.





Thomas was charged on June 22, 2020 with intimidation, damage to property and unlawful discharge of a firearm, acts committed on June 22, 2020.





According to a release from the Royal SVG Police Force Public Relations and Complaints Department, the accused allegedly entered upon the premises of an Arnos Vale resident as a trespasser with the intent to intimidate same. In the process, he unlawfully discharged a firearm and without lawful excuse, damaged a dog belonging to the Arnos Vale resident by shooting same with a gun.





The incident occurred at Arnos Vale on 07.06.2020.





Thomas appeared before the Serious Offences Court this week to answer to the charges and pleaded not guilty. The matter was adjourned to 13.08.2020.

Thomas is presently on station bail.





In another matter involving a businessman, police reported that they arrested and charged Lequann Robertson, a 22-year-old businessman of Arnos Vale, with possession of an unlawful firearm and assault.





Police investigations revealed that on June 23, Arnos Vale, Robertson allegedly had in his possession one (1) Uzi firearm without a licence issued under the Firearms Act. For this he was charged for possession of one (1) prohibited firearm without the authorization of the Minister of National Security.





In addition, Robertson allegedly assaulted a 27-year-old businessman of Kingstown Park, by pointing a gun at him with the intent to commit the offence of bodily harm. The incidents occurred at Arnos Vale on June 23.

The accused was expected, during the week, to appear before the Serious Offences Court to answer to the charges.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  The Philippine International Trading Corporation has decided to scrap plan to import 300,000 metric tons of rice, which was initially targeted to arrive during the countrys lean months.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a statement on Friday that this was based on Vietnams decision to lift its rice export ban, thus we can expect more comfortable buffer stock levels moving forward.

PITC is an attached corporation of the Department of Trade and Industry.

The Agriculture department added that their recent projections also showed that the country will have enough supply of the staple grain.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said that since the private sector import rice under the Rice Tariffication Law, this would mean more tariff revenues to fund the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.

In May, Vietnam assured long-term supply of rice to the Philippines amid challenges caused by the pandemic, ensuring stable supply of rice in the country. Vietnam, one of the world's largest rice exporter, imposed a ban on rice exportation last March to ensure its food supply amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The DA noted that Vietnam accounts for over 90% of the Philippines imports, making it the country's top importer.

Earlier reports showed that the country has imported about 1.086 million MT of rice from January to May, with more than 968,000 coming from Vietnam.

The DTI through the PITC planned the importation of 300,000 MT of rice through a government-to-government importation plan. It has reached out to Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and India regarding the matter.

These were initially expected to arrive July and August, the countrys lean months.

The Rice Tariffication Law permits G2G importation as an emergency measure to ensure enough supply of rice during a national emergency.
NEW YORK - The Black Lives Matter Global Network distanced itself Thursday from an unaffiliated activist whose comments sparked the ire of President Donald Trump, saying the activist was not speaking on behalf of the movement.

Trump lashed out on Twitter after Hawk Newsome appeared on Fox News this week to discuss the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd.

Black Lives Matter leader states, If U.S. doesnt give us what we want, then we will burn down this system and replace it. This is Treason, Sedition, Insurrection! Trump tweeted.

Newsome made the remarks to The Story host Martha MacCallum, who asked him about previous statements hed made on violence seen in some of the Floyd protests. The activist went on to say that his remarks could be taken figuratively or literally.

He also said he does not condone violence or rioting in response to the death of Floyd, but would not condemn those who do it to express anger over police brutality.

In a statement to The Associated Press, BLM Global Network managing director Kailee Scales said Newsomes comments were not an official statement of the network.

Hawk Newsome has no relation to the Black Lives Matter Global Network, Scales said.

Newsome is a former president of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, which is not an affiliate chapter of the global network. Although there are many groups that use Black Lives Matter or BLM in their names, only 16 are considered affiliates of the BLM Global Network.

Scales said only chapters that have agreed to adhere to the networks principles and code of ethics are permitted to be part of the network.

Reached by phone Thursday night, Newsome said Black Lives Matter Greater New York is now under the leadership of Black women. He also said Black Lives Matter is not a movement over which anyone can claim ownership.

It pains me that at a time like this, Black people are not sticking together, he said. To say that all people who carry that banner have to be sanctioned is preposterous. ... To alienate us at a time like this, when the president is targeting us, is not only counterproductive but its counterrevolutionary.

The Black Lives Matter movement emerged in 2013 amid anger over the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Florida man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012. The network of chapters was formed in 2014, following an uprising in Ferguson, Missouri, in response to the police shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Since the death of Floyd, a Black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis officer held a knee to his neck, widespread protests have brought about what many consider a national reckoning on police brutality and systemic racism. The protests have also prompted a surge of public support for the Black Lives Matter movement, accompanied by an influx in donations to many different racial justice groups and legislative action by federal lawmakers.

In Washington, D.C., the mayor ordered the words Black Lives Matter painted across a street near the White House, which also has been renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza. The words have now been painted on streets in several major cities.

On Thursday, Trump also tweeted his disapproval of plans to paint the words in front of his former headquarters in Manhattan.

Told that @NYCMayor Bill de Blasio wants to paint the fabled & beautiful Fifth Avenue, right in front of Trump Tower/Tiffany, with a big yellow Black Lives Matter sign, he tweeted. NYC Police are furious!
The Office of the Prosecutor General complied with the judgment handed down by the Pechersk District Court in Kyiv, canceling the motion by the first deputy prosecutor general to annul the decision on terminate criminal proceedings related to VAB Bank. This judgment is not subject to appeal.

That's according to Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, Ukrainian News reports.

"On June 25, the Office of the Prosecutor General complied with the court judgment since court judgments, orders and rulings shall be enforceable by all entities throughout Ukraine. Article 129-1 of the Constitution of Ukraine notes that a court judgment shall be binding," Venediktova wrote on Facebook.

Businessman Oleg Bakhmatyuk also commented on the decision of the prosecutor's office: "The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has finally put an end to the so-called 'Pysaruk and Bakhmatyuk case'. A legal judgment of the Pechersk district court of Kyiv was fulfilled, which declared the decision of former deputy prosecutor general Kasko illegal after he, in violation of the CPC and violation of the procedural deadlines, resumed the case, which had long been investigated by several law enforcement agencies and closed by court rulings. The fact that the restoration of a far-fetched case was no accident was understood by both professional experts and the economic community, both in Ukraine and beyond. In fact, it was the result of the conspiracy of former head of the Office of the President Andriy Bohdan, ex-Prosecutor General Ruslan Riaboshapka, and NABU Director Artem Sytnyk, each of whom had their own motives to destroy my company."

The businessman believes that "the Office of the Prosecutor General has taken a big step in restoring justice for the company, which employs tens of thousands of people, which produces a national product and pays major taxes to the budget. The decision to close this case gives me the opportunity, as a shareholder, to engage in a constructive dialogue with the Deposit Guarantee Fund. The next step should be taken by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, which is obliged to repeal all procedural action that was taken on the basis of a fabricated case, because the case has been closed, and such investigative actions are illegal. SAPO is required to comply with the lawful court judgment and cease to terrorize the company, which has suffered economic damage because of this."

Recall that the case against Pysaruk and Bakhmatyuk was opened over the alleged misuse of refinancing funds provided by NBU to VAB bank during the 2014 banking crisis. The conclusions of the examinations of the Deposit Guarantee Fund and NBU statements confirm that all refinancing funds were spent for their intended purpose  they were received by bank depositors. In addition, Oleg Bakhmatyuk himself proposed that he return to the state budget UAH 8 billion, but received no response to his proposal from the NBU.
For years, animal rights activists in China have lobbied policymakers, organized education drives and staged protests to persuade the government and the public to support banning the eating of dogs and cats. They scored few concrete wins. The coronavirus, which spread from a food market in China, changed everything. After the national government suspended the sale of wildlife in February, the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai became the first in the country to ban the consumption of cats and dogs. Last month, the Ministry of Agriculture, in a major step, removed dogs from its list of approved domesticated livestock, referring to dogs for the first time as companion animals. Even in the southern Chinese city of Yulin, a dog meat festival that has long courted controversy opened on Sunday to less fanfare than in past years, as fears of the virus kept revelers away. We have been working on this issue for years, but the government kept passing the buck, said Cynthia Zhang, a Guangzhou-based animal welfare activist. So we are using the epidemic as an opportunity to try to push through as much legislation as possible. It is long-fought validation for a loose but fast-growing network of local animal welfare activists. While Chinas practice of eating dog meat has received global attention from celebrities including British comedian Ricky Gervais and American reality television star Lisa Vanderpump, an often overlooked group of animal activists and pet lovers has been the on-the-ground force for change in communities and cities across the country. They have succeeded despite growing pushback from nationalistic critics who say that eating dog meat is a Chinese tradition, no different than the American love of turkey. The animal activists have managed to carve out a space for their work in a country where advocacy and dissent have rapidly shriveled under Chinas leader Xi Jinping. While human rights lawyers and womens rights activists are regularly targeted by the Communist Party, animal protection is seen as a relatively fringe issue and less menacing to the party  giving activists more room to maneuver.

Over the years, they have petitioned lawmakers and set up animal shelters. Some of the more zealous players have intercepted trucks carrying dogs for slaughter and lobbied on the steps of government agencies. At least a few hundred formal and informal groups across the country are estimated to be working on animal protection issues.It remains to be seen how the new guidelines will be enforced. China still lacks national laws banning animal cruelty and the consumption of dogs and cats  all of which activists say are crucial to fully eliminating the practice. But their efforts have received tacit backing from the fast-growing number of pet owners in China, drawn mostly from the countrys booming middle class. One recent survey conducted by local animal associations found that there were 55 million pet dogs in China last year, up 8% from the year before. As their legions have grown, so too has support for banning dog meat consumption. The younger generation of Chinese is more international, they have more universal values, said Qin Xiaona, founder of Beijings Capital Animal Welfare Association. The officials are getting younger, too. One activist, Qi Qi, 37, started pressing the issue in 2014 when she answered a call for help on social media from volunteers who had intercepted a truck with hundreds of dogs on the outskirts of Beijing. Over two days, Qi helped care for the dogs as the volunteers negotiated with police and the driver to hand over the animals. Qi went on to participate in about 20 truck rescues, though not all were as successful. Recently, Qi and her husband have shifted their focus to raising awareness. The couple recently opened a cafe in a trendy Beijing shopping mall where they host talks about animal protection and donate a portion of their proceeds to local trap-neuter-release efforts. Earlier this month, when a truck full of dogs was intercepted in northeastern China, Qi stood with a group of volunteers outside the Ministry of Agriculture every day for a week to urge officials to intervene by putting pressure on local authorities to release the dogs. We dont say its to protect dogs, but rather to enforce the law and safeguard public health, said Qi. In China, if you say you are doing this because you are a dog lover, a lot of people will be turned off, so we try to circle around it. Zhang, the Guangzhou-based activist, said that for years, she and a group of volunteers had taken a more combative stance, staging protests at local government offices and going head-to-head with dog meat vendors. The space for doing our work has shrunk, Zhang said. She noted that authorities had shut down several active animal protection group discussions on the popular social messaging app WeChat after some members had criticized the government. There is still room to get our message out there, she said. As long as you dont criticize the government.

Several years ago, Zhang said, they changed tactics to take a more positive approach, focusing their efforts on reaching out to national policymakers instead.Zhang figures that her group has sent out thousands of letters to delegates to Chinas top legislative bodies in recent years informing them about the dismal conditions of the dog meat trade, which is largely unregulated in China. Since there are few legal dog farms in China, activists say that most of the countrys dog meat comes from captured strays or stolen pets. In 2015, Zhang said she and her colleagues were able to convince one delegate, a vegetarian, to propose a bill to ban the slaughter and consumption of cats and dogs at the annual gathering of Chinas top lawmaking body. The proposal sparked a national conversation, and more lawmakers began to show interest. But it wasnt until the unexpected emergence of the coronavirus  and the renewed scrutiny over the wildlife trade in China  that some of the policies long under discussion gained traction. China has been in a civil war between animal lovers and people who support dog meat consumption, and the animal lovers are gaining the upper hand, said Peter J. Li, a China policy adviser with Humane Society International. The Chinese government sees this. Persuading the public can still be an uphill battle. The practice of eating dog meat is limited to a few areas of China and most people do not eat it regularly. Instead, defenders often subscribe to a belief that while I may not eat dog meat, I support your right to do so. Xu Zhe, 22, a recent college graduate from the northeastern city of Dalian, said he eats dog meat once a year during the Chinese New Year and had no qualms about it even though he grew up with a dog at home. I have a deep connection with my dog, but not with the dog Im eating, Xu said. The recent rise of nationalism in China has further fueled defenders of the practice. Some say that banning dog meat is a rejection of a long-standing Chinese tradition.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

Trend:

Tickets sale for the Baku-Istanbul-Baku flights is launched on the website of the National Air Carrier of Azerbaijan (www.azal.az).

Starting from July 2nd to August 29th, AZAL will operate flights between Baku and Istanbul twice a week (on Thursdays and Saturdays).

It should be noted that apart from AZAL, starting from July 1, Turkish Airlines will also operate services between Baku and Istanbul twice per week (on Wednesdays and Fridays).

Thus, starting from July 1, the number of special flights between Baku and Istanbul will increase to be performed four times a week, thereby enabling students and citizens to return to Azerbaijan from other countries transiting through Istanbul.

In addition, AZAL will grant a 30% discount on flight tickets for Azerbaijani students studying abroad who have it stated on their immigration card. When purchasing a flight ticket on the AZAL website, students will need to send a copy of their immigration card to the airlines call centre, whereupon they will be sent a link to pay for the value of a discount ticket. It is important to note that the original immigration card will also be required to be presented at the airport check-in counter. Without it, passengers will not be allowed to board the flights.

According to the new rules, only passengers who have passed coronavirus (COVID-19) test will be allowed to board the flights. A list of laboratories accredited by the Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) can be found below:

- Inci Laboratories. Address: Bulbul Avenue, 40. Contact number: +994 51 229 49 80;

- Referans Clinical Laboratory Centre. Address: Mirzabala Mammadzade str. Contact number: +994 70 653 00 33;

- Memorial Clinic. Address: Gara Garayev Avenue, 38a. Contact number: +994 12 520 30 40.

As previously reported, when departing from Istanbul, at the airport check-in counter, you will need to present a certificate of negative COVID-19 test result issued by one of the clinics of the Memorial Saglk Grubu or other clinics from the list available on website of the Ministry of Health of Turkey: https://covid19bilgi.saglik.gov.tr/tr/covid-19-yetkilendirilmis-tani-laboratuvarlari-listesi

Passengers returning from other countries via Istanbul may present a certificate of testing issued by a laboratory certified by the Ministry of Health (or other competent authority) of that country or by passing tests in one of the Turkish clinics from the list above.

In all cases, the test must be passed no later than 48 hours before the scheduled departure.

In accordance with the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, all passengers arriving by these flights to Baku will have to self-isolate for two weeks. For this purpose, during the flight they are required to complete a declaration indicating the address of residence at which they can self-isolate. 8103 SMS permissions will not apply to these persons.

According to the new rules introduced by AZAL, only a womans hand bag, or a mans briefcase, or a bag for a laptop with the dimensions not exceeding 30x35x10 cm (the bag should be used only for its intended purpose) are allowed as carry-on luggage. Other baggage including paper and plastic bags must be checked to be transported in the cargo hold of aircraft. Purchases made at Duty Free stores are also not allowed on board an aircraft.

We remind you that on flights operated during the COVID-19 pandemic, special rules will apply both at the airport of departure and arrival and on board an aircraft. "Azerbaijan Airlines" prepared a video instruction available at:
General Bazaar shops union has decided to shut down between July 28 and July 5 over rising COVID cases in Hyderabad.  Deepak Deshpande

Hyderabad: With the spike in Covid-19 cases, traders in Begum Bazaar and Lad Bazaar have decided to close their shops voluntarily for a week. Lad Bazaar will close from Friday, while the kirana shops in Begum Bazaar will close from Sunday.

At a meeting of the Hyderabad Kirana Merchants Association, the rising number of Corona cases was discussed and the members decided to close all shops from June 28 to July 5.

President of the Association, Laxminarayan Rathi, announced the closure of the shops in Begum Bazaar and Siddiamber Bazaar. There are 500 shops in these two bazaars.

Earlier, we had reduced business hours from 9 am to 3 pm. The virus has spread everywhere and we do not know who is affected by it. It has become risky to do business in these conditions. We have advised all merchants who developed Covid-19 symptoms to go into self-isolation and resume business only when they recover fully, Mr Rathi said

Likewise, traders of Lad Bazaar, famous for bangles, have decided to down shutters for a week from Friday. President of the Lad Bazaar Merchants Association, Mustafa Ali Muzaffar, who is also the Shalibanda corporator, said seven merchants had died of Covid-19 and 20 were affected. The merchants have decided to close the shops in Lad Bazaar and Julu Khana for a week.

Lad Bazaar Welfare Association general secretary Mohammed Ayub said the government had imposed the lockdown for two months when the number of deaths was small. Nowadays, the toll has increased manifold, but the government is not ready to revoke Unlock 1. Our hospitals are not in a position to provide healthcare. This initiative will help in containing the pandemic, he said.
Lyttleton Port (New Zealand) 23 June 2020 (SPS)- Free Western Sahara Solidarity Aotearoa and a group of New Zealand citizens gathered Today in a protest blockading Ravensdown trucks carrying blood Phosphate illegally mined and exported by Morocco from occupied Western Sahara.

The protesters issued a detailed press release explaining the reasons behind their action, and stating their rejection of Ravensdown illegal deals with Morocco that are only helping Rabat fund its illegal and brutal occupation in Western Sahara.

Following is the full Press Release issued by Free Western Sahara Solidarity Aotearoa (FWSSA) on the occasion:

Media Release: Successful protest action at Lyttelton Port Company against Ravensdown imports of blood phosphate

From: Free Western Sahara Solidarity Aotearoa

Free Western Sahara Solidarity Aotearoa had a successful protest action against Ravensdown to coincide with the arrival of the Trans Spring vessel into Lyttleton Port today. The Trans Spring is carrying thousands of tonnes of stolen blood phosphate from the occupied territory of Western Sahara.

A group of concerned local citizens gathered today to peacefully protest and register their discontent with Ravensdown funding human rights violations in the occupied territory of Western Sahara. Spokesperson Josie Butler stated "Ravensdown damages the international reputation of New Zealand by continuing to import from the occupied territory. They are funding war crimes".

The protestors blockaded trucks carrying the stolen "blood phosphate", rebranding the vehicles with signs that said "Stolen Goods". The police helped facilitate this action by supporting the protestors in stopping the trucks safely.

Yesterday local activists in Dunedin blockaded the Ravensdown factory for most of the day, stopping all trucks from being able to leave the facility. This was to protest the arrival of the Trans Spring in New Zealand domestic waters.

Last night the Rail and Maritime Union (RMTU) delivered a letter of protest to the Captain of the Trans Spring, condemning Morocco's illegal occupation of Western Sahara and calling on the New Zealand Government to halt all importation of phosphate from the area. This follows the New Zealand Council of Trade Union's resolution that was passed last year standing in solidarity with the people of Western Sahara.

In March this year, the representatives for Western Sahara started an action in the High Court taking the Guardians of the New Zealand Super Fund to court, calling for a judicial review of its investments in businesses with links to Western Saharas exploited resources.

The money Ravensdown contributes to Morocco goes towards funding the 10 million land mines, which lie along the border of Western Sahara, forbidding the local Saharawi from ever returning to their home land. The area is guarded by 150,000 military and police, which is a ratio of 15 military to every 1 Saharawi. New Zealand is directly funding war crimes by continuing to purchase phosphate from the illegally occupied territory of Western Sahara.

173,000 Saharawi have had to flee their homes, and are living in refugee camps in neighbouring Algeria.

The Saharawi people have never consented for their phosphate to be taken by Morocco, and have been demanding a referendum for self determination for over 30 years. The UN and the African Union support their calls for referendum, which are being refused by the occupying power of Morocco. The Saharawi want their natural resources protected, because they need them to rebuild their lives after decades of exile, conflict and suffering.

Ravensdown has been accused by international authorities of misrepresenting the UN position by saying they are operating within their guidelines, when they have never sought the consent of the Saharawi people. The Western Sahara government in exile has never consented. OCP does not claim to have mined the phosphate with the consent of the people of the territory.

The Saharawi in the occupied territory are denied their right to self determination, they are denied civil and political rights, they are tortured, they are imprisoned without trial. The Moroccan government have implemented a media blackout, and refuse to allow human rights observers to entire Western Sahara, to try and ensure these stories are never told.

In March 2017, 60 Saharawi took over a bus owned by OCP and threatened to self immolate in protest of the occupation and their lack of rights.

Last year a ship carrying phosphate rock destined for New Zealand was detained in South Africa and its Courts ruled that the cargo was stolen from the people of Western Sahara. A boat was also detained in Panama for the same reason.

Western Sahara was invaded by Morocco in 1975. 176,300 people are still living in refugee camps in neighbouring Algeria despite a UN peace plan that proposed a referendum for Western Saharas independence in 1991. A plan, that is on hold due to the Moroccan occupiers intransigence. The Saharawi people are separated from their homeland by a 2700km sand wall, the Berm, personned by over 100,000 soldiers. The occupation is brutal said Josie Butler, spokesperson for the Otautahi group, I think the people of Christchurch would be horrified to know that a local business is funding such an injustice.

The people of Western Sahara are calling for Ravensdown Ltd and Ballance Agri-Nutrients to stop stealing their future. The two NZ fertiliser cooperatives are the last two companies, in the western world, that still import from the occupied region. Western Saharas Representative to Australia and New Zealand, Kamal Fadel says that the phosphate trade funds the occupation and also signifies de-facto recognition of Morocco's claim to the territory. (SPS)

090/500/60 (SPS)
Men of the Nigerian police in Anambra state has arrested a 43-year-old father for allegedly raping his 3-year-old daughter while his wife was in the hospital to deliver their child.

Mr Ikechukwu Ekenta, who hails from Ikeduru- Ogwah, Mbaitolu Local Government Area of Imo state, is been accused of defiling his daughter, Kamsiyochukwu Ekenta on 28th of April 2020, when her mother put to bed.

Narrating her ordeal, little Kamsimyochukwu, who is 3 years and 10 months old, said her daddy put his komkom (p*nis) inside her private part while she was asleep. She said the pain woke her up.

Speaking at the Professor Dora Akunyili Women Development Center, Awka, the alleged rapist Mr Ikechukwu Ekenta said he was pushed by an evil spirit to commit the act.

He said whenever the spirit possesses him, he starts behaving abnormally. He said that on that fateful day, he used his finger to defile the girl as the urge came.

The wife of the alleged rapist, Mrs Uzoamaka Ekenta, while explaining how she found out, said that on her return from the hospital, she noticed her child was acting like she was in pain while bathing her. She questioned the girl and she accused her dad of penetrating her.

Mrs Ekenta said she asked her husband what transpired and he admitted committing the crime but claimed he used his finger. They took the girl to the hospital where it was noticed that he used his p*nis, not his hands as he claimed.

She stated that she complained to her husbands parents but they threatened to deal with her if she tells anyone.

The Commissioner For Women And Children Affairs, Lady Ndidi Mezue reacted to the incident. She said it is an abominable act, condemnable in all ramifications. She added that the child is still in pains.

Lady Ndidi said that on receiving the information from the whistleblower, they rushed to the residence of the rapist at 33 area near Onitsha and apprehended him together with the help of the men of Department of State Services. She said he will face the full weight of the law.
26.06.2020 LISTEN

One of the earliest objections we encountered from our opponents when we entered the organized Marxist political activism in the early post-Civil War years was the one built around the thesis that Marxism, our ideology, was alien to Africa and to Nigeria in particular. We soon realized that this objection was not new, that it was as old as the history of the Marxist ideology in Africa and Nigeria.

We found that our older Nigerian comrades (especially the intellectuals and academics among them) had confronted the objection for at least two decades and a half before our entry. Still later, we learnt that the objection we are talking about was, in fact, a particular application of an older and larger objection, namely, that Marxism, as the overwhelmingly dominant ideology in the socialist and anti-capitalist movements, was alien to human nature.

As we grew older and stronger, but still early in our career as revolutionary Marxists, we found that German Nazism, under Adolf Hitler, had proclaimed that Marxism was an international Jewish conspiracy  originated by Karl Marx and promoted by international conspirators like Rosa Luxemburg and Leon Trotsky. This was, in fact, one of the specific Nazi charges against the Jews, as a race. It later became a pillar of Nazism as an ideology.

This admission may be made: As a young graduate student of mathematics, I was at first destabilized  but not intimidated or tempted  by these objections and charges. But, soon, I became strong enough to begin to respond along this line: To question the relevance, applicability and appropriateness of Marxism in Africa (or Nigeria in particular) is to inquire into the mode of arrival of Marxism in this continent and in this country. And, for a serious student of history (academic or non-academic), to inquire into this arrival is, in some respects, similar to an inquiry into the arrival, in our land, of modern religions, including Christianity and Islam. Finally, the general proposition: To question the relevance of Marxism in the revolutionary understanding of, and intervention in human society or in any segment of it, is to ask how capitalism arrived in human society or in the particular segment, and what it is still doing there.

To put our response more directly: To study the origin of Marxism and its historical trajectory is to study the origin and historical trajectory of Capitalism. Why? Because Capitalism and Marxism are inseparably bound, the latter being the organic nemesis of the former. If a young Nigerian asks me what Marxism is doing here, I will ask her/him to go and find out what Capitalism which originated in England is doing here.

I will also tell her/him that both Capitalism and Marxism emerged as adults, with clear identities, in England. Finally, before we end that session, I will re-state the mission of Marxism. This mission is not to defeat Capitalism and thereafter supplant it as king. No. The mission statement is that Marxism, as an anti-capitalist weapon of criticism, will defeat and bury Capitalism and thereafter become superfluous in an emergent classless and genuinely human society whose initial stages we call socialism.

In my recent published article, Dialoguing with Pan-Africanist compatriots (early June 2020), I subscribed to the view that Marxism is a science. Specifically, following Samir Amin, I defined it as the social science of socialist revolution. I have also described Marxism as an ideology, an ideology of liberation. I stand by both definitions: Marxism is both an ideology and a science. When I came in contact with Marxism it fired me because it rationalized and promoted my previously existing radical and rebellious consciousness. Karl Marxs writings and deeds between 1843 and 1848, the teachings of my elders and contemporaries in the Nigerian Left and my own studies and experiences contributed immensely to making me a Marxist ideologically. Later, I realized that Marxism is more than an ideology, that it is also a science. Is there a contradiction here? No, not at all.

Speaking specifically about my own development and experiences I would say that I would, perhaps, not have become a Marxist if I had not first encountered Marxism as an ideology. I would, also, probably, not have remained a Marxist if I had not, at a stage in my development beyond the original firing, come to see that Marxism is also a science. At the risk of being schematic, I would say that Marxs writings from 1843 to 1848, including Towards a Critique of Hegels Philosophy of Right, Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts, Theses on Feuerbach, The Poverty of Philosophy and the Communist Manifesto made me a Marxist ideologically. But his writings in the decade following the Manifesto (which included Wage Labour and Capital and Critique of Political Economy) plus Capital, volume One made me a Marxist scientifically.

The 1848 Manifesto remains the clearest statement of the ideology which bears the name of Karl Marx. But, as the world later learnt and saw, even before the appearance of this Manifesto, Marx had produced enough materials to lay the foundations of an anti-capitalist ideology of liberation: not just liberation from capitalist wage-labour and slavery but liberation from all circumstances (capitalist and pre-capitalist) in which segments of humanity are oppressed, humiliated or despised.

These segments include class, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, culture, and religion. Before the production of the Manifesto, Marx had proclaimed that the proletarian, anti-capitalist ideology which was later codified and given the name Marxism was the solution to the riddle of history, a solution that was conscious of itself as a solution.

Two quick footnotes should follow here: One: I think the title of the Manifesto should be read in full as The Manifesto of the Communist Party  the title given by the authors themselves  rather than The Communist Manifesto, a title that editors, writers and codifiers of Marxism later gave to it. The two titles do not mean the same thing when put in the proper historical context. Two: The battle-cry with which the Manifesto ended remains ever fresh: Workers of all countries, unite  you have nothing to lose but your chains  you have a world to win!

Karl Marxs 1859 Preface to his Critique of Political Economy may be taken as one of the clearest introductions and statements of Marxism as a science. From this point onward Marx poured out scientific works  always spiced, of course, with ideological and journalistic polemics. Speaking personally again and by way of emphasis, I would say that Marxs simple demonstration of the critical difference between labour and labour power (a self-correction he made in his Wage-Labour and Capital), his demonstration of the inevitability of workers vanguard role in the struggle for socialism and his demonstration of the reality of the state and its role in pre-socialist history helped to make me a scientific Marxist in addition to being a Marxist ideologue.

Karl Marx died in 1883. That was 137 years ago. Since then Marxism has grown both as ideology of total and universal liberation and as social science of socialist revolution. But it has also, naturally, and inevitably, developed so many factions and so many tendencies. But then: Is there a line, a red line, beyond which a Marxist faction or tendency can no longer seriously or legitimately claim to be Marxist? Should one of my numerous young Christian compatriots ask me this question, I would polemically, but with sufficient sensibility, answer her or him along the following line: Is there a red line beyond which a Christian individual, or formation, or sect, or tendency cannot continue to claim to be Christian?

The answer I receive will not settle the matter, since there is a big difference between the nature of Christianity and the nature of Marxism. But the answer will provide a sufficient basis for further discussion.

Madunagu, mathematician and journalist, writes from Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.
At long last, Lebanon County has been given approval to move to the green phase.

Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday that Lebanon County can move to the green phase on July 3. Lebanon County is now the only county in Pennsylvania in the yellow phase of the governors color-coded plan to reopen Pennsylvania.

Earlier today, 12 counties, including the Philadelphia region, moved to the green phase. Lebanon County leaders fumed last week when the Wolf administration announced Lebanon would be the only remaining county in the yellow phase.

We will soon have all of our counties in green, Wolf said in a press release Friday. A milestone worth a cautious celebration of the hard work and collaborative spirit of Pennsylvanians. But we must remember that the restrictions that remain in the green phase will help us continue to enjoy the freedoms this phase allows for.

Speaking at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Wednesday, Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said a combination of community spread and cases in long-term care facilities are responsible for the recent high rate of increase in Lebanon County. And thats why Lebanon hadnt yet been given approval to enter the green phase, she said.

When the numbers have shown that the number of new cases have decreased, theyll be able to go green she said.

Last week, Levine pointedly criticized Lebanon County elected officials for defying the Wolf administrations recommendations in reopening businesses last month. The Wolf administration noted that Lebanon Countys commissioners voted 2-1, along party lines, to reopen the county in May.

Lebanon Countys partisan, politically driven decision to ignore public health experts and reopen prematurely is having severe consequences for the health and safety of county residents, she said in the news release.

Earlier this week, Karen Groh, president and CEO of the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce, said very few local businesses chose to reopen against the Wolf administrations orders. In a letter to the Wolf administration, Groh wrote it was a tremendous disappointment when the governor kept the county in the yellow phase.

The impact of continued closures for these businesses may prevent recovery for many, the chamber said.

Groh also said it was counter-productive, as Lebanon County residents would leave the county to shop, thus potentially raising the risk of spreading the virus.

The Lebanon County GOP issued a statement last week calling the governor a dictator, adding, Tom Wolf is an absolute loser and a bad joke.

Even though Philadelphia has approval to go green, the City of Brotherly Love will actually wait another week before moving to the green phase. City officials have said they want to keep some restrictions in place until July 3.

On that day, every county in Pennsylvania will be in the green phase.

With the green phase, schools can open and restaurants can once again offer indoor dining, with limits on occupancy. Other businesses, such as casinos, theaters, hair salons and gyms, can open their doors again, albeit with some restrictions.

More from PennLive

Coronavirus in Pa.: 84,370 cases, 6,579 deaths reported as of June 26

Gov. Wolf predicts COVID-19 resurgence in fall, offers hope it wont force new round of school and business closings

When, and how, will theaters and music venues reopen safely? This could be curtains for them

Penn State Health has no short-term plans to downsize Holy Spirit, calling it perfect fit for West Shore expansion

Probation reform moves forward in Pa. Senate, but some say bill wont change a flawed system
An increasing number of sniper weapons and sniper groups from various units of the special forces of the Russian Federation is recorded in the occupied Donbas this year.

"We also note an increase in the number of sniper weapons and sniper groups. And here we are talking not only about the FSB sniper unit, information about which is available in open sources, but also about other special units - they hone their skills in combat order on our territory," Vadym Skibitsky, representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, said in an interview with Ukrinform.

Skibitsky noted that the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine constantly monitored the supply of weapons and military equipment from the territory of the Russian Federation to the occupied territories through uncontrolled areas of the border, as well as their combat use in Ukrainian territory.

In particular, Russian Zastava unmanned aerial vehicle, which is in service with the Russian army only, was shot down this year.

In addition, the military intelligence continues to record the use of Russian electronic warfare and electronic intelligence systems, which have been accepted for service in the Russian Federation since 2012.

"We see Russians entering our territory, testing and using their new weapons and equipment systems in combat conditions. After that, they return to the territory of the Russian Federation for modernization and training for further use in hostilities," Skibitsky said.

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A male nurse accused of trying to suffocate an elderly patient with a pillow at a Sydney hospital has been charged with attempted murder.

Detectives were called to a hospital in Bankstown in the city's southwest after a registered nurse on Thursday morning allegedly assaulted an 80-year-old man.

Police allege the 50-year-old nurse pushed a pillow down on the face of his patient and forcibly held him down before another staff member intervened.

A 50-year-old nurse has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly attempted to suffocate an elderly patient with a pillow at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in Sydney

Officers arrested the nurse on Thursday and charged him with attempt to strangle and suffocate with intent to murder, as well as assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The elderly man is being treated for a cut he suffered during the struggle and his condition is being closely monitored.

The 50-year-old man was taken to Bankstown police station and refused bail. He will appear at Bankstown Local Court on Friday.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted South Western Sydney Local Health District for comment.
By Dr Rene Van Berkel

June 27 is World MSME Day. The day was established in 2017 by the United Nations to put Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the spotlight for their contribution to inclusive and sustainable development both locally and globally.

This years global theme is "MSMEs: First responders to societal needs". The pandemic and lock down restrictions uprooted the entire economy and laid to bare pre-existing structural weaknesses particularly in MSME segment. As a result, many MSMEs across all sectors find themselves on the brink of survival in the current COVID-19 times. MSMEs have been singled out as priority in the Governments Atmanirbhar Bharat recovery package of regulatory reform and credit support.

In India, 6.3 crore MSMEs provide employment to over 12 crore people, contribute to 45 percent of exports and over 30 percent of manufacturing value added. MSMEs are an important part of larger national and global value chains and their health has a bearing on supply chains overall and indeed the ability to supply numerous consumer and capital goods and services.

MSMEs have been heavily affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The survey of over 46,000 MSMEs published earlier this month by All India Manufacturers Organisation found that 1 out of 3 MSME considers its enterprise beyond recovery whereas a further 32 percent expect recovery to take at least six months. This will impact the lives and livelihoods of crores of workers and their families. The prospects are indeed dire, yet how dire only the future can tell. The pandemic and crisis are still with us, regardless of whether we consider ourselves as 'locked down' or 'unlocked'. When and how government, business and society at large do succeed to limit the scale of the pandemic and its health and human impacts now and in coming months will have a lasting impact for several years to come.

In the lead up to the lock down in India, manufacturing already started to slow down, particularly in sectors dependent on imports of critical parts, components or ingredients and those dependent on exports of intermediate or finished goods to affected regions. Moreover, consumption dwindled, particularly in hospitality, travel, tourism and associated sectors due to customers concerns over the spread of disease and inability to meet and travel. The lockdown uprooted the business scenario overnight and disrupted both the availability of suitably qualified workforce as well as supply chains.

Also Read: MSME Day | With right policies, 2021 can see an MSME boom in India

With the exception of critical sectors, sales dropped to close to zero for most businesses. In the absence of sales income and with costs for labor, rent, loans, etc. continuing, businesses very quickly ate away their working capital during the lock down period. MSMEs require immediate cash to pay for essential inputs as raw materials, energy and labor to restart business. However, this only makes business sense, when there is a real and immediate prospect to sell which requires re-emergence of market demand across B2C, B2B and B2G segments. Market demand is the only engine for economic recovery, cash flow is the starter and emergency credit can be the ignition spark.

The Finance Minister's Atmanirbhar Bharat package bets on credit support to restart MSMEs at large, particularly through collateral free automatic loans for emergency credit (up to 20% of outstanding loans with maximum of 5 crores) and equity infusion through a Fund of Funds.

According to early reports, the emergency credit is already being availed by MSMEs. By design though the emergency credit support can only serve those MSMEs that have a good credit history and established banking relations and have orders in hand or other security for demand for their products or services. Many MSMEs cannot access emergency credit as their pre-lockdown financial position was already weak or in survival mode and obtained largely from (semi) informal and non-banking sources. MSMEs are also simply concerned about their ability to repay in years to come due to uncertain market prospects. And will buyers indeed pay on time  consumers, businesses, and governments all included.

The operation of MSME segment has for long time been constrained by outdated MSME definitions based on invested capital that indeed disincentivized MSMEs to grow or update their technology to keep pace with market demands. The swift action under Atmanirbhar Bharat to revise MSME definitions with effect of 1st July 2020 is applauded. The new definition abandons the difference between manufacturing and service MSMEs, and classifies enterprises on the basis of combination of invested capital and annual turn-over. This will help the MSMEs to grow by lifting the low capital thresholds that dampened the urge and ability to expand The exact fall out of the change is not yet clear - some enterprises may move up in the classification and others will move down  particularly more capital heavy small industries currently considered large, may change to medium category and re-avail some MSME benefits.

With the improving external business environment, MSMEs can also look internally to firm up their business prospects. This is the trust behind Building Back MSME Business from Crisis (B3C)  an online knowledge portal for MSMEs that provides practical guidance and tips to restart, recover and revitalize business post lock down with COVID-19 (www.b3cmsme.org). Launched by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), B3C presents a roadmap for MSMEs and suggests business areas that might be structurally improved as part of the recovery effort  finances, operations, workforce, supply chain, customers, entrepreneurship and health and safety. For finances, B3C contains practical suggestions to consider to increase or speed up business income, to decrease or slow down business expenses, to adjust and possibly minimise working capital requirements and to revisit business model to enable business growth.

MSMEs across sectors have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown measures have put many MSMEs on the brink of survival. MSMEs are part of the economic and social fabric of the country. Hence, without a vibrant MSME sector,recovery will not be complete and leave many Indian workers and entrepreneurs behind.

On the occasion of MSME Day, the international community appeals to governments, buyers, consumers and other stakeholders to rally behind MSMEs and help them tide over the COVID-19 crisis.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

Trend:

First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has congratulated the Azerbaijani servicemen and veterans on the Armed Forces Day.

In a post on her official Instagram account, Mehriban Aliyeva said: I congratulate all servicemen and veterans in our country. I wish everyone the best of health, and our Motherland peace and tranquility!
Cambridge University Press, 2018. Hardback, Softback 330 pages, and Kindle

26.06.2020 LISTEN

(I promised Patrick Kabanda over a year ago I would write a review of his book, The Creative Wealth of Nations: Can the Arts Advance Development? and I always keep my word.)

With his book, Patrick Kabanda makes a significant contribution to examining the subject of economics with a new and refreshing approach. Rather than being stuck in a maze measuring monetary values, he looks beyond the financial structure of prices and export-import figures, to the relationship of the human mind to economics. While I do not agree with everything in this book, its principal value to me is that it elevates the discussion of the importance of creativity in economics. The title of Mr. Kabandas book caught my eye, because it provocatively alters the title of Adam Smiths well known, wicked book, The Wealth of Nations. Contrary to what is commonly accepted by the majority of my fellow citizens, and what is taught in our institutions of learning, the United States was not founded on the tenets of Adam Smith. In fact, no economy ever was, or ever could be successful by following Smiths canons. President George Washington and his brilliant Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, rejected Smiths doctrines, as did every follower of the American System of Political Economy, including many American Presidents and foreign leaders. (Read Alexander Hamiltons Credit System Is Necessary for Africas Development)

While it is useful that Kabanda calls attention to the function of culture (art, music, drama) in contributing to economic progress, he errs in properly pinpointing the relationship. It is not culture per se that contributes to economic progress, but rather only a culture that fosters and nourishes human creativity. More precisely, it is those compositions of art, music, and drama, which stimulate creative thinking, an aptitude uniquely bequeathed to the human species, that we should revere. It is this potential for creative thought that makes us truly human, which societys culture should cherish and nourish.

Creativity in Economics

Machinists set up and operate a variety of computer-controlled and mechanically-controlled machine tools to produce precision metal parts, instruments, and tools.

Before proceeding with my review, it is necessary to discuss the genuine role of creativity in the science of economics. Improving the conditions of life for an expanding population is not based on money. To understand real economic growth, it is important to comprehend that it is physical (not monetary) inputs injected into an economy that yield improvements in the productive powers of society, which causes an increase in aggregate of wealth. It should be evident that the augmented capacity of a nation to ensure a prosperous future for those living and their posterity is not the result of the silly creeds of Adam Smiths invisible hand.

Putting aside cult like beliefs in monetarism, let us focus on crucial aspect of physical economy. In the broadest yet most accurate terms, economics is humankinds relationship to the physical universe. Humans act creatively to transform nature lawfully for the perpetuation of our noble species. Natural resources are not the ultimate source of value. It is true that human labor adds value to resources in the production process. Thoughtful economists recognize that the productivity of farmers and workers depends on the quality and quantity of infrastructure available to society. However, the crucial concept for our purpose here is the following. Discovery and utilization of resources, productivity of human labor power, and the level of infrastructure for any given economy, are all delimited by the level of existing scientific and technological culture accessible by the population. Improved productivity emanates from the invention of new designs for machines that enable work to be performed more efficiently. The application of advanced technologies is derived from discoveries of new scientific principles by the noetic process of the human mind.

Let us examine energy from a higher conceptual standpoint. On the simplest level, oil has existed for millions of years. However, it only became a valuable resource to humans when a technology was invented to utilize oil for energy, which became the dominant fuel to power the twentieth century. The attainment of electricity was made possible by a human scientific discovery of electromagnetism. It was the scientist, William Gilbert, whose publication of the de Magnete in 1600 that began the process of understanding the correlation of electromagnetism and earths magnetic field.

All energy is not equal. Energy is measured by energy-flux density, that is the ability of that energy source to achieve higher concentrations of heat available to perform work. With that criteria in mind, we can assert with scientific certainty that nuclear fission is the most powerful form of energy we have today. Africa would be well served, if there were hundreds of 1,000 megawatt or modulars of two to four 200 megawatt nuclear power plants dotting its landscape. To achieve nuclear fusion, whose energy flux-density would far exceed fission, requires additional scientific breakthroughs to fuse hydrogen isotopes at temperatures hotter than the Sun. In tragic comparison, large parts of Africa still rely on burning wood and biomass. Not only is this practice primitive, environmentally unsound, but it utilizes energy at the lowest flux density.

Nuclear fission, which has the greatest energy flux density, making it the most powerful energy source, until nuclear fusion energy is developed.

All machines and integrated infrastructure platforms incorporate in their design, principles of scientific knowledge of the universe relative to that historical period. The greater the density of machine-infrastructure capital in an economy engenders a more productive and educated labor force. The effects of manufacturing, and railroads on the productivity, and level of knowledge in society are brilliantly discussed by Alexander Hamilton in his Report on Manufacturers (1791), and Friedrich List in his The National System of Political Economy (1841). Both authors, who identify humankinds mental powers as a source of economic wealth, should be studied by every competent economists and statesman.

Without going beyond the scope of this article, the history of civilizations progress can be measured by the increase of total energy throughput and energy flux-density, which is made possible by technologies that encompass new scientific principles. It is the profound ability of the human mind to continuously discover higher principles embedded in the physical universe, which lifts humankind from one plateau of economic activity to the next superior one. Civilizational progress emanates from the human mind, not nature per se. Even from the few paragraphs above, it is discernible that the source of economic wealth is the metaphysical, non-material creative imagination, not some corporeal thing that you can see, smell or touch. These apparently intangible ideas that spring from the brow of our mind-soul have greater force than bodily-physical objects. This conception has profound epistemological implications in economic theory. More can be said about physical economics and how societies develop, but that will have to wait for another time.

Culture and Imagination

Returning to our review, Mr. Kabandas book highlights the role of the contribution of culture and creativity to economic development, and contains many useful insights. In his opening chapter entitled, Overture, he discusses the arts ability to emancipate and foster human imagination. (p. 3) In chapter two, Arts in Education, he writes: since the arts embody creativity and innovation, they have a major role to play in fostering knowledge for development. (p. 44) Quoting Theodore Schultz, advances in knowledge are a decisive factor in economic progress. The increases in the quality of both physical and human capital originate primarily out of the advances in knowledge. (p. 48) Kabanda quotes cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who advocates changing the curriculum of science, technology engineering and math-STEM to STEAM by adding the arts. (p. 53) Renaissance-man, Leonardo De Vinci is also mentioned for his search to know what we dont know originally espoused by Socrates 2,000 years earlier. (p. 26)

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma said he's often asked how he keeps his repertoire fresh, even after playing a piece hundreds of times. I play as if it were the last time I will play that piece, he said. Photo by Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography.

He includes the creative hypotheses by the towering scientist-astronomer, Johannes Kepler, who unknown to the majority of our society, hypothesized that the ordering of the solar system was derived from musical harmonies. (p. 53) Keplers great astronomical discovery of gravity and the spacing of the orbits of the planets is presented in his book, The Harmony of the World (1619).

In the books final chapter Imagination and Choice, Kabanda underscores an essential conception to understanding economic progress.

Now when the people began to search for the wisdom behind progress, in the end it was not whether development came first and then the arts followed. Or some sort of miraculous statistical formula. Much of it was imagination in thought and deed. Imagination was the future, and the future was imagination. It was [and is] the cradle of civilizationthis finale is a call to imagine the future we need. (p. 221 emphasis added)

Kabanda points to the personality of Albert Einstein to demonstrate the unity of science and imagination. Einstein was known to resort to taking up his violin to kindle his imagination to explore scientific hypothesis. He quotes Einstein: Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. (p. 223).

All great art and scientific discoveries first emerge in the creative imagination. A true leader, a statesman, also relies on his or her creative-imagination. When he or she implements policies in the present they ought to be derived from a vision of what the future should look like seen through the minds eye.

Axiomatic Flaws

Despite many useful and challenging ideas presented in The Creative Wealth of Nations there are flaws in sections of Kabandas thesis. However, to be fair, these shortcomings are unfortunately endemic to our corroded culture.

Not all cultures i.e. music and art are good for society. Applying the criteria, which we developed above, we should rightly ask; does a particular culture nurture the creative powers of the mind? For example, the rock-drug counterculture ushered into the West in the 1960s was destructive, and its damaging effects still linger in todays baby-boomer generation. Music is not good because it is music, or art because it is art. Todays music is in large part debasing and degrading to the human mind. Profits made from the music industry do not add value to the economy if their music assaults our soul-mind and undermines our creative capacity.

On a deeper level, Kabanda errs in Chapter 3, The Arts and Environmental Stewardship, when he writes: The arts have long had a sense of stewardship towards protecting the environment and mitigating climatic change. (p. 72) Contrary to present day popular culture, mankinds relationship to the physical universe is much more than being a steward or custodian. Human beings lawfully transform the physical environment. Consider the injunction given to mankind in Genesis 27: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Humankind is not meant to be a just a caretaker, but has dominion and the power to subdue. The universe is organized to respond to willful human cognition, transforming the biosphere into the nooespshere, according to Russian scientist, Vladimir Vernadsky. Humankind with the unique power of creative mentation, was not put on this planet to act as a glorified groundskeeper. When we exercise our creative potential, we humans are the most powerful living force in the universe.

Scientist Albert Einstein with his violin

Accepting the axioms of Adams Smiths notions about economy and society leads us down the wrong path. Kabanda alludes to Smiths Theory of Moral Sentiments favorably as he does with his Wealth of Nations (p. 49) It is in the Theory of Moral Sentiments that Smith presents his most hedonistic description of human nature, reducing humankind to being governed by animalistic instincts, rather than human creativity. Quoting Smith:

The administration of the great system of the universe  the care of the universal happiness of rational and sensible beings, is the business of God and not of man. To man is allotted a much humbler department, but one much more suitable to the weakness of his powers, and to the narrowness of his comprehension, they are of his own happiness, of that of his family, his friends, his country. Nature has directed us to the greater part of these by original and immediate instincts. Hunger, thirst, the passion which unites the sexes, the love of pleasure, and the dread of pain, prompt us to apply those means for their own sakes, and without any considerations of their tendency to those beneficent ends which the great Director of nature intended to produce by them.

Smiths economic assumptions flow from his degraded, amoral conception of human beings as mere creatures of pleasure and pain. For that reason alone, we know his dogma could never be a successful prescription for how an economy develops. At its core, Smiths doctrine is antithetical to the lawful relationship between humankind and the physical universe.

Let the Discussion Begin

Kabanda deserves a great deal of praise and credit for focusing our attention on the relationship of culture, and creativity to economics. His endeavor is far more relevant to our economic well-being than the trillions of dollars gambled on the gyrations of the stock market. For civilizations to continue to exist, societys culture must unceasingly produce creative individuals. If we want a more prosperous and stable world for our children and their children, then we need citizens from all nations to engage in a robust debate of the role of culture in our society. If this book helps spark such a discussion, then Kabandas contribution has served an invaluable function.

Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in the economic development policy of Africa for 30 years. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com
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A more recent publication of this set of statistics is available. Latest publication: General government debt by quarter 2021, 3rd quarter

Published: 26 June 2020

General government debt grew by EUR 12.3 billion in the first quarter of 2020

General government EDP debt, i.e. consolidated gross debt at nominal prices amounted to EUR 154.7 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2020 and grew by EUR 12.3 billion during the quarter. Correspondingly, general government debt has grown by EUR 14.8 billion compared with the respective period of the year before. These data derive from Statistics Finland's statistics on general government debt by quarter.

General government debt by quarter

During the first quarter, central government debt grew by EUR 10.5 billion and was EUR 128.6 billion at the end of the quarter. The number of short-term debt instruments with a maturity of under one year grew by EUR 6.5 billion and the stock of long-term debt instruments grew by EUR 4.2 billion. The stock of short-term loans grew by EUR 0.5 billion and the stock of long-term loans went down by EUR 0.6 billion.

The local government sector's debt grew by EUR 1.1 billion and totalled EUR 25.4 billion at the end of the quarter. The number of debt instruments grew by EUR 0.8 billion and the loan stock went up by EUR 0.3 billion. Social security funds' debt grew by EUR 0.6 billion and totalled EUR 2.0 billion at the end of the quarter. Of them, employment pension schemes' debt grew by EUR 0.5 billion due to cash collateral received in connection with derivative contracts and securities lending. The debt of other social security funds grew by EUR 0.1 billion due to a newly issued debt security.

General government EDP debt describes general governments debt to other sectors of the national economy and to the rest of the world, and its development is influenced by changes in unconsolidated debt and internal general government debts. Consolidated general government gross debt is derived by deducting debts between units recorded under general government from unconsolidated gross debt. For this reason, general government debt is smaller than the combined debts of its sub-sectors.

The EDP debt of general government differs conceptionally to some extent in the case of central government from the central government debt published by the State Treasury. Central government's EDP debt also includes loans granted to beneficiary counties by the European Financial Stability Facility EFSF, received cash collaterals related to derivative contracts, the capital of the Nuclear Waste Management Fund, debts generated from investments in central government's PPP (public-private partnership) projects, coins that are in circulation, and the deposits of the European Commission. In National Accounts, central government is also a broader concept than the budget and financial economy (http://www.stat.fi/meta/luokitukset/_linkki/julkisyhteisot.html). However, the State Pension Fund is included in social security funds. The valuation principle for both debt concepts is the nominal value, where the effect of currency swaps is taken into account.

Source: General government debt by quarter, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Aaro Hottinen 029 551 3231, Jose Lahtinen 029 551 3776, financial.accounts@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jan Nokkala

Publication in pdf-format (217.1 kB)

Updated 26.6.2020

Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): General government debt by quarter [e-publication].

ISSN=1799-8034. 1st quarter 2020. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 23.1.2022].

Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/jyev/2020/01/jyev_2020_01_2020-06-26_tie_001_en.html
GUATEMALA CITY - Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei said Wednesday that most of the 240 workers in the countrys National Laboratory have tested positive for COVID-19.

The president told the governments TGW Radio that despite the infections, the lab continues processing COVID-19 tests.

Giammattei characterized it as a crisis, but held up the example of a woman working at the lab who has the virus and feels bad but continues processing samples.

During the first months of the epidemic in Guatemala, all of the nations COVID-19 testing was centralized at the lab. But as the number of cases has grown, the government has allowed public hospitals to test samples as well.

Citizens have complained recently of waiting more than a week for test results.

The mass infection at the National Laboratory follows Giammatteis announcement that 158 people at the seat of his government have tested positive for the virus. Most of the infected work for the Secretary of Administrative Affairs and Security, which is charged with protecting the president and his family.

Guatemala has reported more than 14,000 confirmed infections and nearly 600 deaths.
The Supreme Court on Friday permitted the Centre and the CBSE to cancel the remaining board examinations due to COVID-19 pandemic and gave the go-ahead to its scheme to award marks to students for the cancelled papers scheduled to be held in July. A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna permitted the CBSE to issue the notification for the cancellation of examinations.

The bench after perusing the notification of CBSE allowed the board to issue it and said that Class 10 and 12 exams of CBSE scheduled for July 1-15 will be governed by this order.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the CBSE, said that the assessment scheme will consider marks achieved by students in last three papers of board exams. The counsel for ICSE board told the top court that it has more or less the same scheme as that of CBSE but it has a different averaging formula and may consider conducting re-exams for Class X.

The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) said that a notification in this regard will be issued within one week and would be uploaded on its website. Both CBSE and ICSE told the top court that the results of the class 10 and 12 board exams can be declared by mid of July. The top court was hearing pleas seeking relief, including scrapping of remaining exams of Class 12 scheduled from July 1-15, in view of increasing number of COVID-19 cases. Similar relief was sought by the ICSE Board as well.

The CBSE class 12 exams had started on February 15 and were to conclude on April 3. The class 10 exams had started on February 21 and were to end on March 29.

The ICSE Board had postponed its class 10 and 12 examinations due to a coronavirus outbreak and they were to end on March 31. However, the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic came into force from March 25.

The CBSEs assessment scheme approved by the top court said that for the students of both classes 10 and 12, who have completed all their examinations, their results will be declared based on their performance in the exams. It said that students who have appeared in the examinations in more than three subjects, the average of the marks obtained in best three performing subjects will be awarded in the subjects whose examinations have not been conducted.

The scheme said that for students who have appeared in the examinations in only three subjects, the average of the marks obtained in the best two performing subjects will be awarded in the subjects whose examinations have not been conducted. There are very few students of class 10, mainly from Delhi, who have appeared in the examinations in only one or two subjects. Their results will be declared based on performance in the appeared subjects and performance in internal/practical project assessment, the CBSE scheme said, adding that these students will also be allowed to appear in the optional examinations conducted by CBSE to improve their performance, if they desire to do so.

The CBSE board said that result of these students will also be declared along with other students. On Thursday, the Centre had told the top court that the remaining CBSE and the ICSE Board examinations for classes 10 and 12, scheduled to be held in July, have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It had said that the examinees of class 12 students of CBSE Board will however have the option of either taking the exams later or to move ahead with the assessment based on their performance in the last exams. The re-exam option will not be available to class 10 students. Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), had said that Class 10 and 12 board examinations scheduled from July 1-15 have been cancelled and re-examination for 12 would take place when the situation becomes conducive.

The CBSE had said that it was formulating a scheme to give options to students of 12 only -- for re-examination or assessment based on past performance. The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), however, informed the bench that it will not be giving re-examination option to students of Class 10 and 12 and the results would be declared on the basis of past performances.

The top court was informed that states like Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have conveyed their inability to conduct board exams.

Earlier, the Centre and the CBSE had told the court that an expert body is in the process of taking final decision very shortly on the issue of whether to scrap the remaining exams of Class 12 scheduled from July 1-15 in view of increasing number of COVID-19 cases. The top court was also hearing a separate plea seeking quashing of the May 18 notification of CBSE by which the date sheet for remaining exams of Class 12 was declared.

One of the pleas, filed by some parents of students appearing for the exam, sought a direction to the CBSE to declare the results on the basis of the exam already conducted and to calculate it on an average basis with internal assessment marks of remaining subjects.
One of the worlds biggest telecommunications companies has joined a growing list of companies who have pulled advertising from Facebook to pressure the social media platform into addressing racist and violent information from being shared.

Verizon announced its decision on Thursday and said Facebooks inaction on discriminatory content breached their content policies.

It joins ice cream maker Ben & Jerrys and outdoor apparel brands Patagonia, The North Face and REI in the #StopHateForProfit movement, organised by civil rights and other advocacy groups in the wake of George Floyds killing by Minneapolis police last month.

We have strict content policies in place and have zero tolerance when they are breached, we take action, said John Nitti, Verizons chief media officer, in a statement to CNBC.

Were pausing our advertising until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable.

Verizon noted it had previously stopped advertising at other platforms such as Googles YouTube when it felt its promotions might appear alongside content inconsistent with the companys values.

The telecommunications company is far and away the largest company to join the boycott, which comes as the Black Lives Matter movement pushes corporations to take stock of how racism and discriminatory policies have shaped their businesses.

CNBC reported that according to marketing analytics company Pathmatics, Verizon spent nearly $1.5m (1.2m) on advertising on Facebook and over $400,000 on Instagram, which is owned by the social media giant.

Facebook executive Carolyn Everson said in a statement that the company respected Verizons decision and remained committed to purging hateful content from its services.

Our conversations with marketers and civil rights organisations are about how, together, we can be a force for good, she said.

Common Sense, one of the protest organisers alongside Colour of Change and the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), said other companies who have agreed to pause their Facebook advertising include retailer Eddie Bauer, web browser maker Mozilla and movie studio, Magnolia Pictures.

Although investors in Facebook have not appeared worried about the boycott pinching the social media sites profits, more companies could join as the movement gains momentum.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a prominent digital advertising agency has urged its clients to join the protest. 360i, which is based in New York, reportedly told clients in an email that it believes any social platform that earns profit by amplifying the voices of their community must have a zero tolerance policy for hate.
(Photo : Pixabay) The Samsung Galaxy Watch could be paired with an iPhone device--but how well would it work? (Photo : Tyler Lastovich on Unsplash) The Galaxy Watch runs on iOS 9.0 and later.

For those who are waiting for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, a prominent tipster recently leaked the renders showing the classic design of the Galaxy Watch 3 reminiscent of the original smartwatch from the South Korean tech giant.

According to Android Authority, it has the same look as a regular watch, but more than the common appearance of many smartwatches today, including that of Apple.

That's why many people would instead choose a Samsung Galaxy Watch over other smartwatches. However, the problem is that many of them have iPhone devices instead of a Samsung or at least an Android phone. The good news it that you can still you both devices.

Connecting a Samsung Galaxy Watch to an iPhone

That's what we're here to answer today. The Galaxy Watch--especially if the Galaxy Watch 3 comes out--will be able to connect to iOS devices that run on iOS 9.0 and later, which will be available on iPhones 5 and newer models.

However, iPhone 6 and 6S+ owners running on iOS 10 and later might have stability issues. According to TechWiser, it's easy to connect a Samsung Galaxy Watch to any iPhone. All you need to do is download the Galaxy Watch app from the App Store and turn your Bluetooth on.

From there, click "Pair a New Device," then select your phone's model and simply follow the on-screen instructions you'll see on both devices.

Once connected, you should see the home screen of the Galaxy Watch app on your iPhone, allowing you to change specific settings, including notifications, music, sound and display, and more.

The only feature that you really can't use on the smartwatch is the camera, since it does not have an in-built app, nor does the App Store on the watch have one.

Read Also: LOOK: Samsung Galaxy Watch 3's First Photos Revealed





Samsung Galaxy Watch supported features

Here are the following features that are partially supported:

Text messaging

Unfortunately, a Samsung Galaxy Watch paired with an iPhone does not support texting. However, if you use third-party apps, you'll get notified of new messages--but you won't be allowed to reply using the smartwatch, not even an emoticon or a preset. Still, you can open the message and read it.

Voice Assistant

Samsung has its own AI, Bixby, that was released back in 2017. Bixby is now available on the Samsung Galaxy Watch, so you can activate it and command it to do simple tasks for you.

Meanwhile, Siri won't be helpful when connected to the smartwatch, as it would simply tell you to continue the action on your iPhone. Since Bixby does an excellent job on the Galaxy Watch, you can rely on it for easy commands.

Email

When you connect an iPhone to a Galaxy Watch, you'll be missing the Email app, which is disappointing and perhaps bad news for people who rely on emails for their work.

Nevertheless, you'll still receive a notification on the watch if you've received an email, which some believe is fine given that typing on the watch's interface isn't applicable, so you'll still end up using your phone for that.

App Store

As you might have deduced, the App Store only partially works when you connect a Samsung Galaxy Watch to an iPhone, so expect some apps that you won't be able to see and use.

When it comes to fully supported features and apps, there are actually a lot:

Calling

Notifications

Heart rate monitor

Sleep tracking

Find my Device

PPT controller

Fitness tracking

Music

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Watch, and perhaps the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, is actually a good pair with an iPhone, despite some missing apps and partially supported features.

Read Also: 10 Best Apps to Spy on iPhone (No Jailbreak & No App Installation)

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 17:01:17|Editor: huaxia

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by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang

UNITED NATIONS, June 26 (Xinhua) -- President of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Tijjani Muhammad-Bande has stressed the vital global importance of the UN Charter, calling it a "milestone" in human history.

In an interview with Xinhua two days prior to June 26, which marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Charter, Muhammad-Bande said the document has been "key to the development of the ideas about human rights, development and peace," adding that it has been "to everybody's advantage."

Citing the Paris climate accord and the Sustainable Development Goals, which he said contain good examples of the right things to do by adhering to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, Muhammad-Bande added that only the United Nations can bring all countries and peoples together to do things of this sort.

Speaking of the historical contributions of the charter, the UNGA president said that the world body, first of all, has "some credit" in preventing the flames of another world war, simply "because there have been norms of conduct that all of us share" in the charter.

Noting that these norms of conduct "have contained our impulse to power," he said global security has been gradually enhanced because of adherence to the purposes and principles of the charter.

The UNGA president said that the UN Charter has helped with the development of human rights, which is one of the three pillars of the UN.

"The charter defines even the modern world," Muhammad-Bande noted.

Muhammad-Bande also highly commended the positive role of the charter in pushing forward such efforts as abolishing the apartheid system.

"The United Nations helped in bringing an end to the apartheid system that is incompatible with international law and incompatible with rule of justice," the UNGA president stressed.

However, he also pointed out that some states "are still suffering," adding that "we need to take our shortcomings and examine them."

Nevertheless, he said all should bear in mind "the big picture" of the contribution of the UN with the charter at its core when it comes to peace, security, development and human rights.

"The global community represented by the member states needs to celebrate what the organization means while it looks to the future," Muhammad-Bande said.

The UNGA president called on the global community to follow "the founding fathers and mothers" of the UN Charter and work harder to guarantee a multilateral rules-based order. Enditem
Trump signs executive order to strengthen foster care, bolster faith-based partnerships

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to strengthen the nations foster care system which calls on states and cities to work with faith-based and other charities at a time when organizations that uphold traditional views of marriage are facing increasing hostility from Democratic lawmakers and left-leaning groups.

Trumps order signed Wednesday highlights several areas of concern where the president is calling for more research and improvement by federal and state agencies, such as the need to bolster robust partnerships between community organizations, improve access to resources for caregivers, and improve federal oversight on welfare requirements.

Although the number of children in foster care in the U.S. has declined in recent years, there are still more than 430,000 children in foster care nationwide and over 124,000 eligible for adoption. The president stressed that too many children in the foster care system have to wait years before finding a permanent family.

In recent years, approximately 20,000 young people have aged out of foster care each year in the United States, the order states. Research has shown that young people who age out of the foster care system are likely to experience significant, and significantly increased, life challenges.

According to the order, 40% of people who age out of foster care experience homelessness and 50% are unemployed by the age of 24. The president called these unacceptable outcomes.

Several factors have contributed to the number of children who wait in foster care for extended periods. First, state and local child welfare agencies often do not have robust partnerships with private community organizations, including faith-based organizations, the order stressed. Second, those who step up to be resource families for children in foster care  including kin, guardians, foster parents, and adoptive parents  may lack adequate support.

A third reason, the order adds, is that the processes and systems meant to help children and families in crisis have instead created bureaucratic barriers that make it more difficult for these children and families to get the help they need.

Section 2 of the order calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to encourage robust partnerships between state agencies and public, private, as well as faith-based community organizations.

The orders urge the HHS secretary to require states to report on their strategies for coordinating with nongovernmental organizations, including faith-based and community organizations, to recruit and support foster and adoptive families.

Within one year of the date of this order, the secretary shall issue guidance to federal, state, and local agencies on partnering with nongovernmental organizations, the order explains. This guidance shall include best practices for information sharing, providing needed services to families to support prevention of children entering foster care, family preservation, foster and adoptive home recruitment and retention, respite care, post-placement family support, and support for older youth.

The orders call for the secretarys guidance to make clear that faith-based organizations are eligible for partnerships under title IV-E of the Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), on an equal basis, consistent with the First Amendment to the Constitution.

The order comes as some states and localities in the past decade-plus have ended partnerships with Christian and church-backed foster care agencies because they do not place children in the homes of same-sex couples and refer such parents to other adoption and foster care agencies.

The U.S. Supreme Court will weigh a case brought on behalf of foster care parents who sued the city of Philadelphia last fall.

The case dates back to 2018 when city officials stopped the placement of children with Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia because the organization upholds Church teachings on marriage and sexuality and does not place children in the homes of lesbian, gay or transgender couples.

The Trump Justice Department filed a brief to the Supreme Court in favor of protecting the ability of tax-funded faith groups to turn away and refer same-sex couples to other organizations. The Justice Department contends that turning away religious organizations from foster care programs based on their beliefs is religious discrimination.

Although Trumps new order doesn't specifically touch on whether cities and states should work with groups that uphold policies influenced by traditional teachings on marriage, the Trump administration has in the last three years issued several orders and guidance specifically on religious freedom rights.

In October 2017, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued guidance stating that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment protects businesses, churches and religious organizations no matter if they are affiliated with any level of government. The order calls on agencies not to "second-guess the reasonableness of a religious belief."

In addition to foster relationships with charities, Trumps executive order calls on the HHS to equip caregivers and those in care to meet their unique challenges. The order notes that many caregivers lack access to private, faith-based and community services.

The order also calls on the HHS secretary to issue guidance within six months on the use of federal funds to support and encourage high-quality legal representation for parents and children, including pre-petition representation. Increased representation would be part of efforts to prevent the removal of children from their families, safely reunify children and parents, finalize permanency, and ensure that their voices are heard and their rights are protected.

Among other things, the executive order calls for the publishing of data to aid in the recruitment of community support and collect data to preserve sibling connections.

In a tweet, HHS Secretary Alex Azar called the executive order part of the administrations historic commitment to promoting adoption.

In a statement, the foster and adoption care organization Bethany Christian Services applauded the executive order, stressing that it underscores the need for all facets of our nation to work better together for the sake of vulnerable children: governments, states, nonprofit partners, faith communities, and families.

"Children do best in families, and unfortunately, thousands of kids in America don't have a safe, stable family to grow up in, the BCS statement reads. We must improve equitable outcomes within our child welfare system through child and family-centric innovative solutions and a collaborative all hands on deck approach. One sector of society can't meet this need on its own; it will take all of us working together.

Leslie Cooper, the deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Unions LGBT & HIV Project, called Trumps executive order a hypocrisy.



While the Trump administration talks about the need for more foster parents, it is making arguments at the Supreme Court and authorizing discrimination in federally funded foster care programs that could result in many prospective parents being turned away by agencies for reasons that have nothing to do with their ability to care for a child, Cooper said.

Cooper argues that religion is not a license to discriminate.

Agencies providing child welfare services on behalf of the government must put the needs of children first, she contends. Turning away prospective foster families because of their sexual orientation, faith, or any other reason unrelated to the ability to support a child limits the families available for children.


My dad used to enjoy combing the beach (and his backyard) with a metal detector, but unfortunately he never dug up anything like this 2,000-year-old Roman ingot that metal detector hobbyist (metal detective? metal detectorist!) Rob Jones found in a field in Rossett, Wales, UK. The lead object is approximately one-half meter long and weighs 63 kilograms. The Wrexham County Borough Museum & Archives purchased the artifact for an undisclosed price and will put it on display. Once COVID-19 mandates permit, the museum and the University of Chester plan to conduct archaeological research in the area. From the Shropshire Star:



The rare find is particularly significant for archaeologists and historians because of its potentially early date, the location of the find spot, and because of its unique inscription.



"We don't yet know where this ingot has come from and we will probably never know where it was going to," [said local Finds Officer Susie White.] "However given the find spots of other ingots from Britain of similar date, it may have been destined for continental Europe, perhaps even Rome itself. The object could tell us a great deal about this important period of our past, a period which is still poorly understood in this area of the country."
Iran, Venezuela 'steadfast' in countering US sanctions: Official

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 25 June 2020 1:21 AM

Iran slams the US sanctions against the captains of five Iranian oil tankers which delivered fuel to Venezuela in defiance of US bans, saying such moves will not keep Tehran and Caracas from defying Washington's sanctions against both nations.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday announced sanctions on five Iranian ship captains who delivered oil to the fuel-starving Venezuela.

On early Thursday, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi described the fresh bans as another "desperate" move by the US against Iranian individuals, and a sign of the miserable failure of the Trump administration's so-called "maximum pressure".

"Despite US pressure, Iran and Venezuela remain steadfast in countering unlawful American sanctions," Mousavi added.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza has also described the new sanctions as "an outburst of arrogance" and "more evidence of the Trump hawks' hatred of all Venezuelans."

Speaking at a news conference, Pompeo announced the sanctions and warned mariners against doing business with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"As a result of today's sanctions, these captains' assets will be blocked. Their careers and prospects will suffer from this designation," Pompeo said in a statement later.

Last month, five Iranian oil tankers set off for the Caribbean and delivered about 1.5 million barrels of gasoline to Venezuela which is under a virtual American economic siege.

Iran now plans to follow its trailblazing shipment of fuel to Venezuela with regular gasoline sales despite US threats to punish any facilitation of the cargoes.

Bloomberg said this month the US government has decided to avoid a military confrontation and instead prepared sanctions on as many as 50 oil and fuel tankers as part of an effort to cut off trade between Iran and Venezuela.

"The sanctions would be imposed through the Treasury Department and are intended to avoid a US military confrontation with the countries," the leading financial news provider said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

However, both Venezuela and Iran are more than willing to cooperate in defiance of the US threats. According to the Washington Post, Venezuela and Iran have "just proved" that the Trump administration's sanctions are failing.

"By showing that they were able to trade to mutual benefit", Iran and Venezuela "not only successfully circumvented US sanctions; they also scored public relations points in the process," the paper wrote last month.

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JUNE 27: The signing is official, the Sixers announced on Twitter.

JUNE 26: The Sixers have reached an agreement to sign free agent swingman Ryan Broekhoff, agent Andy Shiffman tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Broekhoff, who will turn 30 in August, signed with the Mavericks in the summer of 2018 and spent a season-and-a-half with the club, averaging 4.0 PPG and 1.8 RPG with a strong .403 3PT% in 59 total games (10.7 MPG). He was waived in February when Dallas signed Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Since becoming a free agent, Broekhoff  who spent the first few years of his career with Besiktas in Turkey and Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia  has drawn interest from multiple international teams, including Anadolu Efes. However, it appears the veteran sharpshooter was prioritizing a potential return to the NBA, and now has the opportunity to join a playoff team for the summer restart.

The 76ers currently have 15 players on standard contracts and one on a two-way deal. Because Broekhoff has just two years of NBA experience, he can be signed into the teams empty two-way slot, as noted by Rich Hofmann of The Athletic and Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links)
Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

ITBP chief visits Indias largest Covid 19 care centre with 10,000 beds, says force will deal with any challenge

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) chief S S Deswal on Friday said that the force was prepared to deal with all kinds of challenges in its service to the nation, while on a visit to countrys largest Covid care centre erected on the premises of a religious organisation in south Delhi. Read more

Bhutan says flow of river waters to Assam disrupted by heavy rains

Bhutan on Friday said the supply of river water to Assam has been disrupted because irrigation channels have been affected by heavy monsoon rains, dismissing reports that the flow of water had been deliberately stopped. Read more

ITBP chief visits Indias largest Covid 19 care centre with 10,000 beds, says force will deal with any challenge

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) chief S S Deswal on Friday said that the force was prepared to deal with all kinds of challenges in its service to the nation, while on a visit to countrys largest Covid care centre erected on the premises of a religious organisation in south Delhi. Read more

Safe and stylish: Anti-coronavirus fabric launched to fight Covid-19 spread

Every Indian is familiar with the famous 90s catchphrase, coming home to Siyarams, the textile brand that was most well-known for suiting up Indian men long before high-street and high-end brands took over the fashion scene. Read more

Why were 20 soldiers killed if China hasnt occupied our land?: Sonia Gandhi

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi has launched a scathing attack on the Modi government over the Ladakh faceoff with China. She questioned PM Modi for contradicting Defence Minister and Foreign Minister on the Chinese incursions. Read more

Harsh Goenkas talks about Wall of Gratitude that honours Corona Warriors

Harsh Goenka has spoken to Humans of Bombay about the Wall of Gratitude that honours Corona Warriors and the post has won praise from a lot of people. Read more

Xiaomi covers its branding with Made in India banners

Xiaomi has started covering the branding of its retail store in India with Made in India banners. The company, per reports, has also asked the employees at its retail stores to not wear uniforms fearing miscreants might try to damage the stores or attack employees amid the growing anti-China sentiment in the country. Read more
A man was arrested as he walked through the Bronx on Thursday allegedly carrying a grenade launcher and wearing a bulletproof vest.

Edison Cruz, 23, was in the University Heights section of the borough when police happened to notice the weapon strapped to his back.

Cruz was by Andrews Avenue and 179th Street at the time he was spotted.

Police arrested a Bronx man on Thursday for allegedly walking down the street wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a grenade launcher, pictured

Police then got a warrant to search the mans apartment and found a shotgun, firearm receivers, drill bits, manufacturing tools, a firearm manufacturing template, a shotgun barrel and stock, a hatchet and glock parts, pictured

Police then got a warrant to search the mans house which was nearby and found a shotgun, firearm receivers, drill bits, manufacturing tools, a firearm manufacturing template, a shotgun barrel and stock, a hatchet and glock parts inside his apartment.

Cruz has been in custody since Thursday night but charges are are still pending.

He faces charges including criminal possession of a weapon and violation of local law, according to police.

His attorney information wasnt immediately available on Friday.
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HOUSTON, June 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. state of Texas reported almost 6,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, setting a new record for daily confirmed cases for the third time this week.

As of Thursday, there have been 131,917 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state, 5,996 more cases than that of Wednesday. According to Texas Health and Human Services. The state added 5,551 and 5,489 new cases on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Earlier on Thursday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced the temporary pause of any further reopening of the state's economy in responding to the recent continuous increase of COVID-19 cases and hospitalization.

The governor also issued an Executive Order to suspend any elective surgeries in some area in Texas to ensure hospital bed availability for COVID-19 patients.

"As we experience an increase in both positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, we are focused on strategies that slow the spread of this virus while also allowing Texans to continue earning a paycheck to support their families," said Abbott.

The governor repeatedly urged people to follow the state guidelines to slow down the spread of the pandemic.

"I ask all Texans to do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask, washing their hands regularly, and socially distancing from others. The more that we all follow these guidelines, the safer our state will be and the more we can open up Texas for business," he added.

In Houston, the biggest city in Texas, the public transportation provider METRO approved an order on Thursday requiring all passengers, employees and contractors to wear face covering.

The order extended to METRO vehicles, facilities and transit centers, local media reported. METRO said it will provide masks to passengers in need while riding the system or entering its facility.

According to the order, on METRO's buses and trains, hand sanitizer is provided and protective shield around driver's seats will add another layer between drivers and riders.

As hospitalization for COVID-19 patients continues to climb in Houston, Texas Medical Center, the largest medical district in the world, said all ICU beds in the center are now occupied, with 28 percent taken by COVID-19 patients.

Hospitals in the center said they are going to move some ICU patients to beds that are not normally used for intensive care.

Alarming though, CEOs from four Houston hospitals said Thursday the systems are ready to handle the increase of hospitalization.

During a press conference, the CEOs of Houston Methodist, Memorial Hermann Health System, St. Luke's Health and Texas Children's Hospital said they are concerned about the increasing number of COVID-19 cases. However, the hospitals in the Texas Medical Center are equipped to deal with a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations.

"We have plenty of capacity," local TV station Click2Houston quoted Dr. David Callender of Memorial Hermann as saying.

The CEOs said they have a sustained surge protection plan in place, meaning beds in other rooms could be used to house patients if it becomes necessary, said the report. Enditem
Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Californias early, aggressive response to the coronavirus pandemic had earned praise from the top US health officials, and even Donald Trump. But after avoiding the scenarios faced by New York and New Jersey, the state has seen infections and hospitalizations swell in recent weeks.

As malls, museums, bars and other public spaces reopened, Governor Gavin Newsom has urged citizens to wear masks and keep their distance from one another to slow the spread of disease. I cannot impress upon people more the importance at this critical juncture, he said, to take seriously this moment.

Related: More than 20m Americans could have contracted Covid-19, experts say

Heres what we know about the situation.

How big is the coronavirus surge in California?

Big. Overall, the state has reported more than 195,500 cases since the pandemic first struck, with 5,700 deaths. California marked a record 7,149 people who tested positive on Tuesday, a figure that dropped on Wednesday to 5,349.

Part of the surge were seeing is due to increased testing, said Dr Lee Riley, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Berkeley. California has tested roughly 3.7 million people since the beginning of the pandemic, and more than 101,000 tests were processed on Wednesday.

But the fact that the number of hospitalizations are also increasing means that theres more going on, Riley said. As of Thursday, the number of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 is 32% higher than it was two weeks ago, Newsom reported. The number of patients in intensive care also increased 19% over the past fortnight  more than a third of ICU beds available across the state are now occupied by coronavirus patients. Over the past two weeks, about 64 people have died of the virus each day.

I think pretty much every place has rushed to reopen, said Dr Anne Rimoin, an epidemiologist at UC Los Angeles. And as we reopen, of course were going to see more cases.

Where are infections surging?

Story continues

The number of cases appear to be increasing throughout the state, but the biggest surges in infections are in Los Angeles county and other parts of southern California.

Los Angeles now has more cases than anywhere else in the country, with more than 89,600 infections reported, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker. Rural communities like Imperial county, at the US-Mexico border, and Stanislaus, in the Central Valley, are also seeing surges in both the total number of cases recorded and the proportion of residents who are testing positive.

Bay Area communities  including Santa Clara county, the first in the nation to enact a shelter-in-place order  are also seeing surges, though the proportion of positive tests in the region remains far below the state average.

Officials have attributed the surge in some parts of the Bay Area to workplaces, including an outbreak at a waste management company in Marin county. Since mid-May, outbreaks at prisons have been excluded from the states Covid-19 tracking data, but it is worth noting that a devastating outbreak at San Quentin state prison, where an inmate transfer led to more than 500 new cases, and outbreaks at other facilities across the state would add about 850 more new cases logged in the past two weeks to the states totals.

Few people wear masks as they gather at the beach in Oceanside last week. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

Why are infections surging?

Its not totally clear, though public health experts and officials blame large gatherings where people are not wearing masks and not maintaining a 6ft-radius, even as adherence to these safety measures becomes increasingly political.

Theres a group of people who go around bragging that theyre practicing individual freedom by not wearing masks, Riley said. These people are not practicing freedom  theyre practicing pure selfishness.

While reopening society can never be risk free, Riley said that countries that have been most successful at containing the virus have been far more vigilant than California in mandating mask-wearing, hygiene and physical distancing. In South Korea, where fewer than 300 people have died despite reporting more cases in February than any country besides China, a second wave of infections has remained relatively small despite restaurants, schools and even nightclubs reopening, Riley noted. Small clusters of cases are much easier to contain by isolating those who are infected, notifying those who are exposed, he said. What were seeing in California is a lost opportunity to reopen carefully.

An uptick in the number of cases among young people is also a concern, Riley said. While people in their 20s, 30s and 40s are less likely to die from Covid-19, they can get seriously ill, and they can be sources of infection for older people who are most at risk: their grandmas, their grandpas, their buds with diabetes and their friends with high blood pressure. Healthy young people who show few symptoms could pass the virus on to those who are most at risk of suffering complications.

What will this mean for re-opening?

In order to safely reopen, no more than 5% of everyone in a community who gets tested for Covid-19 should receive a positive result, according to the World Health Organization.

Related: 'We're in uncharted territory': coronavirus and wildfire risks collide in California

Californias threshold for reopening is that no more than 8% of all tests should come back positive. While the positivity rate for the state overall hovers at a tenuous 5.1%, the rate in some southern California counties is nearly 9% or higher.

Governor Newsom said the state might have to revert back to tougher restrictions if the situation gets worse.

What do doctors want Californians to know?

Officials and health experts are pleading with Californians to continue to wear masks, wash hands, and stay 6ft apart. Health agencies in some counties are encouraging residents to keep their social circles small  limited to bubbles of no more than a dozen friends  and gather outdoors.

In Imperial county, which borders Mexico and Arizona, defiance of a statewide mandate to wear face masks and lax social distancing appears to have exacerbated a crisis both within and across state and national borders. Whether people here brought infections to Yuma, Arizona and Mexicali, or whether they brought it back from those places is kind of immaterial at this point, said Dr Thomas Henderson, director of the Imperial County Medical Society. What were seeing here is craziness.

The crisis has overwhelmed local hospitals, he said. Its just a horrible time to be a physician he added, because doctors have found themselves pleading with the community to wear masks and stay safe, but its all become so political.

As Donald Trump and rightwing politicians and media outlets derided masks as unnecessary, Dr Anthony Fauci, the health official leading the US response to coronavirus, told Californians who were skeptical of covering their faces in public to forget the politics. Look at the data. A string of new research released this summer suggests that masks can reduce the risks of spreading the virus, even if theyre far from foolproof.

Its totally understandable to want to get back as quickly as possible to what you perceive as normal in your life, Fauci said at an event hosted by the Sacramento Press Club. But he urged Californians to stay vigilant, nothing that reopening isnt black or white, either no restrictions or locked down.
WASHINGTON - The last time a Supreme Court justice announced his retirement in a presidential election year, most of the current justices were too young to vote.

It was 1968, and things didnt work out as planned. The nomination to replace Chief Justice Earl Warren failed in that turbulent year, and no justice has retired in an election year since.

The pattern is not likely to be broken in 2020, despite persistent chatter that Justice Clarence Thomas could give President Donald Trump a seat to fill before the election.

Retirements have tended to be announced in June, as Justice Anthony Kennedy did in 2018. But the conservative Thomas has made clear to anyone who has asked, including an interviewer last year, that he has no plans to retire.

Lets fast forward to 20 years from now. Twenty years from now, at your retirement party, his interviewer, Pepperdine University law professor James Gash, began.

Im not retiring, Thomas broke in to say.

Twenty years? Gash said.

No, Thomas said.

Thirty years? Gash followed.

No, Thomas said.

The 72-year-old Georgia native is the longest-serving justice on the current court. If he serves another eight years, he would eclipse the service of record-holding Justice William O. Douglas, whose tenure lasted 36 years and nearly 8 months.

If Thomas does stay that long, hell only be 80  younger than Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer are today.

In 1968, Warren announced his retirement, but it didnt take effect until the Senate confirmed his successor. President Lyndon Johnson quickly named Justice Abe Fortas for the job. The president also nominated a federal judge and friend from Texas, Homer Thornberry, for Fortas seat.

It didnt go well for Fortas, whose nomination was blocked by Republicans and conservative Democrats in the Senate. Thornberry never got a vote either, once it became clear Fortas wasnt moving up.

When Richard Nixon won the 1968 election, he got a bonus, the opportunity to select a chief justice who would be nothing like the liberal Warren. The outgoing chief justice served another year, until Warren Burger took the oath of office in June 1969.

The only other vacancy that has occurred in an election year since was in 2016, when Justice Antonin Scalia died. President Barack Obama named Merrick Garland to fill the seat and Senate Republicans refused to act on the nomination.

When Trump shocked the nation by winning the presidency, he too had a seat to fill and quickly named Justice Neil Gorsuch.

___

Enough of things that are not likely to happen.

For the first time in 24 years, the courts work is almost certain to extend into July, mainly a product of the courts response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The justices heard arguments by telephone in 10 cases in May, after closing the building to the public in mid-March and abandoning most in-person activities for a court in which 6 of the 9 justices are 65 and older, and most at risk of serious complications from COVID-19.

None of those cases has been decided yet, and the justices still have pending three earlier cases, including one dealing with abortion clinic regulations in Louisiana. More opinions are expected Monday and Tuesday, the last day in June.

Thomas, Ginsburg and Breyer were the only three justices who were on the court the last time it didnt finish issuing opinions in June. That was in 1996, when the court held on July 1 that the government could be sued by once-healthy savings and loans that were forced into the red as part as the congressional response to the S&L crisis of the 1980s.

Charles Cooper, who argued the S&Ls case at the Supreme Court, recalled that a resolution was urgently needed because scores of copy-cat cases had been clogging court dockets for years.

The court also issued opinions in July a few years earlier, in 1989. That July, the court struck down a nativity display inside a government building in Pittsburgh, while upholding a menorah erected outside a different public building in Pittsburgh. The next day, the justices upheld or allowed to take effect several abortion restrictions in Missouri.

When Burger was chief justice, from 1969 to 1986, the court routinely kept working into July, even past Independence Day.

Adam Feldman, the creator of the Empirical Scotus blog, provided the data cited above.

___

Another reason there is no special urgency to finishing up by the end of June is that the justices have nowhere to go this year.

The last decisions of the term typically are followed closely by flights to very desirable locations, in the Alps, the Rockies, European capitals, even an island fortress in the Mediterranean, as Chief Justice John Roberts described Malta before heading there on the heels of his opinion saving the heart of the Affordable Care Act in 2012.

The law schools that usually are thrilled to snag a justice to teach for a week or two in a study-abroad program all cancelled their summer sessions this year because of the coronavirus outbreak.

I think we have reason to believe no one needs to jet off to Europe, Supreme Court lawyer Paul Clement said, joking that the term could last to August 10 at the current pace of decisions.

___

Associated Press writer Jessica Gresko contributed to this report.
Kolkata, June 26 : Veteran actress and BJP MP Roopa Ganguly has made a shocking allegation that late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's Instagram account is being operated by someone.

Roopa has further alleged that posts are being deleted from the late actor's account in an attempt to tamper with evidence.

Roopa Ganguly made these allegations in a video shared on Twitter, where she speaks in Hindi. "Nobody knows what is being added and what is being deleted. How come somebody is operating his account? Is it the Police or somebody else? How is it that his Instagram account is being operated now?" she asked.

I am quite shocked at what I have just heard and then seen myself

Is anyone operating Sushant's phone?

How is his Instagram account unfollowing people "he" followed?

CBI 's presence isn't required ?#cbiforsushant #roopaganguly @AmitShah @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/Autr6urJ5u  Roopa Ganguly (@RoopaSpeaks) June 25, 2020

Informing that she has screenshots as evidence, Roopa further said: "When I first heard this, I did not believe it. Then I saw some screenshots. I myself have taken some screenshots also. How is this possible? When will CBI investigation begin? Will it begin only after all the evidences have been destroyed?"

If this is true then I must admit that it is quite unsettling as this implies evidence tampering. How long do we wait for transparency in this case? when will CBI intervene?#cbiforsushant #roopaganguly @AmitShah @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/7afp5dhS3I  Roopa Ganguly (@RoopaSpeaks) June 25, 2020

"If this is true then I must admit that it is quite unsettling as this implies evidence tampering. How long do we wait for transparency in this case? when will CBI intervene? #cbiforsushant," tweeted the BJP MP tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

On Thursday, Roopa had demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the late actor's death. She expressed her demand in a series of tweets posted throughout Thursday.

While she spoke about how positive Sushant was as a person, she suspected foul play in the ongoing investigation.

Latest updates on Sushant Singh Rajput Death Mystery

-- Syndicated from IANS
Lonny Guenther was home with his daughter, Joann, last week when the news came on the TV that the Supreme Court ruled that LGBTQ people can't be fired based on their sexual orientation.

Joann, who is 27 and has severe disabilities, immediately lit up  because she recognized one of the faces on TV as her former teacher, Brett Bigham.

Bigham, the 2014 Oregon Teacher of the Year, was fired in 2015 from Multnomah Education Service District in Portland after accusing the school district of harassing him because he is gay. He was part of last week's landmark decision, which extended the law banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sex to include the LGBTQ community.

Now the parents of Bigham's previous students are calling that case a victory for everyone.

"I think it's great," Guenther told TODAY. "I think it's sad that it took that long. I don't see why they shouldn't have the same security as everyone else."

He praised Bigham, known as Mr. B to his teachers and students, as a selfless educator. Bigham taught medically fragile special education students in a transition program for high school graduates of Multnomah County. Many of his students had severe disabilities and could not speak, and so they were learning how to use voice output devices, or talkers, in his class. Because of this, Bigham was a fan of the late physicist Stephen Hawking, who famously used a voice output device. When Bigham, who kept in touch with students after his firing, met Hawking in 2017, he even got him to record a message for Joann, who has cerebral palsy and had been struggling to use her own talker.

Bigham met Stephen Hawking in 2017 and got him to record a message for one of his previous students. (Brett Bigham)

Its such a hard machine, Bigham told TODAY. With cerebral palsy, your body jerks up and down, so it clears the machine each time you try to type. She had to work so hard just to get one word down.

Eventually she was communicating in entire sentences. Guenther recalls one of her favorites: Youre killing me, Mr. B.

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"He was always going above and beyond for his students," Geunther said. "With my daughter in particular, he was really good at motivating her."

Kristin Hilfiker, a nurse and home care provider for people with disabilities, has had three foster children in Bigham's class.

"The man is full of joy," she told TODAY. "He doesn't see kids with disabilities  he sees people who need adaptations in their environment to learn. It's all about learning and transitioning to be an adult."

Bigham with his husband, Mike Turay.

She said that in many other programs and classrooms, her children, who all have severe disabilities and most of whom are on ventilators, have often been disengaged and "parked" for long periods of time. Once a teacher even told her that her former foster daughter Molly couldn't sit at the front of the classroom because her ventilator made too much noise and because "suctioning in the classroom is disgusting."

"That is not in any shape or form what (Bigham) is like," Hilfiker said. "That's the difference in what made him such a superior teacher.

So when Hilfiker saw the recent news about the Supreme Court ruling, she was thrilled. She only wishes it had happened sooner, so that Bigham would never have lost his job in the first place.

Bighams story was part of an amicus brief the Supreme Court reviewed before it made its decision.

In a recent Twitter thread that has since gone viral, Bigham outlined the events that led to his firing in 2015, writing that his supervisor once told him that if he said he was gay in public he would be shot in the head.

In 2014, after being named Teacher of the Year, my supervisor told me if I said I was gay in public I would be "shot in the head."



I was told I would be fired if I did not bring her all of my private mail from home to read. (more)  Brett Bigham LGBT youth of color need your support (@2014ORTOY) June 15, 2020

Bigham attempted to fight the termination and filed multiple complaints against the Multnomah Education Service District through his union. He later accepted a payout of $140,000. But it took the school district years to issue a public apology.

That came just last week.

We apologize to Mr. Brett Bigham, a statement on the school districts website reads. No one should have to endure the discriminatory actions that Mr. Bigham describes experiencing at MESD. They were wrong when they occurred, just as they would be wrong today.

Bigham still lives in Portland and works as a substitute teacher for special education classes but hasnt held a full-time job since his termination.

Ive been blacklisted and that sucks, he said. But, you know, I work in the same way that I did when I had my own classroom and it means I inspire some people in a building I havent been to before, and then I move on.

The apology, like the Supreme Court news, took him by surprise.

I have not cried that hard since my father died, he said. I couldnt talk. I put my head inside my shirt and cried like a kindergartner.

Yet hes not sure he would call what happened a win  and he misses his students.

The kids got robbed, he said. I was the end of line for school. No one else was going to help those kids after me. Its hard to feel like Ive won, because Ive been in fight mode for six years. I feel like everyone won except my students.
As the Delta State Government intensifies efforts at stemming the spread of COVID-19 in the state, it announced on Friday that one of the children of the Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has tested positive to the virus.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Olisa Ifeajika, in Asaba, said, consequently, the Governor and his family members will immediately commence self-isolation for 14 days.

It is again pertinent to stress that COVID-19 is real, and citizens are advised to be disciplined and comply with the protocols of wearing Face Masks and maintaining physical-distancing while in public places as well as basic hygiene of hand-washing with soap in running water and use of alcohol-based sanitisers as NCDC regulation demands, Mr Ifeajika added.

The Delta State government had on June 21 two of its top officials tested positive to the virus. They were the Secretary to the State Government, Chiedu Ebie and the Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu.

Mr Ifeajika at the time called on residents of the state to adhere strictly to the COVID-19 protocols as anyone, irrespective of status, could contract the virus.

Let me advise all Deltans to, as a matter of top priority, always obey the COVID-19 protocols, which have been in the public domain, so as to curb further spread of the pandemic, he said.

The fresh cases in our hands in Delta further testifies to the fact that COVID-19 is not a scam. It is real and people should take the issues of the virus and personal hygiene seriously.

COVID-19 is not a death sentence; so, when you begin to feel unwell, reach out to approved government hospitals for appropriate tests to be carried out.

We can save ourselves and others from this virus if we obey all the protocols of wearing face masks, regular washing of hands in running water, use of alcohol-based sanitisers and maintaining physical-distancing while congregating in any form.

All our hospitals and isolation centres across the state are on 24 hours alert to receive any case(s) of the Coronavirus or other health challenges.

Mr Okowa himself had on June 19 urged Deltans and other residents of the state to always observe all precautionary measures against COVID-19 in order to checkmate community transmission.

The executive governor of Delta state, Ifeanyi Okowa. [PHOTO CREDIT: Official Twitter handle of Mr Okowa]

Speaking with Government House Correspondents on the dreaded disease, the governor said the level of infection was on the rise due to the lackadaisical attitude of people who erroneously believe the pandemic is a fluke.

I want to plead with all Deltans that it is time for us to realise that there is community transmission of the disease which can affect anybody if adequate care was not taken, Mr Okowa stated.

The governor expressed worry that some states in the country might surpass the figures recorded in Lagos State due to the failure of most Nigerians to comply with all the laid down rules.

He said COVID-19 could only be eliminated if there is behavioural change by citizens.

Delta has so far recorded 715 COVID-19 cases, according to data from the NCDC.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 20:50:11|Editor: huaxia

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SOFIA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Three officers of Bulgaria's General Directorate Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC) were arrested for providing support to drug production and distribution gangs, the Ministry of Interior said Friday.

The head of the GDCOC's Drugs Department and two of his subordinates were arrested on Thursday evening, the ministry said in a statement.

The evidence gathered so far indicates that the three officers have received bribes to provide logistics to organized criminal groups involved in production and distribution of drugs in Bulgaria and abroad, the statement said.

The investigation is still under way, it said.

Minister of Interior Mladen Marinov has ordered the preparation of a comprehensive analysis of the activities of the GDCOC, which is part of his ministry, with an emphasis on the Drugs Department, the statement also said.

"Based on the analysis, structural and personnel changes will be considered," it said. Enditem
The Inter-Party Resistance Against the New Voter Register (IPRAN) has expressed their disappointment to the ruling of the Supreme Court on the exclusion of the National ID from the primary requirement for the registration of the new voter register as they insist that the decision makes nonsense of the fundamental human rights granted to citizens under the 1992 Constitution.

Ahead of the Voter Registration Exercise which is scheduled to start next week, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) dragged the Electoral Commission (NDC) to court seeking for a ruling that will force the EC to include the national ID card and birth certificate in the list of requirements for registration.

On Thursday, June 25, 2020, a unanimous decision by a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court dismissed the case while giving the EC the go-ahead to compile the new voter register according to their plans.

In a press statement by the Inter-Party Resistance Against the New Voter Register, they have described the outcome of the court proceedings as unfortunate as they emphasize that the decision goes against the fundamental human rights of citizens enshrined in the 1992 constitution.

We take very grievous note of the rather unfortunate outcome of the Supreme Court on the determination of the matter involving the inclusion of the existing Voters ID card as a valid identification document for registering qualified Ghanaian Voters, contrary to the provisions of the CI 126 as amended by the EC. The court throwing out these well-reasoned, legally fertile arguments made in respect of this matter, makes nonsense of the fundamental human rights accrued to all citizens under the 1992 constitution, a portion of the statement said.

It continued, Indeed, this ruling speaks volume about the state of the judicial system in the country, as exemplified in the research outcome of a work done by the Dean of the Faculty of Law in University of Ghana, Prof Raymond Atuguba. He concluded that in matters of political implications Supreme Court judges mostly rule in favor of political appointing authority. This case may qualify as one of those, as we remain deeply convinced that the interest of the people was shelved at the expense of petty partisan parochial interest of the ruling class.

Meanwhile, IPRAN has urged Ghanaians of 18 years and above to ensure they register their names in the new voter register in order not to be left out.

Read the full press statement below:

PRESS CONFRENCE ADDRESSED ON BEHALF OF THE INTER-PARTY RESISTANCE AGAINST THE NEW VOTER REGISTER IPRAN, ON THE SUPREME COURT

RULING IN RESPECT OF THE EXCLUSION OF THE EXISTING VOTER ID CARD FROM THE IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTER REGISTRATION AT THE KAMA CONFERENCE CENTRE ON FRIDAY, 26TH JUNE, 2020

Good Morning distinguished ladies and gentlemen from the media. We are grateful for your indulgence whenever necessity calls on us to serve our nation. Let me also use this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation for you continuous publicity support for our activities since the formation of this group, a group driven by the desire to ensure the right thing is done to protect and strengthen our young fragile democracy.

Firstly let us use this moment to express special appreciation to the leadership of the PNC, APC, NDC, EGLE PARTY, UFP, UPP, DPP and so on, not forgetting the brave leaders of the National House of Chiefs, religious leaders, Civil society Organizations, moral society and all well meaning Ghanaians who defied the obvious political ramifications and spoke to power on the careless and reckless display of political arrogance in the compilation of a new Voter's register

We have invited you here today to share with you, our position on the Supreme Court verdict issued on the above mentioned matter sent to court by one of the members of the Resistance (The NDC) against the Electoral Commission and the Republic of Ghana.

We take very grievous note of the rather unfortunate outcome of the Supreme Court on the determination of the matter involving the inclusion of the existing Voters ID card as a valid identification document for registering qualified Ghanaian Voters, contrary to the provisions of the CI 126 as amended by the EC. The court throwing out these well-reasoned, legally fertile arguments made in respect of this matter, makes nonsense of the fundamental human rights accrued to all citizens under the 1992 constitution. Indeed, this ruling speaks volume about the state of the judicial system in the country, as exemplified in the research outcome of a work done by the Dean of the Faculty of Law in University of Ghana, Prof Raymond Atuguba. He concluded that in matters of political implications Supreme Court judges mostly rule in favor of political appointing authority. This case may qualify as one of those, as we remain deeply convinced that the interest of the people was shelved at the expense of petty partisan parochial interest of the ruling class.

Fellow Countrymen, the ruling as has been witnessed has generated its own confusion due to the inherent ambiguity and contradiction that has completely obliterated the clarity that was supposed to come with a Supreme Court ruling. Ladies and Gentlemen, is the Supreme Court not a place where constitutional and legal clarity is sought? So why is the court itself complicating simple laws and making its interpretation difficult for even astute lawyers?

It is important to place on record that the Resistance vehemently disagrees and is strongly opposed to the decision of the court to give a clean bill of health to the ECs reckless, senseless, wasteful and illogical compilation of the new Voters Register. And as if that was not spiteful enough to common sense and logical reasoning, it was also ruled that the EC can go ahead to conduct the registration amounting to an exclusion of over 11 million eligible voters who qualify under article 42 of the 1992 Constitution and are bearers of the current credible Voters ID cards.

Indeed, what it simply means is that the current Voters register has been outlawed by the SC. So what valid ID cards should we use for transaction in this country. What happens if there is a by-election?

Fellow Countrymen, this ruling in its very essence is a political time bomb waiting to explode. This at best undermines the frontiers of our sovereignty, a sovereignty that rests in the people. We consider this blatant attempt by President Akufo Addo and Jean Mensah to legalize an illegality through the courts as repugnant and unacceptable for a budding fragile democracy like ours.

Whiles, we will not hesitate to continue aggressively in pursuit of true justice for and on behalf of the people and in defense of the constitution, we want to thank our numerous supporters, compatriots and fellow citizens for the unfettered support to the Resistance in this all important battle to rescue the soul of our nation.

Fellow Citizens, the battle is just beginning as the clueless, reckless and incompetent Akufo Addo continues to place our democracy under a clear and present danger and willing to go every length to undermine the sovereignty of Kwame Nkrumahs Ghana and its people to perpetuate their rule.

Furthermore, the decision of the apex court sets the nation and the electoral process on a new path, a new path defined by non existent social and institutional arbiters who are independent in thought and in action. We do not have a referee in this years election, we do not have an independent security services and we do not have a fair judicial system. Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow Country we shall embark on this all important mission with our own referee, we shall do so with our own security services and with our own judiciary.

Let me use this opportunity to serve notice, that we shall never relent, despite this temporary detraction, we remain unshaken and unperturbed in our demand for the right thing to be done. Indeed, this setback has provided the impetus to re-energize us to mobilize greatly for bigger public manifestations in our various communities to make sure that every qualified Ghanaian is registered to vote in the 2020 election. The days of the oppressor is clearly numbered and a loud victory beckons. Victory secured over the tyrant is assured.

Fellow Country men and women, get your ECOWAS Cards or Ghana Card, get your Passports, Get your Voters ID if it is the only identification document you can find and March in your numbers and in multitudes to the registration center to demand the restoration of your right to citizenship and your inalienable right bestowed on you by virtue of your birth and by courtesy of the 1992 Constitution. I will be heading to Sankana to register, make sure you are not left out. And whiles at it, make sure you do not allow any locally brewed imperialist to stop you at the registration Centre with flimsy road blocks. You can only right the wrong done to the people of Ghana through this potent political solution. Register to Vote!!

We want to reiterate our caution issued on 26th May in this same auditorium that this action by the electoral commission, National Identification Authority and the NPP government to exclude the widely held and widely acceptable current Voter ID from which had earlier been ruled as the best prima facie evidence for the identification of a Ghanaian citizen, is a recipe for chaos and widespread civil unrest.

May God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation greater and stronger, even as we strive to resist the oppressors rule with all our will and with all our might.

Aluta Continua! Victoria Ascerta!!

Thank you
Igas Energy PLC - oil and gas producer onshore in Britain - Opts to return nine of its fields to production while keeping the remaining six shut-in. Igas temporarily shut-in a number of sites in May and June in response to the low oil price. The six shut-in fields, alongside Igas's Albury gas to grid plant, account for around 320 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Due to supply chain disruption and other issues stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, project delivery delays and reduced productivity mean the firm will see an annualised reduction of approximately 150 boepd, giving an expected 2020 production of between 1,850 and 2,050 boepd. In 2019, net production averaged 2,325 boepd. Separately says Chief Financial Officer Julian Tedder will step down from July 31, and Financial Controller Frances Ward will take over responsibilities, as part of cost cutting.

Current stock price: 21.00 pence

Year-to-date change: down 56%

By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Sources at both IndiGo and Vistara say that some senior pilots and crew who have elderly parents at home had said that they would like to stay off the roster for now.

Fifty-three-year old IndiGo commander Navneet Sarins life has been thrown out of gear since May 25 when domestic flights in India resumed after two months of a lockdown.

Far from welcoming the move, Sarin is now struggling with a huge dilemma: To fly or to to fly.

The senior pilot has been under pressure from his family not to resume duty.

Gurugram, where he lives with his parents (both aged over 75), his wife and two children, is witnessing a steady uptick in coronavirus cases.

And his wife feels that he is putting the lives of his family, especially his vulnerable aged parents, at risk by assuming command.

Whats making his family even more fearful is that a few pilots have tested positive for COVID-19 since flying resumed.

Sarins family wants him to take leave without pay till December this year.

Senior commanders with Indias airlines earn anywhere between Rs 5 to 10 lakh a month, depending on how much they fly (flying allowances comprise a substantial portion of their paycheck).

Sarin, who has been a commander for over 10 years, owns two other properties apart from the one he lives in, and earns a comfortable rental income.

A few months of leave without pay wont hurt him or his family in any way.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues its relentless surge in India, many airlines pilots, cabin crew and staffers are finding themselves in the unenviable position of having to work out a balance between their own welfare and what their jobs demand.

Unlike medical and health care professionals who have no choice, airline employees are taking a calculated decision on whether or not to expose themselves to the risk of infection.

Sarin says that in the first few days after flights resumed, a few of his colleagues chose to call in sick, as the fear factor was quite pronounced then.

For many younger colleagues, the fear has now abated, he says, and things are getting back to normal.

Even so, airline sources reveal that some pilots have indicated that they would rather go on leave without pay for some time than fly in the midst of a pandemic.

Since airlines are not operating at full capacity, this elective decision will not affect them adversely.

Sources at both IndiGo and Vistara say that some senior pilots and crew who have elderly parents at home had said that they would like to stay off the roster for now.

They dont mind the hit in their pay package as they have built up safety nets that will see them through for a while.

Amrita Khurana, a senior flight attendant who has worked with Air India for over two decades, found it stifling to stay at home during the lockdown - so accustomed is she to being up in the air.

But after she did her first flight (a repatriation flight) in full protective gear, she found that she simply could not breathe in it.

She says that the suffocating feeling is not just age-related and that many of her younger colleagues have also experienced significant problems with protective gear.

Besides the severe heat, not everyone can deal with these kinds of precautions and the stress of knowing that you are putting yourself at risk, she adds.

Khuranas husband and children have been trying to persuade her to do what some commanders are opting to do: go on leave without pay for a while.

Senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation sources say that in the case of certain airlines like Go Air, pilots and the crew are reluctant to fly at all, especially because many of them fear that they will not be paid even if they fly.

Since the pandemic hit, the airline has appeared to be in an increasingly precarious position.

Although many carriers have jumped back in with almost 30-40 per cent of their fleet, Go Air has been slow to get back in gear.

It is operating around 16-20 flights a day and started a week after the others.

Taking note of the trend, aviation veteran and expert Shakti Lumba says, These are extraordinary times having extraordinary consequences and outcomes.

"Many airlines have placed employees on leave without pay.

"Now that the skies are opening up, perceived high-risk employees like crew also have the right to exercise the leave-without-pay option, which is unlikely to affect the airline operationally due to drastically reduced aircraft utilisation.

Airline employees need to be calm and collected because they are responsible for the safety of many lives.

But faced with salary cuts, an uncertain future, and over and above that, the risk of being exposed to the virus, the stress levels of airline staff are shooting up - a situation where mistakes cannot be ruled out.

For a lot of people, the risk of the virus added to the risks of staying in the job of flying has become one risk too many.

(Some names have been changed to protect their identity)

Photograph: Guillermo Granja/Reuters
* Discounts in China widen to $10-$20 an ounce

* Discounts in India at $18 vs $13 last week

* Pent up demand heading to retail outlets in Singapore-analyst

By Eileen Soreng and Rajendra Jadhav

BENGALURU/MUMBAI, June 26 (Reuters) - Physical gold discounts widened in China and India this week as a surge in coronavirus infections restricted buying, while the reopening of retail outlets in Singapore saw a slight pick up in demand for the precious metal.

Indian dealers were offering a discount of up to $18 an ounce over official domestic prices this week, from last week's $13. The domestic price includes a 12.5% import tax and 3% sales tax.

"All jewellery stores have still not opened in cities like Mumbai. Rising prices are making gold unaffordable for many consumers," said Prithviraj Kothari, managing director of RiddiSiddhi Bullions.

Indian gold prices hit a record high of 48,589 rupees per 10 grams on Wednesday.

Retail buyers are not going out shopping as coronavirus cases have been rising in the last few days, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a bullion importing bank.

In China, discounts of $10-$20 an ounce were being offered compared with $10-$15 last week.

"The market is still very quiet, prices are high and only the investment side is buying... Demand is not likely to pick up any time soon, unless things go back to normal," said Ronald Leung, chief dealer, Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

Physical gold was sold at a discount of $0.50 an ounce to a premium of $0.50 an ounce versus the benchmark in Hong Kong, slipping from last week's premium of $0.50-$1.50.

In Singapore, premiums of $0.80-$1.50 an ounce were being charged over the benchmark prices versus last week's $0.80.

"Physical stores have reopened with health and safety measures in place, a big build up of pent up demand is heading to retail outlets in Singapore," said Spencer Campbell, director at SE Asia Consulting Pte Ltd.

Thailand's gold shipments jumped 735% in May from a year earlier.

In Japan, gold was sold anywhere between at par with the benchmark to a $0.50 premium.

(Reporting by Eileen Soreng and Brijesh Patel in Bangalore, Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Bill Gates has condemned American actions over Covid-19 and dubbed the current situation as more bleak than he would have believed.

As American coronavirus deaths surpassed 125,000 on Thursday, the philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder admitted he was still pretty disappointed with Donald Trump amid the pandemic.

The US in particular hasnt had the leadership messages or coordination that you would have expected, he told CNN on Thursday night. Im still pretty disappointed.

Mr Gates, who dubbed US actions as burdensome, told CNN that the US was not even close to managing the pandemic.

Its possible to ramp up testing for a new pathogen very, very fast, said Mr Gates. In fact a number of countries did that extremely well in this case and the technology keeps getting better there.

Mr Gates also blamed American deaths on un-targeted mass-testing, which he said was a scarce resource.

No other country has relied on that. What other countries are doing is: theyre restraining their behaviour, including using masks better than us, but theyre also quarantining when they test positive and theyre doing contact tracing.

He added that whilst some US states were serious about contact tracing, because our behaviour and our contact tracing is not working well, we continue to have very large case-spread.

It is embarrassing, added Mr Gates, who said he was disappointed that developing nations such as Brazil and India had been burdened with American inaction amid the pandemic.

Without US leadership, its been hard to pull together a response, and now the developing countries are bearing the brunt of the burden.

At the same, he said the US could still step up with the worldwide need for a vaccine to manage Covid-19.

Those comments come after the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested on Thursday that 20 million Americans could have contracted the virus  more than 10 times the current total.
New Jersey's Department of Corrections has removed an officer after a video purportedly showed him mocking the death of George Floyd.

The agency tweeted Tuesday that "removal charges have been served" on the officer, who was identified by the local union as Joseph DeMarco.

Joseph Sullivan, president of PBA Local 105, the states largest corrections union, told ABC News that while DeMarco can appeal the removal charges, the department has administratively suspended him without pay.

DeMarco had previously been suspended and banned from facilities "pending a thorough and expedited investigation," according to a statement from the department.

MORE: New Jersey corrections officer suspended after being filmed mocking George Floyd's death

Sullivan said the union would not be representing DeMarco, who could not be reached by ABC News.

"As a union, we chose not to support Mr. DeMarco in his disciplinary hearings due to the fact and nature of the charges," Sullivan said.

The video that showed DeMarco and other white men was taken at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in the New Jersey township of Franklinville on June 8. As protesters peacefully marched along a road, a white man is seen kneeling on the back of another's neck, imitating the way in which Floyd was killed.

PHOTO: George Floyd is pictured in an undated photo released by the office of Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump. (Courtesy Ben Crump Law)

Prosecutors have said Floyd, a black man, died after former officer Derek Chauvin, a white man, kneeled on his neck for nearly eight minutes.

MORE: George Floyd remembered as 'gentle giant' at North Carolina memorial service

Another unnamed individual who took part in the video -- a FedEx employee -- has been fired.

The Department of Corrections called it "hateful and disappointing." FedEx said in a statement that the company does "not tolerate the kind of appalling and offensive behavior depicted in this video."

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy wrote in a tweet that he condemned the behavior "in the strongest terms possible."

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"Mocking George Floyds murder in an effort to belittle the calls for justice from our Black and Brown communities is repugnant.  We wont let the actions of a few distract from our progress toward dismantling systemic racism," Murphy wrote.

ABC News' Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

Officer seen mocking George Floyd's death has been removed from corrections department originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
New Delhi, June 26 : Amid rising political pressure on the Congress over a volley of allegations by the BJP, the Congress social media team launched #SpeakUpForOurJawans campaign online.

"The campaign began at 10 AM, whereby people started posting videos asking the Modi government to answer the above questions," claimed Randeep Singh Surjewala, in-charge of AICC communications department.

The Congress party also observed 'Shaheedon ko Salam Divas' on Friday where it claimed "over two crore fellow Indians as also Congressmen and women joined hands on Twitter and crores of others joined the other social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram etc to pay homage to 20 Indian bravehearts , who were martyred in Galwan Valley of Ladakh." However, it turned out to be more about asking questions to the Centre and making a political point. Though, Surjewla claimed that the questions were raised by "ordinary men and women", but was similar to those raised about alleged Chinese occupation or Centre's proposal to repulse alleged Chinese transgressions.

"How have the Chinese occupied Patrol Point-14, Galwan Valley, Ladakh, where our 20 jawans were martyred? What action is Modi government taking on the brazen Chinese occupation and ongoing construction of bunkers etc. between Finger-4 and Finger-8 in Pangong Tso area?" the Congress asked in a statement.

This, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting India has not ceded a single inch to China.

This social media campaign by the Congress party comes in the wake of BJP citing donations made by the Embassy of China and the Chinese government to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which was also alleged to have received donations from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

In fact, BJP President JP Nadda lashed out at the Congress saying, "PMNRF, meant to help people in distress, was donating money to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in UPA years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Who chairs RGF? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency." But Congress, which ducked answering the serious allegations made against its interim President and the RGF, calling them "diversionary tactics", shot back saying, "The onus lies upon the Modi government to hear the voice of the nation and act."
Fallen fashion mogul Peter Nygard is trying to forestall the sale of his namesake business Notre Dame Avenue property, saying an apartment in a warehouse building has been his permanent home since leaving the Bahamas a year and a half ago.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fallen fashion mogul Peter Nygard is trying to forestall the sale of his namesake business Notre Dame Avenue property, saying an apartment in a warehouse building has been his permanent home since leaving the Bahamas a year and a half ago.

The Nygard Group of Companies was placed in receivership last March after creditors White Oak Commercial Finance and Second Avenue Capital Partners sought repayment of a US$25- million loan.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH In an affidavit, Peter Nygard said an apartment at 1340 Notre Dame Ave. has been his home for more than 40 years when he was not living in the Bahamas and his permanent home for the past year and a half.

On Thursday, lawyers for receiver Richter Advisory Group appeared in court via teleconference to seek approval from Queens Bench Justice James Edmond to proceed with an offer from Mist Holdings Inc. to purchase the property.

In an affidavit filed Thursday, Nygard said an apartment at 1340 Notre Dame Ave. has been his home for more than 40 years when he was not living in the Bahamas, and his permanent home for the past year and a half.

Nygard said the locks to the residence were changed while he was away and he was notified by the receiver he would have to vacate the premises by June 5.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH In an affidavit, Peter Nygard said an apartment at 1340 Notre Dame Ave. has been his home for more than 40 years when he was not living in the Bahamas and his permanent home for the past year and a half.

"It was always my intention to continue my residency at 1340 Notre Dame during the summer, even though I spent most of my time at my summer (Falcon Lake) residence," Nygard said in the affidavit.

Nygard said he instructed two "associates" to pick up some of his belongings, but they were prevented by the receiver from removing several personal items, including physical training equipment, a 1977 Excalibur, and 2005 Hummer, as well as property belonging to the estate of his late sister.

Nygard said he made an offer to the receiver last March to buy or rent the two separate buildings that make up the apartment and his offices, but they "remain outstanding."

Nygard described Mist Holdings Inc. as a "fire sale buyer" that offered to purchase the properties at "well below appraisal value."

The listed sale price for the properties is $5.2 million.

The proposed sale price for the properties is sealed by a court order.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH In an affidavit, Peter Nygard said an apartment at 1340 Notre Dame Ave. has been his home for more than 40 years when he was not living in the Bahamas and his permanent home for the past year and a half.

"The receivers main reasons for justifying such a low price were that the buyer considered 10,000 sq. ft. as not leasable, and they had no interest in the office/showroom buildings and, in fact, they planned to spend a considerable amount of money to tear these two buildings down," Nygard said.

Nygard argued his offer remains a practical option given there is no firm possession date, "especially since the building is full of inventory and building materials that will take a considerable amount of time to sell."

"Should the existing Mist Holdings offer somehow end up becoming less than its current offer, it is my opinion the court should require the new price to be disclosed and accept my offer of the revised price plus $50,000," Nygard said in the affidavit.

Richter said it received two offers for the properties, but only the Mist Holdings offer was unconditional, making it the more favourable.

"There is a limited market for this product," Richter lawyer Bruce Taylor told court.

If the court does not approve the sale to Mist Holdings "we dont know what is going to happen to this property in the future," he said.

Taylor said Nygard knew the property was set to be sold but did not "carve out" a tenancy condition in the receivership order.

Nygard, Taylor said, has provided no formal evidence he was a legal tenant in the building and that his use of the executive suite was an "accommodation" of his employment or ownership interest.

"There was no lease, no tenancy, no rent, and all of the costs of that premises were paid by the companies," Taylor said.

Nygard lawyer Wayne Onchulenko said its always been Nygards position he was a tenant in the building and that it will be up to the Residential Tenancies Board or the court to decide otherwise.

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Onchulenko argued Nygard is protected by COVID-19 provincial legislation that prohibits landlords from evicting tenants until Sept. 30.

"Our position is if Mr. Nygard was a tenant, he could not be terminated, he could not be evicted, because the legislation does not allow for it during this COVID period," Onchulenko said.

Edmond is expected to deliver his decision next week.

A class-action lawsuit filed last March in the U.S. accuses Nygard of sexual misconduct against 57 women. Nygard, through his lawyers, has repeatedly maintained his innocence.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - An Islamic State-linked group appears to be regaining strength in northeastern Nigeria and is now warning it will target civilians who help the military or even humanitarian organizations.

The Islamic State in West Africa Province, which broke away from Boko Haram in 2016, had appeared weakened earlier this year by internal feuding, said Nnamdi Obasi, the senior adviser for Nigeria at the International Crisis Group.

But earlier this month it killed more than 120 people in a single week, including 40 in Monguno, a town housing an estimated 150,000 displaced people and a U.N. humanitarian base that was only able to repel the jihadists after hours of fighting.

The new attack now suggests that there is a new flare to their violence, Obasi said.

The Islamic State in West Africa Province broke away from Boko Haram following a dispute over leadership and the strategy of attacking civilian targets such as mosques and marketplaces.

The splinter faction is now believed to have as many as 5,000 fighters, according to a International Crisis Group report last year.

Boko Haram has focused on attacking military units, targeting soldiers on guard or patrol operations. The extremist group also has attacked civilians through suicide bombings often carried out by young girls.

A new campaign by the Nigerian military and the regional multinational joint task force resulted in the killing of over 1,200? Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters, according to the military, which claims many of their commanders have been killed or arrested.

The renewed push by the Islamic State in West Africa Province comes after the military scored some major gains against the extremists in the northeast.

Nigerias military and the multinational security force have made tremendous success in targeting the groups operational bases, said Kabiru Adamu, a security consultant based in Nigeria.

Those wins have been attributed, in part, to help from communities that are increasingly willing to help the military in the hope that they can end the violence that has engulfed the region for more than a decade.

That has led the Islamic State West Africa Province to announce a shift in tactics that threatens to deepen the crisis.

Pamphlets left at the scene of the recent attacks warned civilians that they may be considered targets if they aid the military or humanitarian groups.

Its a marked shift for the group, which until now has spared Muslim residents as long as they pledge allegiance to the group and pay taxes that are illegally levied on them, said Bunu Malam-Kolo, chief of a local defence group trying to protect civilians in northeastern Borno state.

The recent reports of civilians aiding the military has infuriated the ISWAP group. The militants have even publicly named the communities they intend to attack next.

And they have a long list of such communities where they felt residents are helping the government forces to expose them, Malam-Kolo added.

___

Olukoya reported from Lagos, Nigeria. Carley Petesch in Dakar, Senegal contributed.
Scientists led by Robin Beck from the University of Salford described the new family from a partial skull and most of the skeleton, which show that it weighed about 150kg (330lbs), similar in size to a black bear. The researchers have named the animal Mukupirna, meaning big bones in Dieri and Malyangapa, which are the Aboriginal languages spoken in the region of South Australia where the fossil was found.

The fossil was collected in the 1970s from Lake Pinpa in north eastern South Australia by an expedition led by the late Dr Richard Tedford from the American Museum of Natural History.

Co-author, the Natural History Museum's Interim Collections Task Force Manager Pip Brewer said: 'Mukupirna reveals a fascinating mix of characteristics and provides evidence of a close link between wombats and an extinct group of marsupials called wynyardiids. It suggests that adaptations for digging for food may have existed in the very earliest members of the wombat family and likely led to their eventual survival to the present day. Although suggested previously, it had not been possible to test this, as the oldest fossil wombats discovered are only known from teeth and a few skull fragments.'

The scientists looked at how body size has evolved in vombatiforms, which is the group that includes Mukupirna, wombats, koalas and their fossil relatives, and showed that body weights of 100kg or more evolved at least six times over the last 25 million years. The largest known vombatifom was Diprotodon, which weighed over 2 tonnes and survived until approximately 50,000 years ago.

Dr Robin Beck, Lecturer in Biology at The University of Salford, who led the study, said: 'Mukupirna is one of the best-preserved marsupials we know of this age from Australia. It tells us a lot about the evolution of wombats, koalas and their relatives. It is remarkable for its large size  this was clearly an impressive, powerful beast.'

The paper was published in Scientific Reports on 25 June 2020.

Notes for editors

Media contact: Tel: +44 (0)779 969 0151 Email: press@nhm.ac.uk

About the Natural History Museum:

The Natural History Museum is both a world-leading science research centre and the most-visited natural history museum in Europe. With a vision of a future in which both people and the planet thrive, it is uniquely positioned to be a powerful champion for balancing humanitys needs with those of the natural world.

It is custodian of one of the worlds most important scientific collections comprising over 80 million specimens. The scale of this collection enables researchers from all over the world to document how species have and continue to respond to environmental changes - which is vital in helping predict what might happen in the future and informing future policies and plans to help the planet.

The Museums 300 scientists continue to represent one of the largest groups in the world studying and enabling research into every aspect of the natural world. Their science is contributing critical data to help the global fight to save the future of the planet from the major threats of climate change and biodiversity loss through to finding solutions such as the sustainable extraction of natural resources.

The Museum uses its enormous global reach and influence to meet its mission to create advocates for the planet - to inform, inspire and empower everyone to make a difference for nature. We welcome over five million visitors each year; our digital output reaches hundreds of thousands of people in over 200 countries each month and our touring exhibitions have been seen by around 30 million people in the last 10 years.
She has been isolating with her ex-husband, Liev Schreiber, and their children in The Hamptons during the coronavirus pandemic.

But Naomi Watts, 51, enjoyed a solo outing on Thursday, picking up a new watering can during a shopping trip in the affluent New York neighbourhood.

Ensuring her safety by wearing a protective orange mask, the Australian actress kept the rest of her ensemble casually chic with a white top and denim skirt.

Out and about: Naomi Watts, 51, picked up a new watering as she enjoyed a shopping trip in The Hamptons, New York on Thursday

Naomi nailed her off-duty look with a capped sleeved white top and the statement denim pencil skirt.

The Impossible star accessorised with a navy scarf around her neck and kept the sunny rays at bay with a pair of chic shades.

After stopping to take a few snaps of items from a window storefront, she later purchased a new bright red watering can.

Naomi was seen without her ex-partner, actor Liev, who she has been isolating with over the last few months.

Looking good: Ensuring her safety by wearing a bright orange mask, the Australian actress kept the rest of her ensemble casually chic with a white top and denim skirt

Window shopping: The Impossible star - who stopped to take some snaps of items from a window store front - accessorised with a navy scarf around her neck and a pair of chic shades

The former couple and their sons, Sasha, 12, and Kai, 11, thrilled fans several weeks ago when they performed a fun TikTok dance routine to Doja Cat's hit single Say So.

Liev and Naomi announced their separation in September 2016, after 11 years together.

Three months later, Liev spoke about their approach to co-parenting after their split and said they would always be a family.

Friendly exes: Naomi been isolating with her ex-husband, Liev Schreiber, and their children in The Hamptons during the coronavirus pandemic [pictured together in 2016]

Fun: The former couple and their sons, Sasha, 12, and Kai, 11, thrilled fans several weeks ago when they performed a fun TikTok dance

When asked on CBS This Morning if the change in his personal life was scary, he said: 'Yeah, of course it is.

'But we're parents together so we'll be together for the rest of our lives no matter what and we're very close. Hopefully that never changes and I don't think it will.'

On the work front, Naomi will next be seen in the dramas Penguin Bloom and Once Upon a Time in Staten Island - both to be released later this year.
Nearly 100 Rohingya asylum seekers stranded off the coast of Indonesia were pulled to shore Thursday by locals angered at the refusal of authorities to give them shelter over coronavirus fears. Some 94 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority -- including 30 children -- were reportedly plucked from a rickety wooden boat by fishermen this week before being intercepted by maritime officials from Sumatra island who pulled them closer to shore. But officials in Lhokseumawe city on Sumatra's northern coast refused to allow the group to land, citing coronavirus concerns. Angry locals took matters into their own hands Thursday by jumping into boats Thursday which they used to pull the asylum seekers to shore. Residents gathered on a local beach cheered the move, according to an AFP reporter on the scene. "It's purely for humanitarian reasons," said fisherman Aples Kuari. "We were sad seeing kids and pregnant women stranded at sea," he added. Earlier Thursday, local police chief Eko Hartanto said they wanted to send the Rohingya back to sea rather than give them temporary shelter. But authorities appeared to soften that stance in the face of local protests, and the weary group are now temporarily being put up in private residences. The Rohingya would be checked by medical staff to ensure they were virus-free, according to Aceh's rescue agency. Amnesty International praised the spirit of the rescue. "Todayas disembarkation of Rohingya refugees is a moment of optimism and solidarity," said Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid in a statement. "Itas a credit to the community in Aceh who pushed hard and took risks so that these children, women and men could be brought to shore. They have shown the best of humanity." Indonesia and neighbouring Malaysia are favoured destinations for Muslim Rohingya fleeing persecution and violence in mostly Buddhist Myanmar, with thousands trying a perilous escape via smugglers across the sea every year. Muslim-majority Indonesia has previously allowed Rohingya refugees to land and allowed many to stay. But their plight has been compounded in recent months as officials have turned them away over concern they could be harbouring the deadly coronavirus. Around a million Rohingya live in squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh, where human traffickers also run lucrative operations promising to find them sanctuary abroad. On Wednesday, a coastguard official in Malaysia said dozens of Rohingya were believed to have died during a four-month boat journey to that Muslim-majority nation. There had been more than 300 people on board the boat which was intercepted by authorities earlier this month, with 269 survivors given temporary shelter. "Some of them died at sea. They were thrown overboard," Zubil told reporters, without specifying the exact number. Zubil said the group had been on a mothership carrying more than 800 people before being transferred to a second vessel. Authorities have not found the original boat, thought to be now carrying around 500 people. Authorities have yet to confirm if the group who landed off Indonesia's coast belonged to that larger group.
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the chaotic primary-election experiences of Georgia, Wisconsin and other states are troubling signs for the November general election. Without immediate action, an accessible and fair national election is at risk.American democracy, particularly in a time of crisis, is strongest when its citizens actively participate in and have confidence in the integrity of the election process. Our national goal should be to maximize the participation of eligible voters while ensuring an election system that prevents fraud. Every vote must be counted accurately and as quickly as possible, with the results perceived as fair and legitimate.In a new white paper , fellows of the National Academy of Public Administration are urging state, local and federal governments to act promptly to improve electoral processes to allow every eligible citizen to vote in the 2020 elections while protecting the integrity of the election process and the health of all participants.These academy fellows recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to adapting longstanding election procedures to this new COVID-19 reality, but numerous components of the election administration system will need to be revised. Requirements that may have previously made sense will need to be changed or temporarily waived. Current election laws, regulations and practices should be adjusted as needed to maximize voter participation and social equity, along with financial and administrative practicality.Continuing concerns regarding the pandemic and the possibility of a second wave in the fall, if not addressed, will significantly reduce voter participation in the November elections. Overly limited voter-registration opportunities will also contribute to decreased voter turnout. The impact may be particularly great among groups like the elderly and minority communities, who are not only at increased risk of the disease but also are least likely to be comfortable with or have access to technology for registering to vote or requesting ballots online.Since elections are administered primarily by state and local governments, they must take the lead in identifying and implementing responses to these challenges. We believe that the following steps must be taken to help ensure an accessible and safe election:Online registration and same-day registration can be used to facilitate the process.An adequate number of polling places must be accessible to the voters who rely on them most. Additional recruitment efforts for election workers will be required, and special precautions will need to be taken for the safety of voters, staff and poll workers. Polling sites will need to be configured in accordance with safety guidelines. Without an adequate number of polling sites, physical distancing and other health-related requirements will significantly slow the voting process and lead to long lines that discourage voting.States and localities need to ensure more accessible locations and additional early voting days. These changes will help ensure that citizens can vote while maintaining the necessary physical distancing.These include expanded use of absentee voting, including universal no-excuse absentee voting, as well as all-mail voting. Policymakers must evaluate alternatives to in-person voting through a social equity lens, given that they may affect voters differently.As critical as the actions of state and local governments will be to ensuring that November's voting goes smoothly and democratically, however, the federal government must be an active partner. Because funding for state and local election operations is limited even in the best of times, Congress will need to appropriate more funds to assist states and localities. In addition, all relevant federal agencies, including the Election Assistance Commission and the Postal Service, need to be ready to perform their responsibilities in this new environment.Fully informing potential voters on the new voting procedures is essential. Enhanced public education will be required to maximize participation, manage expectations and instill public confidence. Public officials and election administrators should emphasize the nonpartisan nature of the changes, and otherwise strengthen voter confidence in the process and the legitimacy of the outcomes.Educating voters about election changes isn't a job for government alone. The media and civil-society organizations need to be actively engaged. Public and nonprofit organizations, working with both traditional and social media, need to develop and share clear, nonpartisan information with the public about the election-system changes for the 2020 elections and their options as voters.Taken together, these actions will ensure that voters can safely and fully participate in this most vital democratic process. Preparations must begin now. We have no time to lose.GoverningGoverning
Indo-Tibetan Border Police chief S S Deswal on Friday said his force and the army, currently in a standoff with Chinese troops in Ladakh, are "dedicated" to protect the integrity and sovereignty of the country.

IMAGE: ITBP personnel stand guard Zoji-La pass in Ladakh. Photograph: ANI Photo

Deswal, a 1984-batch Indian Police Service officer of the Haryana cadre, added the forces are ready to handle all challenges.

"The army and the ITBP are dedicated to the nation for protection of the integrity and sovereignty of the country as well as the borders," the ITBP director general told reporters in New Delhi.

He was speaking after reviewing a newly created over 1,000-bed COVID-19 care centre at a Radha Soami Satsang Beas facility in Chhattarpur.

Twenty Indian Army personnel including a colonel were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on the night of June 15 in the biggest military confrontation between the two countries in over five decades.

The ITBP has reinforced its numbers in the Ladakh region along with other sectors of the Sino-India Line of Actual Control that is about 3,488 kms long and runs from the Karakoram Pass to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh.
WENZHOU, China, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ZK International Group Co., Ltd. (ZKIN) ("ZK International" or the "Company"), a designer, engineer, manufacturer, and supplier of patented high-performance stainless steel and carbon steel pipe products primarily used for water and gas supplies, today announced the following corporate updates:

Manufacturing Goes Full Steam Ahead Post the Pandemic

As the COVID-19 swept across China starting from mid-January, dramatic measures were taken on a massive scale to force residents to remain indoors. These measures included government-mandated factory shutdowns until early March. As a result, we have experienced longer than usual shutdowns that spanned much of the month of February due to Chinese New Year holidays and subsequently COVID-19 induced government mandated lockdown order.

While the COVID-19 pandemic forced longer than usual factory shutdowns after the Chinese New Year holidays, which in turn caused increased backlog of orders, our factories resumed normal production in early March and has been running at full capacity since then.

As we look back today, with the easing of the backlog following more than 3 months of manufacturing running on full capacity, we were able to smooth out the disruption in production and product workflow caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

To help local communities fight against the pandemic, we are proud to supply piping infrastructure for the field hospitals designated by the Wenzhou local authority to officially treat patients with pneumonia infected by the COVID-19. The hospitals were completed by the end of February with a full capacity of 800 beds.

The Dianshi Partnership Gives Us Quick Access to the Hunan Market

In April, we entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Hunan Dianshi Decoration Design and Engineering Co. Ltd. ("Dianshi"), one of the leading home improvement and interior design chains in Hunan Province with approximately 3,000 employees. This Dianshi Partnership gave us a unique leverage to quickly expand our sales network into the 65 design centers and studios in 30 cities in China that are currently owned by Dianshi. Leveraging Dianshi's strong design capability and ZK International's high-performance stainless steel water pipes and fittings supplies, the Dianshi Partnership allows two parties to team up in providing best-in-class home improvement and interior design solutions in 30 cities with the primary focus in the Hunan market. As a strategic partner and designated preferred vendor of water pipes and fittings for Dianshi, we view the Dianshi Partnership as potentially a springboard for ZK International to penetrate the growing residential real estate market across China, especially Hunan Province.

The Huaye Partnership to Bring Additional Manufacturing Capacity and Access to the North Eastern China Market

Earlier this month, we entered into an Exclusive Supplying and Distribution Framework Agreement with Shandong Huaye Group ("Huaye"), a leading structural and fencing piping products manufacturer and suppliers in China. The Huaye Agreement covers Huaye's ongoing production line and machine upgrades (the "Upgrades') as well as designating Huaye as the Company's strategic OEM manufacturer and distributor.

The Upgrades, with Huaye's plan to allocate a total budget of RMB350 million (approximately $49.7 million), are now underway at Huaye's existing 120,000 square meters facility in Mengyin County, Shandong Province. ZK International is dispatching experienced engineers in support of the ongoing Upgrades which are expected to be completed by September 2020. Upon completion of the Upgrades, Huaye will become a designated OEM manufacturer and distributor of the full suite of ZK International's patented high-performance stainless steel and carbon steel piping products.

Based on the current schedule for the Upgrades, we expect the Huaya Partnership to increase our total production output by up to RMB40 million (approximately $5.6 million) in calendar year 2020, significantly ease our production capacity bottleneck and reduce our product delivery time.

For over 18 years and with 500 distributors, Huaye has established itself as one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of stainless steel structural and fencing piping products in the Northern and Eastern regions of China, particularly in Shandong Province. With complementary product portfolios and sales network, we have high hopes on the Huaye Partnership and expect it to bring us not only additional manufacturing capacity but also speedy access to the North Eastern China market where we have limited presence.

Due to its price advantage, PPR pipe currently has higher market share than stainless steel pipe in North Eastern region of China. However, PPR pipes has high maintenance cost as a result of its significantly shorter life span compared to stainless steel pipes. Additionally, enhanced consumer health awareness helps stainless steel pipe rapidly gain larger market share. Currently we generate small percentage of revenues from North Eastern China region; leveraging Huaye's extensive sales channel, we anticipate that this region will become the fastest growing market for the coming years.

New Corporate Video

The Company also released a corporate video (the "Video"), highlighting its manufacturing facilities, and its mission and values. The Video can be accessed through the Company's website at https://www.zkinternationalgroup.com/news-media/media/media/2787/zk-corporate-video.

Chairman's Comments

"For over 20 years and still counting, ZK has been always on a mission to enable clean water and safe gas for municipalities and communities with its high-quality, high-performance stainless steel and carbon steel pipe and fitting solutions. Looking ahead, we expect the macro headwinds caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to continue deep into the second half of 2020. However, we also see tremendous opportunities ahead of us. With strong order book, additional production capacity and expanded geographical outreach brought by the Huaye partnership, we are increasingly optimistic about our long-term prospects. Northern China market is our next strategic market as a corporate strategy for the second," commented Jiancong Huang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ZK International.

About ZK International Group Co., Ltd.

ZK International Group Co., Ltd. is a China-based designer, engineer, manufacturer, and supplier of patented high-performance stainless steel and carbon steel pipe products that require sophisticated water or gas pipeline systems. The Company owns 33 patents, 21 trademarks, 2 Technical Achievement Awards, and 10 National and Industry Standard Awards. ZK International is Quality Management System Certified (ISO9001), Environmental Management System Certified (ISO1401), and a National Industrial Stainless Steel Production Licensee that is focused on supplying steel piping for the multi-billion dollar industries of Gas and Water sectors. ZK has supplied stainless steel pipelines for over 2,000 projects, including the Beijing National Airport, the "Water Cube", and "Bird's Nest", which were venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Emphasizing superior properties and durability of its steel piping, ZK International is providing a solution for the delivery of high quality, highly sustainable, environmentally sound drinkable water not only to the China market but also to international markets such as Europe, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

For more information please visit www.ZKInternationalGroup.com. Additionally, please follow the Company on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Weibo. For further information on the Company's SEC filings please visit www.sec.gov.

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 U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "may," "will," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "estimate" or "continue" or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantee of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of ZK International. Actual results may differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties, as well as other risk factors that are included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Although ZK International believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of the assumptions could prove inaccurate and, therefore, there can be no assurance that the results contemplated in forward-looking statements will be realized. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking information included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by ZK International or any other person that their objectives or plans will be achieved. ZK International does not undertake any obligation to revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Investor Contact:

Tony Tian, CFA

Weitian Group LLC

Phone: +1 (732) 910-9692

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE ZK International Group Co., Ltd.

Related Links

www.ZKInternationalGroup.com


New US blacklist targeting Chinese firms is insane and ignorant: experts

Global Times

By Song Lin Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/25 16:49:00

The US is reportedly cooking up a new list targeting 20 companies with accusations that they are backed by the Chinese military. As insane and ignorant as this is, this groundless move will foolishly damage American commerce and industry, Chinese experts said.

The Trump administration has listed 20 companies that are allegedly owned or controlled by Chinese military, including China's tech giant Huawei and Hikvision, according to a report from Reuters. The list may pave the way for US President Donald Trump's further crackdown on Chinese companies amid his reelection campaign.

If the list is true, it will entrap American firms, industries and its own financial system, Mei Xinyu, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under China's Ministry of Commerce, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"Though it is obvious that some extremists in the US Defense Department are eager to confront China by all means necessary they should have [their minds] tested in hospitals as they are making decisions that will backfire and damage themselves," Mei said.

Nearly all the listed companies are industry leaders that attract cooperation from firms across the world. Some even offer products which cannot be substituted. This makes the US' absurd moves hinder the development of its own industries, Mei noted, stressing further that if the US intends to make up financial sanctions based on the reported list, it will force countries and regions to step away from dollar settlements.

Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times that the US crackdown is threatening Chinese high-tech firms with technological or market advantages.

Naming the 20 Chinese firms as military-related companies will allow the Trump administration to launch sanctions whenever it wants to, Lu said.

It is not a new trick, and more politicized and cooked-up "lists" seem to be facilitating the US' presidential election this year, Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing who closely follows the China-US trade conflict, told the Global Times.

Also, the Trump administration has been ramping up efforts to ship the spotlight of its domestic issues by heating up its conflict with China. This is being done in a bid to relieve pressure and divert American citizens' attention, Gao said.

The US has been leading COVID-19 infection numbers in the world for some period of time. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the US has over 2.38 million confirmed cases out of the world total of 9.4 million cases as of Thursday. Meanwhile, the country has seen an unprecedented scale of protests for over a month fighting against racial discrimination.

Under such circumstance, it is not surprising news that the US is trying to crack down on Chinese firms with new phantom allegations, according to Gao.

In terms of Chinese firms, the degree of harm that might be done to them would be quite limited, both experts said.

Both Huawei and Hikvision have been included on an American blacklist already. After a few years of a trivial Trump trade war, China has clearly showed its capacity to counter attacks. It will therefore strike back with more precise and targeted counter measures without hurting its own business environment, experts said.

With an unstable America, it is evident to the world that China is a more reliable supplier with a strong trade clearing system, Mei added.

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Westlife's Kian Egan is hopeful that an improvement in the coronavirus situation can see the band return to the stage next year - but for now, he is thankful for the family time he has experienced in recent months.

The onset of the pandemic resulted in the cancellation of a major tour in 2020 which would have seen the group play iconic venues such as Wembley Stadium in London, as well as visit Asia, India and South Africa as part of an international tour.

Plans have been put in place for a rescheduling of some dates - the Wembley gig, and one in Pairc Ui Chaoimh in Cork have been moved to the same dates in 2021 - but for now, Egan has been enjoying life at home in Sligo with his family during the course of lockdown.

He has spent his time at home in Strandhill with his wife, Jodi, and their three children, and speaking to Ryan Tubridy on RTE Radio One on Monday morning, he said he has enjoyed the amount of family time they have had together in recent months.

"The first part of the lockdown, as a family, my lifestyle has been very, very different," Egan said.

"I wouldn't get up and go to work every day, I would be here for a few months at a time and then I'd be gone for a while and then back, so we had a little sense of that before. But to be just, the five of us, and nothing else for a very long time, that has been amazing and just being a real family unit and knowing what that is a real family unit, but you do think of all the people around the world who don't have that, and then you have to think about the people who are living in difficult situations, there's been lots of unfortunate things that have happened throughout the lockdown as well for people so all those things really do come to mind."

It has been a particularly challenging time in many households as school-going children attempt to adapt to a new way of learning, much of which entailed taking lessons and classes online. Egan says that his household, like many others, had to try and adjust to the new way of education.

"I think trying to get the eight year old to try and focus in, and having a five year old and a two and half year old running around, that has been the most difficult part," he explained.

"We did a bit [of school work], we didn't do a huge amount, the principal from the school was very, very good, he was sending out letters once a week saying 'listen, do what you can, everybody is in the same position, don't feel under pressure' even though you do feel under pressure to do something and I'm sure every parent out there with young children have felt under pressure so we did.

"But there was a second side to it where I have been home, I've been able to practice his guitar with him, get him in the water twice a day when the surf has been good so his surfing is coming up an awful lot, skateboarding an awful lot so things that he really loves, to be able to have the time to do that with him and all of them actually, that time is has actually been priceless so he said to me, the older boy Koa said to me in the car 'I wish things would go back to normal' and I said 'well, OK buddy, think of it like this, your normal would have been you in school all the time, we wouldn't have had all this time together, Daddy would have been gone off on tour with Westlife, you wouldn't be surfing the way you are surfing so there is a silver lining to it all'. Now, I know that hasn't been the case for so many people around the country and around the world, you do apologise and feel bad for that."

The pandemic has seen many things change - including the way major celebrations are marked. Kian had one of those, with his 40th birthday falling in the middle of the lockdown. It was an occasion he says he won't forget, but for different reasons.

"We haven't seen any of Jodi's family since the whole thing started. Been in contact obviously with FaceTime and all that with Grandad and things like that but what can you do, we had my 40th birthday through the lockdown, my five year olds birthday through the lockdown and you just kind of get on with it."

"I'll never forget my 40th birthday, it might have been completely different but it was beautiful actually because I had a big group of friends do a drive by at the front of the house, they all drove by one after the other beeping their horns and waving out the window and balloons, Shane and Mark came out with their families and all my local friends from around Sligo and family and it was really touching, really emotional, I was nearly crying.

"My wife had organised it all and it was absolutely beautiful what she organised. My next door neighbour put up balloons on the fence and stuff like that, I'll never forget that, it's something you'll never forget."

Many fans in Sligo and beyond will be wondering when the quartet of Kian, Shane, Mark and Nicky may return to the stage, but it is very much out of their hands.

They await, like many others, a clarification on when they can resume playing in front of crowds, much of which will hinge on when people will be allowed congregate at major events again.

"We would have started [their tour] by now, we would've been in the UK with our stadium summer tour and then we were coming back down to Cork, we were doing Pairc Ui Chaoimh, and then we had Wembley Stadium for the first time ever in our career in the UK, and then we were going international so we were going all around Asia, China, South Africa, India, we had pretty much a world tour organised off the back of the last album, the Spectrum album.

"Obviously that is all completely cancelled stroke moved to 2021, we're still trying to figure out what can we do, what can we not do next year because we still don't know. Is the second wave coming, we don't know so we can't really plan a huge amount, it's kind of odd. Obviously we have Cork and Wembley, we've moved them to the same weekends of 2021 that they would have been in 2020, but apart from that, the managers and promoters are all kind of going 'we can't really say yes, lets do it all, because we don't know'".

"From a performers point of view, being up on a stage in front of anybody is worthy. But from an audience point of view, we all know what its about going to a concert, it's about being able to jump up and down and have your arm around your friends and sing along and be part of that crowd atmosphere and have that big cheer when the lights go ip and all those different things, that's what a concert it about and when concerts do get back and concerts will happen, I know that this is a tough, weird time for everybody but it will happen again, I'm pretty sure of that, I'd like to hope so anyways, but I suppose we just have to live with the memories we have from the past and look forward to more in the future and I would imagine when we do get there it'll be ever better because you know what it's like, when you take something away for a long time that's what everybody wants."

Kian was appearing on Ryan Tubridy's programme to outline their efforts as part of the RTE Comic Relief fundraiser which aims to raise funds for a number of worthy causes.

Westlife are offering the chance to win a personal gig from the band; they say they will play whenever or wherever the winner wants whether it is at a wedding, a birthday party night or whatever they like.

"The one thing about Westlife since we got back together, we want everything to be something special and we want it to be an event," Kian explained.

"So we thought rather than coming on the tele and just doing a regular performance of Westlife in a studio or wherever it may be, how do we think outside the box, how we do we make this an event? So, what we've decided to do is run a competition for charity, it costs four euro to enter the competition and the prize is to win Westlife to perform at any event you want, whether that be a wedding, a birthday party, in your local pub, it's your choice, if you win the prize, wherever you want us we will be there and we will perform for you at whatever event it is that you want.

"The event could be next year, if you're planning, if your wedding got cancelled this year and you're thinking 'well, I know i'm getting married next summer' if you win that prize, we can perform at your wedding'. That's the idea."

To enter, text Westlife to 50300 at the cost of 4, which will go towards the chosen charities.

Looking forward to the future, Kian says he is fortunate to have had a lot of positives during the lockdown, and he reserved special praise for the efforts of the people of Sligo in curbing the impact of Covid-19.

"I'm one of these people, I try to take the positives."

"I suppose, the positives have been very very good, the negatives have been very very bad obviously when you look at the number of people that have died around the country and the amount of people, you know the frontline workers and what they've had to go through and I can imagine as a frontline worker going to work every day the nerves must be huge just to think are they going to catch this awful disease?

"I think, for us, we've just been so lucky and I just feel so blessed that we have been lucky in that sense. Ireland is a country where I think we have been lucky, I think our government have done very, very well, us as a people and a nation we've all respected it very, very well. I certainly felt in Sligo we did very well even being around our local village, surfing is a sport that a lot of people it would break their heart not to be able to come and do it but everybody didn't come and do it and it was amazing to see that."
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Long the subject of conservative criticism, Albuquerque City Council President Pat Davis is now being denounced by a progressive organization he founded.

ProgressNow New Mexico on Thursday called on Davis to resign his council seat and other public positions, accusing him of having a pattern of racist behavior targeting Black and Brown communities, and citing his past as a police officer, including an incident in which he shot a Black driver during a 2004 traffic stop, and his endorsement of a Bernalillo County Commission candidate the organization has accused of sending a problematic flyer.

ProgressNow New Mexico finds it imperative to continue calling out racism when we see it and holding perpetrators accountable for their actions, Alissa Barnes, executive director of the organization, said in a news release.

Davis, who founded ProgressNow in 2011 but said he left in 2016 after winning election to the Albuquerque City Council, called allegations that he is racist laughable.

The councilor, who represents Nob Hill, the International District and other parts of Southeast Albuquerque, said he has long acknowledged he was trained as a police officer to fight the war on drugs and criminalize communities of color.

He said the culture ultimately compelled him to leave policing a decade ago and pursue structural change, including through public office. He often references his law enforcement career on the City Council dais and has publicly spoken about the 2004 shooting.

People know that (this racism allegation) is just not authentic, said Davis, who served with the Capitol and Metropolitan police departments in Washington, D.C., and also with the University of New Mexico police in the early 2000s. Ive publicly talked about my own experience as a police officer and the wrongs and the way I saw the system.

Thats what helped me do this job, and Ive been good at it, and Im going to continue to be good at it.

During his first term, Davis sponsored legislation to open police internal affairs investigations to civilian oversight and to decriminalize marijuana. He more recently introduced a bill to ban Albuquerque police from accepting surplus military equipment, and said his record demonstrates his evolution and commitment to change.

He said he has no plans to resign his City Council seat, which he holds through 2023.

A recent blog post by former city official Pete Dinelli criticized Davis law enforcement career, including a 2004 midafternoon traffic stop in Washington, D.C., during which Davis shot the Black driver, who had a gun.

Davis said he spotted a gun in the drivers hand and lunged into the car to try to grab it. During the tussle, the driver hit the gas and sped off. Davis fired his weapon, striking the driver in the shoulder, then fell to the ground and the car ran over his leg.

The driver was ultimately sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on a gun charge. The driver sued the city over the incident, but a judge dismissed the case.

ProgressNow cited Dinellis blog post in its new call for Davis to resign. But a spokeswoman said the organizations current position is not only about what Davis did years before he founded ProgressNow but also Davis support of 2020 Bernalillo County Commission candidate Adrian Carver.

ProgressNow blasted Carver this spring for a campaign flyer on which he listed opponent Adriann Barboas criminal record, including several bench warrants for unpaid parking tickets and a cannabis arrest. ProgressNow communications director Marianna Anaya said Carver using the drug arrest against Barboa  a queer woman of color  while also promoting marijuana legalization was absolutely a form of institutional racism but that Davis continued to support Carver.

Anaya questioned Davis commitment to progressive ideals.

I think that unfortunately Davis words do not match his actions, she said.

Davis, who did paid social media work for Carvers campaign, said he had nothing to do with the mailer in question but that he considers a criminal record for any candidate seeking public office fair game.

He said he sees no room to question his progressive bona fides, noting that hes also co-sponsored sanctuary city legislation and the plastic bag ban.

I have been attacked as the most liberal member of the City Council.  It just doesnt make sense, he said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jun. 26

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Seven more lethal coronavirus cases were reported in Kazakhstans Nur-Sultan city, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Ministry of Healthcare.

Five of them were men born in 1961, 1941, 1959, 1946 and 1951, whereas two were women born in 1971 and 1958.

Thus, the overall number of lethal coronavirus cases amounted to 147 country-wide.

The first two cases of coronavirus infection were detected in Kazakhstan among those who arrived in Almaty city from Germany on March 13, 2020.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Kazakhstan since the virus was first confirmed in the country amounted to 19,750. This includes 12,220 people who recovered from the coronavirus, and 147 patients who passed away.

---

Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
Trump: US moving troops to Poland to send 'very strong signal' to Russia

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 25 June 2020 5:47 AM

President Donald Trump has said that the United States plans to redeploy some troops from Germany to Poland "to send a very strong signal to Russia."

Trump said he looked forward to signing a "defense cooperation agreement" with Polish President Andrzej Duda, who was the first foreign leader to visit the White House since the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left more than 121,000 people dead in the United States, hit in March.

"They're going to pay for that ... for the sending of additional troops and we'll probably be moving them from Germany to Poland," he said.

"We are going to be reducing our forces in Germany" from 52,000 to 25,000 troops, Trump said after an Oval Office meeting with his populist ally Duda.

Duda called it a "very reasonable decision" and said he had asked Trump not to withdraw US troops from Europe "because the security of Europe is very important to me."

The Polish media said 30 US F-16 fighter jets stationed in Germany could also be moved to the eastern European country as Polish officials have raised the prospect of a more permanent US presence -- perhaps in a facility paid for by Warsaw dubbed "Fort Trump."

Poland has constantly demanded a boost in US military assistance particularly after the Ukraine crisis and the rejoining of Crimean peninsula to Russia in a referendum in 2014.

The meeting with Trump came just four days before Poland's presidential election, in which Duda seeks a second term.

The timing of the meeting was criticized by Duda's opponents as an attempt to gain a pre-election windfall.

"President Duda is doing very well in Poland. He's doing a terrific job." Trump said following the meeting.

Some US officials condemned Trump's decision to host the Polish president days before the country's presidential vote.

US Representative Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat from Ohio who co-chairs the Congressional Poland Caucus said, "As a Polish-American and someone who deeply values the US-Poland relationship, I am troubled by President Trump's inappropriate efforts to insert himself into Polish domestic politics and boost President Duda's reelection with a White House visit."

"Unfortunately, President Trump's invitation is not surprising given his favorability toward strongmen and those who undermine democratic institutions," Kaptur said.

Molly Montgomery of the Brookings think tank in Washington said, "No US president should meet a foreign leader -- friend or foe -- mere days before she or he stands for election. To do so undermines Poland's democratic processes and our own values."

Trump also repeated his frequent accusation that Germany is not paying its fair share of NATO's defense budget.

Germany warns against Trump's decision

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer warned that Trump administration's planned withdrawal of American troops from her country must not send Russia the signal "that the US is less interested in Europe."

"Russia needs to understand very clearly that we in Europe and in NATO are strong  that we follow through with what we do," Kramp-Karrenbauer said.

She said US troops currently stationed in Germany send "a very strong signal from Europe to Russia."

NATO promised Russia in the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act not to set up permanent bases in the former eastern bloc.

Kramp-Karrenbauer said if US troops are moved to Poland, NATO members  with the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, designed to guide relations between the alliance and Moscow, in mind  must "stand visibly united and stick to this treaty that we've agreed to.

The German defense minister also said that the goal for NATO members to spend at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense, which Trump has been urging the bloc's European members to meet, might not be the right objective to set due to severe budgetary constraints in COVID-19 crisis.

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The 36th ASEAN Summit themed Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN took place in Hanoi on June 26 under the chair by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) The 36th ASEAN Summit themed Cohesive and Responsive took place in Hanoi on June 26 under the chair by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The online opening ceremony saw the participation of leaders of the 10 ASEAN member countries, Vietnams National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman and Chair of 41st General Assembly of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA 41) Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, NA Permanent Vice Chairwoman and head of the delegation to AIPA Tong Thi Phong, and Deputy PM, Foreign Minister and Chairman of the National ASEAN 2020 Committee Pham Binh Minh.

Ambassadors of the ASEAN member nations, and representatives from foreign diplomatic missions and international organisations in Hanoi also attended the event.

In his opening remarks, PM Phuc highlighted the theme of the Summit in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic which is hitting the region and the world.

He applauded the spirit of solidarity and coordination among the countries, and prompt actions they are taking in the fight against the disease.

The PM called for stronger cooperation among the ASEAN member nations to effectively cope with the pandemic, affirming that Vietnam will continue to closely work with the other ASEAN member nations in the combat.

He said ASEAN leaders will discuss measures to address the social and economic impact caused the COVID-19 crisis, post-pandemic recovery plans for the regional countries in the immediate time, and orientations to accomplish cooperation and integration goals of ASEAN in the year.

PM Phuc thanked leaders of the ASEAN member nations and the blocs partner countries for their coordination with and support for Vietnam in joint efforts to respond to the pandemic, especially strong commitments at the Special ASEAN Summit and the Special ASEAN 3 Summit on COVID-19 in April.

He expressed his hope that the 36th ASEAN Summit will be an opportunity for the regional countries to affirm their solidarity, strong political will and high determination to overcome all the challenges.

The Vietnamese leader said he looks forward to the adoption of a Vision Statement on ASEAN's cohesion and proactive adaptation at the summit.
A young man from Australia was charged over a brawl that immediately turned gruesome at a Sunshine Coast shopping center. The court refused bail for the young man.

Horrifying incident

The 18-year-old suspect, Jai Clarke, is accused of slashing a teenage girl across the neck with a box cutter when she tried to stop a fight with another young man on June 22. The suspect was crying and had his head in his hands as his matter was heard in Maroochydore Magistrates Court.

According to Daily Mail, Clarke was arrested on June 24 in Woodridge, Brisbane, two days after the incident. The court heard that Clarke ran from the authorities because he was afraid to go to jail.

Atty. Luke Bull, Clarke's lawyer, told the court that he had been bullied by the boy that he fought with at the shopping center and the girl whom he slashed with a box cutter. Atty. Bull said the two targeted Clarke on social media before the incident.

He added that it could be possible that the two victims invited him to fight and that Clarke approached the victims. The attorney said that it is a massive difference and that it is something that the court needs to explore. He later added that the two victims are not saints and should not be patronized.

The 16-year-old girl had to undergo surgery for the 10cm gash, which spans from her chin to her ear. Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist told Clarke the injury he caused the girl could have led to far more serious offenses.

Also Read: LAPD Horrified After Finding Tampon on His Starbucks Drink, Claims It's a 'Disgusting Assault'

Clarke has been charged with wounding, assault occasioning bodily harm, and possession of a knife in a public place. He tried to apply for bail but it was refused by the court. According to 9News, the matter will return to court in August.

Other incidents

On May 21, a man's face was slashed with a knife at Dagenham, England after racists insults were hurled at him. The police were called to the scene after a report of an assault. That was when they found a man suffering from a slash wound on his face.

Detective Constable Marvin Turner said that the incident was unprovoked and appalling and that the victim was attacked based solely on the color of his skin.

According to Essex Live, the victim, whose name and race was kept confidential, visited a friend when the suspect, 39-year-old Daniel Weston, started hurling racist insults at him. The victim allegedly asked Weston to stop. Weston left but only to come back with a knife.

The suspect confronted the victim and slashed his face. According to the report, Weston lunged at the victim twice but the victim managed to get out of the way and run outside. Detective Constable Marvin Turner said in a statement that hate crime is abhorrent and it will not be tolerated.

The authorities are now looking for Weston and they are asking the public to assist them by providing any information about the suspect that can speed up their investigation. Anyone with information about Weston or anyone who had witnessed the hate crime is asked to call 101, quoting CAD 8991/21May. Or tweet @MetCC.

Related Article: Woman Deliberately Coughed on a Baby After Arguing with Mother

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UNHCRs 2019 Global Trends Report shows 79.5 million people were forced from their home to escape war, persecution and violence. If it was a country, it would be the 20th biggest in the world and half would be children. The report came out last week, just ahead World Refugee Day, a day to honour refugees around the globe and to celebrate the contributions they make to their new communities.

While many nations remain somewhat detached from the global refugee crisis by virtue of geography, New Zealand has continued, quietly, to make positive steps toward the international solidarity envisaged when United Nations member states adopted the Global Compact on Refugees in 2018. Increasing its refugee resettlement quota to 1500 annually, moving forward with a proven community sponsorship program and enhancing opportunities for family reunion, significant moves that offer hope for refugees. And the commitment to quality refugee settlement support from professionals and volunteers across New Zealand will continue to ease the sense of loss felt by many who, in addition to country, may have lost their family and life as they knew it.

Beyond the numbers, the Global Trends Report showcases the countries that continue to host refugees, year after year, in ways and to levels that are perhaps unfathomable to those of us buffered by distance. The neighbouring states of Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar are hosting two-thirds of cross-border displacement worldwide, countries already challenged to deliver for their own citizens. Indeed, it is the low- and middle-income countries that carry the load, hosting nearly 90 percent of the worlds refugees. And it is the communities of these nations that also continue to offer welcome, in their homes, schools, and places of worship. This is not really about choice; it is about compassion and humanity. It is also a welcome that is not short-term but can go on for generations.

The picture of the record numbers of people forced to flee their homes this year takes on an even darker hue when we put it in the context of a global pandemic. COVID-19 has been confronting for all of us. However, the conditions of the worlds displaced could never offer the safeguards put in place here: just as Syrian refugees in Lebanon or Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, a large number of refugees live in densely populated settlements, with poor sanitation, and where access to public health services is limited. Going forward, refugees and the displaced, part of the most vulnerable in the world, will feel the double impact of risks to health and livelihoods lost as the economic hits keep coming.

In the face of this dual crisis - emergency on top of an emergency - the worlds displaced and their hosting communities need your support and to see your solidarity. The world has watched New Zealand face its own crises through community empathy and solidarity, and the global community responded to your grief. Kiwis have shown that everyone can make a difference, that every action counts. This year, make a difference in the life of a refugee: support a newly arrived refugee family in your community, volunteer with your local refugee support organisation, fundraise for refugee situations around the world, offer employment to a refugee newcomer, support a refugee student; there are countless ways you can show solidarity and demonstrate the strength of your compassion. Every minute, 20 people leave everything behind because they dont have a choice. Kiwis know firsthand: compassion is not a choice either.
In an age of polarising populism, Audrey Tang puts empathy and seeing "all sides" at the core of her politics, an approach she says is bolstered by her transgender identity. Taiwan's digital minister is the world's first openly transgender cabinet member and has blazed a trail ever since she quit school aged 14. As a self-taught programming whizz, she started her own company two years after leaving education. She then forged a career in Silicon Valley before returning home to enter government -- an unusual step for a self-described "conservative anarchist". But President Tsai Ing-wen's administration headhunted her in 2016, attracted by her lack of party-political background and iconoclastic approach. "I think it's easier for us because we don't have this binary thinking," Tang, 39, told AFP when discussing what her transgender identity brings to the job. "We don't think that there's half of the world that's different from us." Tang publicly transitioned in her early 20s, changing her Chinese and English names and adopting the pronoun "she" -- although on her cabinet personnel file she wrote down no gender. It is the experience of living through different identities, she said, that allows her to see multiple perspectives. "I have some shared sentiments, some shared lived experiences and I can empathise more with people who suffer from the different minorities," she said. "I am not taking any particular side. I am taking all the sides." - 'Democracy democratised' - Tang breaks the mould for a minister in many ways. She routinely walks to work, snapping selfies with locals as they offer up ideas. She eschews hierarchies within her team, makes many meetings public and has no physical ministry, choosing instead to bounce between government departments to solve problems and offer advice. Some of the more recent issues her team has been involved with are youth engagement, battling misinformation and using tech to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. Taiwan has excelled in its virus response. Despite its proximity and economic links with China, where infections were first reported, it has stopped its outbreak with a little more than 440 cases, and seven deaths. As a conservative anarchist, Tang sees herself as working for neither the government nor the people, but as a kind of conduit between the two. "I am at this kind of 'Lagrange point' between the social movement on one side and the government on the other side," she added, using a phrase that describes a point in space where the combined gravitational forces of two large bodies hold a third much smaller body in place. Tang believes the standard top-down form of government needs to be overhauled. In a world where viral videos of injustice can spark movements such as the Arab Spring or Black Lives Matter, she says "democracy itself is being democratised". People should directly contribute to government policy and those with seemingly unorthodox political backgrounds like hers should get involved, she added. - Information hygiene - Throughout Tsai's tenure, democratic Taiwan has seen economic, military and diplomatic pressure ramped up by China, which views the island as its own and has vowed to take it, by force if necessary. Taiwan's coronavirus success, including sending protection equipment overseas, has earned the island significant international goodwill and recognition. Tang said she believed Taiwan's democratic system had been strengthened during the pandemic, whereas China's model "gets even more constrained". "I think the pandemic served as an amplifier of the two different governing models," she said. Beijing loathes Tsai because she refuses to recognise its idea that Taiwan is part of a "one China". Tsai's party regards the island as a de facto independent state with a separate Taiwanese identity. As a result, Taiwan has been on the receiving end of years of sophisticated pro-Beijing misinformation and disinformation. But Tang says she remains confident Taiwanese are becoming increasingly inoculated to the phenomenon. She likens it to a form of information hygiene. "As long as people have good habits, just like hand sanitatision rules, people have good habits of thinking twice before sharing anything," she said. Despite being one of the world's most prominent transgender politicians, she says Taiwan -- which last year became the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage -- has more to do on progressive social issues. Tang said she would like to see Taiwanese transgender people being recognised on their national ID cards -- especially as a non-binary choice is available to foreigners filling in health forms on arrival. But she remains optimistic, at one point quoting the Leonard Cohen lyric: "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." "I think Taiwan is firmly on the path of inclusion," she said. Audrey Tang forged a career in Silicon Valley before returning home to enter government Tang has no physical ministry, instead bouncing between government departments to solve problems and offer advice Beijing loathes Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen because she refuses to recognise its idea that Taiwan is part of one China Beijing loathes Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen because she refuses to recognise its idea that Taiwan is part of one China A worker sprays hand sanitiser onto passengers after they arrived at Taoyuan Airport. Taiwan has gained plaudits for its response to the coronavirus outbreak
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah, arrested in two separate cases of alleged terror financing, Friday moved a Delhi court seeking a separate cell in Tihar central jail.

In an application that is likely to come up for hearing on Saturday, advocate Qausar Khan submitted that Shah is suffering from various ailments that puts him in danger in case he is found COVID-19 positive.

"Looking at the recent occurrences of COVID-19 in the central jail and the health condition of the accused, his life would be in danger if he comes in contact with the virus. Therefore, direct the jail authorities to put him in a separate cell," the application filed on behalf of the separatist leader said.

The first case against him was registered in 2007 for the alleged money laundering committed in 2005 for the purpose of terror financing.

He was arrested by ED on July 25, 2017.

The case is connected to one in which which the Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Mohammad Aslam Wani, an alleged hawala dealer.

ED had said that Rs 63 lakh was recovered from Wani, out of which Rs 52 lakh was allegedly to be delivered to Shah.

The money was received from "enemy countries" like Pakistan to promote terrorism in India, the ED had alleged.

In the second case, the NIA in June 2019, took Shah in it's custody in connection with its probe into a separate terror funding case involving Jama'at-ud-Da'wah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

Shah is currently in judicial custody in both the cases.
Press Release

June 26, 2020 Bong Go commends granting of duty allowance to gov't personnel who volunteer to work in mega swabbing facilities Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go lauded the move of the executive department to grant duty allowance for volunteers of mega swabbing facilities (MSFs). The Senator said that this will ensure that volunteering personnel are recognized for their work and sacrifices to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. "Sa tulong po nitong COVID-19 Duty Allowance, masisiguro natin na ang volunteers natin ay maaalagaan. Maraming salamat po at napakinggan ang ating panawagan bilang pasasalamat rin natin sa sakripisyo at serbisyo para sa bayan ng mga volunteer frontliners," Go said. Go earlier appealed to the executive department to recognize the sacrifices of volunteers who are helping in the fight to combat the pandemic. In response to his appeal, the Office of the President issued Administrative Order No. 31, granting duty allowance to government personnel who volunteer to work in MSFs. The grant of the Duty Allowance will be given retroactive effect, from the beginning of the operations of the MSFs and other designated facilities. "Habang sinusubukan nating malampasan ang krisis, siguraduhin rin dapat natin na maalagaan at maprotektahan ang mga ordinaryong kawani ng gobyerno lalo na ang mga kusang nagboluntaryo at nagbuhos ng kanilang oras upang maalagaan at maprotektahan ang kapwa nilang Pilipino," Go said earlier. "Bigyan natin ng importansya ang kanilang sakripisyo bilang mga frontliners. Sila ang tunay na mga bayani sa laban nating ito," he also added. The said AO provides that national government agencies and government-owned or -controlled corporations are now authorized to grant to volunteer personnel who are deployed for work in the MSFs and other designated facilities, located in areas under any form of community quarantine, a COVID-19 Duty Allowance at an amount not exceeding the sum of P500 per day plus a maximum of 25% of monthly basic salary (MBS) per person. The 25% MBS shall be pro-rated on the number of days the personnel has been deployed in the designated facility during the quarantine period. Through this AO, heads of government agencies may grant the COVID-19 Duty Allowance to their personnel without the need for approval by the Department of Budget and Management, provided that the volunteers are occupying regular, contractual or casual positions, or are engaged through contract of service, job order or other similar schemes. The personnel also must have been authorized to physically report for work at any of the MSFs approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases on the prescribed official working hours by the head of agency or office. The total rate of the COVID-19 Duty Allowance will also be based on the number of days an employee physically reports for work. Personnel who are already entitled to Hazard Pay, including the COVID-19 Hazard Pay under AO No. 26, Hazardous Duty Pay, Hazard Allowance, Special Risk Allowance under AO No. 28, or other similar benefits under existing laws, issuances, rules and regulations, or any combination thereof, will continue to be entitled to such benefits, or the COVID-19 Duty Allowance, whichever is higher. "Kaya natin isinulong ang Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. Binigyan natin ng kapangyarihan ang Pangulo upang magamit ang pondo ng gobyerno para matulungan at madagdagan ang mga frontliners sa laban natin kontra COVID-19," said Go. Under Congressional Joint Resolution No. 4 (s. 2009), the President may authorize the granting of allowances and benefits to government employees subject to the rates and regulations determined by the budget department. The government has already put up MSFs in each of Metro Manila's four sectors: (east) Enderun College, Taguig City; (south) Mall of Asia, Pasay City; (west) Palacio de Maynila, Manila; and (north) Philippine Arena, Bulacan as part of the ongoing effort to ramp up testing capacities in response to the health crisis. These volunteers qualified for the duty allowance served as encoders or barcoders and were given training, protective medical equipment, accommodation, food and transportation.
Insurance fraud seems like it might be an easy thing to do. Insurance companies are often so huge, one wonders how they might not even notic...
Appointment

26 June 2020

Marriott announced that long-time company executive Brian King has been appointed President of the company's Caribbean and Latin America region. Mr. King will take on his new role in January 2021 and will report to Craig Smith, who will assume the role of Group President, International at that time. Mr. King succeeds Tim Sheldon, who recently announced his retirement.

"The Caribbean and Latin America is one of Marriott's fastest growing regions and we'll benefit greatly having Brian King at the helm as we continue to focus on meeting the needs of our guests, associates and owners," said Mr. Smith. "Brian is an exceptional leader who has worked across digital, brand, marketing, sales and operations at Marriott. He brings that depth of experience as well as a dedication to putting people first which has been a cornerstone of his career. I'm looking forward to working with Brian and to continuing to expand Marriott's presence in this important region."

Marriott's Caribbean and Latin America region includes 268 properties spread across 34 countries. In August 2019, Marriott announced the launch of its all-inclusive platform and the signing of management contracts with hotel developers who plan to build seven new all-inclusive resorts in the region. In December 2019, Marriott acquired Elegant Hotels Group, which includes seven hotels in Barbados, to help further jump-start the growth of the company's all-inclusive lodging platform.

A 27-year Marriott veteran, Mr. King currently serves as Global Officer leading 9,500 associates in Distribution, Revenue Strategy, Customer Engagement Centers (CEC), the Global Sales Organization (GSO) and Planning & Services. He oversees $23 billion in sales from Marriott's largest multinational customers, 63 million customer contacts a year in the CECs and product development for the company's category-leading revenue generating systems.

Mr. King's experience with the company spans digital, brand management for Marriott endorsed brands, and operations roles in the Americas. During his tenure he has worked on bringing Delta Hotels and Protea Hotels into Marriott's brand portfolio and was responsible for the global brand launch of MOXY Hotels in 2013. Mr. King is also credited with the transformation of Courtyard by Marriott, where he led the innovative repositioning of the brand's marketing approach, public space redesign, guest facing technology and F&B offerings. Mr. King also helped lead the integration of Starwood Hotels onto Marriott's reservations, revenue management and digital platforms. He began his Marriott journey as an hourly associate at Marriott's Great America.

A graduate of Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mr. King has also completed executive education with the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the School of Hotel Management at Cornell University.
Lester M. Crystal, who after 20 years at NBC News, including two as its president, moved to The MacNeil/Lehrer Report on PBS and immediately set about transforming it from a half-hour program into The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, a broadcast widely acclaimed for its breadth and depth, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 85.

His son Bradley said the cause was brain cancer.

Mr. Crystal, a longtime resident of Scarsdale, N.Y., served as executive producer of NewsHour for 22 years, helping to establish the program as a distinctive voice in broadcast journalism. Anchored by Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer (who died in January at 85), NewsHour took an in-depth approach to the news that the half-hour news programs of commercial television largely could not.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 25, 2020 | 09:22 PM | CALLOWAY COUNTY

Troopers with the Kentucky State Police arrived just east of McDougal Road where they learned that 59-year-old Thomas Bailey of Murray, a Calloway County deputy, was responding to an emergency with his emergency lights activated while heading east on KY 280. Troopers say that 45-year-old Jennifer Rook of Murray was also traveling east in front of Bailey.





After topping a hill near McDougal Road, Bailey says he saw Rook slow her vehicle, so he attempted to pass her on the left side.





Rook reportedly noticed Bailey start to pass her, and made a left turn into a driveway, believing Bailey would have more room to pass. Bailey then attempted to avoid Rook by swerving back into the eastbound lane of traffic, but the front bumper of Bailey's vehicle struck the rear-end of Rook's vehicle.





Bailey and Rook both confirmed possible injuries, but refused treatment.

A Calloway County Sheriff's deputy was involved in a two-vehicle crash on Thursday.
As a child I saw my grandfather struggle with alcoholism and homelessness, and gain support from Vinnies at the Matthew Talbot Hostel, said Kelly.

Despite raising $68,000 in last years CEO Sleepout and collectively with other leaders over a staggering $250,000 this year, Kelly says the issue is only worsening.

Read more: Insurance leaders raise over $250,000 as Vinnies CEO Sleepout looms

There is a growing percentage of our population getting into hardship through no fault of their own, especially with the recent impact of COVID-19, he continued.

When many people donate whatever they can  even if its not much individually  each contribution adds up. It makes a direct difference to people who need a bed for the night, a good feed and some clean clothes. Most importantly, Vinnies helps provide permanent pathways out of homelessness.

While last weeks annual event was hosted virtually for the majority of participants, Kelly and a few insurance executives braved the cold on the top floor of the Macquarie Bank Building in Sydney to participate in the event.

Macquarie kindly gave us the outdoor area of their 15 Martin Place premises for us to put 15 or 16 people there and they also very kindly put out all the isolation areas so we could go to a safe spot, Kelly continued.

It just shows that, regardless of the fact that were competitors, that we can, at crucial times in life, pull together.

Additionally, Kelly says it was through the industrys collective efforts that he, alongside other executives, was able to fundraise such a significant sum of money.

I think its nice to be able to see a range of competitors who have no ego become involved in this, coming together in a cohort for a cause like this, he added.

Weve raised money purely through the network of people who we know and just simply going to them and saying look, we think its a worthy cause, were going to sleep out, if you feel the same way please get on the web and donate some money to us.

Utilising his network and approaching the CEOs of insurance and broking companies meant he could widely publicise the event and engage people to join in.

Read next: Steadfast CEO takes aim at insurers

That will then bring money and awareness in, he said. I get excited when somebody donates $25 or $10. A lot of people contributing a small amount of money to somebody whos going through a bit of trouble and having one night of inconvenience makes a difference.

But its also been a challenge for Kelly to witness what he believes is a social issue with many Australians denying its prevalence.

This is not what you would call a clean cause. Its a dirty cause  you have people sleeping and dying in the streets. People dont like to recognise that it actually exists in modern society, especially because were fortunate enough to live in in Australia, he explained.

I think raising so much money is a testament to the fact of how good people can be sometimes when they see a cause thats not populous.
Wirecard HQ in Aschheim Bei Munchen, Bavaria, Germany. Photo: Tobias Hase/Picture Alliance via Getty

Germanys top finance industry regulator BaFin is in the hot seat over the accounting scandal at German payments company Wirecard (WDI.DE).

Once the darling of the German finance industry, the DAX-listed fintech filed for insolvency this week after a 1.9bn (1.7bn, $2.1bn) hole in its balance sheets was revealed.

Describing the Wirecard scandal as a wake up call that we need more oversight, more control German finance minister Olaf Scholz said on Thursday (25 June) that he wants to overhaul financial supervision structures to make it faster and easier to spot errors.

Here, too, the structures must be screened, possible errors quickly identified, and immediately remedied, Scholz said. He added he was grateful that the head of BaFin, Felix Hufeld, admitted to the regulators errors in the scandal.

READ MORE: Embattled payments firm Wirecard collapses into insolvency

Hufeld this week called the Wirecard scandal a complete disaster.

The Wirecard news broke last week, after EY had refused to sign off on the companys 2019 accounts due to the 1.9bn hole in its accounts.

Initially the Bavaria-based company, said that the money had disappeared from escrow accounts in the Philippines, and that it may have been the victim of considerable fraud. Then it issued a statement admitting there was a prevailing likelihood that the funds did not exist in the first place.

READ MORE: Customer cash frozen as Wirecard's UK business ordered to stop operating

Chief executive Markus Braun stepped down on 19 June, was subsequently arrested by Munich prosecutors over what suspected market manipulation, and has since been released on bail.

Wirecards former chief operating officer Jan Marsalek, who was fired last week, is believed to have flown to China from the Philippines on 24 June, CNN Philippines reported. Marsalek is also wanted for questioning by the authorities in Munich.

Wirecard auditor EY said on Thursday (25 June) there were clear indications that Wirecard had carried out an elaborate and sophisticated fraud involving multiple parties around the world in different institutions with a deliberate aim of deception.

Story continues

READ MORE: Grab puts partnership with scandal-hit Wirecard on hold

The EUs executive vice-president in charge of financial services policy, Valdis Dombrovskis, told the Financial Times on Friday that he is asking the European Securities and Markets Authority to start an investigation into BaFin, to determine whether it breached the law by failing to properly supervise Wirecard.

The Financial Times first reported on suspicious accounting practices in Wirecards Asian businesses back last year.
The proposal to declare Shivalik forest in western Uttar Pradesh as a tiger reserve is gaining support among officials, experts and wildlife enthusiasts.

Spread over 33,200 hectares, the forest is located at the foothills of the Shivalik range close to the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand on the route to Dehradun from Delhi in the Saharanpur circle.

Principal chief conservator of forest (Wildlife) of Uttar Pradesh Sunil Pandey said the proposal for declaring Shivalik forest as a tiger reserve had been received. After going through it, I can say it has immense potential, he said.

The proposal would soon be forwarded to the central government which alone can take a final decision on the matter, he added.

Once the proposal is officially accepted, it would be the fourth tiger reserve of UP and the second one in western UP. Amangarh in Bijnor district is western UPs first tiger reserve near Jim Corbett National Park. Dushwa and Pilibhit are the other tiger reserves in the state.

The Uttarakhand governments plan to translocate a few tigers in the nearby Motichur range of Rajaji National Park from other places in the hill state would strengthen the proposal to declare Shivalik forest as a tiger reserve due to its proximity, said VK Jain, Saharanpur divisions chief conservator of forests.

Jain said direct sighting of tigers were reported in the forest till 2005 and many people claimed such sightings till 2008-09. He is hopeful the region could be transformed into an eco tourism spot.

Proximity to Dehradun and good connectivity by road, train and air would help in attracting wildlife enthusiasts and tourists. This point has also been well taken in the proposal, he said.

Stretching till the boundary of the Kalesar wildlife sanctuary in Haryana and the Simbalbara National Park in Himachal Pradesh, the Shivalik forest includes Badkala, Shakumbhai and Mohand forest ranges of the Saharanpur circle.

While man-animal conflicts are reported from other areas, the Shivalik region seldom witnesses such incidents.

Saharanpur divisional commissioner Sanjay Kumar said developing Shivalik tiger reserve would help in strengthening the rich biodiversity and wildlife conservation in the entire region.

The forest department has carried out an intensive six-month trap camera survey in the forest with technical and other assistance from experts of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The survey counted a population of over 50 leopards, different herbivorous animals, civets, snakes and species of birds, which indicates it has a rich biodiversity to support the presence of tigers.

After the translocation of tigers in western Rajaji Park, these big cats could venture into the Shivalik forest in the next few years, turning it into a potential corridor for tigers, said Dr Vibhas Pandav, a scientist with the Wildlife Institute of India.

The latest survey of the area suggests it is full of herbivorous and other animals. Therefore, it is perfect for the relocation of tigers, he added. He, however, highlighted the need for reducing human pressure inside and outside the forest.

The population of Gujjars inside the forest could be moved out and rehabilitated, said Dr Pandav.

Divisional commissioner Sanjay Kumar said 400 families of Van Gujjars lived inside the forest and earned their livelihood by selling milk. Each family has its own herd of buffaloes. He said 40 families would be rehabilitated in two months and the process would continue until all families were relocated and benefitted from government schemes.
Democratic activists are putting the finishing touches on a super PAC that plans to use President Donald Trump's prolific tweeting habits against him.

The PAC, known as Defeat by Tweet, is planning to launch a site Friday that will allow donors to give recurring contributions to the organization every time the president tweets to his 82 million-plus followers on Twitter.

Those funds will then be used to finance get-out-the-vote organizations, along with criminal and social justice reform groups, such as the Color of Change and the Black Voters Matter Fund. The PAC also intends to reply to Trump on Twitter with a receipt of how much each tweet raised for the group.

It's being organized by Xander Schultz, a Silicon Valley tech executive who founded Complete Labs Inc., an app that allows people to share and organize their daily to-do lists. Schultz is involved with venture capital, including as a partner at NextGen Venture Partners, a start-up investment fund.

Schultz also works with Mike Novogratz, a former hedge fund executive and current bitcoin investor who has already pledged $1 million for the project, Schultz said in an interview with CNBC. For years, Novogratz has spent millions funding criminal justice reform efforts.

In an interview with CNBC, Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners, pointed to Schultz as the architect of the PAC, particularly as it pertains to the retail and grassroots approach of encouraging new donors to start giving anywhere between 1 and 10 cents per tweet.

"It's all about funding these groups that help finance and organize for those down-ballot races. The single best thing to help criminal justice reform is to actually invest in these races," Novogratz said. "That's how people get to the ballot box and more than likely those people will also vote against Trump."

Beyond his commitment of $1 million to this endeavor, Novogratz told CNBC, he made another major financial commitment of writing a six-figure check to the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee between Joe Biden's campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

Schultz says he hopes the PAC raises over $100 million by Election Day in November, with the goal of helping these groups that are fighting for change in Black and Latino communities. Many of them vocally oppose Trump and are calling on voters to support Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

The decision to create the super PAC came after the killing of George Floyd, which has sparked nationwide protests. Trump has been criticized for his handling of the protests and once appeared to threaten those speaking out in a Twitter post.

"These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen," Trump said last month. "Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts." Twitter flagged that tweet as a statement that violated its rule of glorifying violence. Trump denied he was intending violence.

"This is taxing hate speech and having it directly contribute to his defeat," Schultz said. "Twitter is his outlet, it's his release. I love the sarcastic tone of it all, but my personal goal is to move tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars to these organizations."

Schultz said the PAC's primary partner is the Movement Voter Project, which says it supports "hundreds of incredible organizations that both turn out unlikely voters and organize communities to grow their power and create transformation, from policy to the streets."

They also connect donors "to the most effective grassroots voter organizations in the country that are mobilizing their communities in critical battleground states and districts where we must win in 2020."

They also are turning to actors and high profile video vloggers to spread the word about their product. Noah Centineo, who has been featured in shows on Netflix and the Disney Channel, is one of their celebrity partners. Alfie Deyes, an English author and YouTube star who has nearly 5 million subscribers to his channel, is also one of the PAC's partners.

Combined, they have just over 6 million Twitter followers.
That would, in normal times, be an important deterrent to others close to Trump not to aid his reelection through foul play. But not under Barr. In response to angry tweets by Trump, the Justice Department reduced its recommendation for Stones sentence. As former Stone prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky told Congress, there was only one explanation he heard: Trump wanted it for a buddy. As Zelinsky put it in his opening statement, What I heard  repeatedly  was that Roger Stone was being treated differently from any other defendant because of his relationship to the President. Thats become the message under Barr: Government lawyers should give friends of Trump lenient treatment or risk their careers. This is also the obvious takeaway from the abrupt ouster of the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman, who reportedly had been investigating Rudy Giulianis role in recruiting information from Ukraine that might harm Trumps presidential opponent. That takeaway appears reinforced by new reporting in The New York Times that Barr clashed with Berman over his offices decision to pursue charges against Trumps former lawyer, Michael Cohen.
What lies beyond the pandemic? MassForward is MassLives series examining the journey of Massachusetts businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

___________

Technically, K Sense Co. isnt new to the Worcester Public Market. The vendor, specializing in products that highlight a small carbon footprint, debuted at the market on March 13.

Two days later the Worcester Public Market closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

I started online so it was a little easier to transition back to only online for a little bit, said Katherin Aguilar, one of the owners of K Sense Co. It wasnt too too bad after the initial shock.

Professionally, Aguilar was able to navigate through the pandemic with the help of Worcester Public Market president Allen Fletcher and executive director Domenic Mercurio, who did not charge rent to vendors while the market was closed.

However, away from her business, COVID-19 affected Aguilar more than some others.

In a matter of days in early May, Aguilar lost three family members to coronavirus. Her great-aunt and great-grandfather died two days apart. Soon after, another family member died in El Salvador.

For us, we know its a very, very real thing, Aguilar said.

For weeks after, only the pandemic garnered the familys attention. But they grew closer. Each member checked on another.

As May turned to June, a small ray of hope arrived for Aguilar. She welcomed the distraction of the Worcester Public Market reopening on June 18.

I feel like now were in the transition where everyone sees we can start to do these things, Aguilar said. I feel like everyone is still super, super mindful that the virus is still something we need to be paying attention to.

The Worcester Public Market reopened on Thursday after closing in March due to the coronavirus.

According to a Suffolk University poll from WGBH News, MassLive, The Boston Globe, and the State House News Service, 79% of people in Worcester said they continue to follow social distancing guidelines either very strictly or pretty strictly.

For that reason, Aguilar and many of the vendors at the Worcester Public Market felt anxious as it reopened its doors last week.

The move to open didnt necessarily mean people would come.

I think Im more nervous because other people are nervous, Aguilar said. So that makes me nervous with the whole virus.

The Worcester Public Market reopened on Thursday after closing in March due to the coronavirus.

Doors opened at 11 a.m. on June 18, and people entered. They shopped. They ordered food and brought it outside to the picnic tables that line Harding Street.

Aguilar shuffled products on the shelves to ensure they made the perfect first impression to customers.

K Sense Co. specializes in all natural soy candles made by reusing materials such as bottles or cans. Some of her more creative candles include maple bacon doughnut and Coca-Cola. Aguilar said K Sense Co. also carries more traditional candles as well.

As more customers entered the market the nerves she woke up with soon evaporated.

I felt pretty anxious waking up, but Im excited, Aguilar said. Im looking forward to seeing what is this post-COVID life and especially since were more of a community based business. But I think the community will respond well.

MassForward is MassLive's series examining the journey of Massachusetts' small businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

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A frontline Civil Rights Advocacy group-: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has endorsed the strict professional and disciplinary postures of the Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai just as the Rights group said tolerating professional misconduct by personnel of the Nigerian Army as an institution established by the Nigerian Constitution would be injurious to the growth, advancement and progressive attainment of service excellence by the Nigerian Army.

HURIWA has therefore faulted the positions espoused by the Nigerian lawmaker in the second republic, Dr Junaid Mohammed, who called for the immediate release of Lance Corporal Martins, a soldier in the Nigerian Army, who was arrested after making a video carpeting the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, and other security chiefs of the country.

HURIWA recalled that the soldier was arrested on the order of Buratai just as the video trended in which the junior operative of the Nigerian Army Martins said that Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai and other security chiefs in the country had failed in their responsibilities to defend the country. The Rights group said the action of the soldier was unwarranted and unbecoming of a professionally trained soldier. The Rights group said the military of all nations do not joke with the issue of hierarchical order and respectability. HURIWA has therefore told Junaid Mohammed that the Nigerian Army is not the same as the house of commotion and organised confusion that politics in Nigeria represents.

But Calling for the release of the soldier, Mohammed Junaid said the soldier spoke the simple truth about the Nigerian Army and did not deserve to be detained and added that Buratai and the military were treating Lance Corporal Martins in an unfair manner, adding that the soldier should not be detained arbitrarily.

HURIWA quoted the media as stating that the erstwhile legislator Mohammed said, The simple truth is that the Nigerian Army under Buratai has failed and is also failing.

Under normal circumstances, the responsibility of the armed forces is to defend the country against the external enemy because the primary responsibility is to make sure that enemies of Nigeria dont get the opportunity to either destroy the country or facilitate the killings of innocent Nigerians. In all these areas, the Nigerian Armed Forces have failed particularly the Nigerian Army under Buratai who is more of a businessman.There is the issue of what is acceptable within the Armed Forces, can a soldier criticise the army, I think not. But when the internal channels provided for the service are not available or perhaps people who have genuine grievances for themselves or for the service or people of the country are muscled deliberately then other channels can be opened".

HURIWA however said in as much as it will even write to the Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai to urge him to tamper justice with mercy by pardoning Lance corporal Martins over his needless outbursts which may have come from fatigue of the intensive counter terror war, it is not in agreement with the position canvassed by the Kano born politician that the leadership of Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai has failed because in the considered opinion of the Rights group, General Buratai has achieved a lot of milestones within the Army and has indeed introduced a lot of innovations and built lots of infrastructures and high valued facilities for the Nigerian Army which will stand the test of time.

The Rights group said it is unfair for Junaid Mohammed to rubbish the comprehensive achievements made by the current Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai just because of the seemingly unending war on terror which for no fault of his has lasted more than it should. HURIWA reminded the politician that the Nigerian Army as an institution grounded in the Nigerian law is obliged to ensure that officers and men of the Armed forces of Nigeria comply with the rules of engagement and avoid the temptation to rebel against constituted authority rather than use internal mechanisms to ventilate his Personal opinions.

"HURIWA is of the opinion that there are areas of deficiencies in the current war on terror but these fault lines are not necessary due to human failure on the part of Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai who has risked his life on many occasions to be with his troops in the theatre of war for many Months now. We support freedom of speech but when you are a member of the Nigerian Army you are also bound by internal rules so as not to jeopardize national security ".
(Refiles to restore dropped words in headline, lead and second paragraph, fix typo in second)

AMSTERDAM, June 25 (Reuters) - Air France-KLM said on its website on Thursday that its KLM subsidiary will receive a 3.4 billion euro bailout package "to overcome the crisis and to prepare for the future."

The headline was published on the Air France-KLM Group website but the underlying press release was not accessible.

The Dutch finance ministry has said it will confirm details of a 2-4 billion euro bailout package for KLM on Friday. Reuters first reported the 3.4 billion euro figure earlier on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Dan Grebler)
Texto en el que el autor aboga por ideas y saca conclusiones basadas en su interpretacion de hechos y datos

The president of the United States, Donald Trump. SAUL LOEB (AFP)

The ambition and activism of the Trump administration to undermine or even destroy international institutions seem to be unlimited and, sadly, manifestly unchecked thanks to other governments pusillanimous inaction. The latest act of Trumps diplomatic vandalism is the nomination of a US citizen to the position of President of the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB). This action is in clear contravention of a long-standing understanding and practice that, in exchange for the institution being headquartered in Washington D.C., its head would always be a Latin American with an American as the banks deputy. The US commitment to the rule of having a Latin American leading the IDB is patently on record, shining forth in a speech given by President Eisenhower at the United Nations in August of 1958.

That feature of the IDBs governance was one of several that made the institution exemplary, in fact a pioneer among international financial institutions. Not only were the intended debtors of the institution empowered to take a leadership role, provided that they were ready to supply the necessary resources, which they had offered and did, but they also created a truly development institution. From day one the IDB was accorded the possibility of financing broader programs of economic development, not just individual projects; it provided technical cooperation along with loans; and it was allowed to finance operations with the private sector without government guarantees. Tellingly, these and other development characteristics of the IDB were later copied and incorporated by the World Bank as well as other multilateral regional banks.

The IDBs foundations have proven strong and efficacious for, while operating as a cooperative of owners, it has managed to support the economic and social development of the region and maintain its excellent credit rating. The IDB has been able to set itself apart from other regional development banks, in no small part due to its leadership and governance framework. As has been accurately observed, at some other regional banks, members have secured resources but little or nil influence, and at others, members have influence but few resources. At the IDB, members have both influence and resources. Majority ownership of capital along with a strong voice in decision-making and management, spearheaded by the presidency of the institution, have rendered the IDB both legitimate and effective. These qualities are now being threatened by the wrongheaded decision of the Trump administration and the feeble, rather genuflective, response so far by the Latin American and Caribbean governments.

Cuando un tema da mucho que hablar, lee todo lo que haya que decir. Suscribete aqui

Contrary to their usual rhetorical excesses on Latin American solidarity and unity, our governments have shown little of the latter in practice, not just of late but historically as well. If again our leaders fail once more to coordinate and unite against the American IDB proposal, the Trump administration will have advanced yet again in its nonsensical assault on international covenants and institutions.

The list of those infringements is now incredibly long. To name a few, consider the repudiation of the TPP; the withdrawal from the Paris agreement on climate change; the rejection of the Iran nuclear agreement; the downgrading of NAFTA into the USMCA; the withdrawal from UNESCO and the UN Human Rights Council; the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the foot dragging to extend the START treaty; the imposition of illegal tariffs on its trade partners and the undertaking of a full-scale trade war against China, all of this in circumvention of the rules and procedures of the WTO; the evasion of the latters possible sanctions by blocking the appointment of new members of its Appellate Body until it ceased to be operational; the abandoning of the Global Compact for Migration; and, bewilderingly, pulling out from the World Health Organization in the midst of a global pandemic.

All of these actions have two common features. One, they betray the past enlightened and effective leadership of the United States in the construction of a rules-based international system so crucial for global peace and prosperity. Two, they also betray the national interest of the United States by reducing this countrys influence and enhancing that of its purported geopolitical and economic adversaries and competitors.

It is time to limit, and fix if possible, the damage that the Trump administration has inflicted upon the international system. The WTO and the IDB are two good places to start. For some mysterious reason, the WTO current director general has resigned and therefore a successor must be elected. If the mistreatment of the WTO by the Trump government is any guide, then it is only reasonable to expect a process in which the US administration may choose to support someone adversarial to the institutions mission, values and capacities, not unlike the case of the IDB.

For both pending appointments, forcing a delayed election of the new leaders until early 2021 would be the responsible action by the rest of the membership. This step would be justified certainly by the abnormal conditions posed by the pandemic that preclude a proper process of consultation and campaign by the candidates vying to lead those institutions, but also by the fact that by then there will be a new government in the United States hopefully willing to rectify the harmful policies pursued by the American administration since early 2017. This could be the case for any person democratically chosen by the US citizens. What if even a re-elected President Trump realizes in a few months how contrary to the US national interest his preposterous war on the multilateral system has proven to be?

Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon is professor in the Field of International Economics and Politics at Yale University, Former President of Mexico.
A former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, has described the late ex-Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi, as the best and most productive governor of the state.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, in a condolence message in Lagos on Thursday, said Mr Ajimobi was reputed to be the best and most productive governor Oyo State has had.

In this assessment, I concur as do so many others.

The numerous infrastructural and public works projects he initiated literally changed the face of Oyo State for the better.

He broke a political jinx that many said could not be broken as the first governor to serve two consecutive terms in Oyo State.

His legacy as a governor will be an enduring and positive one, Tinubu said.

The News Agency Of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Ajimobi died on Thursday afternoon at the First Cardiology Hospital, Ikoyi, Lagos, aged 70.

He will be buried on Friday in Ibadan according to Islamic rites.

Mr Tinubu said with the demise of Ajimobi, the APC has lost one of its leading lights.

He described the late deputy National Chairman (South) of APC as an honest and forthright statesman who had the interest of the people at heart.

Ajimobis death hurts.

I had hoped that we could achieve more together but the ultimate wisdom and all our fates rest in the hands of Almighty Allah who knows best.

We shared a common progressive vision for our country and how to bring prosperity, justice and hope to its people.

I have lost a dedicated friend, brother and ally.

APC Chieftain, Bola Tinubu

Nigeria has lost an outstanding statesman and one of its most able politicians.

The Yoruba race and Oyo State have lost a favourite son.

This good and excellent man has left us but his energy, activism and commitment to Nigeria and its people shall always be with us, he said.

Mr Tinubu said he would always remember and hold dear the vital contributions late Ajimobi made to the establishment of APC.

According to him, the history of APC would not be squarely written without Mr Ajimobi.

He noted how Mr Ajimobi worked with great commitment and sagacity to enshrine progressive governance in the party, Oyo and Nigeria itself.

His recent emergence as the Deputy National Chairman of our party was in affirmation of his many years of service and devotion to the pursuit of democratic governance.

Mr Tinubu extended his condolences to late Ajimobis family, especially his wife and children, adding that he was a loving husband and father.

He urged all to find strength in the good way Ajimobi lived his life and in the fine and good ideals for which he fought.

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The former Lagos State governor advised all to carry on with the important task ahead because that is what the late Ajimobi would expect of all.

My heart grieves for his wife, Florence, and their children.

May they find the comfort that only Almighty Allah can provide at this moment.

My prayer is that the Almighty Allah shower mercy upon him, reward his good deeds and admit him into Aljanna Firdaus, Mr Tinubu said.

Ambode sad

In his own condolence message, a former Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Thursday expressed sadness over the demise of Mr Ajimobi.

Mr Ambode, in a statement signed by his media aide, Habib Aruna, described Mr Ajimobis demise as a personal loss, saying the former governor meant more than a brother and a colleague to him.

The former governor of Lagos recalled memories shared during their time as governors, saying they were very close.

This is a great loss to me as l received the news of Ajimobis demise with a heavy heart.

He was always full of wisdom, very witty and always willing to provide his honest opinion on issues.

Akinwunmi Ambode, former Lagos governor [Photo: BBC]

His political sagacity was one I admired from afar and I am glad to have shared many memorable moments with him, he said.

Mr Ambode said Mr Ajimobis eight years as governor was remarkable, saying that his strides across the length and breadth of Oyo State would never be forgotten in a hurry.

Ajimobi was very passionate about his state, the Yoruba agenda and the Nigerian project.

He was a progressive party man to the core and Oyo citizens will testify to the fact that he left the state better than he met it, he said.

Mr Ambode extended his condolence to the family of the late Oyo governor, urging his wife, Florence, to take solace in the fact that her husband lived a fulfilled life and left an indelible mark on his people.

This is a big loss.

As much as he was a politician, he was also a devoted family man.

I pray that Almighty God will grant him eternal rest and his entire family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss, Mr Ambode said.

(NAN)
South East Asian leaders warned Friday the virus pandemic had swept away years of economic gains and was hindering negotiations over the flashpoint South China Sea as they met online for a delayed summit. Vietnam, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), had wanted to use the summit to inject momentum into talks on a sprawling China-backed trade pact. But the immediate focus for the 10-member bloc was the crippling cost of the coronavirus, which has ravaged the economies of tourism and export-reliant countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. "It has swept away the successes of recent years... threatening the lives of millions of people," Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a sobering opening address. He emphasised the "serious consequences" of the pandemic for economic development among ASEAN'S members. ASEAN General Secretary Lim Jock Hoi confirmed the bleak outlook, warning the region's economy is expected to contract for the first time in 22 years. There is also increasing angst that the fallout from the virus has provided cover for new Chinese plays in the South China Sea, the resource-rich waterway Beijing claims most of but is also contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan. In a draft statement seen by AFP, ASEAN leaders noted concerns over "land reclamations, recent developments and serious incidents" in the South China Sea. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte -- using strong language for a leader that is seen as having pivoted toward China from its traditional ally the United States -- urged all parties "to refrain from escalating tensions and abide by responsibilities under international law". Duterte also urged ASEAN not to be sucked into the power rivalry between Washington and Beijing. The United States is not a claimant to any territories in the South China Sea but has sent its navy to patrol the area in support of freedom of navigation, while Beijing has slammed this as interference in regional affairs by an outside power. - South China Sea chessboard - Vietnam's Prime Minister admitted the pandemic would "interrupt discussion meetings" on the so-called code of conduct, which was due to be finished in 2021 after years of talks. In recent years Beijing has stepped up its territorial claims in the South China Sea by building artificial islands. In April it officially named 80 islands and other geographical features in the disputed waters. The same month Vietnam also accused Beijing of sinking a trawler, prompting the United States to warn it was "exploiting the distraction" of other states "to expand its unlawful claims". China is always advancing its pieces on the "South China Sea chessboard", a senior Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP. Beijing took advantage of the Asian financial crisis in the late 90s and the SARS outbreak to push its claims, he added: "If there is a space, they move." Without directly mentioning China, Vietnam's Phuc admitted that "strategic problems between big countries had become clear and had deepened". "While the world is trying its best to fight the pandemic, there were irresponsible acts, violating international laws, that affected the security and stability of some regions including ours," he said. Vietnam had hoped the summit would see progress on a trade agreement known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which is backed by China. But the deal, which would loop in half the world's population and a third of its GDP, has been hampered by India's refusal to join over access to its market for cheap goods from China, the regional superpower it is now locked in a deadly border row with.
Actress Lydia Forson says fraudsters flaunt their stolen wealth so they get validation.



Her comment comes after Nigerian fraudster, HushPuppi was arrested by Police in Dubai for his fraudulent dealings.



In a post addressing this issue, Miss Forson noted that it is for no reason that fraudsters flaunt their wealth.



According to her, these individuals want the world to accept them as genuine and not like the thieves they are.



She said In other news, I think game boys are so loud and they flaunt wealth because they need validation of some sort. They need people not to see them as the mere thieves they are.









In other news,



I think game boys are so loud and their flaunt wealth because they need a validation of some sort.



They need people not to see them as the mere thieves they are...

 #letstalkaboutitwithlydia (@lydiaforson) June 25, 2020









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

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(The Center Square)  There is almost no one in the Wisconsin legislature who is speaking up for the protesters who toppled statues and attacked a state senator in the latest night of violence.

A large mob turned their anger against the State Capitol late Tuesday night and into the early morning hours of Wednesday. They tore down the Forward statue, as well as a statue of Col. Hans Christian Heg, a Norwegian-American abolitionist who died fighting for the Union Army at the Battle of Chickamauga while leading the Scandinavian 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment during the U.S. Civil War.

Sen. Tim, Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, took to Twitter early Wednesday morning to say he was attacked when he tried to take a picture of the damage.

I took this pic- it got me assaulted & beat up. Punched/kicked in the head, neck, ribs. Maybe concussion, socked in left eye is little blurry, sore neck & ribs. 8-10 people attacked me. Innocent people are going to get killed. Capitol locked- stuck in office.Stop violence nowPlz! pic.twitter.com/Zw2hdfYG66  Tim Carpenter (@TimCarpenterMKE) June 24, 2020

"I took this pic- it got me assaulted & beat up," Carpenter tweeted. "Punched/kicked in the head, neck, ribs. Maybe concussion, socked in left eye is little blurry, sore neck & ribs. 8-10 people attacked me. Innocent people are going to get killed. Capitol locked- stuck in office. Stop violence nowPlz!"

As of noon Wednesday, no one had been arrested for either vandalism or the attack on Carpenter.

Lawmakers' reaction to the chaos, while all negative, ran along a spectrum.

Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, said in a statement that he is "frustrated" by what happened.

In recent weeks, we have seen people across the country raising their voice to peacefully speak out against injustice in our society," Hintz said. "What happened last night at the Capitol goes against those efforts and does harm to our state. Violently attacking a state senator and damaging state property does not, in any way, help to make positive change in our communities."

Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, also said the attack on the Capitol is not in line with the protests Madison has seen since George Floyd's death late last month.

"No person should feel unsafe in their community," Hansen said. "The violence needs to stop so we can return the focus to the original intent of the protest: to provide systemic reform to our police departments so the rights of every person, regardless of their race, are protected."

Republicans had much stronger takes on what happened.

"My advice to all Wisconsinites: Do not travel to the city of Madison," Rep. Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, wrote on Twitter early Wednesday. "It is unsafe and your lives could be in danger. The Mayor has lost control. Gov. [Tony] Evers refuses to take control. The weakest leadership Ive ever witnessed."

Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, issued an official statement that clearly stated: "Enough is Enough."

He continued: "While the Governor slept in his estate, the statehouse was under siege. We need a leader, not an apologist. Governor Evers and Mayor Rhodes-Conway have enabled this destructive and violent behavior through consistent inaction and appeasement. What will it take for Governor Evers to see that these are not protests, they are violent riots?" Kapenga wrote. "These criminals need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and be ordered to pay restitution to repair the damage."

Evers said he is monitoring the situation. But he added he's also focused on why protesters were in the streets in the first place.

What happened in Madison last night presented a stark contrast from the peaceful protests we have seen across our state in recent weeks," the governor said in a statement. "I want to be clear: violence against any person  whether in the middle of the street in broad daylight, at home trying to sleep, going for a run, or happening upon a protest as was the case last night  is wrong. It should never be tolerated."

The governor said he is "prepared to activate the Wisconsin National Guard," but as of noon Wednesday had not issued that order.
Mohammed has spent several weeks sleeping in his cramped trading booth in one of Guangzhou's export centres after being kicked out of his apartment and forced into quarantine in April, but the Tanzanian trader says he is content to be in China.

As Africans in the Chinese metropolis were targeted that month in a coronavirus clampdown that sparked a diplomatic backlash, Guangzhou's Xiaobei neighbourhood - known as "Little Africa" - went into lockdown.

Like many in the community, including those who were evicted from their dwellings, Mohammed said he is trying to return to normal life now that the lockdown has eased.

For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here

"It happened, it was bad, but I just want to move on," said Mohammed, who trades garments and shoes and like most people Reuters interviewed did not want to provide his full name given the sensitivity of the situation.

Guangzhou is the hub for Africans engaged in trade in China, often small-scale business owners dealing in garments and other consumer goods, and is also a centre for students from the continent.

While Black Africans living in China say they have long experienced discrimination, several said the targeting of their community during the pandemic was deeply unsettling.

When five Nigerians tested positive for coronavirus in April after China had shut its borders to foreigners, local government units in Guangzhou singled out Africans for mandatory tests and quarantines, the US consulate in the city said.

Several African countries complained, and the US consulate advised African-Americans to avoid the city. The outcry prompted a meeting between China's foreign ministry, which denied discrimination, and more than 20 African ambassadors and representatives.

The situation eased and the government encouraged foreigners to report instances of discrimination to a 24-hour support hotline. McDonald's apologised after staff at a Guangzhou branch forced Black customers to leave.

'Just Guests'

All the 20 Africans Reuters spoke with in Guangzhou said they were strongly supportive of the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States and elsewhere. Around half said that similar protests were not necessary in China, but six said they would protest if they felt it were possible.

"This is a Communist country and we are just guests here, they would not let us protest," said Chris, a Nigerian trader.

With 4,553 registered Africans in Guangzhou in April, the population is one-third its level a year ago, official figures show. About 3,51,000 Africans entered the city from abroad last year, often traders on short-term visits, but that traffic has almost come to a halt with coronavirus-induced travel bans.

Mercy, a Nigerian working for a small logistics company, said business is one-quarter its normal level.

"There are fewer people in town, and there are fewer flights to Africa, so freight prices are too high," she said from her office in a half-lit building where several hair-braiding shops and salons that served the African community were shuttered.

Several traders, however, said they were staying put in China because the current situation means fewer competitors and an advantage when freight fully resumes.

"China is good," said Paur, a Nigerian trader. "You cannot find African people making these," he said, gesturing towards bags of clothes in his booth near Xiaobei.

He said he is still resentful after being evicted from his home in April and sleeping on the streets for four days but has no plans to leave.

"The sad thing I realised is that they see me and will always think of the virus," said Haman, a student from Niger who said he plans to return home after seven years in China once his course finishes next month.

Many of the Black Africans in the city said they were resigned to racism being part of life outside of Africa.

"If you are Black and you hold an African passport you cannot escape racism, so it doesn't matter wherever you go," said Aubrey Tesembatare, a Zimbabwean who works in banking in Guangzhou.
A doctor looks at protein samples at Novavax labs, one of the labs developing a vaccine for the COVID-19, in Rockville, Md., on March 20, 2020. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Federal Government Might Have Stake in Modernas COVID-19 Vaccine

The federal government might have partial ownership of Modernas CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus vaccine, according to reports.

According to documents obtained by Axios, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) may possess some of the intellectual property used to develop Modernas vaccine for the CCP virus, commonly referred to as the novel coronavirus.

NIH and Massachusetts-based Moderna, who have worked together for several years to research coronaviruses, signed a contract in December before the CCP virus had been sequenced. These federal documents stated that mRNA [Moderna] coronavirus vaccine candidates [are] developed and jointly owned by the medical research center and Moderna.

If true, the federal government could try to facilitate wide distribution of the vaccine at low cost, or no cost at all, guaranteed that the product is both safe and effective.

Four scientists at NIH meanwhile have filed for a provisional patent application entitled 2019-nCoV vaccine, disclosures in a pending scientific paper co-authored by Moderna scientists shows.

News: Experts identify steps to expand and improve antibody tests in COVID-19 response https://t.co/uGUyDzn2cB  NIH (@NIH) June 23, 2020

Zain Rizvi, a health law and policy researcher at Public Citizen, told the news outlet that this makes it evident that the government and the public have a stake in the CCP virus vaccine.

The vaccine would not exist without the intellectual contributions of federal scientists, he added.

In a statement, the NIH told Axios that its scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)one of the institutes that makes up the NIHcreated stabilized coronavirus spike proteins for the development of vaccines against coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2.

Recognizing the importance of these novel immunogens, NIAID has sought patents to preserve the governments rights to these inventions and to provide incentive for commercial partners to invest the capital and resources needed to advance their development, commercialization, and public use as vaccines, the statement reads.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Moderna for comment.

Modernas vaccine is currently in phase 2 clinical trial and the findings are not yet peer-reviewed and are available on bioRxiv, a preprint research server. The trial, led by the NIAID, started in Seattle on March 16.

The American biotech company said Thursday that it was partnering with contract drugmaker Catalent to prepare an initial 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for the United States, starting in the third quarter of this year.

Catalent will fill and package doses, support production, and provide additional staffing for around-the-clock operations to produce the vaccine, which is still in clinical trials.

The vaccine, among the first to be tested in humans in the United States, was found to produce protective antibodies in a small group of healthy volunteers last month. Antibodies are a blood protein produced by the immune system to combat viruses and other foreign material.

Moderna is preparing to begin the final stages of testing in July to evaluate the vaccines effectiveness in preventing the respiratory illness in around 30,000 adult trial participants.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Pakistans prime minister said the US martyred al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden  a term normally reserved for honourable figures slain in battle.

Imran Khan used the term during a budget speech in parliament, attacking his predecessors foreign policies and saying that Pakistans partnership with the United States in the war on terror was a mistake.

Mr Khan also said Washington used abusive language against Pakistan, blamed Islamabad for its failures in neighbouring Afghanistan and refused to inform the country of its operation against bin Laden in 2011 before carrying out the Navy SEALs nighttime raid.

The special operations force swooped into Pakistans military garrison town of Abbottabad in the middle of the night on May 2 2011, killing bin Laden and several of his operatives.

They blamed us for every failure in Afghanistan. They openly held us responsible because they did not succeed in Afghanistan Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan

Mr Khan told parliament: We sided with the US in the War on Terror but they came here and killed him, martyred him and  used abusive language against us (and) did not inform us (of the raid), despite the fact that we lost 70,000 people in war on terror.

Washington has repeatedly accused Pakistan of harbouring the Afghan Taliban and giving safe haven to the feared Haqqani network, a Taliban affiliate that has been blamed for some major attacks in Afghanistan over the years and declared a terrorist group by the United States.

Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had claimed that the Haqqani network was run by Pakistans premier intelligence agency, known by its acronym ISI.

Pakistan denied the accusations, saying Washington was blaming Pakistan for the failure of the US-led coalitions 150,000 soldiers to defeat the Taliban, who are now at their strongest since being toppled in 2001 and rule or hold sway in about 50% of Afghanistan.

Expand Close Pakistans prime minister Imran Khan accused the United States of having martyred al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden (Arshad Butt/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Pakistans prime minister Imran Khan accused the United States of having martyred al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden (Arshad Butt/AP)

Mr Khan said: The way we supported America in the war on terror, and the insults we had to face in return  They blamed us for every failure in Afghanistan. They openly held us responsible because they did not succeed in Afghanistan.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were the only countries to recognise the Taliban government, which had harboured bin Laden as he planned terrorist attacks against the US.

After the September 11 attacks, Pakistan turned and became an ally of the United States against the Taliban, who were ousted by a US-led coalition in November 2011.

However, opposition politician Khwaja Mohammed Asif was critical of Mr Khan for calling bin Laden a martyr, saying the al Qaida chief had brought terrorism to Pakistan.

He (bin Laden) ruined my country but he (Khan) is calling him a martyr, he said.

Since taking power, Mr Khan claimed his government has reset the Pakistan-US relationship, elevating it to one of mutual respect, for which he also credited the personal rapport he has built with US president Donald Trump.

No one insults us now, said Mr Khan.
A functioning toilet might not be the first thing that comes to mind when discussing the next Lunar mission, but it is an essential requirement either way. During the first mission to the moon the astronauts were essentially wearing diapers as it is near impossible to do your business in zero gravity. The development of excretion management went from being, a plastic bag which was taped to the buttocks to capture faeces, to fan-based suction systems.

Although space toilets already exist and are in use (at the International Space Station, for example), they are designed for microgravity only. NASAs Human Landing System Program is looking for a next-generation device that is smaller, more efficient, and capable of working in both microgravity and lunar gravity... reads a description of this contest on the official NASA website.

Inside the space stations, the requirement of a toilet that could provide all the functions of one present on Earth is essential. To facilitate this, NASA is crowdsourcing ideas that can be implemented in place of the suction fan-based toilets. The Lunar Loo contest is for designs than that can function is one-sixth of the gravity present on Earth.

The requirements for design submissions are that it should have the capacity to function for 7 days including transit and should have the capacity to collect about a litre of urine and 500 grams of faeces simultaneously. In addition to that, it should also have the capacity to hold 114 grams of menstrual blood per day and per crew member. It should require minimal maintenance and should be operational again within 5 minutes of use. NASA also wants designs that occupy less than 0.12 cubic metres and operate at 60 decibels or less.

NASA is also giving prize money to the top three winning designs wherein the first place will be awarded $20,000 (~ INR 15 lakhs), second place $10,000 and $5,000 to the third place. People under the age of 18 can also participate for public recognition and NASA merchandise. The contest began on June 25 and will be on till August 17, 2020.

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The three nuclear-armed neighbours all have historic disputes over high-altitude border demarcation in the Himalayas

Activists of Gujarat's Karni Sena organisation shout slogans while holding a poster with the image of Chinese President Xi Jinping during an anti-China demonstration in Ahmedabad on June 24, 2020. (AFP)

Islamabad: Pakistan has accused old rival India of trying to distract the attention of its people by expelling Pakistani diplomats after Indian forces got a battering at the hands of Chinese troops in a clash on their disputed Himalayan border.

Pakistan is concerned about the tension after the June 15 clash in the Ladakh region, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, in particular about the possibility Pakistan could get dragged in, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.

Things have deteriorated, things are very delicate, Qureshi told Reuters in an interview at his ministry in Islamabad late on Thursday.

The three nuclear-armed neighbours all have historic disputes over high-altitude border demarcation in the Himalayas.

For years, confrontation between India and Pakistan has been seen as the most dangerous of the disputes but the violence between Indian and Chinese forces has renewed alarm about theirs too.

Qureshi denounced Indias announcement on Tuesday that it would expel half the staff in Pakistans embassy in New Delhi over spying, saying India was trying to divert attention at home.

The accusations were baseless, he said.

They have no answers for the battering they got in Ladakh, so to quell the domestic dissent they want to refocus, he said.

Indias foreign ministry did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Qureshi said he was concerned that India could try to get Pakistan involved in the regional tensions with a false flag operation - an incident staged to provide a pretext for action.

He said he feared any Indian misadventure in Pakistans territory would prompt Pakistan to respond with force.

Qureshi said Pakistan backed the position of its ally China over Ladakh and he had recently had a call with Chinas top diplomat, Wang Yi, who had expressed appreciation for that position.

China and Pakistan have long had close diplomatic and economic ties.

China has pledged about $60 billion for projects in Pakistan central to Chinas Belt and Road initiative to develop land and sea trade routes across Asia and beyond.
Classical musicians of African descent have existed on the margins of obscurity for centuries  in the classroom, the concert hall, the record industry, and on the radio, says Terrance McKnight, evening host at New York classical radio station WQXR. In this radio special for Juneteenth, he talks to Wynton Marsalis, Martina Arroyo (one of the great operatic sopranos of the 1960s and 70s), composers Alvin Singleton and Leslie Dunner, Nashville Symphony principal oboist Titus Underwood, and other guests as well as listeners about working as an African-American in the classical music industry. (audio)  WQXR (New York City)
Chau Ta, vice president of AusCham Vietnam

Where is Vietnam placed among Australias partners in the ASEAN region?

Vietnam is one of Australias most important trade and investment partners in the bloc. Currently, Vietnam is Australias fifth-largest ASEAN trade partner behind Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia with bilateral trade hitting a record $14.6 billion in 2018. Importantly, Vietnam is one of Australias fastest-growing trade partners, with two-way trade growing faster than many of Australias largest trade partners.

Vietnams demand for Australias agriculture, energy, and education exports, and Australias appetite for Vietnamese electronics and textiles are driving much of this trade growth.

Vietnams attractiveness to Australian investors includes its political stability, skilled workforce, and good geographic location. Vietnams incredible recent growth rate  7 per cent in 2019  also helps demonstrate the significant economic opportunities in Vietnam to Australian investors. Australian companies such as RMIT University, Swinburne University, Sunrice, ANZ, Austal, and DEK have made many high-quality investments in Vietnam, particularly in the education, agriculture, financial, and advanced manufacturing sectors. As Vietnams economy continues to grow, AusCham Vietnam will continue to work with the Australian government to encourage and support more Australian companies to enter this dynamic market.

What are the factors that can make the Vietnamese market the most attractive market to Australian investors in the ASEAN?

In February and April, AusCham ASEAN undertook its fifth annual Australian Business in ASEAN Survey. This included an additional COVID-19 Impact Survey in April. The results of more than 580 companies that responded to the survey across the region showed that, in 2019, Vietnam had retaken its mantle as the most popular destination for planned investment by Australian businesses.

It was considered that Vietnams very successful solar energy programme (which saw approximately five gigawatts of solar power installed and operating in 2019) and the shift of manufacturing from China to Vietnam was at the heart of this investment surge.

The survey shows that to Australian businesses, Vietnam is one of Asias great economic success stories of the past 30 years. It is projected to remain among the worlds fastest-growing economies over the next decade, and one of Asias best investment destinations.

Vietnam continues to be identified as one of the most likely places for Australian expansion across the ASEAN, with professional services and education and training taking up 40 per cent of the Australian business community in Vietnam, and hospitality and manufacturing firms accounting for a further 30 per cent of the business community. Australian businesses operating in Vietnam continue to grow and diversify in size and the AustCham ASEAN Survey 2020 shows that the Vietnamese economy remained robust in 2019, with expansion underpinned by strong domestic demand, resilient manufacturing, and solid foreign direct investment.

Australian businesses operating in Vietnam have reported that business conditions were positive through 2019 and into 2020, with half of firms reporting improved profitability. This is much due to the governments continuous efforts in implementing reforms in administrative and entry procedures for foreign investors into Vietnam, and slowly but progressively improving and investing in improving infrastructure and transparency.

Further, the positive business optimism in Vietnam remains. The countrys stellar performance in the continuous management and control of COVID-19 and particularly in the context of China+1 and the US-China trade dispute, has put Vietnam in the global spotlight  showing that it remains a safe place to do business.

In joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Vietnam not only vows to opening up markets but also removing tariff barriers, continuing to open and facilitate trade, and continuing to exhibit transparency in state management of market development. How will these factors affect business activities and development strategies of Australian enterprises here?

Vietnams international economic integration has been one of the drivers of its recent economic growth, and the countrys commitment to open and rules-based trade is commendable. The CPTPP is the most ambitious free trade agreement Vietnam has ratified, and both our countries stand to benefit from greater market access, reduced tariffs, and regulatory certainty under the agreement.

AusCham Vietnam encourages Vietnam to continue to implement its CPTPP commitments as only through full and timely implementation will both Australian and Vietnamese enterprises maximise the benefits of the CPTPP.

What are the prospects for attracting Australian investors into Vietnam and increasing collaboration with Vietnamese counterparts?

Australian companies are world-leading in many economic sectors. As mentioned, Australian firms have made a number of important and high-quality investments in Vietnams education, agriculture, financial and advanced manufacturing sectors. We think there are many more opportunities to grow Australian investment in these sectors, and to look for new opportunities in tourism, healthcare, and technology.

AusCham Vietnams members have made many successful investments in Vietnam and have partnered with a number of the countrys leading enterprises who continue to promote, work with, and assist Australian investors looking to enter the Vietnamese market.
Family members say McClain was walking home from buying an iced tea for his brother, wearing a ski mask because he has anemia and gets cold easily. Denver police stopped him and put him in a chokehold because they said he was being suspicious. The body-camera footage reveals him crying and struggling to live and vomiting and apologizing. I wasnt trying to do that, he can be heard saying. I just cant breathe correctly.
Slate is making its essential coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism.

On Friday, the White Houses coronavirus task force held its first public briefing in nearly two months. The reason for the reappearance is the rapid rise in cases this week across the American South and Southwest, but the task force, which had gone quiet since the Trump administration began its efforts to encourage states to reopen the country, didnt have much in the way of new guidance to report. Instead, it seemed like an opportunity for task force members Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci to explain the new calamity and convey the continued need for social distancing in some areas.

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For the head of the task force, Vice President Mike Pence, and other top Trump administration officials, the purpose of the event seemed to beper usualto lather President Donald Trump with praise for his response to a pandemic that has killed more than 120,000 Americans. The coronavirus has reemerged in force amid Trump-encouraged state reopenings even as it has largely subsided in Europe and elsewhere, but according to Pence, thats nothing to really worry about. Just last week, the vice president published an article in the Wall Street Journal titled There Isnt a Coronavirus Second Wave. 

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On Friday, Pence also responded to questions about why the Trump campaign staged a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ignoring its own advice to the American people to listen to local health officials (local health officials in Tulsa denounced the gathering). The vice presidents explanation of this was that its really important to recognize how important freedom and personal responsibility are to this entire equation and to imply that campaign rallies were part of a larger economic reopening intended in part to protect the mental health of Americans and prevent suicide.

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Pence began the event by praising the president for keeping American death totals below the 2.2 million Americans that might have lost their lives had no mitigation efforts been taken, something he has continuously celebrated in spite of the fact that our case and death totals are the highest in the world.

The president made that decision, Pence said. Inarguably, as we see where we are today as a nation, because of what the American people have done, because of the incredible work of our health care workers, because of our partnership with governors in every state, we did just that. We slowed the spread, we flattened the curve, we saved lives.

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Remarkably, Pence then said that it was nothing short of a national accomplishment that at the previous height of the pandemic, there were enough ventilators not to leave people dying in waiting rooms without care. This is what you might call a low bar.

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Pence did provide some information about the rising cases, noting that the national case count had dipped from 30,000 per day in April to 20,000 per day at the start of this month, but was now back up to a startling 40,000 new cases in a single day this week. He further noted that only 5 percent of new cases are currently resulting in hospitalizations, as opposed to 15 percent two months ago, and celebrated the fact that this week, there were two days when we lost less than 300 Americans. (Earlier this month, 2,500 Americans died from COVID-19 in a single day, but more than 200 Americans dying in a single day from this disease is still a horrible tragedy.)

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The self-congratulation was not isolated to the vice president. When it was Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azars turn to speak, he said that now, thanks to the president and the vice presidents leadership and the hard work of our team, America has never been readier to combat COVID-19. However, it does not seem like our level of readiness is yet up to snuff, as months into the pandemic, American case counts have risen to 10 times those of the European Union. Europe was generally earlier to confront the disease, but also earlier to ramp up per capita testing capacity and, in many countries, more stringent in its lockdown measures. Those efforts now seem to be paying off, as case totals have plummeted and elements of everyday life still absent in the United States, such as sporting events, have already returned.

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At the end of the press conference, Pence was asked about the Trump campaigns Tulsa rally. In addition to his might-prevent-suicides argument, he defended the gathering on constitutional grounds. The freedom of speech, the right to peaceably assemble is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States, and we have an election coming up this fall, Pence said. We still want to give people the freedom to participate in the political process, and we respect that. He added that, even though they had held the rally, the administration was still asking that people listen to the leadership in their state and the leadership in their local community and adhere to that guidance around wearing face coverings and avoiding mass gatherings, and continuing to to reinforce that message.

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When a reporter asked why the campaign, though, directly ignored the warnings of Tulsas top health official Bruce Dart not to hold its rally, Pence again emphasized his First Amendment argument and then seemed to make a bizarre side point: Its so important that we recognize that as we issued guidance to reopen America now two months ago and now as all 50 states are opening up our country again, people are going back to work, American everyday life is being restored kind of one step, one day at a time, Pence said. There are profound health implications to the lockdowns through which we just passed. I heard a statistic not long ago at a task force briefing that in one jurisdiction there had been a 50 percent increase in the number of people presenting in emergency rooms having attempted suicide.

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Implying major political rallies were needed to help suicide prevention was a strange thing to say as states like Texas and Florida were in the process of shutting bars and restaurants down to address rising case numbers. As for the Tulsa rally, we know that dozens of Secret Service officials and agents who attended the event were ordered to quarantine after two of them tested positive this week. At least eight campaign staff who helped organize the event have also tested positive. The task force is back because cases of the coronavirus are again on the upswing. Lets see how long it takes Pence to admit that means we cant go back to everyday American life.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in this undated photo released on Dec. 29, 2019 by North Korean Central News Agency. (KCNA via Reuters)

North Korea Says Its Only Option Is to Counter Nuclear With Nuclear Against US

North Koreas communist regime said it will bolster its nuclear capabilities, claiming it is the only option available.

The country, making the statement on the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, said nuclear arms have become an indispensable strategic option for our people, who were subjected to disastrous disturbances of war on this land by the U.S., to possess the powerful war deterrent for national defense.

In order to eliminate the nuclear threats from the US, the DPRK government has made all possible efforts either through dialogue or in resort to the international law, but all ended in a vain effot (sic). The only option left was to counter [nuclear] with [nuclear], the state-run KCNA said. In the long run, the US compelled us to possess nuke (sic), it added.

The bellicose statement comes about a week after a period of escalated tension between North and South Korea in which dictator Kim Jong Uns sister, Kim Yo Jong, issued direct threats to Seoul after defectors flew leaflets over the border.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, on March 2, 2019. (Jorge Silva/Pool Photo via AP, File)

The U.S. State Department hasnt responded to a request for comment.

In June, North Korea blew up an inter-Korea liaison office, while South Korea said it would hold a resolute military posture and issued warnings to Pyongyang. North Korea also threatened to send troops to the demilitarized zone, which would breach the inter-Korean military treaty signed in 2018.

The Trump administration and Kim Jong Uns regime held a series of talks, in which President Donald Trump met personally with Kim, but they didnt come to a binding accord on the countrys nuclear weapons testing.

On Wednesday, North Korea said it had suspended a military action against the South, without elaborating. The state-run Korean Central News Agency said that Kim took stock of the prevailing situation and suspended the military action plans against the south during a preliminary meeting with the Central Military Commission.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday called on Pyongyang to formally end the Korean War, which ended in an armistice in 1953, on the 70th anniversary of its start.

We will continuously search for routes that are mutually beneficial for both Koreas through peace, he said, according to the Korea Herald. Before speaking of unification, I hope that we can become friendly neighbors first.

He added that if the two nations are going to talk about unification, we have to achieve peace first, and only after peace has continued for a long time will we be able to finally see the door to unification.
Vietnam determines to eradicate malaria by 2030

Vietnam is aiming to control and eradicate malaria by 2030 according to the conference about increasing investment in malaria prevention and control in Vietnam held on June 25.







Conference about increasing investment in malaria prevention and control in Vietnam





The conference was held by the National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology and the Regional Artemisinin Initiative 2 Elimination (RAI2E) programme.



Tran Thanh Duong, head of the National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology, said last year, both the number of malaria patients and people with parasites went down compared to 2018. The number of malaria patients decreased from 6,870 to 5,887 and the number of patients with parasites decreased from 4,813 to 4,665. The rate of malaria parasites per 1,000 people decreased by 4%.



If there are no major outbreak or fatality. 25 out of 64 provinces and cities have met requirements to declare free of malaria in accordance with WHO's malaria control and elimination programme.



During the conference, many attendees also raised concerns about the difficulties and complicated situation in several provinces like Gia Lai, Phu Yen, Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Dak Nong, Quang Tri and Lai Chau. Risk factors for malaria outbreaks at these locations include living in the forests and migration while drug-resistant malaria parasite is becoming a problem.



In order to eradicate malaria in Vietnam by 2030, Duong said they must strictly follow the Ministry of Health's strategies to detect new cases and treat the patients early, raise public awareness and call for fund from international organisations.
Texas couple married for 53 years die from coronavirus while holding hands

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A beloved couple who died 50 minutes apart while holding hands at a hospital in Fort Worth are among the more than 2,200 coronavirus-related fatalities in Texas as the state has reported a surge in infections that has brought the total to at least 125,000 cases statewide Wednesday.

Curtis Tarpley, 79, and his wife Betty, 80, died last week at the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital after brief battles with the virus, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

The couples son Tim Tarpley, a personal trainer who also works with Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, told the publication that his mother began feeling ill a few weeks ago but believed it was a sinus infection or a toothache.

Tim Tarpley, who was temporarily staying with his parents during the pandemic, said he took his mother to the hospital. She tested positive for the virus on June 9. He urged his father to try to stay active and let him know if he felt ill.

He told me Thursday [June 11] that he was feeling weak so I said, Lets go, Tarpley recalled. I took him to the hospital Thursday afternoon and his first two tests were negative, but they admitted him.

On June 15, Tim Tarpley tested positive for the virus and his fathers condition declined. His father was eventually retested for the virus again and it was confirmed that he too had been infected with the coronavirus.

Mayor Price also quarantined herself and got tested because of her work with Tim Tarpley.

The couple, who had underlying conditions to go along with the virus, never improved.

In a Facebook video, Tim Tarpley said that his parents died in true Tarpley fashion by dying close to the same time while holding hands.

Its pretty romantic, Tim Tarpley said.

Tarpley and his sister, Tricia, said they knew their parents were ready to go.

My mother always said she didnt want to live to be 100 and she very much believed this world was temporary and it was a stop on going off to a better place, Tricia told the newspaper. She knew something better was coming and she was fine with that.

In their final moments, nurses at the hospital moved the couple into the same room so they could spend the time together as they held hands.

His mother and daddy, thanks to the nurses at the hospital, brought his father into the room with his mother. And his mother and father died holding hands after 51 years (sic) of marriage. And they died 50 minutes apart, Price said in a video message.

I think those nurses are to be commended and they are just a great example of what happens. And arent we blessed that they were able to have that and that Tim and his sister were able to have the closure that their parents were together even on the heels of a tragic loss like that from COVID?

In an interview with KBTX Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said that Texas reached an all-time high of more than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases and urged residents to stay home whenever possible.

The governor also raised concern that too many Texans arent taking the virus seriously.

The first obligation that we have is to make sure people around the state really comprehend the magnitude of the challenge were dealing with, Abbott said. There remain a lot of people in the state of Texas who think that the spread of COVID-19 is really not a challenge.

Abbott warned that the hospitalization rate is at an all-time high.

The coronavirus is serious, he stressed. Its spreading in Brazos County, across the entire state of Texas, which is exactly why action is being taken.

KBXT reports that the state is increasing enforcement and testing in areas where the virus spreading and urging people to stay home whenever possible. Abbott also asked Texans to practice social distancing and wear masks.

First, we want to make sure that everyone reinforces the best safe practices of wearing a mask, hand sanitization, maintaining safe distance, but importantly, because the spread is so rampant right now, theres never a reason for you to have to leave your home, he said. Unless you do need to go out, the safest place for you is at your home.

Other reports are also showing an upward trend in infections in southern states like Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina, particularly among the young.
A bill that would require insurance companies to provide coverage of ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging for women at increased risk of breast cancer is about to reach Gov. Tom Wolf.

The governor has indicated he will sign it into law.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Bob Mensch, R-Montgomery County, would make Pennsylvania one of only a few states that require insurers to pick up the high cost associated with these supplemental screenings for women with the following criteria:

A personal or family history of breast cancer or genetic predisposition to it;

Extremely dense breast tissue;

Heterogeneously dense breast tissue with one other high-risk factor for breast cancer.

MRIs and ultrasound, with their clearer imaging, can detect breast cancer better than a mammogram because both cancer and density appear white on a mammogram. But MRIs and ultrasound can be expensive.

Ruth Gunnett of Southampton Township, Franklin County, can attest to the cost.

Having dense breast tissue as well as a family history, Gunnett, 36, said her doctor originally recommended that in addition to her annual mammogram that she have an MRI done every other year as a preventative measure. She took her doctors advice and had a MRI. The bill for that supplemental screening was nearly $4,000. Her insurance company said she would be responsible to pay it.

After my first bill, I said to my doctor, um, you have to come up with a new plan because I cant do that every other year, Gunnett said. Im still actually paying on the one I had two years ago,

Hearing that insurance companies in Pennsylvania will be compelled by this soon-to-be-enacted state law to pick up the cost of future MRIs is a huge relief, she said.

It will help others who have shared with her similar stories to the one she had. It also will help her younger sister and two daughters, who have a family history of breast cancer from both her and her husbands side of the family.

Im willing to fight right now because they shouldnt have to fight when their time comes to make sure they are doing these preventative screenings, Gunnett said. I dont want them to be afraid of getting them nor do I want them to have to decide whether its financially something they can do. Its something they should do.

Thats why she said she told her personal story in a video shared by the Pennsylvania Breast Coalition to help garner legislative support for Menschs bill.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that MRIs can detect 2.5 times more breast cancers than 3D mammograms in women with dense breasts.

It will help women who need MRI or ultrasound find their breast cancer at an earlier treatable stage, said Pat Halpin-Murphy, president and founder of the PA Breast Cancer Coalition. When we say its important to diagnose at an earlier stage, it means you have a better chance of reduced severity of the treatment side effects and after effects.

Once the governor signs this bill into law, it will take effect sometime next year  and for some insurance policies, not until 2022.

In the meantime, Halpin-Murphy said the coalition will be undertaking an extensive education effort to ensure doctors are aware of the law and can put patients mind at ease about the potential cost of having the supplemental screenings if they are at high-risk of breast cancer.

Sen. Bob Mensch, R-Montgomery County, said about his bill requiring insurance companies to pay for MRIs and ultrasounds for women at high-risk of developing breast cancer, I am confident that this legislation will make a difference in the lives." Screenshot from Pa. Senate website June 24, 2020

Mensch, the bills sponsor, has been a crusader for enhancing breast cancer detection efforts through the legislative process for the past decade. He authored a 2014 law that requires women to be provided breast density findings as part of their mammography results.

Women who have extremely dense breast tissue are four to six times more likely to develop breast cancer, he said, in remarks on the Senate floor on Wednesday in urging his colleagues to support the legislation. He said mammography screenings to detect cancer fail to detect tumors 40% of the time in women with extremely dense breast tissue.

I am confident that this legislation will make a difference in the lives of many affected by this terrible disease, he said.

The bill passed the House and Senate unanimously.

*This story has been updated to provide more detail on the effective date of this legislation.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.

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The next meeting is scheduled for July 8.

The Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on Donbas has held a regular video conference meeting with participation of representatives of the OSCE, Russia and Ukraine, including internally displaced persons representing Donbas, to discuss local elections, lists of prisoners of war (POWs), as well as opening two checkpoints in Luhansk region.

"In the framework of the working group on political issues, the Ukrainian delegation provided the parties [to the consultations] with a calendar plan to prepare and hold local elections within the time frame established by law," the press service of the Office of the President of Ukraine said.

Read alsoHumanitarian situation in Donbas worsens over COVID-19 pandemic  ICRC

Ukrainian representatives stress that elections in the Russia-controlled districts in Donetsk and Luhansk regions are possible only after comprehensive de-escalation, the withdrawal of foreign military units and equipment, disarmament of illegal armed groups, and restoration of control over the state border in the conflict zone by the Ukrainian government.

The humanitarian group discussed the coordination of lists for the mutual release of captives. The Ukrainian party continues to insist on an "all-for-all" release.

The Ukrainian delegation reiterated willingness to open two new checkpoints in Luhansk region for humanitarian purposes, and provide security guarantees for the period of construction of checkpoint infrastructure by the temporarily occupied territories subject to actual work.

A number of proposals submitted by the Ukrainian party were discussed within the working group on security issues. They concerned, among other things, demining and security for civilians, new disengagement points and ensuring a sustainable ceasefire. The group's moderator, Ambassador Yasar Halit Cevik, noted the constructive nature of the dialogue.

The Ukrainian delegation emphasized the need to ensure full and unimpeded access of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (OSCE SMM) to the entire temporarily uncontrolled territory. Only in the period from June 1 to June 23, 2020, thirty-nine cases of non-admission of OSCE SMM observers to the territory not controlled by the government of Ukraine through the checkpoints along the official road corridors crossing the delimitation line were recorded.

Read alsoRussian-led forces' missile hits OSCE monitors' camera (Photo)

The Ukrainian party stressed its willingness to provide the necessary security guarantees and full assistance to the OSCE SMM to investigate the incident with damage to the surveillance camera of the Special Monitoring Mission near Shyrokyne (Donetsk region), which occurred on June 22, 2020, as a result of shelling from the territory uncontrolled by the government of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian party offered to hold an additional meeting of the security group to achieve progress in the issue of disengagement of forces and weapons in the project areas until the next meeting of the TCG.

Due to the efforts of the Ukrainian delegation within the working group on social and economic issues, the work of the Ukrainian mobile network operator in the Russia-occupied districts resumed after a two-week break.

The Ukrainian party initiated the discussion of approaches to solving environmental problems in the occupied areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In particular, it raised the issue of safe storage of radioactive materials and the possibility of forming a group of experts under the auspices of the IAEA to monitor the situation. The delegation also raised the issue of ensuring water supply in the conflict zone.

The next round of consultations within the TCG is scheduled for July 8.
If you have not already received it, you will soon be getting a letter in the mail about one of the most long-awaited projects in our community.

The Holmen Boys & Girls Club and Holmen Area Community Center is finally becoming a reality and while construction has been rolling along in fine form, we are not yet ready to wave the checkered flag.

As you recall, last summer a campaign goal of $3.5 million was set in order to complement the generous donation from Dave and Barb Skogen, which included the building itself and $5 million toward renovation.

In one of the most amazing community efforts to date, more than $3 million has been raised toward that goal, leaving a little more than $300,000 remaining.

These dollars will not only complete the project but will allow for three years of operational costs so that the focus can be on providing services that will best meet the needs of our citizens.

This is the important work, so this last call of sorts is really an opportunity for those who have not already contributed to find a way to become part of this project and really part of history.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected us all in so many ways and it would seem logical that our fund-raising campaign has felt that impact as well.

Some might say that it is not even reasonable to be asking for funding when so many people are already hurting and not in a place to give. That is probably true, but it has been my experience in this wonderful place called the Holmen area, that this is exactly the time that we rally and find ways to help one another.

I have witnessed this so many times before and am always amazed at how the people in this community can see beyond themselves to support a cause that will help neighbors, friends and sometimes even total strangers.

Now is exactly the time when people need hope for a place to gather again.

Now is exactly the time when we need programs and activities that move us forward and help us become healthier and happier in mind, body and soul.

Now is exactly the time to consider ways that we can contribute that will give meaning to the word community. If you have already contributed, thank you. Finding ways to give is, indeed, the Holmen way.

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Life has changed for Michael McKenney since the pandemic shut things down across the country.

The time at home has taught the Albuquerque-based photographer one thing  patience.

Always outdoors photographing landscapes, McKenney stayed at home and thought of a new approach he could take: droplet photo shoots.

He would shoot in macro high speed and capture the beautiful chaos of water droplets.

Its like a snowflake, he says. Each drop collision is unique. You get what the drop gives you. Ive been shooting them for the last couple of months.

McKenney built a space inside his home where he could compose the photos.

Hell often use water, of course, as well as milk and food coloring. Its in this space, where he can be a mad scientist and create.

When I set up my drops, I dont look for perfection, he says. I wont align everything properly to create that tension and chaos.

McKenney converted his spare bedroom into a computer room, where he built a wooden structure that holds the core. There the structure has solenoid that let McKenney control the size of the drop, as well as the timing.

I let it fall into a pan or container of water, he says. I have control over those elements, and then I have the room slightly darkened.

McKenney has found himself shooting photographs nearly every day.

The results are pieces hes named, The Bow, Cosmic Splash, Star Gazer, A Moment in a Water Drops Life, Water Angel, The Rock Pigeon and more.

Each photograph is a moment in time.

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They are otherworldly and take on a life of their own, he says. Its all about timing.

McKenney and his wife moved to Albuquerque from Arkansas in 2016.

His sister worked at Sandia National Laboratories and would always try to get his mother to move to New Mexico.

When I retired, we decided to make the move to Albuquerque, he says. Ive done photography my whole life. Its 50 years plus. Because I dont do portraits, this seemed like the next evolution to my career. I can go at my own pace and have some sort of control over what Im doing.

McKenney doesnt touch up the photographs too much when hes finished.

The colors and images are raw, he says. I let the water take course and am lucky enough to capture what transpires. Its an interesting take on what Ive done all my life.
Weve all been watching, stupefied, as increasing numbers of men insist that they are, in fact, women. Theories range from hormonal imbalances due to women taking the Pill before pregnancy, to missing fathers, to leftist social and cultural indoctrination. Watching the escalating madness from the American left, though, it is starting to look as if men want to be women because women on the left have all the power (a theory I advance with no small degree of sarcasm).

In a must-read post, Monica Showalter described the way in which white leftists are taking over the Black Lives Matter movement:

According to a new study from Pew Research, blacks are far from the top racial minority group involved in these protests. [snip] Wow. Only one in six protestors is actually black, and based on the photos seen of anti-racism protests, it's a lot less than that, except of course, if they've put blacks at the back of the line or something. But in reality, it sounds like [BET Founder Robert] Johnson is right in that Blacks would rather not get involved. This is whitey's show. [snip] If you were black, wouldn't you be grossed out by this obeisance? It just goes to show that white liberal culture has a sort of racism all its own even as it begs for absolution from Black people. The natural response from Black people, or anyone in a comparable situation would indeed be contempt and laughter, how could it not be? What this shows is that the white liberal virtue-signalers are the mirror image of their Democratic Party racist forebears, the people who held slaves, introduced Jim Crow, counted bloodlines, resisted the Civil Rights measures of the 1960s, and now abase themselves for absolution, tearing down statues and skipping idea of jobs, intact families, and security that provably benefit Black people, same as whites.

Ace of Spades has gathered the evidence showing that, while whites are running the show for blacks, women are running the show for those officious, racist whites. The starting point for this contention is the way in which black members of a listserv succeeded in getting fired a statistician who mapped data showing that race riots damage Democrat candidates in presidential election years:

Well, black members of the listservs, as well as nonblack Black Lives Matter zealots, would not hear of such a thing -- they wanted to hear that their riots were holy and perfect in all ways, including in electoral impact, and even on a listserv specifically centered on statistical analysis, they did not want statistics intruding in their safespace. So, they got the guy... fired. Fired for posting a statistical analysis of the effects of race riots on presidential elections that the pro-race-riots crusaders didn't like.

Ironically, the same listserv was once an open-minded outlet in which people could speak freely and explore ideas. That all changed once a group of hardcore feminists took over. Rod Dreher was able to speak to one man, the pseudonymous Walter, who talked about what the feminists did:

After Hillary Clintons loss in 2016, said Walter, some of the women on the Progressphiles list became very assertive and authoritarian. To disagree with them as a male was to set yourself up for an accusation of sexism. These people started complaining that they were being undermined by the patriarchy, and demanded that the lists leadership be given to women exclusively, without term  meaning that they would be able to govern the list like they wanted, without end, alleged Walter. Under their tenure, this list has become more terrifying to be on, he continued. There are sublists now formed where people get together and plan what they are going to say on this list, who theyre going to attack. There are Facebook groups where people do this. There are people on the list saying things like cis white males should not apply for this job.

Ace included in his post a couple of videos showing shrill, angry white women taking the lead in attacking police and others who are insufficiently woke for their purposes. Here are a few more examples of the way white feminists are sucking up all the oxygen:

White woman lectures black police officers about how racist they are

pic.twitter.com/OQp1RgasMs  Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 23, 2020

A woman shouts at Park Police outside the White House pic.twitter.com/3I9EURwhYc  Emily Jashinsky (@emilyjashinsky) June 23, 2020

WATCH: White woman berating cops suggests a black man born w/ privilege and power is white.



Then says a white cop w/ a black wife is still racist.



Then whitesplains racism to a black cop.



Then a black cop schools her w/ the Bible.



White leftism is demented. pic.twitter.com/Iv4DkqLEid  Alex Marlow (@AlexMarlow) June 25, 2020

These are young women, and its easy to imagine that they got this heady sense of their own power at Americas colleges and universities during the years when Obamas Dear Colleague letter governed academias response to womens claims of sexual assault or harassment. Men had no due process rights. Instead, they faced kangaroo courts that allowed young women to destroy mens lives on their say-so and, often, despite strong evidence supporting the men. With leftists outside of academic shifting power to women, perhaps some men decided that their best bet lay in becoming one of those powerful women.
By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 32 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The Armenian armed forces were using large-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday carried out searches at multiple premises linked to Ratul Puri, his company Moser Baer Solar Ltd (MBSL), and his mother Nita Puri -- sister of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath -- in connection with a fresh FIR registered against him on Thursday for allegedly cheating a consortium of banks led by Punjab National Bank (PNB) of Rs 787 crore, officials familiar with the matter said.

The agency teams, wearing PPE (personal protection equipment), raided several buildings in Delhi and Noida.

In the view of Covid-19, all precautions regarding health and safety are being taken while conducting the searches including provision of PPE kits to all the search teams, CBI spokesperson RK Gaur said.

In the latest FIR, the agency has named Ratul Puri, his father Deepak Puri, mother Nita Puri, the firm MBSL, and six other directors  Bernhard Herrman Gallus, Sunita Mowdgal, Sanjay Jain, Rajesh Khandelwal, Deepak Khandelwal and Sunita Gupta -- as accused.

Apart from PNB, Ratul Puri is accused if cheating six other banks -- State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Exim Bank, Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank and Central Bank of India. He is also a key accused money laundering probe linked to the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper purchase scam.

Ratul Puri was arrested in August last year and eventually released on bail in December.

According to the latest FIR registered by CBI, as part of Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR), MBSL got a total Rs 955 crore from PNB for solar power project based on Amorphous Silicon thin film. A forensic audit carried out by the banks alleged that instead of repaying the of banks dues, MBSL invested a sum of Rs 695 crore in Helios Photovoltac Ltd, a related company of MBSL, which had been booking losses since 2011-12.

MBSL also made an interest-free security deposit of Rs 135 crore to Moser Baer India Ltd (MBIL), said the FIR, said.

Subsequently, the FIR alleged, MBSL fraudulently disposed of the primary security of the lenders -- consisting of stock of finished goods, semi-finished goods and raw materials -- to prevent he distribution among the banks.

The banks have calculated the total fraud at Rs 787 crore, which mostly took place in 2013-14.

Puris lawyer Vijay Aggarwal declined comment.

Former MP chief minister Kamal Nath last year accused the BJP of orchestrating raids by central agencies and claimed that the investigation against Ratul Puri was political vendetta.

In August 2019, CBI registered a bank fraud case against Ratul Puri and Nita Puri 2019 for allegedly cheating Central Bank of India of Rs 354 crore.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also accused Ratul Puri of involvement in bank frauds amounting to Rs 7,900 crore. In a charge sheet filed last October, ED alleged that Ratul Puri misused funds loaned from the bank to maintain a lavish lifestyle.

The probe agencies have claimed that they had found printouts of emails that allegedly link Puri to corporate entities created to park money received as kickbacks in the AgustaWestland deal.

The AgustaWestland case centres on allegations that bribes were paid to middlemen, perhaps even politicians, when India agreed to buy 12 AgustaWestland helicopters built by Italian defence manufacturing giant Finmeccanica (now known as the Leonardo group) at an estimated cost of Rs 3,727 crore in 2010.

The deal was scrapped in 2014 over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of payment of kickbacks.
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This June has entered without the typical parades, rainbow flags, and jubilee. As the coronavirus lingers and the optimistic case for controlling the spread of COVID-19 casts a long, somber shadow over sections of the country, Pride seems like an afterthought. As a gay emergency physician, and someone who never found particular importance in the Pride events Ive attended in the past, I wanted to share why Pride matters more than ever this year. Whether we know it or not, we all care, treat, and work with the members of the queer community, and it is our responsibility to listen to them and their lived experiences.

What most dont realize is that Pride isnt a parade. It is a mantra of the LGBTQ community  a calling and a choice to be loudly proud of ourselves, regardless of what the outside world might think. In years past, many outside observers may have seen or participated in a Pride parade or attended a demonstration, but this year is different. People are actually listening to the LGBTQ community and paying attention to our intersections with the black, brown, disabled, and countless other communities that come together to form the full spectrum of the rainbow.

Listening is central to being a physician or any health care worker. From medical scribes to surgeons, we all have to listen to our patients. We listen to their heartbeats, their breathing, the words they speak, and the things they may not say. Building trust with our patients and starting a dialogue about their health and well-being is my job as a physician, and the more I know about my patients background, their health history, and their community, the better I can serve them.

To me, Pride has often been more about listening than about being heard. Growing up and going to college in a small town in North Carolina, it wasnt until I started medical school in the early 2000s that I was able to see myself as a gay man. Since then, the give and take of being in a community with others have kept me informed and helped me in my profession and in life.

Prior to medical school, I didnt really know what it meant to be gay, outside of what I saw in movies, heard in the church, or discussed with friends and family. Without any positive examples or gay role models, I buried my feelings under activities. Four years, two college majors, two minors, and a couple of shifts a week as an emergency department technician, I was learning a lot about the human body and how emergency departments worked, but still had a lot to learn about myself and the future patients I would care for.

It took losing my eyesight to build the community I would need to support me throughout my life and career. During my first year of medical school, I had a virus outbreak in both eyes that caused me to suffer complete vision loss in a matter of weeks. I was devastated at the thought of giving up my dream of becoming a physician. My medical school classmates offered to tutor me and read me their notes so I wouldnt fall too far behind while I was receiving treatment to recover my vision. It just so happened that they were LGBTQ.

Two years later, I started a group on campus for queer people and allies to learn from and support each other. We called it Friends and Family and met a few times a month to share our concerns and struggles in medical school. Gay-Straight Alliances are not as prominent today as they were in the early 2000s, but the gay and straight people who supported me through the arduous years  medical school, coming out, being temporarily estranged from my family and residency  are the key to my success. Today, many young queer, trans, and nonbinary folks, refer to this as their chosen family.

As I left medical school to complete my residency, I built my own chosen family of gay and straight allies. The support and mentorship I received from other successful gay physicians helped me complete my residency and secure my first job as an attending emergency department physician. As I rose through the ranks, I carried these lessons with me, bringing together staff and colleagues from different backgrounds and communities, and teaching my team how to listen to our patients and discuss sensitive subjects.

As a health care worker, you interact with the lesbian, gay, trans, and queer community, whether you know it or not, and you have an active role to play in listening and creating a comfortable environment where they can disclose their medical history without judgment or reprisal. Unfortunately, doctor offices can be cold, unwelcoming places for many queer people who fear being judged, misgendered, and deadnamed while seeking medical care.

My hope this Pride for myself and my colleagues is that we all begin to see each other as our chosen family and push ourselves to listen and learn more about each others experiences. As a white, able-bodied gay man, I still have a lot to learn about the experiences of other members of the queer community. As health care professionals, it is our responsibility to acknowledge and understand our many differences  our patients are depending on us.

Adam Brown is an emergency physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Conte calls for patience after school reopening guidelines rejected.

Italian premier Giuseppe Conte has appealed for "a little more time" after regional governments and Italy's association of principals rejected proposed guidelines for the reopening of the country's schools in September following the covid-19 lockdown.

Italy's education minister Lucia Azzolina has requested an additional 1 billion in funding after her ministry's guidelines were branded "unacceptable" by the conference of regional governments, led by Stefano Bonaccini, president of the Emilia-Romagna region, who presented a "counter-proposal" to the ministry on 25 June.

The national association of principals claims the guidelines fail to outline specific resources in relation to the required increase in space and recruitment of new teachers, reports Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Teachers also expressed concerns about the so-called "mixed teaching" proposal, which would see half the students taught in school and the other half taught remotely, and highlighted the absence of specific indications for kindergarten children aged from 0 to three years.

The principals also say the guidelines fail to provide clear instructions on how to ensure students' desks are at least one metre apart, as well as complaining that funding had yet to be allocated for the required changes, reports Italian news agency ANSA.

"The school is a pillar of our social system," Conte told reporters on 25 June - "They are our children, our future, so it's normal for there to be lots of attention, lots of concern."

Appealing for patience, the prime minister promised that the government is "working every day to make it possible to return to school in September in safety."

Some of the key points contained in the ministry's guidelines include schools staggering attendance for classes and canteens, opening on Saturdays, splitting classes into learning groups and recommending that children over the age of six wear facemasks, reports ANSA.

The rejection of the guidelines came the same day that parents, students and teachers took to the streets in more than 60 cities across Italy to protest the lack of clarity regarding the reopening of schools.
The Board of Directors of Dundalk Credit Union Limited and Cuchullain Credit Union Limited, having fully assessed independent reports and findings derived from an extensive due diligence process, have voted unanimously to proceed with the transfer of engagements of Cuchullain Credit Union Limited to Dundalk Credit Union Limited by board resolutions.

A Transfer of Engagements is the voluntary process whereby all assets, liabilities and undertakings of one or more credit unions are transferred to another credit union.

The Central Bank of Ireland provided approval for the transfer of engagements to proceed in this manner. The combined entity will be one of the largest community credit unions in the country.

A statement released jointly today by Dundalk Credit Union Limited and Cuchullain Credit Union Limited, read: While the intention of the boards was to hold special general meetings (SGMs) at which the proposed transfer of engagements would have been put forward for approval by members of each credit union, prioritizing the health and safety of members prevented these public meetings from going ahead. Holding SGMs is not possible in this instance due to Covid 19 public health risks and associated public health policy. As a result of this, the transfer of engagements is now being executed by board resolutions, as allowed for in credit union legislation and following receipt of Central Bank approval to proceed in this fashion.

Paddy Donnelly, Chairman of Dundalk Credit Union Limited commented: This is an exciting time for the members, staff and boards of both credit unions. This project is about the people of Dundalk and its environs and is about supporting the social and economic well-being of Dundalk and the North East, with something different  a 21st century value driven credit union to meet the financial needs of a 21st century member.The people of Dundalk came together in the 1960s to build two credit unions to help improve and shape the lives of local people and our community. Going forward that same commitment and determination will only deepen as we become stronger together. Together we serve Dundalk and the North East better and together we create a brighter future.

Michael Rafferty, Chairman of Cuchullain Credit Union Limited added: In combining our Credit Unions, we will create a stronger platform that means we can broaden the range of services we offer to all members, including better on-line facilities, enhanced savings services, and longer office opening hours. In coming together, we will also have the capacity to broaden our lending services to offer larger loans and mortgages and to provide loans to local businesses that directly support local jobs and the local community. We are mindful of ensuring ongoing uninterrupted provision of services for our members, and the delivery of financial support to the wider community. Our number one priority, at all times, is to serve the best interests of all of our members and the community, and we can fulfill this mission better as part of a combined entity

The combined credit union will have over 45,000 members, assets approaching 300m, reserves of 50m, and will have over 200m available for lending. There are exciting plans to broaden the range of personal, mortgage and business lending offerings to support all members and the local community. It will also enable significant new investment to be made in new products, digital platforms and ICT to meet current and future member needs.

Members of both credit unions will receive the Section 130 information booklet in the coming days. This detailed booklet will provide comprehensive information on the transfer of engagements.
The main version of the explosion in a multi-storey building in Kyiv's Darnytsky district is connected with possible violations by the Kyivgaz employees using gas metering technology. No suspicions have been presented to anyone, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko has said.

During the Right to Power program aired on 1+1 TV on Friday night, Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko said police authorities are investigating criminal proceedings in connection with an explosion in the building.

"During the investigation, the main version is the explosion of domestic gas. Other versions are also being checked. A number of complex examinations have been scheduled. Based on the findings of the experts, there will be a final answer to this question," he said.

Symonenko said documents have been seized "regarding the provision of gas and compliance with all safety standards."

In turn, the Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko said: "No suspicion notices have been presented to any person, but the main version, according to which the prosecutor's office works together with the police, is to verify the compliance of the meter reconciliation technology with Kyivgaz employees.

Gerashchenko said, "A week before this terrible explosion, which led to five victims ... work was done with the meters. They were replaced by special pipes, bypasses, and there really were messages from residents and witnesses that there was a smell of gas."

Gerashchenko continued: "Therefore, the main version is the verification of precisely these actions. And if there is sufficient reason to believe that these are unlawful, unprofessional actions by company employees (Kyivgaz), then there may be lawsuits in court for compensation."
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services building is seen outside outside of Denver, Colo. on July 14, 2019. (Chet Strange/AFP via Getty Images)

13,400 USCIS Federal Employees Face Potential Furloughs

More than 13,000 employees at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be receiving furlough notices within the next week, unless it receives emergency funding from Congress, a spokesperson has confirmed.

On or before July 2, approximately 13,400 USCIS employees will receive notice that if USCIS must proceed with an administrative furlough, they would be furloughed beginning August 3, the spokesperson said in a statement.

Though we continue to have productive conversations with Congress, we want employees who may be furloughed to have sufficient time to prepare. Further, we are legally required to provide employees with advance written notice at least 30 calendar days prior to the effective date of an expected furlough.

Unlike most other federal agencies, USCIS, which has nearly 20,000 federal employees overall, is largely funded by application fees and not taxpayer funds.

However, the agency, which is in charge of processing immigration applications, said it had been hard hit the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen various travel restrictions put in place and the number of immigrants coming into the United States drastically decline. It noted that the effects of the pandemic are, long reaching and pervasive, leaving few unscathed in its wake.

The agency said that it began dealing with an alarming 50 percent drop in applications and incoming fees at the end of March, and estimates that application and petition receipts will stay well below plan through the end of Fiscal Year 2020.

This dramatic drop in revenue has made it impossible for our agency to operate at full capacity, the spokesperson said. Without additional funding from Congress before August 3, USCIS has no choice but to administratively furlough a substantial portion of our workforce.

In May, USCIS first notified Congress of a projected budget shortfall and asked for $1.2 billion in emergency funding that would stretch into the beginning of the next fiscal year and allow it to continue operating.

USCIS said the funding proposal would protect American taxpayers by requiring the agency to pay the money back to the U.S. Treasury. USCIS would repay these funds by adding a 10 percent surcharge to applications. The agency has already taken action to avert a fiscal crisis, including limiting spending to salary and mission-critical activities.

On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order limiting immigration to the United States for the rest of this year, noting that the overall unemployment rate in the United States nearly quadrupled between February and May of 2020producing some of the most extreme unemployment ever recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The order bans issuing on several categories of temporary visa holders, including the H-1B visas, which permit employers to hire foreign workers with specialised knowledge. The ban also includes H-2B visas for seasonal non-agricultural workers, L visas for managers and executives in multinational companies, and J visas for students and workers in exchange programs.

It also extends a previous April ban on some green card applicants, all of which the administration said would help open up more jobs for unemployed Americans.
Trump has recently taken aim at those seeking to topple monuments, particularly after demonstrators tried to bring down a bronze statue of President Andrew Jackson in a park next to the White House on Monday. The attempt was thwarted by police, but the next morning, Trump vowed severe punishment for those seeking to vandalize monuments, tweeting that he had authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the U.S. with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veterans Memorial Preservation Act, or such other laws that may be pertinent.....
The solutions to todays problems of policing are complex. Since law enforcement officers are part of our community, they, as well as our entire community, have a role to play in the needed reforms. 

The Second Amendment states a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. How has this been interpreted and eroded in our state? What does it say about individual citizens practice of open carry? The answer is nothing, which leaves both law enforcement and other community members at increased risk to violence. The N.M. Constitution is also complicit in this problem. Will our state Legislature craft and pass a resolution allowing citizens to vote on this issue? 

A statewide problem exists on tracking bias in citations/arrests. State Police, sheriffs and police need to have a place on all citations for the cited to state self-identified race, self-identified gender. No data can be compiled about bias when we dont have adequate data. 

It is amazing to see the push-back by local citizens to have cameras at intersections. This is a way to cut down vehicular and pedestrian accidents and lighten the unnecessary workload of law enforcement when accidents occur. It is also a double standard as we clamor for law enforcement to wear cameras but refuse to monitor our own behaviors.

Bias and implicit bias are communitywide problems. The latter is defined as attitudes and stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions and decisions unconsciously. The city already has an Office of Equity and Inclusion. Its activities could be expanded so all elected officials and interested citizens could take part in trainings.

Police receive many unnecessary calls for service, i.e., nuisance property calls, down-and-out and mental illness crisis calls. The latter two are being addressed by the mayors suggestion of a community social services department. However, the only way this will be effective beyond what already exists in APD is to have it adequately staffed 24/7. The City Council could address the nuisance calls by promoting certain zoning changes, such as freezing new commercial building permits until most of the existing retail space is occupied and by properly funding demolition of distressed properties which become hangouts for nefarious activities.

I spent a three-year term on the Police Oversight Board and grew to respect so many officers, especially during all the required ride-alongs. However, I think many would agree there are reforms of policies needed beyond the Department of Justice required Court Approved Settlement Agreement.

 APD promotions do not require any community input or knowledge of principles of community policing.  The Use of Force policy rightfully gets a lot of attention but what about other policies that impact our community? For example, Crimes Against Children, and the Domestic Violence Policy, which is far from national best practices. The community now has an opportunity to weigh in on these when they are up for consideration. 

Unions are critical in America to protect workers rights. APDs union has very effective leadership and takes its responsibilities seriously. The only problem is there is not always equal footing between APD needs and other citizens needs. For example, at the time of an officer-involved use of force, the union lawyer is called to be on scene. The victims lawyer instead has to go through lengthy processes to get similar information. An APD 72-hour turn-around policy for public information would be a starting point. 

Many APD officers are caught in a double standard between their training as members of the National Guard and the Reserves. De-escalation and bias trainings are not part of the latter and yet critical to their role as a civilian law enforcement officer. This gap could be bridged by APD having re-entry training after summer camps or deployments. .

There is a lot to do but we as a state and local community can do it if the will to reform is present in all of us.
Martin Schulz, a former journalist and commentator with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Czech Service, has passed away. He was 66.

Over the last decade, Schulz worked as a commentator for Czech Radio Plus and contributed to the Decin Daily newspaper, writing articles about Czech politics and international affairs. He had also worked for Czech TV. He wrote with a strong moral sensibility, often using expressions like "truth and justice."

In the 1980s, Schulz, who had emigrated to Munich, worked for RFE. He returned to the Czech Republic after the Velvet Revolution.

Schulz came from a long line of journalists beginning with his grandfather, and was the son of renowned RFE Czech Service commentator Milan Schulz. While pursuing broadcasting, he also reportedly dreamed of a career in film. He told an interviewer, "I thought [Munich] was just a temporary stop on my way to the United States. This was my goal and my dream, I wanted to be a film maker. I wanted to shoot films both brilliant and creative."

Schulz had a number of jobs during is life, including briefly as a mayor in the North Bohemian village of Doubice, as a driver's assistant, and a stagehand, and had never studied because of prohibitions under the Communist regime.

About journalism, he said, "I sometimes think that doing this job has a point, at other times I feel greatly depressed, as if I attributed to journalism a superior power. And I am not an investigative journalist. I simply have an opinion, I simply want to express my views about something."

Adapted from reports published by Czech Radio and Decinsky denik.
(Alliance News) - Ascent Resources PLC on Friday said its loss widened in 2019 after a "challenging" time at its Slovenian asset, but the natural resources firm is optimistic after entering the Cuban oil and gas market recently.

Ascent's pretax loss stretched to GBP3.7 million from GBP1.4 million. Revenue was almost wiped out to GBP298,000 from GBP1.9 million.

Ascent said: "2019 was a challenging year for the company and its attempts to develop the Petisovci gas field in Slovenia. Throughout the year the company experienced continued delays in permitting which have created significant headwinds for the company to develop the PetiAovci gas field commercially.

"Despite the challenges faced in 2019, the company remains firmly resolved to protect its Slovenian investment and extract value from its interests in the Petisovci field."

Ascent in April said it made its first acquisition in Cuba, specifically Energetical Ltd, a UK-based firm with exclusive rights to secure a production sharing contract on an onshore Cuban oil licence. Energetical has exclusive rights to the 9B block in Cuba, which contains the onshore Majaguillar and San Anton fields, which produces 190 gross barrels per day from three wells.

And in May, it struck a deal with Cuba's largest oil company to secure exclusive rights to three onshore licences.

Ascent reported that it signed a binding memorandum of understanding with Cuban National Oil & Gas Co, or CUPET.

Ascent added on Friday: "The Republic of Cuba is one of the few remaining world-class, yet largely unexploited hydrocarbon systems.

"Cuba has the advantage of offering an international investor access to good infrastructure and an educated workforce alongside significant under exploited hydrocarbon resource potential."

Ascent shares were 4.4% lower at 2.15 pence each in London on Friday afternoon.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
A not very accomplished burglar with 177 previous convictions has been jailed for 16 months for twice stealing whiskey from the same pub.

Edward Wall (46), who has 68 convictions for burglaries alone, was first caught on CCTV entering an area of the pub closed to the public and stealing six bottles of Jameson Whiskey valued at 360.

Staff uncovered the theft by happenstance while reviewing CCTV to see why a fire alarm had gone off.

Wall returned two days later and stole a further six bottles of whiskey. No items were recovered.

Wall, of Whitebrook Park, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two burglaries at The Well, St Stephens Green, Dublin 2 on January 8 and 10, 2020.

Garda Natasha Doherty told Derek Cooney BL, prosecuting, that Wall was arrested on January 11, 2020 the day after the second burglary and has been in custody since then.

Gda Doherty agreed with Dean Kelly BL, defending, that there had been no confrontation with staff and the theft was discovered by happenstance.

Mr Kelly said his client had a long-seated drug addiction and a great deal of his offending was linked to that.

Judge Martin Nolan noted Wall's record of conviction and said he was not a very accomplished burglar in that he seems to get caught a lot.

He said Wall undoubtedly has problems and steals to feed a drug habit. He said this was as inoffensive as a burglary could be but noted burglary was a serious offence.

Judge Nolan noted time in prison was more challenging at the moment with no family visits due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He imposed a 16-month sentence backdated to reflect time already spent in custody.
The United States is imposing visa restrictions on current and former Chinese officials responsible for eviscerating the freedoms of Hong Kong citizens, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday, signalling that the US would continue to tighten controls vis-a-vis the Chinese government officials. The move coincides with an intensified US rhetoric against China in the midst of Trumps re-election campaign, in which opinion polls have shown voters increasingly embittered toward Beijing, especially over the coronavirus that began from Chinas Wuhan.

I am announcing visa restrictions on current and former CCP (Communist Party of China) officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kongs high degree of autonomy, as guaranteed in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, or undermining human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, Pompeo said in a statement Friday.

Pompeo said family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions.

Also Read: China, the common link between Ladakh and 3 US super carriers in the Indo-Pacific

Fridays restrictions come just days after US President Donald Trump signed off on a legislation that cleared the path for imposing sanctions against senior Chinese officials for gross human rights violations of Uyghur minority groups in Chinas restive Muslim-majority Xinjiang region.

On Twitter, Pompeo counted the visa restrictions as one of the steps to punish CCP officials responsible for eviscerating Hong Kongs freedoms that had been promised by President Trump.

President @realDonaldTrump promised to punish the CCP officials responsible for eviscerating Hong Kongs freedoms. Today, we are taking action to do just that we've announced visa restrictions on CCP officials responsible for undermining Hong Kongs autonomy and human rights.  Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) June 26, 2020

President Trump had earlier promised sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials directly or indirectly involved in eroding Hong Kongs autonomy.Our actions will be strong. Our actions will be meaningful, Trump said in May.

Today, we are taking action to do just that weve announced visa restrictions on CCP officials responsible for undermining Hong Kongs autonomy and human rights, Pompeo tweeted on Friday.

News agency Bloomberg said Fridays move comes amid worsening ties between the worlds two biggest economies. Despite meetings that Pompeo held with his Chinese counterpart in Hawaii last week, relations remain soured over issues from Chinas handling of the coronavirus to its move to enact legislation restricting Hong Kong and its treatment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang province.

Just two days back, the Pentagon published a list of 20 Chinese companies said to be owned or controlled by Chinas military, potentially exposing them to further scrutiny or sanctions in the US.

Also Read: Chinese ambassador in United States secretly recruited scientists, says FBI

On Thursday, the Senate approved a bipartisan measure that penalises banks doing business with Chinese officials involved in the national security law the country is seeking to impose on Hong Kong.

The hard push comes in response to moves by China to impose a new national security legislation that would undermine Hong Kongs autonomy and put pressure on local officials to jail pro-democracy activists and bar them from contesting elections.

Last month, US President Trump initiated the process to eliminate special economic treatment that allowed Hong Kong to remain a global financial center.
TRENTON  Two city cops believed they were deliberately targeted by an unidentified gunman who opened fire early Thursday morning near the Donnelly Homes housing complex, according to police officials.

Theres an active investigation to determine what actually happened, said Michael Schiaretti, president of PBA Local 11, which represents the rank-and-file. Its my understanding the officers believed they were targeted. Were going to have to reserve comment until we have more information.

The shooting happened as anti-police sentiments sweep the county following the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who suffocated after a white cop knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

The Trenton officers, identified as Chaz Cason and Mike Giovannetti, were uninjured, according to Schiaretti, and did not return fire at the gunman.

In New Jerseys capital city, the apparent targeting of the officers coincided with embattled TPD Director Sheilah Coleys decision to disband the street crimes unit, a specialized group that has been the target of residents complaints over the years.

In an interview Thursday, Mayor Reed Gusciora pitched the units dissolution as part of Coleys effort to better allocate manpower toward combating violent crime as the capital city already matched the 16 homicides it had last year.

The elusive details surrounding the apparent targeting of the officers led Schiaretti to question whether standard protocols for shooting investigations were followed in this case.

I would have a question whether our response to the job was sufficient and if we followed what we should have followed, if the officers were indeed the target of a shooting, he said.

There was no indication from the initial reporting that the Mercer County Shooting Response Team was called out to the scene to investigate, as is standard whenever a shooting occurs in the region, Trenton Police Lt. Jason Kmiec said.

Fatal police shootings are investigated by state authorities under a law signed last year by Gov. Phil Murphy that took that responsibility out of the hands out county prosecutors. That wouldnt apply in this case because the officers didnt return fire or kill anyone.

It was unclear whether evidence of a shooting was discovered at the scene, Kmiec said, adding no bullet holes were found in a police cruiser.

The alleged gunman was presumed to have targeted the officers because nobody else was in the area that would have been a target, Kmiec said, but the investigation will determine whether thats the case.

Video footage obtained by The Trentonian shows the events leading up to Thursdays shooting.

The video appears to depict two men walking down the sidewalk near the housing complex at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Southard Street around 1:09 a.m.

One of them, seemingly clad in a dark top and light pants, appeared to pull something out of a pocket and raise his hands as if he was pointing a piece down the street, according to video obtained by The Trentonian.

The video did not depict muzzle flashes, but Schiaretti said that Cason and Giovannetti reported being in the area where the shots were fired and having several rounds whiz by them.

The alleged shooter was seen running across the street and out of sight, while a second man hopped into a getaway vehicle that sped off as at least one police vehicle, off-screen, appeared to race toward the suspects, lights flashing.

Cops caught up to one of the alleged suspects following a car chase that ended in Hamilton, where Malik Walker, 18, of Trenton, was apprehended, Kmiec said.

Because a gun wasnt recovered, Walker was charged only with receiving stolen property for being inside of a lifted car, along with eluding and obstructing the administration of law.

He was also issued traffic tickets for reckless driving and driving on a suspended license and registration, cops said. The alleged gunman remains unidentified and on the lam.

We feel the city of Trenton should have their backs, Gusciora told The Trentonian in an interview. We dont want a message going out there that police should be targeted indiscriminately.

Disbanding Street Crimes

The shooting happened after department officials learned of Coleys decision to disband the street crimes unit.

The 28 officers in the unit that once targeted the citys worst offenders is being shifted over to patrol. The city still operates the violent crimes rapid response unit.

Its not what you think. It actually puts more police on the streets, Gusciora said. This is a middle ground because theyll still have their mission, albeit not as a targeted unit. In the end, theyll be working side by side with patrol officers on a continuous rather than a targeted basis.

Coley will re-evaluate in the coming months whether to bring back the street crimes unit, which she pledged to equip with body cameras following complaints from residents and defense attorneys of the groups alleged heavy-handed tactics.

Officers in the unit were known on the streets as the Denzels, a nod to Alonzo Harris, the corrupt Los Angeles Police detective played by Denzel Washington in the movie Training Day.

Kmiec said the reassigned street crimes officers will continue wearing body cameras, as required by department policy.

The street crimes unit had been exempt from that mandate under former police director Ernest Parrey Jr. because of the investigations it undertook which sometimes included working with informants.

The state Attorney General guidelines, however, provide exceptions for when officers can turn off body cameras, making Coley feel secure pushing for the policy change.

The police directors decision to dismantle the street crimes unit is sure to rile up some of her opponents who are out in full force lately questioning her every move.

It all started after body-camera footage emerged of Coley telling officers to stand down as they prepared to respond to an arson call during the May 31 riot in downtown Trenton.

Tony Arias, the owner of Tony Liquor, and ex-TPD cop William Osterman filed complaints with county prosecutor Angelo Onofri suggesting Coley was derelict in her duties for issuing the stand-down order.

Looters caused $300,000 in damage at the liquor store, Arias said.

The criticism didnt stop there, as Coley pushed back against detractors like South Ward councilman George Muschal during a meeting last week.

The ex-city cop admitted calling Coley clueless in an executive session. The closed-door meeting grew so heated that Coley accused Muschal during the public portion of the council meeting of being racist and sexist, and threatened to sue the city for defamation.

Doing away with specialized units, Schiaretti said, hasnt been a successful tack for past police directors.

And he questions if it will work this time.

My history here is the two other times we disbanded specialized units or street crimes were both years that led to the previous record of homicides, he said.
One country largely untouched by anti-racism protests so far has been Brazil, a striking fact for a society so scarred by the history of slavery and economically divided along race lines.

Black men are murdered more than three times as often as white men in Brazil while in Rio de Janeiro, the country's second-biggest city, three-quarters of the people killed by police in 2019 were black or mixed-race, according to national and city data. But even in a nation where street protests are a regular Sunday afternoon affair, the echo of George Floyd's death in the U.S. has remained fairly contained. No statues have been pulled down, no national revolt.

One reason for this is that the coronavirus pandemic is forcing black Brazilians to focus on day-to-day survival. Not only are they more likely to die from the virus, which has already infected more than 1 million Brazilians, but they will also bear the brunt of the recession that it's sparking. While in other parts of the world that may fuel unrest, in Brazil it adds to the sense of hopelessness that has historically silenced the weakest members of its society.

"Among black and poor people, most of the organizing energy is focused on distributing basic needs and on surviving the pandemic and the economic crisis," said Thiago Amparo, a professor at Fundacao Getulio Vargas in Sao Paulo.

Other reasons discouraging protests, according to Amparo, include structural racism that perpetuates inequalities, little solidarity from middle and upper classes that resist joining such demonstrations, as well as a normalization of violence and lack of institutional support among civil society organizations.

Approximately 116 million Brazilians identify as black or mixed race, or 56% of the population. As the pandemic that started among the rich spreads across all levels of income and Brazil trails only the U.S. in number of deaths, black Brazilians represent just over half of the confirmed cases. But, because of pre-existing vulnerabilities and inequalities in public health access, they amount for 61% of the deaths, according to June 24 figures released by the health ministry.

As in other parts of the world, black people in Brazil trail their white counterparts on almost all indexes. On average, black and mixed-race people earn 57% of what white people do. While on Thursday President Jair Bolsonaro named his first black cabinet member, they are virtually excluded from positions of power in the economy and government, and more likely to live in situations that are disproportionately impacted by covid-19.

In the country's hundreds of favelas, or shantytowns, many people might share the same room, and thanks to open sewage and poorly equipped health clinics, sanitary conditions are far from adequate. Without much government assistance or savings, many can't afford to not work during the lockdowns, riding crowded buses for hours each day, frustrating local quarantine efforts.

As a result, the disease is proving much deadlier in those communities. The fatality rate in Rio de Janeiro's favelas is 22%, according to NGO Voz das Comunidades. That's more than five times the national average. Public hospitals, which have only a fourth the number of intensive care unit beds as private hospitals, were quickly overrun in some cities, leaving Brazilians of color who make up 67% of the patients without assistance.

The pandemic has also wreaked havoc on the economy: industrial production and retail sales posted record crashes, and the International Monetary Fund estimates gross domestic product will contract 9.1% this year.

The fallout is expected to hit black communities especially hard.

"Racism makes it harder for black people to get jobs and the income tends to be lower," said economics professor Glauber Silveira of the Brazilian Institute of Capital Markets. "In times of economic turmoil, these people are more vulnerable and tend to have a more significant loss of income and a higher unemployment rate than other groups."

On top of earning less than their white peers do, black and mixed-race Brazilians only count as one third of those in managerial positions. While black people are 51% of the business owners, they tend to work in less profitable sectors, like retail and services, says Andrea Franco, a researcher in racial relations at the Federal University of Paraiba.

"We already had a very precarious labor market, now it tends to only get worse," Franco said.

Inequality in Brazil's labor market is attributed to poorer basic education, a smaller network of business contacts, and other factors. But Amparo says the research shows that around a third of the inequalities have no explanation, "meaning it can be directly linked to structural racism."

The structural racism, Franco says, also shows up on violence numbers. Data from the NGO Brazil's Public Security Forum show that last year alone, of the 5,804 people killed by police, 75% were black or mixed.

"In the U.S. you see white people being more empathic to the violence suffered by black people than in Brazil," Franco said. "I just wish that black people's struggles in Brazil are not forgotten once the effects of the pandemic are over."
Three Kowsar fighter jets delivered to Iran Army Air Force

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, June 25, IRNA -- Three domestically-built Kowsar fighter jets were delivered on Thursday to Iran's Army Air Force.

Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami and a number of military and state officials were present in the ceremony.



Manufacturing Kowsar which is a short-range air support aircraft has put Iran among the few countries with the technology of designing and producing the 4th generation avionics and fire control systems.

The aircraft will be produced in both single- and two-seat versions.

The jet fighter has full capacity for combat missions and that training of the pilots is being carried out on the same models.

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BJP president J P Nadda said on Friday the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund donated money to the "family-run" Rajiv Gandhi Foundation when the Congress-led UPA was in power, claiming it was a "brazen fraud" and big betrayal of the people of India.

Nadda, who on Thursday targeted the Congress and the Gandhi family for allegedly accepting donation to the foundation from the Chinese embassy, also posted a photograph of documents to back his fresh charge.

But Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala accused BJP and Nadda of playing a "diabolical game of deception" to divert attention from the alleged Chinese occupation of Indian territory.

The BJP and the Congress are locked in a bitter war of words over the two issues.

"PMNRF, meant to help people in distress, was donating money to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in UPA years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Who chairs RGF? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency," Nadda said on Twitter.

Diverting the hard-earned money of the people of India to a family-run foundation is not only a "brazen fraud" but also a "big betrayal" of the people, he added.

"One family's hunger for wealth has cost the nation immensely. If only they have devoted their energies towards more constructive agenda. The Congress' Imperial Dynasty needs to apologise to the unchecked loot for self-gains!" the BJP chief said.

Later, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra demanded a response from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, saying she is "no queen" and should explain the charge. He also alleged that Gandhi has written the script of corruption in the country.

The Congress has become synonymous to corruption and conspiracy, he told reporters, and alleged that the Gandhi family floated "shell companies" like the RGF to become "rich".

Hitting back, Surjewala said, "The diabolical game of deception, diversion and disinformation is being played out by the BJP and J P Nadda to divert the attention of the country from the Chinese occupation of Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso and now Depsang up to the Y-junction, 18 kms inside the LAC."

"This is the greatest disservice that the BJP and PM Narendra Modi are doing to the country. Instead of fighting China and defending our country, they are fighting the Congress party and undermining India's territorial integrity," Surjewala alleged.

Patra said the PMNRF donated money to RGF thrice when the UPA was in power.

Gandhi as Congress president was on the board of the PMNRF and also headed the RGF, Patra said. The audit company for the PMNRF was headed by a former Congress MP and Union minister, he said.
Authorities cautious

Recently, at a meeting with power corporations, representatives from Vietnam Electricity (EVN) affirmed they must create conditions for maximum support to encourage investors in developing rooftop solar power systems (RSPSs). Specifically, in coming time, EVN will focus on removing difficulties and obstacles to promote the development of RSPSs, create favorable conditions for developing RSPSs, bring efficiency for investors in an appropriate and effective manner, and provide a suitable grid capability to release power.

At the same time, professional boards and power corporations must study grid capabilities to release power in areas and bring out technical guidelines and standards for investors to consider appropriate investment scales. EVN will also provide technical guidance and standards to assist investors in selecting suitable technologies. Until the beginning of June 2020, there were more than 31,100 RSPSs across the country, with a total installed capacity of about 640 MWp, electricity generation of more than 145 million kWh, and total cash amount paid to customers by EVN of VND 300 bn.

However, EVN is still cautious about RSPSs for its small scale and capacity to supply mainly households. With the current large-scale solar power projects, there are still many problems, of which an outstanding issue is the infrastructure system serving power transmission. In particular, the agreement on power purchase agreement between the project developer and EVN after many years has not yet been achieved. For instance, in some localities in the south central region, many solar power projects are still stuck and withdrawing from these would mean losing capital, and waiting for completion will take too long.

According to Mr. Nguyen The Thang, Head of the Electrical System Development Department of Vietnam Energy Institute, the above situation shows that there is a serious flaw in development of solar projects. While a solar power project takes only about six months to complete, to implement a transmission grid of 220kV or 500kV takes about three to five years. This has caused transmission infrastructure not keeping up with solar power projects.

In addition, the risks involved in the solar power projects as yet have no solutions. Mr. Thang believes that no country so far has the technology to handle solar panels after expiry date, which is 20 to 25 years. In a project contract, foreign companies sell batteries on the condition that after the expiry date the panels will be moved back to production place. However, during those 25 years there are many risks, such as battery companies going bankrupt, for instance. Hence, Mr. Thang feels that there is no one taking responsibility in such a contract.

Simplify project approval process

In the Vietnam Energy Plan (Version 2.0) by the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF), representatives of foreign business associations in Vietnam recommended that the Government should have a special mechanism to encourage energy experts in the private sector to participate in the development of the PDP VIII, with priority given to the development of renewable energy, gas, storage batteries and efficient use of energy. In addition, there must be implementation of laws and incentives to encourage private investors to develop large and small renewable energy projects, such as RSPSs, storage batteries, farm Solar PV, floating solar PV, offshore and onshore wind power, and biomass power.

The foreign investors also proposed simplifying the project approval process, because when legalities are cleared, a more comprehensive mechanism will attract many investors to participate in this field, sharing the burden of public investment with the State. According to foreign investors, they can overcome many problems when they decide to invest in this field, such as problems of investment capital, construction of power transmission systems, and technologies for developing renewable energy projects.

Speaking with Saigon Investment on this issue, Mr. Bjorn Salvid, Commercial Counselor at the Embassy of Sweden in Vietnam, said that Swedish investors are very interested in the field of renewable energy in Vietnam and are waiting to see a complete functional system. Mr. Bjorn Salvid feels that as Vietnam is now becoming more focused on renewable energy development, Swedish investors see this as an opportunity and companies in Sweden such as ABB, Ericson have the strength to invest in this field.

However, transmission lines have to be upgraded, especially connection between stations. Mr. Bjorn Salvid also believes that as private companies have recently been involved in the construction of power lines, this could open the way for the private sector later. He reiterated that Swedish businesses are very interested in this field but want to know Vietnamese government policies such as incentives for foreign businesses, involvement procedures for private enterprises, future of power purchase contracts, and tax incentives, if any.

However, Mr. Bjorn Salvid also feels that though Vietnam has been focusing a lot on developing solar power, other types of renewable energy such as wind power and electricity from waste treatment also need equal attention.

Translated by Hoa Nam



Son Thuy
Police chiefs have warned that a pressure cooker is building up which could erupt into an orgy of violence this summer as lockdown ends.

Forces have begun cancelling leave and bolstering public order units in anticipation of widespread drunken disorder on so-called Super Saturday when lockdown is officially lifted on July 4.

Privately, many police chiefs are furious at Boris Johnsons decision to lift restrictions on a Saturday because they fear it will lead to a carnival atmosphere as pubs reopen and people can finally reunite with friends and families.

They are concerned that the violence in Brixton on Wednesday night could be just the beginning of a summer of disorder

Police had to break up a fight in Brighton yesterday as tensions on the hottest day of the year boiled over

Sunseekers on Bournemouth beach drank into the night yesterday and police fear violence could erupt once more venues open up on July 4

Police clash with crowds gathered at Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow yesterday as a heatwave hits Scotland during the pandemic

Green MP Caroline Lucas joined the Police Federation in raising the alarm over the decision to ease lockdown restrictions on July 4, saying she thought police had been put in an 'impossible position' (pictured, on the Barbican in Plymouth yesterday)

Police chiefs have warned that there are 'not enough' officers to cope with potential carnage on July 4 as thousands of stir-crazy Britons are expected to rush to pubs on 'Super Saturday' (pictured, in Bournemouth yesterday)

People enjoy drinks at Borough Market in London yesterday as the UK experiences yet another day of heat and sunshine

Britons queue for drinks outside the Globe pub in Borough Market, London as temperatures soared yesterday

They are concerned that the violence in Brixton on Wednesday night could be just the beginning of a summer of disorder due to a perfect storm of pent-up anger over the lockdown, soaring unemployment and Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in America.

John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: I am concerned that we have a pressure cooker building up, a perfect storm. This could just be the beginning.

Its everything  people getting more and more frustrated at the lockdown, many young people do not think the pandemic is an issue for them.

John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: I am concerned that we have a pressure cooker building up, a perfect storm. This could just be the beginning

Home Secretary Priti Patel (left) has demanded to see Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick (right) 'first thing tomorrow morning for full explanation' after 'mini riot' in Brixton

Now many companies are going to start laying people off, which financially is going to be a real challenge for people.

Add to that what has happened overseas with George Floyd and we have seen protests spreading across the country.

Mr Apter said police had requested a midweek date for the reopening  but their pleas were rejected by Downing Street.

In an ideal world I would have liked to see the reopening in the middle of a week, to stagger things a bit, he said. I wish we could have had a little bit of support on that.

Crowds gather on the beach in Bournemouth in Dorset yesterday on another scorching day for much of Britain

Temporary changes to licensing laws will allow many more licensed premises, such as pubs and restaurants, to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises. Pictured, people sit outside a pub that sells takeaway drinks in London

Boris Johnson has announced the reopening of pubs on July 4, dubbed 'Super Saturday' (pictured, at Wandsworth Common)

Bars have opened in Kings Cross offering outdoor seating. The tables are arranged to comply with the Government's rules

A waitress in PPE at a Greene King pub in Fort St George in Cambridge, as England adjusts to the new normal

Priti Patel has described the scenes last night as 'utterly vile' and said she will be picking it up with the Met Commissioner

The ground in Brixton was littered with drinks bottles and small containers which have what is known as 'hippy crack' inside

Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: If the weather is as it is now when they reopen then we could be in for a real apocalyptic day.

He added: There is no place in society for disorder and wanting to cause violence and pain and grief towards public and police alike.

Social psychologist Professor Clifford Stott, a member of No 10s Sage panel, has already warned: I think in the worst case scenario its not inconceivable that we could have disorder on a scale equivalent to August 2011.
In the 1980s and 90s, gay men and their allies were going to so many funerals, that most of us lost count. If we were not taking care of someone at home or visiting someone in the hospital, there was another funeral to attend.

Those of us who were left still standing experienced a kind of collective grief through the shared experience of multiple losses over a long period of time; its been classified as AIDS Survivor Syndrome  its a real thing. You could see it in our eyes  the pain, the tears  unimaginable loss not seen outside of war.

My belief is that we are unfortunately going to experience this with the COVID-19 pandemic as well. It may not unfold over as long a timeline, but nonetheless the losses are swift and horrific.

During the AIDS crisis, most of us were able to hold our loved ones hands and be with them in the end. Many of us were there when the ventilator was disconnected. We told our loved ones, It is okay to let go, we will be fine.

With the current pandemic, people cant even do that. I find that heartbreaking.

Katy Caldwell

Im going through deja vu.

Back in the 80s, I lost my best friend and countless other friends to the then-relatively unknown virus that caused AIDS.

I was totally devastated. But it was a turning point for me. Many who were infected were left without an income, without a way to pay their rent, utilities or medical bills. They were refused medical insurance or turned away from family because of their status. So I volunteered at the Montrose Clinic to provide pre- and post-HIV test counseling; and with the Colt 45s of Houston, which raised money to pay AIDS patients rent and utilities. Before the era of GoFundMe, Colt 45s had collection boxes in bars and restaurants.

Along with others who witnessed the early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis, I am seeing once again vulnerable populations try to live their lives and survive while simultaneously and often unknowingly putting themselves and others at risk. Many cant risk taking the time to get tested, missing work if they test positive, or get proper treatment if they show symptoms. Its an all-too-familiar Catch-22 for many of us.

Its interesting how my worlds have converged and how history repeats itself. I became involved with the Montrose Clinic to help those with HIV, and decades later Im leading the same organization  now called Legacy Community Health  in spearheading the effort to help our community fight another virus we dont know much about.

Dr. Natalie Vanek

I was in high school when the AIDS crisis began. At such a pivotal point in my development, I was witnessing a new, strange sickness  this gay cancer  in first-person. No one knew what it was or even a name for it. I knew then that I wanted to study infectious disease and beat this new illness.

With HIV, there was a long time when we didnt know what it was or how it spread. That created its own panic as so many people  mostly young men in their prime  were dying of an unknown illness. Unfortunately, as a respiratory virus, COVID-19 is much more easily spread than HIV.

Surprisingly, both pandemics are being treated the same by the people unaffected by them. Its just the gay community, they said about HIV and AIDS; It isnt real, or Its just a bad cold, we hear about the current COVID-19 pandemic.

It took groups like ACT UP to kickstart funding for AIDS research and to accelerate clinical trials of new drugs. Our first drug for HIV was AZT. It was prescribed at too high a dose and usually was prescribed late in someones infection, beyond when it would have been appropriate to begin treating them.

Then in 1996, protease inhibitors revolutionized HIV treatment. We lost so many wonderful people before they hit the market, though. Generations of people  artists, scholars, friends, and entire families. HIV largely affected a younger crowd, and it othered those people who were most affected. I feel as though COVID-19 is compressing that grief into a much shorter timeline. We are still waiting for the protease inhibitor game-changer of this pandemic.

Still, as an infectious disease expert, my hopes are high. What we learned in the medical field during the AIDS crisis will serve us well during this current pandemic  if only we protect our communities by listening to the professionals and caring for our fellow man.

Steven Vargas

My mother passed from complications of HIV in 1995, the year before the landmark protease inhibitors were introduced to the public as a tidal shift in HIV treatment. Losing my mother to HIV and living with HIV myself has made me more vigilant about not only my health, but that of my community.

When long-term HIV survivors first saw news reports about the afflicted dying alone without their loved ones at their side, it brought back traumatic memories. In the 80s and 90s, and in many places well into the current century, two men who loved each other and had been together for years would not be allowed to be at each others sides if the family of the patient forbade it  in many cases, the hospital staff themselves didnt allow it.

Some hospital staff did not want to be in the same room as someone dying of AIDS, and sometimes refused to provide care. Those who stood by their Hippocratic Oath and treated the ill were not celebrated by the public. However, Dr. Anthony Fauci was a public figure in infectious disease then, as he is now. He has been a ray of hope for me personally, and many other people living with HIV.

I will say that Im thankful we have such incredible medical treatment for HIV despite not having a cure. We can end this HIV epidemic with what we currently have in our toolkit, cure or not.

If my mother were alive today, I think she would be livid that we dont have universal health care. I can almost hear her screaming, Whats it going to take? How many pandemics and deaths is it going to take before you put in place universal access to health care? Quitate de aqui!
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The Realme X3 SuperZoom( 28500 at amazon) comes loaded with a bunch of features that puts it right in the league of some premium flagship smartphones. A periscope telephoto lens, 120Hz refresh rate, and ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY! Well, maybe except the Snapdragon 855+, but that too seems like a very practical thing to do. Add to that, an IPS LCD display, which many on social media pointed out isnt carved out for the high-end segment anymore.

The phone also launched amidst a loud, rancorous campaign to boycott Chinese products, and even with all efforts from the Realme India team to plaster themselves as an Indian brand, social media has not been very forgiving.

Now, its still among the early days of this device landing up in our labs, and due to the movement restrictions in place, we havent been able to test the camera out to its full extent. But even for the limited time I have been using the device, the Realme X3 SuperZoom comes across as a pragmatic, practical and more importantly, an affordable flagship smartphone.

Is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ still pliable in 2020?

Lets address the elephant in the room first. The Snapdragon 855+ has started featuring again in 2020. Not the first time we saw this. Early this year, Samsung also took us by surprise by launching the Galaxy S10 Lite with last years flagship chipset. So what gives?

The Snapdragon 865 needs to be paired with a discrete 5G modem, which needs the extra space in an already cramped interior. So it could have come down to a choice between putting a periscope camera setup, or a 5G modem inside the Realme X3 SuperZoom. And between these two, there are no points for guessing which is more useful, at present.

Even if thats not the case, the price differential between high-end phones of 2019 and 2020 is staggering. Right now, the only Snapdragon 865 smartphone under Rs 40,000 is the iQOO 3, that too the 4G variant which was possible by not opting for the 5G antennae and other components that add to the BOM costs. Which is probably the biggest reason for OEMs to still choose the Snapdragon 855+.

How much do you lose out by having an old chipset?

Its still less than a year that the Snapdragon 855+ was announced. Thats how fast smartphone hardware evolves these days. But that evolution is not matched by anything on the Google Play Store which would make a difference in performance. Benchmarks too dont project a massive leap. There's about a 15 percent improvement in benchmark scores on an average. Take a look at a quick benchmark comparison between the Realme X50 Pro (Snapdragon 865 with 5G support), the Realme X2 Pro (Snapdragon 855+) and the Realme X3 SuperZoom (Snapdragon 855+). We tested the 12GB RAM variants of all three of these units.

While you do see some improvement in the scores, its unlikely youll feel that big of a difference in actually using the smartphone, in terms of how fast apps open, or how smooth games run. We played a few rounds of Call of Duty: Mobile and PUBG Mobile on the three phones and sure enough, the Realme X3 SuperZoom performed well enough with 60 FPS on COD Mobile and 59 FPS on PUBG Mobile. Having said that, the Realme X50 Pro still offers the best performance among the three.

Even the UI is the same across all the three smartphones, and theres nothing on the Realme X50 Pro software that you dont get on the Realme X3 SuperZoom, ads and spam notifications included.

You do miss out on the HDR10+ certification, and Dolby Atmos stereo speakers with dual amps which actually make a big difference when youre playing a game or watching a movie. But is it really that big a compromise?

Cameras: No compromise, on paper

Then again, the Realme X50 Pro sort of makes up for the shortcomings by focusing on the camera, and hoping that the 120Hz refresh rate will mask what lacks in the display experience. Its a strategy Poco used for its comeback with the Poco X2, but with a lot more at stake. Heres how the cameras on the Realme X3 SuperZoom differ with the likes of the Realme X50 Pro and the Realme X2 Pro.

All three Realme phones in this comparison use the same primary camera. The 64MP Samsung ISOCELL GW-1 sensor with the same 26mm lens and PDAF. Even the sensor on the ultrawide seems to be the same 8MP on all three, with the X50 Pro getting a wider 13mm lens and PDAF, where the other two have 16mm lenses with no autofocus.

But its the telephoto lens on the Realme X3 SuperZoom which steals the show and is probably the sole reason to get this smartphone. Because no other smartphone in this price range gives you a periscope telephoto lens with 5X optical zoom. The next best thing is the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom, but there you will be going back yet another generation of the 8-series Snapdragon SoC.

One more thing that seals the Realme X3 SuperZooms fate as a camera-heavy flagship is its lowlight capabilities. Its right now the only smartphone in India to boast of a dedicated astrophotography mode. While Im yet to visit a point with no light pollution to test out the Starry Mode on the X3 SuperZoom, the tech seems a point-blank rip-off of Google on the Pixel 4 series. With Pixel 4 skipping India, Im not complaining.

The Starry Mode relies on four major parameters  ISO, shutter speed, focusing distance and white balance. The phone takes 10 long-exposure photos and uses multi-frame synthesis to bring out the stars and according to Realme, even the Milky Way. The algorithm basically brightens the stars, removes star-tracks by ghosting and adds noise reduction to smoothen the dark sky. Of course, it requires the phone to be placed on a flat surface or a tripod.

Its also the only smartphone to offer a pro mode in the Night Mode itself, letting you adjust the ISO, shutter speed, white balance and focus, which is great for enthusiasts, and something we will certainly test in the in-depth review. Meanwhile, here are a few photos we clicked with the Realme X3 SuperZoom confined in my housing society 

A compromised, but practical and affordable flagship

Looking primarily at the camera capabilities, and the performance under the hood, the Realme X3 SuperZoom seems quite impressive. The hardware choice in the smartphone may come across as a compromise, but it's actually quite practical because of the price tag it carries. It surely doesn't match up to the benchmark scores and gaming quality of Snapdragon 865-powered smartphones, but the difference is barely noticeable. The camera is where the company has focused most of its energy on, and at least on paper, it's loaded with some interesting tech under the hood. Value for money is what we'd call this smartphone after a few days of testing. Sadly, however, the Indian smartphone market, competitive as it is, is unforgiving to devices that cannot offer at least the latest chipset. The Snapdragon 855+ and an LCD display could be how the company kept the prices affordable, but those are exactly the features people are calling out the phone for. It remains to be seen whether Realme will be able to divert the attention from a compromised processor to the cutting edge camera setup and clinch a winner in this segment. Stay tuned for the full review!
(JNS) -The student senate at Florida State University voted on June 18 not to remove its new president, despite his past anti-Semitic posts.

The final tally was not disclosed.

Ahmad Daraldik was selected by the Florida State University Student Senate to replace its previous president, Jack Denton, who was accused of racism. Along those lines, Daraldik faced calls to step down after screenshots surfaced of past anti-Semitic posts.

"Being in a position of power presented Ahmad the opportunity to represent all students at FSU, including Jewish and Israeli students. He could have taken the opp...
A trio of TY students from Boherbue Comprehensive School are set to take on the task managing their own mini-herd of Irish Angus calves as part of a prestigious national agri-science competition.

The team of Amy Walsh, Rachel Breen and David Kenny are among five from across the country chosen as finalists in the 2020 Certified Irish Angus Schools competition.

Hundreds of teams from schools across the country vying to take part in the competition were tasked with putting together a detailed project on an aspect of the farming and food chain.

The Boherbue team's project, which explored the docility of the Irish Angus Breed, impressed the panel of agri-food industry professionals who selected them to participate in this year's competition.

To qualify for the final, the team also promoted the Irish Angus brand and breed to fellow students through events such as their 'Beef Masterchef' competition; and to the wider community by visiting national schools, farms and marts to spread their message.

They also launched a social-media campaign, #rebelangus, and halter trained a rare red Angus calf and compared it to a Hereford calf.

In September the five winning teams will take charge of five Irish Angus calves, which they will rear for 18 months before the animals are sent to slaughter.

In addition to taking care of their calves, the team will complete a research project linked to the senior-cycle Agricultural Science curriculum, which focusses on a particular aspect of farming and beef production.

As well as keeping the money they make from selling the calves to processors at the end of the project, each of the teams will also receive a grant of 2,000 toward the cost of their further education.

The general manager of the Irish Angus Producer Group, Charles Smith, this week visited Boherbue Comprehensive to present an award to the students for making it to the final of this year's competition.

School principal Vera Leader said Mr Smith was full of praise for the Boherbue team, who will take charge of their five calves when the new school term commences in September.

"Mr Smith said Amy, Rachel and David really impressed the judging panel with their knowledge of the agriculture sector, their enthusiasm and commitment to the whole concept," said Mrs Leader.

"We are really proud of their achievement and are really look forward to seeing how they progress through the next stages of the competition," she added.

The three members of the Boherbue team all come from agricultural backgrounds, something that inspired them to enter the competition in the first place

"We all have a love for farming and animals, and because we all come from a farming background, we all knew what we were talking about," said David. Amy said the trio have put a huge amount of work into the competition and thoroughly enjoyed promoting Angus to farms and consumers.

"I also gained a lot of confidence as we had to go up and speak to mart managers, interviewees and the general public. It means the world to get where we are today. We are really excited and can't wait to get back promoting Angus," she said.

Rachel said they learned a huge amount through visiting marts and local farms, giving them a greater understanding of the "vitally important" role farming plays in local communities.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed many things in peoples lives. One of the big changes is the working method. Instead of going to the office, many people are now working from home.

Thu Ngan talks with Ray Tan, head of Growth, WeWork Southeast Asia, about the new working lifestyle and what he thinks about the new changes.

Ray Tan, Head of Growth, WeWork Southeast Asia. -- Photo Courtesy of WeWork

How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed working styles globally and in Vietnam particularly? What is your assessment of the working environment in Vietnam, and how does it compare with other countries in the region?

COVID-19 has changed the workspace needs for many companies and started conversations about the nature of workspaces. It has also emphasised the importance of flexibility and the value of outside support in responding to the transformation of the modern workforce.

Proactive efforts from the Vietnamese Government were timely and effective in mitigating the pandemic situation, and that same forward-thinking mindset has led many of our existing enterprise members  and potential members  to invest in business continuity measures through our space-as-a-service platform.

In Vietnam, we continue to see sustained economic growth, a strong millennial work culture, and key Government initiatives to support the economys recovery. We are also seeing optimism that Vietnam will rebound strongly from the current economic situation.

Many international enterprises have entered Vietnam in recent years, which has created a need for companies to continue being nimble and agile to maintain their competitive edge, which often leads them to embrace flexible workspace solutions.

In order to meet the expectations of a savvy young generation, we are seeing Vietnamese companies turning their focus towards providing an inspiring work environment that nurtures talent while increasing productivity and cross-collaboration.

Its clear that many see co-working spaces as the best way to do this, as 80 per cent of companies are planning to use shared workspaces in the next 13 years, and 86 per cent recognise that it is crucial to have an innovative and collaborative workspace to be successful, especially with millennials and Gen Z entering the workforce.

We believe this is a sign of a long-term trend.

What should people do to be as efficient working from home as they are at the office?

Mandatory working from home was a necessity that has not been without challenges, as it has required changes in mindset, boundaries, security, and methods to ensure productivity. That said, it has shown that distributed workforces are a viable option in many cases, so we expect that structure to become more common.

A co-working space in HCM City. -- Photo Courtesy WeWork

There has been a lot of focus on productivity tips during this period, while the importance of community and team engagement has been neglected despite its strong impact on employee morale, retention, and effective collaboration.

What has worked for us in Vietnam so far is placing greater emphasis on connection and communication among and within teams. To support this priority during social distancing, we got creative with employee and member engagement, ranging from virtual location tours to webinars and charity initiatives.

With these initiatives being positively received, WeWork, as a company that prides itself on being a community builder and enabler, was encouraged to see members of our community working to uplift each other.

As our members are progressively returning to work, we are now turning our focus to balance the same sense of familiarity and comfort with demands of professional distancing.

What will be the new working trends after COVID-19 is controlled in Vietnam and the rest of the world?

Companies are rethinking the idea of single headquarters locations and creating a distributed workforce to advocate distancing, but in a way that preserves interpersonal connections and company culture. We have seen companies in other markets adopt this model and rely on our community experience to drive employee engagement. Maintaining the highest standards of health and safety remains a major priority for both businesses and their customers even after businesses resume. As the economy looks to recover from COVID-19, two major trends stand out for us.

Given the volatility in the economy and uncertainty around business adjustments, businesses are focusing on greater operational efficiency. As such, many are also reassessing their long-term real estate needs and fixed costs as they continue to be savvy with operations and overheads.

COVID19 has shown the importance for companies to react fast, and they need the capability to respond to a disruptive situation or have the agility from a partner that understands their strategy forward.

The situation has highlighted how agility helps organisations tide over this crisis, and this mindset will continue to be emphasised post COVID-19. Agile organisations empowered with the right support are realigning their policies and processes that shift from designing for efficiency to designing for resilience. This is where our proposition of empowering flexibility means companies who are scaling both up and down will benefit from it.

As more companies focus on a regional strategy, enterprises will want to have multiple workspaces in the same vicinity to support their segregated workforce.

As with any business, agility and sustainability are key partners in ensuring longevity. In a new world that expects businesses to have the ability to think two steps ahead, having a strong partner enables them to get the resources to succeed.

What should Vietnam do to have more ideal workplaces in the future? And how will WeWork offer its members an ideal co-working space?

One of the things we focus on at WeWork is designing our co-working spaces to be inspiring environments for our members. We accomplish this through inviting and visually appealing architecture and interior design, with an emphasis on open spaces, natural light, greenery, social and relaxation areas, and the opportunity for different workspace configurations. While traditional office environments are widely used by companies in Vietnam, we expect to see companies shifting towards more open work environments to keep up with the changing future of work.

We also expect to see more emphasis on workplace designs that reflect the behaviors adopted at the height of COVID-19. Professional distancing measures will naturally be a priority as the country reopens to international visitors, and workplaces should orient themselves to cater to these policies at short notice.

To this end, we are enhancing our spaces in Vietnam to focus on three key areas: prioritising personal space, cleanliness, and behavioral signage.

The configuration of space to ensure productivity and an overall positive experience is something we are very familiar with from our 10 years of experience. Now we have enhanced our spaces and services to maintain hygiene, safety, and physical distancing best practices. We modified shared spaces with staggered seating and buffer zones, so teams can continue to operate in the workplace while still maintaining a healthy physical distance from colleagues and fellow members.

We are disinfecting common areas more frequently and providing complimentary sanitisation products in our spaces. And we have strategically placed signage and friendly reminders to members and guests that the wellbeing of our community depends on each of us doing our parts.

This may be just the beginning, and we plan to continue our reputation for flexibility by quickly responding to any new developments as they occur, removing the burden from our members so they can continue working with peace of mind. VNS

Thu Ngan

How the pandemic has changed the way we work In only a few months, millions of people have lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could forever transform the way we work.
Big money winners can finally collect their cheques from Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation as it reopens its prize centre by appointment only.

The OLGs Toronto building has been closed to the public since March 17, when the province declared a state of emergency over COVID-19.

Since then, at least 130 ticket holders with wins of $50,000 or more have been waiting to collect their prizes in person. Seven of them are winners of major jackpots totalling $156.5 million  including the owner of a $10-million Lotto Max ticket purchased in St. Catharines for the June 19 draw.

The other jackpots include wins of $70 million, $25 million, three $15 million and a $6.5 million.

The OLG allows winners of up to $999.90 to collect their money at lottery retail outlets. Those with winnings of $1,000 to $49,999.90 can claim their prize through the mail.

But the lottery corporation requires wins of $50,000 or more to be claimed in person to maintain the integrity of its system. Big money winners have to do face-to-face interviews and provide their tickets for inspection.

On Friday the OLG announced it had reopened the centre with an appointment-only process that will prioritize players who have been unable to claim their prizes since the March 17 closures.

The OLG said to protect the public and its staff, measures have been put in place that include physical distancing, increased cleaning of public and shared spaces, hand sanitizer stations and the mandatory use of masks by customers.

In order to accommodate physical distancing, fewer people will be allowed inside the prize centre at any time so appointments are being offered for jackpot and major prize winners only.

Once the OLG has made arrangements to meet with winners of $50,000 or more, it will begin to open up appointments for winners of smaller sums who dont want to submit them through the mail.

During the prize centre closure, the OLG paid out prizes to more than 5,440 people who claimed their winnings through the mail. The total of those prizes was more than $17 million.

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A Roanoke County circuit judge will rule whether the latest lawsuit against the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center can proceed to trial.

The wildlife center and Roanoke County filed a joint motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by neighboring property owners. Judge Charlie Dorsey said he would consider arguments made in court Thursday before making his decision, but encouraged the parties to try to settle out of court.

These people are neighbors and are going to stay neighbors no matter what happens in this case, Dorsey said.

The wildlife center, located on Coleman Road in Roanoke County, has been the focus of multiple court filings from neighbors on zoning disputes.

The first was an appeal of a county board of zoning appeals decision to decline to hear a case from the neighbors. The neighbors alleged the center was operating outside of what was allowed in zoning ordinances. Dorsey ruled the neighbors did not have legal standing to challenge another propertys zoning designation. That lawsuit has been appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court, the wildlife centers attorney Jim Gilbert said.

In 2018, the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center filed a request for a permit to add a raptor aviary to its property. The application generated mixed reaction from the neighborhood and was strongly opposed by the two adjacent homeowners. The wildlife center secured approval from the board of supervisors for the project.

The neighbors later appealed the decision of the board of supervisors to grant a special use permit.

James Cowan, an attorney representing the neighboring property owners, argued in court Thursday that the special use permit for the raptor enclosure retroactively approved other structures that had been built at the center over a period of four years. Cowan argued the county did not analyze the harm caused by the increased activity from these additional buildings.

The neighbors said in the lawsuit that the increased traffic on the gravel road leading to their homes and the wildlife center generates dust that requires extra maintenance and cleaning. Additional traffic also presents a safety hazard for their children who cross the road to get on the school bus, Cowan said.

Peter Lubeck, Roanoke Countys attorney, argued the neighbors did not provide evidence that these new structures caused the issues because the center has been doing the same work for years before these structures were built.

The judge did not specify a date when he would issue his decision.

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A guard escorts an immigrant detainee from his "segregation cell" back into the general population at the Adelanto ICE Processing Facility near Victorville. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Mohammed Abdelsalam remembers the scene as a war zone.

The 32-year-old asylum seeker from Egypt said that he and other detainees were peacefully protesting ongoing lockdowns at the Adelanto ICE Processing Facility near Victorville earlier this month when more than a dozen guards in riot gear shot pepper bullets and pepper spray at them.

The chemical irritant instantly caused his eyes to blur and his throat to close up. Abdelsalam, who has asthma, said he had to be taken to the facility's medical center and given oxygen.

"I lost my breath and almost passed away," he said. "My heart almost stopped."

Alexx Pons, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that the incident occurred when more than 150 detainees became disruptive and refused directives from staff, necessitating "the use of non-lethal force to preserve order" after attempts at deescalation were unsuccessful.

Detainees paint a different picture of what happened.

Abdelsalam and others said the facility had been under lockdown since June 7, when protesters damaged several vehicles in the parking lot and broke a few of the building's windows, causing minor injury to an employee inside, according to the Victorville Daily Press.

Detainees said they were kept in their dorm rooms for 23.5 hours a day. Five days later, when an official announced that they needed to return to their rooms because of another planned protest by demonstrators outside the facility, detainees refused. Some stood just outside their rooms, while others sat in the common area.

It was late afternoon when guards told them to "rack up" to be counted. Detainees said they agreed to participate in the count but told guards that they "respectfully refused" to return to their rooms. They said the guards, dressed in black with face shields and gas masks, told them once more to "rack it up" before shooting them indiscriminately with pepper balls, pepper spray and rubber bullets.

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Edgar Guillen said he was standing outside his second-floor room for count when a guard standing on the lower level shot a pepper ball at him. The ball hit the wall behind him and exploded onto his face.

"I got really scared because I didn't know to what extent they were going to take it if we didn't go inside," said Guillen, a 25-year-old asylum seeker from Mexico. Afterward, he said it was impossible to sleep and breathe. He coughed and vomited through the night.

Guillen said guards refused to let him out to get cleaning supplies. So the next day, he used his bath towel and toilet water to clean his room.

"I threw it on the floor, got some shampoo that I had and started scrubbing the floor and the walls," he said.

Detainees yelled that they couldn't breathe. They said the chemicals caused them to vomit and burned their eyes and skin for hours. One man had a seizure. Another fell down the stairs while being taken to shower and was carried out in a stretcher.

One detainee said he watched guards pelt a man with rubber bullets as he told them he had leukemia.

Pons, the ICE spokesman, said four detainees were transferred to a nearby medical facility and later returned to Adelanto after treatment. Medical staff at the facility assisted other detainees with decontamination, he said.

"Detainees ultimately complied and returned to their rooms, and facility staff were able to restore order and prevent further risk of injury to both detainees and staff," he said.

Abdelsalam said he was placed in segregation and wasn't allowed out of the room to call his lawyer or shower for three days, which prolonged the effects of the pepper spray. More than a week after the incident, he still had trouble breathing and was taking 15 puffs a day of his inhaler, which has a recommended dosage of three puffs a day.

Guillen said it wasn't fair for detainees to be punished for protests taking place outside the facility.

"We decided that if they're going to protest on our behalf, we should stand up for ourselves as well," he said. Guillen anticipated the possibility that detainees could be handcuffed and forced into their rooms but not the level of force they encountered.

The incident was preceded by weeks of detainee complaints that Adelanto facility employees are using a hazardous disinfectant spray about every 20 minutes in poorly ventilated areas, causing nose bleeds, burning eyes, nausea and headaches.

In a legal complaint filed May 21, the advocacy groups Freedom for Immigrants and the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice allege that staff are purposefully exposing detainees to the spray, called HDQ Neutral, as a form of retaliation for speaking out about dangerous conditions amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Reps. Mark Takano and Juan Vargas sent a letter to acting ICE Director Matthew Albence, calling the reports troubling and pointing to the HDQ Neutral manufacturer warning about the chemical's use indoors.

I've heard reports that immigrants in detention are getting sick after using a chemical disinfectant to combat the spread of #COVID19 at the Adelanto Detention Center and other detention centers nationwide.@RepJuanVargas & I want answers from ICE about the use of this chemical. pic.twitter.com/ftea5C8ovd  Mark Takano (@RepMarkTakano) June 18, 2020

ICE maintains that it is following EPA and CDC guidance in using the disinfectant to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at the facility.

Earlier this year, eight former ICE detainees settled a civil rights lawsuit against the Geo Group, the private prison company that runs Adelanto, after guards pepper-sprayed them while they protested facility conditions by sitting in the common area outside their rooms.

Last week, the same lawyers who litigated that case sent a new letter to Adelanto Warden James Janecka and other facility officials demanding that they preserve evidence, including videos, of the pepper spray incident, chemical disinfectant use and any other instances of force or punishment in anticipation of a lawsuit.

"All of this conduct is blatantly unconstitutional," the lawyers Rachel Steinback and Catherine Sweetser wrote.

Under a class-action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, a federal judge ruled June 19 that ICE provide information on Adelanto detainees for potential release on bail in order to depopulate the facility to a level that allows social distancing. The facility currently holds nearly 1,000 detainees. Ten detainees there have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Wednesday, according to ICE.

ACLU attorney Minju Cho said she hopes the bail application process will be speedy.

"I never could have imagined it but conditions in Adelanto today are more hellish than they were on the day we filed our lawsuit," she said. "ICE and GEO have shown that they cannot be trusted with the health and safety of our clients. Release is the only way to keep them safe."

Times staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.
Gandhinagar June 26 : Taking a serious note of its amicus curiae reporting that the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital has been keeping some Covid-19 beds vacant deliberately, the Gujarat High Court warned the state's top health official of action if this was found to be true.

Brijesh Trivedi, the amicus curiae in the Covid-19 issue taken up by the court suo moto, made a shocking observation that the hospital was keeping some beds deliberately vacant, despite patients needing it, so as to ease the pressure and burden of working.

A bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice J.B. Pardiwala said: "This is serious, and if it is true, then we warn the Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department of Gujarat government, that appropriate action will be taken." Hearing a number of petitions filed in conjunction with the suo moto case on the Covid-19 situation in Gujarat, the court has sought response of the state government on various issues raised in the petitions filed by various applicants.

It has also directed the state government to ensure some points raised in the PILs, especially ensuring that each of the private hospitals display, near the reception table, the charges fixed by the state government for Covid-19 testing and treatment.

It has also directed the government to give publicity in daily newspapers, vernacular as well as English, and inform the medical associationsin the state, of the eligibility criteria and procedures for private labs to obtain ICMR approval for conducting Covid-19 tests. All such private labs shall be granted approval from the ICMR in seven days, and similarly, the NABL accreditation is also to be granted in seven days.

The court has also questioned the state government with regards to the discharge policy of cured Covid-19 patients prevailing on date, asking whether it would be in larger interest of the public that patients are tested one last time before their actual discharge.

It has also sought a response from the state government regarding testing of all medical practitioners and frontline health workers without the need of any prescription, as the apex court has also declared that anyone who desires, should be permitted to be tested and the state government was bound to implement the same more particularly with respect to medical practitioners and frontline health workers.

The court also expressed dissatisfaction over Ahmedabad authorities seeking an explanation from the Rajasthan Hospital, regarding death of a patient waiting for admission and have directed the authorities concerned to lodge an FIR and take strict action against those responsible at the hospital for the death of the patient who was in dire need of a ventilator.

The court has also directed that all undertrials who have been released on bail on recommendation of the high powered committee, shall continue to remain on bail for a further period of 75 days and the bails have been extended from June 15 to August 31.

The interim orders of the high court and lower courts have also extended upto August 31.

Further, the high court has also directed the state government to regulate the timings of online teaching imparted by various schools across the state, so that different students from a single family can avail education. It has directed to also consider the age of the children who are being imparted online education.

The state government was also told to take up the issues like private schools charging the students for transportation, sports, term fees, meals, medical, SMS, IT and other curricular activities when the schools are non-functional during the month of April, May and June, until the schools reopens. The government has also been directed to look into schools charging quarterly fees instead of monthly fees.

The next hearing has been slated for July 17.
There were 1,418 newly licenced projects during the Jan-June period, with registered capital of US$8.44 billion. There were 526 licenced projects from previous years registered as having adjusted their investment capital with additional capital of US$3.7 billion, up 26.8%.

During the six-month period, 4,125 foreign investors contributed capital and purchased shares with a total value of nearly US$3.51 billion, up 2.6%.

During the period, the processing and manufacturing industry witnessed the largest volume of newly licenced FDI projects, reaching US$8 billion, accounting for 51.1% of total newly registered capital. It was followed by the production and distribution of electricity, with US$3.95 billion, accounting for 25.2%; wholesale and retail (US$1.08 billion); and real estate (US$850 million).

Among the 98 countries and territories registering new projects in Vietnam in the first six months, Singapore was the largest investor, with US$5.44 billion, accounting for 34.7% of the total, followed by Thailand with US$1.58 billion (10.1%), China with US$1.58 million (10.1%) and then Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan (China).

Among the 57 localities receiving FDI in the six-month period, the southern province of Bac Lieu ranked top with US$4 billion. Ho Chi Minh City came next with over US$2 billion and Ba Ria - Vung Tau placed third with US$1.95 billion, followed by the capital Hanoi, Binh Duong province and Hai Phong city.
AstraZeneca's experimental Covid-19 vaccine is probably the world's leading candidate and most advanced in terms of development, the World Health Organization's (WHO) chief scientist said on Friday. The British drugmaker has already begun large-scale, mid-stage human trials of the vaccine, which was developed by researchers at University of Oxford. This week, AstraZeneca signed its tenth supply-and-manufacturing deal. "Certainly in terms of how advanced they are, the stage at which they are, they are I think probably the leading candidate," WHO chief ...
THE sad news of the death of Jean Kennedy Smith has evoked fond memories of a special visit she paid to County Limerick in 1994.

In July 1993 after she was appointed the United States Ambassador to Ireland, the late local historian Michael Quinlan issued an invite to Ms Kennedy Smith to visit Lough Gur.

Fifteen months later, the sister of the 35th president of the United States arrived on County Limerick soil to see the homeplace of their great-grandfather Thomas Fitzgerald.

Jean Kennedy Smiths visit in 1994 was a wonderful occasion and the achievement of a life-long goal of the late Michael Quinlan to bring a Kennedy back to their ancestral roots in Lough Gur, Tom Tierney, former chairman of Lough Gur Development told the Leader this week.

It was a wonderful occasion which then resulted in a number of us attending the US Ambassador residence in Dublin for Thanksgiving that November where we sang the songs associated with JFKs grandfather John Francis Fitzgerald aka Honey Fitz to the delight of the ambassador, Tom continued.

Thomas Fitzgerald emigrated to the US from Bruff in 1852, carrying with him the family Bible. That very Bible was used by JFK when taking his oath of office in 1961. Thomas Fitzgerad married Rosanna Cox and they had 12 children. One of them John Francis (Honey Fitz) Fitzgerald went on to become Mayor of Boston.

His eldest daughter Rose, married Joseph P Kennedy, they had nine children including John F Kennedy, and Jean Kennedy.

While the weather was damp on Wednesday, October 26, 1996 spirits were high in Lough Gur when Ms Kennedy Smith arrived with her sister Pat Lawford.

During her visit Ms Kennedy Smith named the newly-refurbished 50,000 theatre in Lough Gur, The Honey Fitz Theatre in honour of her grandfather Honey Fitz who got his nickname due to his sweet sounding singing voice.

A story by journalist Tony Purcell which featured in the Cork Examiner the following day said Ms Kennedy Smith described the visit as a moving experience and one of the highlights of her ambassadorship.

On the first week of November in 1994, a letter arrived in the letter box at Michael Quinlans home embossed with the crest of the Embassy of the United States of America.

The letter from Ms Kennedy Smith was to thank Michael and the people of Lough Gur for the hospitality you extended to me when I visited your community and to invite Michael and his wife Anne to join her at her home to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Ms Kennedy Smith was the last surviving sibling of the Kennedy family. She died at her Manhattan on Wednesday, June 17 at the age of 92.
Chickens have played a substantial role in human societies across the world and yet the geographic and temporal origins of their domestication remains a mystery. In a bid to address this issue, researchers analyzed 863 genomes from a worldwide sampling of chickens and representatives of all four species of wild jungle fowl and each of the five subspecies of red jungle fowl (RJF).

The study, led by Ming-Shan Wang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming Institute of Zoology, was published on June 24 in Cell Research. It suggests that domestic chickens were initially derived from the RJF subspecies Gallus gallus spadiceus whose present-day distribution is predominantly in southwestern China, northern Thailand and Myanmar.

Following their domestication, chickens were translocated across Southeast and South Asia where they interbred locally with both RJF subspecies and other jungle fowl species. A molecular clock analysis suggests that domestic chickens diverged from G. g. spadiceus 9500  3300 years ago, though this node does not necessarily correlate with the beginning of the domestication process, as chickens are archaeologically visible much later.

The domestic village chickens were hybridized with wild G. g. spadiceus in Thailand in the mid-20th century and wild RJF clutches were removed from their nests and hatched by domestic hens.

To establish the primary RJF subspecies from which domestic chickens were derived and to understand the genetic mechanisms underlying chicken domestication, it is necessary to analyze the nuclear genomes of both presumed wild relatives and domestic populations, within and beyond the natural distribution ranges of all RJF subspecies.

The study sequenced 787 whole genomes: 627 domestic chickens, 142 RJFs representing all five subspecies, 12 green jungle fowls, 2 gray jungle fowls and 4 Ceylon jungle fowls. To maximize the likelihood of capturing genetic variability among RJF subspecies, it sampled individuals belonging to each subspecies from at least three geographically distant locations and ensured that at least one individual of each subspecies was sequenced to at least 20 coverage.

The Principal component analysis (PCA) also highlights a separation among RJF subspecies. It is interesting that some G. g. murghi (distributed across the northern Indian subcontinent) and G. g. jabouillei (confined to South China and North Vietnam) individuals cluster together.

The analyses indicate that all RJF subspecies are genetically differentiated, which generally correspond to their geographic ranges and taxonomic classifications. Of the five RJF subspecies, individuals of G. g. spadiceus are the most closely related to all domestic chicken populations

By combining the monophyletic nature of all domestic chickens, the results from these analyses collectively suggest that chickens were likely domesticated in the Holocene from the G. g. spadiceus subspecies of RJF.

"Our results contradict previous claims that chickens were domesticated in Neolithic northern China and the Indus Valley Civilization (made on the basis of suspected chicken remains found at the site of Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistan). However, a PCA shows that G. g. murghi samples from westernmost North India showed a deeper divergence from chickens than the remaining birds of G. g. murghi collected from northeastern India," read the paper.
Whether youre a person working full-time in an office or have just started college with the biggest dreams, there are some things that you hold very close to your heart. Ranging from that precious locket with your name engraved on it to the first love letter you got during school, memorabilia serves as a doorway to a whirlpool of nostalgia. The story of Amy Goetz is something that revolves around one such special object close to her heart that she lost 18 years ago on a beach in Jacksonville, Florida.

The story started when a Facebook user named John Porcella found a ring on the Jacksonville beach while metal detecting. He posted an alert about it along with pictures on the Facebook group Jacksonville Beaches Lost, Found & Stolen.

After posting the message, Porcella got quite a few responses from different people in the group regarding tracing the owner of the ring.

After quite a few attempts, Pocella got hold of the original owner of the ring from the engravings on the ring. Turns out the ring belonged to one Amy Goetz from Collins Hill high school situated in Georgia. The most interesting part lies in the fact that the ring was lost in 2002 when Goetz visited the beach in Florida and after 18 years it was found by Porcella.

The ring was finally returned to its original owner and she was more than overjoyed to get back a piece of her school days in such an unexpected manner.

Take a look at the full story:

The unexpected story of a ring lost and found after so many years has garnered tons of reactions from netizens. What an amazing story, comments a Facebook user. WHAAAAAA? This is AMAZING! says another. That is literally the best surprise you can get, writes a third.

What do you think of this story?

Also Read | US soldiers family gets an unexpected surprise all the way from Australia
(Bloomberg) -- Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. are considering revoking Wirecard AGs ability to process payments on their networks in a move that would cause further pain for the firm after it started insolvency proceedings.

The worlds largest payment networks have begun reaching out to some Wirecard clients to prepare them for the possibility, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the information isnt public.

We continue to closely monitor developments and assess new information as it becomes available, Visa said in a statement. Our priority is, and will always be, maintaining the integrity of the Visa payments system and protecting the interests of consumers, merchants and our clients.

Wirecard helps businesses around the world accept electronic payments from customers, so its relationships with Visa and Mastercard -- and being able to process payments with the companies -- are critical to its business.

Mastercard is aware of the news regarding Wirecard AG and is monitoring the situation closely, Mastercard said in a statement. Our priority is ensuring people are able to continue to use their cards. We will continue to work with all parties and stand ready to take any necessary action.

Wirecard filed for insolvency Thursday, citing over-indebtedness and inability to assure it can continue as a going concern. The announcement was the culmination of a stunning accounting scandal that led to the arrest of its chief executive officer and left the German payment-processing firm unable to find more than $2 billion missing from its balance sheet.

Losing the licenses from Mastercard and Visa would exacerbate Wirecards situation. The company will have no business should the credit card companies decide to sever ties, Mirabaud analyst Neil Campling has said.

The payments company has seen many other clients turn their backs on it since the scandal broke a week ago. Its share price is down 97% since then.

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Wirecard Bank, where the Visa and Mastercard licenses are held, isnt part of the insolvency proceedings, the company has said. German financial regulator BaFin has appointed a representative for the lender.

In future, the release processes for all payments of the bank will be located exclusively within the bank and no longer at group level, Wirecard said in a statement Thursday.

A representative for Wirecard said its currently not making any additional statements.

(Adds analyst comment and context on clients in seventh and eighth paragraph)

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

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

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
I welcome candour, Lorna Jane. When you look at any reports like that, you have to look at where its coming from. With that first report, it was because we would not reveal our factories. It had nothing to do with how bad or good our factories were.

In 2016 , Baptist World Aid rated 87 Australian fashion companies on their ethics. Lorna Jane was cited as one of the worst. In 2019 , another report gave you a C+ grade. Do you worry about Lorna Janes impact on the environment and workers? Oh god, its so hard not to be totally honest here ...

Tell me about your personal politics and values. My philosophy in life is that youve got to live and learn. I pride myself on changing my mind. It drives my team  and the people Im close to  absolutely crazy. But if the way Im going is wrong, I should be able to pivot. People might go, Oh now you talk about this, but you used to do this! Well, thats okay. That was yesterday.

At the same time, customers want transparency regarding where their goods come from. At that time, I probably didnt understand that as well. Now, I totally understand. Weve been very tight-lipped about our resources  our business secrets. Thats why we havent rated [highly in ethical reports]. But we pay our workers way higher than the standard. We work really closely with them. I dont need to cut corners and do terrible things with the environment. Thats why we dont have a cheap product. A real barometer with whether people are doing the right thing or not is,

Do the math. You certainly wont find a $10 T-shirt at Lorna Jane. But we need to be more transparent, I get it.

Is it true that Lorna Jane sells a pair of tights every 30 seconds? Right now, I think it actually would be higher than that.

Clearly the business is in good health. But is it also fast fashion? The average cost of a pair of tights at Lorna Jane is $100. Theres no way people are going to wear them a few times and throw them out! [Laughs] So were definitely not fast fashion. More often than not, we get comments from customers telling us that theyve been wearing their pair of tights for 10 years! I do always say, Probably time to get a new pair, honey.

If an election was called now, how would you vote  and what would that vote be based on? I think Scott Morrison has done a pretty good job, compared to all the other leaders around the world. New Zealand is doing an incredible job as well. Right now with whats happening with COVID-19, I would keep the status quo and the same people in control.

And if you were running for politics, what would your platform be? Oh! First of all I would never do that. I change my mind too much! But itd be about getting the country  and business  moving again.
The Congress on Friday said the intelligence and diplomacy of the Modi government has failed to stop Chinese incursions in Ladakh and asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi was lying to the nation by saying no one has occupied Indian territory.

The party said by denying Chinese incursions in eastern Ladakh the government has lowered the morale of the armed forces.

Addressing a joint press conference, Congress leaders MM Pallam Raju, Jitendra Singh and Pawan Khera said according to reports China has occupied Indian territory up to 18 km inside the LAC in Depsang plains, posing an alarming threat to India's national security and territorial integrity.

They said satellite images suggest China has made fresh transgressions and new constructions between June 6 and June 24 and has reoccupied PP-14 in Galwan Valley, the area that witnessed violent clashes on the night of June 15 in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

Raju said reports and observations by retired generals and defence experts with the help of satellite imagery suggest the Chinese forces are now 7 km short of the Ladakh town of Burtse, on the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie road, and have come as close as 25 km from the crucial airstrip of Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), that is within artillery range.

"Is the prime minister lying to the nation," Raju asked, alleging that there has been a diplomatic and intelligence failure.

"Why is the Modi government afraid of acknowledging Chinese incursion in Galwan Valley and in the Depsang plains? Why is the Modi government demoralizing our brave solders by issuing contradictory statements? Why is the Modi government's diplomacy not helping in protecting and restoring India's territorial integrity," the former union minister asked.

"What has India gained from the prime minister's personal outreach to various countries in general and China in particular," Raju asked.

Former Minister of State for Defence Jitendra Singh said this is the same Depsang area, called 'Bottleneck or Y-junction', where the Chinese had made incursions in 2013 during UPA but had to withdraw.

"The Modi government is a weak government as it unfortunately refuses to even acknowledge any incursions, thereby weakening the morale of our soldiers," he said.

Khera alleged that while the nation has confidence in the country's armed forces to throw out the Chinese from Indian territory, there is doubt in the party about this government's political will.

"The sad part is that the prime minister does not even accept the reality," he said.
Despite not having any permissions, if they try to sell the medicine or advertise, an offence will be registered against them, he said

Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday said that legal action will be taken against Baba Ramdevs company Patanjali, if it sells their anti-corona drug in the state. (PTI Photo)

Mumbai: Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday said that legal action will be taken against Baba Ramdevs company Patanjali, if it sells their anti-corona drug in the state. Terming Coronil, the drug launched by Patanjali as anti-Coronavirus ayurvedic medicine, Mr Deshmukh said that the National Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Jaipur will find out whether proper clinical trials of Coronil were done or not.

The home minister said that Patanjalis medicine needs a permission from Union AYUSH Ministry and Indian Council of Medical Science. Despite not having any permissions, if they try to sell the medicine inMaharashtra or advertise that COVID-19 can be cured with it, an offence will be registered against them, he said.

The minister also posted on his twitter handle, TheNational Institute of Medical Sciences, Jaipur will find out whether clinicaltrials of @PypAyurveds Coronil were done at all. An abundant warning to@yogrishiramdev that Maharashtra wont allow sale of spurious medicines.

Meanwhile, the BJP came in the support of Baba Ramdev.BJP leader and legislator Ram Kadam said that how can Mr Deshmukh call the medicine spurious without any investigation.

Responding to the home minister on Twitter, the BJPlegislator posted a document claiming that it was the approval of the NIMS for the clinical trials of Coronil. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh's tweet onPatanjali's Coronil medicine on Coronavirus calling it as spurious. He also said that clinical trial approval from NIMS will be awaited. I would like to inform the Respected Home Minister that clinical approval is there (sic),Mr.Kadam tweeted.

Patanjali had on Tuesday launched Corona Special Kitclaiming that it was the first Ayurvedic cure for treating COVID-19. The company also claimed that the drug has shown 100 per cent favourable results during clinical trials on affected patients. However, later the Union ministry of AYUSH asked Patanjali to provide details about the medicine and to stop advertising the products.
Actor Park Bo-gum will begin his mandatory military service in August with the Navy's band.

His agency said Thursday, "Park has been accepted to the Navy's band" and "will join it on Aug. 31 to complete his 20-month military service."

"He's currently taking part in one TV series and one film project and will finish them before his enlistment," the agency added.

Park applied to join the Navy's band in May and went through a test and interview to be a piano player in the band.
A six-year-old boy caught in crossfire was among five people killed in Indian Kashmir on Friday, officials said, as security forces step up a clampdown in the disputed Himalayan region.

New Delhi has bolstered counter-insurgency efforts in the restive territory, with at least 33 separatist militants killed this month.

The child was in a car that drove into a gun battle between suspected rebels and paramilitaries near the town of Bijbehara, a police officer told AFP.

"The boy and a soldier were injured during the exchange of fire and both later died in hospital," said the officer, who asked not to be named.

Three rebels were killed in a separate firefight at Chewa, near the region's main city Srinagar, in a battle that lasted 20 hours, army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.

Armed clashes are frequent in Indian Kashmir but have increased in recent weeks.

Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan and has been divided between the two nuclear-armed rivals since 1947.

Rebel groups have fought for decades for Kashmir's independence or its merger with Pakistan.

An insurgency launched three decades ago has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

India has 500,000 soldiers stationed in its section of Kashmir and accuses Pakistan of arming militant groups there.

Tensions have mounted again in Kashmir since August last year when India revoked the region's semi-autonomous status, detained local political leaders and imposed a months-long internet and mobile phone blackout.
These are perhaps the most expensive addresses in the country and may go under the hammer if their embattled owner Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor fails to repay Indiabulls within the next two months.

A two-storey residential building known as Khursheed-Abad on Altamount Road, Indiabulls Blue Tower B and C in Worli and three duplexes in Sesen, Napean Sea Road in Mumbai and 40, Amrita Shergill Marg in what has come to be known as New Delhis billionaires row could be on the block in the coming days.

Indiabulls Housing Finance and Indiabulls Commercial Credit Ltd have served notices to its borrowers under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (Sarfaesi). The loan default against the Mumbai properties is about Rs 650 crore.

Rana and his family-controlled businesses had mortgaged these properties to Indiabulls. Kapoors allegedly owe Rs 1,200 crore to the real estate company.

We have already received Section 9 order in our favour from the Delhi High Court. We have now initiated the SARAFESI process, we are well collateralised and expect to recover our Rs 1,200 crore in the forthcoming auction of said properties, an Indiabulls spokesperson told Moneycontrol on June 25.

ALSO READ: Yes Bank case: CBI files first charge sheet against Rana Kapoor, DHFL promoters

Trouble seems to be mounting for Kapoor as the Central Bureau of Investigation on June 26 filed a charge sheet against him and the promoters of Dewan Housing Finance Ltd in a separate case of cheating and corruption registered in early March.

The Sarfaesi law requires a two-month notice to be given to borrowers after the loans are classified as non-performing assets, so the pre-auction process could take two-three months, the spokesperson said.

We are extremely well collateralised with heart of town prime properties by over two times and expect to recover the due mentioned above, the spokesperson said.

Heres a look at Rana Kapoors real estate spread:

Khursheed-Abad on Altamount Road

This is an independent two-storey residential building located on super-premium Altamount Road. The size of the plot is around 1,400 sq yard and is expected to fetch anything between Rs 135 crore and Rs 140 crore. The bungalow has six to seven rooms, say real estate consultants.

A 2,500 sq yard plot in the vicinity was up for sale a few months ago and was valued at around Rs 250 crore.

Despite COVID-19, properties like these are much in demand. This property would command a premium due to its location and the address. If this property were to be auctioned, potential buyers could be industrialists or major stockbrokers, said Ritesh Mehta, senior director and head, West India, Residential, Jones Lang Lasalle India.

Indiabulls Blue Tower B and C in Worli

The former banker reportedly owns around 10 floors in this project, with a floor plate of 5,000 to 6,000 sq ft. The price per sq ft for a residential unit is around Rs 70,000 per sq ft. These properties could rake in anywhere between Rs 350 crore and Rs 400 crore, brokers told Moneycontrol.

ALSO READ: Yes Bank case: Rana Kapoors daughters claim innocence, say father handles all business

Duplexes on Sesen, Napean Sea Road

Each of these apartments, say brokers, is spread over 10,000 sq ft. The former banker owns three duplex units in Sesen valued at around Rs 110 to 112 crore each. The total value of the apartments is estimated to be around Rs 300 crore.

40, Amrita Shergill Marg

In 2017, Ranas borrowed around Rs 370 crore from Indiabulls Housing to finance the purchase of a bungalow on Amrita Shergill Marg in Lutyens Delhi, the capitals power district.

Kapoors family acquired this bungalow for around Rs 380 crore from Gautam Thapar, who mortgaged the property to Yes Bank for a corporate loan of Rs 600 crore and later sought to settle the dues by offering to sell the property.

The loan and the sale have raised eyebrows, with the Enforcement Directorate filing a case of money laundering against Kapoor and his wife, Bindu.

Real estate brokers say the bungalow is up for sale again and may command Rs 425 crore to 450 crore. The total built-up area is around 12,500 sq ft and the size of the plot is 6,000 square yards.

A bungalow in the vicinity sold for about Rs 250 crore a few years ago, an indication that the area has been insulated from the slowdown in the real estate market.

"Most of these bungalows are located in Lutyens Zone where no alterations or extensions are permissible. The cost of the unit is dependent on the built-up area available," explains a broker.

Il Palazzo, Malabar Hill

Other properties owned by the former banker and his family include a duplex apartment in Il Palazzo in Mumbais Malabar Hill, the haunt of the rich and the famous. This is a sea-facing property spread across 3,500 sq ft and priced at around Rs 40 crore. A similar property sold for Rs 42 crore last year.

NCPA apartments

Kapoors family also owns a 2,300 sq ft unit in NCPA apartments, a premium building located at Nariman Point. Each unit is valued at Rs 28 to Rs 30 crore, local brokers said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  The country has eased its quarantine restrictions from a strict enhanced community quarantine to a general enhanced community quarantine except for Cebu City.

Restaurants were also given the go signal by the Inter-Agency Task force to resume their dine in operations on 30 percent capacity in areas under GCQ.

With the economy slowly reopening after businesses were halted due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, there has been a need to strictly observe proper hygiene like handwashing to curb the spread of COVID-19.

P&G Safeguard has a 54-year history in making a meaningful difference to the health and safety of the country with partnerships with the Department of Health, Department of Education, Philippine Association of Medical Technologists and the Philippine Red Cross.

Safeguards mission has always been to help keep the Filipino family safe. Now, more than ever, handwashing has been at the top of Filipinos minds, and that is where we are stepping up as a force for good, said P&G Philippines General Manager Raffy Fajardo.

Keeping every Filipino SAFE

Handwashing and hand sanitizing education has been a long-standing program of Safeguard throughout the years.

In 2019, more than 100,000 students benefitted from handwashing facilities built by Safeguard in public schools nationwide. The brand has also been at the forefront of the Taal Volcano eruption relief efforts.

During the ECQ, Safeguard mobilized its nationwide distribution network to provide aid to 15,000 frontliners nationwide in more than 50 hospitals handling COVID-19 cases.

The brand has also established the BayaniHands Project that enabled Filipinos to take part and support the efforts of Red Cross.

Building a SAFE new normal

Safeguards mission is to help the country transition to a new normal and keep the country safe from the coronavirus disease.

As establishments and businesses reopen, Safeguard has been lending a hand to various institutions by producing and making more accessible degerming products like soaps and hand sanitizers.

Safeguard hand soaps are available in mall restrooms nationwide, as Safeguard calls out to different public and private spaces to collaborate and help rebuild a SAFE Philippines.

Now, more than ever, handwashing has been at the top of Filipinos minds, and that is where we are stepping up as a force for good, Fajardo said.
Anuradha Shukla By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: With the spike in bilateral border tensions spilling over to trade, shipments of Indian origin are being held up in Hong Kong and China in retaliation to the India blocking China-origin shipments at domestic ports. S K Saraf, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), revealed the tit-for-tat action by Beijing after reports of Indian customs holding back Chinese consignments.

This is causing delays in consignment clearance. The FIEO has taken up the matter with the ministry of commerce and industry. We have been given to understand that customs is physically examining all imports from China, which is delaying clearance, adding to the cost of imports, Saraf said in a letter to Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan. He said some exporters have reported retaliatory blocking by Hong Kong and Chinese customs.

Earlier, after consignments of Apples iPhone from China were held at various Indian ports, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum wrote to the government sharing its concern. It said the Director General of Foreign Trade and customs have abruptly halted clearance of consignments from China, which will send a chilling message to foreign investors. They were also concerned that the decision to subject shipments from China to 100% manual examination will delay the supply chain and damage expensive components and critical imports from China, escalating cost and time for the already stressed industry.

Rising tensions see shipments blocked at ports

Similar concerns were raised by the India Cellular and Electronics Association, who wrote to Revenue Secretary and Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), saying that these unannounced and opaque disruptions were hurting the industry. Companies, it pointed out, were nervous about the duration of these disruptions, adding that the supply of 200 industries have being impacted. It requested the finance ministry to intervene.

While the revenue department denied giving any official order to hold Chinese consignments, custom officers admitted that there are delays as they are more careful with Chinese goods. Meanwhile, the FIEO president said that he was waiting for clarification in this matter, which is expected by Friday.

Kindly take it up with CBIC and, if no such instructions have been given, a denial may be issued by CBIC so that the matter may be communicated to our importers in China and Hong Kong to suitably take up with their customs explaining our stand, Saraf said Chinas exports to India constitute 2.8% of their overall exports, including important input materials like lithium ion battery and key component of pharma, auto components and electronic goods. But Indias exports to China stand at 5.4% of its total exports.
Kennedy shared AARP's five-point plan for helping to stem the continued loss of life and improve conditions in the nation's long-term care facilities. The points are:

Ensuring access to adequate personal protective equipment and testing

Ensuring adequate staff and the ability of long-term care ombudsmen to have access to the facility

Requiring transparency of COVID-19 data, including cases at a facility, transfer and discharge rights, and how nursing homes are using the federal relief funds they have received

Requiring facilities to provide residents and their families with virtual visits

Rejecting proposals to grant broad legal immunity to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities

All of the witnesses at the hearing, which included a Texas woman who lost her brother to the virus, a licensed practical nurse as well as a researcher and advocates, said they continue to hear firsthand reports that long-term care facilities still lack the PPE they need and that testing for the virus is still lacking.

"Today we are still understaffed, overworked and don't have enough PPE, said Melinda Haschak, a licensed practical nurse at a Connecticut nursing home. Haschak, a single mother, said she frequently has had to unknowingly care for residents who tested positive for the coronavirus and when she contracted the illness she had to isolate herself from her two teenage daughters and ailing sister.

Haschak said she was grateful for donations of food to her and her coworkers as well as the occasional pizza party. But, she said, I do not need a pizza party, we need PPE."

David Grabowski, a professor at the Harvard Medical School, said testing in nursing homes is still not adequate. Until we get rapid and accurate testing for all staff and residents, we won't be able to contain COVID, Grabowski said. This can't be just a one-off. We need a surveillance program that regularly tests staff and residents in order to identify new cases as they emerge."

Delia Satterwhite, whose brother died in an Austin, Texas, nursing home from the coronavirus, said after the facility called her on March 13 to say she could no longer visit, she was not able to have any contact with him except the occasional visit through a window. The worst part is that he died alone, Satterwhite said emotionally. Her brother died on April 16. I should have been with him, she said.

Kennedy also urged Congress to require virtual visitation. In America, when the technology to facilitate virtual visits is not only abundant, but increasingly affordable, it is nothing short of a scandal that these visits are still not available on a regular basis to many Americans in these facilities, she said.

More on Nursing Homes
An historic coalition has been agreed in Ireland tonight between old political rivals Fianna Fail and Fine Gael  along with the Greens.

The three parties will officially form a government tomorrow, almost five months after the countrys general election, with Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin set to be sworn in as the new prime minister.

The programme for government agreed between the parties was put to a vote among their respective members and passed by all three.

They have laid out plans to oversee Irelands recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, to tackle major election issues like housing and healthcare, as well as promising major environmental commitments.

Although Februarys election returned Sinn Fein as the largest party, they did not have a majority, and were unable to build their desired coalition of the left.

Instead, there was an unprecedented coming together of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

Once bitter rivals, these two parties were forged from the opposing sides of the Irish Civil War, and have governed Ireland back and forth for almost a century.

Now, with the added numbers from the Greens, they are preparing to govern together for the first time.

As part of the pact between Mr Martin and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar, Mr Martin will take the role of prime minister until December 2021 with Mr Varadkar taking a role in cabinet, most like as an economy or business minister.

Mr Varadkar would then resume the prime minister role for the remainder of the government term of office. The Tanaiste (deputy head of government) will also rotate between the parties.

There will be a full sitting of the Irish parliament  the Dail  in the Convention Centre, Dublin, on Saturday morning to elect Mr Martin as the new premier.

When Mr Martin is officially voted in he will make a statement to the house before it adjourns for a few hours to allow him to travel to Aras an Uachtarain  the home of Irish president Michael D Higgins.

Recommended Irish coalition lays aside historic differences to fight coronavirus

Fine Gael were first to back the proposed programme of government with a vote of 80 per cent to 20 per cent on Friday. Mr Varadkar said he was looking forward to helping to get the country through the Covid emergency, getting people back to work and pursuing some of the reforms and changes we have started.

Three quarters of Fianna Fail members backed the deal, while the Green Party ratified the coalition by 76 per cent to 24 per cent.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said: Theres a sense of responsibility on us now because we do have a job to do. We have to go in and help work with our coalition partners in government in actually getting our country out of a really severe economic crisis.

People at home who are losing their jobs or maybe risk of that, they want a government to get up and stand up for them and get everyone back working. Theres work to be done, and were the ones to try and help make it happen.

Mr Martin said he was delighted his party had overwhelmingly endorsed the programme to get on with the business of helping the country to get through this crisis.

He added: To engineer economic recovery in the aftermath of Covid-19, to deal with the ongoing health dimension and risks associated with Covid-19, but critically to get people back to work, to get the different sectors back to work, to create a better type of society, a greater quality of life for people.

Sinn Fein reacted to the coalition by vowing to provide a strong and determined opposition and argued that Ireland had voted to move away from the two main parties in the election.

Pearse Doherty TD said: Faced with the prospect of a government of change, the two old parties have come together to circle the wagons to exclude Sinn Fein and they are using the Green Party as a fig leaf to do this.

At a time when Ireland needs ambition and big ideas, we have a programme for government that fails to deliver on affordable housing, on building up capacity in our health services, on getting people back to work and having enough to survive, on childcare, on the right to retire at 65 and on planning for Irish unity.

Additional reporting by Press Association
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Photo credit: JONAS EKSTROMER - Getty Images

From Harper's BAZAAR

In the month since George Floyds death at the hands of the police, the world has witnessed some of the most engaged, passionate and determined anti-racism protests and calls to action in recent memory.



From Minnesota and New York to Amsterdam and London, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets and social media to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and demand governments actively put an end to police brutality and institutional racism.

Celebrities have donated millions of pounds to the movements affiliated organisations, CEOs have resigned to make way for Black leaders, brands have been called out for their lack of diversity and racist behaviour, and statues of colonialists and slave traders have been toppled.

There have also been less visible changes around the globe that are harder to measure. Since Floyds passing, people have taken the chance to reflect on their own privilege and racial ignorance. Others have had uncomfortable but crucial conversations about performative allyship and social inequality in order to find out how to make a lasting change and hold themselves accountable for racial bias.

Photo credit: Win McNamee - Getty Images

In a similar vain to the Berlin Wall protests in 1989, Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech in 1963 and the Womens March in 2017, 2020s Black Lives Matter protests are historic and will hopefully continue to inspire change.

At Floyd's funeral on 9 June, his brother Rodney told mourners: "Everybody is going to remember him around the world. He is going to change the world."

Undoubtedly, the 47-year-old's death has marked the beginning of a global call for action. Here are just some of the changes that have happened across the world in the last two weeks that demonstrate the power of protesting.

What has happened in the US?

A day after Floyds death on 25 May, protests began in Minneapolis, resulting in US police forces using riot-control equipment, such as tear gas and rubber bullets, to deter the crowds from gathering.

Story continues

Hours later, protests spread to cities across the US including in Memphis, Los Angeles and Louisville, with anti-racists also protesting the recent deaths of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

On 9 June, US Democrats in Congress proposed legislation to reform American police, which would facilitate the prosecution of police for misconduct, ban chokeholds, and addresses racism.

Photo credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY - Getty Images

From a cultural perspective, Gone with the Wind was temporarily taken off HBO Max following calls for it to be removed from the US streaming service for its depiction of slavery, as was the US reality show Cops.

Gone with the Wind later returned to HBO Max, with an introduction providing historical context surrounding the film. "You are about to see one of the most enduringly popular films of all time," film professor Jacqueline Stewart now says in the new introduction. She goes onto explain that the film was not universally praised, adding that it can be an uncomfortable, even painful watch.



In the two weeks since Floyds death, various cities across the country have also enacted powerful measures to combat racism on a local level.

Minneapolis: On 5 June, the City Council agreed to ban the use of chokeholds by police and required officers to report and intervene when they see unauthorised use of force by a colleague.

The former US police officer charged with Floyds murder in the city, Derek Chauvin, appeared in court for the first time on 9 June. He is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The other three officers  Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao  were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on 4 June.

Louisville: The Louisville Metro Police Department has fired one of the three officers, Brett Hankison, involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor.

In a termination letter posted to the departments Twitter account, Chief Robert Schroeder accused the former officer of violating its policy on the use of deadly force. He said that Hankison "wantonly and blindly" fired 10 shots into the victims apartment on 13 March.

Buffalo, NY: Two police officers were suspended without pay and later charged with felony assault after a video showed them shoving a 75-year-old protester, who was hospitalised with a head injury.

Dallas: On 4 June, Dallas Chief of Police Renee Hall implemented a new order instructing officers "to either stop, or attempt to stop, another employee when force is being inappropriately applied or is no longer required".

Photo credit: CHANDAN KHANNA - Getty Images

New Jersey: A state official cited George Floyd's death as he announced the state will update guidelines to police governing the use of force for the first time in two decades.

Maryland: Days after Floyds death, Maryland lawmakers said that they were forming a workgroup to address police reform and accountability.

Los Angeles: The City Council introduced a motion to reduce the LAPDs $1.8 billion (1.4 billion) operating budget for the coming year.

New York City: Members of the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control board have refused to transport arrested protesters from demonstrations.

On 21 June, the New York Police Department suspended a police officer who was involved in the arrest of a black man in Queens, after a video emerged showing the officer appearing to use an illegal chokehold.

What has happened in the UK?

Thousands of protesters demonstrated in cities including Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and London following Floyds death.

MPs and anti-racists have also urged the government to suspend the sale of British tear gas, rubber pellets and riot shields to the US and for ministers to clarify whether any UK-manufactured equipment is currently being used in America during the protests.

On 9 June, London mayor Sadiq Khan launched a diversity commission to investigate which statues should be retained, which ones with slavery ties should be removed, and new status to be erected (more on this below).

Photo credit: NurPhoto - Getty Images

In addition, Little Britain has been removed from BBC iPlayer, Netflix and BritBox amid resurfaced criticism from viewers over the depiction of certain characters.

Heres what else has happened so far in the UK:

Bristol: A statue of the slave trader Edward Colston was torn down during an anti-racism protest and thrown into the harbour on 7 June. The artist known as Banksy has since shared a proposal for what should replace the statue.

London: On 8 June a statue of slave trader Robert Milligan was covered and then removed from outside the Museum of London Docklands.

Glasgow: A statue of Sir Robert Peel was vandalised by protesters as campaigners call on all UK cities to remove all historical figures associated with slavery and racism.

Denbigh: Councillors have voted to consult the public on removing a statue honouring Victorian adventurer, Henry Morton Stanley, who opponents claim had links to slavery.

Europe

Protests have taken place across Europe since Floyds death, with demonstrators taking to the streets in Athens, Madrid, Brussels, Copenhagen and Berlin.

Amsterdam: A week after a Black Lives Matter protest in Dam Square involving as many as 14,000 people, a second has moved locations given an increase in supporters.

Germany: Following protests, graffiti artists Eme Freethinker has painted Floyds portrait on one of the last remaining sections of the Berlin Wall.

Photo credit: NurPhoto - Getty Images

Republic of Ireland: Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the US ambassadors residence to show solidarity with the US protests. Protests took place across Ireland in the likes of Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

Italy: On 7 June, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Rome to oppose racism in the United States and Italy. The crowds cried: "No to racism! George Floyd is here!"

Poland: Hundreds have placed flowers, candles and signs in front of the US embassy in Warsaw.

What has happened around the world?

Canada: Demonstrators have been protesting against police brutality and the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old black woman who recently died in Toronto after falling from her balcony during a police investigation.

New Zealand: Senior ministers denounced Donald Trump as racist over his response on Twitter to protests after the death of Floyd.

Photo credit: APU GOMES - Getty Images

Mexico: On 4 June, Mexico held a candlelight vigil for Floyd and portraits of him have been hung outside the US embassy with roses and candles.

Syria: Syrian painter Aziz Asmar and his two friends created an eight-food-high mural on a bombed Idlib building to show solidarity with anti-racists in the US. It features the words: "I cant breathe."

Photo credit: Anadolu Agency - Getty Images

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Regional and service-specific policies banning aggressive dog breeds on military bases have been a source of consternation and controversy for years. But a new provision in the Senate version of the next defense policy bill aims to clear up the confusion.

An amendment in the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act passed by the Senate would require the secretary of defense to establish a single standardized policy for the whole military governing dangerous dogs. The new policy, which would be presented within 90 days of the bill's passage, would be breed-neutral.

Read next: Mobilized Maryland National Guard Soldiers Miss June Paychecks

That's in contrast with current policies, which tend to focus on certain "aggressive" breeds, such as pit bulls.

The new policy would also need to be "consistent with advice from professional veterinary and animal behavior experts in regard to effective regulation of dangerous dogs," according to the language of the bill.

The current array of policies governing dogs on base highlights the confusion. According to the Air Force's standardized pet policy, dogs of any breed deemed "aggressive or potentially aggressive" are off-limits on base unless the animal is certified as a military working dog or has special approval from the base commander.

"For purposes of this policy, aggressive or potentially aggressive breeds of dogs are defined as a Pit Bull (American Staffordshire Bull Terrier or English Staffordshire Bull Terrier), Rottweiler, Doberman Pinscher, Chow and wolf hybrids," the policy reads. "Prohibition also extends to other breeds of dogs or individual dogs that demonstrate or are known to demonstrate a propensity for dominant or aggressive behavior."

These behaviors include unprovoked barking and snarling, biting or scratching people, and escaping confinement to chase people.

The Army has base-by-base restrictions, many of which limit not only the kinds of dog breeds that can be kept but also the total number of pets. The policies typically name the same breeds cited in the Air Force policy as restricted from living on base.

In 2012, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, moved to end its grandfather policy governing pit bulls, rottweilers and wolf hybrids, requiring base residents to give up these dogs or move off base.

Owners of mixed-breed dogs and breeds banned in some places but not others, like Chows, are especially likely to take issue with current policies, and to face challenges during permanent change-of-station moves to locations with different rules. A 2013 Change.org petition from the organization Dogs on Deployment calling for a standardization of dog policies collected nearly 45,000 signatures but ultimately did not lead to a major policy change.

The initiative apparently got new legs, however, when the president of the American Bar Association, Bob Carlson, wrote to the Senate Armed Services Committee in 2019 about the matter.

"Enacting a consistent pet policy applicable to all installation housing, regardless of service or privatized provider, can balance diverse command interests in safety and security while also improving the morale and welfare of the service members and families affected by the policy," he said at the time, calling for a breed-neutral, uniform policy for those in military housing.

According to the current legislation, the policy would have to be implemented within 180 days of the NDAA becoming law and would "include strategies for implementation within all military communities, [and] for the prevention of dog bites that are consistent with the following best practices: Enforcement of comprehensive, non breed-specific regulations relating to dangerous dogs, with emphasis on identification of dangerous dog behavior and chronically irresponsible owners."

It would also provide for "investment in community education initiatives" that would support pet care best practices and owner responsibility.

The House must still pass its version of the defense policy bill and reconcile it with the Senate version before it continues to final passage and goes to the president to become law.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.

Related: How to Get Banned Pups on Base (Without Breaking the Rules)
Detection of people with flu-like symptoms during daily door-to-door survey has seen a four-fold increase after the lockdown came into effect a week ago, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G Prakash said here on Friday.

During the pre-lockdown times, about 600-700 symptomatic cases used to be recorded every day by field personnel and now it has crossed the 3,000 mark for a day, he said.

The lockdown from June 19-30, does not allow relaxations previously seen for several businesses, shops and other retail outlets and only stores selling essentials are permitted from 6 am till 2 pm.

The curbs are applicable in Chennai and parts of Chengalpet, Kancheepuram, and Tiruvallur.

"Yesterday, 3,217 people were found with symptoms (indicating flu-like symptoms) in the door-to-door surveys. The number has now increased to 3,000 (daily average). This may go up to even 3,500," he told reporters.

The reason behind the increase was the availability of people at their homes -in view of the lockdown- when field survey personnel make their daily visits, he said.

GCC's health survey personnel visit households on a daily basis, ask people if they have any flu-like symptoms, check body temperature using thermal guns.

Pulse oximeters have also been distributed in the city by the GCC to check blood oxygen levels which are used in civic body held medical camps also known as fever clinics/ camps.

Early identification of people with symptoms was a big advantage of the lockdown, he said adding during the 12-day lockdown period if about 30,000 to 40,000 people with symptoms could be spotted cumulatively, it would be of great help.

Of these people found with flu-like symptoms, "doctors will examine and decide who should be sent for (confirmatory RT-PCR test for coronavirus) testing," he said.

Out of the approximate 12,000 operationalised beds - with availability of doctors and other personnel- in the Covid Care Centres, the present occupancy rate is 4,350 anymore beds including 5,000 at a Tamil Nadu Housing Board apartment complex were getting gready and 1,500 beds will become functional in a week at the Anna University premises, he said.

The Corporation has kept 17,500 beds ready in 54 CCCs in the city which includes educational institutions and others and about 12,000 have healthcare professionals.

The Corporation has recently launched a Community Intervention Programme, an awareness, case identification, vulnerable population protection and stigma removal initiative in 1,979 high population density locations in the city to reach 26 lakh people in association with 89 NGOs.

Over 2,300 field level workers are involved in the exercise and during visits they would identify people with co-morbidities and enquire about coronavirus symptoms and refer people to fever camps and urban primary health centres for evaluation by doctors.

In the past one month, 174 awareness programmes have been conducted, Prakash said adding skits, puppet shows and other communication strategies like putting up informative banners, posters were also being used.

Outreach workers follow up families on a daily basis and the effort has helped detect symptomatic cases early.
A transgender indigenous woman has revealed how she overcame a difficult childhood and discrimination after turning to sex work to fund her transition.

Lola-olivia Parkinson, 22, grew up in the remote town of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory where she faced homophobia from the community, at school and from some of her family members.

She moved with her family to Adelaide aged 16, before her transition, but two years later she was struggling to find work because she 'didn't pass' as a woman.

Ms Parkinson also struggled with her gender and identity to the degree that she developed depression, anxiety and eating disorders.

Overwhelming support from her family was key to her turning her life around.

Lola-olivia Parkinson (pictured), 22, grew up in the remote town of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory where she faced homophobia from the community, at school and from some of her family members

When Ms Parkinson was 18 she struggled to find work as she was faced with transphobia and discrimination from potential employers.

'Places (especially women's stores) wouldn't hire me because I didn't pass and it was confusing for them,' Ms Parkinson told 7News.

Feeling she had run out of options, Ms Parkinson decided to turn to sex work to support herself financially, fund her transition and pay medical expenses.

'I so desperately needed to be myself that I needed to find my own way in the world, to learn not only what it meant to be trans, a woman but also an adult,' she said.

Ms Parkinson said sex work has also helped her find strength and independence as a transgender indigenous woman.

She moved with her family to Adelaide at 16 years old, before her transition, but two years later, she struggled to find work because she 'didn't pass' as a woman. Ms Parkinson also struggled with her gender, identity and body

Just before her 19th birthday, Ms Parkinson started hormone replacement therapy and psychological evaluations.

She said her family have always been supportive and respectful through the 'ups and downs' of her transition.

But she said her experience as an indigenous trans woman has been hard.

'Putting all these together and having to face racism, sexism and transphobia is extremely tiring and mentally exhausting,' she explained.

She started sex work when she was older which financed her transition and she has received overwhelming support from her family

The coronavirus has also affected her as she had to stop working and has lost all of her income.

Though COVID-19 has brought more hurdles, Ms Parkinson started a fundraiser for her gender affirmation surgeries.

The fundraiser has raised thousands of dollars and numerous messages of support.

Ms Parkinson wants to use her experience as a way to educate Australians about transgender people as she believes doing so will help save lives.
They start packing because they do think that three days is all they have, and we try to explain to them that a notice to vacate begins the process, but theyre not required to leave until a court order is signed, said Lizbeth Parra-Davila, a housing fellow at the University of Texas School of Law.

There are many other reasons why tenants prematurely move out. In Texas, an eviction can appear on a tenants record from the moment it is filed. That makes it difficult for tenants to find new homes even if they have not yet been evicted, said Linley Boone-Almaguer, an attorney at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid.

Some renters also self-evict because of misconceptions they harbor surrounding the consequences of an eviction filing, including that it can lead to a tenant losing custody of their children, being fired from their job or going to jail, said Boone-Almaguer. Others, like undocumented tenants, fear deportation and try to avoid going to court altogether.

And so we try to educate people, she said. Because time means so much when you're facing homelessness.

Leveling the playing field
The Supreme Court last year lifted the lower-court injunction without ruling on the legality of the administrations Pentagon transfers. But the administration has insisted the White House has the legal authority to pay for physical barriers as part of a wider effort to protect and defend the countrys borders. The Trump administration also has argued in recent months that security at the southern border is a crucial element of preventing further influx of the coronavirus, though the outbreak within the United States is by far the worst in the world.
Italys largest insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA said it will become a major shareholder in Cattolica Assicurazioni SC and a strategic partner with Cattolica in several areas of mutual opportunity.

Generali said it has committed to becoming a major shareholder, acquiring 24.4% of Cattolica, through a reserved share capital increase for 300 million ($337.5 million), subject to the transformation of Cattolica into a joint-stock company.

Transforming Cattolica into a joint-stock company would be voted on at a Cattolica shareholder meeting on July 31. The transformation would take effect April 1, 2021.

The board of directors of Assicurazioni Generali, under the chairmanship of Gabriele Galateri di Genola, and the board of directors of Cattolica, chaired by Paolo Bedoni, have already approved the start of a strategic partnership between the two.

The deal calls for the issue of 54.054 million Cattolica shares to Generali at a price per share of 5.55 euros ($6.21).

Italys insurance regulator recently told Cattolica it needs to raise 500 million euros ($557 million) to cover for losses from the coronavirus crisis, which hit Italy hard.

Before this move by Generali, Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway has been the top investor in Cattolica with 9%.

In addition to the capital increase for 300 million euros, Cattolica plans to approve a second capital increase in option for all shareholders for a maximum value of 200 million euros ($224 million).

The agreed-upon partnership includes trade agreements capable of generating immediate direct benefits and opportunities for the two groups in four areas: asset management, internet of things, business health and reinsurance. The agreements are aimed at leveraging Generalis skills and capabilities in investment management, digital innovation and health services and allowing Cattolica to expand and improve the offer to its customers.

Generali would offer Cattolica customers access to its telematic business for cars, homes, pets and businesses. It would Cattolicas customers health services currently not offered by Cattolica. Also the two would collaborate on reinsurance, with Generali being the main partner in relation to a portion of the risks to be reinsured.

Amid rumors of possible takeover bid, Italys top insurer told shareholders in April that it is very solid from an operational and financial point of view as well as in terms of capital and governance.

Generali has been exploring various options, including the potential sale of certain units and a French life insurance portfolio.

Generalis first quarter net profit fell 84.8% to 113 million (US$124 million) from 744 million (US$815.5 million) reported in Q1 2019, as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial markets. The insurer posted a record operating result for 2019. Its 2019 operating result was 5.2 billion euros ($5.8 billion) , up 6.9% from 2018, helped by growth across all its businesses.

In February, Genrali signed a deal with U.S. insurance giant Nationwide to serve commercial insurance customers with global needs. The insurers have formed a joint venture called N2G to address the property/casualty insurance needs of multinational organizations with U.S operations as well as U.S.-based firms with multinational operations.

In January, Generali finalized the acquisition in Portugal of the insurer Seguradoras Unidas and the health services company AdvanceCare from Apollo Global Management Inc. for 600 million (US$670.1 million).

Topics Mergers USA Generali Life Assurance (Thailand) Plc.
Global consumer goods giant Unilever laid the groundwork to expand its China food production base on Wednesday, showing the industry leader's confidence in the Chinese consumer market's potential and its commitment to continue its investment in the country.



Located in Taicang, Jiangsu province, Unilever's China food production base will attract a total investment of 100 million euros ($113 million), making it the largest investment that Unilever has approved in its food business sector in recent years.

With a planned area of around 63,000 square meters, the production base is scheduled to start operation in early 2022. The facility will initially be used to produce the company's signature Wall's ice cream and will have an annual capacity of 150,000 metric tons. Production lines for tea bags, sauces, seasonings and other food products will be introduced at a later stage in the planned space. The entire project will be able to support Unilever's production in China for five to 10 years.

The base will be upgraded from the standing Taicang factory, which was put into use in the 1990s. According to Rohit Jawa, executive vice-president of Unilever North Asia, the factory cannot keep up with the rapidly growing Chinese market by simply adding more state-of-art machines. Thus, the company decided to invest in upgrading its factory into the world's first ice cream production base that combines automatic, intelligent and agile manufacturing.

As Jawa further explained, locating the first advanced production base of this kind in China can be largely attributed to the technology maturity in the country, especially in the development of smart factories.

While addressing rising labor costs, an unmanned factory has proved to be particularly advantageous during the COVID-19 pandemic as it can ensure food safety and continue manufacturing at the same time. The factory upgrade is also in accordance with China's industrial upgrading strategy, he added.

The Chinese market was one of the first among Unilever's worldwide operations to resume production after the start of the pandemic. The signature products of Wall's, such as the premium brand Magnum, have kept growing strongly. E-retailing has been the major driver, Jawa said.

"The Taicang project will be the best example to boost and pass on confidence worldwide. While China is among the top five contributors to Unilever's annual sales revenue, a large part of the group's growth will come from China in the next 10 years," he said.

Unilever's Taicang project is just one example of multinational companies' continued investment in China, which has been unaffected by the pandemic.

Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce showed that the amount of utilized foreign capital in the country reached 68.63 billion yuan in May, up 7.5 percent year-on-year.
Over 360,000 Indians have returned to India from abroad after the government launched the ''Vande Bharat'' evacuation mission on May 7 in view of the pandemic, the said on Thursday.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said a total number of 5,13,047 Indians have registered their request with Indian missions abroad for repatriation to India on compelling grounds.

Of the people who have registered, 3,64,209 have returned under this Mission as of today, he said.

Repatriations from neighbouring countries have also been happening through land borders, he added.

"More than 84,000 Indians have returned through land border immigration checkpoints from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh," the MEA spokesperson said.

"In the first three phases of the Vande Bharat Mission, around 875 international flights were scheduled for operation from over 50 countries across five continents. So far, more than 700 of these flights have reached India, repatriating around 1,50,000 Indians," Srivastava said.





ALSO READ: Covid-19: Singapore Airlines may grab Emirates, Etihad traffic in India

The remaining 175 flights under the Phase 3 are expected to reach in the coming days, he said.

These Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flights have been instrumental in addressing the immediate requirements of stranded Indians from many parts of the world, Srivastava said.

"We are committed to bringing back our remaining compatriots particularly in the GCC countries, Malaysia, Singapore among other places. In order to continue with our efforts, Phase IV of VBM is being firmed up with effect from July 3, 2020," he said.

"Phase IV will particularly focus on countries where we still have a large number of Indians who have registered to return," Srivastava said.



Medics screen passengers after an Air India Express flight brought stranded Indian nationals from Abu Dhabi, UAE, as part of the repatriation exercise Vande Bharat Mission, at the airport in Kochi. Photo: PTI

Apart from these, chartered flight operations which commenced on May 26, have steadily increased over the past weeks, he said.

These flights have also brought back seafarers and crews of shipping companies stranded in various places, Srivastava said.

"Till date, 1,30,061 persons have returned on these flights. Demand for these flights remains very high, especially in the Gulf region. Therefore, we are moving to further streamline the process," Srivastava said.

Noting that repatriations through naval ships have also been part of this mission, he said one such repatriation is presently underway.

INS Jalashwa reached Port of Bandar Abbas in Iran on June 24 to bring back Indian citizens and their embarkation was to commence on Thursday, Srivastava said.
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Linkedin Apriza Pinandita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 18:03 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661fc0d4 1 SE Asia travel-bubble,ASEAN-Summit,Joko-Widodo,ASEAN,travel-corridor,Southeast-Asia,regional-economy Free

Indonesia has proposed the establishment of a travel corridor between ASEAN member states to increase the regions connectivity and facilitate economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the 36th ASEAN Summit plenary session on Friday, President Joko Jokowi Widodo said enabling good connectivity within the region was key to its economic recovery.

I acknowledge that several countries, including Indonesia, have begun discussions with fellow ASEAN countries or other countries about travel corridors. However, it is time for the community to think about creating an ASEAN travel corridor, the President said during the session.

The arrangement of a travel corridor must be carried out carefully and gradually, starting from allowing essential business travel while implementing strict health protocols, Jokowi added.

Read also: Indonesia eyes travel bubble for four countries in Asia Pacific

Jokowi claimed the travel corridor would demonstrate ASEANs strategic value to the world, adding that the region should also facilitate digital connectivity through e-commerce, e-health and e-learning.

The President highlighted several economic issues in the region and noted that the bloc had built a solid foundation to cushion the impact of the health crisis and the prevailing geopolitical situation.

He urged ASEAN member states to accelerate the economic recovery in the region, following a recent forecast by the International Monetary Fund that revised the worlds 2020 economic growth projection from negative 3 percent to negative 4.9 percent. Such a contraction would be the worst since the Great Depression.

Jokowi said the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) this year would safeguard the regions economy.

The RCEP will be our new strength and hope for economic recovery in the region after the pandemic, he said.

Read also: Doubts loom over Indonesia's 'travel bubble' plan

This year, ASEAN member states attended the two-hour summit virtually because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The ASEAN states agreed to two documents, namely the Leaders Vision Statement on a Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN and the ASEAN Declaration on Human Resources Development for the Changing World of Work.

The vision statement mainly discusses the leaders commitments to strengthen solidarity and regional mechanisms to realize the goal of making ASEAN a stronger regional cooperative body, said Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in a press briefing at the State Palace on Friday.

The document on human resources development highlighted the need for ASEAN to develop a workforce that was ready to face the rapidly changing world, the minister added.
There is room for argument about how ABC management has tackled the realities  but clearly something had to give. The ABC is not a magic pudding. Why have an ABC? It was established in 1932 as an act of nation building  of a piece with all the other commissions and government-owned enterprises of its time. Significantly, unlike those other bodies, it survived the economic rationalism reforms of the 1980s and 1990s. There is no room here for the history lesson, but collectively society decided it was too important to abolish. Loading The ABC, of course, is more than its journalism, and journalism is much more than the ABC. But repeated surveys confirm that the ABC is Australias most trusted news source  and it is also one of, if not the, biggest employers of journalists. It is a massively imperfect institution, but it offers an opportunity for a different, and better, trajectory than the fractured politics of the USA. Less noted than the ABC cuts, but also important, the last efficiency review of the ABC, completed in 2018 and led by ex-Foxtel boss Peter Tonagh, was also released this week. Until now it had been kept under very firm wraps  Freedom of Information requests for its release were refused.

We now know that it is not only we, the public, who were kept in the dark. The Tonagh report suggests that many millions of dollars of savings could be made by the ABC and SBS through efficiencies in broadcasting and news gathering, and by closing some of their television channels. I assumed that the figures behind those assertions had been provided to the ABC and SBS.

Apparently not, as the Herald reported yesterday. Thats strange and regrettable. On the information that was provided by Tonagh, at one end of the cost efficiency spectrum was SkyNews, with its robot cameras, rip and read bulletins and heavy reliance on televising stage-managed media events. The ABC  with its curated shows including analysis and a charter-mandated presentation of diverse points of view  sits at the other end of the spectrum, and is the most expensive. A hot topic for debate in ABC corridors is how much of this cost differential is a necessary part of the ABCs emphasis on quality  its position as most trusted news brand  and how much is self indulgence. Certainly, as the Tonagh review acknowledged, simple comparisons are not necessarily wise or sensible. The ABCs five-year plan, also released this week, is effectively the broadcasters response to Tonagh, and its message to the taxpayers about how it will manage. It is a disappointingly thin document  just 46 pages including pictures and appendices  but it included some clear priorities, with one of them being to shift to delivering personalised digital experiences. This is part of the context for canning the iconic 7.45 am radio news bulletin.

Does it still matter, or matter as much, when an increasing number of people stream content through the ABC Listen app? Appointments with broadcast content are on the way out  but the ABCs rusted-on audience, mostly over 60, still rely on them. One suspects that ABC managing director David Anderson is sending a message here to the politicians, who listen to that news bulletin. But the decision underlines the ABCs problem  continuing to meet the needs of its loyal older audience, while also innovating, in an atmosphere of declining funding. Loading The Tonagh review also recommended a refocussing of the ABC and SBS on charter activities  hence recommended cuts to lifestyle journalism at the ABC, the five-year plan largely adopts that approach, but has responded to the suggestion of cutting channels by effectively saying maybe, but not yet. The Tonagh review recommended the ABC funding round be shifted from three years to 10  which would enable better planning, but also remove it from the electoral cycle and the pressures of any particular controversy. Anderson has signalled he is pitching for a five-year funding round. Why the difference? My guess is that he has been given a signal by Communications Minister Paul Fletcher  a smart man, and not an ideologue  about the politically possible.

The crisis in public interest journalism demands enlightened and long-term public policy responses. The situation of the ABC is only part of this. For years, successive governments have regarded media policy is being about removing  admittedly outdated  restrictions on cross-media ownership.

Much less thought and political will has been given to considering what a modern, fit-for-purpose system of media policy and regulation might look like. The ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry last year recommended a range of measures, including direct grants for rural and regional publications  which the government has acted on. More is needed.

Other possible responses include tax incentives for investment in public interest journalism and what the ACCC described as stable and adequate funding for the ABC  without saying what that might be. The government has meanwhile pushed ahead forcefully with the development of a mandatory code to make Facebook and Google pay for content from news media. Google and Facebook are, to some extent, responding with news this week that they have developed licensing arrangements with some of the smaller, independent Australian news outlets . All this is welcome. Market-led means of fostering a healthy news media ecosystems will always be the most robust. But in this context, funding the ABC is an important part of that ecosystem. It is an investment in national cohesion and in democratic health. More broadly, government media policy needs to put force behind the description  heard so often in the current crises  of news media as an essential service. Margaret Simons is a freelance journalist and journalism academic. She is also a board member of the Public Interest Journalism Initiative. The views expressed here are her own.
The pandemic shines an intense light on inequities that have long existed in our education system: long lines for food pick-up by school families, lack of devices and Wi-Fi for remote learning, and unfair funding formulas that allocate less to schools with the most students of color and those from low-income families.

These inequalities undergird the protests demanding racial justice that are convulsing our country. How we choose to respond will impact the rising generation, and the fabric of our whole society, for years to come.

Policymakers and education leaders need a shared set of principles for developing and evaluating responses to the COVID-19 crisis that advance positive change for students and reckon with systemic racism in public schools. As the director of the Education & Society Program at the Aspen Institute, I developed a framework of five principles and related actions for leading public education from recovery to renewal last month.

Every powerful driver of learning is provided to white and affluent students more than students of color and students from low-income families."

With the nations focus now on achieving racial justice, these principles are even more urgent:

1. Equity & Agency: Policymakers must be cleareyed that schools reflect the inequities that plague society at-large. Every powerful driver of learningsafe and nurturing learning environments; rigorous and relevant academic content; teachers who see and value students cultures and communities; voice and choice in important decisionsis provided to white and affluent students more than students of color and students from low-income families. Leadership in this moment must correct inequitable funding and cede decisionmaking power to those most directly affected.

Take Action: (1) Governors and legislators must prioritize funding for schools educating students of color and students from low-income families. (2) For states to receive additional federal funds, which they will need to avoid layoffs, they should be required to address inequity in education funding. (3) State leaders should seek out the most vulnerable students and families to understand what they most need to feel safe, supported, and engagedand respond with action.

2. Coherence: Education leaders will be juggling many issues just to start the new school year, in the context of immense strain on state budgets and rising needs among vulnerable children and families. Policymakers need a holistic frame for addressing the needs of students and families so each decision is related to the whole. If every issue is treated serially, by the assumed level of urgency, decisions made by different agencies and state vs. local leaders wont be aligned, and school leaders will be left to sort out the confusion.

Take Action: (1) Governors should prioritize cross-agency coordination to address the needs of children and families, avoid duplication of efforts, and keep turf battles from slowing down delivery. (2) Within education, coherence calls for integrating social-emotional dimensions of learning into academic instruction so these reinforce each other in students experience of school. Schooling next year in particular needs to become a place of healing and processing whats happened, or students will experience the disconnect and hypocrisy viscerally.

3. Science of Learning and Development: Breakthroughs in neuroscience, epigenetics, and research have created a new understanding about how people learn. We know student safety, belonging, and connectedness to school are foundational to resilience and engagement that then enable academic success and thriving in life . Focusing too narrowly on making up for lost instructional time will compound inequity and depress long-term achievement if done without adequately resourcing psychological safety, relationships, and a sense of belonging.

Take Action: (1) Prioritize school climate and relationships. Assigning every adult to mentor a manageable number of students and instituting advisories are two aspects of relationship-rich schools that will be especially valuable. (2) State agencies can commission appropriate online, interactive courses to provide teacher professional development and offer micro-credentials. (3) Modest investments in community service for near-peer mentors and tutors, both high school juniors and seniors and recent graduates, could imbue learning with greater purpose, while at the same time providing needed mentorship and tutoring for younger students.

4. Long-Term Success: Even before the crisis, profound questions were on the table about the role of education in society and the education outcomes that are essential for students to be ready to thrive as adults. Changes will be accelerated and intensified by the pandemic, the economic upheaval it is provoking, and the widespread political awakening on systemic racism in our society.

Take Action: (1) Policymakers must identify competencies that are needed to navigate the future of work; to build a new, anti-racist pluralism; and to support a healthy democracy. (2) Education agencies and state school boards should pilot assessments of critical skills for the modern workplace like working on teams, communicating in diverse settings, and evaluating the credibility and relevance of information from multiple sources.

5. Innovation: Many new online instruction and student-engagement practices are being rapidly designed and implemented. For instance, teachers as well as students have developed facility with digital-learning platforms. The challenge is to understand the reality of whats being tried (rather than what was planned) and to learn what worked to improve practice long term.

Take Action: (1) States should track emergency- response measures, both official decisions and emerging practice. (2) State education agencies can help organize working groups to collect data, learn quickly, and adapt policy and practice decisions. Empanel students and parents as part of these efforts, compensate them for their time, and start by asking what they experienced and whats most important to them going forward. (3) Publish and share what is learned.

The challengeand opportunityof returning to school calls on all of us to clarify the principles and enduring values we want to live by and to use these to build common ground where we can. Just as some work routines and home-life dynamics will be indelibly altered even when the crisis recedes, the social contract that public schools represent is overdue for renewal. We must re-envision public education to meet this emergency while also setting a course that improves on the status quo, or policies that had outlived their usefulness will be extended in a rush to return to normal as quickly as possible.
Guwahati: After recording a sharp drop during coronavirus lockdown, extortion is back on the rise in Nagaland. The earlier drop in additional taxation and extortion cases in first three months of lockdown was attributed to cadres of various National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) factions remaining home or returning to their villages. During the lockdown, those staying in the camps were running out of ration and medical facilities, while others faced restriction in movement due to want of transit passes. But as the state gradually reopened in June, extortion activities returned to pre-lockdown levels.

For the first two months of lockdown, they were unable to collect taxes. Now, with restrictions being lifted and shops reopening, they have resorted to illegal collection  collecting taxes from every business, particularly transport. We request the government to take immediate action as people are suffering, said Vekhosayi Nyekha, Media Convenor of the Peoples Action Committee (PAC), Nagaland.

They are also moving freely with arms. I request the Chairman of Ceasefire Monitoring Group to intervene in this aspect, Nyekha added.

The civil society groups, interestingly, found strong support in a letter written by Nagaland Governor RN Ravi to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on June 16, in which he slammed the state machinery for failing to address growing concerns. The Governor wrote, Civil society organizations, at great personal risk to their members, have been raising voices, from time to time, against such blatant unlawful activities of the armed gangs. I have received several representations of public for intervention and relief because the state law and order machinery does not act.

In his four-page letter to the Chief Minister, Governor Ravi observed how day to day unrestrained depredations by over half a dozen organized armed gangs, brazenly running their respective so called Government, challenging the legitimacy of the state government without any resistance from the state law and order machinery has created a crisis of confidence in the system.

Situation has deteriorated to such an extent that the armed miscreants appoint their own dealers for every commodity from salt to construction materials coming into the state. They decide and levy illegal taxes on every item. They run syndicates, for contrabands including alcoholic drinks which they help smuggle into the state. They are operating check gates for this purpose at almost every entry point to the state with the full knowledge of the state law and order machinery, the Governor mentioned in his letter, stating that he has been closely observing the precarious law and order situation in the state with a lot of concern since August 2019 when he assumed office as the Governor of Nagaland.

In the backdrop of the grim scenario and collapse of law and order, Governor RN Ravi proposed through his letter that he would periodically review the law and order in the state and issue required lawful directions.

The Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) had also expressed concern over some of the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) and other elements forcefully collecting tax from shops and business establishments.

They have resorted to item-wise taxation  for example, if there are different brands of biscuits and noodles in a shop, they want to collect tax for every item under separate brands. I want government to give us protection and settle this problem of taxation, said DCCI President Akashe Zhimomi, adding that he has not come across anyone moving around with arms and collecting taxes.

Zhimomi also appreciated the Governor writing to Chief Minister Rio about the problem.

It is really good that the Governor wrote to the CM. The state government is expected to come out and do its job. They are simply sleeping. Today, taking all the risk, we have come out to speak about this issue. We have no other option, he remarked.

Sources said the groups are collecting anywhere between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 lakh a day, and Rs 3,000 to Rs 7,000 from every passenger vehicle, depending on the carrying capacity.

In May and June, several cadres of various NSCN factions were apprehended in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam under charges of extortion and illegal recruitment activities. On May 21, police had arrested a member of NSCN-Unification in connection with a forced taxation demand served to the proprietor of Progressive Motors at Darogapathar village in Dimapur. The GPRN/NSCN had regretted it as an unfortunate development and constituted a high powered committee to discuss the matter within their organization and other groups. It was later amicably resolved and declared null and void.

Earlier, speaking to this correspondent, a senior leader of NSCN-Neopao Konyak/Kitovi (NSCN/NK also known as GPRN/NSCN) had expressed solidarity with people affected by lockdown.

When you are in lockdown, you are not in a position to earn. We need to understand the situation. The lockdown has affected people and livelihoods. Only half the shops are open, nothing is functioning regularly. Under such conditions, how can we send our men to seek donations or collect taxes? said the senior NSCN/NK leader on condition of anonymity.

A defence analyst in Nagaland, however, said that extortion figures during lockdown stood at about 20 per cent, and that the year 2020 has been the safest in the state since last two decades.
President Donald Trump holds an executive order on "Continuing the President's National Council for the American Worker and the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board" in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on June 26, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump Signs Executive Order Refocusing Federal Hiring on Skills Over Degrees

President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that directs the federal government to open the playing field to all by giving higher priority to a job applicants skills than merely having a formal qualification.

Trump signed the order following a meeting of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board.

Our moral obligation is to the American workers, and were committed to helping them climb that great ladder of success, Trump said.

Unnecessary degree requirements exclude otherwise qualified Americans from Federal employment, impose the expense of college on prospective workers, and disproportionately harm low-income Americans, the White House said in a statement.

The order requires Federal agencies to revise and update outdated Federal job qualification standards and candidate assessments, improving the quality and competency of the civil service, the statement noted.

The presidents adviser and daughter, Ivanka Trump, co-chairs the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board.

President Trump built the most inclusive economy once and will do it again, she wrote on Twitter earlier in the day, adding that the executive order directs the U.S. government to hire on the basis of skills (and) knowledge rather than simply degree requirements.

Ivanka Trump and other administration officials have pushed to increase opportunities for apprenticeships and have promoted such training and vocational education as alternatives to traditional two-year or four-year college degree programs.

We are modernizing federal hiring to find candidates with the relevant competencies and knowledge, rather than simply recruiting based on degree requirements, she said in a statement.

We encourage employers everywhere to take a look at their hiring practices and think critically about how initiatives like these can help diversify and strengthen their workforce, she added.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the American Workforce Policy Advisory Boards other co-chair, said the need for skills training and apprenticeships is as great as it was before the COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people out of work, pushing the national unemployment rate above 13 percent in May.

Americans are eager to get to work but they need our help, Ross said.

With the move, the White House isnt eliminating degree requirements altogether but instead will stress skills in jobs where having a degree is less important.

A senior administration official said at a Friday briefing call with reporters that the move isnt at the expense of those with a college degree, this is truly just opening the playing field for all.

Noting that three out of ten college degree holders in the U.S. labor market work in areas unrelated to their field of study, the official explained that the executive order seeks to change the current rules so as to prevent the situation where a more worthy applicant is outcompeted by someone without the required skill set but who has a college degree, even if that academic qualification is not directly relevant to the job.

Someone with a completely unrelated college degree can now be deemed qualified for a position and outcompete someoneunder the current rulesthat is qualified for the job based on their skills and abilities, who would not be able to get that job, the official said. And that goes counter to the merit-based system and principles of our civil service and I think counter to fairness and getting the best person for the job.

Trump re-election campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh called the executive order a groundbreaking directive in a tweet, arguing that a persons skills and experience often mean a lot more than a college degree.

The federal government is the nations largest employer with an estimated 2.1 million civilian workers, excluding postal service employees, according to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Note: This article was updated from an earlier version to reflect the signing of the executive order, the inclusion of President Donald Trumps remarks, and the issuance of the White House statement.
American Airlines says it will fill its planes completely as passengers start to return to traveling after the coronavirus pandemic decimated demand in recent months.

American has been leaving the equivalent of half the middle seats in economy cabins empty to facilitate social distancing, filling planes to about 85 per cent of capacity. The airline said Friday that it will stop that practice July 1, while continuing to alert passengers when their flights are filling up, giving them the chance to switch free of charge.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. allows planes to fly full, though it also gives customers the chance to change flights. Spirit Airlines Inc. is also filling planes to capacity.

Delta Air Lines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. are leaving open all middle seats, or the equivalent number of seats. Both airlines have said they plan to continue blocking seats through the end of September.

Airlines are now adding back flights, saying people have started to travel again to visit friends and relatives or head to vacation destinations after months of being cooped up at home. A surge of new infections in states that had been reopening, like Texas and Florida, could jeopardize the rebound in travel.

Airlines have mounted a campaign to convince passengers that flying is safe by preventing infection on board with enhanced cleaning procedures and other measures. American said it will start asking passengers to certify that they have been free of COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days when they check in, joining airlines including United and Southwest that have started asking passengers to attest to being symptom-free.

Airlines are also more stringently enforcing requirements that everyone onboard wear masks. American and other airlines have said that passengers who refuse to comply with mask requirements will risk losing the ability to book future travel.

Wearing a face covering continues to be one of the most important ways travelers can protect themselves and others while flying, American said in a statement.

Social distancing has become a flashpoint. Throughout the spring, planes were nearly empty, giving everyone plenty of room to spread out. But as demand has started to pick up, some travelers were alarmed to find themselves unexpectedly on relatively full flights.

Airline executives have said keeping seats empty indefinitely is a money-losing proposition, and that even empty middle seats dont provide the level of social distancing that public-health officials recommend.
The first time the Rev. Lettie Moses Carr saw Jesus depicted as Black, she was in her 20s.



It felt weird, Carr said.



Until that moment, shed always thought Jesus was white.



At least thats how he appeared when she was growing up. A copy of Warner E. Sallmans Head of Christ painting hung in her home, depicting a gentle Jesus with blue eyes turned heavenward and dark blond hair cascading over his shoulders in waves.



The painting, which has been reproduced a billion times, came to define what the central figure of Christianity looked like for generations of Christians in the United States  and beyond.



For years, Sallmans Jesus represented the image of God, said Carr, director of ministry and administrative support staff at First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Maryland.



When she grew up and began to study the Bible on her own, she started to wonder about that painting and the message it sent.



It didnt make sense that this picture was of this white guy, she said.



Carr isnt the first to question Sallmans image of Jesus and the impact its had not only on theology but also on the wider culture. As protesters around the United States tear down statues of Confederate heroes and demand an accounting for the countrys long legacy of racism, some in the church are asking if the time has come to cancel so-called white Jesus  including Sallmans famed painting.



Modest beginnings



The Head of Christ has been called the best-known American artwork of the 20th century. The New York Times once labeled Sallman the best-known artist of the 20th century, despite the fact that few recognized his name.



Sallman, who died in 1968, was a religious painter and illustrator whose most popular picture, Head of Christ, achieved a mass popularity that makes Warhols soup can seem positively obscure, William Grimes of the Times wrote in 1994.



The famed image began as a charcoal sketch for the first issue of The Covenant Companion, a youth magazine for a denomination known as the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant.



Sallman, who grew up in the denomination, which is now known as the Evangelical Covenant Church, was a Chicago-based commercial artist. Wanting to appeal to young adults, he gave his Jesus a very similar feeling to an image of a school or professional photo of the time making it more accessible and familiar to the audience, said Tai Lipan, gallery director at Indianas Anderson University, which has housed the Warner Sallman Collection since the 1980s.



His approach worked.



The image was so popular that the 1940 graduating class of North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago commissioned Sallman to create a painting based on his drawing as their class gift to the school, according to the Evangelical Covenant Churchs official magazine.



Sallman painted a copy for the school but sold the original Head of Christ to religious publisher Kriebel and Bates, and what Lipan calls a Protestant icon was born. This particular image of Jesus met the dawn of the Mad Men, of the marketing agency, said Matthew Anderson, affiliate professor of theological studies at Concordia University in Montreal.



The image quickly spread, printed on prayer cards and circulated by organizations, missionaries and a wide range of churches: Catholic and Protestant, evangelical and mainline, white and Black.



Copies accompanied soldiers into battle during World War II, handed out by the Salvation Army and YMCA through the USO. Millions of cards produced in a project called Christ in Every Purse that was endorsed by then-President Dwight Eisenhower and Trump family pastor Norman Vincent Peale were distributed all around the world.



The image appeared on pencils, bookmarks, lamps and clocks and was hung in courtrooms, police stations, libraries and schools. It became what scholar David Morgan has heard called a photograph of Jesus.



Along the way, Sallmans image crowded out other depictions of Jesus.



Anderson said that it has been common for people to depict Jesus as a member of their culture or their ethnic group.



If a person thinks thats the only possible representation of Jesus, then thats where the problem starts, he said.



Morgan, professor of religious studies at Duke University in North Carolina, agrees. Some of the earliest images of Jesus showed him with very dark skin and possibly African, he said.



Sallman wasnt the first to depict Jesus as white, Morgan said. The Chicagoan had been inspired by a long tradition of European artists, most notably Frenchman Leon-Augustin Lhermitte.



But against the backdrop of U.S. history, of European Christians colonizing Indigenous lands with the blessing of the Doctrine of Discovery and enslaving African people, Morgan said, a universal image of a white Jesus became problematic.



You simply cant ignore very Nordic Jesus, he said.



The movement to cancel white Jesus



The backlash to Sallmans work began during the civil rights movement, when his depiction of a Scandinavian savior was criticized for enshrining the image of a white Jesus for generations of Americans.



That criticism has been renewed recently amid the current national reckoning over racism sparked by the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed in an encounter with police.



Earlier this week, activist Shaun King called for statues depicting Jesus as European to come down alongside Confederate monuments, calling the depiction a form of white supremacy.



Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning science fiction author Nnedi Okorafor echoed that sentiment on Twitter.



Yes, blond blue-eyed jesus IS a form of white supremacy, she tweeted.



Anthea Butler, associate professor of religious studies and Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania, has also warned of the damaging impact of depictions of white Jesus.



Every time you see white Jesus, you see white supremacy, she said recently on the Religion News Service video series Becoming Less Racist: Lighting the Path to Anti-Racism.



Sallmans Jesus was the Jesus you saw in all the Black Baptist churches, Butler told RNS in a follow-up interview.



But Sallman's Jesus did not look like Black Christians, according to the scholar. Instead, she said, that Jesus looked like the people who were beating you up in the streets or setting dogs on you.



That Jesus sent a message, Butler said.



If Jesus is white and God is white, she said, then authority is white.



Edward J. Blum, who co-authored the 2014 book "The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America," said many Christians remain hesitant to give up the image of white Jesus. He believes the continued popularity of white depictions of Jesus are an example of how far in some respects the United States has not moved.



Tisby said that depicting Jesus as only white has theological implications. It narrows Christians understanding of Jesus, he said.



To say that Jesus is Black  or, more broadly, to say that Jesus is not white  is to say that Jesus identifies with the oppressed and that the experience of marginalized people is not foreign to God, but that God is on the side of those who, in Matthew 25, Jesus refers to as the least of these, he said.



Still, Tisby is hopeful, pointing to a number of diverse images of Jesus that offer alternatives to Sallmans.



A decade after Sallman painted his Head of Christ, Korean artist Kim Ki-chang created a picture cycle of the life of Christ in traditional Korean clothing and settings, featuring figures from Korean folk religion.



"If white Jesus cant be put to death, how could it possibly be the case that systemic racism is done?" Blum said. "Because this is one that just seems obvious. This one seems easy to give up."



Jemar Tisby, whose 2019 book The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Churchs Complicity in Racism appeared on The New York Times bestseller list this week, said that believing in a white Jesus denigrates the image of God in Black people and other people of color.



More recently, Sofia Minson, a New Zealand artist with Ng?ti Porou M?ori, English, Swedish and Irish heritage, reimagined Sallmans Jesus as an Indigenous M?ori man with a traditional face tattoo.



And there are numerous popular depictions of Jesus as Black.



Vincent Barzonis His Voyage: Life of Jesus, depicts Jesus with dark skin and dreadlocks, his wrists bound, while Franciscan friar Robert Lentzs Jesus Christ Liberator depicts Jesus as a Black man in the style of a Greek icon.



Janet McKenzies Jesus of the People, modeled on a Black woman, was chosen as the winner of the National Catholic Reporters 1999 competition to answer the question, What would Jesus Christ look like in the year 2000?



I dont know that theres one depiction that is coming to the fore, and that, I think, is illustrative that people are resisting a monolithic vision of Jesus embodied self and, and understanding that his very incarnation  the fact that God became a human being in itself  is a way of identifying with all peoples everywhere, Tisby said.



These days, Carr said, she tries to avoid locking Jesus into one image.



She's also more concerned about how Jesus is represented in the lives of Christians  rather than in a piece of art.



Its not so much the picture and my question about who Jesus is, she said. Its more really the picture of who I look across the aisle and see as representing a different Jesus.

Source: washingtonpost.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
vThe Texas Education Agency has released guidelines and suggestions for Texas school districts to follow for the 2020-2021 school year in order to receive attendance-based funding and instruct students as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the state.

The TEA has released COVID-19 related waivers, expectations for instruction in order for districts to receive funding and details on the distribution of personal protective equipment for students and staff.

Houston to become the next epicenter for COVID-19: Houston coronavirus updates: What you need to know for June 25

Cy-Fair ISD released a statement on June 22 stating their intention to wait for further instructions from TEA before informing students and families on how the district will proceed, and announced that students, teachers and parents will be included on the Reopening CFISD Committee. The committee will focus on procedures for safety and health for the school district, directly addressing COVID-19.

The committee is working on scenarios for returning students to schools this fall, and also creating plans for virtual learning, Cy-Fair ISD said in the statement. We are also in the process of developing a survey that will provide the opportunity for parents and staff to provide input on the reopening of CFISD.

Synchronous and asynchronous instruction methods

According to the TEA school districts can opt for either a synchronous instruction method, where all participants in virtual classes will need to be present at the same time, or an asynchronous method, which is a self-paced method with periodic instruction from teachers and preassigned work. Both virtual instruction methods will earn school districts full-day funding, but prekindergarten through 2nd grade are not eligible for funding through the synchronous method.

With the synchronous method, 3rd-5th grade students are required to have 180 instructional minutes and 6th-12th grade students are required to have 240 instructional minutes a day. Instructional minutes include work-based learning, internships and apprenticeships.

Asynchronous instruction requires students to be more hands-on and requires teachers to engage with the students virtually once a day to check for attendance and secure attendance-based funding.

Reopening stops in its tracks: Abbott halts additional phases of Texas reopening, suspends elective surgeries in 4 counties

School districts will also be given a 12-week grace period for attendance as school districts adjust to the new instructional methods.

Personal protective equipment

Masks, gloves, thermometers, hand sanitizer and face shields are being distributed by TEA as of June 23 for staff and students. The PPE is expected to arrive in July and August.

TEA has procured 53 million disposable masks and 18 million reusable masks and 1 million face shields for all students using on-campus staff and student totals for school districts.

School districts can also submit waivers for CPR instruction requirements, alternate reading instruments and missed school days as of June 25. In an effort to compensate for the 52 instruction days lost to COVID-19, CFISD is adding 10 minutes to high school instruction and 10 minutes to elementary and middle school instruction.

In addition, the calendar reserves make-up dates from June 1-30 (2021) in case of potential additional loss of instruction due to COVID-19, CFISD said in a statement.

For more information, visit https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/health-safety-discipline/covid/covid-19-support-instructional-continuity-planning.

chevall.pryce@chron.com
India has moved down three places to 77th rank in terms of money parked by its citizens and enterprises with Swiss banks at the end of 2019, while the UK has retained its top position, as per the latest data from Switzerland's central bank. India was ranked 74th in the previous year.

An analysis of the latest annual banking statistics released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) showed that India remains ranked very low when it comes to money parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through their India-based branches, accounting for just about 0.06 percent of the aggregate funds parked by all foreign clients of Switzerland-based banks.

In comparison, the top-ranked UK accounted for close to 27 percent of the total foreign funds parked with Swiss banks at the end of 2019.

According to the latest SNB data, funds parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through India-based branches, fell by 5.8 percent in 2019 to 899 million Swiss francs (Rs 6,625 crore).

The data is for 'total liabilities' of Swiss banks towards Indian clients takes into account all types of funds of Indian customers at Swiss banks, including deposits from individuals, banks and enterprises. This also includes data for branches of Swiss banks in India, as well as non-deposit liabilities.

These are official figures reported by banks to the SNB and do not indicate the quantum of the much-debated alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland. These figures also do not include the money that Indians, NRIs or others might have in Swiss banks in names of third-country entities.

Among the top-ranked jurisdictions, the UK is followed by the US, West Indies, France and Hong Kong in the top five.

The top-five countries alone account for more than 50 percent of the aggregate foreign funds parked with the Swiss banks, while the top-10 account for nearly two-thirds.

The top-15 countries account for nearly 75 percent of all foreign money in Swiss banks, while the contribution of the top-30 is almost 90 percent.

The top-10 countries also include Germany, Luxembourg, Bahamas, Singapore and Cayman Islands.

Only 22 jurisdictions have 1 percent of more of the total foreign funds parked with Swiss banks and these include China, Jersey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Panama, Italy, Cyprus, UAE, Netherlands, Japan and Guernsey.

Among the five-nation BRICS block of emerging economies, India is ranked the lowest while Russia is ranked the highest at the 20th place (same as last year), followed by China at 22nd (same as 2018-end), South Africa at 56th (up two places) and Brazil at 62nd (up from 65th last year) in terms of money parked by their citizens and enterprises at the end of 2019.

The countries ranked higher than India also include Kenya (74th), Mauritius (68th), New Zealand (67th), Venezuela (61st), Ukraine (58th), Philippines (51st), Malaysia (49th), Seychelles (45th), Indonesia (44th), South Korea (41st), Thailand (37th), Canada (36th), Israel (28th), Turkey (26th), Mexico (26th), Taiwan (24th), Saudi Arabia (19th), Australia (18th), Italy (16th), UAE (14th), Netherlands (13th), Japan (12th) and Guernsey (11th).

However, several of India's neighbouring nations are ranked lower, with Pakistan ranked 99th, Bangladesh 85th, Nepal 118th, Sri Lanka 148th, Myanmar 186th and Bhutan 196th. All these countries recorded decline in their figures for 2019.

A number of countries have seen their funds falling in Swiss banks in recent years amid a global clampdown against the erstwhile banking secrecy walls in the Alpine nation.

In terms of percentage change in the aggregate amount during 2019, Central African Republic saw the biggest increase of over 3,600 percent, while Iraq and North Korea also figured among the top-ten countries in terms of rise in their figures of nearly 500 percent and 110 percent, respectively. The decline was highest for Maldives at over 97 percent.

It has been often alleged that Indians and other nationals seeking to stash their illicit wealth abroad use multiple layers of various jurisdictions, including tax havens, to shift the money to Swiss banks.

Also, with Switzerland putting in place an automatic information exchange framework with India and various other countries, the famed secrecy walls of Swiss banks are said to have crumbled. India started getting this automatic data last year, while it has already been getting information on accounts where proof of illicit funds can be furnished.

At the end of 2018, funds officially held by Indians with banks in Switzerland accounted for about 0.07 percent of the total funds kept by all foreign clients in the Swiss banking system, almost the same as the level seen a year before that after a modest increase from 0.04 percent in 2016.

India was placed at 75th position in 2015 and 61st in the year before, though it used to be among the top-50 countries in terms of holdings in Swiss banks till 2007. The country was ranked highest at 37th place in the year 2004.

The total money held in Swiss banks by foreign clients from across the world rose marginally to CHF 1.44 trillion in 2019.

In terms of individual countries, the UK continues to account for the largest chunk at about CHF 385 billion (up from CHF 372 billion a year ago), which accounts for nearly 27 percent of the total foreign money with Swiss banks.

The US remains on the second position with an increase in its funds to USD 160 billion, accounting for over 11 percent of all foreign funds.

India was ranked in the top-50 continuously between 1996 and 2007, but its rank started declining after that -- 55th in 2008, 59th in 2009 and 2010 each, 55th again in 2011, 71st in 2012 and then to 58th in 2013.
C lashes broke out between revellers and police officers at an unlicensed 'block party' in west London.

Footage posted on social media showed scores of young people in a standoff with officers in riot equipment outside a block of flats in Harrow Road on Friday evening.

In the video, projectiles are seen being thrown at the line of officers, as one swings his baton at a group standing under a gazebo.

Another video appears to show officers being prevented from entering the melee by revellers. A man shouts: Youre not coming in.

It comes hours after Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick condemned attacks on officers sent to break up illegal street parties as completely, utterly unacceptable.

The UKs most senior officer said the police had a duty to disperse large gatherings during the coronavirus crisis.

On Wednesday 22 police officers were injured when an unlicensed street party in Brixton descended into violence.

The following night officers sent to break up another gathering in Notting Hill were pelted with objects as they tried to disperse the crowd.

Following the violence and other illegal gatherings in Streatham and Tottenham, Commissioner Dick said thousands of officers were being deployed across the capital to target unlicensed events.

But as London basked in the tail-end of this weeks heatwave, dozens of undeterred revellers descended on Harrow Road from about 3pm on Friday.

One Twitter user wrote: 3rd avenue rammed with people. Looks like party vibes. Smh

I had to turn back onto harrow road to get home. People think dis ah carnival. Joketing

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: Police are responding to an unlicensed music event on Harrow Road, W9.

Officers were called to the location around 3pm following concerns from residents.

Officers engaged with the attendees, who refused to leave the location. The police helicopter is also assisting.

Following engagement within the local community we are hopeful that crowds are dispersing. No arrests at this stage."

A section 60 has been authorised in the vicinity until 6am on Saturday, 27 June.

Officers will remain in the area in order to provide reassurance.
The country added 39 cases, including 27 local infections, raising the total caseload to 12,602.



- S. Korea reports 39 more cases of new coronavirus, total now at 12,602

- No additional coronavirus death, total death toll at 282

- 198 more people released after full recoveries from coronavirus, total cured patients at 11,172



South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back again Friday amid a steady rise in cluster infections and imported cases, putting continued strain on the country's efforts to contain further virus spread.



The country added 39 cases, including 27 local infections, raising the total caseload to 12,602, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).



The tally marked a rise from 28 new COVID-19 cases reported Thursday and 51 additional cases Wednesday.



The country's health authorities remain anxious about sustained rises in local infections and imported cases, which may lead to another wave of virus outbreak in the summer. The total global virus caseload is set to top 10 million next week.



Of the locally transmitted cases, 19 cases were reported in densely populated Seoul and nearby metropolitan areas. Four cases were reported in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul.



Cases tied to a door-to-door sales establishment in Daejeon came to 71 as of noon Thursday.



The country has reported five cases traced to a social club meeting near the Han River. The KCDC said those patients appear to have contracted the virus during their gatherings at indoor facilities.



South Korea has been gripped by sporadic cluster infections since it relaxed stricter social distancing on May 6. The greater Seoul area accounted for most of the newly added cases this month.













Health authorities said the Seoul metropolitan area is already in a second wave of the new coronavirus outbreak, warning that the country should brace for a protracted virus fight. The first wave of the virus outbreak gripped the country between February and March.



Health officials warned that they may consider expanding tougher infection preventive measures -- currently in place only in the Seoul metropolitan area -- across the country if virus situations get worse.



The country is also struggling to stem cases coming in from overseas. Twelve additional imported cases were reported, with the number of such cases rising to 1,508.



Recently, cluster infections on a Russia-flagged cargo ship docked at a port in the southeastern city of Busan, the country's second-largest city, have been reported, and cases traced to overseas have been on a steady rise.



At least 17 sailors aboard two Russian ships tested positive for COVID-19. Health officials said all 163 people who came in contact with the infected crewmembers have tested negative.



Imported cases, once the main source of virus cases here, fell to a single-digit figure early this month after the country strengthened quarantine measures on all international arrivals in April.



But such cases have bounced back to double-digit numbers since mid-June.



South Korea, meanwhile, reported no additional death, bringing the total death toll to 282. The fatality rate was 2.24 percent.



The total number of people released from quarantine after full recoveries stood at 11,172, up 198 from the previous day.



The country has carried out 1,232,315 tests since Jan. 3. (Yonhap)
Job

Title: Programme Policy Officer

(Interagency Cash Coordinator) CST II

Organization: United

Nations World Food Programme (WFP)

Duty Station:

Kampala, Uganda

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 Policy Officer (Interagency Cash

Coordinator) will lead, on behalf of WFP and UNHCR, all coordination processes

in relation to cash transfers in Uganda including chairing meetings,

representing the CWG at strategic meetings, capacity building of agencies,

developing technical and cash coordination guidelines (including IM products,

CWG bulletins, etc) and ensuring a harmonized approach to the delivery of cash

transfers among CWG members, including joint procurement of Financial Service

Providers.

This position is

expected to support the interagency cash working group and its members at

technical level, which will benefit the entire community of practice by

supporting organisations in the adoption of common tools such as the MEB

calculator and reference guidance, supporting Essential Needs and Multisectoral

Market Assessments. S/he will liaise with all relevant sectors e.g. WASH,

Health, Education, Food Security, Shelter, Environment and Livelihoods to

ensure that cash is not only mainstreamed in sector plans but also all sectors

actively participate in cash transfer programming and adapt a common and

harmonized approach to cash transfers. S/he will ensure that cash is

mainstreamed in the country Refugee Response Plan and RRP Information

Management products and considered as a tool for delivering assistance where

conditions permit. The accountability line of all TWG coordinators is to the

leadership of the inter-agency response, which are OPM (Commissioner) and UNHCR

(Representative). The CWG Coordinator thus also participates in the Inter

Sector Working Group.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:



Lead the

coordination of developing a common approach to the delivery of cash-based

interventions



Lead the

sharing of lessons learnt and best practices within the response and create a

common repository



Lead the

continued mapping of financial service provider capacity and analysis of the

advantages/disadvantages of delivery mechanisms (smart card, mobile money

transfers, cash in envelops), etc.



Ensure

regular publication of cash-related information products: updated 4Ws,

mapping, factsheets, infographics



Lead the

technical coordination of inter-agency market assessment exercises.



Lead the

planning and realization of inter-agencies Multi-Sectoral Situation and

Response Analysis (SRA) that takes into consideration the essential needs

approach



Support

the technical coordination of inter-agency needs assessments exercises.



Support

to determining need from an income and expenditures perspective including the

MEB, Vulnerability Assessment and Gaps Analysis. Update the MEB when required.



Explore

social protection as an opportunity for an integrated approach in humanitarian

cash and voucher assistance.



Lead the

regular dialogue between the Cash and Social Protection Working Groups

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:



The ideal

applicant for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Programme Policy

Officer (Interagency Cash Coordinator) CST II) job placement should possess an

advanced University degree in one or more of the following disciplines:

International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Environmental

Science, Social Sciences or other field relevant to international development

assistance.



At least

6 years of post-graduate, progressively responsible, job related experience in

the coordination and/or implementation of cash-based interventions.



Proficiency

in Windows, MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)



Competencies:

Good analytical skills, resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment,

tact, negotiating skills, ability to communicate clearly both orally and in

writing, ability to work in a team, and establish effective working relations

with persons of different national and cultural backgrounds.



Strong

management skills.

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

Deadline: 26th 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
BOSTON  The states highest court on Friday made what amounts to a technical correction in a 2011 Berkshire County triple-murder case linked to the Hells Angels.

The Supreme Judicial Court upheld the three first-degree murder convictions of Adam Lee Hall and rejected his request for a new trial. But the court also ruled Hall is not guilty of kidnapping one of the victims a year before the killings.

Hall, whom authorities said was a ranking member of the local Hells Angels chapter, had been serving five consecutive life sentences. With Fridays ruling, that will be reduced to four consecutive life sentences.

We conclude that the verdicts of murder in the first degree are consonant with justice, and we decline to exercise our authority ... to order a new trial or direct the entry of verdicts of a lesser degree of guilt, the courts decision says. We reverse the defendants kidnapping conviction for the conduct in 2010, as it was based on an inveiglement theory previously dismissed by the motion judge, but affirm all other judgments.

The 47-page ruling details  and rejects  numerous other claims Hall made in an attempt to get a new trial.

Halls rejected claims include allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by then-Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless and his office.

Capeless resigned in 2018, but was appointed as a special assistant district attorney for the Hall appeal before the Supreme Judicial Court earlier this year.

Hall and his two accomplices, David Chalue, and Caius Veiovis, were all convicted of first-degree murder in 2014. Chalue and Veiovis are also serving life sentences without possibility of parole.

The victims  David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell  were shot at Glassers Pittsfield home. Their bodies were dismembered, placed in plastic bags, transported in Halls Buick to rural Becket and buried in a ditch.

The victims were last seen alive the evening of Aug. 27, 2011. Authorities discovered the mutilated remains 13 days later.
Cobas x 480 RT-PCR

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan made this statement when meeting with voters of Cai Rang district in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on June 23.

Ngan said that those involved made huge sums of money by rising the price of the machine from VND2 billion ($86,960) to VND6-7 billion ($260,870-$304,350).

Findings showed that several kinds of RT-PCR machines were included in this scandal, including cobas x 480 RT-PCR machines of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Roche)  a Swiss multinational healthcare company.

Cobas x 480 RT-PCR machines were sold at different prices through different distributors, despite offering the same features and specifications under the same brand.

Specifically, the investigators found that Bac Ninh Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in October 2019 bought a cobas x 480 RT-PCR machine via a public auction at the price of VND5.98 billion ($260,000), sourced from the provinces 2019 state budget.

Meanwhile in March, Ninh Binh General Hospital also purchased such a machine at the price of VND7.89 billion ($343,050), and Thai Binh Department of Health in April bought one for VND6.4 billion ($278,260).

It remains unclear if it is the distributors themselves who are selling the machine at different prices due to market conditions or other reasons.

Up until now, the Ho Chi Minh City representative office of Roche has yet to issue a comment about the case, despite interview requests by VIR.

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. is named among the top 10 pharmaceutical companies by revenue and research and development investment in the world in 2019. Based on last years growth momentum, the company continued to reap fruitful results in the first quarter of 2020 despite the pandemic.

Roches first-quarter group sales increased 2 per cent in Swiss francs and 7 per cent at constant exchange rates, driven by new products. The firms pharmaceuticals divisions sales went up 7 per cent, led by products such as Tecentriq, Hemlibra, Ocrevus, and Perjeta. Meanwhile, its diagnostics division reported growth in sales of 5 per cent, with molecular testing as the main contributor.
NY Gov. Cuomo allows drive-in church services, in-person worship of 10 people or less

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week that churches can begin hosting drive-in worship services as long as they follow strict social distancing guidelines. Additionally, houses of worship can hold in-person services as long as they're limited to 10 people or fewer.

Cuomo made the announcement as part of a press briefing in Albany Wednesday, saying that services could resume on Thursday as long as all participants use masks and follow social distancing rules.

The governor also noted that he is working with the states Interfaith Advisory Council to consider gradually reopening larger in-person worship. The announcement comes as different regions across the state are hitting the required benchmarks to begin reopening during the coronavirus pandemic.

I understand their desire to get back to religious ceremonies as soon as possible, Cuomo, 62, said.

As a former altar boy, I get it. I think even at this time of stress when people are so anxious and so confused, I think that religious ceremonies can be very comforting. 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.

Cuomo stressed that if people are smart and responsible, that infection rates will slow.

It is amazing how effective a mask is, Cuomo added.

The Rutherford Institute, a civil rights law group, celebrated Cuomos announcement, calling it a victory for common sense.

While federal and state governments have adopted specific restrictive measures in an effort to decelerate the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the current public health situation has not resulted in the suspension of fundamental constitutional rights such as religious freedom, stated Rutherford Institute President John W. Whitehead.

While there is a moral responsibility to not endanger other lives with our actions, that does not mean relinquishing all of our freedoms. Be responsible, but dont allow yourselves to be muzzled or your individual freedoms to be undermined.

The institute is representing a New York congregation that was forced to halt its drive-in worship services after it was threatened with $1,000 fines for holding services even though congregants adhered to social distancing guidelines.

The Central Bible Baptist Church was threatened with fines by the Massena Police Department after Pastor Samson Ryman held drive-in worship on May 3. The service was attended by 23 worshipers in 18 vehicles.

In response, the Rutherford Institute sent a letter to Police Chief Adam J. Love on behalf of the church. The letter argued that drive-in services with more than 10 people are legal.

You are mistaken in your assertion that church drive-in worship services are prohibited under New Yorks current emergency orders and could result in fines, wrote Whitehead in the letter.

[These fines] are grounded in a misunderstanding of the law and a misapplication of the Governors Executive Orders, which severely chills their exercise of the fundamental right to practice their religion.

In a Facebook post, Central Bible announced that it will return to holding drive-in services this Sunday.

We have no ill will towards our local officials. We believe them to have been outstanding for their work for our community and we are thankful. We honor and love our officials working day in and out to fight for and protect us, stated the church.

Central and their Pastor are Not against them. Were not rebels. We stand and live by the truth and principles of the Word of God! We are simply trying to have church services, without conflict, safely, legally and peaceably.
Indias envoy to Beijing on Friday said Chinese troops have occupied territory on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, and demanded that they move back to their side of the border for normalcy to return to bilateral relations. India hopes China will realise its responsibility in de-escalation and disengaging by moving back to its side of LAC, PTI tweeted, quoting the Indian envoy to China.

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26.06.2020 LISTEN

The Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs (GCYE) together with some other trade associations received logistical support from NBSSI as part of the CoronaVirus Alleviation Program Business Support Scheme.

At a short ceremony held at the Head-office of NBSSI, the Executive Director, Mrs. Kosi Yankey thanked the trade Associations for their cooperation and reaffirmed her support to them.

She indicated that The gesture was part of NBSSI's support to Associations under the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme (CAP BuSS).

She further intimated that more of such was yet to be rolled out.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, The CEO of the Chamber, Mr. Sherif Ghali expressed gratitude to NBSSI for the gesture.

He indicated that his Chamber will make good use of the gadgets to the benefits of its members.

So far Im happy about how NBSSI is going about with the CAP BuSS project. I only wish that they continue on that tangent and make the process more transparent, especially with the disbursement of the fund. He admonished.

Each trade association was given one HP Laptop and HP Multipurpose Printer.
How does this happen? Research suggests that the coronavirus can directly infect neural cells, said Dr. Jeffrey Cirillo, a professor of microbial pathogenesis and immunology at Texas A&M University. The virus most likely replicates inside the cells and affects how they function. This viral invasion could cause patients to have a persistence of cognitive problems, or maybe they will have persistent seizures, Dr. Koralnik said. In April, a 40-year-old Los Angeles woman with a headache, seizures and hallucinations was found to have the RNA from the coronavirus in her cerebrospinal fluid.

Another way the coronavirus can damage the nervous system is indirectly, through widespread inflammation caused by the bodys immune response. Inflammation is bad for the brain, and we know that for a fact, Dr. Fotuhi said. One of the leading theories in Alzheimers research is that inflammation drives the disease.

Brain inflammation can also spark the creation of blood clots. Studies suggest that clots occur in up to 30 percent of critically ill Covid patients. These clots can permeate the brain, causing it to function at a lower level, Dr. Fotuhi said. They can also lead to strokes that starve the brain of oxygen. Studies from China and Italy have suggested that as many as 5 percent of hospitalized patients with Covid experience strokes, though a more recent N.Y.U. study found the figure to be lower, at 1 percent, in hospitalized New York patients.

If the inflammation becomes so severe as to involve a cytokine storm, in which a patients body in effect turns on itself, the blood brain barrier can be breached, allowing more viruses and cytokines into the brain and ultimately killing brain cells. Its like the defense system is called to quiet a small riot in one neighborhood, and all of a sudden, the whole military is ticked off and they dont know whats going on, they just go bomb everything, Dr. Fotuhi said.

A small number of patients with the coronavirus have gone on to develop Guillain-Barre syndrome, in which a persons immune system attacks their own nerves, causing paralysis. Michele Hart, a 41-year-old psychotherapist in Colorado, is one of them.

She began experiencing electrical, shocklike pains in her body, numbness in her extremities and stabbing pains down the side of her face in April. She went to the E.R., worried she might have the coronavirus, but they sent her home, saying her neurological symptoms werent consistent with the infection. When her blood pressure skyrocketed a few days later, she returned to the ER and this time was given a coronavirus test that came back positive. She was also diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome.

In addition to persistent memory problems and dizziness, she still struggles with nerve pain. I have pins and needles and shooting nerve pain constantly, as well as burning sensations in my skin, she told me.
Dozens of veteran police officers with the OPP and some municipal forces have been caught up in what some consider a Bernie Madoff-style Ponzi scheme run by one of their own  a former cop once in charge of the street crime unit west of the GTA.

Before his retirement in 2016, Det. Sgt. Larry Renton briefly operated the investment scheme out of his West Region Ontario Provincial Police office in the town of Simcoe  then continued from his home. He promised investors a staggering 21 to 26 per cent return and suggested in emails that if their financial planner was not providing a minimum of 10-12 per cent you need to fire them.

The high return Renton offered may have seemed too good to be true, but that did not stop an estimated 40 officers of all ranks and an unknown number of civilians from putting in their life savings, with total investments estimated by sources between $15 million and $20 million. Mortgages were put on houses, money set aside for college tuition was invested. The whole scheme collapsed recently, leading to financial ruin for some.

Trust and greed are the two essential elements required of a Ponzi scheme, said one person with intimate knowledge of the situation. This had both. In addition to the high rate of return, police officers were told in emails that if they brought in a new client, they would get a financial bonus worth 5 per cent of the total new investment.

Renton, 56, is on the hot seat  the OPP is now investigating  in a financial misadventure that came crashing down when the global pandemic stopped new investors from contributing money, an essential element of a Ponzi scheme.

The information in this story comes from people with intimate knowledge of the investment scheme (the Star has granted them confidentiality because they fear financial and job repercussions); Rentons own emails to investors over more than a three-year period; and interviews with senior police officers.

The OPP anti-rackets squad has recently launched an investigation and according to Rentons own emails, the Ontario Securities Commission is also investigating. The OPP put out a news release last week after the Star asked questions about Rentons scheme. The release states that police are investigating a matter involving the financial interactions of a former OPP member and asks for anyone who was involved to come forward. The release does not name Renton, though police sources confirmed the probe relates to his activities.

According to sources, Rentons computer hard drives were seized last month from his home by detectives armed with a search warrant. Renton threatened in an April email to close friends that he would take his own life. He was found in a Brantford hotel and was hospitalized for several weeks. He has since left Simcoe to stay with a family member in northern Ontario and has hired a lawyer. His latest email to investors suggests he is contemplating bankruptcy.

I am under counsel direction to not speak about the matter, Renton told the Star in a recent email. The Star has sent Renton detailed questions, but has not yet received a response.

Heres how it all started and ended.

To fix a picture of Larry Renton in your mind, think of the late movie and television actor Brian Dennehy. Burly and broad shouldered, with a big smile while among friends, shy in social settings. Physically, they could be twins.

Though trite to say, Renton was truly a cops cop, with decades of experience. News pages of local papers are filled with quotes from Renton. After a 2015 drug bust, he told reporters, Illicit drugs continue to be a scourge in society and an ongoing threat to the safety of Ontario residents and communities.

He grew up in Simcoe, a small town in Norfolk County between Hamilton and London, its south edges running along Lake Erie. Renton loves boats, big 40-plus-foot-long cruisers. Just before Christmas, 2018, his old boat was destroyed in a fire the marina owner said was caused by vandalism. That yacht was replaced by a bigger boat. Renton drives a black Cadillac Escalade. He split with his first wife years back and took custody and support duties of their two children, according to a 2008 court decision where a judge noted he paid the lions share of support. Taking winter cruises with his second wife, a hairdresser, is one of the couples favourite pastimes. Renton is from a policing family; two brothers were in the OPP at one point (one became the Woodstock Police Chief, since retired) and his son is an officer in the OPP.

By 2014, he was the detective sergeant investigating street crime, wearing a suit instead of a uniform, occupying an office down the hall from the then-top boss in the Norfolk OPP, Insp. Zvonko Zonk Horvat. Rentons salary in 2014 was $122,931.

One day in 2014, Renton came to Horvat with a request. He asked for permission to have a second job. Renton wanted to work as a financial adviser, in addition to being a detective. Horvat, now the chief of the Aylmer Police department, recalled in an interview he thought that would be a conflict of interest. Following protocol, Horvat took Rentons request to the OPPs professional standards department. They backed me up and I told (Renton) it would be inappropriate.

Not long after, Horvat said he recalls hearing rumours that Renton may be monitoring the stock market or perhaps trading from his police office. Horvat said he went to see Renton and heard (he cannot recall if it was from a radio or a computer) what seemed to him like stock market sounds. Horvat recalls that Renton replied that he was only listening to stock market reports. Horvat told Renton to cease and desist and he said he never heard any complaints related to Renton and the stock market.

In March 2016, Renton retired at age 52. He dove into his investment business, setting up an office in his basement. Renton is not registered with the province of Ontario as a financial adviser or investment dealer. In his emails to each investor, many of them police, but some civilians, he routinely reminded them that for every big investor they brought him, he would provide a finders fee of 5 per cent of the amount invested.

Two people with intimate knowledge of the Renton scheme have referred to it as a Bernie Madoff-style Ponzi scheme.

What is a Ponzi scheme? Its a relatively simple arrangement where early investors are paid an enormous return on their money, with that return coming not from actual investments but from money contributed by subsequent investors. It was named for Carlo Ponzi who ran this type of scheme in Boston in 1920.

The most infamous and largest Ponzi scheme was that carried out in the United States by Bernard (Bernie) Madoff, who is now in prison for a fraud estimated at $65 billion (U.S.). Madoff, as became well known in his court hearings, was not investing money, just paying dividends out of money contributed by new investors. That constant influx of new investors is required to keep a Ponzi scheme going.

The investor sources the Star spoke to recognize that there is no financial size comparison between Madoff and Rentons scheme, but based on Rentons own emailed descriptions there appear to be elements of a Ponzi scheme.

In Rentons case, investors were never shown information that would explain where he is getting such high returns. Other than a few months where Renton asked to delay payments, it appears that until March of this year he was making his promised monthly payments. To put his guaranteed 21 to 26 per cent rate in context, a solid, conservative investment portfolio could be expected, but not guaranteed, to return roughly 6 to 8 per cent in that time period (pre-pandemic.)

Rentons own emails reveal that the Ontario Securities Commission began a probe into his activities early this year. In March, Renton sent out an email blast warning that the OSC was investigating. He tells his investors you are not obligated to speak to them. (The OSC was responding to a complainant who had learned that Renton was not a licensed adviser, a source told the Star.)

According to Renton, the OSC guy was asking each investor if you have seen records of the current value of your investment.

Renton tells his investors that in the beginning I explained that I would never show you any records relating to anything I do. The reason behind that is twofold. One, this is a handshake deal based on trust. The second is, why would I show you any records or issue any statements when I dont trade for you?

Instead, Renton writes that to keep it legal, his investors are giving him a loan, which he will pay back over roughly four years. He does not explain what trades he is making, but in one emailed chart he shows a breakdown of what he does with each $1,000 profit on a trade.

Renton, writing in 2017 to his investors, explains that the first 23 per cent goes to pay you guys. Then he puts aside roughly 43 per cent to pay federal and provincial taxes. Then 10 per cent goes to the data feed charges that I pay to the actual stock exchanges. Finally, approximately 25 per cent is my profit that I happily live off of. (Renton uses rough estimates in this email, which perhaps explains why his percentages add up to 101.)

The Star asked Renton for a further explanation, including proof that he is paying these taxes, but has not yet had a response. One item from his chart should have been an immediate red flag. Stock exchange feeds are free or available for a nominal cost.

Many of the other statements made by Renton defy explanation for anyone who is a sophisticated or even a casual investor. Sources for this story say that the police officer investors, including some who have experience in financial investigations, are truly unsophisticated investors. They were all bamboozled.

In one email, Renton tells his investors that every few days, large amounts of the money they have invested are unavailable, due to the fact that his brokerage holds on to the money. In one of a series of unusual statements, he tells his investors it all works because the wheel keeps rolling down the road and rolling the capital in and out of the account. I find this really interesting, but I suspect I put some here to sleep with my tech talk.

The emails are peppered with his own thoughts on market volatility. He mentions it has been a lot of fun with the (U.S. president) Trumpster at the wheel in 2017, and later that year speculates that since I can make more money on a dropping market than an up market it is possible that maybe (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un will help us with that.

He spends much of the emails talking about his plans to have a secure mobile internet platform when he is off on annual cruises down south with my bride. One summer, he set up a stable trading platform on his boat in Lake Erie. He said he did that when he went for some boat drinks for four days. He warns investors he may be unavailable to conduct trades for weeks at a time when away on vacation.

Renton did purchase, in 2018, a trading algorithm from a Toronto man who told the Star he created it at Rentons request. On the Toronto mans website in the testimonial section, he refers to Renton as a Professional Trader. But the emails show that Renton himself was still testing it out during the last year using fake money. The man who created the trading algorithm said Renton wanted to beat the markets.

By late November 2019, the emails indicate Renton is in trouble. He writes that changes in the market affect my needs for cash capitol (sic). He offers to raise his finders fee from 5 per cent to 6 per cent. According to sources, the investors who received these finders fees, and did not report them, are concerned that the Canada Revenue Agency will launch an audit.

When the global pandemic caused by the spread of COVID-19 took hold in March, Renton sent an email telling investors he would have to freeze their monthly payments for 30 days. Ironically, Rentons previous emails had stated that a down market is his best opportunity to make money.

I am not asking for you to not get your money, I am just asking if you will go without payment for the next 30 days and allow me to increase your payments for the next 11 months, Renton writes on March 15. I want to ensure I do whats best for the money.

According to sources with knowledge of the police officers contributions, some investors were asking for all of their money back. Potential new investors were backing off. This caused a problem for Renton, sources say. With no new investors, how could he pay the promised rate of return?

His next email to the group was April 13, a one-line email. I will put an update out late this week on possibilities moving forward for the next month during this pandemic and wild markets. Thank you and stay safe.

On April 17, Renton asks for another one month more deferral, saying he felt really bad asking for this.

That was Rentons last communication to the group. Near the end of April, sources say he sent an email to a dozen close friends saying he was going to take his own life. Using a cellular phone tracing system, police tracked him to a hotel in Brantford. He was alive, and taken to a hospital for psychiatric assessment. Sources say he was released several weeks later and at that time the OPP served a search warrant on his house.

One of Rentons last email blasts in 2020 was a photo of his desk with 12 computer monitors, showing the trading system he had built. The screens show what appears to be stock market charts and graphs and Renton said he spends long days in front of the monitors overseeing trades.

Renton also at one point reminds his investors that since most of them receive their payments by PayPal and e-Transfer, that something thats kind of cool is you can go into your bank website and set it up to do auto-deposits.

In the Stars telephone interview and email exchange with Aylmer Police Chief Horvat (Rentons former boss at the OPP), Horvat said he hopes the OPP anti-racket squad gets to the bottom of the matter.

Horvat said he was never asked to invest in the scheme, but he has heard rumours of officers who did.

If, in fact, a number of officers invested with (Renton), they should have known better and as this investigation moves forward, I am sure they too will be held accountable for their actions, both from a criminal perspective but also the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency). I personally find it offensive that police officers would engage in such activities.

The OPP has assigned Det. Staff Sgt. Sean Chatland to head the investigation by the anti-rackets branch. Chatland has asked for anyone, police or civilian, who invested to come forward.

Last Wednesday, Renton sent out a brief email to all of his investors, with the subject line: Legal name, address, email address, and best telephone contact number:

I am liquidating all assets and require the above information to provide to the trustee who then in turn (can) contact you regarding repayment. Thank you. L.

As of last week, no bankruptcy had been filed by Renton.

The Star has asked Renton, if he did conduct trades, where is the money or at the very least, the documentation showing the money was lost when the markets crashed. He has not responded.
Dublin, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Brain Cancer Market and Competitive Landscape - 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This report provides comprehensive insights into the Brain Cancer pipeline, epidemiology, market valuations, drug sales, market forecast, drug forecasts, and market shares. This research analyzes and forecasts the Brain Cancer market size and drug sales. It also provides insights into Brain Cancer epidemiology and late stage pipeline.



This research covers the following: Brain Cancer treatment options, Brain Cancer late stage clinical trials pipeline, Brain Cancer prevalence by countries, Brain Cancer market size and forecast by countries, key market events and trends, drug sales and forecast by countries, and market shares by countries. The research scope includes the countries US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Japan, Europe, Global (G7 Countries).



Research Scope:

Countries: US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Japan, Europe, Global

Brain Cancer pipeline: Find out drugs in clinical trials for the treatment of Brain Cancer by development phase 3, phase 2, and phase 1, by pharmacological class and company

Brain Cancer epidemiology: Find out the number of patients diagnosed (prevalence) with Brain Cancer by countries

Brain Cancer drugs: Identify key drugs marketed and prescribed for Brain Cancer in the US, including trade name, molecule name, and company

Brain Cancer drugs sales: Find out the sales value for Brain Cancer drugs by countries

Brain Cancer market valuations: Find out the market size for Brain Cancer drugs in 2019 by countries. Find out how the market advanced from 2016 and forecast to 2024

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Benefits of this Research:

Evaluate commercial market opportunities for Brain Cancer drugs

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Develop tactics and strategies to take advantage of opportunities in the market

Track Market Events and Trends and analyze key events in the Brain Cancer market

Develop forecast models, healthcare frameworks, or economic models

Answer key business questions; supports decision making in R&D to long term marketing strategies

Story continues

Key Topics Covered:



1. Brain Cancer Treatment Options



2. Brain Cancer Pipeline Insights

2.1. Brain Cancer Phase 3 Clinical Trials

2.2. Brain Cancer Phase 2 Clinical Trials

2.3. Brain Cancer Phase 1 Clinical Trials



3. Brain Cancer Epidemiology Analysis by Countries



4. US Brain Cancer Market Insights

4.1. Marketed Drugs for Brain Cancer in US

4.2. US Brain Cancer Market Size & Forecast

4.3. US Brain Cancer Drugs Sales & Forecast

4.4. US Brain Cancer Market Share Analysis



5. Germany Brain Cancer Market Insights

5.1. Marketed Drugs for Brain Cancer in Germany

5.2. Germany Brain Cancer Market Size & Forecast

5.3. Germany Brain Cancer Drugs Sales Forecast

5.4. Germany Brain Cancer Market Share Analysis



6. France Brain Cancer Market Insights

6.1. Marketed Drugs for Brain Cancer in France

6.2. France Brain Cancer Market Size & Forecast

6.3. France Brain Cancer Product Sales Forecast

6.4. France Brain Cancer Market Share Analysis



7. Italy Brain Cancer Market Insights

7.1. Marketed Drugs for Brain Cancer in Italy

7.2. Italy Brain Cancer Market Size & Forecast

7.3. Italy Brain Cancer Product Sales Forecast

7.4. Italy Brain Cancer Market Share Analysis



8. Spain Brain Cancer Market Insights

8.1. Marketed Drugs for Brain Cancer in Spain

8.2. Spain Brain Cancer Market Size & Forecast

8.3. Spain Brain Cancer Product Sales Forecast

8.4. Spain Brain Cancer Market Share Analysis



9. UK Brain Cancer Market Insights

9.1. Marketed Drugs for Brain Cancer in UK

9.2. UK Brain Cancer Market Size & Forecast

9.3. UK Brain Cancer Product Sales Forecast

9.4. UK Brain Cancer Market Share Analysis



10. Europe Brain Cancer Market Insights

10.1. Europe Brain Cancer Market Size & Forecast

10.2. Europe Brain Cancer Product Sales Forecast

10.3. Europe Brain Cancer Market Share Analysis



11. Japan Brain Cancer Market Insights

11.1. Marketed Drugs for Brain Cancer in Japan

11.2. Japan Brain Cancer Market Size & Forecast

11.3. Japan Brain Cancer Product Sales Forecast

11.4. Japan Brain Cancer Market Share Analysis



12. Global Brain Cancer Market Insights

12.1. Global Brain Cancer Market Size & Forecast

12.2. Global Brain Cancer Product Sales Forecast

12.3. Global Brain Cancer Market Share Analysis



13. Research Methodology



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/q4ve34

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

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Below please find a summary and link(s) of new coronavirus-related content published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. The summary below is not intended to substitute for the full article as a source of information. A collection of coronavirus-related content is free to the public at http://go.annals.org/coronavirus.

Incidence and Severity of COVID-19 in HIV-Positive Persons Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy

Researchers from the Ministry of Health and the HIV Network of Excellence in Madrid, Spain, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health describe the incidence and severity of COVID-19 among 77,590 HIV-positive patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). These authors conclude HIV-positive patients receiving tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)/emtricitabine (FTC) have a lower risk for COVID-19 and related hospitalization than those receiving other therapies. The authors' findings warrant further investigation of HIV ART in HIV preexposure prophylaxis studies and randomized trials among persons without HIV. Read the full text: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-3689.

Media contacts: A PDF for this article is not yet available. Please click the link to read full text. The lead author, Julia del Amo, MD, PhD, can be reached through mlorenzo@mscbs.es.

###
LANCASTER, Pa. - A presidential campaign that has largely been frozen for several months because of the coronavirus is looking a bit more like those from other years. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden swung through critical battleground states, presenting starkly different visions for America as it struggles with a pandemic.

Touring a shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, on Thursday, Trump insisted the economy is coming back at a level nobody ever imagined possible. But in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Biden warned that no miracles are coming and slammed Trumps handling of the virus.

Amazingly, he hasnt grasped the most basic fact of this crisis: To fix the economy we have to get control over the virus, Biden said. Hes like a child who cant believe this has happened to him. His whining and self-pity.

With just over four months remaining until the election, the contrasting styles of Trump and Biden are increasingly on display. The president is itching to move past an outbreak that has dashed the economy and resulted in about 125,000 confirmed deaths in the United States, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Biden, meanwhile, is seeking to present himself as a competent and calming leader ready to level with the nation about the hardships that may be required to emerge from the current turmoil.

Beyond knocking Trumps leadership, Biden spent much of Thursday defending the Obama administrations signature health care law and decrying what he said was a White House-led effort to dismantle it via a court challenge. It was part of a larger Democratic effort to refocus the 2020 election on health care, an issue that helped the party retake the House last cycle and one it hopes will resonate with even more voters amid the pandemic.

Trump, for his part, repeatedly took aim at Biden throughout his day in Wisconsin. During a Fox News Channel town hall taped in Green Bay, Trump questioned Bidens acuity and charged that the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party would be running the show in a Biden administration.

Hes a candidate that will destroy this country, Trump said. And he may not do it himself. He will be run by a radical fringe group of lunatics that will destroy our country.

Narrow 2016 victories in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were vital in sending Trump to the White House. That he would build his travel around trying to do that again  and that Biden would respond with trips meant to flip the states back to Democratic  wouldnt usually be a surprise. But the coronavirus has upended normal campaign travel since March.

After long campaigning virtually from his Delaware home, Biden has in recent weeks begun visiting Pennsylvania, allowing him to target a swing state without venturing far. Lancaster is about an hour and 15 minutes by car from Bidens house, and yet it is the farthest hes travelled lately, aside from a trip to Houston to meet with the family of George Floyd, whose death in police custody sparked protests around the nation.

Trump, by contrast, staged a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last weekend and spoke at an Arizona megachurch on Tuesday. On Thursday, he visited a rural Wisconsin shipyard and taped a town hall to be broadcast by Fox News Channel from an airport in Green Bay. Vice-President Mike Pence also hit another key state, Ohio.

Bidens team has organized small events and enforced social distancing. Trump has refused to wear a mask in public, and his campaign says Biden is using a cautious approach to hide the fact that he cant draw large, enthusiastic crowds.

I know, as Americans, its not something were used to. But it matters, Biden said of wearing a mask, noting he wears one everywhere I go.

The former vice-president went further during an interview with KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, suggesting he would use executive action or other means to leverage federal power and mandate wearing masks in public.

I would do everything possible to make it required that people had to wear masks in public, he said.

Biden donned his mask while meeting in an outdoor courtyard with three mothers and two children who told of benefiting from the health care law. Beyond the police cordon, a group of Trump supporters could be heard chanting four more years and USA.

Bidens subsequent speech was behind a placard proclaiming Protect and Build on the Affordable Care Act. He scoffed at Trumps suggestion during last weekends rally that hed asked officials to slow down testing for the coronavirus because it was uncovering more cases.

He thinks finding out that more Americans are sick will make him look bad. And thats what hes worried about, Biden said. Hes worried about looking bad.

Trump countered during his Wisconsin stop: If we didnt test, we wouldnt have cases.

Polls in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania show Biden ahead, but nearly every poll had Trump trailing in 2016 before his base came together in the final weeks of the campaign.

Trump predictably went maskless for an event at Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard that was outside. Hundreds attended, and some didnt wear masks, despite requirements to do so.

Trump toured vessels under construction, then took credit for a new contract won in April to build Navy frigates at the facility. Trump said it injected economic growth to the community and saved the plant from closure.

___

Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report from Marinette, Wis.
The decision stands to have a limited practical impact on the department, since it would cover only about 1,500 of the citys roughly 13,000 sworn officers. Mayor Lori Lightfoot still faces the more significant challenge of signing a contract with the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, which represents a wide majority of the force, including the patrol cops who have frequently been involved in controversial shootings and other uses of force. The unions leaders have vowed to fight for their disciplinary protections and generally oppose efforts at reform.
Counting of Green Party member votes for a proposed government pact with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have begun, with a yes result set to give the go-ahead for a new coalition or instead sink the deal if it is a no.

Almost 2,000 members have voted and auditors Mazars are supervising the count as votes are opened at the party's HQ in Dublin city centre at noon today.

If the result is close, there may even be a recount.

Unlike the 50% vote necessary for Fine Gael or Fianna Fail to back the deal, the Greens need over 66.6% of members to support the proposed programme for government.

While party leaders Eamon Ryan, Micheal Martin and Leo Varadkar remain in talks today about the roles and department make-ups of the new administration, all eyes are on the Green vote as a rejection of the proposed deal would likely collapse the coalition effort and set back the prospect of a new government potentially for weeks or more.

While some Greens are more than optimistic predicting even a substantial majority, the actual result will not be known until after 6pm.

The Irish Examiner understands that as voting gets underway, names on envelopes posted in are being cross checked to ensure they come from a member of the party entitled to vote.

Outer envelopes are being opened and what are described as privacy envelopes are being removed with actual ballot papers inside them.

The votes are then being sorted into yes and no groups as well as doubtfuls, the latter being adjudicated on.

The count is being live-streamed to a small select group of people nominated by members of the parliamentary party to observe the process.

This includes both yes and no voting members.

However, it is not expected that there will be a running tally of results. The results will be announced publicly by the party later this evening at the same time as those for Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.
By Dave Graham

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's president on Thursday said an upcoming meeting with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump was a matter of economic necessity even as diplomats questioned the wisdom of making his first foreign visit to a man widely reviled by Mexicans.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will visit Trump in Washington to usher in a new trade deal four years after his predecessor Enrique Pena Nieto was pilloried for hosting the American during the 2016 U.S. presidential election race.

Mexico sends 80% of its exports to the U.S. marketplace and receives billions of dollars in remittances from some 35 million people of Mexican origin in the United States. Trump has used both as leverage to pressure Mexico to curb illegal immigration.

Lopez Obrador, who has suggested the meeting could take place in early July, has striven to stay on good terms.

"It's a relationship of friendship, and it's an indispensable economic and commercial relationship," Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference. "That's what my journey to the United States is about."

Lopez Obrador, who has yet to travel outside Mexico since taking office 19 months ago, proposed the idea of a June or July meeting with Trump two months ago but later suggested it would be difficult in person.

That changed this week when Trump announced he was expecting to meet the Mexican president soon.

The thought of him sharing a stage with Trump, who tarred Mexican migrants as rapists and drug runners in his 2015-16 election campaign and vowed to make Mexico pay for his planned border wall, stirs unease among Mexican diplomats.

Agustin Gutierrez, the husband of Lopez Obrador's ambassador to Washington, Martha Barcena, and himself a former Mexican ambassador, said in an opinion piece on Thursday the visit risked repeating the "disaster" of Pena Nieto's 2016 encounter.

"What will happen if the press asks Trump, sitting next to the Mexican president in the Oval Office, if Mexico will pay for the wall?" Gutierrez wrote in newspaper Milenio.

Story continues

ELECTORAL BENEFIT

Critics say the planned get-together will also give Trump a platform to burnish his credentials with Hispanic voters for his November re-election bid.

"I don't think it will help Trump a lot, but I think he will certainly use it," said Andres Rozental, a former Mexican deputy foreign minister.

Lopez Obrador has vowed to stay neutral in the U.S. election and says his visit has nothing to do with it.

He wants to celebrate the July 1 start of the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement trade deal, and thank Trump for U.S. medical support during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mexico's government hopes Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will join the meeting, but it is not clear he will.

A Canadian government source said Trudeau would look at any invitation and make health and safety the primary consideration in taking any decision to attend during the pandemic.

Under federal health rules, Trudeau currently faces 14 days in quarantine upon returning to Canada if he leaves the country.

Lopez Obrador's trip looks unlikely to prove popular at home.

A June 20 online survey by polling firm Consulta Mitofsky showed 68% of Mexicans had a negative view of Trump. The Mexican president evidently felt that not meeting Trump was the riskier of the two options, said Roy Campos, head of Mitofsky.

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, Economy Minister Graciela Marquez and presidential chief of staff Alfonso Romo will join Lopez Obrador, who is flying commercial even though there are currently no direct flights to Washington due to the pandemic.

(Reporting by Dave Graham; Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Lisa Shumaker)
A joint data-center venture between ConsenSys and chip maker AMD has so far raised over $20 million to triple its GPU capacity, but wont say exactly what theyre for.

In crypto, the term data center is usually just another way of saying mining facility. But thats not just what it means to W3BCLOUD, the ConsenSys and AMD-backed venture. Trouble is, thats as much as we could squeeze out of them on the subject.

Speaking to CoinDesk, W3BCLOUD co-founders Wael Aburida and Sami Issa, who is also CEO, said they were using $20.5 million raised in the initial part of a seed round to ramp up the GPU capacity at a data center in Washington State.

Related: ConsenSys Spins Up Staking Service in Anticipation of Ethereum 2.0

W3BCLOUD currently operates 6,000 GPUs, but the $20.5 million investment will enable it to more than triple that number to 20,000 units, with plans for even more in the future. Were using over 90% of our capital to deploy computer resources, Aburida said. Its going to make sure that we have the horsepower from a computer perspective to serve the needs of our customers.

W3BCLOUD, which was established in early 2019 is based in Ireland and has a sub-entity in London. Companies House, the U.K. company registry, lists ConsenSys founder Joe Lubin and his chief of staff, Jeremy Millar, as directors.

See also: ConsenSys Muscles Into Compliance With New Regulatory Product for DeFi

Usually associated in the blockchain space with mining cryptocurrencies, GPUs are versatile and can perform a range of other functions, such as processing blockchain traffic, increasing network storage and improving latency. They could also be put to work in the emerging Web3 and decentralized finance (DeFi) spaces.

Related: ConsenSys

Broadly, the GPUs will form the backbone for a new decentralized computing infrastructure, Aburida said, and theyll be deployed initially onto Ethereum. But both co-founders refused to be drawn on the specifics, and wouldnt say what initiatives, if any, were in the pipeline.

Story continues

In a future discussion well say more, said Issa. He was quick to emphasize the data centers could also be used to facilitate a much broader range of previously unheard of decentralized functions, such as decentralized artificial intelligence and decentralized virtual reality.

We see ourselves as a decentralized computer infrastructure [with] blockchain being one of the use cases, Issa said. We have access to the best computers and the best blockchain minds, we are going to build the computer infrastructure needed for the attractive use cases for the community.

See also: Argo Buys $500K Worth of Zcash Miners as Bitcoin Revenue Shrivels

W3BCLOUD is still in the middle of its seed round and those involved hope to reach its funding target of $30 million. So far, the company has attracted investment from its main backers, ConsenSys and AMD, as well as a handful of family offices in the United Arab Emirates.

The point of this call, really, is were very excited about hitting the important milestone. Weve gotten [so far] to $20.5 million as part of this first round, Aburida said.

Some of the funding will also go towards a new data center somewhere in the European Union. We have a European customer, for example, who we cant name, that wants us to be in Europe, Issa said.

They are also receiving interest from a few sovereign wealth funds, according to Aburida. An institutional round is planned for sometime in 2021, although a fundraising target has not yet been defined.

There are a bunch of things that we cant talk about at this stage, but I think you can see the opportunity as we see it, Issa said.

See also: ConsenSys Spins Up Staking Service in Anticipation of Ethereum 2.0

W3BCLOUD is also interested, initially, in working on other proof-of-work blockchains.

Many blockchains struggle, at the initial stage, to get much traction, Aburida said, and the firms data centers could maybe act as a white knight, providing early-stage computing power to give projects a crucial leg up and shield them from so-called 51% attacks. These occur when a bad actor can take over more than half of a networks computing power and can then rewrite transactions on the blockchain.

While the plans still havent been fully fleshed out yet, the important point is were going to be a significant player in terms of numbers for GPUs, Aburida said.

CORRECTION (June 25, 12:45 UTC): A previous version of this article stated that W3BCLOUD was based in London. This has since been corrected.

Related Stories
Scientists fear a new Ebola strain might emerge in the Democratic Republic of Congo if two versions of the disease mix together to form a new, potentially deadlier version.

Ebola is a highly contagious infectious disease that has a fatality rate of around 50 percent. There have been multiple outbreaks across Africa in the past decade.

The DRC government today (Thursday) declared an end to the eastern outbreak - the tenth in the country - but World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned there was "still potential for flare-ups" of this strain, calling for rapid response teams to remain in place.

However, as of 20 June, there have been 13 deaths and 23 cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) reported in five health zones in the northwestern equateur Province, after the first deaths were announced in the province capital Mbandaka at the beginning of June.

The WHO declared earlier this month (9 June) that the outbreak in the northwest of the country was genetically unrelated to the version that has caused an outbreak in the east of the country since 2018, raising fears that the two strains might combine.

The one thing you have to think about in particular is the potential of population migration which can mean the two strains undergo viral recombination, which can lead to a completely new strain and which can cause examples of [drug] resistance to appear." Eric Kasamba, Microbiologist, Democratic Republic of Congo, University of Lubumbashi

He said the priority should be to identify the source of the northwestern strain as this will aid in tackling the spread.

"Right now, research should focus on the identification of the reservoir of this new strain because if we identify this reservoir we can decontaminate the animals," he said.

Even though the eastern outbreak has been declared over, officials say there is still a risk of further flare-ups.

Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director-general of the DRC's National Institute for Biomedical Research, says: "In the east, we have a large number of people that have recovered and also they're a potential source of transmitting this disease sexually."

Research teams are expected to be established to monitor the 1100 Ebola survivors, particularly men.

The emergence of the northwestern Ebola virus strain also raises the question of whether Ebola survivors could again contract the disease. Studies suggest survivors develop antibodies that can last 10 years, possibly longer, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but it is not known whether people can become infected with a different species of Ebola virus.

DRC public health minister Eteni Longondo says communities in the northwest are educating each other about prevention measures to stop the spread and they want to receive the recently-created Ebola vaccine.

But, says Longondo, "the problem is that this disease is migrating  now it can be found in other villages". These villages are remote and difficult to access, though not densely populated.

While the new Ebola virus is distinct from that found in North Kivu and Ituri, in the east, WHO and government health experts say lessons learned from the eastern outbreak can inform the response in the northwest. "There is a vaccine that is already there. I think there is a way to use it to protect the population," Kasamba says.

He believes that the management of this 11th DRC outbreak will be easier because the treatments for Ebola are well known.

"Despite the difference in genotypes, the basis of the medical response will be close since it is the same disease," he adds.
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Zimbabwe has suspended all monetary transactions on phone-based mobile money platforms as well as trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

In a statement, the Ministry of Information said the measures are intended to deal with malpractices, criminality and economic sabotage.

The ministry said government is carrying out intrusive investigations that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of offenders. These measures include the suspension of all trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

These measures are to subsist until such time that the mobile money platforms have been reformed to their original purpose and all the current phantom rates of exchange have converged into one genuine rate that is determined by market forces under the Foreign Currency Auction System which was launched by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on 23rd June 2020.

The ministry said government is expected to put in place some measures to mitigate and prevent any collateral damage that these interventions may cause to the innocent transacting public who were using these platforms.

It noted that the government is in possession of impeccable intelligence which constitutes a prima facie case whereby the phone-based mobile money systems of Zimbabwe are conspiring, with the help of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, either deliberately or inadvertently, in illicit activities that are sabotaging the economy.

The ministry said these included the illegal externalization of foreign currency through transfer mispricing  fraudulently creating and issuing non-attributable and non-auditable agent cellphone lines/accounts, hiding irreconcilable accounts in suspense accounts which hold huge credit balances for unjustifiably long periods.

It further noted that some activities include acting as banks outside the purpose for which they were originally licensed as non-banking financial institutions.

In the particular case of Ecocash, holding well in excess of ZWL8 billion distributed just over 501,000 agent/merchant lines as at 10 June 2020, which is not under the scrutiny of the Financial Intelligence Unit.

Ecocash was cited as the center pivot of galloping black market foreign exchange rate and hence fueling the incessant price hikes of goods and services that are bedeviling the economy and causing untold hardship to the people of Zimbabwe.

In this regard, it has been conspiring with big merchants to act as their conduit through which they transfer hundreds of millions of dollars per day to runners on the street who then buy US dollars on their behalf.

The ministry claimed that some money platforms were facilitating the illicit trade in notes and coins at contrived rates of between 30% and 50%, thus causing artificial shortages of the same within the banking system.

It claimed that some cited money platforms were engaging in rampant tax evasion, use of illegal or banned lines, facilitating use of bulk airtime sales at discounted prices, which are cross rated to phantom USD exchange rates, which further distort the Zimbabwe market and deliberately mop up US dollars from the black market, thus forcing up the rate of exchange in a manner that has hitherto been difficult to explain for the monetary authorities.

The ministry also claimed that Ecocash, OneMoney, Telecash and MyCash Mobile Money platforms are all complicit in these illicit activities in varying degrees. Ecocash, however, which controls nearly 94% of all mobile money transactions, is the center pivot of this problem and its resultant impact on Zimbabwes economy.

The impact is exacerbated by the existence of fake counters on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, which are epitomized by the so-called Old Mutual Implied Exchange Rate (OMIR). This, in turn, results in four or more US:ZW parallel market exchange rates operating in the market. At any time, therefore, there is the official rate, an Ecocash rate, a OneMoney rate and the OMIR among others.

It said these are designed to defeat Zimbabwes fiscal policy.

Reacting to the move, MDC Alliance spokesperson, Fadzayi Mahere, said, This statement has no force of law in any case. Without the backing of a valid legal instrument, it's hot air. That said, if it's a foreboding of what's to come, your government will have shown yet again a huge capacity to destroy property rights. You cannot be trusted with anything.
The show 90 Day Fiance has featured international relationships from across the globe. Usually, at least one half of a couple is from the United States, but these long-distance relationships have been all over.

Subjects of the show have come from as far away as Samoa, Australia, the Philippines, and Tunisia. The show has filmed people from dozens of countries, both after their trip to the U.S. and in their own home countries.

But the subjects dont always speak English. That means a lot of subtitles. Unfortunately, 90 Day Fiance has been called out by fans a few times for mistranslations. But are these mistakes actually on purpose?

There are a few examples of mistranslations on 90 Day Fiance

90 Day Fiance wouldnt be the first reality show to manufacture extra drama. Sometimes real life is boring. By mistranslating some of the dialogue, it could be that producers hope to create more conflict, or sway viewers in certain ways.

For example, one Redditor called out a mistranslation in Jihoon and Deavans story. Apparently Jihoon said something that was subtitled as I dont really have a real job.

The fan thought that this was TLC trying to catch Jihoon in a lie, since he previously claimed he had a job. But thats not actually what he said. According to the Redditor, what Jihoon said was more along the lines of: I dont really have a real career.

In Korean, there are two words for job. One translates to a full-time career, and the other would translate to something like part-time jobs. Jihoon was saying that he doesnt have a real career, just part-time gigs.

This is a significant difference in this context. TLC could have had fans thinking Jihoon lied to Deavan, and it may have set fans against him.

Some couples rely 100% on translation

David and Lana of 90 Day Fiance | Instagram @davidjmurphey

RELATED: 90 Day Fiance Fans Are Furious Big Ed and Rosemarie Vegas Pay Gap on TLC Series

Its hard to say whether or not TLC is doing this on purpose. It could be that the show is using a kind of translating app instead of local translators, which can often lead to these kinds of mistakes. These apps are pretty well known on the show, considering some couples rely on them exclusively.

David met his long time girlfriend Lana in Ukraine on the latest season of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, and theyve been communicating with online translation for the seven years theyve been together. When they met up in person, they each spoke into a translation app on Davids phone to communicate.

Karine and Paul also had to text back and forth at the beginning of their relationship, before Paul learned Portuguese or Karina learned English. Anna and Mursel also only communicated through technology. Although it seemed to work out for them, the translation of Mursel was another instance fans called out as mistranslated.

Apparently TLC translated Mursel as telling his parents, Anna has three children, when really he told them something more akin to I just found out Anna has three children. The latter implies that Anna lied about her three children, which wasnt the case.

But Mursel didnt want his parents to know that he was knowingly dating a single mom. Again, viewers could have been swayed by the mistranslation. Fans may have been sympathetic to Mursel, when really he doesnt deserve much sympathy after that behavior.

90 Day Fiance may be purposely misleading viewers in other ways

Fans have called out 90 Day Fiance for purposely misleading viewers before, and it didnt have to do with the translations. There have been allegations that some of the storylines are faked. Jay, who cheated on his brand new wife Ashley multiple times, claims that the cheating was staged. Of course, he looked bad for stepping out, and he would look better if the show was fake.

Some of Jays castmates have spoken out as well. Others havent gone so far as to say the show is fake, but they do complain about the editing. Its natural for a reality show to edit the footage to make things look more dramatic. Its no surprise that some footage is edited to make cast members look better or worse. But purposefully mistranslating peoples words would be a step to far.
Supreme Court on CBSE Board Exam 2020 | The students of Class 12, however, will have the option to choose be evaluated on the basis of past marks, or appear for papers as soon as the situation is conducive to hold exams.

Supreme Court on CBSE Board Exam 2020 | The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has cancelled the pending Class 10 and 12 examinations, earlier scheduled to be held from 1 July, Central government informed the Supreme Court on Thursday. The government told the court there will be no exams for Class 10. Students of Class 12, however, will have the option to choose to either be evaluated on the basis of past marks, or appear for papers as soon as the situation is conducive to hold exams, ANI reported.

Supreme Court, meanwhile, has asked Central government and the CBSE to issue fresh notification regarding Class 12 examinations. The hearing is scheduled for today at 10.30 am when the apex court is expected to give its verdict.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the Ministry of Human Resource Development and CBSE, informed the Supreme Court of the board's decision.

"Our affidavit filed half an hour back states that taking into account suggestion from States, exam for Class 10 and 12 from July 1 stands cancelled... CBSE has scheme in which marks scored in past 3 exams will be taken in account," Bar and Bench quoted Mehta as saying.

Mehta, however, clarified that the cancellation is not absolute and overreaching in case of Class 12 students, who need their final marks for admissions to various higher education institutes such as the Delhi University.

"For Class 12, exams will be conducted as soon as situation is conducive. Marks for students who opt for class 12 exams will have that marks as final," Mehta explained.

However the students who do not wish to appear for these exams will be assessed on the basis of their performance in their past exams. The results, Mehta said, on the basis of assessment of past marks can be expected by 15 July for both Class 10 and Class 12.

The move will also impact scheme of things as far as admission to premium higher education institutions are concerned. The second most popular board in India, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and Indian School Certificate (ISC) had also submitted in court that they will follow the precedent set by CBSE. So students waiting for a decision from ICSE and ISC can also expect similar announcements from their boards later.

Meanwhile, the apex court has asked Mehta to reword his affidavit in a way that there is no confusion over its content. The solicitor general has agreed to this and will file a fresh response by this morning, But the crux of the information given out in court today is unlikely to change.

More clarification on the marking scheme to be adopted for the cancelled papers are awaited. This article shall be updated to reflect those once the details are in.
How does one scale a 5-figure revenue business, and turn it into 9-figures? "By leveraging aggressive scaling," said the founder and CEO of C Media, Arham Muhammad

Through C Media, Arham and his team have helped their clients' 10x the profitability of their businesses

SAN FRANCISCO, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Arham Muhammad is the current CEO of C Media, an avid entrepreneur and expert best known for building 9-figure businesses in the advertising sphere. Upon starting C Media in 2012 at the age of 20, he found a way to leverage his knowledge and skills to help celebrities and public figures make their money work better for them. What is less known is Arham's ability to take a business and scale it to 10X profitability very quickly. To date, he has helped bring in over $100M across multiple businesses. "I completely understand and appreciate that business is not linear. But there are times where I have used this to my advantage, especially in the current economic atmosphere. I prefer to focus on aggressive scale right off the bat."

Most entrepreneurs struggle with scaling. It's not easy finding the right people to fit into your company culture and training staff members to the level you require for your business to flourish. Throw in the current pandemic, and scaling remotely has become even trickier. "But it is entirely possible to still be profitable," said Arham. "You just have to have the resilience, courage, and drive to succeed, no matter what obstacles are put in your path."

Arham knows all about overcoming obstacles. In his childhood, due to situations beyond his control, he was thrust into dire circumstances in his country of birth, Pakistan. "There were days when I thought I could not go on, where all of my dreams shattered into a million pieces," he recalls. "Due to my interest in electronics from as young as 7, I turned to computers for solace and to get my mind off what was happening in my personal life and at home."

Between the ages of 12 and 15, Arham explored the world of reverse engineering, cybersecurity, and cyber forensics. He used this knowledge to help find vulnerabilities on some of the world's most well-known websites, such as Sony, AOL, ESPN, Microsoft, and EA. Most of his skills were self-taught and gained via experimentation, self-study, and an in-depth interest in anything related to AI, automation, and IT. "I also occasionally pen tested applications and constantly featured on a lot of security websites, writing proofs of concepts. My interest later helped me build a social media platform similar to Twitter and Facebook called Zstash, which was my first business."

Arham's second business started taking form when it was evident Zstash was not going to make it. He was in his late teens at the time. "I never finished school due to finances. But perhaps I didn't need to since they don't teach you many practical skills in school that are helpful in business. Most of the knowledge and skills that made me a millionaire at 24 was gained through reading, self-study, and practical application. It's extremely important to take action. You can't sit around hoping for some good luck to come your way, you can't let your circumstances define you."

C Media is today a 9-figure business that helps other business owners with advertising and rapidly scaling. The business continues to rake in daily sales well over $100K.

To learn more about C Media, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/arham-muhammad/

Media Contact:

Ekalavya Hansaj

415 800-4878

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As the coronavirus pandemic rips through the finances of state and local governments, municipal-bond insurers are busier than theyve been in years.

Since early May, about 10% of new bond sales have been offered with insurance, nearly double the average since 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The last time the market saw back-to back-months of double digit insurance rates was in July and August of 2009.

State and local government bonds sold with insurance was once a mainstay in the $3.9 trillion market. But the industry nearly collapsed in the financial crisis, when the companies had their credit ratings slashed because of losses tied to toxic mortgage securities, leaving only about 5% of new sales carrying insurance since then.

Covid-19 has had tectonic shifts in the market psychology and fear of further credit deterioration, said Grant Dewey, head of municipal capital markets at Build America Mutual, a municipal bond insurer.

He said that his group has been seeing higher demand from larger issuers and higher quality names as investors seek to hedge against feared rating downgrades. BAM has seen an increase in borrowers looking to insure their new debt issues and record volume from investment firms looking to guarantee the bonds theyve already purchased.

Bond insurance allows an issuer to borrow at lower rates than their credit ratings might allow by giving assurance to investors that they get paid no matter what. The insurer guarantees repayment of principal and interest over the life of the debt in return for a one-time premium.

Jamie Doffermyre, municipal sales manager at Citigroup Inc., said that investors have been placing more value on insurance over the last couple of years and the shift has accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic.

Insurance has performed well over the last few years and people are realizing that the absolute rating on the bond will be more stable if its wrapped and it will keep the spread more intact if there is a credit event, Doffermyre said. More customers are willing to place value on wraps that havent before.

The insurers rising market share has come amid a steady increase in the volume of new bonds being offered, suggesting demand is both real and distributed, wrote Matt Fabian and Lisa Washburn of Municipal Market Analytics in a note to clients. MMA says that any new issue penetration above 6% represents a material change in investor behavior.

Market Uncertainty

When Inglewood, California sold $102 million of taxable pension bonds in early June, it bought insurance from Assured Guaranty Ltd. to offset some of the markets uncertainty, said Bill Reynolds, a director at Urban Futures Inc., the financial adviser on the sale.

People want a little bit of security that the deal wont fall flat on its face when it sells, he said. The market is just so weird right now.

The municipal market sold off in March when fears about the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic thew financial markets into chaos. News sales of bonds largely froze up after investors pulled record amounts out of mutual funds. The market rebounded after the Federal Reserve stepped in to support the market though various liquidity programs.

Dewey, the manager at Build America Mutual, said business inquires exploded in March, April and May and the company was fielding requests from investors looking to insure bonds already in their portfolio when the market seized up.

For investors its not necessarily about a fear of default but more of a fear of downgrades, Dewey said.

Moodys Investors Service has most of corners of the municipal market on a negative outlook, signaling the finances for airports, colleges and universities, toll roads plus states and local governments face upcoming headwinds because of the economic fallout of the pandemic.

Because of the market uncertainty, no one wants to get stuck issuing bonds and then the market collapses Reynolds, the financial adviser said.

Topics Trends Market
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 00:43:35|Editor: huaxia

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COTONOU, June 26 (Xinhua) -- About 10 Chinese firms in Benin on Friday provided materials and financial support worth about 122,953 U.S. dollars to Benin's government in fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

Chinese ambassador to Benin Peng Jingtao handed over the donation to Benin's Health minister Benjamin Hounkpatin on Friday in the economic capital Cotonou.

Valued at the total amount of 72.33 million CFA francs (about 122,953 U.S. dollars), the donation was initiated by the Chinese embassy in Benin. It included sanitary equipment.

"By means of this material and financial donation today, about ten Chinese firms operating in Benin express their solidarity and their support to Benin's people and government in the current fight against COVID-19," Peng Jingtao said at the handover ceremony.

Hounkpatin expressed the gratitude of Benin's people and authorities to the Chinese firms, as he welcomed the donation.

As of June, 25, Benin had reported 1,053 confirmed cases, of which 747 patients were under treatment. There were 292 recoveries and 14 deaths.

The West African country registered its first case on March 16. Enditem
Planned Parenthood sues church, pastors for holding worship service outside abortion clinic

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The nation's largest abortion provider has filed a lawsuit against a church that meets outside one of its clinics in eastern Washington state as a "prophetic statement" against what's going on inside.

Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho is taking legal action against The Church at Planned Parenthood, which regularly worships outside the Spokane clinic, The Spokesman-Review reported earlier this week.

Named as defendants in the suit are state Rep. Matt Shea; Pastors Ken Peters, Gabe Blomgren, and Seth Haberman; Clay Roy, director of TCAPP; along with Covenant Church and Covenant Christian School.

"Planned Parenthood is not worried about patient care. We have service once a month, in the evening after their business hours. They seek to silence our message," Peters said in an interview with The Christian Post on Thursday.

"They are scared of our prayers and our worship. We arent there to bother them, we are there to touch Heaven and be a light to the world. We are there to be a prophetic statement that 'we, the church, dont approve of killing life inside the womb.'"

The abortion giant hates that message, he said, and is attempting to silence the church.

"Right now they are suing us for psychological damages to their staff and patients after hours. Im sorry, but they do much more damage to these women and children than our singing," Peters added.

Attorneys for the abortion giant have said that the Christian gatherings, which sometimes draw hundreds of people, interfere with the clinic's operations and have intimidated patients and the clinic staff.

These are not protesters  they are bullies who are trying to take away care from young women, men, the LGBTQ community and black, indigenous, people of color in Spokane, Karl Eastlund, chief executive of the regional Planned Parenthood organization, said in a statement.

The lawsuit is seeking damages and a permanent injunction to halt TCAPP from assembling outside the Planned Parenthood office located on E. Indiana Avenue in Spokane.

The Church at Planned Parenthood describes itself on its website as "NOT a protest."

"Its a worship service at the gates of Hell. The Church at Planned Parenthood is a gathering of Christians for the worship of God and the corporate prayer for repentance for this nation, repentance for the apathetic church, and repentance of our blood-guiltiness in this abortion holocaust," the website adds.

TCAPP has been gathering outside the local Planned Parenthood building to pray and worship since 2018.

Planned Parenthood has maintained that TCAPP's activities violate the city noise ordinance and a state law that prohibits disruptions at healthcare facilities. It also says that local police are refusing to enforce those regulations. Earlier this year, the Spokane City Council voted 6-1 to pass an additional ordinance with the same effect as the state law.

"We are making the temple of Satan angry. This isnt a political war or an earthly battle. It is spiritual," Peters added.

"The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty. Planned Parenthood is proving that by their response to us. Prayer, praise, giving and preaching the Gospel just works. They can sue Gods people if they wish, but God will avenge us. God sees our heart for His creation. Planned Parenthood isnt attacking us, they are attacking God."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 02:48:20|Editor: huaxia

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Shoppers queue outside Primark store in Oxford Street as it reopens in London, Britain on June 15, 2020. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

-- UK COVID-19 deaths hit 43,414;

-- Belgium sets up coronavirus special committee;

-- Nordic countries to further ease restrictions;



-- North Macedonia opens border crossings, no COVID-19 test or quarantine needed.



BRUSSELS, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries.



LONDON -- Another 186 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Thursday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 43,414, the British Department of Health and Social Care said Friday.



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

As of Friday morning, 309,360 people have tested positive for the disease in Britain, a daily increase of 1,006, according to the department.

People play volleyball at the Cinquantenaire Park in Brussels, Belgium, on June 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

BRUSSELS -- The bicameral Belgian Federal Parliament's Chamber of Representatives approved on Friday a motion establishing a special committee to examine the management of the coronavirus pandemic.



The special committee will be tasked with examining and evaluating the measures taken by the Belgian federal state to combat the COVID-19 epidemic and the management of this health crisis since its emergence.

It will examine the organization and capacities of hospitals, the management of medical equipment (COVID-19 screening kits, face masks, gloves, etc.), the screening process, and the communication chain between the federal and the regional levels.

People cross border check point between North Macedonia and Serbia in Tabanovce, North Macedonia June 17, 2020. (Photo by Tomislav Georgiev/Xinhua)

SKOPJE -- Authorities in North Macedonia gave the okay as of Friday to open all its border crossings to travelers without requiring valid coronavirus test results or mandatory quarantine.

On Tuesday, the government of North Macedonia decided to fully open all border crossings as of Friday for passengers and vehicles, based on the recommendations of the Commission for Infectious Diseases, according to a government press release.

On Wednesday, Health Minister Venko Filipce declared to local reporters that the reopening of borders and airports is not considered as high risk for the increase of coronavirus cases.

A citizen stops at the famous city sculpture "Three Smiths" which has been put on facial masks, in Helsinki, Finland, March 31, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhu Haochen)

HELSINKI -- All the five nordic countries share the freedom of cross-border movement as a central value and have the preparedness to ease gradually the current anti-COVID-19 restrictions, said Finnish Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo.

Ohisalo made the remarks Friday following a video meeting of Nordic ministers of the interior.

However, the more severe epidemic situation in Sweden still needs to be concerned. Finland could further tighten the controls on travel to Sweden if national-level health authorities so suggest, said the minister.
The economic upheaval witnessed in 2020 could shake up things even more when it comes to 401(k) plans.

A small group of employers, including many in hard-hit industries such as retailing, already have ratcheted down or eliminated some matching 401(k) contributions for employees during the latest recession.

We saw these type of 401(k) adjustments during the Great Recession that ran from December 2007 through June 2009. And some experts wonder whether we're going to see widespread cuts this time around, as companies attempt to cope with continued economic uncertainties and restrictions associated with the social distancing rules in use to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Monroe, Mich.-based La-Z-Boy, for example, announced in late March that it would freeze its 401(k) match. The move was among many, including furloughs and pay cuts, taken as part of the furniture company's COVID-19 action plan to preserve cash, ensure liquidity and contribute to a future ramp up in operations.

The company did not say when it would reinstate the 401(k) match, though it anticipates doing so when business conditions permit, said Kathy Liebmann, director of investor relations and corporate communications for La-Z-Boy.

Other employers have made similar moves.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles trimmed some benefits in a cost-cutting measure, too. FCA said it temporarily suspended its 5 percent matching contribution for salaried employees for three months beginning April 1. The automaker continues to make a 3 percent fixed contribution to the salaried employee 401(k) plan.

As the pandemic zapped travel plans, Marriott International told its associates the matching contribution for 2019 for the retirement savings plan, initially planned for early March, would be delayed until September.

About 12 percent of 816 employers surveyed by Willis Towers Watson, had cut their matching contributions to retirement plans as of the week of April 20 when the survey was done. All the respondents employ 12 million people.

What's perhaps more telling: Another 23 percent are either planning to or considering making similar moves sometime this year.

Some of these moves, fortunately, may only be temporary at some companies.

Fidelity Investments held a client webinar June 4 and discovered that 9.6 percent of the 302 participating employers reported that they have reduced or suspended the match.

However, according to Fidelity, 55 percent of the employers that reported limiting or cutting the match said they have active plans to reinstate the match in the future.

To be sure, many employers, including Ford Motor, have not suspended the 401(k) match that they offer.

Overall, the trend isn't to cut matching contributions, even though some in the industry are reporting the freezing of 401(k) matches here and there, according to Dave Stinnett, head of strategic retirement consulting for Vanguard's Institutional Investor Group.

"They are cutting back on employee benefits only as a last resort," Stinnett said.

Vanguard has been focusing on an effort to provide more low-cost advice programs, such as its new Digital Advisor product, as part of 401(k) plans. The automated service addresses helping younger consumers and others tackle a variety of financial planning challenges.

Given the expected volatility ahead on Wall Street, many expect that consumers may want some more advice on how to handle their money.

Many times, it makes perfect sense to contribute enough money into your 401(k) plan to capture every matching dollar offered by the company. Not surprisingly, people tend to save more when there's an incentive.

And it could make a good deal of sense to continue saving money in your 401(k) plan even without matching contributions. You're still getting a tax break upfront for traditional contributions as you're able to set aside part of your pay before federal and state income taxes are withheld.

But if you're dealing with high-cost credit card debt or mounting student loans, you might be better able to use some money you would have set aside for retirement savings toward paying down debt now, if you're no longer getting a company match.

Basic budgeting may require you to make some adjustments, too, if you're facing a pay cut or a temporary layoff or furlough.

"If your income is going down at the same time you're losing your match, you may want to re-evaluate your contribution," Melissa Joy, president of Pearl Planning, a wealth adviser in Dexter.

In general, though, she says contributing to a 401(k) remains a solid way to save for retirement.

"The loss of a match only increases the need for maintaining or growing your personal savings rate," Joy said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  Three government offices have temporarily suspended their operations due to COVID-19 related reasons, officials said.

The Department of Labor Department in Cordillera halted its operations from June 26 to June 29, as they need to disinfect the place. Employees in the regional office and Baguio-Benguet field office are also awaiting their coronavirus test results, DOLE-Cordillera Regional Director Exequiel Ronie Guzman said in an advisory posted Friday on their offices Facebook page.

No other detail was mentioned.

The Securities Exchange Commission, on the other hand, said in a statement Thursday that its main office in Pasay City will be closed until June 30 as two of their staff and two outsourced personnel tested positive for COVID-19 after undergoing rapid antibody testing.

The commission said the two employees have no known travel history abroad, no known exposure, and do not manifest COVID-19 symptoms. They have been working from home since March 13, and only went to the main office to take the rapid tests a few days ago, it said.

Meanwhile, the Taguig city government announced also on Thursday that all courts and offices in the Taguig City Hall of Justice would be closed until July 9 as several personnel reported a possible exposure to some colleagues who caught the viral disease.

Court operations and other services in the hall of justice will still continue online, the city government said.

The Taguig City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit and Taguig Safe City Task Force will lead the swab testing among all judges and employees, including security guards.

All of the Hall of Justices staff are required to self-quarantine during the closure.

Other government offices, such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources compound and the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal both in Quezon City, were also placed on lockdown yesterday due to employees who tested positive for COVID-19.

Makati Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Elmo Alameda and Metropolitan Trial Court Executive Judge Jackie Saguisag also instructed to temporarily close all regional trial courts, metropolitan trial courts and Offices of the Clerk of Court because a court employee received a positive result from a rapid test.
Torrential rains turned the streets of Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan into rivers on Thursday, flooding homes, flipping cars and killing three people.

The city's firefighters said that two people died in the devastation, but a journalist said he saw the body of a third victim.

"In half an hour, the water rose a metre and a half (five feet). We had to take refuge on the roof of our house as a torrent ran down the street," journalist Thomas Diego told AFP.

His production company is located in the wealthy eastern area of Cite Reconciliation, which -- along with neighbouring Cite Allabra -- was covered with mud as the floodwaters swept away cars, leaving some overturned.

Cite Reconciliation's four-metre-high metal entrance gate was torn off and taken away, while the walls of houses collapsed and a streetlight fell onto one home.

The three-hour downpour hit in the middle of the day and by the afternoon residents armed with brooms and mops were trying to inspect and hopefully fix the damage.

"Everything is ruined inside," said one resident Acket.

"We don't know where to go now, we can't sleep in the house, we turn to God," lamented another, Kevin Brou.

Landslides and floods are common during Abidjan's rainy season. By SIA KAMBOU (AFP)

The fresh blow to the West African country's economic capital comes after 16 people were killed in a mudslide following heavy rains on Thursday last week.

Landslides and floods are common during Abidjan's rainy season, wreaking havoc on shantytowns built into eroding hillsides in the undulating seaside city.

The rainy season in the city, which is home to some five million people, began in May and normally lasts until the end of July.

Eighteen people died in Abidjan during flooding in June 2018.

Following those floods, the authorities destroyed the housing in the most vulnerable parts of the city where people had built homes wherever they found the space to do so.

In the working-class area of Adjame-Williamsville on Thursday, street traders said they barely had time to collect their goods and flee the rising water.

But 30 minutes after the deluge, the traders had their wares back on the streets, amid a dissipating sea of garbage, with the wet trunks of trees still showing how high the floodwaters had reached.
Ford Motor isn't worried about new features on its redesigned F-150 pricing people out of the increasingly expensive full-size pickup market, according to the company's chief operating officer, Jim Farley.

"This is content people want and are more than willing to pay for," he said Friday on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "People are happy to pay if the product is more productive."

On Thursday evening, Ford unveiled traditional and hybrid versions of the 2021 F-150 pickup. The truck is scheduled to begin arriving in dealerships this fall. An all-electric F-150 is expected sometime in the next two years.

Ford has not announced pricing for the new F-150. Starting pricing on 2020 models ranges from about $30,000 to $70,000.

The full-size pickup segment has increasingly gotten more expensive in the past decade as new models and features are released. The average price paid for F-150 pickups this year is more than $49,000, according to auto research firm Edmunds.

"With Ford's large base of buyers serving as a test bed for new features, the next generation is sure to push F-150 well past an average price of $50,000" said Ivan Drury, senior manager of insights at Edmunds.
NEW DELHI:

The details of two deadly surgical strikes by India and Pakistan in 2011 have surfaced, in which at least 13 soldiers were killed, six of them decapitated. According to documents procured by an Indian English news daily, Pakistan attacked Indian post and killed six soldier in July, 2011. Indian Army replied with one of the deadliest cross-border raids carried out by it in the recent memory.

1. India conducted deadliest surgical strikes across LoC in 2011, says report

According to the report, the Pakistani raiders struck a remote army post in Gugaldhar ridge in Kupwara, on the afternoon of July 30, 2011, surprising the six soldiers from the Rajput and Kumaon regiments.

2. Suspected radioactive leak at Delhi cargo terminal, NDMA at spot

A suspected radioactive leak on Sunday occurred from a medical shipment at cargo terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, following which authorities have cordoned off the area.

3. No conflict between Sharif Govt and army, says Basit

Pakistan's high commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Saturday said that Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is staying firmly put in the driving seat of the nation. Denying reports about the growing rift between Pak army and elected government, Basit assured that Sharif-led government has no problems and is instead seeking to resolve its problems with India through fresh beginnings.

4. Hillary Clinton stands good chance of winning if she scores in two swing states, say expert

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has a very good chance of winning against Republican rival Donald Trump if she is able to win Florida and one of other three biggest swing states of North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, an election expert has said.

5. BSP supremo Mayawati holds massive rally on Kanshi Ram death anniversary

The Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati is conducting a massive rally in Lucknow on the tenth death anniversary of its founder Kanshi Ram on Sunday.







For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
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For years, Ive worried and warned about the dangers posed by gene-editing technologies, such as CRISPR. In the words of one of its inventors, CRISPR makes the human genome as malleable as a piece of literary prose at the mercy of an editors red pen. At least, thats the promise that has yet to materialize.

In 2018, a Chinese scientist announced hed used CRISPR to genetically modify human embryos. At the time, more respectable scientists denounced his actions as unethical, given how new the technology was and how little ethical oversight there was for using it. In essence, this dangerous technology has been released into the world with no limitations except play nice.

Nearly all of the criticism directed at Dr. He had to do with secondary issues such as informed consent. Relatively little was said about the possibility of gene edits producing mutations that might lead to cancer or other illnesses. Essentially nothing was said about the ethical nature of the technology itself, whether or not editing genes is something we should do at all.

Why was the ethical outrage so shallow?

Two reasons: First, science advances today on a philosophical mandate that is barely contained by an ethical utilitarianism. Thats a big-worded way of saying that our worship of science comes with the idea that if we can do it, we should do it, and the only thing that limits that is if someone gets hurt. Case in point: The Guardian called CRISPR, not a bad idea or a dangerous technology, but an imperfect tool. Why? Because it could lead to off-target edits.

That squishy bit of ethical reasoning leads to the second reason I thought that the outrage directed at the Chinese scientist was, as I put it at the time, faux. I believed that other scientists, including those who decried Dr. He as being rogue, were doing the same thing, just more discretely. In other words, I did not believe that the loud denunciation and even imprisonment of one Chinese scientist would stop others just as intent on playing God.

Turns out, it didnt.

Apparently, a team of researchers at the Francis Crick Institute in London used CRISPR to edit 18 donated human embryos. The purpose, they claimed, was to study the role of a particular gene in the earliest stages of human development. Unfortunately, around half of the embryos contained major unintended edits.

Major unintended edits is a euphemism for mutation and genetic damage which, as Medium told its readers, could lead to birth defects or medical problems like cancer later in life. As one genetics researcher put it, youre affecting so much of the DNA around the gene youre trying to edit that you could be inadvertently affecting other genes and causing problems. Even worse, the Crick Institute team didnt inadvertently mess with a gene near the one they were targeting. In other words, they hit their targets. The results were, however, unexpected.

Fyodor Urnov, a professor of molecular and cell biology at Berkeley, was more blunt: Theres no sugarcoating this . . . This is a restraining order for all genome editors to stay the living daylights away from embryo editing.

Once a gene-editing expert gets frightened, youd think we might want to cool our jets in this whole playing god thing. I doubt it. Scientists will ignore any restraining order that lacks legal punch. What happened in China didnt deter researchers in London. What happened in London wont deter anyone else. By the way, all the embryos affected by the Francis Crick Institute team were destroyed.

When science operates independently of religion, philosophy, law, and public policy, then researchers (to paraphrase a line from Jurassic Park) become so preoccupied with whether or not they can do something, they never stop to think if they should.

So we, working through our elected leaders, must be the ones to tell scientists no. They may whine and moan, as they did when President Bush curtailed embryonic stem cell research, but so what? As it turned out, we didnt need to kill embryos for their stem cells. Likewise, we dont need to play God with the human genome or with unborn children, either.

Originally posted at breakpoint.org
If you make a mistake and somebody helps you to correct it and youre still going to talk about what they did was wrong [sending the order], that is pathetic, Farley said in an interview, adding that if she were still mayor, she never would have disconnected the water.

In an emailed statement, the state health department said VDH understands that the city of Petersburg is complying with the Commissioners certification and expects that effort to continue.

City officials have said multiple times they feel the state is singling them out as the locality to be required to restore water.

To be the only locality  to have had such a mandate imposed smacks of impropriety discriminatory intent and/or disparate impact, Williams said.

In nearby areas, residents have not been without water during the pandemic.

In Colonial Heights, 116 accounts were suspended as of March 11, however within a 48-hour period 110 accounts were paid, restoring water. The city restored water for the remaining six homes free of charge. In April, the City Council voted that when a local emergency occurs the city will waive any fees and payments for any nonpayment of service that impacts a residents well-being.

While some home water accounts in Chesterfield County were disconnected for nonpayment, all accounts were restored during the pandemic. In Hopewell, any billing-related service interruptions were suspended as of March 13.
A new study has suggested using flappers, which are suspended and rotating devices for helping flying birds avoid power lines. Scientists consider such an innovation important due to the increasing number of birds being killed by the increasing number of power lines worldwide. (Photo : Pixabay)

A new study by researchers from Oregon State University (OSU) has suggested using flappers, which are suspended and rotating devices for helping flying birds avoid power lines. Scientists from the university's College of Agricultural Sciences consider such an innovation necessary due to the increasing number of birds being killed by the growing number of power lines worldwide.

According to research, over 300 bird species are being killed when they hit power lines. One study says that over 170 million birds die from this cause in the U. S. each year, while another study has estimated the overall death toll in the world at one billion birds each year. Such bird strikes also cause power outages.

In the past years, utilities and conservation managers have developed bird flight diverters - devices that are regularly spaced - to increase the visibility of the power lines to birds. This helps reduce deaths by assisting birds in avoiding flying into them.

PVC spirals are the most commonly used flight diverters. They are quite easy to install and are durable, but it is not known how successful they are in preventing bird deaths. They are already being used for almost 40 years, and yet the rates of strikes are still high for several bird species.

Ryan Baumbusch and Virginia Morandini are OSU researchers that are part of a collaboration of international researchers comparing three kinds of flight diverters and their effectiveness. These are the orange PVC spiral, the yellow PVC spiral, and a type of flapper having three red and orange polypropylene blades and reflective stickers.

The flapper is hung from power lines, and its 21 x 6.2-centimeter blades are situated so that they are rotating at a vertical axis.

The study took three years and was conducted in the southern part of Spain using power lines that span nearly 54 kilometers. The yellow PVC spirals were placed for a length of 10 kilometers of the power lines, while the orange PVC spirals were used to mark 13 kilometers. The flappers were placed in 13 kilometers of the power lines, while control of 16 kilometers with no markers was also included. For all the flight diverters, spacing was made that measured 10 meters.

Every 40 days, field workers meticulously combed the ground beneath these power lines to look for birds that may have fallen victim to the power lines. They counted a total of 131 individuals, which represent 32 bird species.

The study found that flappers caused an average of 70% lower deaths in comparison to the study control. Meanwhile, the PVC spirals also had lowered deaths relative to the control, but have significantly less effective compared to the flappers.

According to Morandini, the colored PVC spirals are so far the most common flight diverter being used; however, it is the flapper that prevented the most mortalities. It is also the one having the lowest variation in terms of different bird communities, habitats, and power lines. Thus, the researchers recommend it as the ideal flight diverter. The authors also recommend future research to test its durability, resistance to vibrations, and loss of color.

Additional factors favoring flappers include comparable production costs and materials with PVC spirals as well as faster and easier installation. The latter advantage saves power companies from losing money because power lines need to be turned off when diverters are installed.
The ratio of public debt to GDP is not too high, but the pressure of debt repayment in both VND and foreign currencies will increase in 2020-2021.

According to the Ministry of Finance (MOF), at the end of 2019, the public debt was below 55 percent of GDP, lower than the peak of 63.7 percent of GDP in 2016. Of this, the governments debt was equal to 48 percent of GDP, also lower than that of 2016.





Analysts can see positive aspects in the debt structure. The proportion of domestic debts has increased, accounting for 62.3 percent of the government debt (it was 60.1 percent in 2016), while foreign debt decreased to 37.7 percent (it was 39.9 percent in 2016).



This restricts demand for foreign currencies to pay debts, especially when Vietnam has been relying on imports/exports and FIEs.



IMF said Vietnams public debts are not too high if compared with other ASEAN countries.



However, there is a matter of concern  the debts that will mature in 2020-2021. MOF estimates that the government would have to pay VND349 trillion in 2020, including VND287.900 trillion worth of domestic debts and VND61.1 trillion worth of foreign debts.

There are still no detailed figures about 2021, but a government report showed that the principal alone that the government has to pay is VND211 trillion, or 41 percent higher than 2020.

There are still no detailed figures about 2021, but a government report showed that the principal alone that the government has to pay is VND211 trillion, or 41 percent higher than 2020.

As for government bonds, the government would have to pay VND166 trillion worth of principal with the payment peak time in October.



The figure is expected to be even higher next year, VND204.800 trillion.



The government bonds issued in the domestic market in foreign currencies worth $1.7 billion will mature in 2020 and 2021. The foreign debts are mostly ODA loans and preferential loans from bilateral and multilateral donors.



The MOFs report about public debt released in late 2019 showed that the biggest creditors of Vietnam are the World Bank (31.8 percent of the governments total foreign debts), Japan (29.8 percent) and ADB (17.5 percent).



The government has stopped acting as a guarantor for any enterprise to borrow money for the last year. However, the loans guaranteed by the government in the past will be due in some days. Severely hit by the pandemic, enterprises foresee an inability to pay debts.



In mid-May, the national flag air carrier Vietnam Airlines had to pay $800 million to Vietnamese and foreign commercial banks. The money was used to buy aircraft in 2009-2015 and the loan was guaranteed by the government.



According to Vo Huu Hien from MOF, from July 2020, Vietnam will have to pay principal twice as much as previously. Vietnams foreign debts are mostly in SDR, JPY, US and EUR currency.

Kim Chi

VN aviation industry's slowdown to affect public debt The debts incurred by enterprises in the aviation industry, due in 2020, if not payable, will have a big impact on public debt.
New Delhi: Indian railway might stop serving Parliament canteens in the coming days, but the transporters catering arm, IRCTC, may soon open a ticket counter in Parliament complexto help MPs buy air tickets of private domestic airlines.

It is set to be the first outlet that will sell, among other things, tickets of different private carriers in the Parliament complex that had the presence of only public entities such as tea and coffee boards outlets, Indian railways-run canteen and an Air India counter. It will run parallel to the Air India counter, said a senior official.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has given necessary orders to allow IRCTC to set up its booking counter, officials said. They also pointed out that in a special booklet highlighting achievements of Birlas first year in office, it has been mentioned: Orders have also been issued for setting up a new booking counter of IRCTC in Parliament House Complex to provide the facility of booking tickets for private air journeys by Honble Members.

The idea to have a counter for all domestic airlines was mooted last year during a meeting of the Lok Sabhas business advisory committee chaired by Birla. After several members pointed out the difficulties in getting tickets Birla asked the secretariat to look into the issue.

An MP is entitled to 34 business class tickets annually in any airline.

The entry of IRCTC may also dent Air Indias roaring business. According to officials and a couple of MPs, the national carriers counter provides mainly full fare tickets for the MPswhereas buying tickets from outside or even agents can get lower rates.

I remember former Speaker Sumitra Mahajan once told us that she way flying from Delhi to Indore and she found that the passenger sitting beside her has bought the ticket at nearly 50% cheaper price, said Trinamools floor leader Sudip Bandopadhyay who prefers to fly the Maharaja.

The IRCTC outlet, according to officials can also end the inflated bills of travel agents who are often engaged by MPs as the lawmakers dont have time to make their own bookings regularly. according to rules, we have to pay for the entire amount of the bill. But some travel agents also add their commission, said an official.

It will be a good move by the Speaker. After all, it will be convenient for all MPs to get their tickets during the session. and they dont have to worry about the hassles, Bandopadhyay added.

Lok Sabha officials added that IRCTC counter is likely to open from the monsoon session. It might also coincide with the departure of the northern railways from the Parliament canteen as a part of the project to overhaul the catering system in Parliament.

In last one year, the Lok Sabha secretariat revamped facilities for MPs in other sectors as well. 36 duplex flats for lawmakers came up in the North Avenue and another 228 new flats will be constructed.

76 multi-storied residential flats are being built after demolishing seven bungalows located on B D Marg and one bungalow on the Talkatora Road. Birla has also set up an information and communication Center on the lines of a call centre for assistance of Members. The centre has received 21,000 calls so far.

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Representative image (REUTERS/Randall Hill)

After the lockdown starting from March 25 due to COVID-19 impact, the domestic aviation industry resumed its operations from May 25.

The sector, which was already struggling due to shrinking revenues and margins, is among one of the worst-hit sectors by the pandemic.

Experts point out that the aviation sector globally operates at very thin margins due to high competition from low-cost carriers (LCC) and higher fixed cost.

While the operations have begun with restrictions, the sky for aviation players continues to look hazy.

Domestic civil air operations commenced from May 25, 2020, with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) permitting airlines to operate at one-third of their approved summer schedule capacity.

"Despite the resumption of operations, the capacity utilisation remained low at about 40 percent with weak demand and cautious view of public and corporates. We expect the demand situation to be weak for the next couple of months given the increasing COVID-19 case across the country," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Nair expects that in the near-term, the travel and tourism activities will be limited due to fear of pandemic spread which will hit the companies' profitability.

"Given hit on profitability, we expect consolidation in fleet operators in the short-term. Though airlines enjoyed some respite in terms of ATF prices, given the high fixed cost it is not helping the situation," said Nair.

Nair expects the situation to gradually improve starting from August to September 2020.

"We continue to have a positive long term growth story of the aviation sector in India but considering near-term demand headwinds and likelihood of higher losses, we have a 'neutral' view on the sector," said Nair.

Domestic brokerage firm Centrum Broking believes that one-third of scheduled capacity was a reasonable starting point for the sector given the current demand.

"With current capacity at nearly 25 percent, we expect a gradual ramp-up in operations from here on. Experience of other countries which have gone through the COVID-19 lockdown and restart process indicate that after 3-4 months of the peak of virus spread the airlines are operating or likely to operate at nearly 50 percent of the capacity," said the brokerage.

"In India we expect airlines to operate at nearly 50-55 percent levels by end of Q2FY21 and strong improvement thereon. Overall, we expect the domestic air passenger (PAX) traffic to decline 57 percent year-on-year to 6.1 crore in FY21 and a sharp revival with 95 percent year-on-year growth in FY22 to 11.9 crore (16 percent below FY20)," Centrum said.

IndiGo better placed

Among the aviation players, InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) is better placed in comparison to its peers, say brokerages and analysts.

"IndiGo, given its strong balance sheet, liquidity enhancement measures and dominant market position is well placed to capitalise on the recovery. We have a 'buy' rating on IndiGo with a target price of Rs 1,244. We have a 'reduce' rating on SpiceJet with a target price of Rs 33," said Centrum.

However, despite a strong balance sheet and dominant market position, the near-term outlook for even IndiGo is feeble.

Nair of Geojit Financial Services said he has a constructive view on Indigos on a long term horizon due to a strong balance sheet, significant market leadership and expansion in international operations. But, given near-term concerns in the sector, he has temporarily dropped coverage on the stock.

"We have temporarily dropped coverage on the stock, given a high amount of stoppage in operations leading to difficulty in estimating the likely impact in such an evolving situation. We may relook our rating in future as clarity emerges," Nair said.

A week back, IndiGo's Chief Executive Officer Ronojoy Dutta told CNBC-TV18 that the company can raise Rs 3,000-Rs 5,000 crore by leasing its assets, including aircraft and engines.

IndiGo will take the delivery of around 120 fuel-efficient neo aircraft over the next two years and would simultaneously retire another 120 A320ceos, he said.

The airline believes that the biggest opportunity to save costs lies in the fleet and hence plans to focus on the efficiency of aircraft in use. The country's largest airline is also lowering maintenance costs and renegotiating contracts with suppliers.

The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor



By Nam Hyun-woo



The looming U.S. election is weighing heavily on Korean carmakers and tire makers, as local unions and politicians are pressuring the companies to produce more products on American soil, or face hefty duties, industry officials said Thursday.



The United Steelworkers (USW) union recently revealed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's answers to the union's candidate questionnaire.



In the questionnaire, the USW called for stronger rules of origin provisions in trade agreements, requiring "melting and pouring of steel products" or "domestic content thresholds in automobiles over 60 percent."



Biden answered that "rules of origin need to be carefully written to ensure that when a product is labelled Made in the USA, it really means that" and "steel and other products like aluminum must be melted and poured in the United States so that (other) countries can't exploit loopholes."



The USW is the largest private sector union in North America, having more than 850,000 members across the continent.



Currently, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors assemble vehicles in the U.S. with steel produced by their affiliate Hyundai Steel and other steelmakers in Korea. Since the steel is processed at Hyundai Steel America, those vehicles  approximately 300,000 a year  are exempt from duties.



If the rule of origin gets amended to require the melting and pouring of steel products in the U.S., the carmakers will have to rely on U.S. steelmakers to avoid duties, meaning Hyundai Motor Group will have to make major changes to its supply chains.



Hyundai Motor's 2019 sales volume in the U.S. grew 4.7 percent year-on-year, ending two consecutive years of backpedaling. As Biden, President Donald Trump's opposition candidate, also drops hint at protectionist moves, the company's rebound in the U.S., may fail to pick up momentum.



The Trump administration's apparent pressure for Hyundai Motor to assemble new models in the U.S. is a challenge for the carmaker.



Hyundai Motor union recently claimed the U.S. is demanding the Korean government pressure Hyundai Motor to produce the NX4  the codename of the new generation Tucson  in the U.S., which will "never be accepted."



The Tucson is one of the more popular Hyundai vehicles in the U.S., and is produced at Hyundai plant No. 5 in Ulsan. Though Hyundai Motor said it has not considered producing the new Tucson in the U.S., the union claimed rumors are growing among employees.





Hankook Tire's plant in Tennessee / Courtesy of Hankook Tire
(Natural News) Around 34,700 new coronavirus cases were identified in the United States on Tuesday  the highest single-day total since April and the third-highest since the start of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The outbreak, which has caused over 121,000 deaths in the country, is now spreading in the South and West, with over 20 states reporting rising caseloads.

Public health experts warn that the new cases  which they predict will spread across the U.S. in rolling, uneven waves  can further complicate efforts to rebound from the economic effects of stay-at-home measures. In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown delayed lifting restrictions after cases in the state rose, while in Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards paused the states effort to reopen further by at least a month following a surge in new cases.

Florida becomes seventh state to have 100,000 cases

In Florida, health officials reported 5,508 new cases on Wednesday  its highest, to date  which brought that states total caseload to 109,014. This makes Florida the seventh state to report over 100,000 cases, together with New York, New Jersey, Illinois, California, Texas and Massachusetts.

The states health department also noted an increase in the percentage of tests that came back positive  an indication that new cases were not caused by ramped-up testing. In particular, the state reported a surge in cases among younger people, with the average age of patients now at 33 years old. According to Gov. Ron DeSantis, the decreasing age of patients meant that measures to protect at-risk older adults were effective.

In a news briefing last week, the governor said that the state will continue to reopen. Going back to a lockdown, he added, is not an option.

Were not shutting down. Were going to go forward  Were not rolling back, DeSantis added. You have to have society function.

The health department also issued new guidelines last weekend, which discourage meetings of more than 50 people and recommend wearing masks in any setting. However, DeSantis dismissed the idea of making masks mandatory across the state, saying that local communities should design these policies as they see fit.

New cases in California up by 69 percent in just two days

Californias Department of Public Health reported 7,149 new cases on Wednesday  up by 69 percent from two days ago  to bring the states caseload to 190,222. This follows the states highest single-day jump on Tuesday when authorities recorded 5,019 new cases.

We cannot continue to do what we have done over the last number of weeks, Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters. Many of us understandably developed a little cabin fever, some I would argue developed a little amnesia, others have frankly taken down their guard.

California has the second-highest number of cases in the U.S. after New York. While the latter remains the epicenter of the pandemic, recent data show a decline in new cases and deaths. New Jersey, another early pandemic hotspot, fell to third place with over 169,000 cases. Officials reported an increase in new cases this week  up by over 46 percent from last weeks numbers.

The state also performed a record number of tests, with Newsom saying that the state conducted over 96,000 tests in the last 24 hours. However, the percentage of tests that came back positive also increased in the last two weeks.

I want to remind people that we are still in the first wave of this pandemic  I want to remind each and every one of you of the importance and potency and power of your individual decision making, Newsom added.

In addition, the state health department noted that hospitalizations increased by nearly a third, while admissions to intensive care increased 18 percent in the past two weeks. As of Tuesday, a total of 4,095 COVID-19 patients have been admitted to hospital, well below the states capacity of over 73,800 beds.

Newsom also made masks mandatory on Thursday, especially for residents going to public places. (Related: Coronavirus surge across America call states reopening plans into question.)

We dont want to see people fined, the governor added.

But we do want people to encourage others to be safe, not only for yourself but for others.

Pandemic.news has more on the ongoing Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.

Sources include:

USAToday.com

Coronavirus.JHU.edu

NYTimes.com

WSJ.com

CNBC.com 1

CIDRAP.UMN.edu

HeraldTribune.com

CNBC.com 2
BRUSSELS  The European Union is ready to bar most travelers from the United States, Russia, and dozens of other countries considered too risky because they have not controlled the coronavirus outbreak, E.U. officials said Friday.

By contrast, travelers from more than a dozen countries that are not overwhelmed by the coronavirus are set to be welcomed when the bloc reopens after months of lockdown on July 1. The acceptable countries also include China  but only if China allows European Union travelers to visit as well, the officials said.

The list of safe countries was completed by E.U. senior diplomats in Brussels after tortuous negotiations on how to reopen the 27-member bloc to commerce and tourism under a common set of standards after months of lockdown.

The list was backed in principle by most E.U. ambassadors and does not require unanimous support, but still needs to be formalized in member states capitals as well as in the central European Union bureaucracy before taking effect July 1. Diplomats did not expect the list to change.
Kanpur, one of the leading centres for making bullet proof jackets for Indian soldiers, has banned Chinese products, Hindustan Times sister publication Hindustan reported on Friday.

The companies based in Kanpur have turned towards European and American firms to procure raw materials to build body armour and jackets which save lives of soldiers, Hindustan further reported.

Earlier this week, Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat had said that Indian companies manufacturing bullet proof jackets should avoid importing raw materials from China because of inconsistencies in the quality of the shipments.

Many times raw materials imported from China (to produce bullet proof jackets) are not of good quality... We should avoid importing from Chinese sources because of inconsistencies of the raw material quality, Saraswat told news agency PTI on Monday.

Saraswat, also a former Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief, said companies producing bullet proof jackets for the army can get raw material from other sources that are the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) production agencies.

The Prime Ministers Office (PMO) had asked Niti Aayog to prepare a road map for incentivising domestic manufacturing of lightweight body armours and protective gears. The Bureau of Indian Standards has also finalised quality norms for body armours to be used by Indian forces.

The clamour for boycott of Chinese goods has been growing ever since the Ladakh-face off in the Galwan Valley on June 15.

These jackets use fibre or filament which are light weight and strong. The bullet proof jackets have two layers. The upper layer is ceramic and the inner most layer is made of ballistic material.

When a bullet strikes the jacket, the ceramic layer breaks the pointed head which releases energy. This energy us absorbed by the ballistic layer keeping the soldiers safe.

The industrialists Hindustan spoke to, said American and European companies are reliable when it comes to makign such important life-saving jackets and even helmets.

We dont trust China, especially in a sensitive sector like defence. Therefore, we buy the raw material to make these bulleto proof jackets from Denmark and American companies, said Mayank Shrivastava, MD, NCFD.

India lost 20 of its army personnel, including a colonel, in the violent face-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the biggest confrontation between the militaries of India and China in more than four decades.
Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough called Gov. Greg Abbotts move to shut down some businesses, including bars, to slow the spread of COVID-19 ludicrous on Friday, adding the governor is picking winners and losers in the economy.

I support the governors decision to temporarily pause the reopening of Texas given the current increase in cases statewide, Keough said. Unfortunately, instead of continuing with the pause, he is picking winners and losers in our economy by closing them. He is implying that the virus only spreads at bars or tubing down the river based upon his order and not in a big box store packed with shoppers is ludicrous. The approach taken yesterday to pause future expansion and openings was a solid measured approach balancing the opening of Texas with regard to public safety.

But today the governor is sending us backward. My heart breaks for these businesses who are suffering massive losses because of no fault of their own. I am working diligently to get them back open as soon as possible.

Abbott announced Friday morning Texas bars must close and restaurants must reduce their capacity from 75 percent to 50 percent on Monday. The order also suspends commercial river rafting and tubing services.

The closures come on the heels of the governor pausing his phased reopening plan for Texas and halting elective surgeries in Travis, Dallas, Bexar and Harris counties to ensure hospital could handle a surge in COID-19 patients.

The action by Abbott comes as COVID-19 cases surge across the state, including Montgomery County. Between Monday and Thursday, Montgomery County added 242 new cases.

However, Keough said while the numbers climb, hospitalizations among the countys cases remain low. Health officials reported Thursday just 15 of the countys 763 active cases were hospitalized. The total number of hospitalizations in Montgomery County, including Montgomery Countys 15 and out of county residents, was 112.

While Montgomery County has seen a rise in active cases, we have also seen a steady and declining number of county residents requiring hospitalization for the last several weeks, Keough said.

The surge, Keough said, is due largely in part to graduation parties and protests that have occurred in the last several weeks.

I urge all residents of Montgomery County to continue to follow the guidelines put out by the CDC, Keough said. Social distancing and hand washing are the most effective way to address the spread of COVID-19.

Conroe Mayor Toby Powell urged residents to stay calm and follow CDC guidelines.

I am very concerned with the resurgence of COVID-19, Powell said. Our businesses are so important to our city and to our lives but the health and welfare of our citizens must take priority. It is during these difficult times and hard decisions that I draw on my faith to lead me.

As Mayor, I would ask our citizens to stay calm and follow established guidelines. Help us keep you safe and help our first responders and medical personnel by protecting yourself. I support adjusting and even delaying the 100 percent reopening of Conroe as we re-evaluate a strategy.

My faith tells me that Conroe will come through this and remain a strong and vibrant city.

The city announced Friday it was canceling its July 2 First Thursday Free Concert Series featuring Bri Bagwell and Market Days. The city of Conroe Parks and Recreation Department has not announced a make-up event but may do so at a future time. There is no change to the Aug. 6 First Thursday Free Concert Series featuring Derek Spence  Tribute to George Strait.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
University of Nebraska leaders hope that high numbers of applications and admissions mean that enrollment in August will exceed expectations.

But there is no way of knowing until students show up.

When we see them on campus, well get the clear answer, NU Regent Howard Hawks of Omaha said Friday.

The NU Board of Regents, which oversees institutions in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney and Curtis, set a budget for 2020-21 on Friday and plugged in numbers for the following two years.

The NU system expects to make $43 million in cuts over the next three years, largely because the coronavirus has upended colleges and universities.

With the coronavirus pandemic still troubling the nation, most agree that ever-moving parts will influence college enrollment and revenue for 2020-21.

The parts include the course of the pandemic and how prospective students respond to it. Many expect international student numbers to slump.

The tuition that comes with enrollment is a vital part of a public colleges operating budget, along with state appropriations.
Delaware County Council will announce a replacement for current Executive Director Marianne Grace at a meeting July 1, according to an email circulated to county employees Thursday.

Delaware County Council appreciates the high degree of professionalism and commitment Ms. Grace brought to her roles in county government over the past many years, the email reads. She has played a particularly central role over the last four months, as the county has responded to the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. All residents of Delaware County owe her a debt of gratitude for a career spent in service to the county.

I am thankful for the years of service Ive had to the residents of Delaware County and Im thankful to the county employees for their service as well, Grace said Thursday.

Grace, a former Republican Upper Darby councilwoman, had held the position since 1991. The email indicates she was one of the finalists for the position but was not selected.

As Ive always said, every day is a new day, and new days are new opportunities, said Grace about what the future holds for her. Thats my attitude and my outlook.

Council announced it would search for a new executive director in December, just before newly elected Democrats Christine Reuther, Elaine Paul Schaefer and Monica Taylor joined fellow Democrats Councilmen Brian Zidek and Kevin Madden, making the five-person council all Democratic for the first time in history.

Madden said in December that the incoming council felt that seeking out a possible new person for the position was the only responsible thing to do and expected the search to take several months. He added that Grace was considered a very viable candidate and that her care for the residents of Delaware County is obvious to everyone whos engaged with her.

Grace, who agreed to take on the role of chief administrative officer while the search was ongoing, joined county government in 1990 as associate drug and alcohol director, according to biographical information on the county website.

She became planning and programming director for Mental Health/Mental Retardation in 1991 before being named deputy administrator for Behavioral Health in 1997. Grace became director of the Human Services Department and administrator for MH/MR in 1998.
Ukraine may cut wheat exports ceiling  experts

10:40, 26.06.20 839

This season, the wheat export ceiling stands at 20.2 million tonnes.
STAMFORD  Earlier this week, members of the Stamford Board of Education said a preliminary plan for school reopening was sure to change multiple times over the course of the next three months, but they probably didnt except that to come true so quickly.

Only two days after a board meeting in which a reentry plan using staggered attendance was discussed by Stamford school officials, state education officials came out with guidelines that would allow for a full school reopening in the fall.

Superintendent Tamu Lucero said the new guidelines dont erase the work already done in Stamford to develop a potential model for teaching and learning for the upcoming school year.

Stamford Public Schools recently created a 44-member reopening task force, and multiple subcommittees, to look at a variety of issues concerning the fall school year.

The preliminary plan discussed by Stamford school board members would call for all staff to be inside the buildings five days a week, but a maximum of half of the students would be allowed inside at any one time.

That would mean splitting student populations into halves that would each come to school twice a week, and Fridays would be used as a flexible day in which students could potentially come to the buildings if invited.

The task force draft plan will continue to be developed, she said. The Stamford draft plan also includes allowing families to participate in distance learning, which is also required in the state plan.

Stamford Board of Education President Andy George said he was surprised to hear state officials considering a full reopening.

I think there are a lot of concerns out there about exactly what stage the Covid virus would be in, he said, referring to when the new school year begins.

George said a full reopening means Stamford students would not be able to practice social distancing, which is what the staggered concept hoped to accomplish.

He also said it was disheartening that the state approach seemingly was one size fits all.

Stamford is one of the more densely populated cities and school districts in the state, so allowing all students to attend classes in buildings five days a week could present challenges that dont exist in smaller school districts, he said.

ignacio.laguarda@stamfordadvocate.com
Army assessment to top political leadership would speak about tricky situation along LAC

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 26: Indian Army Chief General M M Naravane in his assessment of the situation along the Line of Actual Control has found that the situation is a tricky one.

In his briefing to the top political leadership, he is expected to speak about the sectors where the Indian soldiers hold forward positions along the Line of Actual Control that include Depsang, Gogra Post-Hot Springs, Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Chumar and Demchok. There are military negations on in some areas.

There is mutual consensus for a disengagement, but the continuing build up by the Chinese army is a cause for concern, the Army chief would also say.

The assessment to be put out by the Army Chief would be crucial for the political leadership to chart out the next course of action. The assessment is also crucial as tensions are high at the LAC, although there has been no flare up after the June 15 incident.

Also Read:

In addition to this the Army Chief would also be holding discussions with Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat and the Indian Air Force and Navy chiefs.

He would brief them about the force requirements on the ground. A decision on this would be handled by the CDS.

General Naravane would also provide the political leadership with an assessment on the ground, after the new satellite images emerged.

China muscle flexing: US reviews troop deployment after India-China tensions rise | Oneindia News

During his two day visit, he had an on the spot assessment about the stand off points with China in east Ladakh. He had also directed the troops to enhance patrolling of all the 65 points on the Line of Actual Control with the support of the Indo-Tibet Border Police.

Even as diplomatic talks continue, India still remains skeptical of China. Following the virtual meet of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs said that both sides promised to implement disengagement.

During the talks, both sides emphasised on the importance of respecting the Line of Actual Control. The MEA said that the Indian side conveyed its concerns on the recent developments in Eastern Ladakh, including on the violent face-off in the Galwan Valley area on June 15 that had resulted in casualties.

In New Delhi, officials say that the issue is far serious than the one that was at Doklam.

We know this is a long haul and we do not see the Chinese disengaging in any meaningful manner. The primary intent of the Chinese is to change the way India sees itself and also on how it deals with the rest of the world. Hence China is forcibly changing the status quo on the ground, the officer cited above said.

The virtual meet of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs is the second one since June 5 and was held through video conference.

The next level after the WMCC is the Special Representative mechanism. However there is no indication whether the two sides intend to convene the meeting anytime soon.

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Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 8:06 [IST]
(Bloomberg) -- Samsung heir-apparent Jay Y. Lee scored a symbolic public victory Friday after a civilian review panel recommended against indicting the billionaire on charges of corruption.

The panel, convened after Lees lawyers invoked the rarely used system in an effort to undermine prosecutors, voted in favor of halting an indictment, a spokesperson for the supreme prosecutors office said by phone. While not legally binding, that judgment could prove difficult to contravene.

We respect the decision made by the committee members, Lees attorneys said in a statement. We are thankful that the panel gave an opportunity for Samsung and vice chairman Jay Y. Lee to overcome the current crisis by focusing on business activities.

In most legal systems of the developed world, public prosecutors get to decide which cases to pursue, with judges or juries acting as a check by determining the ultimate verdict. In South Korea, the approach is a little different.

The country has established an unusual process that allows suspects to call for an independent panel of experts to review prosecutors investigations. The highest-stakes case since this novel system was established in 2018 was heard Friday when lawyers for the billionaire scion of Samsung Group tried to convince a panel his prosecution for alleged financial crimes would be unfair.

Attorneys for Lee, de facto leader of Samsung Electronics Co., squared off Friday against government prosecutors before 14 academics, legal experts and civil activists.

Lee, embroiled in an increasingly contentious dispute with Korean prosecutors over allegations of bribery and accounting manipulation, represents the biggest test so far of a civil committee system created to help check prosecutors powers. Fridays panel served as a barometer for how the public views the Samsung chiefs culpability as well as a test of the legitimacy of prosecutors, whose leader in Korea is appointed by the president.

Story continues

Lees attorneys -- who invoked their right to convene that group -- gambled the panel will rule in his favor, particularly after prosecutors failed this month to win an arrest warrant for the executive. Samsung, the worlds largest smartphone and memory chip maker and a symbol of Koreas decades-long economic ascent, spent millions in past months on initiatives to battle Covid-19, including the widespread testing thats proven instrumental in curbing the pandemic at home.

If the panel decides the case is not indictable, prosecutors will be put under immense pressure, and thats what Samsung is aiming for, Park Ju-gun, president at corporate research firm CEOScore.com, said before the panels recommendation was announced.

Read more: Samsung Billionaires Fate at Risk Despite Role in Virus Fight

Before Lees request, few outside of legal circles had even heard of the civil panel option. Adopted as part of prosecution reforms under the Moon Jae-in administration, its similar to the grand jury system except the panel members are chosen -- at random -- by the supreme prosecutors office from an existing pool of several hundred previously vetted names.

Now, the little-known system proved pivotal to a case thats spurred nationwide controversy, pitting the countrys most powerful chaebols, or conglomerates, against government agencies that have pledged to diminish their influence and cozy ties to the Blue House.

South Koreas special prosecutors first indicted Lee in early 2017 on charges of bribery and corruption, alleging that Samsung provided horses and other payments to a confidante of the former president to win support to help ease his succession. The case heard Friday was related and centers on whether Lee and Samsung used illegal means to help him take control of the conglomerate founded by his grandfather.

Why Samsungs Billionaire Scion Is Facing Jail Again: QuickTake

The current probe kicked off after regulators concluded Samsung Biologics Co. intentionally violated accounting rules and inflated its value ahead of an initial public offering. Prosecutors suspect the violation was intended to justify the merger ratio between Biologics major owner, Cheil Industries, and Samsung C&T. That in turn helped bolster the value of the heirs stake in Cheil and his influence at Samsung Group. The Biologics unit has said it didnt violate accounting standards. Lees attorneys, which include several former senior prosecutors, may argue to the panel that the Biologics transactions were legitimate and approved by authorities at the time.

Lee also counted on his image as a virus-fighter and national business leader to not just win a favorable panel review on Friday, but also more broadly influence the ongoing trial, said Lee Sang-hun, analyst at HI Investment & Securities. Beyond Samsungs highly visible battle against Covid-19, Lee scored points last month after he issued a rare public apology for past mis-steps, and vowed never to pass Samsungs reins to his children.

Prosecutors have mostly followed the panels decision in past cases, according to local media. They can ignore an unfavorable outcome and move forward with an indictment -- but that risks angering the populace. Public opinion is so important in Korea its been known to sway court verdicts. Lees request for a panel has incensed prosecutors, who regard the move as an attempt to circumvent the legal process by appealing to a third party.

Samsung is striving to reduce legal risks with support from public opinion, said Lee of HI Investment & Securities.

Read more: Court Rejects Arrest of Samsungs Lee in Succession Probe

(Updates with comment from Lees lawyers in third paragraph.)

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

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2020 Bloomberg L.P.
FAIRFIELD, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / Bergio International, Inc. ("Bergio", or the "Company") (OTC PINK:BRGO), a leading designer, manufacturer and retail outlet for the Bergio Brand of designer jewelry, including exquisite collections of rings, necklaces, earrings, and other fine accessories, today reported its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Highlights for Quarter Ended March 31, 2020

Revenues declined 45% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 as compared to same period last year. The Company's retail operations were shut down as a result of COVID-19 for one-third of the quarter, but business was already declining because of the pandemic.

Gross profit as a percentage of sales remains strong at 65.1%.

Operating expenses increased 42% to $228k as a result of non-cash consulting expenses to provide brand awareness for the Company's new line of fashion accessories and to develop strategies for global expansion.

Operating loss was $179k for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, excluding the non-cash consulting expenses our operating loss would have been $48K as compared to $62k for the quarter ended March 31, 2019.

Net loss was $1,470,901 for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 as compared to a net loss of $90,848 for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. The year 2020 was impacted by a number of non-cash items, mostly the change in the fair value of derivative due to the higher stock price at March 31, 2020.

Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA showed a loss of only $39,411 for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 as compared to a loss of $35,448 for the same period last year.

Mr. Berge Abajian, President & CEO stated "this was a difficult quarter and our business has been impacted by the pandemic. However, we are expanding our online presence and have been experiencing some positive results, which we believe will be reflected in the second quarter results, but it is too early to assess the real impact. The Company continues to position itself for the future to take advantage of the Bergio brand and establish a chain of retail stores worldwide. Our branded product lines are products and/or collections designed by our designer and CEO Berge Abajian and will be the centerpiece of our retail stores. We also intend to complement our own quality-designed jewelry with other products and our own specially-designed handbags. This is in line with our strategy and belief that a brand name can create an association with innovation, design and quality which helps add value to the individual products as well as facilitate the introduction of new products with higher profit margins."

"While the impact of the pandemic still provides some uncertainty, we continue to be excited about our future. The Company has leveraged itself such that as sales increase a larger portion of dollars will flow to the bottom line."

"The Company continues to pursue additional financing opportunities.? Financing discussions have been taking place with various parties, but the Company has no firm commitment from any party to provide additional funding at this time."

He added, "I appreciate all the support from our shareholders and wishing all to stay safe through these unprecedented times, with a bright future is ahead".

The Company encourages investors to read its full results of operations as contained in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on June 25, 2020, at www.sec.gov.

About Bergio International, Inc.

The Bergio brand is our most important asset. The Bergio brand is associated with high-quality, handcrafted and individually designed pieces with European sensibility, Italian craftsmanship and a bold flair for the unexpected. Bergio, is one of the most coveted brands of fine jewelry. Established in 1995, Bergio's signature innovative design, coupled with extraordinary diamonds and precious stones, earned the company recognition as a highly sought-after purveyor of rare and exquisite treasures from around the globe. As President, CEO and Head Designer of Bergio, Berge Abajian performs a highly successful balancing act, accomplished with equal parts precision and passion. An informed and inspirational leader, Berge directs the company with the eye and soul of a designer and the mind of a businessman. The role that is perhaps closest to his heart, however, is that of designer. With family jewelry roots reaching back the 1930s, Berge is a third generation jeweler and a purist when it comes to design. Berge's understanding of every aspect, in both design and manufacturing, creates collections that are nothing short of peerless in craftsmanship and style. Berge creates a collection, he looks well beyond the drawing board. Berge focuses on the woman who will ultimately wear his pieces, bringing to creation a magnificent piece of jewelry that reflects the beauty and vitality a woman possesses. Bergio creations are a seamless blend of classic elegance and subtle flair, adding to a woman's charm while never overpowering her.

It is our intention to establish Bergio as a holding company for the purpose of establishing retails stores worldwide. Our branded product lines are products and/or collections designed by our designer and CEO Berge Abajian and will be the centerpiece of our retail stores. We also intend to complement our own quality-designed jewelry with other products and our own specially-designed handbags. This is in line with our strategy and belief that a brand name can create an association with innovation, design and quality which helps add value to the individual products as well as facilitate the introduction of new products.

For further information please visit our website at www.bergio.com.

This press release includes statements that are not historical in nature and may be characterized as "forward-looking statements," including those related to future financial and operating results, benefits, and synergies of the combined companies, statements concerning the Company's outlook, pricing trends, and forces within the industry, the completion dates of capital projects, expected sales growth, cost reduction strategies, and their results, long-term goals of the Company and other statements of expectations, beliefs, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends, and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. All predictions as to future results contain a measure of uncertainty and, accordingly, actual results could differ materially. Among the factors which could cause a difference are: changes in the general economy; changes in demand for the Company's products or in the cost and availability of its raw materials; the actions of its competitors; the success of our customers; technological change; changes in employee relations; government regulations; litigation, including its inherent uncertainty; difficulties in plant operations and materials; transportation, environmental matters; and other unforeseen circumstances. A number of these factors are discussed in the Company's previous filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release. The safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act") protects companies from liability for their forward-looking statements if they comply with the requirements of the Act.

Contact:

Berge Abajian

Bergio International, Inc.

(973) 227-3230

BERGIO INTERNATIONAL INC.

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION

(Unaudited)

Quarter Ended Quarter Ended March 31, March 31, 2020 2019 Net loss $ (1,470,901 ) $ (90,848 ) Depreciation and amortization 8.425 26,609 Amortization of deferred financing costs 6,755 - Amortization of debt discount 52,978 - Change on fair value of derivatives 1,213,382 - Non-cash consulting fees 131,180 - Interest, net 18,770 28,791 Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA $ (39,411 ) $ (35,448 )

The term EBITDA consists of net income plus interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, deferred financing charges, change in fair value of warrants, and non-cash stock-based compensation. EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under generally accepted accounting principles, and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for net income or cash flow measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or as a measure of profitability or liquidity. Additionally, EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. The Company has included EBITDA as a supplemental disclosure because its management believes that EBITDA provides useful information regarding our ability to service debt, and to fund capital expenditures, and provides investors a helpful measure for analyzing its operating performance. The table above sets forth a reconciliation of EBITDA to net income, which is the most directly comparable measure of financial performance, calculated under generally accepted accounting principles.

SOURCE: Bergio International, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/595247/Bergio-International-Reports-First-Quarter-2020-Results
Nelson Mandela's widow Graca Machel has implored anti-racism campaigners not to tear down statues because they serve as grave reminders of past atrocities.

The activist said: 'I believe even it might be much more positive to keep them because you are going to tell generations to come "this is how it started and this is how it should never be."'

Her remarks put her at loggerheads with the Archbishop of Canterbury, who today revealed he would be reviewing statues at Canterbury Cathedral.

Justin Welby said monuments would be looked at 'very carefully' to see if they all 'should be there'.

In a wide-ranging interview, he also urged the West to reconsider its prevailing mindset that Jesus was white, and pointed to different portrayals of Christ as Black, Middle Eastern and Chinese in different countries.

The two figures waded into the heated statue debate at a time when monuments of controversial figures are under the microscope following the recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests.

But Machel, the widow of the former prisoner-turned-South African president who campaigned against apartheid, stressed that historic sculptures were important to learn the lessons of the past.

Nelson Mandela's widow Graca Machel (couple pictured) has implored anti-racism campaigners not to topple statues because they are grave remainder of past atrocities

A statue of Christ enthroned surrounded by angels above the doorway of Canterbury Cathedral

Speaking to BBC Today, she said: 'It is not the issue of bringing down a statue which is going to resolve the ills of the past.

'What is important is to look at the history of what is it which brought us to the situation where we are.

'And of course you have to see who are the architects of the past. But I believe even it might be much more positive to keep them because you are going to tell generations to come "this is how it started and this is how it should never be".

'So I'm not really concerned with bringing down and breaking the statues. I know this is controversial but, you know, we need to have the memory and some of those symbols remind us, and they make the memory still valid.'

On the same programme, the head of the Church of England was asked if the 'way the western church portrays Jesus needs to be thought about again'.

He immediately replied: 'Yes of course it does, this sense that God was white... You go into churches (around the world) and you don't see a white Jesus.

'You see a black Jesus, a Chinese Jesus, a Middle Eastern Jesus - which is of course the most accurate - you see a Fijian Jesus.'

Jesus portrayed at the Last Supper by Da Vinci in 1494. Justin Welby this morning stressed that Christ is not always depicted as a white man

A portrayal of Jesus from the Ethiopian Church in the 18th Century. Different countries and races have typically imprinted their own appearance on to their portrayal of Christ

Rev Welby stressed his view was not to 'throw out' the past but instead offer a rounded picture of the 'universality' of Christ.

Speaking this morning in a wide-ranging interview Rev Welby told BBC's Today: 'Jesus is portrayed in as many ways as there are cultures languages and understandings.

'And I don't think that throwing out everything we've got in the past is the way to do it but I do think saying 'that's not the Jesus who exists, that's not who we worship', it is a reminder of the universality of the God who became fully human.'

Another Dore wood engraving, portraying Jesus as a white man holding the cross on which he was crucified

Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, depicts Jesus similarly to most western interpretations

Rev Welby stressed his view was not to 'throw out' the past but instead offer a rounded picture of the 'universality' of Jesus (stained glass window in Canterbury Cathedral, pictured)

Is this the REAL face of Jesus? Forensic experts use ancient Semite skulls to reveal what Christ may have looked like In 2015, retired medical artist Richard Neave has recreated the face of 'Jesus' by studying Semite skulls using modern-day forensic techniques. His portrait shows the Son of God may have had a wide face, dark eyes, a bushy beard and short curly hair, as well as a tanned complexion. These features would likely have been typical of Middle Eastern Jews in the Galilee area of northern Israel. Dr Neave stressed the portrait is that of an adult man living at the same time and place as Jesus, but some experts say his depiction is still likely far more accurate than paintings by the great masters. Without a skeleton or remains that can be categorically confirmed as Jesus, and a lack of physical descriptions in the New Testament, many previous images have been based either on the society in which the painter or sculptor lived, or hearsay. The technique uses cultural and archaeological data, as well as techniques similar to those used to solve crimes to study different groups of people. The team hypothesised Jesus would have had facial features typical of Galilean Semites of his era, based on a description of events in the Garden of Gethsemane, written in the New Testament in the Gospel of Matthew. He wrote that Jesus closely resembled his disciples. Dr Neave and his team X-rayed three Semite skulls from the time, previously found by Israeli archaeologists. Advertisement

Rev Welby also revealed that statues in Canterbury Cathedral would be under review on the back of a nationwide Black Lives Matter campaign to rip down monuments to controversial figures.

Speaking about the recent calls for statue removals, he said people should forgive the 'trespasses' of people immortalised in the form of statues, rather than tearing them down.

But he added: 'We can only do that if we've got justice, which means the statue needs to be put in context. Some will have to come down.'

He added: 'Some names will have to change. I mean, the church, goodness me, you know, you just go around Canterbury Cathedral, there's monuments everywhere, or Westminster Abbey, and we're looking at all that, and some will have to come down.

'But yes, there can be forgiveness, I hope and pray as we come together, but only if there's justice.

'If we change the way we behave now, and say this was then and we learned from that, and change how we're going to be in the future, internationally, as well.'

He said he does not have the power to unilaterally remove statues in Canterbury Cathedral, but said the Church would be reviewing the monuments.

Pressed on whether he was saying statues will be torn down in the cathedral, Mr Welby said: 'No I didn't say that. I very carefully didn't say that.'

He said it is not his decision, and told the Today programme: 'We're going to be looking very carefully and putting them in context and seeing if they all should be there.'

Rev Welby added: 'The question arises. Of course it does.'

He said it is 'what people do at times like this', adding: 'And it's a good thing, but there has to be, for forgiveness, there has to be this turning round, this conversion, the Pope called it.

'The change of heart that says we learned from them not to be like that, and to change the way we are in the future.'

It is unclear which statues will be reviewed, and Lambeth Palace did not immediately respond to request for clarification.

Dozens of sculptures line the walls of the magnificent Cathedral in Canterbury, ranging from William, Duke of Normandy to Queen Elizabeth II.

The Archbishop said that forgiveness and justice must go hand in hand, and added: 'We've seen in some of the crises we've first over the last few months, not just Covid, but also Black Lives Matter and the economic downturn, that there is great injustice.

'And we need a collective turning away from that, which is what repentance means, but we also need to learn to forgive.'

A spokesperson for Canterbury Cathedral said: 'All of the Cathedral's items are being reviewed to ensure that any connected with slavery, colonialism or contentious figures from other historic periods are displayed with clear objective interpretations and contextual information, and are presented in a way that avoids any sense of aggrandisement.

We hope that by providing this context  and acknowledging any associated oppression, exploitation, injustice and suffering connected with these objects  all visitors can leave with a greater understanding of our shared history and be inspired to undertake further learning and discussion.

Acknowledging the nationwide approach to these issues, The Church of England's Director of Churches and Cathedrals, Becky Clark, said: 'There are monuments in our churches and cathedrals to individuals and events whose destructive impact is still being felt by people living in the UK today.

'Meaningful dialogue needs to engage with this reality, recognise that these voices have often not been listened to in the past, and make decisions that allow these unjust experiences to form a recognised part of both the history and future of our churches.'

A painting of Jesus holding the cross by Spanish Renaissance artist El Greco in the 16th Century (left) and Pompeo Batoni's depiction of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from 1760 (right)

Jesus portrayed by Robert Powell in the 1977 TV show Nazareth. Rev Welby said 'Jesus is portrayed in as many ways as there are cultures languages and understandings'

Portrayal of Christ through the ages: How different artists, eras and races paint Jesus

There is no physical description of Jesus in the Bible, except for one one passage where he is said to be wearing a tzitzit.

As a result, different countries and races have typically imprinted their own appearance on to their portrayal of Christ.

In Western paintings, Jesus is shown to be Caucasian, although this has also changed through the centuries.

The earliest depictions shown him as a typical Roman man, with short hair and no beard, wearing a tunic.

A 9th Century painting of Jesus from China depicts him as a Chinese man

Fourth Century depiction of Jesus between Peter and Paul in the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter, Rome

Resurrection of Jesus - 13th Century: This picture shows the resurrection of Christ on panels of a Norwegian church, believed to be from the 1200s

It's thought that it's not until 400AD that Jesus appears with a beard. This is perhaps to show he was a wise teacher, because philosophers at the time were typically depicted with facial hair.

The conventional image of a fully bearded Jesus with long hair did not become established until the 6th century in Eastern Christianity, and much later in the West

Medieval art in Europe typically showed him with brown hair and pale skin.

This image was strengthened during the Italian Renaissance, with famous paintings such as The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci showing Christ.

Christ driving the money changers from the temple - 16th Century Painted by Greek renaissance artist El Greco in 1568, the oil piece depicts Jesus expelling money changers who were desecrating a temple in Jerusalem. For Catholics, the painting came to symbolise the eradication of protestantism. The painting is in the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, but three other copies exist, including one in London's National Gallery

Modern depictions of Jesus in films tend to uphold the long-haired, bearded stereotype, while some abstract works show him as a spirit or light.

But churches around the world have portrayed Jesus differently. In Ethiopia, Christ is portrayed as black.

And a 9th Century painting of Jesus from China depicts him as a Chinese man.

Sermon on the mount - 19th Century: This oil painting depicting Jesus's teaches, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew is by Carl Heinrich Bloch. The Sermon on the Mount is typically believed to have happened in northern Israel, in the Middle East

Ukrainian Greek Catholic church St Vladimir the Great in Paris has a depiction of the Virgin Mary and Jesus
Google plans to give its employees $1,000 for office furniture and equipment needed to work from home, since the company expects most of its workers will be doing so at least until 2021. Tech behemoth Facebook said in May that it would allow many employees to work remotely after the pandemic, but they might not be able to keep their Silicon Valley salaries if they relocate to areas where its cheaper to live.
Few who are paying attention will be surprised that, in Maryland public schools, black students make up a disproportionate number of those arrested by police officers working in the schools. According to the Washington Post, black students make up 56 percent of those arrested (but only 34 percent of the student population), while white students make up only 28 percent (compared to 37 percent of the student population). Eight percent of those arrested are Latino (compared to 18 percent of the student population), six percent multiracial (compared to five percent of the population), and one percent Asians (compared to 7 percent of the population).

The superintendent of Marylands schools described the black/white disparity as horrendous.

Few who are paying attention will be surprised by the reaction of left-wing activists to these numbers. They want to remove police officers from schools.

But before eliminating police protection of students, including protection from shooters, shouldnt there be evidence that the officers assigned to schools are discriminating against black students? If they arent, there is no reason even to think about kicking them out of schools.

Nothing in the Posts report suggests that the disparities it cites are the product of discrimination, as opposed to a higher incidence of criminal behavior by black students. I doubt that any reasonable person would infer from the numbers that police officers in schools are discriminating in favor of Latino and Asian students, even though both groups are underrepresented when it comes to arrests. So why infer discrimination from the fact that blacks are overrepresented?

There are numbers that might shed light on the question of whether such discrimination exists. For example, what is the representation of blacks among those arrested by black officers at Marylands schools? If its similar to black representation in arrests by white officers, then there is no sane basis for inferring any discrimination. (If its significantly lower, then it might make more sense to assign mostly black officers to schools than to eliminate police presence altogether.)

Heres another question. We know that blacks outnumber whites 2:1 when it comes to student arrests in Maryland despite making up roughly the same percentage of the student population. What is the black/white ratio of Maryland students from single parent homes? Nationwide, as far as I can tell, it is 65/24.

To me, thats horrendous. And I believe it provides a considerable part of the explanation for the racial disparity in student arrests, as well as in arrests generally.
WILMOT TOWNSHIP  Mayor Les Armstrong said he will not resign after residents asked him to step down from his position at a special council meeting Friday morning.

Residents spoke directly to Armstrong and repeatedly asked him to resign after he formally apologized for the second time this week for sharing a White Lives Matter video on his Facebook page.

Do you really want to be known as the racist mayor? Gita Schuster-Ashley asked. She said she was offended as a resident of this region, and as a woman married to a Black man and a mother to Black children.

Im telling you that the only action you will be taking is a letter of resignation you will be serving to your community, Schuster-Ashley said.

Armstrong called the special council meeting Friday to apologize to the township and his fellow council members.

After hearing an hour of delegations, Armstrong responded to calls for his resignation with a prepared statement: Ive given this considerable thought, and Ive chosen not to resign. Instead I am determined to show you through my actions that the sincerity of my apology is genuine. That I can learn to do better, that I can make amends to the people I serve.

This statement came after residents told Armstrong his repeated apologies have been insincere.

He did not apologize to members of our African Canadian community, or to me, Schuster-Ashley said, referring to Armstrongs apology at Wednesdays meeting as well as a private conversation she said she had with him this week.

The video shared by Armstrong was originally posted by a Facebook Group called Conservative Nation. The 10-minute video is hosted by two Black men who say the Black Lives Matter movement is a lie and it collects donations that are passed along to Democrats.

Armstrong initially defended his actions, and said earlier this week: the whole idea is to get a conversation going that needs to be kept going until we resolve the problem of racism in this country and the world.

Armstrongs apology on Friday morning was similar to the one he read at a Region of Waterloo council meeting: I have been ignorant and am incredibly sorry for my actions.

Wilmot council members told Armstrong he needs to take ownership of his actions and learn from them. Armstrong responded that he knows he needs to undertake education and plans to do so.

This has been a difficult week for residents of Wilmot as Indigenous people and their supporters were heckled by members of an alt-right hate group at the site of Sir John A. Macdonalds statue in Baden.

The statue had red paint dumped on it Sunday, National Indigenous Peoples Day, and again later in the week after it had been cleaned by volunteers. The statue was cleaned again, but this time some of the cleaners were members of an alt-right hate group known as Urban Infidels. On Friday afternoon, the statue was hit by red paint once again.

The statue of Macdonald is part of a larger statue project called Prime Minsters Walk and has been controversial for many years. A proposal to create an outdoor museum with the statues was rejected by Kitchener council, so Wilmot decided to take them in.

It has been criticized for glorifying past prime ministers such as Macdonald, who is known both as a founder of Confederation and also as the author of deeply harmful policies for Indigenous people, including forced attendance at residential schools.

The presense of alt-right hate group members in Baden became intertwined with Armstrongs decision to share the White Lives Matter video as residents drew comparisons between the two incidents.

By the time you apologized, it was much too late, said resident Nigel Gordijk, who is married to councillor Cheryl Gordijk.

It left a stench in the air that attracted white supremacists. White supremacists now feel there is a place for them right here, he said, referring to the incident at the site of Macdonalds statue.

Gordijk said as a person of colour, he no longer feels safe in the township he calls his home.

I did not invite those people to come here. I cannot tell anybody they cannot come here and express their opinion, Armstrong said.

Cheyanne Thorpe is an Indigenous woman who said she was one of the people heckled by members of the alt-right hate group in Baden earlier this week.

They told us to go back to where we come from, and other things of that nature. And as much as you want to sit there and shake your head Mayor Armstrong, your comments, your overall underlying statements, they speak many more volumes than you ever could.

And the fact that you are not willing to publicly denounce these individuals, and the fact that you are not willing to take action against these individuals ... is disturbingly appalling to me.

Gordijk and others said they knew Armstrong personally, and asked him when and why his personal views became radicalized.

You gave that odious view legitimacy, Gordijk said of Armstrongs decision to share the White Lives Matter video.

Fridays council meeting was an emotional one for many delegates and council members alike. In an unusual move, council allowed delegations to return to speak again after Armstrong said he would not resign.

Schuster-Ashley returned to the virtual podium to tell Armstrong his response was not good enough and his apologies were insincere, to which Armstrong replied: Obviously you are not going to accept anything I say. Whether you want to believe it or not, I am sincere.

Coun. Jennifer Pfenning said she has received many messages from residents this past week. She said they were statements of outrage and hurt and calls for resignation.

None of us have authority over each other as members of council, she said. I can say that I can answer for myself and I will say that I will do everything I can to help heal the divisions in this community that have been brought on by this.

Armstrong has been a member of council for 25 years, and has been mayor for the last nine. He is a former Waterloo Regional Police officer and served most of his policing career in New Hamburg.

With files from Terry Pender
Co-director of the intensive care unit at CommonSpirit's Dignity Health California Hospital Medical Center, Dr. Zafia Anklesaria, 35, who is seven months pregnant, attends to a COVID-19 patient in the hospital where she works, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 18, 2020. Lucy Nicholson | Reuters

Coronavirus cases are growing in more than 30 states, based on a seven-day moving average, as governors in Florida and Arizona place a hold on their reopenings and Texas tightens restrictions once again. As of Thursday, the nation's seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases increased more than 38% compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data, reaching a record high average of more than 33,000 daily new cases.

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Cases were growing by 5% or more, based on the change in average new cases compared with last week, in 35 states across the country, including California, Florida, Georgia, Texas and Nevada. Those states were also among the 13 that hit record highs in their average number of daily new cases on Thursday. Another factor that is watched carefully is hospitalizations, which can indicate how severe cases are in an area. This data can lag the number of new cases. Hospitalizations from Covid-19 were growing in 15 states as of Thursday, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project. While the rise in daily case numbers could reflect increased testing in certain locations, some states are reporting higher positivity rates. The positivity rate indicates the percentage of tests that come back positive in a specific region. Epidemiologists say this number can indicate how broadly the virus is spreading throughout a community. On Friday, members of the White House coronavirus task force warned young people in states with rising case numbers that while they may not be at risk of serious illness, they could infect someone who is. "People are infecting other people and ultimately you will infect someone who's vulnerable," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during a press briefing. Vice President Mike Pence said that there are 16 states reporting a rise in the total number of cases and the percent of tests coming back positive. He said that roughly half of the new cases are Americans under the age of 35, which is "at a certain level very encouraging news" because experts say that younger people are less susceptible to serious illness from the virus. California's positivity rate has slightly increased to 5.1% over the last two weeks as the state reports record increases in daily new cases. Texas' positivity rate exceeded 10% on Wednesday, which is a level that raises a "warning flag," according to Gov. Greg Abbott. Arizona's rate is also averaging above 10%, according to the state's department of health.

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On Friday, Abbott announced Texas would roll back some of its reopening, only a day after he said he would place the state's reopening plan on pause. "As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10%, the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," Abbott said in a press release. "At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars." All bars and similar establishments that receive more than 51% of their gross receipts from the sale of alcoholic beverages are required to close by 12 p.m. Friday, according to the order. Rafting and tubing businesses must close and outdoor gatherings of 100 or more people must be approved by local governments, with certain exceptions. Abbott announced on Thursday that the state would pause any further reopening measures, and he ordered all licensed hospitals in four counties that include the state's largest cities  Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Austin  to postpone elective procedures in order to preserve hospital capacity for Covid-19 patients. Texas reported an 79% increase in its weekly average of coronavirus cases on Thursday, averaging 4,757 daily new cases, according to Hopkins data. When asked about Florida's reopening, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that the state doesn't have plans for continuing its step-by-step reopening plan. He added that the state "never anticipated" continuing to move forward at this point. "We are where we are. I didn't say we were going to go on to the next phase," DeSantis said at a news briefing. Florida is averaging about 4,013 daily new cases as of Thursday, which is about a 67% increase since one week ago, according to Hopkins data. DeSantis has allowed retailers, restaurants, gyms and personal care services to reopen at reduced capacity.

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THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD BE PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW

PRESS RELEASE 25 JUNE 2020 07:00 CEST

REGULATED INFORMATION

Ghent, BELGIUM  25 June 2020  Sequana Medical NV (Euronext Brussels: SEQUA, the

"Company" or "Sequana Medical"), an innovator in the management of fluid overload in liver disease, malignant ascites and heart failure, announces today that 644,287 existing shares have been admitted to listing and trading on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels.

The 644,287 shares were issued by the Company on 27 January 2020 as part of an aggregate of 3,166,666 shares that were placed in the framework of a private placement via an accelerated bookbuild offering. The shares were issued at a (gross) issue price of EUR 6.00 per share pursuant to a capital increase in cash that was decided by the Company's board of directors within the framework of the authorised capital with dis-application of preferential subscription rights of existing shareholders of the Company and, in so far as required, of existing holders of subscription rights (stock options) of the Company. Of the 3,166,666 shares, 2,522,379 were immediately admitted to listing and trading on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels upon their issuance (on the basis of applicable listing prospectus exemptions), while 644,287 shares were not immediately admitted to listing and trading on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels upon their issuance (as their admission to listing and trading was subject to the approval of a listing prospectus).

A listing prospectus has been approved by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority on 16 June 2020 with respect to the 644,287 shares (the "Prospectus"). The Prospectus is available in Belgium at no cost at the Company's registered office, located at AA Tower, Technologiepark 122, 9052 Ghent, Belgium. Subject to country restrictions, the Prospectus is also available on the following website: www.sequanamedical.com/investors/equity-placement-2020/our-offering-page/ or by clicking here .

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Trading of the 644,287 shares on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels is expected to commence on 26 June 2020.

For more information, please contact:

Sequana Medical

Lies Vanneste, Director Investor Relations

Tel: +32 (0) 498 05 35 79

Email: IR@sequanamedical.com

Consilium Strategic Communications

Amber Fennell, Ashley Tapp, Melissa Gardiner



Tel: +44 203 709 5000

Email: sequanamedical@consilium-comms.com LifeSci Advisors

Chris Maggos

Tel: +41 79 367 6254

Email: chris@lifesciadvisors.com





About Sequana Medical

Sequana Medical is a commercial stage medical device company developing the alfapump platform for the management of fluid overload in liver disease, malignant ascites and heart failure. Fluid overload is a fast growing complication of advanced liver disease driven by NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) related cirrhosis and a common complication in heart failure. The U.S. market for the alfapump resulting from NASH-related cirrhosis is forecast to exceed 3 billion annually within the next 10-20 years. The heart failure market for the alfapump DSR (Direct Sodium Removal) is estimated to be over 5 billion annually in the U.S. and EU5 by 2026. Both indications leverage Sequana Medical's alfapump, a unique, fully implanted wireless device that automatically pumps fluid from the abdomen into the bladder, where it is naturally eliminated through urination.

In the U.S., the company's key growth market, the alfapump has been granted breakthrough device designation by the FDA. The North American pivotal study (POSEIDON) in recurrent and refractory ascites due to liver cirrhosis is currently underway, and is intended to support a commercial marketing application of the alfapump in the U.S. and Canada. In Europe, the alfapump is CE-marked for the management of refractory ascites due to liver cirrhosis and malignant ascites and is included in key clinical practice guidelines. Over 750 alfapump systems have been implanted to date. Building on its proven alfapump platform, Sequana Medical is developing alfapump DSR, a breakthrough, proprietary approach to fluid overload due to heart failure. Clinical proof-of-concept was achieved in a first-in-human single dose DSR study and a repeated dose alfapump DSR study (RED DESERT) in heart failure patients is currently underway.

Sequana Medical is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. For further information, please visit www.sequanamedical.com .

An investment in the New Shares involves substantial risks and uncertainties. Prospective investors should read the entire Prospectus, and, in particular, should refer to the chapter "Risk Factors" beginning on page 7 of the Prospectus for a discussion of certain factors that should be considered in connection with an investment in the New Shares, including the risks that Sequana Medical has incurred operating losses, negative operating cash flows and an accumulated deficit since inception and may not be able to achieve or subsequently maintain profitability, that Sequana Medical's future financial performance will depend on the commercial acceptance of the alfapump, the alfapump DSR and/or any future products in target markets, that Sequana Medical does not have sufficient working capital to meet its present requirements and cover the working capital needs for a period of at least 12 months as of the date of the Prospectus and will require additional funds beyond this period in order to meet its capital and expenditure needs, and that the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) or any other infectious disease outbreak or other serious public health concern could result in delays to Sequana Medical's clinical studies and could adversely affect its supply chain and work force, as well as macroeconomic conditions generally, which could have an adverse effect on demand for the alfapump and/or the alfapump DSR. All of these factors should be considered before investing in the New Shares. . The New Shares are meant for investors who are able to assess the risks based on their knowledge and financial experience. Prospective investors must be able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the New Shares and should be able to sustain a partial or total loss of their investment.

Important Regulatory Disclaimers

The alfapump has not yet received regulatory approval in the U.S. and Canada. Any statement in this press release about safety and efficacy of the alfapump does not apply to the U.S. and Canada because the device is currently undergoing clinical investigation in these territories.

DSR therapy and alfapump DSR are still in development and it should be noted that any statements in this press release regarding safety and efficacy arise from pre-clinical studies and ongoing clinical investigations which have yet to be completed. There is no link between DSR therapy, alfapump DSR and ongoing investigations with the alfapump system in Europe, the U.S. and Canada.

Forward-looking statements

This press release may contain predictions, estimates or other information that might be considered forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. These forward-looking statements represent the current judgment of Sequana Medical on what the future holds, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Sequana Medical expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release, except if specifically required to do so by law or regulation. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of Sequana Medical only as of the date of this press release.

Important information

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE, OR FORM PART OF, AN OFFER TO SELL OR ISSUE, OR ANY SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO PURCHASE OR SUBSCRIBE FOR SHARES, AND ANY PURCHASE OF, SUBSCRIPTION FOR OR APPLICATION FOR, SHARES OF SEQUANA MEDICAL NV (THE "COMPANY"). ANY TRADING IN NEW SHARES IN CONNECTION WITH THE LISTING AND ADMISSION TO TRADING ON THE REGULATED MARKET OF EURONEXT BRUSSELS SHOULD ONLY BE MADE ON THE BASIS OF INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE PROSPECTUS IN CONNECTION WITH THE LISTING AND ADMISSION TO TRADING ON THE REGULATED MARKET OF EURONEXT BRUSSELS AND ANY SUPPLEMENTS THERETO, AS THE CASE MAY BE (THE "PROSPECTUS").

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Obviously, this was a crisis-based launch, so weve been trying to get our bearings, Ms. Miller said. It hasnt made up for lost revenue; weve had a significant financial hit.

Ms. Miller had to lay off a few of her staff members who ran the co-working and child care services. And she tried unsuccessfully to renegotiate her rent. When she received the S.B.A. loan through its Paycheck Protection Program, it was enough to help her keep building Honey online and hold out until she can reopen the physical space.

The online version has helped bring some normalcy to Caitlin Hall of Royal Oak, Mich., who used the companys co-working space before the pandemic. As a recruiter for Kohls department stores, she has long worked from home. When she gave birth to her daughter in 2019, she discovered how much she needed a community and work space. Now she has to get that through Honeys co-working Zoom link.

Brooke has done awesome things with us and showed us how Honey supports everyone in this season, Ms. Hall said.

Image A note is posted in Honey Space. The company hopes to reopen its offices in July. Credit... Brittany Greeson for The New York Times

And as the pandemic has worn on, Ms. Miller realized she would need to adapt again. Rather than entertaining members, she realized they needed more mental health support. So Ms. Miller refocused on individual and group therapy for new mothers by offering virtual sessions. She is also working with a developer to create an app that will house all of Honeys digital content and classes.
In a show of strength, the Maoists held a programme in the core area of Bastar region in Chhattisgarh. A meeting of around 10,000 people was also held in the three-day programme. A discussion on successor of Rammana, the special secretary of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), who died in December 2019 was also held.

The programme was held in villages at the border of Sukma and Bijapur districts from June 18-20.

Sources said that top Maoist leaders including new general secretary of CPI (Maoist) Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju, head of battalion number of 1, Mandavi Hidma, Kosa, Devji and Sujata also attended the meeting.

The information about this three-day meeting has reached me. We are looking into it, said Director General of Police (DGP), Chhattisgarh, DM Awasthi told Hindustan Times.

The senior police officers in Bastar believe that for the first time in last five years such big gathering of civil population has been organised by the Maoists.

Such big gathering was last called by Maoists in Potumpalli village of Sukma in 2015. This years gathering was mainly attended by villagers of Sukma, Bijapur and Dantewada districts. Some people of Narayanpur were also present in this gathering, said a police officer posted in Bastar region.

The total population of these three districts is about 5.5 lakh.

Another police officer informed that about 300 armed Maoists and more than 500 jan militias (who back the Maoists) were deployed to protect the area for three days. Sujatha, wife of senior Maoist leader Kishanji was in-charge of security. We dont have pictures because people were not allowed to carry mobile phones in the gathering, said the officer.

A woman who attended the gathering told us that the Maoist leaders made stage in the jungle and were giving speeches about the history of Maoism and Bastar. They have also shown the looted weapons and paid tribute to the Maoists who died in recent past. Sports, dance and other cultural activities took place in the gathering, said a police officer.

Experts believe that the Maoists organise these gatherings to show their strength to the people.

I attended one similar meet in Abujhmad in Naryanpur district in 2004 before Salwa Judum in which 10,000 people participated for few days. If they are again doing such meeting after a gap of five years, it is a proof enough that Maoists may be weak but to say that they will be finished soon is day dreaming. People are still with the Maoists in deep jungles in Central India, said Shubhrashu Chaudhary, Chhattisgarh-based peace activist, who have written extensively on Maoisim.

Sources said that the Maoists are supposed to release a video and press release of the gathering in next few days.

Just before the meeting, a senior-level discussion took place over the successor of Maoist leader Ravula Srinivas alias Ramanna (56), who died in December 2019 and was incharge of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC). A review meeting of tactical counter offensive campaign or TCOC, in which Maoists carry out attacks between April and July every year also took place, said another IPS officer, preferring anonymity.

The officer further said that there were three main objectives behind the meeting.

Firstly, to emphasise that Maoists would still rule the jungles of Bastar in spite of death of Ramanna and would carry forward his legacy. Secondly to show of strength that villagers are with them and thirdly to discuss over the successor of Ramanna. The Maoists have also displayed the arms, which they have looted in Minpa attack (Sukma district) in which 17 jawans were killed in March this year, said the officer.

Bela Bhatia, a human rights activist based in Bastar in Chhattisgarh said, This gathering of thousands of emphasised the need of public education, measures specially education and health.

Total size of Bastar division is 39,117 square kilometre and population is 15 lakh.

There are seven districts in Bastar division which include Kanker, Kondagaon, Jagdalpur, Dantewada, Sukma, Bijapur and Narayanpur.

As per police estimate, about 4,500 Maoist cadre (from its political and military wings) live in the jungles of Bastar. More than 2,00,000 people including women and children in Bastar are Sangham Sadasya (members) of CPI (Maoist).
DON'T start packing yet but Greece has a good chance of being chosen as a low-risk destination where Irish holidaymakers can make an overseas trip this summer.

Work is already underway to draw up a list of countries in Europe which have low levels of Covid-19.

The countries would agree to welcome Irish visitors without requiring them to quarantine for 14 days when they arrive.

The pact would then see their citizens enjoy the same freedoms travelling here.

Does it look like people will be able to get away for a holiday abroad after all?

Its the new way to travel in the Covid-19 era. Governments are setting up air bridges with other countries. An air bridge, or travel corridor, is an agreement between two countries that allows tourists to travel without restrictions.

When will the list be released?

The so-called green list should be ready before July 9 when the restrictions on holidaying abroad are eased.

Who will decide which countries Irish holidaymakers can visit and vice-versa?

It will be worked out by officials and health experts at either side. Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan will have a major say. He will add travel agent to his new list of jobs such as wedding planner.

Is there a fear that increased tourists coming here this summer and Irish people travelling abroad will lead to a rise in cases of Covid-19 in Ireland again?

Yes. The Republic has very low levels of the virus now and there is huge concern that this could be undone with imported cases.

Is it already happening?

There has already been a growing number of travel-related cases in the last two weeks, although the numbers are small. All people who arrive here by airline need to self-quarantine for two weeks. This applies to visitors and people returning home from abroad.

It is strongly advised but remains voluntary.

There is no ban on international travel. People can fly to wherever they want to go. But people are currently urged not to make non-essential trips. At the same time, airlines are advertising flights to popular destinations.

If people got a list of countries they could travel to what would it mean?

They could go ahead and book and have the peace of mind that Irish officials had given it something of a health check-up as far as Covid-19 cases are concerned. They would also take into account crucial areas such as the countrys ability to respond if there is a flare-up.

Is the problem now that countries which had low levels of Covid-19 are finding they are suffering outbreaks?

Yes. Countries like Portugal and Germany have seen localised outbreaks. People in parts of Lisbon will have to go back to staying at home from next week due to a wave of coronavirus on the citys outskirts.

Germany is still fighting outbreaks in two municipalities in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

What about popular destinations such as Spain?

Currently, a holidaymaker from Ireland who goes to Spain does not need to quarantine for 14 days. But they will have to quarantine when they come home. And anyone from Spain who comes here has to do likewise. The benefit of the air corridor is that it would eliminate the need for quarantine at either side.

Arrivals in Spain have their temperature taken at the airport, state if they have had the virus and provide contact details.

Physical-distancing rules remain in place: people have to stay 1.5m apart in public, wear masks in shops and on public transport, and clean their hands frequently.

The unpredictability of the virus means a country could be on the green list one week and in the red the next. How will that affect the air corridor arrangement?

The list will be renewed every two weeks. If there is an outbreak in the city or region abroad while an Irish holidaymaker is there, they could be asked to quarantine after all when they come home.

Which countries are unlikely to be on the list initially?

Its not looking good for the UK and it will not include Sweden. It is unclear what the full criteria will be. Countries which have localised outbreaks may be included with advice to visitors not to visit particular regions.

Holidaying abroad remains risky. The country itself may have low levels but you could be in the same hotel as a visitor from a country with a lot of Covid-19.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: An employee of the NHRC has died of COVID-19 while 17 others have been infected by the novel coronavirus till date, sources said on Friday.

The deceased was employed as a multi-tasking staffer at the National Human Rights Commission, they said.

Besides the fatality, the first COVID death of any NHRC employee, 17 other staffers, including some senior officials, have tested positive for it till date, sources said.

These cases were reported between June 12 and June 24, and some family members of a few employees have also contracted the infection, they said.

A team of Indian Council of Medical Research on Friday visited the NHRC office, located on the six-storeyed Manavadhikar Bhawan in INA area in south Delhi, sources said.

Earlier, sanitisation activity was carried out after many cases were reported from its office.

"From Wednesday-Friday last week, floor nos.5 and 6 were closed for sanitisation. Maximum cases were reported from floor no.5," one of the sources said.

Recently, a team of NHRC, led by its member, had visited the LNJP Hospital, a dedicated COVID-19 facility under the Delhi government, for on-spot inspection.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has congratulated President of the Republic of Djibouti Ismael Omar Guelleh.

Dear Mr. President, it is on the occasion of the national holiday of the friendly Republic of Djibouti  Independence Day that on my behalf and behalf of the people of Azerbaijan I wish to cordially congratulate you and your people, the Azerbaijani president said.

The present level of relations between Azerbaijan and Djibouti, that are based on good traditions and mutual respect, is gratifying, President Aliyev added. I am confident that our beneficial cooperation within across such international platforms as the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement will continue to develop successfully.

I seize this opportunity, to wish strong health and success to you, and peace and prosperity to the friendly people of Djibouti, the Azerbaijani president said.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
This week, Adrian is joined by the CEO of the countrys biggest online-only media publisher, Journal Media, and the CEO and co-founder of Silicon Republic, one of Irelands longest-running and most successful online publishers.

Adrian Acosta and Ann ODea dive deep into commercial and business challenges that media companies now face in Ireland.

Is online advertising for media firms doomed? Thats a big question that the panel discusses in some depth.

Alternate funding methods are also discussed, such as reader appeals and membership clubs. Acosta reveals that The Journal has attracted over 5,000 financial contributions since launching its reader contribution scheme two months ago.

ODea describes the factors around creating other businesses adjacent to media, such as conferencing.

And the panel looks at the prospects for different Irish media organisations from any new or re-organised media fund that might be put together by the Irish government.

On the health of media, the panel also analyses some of the issues around trust, or lack of it, in press and media.

The Big Tech Show is in association with Fidelity Investments.
These are the four best schools in the United States, where Latino and Latina students can hone their skills in technology and will help them have greater opportunities in the future.

There are almost 32 million Latinos and Latinas in the country, who search for a greener pasture and are looking forward to having access to an affordable higher education that will help them hone their skills in technology.

In fact, in an article published in Forbes, the country needs to focus on giving education opportunities for Latinos and Hispanics because they are predicted to be the main workforce, who will help boost the country's economy in the future.

This means that the Latino community should be given opportunities in education that offers technological courses and scholarships because they will be the main key to the country's success in the years to come.

Here are the four best schools in the U.S., where Latino and Latina students can hone their technological skills, according to Latino Leaders Magazine:

Christian Brothers University

The school is presently located in Memphis and they help Latino students to learn, innovate, research, and have experience in one of the most important business centers in the country. Two tech majors stand out in the school and these are the Cyber Security and Computer Science.

Latino students can earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Cybersecurity and Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a Cybersecurity concentration.

Once Latino and Latina students finished one of these courses, they will have the chance of getting great jobs in cybersecurity as experts in the field whose job at the moment is highly on demand.

Tarrant County College District

Tarrant County College offers one of the most affordable educations in the country. Latino and Latina students will only be paying an amount of $885 for a 15-hour semester. The school offers Career and Technical Education programs that will help them in the future to have jobs with great salaries.

Northern Illinois University

This is one of the schools that are comprised of diverse faculty and students. The university offers programs like Manufacturing Technology, Energy and Environmental Technology, Mechanical Engineering, and more.

The most interesting part of the university is that Latino and Latina students can find support through the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the university's Latino Resource Center. To help Latino and Latina students pursue their careers in technology, the university is also offering $20,000 student loan forgiveness.

University of Houston-Downtown

The University of Houston-Downtown is the second largest higher education institution in Houston. Of the university's nearly 14,000 students, 48 percent is Hispanic, and they have always been included among the "Top 100 Degree Producers" most especially to minority students by Diverse Issues in Higher Education.

Moreover, the university is also designated as both a Hispanic-Serving Institution and a Minority-Serving Institution. Recently, the university offered a Bachelor of Science in Data Science, which is the first of its kind in Texas.

These are just four of the schools in the country that help Latino and Hispanic students hone their skill in technology and help them pursue their career.

Investing education to the largest minority group in the country is very important because they are seen and predicted as the main workforce in the country in the years to come.

Check these out!
LEO Learning has been recognized as a top custom content development company for its work with global organizations across multiple sectors. Were very pleased, and proud, to be recognized as one of the top 20 custom content development companies for the fourth year in a row.

LEO Learning, the market leader in global learning strategy, content and technology, has earned recognition as a 2020 Top 20 Custom Content Development by Training Industry. The Top 20 list assesses the corporate training marketplace to inform professionals about the best and most innovative providers of training services and technologies.

Were very pleased, and proud, to be recognized as one of the top 20 custom content development companies for the fourth year in a row, said Andrew Joly, LEO Learnings Director of Strategic Design.

While we deliver a broad array of custom training and distance learning services across many sectors, we continue to focus on innovation, adaptability and flexibility of solution, based on our clients rapidly changing needs. We are a genuine transformation partner for our clients.

The 2020 Training Industry Top 20 Custom Content Development Companies List was based on the following criteria:



Industry visibility, innovation and impact.

Capability of developing and delivering multiple types of content.

Depth and breadth of subject matter expertise.

Company size and growth potential.

Strength of clients and geographic reach.

This years Top 20 Custom Content Development Companies are creating unique solutions by developing customized training that aligns with an organizations business objectives, said Ken Taylor, president of Training Industry, Inc. These engaging learning experiences are supported through the latest learning technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, simulations, and artificial intelligence. Through their expertise in developing learning content for an array of modalities, these companies offer comprehensive solutions for a variety of learners.

The recognition follows a number of other recent awards from Training Industry, including LEO ranking on the 2020 Top 20 Training Outsourcing Company (also 2019), 2019 Top 20 Content Development Company (also 2017/18), as well as the 2019 Top 20 Gamification Companies List.

See the full 2020 Top Custom Content Development and Watch List.

Ends/

About LEO Learning

LEO Learning believes that technology-enabled learning innovation has the power to deliver transformational results. Our purpose is to help clients deploy learning technology to deliver outcomes precisely aligned to their business goals. Backed by more than 30 years of experience, we design engaging learning architectures that fit seamlessly into businesses and improve performance throughout the entire organization.

LEO Learning has the deep understanding of learning design and technology, and pioneering creative approach, necessary to drive learning transformation.

LEO Learnings expanding global customer base includes organizations such as the NHS, Civil Service Learning, Jaguar Land Rover, Visa, Volvo, Suncorp, Fidelity, Virgin Atlantic, Novartis, Godiva, Volkswagen, Dunhill, KPMG, Roche, and Mars.

LEO Learning is part of Learning Technologies Group plcs award-winning group of specialist learning technology businesses.

For more, visit leolearning.com.

About Training Industry, Inc.

Training Industry is the most trusted source of information on the business of learning. Our authority is built on deep ties with more than 450 expert contributors who share insights and actionable information with their peers annually. Training Industrys live events, articles, magazine, webinars, podcast, research and reports generate more than 5 million industry interactions each year, while the Top 20 Training Companies Lists help business leaders find the right training partners. For a complimentary referral, visit https://trainingindustry.com/rfp.


Dont touch me, the nurse yelled at the woman who was about to deliver her second child. On March 26, when the woman went into labour, fears of the coronavirus were high at the community health centre in Atraulia, Azamgarh. The Dalit wife of a daily wage labourer was made to wait outside until it was time to give birth. Even then, the nurse refused to touch her, leaving the delivery to the dai (midwife), says Sunita Singh, a social worker with Sahayog, an NGO that works on womens health rights.

The mistreatment of women in the labour room is fairly common, especially if youre poor, says Singh. The violence from midwives, cleaning staff, nurses and even doctors ranges from abusive language and sexualised comments to slapping and forcing women into birthing positions.

Theres a clear power asymmetry that involves money, caste and class, says Jashodhara Dasgupta, senior advisor, Sahayog.

The pandemic has underlined an old truth about labour room violence. On June 6, Neelam Kumari Gautam died during labour after being turned away from eight hospitals. At the first hospital, the doctor reportedly told her: Ill slap you if you take off your mask.

In Hyderabad, a 22-year-old developed post-partum lung infection and died when no hospital would admit her. And in Uttarakhand, a pregnant woman delivered twins at home after being refused admission by five hospitals. She and her babies died a few days later.

A 2020 report, Human Rights in Childbirth, finds that pregnant women, especially those from marginalised communities, bear the additional load caused by strains on health systems. The World Health Organization warned recently that women are at heightened risk of dying at childbirth.

To meet the Millennium Development Goals on maternal mortality ratios (MMR), government schemes since 2005 have, through cash transfers, pushed for institutional birth, bringing MMR down from 370 per 100,000 births in 2,000 to 145 in 2017. The number remains unacceptably high, but is a big achievement, says Aparajita Gogoi, executive director, Centre for Catalysing Change, an NGO that works with women and girls. Now we need to focus on quality.

A 2015 study of 275 mothers in three Uttar Pradesh districts found that all had experienced at least one indicator of mistreatment  from being denied a birth companion to being yelled at.

Launched in 2017, the national Laqshya programmes goal is respectful maternity care. It lists dos and donts for care-providers: No verbal or physical abuse, not leaving women unattended, providing privacy and taking consent before examinations and procedures. Reducing MMR is an incomplete goal unless there is an improvement in womens experience of childbirth; an experience that does not put the priorities of health providers over birthing women, reducing them to passive participants.

If women are to put their faith in health centres, they must be assured of respectful and dignified treatment.

Namita Bhandare writes on gender

The views expressed are personal

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AMS UK & Worldwide Couriers was founded in 1990 by three friends  Andy, Mark & Steve  their mission was to provide a personal, reliable, fast and cost effective collection and delivery service, principally to the people and businesses of Newbury and surrounding districts.

Mark and Steve left the business in 1994. Andy was then joined by his wife, Alison, in 2003 and they have run the business together ever since.

On April 1st this year AMS celebrated their 30th year in business, a fantastic milestone which is a real testament to the personal and reliable services the team are consistently able to provide.

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Andy explains: The service we deliver inspires loyalty. We are very proud of the fact that five of the first 10 companies who booked a job with AMS back in 1990, including Vodafone, still use us  the rest have either moved out of the area or no longer exist.

Alison says: We recognise that ultimately our service and reputation can only be as good as the people who represent us and we place a high priority on the quality of our drivers who are loyal, flexible and also committed to AMSs customer service values. Many of our drivers have been with us for 10 years  some as many as 25! This means they are polite, trustworthy, reliable and knowledgeable with regards to the geography of the country and the back roads of Berkshire in particular.

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Sushants father KK Singh was interviewed by a leading daily where he shared some anecdotes about the late actor. He said, He was an obedient kid. You can imagine what a father-son's relationship would be like with his only son. We were blessed with Sushant after having four daughters. After a lot of mannat and praying fervently, Sushant was born after three years. He donated crores of money to the Assam and Kerala government. He used to send kids to NASA. He used to love helping the underprivileged.Sushants family also held a prayer meet at their home in Patna.
The three white men who killed black jogger Ahmaud Arbery on February 23 were indicted Wednesday on murder charges by a Georgia grand jury. The men were not arrested and charged until last month, after a video of the brutal killing went viral on social media and prompted nationwide protests.

The three men are Gregory McMichael, a 64-year-old retired police officer and district attorney investigator; Travis McMichael, Gregorys 34-year-old son; and William Bryan, a 50-year-old neighbor who helped prevent Arberys escape before he was shot and killed by Travis McMichael.

Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan, Jr.

Evidence came out following the arrests that a Glynn County police officer had effectively deputized Gregory McMichael toward the end of 2019, directing a neighbor who was concerned about trespassers entering his property to notify the retired officer of trespassing incidents rather than calling the police department and making official reports.

On the morning of February 23, the McMichaels decided that Arbery, who was jogging through the Satilla Shores neighborhood outside of Brunswick, Georgia, was behind a string of local burglaries and pursued him in their pickup truck rather than calling law enforcement. Arbery ran for his life but was boxed in by both the McMichaels truck and the vehicle of William Bryan, who joined the pursuit when they passed by his house. Travis McMichael then confronted Arbery armed with a shotgun and killed the young man who desperately tried to defend himself.

During the preliminary court hearing which took place earlier this month, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation revealed that Travis McMichael threw a racial slur at Arberys dead body after murdering him in cold blood. Bryan told police who arrived on the scene that Travis spat the phrase, fucking nigger.

Glynn County police initially made no arrests after the shooting took place, allegedly because they were instructed not to by the first prosecutor assigned to the case. Three district attorneys recused themselves from the case over the course of more than two months due to conflicts of interest related to Gregory McMichaels association with law enforcement. One of those DAs, George Barnhill, wrote to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) defending the McMichaels, providing legal defenses for the pair which tainted both the local jury pool and the local prosecutorial pool.

District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes of Cobb County, who took over the case in May and ensured that all three men were arrested and prosecuted, announced Wednesday that a grand jury in Glynn County returned an indictment with nine counts against each of the three defendants: malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. All three men could face life sentences without parole.

The six-page indictment notes that the men are charged with trying to unlawfully confine and detain Arbery while chasing him, using their vehicles offensively and in a manner likely to cause serious bodily injury. The malice murder charge under Georgia law is the intentional killing of a person with malice of forethought. Holmes explained that malice does not need to be developed over a long period of time. Malice can be formed in an instant.

Holmes declared, This is another step forward in seeking justice for Ahmaud. We will continue to be intentional in the pursuit of justice for this family and the community at large as the prosecution of this case continues. Benjamin Crump, one of the attorneys representing Arberys family, said that the indictments confirm what Ahmauds father has been saying for monthsthat this was a lynching.

The indictment came one day after the State Senate in Georgia passed a hate crimes bill that had been approved by the House. Republican Governor Brian Kemp said he would sign the bill into law pending a legal review. The passing of the bill is an effort to alleviate popular outrage over Arberys murder and the refusal of the local police to arrest his killers.

The killing of Arbery is one of several by police and former police this year that have fueled global mass protests, especially since the end of May when George Floyd was murdered in broad daylight by four police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Regular rallies have been held in Louisville, Kentucky to demand that the officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor, a young black emergency medical technician, during a no-knock raid in March be arrested. One of those Louisville police officers, Brett Hankison, had his employment terminated earlier this week.

Multi-racial and multi-ethnic protests demanding an end to police violence are continuing throughout the United States. Three North Carolina police officers were fired after a recording captured racist conversations that they had about killing African Americans. Colorado Governor Jared Polis recently stated that his legal council will look into how the state can probe the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old black man who died in police custody last August after officers restrained him by his neck. The police chief in Tucson, Arizona offered to resign Wednesday after body camera video was released showing a two-month-old incident where a Hispanic man died while in police custody.

The American political establishment has continued its cynical political maneuvering around the issue of police violence with the Senate Democrats blocking a package of police reforms proposed by Senate Republicans earlier this week. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is reportedly preparing to put forward their own cosmetic police reform bill which they know has no chance of passing the Republican majority Senate.
I woke up this morning a couple of hours before the alarm clock (Google Assistant smart device) went off. Therefore, I decided to get an early start to the day. It is 65 degrees out, so I opened the living room window to let in some fresh air. Looking to the east, I see colorful hues of orange, red, and yellow from the morning sunrise. While drinking from a freshly-brewed cup of coffee made by my Keurig coffeemaker, I began writing todays column. In the late 1970s, I rented an apartment in Wadena, where I attended telecommunications school at Wadena Vo-Tech, now called the Minnesota State Community and Technical College. During the morning class, Myrlen Timm taught us electronic circuit design and theory. When entering the classroom, he would regularly walk up to the blackboard, take a piece of chalk, and draw out a circuit diagram. Mr. Timm would then point at places on the diagram and say to us, I want you to tell me the voltage and current outputs here, here, and here. I also want you to tell me what this circuit is used for. After class, we paired off in twos and went into the lab to build and test electronic circuits. We placed a wooden solderless breadboard on our lab table and picked out the electronic components, wire, and tools needed to build our assigned circuits. The solderless breadboard allowed faster connections of electronic components and wiring. We built our circuits on it in less time than it would take if all the connections needed to be soldered. There were also many times when we used standard industry-printed circuit boards for through-hole soldering of wiring and electronic components. For one class project, I authored a report on how to build and operate an ohmmeter. I made the ohmmeter and had it inspected by Mr. Timm to verify its proper operation. All the output values passed muster. Recently, I talked with my brother, Mike, about Wadena; he also graduated from there. Mike reminisced, Mr. Timm covered a lot of ground. In addition to using logic gates and vacuum tubes, we made FM radios on breadboards with frequency filters that would pulse light at different frequencies with music, like, the song, Saturday Night Fever, which was popular back then. I remember he taught us how to use a slide rule. I took the test. Got an A. The next day, he told us, OK, pull out your calculators. In years gone by, while working at the Winsted Telephone Company, before digital telephone systems and subscriber line programming using a keyboard, we did a lot of wire soldering. Inside the central telephone office, individual subscriber lines were physically wired on the MDF (main distribution frame) using 24- or 22-gauge wiring. The MDF terminal block wiring was cabled into the many bay cabinets containing relay bars that made up the electromechanical analog telephone switch we used for customer call processing. Each plastic-insulated wire required about an inch of exposed copper wrapped around a metal terminal on the MDF. These metal terminal wire connections were bonded with rosin-core solder using a soldering iron. A soldering apron was used to cover the lower terminal blocks on the MDF so no cut wire snippets or solder splashes would fall onto them and cause a short-circuit between the metal terminals  which were energized. In December 1986, the telephone company installed a new digital central office for processing voice calls. A brand-new MDF held block terminals for physically connecting the outside wiring with the new central office digital switching system. The new MDF used a hand-operated (or electric) wire-wrap gun tool for terminating the wiring. I digress back to my days in Wadena. During a morning break, when we left the lab, one mischievous student (not me, of course) snuck back into the lab and switched the polarity on a few DC capacitors wired on a breadboard. After the break, two students returned to their lab table and turned on the power providing voltage to their circuit on the breadboard. Loud firecracker-like Pop! Pop! Pop! sounds were heard from the capacitors bursting due to their reversed polarity. Many of the students in the lab erupted in laughter. Mr. Timm, however, was not laughing. After witnessing this prank, I always checked my DC capacitors polarity before turning on the power supply. -More recently, students attending the University of Bristol in the UK learned in a unique way how a computer operates. They, and their teacher built a 16-bit computer with all its wiring and electronic components on a wall-mounted breadboard plywood sheet measuring 86 square feet. This computer is called the Big Hex Machine. The Big Hex Machine is used as a teaching tool that provides a visual representation of how the wiring paths are used to connect the inputs and outputs of the computers electronic components. A 16-bit hexadecimal numbering system is used for processing programs. Each single 16-bit hexadecimal number is two bytes  as there are 8 bits in 1 byte. Numerous hexadecimal modules used with the students 16-bit computer include the logic gates NOT, AND, OR, and XOR, as well as an arithmetic unit module for making operational logic decisions. The computers non-volatile memory stores up to 32,768 bytes of information, and will retain its data after losing power. University of Bristol students are writing and programming code into the computer. They execute programs and observe the results on a custom-built LED matrix display screen. A short video of the working Big Hex Machine can be seen at https://bit.ly/3esHkUG. Mr. Timm was an excellent teacher and a caring person. I appreciate everything he taught me. I was saddened to learn he passed away Nov. 4, 1993. Continue to stay safe out there.
Healthy.io, an Israel-based company that provides at-home urinalysis, is purchasing Inui Health, its longtime Silicon Valley competitor.

The purchase price was around $9 million, and it's an all cash deal that is based on Inui Health meeting certain milestones, Healthy.io told CNBC. Inui Health's CEO Dr. Jaime Tenedorio will be joining the Healthy.io team and will continue to be based on the West Coast.

Inui Health, formerly known as Scanadu, received FDA clearance in 2018 for a smartphone-based at-home urine test. At that time, only three companies had received a green light from regulators, including another start-up, called Scanwell Health. All the companies  with some slight variations in their approach  send a a kit to the patients' home with an FDA-approved stick that can be dipped in a cup of urine. From there a smartphone camera scans the results, which are shared with the patients' medical provider.

Inui Health by that time had shuttered its best known product, called Scanadu Scout, which aimed to provide a home scanning product for myriad medical conditions. Scanadu raised more than $1 million in 2013 on Indiegogo to build out its Star Trek Tricorder-like scanner, which represented one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns of all time.

Healthy.io is backed by $90 million in financing from a combination of U.S. and Israeli investors, including Samsung's venture firm and Aleph. Meanwhile, Inui has pulled in more than $56 million from investors including Redmile and Tencent Holdings.

For Healthy.io the acquisition will help the company move more quickly into the U.S. market. The company, which was named to CNBC's 2020 Disruptor 50 list, uses its system to look for signs of early kidney disease and urinary tract infections. It also plans to move into pregnancy monitoring to detect possible complications.

"Ultimately, our board decided unanimously in favor of doubling down and finalizing the acquisition, as we see many of the core assets Inui developed as key to our short-term scale in the U.S.," said Healthy.io founder and CEO Yonatan Adiri.

More from Disruptor 50:

Moderna CEO sees success with Covid-19 vaccine

The technology that will dominate daily life on the other side of coronavirus

CLEAR poised to lead in biometric screening for Covid

Both companies are poised to do well in the midst of a pandemic as people are looking to avoid labs and doctors office wherever possible. Adiri said that the company's activity has tripled in Europe since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Adiri believes that Israel-based health-tech companies have an edge over their U.S. competitors.

"Our health-care system has been digital for 20 years," said Adiri, who previously worked as a technical advisor to former Israeli president Shimon Peres, in a recent interview. "That creates data and structured capabilities."
BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda on Wednesday slammed the Congress party's recent 'tantrums' surrounding the Galwan valley faceoff, alleging that the 'dynasts' were 'delusional' about their role as the opposition. JP Nadda said that the opposition had full right to ask questions, an example of which was seen during the All-Party Meet on the faceoff where 'healthy deliberations' were witnessed across party lines except from 'one family.' He added that the 'rejected dynast' family was still in a delusion that they constituted the entire opposition, adding that they were going against India's interests, pointing out at how under the same family's rule, the country almost lost Siachen in 1962.

Read: BJP President JP Nadda Slams Congress, Oppn For Being 'irresponsible' Amid LAC Standoff

Read: At PMs All Party Meet On LAC Standoff, Sonia Gandhi Poses 7 Questions To The Government

One royal dynasty and their loyal courtiers have grand delusions of the Opposition being about one dynasty. A dynast throws tantrums and his courtiers peddle that fake narrative. Latest one relates to the the Opposition asking questions to the Government.  Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) June 24, 2020

It is the Oppositions right to ask questions. The All Party Meeting saw healthy deliberations, with several Opposition leaders giving their valuable inputs. They also fully supported the Centre in determining the way ahead.



One family was an exception. Any guesses who?  Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) June 24, 2020

A rejected and ejected dynasty is NOT equal to the entire Opposition. One dynastys interests are not Indias interests. Today, the nation is united and supportive of our armed forces. This is the time for unity and solidarity. Relaunch of the scion for the nth time can wait.  Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) June 24, 2020

Congress raises questions on LAC

The Congress party has been relentlessly questioning the government over the recent standoff at the LAC, that left 20 Indian soldiers martyred claiming that the opposition 'was being kept in the dark'. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has been accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of surrendering the Indian territory to Chinese aggression, claiming that China had "brazenly occupied" Indian territory and that PM Modi had betrayed the Army by accepting the former's position.

In his recent tweets, he has called PM Modi 'Surender Modi' (misspelling the word Surrender) and has asked why Indian soldiers were killed in the Galwan face-off between India and China. He has also demanded specifics about the location where 20 Indian soldiers were martyred during the face-off.

This comes despite the fact that the Centre has strongly maintained that no intrusion has been made into the Indian territory by China. The Centre has also made it clear, that the unity and sovereignty of the nation are of prime importance and that they would not allow any unilateral change of the LAC. On the contrary, the Congress party's own dealings with the Communist party of China have come under the radar, over photos of Rahul Gandhi signing a pact of some sort while visiting the country with Sonia Gandhi in 2008.

This picture of Rahul Gandhi signing an agreement in 2008 in China with Sonia and Xi in the background has possible sinister implications for the countrys security. The NIA must initiate an investigation under the Unlawful Activities ( Prevention) Act and secure the agreement pic.twitter.com/WCn1TY6E28  Mahesh Jethmalani (@JethmalaniM) June 21, 2020

Read: 'PM Publicly Supported Chinas Claim': Rahul Gandhi's Fresh Attack Over LAC Standoff

Read: Rahul Gandhi Posts Photo Clicked By Rajiv Gandhi In Latest China Attack; Mum On 2008 Pact
University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers are part of two COVID-19-related projects awarded major federal funding today--one to develop a unique saliva-based test for COVID-19 detection and the other to track COVID-19 incidence rates among Canadian dentists.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) will invest $1.2 million in the two projects, led by University of Regina (U of R) and McGill University respectively, through the CIHR's COVID-19 Rapid Response Program, of which at more than $550,000 will come to USask researchers at the USask College of Dentistry and the USask Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac).

Unique saliva-based COVID-19 biomarker diagnostic test and prototype testing device

Dr. Walter Siqueira of the USask College of Dentistry will lead development of the new diagnostic test which detects SARS-CoV-2 peptides (proteins) in saliva, as part of a broader U of R-led project.

The test would be less invasive than current methods, more sensitive, and would take less than five minutes to produce results. As well, the new test can be done by people at home and can be used in remote locations that don't have medical facilities.

Siqueira's team, in collaboration with Dr. Jun Yang at Western University, will develop a prototype testing device that is about the size of cellphone. The device will be similar to devices used for pregnancy testing in that an indicator turns a certain color when the virus biomarker combines with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, indicating the presence of the virus in the saliva.

We expect that the accuracy of this test will be high because the peptide/proteins we are using is a marker for a specific SARS-CoV-2 antibody, whereas other tests often aren't that specific. As well, other saliva-based tests are based on RNA (which synthesizes proteins), but this test is based on proteins themselves, and since proteins last longer in the saliva than RNA, the virus is more detectable." Dr. Walter Siqueira, USask College of Dentistry

He also anticipates that the test will be able to detect mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 cases, a shortfall of some existing tests.

Siqueira said he has secured partnerships with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Royal University Hospital to acquire saliva samples for the research.

He anticipates the new test will be a low-cost alternative to other tests so that it can be available to the general population. The test could be available by March of 2021.

Siqueira leads the USask Salivary Proteomics Research Laboratory, one of only a few labs in the world focused on applied salivary research. Previously, Siqueira has had success in identifying a specific protein signature in saliva for the Zika virus and creating a detection method for Zika virus using saliva.

U of R researcher Dr. Mohan Babu leads the part of the study aimed at developing antiviral peptides to block the SARS-COV-2 virus from entering or replicating human cells. VIDO-InterVac researcher Darryl Falzarano is working on that part of the study.

Examining COVID-19 incidence rates among Canadian dentists

In a second awarded project, Dr. Siqueira will also work with McGill researchers Drs. Sreenath Madathil and Paul Allison to collect saliva samples from dentists across the country to determine the incidence rate of COVID-19 amongst dentists as they return to work.

"The close contact between dentists and patients, along with the use of aerosol-generating procedures, makes dental offices a potential high-risk environment for the COVID-19 transmission," said Siqueira.

"Now that dental offices are beginning to reopen, they are implementing infection control, treatment protocols and other procedures but there is minimal scientific evidence to support these measures. More information is needed to ensure we have evidence-based infection control guidelines that protect both the patients and the dentists."

Saliva samples will be collected from 220 dentists every four weeks for a period of one year to test for COVID-19, and questionnaires will also be distributed. The data collected will enable the team to form a clearer picture of the risk in dental offices, which personal protective equipment should be used, and which infection control measures should be kept in place to ensure continued patient and dentist safety.
Democratic leaders in the Oregon Legislature have agreed to explore protecting businesses, schools, local governments and other parties from being sued if someone catches COVID-19 on their premises.

But they resisted a call from 10 House Democrats to join Republicans in doing so in this weeks special session. Instead they will set up a work group to draft legislation for a subsequent session.

House Speaker Tina Kotek said as much during a public hearing on the proposed liability protection Thursday afternoon. Republicans indicated they were willing to agree to rule changes to speed up legislative procedures as long as Kotek and other powerful Democrats ensured creation of the work group.

In an usual break from partisan unity, 10 Democratic state representatives sent a letter to Kotek and Senate President Peter Courtney on Wednesday calling for more legal protections as businesses and other entities re-open in the pandemic. A large number of industry groups affiliated with business, schools, local governments and health care organizations have called for such protection.

We want to express our disappointment over the lack of any legislation addressing the serious liability concerns that have been raised by health care providers, local governments, schools, nonprofits and businesses who fear the lawsuits they might face over the COVID-19 pandemic, the letter said. We are hearing from entities across the spectrum that one of their biggest concerns right now is the threat they are facing from COVID-19 lawsuits.

The issue of partial immunity from COVID-19-related lawsuits has played out across the country and within Congress as the nations economy slowly reopens. A wide array of industries have raised concerns that they could be swamped by a raft of lawsuits, potentially sinking under the weight of legal bills. In response to those concerns, a growing number of states have taken up protections.

Opponents of liability protections say they are largely unnecessary since its extremely hard to definitively prove a person contracted COVID-19 from a specific place. But they warn that blanket liability protections could disincentivize employers and others from taking appropriate steps to guard against the spread of COVID-19.

What were worried about is, will they pass something that impacts the people whove had loved ones harmed in nursing homes? said Arthur Towers, a lobbyist for the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association. Thats at the core of this issue. Are we going to fail to hold accountable the food processing plants in which so many people have been exposed?

Labor unions, worried about employee protections, have also voiced concerns.

While its unclear what any liability protections might ultimately look like in Oregon, an amendment proposed by Rep Caddie McKeown, D-Coos Bay, offered an idea.

The amendment was being closely watched by lobbyists on both sides before Kotek announced it was dead. It would have ensured a person is not liable for damages arising out of acts or omissions that nonetheless complied with state guidance around COVID-19. The proposal would not have offered protections for gross negligence or reckless, wanton or intentional misconduct and protections would expire with Gov. Kate Browns state of emergency.

At Thursday afternoons hearing, McKeown and other lawmakers spoke forcefully for the amendment, saying it would ensure that schools, businesses and other entities can operate without the worry of frivolous litigation.

-- Dirk VanderHart, Oregon Public Broadcasting

This article from OPB is published here as part of a cooperative agreement among news outlets including The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon Public Broadcasting, KGW-TV, the Pamplin Media Group, the Statesman-Journal, The Bulletin in Bend, the Malheur Enterprise and Salem Reporter to bring readers the most comprehensive possible coverage of coronavirus.
Thousands of mine and quarry workers will now have free lung health checks for the rest of their lives if they want the testing.

The measure will see about 15,000 workers given free screenings for life, as the Queensland government moves to support workers with one of the lung dust diseases which have re-emerged in recent years.

Mineral mine and quarry workers will now get free lung screening for life to catch any dangerous lung diseases like silicosis. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Mines Minister Anthony Lynham said workers had a right to be safe at work and have peace of mind.

As a doctor, I know that hand-in-hand with disease prevention goes early detection because it helps stop disease progressing, Dr Lynham said.
The US is reviewing its military deployment in other countries so that it can appropriately counter the threat posed by China to other Asian countries, US secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the Brussels Forum 2020 of the German Marshall Fund held via video conferencing.

China's People's Liberation Army has started to pose as a threat to countries like India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the US wants its military to be 'postured appropriately', he said.

"We're going to make sure we're postured appropriately to counter the PLA. We think that the challenge of our times, and we're going to make sure we have resources in place to do that," Pompeo said.

The US President Donald Trump has directed for the review of the force posture and as a part that the number of US troops in Germany has been reduced from about 52,000 to 25,000.

"In certain places there will be fewer American resources... To the extent that that changed, the difference in what the US decided to do impacts adversely a threat some place, it may be that other nations need to step up and take responsibility for their own defense in ways that they hadn't done previously. So, we want to do this in full consultation with all of our partners all around the world, and certainly our friends in Europe," Pompeo said.

It has been a long time since there has been a strategic review of our force posture all across the world. The US undertook that starting about 2.5 years ago, whether that was our forces in Africa, our forces in Asia, the force we have in the Middle East and in Europe, he said.

Last week, Pompeo criticised the Chinese Army describing the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) as a "rogue actor" for its heightened militarising strategic at the South China Sea. He also blamed them for creating tensions with India at the border.

China has been fast expanding military and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific region, triggering concerns everywhere.

China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea, both areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are vital to global trade.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday met a delegation led by the newly appointed caretaker chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Mala Buni.

Mr Buni, also Yobe State governor and a former national secretary of the APC, was on Thursday appointed the acting chairman of the ruling APC after the dissolution of its National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Bagudu, who addressed State House correspondents on behalf of the delegation, said the meeting was convened to introduce the interim chairman to the president.

Mr Bagudu said the president was enthusiastic that the party has one less distraction because he is conscious of the mandate given to him by Nigerians.

The resolution of the party, upon the urging of the president, to dissolve the Adams Oshiomhole-led leadership of the party, has been threatened by legal action by members of the ousted leadership.

PREMIUM TIMES has learnt that President Buhari is making moves to break the ranks of the sacked members who have rejected his action.

Asked about the aggrieved members warning that they may go to court, Mr Bagudu brushed the threat aside, saying due process was followed in naming a new chairman.

Mr President is very clear that he received due legal advice and remember, before the 2019 primaries. Mr President demonstrated to everyone in this country that he will never sacrifice due process for expediency, Mr Bagudu told reporters.

Even when it was convenient to extend tenure of the then executive so that we dont have a convention and primary at the same time. Mr President said no, no matter how tough it is, we are going to do the correct legal thing.

So Mr President will never do anything which the constitutional provisions of party, talk less of the country, does not allow him to do, he said.

Also part of the delegation were the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, representative of the north-central of the APC caretaker and extraordinary national convention committee, Abubakar Bello, the Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello.

The APC was thrown into a fresh leadership crisis when the Court of Appeal a few days ago upheld the suspension of Adams Oshiomhole as the partys national chairman.

The crisis in the APC is mainly about who controls the party structure ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

The new caretaker committee has the mandate to conduct a national convention to elect new leadership for the APC within six months.
BLOOMFIELD  About 80 young Connecticut adults will fill in for older volunteers who now are staying home in the coronavirus pandemic, under a new million-dollar program to offer opportunities for underserved communities.

Nonprofit agencies taking part in the program include the Bridgeport-based Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership, as well as Teach for America efforts in Bridgeport and New Haven. Jobs will include anti-poverty assistance, easing food insecurity, and assisting in domestic-violence shelters and other housing programs.

Its happening under the states new ConnectiCorps program, modeled after AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America.

Participants will provide as many as 90,000 hours of work a year at 20 nonprofit agencies in exchange for modest stipends  up to $6,000 that can be applied to tuition or student loans.

Gov. Ned Lamont joined leaders of nonprofit agencies outside the sprawling Foodshare office in Bloomfield Thursday morning to announce that hiring for the program will begin next month through the Connecticut Community Non-profit Alliance, for jobs starting in August.

The program is being funded with $800,000 in federal money and $200,000 raised by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, but Gian-Carl Casa, president and CEO of the nonprofit alliance, said the agencies are planning on the program to reach $1.2 million, depending on further donations.

Marc Donald, executive director of RYASAP, the Bridgeport group, said ConnectiCorps workers might supplement the two AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers who help in the agencys leadership and mentoring programming, as well as opioid-prevention programming, where they can learn about mental health and drug abuse. Six other programs are run by RYASAP, Donald said.

Donald said pending federal legislation would use AmeriCorps workers to become trained in contact tracing in the coronavirus pandemic.

Jason Jakubowski, president of Foodshare, the food bank for Hartford and Tolland counties, said partnerships with AmeriCorps VISTA laid the groundwork for the new ConnecticCorps.

The cost of labor tends to be very extensive, Jakubowski said during a morning news conference in front of the facility. But we like the fact that were able to do what we can while giving people real-life experience that then they can go on and do other things with. This is a program that were very happy to support and we look forward to benefiting from it in the months ahead.

Gian-Carl Casa, president and CEO of the Alliance, credited Lamont with coming up with the idea of having a VISTA-like model for the state. It provides jobs for young people at a time of high unemployment. Secondly it helps community nonprofits meet their missions, he said. And thirdly, it helps people who depend on those nonprofits for their essential needs.

We have a lot of people really in need right now, Lamont said. Thats what this partnership is all about. He remembered discussing the issue earlier in the year. I remember AmeriCorps, Lamont recalled. How come theres no ConnectiCorps? Weve got a lot of young people who have been sidelined for a while. A lot of our nonprofits right now have this need as well.

We want to be very intentional to make sure that young people of color, young people who are disaffected and disconnected, have an opportunity to engage and contribute to their communities, even in the midst of this crisis, said Jay Williams, CEO of the Hartford Foundation.

Jacqueline Johnson, executive director of the Serve Connecticut, Connecticut Commission on Community Service, which is within the Department of Higher Education, said she thinks the program could become a national model. Our role is to look for nonprofits that need AmeriCorps members to do direct volunteer service, to meet a particular demand, she told reporters. In light of the COVID crisis, clearly theres a huge demand for AmeriCorps volunteers.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
Emma Watson has said that she hopes to be helpful in making a difference in her new job on a fashion companys board of directors.

The actress is set to work for Kering, a company which oversees luxury brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen.

The Harry Potter star told Vogue that fans might notice a new quietness from her as she will be doing fewer red carpets and more conference meetings.

Watson, 30, added: During this pandemic, like many of us, I have had time to reflect on the work I want to be involved with and what is meaningful to me moving forward.

Having been so public in making films and being so active on social platforms in my activism, I am curious to embrace a role where I work to amplify voices, to continue to learn from those with different experiences, and to ensure a broader range of perspectives are being considered.

Behind the scenes now, I hope I can be helpful in making a difference.

We are living in an unprecedented time where we can reinvent and reconfigure what we do, Watson told the magazine, adding: It genuinely feels like an exciting time to have this opportunity when things might shift.
Representing the family is Chris Clifton, a prominent Triad criminal defense lawyer. When reached for comment about the investigation into Nevilles death, Clifton offered the following statement: Our firm has been retained to represent John Nevilles estate by the executor, which is one of Mr. Nevilles children. This is an extremely personal matter for them, and weve been waiting patiently since December to see whether any charges will be brought in connection to his death, and for the autopsy and the death certificate, neither of which has been released yet.

When referencing the death certificate, Clifton clarified he was talking about the cause of death not yet being listed.

The sheriffs office did not notify the public at the time of his death, and Kimbrough acknowledged that, saying he didnt do so because Nevilles family, and the familys legal counsel, asked the sheriffs office not to do so.

When asked if video of the events leading up to Nevilles medical emergency existed, Kimbrough declined comment.
Yves here. Professor Katharina Pistor has written an important, potentially a landmark, book on the role of law in creating and increasing capital at the expense of labor. Weve written about many aspects of this issue over the years, from the way what used to be the commons (starting with pastureland) has been seized by private interests, to the way consumers are subjected to contracts of adhesion that include mandatory arbitration, to the concerted and successful efforts to impede the filing of class action suits, one of the ways to stop mass-scale nickel and dime stealing.

One of our longest-form exercises was on extensive legal abuses during the foreclosure crisis: how sponsors of mortgage securitizataions over time stopped adhering to the provisions of their own rigid contracts in creating the trusts, to widespread servicing abuses, to how courts were erratic in responding to pervasive abuses (some of this due to judges not wanting to master the complexities of securitizations, along with undue deference to bank servicers), to the actions of the Obama Administration to paper over these problems without forcing reforms on servicers. It was a revealing exercise in how monied interests were able to violate legal agreements and engage in large scale document fabrication and get away with it because wronged homeowners lacked the money and access to adequate legal representation to wage an effective fight.

Mortgage securitizations were also an example of what Lambert has described as code as law: that administrative convenience, now as determined by how computer systems handle customer transactions and issues, will trump contracts and other legal requirements. The latest heinous ISDS threat is corporate litigation over Covid-19 protections. From a recent post:

Countries could soon face a wave of multi-million dollar lawsuits from multinational corporations claiming compensation for measures introduced to protect people from COVID-19 and its economic fallout, according to a new report. Researchers have identified more than twenty corporate law firms offering services to mount such cases, which would seek compensation from states for measures that have negatively impacted company profits  including lost future profits. Measures that could face legal challenges include the state acquisition of private hospitals; steps introduced to ensure that drugs, tests and vaccines are affordable; and relief on rent, debt and utility payments.

This article also touches in passing on investor-state dispute settlement, in which treaties have enabled investors to sue governments over domestic environmental and labor protections.

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram, a former economics professor, who was United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, and received the Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. Originally published at the Inter Press Service

Katharina Pistors recent book, The Code of Capital: How the law creates wealth and inequality shows how law has been crucial to the creation of capital, and how capital continues to survive, evolve and enhance its ability to make money, or secure wealth legally, i.e., through the law.

Legal Coding Makes Capital

In her magnum opus, the Columbia Law School professor explains how legal systems create capital and how law enables wealth creation through what she terms legal coding. Notions of property and property rights have changed over the ages, reflecting and redefining social and economic relations more generally.

Pistor sees legal coding  e.g., via collateral, trust, corporate governance, bankruptcy, contracts and other property laws  as means for assets to become capital, creating wealth for their holders. When coded in law, even dirt can become a valuable asset, capable of enriching its owners.

For her, institutions of private law privilege those with capital by ensuring: priority, against competing claims; durability, enabling capital to grow in value; convertibility, locking in earlier gains; and universality, ensuring that such privileges extend transnationally.

With the emergence and growing significance of new financial products and services, intellectual property and data access in the early 21st century, the evolution of capital increasingly involves new, especially intangible assets, including debt.

New combinations and prioritization of property rights and contracts have created complex debt products, including collateralized debt obligations and credit debt swaps, the bases for much contemporary financialization.

Private interests flexible use of such legal institutions has been crucial to capital accumulation, but Pistor notes that the increasing private use of law also undermines its role and legitimacy as a public good, and hence, the very rule of law itself.

Legal coding is therefore not only about how assets become capital, but also about how capital creates wealth, and laws enable such transformations involving property, ownership and entitlements.

As capital is created behind closed doors in the offices of private attorneys, codifying capital in law worsens inequality between capital and others, especially labour.

Role of States

State sanctioned judicial processes transform assets into capital. Legal coding thus owes its power to lawbacked and enforced by a state. The state has thus been crucial to legally coding assets as capital, using existing as well as new laws and judicial precedents so crucial to common law.

States and other relevant legal institutions also redefine the law  e.g., through the legislative process, catering to the evolving nature and needs of capital, especially its most successful lobbyists  by amending existing laws and creating new laws.

The state and other social institutions ensure the legitimacy of the rule of law by mitigating and managing its adverse effects, as well as by resolving problematic ambiguities and uncertainties.

The legal profession has been the main agency of legal coding, making the law. Lawyers contribute to its evolution  by drafting and thus determining the nature, scope and impact of law  and defend the law by legitimizing it, even when challenging, criticizing and reforming the law.

Despite relying on the authority of law, common or legislated, many lawyers go to great lengths to avoid taking disputes to courts, the traditional guardians of the law, instead preferring or even insisting on private settlements or arbitration.

Crossing Borders

The accumulation of capital has long been transnational, closely interlinked with the globalization of recent decades. However, legal coding is primarily national, within the realms of particular states.

Hence, the legal reach of capital does not extend to other jurisdictions except when provided for by imperial or colonial jurisdiction, and by international treaty, convention and coercion, including the use of military force, in the post-colonial era.

With globalization, private interests can increasingly choose legal systems to suit their needs, i.e., engage in jurisdiction or forum shopping. Limiting the ability to opt in and out of legal systems is hence vital for state legitimacy and societal capacity for collective self-governance.

Inter-state collaboration, among independent central banks not beholden to national governments, or through multilateral institutions  such as the World Trade Organization, trade agreements, investment and other treaties  have thus become crucial means for extending legal coding beyond national jurisdictions.

As national judicial decisions are not typically considered extraterritorial in scope, the legal community has extended arbitration transnationally while trying to ensure  through convention as much as legislation  that national laws and courts recognize, uphold and enforce the outcomes of such private arrangements.

With new technology, capital is trying to protect and extend its privileges without conventional legal coding, e.g., new blockchain applications suggest that some digital innovations can provide attributes required by capital.

Pistor observes that digital coders  those who develop digital code  have set their own rules, transcending national boundaries, without recourse to the law. Until now, however, digital code is still far from an adequate substitute for legal code, with digital ownership, rights and conflict resolution still based on existing laws.

Law as History

Pistors own academic background in comparative law appears crucial to her appreciation of how various societies have coped with different challenges, including the normative or ethical choices involved.

Her legal history of capital considers different perspectives and influences. While legal coding has been mis-used by asset owners, lawyers and states, it can also help address such abuses.

The future of capital rests on evolving complex relations and interlinkages among laws, the stakeholders involved as well as related ideologies and perspectives.

Professor Pistor has greatly advanced our shared dialectical understanding of how legal codes  essentially ideological constructs  consolidate, define and transform social relations in order to advance, extend and accelerate capital accumulation, in other words, make history.
Hours after Gov. Jay Inslee, D, ordered Washington state residents to cover their faces in public, a Republican sheriff in a rural swath of the state's southwest suggested they should be doing no such thing.

"Here's what I say," Lewis County Sheriff Robert Snaza told the crowd outside a church Tuesday, carrying a megaphone and sporting his green and beige uniform but no face mask. "Don't be a sheep."

Few of the people cheering on Snaza covered their faces either, according to video of the scene taken by the Daily Chronicle of Centralia, Wash. Indeed, the words on a billboard above the crowd seemed to capture their feeling about the pandemic: "Oh, no! A virus. Quick - burn the bill of rights."

With coronavirus infections rapidly spreading across the American South and West and more states making masks a requirement, dozens of sheriffs like Snaza are staging a rebellion against state governments. An adherence to their interpretation of Constitution, they say, comes before any kind of public health advice.

Since April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said people should cover their faces in public to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 122,000 people in the United States to date. But Snaza said he did not believe masks were effective, arguing they should be optional instead.

"My frustration is we continue to listen to the governor's requests without asking questions, without saying: 'Well wait a minute, there's the other side to this,' " Snaza told Oregon Public Broadcasting.

He is not alone. In Nevada and North Carolina on Thursday, multiple sheriffs said their Democratic governors' mask requirements were "unconstitutional and unenforceable." After five California counties ignored a similar directive, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D, threatened to withhold state funds. Another Washington state sheriff called Inslee an "idiot."

As they battle through viral Facebook posts and appearances on local TV and radio, these mostly Republican sheriffs have effectively blocked their governors' orders. If they refuse to enforce their rules, it is unclear who else will.

Public health officials have insisted that masks are an easy way to protect the whole population.

"Everybody should wear a mask when out public," Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease specialist, told the Sacramento Press Club this week. "It should not be a political issue. It is purely a public health issue."

At a news conference Wednesday, Inslee spoke out against the sheriffs objecting to his "Mask Up, Washington" campaign, saying that mask wearers should not be compared to "barnyard animals."

"We have to be disappointed in any law enforcement officer who would encourage illegal behavior," Inslee said. Mask wearing, he added, "is about demonstrating our respect and care for the other people around us."

Still, two Washington sheriffs insisted they can only "educate" residents instead of strictly enforcing the mask order. Snaza's twin brother, who heads up the sheriff's department in a neighboring county, said he will not require his own deputies to cover their faces, fearing it could put the officers in jeopardy in high-risk situations.

In North Carolina, at least 10 sheriffs this week said they would not be carrying out a similar directive from Gov. Roy Cooper, D. The minor nature of the offenses as well as a lack of resources, many said, meant they had more serious things to worry about.

"I certainly encourage people to be careful and take safety precautions," Wes Tripp, sheriff of Halifax County, wrote on social media, according to WWBT. "The wearing of a mask is a personal decision, not one of a governor in Raleigh."

While a wave of newly elected black Democratic sheriffs has radically changed the face of law enforcement in North Carolina, many of those who spoke out against Cooper's mask order were white, male and Republican.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

But joining them was Paula Dance, the Democratic sheriff in Pitt County, who in 2018 was elected as the first black female sheriff in the state's history.

"These are very tense and polarizing times in so many ways," she wrote in a memo to residents of her county, in North Carolina's mostly agricultural eastern end. "So many issues in 2020 have tried to divide us. I pray we prove once again that the people of Pitt County are better than this and can rise above the conflicts of elsewhere."

The trend of "constitutionalist sheriffs" standing up against state laws is hardly new. Many of the country's most prominent law enforcement officials, like Arizona's Joe Arpaio, rose to fame on such campaigns.

But the pandemic has created a particularly ripe opportunity to rebel against left-leaning governors, as law enforcement officials feel emboldened to speak up on behalf of the more conservative voters who brought them into office.

A May analysis by the Marshall Project found that at least 60 sheriffs across more than a dozen states were publicly resisting stay-at-home orders and other virus-related restrictions issued by governors. Three-quarters of those sheriffs were in states governed by Democrats.

As NPR has reported, sheriffs can give voice to political frustration that is especially tangible in more conservative, rural areas - including those in Washington and North Carolina - where top state officials were voted in by an urban majority.

Some scholars, however, also trace the sheriffs' refusal to enforce laws they disagree with back to more sinister roots: from the Ku Klux Klan to the far-right Posse Comitatus movement of the 1980s and eventually the quiet founding of a group for hundreds of sheriffs who refuse to enforce all laws they find unconstitutional.

Since his speech Tuesday, Sheriff Robert Snaza clarified that he wants to take the mask order on a case-by-case basis - while getting people to think, too.

"Just because I said 'don't be sheep' does not mean that I'm outwardly saying I want you to violate the orders," Snaza told OPB.
New Orleans police task force officers routinely stop people on a questionable legal basis, engage in unsafe practices, keep shoddy records and operate with lax supervision, according to a report released Friday by federal monitors.

Near-identical problems were identified in a report nine years ago by the U.S. Department of Justice that spurred the New Orleans Police Department reform process, the monitors said, and they are so severe now as to require "immediate personal attention" from Superintendent Shaun Ferguson, who is faulted for failing to hold district captains accountable.

High-profile incidents -- including court cases where judges called out French Quarter cops for unjustified arrests, a tactically questionable raid in April that ended with a domestic violence suspect shooting an officer, and a car chase and fatal, fiery crash at a Broadmoor hair salon last year -- "speak volumes" about the need for lieutenants and sergeants to get a handle on their units, the monitors said.

In a response included with the monitors' report, the NOPD said it concurred with the findings and promised a raft of policy changes -- including possibly doing away with district task forces altogether.

Supervision has for years remained one of the highest hurdles for the NOPDs court-ordered reform agreement with the federal government, known as a consent decree. The monitors, who were appointed by U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan, said it was time for the NOPD to stop dragging its feet and take action.

"The NOPD obviously has its hands full with the cyber-attack and the COVID-19 pandemic response," they said. "But these events further highlight the need for close and effective supervision. One need only look back to Katrina to see how ineffective supervision in the face of an emergency situation can lead to disaster. We continue to be surprised the department has not made supervision generally -- and the operations of its task forces in particular -- more of a priority."

The monitors said that, if the NOPD commits to fixing the flaws highlighted in the report, it can do so in an efficient manner.

Why NOPD changed French Quarter commanders: alleged relationship with subordinate and payroll fraud Octavio Baldassaros short tenure as top cop in the French Quarter ended unceremoniously in March, when he was quietly stripped of his command.

While the report was based on an audit of one week of police work in late November by task forces in four of eight geographic districts, the monitors said the problems uncovered were so widespread that they represented a department-wide culture problem.

The monitors didnt name individual supervisors or officers. But they said the same problems kept popping up across the various task forces.

There were questionable stops and frisks of people on the street, poor planning for operations -- including at least one high-risk search warrant mission -- unofficial or missing uniforms, bad record-keeping and missing oversight from sergeants, lieutenants and district captains.

Guidance from above was so lacking that in one instance, a body-worn camera captured one officer calling another to ask what he wants to do today.

The monitors said theyd shared more detailed findings with the NOPD and in five instances referred officers to the departments Public Integrity Bureau, which investigates cops for administrative and criminal violations.

The referrals involved a residential raid with "improper searches," a "potentially pretextual stop," two "questionable" searches of suspects and a drug investigation where task force officers turned off their body-worn cameras.

The NOPD didnt comment Friday on whether the bureau has opened administrative or criminal investigations as a result.

The monitoring team's report comes at a sensitive time for Ferguson, who had hoped Morgan would agree that the NOPD has reached substantial compliance with the department's 2012 reform agreement, known as a consent decree.

At a court hearing in December, Morgan said the NOPD appeared to be on track to bring the reform process into its final stage this year. Her seal of approval would set the NOPD on a course for complete independence in two years.

+2 NOPD task forces under a glare as troubles highlight limits of federal consent decree As the New Orleans Police Department braces for the release of a damaging federal monitors report on its proactive police squads, new questio

But Ferguson's troubles have only worsened since May, when he warned that the report was coming. Galvanized by the death of George Floyd under a policeman's knee in Minneapolis, protesters have taken to the streets calling for radical changes to policing in America. In New Orleans, the force has also been criticized for a June 3 confrontation on the Crescent City Connection approach that ended with police unleashing tear gas and rubber projectiles.

The NOPD has historically had task forces in each of its eight police districts that try to stop crime proactively by roving through crime hot spots and well-trafficked locales like the French Quarter, rather than simply responding to calls for service. But last month, aware of the impending report, Ferguson benched the task force units and promised to retrain them in response to the monitors' findings. For now, task force officers are responding to calls for service.

The department hasnt answered questions about how many officers were reassigned.

Deputy Superintendent John Thomas is leading an internal review on the future of the task force units. The monitors said they expect a response on whether the NOPD plans to reinstate them by Aug. 10.

If the special units are ever to return, the monitors said, the NOPD must prove that they are "well managed and well supervised; that they engage in constitutional policing; that they wear appropriate uniforms and safety equipment; and that the unhealthy culture that seems to be developing in some task force units has changed."

The NOPD said that if it brings the units back, it will give each of them specific, time-limited missions and require beefed up supervision, including random checks of officers body-worn cameras and more oversight by district captains and a special audit bureau. Cops would have to apply and pass a vetting process to serve in those units.

A name change may be in order to reflect a new and more focused mission, the NOPD said.

The monitors also harped on one of their longtime hobbyhorses: the NOPD promotion process, which relies on standardized, written tests.

Police associations say those tests are crucial to promoting supervisors on merit and avoiding political favoritism. But the monitors said Ferguson has placed far too much emphasis on test scores in lieu of a more holistic approach that would review a cops full resume.

The NOPD said it would adopt the monitors recommendations in its next round of promotions to lieutenant.

That drew concern from Donovan Livaccari, the spokesman for the local lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police. He said that while certain officers might be more suited for particular supervision roles than others, theres nothing wrong with relying on an objective test.

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+2 NOPD chief addresses 'injustices faced by black men' after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson on Friday joined law enforcement officials from across the country who have responded to a po

The monitors said their concerns about the task forces have been bubbling up for years in ride-alongs and conversations with cops, but the NOPD has long dragged its feet in addressing them.

Their concerns boiled over -- and the monitors decided to launch a full-blown audit -- after task force cops based in Central Citys 6th District decided to chase after youths in a stolen car that ended with them crashing into the Unity One Beauty Supply salon in Broadmoor. The teens and a salon patron died in the crash and resulting fire.

The car chase was never approved by a supervisor, and Ferguson disciplined or fired all four officers involved. He said that the cops had a pattern of chasing cars in violation of NOPD policy and turning off their cameras to cover their tracks.

In addition to Unity One, the report also mentioned two other problematic incidents involving district task forces.

Comments about one incident match the description the department has given so far of an April 21 shootout between police and an alleged domestic batterer that left one officer with a serious gunshot wound to his arm.

Task force officers directed the operation to arrest Horace Toppins IV in a New Orleans East apartment, according to the monitors. But they went in without a plan, without proper uniforms, without bulletproof vests and without enough focus on their safety or of the bystanders inside.

And, apparently, the task force officers directed two patrol officers to join them in this high-risk activity without any meaningful operational briefing, putting those two officers at great personal risk as well, the monitors said.

Body-worn camera video revealed that the officer in the front of the raid was wearing a Nike t-shirt rather than department-issue garb.

The monitors also cited reporting in this newspaper about questions criminal defense attorneys have raised about a small group of task force officers assigned to patrol the French Quarter.

In one video, task force officers appeared to get their story straight about the justification for the arrest of a man on Bourbon Street for a gun and drugs. One judge later said the video showed officers trying to fabricate a reason for the arrest.

New Orleans task force officers to be trained after problematic allegations, NOPD chief says New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said Tuesday that all police task force members will receive special training after alleged i

Ferguson took the officers involved off the street, and theyre under a criminal investigation that remains open, the monitors noted.

But, if true, the story yet again highlights the culture of NOPD task forces and the dangers of insufficient supervision, the monitors said.

Despite the scathing report, Mayor LaToya Cantrell remains determined to end oversight from the monitors. In remarks on Thursday, she said she was convinced that reforms are now deeply embedded in the police departments fabric. She hopes to divert the money spent on the monitoring team to public safety and public health in light of the economic crisis.

The end has to come, and the need for other departments to get to where we are is great, so focus attention elsewhere, get the bear out of our pocket and allow us to meet the needs of our people," she said.

The latest monitoring contract, which was awarded to a private law firm in Washington, D.C., cost about $6.4 million over three years, compared to the NOPDs budget of $193 million this year.

Rafael Goyeneche, the president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, said Cantrells financial concerns were unlikely to sway the federal judge who has the power to bring the consent decree to an end.

The mayor arguing that it costs too much money is not going to be persuasive to anybody, he said. The focus should be in fixing problems like this and achieving substantial compliance.

Goyeneche said he believes some of the departments problems may stem from the relative inexperience of officers promoted in the past few years to oversee an influx of new cops brought in under a hiring spree. But hes certain the task force units will return in some shape or form, since residents expect the NOPD to try to prevent crime.

After extremely troubling allegations, NOPD chief reassigns task force officers New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said Monday that he was immediately reassigning all of the departments task force officers t

This is an area that was overlooked for a period of time, and its an embarrassment for the department, he said. Its a setback to public safety to not have these proactive capabilities available for a period of time.

Livaccari, who represents rank-and-file cops, also thought the task forces would be back.

Unfortunately in New Orleans, we have way too much gun violence, and its hard to address the gun violence without addressing guns or trying to get guns off the street, and its hard to do that if youre just being reactive instead of proactive, he said.

But a longtime civil rights lawyer whos repeatedly sued the NOPD over police shootings, Glenn McGovern, said the NOPD should discontinue the units. Hes handled civil suits for the families of Adolph Grimes III, who was killed by members of a special plainclothes district squad in 2009, and Arties Manning III, who was killed by a member of an anti-robbery task force in 2017.

The latter unit -- known as TIGER -- wasnt specifically examined in Fridays report, although the NOPD said it was developing methods to assess and monitor it as well.

Theyre a bunch of cowboys  They think theyre special. They think theyre above the rules, McGovern said. It just goes against everything about how our police departments supposed to operate.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices rose on Friday amid signs that fuel consumption is picking up pace due to resumption of economic activity. However, rising number of new coronavirus cases in the United States and China as well as the prospect of increased U.S. crude production kept overall gains in check. Benchmark Brent crude rose 0.9 percent to $41.42 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 0.8 percent at $39.02. Fuel demand is accelerating, with gasoline demand rising week over week, as coronavirus lockdowns ease around the world. Road traffic in some of the world's major cities in June had returned to 2019 levels, data provided to Reuters by location technology company TomTom showed. On the flip side, there are fears a surge in Covid-19 infections in some U.S. states such as Florida and Texas could stall the demand recovery. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the worst of the coronavirus crisis may be over for the world, but the recovery will be restrained and incomplete. 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.
Representative Ted Deutch, D-Fla., speaks in Washington, D.C., Jan. 28, 2020. He is one of four authors of the letter.

WASHINGTON (JTA) - House Democrats have put together a letter that they hope will unite their entire caucus in warning Israel against annexation of part of the West Bank.

The letter, now circulating among the party's House caucus and obtained exclusively by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, warns Israel about the dangers annexation would pose to Israelis and to the region. But it does not hint at any danger to the U.S.-Israel relationship and restates the signers' commitment to the relationship.

The House formulation comes just weeks after a letter with much tougher language failed to garner a...
In a virtual meeting livestreamed by local television, chief minister Fabian Picardo spoke to the House of Lords EU Committee on Thursday about the negotiations for the future relationship between the UK and EU and their implications for Gibraltar. He was accompanied by deputy chief minister Dr Joseph Garcia, Attorney General Michael Llamas and Financial Secretary Albert Mena. The EU Committee was chaired by Lord Kinnoull.

Picardo told the Lords committee that Gibraltar had prepared for a hard Brexit, although he hoped it would not happen as it would be bad for Britain, Gibraltar and the EU. However, he assured them that Gibraltar would thrive even without a trading agreement with the EU. He also stressed that his government is closely involved in all aspects of the negotiations which relate to Gibraltar and that communications with the UK have been "seamless" and did not stop during the coronavirus crisis.

The chief minister brought the Lords EU Committee up to date with the committees established under the Memoranda of Understanding which run alongside the Gibraltar Protocol, saying that the first meeting in Algeciras between representatives from Gibraltar, Spain and the UK was held in a convivial and constructive atmosphere, and the next one will take place in Gibraltar later this month. He also explained that the MoU concerning citizens' rights has been working very well.

He also said he is "pleased and gratified" that the relationship between Spain and Gibraltar has matured and that during the coronavirus crisis he was able to speak directly with Spanish ministers and public health.
Covid-19 mutates into a political disaster in Fort Bend County

The Covid-19 pandemic carries no political label, but a routine process of Fort Bend Countys Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency got mired in to a political, legal and to some extent, even a fact controversy.



Fort Bend County Judge KP George on Tuesday, June 23,at 5 p.m. at a press conference announced the disaster declaration and an Order Regarding Use of Facial Protection.



The county commissioners court met Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m., by which time the county judge had decided to issue new disaster declaration and facial covering order, but kept the commissioners in the dark about the impending disaster declaration.



Caught by surprise and a perceived insult, Commissioner Vincent Morales and Commissioner Andy Meyers publicly challenged the validity and necessity of the disaster declaration.



My office has been receiving a lot of inquiries about the new county judge regulations on mandatory masks. We fully encourage our residents and our business owners to continue to be safe and to exercise your judgment in how you conduct your daily activities, and we are working through the County Attorney's office to try and get more clarification on yesterday's surprise news. However, please note that yesterday's Declaration of Disaster and following Mask Order was ordered by County Judge KP George and not the Fort Bend County Commissioners Court. Commissioners have been kept in the dark about what decisions are being made on this new order, and no public meeting has been held to try and work through all of the issues it has created. It is my understanding that a media advisory and a conference call with local mayors was held yesterday afternoon, but I had no advance knowledge of those actions, Morales said in a statement.



Meyers said, Like other county officials and department heads, my office phone has been blowing up since yesterday's surprise announcement from County Judge KP George. I have taken this entire day to gather what information I can, to speak with the Judge, and to weigh out the several issues I have with the Judges actions:



- Putting punitive financial burdens on businesses is the wrong approach.



- Keeping the Commissioners Court excluded from the decision process is the wrong approach.



- Changing his declared order after it was notarized is the wrong approach.



Judge George did not inform the other members of Commissioners Court of his impending action on June 23rd, even though he had ample opportunity since there was a Closed Session Item on the issue on the Courts June 23rd Agenda. Judge George refused to discuss the issue in that session. Judge George confirmed to me today during his phone call, that he did this intentionally, Meyers said.



George, and the county attorney, did not think it was necessary to get the commissioners court approval for the new disaster declaration.



George could have still done it as matter of courtesy to the commissioners or to make the disaster application appear bipartisan or inclusive, but he chose political expediency in exercising his official capacity of county judge.



But, taking the matter to the commissioners court was risky for George and he knew that Meyers and Morales would not support the disaster declaration. He could have still gotten the disaster declaration approved by the 3-member majority of the Democrats on the commissioners court, as had been done on several items in the past.



But, to the ill-luck of George, Commissioner Grady Prestage is ill and he did not attend the commissioners court on Tuesday. In fact, Meyers announced in the court that Prestage was ill and recovering at him and wished him god speed recovery.



In the absence of Prestage, Georges disaster declaration would have failed on a 2-2 tie, with Commissioner Ken R. DeMerchant siding with George, and Republicans Morales and Meyers voting against it.



Another point to note here is that George had done a Facebook survey on the proposed order and marshalled the support of Fort Bend County Medical Society, the chosen faith leaders, and big businesses like HEB and Kroger, but could not or did not get the opinion of the commissioners.



Meyers raised a legal question with the County Attorney Roy Cordes that the county judge had no authority to extend an expired order under the garb of a new disaster, but Cordes disagreed with that interpretation.



A part of the order reads: Whereas, after expiration of the Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency issued on March 12, 2020 and extended by Fort Bend County Commissioners Court, the County Judge subsequently issued an additional Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency on June 23, 2020, to implement recommendations to slow the continued rapid spread of COVID-19.



The disaster is the same pandemic as it was in the original disaster declaration. In fact the wordings in both the old and new declarations are similar, except that the new declaration has this citation: WHEREAS, after months of community spread, increase in rates of positive results from test, more symptomatic cases, additional measures must be taken to contain COVID-19 and prevent its spread throughout Fort Bend County.



If common sense is applied here, the disaster is the same as the previous one and the old disaster declaration could have been resurrected by a simple commissioners court majority.



But, George relied on the legal opinion that he can issue a new declaration, by assuming that the previous disaster legally ended with its expiry or on-renewal.



That the judges order is valid only for seven days and has to be extended by commissioners court implies that the judge has no authority to extend it, according to Meyers.



Further, the official order may merely end up on the paper because of poor implementation or lack of enforcement of the order. Though the District Attorney would prosecute, if someone is charged, would the law enforcement execute the order and issue citations?



The validity of Georges order hinges on finding of the fact that the alleged spike in Covid-19 cases rose to the level of a new disaster and thus, he had the right to issue the order.



The cause for the new disaster declaration, mentioned in the order is: After months of community spread, increase in rates of positive results from test, more symptomatic cases



Fort Bend County Health & Human Services does not have any data to support this statement. Admittedly, the county has relied on data from the region and the state, not necessarily pertaining to Fort Bend.



The upswing in the hospitalization of Covid-19 cases has caused concern among hospitals, and that justifies a renewed public advisory ensure social distancing and use of masks to slow down the spread of the virus.



An emergency advisory may have been a politically savvy move and it could have elicited same, if not, more compliance than the mandatory order.



Finally, a lighter note. The original declaration contained a spelling error., "Disaster" was spelled as "Disasster." The notarized and posted order was subsequently altered to correct the spelling and some other minor errors.



This led to another complaint of changing the order after it was officially announced.



For those worried about the pandemic, though all may not be well, it may end well.



The CEOs of Houston Methodist, Memorial Hermann Health System, St. Lukes Health and Texas Childrens Hospital in Houston reassured the public on Thursday that the systems are ready to handle whatever may come and hat they are in good shape to handle a surge of coronavirus patients if it happens.



Recently, numbers released by the Texas Medical Center showed that 97% of intensive-care beds were occupied and the numbers were on track to exceed 100% in the future.Dr. Marc Boom, of Houston Methodist, said those numbers dont fully tell the capacity story.



Just that number is being misinterpreted and, quite frankly, were concerned that there is a level of alarm in the community that is unwarranted right now, Boom said, KPRC TV, Click2Houston.com




The family of Karen Gilliland, who was allegedly murdered by her estranged husband this week, say the care of her three children is now their "only focus and priority".

Police allege the 42-year-old nurse was stabbed several times in her Brae Street home in Rockhampton on Tuesday night, with two of the children witnessing the "tragic" attack.

Nigel Gilliland, 45, was taken into custody later that night in a nearby street, after a two-hour search involving the dog squad.

He underwent surgery in the same hospital Ms Gilliland had worked  for what were believed to be self-inflicted wounds  before being charged with murder and remanded in custody on Thursday.
Friends fans will know that Mike Hannigan (or Crap Bag as he briefly renamed himself in The One With Princess Consuela) was an essential part of the shows final two seasons.

But actor Paul Rudd, who brought the character to life, apparently didnt think his role was all that important.

In something like Friends, the show was about them, the 51-year-old said during an interview with Avengers co-star Chris Evans for Varietys Actors on Actors series. But its an interesting thing to be a part of. I was only in it for just a blip, Rudd added.

Getty Images

I felt like, I just dont want to get in the way. Im like a prop on this show, its not about Mike Hannigan, he said of his character, who was first introduced as a love interest for Lisa Kudrows Phoebe Buffay during the shows ninth season.

But theres a very interesting feeling to be a part of something that has that kind of profound impact on pop culture. I experienced that with Avengers, too, Rudd added.

Paul Rudd with Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc / NBCUniversal

Last year, Rudd revealed to Metro UK that he had initially only been signed to appear in two episodes of Friends. I have really fond memories, but doing that many episodes? That was news to me, said Rudd, who would go on to appear in 17 episodes, including a brief appearance in the shows final episode.

It was never the original idea. I only ever signed on for two episodes but they kept writing more and had more ideas for that character, Rudd shared of how Mike Hannigan became a series regular.

Paul Rudd with David Schwimmer

Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow also sat down to interview one another for Actors on Actors, where they briefly discussed the upcoming Friends reunion.

While filming for the HBO Max special has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Aniston and Kudrow confirmed that the reunion (which will include Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer) will not be scripted.

Paul Rudd with the cast of Friends during the series finale

We dont know everything about it, we need to say. I think were meant to be surprised by some things as well, Kudrow said.

I will not be Rachel, although I kind of am, Aniston added. Well, were all sort of little fragments of them."
The Marin County schools superintendent was gushing.

Isnt it just great? Mary Jane Burke asked, as she summarized the countys recommendation to reopen schools and bring all kids back to classrooms full time in the fall, with masks and social distancing.

Marin was among the first counties in the state to release such a specific plan for a return to in-class instruction, a nearly back-to-normal environment, with more liberal guidelines than recommended by the state.

Despite Burkes optimism, the plan sparked immediate resistance and a heated debate, one playing out in virtually every district across the state, over what is an acceptable level of risk for students and staff  and at what point do the benefits of in-class instruction outweigh the concerns over the coronavirus spreading.

That means, based on budgets, available space, labor agreements and local health guidance, some districts will start the year fully online while others will bring all kids back to class full-time with safety measures in place. Still others will adopt a hybrid plan somewhere in the middle. In some cases, decisions could reflect increasing case counts or the status of reopening, which varies among counties.

There is no perfect plan, officials say, and its a guessing game likely to draw community ire regardless of which direction a district goes.

In Marin County, the plan emphasizes getting all kids back in class, with cohorts of students staying with their teachers, desks 4 feet apart rather than the 6 recommended by the state, as well as temperature checks, handwashing and other safety measures in place. If someone comes down with the coronavirus, the cohort would be sent home for a 14-day quarantine, rather than the whole school.

Each of the countys 18 districts is now considering whether to adopt or modify the plan, depending on space, staffing and other considerations.

The Marin County guidelines, released last week, were a dream scenario for weary parents eagerly anticipating the return of the sack lunch and seven-hour school day, but the plan drew immediate fire from many in the community who recoiled at the idea of 25 kids or more in a classroom five days a week as the coronavirus continues to circulate across the country.

Theres been a mixed response, said Dr. Matt Willis, the countys health director. Some people feel were opening too fast, some feel were opening too slowly.

Willis and Burke said they believe the scales have tipped toward reopening with children back in school five days a week.

But many teachers were wary, arguing the county guidelines were more liberal than those of the state and could put students and staff at risk.

Its a gamble with the health of students and their extended families, and teachers and their extended families, said Andrea Gough, a Marin County middle school teacher. I feel evidence isnt being put out there to justify this decision to squeeze large numbers of students into classrooms that cannot accommodate them at a 6-foot distance.

While county officials recommend outdoor learning as much as possible, students will still be in classrooms for hours each day, within feet of each other  which health experts say is a high-risk environment, despite masks.

In middle and high schools, students would be exposed to an even larger cohort, perhaps 100 or more as they move between classes, according to the guidelines.

Its unclear how many of the Marin County districts will adopt the guidelines. They were a bit of a shock to teachers, said Jim Hogeboom, superintendent of San Rafael City Schools. The district is still in the planning stages and taking the guidelines into consideration.

Teachers are afraid, he said. There are a million questions. Are you going to clean the bathroom every time a kid goes in there?

The districts board is expected to decide on a plan in late July, Hogeboom said. His best guess is they will bring back elementary students to the smallest class size possible and do a modified in-person schedule in upper grades, incorporating some kind of distance learning.

The bottom line is we dont know now, he said. We need some more time.

San Rafael parent Monica Jones needs more time, too.

Its so early, she said. I dont know where things are going with the virus. Things seem to be getting worse.

Jones has three children in Marin County schools, two in high school and one in middle school. She wants them back in class. They want to be back in class.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

How can I send my kids back, but my company isn't prepared for us to come back? she said, adding shes in wait-and-see mode. Ill most likely abide by what (the districts) are doing, assuming its in line in terms of the numbers and the science behind it.

The science, though, can add to confusion. This coronavirus has only existed in humans for about seven months, and much is not yet known about how it affects children in particular.

Studies suggest that children are both less likely to be infected and suffer less serious illness when they do get sick.

Kids are very often the source of other respiratory illnesses that get shared well beyond the classroom. That may or may not prove true with the coronavirus, too. But it will be hard to know that for sure until schools reopen, infectious disease experts said.

I dont think well know until we get the kids back in school and see what happens when theres a larger reservoir of people who may get the virus, said Dr. Lorry Frankel, head of the department of pediatrics at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco.

Among the most important unknowns is whether children who are infected but dont have obvious symptoms of illness are likely to spread the virus, said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Stanford.

Obviously, nobodys going to send a child whos sick to school, she said. But how often will children be asymptomatic, and if they come to school then, will they be able to transmit to other kids?

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

Infectious-disease experts note that though kids may not be especially vulnerable to serious illness from the coronavirus, the same cant necessarily be said for their teachers and other school staff.

District officials will have to navigate those unknowns as well as a seemingly endless number of roadblocks and challenges related to reopening, regardless of which path they choose.

Those who lean toward in-class instruction will have to address the possibility that not all teachers will want or be able to come back because of health concerns.

Those adopting hybrid plans will have to consider how teachers will instruct both in person and online during a given week and how to deal with transportation, family issues and child care if students go to school only two days a week.

All districts will probably have to offer some form of distance learning for students with underlying health conditions, which increase risks related to the coronavirus.

Many districts are still weeks away from deciding. San Francisco expects the board to adopt a plan in mid- to late July.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

In the Sausalito Marin City School District, officials have already been testing their plan to bring all kids back full time, with 12 students per classroom.

The district, which has only one school and 115 students total in grades K-8, piloted in-person learning in late May and early June, and currently is operating in-person summer programs, said Superintendent Itoco Garcia.

The district will be able to reduce class sizes to 12 because they have the space and as a Basic Aid district that gets to keep extra property tax revenue, they have the money, or an annual budget of $5 million, which pencils out to $44,000 per student.

Some districts are facing budget shortfalls and cuts, meaning adding staff or reducing class sizes will be financially difficult if not impossible.

We do have a plan to reopen for all students five days a week, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. beginning in the fall, Garcia said. We believe it is the safest, most responsible way for us to run school.

Garcia acknowledged the health concerns among some in the community, but noted there are always safety issues in schools and there is no scenario that is risk free.

Our No. 1 job is to make sure our kids and our staff get home safe every day, Garcia said. On the one hand, yes, COVID-19 is an additional concern, and on the other hand, it goes on the list of things that I mitigate the risk for every day.

Jill Tucker and Erin Allday are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com, eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker, @erinallday
Venezuela warns of 'forceful' response after US Navy operation

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 25 June 2020 8:18 AM

Venezuela has warned of a "forceful" response after a US Navy ship navigated close to the Latin American country's territorial waters, a move denounced by Caracas as a provocation.

The US Southern Command announced in a statement on Tuesday that the missile destroyer Nitze had conducted a "freedom of navigation" operation in the vicinity of Venezuela's coast.

The Southern Command claimed that the vessel had sailed in an area outside of Venezuela's territorial waters.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino seemed to counter that claim on Wednesday.

"A US Navy destroyer approached within 30 miles of the coast, in a clear act of provocation. It cannot be termed otherwise it is a clear defiant act," Padrino said during a military ceremony in the northern Carabobo State.

He warned that if the destroyer ventured to conduct "military operations" in Venezuelan waters "it will receive a forceful response from our Armed Forces."

The US Navy sailed the vessel near Venezuela after an Iranian cargo ship arrived in the country. Earlier, five Iranian tankers had delivered much-needed fuel to Venezuela, defying US sanctions and pressure.

The US administration has been attempting to overthrow the democratically-elected government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, including with harsh sanctions on the country's oil industry. Washington has also threatened military force.

Last month, a group of mercenaries attempted to intrude into the northern Venezuelan state of La Guaira on speedboats in a gung-ho operation to kidnap Maduro. Venezuela's military foiled that attack, killing eight of the armed men and arresting several others, including two US citizens.

The contract under which the mercenaries carried out the attack bore the signature of Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaido, who plunged the country into political turmoil after he unilaterally declared himself "interim president" of Venezuela in January last year.

Guaido, with Washington's assistance and receiving help from a small number of rogue soldiers, later launched a botched putsch against the elected government.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has so far imposed several rounds of sanctions against Venezuela.

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Exit polls indicate no clear winner in Israeli elections: Will it end the Netanyahu era?

Israel-UAE to announce partnership to fight COVID-19

International

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Jerusalem, June 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his government and the United Arab Emirates will soon announce a partnership in the fight against the coronavirus.

The deal, which the UAE later said involved two private companies, comes despite recent warnings from UAE officials that Israel's planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank would harm its efforts to improve relations with Arab states.

Committed to help humanitys fight against COVID-19, says PM Modi to Netanyahu, Bolsonaro

In a speech to graduating Israeli fighter pilots, Netanyahu said an announcement was expected in a few moments and came after months of intense contacts.

This collaboration will be in the fields of research and development, technology, in areas that will improve the confidence in health throughout the region, he said.

Delhi CM cautions Covid patients, says oxygen drops suddenly in some cases | Oneindia News

The Emirates' state-run WAM news agency later published an item acknowledging two private firms signed a deal with two Israeli companies to develop research and technology to fight COVID-19," the illness caused by the coronavirus. The announcement did not name the firms.

As a result of the pandemic's spread worldwide, it is imperative to place the protection of humanity at the forefront of global action to overcome this unprecedented crisis, WAM said.

It's unclear what that research will involve. The UAE has been working closely with China on the virus.

Validation of rapid antigen detection tests for COVID-19: ICMR invites applications from manufacturers

Israel and the UAE, home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, do not have formal diplomatic relations, but they are believed to maintain close behind-the-scenes contacts because of their shared concerns about Iran.

Earlier this month, the UAE's ambassador to the United States published an op-ed in an Israeli newspaper confirming that ties had improved but warning Israel that proceeding with annexation would upend any efforts to normalise relations with Arab states.

Annexation will certainly and immediately upend Israeli aspirations for improved security, economic and cultural ties with the Arab world and with UAE, Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba wrote.

However, last week, another leading UAE official said it was open to cooperating with Israel on efforts to combat the coronavirus and other humanitarian issues despite the political disagreement over annexation.

Can I have a political disagreement with Israel but at the same time try and bridge other areas of the relationship? I think I can, Anwar Gargash, the UAE's minister of state for foreign affairs, said in an interview with the American Jewish Committee advocacy group.

Last month, the UAE sent a cargo plane to Israel loaded with coronavirus-related aid it said was destined for the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority said it could not receive the aid because there had been no prior coordination.

Netanyahu has vowed to annex all of Israel's far-flung settlements and the strategic Jordan Valley, which together amount to around 30% of the occupied West Bank.

President Donald Trump's Middle East plan endorsed the move, which has been rejected by the Palestinians and much of the international community.

Israel could begin the annexation process as soon as July 1, but the Trump administration may apply the brakes in an effort to revive peace negotiations. The UAE is a close and influential U.S. military ally.

Opponents of annexation say it would make it virtually impossible to create a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, territories seized by Israel in the 1967 war. A two-state solution is still widely seen as the only way of resolving the conflict.

Netanyahu has boasted of quietly improving ties with Arab states, but full normalisation still appears unlikely without a resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians.

Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab countries to have made peace with Israel. Jordan, another close U.S. ally, is staunchly opposed to any annexation, saying it would cause a massive conflict.

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Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 12:48 [IST]
OTTAWA - The Canadian Red Cross will send 900 people to work in Quebec's long-term care homes until September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA - The Canadian Red Cross will send 900 people to work in Quebec's long-term care homes until September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.

The announcement came as the military prepares to pull out of the homes, despite repeated requests from Premier Francois Legault to keep at least 1,000 Forces members there until the fall.

Canadian Armed Forces personnel arrive at the Villa Val des Arbes seniors residence, Monday, April 20, 2020 in Laval, Que. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Canadian Red Cross will send 900 people to work in Quebec's long-term care homes until September.The announcement comes as the military prepares to pull out of the homes, despite repeated requests from Premier Francois Legault to keep at least 1,000 Forces members there until the fall. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Trudeau said 150 Red Cross personnel would arrive before July 6, with the balance in place by July 29.

The Red Cross workers headed for Quebec will remain at the homes until Sept. 15, by which time thousands of workers hired by the province are expected to be trained and ready to take over the jobs.

Trudeau said a small number of Canadian Armed Forces personnel will remain at four of the care homes until the COVID-19 situation is stable, while 10 teams of seven will be ready to deploy in the case of an emergency.

He praised the work of the soldiers, who were deployed to 47 Quebec care homes, known as CHSLDs, as well as to several homes in Ontario.

"Overall, the situation in the CHSLDs has greatly improved," he said at a visit to an Ottawa craft brewery. "The needs are no longer the same as they were two months ago."

More than 3,730 people have died of COVID-19 in Quebec's care homes, which have long suffered from a lack of staff.

Trudeau said the replacement of Armed Forces personnel with civilians was part of a "transition plan" created in conjunction with the province that would allow the soldiers to return to their regular duties.

The workers will be paid from the $100 million in federal funding the government announced for the Red Cross in May to help it meet the demand created by COVID-19.

Conrad Sauve, the president and CEO of the Canadian Red Cross, said the first 150 workers have already been recruited and their training will begin next week.

Sauve said he is confident the group will find 900 people to help in Quebec's care homes by the end of July, but he didn't offer any guarantees.

"There is nothing that makes us believe we won't reach those figures as we move ahead," he said.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said there is "strong and growing evidence" that the crisis in Quebec's long-term care homes is under control.

But he said there is still work to do.

"I want the people of Quebec to understand that we, the Quebec government and the Canadian Red Cross remain absolutely committed to the health and safety of those citizens," Blair said.

The novel coronavirus has hit Quebec the hardest of all provinces, and the government's decision earlier this week to report case numbers weekly instead of daily caught many by surprise.

Health Minister Christian Dube announced on Twitter on Friday that he had listened, and starting Monday the province will resume daily updates on the numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, our government has always been transparent. We are going to continue to be so," Dube wrote.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2020.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) greets Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser during a joint news conference in advance of Friday's historic House vote on District of Columbia statehood bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 25, 2020.

House Democrats passed a bill Friday to make Washington, D.C., the 51st U.S. state, a historic move unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-held Senate.

The chamber approved it by a 232-180 vote.

The legislation would give Washington residents, who have long decried the fact that they pay federal taxes but have no voting representation in Congress, one House member and two senators. A smaller area encompassing the White House, U.S. Capitol, and other federal buildings and monuments would remain under U.S. oversight.

Washington's longtime nonvoting House delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced the bill, which would change the name of the district to the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth. In advocating for the legislation Friday, she noted that D.C.'s population of about 700,000 is larger than that of Wyoming or Vermont, and that the district pays more federal taxes than 22 states.

"As we approach July 4th, it is long past time to apply the nation's oldest slogan, 'no taxation without representation,' and the principle of consent of the governed to District of Columbia residents," Norton said.

GOP senators have opposed D.C. statehood and look unlikely to take up the legislation. President Donald Trump has also criticized the legislation.

But if Democrats can win control of the White House and Senate in November, D.C. could get another shot at becoming a state next year.

Republicans, who aim to keep control of the Senate this year as Democrats vie for a handful of seats, have often cited a desire not to see a heavily Democratic city gain two seats in the chamber.

"DC will never be a state," the president told the New York Post in May. "You mean District of Columbia, a state? Why? So we can have two more Democratic  Democrat senators and five more congressmen? No thank you. That'll never happen." (Washington would only have one House member, not five as Trump said.)

Some Democratic lawmakers saw GOP arguments against admitting D.C. as veiled efforts to deny representation to an area where nearly half the residents are Black.

Speaking on the House floor Friday, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said "race underlies every argument against D.C. statehood" and called a continued lack of representation an "injustice."

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The Chinese Embassy in Tanzania on Thursday donated COVID-19 protective facilities to 100 primary and secondary schools in the country's Dar es Salaam Region.



The donation consists of 100 sets of hand washing facilities and 550 liters of liquid hand soaps valued at 22 million Tanzanian shillings (about 9,500 U.S. dollars).

The donation, coordinated by project partners including Dar es Salaam regional authorities and Sukos Kova Foundation, will be sent to the schools before their reopening on June 29.

Wang Ke, the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, said the donation manifested Chinese care for the health of the students and teachers in primary and secondary schools in Tanzania.

Wang said since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has provided anti-epidemic supplies to Tanzania and organized several video conferences for Chinese and Tanzanian medical experts to exchange experience in epidemic control, and diagnosis and treatment, including using traditional medicine to treat COVID-19 patients.

Lawrence Malangwa, Dar es Salaam regional acting administrative secretary, thanked the Chinese embassy for the donation, saying the contribution proved again the long-standing China-Tanzania friendship.

Malangwa urged other stakeholders to emulate the generosity shown by the Chinese embassy by donating more COVID-19 protection facilities.




US to Iran: Seriously?

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said this week that he would negotiate with the United States if the Trump administration apologizes and compensates Iran for losses from US policies of maximum pressure.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said the prospects of the United States apologizing to or compensating Iran are not remotely serious, adding, Were happy to engage in conversations with them when the time is right, but the conditions that suggest somehow we give a bunch of money to the Iranians so they can foment terror around the world is simply ludicrous.

The State Department, meanwhile, released its annual country reports on terrorism, and Iran again held top billing. The report cited Irans support for Hezbollah, Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza, and various terrorist groups in Syria, Iraq, and throughout the Middle East, backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its Quds Force; the United States designated the IRGC, including the Quds Force, as a terrorist organization in April 2019.

The Trump administration continued its barrage of sanctions on Iran and its allies, announcing new penalties on Irans metals industry, subsidiaries and agents; companies and individuals delivering gasoline to Venezuela; and investors and supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as Elizabeth Hagedorn reports here.

Syria: Iran wont back down, and neither will Israel

Ali Hashem got the scoop this week that the Quds Force is "there to stay" in Syria. Irans intervention in Syria was not an uncalculated adventure, an IRGC source told Hashem, it was a calculated risk and for that reason Iran decided from day one not to have a 'Plan B' in Syria, and thats why despite the billions of dollars that were poured, the tens of thousands of fighters from across the world that were sent, the American and Israeli involvement, the name of Syrias president is still Bashar al-Assad, and we are in Syria upon his governments request. And Iran is in the meantime standing by Syria to face the economic war thats launched by the United States and its allies.

That the IRGC is in Syria has been top of mind for Israeli decision-makers, as Ben Caspit reports. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, like Iranian hard-liners, worries that after November, no matter who the next US president is, prospects for US-Iran diplomacy will increase. In the meantime, Israel is not letting up on its own version of maximum pressure in the form of periodic strikes (neither confirmed nor denied in Jerusalem) on Iranian and Iranian-backed groups and bases in Syria.

Iraq: Iran-backed militias under pressure

Today, Iraqi counterterrorism forces raided offices of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia in in southern Baghdad, as Ali Mamouri reports. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who previously headed the National Intelligence Service, is giving priority to establishing sovereignty and control over all armed groups in Iraq, and preventing any further threats and attacks on the US Embassy and American diplomatic and military personnel.

In the meantime, Iraq continues to seek ways to diversify its energy sources, without disrupting its relationship with Iran, on which it still relies for much of its electricity needs. Adnan Abu Zeed reports here on how General Electric is trying to assist Iraq with its energy needs, and Omar Sattar here on Iraqs energy diversification efforts with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

Iran: A different kind of pressure, from within

Like many countries, Iran is still reeling from COVID-19. Attempts to loosen restrictions on social movement are followed by spikes in cases. Iran now has had 10,239 deaths out of 217,724 registered cases, the highest death toll in the region, although the fatality rate of 4.7% falls slightly below the world average of 5%.

The IMF projects that Irans economy will shrink by 6% this year, after a contraction of 7.6% in 2019. The continued downturn is the result of US sanctions, the oil price decline and the COVID-19 pandemic. Ali Dadpay explains that in addition to these external constraints on the economy, the governments inability and overall unwillingness to reduce barriers to economic growth, reform public spending and deal with corruption means that Iranians can expect rising prices and declining income.

Rouhani also faces what Shervin Ghaffari describes as a new conservative era in Iranian parliamentary politics following elections earlier this year. The new Majles speaker is former Tehran Mayor Mohammad Ghalibaf, the first former IRGC general to take up that post, a sign of a new legislative consensus, and constituency, for more conservative policies at home and abroad. The parliament has a 76% conservative majority and now includes at least two dozen former and current IRGC members.

The new conservatives will probably blame Irans dire economic straits on Rouhani, and claim the countrys economic plight the result of the Iran nuclear deal and negotiating with Europe and the West, Rouhanis signature achievements until they werent. The conservatives positions will, in the end, reinforce the hard-line views of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and absent a major reset in Iranian politics over the next year, further diminish prospects for a Reformist comeback ahead of next years presidential elections (Rouhani, a moderate, cannot run for third term).

Trump: Still ready for "big deal" with Iran, but Rouhani boxed in

Following the June 5 release of Michael White, an American who had been held in Iran for two years on charges of insulting Khamenei, Trump tweeted, Thank you to Iran. Dont wait until after US Election to make the Big deal. Im going to win. Youll make a better deal now!

The deal for White was the second prisoner swap in six months, and the prospect of more might still have a pulse. On June 16, US envoy for Iran Brian Hook said he hoped for further prisoner exchanges and negotiations on the wide range of vexing issues in US-Iran relations.

Rouhanis apology request may have been a gesture to test American intentions to talk, but the Trump administration wasnt buying it. The conventional wisdom is that Iran will hold its diplomatic cards with Washington until after the US presidential elections in November, when Tehran will know with whom it will be dealing for the next four years.

The prospects of US-Iran talks, however, seem slim, as Rouhani, even if his offer was serious, is boxed in by both Khamenei, who rejects diplomacy with the US as "poison," and the new hard-line parliament (Majles), which backs the leaders views.

If anything is going to happen before November, or maybe even after, it will likely be in the back channels, and via the good offices of Switzerland, which represents US interests in Iran and has facilitated the successful exchanges.

Although Mark Fitzpatrick cautions about whether a "big deal" is possible so close to the election, Trump still might be able to bring more American prisoners home with some deft diplomacy.

And that would be a win-win for the United States and Iran, as well as overdue relief for those unjustly detained and their families.
NEW YORK, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY) is now soliciting nominations for candidates to serve on its Board of Directors (Board) for terms commencing on January 1, 2021, the FHLBNY announced in an electronic communication sent to its members on June 26, 2020.

"The depth and diversity of Board is key to the success of our franchise," said Jose R. Gonzalez, president and CEO of the FHLBNY. "Our Directors are active and engaged, providing our team with guidance and insight as we develop and execute on strategies and initiatives that benefit our entire cooperative. I encourage all of our members to participate in the election process."

In total, five Directorships  one seat representing the FHLBNY's New Jersey members, two seats representing the FHLBNY's New York members, and two Independent Directorships representing the whole District  are up for election in 2020.

The FHLBNY's official Certificate of Nomination was included in the communication sent to eligible members on June 26, 2020. Eligible New Jersey-based stockholders may, using the Certificate, nominate one person for the open New Jersey Member Directorship. Eligible New York-based stockholders may, again using the Certificate, nominate one person for each of the two open New York Member Directorships.

Separately, those individuals interested in being nominated for the two open Independent Directorships must first submit an Independent Director Application Form and a resume to the FHLBNY.

All electronic Certificates of Nomination must be submitted, and all emailed Independent Director Application Forms and resumes must be received by the FHLBNY, by 5:00 p.m. ET on July 28, 2020.

For more information on the election, including a copy of the Independent Director Application Form and a list of key election dates, see our Corporate Governance page at http://www.fhlbny.com/corporate-governance.

The FHLBNY's Board of Directors consists of a talented group of dedicated individuals that benefits from, among other things, demographic (including gender and racial) diversity, and the FHLBNY expects that this will continue in the future. As members consider potential nominations for Member Directorships and give thought to persons who might be interested in Independent Directorships, please keep diversity in mind.

Questions on the 2020 Director election process should be directed to Paul Friend, the FHLBNY's General Counsel, at [email protected].

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York

The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York is a Congressionally chartered, wholesale Bank. It is part of the Federal Home Loan Bank System, a national wholesale banking network of 11 regional, stockholder-owned banks. As of March 31, 2020, the FHLBNY serves 322 financial institutions in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Federal Home Loan Banks support the efforts of local members to help provide financing for America's homebuyers.

CONTACT: Brian Finnegan

(212) 441-6877

SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of New York

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Canberra, June 26 : Authorities on Friday raided the home and office of an Australian MP who is facing an investigation by national security agencies over alleged links to China, the media reported.

Shaoquett Moselmane, a New South Wales (NSW) state politician, belongs to the opposition Labor Party, reports the BBC.

Police and intelligence agencies said there was an "ongoing investigation", but did not give further details.

Labor leader, Jodi McKay, said possible allegations of Chinese government interference within Moselmane's office were "dreadfully concerning".

"This investigation needs to run its course. He will not sit in our caucus," she told reporters on Friday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he could not go into the details of the investigation but it had been "going on for some time".

"The government is absolutely determined to ensure that nobody interferes with Australia's activities," he said.

"We will stand up to it. And we will take action, as what you've seen today demonstrates." Earlier, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) and Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed the raids in Sydney, the BBC reported.

"This activity does not relate to any specific threat to the community," Asio said, adding it would not comment further.

The Sydney Morning Herald, which first reported the allegations, said the investigation had been running for months. No allegations had been proven, it added.

Relations between the two countries have been particularly fraught since Australia called for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the BBC report.

China has placed economic sanctions on Australia in recent weeks.

Australia passed sweeping new security and counter-espionage laws in 2018 aimed at preventing foreign interference in politics and other domestic affairs.

The package included a ban on foreign political donations, as a well as requirements to register foreign lobbyists on a register.
Press Release

26 June 2020

Driving purpose and changing American politics are the major passion topics of renowned architect and landscape designer, Bill Bensley. Chatting with David from his studio in Bangkok, Bill talks about his greatest desire for hospitalitynamely that every hotel built from this moment forward have a purpose, or at least one small detail that's sustainable. He also discusses, among other things, his vision of a post-Trump presidential trifecta involving Al Gore, Bill Gates and Jane Goodall.

Bill's lifelong purpose focuses on conservation. In his latest project in China's Guangdong province, the 'human zoo', he's hoping to educate a whole generation of Chinese children that wildlife must stay in the wild and not end up on dinner plates. He believes that if we, as a species, continue to ignore the interconnectivity between man and nature, then 'we're done'.
The publicist asks that when you speak to Jon Stewart, could you please keep the discussion focused on his new movie Irresistible, and could you please not lead him into a wide-ranging discussion of politics and the issues of the day.

Look, I tried.

But his movie is explicitly about politics and the issues of the day  it stars Steve Carell and Rose Byrne as cynical political operatives who turn a mayors race in small-town Wisconsin into a national political TV drama with all the features of the modern culture wars.

Also, you cant really stop Stewart from talking about the president, or the economy, or the Black Lives Matter protests, and he seems to enjoy his status as wisecracking wise man, heightened because the former Daily Show host has recently emerged from a Yoda-like seclusion (he has a farm in New Jersey) to comment on the issues of the day, only hes obscene and funny and able to put all words in their proper order.

His movie, by the way, is also obscene and funny  he wrote the screenplay and directed (backed and distributed by Comcasts Focus Features unit), and did so with the eye and the ear of a fellow attuned to classic Hollywood political comedy.

I mention to Stewart that if Frank Capra had been more comfortable using off-color words used to describe parts of the human anatomy, he might have made a movie a lot like Irresistible.

Thats about the highest compliment I could receive, said Stewart, who said he borrowed eagerly and openly from movie templates established by Capra and Preston Sturges  Irresistible, which premieres Friday for viewing at home on demand, is about self-styled urban sophisticates who descend on small-town America, and underestimate the canny inhabitants at every turn.

Stewart even has his own Cooper  Chris subbing for Gary  as a cattle farmer and retired Marine whom Carell persuades to run as a Democrat, building around him a campaign meant to set an example for the national party about how to compete in the Rust/Bible/Farm Belts.

Stewart said Carell (a former correspondent on The Daily Show) was the first guy he hired for the movie, but that Coopers salt-of-the-earth, God-fearing everyman was essential to the premise  whats so important about it is that the movie you think youre watching has to be believable. You have to believe that the national parties and the national media would come to see this contest as decisive.

And, like Capra, Stewart uses his everyman yarn (think of it as Washington Goes to Mr. Smith) to show the audience something about the larger, corrupt system at work  in this case, a parasitic industry of political operatives and consultants (soon the dial-up town is full of tech dweebs and data analysts) who operate as cynical profiteers.

Its important to believe in [Coopers character] so that at some point you can step back and look at the system as a whole, and think about it. Why are we accepting that the narratives we are being fed are the right narratives?

In the movie, Stewart defines these go-to Republican and Democratic story lines as fear versus shame  conservatives selling fear, liberals selling shame. That seems a prescient description of the presidential campaign ads already running during every commercial break in a battleground state like Pennsylvania.

Feeding the election-industry trough

I ask Stewart if he thinks these ads actually work, and if the money behind them makes a difference. Billionaires and primary presidential candidates like Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer didnt get far, for instance, and one of Hillary Clintons perceived advantages was her massive campaign war chest.

Stewart said the point is, the money works for the people feeding at the ever-expanding trough of the electioneering industry, represented in the movie by Carell and Byrne. Its an industry  he pegs it at $6 billion annually and counting  with its own self-sustaining incentives. In America, he said, a profit center like that becomes very hard to dismantle.

The question the movies asks, he said, is Why do we accept this political media construct that really serves to enrich itself and isnt in any way giving us the outcomes we want?

 READ MORE: Democrats hope Joe Bidens VP choice can help him win Pa. But who can do that?

Irresistible shows how campaign theater and fund-raising also become a massive time suck for candidates. As the campaign becomes nationalized, Coopers character goes to Manhattan to raise money from what Sturges might have called the swells.

Thats why the money is so corrosive. How much of your time is spent on governance if youre always chasing money? And what kind of influence does the money buy? Stewart said.

Trickle-down theory, re-upped

The modern super-sized campaign industry was created by what he (and so many liberal and conservative voters) regard as the Supreme Courts misbegotten Citizens United ruling, equating money with speech, which in Stewarts mind is a philosophical successor to the managerial-class thinking that he traces all the way back to the Ronald Reagan 1980s.

I really think that, in a sense, its a return to this trickle-down theory, when we all lost our minds in thinking that economies are built from the top down. This [modern campaign structure and spending] feels like a reflection of that system, built for the very few to profit from, with no accountability, and for some reason, the courts have decided that its all fine, he said.

 READ MORE: Jersey 4 Jersey fund-raiser with Bruce Spingsteen, Bon Jovi, Jon Stewart raises money for the Garden State's pandemic relief fund

The rise of socialist-leaning candidates like Bernie Sanders (in the movie, Cooper is described as like Bernie Sanders, with better bone density), Stewart believes, is a reaction to money-dominated politics and its consequence: rising inequality that has resulted from decades of rules that favor capital over labor.

Stewart said he lost it recently when he heard a pundit say that Donald Trump is the only thing standing between America and socialism.

The only thing standing between us and socialism will be the inability to effectively reform the worst aspects of capitalism, he said. There are people who may not want to go to that system, but you may force their hand as we continue to move toward a more extreme inequality that arises because we continue to confer to the investor class this massive advantage.

Stewart recalled the time, in 2013, when he interviewed former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on The Daily Show, and asked Greenspan  the nations chief banking regulator  to defend his pre-collapse belief that Wall Street could regulate itself.

An autonomous zone, if you will. Greenspan conceded markets are subject to the vagaries of human behavior, and that people can be screwy, prompting the host to say: You just learned this?

Stewart said that exchange puts an ironic spin on conservative backlash to recent Black Lives Matter protests and calls to defund police, because defunding the SEC  the Wall Street cop on the beat  has been a Republican strategy for decades.

That irony, he noted, was captured by a recent headline in the Onion: Protestors Criticized For Looting Businesses Without Forming Private Equity Firm First.

When you think about what happened in this country in 2008 and 2009, and the damage that was done, and the foreclosures, and the fact that one guy went to jail, and that for the most part the perpetrators of the crimes were made whole, its beyond me how that didnt fundamentally change the way we view our economy. And yet, everybody just kind of went back to work, and it was like, Hows the Dow? 

At least thats the way it was, for some, before the pandemic, before George Floyd and a massive public movement for change and justice that Stewart thinks is the real deal  likely to get citizens involved and registered and voting for reasons beyond the control and even the understanding of political pros.

If that happens, he said, you have the prospect of real change.

I think what youre seeing is an awakening, and people suddenly realizing, hey, were on a completely rudderless ship. And I think because our leadership did not rise to the [required] greatness of the moment, that youre going to see it come from the streets.
Thailand has started sterilising hundreds of monkeys in a city famous for its macaque population, as the coronavirus pandemic leaves them hungry, aggressive and wrestling food from terrified residents.

Lopburi province and its 2,000 monkeys have long been a draw for tourists from around the world, who typically feed them and pose with them for selfies.

But since Thailand closed its borders on April 4 to control coronavirus infections, the monkeys are not adapting well to their new normal.

Theyre so used to having tourists feed them and the city provides no space for them to fend for themselves, said Supakarn Kaewchot, a government veterinarian.

Veterinarians from the Department of National Parks carry out sterilization procedures on monkeys. (REUTERS)

With the tourists gone, theyve been more aggressive, fighting humans for food to survive, she told Reuters.

Theyre invading buildings and forcing locals to flee their homes.

Unlike monkeys in the wild, city monkeys need not hunt for food, giving them more time and energy to reproduce and cause trouble, Supakarn said.

To try to control their fast-growing population, authorities have this week placed big cages around the city with tantalizing fruits in them, hoping to lure around 300 monkeys for sterilisation.

From the cages, the monkeys are transferred to an operating table, where they are sedated, shaved and tattooed with a unique reference number under their arms.

They lay on their backs under a green cloth as vets perform a vasectomy or a tubal ligation operation.

The sleeping monkeys get one night to recover before being taken back to their respective tribes.

The government aims to sterilise 500 of the macaques over the next two months.

Supakarn said the sterilisation would pose no threat to the monkey population and the aim was just to slow down the rate of its urban growth.

Were not doing this in the wild, only in the city areas, she added.

Also Read | Video of monkeys fighting for food in desolate Thai street is shocking netizens
By Akbar Mammadov

Today, Azerbaijan marks the 102nd anniversary of the creation of its Armed Forces.

The national army was established by the short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) in 1918. ADR, which was the first democratic republic among Muslims countries, started the creation of the national army in its short-lived existence until the Bolshevik occupation in 1920.

The creation of the army stemmed from the necessity to protect the achievements of the young republic due to the tense situation in the region and due to the treats of losing the countrys territories.

After gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijani parliament passed a decision on the establishment of the national army on October 9. In 1998, June 26 was declared the Armed Forces Day in accordance with the presidential decision.

The Azerbaijani Armed Forces consist of the Azerbaijani Land Forces, the Azerbaijani Air Force, and the Azerbaijani Navy. The combined forces include the Internal Troops, the National Guard, the State Border Service and the Special State Protection Service.

According to the rating of Global Firepower, Azerbaijani Army ranks 64th out of 138 countries. The Azerbaijani Army has 126,000 active and 300,000 reserve personnel.

According to the state budget for 2020 submitted by the Ministry of Finance, 3 billion 853 million 600 thousand manats has been allocated for Azerbaijan's defence and national security.

Azerbaijani Armed Forces are equipped with stat-of-the-art military equipment, arms, tanks, artillery, armoured vehicles, aircraft, air defence systems, helicopters, UAVs and battleships purchased from various countries.

Azerbaijan also produces local-made military products such as sniper rifles Istiklal, Mubariz, Yirtiji, Yalguzag, hand grenade against the tank Gaya, combat intelligence vehicles Gurza, mortars Ashirim 5, machine guns HP-7.62 and UP-7.62, assault rifles EM-14 and Khazri.

Military parades were held on June 26, 2011 in Baku, in connection with the Armed Forces Day and the 20th anniversary of restoration of the country's independence and in 2013, on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the Armed Forces Day.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The Americans with Disabilities Act states that an employer must provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee with a disability unless the accommodation causes undue hardship. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces the ADA in the workplace, has stated that it is unclear at this time whether COVID-19 is or could be a disability under the ADA, reasoning that this is a very new virus and, while medical experts are learning more about it, there is still much that is unknown. Nevertheless, the ADAs reasonable accommodation requirement is playing a vital role in workplaces navigating COVID-19s impact.

In its COVID-19 guidance, the EEOC notes that persons with certain impairments are at greater risk from COVID-19 and, as a result, may be entitled to an accommodation. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention illustrates how important accommodations may be. According to the CDC, individuals with underlying medical impairments such as heart disease and diabetes were hospitalized at six times the rate of, and died 12 times as often as, otherwise healthy individuals. The CDC identified several medical conditions that might place individuals at higher risk, including serious heart disease, diabetes, asthma, kidney disease, hemoglobin disorders, liver disease, severe obesity and immunocompromised (including cancer treatments, HIV and immune deficiencies).

Employers should anticipate receiving accommodation requests from people who otherwise had not previously indicated there was an underlying medical condition  conditions for which no prior accommodation was needed.

An employers duty to provide a reasonable accommodation is not triggered unless the employee requests it. The employee is not required to use the specific words reasonable accommodation. Rather, the employee or a third party  such as the employees doctor  must request some kind of workplace change or adjustment and link that request to a medical condition. After reviewing the request, the employer may seek medical documentation to verify existence of a disability and whether a reasonable accommodation can be provided. Employees should ask their physician to provide a letter explaining the nature of the medical condition, the accommodation requested and why the employee needs the accommodation.

Due to stay-at-home orders implemented across the country, many employees have already been working remotely. Therefore, permitting employees with medical impairments to continue to work from home is the most common type of accommodation being used for persons with underlying medical conditions. Approximately 40 percent of employees hold positions that could be performed remotely. Therefore, employers will need to consider accommodation requests by employees who work in the 60 percent of positions that cannot be performed remotely. The EEOC encourages all parties to be flexible and consider options such as physical changes to the work environment, temporary reassigning of marginal job duties, temporary transfer to a different position, or modifying work schedules or shift assignments. Nevertheless, employers will not be required to provide an accommodation if it would cause an undue hardship, which means significant difficulty or expense.

Employees generally will not be able to refuse to return to the workplace based solely on fear of contracting COVID-19. The equation may change, however, for employees with preexisting mental health conditions which may be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. If the employee with a mental health condition requests an accommodation, the employer may ask for medical documentation and discuss possible accommodations with the employee.

Employers may not disclose to a disabled employees coworkers why it is providing an accommodation to an employee. Employers may not force employees to accept an accommodation because the employer believes the employee is in a high-risk category.

Under the ADA, an employer who suspects an employee has a medical condition cannot ask the employee whether he or she has an impairment and/or needs an accommodation. However, employers should consider adopting a policy that it provides to all employees, addressing the availability of accommodations for at-risk employees, describe how an employee who seeks such an accommodation may do so and to whom that request should be directed. An employer should consider adopting such a policy even if it has already reopened.

Gary Phelan is an attorney with Mitchell & Sheahan, P.C. in Stratford, where he practices employment law. He is the co-author of Disability Discrimination in the Workplace and teaches disability law at Quinnipiac University School of Law.
MANZINI  The Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) has taken a swipe at government for its decision to ban the sale of alcohol for two months, starting next Wednesday.



The trade union federation has actually given government three days to reconsider its stance on the ban of alcohol sales.

TUCOSWAs secretariat, through the Deputy Secretary General, Muzi Mhlanga, released a statement where it raised concerns over the manner in which government handled the issue of banning the sale of liquor for two months in the country.



The ban was announced by Prime Minister (PM) Ambrose Dlamini on Tuesday, where he said government had noted that alcohol consumption contributed to the high number of COVID-19 cases.



Stakeholders



Mhlanga said government should have engaged the relevant stakeholders in the liquor industry, including the tripartite (government, employers and employees) before announcing the ban. He said the federation viewed the ban as a disaster.

If government wanted to salvage the situation, Mhlanga said, it had three days, including today, to heed their call.



He said as a trade union federation, they were fully behind government in the fight against the outbreak and spread of COVID-19. He said they also had a task team that was assisting the country in the fight against the virus.



However, the deputy secretary general said government should have handled the issue of the ban differently. In fact, he said the ban was unnecessary and government should reconsider its decision, which the federation would investigate in order to get the rationale behind it.



Mhlanga said, according to their analysis, banning alcohol sales in the country would affect about 148 000 people. He said this was because each of the about 14 800 workers who would be on unpaid layoffs, had about 10 dependants directly and indirectly.



Affected



The 14 800 workers, who would be affected, come from the fact that there are 3 700 liquor licence holders under the Swaziland National Liquor Association and on average each of the liquor traders employs up to four people.



Therefore, Mhlanga said as a federation, they believed that government had a responsibility to engage the stakeholders, instead of taking a unilateral decision to ban alcohol sales. He said it was in that regard that they called upon government to put its decision on hold and discuss the matter with the stakeholders with the aim of coming out with a better solution, that would be a win-win for all.



He made an example that Eswatini Beverages had shown its willingness to educate and warn the public about how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while enjoying their alcoholic beverages and the consequences of breaching the COVID-19 regulations.



However, government did not bother to engage the company on how far it would go in that regard and then analyse the results before considering banning the sale of alcohol, the deputy secretary general said.



Evidence



He also said government owed the nation empirical evidence to prove that alcohol was the leading cause for the spread of the coronavirus, as it was stated by the PM when he announced the ban on Tuesday at the Cabinet Offices.

As a federation, we will investigate the matter because we need scientific evidence to prove what the rationale was behind the banning of alcohol sales in the Kingdom, Mhlanga added.



In the absence of the empirical evidence to prove governments claims in relation to the matter, Mhlanga emphasised that as a federation, they called upon government to reconsider its decision and go back to the drawing board by engaging the relevant stakeholders.



Moreover, the federations secretary general said they would not talk about issues of cushioning businesses and workers at the moment because they wanted government to handle the matter properly first. He said issues of cushioning businesses and workers could be only considered once government had handled the matter properly and empirical evidence that alcohol was one of the leading causes for the spread of the coronavirus was made available.

Meanwhile, Acting Government Press Secretary Sabelo Dlamini said he had not seen the federations concerns.



However, he said the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo had responded to similar concerns the previous day.

He quoted the minister as saying; Government is aware of the negative impact that COVID-19 has on businesses and we shall continue to work together with all concerned stakeholders to try to come up with solutions that may mitigate the effects of this pandemic on the economy.



Reopen



It is worth noting that the Swaziland National Liquor Association (SNLA) highlighted that some liquor traders might not be able to reopen when government lifts the ban.

The association said this was because most businesses in the industry were swimming in debts and their landlords were threatening to kick them out of their structures.



Again, the association said the ban on alcohol sales could lead to a rise in sex work in the country. SNLA said this was because people were losing their jobs faster than the surge of the coronavirus.



The association also said it feared that the country would start counting more deaths caused by drinking unsafe alcoholic beverages, instead of COVID-19 which the world, including the Kingdom, was fighting.
Protests demanding racial equality and an end to police violence continued Friday, more than one month after they began and one day after officers clashed with protesters outside a Northeast Portland police precinct.

Hundreds of people marched together through downtown to press for the abolition of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Calls to abolish police agencies at city, state and federal levels have permeated the protests since they began in late May.

The Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd sparked the protests in Portland and across the nation.

Many demonstrators say the criminal justice system has overpoliced Black, Indigenous and other communities of color for so long that it cant be fixed, and funds should be diverted toward addressing the longterm impacts of systemic racism.

Fridays demonstrations fell on the final day of a special legislative session, where state lawmakers passed a slate of police accountability bills.

The Abolish ICE protest, one of several demonstrations throughout the Portland area Friday, converged at the Terry Schrunk Plaza. A series of speakers addressed the crowd of 500 people. Cars driving on Southwest Third Avenue past the demonstration honked in support. Dozens of uniformed police officers stood nearby at times.

One man introduced himself as the cousin of Andres Guardado, an 18-year-old security guard shot and killed June 18 by deputies near Los Angeles. Guardados death has generated more calls across the nation for police accountability reforms.

Its like a rotten onion, the man said. We need to go up the ladder, and there needs to be transparency, not only with the police, but with the judges.

The crowd stood and shouted, Say his name! Andres Guardado!

Several speakers said dismantling the nations current immigration enforcement agency is crucial to stop violence against people of color. One person after the next listed the reasons why, such as the detainment of migrant children and refusal of medical aid by Border Patrol agents.

Leslie Napoles, 50, attended the demonstration to continue to press for greater changes. Napoles said she has attended protests over the past month. They are creating tangible results and building hope that change is possible, Napoles said.

The amount of progress in the last 30 days has been more than Ive seen in the last 10 years, Napoles said. This is the very beginning. Its proving to us the world can be different.

Sol Maza encouraged the crowd showing up every night to the Multnomah County Justice Center, which has emerged as the heart of the downtown protests, one block away from where the Abolish ICE crowd had gathered.

This is work that needs to continue to happen everyday, Maza said. We need to continue to show up. We need to continue to fight our oppressors.

Many people in the crowd eventually walked closer to the Justice Center. About 250 people had gathered on Third Avenue in front of the building by 8:45 p.m. They chanted, Who do you serve? Who do you protect?

The Justice Center, which houses the downtown jail, some courtrooms and Portland police headquarters, remained boarded up. But for the first time in weeks, all of the chain-link fencing that had surrounded the building was gone.

With the fence gone, several dozen protesters gathered on the steps of the Justice Center, as documented by live video shared on social media. Some people taped paper signs over police lookout holes cut into the boards. At least three officers used a side door to step out from the deck onto the sidewalk. A crowd of more than 100 people immediately moved toward the door, prompting the officers to step back inside. The crowd remained there, chanting, at 10 p.m. Some people pointed lasers toward security cameras mounted on the building.

At 10:10 p.m., the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office used a loudspeaker to tell people to leave, or be subject to arrest or force. The announcement was a change from previous nights, when Portland police had handled such declarations.

We have witnessed reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and unlawful use of a laser, a deputy said on the loudspeaker. If you do not stop, you will be subject to arrest and we may use force against you.

Portland police did make an announcement 12 minutes later to tell people Third Avenue and Main Street were closed and order them to move to city parks across the street. Most people did initially back away from the Justice Center, but many remained in the nearby intersection.

By 11:25 p.m., dozens of protesters had congregated back near the building. Portland police again ordered people to move away from the building. The warning came after several officers emerged from the building. Police told people if they did not move, they could be subject to impact munitions or chemical agents.

Many people did not move. Police repeated the order at 11:50 p.m., telling people to go to the park. However, the officer noted the park would close within 15 minutes under city rule. At 12 a.m., when the park was supposed to close, more than 100 people in total remained next to the building, in the street or in the park.

People stood again near a side door on the north side of the building and used objects such as construction zone markers to try to block the door closed, although one officer was able to push the door open. It appeared police then deployed some type of crowd-control munition toward protesters.

At 12:15 a.m., police told people to immediately leave the area by walking west or north. The officer told people to remove the barricades from the side door. People did not immediately leave or move the objects.

Several dozen people remained in the area at 1:15 a.m. Police had not yet moved in to disperse the crowd.

A crowd also showed up outside the Justice Center Thursday night, as well as in Northeast Portland outside the Portland Police Bureaus North Precinct. Both demonstrations continued into Friday morning.

The Northeast Portland demonstration escalated into volatility. Demonstrators set a trash bin on the north side of the police precinct on fire and broke windows of some nearby businesses. Police said they used CS gas, a kind of tear gas, to disperse crowds.

Portland Police Deputy Chief Chris Davis said officers were trying to enable firefighters to get in to put out the blaze. There were officers inside the precinct, as well as four people who were in custody at the time, Davis said.

At that point, where they had set the fire and we couldnt get the crowd to move, yeah we had to use CS gas finally after some warnings, Davis said. That was clearly a life-saving need.'

Police once used tear gas frequently in the early days of the ongoing protests. But the practice came to an almost complete stop after the nonprofit Dont Shoot Portland and two protesters sued the city over police tactics. A federal judge extended an order barring the use of tear gas -- except when a life is at risk -- through July 24.

Remnants of the night of protests remained Friday morning near the precinct, at Killingsworth Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

A dumpster still smoldered in an OReilly Auto Parts parking lot. A Wells Fargo Bank had a broken window not yet fixed or boarded up. Crews were busy removing graffiti.

Mayor Ted Wheeler denounced the damage as criminal activity.

This completely distracts from the importance of the movement, Wheeler said.

During a Friday afternoon press conference, the mayor and other city and civic leaders pointed out that some businesses damaged by protesters were owned by Black entrepreneurs.

You attacked our community, said Nike Greene, director of the citys Office of Youth Violence Prevention. We will never stand for that.

Antoinette Edwards, who retired as the citys director of the Office of Youth Violence Prevention, said Thursday morning she was headed to Mid-K Beauty Shop when she saw the building and precinct tagged with offensive graffiti.

I cried, she said. This is not OK.

Several people were arrested over the course of the demonstrations that spanned from Thursday night into Friday morning. One man was accused of firing a gunshot into the ground near the Justice Center.

Maxine Bernstein and Dave Killen of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- Alex Hardgrave

ahardgrave@oregonian.com

-- Ryan Nguyen

rnguyen@oregonian.com

-- Jim Ryan

jryan@oregonian.com

-- Ty Vinson

tvinson@oregonian.com

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 18:09:26|Editor: huaxia

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UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande receives an exclusive interview with Xinhua at the UN headquarters in New York, Jan. 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Mocheng)

The UN Charter has been "key to the development of the ideas about human rights, development and peace," said President of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, adding that it has been "to everybody's advantage."

by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang

UNITED NATIONS, June 26 (Xinhua) -- President of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Tijjani Muhammad-Bande has stressed the vital global importance of the UN Charter, calling it a "milestone" in human history.

In an interview with Xinhua two days prior to June 26, which marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Charter, Muhammad-Bande said the document has been "key to the development of the ideas about human rights, development and peace," adding that it has been "to everybody's advantage."

Citing the Paris climate accord and the Sustainable Development Goals, which he said contain good examples of the right things to do by adhering to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, Muhammad-Bande added that only the United Nations can bring all countries and peoples together to do things of this sort.

Photo taken on March 10, 2020 shows the visitors' entrance to the United Nations headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Wang Jiangang)

Speaking of the historical contributions of the charter, the UNGA president said that the world body, first of all, has "some credit" in preventing the flames of another world war, simply "because there have been norms of conduct that all of us share" in the charter.

Noting that these norms of conduct "have contained our impulse to power," he said global security has been gradually enhanced because of adherence to the purposes and principles of the charter.

The UNGA president said that the UN Charter has helped with the development of human rights, which is one of the three pillars of the UN.

Photo taken on Jan. 9, 2020 shows a Security Council open debate on the topic of "maintenance of international peace and security upholding the UN Charter" at the UN headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

"The charter defines even the modern world," Muhammad-Bande noted.

Muhammad-Bande also highly commended the positive role of the charter in pushing forward such efforts as abolishing the apartheid system.

"The United Nations helped in bringing an end to the apartheid system that is incompatible with international law and incompatible with rule of justice," the UNGA president stressed.

However, he also pointed out that some states "are still suffering," adding that "we need to take our shortcomings and examine them."

Nevertheless, he said all should bear in mind "the big picture" of the contribution of the UN with the charter at its core when it comes to peace, security, development and human rights.

Video image taken on June 19, 2020 shows a session of the UN Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua)

"The global community represented by the member states needs to celebrate what the organization means while it looks to the future," Muhammad-Bande said.

The UNGA president called on the global community to follow "the founding fathers and mothers" of the UN Charter and work harder to guarantee a multilateral rules-based order. 
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Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. was born on June 20, 1938, in Washington. News accounts said his father, known as Pops, was a notorious racist in Birmingham.

The younger Mr. Blanton had a 10th-grade education and served as an aircraft mechanic in the Navy from 1956 to 1959, according to F.B.I. files. When he was arrested in 2000, he was living in a trailer with no running water and working at a Walmart.

An F.B.I. report that became public in 1980 said that Mr. Hoover, who died in 1972, had blocked efforts to charge the four suspects shortly after the crime, although three people told F.B.I. agents that they had seen the four near the church about eight hours before the explosion. Mr. Hoover was said to have blocked the case because he thought a successful prosecution was unlikely. But the jury that convicted Mr. Chambliss in 1977 heard less direct evidence than was available to Mr. Hoover in 1964.

In 1997, a group of black ministers urged Doug Jones, then the United States attorney in Birmingham, to open a new investigation into the remaining suspects.

Tom Blanton saw change and didnt like it, Mr. Jones, now a United States senator from Alabama, said at the trial. Mr. Blanton maintained his innocence.

Evidence presented at the trial included incriminating tape recordings made by the F.B.I. that implicated both Mr. Blanton and Mr. Cherry.

After Mr. Blantons conviction in 2001, Bill Baxley, who had prosecuted Mr. Chambliss as Alabamas attorney general in 1977, wrote an angry opinion article in The New York Times asserting that the F.B.I. had not been forthcoming in the Chambliss case and had not revealed the existence of the tapes.
Containers at Cat Lai port in HCM Citys District 2. (Photo: VNA)

Russell Reed, managing director of UPS Vietnam and Thailand, said that the agreements represent a breakthrough in Vietnams progress as a trading powerhouse, and will help to further unlock the countrys vast economic potential in the coming years. Vietnamese exports to the EU have grown consistently in recent years, hitting a total of $41.7 billion in 2019, representing annual average growth of 13 per cent since 2014.

As a global provider of logistics services, UPS sees these agreements as providing a great deal more latitude for their customers to expand their key imports, as well as helping to simplify processes while encouraging more long-term investment and strategic business partnerships.

According to Reed, Vietnam is an exceptionally competitive manufacturing market, which has been one of the major contributors to the countrys economic growth. This growth has created a rapidly expanding middle class  one that is increasingly international in its outlook and interested in purchasing imported products, such as those coming out of the EU.

At the same time, we continue to see sustained volume in Vietnamese exports to the bloc, and have made enhancements to our network to help Vietnamese businesses, particularly in high-tech and retail, maintain their competitive edge, he added. With the upcoming official entry of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in 2020, we look forward to working with more small- and medium-sized enterprises and large multinationals across a range of industries to help them enter and succeed in the EU  a market which now has even greater accessibility for Vietnamese businesses of all.

On the same note, Tran Viet Huy, managing director of Tracimexco - Supply Chains and Agency Services J.S Company (TRA-SAS), told VIR that Vietnam has committed to open the logistics market under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). However, the EVFTA is expected to create a new driving force for Vietnams logistics industry.

According to Huy, the EVFTA may affect the development of logistics industry in three aspects including stronger commitment to open markets of Vietnam and EU in the field of transport and transport services; creating added-value services for freight brokerage, sampling, inspections; and stronger commitments in areas improving logistics service market such as scale, service quality, open demand, wide capacity, and service performance.

Meanwhile, the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) shall provide a solid legal background for EU investors where they have more tools and inter-country commitments to protect and run EU businesses in Vietnam. It is no doubt that those effects will make positive influences to EU investors in investment to Vietnams logistics industry in both expanding their current business and making new investment via either mergers and acquisitions activities or green-field investment, Huy said.

Beside current segments which may be more interesting, EU logistics investors will have new opportunities to enter new segments of Vietnamese government procurement, such as some logistics services which require deep experience and techniques in storage/management of pharmaceuticals, warehousing of dangerous chemicals, and transportation of oversized equipment for government infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese logistics providers have more chances in bidding on logistics services for official development assistance projects funded by the EU.

Research by the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that Vietnams export turnover to the EU will increase by 20 per cent in 2020, 42.7 per cent by late 2025, and 44.37 per cent by late 2030. Thus, increasing trade as well as investment activities between Europe and Vietnam will create plenty of opportunities for the logistics industry.

Commenting on the prospect of Vietnams logistics industry after the EVFTA comes into force, Tobias Gruemmer, area head of operations of Denmarks A.P. Moller-Maersk, said that manufacturing and logistics in Vietnam have changed but the situation is still not entirely clear. Similar to the EU with a population of about 500 million, Southeast Asia with a population of 600 million (of which Vietnam is nearly 100 million) is considered a consumer market of high potential.

Previously, Vietnam focused on exports with the establishment of many export processing zones, but imports and domestic production have increased significantly. The main reason is due to the rise of the middle class, causing consumer habits to change and leading to shifts in the supply chain.

The demand for storage and transportation has increased sharply, resulting in diversified warehousing and delivery solutions and attracting many businesses to participate. Logistics will be considered a hotbed for investors in the near future, he said.
Former Wirecard COO Jan Marsalek arrived in Manila on June 23 and left for China from the central Philippine province of Cebu the next morning, CNN Philippines reported, citing Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

Details of Marsalek's arrival and departure were on the Bureau of Immigration's database, although there were no signs of Marsalek in Cebu airport's CCTV, Guevarra was quoted as saying.

The former Wirecard COO was with his Filipina wife, which explains why he was allowed entry despite travel restrictions due to the pandemic, according to the report. Marsalek is planning to turn himself in at the Munich prosecutor at the start of next week, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported. Germany has issued an arrest warrant for him, according to Handelsblatt.

The National Bureau of Investigation will summon a Filipino national named as a Wirecard trustee, Guevarra was also quoted as saying.

Wirecard filed for insolvency on Thursday, following the arrest of its CEO amid a massive accounting scandal that left the German payment-processing firm scrambling to find over US$2 billion dollars missing from its balance sheet.

Wirecard management cited over-indebtedness as the reason behind the decision to seek court protection in Munich, according to a statement. The company also said it is considering whether the insolvency proceedings should also be applied to its subsidiaries.

Wirecard Bank is not included in the proceedings, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named, as the situation is private. German regulator BaFin is responsible for deciding whether a bank should file for insolvency, although there are also other measures it can take when a lender runs into trouble.

The company's rapid fall from grace comes after it admitted that 1.9 billion euros (US$2.1 billion) went missing from its balance sheet, and is a major setback for Germany's burgeoning tech scene and a debacle for investors. In less than a week, the company once hyped as the future of German finance had seen its shares and bonds collapse and its former CEO Markus Braun arrested in an accounting-fraud probe after almost two decades at the helm of the company.

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The insolvency proceedings leave Wirecard's creditors facing lengthy negotiations with administrators over how much they will get back out of the money they are owed following the company's implosion. Banks who lent to Wirecard including Commerzbank, ABN Amro, LBBW and ING have been demanding more clarity from the company in return for the extension of almost US$2 billion in debt.

The crisis began when Wirecard failed to publish its yearly report on June 18, citing the missing cash. In the ensuing days, Wirecard's stock and bonds collapsed after two Asian banks that were alleged to be holding the funds denied any business relationship with the company. Braun resigned on June 19, and was arrested by Munich prosecutors a couple of days later. He has been since released on bail.

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 country will learn today whether or not a government will be formed this weekend in Super Friday announcements by Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Green Party.

The three parties will this evening reveal if their respective memberships have backed the proposed Programme for Government thrashed out by their negotiating teams.

Heres how it will all play out over the next 48 hours.

The count

The decision by the parties to announce the results of their memberships' votes all on the same day is reminiscent of the was US political parties hold primary elections for presidential candidates across multiple States on the same day, 'Super Tuesday' - hence today's 'Super Friday' tag.

Around 14,500 Fianna Fail members were eligible to vote and its expected that the counting will take some time. Micheal Martins party requires a simple majority to pass the deal he hopes will see him elected as Taoiseach tomorrow.

In the Clayton Hotel, Fianna Fail will organise postal ballots into constituencies, which can be identified by QR codes on the envelopes. Inside the envelopes are two pieces of documentation  one is a seal of identity which proves the vote came from a registered member of the party. Separate to the documentation identifying the member is an anonymous ballot which will be set aside into the appropriate constituency. The seals of identify will be removed from the room to be pulped. It is expected that counting of the anonymous ballots will begin around 1pm. Fianna Fail hope to have an announcement on the final result by late afternoon, early evening. The count is being broadcast on Facebook.

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Fine Gael is likely to have the first results. It has an electoral college system. Its parliamentary party  TDs and Senators  make up 50pc of the vote. The membership  as represented by constituency electors make up 25pc. Councillors have a 15pc say and the partys executive council is the remaining 10pc. If all of the ballots have been returned there will be 715 votes to count at the partys Dublin headquarters beginning this afternoon. Its estimated that this will take around two hours.

Its the Green Partys membership thats most likely to throw a spanner in the works in terms of getting the deal over the line. Almost 2,000 of its members have a vote and the deal must be passed by a two-thirds majority for the party to go into government. Votes can still be returned up to noon today. The count will be carried out at the offices of accountancy firm Mazars and a result is due between 6pm and 7pm. There is to be one party observer from each side of the debate on whether or not to go into government present. The party said last night that it is preparing for the possibility of a recount if the result of the vote is tight. If theres a recount it could be after 9pm before the final result is announced.

So what happens tomorrow if the deal is passed?

The Dail is to sit in Dublins Convention Centre tomorrow, which has enough space so all 160 TDs can practice social distancing. If the deal is signed off on by the three parties the day will be relatively straightforward. From 10:30 onwards the Dail will hear nominations for the role of Taoiseach and votes will take place. Sinn Fein intends to put its leader Mary Lou McDonald forward for the job but she wont have enough votes. Micheal Martins name will be put forward by Fianna Fail and he will assume the role with the support of his party, Fine Gael and the Green Party. After that the Dail will adjourn. Mr Martin will return to Government Buildings and TDs will face an anxious wait to see if they make the cut for the new Cabinet. Both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will get six Cabinet slots each while the Greens will get three.The Dail is due to sit again from 6:00 when it will hear nominations for the various ministerial roles.

And if the deal is not ratified?

Ireland faces a political crisis as options include a return to government formation talks or a second general election. Theres also the looming issue that the Offences Against the State Act  the law that provides for the non-Jury Special Criminal Court for some terrorism and gang crime cases  needs to be renewed within days. The government believes this cannot happen unless a Taoiseach is appointed to select 11 Senators so the Seanad is fully constituted to pass the law. There has been some suggestion in political circles that the Dail would sit tomorrow even if the government deal is not passed with Leo Varadkar temporarily being elected Taoiseach to appoint Senators. But Mr Varadkar last night said theres no arrangements in place for a scenario that sees the coalition deal rejected. He said: If it is the case that one of the three parties or more than one of the three parties reject the Programme for Government Ill reflect on that over the weekend and arrange to meet the party leaders.
TOKYO (AP)  Japans National Security Council has endorsed plans to cancel the deployment of two costly land-based U.S. missile defense systems aimed at bolstering the countrys capability against threats from North Korea, the countrys defense minister said Thursday.

Defense Minister Taro Kono said the country will now revise its missile defense program and scale up its entire defense posture.

The council made its decision Wednesday, and now the government will need to enter negotiations with the U.S. about what to do with payments and the purchase contract already made for the Aegis Ashore systems.

Kono announced the plan to scrap the systems earlier this month after it was found that the safety of one of the two planned host communities could not be ensured without a hardware redesign that would be too time consuming and costly.

We couldnt move forward with this project, but still there are threats from North Korea, Kono said at a news conference Thursday.

Japan will discuss ways to better protect the country and the people from the Norths missiles and other threats, he said.

The Japanese government in 2017 approved adding the two Aegis Ashore systems to enhance the countrys current defenses consisting of Aegis-equipped destroyers at sea and Patriot missiles on land.

Defense officials have said the two Aegis Ashore units could cover Japan entirely from one station at Yamaguchi in the south and another at Akita in the north.

The plan to deploy the two systems already had faced a series of setbacks, including questions about the selection of one of the sites, repeated cost estimate hikes that climbed to 450 billion yen ($4.1 billion) for their 30-year operation and maintenance, and safety concerns that led to local opposition.

Kono said Japan has signed contract worth nearly half the total cost and paid part of it to the U.S. He said Japan is trying to get the most out of what it has already paid, though he did not elaborate.

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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has steadily pushed to step up Japans defense capability, said last week that in light of the scrapping the government would need to reconsider Japans missile defense program and do more under the countrys security alliance with the U.S.

Abe said the government would consider the possibility of acquiring preemptive strike capability, a controversial plan that critics say would violate Japans war-renouncing Constitution.

Kono on Thursday also raised concern about Chinas increasingly assertive activity in regional seas and skies. He said Chinese coast guard vessels are repeatedly in and out of Japanese waters around disputed East China Sea islands, and a Chinese submarine recently passed just off Japans southern coast.

China is trying to change the status quo unilaterally in East China Sea, South China Sea and with Indian border and Hong Kong as well, Kono said. It is easy to make connections about those issues.

___

Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi
With about 40,000 reported cases, the number of the Corona reaches-new infections in the United States, on Thursday set a new all-time high. The previous record value of 36,400 new infections by 24 is. April exceeded, such as Figures of John Hopkins University shows.

The "Washington Post" had previously reported about 39.327 reported new infections on Thursday. Therefore, States such as Texas, Arizona, Florida and New Mexico, plan announced relaxations for the time being, not to implement. Alone in Texas, a new record of 6000 new cases had been reached within 24 hours. In the United States, about 2.4 million infections with Sars-CoV-2 have become known. More than 124,000 people died with the Virus.

in view of the rising Figures in America, the Federal Minister of health, Jens Spahn (CDU), called on Germans to continue to exercise caution in the pandemic. "This is a solemn warning to us in Germany, to remain vigilant," wrote Spahn on Friday on Twitter. The 40,000 new infections in the United States in a single day, showed that the pandemic will not have reached its global climax. "Where is the Virus gets a Chance, it spreads", further wrote to the Minister of health.

Updated Date: 26 June 2020, 09:20
Baghdad condemns Turkish strikes over northern Iraq as violation of its sovereignty that led to killing of civilians.

A Turkish air strike in northern Iraq killed one person and wounded six others on Thursday, a local official said, as Baghdad called on Turkey to end its violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

On June 17, Turkey launched a cross-border ground and air operation, dubbed Claw-Tiger, against Kurdish fighters hiding out in Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

It deployed warplanes, drones and special forces against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Ankara considers a terrorist group because of its decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.

On Thursday evening, a Turkish strike hit a pickup truck in a rural area north of the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah, said local official Kameran Abdallah.

It killed one man who was in the car, said Abdallah, without being able to specify whether the victim was a civilian or fighter. The six wounded consisted of two women, two children and two men, all members of the same family.

On Friday, Baghdad issued a statement calling on Turkey to end its breach of Iraqi airspace and sovereignty, in which a number of civilians were killed, according to local media reports.

These actions are a flagrant violation of the principle of good neighbourliness, and a clear violation of international agreements, said the statement issued by Iraqs presidential office.

Since Claw-Tiger began, at least five civilians have been killed and hundreds of families have fled their homes.

Ankara, which has maintained that strikes in northern Iraq target the PKK in response to an increase in rebel attacks on Turkish army bases, has not commented on the reports.

One PKK fighter and two Turkish soldiers have also been killed, according to the respective commands.

The PKK has long used the rugged terrain of northern Iraq as a rear base to wage attacks on Turkey, which in turn had set up military positions inside Iraqi territory to fight them.

Iraq has summoned the Turkish envoy in Baghdad twice since the operation began, but official Kurdish comment has been notably more subdued.

The Kurdish authorities, dominated by the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP), see the PKK as rivals but have never been able to uproot them from their northern Iraqi bases.
Capitalizing on the moral panic over systemic racism, the California State Senate yesterday surpassed the 2/3 majority required to submit a constitutional amendment to voters in November repealing the states landmark Proposition 209, which banned racial preferences by the state. It reads:

The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.

That is no longer woke enough for the party that completely controls the state government. They WANT the ability to discriminate on the basis of race.

The AP reports:

California voters will decide in November whether governments and public colleges and universities can consider race in their hiring, contracting and admissions decisions. (snip) The state Senate voted 30-10 on Wednesday to repeal that amendment, which still requires the approval of voters in November. Sen. Scott Wilk of Santa Clarita was the only Republican to vote for the repeal. (snip) The vote comes one day before the deadline to put Constitutional amendments on the ballot for November. The repeal will face strong, organized opposition from some in the states Asian community, who have said they fear it will be used against them at some of the states elite public universities where Asian Americans make up a higher percentage of the enrollment than they do of the state as a whole.

The Regents of the University of California have voted support for the return of racial discrimination:

It makes little sense to exclude any consideration of race in admissions when the aim of the universitys holistic process is to fully understand and evaluate each applicant through multiple dimensions, UC President Janet Napolitano said in a statement released by the university. Proposition 209 has forced California public institutions to try to address racial inequality without factoring in race, even where allowed by federal law. The diversity of our university and higher education institutions across California, should  and must  represent the rich diversity of our state.

Statistically, that rich diversity shows:

No race or ethnic group constitutes a majority of Californias population: 39% of state residents are Latino, 37% are white, 15% are Asian American, 6% are African American, 3% are multiracial, and fewer than 1% are American Indian or Pacific Islander, according to the 2018 American Community Survey. Latinos surpassed whites as the states single largest ethnic group in 2014.

Student enrollment at the flagship, highly selective Berkeley campus by race is:

The enrolled student population at University of California-Berkeley is 29% Asian, 28.6% White, 13.5% Hispanic or Latino, 5.33% Two or More Races, 1.98% Black or African American, 0.153% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.0931% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders.

Obviously, if student enrollment is going to reflect population share, half of the Asian students are going to have to sacrifice their prized slots (that help determine life outcomes) because they are the wrong race. Never mind that in California, Asians have been severely officially discriminated against, historically, while blacks have not.

Stand by to be discriminated aganst

UC Berkeley students at an Asian American Students Associaion gathering (YouTube screen grab)

Asian American groups are expected to lead the opposition. The SF Chronicle reports:

Opposition to ACA5 has been led by several primarily Chinese American groups, which worry it would lead to quotas on Asian American students at elite UC campuses. Similar pushback by Asian American groups ultimately persuaded lawmakers to kill a 2014 effort to repeal the affirmative action ban in university admissions. Sen. Ling Ling Chang, R-Diamond Bar (Los Angeles County), echoed those sentiments Wednesday, arguing the bill could legalize race-based quotas. She urged legislators to look for other ways to increase university admissions and contracting for people of color.

But there are some Asian American groups that put intersectional solidarity above the interest of their constituents in being treated on the content of their character, not on the color of their skin:

The Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus endorsed ACA5 on Monday, after initially not taking a position.

If cast experience is any guide, Asian American voters will be energized to turn out and vte against the measure, while the racial groups presumptively benefitted by discrimination in the favor (putting aside the severe problem of mismatch that admits students to campuses too competitive for their level of skills) may not be as highly motivated. Education is a very high priority among most Asians, while the appeal of formal schooling traditionally is less among groups that (not coincidentally) are underrepresented).

But that probably doesnt matter because ballots are distributed to every voter by mail and ballot harvesting is legal in California, meaning that the election can be stolen.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Professor, Dr. Thomas S. Lyons, is the featured keynote for the 27th annual Mel Bedwell Small Businessperson Award luncheon on Monday, Aug. 17, at the Museum Center at 5ive Points sponsored by Pinnacle Financial Partners. Dr. Lyons' topic will be "Thinking and Acting Like an Entrepreneur During the COVID-19 Pandemic."



The Mel Bedwell Small Business Person of the Year Award luncheon honors an outstanding small business person in Cleveland and Bradley County for their success in six areas: staying power, growth in number of employees, increase in sales, innovativeness of product or service offered, response to adversity and evidence of contributions to the community. The Chamber board of directors renamed the Small Business Person of the Year Award to honor the memory of Mel Bedwell, who was known for his "energy, determination, ingenuity, honesty, enthusiasm and loyaltyall traits necessary for a successful small business owner."



The COVID-19 pandemic has affected us all, states Dr. Lyons, Clarence E. Harris Chair of Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship in the Gary W. Rollins College of Business at UTC. It has brought challenges to some businesses and opportunities to others. The challenges are well documented and can seem overwhelming, but entrepreneurs know that every challenge is also an opportunity, if approached with the right mindset

So, what is that mindset and how can it be used to frame problems differently and enable effective action? His presentation will explore answers to these questions and offer examples of entrepreneurs who have successfully pivoted their businesses amid the uncertainty created by the current health crisis.



Dr. Lyons' research interests are entrepreneurship skills measurement and development, the relationship between entrepreneurship and community economic development and social entrepreneurship. He is the co-author of 14 books and numerous articles and papers on these subjects. His co-authored book, "Understanding Social Entrepreneurship," now in its third edition, is a leading textbook on this subject, used at over 80 universities around the world. He was an early scholar of the concept of entrepreneurial communities, or entrepreneurial ecosystems and he continues to conduct research on this subject.



In 2011, Dr. Lyons received the Ted K. Bradshaw Outstanding Research Award from the Community Development Society. He is a practicing entrepreneur, who has co-founded two companies. He holds a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.



The event begins at noon and the cost, which includes lunch, is $25 for individual tickets and $200 for corporate tables of eight. Attendance is limited, register online at the community calendar at www.clevelandchamber.com or call 423-472-6587 by noon on Aug. 12. Chamber members may use admission credits from their tiered investment if available, however should call to register.
University of Miami President Julio Frenk discussed the opportunities and challenges for research universities amid a pandemic with Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California, and Kristina M. Johnson, chancellor of the State University of New York System (SUNY), as part of a panel discussion hosted by the Aspen Institute on Thursday.

I have no doubt that it is research thats going to get us to the other side of this pandemic, said Frenk. We find ourselves at a moment when society is clamoring for the opinion of experts, and thats what we concentrate on at universities. So, this is a moment where we need to rise and shine and illuminate the path forward.

Frenk, a trained physician and global public health expert, had a unique viewpoint since the novel coronavirus pandemic represents his fifth pandemic during a leadership role. For the past few months, Frenk, in addition to his role as president, has served as interim chief executive officer of UHealthUniversity of Miami Health System during the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic in South Florida. In the past, Frenk served as dean of Harvards T.H. Chan School of Public Health and was minister of health in Mexico for six years. Napolitano, who oversees 10 campuses in the University of California system, is also the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and a former governor of Arizona. Johnson, who oversees the 64 campuses of the SUNY, was under secretary of energy in the U.S. Department of Energy and before that served as provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at John Hopkins University.

All three discussed the challenges of preparing and overseeing academic medical centers amid an evolving pandemic, which has put the institutions in a difficult financial position because they were forced to cancel other medical procedures that help generate income.

We did shut down some of our research labs during the pandemic. We now need to ramp that research back up, Napolitano said. We just need some help financially to get us there.

However, the trio also stressed the important role that universities play in bringing experts together from a range of fields and advancing knowledge.

If the United States is to continue to lead the world in innovation, that innovation starts somewhere. And generally, it starts in a university laboratory, said Napolitano, also mentioning that the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley recently reengineered sleep apnea machines so that they could be used as respirators. During the pandemic its been great to see the convergence of research on all issues of the virusfrom modeling, to testing modalities, to development of new therapeutics and the basic science needed to have a vaccine.

Frenk agreed, and touted ongoing research projects at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine to develop an RNA vaccine that could combat COVID-19, as well as new testing protocols and several clinical trials in process now to test whether certain drugs can help patients overcome the harmful effects of the disease. Johnson mentioned that SUNYs Upstate Medical University is working on a way to test batches of samples for COVID-19; so that they can get results faster and with more accurate outcomes.

One strength of universities is the ability to bring people together, focus on a problem that is important to society, and solve it, Johnson said. That type of convergent research is done really well at research institutions.

Universities are also playing a critical role in the pandemic because they are providing the epidemiological modeling that U.S. government officials often cite in news conferences, Frenk pointed out.

A lot of the projections you see are coming from universities, Frenk said. And in Miami, we are providing assistance for the county to do epidemiological surveys that will help identify the hot spots and measure the prevalence of the disease.

Despite the budget shortfalls that all universities are experiencing, Napolitano and Johnson were hopeful about recent legislation in Congress that may help reinvigorate research funding put aside during the early months of COVID-19. Napolitano mentioned a bill in the U.S. House of Representativescalled the Rise Actthat would devote $26 billion to university research. And, Johnson also noted that a bipartisan group of senators recently introduced a bill called the Endless Frontier Act that would offer funding for a new sector of the National Science Foundation focused on technological research and innovation. Frenk said he was optimistic in learning about the two bills.

This is a time when government needs to realize the importance of investing in science, Frenk said. I hope this accelerates the transition from silo research to interdisciplinary inquiry that brings all of the sciences together. Because, right now with the pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis, the social disruption that both have caused require the convergence of different disciplines.
With fear of the unknown floating in from the Far East in January this year, here came the doc.

It was the bedside manner the patient - which is to say, the entire nation - needed.

Close the doors, he advised on February 1. And glory be, the man of the house, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, saw to it that by midnight the doors were closed to China, Australia's biggest trading partner.

In the weeks and months since, it seemed Doc Murphy needed to do little more than mutter and the Prime Minister and Health Minister, Greg Hunt, stepped up to the job men of the house have been doing ever since movies have been made about home visits by bushy-eyebrowed medicos: hurried off to fetch the towels and hot water.

Night after night, day after day, Australia sat glued to its TV sets, waiting for the Doc to explain the next step he'd advised in delivering a new Australia.

And so it was on Friday, as he prepared to saunter off from his role as the nation's Chief Medical Officer, he remained steadily sanguine, even as the easily spooked rushed off again to supermarkets, raiding the shelves of toilet paper.

Why, he said, as if he were discussing a spot of poor weather, Australians lived on a very fortunate island, and the "mini-outbreak" of infections in Victoria had always been predicted, and was the sort of thing "we planned for".
Ex-Presidential candidates claim against Vkontakte social network dismissed

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

17:44 26/06/2020

ST. PETERSBURG, June 26 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov)  A district court in St. Petersburg dismissed a claim of ex-presidential candidate, CEO of The Lenin Sovkhoz cooperative farm Pavel Grudinin against social network Vkontakte seeking to remove information on his private life, the United press service of St. Petersburg courts informs RAPSI on Friday.

The claim was filed with the Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg by Grudinin, Xenia Kutyukhina, and their underage children, the statement reads.

The claimants asked the court to find that the respondent has infringed on their right to protection of private life and make it to remove certain information from the internet. They also sought a symbolic compensation of their emotional suffering at one ruble each; nevertheless, the claim was dismissed.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has urged the Centre to extend the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) till September, an official here said on Friday.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, Baghel said amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the scheme has ensured availability of food grains to affected families (free of cost from April till June) and it should be continued for the next three months, the official from the public relations department said.

In Chhattisgarh, apart from 51.50 lakh ration card- holding families identified under the National Food Security Act, the state government has been distributing food grains to 14.10 lakh ration card-holding beneficiaries through its various schemes, he said.

Moreover, Baghel also sought that these 14.10 lakh ration card-holding families also be covered under the PMGKAY, the official said.

Although the coronavirus-induced lockdown has been gradually relaxed and economic activities were resuming in a phased manner, it will take time for things to normalise, the letter had stated.

In view of this, the chief minister has sought an extension of the PMGKAY for three more months to ensure relief to the crisis-affected families, the official added.
A Chinese professor was found guilty on Friday of trade-secret theft and a much more serious charge of economic espionage.

Federal prosecutors say Hao Zhang, 41, a professor at Tianjin University, conspired with a colleague from the University of Southern California to sell American secrets about how to filter mobile phone signals to the Chinese government and military.

He was arrested in May 2015 when he flew from China to Los Angeles to attend a conference, reported Bloomberg.

According to court records, Zhang faces up to 15 years in prison for economic espionage and 10 years for trade-secret theft.

This is the latest success by the US, going back to former President Barack Obama and continuing with current President Donald Trump, to crack down on Chinese cyber theft of corporate secrets and business models.

Hao Zhang, 41, a professor at Tianjin University in China, has been found guilty of trade-secret theft and economic espionage, Pictured: Zhang goes through security while arriving at federal court in San Jose, California, October 2019

Prosecutors say Zhang and another professor, Wei Pang, allegedly stole confidential research about radio frequency technology from US companies. The technology, which filters mobile phone signals, was then sold to the Chinese government and military. Pictured, left and right: Zhang arrives at federal court in San Jose, October 2019

In May 2015, six individuals were charged with economic espionage and theft of trade secrets according to the Department of Justice.

'According to the charges in the indictment, the defendants leveraged their access to and knowledge of sensitive US technologies to illegally obtain and share US trade secrets with [China] for economic advantage,' said then-Assistant Attorney General John Carlin in a statement.

'Economic espionage imposes great costs on American businesses, weakens the global marketplace and ultimately harms US interests worldwide.

'The National Security Division will continue to relentlessly identify, pursue and prosecute offenders wherever the evidence leads. I would like to thank all the agents, analysts and prosecutors who are responsible for this indictment.'

Bloomberg reports that prosecutors say Zhang stole secrets from two companies, Skyworks Solutions In., based in Woburn, Massachusetts, and Avago Technologies Ltd, based in San Jose, California.

Both companies develop technology often used in military systems.

Zhang is accused of stealing source code and designs for machinery that 'filters out unwanted signals in mobile phones,' according tot Bloomberg.

While earning his doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California, Zhang met Wei Pang.

While studying, they conducted research into acoustic technology designed to limit interference in mobile phone reception and make them more secure.

After graduating in 2006, Zhang got a job at at Skyowrks while Pang became employed at Avago.

At Tianjin University in China (pictured), Zhang and his partner patented the technology and sold it to Chinese officials

Prosecutors like former Assistant Attorney General John Carlin (pictured, January 2014) say Zhang faces up to 15 years in prison for economic espionage and 10 years for trade-secret theft

After the two men returned to China and became professors Tianjin University, one of China's most elite technical school, they began looking into the stolen secrets.

They then applied for patents in the US and China and tried it sell it to the Chinese government and military through a shell company in the Cayman Islands.

Radio frequency technology is part of a long- running effort to benefit companies and universities controlled by the Chinese government, according to prosecutors.

Zhang will likely be the only one of the six individuals to undergo trail in the US because the other five are in China.

He will be sentenced on August 31.
W ildlife faces a growing threat from increasing amounts of litter being washed into Londons waterways, a river clean-up charity has warned.

Thames21 said waterfowl were dying at an alarming rate after choking on rubbish or eating fish that had ingested plastic. One member of the public contacted the charity after finding a coot that had died in a floating plastic bag.

A video shared with the Standard shows a swan on the Serpentine in Hyde Park struggling to free itself from a piece of discarded plastic.

Another image shows great crested grebes forming rubbish into a nest to raise chicks.

Plight: great crested grebes have created a nest from rubbish in Millwall Dock

The charity today published the results of its citizen science pollution study, which revealed nearly 100,000 plastic drinks bottles have been removed by volunteers over two and a half years.

Half were disposable water bottles, with many finding their way downstream to estuary saltmarshes and reedbeds around Rainham and Tilbury.

It came as a report from the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport found 58 per cent of local authorities reported greater than usual volumes of flytipping in the months since lockdown.

Thames21 chief executive Debbie Leach said: All this plastic waste in the Thames means that our wildlife is ingesting plastic, nesting in plastic, and getting entangled and trapped by it.

Weve had to rescue swans trapped in it, Ive seen a duck trying to fly but being grounded by a plastic bag filled with water, which had got wrapped around its neck.
Peering through the barnacle-encrusted portholes of the abandoned submarine, lashed to a capstan in a secluded corner of Copenhagen docks, I felt a chill run down my spine.

I tried to imagine how it must have felt for a young journalist to be trapped in the claustrophobic cabin with an inventor who had seemed so engaging and charismatic when he invited her aboard for an exciting underwater interview. But who, when they were alone and fathoms deep, revealed himself to be a psychopath who had lured her into his eccentric craft so he could torture her to death.

Three summers ago, this was the appalling fate of Kim Wall, 30, a free-spirited and adventurous freelance reporter who had studied at the London School of Economics and wrote for several British newspapers.

The story of her mutilation and murder at the hands of Peter Madsen -who had not only constructed the 60ft submarine himself but planned to launch the world's first privately built manned space rocket - sent shockwaves far beyond his home country of Denmark.

Kim Wall, 30, (pictured) a free-spirited and adventurous freelance reporter who had studied at the London School of Economics and wrote for several British newspapers, was murdered at the hands of Peter Madsen in 2017

It was a story so macabre, it might have emanated from the mind of a Scandi-Noir thriller writer. Indeed, when Kim's dismembered body parts and clothes were found floating off the coast, it almost evoked echoes of the opening scene from The Bridge, the acclaimed Danish/Swedish TV crime series. The grim finds were made in the stretch of water near to where the sequence was filmed.

In August 2017 I travelled to Copenhagen to investigate Kim's murder. But before we return to the crime itself, it may be instructive to compare her fate with that of her killer.

Madsen, now 49 and three years into a full-life sentence, remains an object of prurient fascination and is still idolised by some followers.

Not long after he was first imprisoned, it emerged that he was enjoying sexual liaisons - in the privacy of his comfortable single-occupancy cell - with a procession of female admirers, including a gullible teenager.

In liberal Denmark, sex between prisoners and visitors is permitted. But when the extent of Madsen's 'avid' cavorting became public, it caused a political outcry - not least because one of his harem turned out to be a 40-year-old female prison warder.

Madsen made headlines again this year, when he confirmed on Facebook that he had married dissident Russian artist Jenny Curpen, 39, who fell for him while studying him for a piece of artwork.

Again the news was greeted with outrage but Ms Curpen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Finland with the father of her two young children, responded with a defiant statement on social media.

'My husband committed a terrible crime and he is punished for that,' she wrote.

'However, knowing him for real gives me the exclusive right to say that I am lucky to be with the most beautiful, smart, talented, devoted and empathetic person and man ever.' She added provocatively that Madsen was also 'a victim'.

Two new books present a very different picture of the oddball inventor, however.

The first, by two Danish writers, reveals how Madsen - who had travelled widely and has long been suspected of murdering other young women, perhaps even in Britain - was investigated over another notorious unsolved Scandinavian murder.

Emilie Meng, 17, vanished from the Danish port of Korsr after a night out with friends in July 2016. She was last seen waiting to catch a train home at 4.45am and her body was found in a lake six months later.

According to the authors, Danish police are struck by similarities between her death and that of Kim. Emilie lived with her parents in a small coastal town close to where Madsen grew up.

Furthermore, he is said to have driven a white car similar to one seen parked at Korsr station that night.

But it is the second book, to be published in Britain next week, that has attracted the most poignant reviews. Written by Kim's mother Ingrid, it is described as 'a moving memoir of an inexplicable crime'.

According to the publisher, Kim Wall did what any intrepid journalist would do: she followed a potentially fascinating story. But instead of writing it, she tragically became it.

Peter Madsen and Kim Wall had one characteristic in common: they were both were driven to succeed.

Kim enjoyed an idyllic childhood in the Swedish resort of Trelleborg with her parents, Jocke, a respected photo-journalist, and Ingrid, a council communications officer.

A brilliant scholar, she studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and the LSE before gaining masters degrees in journalism and international relations at New York's Columbia University.

In her first four years as a reporter she had travelled to Haiti to explore the cult of voodoo and the Marshall Islands to expose the effects of U.S. nuclear missile testing. She had even been to North Korea.

That August, she and her boyfriend Ole Stobbe were preparing to move from Copenhagen to Beijing, where Kim was planning to write about neo-Maoism.

A close friend who studied journalism with her wrote that she was 'never afraid but always aware of her surroundings and never reckless'.

Inventor Peter Madsen (above) was charged with the murder of Kim Wall, whose dismembered body parts were found at sea after she interviewed Madsen on his homemade submarine

For Kim, the prospect of interviewing Denmark's best-loved inventor - a man who appeared regularly on TV and was affectionately dubbed 'Rocket Madsen' after embarking on his romantic space project - must have seemed an unthreatening assignment - unless, of course, she was aware of a disturbing biography of Madsen or had perused his alarmingly candid blogs, in which he had admitted to a penchant for weird sexual exploits (one encounter had involved submerging a Swedish stripper in a water tank).

As his biographer, Thomas Djursing, told me, Madsen's formative years were dysfunctional in the extreme.

At 24, his feckless mother was trying to raise three young children alone. She was taken in by Carl Madsen, a hard-drinking, brawling and philandering publican almost 40 years her senior, and they had a fourth child: Peter.

But his misogynist father, who was fascinated by the Nazis, routinely beat Peter's mother and her sons, so she fled to their village home, 60 miles from Copenhagen.

Peter Madsen, though, returned to live with the old man, who built him a workshop so he could pursue his hobby of building model rockets.

A nerdish, lonely boy, he had no interest in formal education and never gained any engineering or scientific qualifications.

But he had a peculiar inventive brilliance and, by his 30s, was gaining a cult following among Copenhagen's bohemian creative community after launching several submarines he had built using scrap iron.

His profile rose when he began working on a manned rocket in collaboration with a former Nasa designer. Then, when two rival Danish teams had the same idea, starting a Scandinavian space race, he achieved still greater renown.

Although Madsen was small, unprepossessing and did not have his first sexual experience until he was 20, fame brought attractive young women to his makeshift workshop on a disused Copenhagen dock colonised by oddballs and hippies.

By day, they tried to push the boundaries of science and art. By night, they donned fancy dress or fetish costumes and attended anything-goes parties staged by a libertine collective called the Kinky Salon.

By this time Madsen had married one of his young followers (who fled to Mexico after his arrest and has since divorced him). But his promiscuity continued apace and grew more dangerous.

One long-time mistress whom I tracked down, Deirdre King, told me he became 'obsessed' with having sex in his submarine. She admitted she was one of a string of lovers with whom he indulged this fantasy.

Miss King, who gave evidence at his trial, said she had been due to meet Madsen the day after Kim died - and showed me a flurry of texts that might point to his perverted state of mind.

They included pictures of naked women in high heels (another of his fetishes) and the couple exchanged messages about buying a new pair for Deirdre, to be worn for their next underwater encounter.

She also told me how Madsen would act out the roles of various characters when his moods swung. If he felt dominant, he would don a naval officer's cap and strut around speaking with a Russian accent and calling himself 'Captain Vladimir'.

When he felt angry, he would play a Danish cartoon character renowned for his temperamental outbursts.

Deirdre maintains, though, that despite these eccentricities, Madsen was a gentle lover who would 'never so much as pull my ponytail'. She even described him as 'one of the sweetest people I've ever met'.

Had Miss King seen the blood-curdling videos police later found on the hard drive of Madsen's computer, she would surely have viewed him differently.

Deemed too graphic to be screened in open court but shown to jurors behind a partition, they included several 'snuff movies' - the real-life torture and beheading of young women, filmed for the sickening gratification of voyeurs.

The videos will surely haunt those who attended the hearing for the rest of their days.

Madsen claimed nonchalantly that he had uploaded the films out of mere curiosity - it didn't mean he would actually do such things.

But, as the prosecution proved beyond all doubt, in fact it meant exactly that.

On August 10, 2017, when Madsen texted Kim, inviting her to meet him, she had been trying to interview him for five months.

Peter Madsen had constructed a 60ft submarine (above) himself and also planned to launch the world's first privately built manned space rocket

That night, she and her boyfriend were hosting a farewell barbecue for friends before starting their new life in China. But she was so excited finally to receive Madsen's reply, she dashed away from the party to see him.

Half an hour later she was back - but only to say her farewells. 'Rocket Madsen' had not only agreed to a talk to her, she said excitedly; he had suggested she should be the first reporter to travel in his self-made sub.

The last picture of Kim, taken from the dockside as the green hulk glides into open water, captures her sense of anticipation.

Standing on the conning tower wearing a bright orange jumper, with her auburn hair tied in a topknot, she smiles serenely as she gazes out to sea.

Beside her, striking an imperious pose in his green military-style uniform, is the man who would soon become her nemesis.

Unless Madsen one day confesses, we will never know exactly what happened after the hatch slammed shut and the submarine dived. But the story that unfolded in court was beyond horrific.

In an attack that had clearly been planned with precision, the prosecution said, Madsen strapped Kim's arms to an overhead pipe and tied her feet to the deck so she was stretched out before him, unable to move.

He then stripped her, cut off locks of her hair in a seemingly ritualised manner, then subjected her to an ordeal that was cruel beyond belief.

Experts deduced that she would have been alive when many of the wounds were inflicted. They also estimated the onslaught would have lasted more than an hour.

It is not clear how Kim died but the cause may have been strangulation, it is thought. Madsen then dismembered her using a saw he must have brought aboard specially for the purpose.

Since a video camera was found on the submarine, the possibility remains that Madsen created his own snuff movie that night.

Although Ingrid Wall's forthcoming book is intended to represent a celebration of her daughter's life rather than a reprisal of events surrounding the murder, she may recount how she and her husband received a panicked phone call from Kim's boyfriend in the middle of the night, saying she hadn't returned from the voyage.

Ingrid and her husband reached Copenhagen in time to see a chipper-looking Madsen being driven off to the police station, where he embarked on an ever-changing story.

He claimed first that he had dropped Kim off on the quayside before returning to sea, whereupon the sub malfunctioned and sank - but not before he had managed to scramble out and be rescued by a passing boat.

Then he said she was killed when the heavy hatch struck her head, and that he had obligingly 'buried her at sea'.

Finally, when Kim's body parts were found, he said she had been poisoned by a carbon monoxide leak: a story he has stuck to.

During the trial, he was asked why - if this were true - he had mutilated her body.

'What do you do when you have a big problem? You cut it down into smaller pieces,' was the gist of his sinisterly matter-of-fact reply.

Today, the submarine no longer lies rusting in Copenhagen docks. The local police wanted to display it in their 'black museum' of murder-related objects but the trial judge, mindful of how precious it had been to Madsen, ordered its destruction.

Staring through those portholes three years ago, I tried to comprehend what drove Peter Madsen to commit an act of such depravity.

I suspect no one will ever know the answer. The submarine's grisly secrets will be forever locked away in an unfathomable corner of its creator's mind.
In a significant move, the Maharashtra government decided not to conduct the final-year exams for professional courses such as law, engineering, architecture, pharmacy and hotel management etc. owing to the coronavirus outbreak.

Chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray wrote on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to instruct All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Council of Architecture (COA), Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), Bar Council of India (BCI), National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) and National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT) to endorse the states decision and issue necessary guidelines.

The state also decided to award degrees to the final-year students pursuing professional courses on a formula based on their performance in previous exams.

Considering the current Covid-19 situation in the state, the state disaster management authority in its meeting held on June 18 decided not to conduct final-year examinations for non-professional courses as well as professional courses and award degrees based on a formula decided by the universities. Further, an option would be given to students who want to take exams whenever it is feasible to be held. It was also decided to get decision in respect of professional courses to be endorsed by the respective apex authorities as these courses are regulated by them, the letter by Thackeray stated.

The CM also highlighted how holding the exams would cause more difficulties to the authorities in the state. As you are aware, the number of Covid-19 patients is increasing in all major cities such as Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune Metropolitan Region, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Akola... The present atmosphere is not yet conducive to conduct examinations and classes. Further, conducting them amidst existing pandemic may prove as an enormous task for district/municipal administration, examining authorities, transport authorities besides students and parents, the letter added.

The state cannot take a decision on the cancellation of exams for professional courses and needs the approval of the respective central authorities.

The development comes after state higher and technical education minister Uday Samant announced the cancellation of final-year exams for non-professional courses on June 19.

Earlier, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari objected to the states decision on the grounds that such a decision will jeopardise the future of students. But till the time of going to the press, there was no reaction from the Raj Bhavan (Governors office) on CMs letter.

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Released Rohingya prisoners wearing face masks amid concerns of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic arrive in Sittwe jetty in Rakhine State after being transported by military boat on April 20, 202

STR/AFP via Getty Images

On June 21 2019, Myanmar imposed a total internet blackout on mobile internet in nine cities and townships in the states of Rakhine and Chin.

The blackout remains in place for eight of those areas and is so severe that some villages in the vicinity are completely unaware of the coronavirus pandemic, according to advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

Rakhine and Chin are conflict zones, and human rights organizations have called on Myanmar and the international community to end the blackout.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A year-long internet shutdown in Myanmar means that some of its citizens are so cut off, they haven't even heard of the coronavirus.

The shutdown has been in force since June 21 2019 and affects more than a million people in the states of Rakhine and Chin. Both these states are active conflict zones. Rakhine is home to Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim population, hundreds of thousands of whom have fled persecution by the military into neighboring Bangladesh.

According to New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch, hundreds of civilians have been killed and a further 106,000 displaced since January 2019 by the fighting between the Myanmar and the insurgent Arakan Army which wants more autonomy for Rakhine's Buddhist population.

The internet shutdown was targeted at nine specific areas and townships in Rakhine and Chin, and was officially imposed. The government cited broad security concerns and said the Arakan Army was using mobile internet to target the military. One of the towns has had the shutdown lifted, but it remains in force in the other eight.

"We will restore internet service if there are no more threats to the public or violations of the telecommunications law," a government official told the press on June 12 after announcing an extension of the shutdown until at least August 1.

Human Rights Watch said in a press release on June 19 humanitarian workers have reported back from villages where people are completely unaware of the coronavirus pandemic.

Story continues

Htoot May, an MP for the Arakan National League for Democracy in Myanmar's parliament, told CNN that government public health warnings aren't getting through. "When I ask people in my constituency whether they are aware of COVID-19, I have to explain the global pandemic to them from the beginning," she told CNN. "I have to explain to them what social distancing is and how to practice proper hand hygiene."

"They're not afraid of COVID-19 because they don't know about it, at this stage they're far more concerned about the fighting," she added.

Human Rights Watch's Asia legal adviser Linda Lakhdhir said Myanmar should restore internet access to its citizens.

"Myanmar should immediately end what is now the world's longest government-enforced internet shutdown. With armed conflict between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army in Rakhine State amid a pandemic, it's critical for civilians to get the information needed to stay safe," she said.

A group of non-profits including Human Rights Watch and PEN America wrote a letter to the World Health Organization on May 26 calling on it to urge Myanmar to end the shutdown.

The shutdown affects mobile internet data, which is the main way internet users in Myanmar access the web.

"Myanmar came online late compared to many other parts of Southeast Asia," Human Rights Watch's Asia Deputy Director Phil Robertson told Business Insider. "Before 2010, it was virtually impossible for most people in Myanmar to obtain a mobile phone, let alone access the internet via a hand-held device.

"Once Myanmar decided to open up, mobile internet was a cheap and effective way to bring people online quickly, the results of which have both been both amazing and devastating."

Robertson said it's uncertain how much of a threat COVID-19 poses to the villagers who are unaware of its existence.

"While Myanmar appears to have done well to limit the number of community transmissions, testing has been far too low to give a clear understanding of what real infection rates might be," he said. At the time of writing Myanmar has only reported 292 cases of COVID-19, and six deaths.

He also said Myanmar's government have brought in disturbing laws that inhibit the reporting of confirmed cases.

"Anyone reporting on the 'process related to an infectious disease outbreak which can frighten the public or cause panic' could be subject to six months in prison and a fine. Authorities have also used the Natural Disaster law to charge and imprison individuals seen to be flouting COVID-19 regulations," he said. At least 500 people have already been imprisoned under these new laws.

"By extending the restrictions beyond August 1, it's clear the Tatmadaw [Myanmar's military] wants to continue the information blackout in this region, thereby limiting people from reporting the many international human rights violations and war crimes taking place right now in those affected areas," said Robertson.

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The operators of Japan's famed bullet trains increased their mutual cross-shareholdings last fiscal year to strengthen their relationships, bucking a broad trend of unwinding such arrangements amid criticism from investors.

East Japan Railway, Central Japan Railway, West Japan Railway and Kyushu Railway had boosted their holdings of each other's stock by between double and well over triple their year-earlier levels at the end of March. These holdings covered about 1% of each company's outstanding shares, up from about 0.2%, and JR East, JR Central and JR West each held more than 1% of JR Kyushu.

The rail operators say the moves are meant to promote sharing information on disaster responses and developing new technology, as well as to facilitate new mobility services that combine rail and other transit methods for more efficient transportation. "Cross-shareholdings are an effective method of fostering trust," JR Kyushu President Toshihiko Aoyagi told Nikkei.

But another possible factor is pressure on JR Kyushu from U.S. investment fund Fir Tree Partners, which owns 6.1% of the company. Fir Tree pushed multiple proposals at JR Kyushu's last two annual general meetings, most recently nominating three independent directors to the board -- all rejected -- and opposing two of the company's reappointments, citing their "questionable independence."

JR Kyushu "may have increased its cross-shareholdings as a response to Fir Tree," said Masatoshi Kikuchi of Mizuho Securities.

It remains unclear when the shares were acquired, but JR West said the moves were unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic.

Railway operators tend to be especially partial to cross-shareholdings due to the number of partners they work with. Listed nonfinancial companies owned cross-shareholdings for strategic purposes equivalent to 9% of their total capital at the end of March 2019, while the figure was 13% for the ground transport industry, which includes rail, data from Nomura Institute of Capital Markets Research shows.

The four JR companies' earnings have slumped amid the coronavirus outbreak. Rail and hotel operators are expected to face steep drops in revenue along with high fixed costs for the April-June quarter. And demand for rail travel may not return to pre-pandemic levels, heightening the need for longer-term strategies such as new mobility services.
Boris Johnson has turned to Germany for help to rescue the UKs troubled plans for a contact-tracing app to curb coronavirus  despite claiming its technology does not work properly.

Berlins ambassador in London has revealed his government had discussed possible cooperation with Matt Hancock, the health secretary.

Germanys corona app has been up and running since 16 June, Andreas Michaelis tweeted, adding: Experts have intensified contacts and look into moving forward together.

The move comes despite the prime minister refusing to retract a much-ridiculed claim that no country currently has a functioning track and trace app.

Mr Johnson did not back down even after Keir Starmer  when challenged to name a country with the technology  told him: Germany, 12 million downloads. I checked that overnight.

Recommended Final bid to force PM to let child refugees reunite with UK relatives

The prime minister is under pressure after the embarrassment of ditching plans for a custom-made NHS app  after 12m was spent on it  because of technical problems.

The UK is now seeking to adopt an existing model in cooperation with Apple and Google, despite previously ruling that out  and delaying introduction until the winter.

France, Australia, Singapore and Latvia are among other countries that have launched apps, although uptake has been fairly low in some of those nations.

It is believed that No 10 bases its claim on the fact that no other countrys app  because it does not centralise the data collected  can co-ordinate with a physical system to trace the contacts of people infected.

However, that programme in the UK is also facing questions after failing to reach almost 30 per cent of people who tested positive for coronavirus in England last week.

Only 70 per cent of 6,923 people were reached by staff, which means that 2,054 people with the virus - and potentially thousands of their close contacts - could not be traced by the new system.

The figures also showed that, of almost 21,000 people who have been referred to the programme since it began at the end of May, only 73 per cent were reached and asked to provide details of contacts.

The fact that one in four people with the virus had not been reached was described as surprising and worrying by Keith Neal, emeritus professor of the epidemiology of infectious diseases at the University of Nottingham.
Government TechnologyIn this months installment of the Innovation of the Month series, we explore the University of Chicago's Human Development Index project, designed to examine the intersection of a localized quality-of-life metric and the COVID-19 pandemic. MetroLabs Ben Levine spoke with Suraj (Neil) Sheth and Luis Bettencourt about the background and development of their project.Can you describe the origin and objective of the Human Development Index project and who has been involved in it?The Human Development Index is the gold standard for measuring peoples quality of life all around the world and is typically calculated at the national level. Each year, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) measures the index to assess changes in the development levels of nations. Since early 2019, Luis Bettencourt and I at the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation have been working toward downscaling the HDI to more local geographies. Our objective is to calculate the Human Development Index for communities, at the neighborhood level. This allows researchers, community leaders and policymakers to link challenges that exist locally in neighborhoods with the study of the nature of development globally. Our goal is to leverage the experience and research that exists about development at the national and international levels to create practical, implementable solutions at the community level and, in time, vice versa.How do you measure HDI? How is it different from measuring GDP or other quantitative means of evaluating communities?Development is a difficult concept, so it is critical to approach its measurement from a position of principle. There are essentially two frameworks for addressing human development in local communities; we wanted to show that they share much in common, but also to throw new light on this fundamental problem.The first is the concept of neighborhood effects, which was developed in the U.S. in the context of racial and economic segregation. The second is the human capabilities approach developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, which has been the main framework for appreciating international development and is less tied to economic performance. The capabilities approach refers to our ability to judge the degree to which a society enables its people to lead fulfilled and meaningful lives, while recognizing individual differences in preferences, vocations and needs. It has long roots in moral philosophy, but it is also measurable across scales  from neighborhoods to nations. As an index, it is the geometric mean of three components: the extent to which people live a long and healthy life, their knowledge, and whether they achieve a decent standard of living. These three dimensions are measured by life expectancy, educational attainment and Gross National Income (GNI), adjusted for cost of living. Higher HDI values indicate higher levels of development.The HDI is still a relatively simple index, but it is much better at characterizing quality of life; it is fundamentally different from measuring GDP alone. It is a more holistic, people-centered approach. It emphasizes the many different things that societies do, not just raw market power and consumption.What does HDI teach us about COVID-19? Have any of the results been particularly surprising?Our initial research revealed that there are wide disparities in HDI across the U.S. Some communities are more developed than any nation, while others lag terribly. In April, the UNDP released a report titled COVID-19 and Human Development: Exploring Global Preparedness and Vulnerability , which showed that at the international level, countries with low HDI values were much more vulnerable to the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We wondered whether this was also true at the local level. Has the pandemic affected communities with low HDI more than those with high HDI values? We found, concerningly, that this indeed is the case. On average, communities with lower HDI values reported higher COVID cases and COVID-related deaths. This is not destiny. There are communities with low HDI that have remained healthy, but this seems to be related to risk: Once the epidemic enters a low-HDI community, the outcomes are much worse.There were a few outliers to this trend that illustrate this point. For example, in Chicago, both the Hegewisch and Riverdale communities have relatively low HDI values, yet they also have relatively low numbers of COVID-19 cases. Both communities are located on the far South Side of Chicago, are manufacturing and industrial hubs, and are relatively low-density compared to communities that have a higher number of cases. Similarly, Hunts Point in New York City has a low HDI and a lower number of COVID-19 cases, since it is an Industrial Business Zone with a small residential area. We also found a relatively high number of COVID-related deaths in the relatively affluent Chicago community of Lincoln Park. This is primarily due to a cluster of severe cases at a particular nursing home in the neighborhood.What technical and strategic challenges did you encounter in this project? How did you address them?In calculating a localized version of an index like the HDI, strategic decisions are required to make the index both locally relevant and scalable to higher levels. For example, we had to decide how to proxy national measures such as Gross National Income via local income data, and how to account for regional differences in purchasing power parity, which is city-specific. Additionally, calculating certain measures such as life expectancy at birth is only possible in communities that have populations in every recorded age cohort. Data is getting better, but our ambition to create an index that applies to every neighborhood in the U.S. exposes some of these weaknesses.How can communities in Chicago and across the country use HDI to better respond to COVID-19 and other disasters?Overall, our research reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic is not a singular event, and, like any other health challenge, it has a greater impact on communities with low human development and thus also lower life expectancy. Both cases and deaths are higher on average in low-value HDI communities, indicating that these communities may have had underlying vulnerabilities to begin with that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.Our tentative reading of these statistical results is that there is a mismatch between current policy and the fundamental nature of the problem of vulnerability to a novel epidemic. Responses in times of crisis stress immediate needs related to reducing morbidity and mortality, such as hospital beds and medical equipment. The impacts of the current situation suggest, however, that the best preparation is systemic, via promoting higher levels of local human development before crises hit, so that our resilience in hard times has a solid foundation at all times. This could mean, for example, investing in community health to mitigate the background incidences of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancers. These are risk factors for COVID-19, but they are also associated with premature aging and avoidable loss of years of life in communities with low HDI. This could also mean investing in education and training through improvements to local schools and via nonprofits, raising a communitys understanding of risky behaviors during an epidemic, but also supporting more prosperous and meaningful livelihoods throughout peoples lives.What are your next steps? Where do you see the project going from here?We are expanding our analysis to more places, to study the impacts of COVID-19 across both urban and rural communities. Moving forward, we also hope to analyze the relationships among the three components of the HDI. Income, education and life expectancy have all been found to be correlated with one another to some extent. By comparing the different components of the HDI across communities in the U.S. and abroad, we can study how strongly these correlations are observed at local scales, and how the correlations differ across neighborhoods. Our work is aimed at helping international organizations achieve the UNs Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, to create inclusive and equitable communities.As a mathematical biologist and data scientist studying complex systems, I intend to continue using biomedical informatics and epidemiology to further understand the varied impacts of COVID-19 on local communities and global health overall. As a physician-scientist (M.D.-Ph.D.) in training, in the long term, I am interested in leveraging population health insights from this project for precision medicine interventions using participatory mechanisms, predictive analytics and preventive frameworks.We will also be working with University of Chicago research assistants and students to develop maps and visualizations of our HDI findings, and look forward to hearing from the MetroLab Network about what would be most useful for you at miurban@uchicago.edu.
(Newser)  Asked repeatedly Friday why it's OK for President Trump to hold indoor rallies with large crowds during the pandemic, Politico reports, Vice President Mike Pence cited the Constitution. Americans' rights of free speech and assembly exist even during the coronavirus crisis, Pence said, as does the principle of individual liberty. Also, he said, "We have an election coming up this fall." Pence made the comments during the first press briefing held by the White House coronavirus task force in nearly two months, per CNN, held this time at the Department of Health and Human Services instead of the briefing room at the White House. The vice president said rally attendees are screened and Americans are given "the very best counsel that we have" about the health threat. Pence said he and Trump, who did not attend the briefing, "still want to give people the freedom to participate in the political process."

story continues below

Pence's counsel on Friday included: Wash your hands, don't touch your face, and disinfect often. He did not say anything about wearing a mask or maintaining social distancing, per USA Today, and he did not wear a mask during the briefing. Dr. Anthony Fauci and the other health officials attending did wear masks, except when at the mircrophone to speak. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, made the point when it was his turn. "Stay six feet apart from each other as much as possible," Redfield urged, and "wear face coverings when were in public"among the steps "to do our part to protect the vulnerable." Pence attributed part of the jump in coronavirus cases to an increase in testing. He said there's still "work to do" to stop the spread, and announced that he'll visit Texas, Florida and Arizona next week. Cases are up in all three states. (The coronavirus task force has scaled back.)
The Daboase Police have begun investigation into the alleged murder of Mary Adade, 50, by an unknown assailant at Kubekro, in the Wassa East District of the Western Region.



Reports indicated that, victim, also known as Esi Mary, was rushed to Ateiku Christian Hospital but, died on admission, and the body has been deposited at the Twifo Praso Government Hospital morgue.



Sandra Asare, a 16-year-old daughter of the deceased, who witnessed the incident and raised the alarm, could not be traced in town till date, to assist in police investigation.



Police sources told the Ghanaian Times that the Daboase District Police received information from Akyempim Police that, Frank Ayittey, 36, an employee of Golden Star Wassa Mine, Akyempim, reported the matter to the police.



The police explained that unknown person(s) entered the bedroom of his sister, Mary Adade and inflicted multiple wounds on her head and body with a sharp object in the presence of the daughter, Sandra Asare, who later, raised alarm.



Doreen Asare, an elder daughter of the deceased, told the police that, her younger sister, Sandra, who lives in Kumasi, visited the family, and attracted a lot of illegal mining Galamsey young men, who proposed love to her.



Mary Adade, according to Sarah, was unhappy with Sandras behaviour.



The crime scene has been cordoned off and the police are investigating the incident.





Source: The Ghanaian Times









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

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A Venezuelan woman living in Miami who says she was 'drugged and raped' claims police treated her like a liar and told her she should have 'fought back' - insisting that they refused to take her case seriously because she is an immigrant.

Veronica Victoria Perasso, 22, was living the high-life in Florida in July 2018 when she says she was attacked and raped by a man she was hanging out with - in a horrific assault that she believes was set up by a woman she was living with.

'On July 2nd 2018 I was drugged, raped, and sexually assaulted,' she told Jam Press. 'A girl who I lived with at the time took me to a house where I was assaulted.

Speaking out: Venezuelan-born influencer Veronica Victoria Perasso, 22, says she was drugged and raped in July 2018 - and claims police refused to believe her

Discrimination? Veronica, who lives in Miami, believes that officers accused her of lying because she is an immigrant woman

Upset: 'The police treated me like I was inconveniencing them by reporting it,' the Florida-based influencer said

'Afterwards, she took me home and put me in bed and acted like she didn't know what happened.'

Veronica claims the woman even videoed her after she had been drugged, revealing that she was seen on camera incoherently asking for her boyfriend.

The next day Veronica awoke with unpleasant memories and a nauseous disgusted feeling inside her.

'I woke up, went straight to the hospital and got a rape kit,' she recalled.

'They confirmed that someone was inside of me without protection and when I told them it was absolutely against my will they instructed me to call the police. Which I did.'

Sadly, Veronica did not get the response she was hoping for from law enforcement officials.

'The police treated me like I was inconveniencing them by reporting it,' the Florida-based influencer said.

'They asked me why I didn't physically fight back. I explained I was incoherent and had no strength.'

Shocking: Veronica says that police asked her why she didn't 'fight back' against her attacker - despite the fact that she was drugged

Outrage: 'My word meant nothing, as a young immigrant female in America,' she said

Officers asked Veronica whether she knew the man who had attacked her - and while she couldn't identify him, she told them that she knew the woman who had taken her to the house where she was assaulted.

'They asked me if I knew the person, and I said I knew someone who did  the girl that took me there  and they questioned her, even though she didn't want to be involved,' Veronica explained.

'She was an accomplice and she knew it. She begged me not to continue talking to police  it turned out she was regularly extorting men and women for money.

'I was so young and impressionable.'

But while Veronica is angry at the woman who she says delivered her to her rapist, what rankles most for her is that the cops failed to act - particularly because she believes that their suspicious response to her came as a direct result of her Venezuelan background.

'The police insisted I could only get justice if I got a confession  that is, if I got the guy to admit he raped me, willingly, on tape,' Veronica explained.

'My word meant nothing, as a young immigrant female in America.'

Veronica was doubly shocked, she says, because the #MeToo movement was in full swing at the time of her attack.

'I found it confusing that on TV politicians and powerful businessmen were being taken down by women who claim they were sexually assaulted 20 and 30 years ago, with no proof, only their word,' she said.

'Yet here I am, today, in the flesh, with lots of proof, not even being heard because I'm an immigrant and the person who raped me was not famous.'

Although furious and frustrated, Veronica refused to let the situation get her down.

Transformation: After reporting the rape and being treated like a liar by police, Veronica was inspired to completely change her look - explaining that she wanted to 'become someone else'

Changes: The influencer cut off her hair, got breast implants, and got several tattoos - while also embracing a much tougher persona

Success: Veronica started showing off her new look on Instagram - where she quickly amassed a legion of followers thanks to her overtly-sexualized content

'I left Florida at that point,' she remembers, 'And set out to change everything about myself.

'I had to become someone else; so first I got extensions, then colored contacts.

'Then I got breast implants, tattoos, then the extensions got taken out and the hair kept getting shorter and shorter until one day I woke up staring in the mirror at a completely new version of myself.'

As it happened, the horrific attack motivated Veronica to tap into a mental toughness that she never knew she had - and inspired her to push forward and transform her life.

'This new me was edgier, with fewer f***s to give and more drive than ever,' Veronica revealed, explaining that she began showing off that mentality on social media, where she quickly built up a legion of followers thanks to her overtly sexual content and cavalier attitude.

And even now, her tough model persona, complete with sassy close-cropped hairdo, does very well with her army of online fans.

In fact, Veronica says she is currently earning several hundred thousand dollars a month as an influencer and model - having racked up an impressive 1.4 million followers on Instagram (@veronicaperasso).

'I love to have fun, and joke around on my page,' Veronica said.

'And I receive a huge amount of positivity (and money) from my fans  which is nice!

'I'm aware I play into the South Beach Latina look, with the big boobies and round perky booty,' she confessed.

'I have a 21 inch waist and 35 inch hips  and while I am introverted and I do have intellectual depth, I am very sexualized online.'

Money maker: The influencer says she makes hundreds of thousands of dollars a month from her modeling work and online following

Support: Veronica hopes that sharing her story will help other women who find themselves in similar situations

Comfortable now with her domestic situation  'I like spending money on friends and family, and my cat, who has recently cost me $6,000 in vet bills alone'  Veronica loves the simple pleasures.

'When I'm not working I'm in sweatpants, no makeup, lounging around eating playing with my cat and watching TV,' she said.

'Although I am acquiring a serious lingerie addiction.'

Nowadays Veronica gets lots of support from her fans  with the odd crazy request now and again.

'Somebody not long ago asked for pictures of my armpits,' she remembers. 'And I made that fantasy come true for them.'

Jokes aside however, Veronica hopes her story resonates and can help others, particularly right now.

'I think with what's going on with police brutality in the United States right now, this is the perfect time to highlight that cops aren't just abusing people physically,' she said.

'They are emotionally abusing people and ignoring the safety and rights of women in situations like this.

'I just hope I can use my platform to help bring attention to this matter not just for my own vindication but for any girl who has had a similar experience to me to let her know that she is not alone. If you are a female and have heard my story and need to vent, reach out to me! '

Jam Press contacted West Palm Beach Police who refused to comment as this is an ongoing case.
Three months of abstinence was relieved for many when the government introduced lockdown 'support bubbles'. (Getty Images)

Demand for sexual health services has reportedly spiked after government officials relaxed the coronavirus lockdown.

Boris Johnson announced on 11 June, people who live alone in England could form support bubbles, allowing them to visit one other household and even stay the night from 13 June.

The government said the move was to help combat loneliness for those who had nothing but their own company for three months.

Professor Linda Bauld from the University of Edinburgh called it a very British way of saying intimacy matters.

The online doctor Zava reported a spike in sales in the week that followed the announcement, with demand for emergency contraception 43% higher than normal.

People will have to be particularly cautious as relaxed restrictions allow us to get closer. (Getty Images)

Zava also reported sales of herpes kits rose by 23%, while chlamydia treatments increased by 15%.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) aside, erectile dysfunction medication sales were up 18%.

Contraception is as important as ever to ward off unwanted pregnancies, while barrier methods like condoms protect against STIs.

Zavas Dr Kathryn Basford stressed people should always use protection when having sex with a new partner, even if they have assured you they are STI-free.

If you mistakenly have unprotected sex, get tested as soon as possible, she added.

Some STIs like chlamydia and gonorrhoea can take two to three weeks to show up on a test, while HIV and syphilis can only appear between six weeks and three months after infection.

If a test comes back negative, check if you need to repeat it, said Dr Basford.

The NHS recommends talking to a healthcare professional, like a pharmacist, before buying an at-home STI kit.

Can the coronavirus spread through sex?

The coronavirus mainly spreads face to face via infected droplets expelled in a cough or sneeze.

It is known to be in saliva, which makes kissing a risk.

The coronavirus was only identified at the end of 2019, meaning there is still relatively little scientists understand about the novel pathogen.

There is no evidence it is in vaginal secretions, however, the virus has been picked up in semen.

Story continues

A small study of 38 men with the infection in China found six (15%) had detectable traces of the pathogen in their semen.

Abstinence or condom use might be considered as preventive means for these patients, the scientists wrote in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Other experts said at the time the interesting study raises the possibility the coronavirus might be transmissible via sexual contact.

They added, however, the participant number was small, with most semen samples coming back clear.

Professor Allan Pacey from the University of Sheffield pointed out the study is at odds with another Chinese paper that found no evidence of the coronavirus in semen samples from 34 patients.

Anyone with tell-tale symptoms  fever, cough, or loss of smell or tase  should self-isolate entirely at home for seven days, ideally in a separate room with their own bathroom.

Other members of their household must do the same for two weeks, not even leaving to buy essentials.

Should you wear a mask during sex?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, government officials are yet to weigh in on this one.

A report by Harvard scientists, however, recommends wearing a mask if having sex with someone you are not quarantining with.

We recognise it may come as an unusual recommendation, but wearing a mask during intercourse with someone from outside the home may reduce risk, as may a range of other strategies, including showering, hand washing and cleaning surfaces where the virus may reside following sex, lead author Dr Jack Turban told Yahoo Life.

Co-author Dr Kenneth Mayer added: Were not saying, wear a mask and dont worry.

More that if you [wear one], youll decrease risk.

The Harvard team described abstinence as low risk for infection, though not feasible for many.

Masturbation was also considered low risk. This was echoed by The New York City department of health, which reported you are your safest sex partner.

Masturbation will not spread [the coronavirus], especially if you wash your hands (and any sex toys) with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after sex, it added.

The World Health Organization has stressed people should not wear a mask while exercising.

The heavy panting may make breathing difficult and encourage the growth of microorganisms on the inside of the covering, it added.

Coronavirus: what happened today

Read more about COVID-19

How to get a coronavirus test if you have symptoms

How easing of lockdown rules affects you

In pictures: How UK school classrooms could look in new normal

How public transport could look after lockdown

How our public spaces will change in the future

Help and advice

Read the full list of official FAQs here

10 tips from the NHS to help deal with anxiety

What to do if you think you have symptoms

How to get help if you've been furloughed
Gerard Butler is the grisly lead in new disaster movie Greenland, due to hit theaters in August.

In the grand tradition of 1998's twin comet disaster films Armageddon and Deep Impact, Greenland tells the story of a disintegrating comet that begins falling to earth and leveling cities, causing requisite madness and mayhem throughout the world.

Butler stars as a father and husband faced with the unthinkable challenge of getting his family to safety while pieces of the meteorite, or 'planet-killers' begin falling from the sky.

New trailer: Gerard Butler is the grisly lead in new disaster movie Greenland, about a disintegrating comet that begins falling to earth, due to hit theaters in August

The trailer begins unceremoniously enough, with the news media cycle focusing on 'Clark'  an interstellar comet that is said to be generating fragments expected to enter Earth's atmosphere.

Things star to go wrong when Gerard and his wife, played by V and Deadpool actress Morena Baccarin, are watching a newscast that's supposed to document a point of collision in the ocean.

Cue the shot of all the birds taking flight at the same time, as a cloud of shock and dust blows through and knocks Butler to the ground.

Bad weather: In the grand tradition of 1998's twin comet disaster films Armageddon and Deep Impact, Greenland tells the story of a disintegrating comet that begins falling to earth

The trailer begins unceremoniously enough: The news cycle focuses on 'Clark'  an interstellar comet that is said to be generating fragments expected to enter Earth's atmosphere

The collision ends up taking out the entire area of central Florida.

From there, disaster ensues, as the couple race with their young son to find safety.

Before departing, Gerard's little boy Nathan looks up and says, 'The sky's on fire,' which indeed it is.

As news reports come in about an 'extinction level event,' havoc takes over, with people fighting to the death for safe passage.

Things star to go wrong when: Gerard and his wife, played by V actress Morena Baccarin, are watching a newscast that's supposed to document a point of collision in the ocean

Before departing: Gerard's little boy Nathan looks up and says, 'The sky's on fire,' which indeed it is

The family overhears a valuable tip: 'They've been tracking the military flights to bunkers in Greenland.'

'It's our only chance,' Gerard tells Morena.

'I swear I'm going to get my family into that bunker,' he later says.

Greenland is set to land in theaters on August 14th, in the hopes that moviegoers will feel safe enough to congregate indoors in the midst of the real disaster continuing to unfold: the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Mayhem: As news reports come in about an 'extinction level event,' havoc takes over, with people fighting to the death for safe passage

'I swear I'm going to get my family into that bunker,' Gerard's character says at one point
By Trend

El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. has signed an agreement on a recovery plan with its cabin staff. In order to obtain any kind of aid from the Ministry of Finance, the airline must present signed collective agreements with its workforce, which is divided between four workers committees. The cabin staff are the first group to sign an agreement. It calls for the layoff of hundreds of people and cuts in employment conditions. El Al's cabin staff currently number about 1,400, Trend reports with reference to Globes.

The agreement will be valid for the period of the state guaranteed loan that El Al seeks.

Altogether, El Al employs about 6,300 people. Under the streamlining plan that it presented to the Ministry of Finance, it will achieve savings of 30%, through cuts in its workforce, its routes, and its aircraft fleet. According to the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) and the cabin staff's committee, the new agreement will save El Al $30 million annually.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
A woman with a 1 in 156 million allergy is left unable to shower daily due extreme pain when water touches her skin.

Rachael Fetter, 23, was diagnosed with Aquagenic Urticaria - an allergy to water - in July 2019 after she began developing painful hives every time she washed her hands, took a shower or got caught in the rain.

The veterinarian technician, from Rathdrum, Idaho, explained that she even breaks out in bright red rashes whenever she sweats too much, and can only drink half a cup of water (120ml) at a time.

Rachael Fetter, 23, was diagnosed with Aquagenic Urticaria - an allergy to water - in July 2019 after she began developing hives every time she came in contact with water. She is pictured after showering

The veterinarian technician (whose legs are pictured after showering), from Idaho, explained that she even breaks out in bright red rashes whenever she sweats too much

And due her water allergy - which affects just 50 people on the planet - Rachael can only shower twice a week, because the experience makes her skin break out in agonizing hives and causes extreme burning pain, which can last for days.

Rachael said: 'I first began having bad reactions to water when I was 18. I remember taking a shower, and as I was drying off I noticed a rash.

'I thought it was just the soap that I was using, so I tried a different brand. But then every time I took a shower, I was getting hives.

'The pain got worse over time and soon I was ending up in tears each time. I only began seeing doctors about my skin at start of 2019.

Due to her water allergy - which affects just 50 people on the planet - Rachael can only shower twice a week, as the experience causes extreme burning pain which can last for days

Rachael, pictured left in the gym and right after showering, can only consume a small amount of water at a time because of the condition, which can leave her in pain for days at a time

Brave Rachael, pictured after showering, is now sharing her story to help raise awareness about water allergies and to help people who have the condition to feel less alone

'I saw my primary physician, dermatologist, and an allergist. The local doctors did two skin biopsies and thought it was Aquagenic Urticaria, but were not sure and tried to treat the symptoms.

'I had more testing done at the Mayo clinic, and it was determined that I had Aquagenic Urticaria. By the time it wasn't a shock because I knew I was reacting to water.

'I was relieved that I had an answer and to know I was not alone. There are so few people that have the condition that it can be very isolating.'

Aquagenic Urticaria is a rare condition that causes a rash to appear after contact with any type of water - including rain, snow, sweat and tears.

Rachael explained that after being exposed to water, her skin can break out head to toe in painful red hives - and while the rash goes down in time, the pain can last days.

Rachael explained: ''The longer water sits on my skin the worse the burns are. These marks are only visible for a few hours but the burning feeling can last up to days.'

Rachael said: ;'Aquagenic Urticaria has impacted my life. I can't go swimming or get wet in the rain. 'I get frustrated with my body but I know I'm trying my best. She is pictured in pain after the shower

Due to this, she has to plan her showers and can only have two a week at the most - while she can only consume a very small amount of water at a time.

Rachael said: 'I can only drink about 4oz of water at a time. If I have any more that that at once, I'll throw it up or feel extremely sick to my stomach.

What is aquagenic urticaria? Aquagenic urticaria, is a condition that affects only one in 230 million people worldwide. It is one of a number of forms of urticaria - such as aversions to the sun and extreme cold or exercise (which causes sweating, producing water) - that cause the skin to break out in painful hives and welts. Within minutes of the skin making contact with water, rashes appear which can last for anything from 15 minutes to two hours or more. Although the exact triggers remain a mystery, many practitioners in the field believe that the rashes are caused by histamines - or chemicals - released by mast cells in the skin when by our bodies when we have a reaction, in this case when skin makes contact with water. The release of the histamines then cause the welts and rashes to appear on the skin. Advertisement

'I also react to my own sweat. If I go out for a long walk with my dog, I get hives on my arms, legs and hands.

'The longer water sits on my skin the worse the burns are. These marks are only visible for a few hours but the burning feeling can last up to days.

'I work as a vet tech and I wash my hands a lot or get wet treating animals.

'Due to the added exposure a very large rash occurs on my hands which numerous people have noticed and commented about.

'I have to plan ahead to shower and I need to take my pain medication in advance to give it time to work.

'I shower twice a week, mainly just to wash my hair. I make it as fast as possible, usually five minutes max.

'It doesn't matter hot or cold water but most of my showers are with cold water, because hot water makes things worse.

'I get in and get out, and as soon as water huts my skin it feels like I'm being burnt. When I'm done I have to sit down due to hives on the bottom of my feet.

'Funnily enough, IV fluids don't bug me at all. I love going in to get fluids that way because it's so hard on my own to drink water.'

Brave Rachael is now sharing her story to help raise awareness about water allergies and to help people who have the condition to feel less alone.

She added: 'Aquagenic Urticaria has impacted my life. I can't go swimming or get wet in the rain.

'I get frustrated with my body but I know I'm trying my best.

'I want people to know water allergy is a real thing and it affects my life on a daily basis.

'I hope one day there will be a cure. Until then I'll continue to take medications and stay as dry as possible.'

Rachael, pictured with her dog, said: 'I shower twice a week, mainly just to wash my hair. I make it as fast as possible, usually five minutes max.

Rachael, pictured with her dogs, said: 'I want people to know water allergy is a real thing and it affects my life on a daily basis.
DAEJEON, South Korea, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PharmAbcine (KRX: 208340) (CEO: Jin-san Yoo), biotech company focusing on the development of antibody therapeutics, announced on 18th that it had signed a contract manufacturing organization(CMO) agreement with biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Binex for additional production of investigational Olinvacimab (TTAC-0001), PharmAbcine's leading antibody therapeutics pipeline in oncology.

Under the agreement, Binex is responsible for large-scale manufacturing of clinical investigational material for PharmAbcine for its global Phase 2 trials on olinvacimab + immunotherapy combination for metastatic triple negative breast cancer (the U.S. included) and trials on various common solid tumors. Binex has been a clinical manufacturing partner of PharmAbcine since early global clinical trials on olinvacimab.

"Contract manufacturing organization agreement with Binex enables us to secure the steady supply of investigational material for multinational clinical trials and trials on various common solid tumors. We will remain fully committed to the swift development of olinvacimab in use for treatment of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (rGBM) and metastatic triple negative breast cancer (mTNBC)," said Jin-san Yoo, CEO, PharmAbcine.

Olinvacimab, an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2), targets and inhibits tumor angiogenesis-inducing VEGFR2. PharmAbcine is conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial on olinvacimab in patients with Avastin-refractory rGBM in the U.S. and Australia. In addition, Phase 1b trials on olinvacimab plus PD-1 antibody Keytruda (pembrolizumab) combination for rGBM and mTNBC are still going on in Australia in collaboration with MSD (Merck).

PharmAbcine gave an update about how far the development of olinvacimab had come at the world's largest conference of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry '2020 Bio International Convention' hosted virtually from 8th till 12th. It is working with multiple pharmaceutical and biotech companies to further discuss olinvacimab technology transfer.

About PharmAbcine Inc.

PharmAbcine is a clinical-stage biotech company focusing on the development of fully human antibody therapeutics to treat neovascular disorders, tumors, and other medically unmet diseases. It provides therapeutic antibodies for a wide spectrum of indications from oncology, immuno-oncology, ophthalmology, respiratory, to renal pathology.

PharmAbcine's leading pipeline, olinvacimab, an anti-VEGFR2 neutralizing fully human IgG, is currently in a phase II study for bevacizumab-nonresponding rGBM (recurrent glioblastoma multiforme) patients in both US and Australia. In collaboration with MERCK, olinvacimab plus pembrolizumab Phase Ib trials for mTNBC and rGBM are on-going.

PharmAbcine has its own HuPhage library and innovative selection system. PharmAbcine's advanced 3G expression system accommodates high levels of antibody production with high reproducibility. With its highly advanced technology platforms, it provides high-quality antibody generation services. The high standards have allowed PharmAbcine to expand co-development opportunities with not only existing but also potential partners.

Additional information about PharmAbcine can be found on website at http://www.pharmabcine.com.

About Binex

Binex Co., Ltd. is a publicly traded specialized pharmaceutical company located in Busan, Korea developing a broad range of pharmaceutical products such as nutrients and vitamin compounds, and intestinal antiseptic concentrated with probiotics screened by Binex. Binex is also developing a strong anti-cancer franchise based around their DC-Vac and ANYCELL cell bank businesses. BINEX went public in 2001 on the Korean Stock Exchange and recorded sales of $30 million in 2007 fiscal year.

Additional information about PharmAbcine can be found on website at http://www.bi-nex.com/.

SOURCE PharmAbcine

Related Links

http://www.pharmabcine.com


U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order (EO) that redirects the hiring process of the federal government in prioritizing applicants with skills rather than those who have university degrees.

Following the EO signed by Trump that expands the restriction of certain visas to make sure that Americans will be prioritized in getting the jobs in the country, the President is expected to sign another order that will re-structure the hiring process in the federal government.

The EO mandates the employers to prioritize hiring applicants who have skills rather than those who are degree holders.

According to Fox News, Trump is expected to sign the EO on Friday, instructing the federal government to take new directions in its hiring tactics.

Additionally, it was reported that this would also be brought up during a board meeting on worker policies.

Why Prioritize Skilled Applicants?

The President's daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump has recommended to the federal government, which employs more than two million workers, to re-strategize their recruitment and hiring process.

Ivanka said they need to modernize federal hiring by finding candidates with relevant competencies and knowledge, rather than simply hiring persons because of their educational background.

Moreover, the White House clarified that this does not mean that they are disregarding those who have degree holders, but they are also encouraging skill sets for jobs to be prioritized.

If the EO will be signed, the Office of Personnel Management will be tasked to execute the new directive to get more Americans back into work quickly.

It can be recounted that almost 45 million has already filed unemployment due to the closure of the businesses and this paralyzed the country's economy for almost two months.

It also cannot be denied that the country is still processing its economic recovery.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also encouraging to follow the same hiring process.

IBM, a company that produces and sells computer products, said that they started to hire 15 percent from non-traditional backgrounds to its workforce since last year.

Trump's administration strategy to employ those who could not afford a two or four-year degree will give a chance to people in underprivileged communities.

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Princes entire song catalog has been added to the popular video-sharing app TikTok, under a deal with the late music icon's estate.

The late Purple Rain hitmaker's estate adviser, Troy Carter, explained the decision was influenced by the seven-time Grammy winner's longtime history of 'breaking boundaries.'

'It is our hope that a new generation of global fans can find meaning in Princes music, and be inspired to create,' Carter in a statement, obtained by Variety.

Exciting: Princes entire song catalog has been added to the popular video-sharing app TikTok, under a deal with the late music icon's estate

'We are massive fans of Prince and admirers of his cultural legacy,' TikToks Brandon Holman added of the partnership.

Additionally, TikTok features an official Prince TikTok account, which is owned by his estate.

So far, the account has eleven videos, which contain archival footage of Prince performances, interviews and video excerpts from his remarkable career.

New platform: The late Purple Rain hitmaker's estate adviser, Troy Carter, explained the decision was informed by the seven-time Grammy winner's longtime history of 'breaking boundaries'

Holman pointed out users will be inspired to 'to connect with his music in creative and unexpected ways' with 'fresh ears.'

Among the song selections are his massive hits Controversy, 1999, Lets Go Crazy, and Adore.

On Monday, TikToka is hosting a special livestream tour of Paisley Park, Princes famous home at 12 p.m. PT.

'It is our hope that a new generation of global fans can find meaning in Princes music, and be inspired to create,' Carter in a statement, obtained by Variety (seen in 1984)

Note: The official Prince Instagram shared an image of a handwritten note that Prince (real name Prince Rogers Nelson) kept in his own personal archives

Earlier this month, Prince's Instagram shared an image of a handwritten note that Prince kept in his own personal archives on what would've been his 62nd birthday.

The hand written note read, 'Nothing more ugly in the whole wide world than INTOLERANCE (between) Black, white, red, yellow, boy or girl.'

Prince (born Prince Rogers Nelson) passed away in April 2016 at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

Two posthumous albums have been released, Piano and a Microphone 1983 in 2018 and Originals in 2019.
The UN Committee of World Food Security should lead the global response to the pandemics impact on the food system.

All eyes have been on the World Health Organization during the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus, however, has not only created a medical emergency, it has also brought the world to the edge of a hunger crisis.

School closures everywhere mean that an increasing number of children across the world no longer have access to free school meals and are going hungry. Essential food workers in the fields, factories and markets, are being forced to put their health at risk because their employers are not providing safe workplaces and their governments are not providing adequate support during the pandemic.

Without healthy workers, we cannot have a stable supply of food. Parts of the food system are also a public health hazard. For example, meatpacking plants around the world have fostered the pandemic, spreading the virus to nearby communities.

Where then should we look to find the political will and policy tools necessary to avoid a world hunger crisis?

The UN Committee of World Food Security (CFS) in Rome is best suited to shape the global response to the pandemics devastating effects on food security. Following its establishment in 1974, the CFS was a useless talk shop for decades. But it was revamped after the 2008 world food price crisis. Since then, the CFS has become the pre-eminent global venue where governments, international agencies, the private sector, and civil society coordinate their efforts to tackle hunger and malnutrition.

Today, however, it is not clear whether it will be able to adapt again and hold on to this important role.

The CFS is in the process of deciding what it can do to stave off the hunger crisis. It is trying to determine how it can adapt itself to the post-pandemic world and what role it can play in the global coronavirus response.

Ultimately, it has two options: it will either just be a place where governments share national policy responses, or it will act as a forum that can foster global cooperation and coordinated action against COVID-19s brutal effects.

Not only is the CFS the most inclusive intergovernmental institution addressing global food policy, but it is one of the few such bodies that prioritise a human rights-based approach. Through the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Mechanism (CSM), vulnerable communities have an effective seat at the CFS table. The CSM is an autonomous space that allows different social movements, Indigenous peoples, labour unions, and advocacy organisations to work together and shape the CFSs policies.

A human rights approach does not just mean protecting vulnerable people. A human rights approach means placing vulnerable communities at the centre of policy responses, ensuring that their demands are heard and addressed by governments, and granting them as much power as possible to determine their own future.

Some governments are not willing to adopt a rights-based approach or coordinate their policies with others, and therefore reluctant to respond to the pandemic through the CFS. Because of this, there is a real chance that the CFS will slip back to being just a place where governments share information and do nothing.

If it is not allowed to facilitate an effective and broad response to the food crisis triggered by the pandemic, the CFS will lose its popular legitimacy. This would be a shame, as, without the CFS, the world will be left without a single space where all voices are heard and global food policy is enacted in the spirit of collaboration.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
The Government must release its plans for air bridges as soon as possible, travel companies have urged, warning that sending people on holiday is not like turning on a tap.

In a bid to get the air travel industry kick-started ahead of the summer holidays, the Government is expected to announce next week the so-called air bridges, which will allow Britons to go on holiday to certain destinations without needing to quarantine for 14 days on their return to the UK.

The first of these air bridges will allow holidaymakers to travel to low-risk European destinations, including France, Italy, Spain, Greece and Germany, from July 4, according to newspaper reports.

The Government will finalise agreements in the coming days although Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said no announcement will be made until Monday when the quarantine measures will be officially reviewed.

He said air bridges would only be agreed with countries which have a coronavirus test and trace system of the same standard as that used in Britain.

The aviation industry has been fiercely critical of the quarantine measures introduced on June 8 and has welcomed the air bridge plans.

But the travel industry body Abta urged the Government to set out its plans as soon as possible to allow businesses and customers to plan ahead.

An Abta spokesman said: The process of sending people on holiday is not like turning on a tap. As much advance notice as possible from the Government is required for travel companies to restart operations.

Greek tourism minister Haris Theoharis said the country wanted British tourists to return when it opens to other European holidaymakers on July 1.

The final decision, from the UK and our point of view, will be in place in the next few days and Im hoping the announcement will be positive from both sides, said Mr Theoharis, who indicated conversations with the UK Government over air bridges were going well.

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He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme there was no need for those returning to the UK from Greece to be quarantined.

The point is that Greece is a safe country  we have proven that during this crisis and we will continue proving this in the exit stages of the health situation, he added.

The International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), which slammed the quarantine measures as illogical, said: Measures should be selective and stop travel from (Covid-19) hot spots but not from countries with lower rates than ours.

This government must remove the quarantine now  the impact on the aviation industry and jobs is devastating.

Budget airline Ryanair branded the air bridge plan as idiotic rubbish and called for an end to quarantine measures.

A Ryanair spokesman said it is operating 1,000 daily flights from July 1, adding: Thousands of British families are ignoring this useless quarantine as bookings to Europe from the UK for July and August are flooding into Ryanair.

According to reports, air bridges will be announced in batches, with the second set of destinations including other European countries such as Denmark, Norway, Finland and Holland and low-risk Caribbean islands.

A third set of air bridges for long-haul flights to destinations such as Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong is not expected before late summer, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Meanwhile EasyJet has announced hundreds more international flights from 14 airports across the UK from July 1 to countries including France, Spain and Italy.
This is co-signed by Tom Bates, Rich Bielen, Turner Burton, Kelly Caruso, Mark Crosswhite, Nancy Goedecke, Lee Styslinger, III, Mark Tarr, John Turner, Tim Vines, Ray Watts, and Randall Woodfin

Birmingham has been defined by race: both the epicenter of racial oppression in America and the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement. For each Bull Connor, there was a Fred Shuttlesworth; for each clenched fist, there was an open hand.

In the aftermath of George Floyds murder, our nation is once again grappling with the wounds of racism. This is not the first time a Black life was extinguished on camera by force. But, this time seems different, because we hear Floyds last words as his first words, Mama.

No one can ignore the power of that pain, that fear.

That scene has sparked conversations in cities, boardrooms and C-suites across America. People believe things should change, but they arent confident they will.

Because of our history, we believe Birmingham has a responsibility to be a leader in making change happen. Because our current civic and corporate leadership refuse to allow the status quo to be maintained, we believe Birmingham can become a model for change.

We must start by investing in what makes Birmingham the vibrant city that it is: our people.

First, our business community recognizes that our economy is only as good as the investments in the productivity of its workforce. The Birmingham Promise (www.birminghampromise.org) is a downpayment on our future, enabling young people to access prosperity even if they werent born into it. In other communities, Promise programs produce a more diverse talent pool, reduce poverty, and decrease the racial achievement gap.

Because of investments from local corporations and philanthropy, nearly 800 Birmingham City School graduates will go to college tuition-free on this last-dollar scholarship in fall 2020. When they graduate, we want them to come home to the place that recognized their private hopes and dreams and invested in them.

Second, we are calling on companies to join us in leveraging our purchasing and procurement power as employers to create economic opportunities for minority-, women-, and other disadvantaged business enterprises (MWDBEs).

In Greater Birmingham, Black people constitute 28% of the population but own just 3% of businesses. That represents the largest racial disparity in business ownership among metro areas with more than 1 million people in the country.

We have a long way to go, but this is a matter of urgency and importance. Doubling the Black business ownership rate would create over 500 new businesses in the region and add more jobs in our community.

As employers, we need to improve our efforts in supplier diversity, and as business leaders who care about the economy, we must recognize the power of expanding our bench of MWDBEs. Investing in local suppliers, people of color, and women adds richness and depth to our community while adding jobs, promoting entrepreneurship, and supporting small businesses for the long run.

The City of Birmingham is launching the VITAL Program (Valuing Inclusion To Accelerate and Lift), and we are challenging other companies to join us in measuring what they value: publishing an annual performance report on spending with WMDBEs. Beginning in January 2021, we will work with partner companies to publish a report in the Birmingham Business Journal.

Our first reports will establish a transparent baseline for us to improve upon each year. If large and mid-sized employers collectively commit to measuring our performance in doing business with WMDBEs, we can become a city where entrepreneurs from all backgrounds can unlock their fullest potential and contribute to our economy.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded the nation in a Letter from a Birmingham Jail that humanity is caught in a network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Over a half-century later, too many Birmingham residents still struggle to grasp that single garment of shared fate. Lets demonstrate that our young people matter to all of our futures by investing in their education. Lets create jobs and invest in MWDBEs, because when they flourish, we all benefit.

Birmingham, lets be the city that moves from conversation to action.

This represents the CEOs or Presidents of Protective, Hoar, Shipt, Alabama Power, Mayer, Altec, Encompass, Regions, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama Media Group and the City of Birmingham, respectively. This pledge is ongoing, and we hope other regional employers will join us. More information will be forthcoming.
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Linkedin Tracy Rucinski and David Shepardson (Reuters) Chicago, Washington, United States  Fri, June 26, 2020 12:03 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661d6a02 2 Business US,aviation,Union-Group,bailout,COVID-19 Free

Six US unions representing aviation workers told top lawmakers on Thursday that another US$32 billion in payroll aid is needed to keep hundreds of thousands of workers employed through March 31, as a resurgence in coronavirus cases raises fears that air travel may not rebound this year.

The request, made in a letter to leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate, comes as Congress in July is set to consider a new round of spending that could top $1 trillion to address coronavirus-related issues and the impact on jobless Americans.

Under the CARES Act passed earlier this year, Congress gave the aviation sector $32 billion to cover six months of payroll through Sept. 30, hoping that a sharp drop in air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic would subside by October.

But executives have since warned that a recovery to 2019 travel levels could still be two years away, forcing the need to lay off employees in the fall without an extension of the Payroll Support Program (PSP).

Should October 1 arrive without extending the PSP grant job program mass layoffs are inevitable, as airline executives have acknowledged, union leaders said in the letter.

The letter was signed by the Air Line Pilots Association, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the Transport Workers Union, the Communications Workers of America and the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

Major US airlines are offering voluntary exit packages in an effort to slim their workforces before October, and tens of thousands of employees are already taking temporary leaves.

The main airline lobby, Airlines for America, which played a major role in negotiating the first stimulus package, said it is not currently seeking additional federal assistance.

Several airlines have moved to bolster their balance sheets in capital markets this week, with American Airlines raising $4.4 billion through equity and bond offerings.

But airline top executives are increasingly concerned about a potential second wave of COVID-19 after a recent uptick in cases and hospitalizations in a number of US states, one airline executive told Reuters.

Everyone is holding their breath for a couple of weeks to see what happens, he said.

For the first bailout, the industry argued that airlines form a crucial role in any economic recovery and require trained employees.

Representative Peter DeFazio, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told Reuters on Wednesday that at the end of the Sept. 30 time frame, Congress may need to consider additional assistance for airlines, including for social distancing on airplanes.

His comment came after the Allied Pilots Association said it was discussing with lawmakers a plan for the government to pay airlines for empty seats to allow for more space between passengers.
"Every day in Australia, we have cases in hotel quarantine - mostly in New South Wales and Victoria, because they're taking the lion's share," he said. "We can't be absolutely sure there won't be more in continuing imports of cases." He said states and territories were able to compel people to be tested. "You have powers to say to someone: 'Well, we won't let you out of quarantine until you've been tested and had a clear test'," Professor Murphy said. "We will ... make sure people understand before they come that [testing] is a requirement. I think most people will co-operate with that arrangement."

Official data shows 18,000 returned travellers have been through hotel quarantine in Victoria since March 29, with more than 100 people testing positive to COVID-19 and 5400 people released into the community without being tested. Loading The NSW government initially only tested people with cold and flu symptoms when hotel quarantine arrangements began on March 29, but on May 15 began optionally testing detained travellers without symptoms on day 10 of their stay, with more than 98 per cent agreeing to be tested. "Most travellers, having made it back to Australia, won't be terribly keen to do another 10 days in quarantine," Mr Hazzard said. Infectious disease expert Professor Raina MacIntyre, head of the biosecurity research program at the University of NSW's Kirby Institute, said it was vital for all returned travellers to be tested, as the 14-day incubation period was only an average.

"There are still a few people who can develop an infection after 14 days," she said. Loading "Secondly, there are a substantial amount of asymptomatic infections where people can be infected without symptoms, then go out into the community and infect others." While medical ethics prevented doctors from forcing people to undergo invasive testing, she said, increasing the quarantine period for those who refused would provide a strong incentive. Australian Medical Association President Tony Bartone said that "in an ideal situation", returned travellers would agree to be tested as "their civic duty".

Requiring those who refused to stay in quarantine for longer was "a sensible option", he said. Professor Murphy reiterated the importance of 14 days' quarantine for people arriving from overseas, noting the risk from people returning from overseas "is still very high" and "the country risk profile is changing all the time". "We are going to start testing people on entry to quarantine and testing people before they leave quarantine to see whether a testing regime might help in the future," he said. "We know it is a burden on our returning citizens and permanent residents, it is something the great majority are very happy to put up with because they know they're protecting their fellow Australians from this virus."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the virus was now taking hold in South America "at a level difficult to imagine and we are anticipating similar types of scenarios in Africa and other parts of the world." "There are a million new cases being reported of COVID-19 around the world every week," he said. The rate of positive tests in NSW was 3 per cent for those with symptoms and 0.5 per cent when those without symptoms were also tested. Queensland and the ACT have not previously made testing compulsory in their quarantine hotels, with 29 per cent of arrivals at Canberra airport refusing to have a COVID-19 test. In Victoria, those detained travellers who agreed to a test have been tested on days 3 and 11.
Regulatory News:

Teleperformance's (Paris:TEP) Combined General Meeting was held on June 26, 2020 in Paris under the chairmanship of Olivier Rigaudy, deputy CEO of the group.

Shareholders adopted all of the resolutions submitted to their vote with the exception of the 30th resolution concerning the anticipation of the coming legal changes that will result in a change of references.

The shareholders notably approved:

the 2019 parent company and consolidated financial statements;

the proposed dividend of 2.40 per share, representing an increase compared with the previous year: the ex-dividend date is July 2, 2020 and the payment date is July 6, 2020;

the renewal of the terms of office of six directors: Christobel Selecky, Angela Maria Sierra Moreno, Bernard Canetti, Philippe Dominati and Jean Guez. These renewals will maintain the balanced representation of men and women on the Board, as well as the requisite diversity in terms of experience, expertise and nationalities;

the information on remuneration for directors and corporate officers as well as their remuneration policy, described in the amendment to the corporate governance report dated May 18, 2020.

The breakdown of the voting results by resolution is available on Teleperformance's corporate website (www.teleperformanceinvestorrelations.com Shareholders/General Meetings section).

ABOUT TELEPERFORMANCE GROUP

Teleperformance (TEP ISIN: FR0000051807 Reuters: TEPRF.PA Bloomberg: TEP FP), a leading global group in digitally integrated business services, serves as a strategic partner to the world's largest companies in many industries. It offers a One Office support services model combining three wide, high-value solution families: customer experience management, back-office services and business process knowledge services. These end-to-end digital solutions guarantee successful customer interaction and optimized business processes, anchored in a unique, comprehensive high tech, high touch approach. The Group's 331,000 employees, based in 80 countries, support billions of connections every year in over 265 languages and 170 markets, in a shared commitment to excellence as part of the "Simpler, Faster, Safer" process.This mission is supported by the use of reliable, flexible, intelligent technological solutions and compliance with the industry's highest security and quality standards, based on Corporate Social Responsibility excellence. In 2019, Teleperformance reported consolidated revenue of 5,355 million (US$ 6 billion, based on 1 $1.12) and net profit of 400 million.

Teleperformance shares are traded on the Euronext Paris market, Compartment A, and are eligible for the deferred settlement service. They are included in the following indices: CAC 40, CAC Support Services, STOXX 600, S&P Europe 350 and MSCI Global Standard. In the area of corporate social responsibility, Teleperformance shares have been included in the Euronext Vigeo Eurozone 120 index since 2015, the FTSE4Good index since 2018 and also the Ethibel Sustainability Excellence Europe index (confirmed in 2019).

For more information: www.teleperformance.com Follow us on Twitter: @teleperformance

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005362/en/

Contacts:

FINANCIAL ANALYSTS AND INVESTORS

Investor relations and financial

communication department

TELEPERFORMANCE

Tel: +33 1 53 83 59 15

investor@teleperformance.com

PRESS RELATIONS

Europe

Laurent Poinsot Karine Allouis

IMAGE7

Tel: +33 1 53 70 74 70

teleperformance@image7.fr

PRESS RELATIONS

Americas and Asia-Pacific

Mark Pfeiffer

TELEPERFORMANCE

Tel: 1 801-257-5811

mark.pfeiffer@teleperformance.com
Arjun Kapoor blows off candles on his birthday cake on June 26. The actor, who turns 35 this year, started his career as an assistant director to Nikhil Advani on Kal Ho Naa Ho in 2003. Born to producer Boney Kapoor, he also assisted on his father's produced films like No Entry (2005) and Wanted (2009).

Arjun debuted as an actor in 2012 with Ishaqzaade, also starring Parineeti Chopra. He lost his mother Mona Shourie Kapoor, a few months before his first film's release, to cancer. Arjun got nominated and won several accolades for his performance in the 2012 action romance.

He went on to appear in coming-of-age films like 2 States (2014), Finding Fanny (2014) and Ki & Ka (2016). Arjun was also praised for his work in the crime drama Gunday (2014). The film also had Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra.

On the personal front, Arjun made his relationship with Malaika Arora official after months of speculation around the same. He told Filmfare in 2019, "We've come out because we feel the media has given us dignity. That is why I felt comfortable."

Today, on the occasion of Arjun's birthday, here's looking at some of his best moments with Malaika Arora:

The NYE kiss

Malaika shared this image on January 1 and wrote, "Sun,star,light,happiness,peace,tolerance .......2020." She plants a kiss on Arjun's cheek who cis seen clicking their selfie.

Hand in hand

The couple has often been spotted spending quality time together at luncheons and dinner dates. They look stylish while leaving an upscale Mumbai pub.

Showing hearts

Arjun posted this adorable image last year on Instagram. The couple twin in sunglasses as Arjun kisses his ladylove.

Affair under the sun

This click of Arjun and Malaika was captured when the couple had jetted off to a picturesque location for a hush-hush vacay. Malaika posted this for the first time to wish Arjun on his birthday, last year.

Painting it red

Arjun and Malaika turned heads when they arrived for Armaan Jain and Anissa Malhotra's wedding reception. Malaika looked ultra-hot in red while Arjun looked debonair in a velvet green outfit.
While the country focused on a wave of protests and riots earlier this year, Ravalli County Sheriff Steve Holtons phone and email lit up.

It was nothing really bad or accusatory, but the inquiries we were receiving for information were unprecedented in the time that Ive been here, Holton said. But then a couple of weeks ago  almost overnight  it just switched.

Those questions came as people were protesting police brutality in Black Lives Matter rallies that surged across the nation following the death of George Floyd on May 25 while in custody of Minneapolis law enforcement.

Instead of receiving requests on what training his office provides its officers or what protocols they have in place to de-escalate a situation, a new flood of thank you cards, supportive emails, lunches and plates of cookies poured in.

It seemed like every day brought some new surprise. When Holton stepped outside to dump his garbage earlier this week, he was met by a man carrying a sign that said, Thank you for your service.

That kind of caught me off guard, Holton said. And then I saw the sign was in support of local law enforcement. It was a nice thing to see.

Apparently, that same citizen made a similar walk at the Hamilton Police office the next day. He wasnt alone in showing support for local law enforcement.

A group formed a program they call Adopt a Cop. Law enforcement officers fill out forms about their interests and likes. Community members can then use those forms to come up with ways to show their support. All of it is done anonymously.

Others have stepped up more directly.

Jim Grenfell, owner of Grenfell Garage, just north of Woodside, decided he needed to take action too.

Just because were in crazy times, he said. Im buying gift certificates for law enforcement officers in the valley.

Hes buying lunch for eight Montana Highway Patrol troopers, 15 Hamilton police officers and 39 Ravalli County sheriffs employees.

He presented 54 $30 gift certificates to the different departments Wednesday.

I was born here, Grenfell said. I feel safe. They keep us safe in this crazy world, and Im thankful they keep us safe. Hopefully the gift certificates are a blessing to them. 

Hamilton Police Chief Ryan Oster said he appreciated the community support.

Weve been seeing a real outpouring from the community, Oster said. This place has looked like Christmas around here with cookies, pizza, and it has been incredible.

There is good news happening here, Oster said. Were very blessed to live where we live. Were still small enough to still be one true community. The Bitterroot Valley hasnt grown beyond that, and our differences havent divided us. Thats pretty cool. We appreciate Jim Grenfell and what a lot of people in the community have done.

The national debate over the role of the police has resulted in several productive and very good conversations with both residents and city officials, Oster said. Even the person who spearheaded the countys only Black Lives Matter protest met with Oster to let him know up front that it wasnt anti-law enforcement.

Obviously, we live in a special place, Oster said. Things are different here than a lot of other placesNot everyone likes law enforcement, but youll find that anywhere you go. But those people are certainly not the majority.

Stevensville Police Chief James Marble said hes had one negative reaction in the form of a man driving by and giving a single-finger salute, but everything else has been positive.

Nationally, theres a call for more community-oriented policy. Marble said they are ahead of that curve.

Thats what we do here, Marble said. Its about connecting with your community and knowing the people you serve. Understanding the people who live here. Many of them you know on a first-name basis. Being in a community long enough to understand the issues helps too.

We try to enforce the law in a way thats fair, and its also compassionate, he said.

While Holton is appreciative of the publics show of support, I really want to thank folks for knowing that some of the issues we see in other parts of the country is the not the way business is done here.

In some ways, law enforcement hasnt changed since the 1880s, Holton said. You are only going to be as successful as your relationship is with the publicIts why were successful when we prosecute things here. People talk to us and we appreciate that. We cant do our jobs without them.

While living in a rural area probably has something to do with that, Holton said its also important that not every contact that people have with law enforcement is a bad contact. There are lots of good contacts. Even though were pushing 45,000 people, our guys still go to church with people, our kids still get together. We interact on a social level probably more than we do on a professional level.

Its a mutual trust, he said. My guys trust what the public is telling them. They trust us to do the right thing with it. Thats probably no different than any other relationship in any other capacity. If you dont trust one another, its not going to work.

Holton wants the community to know that Ravalli Countys law enforcement officers are thankful for the show of support theyve received through the community.

Every day, I thank God that we live and work where we do, Holton said.

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Maryland National Guard troops activated for COVID-19 response and civil unrest went without June paychecks in a series of administrative failures, a Maryland National Guard spokesman said Thursday.

Guard leadership is aware of the issue and is working to resolve it, said Capt. Ben Hughes, a Maryland Guard spokesman. "There were some delays" in getting pay out on time, he added.

Read more: US Military's Deployment to the Southern Border Has Been Extended Another Year

Hughes said the Guard is trying to determine "who might be missing out because of paperwork" involving order extensions and authorizations under state and federal guidelines.

There are no initial estimates of how many troops missed paychecks, Hughes said. But Steven Beynon, a sergeant with "A" Co., 1-175 Infantry Regiment, said he knows of 60 to 70 soldiers in his battalion who missed June 15 paychecks.

Guard members usually receive pay on the 1st and 15th of the month.

"No one in my company has been paid" for June 15, said Beynon, who is also a reporter for Stars & Stripes.

"It was shocking when we weren't paid," he said. "There wasn't any warning to it.

"The Army is all about taking care of soldiers," Beynon said. "This is not taking care of soldiers."

Guardsmen have left their civilian jobs in all 50 states to respond in unprecedented numbers to the nation's call to combat COVID-19 and to back up local law enforcement where needed. In early June, more than 120,000 of the total of about 450,000 National Guard members had been activated under state and federal authorizations, and on overseas deployments, according to the National Guard Bureau.

A spokeswoman for the bureau said it was unaware of pay problems in Maryland or other states. There was no immediate response from the bureau after the Maryland Guard confirmed the pay issue.

"I don't think anybody feels worse than the people in the chain of command of the Maryland National Guard," said John Goheen, a spokesman for the National Guard Association of the U.S.

"Everybody who has ever worn the uniform has probably experienced a pay problem," he added. "You hate to hear this.

"This has not been the easiest operation to administer," Goheen said, referring to orders for 30- or 31-day activations by states and Title 32 federal call-ups, and the various benefits and housing allowances that come with them.

In several roundtable discussions with defense reporters, state National Guard adjutant generals have consistently stressed the importance of timely pay for Guard members activated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a roundtable Monday on preparations for the hurricane season, Air Force Maj. Gen. James Eifert, the Florida adjutant general, said many Guard members activated during the pandemic had been laid off from their civilian jobs and they viewed the activations as "an opportunity for them to continue making a paycheck."

The pay and benefits issue for activated Guard troops came to a head in May when the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced a June 24 "hard stop" to the deployments of thousands of Guard members called up under federal orders.

The June 24 deadline would have left the troops one day shy of the 90 days needed to qualify for a range of retirement and education benefits.

In a May 20 statement, Rep. Max Rose, D-New York, a decorated Army National Guard captain, said, "Ending orders one day short of a deadline for National Guard soldiers to receive benefits for their heroic sacrifices is the definition of heartless."

On June 3, President Donald Trump signed an order extending the deployments of National Guard members on missions supporting FEMA through Aug. 21.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Related: DC Activates 400 National Guard Troops to Protect Monuments in Washington
(CNN)  Four years on from the UK's Brexit vote, a majority of British voters would now opt to remain inside the European Union, says new research.

According to the European Social Survey (ESS), a pan-European poll carried out every two years, 56.8% of respondents in the UK indicated that they would vote to remain inside the bloc, an increase from 49.9% the last time the survey was published in 2018. The most recent survey shows that of those questioned in the UK, 34.9% said they would vote to leave and 8.3% said they would not vote at all.

The findings come in the same week that marked the fourth anniversary of the 2016 referendum. The intervening years have seen the UK engage in divisive internal debate about precisely what form Brexit should take, complicated negotiations with Brussels on how the country would leave the bloc, and painful political deadlock that only ended on January 31 this year, when the UK finally left the EU.

The survey also reveals that support for the EU has grown broadly across the continent.

The latest survey of 26 countries, four of which are not member states, reveals an increase in support for EU membership, suggesting that speculation that other countries would quickly follow the UK to exit the union is possibly unfounded.

Of the 19 countries that participated in both the latest and previous ESS, all EU member states saw support for EU membership rise. There was little change in Norway and Switzerland, which are not member states. The latest data was gathered while the UK was still negotiating its exit from the EU as a member state.

"Brexit had an early uptick in support among member states, but for most EU citizens, Brexit hasn't been on their radar for a long time," says Georgina Wright, an EU expert at the Institute for Government.

"Over the past few years there has been more of a sense that Europe isn't static. At the last EU election we saw lots of parties who backed EU reform elected to the parliament, which I think suggests citizens are increasingly positive about the EU's ability to change with the times."

Outside of the bloc there is a mixed picture. In the Balkans there are majorities in Montenegro and Serbia for joining. However, support remains strong for staying outside in non-member states that have a far closer relationship with the EU than the UK government currently claims to want.

Switzerland, for example, is part of the EU's Schengen Area and operates in line with large areas of EU law in order to participate in the EU's Single Market. Just 11.2% of respondents in the country would be in favor of joining. Norway, where 21.5% of respondents were in favor of joining the EU, is a full member of the European Economic Area and the European Free Trade Association.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, by contrast, has stated on numerous occasions that the UK will not fall in line with EU law and seeks only a free-trade agreement with the bloc. Any deal would need to be in place by December 31 of this year, when the UK's current transition period with the EU expires.

Although the survey shows a significant swing in British support for EU membership compared to 2016, it paints only part of a murky picture in the context of British politics. Johnson won an 80-seat majority in a landslide election victory back in December on the simple platform of "Get Brexit Done," suggesting that leaving the EU was popular after more than three years of indecision.

"A lot of people, regardless of their preference for leave or remain, believe that the referendum was a democratic vote, regardless of what they think of the outcome. So in the words of the PM, they might agree that we needed to get Brexit done," says Will Jennings, Professor in Politics at the University of Southampton.

"Asking people hypothetically how they would vote if the referendum were happening now, you might get an interesting answer. But it is a fundamentally different question."

Whatever is happening in the UK, the apparent trend of increased support for the union among its own ranks will be welcome news to Eurocrats. Brussels has been careful to prevent Brexit setting a trend for increased Euroskepticism and has myriad internal problems due to disagreements between member states on issues like China and migration.

"Our latest data suggests that the UK remains divided on Brexit, however, in the rest of the union, support for remaining in the EU remains very high and is actually rising," says Professor Rory Fitzgerald, Director of the European Social Survey at City, University of London. "Support for remaining ranged from 66% (Czech Republic) to 89% (Spain), suggesting that the anti-EU sentiment seen in the UK is not spreading to other countries."

However, he also notes that if the UK is successful in striking a deal with the EU before the end of the year, then Britain's Europe question could be settled once and for all.

"Only in countries outside the bloc like Norway and Switzerland do we see higher levels of anti-EU sentiment than in the UK. However, this suggests in the longer term, being outside the union might see support for re-joining decline."

Whether that happens will largely come down to what kind of deal, if any, Johnson manages to strike with Brussels. "The softest deal that this government wants to strike is far harder than many of the people in this country are comfortable with," says Simon Usherwood, professor of politics at the University of Surrey. "When people start to see the impact that has on the country and the economy, we might soon learn that the European question is far from settled as new battle lines are drawn."

Brexit negotiations between the EU and UK have continued through 2020 via videoconference, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Both sides have previously told CNN that the lack of human interaction has made the negotiations more fraught. And while both want to reach an agreement, there is still significant distance between the two sides, and very little time left, unless either London or Brussels makes a major concession.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Four years after Brexit, support for the EU surges in Britain"
Sona Aghekyan, a former member of the Yerevan Council of Elders and head of the Yerevan Alternative Municipality initiative, was apprehended Friday by the police near the Constitutional Court of Armenia.

Aghekyan had come to the Constitutional Court without a mask, the police wanted to fine her, but she did not have a passport with her, and so the police took her to a police station.

In a conversation with journalists, Sona Aghekyan stated that instead of an actual passport, she has the passport of a proud citizen of the Republic of Armenia. "3.5 billion [drams] were provided on this from the reserve fund of 2020. I want to demand and say, why werent we fighting against the coronavirus with that 3.5 billion drams? At that time, the whole world was fighting, she said.
CBSE, ICSE Class 10, 12 results 2020: SC okays assessment scheme, results by July 15

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 26: The Supreme Court has called the draft notification by the CBSE on Class 10, 12 as comprehensive.

The CBSE in its notification said that the exams for classes 10 and 12 which were scheduled from July 1 to 15 2020 stands cancelled. The assessment of the performance of students will be done based on the assessment scheme as suggested by the competent committee.

The results based on the assessment scheme will be declared by July 15, so that the candidate can apply and seek admission in higher education. However for the Class 12, the CBSE will conduct an optional exam in the subjects whose exams were scheduled to be conducted from July 1 to July 15 as soon as the conditions are conducive. However the marks obtained in these optional exams will be treated as final for those who have opted to take these exams.

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For candidates in class 10, no further exams will be conducted and the result declared by the CBSE on the basis of assessment scheme will be treated as final. For class 12, the result declared by the CBSE under the assessment scheme will be considered as final, unless the student opts for the optional examination.

During the course of the hearing, Jaideep Gupta, counsel for the ICSE said that he had gone through the CBSE affidavit. Our affidavit is more of less the same, but our averaging formula is not the same as the CBSE.

The court said that it is allowing the CBSE to issue the notification. The class 10, 12 exams of the CBSE for July 1 to 15, 2020 will be governed by this order. The CBSE and ICSE has also assured the court that the results of the exams will be declared by July 15, the Supreme Court also said.

The CBSE notification should be uploaded within an hour. On the other hand, the ICSE has been given a week's time to notify with slight chances on optional exams for Class 10 as well. While wrapping up the matter, the Supreme Court said that similar matters in the High Courts will be disposed of in terms of its order.

CBSE assessment Scheme:

For students who have appeared in the exams in more than 3 subjects, the average of the marks obtained in the best three performing subjects will be awarded in the subjects whose exams have not been conducted.

For students who have appeared in the exams only in 3 subjects, the average of the marks obtained in the best two performing subjects will be awarded in the subjects whose exams have not been conducted.

There are very few students of Class 12, mainly from Delhi, who have appeared in the exams in only 1 or 2 subjects. Their results will be declared based on the performance in the appeared subjects and performance in internal/practical/project assessment.

Those students will be allowed to appear in the optional exams conducted by the CBSE to improve their performance, if they desire to do so. The results of these students will also be declared along with other students.

This new assessment scheme will be submitted to the Supreme Court today. The court is expected to deliver its verdict on the case tod

ay.
As COVID-19 has upended our lives, coronavirus vaccine researcher Dr. Peter Hotez has become an ever-more-familiar presence, a regular in Chronicle coverage and on national cable-news channels. Hes the bowtied expert who clearly  and ever more passionately  explains the science of the virus, and what people need to know about it.

Based here in Houston, Hotez is a professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and co-director of the Texas Childrens Hospital Center for Vaccine Development.

We recorded this interview with him on Wednesday, June 24. Its been edited for length and clarity.

I just reread the interview that you and I did two months ago, on April 21.

[Laughs.] Im afraid to ask what I said.

You said, There's no point in opening up the economy prematurely without having everything in place. Then everybody gets sick again, filling up the ICU, and we wind up looking like New York and New Jersey.

Of course, Texas did reopen the economy before new cases were declining and without our public health infrastructure in place. Now it's two months later. The Texas Medical Centers regular ICU beds are full, and Harris Countys new cases are growing exponentially.

So tragically, you called it right. Now, without any I-told-you-so's, how do we get this genie back in the bottle? What does the State of Texas need to do now?

It doesn't give me a lot of satisfaction to know that I that I predicted it. I think the only bit that I was off on is, I didn't expect to see cases go up exponentially in June. I expected that in July.

Why was this predicted and predictable? We actually were doing really well in March and April. The governor, the county executives and the mayors were really on top of this: We implemented an aggressive shutdown. When they saw what was happening in New York, they said, We don't want that to happen here. Closing so soon after community transmission began made the difference  it meant having hundreds in our ICUs instead of thousands. That was great.

But the problem was this: The epidemiological modelers told us, Great job, guys. Now keep this going throughout the month of May. Then you'll get back to containment mode, which means less than one new case per million residents per day.

That would also have given us time to build the public health infrastructure we needed to do all the contact tracing, testing, epidemiological modeling and public-health messaging  and maybe to create an app-based system for syndromic surveillance. But that didn't happen.

There were a lot of economic pressures to open up early, and reopening began April 30. That was Problem Number One.

Problem Number Two: Even though the idea of opening things at 25 percent or 50 percent capacity was well-intentioned, I don't think many people understood that. They were out on the beaches of Galveston, and they were assembling at bars. I doubt that at most bars in our metropolitan area, there were bouncers saying, Hey, wait a minute, we're one quarter full, so we have to start turning people away. It was more or less business as usual.

The third mistake was not putting in a public health infrastructure that's commensurate with what you need to maintain the economy. We did not have adequate numbers of contact tracers or enough testing. We never put in place a sophisticated app-based system for syndromic surveillance. We did not have assertive public health messaging. We never got those epidemiologic models for the metropolitan areas.

So now we're in this situation. I'm very concerned.

If we do nothing, the viruss spread will continue unabated until we reach herd immunity. Thats the point at which spread of the virus slows because so many people have been infected that there are fewer people left to catch it. If we assume that 60 percent of a population has to be infected to reach herd immunity, and that around 1 percent of the people infected will die, that means that to achieve herd immunity in Harris County, wed expect 30,000 deaths here. We cant tolerate that.

We have to intervene, and we have to intervene now. I want to see a plan in place before the weekend.

What would that plan look like?

Masks, of course, would be mandatory. And I think it will require some level of mandatory social distancing.

I don't want to be too prescriptive. We need to give our leaders some flexibility. But it's going to be some combination of restrictions on bars and restaurants, in places of employment, in gyms, and everything else that we've been talking about.

How long would those restrictions have to last?

Well, we have to learn our lesson. We have to redo everything that we did. As frustrating as it is, we need to go back into containment mode. We need to do all the things now that we should have done at the end of April: keep it locked down until we're going to containment mode and put in place all of the pieces of public health infrastructure that are still missing.

Right now, I think the battle is, let's just do something now, before the weekend, to save lives. We don't have to work out all the plans yet. But at a minimum, we should have something in place for all the major metropolitan areas  Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio  before the weekend.

Later we can be more surgical about how we do this. But if we let it go another week, that's just going to be more patients coming into our ICU. And remember how this works: The number of deaths lags behind the number of cases. First comes the number of cases, then the number of hospitalizations. The rise in deaths comes last, but the rise in deaths will surely come.

As I understand it, in New York, the jump in the death rate when the hospitals were overwhelmed wasnt only from people hospitalized with COVID-19. There were also deaths of people who couldn't get treatment or who hesitated to seek treatment for things like heart attacks or strokes. Is that a risk here?

Yes. The deaths go up for a number of reasons. First of all, people die at home from COVID-19.

Second, people are also afraid to go into the hospital, so they ignore their chest pains and other life threatening conditions. They don't get care for their diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

And the third reason people die is, as the ICUS start to fill toward capacity, it becomes more difficult to manage all those patients, and the mortality rates go up in hospital. We've seen that in Lombardy, Italy. We've seen it in New York.

We need to intervene. Thats why I've been so strident. It's unusual for me. You know how academics are: We tend to speak in shades of gray, and if we criticize, it's with faint praise, right? But we're not there right now.

So if youve seen my Twitter feed, or youve seen a flash of anger from me on CNN or MSNBC, thats why. This is really important.

lisa.gray@chron.com
Mexico City: A high-sided construction truck and a white SUV pulled into the path of Mexico City's police chief just as dawn was breaking on Friday on the capital's most iconic boulevard and gunmen opened fire with .50-calibre sniper rifles and grenades on his armoured vehicle.

The cinematic ambush involving at least a dozen gunmen left chief Omar Garcia Harfuch with three bullet wounds. Two members of his security detail were killed, as was a woman who happened to be driving by.

Forensic investigators examine a vehicle following the assassination attempt in Mexico City. Credit:AP

The high-powered armament and brazenness of the attack suggested the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was responsible and, hours after the attack, Garcia blamed them via Twitter from the hospital.

"This morning we were attacked in a cowardly way by the CJNG," Garcia tweeted, using the Spanish-language acronym for Mexico's most violent criminal group.
Gold has always had a special place for investors. Its one of the worlds oldest forms of money, and while most currencies today no longer circulate precious metals, gold is still used as both a reliable store of value and a safe haven investment. And in recent months, with economies reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and markets generally going haywire, gold has seen a strong rally. The metal is up more than 16% year-to-date, and is now trading for more than $1,700 per ounce.

"The breakout occurring now that is ending Q2 completes an eight week trading range that has resumed higher [...] These patterns say gold can make a new all-time high with Q3 on our mind," said Bank of America strategist Paul Ciana.

The potential is clear in gold; its an investment that can both insulate a portfolio during hard time and bring a positive return. Now combine that with penny stocks, and the combination features fantastic upsides.

Penny stocks, defined as selling for less than $5 per share, typically feature high growth potential; even a small absolute gain of just a few cents per share can translate to a hefty percentage gain in share value.

Weve looked up three penny stocks in gold mining companies in the TipRanks database, with upsides starting at nearly 60%. Lets see what makes them as good as gold.

Avino Silver & Gold (ASM)

Based in Canada, Avino owns and operates two mining operations outside of Durango, Mexico. The Avino mine produces gold, and copper. The San Gonzalo mine, which reached the end of its active lifetime in 2019, is still maintained for exploration purposes. Last year, ASM produced, primarily from the Avino mine, over 6,900 ounces of gold and more than 958,000 ounces of silver.

A ramp-up in the Avino helped the company report both production and revenue gains in Q1, despite the coronavirus epidemic. The company showed a strong balance sheet, with $7.1 million in top line revenues, $6.7 million in cash available, and a $1.2 million reduction in term and equipment debt.

Story continues

Given its $0.66 share price, some analysts believe that now is the ideal time to get on board.

Roth Capital analyst Joe Reagor likes ASMs prospects, noting, "As gold and silver prices rise, ASM should see improved operating cash flow and thus, be able to fund its internal projects and repay its term loan without further dilution [...] Looking at the valuation metric, Reagor believes "ASM remains significantly undervalued by the market."

Reagors new price target, $1.40, suggests an impressive upside potential of 110% and backs up his Buy rating on the stock. (To watch Reagors track record, click here)

The Strong Buy analyst consensus on ASM is unanimous, based on three reviews, and they all say: this is a stock to Buy. Adding to the good news, the average price target of $1.30 suggests a robust 95% upside potential for the coming year. (See ASM stock analysis on TipRanks)

Galiano Gold (GAU)

Next up, Galiano, is the new name of Asanko Gold. The company made the name change effective in early May, along with the new GAU ticker symbol. The company remains based in Vancouver, Canada and continues to operate the Asanko gold mine, located in the West Africa nation of Ghana. The mine is profitable, and in 2019 it exceeded the full-year production guidance and achieved a record output of 251,044 ounces of gold. Full-year guidance for 2020 stands at 225,000 to 245,000 ounces.

Strong production performance continued in Q1. The company reported quarterly production of 66,333 ounces and sales of 67,820 ounces. With an all-in sustaining cost of $805 per ounce, and an average realized price of $1,542 per ounce, GAU generated record-high quarterly sales of $104.6 million. EPS, reported at 10 cents, was double the 5-cent estimate. The stocks share performance has reflected the production and sales performance; GAU shares are up 31% in the four months since markets fell in February.

Currently going for $1.22 apiece, some Wall Street pros warn investors not to miss out on an exciting opportunity.

Heiko Ihle, 5-star analyst with H. C. Wainwright, notes the success of GAUs Asanko mine: We highlight that the Asanko Gold Mine (AGM) has continued to operate during the current turmoil in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the AGM remains well on its way to exceed management's current FY20 gold production guidance

In line with that upbeat outlook, Ihle rates this stock a Buy, with a $2.50 price target suggesting a 104% upside potential for the year. (To watch Ihles track record, click here)

GAU shares have two recent reviews, and both are Buys. The average price target of $1.95 implies a one-year upside potential of 59% from the current share price of $1.22. (See Galiano stock analysis on TipRanks)

Paramount Gold Nevada (PZG)

Last on our list is Paramount, the Nevada-based gold mining company with two main projects. Sleeper, near the California-Nevada line, is a fully-owned project aimed at exploring and extracting the remaining recoverable reserves of an inactive open-pit mine. Grassy Mountain, near Vale, Oregon, is series of claims spread across 9,300 acres of land. Paramount is the full owner of all mining claims in the Grassy Mountain area.

Paramount is currently engaged in the permitting process for its Oregon projects, which will become the states first active mines since the 1990s. Currently, the company is not producing any gold output  but the prospects are excellent for future production. This makes the stock a speculative option for investors willing to take the risk on a gold company that has not yet started active mining operations.

Canaccord analyst Tom Gallo agrees that Paramount has strong prospects. He writes, There has been no mining activity in Oregon since the 1990s, and although there is a clear permitting process established, no company has applied for, or received mining permits. The receipt of a full mining permit should be a major catalyst for Paramount and a rerating opportunity.

To this end, Gallo rates PZG shares a Speculative Buy along with a $1.70 price target, which implies nearly 60% upside potential from the current share price of $1.09. (To watch Gallos track record, click here)

All in all, Paramounts shares have a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating, based on 2 recent reviews. Both of those are Buy, and their average price target is $3.35, suggesting an eye-popping upside potential of 207%. (See Paramount stock analysis on TipRanks)

To find good ideas for penny gold stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.
DETROIT  The teased date of Michigans move to phase 5 of reopening amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is coming up next week, and that could mean the reopening of Detroit casinos.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said earlier this month that shed like to open businesses like gyms by the Fourth of July. Gyms, along with state-licensed casinos and movie theaters, are part of phase 5 of Michigans economic reopening plan.

While no official reopening date has been announced for casinos, that isnt stopping them from preparing to welcome patrons. MGM Grand Detroit Casino has protocols in place and is waiting for the green light from the governor, WXYZ Detroit reports.

Employees and guests will have their temperature taken before entering the facility. Everyone will be required to wear masks inside; the casino is providing masks and gloves by request, the report said. Hand sanitizing and washing stations have been placed at entrances and on the gaming floor. Plexiglass barriers are in place, and some chairs have been removed to promote social distancing. Smoking will not be allowed indoors.

Staff will move through the casino to clean surfaces, the report said. The HVAC system circulates new air 14 times per hour.

Detroits casinos closed when Whitmer issued her first statewide stay-home order intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus on March 23. The casinos and attached hotels impacted are Greektown Casino, the MGM Grand Detroit Casino and MotorCity Casino.

Whitmer lifted the stay-home order on June 1 but kept casinos and many other businesses closed. The Michigan Gaming Control Board issued casino reopening requirements on June 8.

Some of the significant temporary changes required by the state include:

Capacity is limited to 15% of the established maximum capacity.

Everyone must wear masks unless they are eating or drinking. The casinos are asked to provide protective masks to employees and patrons.

The temperature of anyone entering the casino must be checked using a no-touch thermometer or thermal scanner.

No poker rooms are allowed.

No self-serve buffets or beverage stations, valet service or coat checks are allowed.

Smoking is banned on the gaming floor.

RELATED: Detroit casinos to reopen at 15% capacity with mask requirement, smoking ban

Many of Michigans tribal casinos, including Firekeepers in Battle Creek, Soaring Eagle in Mount Pleasant and Turtle Creek in Williamsburg, have reopened with guidelines similar to those issued for the Detroit casinos.

It is unclear whether Whitmers previous intention to open more businesses by the Fourth of July holiday will hold as daily new coronavirus have begun to climb.

On Thursday, June 25, the highest daily number of new coronavirus cases since May 31 was reported when the Department of Health and Human Services announced 353 new cases and 19 new deaths since the day prior. That brought the state totals to 62,306 known cases and 5,887 deaths linked to the infectious respiratory illness.

Gyms in were slated to reopen on Thursday, June 25, against the governors wishes; a late-night appellate court ruling kept them closed. No opening date has been set. Whitmer allowed gyms in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula to open on June 10.

RELATED: Michigan gyms and fitness centers wont reopen Thursday after all

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.

READ MORE:

51 coronavirus cases traced to East Lansing bar, up from 14

Despite coronavirus threat, hundreds of boats float out for Michigans annual Jobbie Nooner party

Friday, June 26: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Popular Traverse City wineries, restaurants on possible COVID-19 exposure list

Opening Michigan gyms is essential to public health, experts say. But it also threatens it.
BOISE - Idaho State Troopers have charged a Boise man with vandalizing the replica of the Liberty Bell that sits on the Statehouse steps last weekend. The man is accused of scratching an expletive into the heavy metal bell on the evening of Saturday, June 20.

64-year-old Tim Jay Jones, of Boise, has been charged with misdemeanor Malicious Injury to Property.

The damage to the bell was reported on the evening of June 20. As a result of evidence gathered during the investigation, a trooper issued the misdemeanor citation to Jones after locating him at his Boise home this afternoon. The summons issued to the suspect means he is required to appear in court on the charge at a later date.

Troopers would like to thank members of the public who came forward with information about the crime. Investigating troopers say citizens tips were very helpful in not only furthering the investigation, but also in immediately reporting the crime that allowed state workers to quickly repair the damage done.
Judge Says Twitter Immune from Devin Nunes Defamation Lawsuit

Nunes encourages shift to Twitter rival Parler after the decision

A Virginia judge determined that Twitter is immune from a defamation and negligence suit that House Intelligence Ranking Member Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) filed against the social media platform.

Nunes in March 2019 sued Twitter and several Twitter users, seeking damages of at least $250 million, over Twitter posts he deemed abusive, hateful and defamatory and part of what he alleged was an orchestrated defamation campaign on his reputation. The Twitter posts were made by parody Twitter accounts pretending to be Nuness mother and Nuness cow, as well as a real account for Liz Mair, a former Republican campaign communication strategist who runs communications and opposition research outfit Mair Strategies.

The lawsuit argued that Twitters actions reached a point where it should be treated as a publisher liable for user-submitted content. Nunes also alleged insulting words and civil conspiracy, which are violations under Virginia law.

Judge John Marshall of the Henrico County Circuit Court ruled on Wednesday that Twitter is not a content provider, and that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 gives Twitter immunity from both defamation and negligence claims in the suit.

Plaintiff seeks to have the court treat Twitter as the publisher or speaker of the content provided by others based on its allowing or not allowing certain content to be on its internet platform. Marshal said in his ruling (pdf). The court refuses to do so, he added, citing a prior court ruling for his decision.

Marshall also dismissed Nuness allegation that Twitter has a bias towards a point of view and that bias is so extreme that it governs its decisions regarding content that is allowed on its internet platform and that course of conduct makes it a content provider.

Publishers can be held liable for any content they post, while social media platforms are protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which states that no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.

Following the ruling, Nunes on Wednesday encouraged fellow Twitter users to open up an account on Parler, a social media platform regarded as a rival to Twitter.

Sharing a photo from Parler in a Twitter post, Nunes wrote, Picture for those who remain in Twitter Hell. Parler is open for business! He later added in another Twitter post, Come to Parler to see UNFILTERED news! He has since continued to post on Twitter showing his support for Parler.

Picture for those who remain in Twitter Hell. Parler is open for business! https://t.co/0uPdKYiz5b  Devin Nunes (@DevinNunes) June 24, 2020

Twitter spokesperson Catherine Hill said in a statement following Marshalls ruling that Twitter strongly believes the court made the right decision to dismiss Nuness claims.

Twitter enforces the Twitter Rules impartially for everyone who uses our service around the world, regardless of their background or political affiliation, the spokesperson added.

While Nuness case against Twitter has been dismissed, the Republican Rep. can still pursue legal action against the other Twitter users.

But Twitter has refused to identify the people behind the two parody Twitter accounts, and Nuness attorney Steven Biss said that he and his client are at a dead end, after Marshall opined that Twitter is not obligated to release the identities. Biss said that he could not serve them with lawsuits without knowing their identities. One of the parody Twitter accounts @DevinNunesMom has since been suspended while the other account @DevinCow remains active.

Meanwhile, Mair said that Marshalls latest decision did not change that Nunes is suing her. Her Twitter account, @LizMair, remains active.

In a statement to Newsweek, Mair said, Without having read what the judge has reportedly issued, I will just say that from my standpoint this lawsuit and the other in which I am also being sued by Rep. Nunesfor a combined total of $400 millionremains an assault on the First Amendment and the core American principle of free speech.

President Donald Trump makes remarks before signing an executive order in the Oval Office that can potentially punish Facebook, Google, and Twitter for the way they police content online, on May 28, 2020. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump in late May signed an executive order to crack down on what he described was censorship by social media sites.

The order calls for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to create regulation that could strip social media companies of protection under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act if they engage in deceptive or pretextual censorship.

Social media companies should not receive liability protections when they act as editors of content on their platform or take down lawful speech based on politics, the White House announced.

Petr Svab contributed to this report.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 04:48:27|Editor: huaxia

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JERUSALEM, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel is taking "constant action" against Iran in Syria, two days after Israeli jets allegedly conducted a deadly airstrike in Syria.

"We are taking constant action against the efforts of Iran and its proxies to entrench militarily in Syria," Netanyahu said during a course graduation ceremony of Air Force pilots.

"The Iranian military must leave Syria," he noted.

The actions are aimed to thwart Iran's efforts to "develop precision missiles in Syria, Lebanon and other areas," according to the prime minister.

In an apparent reference to the shadow-war Israel has allegedly been conducting in Syria, Netanyahu said Israel's struggle against "Iranian aggression" in the Middle East "is designed first and foremost to ... defend Israel."

"Whoever tries to attack us places himself in very great danger," he warned, sending a threat to Iran and its allies.

The remarks were an unusual acknowledgment of Israel's attacks in Syria.

On Tuesday night, the Syrian army said at least six people were killed in airstrikes conducted by Israel, according to Syria's official news agency SANA.

Israel considers Iran its biggest enemy, as Israeli officials have admitted to having carried out multiple raids in Syria since the beginning of the Arab country's civil war in 2011. Enditem
Welsh farm leaders have called for British Wool to receive Covid-19 financial support due to the pandemic's impact on both the sector and primary producers.

It comes as British Wool was denied Covid-19 support through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CIBLs) last month.

The crisis has led to a significant drop in demand for wool as the global market for cross bred wool has been shut since February this year.

The busiest selling period for British wool is between February and May each year and the impact of the pandemic on wool sales has therefore been particularly acute.

The Farmers Union of Wales (FUW) has now written to Welsh government's economy minister, Ken Skates demanding a rethink of the decision.

In its letter, the union highlighted the impact that the closure of wool markets would have on the price received by sheep farmers for their wool.

It also highlighted the fact that sheep producers must still pay for this year's shearing costs.

FUW deputy president, Ian Rickman said the closure of normal wool markets had left British Wool with around one third of their wool stock unsold.

He explained this has had a 'direct impact' on sheep producer incomes: "This unsold stock not only detrimentally affects calculated wool values, which are payable for the 2019-20 balance, but also means that British Wool are unable to pay an advance for this seasons wool.

Despite funding being made available to other wool purchasers, British Wool has failed to qualify for support as they have been classified as a public sector body.

British Wool is wholly independent, self-funding and operates within a competitive market place," Mr Rickman said.

"We believe that British Wool should have fully qualified for support under the CBILs scheme or some other variation of Covid-19 support for businesses."

He added: Given the impact upon both the sector and upon primary producers, we have made our views known and have written to the Minister to call for a rethink on this funding decision.
Outpatient COVID-19 testing outside Franciscan Health hospitals in Michigan City and Munster will adjust days they are open during the Fourth of July holiday week. Drive-through testing at Franciscan Health Michigan City, 3500 Franciscan Way, will be closed between Tuesday and Thursday. It will reopen for regular hours, 7 a.m. to Noon daily, on July 3. The COVID testing trailer is in the east parking lot closest to the medical office building (Door B). Patients must have an order from a Franciscan physician or closely aligned physician with hospital privileges. Registration is required by calling 219-877-1474. Patients must bring their photo ID to the testing site. Testing at the Michigan City site is limited to residents of LaPorte, Porter and Berrien counties. At Franciscan Health Munster, 701 Superior Drive, testing will be closed on July 3 and will resume normal weekday hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 6. The testing site is in the physician parking lot and patients are required to have a physicians order. Normal testing hours will continue at Franciscan Health Hammond, Dyer and Crown Point. More information about COVID-19 and a free online assessment tool can be found at FranciscanHealth.org/covid-19.
NEW YORK - Law enforcement agencies around the country are pledging to crack down on the surge of late-night fireworks activity that is inundating their phone lines with noise complaints, a nationwide cacophony of explosions that officials and vendors attribute to lockdown fatigue.

Fireworks complaints are soaring in communities large and small, leading New York City to corral a task force to target illegal fireworks vendors, whose sales city leaders say are contributing to the plethora of young pyromaniacs running through the streets launching glittery fireballs.

New York City's complaint lines received about 24,000 calls about fireworks from the beginning of the year through Sunday, compared to fewer than 1,100 complaints during the same time period last year. More than half of those complaints came during the first three weeks of June alone.

The trend has been recorded nationwide. In Syracuse, N.Y., police say they received 1,000 complaints about fireworks this year through Tuesday - more than 10 times as many as they had by the same point last year. Police in Hartford, Conn., say they went from getting a few calls about fireworks each night to about 200 recently. Denver police said that during one week in June, they received 750 calls about fireworks, more than 10 times as many as they received during the same period last year.

After weeks of complaints, some law enforcement agencies are pledging to take more action. Police in Lansing, Mich., said they would be deploying more resources to target fireworks activity, with $1,000 fines being handed down to anyone violating the city's ordinance. Other departments have been confiscating fireworks: In San Bernardino, Calif., police said that they seized about 3,270 pounds of illegal fireworks, made 21 arrests and issued another 11 civil penalties Tuesday.

But there are hurdles to reigning in Americans' escalating fireworks festivities. Boston police - who reported more than 7,800 complaints in June through Tuesday, up from 139 over the same period last year - said that people threw fireworks at officers responding to complaints this month. And some law enforcement officials say responding to such noise complaints is hindered because it's often difficult to pinpoint where the explosions are coming from.

"Sometimes we get the call that says, 'My neighbor is shooting off fireworks.' Then it's easier to respond to the house," said Lt. Ted McClimon, spokesman for the police in Dubuque, Iowa, where complaints about fireworks have quintupled this month. "The more difficult ones are it's coming from a general area. ... Then there's not a whole lot more we can do."

In densely packed New York City, the consequences of the fireworks activity has been particularly perilous.

A 3-year-old boy suffered first- and third-degree burns and a wound to his left biceps that required stitches after a fireworks shell fired from the street below flew into a window of his family's Bronx apartment. And in one particularly disturbing video, a homeless man in Harlem was burned when a person - who has not been apprehended - lit a firework on his body before running off with a wide grin on his face.

Other footage has circulated on social media of participants lobbing fireworks at each other and trying to dodge them. Trees, buildings and passersby have become unintended targets as loud booms rattle otherwise quiet communities on sweltering summer nights.

The pyrotechnic problem prompted New York officials to announce Tuesday the formation of a task force of law enforcement and fire department officials in an effort to crack down on "the folks who are profiting off illegal fireworks," according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

This task force is intended to target the suppliers presumed to be running stashes of amateur fireworks from nearby states where they're legal to buy.

Police said they have busted at least a handful of fireworks peddlers, according to available data. On Thursday, the New York City Police Department announced it had apprehended 12 people in the Bronx for possessing a stash of fireworks, two assault rifles and a handgun. Another 10 were charged in Staten Island with multiple counts of unlawfully dealing with dangerous fireworks - and unlawfully transporting three alligator carcasses, according to the New York City sheriff's office.

Two people were arrested in the Bronx on Friday night and charged with the unlawful sale of fireworks, and the 33-year-old alleged buyer was issued a summons. On Tuesday, two men from Queens were busted on the Staten Island Expressway near the Goethals Bridge with a load of the recreational explosives and charged with reckless endangerment and unlawful sale of fireworks.

De Blasio pledged that his task force would get creative in attacking the issue.

"There'll be all sorts of actions taken," he said at a news conference Tuesday. "Undercover buys, sting operations, finding where the supply is and cutting it off at the knees."

The problem adds to a difficult run for the country's largest police department, facing first the coronavirus pandemic that infected thousands of officers and killed dozens, then protests and unrest across the city.

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said fireworks play into what he described as a bigger, problematic picture created by the idea that "there are no consequences" for criminal activity, citing criminal justice reforms. The department is also facing an increase in violent crime and shootings, which officials and police union leaders blame on bail reform and the release of many pretrial inmates because of coronavirus concerns.

"We need options," Shea told a group of reporters Wednesday. "We need to restore basic order to the streets."

Police officials and observers across the country attribute the rise in fireworks activity to coronavirus fatigue - people stuck at home and looking for ways to relieve sheer boredom. Retailers are reporting that sales have doubled or tripled compared to a year ago, said Julie L. Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, a trade group.

"Everybody has been in lockdown mode for over three months," she said. "There's nothing to do. You can't go to a movie theater, there are no festivals, there are no events, nobody's going on vacation, they're just stuck at home ... and they're deciding that, hey, fireworks are affordable family fun."

Most states allow at least some consumer fireworks, though the rules vary from state to state, including how old a buyer has to be, what types are permitted and the dates they can be sold, according to the pyrotechnics association.

In some cases, local rules can be stricter than state ones, which is the case in New York City and some surrounding counties. Iowa legalized setting off fireworks in 2017, but Dubuque's city council outlawed the activity within its own jurisdiction that same year.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

In Dubuque, McClimon said, police received 42 complaints about fireworks between June 1 and June 24 last year - and that increased to 221 over the same period this year.

"We're all kind of scratching our heads," McClimon said. It's unclear to anyone why the numbers have jumped, "but it's definitely up."

Some of the complaints police have received in Dubuque come from annoyed residents, but others have come from those with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, children with autism or unnerved pets, he said.

"It affects people in many different ways," McClimon said, adding that his department had assigned more officers to the fireworks detail beginning Wednesday.

Leslie Shalabi, 48, of Dubuque, said she was more aware of the fireworks because Roscoe, her border collie mix, "just freaks out and hides" when the fireworks start. Shalabi said she has not contacted the police about the noise, presuming "they probably have bigger fish to fry."

Kris Connolly, the building manager at a retirement complex in Dubuque, said she has heard the fireworks for about two weeks, from about 8 p.m. until as late as 3 a.m., and they are audible even to residents who are hard of hearing.

"Put it this way: We live in a stone building, and they're still loud," Connolly said.

Some say they have heard the noise without seeing the fireworks overhead somewhere.

"I've never actually seen them in the sky, but I've definitely - in broad daylight and throughout the night - I've heard a lot of it," said Judah Binkowitz, 22, a barista and waiter at Cafe Eclectic in Memphis. "It almost sounds like professional-grade fireworks sometimes."

Binkowitz pointed to the general unease sweeping the country - the ongoing pandemic as well as the nationwide protests against police violence - and suggested the fireworks might be linked to that.

"A lot of people are almost turning against the system, maybe," Binkowitz said. "Everyone's kind of, I wouldn't say having fun, that's not a good word for it, but kind of just doing whatever they feel like."

- - -

Berman reported from Washington.
Democrats in both houses of Congress said Thursday they are introducing a bill that would ban government use of facial recognition technology.

Why it matters: A handful of cities have banned government use in their jurisdictions, but there are no national laws governing how facial recognition can be used, and there's wide concern over how the tech today encodes racial and other kinds of biases.

Driving the news:

Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), along with Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) said they will introduce legislation in both houses to stop government use of biometric technology, including facial recognition tools.

The announcement comes after a Michigan man, Robert Williams, was wrongfully arrested due to flawed facial recognition software.

Microsoft has said it will stop selling the technology to police until a national law is passed, while Amazon has put a one-year halt to such sales and IBM has exited the business.

What they're saying:

Robert Williams , in a Washington Post op-ed: "Why is law enforcement even allowed to use such technology when it obviously doesn't work? I get angry when I hear companies, politicians and police talk about how this technology isn't dangerous or flawed."

, in a Washington Post op-ed: "Why is law enforcement even allowed to use such technology when it obviously doesn't work? I get angry when I hear companies, politicians and police talk about how this technology isn't dangerous or flawed." Markey: "Facial recognition technology doesn't just pose a grave threat to our privacy, it physically endangers Black Americans and other minority populations in our country."

Between the lines: A strictly partisan bill from a quartet of lawmakers who are among the farthest left in their respective chambers is unlikely to gain wide traction anytime soon. But the call to fully ban facial recognition in the U.S. signals where the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is on the issue.
For the better part of a decade, publishers have been begging (or threatening) Google, seeking compensation for the news they provide on its platform. And for all of those years, Google has adamantly refuseduntil now. On Thursday, Google announced that, later this year, it will introduce a new product focused on high quality news and, as part of that, it will pay a select group of publishers, including for access to stories that sit behind paywalls. According to news reports, Google has already signed deals with leading outlets in Germany, Australia, and Brazil, including Schwartz Media, Diarios Associados, and Der Spiegel. (Google hasnt said whether its negotiating or has signed agreements with any publishers in the United States.)

Googles announcement implied that this was the latest in a long line of overtures its made to the media industry. For decades we have worked with publishers to grow audiences and build value, Sundar Pichai, the CEO, tweeted. We continue that progress today. Its true that the Google News Initiative has given journalists, media companies, and industry groups tens of millions of dollars. But its also true that Google has never paid publishers directly for news; rather, its vowed repeatedly that it would never do so. The argument has always been that Google sends publishers traffic, which is basically as good as money.

Some have disagreed. In 2014, after Spain tried to force Google to pay for news, the company removed the country from its news service. In 2018, while the European Union discussed new copyright legislation, Google hinted it might do the same for all of Europe. As I pointed out at the time, what eventually became the Google News Initiative got its start as a way of placating publishers in Belgium and France who were upset at having their content stolen, as they put it. After being targeted by lawsuits and regulatory pressure, Google promised to help publishers figure out how to use the internet to monetize their news, and created a fund in both countries to help finance those efforts through grants and training. That funding was rolled into the Digital News Initiative, and eventually combined with the Google News Lab, renamed the Google News Initiative in 2018. The plan was never to pay news organizations for their articles.

ICYMI: A new group devoted to transparency is exposing secrets Wikileaks chose to keep

So what changed Googles mind? Its possible that Pichai or Googles co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, had an opinion-reversing epiphany. But it seems more likely that the company sensed it had no choice. Earlier this year, France ordered Google to negotiate with publishers; Australia signaled that it may do the same. Germany has been trying to get Google to pay for news for a while. Regulators in Europe and in North America have been talking publicly about antitrust investigations into Google and Facebook because of their size and market dominance. What better way to deflect some heat than to throw publishers some cash?

Whether Googles commitment will have any real impact on the media industry remains to be seen, of course. The details of the new product are unknown; it seems reasonable to assume it will be something like the high quality news tab that Facebook launched last year, for which it also pays certain publishers. There may be a philosophical victory here, but it probably wont make a life-altering difference to any of the companies involved, as the tech giants continue to eat up all of the internets advertising revenue. And on Facebook, for one, most of the publishers with deals are the usual industry-leading suspects: the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Bloombergnone of which need the money the way that smaller, local players do.

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Will Googles new product offer anything to community newspapers? Google doesnt have to sweat it either way, since the amount of money involved wont put a dent in its massive bank accountand if it receives favorable publicity for its beneficence, the whole thing was worth it.

Heres more on Google and paying for news:

Conflict of interest : A number of journalists, academics, and media industry insiders told CJR in 2018 that Googles funding of journalism is problematic, since it raises the potential for some significant conflicts of interest. Increasingly, journalistic institutions are feeding the beasts that are starving them, Siva Vaidhyanathan, a media studies professor at the University of Virginia, said. A former Google staffer said the companys efforts meant that a bunch of well-meaning people with good intentions get the money, and slowly they get sucked into a corporate machine that doesnt have their best interests at heart.

: A number of journalists, academics, and media industry insiders told CJR in 2018 that Googles funding of journalism is problematic, since it raises the potential for some significant conflicts of interest. Increasingly, journalistic institutions are feeding the beasts that are starving them, Siva Vaidhyanathan, a media studies professor at the University of Virginia, said. A former Google staffer said the companys efforts meant that a bunch of well-meaning people with good intentions get the money, and slowly they get sucked into a corporate machine that doesnt have their best interests at heart. A PR effort : Josh Benton, of Nieman Journalism Lab, says the licensing announcement is more about PR than the needs of the news industry. The payments mean that the next time an executive gets hauled in front of a congressional committee, upset about Googles market share, He can say Actually, we do pay news publishers for their workmany millions of dollars every year. The act of choosing who gets to be paid and who gets included in the new product is fraught, Benton adds. Do they owe me money for including my old blog from the early 2000s? Its in Googles index too. How about Breitbart ? How about The Daily Stormer or Stormfront ?

: Josh Benton, of Nieman Journalism Lab, says the licensing announcement is more about PR than the needs of the news industry. The payments mean that the next time an executive gets hauled in front of a congressional committee, upset about Googles market share, He can say Actually, we do pay news publishers for their workmany millions of dollars every year. The act of choosing who gets to be paid and who gets included in the new product is fraught, Benton adds. Do they owe me money for including my old blog from the early 2000s? Its in Googles index too. How about ? How about or ? Picking winners: Googles decision got less-than-glowing reviews from two veteran media watchers: Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor at the City University of New York (which has received funding from Facebook), said that publishers cashed in their political capital to wish for this [but] it wont rescue them. And Dan Gillmor, who co-founded the News Co/Lab at Arizona State University (which has also received funding from Facebook) said the news sounds like Google will pick the winners. Is that what you really wanted, journalists?

Other notable stories:

ICYMI: Decades of Failure

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg.
With Unlock 1.0 set to conclude on June 30, the government is expected to announce fresh guidelines for various sectors, including the aviation industry. After starting domestic flights over a month back with some riders, the government may soon approve air travel on selected international routes from July, IndiaToday.In reported. Prominent routes where air travel may be reinstated include Delhi-New York and Mumbai- New York routes. Besides, private airlines may also be allowed to start operations to the Gulf countries.

Recently, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that regular international flight services could be resumed when the domestic traffic would reach about 50-60 per cent and other countries would open up to international traffic without present conditionalities.

"We can start regular international flights when our domestic traffic reaches about 50-60 per cent and other countries open up to international traffic without present conditionalities," Puri had tweeted.

After two months of long hiatus, domestic flights' operations resumed on May 25 but international flights have continued to remain suspended.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his latest video conference with the states' chief ministers, charted out the final course of action to fights the COVID-19 pandemic. He clearly mentioned that there wouldn't be another lockdown in July.

However, the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA) guidelines, which stated that school and educational institutes will be reopened in the Unlock Phase 2, now seems a distant dream as many states are reported a high number of cases. In fact, there's a possibility that some states may even extend the lockdown to combat the coronavirus spread. West Bengal has already extended the lockdown till July 31.

Delhi, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu have the highest caseloads in the country, contributing to 59.3 per cent COVID-19 cases. According to the Union Ministry of Health, there are a total of 4,73,103 cases of coronavirus, out of which 1.86 lakh are active cases, 2.71 recovered/ discharged, and 14,894 dead.

Also read: Vande Bharat Mission: More than 3.6 lakh Indians returned to India since May 7, says MEA

Also read: All regular train services to remain cancelled till August 12: Railways
The USs Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new data raising its total estimate of American infections to 10 times the official number  from 2.3 million to 20 million.

According to director Robert Redfield, who discussed the new figure on a conference call, the CDCs best estimate is that for every case that was reported, there actually were 10 other infections.

If accurate, the new estimate means that as many as 6 per cent of the US population may have been infected.

Citing studies using new blood samples collected nationwide, Mr Redfield pinned the data discrepancy on the early handling of the outbreak. In the beginning, there wasnt a lot of testing that was done of younger, asymptomatic individuals, he said on the call. So I think its important for us to realise that we probably recognised about 10 per cent of the outbreak by the methods that we used to diagnose between March, April and May.

The US struggled to roll out mass testing during the early stages of the outbreak, and even as the coronavirus spread with dramatic speed. It has since carried out more tests than any other country, but the numbers are uneven across the states and positive rates are still worryingly high in several parts of the country.

This includes several states where numbers of cases and hospitalisations are now rising. Arizonas seven-day average of cases is surging dramatically, this week more than tripling its previous record number at the start of June.

Texas, meanwhile, has paused its reopening as cases hit all-time daily highs and hospital systems fear being overwhelmed as the 4 July weekend approaches.

Donald Trump said at his recent rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma that he had asked his advisers to slow testing down for fear the rising number of cases would make the US look bad. Administration adviser Anthony Fauci firmly denied receiving any such instruction, but the president denied his remark was a joke.
Akihiro Tsuneizumi paints a window sign at Gunther's Supply Co. in Santa Ana. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Tim Seiger was preparing to start a big project at Angel Stadium of Anaheim in mid-March when California announced a statewide shutdown to combat the coronavirus.

His gig ground to a halt, indefinitely.

The 42-year-old isn't a groundskeeper or construction worker.

He makes signs.

The Placentia residents company, Ultimate Design, was partnering with another firm to wrap bars and suites in the ballpark with lettering in anticipation of Opening Day. And now the Angels wouldn't let anyone in the building.

For about a week, as other clients quickly called off projects, jobs slowed down. Seiger prepared for the worst.

But in a proverbial sign of the times, the life-altering COVID-19 pandemic  and its many demands on human behavior  came with a great need: for signs. And lots of them.

Flags and awnings and lawn signs now sway in front of businesses where there werent any before. Arrows placed six feet apart in supermarkets tell customers how to shop safely. New neon marquees glow. A-frames stand on sidewalks and invite people into tax offices, medical clinics, auto body shops. The signs cajole, warn, scold, invite  and offer words of hope.

All the signs sing the same song to the public:

Were still standing. And we need you back.

A banner sign advertises pupusas at El Amancer Cafe in Santa Ana. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

An industry like sign-making seems nonessential at first glance, a superfluous trade for these uncertain times. But in mid-April, the U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency deemed it "critical infrastructure" and allowed printers and manufacturers to remain open as long as they instituted a plan to protect employees from the coronavirus.

Signs are the most visible invisible industry there is, said Lori Anderson, president and CEO of the Virginia-based International Sign Assn., who lobbied the government agency for the designation. You dont notice them until you need them. And right now, we need them.

Michael Montanos family has run Mitla Cafe in San Bernardino off Route 66 for more than 80 years and frequently updates the Mexican diners Instagram page. But when Montano realized sumptuous photos of hard-shell tacos and combo plates wouldn't help counter the drop in customers that happened after Gov. Gavin Newsom banned dining at restaurants, he ordered a couple of 3-by-9 vinyl banners and hung them outside.

Story continues

Open for To Go Orders, they read. It was the first time Mitla has ever resorted to such a campaign.

Were happy with the results, said Montano, 44. We got a lot of I wasnt sure you were open but I saw your banner' over the phone. It was an incremental boost, and more than ever, that might have made the difference for us.

But while sign makers like Seiger say theyre being called on more than ever before, its a mixed bag for their bottom line.

Requests for one-off jobs  say, a church that wants the faithful to know Mass is now broadcast online, or a factory announcing new social distancing rules  have flooded the inbox and phone line of David Haroonian, who owns a Fastsigns franchise in West Hollywood.

Theyre ordering signage for COVID protection and shields, and restaurants are putting banners that theyre open for takeouts, said the 56-year-old.

Its not enough.

Around this time of the year, Haroonian  who says revenue has fallen by at least 50%  says his company would be servicing large events like bar mitzvahs and weddings.

But all of that is gone, he said. Everything helps, but definitely you want bigger jobs  something thats $3,000 instead of $100.

Luis Rotulos, who operates out of Lawndale, has experienced the same.

I go to the shop, and Ill be there for six to seven hours, and my phone doesnt even ring once for a lucrative order, said the 52-year-old.

The blooming of smaller signs is a barometer of how bad the overall economy really is, he said. Businesses "are getting them because they have no business. They want to get noticed by people, because people are afraid to spend money. Theyre afraid for whats going to happen next.

Three types of signs are posted outside Impact Juice Bar in Orange. Small businesses are increasingly using outdoor signage to bring back customers. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Anderson, the president of the International Sign Assn., said members have successfully pivoted to focus on the current demand related to the coronavirus, but must be prepared to do so again.

Weve moved on from the initial panic of what do we do to stay alive, Anderson said. Now were moving into a reboot. What could happen to your customers next?

Another challenge that has emerged is material shortages, which she says was never a problem before.

Rotulos said he used to be able to get vinyl for decals and banners within a day, but now it takes about a week. Also hard to find: an alcohol-based liquid that allows digital signs to function, acrylic to make the plastic sheets necessary for overhead or backlit signs, and aluminum for sandwich boards.

And all the prices for material went up, too, said Rotulos. We cant put that price on the customer, so our profits fall even more.

It's a delicate dance sign makers now must navigate that they didn't before. At Gunthers Supply Co., a mens clothing boutique in Santa Ana, Akihiro Tsuneizumi slowly painted a window ad that would eventually read Curbside Pickup Online Order and Now Open in white and orange.

Signs decorated multiple storefronts on this stretch of Main Street: for beauty salons, for pupusas, for Colombian fajas (girdles). At Gunther's, other examples of Tsuneizumi's craft stood inside and outside: a large wooden cutout of the store's rockabilly parrot mascot. A paper printout alerting customers that face masks are required to enter. A plank that announced No Homie Discount.

Owner Cesar Adame said he asked Tsuneizumi for the old-school approach because a lot of our customers are in the community, and this allows them to see were here and were not going anywhere."

Besides, added the 29-year-old, we wanted to give Aki some work.

Tsuneizumi, a 45-year-old native of Japan who has lived in the United States for two years, dabbed his fine-point brush in a vintage Playboy that served as his palette. Business has been "OK, he said. His big issue is having to lower his fee, because clients are hurting a lot right now.

Im lucky I can do different things, he said, letting the paint dry before adding another layer. But not others. It just sucks all around.
The community of Collooney protesting the need for a footbridge on the N4 last year

Collooney is cut off from its 'industrial, retail and community facilities' and requires a pedestrian footbridge over the N4 to connect the area.

Cllr Thomas Healy brought forward a motion at last week's meeting calling on the council to write to Transport Infrastructure Ireland to include a footbridge over the N4 in their National Development Plan 2018-2027, or as part of the Knock-Collooney N17 scheme.

The Sinn Fein councillor said the people of Collooney are continuing to demand a provision of such a facility in order to access community, commercial and recreational facilities.

"This is a live ongoing daily issue for Collooney residents," Cllr Healy said."We have held a number of rallies with hundreds of people on the roundabout to highlight the issue and have hundreds of signatures on our petition. Following a major truck accident in 2018, people have combined to demand this safety facility.

"There is a creche, community centre, cemetery, car dealerships, shops and recreational facilities integral to the village which people are forced to run a gauntlet to or else have to drive when they would prefer to walk or cycle."

Cllr Healy continued "There is now a major infrastructural project on the horizon for Sligo in the upgrading of the N17, 34 kilometres in Sligo bypassing Charlestown, Curry, Tubbercurry and Ballinacarrow but they cannot bypass Collooney.

He concluded: "All these roads lead to Collooney. Put in this footbridge or all roads will stop at Collooney again."

In response, Director of Services Tom Kilfeather said it would not be appropriate to include the project in the N17 programme as it may not terminate at Collooney. However, he said the council is seeking funding from the TII for funding for a feasibility study.

Cllr Healy welcomed the report.
One wealthy individual is going to become the 'first private citizen' to step outside the International Space Station on a space walk as part of a new tourism deal.

American space tourism company Space Adventures has signed an agreement with Russia's Energia space corporation to send someone 'into open space' from the Russian part of the ISS in 2023.

The exact price of the trip hasn't been confirmed but the first businessman to visit the ISS in 2001, Dennis Tito, paid Roscosmos $20 million for an eight-day trip.

A spacewalk is more of a challenge than visiting the station alone as it requires extensive training and can be physically exhausting, according to astronauts.

The exact details of the space walk deal haven't been confirmed by Space Adventures, but two paying astronauts will be taken to the ISS in 2023 and one of them will step outside.

Astronaut Randy Bresnik completed a space walk in 2009. Space walks are used by agencies to repair parts of the ISS or install new equipment

International space station on orbit of Earth planet. Space Adventures have been taking paying passengers to the ISS since 2001 in partnership with Roscosmos

The tourist paying to undertake the space walk will fly to the ISS on a Soyuz capsule - the same spacecraft used to ferry NASA astronauts and eight other paying passengers to the station

'We plan that one of the participants of the expedition will do a space walk from the Russian segment, together with a professional Russian cosmonaut,' said Energia.

Space Adventures is advertising the walk as an opportunity to become 'the first private citizen in history to experience open space'.

Since 2001, Space Adventures and Roscosmos have taken eight paying tourists up to the ISS, but with NASA and other international partners looking to offer a similar service they are facing competition for the first time.

'We appreciate the chance to celebrate two decades of orbital space tourism with our Russian partners by opening up another first-ever experience,' said Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson.

'We applaud our colleagues at Energia for working with us to create amazing new adventures in space, he said.

Energia is the commercial arm of Russia's space agency Roscosmos and will send the passengers to the station in a Soyuz spacecraft.

The announcement of the spacewalk also comes after Roscosmos lost its nine-year monopoly ferrying crew to the ISS for international agencies including NASA.

NASA is still paying Roscosmos, as SpaceX doesn't have the capacity to completely supplant Soyuz flights yet and Boeing's Starliner has been plagued with issues.

Until the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule became the first commercial company to take astronauts to the ISS in May, NASA was paying Roscosmos $80 million a trip to send its crew up to the station.

The announcement comes days after NASA signed a deal with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism company to promote private missions to the station.

US astronaut Terry Virts completed a space walk in 2015. The announcement of the spacewalk also comes after Roscosmos lost its nine-year monopoly ferrying crew to the ISS for international agencies including NASA

Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov completes a space walk in 2014. A spacewalk is more of a challenge than visiting the station alone as it requires extensive training and can be physically exhausting, according to astronauts

Virgin Galactic will also take on responsibility for training paying passengers and preparing them for trips to the US part of the station.

SpaceX in March announced its own space tourism trip for three people next year, on board of the Crew Dragon - it's not known if that is in partnership with Virgin.

The exact cost of getting to the ISS has never been revealed but it is thought a trip with SpaceX costs NASA less than it paid Roscosmos - about $55 million per seat compared to about $80 million for a Soyuz ticket.

There are other firms developing the capability to send people to the ISS including Boeing's Starliner - which has been plagued with technical difficulties and has not yet made a successful crewed flight.

On its website, Space Adventures already advertises the space walk as a 'rare and exhilarating experience,' available only through the Russian programme.

'If you choose to fly to space on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, you have the opportunity to conduct a spacewalk, accompanied by a professional cosmonaut.'

The company together with the Russian agency previously took eight tourists to the ISS between 2001 and 2009.
A single lightning flash stretched more than 700 kilometres across Brazil last year -- equivalent to the distance between Boston and Washington DC -- has created a new world record for the longest reported distance of lightning, the United Nation's weather agency has announced.

IMAGE: Lightning strikes over Sao Paulo and part of the city of Sao Bernardo, Brazil. According to the record, the lightning was equivalent to the distance between Boston and Washington in the US. Photograph: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters

A World Meteorological Organisation committee of experts said two new world records for the longest reported distance and the longest reported duration for a single lightning flash were set in Brazil and Argentina.

The new records for extreme lightning bursts, or 'megaflashes', during 2019, are more than double the size and duration of the previous record flashes.

A lightning flash that developed continuously over northern Argentina on March 4, 2019 lasted a whopping 16.73 seconds.



A second flash stretched more than 700 kilometres (400 miles) across southern Brazil on October 31 last year. This was equivalent to the distance between Boston and Washington in the US, or between London and Basel in Switzerland.

The previous megaflash distance record was 321 km (199.5 miles) in June 2007 across the US state of Oklahoma, and the previous continuous duration record was 7.74 seconds, reached in August 2012 in southern France.

The new record-breaking strikes, captured by the American Geophysical Union ahead of International Lightning Safety Day on June 28, were recorded by equipment carried on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, and their orbiting counterparts from Europe and China.

The records were described by Professor Randall Cerveny, chief rapporteur of Weather and Climate Extremes for WMO, as "extraordinary."

"Environmental extremes are living measurements of what nature is capable of, as well as scientific progress in being able to make such assessments," he said.

"It is likely that even greater extremes still exist, and that we will be able to observe them as lightning detection technology improves."

Cerveny said the technology could help scientists better understand the whole science of lightning, and potentially save lives: "This will provide valuable information for establishing limits to the scale of lightning -- including megaflashes -- for engineering, safety and scientific concerns."

The WMO reiterated the dangers of lightning, and the many lives it claims every year. Lightning flashes have led to major loss of life.

In 1975, 21 people in Zimbabwe were killed when a single flash hit the hut in which they were sheltering, and 469 people were killed in Dronka, Egypt in 1994, when lightning tragically struck a set of oil tanks, causing burning oil to flood the town.

The official advice from the agency is to follow the 30-30 rule: if the time between flash and thunder is less than 30 seconds, stay inside, and wait 30 minutes after the last observed flash, to resume outdoor activities.

Thunderstorms and lightning have wreaked havoc in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh over the past two days, claiming 110 lives, leaving at least 32 injured and causing widespread damage to property, officials in the two states said on Thursday.

The lightning strikes were more devastating in Bihar, where 83 people have lost their lives since Wednesday, according to the figures released on Thursday by the Disaster Management Department in Patna.

More than 20 people have been injured in these incidents and hospitalised, they said.

Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, at least 24 people died when they were struck by lightning on Thursday, while 12 were injured, officials said in Lucknow.
By PTI

BENGALURU: Biotechnology industry veteran Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Friday criticised the Indian Council of Medical Research for "not permitting" asymptomatic testing in large numbers, asserting that individuals have a right to know whether they are positive or negative for COVID-19.

The Executive Chairperson of Bengaluru-headquartered biotech major, Biocon Ltd, said given the size of the country, the rising number of cases is expected when the economy is opened up after COVID-19-induced lockdown.

Her concern is ICMR is not permitting asymptomatic testing in large numbers, she said.

"Businesses have now opened up their offices and plants and want to make sure that employees returning to their campuses are negative for the novel coronavirus, according to her.

"Some of them might be positive, some of them might be carriers, some of them might be supercarriers. How do I know? Why are they (ICMR) preventing us from testing? I don't understand. Everywhere in the world, they are allowing testing," Mazumdar-Shaw told PTI.

FOLLOW CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES HERE

"Governments are acting as if its a crime to test. They are almost making it like that. Is it a crime to test? Its not because, as an individual, I would like to know whether I am positive or negative even if I am asymptomatic."

On the one hand, the government did not mind allowing people who fly to be tested, but was not permitting people coming to work to undergo the examination, she said.

Mazumdar-Shaw also suggested triaging COVID-19 cases into mild, moderate and severe and manage hospital beds properly.

If patients have mild symptoms, they should not overwhelm hospitals and should be given treatment in quarantine centres where their health can be monitored.

Only people with (complaints of) breathlessness and oxygen needs should go to hospitals, she said.

"You have to test more. Testing has to be freed up. Asymptomatic testing has to be freed up. And hospitals have to manage patients in a triage way so that they dont get overwhelmed," Mazumdar-Shaw said.

"You cant say that every positive case has to land up in hospitals. She also stressed the need for testing people based on their risk profile.

"A persons risk profile map can be easily worked out by knowing how often the individual uses public transport, the frequency of his travel for work, number of people at work place and if he or she is diabetic and has hypertension, among other factors.

Public workers, particularly bus drivers and conductors and delivery service personnel, should be tested as they come in touch with people so much," Mazumdar-Shaw added.
New Delhi, June 26 : The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a circular on Friday extending the suspension on scheduled commercial international flight operations to and from India till July 15.

The restriction, however, will not be applied on all-cargo flights and other flights specially approved services by the DGCA.

"The competent authority has decided that scheduled international commercial passenger service to/from India shall remain suspended till 2359 hrs IST of 15th July 2020," it said.

On June 20, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that re-commencement of international flight services will depend on factors like 'border acceptance' norms in the arriving country and the traffic demand.

That time, he hinted at the prospects of bilateral bubble arrangements, which will allow some international operations between countries.

At present, healthy demand for evacuation flights have been witnessed in the North America-India sector.

Passenger air services were suspended on March 25 due to the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of Covid-19, although domestic air services has resumed in a phased manner.

Subsequently, domestic flight services resumed from May 25. At present, airlines are only allowed to deploy 33 per cent of their total capacity.

Earlier in the day, Puri tweeted that in one month since recommencement of calibrated domestic civil aviation operations in the country "our skies & airports have been busy".

Around 18,92,581 passengers have flown so far on 21,316 flights across the country, he said.

Last week, Puri had said that to ease domestic mobility and accelerate passenger traffic growth, the Centre will allow flights to more destinations.

Nevertheless, these new flights and frequencies are likely to be within the 33 per cent capacity cap, he had said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
MORELAND HILLS, Ohio

Property found, hit confirmations (stolen firearms): Murwood Drive

A woman met with police at the station shortly after 8:30 p.m. June 15 to drop off five guns for disposal that she found while cleaning out a family members house.

Subsequent computer checks on the serial numbers showed that at least two of those guns were still listed as stolen from the West Coast, with one of the thefts dating back nearly 55 years ago. Police said stolen weapons remain in the crime database until they are removed.

One of guns, an old rifle, came up listed as stolen from 1979, with a hold still placed through the Orange County Sheriffs Office in California.

A hit confirmation also came in on a gun reported stolen out of Portland, Ore., in 1965. However, authorities have lost track in more recent years of that guns owner, who was born in 1926.

It was unclear if criminal charges would be pursued in any of the states involved.

Traffic stop: Chagrin Boulevard, SOM Center Road

A woman was stopped at the Moreland Hills Sunoco on the evening of June 18 driving a Chevrolet Malibu missing the adhesive numbers on its temporary tags. The car was impounded and she was given a courtesy ride to the Shaker Square RTA rapid station. She also requested a copy of the police report.

Noise complaint: Willow Wood Lane

Unknown individuals were advised about a noise complaint phoned in at 7:30 a.m. June 18.

Complaints-juveniles: Miles Road

Officers reported that they were out with three juveniles at the Look About Lodge shortly before 2:30 a.m. June 17. Within about 15 minutes, the kids were all released to their parents. It was unclear if curfew charges were being considered at this time.

Erratic driver: Jackson Road

Police responded to a report of an eastbound Jeep SUV being driven erratically by a male suspect who was cursing at other drivers while cutting in and out of traffic, last seen heading north on SOM Center Road.

A license plate was relayed to police, who then talked to the suspected driver's mother, who said she would talk to her son about it.

Damage to property: Mill Creek Lane

A caller reported around 9:30 a.m. June 15 that her mailbox had been vandalized.

Animal-miscellaneous: Wiltshire Road

A caller reported around 8:30 a.m. June 17 that he had been taking care of a cat named Cookie that used to belong to a person now deceased. At that point the cat, described as white with black and brown spots, had now been missing for two days.

He added that he'd already called Village Hall and Woodland Veterinary Hospital to advise them about Cookie, whose information was printed out and placed in the police department's animal book.

Read more from the Chagrin Solon Sun.
S ix people - including a policeman who is fighting for his life - have been wounded and a suspected knifeman shot and killed by armed officers in an attack in Glasgow city centre.

Armed officers swooped on the Park Inn hotel in West George Street just after 1pm on Friday and have cordoned off a significant part of the city centre.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told reporters the stabbings were "not being treated as a terrorist incident".

Police Scotland has said six people have been taken to hospital for treatment, a 42-year-old officer who is in a critical but stable condition. The youngest victim is 17.

Glasgow Attack - In pictures 1 /22 Glasgow Attack - In pictures Emergency services staff with a person on an ambulance trolley at the scene in West George Street in Glasgow Milroy1717/AFP via Getty Images Getty Images Armed officers @ThatReilz/PA Emergency respoders are seen at the scene @Milroy1717/Reuters Sky News Sky News @JATV_scotland/PA @JATV_scotland/PA Sky News @Milroy1717/Reuters @JATV_scotland/PA @JATV_scotland/PA Sky News @Milroy1717/PA @Milroy1717/PA Getty Images Getty Images

There has been no confirmation about possible fatalities apart from the suspect, who was shot dead by police.

The force has added the incident is "contained" and they were not looking for any other attackers.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said: "The individual who was shot by armed police has died.

"Six other people are in hospital for treatment to their injuries including a police officer, who is in a critical but stable condition.

We are continuing to deal with the incident on West George Street #Glasgow and would ask people to avoid the area.

"Armed police officers attended the incident and I can confirm that a male suspect was shot by an armed officer.

I would like to reassure the public that at this time we are not looking for anyone else in relation to this incident. I can also confirm that a police officer was injured while dealing with the incident and that officer is receiving treatment in hospital.

Witness Craig Milroy, who saw the aftermath of the incident from an office building nearby, said he had seen four people taken away in ambulances.

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He said: I saw a man lying on the ground, of African descent, with no shoes on. He was on the ground with someone holding his side  I dont know if it was a bullet wound, a stab wound, or what it was.

Mr Milroy said the man was one of the four taken away by medics and believed him to be a victim of an attack.

He added: After that we saw commotion, ambulances further up and we saw armed police all running into the hotel next to the Society Room.

We were still standing outside, after that the police all came down, the riot police and triage team told us to go back in and lock the door.

Another eyewitness, Matthew Nesbitt, spoke to Sky News about the incident.

He appeared visibly emotional as he described seeing one of the victims of the attack.

"We heard some screaming, and a load of commotion", he said.

"We looked out of the window and we could see someone on the steps of the hotel lying there. I couldn't see much but we went downstairs. By the time we got down there the police were already on scene. It was an incredible response from them. They went in and shot the person in question. I only heard the gunshot, but I saw unfortunately one gentleman with his life lost.

"He was on the steps, one of the men one of the victims, blood coming from their torso. Not something you expect to see on a Friday afternoon."

The Park Inn hotel is currently being used to house asylum seekers during the coronavirus outbreak, the BBC reported.

An eyewitness living at the hotel, who spoke to Sky on condition of anonymity told the news channel that he and was awoken by a loud noise at around 12.50.

"Currently I'm living in the third floor of Park Inn hotel", he said.

"I hear a male voice, he was screaming, asking for help, and also a female voice who was screaming, so when I looked out of the window it was like a group of people staring towards the hotel, but I'm not sure what's going on downstairs, I could not see, so it makes me worried and I head down.

"I went to take the lift, but inside the lift was covered with blood, so I did not take the lift.

'I went down the stairs, and when I went down the stairs - that's when I saw the whole reception area was covered with blood.

"I saw that one of the receptionists had been stabbed, he was lying behind the receptionist's desk. He was lying and gasping for air."

He added that one of the asylum seekers was helping the wounded receptionist. He then ran outside to call for help, that's when he saw another wounded receptionist on the hotel's steps.

"I saw another receptionist that I had known. He was also gasping for air and fighting for his life."

Police Scotland tweeted that one of their officers, a 42 year old man is in hospital, along with five members of the public.

The force added: The other men in hospital are aged 17, 18, 20, 38 and 53. Liaison officers have been appointed.

"Our thoughts are with the families of those who were injured, including our officer."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: Deeply saddened by the terrible incident in Glasgow, my thoughts are with all the victims and their families. Thank you to our brave emergency services who are responding.

Earlier, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: The reports from Glasgow city centre are truly dreadful. My thoughts are with everyone involved.

"I am being updated as the situation becomes clearer. Please help the emergency services do their jobs by staying away from the area  and please dont share unconfirmed information.
Iran's Ambassador to the Vienna-based International Organizations Kazem Gharibabadi expressed deep concern over recent efforts by the US and France which violate the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), Trend reports citing IRNA.

Addressing the 54th Session of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in the Austrian capital, he reaffirmed long-standing and principled position of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the need to completely eliminate nuclear weapons, saying that unfortunately, after a lapse of over two decades since the ratification of the treaty, achieving its main goal to end development of nuclear weapons has become more unattainable.

He deplored that the international community has recently witnessed a destructive approach to nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation treaties by some nuclear states, adding that the modernization and testing of nuclear weapons threaten NPT as a cornerstone of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime as well as the international peace and security.

He further noted that a recent test of a French missile, which is capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, as well as nuclear test explosions proposed by the US, are in grave violation of international nuclear nonproliferation treaties.

The unilateral and illegal withdrawal from many international agreements, including the Open Skies Treaty, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and JCPOA has become a policy for the US that is not only against multilateralism but also undermines international peace and security, he said.

He also expressed concern over US Senate approval of a $10 million budget for such a nuclear test, urging the US and France to honor their commitments in line with protecting the objectives of disarmament treaties.
Over 1,000 cases of the novel coronavirus have now been confirmed in the Gateway City, another milestone in our city's battle against the viral disease.

READ MORE: Gov. Greg Abbott closes Texas bars once again amid COVID-19 spike

While Friday's data has yet to be announced, it appears that this week will the mark the largest weekly increase in coronavirus positives since testing began in Laredo in early March. From June 21 to June 25, 227 cases have been confirmed.

As coronavirus cases continue to increase, one question remains in the mind of Laredo: where exactly are the cases coming from?

Data provided by the City of Laredo Health Department has allowed us some insight into how exactly COVID-19 is affecting the Gateway City differently.

Since the emergence of the coronavirus in March, the city has confirmed 1,101 positive cases in Laredo as of June 26. Of the cases, a majority have been recognized on the outer edge of the city, with the 78045 and 78046 zip codes seeing the highest amount of positives.

78046, which encompasses Laredo south of Jaime Zapata Memorial Highway to the southern city limit, currently has the greatest prevalence of COVID-19 cases, with 288 positives, or 26.16 percent of the total, attributed to the area.

The 78045 zip code, has the second-most amount of cases, with 238 positives recognized in the area. The zip code includes Laredo north of Del Mar Blvd, and includes the Mines Road neighborhood.

Together, the two zip codes account for almost 47.78 percent of all cases.

The area least affected by COVID-19 is the 78043 zip code. The zip code sits north of the 78046, ranging north of Jaime Zapata Memorial Highway to Saunders. The 135 cases in the area account for only 12.26 percent of all cases in Laredo.

78040, which includes most of downtown Laredo, currently has 161 positives recognized by city health officials.

The remaining zipcode, 78041, is north of both zip codes and accounts for 206 cases.

The data available also includes a variety of demographic information on positive cases confirmed by the city.

According to the data, persons between the age of 20 and 29 years old are the most affected by the coronavirus in Laredo.

People in the age group account for 293, or almost 26.61 percent, of the positive cases in Laredo. In the age group, 158 men and 135 women have been confirmed positive.

As of the most recent data, coronavirus has been found in Laredo men more than Laredo women. 559 cases have been recognized in men, with 542 found in women.

READ MORE: Laredo officials sound the alarm as hospitalizations surge again

Additionally, 611 cases, or 55.5 percent of all positives, have been found to be a result of close contact to another positive case, such as a friend or family member with an existing infection.
The on Friday continued with its attacks against Congress interim Chief on the issue of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) receiving donations from the Chinese Embassy here, as ruling party president J. P. Nadda accused her of diverting the money of the citizens during the rule into a family run foundation.

Nadda said it was not only brazen fraud, but a big betrayal to the citizens of the country. While targetting Sonia Gandhi, he said one family's hunger for wealth has cost this nation immensely and demanded Congress' imperial dynasty to apologise.

"The PMNRF (Prime Minister Relief Fund), meant to help people in distress, was donating money to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Who chairs RGF (Rajiv Gandhi Foundation)? Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency," Nadda said in a series of tweets.

He said, "People of India donated their hard earned money to the PMNRF to help their fellow citizens in need. To divert this public money into a family run foundation is not only a brazen fraud, but also a big betrayal of the people of India."

While attacking the Gandhi family, the President said, "One family's hunger for wealth has cost the nation immensely. If only they have devoted their energies towards a more constructive agenda. The Congress' Imperial Dynasty needs to apologise to the unchecked loot for self-gains."

On Thursday, a controversy erupted after a startling revelation that the government of the Peoples Republic of China and the Chinese Embassy in India have been funding the RGF led by Sonia Gandhi. She is the Chairperson of the RGF, and its board includes former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among others.

However, the Congress responded to the BJP's allegations and said, "the should stop living in 2005" and alleged that the ruling party is adopting "diversionary tactics" to avoid answering questions on the Chinese transgressions in Ladakh.

On Thursday evening, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "Please stop living in 2005 and start answering questions in 2020". Firing a salvo at the BJP, Surjewala asked: "Why is the government mum about the Chinese presence in eastern Ladakh area? In the interest the nation wants to know the answer to these questions instead of diversionary tactics of the present BJP government."

Surjewala said, "I can ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, is it not true that the only Chief Minister (as Gujarat CM) who visited China four times is none less than Prime Minister Modi, the only Prime Minister who visited China five times is Prime Minister Modi, the only Prime Minister who called the Chinese premier three times is Prime Minister Modi."

--IANS

aks/dpb

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Alphabet Inc.s GOOGL division, Google has been gradually expanding presence in the cloud market.

In sync with the companys expansion strategy, Google plans to invest up to $2 billion to build a data center in Poland, per reports.

Notably, this move is in line with the companys initiatives to expand cloud footprint globally.

We believe that the growing number of data centers will add efficiency to Googles business as these will provide better storage for vast search data, emails, photos and most importantly, cloud data with advanced security.

Data Center Expansion Continues

The need for data-center expansion is on the rise due to growing demand for cloud computing and the ever-increasing needs of Internet users.

Moreover, the work-and-learn-from-home necessity is stoking demand for cloud services. Furthermore, the lockdown has increased the usage of online and e-commerce services globally. Therefore, the need to invest more in data centers to accommodate the demand spike for cloud services is the need of the hour.

Google, being no exception, is expanding data centers to meet the requirement of increasing cloud services.

Alphabet Inc. Price and Consensus

Alphabet Inc. Price and Consensus

Competition Intensifies

Googles strategy of expanding data centers globally has intensified competition from the likes of Amazon AMZN, Microsoft MSFT, Apple AAPL, Facebook and Alibaba, which are also leaving no stone unturned to bolster presence in the region.

Last month, Microsoft announced plans to invest $1 billion in Poland, including a new data center. The company aims to focus on teaching local people how to fully utilize the cloud. In addition, it will help startups, entrepreneurs and others with cloud services.In February, Microsoft announced plans of opening a datacenter region in Spain. Microsoft already has 60 cloud regions around the world.

Also, Amazon opened a datacenter region in Italy last week. A number of companies are expecting cloud usage to exceed prior plans due to the COVID-19 pandemics impacts. According to the ninth annual Flexera 2020 State of the Cloud Report, 59% of companies expect their cloud usage to be slightly or significantly higher than planned.

Story continues

Nevertheless, Google is well positioned to take advantage of the projected growth in this segment. The expanding infrastructure will eventually boost the companys position in the cloud computing market, which is currently dominated by the likes of Amazon and Microsoft.

Zacks Rank

Currently, Alphabet carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Click to get this free report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 01:52:06|Editor: huaxia

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People are seen on a beach in Sale, Morocco, on June 25, 2020. Morocco on Thursday announced 431 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the North African country to 11,338. Morocco started on Thursday relaxing pandemic restrictions by allowing travel inside the country and reopening cafes and restaurants. (Photo by Chadi/Xinhua)

RABAT, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Morocco on Thursday announced 431 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the North African country to 11,338.

The number of recovered patients increased to 8,500 with 32 new recoveries, while the death toll rose to 217 as one new fatality was recorded in the last 24 hours, said Hind Ezzine, head of the Department of Epidemic Diseases of the Ministry of Health.

The COVID-19 death rate in Morocco stabilizes at 1.9 percent, and the recovery rate at 81 percent, the official noted.

Morocco started on Thursday relaxing pandemic restrictions by allowing travel inside the country and reopening cafes and restaurants.

China has helped Morocco in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

A batch of medical supplies donated by the government of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was transported on June 8 to Casablanca-Settat in Morocco.

On May 14, China Development Bank sent a batch of donation, including respirators and medical protective masks, to Morocco to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

China's Guizhou Province has also donated 15,000 surgical gloves, 20,000 medical masks and 2,000 protective suits to help Moroccan medical workers fight the pandemic. Enditem
Los Angeles Councilman Jose Huizar's district includes Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Eagle Rock and much of downtown. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

It was Halloween of 2018 and a real estate developer had just gotten a treat: The blessing of the Los Angeles City Council for a new high-rise in the Arts District.

The real estate executive crowed in an email that it was a truly amazing accomplishment  the council had approved the tallest building yet in the Arts District, and with minimal requirements for affordable housing, according to federal prosecutors.

Now federal investigators are describing the Arts District project as one of the real estate developments entangled in an alleged criminal scheme headed by Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar. At a news conference Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna cited it as an example of the harm that comes with bribery.

Thanks to Mr. Huizar, the development would have minimal affordable housing units, despite the fact that this area is desperate for low-income housing, Hanna said. In a criminal complaint, prosecutors estimated that Huizar's changes to the project saved the developer $14 million.

Huizar, who was arrested Tuesday and is suspended from the council, is accused by federal prosecutors of running a criminal enterprise fueled by developer bribes. His attorneys said this week that the councilman intends to respond to the governments allegations in court."

In recent months, documents filed by prosecutors in the sprawling pay-to-play probe have focused on several other downtown projects. This week, prosecutors alleged that Huizar also schemed with the developer of the Arts District project and its lobbyist to provide direct and indirect financial benefits to the councilman in exchange for his help at City Hall.

Prosecutors did not name the Arts District project involved in that alleged scheme, but details included in their criminal complaint  including the building's height, the dates and amounts of political contributions from the developer, and the timing of the city's approval of the project  all match the 475-unit development known as 520 Mateo, which was pursued by Carmel Partners.

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That 35-story project won council approval over the objections of labor unions and the owners of a nearby property in 2018. The planned tower on Mateo Street was reported to have broken ground earlier this year.

Representatives for Carmel Partners did not comment Wednesday. When Huizar reviewed the 520 Mateo project at a council committee, he recommended reducing the amount of affordable housing that the City Planning Commission had insisted on for the project.

Instead of demanding that 11% of the housing units go to very low income households, Huizar recommended requiring 6% of the units for moderate income residents and that 5% of its commercial floor area be reserved as affordable work space  a change sought by Carmel Partners. That amounted to roughly 24 fewer units of affordable housing.

A federal investigator alleged in an affidavit this week that the company behind the unnamed Arts District project provided tens of thousands of dollars in donations to political committees tied to Huizar. The developer also agreed to give him damaging information about two former aides who sued him for harassment, according to the affidavit.

Huizar, in turn, took key steps to assist the Arts District project, including urging the planning department to initiate a change to city rules to accommodate the development, rejecting an appeal against it and loosening requirements for affordable housing that were recommended by a city commission, federal prosecutors alleged.

At one point, a lobbyist for the Arts District project told Huizar that the developer wanted to meet to find out whether he was comfortable with the project's height and affordability, prosecutors said. According to the affidavit, Huizar replied: Are they gonna help with pac?  a common shorthand for a political action committee.

Im sure they will, however  as your friend  lets discuss this in a different text thread," the lobbyist replied, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said the project drew a formal challenge from a labor union. Huizar allegedly told the project's lobbyist that if he were to vote against that union, the developer would have to make it "worthwhile, the affidavit alleges.

Soon after, the lobbyist told Huizar that the developer had offered to contribute another $50,000 to a political committee supporting Huizar's wife's council bid, according to prosecutors. In addition, the developer later provided the opposition research on Huizar's former aides, according to the criminal complaint.

Key details in documents filed by prosecutors about the unnamed lobbyist involved in those discussions, including his role as a principal officer on a political committee, match information about Morrie Goldman, whose firm represented Carmel Partners on 520 Mateo, according to lobbying disclosures filed with the city.

Goldman, who has not been arrested or publicly charged, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

When 520 Mateo was seeking approval at City Hall two years ago, Carmel Partners' Southern California development partner Neils Cotter touted the project as "high-quality live-work units with affordable housing" and environmentally sustainable features, one that had garnered support from people living and working in the Arts District.

Yuval Bar-Zemer, a resident and businessman in the Arts District, said Carmel Partners worked with the neighborhood, agreeing to requests from neighbors to add more commercial space to the project. Those design changes ultimately resulted in a taller tower than originally proposed, he said.

"They were one of the few developers that actually reached out to the community and made quite a number of changes to make it more of what the community was looking for," said Bar-Zemer, manager of Linear City Development LLC.

Opponents of the project raised a range of concerns.

Two unions, the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters and Laborers International Union of North America Local 300, said the developer had failed to properly address the project's effects on air quality and other issues. Neighboring property owners Stephen and Carol Ann Warren argued it would be "egregiously out of scale with the neighborhood."

Huizar moved to reject the appeals filed by project opponents. The Warrens' attorney, Rob Glushon, said that during the battle over the project, it became apparent to their law firm that "the project was strongly supported by the council office."

"The political battle was not something that we were going to win," Glushon said.
STAMFORD  Point72 Ventures, a venture capital business of billionaire hedge fund investor Steven Cohen, announced this week that it was leading a $20 million investment in commercial real estate brokerage HelloOffice.

The Series A funding from Stamford-based Ventures and other investors will support the development of the technology platform of HelloOffice, which was founded in 2016 in San Francisco. Having cumulatively raised $27 million, the firm plans to expand its services to project management and workplace strategy and extend its footprint to markets beyond San Francisco and Los Angeles.

HelloOffices full-stack approach to brokerage will be a game-changer for the real estate industry, Point72 partner Sri Chandrasekar said in a statement. We are excited to partner with this innovative and collaborative company as they continue to expand their product offering and geographic footprint.

Other participants in the funding round included existing investors Initialized Capital, Founders Fund, SaaStr, House Fund and Jake Gibson.

Everyone is rethinking the modern office, and its going to take a modern, software-powered brokerage to lead companies into this new era, Alexis Ohanian, general partner at Initialized Capital and co-founder of Reddit, said in a statement. Weve been proud to work with Justin and his team from their earliest days, and HelloOffice continues to set the industry standard.

HelloOffice officials said they plan to soon run a platform that will help clients find space, close their leases, build out their offices and assist with ongoing operations.

We saw a huge opportunity to expand our technology platform and geographic footprint. The time is ripe to usher in the hybrid workplace in a scalable way, HelloOffice CEO Justin Bedecarre said in a statement. We are focused on creating new product offerings to help companies find their optimal workplace solution and, in many cases, work with companies transitioning to hybrid workplaces.

Ventures funding for HelloOffice follows several other eight-figure agreements in the past couple of years.

Last October, it led a $16 million investment in Bayzat, a United Arab Emirates-based startup that focuses on digital HR services.

In May 2019, the firm announced it was spearheading a $45 million infusion in San Francisco-based Tempo Automation, which specializes in assembling printed circuit boards, using artificial intelligence-based robotics and software automation.

At the same, it said it was jointly leading $13 million in financing for Minneapolis-based ClickSwitch, which automates changes in direct deposits and recurring payments for financial institutions account holders.

In April 2019, Ventures announced that it was co-leading an $11 million investment in Manhattan-based financial-technology firm Extend.

Ventures was founded in May 2016, about two-and-a-half years after Cohen founded the main investment firm that he runs today, Stamford-based hedge fund Point72 Asset Management. Ventures launch responded to the large volume of deals pitched to Cohen.

In total, Ventures has made more than 50 investments.

The firm has offices at Point72 Asset Managements headquarters at 72 Cummings Point Road, in Stamfords Waterside section, as well as others in New York City and Palo Alto, Calif. It operates separately from Point72 Asset Management, but its insights are shared with the latter.

pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott
House approves sweeping police overhaul from Democrats, responding to national outcry over George Floyd's death.  AP

The U.S. House of Representatives just got enough votes to pass the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act to reform police practices and address institutional racism throughout America.

The vote was 236-181 along near party line, with Speaker Pelosi presiding.

Three Republicans Reps., Brian Fitz (PA), Will Hurd (TX) and Fred Upton (MI), joined Democrats in voting Yes.

The bill:

 Bans chokeholds

 Bans racial profiling

 Establishes a national registry

 Ends qualified immunity

 Restricts no-knock warrants

 Addresses the militarization of police departments

Now, the GOP-led Senate has to vote on it.

The House just passed the George Floyd #JusticeInPolicingAct to reform police practices & tackle systemic racism across America. The Senate must take up the House's historic reforms & move beyond half-measures. Hear the cries to end police brutality & reimagine policing. pic.twitter.com/b1jWh01Vz7  US Rep Kathy Castor (@USRepKCastor) June 26, 2020

236-181: House passes Democrats' police reform bill, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, on a near party line vote with Speaker Pelosi presiding. 3 Republicans @RepBrianFitz (PA), @HurdOnTheHill (TX) and @RepFredUpton (MI) voted Yes. Bill now heads to Senate. pic.twitter.com/ul7IJmfZmx  Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) June 26, 2020

NEW: Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner; Samaria Rice, mother of Tamir Rice; and John Crawford, Jr., father of John Crawford III, released statement supporting the George Floyd #JusticeInPolicing Act, legislation to hold police accountable + change the culture of law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/r5H7TfEVYt  House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) June 26, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP)  House approves sweeping police overhaul from Democrats, responding to national outcry over George Floyd's death.  Mike Balsamo (@MikeBalsamo1) June 26, 2020

Democrats' police reform bill gets enough votes to pass in the House of Representatives pic.twitter.com/nrrWnpc3qh  Reuters (@Reuters) June 26, 2020
Huawei, together with Thailand National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Communication (NBTC) and Siriraj Hospital, initiated on Thursday Unmanned Vehicle Pilot Project Driving Thai Healthcare to 5G Era to pioneer the use of unmanned vehicle for the first time in smart hospital in this ASEAN country.

The self-driving delivery vehicle takes advantage of 5G technology from Huawei to bring about contactless delivery solution of medical supplies, which will elevate the medical system to 5G era by applying world-class technology and innovation to drive medical services and the healthcare industry.

Such technology can replace manpower in logistics services as it can operate in complex environments. The autonomous car offers safe, convenient and cost-effective solutions while reducing workload for healthcare worker and improving patient safety. The 5G technology integration will then be progressively applied in the national health system for Smart Hospital transformation in near future.

The NBTC has been utilizing 5G technology with remote medical services by connecting with Community Health Promotion Hospital and large local hospitals in piloting remote treatment of four diseases  such as eye diseases, skin diseases, blood pressure abnormalities and diabetes. Moreover, the remote medical care has also expanded to local prisons, namely Khao Bin Central Prison and Ratchaburi Central Prison in Ratchaburi province, to give easier medical access to people and prisoners in remote areas. The ongoing projects by the NBTC aim to drive greater benefits of 5G innovation into different aspects of life across the country, said Takorn Tantasith, Secretary-General of the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission.

Thailand has the advantages of the successful 5G auction and of being one of the 5G leaders in ASEAN. The NBTC recognizes the competitive advantages and promotes integration of 5G technology in different sectors to close the digital divide in the country. This is to get Thailand ready for digital transformation in driving our daily life, work and manufacturing forward, added the Secretary-General of the NBTC.

After the first test trial in Siriraj Hospital, the oldest and largest hospital in Thailand at the frontline of the fight against COVID-19, the NBTC will evaluate the benefits and efficiency of the 5G-enable unmanned vehicle before maximizing results from this pilot project to leverage the unmanned vehicle in different uses, as well as in other hospitals.

Prof. Dr. Prasit Watanapa, Dean of Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, said, As a result of COVID-19 situation, the safety of patients and medical workers must be prioritized, including effective use of resources. Siriraj Hospital places importance on taking full advantage of digital technology in order to holistically increase the efficiency of medical services and operations. The pilot project of 5G unmanned vehicle will enhance the central logistics system within the hospital. At the initial stage, it will be used to transport and distribute medicines for contactless delivery which will help reduce workload and infection risks of frontline workers. This is another important step to improve the quality of healthcare services for long-term development and sustainability.

Mr. Abel Deng, CEO of Huawei Thailand, said that, As a global leading company in technology, Huawei is honored and delighted to continuously take part in assisting Thai medical staff. The pilot project of driverless vehicle for Siriraj Hospital will operate under Huaweis 5G technology to help transport medical supplies within the hospital. This pilot project exemplifies the accelerated digitalization of Thailands medical services as 5G will play a key role in the next generation of healthcare. The 5G applications in the public health domain could also inspire businesses in other sectors to leverage 5Gs popularity and explore new applications of the technology. Most significantly, 5G technology will be the key driving force to recover the Thai economy and drive new economic and societal growth for the country across every aspect.
In the most recent violent act on June 23, 15 Afghan security personnel were killed and seven others were injured in attacks by the Taliban. Earlier, on the evening of June 22, Taliban gunmen launched an attack on a security checkpoint in Kunduz province, wounding nine militia members and six Afghan soldiers. In a similar attack in the province, six policemen died and one was injured.

On the occasion of Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of Ramadan, the Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire starting from May 23. However, as soon as the ceasefire ended, the group attacked an Afghan border station on May 29, killing at least 14 security officers.

These moves came as Kabul and the Taliban signalled that they were moving closer to the launch of long-overdue peace talks. President Ashraf Ghani announced that he would complete the release of Taliban prisoners, a key condition for the rebels to start the peace process aimed atending the nearly 20-year-war.

In addition, the attacks also raised concerns about the premature death of the peace agreement signed in Qatar in February between the US and the Taliban. This agreement is considered a commitment to pave the way for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, in exchange for security guarantees from the Taliban. Under the agreement, the US will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan in May, 2021 if the Taliban meets conditions contained in the deal, including severing ties with terrorist groups.

Commander of the U.S. Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie said on June 18 that the US has reduced its troop level to 8,600 in Afghanistan, fulfilling its first phase pullout obligations under the US-Taliban deal. He said the US has fulfilled its part of the agreement. McKenzie also called full withdrawal an aspirational commitment, but also one which was conditional.

However, the fate of the agreement is currently very fragile. On one hand, the agreement threatened to become a mess of paper as instead of fulfilling its commitmentsto security and toward peace, the Taliban has launched hundreds of attacks all over Afghanistan. On the other hand, a condition of the agreement stipulating the Taliban's severance of relations with terrorist groups is also at risk of being ruled out. According to a recently-released United Nations report, the Taliban affirmed that it would maintain close ties with the Al-Qaeda network, despite the peace deal with the US.

It is clear that violence in Afghanistan has increased in spite of the US-Taliban deal for peace in the country. A recent report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) indicated that conflicts taking place in the first three months of this year in Afghanistan caused 1,300 civilian deaths and injuries, including 152 children and 60 women. The number of civilian deaths increased by 20% compared to the first three months of 2019.

Establishing a sustainable peace in Afghanistan is now a burning desire for its people. In order to facilitate the process of moving towards the start of negotiations within Afghanistan, during which the parties will seek a genuine solution to restore peace, the bloody violence in this South Asian nation must be stopped immediately.
Two local school districts will continue this summer to operate meal distribution programs established in the spring to help local families impacted by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

South Middleton School District will operate its meal program through Aug. 31 while Mechanicsburg Area School District will continue its Wildcat Grab N Go Food program through Aug. 5.

In early June, the Project SHARE food bank took over meal distribution after the Carlisle Area School District closed its program for the summer in late May, Superintendent Christine Spielbauer said Friday.

Meanwhile, the PAWS Pack Program of Newville will provide food this summer to families in the Big Spring School District.

South Middleton

The Pennsylvania Department of Education recently approved an extension of the open site waiver that allows South Middleton to provide meals to all students regardless of whether the family income level qualifies the children for free or reduced price meals. That waiver was set to expire on June 30.

Families that are not receiving this service, but would like to request meals, need to complete a signup form available on the district website at www.smsd.us. To access the form, click on the link Meal Signup for Children on the homepage.

To properly fill out the form, each family must include a home address, the name of a parent or guardian, a contact phone number and email address for the household, the name and grade of each child and the school each child attends.

Also, families must choose between two sites for meal pick-up on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10 and 11 a.m. The sites are Boiling Springs High School or the W.G. Rice Elementary School. The district wants to avoid wasting food so by completing a form each family is committing itself to picking up meals on all the designated distribution days.

During the spring, the South Middleton program only provided meals during weekdays. During the summer, the program will expand to include weekends. Families may request meals for all children living in a household up to age 18.

Each family will receive two breakfasts and two lunches for each child on Tuesdays and five breakfasts and five lunches for each child on Thursdays. There are different menu items depending on the day of the week.

Typical weekday breakfast items include cereal bars, toaster pastries, cereal bowls, microwavable waffles or pancakes, muffins, graham crackers, fresh or dried fruit and fruit juice. Typical weekday lunch items include pizza, chicken tenders/nuggets, a ham and cheese sandwich, a turkey and cheese sandwich, a chicken patty sandwich, assorted fruits and vegetables and a cookie. Milk will be served with all the weekday meals.

On weekend meals, typical breakfast menu items will include muffins, yogurt, oatmeal, a fruit pastry, string cheese, graham crackers, fruit and milk. Typical weekend lunch items will include stuffed bread sticks, pizza dippers, mozzarella sticks, chicken sandwich, personal size pizza, snacks/chips, cookie/granola, assorted fruits and vegetables and water.

Menu items are subject to change based on availability. The district is not able to make substitutions nor can it accommodate gluten free food requests.

Mechanicsburg

From now through Aug. 5, Mechanicsburg will continue to distribute weekday breakfast and lunch meals through its Wildcat Grab N Go Food program, named for the school district mascot.

The distribution of school-prepared food takes place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Mechanicsburg Middle School, 1750 S. Market St. Wildcat Packs of donated food for the weekends are distributed on Wednesdays.

The district prefers recipients to use the middle school site if possible. There are a number of satellite locations for families who cannot get to the middle school. Food will be delivered from 9:30 to 10 a.m. Mondays and Wednesday at the Cumberland Pointe Office, Cumberland Pointe Rear and Rolo Court mailboxes. From 10:15 to 10:45 a.m., food will be delivered next to St. Johns Church in Shiremanstown, Geneva and Nanroc and the community center at 201 E. Green St. in Mechanicsburg.

Carlisle

Now through Aug. 7, Project SHARE will provide lunches to needy Carlisle area children, ages 5-18, through a summer program made possible by local donors and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program will offer the equivalent of 10 meals a week plus a Power Nutrition Pack for weekends, according to information posted at www.projectsharepa.org.

A distribution for the entire seven days will be held on Fridays from 9 to 11 a.m. at two locations, Project SHARE headquarters at 5 N. Orange St. and the New Life Community Church, 202 N. Baltimore Ave., Mount Holly Springs.

Big Spring

Big Spring School District ended its meal distribution program on June 1. The PAW Packs Program in Newville had its first meal distribution on Friday, June 12. Prior to that, PAW Packs was supplying supplemental food for weekend meals. In its new role, PAW Packs provides additional food to assist families with breakfast and lunch each day. This includes fresh fruits and vegetables as supplies become available.

Food distributions are Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon. Organizers ask families who sign up for the summer program to pick up their food because perishable items would go to waste. If a family is unable to come after signing up, they should text or call 717-332-8085.

Interested families can email organizers at pawpacksprogram@gamil.com to sign up. Please include your name, your contact email or phone number and the number of children through age 18 in the household.

Email Joseph Cress at jcress@cumberlink.com.

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Springfield, NJ, June 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As an inherently independent, strong-willed woman since childhood, Ana Klepova was more than ready to transition to life in a new country and thought she had left all her troubles behind in Macedonia when she immigrated to the United States. She was surprised to learn her nationality was an intrinsic obstacle, and many took poorly to her Macedonian roots. For the first time in her life, she felt alone and insecure. Suddenly, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Klepova found her strength to make her dream, the American Dream, her own and live by no ones rules. In her book, WINNING AWAY: Memoir by Ana Klepova she shares her story of triumph as she redefines what it means to live the American Dream.

Inspired by her drive to share the truth about those who hindered her success on her journey to becoming an American, Klepova wrote her story both to show those who made life difficult for her and those who aided in her journey that she not only made it- she is thriving.

I want to let people know it can be hard, but you can be successful. You can have a happy ending in America, Klepova said, adding, it might take a long time, but eventually something good will happen so long as you dont give up.

Klepova knows she is not alone in facing unnecessary hardship from friends, landlords, bosses, and others while gaining a footing in America. She hopes her story will touch those who have also started a new life in the U.S., give them hope, and show them at while the odds may be against them, some allies will always be willing to support them if they know where to look.

WINNING AWAY: Memoir by Ana Klepova

By Ana Klepova

ISBN: 9781796098877 (softcover); 9781796098884 (hardcover);

Available at the Xlibris Online Bookstore, Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the author

Born in Strumica, Macedonia, in 1980, Ana Klepova knew she was destined to travel the world, fall in love with herself first and then someone else, and deeply enjoy even the smallest moments. When she faced immense hardship after immigrating to America, she had two choices: go home where things never changed, or tough it out and make life in the United States great on her terms. After deciding on the latter, she fell deeply in love and got married. She has settled in Springfield, New Jersey, and while she looks back on her life from time-to-time she never regrets the choice she made to move to America.

###

Attachment
The mean age of Arizonans killed by covid-19 fell from 78 on April 27 to 69 on June 14, according to data processed by a modeling team made up of experts at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona. The average age of patients testing positive for the virus dropped from 51 on April 5 to 39 by mid-June. While older individuals are known to be at greater risk from the virus, Arizona has three times as many positive tests among people age 20 to 44 as it does in any other age bracket, according to state data.
Thursday, June 25, 2020

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Verizon Communications (VZ), Lockheed Martin (LMT) and American Express (AXP). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of todays research reports here >>>

Verizons shares have underperformed the Zacks Wireless National industrys over the past year (-5.3% vs. -1.4%). The Zacks analyst believes that the companys focus on online content delivery, mobile video and online advertising should stoke growth. Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network build-up is likely to accelerate a 5G rollout.

Despite crisis stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, Verizon started 2020 on a positive note primarily owing to the wireless business. It is also changing revenue mix toward newer growth services like cloud, security and professional services.

However, Verizon continues to struggle in a competitive U.S. wireless market with muted demand and tweaked 2020 guidance amid the coronavirus-led turmoil. The company's wireline division is struggling with losses in access lines due to competitive pressure from VoIP service providers. Also, Verizon is spending heavily on promotion and lucrative discounts to woo customers, which further erodes profitability.

(You can read the full research report on Verizon here >>> )

Shares of Lockheed Martin have lost -8.9% over the past six months against the Zacks Aerospace Defense industrys fall of -31.6%. The Zacks analyst believes that Lockheed Martin faces intense global competition for its broad portfolio of products and services. Furthermore, forced cost reduction initiatives for the F-35 program might hamper its operating results.

Lockheed Martin enjoys strong demand for its high-end military equipment in domestic and international markets, being the world's largest defense contractor. Expansionary budgetary provisions made by the current U.S. administration will immensely boost this defense prime's business. It continues to be a strong cash generator.

Story continues

Furthermore, forced cost reduction initiatives for the F-35 program might hamper its operating results. America and Turkey's tiff on the latter accepting Russian products may hurt Lockheeds component supply from Turkey. It is also facing performance issues in relation to some of its products, which in turn may hurt its results.

(You can read the full research report on Lockheed Martin here >>> )

American Express shares have gained +3.3% over the past three months against the Zacks Financial Miscellaneous Services industrys rise of +12.8%. The Zacks analyst believes that American Express strategic initiatives will help it in achieving growth and recover from the current weak market environment.

A decline in marketing expenses and card member service is likely to aid margins. The companys investment grade rating along with a stable outlook places it in a favorable position to secure funding at reasonable costs and keep intact its borrowing capacity.

Nevertheless, maintenance of sufficient level of capital will provide flexibility to support future business growth. However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, American Express is persistently witnessing weakness in spending volumes, which is likely to hurt its full-year operating performance. Drained profitability might continue given the adverse operating scenario.

(You can read the full research report on American Express here >>> )

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Boeing (BA), Zoom Video Communications (ZM) and Micron Technology (MU).

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 >>

Mark Vickery

Senior Editor

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>

Today's Must Read

Verizon (VZ) Rides on Wireless Networks Amid COVID-19 Hiccups

Order Growth Aids Lockheed (LMT), Tiff With Turkey May Hurt

Decline in Expenses to Aid American Express' (AXP) Margins

Featured Reports

Strategic Acquisitions Aids Boeing (BA), Low Deliveries Hurt

Per the Zacks Analyst, strategic acquisitions made by Boeing, such as overtaking KLX, boosts growth. However, risks related to lower 737 deliveries raises concerns.

Work-From-Home & Online Learning Wave Aids Zoom Video (ZM)

Per the Zacks analyst, Zoom Video is benefiting from the coronavirus-induced remote working and Internet-based education wave.

Micron (MU) Benefits from Growing Memory-Chip Demand

Per the Zacks Analyst, Micron is growing on solid memory-chip demand from PC manufacturers and data-center operators as the lockdown has boosted the work-and-learn-from-home trend.

Favorable Budget to Aid Northrop (NOC) Amid Supplier Issue

Per the Zacks analyst, encouraging spending plans in U.S. defense budget boost Northrop's growth prospects.

Solid Medicare Business Aids, High Costs Ail Humana (HUM)

Per the Zacks analyst, Humana's Medicare business has been performing strongly from past many quarters, which contributes to its overall growth.

General Mills' (GIS) Gains From Coronavirus-Led Demand

Per the Zacks analyst, General Mills' (GIS) is gaining from higher demand due to coronavirus-led stockpiling. Notably, the company expects organic sales to grow double digits in fiscal fourth-quarter.

New Features & Security Focus Drives Twitter's (TWTR) Growth

Twitter adds new features and ramps up its security efforts to lower abuse, which per the Zacks analyst is boosting user growth.

New Upgrades

Owens Corning (OC) Rides on High Insulation Product Demand

Per the Zacks analyst, strong demand for insulating products owing to rising construction activity, and improving remodeling and repair activity raises hope for Owens Corning.

Robust U.S. Spine Arm, HEDRON Uptake Aid Globus Medical (GMED)

The Zacks analyst is impressed with robust demand for various products in Globus Medical's HEDRON line of 3D printed interbody spacers.

Solid Codman Business Aids Integra (IART) on Product Uptakes

The Zacks analyst is positive about the fact that despite the pandemic-led slowdown, Integra's Codman Specialty Surgical arm is showing organic growth across neurosurgery franchises on new launches.

New Downgrades

Weak Markets, High Costs Ail International Flavors (IFF)

Per the Zacks analyst, International Flavors' results will bear the brunt of the slowdown in demand in few of its end markets and higher costs owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

C.H. Robinson (CHRW) Stung by Flagging Freight Backdrop

The Zacks analyst is anxious about depleting truckload volumes due to weak freight environment. The company's feeble liquidity also bothers.

Lower Lithium Prices, Soft Demand to Hurt Albemarle (ALB)

Per the Zacks analyst, Albemarle faces headwind from lower lithium prices due to oversupply in the market. Weak demand across major markets including automotive will also hurt its sales volumes.



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



Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (ZM) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report



The Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis Report



American Express Company (AXP) : Free Stock Analysis Report



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Zacks Investment Research
A Lebanese American businessman who was a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's report has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for child sex trafficking and child pornography.

George Nader, 61, was charged last June and pleaded guilty in January to bringing a 14-year-old boy from the Czech Republic to the US 20 years ago to engage in sexual activity. He also acknowledged possessing child pornography.

'I take great pride in my professional life and the work I have done for the United States,' he told a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on Friday.

'I am sincerely, deeply sorry for the pain and suffering I have caused.'

George Nader, Lebanese American businessman who was a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's report, was handed a 10-year prison sentence on child sex charges Friday

Nader also agreed to pay $150,000 in restitution to the victim, and will be on supervised relief for the rest of his life.

He still faces charges in D.C. federal court of helping to funnel illegal foreign contributions to both the Hillary Clinton campaign and Donald Trump's inaugural fund.

'He's lived most of his life in international privilege and to much acclaim,' said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Prabhu at sentencing.

'He's worked with presidents and princes, the powerful and the infamous.

'But that wasn't Mr Nader's only passion.

'Mr Nader has had a sexual interest in minors for over 35 years.'

Nader's name appears more than 100 times in the Mueller report, which details his efforts to serve as liaison between a Russian banker with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of President Donald Trump's transition team.

Nader's name appears more than 100 times in the Mueller report, which details his efforts to serve as liaison between a Russian banker with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of Donald Trump's transition team. Pictured is special counsel Robert Mueller

The Mueller report became the basis for the impeachment of Trump, who later was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Nader is also under indictment in Washington along with seven others on charges of conspiring to conceal the source of more than $3.5 million in political donations to Hillary Clinton.

In the 1990s, Nader served as a broker to facilitate the release of American hostages held in the Middle East.

Nader also served as an adviser to the United Arab Emirates, a close Saudi ally, and in 2017 wired $2.5 million to a top Trump fundraiser, Elliott Broidy, through a company in Canada, The Associated Press reported in 2018.

The goal was to persuade the US to take a hard line against Qatar, a longtime American ally but now an adversary of the UAE.

Nader was previously convicted in the Czech Republic of 10 cases of sexually abusing minors and sentenced to a one-year prison term in 2003.

In the 1990s, Nader also served as a broker to facilitate the release of American hostages held in the Middle East

Nader also pleaded guilty to a charge of transporting child pornography images in Virginia in 1991.

The current investigation of Nader began in 2018, when images depicting child pornography and bestiality were found on his phone after it was confiscated under a search warrant connected to the Mueller probe.

The images found in Nader's phones at Dulles International Airport ended up not being the basis for January's child-pornography conviction.

Instead, prosecutors relied on images and videos he received via email in 2012 that in some cases involved sadistic depictions of infants or toddlers, according to disclosures at an earlier hearing.
You can take Jon Stewart out of The Daily Show, but you cant take The Daily Show out of Jon Stewart. Five years after handing over Comedy Centrals beloved late night talk show to Trevor Noah, the comedian once again takes aim at his two favorite topics  politics and the media  in the new political satire, Irresistible. Now available to rent via on demand services like Amazon and FandangoNOW, the movie stars former Daily Show correspondent Steve Carell and Rose Byrne as competing Democratic and Republican party operatives who bring their big-money campaign strategies to a sleepy mayoral race in small-town Wisconsin. And even though Irresistible takes numerous digs at Trump-ified Republicans, Stewart is equally harsh in his portrayal of a Democratic establishment that pays lip service to progressive change while still cynically competing for votes and fundraising dollars.

In the real world, though, the Democratic Party is in the midst of some significant shake-ups. Recent election cycles have seen young progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and, most recently, Jamaal Bowman win key Congressional seats over more established candidates. And Stewart is heartened by the way existing party gatekeepers are being challenged by new voices. Anytime people bring an idealistic energy to it, its exciting to see, he tells Yahoo Entertainment. (Watch our video interview above.)

At the same time, he cautions emerging Democratic voters and politicians against pursuing a Burn it all down model as a means for real change. Theres a spectrum on this thats all the way from superficial reform to Arab spring, and you kind of what to land somewhere where the change is sustainable, but isnt nihilistic, Stewart explains. People wont stand for chaos; it wont make the type of change you want sustainable. I love seeing people express their ideas and get a process thats more closely tied to what they actually needed.

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Steve Carell, Jon Stewart and Rose Byrne on the set of Irresistible. (Photo: Daniel McFadden / Focus Features)

Its certainly not lost on Stewart that even as younger Democratic candidates are winning local elections, the person at the top of the presidential ticket is Vice President Joe Biden, who hails from the partys previous generation. On the campaign trail, Biden  who is enjoying a big lead over President Donald Trump in the majority of current polls  has talked about being a transition candidate who will oversee the partys impending generational shift. While Stewart declines to say whether he thinks Biden will succeed in that goal, he hopes to see voters get off the sidelines and get involved in shaping what comes next. I think that if were going to make America great again, to me that would be the key, he says, in a knowing reference to Trumps signature slogan.

Irresistible also takes a number of jabs at the news media, which is a willing participant in the political circus that Carell and Byrne create in Wisconsin. The medias desire to play up inter-party tensions as a way to generate controversy and ratings is something that Stewart frequently criticized during his Daily Show tenure and, if anything, he thinks its gotten worse since he left. Its gotten more intense, and the money is larger, he says of the current state of the news business. Theres a connection to the media and the political operatives and the fact that campaigns never end. Its become its own industrial complex. I certainly dont blame the media for the moment, but boy would that be a great tool to get us out of it.

Just like political gatekeepers, media gatekeepers have been falling in recent weeks following the ongoing demonstrations sweeping across the county in the wake of George Floyds death. For example, a prominent Opinion editor at The New York Times resigned after the paper printed a controversial editorial by Senator Tom Cotton which called for President Donald Trump to send in U.S. military troops to confront the protestors. I think churn is an important thing, Stewart says, while also adding that journalism still has a lot of work to do in the current climate. Editorial authority is earned  its not just given, in the same way that American exceptionalism is earned, not given. From the media to political campaigns to the way Congress operates, I think stepping back and re-assessing how we got where we are is an important process.

Jon Stewart on the set of the political satire, Irresistible, which he wrote and directed. (Photo: Daniel McFadden / Focus Features)

On that note, we asked Stewart to re-asses how Daily Show fans have responded to the challenge he posed to them on his last episode in 2015. Bulls*** is everywhere, he said at the top of his hilarious  and hilariously profane  farewell monologue in 2015. The good news is this: bulls******* have gotten pretty lazy, and their work is easily detected. Looking for it is a pleasant way to pass the time. I say to you tonight friends, the best defense against bulls*** is vigilance. So if you smell something, say something.

So, five years later, do our olfactory nerves remain ever-vigilant? Stewart thinks so. I think there are wonderful voices out there who call things out, he says now. Sometimes when you critique a system, it makes you think that you dont think theres anything of value within that system. But I dont feel that way at all. I feel the gravitational force of the systems tends to blunt the better people and the good storytelling. Its a spectrum of clarity to noise: The louder the noise gets, the harder it is for the clarity to break through.

Irresistible is currently available to rent via on demand services including Amazon and FandangoNOW.

 Video produced by Jon San

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
A primary school headteacher has threatened to cancel lessons over Zoom if parents don't stop swearing, while also telling pupils to dress more appropriately and stop wearing crop tops.

Martin Johnson, principal at Sacred Heart in Westhoughton, Bolton said a 'minority' of parents have caused offence during the online sessions.

As a result of the outburst, the school has drawn up a list of rules which is says protects 'the dignity of all pupils'.

Parents at Sacred Heart RC Primary School have been given a set of rules while their pupils learn over Zoom - including strict instructions not to swear

They include a ban on parents using foul language in the background and a warning for them to stay off their mobile phones.

Head teacher of Sacred Heart RC Primary School in Westhoughton, Bolton

Children are also required to dress appropriately - after crop tops were worn - and are banned from chewing gum and 'lounging' during lesson time.

Mr Johnson said: 'Teachers across the profession want to maintain the same standards of safeguarding the dignity of all children during Zoom lessons.

'I want to stress that the majority of our parents have been very supportive and the sessions have been very successful.

'The summer weather has meant some children have been wearing clothes which are not appropriate on camera - we are not asking children to wear school uniform, children at school are not wearing uniform, just something appropriate like a polo shirt.'

Mr Johnson said being dressed appropriately also has a positive impact on attainment by focusing their mind.

Sacred Heart RC Primary School, one of Bolton's best performing schools, posted on its social media this week: 'Do not comment negatively about a post protecting the dignity of all pupils, not wearing crop tops, chewing gum or lounging in a lesson, and safeguarding them from adults swearing in the background which is audible to all participants. We will discontinue zoom if this happens.'

The rules also state children must stay attentive for the duration of the lesson if taking part and not opt in and out during the session.

Their computer microphones must remain muted unless they are speaking and pets should not distract children from their lesson, the rules stipulate.

In line with best practice, Mr Johnson said, children's cameras are turned off and microphones muted at the start of Zoom sessions.

He said: 'The Zoom sessions are led by our PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) trainee teachers and they have been hugely successful, with children of key workers in school taking part with children at home.

'This maintains and strengthens the links between children in school and pupils at home.

'The work PGCE students have done during lockdown has exceeded all expectations.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 17:58:14|Editor: huaxia

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DHAKA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in Bangladesh totaled over 130,000 while fatalities stood at 1,661 on Friday.

Senior Health Ministry official Nasima Sultana said in a briefing Friday afternoon that "3,868 new COVID-19 positive cases and 40 deaths including 31 men and 9 women were reported in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh."

"The number of confirmed infections in the country totaled 130,474 while fatalities stood at 1,661," she said.

According to the official, a record high 18,498 samples were tested in the last 24 hours in labs across the country.

She said the total number of recovered patients in the country now stands at 53,133 including 1,638 on Friday. Enditem
A Stoney Creek Home Depot employee says he felt dehumanized on the job because of racist remarks, and by the companys response once he complained.

Joel Bereket, a tool rental associate at the Stone Church Road East home improvement store, said the incident happened in August when a Black colleague started a tool rental contract with an Indigenous man.

The next day, a different colleague, who was white, closed the contract and the Indigenous customer left the store.

Then he said, (The associate) is Black, hes Native, what is this? Cowboys and (N-word), Bereket said of the white colleague. He said it pretty loud, too  loud enough to be heard in the next aisle.

Bereket, 26, said he was in shock. He said he quickly left the desk and went to a cleaning room at the back of the store to vent his frustration. He said the white colleague later approached Bereket to apologize, and Bereket told him to get away from him.

It was like someone punched you really hard in the face and you kind of got dazed, he said. I had so many emotions going through my head.

Home Depot has condemned the language used and has said they are still investigating the incident, which Bereket only complained of recently.

Bereket said he didnt speak out at the time, fearing the colleague might lose his job and have his reputation destroyed.

That changed in late May, he said.

On one of their busiest days amid COVID-19, Bereket said he was working alone without a lunch break, while the same colleague who said the N-word was delegating breaks and scheduling shifts.

It came to a point where I realized, this man doesnt care about me, Bereket said. And I was like, Why am I protecting somebody who doesnt care about me?

The recent protests against anti-Black racism and the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police in the United States prompted him to report the incident on May 25, he said, realizing the power of this voice.

Bereket said the colleague admitted making the remarks. An investigation was launched on May 25. Bereket said he was told the investigation wrapped up on June 17.

To Bereket, it appeared as though there had been no consequences, and he was back to working alongside the associate as though nothing had been done.

Basically, what theyre saying is, Everyone gets one free card, he said. Its dehumanizing  I might as well not even have said anything.

However, when contacted by The Hamilton Spectator, Home Depot Canada spokesperson Paul Berto said as part of their standard process, while the case may have appeared closed on June 17, it continued through our escalation process for additional review last week, where we immediately moved to take further action.

He did not specify what further action would be, or what resulted from the initial investigation.

In the statement June 24, he said Home Depot Canada wants to be clear that the language used was and is completely unacceptable.

He added that they continue to actively investigate this situation and the processes that took place, to ensure they have the ability to maintain a safe and inclusive environment for their employees.

We stand by our comments on racial equality and justice and we take them very seriously, said Berto.

Bereket said Wednesday that he was made aware that upper management was continuing to review the incident.

Im happy theyre looking back into it, said Bereket. But until something actually happens, Im not holding my breath.

Bereket said even with a renewed look at the process, the incident and what unfolded over the course of the following eight months was another example of the double consciousness Black folks carry with them.

I had to think about his well being and my well being at the same time, said Bereket. They dont understand what it feels like to be Black or to think of other people.

Bereket said he also felt that by not saying anything earlier, he could have indirectly killed Breonna Taylor and George Floyd by allowing anti-Black racism to be tolerated and to fester.

Im allowing Black people to be dehumanized for the sake of a white person, so that they dont feel uncomfortable. But, I felt uncomfortable the whole time.
Empathy is the foundation for connecting with others, and connecting with others is an essential part of entrepreneurship. As John Lennon once said, A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.

Entrepreneurs know that reality better than anyone. So much of entrepreneurship depends on people: your team, your customers and audience, your competition. You cant build the next Apple or Amazon without thousands of people  or even millions  helping along the way. If those people are only strangers to you, simply dollars and cents, youll likely never reach your goals or be as successful as you could be.

Empathy can help business leaders in all sorts of situations, whether theyre looking for the next big idea, struggling to find a target market or simply looking for more ways to grow.

Related: Why Empathy Is One of the Most Overlooked Skills in Business

1. What is empathy, and how is it different from sympathy?

If you sometimes mix up the meanings of empathy and sympathy, youre not the only one. In fact, Dictionary.com even took the time to create an entire blog post about the words and how they relate to one another. The piece notes, Both of the words deal with the relationship a person has to the feelings and experiences of another person . Both sympathy and empathy have roots in the Greek term pathos meaning suffering, feeling.

The greatest difference between the two terms is your relationship with the object of your empathy or sympathy. Sympathy is a more external force  a conveyance of pity or compassion for someone you feel sorry for, but whose circumstances you might not fully understand. By contrast, Dictionary.com states that empathy is now most often used to refer to the capacity or ability to imagine oneself in the situation of another, experiencing the emotions, ideas, or opinions of that person. That is to say, empathy refers to the act of putting yourself in someone elses shoes. In this way, empathy can apply to a wider range of people  not just those who have experienced misfortune lately, but anyone whom you want to approach or understand.

If youre still confused, consider this: You can find sympathy cards at Hallmark for sad occasions. You can see empathy in a movie, where an actor adopts the feelings and emotions of a character or real-life person.

Related: The Dangers of Being an Empathetic Leader

2. Why is empathy an essential trait of great leaders?

In competitive fields like business and entrepreneurship, leaders typically have two primary, basic functions. The first goal for every good leader is to optimize their own teams respective performance. The second goal is to understand and beat the competition. Empathy is required for both of these goals.

Optimizing your team

What is entrepreneurship at its most fundamental? Its solving a problem, isnt it? And identifying a problem requires understanding the challenges others face in their daily lives.

As Bill Gates pointed out in a Stanford commencement speech, If we're going to make our optimism matter to everyone and empower people everywhere, we have to see the lives of those most in need. If we have optimism, but we don't have empathy  then it doesn't matter how much we master the secrets of science, we're not really solving problems; we're just working on puzzles.

As Mike Kappel points out in an Entrepreneur piece, its not enough to just have a business idea. You need to consider the demand for your product or service  not just some faint desire, but the willingness to spend hard-earned money for it. You cant do that if you dont understand your target consumer and how your offering will help make their lives easier.

One of the most common pieces of advice our contributors and business experts give is to find your niche. Some companies even go so far as to create a target market profile  examples of people who match the age, gender, income and other factors ideal for a given product or service. The more you understand your target market or audience, the better you can tailor your offerings toward them.

Beating the competition

Bryan Janeczko makes a great point in his recent Entrepreneur piece, How Can I Tell Whether My Business Ideas Are Good or Bad? He writes, Just because you have a solution doesn't mean you have a head start against your competitors. You need to be able to pioneer your idea and, importantly, avoid others duplicating your model. It can mean becoming a market leader while everyone else is still figuring out a strategy.

By using empathy and adopting the mindset of your competition, you should be able to determine their pain points and weaknesses. What do you do that someone in your competitors shoes simply cant replicate? And by the same token, what can you take from other great leaders or businesses to improve your own company? A common quote within my field  the writing and journalism industry  that good writers borrow, but great writers steal.

That is to say, the best writers can not only take on new styles but also incorporate them so seamlessly into their own works that an outsider could only assume it was theirs all along. What can you learn from others in your industry and master to that degree?

Related: 4 Reasons Why Empathy Is Good for Business

3. How can I show more empathy as a leader?

In a contributed piece for Entrepreneur, John Rampton offered nine tactics that leaders can use to help their teams in difficult times. Tip No. 1? Prioritize the health and well-being of the members of your team. To do that, you need to invest your time in actually understanding that team.

Heres a recent example from my life: I offered to have a 15-minute Zoom call with a new colleague at 11 a.m. ET, thinking that would allow him plenty of time in the morning without having to skip lunch.

However, that time didnt work for him for two reasons:

He worked on the west coast, not the east coast, meaning Id set up an 8 a.m. meeting instead of an 11 a.m. meeting. He had children and needed to see them off to school or daycare before starting his work.

Neither of these factors occurred to me initially and required an adjustment. We rescheduled, and all was well. But, the next time we do a Zoom meeting, Ill know better than to try on an east-coast schedule.

There are tons of ways you can practice empathy as a leader in your day-to-day life. You can be sure to avoid words that make people uncomfortable or inferior, adopt facial expressions that convey you really care about your team or work on improving your compassion and emotional intelligence. But, at the end of the day, if there really were one true tip or trick to leading with empathy, it would be easy and everyone would do it.

Instead, empathy requires unique solutions for each problem. The whole point is to put yourself in someone elses shoes, and of course, not everyones shoes should fit the same.

Related: You Must Lead With Empathy to Achieve These 5 Crucial Leadership Goals

4. How can I create a more empathetic culture?

Depending on your business or situation, it isn't always possible to meet and know every single person whom you lead. Leaders of corporate giants like Apple or Amazon simply dont have the time to know all of their employees on a personal level. So, what can you do in those cases?

Creating an empathetic office culture

If youre looking for a place to start, try to avoid flashy gimmicks like installing a ping-pong table and focus on the things that will make a noticeable difference in peoples lives. One of my Entrepreneur favorite stories to work on over the past few years was a piece contributed by Dennis Eusebio titled Why Office Perks Are Traps, Not Benefits.

In the story, Eusebio wrote, These days, youll hear more about perks than you will about benefits. Things like ping-pong tables, fridges stacked full of Red Bull and Perrier, video games, and other vanity items. What the employer is signaling to you with these items is clear: Were cool! Were hip! Join us, and you too can play ping-pong all the time! Its an attractive signal, especially to young employees.

But, you know what mattered more to him than getting free energy drinks or video games? The substantial paternal leave his employer gave, which allowed him to spend time with his child. If I were like most employees in the United States workforce, he wrote, seven days is all I would have.

Creating an empathetic brand

Mark Cuban makes an important distinction on how best to use empathy when relating to your customers. Your customers can tell you the things that are broken and how they want to be made happy. Listen to them. Make them happy. But don't rely on them to create the future road map for your product or service. That's your job.

He points out that your customers and clients lead busy lives and dont need to reinvent the wheel for you. However, if you can identify whats important to these customers and prove theyre important to you, too, then you might just be onto something. As always, this sort of empathy can take on different forms.

For example, Zappos distinguished itself with its excellent customer service, helping users of the site with any problems they might encounter. Ben & Jerrys made recent headlines by joining a group of businesses in boycotting Facebook and Instagram ads. Shoe company Toms is famous for its philanthropy, while companies like Tesla or Beyond Meat offer potential for positive environmental change.

Each brand found its own path, and no strategy is necessarily more successful than others. The key is to find one that fits with your brand and mission in a genuine way.

Related: 3 Simple Ways to Increase Empathy at Work

5. How will using empathy on a regular basis improve my business?

At the end of the day, a company with a great culture can still go under if it cant make payroll or generate income. So, how can empathy actually have an impact on your bottom line? Consider this post by Entrepreneur editor in chief Jason Feifer, who details the process he went through when he was locked out of his office and needed to hire a locksmith:

Picture it: Theres me, standing around like a doofus, locked out of my own office. At a loss for what to do, I went to Yelp, found a bunch of locksmiths, and emailed them to explain the problem and ask for quotes. Four replied quickly.

The first one simply wrote: Price estimate: $29. Then, 18 minutes later, they followed up with this promise: I will give best price.

The second wrote: $125 to open the door. Just need phone number and address.

The third didnt offer a price. Yes, we can help you, they wrote instead. Call us to verify your address.

The fourth came from a guy named Jay Sofer, owner of Lockbusters, who wrote me this: Hi, Jason, thank you for the detail. Would it be possible to send me a quick image of that handle to make certain I give you an accurate quote? Here is my direct email address.

Can you guess which locksmith Feifer chose? It was Jay Sofer, the man who asked for details in order to provide an accurate quote and offered a direct email address. Feifer chose him even though Sofer gave him an estimate of somewhere between $99 and $198  and possibly even up to $300!

Related: 9 Reasons Teams Love Empathetic Managers

Feifer was willing to pay $271 more to someone he trusted  someone who had shown him empathy  than someone who simply offered him the same generic response they would offer anyone else.

And if empathy can help you get customers to try your product or service, it can also help you earn their trust and keep them coming back for more  and brand loyalty is an essential part of sustainable income. As Amy Gallo notes for the Harvard Business Review, Depending on which study you believe, and what industry youre in, acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one.

Practicing empathy in the office can lead to happier employees, which can lead to more productive employees, which can lead to greater profits. Investing in these connections can help you build your business and grow it into something stronger.

When you think that way, Feifer concluded after finally regaining entry to his office, your customer isnt a transaction. Its another person  someone to build a relationship with, even if its a brief one, and even if its about something as simple as a lock.

Related:

What Is Empathy, and Why Is It So Important for Great Leaders?

Why Empathy Is One of the Most Overlooked Skills in Business

Why COVID-19 Is Inspiring Empathetic and Quiet Leadership



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Monster black hole found in the early universe

Astronomers have discovered the second most distant quasar ever found, using the international Gemini Observatory and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), Programs of NSF's NOIRLab. It is also the first quasar to receive an indigenous Hawaiian name, Poniuaena. The quasar contains a monster black hole, twice the mass of the black hole in the only other quasar found at the same epoch, challenging the current theories of supermassive black hole formation and growth in the early Universe.

After more than a decade of searching for the first quasars, a team of astronomers used the NOIRLab's Gemini Observatory and CTIO to discover the most massive quasar known in the early Universe -- detected from a time only 700 million years after the Big Bang [1]. Quasars are the most energetic objects in the Universe, powered by their supermassive black holes, and since their discovery astronomers have been keen to determine when they first appeared in our cosmic history.

Systematic searches for these objects have led to the discovery of the most distant quasar (J1342+0928) in 2018 and now the second most distant, J1007+2115 [2]. The A Hua He Inoa program named J1007+2115 Poniuaena, meaning "unseen spinning source of creation, surrounded with brilliance" in the Hawaiian language [3]. The supermassive black hole powering Poniuaena is 1.5 billion times more massive than our Sun.

"Poniuaena is the most distant object known in the Universe hosting a black hole exceeding one billion solar masses" said Jinyi Yang, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona.

For a black hole of this size to form this early in the Universe, it would need to start as a 10,000 solar mass "seed" black hole about 100 million years after the Big Bang, rather than growing from a much smaller black hole formed by the collapse of a single star.

"How can the Universe produce such a massive black hole so early in its history?" wondered Xiaohui Fan, Regents' professor and associate department head of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona. "This discovery presents the biggest challenge yet for the theory of black hole formation and growth in the early Universe."

Current theory suggests that at the beginning of the Universe following the Big Bang, atoms were too distant from one another to interact and form stars and galaxies. The birth of stars and galaxies as we know them happened during the Epoch of Reionization, beginning about 400 hundred million years after the Big Bang. The discovery of quasars like Poniuaena, deep into the reionization epoch, is a big step towards understanding this process of reionization and the formation of early supermassive black holes and massive galaxies. Poniuaena has placed new and important constraints on the evolution of the matter between galaxies (the intergalactic medium) in the reionization epoch.

The search for distant quasars began with the research team combing through large area surveys such as the DECaLS imaging survey which uses the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Victor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope, located at CTIO in Chile. The team uncovered a possible quasar in the data, and in 2019 they observed it with telescopes including the Gemini North telescope and the W. M. Keck Observatory both on Maunakea on Hawai'i Island. Gemini's GNIRS instrument confirmed the existence of Poniuaena.

"Observations with Gemini were critical for obtaining high-quality near-infrared spectra which provided us with the measurement of the black hole's astounding mass," said Feige Wang, a NASA NHFP fellow at the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona.

In honor of its discovery from Maunakea, this quasar was given the Hawaiian name Poniuaena. The name was created by thirty Hawaiian immersion school teachers during a workshop led by the A Hua He Inoa group, a Hawaiian naming program led by the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai'i. Poniuaena is the first quasar to receive an indigenous name.

"In addition to the teamwork of the telescopes of NOIRLab that made this discovery possible, it is exciting to see the collaboration of science and culture in local communities, highlighted by this new name," said Chris Davis, Program Officer at the National Science Foundation.

"I am extremely grateful to be a part of this educational experience -- it is a rare learning opportunity," said Kaui Kaina, a High School Hawaiian Immersion Teacher from Kahuku, Oahu who was involved in the naming workshop. "Today it is relevant to apply these cultural values in order to further the wellbeing of the Hawaiian language beyond ordinary contexts, such as in school, but also so that the language lives throughout the Universe."

###

Notes

[1] This corresponds to a redshift of 7.52 or a lookback time of 13.02 billion years.

[2] The full name of the quasar is J100758.264+211529.207

[3] Pronounced: POH-knee-ew-aah-EH-na.

More information

This research was presented in a paper to appear in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The team is composed of Jinyi Yang (University of Arizona), Feige Wang (University of Arizona), Xiaohui Fan (University of Arizona), Joseph F. Hennawai (University of California, Santa Barbara), Frederick B. Davis (University of California, Santa Barbara), Minghao Yue (University of Arizona), Eduardo Banados (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy), Xue-Bing Wu (Peking University), Bran Venemans (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy), Aaron J. Barth (University of California, Irvine), Fuyan Bian (European Southern Observatory), Roberto Decalari (INAF), Emanuele Paolo Farina (Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics), Richard Green (University of Arizona), Linhua Jiang (Peking University), Jiang-Tao Li (University of Michigan), Chiara Mazzucchelli (European Southern Observatory), and Fabian Walter (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy).

NSF's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab), the US center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the international Gemini Observatory (a facility of NSF, NRC-Canada, ANID-Chile, MCTIC-Brazil, MINCyT-Argentina, and KASI-Republic of Korea), Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with NSF and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. The astronomical community is honored to have the opportunity to conduct astronomical research on Iolkam Du'ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona, on Maunakea in Hawai'i, and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachon in Chile. We recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that these sites have to the Tohono O'odham Nation, to the Native Hawaiian community, and to the local communities in Chile, respectively.

Links

Research paper

Photos of the Gemini Telescope

W.M. Keck Observatory release

Contacts:

Jinyi Yang

University of Arizona

Phone: +1 520 360 3966

Email: jinyiyang@email.arizona.edu

Xiaohui Fan

University of Arizona

Phone: +1 520 626 7558

Email: fan@as.arizona.edu

Peter Michaud

NewsTeam Manager

NSF's NOIRLab

Gemini Observatory, Hilo HI

Cell: +1 808 936 6643

Email: pmichaud@gemini.edu

Amanda Kocz

Press and Internal Communications Officer

NSF's NOIRLab

Cell: +1 626 524 5884

Email: akocz@aura-astronomy.org

This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
~Independent workers denied stimulus support.~

MARIGOT:--- Several Taxi and Bus Drivers gathered this morning (Friday, June 26th) to silently protest against the decisions taken by the Collectivity of Saint Martin and other State Departments that have decided not to grant stimulus or any type of support to Independent workers. Part of the protest is driving thru the streets of Marigot. The protest was organized by Swalicab ( one of two associations on the French side.)

SMN News learned that the protest has been disrupted due to the lack of unity from the other association.

It should be noted that French side taxi drivers especially those that are members of Swalicab did not receive any type of support throughout the lockdown period. Taxi Drivers on St. Martin/ St. Maarten were brought to a standstill since the island closed its borders due to the spread of COVID-19. However, Taxi operators on the Dutch side of the island received support from the Government of St. Maarten thru the SSRP.
LEVERETT  Area firefighters will return to the Joshua Hill area Friday morning to resume their efforts against a brush fire that has so far scorched approximately 20 acres.

Firefighters from numerous area towns, along with a state police helicopter, joined the effort Thursday, according to a post on the departments Facebook page.

Firefighters ask residents to avoid the Leverett Pond and Montague Road areas if possible. The fire, as of Thursday, was not encroaching on any homes.

The Colrain Firefighters Association, in a post on its Facebook page Friday morning, stated crews worked into the night attempting contain the fire.

Seven Colrain firefighters, who brought along the departments utility vehicle, responded to the blaze Thursday as part of the Franklin County Wildland Strike team. The department plans to send additional firefighters today.

Joshua Hill is north of Leverett Pond and between Long Plain and Montague roads.
Rajasthan minister for tourism Vishvendra Singh has once again expressed his public displeasure for his departments functioning amid the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak that has roiled the sector, one of the major sources of revenue for the desert state.

In a series of tweets, the minister questioned the indifferent working of the department officials and their shortcomings while urging chief minister Ashok Gehlot to take harsh action against the errant officials.

I have maintained a silence on too many things for too long, going against my temperament and work ethics. But, my CM Ashok Gehlot has always advocated transparency and in that spirit, I am now forced to acknowledge the shortcomings of the tourism department in the last year and a half, he tweeted.

I have maintained a silence on too many things for too long, going against my temperament and work ethics, but my CM @ashokgehlot51 has always advocated transparency and in that spirit, I am now forced to acknowledge the shortcomings of the Tourism Dep. in the last year and half.  Vishvendra Singh Bharatpur (@vishvendrabtp) June 25, 2020

The department officials are indifferent towards achieving high tourism growth and introducing new products, despite my constant prodding and initiatives. In the last one and a half years, the department has been unable to introduce a new tourism policy, he further tweeted.

He pointed out that not a single new tourist guide has been recruited since the Gehlot-led government came to power and the department has not been able to bag even a solitary Swadesh Darshan project of the Union Ministry of Tourism.

He lamented the lack of revival plan for the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) while ruing about the non-inauguration of any state tourism project and the non-appointment of new tourism officers during his tenure.

However, two managing directors (MDs) of RTDC have been changed in the interim, he added.

Singh also cast a critical eye on the departments abysmal financial condition amid the lack of training and reorientation programme of tourism department officials and the industry stakeholders.

He alleged that the officials are groping in the dark for the sectors revival in the desert state, which forms the golden triangle of the popular tourist destination in the country along with Delhi and Agra, in a post-Covid-19 world.

He urged CM Gehlot to take harsh action against the errant tourism department officials in a bid to save the livelihoods of lakhs of people who are engaged in the sector and allied industries, while expressing deep anguish over the discerning dip in tourist arrivals because of the pandemic.

Earlier in February, the minister had also questioned the functioning of tourism officials and raised objection to the bidding process of a light-and-sound show tender, citing irregularities.

He had met CM Gehlot and deputy CM Sachin Pilot after he found the officials were dragging their feet in scrapping the tenders bidding process.

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The last surviving Ku Klux Klan member convicted in the 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Baptist Church in Birmingham that killed four little girls has died.

Thomas E. Blanton, 82, died of natural causes Friday morning at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Jefferson County. He was found at 5 a.m. having cardiac issues and taken to the infirmary at Donaldson. He went into full arrest and was pronounced dead at 6:10 a.m., according to Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates.

An autopsy performed found no evidence of trauma or foul play, but did reveal Blanton had significant natural disease consistent with his known documented medical history. The final autopsy results will be available in approximately four to six weeks pending toxicology and other laboratory studies.

Blanton was one of three Klansmen eventually convicted in the Sept. 15, 1963 10:15 a.m. blast that killed 11-year-old Denise McNair and 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Cythnia Wesley and Carole Robertson. The girls were killed as they changed into their choir robes.

Collins sister, Sarah Collins Rudolph, survived the blast but lost her right eye and is known as the fifth little girl. Glass fragments remained in her chest, left eye and abdomen for decades after the explosion.

Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry both were arrested in 2000 on murder charges, nearly four decades after the deadly Birmingham bombing.

A parole hearing was scheduled next year for Blanton, and Rudolph and her husband planned to attend in opposition to his release, which was denied during a previous hearing.

She hopes that he found Jesus Christ and repented, George Rudolph said on behalf of his wife.

Lisa McNair, the sister of Denise McNair, said she also hoped Blanton had repented and added: I wish I could have sat down with him to find out if he had had a change of heart.

While serving a life sentence, Thomas Edwin Blanton, Jr., the last surviving 16th Street Baptist Church bomber, has passed away from natural causes. His role in the hateful act on September 15, 1963 stole the lives of four innocent girls and injured many others, Gov. Kay Ivey said in a public statement. That was a dark day that will never be forgotten in both Alabamas history and that of our nation. Although his passing will never fully take away the pain or restore the loss of life, I pray on behalf of the loved ones of all involved that our entire state can continue taking steps forward to create a better Alabama for future generations.

Let us never forget that Sunday morning in September of 1963 and the four young ladies whose lives ended far too soon, but let us continue taking steps forward to heal, do better and honor those who sacrificed everything for Alabama and our nation to be a home of opportunity for all.

Cherry and Blanton were two of the four longtime suspects in the bombing. The initial investigation in the 1960s yielded no charges. Then, a decade later, Attorney General Bill Baxley conducted a second investigation which led to the conviction of Robert Chambliss, who died in prison in 1985. A fourth suspect, Herman Cash, died in 1994.

A 1993 meeting in Birmingham between FBI officials and Black ministers led to the reopening of the bombing case against Blanton and Cherry.

A decade earlier, the U.S. Justice Department concluded that former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had blocked prosecution of Klansmen in the bombing.

The case was reopened secretly in 1996 at the direction of former FBI Birmingham head Rob Langford. FBI Special Agent Bill Fleming and retired Birmingham police Sgt. Ben Herren were assigned the case in 1996, spending a year poring through voluminous case files and then interviewing more than 800 people.

The FBI in 1997, by then under the leadership of Special Agent in Charge Joseph Lewis, announced it had reopened its investigation. The agency went public with the information as it prepared to expand the probe to begin questioning people with possible knowledge of the crime.

In the 1960s, Blanton was a KKK member and a staunch fighter against Birmingham school integration. He was 25 years old in the fall of 1963. At the time of the arrest, he was guarding property in Fultondale.

At that time (1963), he was pretty wild and crazy, said former Klansman Wyman S. Lee. He has a lot of hate, anger and resentment built up in him, Lee said.

Though the case was federally investigated, Blanton and Cherry were arrested on state murder charges.

U.S. Senator Doug Jones  then a federal prosecutor  was appointed a special prosecutor in the state case. At Blantons trial in 2001, the biggest pieces of evidence against him were secretly recorded FBI tapes from the 1960s in which he told his then-wife that he had been at a meeting where we planned the bomb.

Tommy Blanton is responsible for one of the darkest days in Alabamas history, and he will go to his resting place without ever having atoned for his actions or apologizing to the countless people he hurt. The fact that after the bombing, he went on to remain a free man for nearly four decades speaks to a broader systemic failure to hold him and his accomplices accountable, Jones said today.

That he died at this moment, when the country is trying to reconcile the multi-generational failure to end systemic racism, seems fitting.

However, what the families of those girls, and the entire community of Birmingham, do know today is that when we come together and demand justice, we can achieve it. At this moment in our nation when we have all come to realize that the journey to racial justice has taken far too long, we must come together. Tommy Blanton may be gone, but we still have work to do.

Blanton never admitted any role in the blast, but evidence showed he was part of a group of hard-core Klansmen who made a bomb and planted it on a Sunday morning.

When asked by the judge during sentencing if he had any comment, Blanton said: I guess the good Lord will settle it on judgment day.

Blanton proclaimed his innocence years after being sent to prison. In a 2006 interview with Birmingham station WBRC-TV, he claimed the government used trumped-up evidence and lies to gain his conviction.

I think I was cleverly set up by the government ... and thats why Im here, Blanton told the television station from St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville. Im sorry it happened. Deeply sorry. But Im not responsible for it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
During that investigation, FBI agents searched Naders phones and found what appeared to be child pornography in WhatsApp messages sent to him. Nader maintains that while the images showed naked children, they were meant to be humorous rather than sexual and he did not realize they were on his phone. But he admitted to receiving an email containing child pornography in 2012 and bringing a child into the country for sexual purposes in 2000.
The United States on Thursday battled a resurgence of coronavirus cases in a number of states including Texas, while the World Health Organization warned that several European countries were also facing dangerous upticks.

The reminder that the pandemic -- which has claimed more than 480,000 lives around the world -- is far from over came amid more grim news for the world's airlines.

Australia's Qantas announced it was cutting 6,000 staff and Germany's Lufthansa moved closer to a $10 billion state rescue when the plan was approved by the European Union.

In the United States, after hitting a two-month plateau, the rate of new cases is now soaring in the south and west, with the confirmed infection rate nearing levels last seen in April.

Texas was among the most aggressive states in reopening in early June after months of lockdowns

Republican Governor Greg Abbott had been confident that Texas had escaped the worst of the US outbreak that has taken almost 122,000 lives, by far the highest toll in the world.

But Abbott was forced Thursday to halt the state's phased reopening and moved to free up hospital beds.

"The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses," said Abbott, a close ally of President Donald Trump, who has faced stark criticism for his handling of the crisis.

"This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread."

Twenty-nine states are now facing a rebound in cases.

COVID-19 cases accelerate in the southern and western United States. By Patricio ARANA (AFP)

Experts blame a patchwork of responses at the official level, the politicization of face masks and physical distancing, and the widespread onset of "quarantine fatigue" among restless Americans.

US health officials now believe based on antibody surveys that some 24 million people may be infected -- 10 times higher than the officially recorded figure of around 2.4 million.

They say the demographics of the outbreak are changing as younger people engage in more risky behavior out of a desire to return to their pre-pandemic "normal."

Pushed 'to the brink'

A few dozen tourists braved scorching heat in Paris to climb the Eiffel Tower's iron stairs as the lifts were deemed too small for social distancing. By Thomas SAMSON (AFP)

In search of that sense of normality, a few dozen tourists braved scorching heat in Paris to climb the Eiffel Tower's iron stairs as it reopened to tourists -- without the lifts, deemed too small for social distancing.

"I'm tearing up, but they're tears of joy," said Therese, 60, from the southwestern city of Perpignan.

Norway, which has some of the most severe travel restrictions still in force, said Thursday it would aim to relax the measures with Schengen and EU nations by mid-July.

And in Britain, some took the new relaxed regime too far, with thousands crowding the beach in the English coastal town of Bournemouth to soak up the sun.

The local council declared a major incident and said the beachgoers' behavior had been "just shocking."

Beachgoers enjoy the sunshine in Bournemouth, southern England -- but the crowded shore raised alarm bells for local officials worried about an uptick in virus cases. By Glyn KIRK (AFP)

The joyous reopening of tourist sites and beaches was nevertheless tempered by a new warning from the World Health Organization that Europe is not yet in the clear.

WHO regional director Hans Kluge warned that in 11 nations, "accelerated transmission has led to very significant resurgence that if left unchecked will push health systems to the brink once again in Europe."

Parts of Lisbon reinstated lockdown measures, following in the path of two western German districts.

However, Europe's current caseload compares favorably with that of the Americas, with the US and Brazil continuing to lead the world in confirmed cases and deaths.

Delicate balance

Governments are still struggling to balance the public health needs of fighting a virus that has infected at least 9.5 million people with the devastating global economic impact.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced Qantas to cancel nearly all its international flights until at least October and cut 6,000 staff. By Saeed KHAN (AFP/File)

The International Monetary Fund is the latest to quantify the economic harm -- predicting that global GDP will plunge by 4.9 percent this year and wipe out $12 trillion over two years.

And the problems suffered by Qantas and Lufthansa reveal the pain felt in the airline industry -- and more broadly, the tourism sector.

World toll of coronavirus infections and deaths, as of June 25, 2020 at 1900 GMT. By Jonathan WALTER (AFP)

Governments have been desperately trying to keep firms from laying off staff -- Spain on Thursday extended its state-funded furlough scheme until the end of September, three months longer than it had planned.

The EU gave a boost to the prospects of antiviral remdesivir on Thursday by recommending it for use -- the first treatment to be given the green light in Europe.

But until a vaccine or treatment is found, experts have warned that restrictions on economic activity -- and spiralling death tolls -- could remain the norm.

Iran's death toll surpassed 10,000 on Thursday, with health officials recording more than 100 fatalities for the seventh consecutive day.

China, where the disease was first detected late last year, meanwhile declared that it had controlled an outbreak in Beijing that had briefly raised fears of a second wave and prompted restrictions and several million tests.

burs-ia/sst
Alex Wong/Getty

Its been a month since the police killing of George Floyd sparked mass protests across the United States and compelled various prominent Democrats and Republicans, including Donald Trump himself, to vow serious action and police reform. In that time, the president has lost interest in doing much of anything about it, according to two people whove discussed the matter with him in recent days.

Hes done with that, one of the sources said.

Never known for his sustained focus, the presidents mind has been particularly adrift this week, wandering to various tangential topics such as the desire to defend monuments and statuesparticularly those honoring racist and Confederate figures of historyfrom being torn down by protesters. Late Monday night, Trump took to Twitter and began posting videos of random Black men attacking a white man and a woman, lamenting why social and racial justice protesters in America werent out in the streets about that instead. By Thursday morning, he was accusing leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement of treason and insurrection.

And hes already signalled that should nothing on police reform get done, he will simply heap blame on his political enemies. When asked about the Senate reform bill on Wednesday, the president told reporters it would be nice if it were to pass but then accused Democratic politicians of wanting to take away a lot of the strength from our police.

Trumps interest in police reform always appeared to be fleeting. But early on after the Floyd killing became national news, the White House put together stakeholder meetings and solicited ideas to create some sort of reform framework. Trump himself met with law enforcement officials and family members of victims of police killings.

Laura Ingraham to Black Americans: Trump Understands Police Violence Because of Russia Probe

But the president grew impatient. In mid-June, he signed an executive order that fell far short of what numerous reform advocates and protesters have been calling for, but did offer grant incentives to departments that increased their police training on use of force.

Story continues

At that point, said the source who discussed the issue with Trump, the president believed he was basically done. He believes his executive [order] was a home run, the source said.

Alas, few feel the same way. But progress on filling in the massive gaps has proved difficult for lawmakers on the Hill and the window to craft a compromise has likely shut for the time being, possibly until after the election.

Democrats and Republicans dueling proposals, rolled out within days of each other earlier this month, had areas of common ground. But the Senate GOP bill, led by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), does not include several reforms that Democrats consider must haves, including an outright ban of the kind of chokehold that Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin used to kill Floyd; a ban on the no-knock serving of warrants that led to Breonna Taylors killing by cops in Kentucky; or anything related to qualified immunity, which can shield officers from lawsuits stemming from their conduct on the job.

Instead, the Senate GOP bill emphasizes various areas of additional training for police officers and would establish a national database of cops records so that police departments know if potential hires have records of misconduct. The bill would also make lynching a federal hate crime.

Can a New Algorithm Prevent Police Brutality? Minneapolis Wants to Find Out

Civil liberties groups have panned the measure, with the American Civil Liberties Union saying it throws billions of dollars at studies and commissions when we know the real problem at the core of American policing. And congressional Democrats have insisted that their House legislation should be the barometer for reformCongressional Black Caucus chair Rep. Karen Basss (D-CA) bill, which passed the chamber on Thursday, addresses all the areas that Scotts does not. They also say they are keenly aware that, no matter what happens, Trump will tout his own executive order as the be-all, end-all solution to police brutality.

Regardless of how little Republicans actually do, how many more Black Americans are murdered or how many dog-whistles Trump sends, he will lie and claim he alone solved the problem, said a Senate Democratic aide.

But Republicans like House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have accused Democrats of wanting to defund the police and push[ing] bills that will make our officers less safe. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has argued that Democrats should focus on simply improving their chambers bill through the amendment process. Both he and congressional Republicans have aggressively blasted what they see as Democrats obstructionism: Scott, the Senate GOPs only Black member, sought to torch Democrats in a floor speech Wednesday, arguing that they didnt want to do anything now but instead wait until after the November elections to see if they won back the White House and the Senate, a feeling that is widely shared within the Senate GOP ranks.

Democrats, charged Scott, were working to not allow this party to be seen as a party that reaches out to all communities in this nation.

With negotiations coming to near a standstill, the White House could play a role in brokering some sort of compromise. But, so far, the presidents team has shown no interest in that route.

The White House is behind Sen. Tim Scotts bill, weve made that clear, said a senior administration official. The president acted, and acted quickly, but weve more or less exhausted the options that could be done through an [executive order] and need the legislative branch to act.

Trumps absence from the talks comes as his own advisers recognize the debate over police reform, and racial justice matters more broadly, could have a significant impact on his reelection. And its taking place as some have privately attempted to get him to engage on the matter more, mindful that they could tag former Vice President Joe Biden with having helped create the criminal-justice pitfalls that are consuming the United States today. But according to three sources familiar with the discussions, there is growing frustration that Trump routinely jumps between adopting a tough on crime persona and trying to grab the mantle of a criminal justice reformernever comfortable settling on just one.

He wants to have it both ways, said one senior White House official.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The trip was perfect and the end result was impressive for rookie trotter Shouldaknownbetter in Thursday evenings pari-mutuel debut at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

The Ohio-bred son of Deep Chip-Lexis Electra turned a two-hole trip into a 1:57 triumph in a $15,000 event for two-year-old trotters at the Campbellville, Ont. oval.

In rein to Louis Philippe Roy, Shouldaknownbetter battled with race favourite Black Tie Bash to the quarter pole in :29.3 before releasing that foe to the front. Black Tie Bash rolled the field through middle splits of :58.3 and 1:28.3, but he couldnt seal the deal.

Roy tipped off the leaders back in the lane and Shouldaknownbetter stormed home in :28 to win by four lengths over Black Tie Bash in 1:57. Taking home the show dough was Lifelong Wish.

Sent off at odds of 11-1, the son of Deep Chip-Lexis Electra won at first asking for owner/trainer Shane Arsenault of Freelton, Ont.

To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results  Woodbine Mohawk Park.
MPs Naira Zohrabyan and Shake Isayan from the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party were at the Constitutional Court in the morning.

Speaking to reporters, Zohrabyan said that they had e-mailed a petition signed by 26 lawmakers to the Constitutional Court last night to challenge the constitutionality of a law passed by the National Assembly. "Today we handed the hard copy to the chief of staff of the Constitutional Court. Edgar Ghazaryan said that there are working procedures, the issue will be examined, and a decision will be made whether or not it will be accepted [for consideration]. There is a 15-day period for that, she said.

To the remark that at least 27 MPs signatures are needed to submit such a petition, Zohrabyan noted that the legal community is divided into two parts on this matter. "The Constitutional Court will decide whether or not to accept for proceedings," she added.
Rajasthan's Health Department has served a notice to NIMS hospital here seeking an explanation on conducting trials of Patanjali Ayurved's drug Coronil on coronavirus patients, an official said on Friday.

"We served notice to the hospital on Wednesday evening seeking explanation in three days. The hospital did not inform the state government nor sought permission," Chief Medical and Health Officer, Jaipur, Dr Narottam Sharma said.

He said the reply from National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Jaipur is awaited.

The launch of the drug by yoga guru Ramdev on Tuesday triggered a debate after which the Ayush Ministry sought all information on its trial and put a ban on advertising it as a drug to cure coronavirus.

The Rajasthan government has clarified that the drug cannot be not used as a medicine in the state without the permission of the Ministry of AYUSH.

State Health Minister Raghu Sharma had said on Wednesday that strict action would be taken against the seller as per the rules in case of sale of any drug as a medicine to treat the coronavirus infection.

At the Coronil launch, the company had claimed that its medicine can cure the contagious disease within seven days.

It said Coronil, taken along with another product developed by it, had shown a 100 per cent success rate in clinical trials on infected patients, except those on life support.

Ramdev said the medicines were developed by Patanjali Research Center, Haridwar in association with privately-owned National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Jaipur.

The Uttarakhand government will serve a notice to Patanjali Ayurved for launching a drug claiming to be a cure for COVID-19 when it had only applied for a licence to manufacture an immunity booster against cough and fever.

Apart from the notice from the Uttarakhand government, the Haridwar-based firm could also face litigation in Bihar. A complaint has been filed against it in a Muzaffarpur court over its claim.

A complainant approached the court seeking the registration of an FIR against Ramdev and company chairman Acharya Balkrishna, alleging that they put at risk the lives of lakhs of people by claiming to have developed a COVID-19 cure.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Mukesh Kumar posted the matter for hearing on June 30.

Also Read: Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali secures Rs 3,200 crore loan to acquire debt-laden Ruchi Soya

Also read: Will take action against Patanjali if COVID-19 drug not approved by AYUSH ministry: Rajasthan govt
President Donald Trump has made more disparaging comments about the city of Detroit.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Sean Hannity while he was in Wisconsin for a shipyard tour on Thursday, Trump said in cities like Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore and Oakland, Its like living in hell.

"Everyone gets upset when I say it, they say, 'Oh is that a racist statement?' No, it's not racist. Frankly, Black people come up to me and say 'thank you, thank you sir for saying it.' They want help," he added, before reciting off-hand shooting statistics in recent weekends.

The presidents comments come about a week after he mentioned Detroit crime during a rally in Tulsa.

Speaking to a crowd, Trump said, "The murder rate in Baltimore and Detroit is higher than El Salvador, Guatemala, or even Afghanistan."

Detroit routinely appears near the top of lists when it comes to crime statistics. Safewise named it the second most dangerous city in America in 2019.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan declined to comment on that specific statement, but Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer responded to his latest comparison on Twitter.

Michiganders know better, but let's share for those who don't call our state home  what do you love about Detroit? https://t.co/SzQcScFhm3  Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) June 26, 2020

Michiganders know better, but lets share for those who dont call our state home  what do you love about Detroit? she tweeted. Others on social media also condemned the presidents comments about Michigans biggest city.

Trump landed in the Upper Peninsulas Menominee Regional Airport before making his way to Wisconsin, according to Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain.

He then toured the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard located just across the Michigan-Wisconsin border where a $5 billion dollar contract was awarded to build a ship for the U.S. Navy.

RELATED: 2 nabbed for vandalism after anti-Trump graffiti is found on Michigan lighthouse
Nurses work in a COVID-19 ward of the Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital in Tehran, Iran. After months of fighting the coronavirus, Iran only just saw its highest single-day spike in reported cases after Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that celebrates the end of Ramadan. Read more

Coronavirus has once again proved that health care workers are there for us when we need them and deserve our respect and admiration. A recent Washington Post article states that at least 450,000 health care workers have been infected by COVID-19 worldwide. Sadly, hundreds have died.

As the strain on the United States health care system mounted, policymakers responded by loosening restrictions on practicing across states and taking other actions to extend the reach of non-physician providers, like nurse practitioners, physician assistants and pharmacists. Politicians and policymakers are right to praise the heroic actions of our frontline health care workforce, but we need to make sure that support continues when the crisis ends.

The truth is that there was a provider shortage and access gap before the pandemic, and there will be going forward. Last April, the Association of American Medical Colleges stated the U.S. needs nearly 122,000 additional physicians by 2032 just to keep up with the increasing demands of an aging population. Although nearly two million Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19, over 62 million lack access to basic primary care, according to Medical Economics.

This inability to access services leads to unnecessary and costly hospitalizations while contributing to preventable health care complications. Americas rate of preventable hospitalizations is 50% higher than the average rate in other developed countries. The U.S. also has the highest rate of premature death for patients with diabetes, hypertension, and certain types of cancer, all of which are considered preventable if patients receive adequate primary care.

One way to lessen the shortage is to remove outdated scope of practice regulations that prevent non-physician providers from caring for patients in need. For example, 29 states require advanced practice nurses to enter into a collaborative agreement with a physician or comply with other supervision requirements before prescribing medications. These agreements can cost thousands of dollars a month and often prevent nurse practitioners from practicing in communities where physicians are scarce. Advanced practice nurses are fully capable of practicing independently and do so in the remaining states. Several governors coping with COVID-19 quickly saw collaborative agreements as a barrier to getting nurses on the frontlines. A number of states have either waived or suspended the requirement during the pandemic.

Nurses are not alone in seeing restrictive scope of practice regulations suspended during the pandemic. Several federal and state emergency response plans also modified rules governing physician assistants, pharmacists, and other providers while lifting prohibitions on interstate practice. These changes made it easier to use telehealth, expanded the workforce, and allowed providers to respond to hard-hit areas.

As the crisis ebbs, we cannot return to business as usual. Let us learn from this experience by using these reforms to ensure every individual has access to all the medical care they need. Our healthcare workers are heroes, and with the proper support, they will meet the challenge of extending access to everyone.

Tine Hansen-Turton is President and CEO of Woods and a member of the Inquirers Health Advisory Board Panel. Brian Valdez is a lawyer an advocate who represents the group People for Liberty, Access, Choice & Equality.
Protestors raise their fists as a fire burns in the street after clashes with law enforcement near the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct, in Seattle, on June 8, 2020. (David Ryder/Getty Images)

Democrats Block a Resolution to Oppose Defunding the Police, as Cities Face Increased Violence

House Democrats Thursday night blocked Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) resolution which opposes defunding police departments, particularly at a time when American cities are facing increased crime, rioting, looting, and vandalism.

After the Democrats George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 passed the House, along party lines, Steube urged the House members to consider his resolution that calls for peace, legal action against violent protests, and opposes vilifying police.

Everyone in this chamber wants justice for George Floyd and his family. And they will get that, in a court of law, where justice belongs, Steube said.

The Florida Congressman and other House Republicans called on their Democratic colleagues to condemn the violence against persons, property, and law enforcement and said that the just-passed police reform bill would not solve the problem of violence in those communities they wish to serve.

Steube addressed the violence occurring throughout the United States with dozens of historic landmarks having been defaced and toppled by vandals and property burned to the ground.

Defunding the police wont solve any problems and only poses an extraordinary risk to our citizens who depend on societys most basic governmental service of protecting life and property. This is nothing more than an outburst of political emotion and a willingness to take advantage of civil unrest, said Steube.

The congressmans resolution calls for justice for George Floyd and it supports the rights of citizens to peacefully protest. It calls for justice for police officers who have been attacked by rioters and condemns violence, rioting, looting, and vandalism.

A resolution is not a law but is a declaration issued to unite the governing body under one opinion or purpose. The resolution urges peace to be restored and calls on criminal activities to be prosecuted under the law.

Far-left Democrats like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) have called on defunding and dismantling the police department. In addition, no Democrat lawmaker has publicly condemned the violence happening in cities around the country.

Omar said at a recent protest against the killing of George Floyd that she will not cosign on any bill that will allow police to brutalize her community. I will never stop saying, not only do we need to invest for employees, but we need to completely dismantle the Minneapolis police department.

Additionally, the resolution strongly opposes autonomous zones with in the United States and any effort to defund, dismantle, or disband police departments.

The city of Seattle, Washington saw the first autonomous zone emerge, from the protest and rioting and has seen 4 people shot within its boundaries.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) has called for decreased policing in her district, which Seattle is a part of and said, we have money in the justice and policing act to help black communities and brown communities across the country, do exactly this, reimagine what safety for all looks like.

She said it might include police sometimes, but it might include mental health workers and others more suited to deal with the calls for first responders.

Rep. Steube pointed to the fact that the cities with the most trouble in their police force are run by Democratic mayors.

All of these departments with all of these problems and issues are all run by Democratic commissions, and Democratic city councils. This is not a federal issue, this is a Minneapolis police issue or an Atlanta police issue, or a Ferguson issue, or a Chicago issue, where just this past weekend, they had one of the most violent weekends over Fathers day weekend, said Steube.

This is an issue with Democratic leadership in these cities who have failed to keep up with standards training and protocol, some of these departments have training standards dating back to the 80s, he added.

The vast majority of Republicans voted against the Justice in Policing Act, because they said it would affect their districts police departments but said that they had no input into creating the legislation. Many also said the bill would weaken the effectiveness of the police and lead to more violence in communities.

If the Democratic majority truly wants to reform our police departments and if they truly want to fix the problems, then the focus should be on the agencies with the problems and their leadership. Not passing a progressive messaging bill in an election year that you know has no chance at becoming law.

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), introduced the same resolution in the Senate in early June.

We know that violent crime disproportionally affects low-income communities, and that law enforcement plays a critical role in protecting life and preserving a free and functioning society, Sen. Cruz said.

We also know that law enforcement has an important responsibility in upholding our criminal justice system. Though our nation has taken many troubled turns on our continuing march towards justice, defunding and abolishing police departments will undoubtedly take us backwards in that endeavor, Cruz added.
ARCHIVED - UK and Spain in negotiations to create tourism green corridor



On Monday it is hoped that an announcement will be made to remove the UK quarantine for travellers

On Monday 29th the UK Government is due to make an announcement about the current situation regarding the 14 day quarantine requirement for anyone entering the UK, as well as reveal the results of discussions between the UK and international governments to create safe air bridges or travel corridors between the UK and other countries so that British nationals can holiday abroad this summer.

At the moment the Foreign Office continues to advise against travel to Spain, meaning that the travel insurance of Brits coming to Spain is invalid should they find themselves in a Spanish hospital suffering from Covid-19.

The Government is planning to take the last steps of the de-escalation in the UK with the creation of air bridges, which would start from July 4th, coinciding with the opening of hotels, bars and restaurants to popular and those considered to be "low risk vacation destinations "I n relation to Covid-19, such as Spain, France, Italy, Greece or Germany.

Transport Minister Grant Shapps has announced that the decision to establish these safe corridors will be announced on Monday, when the government will also announce whether passengers on these routes are exempt from complying with the mandatory 14-day quarantine, which, however , will continue to stand for those who do not come from the nations included in the covenant.

The UK imposed the 14 day quarantine on June 8th for anyone arriving by plane, train or ferry to the United Kingdom at the risk of being fined for non-compliance, in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Before a parliamentary committee on the management of the health crisis, Shapps stated that the countries with which the corridors are agreed must have an equivalent public health model to the British National Health System (NHS) and an equivalent tracking system.

"We want to be sure that there are no outbreaks by Britons travelling and returning or people coming from other areas, and quarantine serves this purpose, but we are also aware that there are areas where the virus is more under control and we are in talks with them, so we will say more about it on June 29th, " he said.

The first safe air bridges are to be established with countries in the Mediterranean and southern Europe, which includes Spain, the most popular tourist destination for the British, attracting 18 million holidaying Brits a year and in which thousands of British residents own second homes.

It is intended that a second phase of the plan will include other destinations such as Denmark, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands .

Spain itself has removed the need for a 14 day quarantine and is allowing British tourists to enter Spain once again, visitors undergoing a temperature test, a visual test and supplying contact details for onward tracing.

There is significant concern in Spain about the imminent arrival of a large number of foreign tourists as the country has managed to reduce its own level of contagion significantly and there are fears of a second wave of Covid-19 caused by imported cases.

The British expat community itself is deeply concerned about the potential for contagion after undergoing 10 weeks of lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus here.

Some residents are looking forward to the arrival of family members and the return of partners who were trapped in the UK by the virus, but others are concerned about the scenes shown on British media on Thursday of thousands of Brits packing beaches and parks in the UK and the potential for an increase in imported cases here as a result.

However, for both the governments of the UK and Spain, their biggest worry is the economy and the potentially devastating economic implications of a stagnant tourist sector.

In Spain tourism accounts for 12% of GDP and the British are the most important market for Spain.

The tourism and hospitality industry has pressured the British government to modify its Covid measures claiming that they are putting 1.5 million jobs at risk in the United Kingdom and airlines are on the verge of suing the British Government over its measures, so desperate are they to get their planes off the ground again and help the sector to recover from its current disastrous position.

Several groups of health professionals have warned that the United Kingdom faces the "real risk" of a second Covid-19 spike occurring next winter and have advised the Government to take measures to prevent further deaths, and the same warnings are being echoed in Spain and around the world by equivalent groups.

Spain is currently dealing with around 40 outbreaks around the country, 11 of them considered to be serious and most relating to imported cases, and during the last week there has been a steady rise in new cases, mainly linked to relaxed mobility.There are now 9,736,692 confirmed cases worldwide, and 492,379 deaths, although it is widely recognised that these figures in no way reflect the true scale of the pandemic as so many cases are unreported.

The UK has 307,980 reported cases and 43,230 deaths to date.On Thursday June 25th alone, as thousands packed UK beaches, 149 people died of Covid and there were 1118 new cases reported in the UK.

WHO continues to warn about resurgence of Covid

Europe has seen an increase in weekly cases of Covid-19 for the first time in months as restrictions are eased, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

More than 2.6 million cases of Covid-19 and 195,000 deaths have been reported in the WHO's European region, which is expansive, covering 54 countries and seven territories across Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Almost 20,000 new cases and more than 700 new deaths are being recorded daily

"For weeks, I have spoken about the risk of resurgence as countries adjust measures," Dr Kluge told a virtual news conference on Thursday.

"In several countries across Europe, this risk has now become a reality - 30 countries have seen increases in new cumulative cases over the past two weeks.

"In 11 of these countries, accelerated transmission has led to very significant resurgence that if left unchecked will push health systems to the brink once again."

Despite warning about resurgences, he said the WHO anticipated that the situation would calm down further in the majority of countries over the summer.

"But we have indeed to prepare for the fall, when Covid-19 may meet seasonal influenza, pneumonia, other diseases as well, because ultimately the virus is still actively circulating in our communities and there is no effective treatment, no effective vaccine, yet."

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/
GPay banned by RBI  the aforementioned is right now at the top of all trending topics on Twitter in India. However, it is important to note that the same is NOT true, and is yet again based on a misleading WhatsApp message that seems to be circulating social media. The trend has likely stemmed from a report from earlier this week, wherein a Press Trust of India report quoted the Reserve Bank of India as stating that Google Pay does not operate a payment system in India, and hence does not find a place in the list of authorised payment system operators published by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). RBIs response came in light of a PIL to the Delhi High Court, filed by economist Abhijit Mishra. However, Google has since responded to RBIs submissions, stating that it is a legal operator in India, and as a result, your money is as safe as it would be on another other payment services platform.

GPayBanned By RBI so the people that are using need to STOP @RBI pic.twitter.com/AdkikI5fe9 Rahul R Chaturvedi (@RahulRC01) June 26, 2020

On June 24, Google Pay India posted a PTI article, stating, Google Pay operates completely within the law. We work as a technology service provider to partner banks, to allow payments via UPI. UPI apps in the country are categorised as 'third party apps', and are not required to be 'payment systems operators. A Google spokespersons statement to PTI on the matter said, Some quotes on social media, wrongly attributed to the RBI, claim that issues arising while transferring money through Google Pay are not protected by the law, since the app is unauthorised. This is incorrect and can be verified on NPCI''s website.

Google Pay operates completely within the law. We work as a technology service provider to partner banks, to allow payments via UPI. UPI apps in the country are categorized as 'third party apps', and are not required to be 'payment systems operators'.  https://t.co/7sQv2A3mzS Google Pay India (@GooglePayIndia) June 24, 2020

The statement on the matter further says, All transactions made via Google Pay are fully protected by redressal processes laid out by applicable guidelines of the RBI/NPCI, and users can reach out for any help 24/7, through Google Pay customer care.

An NPCI spokesperson also confirmed to News18, "Google Pay is classified as Third Party App Provider (TPAP) that also provides UPI payment services like many others, working through banking partners and operating under the UPI framework of NPCI. All authorised TPAPs are listed on the NPCI Website. All transactions made using any of the authorised TPAPs are fully protected by the redressal processes laid out by applicable guidelines of NPCI/RBI and customers already have full access to the same. Further, we would also like to clarify that all authorised TPAPs are already bound by full compliance to all the regulations and applicable laws in India. UPI ecosystem is fully safe and secure, and we appeal to the citizens not to fall prey to such malicious news. We also request UPI customers not to share their OTP (one time password) and UPI Pin with anybody."

Given these circumstances, it is advised to Indian citizens to NOT believe in forwarded WhatsApp messages that claim that Google Pay has been banned by the RBI, since that is not the case in India. Google India has also posted on the matter, clarifying that it is in accordance with the law of the land, and hence, transacting on Google Pay keeps your money as safe as it would be on any other payment platform in India.
Technavio has been monitoring the automotive backup camera market and it is poised to grow by 44.27 million units during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 12% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005254/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Automotive Backup Camera 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. Aptiv Plc, Continental AG, Delphi Technologies Plc, DENSO Corp., Gentex Corp., Hella GmbH Co. KGaA, Magna International Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, Valeo SA, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG are some of the major market participants. The focus on enhancing safety in vehicles 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 enhancing safety in vehicles has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Automotive Backup Camera Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Automotive Backup Camera Market is segmented as below:

Application Passenger Car Commercial Vehicle

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=IRTNTR43671

Automotive Backup Camera 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 backup camera market report covers the following areas:

Automotive Backup Camera Market Size

Automotive Backup Camera Market Trends

Automotive Backup Camera Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies increased adoption backup camera due to the rising number of fatalities as one of the prime reasons driving the automotive backup camera market growth during the next few years.

Automotive Backup Camera Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the automotive backup camera market, including some of the vendors such as Aptiv Plc, Continental AG, Delphi Technologies Plc, DENSO Corp., Gentex Corp., Hella GmbH Co. KGaA, Magna International Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, Valeo SA, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the automotive backup camera market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Automotive Backup Camera Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist automotive backup camera market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the automotive backup camera market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the automotive backup camera market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of automotive backup camera 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 Application

Market segments

Comparison by Application

Passenger car Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Commercial vehicle Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Application

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Aptiv Plc

Continental AG

Delphi Technologies Plc

DENSO Corp.

Gentex Corp.

Hella GmbH Co. KGaA

Magna International Inc.

Robert Bosch GmbH

Valeo SA

ZF Friedrichshafen 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.

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SINGAPORE, June 23 (Reuters) - The world's biggest trade pact RCEP will be signed later this year, participating countries said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that the coronavirus pandemic had increased the deal's importance.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) brings together the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. India pulled out of talks last November, but members have said the door remains open to New Delhi.

"We reaffirmed our commitment to sign the RCEP agreement this year," ministers said in a joint statement.

"As the importance of the RCEP continues to grow in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic...the signing of the agreement will serve as a clear signal of our unwavering support for the multilateral trading system, regional integration as well as economic development across the region." (Reporting by John Geddie; Editing by Martin Petty)
Texas Governor Gregg Abbott speaks to the press after attending the public viewing for George Floyd at the Fountain of Praise church in Houston, Texas on June 8, 2020.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday that he will roll back some of the state's reopening as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to rise.

"As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10%, the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," Abbott said in a press release. "At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars."

The order includes the following:

All bars and similar establishments that receive more than 51% of their gross receipts from the sale of alcoholic beverages are required to close at 12:00 p.m. Friday. These businesses may remain open for delivery and takeout, including for alcoholic beverages, as authorized by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

Restaurants may remain open for dine-in service, but at a capacity not to exceed 50% of total listed indoor occupancy, beginning Monday.

Rafting and tubing businesses must close.

Outdoor gatherings of 100 or more people must be approved by local governments, with certain exceptions.

Abbott's order comes only a day after he said he would place the state's reopening plan on pause. On Thursday, he ordered all licensed hospitals in four counties that include the state's largest cities  Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Austin  to postpone elective procedures in order to protect hospital capacity for Covid-19 patients.

"The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses," Abbott said in a release Thursday.

Texas reported a 79% increase in its weekly average of coronavirus cases on Thursday, averaging 4,757 daily new cases, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
People lined up for coronavirus tests at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa. on Monday, April 20, 2020. The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium is providing COVID-19 testing in the hardest hit areas of Philadelphia. Read more

Black people are resilient. But by its very definition, resilience means the existence of a problem from which one must recover quickly. The word, the feelings, and the actions of resilience are often celebrated by institutions, and by the tough people who overcome the obstacles around them.

But to grow and change for the better, we must learn from mistakes of the past that forced Black people to be resilient in the first place. It is well past time to take a second look at the dangerous and biased policies that continue to harm Black bodies.

Recently the American Public Health Association said, Racism is a driving force of the social determinants of health (like housing, education and employment) and is a barrier to health equity. There is no greater example of this fact  and the perpetual demand for Black resilience  than the response to COVID-19 in 2020, which closely mirrors the response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 90s.

The world first learned of HIV/AIDS as the Gay Plague in the 1980s. It was presented as a white gay disease. Similar to the 1793 outbreak of yellow fever here in Philadelphia, there were stories and rumors that Blacks were immune to COVID-19. HIV was deemed a hoax by some, and systemic distrust of health institutions among Black communities further fuel these notions.

But by 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 46% of people living with HIV at that time in the United States were Black. Later, a 2012 study by the Black AIDS Institute revealed that one in four Black gay men were infected with HIV. According to the most recent numbers from the CDC, HIV is  more than 30 years after the world learned of its existence  a disease affecting mostly Black people, who account for 42% of the 37,832 new HIV diagnoses in the United States.

 READ MORE: Coronavirus has exposed deep race inequity in health care. Can Philadelphia change the trend?

Sadly, today, as the world and the nation prepare for a second wave of the frightening COVID-19 pandemic, we are facing a similar situation. We know Black people are hospitalized with COVID-19 at a rate nearly four times higher than whites. Even more alarming, Black people die of COVID-19 at a rate three times higher than whites. This is yet another invisible disease that is taking the lives of our community, and we arent getting the support we need to survive. It is deja vu to experience this twice in one lifetime.

During the early days of the HIV epidemic, Black leaders such as Dr. Rashidah Abdul Khabeer , a cofounder of Bebashi, one of the countrys first organizations to respond to AIDS in the Black community, said that it was intolerable and unacceptable that Black gay men would be subjugated in this epidemic as though they did not exist.

Groups like ACT UP Philadelphia and the Minority AIDS Coalition and leaders like the late Rev. Henry Wells, Arnold Jackson, Jaci Adams, and Linda Smith fought long and hard to force those in power to protect the lives of Black people living with HIV. Their work included an immediate massive public education campaign to spread awareness of AIDS and how to prevent it, as well as the immediate establishment of a coordinated, comprehensive, and compassionate national policy on AIDS. Research conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation concluded that Six in ten people (61%) in a national survey reported that the media  including television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet  is their primary source of information about HIV/AIDS.

 READ MORE: Racial bias in health care hurts patients. But that can change.

These prominent calls from ACT UP and other advocacy groups were inspired by the united voices of Black people who were living with anger, fear, and distrust.

These feelings around the need for more support toward the Black community persist today, as we continue to beg for a seat at the table. On Juneteenth, several Black leaders, myself included, participated in a national panel discussion called Justice 4 Just Us on the similarities between HIV and COVID-19. DOntace Keyes, a brilliant communications professional from Chicago who studied in Philadelphia and served on the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations before returning to Chicago a year ago, slammed that its time to forget the table, because we need to be building the house where the table sits.

During a recent City Council hearing, Councilmember Maria Quinones-Sanchez admonished the Kenney administration for failing to live up to its own promises to use a racial equity lens in budgeting and contracting decisions related to COVID-19 funding for organizations led by people of color. And Councilmember Cherelle Parker called out the administration for not awarding the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium a contract, although that group had been providing needed testing in Black communities already. (The group was later given funding, after a reversal.)

The city, and the nation, also failed in collecting adequate data early on when it comes to racial demographics and the disease. The numbers that we see now may grossly underrepresent the full degree of the impact and devastation COVID-19 has had on the Black community. It has long been understood Black-led nonprofit organizations fall behind in funding and are less trusted, while at the same time science shows that organizations led by those most affected by a particular disease or circumstance are more likely to reach the affected community.

The harm caused by these viruses in Philadelphias Black communities must end.

This means Black experts, leaders, and community members must be allowed to help build the responses. It means our systems must not only acknowledge their long-held biases, discrimination, and racism, but also actively dismantle them. It means that funding must go to qualified Black-led organizations. It means that research by Black academics must be prioritized. It means that Black workers must be given voice and pay equity. It means those with historic privilege and control must now give space to others.

We are fed up with forced resilience. The time is now to save Black lives.

Michael Hinson is the president and chief operating officer for SELF Inc., the largest provider of emergency housing related services for single adults in the City of Philadelphia. He was the citys first mayoral liaison to LGBT communities and the founder of the COLOURS Organization and Philadelphia Black Gay Pride.
TORONTO, June 26, 2020 /CNW/ - Franklin Templeton Canada today announced updated risk ratings for certain funds.

The new risk ratings indicate where each mutual fund currently fits into the spectrum of risk ratings, defined by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), which advisors and investors can reference when building a portfolio. These changes are not the result of any alterations to the investment objectives, strategies or portfolio management of the funds.

The risk rating changes detailed in the table below will be reflected in the funds' annual prospectus renewal, which is being filed today, June 26, 2020.

Fund Name Current Risk Rating New Risk Rating Franklin ActiveQuant U.S. Fund Franklin ActiveQuant U.S. Corporate Class Low to Medium Medium Franklin Bissett Canadian Balanced Fund Franklin Bissett Canadian Balanced Corporate Class Low Low to Medium Franklin Bissett Small Cap Fund Medium Medium to High Franklin Canadian Core Equity Fund Low to Medium Medium Franklin Mutual Global Discovery Fund Franklin Mutual Global Discovery Corporate Class Low to Medium Medium Franklin U.S. Core Equity Fund Low to Medium Medium FT Balanced Growth Private Wealth Pool Low Low to Medium Templeton Global Bond Fund (Hedged) Low Low to Medium

Risk Classification Methodology

The methodology used to determine the risk rating of each fund is based on the CSA's Risk Classification methodology. A summary of this methodology and the investment objectives and strategies of each mutual fund can be found in the fund's prospectus, which will be available on or around June 26, 2020. The methodology is also available by calling Franklin Templeton Canada's client service team at 1-800-387-0830 or sending an email to [email protected]. In accordance with the standardized Risk Classification Methodology mandated by the CSA, Franklin Templeton Canada reviews risk ratings annually, at a minimum, as well as when a fund undergoes a material change.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. (known as Franklin Templeton Canada) is a subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), a global investment management organization operating, together with its subsidiaries, as Franklin Templeton. Franklin Templeton's goal is to deliver better outcomes by providing global and domestic investment management to retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients in over 170 countries. Through specialized teams, the company has expertise across all asset classes, including equity, fixed income, alternatives and custom multi-asset solutions. The company's more than 600 investment professionals are supported by its integrated, worldwide team of risk management professionals and global trading desk network. With employees in over 30 countries, the California-based company has more than 70 years of investment experience and over US$617 billion (over C$850 billion) in assets under management as of May 31, 2020. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.ca .

Connect with Franklin Templeton Canada on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and read the Beyond Bulls & Bears blog featuring perspectives from Franklin Templeton investment professionals around the world.

Copyright  2020. Franklin Templeton. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.

For further information: Media Contact Sarah Kingdon, Corporate Communications, Franklin Templeton, 416.957.6191, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.franklintempleton.ca


realtor.com, Peter Foley/Bloomberg

Geoffrey Berman, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, is still looking for a buyer for his home in Princeton, NJ. The brick manor, which has been on the market since last fall, is available for $2.7 million. The New York Post first reported on the home's availability last October.

The Post noted that the Stanford law graduate had been spending so much time in NYC handling high-profile cases that he had less need for a home in New Jersey. Berman was recently ousted from his position in a high-profile firing, which may further complicate his housing plans.
For five hours on Thursday, the army didnt know whether it was coming or going.

The Victorian government, having submitted a request the previous night for the assistance of 850 Australian Defence Force personnel in a street-to-street battle against COVID-19, abruptly rescinded the order about midday.

ADF personnel assist NSW Police in the COVID-19 response. Credit:Police Media

Then about 5pm, a new, different request reached Defence headquarters. This time, the call-out was for 200 medical and logistics personnel to help with Victorias testing effort. A full-blooded assault had been reduced to a sortie.

The military reinforcements starting arriving in Melbourne on Friday night. Their three tasks will be to conduct testing at designated sites, transport samples to interstate labs and provide logistical and administrative support.
Twenty-six-year-old Nikau Andrews was hospitalised in Auckland after being brutally attacked by police last Sunday during an arrest for graffiti vandalism.

A bystanders cellphone video, widely viewed on social media, shows several officers pinning Andrews to the ground. Witnesses can be heard shouting: What are you doing? Please get off him! You kneed him in the head, Hes bleeding everywhere, and Look at him, hes f--ing hurt! Officers ignored these pleas.

Speaking from hospital on June 22, Andrews told Radio NZ that he was spear-tackled despite offering no resistance. No one said that I was under arrest, no one said anything like that, he said. Andrews stated that officers punched him when he was on the ground.

After being taken to a Mt Eden police station cell, the young man complained that he found it painful to breathe. Andrews said officers initially laughed at me. He was only taken to hospital after repeatedly insisting that he needed help. I have no idea why they responded in that way. I wasnt at all being a threat. Why did they have to use excessive force? How is that right when I am not using any force to begin with?

Andrews suffered multiple bruises and a black eye. His sternum was ruptured and a possible air bubble was identified in his heart.

He is due to appear in court on July 10, charged with resisting arrest and wilful damage. Police spokespeople have defended their actions, absurdly saying that Andrews was resisting officers, even after he was handcuffed and on the ground.

Andrews told the New Zealand Herald: Im 65kg. I had four grown men on top of me. Im only a little person, theres no way I was going to resist. He said he believed he had been racially profiled because of being Maori.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority is reviewing the incident. This misnamed body almost always clears officers of any wrongdoing and protects them from being prosecuted.

The violent attack on Andrews followed nationwide protests on June 1 and 14, involving tens of thousands of people, as part of the global movement triggered by the murder of George Floyd by police in the United States. The protests also opposed the moves towards routine arming of police officers in New Zealand. On June 9, the NZ Police abandoned plans to introduce new Armed Response Teams (ARTs) throughout the country.

Calls to further arm police are being made, however, following the fatal shooting of constable Matthew Hunt in Auckland on June 19. A 24-year-old man was arrested over the killing, which took place during a routine traffic stop. Hunt was the first officer killed in NZ in more than a decade.

Conscious of the widespread opposition to armed patrols, police commissioner Andrew Coster told the media it was too early to conclude that they should be reintroduced following Hunts killing. Right-wing NewstalkZB radio commentator Mike Hosking labelled Coster soft and said serious talk was needed about arming officers. TV and radio host Jack Tame declared that armed patrols deserve careful, informed consideration and scrutiny.

Nikau Andrews told Radio NZ that some people had suggested he was attacked as revenge for Hunts death, even though thats got nothing to do with me.

Racism may well have contributed to the assault. However, the statement by the pseudo-left protest group People Against Prisons Aotearoa (PAPA) that police would never have immediately attacked a Pakeha [white] person in this way is untrue.

The insistence on portraying police brutality entirely in racial terms serves to obscure the function of the police as the enforcers of class rule and capitalism. Members of the Labour Party-led government, including the Green Party, have no difficulty acknowledging racial bias in policing. These politicians falsely claim that police violence can be addressed by recruiting more non-white officers and improving training.

According to police statistics for 2018, in more than half of all incidents where officers used force, Maori people were the subjects despite being just 15 percent of the population. Maori are much more likely than non-Maori to be shot, tased and pepper sprayed.

Undoubtedly, racism plays a role in many cases. But the main reason for this significant over-representation is that Maori and Pacific Islanders are among the most oppressed members of the working class and are therefore more likely to live in areas subject to intensive policing.

While pretending to oppose police brutality and racism, the Labour-led government has strengthened the police, recruiting an additional 1,800 officers since the 2017 election. The budgets for the spy agencies and the military have been significantly increased, and civil liberties attacked with new anti-terror and censorship legislation. While the government exploited the fascist terror attack in Christchurch to justify such measures, the real target is the working class.

Significantly, every party in parliament seized on the death of Hunt to glorify the police. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, from the right-wing nationalist NZ First Party, said in a speech on June 23 that police lives matter, echoing the pro-police slogan blue lives matter, used in the United States by Trump supporters and fascists.

NZ First called for the leaders of the June 1 protest to be prosecuted on the pretext that they breached social distancing rules. The Australian government has sought to ban protests on similar grounds.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told parliament: To lose a police officer is to lose someone working for all of us, but also a family member, someones loved one and a friend. She compared Hunt to a soldier killed serving New Zealand. Leaders of the Greens and the opposition National Party gave similar statements.

Such speeches are never heard in parliament for the victims of police killings, let alone the civilians killed by NZ soldiers in Afghanistan, or the hundreds of New Zealand workers who die each year due to unsafe working conditions.

Whichever party wins the September election, they will continue to strengthen the police. The coronavirus pandemic has triggered the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The ruling elite is boosting the repressive forces of the state in preparation for a major upsurge of working class opposition to social inequality, unemployment and poverty.
AFP

Incessant rains and the flood situation have caused another problem in Assam's Tinsukia district. Operations to control the blowout and fire in Oil India Limited's (OIL) natural gas well in Baghjan have hit a roadblock due to rains and floods. Read more

Here's more top news of the day:

1) As It Faces Flak, Patanjali Claims It Broke No Law & 'Legally Conducted Coronil Trial On Patients'

AFP

The company took to Twitter to dodge all doubts regarding its misconduct. "There is no room for confusion," Patanjali said in a tweet, thus standing by its stand that it did nothing illegal. Read more

2) US Prez Nominee Joe Biden Seeks Restoration Of Rights Of Kashmiris; Disappointed Over CAA, NRC

Reuters

Democratic presidential nominee and former vice president Joe Biden wants India to restore the rights of all Kashmiris. He has also expressed disappointment over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as well as the implementation of the National Register of Citizens in Assam. Read more

3) US Is Shifting Military From Europe To Counter Chinese Threat To India & Southeast Nations

REUTERS

The threats from China to India and countries in Southeast Asia and the challenges in the South China Sea are going to dictate the allocation of defence resources as the US cuts troop levels in Germany, Pompeo said at a virtual meeting of the Brussels Forum of the German Marshall Fund. Read more

4) Maharashtra ASHA Workers To Get Pay Hike Of Rs 2,000 For Their Hard Work During Covid-19 Crisis

BCCL

At a time when the country is fighting a pandemic and most frontline warriors are underpaid, the Maharashtra cabinet has taken a decision to hike the salaries of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers. Read more

5) Growth Rate Of Coronavirus Is Slowing Down In Mumbai, Giving A Sigh Of Relief To Residents

BCCL

Mumbai, one of the worst-affected cities by COVID-19 in the country, is finally reporting a decline in the growth rate of the novel coronavirus, offering a breather to the residents. Read more
Kyle Kelson, 25, pictured, was blasted in the head by a shotgun in North Cheam on June 19. He died at the scene shortly afterwards

A second man has been charged in connection with the murder of a 25-year-old father who was blasted in the head with a shotgun in a leafy London suburb.

Kyle Kelson, 25, was found with the wound in Brocks Drive, North Cheam, in the early hours of June 19.

He was pronounced dead at the scene at 1.45am.

The Metropolitan Police said today that Aaron McGrath, 27, of Oakhill Road, Sutton, has been charged with Mr Kelson's murder and is due before magistrates in Bromley, south-east London.

It comes after 28-year-old Luke Matthews of Ilfield, Crawley, West Sussex, was also charged with the same offence.

Mr Kelson, who lived in the Cheam area, was described by his mother Angella as 'a much-loved father, son, brother and friend to so many people'.

She said: 'His big, beautiful smile brought joy to all of us.'

Police, including firearms officers, the London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance had attended the scene, but their efforts were not enough to save Mr Kelson.

A post-mortem examination at St Helier Hospital on June 20 gave the cause of death as a shotgun wound to the head.

Police are looking for information about a 'dark-coloured car' that was seen driving away from the scene, Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard, who is in charge of the investigation, said.

Detectives are not certain about the make and model.

Mr Leonard said: 'Our investigation continues to make progress, but I still need to hear from residents or people who were walking or driving through Brocks Drive in the early hours of Friday morning.

Police are appealing for information about this car seen driving away from the crime scene moments after the murder on Brocks Drive, North Cheam on Friday June 19

Mr Kelson's mother Angella said the victim was 'a much-loved father, son, brother and friend to so many people'

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard, who is leading the murder investigation, said he is seeking the public's help to solve the case

'Did you see anyone acting suspiciously? No matter how insignificant it may seem, you could have crucial information.'

He said: 'A man has lost his life in violent circumstances and his family are devastated.

'They need and deserve answers and the community can help us provide them.

'If you have information, video or images that could help us, please contact us immediately.'
It appears the majority of Britain plans to holiday at home this summer, if the latest booking statistics are anything to go by.

Inspired by the current heatwave, coronavirus lockdown easing and not fancying their chances of getting away abroad by plane, thousands have scrambled to book trips in the great outdoors this week.

Staycation bookings quadrupled on one outdoor accommodation website after the Prime Minister announced lockdown plans were easing further on 4 July, reaching a peak of one booking every three seconds at 8pm on Tuesday.

Not only did Pitchup - which specialises in bookings for holiday parks and campsites in Britain, Europe and the Americas - see the highest number of bookings in one day since it was founded a decade ago, around 98 per cent were for holidays in the UK, according to data from the platform.

Staycation bookings have quadrupled on outdoor accommodation site, Pitchup, this week

It said in the 24 hours after Boris Johnson's announcement about Britons able to book trips in the UK again, accommodation was booked for more than 8,200 UK holidaymakers.

Some of its sites took 133 bookings on Tuesday evening alone with the recent hot weather no doubt encouraging many to get away.

Dan Yates, founder of Pitchup, said: 'UK campsites are an obvious choice to avoid densely populated areas and transport hubs like international airports.

'Camping is also a good holiday solution for those working to lower budgets, and works for shorter breaks of a few nights, unlike many cottages that insist on seven night minimum in peak holiday season.'

However, bookings are understandably not as busy as they were in previous years.

In 2019, Pitchup had bookings for 800,000 UK holidaymakers on a staycation, most of whom travelled during July and August.

While visitor numbers are yet to reach those figures, over 6,300 bookings relating to 18,458 holidaymakers have booked for England over the last two days alone.

Interest has shifted definitively towards domestic holidays this summer with less than two per cent of bookings made by UK customers since 1 May being for sites abroad, compared to more than 10 per cent for the same period last year.

Pitchup said over 98% of its recent bookings were for holidays in the UK, rather than overseas

With Britain seeing temperatures reach 30 degrees this week, more people are booking to go camping and caravanning - trips that have been the most dependent on an imminent reopening, resulting in the flurry of bookings.

These types of holiday were popular already - on an annual basis, the sector attracts 15 per cent more holiday nights than hotels and 417 per cent more than guest-houses with nearly all trips are made between Easter and October, peaking in the summer school holidays.

It's likely this year will see a longer season than is traditional as those who would have taken a half term holiday abroad may well look closer to home.

If all international trips were to convert to staycations, this could lead to an 81 per cent increase in domestic holidays.

Cornwall is the most popular destination

Cornwall tops the table as the most popular destination with 14 per cent of all bookings, closely followed by Devon on 9 per cent.

For those looking to escape the crowds, Pembrokeshire, East Sussex and Norfolk are possibly better choices with two per cent of bookings each.

Holidaymakers are clearly desperate to escape lockdown life as by far the most popular period is the week beginning Sunday 5 July - the day after the Government's earliest potential date for accommodation reopening.

The next most popular week is the start of the school holidays, followed by other periods during the typical long school holidays in July and August.

The most popular week outside of main school holidays is the week commencing 6 September, showing how dependent the sector is on the summer peak.

Newquay, Cornwall: Cornwall tops the table as the most popular destination for bookers

New precautions are in place

For those worried about having to cancel their trip due to lockdown restrictions becoming stricter, or in the case of catching coronavirus, deposits continue to be guaranteed transferable to a later date should guests need to change their dates, and many balances are also payable on arrival.

Over 190 sites listed for England only require a transferable 15 per cent deposit payment at the time of booking, with the balance payable on arrival.

Pitchup has also added nearly 50 COVID-19 optional features to its website, which hundreds of site owners have already selected to demonstrate their property's safety on their Pitchup listing.

These range from contactless check-in, dedicated showers per pitch and digital food/drink menus to swimming pool entry quotas, cashless transactions and single sport participation only.

All sites will follow guidance set out by the UK government and will ensure cleanliness is a top priority, the booking platform said.

Other sites have also seen large increases

It is not just Pitchup that has seen a huge increase in bookings in the past week, other holiday sites have also revealed they have witnessed a substantial rise in people making reservations.

Hoseasons, which specialise in luxury lodges, said they recorded one booking every 11 seconds within hours of the Prime Minister's speech.

It added that year-on-year sales were up 270 per cent.

Travelsupermarket has also seen a spike in UK cottage and car hire searches on its site this week versus the week before. It reported that bookings were up 66 per cent whilst there had been an increase of 41 per cent for UK car hire bookings for pick-ups in July.

Haven said that since the Government announcement on Tuesday, it has seen a 73 per cent increase in web traffic year on year with a 125 per cent increase in revenue versus the same day last year.

It also reported a 150 per cent rise in online bookings versus the same day last year, culminating in its third biggest sales day of the entire year.

Since May, when it launched its new Haven Hideaway offering, which provides guests with self-contained, self-catering accommodation at its coastal parks but with a reduction in core facilities, it has seen an increase in sales of almost 70 per cent with demand for summer 2020 holidays.

It added it has seen strong sales for 2021 with double the amount of year on year sales on many dates.

Holiday Cottages saw web traffic on its site increase by over 250 per cent compared to the same point last year, with bookings taken being up four times compared to the same point a year ago.

Forest Holidays said it expects to be fully booked at all locations by the time it reopens on Monday 6 July.
I believe if its not all of us then its going to be none of us that make it through the hatred, the white supremacy, the horror, the absolute power and control that this system has over its people, they said.

They were appalled when they learned officers and Chief Magnus did not share information about the incident with the Mayor and City Council or with the family or the public. They said the secrecy enforces that the law enforcement system is broken.

You cant grow good fruit from a bad tree. Period, they said. And all Magnus has shown me and taught me that he is a major part of that tree and just as rotten as its roots are.

They said theyve watched Magnus tout the police departments progressive policies, all while he hid details about this in-custody death for two months.

I am here with this community to demand justice for the lies that we have been told, for the information that has been withheld," they said. "But above all else the life that three officers directly, and at least three more who were on the scene, took.
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Linkedin (Xinhua) Tokyo  Fri, June 26, 2020 11:15 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661d3d34 2 News Japan,travel,flight,Airlines,business-travelers Free

Japan on Thursday partially resumed international flights, with a chartered plane leaving Narita Airport near Tokyo bound for Vietnam.

The flight is the first of three arranged by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam and operated by Vietnam Airlines that will depart from Narita Airport from Thursday through Saturday.

The plane departed Japan with 150 passengers aboard, all of whom were provided with protective gowns and face masks for the flight as a measure to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

On their arrival at northern Vietnam's Van Don International Airport, the passengers will have to undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for the virus and then self-quarantine for two weeks.

Production at some Japanese facilities based in Vietnam have suffered due to a lack of Japanese workers.

"I am more relieved, than happy. We will now have the human resources we need to restart our operations," Sharp Manufacturing Vietnam Chairman Wada Kazuhito was quoted by local media as saying.

In total, the three flights will carry around 440 business people to Vietnam, with Japan's foreign ministry hoping to see the return of workers from Vietnam, including those on its technical trainee program, as it eyes lifting its entry ban to those from Vietnam.

Earlier this month, the government here announced it was planning to ease its coronavirus-linked travel restrictions this summer by allowing, at first, the entry of up to 250 business people per day from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam.

Read also: Japan's success in curbing COVID-19 cases now hampers search for cures

Japan currently has an entry ban in place from 111 countries and regions and foreign travelers who have visited countries on the banned list within two weeks wanting to enter Japan would be refused entry, the foreign ministry has said.

The ministry also said that 177 countries and regions have imposed varying levels of restrictions on entry from Japan.

Australia and New Zealand have reportedly said it may still be too early to allow entry of Japanese travelers amid continued concerns over the possible spread of the coronavirus.

Travelers from the permitted overseas countries would have to undergo PCR coronavirus tests before arriving in Japan to prove they are negative for COVID-19.

Upon landing in Japan, they will be required to take another PCR test, sources with knowledge of the matter have said.

Those qualifying for entry will be required to submit to officials details of their place of residence during their visit as well as an itinerary of places they intend to visit, the sources said.

They may be asked to refrain from using public transport and possibly be required to use a GPS app on their smartphones so in the case they are or do become infected, contact-tracing can be carried out.

Aside from Vietnam, Japan has also been in talks with Australia, New Zealand and Thailand as the potential first batch of travelers it reopens its doors to, although the government would like the measure to be reciprocal.

The four countries were picked owing to the fact that they have been judged to have successfully brought the coronavirus outbreak under control in their respective countries and owing to business ties between Japan and the countries.

The government here said that following its initial easing of entry restrictions for the four countries, it will look to further expand the easing of restrictions applicable to China, South Korea and the United States.
Michael Cassel, an intern at Hopeworks, at the organization's office in Camden. Read more

Soon after his grandmother died, Michael Cassel planned on becoming a chef in a nursing home.

I wanted to make food for older people, Cassel said of his aspirations as a 10-year-old living in Pennsauken.

That vision quickly gave way to another.

Then, I wanted to become a scientist so I could make medicine for them, Cassel said.

Those dreams have morphed into a new vision: Cassel has set his sights on developing a physical-therapy app to help seniors manage limitations that often accompany old age.

Now 20, Cassel believes he has found a pathway to his desire to honor his grandmothers memory through service, thanks to Hopeworks, a Camden-based nonprofit that specializes in helping young people identify and pursue careers in the technology field.

Hopeworks has saved the day for me again and again, Cassel said. I honestly dont know here I would be if not for their help and support.

Founded in 2000, Hopeworks provides training, professional and personal development, and job placement for around 250 young people each year. According to executive director Dan Rhoton, 85% of Hopeworks youth associates obtain jobs averaging around $34,000 in annual salary by the end of their training and internship  with a better than 90% retention rate over the next year.

Rhoton said Hopeworks officials regard Cassels situation as more than just a typical success story for the organization. Cassel is special not just because of his determination to use his sharpened skills in the technology field to help others but also because of the difficult circumstances he overcame as he progressed through the program:

This spring, despite dealing with homelessness (he spent several nights sleeping in his sisters car because of an unsettled housing situation), he managed to continue working remotely with Hopeworks as an intern on the foundations web-design team.

We would have a group meeting at the beginning and end of every day, Rhoton said. Michael never missed a huddle, even when he didnt have a place to live. He never missed a deadline.

Rhoton said Cassel, who now lives in the Forget Me Not shelter in North Philadelphia, continues to serve as a productive member of the web-design team. He plans to soon move into housing that Hopeworks provides on a temporary basis for its youth associates.

Cassel enrolled in the Hopeworks training program after graduating from Pennsauken High School in 2019 and spending a few months working in local warehouses and manufacturing plants.

Michaels situation is validation of the program, but its also a reflection of his own character and determination, Rhoton said. We try to help young people get where they want to be. We always tell them, Your future does not have to look like your past.

Cassels past had its challenges. He said his mother and father have not been involved in his life and that he was raised by an aunt as well as his grandmother, Dorothy Mae Cassel.

He said his grandmothers death in 2009 from cancer shook his world but also inspired him.

She was my best friend, Cassel said. I used to tell her, I cant wait until I get older so I can take care of you.

Cassel has impressed Hopeworks officials with his positive attitude. As an intern scheduled to report to work at 9 a.m., he would arrive at 8:30 to help prepare coffee and tea for the rest of the crew.

Every day, Rhoton said.

Cassel has begun the process of applying for a Hopeworks scholarship that will enable him to attend college. Hed like to enroll at Temple, Rowan, or Camden County College, with an eye toward earning a degree in exercise science and an eventual career working with the elderly.

I promised my grandmother I would be there to take care of her, Cassel said. I want to take care of others.

Even through difficult times, he said, he rarely struggled to maintain a bright outlook. But he said the training and support from Hopeworks has provided him the tools to channel his can-do mindset into action.

I always knew I wanted my future job to be something where I can take care of senior citizens, Cassel said. Hopeworks is making that happen for me.
Splash Mountain is getting a major makeover.

Disney announced Thursday plans to "completely reimagine" the immersive theme park log ride in the wake of concerns over the original's Song of the South theme.

Disney

The ride will now have a story inspired by the 2009 Disney Animation film The Princess & The Frog, which told the story of Princess Tiana, Disney's first Black princess. The new story follows Tiana and her alligator friend, Louis, on a musical adventure and is set against the backdrop of New Orleans and the Louisiana Bayou. The reboot is a savvy choice as it finds a way to retain the rides original Southern theme but ties it to a more modern (and non-problematic) title.

Here's a piece of concept art released by the company:

Disney Resorts

Anika Noni Rose, who voiced Princess Tiana in the film, reacted to the news on Instagram: "It is really exciting to know that Princess Tiana's presence in both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom will finally be fully realized! As passionate as I am about what we created, I know the fans are going to be over the moon. The Imagineers are giving us the Princess & The Frog Mardi Gras celebration we've been waiting for, and I'm here for it!"

Splash Mountain opened in 1989 and took visitors on a dark ride journey through the Old South. The setting was based on the 1946 film Song of the South and took guests past several different scenes. The lead character in the tale was an elderly Black man named Uncle Remus (played by James Baskett in the film). The ride includes animatronic animals singing the film's song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" before plunging guests down a 50-foot drop.

Song of the South has long been accused of perpetuating racist stereotypes and there has been a Change.org petition urging Disney to alter the ride's theme. As pointed out by USA Today, the film has notably never been available on home video in the U.S., nor is it included in Disney Plus.

Story continues

Here are a couple of images from inside the original Splash Mountain ride:

Disney

Disney

Disney parks have been on a rocky road to reopening recently as coronavirus cases have surged in June. Disney World is scheduled to reopen on July 11, but Disneyland recently postponed its plan to reopen July 17.

Related content:
Forfeiture of $31.5 mln from ex-Mari El governor accused of bribery upheld

 Official website of the head of Mari El

18:37 26/06/2020

MOSCOW, June 26 (RAPSI)  The appeals instance of the Nizhny Novgorod district court has upheld a lower courts ruling to recover over 2.2 billion rubles (about $31.5 million at the current exchange rate) from ex-governor of Mari El Republic Leonid Markelov accused of bribery in favor of the state, lawyer Igor Trunov has told RAPSI.

Defense will appeal the ruling in cassation and file a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights, according to Trunov.

A court in Russias Nizhny Novgorod has recovered over 2.2 billion rubles (about $34.5 million) from ex-governor of Mari El Republic Leonid Markelov in favor of the state in November 2019. The court levied 120 property items, 16 cars, luxury wristwatch worth 1 million rubles, over 8.5 million rubles, $224,000 and 660,000 euros upon a motion filed by prosecutors. Moreover, land plots, apartments, luxury goods, money and shares were ordered to be forfeited to the state.

Currently, Markelov is on trial on bribery allegations. Initially, the case against him was to be considered in the Republic of Mari El, but the Supreme Court of Russia changed its territorial jurisdiction and forwarded the case to Nizhny Novgorod.

Investigators believe that Markelov acting as the republics governor received through Kozhanova 235 million rubles from the founder of Akashevskaya factory as a bribe for common protection and assistance in the property payment of funds provided by the state support for development of the agricultural complex.

According to defense lawyer Sergey Sevruk, Markelov is also a defendant in another criminal case over illegal possession of ammunition.

Media also reported that there is the third case against the former official over abuse of power.

Markelov pleads not guilty to all accusations.
(CNN)  Mastercard and Visa are reconsidering whether to allow Wirecard to continue processing payments on their networks, following the fintech company's massive accounting scandal, according to a report from Bloomberg Thursday.

Mastercard and Visa have informed some Wirecard clients that the firm's access to their payment networks could be revoked, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Neither credit card company commented directly on the report, but both said they are following the situation closely. The loss of two of the biggest payment networks in the world would be yet another blow to Wirecard, which earns revenue by helping businesses process payments from customers.

"We continue to closely monitor developments and assess new information as it becomes available," a Visa spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Our priority is, and will always be, maintaining the integrity of the Visa payments system and protecting the interests of consumers, merchants and our clients."

Likewise, Mastercard said in a statement that it is tracking the Wirecard news. "Our priority is ensuring people are able to continue to use their cards. We will continue to work with all parties and stand ready to take any necessary action," Mastercard said.

Wirecard did not immediately return a request for comment for this article. However, in a statement Monday, Wirecard said that "for the avoidance of misunderstandings, the company wishes to inform that its IT systems continue to work without limitations."

Founded in 1999, Wirecard was once considered one of the most promising tech firms in Europe. It processes payments for consumers and businesses and sells data analytics services. The company has nearly 6,000 employees in 26 countries around the world.

But in recent days, Wirecard has been plagued by a scandal over accounting irregularities that have drawn comparisons to Enron, the American energy giant that filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

Wirecard's CEO Markus Braun resigned last week after an auditor discovered that $2 billion in cash appeared to have gone missing from the company's accounts, delaying publication of the tech firm's 2019 financial results and sparking fraud accusations. Then on Monday, Wirecard acknowledged that after "further examination," the missing $2 billion probably never existed.

Braun, who helped grow Wirecard into one of Germany's biggest companies, was arrested the following day on suspicion of having inflated Wirecard's balance sheet and sales through fake transactions in order to make it more attractive to investors and customers.

The company is now in crisis, one that would be worsened if major payment networks were to revoke its access.

Since last week, Wirecard's share value plummeted more than 96%. Wirecard filed for insolvency Thursday due to over-indebtedness.

CNN's Charles Riley contributed to this report.
On February 8, the Irish public voted, but nearly five months later we still don't have a new government.

We are in a unique political situation in a global health emergency. Normally, the full-scale closures of schools and childcare facilities, upending the health service overnight, shutting down the nation's economy, freezing evictions and curtailing the movement of citizens to name but a few, would be unthinkable.

Yet, such measures were the minimum required to protect citizens. The fact that the people making these decisions had just lost an election, and in some cases had lost their seat, was unpalatable to many but constitutionally permissible.

Read More

The Constitution is clear that the Taoiseach and Cabinet remain in office until their successors are appointed, but it was probably never in the contemplation of those who wrote it that it would take this long in such unusual times.

Extraordinary times normally call for extraordinary measures, but what has been unprecedented is the ability of the status quo to remain.

In spite of the reality of the newly elected Dail not appointing a Taoiseach from its membership, the structures of the Oireachtas and the Cabinet have managed to hobble along. The Seanad has its elected members in place, but without the appointment of the new Taoiseach it has only 49 members instead of the required 60, as the Taoiseach's 11 are absent.

This is something that is being challenged in the High Court, where some senators are arguing that it is possible for the 49 to carry on their elected role. The Constitution clearly states that the Seanad is comprised of 60 members, so it's hard to see how that could be worked around.

It was clear on the night of February 9 that the only viable government formation was a Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Green coalition. The programme for government, which is being voted on by the party membership of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Greens, may barely get over the line. However, it may not make for a happy arrangement.

There's a core element of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail who only manage to just about distrust the Greens on agriculture more than they distrust each other. The document itself has already flagged a detailed mediation process, even stating that the parties have "different traditions" and their members and supporters "differ greatly on many issues".

It doesn't sound like a potential partnership that you would want to send on a blind date, never mind run the country.

If the programme is not agreed on, we are probably looking at another election.

Ireland has already changed from the experience of the pandemic. Policy decisions that were taken overnight were deemed impossible before, such as rent freezes, taking over private hospitals and banning evictions.

The pandemic itself has shown up critical issues like elder care and direct provision. The gradual unwinding of the regulations has highlighted issues such as the environment and the availability of affordable childcare.

There is also the time-sensitive issue of the Special Criminal Court and its continuance. The previous Seanad was able to pass the Public Health legislation as the new members had not yet been elected.

However, this does not apply for the current issue with the Special Criminal Court. Under both the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009, resolutions by both Houses must be passed in order for this non-jury court to continue for terrorist offences or gangland offences. As trial by jury is a constitutional right of an individual in normal circumstances, this right cannot be taken away without any form of check or balance, therefore this provision must be renewed annually. The Dail passed their part of the legislation on Wednesday. It will be a race to see if the Seanad can do their part before the legislation lapses next week.

Even if a government is formed, what sort of opposition will emerge in the next Dail? A functioning opposition is just as critical as the formation of government. Without this, the role of the Oireachtas to hold government to account is weak.

Just as there are not enough numbers to form a left government, the same can be said for a left opposition. Any opposition where 21 Independents and others make up the balance could be liable to be picked off with deals for roundabouts and bypasses.

If the next Dail is to elect a Taoiseach tomorrow after ratification of the programme for government, calm will descend on Irish politics. How long it lasts is anyone's guess.

Dr Jennifer Kavanagh is a lecturer in constitutional law in Waterford Institute of Technology
But neither country provided any details and they continued to condemn each other for instigating the violence. Some analysis of satellite imagery suggests that China has not retreated from its positions near where the deadly clash took place in the Galwan valley, but rather fortified them. (China has said that there were casualties in the conflict but has not confirmed how many of its soldiers were injured or killed.)
The 36th ASEAN Summit (ASEAN-36), the first to be held in an online format, opened in Hanoi on Friday under the chair of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The online opening ceremony for ASEAN-36, themed Cohesive and Responsive, saw the participation of leaders of the ten member countries of ASEAN.

ASEAN, short for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic organization whose members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, chairwoman of Vietnams lawmaking National Assembly (NA) and chair of the 41st General Assembly of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA 41), Tong Thi Phong, NA permanent vice-chairwoman and head of the Vietnamese delegation to AIPA, and Pham Binh Minh, deputy PM, foreign minister and chairman of the National ASEAN 2020 Committee, also participated in the event.

Ambassadors of the ASEAN member nations and representatives from foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations in Hanoi were also in attendance.

Vietnam, as ASEAN Chair of 2020, decided to move this years Summit online for the first time in its history in the wake of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic that is hitting the region and the world.

In his opening remarks, PM Phuc highlighted the theme of ASEAN-36 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling for stronger cooperation among the ASEAN member nations to effectively cope with the crisis.

Following is the full text of his address as published by the official government online news site VGP News:

Your Majesty,

Dear Colleagues,

Mdm. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, President of AIPA 41,

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is my great pleasure to warmly welcome the leaders of ASEAN and all of you to the Opening Ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit.

1. For the first time in more than half a century, our ASEAN Summit has been held virtually. The recent 73rd World Health Assembly and various other major international meetings were also held on the cyber-networks that link our world. This reflects the reality that the ways we conduct our work must now change, due to not only the advances of science and technology, but also the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which broke out and quickly became widespread from the beginning of this year, has swept away the achievements that humankind had accumulated for years, deprived and threatened the lives of millions. A World Bank report on 8 June projected that the global economy would experience a serious decline with a 5.2 percent contraction in global GDP. Per-capita income would drop by 3.6%. Seventy to a hundred million people would fall into extreme poverty, and the risk of social instability would mount. More than 40% of all manufacturing industries and business sectors across countries are being directly affected by lockdown and restrictions imposed for disease control.

The pandemic is fanning the flames of dormant challenges within the political, economic and social environment of the world and in each region. International institutions and international law are being seriously challenged. Strategic friction among the major powers are exposing themselves and escalating. While the entire world is stretched thin in the fight against the pandemic, irresponsible acts and acts in violation of international law are still taking place, affecting the environment of security and stability in certain regions, including in our region.

The strong advances of science and technology and the digital transformation taking place around the globe present both opportunities and challenges to countries, especially the developing ones. Social conflicts stemming from social disparities, discrimination and stigma have deteriorated due to the pandemic, further widening the divide within countries.

In such context, countries need to uphold the spirit of solidarity, cooperation and the sense of responsibility towards the international community. The role and mission of major countries, and of multilateral and regional organizations have become more prominent than ever.

2. ASEAN is pursuing the theme of Cohesive and Responsive amidst volatilities in the regional and global landscape. 5 years since the establishment of the Community, we are now standing before the opportunities and challenges generated by the global geo-strategic shift and the impacts of COVID-19. Against that backdrop, our ASEAN Community has well displayed its mettle. Our unity has given us the strength to effectively harness the opportunities and rise above those challenges.

In the early months of this year, COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on the economy and society of ASEAN member states. It pains us to witness the suffering of tens of thousands of families whose loved ones passed away due to the disease. We empathize with the damage and difficulties endured by hundreds of thousands of disrupted businesses and millions of workers deprived of their livelihood, particularly those in the tourism and service sectors. Yet we shall not falter!

ASEAN has taken timely actions as a responsive and cohesive Community. ASEANs health emergencies response network and cooperation with partners were activated from the very first days. ASEAN countries have engaged in active information and experience sharing, and coordination in disease control. Thanks to the highest of political commitment and a cohesive and comprehensive approach at the national and regional level, ASEAN as a whole, has embodied the fortitude of a united and cohesive group, full of sharing and caring.

Let me thank you, ASEAN leaders and ASEAN partners, who have joined their hands with Viet Nam  the ASEAN chair  in the collective response against the pandemic, especially the strong commitments you have pledged at the Special ASEAN and APT Summits on COVID-19 in April.

Despite the complex developments of the pandemic, the ASEAN members have essentially kept the situation under control. Compared to the global average, we are enjoying a high proportion of recoveries over total confirmed cases. Fatalities are low and the rate of fatality is dropping. For many days now, in several ASEAN countries, there has been no new case of community transmission. While slower growth rates are projected for this year, ASEAN economies are expected to sustain stability.

3. In the latter half of 2020, the heavy burden rested upon the governments of ASEAN members and upon us as the leaders is to lead ASEAN out of this period of adversity. The successful completion of this task will stand as a testament to the lasting values and vitality of our Resilient and Dynamic Community.

I expect that the 36th ASEAN Summit will be an occasion for ASEAN member states to reassert our spirit of solidarity, our strong political will and commitment to rise above the adversities of the pandemic and keep forging ahead. On the one hand, we need to maintain good control over the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other, we should promptly repair its damage, and revitalize our economy and resume our economic development. This should be coupled with efforts to realize the set targets for ASEAN cooperation and integration of this year.

At this Summit, we will discuss a comprehensive post-pandemic recovery plan for ASEAN, and hasten the implementation of new initiatives, including the creation of the ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund, the building of an ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies, and the establishment of an ASEAN Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Public Health Emergencies.

We will conduct the mid-term review of the implementation of the Blueprints under the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, provide feedback on a post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision, and improve the efficiency of ASEAN work by evaluating the enforcement of the ASEAN Charter.

ASEAN will also actively engage the various sectors and stakeholders in society in the process of building a People-Oriented and People-Centered Community.

Today, we will have the first-ever Special Session on Women's Empowerment in the Digital Age. This is a strong message as to ASEAN's commitment to promoting gender equality and enhancing women's role and contribution in social life. The session is also a concrete way to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on Gender Equality. We will also have useful interfaces with the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), Youth representatives, and the businesses of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) on this occasion.

The efforts to strengthen connectivity and promote equitable and sustainable development of ASEAN these past years will continue to be bolstered during this year. Such initiatives as the ASEAN Smart Cities Network and Connecting the Connectivities need to proceed effectively and extensively. In addition, we should also pay due attention to enhancing the complementarities between sub-regional cooperation, including the Mekong sub-region, and ASEAN agenda, in terms of the sustainable management and use of water resources.

As an open community and a partner for sustainable peace and development of the international community, ASEAN will tirelessly seek to expand and deepen its equal and mutually beneficial cooperation with our partners. ASEAN is advancing ties with the United Nations in 2020  when both Indonesia and Viet Nam are non-permanent members of the UNSC and are actively contributing to the UNs efforts to maintain peace, security and development. We are strongly committed to economic liberalization and integration, and are determined to quickly conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

To uphold ASEANs centrality in the region, we have been improving our mechanisms for dialogue, cooperating to build trust, and reinforcing an open, transparent and rules-based order. At the same time, ASEAN will continue to promote and uphold rules and norms of conduct, advance the relations among countries in the region in accordance with the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC). ASEAN observes and promotes the full and strict compliance to the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the [East Vietnam Sea] (DOC), and is making every effort to establish an effective Code of Conduct (COC) in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

4. The common denominator of shared interest, which has brought the ASEAN members together over the last five decades, has multiplied in the wake of adversity and challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic is a test of ASEAN's mettle as a maturing community.

I am deeply confident that after every storm and typhoon, the stalks of padi rice on the logo of ASEAN will grow tighter-knit, and from it more grains of rice will spring forth, filled with the love, care and solidarity that define our big ASEAN family.

At this Summit, I look forward to the adoption of the ASEAN Leaders' Vision Statement on a Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN: Rising above Challenges and Sustaining Growth. This shall be the compass for ASEAN to move ever confidently forward.

In this spirit, I declare the 36th ASEAN Summit open.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I wish you good health and many successes.
A Deputy Attorney-General, Godfred Dame, has blasted the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for deceiving its followers regarding the ruling of the Supreme Court over the planned compilation of the new voters' register.

He said the NDC walked away with nothing following the opposition partys challenge of the Electoral Commissions (EC) decision to compile a new register without the existing voter ID.

Mr. Dame, who represented the State in the case, recounted that Supreme Court stated clearly that the old voters ID cards are excluded from the upcoming voter registration exercise and that EC has the power to act strictly in accordance with C.I 126.

In affirming the already existing plans of the EC, the Supreme Court, on Thursday, June 25, ruled that the existing voter ID card and birth certificates cannot be used as proof of identity to register in the upcoming voter registration exercise.

The seven-member panel also cleared the EC to go ahead and compile a new voters' register for the 2020 general elections.

However, the General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, shortly after the ruling proclaimed that the existing voter ID card will now be accepted by the EC for the registration exercise and that, they have been vindicated.

But speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Dame criticised the Mr. Asiedu Nketia for his comments which were at odds with the courts verdict.

Per the ruling, do you see any relief that the existing Voters ID should be used granted? Which of them authorises the use of the existing ID card? The court has actually spoken to explain why the existing ID card and the birth certificate which are considered alternative means for the EC to prepare a voters register have been denied.

It has been denied because according to the Supreme Court the EC has the discretion to exercise as to which of the instruments to choose and decides to choose another, that discretion cannot be faulted or question unless there is patent unconstitutionality and in this case, there is no unconstitutionality, he noted.

What the Supreme Court said

Aside from the NDC, a private citizen, Mark Takyi-Banson, also challenged the ECs decision to compile an entirely new register and exclude the existing voter ID.

But the apex court stressed that the EC was exercising its discretion in the discharge of its constitutional mandate in cleaning the voters register and should be deemed as authorised to be acting within the law and the regulations therein, and cannot be faulted even if it is considered that there is a more efficient mode or method available.

The Supreme Court judges also recalled the landmark Abu Ramadan case when the EC was directed to clean out names registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme card from the electoral roll.

It held that the EC in performing their mandate under Article 45 of the Constitution 1992 cannot be compelled to act in a particular manner unless there is clear evidence that they have acted unconstitutionally.

Beyond this, the Supreme Court reminded that it could not make decisions for a constitutional body like the EC which was exercising the discretion conferred on it by the Constitution unless they act contrary to it.

---citinewsroom
(JNS) - Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom Mark Regev discussed Israel's relations with Britain and its neighbors during a webinar on Thursday, his last livestreamed event before ending his five-year term as ambassador.

Regev, who has served in the Israeli foreign ministry for more than three decades, began the online discussion, hosted by the pro-Israel organization StandWithUs, by voicing support for Israel's move to apply sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria.

"All Israeli governments since the Six-Day War have consistently said we want secure borders and those aren't the bord...
Two Russian nationals indicted on charges of hacking in December are believed to be behind a new ransomware scheme targeting US firms, according to security experts

Russia-based hackers are stepping up ransomware attacks against major US firms seeking to cripple computer networks if their demands for millions of dollars are not met, security researchers are warning.

The cybersecurity firm Symantec on Thursday said it had identified at least 31 targets in the United States, including eight Fortune 500 companies.

"The attackers behind this threat appear to be skilled and experienced, capable of penetrating some of the most well protected corporations, stealing credentials, and moving with ease across their networks. As such, WastedLocker is a highly dangerous piece of ransomware," said the threat intelligence team of Broadcom-owned Symantec in its alert.

"At least 31 customer organizations have been attacked, meaning the total number of attacks may be much higher. The attackers had breached the networks of targeted organizations and were in the process of laying the groundwork for staging ransomware attacks."

Earlier in the week, a similar warning came from the British-based security firm NCC Group, which identified the ransomware strain dubbed WastedLocker as a new threat since May.

The researchers said those behind the attacks include two Russian nationals, Igor Olegovich Turashev and Maksim Viktorovich Yakubets, indicted in the United States in December for their involvement in an entity known as Evil Corp which is accused of hacking US and British banks.

NCC analyst Stefano Antenucci wrote that researchers can show "with high confidence" that the latest ransomware is from Evil Corp, which has been using the so-called Dridex malware since July 2014.

The US indictment alleges the group believed to be linked to Russian intelligence inserted malware on computers in dozens of countries to steal more than $100 million from companies and local authorities.

The indictment was accompanied by sanctions from the US Treasury on the two men, as well as the announcement of a $5 million reward toward Yakubets' arrest and convictionthe highest reward ever offered for a cybercriminal.

The Infraud Organization touted itself with the slogan 'In Fraud We Trust'

Hacker pleads guilty

The warnings came as another Russian hacker named as one of the leaders of a global cybercrime empire pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a Nevada court Friday, according to the Department of Justice, two years after he was arrested in Thailand.

Sergey Medvedev, 33, has previously been described as a co-administrator of the Infraud Organization, an online network that stole and sold credit card and other personal identity data, causing $530 million in losses, according to US authorities.

The hacker, who worked under names including "serjbear" and "Stells", was arrested in Bangkok in February 2018 after masked cops armed with automatic weapons swooped on his condo. He was later extradited to the United States.

Infraud was founded in Ukraine in 2010 and touted itself with the slogan "In Fraud We Trust."

It became the "premier destination" on the web for purchasing goods with counterfeit or stolen credit card information, according to US authorities.

The organization, which had 10,901 approved "members" by 2017, also provided an "escrow" service for transactions in crypto-currencies including Bitcoin, officials have said.

Medvedev was described as a co-administrator of the network, which was founded by Ukrainian hacker Svyatoslav Bondarenko, who remains at large.

 2020 AFP
King Davis was stunned when he saw how many parents wanted to keep their children home from Sheldon ISD schools in the fall. Across grade levels and campuses, more than 48 percent of the 2,324 parents who responded to a survey said they wouldnt send their kids back to in-person classes on campus.

Those fears were reported June 18, just as the Houston region began seeing an enormous spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, setting records for both data points every day for the past two weeks, and before Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday suspended elective surgical procedures in Harris County and Texas other large metropolitan areas.

I actually thought we would have more who would want to send them back, said Davis, superintendent of the northeast Harris County school district. I really believe most families would love to send their kids back to be educated in a traditional environment, but theres so much unknown thats causing some anxiety.

As many as 50 percent of parents in some greater Houston school districts may not send their students back to school this fall, according to surveys conducted by at least half a dozen local education systems.

About 55 percent of respondents in Alief ISD said they were at least somewhat concerned about sending their kids back to physical classrooms. Among parents of students in KIPP Houston charter schools,about 44 percent said they were interested in pursuing online-only education this fall. More than one third of parents who responded to a survey in Aldine ISD said they, too, would prefer to keep their kids home, and another 31 percent said they would need more information to decide whether they would let their children return.

Districts that are seeking parent feedback now, including Houston, Katy, Pasadena and Conroe ISDs, may find more parents unwilling to send their students back. The Texas Education Agency itself has been reluctant to provide guidelines for how to reopen campuses this fall, twice postponing publishing requirements and guidance this month. Draft guidance obtained by the Chronicle, however, shows the agency considered giving districts wide discretion when making decisions related to COVID-19 considerations.

Shreela Sharma, an epidemiologist at UTHealth School of Public Health, advised against reopening schools in regions with widespread community transmission of the novel coronavirus  a status that Houston currently meets. However, Sharma said the regions outlook could change by August, in which case, the benefits of returning to campuses could outweigh the concerns of some students and staff.

To reopen safely and successfully and stay open, they have to be in an environment where the city and the county have containment of spread at the community level, Sharma said. Thats the bare minimum.

The situation could change after the academic year begins as well. If cases of COVID-19 decline, parents who originally opted to do online learning may change their minds and try to put their kids back in school.

King said logistically, students would likely be stuck with the option their parents chose at the beginning of the year for at least one grading period, or perhaps for one semester. Superintendent HD Chambers in Alief ISD agreed.

But Chambers said its not just parents and students who are concerned about going back. About 52 percent of 3,401 staff members who filled out a survey in Alief ISD said they would not feel comfortable returning to school, and 41 percent support doing only distance learning next school year.

Theres a difference between an underlying health condition that truly warrants staying away from school or large gathering versus someone whos worried, Chambers said. Were all worried, but were going to work and we need to make sure our health protocols are so secure and so good that they feel a level of comfort coming back to work.

However, few local districts have published specific frameworks and protocols for reopening, including how they will sanitize campuses each day, what social distancing protocols they will require and how they will respond if theres an outbreak. Candis Houston, president of the Aldine chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, said she has asked Aldine ISDs administration to put out a plan before July 6, the last date teachers can resign. That way, she said, staff can decide whether the districts plan will address their concerns or if they should apply to another district that has a plan that better fits their needs.

Houston said a survey of her membership found that 57 percent had underlying health conditions or lived with someone who did. Members two main concerns, Houston said, were about what safety protocols would look like and how they would be enforced.

On the high school side you can tell them to stay where they need to be, but little kids are touchy feel-y. They want to hug and touch their classmates, and you have a little more interaction on elementary level, she said.

There could be some options available for teachers uncomfortable in a room full of students. In Sheldon, King has asked teachers if they would be willing to return to their classrooms to record video lessons. About 44 percent said they would, while 55 percent said they would be willing to teach students face-to-face.

Still, parents like Denise Cupit are reluctant to send their kids back.

Her husband is a health care workers in an emergency room in the west Houston suburb, and although children are less likely to experience severe symptoms of COVID-19 than older people, she worries her 6-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son could come home with the disease.

Cupit had originally planned to return to work this year after staying home with her children, but she has put off those plans for the foreseeable future. Even though homeschooling was a challenge in spring, and her 6-year-old daughter struggled after losing to social interactions, Cupit said returning now is not worth the risk.

She said she doesnt want them to return until community spread is practically zero, or until theres a widely available and safe vaccine.

I would rather them have a meh experience in education for a semester or two than contract an illness that can cause problems in life later on, Cupit said.

Jacob Carpenter contributed to this report.

shelby.webb@chron.com
UDOH launches medical cannabis program

If you've had a hard time obtaining medical cannabis, things are about to get easier. The Utah Department of Health, along with medical cannabis pharmacies, launched a program Wednesday that will increase access for patients who qualify. The program will allow any Utah-licensed physician, physician assistant, podiatrist and advanced practice medical nurse with a controlled substance license, to recommend medical cannabis for up to 15 of their adult patients. That adds up to more than 21,000 medical providers who will now be able to help patients diagnosed with a qualifying ...
Cornering the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led NDA government over its foreign policy, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday questioned why bilateral relations with neighbouring countries witnessed a fall after Modi came to power in 2014.

He said there is still no clarity on the situation on the India-China border in Ladakh where there was a violent face-off in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives. Gehlot also demanded PM Modi to clear the situation in front of the nation.

What is the reason behind the deteriorating relations with our neighbouring countries after the NDA government came to power. When Narendra Modi became prime minister, heads of the neighbouring nations were invited. They had come. Now, what is the reason that all neighbouring countries have turned against us, Gehlot said, while naming Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and China. He said it is still a mystery what happened with China.

The prime minister should have taken the countrymen in confidence but it is unfortunate that the facts which were presented before the country were welcomed in China,he said in a video message which he posted on Twitter with #SpeakUpForOurJawans hashtag.

Gehlot said that 20 soldiers were killed and the prime minister should clarify the situation before the country.

There is no reply from the government. There is resentment against China in India. If not today, tomorrow the prime minister will have to tell the truth. Hiding will not work. What does the government want to hide? he questioned.

He said it is the result of the work of governments after the 1962 India-China war that India today is not less than a super-power.

Gehlot alleged that attempts were being made to create controversies for the Congress party through social media.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- In a sweeping decision with worrying implications for all immigrants, the Supreme Court has held that asylum-seekers rejected by immigration officials under an expedited system do not have the right to go to court to challenge their exclusion from the U.S.

The majority opinion, by stalwart conservative Justice Samuel Alito, relied on originalist historical analysis to whittle down the meaning of habeas corpus to its most minimal protections. Along the way, Alito minimized and arguably misrepresented the most famous antislavery judicial decision of all time: Somerset v. Stewart, a 1772 case in which the greatest English common law judge of the era held that an enslaved Jamaican could not be forced to return to the West Indies but must be allowed to live freely in England.

The specific law at issue in todays case, Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam, is a provision of the wordily named Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility act, known as IIRIRA. The law says that when a person enters the U.S., is detained at or near the border and seeks asylum, an immigration officer can interview the person and make a decision about whether the asylum-seeker has a credible fear of persecution that would qualify for asylum.

If the answer is yes, the asylum-seeker gets a full hearing. If the answer is no, then the seekers case is reviewed by a supervisor and, if the asylum-seeker asks for it, by an immigration judge. This process is known as expedited review  and under the federal law, there is no way for the asylum-seeker to go to a regular federal court and seek review of the decision.

Vijayakumar Thuraisiggiam is a Sri Lankan who entered the U.S. on the southern border and was denied asylum by expedited review. His lawyers argued that denying him the chance to go before a federal court amounted to a denial of the right to habeas corpus  the ancient right not to be detained without your detention being reviewed by a judge. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed, holding that the IIRIRA rule on expedited review amounted to an unlawful suspension of asylum-seekers habeas corpus rights.

Story continues

In deciding the case the other way, Alito focused on the historical meaning of the habeas right. In essence, he argued that habeas corpus only guarantees a right not to be detained without a judicial hearing. It does not, according to Alito, include a right to argue to a court that you should be allowed to remain in the United States.

For good measure, Alito also held that for noncitizens seeking initial entry into the country, constitutional due process does not require a judicial hearing; immigration officers judgments are enough.

It must be said that the originalist approach to determining what habeas corpus should mean is profoundly unsatisfying  as is much constitutional originalism. Habeas corpus today has evolved significantly since 1787, when the framers put it in the Constitution. Among other things, habeas developed over the 19th century to guarantee judicial supervision of a range of administrative actions in the context of immigration. Alito effectively dismissed or explained away those developments.

Even under the originalist frame, however, Alitos opinion got it wrong. Somersets case is the famous and dramatic example. James Somerset had traveled to England with his enslaver, escaped, and been recaptured. The enslaver detained him on a ship bound for Jamaica and re-enslavement.

Lord Mansfield, the judge who over his career did more than anyone else to update the common law for modern economic conditions, granted Somersets habeas petition. The thrust of his holding was that slavery was against natural law, and so could only be sustained where there were written laws in place to promote it, like Jamaica or the North American colonies. Because Somerset was in England and there was no law establishing slavery there, he had to be released. The case sent shivers down the spines of slaveholders everywhere, and was used by enslaved people and abolitionists as a sword to fight for emancipation. Dred Scott, another enslaved person, used Somersets case as his lead precedent in his own ultimately unsuccessful effort to demand freedom in the United States.

As Justice Sonia Sotomayor pointed out in her dissent, the habeas order in Somersets case effectively allowed him to remain in England. That illustrated the broad reach of habeas in the founding era.

Alito responded that although Somersets ability to remain in England may have been a collateral consequence of his relief from the ship, it was not due to the habeas order.

Its a shame to see the Supreme Court in the Year of Our Lord 2020 minimizing the meaning of this most important antislavery case. Somersets case demonstrates that the English courts in 1772 were prepared to use habeas to ensure the righting of legal wrongs. The rights-denying spirit of Alito is terribly, tragically far from the rights-expanding spirit of Mansfield.

More serious still are the broader legal effects of todays decision. Due process of law should not be deemed inapplicable where only immigration officers, not federal courts, have heard applicants claims. And if asylum-seekers at the border dont have the right to habeas corpus, we run the risk of future decisions that deny that right to immigrants, documented as well as undocumented, who have lived in the United States.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and host of the podcast Deep Background. He is a professor of law at Harvard University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter. His books include The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President.

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

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2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Less than a week after the debate over vendor diversity was sparked on social media, Freshfarm promised changes. It apologized for its initial message listing black-owned businesses in the network, saying it missed the mark. In addition to more long-term objectives such as clarifying and sharing its vendor selection processes, Mogollon forged an agreement with the city to modify his coronavirus waiver to expand the market. As a result, he added four black-owned businesses to the Dupont Circle Farmers Market, including Puddin.
A Nebraska woman claims a county official from Kansas and his wife may have exposed her to COVID-19 at a hotel pool in Valentine.

The complaint arose from a chance encounter Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell and his wife, Leah, had with the woman and her family at a hotel pool in Valentine during the Howells weekend anniversary trip to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore and the Badlands.

The woman said Leah Howell sat in a chair next to her on the pool deck and after theyd talked for a while, told her that she and Jim Howell had attended a meeting last week where another attendee had later tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Howells confirmed the encounter, but said they had continued their trip only after Sedgwick County Health Director Adrienne Byrne told them there was no cause for alarm.

Adrienne said we do not have a need or reason to be quarantined or be tested even, for that matter, Jim Howell said. She said we should enjoy ourselves on our trip. So thats what were doing.

The Nebraska woman, who asked not to be named to protect the medical privacy of family members, is not buying that explanation.
At least a quarter of people who test positive for COVID-19 in the UK are being missed by contact tracers following up who they could have transmitted the virus on to.

Of the 5,949 people who tested positive for coronavirus between 4 and 10 June, 73% provided details of who they had been in close contact with, according to the latest NHS figures.

But of the 44,895 people who were identified as close contacts of these people - and potentially at risk of having caught COVID-19 - more than 40,900 (90%) were reached and asked to self-isolate.

The figures mean that at least a quarter of people who test positive for the virus are being missed because there is a disparity between the numbers of people testing positive and the numbers being referred to the contact tracers.

Yesterday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock explained the disparity was "largely because they are in-patients in hospital and therefore testing and tracing in the normal sense doesn't apply".

But the previous week Professor John Newton said there was "quite a lot of double counting in the number of cases reported", and Baroness Dido Harding has confirmed there are "errors in the data".

According to the data, the proportion of people who are missed by the contact tracing teams has remained largely unchanged from the week before.

In total, since 28 May when the track and trace system was rolled out, more than 14,000 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 have had their cases transferred to the tracing teams.

Of these, 72% have been reached and asked to provide the details of their recent close contacts, 90% of whom the tracers were able to contact and ask to self-isolate.

Matt Hancock had promised that a contact tracing app developed by the health service's innovation arm NHSX would be delivered by mid-May, allowing this manual process to be automated.

But development of the NHS app, which was being trialled on the Isle of Wight, has been fraught with delays and concerns about whether it works properly.

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Yesterday, Lord Bethell told a committee of MPs it may not be ready until the winter.

But, he told a committee of MPs, the app wasn't "the priority at the moment".

Lord Bethell confirmed the government still planned to introduce a contact-tracing app, describing it as "a really important option for the future".

The app has been the subject of a trial on the Isle of Wight, where the Department of Health says it has been downloaded by 54,000 people.

Lord Bethell said the trial had been a success, but admitted that one of its principal lessons had been that greater emphasis needed to be placed on manual contact tracing.

"It was a reminder that you can't take a totally technical answer to the problem," he said.
Iraqi security forces have raided the headquarters of an Iran-backed militia near Baghdad, seizing rockets and detaining more than a dozen pro-Iran fighters.



The militia group targeted was Kataib Hezbollah, also identified as Brigade 45 of the Hashed al-Shaabi military force, Iraqi government officials said on June 26. The countrys elite Counterterrorism Service (CTS) carried out raid, they said.



"Based on intelligence information, a Counterterrorism Service unit raided a base used by Brigade 45, seizing three rocket launchers and arresting 13 fighters," one of the officials said, according to AFP.



Iraq's new prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, has indicated that he will be tough on militia groups that target U.S. installations. The raid, which the reports said took place early on June 25, was the first carried out by Iraqi military forces against a group accused of targeting U.S. facilities.



Since October, nearly three dozen attacks have targeted U.S. interests in Iraq, including military bases, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and U.S. oil companies. The attacks have killed Iraqi, U.S., and British military personnel.



The United States has blamed Kataib Hezbollah for the attacks and has retaliated twice. It also has pressured Baghdad to take tougher action against the group.



There was no immediate comment from Iraqi militia groups or from Iran.



One of the three leaders detained in the raid was an Iranian, a government official told Reuters. The official said the three detained leaders were handed over to the U.S. military. But a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq said he "doubted" that Iraqi authorities had handed over the detainees.



In January, the United States killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a drone strike at Baghdad airport.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
iStock/Prentiss Findlay(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- Just as most of the nation began closing down due to COVID-19, college students looking forward to spring break disregarded national guidelines and went ahead with their planned trips. Some interviews with spring breakers triggered national outrage.

A new study out of Ball State and Vanderbilt studied the possibility of spring breakers spreading COVID-19 to their communities back in March, which could have intensified the pandemic. Gathering GPS data from over seven million smartphones belonging to college students, researchers tracked how the outbreak changed before a spring breaker left for vacation and after they returned.

Researchers added that the information they used did not pertain any sensitive information such as a person's name or any other identifying information.

The study looked into where spring breakers went on vacation and where they came back "home" -- before looking at the COVID-19 numbers after their return.

It was noted that in the weeks after spring break, more college students were diagnosed with COVID-19 -- with researchers looking into universities' scheduled break and when they cancelled classes.

Now, researchers believe that, since younger patients are more likely to be asymptomatic, the chances of them spreading the virus further, as they returned to college and were then sent home, are likely.

Dr. Glenn Fennelly, chair of the Rutgers Department of Pediatrics, said of the study, "Many may have minimal or no symptoms and are less likely to feel ill overall. Because of this, young people are less likely to stay at home, and are more likely to interact physically with groups of friends compared to older adults."

There was a link seen between students flying to high-risk areas like New York and Florida, with researchers saying that, four to five weeks after a student's arrival, there was a rise in COVID-19 deaths.

The true impact of spring break is still being studied.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (BAY.V)(ATBHF)(6AY.F) ("Aston Bay" or the "Company") is pleased to present proposed drill hole locations for its recently-resumed diamond drill program at its Buckingham Gold Property located in Central Virginia, USA (see June 10, 2020 Aston Bay press release). Phase 2 of the 2020 Drill Program is underway and is expected to comprise approximately 800 metres (m) of additional oriented core drilling. The planned Phase 2 drill holes are presented in Figure 1 in relation to recently updated gold-in-soil geochemical data. The current data now includes the results from two orientation lines, comprising 29 soil sample sites, that were completed over the central portion of the Buckingham Main Zone and highlight the highly anomalous gold values in the zone.

Highlights

Approximately 800 m of drilling in up to eight diamond drill holes planned in Phase 2.

Drilling is underway with one hole complete.

Planned drilling will extend the zone of drilling by 100 m to the southeast and 100 m to the west.

Additional soil samples highlight the highly anomalous nature of the Buckingham Main Zone with gold-in-soil values of up to 10.3 g/t Au.

Assay results from the ten-hole 1,218m Phase 1 - 2020 drill program are expected in the coming weeks.

The locations of the eight proposed drill holes comprising the Phase 2 - 2020 Drill Program are presented in Figure 1 along with recently updated gold-in-soil geochemical data. Four of the proposed holes (A, B, C and D) are designed to test both the extension of the gold-bearing quartz vein 100 m to the southeast and highly anomalous soil samples. Two holes (B2 and C2) may be drilled to test the down-dip extension of the quartz vein. Proposed drill hole E will be drilled to test an extension to the main gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly at the zone for possible extensions to previously drilled zones of gold-bearing sericite-quartz-sulfide alteration zones that parallel the general north-south regional geological trend. Proposed drill hole F is designed to reduce drill hole spacing in the central portion of the structure and to confirm results from the previous operator (2016 drilling).

Story continues

Figure 1. Drill hole locations and gold-in-soil results, Main Zone, Buckingham Gold Property, Virginia. The area of additional soil samples from orientation survey outlined by dashed line. Local grid.

The Phase 2 - 2020 Drill Program is underway with one hole (drill hole A) completed to a depth of 113 m and proposed drill hole B now being advanced. The proposed drill plan is subject to change and not all holes may be drilled.

The updated soil geochemical data illustrated in Figure 1 now includes a total of 29 additional samples located in two orientation lines that were completed over the central portion of the Buckingham Main Zone to investigate the effect of sample depth on gold content, as well as other key elements. Multiple samples were collected at each site from depths ranging from 6" (~15cm) to 30" (~80cm) and the result of these depth profile' samples showed no significant variance in the gold content within the top 30" of the saprolitic soils but did show that base metal concentrations tend to increase with depth, as expected. A sample depth of 6-12" (~15-30cm) was ultimately selected for the Buckingham soil sampling program completed earlier this year (see April 30, 2020 Aston Bay press release).

The east-west line orientation soil samples were collected across the central portion of the NW-SE trending Buckingham Main Zone, which comprises a series of visible gold-bearing quartz vein outcrops that extend over a strike length of some 150 m that have yielded grab sample assay values up to 701 grams per tonne (g/t) Au. Due to concerns regarding the potential loss (or downward dispersion) of fine gold within the saprolitic soil profile, the Company's soil sample analytical procedure was modified to include the crushing, homogenization and subsequent testing of the entire sample (coarse and fine fractions), which has the benefit of insuring that any coarse quartz vein material within a given sample will contribute to the overall geochemical signature of that sample. As a result, the newly added orientation sample data includes numerous highly anomalous (90th percentile) gold-in-soil values up to 10.35 g/t Au. These samples have helped to better define the extent of the Buckingham Main Zone and have been used to guide the completed Phase 1 and the recently initiated Phase 2 - 2020 Drill Programs.

A total of 1,218m were drilled in the ten diamond drill holes comprising the Phase 1 - 2020 Drill Program at the Buckingham Main Zone in March 2020 prior to the suspension of work due to Covid-19 concerns (see March 24, 2020 Aston Bay press release). All core samples from the initial (March 2020) Phase 1 drilling have been shipped to the laboratory for analysis by standard fire assay techniques, which will include metallic screen assaying of selected intervals with visible alteration and mineralization (including visible gold). Results are anticipated in the coming weeks. Logging of the core confirmed that the Phase 1 - 2020 drilling has intersected veining and alteration similar to that encountered in the 2019 drilling of the zone, which included core-length intercepts of up to 35.6 g/t Au over 2.03 m and 24.7 g/t Au over 3.57 m in gold-bearing quartz veins, as well as 2.2 g/t Au over 18.1 m and 1.9 g/t Au over 22.2 m in adjacent but separate sericite-quartz-pyrite alteration zones (see June 5, 2019 Aston Bay release).

The soil sampling program was completed by Aston Bay personnel and comprised the collection of approximately 0.5 kilograms of material from the top 30 centimetres of the soil profile. The samples were submitted for analysis at ALS Laboratories in Sparks, NV, where they were analysed by the AuME-TL44 technique, which is intended for regolith settings. The analytical technique includes gold plus 50 other elements using an Aqua Regia extraction from a 50 gram aliquot of dried, crushed and homogenized sample followed by an ICP-MS finish.

QUALIFIED PERSON

As per National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Andrew Turner, P.Geol., a consultant to Aston Bay, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has prepared, validated and approved the technical and scientific content of this news release. The Company strictly adheres to CIM Best Practices Guidelines in conducting, documenting, and reporting its exploration activities.

About Aston Bay Holdings

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 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 closing and the use of proceeds of the private placement, 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.

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/595299/Aston-Bay-Holdings-Presents-Proposed-Drill-Holes-and-Additional-Soil-Sample-Results-for-Its-Buckingham-Gold-Project-Virginia-USA




Ever since people witnessed their camaraderie in Bigg Boss 13, Mahira Sharma and Paras Chhabra have become one of the most-loved pairs on the small screen. Their sizzling chemistry in Baarish, their first music video post Bigg Boss, also garnered much love and appreciation.

Paras and Mahira are also said to be dating each other, considering the two have been inseparable since their stint on Bigg Boss 13. In an interview, Paras had told Times of India that he didn't want to go the usual route of proposing to Mahira and wanted things to happen "organically."

But it seems there is genuinely nothing more than friendship between the two. Paras shared some stunning pictures with Mahira on his Instagram, calling her his "true friend." In the photos, the duo is seen posing for the camera from a dim-lit room. While Mahira looks dead drop gorgeous in a purple dress, Paras looks uber cool in his casuals and printed shirt.

Sharing the pictures, Paras wrote, "Just wanted to say thank you for coming into my life and being my true friend."

Mahira dropped a 'black heart' emoji on the picture.
Residents of Wuhan have started to use wacky head coverings known as 'facekinis' to protect them against COVID-19 while swimming.

Footage shows a group of swimmers wearing the protective gear, which covers all of their head apart from a cut around the eyes to allow them to see.

As if the headwear itself was not bizarre enough, some tourists picked the ones that featured images of animal faces as they enjoyed their day out at a water park.

Dozens of swimmers have dubbed the infamous Chinese fashion statement 'facekinis' to protect themselves from the coronavirus at a water park in Wuhan of central China

Footage from Thursday shows a group of tourists donning the bizarre coverings featuring animal faces, leaving slits for just the eyes, nose and mouth at the facility

The swimmers were spotted on Thursday at Wuhan's Maya Beach Water Park, which is the first of its kind to reopen in the city following the coronavirus outbreak.

Hundreds of swimmers rushed to the 40-acre outdoor amusement site on the day as the summer heatwave hits the Chinese central city, reported the local media.

Some of them are seen donning the unconventional gear over fears of catching the disease while enjoying themselves at the water park.

One visitor, Mr He, told Pear Video: 'Wuhan has just lifted the lockdown not that long ago. [I'm] still worried that there are some cases.

'At the park, you would be very close to people, so I'm wearing this head-covering to protect [myself] from contaminated saliva circulating in the air,' the tourist added.

The eccentric head covering was first invented in Chinese eastern port city Qingdao in 2004 to help prevent female swimmers from getting tanned in the sun.

The functional fashion item 'facekini' was first invented in Chinese eastern port city Qingdao in 2004, to help Chinese women protect their delicate porcelain skin from the sun's rays. The file picture taken on August 29, 2019 shows women cladding in facekinis in Qingdao, Shandong

The full-face covering also helps protect people from jellyfish stings and algae, leading to its immense popularity among Chinese swimmers. The file picture taken on August 29, 2019 shows women wearing facekinis in Qingdao, Shandong province of eastern China

Developed by former accountant Zhang Shifan, the facekinis have proven so popular it can sell more than 30,000 pieces every year, according to reports. The file picture taken on June 3, 2015, shows two women wearing the facekinis as they lie on a beach in Qingdao, Shandong

It is said the full-face covering also helps protect people from jellyfish stings and algae, leading to its popularity among swimmers.

Developed by former accountant Zhang Shifan, the facekinis have proven so popular it can sell more than 30,000 pieces every year, according to reports.

And the perceived fashion piece has even begun moving outside China's borders, with the item appearing in photoshoots alongside swimsuits from Gucci and Armani.

The Maya Beach Water Park has put a cap  30 per cent of its maximum capacity - on the number of daily visitors, according to Chinese media.

The site also requires tourists to have their body temperatures taken and show their health codes to prove they are virus-free before entering.

The Maya Beach Water Park has put a cap  30 per cent of its maximum capacity - on the number of daily visitors. Pictures above show tourists rush to the 40-acre outdoor amusement site yesterday as the summer heatwave hits the Chinese central city in Hubei province

The Maya Beach Water Park has put a cap  30 per cent of its maximum capacity - on the number of visitors. The file picture released by the park shows people playing in the water

The park's reopening comes as China appears to have largely contained the coronavirus outbreak despite a new infection cluster broke out in the capital city about two weeks ago.

The fresh COVID-19 outbreak linked to a sprawling seafood market in Beijing has infected 280 people after reporting 11 new cases today.

Nationwide, the country has recorded a total of 85,148 confirmed infections, of which 493 are active. The death toll remains at 4,634.
On Friday, the Lehigh Valley woke up in the green phase of reopening, along with Philadelphia, Scranton and Erie.

By next Friday, the status will apply to all 67 Pennsylvania counties. So what comes after the green phase in Pa.?

Its an important question. As the states most populous areas entered a less-restrictive phase of reopening on Friday, Pennsylvania coronavirus cases increased by 600, the largest single-day rise in two weeks.

Pennsylvania now totals 84,370 cases of COVID-19 with 6,579 deaths since the virus first appeared here March 6.

(Cant see the map? Click here.)

Here are your Pennsylvania coronavirus updates for June 26, 2020.

Pa. green phase counties

Twelve counties were added to the green phase as of 12:01 a.m. Friday. They were Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Susquehanna.

Philadelphia will retain some local restrictions through July 3. But Fridays transitions mean that 66 of 67 counties are in the green phase.

Twelve more counties entered the green phase of Pennsylvania's coronavirus reopening on June 26, 2020, including the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia suburbs. Philadelphia itself has additional local restrictions until July 3. Lebanon County is the only one that remains in the yellow phase.lehighvalleylive.com staff

Only Lebanon County remains in the yellow phase. County leaders there decided to reopen in May, ahead of the states recommendations and subsequently saw cases trend upward.

However, on Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that Lebanon County will indeed join the green phase counties on July 3, completing the statewide transition.

We will soon have all of our counties in green, Wolf said in a news release. A milestone worth a cautious celebration of the hard work and collaborative spirit of Pennsylvanians. But we must remember that the restrictions that remain in the green phase will help us continue to enjoy the freedoms this phase allows for.

While in the green phase, masks are still required in all businesses. Working remotely is encouraged. Businesses can reopen and restaurants and bars can offer indoor service but are subject to capacity limits and other guidelines. Crowds of more than 250 people are prohibited.

(MORE: What the green phase means, and why its not a full reopening)

What comes after the green phase?

The green phase is not a full reopening, so something has to come next. What form that will take is still being determined. Wolf has previously said that it will likely be a new normal that accounts for the persistent presence of the coronavirus.

One specific measure being considered, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, is lifting some of the patron limits on businesses. But exactly what data and thresholds the Wolf administration will use to determine when such restrictions can lift are yet to be determined.

Spokespeople for both the governors office and health department told lehighvalleylive.com that they are monitoring situations in other states, as well, as they form plans. U.S. coronavirus cases have surged to record daily numbers as some states reopen.

Pennsylvania has been a model for the country on how to reopen effectively using a careful, measured approach, health department spokesman Nate Wardle told lehighvalleylive.com. However, the virus has not gone away. Each of us has a responsibility to continue to protect ourselves, our loved ones and others by wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing and washing our hands frequently.

Coronavirus in Pa.

With 600 new coronavirus cases reported Friday, Pennsylvanias case total has now surpassed 84,000. Twenty-two more deaths also were reported, bringing the states COVID-19 death toll to 6,579.

The rate of new cases has been rising over the last week. The health department has said it is due, at least in part, to increases in testing both in nursing homes and of patients who previously showed no symptoms.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

In Pennsylvania, the majority of hospitalizations and deaths have been in residents 65 and older, according to state data. Residents of long-term care facilities account for 17,527 cases of COVID-19, about 21% of the states total, and 4,518 deaths, 68% of Pennsylvanias death toll.

The health department estimates 78% of Pennsylvanians have so far recovered from the coronavirus. To date, 634,711 tests have come back negative.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

Coronavirus in the Lehigh Valley

As of Friday, the Lehigh Valley has recorded 7,547 coronavirus cases and 551 deaths, with 31 cases and four deaths in the last day, according to state data. That breaks down to:

4,187 cases and 288 deaths in Lehigh County.

3,360 cases and 263 deaths in Northampton County.

The counties themselves have reported at least 560 deaths, with the average age over 80 years old.

(Cant see the map? Click here.)

Over the pandemics duration, the Lehigh Valley and surrounding counties have seen some of Pennsylvanias highest densities of coronavirus cases.

Lehigh and Northampton counties are two of five to date that have seen more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 residents. The others  Philadelphia, Delaware and Berks  are all in this corner of the state, and another, Montgomery, is just below that threshold.

(Cant see the table? Click here.)

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.
God Cannot Be Contained

Another part of the allure of idolatry was the ability to see the gods. A person could bow down to a physical statue or carry a physical talisman. But the Lord refused to be reduced in such a way. The Lord is the King eternal, immortal, invisible (1 Timothy 1:17). When Aaron built the golden calves for the Israelites to worship as God in the desert while Moses was busy communing with God on Mt. Sinai, Moses and God were so incensed that Moses ground up the calves and forced the Israelites to drink the powder (Exodus 32:20). The Lord then ordered three thousand put to death (Exodus 30:28). It is foolish to believe that the God of all the universe could be contained by any earthly object.

By the time of Jesus and the early Christians, the Israelites (now called the Jews) no longer struggled much with worshipping physical idols. After their rampant immorality and idolatry led to the fall of Israel and Judah and years of foreign captivity, Judaism became solidified and the Law more strictly enforced. However, idolatry is still discussed in the New Testament. Without graven images, how is this possible? Well explore that below.

Is This Verse and Commandment Still Relevant Today?

Jesus said, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17).

The command against graven images, or idols, still holds true, though it may be applicable a little differently today.

When the New Testament speaks about idols, it isnt necessarily about statues or altars. Instead, idols are anything that a person puts before God in importance in their life.

Colossians 3:5 states, Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

An idol is anything we put our trust in that is not God. In Judges 10, the Israelites abandoned God and worshipped idols. Then, when trouble came, they finally cried out to God. But God said, Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble! (Judges 10:14). In this instance, they repented, aware that their idols could not help, and God delivered them. Like the literal idols in Judges, our idols are things we believe might save us  until they fail.

Photo credit: Unsplash/Wang Xi
By PTI

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that he had a very frank discussion with his Chinese counterpart Wang Jiechi about the "unprovoked aggression" by Beijing on a number of fronts.

During the meeting in Hawaii last week, Pompeo said he also pressed for "more transparency" from China on the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic for the good of the world. The meeting which was kept under wraps till the meeting day, took place amidst tensions between China and the US on a range of issues.

"I met with Yang Jiechi last week in Hawaii. We had a very frank discussion about the Chinese Communist Party's unprovoked aggression on a number of fronts and I pressed him for more transparency on COVID for the good of the world," Pompeo told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.

"We're concerned by Beijing's behaviour and we're not the only ones. And he and I talked about that. Our friends and partners are finding their voice and taking action to counter China's malign activities, particularly in Europe," he said.

ALSO READ| US shifting military to face Chinese threat to India, Southeast Asian nations: Mike Pompeo

President Donald Trump has announced a number of retaliatory measures against China last month, slamming China for imposing a controversial national security law on Hong Kong that undermines the autonomy of the former British territory.

The top US diplomat has led Trump administration officials in criticising Beijing for a lack of transparency and disinformation campaign on the coronavirus since it emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

American officials have indicated that Washington intends to punish Beijing over the spread of the pandemic that has hit America, making it the worst affected country with over one lakh deaths. Last week Pompeo criticised the Chinese Army for "escalating" the border tension with India and militarising the strategic South China Sea. He also described the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) as a "rogue actor".

In a scathing attack on the Chinese government, Pompeo said that the Communist Party of China wants to undo all the progress the free world has made through institutions like the NATO and adopt a new set of rules and norms that accommodate Beijing.

"The PLA (People's Liberation Army) has escalated border tensions with India, the world's most populous democracy. It's militarising the South China Sea and illegally claiming more territory there, threatening vital sea lanes," Pompeo said, a day after he expressed deep condolences to India on the death of 20 soldiers in violent clashes with the PLA troops at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh on June 15.

China's official Xinhua news agency reported last week that Yang and Pompeo agreed to take action to implement in earnest the consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries and maintain contact and communication.

The report said that Yang conducted in-depth exchanges with Pompeo on China-US relations as well as global and regional issues of mutual concern. "Both sides fully expounded their respective stances and deemed the dialogue to be constructive. They agreed to take action to implement in earnest the consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries and maintain contact and communication," the report added.

Yang is a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee.

China's government-controlled media has attacked Pompeo as "evil," "insane" and an "enemy of mankind" for accusing Beijing for trying to mislead the world about the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Supporting her emotionally throughout was Mr. Kay. When my mom passed, Tani helped us through everything, said Noa Markovitz, 19, who lives in Israel and is preparing to enter the Army there. It was hard on everybody, but he was there for her every second. By then, their roles within the relationship had been cemented. They complement each other so well, Noa said. Shanees the more dominant one. Tanis more the lovey, huggy one.

He is also romantic. When Ms. Markovitz and Mr. Kay decided, with their families, that they would announce their engagement at Zevi Kays bar mitzvah in Boca Raton on May 26, 2019, Mr. Kay wanted a private moment with Ms. Markovitz, too. The night before the bar mitzvah, he arranged a scavenger hunt around the local places that gave their romance liftoff. At the end, he was on one knee. I had rose petals and champagne and the whole thing, he said. She said yes.

The following night, at the end of the bar mitzvah, Mr. Kay told his brothers he wanted to give them something they didnt already have: a sister. When the party caught on that the couple was announcing their engagement, everyone was in tears, Ms. Markovitz said.

Before they could start planning what they hoped would be a May 2020 wedding for more than 400, they decided they needed a prenuptial agreement. In Jewish law, in order to dissolve a marriage, a document called a get is delivered by the husband to the wife. Both parties must participate in its delivery and acceptance.

Having whats known as a halachic prenup creates incentive, according to its supporters. The recalcitrant party can either cooperate with the divorce proceedings or pay financial support while theyre still legally married.

[Sign up for Love Letter and always get the latest in Modern Love, weddings, and relationships in the news by email.]
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Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Islamabad, Pakistan  Fri, June 26, 2020 11:15 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661d3341 2 World Pakistan,Prime-Minister,Imran-Khan,Al-Qaeda,Osama-bin-Laden Free

Pakistani opposition parties criticized Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday after he told parliament that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been "martyred" in 2011 by US forces.

Bin Laden, who masterminded the 9/11 attacks on the United States, was killed in a raid on his hideout in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad after eluding detection for nearly 10 years.

Pakistan was not aware of the operation, which involved US helicopters flying deep into the country from Afghanistan.

"I will never forget how we Pakistanis were embarrassed when the Americans came into Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden, martyred him," Khan said in his speech while recounting the lows of the relationship between Islamabad and Washington.

Opposition leader Khawaja Asif, the foreign minister in the last government, was among those who objected to the remark. He described bin Laden as the "ultimate terrorist".

"He destroyed my nation, and he [Khan] is calling him a martyr," Asif said in his reply on the floor of the house.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whose Pakistan Peoples Party was in power when bin Laden was killed, accused the prime minister of appeasing violent extremism.

The government's spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Khan's remarks and the opposition leaders' criticism.

Khan's speech came as the country's foreign office hit out at a US State Department report that accused Pakistan of continuing to be a safe haven for "regionally focused terrorist groups".

"While the report recognizes that al Qaeda has been seriously degraded in the region, it neglects to mention Pakistan's crucial role in decimating al Qaeda, thereby diminishing the threat that the terrorist group once posed to the world," a foreign office statement said on Thursday.
Open or not? The senders of phishing mails often pretend to be known service providers or colleagues. (Photo: Amadeus Bramsiepe, KIT)

Fake emails are used most frequently by cybercriminals to obtain access to confidential data by fraud or to introduce malware. Some companies try to test and supposedly enhance the resistance of their staff to such attacks with the help of phishing campaigns. In this case, the staff is deliberately sent a simulated phishing mail. The report published by scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Ruhr Universitat Bochum highlights phishing campaigns under the aspects of security, law, and the human factor.



Fake emails, the senders of which pretend to be known service providers, colleagues, or superiors appear to be credible. Their target is to make innocent addressees click a link in order to access accounts and passwords or to introduce malware. A single staff member trusting a phishing attack is sufficient to cause serious damage. To test how employees react to phishing mails, some companies and institutions use phishing campaigns of external service providers. With the knowledge of the management, fake phishing mails are sent to the staff members.

The campaigns are aimed at deliberately deceiving employees in order to protect them against real dangers and to create a problem awareness, but often it is not clear what is legally, technically, and ethically acceptable, the scientists say. These aspects are analyzed by Professors Melanie Volkamer, Head of the research group SECUSO  Security, Usability, and Society at KIT, and Franziska Boehm from KITs Center for Applied Legal Studies, in cooperation with M. Angela Sasse, Professor for Human-Centred Security at the Horst Gortz Institute for IT Security, Bochum. Their research report that is freely accessible online describes various forms and targets of phishing campaigns and associated aspects of IT and information security, employee and data protection, trust culture, and self-efficacy of employees. The report analyzes the validity and pitfalls of such campaigns and offers information for IT and information security officers among others.



Phishing campaigns are associated with a number of security problems and strongly influence the culture of trust and error handling at a company. In addition, several legal aspects have to be considered, Boehm says. Apart from her professorship at KIT, she also heads the Department for Intellectual Property Rights in Distributed Information Infrastructures (IGR) of FIZ Karlsruhe  Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure. Starting a campaign without informing the staff in advance is unfair and does not enhance trust in the management, says Sasse, who conducts research at the Cluster of Excellence of Cyber Security in the Age of Large-scale Adversaries, CASA for short. She graduated in labor psychology and computer science. When people are informed that they have been taken in by phishing mails, this adversely affects their self-efficacy: The staff members notice that they have no control of this situation and react with resignation. They do no longer try to detect phishing mails, the authors point out.

When the employees know, however, that the campaign has started, they may be curious and click a mail in the assumption that nothing can happen, because the mail is faked. Still, real phishing mails continue to circulate, which reduces the protection level, says Volkamer, who conducts research at the Competence Center for Applied Security Technology Karlsruhe (KASTEL), one of three competence centers for cyber security in Germany. The problem is aggravated, she says, when an employee notices that he or she has clicked a dangerous link and does not dare to report it. Prior to starting a phishing campaign, it is therefore important to establish an obligation to report IT security incidents at a company, the computer scientist emphasizes.



In case of an announced campaign, employees are expected to question far more mails and to be overcautious. This may increase the time and performance pressure, which also has a negative impact on trust in the management. Security mostly is felt to be annoying and troublesome anyway. In our opinion, the big problem of phishing campaigns is that the negative connotation of this matter is increased, because in the end, it is the management that attacks its staff, Sasse says. The authors recommend companies that wish to increase their IT security to invest the time and money in an improvement of technical security measures. Only then is it reasonable to train the staff as to the phishing mails that may reach them in spite of the latest security software and operation system and how these mails can be detected.



Original publication:

Melanie Volkamer (KIT, SECUSO, KASTEL), M. Angela Sasse (RUB, CASA), Franziska Boehm (KIT, FIZ): Phishing-Kampagne zur Mitarbeiter-Awareness. Analyse aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln: Security, Recht und Faktor Mensch (phishing campaigns for staff awareness. Analysis from various perspectives: Security, law, and the human factor).

https://publikationen.bibliothek.kit.edu/1000119662 (in German)

Being The Research University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,600 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 23,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Chinese threat to India and Southeast Asian nations is one of the reasons America is reducing its troop presence in Europe and deploying them to other places. Pompeo made the remarks in response to a question at the Brussels Forum that he had addressed virtually.

When asked why the US had reduced the number of troops in Germany, Pompeo said that if US troops were no longer there, it was because they were being moved to other places. He said the actions of the ruling Chinese Communist Party meant there were threats to India, threats to ...
Goa Class 12 Result 2020 Declared| Students who are unable to visit the official website can check their score on alternative websites as well as via SMS and on Android app

Goa Class 12 result 2020 | The class 12 or HSSC results announced the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE) today (Friday, 26 June) on the official website  gbshse.gov.in, reports said.

However, the official website has gone unresponsive. Students, however, need not worry as the result is available on alternative websites as well as via SMS and on Android app. Here some of the alternative websites to check your score:

How to check results via SMS:

Students who appeared for the Class 12 exams can check their results via SMS in addition to the official website.

Type <RESULTGOA12> followed by Class 12 roll number without space and send it to 56263.

Check result via App

Students can also download the GBSHSE Results 2020 app from the Google Play Store to check their score. The mobile app is developed by Pan India Internet Private Limited (PIIPL) in association with the Goa Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE).

How to check Class 12 results on official website

Step 1: Log on to the official website  gbshse.gov.in

Step 2: Click on the 'Goa Board HSSC Result' link

Step 3: The link will take you to a new page with link to various platforms whre you can checkthe Class 12 results option. Click on 'Goa Board Results' to access the official website.

Step 4:. The link should take you to the website gbshsegoa.net. The link will be active once the result is published.

Step 5: Fill in your details and print out the results for future reference

The Class 12 exam was conducted in March, however, two exams reportedly couldn't be held because of the coronavirus lockdown. Reports said that the remaining exams were conducted in the last week of May.

Goa Board chairman Ramakrishna Samant was quoted by PTI as saying, "The results would be declared in the coming week as the paper correction process is over."

Reports also said that Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant was "concerned" about the Class 10 and Class 12 students who would be appearing for the Goa board exams in 2021.

This is because "the academic year couldnt be started yet because of the pandemic and a fixed date to start the year hadnt been decided yet," India Today reported.
(2020-06-25) Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has awarded Kitron a contract for production of Integrated Communications, Navigation and Identification (ICNI) modules for the F-35 Lightning II program. Deliveries will secure a backlog into 2021 and have a total value of more than USD 18 million.



Production will take place at Kitron's plant in Norway.

The sub-contract relates to the Long-Term Supply Agreements announced on 21 September 2015 and 24 November 2016 and covers Lot 12 through Lot 14.

Northrop Grumman's ICNI system provides F-35 pilots with more than 27 fully-integrated operational functions. Using its industry-leading software-defined radio technology, Northrop Grumman's design allows the simultaneous operation of multiple critical functions while greatly reducing size, weight and power demands on the advanced F-35 fighter. These functions include Identification Friend or Foe (IFF), automatic acquisition of fly-to points, and various voice and data communications such as the multifunction advanced data link.

Norway is one of the international partner countries participating in the F-35 program. Under a manufacturing license agreement between Kitron and Northrop Grumman, Kitron will manufacture sub-assemblies for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) F-35 Lightning II is the world's most advanced military aircraft, combining advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, advanced mission systems, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and cutting-edge sustainment.



For further information, please contact:

Peter Nilsson, President and CEO, tel. +47 948 40 850

Hans Petter Thomassen, Managing Director Kitron Norway, tel: +47 913 92 360

E-mail: investorrelations@kitron.com

Kitron is a leading Scandinavian electronics manufacturing services company for the Defence/Aerospace, Energy/Telecoms, Industry, Medical devices and Offshore/Marine sectors. The company is located in Norway, Sweden, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, China and the United States. Kitron had revenues of about NOK 3.3 billion in 2019 and has about 1 700 employees. www.kitron.com



Story continues

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.








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Global Natural and Manufactured Sand Market is expected to reach US$ 198Bn by 2026 from US$ 84Bn in 2017 at CAGR of 11.3%.

Global Natural and Manufactured Sand Market

Global Natural and Manufactured Sand Market is segmented by product, application and region. Product are split into natural and manufacturing. Application are classified into residential, commercial, industrial and infrastructure. Region-wise divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America.

Natural sand has an ideal shape for use as the fine collective in concrete. The natural sand particles are well-rounded and are usually almost spherical. Spherical particles reduction the percentage of voids within the concrete mixture so no additional paste is required to fill these voids. Manufactured sand or manufactured fine aggregate (MFA) is produced by reducing bigger pieces of aggregate into sand-sized aggregate particles.

Request For Report sample @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/11368

Manufactured sands tend to be used in mixtures in areas where natural sand is unavailable or not cost-effective to be hauled to the needed location. The natural and manufactured sand is the main product used in mortar and cement concrete. That mixture is used for construction. Natural and Manufactured Sand Market covers all the products and application with the goal to improve the quality and productivity of the construction.

Based on the application, Infrastructure was the largest application segment of the Natural and Manufactured Sand Market in 2017. Rising disposable incomes of the world's middle-class population are also working in favour of the global natural and manufactured sand market due to the increased demand for offices, malls, residential complexes, and other infrastructural elements across the globe.

On the basis of product, manufacturing sand is widely used rather than natural sand. As of manufacturing sand can be produced in the area closer to construct sites, taking down the cost of transportation and providing an assurance of consistent supply. Manufacturing sand is more cost effective than the natural sand. Due to the increasing, the population of the word construction of the building are growing day by day so its need lots of material which is not easily available by nature so its required lots of manufactured sand.

In terms of region, Asia Pacific led the Natural and Manufactured Sand Market during the forecast period. The major drivers for the growth of Natural and Manufactured Sand Market in Asia Pacific region are growing in the application of infrastructure, and residential projects, urbanization and growth of the middle-class population in emerging economies. Moreover, government and regulatory bodies in this region are having high investment for infrastructure and commercial sector. North America is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 8.9% during the forecast period due to the growth in the residential and industrial application of natural and manufactured sand market.

The key players in the global natural and manufacturing sand market are Metso Corporation, CDE, Holcim, McLanahan, Hutcheson Sand & Mixes, Johnston North America, Duo PLC, DSMAC, Vulcan Materials Company, LafargeHolcim Group, CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V., ADELAIDE BRIGHTON LTD, CRH Plc, HeidelbergCement AG, and Opta Minerals, Inc.

The Scope of the global Natural and Manufactured Sand Market,

Global Natural and Manufactured Sand Market, By Product

 Natural

 Manufacturing

Global Natural and Manufactured Sand Market, By Application

 Residential

 Commercial

 Industrial

 Infrastructure

Global Natural and Manufactured Sand Market, By Region

 North America

 Europe

 Asia Pacific

 Middle East and Africa

 Latin America

Key Players Operating on the Global Natural and Manufactured Sand Market,

 Metso Corporation

 CDE

 Holcim

 McLanahanHutcheson Sand & Mixes

 Johnston North America

 Duo PLC

 DSMAC

 Vulcan Materials Company

 LafargeHolcim Group

 CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V.

 ADELAIDE BRIGHTON LTD

 CRH Plc

 HeidelbergCement AG

 Opta Minerals, Inc.

More Info of Impact Covid19 @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/11368
Mumbai, June 26 : Sushmita Sen has shared on Instagram a photo of a handwritten love letter that a fan sent to her.

"Sushmita Sen I love you," the note reads.

"The ultimate #loveletter. I am blessed to receive a lot of love and kindness over the years, from all my #fans. My favourite being the old fashioned way...hand written letters!!! I've read every letter ever send to me, it's usually been an outpouring of emotions, filling pages with the overwhelming power of love and belonging!!! Yet, this is the first time, I've received a letter that took a second to read but it's simplicity will resonate a lifetime!!! I LOVE YOU TOO!!! #sharing #love #simplicity #depth #awesomeness #duggadugga," the actress wrote on Instagram.

Sushmita recently made a comeback after five years in the web series "Aarya". The series, which marks her digital debut, saw her return to the screen five years after her last outing, the Bengali arthouse film, "Nirbaak".
CMA highlights positive sector prospects and continued sustainability drive

ICR Newsroom By 26 June 2020

Indias cement industry is providing self-sufficiency and is well-placed to cater to the existing and future demand of cement, according to Marendra Singhi, CMA president, in the opening session of Green Cementechs 2020 virtual conference on 24-26 June. He highlighted the considerable growth prospects of the countrys cement sector in view of the countrys need for infrastructure and housing programmes.



In terms of the sectors sustainability, Mr Singhi emphasised that the country operated modern cement plants with the latest technology, enabling cement production using 23 per cent less electricity and 12-15 per cent less thermal energy compared to the global average. Specific energy consumption achieved by Indian Cement Industry is comparable with the best in the world at 671 kcal/kg of clinker and 63.9 kWh/tonne of cement, said Mr Singhi. Moreover, he explained the need to apply the principles of the circular economy and the benefits it brings to the cement industry in terms of alternative fuels and raw materials and further reducing its carbon emission intensity by 45 per cent compared to the 2010 base level, leading to carbon emission savings of 367Mt of CO2 by 2050.



To support the industrys competitiveness, new technologies such as digitalisation/Industry 4.0 and the shift from a base-load approach to energy generation to flexible power plants, renewable energy sources and energy storage, are expected to play an increasingly-important part. All this shows that we are entering into an era of deflated energy prices in terms of electricity cost as we move into future. Now this is an interesting phenomenon in making as it has potential to change the whole ecosystem around us, predicts Mr Singhi. He anticipates the rise of revolutionary technologies, particularly a new renewable fuels category including hydrogen, ammonia, methanol and methane, as well the heat electrification of kilns driven by cheaper renewable electricity, and the emergence of new jobs and business potential.



If all entrepreneurs work towards finding solutions in this tough time, we will not only emerge winners but will also safeguard the society in many ways such as maintain safe supply chains, continuing productions, enabling more research and development, training of local people, continuing employment and social stability, health care and many more.

The new challenges extend the strategy further to maximising positive impacts of business on people, planet and profit. It is time for corporates to further recreate business models with the intent of raising the value bar to people and nature by enhancing and enabling business models. This would be a usual business sense, he concluded.







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To reduce unsold inventory and boost tourism infrastructure investment, the Construction Ministry has proposed that foreign investors are allowed to own hospitality property.

Towards this, current laws on real estate ownership should be changed to increase the foreign ownership cap in apartment buildings and allow foreigners to own hospitality properties like condotels and villas, it suggested.

The real estate market is facing difficulties including low demand and decreased foreign investment, while supply of hospitality real estate like resorts and condotels has been increasing with the approval of many projects, the ministry noted.

Vietnam currently allows foreigners to own up to 30 percent of an apartment project, but there is no regulation on ownership of hospitality properties.

Industry insiders say that the lack of such a legal framework is robbing the real estate market off the opportunity to attract foreign investment in condotels, of which there were 39,100 units last year.

With another 5,000 condotel and villa units being approved in the first quarter of this year, the hospitality property can present attractive options to an estimated 83,500 foreigners living in Vietnam.

Nguyen Hoang, director of research and development at real estate consultancy DKRA Vietnam, said that the lack of regulations has kept Vietnam behind Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. All three Southeast Asian peers have established regulations on foreign ownership of hospitality property.

"Vietnams hospitality real estate has great potential and allowing more groups of buyers to invest, such as foreigners and Vietnamese living abroad, will benefit the market and developers," Hoang said.

Nguyen Dinh Trung, deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA), said allowing foreigners to own hospitality real estate will motivate developers to improve the quality of their products to meet international standards.

Foreign investors with deep pockets are interested and willing to spend on luxury property products in Vietnam, which in turn will boost tourism and create more jobs for local residents, he said.

Misgivings persist

But other observers have raised concerns that easing regulations on foreign ownership could lead to foreigners taking control of Vietnams real estate, especially areas that are vital to national security.

A recent report by the Ministry of Defense said Chinese nationals and entities own more than 162,000 hectares of land in Vietnam via proxies, mostly in coastal areas, and operate hospitality, restaurant and tourism services on such land.

Typically, they set up companies in which a Vietnamese investor owns a majority stake, initially, and later increase their capital contribution to take over the business. This has been done in popular and important destinations like Da Nang City in the central region and Quang Ninh Province and Hai Phong City in the north.

Officials and lawmakers have expressed concern over foreigners using Vietnamese proxies to exploit legal loopholes and gain ownership and control over large areas of land.

A National Assembly delegate from Da Nang, Nguyen Quang Nga, said that the city, as one of the most popular tourism hotspots in the country, could become a hub for foreign criminals if foreign ownership regulations on property are relaxed.

However, those who support the proposal say there will be more benefits in the long run if the regulation is well constructed and implemented.

Economist Dinh The Hien said that a hospitality property is different from residential apartments because the former is merely an investment. Foreigners only buy hospitality property to give Vietnamese developers the right to manage it and make money from it, he said.

As this type of property can only be built with government permits and do not raise national security concerns, foreigners should be able to own it, he added.

"If foreigners money could help improve Vietnams tourism infrastructure and contribute to governments coffers, why should we prohibit that?"

Luong Hoai Nam, member of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), said that not allowing foreigners to own hospitality real estate is going against the principles of a market economy.

"A foreign buyer of a villa or condotel in Vietnam will bring their family and friends to the country each year. Opening the door to foreign ownership should have been done long ago."

He added that Vietnam could learn from Malaysia which only allows foreigners to buy properties valued at $100,000 or more to limit their dominance in the affordable segment.

Other experts have noted that foreign ownership could help reduce the rising number of unsold properties in the country, whose value reached VND223 trillion ($9.6 billion) last year, up 38 percent from 2018, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association.

Nam argued: "Even now, when there is no regulation, foreigners are already buying properties via proxies. Providing a clear and transparent legal framework is the best way to ensure national security."
They dont ever go out into the neighborhood because its so dangerous, he said. They asked their mom, can we just go down to the store  it couldnt have been more than a half a block away  can we just go down to the store to buy some candy? And thats what they did.
The Met Office has issued two yellow weather warnings for Northern Ireland as heavy rain and thunder is set to hit.

A status yellow warning for thunder is in place from 1pm on Friday until 10pm.

The regions affected are Fermanagh, Derry and Tyrone.

Meanwhile, a second status yellow warning for rain is in place from 9am on Saturday until 10pm.

The warning is in place for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Derry and Tyrone.

The Met Office said that heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop across the western side of Northern Ireland this afternoon, lasting into the evening.

Some places will miss the heavier downpours, but where they do occur 15-20 mm of rain could fall within an hour, with a few places seeing 30-40 mm over a few hours.

The Met Office said that the heavy rain and thunderstorms may cause flooding and damage to buildings. The forecaster also said there is a good chance driving conditions will be affected by spray, standing water and/or hail, leading to longer journey times and that some short term loss of power and other services is possible.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 11:26:51|Editor: huaxia

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SUVA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- A total of 162 Fijian soldiers that served with the Multinational Force and Observers mission in Sinai, Egypt will arrive in the island nation on Saturday and be quarantined in a quarantine facility in Nadi, Fiji's third largest city.

Fijian Military Forces Commander Viliame Naupoto said on Friday that this is in accordance with the COVID-19 containment protocol as part of the new normal.

These soldiers have been in the mission area for 16 months in what was supposed to be a 12 month deployment, he said, adding that the initial flights to repatriate and change these personnel were conducted in March.

The rotation did not take place and the soldiers deploying to replace those in the mission areas had to return to Fiji after a refuelling stop in the Maldives as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions imposed globally by national governments.

Naupoto said recently that local Egyptian staff working in the Multinational Force and Observers missions headquarters have tested positive for COVID-19 after routine tests were conducted in South Camp.

He added that this resulted in further delays to their repatriation in order for the Multinational Force and Observer missions and Fiji to prepare well for the return of the 162 personnel in accordance with COVID-19 containment protocols.

Naupoto said that like everyone else in Fiji and the world, the Fiji Military Forces is learning and adapting to the new normal to ensure its personnel are back home safe with their families, after an extended tour of duty overseas.

Fiji had a total of 18 COVID-19 patients since March 19 when its first COVID-19 case was confirmed, but the island nation is now free of COVID-19 as the last three COVID-19 patients fully recovered early this month.

Early this week, Fiji relaxed its COVID-19 restrictions, but has maintained the nationwide curfew since March 30. Enditem
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  The 48-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting two coworkers and critically wounding another at a central Illinois warehouse Friday died after apparently shooting himself, the citys police chief said.

Springfield police believe Michael L. Collins fatally shot himself Friday after shooting and killing two co-workers at the Bunn-O-Matic facility shortly after 11 a.m. Collins, of Springfield, also critically injured another woman, police said.

Collins, the two other men and the woman all arrived for work at about 7 a.m. Friday in the welding area of the facility, Springfield Police Chief Kenny Winslow told reporters Friday evening. They all worked in the same area, he said.

Winslow said the sheriff of nearby Morgan County called his office later Friday to say Collins body had been found in the suspects car. Two handguns were found in the car. No other suspects were being sought.

Winslow released Collins name earlier Friday but later said he would not repeat it. The names of the victims were not released, neither was the name of the female co-worker who was in critical condition at a hospital.

Words cant explain what occurred, Winslow said Friday evening. I know we all want answers. People want motives. I dont have that at this time. Its too early in the investigation.

The bodies of the two dead employees were found by officers searching the building. The female employee was found in the parking lot and taken to a hospital. Winslow said one of the men who died was in his 60s, one was in his 20s and the woman is in her 50s.

Were trying to verify if anything occurred today, or if there was any kind of activity that would cause something like this, he continued. We are digging into the background of the suspect. We are reaching out to acquaintances and family members of him.

Bunn-O-Matic manufactures dispensed beverage equipment, and is headquartered in Springfield, according to the companys website.

One employee described a chaotic scene when the crack of gunfire shattered an otherwise quiet workday. Charles Bantle estimated that about half of the warehouse employees werent working due to concerns about the coronavirus.

I was in the maintenance shop and just heard the gunshots and everybody started running, Bantle told The (Springfield) State Journal-Register. And Im in maintenance, so I figured somethings broken. So I started walking towards it, figured it was the air compressor blowing up or something, and I was going to have to go fix it. But then everyone was screaming and yelling, telling me to go the other way. So we all ran and took cover.

Nearly 175 workers were in several buildings at the site at the time of the shootings, Winslow said. About 100 employees hurried from the main building, and police gathered them together to determine if everyone had left the facility, he said.

Were still trying to see exactly when he left, Winslow said of the suspect.

Winslow said investigators are working with the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency to determine whether the guns in Collins car were obtained legally. Theyre also looking into how Collins was able to get a weapon into the Springfield facility.

I dont know what the protocols are at this time for entering the building, Winslow said. I dont know what safety mechanism they may or may not have in place.

___

Babwin reported from Chicago. Reporter Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan, contributed to this report.
HAVERFORD  Like all good nurses Madeline Bodalski knows to wear a face mask during a pandemic  even on her 95th birthday, which was certainly one to remember.

With car horns honking and flags waving, family, friends and parishioners from her church held a drive-by birthday party for Bodalski, who has lived in her Bon Air home for more than 50 years.

Born in North Philadelphia in 1925, Bodalski went to Bishop Hallahan High School in Philadelphia then joined the Nurse Cadet Corps at Philadelphia General Hospital during World War II, becoming a Registered Nurse.

When the war ended she married her sweetheart, Stanley, who had served for three years with the 69th Infinity Division, 271st Regiment, Company A, 1st Battalion. The couple moved to Havetown, where they raised seven children. Three more children died at birth. Her 10 children are Mary Ann, Elizabeth Ann, Gerry, Joe, Theresa, Francis, Jean, John, Sue and Ann. The couple wanted to raise their growing family in Havertown so that Stan could commute to St. Josephs University where he was a faculty member for nearly 40 years.

During this time she was the treasurer for the Hilltop Little League, which her husband founded. The couple enjoyed 61 years of marriage before Stan died in 2010.

After raising her children Bodalski went back to nursing part-time at Haverford Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and eventually became director of nursing.

Her daughter Sue said her mom loves to play bridge, celebrate her Irish heritage (Madeline Fay) and visits with her many great-grandchildren. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she has had to make due with FaceTime calls with the family and watching television.

She was very strict burt fair. she instilled the morales and values and faith we all have today, that we are grateful for, said her daughter Sue. Before COVID-19 stopped things,she would go to the 9 a.m. Mass at Scared Heart every Sunday.

Another sibling described her as a prankster when she ribbed a reporter. She still gets around on her own, through now with the help of a walker, and she was certainly an anchor to her community as this post on Facebook confirms.

You were always a very kind woman to us, said former neighbor Bernadette McCullum Madden. It always seemed like nothing was too much trouble for you to do; Girl Scouts, 9:15 Mass pick up, and many other things you did to help others. I hope you have a happy and blessed 95th birthday much respect from the McCallum family.

As the cars drove past honking and cheering, Bodalski, returned the love.

Its wonderful, she said taking her mask off for a few minutes to talk. Im overwhelmed.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 18:56:04|Editor: huaxia

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BELGRADE, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Serbian parliamentary elections will be repeated on July 1 in 234 polling stations, the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) said Friday in a news release.

The RIK made the decision at a session on Thursday evening, after finding logical and mathematical errors and formal irregularities in the parliamentary elections on June 21.

One reason behind the decision was that the RIK determined more ballots were submitted at polling stations than the number of people who came to vote, reported Serbian national broadcaster RTS.

The parliamentary elections on June 21, the first national elections in the European continent since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, was staged at 8,253 polling stations and monitored by 3,341 domestic and 111 foreign observers. It took place alongside local and provincial elections.

According to the RIK's preliminary results based on over 80 percent of counted votes, the coalition around the ruling Serbian Progressive Party won 61.18 percent of votes, while smaller ruling coalition partner the Socialist Party of Serbia collected another 10.43 percent, with an estimated turnout of around 50.5 percent. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 14:39:55|Editor: huaxia

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Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen attends the 36th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit via video conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on June 26, 2020. Hun Sen told ASEAN leaders on Friday that collective responses and solidarity are crucial to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Sovannara/Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen told the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Friday that collective responses and solidarity are crucial to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the 36th ASEAN summit via video conference, Hun Sen said the pandemic has brought about a number of challenges including public health safety, disruption on mobilization and global supply chain as well as severe social impacts and global economic downturn.

"In this context, the collective responses and solidarity based on multilateralism, especially under the United Nations framework, are indispensable," he said. "Truly, this is not the time for playing a blame game, discriminating, or disengaging the allies based on political agendas."

The prime minister said Cambodia fully supports the World Health Organization (WHO) as the leading and coordinating authority in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"While looking forward to the earliest success of vaccine development, Cambodia is calling on the vaccine to be a global common goods which can be accessed by all," Hun Sen said.

He said ASEAN is proud that its region has been relatively successful compared to other regions in the fight against COVID-19.

As a future direction, ASEAN must be strategically well prepared for post-COVID-19 period, he said.

"To achieve this goal, ASEAN should come up with a clear and prudent recovery plan that lays out various scenarios for gradual reopening of cross-border travels within the region, intra-regional trade, and the revival of sectors that are most affected by the crisis," Hun Sen said.

He also emphasized the importance of digital connectivity and digital economy, saying that digitalization has played an important role in offsetting productivity losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In this sector, we can see huge potential of markets and workforce that has not yet been fully utilized," he said.

"Moreover, the disruption caused by the pandemic has made us aware of greater need for ASEAN to foster digital infrastructure development as well as support for digital economic integration in the region at the time that ASEAN is putting efforts on restoring the economy in the context of the crisis," he added.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Vietnam is currently the chair of ASEAN.
Texas was quick to begin reopening its economybowlers pick up clean balls at Westgate Lanes in Austin, Texas in May 2020but the state has now halted steps to reopen its economy after a sharp rise in coronavirus cases

The United States on Thursday battled a resurgence of coronavirus cases in a number of states including Texas, while the World Health Organization warned that several European countries were also facing dangerous upticks.

The pandemicwhich has claimed more than 480,000 lives around the worldcontinued to pummel Latin America. Brazil, the hardest-hit country in the region, had close to 55,000 deaths and 1.2 million infections, while Mexico on Thursday surpassed 25,000 fatalities.

In the United States, after hitting a two-month plateau, the rate of new cases is now soaring in the south and west, with the confirmed infection rate nearing levels last seen in April.

Texas was among the most aggressive states in reopening in early June.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott had been confident that Texas had escaped the worst of the US outbreak.

The United States recorded 37,667 cases and 692 deaths in 24 hours, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, with nearly 122,000 lives lost overallby far the highest toll in the world.

Abbott was forced Thursday to halt the state's phased reopening and moved to free up hospital beds.

"The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses," said Abbott, an ally of President Donald Trump, who has faced stark criticism for his handling of the crisis.

COVID-19 cases accelerate in the southern and western United States

"This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread."

Twenty-nine states are now facing a rebound in cases.

Experts blame a patchwork of responses at the official level, the politicization of face masks and physical distancing, and the widespread onset of "quarantine fatigue" among restless Americans.

US health officials now believe based on antibody surveys that some 24 million people may have already been infected10 times higher than the officially recorded figure of around 2.4 million.

They say the demographics of the outbreak are changing as younger people engage in more risky behavior out of a desire to return to their pre-pandemic "normal."

Pushed 'to the brink'

In search of that sense of normality, a few dozen tourists braved scorching heat in Paris to climb the Eiffel Tower's iron stairs as it reopened to touristswithout the lifts, deemed too small for social distancing.

A few dozen tourists braved scorching heat in Paris to climb the Eiffel Tower's iron stairs as the lifts were deemed too small for social distancing

"I'm tearing up, but they're tears of joy," said Therese, 60, from the southwestern city of Perpignan.

Norway, which has some of the most severe travel restrictions still in force, said Thursday it would aim to relax the measures with Schengen and EU nations by mid-July.

And in Britain, some took the new relaxed regime too far, with thousands crowding the beach in the English coastal town of Bournemouth to soak up the sun.

The local council declared a major incident and said the beachgoers' behavior had been "just shocking."

The joyous reopening of tourist sites and beaches was nevertheless tempered by a new warning from the World Health Organization that Europe is not yet in the clear.

WHO regional director Hans Kluge warned that in 11 nations, "accelerated transmission has led to very significant resurgence that if left unchecked will push health systems to the brink once again in Europe."

Beachgoers enjoy the sunshine in Bournemouth, southern Englandbut the crowded shore raised alarm bells for local officials worried about an uptick in virus cases

Parts of Lisbon reinstated lockdown measures, following in the path of two western German districts.

However, Europe's current caseload compares favorably with that of the Americas, with the US and Brazil continuing to lead the world in confirmed cases and deaths.

Delicate balance

Governments are still struggling to balance the public health needs of fighting a virus that has infected at least 9.5 million people with the devastating global economic impact.

There was more grim news for the world's airlines, with Australia's Qantas announcing it was cutting 6,000 staff and Germany's Lufthansa moving closer to a $10 billion state rescue when the plan was approved by the European Union.

The International Monetary Fund is the latest to quantify the economic harmpredicting that global GDP will plunge by 4.9 percent this year and wipe out $12 trillion over two years.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced Qantas to cancel nearly all its international flights until at least October and cut 6,000 staff

And the problems suffered by Qantas and Lufthansa reveal the pain felt in the airline industryand more broadly, the tourism sector.

Governments have been desperately trying to keep firms from laying off staffSpain on Thursday extended its state-funded furlough scheme until the end of September, three months longer than it had planned.

The EU gave a boost to the prospects of antiviral remdesivir on Thursday by recommending it for usethe first treatment to be given the green light in Europe.

World toll of coronavirus infections and deaths, as of June 25, 2020 at 1900 GMT

But until a vaccine or treatment is found, experts have warned that restrictions on economic activityand spiraling death tollscould remain the norm.

Iran's death toll surpassed 10,000 on Thursday, with health officials recording more than 100 fatalities for the seventh consecutive day.

China, where the disease was first detected late last year, meanwhile declared that it had controlled an outbreak in Beijing that had briefly raised fears of a second wave and prompted restrictions and several million tests.

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

 2020 AFP
Prosecutor Peter Villarreal said Friday that Hill stole the car used to drive the two others to the hotel, and that his bag and two guns were used during the incident. When Hill brought Catlett and Mayes to the hotel he became involved in the incident, Villarreal said.
At one point during dinner - I'm pretty sure I was well into my second drink - my wife, Carrie, and I started to relax into the meal and into our conversation, oblivious for a few sacred moments about the risks involved with eating inside a restaurant again. We were occupying an elevated two-top at the bar at Nostos, a tranquil space in Vienna, Va., with whitewashed walls that make you think of Santorini travel posters, the Aegean Sea and how you won't be visiting Greece anytime soon.

But because it's summer, we were discussing how we want to spend our vacation during a pandemic. Maybe rent a small camper, shove the dogs inside and find a remote spot in the mountains or near the water, where the cell coverage is nonexistent but the scenery breathtaking? Some locale, we agreed, where we could decompress together and take a long walk together, to remind ourselves that the state of our union needs maintenance and improvements, too, to live up to the promises we made to each other all those years ago. In the middle of our discussion, Carrie stopped and looked at me with eyes so full of affection that I almost turned away, as if I were staring into a brilliant sun.

"If I have to spend a pandemic cooped up with someone, I'm glad it's you," Carrie said. She smiled. I smiled. We laughed. We reached out to hold hands across the table.

This, I was reminded, is what restaurants can do. They can strip away the distractions. They can telescope your attention to the people and matters of the heart that get ignored in the crush of everyday events. They can create intimate spaces - with music, with decor, with color, with plateware, with professionals attending to your wants - so that friends and loved ones can reconnect over a meal. Or celebrate. Or just unwind in a way that's impossible at home, where you're responsible for every element of dinner, from prep to clean up, not to mention the monitoring of any young ones who occupy the same space.

I didn't really expect to lose touch with my inhibitions when stepping into a dining room for the first time since March, when they were closed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. I mean, my dread was reinforced the minute I entered Nostos. The host, outfitted in a breezy print jumpsuit, sported a mask over her face, looking like someone who moves between the runway and the operating room. Diners were afforded space - six glorious feet of space, or more, between tables - in an industry that strives to monetize every square inch within a restaurant's walls, often to the discomfort of diners. The menus were paper and disposable. The waiter spoke through his own mask, reassuring us that we didn't have to do the same, as if our safety were more important than his.

Before my visit to Nostos, I actually felt afraid to eat inside a restaurant. I had desperately wanted to eat inside a restaurant - to dig into food that I could never prepare myself, to revel in the company of friends around a table, to see the inside of some place besides my own stupid house - but so many stories, studies and statistics were rattling around my head, all but screaming that now is not the time. There was the study about diners at a Guangzhou, China, restaurant who came down with covid-19; scientists suspect air conditioning played a role, though they have affixed numerous caveats to that claim, including poor ventilation. And what's one to do with the ongoing politicization over masks? Despite clear evidence of its effectiveness, wearing a mask, to many, has become another sign of government overreach or, perhaps more to the point for a certain species of American male, a form of emasculation.

Then there are rolling tallies of deaths and cases. The stories of infection spikes as states reopen their economies and relax restrictions. And, of course, the basic fact that we have no vaccine. This feels like a no-win scenario for restaurants. You close dining rooms, you hurt people economically, especially those not suited for takeout and delivery. You open dining rooms, you risk hurting people physically. I feel for the restaurant workers and owners who need the revenue to survive. I fear for the restaurant workers and owners who need the revenue to survive.

If you talk to restaurateurs, general managers or chefs for any length of time, you're sure to hear one phrase eventually: "We're operating in uncharted territory here." They're talking about operating a business when government guidance can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, when some guidance is mandatory while others are merely recommendations, best practices or even "considerations." Owners are given plenty of latitude to create a safe space for dining, which fills them and their customers with angst.

"Everybody wants to do what's right," Marjorie Meek-Bradley, the chef at St. Anselm, told me recently. "They just don't always know what's the right thing to do."

The host with the handheld reservation pad will tell you exactly what's expected of you before you even enter St. Anselm, the grill-centric establishment in Washington. You must wear a mask inside and keep it on until after you order, and then you can remove it to enjoy your drinks and dinner. The house rules conform nicely to the D.C. government's guidance, and I was genuinely grateful for this lecture. Maybe after the 100th recitation, I'll be as tired of it as the tableside small-plate tutorial back in the day - "the chef recommends that you order two to three plates per person, and a fourth one for the gods to thank them for the chef's awesome talent" - but right now, it feels like the kind of PSA we all need.

Our waiter adopted a cautious approach with us at St. Anselm compared to the more cavalier server at Nostos. (I later learned that Virginia allows customers to remove masks as soon as they sit at their table, which strikes me a convenience for diners that puts servers unnecessarily in harm's way.) The waiter at St. Anselm, wearing mask and gloves, took our order from a safe distance. He also didn't make as many return visits to check on our table, a fundamental shift in front-of-the-house hospitality that diners will have to learn to accept if they venture back into restaurants. When the virus's main transmission route is person-to-person contact, you may have to wait a few minutes longer for that second round of drinks in the name of public safety.

Last month, when my wife and I dined on the patio at Lauriol Plaza - well, actually, the parking lot out back, which had been transformed into a patio - I was reminded of the role diners play in this new era. When our masked server approached our two-top, she asked for our order. Our entire order, I soon realized, drinks, appetizers, entrees, everything. The look on her face when she realized we had decided only on drinks said it all: Don't you realize that every touch of a table, repeated many times throughout an evening, just increases my risks? I can't emphasize this enough: Be a good human and order everything at once.

Recently on the "The Dave Chang Show" podcast, former Noma chef Dan Giusti talked about how there are more important things to advocate for than saving restaurants. Giusti has a point. Our food system has serious problems that require public attention and dollars.

Yet this is not a zero-sum game. We can advocate for restaurants and a better food system. We are social animals, and we need places to gather. Bars and restaurants have been those places. Have we fetishized them in recent years? Yeah, sure. Perhaps we've supported only those with the right ethos, the right sourcing, the right farm-to-table philosophy? Perhaps we've followed the chefs and restaurants with the most cutting-edge techniques, the most stars and the coolest ingredient combinations, eager to be among the first to brag about our experiences? Some of the principles guiding our behavior are valid and important. Some are just vanity.

The thing is, now that restaurants are opening back up, I think we better understand our true relationship with them. We connect more to their original purpose. The word "restaurant" has its roots in the French word "restaurer," which means to "restore or refresh." As I've sat in dining rooms again, I've remembered just that: Restaurants restore our bodies with food, but they also provide a space for us to gain perspective on our day. They allow us to separate from the usual spaces and see things from a different point of view. They give us license to eat too much, drink too much and, somewhere along the way, reconnect with the better angels of our nature.

We just need to make sure our better angels wear a mask, keep their distance and tip our servers well.
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Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Mexico City, Mexico  Fri, June 26, 2020 07:20 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661ba468 2 World Mexico,finance-minister,coronavirus,COVID-19,COVID-19-infection,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus Free

The new coronavirus struck at the heart of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's inner circle on Thursday as Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said he was infected.

Herrera, the most high-profile member of the cabinet to test positive for the virus, said he only had "minor" symptoms.

"From this moment I will be in quarantine, and continue working from my house," he said on Twitter.

One of Lopez Obrador's closest advisors, Herrera was seen in a video standing next to his boss on Monday at the National Palace in central Mexico City where both have their offices.

A photo from a week ago showed them standing close to each other and talking outside. Neither was wearing a mask to cover the mouth and nose as recommended by public health experts to limit the spread of the virus.

The president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The virus has hammered Mexico's economy and brought life to a standstill for many months. Still, the peso and stock exchange largely shrugged off the news, with one trader saying it was because Herrera's symptoms were reportedly mild.

It is not clear if Herrera's positive diagnosis will impact Lopez Obrador's planned trip to Washington next month to meet US President Donald Trump.

Earlier this month, Lopez Obrador shrugged off calls to take a coronavirus test when another member of his inner circle also tested positive.

Mexico has darted up the list of countries hardest-hit by coronavirus and now has the seventh-highest death toll globally.

Lopez Obrador has been criticized by some Mexicans for his handling of the pandemic, including accusations that he did not take the virus seriously enough at the start and sent the wrong signal by not wearing a mask in public.

Last week Herrera accompanied the president on his visit to the central Mexican state of Hidalgo.
Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had finally zeroed in on a date to get married with her fiance Bo Tengberg. However, the PM had to once again postpone her wedding due to an EU Council meeting scheduled in July.

Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had finally zeroed in on a date to get married with her fiance Bo Tengberg. However, the PM had to once again postpone her wedding due to an EU Council meeting scheduled in July.

This is the third time that Frederiksen had to postpone her wedding plans.

Frederiksen posted a message on Facebook where she wrote, "I'm so looking forward to marrying this amazing man."

Sharing a picture with her fiance, she added, "But obviously it can't be easy, and now the council meeting in Brussels has been convened exactly on the same Saturday in July, when we had planned to marry."

Prioritising her work before her personal life, Frederiksen said, "But I have to do my job and protect Denmark's interests. So once again we have to change our plans."

Frederiksen is optimistic about her marriage and she said that soon they would be able to get married. "I'm looking forward to saying yes to Bo (who fortunately is very patient)," she added.

As per a report in CNN, European Union leaders are schedule to meet on 17 July for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 to discuss the European budget and plans for recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

Express.co.uk reported that Denmark has spoken up against a fund over a proposal to extend grants to nations that were extensively damaged by the pandemic. Denmark, along with Sweden, Austria and Netherlands have said that the 676bn funding is too much money and have reiterated that any funds granted must eventually be paid back.

According to the CNN report, Frederiksen from Denmark's centre-left Socialist Democratic party became the country's youngest prime minister in 2019 at the age of 41.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Texas and Florida reversed course and clamped down on bars again Friday in the nation's biggest retreat yet as the daily number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. surged to an all-time high of 40,000.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all bars closed, while Florida banned alcohol at such establishments. The two states joined the small but growing list of those that are either backtracking or putting any further reopenings of their economies on hold because of a comeback by the virus, mostly in the South and West.

Health experts have said a disturbingly large number of cases are being seen among young people who are going out again, often without wearing masks or observing other social-distancing rules.

It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars, Abbott said.

Abbott had pursued up to now one of the most aggressive reopening schedules of any governor. The Republican not only resisted calls to order masks be worn but also refused until last week to let local governments take such measures.

The doctors told us at the time, and told anyone who would listen, this will be a disaster. And it has been, said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, a Democrat who is the countys top official. Once again, the governor is slow to act. He is now being forced to do the things that weve been demanding that he do for the last month and a half.

Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street again over the surging case numbers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 730 points, or nearly 3%.

Texas reported more than 17,000 new cases in the past three days, with a record high of nearly 6,000 on Thursday. The second-largest state also sets records daily for hospitalizations, surpassing 5,000 coronavirus patients for the first time Friday.

In Florida, under GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, the agency that regulates bars acted after the daily number of new confirmed cases neared 9,000, almost doubling the record set just two days earlier.

Story continues

Colleen Corbett, a 30-year-old bartender at two places in Tampa, said that she was disappointed and worried about being unemployed again but that the restrictions are the right move. Most customers were not wearing masks, she said.

It was like they forgot there was a pandemic or just stopped caring," Corbett said.

A number of the hardest-hit states, including Arizona and Arkansas, have Republican governors who have resisted mask-wearing requirements and have largely echoed President Donald Trumps desire to reopen the economy quickly amid warnings the virus could come storming back.

The White House coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, held its first briefing in nearly two months, and Pence gave assurances that the U.S. is in a much better place than it was two months ago.

He said the country has more medical supplies on hand, a smaller share of patients are being hospitalized, and deaths are much lower than they were in the spring.

The count of new confirmed infections, provided by Johns Hopkins University, eclipsed the previous high of 36,400, set on April 24, during one of the deadliest stretches. Newly reported cases per day have risen on average about 60 percent over the past two weeks, according to an Associated Press analysis.

While the rise partly reflects expanded testing, experts say there is ample evidence the scourge is making a comeback, including rising deaths and hospitalizations in parts of the country and higher percentages of tests coming back positive for the virus.

At the task force briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious-disease expert, urged people to mind their responsibility to others: A risk for you is not just isolated to you.

Deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S. are running at about 600 per day, down from a peak of around 2,200 in mid-April. Some experts have expressed doubt that deaths will return to that level, because of advances in treatment and prevention and because younger adults are more likely than older ones to survive.

The virus is blamed for about 125,000 deaths and nearly 2.5 million confirmed infections nationwide, by Johns Hopkins' count. But health officials believe the true number of infections is about 10 times higher. Worldwide, the virus has claimed close to a half-million lives.

Louisiana reported its second one-day spike of more than 1,300 cases his week. The increasing numbers led Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards this week to suspend further easing of restrictions. Republican Gov. Doug Ducey did the same in Arizona, where cases are topping 3,000 a day and 85% of hospital beds are occupied.

For the second time in a week, Tennessee reported its biggest one-day jump in confirmed infections, with more than 1,400, but Republican Gov. Bill Lee has been reluctant to reinstate restrictions or call for a mask mandate.

In Texas, Abbott also scaled back restaurant capacity, shut down rafting operations and said any outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people will need approval from local officials.

DeSantis has been lifting restrictions more slowly than a task force recommended but has allowed theme parks to reopen, encouraged professional sports to come to Florida and pushed for the GOP convention to be held in the Sunshine State.

In a reversal of fortune, New York said it is offering equipment and other help to Arizona, Texas and Florida, noting that other states came to its aid when it was in the throes of the deadliest outbreak in the nation this spring.

We will never forget that graciousness, and we will repay it any way we can, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Globally, another record daily increase in India pushed the caseload in the world's second most populous nation toward half a million. And other countries with big populations like Indonesia, Pakistan and Mexico grappled with large numbers of infections and strained health care systems.

___

Smith reported from Providence, Rhode Island. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
Telecoms network provider Enet believes that Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) have been playing a pivotal role in delivering the broadband to sustain business through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Enet, which operates the largest alternative wholesale telecoms network in Ireland, has just opened its state-of-the-art Network Operations Centre (NOC), which is part of the companys new 1m headquarters facility in Limerick.

The new NOC will operate on a 24/7 basis all year round, monitoring 5,400km of fibre infrastructure, including the Irish States MANs, proprietary metro networks, a unique dark fibre backhaul infrastructure, as well as one of the largest licensed wireless networks in the country.

Following this expansion of its premises, Enet is also now hiring for a number of new engineer roles within the NOC. Rigorous health and safety protocols, in line with Government advice, have been put in place for staff returning to work in the new facility.

The MANs play a pivotal role in removing any telecoms or bandwidth barriers and introducing greater choice and competition to the market. The success of this strategy is underlined by the performance of the Limerick MAN, which is one of the largest of the MANs in the country, said Peter McCarthy, Enet Group CEO.

Now, more than ever, its important that businesses like ours continue to make sensible investments that will prime us for future growth, so this is a very proud day for Enet as we scale up our Limerick operations. This new state-of-the-art facility doubles the size of the premises we have in Limerick and will enable us to continue to deliver a genuinely world-class service for our customers.

In Limerick City alone, the fibre network operated by Enet, known as the Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), provides connectivity to 30 retail service providers and has allowed for greater choice, quality and competitiveness of broadband services in the area.

Enet currently works with over 80 different retail service providers to bring high-quality broadband and wireless to more than one million end users throughout Ireland.

The high quality of the Enet MAN along with the high-bandwidth services available over the network has played an important role in the city securing a significant share of foreign direct investment.

Staff returning to work in Enets new 1m headquarters facility in Limerick. Enet works with over 80 retail service providers to bring broadband and wireless to more than one million end users.

Enet has unveiled its the new NOC investment as the company continues to deliver services through the Covid-19 pandemic. The rest of Enets building will also be gradually opened over the coming months in line with government guidelines, with a formal opening later in the autumn.

The business, which has offices in Limerick and Dublin, has moved from its previous premises to a new standalone 14,000 sq ft location in the National Technological Park, Plassey.

Enet has been headquartered in Limerick since 2004 and the business currently has over 120 employees across the Limerick and Dublin offices, with 75 located in Limerick.

John Gilvarry, chief technology officer at Enet, said the new network operations centre expands upon the companys existing range of services.

This is an important investment milestone for the business. It demonstrates our ongoing commitment to our customers and to delivering a genuinely world-class service for them, said Mr Gilvarry.

With this new NOC in place, we expect heightened visibility of all monitored interfaces and links so that we can focus our troubleshooting, reduce our mean time to repair and manage a much larger infrastructure estate.

Enet operates a fully integrated, nationwide network. The network is open access in nature, enabling retail service providers to deliver quality bandwidth services to their customers throughout Ireland.

Enets shareholder is the Irish Infrastructure Fund (IIF). The IIF, managed by AMP Capital and Irish Life Investment Managers, invests capital for 28 institutional investors, 25 of which are Irish pension funds, trusts and investment managers.

To-date, the fund controls over 500 million of investments across energy, telecoms, tourism, and healthcare in Ireland.





Katherine Condon, appointed as a distiller with Irish Distillers.

Irish Distillers enjoys continued growth

Irish Distillers continues its ongoing expansion with the recent new appointment of Katherine Condon as distiller at Midleton Distillery.

The Cork-based global producer of Jameson and other globally successful whiskeys, reported 30 years of consecutive growth, with sales of eight million cases in 2019. Its brands are exported to 130+ markets, with over 70 of those experiencing double or triple-digit growth.

Katherine will report to newly appointed master distiller, Kevin OGorman, with responsibility for the production process from brewing to distillation.

Katherine said: I am honoured to be appointed as distiller. This role represents a time-honoured craft and it has been a privilege to learn about the art and science of distilling from icons of world whiskey like Brian Nation and Kevin OGorman.

I look forward to using the wisdom and experience I have inherited to continue their legacy of quality, while driving innovation as I continue my career in Midleton. I am incredibly excited about the future of Irish whiskey and the role that I can play in it.

Tasting all distillates daily, Katherine will oversee the quality of all new pot and grain distillates. A chemical engineer, she joined Irish Distillers in 2014 as part of the Graduate Distiller Programme.

She was appointed distiller at the Micro Distillery in Midleton, Irish Distillers hub for innovation and experimentation with new distillate styles. From there she moved to the main distillery as a process technologist and, most recently, production supervisor.

During her time with Irish Distillers, Katherine has played a vital role in the production of many new innovations, including the Method and Madness range.

She holds an Engineering degree in Process and Chemical Engineering from UCC and a diploma in Distilling from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. Katherine was awarded The Worshipful Company of Distillers Award in 2018 and 2019 for outstanding achievement by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling.





Quintain Irelands joint managing partners Eddie Byrne and Michael Hynes, pictured in the firms Dublin office with Norman Higgins, Quintains new head of construction.

Higgins takes lead role with Quintain Ireland

Housing developer Quintain has named Norman Higgins as its new head of construction for Ireland.

Norman previously led Sisk Living, the housing division of leading Irish building contractor John Sisk & Son. Norman brings over 25 years of successful construction delivery experience in the residential sector.

Quintain launched in Ireland in November 2019 with plans to develop 9,000 new homes and 600,000 sq.ft. of commercial space in the Greater Dublin area.

The companys existing land portfolio covers 460 acres of prime assets in Ireland at Adamstown, Clonburris, Portmarnock, and Cherrywood, and when developed will make Quintain the third largest residential developer in the country.

Norman Higgins said: Quintain has an ambitious development pipeline on prime sites including projects at Adamstown, Clonburris, Portmarnock, and Cherrywood. I am looking forward to being involved in these projects as Quintain scales up the roll out of its residential developments.

Norman is a fellow of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors as well as a former chairman of the SCSIs Residential Working Group, a role in which he oversaw the publication of the highly influential report Real Cost of New Housing Delivery in 2016.

He is also a national member of the executive board of the Irish Housebuilders Association.

Michael Hynes, joint managing partner of Quintain Ireland, said: Were delighted to welcome Norman at a time when we are busy preparing planning applications for several of our schemes, and returning to construction following the end of the Government construction lockdown.

Quintains commitment is to create attractive and sustainable communities delivering the right mix of housing alongside high-quality amenities, and Normans extensive experience will be hugely valuable.

Quintain Irelands parent company Quintain Limited is a vertically integrated developer, operator and owner of residential and mixed-use assets; the company is best known for the ongoing transformation of Wembley Park in north London.





Paul Cooley, director of capital projects at SSE Renewables.

Big opportunity for offshore wind energy

Ireland needs to build on the growing momentum behind offshore wind power, says Paul Cooley, director of capital projects at SSE Renewables.

Mr Cooley is one of the hosts of the Offshore Wind 2020 Online Conference, taking place Wednesday, July 1: www.offshorewind.energyireland.ie. The webinar is hosted by Energy Ireland and sponsored by SSE Renewables and A&L Goodbody.

We need to keep pace with the global offshore wind energy market if Ireland is to exploit offshore wind at the scale needed to deliver our renewable energy and carbon emission reduction targets, he said.

Were beginning to see momentum build behind the development of a new offshore wind energy sector in Ireland, but its critical we now turn that momentum into a real action plan to kickstart offshore project delivery in the waters around our island as quickly as possible, he said.

The conference brings together the key stakeholders across government and industry to discuss actions needed to capitalise on Irelands offshore wind energy opportunity to help meet 2025 and 2030 renewable energy targets.

Conference themes will include: renewable energy policy; regulatory structures; international experience of developing an offshore wind sector; investing in offshore and onshore grid system to deliver 8.2GW by 2030; the role of an effective marine spatial planning framework; and the development of the offshore wind supply chain in Ireland.





Martin Flynn MD of OK Whos Next? in Galway.

Software given free to beauty services

Hairdressers, beauticians, wellbeing, and fitness service providers are being offered free appointment scheduling software to help reboot their businesses.

Galway-based software firm OK Whos Next? is offering its software free to use for all appointment-based businesses from now to September 1. Businesses can promote their available slots and their clients can book a slot quickly and easily, thus reducing interaction in waiting rooms.

Martin Flynn, managing director of OK Whos Next?, said: Many appointment-based businesses such as hairdressers, beauticians, wellbeing and fitness need a boost to kickstart their businesses post lockdown. Unfortunately, many will not survive the lockdown, but with our free software many will be able to re-engage with their clients, safeguard employee jobs and get back to profitability.

OK Whos Next? provides appointment management software which allows clients to book appointments in seconds on the free-to-use apps. This allows clients to book a range of appointments, while enabling service-providers schedule appointments safely in line with capacity and staff numbers.

Mr Flynn said: With the current challenges facing businesses it is more important than ever for local businesses to prepare for what they do best, providing excellent service to their clients while giving clients the easiest way to book those services.

OK Whos Next? is listed by the Irish Hairdressing Council as a support for its members to prepare for the new normal. It is an Enterprise Ireland supported business headquartered in Galway city.





Sandra Maybury has launched Maybury Marketing.

New marketing firm

West Cork businesswoman Sandra Maybury has launched Maybury Marketing. She will bring her 25 years of sales and marketing experience to working with local business partners.

Sandra said: Im really excited for this venture. I love what I do. I love helping others get the most out of every opportunity.

Sandra has been self-employed for 15 years. Conscious of the impact that Covid-19 has had upon local business, she used the down time to launch her new brand, Maybury Marketing.

Maybury Marketing works with small- and medium-sized organisations to help them to reconnect with existing customers and reach new ones, build their brand, and get their message out there and grow sales. Sandra provides packages tailored to each clients needs.
Government has launched a tourism development project grant for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and tourism enterprises in Ghana.



The Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, speaking at the launch of the $9 million grants on Wednesday, June 24 at the Information Ministry in Accra, said the Akufo-Addo administration in its quest to improve leisure tourism in this country, solicited for a facility from the International Development Agency of the World Bank Group to implement the Ghana Tourism Development Project.



She indicated that the $9 million grant is a World Bank Group Grants Scheme.



According to her, the Tourism Development Project has four main components.



The first component which is Strengthening Tourism Enabling Environment aims to address tourism enabling constraints most likely to have transformative impact on the tourism sector in Ghana such as training and skills development of the industry, aviation and entry visa policy, and tourism branding and marketing



The second component focuses on Developing Tourism Sites and Destinations. This seeks to diversify the leisure tourism offering in Ghana by identifying and upgrading the most promising destination areas. These are sites that show significant public goods requirements and circuit-tourism potential, and can draw increased demand from both domestic and international visitors.



With the third component being Tourism Enterprise Support, its objective is to provide tourism SMEs with the opportunity to improve their business planning, formalise their businesses, and apply for matching grants to upgrade their tourism products and services.



The fourth component which is Project Management will provide support to Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture (MoTAC) to manage and coordinate the project.



Since approval was given for the project implementation, she stated that government has achieved some successes, despite certain initial implementation challenges at the onset.



I am happy to report that the project has embarked on renovation of selected tourist sites and these activities are at various levels of completion, she highlighted.



We are also working on the human resource capacity of the industry players and very soon we will outdoor the plans for the establishment of state of the art tourism and hospitality training institutions in selected regions of the country.



I am happy to say that the beneficiaries to be supported under this grant scheme comprise mainly Ghanaian indigenous businesses in the tourism value chain, including micro-businesses that employ between one to five persons, small businesses that employ between six to 30 people, and medium businesses that employ 31 to 100 people.



In addition to the above, she added that the projects intervention encourages support to women-owned and or women-led businesses in the tourism sector.



We have worked on all modalities that are required to enable us disburse the Grants within the next few weeks. Notably among the activities is the engagement of a grants management firm. An experienced entity in grants administration whose role, among others will be to reconcile the financial records of the grantee, collect and verify end-of-project information on performance targets and data and execute disbursement, she stated.



A five-member grants committee to supervise the execution of the grant scheme has also been put in place.



Hon. Ministers, I wish to thank the World Bank Task Team for their support in going through the processes to ensure efficient disbursement of the fund.



Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Mafo indicated that tourism is uniquely positioned to help the societies and communities to promote and retain growth and stability because of its cross-cutting economic nature and deep social footprint.



According to him, throughout the years, the tourism industry has continuously demonstrated its resilience and capacity to serve as a channel for the redistribution of income and thereby contributing to a greater economic and social recovery.



The sector has achieved this as a result of the adequate political support and the recognition governments continue to give to the industry players to ensure that they continue to play their roles in the socio-economic development of the country.



Furthermore, the industry plays a key role in leveraging efforts to preserve and promote natural and cultural heritage and has long been at the forefront of creating employment and livelihood, especially for the youth, women and the unemployed.



He bemoaned that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit travel and tourism hard.



According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNTWO), small and medium-sized enterprises (which make up around 80% of the tourism sector) are expected to be particularly impacted.



This might affect thousands of livelihoods across the country, including vulnerable communities who rely on tourism as a vehicle to spur their development and economic inclusion.



None of us gathered here has a clear idea for now, how the world will return to the state in which it was before the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, hence, everybody is talking about a new-normal.



We do not yet know what form this will take but as we keep on adjusting and following the safety rules and protocols, we believe that the devastating effect on tourism, culture and travels will be minimised and the industry will regain its rightful place in the economy, Mr. Osafo-Mafo said.



All of these factors, ladies and gentlemen, make it even more imperative that the tourism sector is supported both at this time of the crisis and as we enter the recovery phase.



The Grant Scheme being launched today under the Ghana Tourism Development Project (GTDP) with funds from the International Development Agency (IDA) of the World Bank Group offers us exactly the opportunity and support we require to revitalize the sector and make an impact in the tourism and hospitality sectors.



He added that the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo since assumption of office in 2017 has supported Ghanas tourism sector with funds for infrastructural development. The government securing support from the World Bank to improve tourism infrastructure is yet another demonstration of the governments commitment to improving the tourism, arts and culture industry.



It is unfortunate that despite these investments, Ghana has not seen a corresponding rise in our tourism earnings or break into top 10 tourism destination in Africa.



Africa has seen a rise in its tourism performance recording about 67 million tourist visits in 2018, making it the second-fastest growing region after Asia Pacific when it comes to tourism, he added.



This was a growth of 7% over 2017.



However, despite this impressive growth in 2018, Africas share of the global tourism pie remains small. Only five per cent of international tourist arrivals were to African countries. In addition, Africa earned only one per cent of the $1.7 trillion earnings in the sector. This is unacceptable considering the numerous tourism destination centres dotted all over Africa and Ghana in particular.



This is the reason why government is supporting this project to improve on our tourism infrastructure to attract more visitors like we witnessed during the Year of Return programme in 2019. I am informed that under the project, refurbishment works are currently ongoing and near completion at Tourist Receptive Facilities of the Ankasa Forest Reserve, Gwollu Slave Walls and Tomb of former President Dr. Hilla Liman, the Gushegu Smock Market, Akwamufie Museum, with preparations almost complete to start work on Bonwire, Axim and Kintampo facilities very soon.

Source: Daily Guide









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LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc (HEMO.L) is pleased to announce that it has signed a Biological Investigation and Material Supply Agreement ("Agreement") with a leading global pharmaceutical company ("GlobalCo") engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceutical products.

Under the Agreement, GlobalCo will supply the Company with certain biological materials and related confidential information in order for the Company to perform research and development activities aimed at the discovery and validation of novel materials ("Materials") to be used for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus ("Lupus") and possibly other autoimmune diseases.

This Agreement will fully complement the Company's own development work currently being undertaken. The Agreement stipulates certain confidential provisions, including, at this stage, the pharmaceutical company's identity. GlobalCo is the same organisation with which the Company is collaborating to develop its CDX antibody product candidate and with which it also has a research agreement for the development of the Company's humanized mice.

Under the Agreement, the Company will grant GlobalCo a research license for anything jointly developed under the Agreement, as well as an option for an exclusive worldwide license to commercially exploit jointly developed Materials. If the option is not exercised by GlobalCo, the Company will have an option to license the jointly developed Materials itself.

Dr Vladislav Sandler, CEO & Co-Founder of Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals, commented: "This is a very encouraging agreement that provides additional support for our own plans for the development of novel treatments for Lupus and other autoimmune diseases. It fully complements the work that we are already undertaking with our own resources. This close collaboration offers the potential for ongoing value-adding licensing arrangements with a major pharmaceutical company with the benefit of their global reach and large-scale resources. It is gratifying to be able to report our close and developing relationship with GlobalCo."

Story continues

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.

Enquiries:

Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc hemogenyx.com Dr Vladislav Sandler, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder headquarters@hemogenyx.com Peter Redmond, Director SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470 Matthew Johnson, Vadim Alexandre, Soltan Tagiev Peterhouse Capital Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7469 0930 Lucy Williams, Duncan Vasey, Charles Goodfellow US Media enquiries Tel: +1 (323) 646-3249 Lowell Goodman lowell@corbomitecomms.com

About Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc

Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc is a publicly traded company (HEMO.L) headquartered in London, with its US operating subsidiaries, Hemogenyx LLC and Immugenyx LLC, located at its state-of-the-art research facility in New York City and a Belgian operating subsidiary, Hemogenyx-Cell SPRL, located in Liege.

Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc is a pre-clinical stage biopharmaceutical group developing new medicines and treatments to treat blood and autoimmune disease and to bring the curative power of bone marrow transplantation to a greater number of patients suffering from otherwise incurable life-threatening diseases. The Company is developing several distinct and complementary product candidates, as well as a platform technology that it uses as an engine for novel product development.

For more than 50 years, bone marrow transplantation has been used to save the lives of patients suffering from blood diseases. The risks of toxicity and death that are associated with bone marrow transplantation, however, have meant that the procedure is restricted to use only as a last resort. Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc's technology has the potential to enable many more patients suffering from devastating blood diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma, as well as severe autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, aplastic anemia and systemic lupus erythematosus (Lupus), to benefit from bone marrow transplantation.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

SOURCE: Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals PLC





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/595298/Hemogenyx-Pharmaceuticals-PLC-Announces-Development-Agreement--Autoimmune-Disease-Treatments




A convoy of Russian mercenaries entered Libyas Sharara oil field and met with the facilitys security forces yesterday, the countrys National Oil Corporation (NOC) said. The meeting comes as oil from the countrys major fields, under the influence of military strongman Khalifa Hifter, are shut down.

The United Nations-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) was hoping for a restart pumping at Sharara, which is located in Libyas southwest, as the GNA broke out from Tripoli in recent months. The NOC blamed Hifter-aligned forces earlier this month for preventing Sharara from coming back online.

The corporation expressed grave concern about Wagners visit to Sharara, Reuters reported. Mustafa Sanallah, head of the Tripoli-based NOC, accused some parties involved in the conflict of working in the background to support blockading forces.

Wagner operates as an unofficial arm of Russias Defense Ministry, which backs Hifter in his war against the Tripoli-based government.

Why it Matters: Details of the reported meeting are not clear, but Wagner forces may be taking advantage of Libyas fractious militia networks in an attempt to slow the GNAs recent gains. Security forces at the oil field, under the umbrella of the Petroleum Facilities Guard, have cooperated with both sides in the past.

If Sharara restores pumping, the GNA would gain access to revenue that would likely help its recent countercampaign against Hifters so-called Libyan National Army.

The Tripoli-based NOC is the only body allowed under international agreement, enforced by the United States and European navies, to export oil from Libya. Funds are then sent to the central bank in Tripoli, which has previously sent revenues to the rival central bank in Benghazi in exchange for cooperation from Hifters side over other oil fields.

But independently funded by the United Arab Emirates, Hifters side cut off pumping from the countrys major oil fields in January in order to boost his then-stalled campaign against Tripoli. Since then, the tide has turned. If Hifter can keep the countrys fields shut down, it financially hurts both sides but could slow the GNAs momentum.

Whats Next: If the GNA cannot get the southern fields pumping again, then the conflict could become a spending war between the two sides foreign backers. How long it would take before Turkey and the GNA consider accepting a cease-fire allowing Hifters control of Sirte is not clear.

If the GNA gains access to the southern fields oil, it is not necessarily clear the central bank in Tripoli will forward funds to Benghazi. This could give the GNA an advantage, potentially pressuring Hifter to restart the countrys eastern oil fields as well.

Know More: Al-Monitor looks at Shararas significance and the GNAs dashed expectations that the field would restore pumping after Hifters rout from Tripoli.
President Donald Trump says the coronavirus is fading away and pats himself on the back for a great job on CoronaVirus that saved millions of U.S. lives.

Its going away, Trump said Tuesday at a packed megachurch in Phoenix where few people wore masks.

Thats what delusion sounds like. We need a Winston Churchill to lead our nation against a deadly challenge; instead, we have a president who helps an enemy virus infiltrate our churches and homes. Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt worked to deceive the enemy; Trump is trying to deceive us.

A few glimpses of the challenge:

Texas, California, Arizona and four other states reported record numbers of cases this week.

Some 27 states, by the count of the New York Times tracker, are reporting increasing numbers of new cases. Ten states and Washington, D.C., are reporting declining numbers, with the rest holding steady.

Arizona, where Trump held his rally, now has the highest number of new cases per day per million population, and the highest share of positive test results.

Black Lives Matter protests do not seem to have spread the virus much, perhaps because they were held outside and many participants wore masks. The virus is spreading most quickly in Trump Country in the South and Southwest, and in both red and blue states in the West.

The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surges that were seeing in Florida, in Texas, in Arizona and other states, Dr. Anthony Fauci told a congressional hearing Tuesday.

The rest of the world is watching aghast.

Whats happened in the U.S. is utterly tragic and seems like a consequence of appalling leadership and incompetent government, said Devi Sridhar, an American who is a professor of global health at the University of Edinburgh. Those of us abroad are watching in horror, disbelief and pity.

This is a warning to other countries of the dangers of the virus going out of control, she said.

The European Union is even preparing to bar American visitors because of the United States failure to manage the coronavirus properly. Visitors from countries that have controlled the virus better, such as Vietnam, Cuba and Uganda, will be welcome.

Thats humiliating for the United States, but it should be a wake-up call as well. Europe is right to fear American visitors. The United States hasnt brought down case numbers the way European countries have and seems to simply accept a vast continuing toll of deaths.

The United States is now reporting new cases at nine times the rate of Europe, per million people.

In the New York region, memories are fresh, people are scared and the virus is under control. But in much of the rest of the country, the virus initially seemed remote, and people relaxed in ways that are now leading to a crisis.

I passed through Phoenix twice last month to report on COVID-19 cases in the Navajo Nation, and I was horrified then by how few Arizonans wore masks. Now we see the consequences.

Deaths are still below their peaks because for now its disproportionately younger people who are getting sick. That may change.

I wonder how many fathers got a Fathers Day present from their kids  this virus, reflected Michael T. Osterholm, a University of Minnesota epidemiologist.

While some epidemiologists expect a second wave to arrive this fall, Osterholm foresees more of a relentless toll of sickness and death. He anticipates spikes in this city or that  he fears Houston may become the next New York  but not much of a reprieve.

I think its going to keep going on, he told me. But he also emphasizes that even the experts dont really understand the virus or know what to anticipate.

His advice: Be humble and be bold, and make rigorous preparations.

We dont know for sure, but the post-peak experience from New York and Europe, as well as from street protests, offers some guidance: If people wear masks, distance as much as possible and avoid mixing indoors, it just might be possible to keep the virus in check.

Instead, our president refuses to wear a mask and brings people together indoors to cheer his newest proposed strategy, which in his words is slow the testing down. After aides rushed to say he was joking, Trump denied that, saying, I dont kid. He amplified in a tweet: With smaller testing, we would show fewer cases!

Yes, and by ending cancer screenings, we would reduce cancer rates. By locking hospital doors, we would reduce hospitalizations. And if we stopped issuing death certificates, Americans would achieve immortality!

Thats the kind of strategizing that has led the United States, with 4 percent of the worlds population, to experience one-quarter of the deaths worldwide from the coronavirus  and instead of fading away, its surging.
Having leaders who actually belong to the disability community is as important as having leaders who empathize with it, said the MTAs Elegudin, who uses a wheelchair. It says a lot about an agency when there is an executive-level accessibility position, he said. Having a person with a disability at the table . . . means accessibility is thought about and addressed in almost every decision thats made.
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Forced isolation and economic uncertainty may lead to increases in family violence, contributing to mental and physical trauma.School cancellations may heighten food insecurity for children who depend on meal programmes and increase vulnerability with the loss of school as a safe place."Lost social interaction and lack of structured routines may lead to increased screen time, decreased physical activity, lack of concentration, anxiety and early depression," the authors wrote in the paper that appeared in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).Families living in inadequate or crowded housing may experience heightened stress or conflict, which can affect the mental and physical health of children.Refugees, some indigenous communities and low-income families living with financial strain and food insecurity are particularly vulnerable.Restrictions and cancellations of child welfare visits to at-risk families can reduce visits of birth parents and children in foster care, leading to harms.The adverse effects also include widespread delays or omissions of routine childhood vaccinations, which can threaten herd immunity; missed detection of delayed development milestones, which are usually identified during routine child health checks and delays in seeking care for non-Covid-19-related illnesses, which can lead to severe illness and even death."Delays in bringing children and young people to medical attention may be due to parental fears of exposure to Covid-19 in hospitals or on public transit, lack of childcare for other children, lack of access to primary care due to closures, or changes to hospital visitation policies," explained Dr Peter Gill from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto, Canada.We owe it to our children and young people to proactively measure the Covid-19 pandemic's indirect effects on their health and to take steps to mitigate the collateral damage," the authors wrote.Source: IANS
(TNS)  Protests over police violence against Black communities put a spotlight on some of the tools law enforcement uses to protect and serve. Most recently, that focus centered on surveillance technology.Lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday that would ban federal spending on facial recognition. Boston voted Wednesday to ban facial recognition within the city. Earlier this month, Amazon and Microsoft announced plans to limit police use of their facial recognition technology, while IBM said it will abandon the facial recognition business altogether.Facial recognition technology doesnt just pose a grave threat to our privacy, it physically endangers Black Americans and other minority populations in our country, said Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., one of the bills sponsors, in a Thursday release The efforts, for now, wont mean much for police-held facial recognition systems in the Tampa Bay area.The Pinellas County Sheriffs Office manages one of the longest-running facial recognition tools in the country. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said his agency doesnt plan to change its use, and would not consider pausing until regulations are put in place.The moves are political and profit-driven to appease their customers, Gualtieri said of the companies announcements. Each company fully supports the use of facial recognition for its own purposes and has supported law enforcements use until it became unpopular not to.Facial recognition works by comparing a photo of someone against an existing database of photos. Pinellas Countys Face Analysis Comparison and Examination System, for example, has 38 million images consisting of drivers license, mugshot and identification card photos.The technology became a commonly used policing tool over the past two decades, even as it drew concern from privacy and civil rights advocates over the technologys invasiveness, potential for misidentification and use in surveillance, particularly of Black and brown communities.Face recognition technology gives governments the unprecedented power to spy on us wherever we go, Nicole Ozer, technology and civil liberties director with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, said in a statement.Amazon, which works closely with law enforcement agencies around the country, sells a facial recognition system called Rekognition. It announced a one-year moratorium on police use of its facial recognition system this month, but didnt say whether that included federal agencies.Microsoft previously marketed its facial recognition technology to the Drug Enforcement Administration. It said this month that it wouldnt sell to local police departments and hadnt previously.Facial recognition matching algorithms typically work best when a photo is well-lit and taken straight-on, such as on a drivers license photo. They often have issues accurately identifying people with darker skin tones.Studies still show that the technology performs differently  and may be more prone to error  on darker faces, said Clare Garvie, senior associate at Georgetown University Law Centers Center on Privacy and Technology.This was the case in a January Michigan incident detailed this week by the New York Times. A facial recognition system used by police there falsely identified an innocent Black man as the perpetrator of a crime, leading to his arrest. While the case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning he could be charged again at a later date, it prompted this weeks federal legislation calling for a ban on federal funding used to procure this kind of technology by local law enforcement.As protesters took to the streets in opposition of police treatment of Black communities nationwide, privacy advocates have raised concerns that the technology could potentially be used to identify people speaking out peacefully.Pinellas County has not, Gualtieri said, used the database in relation to any of the recent protests. The Tampa Police Department hasnt requested to use Pinellas Countys database for protests, spokeswoman Jamel Lanee said.The Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office said it used facial recognition to identify a felony burglary suspect from footage a business provided of a protest, but did not use any facial recognition during the protests themselves.We have not used facial recognition software to identify anyone peacefully protesting, spokeswoman Natalia Verdina said.Surveilling protesters was a chief concern earlier this year when a private company called Clearview AI came under fire for selling what it described as a real-time facial recognition system to law enforcement that was more accurate than competitors. About 12 Florida agencies tested the technology, the Tampa Bay Times found.Tampa Police Department is still participating in a free trial of Clearview according to Lanee. It has not used it at any protests.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Ishmael Ashitey has asked the police to enforce the Legistrative Instrument (LI) that makes it mandatory for people to wear face masks.



In addition, he admonished Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to undertake vigorous community education on the L.I to ensure people comply.



The minister said this when the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (GARCC) in collaboration with the Coastal Development Authority (CODA) presented Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Accra Regional Police Command in Accra yesterday.



The PPE were made up of 2000 pieces of nose masks and 200 bottles of alcohol-based hand sanitisers to support them in their operations.



He said it was mandatory to wear a face mask, face shield or any face covering that covered the nose and mouth completely when in public, leaving or returning to your place of abode.



Mr Ashitey said as part of efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak and prevent new infections in the country, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in accordance with powers granted him under the imposition of restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012) signed and gazetted a new Executive Instrument (E.I 167) on June 15, 2020 which makes it mandatory to wear face cover for the next three month.



The instrument shall apply in all parts of Ghana and failure to comply will result in a prison sentence of four to ten years or fine of GH12,000 to GH60,000 or both, he added



He called on the public to support the police to discharge their duties in ensuring the disease does not spread.



The minister called on stakeholders to support the Ghana Police Service in enforcing the laws, urging personnel to be professional during enforcement.



The Chief Executive Officer of CODA, Mr Jerry Ahmed Shaib commended the personnel of the service as front liners for their dedication to duty to ensure the spread of the disease was prevented.



He appealed to the public to wear the face masks to ensure safety of the public.



The Accra Regional Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Fredrick Adu Anim assured the donors of the commands effort to ensure the spread of the disease was reduced



He commended the Council and CODA for the donation and assured that the items would be used for its intended purpose.

Source: The Ghanaian Times









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Jeffrey A. Towbin, MD, of Le Bonheur Children's Hospital and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center was awarded a Research Project Grant (R01) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with co-principal investigators Enkhsaikha Purevjav, MD, PhD and Lu Lu, MD, MS. He is lead principal investigator on the project "Discovery of Modifier Genes in Cardiomyopathy."

The objective of this study is to identify the modifier genes that alter the expression of myopalladin (MYPN), the gene that affects the type and severity of cardiomyopathy - an inherited disease of the heart muscle that ultimately results in heart failure, transplant or sudden cardiac death in many patients. The project will examine how different genetic backgrounds effect the mutation of the MYPN gene which determines how cardiomyopathy is expressed in children. The study will use system genetics - an approach to understanding complex diseases by focusing on how genes work together rather than individually.

"Despite decades of research, it's still difficult to predict how cardiomyopathy will present in a clinical setting," said Towbin. "We believe that the likely reason for this is that the interaction of multiple genes - not just a single one - determines the course of the disease."

Previous research has screened adult and pediatric patients with various types of cardiomyopathy and identified MYPN as a strong causal gene associated a wide variety of severity of cardiomyopathy. Patients had diagnoses ranging from asymptomatic left ventricular hypertrophy to dilation with progressive heart failure to sudden cardiac death or transplant.

"Cardiomyopathy symptoms can be highly varied even within the same family who have identical genetic mutations," said Towbin.

Identifying modifier genes is now a crucial goal of research in cardiomyopathies. Results of this study would change cardiomyopathy care in terms of diagnosis, treatment and genetic counseling.

Towbin is conducting this research in conjunction with co-investigator Robert Williams, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics at UTHSC.

###

About Le Bonheur Children's:

Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., treats children through community programs, regional clinics and a 255-bed state-of-the-art hospital. Le Bonheur serves as a primary teaching affiliate for the University Tennessee Health Science Center and trains more than 350 pediatricians and specialists each year. Nationally recognized, Le Bonheur is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a Best Children's Hospital.

For more information, please call (901) 287-6030 or visit lebonheur.org. Connect with us at facebook.com/lebonheurchildrens, twitter.com/lebonheurchild or on Instagram at lebonheurchildrens.

About University of Tennessee Health Science Center:

As Tennessee's only public, statewide, academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health through education, research, clinical care, and public service, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region. The main campus in Memphis includes six colleges: Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. UTHSC also educates and trains medicine, pharmacy, and/or health professions students, as well as medical residents and fellows, at major sites in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville. For more information, visit http://www.uthsc.edu. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/uthsc, on Twitter: twitter.com/uthsc and on Instagram: instagram.com/uthsc.
THERE was a sharp fall in the number of people approved for a mortgage in May.

New figures from the banks show close to 1,900 potential buyers were approved, a fall of 62pc on the same month last year.

First-time buyers were approved for only 850 mortgages, way down on the same month last year. Some 45pc of those approved for a mortgage were first-time buyers.

The total number of mortgages approved in the same month last year was 4,926, according to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).

Mortgage approvals do not always lead to draw-downs as sometimes buyers cannot buy anything in their price range or get approval from a number of lenders. But they are seen as an indicator of the health of the mortgage market.

Mortgages approved in May were valued at 442m, with first-time buyers accounting for 200m of this.

Some 118m, or 27pc, of the value of mortgages approved was accounted for by mover- purchasers.

The value of mortgage approvals fell by 16pc month-on-month and by 61.1pc year-on-year.

BPFI CEO Brian Hayes said it was expected there would be fall in mortgage approvals due to the pandemic.

Impact

"This is not unexpected given the scale of the lockdown and physical restrictions, and their impact on employment figures and economic uncertainty," he said.

"Similarly, the 60pc fall in the volume of approvals when compared with May 2019 is not surprising given the scale of the pandemic and its immediate impact on incomes and business activity."

He said that despite the unprecedented shock to both the Irish and global economy, it is significant that almost 1,900 mortgages valued at 442m were approved here during the month of May.

He said this shows the demand in the housing market may be more resilient than expected.

"Our strong message to would-be borrowers, whose income and employment circumstances have not been impacted by the current pandemic, and who meet normal lending criteria, is to actively proceed with their applications," Mr Hayes said.

There were 44,037 mortgages approved in the 12 months to May, with a value of 10bn.
When Michelle Stelly landed at a nearly-empty Bradley International Airport Thursday afternoon, she was immediately comforted by the sight of everyone in a mask, maintaining their social distance.

Shed just come from Myrtle Beach, S.C., a quick trip to see family for her grandmothers 101st birthday. While she was gone, the governors of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey implemented a mandatory 14-day quarantine for anyone traveling to the region from states with rising COVID-19 infection rates.

Both of the Carolinas made the list. Her welcome home included signs warning travelers from eight targeted states  the list will change weekly  to shelter-in-place for a fortnight or produce a negative test result.

Stelly, who lives in Farmington where she works as a hairdresser, only recently was able to go back to work, so a two-week hiatus is less than ideal.

Im not happy about it, but its a good idea, Stelly said. Down there, half the people in South Carolina didnt have masks on. I went into a grocery store and none of the employees were wearing masks, so its no wonder theyre having problems with the virus. So Im not surprised we have to do this here now.

She will comply. Its just nice to see, coming home, to see everyone cares more about keeping each other safe.

Stelly hopes to get tested for the virus in the next few days, and pending a negative test may be able to get back to work sooner.

Gov. Ned Lamont has made it clear that there wont be any serious repercussions for people who violate the edict.

Lamont visited the airport in Windsor Locks on Thursday, 12 1/2 hours after the tri-state effort went into effect. Electronic signs throughout the baggage claim area warned passengers of the travel advisory.

Most of those landing at Bradley seemed to be people returning to Connecticut from a vacation elsewhere, not tourists coming from afar for short trips to the Nutmeg state.

To those visiting travelers, Lamont repeated a now-familiar mantra.

If youre coming from one of these really hot zones where theres a high infection rate and youre coming up here for something thats not absolutely essential, like a few days, I say stay safe, stay at home, Lamont said. I think thats safer for us and probably safer for you.

Lamont said his administration has been in touch with hotels and travel agents in the state, informing them of the new criteria. Those landing at Bradley or checking into a hotel in the state will likely be asked to fill out a form asking them questions about where theyve been and if theyre experiencing any symptoms. If theyve recently been tested for the virus, they could show negative test results to shorten their mandatory quarantine.

Still, Lamont was clear: unlike Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who threatened fines of $1,000 for anyone unwilling to comply, visitors to Connecticut wont be punished. Hes relying on the power of a little societal shame for now, but to be clear, he could have given the mandate more legal teeth had he wanted to.

Thats not where we are, Lamont said. We found in this state that I didnt have to punish people about the mask. Almost everybody was wearing a mask. Weve gone to a lot of stores, weve gone to a lot of restaurants. We havent had to shut down or fine anybody, we have had friendly reminders saying this is what the rules are in terms of the protocols. I like to think that same type of voluntary compliance is going to work in this case as well.

For the record, at least one establishment  the 50s Lounge in New Haven  was shut down by municipal officials after a reported 1,000 people jammed onto the cafes property Saturday night.

One family of seven, returning to Connecticut from Tampa, said they were in Florida for 14 days, and were required to quarantine for the entire vacation. Now, on the day of their return theyll need to quarantine for another two weeks.

Theyre all counting on being tested for the virus in the next day or so and expect negative results given the length of time theyve already quarantined. Until then, though, theyll be continuing their social isolation at their homes in Connecticut.

Another woman visiting from North Carolina said shes only staying through Sunday and is driving back to North Carolina with her grandchildren in tow for the summer. She said shes hardly left her house there  and doesnt intend to go anywhere while shes in Connecticut.

North Carolina is behind the ball on this whole thing, said woman, who declined to give her name.

She lived in Connecticut her whole life and retired to North Carolina where her house is near the beach. We just got the mask order yesterday. So Im glad people are being safe up here.

Kevin Dillon, executive director for the Connecticut Airport Authority, said at the height of the pandemic, airport traffic at Bradley was 98 percent lower than normal. Its only recovered minimally since then  rising about 20 percent  but he expects the new travel advisory will deter some travelers, sending traffic back down.

Dillon said he and Lamont have discussed the possibility of setting up an airport test site for the virus, though hes not sure yet how that could work. No other airport has made that service available, to his knowledge, he said.

Theres no doubt this is going to have a significant impact on air travel, Dillon said. And airlines are concerned about it. Theyre concerned about the activities that states across the country have had to face since the start of the pandemic. Do I believe the quarantine is going to reverse some of that progress? Yes, I do. But in the airport, were not in the health business. I dont make health decisions, certainly we wish there were other ways to go about it, thats why I discussed with the governor the potential of setting up a testing site.

The announcement of the mandatory quarantine, and Lamonts plea for travelers to reconsider visiting Connecticut, comes on the heels of the states successful reopening, including a push to reopen the states tourism industry especially as infection rates in the area have remained low. Now, Lamont says the state will primarily market its tourist attractions only within the region.

Isnt that ironic? We just opened up our hotels in the last week or two, Lamont said. New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, all of those places have a very low infection rate. Thats where were advertising. Those are the folks were saying, Connecticut, back to nature, still close to civilization.

He added, I think Massachusetts and other folks coming from New York and New Jersey to enjoy beautiful southeast Connecticut will say I respect the fact that Connecticut is taking the protocols seriously, this is a place I can go safely. This is a place were happy to receive you safely.

kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt
We believe this impacts hundreds of kids, not just the 50 we have, he said. And whether or not they choose to be part of the class, thats up to them. But at the very least they need to know theres an issue and need to be tested.
The social unrest and debate over structural racism sweeping the country in recent weeks has swirled into the wine industry. Statewide winery associations, individual wineries and even one of the most prestigious professional associations, the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas, have suddenly been challenged to deal with issues of inclusivity and diversity they have ignored for far too long. And lest you sit back in your easy chair with a glass of rose to watch the fracas, let me assure you: This discussion involves us, consumers, too.
Aer Lingus has brought over 86 million pieces of PPE back from China (Niall Carson/PA)

Aer Lingus has delivered its final batch of Chinese personal protective equipment (PPE) to Ireland during the coronavirus emergency.

The 259 Dublin to Beijing return flights represented the largest cargo operation by air in the history of the State, the national carrier said.

It operated up to five flights a day over 14 weeks, flew 4.75 million kilometres and transported 4,000 tonnes comprising over 86 million pieces of PPE.

PPE is used to keep healthcare and other emergency workers safe from the spread of Covid-19 and the Health Service Executive (HSE) said the flights supplied critical stocks of PPE in a time of unprecedented global shortage.

The project was delivered by Aer Lingus on a cost basis for the HSE.

Sean Bresnan, national director of procurement at the HSE said: Today is a hugely significant milestone in terms of our response to the pandemic as we see the last of 259 Aer Lingus flights return from Beijing to Ireland.

We opened a daily air bridge between Beijing and Dublin that has been in operation since March 29.

During that period, Aer Lingus has operated up to five flights per day and delivered to us in excess of 86 million pieces of critical PPE.

He added: Aer Lingus has been an integral and key part of a multi-agency effort to secure critical stocks of PPE in a time of unprecedented global shortage.

Donal Moriarty, chief corporate affairs officer at Aer Lingus, said over the past 14 weeks there has been a huge team effort ensuring the critical supply operation ran smoothly.

This was a unique project  something of this scale would normally take months to set up, and it was done in a matter of days, he said.
26 June 2020

Type Media Article



Currently the suckler beef unit at Gurteen College has 79 sucker cows and split calving with 43 spring calving cows and 36 autumn calving cows. The unit aims to educate students on the running of a sustainable drystock business. Teagasc Drystock Specialist Catherine Egan gives an update on the enterprise



Gurteen College located just outside Roscrea Co. Tipperary has a long and distinguished track record of providing education and training for those engaged in agriculture and rural activities throughout Ireland and overseas.

Over the past number of years Gurteen College staff and Ger Carey Gurteen College's Dry Stock Unit Manager have aimed for the suckler and beef unit to educate and equip students with the necessary practical, technical and financial skills for running sustainable drystock businesses on the 93 Ha unit.

Currently there are 79 sucker cows split calving with 43 spring calving cows and 36 autumn calving cows. Half of the spring born bull calves are finished and the other half are sold as weanlings. All the heifers are finished on the farm as are all the autumn born bulls. In addition a proportion of bull calves from the dairy herd are brought to finish at 24 months.

Breeding season started on 26th April. The target is to calve the spring herd in 8 weeks. This year the spring herd calved from the first week of February to the first week of April. The stock bull will be removed on the 5th July. A Charolais stock bull is used on the farm. He has a Terminal index of 147 and is easy calving (5.4%) with high reliability. All replacement heifers are sourced from the dairy herd as Limousin AI sires are selected to keep replacements from them. They are then bred with easy calving Limousin/ Angus bulls.



Charolais Stock Bull

The autumn born weanlings were just weaned last week and weighed 472kg on average and will be finished at 16 months. Over the coming weeks the autumn cows will be rotationally grazed and will clean out paddocks on the rotation to ensure they are fit and not fat for calving in September.

Achieving the top key performance breeding indicators are very important and something that is very much focused on in Gurteen College as seen in Table 1. The calving interval is 368 days which is on target to a cow calving every year. Mortality at 28 days is 2.5% which is low. This is reflected in the number of calves/cow/year at 0.97. Compacting the calving spread to have a group of stock that can be finished at the one time and housed with a similar weight make management of grass and indoors easier on the farm.

Table 1: Breeding Key Performance Indicators Gurteen College

Gurteen College National Average Calving Interval 368 days 401 days Mortality at birth 2.5% 1% Mortality at 28 days 2.5% 2.3% Calves/Cow/Year 0.97 0.85 Spring 6 week calving rate 86% 55% Autumn 6 week calving rate 86% 60%

In mid-May there was 140 acres was harvested for first cut pit silage and some bales made split between the dairy and beef unit. Over the past number of weeks like many farms around the country drought had an impact on the farm. But with rainfall in the past week has helped to increase growth again. There is 100 acres closed for second cut silage. As grass growth will start to exceed demand surplus paddocks will be removed in the coming weeks. The target at the moment is to graze covers at 8-10cm (1,200-1,600 DM/Ha). This will help meet the requirements of our winter fodder budget to ensure we have enough silage for next winter. The fodder budget will be reviewed once second cut is harvested.

There are 80 bullocks mixed grazing with sheep and they are thriving well. They will be faecal sampled next week dosed based on the results.

This spring there were 56 bull calves sourced from the dairy herd. They were weaned off milk once they reached 100 Kgs and eating two kgs of meal. They comprised of a mix of Limousin and Friesian cross bull calves. They are now rotationally grazing paddocks and being moved every 3-4 days and getting 1kg/head of meal daily.

Gurteen College advises that Applications are now being accepted for Distance Education and Part Time Green Cert courses  beginning October 2020. Online Applications are now open for Full-time Level 5 Certificate in Agriculture & Level 6 Advanced Certificate Courses at Gurteen College. Level 6 Advanced options are; Dairy Herd Management, Drystock Management & Crops and Machinery Management.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 09:27:00|Editor: huaxia

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GENEVA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The attacks on China on the Xinjiang-related issues by some Western countries have nothing to do with human rights or ethnic issues, but rather cover-ups for their ulterior political motives, a senior Cuban diplomat has said.

In a written interview with Xinhua on Monday, Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta, Cuba's Permanent Representative to the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG), said that he saw with his own eyes the achievements China has achieved in Xinjiang along with other diplomats from the accredited diplomatic corps in Geneva when they visited Xinjiang last year.

"Unfortunately, the subject of human rights is being used with ulterior motives, double standards and crude manipulations against countries that do not subordinate themselves to the policies of Western powers, particularly the United States," he said.

Showing his support to the Chinese stand, the Cuban diplomat said that obviously there is a politicization and manipulation of the issue of human rights, to hide the true interest of some Western powers.

China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region suffered deeply from extremism, violent terrorism and separatism, which jeopardized the safety and property of the people there.

Xinjiang has taken a series of measures to combat these activities and prevent their re-occurrence and achieved good results. Not a single case of terrorist attack has occurred in Xinjiang over the past more than three years.

There cannot be "good" terrorism and "bad" terrorism and "we oppose terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We are also opposed to double standards in the fight against terrorism," said the Cuban diplomat.

He reaffirmed Cuba's willingness to continue working with China and other nations to promote and protect human rights without manipulation, discrimination or double standards.

"I also reiterate the feelings of brotherhood and friendship that unite our governments, parties and peoples" between the two countries, he said. Enditem
Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Green Party are set to enter coalition Government some six months after the General Election.

The Greens were the final party to agree to the coalition after 76% of members voted in favour. Nearly 2,000 members had a vote in the deal with 1,435 in favour and 457 against. A two-thirds majority was needed.

The Green vote meant the final piece of the jigsaw in forming a government was finally put into place since negotiations began in early May. More below picture.

Pictured Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan and Deputy Leader Catherine Martin.

Nearly three-quarters of Fianna Fail members passed the programme for Government while 80% of the nearly 700 Fine Gael members who had votes backed the dealy.

The vote paves the way for the election of Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin as Taoiseach at a special gathering of TDs in the National Convention Centre on Saturday. Outgoing Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is likely to become Taoiseach halfway through the five-year term. MORE BELOW PICTURE of Micheal Martin.

The coalition sees the return of Fianna Fail for the first time since the party was nearly wiped out at the 2011 General Election. The Greens lost all their seats in Leinster House after that election after sharing power with Fianna Fail but now have 12 TDs.

Both Mr Martin and Mr Ryan served as Ministers in the Green Party Fianna Fail coalition Government.

Fine Gael has been supported in Government by Fianna Fail since 2016 under the confidence and supply agreement. It has been in power since 2011.

The deal sees the party that won the most votes in the General Election out left out in the cold. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail refused to enter talks with Sinn Fein about forming a Government.

Both parties ruled out deals with Sinn Fein prior to the election. However, Micheal Martin said Fine Gael should not be in Government during the campaign Leo Varadkar said Fine Gael should not be in Government after the election which saw his party finish in third place.

Pictured Leo Varadkar and other Fine Gael members in the Dail in February.

The deal marks the first time that 'Civil War' foes Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have entered a coalition Government. The parties have their roots in The Treaty which saw Ireland partitioned in 1922 but also led to independence for 26 counties. It also led to a split in Sinn Fein and resulted in the Civil War.

Fine Gael's predecessor Cumann na nGaedhael governed from 1923 to 1932. Fianna Fail was founded as an Irish republican party in 1926 by Eamon de Valera. It governed Ireland for most of the 20th century.

Mr Martin, a Cork native, who set up the HSE and banned smoking ins pubs, will name his cabinet of Ministers on Saturday.

Laois Offaly is likely to have a seat at the cabinet table as Barry Cowen is on the Fianna Fail front bench and helped negotiate the programme for the government which is the foundation of the deal.

His Fine Gael, Laois Offaly constituency colleague is the outgoing Minister for Justice and Equality while the other Laois Offaly Fianna Fail TD Sean Fleming has long harboured ambitions to be a Minister.

The Greens have one Laois Offaly based member of the Oireachtas. Senator Pippa Hackett has been the party's spokesperson on Agriculture.

The last Fianna Fail Taoiseach was the former Laois Offaly TD, Brian Cowen.
A cousin of Cardinal George Pell was a Catholic nun who fell in love with a woman she met while working as a missionary in Chile.

Monica Hingston, 79, a second cousin once removed of the exonerated cardinal who had his conviction for child sex abuse quashed by the High Court in April, met American Peg Moran - a fellow nun from Iowa - in 1983.

Ms Hingston said it was four months later when they were on a bus ride to a fishing village that she 'fell head over heels' for the other woman.

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Monica Hingston, 79, a second cousin of Cardinal George Pell, has spoken of how she left the Catholic Church after falling in love with another nun Peg Moran (couple pictured together) in Chlie in the 1980s

Ms Hingston pictured in 1964. She said she couldn't reconcile her relationship with the church's stance on homosexual relationships

'We talked and talked,' she told SBS Insight.

'It was almost as if we were trying desperately to show each other who we were, in the time we had. I felt I might not have another chance.'

She said the pair moved in together four months later, but could no longer accept the Catholic Church's position on their union.

'We talked about the teachings of the church and the quite vicious condemnation of homosexual relationships,' she said.

'We knew that we couldn't remain within our congregations.'

The couple left the church and returned to Australia - with Ms Hingston saying she and her partner enjoyed '27 beautiful years together' before Ms Moran's death in 2011.

Ms Hingston said she was related to Cardinal Pell - whose conviction for abusing two choirboys in Melbourne in 1996 was quashed by the High Court in April - through her father.

In 2011, she penned an open letter to her relative calling on him to denounce the Vatican's description of those in same-sex relationships as 'seriously depraved persons'.

Ms Hingston at the Australian LGBTI Awards in March 2019. She said she and her partner enjoyed '27 beautiful years together' before Ms Moran's death in 2011

Cardinal George Pell pictured in June 2017. The former Vatican finance minister was convicted and then absolved of sexual abuse

'It is hard to imagine that you would actually be able to look me in the eye and tell me any of those adjectives could truthfully describe me,' she wrote in the letter.

Addressing the issue again in last week's program, Ms Hingston said the Catholic Church didn't 'understand the lived experiences' of people like her.

'The love I had for Peg, and hers for me, just made it so clear that this was such a beautiful gift,' she said.

'Its so obvious that you have something that you will go through hell and high water for.'
Lake George Reflection (circa 1921) via Wikimedia Commons

What comes to mind when you think of Georgia OKeeffe?

Bleached skulls in the desert?

Aerial views of clouds, almost cartoonish in their puffiness?

Voluptuous flowers (freighted with an erotic charge the artist may not have intended)?

Probably not Polaroid prints of a dark haired pet chow sprawled on flagstones

Or watercolor sketches of demurely pretty ladies

Or a massive cast iron abstraction

If your knowledge of Americas most celebrated female artists is confined to the gift shops greatest hits, you might enjoy a leisurely prowl through the 1100+ works in the Georgia OKeeffe Museums digital collection.





A main objective of this beta release is to provide a more complete understanding of the life and work of the iconic artist, who died in 1986 at the age of 98.

Her evolution is evident when you search by materials or date.

You can also view works by other artists in the collection, including two very significant men in her life, photographer Alfred Stieglitz and ceramicist Juan Hamilton.

Each items listing is enhanced with information on inscriptions and exhibitions, as well as links to other works produced in the same year.

If your explorations leave you in a creative mood, the museums website has devised a host of OKeeffe-inspired, all-ages creative assignments, such as an advertising challenge stemming from her 1939 trip to Hawaii to design promotional images for the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (now known as Dole).

Visit the Georgia OKeeffe Museums online collection here. And watch a documentary introduction to OKeeffee, narrated by Gene Hackman, below:

Related Content:

The Real Georgia OKeeffe: The Artist Reveals Herself in Vintage Documentary Clips

Georgia OKeeffe: A Life in Art, a Short Documentary on the Painter Narrated by Gene Hackman

How Georgia OKeeffe Became Georgia OKeeffe: An Animated Video Tells the Story

Ayun Halliday is an author, illustrator, theater maker and Chief Primatologist of the East Village Inky zine. Follow her @AyunHalliday.
Police said that a 25-year-old man was found dead near his house in a village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.

Station House Officer (SHO) Satendra Singh said the man was suspected to have committed suicide on Thursday evening in Hashampur village but his family members alleged that he was killed.

The family members of the deceased held a protest and lodged a complaint against three people.

Singh said the mans body was sent for postmortem two hours later due to the protest over his death and added that an investigation was underway.

In the neighbouring Shamli district, a 38-year-old man died after shooting himself in Dagrol village on Thursday, SHO Karmvir Singh said.

His body was sent for a postmortem examination, the SHO said, adding that the deceased had been depressed for some time.

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The spread of the coronavirus is accelerating across Africa with extreme rapidity. Every one of the continents 54 countries, with a total of 1.2 billion people, has reported cases of the disease.

While the virus was initially slow to take hold, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned, Even though these cases in Africa account for less than 3 percent of the global total it is clear that the pandemic is accelerating.

Health care workers in Africa. (Credit: World Health Organization)

The WHO has warned that up to 10 million will be infected over the coming three to six months and that 300,000 people will die on the African continent. That is assuming mitigation measures are put in place by the authorities. Without measures to mitigate the disease, millions could die.

The first case was reported February 14 in Egypt, at least 45 days after China first alerted the WHO about a novel coronavirus. At this point, of the 95,333 confirmed cases across the world, most were in mainland China. A few weeks later, Algeria, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia and South Africa confirmed cases of the virus.

By March 20, the continent had officially recorded 1,000 cases. It took 98 days to reach 100,000 cases but only another 18 days to reach 200,000 cases. By May 13, every country had recorded a case, with Lesotho being the last to do so. Since then, the number of cases has risen by more than 60 percent. More than half of all the countries are experiencing community spread, with the number of cases now topping 336,000.

As of June 25, 8,856 deaths had been recorded, a likely underestimate given the continents limited health care facilities, poor recording systems and the experience of widespread under-reporting in the advanced countries relative to the number of excess deaths.

At first, the international media speculated that Africas apparent low incidence and spread were due to its younger age demographic, race and the warmer weather. This has been firmly contradicted by the rapid spread of the disease.

A Lancet study pointed out that the countries with more connections to the world economy were more likely to import the virus, such as Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Nigeria and Ethiopia. Africas more advanced economies were the first to become infected and also had the highest capacity to respond to it.

Because of economic backwardness, Africa remains deeply disconnected from the rest of the worldonly 5 percent of global tourism flows reach Africa, for example. While there is migration within Africa, there is relatively little into the continent. The number of Chinese nationals working on Chinese investment projects in Africa was 201,057 by the end of 2018, according to official Chinese sources, around 16 percent of Chinas total overseas workforce. Of these, 23 percent went to Algeria.

Algeria, Angola, Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia accounted for 58 percent of all Chinese workers in Africa at the end of 2018.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that despite the initially low number of cases the best advice for Africa is to prepare for the worst and prepare today, concluding, I think Africa should wake up, I think my continent should wake up.

The Africa Center for Disease Control (CDC) chief John Nkengasong issued an equally dire warning, stating, Weve gone from looming threat to looming disaster.

There are on average just five hospital beds per 1 million inhabitants in Africa, compared to 4,000 in Europe. With most countries lacking the most basic health care infrastructure to cope with the pandemic, most governments moved swiftly to impose lockdowns.

The economic impact has plunged millions of Africans into extreme poverty and starvation. Prices for basic commodities, one of the continents main exports, have fallen. Remittances from the diasporaoften 10 percent or more of a countrys GDPhave collapsed as have key sectors such as horticulture due to the lack of flights to Europe.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, warned about the economic fallout from the pandemic. Noting the scale of the continents indebtedness even before the outbreak, he said, African governments have issued more than $130 billion in Eurobonds, including $70 billion between 2017 and 2019  As a result, debt servicing costs have jumped from 17.4 percent of exports in 2013 to 32.4 percent in 2019.

Debt levels will make it impossible for governments to pay public sector wages, severely disrupting what little remains of social services, including education and health, while per capita income falls. All this as Zambia and Zimbabwe face the worst drought in their history and East Africa faces devastation from locust swarms and floods.

A recent UN report on coronavirus in Africa warned that social unrest would result without a $100 billion investment in health care and a social response, plus another $100 billion to manage the economic fallout. Little in the way of either international aid, grants or debt relief has been forthcoming.

Most African countries have now eased the lockdowns in a back-to-work drive to create profits for the multinational corporations and banks.

In Nigeria, where the most violent lockdown in the world happened with at least 18 people killed by security forces, President Muhammadu Buhari declared, No country can afford the full impact of a sustained lockdown, while awaiting the development of vaccines.

In South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa cynically used the economic hardship suffered by workers as a reason to reduce the lockdown level from five to three and reopen the economy.

African health systems, ill-equipped and understaffed, are now breaking under the burden of the pandemic. Many quarantine areas are dilapidated with reports of bad or inadequate food.

Epidemiologists from Africa CDC have warned of a catastrophic shortage of medical supplies and health care workers as border closures and price increases further drain the healthcare system. According to Xinhua News, at least 3,500 South African health care workers are infected with COVID-19. In the Western Cape, which has a disproportionate number of cases, intensive care beds are filling up.

Despite the WHOs recommendation to test, trace and isolate, many African governmentsto the extent that they ever embraced themhave abandoned these basic measures to contain the spread of the virus, even as it starts to rip through the population.

Many African governments are struggling to keep track of the coronavirus and are unable to perform enough tests. Laboratories are often unable to process test results quickly, with the turnaround time in South Africa, the most advanced African economy, being around 12 days. According to the Economist , in June, African countries had tested, on average, fewer than 1,700 people per 1 million, a fraction of the number in rich countries (America had done 26 times more per million people).

While South Africa has carried out more than 1 million testsfar more than most African countriesthis is well below what is required. The Economist noted that Nigeria with a capacity for at least 10,000 tests per day, has carried out fewer than 900 a day since its first case at the end of February.

The claim that there is not enough money for health care is a lie. In the wake of the George Floyd murder by the police in the US, which has sparked protests in many African countries, African governments continue to spend on the military and the police in preparation for mounting opposition in the working class.

Zimbabwean doctor Norman Matara told Human Rights Watch, When you look at the defence budget, they buy state-of-the-art military equipment, so this is not about poverty; it is about genuine political commitment.

President Emmerson Mnangagwas administration, which came to power in Zimbabwe through a military coup in 2017, bought 50,000 mortar bombs and 58,500 grenades last year. Nigeria recently bought $152 million worth of military equipment from China, including VT-4 main battle tanks, SH-5 self-propelled howitzers and other equipment to strengthen its land forces in the fight against Boko Haram militants in the north east of the country. Lieutenant General Lamidi Adeosun, the Nigerian Army Chief of Policy and Plans, stated that this was just a tip of the iceberg.
NORRISTOWN  While the initial federal funding that Montgomery County received for COVID-19 testing may be ending soon, local officials are committed to keeping walk-up, community-based testing sites open and will use other available funding to do so.

County Commissioners Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said the federal funding for virus testing first allocated in March for a drive-thru testing site in the county will end on June 30.

This change has been anticipated and the county has been planning for this transition. Based on resident feedback, the county, beginning July 6 will stand up new, walk-up testing sites around the county and will continue to operate the existing walk-up sites in Norristown and Pottstown, Arkoosh said.

Officials plan to announce the locations of the new walk-up testing sites on July 1.

I want to emphasize that these county-run sites will also be no cost, although insurance will be billed if you have it. They will not require a health care providers order and we will test any individuals of any age who want or need to be tested, Arkoosh said.

Funding for the new sites, Arkoosh said, will be covered by federal CARES Act monies the county is slated to receive. The county previously was earmarked to receive about $145 million under the CARES Act to fight the coronavirus.

Pennsylvanias seven largest counties, including Montgomery County, received funds directly from the federal government under the CARES Act.

The CARES Act established the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund. The CARES Act requires that payments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund only be used to cover expenses that are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency associated with the coronavirus, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The county has been facilitating three community-based testing sites in Norristown, Pottstown and Whitpain. The three sites will be open Monday, June 29 and Tuesday, June 30, but will be closed beginning July 1.

A walk-up testing site is available at the countys Office of Public Health Pottstown Health Center at 364 King St. Testing will be available next Monday and Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. by appointment only. To make an appointment, residents should call 610-970-2937 beginning at 8:30 a.m. on the day youd like to be tested.

A walk-up community-based testing site also is located on the parking lot of the Delaware Valley Community Health Norristown Regional Health Center, 1401 DeKalb St., in Norristown. Testing will be available next Monday and Tuesday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Residents can register for testing by calling 610-592-0680 starting at 8:30 a.m. daily.

Arkoosh said the plan is to reopen the Pottstown and Norristown walk-up sites on July 6 under the new funding stream.

There will be additional sites that open on Monday, July 6 and we will share that information next week as soon as it is finalized, Arkoosh explained.

The drive-thru testing site at the central campus of the Montgomery County Community College in Whitpain will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Monday and Tuesday.

Registration for appointments will open at 8 a.m. daily and will remain open until all available spots are filled. Individuals can register online at www.montcopa.org/COVID-19 or can call 610-631-3000 to register for a testing appointment.

The drive-thru site in Whitpain has been in operation since April 16.

Arkoosh expressed thanks to community college officials, Whitpain officials and township police, the Pennsylvania National Guard who staffed the site and all the residents who live near the testing site for assisting with the operation.

It has been extraordinary work and we are so grateful for the efforts that everyone has made to make sure that all Montgomery County residents and residents from across our region can be tested, Arkoosh said.

The drive-thru site previously was operated at Temple Universitys Ambler Campus in Upper Dublin from March 20 to April 10, when testing supplies and federal funding was set to end.

However, U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-4th Dist., wrote a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services officials urging continued federal support to continue a testing site, stressing that without the support of the federal government the testing site would be closed.

Days later, officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency responded by committing to provide additional federal funding for a drive-thru testing site to remain in the county through June 30.

At that point, officials decided to move the site to the community college campus in Whitpain.
Newsom Modeling guides our actions not our future View Photo

Sacramento, CA  As Californias COVID-19 testing numbers continue to rise, the governor appealed to citizen scientists towards helping residents better understand the pandemics impacts and how their responses make a huge difference.

In his Thursday COVID-19 briefing, Governor Gavin Newsom explained a set of tools his Administration was rolling out that are intended to refine state and counties insights and knowledge about disease spread from the pandemic and encourage more collaboration between the states and researchers. He also instructed all state agencies and departments to make all COVID-19 data and information publicly accessible excepting that which would violate privacy.

California is home to some of the worlds most accomplished researchers, technologists, scientists, acclaimed universities, and leading technology companies. Today, I am opening more California data for them to help inform our efforts in combating this disease, Newsom stated.

As he debuted the California COVID Assessment Tool (CalCAT), he described it as an open-source model of models that will allow scientists, researchers, and the public to access the most current COVID-19 data and models so they can be analyzed and improved upon.

The modeling in the new tool includes Nowcasts, geared to show how fast the infection rate is spreading now; forecasts of what can be expected within the next two to four weeks; and scenarios of what long-term impacts might be in store considering various variables. While these models and forecasts make different assumptions, all of them show that individual actions can dramatically change the trajectory of the virus, he pointed out.

He emphasized, Our states ability to slow the spread of the virus and keep more people from getting sick depends on Californians acting responsibly and following public health guidelines. That means wearing a face covering, staying physically distant, and staying at home if you are older or at risk.

California, the countrys most populous state, is among those where infections are on the rise. As of Thursday, the statewide COVID case numbers were up 2.8 percent at 195,571 cases with 5,733 deaths, which is a 1.8 percent increase. There have been 101 deaths since Tuesday.

The reported testing total to date is 3,694,345 with an increase of 101,446 tests since Tuesday. The rate of positive tests over the last 14 days is 5.1 percent, which is a half percent more than 14 days ago. Californias hospitalizations due to the virus increased by 145 since Tuesday.

While both Tuolumne and Calaveras counties, respectively at 9 and 26 confirmed COVID-19 cases, are in the bottom dozen of the states 58 counties and neither has reported any related deaths, adjacent Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties are seeing a surge of new cases, reporting 189 and 178 in the past two days. Stanislaus so far has 2,039 cases resulting in 38 deaths. San Joaquin has 2,680 with 49 reported deaths.
The developers of a major student apartment scheme in Cork city centre are aiming to have the new complex operating by September 2022.

Revised plans for the redevelopment of the former Square Deal building on Washington Street have been lodged with An Bord Pleanala. Developers are now proposing a 50 apartment plan, accommodating some 280 students.

This is an increase from a plan for 209 student beds on the site, which was approved in 2018.

The plans were lodged by an investment fund called IRE Real Estate Investment Partners Fund II.

The development includes 18 eight-bed apartments, ten seven-bed units, and a mix of one to six beds, including ten one-bed studios. That is in addition to a gym, lounge and study areas, a library, a private dining room, management offices and comms rooms. The complex will also include a cafe or commercial unit on the ground floor, as well as 140 bicycle parking spaces, internal courtyards and roof terraces.

There are no car parking spaces included.

Artist impression of the Square Deal / Washington Street development. Supplied by Digital Dimensions.

They noted the government's National Student Accommodation Strategy which states there is a need for more than 6,500 purpose-built student beds in the city.

The development would regenerate the former Square Deal furniture building, which has been vacant since 2015 and was sold for 5 million in 2017. Part of the site is a protected structure, while the building is also recorded on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage -NIAH- for its architectural and historical merit.

The protected structure will be conserved, with works planned for its roof, windows and doors to restore the structure.

Artist impression of the Square Deal / Washington Street development. Supplied by Digital Dimensions.

A series of public realm upgrades are also planned for the surrounding streets, with Woods and Lynch's Streets both set to be widened. New paving and public lighting will be added too.

The development will be managed by the Nido Collection, a UK-based student accommodation provider. It is currently working on its first tranche of new student developments in Ireland, including sites in Dublin, Galway and Cork. Its first Cork complex is at Curraheen Point, the former Gillan House on Farranlea Road, whose 145 student beds are due to be available for September 2020.

Artist impression of the Square Deal / Washington Street development. Supplied by Digital Dimensions.

The development will be named Broga House, and the full planning documents can be viewed at brogahouseshd.ie.
The global trade body for airlines has urged Hong Kong and other places with strict quarantine rules to ensure that travellers flying in from high-risk countries are tested for Covid-19 first before boarding flights to avoid the influx of imported cases that the city is currently facing.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reiterated its criticism of mandatory quarantining for arrivals, suggesting high-risk travellers should instead be screened at the source before allowing them in, as Hong Kong confirmed 14 more imported cases on Thursday.

They were identified as nine men and five women  12 from Pakistan, one from India and one from the Philippines  taking the citys total to 1,193.

Health authorities also reported on Thursday the death of a 55-year-old stroke patient, who was flown back from the Philippines via air ambulance on Tuesday and tested positive for Covid-19. He was the citys third coronavirus fatality in a week and the seventh in total.

While Hong Kong has not recorded a local transmitted case for 12 straight days, it has been facing a surge of imported infections, primarily among residents returning from Pakistan.

On Wednesday, health authorities sent 10 would-be transit passengers who had been stranded at the airport for five days to a government quarantine facility after realising they had arrived on the same Saturday flight as 26 others previously found to be infected.

There was one more traveller in the transit group who agreed to be flown back to Dubai. Among the 10 who were quarantined, one showed symptoms on Thursday night and was sent to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital.

Hong Kong International Airport currently has a ban in place on transit flights to cities in mainland China, where the 11 passengers were headed. A source told the Post that a breakdown in communication had resulted in the delayed response to their situation.

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The 26 imported cases who shared the Emirates Airlines flight with the stranded travellers were Hong Kong residents returning from Pakistan.

If testing could have been done prior to departure, those passengers would have been picked out and wouldnt have flown, IATA assistant director of external affairs James Wiltshire said at a weekly news briefing. Thats where the testing for higher-risk countries within 24 hours in the community and not at the airport would help, especially in the Emirates case.

IATA also took the opportunity to ramp up its objections to mandatory quarantine, which it equated to an unnecessary full travel ban.

Travellers walk past a thermal scanner at Hong Kongs airport. Photo: EPA-EFE

We understand you dont want to reimport Covid-19, and that you want to control travellers potentially being infected, director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said.

For that, the key, probably, the solution, is testing. Secondly, if you implement the multilayered approach recommended by worldwide guidelines  it should significantly reduce the risk of transmission on board from country A to country B.

The International Air Transport Association has reiterated its criticism of mandatory quarantining for arrivals.

The guidelines he was referring to were unveiled by the UN aviation agency at the beginning of this month. They are a detailed series of health recommendations designed to limit contact between passengers, airport staff and cabin crew, and would affect every stage of the air travel process.

The Hong Kong governments strict measures to keep a lid on infections in the city have been largely successful, but they have been a source of frustration to IATA and the aviation industrys wider push to reopen borders.

The core issue is whether pretesting is a viable alternative to quarantining people on arrival.

Also on Thursday, a source told the Post that micro-cracks found in toilet sewage pipes could be a reason why nine tenants at Lek Yuen public housing estate in Sha Tin were infected earlier this month.

The source, privy to the results of a joint investigation by the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said they had also found that a sewage pipe had been repaired in a ninth-floor flat, which was probably why tenants of that particular unit avoided infection.

To date, 9.36 million Covid-19 infections have been reported globally, of which 480,000 have proved fatal.

Hardest hit is the United States, which alone has recorded more than 2.4 million infections and 124,000 deaths. Americas three most populous states have reported new highs in daily cases, prompting New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to impose quarantine orders on travellers coming in from eight other states.

The European Union said it was considering shutting out American arrivals, while countries such as Australia have also warned that borders would not reopen until next year. China remains sealed off to visitors as well.

Reopening borders is a thorny issue for countries that are managing to bring the pandemic under control but remain wary of a relapse as the global crisis continues to take its toll.

IATA on Thursday offered a two-step approach to scrapping quarantine requirements for arriving passengers.

The first step focuses on discouraging symptomatic people from travelling and giving them the flexibility to rebook flights to ensure they are not pressured into taking off.

The second step calls for tougher enforcement of preflight health declarations and making testing a prerequisite, particularly for high-risk countries.

More from South China Morning Post:

This article Coronavirus: Hong Kong among places urged by world aviation body to test incoming travellers prior to flight to avoid surge in imported cases first appeared on South China Morning Post

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March 17 was to be celebrated as St. Patricks Day for the 5th century patron saint who brought Christianity to the emerald isle of Ireland. Students in the Lone Star College System and others like them will remember the date as the beginning of isolation from the world because of the coronavirus pandemic.

College administrators were already familiar with apocalyptic circumstances having endured Hurricane Harvey just a few years earlier, but this was not a few affected countiesit was worldwide.

Food assistance needs on the rise: East Harris Salvation Army seeks more donations to meet surging need

We were scheduled to return from spring break on the 17th but we extended it a week to March 23, said Kyle Scott, vice chancellor of strategic priorities.

Notifying students was easy since the college already has an alert system through email and text.

We made immediate updates to the website and all of our social media feeds and our penetration was pretty solid there. Students knew something was changing and they were actively monitoring more than they normally would.

More Information DID YOU KNOW: -The Lone Star College system has seven campuses and is the largest community college in the nation. -LSC has the largest Hispanic enrollment in the nation -LSC ranks No. 1 in the nation for online student enrollment Here are the enrollment figures for the Spring semester of 2020: LSC-CyFair: 20,713 LSC-Houston North: 1,944 LSC-Kingwood: 11,330 LSC-Montgomery: 14,937 LSC-North Harris: 12,570 LSC-Tomball: 8,437 LSC-University Park: 12,180 See More Collapse

On HoustonChronicle.com: Hidalgo urges Harris County, now at highest threat level, to stay home as COVID-19 surges

Our biggest challenge was getting the message right, he said.

Scott said they mulled over the tone of the messages while monitoring the daily, almost hourly changes going on from the local, state, and national government.

We didnt want to walk ourselves into a decision that could be overturned in the next day or two, the vice chancellor said.

Mitigating the migration

Two weeks later, a mass migration began.

We moved our students and faculty over from face-to-face instruction to online learning, Scott said. It was no small feat.

The good news for the college is that they already had the training portal and procedures for setting up online instruction.

Everyone who comes to work for Lone Star to teach an online class is required to go through a certification process that we developed in-house. It was a matter of getting those professors who werent certified through the classes, he said.

Since it was existing software, no cost was incurred to the college district for the training.

They work through the modules and once completed they can build out their classes online. The software they used already had enough licenses available that the college didnt have to expand it. Again, no cost incurred.

I wouldnt say it was easy, after having been through Harvey, but we at least we knew the processes necessary to get it done, Scott said.

The concern for administrators and faculty across the board focused on student retention.

A look at the drop rate from fall of last year to the end of the semester showed a 4 percent drop rate. This year, despite the pandemic, the drop rate went down to a mere 3 percent.

We actually retained more students this year than we did last year, Scott said.

Summer enrollment numbers are up 8 percent over last year.

By the end of the semester, there was much to reflect on and for top brass to crow about.

Graduation numbers in the spring were up 7 percent year over year, said Bill Van Rysdam, manager of media relations.

We finished with about 70,000 students that converted to online instruction, he said, and with a fairly insignificant loss of students, most of which were workforce-related training.

Students in those workforce classes returned on May 4 and finished their face-to-face classes to earn their certificates.

Keeping it healthy

There are 24 buildings open across the seven campuses, each with a single entrance and exit.

At each of the entrances and exits they are monitoring temperature checks, PPE, supplying PPE if they dont have it, and they must have with them a standard COVID questionnaire that is used by most around the country for screening potential carriers or those who might be positive with the virus, he said.

Thats the first line of clearance.

Theres a triage for those who fail the check who are sent home to quarantine or to a doctor for treatment.

We follow the guidelines that have been given us, but also try to exceed those, Scott said.

Hand sanitizer and handwashing is available around the campus including signage with instructions. Masks are required the entire time people are on campus.

Financing the pandemic

The online delivery method changed and with few expenses for groundskeeping and other items related to on-campus learning, there were some savings that balanced the outgo of funds.

We maintain a triple-A bond rating and one of the factors in going into that bond rating is our reserve fund, Scott said.

Scott estimated the fund was about 17 percent of the budget which would easily cover 90 days of operating expenses in the event of a catastrophe.

The government acted quickly in releasing the CARE Act funds that helped us to cover some of those operational expenses, he said.

Fifty percent of the money could be used for operational expenses and the remainder went to students affected by COVID-19.

The formula took into account certain factors such as students on Pell Grants and spring enrollment. The amount dispersed for the LSC system equaled out to $28 million.

A good bit of the money went to safety measures such as the purchase of PPE for everyone on campus and deep cleaning of the facilities.

Another parcel of the money was invested in 5,000 laptop computers that will be made available to students who didnt already have them to assist in their education.

The distribution of those will occur in August once the requirements have been set, Scott said.

Through the grant funds, LSC can provide emergency financial grants to students to help cover expenses related to disruptions due to the coronavirus such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and childcare. Fall applications open July 20.

The college of the future

Looking at a new normal for the college system means some instructional challenges.

Scott said, as of right now, 50 percent of the classes will be online, 25 percent in a face-to-face delivery, and 25 percent in a hybrid model.

Nobody can know if all of those face-to-face classes will eventually have to shift to online learning, he said. Until then, they continue planning with hopes of no disruption.

Weve shown that you can be successful and not lose students, and even add students in an online environment. Well follow that trend through the fall, he said.

Social distancing, if required then, could lead to double the number of face-to-face classes and could include night classes and weekends to get all the sections in for students who might enroll.

Thats untenable from a financial perspective, he said.

With the pandemic, the college is running approximately two weeks behind because of late graduations and release by area school districts.

With the two-week lag, we are about even to where we should be for fall enrollment, but we anticipate a positive increase, the vice chancellor said.

Students may be reluctant to attend a residential college in the fall. Scott said even if they took online classes from a four-year college, the LSC system would be more cost effective. With the reduction of workforce, he said they are anticipating an influx of students who would be looking to reskill or upskill.

At the February board meeting, regents had approved a slight tuition and fee increase, but that has since been frozen and postponed at least until Spring 2021.

dtaylor@hcnonline.com
For the last several weeks, medical supply vendors have swamped Martin Pollio with flyers, emails, and phone calls. Hes one of their most sought-after customers.

Pollio, the superintendent of the 100,000-student Jefferson County district in Louisville, Ky., has made tentative plans to reopen school buildings this fall. To do so, he estimates his district will need to spend close to $10 million on face masks alone, in order to abide by recently issued state health guidelines.

We understand that the safety and health of our students and staff is the most important thing for us, without a doubt, said Pollio, who plans to start a formal procurement process for personal protective equipment, or PPE, next month. But the logistics of this are not easy.

As school districts move ahead with planning how and when to reopen, administrators will soon start buying masks, gowns, boxes of tissues, bottles of hand sanitizer, and jugs of bleach. The scale of purchasing is enormous: There are 55 million students and 7 million employees in public schools.

Its an unprecedented and daunting shopping venture, superintendents and chief financial officers say.

Buying for an Uncertain Future

Without another round of federal bailout money, many school districts face deep budget cuts in the coming months. At the same time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with state and local health departments, are issuing an evolving list of health guidelines that will require districts to collectively spend close to $25 billion on PPE and cleaning supplies, according to a study by AASA, the School Superintendents Association.

School administratorsnew to the medical supply marketplaceare now asking: Which vendor has the sturdiest and most child-friendly masks? What sizes should they be? Who has the cheapest prices? How much should I buy?

See Also: The Socially Distanced School Day

And complicating it all is the very real prospect that schools may have to shut down again as COVID-19 continues to spread and new outbreaks hit. That could mean spending money on gear that doesnt get used.

Its hard to know what next month will bring, let alone six months from now, Pollio said. I dont want to end the year with 8 million masks sitting in storage.

To operate any form of in-person instruction, administrators must reduce class sizes, expand online learning, and quadruple bus routes in order to maintain social distancing. All of this will come at a price that many high-poverty districts can ill afford .

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said in a recent appearance on CNBC that he will encourage the federal government to help cover some of those PPE costs for schools. And its possible that in the future, because the pandemic was declared a national emergency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, will reimburse districts for PPE equipment and cleaning costs.

But in the meantime, states and districts are on their own.

Navigating an Unfamiliar Market

As the virus raged through the spring, the PPE market was plagued with fraud and price-gouging . While its calmed down in more recent months as supplies have become more widely available, some states have stepped in to assist districts, providing sample shopping lists and contact information for pre-approved vendors.

In California, the states health department has set aside for schools 47,000 no-touch thermometers, 14 million cloth face coverings for each of its students, and more than 143,000 bottles of hand sanitizer.

Because of the scarcity of supplies, the state has stepped in to keep people safe, said Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the governors Office of Emergency Services.

Illinois Emergency Management Agency purchased a cloth face mask for each one of its 2 million students.

And Texas education department is distributing to schools this summer 53 million disposable masks, 1 million face shields, and 600,000 gallons of hand sanitizer on pallets, even as it had to delay releasing specific guidance on what schools need to buy. Record-setting numbers of new coronavirus infections in Texas over the last several days have complicated planning for school reopenings there. A tentative draft of guidance had loose restrictions on whether students and teachers should wear masks inside schools.

Other states, such as Arizona, have tried to help districts by loosening rules around procurement so districts can more quickly select PPE vendors.

North Carolina has prescribed what districts need to buy to prevent the spread of the virus. On the list:

A quarter gallon a day of hand sanitizer (at least 60 percent alcohol) for every school entrance, exit, and classroom;

Five cloth masks for every student, teacher, and staff member;

10 disposable masks per day for school visitors and students who forget to bring their masks;

One box of tissue per week on every school bus, two boxes of tissues each week for every elementary and middle school classroom and one box of tissues each week for every high school classroom;

Two pairs of disposable gloves per day for every staff member tasked with temperature screening students.

The purchases are strongly recommended, but not required and, other than providing each district with a start-up kit, the state has no plans to pay for it.

Last week, Patrick Miller, the superintendent of Greene County schools in Snow Hill, N.C., gathered his staff members around a table and started adding up the costs.

The 3,000-student district is rural with large numbers of poor families. It has struggled for several years straight to recruit and retain teachers and bus drivers.

Said Miller: When we got to $600,000, I told them to stop because were already bankrupt.
When on Tuesday news broke out that a protest was held in Katsina over the incessant banditry attacks and mindless killings going on across many states in Northern Nigeria, I was happy. According to reports, the protesters demanded an end to the persistent invasion and mass killings across the northern states especially in Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto and Benue. When I read that the protest ended peacefully, I was hoping the government would do something about the message. At least, I thought to myself, the government now knows some people are beginning to get uncomfortable with how insecurity is being handed with kids gloves and felt the need to reiterate to the government what many of us have been saying that it has failed in its duty to protect lives and properties of the citizens its been charged with.

But barely forty-eight hours after news of the peaceful protest, it was reported that the leader of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) that championed the protest in Katsina, Mr Nastura Sharif had been arrested and detained at the Force Headquarters in connection with the protest. According to a statement credited to the Groups Director of Operations, Aminu Adam in This Day newspaper, the Katsina State Commissioner of Police, Mr Sanusi Buba, had invited him, Sharif, and four others to his office for an interaction during which he told them that the Inspector General of Police wanted to see Sharif. From that meeting, they were taken to Abuja where the arrest and detention was made.

That was the governments usual manner of attacking the messenger but discarding his message with a wave of hand. For a long time, people in power in Nigeria have done that to any of their critics. They sought a way to shut down their critics and discard their criticisms as if they were as unimportant as the persons bearing them. They know the messages of the messenger are true but the ego that comes with the position they occupy wouldnt let them listen to them. They have a deep resentment for anyone that dare point out their errors in the public because thats what a public protest is all about most of the time. They are used to people singing their praises that they would do anything to clamp down on anyone and anything on whose lips their shortcomings is a sweet melody. So far, that method has proven to be successful.

People with power know how much people fear the loss of their freedom and would do anything to avoid it. To spread their fear, they go after the leader of any protest. When that is done, and the leader has been arrested and/or detained, other people would back down for fear of suffering the same fate. Jesus knew it a long time ago when he said when the shepherd is attacked, his flocks would scatter. It is a tactics that people in power often use to ensure that their administration escape any form of criticism. Arrest the leader and watch his followers dissipate. They exploit the peoples fear and use it to keep them silent. They that are on the wrong side would suddenly spin the situation to make it seem as if they were the victims and make the real victims look like the villains. They want to maintain their public image to the detriment of the people they are governing. However, the proclivity to clampdown on critics is not an exclusive feature of political officers. It is common anywhere power and influence are found.

When in 2018 Ojo Aderemi, a former Students Union President at the University of Ibadan was rusticated for four semesters by the universitys Students Disciplinary Committee in connection to a protest he led in 2017, it wasnt so much about what the protest was about but it was much about what it does to the image of the people it was staged against. The protest which was held on the 29th of May, 2017 was to express the students dissatisfaction over paying for ID cards which they were not given. The protest seemed justified to all the students but the school management saw it as blasphemous. They treated the protest as an affront and outright disrespect for the school authority. As a result, the students were sent home for about six weeks.

But when the ID cards were later produced and none came with a chip that was promised, the students, many of whom had begged to resume from the strike, were afraid to question the authority. And when Ojo Aderemi and about four to five other students were rusticated for their role in the protest, none of the students had the courage to say or do anything. They just continued as if the rusticated students acted for their own good during the protest. That shows how the school management had turned the situation around. First, they sent the students home for demanding what they paid for but was not given to them. That was the first step toward silencing them. That silencing was completed with the rustication of Ojo Aderemi and others. Nobody wanted to be like them. Ironically, these happened in a higher institution of learning where people are supposed to be trained on how to question things and to accept harmless criticism as a form of correction.

Unfortunately, that is the way we have been conditioned to live in Nigeria. It is not true that we have the best adaptability skills in the world. It is because of the fear of what would happen to us when we decide to speak out. It started from when we were little and we were often shouted down by the elderly ones when they talking as an authority over a topic they knew little or nothing about. They beat us not because our opinions were wrong but because we dared express them the way we did. Once a person is given a numerical advantage in terms of age over others, then he feels the other person doesnt have the right to correct him over anything because he believes his age has given him a higher level of clarity.

When we grow up and pride ourselves as survivors of political maladministration when we could have demanded for something better, we were simply following a pattern that started since we were young. It is our seeming ability to always get used to it that has made us the type of people that grope under the burden of bad governance. We couldnt challenge the people in authority when they acting in their own benefit. We fear the people that should fear us because at the end of the day, our silence and cowardice would be justified as merely a strong survival instinct. Now, we are like people that didnt have a control over their necessary human experiences. When people with state powers throw anything we dont like at us, we simply activate our adaptability skills whilst waiting for the next worse thing to come.

These days, it doesnt even look like we are under a democratic government. The people in government loathe any form of peaceful protest as if it was an arrangement to dethrone them from their elevated seat. It is easy for them to do because political power in Nigeria seems to come with a high degree of absoluteness. Political leaders in Nigeria have enormous power to the detriment of all of us. Their powers often go unchecked. They could get away with anything without so much resistance from the people. They could steal money that is meant for public good and the people they stole it from would still celebrate them with chieftaincy titles.

With their unchecked power comes an unrestricted access to the treasury. In Nigeria, our leaders are allowed close control of the treasury that when they mismanaged it, none of us would know. In cases where we know, we were unable to do anything about it. The story of Nigerian politicians is like that of a hungry man that is left with an unguarded pot of stew with big chunks of meat. Any times he feels like eating, he goes to the pot and pick any meat that appeals to his taste. He continues picking meat from the pot until all the meats are gone. When the owner of the stew comes around, then she realises her failure in leaving her pot of stew with a hungry man unguarded. Of course we could say the hungry man has no right to pick anything from the pot. That would be like condemning like a thief for stealing something in your room when he met your door unlocked when you were not under any pressure to leave it open.

Where there is money and power, the person wielding both is susceptible to human frailties which include the abuse of both. When people abuse power and they know it would go unpunished, they grow more confident. That was why when Omoyele Sowore was detained by the DSS in 2019, it wasnt so much because of the #RevolutionNow protest but because the government knew nothing would happen if Sowore was arrested and detained without trial or bail. As I have mentioned earlier, the people with power knew when the leader of their opposition is gone, very little is left of the followers.

The Black Lives Matter protest that tailed the killing of George Floyd should teach us one or two lessons. When Derek Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second degree manslaughter on the 29th of May, it was because the people condemned the government for leaving the matter for four days without an arrest or prosecution. When the people saw that the charge against Chauvin was third-degree murder and that the three officers that were with him were only fired but not charged, they continued to speak against it. Some days after, the charge against Chauvin was reviewed to second-degree murder. The three officers that were with him have now been charged with aiding and abetting murder. That is the power of speaking out.

Every abuse of power often starts with the abuser trying to make the people live with what they are not comfortable. When the people allow it to pass without question, then the abuse will continue. But if it was stopped the first time, then the abuser would know there is so little he could get away with. Unfortunately, we have allowed people that abuse power to our detriment get away with it for too long. But it is never too late to start demanding for better because we deserve better. We should rise above our differences and confront our abusers. If we dont do so, we are giving them the strength to continue.
What was Gladwin City Councils last meeting before having to adopt a budget turned into a heated display by one resident calling council racist and disgusting after being told his time to speak was up.

Todd Hall wants to petition for a public review board to hold Gladwin and Beaverton police, along with Gladwin County sheriff's deputies, accountable. He explained there was supposed to be a meeting with officers. However, that meeting fell through due to miscommunication. Hall spent his time asking why there was no meeting and addressing the situation with a recent protester who was arrested June 17 in front of the Gladwin County Courthouse.

He said authorities let the man scream profanities and racial slurs outside the courthouse for three days and did nothing. He noted that Gladwin County Sheriff Mike Shea said the man was shouting profanities. But Hall said the man also included racial slurs such as the N word in his diatribe on a bullhorn.

Racial slurs are not swear words, Hall said. Please know that.

Hall said an alleged victim in this matter is the one who confronted the man after three days of no one doing anything about it. Now that man is being charged in the incident.

Hall said the man on the bullhorn shouted, Hang the (N words), kill the (N words), we dont like the (N words).

Wheres the justice in that? asked Hall. People say theres no racism in this community.

Its sad and disgusting, Hall added.

Hall told the council he helped lead the Black Lives Matter march in Gladwin earlier this month. He said the day before the rally, Gladwin High School students were pretending to place their knee on someones neck, and that act shows there is racism in Gladwin.

Hall, who is Samoan, is offended by peoples lack of people caring about racism and the use of the N word.

Hall also said he was being assisted by councilwoman Sarah Kile to set up a meeting with county authorities. Kile attempted to involve the police chiefs from both Gladwin and Beaverton and Shea. However, the meeting did not happen. Hall said Kile lied, and he could show the council texts between she and him.

Kile also put forth her phone and said the council was free to look at all the texts between she and Hall on her phone.

Prior to Hall speaking, per custom, Gladwin Mayor Dee Jungman told Hall he had three minutes to address the council. His remark was, Guess youll have to have them drag me away, and then he began to speak.

Jungman let Hall speak for more than eight minutes before having City Manager Chris Shannon cut him off. Shannon said a council member could extend Hall's time, but there was no council motion to do so. This angered Hall.

He began spouting that the council was racist and saying the council and those in the audience, which included Gladwin City Police officers were complicit and disgusting.

Youre all complicit in racism," Hall said. "I will make sure that none of you get re-elected.

Youre all (explicative) gross, he said, before storming from the meeting, which was held in Gladwin City Park.

Council members then moved onto the remaining agenda without incident.

During council comments at the end of the meeting, Kile said she cant prove that she isnt a bigot. She said she tried to bring together a law enforcement town hall meeting. When she found the group wanted something different, she bailed out. Ultimately, it was a miscommunication that axed the meeting, she said.

After Kile spoke, councilwoman Linda Winarski commented that fireworks are not allowed in Gladwin. Then she addressed Kile.

Sarah, I do believe we need have to have a come to Jesus meeting with you because this caused us a lot of problems, Winarski noted, saying she wasnt happy about it.

The Gladwin City Attorney, Jaynie Hoerauf recently advised the council not to publicly belittle other council members to reduce conflict in the group.

After the meeting, Jungman told the Daily News that there are black people living in the city. She said there arent many, still, she wants them to have quality lives.

The mayor said she doesnt feel there is a racial problem in Gladwin. Yet, she recalls the issue of the protester, John Jarvis, who was arrested for assaulting someone who confronted him.

I thought it was very uncalled for, Jungman said of the protester, noting she was upset to find out it went on for three days.

She said the city has an ordinance regarding profanity.

Gladwin resident and business owner, Cristy Gutierrez, said she is on Kiles side because of all that the councilwoman has done for the community.

As for Sarah Kile, I will absolutely stand up and represent her. She has been the only council member to stand up for the people. Even when she stands against the majority.

When Kile was asked Thursday about the council meeting, she said she hopes discussions of a police action review panel continue.

Kile said the Black Lives Matter has to be addressed, saying just because she and others havent seen racism, doesnt mean its absent. She hopes for engagement, especially with people who feel they have been treated poorly.

As a community, Kile said Thursday, we can not let anything deter us from fighting against racism and working towards equality.
Three days after President Trump took his re-election campaign to a construction site of his border wall in Arizona, a federal appeals court ruled Friday that he had defied Congress constitutional authority over federal spending by redirecting $2.5 billion in military funds to build 130 miles of barriers in California, Arizona and New Mexico.

Congress appropriated the funds for military pay, weapons and other Defense Department purposes, and never authorized Trump to spend them on wall construction, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said in a pair of 2-1 rulings.

Funding for the wall had been denied by Congress, and the Trump administration lacked independent constitutional authority to authorize the transfer of funds, said Chief Judge Sidney Thomas, joined by Judge Kim Wardlaw. Both were appointed by President Bill Clinton.

Judge Daniel Collins, a Trump appointee, dissented from both decisions. He said the military funds were legally transferred and also that the plaintiffs  California and 15 other states, the Sierra Club and and an advocacy group for border communities  had no right to sue over the alleged violation of congressional spending powers.

Although the appeals court upheld a federal judges injunction against construction of the wall segments, the ruling did not halt construction. The Supreme Court voted 5-4 last July to allow the work to continue while the case proceeded. Its brief, unsigned decision said the administration has made a sufficient showing at this stage that the plaintiffs have no cause of action  that is, that they had not shown direct harm from the construction that would entitle them to challenge it in court.

The appeals court majority reached a different conclusion, citing the plaintiffs claims that the wall was harming the environment and wildlife at the border and the states ability to enforce their own environmental laws. Similar issues are pending before the same panel in a case over $3.6 billion for additional wall segments, and the dispute could soon return to the high court.

Theres no undoing the damage thats been done, but we will be back before the Supreme Court to finally put a stop to this destructive wall, said Dror Ladin, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer representing the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition. He said Trumps xenophobic wall is already leveling protected lands, desecrating cultural sites and destroying wildlife.

The appeals court reminded the president  once again  that no one is above the law, said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

The Trump administrations Justice Department declined to comment on the ruling.

After Congress refused to approve funds for the wall in 2018, Trump shut down many government operations for a record 35 days. When lawmakers then approved only $1.375 billion for limited barrier construction, the president declared a state of emergency over illegal immigration and said he would fund the wall with $8.1 billion that was in the budget for other purposes.

Some of the $2.5 billion at issue in Fridays case was taken from Defense Department funds under a law that allows the Pentagon to redirect spending for important unforeseen military requirements. Other funds came from congressional appropriations to stop drug smuggling.

But the border wall was not an unforeseen military requirement, Thomas said in the majority opinion. He also said the administration had not shown any evidence that a wall would reduce drug smuggling, citing Justice Department reports that smugglers most commonly bring drugs across the Southwest border in motor vehicles at U.S. ports of entry.

Both the states and private organizations whose members live at or travel to the border have a right to challenge the construction, Thomas said. For the Sierra Club, he said, the unconstitutional transfer of funds harmed their members environmental, aesthetic, and recreational interests.

In dissent, Collins said neither the states nor the private plaintiffs had any rights at stake in the funding dispute between Congress and the president. He also said Congress had assigned the military to support counter-drug activities of other agencies, and, in the Defense Department budget, had authorized the Pentagon to decide whether unforeseen military requirements justified funding for a higher priority item.

Transfers of funding for the wall were thus based on military requirements that were unforeseen and never forbidden by Congress, Collins said.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
Saniniu Laizer

A Tanzanian miner and father-of-30 children has become an overnight millionaire after digging up two massive chunks of one of the worlds rarest gemstones worth $3.35million.

The Tanzanian government handed Saniniu Laizer a cheque for 7.74 billion Tanzanian shillings ($3.35million) for the two dark violet-blue stones during a trading event in the northern region of Manyara on Wednesday, June 24.

He discovered the rarest gemstones which weighed 9.2kg and 5.8kg in the north of the country last week.

The father of 30 children who has four wives vowed to use some of the money to build a school and a shopping mall in his community, where many parents cant afford to pay for their childrens education.

President John Magufuli phoned to congratulate Laizer live on television during the presentation of his cheque.

This is a confirmation that Tanzania is rich, Magufuli told minerals minister Doto Biteko.


Popular programmes such as 'Tiger King' have driven Netflix subscriptions higher in Ireland (Netflix/PA)

Netflix is approaching 1m subscriptions in Ireland, sources close to the company have said.

The company does not break down its subscription figures by individual countries in Europe. However, people with knowledge of the figures say that the number in Ireland is expected to cross 1m sometime in the near future.

Netflixs global subscriptions have increased by half in the last two years, from 125m to 182m.

European subscriptions have doubled in the same period from 29m to 58m, according to the analysis firm Comparitech.

The UK, Netflixs largest individual European market, has 13m Netflix subscriptions, according to the Comparitech estimates. Netflix has consistently said that Irish per-capita subscription levels are around the same as the UK.

This would put the estimated Irish subscription figure at somewhere around 1m, in line with a growth curve from Comregs 2018 figures to today.

A spokesperson for Netflix declined to comment on the matter. However, people with knowledge of the figures say that the number is significantly closer to 1m than 500,000 and it has continued to rise through the pandemic lockdown.

The march of Netflix In Ireland comes as the worlds biggest online streaming platform prepares to release 59 new originals in July, including movies, documentaries and series.

The releases will include a new season of Umbrella Academy, Deadwind, Cursed, a remake of The Babysitters Club and a new Charlize Theron movie.

Unlike many film studios and premium television broadcasters, Netflix isnt facing a shortage of content due to the pandemic.

Our 2020 slate of series and films are largely shot and are in post-production stages in locations all over the world, said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer of Netflix. And were actually pretty deep into our 2021 slate. We dont anticipate moving the schedule around much and certainly not in 2020.

Streaming options in Ireland have deepened in 2020 with the arrival of Disney+, which raced to over 50m subscriptions globally within months of its launch. Sky has recently reignited a marketing push for its Now TV streaming option while Amazon Prime Video is now included as a built-in channel alongside Netflix and YouTube on most new televisions.

Alternative independent film streaming services such as Mubi have also garnered niche audiences in Ireland.




1Q2020 GROUP'S SALES AND OPERATIONS AFFECTED BY COVID-19

GROSS MARGIN IMPROVING, DESPITE DECLINING SALES

ACTIONS TAKEN TO REDUCE COSTS IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19

LIKE-FOR-LIKE DOS CHAIN STILL PROFITABLE AT STORE LEVEL

The Board of Directors of Natuzzi S.p.A. (NYSE: NTZ1) ("Natuzzi" or the "Company") approved today its 2020 first quarter unaudited consolidated financial results.

Update Of Covid-19 Impact On The Group's Operations

Consolidated net sales for the first quarter of 2020 were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, originated in China at the beginning of the year and subsequently spread globally.

As stated in our press release dated February 24, 2020, the Group's Chinese plant, located in Shanghai and currently serving the North American and Asian market, was closed for safety-related reasons for two weeks, in addition to the Chinese New Year holiday period. Operations in China started to resume only at the end of February and gradually. For the same reasons, our points of sale in China were closed during the same period.

In addition, as the contagion started to aggressively spread outside of China, in March severe lockdown measures were introduced in most of the countries in which we operate, leading to a significant reduction in the Group's and its customers' activities worldwide.

While Chinese economy has been the first to emerge from the sanitary crisis, emergency still persists in areas such as the Americas, whereas in Europe virus containment measures that were adopted locally by different governments have started to be eased only from the beginning of May.

Considering the current evolution of the contagion and the uncertainties related to its duration and intensity globally, coupled with the recent resurgence of the virus in China, it is still difficult to determine the likely extent of the economic and social effects of the pandemic on international markets and, consequently, on the Group's results for the rest of the current year. For sure, 2q2020 consolidated sales resulted in a significant reduction compared to the same period of 2019.

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Company remains strongly focused on minimizing cash outlays, including, among others, managing workforce costs, delaying capital expenditures and reducing discretionary expenses.

First Quarter 2020 results

As a result of the above-mentioned effects of the pandemic, consolidated net sales for the first quarter of 2020 were 82.5 million, down 22.4% from 106.2 million in 2019 same period.

Considering the Group's core business only (upholstery, accessories and home furnishings), net sales were 78.5 million, down 22.4% compared to last year first quarter, as a result of the 43.7% decrease in Private Label sales and a 15.9% decrease in the Natuzzi sales.

Other sales were 4.0 million.

The 15.9% decrease in Natuzzi branded revenues was the result of the 22.8% decrease in the Americas, a 12.2% decrease in the EMEAI and a 11.2% decrease in the Asia-Pacific region.

Natuzzi branded sales, generated by the direct retail (Directly Operated Stores and concessions) and third-party operated points of sale, were 65.2 million and represented 83.1% of the Group's core business, versus 76.7% in the first quarter of 2019.

TheGroup now directly operates 56 mono-brand DOS, of which 40 Natuzzi Italia, 14 Divani&Divani by Natuzzi stores and 2 new Natuzzi Editions DOS in the UK. In addition, the Group directly operates 11 Natuzzi Italia concessions in Mexico.

During the first three months of 2020, DOS sales were 14.8 million, down 10.0% versus the same period of 2019, mainly affected by the closures of most of the points of sales as a result of the lockdown measures.

On a like-for like basis, during the first quarter of 2020 revenues of the 50 DOS were down 10.6%, with a positive result at store level notwithstanding the significant decline in sales.

The Natuzzi division also includes sales generated by third-party operated mono-brand points of sales (Franchised operated stores, or FOS, and galleries), whose sale were 49.5 million, down 17.1% compared to 2019 first quarter, as a result of the 29.9% decrease in the Americas, a 9.3% decrease in the EMEAI and a 11.2% decrease in the Asia-Pacific region.

Sales generated by the unbranded wholesale division, addressing the mass-merchant distribution, were 13.3 million, down 43.7% from 23.6 million in 2019 first quarter.

In light of the tariffs imposed by the US Administration on goods imported from China, the Company has started to outsource in Vietnam part of its Private Label production for some Key Accounts in the USA. The Company continues to explore further external industrial capacity in low-cost European Countries.

1Q2020 Gross margin

First quarter 2020 consolidated gross margin was 34.2%, up from 30.1% in 2019 same quarter, thanks to a favorable trend in raw material prices, a better sales mix, notwithstanding decreasing sales. In addition, the actions adopted by the Group contributed to lowering the industrial and labor costs.

1Q2020 Selling, Administrative and other income/expenses

Selling, Administrative and other operating income/expenses were 33.2 million (or 40.2% on revenues), decreasing from 35.0 million (or 32.9% on revenues) in 2019 first quarter, due to the restructuring of our distribution network in Europe, but also as a result of cost-cutting actions put in place in an effort to offset the reduction in sales.

Selling expenses include also 1.0 million of non-cash goodwill impairment charges related to our retail operations in Mexico.

1Q2020 results

The Group reported an operating loss of 4.9 million, which includes the above-mentioned impairment, versus an operating loss of 3.0 million in 2019 first quarter.

Net Profit deriving from the 49% share of the Chinese vehicle was 0.4 million in 2020 first quarter.

Loss for the period was 7.8 million.

As of March 31, 2020, cash and cash equivalents in the statement of financial position for the Group were 29.5 million from 39.8 million at the end of 2019, and the Group's net financial position before lease liabilities was negative at -5.2 million, compared to -2.8 million at the end of 2019.

Net cash provided by operating activities less net investments was positive at 1.8 million.

Chairman and CEO, Pasquale Natuzzi, commented: "What we are living in is an unprecedented period of time, not only for our industry, but for the global trade as a whole, as COVID-19 has affected everyone's lives, everywhere. Unfortunately, the current sanitary emergency still remains a serious problem in many areas of the world.

The pandemic has had a far-reaching impact over our business. Before the outbreak of the virus, the branded business was growing in line with our expectations. As the spreading of the virus became global, we gradually closed all our stores and industrial facilities resulting in a sudden, overnight, shutdown of the activity, which has lasted for months, thus affecting the Group's overall operations. Being a global player, we were affected in an inhomogeneous way, as we had to close part of our industrial and commercial activities in different moments of the year: initially in China, then in Europe and lastly in America, resulting in fragmented interruptions of the business. At the same time, our effort was concentrated to implement initiatives to manage and preserve short-term liquidity to counterbalance the dramatic decline in sales caused by the pandemic.

We began reopening our stores gradually from May, according to local governments regulations, but some stores are still closed, as it is the case in the USA or Brazil. In countries were restrictions were lifted, customer demand has been moderately positive over the last few weeks. We are closely monitoring consumer behavior as we reopen more stores and adopt a flexible approach as we get through this crisis.

China has confirmed to be the first country to come out of the crisis. During these months, we have worked intensely with our partners to be ready for the restart in this important market. We recently organized our retail congress, also through digital platform, and prepared a specific event in Shanghai to present, in two flagships stores, our 2020 collection as a world preview.

Elsewhere, the situation is still evolving. While it is impossible to predict the rate at which business will return to pre-crisis levels, we have seen first signs of recovery in the order flow during the last few weeks, with particular reference to our retail business, but the overall picture is mixed. Some markets, such as the North and South America, are still affected by the virus containment measures in place, whereas other countries, such as those located in Europe, are gradually returning to normality, as almost all the restrictions have been lifted by the relevant governments.

In addition, as the recent data suggests, fear for a second wave of contagion in China, that could halt business again, is growing. Therefore, as of today, uncertainty as for the recovery of the global economy still remains.

Our industrial facilities, with the exception of Brazil, have fully restarted their operations. In additions, after weeks of severe restriction measures, negotiations to set up a new industrial partnership in the Eastern Europe have restarted.

Management continues to be highly focused on taking actions to mitigate the adverse effects generated by the COVID-19 and, in particular, has been implementing stricter procedures to manage liquidity and working capital needs, initiating measures to reduce the cost of labor, deferring certain capital expenditures, and cutting non-essential expenses."

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, potential risks and uncertainties relating to the duration, severity and geographic spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, actions that may be taken by governmental authorities to contain the COVID-19 pandemic or to mitigate its impact, the potential negative impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, consumer demand and our supply chain, and the impact of COVID-19 on the Company's financial condition, business operations and liquidity. Additional information about potential factors that could affect the Company's business and financial results is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.

Additional Information

This news release is just one part of the Company's financial disclosures and should be read in conjunction with other information filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at https://www.natuzzigroup.com/en-EN/ir/financial-release.html under the "SEC Filings" section.

About Natuzzi S.p.A.

Founded in 1959 by Pasquale Natuzzi, Natuzzi S.p.A. is Italy's largest furniture house and one of the most important global players in the furniture industry with an extensive manufacturing footprint and a global retail network. Natuzzi is the European lifestyle best-known brand in the upholstered furnishings sector worldwide (Brand Awareness Monitoring Report Ipsos 2018) and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since May 13, 1993. Always committed to social responsibility and environmental sustainability, Natuzzi S.p.A. is ISO 9001 and 14001 certified (Quality and Environment), OHSAS 18001 certified (Safety on the Workplace) and FSC certified (Forest Stewardship Council).

1 The Company is noncompliant with quantitative/qualitative continued NYSE listing standards (see https://www.nyse.com/quote/XNYS:NTZ). For further information, please see the press release issued by the Company on April 25, 2020.

Natuzzi S.p.A. and Subsidiaries Unaudited consolidated statement of profit or loss for the first quarter of 2020 and 2019

on the basis of IFRS -IAS (expressed in millions Euro) Three months ended on Change Percentage of Sales 31-Mar-20 31-Mar-19 31-Mar-20 31-Mar-19 Revenues 82.5 106.2 -22.4% 100.0% 100.0% Cost of Sales (54.2) (74.2) -26.9% -65.8% -69.9% Gross profit 28.2 32.0 -11.7% 34.2% 30.1% Other income 0.9 1.2 1.1% 1.1% Selling Expenses (25.0) (27.5) -9.3% -30.3% -25.9% Administrative expenses (8.3) (8.5) -2.3% -10.1% -8.0% Impairment on trade receivables (0.5) 0.0 -0.6% 0.0% Other expenses (0.3) (0.1) -0.4% -0.1% Operating profit/(loss) (4.9) (3.0) -6.0% -2.8% Finance income 0.1 0.1 Finance costs (1.6) (2.5) Net exchange rate gains/(losses) (1.6) 0.5 Net finance income/(costs) (3.2) (1.8) Share of profit/(loss) of equity-method investees 0.4 0.4 Profit/(Loss) before tax (7.7) (4.4) -9.4% -4.1% Income tax expense (0.1) (0.2) -0.1% -0.2% Profit/(Loss) for the period (7.8) (4.6) -9.5% -4.4% Profit/(Loss) attributable to: Owners of the Company (7.7) (4.6) -9.4% -4.4% Non-controlling interests (0.1) 0.0 Profit/(loss) per Ordinary Share (0.14) (0.08)

Natuzzi S.p.A. and Subsidiaries Unaudited consolidated statements of financial position (condensed)

on the basis of IFRS-IAS

(Expressed in millions of Euro) 31-Mar-20 31-Dec-19 ASSETS Non-current assets 205.4 212.5 Current assets 142.2 156.9 TOTAL ASSETS 347.6 369.4 EQUITY AND LIABILITIES Equity attributable to Owners of the Company 95.2 103.1 Non-controlling interests 1.2 1.7 Non-current liabilities 109.9 112.6 Current liabilities 141.2 152.0 TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 347.6 369.4

Natuzzi S.p.A. and Subsidiaries Unaudited consolidated statements of cash flows (condensed) (Expressed in millions of Euro) 31-Mar-20 31-Dec-19 Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 2.3 4.7 Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (0.5) (3.3) Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (12.0) (24.2) Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (10.2) (22.8) Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the year 37.8 60.4 Effect of movements in exchange rates on cash held (0.2) 0.3 Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period 27.4 37.8 For the purpose of the statements of cash flow, cash and cash equivalents comprise the following: (Expressed in millions of Euro) 31-Mar-20 31-Dec-19 Cash and cash equivalents in the statement of financial position 29.5 39.8 Bank overdrafts repayable on demand (2.1) (2.0) Cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows 27.4 37.8

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005473/en/

Contacts:

For information:



Natuzzi Investor Relations

Piero Direnzo tel. +39.080.8820.812 pdirenzo@natuzzi.com



Natuzzi Corporate Communication

Vito Basile (Press Office) tel. +39.080.8820.676 vbasile@natuzzi.com
TORONTO, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sulliden Mining Capital Inc. (Sulliden or the Company) (TSX: SMC) is pleased to announce that Mr. Ryan Ptolemy has been appointed as the chief financial officer of the Company and Ms. Wen Ye has been appointed to the Companys board of directors, each appointment to be effective immediately.



Mr. Ptolemy is a CPA, CGA and CFA charter holder who also attained a Bachelor of Arts from Western University. Mr. Ptolemy serves as chief financial officer to many public and private companies in the resource sector, particularly development-stage companies. Mr. Ptolemy formerly served as chief financial officer for an independent investment dealer in Toronto where he was responsible for financial reporting, budgeting and the companys internal controls.

Ms. Ye is a CPA, CGA and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Laurentian University. Ms. Ye brings over 17 years of corporate and finance management experience in the public mining, securities and logistics sectors.

The appointments of Mr. Ptolemy and Ms. Ye follow Ms. Deborah Battistons resignation as a director and the chief financial officer of the Company, also effective immediately. The board and management of the Company express their gratitude to Ms. Battiston for her efforts and extensive contributions and wish her well in her future endeavours.

About Sulliden

Sulliden is a venture capital company focused on acquiring and advancing brownfield, development-stage and early production-stage mining projects in the Americas.

Sulliden Mining Capital Inc.



On behalf of the Board



Stan Bharti

Interim Chief Executive Officer

For more information:

Ryan Ptolemy

Chief Financial Officer

+1 (416) 861-2267

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the resignation and appointment of directors and officers of the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks inherent in the mining industry and risks described in the public disclosure of the Company which is available under the profile of the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.sulliden.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
A school employee has been identified as the woman who purposely coughed in a babys face at a San Jose, California, yogurt shop, says the Oak Grove School District.

We are aware of an incident allegedly involving one of our employees who was videotaped coughing on a baby at a local eatery, a statement by Superintendent Jose L. Manzo says. The employee is currently off of work and not providing any services to our District students.

No arrest has been made and district officials are cooperating with police, the statement says.

Security camera video at a Yogurtland shop in San Jose, California, shows a woman pointing angrily at a baby in a stroller who was in line behind her.

Then the woman pulls down her face mask and repeatedly coughs forcefully in the babys face before walking away, the video shows.

It happened so quick I was in shock, said MIreya Mora, the babys mother, KGO reported. She got close, she took off her mask, and she coughed three times super hard on my sons face.

San Jose police are seeking the woman on suspicion of assault in the incident, which took place at 5:25 p.m. on June 12 at the Yogurtland at 5638 Cottle Road, a release says.

The woman had reportedly accused Mora and her baby of not following social distancing rules while in line, police said in the release.

She coughed on him super-hard. It wasnt an accident, Mora said, in The Washington Post. A person with a heart that cares would not do that to a baby.

But Mora, who is Hispanic, says she suspects racism because the woman only became upset when she began speaking to her grandmother in Spanish, KGO reported.

The Oak Grove School District in San Jose serves more than 9,800 students. It has 14 elementary schools and three intermediate schools. About a third of its students are learning English as a second language.

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has issued a mandatory face mask order in the state, where COVID-19 hospitalizations are rising.
Google Pay on Wednesday said all transactions made through its platform are fully protected by redressal processes laid out in the guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India and the National Payments Corporation of India. The statement comes against the backdrop of social media buzz that issues that might arise while transferring money through Google Pay cannot be redressed under law as the app is unauthorised.

"Some quotes on social media, wrongly attributed to the RBI, claim that issues arising while transferring money through Google Pay are not protected by the law, since the app is unauthorised. This is incorrect and can be verified on NPCI's website," a Google spokesperson said. According to the spokesperson, RBI has not said that the Google Pay app is unauthorised or not legally compliant in its court hearing or in its written response to the Delhi High Court.

Earlier this month, RBI told the Delhi High Court that Google Pay is a third party app provider and does not operate any payment systems. Therefore, its operations are not in violation of the Payment and Settlement System Act of 2007, RBI had told a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan.

"Google Pay operates completely within the law. Google Pay works as a technology service provider to partner banks, to allow payments via UPI (Unified Payments Interface). UPI apps in the country are categorised as 'third party apps', and are not required to be 'payment systems operators'," the Google spokesperson said. The spokesperson noted that all transactions made via Google Pay are fully protected by redressal processes laid out by applicable guidelines.

"All transactions made via Google Pay are fully protected by redressal processes laid out by applicable guidelines of the RBI/ NPCI, and users can reach out for any help 24/7, through Google Pay customer care," the spokesperson said.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Mass layoffs of 22,000 city employees could begin Oct 1 if the city lawmakers are unable to close a looming $10 billion budget gap in less than a week.

The mayor has said that every city agency would be forced to cut its staff if he and the City Council are unable to fill the fiscal 2021 budget deficit before the June 30 deadline just days away.

De Blasio has been asking the state Legislature for borrowing authority and the federal government for a stimulus package to pull the city out of its financial dilemma caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

But so far, he has been unsuccessful, especially in trying to get a federal bailout through a new stimulus package.

We have to fill that budget gap, were working with labor, were looking for alternatives, but if we cant find the resources, those layoffs have to be in on October 1st, de Blasio told reporters during a press conference Friday.

Since February, de Blasio said the city has lost $9 billion in revenue as a result of coronavirus shutdowns. In April, the city was forced to make $2.7 billion in cuts to city agencies and is now grappling with cutting at least $1 billion more.

The citys proposed budget went from more than $95 billion when it was unveiled in January, to $89 billion to adjust to the pandemic in April and is now pegged at $87 billion.

Lawmakers will need to adopt the fiscal 2021 budget by June 30.

The mayor has asked the state Legislature for borrowing authority that would provide the city with a $7 billion safety net for officials to dip into over the course of multiple years if needed.

But the state Legislature has yet to grant New York City with the authority.

The mayor is still in talks with Albany about securing borrowing authority and said Friday he adjusted his request to $5 billion over two fiscal years.

DE BLASIO NOT CONCERNED TRUMP TOWER BLM MURAL WILL HINDER NYCS CHANCES OF GETTING FEDERAL BAILOUT

The looming budget deadline comes as de Blasio announced plans this week to paint a Black Lives Matter street mural outside of the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, angering President Donald Trump.

De Blasio said he is not concerned that upsetting the president over the street mural could hinder the citys chances of getting stimulus money from the federal government down the road.

It is right to take the eyes of the world, the attention of the world right there on Fifth Avenue and focus on Black Lives Matter, he said. I think it has no bearing on the stimulus because [Trumps] done absolutely nothing about the stimulus either way.

Told that @NYCMayor Bill de Blasio wants to paint the fabled & beautiful Fifth Avenue, right in front of Trump Tower/Tiffany, with a big yellow Black Lives Matter sign. Pigs in a Blanket, Fry Em Like Bacon, referring to killing Police, is their chant. NYC Police are furious!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2020

MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL STILL AT ODDS OVER BUDGET

But the mayor and City Council appear to still be at odds with budget negotiations.

Without going into detail, Speaker Corey Johnson said Thursday he believed the City Council could close the citys budget deficit without laying off 22,000 city employees.

But Johnson said he and the mayor were still trying to find common ground on the budget and indicated the two still had a long way to go despite the deadline just days four days away.

There is a big hold up right now and I still think theres a pretty big delta, a really big delta between us, Johnson told reporters Thursday of the City Councils and the mayors differing views on the budget.

He and the mayor are especially at odds over how to reduce the NYPDs budget amid calls to defund the police.

Johnson is adamant about moving forward with a $1 billion cut to the NYPD but the mayor reportedly wants to cut the NYPDs budget by only $240 million but has refused to detail a specific cut amount.

We still believe, and I still believe, that we should be reaching $1 billion, the administration is not there, so we have been negotiating, we have been pushing, we have been prodding, we have been telling them every single day that the number has to be a bigger number, Johnson said.

FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER.
Daiichi Sankyo Co is in discussions to provide supplies of a potential coronavirus vaccine now being developed by AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford for use in Japan.

The discussion follows a flurry of supply deals signed by the British drug maker for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine as it ramps up efforts for wider trials of the potential treatment.

Daiichi Sankyo said in a statement on Friday that one of its subsidiaries would receive undiluted solution of the vaccine and then carry out formulation procedures, packaging, and storage in Japan. AstraZeneca said separately that it is in talks with the Japanese government on supplies of the potential vaccine, known as AZD1222.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said earlier on Friday that the government is supporting domestic vaccine development but is also in negotiations with other parties.

"In any event, the government will work hard to ensure that Japan has the vaccines it needs," Suga said.

In Japan, AnGes Inc and Osaka University are working on a DNA vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Shionogi & Co is working on a recombinant protein type, while the University of Tokyo and Daiichi Sankyo are developing an mRNA version.

AstraZeneca has doubled manufacturing and supply capacity for its potential vaccine to over 2 billion doses.

There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the illness caused by the new coronavirus, but about a dozen vaccines from more than 100 candidates globally are being tested in humans.
A woman has taken the ultimate revenge after receiving a rather nasty note from her neighbours regarding a celebratory sign in her front yard.

Jasmine Hardy, from Wyoming in the US, is a recent graduate from Miami University who chose to mark her big achievement by displaying a large red sign emblazoned with Congrats Jazz on the grass in front of her home.

Recent Miami University graduate Jasmine Hardy has responded to her neighbours' demands to remove the sign in her front yard. Photo: Facebook/jasmineihardy.

It appears that some of Jasmines neighbours didnt share in the Master of Science graduates enthusiasm, sending her a searing letter requesting she remove the sign as it looked like a grocery store ad.

Dear neighbors, congratulations Jazz, the letter dated June 17 read.

Lets all act like weve done this before (graduate from college) and kindly remove the yard sign youve had up for an extended period. It would reflect well on you and certainly help the community look less like a grocery store ad. Thanks, your neighbors.

The note Jasmine received from her neighbours. Photo: Facebook/jasmineihardy.

Jasmine wasnt about to take this lying down and even though she had previously decided to take the sign down, after receiving the note she changed her mind. She took to Facebook to announce in no uncertain terms that the sign aint coming down and no time soon.

Dear Wyoming Neighbors,

*not all of you, just the one(s) who wrote this letter*

I was gonna be silent and not shed light to this, but being silent is no longer acceptable in my life. I had a longer response, but my spirit had led me to this...

Little did you know those signs were coming down this past weekend because I wanted them to. I hear what you are requesting, but I took more heed to HOW you requested. So congratulations Wyoming neighbors, ya played yourself and flipped my petty switch.

So...NAH they aint coming down and no time soon! Now go reflect on that while failing to mind the business that pays you.

Now catch me outside doing the Merk Out on the lawn!

Signed,

a newly hooded Black woman, born and raised in Wyoming, who you thought would give a damn.

Jasmines post has received 8.4k likes so far and numerous comments praising her bold attitude.

Story continues

Congratulations on your achievement! Keep those signs up until they are so faded you cant read them anymore! wrote one Facebook user.

Congrats! If they complain again, I hope you make an even BIGGER sign. You worked hard for that accomplishment! wrote another.

Jasmine has been contacted for comment.

Sign up to our daily newsletter here to get all the latest news and hacks. Or get in touch at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com.
The Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in which 17 people were killed, was the first mass school shooting to take place while we were in high school, and we knew we could not accept an event like this as tragic but normal parts of life. In the ensuing weeks, students across the country, including us, came together in the thousands to walk out of school in protest. We stood shoulder to shoulder with friends and strangers at the March for Our Lives, collectively grieving the senseless loss of life.
Former High Court judge Dyson Heydon allegedly sexually harassed young women while he was Trade Unions royal commissioner and at Canberra's exclusive Commonwealth Club where he stayed while on the High Court.

"Whilst pouring me a glass of the ever-chilled and ready Nicolas Feuillatte [champagne], his hand went down my back and rested on my backside. I jolted away," recounted an administrative assistant who worked with Mr Heydon at the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption, established by then Prime Minister Tony Abbott in 2014.

Former High Court judge Dyson Heydon was commissioner for the Royal Commission into Trade Unions Governance and Corruption. Credit:Joel Carrett

"His gaze lasted too long and was often directed at my breasts. He had a commanding presence which projected an intimidating aura of a man beyond reproach," said the woman, who asked not to be identified.

"I've carried guilt for years that I compartmentalised what happened," she said. "I never considered saying anything to management as I knew of a previous allegation that had been dismissed and covered up."
Many of our customers are part of the vulnerable population. These are people who cannot easily leave their homes and have no one to turn to during this critical time.

Shop LC, a nationally broadcast home shopping channel and e-commerce site, is donating face masks to frontline workers in need all across America. Today, the donations surpassed 100,000 masks.

We are happily serving our customers and community, explains Amit Agarwal, President of Shop LC. TV viewership is up; more people are tuning in and we can deliver direct to peoples doors. Pivoting to provide the right products at the right time has made all the difference and truly represents our Purpose of Delivering Joy.

Its unlikely that a business is ever prepared for something as unprecedented as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Shop LC Merchandising team was able to immediately shift and acquire essential items to help Shop LC customers and frontline workers during the Stay Home, Stay Safe orders by acquiring items like face masks and hand sanitizer. If we are going to sell masks, we also need to give, says Agarwal.

Shop LC is already providing meals to children in need through the Shop LC One for One Program. Recently, the program is celebrating a 20 million meal milestone since beginning in October 2017. During the coronavirus pandemic, Shop LC has also donated over 100,000 masks to more than 130 facilities in 34 states.

Many of our customers are part of the vulnerable population. These are people who cannot easily leave their homes and have no one to turn to during this critical time, says Michelle Long, Director of CSR & Communications, Shop LC. Back in January, when the risk of the virus coming to the US became known, customers began requesting these products be made available. For these reasons, we decided to make face masks, hand sanitizer, and other essential products available to our customers, because they cannot easily obtain them on their own. It was simply the right thing to do to also include frontline workers.

Masks are featured during noon and 2 PM CST during the live broadcast on most days. To see the latest updates on mask donations, and to learn how you can nominate an organization, please visit https://blog.shoplc.com/shop-lc-sharing-face-masks-with-those-in-need/.

About Shop LC

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Shop LC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vaibhav Global Ltd. (VGL), a vertically integrated company with global sourcing and manufacturing capabilities. Shop LC is a value-conscious, interactive retailer focused on the fine jewelry, beauty, fashion, home decor and lifestyle product categories. Established in 2007, Shop LC reaches approximately 73 million U.S. households via high-definition programming offered live 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. For more information visit shoplc.com and download the interactive app on iTunes, Google Play or many other streaming devices or televisions.
Volvo from Sweden, Adidas from Germany, and Zara from Spain are all European companies that have increased their investment in Vietnam in recent years. Analysts expect that trend to deepen when the Vietnam-European Union trade deal approved earlier this month by Vietnams National Assembly takes effect this summer, particularly as companies seek to reduce their reliance on neighboring China.

Vietnam is one of only a handful of nations forecast to see economic growth this year amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Much of that growth will result from foreign investment, including investment facilitated by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, or EVFTA. Governments from both sides have called it a next-generation deal because it not only decreases tariffs, but also contains language to hold companies to labor, environmental, and social standards.

Sheng Lu, an associate professor in the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies at the University of Delaware, said the deal will benefit textile and garment makers in the Southeast Asian nation as tariffs come down.

EVFTA will provide a level playing field for Vietnam, which is expected to see a continuous robust growth of its apparel exports to the EU and gain additional market shares in the years to come, Lu said in an analysis of the agreement. Meanwhile, not eligible for any EU preferential duty benefit, apparel exports from China are likely to face intensified competition in the EU market after the implementation of EVFTA.

Investment has been seeping out of China because the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the U.S.-China trade war, has shown companies the dangers of pinning their supply chains on a single nation. When officials and consultants in Vietnam pitch it as the new destination for that investment, the EU trade agreement is one of the benefits they tout.

Le Van Hanh, who advises companies interested in the Vietnam market through her work with the Vietnam office of AHK, German Chambers of Commerce Abroad, said the trade deal will eliminate 70 percent of tariffs between the two sides immediately, and 99 percent of tariffs in 10 years.

That sounds very great, right? she said on the AHK podcast. And furthermore, there are also commitments in services, public procurement, nontariff barriers, export duties, and a good regulatory package.

She described two German companies she has helped to relocate from China to Vietnam, including a textile manufacturer hit hard by new 25 percent U.S. tariffs. Moving to Vietnam was useful not just because of the tariffs, but also because many of the manufacturers suppliers were also moving there, she said.

Her colleague, Bjorn Koslowski, said it is easier for European companies to move from China to Vietnam because both nations have a number of things in common, including Confucian values, an industrious work ethic, a drive for monetary success, and a drive to learn.

Many companies that invest here or do business with the Vietnamese, they are also convinced by the HR [human resource] quality, he said. Vietnam is very culturally similar to China and many companies have already worked with China.

Direct European investment in China peaked in 2012 and has been declining since, according to data compiled by Rhodium Group, a research firm, whereas investment into Vietnam has continued to rise. For instance, direct investment from Europe rose 27 percent from 2018 to 2019, according to Vietnams Planning and Investment Ministry.

Some in China dismiss predictions that it will lose from Vietnams trade deal with the EU. Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Vietnam doesnt have the scale to overtake China and the trade deal wont suffice for EU companies to decouple from China.

Both the takeover and decoupling theories have been escalating in recent years, with China always passively involved, Xu wrote in the Global Times, a newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, but he termed both theories wishful thinking.
Six in 10 domestic abuse victims who accessed housing after leaving shelters for those fleeing abusive partners are from a black and minority ethnic background, a damning study has found.

This is far higher than the 13 per cent of the UK population who identified themselves as black, Asian or minority ethnic during the last census in 2011.

Campaigners warn public agencies are culturally ignorant and subject those escaping abuse to racism and discrimination  as well as jumping to stereotypical judgements.

Homefinder UK, a non-profit housing organisation that deals with thousands of calls, said a majority of these are domestic abuse victims from black and minority ethnic (Bame) backgrounds who come up against a litany of obstacles to accessing housing and other frontline services.

The body, which says 60 per cent of the domestic abuse survivors they have rehoused are from a Bame background, said barriers range from presumptions made based on the ethnicity of the victim, cultural background being overlooked or misunderstood, religious practices being ignored, and restricted access to translators.

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In one case, a young black woman was wrongly labelled as being a member of a gang but was actually a college student.

The report also cites the case of another domestic abuse victim who initially found it difficult to leave her abusive husband due to the fact they became engaged and were introduced when she was just six years old.

He was 15-years-older than her and he felt that he owned her, a spokesperson for Homefinder UK said. Added to this, in their country of origin, you remained married despite physical abuse. Staff had to explain to relevant decision making non-Bame workers the need to be patient regarding the applicants conflicted position regarding her marriage and to not take prejudiced positions which could have led to a property offer being withdrawn.

Researchers found many Muslim domestic abuse victims face Islamophobia  with the report also citing the example of a Muslim woman who who was misunderstood and failed to receive the necessary support despite her facing threats against her life for seeking help.

Claire Simms, managing editor of a campaign group called The View, which champions the rights of women in the criminal justice system, told The Independent: Bame women are left on the scrapheap. A much higher proportion of women from non-white diverse cultural backgrounds experience domestic abuse.

There are specific barriers linked to stigma in the community following disclosure and being ostracised or believed, a lack of accessibility to services, and cultural lack of distrust in police forces.

Minoritised women are not fairly treated by the police, and their interactions and access to justice needs to be reviewed in the criminal justice system and this has to be understood in its totality. It cannot be separated from a wider context of institutional racism, which has led to historic and current over-policing, surveillance and hyper-visibility of Bame communities within the criminal justice system.

Ms Simms, whose social enterprise produces a magazine that showcases art, prose and poetry of women prisoners and writing from leading human rights lawyers, said Bame-led domestic abuse services have been disproportionately hit by funding cuts.

This leads to minoritised survivors being impacted by austerity and under-served by services nationally, she added. We have to consider the fact that most services are white led, and will not have the cultural competence or the expertise to deal with the specific issues that Bame women face. The mainstream organisations deal with minoritised women in a white-centric way of understanding domestic violence. There is an acute lack of understanding around immigration, FGM, family abuse and forced marriage.

Homefinder UK, which draws attention to the lack of understanding by many statutory and voluntary agencies about the specific ethnic, religious and cultural concerns of Bame women escaping domestic abuse, said cultural identity, language and religious beliefs are often overlooked.

Brenda Fraser, of Homefinder UK, said: As an overwhelmingly female and Bame team, we use our cultural and religious diversity and experiences to understand and interpret different practices that other organisations are just stereotypically judging.

Refuges have been hit hard by the governments austerity measures  with one in six refuges having closed since 2010 and local authority spending on refuges being slashed from 31.2m in 2010 to 23.9m in 2017.

Lucy Hadley, of Womens Aid, a leading domestic abuse charity, said: Extensive evidence and research from organisations working by and for black and minoritised women demonstrate the systemic barriers that black and minoritised survivors continue to face in escaping domestic abuse and accessing safety and support, including refuge services and safe housing. These barriers are products of the structural inequality and racism that they face in society.

Barriers to support are compounded by the severe lack of services-led by and for black and minoritised women across England. Imkaan have documented the long history of underfunding and political marginalisation for refuges led by and for black and minoritised women, who have been disproportionately impacted by funding cuts and damaging competitive tendering practices over the past decade.

Specialist services run by and for black and minoritised women are systemically disadvantaged and discriminated against within competitive tendering for service provision  as these procurement processes favour larger organisations and contracts above small, specialist services led by and for the communities they support. There are currently just 32 refuges in England which are run specifically for Bame women, and not all of these are led by and for the communities they support.
With heavy rainfall continuing in most parts of the state on Friday, the flood situation in Assam has worsened. Over 2.5 lakh people have been affected in 16 of the states 33 districts.

According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority, 704 villages in 40 revenue circles in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Udalguri, Darrang, Baksa, Nalbari, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts are affected by floods.

One person died due to drowning in Dibrugarh on Friday taking the total number of deaths due to floods in this season to 16. Over 2.5 lakh people are affected across the state with Dhemaji (88,269) and Tinsukia (59,261) being the worst affected districts.

A total of 18,234 persons uprooted due to flooding are taking shelter in 142 camps in 9 of the affected districts. Rescue personnel evacuated 151 people trapped due to floods in Dhemaji, Nalbari and Dibrugarh districts on Friday.

According to a bulletin by Central Water Commission (CWC), the Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at Nematighat in Jorhat district, Dhubri town and Tezpur in Sonitpur district.

Several other rivers including Burhidihing, Dhansiri, Jia Bharali, Puthimari, Pagladiya, Manas, Beki and Sankosh were also flowing above the red mark at several places.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall very likely to continue over northeast India till Monday.

It warned that extremely heavy rainfall is also likely over Assam and Meghalaya till June 27.

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An artist has completed a giant mural in a New York City parking lot, dedicated to front line medics who have lost their lives during the pandemic, and also highlighting the disproportionate impact the virus has on minority communities.

Cuban-American artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada is the man behind the 27,500-square-foot mural near Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. He is famous for his landworks portrait Out of Many, One on the National Mall in 2014.

Referring to the current project, Jorge shared with Good Morning America, I named it Somos La Luz, which means We Are The Light in Spanish, because these health care workers, many of whom are immigrants, have been a shining light in all of this darkness.

Its also a nod to lighting a candle as you mourn.

The artist depicts in mask and full medical garb Dr. Ydelfonso Decoo, a front line medic who was part of New York Citys SOMOS Community Care network. Decoo was one of the first minority doctors to lose his life treating patients during the pandemic, and he has been hailed as a hero.

SOMOS comprises mainly immigrant Latino and Chinese doctors and is concerned with treating patients from marginalized communities. They were responsible for commissioning the colossal mural.

I wanted to create a place where people could come together and mourn, the artist explained. Everyone feels alone, everyones been stuck in their homes for months on end, and its a spot where people can reflect on the toll coronavirus has taken.

The artist designed Somos La Luz based on conversations with advocates, and the mural took a week to complete with the help of several volunteers.

The artists subject was selected for a reason. I was taken by the fact that Dr. Ydelfonso Decoo was close to retiring but chose to continue to care for his patients, Jorge explained to Bored Panda. His decision makes him even more of a hero to me.

The mural is also a tribute to minorities who have been found to be particularly susceptible to infection from the virus.

Current data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control suggests a disproportionate burden of covid cases and fatalities among racial and ethnic minority groups. Additionally, Latinos are almost three times as likely to be uninsured than white Americans.

Latinos are on the front lines of many things, you know, caregivers, nurses, doctors, and transit workers, and sort of keeping everything going  a lot are losing their lives, Jorge told CBS. So I wanted to figure out a way, if theres a way, to create an image that can help us mourn together in a time when the nation feels more divided than ever.

SOMOS founder Dr. Ramon Tallaj praised the finished mural to Pix 11. We should never be invisible, he said.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
The US is being tight-fisted over issuing H1B visas to those who legitimately apply and go there to work, but Biden expects India to open its gates to millions of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants?

Joe Biden's latest missteps in presidential campaign: Opposing CAA, NRC, scrapping of special status of Kashmir

US presidential hopeful Joe Biden has wandered into a swamp where UKs Labour Party leader and defeated prime ministerial candidate Jeremy Corbyns ankles got stuck and he could never recover.

The Democrat nominee wants India to "restore the rights of Kashmiris", and is disappointed over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and rolling out of National Register for Citizens in Assam.

According to 'Joe Biden's agenda for Muslim American community', a policy paper posted on his campaign website, CAA and NRC are inconsistent with India's long tradition of secularism.

This is the US election year and there are roughly 4 million Indian-Americans in the country, an increasingly influential community. That Biden has regardless blundered into this sensitive and surcharged ground of Indian politics shows how much sway global Islamist and far-Left forces hold on certain Western parties and individuals. It also shows up the former US vice president as either uninformed or being willing to lie.

Kashmir has seen Pakistan-backed Islamist separatism and terror since decades, peaking in the 90s when the entire minority Hindu Pandit community was ethnically cleansed from their homeland. The Narendra Modi government on 5 August, 2019, corrected a historic mistake by Indias first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru of giving special status to Kashmir.

That special status under Article 370 and Article 35A was used to fan separatism and deny rights to women, backward castes, homosexuals and migrant workers. It is astounding that the man applying for the most powerful job in the world should ignore this context and not mention how rights of these vulnerable groups have now been restored.

While internet services were suspended for a few months after the abrogation of Article 370 to prevent use of social media to stage attacks, terrorist activity has derailed normal life in the Valley for much longer periods.

In fact, terror attacks and Intifada-style stone-throwing has come down sharply since August.

Bidens stance on the CAA is both facile and hypocritical. The CAA has been brought to fast-track citizenship for six minorities  Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis  in three Muslim-majority nations in Indias neighbourhood where these minorities face systematic killings, blasphemy laws, rapes, conversions and land grab. And the CAA does not stop a Muslim from any of these countries to apply for Indian citizenship under the regular laws.

The US has a CAA equivalent in the Lautenberg Amendment. It provides special treatment to persecuted minorities -- Jews, Evangelical Christians, Ukrainian Catholics or Ukrainian Orthodox -- who are the nationals from the former Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania. This law was expanded in 2004 to include Jews, Christians, Bahais and other religious minorities from Iran.

Is Biden suggesting that the Lautenberg Amendment makes America less secular and should be scrapped?

Even in the case of the NRC, Biden reveals terrible double-standards. Is it wrong or illegal for a nation to keep its registry of bona fide citizens? Should resources in a developing country go to illegal immigrants and squatters? Should takeover of culture be facilitated by the state in the name of secularism?

The US is being tight-fisted over issuing H1B visas to those who legitimately apply and go there to work, but Biden expects India to open its gates to millions of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants?

Biden has walked into very troubling territory. Indian-Americans, who enjoy growing clout and have assimilated themselves with the American mainstream by hard work, respecting the host culture, and contributing economically, will not take this lying down. They are getting more and more involved in politics as donors, voters or candidates.

Since Modi became the prime minister, this diaspora has very vocally and aggressively connected back with its roots. India is not just the land they or their forefathers had left in search of a better future any more. They take active interest in Indian politics, work for the well-being of not just their host country but also their mother nation.

This is an impulse Donald Trump understands. He has steadfastly wooed Modi. His 2016 campaign even borrowed Modis 2014 poll slogan Abki baar Modi sarkar (this time, it will be Modis government) and modified it to Abki baar, Trump sarkar to regale Indian-American voters.

And not just the Indian diaspora, majority Americans have woken up to Muslim appeasement and where it leads society to. They will see through Bidens attempt.

With his latest utterances, Biden has not only got on the wrong side of facts, but also a big part of the voting population.
The leading Kurdish militia in northeast Syria has apologized for its actions against an opposition Kurdish political party that resulted in the deaths of several civilians in 2013. The gesture by the Peoples Protection Units (YPG) is aimed at accelerating a US-brokered political reconciliation process between its political arm, the Democratic Unity Party (PYD), and an alliance of opposition parties united under the umbrella of the Kurdistan National Council.

YPG spokesman Nuri Mahmoud today called the events that took place in June 2013 in the town of Amude a catastrophe.

We acknowledge the big mistake that killed innocent people as a result of a collision between one of our military units that was on the way back from the front line and demonstrators, Mahmoud said. He was referring to protests that erupted in Amude over the arbitrary detentions of members of the opposition Yekiti party. The demonstrations lasted for two days, and at least six people were reported to have died after YPG snipers took aim at the crowd.

The remarks came during a meeting that took place between YPG representatives and members of a committee appointed to make amends for the deaths under the auspices of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander in chief, Mazlum Kobane, who also goes by the name Mazlum Abdi. Kobane told the meeting that he was ready to do everything possible to heal this wound and pledged material compensation for the victims families.

The apology is testament to Kobanes determination to see unity talks between the Kurdistan National Council and the PYD through to a successful end. Amy Austin Holmes, a visiting scholar at Harvard University and a fellow at the Wilson Center who has traveled extensively in the Kurdish-administered northeast of Syria, said the YPGs decision to formally apologize for the 2013 massacre is an important step in achieving justice and accountability. Holmes told Al-Monitor in emailed comments, One of the main impediments to the Kurdish unity talks is that so many are still haunted by the past. In a region where perpetrators regularly deny past atrocities  often for generations  the [YPGs] open acknowledgement of wrongdoing and willingness to compensate the victims is extremely rare.

The PYD and the YPG were blasted by rights groups for their heavy-handed tactics against the Kurdistan National Council and other opponents in the early days of self-rule. Human Rights Watch documented these in a 2014 report that drew attention to arbitrary arrests and unsolved killings and disappearances that occurred under the PYD and YPG. Since last year, and at Kobanes behest, the Kurds' autonomous administration has begun to investigate the disappearances and to free political prisoners while inviting opposition groups who existed long before the PYD to reestablish themselves in the northeast.

Kobane used to run the YPG before assuming command of the SDF, the Pentagons top ally on the ground in the battle against the Islamic State. He is now the mentor and the guarantor of the Kurdish unity talks. (The United States is facilitating the talks, but is not a guarantor of them.) As such, Kobane has effectively positioned himself as a relatively more neutral figure no longer affiliated with the YPG, and, by extension, the PYD.

A Syrian Kurdish source with close knowledge of the reconciliation process observed in emailed comments to Al-Monitor that todays gesture sets the SDF and the Syrian Kurdish political groups apart from the rest of the Syrian opposition, which has been committing violations nonstop and covering up with no apology or no remorse.

The Kurdistan National Council and Yekiti had not formally commented on the apology at the time of publication of this article. For all the upbeat commentary the talks remain fragile and so far nothing final has been agreed upon. But in a June 18 statement the Kurdistan National Council lauded the talks and the joint declaration made two days earlier heralding an understanding that they would move forward on the basis of a 2014 agreement struck in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Duhok that envisaged sharing power but was never implemented.

Now the parties recognize the urgency of overcoming their squabbles to forge a common Kurdish front as Syrias nine-year-long conflict draws to an end. Kobane has long argued that unity between them will boost the Kurds hand both in now-stalled UN-facilitated talks in Geneva and in any future negotiations with Damascus. Just as critically, reconciliation makes it harder for regional powers, Turkey and Iran, who view Kurdish empowerment outside their borders as a magnet for their own restive Kurds, to sabotage the Syrian Kurds efforts at consolidating autonomy.
Xiaomi has started rolling out the MIUI 12 stable update for its popular, Redmi K20 and K20 Pro smartphones. The MIUI 12 update is Xiaomi's latest take on Google's Android OS which comes with a number of new features and visual upgrades over its predecessor. With its upgrades, MIUI 12 promises not only smooth performance but also enhanced functionality with the help of features such as an updated version of dark mode, AI calling, new privacy and security tools, multi-tasking features, animations and wallpapers.

MIUI 12 is being extended to the two Redmi phones via an over the air update, which should hit all devices in the coming days. The stable update comes after the company had previously rolled out a beta release of the software for the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro. With the MIUI 12, Xiaomi is being claimed to have made significant strides in many areas, especially privacy.

There are massive upgrades in the privacy department, with the OS now notifying users everytime an app attempts to access a sensitive feature such as the cameras, microphone, contacts, location and more. With the new update, users can now block access to such apps with a single tap.

Another interesting feature coming to the phones is the new Ultra Battery Saver mode that brings a minimalist homescreen with just the essential apps. This mode however is only activated when the phone is below five per cent battery. The new dark mode will also be of a lot of interest to users. With this new mode, third party apps too can run in dark mode on the phone.

Talking about the two phones, the Redmi K20 Pro is definitely the more powerful of the two devices. Even a year after its launch, the Redmi K20 Pro remains one of the safest bets within the price bracket. The Redmi-branded phone brings a mix of high-end hardware and features at a starting price of Rs 26,999, making it a very good buy even after a year of its launch. The phone comes with a 6.39-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. There's an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor that powers the Redmi K20 Pro.

For photography enthusiasts, the smartphone gets a main 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 sensor at the back, supported by a 13-megapixel secondary snapper, and a third 8-megapixel shooter. There is a 20-megapixel selfie camera sitting on a motorised slider. The Redmi K20 Pro is fuelled by a 4000mAh battery that charges at up to 27W.
CYBERSPACEThis "Pride Weekend," xHamster will be holding a three-day fundraising event to benefit LGBTQ, trans and sex worker charities on its xHamsterLive cam platform.

Throughout the weekend, activists, artists and sex workers will be using the cam shows on xHamsterLive (and Pride partner Stripchat) to raise money for the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, the Sex Workers Outreach Project and Rainbow Railroad.

"Sex workers, particularly trans and gender non-conforming sex workers of color, were on the frontlines at Stonewall," noted Alex Hawkins, vice president of xHamster. "Without them, the adult industry as we know it would not exist. This year, with many Pride marches cancelled, we wanted to bring that spirit online, and find a way to give back."

xHamsterLive's Pride Cam Fundraiser kicks off on today, June 26, at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET with a live cam conversation and ukelele show from Russian cyberactivist Nika Vodwood (aka Youtube's NixelPixel), a vocal defender of LGTBQ rights who's been featured in Forbes and The New York Times.

Later in the day, sex work activist Siouxsie Q will debut her new talk show, American Sweetheart. Siouxsie, who has featured the stories of LGBTQ leaders such as Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson on her podcast "Ill Repute!," will treat viewers to a topless history lesson about the sex working heroes of the Stonewall uprising, followed by an anal fisting demonstration with Michael Vegas of PegHim.com at 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET.

The fundraiser will continue through the weekend with DJ sets as well as sessions addressing marketing for sex workers. All tips will be distributed to LGBTQ, trans and sex worker charities, along with donations from xHamster itself.

All Pride cam shows will be viewable on xHamsterLive/Pride_2020. The cam shows will be simulcast on Pride partner Stripchat as well.

"We know that not everyone who watches cams understands its roots in radical activism. We are proud to bring Siouxsie Q, NixelPixel and others to our audience to help educate and entertain on such a momentous weekend, while raising money for communities in critical need," Hawkins concluded.

More information and schedules available at the xHamster's Twitter account.
The briefing of the national promotion month Vietnam Grand Sale 2020 on June 25 (Photo: VNA)

Vietrade Director Vu Ba Phu on June 25 that said the national promotion month will be organised at the same time on a national scale, combining traditional trade and e-commerce. It is expected to create a spillover effect and attract the participation of a large number of enterprises across various aspects.

During the month, participating enterprises can offer promotions of up to 100 percent instead of 50 percent as prescribed, Phu added.

Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Le Viet Nga expressed her hope that the promotional month will attract a large number of consumers, stimulate domestic consumption and promote retail sales in Vietnam.
Some 69% of respondents plan to preserve the same salary level.

The European Business Association (EBA) says 68% of companies in Ukraine have already fully or partially resumed work in their offices.

"Some 68% of surveyed business representatives have already fully or partially returned to the office," the EBA said on its website on June 26.

Read alsoCabinet of Ministers greenlights launch of e-residency in Ukraine

Regarding the staff policy, 60% of the surveyed entrepreneurs plan to keep the company's staff unchanged, 28% are thinking about downsizing, another 13% are looking for new employees, it said.

"Over the next six months, 69% of respondents plan to preserve the same salary level, 21% think about a salary reduction, and only 9% are thinking about a salary increase," the EBA added.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian employers submitted 12,800 packages of documents for their employees to receive partial unemployment benefits for the quarantine period as of June 1. Almost 100,000 employees have already received financial aid, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture.

UNIAN memo. The European Business Association is a Ukrainian-based non-profit organization of international businesses operating in the country, founded in 1999. It consists of more than 900 Ukrainian and international companies, including those from Europe.
By Associated Press

MANILA: Philippine police raided a suspected hideout of Islamic State group-linked militants in metropolitan Manila early Friday and killed four of them in a gunbattle, security officials said.

Metropolitan Manila Police Chief Debold Sinas said police and intelligence agents were to serve a search warrant after midnight at a house in suburban Paranaque city after months of surveillance when the suspected militants opened fire.

An officer was shot in the leg and hospitalized, police said, adding they recovered pistols, suspected bomb parts, money transfer records and two black flags like those of the Islamic State group. The raid comes as President Rodrigo Duterte considers whether to sign a new and more powerful anti-terror law, which has already been passed by Congress.

The country's military chief cited Friday's gunbattle as a reason Duterte should sign it as soon as possible. "It is public security and general welfare that are at stake.We should protect and defend from terrorists without further delay," Gen.Felimon Santos Jr. said.

He said the presence of the suspects in the Manila area underscored their readiness to plot an attack despite the suffering caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Officials did not say what, if any, specific attack the suspects were plotting.

The proposed Anti-Terror Act would allow the detention of suspects for up to 24 days without charge and empowers a government anti-terrorism council to designate suspects or groups as suspected terrorists who could then be subjected to arrests and surveillance.

Opponents say the legislation violates the constitution, defines terrorism too broadly, could be misused to target government critics and could threaten legitimate dissent. Those slain Friday were identified by police as Merhama Abdul Sawari, Bensaudi Sali, Rasmin Hussin and Jamal Kalliming.

Sinas said the suspects handled funds for Daulah Islamiyah, one of the militant groups blamed for laying siege to Marawi city in the southern Philippines for five months in 2017. Sawari facilitated funds for Philippine-based militants from Indonesia's Sulawesi region, Sinas said in a statement without elaborating.
NASA's next launch 'Mars rover Perseverance mission' has been delayed to July 22 due to a contamination concern with ground support equipment, the space agency said informed on Wednesday. NASA's next mission to the red planet was scheduled to launch on July 20 from a pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. However, a problem occurred as engineers worked to encapsulate the rover in the nosecone of its Atlas V rocket, which was built by the United Launch Alliance.

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"NASA and United Launch Alliance are now targeting Wednesday, July 22, for the launch of the Mars 2020 mission due to a processing delay encountered during encapsulation activities of the spacecraft. Additional time was needed to resolve a contamination concern in the ground support lines in NASA's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF)", NASA officials said in a statement.

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The Mars rover mission was originally scheduled to launch July 17 but deferred ahead to three days to July 20 due to a ground system equipment issue that involved a faulty crane. The new contamination issue marks the second delay for the Mars rover Perseverance.

The space agency has time till August to launch the Perseverance rover to Mars in order to reach the Red Planet in February 2021. If NASA doesn't make this launch window, the agency will have to wait another 26 months which is until 2022, when the orbits of Mars and Earth will once again be aligned for such a mission.

READ | Could Jupiter's moon Europa sustain life in 'disguised ocean'? NASA research suggests so

About Mars Perseverance rover mission

During NASA's Mars Exploration mission, the scientist will be searching for signs of 'past microbial life' apart from seeking signs of habitable conditions on Mars in the ancient past. The Mars Perseverance rover introduces a drill that can collect core samples of the most promising rocks and soils and set them aside in a "cache" on the surface of Mars.

READ | Solar eclipse 2020 from the space; pictures shared by NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy
(Natural News) A Reddit user has circulated a China Bootlickers list after video chat company Zoom deactivated accounts of prominent pro-democracy Chinese activists based in the U.S.

(Article by Tyler Durden republished from ZeroHedge.com)

The list, republished below, includes companies which have kowtowed to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) by taking actions to censor or restrict pro-democracy content, or otherwise promote CCP talking points. As Bloomberg notes, Several tech companies were included on the list, including Activision Blizzard, which temporarily banned a gamer who voiced support for Hong Kongs pro-democracy demonstrators, and Apple, which removed a mapping app in Hong Kong amid protests and pulled the Taiwan flag emoji from some iPhones.

On Thursday, three US lawmakers asked Zoom to clarify its data-collection practices, as well as its relationship with the Chinese government, according to Reuters.

Representatives Greg Walden, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the ranking member of a consumer subcommittee, sent a letter to Zoom CEO Eric Yuan on Thursday asking him to clarify the companys data practices, whether any was shared with Beijing and whether it encrypted users communications. Republican Senator Josh Hawley also wrote to Yuan asking him to pick a side between the United States and China.  The California-based firm has come under heavy scrutiny after three U.S. and Hong Kong-based activists said their accounts had been suspended and meetings disrupted after they tried to hold events related to the anniversary of Chinas Tiananmen Square crackdown. Zoom said on Friday it was notified of the events and asked to take action by the Chinese government in May and early June. It said it suspended one account in Hong and two in the United States but has now reinstated these accounts and will not allow further requests from China to affect users outside the country. Reuters

Hayman Capital Management CIO Kyle Bass said in a Friday tweet that he expects a significant U.S. Congressional response to #zooms shenanigans. They have no defense.

https://twitter.com/Jkylebass/status/1271292156486049793

The China Bootlickers list has been posted several times over the last year, which can be seen below:

Hall of Bootlickers (via /u/lebbe)

Read more at: ZeroHedge.com
Rajasthans Health Department has served a notice to NIMS hospital here seeking an explanation on conducting trials of Patanjali Ayurveds drug Coronil on coronavirus patients, an official said on Friday. We served notice to the hospital on Wednesday evening seeking explanation in three days. The hospital did not inform the state government nor sought permission, Chief Medical and Health Officer, Jaipur, Dr Narottam Sharma said.

He said the reply from National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Jaipur is awaited. The launch of the drug by yoga guru Ramdev on Tuesday triggered a debate after which the Ayush Ministry sought all information on its trial and put a ban on advertising it as a drug to cure coronavirus.

The Rajasthan government has clarified that the drug cannot be not used as a medicine in the state without the permission of the Ministry of AYUSH. State Health Minister Raghu Sharma had said on Wednesday that strict action would be taken against the seller as per the rules in case of sale of any drug as a medicine to treat the coronavirus infection.

At the Coronil launch, the company had claimed that its medicine can cure the contagious disease within seven days.It said Coronil, taken along with another product developed by it, had shown a 100 per cent success rate in clinical trials on infected patients, except those on life support.

Ramdev said the medicines were developed by Patanjali Research Center, Haridwar in association with privately-owned National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Jaipur. The Uttarakhand government will serve a notice to Patanjali Ayurved for launching a drug claiming to be a cure for Covid-19 when it had only applied for a licence to manufacture an immunity booster against cough and fever.

Apart from the notice from the Uttarakhand government, the Haridwar-based firm could also face litigation in Bihar. A complaint has been filed against it in a Muzaffarpur court over its claim.A complainant approached the court seeking the registration of an FIR against Ramdev and company chairman Acharya Balkrishna, alleging that they put at risk the lives of lakhs of people by claiming to have developed a Covid-19 cure.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Mukesh Kumar posted the matter for hearing on June 30.
Harrisburg police are searching for a 24-year-old man they say fatally shot another man in a street dispute Monday night that started over comments made to a woman.

Police have charged Jan A. Vecchioli-Matos with criminal homicide and carrying a concealed gun without a license in connection with the death of Diogene Peguero Jr., 34, who was known as June.

Vecchioli-Matos remains on the loose. He may have fled the area, police said.

Diogene Peguero Jr. uploaded this photo to his Facebook page last year.

Court records gave this account of the shooting:

The girlfriend of Vecchioli-Matos reportedly found him at 16th and Market streets and told him that a man had made remarks to her about grabbing her vagina.

Vecchioli-Matos and a friend then went looking for the man and found him a short distance away on the front porch of 20 S. 16th Street, near 16th and Zarker streets.

Vecchioli-Matos allegedly argued with the man, who was later identified as Peguero. Vecchioli-Matos allegedly hit Peguero twice and Peguero allegedly pulled a knife and swung it at Vecchioli-Matos, striking his arm.

The fight continued and moved from the porch into the street. Thats when police allege Vecchioli-Matos pulled a gun from his waistband and a witness heard gunshots.

Police were called to the scene shortly after 7 p.m., where they found Peguero unconscious and bleeding on the sidewalk in front of 15 S. 16th Street. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy Tuesday determined Pegueros death was a homicide from gunshot wounds.

It appears an argument over comments made to a female passerby started the feud, said Dauphin County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Zawisky. It further appears the accused brought a handgun with him when he went to confront the victim about the comments. Yet another senseless and avoidable homicide.

The fatal shooting represented the ninth homicide so far this year in the city, compared with four at the same time last year.

Anyone with information on Vecchioli-Matos whereabouts may call Det. Jason Brinker at (717) 255-7298 or email at jbrinker@harrisburgpa.gov.

READ: Dauphin County sewage shows surge in COVID-19 virus in late May

READ: Pa. Supreme Court ends senior status of 2 Dauphin County judges
Persuaded not to sell that day in January 1975, DLF today has assets of over Rs 52,237 crore and a net worth of around Rs 40,000 crore.

Ramesh Menon, K P Singh's biographer, reveals more.

IMAGE: Kushal Pal Singh, the face of India's largest listed real estate firm DLF, stepped down as the company's chairman at the age of 90.

There are few evocative stories in India's business world that can match Kushal Pal Singh sculpting DLF into one of India's biggest real estate giants.

It is a story with numerous twists and turns that almost seems crafted by a master storyteller.

How else can one see the journey of someone who was born in a small room in a village, went to a madrassa near his home for his initial education, and then to a middle-class school and college?

No one could have even taken a wild guess that he would script one of India's most colourful business stories.

Much against his wishes, he was made to enrol in the Indian Military Academy in Dehra Dun. He planned to run away but stayed after an officer told him that he would be known as a deserter, and eventually grew to love the tough life, seeing it as an adventure.

He quit the army because he wanted to become an entrepreneur in a battery manufacturing business. It did not do well.

He then got into the family's real estate business; DLF was his father-in-law's fledgling company. He wanted to shut it down as it was almost bankrupt due to obstructive government regulations.

IMAGE: A DLF residential building . Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

In fact, in January 1975, Singh was on the verge of selling DLF for Rs 26 lakh. The cheque was on the table of his office in the Hindustan Times building in New Delhi.

Before he signed the papers, Y S Tayal, DLF's chief financial advisor, persuaded him to think it over as that would mean the end of his family's association with DLF.

Prem, his sister-in-law, and Indira, his wife, also cajoled him not to sell. The rest is history.

Today, DLF has assets of over Rs 52,237 crore and a net worth of around Rs 40,000 crore.

After that, he told himself that he had to revitalise DLF. He started persuading farmers to sell land in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of the national capital, with the ambition of building a modern city full of high-end gated colonies.

But there were too many hurdles in the form of government restrictions and red tape. Everyone told him he was wasting his time.

A chance meeting with Rajiv Gandhi changed his fortunes. Gandhi was driving on the dusty roads of a village on a sweltering summer afternoon when the overheated engine of his car stalled.

Singh was conversing with a farmer nearby, trying to persuade him to sell his land. He offered Rajiv a charpoy under a tree to rest as the engine cooled.

Rajiv asked him what he was doing sitting in a field beside a well on such a hot day. Singh told him that he wanted to build the most modern city in India.

Rajiv asked him to make a presentation at his New Delhi office. He then convinced his mother Indira Gandhi to make the necessary legal changes that would make it easier for real estate entrepreneurs to build in Gurgaon.

Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

There was no looking back after that. Singh, however, was careful to ensure that farmers selling their land were given a good deal and even helped them buy larger pieces of land in areas like Alwar.

He also helped them restart their agriculture business in their newly settled areas. As he built goodwill, more and more farmers came forward to sell their land.

Today, DLF has 153 real estate projects and has developed 330 million square feet. It has a land bank of nearly 13,000 acres and a large part of it is in Gurgaon.

But, it was not easy. Singh still had to deal with a plethora of laws and bureaucratic tangles to obtain clearances to acquire over 3,500 acres of raw land on which a large part of Gurgaon stands today.

All this was acquired without a single case of legislation against DLF.

Singh achieved this by personally meeting with villagers who respected him because of his army background.

He would chat with them in their houses, breaking bread and explaining why they should sell their land (it was mostly unproductive as it was rocky and there was little water for farming).

It was a good deal for the farmers because they could settle elsewhere and live a better life. He even persuaded some of them to give him back the money he had paid for the land as a loan.

He promised that he would pay them back whenever they wanted. He kept his word and every month, on a designated day, a jeep would go into the villages disbursing the interest on the loans he had taken from the villagers.

This built trust, helping him to get more land and also gather the capital to start construction activities.

Photograph: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters

DLF has built numerous high-end properties in Gurgaon attracting multinationals and some of India's top corporations.

Today it has become a showcase for offices and residences in India. It is a bustling modern city with glistening glass-fronted office complexes, large glitzy malls, and tastefully built skyscrapers towering over the landscape.

It has over 500 top companies employing scores of young professionals. Many were from the IT sector which needed contemporary, well-built office spaces.

It was a win-win situation for both DLF and the corporations.

Gurgaon, however, did not turn out the way Singh wanted. The infrastructure developed by the state was sloppy and successive governments did not do what it was required to make it an example of good visionary urban governance.

As he takes over as chairman emeritus of DLF at the age of 90, handing over the reins to his son Rajiv Singh, he may well sit back and hope that governments will see the logic of why private entrepreneurs should be given the space and freedom to build a modern India.

Ramesh Menon is co-author of K P Singh's autobiography Whatever the Odds: The Incredible Story Behind DLF.

Production: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
The dramatic collapse of payments provider Wirecard is an "unparallelled scandal", Germany's finance minister said Thursday, after the group filed for insolvency as it admitted that 1.9 billion euros missing from its accounts likely did not exist. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said the debacle "must be a wake-up call that we need more oversight, more controls" over such financial firms. "The scandal is unparallelled in the financial world," he said. Wirecard's former CEO Markus Braun was this week detained on suspicion of falsifying accounts before being released on bail, in a saga that has evoked memories of the Enron accounting scandal in the United States. Auditing company EY accused Wirecard of carrying out fraud on a global scale, adding that it had been given false statements when it was poring through the firm's 2019 accounts. "There are clear indications that this was an elaborate and sophisticated fraud involving multiple parties around the world in different institutions with a deliberate aim of deception," EY said. The damning assessment came hours after Wirecard filed for administration. Wirecard said it had opened bankruptcy proceedings with a district court in Munich "due to impending insolvency and over-indebtedness". Trading in the group's shares was temporarily halted by the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, but when it resumed the stocks collapsed, closing at 3.53 euros. Just over a week ago, it stood at around 100 euros. - From vice to DAX - Founded in 1999, the Bavarian start-up rose from a company piping cash to porn and gambling sites to a respectable electronic payments provider that edged traditional lender Commerzbank out of the DAX 30 index. Once held up as an example of an innovative, nimble company outsmarting lumbering banking giants at their own game, Wirecard's fall from grace began in January 2019 when questions emerged about accounting irregularities in its Asian division. The Financial Times in particular flagged the issues in a series of articles. But the company in turn accused the FT of colluding with speculators to drive down their shares. At one point, prosecutors in Munich even launched an investigation against one of the FT's journalists. But the allegations persisted, leaving Wirecard's stocks on a rollercoaster ride for several months. - Final nail - The final nail in the coffin came last Thursday when auditors Ernst & Young said they were unable to find 1.9 billion euros of cash in the company's accounts. The missing cash makes up a quarter of the balance sheet. The sum was held to cover risks in trading supposedly carried out by third parties on Wirecard's behalf and was meant to be sitting in trustee accounts at two Philippine banks. But the Philippines' central bank said the cash never entered its monetary system and both Asian banks, BDO and BPI, denied having a relationship with Wirecard. Wirecard, which employs nearly 6,000 people, admitted on Monday that the funds likely "do not exist". The group's former CEO Braun, an Austrian computer scientist, turned himself in that evening before being bailed for five million euros the following day. Prosecutors believe Braun artificially "inflated" the company's assets and revenues through "fake transactions with so-called third party acquirers in order to make the company seem financially stronger and more attractive to investors and customers". The scandal has stunned Germany and comes at a time when Europe's biggest economy is already grappling with the deepest recession since World War II because of the coronavirus pandemic. German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has called for a thorough investigation and warned that the controversy could erode confidence in the country's finance sector. Banking supervision chief Felix Hufeld has admitted that the watchdog Bafin "had not been effective enough to prevent something like this from happening".
A well-run city wouldnt need Walter Wong, a hovering figure in the development world who hustles projects through San Franciscos tangled bureaucracy. Now Wong is copping a plea on fraud charges linked to his work as permit expediter with friends in all the right places.

Hes promising to cooperate with federal investigators delving into payoffs and money laundering. His pledge to spill secrets should worry city leaders present and past who had cultivated Wong for his connections.

For a builder or developer seeking a shortcut on a project, Wong was the man to see. He breezed through the red tape, made personal friends of top officials and wasnt shy about helping politicians.

The charges flesh out this picture, but his future cooperation with prosecutors suggest much more. In announcing the plea deal, U.S. Attorney David Anderson warned, We will distinguish sharply between those who cooperate and those who do not.

In January, the saga began with the arrest of Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, a confidant of former Mayor Ed Lee and Mayor London Breed. FBI agents raided Wongs office and carted away documents. Next came a plea bargain with Nick Bovis, a restaurateur portrayed as in league with Nuru in seeking city deals. Sandra Zuniga, who ran the citys neighborhood services program, was charged this month with laundering the money Nuru collected illegally. In total, seven people in and out of city offices are named in the investigation.

Added to the Wong backstory is the length and size of the claims. The federal charges allege misdeeds dating to 2004 and running until this year. A cooperative Wong may have a lot to say about how the citys permit process works. A separate inquiry by City Attorney Dennis Herrera described the close ties Wong enjoyed with a top building-inspection official who he wined and dined.

If more players in the corruption plot step forward, San Francisco will get a sharp look at how business gets done and who benefits. Its not a pleasing picture so far.

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.
After the India-China stand-off at Galwan Valley resulted in the killing of 20 Indian soldiers on June 18, the customs department is closely scrutinising all imports to Mumbai and Chennai. With this, electronics makers relying on imports of finished products and components from China are expecting production delays, with threats of slipping into a red zone looming large.

This could see electronics inventory levels drying up over the next month. Sources told Moneycontrol that the inventory levels of several smartphone and television brands may last only for less than a month.

Appliance makers told Moneycontrol that even though there is no central government order, the customs department has been thoroughly inspecting finished electronics products and components from China since June 21. Earlier, only suspected packages from countries like China were held back by the customs department.

There is a delay in getting components and crucial parts into factories since the consignments are stuck at ports and airports. Though from June 25, the situation has seen a partial improvement, the delay will continue, said the chief executive of an appliance maker.

Even though a majority of appliance companies manufacture products in India, key components like panels for LED televisions, air compressors for air-conditioners and refrigerators as well as hydraulic motors for cooling are imported from countries like China.

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak and a 77-day lockdown in Wuhan, China, imports had been heavily hit since January 2020.

By April, the Wuhan lockdown had ended. However, transport curbs in India meant that it was almost impossible to get consignments scheduled earlier in 2020 to be delivered. Cargo aircraft have also been primarily used for transporting PPE kits and other medical devices for COVID-19, said the head of home appliances at an electronics maker.

Industry sources fear that if the customs scrutiny issue is not resolved within 10-15 days, appliance makers would be forced to hike prices for the third time in a row in 2020.

They have already increased product prices by 5 percent in February/March, after COVID-19-related lockdown forced factories in China to shut down. This halted the supply of key components to Indian factories. A second hike of 3-5 percent was implemented in April/May after manufacturing failed to take off.

Now, while production facilities have resumed operations across India, shortage of labour due to workers going back home and delay in raw material deliveries could mean another round of price increase.

China, which was the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak, is a major exporter, accounting for almost 23 percent of global electronic goods.

In India, the Make-in-India initiatives for key components like compressors and smartphone chipsets have not yet taken off. Hence, the production of a finished good is dependent on imports from China.

The electronics industry in India is already said to have taken a Rs 9,500 crore-10,000 crore hit due to the production halt amidst the nationwide lockdown from March 25. Now, the industry is awaiting an official stance on future imports from China.

It is expected that the thrust will be to minimise all component imports and restrict only those products which have no production capacity in India right now.
Harsh Goenka has spoken to Humans of Bombay about the Wall of Gratitude that honours Corona Warriors and the post has won praise from a lot of people. The descriptive and heartwarming post was shared along with three images showcasing the massive creation painted on a wall of RPG house in Worli.

The first of the three photographs shows the renowned business tycoon sitting on a chair, smiling directly at the camera. The next two pictures capture an artistic mural dedicated to Corona warriors, who are going above and beyond their call of duty during these trying times.

The text, accompanying the shots, narrates Goenkas perspective about the pursuit. It reads, As an art lover, I believe what words cant express, art can. So, I contacted Elsie Nanji & Sameer Kulavoor who brought the idea to lifea Wall of Gratitude on the RPG house in Worli to pay homage to their (corona warriors) bravery.

The business tycoon further explained the tiresome process of accomplishing the artistic initiative. The BMC gave us permission to start operations in 1 day & Asian Paints gave us the supplies, immediately. The team worked tirelessly to complete the 20-day project in 5 days, says Goenka.

The result was astonishing  across a 10,000 sq feet wall, the mural showed COVID warriors from various walks of life, citizens saying, Thank you from their windows & phrases like Together we will win. reads the post.

Check out the post and pictures of the mural below:

Since being shared on June 25, the post has amassed nearly 21,500 likes and almost 100 appreciative comments.

Here is how Instagram users have reacted to the Wall of Gratitude. One person writes, Amazing. While another individual posts, Awesome... Grateful for your thought. God bless.

Wow! So unique, reads one comment.

What are your thoughts on the Wall of Gratitude?

Also Read | Kerala auto rickshaw with built-in soap and water dispensers impresses many including Harsh Goenka
Hawk Newsome (R) holds his fist up at a rally in Brooklyn, New York City, on May 15, 2020. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Black Lives Matter Organizer Open to Meeting With Trump

A Black Lives Matter organizer whose remarks this week prompted pushback from President Donald Trump said hes open to meeting with the Republican commander-in-chief.

Ill talk to anyone as long as they have an open mind about ending systemic racism, Hawk Newsome, chairperson of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, told The Epoch Times.

The White House didnt respond to a request for comment. Trump recently met with family members of minorities who have been killed in recent years, primarily by police officers, before signing an executive order on police reform.

Newsome declined to cite specific studies for the claim of systemic racism, saying theres volumes of studies about inequality between black and white Americans, studies showing mass incarceration was wrong and racist, and that wealth disparities among blacks and whites are race-based.

Newsome said during a cable news appearance late Wednesday, If this country doesnt give us what we want, then we will burn down this system and replace it.

He also said he didnt condone or condemn the rioting thats consumed cities across the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.

President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., on June 19, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Trump said Newsomes remarks were treasonous. The Black Lives Matter Global Network distanced itself from the New York group after the remarks.

Newsome told The Epoch Times that he feels Trump is trying to get reelected and hell say and do anything.

Hes extremely upset because he understands that he pushed this country and the people in it to a boiling point and now that its there he wants to blame someone, Newsome alleged, adding, He shouldnt blame anyone but himself.

The push against alleged police brutality and racial injustice has no leader, Newsome said.

Its not that theres anyone controlling the people, this is a leaderless movement. the bottom line is, some of us know what the temperature is in the streets, and amongst the people, he said.

Asked about people who say violence doesnt bring about change, he pointed to the American Revolution and what he described as peaceful attempts in recent years to enact change.

Weve been marching for five years and nothing happened, and then when people took to the streets in anger and frustration, people who dont usually march take to the streets in anger and frustration, look at what happened, he said, citing the firing of police officers, the charging of an officer in New York City with strangulation, and laws being enacted in various locales that include restrictions on police officers.

A destroyed building smolders near the Minneapolis Police Departments 3rd Precinct the day after it was attacked and burned by rioters following the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 29, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Newsome said he couldnt say yes or no when presented with the possibility that Black Lives Matter activists participated in the destruction in Minneapolis, Washington, and other cities.

But there are a lot of frustrated people out there, right? he said, noting that two rioters arrested in New York for allegedly hurling Molotov cocktails at police were attorneys.

If Trump is serious about fixing the problems in America he would have went onto the website of Black Opportunities, which Newsome helped start, the organizer said.

Legislative priorities listed on the website include an act titled I Cant Breathe, which would require law enforcement officers to provide medical care to an inmate or person in custody if they need it and enable prosecution of officers who fail to do so.

Another legislative priority is banning the use of chokeholds and disabling police unions.

Newsome said he was surprised Trump was the one who got criminal justice reform accomplished through the First Step Act, as opposed to Democrats, but activists feel both Republicans and Democrats are operating in the best interests of corporations and their backers instead of the best interests of the people.

Newsome is reluctantly supporting Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

I feel as though as we can get further with Joe Biden. I feel like he would be a more productive president, he said.

I dont think that there will be substantial changes under Joe Biden, he added, citing Bidens track record in the Senate and as vice president and calling Biden the typical Democrat who enacts only moderate change.

What we need is radical changes. We need reparations, we need the defunding of the police, we need a strong commitment to pass the I Cant Breathe Act,' he said.
On Wednesday, the Most Reverend Mitchell T. Rozanski, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, announced he accepted the finding of credibility by retired Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis independent investigation concerning allegations of sexual abuse against the late Christopher J. Weldon, former bishop of Springfield.

On behalf of the Office of Safe Environment and Victim Assistance for the diocese, I would like to publicly recognize the strength and resilience of the survivor who continued to pursue justice and truth since first reporting his abuse to diocesan officials in 2014.

As Archbishop-designate Rozanski noted, In almost every instance we failed this courageous man who nonetheless persevered thanks in part to a reliable support network as well as a deep desire for a just response to the terrible abuse he endured.

As a result of the investigation, Archbishop-designate Rozanski took the following steps: (1) directed that Trinity Health remove the former bishops name from its rehab facilities; (2) communicated to the diocesan cemeteries office to make the necessary plans to remove the former bishops remains to a less prominent location marked with a simple gravestone; (3) instructed all Catholic facilities to immediately remove honorable mentions, references, memorials and pictures of the former bishop; and (4) ordered that his name be placed on our diocesan website listing all those with credible allegations of sexual abuse of a child or vulnerable adult. Truly, it was through the continued advocacy by survivors of clergy sexual abuse and ongoing support from the survivor community that this unfortunate matter finally reached a conclusion.

The mission of the Office of Safe Environment and Victim Assistance is to support healing and recovery while also holding those who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse, as well as those who have failed to protect children and vulnerable persons, responsible and accountable. This cannot be achieved without the voice and input from those whove been most deeply affected.

I acknowledge that many survivors are likely mistrustful of the diocese, perhaps even more so now more than ever due to what we have learned from the report issued by Judge Velis. Further, I also recognize that survivors, family members, and other members of the diocesan community have good reason to be suspicious of rhetoric about change as we have failed to live up to these promises time and time again.

Please know how grateful the diocese is to the survivor community for your continued advocacy and pursuit of meaningful change in order to support healing and recovery. I applaud and thank you for all you have done and all you will continue to do.

Over the past year, weve made a commitment to listening more closely to the needs and demands youve identified and to implementing practices to ensure that healing and safety is always as much our priority as it has been yours.

As a beginning, the Office of Safe Environment and Victim Assistance has worked in collaboration with law enforcement officials and other stakeholders to address critical issues that required immediate change. First, a new panel of investigators were hired to investigate allegations of sexual abuse using trauma-informed and investigative best practices. Second, a Memorandum of Understanding on reporting allegations of sexual abuse by diocesan representatives was entered into with the district attorneys offices of the Berkshire, Hampden, and Northwestern districts. Lastly, an independent task force on the response to sexual abuse within the Diocese of Springfield was appointed by Bishop Rozanski to develop a strategic plan with specific steps for improvement.

Although the diocese has made significant changes to its reporting and investigatory practices, it is not nearly enough. As the diocese embarks on developing a blue print for making real and substantial changes, I invite all survivors to consider joining in this important effort. I can be reached via e-mail at j.trant@diospringfield.org or by phone at 413-452-0624.

Jeffrey J. Trant is director of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield Office of Safe Environment and Victim Assistance, Springfield.
French English

The Bel Group announces it successfully put in place its first USPP private bond issue under French law of $150 million due November 2035 (15 years) with institutional investors. Credit Agricole CIB (Lead Placement Agent), Societe General and Rabobank acted as joint-placement agents on the transaction

The investment shows a 3% coupon. The funding date is scheduled for November 30, 2020.

The objective of this transaction is to optimize the Group's financial structure:

Diversification of funding sources, initiated in 2012 with the issuance of a first private bond issue in Euro PP format of 160 million euros at 6 years and 7 years, completed in 2013 by a Schuldschein in euro and dollar, in 2017 by an inaugural public bond of 500 million euros at 7 years and in 2019 by a private placement in Euro PP format of 125 million euros at 8 and 10 years incorporating environmental and social criteria;

Extending the average maturity of the debt;

Strengthening its dollar debt as a result of the increase in its operations in the United States; and

Profit from particularly attractive financial conditions.

CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, advisors.

This announcement shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the notes or any other securities, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

The notes have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act) and may not be offered, sold, tendered, bought or delivered within the United States or to or for the account or benefit of U.S. persons (as defined in the Securities Act) absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. No public offering of the notes will be made in the United States. There is no assurance that the offering will be completed or, if completed, as to the terms on which it is completed.

This announcement may include projections and other forward looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any such projections or statements reflect the current views of the company about further events and financial performance. No assurances can be given that such events or performance will occur as projected and actual results may differ materially from these projections.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such trend and/or target information should in no way be regarded as earnings forecast data or performance indicators of any kind. This information is by nature subject to risks and uncertainties that may be beyond the Company's control. A detailed description of these risks and uncertainties is provided in the Company's Universal Registration Document, available at the www.groupe-bel.com) a website as of April 3, 2020. More comprehensive information about the Bel Group can be found in the "Regulatory Information" section of the www.groupe-bel.com website.

About Bel

The Bel Group is a world leader in branded cheese and a major player in the healthy snack market. Its portfolio of differentiated and internationally recognized brands include such products as The Laughing Cow, Kiri, Mini Babybel, Leerdammer, Boursin, PomPotes, and GoGo squeeZ, as well as some 20 local brands. Together, these brands helped the Group generate sales of 3.4 billion in 2019.

Some 12,400 employees in some 30 subsidiaries around the world contribute to the deployment of the Group's mission to champion healthier and responsible food all. Bel products are prepared at 32 production sites and distributed in nearly 120 countries.

www.groupe-bel.com

------------

Public relations

Bel Group  Agence BCW

Alice Dalla Costa / Cecile Pochard

alice.dalla-costa@bcw-global.com / cecile.pochard@bcw-global.com

+33 (0)1 56 03 12 26 / +33 (0)1 56 03 12 95

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LAS VEGAS, NV, June 26, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - According to Good Jobs First's violation tracker, Komatsu (OTCMKTS: KMTUY) ranked 6th worst within their industry with over $3mm in penalties since 2000, as cited by OSHA, EPA and NLRB. Eight of the 14 primary offenses include workplace safety and employment related violations. According to a 2017 OSHA violation report, fall protection had the highest number of citations.This continual pattern of negligence, as shown by Federal citations and courts cases involving Komatsu America, points to a caviler attitude towards safety.Below is a summary of several recent safety violations credited to Komatsu America. January 24, 2020, a Komatsu employee in the State of Utah was caught driving a commercial vehicle with a suspended or revoked Commercial Driver License.December 5, 2019, another Komatsu employee in the state of Utah was found to be operating a commercial vehicle without possessing a valid Medical certificate.September 26, 2006, Henry Ross of North Dakota was killed operating a Komatsu piece of equipment that came with no seat belts or roll over protection (ROPS) that should have been installed on the equipment. Komatsu America choose not to equip the basic operator protective pieces to the equipment Mr. Ross was operating which could have kept Mr. Ross safe.In another case in 2012 at a Norwood, IL Komatsu plant, Stanley Musgrave Jr., 53, died from an industrial accident. In 2011, OSHA cited the same Illinois Komatsu plant. The two repeat violations included "failing to develop machine-specific energy control procedures and training to ensure workers understood energy control procedures.""Komatsu America has a responsibility to ensure equipment is maintained in good working order and that employees are properly trained in the safe operation of equipment they are required to use," said Tom Bielema, OSHA's area director in Peoria, IL. "This unfortunate incident might have been prevented had the employer addressed previous incidents where the hydraulic coupler had failed."Timothy Rivers, a 35-year-old Komatsu American employee with one year of experience, died on March 6, 2019 at a mine in Grants City, New Mexico, after being struck by a relief valve from a 500-ton hydraulic bottle jack (bottle jack). As Rivers attempted to raise an electric shovel, the hydraulic pressure ejected the relief valve from 1 of 4 bottle jacks. The relief valve struck Rivers causing his death. The ensuing review by MSHA came to the conclusion this accident would not have occurred had the contractor (Komatsu America) ensured that the bottle jack was being maintained in operable condition.July 20, 2016 a semi-truck hauling a pair of Komatsu excavators hit the overpass spanning Interstate 5 near Chehalis, WA, causing damage leading to the aforementioned lawsuit.The contention in the ongoing Federal lawsuit is the same pattern of gross negligence was the cause of the bridge strike. The Komatsu America contractor's employee has testified under oath that he was never instructed to curl the boom under to reduce the shipping height on a Komatsu excavator. This increased height from the failure to curl the boom led to the disastrous bridge strike on July 22, 2016.Komatsu had several opportunities to audit its contractor Modern Machinery to see if there were an ongoing training program, and ensure that the Komatsu contractor was training its employees correctly, or if it were training them at all. Komatsu chose not to audit its contractor for OSHA compliance. OSHA requires all operators to be trained on the equipment they are to operate. The contractor employee testified he was never trained to operate the equipment involved in the bridge strike.The suit alleges that Komatsu America's agent Modern Machinery failed to load the excavators properly and in accordance with Komatsu's published shipping dimensions for the equipment under transport. ETON alleges that the knowing failure to load pursuant to the manufacturer recommendations was the cause of the accident and damage to the bridge.Modern Machinery is part of a large consortium of privately held companies collectively known as the Washington Companies, owned by billionaire Dennis R. Washington. Modern Machinery sells and rents high quality heavy equipment and provides product support to the construction, mining, and forestry industries. The Modern Machinery terminal in Rochester, WA is a home to a large staging area for a variety of Komatsu product brought from overseas awaiting shipment to other Komatsu dealers.ETON is a Las Vegas-based premier transportation company serving the Western United States with equipment, professional drivers and superior on-time service.Komatsu America Corp. is a U.S. subsidiary of Komatsu Ltd. (OTCMKTS: KMTUY), the world's second largest manufacturer and supplier of earth-moving equipment, consisting of construction, mining and compact construction equipment.CONTACT:ETON.meMitchell Truman+1 (702) 348 6370http://www.ETON.meEnvironmental Transportation of Nevada, LLCSource: ETON TransportationCopyright 2020 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
The Gharkul society residents in Chikhali have again objected to the administrations decision to set up Covid-19 isolation wards in their society.

The residents had protested in March when Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) put up a quarantine facility in the residential zone.

On Thursday, residents staged protest in front of their society.

PCMC constructed buildings under the low house scheme projects. Many are occupied and those vacant will be turned into isolation wards, said Dr Pavan Salve, additional health and medical officer of PCMC.

The civic administration okayed the option of home quarantine for residents with asymptomatic signs or mild fever after a surge in positive cases was reported last week.

PCMC will turn four buildings in Gharkul Society  D5, D6, D7 and D8  into isolation wards. There are 42 houses in one building and 168 units in total. Till June 26, 336 fans, 168 water geysers and 1,160 bulbs have been fitted in the isolation wards.

Why PCMC wants to set up isolation wards in our building. We have senior citizens as residents and all are worried about contracting the virus, a Gharkul society resident said requesting anonymity.

Residents are concerned about virus spread, but we need centres to quarantine patients. All safety measures are in place, said Salve.

As of Friday, till 5:30 pm, PCMC has reported a total of 2,405 Covid-19 cases. Those cured are 1,443 and 919 are undergoing treatment. The virus has claimed 41 residents in PCMC.

On June 9, residents of Anandnagar in Chinchwad staged protest against containment restrictions and damaged police vehicles.
Incoming Taoiseach Micheal Martin has promised a major national economic recovery plan and multi-billion euro stimulus as early as next month to get people back to work.

Mr Martin described as unique and historic the deal agreed between his party,

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Mr Martin will be formally elected the countrys leader during a special sitting of Dail Eireann held at Dublins Convention Centre due to social distancing requirements.

All three parties voted by large majorities to endorse the proposal to enter government.

Speaking exclusively to the Irish Examiner, Mr Martin said: I am calm enough but daunted by the significant challenge ahead.

We will get working straight away. I will be working on all fronts to deliver an economic recovery plan in July, looking at a jobs and recovery plan, looking at a stimulus plan to help people get back to work. That will be the immediate focus.

I am delighted with the outcome in all three parties. It is an emphatic endorsement of all three parties by their membership who are clear a government needs to be formed.

It was a very mature decision by my party. The emphatic nature of the vote was telling.

How the parties voted

Mr Martin confirmed that his new Cabinet will meet tonight and again early next week to begin preparing that national recovery plan.

He also confirmed he will appoint his 11 Seanad nominees today while the appointment of junior ministers will take place early next week.

In terms of the results, Fine Gael members voted by 80% to 20% while Fianna Fail members voted by a margin of 74% to 26% in favour of entering government. The Green Party, needing a two-thirds majority, voted by 76% to 24% in favour of the deal.

Mr Martin will become the countrys 15th Taoiseach and the first Cork Taoiseach since Jack Lynch retired in 1979.

Outgoing taoiseach Leo Varadkar after announcing that Fine Gael members have voted in favour of the programme for government agreed with Fianna Fail and the Green Party, in Dublin. Picture: Damien Eagers/PA Wire

Outgoing taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar, who is set to become Tanaiste, said that the vote of his party was significant as all four sections of the electoral college voted for the deal.

It is a result that Mr Varadkar, the Fine Gael president, said he wasnt entirely sure he would win, but he said it was a strong mandate for entering government.

So Fine Gael is going to enter a third term in government and this new coalition united and strong, and were looking forward to helping get the country through the Covid emergency, getting people back to work, businesses open and pursuing some of the reforms we got started in the last couple of years, he said.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said there is a sense of responsibility on us now because we do have a job to do.

Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin TD and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan TD in Brookes Hotel, Dublin today, as he announces that the party has voted in support of the proposed programme for government. Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

In terms of Cabinet appointments, Mr Martin looks set to appoint his Cork South Central constituency colleague Michael McGrath, his deputy leader Dara Calleary, Offaly TD Barry Cowen, and Galway TD Anne Rabbitte.

Others in contention include Thomas Byrne, Jim OCallaghan, and Jack Chambers.

Mr Varadkars team looks set to include Simon Coveney, Paschal Donohoe, Heather Humphreys, Simon Harris, Helen McEntee, and possibly Hildegarde Naughten.

Mr Ryan and his deputy leader Catherine Martin are certain to be Green ministers while the third Cabinet slot could go to Joe OBrien, Roderic OGorman, or Ossian Smyth.
By Jesus Bustamante

CULIACAN, Mexico (Reuters) - Two armed attacks in the violence-plagued western Mexican state of Sinaloa, home of notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, have left 16 people dead, the head of the state's public security ministry said on Thursday.

Security forces found the bodies of seven supposed cartel hitmen on a dirt road, strewn next to a bullet-riddled pickup truck, apparent victims of a shootout.

"There are seven bodies, most of whom were wearing tactical clothing and vests, apparently only one firearm was found," said public security minister Cristobal Castaneda. "Clearly this is a fight between gangs or organized criminal groups," he added.

A separate attack on a small town left another nine fatalities, seven of them supposedly local residents and the other two bodies have not been identified.

One of the unidentified bodies had an AK-47, said Castaneda.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador assumed the presidency in December 2018 pledging to pacify the country with a less confrontational approach to security, but violence has continued rising and murders hit an all-time high last year.

(Reporting by Jesus Bustamante; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Michael Perry)
A central team will be sent to Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana to help them manage increasing fatality rates. The central government has diverted its attention from the national capital and is now focusing on the states that are gravely affected by the virus.

The avalanche of positive coronavirus cases has engulfed the entire country; in a bid to tackle the noxious coronavirus the centre will be sending a team of experts to Telangana, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. These three states have recorded 16,000 fresh cases hence have topped the list of high positivity rates, which is considered to be critical in combating the virus.

According to sources, the central team is slated to visit Tamil Nadu and West Bengal as well, considering the upsurge of positive cases in the state. So far, Maharashtra has the highest number of cases followed by Delhi.

In Maharashtra, the team of experts is expected to visit Pune, Thane, and Palghar, all of them which are gravely affected by the virus, the doubling rate in Maharashtra stands at 23 days but the state has a fatality rate of 3.7 which is higher than the national average of 2.9 as of now.

Also Read: PM Modi launches Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan for over 1.25 crore workers

A Central Team led by Lav Agarwal, Jt Secretary, Ministry of Health will visit Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana on 26th-29th June. The team will interact with the State officials and coordinate with them to strengthen ongoing efforts for management of COVID-19: Health Ministry pic.twitter.com/USbPxWDDao  ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2020

Also Read: Railways cancels all regular train services till August 12

An official said that these three districts have witnessed a sudden rise in the cases, hence the central team will assist in plugging the loopholes and help the sate formulate new strategies if required.

Gujarat has recorded a fatality rate of 6 percent and the team of experts will be visiting Ahmedabad, which has been the hotspot of the virus in the state. The visit to Telangana will focus on the undetected cases in the state which has led to an increase in the positivity rate.

Also Read: Ashok Gehlot slams BJP, says Modi-Shah led NDA govt offers no breather for others

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The first time I arrived in the US was on 29 September 1977. I was five weeks late for the beginning of term. I was looking forward to my studies and excited about getting to know that country which Id seen so often in the cinema. As a political science student from Cairo University, I already knew quite a bit about the US system of government. Nevertheless, my professor insisted I add a Civics 101 course to my curriculum as long as I would be spending the next five years in the US.

US President Jimmy Carter was in his first year in office. His election was something of a revolution because he was a Democrat coming after eight years of Republican control of the White House. Also, his main motto was human rights at home and abroad at a time the US was struggling to rally from the defeat in Vietnam. The Cold War was still in a period of detente.

I set about to learn as much as I could about that country and for various academic, professional and personal reasons I continued to study its political evolution from the American revolution to the last elections in 2016, passing through numerous major critical junctures along the way: the US Civil War, two world wars and interventions and proxy wars in other countries in the framework of its rivalry with the USSR or, depending on your point of view, its pursuit of global hegemony.

One feature of that evolution was that the military establishment and its related intelligence and security agencies obtained a large chunk of the US budget, which gave them considerable clout. But another major feature is that the military has remained, as the USs founding fathers intended, politically neutral. It is subordinate to civil authorities within the bounds established by the US Constitution. The relationship between the army and civil authorities has generally been one of mutual respect. The executive sets out national security policies in coordination with the National Security Council, a body made up representatives of the branches of the armed forces and the intelligence agencies, and these forces and agencies carry out the policies. Politicians from across the political spectrum, whether Republicans or Democrats, or whether in power or in the opposition, speak of their armed forces with great pride, much as you would find in any other country. Meanwhile, military officials take pains to demonstrate their deference to the president as the chief executive and upholder of the constitution.

Then Donald Trump came to power. His remarks against the army began even during his electoral campaign when he faulted the army for not having won a war since World War II. This was not because he wanted to cut the military budget, or even because of his isolationist agenda. He thought his Democratic and liberal adversaries wanted to embroil the US in wars it cannot win. After he won the election and prepared to enter the White House, he had no generals on his team, not even a Republican with experience in office such as Colin Powell. Eventually he settled on Herbert McMaster as his national security adviser and James Mattis as defence secretary. Both resigned after less than two years in office, leaving their posts to officers of lesser stature.

Trumps relationship with the armed forces and the intelligence apparatus, especially the CIA and FBI, has been frosty at best. It grew bumpier amidst the political crossfire during the investigations into Russian meddling in the US elections on behalf of Trump, followed by the House of Representatives impeachment proceedings set into motion by Trumps gambit to involve the government of Ukraine in a smear campaign against Joe Biden, his current Democratic rival for the presidency. As the world has learned from recently published excerpts from John Boltons The Room Where It Happened, Trump explicitly solicited Chinese President Xis help in getting him re-elected in the 2020 elections. According to Bolton, Trump, in his conversations with Xi, underscored the importance of US farmers in the polls and encouraged China to buy as many US farm products as it could.

Military-White House tensions were not just about the latters attitudes towards the army. Perhaps more importantly they were about a president who wanted to lift anchor from long established US national security and defence policies. The army was not happy about Trumps attitudes towards NATO, his policies on Russia, his desire to withdraw from the Middle East and his policies towards North Korea and China. Yet, despite all such tensions and disagreements, the army left all such policy decisions and procedures to the constitutional institutions and mechanisms.

Some political factions in the US have tried to pull the army into the political morass that the army has stayed clear of, out of commitment to historical convention and law. Most recently, the demonstrations that erupted following George Floyds murder by a white Minneapolis policeman have served as a catalyst in this regard. The murder ignited long pent up anger among African Americans, liberal whites and various US minorities, triggering weeks of demonstrations as well as some outbursts of violence and destruction. Trumps threat  When the looting starts, the shooting starts  jarred with the American tradition not to pit the army against the people. After Trump had police use tear gas to clear a peaceful sit-in in Lafayette Square, so he could pose in front of a church holding a Bible for an election campaign photo op, the most senior Pentagon official, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, issued an official apology for participating in that fiasco. When Trump said he would deploy 10,000 troops to help local police and the National Guard to put down protests, former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman retired General Martin Dempsey as well as Colin Powell denounced the threat. Echoing the views of his predecessors, Powell and Mattis, the current US Defense Secretary Mark Esper made it clear that he opposed bringing US troops against the American people.

The friction between the brass and the president is unprecedented. Equally unprecedented is Joe Bidens remark that if he wins and Trump refuses to turn over the keys to the White House, the military might be called in to escort him out. Such an eventuality may seem farfetched given the American record of peaceful transition of power. But Trump has already suggested, as he did in the previous electoral round, that if he loses in the polls that would mean the results were rigged. Meanwhile, history, itself, has become a battle ground. Demonstrators are toppling statues of southern Civil War generals and burning Confederate flags on the grounds that they glorify the age of slavery.

All the foregoing combines to form a picture of an America that is not the America I had studied and grown familiar with. Perhaps we will not have to wait long to learn the secrets history has yet to reveal.

The writer is chairman of the board, CEO and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 25 June, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to strike down what remains of Obamacare after waves of Republican legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act, telling the court in a brief filed late Thursday that the entire ACA must fall. The move comes as hundreds of thousands of newly out-of-work Americans have used the Obama-era health care law to get coverage during the coronavirus pandemic. Dismantling the law, an obsession of Republican lawmakers for a full decade now, would leave more than 20 million people without health coverage. Despite having a decade to come up with an alternative to the law, and two years in control of the White House and both houses of Congress, Republicans have offered no viable alternative for how to make sure Americans can go to the doctor.

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Its unsurprising, then, that the Supreme Court is set to hear yet another Republican challenge to the lawthe third to go before the courtthis fall. This, the GOPs umpteenth legal challenge to giving Americans health insurance, comes via a Texas-led group of Republican state attorneys general. The case began after the Republican-led Congress in 2017, unable to secure the votes to abolish the law, reduced to zero the penalty for a person not buying health insurance, the Washington Post notes. Lawyers for the state of Texas argued that in doing so, Congress had removed the essential tax element that the Supreme Court had previously ruled made the program constitutional.

The Trump administration hopped onto that legal bandwagon Thursday, arguing in Solicitor General Noel Franciscos brief that, essentially, the Affordable Care Act is the individual mandate, or the requirement that everyone have some form of health coverage. Since the individual mandate and the fines that accompany it have been struck, the administration now argues, it necessarily follows that the rest of the ACA must also fall. The timing of the hearing on the GOPs challenge is particularly ludicrous given it comes at a time when all Americans are under threat from the coronavirus. The GOP has used Obamacare as an election issue since the early days of the bills passage, drumming up resentment from segments of the population who did not want to give up their freedom to be unable to pay extortionate medical bills.

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It will be interesting to see how the antihealth care message plays during a national health crisis that should cause a rethink in how the country cares for its citizens. Much like Trumps law-and-order messaging in response to the antipolice brutality protests after the killing of George Floyd, it seems highly plausible that Republicans Obamacare destruction mission is newly out of sync with how Americans feel about the issue now. It is not a foregone conclusion that voters in the middle of the country will link the public health failures cascading down around them to the public policies that facilitated those failures, but the current moment seems more capable than any in compelling introspection. Ending Obamacare would, for example, end the prohibition on insurance companies denying people coverage due to a preexisting conditionsomething that being sick with the coronavirus and its aftereffects might count as.

For more of Slates news coverage, listen to What Next: TBD.
Iran Air Force gets domestically-made Kowsar fighter jets

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 25 June 2020 8:15 AM

Iran's Air Force has received three advanced fighter jets designed and manufactured by the country's experts as the Islamic Republic moves to renovate its air fleet.

The fourth-generation fighter jets, named Kowsar, were delivered on Thursday to the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) during a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami.

The event was also joined by Chief Commander of Army Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Commander of Air Force Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh and head of Plan and Budget Organization Mohammad Bagher Nobakht.

Mainly developed by the Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO), Kowsar was unveiled back in July 2017 and showcased to the international audience at MAKS air show in Moscow.

Kowsar is equipped with advanced avionics and fire control systems and can be manufactured in both single- and double-cockpit types, the latter of which can be used for advanced pilot training missions in addition to its combat capability.

The achievement has made Iran one of the few countries with the know-how to design and manufacture such aircraft.

Sanctions only made Iran stronger

Speaking during the ceremony, Iran's defense chief said that the delivery of fighter jets to the Army's Air Force coveys a message to the enemies  the US in particular  that the American sanctions against the Islamic Republic have had no impact the country's progress in its defense sector.

The enemies are well aware today that their sanctions have "produced the opposite result," he said.

He blasted Washington for making attempts to extend restrictions on Iran's imports and export of arms, saying the development of Kowsar fighter jets showed the world that all freedom-seeking nations will be independent and self-sufficient if they stand resilient in the face of pressures.

The defense minister was referring to a hostile push by the US at the UN Security Council to secure an extension of a UN arms embargo against Iran, which is due to expire in October.

"The enemies and the Americans should know that the path (of progress) will continue," said Hatami.

Over the past years, Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing military equipment and hardware despite sanctions and economic pressures on the country.

The Islamic Republic maintains that its military power is solely for defensive purposes and does not pose any threat to other nations.

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Since retiring as mayor six and a half years ago and after nearly 30 years in public life, I have stayed away from public comment, figuring that I had my say for long enough and that it was time to let other voices be heard. I am certain that this has been a wise choice, just as I am equally certain that some large number of my fellow residents have been pleased with that decision. However, today I do have something to say.

I did not grow up in Wooster Square. Nor did I attend St. Michaels Church or School. My parents were not active in any of the Italian American religious societies or civic organizations. Mostly my parents went to work at multiple jobs, saw that my sisters and I had everything we needed and lived their lives with every expectation that we, their children, would lead lives of greater opportunity and possibility than they had experienced. And their hard work and faith in that expectation has indeed come to pass for their children and grandchildren.

That said, my sisters and I did carry with us certain advantages on our journey. Advantages such as family, our Catholic faith, work and, most crucially, hope. Hope that in America that if you worked hard, followed the rules and treated others as you wanted to be treated, that you and yours would do better. That did not come to my family from Christopher Columbus. It came from Bartolomeo and Lena DeStefano and Raphael and Madeline Cusano, my grandparents, who immigrated to New Haven in the years before World War I. Like so many others, my grandparents came with nothing, but also with everything. Nothing financially, but everything in terms of family, faith, work, hope and courage.

You see they, and those like so many other immigrants, are the heroes. It is their traditions, their values, their accomplishments and their willingness to risk everything that are foundational to the Italian American experience here in New Haven and across the United States. Just as it is so for so many other groups that came to this country and built it.

Christopher Columbus, like all men and women, is to be judged on the spectrum and sum of choices they made in their lives. And all of us, in the time of our own lives, make good choices and bad choices. Just as each of us in our own lives and deep down in moments of regret and joy know which is which.

Christopher Columbus was a brilliant navigator, and also a man who chose to subjugate, torture and enslave fellow human beings. Honestly, compared to the immigrant generations of Americans there is no doubt who the hero is and whose lives are to be honored. And to not do justice to that distinction in life choices is a betrayal to those who sacrificed everything for us, so that we could see something more in our lives. And to not act on that distinction should make us ashamed.

Statues are symbols. They are not life choices rooted in our values and enduring truths. If we want to be true to those whose shoulders we stand upon, it is meaningless to worry about the symbols. Rather we, in our time, do justice to the life choices of our heritage by the life choices we make in our time.

So yes. Let us honor our traditions and our heroes by the choices we make. Let us build monuments of good choices, just as they did.

To honor our heritage, let us support the kind of robust immigration that our grandparents were able to take advantage of. To honor our grandparents hard work, let us insist on making sure that everyone is prepared to work and that work pays wages that others futures can be built upon. To honor our grandparents faith, lets treat others the way we want to be treated and change how we police, what we criminalize and open doors that have been closed for too many for too long.

Yes. Let us move diligently with a true representation of our heritage on the now-vacant pedestal in Wooster Square. But more meaningfully let us honor the faith, hope and courage of those architects of our own lives, by the choices we make today in building the kind of city and nation that we hope for all our children and grandchildren for tomorrow.

John DeStefano Jr. is former mayor of New Haven.
Zedonk merges zebra with donkey, both in the verbal and bestial senses. I cant imagine youve needed the term, but the Merriam-Webster dictionary is here to help. Though beware imitations. Owners of iffier petting zoos have been known to stripe their burro in whitewash, qualifying the phony as a zonkey.

Every June or so, you can expect such creatures to emerge from the margins. Now is when most dictionaries announce their latest entries, from awesomesauce (lets move on) to zonkey (just in case you visit Tijuana).

A three-month-old zedonk, a crossing between a zebra and a donkey. Credit:TIZIANA FABI

Many words will be familiar. That makes sense. A dictionary is a warehouse after all, a depot of words borrowed from the people it serves. Screen time and oat milk, therefore, wont need explanation, unless you believe a farmer requires a loupe and bucket to siphon each individual oat.

Coronavirus is another theme, of course, infesting the database with social distancing and contact tracing. Elbow bump, too. Yet other VOCAB-19 samples you may have missed include contactless, super-spreaders, WFH (working from home), intensivist (an intensive-care specialist) and my favourite: infodemic, when too much medical lowdown can spell as much threat as a toilet plume.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 22:03:49|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Iran's minister of petroleum said on Friday that the continuation of Iran's gasoline exports to Venezuela depends on the negotiations between the two countries, official IRNA news agency reported.

Referring to the recent sale of five tankers of fuel to the Latin American country, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that Iran has sold gasoline to Venezuela at market price.

Iran has received part of the money for the exports, and Venezuela has provided necessary guarantees for paying the balance, said the Iranian minister.

As for the U.S. sanctions on five Iranian captains who shipped gasoline to Venezuela, Zanganeh said "first, they (Americans) tried to bribe them," but when the captains rejected their offer, the U.S. administration sanctioned them.

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five Iranian ship captains who had delivered oil to Venezuela.

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Thursday condemned the fresh sanctions against the captains, saying that such embargoes prove the "failure" of U.S. administration's "maximum pressure campaign" against the Islamic republic. Enditem
Even seasoned bankers and real estate investors, honed by past financial markets and health crises, are no match for the calamity brought by the US-China trade war and the coronavirus pandemic.

Phoenix Property Investors, a US$7.7 billion real estate fund, has six months to save itself from potential cascading defaults in two commercial property bets in China after the market cracked, banks trimmed lending and co-investors balked at a restructuring proposal.

Two funds managed by Phoenix and outsider co-investors could lose as much as 74 per cent of the equity they pooled to part finance the down payments for Tower A and B at One Financial Street in Shanghai, an office and retail development situated strategically near the Shanghai railway station.

The transactions, worth almost 4 billion yuan (US$562 million), hinge on repaying two offshore bridging loans maturing in November used to pay for part of the costs, according to a document seen by the South China Morning Post. "We cannot refinance," it warned.

Unable to close the transactions, Phoenix considered cutting its losses or finding new buyers for the assets in a proposal last month. Investors balked at the prospect of sinking more capital or offloading the assets at depressed prices, at least according to one stock exchange filing.

"This is just a short-term crisis," Samuel Chu Wai-tak, managing partner and chief investment officer at Phoenix, said in an interview on June 17. "It's a worst-case scenario. We are looking at various options in the hope of preventing our investors from suffering any losses."

The rare distress offers a cautionary tale of how the US-China trade war and the coronavirus outbreak spread the pain around the world's biggest money management firms, as China's much-vaunted economy shrank for the first time since 1992.

Samuel Chu, managing partner and chief investment officer at Phoenix Property Investors. Photo: SCMP alt=Samuel Chu, managing partner and chief investment officer at Phoenix Property Investors. Photo: SCMP

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In the mainland's US$2.3 trillion real estate market, it could be a reminder for investors like Brookfield Asset Management and Blackstone Group. Or the likes of GIC Real Estate and Oaktree Capital Management, who have a war chest to buy the dips.

It was not supposed to turn out like this when Phoenix first invested in Tower B and sold the plan to outside investors in October 2017, according to Chu, a former Deutsche Bank executive who co-founded the firm with ex-Morgan Stanley bond trader Benjamin Lee Kai-yiu in 2002.

Phoenix has made money for its clients over an 18-year span, since the first Phoenix Asia Real Estate Fund came into being, according to Chu's past media interviews. They burnished its track record over about 100 properties.

From redeveloping prime land in Mid-Levels to churning pre-war colonial shophouses in Singapore and gleaming office blocks in Jakarta, Seoul and Osaka, they have bought and sold US$4.1 billion of them.

Like its earlier forays in mainland China, the deals for One Financial Street in October 2017 and January 2018 went like clockwork at the outset.

Not many, however, could have foreseen the events that followed next. The United States and China quarrelled over trade, anti-government protests in Hong Kong gained momentum and a novel coronavirus emerged, jolting markets and crashing the value of financial and real assets.

At Phoenix, the stresses soon snowballed. Tenancy offers were 20 per cent to 30 per cent below underwriting levels and banks tightened margin loans. Chu and his team have had to offer longer rent concessions to fill up floors.

All told, the towers were substantially lagging behind their budgeted targets by the time Phoenix rang the alarm bell.

"China's commercial real estate sector entered a bear market, both in terms of capital value and rental," Phoenix said in the restructuring proposal in late May. "We are therefore walking towards a purchase default situation."

An artist's impression of One Financial Street, an office and retail development near the Shanghai railway station. Photo: Handout alt=An artist's impression of One Financial Street, an office and retail development near the Shanghai railway station. Photo: Handout

"The Covid-19 pandemic dragged down what was already a weak office market in China," said Wang Feng, chairman of Shanghai-based real estate investor Ye Lang Capital, which is not involved in the Phoenix projects. "It has deterred investors from going into projects with low occupancy rates."

There were two options in Phoenix's rescue proposal. Either abandon the two transactions and negotiate for lower penalties, or find new buyers for one or two of the towers to help pay off the maturing bridging loans, whose lenders were not disclosed.

It is not known if Phoenix had obtained unanimous consent from both sets of tower investors by the June 3 deadline. Chu declined to disclose the status of current negotiations.

Hong Kong-listed ship chartering group Jinhui Holdings, which had committed US$10 million for one of the office towers, was not immediately impressed after receiving the update from Phoenix on May 26.

In a May 28 stock exchange filing, the shipping firm said it was still considering the financial and commercial impact of the options, and had not decided on consenting. It has not filed new updates as promised since the deadline passed.

"This is just like what Warren Buffett once famously said, 'you only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out'," said a person close to some investors in Phoenix funds, who declined to be named. "The manager is probably too optimistic and expects prices to go up and up. There may be more fund managers in the same boat."

Chu remained upbeat despite the looming deadlines for the bridging loans. One Financial Street is a good project, in a very good location, he said in the interview. The market should bounce back in the next two years, he added.

"Since Phoenix's inception in 2002, we have invested in a total of 99 properties," he added. "We have been able to generate profit on 96.8 per cent of all equity invested and allocated. I believe our co-investors will not abandon us."

With additional reporting by Daniel Ren in Shanghai

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.
Ambasadors joining in the 8th meeting of the ASEAN-New Zealand Joint Cooperation Committee on June 25 (Photo: Vietnam's permanent mission to ASEAN)

This was an annual meeting at the ambassador level to review and discuss measures for promoting ASEAN-New Zealand cooperation. Ambassador Tran Duc Binh, head of Vietnams permanent mission to ASEAN, took part in the event.

Participants highly valued the two sides recent achievements in carrying out cooperation activities in the spheres of politics-security, economy, trade, investment, tourism, training, culture, and people-to-people exchange.

New Zealand is currently the 10th largest trade partner and investor of ASEAN, with bilateral trade reaching 10.3 billion USD in 2018. It is also one of the six dialogue partners of the bloc taking part in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The countries highlighted positive results in the implementation of the ASEAN-New Zealand Plan of Action for 2016-2020, noting that all the 59 action lines in the plan have been carried out, showing the multifaceted and sound cooperation between the two sides.

Cooperation activities and projects have all been substantive and highly fruitful, helping ASEAN to realise the ASEAN Community building targets, enhance connectivity, narrow development gap, develop human resources, boost cooperation among the Mekong countries, and improve capacity and cooperation in dealing with challenges like natural disaster management and response, terrorism, cyber security, and maritime security, according to the ambassadors.

New Zealand highly valued ASEAN countries cooperation efforts, initiatives and response measures in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the establishment of the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund and the Hanoi Plan of Action on Strengthening ASEAN Economic Cooperation and Supply Chain Connectivity in Response to the COVID-19.

Recently, New Zealand has granted ASEAN countries with 10 million USD to cope with epidemics and will continue providing them with another 27 million USD for response and post-pandemic recovery efforts.

Both ASEAN and New Zealand agreed to increase sharing information and experience in responding to epidemics, promote investment and trade, and maintain supply chains and regional connectivity.

Participants in the meeting said the two sides will shortly finalise a plan of action for 2021-2025 and enhance cooperation in areas of common concern.

New Zealand will continue assisting ASEAN countries to realise the Sustainable Development Goals and boost the complementarity between the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Both sides also agreed to press on with fully implementing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and actively promote the signing of the RCEP.

New Zealand stressed the importance it attaches to the relations with ASEAN and pledged to support the blocs centrality in the region and actively participate in ASEAN-led regional mechanisms like the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum, the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus, and the Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum.

The country also affirmed that it will keep coordinating with the grouping to prepare for a summit commemorating 45 years of the ASEAN-New Zealand dialogue partnership that is set to take place on the sidelines of the 37th ASEAN Summit in Vietnam this November.
A: My list would essentially remain the same. I was criticized at the time for focusing so much on the class dimension. I think now the racial dimension needs to be highlighted more. We have to think not only about the ways our behavior is benefiting class, but also by extension acting as a barrier, particularly to Black and Latino Americans. The people who are excluded as a result of these upper-middle-class mechanisms are disproportionately people of color.
Credit Dennis Kwan Photography

Impassioned Harvard Business School alum turned bespoke jewelry entrepreneur, Zameer Kassam, cites three key post-pandemic survival strategies helping his firm persevere & blaze brave a new trail in the languishing luxury sector ... and flailing global economy at-large

In business, ingenuity is everything. Adapt or die. No stranger to solving complex challenges, not only is maverick luxury jewelry designer Zameer Kassam endeavoring to beat the entrepreneurial odds amid COVID-19 (as are throngs of other luxe sector operations), but hes actually gaining impressive groundeven as the unpredictable pandemic persists worldwide.

Its been widely reported how the coronavirus has wreaked havoc on every facet of the luxury sector, with jewelry paramount among them. Understandable as the pandemic has prompted global economic chaos, even stoking worries of a wide-scale, near Depression-era level recession as unemployment and an unprecedented number of bankruptcies ensue. Even leading category retailers have suffered enormously in the fray, including Tiffany & Co, which reported worldwide net sales declined 45% in the first quarter of 2020, resulting in a net loss of $65 million  a stark contrast to its $125 million net income for the same period a year prior.

Undaunted by these extraordinary circumstances, Harvard Business School grad Kassam is working tirelessly to ensure his eponymous business (Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry, ZKFJ) doesnt just merely survive the virus-induced disaster, but actually thrives via adept operation transformation. By intelligently and intuitively adapting his already well-positioned company, Kassam has continued to efficaciously serve clients during this challenging time ... and even gain ground.

Apropos Point-in-Time Approach

ZKFJ was fortunately already ahead of the curve. Kassams business model is explicitly structured to reject traditional retail jewelry industry practices. There are no storefronts, no showcases filled with inventory, no traditional marketing budgets. Instead, business is word-of-mouth and referral-based, diamonds and gemstones are sourced specifically for each client, and each piece of artisanal jewelry is designed and handcrafted from scratch to tell the clients exclusive story. Perhaps a hidden gemstone tells of the moment they met; a tiny carving signifies an important part of her heritage; strategically-placed shapes resemble the marital venue architecture; or a clandestine code that celebrates the moment he realized she was the one or a challenge they overcame together  moments that have made their unity stronger and deepened their connection. With this, every piece is one-of-a-kind, wholly designed around a couples own experience and serving as a stunning symbolism-laden narrative of a couples life together. Especially in todays climate, such heirloom items are greatly resonating.

3 Survival Strategies Spurring Fresh Success

As the pace of daily living has slowed over recent months, many are taking stock and reconsidering what truly matters in life ... and are seeking to celebrate those seminal moments and events by custom-creating something meaningful and lasting. Amid this sweeping sentimental mindset among both men and women, Kassam quickly realized the power of his distinctive marketplace approach. He immediately devised and implemented the three distinct strategies outlined below that are proving integral for not just sustaining, but growing, his business. This as his clients are seemingly more eager than ever to let their loved ones know they are truly special:

Avoiding Operational Anchors: As a New York-based business, Kassam has never relied on overseas production. Due to this, ZKFJ was able to move all production staff and contractors to work from their respective homes over the course of just a few days. He quickly helped team members set up at-home workstations so they could physically produce jewels without compromising quality or other company standards. In addition, thanks to mitigated overhead commitments by eschewing traditional retail practices related to storefront and warehouse leases, expensive display cases and furnishings, carrying inventories and other such cash-compromising operational anchors, Kassams business agility allowed him to honor each clients proposal timelinesall without supply chain, production or any other delays or pricing adjustments.

Fostering Client Comfort Zone: Kassam prides himself on the firms three-step process that includes a one-on-one tutorial and discovery meeting with each client. Before the pandemic, Kassam and his team of storytellers would traverse the globe to meet in-person with a client. The virus has changed that, and the firm has efficaciously moved to a 100 percent call/email model, actually finding that it has dramatically improved the process. Not only is it much more efficient for his clients (by making it easier to schedule and reducing travel time), it also allowing him to delve deeper into their personal stories, as clients seem more at ease speaking about their love story from the comfort of their own homes. Since his jewels are often bestowed as surprise gifts, with this new full virtual approach Kassams clients arent distracted during work hours or relegated to sneaking out to find the right time to talk about their project.

Sentiment-Spurred Marketing: Since word-of-mouth is Kassams greatest source of new clients, the pandemic has posed its challenges. As a personal coping measure during quarantine, Kassam found comfort by looking through old sketchbooks and was inspired by these early designs, as well as conversations with past clients who he emailed, called or textedeasy since hes maintained relationships with them over the years. Kassam also turned to social media to share memorable images of some of his early designs, as well as photos and videos from client weddings. The rawness of the visuals and authenticity of the stories struck a chord, and ZKFJ continues to receive more inbound requests and feedback than ever before. Amid the pandemic, new clients are particularly struck by the uniqueness of Kassams method, the personal nature of which caters to the increased desire for something entirely original and meaningfula legacy piece that infuses details of their personal stories. Kassams company is driving a new sentimental story-driven standard where the sentimental meaning and reverence for the givers deeper-seeded thoughtfulness trumps even the monetary value of the ring in the heart and mind of the recipientand all who gaze upon it.

Todays marketplace seeks something personal, meaningful, experiential and long-lasting  a heritage item that honors special, critical moments of their life in physical form that can be passed down through the ages. With Kassams pioneering approach and extreme business dexterity, what was previously considered an arduous, transactional process is now a reflective and excitement-filled expedition thats changing both the way people shop for jewelry and the expressive end result of this labor of love.

The Inspired, Ingenious and Idealistic Designer

Revered for being an audacious entrepreneur whose disrupting the stagnant engagement ring industry, Zameer Kassam has been hailed as no ordinary jeweler. Among other points of distinction, he was anointed by VOGUE as an iconic designer with a timeless, classic aesthetic. Kassams love affair with jewelry began in his teens while working at his family jewelry business in Vancouver, Canada. After honing his business skills as an analyst at McKinsey & Company, and later with MTV Networks International, Kassam wholeheartedly reentered the world of fine jewelry. While at Harvard Business School, he conducted research projects that took him to the diamond mines of Botswana and South Africa, the production labs of India, the trading centers of Israel and Belgium, and the luxury boutiques of 5th Avenue and Bond Street. Upon graduation, he joined De Beers Louis Vuitton where he served as the head of their global bridal business, working with some of the finest artisans and most exceptional jewels of our time. It was during his tenure at De Beers that Kassam realized jewelry is about so much more than incredibly beautiful gemstones or the excitement of wearing a magnificent piece; it is about celebrating lifes most important moments in a way that will last forever. In 2011, this passion led him to create his own high-end bespoke brand, Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry.

Today, Kassam and his team have created over 2,000 remarkable story-driven fine jewelry pieces for private clients around the world. Each of these projects tells the clients meaningful story in subtle, discreet details that are weaved into the designsstories that deserve nothing less than an uncompromising level of quality.

Source: https://investor.tiffany.com/index.php/news-releases/news-release-details/tiffany-reports-first-quarter-results-5
By Trend

The Azerbaijan Deposit Insurance Fund (ADIF) itself will be engaged in collecting loans in liquidated banks (AGBank, Amrah Bank, Atabank and NBC Bank), Executive Director of the ADIF Tural Piriyev told Trend.

If a person has a deposit and a loan in one of the liquidated banks, the loan is automatically calculated from the deposit and the balance is returned to the bank's customer. If the loan amount exceeds the amount of deposit, then the deposit amount is calculated from the loan amount. The customer pays the balance in this case as well, Piriyev said.

Earlier, bank agents were contacted upon such cases, and there were no problems while resolving such issues, said the director.

He also noted that the issue of deposit insurance of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs in banks in Azerbaijan is not yet on the agenda, and so far no discussions have been held on this issue, as a result of which more attention is currently being paid to deposit insurance of individuals.

He also emphasized that the liquidated banks hold about 100 uninsured deposits, of which about 30 are held in AGBank, 21 - in Amrah Bank, 26 - in AtaBank and approximately the same number - at NBC Bank.

By the decision of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) dated April 28, 2020, licenses issued to Amrah Bank and Atabank for banking activities were revoked. In accordance with the decision of the ADIF Board of Trustees, Kapital Bank OJSC was chosen as an agent bank for reimbursing protected deposits in Atabank and Amrahbank.

In accordance with article 28.3 of the Law of Azerbaijan on deposit insurance, the ADIF accepts applications of depositors during the year from the date of the first publication of the notification about payment of compensation.

Despite the fact that the CBA banned some banks to accept deposits, they continued to accept them from citizens. Therefore, a fair dissatisfaction of citizens is presently being observed.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
LEXINGTON, S.C., June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cola Wealth Advisors recently brought some joy to Sun City, a retirement community hit hard by the corona virus.

Representatives of the Lexington, South Carolina, financial services firm, led by President Ricky Mantei, presented an improv air show above Sun City Retirement Community. The effort was part of Cola's greater mission to improve the well-being of its clients and the overall well-being of the Lexington, S.C., area.

Mantei took to the skies May 30 in his pre-World War II Stearman biplane in hopes of lifting the spirits of Sun City residents who have been forced to shelter in place and unable to visit with loved ones because of social distancing requirements in place to battle COVID-19.

Some residents saw the event as a bit of excitement amid the daily realities of dealing with the pandemic. Others, such as two-time Silver Star recipient Col. Gary Olin, saw it as a tribute to a colorful past.

Olin, who was instrumental in bringing the event to Sun City, began his military career in 1964 with a deployment in Southeast Asia. He was part of the "Wild Weasels," a group whose job was to suppress enemy defense systems.

During his time as an operations officer in the U.S. Air Force, Olin met Mantei. The two have cultivated a working relationship of mutual respect long after their respective military careers

The event ended to the applause of residents, some clad in American flags. While the event was not long, it was one that most said they would remember, and one that reminds us of the resolve of the American people.

Rick Mantei is the owner and founder of Cola Wealth Advisors. Securities and advisory services offered through Centaurus Financial, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC, a Registered Investment Advisor. With the help of Kathy Nishnic, Atul Makharia, Lisa Mantei, Matt Hawkins and Cindy Chiellini, the team assists more than two thousand families in achieving their financial goals. Centaurus Financial, Inc. and Cola Wealth Advisors are not affiliated companies. Please visit Cola's website for more information: https://www.colawealthadvisors.com/.

CONTACT: Jacob Spradley, (423) 928-5564, [email protected]

SOURCE Cola Wealth Advisors

Related Links

https://www.colawealth.com


Seoul, June 26 : Police officers were dispatched on Friday to search the house and office here of a former North Korean defector who has been at the centre of the anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaign in South Korea.

Park Sang-hak heads Fighters for a Free North Korea, an activist group that has been leading the campaign to send anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The probe team of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency were, however, not let into Park's house in Songpa Ward, eastern Seoul, and were on standby in front of the house as he strongly resisted the police's search order.

"The search is part of efforts to seize materials so that we can verify if Park's activities are in breach of the law," a police officer said.

"As soon as he comes out of his house, we will carry out the search and seizure of (potential evidence)." Defying the government's warning against the cross-border campaign, Park claimed that activists from his group sent some 500,000 leaflets carried by 20 large helium balloons over to the North on Monday night.

The campaign to scatter leaflets that carry criticism of the North Korean political system and its ruling family has recently been the major source of confrontations between Seoul and Pyongyang.
A record-breaking temperature of 38C was registered in the Arctic town of Verkhoyansk on Saturday, June 20

The northernmost town in the Arctic, Verkhoyansk is one of the coldest inhabited places on Earth and regularly records some of the worlds lowest temperatures.

However, this week it made headlines when it reached a sweltering 38C, the highest temperature since records began 150 years ago.

Locals are used to swinging between extreme temperatures, with summers regularly reaching 30C, but this was something different, said Ayta Baisheva, who works on one of the regions many reindeer farms, about 250 kilometers south of Verkhoyansk.

We have seen a freaky heatwave. Its really hard for us to bear this heat, said Ms Baisheva who recently returned from the north of Yakutia, close to Verkhoyansk, where her husband and son are now tending to reindeer.

The reindeer herders were the first to notice that something was wrong: reindeer started to feel unwell. They suffer from dehydration and dont want to eat. Deer fawns are getting weaker.

But none of this has come as a surprise to climate scientists.

Temperatures in both May and averaged over the last six months are the highest in our records for western Siberia, said Zachary Labe, a researcher in atmospheric sciences at Colorado State University.

Warming temperatures have contributed to the second lowest Arctic sea ice on record, and to wildfires raging across Siberia.

Children play in the Krugloe lake outside Verkhoyansk - Olga Burtseva

Decades of climate model projections have shown that the Arctic is expected to warm more than twice as fast as the rest of the globe, Mr Labe said, because of feedbacks in the climate system which mean that, for instance, as warming temperatures melt snow cover, the ground can no longer reflect the suns rays. We are now seeing the impacts of these extremes in real-time.

Talk to the locals in Verkhoyansk and you will be unlikely to hear about climate change, or get a sense of wider crisis.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is yet to speak about the heatwave, and climate change barely reaches the Kremlins agenda.

Story continues

Several districts of Yakutia have declared a state of emergency, but firefighters in the region only have the resources to put out a fraction of the wildfires, and are simply leaving blazes in remote, hard-to-reach areas to burn out.

Extraordinarily persistent 'warmth' over parts of Siberia during the boreal spring - exceeding more than 7C above the 1951-1980 climate baseline!



[Data from @NASAGISS GISTEMPv4] pic.twitter.com/c4rGTp3851  Zack Labe (@ZLabe) June 23, 2020

But warming in Siberia has implications for us all, says Dr Christina Schadel, the lead coordinator of the Permafrost Carbon Network. What happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic, she said.

Vast swathes of the Arctic is made up of permafrost - ground that has been frozen for at least two years but up to tens of thousands.

That permafrost contains huge reserves of stored carbon from the organic matter it contains; twice as much as is currently in the atmosphere. As the permafrost melts, that carbon is released and adds to the global greenhouse effect.

Rising Arctic temperatures have already led to the thawing of permafrost in several locations, but scientists warn there could be a looming tipping point of temperatures which would see a rapid melting.

Thawing permaforst has already led to the discovery of long dead animals such as this woolly mammoth - Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images

That permafrost once thawed is never going to freeze back in our lifetime, said Dr Schadel. After a certain point, the process is unstoppable and its irreversible.

A Russian mining firm blamed sudden permafrost melt for a historic oil spill in early June that left more than 20,000 tons of diesel fuel in two rivers near the Arctic city of Norilsk.

Environmental groups said the spillage should have been foreseen, but the event underscored the vulnerability of Arctic infrastructure.

Wildfires are also adding to the carbon in the atmosphere, contributing more carbon in the past 18 months than the total from the previous 16 years.

We dont yet know the scale of the carbon trapped in the permafrost and what the ultimate impact could be on the atmosphere. There are gaps in our knowledge, said Dr Schadel.

Scientists say the only way to halt the potential catastrophe developing in the Arctic is to slow climate change.

I am still optimistic that we can do it but we just don't have that much time left, said Dr Schadel.
Interesting, but startling reports from the Subin Constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) indicate that some executives of the party reportedly abducted a Kumasi High Court bailiff after the officer had served an injunction on the Electoral Commission, preventing them to supervise last Saturdays primary.

Our checks revealed that some constituency officers of the ruling party upon hearing news of the injunction swiftly besieged the Kumasi High Court in a clear attempt to covertly block the injunction to enable them execute their rigging agenda.

But, the party executives after their unsuccessful attempt allegedly proceeded to lock up the court officer at a private facility for inexplicable reasons.

Sources at the High Court familiar with the matter say the bailiff has recounted the horrible ordeal to his superiors, who have lodged a formal complaint to the police for full scale investigations into the alleged kidnapping.

Our colleague was locked up at a private facility in Subin and the guys who committed this despicable act are suspected to be some party members in the constituency, so an official complainant has been lodged at the police station. He was lockup for close to 8 hours before he was released, our source said in a telephone interview.

Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Chairman Wontumi, on Saturday flagrantly disregarded a court injunction and made his protege, one Salifu Ahmed, the Returning Officer in an election which was abandoned by the Electoral Commission (EC) and main contender Joseph Boakye Danquah.

Chairman Wontumi and his associates set up fake polling stations in Saturdays so-called election, ballot stuffing and getting people to cast multiple votes in favour of the incumbent MP, Eugene Boakye Antwi.

According to reports, not even the intervention of the Ashanti Regional National Security Coordinator, Mr Opare Addo could prevent Wontumi and his thugs from going ahead with the election.

It is reported that Mr Opare upon seeing a copy of the injunction, sought to question why the election was being held.

Reports say Wontumi rudely objected to Mr Opare Addos directive to stop the election from going ahead after engaging him on the phone.

Prior to the illegitimate elections, the names of more than 200 delegates were illegally removed from the album, allowing outsiders to partake in the election widely rejected by political watchers.

Campaigning was marred by acrimony and intimidation as supporters of JB Danquah have constantly been targeted by the constituency executives, who have sworn to ensure the MP, Eugene Boakye Antwi is retained by hook or crook.

Speaking to the media after the declaration of the results, JB Danquah said "the electoral process could not be said to have adequately complied with the standards for elections. It is a bogus election."

He further called on his supporters and the partys hierarchy not to recognize the results of the election, and demanded serious punishment for those who took part in the fraudulent election.

"Intimidation has been the hallmark of the elections at Subin from the onset. It is also pretty clear that there were significant efforts to disenfranchise people in the run-up to the election and on the day itself," JB Danquah intimated.

On Friday, 50 delegates including Isaac Nimako, Richard Owusu Nti and Yaw Boafo secured an injunction restraining the partys election committee and the Electoral Commission from holding the primaries.

The ex-parte injunction, which was granted by a Kumasi High Court was effective from Friday to Monday, 22nd June 2020, according to reports.

It is hereby ordered that the respondent and all persons claiming through the respondent (EC) refrain from holding the election scheduled to take place on Saturday, 20th June 2020, the court ruled on Friday.

However, the aggrieved delegates who took the matter to the law court are said to have cited Chairman Wontumi and the partys hierarchy for contempt.
President Donald Trump insists on the campaign trail that he wants to protect insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. His legal team just told the Supreme Court otherwise.

The 82-page brief submitted late Thursday night by Trump's representatives states crisply that the president wants to get rid of every provision of the Affordable Care Act.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco packs in a string of rhetorical flourishes that may draw cheers at a Federalist Society legal conference but will inevitably appear as factual citations to back up attack ads that Democrats plan to run this fall against vulnerable Senate Republicans, in a redux of the messaging that proved so potent in the 2018 midterms.

The Trump team's core argument is that every Republican who voted for the tax cuts three years ago knowingly voted to destroy the 2010 law in its entirely, not just to get rid of the mandate that individuals buy health insurance. And, because the Supreme Court previously upheld the constitutionality of the law on the grounds that the individual mandate is a tax, Trump's lawyers say that the whole system became invalid once Congress got rid of the penalty for not carrying health insurance.

"Nothing the 2017 Congress did demonstrates it would have intended the rest of the ACA to continue to operate in the absence of these ... integral provisions," Francisco writes in his brief, which is co-signed by four other Trump appointees at the Justice Department. "The entire ACA thus must fall with the individual mandate."

The brief is full of little gifts like this to Joe Biden and Democrats who hope to ride his coattails down the ballot. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted against repealing Obamacare in 2017, which she touts as evidence of her independence, but then she voted for the tax legislation. This brief can also be used as a cudgel to attack GOP Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Joni Ernst of Iowa and David Perdue of Georgia, who separately each voted to repeal the underlying law. Recent polls show those three senators are locked in tight races as they seek second terms. Appointed Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., who trails Democratic challenger Mark Kelly in multiple polls, also voted for the tax bill as a member of the House.

From a political perspective, the timing of the Trump administration's maneuver to get rid of the law, root and branch, is suboptimal for GOP candidates on the ballot this year. The justices are unlikely to make a final decision until after the November election on the legal challenge by Republican state attorneys general, ensuring that this looms as an issue in the fall campaign.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revealed earlier Thursday that 487,000 people signed up for health-care plans during the special enrollment period on Healthcare.gov after losing their employer-covered plans, probably as a result of the economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee who was vice president when the law was enacted, began a concerted effort during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Thursday afternoon to link Trump's response to the coronavirus with his bid to uproot the ACA. He argued that having survived covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, could be considered a pre-existing condition and said this could be used to deny coverage.

"Those survivors, having struggled and won the fight of their lives, would have their peace of mind stolen away at the moment they need it most," Biden said. "They would live their lives caught in a vise between Donald Trump's twin legacies: his failure to protect the American people from the coronavirus, and his heartless crusade to take health-care protections away from American families."

The House joined the opposition to the lawsuit when Democrats took control of the chamber last year. "Trump and the Republicans' campaign to rip away the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus crisis is an act of unfathomable cruelty," Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement responding to the new brief. "If President Trump gets his way, 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will lose the ACA's lifesaving protections and 23 million Americans will lose their health coverage entirely." (The 23 million figure comes from a recent analysis by the liberal Center for American Progress think tank.)

To be sure, Trump's team maintains that the president still wants to protect people with pre-existing conditions but with a new law that replaces the ACA. But he has never presented a plan for how to do so.

White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement that "Obamacare has been an unlawful failure" and "the American people deserve for Congress to work on a bipartisan basis with the President to provide quality, affordable care."

Perhaps the American people do deserve that, but there is no indication it would actually happen if the law got struck down.

In the wake of the killing of George Floyd in police custody, for example, it has become increasingly clear that no meaningful federal legislation will be enacted on police reform before the election. Thursday night, the House advanced a bill drafted by Democrats that would limit qualified immunity for police officers and ban chokeholds, but Trump has threatened to veto it. And a competing proposal in the Senate was filibustered earlier this week after Republicans in that chamber declined to try to negotiate a compromise with Democrats. Similarly, despite the numerous mass shootings of recent years, the Senate has failed to pass any gun control measures.

Privately, some in the Trump administration have urged the president to argue for preserving some parts of the law to avoid political fallout for Republicans in November, especially amid the pandemic. Attorney General William Barr reportedly made that case during a private meeting at the White House last month. But he was overruled.

"If Donald Trump refuses to end his senseless crusade against health coverage," Biden said Thursday in Lancaster, Pa., "I look forward to ending it for him."
The Electoral Commission (EC) has expressed its readiness to conduct the 2020 general elections without any form of doubt and disputes.

Acting Director of Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation at the Commission, Alexander Poku-Akutia says adequate preparations have been made to roll out the processes required for a credible election.

This comes a day after the Supreme Court gave clearance to the electoral management body to compile a new voters register for the 2020 polls.

Speaking at a forum organised by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Poku-Akutia indicated that the Commission will draw on past experiences to hold the polls in a peaceful manner.

The Electoral Commission is focused on delivering an incontrovertible election this year; elections that will be free and fair because our objective is to facilitate and see that the will of the people expressed is the outcome of the election. It is only when that is done that people will have confidence in our multi-democratic system, the political parties and the EC as well. So I will encourage people to support and corporate with the EC so that our objective of the 2020 election will be achieved.

Ahead of the polls, there have been concerns by some quarters that the EC is deliberately engaging in activities to mar the elections with irregularities and fraud given its insistence on some decisions it has decided to take.

Already, former President John Dramani Mahama has accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of scheming to rig the 2020 elections by manipulating the electoral process.

According to him, the government fears Ghanaians will not renew its mandate in the December 2020 polls over its poor performance insisting that the NPP government is using the Electoral Commission to carry out its agenda of rigging the elections.

This represents the handiwork of a desperate incumbent that on account of its very poor performance in government, sees its very political survival only through the prism of manipulation of the electoral process to exclude a section of Ghanaians who they suspect may not renew their mandate at the polls, he claimed.

I'll do all I can to make 2020 elections peaceful'  Nana Addo

But President Nana Akufo-Addo has reiterated his commitment to superintend over a peaceful, free and fair elections in December.

He has also assured that he will do everything within his power to at all times protect Ghana's democratic credentials.

Nana Akufo-Addo said he will not compromise the peace of the country under any circumstances.

I want to assure you that, the government will do whatever it takes to ensure that the forthcoming campaign and elections are conducted in a good atmosphere in the country. Ghana is today, the beacon of democracy on the African continent. This year, I am determined to do whatever I can to consolidate the reputation of a country of peace and stability. The election will be conducted under a good atmosphere and the results accepted by all and sundry -winners and losers alike. We are committed to ensuring a free and fair election.

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[June 26, 2020] Plan Participants Give OneAmerica High Marks in J.D. Power Study

A relationship-oriented provider of impactful retirement plan solutions, OneAmerica today acknowledged its third-place ranking in the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Retirement Plan Participant Satisfaction Study, in the medium plan segment. The study, which was based on responses from over 10,000 retirement plan participants, was conducted in February and March of this year. The U.S. Retirement Plan Participant Satisfaction Study, now in its third year, evaluates participant satisfaction with providers of group retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, based on six factors: interaction across live and digital channels; investment and service offerings; fees and expenses; plan features; information resources; and communications. Plan providers are ranked in three categories based on their mix of business in terms of average plan size. "This ranking means so much to us because it demonstrates that we're supporting our participants in meaningful ways," said Sandy McCarthy, president of Retirement Services for OneAmerica. "Our relationship-focused philosophy ensures we listen to understand each individual participant's needs and can provide the education and solutions necessary to help put them on the path to success." With an index score of 800 on a 1,000-point scale for overall satisfaction, OneAmerica registered the highest year-over-year improvement in points scored among all providers in the medium plan segment, scoring 94 points higher than last year's tally. Its third-place ranking was earned among 19 competitors in the medium plan segment of retirement plans, servicing between $5 million and $500 mllion in assets and between 100 to 1,999 employees.



"At OneAmerica, we understand that providing superior service means moving past the status quo to continuously improve and adapt," McCarthy added. "OneAmerica is committed to the retirement business and serving participants for the long term. We'll continue to grow and be there for our customers in new and relevant ways, as we continue to build on our strong relationships, market experience and long-standing financial strength." OneAmerica, who ranked 30 points higher than the medium plan segment average, proudly services nearly 12,000 retirement plans and has over 1 million participants.

OneAmerica is the marketing name for the companies of OneAmerica. Products issued and underwritten by American United Life Insurance Company (AUL), a OneAmerica company. Administrative and recordkeeping services provided by McCready and Keene, Inc. or OneAmerica Retirement Services LLC, companies of OneAmerica which are not broker/dealers or investment advisors. J.D. Power is not an affiliate of any of the companies of OneAmerica. About OneAmerica A national provider of insurance and financial services for more than 140 years, the companies of OneAmerica help customers build and protect their financial futures. OneAmerica offers a variety of products and services to serve the financial needs of its policyholders and customers. These products include retirement plan products and recordkeeping services, individual life insurance, annuities, asset-based long-term care solutions and employee benefit plan products. Products are issued and underwritten by the companies of OneAmerica and distributed through a nationwide network of employees, agents, brokers and other sources who are committed to providing value to our customers. To learn more about our products, services and the companies of OneAmerica, visit oneamerica.com/about-us/companies-of-oneamerica. About J.D. Power The J.D. Power press release announcing rankings in retirement services can be viewed here. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005483/en/

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A pause is being put on tubing season at one New Braunfels outfitter as coronavirus cases surge in Central Texas.

The Float In, a private park on the Comal River, said it has spent the last few weeks welcoming "flocks" of guests. Tuesday night, the family-owned business posted a Facebook notice alerting customers of a temporary closure due to the spike in cases.
NEW COLUMBIA  A Union County aviator says about his decision to use photographers record the construction of the Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway has exceeded his expectations.

I started to do it innocently for the fun of it, said Brian Benfer, of the New Columbia area. He now has about 6,000 pictures, dating back to when the ground was cleared three years ago, he said.

He posts his pictures on Brians Susquehanna Thruway Project Facebook page that has more than 7,800 likes.

I never thought it would take off like it has, he added.

It is his plan to keep shooting until the $865 million highway project in Snyder, Union and Northumberland counties is finished in 2027, he said.

He has been focusing on the 4,545foot-long bridge being built across the West Branch of the Susquehanna River south of Winfield.

Benfer, who is self-employed, takes many of his pictures while flying his powered parachute although he also uses a drone on occasion. He tries to fly at least once a week if wind conditions are favorable, he said.

He has gotten comments on Facebook from all over the world including former area residents now living in Florida, he said.

Spouses of the Trumbull Corp. workers who are building the massive bridge have made it known they appreciate the updates, he said.

He has little personal contact with the workers but they text him and look up when he flies over, he said.

Benfer posted on the Facebook page he started taking pictures to provide you all with a better view aerial view of the progress of the CSVT. Hope you enjoy.

The CSVT is critical to the region and were glad the community has taken an interest and enjoys seeing photos of the projects progress, said Alexis Campbell, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation press secretary.

No one is giving him any money to take the pictures, he said. After the bridge is opened in 2022 he said he might try to sell a photographic history of the construction to recoup some of his expenses.

The northern section of the 12.4-mile thruway between Route 15 south of Winfield and Route 147 near Montandon currently is under construction.

Concrete is being poured on the bridge and base work is underway on the connection to Route 147.

That section is scheduled for completion in 2022, the same year construction is to start on the southern section between the northern end of the Selinsgrove bypass and Route 15 south of Winfield.

When the entire 12.4-mile thruway is completed in 2027 at a cost of $865 million, it will be a Routes 11/15 bypass of Hummels Wharf and Shamokin Dam.

Benfer said he plans through pictures and video to record that construction, also. The former Hummels Wharf resident said he used to hunt in the area where the thruway will go.

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The FIEO on Thursday reiterated that the Customs authorities at several ports in India had ordered a sudden examination of Chinese consignments without any official word from the government, and this may have led to the Chinese retribution.

The Customs authorities in Hong Kong and China, in apparently a blow-for-blow measure, have held back some consignments of Indian exports after ports in India took up the task of inspecting Chinese products, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has told the government.

The FIEO on Thursday reiterated that the Customs authorities at several ports in India had ordered a sudden examination of Chinese consignments without any official word from the government, and this may have led to the Chinese retribution.

While we have been told there is no official communication, the examination is leading to the piling up of imports.

"Some Indian exporters have said that, in response to such action, Hong Kong and Chinese Customs are also holding back export consignments from India, FIEO president Sharad Kumar Saraf told Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan in a letter reviewed by Business Standard.

The exporters body has requested the commerce department to ask the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs to clarify things on the matter so that import partners in China and Hong Kong can end the logjam. Fears of retaliation have gripped the sector.



Chinas exports to India constitute 2.8 per cent of the countrys total. But what India sends China are 5.4 per cent of our exports, FIEO director general Ajay Sahai said, arguing Indias larger trade exposure to China needed to be considered before New Delhi took unilateral moves.

In a press conference, the FIEO said exports were expected to contract by 10 per cent in 2020-21, and it was anticipated that June exports would shrink by 12 per cent, down from Mays high 36 per cent.

However, the estimates may worsen if the government pursues a blanket ban on Chinese imports, the FIEO warned.

We need to take a calibrated approach to banning imports from China because our industry is dependent more on industrial inputs from China than on those from any other country.

"Rather than making a hasty reaction, we have instead suggested to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade that exports of raw materials to China be tightened and a cess can be considered, said Saraf.

He flagged the issue of lost revenue by pointing to cotton exports to China, where the commodity is made into high-value garments, shipments of Indian spice sold at a profit.

The FIEO has asked the commerce department to scrutinise imports from Hong Kong, which was the countrys sixth-largest import partner in the previous year, a steep rise from 13th spot in FY18.

Trade deals needed

Exporters are seeing orders that had been cancelled being reinstated.

A case in point, the garment sector has received orders from buyers who hitherto sourced from China, said Saraf.

To boost exports in the short to medium term, he said India should reach out to nations with rising anti-China sentiment such as the European Union (EU), the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Japan, positioning Indian goods as an alternative.

As a result, the FIEO has strongly batted for India resuming bilateral talks with various nations to ink free-trade agreements (FTAs).

We need to join at least some trading blocs to get tariff benefits, which are being taken away by competing nations.

"Vietnams recent FTA with the EU will give it a solid advantage over Indian exporters since they will get access to a huge market at much lower tariffs, stressed Saraf.

Photograph: Aly Song/Reuters

With inputs from Dilasha Seth
New Delhi, June 26 : Actress Soundarya Sharma believes getting stuck in Los Angeles due to COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing the struggle to get access to essentials things has turned out to be a life-altering period for her. She says that she tries not to think about when she will be able to return to India because the wait is "never-ending".

"Honestly, it's been a true life-learning experience for me. I had never even imagined myself to be in lockdown in a place like Los Angeles," Soundarya told IANS.

"I had come here to attend an intensive acting course at Lee Strasberg and New York Film Academy and then we were shooting in Universal Studios the day they announced this pandemic. Since then, things changed completely. The corona happened and now these protests are going on. The situation is quite grim and things are different, so it's been an experience and I've learnt so many things during this time," she added.

Reflecting upon the challenges that came with the global shutdown, she said: "When they announced this pandemic, I was here in Los Angeles and I used to go out every day at 6 am in the morning, standing in the queues, I could not get grocery for almost one-one and half month and I had to manage with very little whatever I used to get. There was so much paranoia. Then, I did not have masks and sanitisers and gloves, initially. So, that was again a big challenge. I had to make my own mask.

"My flight was cancelled almost 5 times. So that was another challenge for me. Now because of these protests and riots which were happening, my apartment where I used to live was West Hollywood, West Beverly Hills and I had to move out of my apartment because of the situation. Now, I have moved to a much safer place in Central Beverly Hills. I mean challenges were there at different levels, we all do have challenges," she added.

The actress, who made her debut in the digital world with "Raktanchal", is coping up with her struggles by keeping a positive attitude.

"I am learning Spanish. I am watching a lot of performances, as in movies and important shows. Because being a medical student, I never watched films and performances so I am doing my homework that way. I do lots of workouts, I go for a walk because it was not a 100% lockdown, so I used to go for my workout. Since, I'm spiritually inclined, I meditate a lot. It really helps me. I realise that we all do take things so much for granted in our life but life has its own plans now, it's become like we are taking it day-wise. So, this whole period of quarantine and lockdown has been really different and evolving, as in on a personal level," she said.

She has realised that "life is not about just achievement, it's about fulfilment".

"I felt fulfilled by helping and doing my bit for people who were needy, who needed the most and people who were stranded, whatever bit I could do, I cooked for them for Eid. I had to give up my seat on the repatriation flights. So, this whole process, this whole thing has made me very selfless and made me realise the value of things and grateful for even the smaller things we have in a nutshell. This is a quite selfless period for me," she added.

The actress who has worked in the Bollywood film "Ranchi Diaries" is not spending her time fretting over getting back to India.

"I try not to think too much about when I'll be flying back home because it's never-ending. It's been almost 5 months for me to be here and months that I've seen my folks. So stuck in a foreign land alone can be quite emotionally challenging. I'm just taking it day-by-day. I do face-time my family but then being on your own and dealing with things and you know so many things happening, it can be quite emotionally draining and challenging," she said.

On the work front, she was recently seen in the web series "Raktanchal". The crime drama is inspired by real events that happened in Purvanchal, Uttar Pradesh, in the eighties, around the time when state development work was distributed through tenders. It streams on MX Player.

(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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Linkedin Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 16:03 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661f199e 1 Business PPE,manufacturer,export,COVID-19,industry-ministry Free

Six Indonesian manufacturers of personal protective equipment (PPE) are preparing to export coveralls as they meet international standards for the product, amid an excess in national supplies during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.



The companies have passed quality tests for water resistance and hydrostatic pressure set by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), called AATCC 42 and 127, respectively. Their products also qualify for the protective clothing standard set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) under ISO 16604.



Today, six of 16 domestic producers have been certified as they prepare to export and meet the global demand, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said in a virtual press conference on Thursday.

Local PPE producers currently can provide a total of 648 million coveralls every year, which far exceeds the annual domestic consumption of 11.3 million, according to Agus, a Golkar Party politician.

The export plans come after the Trade Ministry recently revoked an export ban on healthcare products, allowing manufacturers to ship abroad simple masks, N-95 masks, coveralls, surgical gowns and raw materials for face masks amid domestic oversupply.

Meanwhile, the countrys total exports were down 28.95 percent year-on-year (yoy) in May at US$10.53 billion, the lowest level since July 2016, due to reduced shipments of coal, coffee, palm oil, as well as oil and gas.

Many countries, including Indonesia, demand continuous supply of protective gear to fight the pandemic, which has infected 9.2 million people worldwide and more than 50,000 people at home.



Apart from coveralls, the minister said Indonesia could now produce 3 million N-95 masks and 4.7 billion surgical masks per annum, which also far surpassed estimated domestic needs at 172 million masks every year.

Production began to soar in April as many textile companies switched from fashion to PPE in response to prior supply shortages.



We feel confident that our national industries are firm in facing challenges arising from the global pandemic, said the minister. This is clearly seen in key industrial sectors that help Indonesia tackle the [COVID-19] disease, such as medical devices, consumables and pharmaceuticals.

Despite the industrys success in avoiding PPE shortages, many health workers using the products have been complaining about the quality of locally produced PPE.

While the majority of the products have passed [tests for] medical standards, many doctors are complaining that the coveralls are too heavy and uncomfortable. This is the reason why we could not take in all the locally made PPE products, Health Ministry crisis center head Budi Sylvana said on June 9.

He added that many small hospitals and clinics also refused to use washable PPE and preferred instead to purchase disposable products, as they did not have the systems in place to disinfect PPE.

There are cases of COVID-19 infection among medical workers caused by unsterile PPE. Not all hospitals have the ability to sterilize the PPE correctly, he said.
Shoppers wearing protective masks stroll through Santee Alley in the Los Angeles downtown garment district on June 25. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

The nation may be opening up, but the coronavirus is far from slowing down. In fact, COVID-19 is on the rise.

There were 38,459 new cases of the virus reported nationwide on Thursday, a number that surpassed a record set the prior day of 38,115.

The upticks are the largest in two months, when 36,739 cases were reported April 24.

The records come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Thursday that infections could be 10 times the 2.4 million that have been been logged as states in the South and West, including California, see surges and either hit pause on reopening plans or implement new restrictions to slow the disease's spread.

We probably recognized about 10% of the outbreak, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said Thursday, adding that up to 8% of Americans may have been infected.

There were 5,996 new cases that day in Texas, a record since the onset of the pandemic. There was a record in deaths, too. Forty-seven people were reported to have died from the virus in the state, the most in more than a month.

A broad swath of Southern states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee and South Carolina, have also seen a surge in cases and hospitalizations.

This week, Democratic members of the states congressional delegation urged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, to require Floridians wear protective masks in public.

Similar moves have been announced in California, Nevada and Washington state.

As positive cases surge and hospitalizations increase, it is imperative that you take data-driven action to help protect Floridians, our families, and our communities from the dangers of COVID-19, members of the Florida delegation wrote in their letter.

DeSantis has so far resisted scaling back the reopening or issuing new mandates amid one of the most dramatic spikes in the nation.

On Thursday, the Florida Department of Health reported an additional 5,004 new cases after 5,508 additional cases Wednesday  the highest number since the pandemic hit.

Story continues

Like elsewhere, part of the increase can be attributed to more testing, but the rate of positive tests has also reached a record high

Experts say that indicates the virus is spreading as more businesses reopen and more people resume social contact.

The virus is growing particularly fast in Miami-Dade, the states most populated county with 2.7 million residents.

After seeing a decline in the numbers of cases and the rate of positive tests in late May, the area  which includes the city of Miami and tourism magnet Miami Beach  has seen a dramatic increase in infections among young people.

According to Mary Jo Trepka, professor and chair of the department of epidemiology at Florida International University, the median age of people in Miami-Dade with COVID-19 is now 33, down from 37 a couple of weeks ago.

Whats most troubling over this last week is how steep the increase has been, Trepka said. It was so hard on the community to close down, but it was effective and the rates went down. The problem right now is rates are going up faster than they declined when we shut down.

The number of people in hospitals in Miami-Dade has also surged from around 700 to 900, Trepka said, with the number of patients in intensive care units almost doubling from 100 to 200.

Local officials have scrambled to introduce measures to mitigate the spread. Miami commissioners on Thursday passed a measure that would fine people $250 for not wearing a mask in public.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who this week also announced a similar statewide requirement for masks, has faced a backlash in parts of the state.

In Lewis County  a conservative region between Seattle and Portland, Ore.  the sheriff warned a group of residents against being sheep in reference to the directive that takes effect Friday.

In case you guys didnt hear, Gov. Inslee, in his infinite wisdom, has decided after over 100-some-odd days, that we should all wear face masks, inside and out, Sheriff Rob Snaza, a Republican, said through a bullhorn this week in Chehalis, Wash., near a billboard famed for displaying right-wing statements.

Inslee, a Democrat, has equated masks to seatbelts.

I just dont agree with calling those folks somehow barnyard animals, Inslee said this week. Theyre protecting other people.

Elsewhere in the state, which in March saw the first major U.S. outbreak of the virus around Seattle in late winter, cases have grown in agricultural regions. Those among Yakima County food processing and agricultural workers have more than doubled in a month to surpass 1,000.

John James gets his hair cut at Kuttin' Edge barber shop in Houston's Galleria Mall. (Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times)

In Texas, the surge is especially bad in the largest cities.

South Texas officials expressed concern this week that crowds would descend on Gulf Coast beaches and Hill Country riverfronts to celebrate July 4, as they did on Memorial Day.

At Houstons Galleria Mall, the states largest, people flocked to the food court this week. Nearby, parents skated with children on an indoor ice rink, and stylists and barbers cut hair  many without masks. The city and county have required coverings at local businesses, but the state hasnt.

Inside Kuttin Edge barber shop, barber Ricky Watson wore a mask and said he has been social distancing, removing chairs from the waiting area and spraying down seats with sanitizer. He checks the temperatures of staff and customers.

I believe, take as many precautions as you can, Watson, 34, said as two barbers gave customers trims.

His shop was closed 45 days before reopening. If officials think the latest outbreak is too dangerous, he said, he would understand the need to close again.

"If its a spike, health and safety first," Watson said.

Barber Sean Bowie, 38, said hes met his share of nonbelievers who still refuse to wear masks. He tells them they have to while in the shop.

We dont want to be the cause of somebody getting it, he said.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who earlier in the pandemic imposed two-week quarantines on travelers arriving from New York, has now seen that state's governor slap the same restriction on Texans due to growing infections.

The rule also applies in Connecticut and New Jersey to travelers from other states that have a positive rate higher than 10 for every 100,000 residents.

Meanwhile, Hawaii, which had famously fined and arrested travelers who broke a mandatory two-week quarantine after traveling to the state, announced an easing of its rules this week.

Beginning Aug. 1, anyone who travels to the state and has a negative coronavirus test no longer needs to self-quarantine.

Instead, they can roam free.

Kaleem reported from Los Angeles. Staff writers Jenny Jarvie in Atlanta, Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Houston and Richard Read in Seattle contributed to this report.
ISLAMABAD - Washingtons annual terrorism report said Pakistan was doing too little to counter terrorist groups, particularly those taking aim at rival India and the dreaded Haqqani network operating in Afghanistan.

Islamabad bristled at the criticism in the U.S. State Department report, saying it has been relentless in its assistance to Washington as the United States brokered a peace deal with the Taliban, which it signed in February. At the time, the deal was touted as Afghanistans best chance in four decades of finding a lasting peace.

Amir Rana, executive director of the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, which tracks militant groups, said Friday the report is a warning to Pakistan that it needs to do more to target terrorist financing and dismantle terrorist networks if it wants to avoid being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force, the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog based in Paris.

Pakistan, which was put on a so-called grey list by the task force in 2018, was given a further reprieve this month to avoid the blacklist by meeting a series of benchmarks set by the task force. If Pakistan is put on a blacklist, its international borrowing would be severely restricted.

The tone of the report this year was more critical than the previous years, said Rana. This is a warning that it needs to do more to stay off the blacklist, to dismantle terrorist groups still operating in Pakistan.

Pakistans Foreign Ministry in a statement late Thursday called the report disappointing.

Pakistan has arrested some high profile terrorist group leaders, such as Hafiz Saeed, chief of the outlawed Lasjkar-e-Taiba. However, the whereabouts of others, such as Maulana Masood Azhar, the head of Jaish-e-Mohammad, is still unknown, said Rana. That group took responsibility for the devastating 2019 attack on Indian troops in Indian-ruled Kashmir.

More than a dozen Al-Qaida in the Asian Subcontinent operatives have been arrested in Pakistans Punjab province in recent months and this week several were sentenced to lengthy prison terms, said Rana. That would indicate Pakistans willingness to tackle some of the militant groups in Pakistan.

While the Report recognizes that Al Qaeda has been seriously degraded in the region, it neglects to mention Pakistans crucial role in decimating Al Qaeda , thereby diminishing the threat that the terrorist group once posed to the world, the Foreign Ministry statement said.

The State Department report called Pakistans help in getting a deal with the Taliban a constructive role.

Pakistani officials who addressed the reports finding Friday asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media. They said that on the one hand, the U.S. wants Pakistan to break all ties with Afghanistans Taliban groups, like the Haqqani network. Yet it wants Islamabad to use its influence to bring that group to the negotiating table.

Rana said it was Pakistans decades-old association with the Haqqani network, which dates back to the 1980s invasion of Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union, that helped move U.S. talks with the Taliban forward.

The next stage of the peace deal, which is considered crucial, is negotiations between Afghans on both sides of the conflict. Those negotiations are expected to take place sometime in July in the Middle Eastern State of Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office.
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Linkedin Tran Thi Minh Ha and Martin Abbugao (Agence France-Presse) Hanoi, Vietnam/Singapore  Fri, June 26, 2020 17:30 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661f9d0d 2 SE Asia ASEAN-Summit,Vietnam,coronavirus,coronavirus-effect,COVID-19,COVID-19-infection,pandemic,South-China-Sea,ASEAN-China Free

Vietnam warned Friday the virus pandemic had swept away years of economic gains as Southeast Asian leaders met online for a summit also dominated by anxiety over Beijing's moves in the flashpoint South China Sea.

The current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also wants to use the summit to inject momentum into talks on a sprawling China-backed trade pact.

The immediate focus for the 10-member bloc is the crippling cost of the coronavirus, which has ravaged the economies of tourism and export-reliant countries such as Thailand and Vietnam.

"It has swept away the successes of recent years... threatening the lives of millions of people," Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a sobering opening address.

He emphasized the "serious consequences" of the pandemic for economic development among ASEAN'S members.

ASEAN General Secretary Lim Jock Hoi confirmed the bleak outlook, warning the region's economy is expected to contract for the first time in 22 years.

Thailand is bracing for particularly rough news -- its central bank now forecasts its economy to shrink by an unprecedented 8.1 percent.

Vietnam, which has won praise for containing the virus early, is still set to see at least two percent chipped off its GDP in 2020.

It hopes the summit will see progress on a trade agreement known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which is being pushed by China.

A deal, which would loop in half the world's population and a third of its GDP, has been hampered by India's refusal to join over access to its market for cheap goods from China, the regional superpower it is now locked in a deadly border row with.

South China Sea chessboard

There is also increasing angst that the fallout from the virus has provided cover for new Chinese plays in the South China Sea, the resource-rich waterway Beijing claims most of but is also contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan.

In a draft statement seen by AFP, ASEAN leaders noted concerns over "land reclamations, recent developments and serious incidents" in the South China Sea.

In recent years Beijing has stepped up its territorial claims in the South China Sea by building artificial islands.

In April it officially named 80 islands and other geographical features in the disputed waters.

The same month Vietnam also accused Beijing of sinking a trawler, prompting the United States to warn it was "exploiting the distraction" of other states "to expand its unlawful claims".

China is always advancing its pieces on the "South China Sea chessboard", a senior Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP.

Beijing took advantage of the Asian financial crisis in the late 90s and the SARS outbreak to push its claims, he added.

"If there is a space, they move."

Without directly mentioning China, Vietnam's Phuc admitted that "strategic problems between big countries had become clear and had deepened".

"While the world is trying its best to fight the pandemic, there were irresponsible acts, violating international laws, that affected the security and stability of some regions including ours," he said.

Vietnam expert Carl Thayer, an academic at the University of New South Wales, believes the past few months have been "business as usual" for China.

But he noted that negotiations on a so-called Code of Conduct for the South China Sea had stalled because of the virus.
Armenia's first Ombudswoman Larisa Alaverdyan told Armenian News - NEWS.am that twenty-six signatures to be submitted to the Constitutional Court are enough and she doesn't want to argue with people who confuse algebra with arithmetic.

The Prosperous Armenia faction submitted an application to the Constitutional Court against constitutional amendments bill passed earlier at the parliament.

According to the law, one-fifth of the MPs' signatures is required to submit an application. The total number of MPs is 132, respectively, one fifth is 26.4% (thus 26 MPs' signatures are needed). However, for a long time now, 27 signatures have been stated as one-fifth of the number of MPs.

Health minister Arsen Torosyan expressed his opinion in this regard, calling on Prosperous Armenia party representatives to refresh their knowledge of algebra.

"I urge the Constitutional Court to follow common sense and not politicize arithmetic," Larisa Alaverdyan, in turn, noted.
Sushmitha Ramakrishnan By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: In a nondescript little house in Neyveli sits T Maheshwaran, overseeing his murukku business. Like the convoluted twists and turns in the greasy snack being packed for sales, Maheshwarans professional life too has taken drastic turns down a slippery slope. Till February this year, Maheshwaran was the head of the computer science department of an engineering college in Coimbatore -- for all of six years. When the Covid pandemic struck, Maheshwaran was sent on admission leave.

Illustration : Amit Bandre

What is admission leave? If I bring five admissions, I can have my job back. Else, its considered I have been fired, he says. I received my last salary in February. For the last 3-4 months, I am struggling to pay my loans and dues. Maheshwaran applied to other colleges. He got a few offers too, but with riders. I could have the job if I brought 3-4 new admissions, I was told. The basic salary they promised was Rs 10,000. The rest would depend on the number of admissions I can make. Maheshwaran decided enough was enough. I am not going to go scout for students. I am quitting teaching good.

Now, I think I will focus on the murukku business. Even if the going gets tough, I will not go back. Maheshwaran is not alone in this crisis. Many private engineering college teachers --- especially those coming from rural backgrounds, who spent 15-16 years of their life preparing for a career in academics to make a difference in the lives of students --- have gone back to traditional businesses such as rearing cattle and making choir ropes.

The gradual decay in the once-booming low-cost private technical education model in Tamil Nadu --- where teachers had to double up as marketing executives and salespersons --- has been accelerated by the virus. Express spoke with three teachers from engineering colleges across the State, who claim technical knowledge and academic skills are no more the primary requirement for a lecturers job. In Maheshwarans case, it was his wifes unexplored skill-set that helped him find an alternative career path.

Stuck at home during the lockdown, she made a variety of murukku as they do it in her hometown Tiruchendur. I realised this kind of snack is not available in Neyveli. Also, shops were not getting stock of fresh snacks due to the lockdown. I saw space in the market, and decided to explore it. Today, Maheshwaran sells four kilograms of the snack every day to shops in his neighbourhood. He makes Rs 800 per day. An expansion is on the cards soon, hints Maheshwaran.

Greener Pastures

In the quaint coastal hamlet of Colachel in Kanniyakumari, Vincent* now spends his days with seven bulls and 24 goats. In between, he finds time to log on to Facebook, to answer doubts of his students -- rather, former students. After teaching mechanical engineering for 14 years, Vincent is now rearing cattle for a living. My students still reach out to me when they have doubts, he says with a sense of pride. I miss them. I wish I would go back to teaching again. Vincent was tired of working in a college, but not of teaching.

His college management and he shared very different ideas about academics. They were only concerned about money. I wanted my students to understand engineering in the practical sense. This profession needs committed teachers. Those who are passionate about it. Vincent says he quit because he was focussing on practical learning while the college insisted that he helps his students score more. In mechanical engineering, practical skills are as important as theory. So, my classes were very hands-on. But, the management insisted I focus on theory to help students score more.

Last June, I decided I cannot continue like this and quit my job. He was hoping to find a job elsewhere, in a college that was practical about its learning outcomes. Such a college does not exist. I realised that, he says with a defeated smile. Still, I dont want to give up on teaching. Cattle rearing is his fathers trade. Now, with no other income coming, he depends on it to feed his family. My wife is a junior research fellow. Even she has not received her stipend since beginning of the lockdown. Vincents colleague and friend David* is also going through a similar change in career. David has restarted a trade that his family had been at for decades, till his 102-year-old grandfather passed away five years back.

Learning the ropes

The coconut fibre stacked up around the shed keeps the summer heat at bay inside Davids workplace. Unsure if he would get his teaching job back after the pandemic abates, David has taken up his grandfathers coir business. I taught for over six years, and all of a sudden my salary stopped coming in February, says David. The business had been leased out to a third party after Davids grandfather died. Getting back into business during the lockdown was not easy. But, it was the only means of income I could think of, he says.

Davids father leased out the business as his son wanted to take up teaching. Now, the choice is between pursuing his passion and feeding his family. We decided to clean up the equipment and get going. We are making ropes, brooms, and ornamental coconut shells. David too wants to return to teaching, but he fears it may not be possible in the near future. India has ambitious plans for its near future --- which includes a technological boost to business, education, and healthcare. At the southern tip of this future India is an ironic contradiction in the form of these teachers -- who after fighting against social odds to escape the drudgery of ancestral trade are now slipping back into the quagmire. (* names changed)

Show me the money

Many colleges have allegedly been forcing faculty to double up as marketing executives and salespersons. Maheshwaran, who was HoD of computer science department of an engineering college, was told to bring in five students or consider himself fired
Campaign provides needed, fact-based, information for patients, healthcare providers and Canadians about biosimilar medicines in Canada.

The Biosimilars Generation seeks to increase awareness on the benefits of biosimilars, their proven safety and efficacy, and the opportunities they present to the healthcare system to realize cost savings.

At the heart of the campaign, evidence-based digital resource, BiosimilarsGeneration.ca , aims to provide information on biosimilars and the perspectives from research and clinical communities, as well as patient organizations.

BOUCHERVILLE, Quebec, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sandoz, a global leader in generic and biosimilar medicines, announced today the launch in Canada of The Biosimilars Generation campaign to help Canadians better understand the benefits of biosimilars, their proven safety and efficacy, and the opportunities they present to the healthcare system to realize savings and increase access to innovative new medicines.

The Biosimilars Generation is a starting point to facilitate discussion around biosimilars and inform a generation of Canadians interested in helping sustain our healthcare system. Through increased awareness, the campaign seeks to provide fact and evidence-based information and education to patients, healthcare providers and all Canadians about biosimilar medicines.

We see patients, their healthcare providers, policy makers and all Canadians as a new generation that will be impacted by the scientific and economic advances, as well as health outcomes, from the arrival and expanded use of biosimilars over the next decade, said Michel Robidoux, President and General Manager, Sandoz Canada. Biologic medicines have transformed the treatment of many complex diseases; however, the cost of these medicines is also putting financial strain on our healthcare system, now even under more pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic. We are committed to increasing patient access to biosimilar medicines that can help alleviate this budget pressure by bringing economies and value to patients and provinces  safely and responsibly.

Story continues

The campaign kicks off today with the launch of the website, BiosimilarsGeneration.ca, which will help support and educate Canadians and provide them a global perspective by including policy updates from public drug plans, as well as information from Canadian, international research and clinical communities, and patient organizations representing Canadians living with chronic diseases who take biologic medicines.

Responding to the implementation of biosimilars transition initiatives in British Columbia and Alberta in 2019, the entry of oncology biosimilars in hospitals and cancer centres, and increased interest from the general public, The Biosimilars Generation reflects the ongoing conversations between various stakeholders across the country, including physicians, patient groups, and caregivers.

There is an increasing demand for credible, fact-based information from Canadians looking to learn more about the safety, efficacy and value of biosimilar medicines, particularly as provinces are implementing biosimilar switch policies, said Karine Matteau, Vice President Hospitals & Physicians Channel / Head of Biopharmaceuticals, Sandoz Canada. The Biosimilars Generation not only addresses this need within a community - of patients, healthcare providers and all Canadians - it shows that we are all in it together, to be informed, empowered and supported.

About Biosimilars

As patents and data protection expire for original-brand medicines, other manufacturers may produce new versions of the biologic medicines called biosimilars. To receive Health Canada authorization, a biosimilar must demonstrate it is highly similar and has no clinically meaningful differences in efficacy and safety compared to an original-brand (reference) biologic1. Since 2009, Health Canada has approved 24 biosimilars of original-brand biologics present on the Canadian market2.

The Patented Medicines Pricing Review Board has estimated that private and public drug plans across Canada could save from $332 million CDN to $1.81 billion CDN in the third year following biosimilar entry across a portfolio of product3.

The broader use of biosimilar medicines, including the implementation of biosimilar switching policies, can also help public and private drug plans improve their sustainability by adding new medicine listings and boosting existing medication coverage for patients. Sandoz Canada believes that in the short term, during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the cost savings benefits of biosimilars is one potential answer to the challenges faced by the Canadian healthcare system as public drug plans, hospitals and cancer centres strive to continue to deliver high quality patient treatment care under major budget constraints.

Sandoz Canada is a pioneer, a leader and trusted supplier of high-quality biosimilars based on the global experience and capabilities of Sandoz GmbH, a division of Novartis, in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of biosimilars since 1996. Sandoz launched the first biosimilar in Europe in 2006 and in the Canadian market in 2009.

About Sandoz Canada

Sandoz Canada is a division of Sandoz International GmbH, a world leader in generics and biosimilars and a division of the Swiss multinational Novartis AG. A true leader in its field, Sandoz Canada markets and distributes a wide range of generics, biosimilars and specialty products.

www.sandoz.ca

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sandoz-canada/

References:

Health Canada Biosimilars Fact Sheet: Biosimilars Explained. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/biologics-radiopharmaceuticals-genetic-therapies/applications-submissions/guidance-documents/fact-sheet-biosimilars.html Canadian Biologic Drug Market, Biosimilars Canada (12 months ending March 2020). Patented Medicines Prices Review Board. Potential Savings from Biosimilars in Canada. https://www.pmprb-cepmb.gc.ca/CMFiles/NPDUIS/2017_Conference_Posters/post_6_biosim.pdf

For interview opportunities or further information, please contact:

Isabelle Troitzky

Sandoz Canada Inc.

514 220-0085

isabelle.troitzky@sandoz.com

Marissa Zanti

Golin PR

416 471-2853

mzanti@golin.com

An infographic accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0ef36594-0312-4eec-960f-a7662e0e51b7

A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/e1673ee9-c1fd-41b2-8680-a889761f5b70
The red paint that was poured over the statue of Sir John A Macdonald on two occasions this week doesnt really come as a surprise to the person who helped put it there.

We were expecting it, said Jim Rodger, who is a retired high school principal and one of the driving forces behind the project to place statues of each of Canadas prime ministers in Baden.

Just last week, another statue of Canadas first prime minister was covered in red paint in Charlottetown. Last weekend, eggs and tomatoes were thrown at his statue in Kingston, and he was burned in effigy.

So we felt our time was coming, Rodger said.

When I called Rodger on Thursday, I thought he might be upset at the vandalism.

After all he worked hard, along with David Caputo and Don Bourgeois, to raise about $700,000 in the bid to place all 22 of Canadas prime ministers in an outdoor-museum type setting beside Wilmots township hall, at no cost to the public.

There are five there now: Kim Campbell, Lester B. Pearson, Robert Borden, William Lyon Mackenzie King, and Macdonald. Another four were to have been installed last week along with lectures and discussions about them, but it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 health crisis.

Rodger knows the figures are controversial, especially Macdonald. Canadas first prime minister brought the country together, but he was also responsible for the creation of residential schools, which tore Indigenous children from their families and subjected them to abuse, violence and shame in their own identity.

This created generations of suffering. The fact that Macdonald believed the children would benefit from the school experience should not diminish our understanding of the dreadful consequences of his actions.

This is part of the reason the statues were turned away from Kitcheners Victoria Park and from the campus of Wilfrid Laurier University before finally finding a home in Wilmot.

Instead of being angry at the defacing of the statue, Rodgers response was nuanced.

He expects and hopes that the figures will spark heated discussion. Thats the whole point.

Difficult public figures have difficult public histories, he said. We have never tried to hide that.

In order to show that understanding, Rodger and Caputo required that all the prime ministers be at ground level and be the same size as the people who would be interacting with them, instead of having them up on pedestals to instil a sense of awe.

Sculptor Ruth Abernethy had portrayed the figure of Sir John A Macdonald as holding two chairs and inviting a conversation.

But those careful design details were not a strong enough statement for whoever threw paint on the statue.

The first batch was thrown on Macdonalds statue sometime on Saturday night. Volunteers and township staff cleaned it off. By Tuesday it had happened again. The statue was briefly covered with a tarp. It was removed after Wilmot Township Coun. Angie Hallman said the statue should be shown with the paint still on it.

But before township council had a chance to have that discussion, a group of people cleaned off the statue themselves.

Brad Greulich, 31, was one of those people. I like my community and I dont like vandalism, he said.

Yet Greulich was careful to leave the red paint splattered underneath the statue, by way of acknowledging the complexity.

I understand why people poured paint on the statue twice, I get it, I sympathize with that, he told the New Hamburg Independent.

No ones hands are clean, but I think as a historical figure, its due a little more reverence than that.

Im not making the statue spotless, because the man wasnt spotless.

The heat is rising constantly in the extremist times we live in.

On Wednesday, a group demanding the removal of Macdonalds statue verbally clashed with another group thought to be affiliated to an alt-right organization.

Meanwhile, Hallman, who 18 months ago posed for a photo with the Kim Campbell statue along with two other women councillors, celebrating their historic entrance into the previously all-male council, has now proposed that the development of the Prime Ministers Walk be suspended.

No decent person wants to perpetuate suffering. But at the same time, policy shouldnt be made by an anonymous person with a bucket of paint.

We need honest public conversations, which comes with the pain of giving up pleasant illusions.

Macdonald is not the only prime minister with a mixed legacy. He is just the focus right now.

Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier also made racist decisions, including taking away the vote from Indigenous people and dramatically increasing the head tax on Chinese immigrants to Canada. Should we rename Wilfrid Laurier University?

William Lyon Mackenzie King, meanwhile, admired Hitler so much that he wrote in his diary (in 1938) that he will rank some day with Joan of Arc among the deliverers of his people. Under Kings watch no Jews were allowed into Canada as they tried to flee Nazi Germany. Thats shameful.

The only way to gracefully go forward is to have the statues presented, but with context that is lacking now.

Something, like a plaque or a recording, needs to be part of the installation, and explain the evil as well as the good.

All the prime ministers, Macdonald included, are part of the story of Canada.

Its just that the story isnt as pretty as we think it is.
'The main reason being Kejriwal's working style is very centralised.'

'And if you don't form a team and work, take bureaucrats into confidence, take doctors and hospitals into confidence, this problem was surely going to evolve.'

IMAGE: A medical worker collects a sample from a woman at a school turned into a centre for conducting coronavirus tests in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

On June 24, Delhi overtook Mumbai to become the city with the highest number of novel coronavirus cases in the country.

Delhi now has more than 70,000 cases, almost 40,000 of which have been detected in the last two weeks. Mumbai has about 800 less.

Ashutosh, the well-known journalist-turned-founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party-turned political observer, knows Delhi as very few would know.

Amid the rising COVID-19 cases in the national capital, he tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com why the Arvind Kejriwal government, which won another term in office in February, has failed Delhi's citizens.

On May 31 there were 4,500 coronavirus cases in Delhi. By June 20, Delhi had 53,000 cases. Now it has outdone Mumbai by becoming the worst-hit city in the country with over 70,000 cases. Where did the Delhi government fail?

I don't think the Delhi government has failed in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

If you see, Delhi conducted around 5,000 to 6,000 tests in May. And after the high court passed an order, the Delhi government in the past 20 days has been carrying out an average of 20,000 tests per day.

So, the more testing Delhi is doing, the more COVID-19 patients are being found.

Now if you compare that with Mumbai, they are testing around 5,000 people per day.

Delhi is testing five times more than Mumbai and therefore you are seeing more numbers.

Moreover, Delhi has introduced rapid antigen tests (on June 18) which has increased the capacity to test more people. In this testing procedure results are out in 45 minutes.

Don't you agree that the Delhi government did not enforce proper rules for containment zones and did not conduct proper contact tracing due to which the numbers have increased?

The Delhi government came to power with two priorities: Education and health. They increased the education budget by 100 per cent and the health budget by 40 per cent.

They spoke of mohalla clinics, polyclinics and hospitals and spoke about revolutionising the health sector.

They (the Aam Aadmi Party) used to proudly say that then United Nations secretary-general Ban ki-Moon praised the Delhi government's health infrastructure. They used to say the Kerala and Telangana health minister used to come and learn and implement the health policies of Delhi.

But the question that needs to be asked is: When COVID-19 cases were first reported in China in December, what were Arvind Kejriwal and his team doing?

Unlike other political party leaders, AAP leaders are relatively more educated and aware of things. They saw Italy and Spain getting engulfed with coronavirus. The Delhi government should have prepared well before the pandemic broke in India.

Now, compare this with Kerala where the government set up a task force immediately in January and formed teams of around 2.5 lakh volunteers to fight COVID-19.

They went to different villages in Kerala and sensitised people about COVID-19, which the Delhi government did not do in time.

I was expecting they would do that because the people in government (in Delhi) are well educated. And here they failed.

How far is it true that the lack of coordination between the Centre and Delhi government and the dual power structure has led to a failure in the fight against coronavirus?

This is true and there is no doubt about it.

In fact, in Delhi, there is a triple power centre. The central government takes care of law and order and land (issues).

The general administration is looked after by the AAP government.

And the third power is the municipal corporations of Delhi which is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

There are hospitals of the MCD, Delhi state government hospitals, army hospital. Then there are hospitals like AIIMS and Safdarjung hospital and private hospitals.

Therefore, there has to be a coordination among all of them, but since AAP came to power, they had a confrontationist attitude (with the BJP which rules the Centre and Delhi municipalities).

Now, Arvind Kejriwal has played a smart move by meeting Home Minister Amit Shah to solve the COVID-19 situation.

Now, the perception is that Amit Shah is handling Delhi's COVID-19 crisis.

Therefore, I can say they began with a confrontationist attitude, but then they came to terms with the central government in the last one month.

So, are you saying that the Centre, the AAP government and the BJP-led Delhi municipalities are on the same page when it comes to tackling COVID-19?

Yes, and that suits Arvind Kejriwal.

The BJP is the (AAP's) principal opponent party in Delhi.

If Kejriwal is now working with Amit Shah, then there will be no protest against him by the BJP.

At present, Amit Shah is in front to solve the COVID-19 crisis in Delhi and Kejriwal is at the back.

If things go wrong, Kejriwal can always say why should he be blamed as the show is being run by Amit Shah who is the most powerful minister in the BJP. It is a smart political move by Kejriwal.

IMAGE: A woman adjusts her daughter's face mask outside their home in a slum area in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

Kejriwal highlighted outsiders and said that people coming from other states were eating into the resources of the Delhi government's health infrastructure. How far is this true? Do outsiders add to the count of COVID-19 patients in Delhi?

You must be knowing the fact that today the ones who are stuck at one place are stuck there. They are unable to move and cross state borders in times of the pandemic.

Why would a man from Uttar Pradesh come and treat himself in Delhi's hospital in these times?

This outsider theory was floated by Kejriwal who wanted to portray to Delhiites that he is going to fight for them.

The regional pride and regional politics that is seen in places like Maharashtra is not seen in Delhi. Kejriwal wants to make people of Delhi aware of their regional aspirations.

He just wanted to send a message to the people of Delhi that he alone is fighting for their cause.

There is no regional consciousness among the people of Delhi, but Kejriwal's party is trying to light a fire of regional aspiration in the people of Delhi.

This politics has got nothing to do with coronavirus.

And if you notice, Kejriwal had announced a lockdown in Delhi much before Modi announced it on March 23.

Kejriwal started well to fight against coronavirus, but somewhere down the line he slipped.

Can we say that AAP became complacent after their election victory and neglected Delhi when coronavirus struck?

Kejriwal could not foresee what havoc coronavirus could do in Delhi.

The kind of co-ordination with local agencies that was needed did not happen in time.

The main reason being Kejriwal's working style is very centralised. He does not believe in co-ordination.

And if you don't form a team and work, take bureaucrats into confidence, take doctors and hospitals into confidence, this problem was surely going to evolve.

Again, I am giving you the example of the Kerala government. Kerala was one of the first states of India to get coronavirus patients, but today it is at the bottom in numbers compared to other states of India.

The Kerala state health model is being praised all over the world now.

And today even one of the largest slums, Dharavi in Mumbai, has been able to contain coronavirus, which is a big achievement.

But if you say Delhi is worse than Mumbai then I will not support that statement as the data says something else.

If you see the death rates, in the last one week Mumbai has seen 102 deaths and in Delhi there are 66 deaths.

The recovery rate of Delhi is 69 per cent and that of Mumbai is 63 per cent.

Another point is that Delhi has tested 4 lakh people and Mumbai has tested only 3 lakh people.

So you feel the situation is under control in Delhi?

This bad situation shouldn't have come to Delhi in the first place. I cannot absolve the Delhi government.

I am only saying that if you say Delhi has gone far ahead than Mumbai in terms of COVID-19 cases, I won't agree because the data says something else.

If you test 20,000 people all of a sudden in a day in Mumbai then the numbers too will surely rise.

When do you think the situation will stabilise?

I think in Mumbai and Maharashtra the situation is plateauing.

If you see the figures for the last 10 days the doubling rate is taking 40 days in Mumbai and in Delhi it is taking 12 days.

It means Mumbai has touched its peak and Delhi is touching its peak now.

I feel this situation will go on till at least till mid-July and that is worrisome because whether Delhi will be able to handle or not only time will tell. They should have been prepared earlier.

The much-touted mohalla clinics of Delhi failed badly. Is that surprising?

It failed because there was too much of marketing. The Kerala government handled the Nipah virus very well in 2018 and they were well prepared this time. The Delhi government could not handle COVID-19 at all.

If they had done proper co-ordination and sensitised people early or got an army of volunteers, things would have been very different.

The Delhi government is waking up now after COVID-19 has spread.
California Resources (CRC) came out with a quarterly loss of $0.16 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.38. This compares to earnings of $0.63 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 88.41%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this oil and natural gas company would post earnings of $0.60 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.73, delivering a surprise of 21.67%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.

California Resources, which belongs to the Zacks Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry, posted revenues of $573 million for the quarter ended March 2020, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.30%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $690 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

California Resources shares have lost about 84.5% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's decline of -5.6%.

What's Next for California Resources?

While California Resources has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Story continues

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for California Resources was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is -$4.26 on $381.25 million in revenues for the coming quarter and -$11 on $1.68 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States is currently in the top 15% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.



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Ronald Reagan once noted, Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

There is a frenzy right now of iconoclasm. We are going through a period where so-called Social Justice Warriors, are tearing down statues left and right.

It began with heroes of the confederacy, such as Robert E. Lee, but now it has even reached General Lees great rival  General Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the Union army.

When does it stop? Where does it stop? So many statues, so little time. Just last week in the state of Oregon, rioters targeted a statue of George Washington, spray-painting the words "Genocidal Colonist." Then they burned a U.S. flag on the head of the statue, before pulling it down. And they reveled in their supposedly good deed.

No one is sacrosanct. Not even any of those four heads on Mount Rushmore. Statues of each of them are slated for the chopping block. Like Washington, Jefferson statues have to go. He too committed the original sin of slavery.

Lincoln, though he freed the slaves, has had his statues desecrated recently, and the city of Boston wants to tear down a statue of the Great Emancipator. Now its Teddy Roosevelts turn. How did our 26th president violate todays standards of political correctness?

WCBS radio reports (6/21/20), The bronze monument  which features Roosevelt on horseback flanked by a Native American man and a Black man  has been at the front entrance of the [American Museum of Natural History in New York] since 1940.

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York said, [The museum] has asked to remove the Theodore Roosevelt statue because it explicitly depicts Black and Indigenous people as subjugated and racially inferiorThe City supports the Museums request. It is the right decision and the right time to remove this problematic statue.

If the issue is slavery, then why would the self-styled revolutionaries tear down the statue of Ulysses S. Grant?

TheHill.com reports (6/20/20), Protesters in San Francisco on Friday toppled the statue of former President Grant, who led the Union Army during the Civil War, in Golden Gate Park.

San Francisco police said that approximately 400 people gathered around 8 p.m. to take down the statue, though no arrests were made.

They also tore down a statue of Francis Scott Key, who wrote our National Anthem, which today is boycotted by the woke culture.

It would appear that the real target of all the rioters and iconoclasts is America as founded. But a nation that does not remember its past does not know its future.

A few years ago, James S. Robbins, Ph.D., a writer for USA Today, wrote the book, Erasing America: Losing Our Future by Destroying Our Past.

Robbins told my radio audience when his book came out, Its a broad-based assault on the American story, on the American legacy. And the intention of it, in my opinion, is to wipe the slate clean, so that the progressives can write in the future whatever stories they want  emphasizing the values that they want to bring.

To target George Washington is in many ways to target America itself. Born into the fourth generation of slaveholders, Washington freed his slaves  albeit at his death; but he freed them nonetheless.

Robbins told me, I admire George Washington. He was the founder of our country. And yet he had this difficult legacy with slavery, like a lot of the founders and a lot of the people back then. But its not everything about them. He was not just a slave-master. He had a lot of other much more important, salient characteristics that we honor him for.

Recently, I saw a 1950s television program on George Washington, highlighting the sacrifices he and his troops made, particularly in that brutal winter of 1777-1778 in Valley Forge. The man playing Washington noted that he has 12,000 men in rags and they are starving. 500 die every month of disease and deprivation. But they are sacrificing so that this upstart nation could be independent and free.

And now all these generations later, barbarians in the streets are tearing down statues of Washington and others. So many statues, so little time.

There is a battle for the soul of America. We should always remember what Ronald Reagan said  and thankfully, they havent torn down his statueyet. Said the Gipper, If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.
When something bad happens, repeatedly, to women, so often that they caution each other to avoid someone: not to attend certain lectures, not to accept certain invitations or jobs, not to be left alone with a certain man, then two questions arise. First, why is it that the women are the ones who always need to modify their behaviour, to avoid assault or harassment? Why not the perpetrator? The second is: who also knew what was going on and failed to do anything about it?

People always look for patterns in the behaviour of alleged predators. With former High Court judge Dyson Heydon, were told, it was champagne: a moment when women were asked to his chambers, ostensibly for fine French bubbles. But should we not also look for a pattern of protection of predators? Of blind or turned eyes, of the possession of power intimidating people into some kind of complicity, of the normalising of women as playthings or subordinates in a profession where they remain a distinct minority, and of well-connected boys clubs creating a system in which men harass without consequences, and women are repeatedly punished  for avoiding them, rejecting them or  worst of all  reporting them. This reeks of a culture of impunity.

Former High Court justice Dyson Heydon was found in an inquiry ordered by the High Court to have harassed six associates. Credit:Ben Rushton

If a woman cannot be safe in the highest court in the land, a place of probity, integrity and rectitude, then where can she be? And if there arent women in positions of leadership, will anyone hold the blokes to account? How the hell do these guys get away with this for so long?

When Dyson Heydon was appointed to the High Court by John Howard in 2003, he replaced the only woman judge  Mary Gaudron  thereby restoring an all-male bench on the most illustrious court in the land. There were capable women around, of course, including Susan Kiefel, listed by journalists as potential contenders. But, NSW judge Roddy Meagher told a reporter from The Australian, women just didnt have enough of that elusive quality men seem to naturally hog: merit. If you find a woman who is No. 1 in the merit list, he said, of course she should be appointed, but there is no such person.
Pakistans prime minister said the US martyred al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden  a term normally reserved for honourable figures slain in battle.

Imran Khan used the term during a budget speech in parliament, attacking his predecessors foreign policies and saying that Pakistans partnership with the United States in the war on terror was a mistake.

Mr Khan also said Washington used abusive language against Pakistan, blamed Islamabad for its failures in neighbouring Afghanistan and refused to inform the country of its operation against bin Laden in 2011 before carrying out the Navy SEALs nighttime raid.

The special operations force swooped into Pakistans military garrison town of Abbottabad in the middle of the night on May 2 2011, killing bin Laden and several of his operatives.

Mr Khan told parliament: We sided with the US in the War on Terror but they came here and killed him, martyred him and  used abusive language against us (and) did not inform us (of the raid), despite the fact that we lost 70,000 people in war on terror.

Washington has repeatedly accused Pakistan of harbouring the Afghan Taliban and giving safe haven to the feared Haqqani network, a Taliban affiliate that has been blamed for some major attacks in Afghanistan over the years and declared a terrorist group by the United States.

Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had claimed that the Haqqani network was run by Pakistans premier intelligence agency, known by its acronym ISI.

Pakistan denied the accusations, saying Washington was blaming Pakistan for the failure of the US-led coalitions 150,000 soldiers to defeat the Taliban, who are now at their strongest since being toppled in 2001 and rule or hold sway in about 50% of Afghanistan.

Pakistans prime minister Imran Khan accused the United States of having martyred al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden (Arshad Butt/AP)

Mr Khan said: The way we supported America in the war on terror, and the insults we had to face in return  They blamed us for every failure in Afghanistan. They openly held us responsible because they did not succeed in Afghanistan.

Story continues

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were the only countries to recognise the Taliban government, which had harboured bin Laden as he planned terrorist attacks against the US.

After the September 11 attacks, Pakistan turned and became an ally of the United States against the Taliban, who were ousted by a US-led coalition in November 2011.

However, opposition politician Khwaja Mohammed Asif was critical of Mr Khan for calling bin Laden a martyr, saying the al Qaida chief had brought terrorism to Pakistan.

He (bin Laden) ruined my country but he (Khan) is calling him a martyr, he said.

Since taking power, Mr Khan claimed his government has reset the Pakistan-US relationship, elevating it to one of mutual respect, for which he also credited the personal rapport he has built with US president Donald Trump.

No one insults us now, said Mr Khan.
KALAMAZOO, MI  A new clothing store on the Kalamazoo Mall is bringing a mix of sustainability and functionality to downtown Kalamazoo shoppers.

A soft opening of Great Lakes Thrift Co. is underway after being stalled by the shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Located at 328 S. Kalamazoo Mall, between Down Dog Yoga Center and MRC Artworks, the store is owned and operated by Baroda native and Western Michigan University graduate Anika Johnson.

Johnson, 28, said part of her love for finding clothing stems from her mother, who was an avid antiquer. Growing up, Johnson and her mother would visit thrift shops to pick out our favorite clothes for the new school year. The hobby grew as Johnson got older.

It actually wasnt until I started studying fashion at WMU that I started thrifting more as a young adult, and really getting into sustainable fashion and secondhand clothing, Johnson said.

After taking classes and learning about how wasteful the fashion industry can be, Johnson said she has kept sustainability at the top of her mind when launching her own business. She remembers going to retail stores as a kid, buying something from the mall and then only being able to wear it once when the garment was destroyed in the wash cycle.

You start to realize quality over quantity becomes important, especially when youre on a budget as a college student, Johnson said.

Before Johnson had any intentions of operating out of a storefront, she launched Great Lakes Thrift Co. in 2018 as a vendor for Vintage in the Zoo, an outdoor secondhand market that lines the Kalamazoo Farmers Market with tables and tents full of vintage clothing and antiques.

I just came up with a name and hung my clothes under a tent and had no idea what I was doing, and I think it was the most fun I ever had, Johnson said.

Johnson became a regular vendor at Vintage in the Zoo, attending each event in 2019. She met some more established thrifters, from whom Johnson said she took inspiration.

There was some bigger vendors that kind of just took me under their wing and I kind of just learned by watching and doing, Johnson said. But it wasnt until the pop-up on the Kalamazoo Mall that we realized people really shop vintage and are interested in vintage clothing; theres foot traffic down here and it just makes sense.

Johnson saw a need for a clothing store on the Kalamazoo Mall and jumped at the chance to purchase the space. But one week after she secured the space, Gov. Gretchen Whitmers stay-at-home orders stalled the stores opening amid the coronavirus pandemic. Johnson said her business took that time to paint and add lighting.

Inside, Great Lakes Thrift Co., customers will find vintage Harley Davidson and college t-shirts, denim jackets, flannel shirts and more. The space is filled with old knick-knacks, vintage decor and art hanging across the walls.

I think the selection encapsulates my journey in life, Ive lived in an urban area, Ive lived in a rural area on a farm, Ive lived overseas for a while, so this is kind of a mixture of what I like to wear and the style thats kind of been created from all those different locations, Johnson said.

During its soft opening, Great Lakes Thrift Co. will be open on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Though plans for the business hours are still in flux, you can check Great Lakes Thrift Co.s Facebook page for updates.

Also on MLive:

Buddys Detroit-style pizza coming to Portage

Kalamazoo schools seek parent input on reopening this fall

Gov. Whitmer extends order allowing video conferencing hearings during pandemic
Members of the congregation participate in a mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington on June 22, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

How Pastors Failed the Church and Americans During COVID-19

Commentary

From the beginning, the church has played a significant role in American life. Those who played the largest roles were pastors and evangelists, such as George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, John Witherspoon, D.L. Moody, William Seymour, Martin Luther King Jr., and Billy Graham.

The churchs role in America was that of its moral compass. It was to be the voice of reason in an unreasonable world. The world did not always listen, but it was pivotal that the leaders of the churchregardless of denominationspeak to the ills of society and the government that oversaw it. Toward the end of the 20th century, pastors and evangelists seemed to lose their role, not because they had forgotten it, but because they have disregarded it.

The pandemic has exposed many pastors and church organizations for their lack of courage against the government, and their lack of understanding of the First Amendment. No, it isnt necessary to be a historical scholar to be a pastor, but just as for any average American citizen, it may prove beneficial to rummage through the Bill of Rights every so often; especially if you are to be considered the first line of defense for religious freedom.

Shortly into March of this year, many state and local officials began handing down lockdown orders to individuals and businesses, and at times, singling out churches. There were a handful of pastors across the nation who stood up against these rule-by-edict authoritarians, but overall, the resistance was nil.

I have searched the websites of numerous Christian organizationseven those you have probably never heard of. I have reached out to pastors and priests. Few if any have spoken out, and no organization that I have researched has spoken out publicly about the governments infringement on religious freedom and the right to peaceably assemble.

One of the few pastors to defy a governors orders was Rev. Tony Spell, of Central, Louisiana. He was arrested and placed under house-arrest, a sentence he defied by continuing to preach at his church, Life Tabernacle Church.

Spell lost his district court case and recently lost his appeal at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. It is presumed he will attempt to appeal to the nations highest court.

During the case before the appeals court, Judge James Ho made a provocative statement regarding Gov. John Bel Edwards lockdown orders:

In recent weeks, officials have not only tolerated proteststhey have encouraged them as necessary and important expressions of outrage over abuses of government power. For people of faith demoralized by coercive shutdown policies, that raises a question: If officials are now exempting protesters, how can they justify continuing to restrict worshippers? The answer is that they cant.

Regarding the protests, pastors and organizations the nation over have stood in solidarity with the protestersposting encouragement through social media, conducting online race-related conversations, preaching sermons on Americas racial divide, and even marching with protesters. But when it has come to their own parishioners and fellow ministers, the silence is chilling.

Politicians have praised the protesters as an essential part of American liberty, while refusing church-goers the same freedom, despite both being protected by the First Amendment. Americas politicians have become at best indecisive, and at worst hypocritical. Americas pastors seem to be no different.

The political and justice systemfor more reasons than one can counthas become a comedy of errors. Governors, mayors, and district judges have been wishy-washy on their mandates; but perhaps its for good reason. The threat of worsening destruction from protesters may be a deterrent for officials to restrict them. The church, on the other hand, appears to be no threat at alla stark contrast to its historical responses.

The history of the church in America is one of pushing back against the government. It once ensured that government policies went only so far. Unfortunately, thats a time long ago.

Perhaps pastors and organizations arent worried about religious liberties being hamstrung. Perhaps they trust the government to always do whats right, despite its history being chock-full of wrong decisions (this era being no different). Perhaps they feel its no longer their place to buck the system. Perhaps the simplicity of having church online is a reprieve from human interaction. Perhaps they believe the idea of separation of church and state is merely a one-way street. Or perhaps standing against the government, whether physically, digitally, or legally, is not worth risking their 501(c)3 standing. Whatever the reason is, its a dereliction of duty.

So while pastors and organizations continue to remind their parishioners of their white privilege and preach behind their Instagram accounts, the government has taken note of what has been willfully relinquished. Atheist groups are no doubt giddy. Patriots are disillusioned by what was once perceived to be the cornerstone of American civil liberties. And since the state and local politicians seem less than eager to lift these sanctions, believers are left wondering if their pastors and organizations really care whether or not the doors to their churches open again.

The argument isnt whether politicians are making the right decisions. The argument is whether they have the right to make the decision at all.

They have not only taken no pains to convince us that submission to their claim is consistent with liberty among us, but it is doubtful whether they expect or desire we should be convinced of it. It seems rather that they mean to force us to be absolute slaves, knowing ourselves to be such by the hard law of necessity.

That was a pastor speaking during extremely restrictive times. Times when the government cared little about the peoples freedoms, much like today. That was John Witherspoon, a pastor before, during, and after the American Revolution. He was also a signer of the Declaration of Independenceanother part of history our pastors have seemed to have forgotten, or simply chosen to disregard.

Dustin Bass is the co-founder of The Sons of History, a YouTube series and weekly podcast about all things history. He is a former-journalist-turned-entrepreneur. He is also an author.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
After Hague Indictments, Kosovo's PM Cancels Washington Talks With Serbia's President

By RFE/RL's Balkan Service June 25, 2020

Kosovar Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti has canceled his participation in U.S.-brokered talks with Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic that had been scheduled at the White House in Washington on June 27.

The move comes a day after a prosecutor at The Hague indicted Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci, former parliamentary chairman Kadri Veseli, and "others" for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during or after the 1998-99 Kosovo war.

"Due to the new developments in Pristina as a result of the indictment submitted by the Specialized Prosecutor's Office, I have to return to my country to deal with the situation," Hoti tweeted on June 25 from Brussels, where he was scheduled to meet with European officials.

Both Hoti and Thaci had been scheduled to meet in Washington with Serbia's president for talks aimed at normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

Thaci's office said on June 24 after the indictments were announced that the Kosovar president was cutting short his trip to the United States and would be back in Kosovo on June 25.

The Specialist Prosecutor's Office (SPO) at The Hague said on June 24 that Thaci, Veseli, and others "are criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders," as well as the "enforced disappearance of persons, persecution, and torture."

Hoti was still going ahead with his meetings in Brussels on June 25 with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, and Chairman of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee David McAllister.

'Hundreds Of Known Victims'

Those talks were expected to focus on Kosovo's response to the coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission's support for economic recovery, and visa liberalization for citizens of Kosovo, Hoti said on Facebook on June 22.

Speaking in Brussels on June 25, Hoti said he'd made the decision to cancel his trip to Washington in consultation with Richard Grenell, the U.S. special envoy for Serbia and Kosovo negotiations.

Hoti also said there was "no alternative" to dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, adding that Kosovo had proper institutional prudence to overcome any situation it faced.

"Issues related to justice, such as yesterday's decision, I believe should not be commented on," Hoti said. "But they should be fully respected."

The White House meeting between Hoti, Thaci, and Vucic had been announced on June 15 by Grenell after he'd received commitments from both countries to attend the meeting.

Grenell said on Twitter on June 24 that he respected Thaci's decision not to attend the White House talks "until the legal issues of those allegations are settled."

There was no immediate reaction from Washington to Hoti's cancellation.

The SPO said the indictments against Thaci and Veseli were for alleged crimes against "hundreds of known victims" -- including "Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities and [including] political opponents."

Thaci and Veseli were commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK), an ethnic Albanian guerrilla group that fought against Belgrade's security forces in the 1998-99 Kosovo war.

Veseli, who currently leads the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and continues to serve as a lawmaker, denied "any involvement in any crime" and said he is "proud to have taken part in the liberation war of the Kosovo people."

Veseli rejected the prosecutor's claims as "completely untrue."

Thaci has previously denied involvement in any war crimes.

A 10-count indictment was filed with the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) in The Hague on April 24. The prosecutor decided to unveil them publicly two months later.

Prosecutors said the charges resulted from a "lengthy investigation" and they were confident they can prove "all charges beyond a reasonable doubt."

A KSC pretrial judge is currently reviewing the indictment to decide on whether to confirm the charges.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-s-pm- cancels-talks-in-washington-with- serbia-s-president/30689711.html

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

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What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Society

-- Ho Chi Minh City authorities have quarantined 16 people who had been in close contact with a person testing positive for the bacteria that cause diphtheria, according to Lieutenant Colonel Phan Ba Hieu, in charge of the ward of infectious diseases at Military Hospital 175, managed by the Ministry of National Defense.

-- Vietnam reported no new COVID-19 cases on Friday morning, with confirmed infections standing at 352 and zero deaths, the Ministry of Health said.

-- Ho Chi Minh City police officers said on Thursday they had arrested 12 people after busting a drug ring that transacted 86 kilograms of drugs.

-- The Ministry of Public Security said on Thursday that Hanoi police had arrested four people for making, storing, and spreading information that subverts the Vietnamese state.

Business

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade has proposed that the municipal People's Committee reduce or waive rent for stall operators at local markets post-COVID-19.

-- Vietnamese lender Eximbank on Thursday accepted its board chairman's resignation and appointed Yasuhiro Saitoh, a Japanese national, as his replacement.

Education

-- Vietnam launched an English speaking contest, with a focus on 'a new normal' after COVID-19, this week in an attempt to improve the youth's command of the language. The contest will last from June 23 to July 15.

Sports

-- Liverpool became the champions of the Premier League on Thursday after Chelsea defeated second-placed Manchester City 2-1 at home, Reuters reported.

World News

-- The coronavirus has sickened more than 9.7 million people and claimed over 491,000 lives around the globe. Around 5.2 million patients have beaten the disease.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The coronavirus pandemic has "further underlined the compelling logic" of the mega-merger between Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and Peugeot Citroen (PSA), the Italian-American automaker's chairman John Elkann said Friday.

Massive global disruptions caused by the virus had cast doubt over the pending tie-up.

"Our performance in 2019 strengthened our already solid foundations and has helped us face this emergency with confidence, with flexibility and with grit," Elkann told the group's general assembly.

"In spite of the huge challenges that have materialised with the COVID-19 emergency, I can confirm that the work of our teams towards the completion of the merger has continued apace," he said.

"We expect to meet our objective of combining as a single company by the first quarter of next year".

The merger will undergo an exhaustive probe over concerns it will stifle competition, EU authorities said last week.

The tie-up was announced at the end of October and originally scheduled to be finalised in early 2021 at the latest, in order to create the world's fourth-largest automaker.

The combined company would unite brands such as Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Opel and Maserati into one global giant.

The EU is concerned about the merger's effect on Europe's highly-profitable market for vans, which are technically easy to manufacture but sold at good prices.

Its probe "is not expected to delay our timetable to completion," Elkann said.

Explore further Fiat Chrysler boss takes 50% temporary pay cut on virus

 2020 AFP
Alfa Romeo has no plans to make an early decision about its driver lineup for 2021.

Other teams, including Ferrari and McLaren, got in early by locking out their new lineups without a single race having taken place in 2020 so far.

Alfa Romeo will not follow suit.

"We are in a different situation," team boss Frederic Vasseur told Auto Motor und Sport.

"We always make our decisions between October and November and we won't change that. I want us to focus on the races first and not waste energy," he added.

"We have to deliver this year because it's important for the next one because of the prize money."

The Swiss-based team's current drivers are Kimi Raikkonen alongside Antonio Giovinazzi.

"Our driver pairing is a good one," Vasseur insists. "I trust them.

"Antonio is improving and had a good second half of last season. We will definitely have a good pair of drivers again in 2021 but we'll talk about that later."

There have been rumours that a couple of new teams might be interested in entering Formula 1 in the near future, but Vasseur says the sport has more pressing goals.

"Before we think about that, we have to save all of the existing teams," he said.

"Sales will not grow in the next few months so if we have to share between 12 teams instead of ten, that won't help."

It has also been suggested that Alfa Romeo, which is essentially still the Sauber team, may split with technical partner Ferrari in the near future.

Vasseur said: "We have a strong collaboration with Ferrari that works well. I don't think we will change our approach in the near future."

(GMM)
South Africa: Join the fight against GBV

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has called on all South Africans to join hands in the fight against the scourge of Gender-Based Violence.

I implore all South Africans wherever you are, whatever language you speak, whatever your religious persuasion and whatever your political affiliation, let us join hands together to fight this evil scourge that is tearing our nation apart, Minister Zulu said on Friday.

Speaking during a webinar session on the commemoration of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Pretoria, Minister Zulu said across the country, violence against women and girls, including rape, is on the rise and that the names of the victims reads like casualties in a war zone.

This is the time for all of us to pull together to ensure that all women and girls of this great nation are and feel safe. We must confront head on this culture of violence perpetrated against women and girls and deny them their inherent human rights and dignity because of their gender, Zulu said.

Alcohol and drug abuse linked to GBV

She said there is a connection between alcohol abuse and gender-based violence.

It is a global problem that requires global cooperation. The high levels of alcohol and drug abuse, and in more recent times, the emergence of cheap and easily accessible drugs like nyaope and whoonga has reached epidemic proportions.

No part of our society has been spared this scourge of alcohol and substance abuse. Alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use remain a significant issue in our community, contributing to the burden of disease in South Africa, the Minister said.

Zulu said a national concerted effort is needed to realise the vision of a South Africa free of alcohol and drug abuse.

Along with the emergence of greater availability and trafficking of these cheap highly addictive drugs, we must also confront the emerging crisis of intravenous drug use which is driving the new HIV infections and hepatitis, the Minister said.

National Drug Master Plan

She explained that the National Drug Master Plan (NDMP, 2019-2024), reflects a coordinated multi-sectoral approach and provides strategic direction necessary to prevent and reduce the scourge of alcohol and substance, provides treatment for substance users and reduce the availability of dangerous drugs in the country.

The goal of the of the National Drug Master Plan is to contribute to safer and healthier communities through coordinated efforts to prevent use, treat substance use disorders, and reduce production and distribution of illicit drugs in South Africa, the Minister said.

The NDMP focuses on seven priority areas, these are:

Demand reduction and related measures, including prevention as well as other health related issues;

Supply reduction and related measures, effective law enforcement; responses to drug related crime; countering money laundering and promoting judicial cooperation;

Ensuring the availability of, and access to controlled substances exclusively for medical and scientific purposes, while preventing their diversion;

Identification and control of new psychotropic/psychoactive substances;

Promote governance, leadership, and accountability for a coordinated multi-sectoral effective response;

Strengthen data collection, monitoring, evaluation, and research evidence to achieve the goals; and

Stimulate robust and sustainable economic growth aimed at reducing poverty, unemployment and inequalities.

Minister Zulu said the seven priority areas will ensure that the country focusses on things that matter most.

Key amongst these is preventing drug use before it starts, with specific focus on young people. Prevention is better than cure, the Minister said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Local protesters turn out to get tested for COVID-19 KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- Protesters who have been speaking out against racial injustice have been gathered in large groups, often in situations where social distancing isn't possible. Now, local organizations are reaching out to them to stop the possible spread of COVID-19 cases with testing.

The worsening pandemic seems to be a consequence of recent social justice battles on Kansas City streets . . . Here's a very scary sign that some of the demonstrators might not be feeling so well after local riots.Read more:
The number of COVID-19 cases in Latin America has resulted in some experts saying the region has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

But if Latin America is the epicenter of the pandemic, then Brazil is the epicenter of the epicenter, said Felicia Knaul, director of the University of Miami Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, who led a webinar called COVID-19 in Brazil: one country, many epidemics on Thursday afternoon.

Knaul began the session by giving an overview of the region based on information by the Latin America COVID-19 Observatory , which was developed by faculty from the institute, the Miller School of Medicine, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Communication in collaboration with research partners throughout Latin America.

Knaul pointed out that Latin America has 51 percent of daily global deaths even though it holds only 9 percent of the population. Brazil has 22 percent of global deaths (53,895 deaths), second only to the United States.

These numbers are overwhelming and unfortunately growing, she said.

While European countriessuch as Spain and the United Kingdomare seeing numbers tapering off, countries like Mexico and Brazil are surpassing the U.S. in deaths, she said.

Deaths in Brazil are projected to reach 11,000 per day by early August, depending on how the population behaves and whether policymakers and health systems intervene with testing, she said.

Brazils efforts against the virus have been hampered by political polarization and a president, Jair Bolsonaro, who continually downplays the virus and insists on going out in public without a mask.

Cesar G. Victora, a Brazilian-born epidemiologist who has led Epicovid19, the first study to assess the prevalence of coronavirus in Brazil, gave a detailed report on a household analysis in 133 sentinel cities in Brazil.

We did not find one epidemic in Brazil but several epidemics in the country, he said. The most affected areas were the cities and towns in the Amazon region, poor areas with limited access to health facilities. In the town of Manaus, cemeteries are full, he said.

Michael Touchton, University of Miami associate professor of political science, who has studied governance and public health in Brazil and other countries in Latin America, said the data from the Observatory shows a partisan pandemic. Some of the poorer states, with governors opposed to Bolsonaro, have the most stringent responses and insist on social distancing and mask wearing. Other states are reopening quickly, without requirements to wear masks or any other protective measures, and those states are not faring well, he said.

Victoras survey also revealed that the poor are much more affected by the virus than those in the upper echelons of society.

Touchton reiterated Brazils position as the epicenter of the virus in the world.

We are seeing an absolutely devastating pandemic in Brazil, Touchton said.

As Brazil reopens, testing is low compared with other countries in the region. Peru and Chile test about five times higher, from a per capita standpoint. Many of the states that are reopening do not have the policies to protect the population.

So, the likelihood of the pandemic getting worse is very high, Touchton said, adding that the political polarization has only compounded the problem.

Political polarization coupled with the pandemic is a recipe for disaster, Touchton said.
Orlando, Fla.

Hotel owner and developer Danny Gaekwad survived steep drops in business after the 9/11 attacks and the recession of the late 2000s, but nothing prepared him for the revenue tailspin that followed lockdowns and travel restrictions in March to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.

At one horse country hotel, a Holiday Inn in Ocala, Fla., revenue last April was $38,000, a drop of almost 90 percent from the previous April. His problems were compounded by the type of loan he took out for the hotel  a $13 million loan that was bought by Wall Street investors.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities loans like the one Gaekwad has for the Holiday Inn are packaged in a trust. Investors then purchase bonds from the trust using properties like a hotel as collateral. The loans are attractive to borrowers because they typically offer lower rates and longer terms. About 20 percent of hotels across the U.S. use these loans and they represent close to a third of all debt in the hotel industry, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

Unlike banks, which have been more flexible in renegotiating loan terms to help them through the tough times, hotel owners like Gaekwad say it has been much more difficult to get any forbearance from representatives of bondholders, and they worry their businesses may not survive because of the lack of relief.

At the end of April, only 15 percent of CMBS borrowers have received relief compared to 80 percent of bank borrowers, according to a member survey by the American Hotel and Lodging Association. For one thing, the rules that govern the trusts that hold the CMBS loans typically put strict limitations on any loan modifications.

Additionally, representatives of the bondholders often charge expensive fees to negotiate with the borrowers. They also have their own real estate portfolios and don't mind acquiring new ones, so there's less incentive to negotiate with borrowers compared to banks, which don't want to be in the real estate business should a loan go bad, experts say.

"This is the Big Bad Wolf. You have no idea what devastation CMBS loans will have on us," Gaekwad told Vice President Mike Pence last month during a forum on Florida's tourism industry in Orlando. "If you don't put it in a cage, it will finish us."

Other types of commercial properties such as retail, industrial and office also use CMBS loans but none have seen delinquency rates rise the way the lodging sector has. In May, the lodging delinquency rate rose to 19 percent, up from 2.7 percent in the previous month, according to real estate data-provider Trepp, LLC.

Commercial properties such as apartment buildings and office spaces have money-generating leases that range from one year to multiple years. But the typical lease for a hotel is just a night or two, so when travel comes to a halt, hotel owners are pinched, said Sam Chandan, a real estate economist at New York University.

"This being an economic slowdown with constraints on travel, compounded by very real restrictions on personal mobility, it has been the perfect storm for the hotel sector," Chandan said.

Gaekwad says he has gotten relief on other loans he took from banks for his various properties in central Florida, which include hotels, restaurants, apartments and an RV camp. For the Holiday Inn, Gaekwad turned to a CMBS loan after the last recession a dozen years ago when banks were tightening their belts.

These loans tend to be more complicated than bank loans, but representatives of the bondholders are willing to talk to borrowers, though every case is different, said Lisa Pendergast, executive director of the CRE Finance Council, a trade association for the $4.4 trillion commercial and multifamily real estate finance industry.

"A lot of borrowers think servicers will say, 'There's no forbearance. We are going into foreclosure.' I can't tell you how silly that is," Pendergast said. "It's just a slower process."

Pendergast said the loans are an important segment of the lending community, often providing money in markets when other lenders are unable to because of regulatory or economic concerns.

The Federal Reserve in April added commercial mortgage-backed securities to its Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan program, but a group of lawmakers said in a letter this week to federal officials that more needs to be done. The rigidness of the loan terms makes it difficult for the borrowers to get any relief, the bipartisan group of 105 U.S. representatives said.

"Without a long-term relief plan in the face of an elongated crisis, CMBS borrowers could face a historic wave of foreclosures this fall, impacting local communities and destroying jobs for Americans across the country," the letter said.

After struggling to make payments on the Holiday Inn loan in March, April and May, Gaekwad didn't make his $107,000 monthly payment in June. He had contacted the loan servicer for the bondholders, Wells Fargo, at the start of the crisis but he was told he would have to contact the loan's special servicer, Rialto Capital Advisors, which he and his attorney did.

They only heard back earlier this month when Gaekwad received a "pre-negotiation" agreement, along with an ultimatum that he must sign it before any talks can take place. Gaekwad says he's debating whether to sign because the talks could cost tens of thousands of dollars, he'd be limited as to what he can say about any future agreement and there is no guarantee he'll get any relief.

A spokesman for Rialto said she couldn't comment on the specifics of any case.
The lettering of the payment service provider Wirecard can be seen on a laptop screen

Wirecard's auditors are being faced with legal action after the collapse of the scandal-hit German payments firm.

The German shareholders' association SdK said Friday that it had filed a criminal complaint against auditors at EY. SdK's complaint targets two current employees and one former employees of Wirecard's long-time auditor.

The accountancy last week refused to sign off Wirecard's 2019 books after discovering 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) of cash had gone missing from its balance sheet.

Munich-based Wirecard filed for insolvency on Thursday, marking a tumultuous fall for the group. Wirecard, which is still listed on the DAX 30, has seen its share price capitulate since the accounting black hole was revealed last week.

EY told CNBC late Thursday that there were "clear indications that this was an elaborate and sophisticated fraud, involving multiple parties around the world in different institutions, with a deliberate aim of deception."

In attempt to defend its reputation, the group added that "even the most robust and extended audit procedures" couldn't uncover what it called a "collusive fraud."
To break the impasse on the detention of Spavor and Kovrig, Canada has 3 options

Say a prayer for Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Their chances of freedom are remote without collective action by the democracies.

What a mess. Had we known the implications of proceeding with the U.S. extradition request for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in December 2018, we might well have shown the "creative incompetence" suggested by former foreign affairs minister John Manley by letting her complete her flight to Mexico.

Now, Messrs. Kovrig and Spavor face decades in Chinese prison. In China, rule of law is what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) decides is in the best interest of the CCP, making them prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry, this case is based on "clear facts and solid evidence," their stock phrase when results are already decided.

For months now the Canadian government has applied what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau describes as a "wide range of public and private measures," Canada having developed a "certain expertise in what has worked to get Canadians home in very difficult circumstances." Unfortunately, with no consular access for months, Messrs. Spavor and Kovrig are now in even more difficult circumstances.

Getting tough  or giving in

There is no easy way to secure the release of the two Michaels. Going forward, the Trudeau government has three broad options:

First, continue the current approach of responding to Chinese actions while encouraging allies to speak out. Mr. Trudeau has hardened his language, now "deploring" Chinese actions and refuting Chinese claims that Canada is "racist" or employing "double standards" in detaining Meng. But it would be diplomatic self-delusion to think this is having any effect on the Chinese.

Ben Nelms/CBC

Second, do a swap or release Meng. A swap, as suggested early on by John Manley as well as some diplomats and officials, might have worked in the early stages, especially if the government had employed former prime minister Jean Chretien as envoy. But that time has probably passed.

Story continues

The release of Meng using the authority of the justice minister  as now suggested by another former minister, a Supreme Court justice and a group of former parliamentarians and diplomats  would represent an about-face by the Canadian government. Having wrapped itself in the cloak of high principle on the "rule of law" and "independence of the judiciary," such a move would be viewed as appeasement by critics and our allies.

Despite his musings about using Meng to get a better trade deal with China, U.S. President Donald Trump may well decide to take retaliatory action against Canada.

For the Chinese, it would be a vindication of "hostage diplomacy" and bullying. What assurances, moreover, do we have that the Chinese would immediately release the two Michaels?

A more co-ordinated approach

The third option is to show more muscle and respond asymmetrically to Chinese bullying. As a first step, revoke the visas for the children of senior officials studying in Canada and ask our Five Eyes partners to take similar action. The Chinese prize an English-language education. Xi Jinping's daughter studied at Harvard; Xi himself did work and studied in Iowa.

Canada hosts approximately 140,000 Chinese students  even if they cannot travel to Canada, they will want to continue their education remotely. You can be sure the students' families would be upset.

We should also raise the stakes by taking the cases of the two Michaels to the International Court of Justice, alleging torture (Kovrig's wife told CBC's Adrienne Arsenault that he's been imprisoned without access to daylight for more than 560 days) and infringement of Mr. Kovrig's diplomatic privileges (the Chinese interrogated him on his service at our embassy in Beijing, a violation of diplomatic norms).

WATCH | Michael Kovrig's wife, Vina Nadjibulla, talks about her husband's detention:

We should employ a team of human rights lawyers from NATO countries as well as Commonwealth and Francophonie nations to underline that this is a multilateral effort.

The Chinese may well respond with more sanctions on Canadian trade, in which case we should immediately appeal to the World Trade Organization, arguing that the Chinese are violating their trade obligations.

Holding China to account

China has taken an a la carte approach to the rules-based system, especially in its abuse of trade privileges. We need to hold China to account. In addition to seeking redress through the WTO, we should also initiate an OECD-endorsed code of conduct for state-owned enterprises, modelled after provisions in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership.

The government should be looking at variations on all three options  the pros and cons involved in each  and ask the Canada-China parliamentary committee to canvas for more ideas.

Damir Sagolj/Reuters

We have allies and friends. China doesn't, really  they have clients, like North Korea. The democracies need to use their collective weight to sustain a system that has given the world relative peace and increased prosperity for 75 years .

When Pierre Trudeau established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China 50 years ago, it was an astute recognition that one-fifth of humanity could not be ignored.

No one is ignoring China anymore, but being big does not give China a free pass on human rights and international obligations. Its access to the rules-based global order allowed it to restore itself as the powerful Middle Kingdom. Unless the democracies stand together, China will just keep taking hostages and breaking the norms.
Russian scientists from Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), G. B. Elyakov Pacific Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry (PIBOC FEB RAS), and A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center for Marine Biology (NSCMB FEB RAS) have discovered four new steroid substances which target cells of human breast cancer, and colorectal carcinoma. They were extracted from the starfish Ceramaster patagonicus, a Kuril basin seabed dweller. A related article appears in Marine Drugs.

The discovery made due to the joint expedition of scientists of FEFU and Far Eastern Branch of Russian Science Academy (FEB RAS) to the Kuril Islands at the "Academic Oparin" research vessel.

Four new compounds belong to non-typical derivatives of polar steroids with residual tails of fatty acids in the molecular structure. According to scientists, these compounds may be responsible in the body of starfish for the delivery of nutrients from the digestive tract to peripheral cells, acting alike bile acids in the human stomach. Previously, only one such compound was isolated from starfish.

In the study, scientists point out a pronounce anticancer effect of the unusual molecules. At the same time, researchers suggest that, due to their steroid nature, one can potentially consider such substances from starfish as blockers of neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's disease, etc.), since they help nerve cells survive distress like, for example, low levels of oxygen and glucose.

"Importantly, the new steroid compounds from starfish curb the reproduction of cancer cells in non-toxic concentrations. That gives a hope that new substances will not kill healthy body cells, and makes a promise for further study and testing," says Timofey Malyarenko, Ph.D., associate professor of the Department of Bioorganic Chemistry and Biotechnology, FEFU School of Natural Sciences, Deputy Director for Science and Senior Researcher at Laboratory of Chemistry of Marine Natural Compounds in PIBOC FEB RAS. "It is interesting that these compounds had been found almost by accident when I was looking for new lipid molecules or fats of marine origin in the starfish extract. During the separation of substances on chromatographic plates (TLC), curious spots were detected. Having studied them, we established the structures of four new derivatives of polar steroids with fatty acids. There are five of them in the world now."

According to the scientist, the next step of the study could be the production of molecules with increased therapeutic properties based on steroid compounds. In addition, it is probable to scrutinize the new compounds to reveal the most active molecules responsible for the drug effect. It would give the opportunity to look for similar compounds in other types of starfishes. Potentially, these future substances will be even more effective.

FEFU University runs a priority project for a comprehensive study of the biological resources of the World Ocean. Among the aims of the project is to pick new biologically active marine substances and cast them for the roles of drugs of the future.

###

The Russian Science Foundation (RSF) supported the study. Grant No. 18-74-10028 "Biologically active metabolites of marine invertebrates as promising drugs in the complex therapy of cancer".
Police officials fear a proposal to cut $1 billion from the NYPD's annual $6 billion budget could result in crime rates not seen in New York City since the 1980s.

A confidential police memo obtained by The New York Daily News on Friday asserts that the cuts would result in widespread officer layoffs and the 'negative impacts would be felt in every neighborhood citywide'.

'A $1 billion cut to the NYPD's operating budget would set the city back three decades and severely compromise the significant progress the NYPD has made in keeping crime at historic lows,' the memo reads.

Crime rates in New York City spiked during the crack epidemic of the 1980s, but have been falling since 1991. In 2018, the numbers of homicides reached its lowest number since the 1940s.

The NYPD employs more than 35,000 officers, and personnel costs make up more than 90 percent of their operating budget, according to The Daily News.

Therefore, top cops believe there is no way to cut one-sixth of the budget without taking officers off the streets.

Police officials fear a proposal to cut $1 billion from the NYPD's annual $6 billion budget could result in crime rates not seen in New York City since the 1980s. They say the cuts would result in widespread layoffs of officers throughout all five boroughs. Pictured: Cops patrolling the city's subway system

Violent crime has surged during the month of June - with NYPD brass fearing it's an indication of what's to come if the extreme cuts come to fruition. Pictured: police gathered at the scene of shooting in Brooklyn on June 3, in which two officers were hit by gunfire

'The only way to achieve it is by payroll cuts. Some people are saying that you can do it through attrition. That is totally incorrect. There will be layoffs,' the memo states.

Despite falling levels of crime, violent instances of shootings and stabbings have surged during the month of June - with NYPD brass fearing it's an indication of what's to come if the extreme cuts come to fruition.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he does not support cutting $1 billion from the NYPD budget, and some politicians have accused police officials of fear-mongering.

But many police feels they have been made scapegoats following a series of reforms rushed through in the wake of widespread anti-police protests in the past four weeks.

This month, the NYPD's plainclothes anti-crime unit was disbanded and chokeholds were outlawed. Governor Andrew Cuomo also repealed a law that allowed the police misconduct records to be shielded from the public.

According to The New York Post, Deputy Inspector Richard Brea, who commanded the Bronx 46th Precinct, is quitting in protest - citing a lack of guidance on how to effectively police in the wake of the reforms.

According to The New York Post , Deputy Inspector Richard Brea (pictured) is quitting his post at the Bronx 46th Precinct, citing a lack of guidance on how to effectively police in the wake of the reforms

'How am I supposed to lead?' Brea asked, according to Guardian Angels leader Curtis Sliwa, who was interviewed by The Post.

The high-ranking officer says he has not been instructed about 'how to get guns and drugs off the street' now that the plainclothes unit has been disbanded.

He is also said to be incensed by a lack of guidance 'about what his officers should do with fireworks enforcement' .

Brea was also angered earlier this month 'that the department had been caught flat-footed by looters' during anti-police protests.

According the publication, Brea has been 'hailed a hero' by other officers, who also wish they could end their law enforcement careers amidst the rising anti-police sentiment.

'I'm doing this, and others may be following in my footsteps,' Brea allegedly told Sliwa.

NYPD officers are seen on horseback in Times Square earlier this week. Top cops fear that a $1 billion budget cut would result in officer layoffs

It comes after NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said that the criminal justice system is 'imploding' as New York City sees a dramatic spike in street shootings and killings during the month of June.

During a meeting with reporters Wednesday, NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea addressed the rise in shootings throughout the city and the stagnancy of criminal cases.

'You have to step back and look at this. You have a criminal-justice system that is imploding,' Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said, according to the New York Post.

'Imploding. That's the kindest way to put it,' he added.

NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said the city's criminal justice system was 'imploding' while addressing the rise in shootings throughout the city

Shea also noted that many of the criminal cases supposed to be in process were 'ongoing,' 'stagnant' or 'deferred.'

'Each one of those represents somebody not being held accountable and no consequences,' Shea said.

Police believe that many of the people pulling the trigger in these shootings are either out on parole or have open cases - issues made worse by the city's coronavirus pandemic response.

'You hear terms such as supervised release right now, that is a fallacy,' Shea said, CBS New York reported.

'There is no supervision. There is just release, and you are seeing the repercussions of that across the city.'

Shea's comments come on the heels of a particularly violent week in NYC, during which 75 people were injured in 55 shootings over a seven day period.

Police released a picture of two gunmen who opened fire on a Brooklyn street Monday night

One fatal shooting caught on surveillance video Saturday showed a man shooting another man in the neck at point-blank range while he was washing his car in Brooklyn

Brooklyn was the site of four of the shootings that were reported over the weekend

These numbers represent a 342 per cent jump in shootings last week compared to the same period in 2019.

Between Friday and Sunday, two people died in 28 shootings, while 38 others were left injured, police said, according to WPIX.

One fatal shooting on Saturday, which was caught on surveillance video, involved clothing designer and graffiti artist Kenneth Singleton, 35, who was washing his car outside his home in Brooklyn, when a man walked up to him and shot him, point blank, in the neck.

On Monday, there were 11 shootings, which left 17 people injured.

Five people alone were wounded during a shooting at an 11pm vigil that night in Brooklyn, the New York Post reported.

There have now been 125 shooting incidents in New York City during the month of June alone, according to the NYPD.

'We have to go back to June of 1996 to get a worse start for June,' NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri told the New York Post on Monday.

Shootings were recorded as being up 24.3 per cent in 2020 thus far, compared to the same time in 2019.

The number of shooting victims was also on the rise - up 27.9 per cent from 359 people total in 2019 to 459 people in just the first half of 2020.

Earlier in the week, Shea told NY1 that the increase in violence seen now was on its ways from the beginning of the year.

'We have been trending this way for a while, and the shootings are just the latest symptoms,' Shea said. 'We need the criminal justice system to start working, quite frankly.'

He insinuated that criminal justice reforms, including the elimination of cash bail for certain offenses, has had a role in the increase in violence throughout the city.

'People do not want to talk about this, but I will not be shy and talk about it. There is literally almost no one in jail,' Shea said.

'When you ask the Police Department now to somehow wave a magic wand and fix when you are putting dangerous people back on the street, you're seeing what's happening. And the shame is again, this is not a surprise.'

Shea said that many of the shootings that took place over the past weekend involved 'three common nexuses: alcohol, marijuana and dice games.'

The shootings were therefore tied to quality of life offenses, which the NYPD has not been as focused on as they had been in the past.

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said that hundreds of police officers normally in desk jobs would be heading out onto the street as part of the 'Summer All Out' program which is beginning now.

These officers would be focusing on the 20 precincts throughout the city experiencing issues with gun violence - specifically those in the Bronx and North Brooklyn.

'We know when there's shootings they beget more shootings. We understand retaliation, we understand gang dynamics. And I've heard from a number of community leaders that they are increasingly concerned,' de Blasio said Monday.

He also said that part of the city's effort to keep the peace would be spending $10million to increase its crisis management system, which focuses on sending community-based organizations into neighborhoods where there are high numbers of gun violence.

On June 15, Shea revealed that the NYPD was disbanding its plainclothes, Anti-Crime Units, which specialized in targeting armed suspects.

In the wake of the George Floyd protests, de Blasio and the City Council have said that they would be cutting the NYPD's $6billion budget and moving some of the funds towards youth and social services.

'We need safety and we need fairness. We need safety and we need justice. We have to do both,' de Blasio said Tuesday.
Small Crowd Supports KCPD

'We're still behind them': Group rallies on steps of KCPD headquarters to show support KANSAS CITY, Mo. - While there was big news on the City Hall steps involving the Kansas City Police Department, there was also support for the department just across the street. A group rallied around the department Thursday. Hymns and prayers were heard on the steps of Police Headquarters.

3rd District Testing Contd

Local nonprofits team up to focus on free testing in one COVID-19 hotspot: KC's 3rd District KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The coronavirus is nowhere near gone, and the increase in positive cases proves that. On Thursday, several organizations teamed up to provide free testing in one of Kansas City's COVID-19 hotspots.

Kangaroo Tuition Break

Bloch foundation offers scholarships for UMKC business grad programs - Kansas City Business Journal Workers laid off because of the coronavirus pandemic may be eligible for a free semester of graduate school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The scholarship would pay for the fall semester of a graduate program within the Henry W. Bloch School of Management, according to a release from UMKC.

Country Name Game Signals Changing Times

The Dixie Chicks have changed their name The Dixie Chicks will now be called, the Chicks.

Prez Trump Message Fades

Trump sidesteps grim coronavirus surge to sell a happier message Aides insisted there would be no change in White House strategy to fight the pandemic, and no additional money or new resources given to states dealing with spikes in cases. "In only 3 percent of the counties across the country are we seeing an increase in cases," said a senior administration official.

Markets Prep For Biden

Wall Street executives brace for a potential Biden win as Trump fades in polls Finance executives are now bracing for Joe Biden to potentially win the presidency as Donald Trump slides in national and swing-state polls. Various current and former Wall Street financiers, analysts, lobbyists, lawyers and political advisors with banking clients spoke to CNBC about how the industry is bracing for a possible Biden win.

Friends With Benefits

US removes Saudi Arabia from list of worst human traffickers The United States has removed key ally Saudi Arabia from its list of the worst offenders on human trafficking after just a year.

Hong Kong Kaput

Exclusive: Support dips for Hong Kong democracy protests as national security law looms - poll HONG KONG (Reuters) - Support for year-long pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong has slipped, now getting the backing of a slim majority, as the city braces for the imposition of Beijing-drafted national security legislation, a survey conducted for Reuters showed. Protests escalated last June over a since-withdrawn bill that would have allowed extraditions of defendants to mainland China.

Local Restaurant Game Serves More Inclusive Fare . . .

Our Plan to Amplify Black Voices In the Local Restaurant Industry Over the past few weeks, we've witnessed a major reckoning across the country following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, as protesters have taken to the streets and monuments have toppled.

Show Must Go On . . .

Town Center Plaza to have drive-in concert series this summer The show will go on at Town Center Plaza & Crossing.Town Center Plaza announced Thursday it will still have its free family-friendly concert series, but with a few modifications because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Kansas City Competes For Donations Dollars

What KC-based organizations should you donate to today? Categories: Quizzes Tags: Kansas City donate, KC Charities, support local

Hot Weekend Ahead

Heat, humidity return Friday Temperatures will only drop to the low 70s overnight. Things will quickly heat up Friday. Look for a high near 92 degrees.

History is quickly changing in the midst of the ongoing pandemic and continued civil unrest . . . Accordingly, we're doing our best to keep up with this collection of pop culture, community news and info from across the nation and around the world . . .And this is thefor right now . . .
Overlanding. That is probably a word you are not familiar with unless you do it. Overland camping is one aspect of overlanding.

Basically, overland camping is a fusion of off-roading and camping. Overlanding originated (at least the term did) in the Australia Outback. It is popular for the off-road-driving community in which the journey is the ultimate thrill rather than the destination.

Camping while overlanding became necessary due to the often-long trips over tough terrain. And there are a multitude of possible setups.

Because the terrain is too extreme for a typical recreational vehicle as well as a pull-behind camper, some concessions and changes were needed to successfully handle the environment. Even trying to attempt camping in a typical tent didnt work because there just wasnt anywhere to put a tent where you could get comfortable.

Hence, tents were still used, but instead of setting up on the ground, they were installed on the top of all-terrain trailers or on the rooftop of the four-wheel-drive vehicle. This enabled the occupants to sleep on a structured flat surface. The tent would lay in a flattened position during travel. And despite all the bumps over the harsh terrain, nothing was thrown around or broken.
The Central Region is benefiting from a total of 109 road infrastructural projects to help open up the area to facilitate tourism, trade and other economic development.



Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta, the Minister of Roads and Highways, said the road projects running into several millions of cedis were being funded by the Government of Ghana, loans and grants from multi-pool donor agencies.



Speaking at a media encounter in Cape Coast on Thursday to highlight on-going road projects in the Region, the Transport Minister, who is the Member of Parliament for Atiwa West, said the massive road construction were manifestation of President Akufo-Addo's declaration of 2020 as the "year of roads".



The Minister, who is currently touring the Region to inspect the projects, noted that quality roads were critical in connecting cities, facilitating trade, and attracting and retaining investments, hence the Government's commitment to invest heavily in that sector.



For the 109 road projects under construction as of May 2020, about 28 trunk roads were under the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), 55 under the Department of Feeder Roads and 26 under the Department of Urban Roads.



In all, the Region had a total road network of about 5,695 kilometers, with 1,156 being handled by the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), whiles 3,150 and 1,390 were being handled by the Department of Urban Roads and Feeder Roads respectively.



Of the total number of roads, 1,880 representing 33 per cent was paved, 2,320 were at gravel stage and 1,795 representing 26 per cent remained at the earth stage.



Touching on the "condition of roads," the Transport Minister said about 1,376 kilometres representing 24 per cent of roads in the Region were good, 2,013 kilometres, representing 36 per cent, were fair as against 2,217 being poor.



Giving the state of road infrastructure the Government met upon taking office, he indicated that of the countrys total road network of over 78,000 kilometres, only 23 per cent were bitumen surfaced whiles the remaining 77 per cent were not tarred.



On interchanges, Mr Amoako-Atta reiterated government's commitment to completing the interchange at Pokuase, Obetsebi Lamptey Roundabout and a yet to commence one at Takoradi PTC Roundabout.



He praised the media for being as an indispensable ally for development and urged all to have faith in the Government as it went about to redeem its promises.



Mr Allan Paintsil, an Assistant Director at the Regional Coordinating Council, who welcomed the Minister and his entourage, commended him for his hard work.

Source: GNA









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

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The Union Health Ministry notified 407 deaths in the last 24 hours; more than 13,000 cured on Thursday as India's recovery rate reaches 57.43 among Covid-19 patients.

With the highest single-day spike of 17,296 cases in the last 24 hours, Indias COVID-19 count on Thursday reached 4,90,401, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As many as 407 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, while the total death toll reaches 15,301.

Out of the total number of cases, 1,89,463 are active and 2,85,637 people have been cured/discharged/migrated.

The Health Ministry said that a total of 13,012 COVID-19 patients have been cured in the last 24 hours, while the recovery rate is 57.43 per cent amongst COVID-19 patients.

Also read: Ayush Ministry issues notice to Patanjali over new covid medicine

Also read: Covid curve in Mumbai may flatten by mid-July, normalcy of life by August: Health expert

From limited COVID-19 tests in January, 2,15,446 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative tests to more than 75 lakhs, it stated.

It also informed that cases per lakh in India currently stands at 33.39 against the worlds 120.21 cases/lakh. Also, death/lakh in the country is currently amongst the lowest in the world with 1.06 deaths/lakh against the world average of 6.24 deaths/lakh.

With as many as 1,47,741 confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far, Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state in the country. Out of the total cases, the active cases are 63,357. The number of people cured or discharged stands at 77,453 while the death toll is at 6,931.

A central team led by Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will visit Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana on June 26-29 and will interact with the state officials and coordinate with them to strengthen ongoing efforts for management of COVID-19.

Maharashtra is followed by Delhi with 73,780 cases. Out of these, 26,586 are active, 44,765 have been cured/discharged/migrated and 2,429 have died.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier today launched video call facility for COVID-19 patients admitted at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital here.

LNJP Hospital was the first hospital to be declared as full-fledged COVID hospital 100 days ago. Many patients have got cured here, it is the biggest hospital with 2,000 beds. It is also the first hospital where plasma therapy was started and it is now being replicated at many locations across the country, Kejriwal said.

Tamil Nadu with 70,977 cases has the third most highest COVID-19 cases in the country. Among these, 30,067 are active, 39,999 have been cured/discharged and 911 have died.

Among other states, Gujarat has 29,520 COVID-19 cases, Uttar Pradesh has 20,193 patients, Rajasthan has 16,296, West Bengal has 15,648, Madhya Pradesh has 12,596, Haryana has 12,463, Karnataka 10,560, Andhra Pradesh 10,884 and Telangana 11,363.

States and Union Territories having less than 10,000 positive cases of COVID-19 are Assam (6,321), Bihar (8,473), Chhattisgarh (2,452), Jammu and Kashmir (6,549), Jharkhand (2,262), Kerala (3,726), Odisha (5,962), Punjab (4,769), Tripura (1,290) and Uttarakhand (2,691).

On the other hand, States and Union Territories having less than 1,000 cases are Andaman and Nicobar Islands (59), Arunachal Pradesh (160), Chandigarh (423), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (155), Goa (995), Himachal Pradesh (839), Ladakh (941), Manipur (1056), Meghalaya (46), Mizoram (145), Nagaland (355), Puducherry (502) and Sikkim (85).

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Thursday launched the eBlood Services Mobile Application, in partnership with the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), for easy access to blood in this critical time of coronavirus pandemic.

Notably, this initiative would help the people to get the blood on time just by registering on the application. Also, people can demand up to four units of blood.

People who need blood can get registered on this app and know from where they will get blood. One can seek blood up to four units. The Indian Red Cross Societys blood banks will wait up to 12 hours for them, he said.

Also read: Kejriwal introduces video call facility for Covid-19 patients at LNJP Hospital

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., joined by House Democrats spaced for social distancing, speaks during a news conference on the House Ea Read more

WASHINGTON  House Democrats approved a far-reaching police overhaul Thursday, a vote heavy with emotion and symbolism as a divided Congress struggles to address the global outcry over the deaths of George Floyd and other Black Americans.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gathered with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Capitol steps, challenging opponents not to allow the deaths to have been in vain or the outpouring of public support for changes to go unmatched. But the collapse of a Senate Republican bill leaves final legislation in doubt.

Exactly one month ago, George Floyd spoke his final words  I can't breathe  and changed the course of history, Pelosi said.

She said the Senate faces a choice "to honor George Floyd's life or to do nothing."

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is perhaps the most ambitious set of proposed changes to police procedures and accountability in decades. Backed by the nation's leading civil rights groups, it aims to match the moment of demonstrations that filled streets across the nation. It has almost zero chance of becoming law.

On the eve of the vote, President Donald Trump's administration said he would veto the bill. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has also said it would not pass the Republican-held chamber.

After the GOP policing bill stalled this week, blocked by Democrats, Trump shrugged.

If nothing happens with it, its one of those things," Trump said. "We have different philosophies.

Congress is now at a familiar impasse despite protests outside their door and polling that shows Americans overwhelmingly want changes after the deaths of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others in interactions with law enforcement. The two parties are instead appealing to voters ahead of the fall election, which will determine control of the House, Senate and White House.

We hear you. We see you. We are you, said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., during the debate.

It has been a month since Floyds May 25 death sparked a global reckoning over police tactics and racial injustice. Since then, funeral services were held for Rayshard Brooks, a Black man shot and killed by police in Atlanta. Thursday is also what would have been the 18th birthday of Tamir Rice, a Black boy killed in Ohio in 2014.

Lawmakers who have been working from home during the COVID-19 crisis were summoned to the Capitol for an emotional, hours-long debate. Dozens voted by proxy under new pandemic rules.

During the day, several Democratic lawmakers read the names of those killed, shared experiences of racial bias and echoed support of Black Lives Matter activists.

Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said hundreds of thousands of people in every state in the union are marching in the streets to make sure Floyd will not be just another Black man dead at the hands of the police.

Republican lawmakers countered the bill goes too far and failed to include GOP input. All lives matter, said Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz. New York Rep. Pete King said its time to stand with law enforcement, the men and women in blue. House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy decried the mob of demonstrators.

At one point Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., stood up to say he just didn't understand what was happening in the country  from Floyd's death to the protests that followed. Several Black Democratic lawmakers rose to encourage him to pick up a U.S. history book or watch some of the many films now streaming about the Black experience in America.

In the stalemate over the policing overhaul, the parties are settled into their political zones, almost ensuring no legislation will become law. While there may be shared outrage over Floyds death, the lawmakers remain far apart on the broader debate over racial bias in policing and other institutions. The 236-181 House vote was largely on party lines.

Both bills share common elements that could be grounds for a compromise. Central to both would be the creation of a national database of use-of-force incidents, which is viewed as a way to provide transparency on officers' records if they transfer from one agency to another. The bills would restrict police chokeholds and set up new training procedures, including beefing up the use of body cameras.

The Democratic bill goes much further, mandating many of those changes, while also revising the federal statute for police misconduct and holding officers personally liable for damages in lawsuits. It also would halt the practice of sending military equipment to local law enforcement agencies.

Neither bill goes as far as some activists want with calls to defund the police and shift resources to other community services.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican senator, who drafted the GOP package, said the bill is now closer to the trash can than its ever been.

Im frustrated, he said on Fox News Channel.

Scott insisted he was open to amending his bill with changes proposed by Democrats. But Democrats doubted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would allow a thorough debate, and instead blocked the GOP bill.

Senate Democrats believe Senate Republicans will face mounting public pressure to open negotiations and act. But ahead of the November election, that appears uncertain.

Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman, Andrew Taylor, Darlene Superville and Jill Colvin contributed to this report.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos fired a shot last month in the nations culture wars, overhauling how colleges handle investigations of sexual assault and ending what she called Obama-era kangaroo courts on campus.

The new Education Department rules give more protections to the accused, primarily young men who face discipline or expulsion as a result of allegations of sexual misconduct.

The move set off a liberal uproar, denounced by unions representing teachers and college professors, by the National Organization for Women and by an array of Democratic senators. The Trump rules, they said, constitute a radical rollback of protections for victims who seek justice after sexual assaults.

But Ms. DeVoss actions won praise from a surprising audience: an influential group of feminist legal scholars who applauded the administration for repairing what they viewed as unconscionable breaches in the rights of the accused.
New Delhi, June 26 : The BJP on Friday continued with its attacks against Congress interim Chief Sonia Gandhi on the issue of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) receiving donations from the Chinese Embassy here, as ruling party president J. P. Nadda accused her of diverting the money of the citizens during the UPA rule into a family run foundation.

Nadda said it was not only brazen fraud, but a big betrayal to the citizens of the country. While targetting Sonia Gandhi, he said one family's hunger for wealth has cost this nation immensely and demanded Congress' imperial dynasty to apologise.

"The PMNRF (Prime Minister National Relief Fund), meant to help people in distress, was donating money to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in UPA years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Sonia Gandhi. Who chairs RGF (Rajiv Gandhi Foundation)? Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency," Nadda said in a series of tweets.

He said, "People of India donated their hard earned money to the PMNRF to help their fellow citizens in need. To divert this public money into a family run foundation is not only a brazen fraud, but also a big betrayal of the people of India." While attacking the Gandhi family, the BJP President said, "One family's hunger for wealth has cost the nation immensely. If only they have devoted their energies towards a more constructive agenda. The Congress' Imperial Dynasty needs to apologise to the unchecked loot for self-gains." On Thursday, a controversy erupted after a startling revelation that the government of the Peoples Republic of China and the Chinese Embassy in India have been funding the RGF led by Sonia Gandhi. She is the Chairperson of the RGF, and its board includes former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among others.

However, the Congress responded to the BJP's allegations and said, "the BJP should stop living in 2005" and alleged that the ruling party is adopting "diversionary tactics" to avoid answering questions on the Chinese transgressions in Ladakh.

On Thursday evening, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "Please stop living in 2005 and start answering questions in 2020". Firing a salvo at the BJP, Surjewala asked: "Why is the government mum about the Chinese presence in eastern Ladakh area? In the national interest the nation wants to know the answer to these questions instead of diversionary tactics of the present BJP government." Surjewala said, "I can ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, is it not true that the only Chief Minister (as Gujarat CM) who visited China four times is none less than Prime Minister Modi, the only Prime Minister who visited China five times is Prime Minister Modi, the only Prime Minister who called the Chinese premier three times is Prime Minister Modi."
Delhi is now the worst-hit city in the country followed by Mumbai.

The highest single-day surge of COVID-19 cases crossed the 17,000 mark on Friday, pushing India's tally to 4,90,401, while the death toll climbed to 15,301 with 407 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data. Updated at 8 am, the data showed the daily COVID-19 cases increased by the highest-ever 17,296 infections.

The number of active cases stands at 1,89,463 while 2,85,636 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, according to the updated figures. "Thus, around 58.24 per cent patients have recovered so far," an official said.

Of the 407 new deaths reported till Friday morning, 192 were in Maharashtra, 64 in Delhi, 45 in Tamil Nadu, 18 in Gujarat, 15 each in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Andhra Pradesh, 10 in Haryana, eight in Madhya Pradesh, seven in Punjab, six in Karnataka, five in Telangana, four in Rajasthan and two in Jammu and Kashmir. Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand have reported one COVID-19 fatality each in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has said that cases per lakh in India currently stand at 33.39 against the worlds 120.21 cases/lakh, while death/lakh in the country is amongst the lowest in the world -- with 1.06 deaths/lakh against the world average of 6.24 deaths/lakh.

Delhi, Telangana new hotspots; Mumbai praised

With COVID-19 cases on a sharp rise in some states, union health ministry has decided to send a central team to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana to coordinate with state government and strengthen management of the pandemic.

According to Economist Prof Shamika Ravi, Tamil Nadu seems to be witnessing a second wave of COVID-19 since May end with higher number of deaths. Tamil Nadu had reported large case load from the beginning of the pandemic in India, managed the first wave remarkably well, with very few deaths she said while adding that such higher numbers daily in the state could be due to ineffective existing strategy of contact tracing, testing and isolation. She asserted that there is a need for cluster analysis of testing data at the earliest.

While Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu continue to account for 2/3rd of new cases, Prof Ravi said that Telangana is also looking to join the hotspot category with approximately 825 new cases daily. The state, as on Thursday morning, had 10,444 cases with 891 new detections.

Delhi is now the worst-hit city in the country followed by Mumbai. The Union government has lauded Mumbais `chase the virus strategy under the Rapid Action Plan in major hotspots like Dharavi and Worli that have shown significant improvement.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Roman Catholics are expected to see many changes as they attend Mass at Staten Island parishes this weekend for the first time since churches were shuttered due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

One of the most striking changes initially could be low attendance if Staten Island follows the trend set by parishioners outside of New York City. Archdiocese of New York churches in less populated areas of Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, Westchester, Ulster, Rockland and Putnam counties were allowed to reopen earlier than those in Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island.
Promising treatment to slow kidney disease doesn't prove out in clinical trial

BOSTON - (June 25, 2020) - Historically, half or more of people with type 1 diabetes develop kidney disease, which frequently progresses to kidney failure requiring hemodialysis or a kidney transplant for survival. The high rate of this diabetic complication has dropped slightly in recent years, with the advent of better ways to control blood glucose (sugar) levels and improved blood pressure drugs, "but diabetic kidney disease is still a huge problem," says Alessandro Doria, MD, PhD, MPH, Senior Investigator in Joslin Diabetes Center's Section on Genetics and Epidemiology.

Progression of kidney disease in type 1 diabetes is correlated with increased amounts of a compound in the blood called uric acid. Hoping that a drug that reduces these uric acid levels would slow the disease, Doria and his colleagues launched a multi-institution randomized clinical trial that enrolled 530 participants with type 1 diabetes and early-to-moderate kidney disease.

Results of the Preventing Early Renal Loss in Diabetes (PERL) study were just published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the leading clinical research journal. Unfortunately, this study did not show the desired clinical benefits. "This is not the result that we wanted," says Doria, "but it does give a very clear answer to an important scientific question."

A second trial by Australian researchers on patients with a variety of chronic kidney diseases, some with diabetes, published alongside the PERL study in the NEJM, found similar results.

The PERL trial grew out of several studies that followed a cohort of people with type 1 diabetes, including one in which Doria partnered with Andrzej Krolewski, MD, PhD, head of the Section on Genetics and Epidemiology. In a 2011 paper, the Joslin scientists demonstrated that in this cohort, people with higher levels of uric acid in their blood were more likely to display a high rate of kidney function loss. Two other research groups in Denver, Colorado and Copenhagen, Denmark obtained similar results.

"This was an actionable discovery, because allopurinol, a drug that's been on the market since the 1960s, can easily reduce uric acid," says Doria, who is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Allopurinol is prescribed for gout, an inflammatory condition caused by excess uric acid, he explains. It's an inexpensive generic drug with known side effects that can largely be avoided. Additionally, allopurinol produced apparent benefits in much smaller clinical trials among people with chronic kidney disease, a minority of whom had diabetes.

Doria teamed up with S. Michael Mauer, MD, of the University of Minnesota Medical School to design and carry out a clinical trial with support from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and JDRF. The PERL consortium eventually grew to 16 sites.

Participants in the three-year, placebo-controlled and double-blinded trial received the current standard of care, including a renin-angiotensin system inhibitor--an existing type of drug shown in the 1990s to slow kidney damage, albeit incompletely.

The key measurement of kidney function for PERL was glomerular filtration rate (GFR), a measure of how much blood is filtered every minute by the kidneys. GFR drops as kidney disease progresses.

Over the three years of the study, levels of uric acid dropped about 35% on average among people given allopurinol compared to those who weren't. "But despite this very nice reduction in uric acid, we could not see any effect on GFR," Doria says.

He and his colleagues will continue to follow participants through their medical records and through national databases that track people who eventually progress to dialysis or kidney transplants.

Researchers at Joslin and other institutions continue to examine other potential routes to guard against kidney disease among people with type 1 diabetes.

Despite its disappointing conclusion, "PERL was a textbook example of using epidemiology to find treatment targets, and then designing a study to translate those findings and try to find a new intervention," Doria says. "In this case, it didn't work. But this is exactly why we do epidemiological studies, and how our scientific understanding advances."

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Other co-senior authors on the NEJM paper were Andrzej Galecki and Cathie Spino of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Joslin's Allison Goldfine and Sylvia Rosas also contributed. Other collaborators included Rodica Pop-Busu and Chunyi Wu of the University of Michigan; David Cherney and Bruce Perkins of the University of Toronto; Ildiko Lingvay of University of Texas Southwestern Medical School; Afshin Parsa of the National Institutes of Health; Peter Rossing of the University of Copenhagen; Ronald Sigal of the University of Calgary; Maryam Afkarian of the University of California at Davis; Ronnie Aronson of LMC Diabetes & Endocrinology in Toronto; Luiza Caramori, Amy Karger and William Robiner of the University of Minnesota; Jill Crandall of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Ian de Boer, Irl Hirsch and Katherine Tuttle of the University of Washington; Thomas Elliott of BCDiabetes in Vancouver; Jeehea Haw and Guillermo Umpierrez of Emory University; David Maahs and Sarit Polsky of the University of Colorado; Janet McGill of Washington University; Mark Molitch and Amisha Wallia of Northwestern University; Marlon Pragnell of JDRF; Peter Senior of the University of Alberta; and Ruth Weinstock of SUNY Upstate Medical University.

This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
On June 22, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, Russia doesnt have any territorial claims against its neighbors. He was commenting on President Vladimir Putins remarks in an interview for the documentary film "Russia. Kremlin. Putin." broadcast by Rossiya-1 state television on June 21.

In the documentary, Putin said that with the Soviet Unions breakup in 1991, some of the newly independent former Soviet republics took away Russia's traditionally historic territories" they had acquired while part of the Soviet Union. These states should have left with what they arrived, rather than taking with them gifts from the Russian people, Putin said.

Putin claimed that when the Soviet Union was created, the right to leave it was written into its founding documents, but the procedure for quitting was not specified.

"Putin talked about previous systemic mistakes in the constitution that failed to envision a whole number of situations, developments which could have negative consequences for our state," Peskov stated. He declined to comment on Putin's use of the word "gifts" but stated:

No, Russia doesnt have any territorial claims against its neighbors.

That is misleading. Call it claims or not, Russias territorial meddling with neighbors is fact.

Shifting borders

Lets start with some Soviet history and international law.

The former Soviet republics emerged as independent states within the territories they possessed before the disintegration of the Soviet Union, following the principle Uti possidetis juris  Latin for "as you possess under law." According to international law, new states will come to independence with the same boundaries that they had when they were administrative units within the territory or territories of one colonial power. Uti possidetis juris has been applied in numerous regions, such as South America, Africa, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.

During its roughly 70-year existence, the Soviet Unions borders changed many times. They expanded in the 1930s and 1940s with annexation of the Baltic states, Bessarabia, Eastern Galicia and Karelia, to name a few. Its internal borders were repeatedly redrawn by creating or abolishing autonomous republics. Abkhazia became an autonomous republic in Georgia in 1931, the Karakalpak Autonomous Republic was made part of Uzbekistan in 1936. Crimea was transferred from Russia to Ukraine in 1954.

In the 1940s, the Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) was at first divided between Stavropol Krai, the Dagestani ASSR, the North Ossetian ASSR, and the Georgian SSR, then restored in 1957. Finally, in May 1991, it was declared the independent Checheno-Ingush Republic and subsequently split into the Chechen Republic and the Republic of Ingushetia.

The 15 Soviet republics, as defined by the December 1922 treaty creating the Soviet Union, became independent states within their existing borders, which became international borders.

Crimea

In the documentary, Putin did not specify which of the former republics took gifts, but it can be assumed he meant Crimea. The peninsula has had multiple identities over time.

The Russian Empire annexed Crimea from the Ottoman Empire in 1783. Under Soviet rule, Crimea became an autonomous republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. In 1954, the peninsula was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR.

Between February and March 2014, Russia took over. The annexation was preceded by a hybrid warfare campaign involving masked Russian soldiers, the so-called little green men who supported local radicals. On March 16, 2014, Russia conducted a referendum for Crimea and Sevastopol to join Russia. Two days after the referendum, the Russian Federation signed a treaty of accession for Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

Since then, these annexed Ukrainian territories have been administered as two Russian federal subjects  the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. (A United Nations resolution supported by 100 countries condemned the 2014 Crimean annexation, and the United States and others have imposed economic sanctions on Russia as punishment.)

Georgia

Russias de facto annexation of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia dates to 2008. The two autonomous republics fought wars in the early 1990s. Following a ceasefire between Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and Tbilisi (Georgia) in 1992, and between Sukhumi (Abkhazia) and Tbilisi in 1994, Russian peacekeepers were deployed in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. These territories remained beyond the control of Georgias central government, and the local de facto authorities enjoyed Russian protection and influence.

Russian peacekeepers remained until the Russian military officially arrived with the 2008 Russo-Georgian war. The war erupted that August following worsening relations between Russia and Georgia. Russia occupied both these territories and, on August 26, 2008, declared them as independent states.

Now, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are effectively under the control of Russia, which has been enhancing its grip. On Nov. 24, 2014, Russia and Abkhazia signed an Alliance and Integration Treaty, under which Abkhazia coordinates its foreign, defense, economic and social policies with Moscow.

The treaty also created a joint Russian-Abkhazian military unit and a joint information/co-ordination center of the organs of internal affairs. Georgia denounced the move as a step towards the annexation of Georgias occupied territories by Russia.

In March 2015, South Ossetia signed a similar agreement, handing over control of its border, military, and economy to Russia. That treaty also created a joint defense and security zone and integrated South Ossetias and Russias customs agencies. Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili saw this as an attempt to bring the Russia occupation to the level of an annexation.

This 'treaty'  which includes references to a transfer of powers in some areas  clearly violates Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," EU Foreign Policy coordinator Federica Mogherini said.

Donbas and more

Russia stirred an ongoing secessionist conflict in eastern Ukraines Donbas region, which has resulted in large parts of its Donetsk and Luhansk territories separating from the central Ukrainian government. Estimates are that more than 13,000 have died in fighting since 2014. A Russian-sourced missile is believed to been used to shoot down a Malaysian passenger jet MH-17 that year, killing all 298 aboard.

None of these separatist territories  Luhansk and Donetsk in Ukraine, and the statelets of Transnistria (in Moldova), South Ossetia and Abkhazia  have been recognized internationally. They survive thanks only to Russias protection and support.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 04:48:25|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved a legislation granting statehood to Washington, D.C. for the first time on Capitol Hill after it was created more than 200 years ago.

The bill was passed on a highly partisan vote of 232-180 in the Democrats-led House.

Collin Peterson from midwest state Minnesota was the only Democrat to vote against the bill. All House Republicans opposed it and independent lawmaker Justin Amash of Michigan also voted no.

The White House and Republicans who control the Senate have already voiced their opposition to the measure, making the House vote largely symbolic.

Introduced by D.C.'s nonvoting House member Eleanor Holmes Norton, the bill would shrink the country's capital city to a small area encompassing the White House, Capitol buildings, Supreme Court, and other federal buildings along the National Mall.

The rest of the city would become the 51st U.S. state, named the Washington, Douglass Commonwealth after abolitionist Frederick Douglass, according to the bill.

With the statehood, the bill would grant D.C. two senators and make the existing sole House representative a voting member.

However, it is unlikely to gain traction in the Senate while President Donald Trump has said he would veto the bill if it came to his desk.

Republican lawmakers have blasted the bill as a Democratic "power grab," citing the lopsided partisan leanings of residents in the U.S. capital city.

"D.C. will never be a state," Trump said in an interview with the New York Post last month.

"You mean District of Columbia, a state? Why? So we can have two more Democratic -- Democrat senators and five more congressmen? No thank you. That'll never happen," said Trump during the interview.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and also known as D.C. or Washington, was founded in 1791 after the American Revolution as the seat of government of the newly independent country under the Residence Act signed into law in 1790. Enditem
It is with sadness and a profound sense of gratitude that I pass on the news Ive heard from some fellow students that our professor, James D.G. Dunn, has passed into to his eternal reward. Our prayers today will be directed toward his wonderful wife, Meta, and children Catrina, David, and Fiona.

Most of us know Professor Dunn as Jimmy. On the day Kris and I and our two small children arrived in England to study with him at Nottingham, he came by the home to greet us and right away said to me Call me Jimmy. So I did, but it took some getting used to.

That sense of siblingship carried over into my year in Nottingham as well. (We lived in Cambridge the second year.) He told me I could come by his office any time I wanted to have a cuppa (coffee), which I did every other week or so. He was always engaged in his writing and our theses (my peers were James Davis and David Meade and Charles Holman) as well as news about scholarship and the world. Sometimes we had lunch together in the union (I believe was its name). The cherry blossom trees and the rhododendra at the University continue to cheer our memory of the University where Jimmy got his start.

While there in that first year Jimmy gave me a ring to say hed like me to come to his office the next day, which was a bit discomforting  the news was that he had taken the Lightfoot Chair at Durham and that he would be teaching there but living for some time in Nottingham. So, he said to me, You can come with me, you can stay here and I will supervise your thesis (and I only learned many years later that he did that without pay), or you can shift to a new professor at Notts. I stayed with Jimmy for he was the reason I was there to study.

Once finished and teaching and attending the SBL meetings it seemed I saw Jimmy nearly every year. Often the students had dinner with him and other times we were able only to sit down over coffee or breakfast.

Image: Eerdmans

When I think of Jimmys work I think of the New Perspective, and he is mostly responsible for it becoming an official expression, but also his life-long commitment to studies on the Spirit. He is known for his great commentaries on Romans and Galatians and Colossians, but he geared his life from early in his career toward his Beginnings of Christianitiy 3 volume work that he completed late in his career: Jesus Remembered, Beginning from Jerusalem, and Neither Jew Nor Greek.

Jimmy loved academic meetings and papers and presentations. He was always excited about new ideas, ready for give and take, and just loved being in the room where it happened (to quote from Hamilton).

Always kind, always greeting us with a big hug, always knowing our spouses and childrens names, and always as interested in us as people as we were professors or authors.

I will add more to this as I think of things, but I want to express to the whole world how much I am indebted to this Scotsman who loved his family and his Lord and his work and the church. I liked too that he was never afraid to cut across the grain if he thought the evidence moved in that direction.

He was a scholar with the courage of his convictions. Like Melchizedek, he still speaks through his students. Im privileged to be one of them.

From Jeff Wisdom:

I am among the many who knew Jimmy as Doktorvator and as friend. I have many memories of him, but I will mention just one. During my first month at Durham University, Jimmy directed me to research on my proposed topic and to write my thoughts in a report due every two weeks. At the end of these papers, I was to indicate several questions to be pursued or ways to extend my research. After a month or so, I came upon an idea that I thought was worth investigation, but I had reservations. Frankly, the idea at the time seemed a bit crazy. And I realized that it may run against the grain of Jimmys own ideas, recently published in a paper. I didnt know him very well at the time, and the thought of taking on such a scholar so early in my research was daunting. So I buried the idea last in a list. When I saw with him a few days later, Jimmy flipped the pages of my paper to the last page, and he went straight to that idea. He said to me that he thought it had the possibility of making a contribution to scholarship, perhaps better than his own. Ill never forget his graciousness in putting a young student at ease.

I am grateful to be able to count Jimmy and his wife, Meta, as friends. Visits in their home, dinners shared at conferences, personal meetings to discuss my work  these are some of the precious memories I have of Jimmy Dunn, my friend. My condolences and deep sympathy to Meta, his beloved wife, and to their family.
Donald Trump has done little during his time in office to add to any sense of global peace and stability, but in 2019 he took a huge step in preventing the U.S. from starting one to three more pointless warshe fired National Security Adviser John Bolton. A veteran now of four different Republican presidential administrations, Bolton has never heard of a country he didn't want to invade, and when Trump added him to his cabinet in 2018, it looked like a sure sign that the U.S. would soon be waddling into a war with Iranand maybe North Korea and Venezuela as well, if all of Bolton's wet dreams came true.

Trump and Bolton give different accounts of how they parted waysTrump says he was fired, Bolton says he quitbut Bolton tells his side of the story about his time in the Trump White House in a new book, The Room Where It Happened. The title is apparently a reference to the musical Hamilton, and seems to be a signal that Bolton's target audience is Boomer liberals fed up with Trump. If so, he's probably got a winner, since the book is reportedly full of gossip and stories that paint Trump as a petty incompetent more concerned with reelection and promoting his family's interests than with actually being president.

Even if those broad points are probably unsurprising for anyone who's even passively followed Trump's time in office, the specifics about Trump's interactions with foreign leaders are still shocking. Bolton recounts, for instance, that on a 2019 trip to China Trump told President Xi Jinping that he fully supported the construction of "concentration camps" for Chinese Uighurs, a Muslim minority. Bolton writes, "According to our interpreter, Trump said that Xi should go ahead with building the camps, which Trump thought was exactly the right thing to do." The Trump administration had already constructed and filled its own concentration camps for immigrants by then.

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Trump also tried to coax favors out of his counterpart. The Chinese telecom giant ZTE had recently been accused of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea. Trump told Xi that he was willing to soften the penalties against the company, at which point "Xi replied that if that were done, he would owe Trump a favor and Trump immediately responded he was doing this because of Xi."

Bolton writes that Trump then asked Xi to, basically, help with his 2020 reelection: "He then, stunningly, turned the conversation to the coming U.S. presidential election, alluding to Chinas economic capability to affect the ongoing campaigns, pleading with Xi to ensure hed win. He stressed the importance of farmers, and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome. I would print Trumps exact words but the governments prepublication review process has decided otherwise."

Trump also tried to woo North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whom he derisively labeled "Little Rocket Man" soon after he took office. According to Bolton, Trump was taking pains to convince Kim that it was an affectionate nickname, and not an insult like every other nickname Trump gave to public figures. He even gave Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a signed copy of Elton John's Rocket Man album to hand-deliver to Kim on a trip to North Korea. He writes, "Trump didnt seem to realize Pompeo hadnt actually seen Kim Jong Un [during the trip], asking if Pompeo had handed [the CD]. Pompeo had not. Getting this CD to Kim remained a high priority for several months."

The Room Where It Happened has no shortage of other examples of Trump's oblivious approach to international politics. He reportedly asked his advisers if the country of Finland was actually part of Russia. He told others that Venezuela is "really part of the U.S." and told Florida Republicans Marco Rubio and Ron DeSantis that he wanted to invade the country. And in a meeting with then British prime minister Theresa May, Trump expressed shock at the knowledge that Britain had nuclear weapons.

The book has caused consternation for many people, though. Congressional Democrats are angry that Bolton refused to testify in the House at last year's impeachment hearings, even though he was planning to include the content of his testimony in his book. (Bolton later said he was willing to testify in front of the Republican-controlled Senate, which unsurprisingly refused to call any witnesses.) And the Trump administration is literally suing to stop the book from coming out, officially saying that it violates national security.

If that sounds familiar, it's because Trump tried to use his presidential power to stop the publication of another tell-all book about the White House in 2018, Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury. Considering how many reviews and advance copies of The Room Where It Happened are already out, Trump may not have been very successful at keeping it under wraps.

Spike Lee: "If Trump Wins, the World Is in Peril"

Spike Lee on why Trump has turned up the flames of police brutality, the complicit killers of George Floyd and why his latest film, Da 5 Bloods, has a MAGA-hat-wearing Trump supporter as one of the leads.

Originally Appeared on GQ
DODOMA, Tanzania - A small-scale miner in Tanzania has become an overnight millionaire after unearthing two of the biggest rough tanzanite gemstones ever found.

Tanzanias government bought the book-sized stones weighing 20 pounds (9 kg) and 11 pounds (5 kg) from miner Saniniu Laizer for $3.4 million.

Minerals Minister Doto Biteko said on state television Wednesday the government is buying the rare minerals for preservation.

Were signing agreements today in public to facilitate the cash transfer ... and the government recognizes Laizer is a new billionaire, he said, speaking in terms of the local currency.

Laizer said in a televised interview he plans to open a shopping mall and a school for his community. The money that I have received today, I will allocate it to more development activities, he said.

Tanzania is a rich country, President John Magufuli said when congratulating him.

Tanzanite is found only in the East African country.

Mining activities accounted for 17% of the East African countrys GDP in 2019. Magufulis administration has imposed reforms that seek to curb smuggling and increase revenue collection in the sector.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 00:24:18|Editor: huaxia

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GENEVA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government's decision to sanction staff of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a direct attack on the institution's judicial independence and could undermine victims' access to justice, a group of UN human rights experts said Thursday.

In a media statement, the dozen or so experts said that the use of unilateral sanctions against international judges and international civil servants constitutes a clear violation not only of their privileges and immunities, but also of a broad spectrum of rights of the targeted individuals.

"These threats constitute improper interference with the independence of the ICC and could also have potential adverse impacts on human rights defenders, civil society organizations and victims' representatives," the statement said.

On June 11, U.S. President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13928 on Blocking Property of Certain Persons Associated with the International Criminal Court.

The U.S. government declared it would revoke or deny visas to members of the ICC involved in investigations against US troops in Afghanistan or elsewhere, and sanction any person "directly engaged in any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any United States personnel without the consent of the United States."

The move is in response to the ICC Appeals Chamber's decision in March, which authorized a probe of alleged war crimes in Afghanistan committed by all sides in the conflict, including American forces.

Experts signing Thursday's media statement include Diego Garcia-Sayan, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, and Alena Douhan, UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights. Enditem
Beverage brand Pepsi has announced #PepsiSaveOurRestaurants, a fund-raising initiative in association with the leading restaurant industry association, National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and leading online food delivery aggregator Swiggy. With cause at the heart of it, the initiative aims at providing approximately 2.5 million meals to the workers of the restaurant community who are in distress.

As part of the initiative, whenever any consumer adds any soft drink to his/her meal order on Swiggy from June 25, 2020  July 19, 2020, Pepsi will contribute part of the proceeds in respect of each soft drink ordered to the NRAI COVID-19 Relief Corpus. This fund will be further used to provide meals (dry ration) to restaurant workers who have served us and are suffering due to these challenging times. The offer is valid on any packaged soft drinks ordered from restaurants listed on Swiggy platform which includes carbonated soft drinks, packaged iced tea, packaged juices & packaged juice-based drinks and is not restricted to just the purchase of Pepsi.

Speaking about the initiative, PepsiCo India spokesperson said, The environment that we operate in, matters to us. The restaurant industry is an integral part of our ecosystem and has been severely impacted by the ongoing health challenge. Both restaurants and restaurant workers are struggling. Hence, in our endeavor to find various meaningful ways to provide support to the ecosystem, we found that mobilizing a movement with consumers & providing food security support to our restaurant workers & their families who are in distress is a timely intervention and need of the hour. Through #PepsiSaveOurRestaurants, we are committed to supporting the ones in need and are extremely thankful to Swiggy and NRAI for their support and partnership for this initiative.

Srivats TS, VP - Marketing, Swiggy, said, During these times when the hospitality sector is facing major setbacks in adjusting to the new normal and sustaining themselves, Swiggy is focused towards supporting the restaurant community in every way possible. As several restaurants evaluate their next course of action to remobilize their operations, we are happy to support #PepsiSaveOurRestaurants initiative along with NRAI towards striving to ensure that restaurant workers and their families dont stay hungry. With this initiative, we hope to help the restaurant workers with an intent to stabilise their lives in these challenging times.

Anurag Katriar, President of NRAI; CEO & Executive Director of deGustibus Hospitality, further added, While the current pandemic has impacted every sector, it has perhaps manifested itself more sharply on the workforce in the restaurant sector because of the sheer volumes; after all we are the second largest employers of human capital in India after agriculture. In light of the magnitude of this problem, the initiative of Pepsi India to help the employees of the sector in distress is highly applaudable. On behalf of NRAI, I express my heartfelt gratitude to Pepsi India and thank them for their beautiful gesture and benevolent contribution. This contribution will help us provide food to families of thousands of marginalised workers in the industry and will further cement our relationship with Pepsi.
Lancaster, Pa.

As President Donald Trump visited a Wisconsin shipyard to emphasize job growth and reviving an economy hammered by the coronavirus, Joe Biden spent Thursday in Pennsylvania warning "there are no miracles coming" to help the nation beat back the still deadly pandemic.

"Amazingly, he hasn't grasped the most basic fact of this crisis: To fix the economy we have to get control over the virus," the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said of Trump while speaking at a community center in Lancaster. "He's like a child who can't believe this has happened to him. His whining and self-pity. This pandemic didn't happen to him. It happened to all of us."

Much of the nation remaining home for months has largely prevented the two presidential candidates from holding dueling appearances in pivotal battleground states. On Thursday, it gave them an opportunity to show off their contrasting styles on a virus outbreak that has killed more than 120,000 Americans.

Biden has spent weeks arguing that the pandemic remains a clear and present danger that Trump is trying to wish away amid a desire to speed an economic recovery. The president counters that the country doesn't have to choose between its health and improving the economy.

"There are no miracles coming," Biden said. "We're going to have to step up as Americans, all of us, and do the simple things and the hard things to keep our families safe and reopen our economy and to eventually put this pandemic behind us  and without responsible leadership coming out of the White House."

The former vice president spent much of Thursday defending the Obama administration's signature health care law and decrying what he said was a White House-led effort to dismantle it via a court challenge. It was part of a larger Democratic effort to refocus the 2020 election on health care, an issue that helped the party retake the House last cycle.

Narrow 2016 victories in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were vital in sending Trump to the White House. That he would build his travel around trying to do that again  and that Biden would respond with trips meant to flip the states back to Democratic  wouldn't usually be a surprise with the presidential election now less than five months away. But the coronavirus has upended normal travel since March.

After long focusing on staging virtual rallies and other online appearances from his Delaware home, Biden has in recent weeks begun making frequent trips to Pennsylvania, allowing him to target a swing state without venturing far. Lancaster is about an hour and 15 minutes by car from Biden's house, and yet it is the farthest he's traveled lately, aside from a trip to Houston to meet with the family of George Floyd, whose death in police custody sparked protests around the nation.

Trump, by contrast, staged a rally in Tulsa, Okla., last weekend and spoke at a megachurch in Arizona on Tuesday. On Thursday, he visited Marinette in Wisconsin for a private tour of a shipyard and to participate in a town hall to be broadcast by Fox News Channel from an airport in Green Bay.

Vice President Mike Pence also hit another key state, Ohio.

Biden's team has organized small events and enforce social distancing while its members and its candidate wear masks. Trump has refused to wear a mask in public, and his campaign says Biden is using that cautious approach to hide the fact that he can't draw large, enthusiastic crowds.

Biden noted that while he took off a black face mask to give his speech, "I wear it everywhere I go."

"I know as Americans it's not something we're used to," he said. "But it matters."

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

Biden wore his mask earlier, as he met in an outdoor courtyard with three mothers and two children who told of benefiting from the health care law.

In his subsequent speech, Biden spoke behind a placard proclaiming "Protect and Build on the Affordable Care Act" and promised to promote expanding health insurance to more Americans. He scoffed at Trump's suggestion during last weekend's rally that he'd asked officials to slow down testing for the coronavirus because doing more of it was leading to more people testing positive.

"He thinks finding out that more Americans are sick will make him look bad. And that's what he's worried about," Biden said.

Polls in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania show Biden ahead of Trump, but nearly every poll had Trump trailing in 2016 before his base came together in the final weeks of the campaign to secure his victory.

Trump's event wasn't open to the public. He was promoting a contract won in April by Fincantieri Marinette Marine to build as many as 10 Navy frigates. The company employs about 2,500 people now, and the deal could add 1,000 jobs. It's the first new major shipbuilding program for the Navy in more than a decade.

Arriving in Wisconsin, Trump acknowledged the power of incumbency, tweeting, "Launching big new ship contract!" Video on Twitter showed protesters just outside the airport, chanting "Hands up, don't shoot," and "I can't breathe."

Biden has also broken with Trump by spending weeks denouncing institutional racism and police brutality, siding with protesters around the country. Pence drove home that contrast Thursday, participating in a police roll call during his stop in Youngstown, Ohio.

The vice president declared that promoting the rights of African-Americans did not have to come at the expense of police rights. "We're showing we don't have to make that choice," Pence said.
CHICOPEE  State Rep. Joseph Wagner pledged on Friday that his primary focus from now on will be the repairing and restoring the Holyoke Soldiers Home from the structural and administrative failures that led to as many as 76 deaths from COVID-19.

From this day forward, this is Job 1 for me. This is Issue 1 for me, he said in a press briefing at Veterans Memorial Plaza on Front Street. Thats how important it is.

Wagner, the assistant House Majority Leader, said he intended to use his position and clout on Beacon Hill to keep the focus on improving the facility even after this weeks damning state report about spotty leadership and inadequate care during the COVID-19 crisis fades from the headlines.

We owe our veterans, our heroes, nothing less than to live out the remainder of their years with dignity, honor, comfort, providing the best possible health care.

The report by Boston attorney and former federal prosecutor Mark W. Pearlstein outlined a series of management, administrative and health care blunders that contributed to the disease ravaging the home in March and April. When the first resident was tested on March 17 after showing symptoms of coronavirus, he was not isolated but kept in a room with three other people, and was allowed to wander the unit. By March 30, the patient and nine others had died as the home was overrun with COVID-19.

In response to the report, Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday offered several recommendations for improving operations at the Holyoke Soldiers Home and for increasing state oversight.

Wagner said that if Baker is going to have discussions on how to operate the Holyoke facility, he and other area representatives are going to be a part of the conversation.

If the governor or anyone in a leadership position is going to talk about capital improvements and better health care at the Holyoke Soldiers Home, or any care related to veterans, we are going to have a seat at that table, he said. We are going to do whatever we need to do to have our voices heard.

On behalf of the residents of the facility and their families, Wagner said the response of the Western Massachusetts legislative delegation must be unified and strong.

While Beacon Hill is certain in the coming months to discuss the Soldiers Home, it is critical that Western Massachusetts be involved in the discussions, he said.

He was joined by fellow Western Massachusetts Reps. Aaron Vega, D-Holyoke, Brian Ashe, D-Longmeadow, Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland, and Mindy Domb, D-Amherst. Several other area representatives would have attended but had prior commitments.

Each spoke of being personally affected by the tragedy at the Soldiers Home, of knowing veterans in the facility or of working with their families to find them beds inside it.

Vega said that, since he was elected, he has gone there to visit at least once a month.

So for me, its personal, he said.

Blais said blame for failures at the Soldiers Home lies not solely with its administration, but with state leaders as well.

For years, it has been known that the facility needed upgrades and renovations, but the state government did not prioritize making the money available, she said.

We owe our veterans everything  and we let you down, she said. And now its time for us to step up and fix what happened, to acknowledge everything that happened and to fix it.

Vega said that as long as he has been meeting with people at the Soldiers Home, theyve talked about inadequate staffing and declining facilities.

Its unfortunate that a tragedy and the loss of over 70 veterans has to wake up other people to look at what weve been talking about for years, Vega said.

Were going to make sure that this continues to be the right conversation about the oversight, the future the home and the future veterans, and to make sure that, yes, the plan is in place to rehabilitate the home to last another hundred years to serve Holyoke and all of us, he said.

Wagner said he said he was pleased that Baker, in his own list of recommendations, proposed $6 million in immediate capital improvements and directed the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) to perform an expedited design review of the facilitys future needs.

Wagner said that, as recently as 2017, an outside consultant hired by the state identified as much as $44 million in needed renovations at the Soldiers Home, including some $6 million in pressing needs.

The recommendations went nowhere as other projects moved onto the front burner.

If Massachusetts can find the money for new schools, infrastructure and east-west rail travel, he said, then we can certainly find the resources necessary to provide the best facilities, and the highest degree of health care for our veterans who have sacrificed so much.

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At the briefing, Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert, delivered an urgent "message to the country", warning that coronavirus outbreaks could engulf the US. He pleaded for people to continue social distancing and wearing masks as an obligation to others. "You have an individual responsibility to yourself but you have a societal responsibility because if we want to end this outbreak, really end it and then hopefully when a vaccine comes and puts a nail in the coffin, we've got to realise that we are part of the process," Fauci said, noting that some states were doing better than others. "If we don't extinguish the outbreak, sooner or later, even ones [states] that are doing well are going to be vulnerable to the spread." Pence at the same briefing twice defended President Trumps crowded campaign rallies and often maskless supporters, praising the exercises of free speech and assembly. "The freedom of speech, the right to peaceably assemble is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States, he said, "and we have an election coming up this fall".

Even as cases spike around the country, Pence asserted: "We slowed the spread, we flattened the curve, we saved lives." People in Raleigh, North Carolina protest an order that would make it mandatory to wear face masks on Friday. Credit:Ap Meanwhile, the number of confirmed new infections in the US per day soared past the previous high of 36,400, set on April 24, during one of the deadliest stretches in the crisis so far, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University. The average number of new cases per day has risen about 60 per cent over the past two weeks, according to an Associated Press analysis. While the increase is believed to reflect, in part, greatly expanded testing, experts say there is ample evidence the virus is making a comeback, including rising deaths and hospitalisations in parts of the country. Deaths from the coronavirus in the US are down to around 600 per day, compared with about 2200 in mid-April. Despite the rise in cases, some experts have expressed doubt that deaths will return to that level, because of advances in treatment and prevention and also because a large share of the new infections are in younger adults, who are more likely than older ones to survive.

The virus is blamed for 124,000 deaths in the US and 2.4 million confirmed infections nationwide, by Johns Hopkins University's count. But US health officials said the true number of Americans infected is about 20 million, or almost 10 times higher. Worldwide, the virus has claimed close to a half-million lives, according to Johns Hopkins. On Thursday, Arizona put on hold any further efforts to reopen the economy, with Republican Governor Doug Ducey saying the numbers "continue to go in the wrong direction." Arizona reported more than 3000 additional infections on Thursday, the fourth day in a week with an increase over that mark. Nevada's governor ordered the wearing of face masks in public, Las Vegas casinos included. Italy's death toll approaches 35,000

Meantime, Italy registered 30 more deaths of people with coronavirus infections on Friday, with 16 of them in Lombardy, the northern region that continues to still have by far the highest daily tally of new confirmed cases. Loading According to Health Ministry data, the nation confirmed 259 new cases since Thursday, raising to 239,961 the number of known coronavirus infections since Italy's outbreak began in late February. Deaths now total 34,708. Authorities say the number of overall cases and deaths is certainly higher, since many without serious symptoms didn't get tested, and many died in nursing homes without being tested. Premier Guiseppe Conte said Italy's classrooms will be receiving students starting on September 14, more than six months after the government's efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 shuttered schools, forcing millions of students to have lessons remotely.

WHO 'needs $US31.3 billion' to fight virus A World Health Organisation-led coalition fighting the COVID-19 pandemic is asking government and private sector donors to help raise $US31.3 billion ($45.7 billion) in the next 12 months to develop and deliver tests, treatments and vaccines for the disease. Renewing its call on Friday for global collaboration against the pandemic, it said $US3.4 billion had been contributed for the coalition to date, leaving a funding gap of $US27.9 billion. Of that, $US13.7 billion was "urgently needed". The WHO is working with a large coalition of drug-development, funding and distribution organisations under what it calls the ACT-Accelerator Hub.

The initiative is intended to develop and deliver 500 million COVID-19 tests and 245 million courses of new treatment for the disease to low- and middle-income countries by mid-2021, it said in a statement. Coronavirus threatens to 'boomerang' back in Brazil The coronavirus, now spreading through the smaller towns of Brazil's interior, risks returning to major cities in a so-called "boomerang effect," as a lack of specialised medical treatment forces patients into larger urban centres. The impact of a potential second wave of new cases in urban centres could complicate attempts to reopen businesses and get the economy going again, experts said. "The boomerang of cases that will return to the (state) capitals will be a tsunami," said Miguel Nicolelis, a leading medical neuroscientist at Duke University who is coordinating a coronavirus taskforce advising the state governments of Brazil's north-east.

Loading Brazil, home to the world's second worst coronavirus outbreak behind the US, has more than 1.2 million cases of the virus, which has killed nearly 55,000 people. On most days, it is spreading faster in Brazil than in the United States, the top country by cases. Elsewhere around the world, China moved closer to containing a fresh outbreak in Beijing. Another record daily increase in India pushed the caseload in the world's second most populous nation toward half a million. And other countries with big populations like Indonesia, Pakistan and Mexico grappled with large numbers of infections and strained health care systems. South Africa, which accounts for about half of the infections on the African continent with more than 118,000, reported a record of nearly 6600 new cases after loosening what had been one of the world's strictest lockdowns earlier this month. Get our Morning & Evening Edition newsletters The most important news, analysis and insights delivered to your inbox at the start and end of each day. Sign up to The Sydney Morning Heralds newsletter here, to The Ages newsletter here and Brisbane Times' here.
PATNA

The Congress had second hiccup while filing nomination for the seat in the Bihar Legislative Council within two days after Bihars parliamentary affairs minister Sharwan Kumar field a complaint petition against Sameer Kumar Singhs candidature before the returning officer, alleging certain discrepancies in the affidavit.

Singh was asked to file his nomination papers in a hurry after the Congresss first choice, Tariq Anwar, had to withdraw from the race on Thursday, the last day for filing nominations, after the party realised that the former MP was not a voter in Bihar, a prerequisite for becoming a Legislative Council member.

After Kumars complaint petition, Singh was called to the Bihar Legislative Assembly for clarification on the points raised in the complaint petition, which also included some objection on the agriculture land.

Bihar Assembly secretary Bateshwar Nath Pandey, who is the returning officer, heard him and saw the supplementary documents. However, the meeting was adjourned.

Later, the returning officer again sat and passed the order around 7 pm, accepting the nomination of Sameer Kumar Singh and disposing of the matter. By then, the Bihar minister had also withdrawn his petition.

The matter has been resolved. Relevant order has been passed and the petition has also been withdrawn, said Pandey.

Though the election is scheduled on July 6, the results of the Legislative Council elections could be announced after 3 pm on Wednesday after the end of the period for withdrawal of nominations.

Under the Grand Alliance, the Congress has just one candidate, while the RJD has three candidates. From the NDA, BJP has two candidates, while the JD-U has three.

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The environment secretary has said laws barring chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef "won't change" to secure a trade deal with the US - despite a previous pledge to maintain the ban being dropped by No 10.

George Eustice said the UK was not "under any obligation" to change its approach amid concerns from farmers and campaigners that the government could lower standards on imported produce as part of trade with the US.

Donald Trump's administration has made it clear that it will not allow American farmers to be disadvantaged in a US-UK trade deal, with US trade representative Robert Lighthizer describing concerns about farming practices as "thinly veiled protectionism".

Ministers are said to have put forward a "dual tariff" plan to Washington, that would allow US food producers to sell products that does not comply with British standards if they paid higher levies.

The move would mark a significant loosening of the current rules, where the UK complies with strict European welfare and sanitary standards.

Asked to guarantee that UK law would not change, Mr Eustice told the Today programme: "I can't bind the hands of any future government, as you will know.

"This government is clear, we were the ones that brought across the prohibition on the use of washes such as chlorine and hormones in beef and we won't change that."

Mr Eustice said the UK had to be "open to considering approaches that other countries might bring to us" under trading rules but "we're not under any obligation to change it".

He said the Conservatives had made a manifesto commit to protect food standards and animal welfare, which would be central to the ongoing trade talks.

However his comments come after Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, refused to tell MPs about the proposed deal in case the US trade negotiators were listening.

Im not going to go into detail in this committee on our negotiating strategy, because I suspect our counterparties from across the Atlantic might be taking account of my comments, she said.

Earlier this month, Downing Street dropped a pledge to maintain bans on chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef, as post-Brexit trade talks ramp up with Washington.
The Mississippi Senate is working to limit lawsuits by customers who say they were exposed to the new coronavirus at businesses or medical offices.

Senate Bill 3049 would shield businesses, health care providers, religious organizations and other entities from lawsuits related to COVID-19 if they show a good faith effort to follow public health guidelines.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has pushed for the bill. If it lands on his desk and he signs it, the bill would take effect retroactively to March 14.

In the beginning of this thing, nobody really knew what to do. Should you wear a mask, should you not, should you do this, should you do that? It provides some protection for our essential business who did remain open, Senate Judiciary A Committee Chairwoman Sally Doty said during a hearing on the bill Tuesday.

Doty, a Republican from Brookhaven, said fear of litigation has stopped businesses from providing services the last several months. She said the problem is still persistent now that state is reopening.

The bill would still allow people to sue if plaintiffs can show clear and convincing evidence that a business owner acted with actual malice or willful, intentional misconduct.

It still allows recovery of damages if there is a bad actor, Doty said.

The bill is being introduced after Reeves suggested it during news briefings on the virus. It cleared the Judiciary A Committee by a voice vote Tuesday and will move to the full Senate for consideration.

Several Republican lawmakers praised the bill, including Sen. David Parker of Olive Branch, who runs an optometry and ophthalmology practice.

There, really and truly, is a fear out there, that you may do a procedure on somebody to try to help them with that condition, and even taking the greatest precautions you can in the operating facility, they may develop COVID.  There is a fear in the medical community that I see that if they go back to doing procedures too early than they will be punished for it, Parker said.

Democratic Sen. Derrick Simmons of Greenville, a lawyer, asked why the bill caps damages at $250,000 for those who prove that a business owner acted maliciously, when the state usually caps non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases at $500,000. Doty said lawmakers are trying to balance the needs of business owners and those of the public.

The Mississippi Health Department said Tuesday that Mississippi  with a population of about 3 million  has had at least 22,898 cases and 989 deaths from the coronavirus as of Monday evening. That was an increase of 611 cases and 11 deaths from the numbers reported a day earlier.

The number of coronavirus infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. For others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.

The Health Department said at least 2,418 cases of the virus have been confirmed in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, with at least 494 virus-related deaths in those facilities.

The department also said Tuesday that 263,811 coronavirus tests had been conducted in Mississippi as of Wednesday. More than 10,713 of those were blood tests that detect whether a person has antibodies that usually show up after an infection is resolved.

____

Leah Willingham is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics COVID-19 Legislation Mississippi
On Thursday, the US Supreme Court issued an opinion declaring that recent asylum seekers have no constitutional right to due process or habeas corpus, denying them any day in court to challenge the legality of their deportation before they are summarily removed.

Clouds roll over the Supreme Court at dusk on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sunday, May 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The 7-2 decision is based on a majority opinion issued by the courts five Republican justices and supported by a concurring opinion by Democratic nominees Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

The majority opinion written by Samuel Alito echoes the courts infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) ruling in more ways than one.

As in Dred Scott, the court in Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam made the most sweeping, extreme and anti-democratic ruling possible, reaching far beyond what even the government argued was necessary in the case. Not only did the court deny Sri Lankan immigrant Vijayakumar Thuraissigiams petition for habeas corpus, it also ruled that all recent asylum seekers have no rights to challenge their deportation at all.

And just as the court ruled in Dred Scott that the Constitution did not apply to slaves because they were not people, the court here has created a sub-class of people who are also beneath the protection of the law because they lack established connections in this country, as the majority opinion states.

In fact, after yesterdays decision, new asylum seekers have fewer rights than fugitive slaves did in the decade before the Civil War. Runaway slaves at least had the right to appear before a judge to argue why they should not be removed from the North and to argue exceptional reasons for being allowed to stay, such as having served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

This case involved a Sri Lankan Tamil immigrant who was detained immediately after crossing the US-Mexico border. Thuraissigiam asked for asylum, telling Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents that he left his home country after he was kidnapped by government thugs in an unmarked van and savagely beaten for belonging to the countrys long-persecuted Tamil minority. Officials also tortured Thuraissigiam by simulating drowning (waterboarding).

An asylum officer and supervisor decided Thuraissigiam could not show a credible fear of removal and prepared to send him back to Sri Lanka and likely persecution or death. Under the expedited removal process established by Congress in the bipartisan Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA), immigrants who can show credible fear of removal are placed into immigration proceedings and given the chance to seek relief, while those who cannot show credible fear are deported on the spot.

Thuraissigiams attorneys filed for a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court. Habeas corpusLatin for you have the bodyis a centuries-old democratic right whereby detainees may demand their jailers bring them before a judge to determine the legality of their detention.

In their petition, the attorneys described the Kafkaesque series of due process violations leading to the negative credible fear determination. Due to translation problems, officials did not properly understand what Thuraissigiam was telling them about his past persecution. Officials rushing to deport Thuraissigiam gave no reasonable explanation for why he could not establish a credible fear.

The district court stated it had no jurisdiction to hear Thuraissigiams habeas corpus petition, citing a provision of IIRAIRA that stripped immigrants captured at the border of the right to habeas corpus. The statute was passed in the House of Representatives with the yes votes of Nancy Pelosi, Bernie Sanders, James Clyburn and almost the entire Democratic caucus. It passed the Senate by voice vote and was signed into law by Democrat Bill Clinton.

After the district court ruled against Thuraissigiam, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and ruled that IIRAIRAs expedited removal and habeas-stripping provisions were unconstitutional. The Supreme Courts decision strikes down the Ninth Circuits ruling. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito cynically mocked the terrified refugee: the Government is happy to release himprovided the release occurs in the cabin of a plane bound for Sri Lanka.

The decision is a constitutional catastrophe.

It grants the executive branch the power to detain thousands of individuals without any judicial oversight, violating the separation of powers and granting CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) license to violate the law.

It asserts that due process can now be satisfied without any judicial review. This enshrines in Supreme Court precedent the dictatorial doctrine declared by Barack Obamas attorney general, Eric Holder, who justified drone assassinations of US citizens by saying the review of death lists by officials at the White House made court review unnecessary, because the Constitution guarantees due process, not judicial process.

The decision opens the door to the summary deportation without trial of millions of undocumented immigrants fleeing violence and poverty caused by American imperialism.

Last week, the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit approved the Trump administrations decision to expand IIRAIRAs expedited removal process to cover not only asylum seekers arrested at the border within two weeks of crossing (the present restrictions, the category into which Thuraissigiam fell), but to immigrants in any part of the country who entered in the last two years. The decision was issued by two Democrats: Patricia Millett, an Obama appointee, and Harry Edwards, a Jimmy Carter appointee.

As a practical matter, yesterdays decision will lead to the deaths of countless refugees and asylum seekers who will be unconstitutionally deported without the right to challenge their expedited removal.

But certain political conclusions must also be drawn. The majority opinion is an ominous sign that the ruling class is preparing to meet the growing mood of social opposition in the working class with increased attacks on democratic rights.

The ruling classspeaking not through a slim 5-4 partisan breakdown but a clear 7-2 majorityviews this springs mass demonstrations over police violence and the strike wave over coronavirus-related working conditions as a threat to its class rule. Donald Trumps attempted military coup detat earlier this month may have suffered an initial setback, but yesterdays decision shows that the underlying tendencies toward dictatorship in the ruling class are growing stronger among both Trumps Republican supporters and his Democratic rivals.

The decision is an urgent warning that the working class must unite against all efforts to divide it based on race, nationality, ethnicity or immigration status, in a common struggle for social equality and to defend democratic rights.
By Senior Colonel Wu Qian, Director General of the Information Office of China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) and Spokesperson for the MND

Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), answers reporters' questions at a regular press conference on June 24, 2020. (Photo: mod.gov.cn)

(The following English text of the press conference is for reference. In case of any divergence of interpretation, the Chinese text shall prevail.)

Wu Qian: At the invitation of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe will attend the military parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Unions victory against the Nazis in World War II in Russia from June 23 to 25. His visit to Russia during the critical moment of global anti-pandemic campaign will further deepen the mutual trust and cooperation between the Chinese and Russian militaries, and push the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era to a new height. The Chinese military has also dispatched the guard of honor to participate in the Russian Victory Day parade.

Question: The Chinese and Indian border troops recently had serious clashes at the Galwan Valley. Whats the current situation there? Looking ahead, whats the Chinese militarys view on the China India border?

Answer: China has sovereignty over the Galwan Valley region. Over the years, the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and guarding this region. Since April this year, the Indian border troops have unilaterally built facilities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley. The Chinese side has lodged representations and oppositions to the Indian side many times. In the early morning of May 6, the Indian border troops trespassed into Chinas territory, built fortification and barricades and impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops, in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of border control and management. The Chinese border troops have been forced to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management and control in the border areas.

With Chinas strong efforts, the two sides agreed to hold bilateral communication through multiple channels. On June 6, the border troops of both countries held the first commander-level meeting and reached consensus on easing the situation through concrete measures. The Indian side promised that they would not cross the estuary of the Galwan River to patrol or build facilities, and the two sides would discuss and decide phased withdrawal of troops through the meetings between commanders on the ground. Shockingly, on the evening of June 15, Indias front-line troops, in violation of the agreement reached at the commander-level meeting, once again crossed the LAC for deliberate provocation, and even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties.

The Chinese border troops took decisive countermeasures in self-defense, resolutely fought back against the violent acts of the Indian side, and effectively safeguarded our national sovereignty and territorial integrity. India should bear full responsibility for the incident that was solely and completely triggered by its breach of consensus and unilateral provocations. The Chinese side demanded the Indian side severely punish those who should be held accountable, strictly discipline its frontline troops so as to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

After the clash, China and India have stayed in close communication through military and diplomatic channels. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar reached an agreement over a phone conservation to handle the Galwan Valley clash justly and fairly and cool down the situation on the ground. A second commander-level meeting was held on June 22 where the two sides exchanged views on the management and control of border tension and the maintenance of peace and stability in the border areas.

China and India are important neighbors to each other. Maintaining a peaceful and tranquil border region is in the common interests of both sides and requires common efforts as well. We hopes that India will work with China, follow faithfully the important consensus reached between the two leaders, abide by the agreements reached between the two governments, and properly handle relevant issues through dialogue and negotiation on various levels. The two sides should make great efforts to jointly ease the current border situation and uphold peace and stability in the border areas.

Question: When attending a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and People's Armed Police (PAP) Force to the third session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), President Xi Jinping called for efforts to explore new approaches of training for combat readiness in the context of long-term epidemic prevention and control.

He urged the PLA and PAP Force to carry out science-based epidemic prevention and control according to actual conditions, step up combat preparedness, flexibly conduct realistic training and enhance Chinese militarys task-performing capabilities across the board. Could you please tell us what plans and measures the military has to implement the presidents requirements?

Answer: Since the COVID-19 broke out, the whole military has resolutely responded to President Xis orders and taken the challenge of the epidemic as a special opportunity of training and tempering our service members both in combat readiness and in epidemic containment. The military has taken the following measures.

First, we have improved coordinated training under epidemic conditions. Aiming to minimize the impact of the epidemic while achieving the annual training objectives, we have made holistic training plans in terms of tasks, schedules, resources, and supervision, with dynamic and precise adjustment of various tasks.

Second, we have enhanced emergency and combat training under epidemic conditions. Training of task forces capabilities, commanding, systematic capacities and training-to-combat transitions has all been intensified to temper the troops ability to respond to emergencies and combat calls quickly.

Third, we have created new training modes under epidemic conditions. The long-term epidemic prevention and control have changed the time, space, rhythm, and approach of military training, so the troops are actively summarizing experience and promoting online training, small-group training, enclosed training at bases, and differentiated training.

Fourth, we have strictly prevented and controlled training risks under epidemic conditions. Eyeing the training features amid long-term epidemic control, we have placed equal emphasis on preventing and controlling epidemic and accidents to ensure risk-free training.

Question: It is reported that the PLA Tibet Military Command recently organized a real-combat exercise in the plateau area. Could you please confirm and brief us on this?

Answer: Recently, the PLA Tibet Military Command held an all-dimensional live-fire exercise involving combat groups of combined arms and multiple types of equipment in a high-elevation region, to comprehensively test the troops joint combat capabilities in plateau environment. The exercise was part of the annual training plan, not targeting any specific country.

Question: You just released the news about Minister Weis upcoming visit to Russias military parade. We noticed that of all the foreign defense ministers to attend the event, Minister Wei is the only one from a permanent member of the UN Security Council. What message does that send to the world? Can you comment on the current mil-to-mil relationship between China and Russia?

Answer: Minister Wei attendance to the military parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Unions victory against Nazis in WWII reflects the high level of mil-to-mil relationship between China and Russia as well as their firm resolve and sincere wish to jointly protect the victorious results of WWII and maintain world peace and stability.

Under the strategic guidance of both Chinese and Russian presidents, the two militaries have been maintaining a sound relationship with close cooperation in terms of high-level exchanges, strategic cooperation, and joint exercises and competitions. Its fair to say that the China-Russia mil-to-mil relationship is stronger than ever.

It should be stressed that the two militaries have had fruitful and pragmatic cooperation in epidemic prevention and control since COVID-19 broke out. Firstly, leaders of the two militaries have maintained close communication. They exchanged letters, held phone talks, expressed sympathy and support to each other, and had a full exchange of views on a series of commonly concerned issues. Secondly, video conferences on sharing anti-COVID-19 experience were held. The medical departments and relevant experts from Chinese and Russian militaries held two video conferences to exchange their experience in epidemic prevention and control and disease diagnosis and treatment. Finally, the two sides supported each other by providing anti-epidemic supplies. The Chinese military have provided its Russian counterpart with anti-epidemic supplies including masks, protective clothing, ventilators, and testing kits.

China will work with Russia to jointly implement the consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, and continuously promote innovative development of mil-to-mil relationship as well as the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.

Question: Recently, President Xi Jinping chaired the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19, and he exchanged views and reached broad consensuses at the meeting with various parties on supporting Africa in fighting COVID-19 and promoting China-Africa and international anti-epidemic cooperation. Please brief us on the cooperation between the Chinese military and the militaries of African countries in the fight against COVID-19.

Answer: In his keynote speech at the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19, President Xi stressed that China and Africa must stay committed to fighting COVID-19 together, enhancing China-Africa cooperation, upholding multilateralism, and taking China-Africa friendship forward, in the endeavor to build a China-Africa community of health for all and a stronger China-Africa community with a shared future.

China and Africa have a long tradition of being good friends, partners and brothers. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese military has fought side by side with African militaries through this challenging period. When China was at its height of fighting the outbreak, militaries of African countries expressed their sympathy and support in various ways. After the outbreak spread to Africa, Chinese military leaders sent letters of sympathy to the militaries of multiple African countries. We held experience-sharing video conferences with the militaries of South Africa and Ethiopia, provided emergency epidemic control supplies to the militaries of 15 African countries such as Mozambique, and dispatched transport planes of the air force to deliver the supplies to many of them.

China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future. The Chinese military stands ready to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African counterparts to jointly build the China-Africa community of health for all and make contributions to safeguarding regional and global public health security.

Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), answers reporters' questions at a regular press conference on June 24, 2020. (Photo: mod.gov.cn)

Question: According to online photos, the service members at PLA Djibouti Support Base have dressed in a new-style combat camouflage uniform. Could you please confirm that? Is this the same new-style uniform that debuted during the 70th anniversary military parade in 2019? When will the new outfit be distributed to the whole military?

Answer: What the service members at PLA Djibouti Support Base are wearing is the new combat uniform presented during the military parade in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China. The outfit is currently being tried out by some troops and will be gradually distributed to all troops as planned.

Question: US Defense Secretary Mark Esper recently claimed that Chinas actions in the East and South China Seas are destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region and that the US will stand with its regional allies to confront a China that is trying to weaken the sovereignty of other countries and undermine international rules. The secretary also accused China of attempting to use the novel coronavirus to spread turmoil and blame other countries. Whats your comment on that and the current mil-to-mil relationship between China and the US?

Answer: Recently, US defense leadership has been hyping up the so-called China threat in total disregard of facts, trying to sow discord among the regional countries and stigmatize Chinas anti-epidemic efforts. China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to those remarks.

Thanks to the united efforts of all countries in the region, the situations in East and South China Seas have maintained generally stable. This speaks volumes for the regional countries wisdom, capabilities and means to properly handle their differences through direct negotiations and consultations, and jointly safeguard regional peace. In contrast, the US, as a country out of the region, has dispatched military vessels and aircraft to make provocations in the East and South China Seas under the pretext of freedom of navigation, frequently conducted close-in reconnaissance on China and held highly targeted military exercises. The US moves have seriously harmed the sovereignty and security interests of regional countries and undermined peace and stability in the region. The accusation of weaken the sovereignty of other countries and undermine international rules fabricated by the US against China should be put on its own head where it rightly belongs.

Some American politicians have spared no effort in smearing and slandering China by stirring up hostility and calling black white, in the vicious and shameful attempt to divert domestic conflicts and shirk responsibilities for their poor pandemic response. The international community will have a righteous conclusion about right and wrong, and the people know very well where justice lies. Blaming China is no way to solve Americas own problems.

China and the US, both important countries in the world, will gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. Cooperation is the only right choice for the two countries. The mil-to-mil relationship is an essential part of bilateral ties. Maintaining a generally stable relationship between the two militaries is in the interests of both countries, and it is the responsibility of service members of both sides as well as the expectation of the international community. It is hoped that the US side will work with China under the overarching guideline of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. The two sides should strengthen strategic communication, deepen practical cooperation and properly manage and control differences, so as to create more favorable conditions for promoting a coordinated, cooperative and stable China-US relationship.

Question: The US and Taiwan have had close interactions this month. A US transport plane flew over the Taiwan island for the first time, and its destroyers passed through the Taiwan Strait again. The US Defense Secretary Mark Esper even tweeted that America would remain committed to a democratic Taiwan. Whats your comment on that?

Answer: Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. Taiwan affairs are purely Chinas internal affairs that brook no external interference. The US frequent playing of the so-called Taiwan card in an attempt to harm Chinas national sovereignty and territorial integrity in the sausage-slicing approach is a sheer pipe dream. The PLA has been on high alert, and has the firm resolve, full confidence and sufficient capabilities to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Question: Following the US ban on some Chinese students and scholars from entering the country early this month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a press statement that the US will not tolerate PRC attempts to illicitly acquire American technology and intellectual property from our academic institution and research facilities for Chinese military ends.Whats your comment on that?

Answer: China has always followed a path of independent scientific research and made remarkable achievements in a range of high-tech fields, which is a fact widely acknowledged by the international community. The groundless accusation from the US is nothing but another bout of persecution mania. We have noticed the visa restrictions rolled out by the US side on Chinese students and researchers, which is a grave violation of their lawful rights and interests. The move, which harms others with no benefit to the US itself, seriously disrupts technological and cultural exchanges between China and the US, and damages the atmosphere of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. We advise the US administration to view Chinas development from an objective and rational perspective, introspect about its own problems, and refrain from going down the wrong path any further.

Question: It was reported by Japanese media that after unilaterally withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the US is discussing with Japan about deploying intermediate-range missiles at American military bases in Japan. The media commented that the deployment would put Japan in a dangerous position. May I have your comment on this?

Answer: China is firmly opposed to the deployment of intermediate-range missiles by the US in the Asia Pacific region. If the US insists on the deployment, it will be a provocation at Chinas doorstep. China will never sit idle and will take all necessary countermeasures.

At the same time, China hopes that Japan and other countries concerned can act cautiously with the big picture of regional peace and stability in mind, and should not allow the US to deploy medium-range missiles on their territories, so as not to fall victim to Washingtons geopolitical ploys.

Question: It is reported that the PLA has started the recruitment of civilian personnel from the public in 2020. Please give us more details.

Answer: To recruit more talent from society to serve military build-up, the Chinese military has started this years public recruitment of civilian personnel. Applicants may obtain the recruitment information at the Military Talent Website (http://81rc.81.cn/) and sign up for the application. According to the plan, the unified exams for public and specific subjects will be held on August 23, and the interview, political review, physical examination, public notice and administrative approval will be completed before the end of November.

As an integral part of the military personnel, civilian personnel are non-active members in the military system working in management and technical posts. With a growing number in recent years, civilian personnel have made important contributions to the development of the military. We welcome more young people to join the civilian team of the military and make contributions to the development of our country with your youth and dedication.

Question: According to media reports, as of the end of May 2020, all the 4,100 impoverished villages that the Chinese military was designated to assist had been lifted out of poverty. What are the features and highlights of the assistance provided by the military in poverty alleviation?

Answer: The Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, and President Xi Jinping attach great importance to the militarys participation in poverty alleviation. Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed on many occasions that the military should give full play to its own advantages, do a good job in poverty alleviation, educational development, and medical support, and help the villagers live a well-off life earlier. The military has resolutely implemented the decision of President Xi, and insisted on satisfying local needs and fulfilling the expectations of the masses within the military capabilities, having formed a distinctive brand in poverty alleviation.

The military has supported Party building of local Party branches to strengthen their role as a fortress. A total of 3,468 Party branches in poverty-stricken villages were established to deepen mutual learning and support between military and grass-roots party organizations. More than 5,100 outstanding veterans were recommended to serve as secretaries or committee members of these Party branches, forming a standing poverty alleviation team.

The military has supported local medical and health care. A total of 1,458 clinics were built in the impoverished villages, and 113 county-level hospitals in poverty-stricken counties. Military doctor tours have been organized in more than 100 old revolutionary base areas to treat poor patients and address the problem of unaffordable medical care.

The military has promoted education to lay a solid foundation for future development. It has helped build 156 schools along the route of the Long March and 1,544 primary schools in designated villages. The Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission conducted the Bayi student aid program in old revolutionary bases and the PLA Air Force organized the Lantian Chunlei Program for 26 consecutive years. The teaching conditions therein have been effectively improved.

When it comes to poverty alleviation through education, I want to share with you a story that has lasted for 58 years. In 1962, across hills and rivers, a PLA company reached Maidan, a small village on the Pamirs, and settled down there. As a result, the company was named as Maidan Border Defense Company. There was not even a primary school in the village at that time, and the school-age children could only herd sheep or horses. The company's officers and soldiers decided to help the villagers change their living by building classrooms, donating stationeries, and working as teachers... Over the past 58 years, the officers and soldiers stationed there have been shifting, but the work of helping and supporting the poor has never stopped.

Since the 1960s, to make up for the shortage of teachers in the school, most of the military spouses who came to the camp for family visits have undertaken a special task-- to work as part-time teachers in Maidan Primary School. Some children do not want to go to school, and the officers and soldiers therein will tirelessly persuade them and their parents. The current principal of Maidan Primary School says he will never forget that when he was a boy, he was "grabbed" back to the school by the company commander when herding sheep. The company commander even gave his own allowance to him.

Ma Kuban, a villager, said: "My grandfather, my father, and I all graduated from Maidan Primary School. We have witnessed the great changes in our hometown thanks to the help of the PLA." Gulizhana Pahar, who was admitted to Jilin University in 2018, said: "it's the PLA servicemen of the border defense company who made my deserted life an oasis."

With the vigorous support of the country and the armed forces, Maidan Village has been successfully lifted out of poverty in 2018. The construction and development of Maidan is only a microcosm of the Chinese military's assistance in poverty alleviation, reflecting the original intention and purpose that the PLA has always adhered to-serving the people wholeheartedly. All the officers and soldiers of the PLA will resolutely implement President Xi Jinping's people-centered philosophy of development, make every effort to help poverty alleviation, and write a new chapter in the era of deep military-civilian affection.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci listens during the daily CCP virus briefing at the White House on April 9, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Fauci Says Symptom-Free Virus Spread Pushes Task Force to Consider New Testing Approach

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said health officials are seriously considering pooling samples as a way to ramp up COVID-19 testing in the midst of a pandemic characterized by a high degree of asymptomatic spread.

What you need to do is find the penetration of infected people in your society, Fauci told the Washington Post on Thursday. And the only way you know that is by casting a broad net, he said, referring to a novel approach called pool testing.

This is where instead of testing individual samples, which is time-consuming, many samples are pooled together and tested as a batch. If the whole batch tests negative for the presence of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, testers move on to evaluate another large batch. This minimizes the need to test each individual sample because only if theres a positive indication of the virus at a batch level is there a need to test individual samples.

Pool testing is a concept that Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told House lawmakers about in Tuesdays testimony about the federal response to the pandemic. Redfield was joined by Fauci, who told the committee that testing and contact surveillance were key to understanding how the deadly bug spreads in the community.

One of the key things, as Tony mentioned, is surveillance, expanding surveillance, because of the asymptomatic nature of this infection, Redfield said. And in doing so, were looking at ways that can really substantially enhance testing by potentially pooling samples.

Redfield said currently between 500,000 and 600,000 tests per day were being done across the United States and he and other White House Coronavirus Task Force members were seeking solutions that would increase this several-fold.

If we can pool samples five to one, that would bring it to three million tests per day, Redfield said, adding, so were continuing to try and enhance testing, its a critical underpinning of our response.

In Thursdays remarks to the Washington Post, Fauci highlighted the challenge posed by the high asymptomatic spread of COVID-19, which some research has put at up to 45 percent.

Asymptomatic persons seem to account for approximately 40% to 45% of SARS-CoV-2 infections, and they can transmit the virus to others for an extended period, perhaps longer than 14 days, according to the abstract of a study published on June 3 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

We now know the level of virus in an asymptomatic person is about the same as the level of virus in somebody who has symptoms, Fauci said. So its like, oh my goodness, how do you address that?
Pupils from South and East Asian backgrounds are seen being separated into a third focus group during an experiment on the second episode of The School That Tried To End Racism, after admitting to feeling 'lumped together and left out'.

Pupils in Year 7 at Glenthorne High School in South London were separated into 'affinity groups' of white and non-white students to discuss race and ethnicity during a three-week experiment in Channel 4's new documentary The School That Tried to End Racism.

However after student Miyu, 11, points out that non-black ethnic minorities are often classed as 'other', despite facing different stereotypes and issues when BAME historical and current issues are discussed, a third group is created.

Admitting she 'doesn't feel noticed', Miyu says: 'When the UK talks about racism they talk about black people being the victims - which they were - their history is really sad. We're left out as Asians, even though we do get criticism.'

On the second episode of The School That Tried To End Racism, student Miyu, 11, points out that non-black ethnic minorities are often classed as 'other', despite facing different stereotypes and issues when BAME historical and current issues were being discussed

Hinting at the ethnic group's own history of colonisation, she adds: 'We aren't noticed.'

She is then seen speaking to other Asian pupils at the school, one of whom is wearing a headscarf, where they agree: 'It's not like white people have the same problems and then Asian and African people have the same problems - they're not the same race.'

Later on Miyu remembers being teased as 'Chinese' for the way she looks, and admits going home to her mother and 'crying about her physical appearance'.

Elsewhere religious tensions are highlighted, when Muslim pupil Simran admits to being just nine years old when she felt she had to remove her headscarf before entering her school, as she was afraid of being judged.

Speaking in the group later, the students admit many of the things discussed regarding African issue in the larger BAME group didn't apply to them, and they faced many other issues.

She is then seen speaking to other Asian pupils at the school, one of whom is wearing a headscarf, where they agree: 'It's not like white people have the same problems and then Asian and African people have the same problems - they're not the same race.'

In episode 1, viewers of The School that Tried to End Racism were left in tears after an 11-year-old boy broke down and fled the classroom as he tried to talk about white privilege with his classmates.

Henry, 11, became emotional after being separated from his non-white friends during the first session and, upon being asked to share what he had learnt with the class, broke down in tears and fled the room.

Many of those watching the programme were left in tears over the scene, with one commenting: 'Henry is an absolute gem, I'm tearing up seeing how upset he gets that he was put in a group based on his race.'

Many of those watching the programme were left in tears over the scene, with one commenting: 'Henry is an absolute gem, I'm tearing up seeing how upset he gets that he was put in a group based on his race.'

Viewers were left in tears after watching Henry, 11, break down and flee the classroom during Channel 4's The School That Tried to End Racism yesterday

One commented the sobbing emoji, writing: 'Omg this ginger boy running out crying when he was grouped with the other white people.'

Another wrote: 'Yep, already cried. 11-year-olds should not have to feel worried about their race and how that will impact their life.'

Another added: 'Watching Henry cry is very emotional.'

A fourth commented: 'These kids are amazing. Henry could teach so many adults a lot of things.'

Viewers praised Henry online for his attitude towards race, with many saying the emotional moment had left them sobbing

The class of 11-year-olds in their first year at secondary school volunteered to take part in the three-week programme, aimed at reducing unconscious bias, at the school which has a nearly 50/50 make-up of white and non-white pupils.

The scheme separated children by race into affinity groups, to allow them to have conversations and discussions about race.

Teachers were trained to run the affinity groups, with Dr Nicola Rollock, an academic who works on race relations, and Professor Rhiannon Turner, joining the school throughout the experiment to observe how the children behaved.

Dr Nicola explained: 'The approach to race in this country has been one of colour blindness. We pretend we don't see race. That approach isn't working.

The class of 11-year-olds in their first year at secondary school volunteered to take part in the three-week programme, aimed at reducing unconscious bias, at the school which has a nearly 50/50 make-up of white and non-white pupils.

The scheme separated children by race into affinity groups, to allow them to have conversations and discussions about race.

Teachers were trained to run the affinity groups, with Dr Nicola Rollock, an academic who works on race relations, and Professor Rhiannon Turner, joining the school throughout the experiment to observe how the children behaved.

The first task was a game built by a group of professors at Harvard University, which is now widely accepted as a benchmark for measuring unconscious bias.

After it emerged that 18 out of 24 pupils had an unconscious bias towards white people, Henry revealed to his friend that he 'felt bad' about the test

During the test, students were shown pictures of black faces and white faces with a list of positive and negative words.

They were told to associate the negative words with black faces and positive words with white faces, and were timed to see how quickly they did it.

How does the experiment work? Inspired by similar experiments by Mariama Richards in the US, for three weeks, 24 Year 7 students, aged 11 and 12 and from diverse ethnic backgrounds, were given a programme of classes to explore their racial heritage and issues around ethnicity. The groups were segregated into a white and non-white group for one session a week, for three weeks, and encouraged to discuss race and ethnicity. The hope is that by separating children by race, they are able to be more frank and honest about their experiences, without fear of offending or feeling uncomfortable. The groups then come back together to discuss all that they have learned. The goal of the experiment is to encourage a more honest discussion about race, with the aim that it will break down barriers and increase mutual understanding. The aim is that intervening at an early stage can help to change children's attitudes before they become crystalised with adulthood. Advertisement

Halfway through, the test changed to match negative words with white faces and positive words with black faces.

After the test, Mr Grant asked the children to tell him their thoughts, with one student called Henry explaining: 'Personally, I don't think that there was too much of a problem. People overthink it.

He added: 'I don't think much about race. It's just not normally something I discuss.'

Professor Rhiannon explained: 'Research shows for 11-year-olds, making friends from different racial groups is easier.

'But as children get older, there is a process of self segregation where children split off into different racial groups on the basis of their ethnicity.

'Intervening at this age if crucial if we are to target and change children's attitudes before they become crystallised with adulthood.'

After a break, the teacher explained that the results showed there was an unconscious bias, with the majority of the class showing the bias towards white people by completing the task of associating positive words with them more quickly.

Eighteen out of the 24 pupils showed a significant preference towards white people, with two showing a black preference and four showing no bias at all.

Dr Rhiannon explained: 'We are exposed at an early age to white people in positions of power, white heroes and heroines.

'All of these influences tell us that white people are better than black and ethnic minority people in society.'

Speaking at the water fountain with his friend Bright, Henry admitted: 'I know they say not to feel bad about it, but you still feel bad about it because you know you've done something wrong.'

The School That Tried To End Racism airs Thursday at 9pm on Channel 4.
Sinduja Jane By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu recorded its biggest COVID-19 spike on Friday, with 3,645 new cases and 46 deaths. This took the state's tally to 74,622 while the toll surged to 957.

Chennai alone recorded 1,956 cases -- its highest single-day spike -- increasing its tally to 49,690. There were also 37 deaths in the city taking its toll to 730. Among the new cases, 122 were people who arrived from outside the state, according to the media bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health.

Chennai contributed 54 percent of the new cases, while the other districts put together had a 46 percent of share.

According to the media bulletin, Chennai's neighbouring districts also recorded a significant number of cases. Chengalpattu recorded 232 cases, Kancheepuram 90 and Tiruvallur 177.

Madurai which was also brought under complete lockdown recorded 190 cases. All districts excluding Perambalur recorded new cases on Friday. Krishnagiri which had not reported any new case on the previous day recorded 14 cases. Vellore recorded 149 cases.

The state also tested 32,317 persons and 33,675 samples in 89 testing labs including 47 government and 42 private labs, the media bulletin said.

Meanwhile, of the 46 deaths, 15 were reported in private hospitals and 31 in government hospitals. The deceased were in the age group of 34 years to 90 years.

Among the deceased, two didn't have comorbidities. One was a 60-year-old woman from Chennai admitted on 22 June to the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital. She died on 24 June due to respiratory failure and bronchopneumonia.

The other was a 54-year-old man from Chennai admitted on 25 June to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital who died on the same day due to cardiopulmonary arrest.

Meanwhile, 1,358 people were discharged following treatment, the bulletin said.
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The Defence Headquarters says the air component of Operation Hadarin Daji has destroyed two bandits camps and a cave hideout led by Hassan Tagwaye in Doumborou Forest, Zamfara.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, in a statement on Thursday, said the air interdiction missions were conducted by the troops under the subsidiary Operation Wutan Daji on June 23.

Enenche said the airstrikes resulted in the killing of some key armed bandits leaders as well as several of their fighters after series of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

He said the intelligence report led to the identification of the camps and a cave where the bandits store their weapons as well as hide to evade attacks.

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According to him, the Air Component dispatched an enhanced force package of fighter jets and helicopter gunships to attack the location.

At the first camp, some bandits, who had assembled for a meeting near one of the huts, were neutralized by the attack aircraft.

At the second camp, a suspected high-value bandits leader along with some weapon-bearing fighters were seen in the vicinity of some huts.

The attack aircraft engaged the target structures, scoring accurate hits and taking out the huts along with their occupants.

The NAF jets also later recorded direct hits on the suspected bunker, from where some of the bandits were seen emerging, completely destroying it.

Human Intelligence reports later confirmed that Hassan Tagwaye and his twin brother Hussain along with several other bandits were neutralized in the airstrikes, while a few escaped with injuries, he said.

Enenche, however, urged the people in the affected areas to report those with sudden and suspicious injuries to the security forces to ensure that the escapees were mopped up.

He said the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, had urged the troops to remain resolute in the conduct of air strikes whilst continuing to provide close air support for ongoing ground operations in order to eradicate all armed bandits.
Gov. Greg Abbott has taken his most drastic action yet to respond to the post-reopening coronavirus surge in Texas, shutting bars back down and scaling back restaurant capacity to 50%.

He also shut down river-rafting trips, which have been blamed for a swift rise in cases in Hays County, and banned outdoor gatherings of over 100 people unless local officials approve.

At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars, Abbott said in a news release. The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health.

Bars must close at noon Friday, and the reduction in restaurant capacity takes effect Monday. Before Abbotts announcement Friday, bars were able to operate at 50% capacity and restaurants at 75% capacity.

As for outdoor gatherings, Abbotts decision on June 26 represents his second adjustment in that category this week. Abbott on June 23 gave local governments the choice to place restrictions on outdoor gatherings of over 100 people after previously setting the threshold at over 500 people. Now outdoor gatherings of over 100 people are prohibited unless local officials explicitly approve of them. State officials have noted that case numbers in Texas began to increase around Memorial Day weekend, and have expressed worry about big public gatherings for Fourth of July.

Abbotts most recent actions were his first significant moves to reverse the reopening process that he has led since late April. He said on June 22 that shutting down the state again is a last resort, but the situation has been worsening quickly.

Abbott put Texas under what was effectively a stay-at-home order for most of April, shutting down all but businesses considered essential by the state. After letting that order expire at the end of April, he moved forward with a phased reopening of the state that was one of the earliest and quickest in the country. By early June, Abbott had permitted almost all business to open at at least 50% capacity.

But cases have climbed rapidly in recent weeks. On June 25, Texas saw another record number of new cases  5,996  as well as hospitalizations  4,739. The hospitalization number set a record for the 14th straight day. During the increase, Abbott has cited Texas large hospital capacity and the availability of respirators. But many hospitals in Texas big cities have reported crowded intensive care units in recent days, and some cities have begun reviving plans to treat patients at convention centers and stadiums.

There has also been rapid rise in the states positivity rate, or the ratio of tests that come back positive. The rate, presented by the state as a seven-day average, has gone up to 11.76%  where it was at in mid-April and above the 10% threshold that Abbott has said would cause alarm for the reopening process.

Abbott specifically cited the positivity rate in explaining his actions Friday.

As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10%, the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, he said.

On Thursday, he announced the state was putting a pause on any future reopening plans, though none were scheduled and the announcement did not affect businesses that were already allowed to reopen. Earlier in the day, Abbott sought to free up hospital space for coronavirus patients by banning elective surgeries in four of the states biggest counties: Bexar, Travis, Dallas and Harris.

We want this to be as limited in duration as possible. However, we can only slow the spread if everyone in Texas does their part, Abbott said. Every Texan has a responsibility to themselves and their loved ones to wear a mask, wash their hands, stay six feet apart from others in public, and stay home if they can.

Gov. Greg Abbott orders Texas bars to close again and restaurants to reduce to 50% occupancy as coronavirus spreads was first published at https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/26/texas-bars-restaurants-coronavirus-greg-abbott/ by The Texas Tribune.

Related:

Topics COVID-19 Texas
Tran Thi Hoa, 40, is arrested by the police in Ha Tinh Province, December 2019. Photo courtesy of Ha Tinh police.

A Ha Tinh Province court sentenced a woman to 15 years in jail Thursday for swindling people by promising them jobs in New Zealand.

Tran Thi Hoa, 40, would also have to pay her victims VND1.8 billion ($77,500).

She was found guilty of "obtaining assets by fraud" by the Ha Tinh Province Peoples Court in the central province.

Last year she told several people she could help them get visas for and jobs in New Zealand for VND500 million ($21,570). She promised to refund the money if any problems arose, including if they could not find a steady job in New Zealand.

Four unidentified people gave her VND1.8 billion to send their children and relatives to New Zealand, but Hoa did not do as she had promised.

She was arrested last December after her victims complained to authorities.
As credit union branches closed in response to the COVID-19 health crisis in March and April, members primary interaction with credit unions was occurring either via the drive-thru or the ATM.

People felt safe using an ATM because there was no physical contact with a teller and they were able to maintain social distancing, says Terry Pierce, director of ATM product management at CUES Supplier member CO-OP Financial Services, Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Pierce notes that consumers still expressed concerns about interacting with the ATM screen and PIN pad. To alleviate those fears, CO-OP recommends that financial institutions take a proactive approach to disinfecting the surfaces of their ATMs. They can either undertake this task with their own staff members or outsource it to a third-party vendors, she says.

Consumers, meanwhile, can do their part by following CDC guidelinesuse disinfect wipes when interacting with the machine, avoid touching your face and wash your hands when you return home. Theres an onus and responsibility on both parties, the consumer and the provider, to ensure that ATMs can be used safely, Pierce says.
In addition to Donna Render starting an email letter campaign against the newly elected Student Senate president, Ahmad Daraldik, there is also a petition started by Alums for Campus Fairness. The petition calls for Daraldik to step down from his position or for his impeachment, and for FSU to take the necessary steps to counter anti-Semitism. These include the Student Senate affirming and recognizing the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, and the mandatory anti-racism training for student government members and other university leaders.

Alums for Campus Fairness is Americas unified alumn...
An author claims William and Charles wanted to find a way forward for Harry and Meghan. (Getty Images)

Prince Charles and Prince William wanted to find a way to help Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, according to a royal author.

Nigel Cawthorne is the author of Prince Andrew, Epstein and the Palace, which explores the Duke of Yorks friendship with the convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and the subsequent fallout.

The book claims that those inside the palace used the disastrous interview which Andrew, 60, gave to BBC Newsnight about his friendship, as a chance to also move Prince Harry and Meghan out of the royal picture.

According to the MailOnline, the book claims the interview, in November 2019, was seen as a good time for a leak about the Duke and Duchesss hopes of stepping back from their senior royal roles.

Cawthorne told Yahoo UK: Charles and William genuinely wanted to find a way forward for what the Sussexes were looking for and to support them in their discussions with the palace.

He previously told the MailOnline that the Charles and William factions saw the interview as the starting shot to pruning the unwieldy monarchy.

Read more: Prince Harry and Meghan Markles new job: Couple sign up as speakers for star-studded NYC agency

Andrew has stepped back from his royal duties. (Getty Images)

He says the first rumours of the Sussexes hoping to step back circulated the same day as the Andrew interview.

Cawthorne also says the plans for the couple had been months in the planning, but in secret.

However, whether it was Charles, 71, or William, 38, who were directly involved in using the interview to organise a leak is not clear.

Cawthorne told Yahoo UK: The idea that the BBC interview might not be a good idea existed well before it took place. Jason Stein, Prince Andrews communications secretary, felt so strongly that he resigned over it when the palace cleared the interview two weeks before.

But once the interview on, the palace couldnt just hope for the best and courtiers had to prepare for the eventuality of what to do if it failed.

Charles and William would not have had any hand in these strategies.

Story continues

Read more: This year's must-read royal biographies, from Harry and Meghan's 'real story' to feuding princes

Harry and Meghan volunteering with Homeboy Industries in LA. (Duke and Duchess of Sussex)

Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, are living in Los Angeles after stepping back from their senior roles at the end of March.

It was revealed this week that they have signed up as speakers with an agency that includes names like Serena Williams, and Barack and Michelle Obama.

Meanwhile Andrew is continuing to feel the effects of his friendship with Epstein and is embroiled in a transatlantic legal row.

One of Epsteins victims, Virginia Giuffre, has accused the Duke of York of having sex with her three times when she was trafficked by the American.

Andrew denies the claims.

He says he has made several offers to US authorities to speak about Epstein, but they say this is not true.

He is also looks unlikely to ever be able to return to royal duties, after reports earlier this month that the Queen is resigned to the decision for him to step back being permanent.
The young daughter of prominent neurosurgeon Charlie Teo has faced court on dangerous driving charges over a crash involving a former bikie boss.

Nicola Teo, 24, on Friday pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm when she faced Penrith District Court.

Police allege she was driving on the wrong side of the road for up to 200 metres when the crash happened at Lower Macdonald, two hours north of Sydney, on September 25 last year.

Former Comancheros boss Jock Ross was airlifted to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition when his motorcycle collided head on with Teo's Toyota Landcruiser.

Teo is facing a maximum jail term of seven years and has also been charged with negligent driving, not keeping left of a dividing line and not giving details to police.

Prominent neurosurgeon Charlie Teo (left) and his daughter Nicole (right). The 24-year-old allegedly crashed into a Harley Davidson rider in Lower MacDonald, two hours north west of Sydney, on September 25, 2019

The rider was former Comanchero boss William George 'Jock' Ross, (pictured) 76, who was flown to Westmead hospital with critical leg and internal injuries from the crash.

Teo was driving her Toyota Land Cruiser when the crash allegedly happened but is now banned from driving a motor vehicle while she is on bail.

Appearing in court via video link from her lawyer's office, Teo pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.

There is a 'likelihood' Teo will be jailed if she is convicted, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Telegraph.

The Crown Prosecutor expected Teo's trial to take seven days while her defence solicitor Darren Emery estimated it would take longer.

'Realistically, there is no way this trial will run for less than 10 days,' Mr Emery said.

Judge Jennifer English encouraged the defence to set a trial date sooner but Mr Emery wanted extra time to gather reports.

Teo will be excused from attending her case when her trial date is set in Sydney District Court in August.

Teo with her two pet dogs. She pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm at Penrith District Court on Friday

Charlie Teo and Nicole on the Brooklyn Bridge during a trip to New York City. The daughter's trial date will be set at Sydney District Court in August

Miss Teo attended the $25,000-a-year St Catherine's School for Girls and now owns a dog-walking business called East Side Dogs AU.

Daily Mail Australia understands she often takes the animals to the Hawkesbury for walks.

Pictures on her Instagram page show her posing with dogs alongside her cream 70-series Toyota LandCruiser ute.

After the crash, Miss Teo's business posted to Instagram saying: 'Hi all, sorry we are running a bit behind schedule.

'Please let me know if you need your pup at home at a certain time.'

Charlie Teo is one of Australia's best neurosurgeons who has made headlines for prolonging the lives of cancer-suffering children - although his high private fees have caused controversy.

Speaking about his children in an interview last year, Dr Teo said: 'My daughters have shown me how to be less selfish and self-centred.

'They have an emotional intelligence that I didn't develop at their age; some would say I still haven't. Women and girls mature decades before men do.'

Ross, a Glasgow-born former soldier, founded the Comancheros on the New South Wales Central Coast with four other motorcycle enthusiasts on April 15, 1966.

Comanchero bikie gang founder Jock Ross (pictured) was left fighting for life after the crash

Styled as the gang's 'supreme commander', he led them into the 1984 Milperra Massacre, in which four of his men as well as two Bandidos and a 14-year-old girl died.

He took a gunshot to the head which gave him vision loss and a brain injury - but he survived.

Ross was jailed for murder in 1987 over his role instigating the massacre. He was released in 1992 after serving just five years.

Following the Milperra Massacre, Ross, who lives in Lower Macdonald, had maintained nominal control of the Comanchero for almost 20 years until a new breed of bikie arrived.

Rapid recruitment of Middle Eastern members in the late 1990s was splitting the gang.

Ross was spending much of his time in retirement on the Central Coast near Mangrove Mountain when a group of the new brigade, including Mahmoud 'Mick' Hawi, who was shot dead last year, drove up to visit about 2002.

Bikies at the scene of the Milperra Massacre outside the Viking Tavern on Father's Day 1984

According to former detective Duncan McNab's book Outlaw Bikers in Australia, the visitors were concerned about the gang's leadership and told Ross they wanted to chat.

The new members of the Comanchero, young and fearless, respected only money and power and had no time for how the old guard - including their club's founding father - wanted things run.

'Ross was unsuspecting and outnumbered and the discussion was quick and violent,' McNab wrote. 'The Comancheros, led by Mick Hawi, delivered a comprehensive beating to the much older leader.

'They left him battered and took both his club colours and his Harley-Davidson. It was the outlaw equivalent of spitting in Jock's face.'

Ross was about 60. Hawi was barely 21. Within a year Hawi was national president and Ross's leadership was done.

Since he was ousted, Ross, a grandfather of 12, has been captain of his local Rural Fire Service.
The Convener of the Inter-Party Resistance against the New Voters Register (IPRAN), Bernard Mornah has urged Ghanaians to storm the various registration centres across the country to register with their old voters ID cards when registration begins next week.



His advice is in sharp contravention of the orders of the Supreme Court.



The apex court of the land has disallowed the use of the old Voters ID card for the upcoming Voters registration exercise. As it stands now, the Ghana Card and Passport are the only breeder documents one can use to register on the voters register.



In a ruling Thursday morning, the Seven Member Supreme Court panel granted relief three of the suit by the opposition NDC party which talks about the use of the old voters ID card for the upcoming voters compilation exercise subject to the prevailing C.I 126.



However, the prevailing C.I 126 prevents the use of the existing voters card as proof of identity in the compilation of the new register.



The Court upon dismissing some of the reliefs sought by the NDC and Mark Takyi-Banson directed the EC to go ahead with the voter registration exercise as scheduled.



The Court also said the registration should be conducted in line with the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations 2012, C.I. 91 as amended as the newly passed Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2020 C.I. 126.



The opposition NDC has not hidden their displeasure over the Supreme Court ruling as the party through its Flagbearer John Mahama has publicly stated their objection to the verdict.



Bernard Mornah the Convener of IPRAN which is a group of opposition parties at a press conference held in Accra on Friday urged the Ghanaian public not to be troubled by the Supreme Court ruling.



Get your voter ID card, if it is the only identification document you can find and march in your numbers and in multitudes to the registration centres to demand the restoration of your right to citizenship and your inalienable right bestowed on you by virtue of your birth and by courtesy of the 1992 Constitution.







Source: kasapafmonline.com









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Tech giant Microsoft said Friday it will permanently close nearly all of its physical retail stores, including its location at Destiny USA in Syracuse.

Just four physical stores will remain, according to the company. They include locations in London, New York City, Sydney, Australia and at the companys campus in Redmond, Washington.

The company said retail employees will continue to work with customers online and in the stores that remain open. Its unclear if there will be layoffs, according to CNBC.

The company said it will continue to invest in its online storefronts.

Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location, Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter said in a press release. We are grateful to our Microsoft Store customers and we look forward to continuing to serve them online and with our retail sales team at Microsoft corporate locations.

Microsoft has over 100 store locations total, mostly in the U.S., according to technology news site The Verge.

The Destiny store opened in 2014 on the second level of the malls Lord & Taylor wing, near the center atrium. At the time, it was the seventh Microsoft store in New York.

Its unclear how much of Microsofts decision has to do with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. All of the companys stores have been closed since March due to the virus.

Retail employees have been working with customers virtually since the shutdown, Microsoft said. Workers helped train thousands of business and education customers on remote work and and learning software and helped with support calls.

Destiny itself remains largely shut down. New York ordered all nonessential businesses, including malls, closed in March to help slow the spread of the pandemic.

Its unclear when malls will return in full. Some stores and restaurants are offering curbside pickup and those with their own exterior entrances have been allowed to reopen.

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Ireland's two historic centre-right rivals forged an unlikely coalition with the Green Party on Friday that shuts the resurgent republicans Sinn Fein out of government. The alliance brings together incumbent Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's Fine Gael with its ancient foe Fianna Fail -- the two stalwarts of Irish politics. The premiership is to rotate between the two, with Varadkar reportedly agreeing to assume the leadership after Fianna Fail's Micheal Martin. On Friday night Varadkar said on Twitter he was "clearing out the office" of the prime minister ahead of a special parliamentary sitting on Saturday set to see Martin voted in as Taoiseach, or prime minister. Under a rota system Varadkar would reportedly return to office in December 2022. - Outside parties - The much smaller Greens become kingmakers in a February election that fractured parliament and left Sinn Fein -- historically associated with the paramilitary Irish Republican Army (IRA) -- within touching distance of a role in government. "There's work to be done, and we're the ones to try and help make it happen," Greens leader Eamon Ryan said after all three backed the coalition in internal votes among its members. Had the proposed alliance faltered, Ireland risked the prospect of holding an election while the country clawed its way out of its coronavirus lockdown. Analysts said left-wing Sinn Fein could savour its role as the main opposition party in the middle of a global health and economic crisis. "The political establishment rallied to keep us out," said leader Mary Lou McDonald. "Just because the old political establishment has put up some barrier in our way, that's not going to stop us." "We're going to be the most effective opposition," added deputy leader Michelle O'Neill. "We can make huge strides forward." - 'United and strong' - Varadkar's Fine Gael party -- routed to third place with 35 seats -- was the first to back the deal Friday, giving it support from 80 percent of its members. "Fine Gael is going to enter a third term in government and this new coalition is united and strong, and up to the challenge," Varadkar told reporters. Fianna Fail, the EU member state's biggest party with 38 seats in the 160 seat chamber, backed the deal with 74 percent approval. "We have chosen this route, it has many challenges," said Martin. "But on the other hand it's also a moment of opportunity and a moment of hope for our people." - Sinn Fein surge - The Greens secured numerous flagship concessions in the coalition talks, wielding an outsized influence as a 12-seat bloc vital to providing the alliance with a parliamentary majority. But progressive party members had reason to be cautious of a deal with Ireland's centre-right establishment. After entering a coalition with Fianna Fail in 2007, the Green Party was wiped out in the ensuing 2011 general election, losing all six of its parliamentary seats. In a dramatic upheaval of the status quo, February's general election saw republican party Sinn Fein leap to prominence. The one-time fringe party won the popular vote with 24.5 percent of first preference ballots, becoming the second-largest force in parliament after running on a left-wing platform. It now expects to become the main opposition party. That could act as a vital foothold in a push to power in the next election, analysts said. "Being the lead party of opposition would suit them well, and I don't think they'd be too worried about a second election," University College Cork politics researcher Jonathan Evershed told AFP. But the pandemic also improved the prospects Fine Gael, which bled seats in February after pinning its election campaign on success in the politically-tense Brexit negotiations. An Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll published last week showed Varadkar enjoying a 75-percent approval rating.
In offering the help to other states, Cuomo mentioned that New York benefited from aid from other states, including Massachusetts and Oregon, during the height of its battle with Covid-19. The governor also referred to 60,000 health care volunteers who came to New York.

"We will never forget that graciousness and we will repay it any way we can," he said.

Moments before offering help, Cuomo, as he has throughout recent weeks, criticized states that he said reopened too quickly.

"They are all seeing a significant spike," the governor said. "Now you are seeing states reach the point of undeniability, you're seeing states changing course."

The most prominent example of that is Texas, which announced Friday it was closing bars and reducing restaurant capacity in the face of rising coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. Florida also closed bars Friday following a record daily number of cases. On Thursday, Texas canceled elective surgeries due to a concern over hospital capacity.

"The virus has made its position clear. Its going to continue spreading  and when it continues spreading, you wreak havoc on the economy," Cuomo said. "More people will get sick and more people will die.
Rajesh Kumar Thakur And Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

PATNA/LUCKNOW: Over 100 people, including dozens of farmers and labourers, were killed in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh due to lightning and thunderstorm as heavy monsoon rains lashed the two states on Thursday.

In Uttar Pradesh, around 20 people lost life and over a dozen injured after getting struck by lightning in various districts. While 13 people were killed in Gorakhpur-Basti division, four and three deaths were reported from Prayagraj and Ambedkarnagar. Another 13-14 people also sustained burn injuries. Three died in Siddharthnagar and one in Kushinagar in Gorakhpur divisions.

Most of the farmers and the labourers were working in paddy fields amid heavy rains and thunderstorms, officials said On Thursday, UP received heavy to moderate measuring an average 33.4 mm rainfall across eastern and a few places in central and western regions. The MeT office predicted that most parts of eastern UP and some in western region will continue to receive heavy to moderate spells of rains till June 28.

Of the 88 people killed in Bihar, Gopalganj district reported the maximum deaths (13) followed by eight deaths each from Madhubani and Nawada, six each in Bhagalpur and Siwan, and five each in East Champaran, Darbhanga, and Banka. Khagaria, West Champaran, Samastipur, Sheohar, Kishanganj, Saran, Jehanabad, Sitamarhi, Jamui, Purnia, Supaul, Aurangabad, Buxar, Madhepura, and Kaimur also reported fatalities.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar announced ex gratia grant of Rs 4 lakh to the families of each of the deceased. The weather department issued a high alert for all districts, especially those located near Nepal border. Confirming the deaths, principal secretary of state Disaster Management, Pratyay Amrit said district officials were providing whatever assistance are given by the state.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Beijing has partially lifted a weeks-long lockdown imposed in the Chinese capital to head off a feared second wave of coronavirus infections after three million samples were taken in two weeks, officials said.

Dozens of residential compounds across the city were shut down, with authorities rolling out a mass testing campaign to root out any remaining cases.

A vast majority of them are linked to the sprawling Xinfadi market in the city's south that supplies about 80 percent of Beijing's fresh produce and meat.

The lockdown was eased on Tuesday for seven apartment blocks after residents tested negative for the virus, officials said at a Friday briefing. The remaining blocks are still in lockdown.

Eleven new virus cases across Beijing were announced on Friday, bringing the total number of infections in the capital since the June 11 outbreak to 280.

Food market workers and visitors, nearby residents, restaurant workers and delivery couriers have been the prime targets of mass testing so far as fears began to mount over the hygiene of Beijing's food supply.

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

 2020 AFP
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday tested negative for the coronavirus infection and is likely to be discharged from hospital in the evening.

Jain earlier this week was shifted out of the ICU of a dedicated private COVID-19 facility, days after he was administered plasma therapy.

The 55-year-old minister was on June 20 administered plasma therapy at the Max Hospital in Saket where he is admitted. A team of senior doctors from a few government and private hospitals had been monitoring his condition.

Jain was shifted to the ICU of Max hospital from a city government facility after his condition deteriorated on June 19. He had tested positive for COVID-19 on June 17, a day after he was admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH), after running high-grade fever and suffering sudden drop in oxygen levels.

RGSSH is a dedicated COVID-19 facility but does not have permission to conduct plasma therapy.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26) - The Department of Health said Friday that there is not enough evidence that testing deceased suspected COVID-19 patients will produce high-yield results.

In general, hindi rin po namin nire-recommend ang post-mortem testing para sa COVID-19 suspects or pag-test nila after nilang pumanaw. Dahil wala pong sapat na ebidensya na mataas yung magiging yield nung kanilang test, said Special Assistant to the Health Secretary Dr. Beverly Ho.

[Translation: In general, we are not recommending post-mortem testing for suspected COVID-19 because there is no evidence that the test will produce high-yield results.]

She added that a department order provided that deceased probable or suspected patients are already considered confirmed cases.

Ayon dito, yung mga suspect, probable COVID-19 patients na namatay habang naghihintay ng results nila are going to be considered as a confirmed case when they are handled, said Ho.

[Translation: Based from this, suspected or probable COVID-19 patients who died while waiting for their results are going to be considered as confirmed cases when they are handled.]

In other parts of the world, swab testing is conducted on the dead.

In the country, a report showed that some patients in Cebu province were tested for the virus after they were declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
Rotunda Rumblings

On the rise: The state on Thursday reported 892 new coronavirus cases, the biggest single-day jump in cases since a brief period of heavy prison testing in mid-April, Rich Exner reports. Of the total cases, there are at least 2,772 deaths, up 17 from the previous day, Laura Hancock reports.

The context: To add meaning to the latest coronavirus cases totals, hospitalizations and deaths could be numbers to watch in the days to come, a Cleveland Clinic doctor tells Exner. Thats part of a Q&A on what the latest case reports mean, in the context of increased testing and other recent trends.

Not loving it, might leave it: House Speaker Larry Householder said Thursday hes researching how to legally withdraw Capitol Square from Columbus city limits, among other legislative responses to his concerns over two recent acts of vandalism to the Statehouse. As Andrew Tobias reports, he told the Ohio Christian Alliance in a podcast interview hes also exploring whether to give the state attorney general jurisdiction over property damage cases in downtown Columbus.

Working from home: State Sen. Theresa Fedor says shes not returning to Columbus until Senate Republican leadership addresses her safety concerns over coronavirus protocols. Per Tobias, Fedor said she closed her office after learning Monday from her staff that a staffer assigned to a Democratic senator had tested positive for COVID-19.

Good news/bad news: The number of continued unemployment claims fell for the eighth straight week last week, suggesting that Ohioans are headed back to work. But as Jeremy Pelzer explains, the number of new jobless claims filed last week rose slightly compared to the week before. Weed and wasting syndrome: The State Medical Board of Ohio is expected to soon determine whether to add cachexia, or wasting syndrome, to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana. Hancock looks at what happens when a person gets the illness, and how cannabis could help.

Two become one: A recent law change cutting Ohios front-license plate requirement takes effect next week. But as Tobias reports, those who really want a second plate can pay $7.50, compared to the current $6.50. The change was part of the state transportation budget the governor signed in April 2019.

Lordy: Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that Republican President Donald Trump had kept all his promises to Ohio while giving a speech at the former site of the General Motors facility in Lordstown. As Seth Richardson writes, the boast was bold considering it was given in a facility that lost thousands of jobs under Trumps watch after Trump promised the Youngstown area in 2017 that factory jobs would return in droves.

Definitely maybe: Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman on Thursday said he isnt sure whether hell attend President Donald Trumps Republican National Convention acceptance speech in Jacksonville, Florida on Aug. 27, writes Pelzer.But if he does attend, Portman ... plans on wearing a mask and taking other anti-coronavirus precautions, even though the speech was moved to Florida from Charlotte because the president refused to accept North Carolinas requirement that attendees must wear masks and abide by social-distancing rules.

Peppered: Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper joined PBS The Open Mind podcast to discuss Ohios standing in the 2020 election. Pepper said hes concerned that as polls worsen for Trump, hell pressure states to reduce the amount of polling locations, leading to chaos like in Georgia.

Buckeye Brain Tease

Question: What famous inventor tried to save President James Garfield's life after he was shot by an assassin?

Email your response to capitolletter@cleveland.com. The first correct respondent will be mentioned in next weeks newsletter.

Thanks for responding to last weeks trivia question:

Juneteenth, the commemoration of the freedom of enslaved people in the United States, traces its lineage to June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas. Which Ohio town held the first emancipation celebration in the country on Sept. 22, 1863, one year after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation?

Answer: Gallipolis has the oldest celebration of emancipation in the country with Emancipation Day, the first of its kind in the nation. [h/t Afi-Odelia Scruggs, a Cleveland-based journalist] Capitol Letter reader Lorna Hill of Massillon was the first to send in the correct answer.

Birthdays

Friday: Ex-Ohio House Speaker Vern Riffe (1925-1997)

Sunday: State Rep. Joe Miller, Thomas Dains, Ohio Republican Party director of operations

Straight From The Source

Look, again, I dont see a great deal of a point to public disagreements with anybody if I can avoid it. Its just not helpful.

-Gov. Mike DeWine, responding to a question during Thursdays briefing about whether Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly, many of whom refuse to wear masks, are undermining his message about coronavirus protections.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.
The elephant in the room entered via social media. The negotiating teams from the three parties were set for a long round of talks three Saturdays ago. On the heavy agenda for Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Green Party were up to 10 policy papers to plough through, on areas ranging from transport and mental health to retrofitting and the Just Transition Fund for the midlands.

In the evening session, mobile phone messages began to ping saying Catherine Martin was contesting the Greens leadership against Eamon Ryan. The Greens deputy leader, Martin, was sitting there in the room as those across the table wondered whether there was any point to the negotiations at all.

"There were a lot of pressure points that day. In the middle of a 12-hour session, we all saw it on social media saying she was going for it and just thought: 'Jesus, what the f*** is going on?' Nobody said anything. Typically Irish. She sat there serenely," a negotiator laughs about it now.

The incident added to the enigma of Catherine Martin, who will take her seat at Cabinet this evening. The talks delivered a programme for government, which the three parties' memberships have approved.

The negotiations also gave a taste of what's to come as the parties have to work together. The sides got to know each other better.

Read More

The Greens did make an impression though. Neasa Hourigan was incredibly assured and confident as she fought for policies. Brian Leddin from Limerick was authoritative on climate policy, as were Ossian Smyth and Pippa Hackett. Marc O Cathasaigh from Waterford was an unexpected star, quietly chairing meetings with competence and authority.

"Marc, every time he took over the chairing role in any of the meetings, was very impressive, moving it along: 'Let's park that and let's come back to it.' He had a sense of when you needed to push things and when that was counterproductive. He was professional and friendly in it," a Fine Gael minister said,

The other two sides reckoned Roderic O'Gorman was where the power lay in the Greens. "Catherine didn't know how far she could go and how much she could compromise. Roderic was the one who was steering the Greens through the talks. When he spoke, it was the party deciding," a negotiator said.

When Eamon Ryan did participate in the talks, his experience came across and he was viewed as their most impressive figure with an authority that no one else had. Looking ahead to the new government, his deputy leader has a lot to do to convince others she is in control, particularly if she becomes party leader.

"The jury is out on Catherine Martin. She didn't contribute a lot. She always let the groups speak. She made very occasional interventions. She didn't necessarily stand out. She didn't really challenge. She might have done her talking at their own meetings.

"She was very clear she had to keep her group updated. She probably increased the buy-in. She was uneasy. People were wary about her during the talks. You didn't know exactly what agenda was at play. There was a recognition she had to endorse the deal," a senior negotiator said.

Martin wasn't the only deputy leader who didn't make a positive mark.

His own party colleagues complain about Tanaiste Simon Coveney's ability to drone on and patronise.

"Coveney is a pain in the hole. I'd hate to be dealing with him all the time. He's tone-deaf and to the manor born, 'I'll tell you little people' type. He's a nice fellah but completely verbose. He never spends a minute saying something when he can spend five," a Fine Gael figure says.

The worst example came with the Occupied Territories Bill, which would ban the import of Israeli goods from Palestine. The Greens and Fianna Fail both wanted it in.

"It got kind of heated and went up to leaders. Coveney just shut down the discussion immediately and we got 20 minutes of preaching on world peace. He wouldn't even discuss it apart from his soliloquy," a Fianna Fail TD says.

Ultimately, Fianna Fail and the Greens relented as the strong legal advice from the Attorney General said the ban was illegal. Although there were differing views, as it was coming from the AG, it would be a bad start for the new government to overrule its own legal advice.

While Fianna Fail and Green negotiators acknowledge that Coveney is professional and capable, they also say he didn't gel with his counterparts on the opposite sides, so there's work to do there on a bad working relationship.

By contrast, Paschal Donohoe has a positive vibe with Michael McGrath, Dara Calleary and Barry Cowen after working on the past four budgets under the Confidence and Supply arrangement.

As McGrath goes into the Public Expenditure Minister role, that is viewed as an important plank going forward. During the negotiations, McGrath was continually trying to move the talks on and get sign-off on policy areas.

"He's a cute Cork accountant. He's not a fellah with big vision. He's got his own kind of range: insurance, mortgage rates, all that. He's workmanlike. He's sensible," a member of the negotiating team said.

Part of the problem at the start was Fine Gael and Fianna Fail didn't know if the Greens would come into the negotiations process. The influx of new Green TDs meant it was hard to get a handle on the mood within the party. The original exploratory talks between the parties had not gone well. "Tensions were high on all sides and there wasn't certainty on whether trust would build up. We were all miles apart," one TD said.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail drew up a Framework Document, which then prompted 17 questions from the Greens. Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin themselves handled the response, which committed to the Greens' red line issues. But there was uncertainty about the response.

"The period of huge uncertainty was when there was a debate on the internal machinations. None of us knew. If there is a debate in Fine Gael or Fianna Fail or the Labour Party, you'd know from a cup of coffee. It wasn't available to us in the early part," a TD said.

The concession on the reduction of carbon emissions was the key red-line issue, but the Greens wanted precise detail.

"Climate change: that was iconic for them. They were surprised at the willingness to go there. This is just anticipating what's coming down the track. It is genuine. It will definitely be the latter part of the decade. You need a huge amount of political commitment to turn society on its head. It had to be there and it had to be followed through. They were looking for any inch of a lack of seriousness," a member of the negotiating team said.

Indeed, giving the Greens what they wanted didn't necessarily assuage their concerns.

"Fianna Fail were like nodding dogs and Fine Gael were fighting on detail. The Greens were interpreting that as Fianna Fail telling them what they wanted to hear to con them into going into government," a Fine Gael TD said.

Richard Bruton's entry into the negotiations is viewed as another turning point. He was bumped from the backroom Fine Gael policy reference group up to the frontline when talks were sticking on emissions. He continued to contribute across a host of areas and played a role of honest broker with the Greens.

"Bruton shone through as the most capable of them and would have impressed us more than before. He was trying to find solutions. The level of experience shone through," a TD said admiringly.

Across the opposing parties, the talks also reaffirmed a lot of stereotypes about each other. Fine Gael being arrogant, Fianna Fail not having enough depth and the Greens being sincere but slightly erratic. Fine Gael figures felt Fianna Fail's efforts were half-assed, trundling along and not getting into the detail.

"The Fine Gael suspicion is Fianna Fail is feckless and don't really care. That's still there after the talks," a negotiator said.

"At the start, Fine Gael were utterly shell-shocked. They didn't understand how housing and childcare were viewed as a failure. They changed course completely during the talks. They got their mojo back," a Fianna Fail TD said.
Security expert Neil Fergus said: "ASIO would not take this step lightly." The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age is not suggesting the allegations involving Mr Moselmane and his office are proven, only that they are the subject of an ASIO and federal police inquiry. Shaoquett Moselmane as he leaves his home on Lennox Street in Rockdale. Credit:Kate Geraghty The revelations of the ASIO probe are likely to trigger a political storm, given Labor has already weathered intense criticism over Mr Moselmane and his office's apparent disdain for bipartisan reforms to curb Chinese government interference in Australia and the upper house MP's unabashed praise of Beijing. It is also likely to dramatically inflame tensions between China and Australia, which have plunged to a new low point following the federal government's calls for an inquiry into Beijing's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Politicians across the nation have been repeatedly warned by ASIO about safeguarding against foreign government influence efforts. The warnings were amplified after the 2018 resignation of Labor senator Sam Dastyari amid claims he'd been cultivated by CCP-aligned political donor Huang Xiangmo, who was expelled from Australia in late 2018 after ASIO warned he may be engaged in foreign interference. Loading Since 2018, Mr Moselmane and his part-time staffer John Zhang have attracted media and political scrutiny over their support for Chinese government positions and criticisms of Australian government policy. Mr Moselmane resigned as assistant president of the NSW Legislative Council after the Herald and The Age revealed how he wrote in an essay for a Chinese University that "the obsolete scum of white Australia" had re-emerged, attacked Australia's "mainstream media" as anti-Chinese and praised Beijing's leadership during the coronavirus crisis. The February essay mirrored Chinese state propaganda and was translated into Chinese by his staffer, Mr Zhang. It was only the most recent of many controversial pro-Beijing comments Mr Moselmane has made. Mr Moselmane controversially gave a speech in 2019 proclaiming a "new world order" was needed for China to reach its potential.

Mr Moselmane has taken nine privately-funded trips to China since entering Parliament in 2009. Disclosure records show his transport and hospitality costs were often met by Chinese government officials or agencies. He appointed Mr Zhang to his parliamentary office as a part-time staffer at the beginning of 2019. Mr Zhang has, according to Chinese websites, attended a propaganda training course in 2013 run by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, which merged in 2018 with Chinese Communist Party's opaque influence agency, the United Front Work Department (UFWD). The precise nature of the course is not known. The UFWD, in part, works to increase the CCP's influence in foreign political systems by employing legitimate means as well as covert, coercive methods. Covert and coercive measures are outlawed under Australian counter-foreign interference laws. Mr Zhang wrote in a 2014 blog how "to strengthen our [China's] political influence, we must have more politicians like Shaoquett with pro-China sentiments to be our friends".

The ASIO probe is examining if covert activities or agents directed by the CCP may have sought to influence Mr Moselmane, Mr Zhang or others in Mr Moselmane's office and, if that can be proven, whether the politician and his staffers had any knowledge or on involvement. One intelligence community insider who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media said multiple warrants had been acted on in NSW in an attempt to gather evidence about the alleged plot. A second source with knowledge of the inquiry said it had begun as a narrow ASIO probe but dramatically widened. The issuing of warrants to gather evidence in covert cases like this is an intensive process governed by stringent intelligence and communication laws designed to strike a balance between protecting national security and invading a person's privacy. ASIO is required to report to the Attorney-General on the extent to which the action taken under every warrant has assisted the agency, although civil libertarians and legal groups say the process is still unaccountable given it takes place behind closed doors. Mr Moselmane has previously criticised Australia's new counter-foreign interference laws in an interview with Chen Hong, director of the East China Normal University Australia Studies Center, in Shanghai.

Zhang is named online as a researcher at Professor Chen's centre and Mr Moselmane is listed as a guest professor there. China analyst Alex Joske said Professor Chen has close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and is a prolific critic of Australian government policy. In an interview Mr Chen conducted with Mr Moselmane in 2018, the pair discussed Australia's counter-foreign interference laws, which were passed that year with bipartisan support. Mr Chen said reporting about interference had "singled out" China. Mr Moselmane agreed and also described scrutiny of Beijing's influence campaign as a "witch hunt". Despite resigning as upper house assistant president, Mr Moselmane has remained a member of Parliament and a member of the Labor Party. Labor leader Jodi McKay has previously described his comments praising Chinese President Xi Jinping as "appalling", but ruled out expelling him from the party. Federal Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton in April condemned Mr Moselmane's website remarks as Chinese government "talking points", while former Rudd government minister Stephen Conroy described Mr Moselmane as an "absolute disgrace to the Labor Party" and said it was "astonishing he's still in Parliament".
PANAMA CITY - In the weeks since Panama loosened restrictions in an attempt to gradually reactivate its economy, new coronavirus infections have surged, especially in the densely populated poorer neighbourhoods of its capital.

Since late March, Panama had managed to maintain its daily new infections below 200 with a strict lockdown. But this month those numbers have nearly tripled and reported deaths are coming twice as fast.

Amid the worsening situation, President Laurentino Cortizo replaced is health minister Wednesday without explaining why.

We all knew this was going to happen, said Dr. Xavier Saenz-Llorens, one of the advisers of the Health Ministrys pandemic team. He was referring to the increase in infections once measures were eased. What we didnt know was the magnitude.

Emblematic of the surge was the announcement Thursday that the countrys most famous athlete, Roberto Manos de Piedra Duran, a former world champion in four different weight classes, had tested positive for the coronavirus. His son Robin Duran confirmed the news about his 69-year-old father, who retired from boxing in 2001.

In mid-May, Panama allowed e-commerce, fishing and service providers like plumbers, electricians and mechanics to return to work. At the start of June, it added non-metallic mining, public infrastructure, as well as industrial sectors like textiles, chemicals, oil refineries and pharmaceuticals.

The opening of the two blocks (of economic activity), especially the second, increased the circulation of people in the streets and many of them live in those neighbourhoods and use the metro, the buses and spread the cases, Saenz-Llorens said.

Those neighbourhoods are the crowded ones far from the capitals skyscrapers like Tocumen near the airport and December 24 neighbourhood. A week after the second stage reopening, the quarantine was re-established for the capital and neighbouring West Panama province.

Panama is a country that has brutal economic and social inequality, Saenz-Llorens said. So where the virus enters, it devastates poor areas.

On Wednesday, the government reported more than 700 new infections and eight deaths, taking the reported totals to 12,600 cases and nearly 550 deaths.

Dr. Jorge Luis Prospero, former representative of the Pan American Health Organization in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Ecuador, said while the government tried to ease back the restrictions, the local health system did not have the capacity at the time to scale up massive testing and contact tracing as people began to leave their homes.

People went out into the streets, we began to do more tests, detected more cases, Prospero said. Were following up, but we have another source of the problem which is important ... the majority of the cases were seeing are people that live in the poorest neighbourhoods and the conditions of their homes are not adequate for isolating themselves from the rest of the family.

Health authorities have been warning for days that the intensive care unit at the Social Security Complex  the countrys main public hospital  is nearing its capacity.

The number of patients in intensive care has increased nearly 50% in the past month.

The warning is difficult to accept for people like Jeronimo Diaz, who sells fruits and vegetables at the entrance to the December 24 neighbourhood. He has to travel on buses, often packed, everyday to resupply his stand.

Its really hard and I dont have money to always pay for a taxi, he said.

___

Associated Press writer Juan Zamorano contributed to this report.
Microsoft is to shut shop on the high streets and malls of America, permanently closing its 116 retail stores. Only 10 were overseas; flagship stores in New York City, London, Sydney, and Redmond will be remain as showrooms that do not sell the products. There will be no layoffs, Microsoft reports.

Alarm bells rang when Microsoft shied from reopening stores as states gave up on Covid lockdowns, but quitting for good wasn't expected. Chris Welch:

The decision partially explains why Microsoft had yet to reopen a single store after they were all closed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, Microsoft told The Verge that its "approach for re-opening Microsoft Store locations is measured and cautious, guided by monitoring global data, listening to public health and safety experts, and tracking local government restrictions." The company declined to offer an update on when any stores might open again.

They were nice stores, but I have to admit that being able to check out a Microsoft Surface Studio in person showed how bad its pen latency was compared to iPad Pro and saved me from dropping thousands of dollars.
Yet just a couple of years ago our community outrage centred on claims those very systems failed to protect us from "African gangs", allegedly responsible for home invasions and car jackings that left us, according to federal Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, too frightened to go to restaurants. (They were the days when you could get a gutful of scallops and a pint of Pinot at fine dining establishments.) Just recently County Court judge Liz Gaynor made headlines when she gave two (Pacific Island) offenders a withering burst while jailing them for a vicious assault on drug boss Tony Mokbel (himself a member of an ethnic minority). This is the same judge who was bagged when she gave a young man of Sudanese descent, with no previous criminal record, a second chance after he was charged over two robberies. (For the record, she jailed a second offender who did have a criminal record.) Judge Liz Gaynor gives Teira Bennett and Eldea Teuira a blistering bake. This was how it was reported: A violent teen thug linked to the Apex crime gang has avoided jail despite committing two terrifying jewellery heists just 90 minutes apart.

The violent teen thug has completed his studies, is employed and has not reoffended. Gaynor was right and her critics wrong, although we in the media rarely admit mistakes because those who own the ink usually refuse to blink. The rate of Indigenous incarceration is a scandal. In Victoria, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up less than one per cent of the community but represent more than 10 per cent of prisoners. Loading Last month we had 7383 inmates (a drop due to COVID-19) with 749 of them from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The overall inmates number is anticipated to grow to 11,000 in three years, which means that if things dont change, we will have 400 more Indigenous Australians in Victorian prisons by the end of 2023.

Lets face it: We love locking people up. In 1977 we had 38 prisoners per 100,000 people; in 2018 it had tripled to 119 per 100,000. We have tightened bail, restricted parole, narrowed judicial discretion, built new prisons, introduced new offences and ridiculed judges who refuse to put offenders in the stocks for littering. Many of the protesters concentrate on the sharp end  when people of colour come into the criminal justice system, rather than why they do in the first place. There have been attempts to make the system more just. Indigenous men and women are afforded special representation during interviews and many cases are dealt with by the Koori Court, which enlists elders to help administer justice. Loading

But the tough-on-crime approach has a disproportionate impact on the Indigenous because plans to catch the sharks also net minnows. Since July 2014 prison numbers have jumped by more than 1000. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up more than 20 per cent of that increase. Violent people who are a danger to others go to jail, no matter what their colour, but it is those on the fringes - street offenders, small time repeat thieves and those with mental health issues - who pose the challenge. Too many intoxicated people have ended up in police cells. People have died in custody who had not committed crimes sufficient to be jailed. But where do they go? What do police do with a hopelessly drunk person when there is no hospital bed, or friend, carer or charity to help? Put them on the street? There have been 437 Aboriginal deaths in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission examined 99 previous cases. (The commission found glaring inadequacies but no death was due to unlawful actions by police or prison officers.) On November 9 last year, Constable Zachary Rolfe shot dead 19-year-old Indigenous man Kumanjayi Walker 300 kilometres from Alice Springs, sparking Justice for Walker protests nationwide.

Protesters march in Melbourne over the death of Kumanjayi Walker. Credit:AAP Within four days Constable Rolfe was charged with murder (senior police deny they moved quickly to avoid a violent community backlash). The accuseds lawyers have told the court Walker stabbed Rolfe and was attempting to stab Rolfes police partner when he was shot. Police officer Zachary Rolfe has been charged with murder. The bodycam footage from both police will be pivotal. In 1995 two police were called to a noisy party in Wodonga. They were confronted by Helen Merkle, a drunk, angry, irrational woman who attacked them with two knives.

Merkle, a Papua New Guinea national, was shot dead by a policewoman. In the outrage that followed the officer was accused of being a murderer. Eleven months later a coroner found the shooting justified, describing Merkle as a walking time bomb ready to explode and kill someone. The police officer fired not because the offender was black but because she was about to be stabbed. Loading The day after the officer was cleared, her six-year-old daughter went out to play and found the words "Coon Killer" daubed on the lawn and front fence of their Albury home. The woman eventually quit policing and moved interstate. Back to the US for a moment. In the 1990s, zero-tolerance policing became popular in big cities such as New York and after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, police forces were rearmed with ex-military equipment.

This - coupled with the US gun obsession, a disproportionate level of black-on-black violence and police training that relies on taking immediate control - has turned street cops in some urban pockets from protectors to occupiers. Chicago is a city of 2.7 million people (Melbourne is around 5 million). Last weekend there were around 70 shootings, 10 of them fatal, with victims including a three-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl. Most were black. So far this year there have been over 1300 shootings. On May 31 there were 18 murders - one every 80 minutes. The death of George Floyd has sparked calls to defund police. While that sounds nuts, in such a violent world it is not without merit. We are not talking about a withdrawal that leaves anarchy (we shouldnt get too smug about US looting - the same thing happened in Melbourne during the 1923 police strike). Police are forced to deal with social problems that simply dont have law enforcement solutions. They are dealing with someone with mental health issues every 12 minutes.

More than 20 years ago we closed many of our long-term mental health institutions, leaving police to deal with the consequences. The abuse of ice, a massive increase in alcohol-fuelled violence and a spike in homelessness are issues where police are usually the first called. In each case they can only deal with the symptom, not the disease. Protesters rally on June 3 in Phoenix, Arizona, demanding the city council defund the city's police department. Credit:AP If defunding police means diverting money to deal with the causes, it should be explored. While there are rude, bigoted, violent and bent cops, the majority want to protect the public, lock up the baddies, help people in private crisis and public emergencies, then go home without being bashed, shot or accused of being racists. More than five years ago, then chief commissioner Ken Lay said that just getting tough on crime and recruiting more cops was not the answer: We can't arrest our way out of our problems.
In the same week that Chinese and Indian soldiers engaged in a deadly brawl, one of Chinas submarines cruised through the waters near Japan, prompting a scramble of aircraft and ships to track its furtive movements. Chinese fighter jets and at least one bomber buzzed Taiwans territorial airspace almost daily.

With the world distracted by the coronavirus pandemic, Chinas military has encroached upon its neighbors territories on several fronts throughout the spring and now into summer, flexing its military might in ways that have raised alarms across Asia and in Washington.

Chinas military assertiveness reflects a growing sense of confidence and capability, but also one of confrontation, particularly with the United States over the pandemic, the fate of Hong Kong and other issues that China considers central to its sovereignty and national pride.

China claims all of its recent operations are defensive, but each increases the risk of a military clash, whether intended or not. That appears to be what happened on the night of June 15, when Chinese and Indian soldiers fought along their disputed border in the Himalayas.

It was the bloodiest clash on that frontier since 1967. According to Chinese analysts, Indian news reports and U.S. intelligence reports, it also caused an undisclosed number of Chinese deaths, the countrys first in combat since its war with Vietnam in 1979.

I think the possibility of an accidental shot being fired is rising, Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said at a conference in Beijing this week, unveiling a report on US military activity in the region.

China has long acted forcefully to defend the countrys territory and interests, but it is now operating with greater military firepower than ever before.

Its power is growing at a much greater rate than the other regional powers, said Adam Ni, director at the China Policy Center, a research organization in Canberra, Australia. This has really given Beijing more tools at its disposal to push its more assertive and aggressive agenda.

The increased operational tempo this year follows a military modernization program that began in the 1990s and accelerated under Chinas ambitious and authoritarian leader, Xi Jinping. He steadily purged the militarys top ranks of corrupt or insufficiently loyal officers and shifted the focus of the Peoples Liberation Army from heavy ground battles to more agile joint operations using air, naval and, increasingly, cyberweapons.

Xi has also made the military an even greater priority in the wake of the pandemic. Chinas premier, Li Keqiang, announced last month that the military budget would rise 6.6% this year, to nearly $180 billion, about a quarter of the U.S. defense budget, even as overall government spending was set to decline because of the global economic slowdown.

At the National Peoples Congress, Xi noted the role the military played in Wuhan, where the outbreak began in China, and warned that the pandemic posed challenges to national security. The country, he said, should step up preparations for military struggles, flexibly carry out actual military training, and comprehensively improve our militarys ability to carry out military missions.

Chinas military is widely thought to remain far behind U.S. armed forces, but it has caught up in some areas, including the expansion of its naval power and the deployment of anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.

By the end of last year, China was believed to have at least 335 warships, more than the United States, which has 285, according to a report last month by the Congressional Research Service in Washington.

The report said China now posed a major challenge to the U.S. Navys ability to achieve and maintain wartime control of blue-water ocean areas in the Western Pacific  the first such challenge the U.S. Navy has faced since the end of the Cold War.

China has stepped up its military activity near Taiwan after the self-governing islands president, Tsai Ing-wen, won reelection in January by beating a candidate viewed as less hostile to Beijing.

One of Chinas two aircraft carriers cruised along the eastern coast of Taiwan in April, accompanied by five other warships. Chinese aircraft have repeatedly buzzed Taiwanese airspace in the last week, in what analysts said were tests of the islands defenses. China plans to hold a military exercise in August that will reportedly simulate the seizure of Taiwans Pratas Islands, a cluster of atolls known in Mandarin as the Dongsha Islands.

China has also expanded its claims to the South China Sea, creating two new administrative districts to govern the islands it controls in the Paracel and Spratly chains and menacing other neighbors. In April, Chinas coast guard rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat. The same month, a Chinese government research ship stalked an oil vessel in waters Malaysia claims as its own, prompting the United States and Australia to send four warships to monitor the situation.

In the East China Sea, the patrol by a Chinese submarine last week was the first detected since 2018, when Japanese warships forced a nuclear attack submarine to surface. It follows rising tensions over Japans administration of the Senkaku Islands, which the Chinese call the Diaoyu Islands.

When China views it is being challenged in these other sovereignty disputes in this era, it will respond with a very tough line, said M. Taylor Fravel, director of the Security Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an expert on Chinas military.

China never had the ability to assert itself in the maritime domain until really in the last 10 or 15 years, Fravel said, noting the steady buildup of Chinas naval and air forces. He added, That has enabled China to press its claims in the East and South China Sea more than before.

It has also stepped up patrols in the skies over the region. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., commander of the Pacific Air Forces who will soon take over as the Air Force chief of staff, said Wednesday that China had only occasionally flown missions of its H-6 bombers but was now doing so almost daily.

Those bombers, while old, have been revamped and equipped with new missiles that China put on display at the military parade in October commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China.

For all of its recent activity, Chinas military remains untested. The clash with the Indians was an isolated fight with rocks and clubs, not firearms, so it was hardly a test of Chinese military preparedness. It did raise questions about training and discipline.

Details of the brawl remain sketchy and impossible to verify independently, but according to some accounts in the Indian news media, a tense, but manageable situation spiraled out of control because inexperienced replacements from other parts of Tibet did not observe the usual protocols for defusing confrontations.

China has not disclosed the number of casualties on its side, though a report by India Today, a major news outlet, said Indian forces turned over the bodies of 16 Chinese soldiers. A US intelligence official in Washington suggested that China was deliberately hiding its losses, which were comparable to India, ranging from 20 to 30.

Song Zhongping, an independent military analyst, said the figure was lower than the Indian claims but would not be released to avoid stimulating intense sentiment in India.

While the tensions with India are important, they are not the core Chinese military priority: confronting what it considers U.S. aggression in Chinas neighborhood.

The United States, too, has stepped up its military activity in the region. It has sent U.S. warships through the South China Sea and stepped up support for Taiwan and its military  issues that came up this month when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Chinas top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in Hawaii.

Pompeo said in a radio interview Tuesday that the administration is now preparing a sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan. The Chinese blame the United States for the tensions in the area, accusing the U.S. military of routinely interfering in a region where it has no territorial claims.

Zhu Feng, executive director of the China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea, who contributed to the report on U.S. military activity there, warned that the possibility of confrontation would increase as the U.S. presidential campaign heated up.

The United States has pinned China down with the two talons of the South China Sea and Taiwan issues, he said.

Steven Lee Myers@c.2020 The New York Times Company
Agency refocusing efforts on other archaeological research, new protected area establishment and outreach initiatives in southern Canada

GATINEAU, QC, June 26, 2020 /CNW/ - The story of Sir John Franklin's 1845 quest for the Northwest Passage with HMS Erebus and HMS Terror continues to captivate the imagination of many here in Canada and around the world. In 2019, Parks Canada and Inuit partners conducted important research on the wrecks, contributing to a better understanding of the Franklin Expedition.



Today, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, Jonathan Wilkinson, and the Franklin Interim Advisory Committee (FIAC), announced that Parks Canada will temporarily shift its focus for exploration of the wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to advancing research, in collaboration with Inuit, on the many artifacts recovered during the 2019 research season.

Parks Canada is following the advice of public health experts and continuing to make every effort to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), while keeping Nunavut and its residents safe. As such, fieldwork operations at the wrecks have been cancelled for 2020, as they would have required close contact between travelling research staff and residents of isolated northern communities, presenting increased risk for the transmission of COVID-19.

This decision follows advice from Joint Inuit / Government Planning and Management Committees for all Nunavut national parks, which were overwhelmingly in favour of keeping Nunavut parks and sites closed to visitors and all non-essential work until August 31, 2020, with the exception of Inuit exercising rights under the Nunavut Agreement. Passenger vessels with the capacity to carry more than 12 persons are prohibited from entering Arctic coastal waters (including Nunatsiavut, Nunavik and the Labrador Coast) until October 31, 2020.

While Parks Canada will not conduct field research at the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in 2020, the Agency will advance plans in collaboration with Inuit for the 2021 research season. Parks Canada's Underwater Archaeology Team may also move forward in 2020 with other projects aboard the RV David Thompson - Parks Canada's newest research vessel. These potential activities in southern Canada may include projects that support Parks Canada's archaeological, climate change and biological research, new protected area establishment and outreach initiatives.

Parks Canada will share information on these activities as details are confirmed.

Quotes

"Parks Canada is taking necessary action to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and protect Nunavut and its communities. The 2019 research season was an extraordinary year for archaeological research at the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site, and Parks Canada, in partnership with Inuit, will build on this momentum and continue its ongoing investigation of the artifacts recovered from HMS Erebus and both wrecks themselves. Together, we look forward to sharing these important results."



The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson,

Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada

"While it is disappointing there will not be a follow-up this year on such successful field missions in 2019 at HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, the Franklin Interim Advisory Committee supports Parks Canada's decision to limit its activities in Nunavut for this upcoming season, including visiting the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site. It is important, as Inuit and Parks Canada continue to share in the discoveries and insights from the Franklin ships, that we protect vulnerable communities and high-risk individuals from exposure to COVID-19 at this critical time."

Fred Pedersen,

Chair, Franklin Interim Advisory Committee



Quick Facts

The Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site is the first collaboratively managed national historic site in Nunavut . HMS Terror was added to the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site in 2017, ensuring legal protection for the wreck site under the Canada National Parks Act . The wreck of HMS Erebus was added to the National Historic Sites of Canada Order in 2015.

and HMS National Historic Site is the first collaboratively managed national historic site in . HMS was added to the Wrecks of HMS and HMS National Historic Site in 2017, ensuring legal protection for the wreck site under the . The wreck of HMS was added to the in 2015. Formed in 2016, the Franklin Interim Advisory Committee, comprised of community members and representatives from the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, Inuit Heritage Trust, Government of Nunavut and the heritage and tourism industry, advises on the management of the wrecks until an Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement is finalized between Parks Canada and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association.

and the heritage and tourism industry, advises on the management of the wrecks until an Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement is finalized between Parks Canada and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association. Since 2017, a Guardian program has been in operation at the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site, involving Inuit from Gjoa Haven in the protection and monitoring of the Franklin wrecks and helping integrate Inuit knowledge into Parks Canada's operations and management of the national historic site.

and HMS National Historic Site, involving Inuit from in the protection and monitoring of the Franklin wrecks and helping integrate Inuit knowledge into Parks Canada's operations and management of the national historic site. Since 2018, all newly discovered artifacts from HMS Erebus and HMS Terror are jointly-owned by the Government of Canada and Inuit. In April 2019 , the Government of Canada and Inuit Heritage Trust signed a Memorandum of Understanding detailing how the two organizations will work together to protect, study, conserve and share the Franklin artifacts.

and HMS are jointly-owned by the Government of and Inuit. In , the Government of and Inuit Heritage Trust signed a Memorandum of Understanding detailing how the two organizations will work together to protect, study, conserve and share the Franklin artifacts. In August 2019 , Parks Canada released extraordinary, never-before-seen video footage of HMS Terror as part of one of the largest, most complex underwater archaeological undertakings in Canadian history. Building on the remarkable first-ever exploration of the interior of HMS Terror, Parks Canada's Underwater Archaeology Team, in collaboration with Inuit, recovered over 350 artifacts from HMS Erebus.

Associated Document

Related Links

SOURCE Parks Canada

For further information: Moira Kelly, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 819-271-6218, [email protected]; Media Relations, Parks Canada Agency, 855-862-1812, [email protected]

Related Links

www.pc.gc.ca


By Trend

Saipem has appointed Ilham Eminbayli as the head of its Azerbaijan branch.

Ilham Eminbayli was born in 1975 in Azerbaijan. He received masters degree in Production and Operations Management from Azerbaijan Oil Academy and graduated with distinction from Baku State Universitys Faculty of Law.

He started his career in 1995, in an American oil company operating in Azerbaijan. Then, Eminbayli worked for 19 years at SOCAR's subsidiary BOS Shelf. For the past 12 years, he served as the head of BOS Shelfs financial department.

Since 2008, Eminbayli has also been teaching Corporate Finance and Analysis of Financial Statements under the MBA program at the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University.

Eminbayli will bring his years of experience to Saipem Azerbaijan, a strategic branch for the company, which has been present in the country for around 25 years, and will oversee such important projects in the area as the development of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oil and gas field and the Absheron project.

The National Leader of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, launched an initiative for the development and promotion of local personnel in large oil and gas projects. This, along with Eminbaylis proven expertise in the industry, led Saipem to go in this direction.

---

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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Thursday donated three Ohmni Robots to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases to help protect frontline doctors and nurses from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Ohmni Robots are tested at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.  Photo courtesy of UNDP

Ohmni Robots have the main function of remote communication, remote diagnoses and treatment.

The robots are made by Ohmni Labs, which is based in Silicon Valley but has a Vietnamese co-founder, Vu Duy Thuc, and an operation team in Vietnam.

More than 1,000 Ohmni Robots have been used in the US, India and Japan, mostly for hospitals and nursing homes.

Based on the test at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the start-up can accelerate its process of setting up national production in Vietnam.

Handing over the robots to the hospital, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen said that those robots provided a safe interface between the doctor and the patient for diagnoses and they enabled doctors to see far more patients at a time.

They are fully automatic and can be managed from a large distance and provided the added function of tele-medicine and tele-training, that will be very important for the interface between the National Hospital and hospitals in rural areas, she said, adding that the intention was not to replace existing doctors and nurses, it was to complement and to provide safety in a highly infectious context.

Dr Nguyen Vu Trung, Deputy Director General of the Hospital, thanked UNDP for donating these robots, saying: This is the first time we have seen robots of this kind.

He said he believed the robots would help them a lot and the non-contact procedures will protect staff.

As a tropical country, Vietnam is prone to many different infectious diseases like H1N1, H5N1 and SARS and yearly incurring diseases such as Hepatitis A and B, and dengue fever.

The National Hospital for Tropical Diseases is the frontline hospital to receive patients who get these highly contagious diseases.

According to Deputy Director General Trung, so far, the hospital only has PPE and tries its best to protect doctors and nurses, however there are still people who are at high risk because of their direct contact with patients, especially when they do procedures for care and treatment.

Dr Tran Van Bac, deputy head of the Hospitals Emergency Department, said that during the COVID-19 pandemic and other infectious diseases, they had also used remote interaction tools, such as cameras in the patients rooms and apps to interact with patients.

However, the quality of images and the flexibility of the interaction are limited. So, we ended up with direct contacts with the patients, he said.

We hope that these robots will help us reduce direct contact. The audio-visual quality and the ability to remote control them can help us diagnose and detect symptoms from afar. Moreover, this robot can be used in providing tele-medicine and tele-training for people and health workers in remote areas. With our role as the leading hospital for tropical diseases, we hope to utilise various applications of this new robot, Bac said after testing the robot.

This is the first in a series of robots to be delivered from UNDP to hospitals for testing and other applications, such as diagnosis, tele-training, autonomous delivery of supplies for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

The second robot, BeetleBot will be delivered in July.

After the test of these two types of robots, UNDP will organise dialogues among different robot makers, as well as among the hospitals, healthcare system stakeholders and robot makers, thus building a healthy robotic ecosystem in Vietnam. VNS

Robot helps keep medical workers safe from coronavirus As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to spread nationwide, its safer if human-to-human contact is minimised.
New Delhi:

Social networking giant Facebook has released a standalone mobile app for searching events and happenings around with friends. It will also help users to look for things to do and nearby events.

Named Events, the app is presently available for iPhone users and is not yet made available in India. It is yet to be released on Android.

Events will be pivotal for users let find concerts, plays, shows and other type of events around which they are interested in attending.

Facebook Product Manager (India) Aditya Koolwal in an online post said, When you open Events, you can quickly catch up on new events your friends are interested in, recently-announced events by the Pages you like, and updates from events you're already connected to.

Significantly Facebooks events section is browsed by more than 100 million users daily to discover activities around them.

The Events app allows users to search nearby events based on interest or location and look for prospect options of outing. Further plans made on Events are organised on calendar which also gets shared with friends.

Before foraying into Events, Facebook already owns the popular photo sharing app Instagram, and cross platform mobile messaging app Whatsapp which account for more than a billion users.

For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
A regular meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE) was held via video conferencing on June 25, the Office of the Presidents press service reports.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine as part of the Ukrainian delegation.

During the discussion, the Ukrainian party in the TCG stressed the importance of establishing a sustainable and comprehensive ceasefire.

A number of proposals submitted by the Ukrainian party were discussed within the working group on security issues. They concerned, among other things, demining and security for the civilian population, new disengagement areas and ensuring a sustainable ceasefire. The group's moderator, Ambassador Yasar Halit Cevik, noted the constructive nature of the dialogue.

The Ukrainian delegation emphasized the need to ensure full and unimpeded access of the OSCE SMM to the entire temporarily uncontrolled territory.

The Ukrainian party stressed its willingness to provide the necessary security guarantees and full assistance to the OSCE SMM to investigate the incident with damage to the surveillance camera of the Special Monitoring Mission near Shyrokyne (Donetsk region), which occurred on June 22, 2020 as a result of shelling from the territory uncontrolled by the Government of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian party offered to hold an additional meeting of the security group to achieve progress in the issue of disengagement of forces and assets in the projected areas until the next meeting of the TCG.

Due to the efforts of the Ukrainian delegation within the working group on social and economic issues, the work of the Ukrainian mobile network operator in ORDLO of Ukraine was resumed after a two-week break.

The Ukrainian party initiated the discussion of approaches to solving environmental problems in ORDLO of Ukraine. In particular, it raised the issue of safe storage of radioactive materials in ORDLO of Ukraine and the possibility of forming a group of experts under the auspices of the IAEA to monitor the situation. The delegation also raised the issue of ensuring water supply in the conflict zone.

In the framework of the working group on political issues, the Ukrainian delegation provided the parties with a calendar plan for the preparation and holding of local elections within the period established by law.

It was reiterated that the holding of elections in ORDLO of Ukraine is possible only after a comprehensive de-escalation, withdrawal of foreign military units and equipment, disarmament of illegal armed groups and restoration of control over the state border in the conflict zone by the Ukrainian government.

Advisers of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG - representatives of certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine in the political group took an active part in these consultations.

The humanitarian group discussed the coordination of lists for the mutual release of captives. The Ukrainian party continues to insist on an "all-for-all" release.

The Ukrainian delegation reiterated willingness to open two new checkpoints in Luhansk region for humanitarian purposes, and provide security guarantees for the period of construction of checkpoints infrastructure by the temporarily occupied territories subject to actual work.

The next round of consultations within the TCG is scheduled for July 8.

Summing up the discussion, Heidi Grau, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, commended the intensification of work of the Ukrainian party, noting that it contributed to the work of all TCG groups.

ish
By PTI

CHENNAI: Detection of people with flu-like symptoms during daily door-to-door survey has seen a four-fold increase after the lockdown came into effect a week ago, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G Prakash said here on Friday.

During the pre-lockdown times, about 600-700 symptomatic cases used to be recorded every day by field personnel and nowit has crossed the 3,000 mark for a day, he said.

The lockdown from June 19-30, does not allow relaxation previously seen for several businesses, shops and other retail outlets and only stores selling essentials are permitted from 6 am till 2 pm.

The curbs are applicable in Chennai and parts of Chengalpet, Kancheepuram, and Tiruvallur.

"Yesterday, 3,217 people were found with symptoms (indicating flu-like symptoms) in the door-to-door surveys. The number has now increased to 3,000 (daily average). This may go up to even 3,500," he told reporters.

The reason behind the increase was the availability of people at their homes -in view of the lockdown- when field survey personnel make their daily visits, he said.

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GCC's health survey personnel visit households on a daily basis, ask people if they have any flu-like symptoms, check body temperature using thermal guns.

Pulse oximeters have also been distributed in the city by the GCC to check blood oxygen levels which are used in civic body held medical camps also known as fever clinics/ camps.

Early identification of people with symptoms was a big advantage of the lockdown, he said adding during the 12-day lockdown period if about 30,000 to 40,000 people with symptoms could be spotted cumulatively, it would be ofgreat help.

Of these people found with flu-like symptoms, "doctors will examine anddecide who should be sent for (confirmatory RT-PCR test for coronavirus) testing," he said.

"Out of the approximate 12,000 operationalised beds - with availability of doctors and other personnel- in the Covid Care Centres, the present occupancy rate is 4,350 and more beds including 5,000 at a Tamil Nadu Housing Board apartment complex were getting ready and 1,500 beds will become functional in a week at the Anna University premises," he said.

The Corporation has kept 17,500 beds ready in 54 CCCs in the city which includes educational institutions and others and about 12,000 have health care professionals.

The Corporation has recently launched a Community Intervention Programme, an awareness, case identification, vulnerable population protection and stigma removal initiative in 1,979 high population density locations in the city to reach 26 lakh people in association with 89 NGOs.

Over 2,300 field level workers are involved in the exercise and during visits they would identify people with co-morbidities and enquire about coronavirus symptoms and refer people to fever camps and urban primary health centres for evaluation by doctors.

In the past one month, 174 awareness programmes have been conducted, Prakash said adding skits, puppet shows and other communication strategies like putting up informative banners, posters were also being used.

Outreach workers follow up families on a daily basis and the effort has helped detect symptomatic cases early.
She's been hard at work hosting her radio show despite the lockdown.

And Charlotte Hawkins was a ray of sunshine in a pretty yellow lace dress on Friday as she arrived to present her show on Classic FM.

The presenter, 45, looked radiant in the midi dress as she headed into the Global radio studios in London after presenting Good Morning Britain with Ben Shephard.

Gorgeous: Charlotte Hawkins, 45, was a ray of sunshine in a pretty yellow lace dress on Friday as she arrived at Global Radio studios in London

Charlotte showcased her trim physique in the simple yellow midi dress with a plunging front and lace trim.

The mother-of-one finished the summer look with simple white wedges and a black handbag as she arrived at the radio studio.

Despite having been hard at work since the early hours, Charlotte was beaming as she arrived to host her Classic FM programme.

Gorgeous: The broadcasterlooked radiant as she headed inside to present her show on Classic FM, after presenting Good Morning Britain with Ben Shephard

Lovely: Charlotte teamed the dress with white wedges and a black handbag as she headed straight from Television Centre to the radio studios

Earlier this month, Charlotte shared a rare snap of her five-year-old daughter, Ella Rose, to Instagram.

The broadcaster revealed that she had been judging a baking competition and Ella had been sent her 'dream' cupcake decorated as a cat.

Charlotte took to Instagram to post the sweet snaps as she posed with her adorable daughter.

She penned: 'Big smiles all round as it's been a while since we've had a proper cake!! (I can't get hold of any icing sugar!).

'I was delighted to be asked to be a judge for @buttercreamycakes Dream Cupcake competition in aid of @surreydriveuk, who've been providing hot meals for frontline workers.

'Well done all the winners, and a huge thank you to Butter & Cream cakes for making Ella Rose's dream cat cupcake a reality! This is not going to last long...'

Charlotte shares Ella with husband Mark Herbert, they married in 2008.
The Texas Republican Convention remains on track to take place in downtown Houston next month, and the state party is not planning to impose a mask requirement on attendees, despite a recent surge in local COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

On a call with party members earlier this week, Texas GOP chairman James Dickey said he does not interpret Harris Countys mask order to cover the convention, which is set to take place July 16-18 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The mandate compels businesses to require their customers to wear face masks.

Assistant Harris County Attorney Robert Soard said his office is reviewing the matter. The mask order is set to expire at the end of June, though County Judge Lina Hidalgo has hinted that she intends to extend it.

Hidalgo on Friday moved the county to the highest threat level on a COVID-19 scale that she unveiled earlier this month and called for a return to stay-at-home conditions.

The situation has created what union leaders say is a potentially perilous situation for workers at the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel, which is connected to the convention center and expects to see an uptick in guests during the convention. Officials from Unite Here Local 23, the union that represents hotel and other hospitality workers, say health insurance benefits are set to expire for Hilton workers at the end of the month, since many of them were laid off at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving them short of the hours needed to qualify for coverage.

Houston First Corp., the citys convention arm, owns the Hilton Americas-Houston and operates the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Houston First Chairman David Mincberg disputed the unions claim, saying in a statement to the Chronicle that all Houston First and Hilton employees will have health insurance coverage (except those who have opted out) while working at the George R. Brown Convention Center or the Hilton during the convention. Mincberg also said Houston First officials do not anticipate any part-time workers being utilized.

Hilton employees are set to lose their health coverage at the end of July if they do not work enough hours in June to qualify for coverage, while those laid off earlier will lose it by June 30. Union officials said nearly 450 employees have been laid off by the Hilton since February, accounting for about 95 percent of the hotels employees.

Bo Delp, senior political organizer for Unite Here Local 23, questioned how the Hilton could adequately staff the convention if only 5 percent of its employees are set to qualify for health coverage through the end of July.

Houston First has made a decision that during a global pandemic, it is going to continue to host events, Delp said. The minute they made that decision, from our perspective, they had a moral and public health obligation to make sure that the workers who are coming in as a result of their decision to host events, that they are healthy and safe.

Mincberg said Houston First lacks the ability to cancel the event or require convention guests to wear masks, even if conditions worsen before mid-July.

(Houston First) does not have the authority to require safety measures, unless included in the original license agreement. Since this agreement was issued prior to the pandemic, no such provision was included, Mincberg said.

Catherine Troisi, an epidemiologist at UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston, urged Houston First officials to provide health coverage for hospitality workers and institute preventive activities to limit the spread of COVID-19 during large gatherings at the convention center.

We know that closed spaces, crowded conditions, close contact, and duration of contact all enhance transmission of this virus, Troisi wrote in a letter to Mincberg on Tuesday. This convention space includes all of these risk factors and particularly without mandatory masking, transmission of the virus is almost inevitable, both to convention attendees and to hospitality employees.

Dickey, the Republican chair, said there would be an abundance of hand sanitizer stations at the convention.

Morgan Lloyd, a party spokeswoman, said officials will revisit the idea of a mask mandate at their next town hall meeting in July.

We have said all along that people are welcome to wear masks if they wish or welcome not to wear a mask, Lloyd said. We encourage everyone to take the precautions they feel they need to when it comes to masks, just like you do with hand sanitizer and social distancing guidelines.

The Texas Democratic Party held a virtual convention in early June with guest speakers that included Joe Biden, the presumptive presidential nominee, and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Earlier this month, Unite Here urged Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston city council to waive Houston Firsts annual lease payment and direct the agency to instead spend the funds on Hilton employees health coverage. The union also said the city should devote a portion of Houston Firsts hotel occupancy tax revenue to extending health coverage for food service workers at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

In its petition to the city, the union also said Houston First should cover health benefits for employees of the Marriott Marquis, which is heavily subsidized by the city but privately owned. Like the Hilton, it is directly connected to the convention center.

Since then, the Marriott has extended health coverage through Oct. 2 for employees on furlough, temporary layoff or a reduced work schedule.

A spokesperson for Turner did not immediately respond to an inquiry about Unite Heres proposal, sending a copy of Mincbergs comment instead. Earlier this month, after the union initially sought the waived lease payment for Houston First, Turner shot down the idea, writing in an email to the union, We dont know what this would accomplish other than hurting the city.

Unite Here Local 23 secretary-treasurer Willy Gonzalez said that even if convention workers are covered through the end of July, they may need to pay hospital bills in August if they contract COVID-19 while working at the convention.

It takes an average of four to five days for people to develop symptoms after getting exposed to the coronavirus, while COVID-19 survivors typically are hospitalized for 10 to 13 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It was not clear how many of the temporarily laid off workers would be called to work during the convention, though Jacques DRovencourt, general manager of the Hilton Americas-Houston, said during a Houston First board meeting last week that the hotel is expected to surpass 50 percent occupancy during the convention.

Amid the pandemic, the Hilton has been more than 20 percent full on weekdays and nearly 30 percent on weekends, DRovencourt said.

jasper.scherer@chron.com
June 4

11:48 p.m.: An officer dispatched to the 200 block of Wrigley Drive issued citations on suspicion of underage drinking-possession to Charles M. Losinske, 18, Beloit, a 17-year-old girl from Loves Park, Illinois, a 17-year-old girl from Belvidere, Illinois, Nicole C. Szukalski, 18, Roscoe, Illinois, Jose E. Valdez, 18, Belvidere, Illinois, Jason Jaramillo, 19, Rockford, Illinois, and Gregory N. Merkel, 19, Capron, Illinois.

4:48 p.m.: Officers on South Lakeshore Drive cited Zakaiel S. Medari, 21, Lake in the Hill, Illinois, on suspicion of possession of THC and possession of drug paraphernalia.

2:06 a.m.: An officer in the 100 block of Wrigley Drive cited Jordano A. Jimenez, 25, Carpentersville, Illinois, on suspicion of operating while under the influence and driving against traffic on a one-way street.

12:36 a.m.: An officer responding to the 700 block of West Main Street cited Robert James Hanna, 33, Delavan, on suspicion of simple battery.

12:24 a.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on Broad Street near Geneva Street cited Corey J. Watson, 34, Lake Geneva, on suspicion of operating without a valid license, and Matthew Blake Sovelenko, 34, Lake Geneva, on suspicion of possession of open intoxicants in a motor vehiclepassenger.

12:01 a.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on Country Club Drive near West Main Street cited Gonzalo Aranda, 31, Lake Geneva, on suspicion of operating without valid license.

June 3

12:22 a.m.: Officers responding to 244 Broad St. cited Brian N. Chavez, 20, Delavan, on suspicion of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer.

June 2

9:29 p.m.: An officer dispatched to the 1200 block of Wisconsin Street cited James A. Askin, 21, Lake Geneva, on suspicion of animal-dog running at large and disorderly conduct.

2:11 p.m.: An officer dispatched to 100 East Geneva Square cited Michaela A. Roemer, 58, Burlington, on suspicion of retail theft-concealment of items.

10:58 a.m.: An officer dispatched to a traffic accident in the 800 block of Main Street cited George F. Prochnow, 48, Racine, on suspicion of failure of operator to notify police of accident.

May 31

1:30 a.m.: An officer was dispatched to disorderly subjects at 200 block of Broad Street. Vernon Darnell Weaver, Jr., 28, Chicago, was cited for disorderly conduct.

4:25 p.m.: An officer was dispatched to 800 block of Wrigley Dr. Amber N. Bjork, 35, Aurora, Illinois, was cited for disorderly conduct.

May 30

1:22 a.m.: An officer observed subject urinating in the 700 block of Geneva Street. Jonathan M. Lauer, 22, Gurnee, Illinois, was cited for disorderly conduct-public urination.

2:04 a.m.: An officer observed a subject urinating on Broad Street. Luis F. Villasenor, 21, Wauconda, Illinois, for disorderly conduct-public urination.

4:18 p.m.: An officer was dispatched to 100 block of Broad Street for subjects intoxicated and disorderly. Christian J. Reynolds, 19, Ottawa, Illinois, was cited for alcohol-possess/consume by underage and disorderly conduct.

May 29

1:22 p.m.: An officer was dispatched to 201 N Edwards Boulevard for a trespassing and retail theft complaint. Veronica Smelley, 41, Genoa City, was cited for trespass to land and retail theft-intentionally conceal.

10:25 p.m.: An officer observed subject urinating in the 200 block of Broad Street. Artemio Carrera, 24, Mundelein, Illinois, was cited for disorderly conduct-public urination.

May 28

10:54 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on Grant Street near Horace Street cited Kristin Renee Mellenthin, 31, Elkhorn, on suspicion of an interlock order violation and operating while revoked-alcohol related.

May 26

12:07 a.m.: An officer was dispatched to 700 block of West Main Street for a disorderly subject. Tyler Jernigan, 23, Mesa, Arizona, was issued a citation for disorderly conduct.

2:30 a.m.: An officer conducted a traffic stop on W Main St at Center St. Raul R. Bernhard-Hughes, 33, Minneapolis, Minnesota, was cited for obstructing an officer and failure to yield right of way.

May 25

1:15 a.m.: An officer was dispatched to 100 block of Broad Street for a disorderly subject. Jerry J. Schlaiss, 37, Genoa City, was arrested for operating while under the influence as a third offense.

6:03 p.m.: An officer was dispatched to Wrigley Drive and Campbell Street for a trespassing complaint. Andrew J. Dudek, 18, Fontana, and Tyler S. Dierkes, 21, Marengo, Illinois, was cited for trespass-land or dwelling.

June 14

11:48 p.m.: An officer dispatched to 710 Williams St. cited Matthew J. Nickelsen Jr., 21, Delavan, on suspicion of possession of THC and possession of drug paraphernalia.

4:48 p.m.: An officer dispatched to Baker Street near South Lakeshore Drive issued citations on suspicion of underage drinking-possession to a 17-year-old boy from Algonquin, Illinois, a 17-year-old boy from Gilberts, Illinois, Mitchell R. Phelps, 19, Pingree Grove, Illinois, and a 17-year-old boy from Paw Paw, Michigan.

12:22 p.m.: An officer dispatched to a traffic crash near Main Street and Lockwood Boulevard cited Natalie Kathleen Capelli, 23, Burlington, on suspicion of automobile following too closely.

2:17 a.m.: Officers dispatched to Broad Street near West Main Street cited Stephen A. Tolbert II, 19, Delavan, on suspicion of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer.

12:36 a.m.: An officer dispatched to the 700 block of West Main Street cited Kevin M. Clavey, 27, Chicago, Illinois, on suspicion of disorderly conduct-public urination.

June 13

6:34 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on Townline Road near South Curtis Street cited David J. Williams, 32, Genoa City, on suspicion of operator fail/have passenger seat-belted.

June 12

7:52 p.m.: An officer in the 300 block of Wrigley Drive cited Leslie R. Anderson, 30, Racine, on suspicion of possession of drug paraphernalia.

June 11

10:21 p.m.: An officer dispatched to West Main Street near Broad Street cited Alexander E. Buttell, 24, Schaumburg, Illinois, and Kaitlynn O. Schumacher, 21, Schaumburg, Illinois, both on suspicion of disorderly conduct-involved in a fight.

6:21 p.m.: Officers in the 100 block of Broad Street cited Kaitlynn O. Schumacher, 21, Schaumburg, Illniois, on suspicion of inattentive driving.

June 10

11:54 a.m.: An officer dispatched to 300 Peller Road cited Victoria L. Drummond, 60, Lake Geneva, on suspicion of theft-simple less than $50.

3:01 a.m.: Officers dispatched to the 1100 block of Wells Street arrested Tyler K. Youngthunder, 27, Lake Geneva, on suspicion of criminal damage to property, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct, harassment and discharge of bodily fluid on law enforcement officer.

June 9

8:47 a.m.: Officers dispatched to the 600 block of Williams Street arrested Anthony Michael Fernandez, 34, Burlington, on suspicion of resisting an officer, criminal damage to property, trespass to land or dwelling and disorderly conduct.

June 8

12:07 p.m.: An officer dispatched to Edwards Boulevard near State Highway 50 for a traffic accident cited Robert D. Hahn, 57, Woodstock, Illinois, on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle without insurance.

June 7

2:32 a.m.: An officer dispatched to the 300 block of Wrigley Drive cited Tyler Michael Maki, 37, Salem, on suspicion of hit and rununattended vehicle, deviating from a designated lane, failure to keep vehicle under control and operating a motor vehicle without insurance.

2:31 a.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on Geneva Street near Cook Street cited Yesenia Lopez, 24, Woodstock, Illinois, on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance.

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The parents are not all right. I know everyone knows this, but it is not actually possible to work while theres no school or childcare, Slate contributor Rumaan Alam wrote in a tweet on June 11. I wish someone would say the quiet part loud: In the COVID economy, youre only allowed a kid OR a job, Deb Perelman wrote on Wednesday, in a thread about parents contemplating an autumn of mostly closed schools. Many Twitter users who replied with their own cris de coeur pointed out that their crushing feeling of having no space in the house and no time in the day came accompanied by a sinking sense that the kids are not OK, eithertheyre sick of being home, missing their friends, losing crucial learning time, and struggling without the structure and services that schools provide. Just give them an iPad is fine for a month, or even two, but half a yeara whole year? No.

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Its for all these reasons that school reopeners in the public health community think that we should get school doors openno matter what. But even the most stressed and eager parents feel a sense of doom about that, too. It is inarguable, isnt it, that kids are dirty and social and incapable of staying apart? And slim school budgets wont allow for adequate cleaning? And older teachers and members of students households will be at risk? All this is true, parents mutter, but its also impossible to keep on doing what were doing. We cant go on; we must go on.

Heres a way of thinking about school reopening that gave me, if not hope, then a creeping feeling of clarity.  How do we reopen schools? is not the right question, Helen Jenkins, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston Universitys School of Public Health, said in a Twitter thread on Wednesday that reframed the question completely. We need to look at *all* the things we want to reopen and face the fact that if we truly want to prioritize schools opening and staying open, some other parts of our society might just have to wait.

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Jenkins has two children in elementary school. She said over the phone on Thursday that she hadnt thought about the issue this way until recently, when she was chatting with her husband, also a specialist in infectious disease, about how comfortable theyd be sending their kids back to the classroom. Transmission in our area is really low right now, and if schools opened Monday, wed send our kids in a heartbeat, she said. But of course, schools wont open until fall, and we suddenly realized that what we cared about was less the nature of precautions schools might take, and more the level of community transmission. We realized wed been looking at it the wrong way around. The school is not a bubble.

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In trying to understand the idea, it helped me to think of an ideal world in which communities looked at viral risk like household budgeters considering plans for monthly spending. I first heard about this idea of an exposure budget in a Tara Parker-Pope column in the New York Times earlier this month, and in my own life, Ive begun to think about risk this waydeciding not to go back to my gym, for example, so that I could more conscionably hang out with friends (occasionally! Outside! Safely distanced, of course). If you think of a town, or a state, as having only a certain amount of risk to spend in trying to keep transmission down, you can imagine that by opening certain activities up, you are spending that risk.

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Now imagine that in this ideal world, the needs of children and their working parents were primary in the minds of planners and politicians. In this Perfect Town, Perfect State, USA, the perfect leaders might say, We are going to keep the schools open until we absolutely cannot anymore. (Or, if schools are closed for summer, were going to aim to have transmission rates at a place where we can open them in fall.) In order to accomplish that, we are going to do everything else we can to keep transmission low. That approach would mean that disinfecting, mask-wearing, and other measures that rely on individual action, along with school resources, would not be a schools first defense against transmission. If a school is open in a community that has kept other things closed, the virus would simply be less likely to be present at that school. The perfect execution of these sanitation and distancing plans, which seems so unlikely when you think about the nature of children, would be less crucial to success.

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Of course, this isnt the way its been framed to us thus far. If somebody said to me, Do you want to be able to go and dine in at your favorite restaurant, over the next year, at some point, or do you want to have a guarantee that your kids are going to get to go to school every day?, it would be an easy decision to make, Jenkins said. I think the politicians are trying to have everything. They are trying to make everyone happy, but I suspect were not going to be able to have everything.

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It may be functionally useless to contemplate this alternative scenario, because the government would have to backstop the economy in order to make this happen (those restaurant workers still need an income). And as we know, we dont currently have a government in America that wants to do that. But it helps me, at least, to realize that our predicament, which seems natural, is a result of choicesmade, and not made. As I wrote in my own rant about the closed-schools/open-jobs problem in late April, if American policymakers think its OK to put parents in this position, it may be because theyve long been accustomed to papering over shortfalls in policy with huge sacrifices of parents and childrens well-being. High costs and unavailability of day care, gaps in summer and after-school coverageif thats hard for you, our pre-2020 system said to parents, perhaps you should contemplate simply having enough money to live on one income? (Of course, youre raising kids in a two-parent household. That goes without saying.)

The work of American parents, who will put up with a lot to have children, has kept this system afloat. And there is a lot of free-floating ideology out there to make us think that our stress is our problem, not the countrys. Those people show up even now, in smug replies to tweets like Perelmans and Alams, to remind us that parenthood is sacrifice. But Jenkins risk-spending reframing reminds usit doesnt have to be. At least, not this much.
The Tories have received more than 11m from property developers since Boris Johnson became prime minister, an investigation has found.

The revelation comes amid a donor scandal that threatens the career of the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick.

Concerns have been raised about the apparent increased influence property developers have over the Conservative government. Their contributions make up nearly a quarter of the 47.5m in donations received by the party from last July to March, up from 7.9 per cent of the total two years ago.

The latest analysis by the OpenDemocracy website found that the Conservatives top 10 property donors have given more than 5.7m to the party since Mr Johnson took the helm in July  up from around 1.5million for the equivalent top 10 in the final 12 months of Theresa Mays premiership, a three-fold increase. In total, around 120 individuals and companies from the sector have donated since July last year.

Mr Jenrick is facing calls to resign over his unlawful intervention in the planning of a luxury East London property development being submitted for approval by Tory donor Richard Desmond.

Electoral Commission figures show major Tory donors include luxury property developer Nick Candy and West Ham United owner David Sullivan, who donated 75,000 ahead of last years general election through a small property company he controls. There is no suggestion that any donors are involved in any wrongdoing.

The largest donors include Malcolm and Eddie Healey  dubbed East Yorkshires richest men  who have donated more than 1.2 million to the party between them since Mr Johnson took office. Others include property developer and longtime Tory donor Tony Gallagher, who has given the Conservatives almost three-quarters of a million pounds through his company Countywide Developments Ltd since the same date.

In January, Mr Jenrick gave the green light to Mr Desmonds 1,500-home luxury development on the Isle of Dogs, near the Canary Wharf financial centre. The decision went against the advice of the planning inspector, and came a day before a change in regulations would have meant the developer had to pay around 45m in extra developers contributions to the Labour-run Tower Hamlets council. The borough is one of the countrys most deprived.

Labour accused the housing minister of taking the decision following a glitzy fundraising dinner with Mr Desmond in November 2019, during which the pair were reportedly sat next to each other and the minister was shown a promotional video for the development on his phone.

Text messages later showed Mr Desmond told Mr Jenrick: we appreciate the speed as we dont want to give Marxists loads of doe [sic] for nothing. He also personally gave 12,000 to the Conservatives two weeks after the scheme was approved. Mr Jenrick says he acted in good faith and within the rules.

Boris Johnson has so far resisted calls to sack Mr Jenrick. Another Tory this week responded to the scandal by encouraging people to attend Conservative party fundraisers if they wanted similar access to ministers.

Business minister Nadhim Zahawi told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: They will be sitting next to MPs and other people in their local authorities and can interact with different parts of the authority.

The government this week, however, announced it was pausing planning reforms that would have put more powers to approve large developments in the hands of the housing secretary, currently Mr Jenrick.

But the Jenrick affair may not be an isolated incident. Former planning minister Bob Neill is under investigation by parliaments standards watchdog for failing to mention that he was a paid consultant for a luxury hotel development that he lobbied for in his Kent constituency. Mr Neill denies any wrongdoing.

The 11m figure is a huge increase compared to older figures. An investigation by the Daily Telegraph in 2011 found that the Conservatives had raised 3.3m from similar sources in the three years to that date. In the two years following the 2015 election, property magnates donated 3.6m, 7.9 per cent of the total given.

For comparison, 8.4m million was raised by the party from hedge funds, bankers and other finance industry sources in that period, as reported by The Independent in 2017.

Steve Goodrich of Transparency International said: The corrupting influence of big money from UK politics must be removed before it irreparably damages trust in our democracy.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 22 January 2022 Participants prepare to take part in the Crisis icebreaker cold water challenge at Tooting Bec Lido in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 January 2022 Willesborough Windmill, a white smock mill built in 1869 is bathed in the morning sunshine as the moon sets behind in Ashford, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 January 2022 A jet skier jumps the waves off the coast at Blyth in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 19 January 2022 Britains Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, participate in a therapy session with individuals who have experienced the care system, during a visit to the Foundling Museum in London REUTERS UK news in pictures 18 January 2022 Surfers enter the sea as the sun rises over Tynemouth on the North East coast PA UK news in pictures 17 January 2022 Bonhams Danny McIlwraith holds a Nigerian polycrome carved wood mask during a photocall for the sale of the Jim Lennon Collection at Bonhams in Edinburgh PA UK news in pictures 16 January 2022 The moon rises above the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, Hampshire PA UK news in pictures 15 January 2022 Demonstrators outside Downing Street during a Kill The Bill protest against The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in London PA UK news in pictures 14 January 2022 Ecologist Emma Smart (left) and retired GP Dr Diana Warner outside HMP Bronzefield, in Surrey, following their release from the prison where Emma undertook a 26-day hunger strike during her incarceration. Ms Smart was sentenced in November, along with other members of Insulate Britain, to serve four months for breaking a High Court injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the M25 motorway during the morning rush hour on 8 October last year PA UK news in pictures 13 January 2022 A TV presenter holds a copy of a newspaper outside 10 Downing Streetafter the Prime Minister apologised for attending a gathering of colleagues in the Number Ten garden in May 2020, while the UK was in strict lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic Getty UK news in pictures 12 January 2022 Fitness guru Derrick Evans after receiving an MBE during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 11 January 2022 A couple walk underneath an umbrella during wet weather on Westminster Bridge in central London PA UK news in pictures 10 January 2022 A jogger passes the Covid Memorial Wall in London AP UK news in pictures 9 January 2021 The sun rises over horses at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 8 January 2022 Riders compete during the Veterans Men's race at the UK Cyclo-Cross National Championships 2022 in Ardingly, south of London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 7 January 2022 A dog looks out of a car window at the wintry conditions in Killeshin, Co. Laois PA UK news in pictures 6 January 2022 People walk through frost and mist alongside a frozen lake during sunrise in Bushy Park, London REUTERS UK news in pictures 5 January 2022 A skier jumps on the slopes at Allenheads in the Pennines to the north of Weardale in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 4 January 2022 Freshly-fallen snow covers houses in Corbridge, near Hexham in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 3 January 2022 Dean Morrison, 13, receives his Covid-19 vaccine from student nurse Anthony McLaughlin during a vaccination clinic at the Glasgow Central Mosque PA UK news in pictures 2 January 2022 Konastantinos Tsimikas of Liverpool with Chelseas Mason Mount during the Premier League match at Stamfrod Bridge Liverpool FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 January 2022 New Years Eve Lasers, drones and fireworks illuminate the sky in front of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich shortly after midnight in London EPA UK news in pictures 31 December 2021 Competitors in fancy dress run across the Pennine tops near Haworth, West Yorkshire, in the annual Auld Lang Syne Fell race which attracts hundreds of runners every year PA UK news in pictures 30 December 2021 Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 29 December 2021 The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, looks at Becket, a six month old red-billed chough as he visits Wildwood Wildlife Park in Kent on the anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket PA UK news in pictures 28 December 2021 Troops of the Household Cavalry are seen reflected in a puddle during the changing of the Queens Life Guard, on Horse Guards Parade, in central London PA UK news in pictures 27 December 2021 A pedestrian walks past a winter sale sign outside a John Lewis store on Oxford street in London Getty UK news in pictures 26 December 2021 Riders take their bikes through the snow near Castleside, County Durham PA UK news in pictures 25 December 2021 Patrick Corkery wears a santa hat and beard as waves crash over him at Forty Foot near Dublin during a Christmas Day dip PA UK news in pictures 24 December 2021 People stand inside Kings Cross Station on Christmas Eve in London Reuters UK news in pictures 23 December 2021 Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester PA UK news in pictures 22 December 2021 The sun rises behind the stones as people gather for the winter solstice at Stonehenge. Getty UK news in pictures 21 December 2021 People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year PA UK news in pictures 20 December 2021 An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton PA UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election PA UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire PA UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster Getty Images UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds, PA UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judges decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange PA UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service PA UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine PA UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow PA UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra Getty UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother PA UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square Reuters

Sue Hawley of Spotlight on Corruption said: Its time for a serious review of conflicts of interest in UK planning.

It is entirely wrong that those with money can gain access to politicians that puts their interests above the rest of us.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: All reportable donations are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them, and comply fully with the law.
Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD has today signed an Agreement on behalf of the Government of Ireland to enable Irelands participation in the WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Trial.

The Minister is announcing funding of 2.4 million to support hospitals to recruit patients for the Trial.

The WHO Solidarity Trial is an international collaboration amongst WHO and participating international member countries and researchers to evaluate potential COVID-19 treatments.

The Solidarity Trial has recruited over 5000 patients to date, in over 400 hospitals and across 35 countries, with another 100 countries awaiting approval to participate in the trial.

Minister Harris said

I am delighted that Ireland is playing its part in the global response to the Covid-19 crisis, in solidarity with our international partners. There are still no proven treatments for COVID-19 and it is really important that any potential treatments are prescribed within the context of clinical trials where patients provide consent and everything is controlled and monitored

Recruitment will start at hospitals around the country within a matter of days and is made possible through Government investment in recent decades in clinical trials facilities, networks and other supports.

Professor Joe Eustace, Professor of Patient Focused Research at UCC and the Lead Investigator for the trial said:

The Solidarity-Ireland Trial is sponsored by the Irish Government; hosted by UCC and coordinated by HRB Clinical Research Coordination Ireland; the 6 main University based Clinical Research Facilities and Centres and their affiliated hospitals are collaborating on this critical trial in order to establish the safety and effectiveness of potential treatments for Irish patients suffering with Covid 19. The trial may allow us to identify treatments that will reduce the severity of the infection, decrease the need for ITU care and reduce the infections mortality rate.

The Minister emphasised that
The Jakarta administration has once again suspended Car Free Day (CFD) amid concerns over public health and safety following reports of dense crowds gathering at the weekly event's reopening on Sunday despite the fact that physical distancing protocols remained in force.

Jakarta Transportation Agency head Syafrin Liputo confirmed that the administration had suspended the event.

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Recent clinical trials have shed new light on treatments for COVID-19, but a growing list of retractions of COVID-19 papers have also sparked concerns about data quality and "science by press release." To weigh in on these developments, CMAJ reached out to infectious disease specialists Dr. Srinivas Murthy of BC Children's Hospital and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Dr. Matthew Oughton of Jewish General Hospital and McGill University in Montreal, and Dr. Alon Vaisman of the University Health Network in Toronto.

CMAJ: What has been the most interesting development in Canada's pandemic response in recent weeks?

Oughton: The parallel stories of Ontario and Quebec. Both provinces topped the list of new COVID-19 cases for several weeks. Both instituted initial reopening measures almost simultaneously, and both have seen dramatic reductions in their numbers of new cases since reopening began. However, the differences between their monitoring strategies during reopening are striking; Ontario is reaching record numbers of tests per day (above 20,000), while Quebec is substantially below their target of 14,000. The next few weeks should indicate whether one province has chosen a better strategy.

Vaisman: It looks like Ontario and Quebec are on the same track as other provinces; it just took them longer to get there. There have been improvements in contact tracing in Ontario, and testing criteria expanded in late May, which may result in an initial bump in [confirmed] cases. Still, the ultimate effect will usually be a reduction [in new infections].

Murthy: At the same time, people seem to be more and more complacent. The collective response has been, "We need to reopen as fast as possible," and I think that's problematic. Even in British Columbia, where there is relatively low community spread, we're still having small-scale institutional spread.

How should practice change considering the recent results of clinical trials on treatments for COVID-19?

Oughton: Hydroxychloroquine looks to have little promise for postexposure prophylaxis, and its use in treatment seems increasingly in doubt. The study from Grein et al. in NEJM on remdesivir has raised some hope for its use in severe COVID-19 to reduce the duration of hospitalization. However, its small size and methodologic limitations indicate that larger prospective, double-blinded, randomized control trials are needed to characterize its role in treatment better. And the recent press release [followed by publication on a preprint server] on dexamethasone offers some exciting possibilities for an inexpensive and widely available medication.

Murthy: The dexamethasone results are quite exciting. If we're able to reduce mortality by 30% with something cheap that we all have on our pharmacy shelves, that will have an incredible impact on the pandemic, more so than any of the fancy stuff that drug companies are investigating.

[Meanwhile,] the signal seems to be that there is no benefit from hydroxychloroquine, which is unfortunate. We have wasted three months of our time, spent millions of dollars doing randomized trials and exposed thousands of patients to a drug that no one outside of a small number of people believed would be effective. But we had to prove it because of the rumors and conjecture.

In terms of remdesivir, the jury is still out. One study showed time to recovery benefit. But we're not locking down our economies to [spend] two days less in the hospital. We're locking down to prevent deaths, and we need drugs that can do that.

How can the scientific community ensure the integrity of research isn't compromised in the rush to publish?

Oughton: Authors should avoid predatory journals in favor of journals with established reputations that follow standard peer-review processes. Journal editors and boards need to vet their reviewers and allow reviewers sufficient time to thoroughly evaluate manuscripts instead of setting all-too-brief deadlines for review submissions. Finally, it is up to us, as the consumers of medical literature, to make it clear that our needs are not well served by reading preprints and manuscripts that are rushed through review processes.

Vaisman: There are complaints on both sides without any solutions. It's unethical to hold onto results while people die, and [some might argue] it's unethical to release results that are not peer-reviewed, or maybe people overestimate the importance of peer review as if it's this magical antidote against dishonesty. If there was some level of verification that didn't require the time-consuming process that goes into peer review, maybe that's one way to mitigate the problem. [That might look like] a third party that verifies data very quickly or goes through a checklist of things that need to be met before research can go to preprint. Simply saying preprints are bad is not a solution, and neither is just throwing everything out there in public.

Murthy: I think we can rely on transparency [to ensure the integrity of research]. If someone wants to be fraudulent, they can get through [peer review] without much difficulty. There's a certain amount of trust that we must put in somebody along the way, whether that trust is in the researcher, a university, a journal, or the media. [In the case of the recent dexamethasone press release], I know the researchers and collaborate with them frequently, so I can trust that they will report good data. And I think that concept where we build trust by experience and eminence can't be ignored.

What has been the experience at your institution with clinical trials related to COVID-19? What challenges do you foresee Canadian hospitals encountering?

Vaisman: At the beginning of the pandemic, some so many different researchers wanted to get trials done. My institution specifically set up a board to ensure that the highest quality studies were approved because very quickly when a patient came in with COVID-19, you had study coordinators lining up outside the patient's room.

Oughton: The smaller population bases of many Canadian centers can make enrolment challenging, particularly when numbers of new cases are currently decreasing. The other major challenge is that access to medications from pharmaceutical companies on compassionate release grounds can be difficult if [the companies] do not have established facilities in Canada. For example, the approval process for medications used in severe illness may take several days, by which time the patient's status may have changed.

Murthy: Canada has problems with clinical trial infrastructure. If you compare us to the United Kingdom, they have a central funder that supports hospitals in doing research and making that part of care. Ethics approval is all centralized. And there's a priority setting process in other countries that makes things as coordinated as possible. We don't have that in Canada. [We] fund individual projects, research coordinators and researchers, separated as much as possible from the care that's provided. I think that model is a failing one. If you look at the proportion of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Canada who were in a clinical trial, it's much less than in other countries.

Doctors at community hospitals have pointed out that most people with COVID-19 are managed in non-academic hospitalshow should they be supported to enroll patients into trials?

Murthy: In one of my trials, I'm specifically targeting community sites because I know that's where the patients are, and that's where the capacity needs to be built. We need the government to see this is important. We need the health system to see that research is part of care and how you learn to improve care. That involves funding research at the community level.

Oughton: One of the recent highlights in enrolling patients during COVID-19 restrictions came from Boulware's paper in NEJM on hydroxychloroquine for post-exposure prophylaxis. Centers from three Canadian provinces were involved. Enrolment, informed consent, and data collection were all performed using remote methods, including Internet, telephone, and text message during times when routine methods such as in-person visits to hospitals were necessarily restricted. These kinds of innovative methods are worth considering for non-academic centers that may cover geographically large areas with low population densities, both during the current pandemic and beyond.

What has COVID-19 taught us about infection control beyond the lessons learned from SARS and other outbreaks?

Vaisman: One of the important lessons for infection control is that we need to have personal protective equipment (PPE) made in Canada, available to everyone, that can be ramped up at a moment's notice. We just didn't have PPE available, not to the point where we had confidence in the supply. Just like infection control, it falls by the wayside except when there's a crisis.

Murthy: We've learned a lot about how much of infection control is behavioral. You really need to focus on knowledge sharing. Where messaging has been chaotic, infection control policies have been chaotic accordingly.

Oughton: I believe we will see gradual but increasing societal expectations for people to engage in measures that reduce risk to others, including frequent hand hygiene, a continuation of physical distancing in many public settings, and the wearing of non-medical masks. Our COVID-19 experience also taught us about the limitations of relying on prior experience with other pathogens when it came to issues such as asymptomatic transmission. Going forward, I hope we will approach new pathogens with the recognition that we need accurate and rapid research to provide a solid foundation for public health and infection control interventions.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
Three candidates are in the running to lead the Eurogroup panel of eurozone finance ministers, a once powerful gathering that has lost lustre since the debt crisis, it was announced Thursday. Whoever takes on the role will face the towering challenge of dealing with the economic aftermath of the coronavirus crisis, which has plunged Europe into its deepest recession since World War II. A few hours before candidacies closed on Thursday, Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino was seen as the favourite and will face two challengers. Ireland's Paschal Donohoe and Luxembourg's Pierre Gramegna are also in the running, with the winner voted by simple majority by the eurozone's 19 finance ministers on July 9. The new head of the Eurogroup will replace Mario Centeno, Portugal's soft-spoken finance minister who is stepping down after just two-and-a-half years. During his leadership, the Eurogroup saw its importance diminish from the headline-grabbing days of the debt crisis under the leadership of Jean-Claude Juncker from Luxembourg and Jeroen Dijsselbloem from the Netherlands. In theory, the head of the Eurogroup has a central role: he or she chairs the monthly meetings of the finance ministers of the countries that have adopted the single currency. The main objective of the meeting is to better coordinate national economic policies and apply pressure on countries to keep their budgets in order. In this capacity, they must be able to strike a compromise between the rich members in the north, who insist on budgetary discipline, and those in the south, who are seen as more lax. The north is expected to resist Calvino's candidacy and the opinion of Germany, Europe's biggest economy, will be key. "Calvino is favourite, but she will never have a big majority," predicted one diplomat. Calvino joined Spain's socialist government in June 2018, coming from the European Commission in Brussels where she had worked for 12 years. Known as a technocrat, Calvino said she hoped to continue to work towards "a strong and prosperous eurozone for the benefit of the citizens of Europe." Crucially, Ireland's Donohoe is from the centre-right European People's Party along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the biggest group in the European Parliament is eager to retake the Eurogroup from the social Democrats. Luxembourg's Pierre Gramegna, a centrist, is a long serving finance minister who diplomats said could serve as a bridge builder.
The New Year marked the beginning of recreational marijuana sales in Illinois. The state was already seeing a boom in medical marijuana, which it legalized in 2013, and now the recreational market is flourishing, too. Two marijuana companies, Green Thumb Industries (OTC:GTBIF) and Cresco Labs (OTC:CRLBF), are taking full advantage of the new legal cannabis market.

Illinois offers enormous potential

Illinois residents showed their love for marijuana products when sales soared to $39.2 million in January, the first month of legalization. The sales numbers have been strong since then, with $35 million in February and $36 million in March. April sales were strong at $37.3 million -- more than expected in a month of full lockdown -- hinting at the strong demand in the state.

Data by BDS Analytics shows Illinois cannabis sales exceeded $188 million in the first quarter of 2020, including $110 million in recreational sales and $78.2 million in medical cannabis sales. Currently, the state has a population of 12.6 million and operates 54 adult-use dispensaries and 55 medical dispensaries. Meanwhile, Colorado, with a population of 5.8 million, recorded $451 million in legal cannabis sales in the first quarter of 2020.

Illinois recorded another month of record sales in May at about $44 million. Of that, $34 million worth came from state residents, while out-of-state visitors contributed another $10 million. The state is bordered by Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, and Indiana; marijuana is still illegal for recreational use in all of these states. Illinois also recorded $32 million in medical cannabis sales in May.

Though store visits were limited in lockdown, curbside pickup and online home deliveries augmented sales.

Green Thumb Industries: Striking revenue growth from the new market

Green Thumb Industries, which operates 44 retail stores in 12 U.S. states, has a remarkable presence in the U.S. cannabis sector, with triple-digit revenue growth and positive profitability.

The company is all set to grasp the opportunities from this new legal cannabis market. Management believes that if the Illinois market was able to generate such high sales even under lockdown and social distancing requirements, then the future looks bright for overall sales to reach $3 billion this year.

Given Green Thumb's leading position in the market and the successful rollout of its recreational cannabis products, Illinois should be a point of high returns. The company already operates seven stores in Illinois and has licenses for three more. It announced the opening of its eighth Illinois store, in Niles, on May 26.

Strong growth in the Illinois and Pennsylvania markets drove Green Thumb's 268% year-over-year growth in revenue, which reached $102.6 million in the first quarter.

Cresco Labs: Tremendous potential in the new market

Cresco Labs also showed off its revenue growth in the first quarter, with that metric up 215% year over year to $66.4 million. Most of the credit for this growth goes to three strong markets: Pennsylvania, Illinois, and California.

According to management, the Illinois market could grow to a $1 billion industry in its first year. Cresco Labs opened its sixth Illinois store in Danville in May. The company thinks the store, located in eastern Illinois near the Indiana border, is perfectly positioned to drive sales by pulling in customers from in and around the region.

Strong sales drove profitability for Cresco Labs in the first quarter, in which it reported positive adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $3.2 million. Note that the adjusted EBITDA figures are "net of the impact of biological assets" -- in this case, cannabis. In other words, the fair value of the company's cannabis plants is excluded from the EBITDA figure.

What could 2020 bring?

While both companies could still see continued effects from the coronavirus pandemic on operations, both are financially capable of combating the crisis. Recent protests that have led to temporary store closures could also affect sales to some extent.

Interestingly, the illegal status of marijuana in the has U.S. made it hard for smaller companies to get financial support. For instance, MedMen Enterprises, troubled from financial burdens in January, had to use its stock as payment to its supplier.

Green Thumb ended its first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $71.5 million on the balance sheet, while Cresco ended the quarter with $68.6 million in cash and cash equivalents, enough to survive the coronavirus crisis.

As of June 24, shares of Green Thumb have gained 4% year to date, while Cresco Labs and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF have declined by 39% and 6%, respectively.

Despite rising sales and tremendous potential, some dark clouds loom over the Illinois market. The state is facing a supply shortage, and looking at the growing demand, it could threaten revenue in the coming months.

According to Marijuana Business Daily, the coronavirus pandemic forced the state to delay the allocation of 75 business licenses for recreational cannabis stores. The state had received more than 700 applications for the 75 dispensary licenses that it was supposed to award by May 1.

Now, with no sign of the pandemic retreating, it is hard to say when the licenses will be awarded, and that could lower future sales.

Looking ahead, Illinois won't be the only state to help Green Thumb and Cresco Labs see strong revenue growth. More states are attempting to legalize cannabis -- and with strong balance sheets, these two companies have room for expansion.
The federal government will push ahead with its plans to ease restrictions in spite of the growing threat of coronavirus outbreaks in Victoria.

But Australia will remain isolated from the rest of the world for some time yet, with departing Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy warning borders will stay closed until there is a vaccine and all returned travellers will be tested for the coronavirus while in quarantine for the forseeable future.

Coles and Woolworths have also reintroduced buying limits for toilet paper nationally as the spike in cases in Victoria prompted panic buying.

On Friday, NSW confirmed six new cases, including a 12-year-old student from Camden High School. The other five cases were in travellers in hotel quarantine.
COLOGNE (dpa-AFX) - Lufthansa (DLAKF, DLAKY) said Thorsten Dirks will withdraw from the company's Executive Board on the occasion of the successful conclusion of the governmental stabilization measure. He was most recently responsible for the areas Digitalization and Finance. The Executive Board division Digitalization and Finance will temporarily be assigned to CEO Carsten Spohr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said: 'After joining the Executive Board, Thorsten Dirks initially led Eurowings through a difficult phase, while at the same time placing important accents on IT and digitalization, and most recently taking over key areas of the finance department at short notice.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Nearly 1 in 3 Black Americans know someone personally who has died of COVID-19, far exceeding their white counterparts, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll. Read more

Nearly 1 in 3 Black Americans know someone personally who has died of COVID-19, far exceeding their white counterparts, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll that underscores the coronavirus pandemics profoundly disparate impact.

The nationwide survey finds that 31 percent of Black adults say they know someone firsthand who has been killed by the virus, compared with 17 percent of adults who are Hispanic and 9 percent who are white.

Adding in those who know someone with symptoms consistent with COVID-19, slightly more than half of Black Americans say they know at least one person who has gotten sick or died of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Fewer than 4 in 10 white or Hispanic Americans say they do.

Taken together, the poll's findings attest to sharp racial differences in the sense that the virus is close at hand, after nearly a half-year in which it has sparked the nation's worst public health calamity in more than a century.

According to authorities on health disparities, those differences arise from the nation's deep-seated socio-economic inequality and help explain the recent spasm of unrest across much of the country in a drive for racial justice.

"This pandemic has really unearthed  shone a real bright light on  the ways these disparities should not be accepted and are not tolerable," said Joseph Betancourt, vice president and chief equity and inclusion officer at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

The differing close-up exposure to the viruss ravaging effects is accompanied by divergent attitudes about the best way for the country to recover. Asked whether it is more important to try to control the spread of the coronavirus or to try to restart the economy, even if one hurts the other, 83 percent of Black Americans say trying to control the virus is a higher priority.

By contrast, when the same question was asked in a Washington Post-ABC News poll last month, just about half of white Americans said trying to control the virus is more important.

The differences in proximity to coronavirus sickness and death align, too, with political attitudes, the survey shows. More than 8 in 10 Black Americans say that, in deciding which presidential candidate to vote for in the November election, the coronavirus outbreak will be one of the most important factors or very important. Nearly as many Americans who are Hispanic say they hold that view  but fewer than 6 in 10 who are white say the same.

The survey "tells us a lot about how the life experiences of individuals in the United States are different by race," said Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. "Life experiences drive a lot about how you view the world, how you make decisions and what you do."

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered.

The polls central findings  the frequency of knowing someone killed by the virus  hold a mirror to the well-established pattern that the coronavirus has made its deepest inroads in the United States among Black Americans. The virus has been more likely to infect Black Americans and more likely to have a devastating effect on their bodies if they contract it.

"A lot of people have lost folks, and who knows who will be next?" said Lois R. Travillion, 82, a retired Chicago math teacher and school administrator who has had two friends die of COVID-19.

In early April, Travillion got a call that a former coworker in the Chicago school system  a man whom she still saw now and then and still played in his own band  had died of the virus.

Travillion said the other was a man, sharp and mobile in his mid-80s, who always sat two seats away from her at the monthly seniors breakfast, followed by Bible study that she attends at St. Stephen AME Church. Next thing she knew, he was infected, in the hospital, on a ventilator. On one of the last days of April, he died.

She found out just last Sunday that a member of her own church, Kelly Woodlawn United Methodist, had tested positive and is quarantining at home. And another man she knows, Travillion said, "was on a ventilator for a long time  and we thought he wasn't going to make it, but by the grace of God, he pulled through."

When she was a young woman still living in Mississippi, she took part in a 1963 Woolworth lunch counter sit-in to protest segregated seating. When she was new to Chicago in the late 1960s, she took part in the Black Manifesto, a set of demands to improve education at a high school where she taught.

The past months, she has shut herself in against the virus, relying on a former student to bring her groceries, wearing a mask when she walks down the hall to empty trash in the incinerator in the complex where she lives near Lake Michigan.

"People's lives are more important" than focusing on restoring the economy, Travillion said. "There are so many people who have died. You won't even need the economy because there won't be anybody around."

Lester Danner, 28, who lives in northwest Mississippi, has the same view. "It's important to control the virus because we have a walking-dead society with the virus in the air," he said. "A lot of people have died."

Early on, a cousin got infected working in a nursing home laundry, Danner said. But she did not develop symptoms.

Then, an aunt called to tell him a family friend's brother had died. He got sick in March, held on for a month in a hospital, then succumbed. The man and Danner's father were born on the same day 66 years ago.

And now, just across the Tennessee line in Shelby County, cases are spiking  400 new cases one day this week, more than twice as many as any day in March, April or May. Last week, the city council in Memphis, the county seat, voted to require residents to wear masks in public.

"People, they were so excited to be out of quarantine, they probably thought it would be OK, but now we are getting another wake-up call," said Danner, who does branding and marketing work. "You can't take anything for granted."

According to the poll, there is not much difference among racial and ethnic groups in the proportion of people saying they know someone who has had possible symptoms of COVID-19 but do not know anyone who died. Among white Americans, 28 percent say they know someone with symptoms. That is slightly higher than among Black and Hispanic Americans, both at 21 percent.

It is the proximity to death that is stark. Among Black Americans, the percentage knowing someone who died increases steadily with age. Nearly 1 in 4 adults younger than 35 say they know someone, compared with more than 4 in 10 people 65 and older.

The findings are "a true indication of reality," said Betancourt, of Massachusetts General Hospital.

He said people of color in the United States tend to live with "a series of preconditions" that put them at greater risk of becoming infected with the virus and of then faring poorly. They include higher rates of poverty and the varied effects of structural racism, Betancourt said. The downstream effects, he said, include crowded housing, more frequent asthma, diabetes and other chronic diseases, and a greater likelihood of being in jobs that do not allow them to work from the greater safety of home.

The Post-Ipsos poll was conducted June 9-14 through Ipsoss KnowledgePanel, a large online survey panel recruited through random sampling of U.S. households. Results among the sample of 1,153 non-Hispanic Black adults have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points; the error margin is 3.5 points among the parallel sample of 1,051 U.S. adults overall, four points among the sample of 742 white adults and 10 points among the sample of 115 Hispanic adults.

_____

The Washington Posts Scott Clement contributed to this report.
When Bolortsetseg Minjin learned that a Mongolian Airlines plane had taken off from Seattle International Airport this week, she enjoyed a few moments of celebration.

The blue, white and yellow-liveried Boeing 767 had made the airlines first direct flight to the US, to deliver medical gear to help in the fight against coronavirus, which is under tight control in Mongolia yet still raging in America. Moreover, it was returning with two invaluable pieces of cargo. On the flight to Ulaanbaatar were 255 Mongolian citizens, stranded in the US since the pandemic struck. Along with them were several boxes of dinosaur fossils, more than 65 million years old, illicitly obtained and now being returned to their rightful home.

The fossils, of creatures such as Tarbosaurus bataar, a relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, had been originally found in the vast Gobi desert, known by palaeontologists around the world. It was there in the 1920s and 1930s that American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews found the first fossilised dinosaur egg, and with it proof that dinosaurs were reptiles.

Yet, while the whip-carrying Andrews, said to be the true-life inspiration for Steven Spielbergs Indiana Jones and who died in 1960, obtained permission for his expeditions from the Mongolian government, many who followed  either in person, or through intermediaries  did not. The fossils packed into the hold of the Mongolian Airlines plane, among them two fossilised skulls of Tarbosaurus bataar, represented the latest success in a decade-long effort to locate and repatriate artefacts she passionately believes belong in her native Mongolia.

It feels good [to see the fossils returned], says Bolortsetseg, whose father was also a palaeontologist, and who now lives in New York where she heads the non-profit Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs.

I really want dinosaur fossils that are from Mongolia to be displayed in Mongolia, and for the public to learn about their cultural heritage.

She adds They have a lack of knowledge and theyre not appreciating this heritage as much as they should have been. Because of that, we are facing this problem of people selling fossils for money.

Bolortsetsegs work has seen her travel the United States, working with both the government of Mongolia and officials from the the US Department of Homeland Securitys Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) responsible for the investigation of stolen items. On several occasions, she has acted as an expert witness in court cases, where lawyers for the Mongolian government sought to prove items were genuine.

She has done so as dinosaur fossils, perhaps as a result of films such as Jurassic Park, which Spielberg also directed, have become increasingly sought after, often as status symbols.

In 2015, actor Nicolas Cage voluntarily handed over a Tarbosaurus bataar skull he had bought in auction in 2007, and for which he had paid $276,000, outbidding Leonardo DiCaprio among others. Cage did so after prosecutors in New York filed a civil forfeiture claim, saying the item had been obtained illegally.

Part of the challenge for people such as Bolortsetseg is that since 1990, when Mongolia established a democracy after six-decades of Soviet-controlled rule, her nation has become increasingly open to the outside world. While Mongolia has had laws dating back to 1924 that make fossil collection or removal illegal, collectors and enthusiasts have taken advantage of the increased ease of access to the worlds most sparsely populated nation and its cultural treasures.

Two areas in particular, the Flaming Cliffs, and the Nemegt Basin, both in the southern Omnogovi Province, have attracted huge interest.

 Bolortsegtseg Minjin on the repatriation of Mongolian dinosaurs

When you open up, its not just well-wishers who arrive, but also those looking to make quick money, says Yondon Otgonbayar, Mongolias US ambassador, who travelled to Seattle to oversee both the arrival of the PPE equipment, and the return of the fossils. Now were working to recover those stolen items.

Bolortsetseg estimates in the past decade she has helped repatriate more than 50 individual dinosaur fossils or collections, that were flown back in four shipments, Sundays being the most recent. Several legal actions to recover other fossils are ongoing.

Other than of the skull bought by Nicolas Cage, the most high-profile involved an entire Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton, obtained among a number of dinosaur fossils by a Florida collector, Eric Prokopi, and put up for sale in New York city for $1m in 2012.

Prokopi would eventually plead guilty, as part of a deal with federal prosecutors, to illegally smuggling dinosaur fossils and give up several other skeletons in his possession. The skull bought by Cage had in fact been originally obtained by a gallery in Beverly Hills, IM Chait. The gallery had bought a number of items from Prokopi, who initially argued he had committed no crime because the fossils had been brought to the US from the UK, rather than directly from Mongolia. He was jailed for three months.

Each of these fossils represents a culturally and scientifically important artefact looted from its rightful owner, said then Manhattan prosecutor Preet Bharara. He called Prokopi a one-man black market in prehistoric fossils.

The pieces returned this week followed investigations by ICE agents in several locations across the country. Bolortsetseg said three separate legal actions were involved.

The Flaming Cliffs area of the Gobi desert is famed for its dinosaur fossils (Getty)

In 2012, officers in New York, Wyoming and Salt Lake City initiated cultural property investigations related to the sale of dinosaur fossils that originated in Mongolia, says ICE spokesperson Kate Pote. Mongolian patrimony laws prohibit the export and private ownership of any prehistoric dinosaur fossil or specimen.

Pote says a fourth case, again involving Prokopi, was in the process of being resolved and ICE planned to release this fossil to Mongolia in the coming months.

It is unclear whether Prokopi, the subject of a book, The Dinosaur Artist: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Quest for Earths Ultimate Trophy, by Paige Williams, was directly inspired by Roy Chapman Andrews, who launched three separate expeditions to Mongolia, in the capacity as an explorer for New Yorks American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), where he started his career in 1906 mopping the floors. He would later graduate to the taxidermy department before travelling through Mongolia in US-made cars he imported for the purpose.

I wanted to go everywhere. I would have started on a days notice for the North Pole or the South, to the jungle or the desert, he wrote in Under a Lucky Star, one of a dozen books.

To some, such as the Roy Chapman Andrews Society, established in the explorers birthplace of Beloit, Wisconsin, Andrews was a pioneering hero, who auctioned off some of the eggs he brought back to the US in order to fund subsequent expeditions. In 1935, he became director of the prestigious AMNH, where a number of his Mongolian dinosaur finds are still on display.

Others, including Bolortsetseg, say his actions took place in a less informed era. Hero is not the word, she says. His intention may have been good, she adds, but this whole thing happened around the time of a colonial mindset.

The AMNH did not respond to enquiries. In a statement, the Roy Chapman Andrews Society said it was focused on promoting the value of scientific exploration and discovery, with special emphasis on inspiring young people to achieve great things. It added: We recognise many historic achievements were the product of colonialism and we support efforts to redress this legacy.

Indeed, the repatriation of items to Mongolia comes amid a broader cultural reckoning, with many nations, and their museums, being pressured to return items collected, or looted, depending on ones perspective, during colonial times. Last year, the authors of an influential report accused the British Museum of acting like an an ostrich with its head in the sand over the issue.

In Mongolia, over the last decade there has been an urgency to use the publicity created by the return of the dinosaur fossils to educate people about their heritage. A museum was specially constructed to house the fossils.

Among those who supported this was Oyungerel Tsedevdamba, a writer and activist and onetime minister of culture, sport and tourism.

Speaking from Ulaanbaatar, Oyungerel tells The Independent that one of the challenges in educating Mongolians was the historic views of bones as something unclean. Oyungerel, who grew up in a nomadic herding community, says children are taught to keep away from the bones of dead animals, as they may be harbouring disease.

Because of my upbringing I know how grandparents pass on this message to parents and it gets carried down  dont touch them, says Oyungerel, whose novels include The Green Eyed Lama.

Steadily, she says, people are learning that unlike the bones they may encounter on the steppes, the dinosaur remains are fossilised items, like stone.

Bolortsetseg says few things give her more pleasure than travelling around Mongolia in a mobile museum to show the fossils to children and their parents, and to tell them where they come from.

She has so far visited 10 of its 22 provinces.

The kids are really excited. Some of them say theyve seen dinosaur movies, but they think dinosaurs are from America, she says.

And I said, no, the movies made in America, but the dinosaur was actually found in your back yard.

She adds: I say You know the Velociraptor. Velociraptor is from Jurassic Park, and I play them the video. And I say This dinosaur is from your back yard.
The water quality in the upper courses of the major river systems is good, but in urban areas or areas with many sources of waste, more polluted water exists.

New hot spots in the north



The Directorate General of Environment reported that the quality of the water environment in the Northern river basin in 2019 was better than in 2018, especially in the last months of the year.





The Nhue basin, rivers in the inner city, Cau River basin, monitoring points on Ngu Huyen Khe River and Loang Stream have temporarily escaped pollution. The water quality is at medium level, which can be used for waterway transport and other similar purposes.



However, while long-lasting hot spots were settled, new hot spots appeared. The abnormal pollution on Chau Giang River in late 2017 and early 2018 caught the special attention of the community. The Bac Hung Hai river system (in Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen and Hai Duong) was also seriously polluted with organic matter and microorganisms.



The river receives a big volume of domestic and industrial waste water from production workshops and craft villages. They also receive polluted water from nearby rivers.

The water quality in the upper courses of the major river systems is good, but in urban areas or areas with many sources of waste, more polluted water exists.

The pollution level increases in dry season, from October to December, since the river systems closes to store water for irrigation.



Central region: best river quality



In the Huong, Vu Gia  Thu Bon, Tra Khuc and Kon  Ha Thanh river basins, the quality of the river water is better than the north and the south. The water of the river can be used for irrigation, aquaculture and domestic use.



The monitoring in 2015-2019 did not discover hot spots in the river water environment. However, scientists warned that the river sections that run through populous areas have increasing amounts of COD, BOD5 and nitrogen-containing compounds.



Southern region



The water quality saw much improvement in 2019 compared with the year before. The pollution mostly occurred in the lower course of main rivers, tributaries and inner canals, and areas that receive waste water from urban areas, industrial zones and production workshops.



Bung Cu Stream in Binh Duong, Nhieu Loc  Thi Nghe Canal in HCM City, Ong Buong Bridge on Sai Gon River, which were seriously polluted in the past, have been upgraded thanks to environmental improvement projects. However, there have been signs of pollution again in recent years.



The indexes of DO, COD, BOD5, and nutritional group (N-NH4 +, N-NO2-) exceed the permitted level in Vietnamese standard QCVN 08-MT:2015/BTNMT.

Thanh Mai

Hanoi to build new bridge over Duong River The Hanoi Department of Transport has reported to the municipal People's Committee about the Ministry of Transport's project on building a new Duong Bridge (Duong Bridge No 2) over Hanoi's Duong River.
Europe is facing a potential shortage of water for the third year in a row as 2020 continues to be one of the warmest years globally.

Last winter was the warmest on record and Europe had little snow. This was followed by a spring which was also drier and warmer than normal.

In May, there was a heat wave and the forecast for summer is also set to be warm and dry.

Eastern Europe began seeing meteorological drought conditions in early spring and the conditions then spread across Europe with the dry weather, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

The map shows the groundwater wetness - a resource used for crop irrigation and drinking water - which takes longer to rebound than surface and root zone moisture

Ground level water in some areas rebounded in late May and early June when there were heavy rain showers.

C3S meteorologists have predicted June, July and August will see below-average rainfall levels for southern and eastern Europe.

The two maps show shallow groundwater storage and root zone soil moisture - the water naturally available for growing crops - in Europe at the levels measured on June 22.

They were created based on data gathered by Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow On (GRACE-FO) satellites.

The wetness percentile measures how levels of groundwater and soil moisture compare to long-term records for the months.

The dark blue areas have more water than usual and the orange and red areas have less.

The driest conditions occurring only two per cent of the time are represented by the darkest red. These conditions occur around once every 50 years.

Root zone soil moisture is water naturally available for growing crops. The darkest red areas represent dry conditions occurring only two per cent of the time (around once every 50 years)

Groundwater is a resource used for crop irrigation and drinking water, which takes longer to rebound than surface and root zone moisture.

Remote sensing scientist at Technische Universitat Wien Wolfgang Wagner said: 'In recent years, Central Europe has experienced a series of droughts caused by exceptionally stable weather patterns and high temperatures that can both be linked to climate change.

'The fact that some regions have experienced drought conditions in several consecutive years has already caused significant damage to forests (due to bark beetle infestation) and declines in groundwater levels.'

This spring the Czech Republic reported that nearly 80 per cent of its wells were recording mild to extreme drought which some called the country's worst drought in 500 years.

The water level in the Desna River, Ukraine, was measured a full 5 metres below normal for springtime which is its lowest point in 140 years of observations.

The water levels in Yarrow Reservoir, Lancashire, dropped to dramatic lows after temperatures soared in Britain
New Delhi/Geneva, June 26 : The United Nations experts have called on the international community to take collective and decisive action to ensure that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime ends violations of its international obligations and human rights of its citizens.

In a statement issued by the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), the experts, who are part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, said that it is time for renewed attention on the human rights situation in China, particularly in light of the moves against the people of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), minorities of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the Tibet Autonomous Region, and human rights defenders across the country.

They urged the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to act with a sense of urgency to take all appropriate measures to monitor Chinese human rights practices.

The group has recommended a special session to evaluate the range of violations; the establishment of an impartial and independent United Nations mechanism -- such as a United Nations Special Rapporteur, a Panel of Experts appointed by the HRC, or a Secretary General Special Envoy -- to closely monitor, analyse and report annually on the human rights situation in China, particularly in view of the urgency of the situations in the Hong Kong SAR, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region and the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The experts also suggested that all member states and UN agencies in their dialogues and exchanges with China should specifically demand that China fulfills its human rights obligations.

Though the CCP has almost always rejected the criticism of the UN's independent experts, unlike over 120 states, it has not issued a standing invitation to them to conduct official visits, the statement said.

In the last decade, despite many requests by Special Procedures, the Chinese government has permitted only five visits by independent experts (pertaining to rights involving food, discrimination against women and girls, foreign debt, extreme poverty and older persons).

The independent experts urged the Xi Jinping government to invite the mandate-holders, including those with a mandate to monitor civil and political rights, to conduct independent missions and to permit those visits to take place in an environment of confidentiality, respect for human rights defenders, and full avoidance of reprisals against those with whom mandate-holders may meet.
Along with luring in new foreign investment inflows, one of the major tasks for the government is to tackle oversights in regards to foreign-invested projects without construction licences.

Dinh Tram Industrial Park - Illustration photo (Source : BGP/An Nhien, bacgiang.gov.vn)

In recent months, numerous foreign-invested projects violating current regulations have been detected in the most popular provinces among foreign investors, including Bac Ninh, Haiphong, and Bac Giang, with projects caught red-handed having started construction without obtaining the relevant permission.

Haiphong is one of the places where numerous projects have begun construction without the proper licences. In late 2019, a series of foreign investors received negative publicity for violating construction regulations, including Hecom Vietnam Co., Ltd., Taesung Engineering Vina Co., Ltd., and Autel Vietnam Co., Ltd.

The cases involved Chinese-invested Yaolong Vietnam Printing Co., Ltd. and Luxshare-ICT, a large partner of Apple, with the common denominator being that the unlicensed construction works were discovered when they were almost finished. The resulting penalties included nothing more than fines and stern warnings to the leaders of relevant supervisory departments and agencies in charge of supervising the projects.

One of the latest violations was by Luxshare-ICT, which was most recently issued a combined fine of VND340 million ($15,000) for violations in investment, environmental protection, and construction regulations, as well as in labour permits for foreign workers at Bac Giang Industrial Zone (IZ).

Luxshare-ICT, which was established in Vietnam in 2016 and has a second factory in the central province of Nghe An, registered VND4.19 trillion ($182 million) in the Bac Giang facility last year.

Accordingly, the company implemented its projects without issuing an environmental impact assessment report, built several structures that were not mentioned in its construction licence, and illegally recruited nearly 700 Chinese experts and workers.

Nguyen Mai, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, told VIR, Recent violations showed clear weaknesses in management at localities as well as lax oversight by local authorities in monitoring the companies operation. It also tells a great deal about the eagerness of cities and provinces to attract foreign investment that goes at the expense of ensuring the responsibility and potential of the foreign investors.

It is difficult to understand how local authorities are so late in detecting issues at foreign-invested projects when they are so quick to crack down on violations at the local household level. Additionally, it is almost commonplace to see local authorities order the removal of violating construction works erected by households, while they only issue warnings and nominal fines to large foreign investors.

I understand when an entire building is almost topped off, it would be a tremendous financial blow to ask the investor to tear it down, but letting them stay can be risky, Mai explained. The construction permit comes after a thorough evaluation of issues like safety requirements and environmental impact. If the building was raised without the local authorities verifying the appropriate parameters, what guarantees are there that the inspection of the finished product can uncover every mistake  and how would you fix them at that stage, anyway?

Following queries by VIR, Nguyen Xuan Ngoc, deputy director of Bac Giang Industrial Zones Authority, said that in addition to the fines, the local authorities have ordered Luxshare-ICT to remove the offending buildings, but it remains questionable whether entire buildings developed to accommodate workers would actually be removed or if the foreign experts would return to their home country.

Vietnams laws on the supervision of foreign-invested projects are in place, with Decree No.84/2015/ND-CP issued in 2015 on supervision and assessment of investment assigning clear obligations to local authorities. The problem, however, lies not in the wording of the regulations but in its implementation, as local authorities seem to have glaring blind spots when following the progress of such projects.

The case of Chinese-invested Yaolong Vietnam Printing Co., Ltd. located in Chau Phong Industrial Cluster in Bac Ninh province is an example. The investor was slammed with a fine of VND40 million ($1,740) in May for constructing multiple buildings without a licence. Yaolong, licensed in March 2019, developed four manufacturing facilities and a four-storey office building as well as a warehouse and then went on to expand by an additional four manufacturing facilities and another four-storey office building.

However, its lack of a construction licence to begin even the first building was only discovered after the first phase was already finished and the expansion was almost complete.

It is very difficult to understand how local authorities did not spot a four-storey office building or four whole manufacturing plants going up, an industry observer said, adding, This issue is nothing new  provinces have been working on regulation to reinforce supervision and control over foreign-invested projects, but it has never been more than secondary to attracting new projects.

For instance, Danang Peoples Committee last November issued its own regulation on supervising foreign-invested projects, besides complying with Decree 84.

The regulation aims to ensure the detection of contrasting regulations. In addition, this regulation will also help us detect violations early in order to avoid to social impacts, said Tran Phuoc Son, director of Danang Department of Planning and Investment (DPI).

Each November, relevant authorities will have to submit a list of foreign-invested projects that need to be checked to Danang DPI to formulate inspection plans to submit to the Peoples Committee for approval before November 15, Son added. Then, the inspection plans would be sent on to the Ministry of Planning and Investment before November 30.

However, another representative of Danang DPI told VIR that while this regulation is in place, the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the implementation of this until early next year.

The DPI has pledged to continue working with the relevant authorities to accelerate the completion of investment procedures for foreign-invested projects, with a view to helping them and speeding up the central citys economic recovery.

Along with supervision of such processes, the Vietnamese government recently moved to create a new team focused on building on the diversification plans of large foreign investors. Last week, the government officially enacted Decision No.850/QD-TTg establishing a taskforce to boost foreign investment co-operation, serving as an impetus for catching investment capital inflows early from major global groups that are diversifying and repositioning manufacturing facilities after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The taskforce is aimed to provide advice for the government in formulating competitive investment attraction policies to tap into the wave of investment going into this global strategic relocation.

In addition, as a key priority for foreign investors is stability and legal consistency, the taskforce will complete the relevant legal framework. It will have to report to the prime minister on the progress towards its mission.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has been assigned the role of head of the new taskforce, while Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung is the permanent deputy head, and a deputy minister of the ministry will also be assigned as a deputy head. Other members of the taskforce include leaders of other ministries, the State Bank of Vietnam, and the Government Office.

Nguyen Chi Dung - Minister of Planning and Investment Utilising its advantageous position and reputation  both of which have improved significantly in recent times  Vietnam has become a safe destination for foreign investors, trade partners, and tourists. However, we have to prepare a great deal to welcome the coming huge wave of investment, especially from multinational corporations. This work includes simplifying administrative procedures, developing infrastructure, and clarifying policies related to land, labour, energy, and master planning. The policies should be synchronous and decisions need to be made quickly. The most important task is selecting projects in line with the direction of the Politburos Resolution No.50-NQ/TW. This would ensure that foreign-invested projects can link up with other projects and provide chances for local businesses, particularly those in supporting industries, to join their value chains. Thus, ministries, agencies, and localities should actively make plans and take action to seize opportunities from the foreign investment movements, especially by multinationals with high-technology and dominant supply chains. While other countries are competing with Vietnam to mobilise foreign investment, we must provide attractive incentives as well as build a set of criteria to stave off projects that are low-tech, damaging to the environment, or are massively labour, natural resources, or energy-intensive. Nguyen Thien Nhan - Secretary, Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Vietnam has established economic relations with numerous countries and territories, 17 of which contribute 90 per cent of foreign investment in Vietnam, 80 per cent of the countrys international trade turnover, and 80 per cent of tourist arrivals. So it is of utmost importance to make careful preparations and plans resuming trade and business activities with these 17 markets. This is paramount because 10 of these 17 countries and territories have managed to control the coronavirus pandemic in the last few months. These include Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Germany, Australia, Samoa, and the United Kingdom, which are going to resume economic activities with Vietnam soon. The situation in seven other countries (India, the United States, Russia, Singapore, the Netherlands, Indonesia, and Malaysia), which are not yet safe, will be strictly followed in the time coming. Experts forecast that foreign direct investment into Vietnam would decrease by 30 per cent this year, while international trade turnover would decline by 18 per cent and the number of foreign tourists by 50 per cent. Step-by-step re-opening trade with other countries will help us exploit overseas markets, mobilise foreign investment, as well as promote the domestic market and local investment. For this, three major aspects of Vietnam  its culture, political stability, and the economy  will be promoted. VIR

Oanh Nguyen

Orientations put Hanoi onto investment radar Amidst the global trend of investment shifts, Hanoi is betting on new orientations and solutions to increase its appeal, expecting to open opportunities for international investors to venture further afield.
SAN FRANCISCO, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Elektra Labs, a healthcare company advancing remote patient monitoring by enabling the safe and effective use of connected biosensors at home, has announced today that a subset of its Atlas platform will be free of charge for clinicians and researchers in the fight against COVID-19.

The COVID-19 public health emergency has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in medicine as more care providers and clinical trials shift to telemedicine to support patients at home. "The ability to reliably assess patients' vital signs remotely is a powerful way to improve the utility of telemedicine," says Elektra Labs co-founder Dr. Sofia Warner, who has been treating COVID-19 patients on the front line at Massachusetts General Hospital. "Having a sense of what connected sensors are validated for which measurements is important for providers to know."

The free Atlas resource is also powerful for those shifting to decentralized clinical trials. "Many pharmaceutical companies running large, critical, and expensive clinical trials are quickly working to adapt their studies to maintain progress and keep patients safe amid the pandemic," remarks Ariel Stern, PhD, faculty at the Harvard-MIT Center for Regulatory Sciences. "These companies are racing to determine which products are not only safe and effective, but also easy for study participants to deploy at home."

Elektra Labs has joined forces with industry experts to publish an open-access manuscript in Nature npj Digital Medicine that outlines the connected sensor evaluation frameworks available in the Atlas platform. Similar to a drug label or nutrition label, the paper introduces a 'connected sensor label', which identifies objective measures around the product's validation, usability, utility, security, and data governance components. Keeping Elektra's evaluation framework open for all is core to the Elektra Labs mission. "Technology has moved faster than our ability to safeguard ourselves," says Elektra Labs CEO Andy Coravos. "I co-founded Elektra to make it easier and safer to care for people at home, and never has this been more important than during the COVID-19 crisis. I'm thrilled to donate use of the Atlas platform to those working to treat patients and innovate in healthcare throughout the pandemic."

Clinicians and researchers interested in free use of the Elektra Labs Atlas platform to evaluate ideal connected health tools for use during COVID-19 can access the platform at elektralabs.com/covid-19 .

ABOUT ELEKTRA LABS

Elektra Labs helps organizations safely, securely and effectively deploy connected products to advance clinical trials and remote health monitoring. Through the company's Atlas platform, Elektra teaches best practices for capturing patient signals, simplifies the task of evaluating the right biosensor for any situation, and decreases risk when deploying, managing and monitoring these connected products in real-life settings. Elektra Labs was founded in 2017, has been featured in dozens of publications and medical journals, and has received funding from several prominent health, bioscience and tech investors as well as the National Science Foundation and the Harvard Business School Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. We are hiring! For more information on Elektra Labs, please visit elektralabs.com or follow Elektra Labs on Twitter , LinkedIn , Medium and Facebook .

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The books worth Kshs 800,000 (US$ 7 600.00 appx.) and money Kshs 100,000 (US$ 1000 appx.) were handed over to the Chairman of Caritas  Kenya, Archbishop Martin Kivuva Musonde who is also the Ordinary of Mombasa.

Rose Achiego - Nairobi, Kenya

Speaking at the hand-over ceremony held at the publishers office in Nairobi, Archbishop Kivuva thanked Moran Publishers for their kind gesture. He noted that children in flood and landslide-hit regions are in greater danger of drowning, starvation, and disease. He added that because some of the schools have been submerged, children have no learning materials.

Disasters directly cause disease and damage to education and health infrastructure, while indirectly lowering disease resistance by heightening poverty and malnutrition, he said.

Books will help learners

Issuing the cheque and books, Moran (E.A.) Publishers Limited Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, David Muita, expressed hope that the donation will alleviate the pain of the victims affected by the devastating floods, landslides, and COVID-19.

We also believe that the books will be of great use to both the students and teachers in the affected schools and will go a long way in uplifting educational standards in the community, he added.

Flooding in Busia and Kisumu counties

Parts of Busia and Kisumu Counties are faced with disasters following the onset of seasonal rains and increased water levels in Lake Victoria that has led to the backflow of water thus causing flooding in Budalangi, Samia, Matayos, Nyando, and Ugenya Sub Counties.

According to reports, the heavy rainfall and floods have caused pit latrines and toilets to fill up and overflow, with some collapsing or sinking. Over 607 households have been affected and schools submerged. It is estimated that up to 11 schools are submerged in Budalangi alone.

Schools such as Mundika Primary School are being used to shelter Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

The situation is critical with the potential for an outbreak of Cholera. This is occurring at a time when the counties are fighting to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.


(Newser)  Heavily armed gunmen attacked and wounded Mexico City's police chief in a brazen operation that left an unspecified number of dead, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday. Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch was being treated in a hospital but was out of danger. However, "there were deaths and several arrests," she said. Mexico City Attorney General Ernestina Godoy Ramos said there were 12 arrests and that her office was investigating the attack. The police said in a statement that gunmen armed with .50-caliber sniper rifles and grenades exchanged fire with the chief's security detail, per the AP. The statement said two cops were wounded; Harfuch was hospitalized in stable condition. The attack happened around 6:30am on the city's Paseo de la Reforma, in an area where large homes are surrounded by walls and foreign embassies.

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Photographs from the scene showed a bullet-riddled black SUV and a high-sided construction truck with a number of rifles in the back that apparently hid the gunmen until the ambush. There was no immediate word on motive or the identity of the attackers, but a number of organized-crime groups operate in the city. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered his support and solidarity to Sheinbaum and the city's public security forces. "It has to do without a doubt with the work [Harfuch] is carrying out to guarantee peace and tranquility," Lopez Obrador said. Mexico's federal Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo, who was traveling with the president, condemned what he called a "cowardly" attack.

(Read more Mexico City stories.)
Balon was appointed to the post in November 2019.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has decided to dismiss Chairman of Kirovohrad Regional State Administration Andriy Balon after the latter was detained on bribery charges.

"I received information from the Security Service of Ukraine a few days ago that, to put it mildly, wrong things were happening around the head of the regional state administration related to the violation of the law of Ukraine," the presidential press service quoted the president as saying.

Zelensky emphasized that "the law is one for all."

Read alsoKirovohrad governor, his accomplice detained on bribery charges  media (Photos)

"Therefore, when I received this information, I immediately said that I would dismiss the head of the regional state administration. And law enforcement agencies should deal with everything else ... There is no 'ours  not ours.' You steal  you go to jail," he added.

As UNIAN reported earlier, high-ranking officials in Kirovohrad region were detained on bribery charges in the early hours of Friday, June 26. The facts of taking UAH 1.8 million (about US$67,400) in a bribe by representatives of Kirovohrad Regional State Administration were documented by the SBU Security Service of Ukraine jointly with the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). The operation was supervised by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).

According to the Ukrayinska Pravda news outlet, detained were Chairman of Kirovohrad Regional State Administration Andriy Balon and another official from the administration.

In November 2019, Zelensky tapped Andriy Balon, who was the then deputy chairman of Kherson Regional State Administration, to head Kirovohrad Regional State Administration.
In the same week that Chinese and Indian soldiers engaged in a deadly brawl, one of Chinas submarines cruised through the waters near Japan, prompting a scramble of aircraft and ships to track its furtive movements. Chinese fighter jets and at least one bomber buzzed Taiwans territorial airspace almost daily. With the world distracted by the coronavirus pandemic, Chinas military has encroached upon its neighbors territories on several fronts throughout the spring and now into summer, flexing its military might in ways that have raised alarms across Asia and ...
Former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina speaks to the media after a meeting at Trump Tower on 12 December, 2016: (Getty Images)

President Donald Trump has called Carly Fiorina a failed presidential candidate, after she said she will vote for Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Ms Fiorina, who was the only woman running in the 2016 Republican presidential primary, said that she will be voting for the presumptive Democratic candidate in November, during an appearance on The Atlantics podcast, The Ticket.

Ms Fiorina said: Ive been very clear that I cant support Donald Trump, and added: You know, elections are binary choices. I will say this: I think, I hope, that Biden understands that this moment in history calls for him to be a leader, not a politician.

When asked if that means she will be voting for Mr Biden in the 2020 presidential election, the 65-year-old replied: Well, its not til November is it? Im not voting for Trump. Its a binary choice. So if faced with a binary choice on a ballot, yes.

In reaction to Ms Fiorinas comments, the president tweeted: Failed presidential candidate (thank you President Trump!), Carly Fiorina, said she will be voting for Corrupt Joe Biden.

Failed presidential candidate (thank you President Trump!), Carly Fiorina, said she will be voting for Corrupt Joe Biden. She lost so badly to me, twice in one campaign, that she should be voting for Joe. No complaints!!!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2020

During the 2016 primary, Ms Fiorina pulled out of the race and became Ted Cruzs proposed running mate, before he also left only seven days later.

This made Ms Fiorinas vice presidential candidacy the shortest in US history, and Mr Trump added: she lost so badly to me, twice in one campaign, that she should be voting for Joe. No complaints!!!

During her appearance on The Ticket, Ms Fiorina said she thinks Mr Biden will make a better president than Mr Trump, because he can find common ground on a bipartisan basis.

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Ms Fiorina added that although they disagree on policy, I am encouraged that Joe Biden is a person of humility and empathy and character. I think hes demonstrated that through his life.

The former candidate voted for Mr Trump in 2016, but speaking to CNNs Poppy Harlow in December 2019, Ms Fiorina said it is vital that he be impeached.

She did not confirm at the time if she would vote for the president in November, but said: It depends who the Democrats put up.

Ms Fiorina is not the first Republican to publicly state that they will be voting for someone other than the current president in Novembers election.

Colin Powell, the former secretary of state under George W Bush, told CNNs Jake Tapper earlier this month that he will vote for Mr Biden.

Mr Powell told the host that he did not vote for Mr Trump in 2016, and added: I certainly cannot in any way support President Trump this year.

The former secretary of state said that he is close to Mr Biden on a social matter and on a political matter, and he is now the candidate and I will be voting for him.

The Trump administrations former national security advisor, John Bolton, who is poised to release a memoir about his time in the White House, recently said that he wont vote for the president.

I dont think hes fit for office, Mr Bolton told ABC about Mr Trump. I dont think he has the competence to carry out the job. I dont think hes a conservative Republican.

He added: Im not gonna vote for him in November. Certainly not gonna vote for Joe Biden either.

Mr Bolton said that he will figure out a conservative Republican to write in.

Read more

Trump says protesters want to topple statues of Jesus and Lincoln
The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated central banks' experiment with sovereign digital currencies, as they look to distribute stimulus money more efficiently without using cash, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

And an ongoing pilot conducted by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), in particular, has provided many takeaways for its counterparts, Benoit Coeure, head of BIS Innovation Hub, said. Its digital yuan is being tested in pilot cities to disburse transport subsidies, and is expected to become the world's first sovereign digital currency to go live.

"China has been blazing the trail in central bank digital currencies," he said. "What they are doing will bring a lot of lessons for other central banks."

The PBOC's test also comes amid swift changes in retail payment behaviour globally during the pandemic, as is evident in a spike in the use of contactless payment cards and declining use of cash, said Hyun Song Shin, an economic adviser at the BIS. Banknotes and coins are increasingly being viewed as a transmission medium of the virus.

At the same time, the pandemic has also spurred governments' fiscal responses to the related economic fallout. The world economy is forecast to shrink by 4.9 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Governments have launched relief and loan programmes targeted at small businesses and individuals affected by the crisis. Fiscal support from G20 countries this year is estimated at US$7 trillion, equivalent to 10.3 per cent of their 2019 gross domestic product, according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

The time and cost at which past crisis loans and stimulus monies traditionally reach end users have led central banks globally to step up their research and pilot programmes on sovereign digital currencies.

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Where disbursements can be made directly in a speedy way without operational risks, "a fast payment system that is widely accessible can make [government disbursements] more effective and timely," Shin said.

Shin and Coeure were speaking at a BIS media briefing this week on payments in the digital era, which forms part of its annual economic report.

In China, the PBOC has been at the forefront of research on digital currencies since 2014 under former governor Zhou Xiaochuan. As Covid-19 infections peaked in April, small-scale tests were conducted in Suzhou, Shenzhen, XiongAn and Chengdu. The pilot involved Agricultural Bank of China, which launched an e-wallet that keeps track of the digital currency issued by the PBOC.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is also pushing ahead with its own. Unlike the PBOC's project which supports retail payments, the HKMA and its Thai counterpart are building a cross-border digital payment system to support bilateral trade.

Called Project Inthanon-LionRock, their sovereign digital currencies will ultimately help companies located in both markets save costs through more competitive foreign exchange rates, and achieve real-time settlement by cutting out layers of intermediaries in the process.

As the project is based on the distributed ledger technology, its smart contracts could also help governments track if their relief funds have been misused, said Guillaume Rico, director at consulting firm Chappuis Halder & Co. Smart contracts are programmes developed on the ledger that execute preset terms and conditions.

"By programming the smart contract and issuing digital currencies to companies applying for these subsidies and loans, there could be better monitoring and tracing of fund use to ensure the fiscal support is hitting the government's economic objectives," Rico said.

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.
A man has been shot dead by police after multiple stabbings at a hotel in Glasgow city centre.

Police Scotland said six victims were being treated for injuries in hospital, including a police officer left in a critical condition.

The attack, which police are not treating as terrorism, started at the Park Inn hotel on West George Street shortly before 1pm on Friday.

Police were on the scene within two minutes and armed officers shot the suspect dead.

Constable David Whyte, 42, suffered serious stab injuries and remained in hospital in a critical but stable condition on Friday evening.

Recommended Police shut down Glasgow city centre after multiple reported stabbings

A 17-year-old boy was among the other victims, with the others ages 18, 20, 38 and 53.

The chief constable of Police Scotland, Iain Livingstone, paid tribute to PC Whyte and the other officers who responded to the attack.

Terrible incidents such as we have seen today are, thankfully, very rare in Scotland, he said. This event has understandably shocked the people of Glasgow, and indeed, the whole country.

My thoughts and very best wishes are with those who have been injured and their families, including our colleague constable David Whyte who was seriously injured in the course of doing his duty. I offer my personal support to all those affected.

Officers have once again run into danger to protect their fellow citizens. Their professionalism as police officers was outstanding. I pay tribute to their bravery, selflessness and commitment to protecting the public.

Earlier the force confirmed the incident was not being treated as terrorism and declared there was no wider risk to the public.

Scotlands Police Investigations and Review Commissioner has launched an investigation into the incident, which is routine for all fatal police shootings.

Armed police were seen entering the Park Inn hotel during the incident, while workers in surrounding offices were ordered to stay inside.

One witness, who gave his name as John, said two people who he believed to be staff members had been stabbed inside the hotel.

Police closed off party of Glasgow city centre following the stabbings (PA)

He said he came down from the third floor of the hotel to see the reception area covered in blood.

One receptionist had been stabbed behind the reception desk, he said.

And then when I went down to the entrance I shouted at him and told him to stay calm and I will call for help.

When I went to the entrance I saw another receptionist was fighting for his life and had been stabbed.

Mohammad N Asif, chair of Afghan Human Rights Foundation, wrote on Twitter that it was being used to house asylum seekers during the coronavirus pandemic.

I am told by an asylum seeker resident in the hotel that they are not allowed to speak to anyone, he said many people have been stabbed by knives, he added.

Campaign group Positive Action In Housing confirmed that the 91-room hotel was housing asylum seekers for the Mears Group, which moved them there during the coronavirus lockdown.

Craig Milroy, who witnessed the aftermath of the incident from an office building nearby, said he had seen four people taken away in ambulances.

He told the PA news agency: I saw a man lying on the ground, of African descent, with no shoes on. He was on the ground with someone holding his side  I dont know if it was a bullet wound, a stab wound, or what it was.

Mr Milroy said the man was one of the four taken away by medics and believed him to be a victim of an attack.

He added: After that we saw commotion, ambulances further up and we saw armed police all running into the hotel next to the Society Room.

 Glasgow incident: Eyewitness tells Sky News she saw people covered in blood being treated by emergency workers

We were still standing outside, after that the police all came down, the riot police and triage team told us to go back in and lock the door.

David Hamilton, chair of the Scottish Police Federation, said it was supporting the family of the injured officer.

This is obviously an anxious time for them and we ask that they be left alone as their attentions are very obviously directed towards the care of their loved one, he added.

Our thoughts, prayers, and best wishes are with our colleague, his family and friends, and all colleagues affected by this incident at this time.

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotlands first minister, wrote on Twitter: My thoughts are with all those who have been injured in the incident in Glasgow today.

My sincere thanks go to our emergency services. The injury of a Police Scotland officer is a reminder of the great bravery our police officers show every day as they work to keep us safe.

Boris Johnson said: My thoughts are with all the victims and their families.

A Number 10 spokesperson added that the prime minister had spoken to Ms Sturgeon, the home secretary and senior police officers about the attack.

The prime minister thanked the chief constable of Police Scotland, Iain Livingstone, for the exceptional bravery of his officers at the scene, they added.

A representative of the Radisson Hotel Group, the parent company of Park Inn hotel, said it was being used as temporary housing.

Area senior vice president Tom Flanagan Karttunen added: We are deeply saddened by the tragic event that happened today on West George Street in Glasgow.

We are working with the hotel owner and all the relevant local authorities, including Police Scotland, to support the investigation.
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A fired San Antonio police officer has been accused of family violence a fourth time after a fellow officer said he observed the mans girlfriend, who also is a cop, with bruising and bite marks on her chest.

A judge issued an arrest warrant Thursday for former SAPD officer Kenneth Moreno after the Bexar County District Attorneys Office alleged in a court filing that Moreno, 37, violated the terms of his bond in an ongoing criminal case by assaulting his girlfriend in Austin earlier this month.

No new criminal charges have been filed, court records show. The Austin Police Department has been informed of the new allegations. Moreno already faced a charge of continuous violence against a family member.

Ben Sifuentes, an attorney representing Moreno, said Friday that the allegations are untrue, though he declined to comment further.

Moreno, a 13-year-veteran of the force, turned himself into authorities Friday.

The warrant was issued by Judge Catherine Torres-Stahl after Assistant District Attorney Oscar Salinas filed a motion asking to increase Morenos bond from $15,000 to $100,000.

Attached to the court filing was a police report filed by San Antonio police officer Marque Scahill, who reported the incident in Austin to his superiors after growing concerned for the safety of Morenos girlfriend.

In the report, Scahill said he learned what happened in Austin after speaking directly with Morenos girlfriend, Nicolette Muniz, a fellow SAPD officer who has faced allegations of family violence herself.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio unveils five-year domestic violence plan

According to Scahill, Moreno and Muniz were walking along Sixth Street in Austin on June 7 when the couple got in an argument over her cellphone.

At that point, the woman told Scahill, Moreno grabbed her arm, twisted it and pushed her to the ground. Muniz said her head hit the pavement, and in the process of the struggle, her shoulder was dislocated.

According to Muniz, Moreno picked up her keys and wallet before driving away in her truck, abandoning her.

Muniz told Scahill about the incident shortly thereafter. At the time, Scahill said, Muniz had bruises and bite marks on her chest, and her arm was in a sling.

Scahill said he feared for Munizs safety.

Muniz appears to be manipulated by Moreno because she continues contact with him, despite the violence against her, Scahill told his superiors.

Scahill said he believed Muniz continued to contact Moreno because she fears he will sabotage her pending case by falsely testifying against her.

Past allegations

This is the fourth allegation of family violence against Moreno.

The first incident, police say, occurred July 22, 2018 after Moreno got in an argument with his then-girlfriend, Valerie Holmberg, at her North Side home.

According to police, Moreno, who was off-duty, struck Holmberg several times and then choked her, preventing her from breathing. Holmberg did not initially report the assault, she later told investigators, because she feared Moreno would lose his job.

Almost a year later, on April 19, 2019, police say Holmberg was attacked again  this time by Muniz, with whom Moreno was having an affair.

Muniz, a three-year veteran of the force, was arrested on suspicion of family violence and placed on administrative leave. It is not clear if she has or will face disciplinary actions. Her criminal case was dismissed in May for insufficient evidence.

On April 28, 2019, Holmberg and Moreno got in an argument while in Morenos car. Again, Holmberg said, Moreno struck her.

On ExpressNews.com: National and city leaders come together to fight domestic violence

Holmberg and Moreno broke up shortly thereafter, records indicate. On May 15, 2019, Holmberg called 911 to report that Moreno had followed her to Golds Gym and stole her phone. Police said Moreno tried unsuccessfully to unlock the phone before pleading with Holmberg to give him a second chance.

When the woman told Moreno their relationship was over, he said he might do something stupid and threatened to kill her, according to an arrest affidavit.

Later that day, Moreno continued texting Holmberg and drove to her house when she would not respond, the affidavit states.

Moreno was arrested the following day on stalking charges. It was then that police learned of the previous two alleged assaults.

Last month, a grand jury indicted Moreno on a charge of continuous violence against a family member, a third-degree felony.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus has described the allegations as Moreno as disturbing. He fired Moreno twice, first in October and again last month.

Moreno has denied the allegations and is seeking to get his job back with full back pay and benefits.

Emilie Eaton is a criminal justice reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Emilie, become a subscriber. eeaton@express-news.net | Twitter: @emilieeaton
Cancer services here are facing a "time bomb" due to the number of undiagnosed patients during the pandemic, a world-renowned expert in the disease has warned. (PA)

Cancer services here are facing a "time bomb" due to the number of undiagnosed patients during the pandemic, a world-renowned expert in the disease has warned.

Professor Karol Sikora, a former World Health Organisation (WHO) chief, made the stark assessment after it was revealed that up to 800 people have yet to be diagnosed.

The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry described the figure as "extremely worrying", the BBC reported.

Dr Anna Gavin from the organisation said the halting of services due to coronavirus has had a detrimental impact.

"The screening services have been stopped, dental referrals have been stopped and we've seen big reductions in the numbers of cancers diagnosed, more so in older people than in younger people, but cancer's more common in older people," said the medic.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Prof Sikora warned that cancer services here face a surge in cases by the late summer, leading through into the autumn.

"In the whole of the UK it's 30,000 cancers a month that should be diagnosed. And we know that in April, May and June it has been much less than that," he said.

"Those as-yet undiagnosed cancers in Northern Ireland will resurface later, and the patients will have later stage presentation, and will need more treatment, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

"The other problem is that they'll all come at once, so the system will be overwhelmed in the summer by having to deal with them all together.

"We're looking at a time bomb exploding and then the patients will come."

Meanwhile, the latest cancer waiting report has prompted calls for high-priority cancer services to be at the "heart" of plans to rebuild health and social care here after the pandemic.

Official statistics published yesterday show of the 440 patients who started treatment in March following an urgent GP referral, 54% were seen within the target of 62 days - down from almost 62% for the previous March.

In the same month, just over 80% of patients (1,069) with an urgent referral for suspected breast cancer were seen within the 14-day target - down from over 85% in March 2019.

Health Minister Robin Swann said yesterday the report's statistics are a "stark reminder" of the challenges facing our health service, which will be tackled by plans to rebuild the system post-pandemic. "The restructuring of services necessitated to combat Covid-19 means that the waiting lists for the second quarter will in all likelihood be even worse," he said.
Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 25 (ANI): South Asian countries need to be careful as Tibetans lost their country because of elite co-optation and China uses the tactic everywhere in the world, Central Tibetan Administration President Lobsang Sangay said on Thursday.



"Dalai Lama had always said that the engagement with your neighbouring countries is always good but one needs to be careful. We lost our country because of elite co-optation and China's tactic of elite co-optation takes place everywhere in the world, including in South Asia and Nepal. So be careful," Sangay told ANI.

He was responding to a question on Nepal-China relations.

"For the last 60 years, we have been saying our country was occupied and you could be next. That includes Nepal, India and the whole of South Asia. So be careful," he added. (ANI)


Salt Lake County, Utah, public health nurse Lee Cherie Booth points to a diagram that serves as a training tool to train contact tracers to track those they need to reach after a person tests positive for the coronavirus. Read more

The surge in new COVID-19 case numbers in the Sunbelt and the West is so alarming that New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut now require visitors from hot spot states to self-quarantine. As the Philadelphia region reopens, the long-promised expansion of contact tracing  an essential tool to control person-to-person transmission  is just getting started. And as is true with testing, the amount of contact tracing underway is nowhere near whats necessary to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Contact tracing is labor-intensive, especially if it is to be culturally sensitive. Workers reach out to everyone who has been in proximity to a person testing positive for the coronavirus and advises them to self-quarantine. The tracing should happen within 24 hours of exposure; otherwise, those exposed stand a greater chance of exposing more people. Contact tracing also works best when caseloads are growing more slowly. If the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Philadelphia health departments already had full complements of trained contact tracers on the job, the regions current slowdown in new cases would be a chance to get ahead of the pandemic.

In a recent Spotlight PA report, experts said there should be thousands of contact tracers working in Pennsylvania, rather than hundreds. New Jersey last week announced a statewide contact tracing initiative, and Philadelphia also has begun training sessions. But delays in scaling up are confounding, especially since both states and the city have long had contact tracing programs for other infectious diseases. Massachusetts has been all-in on contact tracing since April 3; surely, New Jersey and Pennsylvania could have found the wherewithal to do so as well.

Contact tracing has helped Japan, Germany, and other countries keep infection and death rates from the coronavirus far lower than the U.S. The U.S. lacks a consistent plan; some states are succeeding with robust contact tracing, and others are facing challenges. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers some guidance, funding is available through the CARES Act, and in early April, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health released a national contact tracing plan that could serve as a larger blueprint.

But President Donald Trumps public statements about contact tracing have been erratic; the pandemic had barely begun when he claimed an administration plan for contact tracing already was a success. Other presidential remarks and tweets have sown confusion, as battles over wearing masks suggest.

Still, it is state leaders like Govs. Tom Wolf and Phil Murphy  and the health department leaders who report to them  who are accountable for the painfully slow expansion of contact tracing. Like their counterparts nationwide, Wolf and Murphy were quick to seize on the notion of armies and corps of tracers. But nearly four months into the pandemic  Philadelphias first known COVID-19 death was reported March 25  they are still in recruiting mode.

The phased reopening of business in Pennsylvania and New Jersey may provide relief for those who want to get back to normal. But until the states fully deploy contact tracing  one of a handful of tools to prevent new infections  normal may be another way of saying risky and dangerous.
Well, hello there! I suppose youre wondering why Im writing after all this time. Lets do a Cliff Notes: Got sick in February of 2019. Three weeks in the hospital after a misdiagnosis. Lost 16 pounds. Recuperated at home. Rachel and I could not maintain the apartment while I healed. So, we moved.

We spent two months with son Tom and daughter Pam in N.J. (Tip: Avoid living with relatives, even those you love with whom you really get along). So Rachel and I moved to New Orleans, home of son Adam and granddaughter Bar.

NOLA is, well, different. Example: In Orlando when you meet some...
An American Airlines Group worker wears a protective mask and stands behind a protective barrier while checking in a traveler at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Tuesday, June 9, 2020.

American Airlines announced Friday that it will resume full flights starting July 1 amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The airline will continue to notify passengers when their planes are full and allow them to switch to less crowded flights at no extra cost through Sept. 30. Passengers with flights booked through Sept. 30 can also change their flights, including adjusting origin and destination cities, without incurring a travel change fee but will have to pay for any difference in the fare.

Starting June 30, American said it will begin asking customers during the flight check-in process whether they have been free of Covid-19 symptoms for the past 14 days. Travelers will be able to complete the coronavirus symptom checklist using self-service machines at airports or during online check-in. The airline is continuing to require passengers and employees to wear face masks on flights unless they have a medical reason not to.

"Our customers trust us to make every aspect of their journey safe. We won't let them down," said Alison Taylor, American's chief customer officer, in a statement. "We will continue to refine and update our practices based on the latest information from health authorities and our own Travel Health Advisory Panel."

United Airlines introduced a coronavirus symptom questionnaire earlier in June, but has not yet put a capacity limit on flights. Other carriers, including Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines, still have restrictions on passenger numbers in place.

The CEOs of American, United, Southwest and Delta, as well as other major airlines, are expected to meet with Vice President Mike Pence on Friday in order to discuss travel issues related to the coronavirus, including whether the federal government should mandate temperature checks for passengers.

American's stock was down more than 5% in morning trading.
Japan to Abandon US Missile Defense System

By VOA News June 25, 2020

Japan Defense Minister Taro Kono announced Thursday Japan had decided to scrap plans to deploy the U.S.-made land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system that was intended to protect Japan from North Korean threats.

The announcement came one week after Kono said the deployment was being suspended after it was discovered that the safety of the civilian community could not be guaranteed near the Mutsumi base in Yamaguchi, southwestern Japan, one of two sites for the proposed land-based missile defense system. The other unit was being planned in Akita in the north.

It had been discovered that, in the current design of the system, it could not be guaranteed rocket boosters from the missiles would not fall outside the base. Japan had promised it would never allow something like that to happen. But it said fixing the system would require a total redesign of, not only the software, but the hardware of the system, which would be too costly and time consuming.

At a Thursday news conference in Tokyo, Kono apologized for the inconvenience and said discussions would continue in Japan with the United States on how best to carry out the nation's defense strategies.

The Aegis Ashore defense system was aimed at bolstering the country's capability against escalating threats from North Korea.

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Even if omicron peak nears, Long Beach cases and hospitalizations will still be up for weeks, official says
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 13:54:43|Editor: huaxia

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WELLINGTON, June 26 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand reported one new case of COVID-19 on Friday in managed isolation, bringing the total active cases in the country to 14, according to the Ministry of Health.

All the 14 cases are in managed isolation or quarantine facilities, and there are no cases of community transmission, said a ministry statement.

The case is a man is his 30s who arrived in New Zealand on June 21 from Kenya via Doha and Brisbane. He has been staying at the Novotel Ellerslie and is moving to the Jet Park Hotel on Friday. The man tested positive for COVID-19 as part of routine testing on the thrid day of his stay, according to the health ministry.

New Zealand's total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported to the World Health Organization is now 1,170, it said.

"There will still be wide testing of people with cold or flu-like symptoms as part of our ongoing community testing and surveillance for the virus," it said.

The number of COVID-19 related deaths in New Zealand was 22. Enditem
Muzaffarabad, June 26 : The Pakistan government has signed a tripartite agreement with China for the construction of the 1,124 megawatt Kohala Hydropower Project worth at least $2.4 billion.

The signing ceremony of the agreement was held at the Prime Minister House on Thursday, witnessed by the Prime Minister Imran Khan, who will also be doing a ground breaking on Friday.

The other attendees included Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Lt. General (Retd.) Asim Saleem Bajwa and representatives of the Chinese company.

The Kohala Hydropower Project is by far the largest power sector investment in a single Independent Power Producer (IPP).

It is being built on the Jhehlum River in PoK as part of the CPEC and has been awarded to Kohala Hydropwer Company Ltd. (KHCL), a subsidiary of China's Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC).

"It is a great step towards foreign investment" the Prime Minister said while addressing the signing ceremony.

"Pakistan has the potential to generate electricity from water and this project is the one way forward." Khan said that the project will provide jobs for the youth of PoK.

"The huge investment for Pakistan in Kohala Hydropower Project under CPEC is a very important development. We have to provide employment to the youth at this time, this project will give jobs to the youth from PoK," he said.

However, the residents of PoK, who call it a blatant attempt to divert the Jhehlum water and deprive the people from water based resources and trigger changes in the climate that are already hurting families living along the Neelum River because of the Neelum Jehlum Power Plant, are protesting the very presence of the project.

"These projects are diverting our rivers from Kashmir and taking it straight to the edge at Kohala, from where Pakistan starts. This diversion of our river will have a serious affect on lives of thousands of families living along the river," said a local activist from Muzaffarabad.

"Changes in the weather are already felt and witnessed for locals living along the Neelum river, as temperatures during summer have been going up. This is because of the Neelum Jehlum Power Plant, which has diverted a considerable amount of river water. Now this project will bring miseries to even more families along the Jhehlum river," he added.

The activist, who requested to be kept anonymous, said that these projects benefit Pakistan, insisting that Kashmiris have not benefited as the electricity crisis is present all over PoK.

Talking about the claim of job creations for the youth, he said that many educated engineers worked in the Neelum Jehlum Power project, but on a daily wage basis, adding that job opportunities with salaries based on daily wages, do not help the youth in their career as it is for a limited period of time, doing no progressive development.
A stash of cocaine with a street value of 8,700 was thrown out the window of a car as gardai approached on a rural road in the Mitchelstown area.

That was more than two years ago and now the driver of the car has been given a three-year suspended jail term for his part in possessing the cocaine for sale or supply.

21-year-old Dion McCarthy of Camp House, Caherdrinna, Mitchelstown, County Cork, pleaded guilty to that offence and was sentenced by Judge Sean O Donnabhain.

Detective Garda David Moynihan testified at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that he observed the car driven by Dion McCarthy on the remote rural road on April 6 2018 at Curraghgorm, Mitchelstown.

That car was being driven in the opposite direction to the patrol car. Det. Garda Moynihan said the patrol car then turned and followed the car driven by Dion McCarthy.

A package was thrown from the vehicle by an associate of the accused who was sitting in the front seat, Det. Garda Moynihan said.

Gardai retrieved the package that was thrown out of the car and they then caught up with it and signalled for McCarthy to stop. On subsequent analysis it was found to consist of cocaine with a total value of 8,700.

He was questioned and in the first two interviews with gardai he denied any knowledge of the package. On the third interview he admitted he had a fair idea there was a controlled drug in the car but he did not know the value of the drug, which I would accept, the detective said.

Defence barrister, Mahon Corkery, said: Dion McCarthy is gainfully employed. He is from a good family and well educated. In terms of the future the gardai do not have any concerns about Mr McCarthy.

The detective agreed that they did not expect him to be involved in an offence like this. He is no longer mixing in those circles, Det. Garda Moynihan said.

Judge O Donnabhain noted that the accused had no previous convictions when he was caught with the package of cocaine.

He was the driver or courier. He made admissions against his interests. He has not come to the attention of the guards since. He has changed his associates. There is nothing in his present behaviour that is giving the guards cause for concern.

To mark the seriousness of the offence I will impose a sentence of three years, fully suspended provided that he keeps the peace for three years, Judge O Donnabhain said.
[June 26, 2020] ProColombia: Over 70 Colombian Projects in Search of European Investors

Colombia will showcase over 70 projects and companies to international investors during the 3rd edition of the Colombia Investment Roadshow to be held online July 7, 8 and 9. The event is a joint effort between the British Government, the British Colombian Chamber of Commerce, EY and Control Risks, the Colombian Embassy and ProColombia in the United Kingdom. MADRID, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Colombia Investment Roadshow is a business platform that aims to promote and attract Foreign Direct Investment into Colombia, as well as create business opportunities for international companies in Colombia. For the 2020 edition, a portfolio of opportunities in sectors such as infrastructure, technology, agribusiness, energy and others will be available for British and European investors, along with the possibility to join one-on-one meetings with Colombian developers and startups. In the infrastructure sector, which accounts for 42% of the event's project portfolio, sveral important developments in Colombian cities such as Medellin, Bogota and Cartagena, adding up to $ USD 9 bn, will be presented to investors. Moreover, the infrastructure projects showcased during the Colombian Investment Roadshow aim to develop key toll roads, airports, telecommunication infrastructure, schools and R&D centers around Colombia.



Startups and technology projects are instrumental to Colombia. The 2020 version of this Roadshow will gather 18 Colombian creative companies and startups in the technology segment, all looking for partnerships and international investors. Around 33% of them are related to Fintech solutions. Colombia is committed to sustainable growth. 100% of the energy projects promoted in this roadshow focus on renewable energy generation in different regions of the country. This year, the Roadshow invites foreign investors to learn about 13 agribusiness projects also related to other trending industries such as medical cannabis, blueberries and sustainable wood production.

Besides the individual meetings, high level speakers such as the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Jose Manuel Restrepo, the Minister of Transport, Angela Maria Orozco, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Maria Fernanda Suarez and Flavia Santoro, President of ProColombia, will discuss during the three days the central role FDI in Colombia's economic recovery, Colombia as a major player in the shifts of Global Supply Chains and the importance of Infrastructure and Energy in a post-COVID era. As a region, Europe is the worlds largest investor in Colombia while the United Kingdom ranks fourth. Register to The Colombia Investment Roadshow here: https://www.incontras.com/colombiainvestmentroadshow.

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Study of more than 68 million older Americans using state-of-the-art analyses suggests that US air pollution standards are not protective enough

Boston, MA - Strengthening U.S. air quality standards for fine particulate pollution to be in compliance with current World Health Association (WHO) guidelines could save more than 140,000 lives over the course of a decade, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The study, published June 26, 2020 in Sciences Advances, provides the most comprehensive evidence to date of the causal link between long-term exposure to fine particulate (PM2.5) air pollution and premature death, according to the authors.

"Our new study included the largest-ever dataset of older Americans and used multiple analytical methods, including statistical methods for causal inference, to show that current U.S. standards for PM2.5 concentrations are not protective enough and should be lowered to ensure that vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, are safe," said doctoral student Xiao Wu, a co-author of the study.

The new research builds on a 2017 study that showed that long-term exposure to PM2.5 pollution and ozone, even at levels below current U.S. air quality standards, increases the risk of premature death among the elderly in the U.S.

For the new study, researchers looked at 16 years' worth of data from 68.5 million Medicare enrollees--97% of Americans over the age of 65--adjusting for factors such as body mass index, smoking, ethnicity, income, and education. They matched participants' zip codes with air pollution data gathered from locations across the U.S. In estimating daily levels of PM2.5 air pollution for each zip code, the researchers also took into account satellite data, land-use information, weather variables, and other factors. They used two traditional statistical approaches as well as three state-of-the-art approaches aimed at teasing out cause and effect.

Results were consistent across all five different types of analyses, offering what authors called "the most robust and reproducible evidence to date" on the causal link between exposure to PM2.5 and mortality among Medicare enrollees--even at levels below the current U.S. air quality standard of 12 g/m3 (12 micrograms per cubic meter) per year.

The authors found that an annual decrease of 10 g/m3 in PM2.5 pollution would lead to a 6%-7% decrease in mortality risk. Based on that finding, they estimated that if the U.S. lowered its annual PM2.5 standard to 10 g/m3--the WHO annual guideline--143,257 lives would be saved in one decade.

The authors included additional analyses focused on causation, which address criticisms that traditional analytical methods are not sufficient to inform revisions of national air quality standards. The new analyses enabled the researchers, in effect, to mimic a randomized study--considered the gold standard in assessing causality--thereby strengthening the finding of a link between air pollution and early death.

"The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed retaining current national air quality standards. But, as our new analysis shows, the current standards aren't protective enough, and strengthening them could save thousands of lives. With the public comment period for the EPA proposal ending on June 29, we hope our results can inform policymakers' decisions about potentially updating the standards," said co-author Francesca Dominici, Clarence James Gamble Professor of Biostatistics, Population, and Data Science.

###

Other Harvard Chan School co-authors of the study included research scientist Danielle Braun and Joel Schwartz, professor of environmental epidemiology.

Funding for the study came from NIH grants R01 ES024332-01A1, P50 MD010428, R21 ES024012, R01 ES026217, R01 ES028033, MD012769, R01 ES030616, and P30 ES09089; HEI grant 4953-RFA14-3/16-4; and USEPA grants 83587201-0 and RD-83479801.

"Evaluating the Impact of Long-term Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter on Mortality Among the Elderly," Xiao Wu, Danielle Braun, Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou, Francesca Dominici, Science Advances, June 26, 2020, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aba5692.

Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people's lives--not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America's oldest professional training program in public health.
Amid the rising tensions between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on Friday said that it seems China's People Liberation Army (PLA) has "grossly miscalculated" India's resilience and inner strength once again.

'The only collapse was of Nehru'

Comparing the current situation with that in 1962, when both the countries fought a war, the Rajya Sabha MP said back then the Chinese leadership thought, as advised by "our Communist intellectuals", that "India will crack up into 20 countries". Instead, India united "vigorously", he added. The senior BJP leader took a dig at the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and said that "only collapse was of Nehru."

It seems China PLA has grossly miscalculated again on Indias resilience and inner strength. In 1962 the Chinese leadership thought, as advised by our Communist intellectuals that India will crack up into 20 countries. Instead we united vigorously. Only collapse was of Nehru.  Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) June 26, 2020

'We can't have a similar situation'

Earlier, Swamy said that China crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and there was no question that the provocation in the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh came from their side.

Asked during a webinar hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Club whether India will go to the extent of going to war to reclaim the land, Swamy said, "I know the mood in my party. I know on what basis we came to power and it will be suicide for us not to recover that land, no matter what the price we have to pay." He asserted that diplomacy will not solve the problem.

"The Chinese will not move back, the Indian people will not tolerate (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi accepting the new status quo, so we will have to go to war, maybe a localised war... whatever is hanging around our neck of 1962, we can't have a similar situation where we lump it," Swamy said. They should not think we are the same "softies of 1962", the Rajya Sabha MP said.

READ | China Communist Party 'gone rouge': Subramanian Swamy on sovereignty claim over Galwan

READ | Subramanian Swamy analyses Trump-vs-Biden US Elections from India's PoV; issues prediction

India hits back at China

China has been amassing a large contingent of troops and armaments along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since early May, India said on Thursday and warned that continuation of the current situation would only vitiate the atmosphere for the development of the relationship.

In a strongly-worded statement, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the conduct of the Chinese forces is in "complete disregard" of all mutually agreed norms. At an online media briefing, he also gave a detailed rundown of the events along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh and said Chinese side was responsible for the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15.

READ | Subramanian Swamy stirs new controversy, asks if Chinese re-entered in Doklam after Galwan

READ | Subramanian Swamy shames Delhi CM Kejriwal as capital's COVID cases exceed Mumbai's

(With PTI inputs)
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc inspects preparations for the 36th ASEAN Summit at the International Convention Centre yesterday. During the summit, leaders of 10 ASEAN member countries are expected to focus on the development of the ASEAN Community in the immediate future and measures to address the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in the region. The leaders will propose measures to strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and its partners in the time to come. VNA/VNS Thang Nhat

The Government chief spoke highly of the efforts made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and competent agencies in preparing for the Summit, from technical to security matters.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has been brought under control, the plenary session is expected to draw the participation of 300 local and foreign guests and more than 200 reporters have registered to cover the Summit.

PM Phuc asked for ensuring quality of the agenda and discussion contents that must encompass regional issues of common concerns, accelerate the bloc's cooperation and resilience amid challenges.

During the summit, leaders of 10 ASEAN member countries are expected to focus on the development of the ASEAN Community in the immediate future and measures to address the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in the region, according to Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the SOM Viet Nam Nguyen Quoc Dung.

At the plenary session, the leaders will hear reports and give opinions on cooperation among ASEAN member nations in the three pillars of the ASEAN Community - political security, economics, and socio-cultural issues.

The leaders will propose measures to strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and its partners in the time to come.

They are also expected to compare notes on regional and international issues of common concern, with a focus on how to effectively deal with the COVID-19 pandemic while promptly recovering socio-economic development in the region at the same time.

Deputy Foreign Minister Dung said ASEAN leaders will hold dialogues with representatives from the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) on coordination between the two organizations in building a people-oriented ASEAN Community.

Dialogues between ASEAN leaders and ASEAN Youth and representatives from the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-ABAC) will be arranged within the framework of the Summit.

In particular, the ASEAN Leaders' Special Session on Women's Empowerment in the Digital Age, initiated by Viet Nam, will also be organised as part of celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the approval of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for advancing women's rights.

The initiative reflects ASEAN leaders' commitment to promoting gender equality and enhancing the role of women in building the ASEAN Community, said Dung.

The regional leaders will adopt an ASEAN Chair Statement on the outcomes of the 36th ASEAN Summit, a Vision Statement on ASEAN's cohesion and proactive adaptation, and an ASEAN Declaration on human resources development for the changing work of work, added the Deputy Foreign Minister.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has opposed Indrani Mukerjeas plea for interim bail for 45 days, saying the prime accused in the murder of Sheena Bora isnt entitled to such relief as she is a British national.

Indrani, the mother of Sheena Bora, had approached the special CBI court through email to seek interim bail on the ground that the Coronavirus is spreading in prisons. The CBI said Indrani didnt have any major health issues that could put her at risk of being infected by the virus.

CBI also said Indrani may influence key witnesses, who are yet to be examined by the prosecution in her trial, if she is released on bail.

Indrani became a British national after she married Peter Mukerjea, who held a British passport.

Sheena Bora was killed in a moving car in Bandra in April 2012 and her body was dumped in Raigad district of Maharashtra. The case was detected by Khar police in 2015 after Peter Mukerjeas driver was arrested with a pistol near Carter Road in Bandra.

CBI assured the court that proper care is being taken by jail authorities to protect prisoners and adequate medical facilities are available within the jail where Indrani is being held.

The agency has said it has sufficient material to prove the charges against Indrani, including statements from Shyamwar Rai, Kajal Sharma, Mikhail Bora, and Rahul Mukerjea, and scientific evidence.

CBI said the gravity of the allegations, Indranis alleged role in the commission of the crime, and clinching evidence on record against her do not entitle her to get even temporary bail, according to the decision of the high-power committee Bombay high court which is looking after the process of release of prisoners from jail on interim bail to decongest the jails in the state.

Indrani had said her request for interim bail was pending in the special court for arguments by the CBI and the final order. Given the increasing numbers of Covid positive cases in the state, there is no certainty as to when there could be a hearing for bail (merits) and/or trial, she had said.

She had also requested the court to decide on her plea filed last December that alleged false witnesses and evidence planted by the prosecution were being used against her.

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Five years ago, Matt de la Pena and Christian Robinson collaborated for the first time on Last Stop on Market Street, a picture book in which a boy learns truths from his grandmother while the two ride a San Francisco city bus to their destination: a soup kitchen. In February, public transportation will yet again provide a colorful background to an even more poignant and timely tale by de la Pena and Robinson, about a boy who rides the New York City subway with his older sister and makes an important realization at his final destination: a prison.

Milo Imagines the World is scheduled for release by Putnam Books for Young Readers on February 2, 2021, with a 150,000-copy first printing. In a PW exclusive, the cover is revealed here for the first time.

Milo Imagines the World is their third picture book collaboration: besides Last Stop on Market Street, which received the 2016 Newbery Medal and a Caldecott Honor, they are also the creators of Carmela Full of Wishes (2018).

In Milo Imagines the World, a budding young artist named Milo lives with his grandmother in New York City. Once a week, he and his older sister take the subway to visit their incarcerated parent. During the long ride, Milo studies the other subway riders and draws pictures of their lives as he imagines them. One day, he sees a well-dressed boy riding the subway, and draws him in a castle with a drawbridge. To Milos surprise, the boy gets off at the same stop and waits in the same long line at the prison to visit his own parent.

While Last Stop on Market Street was close to de la Penas heart, he told PW, because it was a tale inspired by childhood memories of his grandmother, Milo Imagines the World is equally close to Robinsons heart because it was inspired by his childhood. He lived with his grandmother and took long subway rides through Los Angeles once a week to visit his mother in prison, because the family did not own a car.

Milos story is my story, Robinson said. Like Milo, I grew up with an incarcerated parent. As a child, I felt a lot of shame and embarrassment. It was difficult not all that long ago to talk about it. I recognize that my story is not that unique. I feel compelled to let kids who feel the shame I felt then know that theyre not alone: their experience matters.

De la Pena pointed out that while the U.S. contains 4% of the worlds population, it also contains 25% of the worlds imprisoned people. Who gets caught up in that? he asked. People of color. The racial disparities between the prison population and the general population really hit him, he said, when he visited three Minnesota prisons to lead writing workshops while in the Twin Cities for Teen Lit Con in 2015. In those prisons, 95% of the people were people of color, while 95% of the people at the literary festival were white, he recalled.

According to de la Penas research, women are the fastest growing population incarcerated in U.S. prisons. Children share that sentence with their mother, he pointed out, disclosing that the gender of Milos parent is not revealed until the end, so as to play with expectations, just as was done in Last Stop on Market Street, where you dont know where theyre going. An important takeaway from Milo Imagines the World, de la Pena points out, is the laziness of stereotypes: we make assumptions and its always so much more complicated in actuality.

Robinsons Wish Becomes a Reality

Both de la Pena and Robinson recalled in separate interviews that Milo Imagines the World was conceived almost two years ago in a Barnes & Noble cafe in Fairfax, Va. during their Carmela Full of Wishes tour. The two were having coffee and talking before the event began.

You go on tour with someone, you end up having some intimate conversations, de la Pena noted, Christian said, Ive always wanted to do something about a child with a parent who is incarcerated. I feel like hed been moving towards doing something super-personal for a while.

Robinson recalls that after revealing his wish to create such a picture book, de la Pena had a spark in his eye and disappeared for 30 minutes, returning with a rough draft of what became Milo Imagines the World.

While there was some debate early on about the setting: with Robinson initially preferring that Milo Imagines the World be set in the San Francisco Bay Area where he used to live, de la Pena was adamant that it should be set in New York. The iconic New York City subway system is so distinct and unique, Robinson said. And everyone has to sit close together. Matt was right.

Throughout the process, Robinson said, he and de la Pena worked closely in shaping the book. We trust each other. It was a back-and-forth, such as when something worked rhythmically, but not image-wise, he explained, We have a conversation that happensIve never had that with another author.

At its core, its Christians story, de la Pena added. But he didnt try to micro-manage it.

De la Pena said that not only have the two established a strong connection in the past five years,, but they complement each other well. Sometimes my text is a bit heavy for a picture book; his illustrations temper that heavy text with whimsy and joy. Hes one person I want to do more books with, because I know hell bring joy to it.

Discussing their professional relationship, de la Pena noted that he feels as if the two have fallen into this space where we get to do socially conscious books, but we try to make sure that our stories are also fun and center a childlike sensibility.

Putnam senior editor Stephanie Pitts describes working with both creators as a dream project. De la Pena, she said, writes like a poet and Robinsons illustrations contain so much hope, even with difficult subject matter. She appreciated, she said, that the two dont shy away from it, but show it in such a way that theres hope and love.

Robinson said that his illustrations are a combination of his research into the New York City subway system (which he has encountered during trips there from his Sacramento home), and his emotional connection to the topic, which colored his depictions of the other people riding the subway and visiting the prison. We all have a memory bank of personalities and types of people were familiar with, he noted.

While Milo Imagines the World might strike many as political, especially in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, at the end of the day, de la Pena said, this is a book about a little boy. Who is this boy and how is he trying to process the world? His mothers incarceration is a small part of the plot, but it becomes the umbrella of the whole storythe umbrella by which his life exists, that he takes with him wherever he goes. His mothers incarceration is not part of the story, but it permeates the story.
I have not made that judgment, because we have just started now the deep dive in doing the background checks, that go into the thorough background of everyone, he said. It takes six to eight weeks to get done. And there are a number of African American women that are being considered, as well as Hispanic, as well as Caucasian.
The United States has condemned an Iranian courts decision to issue death sentences against three men who took part in anti-government protests last year.



Amir-Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi, and Mohammad Rajabi were sentenced to death in February in connection with acts of arson that took place during the protests against Irans government in November 2019.



A statement tweeted by U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus on June 26 highlighted their plight, noting reports that they were denied attorneys and had been tortured into giving false confessions.



"Iran must respect human rights and stop these executions," Ortagus said.



After death sentences were issued against the three men, Amnesty International reported on February 28 that they "were denied access to lawyers during the investigation phase and say they were tortured."



"Moradi says he was coerced into giving a 'confession' that was broadcast on state television and used as evidence to convict them," Amnesty International reported.



On June 25, two other human rights organizations accused Irans state-controlled television of airing the forced confessions of at least 355 individuals from 2009 to 2019 in order to create fear and repress dissent.

That report by London-based Justice for Iran and the Paris-based International Federation For Human Rights highlighted Irans long-standing practice of forcing detainees to confess to charges dictated to them by their interrogators and using state television to produce and broadcast video of the forced confessions.



Their report says Irans state broadcaster, IRIB, has become a "means of mass suppression" that, in collaboration with the Intelligence Ministry and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), is actively involved in human rights violations.



"IRIB is not simply a media organization and by no means an independent one, but rather an organ of state suppression that uses the tools of mass communication," the rights groups said.



Washington sanctioned a bank supporting IRIB in November 2018. It had already imposed sanctions on the broadcaster's director, Abdulali Ali-Asgari, in May of that year.



The U.S. Treasury says IRIB "routinely broadcasts false news reports and propaganda, including forced confessions of political detainees."
Events on the ground also point to a loss in momentum, with most demonstrations in recent weeks attended only by hundreds and ending quickly

Support for year-long pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong has slipped, now getting the backing of a slim majority, as the city braces for the imposition of Beijing-drafted national security legislation, a survey conducted for Reuters showed.

Protests escalated last June over a since-withdrawn bill that would have allowed extraditions of defendants to mainland China. They later morphed into a push for greater democracy, often involving violent clashes with the police.

The protests have resumed, but with far fewer participants, since China announced plans for the security law, which has alarmed foreign governments and democracy activists in Hong Kong.

The survey conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute between June 15-18 showed the legislation is opposed by a majority in the financial centre.

But the poll also showed support for protests dropping to 51 percent from 58 percent in a previous poll conducted for Reuters in March, while opposition to them rose to 34 percent from 28 percent.

It may be psychological, because Hong Kong people see Beijing is getting more hardline, said Ming Sing, associate professor of social sciences at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

If you keep insisting (on the demands) its impractical.

Events on the ground also point to a loss in momentum, with most demonstrations in recent weeks attended only by hundreds and ending quickly. Police, citing coronavirus restrictions, have not given permission for rallies recently and have arrested large numbers of those who turned up anyway.

Pro-democracy labour unions and a student group last week failed to garner enough support to hold strikes against the proposed security legislation.

The shift in backing for the protests has occurred mainly at the extremes, with those who strongly support them dropping to 34 percent from 40 percent and those who strongly oppose them rising to 28 percent from 21 percent. The number of those who somewhat support or oppose the protests remained stable.

The particular demands of the movement have also seen a drop in support. The request for an independent commission of inquiry to look into how police handled the demonstrations saw a 10 percentage points drop from March to 66 percent.

Universal suffrage, another key demand, was backed by 61 percent, down from 68 percent. The resignation of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam was supported by 57 percent versus 63 percent three months ago.

Opposition to the demands rose to 21 percent from 15 percent.

Samson Yuen, assistant professor in the political science department at Lingnan University, said support for the protesters demands was still high but could have dropped because the security law has overtaken the protests as the main topic in the public discourse.

Who would still talk about (protest) demands when the national security law is coming?, said Yuen.

Lams office and Chinas Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, which comes under the State Council, or cabinet, did not respond to requests for comment.

For the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points, 1,002 respondents were randomly surveyed by telephone. The results were weighted according to the latest population figures.

Opposition to Security Law

The poll was conducted when Beijings intention to introduce legislation against terrorism, subversion, separatism and foreign interference was known but few details were available.

While the draft of the new law is yet to be finalised, key features of the legislation have since been released, revealing that Communist Party central authorities will have overarching powers over its enforcement, including final interpretation rights.

The poll showed 49 percent of respondents strongly opposed Beijings move, with 7 percent somewhat opposing it. Support for the legislation added up to 34 percent, with the rest indifferent or undecided.

I object to the law because the (Beijing) government is interfering in Hong Kongs business, said engineer Charles Lo, 29, who participated in the survey. It will also suppress our freedom of speech and hinder the democracy movement.

The law has stoked fears that Beijing is further eroding extensive autonomy promised to the territory when Britain handed it back to China under a one country, two systems formula in 1997.

Hong Kong and Beijing authorities have repeatedly said the legislation would only target a small number of troublemakers, while rights and freedoms would be preserved. They say it will bring stability to a city rattled by the protests.

Before June last year, I didnt think Hong Kong needed national security laws because we were so peaceful and safe, but now I think its necessary, said another survey respondent, Hui, a retiree in her 50s.

The poll also showed that support for the idea of Hong Kong independence, which is anathema to Beijing and is expected to be a focal point in the looming legislation, remained relatively unchanged at 21 percent. Opposition to the idea grew to 60 percent from 56 percent.

Compared to the previous poll, fewer respondents primarily blamed the local government - 39 vs 43 percent - or the police - 7 vs 10 percent - for the current state of affairs in Hong Kong, while more blamed the pro-democracy camp - 18 vs 14 percent - and the central government in Beijing - also 18 vs 14 percent.

Another finding was a rise in support for local, pro-Beijing politicians ahead of the Sept. 6 election for the Legislative Council, known as Legco.

Pro-Beijing candidates were supported by 29 percent of respondents, up from 22 percent. Support for pro-democracy politicians remained strong at 53 percent, but dropped 5 points.

A split in lower level district elections in November resulted in the pro-democracy camp winning over 80 percent of the seats.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Omega Construction Group Inc., the leading roofing contractor in the Southeast and one of the most respected in the industry, is the first roofing company in North Carolina to offer GAF Energy's roof-integrated solar systems for homeowners. Alpha Omega customers can now install an energy-generating solar roof and decrease their reliance on utility power.

Solar roofing systems are well-known to generate energy and help reduce monthly electric bills. With a GAF Energy solar roof installed by Alpha Omega, residents throughout the Southeast can take advantage of the region's fast-growing solar trend with a warranty that is backed by GAF, North America's largest roofing manufacturer.

"Alpha Omega puts the homeowner first with a best-in-class roof installation. With GAF Energy as our partner, there is now a solar roofing system we can recommend that installs easily and provides waterproofing. Simply put, GAF Energy solar is a fantastic product," said Mike Al-Hassan, Vice President Alpha Omega. "A solar roof is a key offering in what we can give our customers, and we are glad to offer this to help homeowners reduce their monthly electric bills."

"Alpha Omega sets the standard for trusted roofing in the Southeast, and their move into solar is fantastic news for the region. At GAF Energy, we believe that solar is the future of roofing. We're proud to be working with the region's roofing leader to deliver that future," said Martin DeBono, President at GAF Energy. "Together, we can offer the best roof-integrated solar product and provide tremendous value to the homeowner."

The GAF Energy solar system couples innovative, attractive, and affordable solar technology with fast, easy installation. Designed to provide a good-looking, low-profile alternative to typical rack-mounted solar panels  which are usually drilled through the roof's shingles  GAF Energy solar integrates directly with the roofing system and requires no penetration of the roofing membrane. GAF Energy uses premium solar panels to optimize power output with a matching color profile to the roof to maximize aesthetic appeal, combined with robust flashing and a sleek black perimeter shield to reduce the risk of leaks and animal intrusion.

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T UI has cancelled all flights from the UK and Ireland to Florida until at least the end of November after the US state has seen a second surge of coronavirus.

The holiday giant said the decision to cancel all trips was due to the ongoing uncertainty around international travel restrictions and the unprecedented impact of Covid-19.

It added: The decision has been made following new health and safety measures implemented at Walt Disney World to ensure the safety of its guests.

These changes would significantly impact the holiday experience for many TUI customers who plan their magical and often once in a lifetime Florida holiday.

The US theme park is slated to open on July 11, but it was reported yesterday that Disney World workers are petitioning the park to delay reopening after coronavirus cases surged in Florida.

The petition, signed by nearly 12,000 people and posted on MoveOn.org, said: This virus is not gone, unfortunately it's only become worse in this state. While theme parks are a great way to relax and enjoy free time, it is a non-essential business; it is not fair to the people who work there to risk their lives, especially if they are at risk or have family members who are at risk. People are more important than making a profit."

Earlier this week we reported that Disneyland Paris plans to reopen on July 15 , but with strict new hygiene practices in place. These include mandatory face masks for those aged over 11, advance ticket bookings and limited daily capacity.

Some aspects of the park wont be available initially either, including Fast Passes, some shows and meet and greets with the characters.

Besides the Florida cancellations, TUI will resume package holidays in July despite the Foreign Office continuing to warn Brits against all non-essential travel.
Education responding to the labour market and lifelong learning remain keys to success.

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Thousands of robots are churned out daily by Rossums Universal Robots to replace workers since global natality is decreasing. Karel Capeks utopian world of robots, portrayed in his 1920 book R.U.R., appears to be partly turning into reality.

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The International Federation of Robotics said automation in Slovakia, heavily dependent on the car industry, has rolled up; in 2019, the number of robots per 10,000 workers in industrial production stood at 151, which is nearly double the global average.

The implementation of elements of automation in production will mainly endanger routine work activities, Martin Hudcovsky of the Institute of Economic Research at the Slovak Academy of Sciences told The Slovak Spectator.

 Retraining the existing workforce from routine to creative tasks is very difficult and costly, with the outcome being uncertain.  Martin Hudcovsky

Automation will also affect, he added, highly skilled jobs such as pharmacists and translators. It is the fourth industrial revolution, which implements smart technologies and creates new industrial fields, including nanotechnology, self-driving vehicles, and renewable energy, which will cause robots to take over tasks completed, so far, by people, who will instead perform new work activities.

As much as 40 percent of jobs may disappear or change in the coming years as part of the transformation of the economy, much of them in western Slovakia for the car industry, Petra Zappe, AmChams Innovations Policy Officer, said.

The OECD and various experts approached by TSS underline Industry 4.0 will also create new jobs, requiring workers to upgrade their skills. Slovakia must, as a result, speed up not only the diversification of its economy but also the transformation of education, including the support of lifelong learning, research, and innovations, to prevent high unemployment.

The European Commissions proposal to set up a recovery fund of 750 billion and assist member states in coping with the implications of the coronavirus pandemic is, therefore, a great opportunity for Slovakia. The country could obtain 8 billion from the fund, AmCham said, to build a green, knowledge-based economy and improve the quality of life in regions.

Automation to increase productivity

Given a fertility curve and the dynamics of the countrys labour market, it is inevitable that Slovakia must automate.

Read also

Read also Future of Industry 4.0 is in AI Read more

The staffing firm, ManpowerGroup Slovakia, measured in its Talent Shortage 2020 survey that 57 percent of employers in Slovakia could not find a workforce in 2019. Automation will transform 49 percent of jobs in production in five years, but the pace of change will also depend on the costs and social acceptance.

What is more, automation can increase labour productivity, the Association of Industrial Unions (APZ) stated. This is of particular urgency for Slovakia since the system currently in place, in which wages grow faster than productivity, is not feasible.

Two thirds of firms in Slovakia produce only a third of the added value of the Slovak economy, APZ noted, adding that over half of the countrys labour force works in these firms.

With automation-driven productivity growth, APZ reassures that employees will not lose their jobs but rather obtain better-paid and more creative jobs.

Industry 4.0 to create new jobs

While automation-created jobs are still difficult to be identified, Hudcovsky argued that Industry 4.0 may bring about a synergic effect for people in the creative industry because robots cannot replace people in this field.

The World Economic Forum stated in its 2020 Jobs of Tomorrow report that seven professional clusters and 96 jobs will grow in demand soon. Most new job opportunities will arise from the clusters of the care economy, sales, marketing and content, followed by data and artificial intelligence, in the coming three years.

Nonetheless, managers, teachers, and healthcare and social workers will continue to be needed, regardless of automation.

Key role of education

If Slovakia fails to make this transition to the automation industry, it will face a rise in unemployment and lower wages in future.

Related article

Related article Post-coronavirus demand for health workers to grow Read more

The education system will play a major role in enhancing Slovakias competitiveness, GDP growth, and keeping its talent in regions.

Retraining the existing workforce from routine to creative tasks is very difficult and costly, with the outcome being uncertain, Hudcovsky said. He emphasised the importance of critical and creative thinking from an early age.

The Education Ministry said it aims to complete the process of informatisation in education by 2030. Some insist more must be done.

We see a comprehensive and functional lifelong learning system as an essential part of tackling the problem of how to secure decent, well-paid jobs for more people and to better respond to the needs of the economy within Industry 4.0, AmCham Education Policy Officer Peter Rusinak said.

On-the-go learning

Responsibility also falls on firms shoulders, which should help current and future workers upgrade their skills, especially when education reform in Slovakia moves at a sluggish pace, Zuzana Rumiz, head of ManpowerGroup Slovakia, said.

The demand for digital skills, for example, has been growing since 2015 in digital production. APZ suggests Slovak education should focus on soft skills, especially social and technological ones, not the content.

Nevertheless, the ability to learn new skills on the go is and will remain the most wanted skill asked of people.

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The Spectator College is a programme designed to support the study and teaching of English in Slovakia, as well as to inspire interest in important public issues among young people.
We should all wish that, if we found ourselves in serious trouble abroad, our families would fight for us as fiercely as Michael Kovrigs family is fighting for him.

They put on a full-court press this week, pleading with the Trudeau government to do all it can to free him, and his fellow Canadian Michael Spavor, from the Chinese prisons where they are being held on trumped-up spy charges.

Kovrigs family also rolled out a legal opinion, backed by no less an eminence than former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, to the effect that the justice minister has full power to settle the issue by ending extradition proceedings against the Chinese telecom executive Meng Wanzhou.

Nineteen former politicians and diplomats, largely from the Mulroney and Chretien eras, added their weight to the argument that the only way out is a straight-up swap: we send Meng back to China in return for the freedom of the two Michaels.

This has been adopted in certain circles as a realistic solution to the impasse between Ottawa and Beijing  regrettable but necessary in a world where rule of law is just a slogan to be discarded when inconvenient.

It seems most popular among those who appear to be more offended by the fact that Canada is upholding the terms of its extradition treaty with the United States by detaining Meng in Vancouver, than they are by the atrocious treatment that China is meting out to Kovrig and Spavor. If we must bow the knee to one or another great power, they seem to suggest, better kowtow to Xi Jinping than to Donald Trump.

To his credit, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding firm and rejecting this logic. On Thursday, he said he deeply disagrees with the idea that Canada should trade Meng for the two Michaels.

No one really disagrees with the legal argument put forward through the Kovrig family and endorsed by Arbour and former Liberal justice minister Allan Rock. Its plain that the federal Extradition Act gives the justice minister the power to end an extradition proceeding at any time.

The real argument is political: regardless of whether Ottawa has the legal power to send Meng home, should it do so given Chinas behaviour over the past year and a half? Would it really be in Canadas national interest to bend to naked bullying and give Beijing what it wants? And to that, the answer must surely be no.

What would Canada gain by a swap? Certainly, it would be a happy day for the two Michaels and their families, and give them full marks for pushing for such a resolution.

But that would come at the cost of showing that China can indeed get what it wants by seizing Canadians pretty much at random, jailing them in appalling conditions, and charging them with bogus crimes. China itself practically admits as much: after denying for months that their cases were linked with Mengs, an official spokesman this week went further than ever in saying they could be freed in return for letting her return home.

If anything, that makes it harder for Canada to agree. The closer the cases are linked, the more obvious it would be that a deal would amount to a simple prisoner exchange. No principles; just cynical trading. Not only China would learn that Canada can be shoved around, its citizens seized as pawns to be traded for advantage. The rest of the world would conclude the same.

Its not surprising that so many old guard Liberals are pressing for Ottawa to patch things up with Beijing. Some are focused on business opportunities for Canadian firms. Others got to know China at a time when it seemed possible the country would develop its own rule-of-law culture as it opened up to the world.

But China under Xi Jinping has taken a different path  one of unabashed power politics, where the interests of the ruling party dictate all. In these circumstances, Canada should stick to its principles. That will serve us better in the long run than hanging out the white flag.

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The redesigned 2021 Ford F-150 made its public debut Thursday night during an online prerecorded event hosted by actor Denis Leary and streamed on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

"There's nothing more all-American than a truck that helps you get the job done," Leary said during opening remarks. "The best just got even better when America needs it most."

The F-150 is part of the F-series lineup of pickups, which are collectively considered the best-selling vehicle in America. It will hit showrooms later this year. It is the first complete redesign of the F-150 since the 2015 model year.

A price for the 2021 F-150 has not been released. Details related to horsepower and towing capacity will be made available at a later date, Ford said.

Currently, F-150 prices can start at $28,745 and exceed $75,000. The average F-series cost is $51,585

Ford engineers describe it as the toughest, most productive and most powerful pickup in its class  designed with its millions of loyal consumers at the center.

See the new F-150's features: Redesigned Ford pickup will be offered in hybrid model

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"Ford took very few risks with this truck, changed very little. They tuned it," said Eric Noble, one of the world's top automotive design consultants. "They didn't need to take big risks."

He compared the F-150 interior to a luxurious Bentley Mulsanne that starts at $310,000.

When you're the top-selling pickup truck since the beginning of time, no one demands big change, said Noble, president of The CarLab in Orange County, California.

The F-150 and its F-series siblings make up about one of every 16 vehicles sitting in a work or home driveway in the U.S., according to a Boston Consulting Group analysis in 2020.

That's what happens when you sell an estimated 1 million each year.

Story continues

The Ford F-150 is as significant to Ford and America today as the Model-T was in its time," said market analyst Jon Gabrielsen.

(Left) Todd Eckert, Ford Motor Co. truck group marketing manager, and Denis Leary, actor, philanthropist and F-150 reveal host, beside the all-new F-150 King Ranch in Antimatter Blue at the official reveal on June 25, 2020.

Ford knew F-150 owners counted on their pickups for camping and hauling boats and horses, not to mention construction and every other trade imaginable.

"It's really about customers who keep America moving," Jackie DiMarco, director of Ford truck strategy, told the USA TODAY Network's Detroit Free Press. "The truck team really stepped back and got very deep with the customers. We really spent a lot of time learning how they use their trucks, learning some of the pain points they have  that they find workarounds. We've been able to incorporate so many of those learnings into this truck."

Henry Ford next to a Model T in 1921.

4 a.m. camping trip

Not only did Ford collect 200 hours of video and more than 8,000 photographs documenting F-150 life and how to make everything just that much easier, the teams shadowed customers around the clock for months.

"A few of our team members went camping with a father and son," DiMarco said. "So they get up quite early to pack up and go, maybe 4 or 5 in the morning, and the team is really struck by how dark it is. You're trying to pack your truck and it's pitch black, so dark. That was the inspiration for us to come up with zone lighting."

Now the F-150 has a feature that allows drivers to use a phone application to light different parts of the vehicle.

Jackie DiMarco, Ford director of truck strategy, is a mechanical engineer who studied human behavior when designing the 2021 F-150. This photo was taken in 2017.

Change is fine but dramatic change had the potential alienate die-hard supporters.

This helps explain the redesigned gear shifter, which folds down and allows the console to be used as a work surface for use with a laptop computer or for laying out design plans or even eating lunch. While the company could have installed buttons or knobs for shifting, it wasn't that simple.

"These are hard-working people. They use the truck as a sanctuary during the day," said Kumar Galhotra, Ford president of the Americas and International Markets Group.

"We noticed a lot of workers doing paperwork sitting in the front seat, but there wasnt a comfortable enough work surface. But there are conflicting demands there. Where you would put the work surface theres a shifter there. But you have to have a shifter because these customers really prefer a shifter. So the team came up with a creative idea to have the shifter disappear."

'With my kids'

Ford engineers spent time on construction sites and observed workers with long workdays taking naps in their cabs, so the new Ford F-150 includes luxury reclining seats that create a bed-like opportunity. And there are lockable compartments under the seats for secret storage.

"All those things are driven by sharp observation of how these customers are using these vehicles," Galhotra said. "We go hang out with our customers."

Intuitively understanding habits and needs is one thing; seeing the situations in real life is another completely, he said.

"Most construction sites had generators there to power the tools. Those generators were noisy, those generators were smelly," Galhotra said. "The idea the team had, since we were doing a hybrid electric (F-150) anyway, what if we used that technology and put a generator on board? A lot of customers can simply use the generator on board to power their tools. Thats just one insight."

Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford North America, in the cafeteria at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn.

This way, Ford F-150 customers don't need to haul that big heavy generator, which can also get stolen.

Having power for a table saw also means having power for tailgating parties, to run a TV or refrigerator or cooking equipment, said DiMarco, a mother of twin teenagers who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and understands the value of tailgate parties. "People are making their own solutions. Now they dont have to think through that and they can really plug right in."

The interior, which may feel like a cozy den to the casual observer, really can be a family space, she said. "I spent a lot of time in my truck with my kids. You have now essentially a table to gather around and relax when youre not driving. If youre spending a lot of time in your vehicle, we really have spent time on the interior thinking about making that as comfortable as possible."

This 1975 Ford F-150 is the first 150 built by Ford. The image came from the Ford archive on June 25, 2020.

Pickup truck owners have had a long relationship with the Blue Oval automaker.

The F-150 debuted in 1974 as a 1975 model, said Ford historian Ted Ryan, who provided the original Aug. 30, 1974, news release.

It was offered in Viking Red, Parrot Orange, Bahama Blue, Baytree Green, Glen Green, Hatteras Green Metallic, Medium Green Glow (at extra cost) and Vineyard Gold.

America has had a love affair ever since the beginning, based on historical sales data.

Richard Machado, president of Agrian Inc., an agricultural technology company based in Clovis, California, drives a 2020 F-150 Platinum  his third F-150.

"When I attend ag meetings around the country, I see a majority of vehicles that are F-Series," Machado said.

Crucial for Ford

The unveiling of the latest F-150 comes at a crucial time for Ford. It continues to be the market leader, but both Chevy Silverado and Ram Trucks have been aggressively working to eat away that advantage.

The F-150 will be built at Ford's Dearborn Truck Plant in southeast Michigan and the Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Missouri.

2003 Ford Employee Meeting Ford World Headquarters. Bill Ford speaking to employee group with F150 on stage.

Ford has said it is expecting to report a $5 billion loss for the second quarter, so this high-profile product plays an essential role in the company's portfolio.

Jessica Caldwell, executive director of Insights at Edmunds online auto research, said, "If all goes smoothly, the F-series launch should give Ford the big moment of glory they've been craving since it is the most important vehicle for the company given its huge volume and profit margins."

Follow Detroit Free Press reporter Phoebe Wall Howard on Twitter @phoebesaid.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Redesigned Ford F-150 revealed: 2021 F-series pickup truck makes debut
Chinas insects and other invertebrates are spoilt for choice with the countrys array of deserts, rainforests, mountains and tropical coastlines. The winning photographs of the Wild China Biodiversity Photography Contest hosted by Wild China Film present the countrys sweeping lands and rare plants from unexpected perspectives. Here is a pick of the crop

Jan 21, 2022 06:20 PM
Yves here. This is one of the few potentially positive developments I have heard of coming out of the coronacrisis. When I first came to the city, there was a lot less homelessness, in large measure due to the existence of single room occupancy hotels. Its important to remember that most homeless are intermittently homeless: they have couch-crashing or other ad-hoc housing that had fallen through. SROs provided more stable short-term (and for some, longer-term) arrangements.

Those SROs over time were converted to either hotels or residential housing. And given that developers have been interested only in building luxury or super-luxury housing, converting some hotels back to apartments is a logical way to create more middle class housing in urban areas. And its a way to swing the pendulum back from gentrification gone too far. I liked Manhattan much better when it was mixed income and gritty rather than shiny and soulless.

By Yoav Gonen. Originally published by THE CITY on June 25, 2020

A Jamaica, Queens shelter hotel where people were being isolated during the coronavirus outbreak, April 2, 2020. Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

City officials are looking to capitalize on a distressed tourism industry by converting commercial hotels into affordable housing  including creating single room occupancy units known as SROs.

The exploration of cheaper alternatives for affordable housing and supportive housing  offering health care and social services for people with mental illness or substance abuse disorders  comes as the city struggles to overcome a fiscal crisis prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The effort, which also comes as thousands of homeless people are staying in hotels, highlights just how hard a near-halt in business travel and tourism is slamming New York City.

Unfortunately, were seeing a tremendous hit to our hotels because of the reduction in tourism, because of the lack of travel  and hopefully most of that will come back. But some of it may not, Vicki Been, deputy mayor for housing and economic development, said this week during an online roundtable on economic development hosted by the Real Estate Board of New York and the law firm Greenberg Traurig.

Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been speaks during a City Hall coronavirus press conference, March 12, 2020. Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

So weve been looking hard at  are there hotels that we could acquire to turn into supportive housing rather than having to build from ground up? she added. Were looking both at, are there assets that we own that we can make available to affordable housing or other needs  and are there private market buildings that we could acquire to convert into affordable housing at a cheaper cost.

Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Louise Carroll, who also participated in the event, said hotels are also under consideration for a shared housing model  which includes SRO-like units that have common areas for residents.

The agency has been testing shared and co-living spaces as affordable housing since 2018.

Maybe hotels are good for rehab in that way, Carroll said of SROs.

The number of SRO units in the city has decreased from a high of more than 200,000 in the 1950s to as few as 30,000 today, according to supportive housing advocates.

The purge began when city officials deemed SROs to be substandard housing  and made it illegal to build new units beginning in the 1960s.

Eager Sellers

The hotel conversions could offer a cost-effective way to create affordable housing on a large scale, say the supportive housing developers and operators, much less expensively than building from the ground up.

More than $1 billion in planned spending on affordable housing for the fiscal year that ends Tuesday and the one that begins July 1 would be delayed by two years under Mayor Bill de Blasios proposed capital budget, the Independent Budget Office reported Monday.

That budget is in its final days of negotiation with the City Council.

De Blasio has set a goal of building and preserving 300,000 units of affordable housing by 2026. The IBO report found that through March, the city had financed just over 164,000 units  of which 70% were preserved through refinancing and upgrades rather than new construction.

On the tourism side, the latest data from the hospitality analyst group STR found that city hotel occupancy rates were down by 47% in May compared to a year prior  to an occupancy rate of 47.2%. Revenues were down 82.6% compared to the same month last year, the data shows, to about $166 million.

About 13,000 homeless people  or nearly one-quarter of the citys total homeless population  are among those staying at commercial hotels, according to department of homeless services officials.

The city has been isolating people during the coronavirus outbreak in a Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, hotel, May 26, 2020. Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

Both the occupancy rate and revenue were slight improvements over Aprils numbers, the data shows. But the days when the city drew 60 million tourists annually are gone.

Leaders in the hotel and corporate sectors said they see the citys explorations as an accurate reflection of conditions on the ground for the foreseeable future.

Vijay Dandapani, CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City, said the financial realities for some hotel owners will align with the citys interests.

In this particularly stressful time with virtually no revenues, we expect there will be a high degree of interest from some owners, said Dandapani. It is pretty much a certainty that the hotel industry wont be able to recover in any meaningful way till at least late 2023, and more likely early 2024.

As many as 20% of the citys more than 125,000 hotel rooms may not reopen, The Wall Street Journal recently reported.

Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said hotels had been overbuilt before the coronavirus crisis, and that soaring real estate costs had made it difficult to develop affordable housing.

We support the idea of trying to fund public use for distressed assets, she said. To the extent the pandemic creates some opportunities to acquire properties cheaply and repurpose them to meet community needs, that would be one of few good outcomes of this horrible crisis.

Housing at Half the Cost

When supportive housing first took off as a model starting in the 1970s, conversions of aging hotel buildings were common. Former hotels that remain residences today include the Prince George in Flatiron and Muhlenberg Residence in downtown Brooklyn.

If the city moves forward now, it wouldnt be the first conversion by the de Blasio administration of a former hotel site into affordable and supportive housing.

In 2018, the supportive housing nonprofit Breaking Ground purchased a former residential hotel on Sands Street that was part of a Jehovahs Witnesses complex in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

With a $157 million loan from HPD, the site is now poised to serve as 200 units of affordable housing and 300 units of supportive housing, according to Breaking Grounds CEO, Brenda Rosen.

Rosen said an SRO model would be particularly well-suited for distressed hotels in Manhattan, which can be converted into supportive housing for as little as $250,000 per unit  half the cost of new construction.

There are thousands of hotel rooms being used as shelter right now, and the question is, does it make sense to think about these hotels as some sort of permanent supportive housing and would it make sense in terms of structure and time and cost? said Rosen. It really could be a huge benefit to the city, especially at a time of fiscal constraint.

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This story was originally published by THE CITY, an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.
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Brazilian bombshell Alessandra Ambrosio went bra-less beneath a moss-colored $126 Sundry 'Crossover' cropped jumpsuit to run errands at the celeb-favorite Malibu Country Mart on Thursday.

The 39-year-old CAA Model eventually protected herself with a cloth mask, which California Governor Gavin Newsom made mandatory for all public outings last Thursday.

Mayor Eric Garcetti extended the stay-at home order indefinitely due to the 89K confirmed COVID-19 cases in LA County, which has led to 3,208 deaths as of Thursday - according to Johns Hopkins University.

Brazilian bombshell: Alessandra Ambrosio went bra-less beneath a $126 Sundry 'Crossover' cropped jumpsuit to run errands at the celeb-favorite Malibu Country Mart on Thursday

89K infected in LA: The 39-year-old CAA Model eventually protected herself with a cloth mask, which California Governor Gavin Newsom made mandatory for all public outings last Thursday

Last Saturday, Alessandra - who boasts 17.9M social media followers - Instastoried a snap of herself enjoying her morning coffee with her eight-year-old son Noah Phoenix.

Ambrosio's daughter Anja Louise has her very own Instagram account where she shared a rainbow-hued selfie in honor of LGBT Pride month with her 26K following.

'Happy pride month!' the 11-year-old influencer-in-the-making wrote last week.

'Good morning!' Last Saturday, Alessandra Instastoried a snap of herself enjoying a cup of coffee with her eight-year-old son Noah Phoenix

Influencer in the making? Ambrosio's daughter Anja has her very own Instagram account where she shared a rainbow-hued selfie in honor of LGBT Pride month with her 26K following

'BTW this was in my room today and I couldn't help but take 80 different selfies.'

Both of the ELLE Japan cover girl's children are with her ex-fiance Jamie Mazur, who proudly shared two videos of little Anja riding the waves during her surf class.

Alessandra and the Re/Done denim co-founder amicably ended their decade-long engagement in March 2018.

'Ripping it!' Both of the ELLE Japan cover girl's children are with her ex-fiance Jamie Mazur, who proudly shared two videos of their 11-year-old riding the waves during her surf class

It's over: Alessandra and the Re/Done denim co-founder (3-L) amicably ended their decade-long engagement in March 2018 (pictured August 25)

Ambrosio has been romancing Alanui co-designer Nicolo Oddi since they met at HQ2 Nightclub in Atlantic City back in July 2018.

The Fyre Festival paid promoter currently runs her second swimwear line GAL Floripa, which she co-founded in March with her younger sister Aline and BFF Gisele Coria in March.

Alessandra - who retired her 'wings' from Victoria's Secret in 2017 - previously ran her eponymous swimwear line ale by Alessandra from 2014-2018.

Italian stallion: Ambrosio has been romancing Alanui co-designer Nicolo Oddi since they met at HQ2 Nightclub in Atlantic City back in July 2018 (posted on June 12)
Company says air system doesnt kill COVID-19 after church that held Trump rally claimed it does

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CleanAir EXP, the company behind a commercial air purification system that was touted as a COVID-19 killer by leaders of Dream City Church in Arizona where President Donald Trump held a packed rally on Tuesday, said their system does not kill the deadly virus.

We understand there is recent confusion around the claims made by one of our customers around our laboratory testing. Were at the forefront of air and surface purification testing and technology  we tested with a third-party Certified Biosafety Laboratory on the best coronavirus surrogates available (Coronavirus 229E and Cystovirus Phi6) and found our patented technology leads to a 99.9% elimination of airborne coronavirus surrogates, said Tim Bender, CEO of CleanAir EXP, in a statement to The Christian Post.

We do not, however, eliminate COVID-19 at this time. Our coronavirus surrogate testing results are significant for the future of clean air. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with the CDC for additional laboratory testing and support the CDCs guidelines on hygiene habits to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The controversy over the CleanAir EXP technology, which was developed by members of Dream City Church, erupted Sunday after Senior Pastor Luke Barnett and Chief Operations Officer Brendon Zastrow posted a video in which they claimed the air purification system kills 99.9 percent of the new coronavirus.

"We've installed Clean Air EXP," Zastrow said. "We have a local Arizona company. It was a technology developed by some members of our church. And we've installed these units. And it kills 99% of COVID within 10 minutes."

The technology, explained the church leaders, kills COVID-19 by ionization.

The claim made by the church leaders came just two months after a Business Insider report in April suggested bipolar ionization could help control the spread of the new coronavirus.

The process takes oxygen molecules from the air and converts them into charged atoms that then cluster around microparticles, surrounding and deactivating harmful substances like airborne mold, bacteria, allergens, and viruses, the report said. The charged atoms also attach to expelled breath droplets and dust particles that can transport viruses, enlarging them so they're more easily caught in filters.

Philip Tierno, a clinical professor of microbiology and pathology at the NYU School of Medicine who was quoted in the report, told the Phoenix New Times that ionization couldnt offer absolute protection from COVID-19.

"The short answer to your question is NO, you will ABSOLUTELY NOT BE SAFE AND PROTECTED. When you are dealing with hundreds or thousands of people in an AUDITORIUM, some of whom will carry the virus you WILL NOT BE absolutely PROTECTED," Tierno stressed.

He urged the use of masks, temperature checks and practicing social distancing for people concerned about contracting the virus.

"BPI will help over time to reduce numbers of virus BUT NOT ABSOLUTELY eradicate it without doing the aforementioned," he told the publication. "I would advise you not to present FALSE hope to attendees by spreading false statements."

In a statement on Facebook Tuesday, Dream City Church shared Benders comments and noted that they mistakenly used COVID to reference coronaviruses in general when they should have made a distinction.

On Sunday we made a post for our congregation to inform them we are doing everything we can to foster the cleanest, safest environment as we resume church services. We have heard Coronavirus and COVID used interchangeably. Our statement regarding the CleanAir EXP units used the word COVID when we should have said Coronavirus or COVID surrogates. We hope to alleviate any confusion we may have caused."
Bhadarwah: Five people, including a woman and her three minor children, were killed when their car skidded off the road and rolled down into a 350-feet deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on Friday (June 26), officials said.

The car was on its way from Gool area of Ramban district to Thathri town of Doda district. The accident took place near Raggi Nallah around 10 am, they added.

"Police party from nearby Assar police station immediately rushed to the spot and started rescue operation along with volunteers, but all the five passengers, including the driver, were declared dead on the spot," Mushtaq Ahmed, Station House Officer (SHO) Assar, said.

"The deceased have been identified as Tasleema Begum, 35, and her three minor children from Thathri, while the fifth person, who was driving the car and also died in the accident, was identified as Mohd Asif, 32, of Sangaldan-Gool," he said.

All the bodies will be shifted to the Primary Health Centre Assar for completion of legal formalities, the SHO added.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 15:44:19|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic-led House of Representatives on Thursday passed a sweeping police reform legislation in response to a national outcry against police brutality and racism, setting the stage for a bitter stalemate on U.S. Capitol since a Senate approval is widely not expected.

The bill was passed in a 236 to 181 vote. Democrats of all stripes united in the voting while three Republicans crossed party lines.

Titled George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, the bill was named in honor of the 46-year-old black man who pleaded "I can't breathe" before dying in police custody in Minnesota on May 25. His death has prompted weeks of protests and civil unrest in at least 140 cities across the United States since then.

"Exactly one month ago, George Floyd spoke his final words 'I can't breathe' and changed the course of history," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday morning.

"With all of those people out protesting, this is not the time to do symbolism," said Democratic lawmaker Karen Bass, head of the Congressional Black Caucus and sponsor of the House bill, "We have to do substantive change."

The House legislation will ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants in federal drug cases, require federal police officers wear body and dashboard cameras, create a national registry of police misconduct and make lynching a federal hate crime for the first time. It will also make it easier to prosecute police misconduct and recover damages caused by law enforcement.

One area that the bill stops short of addressing directly is defunding police departments, a demand of the recent protests that has gained traction nationwide.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already shot down the House's bill, calling it overreach and said it will not advance in the Senate, local media reported.

One day earlier, Senate Democrats blocked a competing Republican bill from advancing on a key procedural vote, describing the GOP version as an insufficient and irredeemably flawed answer to the problem of systemic racism in law enforcement and asking for bipartisan talks on the issue.

In the Senate, Democrats called on Republicans to come back to the negotiating table to come up with a bipartisan solution that the upper chamber can then vote on, while Republican senators slammed Democrats for declining to even begin floor debate on the measure.

In a floor speech on Wednesday, McConnell accused Democrats of giving a "last-minute ultimatum" by turning "this routine step into a partisan impasse."

The Senate Republican bill requires additional disclosures about the use of force, codifies reporting requirements on the use of "no knock warrants," provides incentives for chokehold bans and makes lynching a federal crime.

Meanwhile, Democratic senators proposed banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants in federal drug cases, and limiting qualified immunity for police officers to make it easier to sue police. Both sides want to pass anti-lynching legislation and provide de-escalation training for police.

Earlier on Thursday, Tim Scott, the only black Republican senator, said on Fox News that Democrats' move to block the Senate Republican bill is "race politics at its worst," adding that Democrats were cocky ahead of November's general elections.

Despite nationwide calls for quick action to address police abuse and racism, the odds of finding a compromise may be slimmer than usual on Capitol Hill in a presidential election year, local analysts said.
German prosecutors accuse Russia of ordering murder of former Chechen rebel in Berlin FILE PHOTO: Police officers investigate a crime scene in Berlin

By Michael Nienaber and Andreas Rinke

BERLIN (Reuters) - German federal prosecutors accused Russia on Thursday of ordering the killing of a former Chechen rebel in Berlin last summer and indicted a Russian man for the murder, which has severely strained diplomatic ties.

Investigators have gathered enough evidence to charge the man, identified only as Vadim K., with the murder as well as with the illegal possession of a weapon, the prosecutors said.

"The accused accepted the order from state authorities to kill. He either hoped for a financial reward or shared the motive of the order-givers to kill a political opponent and thereby retaliate for participating in previous conflicts with Russia," they said in a statement.

The dead man, identified in the statement as Tornike K., a Georgian citizen, was shot in a Berlin park last August as he headed to a mosque. His killer had been on a bicycle.

Russia has denied any connection with the killing.

President Vladimir Putin has said the dead man was himself a killer who had carried out bloody acts on Russian soil and that Moscow's requests for his extradition had not been heeded.

Welcoming the prosecutors' move, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called the killing an "extraordinarily serious" incident.

The Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador, Sergei Nechayev, to make its position clear and Moscow understands that Berlin reserves the right to take further steps in this case, Maas added.

Nechayev later said that Moscow would react if Berlin took new action against Russia over the killing, adding that the accusations were groundless and were not supported by the evidence.

MORE SANCTIONS

Juergen Hardt, foreign policy coordinator of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in parliament, said Berlin should mull further sanctions against Russia.

"As long as top Russian officials shield the perpetrators of the Tiergarten murder, the federal government must not shy away from sanctions. It must also win over our European partners for such a move," he told Reuters.

Story continues

Germany expelled two members of the Russian embassy in December 2019 in connection with the case.

Last month, in a separate dispute, Germany's foreign ministry called in the Russian ambassador to complain about a 2015 hacking attack on the German parliament and said that possible sanctions were discussed against those responsible.

Russia has denied that its military intelligence was behind the cyber attack.

Germany expects European Union leaders this week to pave the way for an extension of EU sanctions against Russia over its involvement in the Ukraine crisis, a senior government official said on Thursday.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber and Andreas Rinke; additional reporting by Andrey Ostroukh in Moscow; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alex Richardson)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 04:48:35|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations emergency relief coordinator, anticipating relief needs for the next 18 months, has authorized releasing up to 140 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), a UN spokesman said on Friday.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock gave the green light, starting with 15 million dollars for Somalia, hit with food insecurity resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, flooding and swarms of desert locusts.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), headed by Lowcock, recalled in a release that the relief chief has said it is far more effective to feed a hungry child than to intervene only after it suffers malnutrition.

Last year, OCHA supported setting up an action framework for an anticipated drought in Somalia and it expects to finalize frameworks for a drought in Ethiopia and flooding in Bangladesh.

Even without a drought, food insecurity in Somalia is projected to increase to 22 percent of the population in a crisis state between July and September, OCHA said.

The CERF funding would be complementary to Somalia Humanitarian Fund disbursements.

The framework in Somalia involves work at the OCHA headquarters in New York and the country level in close cooperation with UN agencies, the World Bank, climate research centers, national authorities and other partners.

To maximize the impact, OCHA is engaging with the World Bank on the analytics, as well as the planning and release of finance.

OCHA is also collaborating with the London-based Centre for Disaster Protection on the design of an independent evaluative learning component that will accompany the pilot programs throughout the planning, disbursement and implementation stages.

Findings will feed into decision-making regarding the further development of a CERF anticipatory action approach. Enditem
US moving Europe troops to counter Chinese threats to India

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 26: US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said that China's threats to India and Southeast Asia were the main reasons to draw down troops in Germany.

He told the Brussels forum that this was a well thought out strategy because they were being moved to other places. US President Donald Trump had recently announced that the US would be reducing troops in Germany, a decision that angered the EU countries.

The actions of the Chinese Communist Party, meant that there were threats to India and countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and the South China Sea, Pompeo said. We are going make sure we are postured appropriately to counter the PLA. We think that this is the challenge of our time and we are going to make sure we have resources in place to do that, Pompeo said.

China muscle flexing: US reviews troop deployment after India-China tensions rise | Oneindia News

Had 'very frank' discussion with China on 'unprovoked aggression': Mike Pompeo

He also spoke about the bloody border confrontation with India. Beijing's activities in the South China Sea and its predatory economic policies were also raised by Pompeo. He announced that the US and EU would start a dialogue on China and the challenges it poses. It would help the trans-Atlantic alliance to build a common understanding of the threat posed by China.

The two sides needed a collective data set on China's actions so the two could take action together. Europe is often accused of being naive about China, taking a much more benevolent attitude to China's designs, he said.

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Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 8:42 [IST]
The uprising that took place at The Stonewall Inn 51 years ago this week was the spark that set off a powder keg, paving the way for acceptance and equality of gay, lesbian and transgender people in the United States and around the world.

Coined as the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement, Stonewall, in New York City's West Village neighborhood, has operated as both a bar, serving as an oasis where revelers and tourists can celebrate (especially during Pride month in June) and an iconic site. The space was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2000.

Now the coronavirus pandemic, which has already shuttered thousands of restaurants and bars across the country, is threatening to permanently close the legendary bar.

Stonewall Inn nightclub raid. Crowd attempts to impede polic (NY Daily News via Getty Images)

The Stonewall Inn, which has been owned by Kurt Kelly and Stacy Lentz since 2006, has been shuttered for more than three months. On June 13, they started a GoFundMe page.

"We are reaching out because like many families and small businesses around the world," the owner's GoFundMe page reads. "The Stonewall Inn is struggling."

"Our doors have been closed for over three months to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of patrons, staff and the community. Even in the best of times it can be difficult to survive as a small business and we now face an uncertain future. Even once we reopen, it will likely be under greatly restricted conditions limiting our business activities," the statement continues.

While Stonewall may be the poster child for economic hardships in the age of COVID-19, Lentz explained that many LGBTQ bars across the country are facing similar challenges.

"We realize that being Stonewall we have a responsibility to make sure everyone is aware and we use our platform to explain that this is not just Stonewall having these issues right now," she told TODAY. "This is every LGBTQ bar across the country and especially here in New York."

Story continues

AIDS activists protest at Stonewall monument in NYC in 1989 (Erica Berger / Newsday via Getty Images)

Lesbian bars, already struggling to stay open before coronavirus, have been hit especially hard by the pandemic. One of New York's last Black-owned LGBTQ bars, Harlems Alibi Lounge, is in danger of closing permanently. And just down the street from Stonewall, another historic watering hole, Julius, has also launched a GoFundMe asking for emergency aid. Stonewall, which is adjacent to the national park Stonewall National Monument, does not receive any funds from the government.

"These bars are our safe spaces," Lentz said. "This is where generations after generations of LGBTQ people gathered. Our movement literally started at a bar, at the Stonewall Inn in 1969. So these are the places where our activism is born from.

"These are the places where we can congregate together and find people like us. It's so critical, after everything we have gone through."

Landmark Bar Stonewall Inn Launches Fundraiser To Avoid Going Out Of Business Due To Pandemic Shutdown (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

While Stonewall has been able to serve drinks from a window recently, Lentz said that this offering is not enough to cover the cost of the bar's $45,000 month rental bill. Fortunately, the bar has raised much more than its initial ask of $100,000, earning over $170,000 by Friday afternoon.

Still, Lentz said that every bit they get can help ensure the bar will be able to get through this devastating time for the industry  and be able to reopen safely when possible.

"The fact that a virus and pandemic could put all our safe spaces in jeopardy is unbelievable," Lentz said. "We have to do a better job at protecting those safe spaces. And it does sort of start with Stonewall. We cannot let the global symbol of the LGBTQ community just be a plaque on the wall.

"It needs to stay a living breathing piece of history."
NEW YORK (AP)  Amazon said Friday that it is buying self-driving technology company Zoox, which is developing an autonomous vehicle for a ride-hailing service that people would request on their phones.

Seattle-based Amazon did not disclose how much it is paying for Zoox, which was founded six years ago in Foster City, California. Digital tech journal The Information reported the deal is worth more than $1 billion.

Amazon has agreed to pay more than $1 billion to buy @Zoox, an early developer of autonomous vehicles, marking the entrance of one of the worlds most deep-pocketed companies in the long race to develop driverless cars. (by @amir)https://t.co/ABxlbsWSge  The Information (@theinformation) June 26, 2020

Amazon said Zoox will keep running as a separate business and continue to develop its own autonomous vehicle. CEO Aicha Evans, formerly among Intels top Oregon executives, will remain with Zoox following the deal.

"We're excited to help the talented Zoox team to bring their vision to reality in the years ahead," said Amazon's Jeff Wilke, who runs the company's retail business.

The deal could drive Amazon into an entirely new business: Transporting people from one place to another. But some analysts think Amazon's ultimate goal is to repurpose the Zoox vehicle for its core business, delivering packages to shoppers.

"My guess would be in the near term that Amazon is probably more interested in taking that platform and adapting it as an alternative or complement to its existing fleet of delivery vans," said Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst for Guidehouse Insights who follows autonomous vehicle developments.

Abuelsamid says Zoox has a good autonomous system and was planning to deploy a ride-hailing service next year. It's also building its own vehicle that can travel in two directions. He sees Amazon converting the small vehicles into mobile lockers that would stop at delivery sites for people to pick up packages.

Amazon didn't directly answer a question about whether autonomous package delivery was its goal, but said Zoox would "continue working toward their mission to transform mobility as a service by developing a fully autonomous, purpose built vehicle."

The company cautioned that widespread use of autonomous vehicles is still years away and will require a substantial capital investment in a crowded field.

Autonomous delivery would fit with Amazon's plans to deliver more of its packages on its own, relying less on UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. In recent years it has expanded its fleet of planes, built package sorting hubs at airports and launched a program that lets people start businesses that deliver packages in vans stamped with the Amazon logo.

Amazon has used autonomous technology to get orders to shoppers: self-driving robots shuffle products around its warehouses and a cooler-sized robot with six wheels has delivered orders in a Seattle suburb. It's also working on self-piloted drones that fly small goods to customers' homes.

The deal is another sign of Amazon's vast ambitions. Since its inception 25 years ago as an online bookseller, the company has moved into cloud computing, heath care and running a grocery chain.

____

Krisher reported from Detroit.
The French BEA air-accident investigation agency says "technical work" on the black boxes of a downed Ukrainian airliner is expected to kick off in France next month.

The cockpit-voice and flight-data recorders of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 were the subject of an international standoff after the plane was shot down by Iran's air defenses on January 8, killing all 176 people on board.

The Kyiv-bound aircraft was struck after taking off from Tehran's main airport in what Iran days later acknowledged was a "mistake."

Iran said on June 22 it would send the black boxes to France in the "next few days."

BEA, which is known as one of the world's leading organizations for reading flight recorders, tweeted on June 26 that Iran had "requested...technical assistance" with repairing and downloading data from the black boxes of the Boeing 737.

"Technical work [is] planned to start July 20," it said, adding that "the safety investigation is led by Iran."

The International Civil Aviation Organization said it had been informed by Iran that the black boxes "would be read out in France on 20 July...assuring the participation of representatives from all countries involved."

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said that it "will be sending a team of investigators to participate in the download" of the black boxes, which are expected to contain information about the last moments before the aircraft was struck and crashed.

The 176 victims of the crash included 82 Iranian citizens and 63 Canadians, many of them of Iranian origin.

Iranian forces had been on high alert at the time of the tragedy, which came hours after Iran launched missile strikes on an Iraqi military base housing U.S. troops.

The Iranian strikes were carried out in response to the killing of a top Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad's airport.
More than 839 million US dollars (666 million) worth of seized illegal drugs were destroyed in Burma on Friday to mark the annual International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, officials said.

The country has long been a major source of illegal drugs for East and South-East Asia, despite repeated efforts to crack down.

In the countrys biggest city, Yangon, a massive pile of drugs worth an estimated 144 million US dollars (114 million) went up in a spectacular blaze. It included opium, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, ketamine and the stimulant known as ice, or crystal meth.

Expand Close Firefighters spray water as flames and smoke rise from burning illegal drugs (Thein Zaw/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Firefighters spray water as flames and smoke rise from burning illegal drugs (Thein Zaw/AP)

The blaze burned so fiercely it threatened to set fire to an awning set up for the occasion that firefighters hurriedly doused with water hoses.

Authorities also destroyed drugs in Mandalay, Lashio and in Taunggyi, the capital of eastern Burmas Shan state, all areas closer to where the drugs are produced.

The government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime announced in May a record haul of narcotics.

Over roughly a six-week period ending in early April, the combined police and army operation seized around 18 tons of drugs in and around a village in Shan state, including almost 200 million methamphetamine tablets, they said.

Expand Close A police officer explains about seized illegal drugs to Yangon Region Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein (Thein Zaw/AP) / Facebook

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Burma has a long history of drug production, fuelled by decades of civil war. The government says some ethnic armies  which control large swathes of remote territory  use narcotics to fund their insurgencies. But critics have accused elements of Burmas government and army of profiting from the trade themselves.

The UNODCs regional representative for South-East Asia and the Pacific, Jeremy Douglas, recently said there is now clear evidence of the involvement of trans-national organised crime groups.

The countrys vast, mountainous and forested borders mean producers can move large quantities of cheaply produced drugs into neighbouring countries with little fear of capture.

The area where the borders of Burma, Laos and Thailand meet became known as the Golden Triangle when it was notorious for the production and trafficking of opium and its derivative, heroin.

In recent decades, production has largely switched to synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine, and now increasingly to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
Thousands of unwanted new and used cars line up on June 09, 2020, at Thurleigh Airfield in Bedfordshire. Britain's economy slumped by 20.4% in April in the biggest monthly decline since records began as the coronavirus lockdown paralysed the country. Photo: Chris Gorman/Getty Images

Car production in the UK remained at a near-standstill in the month of May, with just 5,314 cars rolling off the production lines.

According to the latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), there was a 95.4% drop compared to the same month the year before, making it the worst May since 1946, the year after WWII ended.

Mays production figures show early that the industry is very slowly starting to reboot again  around two-thirds of UK plants have started production  after just 197 cars were produced in April.

Graphic: SMMT

In the first five months of the year, the UKs car plants have produced some 324,000 cars, a nearly 42% drop from the same period in 2019. SMMT expects fewer than one million vehicles to be produced this year.

Mays figures are yet more evidence of why the UK industry, like its global rivals, needs dedicated support to drive a successful restart, said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes. Government assistance so far has been vital in keeping many businesses afloat, but the job isnt done.

Measures to boost cashflow, including additional and tailored finance schemes, tax relief and business rates deferral would deliver immediate results when liquidity is most acute, he added.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: UK car industry warns one in six jobs could be lost after pandemic

While plants have started running at reduced capacity again, showrooms in the UK were shut until 1 June, meaning nearly all the cars produced in May were exported to the EU, China, and the US.

SMMTs latest member survey last week found that a third of the automotive industry workforce in the UK is still on furlough after coronavirus lockdowns.

It revealed that there have been more than 6,000 redundancies in the car industry in the month of June  and one in six jobs will remain at risk when the governments furlough scheme ends in November.

Hawes is also warning that the UK automotive sector cannot afford a no-deal or bare bones Brexit deal, after being pulverised by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kolkata, June 26 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday relaxed the night curfew hours during the extended Covid-19 lockdown across the state. She said the new restrictions will apply from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. from the earlier 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. everyday.

Earlier this week, Banerjee had extended the lockdown in the state till July 31 to contain the spread of Covid-19 infections.

"We have decided that from July 1 the night curfew hours will be from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., instead of 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. We had understood that it is not possible for some people to get home by 9 p.m. So we have extended the timing by an hour," Banerjee told a press conference at the state secretariat Nabanno building here.

CM further said that she wants the metro services to resume from July 1 in Kolkata. "Metro services should resume only with 100 per cent seat occupancy policy, and no passenger standing in the train. We want the Kolkata Metro authorities to resume services from July 1 following all the precautionary and sanitisation norms. It would help the common people as far as their regular transportation is concerned," she said.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Metro Railway spokesperson said they are ready to resume service.

"We are already running our trains twice every day, without passengers. If the state government gives us a go-ahead, we will resume operations maintaining the necessary guidelines," the spokesperson said.
McDonald's has been facing an internal reckoning on race.

Samantha Lee/Business Insider

As of late 2019, McDonald's Black franchisees netted $68,000 less a month when compared to McDonald's overall franchisee average. The gap has more than doubled in recent years.

While disparities between Black and white franchisees have continued in 2020, some insiders say McDonald's is making new efforts to address inequalities.

"McDonald's has created more millionaires within the Black community than probably any other corporation on the planet, but there's still work to do," CEO Chris Kempczinski told CNBC earlier in June. "We're certainly not perfect."

McDonald's recently met with Black franchisees to discuss "aggressive actions to address Black franchisee disparities."

For more on McDonald's Black franchisees, subscribe to Business Insider's podcast, "Brought to you by..."

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

McDonald's took a strong stance against racism in recent weeks.

The fast-food giant announced in early June it is donating $1 million to the National Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It produced an advertisement mourning the deaths of Black people killed by police or in incidents of racist violence. Joe Erlinger, the head of McDonald's US business, said in an internal meeting that "silence is not an option."

But a recent comment from the company's CEO raised eyebrows among some current and former Black franchisees who spoke with Business Insider.

Related: What McDonald's menu items look like around the world

"We've probably  McDonald's has created more millionaires within the Black community than probably any other corporation on the planet, but there's still work to do," CEO Chris Kempczinski told CNBC earlier this month. "We're certainly not perfect, we're talking with our franchisees about how do we continue to bring in diverse franchisees."

One current franchisee who was granted anonymity to speak freely, called the statement "inflammatory, misleading, and pandering."

Story continues

As of late last year, Black McDonald's franchisees told Business Insider that their stores net $68,000 less a month, on average, when compared to McDonald's overall franchisee average. This cash flow gap has been a major problem for McDonald's Black owner-operators for decades, and the gap has more than doubled in recent years.

Back in 2012, the gap between the averages was less than $25,000. In 2017, the cash-flow gap was about $60,600, according to documents from the National Black McDonald's Owners Association. Business Insider was unable to obtain official updated figures for 2018 or 2019, but two franchisees say the gap has since grown to about $68,00

McDonald's cash flow gap.

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

In December, McDonald's said in a statement that it "is among our top priorities that all McDonald's franchises in all communities have the opportunity to prosper, grow, and achieve their business ambitions." The company declined to comment further on the topic or what changes the fast-food giant has made this year.

According to internal documents and franchisees who spoke with Business Insider, the disparities between Black and white franchisees have continued in 2020. But, insiders say McDonald's is finally making some efforts to address inequalities.

McDonald's Black franchisees have historically been treated as 'second-class citizens'

An investigation by Business Insider found that McDonald's Black franchisees earned hundreds of thousands of dollars less than the systemwide average.

"African American franchise owners have always struggled with being in the strange position where they were highly successful business people who ... became very wealthy through the system," said Marcia Chatelain, author of "Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America."

"But they were second-class citizens within the larger McDonald's structure," she said.

McDonald's cash flow gap.

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

Black franchisees are more likely to own stores in areas where sales are lower and costs such as security are higher, in part because they are more likely to be in Black and Latino communities. While franchisees' personal preferences played a role in this, some said that McDonald's made it more difficult for Black franchisees to buy locations in higher-income areas.

"Historically, we're always taking on the worst stores," former McDonald's franchisee Juneth Daniel told Business Insider. "They had the lowest cash flows. ... They had serious problems with having to be staffed  if they weren't being robbed. But, you want into the system, you want it to be a McDonald's owner-operator. So you took the bad to hopefully get to a better place."

Some McDonald's insiders also said Black franchisees were judged more harshly when visited by corporate consultants. A former consultant who left McDonald's in 2016 said she was pressured to inspect the restaurants of Black franchisees far more frequently than locations owned by white franchisees.

"We have said for many, many years as African American operators, there's two standards. There is one for us and there's one for our general market operator," said Kenneth Manning, a former McDonald's franchisee.

McDonald's did not respond directly to allegations of harsher restaurant visits, but emphasized that the claims do not represent the chain's 1,700 franchisees.

McDonald's franchisee count.

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

McDonald's shift towards a business model in which fewer franchisees own more locations  a trend throughout the fast-food industry  has also disproportionately forced out Black franchisees. In 2007, Black franchisees made up 304 of the chain's 2,270 franchisees, or 13.4%, according to a 2018 presentation by the National Black McDonald's Operators Association (NBMOA). At the end of 2017, that figure had fallen to 222, or 12.5% of the chain's 1,781 franchisees in the US.

Read more: McDonald's black franchisees are fighting to earn as much as their white counterparts, as dozens leave the company they once considered family

Inequality at McDonald's has been forced into the spotlight

mcdonalds coronavirus drive-through

Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Black franchisees have been discussing inequalities within the system for years. But, tensions bubbled over in 2019.

"In general the trajectory of the treatment of African American Owners is moving backwards," NBMOA CEO Larry Tripplett said in a letter to McDonald's executives in March 2019 obtained by Business Insider.

"Through no fault of our own we lag behind the general market in all measures," Tripplett continued.

In November, McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook was abruptly ousted from the company after an investigation into the executive's relationship with a coworker. With Kempczinski as the new CEO and Erlinger taking his position as US president, the new leadership team attempted to improve McDonald's image  including addressing franchisees' and executives' claims of racism.

Read more: Inside McDonald's quest to address claims of racial discrimination and erase former top executives' 'party culture'

Two days after Business Insider published its investigation into McDonald's Black franchisees, the company announced it was creating a new role focused on franchisee diversity. However, public criticism continued into the new year.

In January, two Black McDonald's executives filed a lawsuit claiming they faced discrimination, a hostile work environment, and "irrational, vile, and cruel" retaliation on the job. In the complaint, the executives said that Black franchisees were "disparately strong armed" out of the McDonald's system.

In February, Business Insider reported that a group of minority franchisees had retained a law firm to investigate allegations of discriminatory practices. James Ferraro, the president of the firm and lead attorney in the investigation, declined to comment on the matter to Business Insider.

Erlinger recently said internally he has attempted to surround himself with diverse executives, noting that 100% of field officers are now people of color. The company has also internally emphasized efforts to further diversify its suppliers and corporate office, including building on recruitment programs at historically Black colleges and universities.

In the months since Erlinger and Kempczinski's promotions, numerous Black franchisees have met with McDonald's corporate office to discuss their cash flow and renegotiate rent, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. According to an NBMOA template from February viewed by Business Insider, franchisees were encouraged to push for permanent rent reductions when meeting with the company.

According to a source with knowledge of the matter, cash flow for Black franchisees began to improve in the fourth quarter of last year and has continued to improve through 2020 against average franchisee cash flow. However, as Kempczinski said in his CNBC interview, the company admits there is still work to do.

In early June, following the protests linked to the death of George Floyd, Kempczinski and Erlinger met with the NBMOA. The top two orders of business were McDonald's relationship with Black franchisees and "aggressive actions to address Black franchisee disparities."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Phoenix, AZ -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/26/2020 -- "Rise 'n Shine! Not Just for Mornings Anymore," a family-friendly online radio show, will present Race in America: An Open, Honest Discussion, on Voice America - Variety on June 30, 2020 at Noon Pacific. Special guests include two social justice leaders, Pastor J. W. Matt Hennessee and Rev. Dr. David Alexander, The show will also feature music by Portland, Oregon's own First Lady of Blues, LaRhonda Steele.



Co-hosts Lori Anne Rising and Uncle Mark Olmstead are proud to host Pastor Hennessee and Rev. Alexander who will address the issues underlying current protests, what's changing (if anything) in the complex issues of systemic racism in America, and what really needs to change in the heart and soul of the nation to end racism and heal the wounds for future generations.



Pastor Hennessee, a native of Columbus, Ohio, has served in a variety of leadership capacities locally, nationally, and globally in public administration; private business; non-profit boards and commissions. In addition to being the Senior Pastor Servant of Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church in Portland for the past 15 years, he is the Convener of the Inter-Faith Peace and Action Collaborative aimed at building bridges between law enforcement and Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities.



Rev. Dr. David Alexander has served on the Board of Directors for the Community of Welcoming Congregations to help provide 'a voice for LGBTQ and allied people of faith,' and served as director of Strategic Alliances for the Centers for Spiritual Living, helping build partnerships between organizations to foster the creation of a world that works for all. He has received numerous awards as a social justice leader including induction into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College and a Force for Good Award from Unity of Sacramento. He currently serves as the Spiritual Director for Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta, and writes the monthly column, Philosophy in Action, for Science of Mind magazine.



Listeners of Rise 'n Shine say the show is "much needed, quality programming on the airwaves that gets to the heart of what matters, and helps to make our world a better place." As well as, "I love that there is another place to hear important information to bring us together for a better world and a better life."



This is a free, family friendly online event being held on Voice America  Variety Channel, Tuesday, June 30, 2020 at Noon Pacific. To listen in live go to: https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/124320/race-in-america-an-open-honest-discussion. A replay will be available within a few hours at the same link.



About Rise 'n Shine

Rise 'n Shine is a talk radio show and podcast committed to conversations that create a world that works for everyone by focusing on how to rise and shine as individuals each day. We strive to remember that there are no small acts, and all choices have ripple effects. To create lasting happiness, healthy families and a thriving planet, we must challenge pre-conceived thoughts, beliefs and habits, while cultivating deeper gratitude. To learn more visit www.RiseAndShineAsOne.com.
MENLO PARK, Calif., June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Galaxy Semiconductor, Inc. announces today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of the Quantix Business from Mentor Graphics Corporation, a Siemens-owned business. The acquisition will allow Galaxy to re-establish itself as the premier independent provider of test data management and analysis solutions for the semiconductor industry. The transaction is expected to close in a few weeks. The terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

"We chose to continue with the Galaxy name because of the many years of history and the strong reputation that it enjoys in the semiconductor industry," said Philippe Lejeune, Board Chairman and CTO of the newly formed company. "I'm looking forward to leading this great team to design and build amazing new products that address difficult technical challenges such as yield optimization, device characterization, and reliability improvement."

Galaxy is acquiring several software solutions from Mentor including a suite of software used by over 100 microelectronic device designers and manufacturers to improve quality, reliability, and yield of their devices. The software products that Galaxy is acquiring include the following.

Examinator & Examinator Pro is used by semiconductor device designers and manufacturers to read test data generated during device testing processes. The data allow engineers to analyze manufacturing yield and device performance compared to specifications.

Yield Man is used in high volume manufacturing of semiconductor devices to automatically capture and store test data created during device testing processes. Data are written to a data storage medium, and can be extracted by engineers to analyze manufacturing yield and device performance compared to specifications.

PAT Man employs sophisticated statistical methods and algorithms to identify semiconductor devices that may be at higher risk of operational failure.

Offline Shmoo is used to characterize the operational boundary conditions for a semiconductor device. It enables engineers to test a range of input conditions in order to understand the combinations of variables that will result in a device's normal operating range.

The customers for these products are microelectronic device designers and manufacturers serving various industries such as computer hardware, automotive, telecommunications including 5G, gaming, and medical devices. Customers also include manufacturers of automation equipment for semiconductor testing and industrial applications.

About Galaxy

Originally founded in 1998, Galaxy Semiconductor Solutions enjoyed for many years its position as the number one provider of test data analytics tools to the semiconductor industry as measured by number of customers. The launch of the new company in conjunction with the acquisition of several products designed by its predecessor, establishes Galaxy Semiconductor, Inc as the premier independent provider of test data analytics solutions for the semiconductor industry. Galaxy is focused on maintaining the current portfolio and also building powerful and exciting new solutions exclusively for this narrow & technically challenging market niche.

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP served as legal counsel to Galaxy Semiconductor, Inc.

More info at [email protected], or www.galaxysemi.com.

SOURCE Galaxy Semiconductor, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.galaxysemi.com


Photo: The Canadian Press

The Colorado governor on Thursday ordered prosecutors to reopen the investigation into the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man put into a chokehold by police who stopped him on the street in suburban Denver last year because he was being suspicious.

Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order directing state Attorney General Phil Weiser to investigate and possibly prosecute the three white officers previously cleared in McClain's death. McClain's name has become a rallying cry during the national reckoning over racism and police brutality following the deaths of George Floyd and others.

Elijah McClain should be alive today, and we owe it to his family to take this step and elevate the pursuit of justice in his name to a statewide concern, Polis said in a statement.

He said he had spoken with McClain's mother and was moved by her description of her son as a responsible and curious child ... who could inspire the darkest soul."

Police in Aurora responded to a call about a suspicious person wearing a ski mask and waving his arms as he walked down a street on Aug. 24. Police body-camera video shows an officer getting out of his car, approaching McClain and saying, Stop right there. Stop. Stop. ... I have a right to stop you because youre being suspicious.

Police say McClain refused to stop walking and fought back when officers confronted him and tried to take him into custody.

In the video, the officer turns McClain around and repeats, Stop tensing up. As McClain tries to escape the officers grip, the officer says, Relax, or Im going to have to change this situation.

As other officers join to restrain McClain, he begs them to let go and says, You guys started to arrest me, and I was stopping my music to listen.

One of the officers put him in a chokehold that cuts off blood to the brain, something that has been banned in several places in the wake of Floyd's death May 25 under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer and the global protests that followed.

In the video, McClain tells officers: Let go of me. I am an introvert. Please respect the boundaries that I am speaking. Those words have appeared on scores of social media posts demanding justice for McClain.

He was on the ground for 15 minutes as several officers and paramedics stood by. Paramedics gave him 500 milligrams of the sedative ketamine to calm him down, and he suffered cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital. McClain was declared brain dead Aug. 27 and was taken off life support three days later.
Four fifths of Fine Gaels electoral college have voted to enter coalition Government with Fianna Fail and the Green Party in Ireland.

Delegates representing different parts of Taoiseach Leo Varadkars party backed the proposed programme of government agreed with the leaders of historic rivals Fianna Fail and the Green Party by 80% to 20%.

Members of the parliamentary party and its ruling Executive Council delivered the greatest levels of support compared to 57% of local representatives.

The total vote cast was 674.

Counting of the votes of Fianna Fail and Green Party members is under way.

It has been 134 days since Irelands inconclusive general election.

Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the minority Green Party are attempting to secure grassroots backing for a proposed administration promising radical action on climate change.

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The two larger parties need the support of the Greens to have a working majority in the Irish parliament, equating to around 80 seats.

All eyes are on the Green Party as some members have indicated they will vote against the agreement, citing concerns about emissions and housing targets.

It needs the approval of two-thirds of its 2,000 members as opposed to a simple majority for Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

If the programme is endorsed, it would see Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, whose party has the most seats, become the next Irish premier.

Outgoing premier Mr Varadkar said on Thursday night that he believed the deal would get over the line.

He said: My view is the three parties will vote to go into coalition with each other and that the yes vote will be larger than people expect and that we will have a new government on Saturday.

Any administration will face an uphill task to restore an economy steered into recession by the coronavirus pandemic and government formation talks have been delayed by the emergency.

Sinn Fein won the popular vote in last winters general election in what its leader termed a revolution in the ballot box.

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A shortage of candidates on the ballot paper in the proportional representation vote meant its 37 seats trailed those of rivals in Dublins Dail parliament.

Attempts by party president Mary Lou McDonald to secure a coalition of the left have floundered.

Sinn Fein enjoyed a surge in support from young people discontented over lack of affordable housing.

The partys historic links to the IRA have always hampered its progress among older voters and coloured the decision of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael not to enter government with them.

Those two parties have for decades swapped power between them during change elections and harbour constitutional divisions dating back to the civil war a century ago.

Following months of negotiations, their leaders agreed to enter coalition together in an historic shift.

It would promote a clear ideological divide on the economy with an opposition dominated by left-wing voices, of which Sinn Feins would carry the strongest mandate.

Laws enabling the non-jury Special Criminal Court to continue trying suspected gangland criminals and dissident republicans could lapse at the end of this month should the deal to form a government be rejected.

Another general election is also a possibility.
The rumours quickly spread among the Syrian fighters in Libya. A group of mercenaries recently hired by the internationally recognised Libyan government were in hospital with serious chest infections.



Panic rippled through the ranks that it was the deadly coronavirus. No measures had been taken when they started their long trip from northern Syria via Turkey to Tripoli. No one had self-isolated, worn a mask or had a test.



We tried to find out more information but couldnt, said one fighter, among an estimated 6000 Syrians employed to support the Turkey-backed Libyas recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).







Read Full Story .... independ.co.uk >>> :

















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 is the obsession with black face? There's no excuse for any of these shows.

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It follows the long established pattern of boundary pushing by non-black people - but especially white people - to find a minimally obfuscated reason to engage in anti-black racist behaviors ranging from we cant even sing the n-word if its in a song to it wasnt black face, I just applied darker makeup and the age-old oh, it was just a joke!

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it was the height of the "we know it's offensive, but we don't mean it, we're just satirizing ignorant racists so it's okay!" era of comedies, and blackface is so widely reviled and recognized as wrong that it was the go-to for shock value

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Comedians dont like being told no on any subject.

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DING DING DING

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And I bet no one asked the black leads on this show for their thoughts when they did this in the first place, right?

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Can someone please explain to me why there were even black face episodes to begin with?? It's not fucking edgy or funny. jfc what is wrong with people?

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idk about scrubs but in community, he was supposed to be a dark elf or something dumb like that

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yeah, he's a Drow. not that it makes it any easier to see.

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I don't consider this to be blackface, and that episode was amazing.

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Even back then, it was pretty clear that they were looking for an excuse to cross that line while having plausible deniability. There's no joke if it doesn't look like blackface.

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i recently saw that episode for the first time and immediately googled about it to see what others said. the first article i saw was basically praising the show for having this character in blackface, and how it works because his character would be the one to do that??? it made me so uncomfortable, how they justified it.

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i wanted to watch the clip myself to form an opinion but this show is so annoying i was unable

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Yeah I don't get why all these relatively recent shows all have blackface episodes and sometimes MULTIPLE ones??!?!



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I dont watch sitcoms, never have, so my mind is boggled that 90s and 2000s were actually still doing it.

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The fact that those scenes existed in the first place...

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there's so many. why did any of these shows think this was a good idea

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I just wamt to know why there were "modern" shows with blackface in them to begin with. We knew loooong before the 2000s that shit wasn't necessary nor funny. No excuse.

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Mad Men also did it, but the show presented it as something bad, so idk

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I mean, that's true of other shows that have still pulled the episodes.



Mad Men's episode with blackface is a straight up minstrel show.

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community also does iirc. one of the black characters flat out says the blackface is a hate crime and she doesn't understand why no one else is addressing it.

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The Office did too, but I feel like ... we don't need to see it happening again to make a statement about how it's unacceptable.



If in the process of criticizing something you're increasing the instances of that thing happening, and the likelihood that someone affected by it will have to see it, it seems like you care more about patting yourself on the back and getting a knowing chuckle out of how "dumb" "actual" racists are vs. meaningfully improving media.



ETAThis is more about ~satire and stuff, I haven't seen Mad Men's scene specifically & it sounds like it doesn't have that self-congratulatory tone but idk.



Edited at 2020-06-26 09:45 pm (UTC)

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If I recall correctly, in Mad Men it happens at a Kentucky Derby party that Roger and his new wife Jane are throwing at the country club? Roger dons blackface and sings "My Old Kentucky Home". It's v uncomfortable and it's meant to be seen as such, but I don't recall other characters specifically calling it out????

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this is vile.

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what the actual fuck? HOW did this get written, approved, shot and aired?? just HOW

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I definitely don't remember these episodes of Scrubs (never saw them) but yikes.

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omg i didnt remember either of these at all and i watched scrubs all the time growing up. fucking trash.

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Ugh so unneccessary. Also is that actually zach braff's voice ? He sounds like Doug funnie

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were these episodes/scenes already removed? I watched Scrubs for the first time a few years ago on Netflix and I definitely did not see this at all.

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turkiot really could have just been white and bald and acted like turk or been turk in a blonde wig. they literally could have had this same stupid scene without the blackface.



The second one is just.



Edited at 2020-06-27 11:02 am (UTC)

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holy shit this is so inexcusable



you know you're a shitty/uncreative/stupid writer/showrunner when you have to resort to blackface jfc

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It's insane to me these "iconic" comedies threw blackface into their shows with some weird, misguided attempt to say "haha blackface is wrong, so wrong, look these stupid characters doing it and see how dumb they the are??" as if these characters operate of their own agencies. Fuckin sick

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IASIP needs to be next. none of these episodes should have ever been made in the first place but here we are

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They've been removed.

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I remember watching a Conan interview of the cast and he was asking why they did blackface and all of them smugly defended it and insisted it wasn't "typical" blackface. That's when as black viewer, I decided to peace out.



I will honestly flip a table Teresa-style if I found out of any of those idiots issued a "reflect and listen" apology.

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This was one of the many reasons I never watched that show (I even had to look up the acronym, heh). I grew out of my sitcoms with all white characters who are terrible people phase a long time ago.

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That's disappointing AF, but not sur

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i remember being disgusted when that episode came out, and i liked the show before that. i was like wtf, how is this really happening? even though we're supposed to see them as stupid ignorant losers, it still felt like the actors were dying to do black face. i stopped watching.

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How many blackface episodes are there?

I know dee has the Puerto Rican reporter episode and the episode where they are being portrayed by black actors?

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I forgot Community did Blackface

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I rewatched community recently and those moments definitely startled me. I had completely forgotten about it D:

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i remembered the blackface because shirley's line about it has popped into my head randomly for years --







but somehow i had forgotten that pierce makes at least one (iirc two?) references to raping neil's character's family, like, no joke, FULL VITRIOL, and then we are supposed to believe that they become friends after the episode??????? (i just rewatched community and basically everything involving pierce is heinous. also when he's consistently horrible and racist to shirley so they kick him out of the group, only to realize they *need* him in the group because without him they all start being mean to each other????? what the fuck)

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I just watched Community for the first time and Pierce was the worst part - Almost everyone grows a little bit beyond their trope, but Pierce doesn't ever learn or grow and he says and does such heinous shit.

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yeah pierce pissed me off so much this time around and for those same reasons. were we really supposed to laugh along with his bullshit?! as much as I enjoyed the show back then, I don't think I'll ever do another rewatch.

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that ep is when i actively started wanting him to be killed off. i've never understood why they kept having the group, particularly annie cape for him and his inclusion in the group. it made no sense at all.

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There were always so many rape jokes on that show. I remember watching the blooper reel and it was just non-stop rape jokes. I think the only ones who didn't participate were Gillian and Yvette and surprise surprise they were barely featured.

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What about Its Always Sunny???

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That was my first thought, especially Dee's latina impersonation.



Although i remember that within the show people kinda called her out? my memory is failing me...



Here it is. I guess people haven't called them out yet cause they've done so many shitty things that this is like one more thing to the long list, but still...





Edited at 2020-06-26 10:25 pm (UTC)

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In this episode and the Lethal Weapon episodes, the rest of the gang completely shit on Dee and Mac for their choices.



Except Frank but Frank is Frank.

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They're gone from Hulu.

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I don't care how many times someone recommeds that show, or how many iconic lines they have - I refuse to watch that show. The first episode being the N-word directed at a Black woman is just too much

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Didnt David Cross and Bob Odenkirk have a show where they did this??? Not a throwback Mr. Show but something fairly recent and they defended the skit.



James McGill now is not the time to disappoint in real life.

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Goddammmit Jimmy.

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aw man, i just looked it up and you're right. both tweeted in recent weeks in defence of the sketch. i knew david cross wasn't shit, should've suspected odenkirk would be as trashy as his buddy but i have so much love for him for old tim and eric (who likely also have skeletons in their closets) :(



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Im reading the Vulture write up on it now and Odenkirk with this whole ass chest said a lot of policemen are reasonable guys, just trying to get through their day



This aint the time man to defend ya minstrel sketch

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Got milk? If you or someone you know is in need, check out the Newville Milk Drop.

Volunteers and sponsors will gather at the Big Spring Community Lutheran Church in Newville on Saturday to distribute 450 gallons of whole milk and 450 half-gallons of chocolate milk.

This free event is open to the public.

The milk will come from Harrisburg Dairies, according to event organizer Marilyn Zinn.

We simply want to get whole milk into the community, she said.

The event stems from farmers who were looking for ways to get rid of their milk without wasting the product. Many had to dump produced milk when the coronavirus pandemic shut down some markets, such as schools. Zinn said that it is less of a problem than it was earlier this year.

Good Transportation, Nealand Farms, Keiths Farm and Dairy Supplies, Jems Ayrshires and Cargill Feeds are all sponsoring the event.

Harrisburg Dairies is also sponsoring the event and is providing the truck as well as the driver.

According to The Dairy Alliance, June is Dairy Month, which celebrates the nutritional value of milk and the communities built through the industry.

Zinn said Cumberland County Dairy Promotion Court member Krista Cohick will also appear at the event to advocate for dairy consumption.

The Newville Milk Drop is June 27 at the Big Spring Community Lutheran Church, at 101 Crossroads School Road in Newville.

It runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Anyone with questions should call (717) 377-1266.
All travellers entering Australia will be tested for COVID-19 upon entry and exit from their 14-day quarantine, the Chief Medical Officer says, while national cabinet has agreed to allow states and territories to double the number of people allowed in small premises.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy said despite outbreaks in Victoria, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee is "very, very comfortable with the way things are going" insisting the "mini-outbreak" in Victoria, was predicted, and "what we planned for".

Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Professor Murphy reiterated the importance of 14 days' quarantine for people arriving from overseas, noting the risk from people returning from overseas "is still very high" and "the country risk profile is changing all the time".

"We are going to start testing people on entry to quarantine and testing people before they leave quarantine to see whether a testing regime might help in the future," he said.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The Canadian Red Cross will send 900 people to work in Quebec's long-term care homes until September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.

The announcement came as the military prepares to pull out of the homes, despite repeated requests from Premier Francois Legault to keep at least 1,000 Forces members there until the fall.

Trudeau said 150 Red Cross personnel would arrive before July 6, with the balance arriving by July 29.

They will remain at the homes until September 15, by which time thousands of workers hired by the province are expected to be trained and ready to take over the jobs.

Trudeau said a small number of Canadian Armed Forces personnel will remain at four of the care homes until the COVID-19 situation is stable, while 10 teams of seven will be ready to deploy in the case of an emergency.

He praised the work of the soldiers, who were deployed to 47 Quebec care homes, known as CHSLDs, as well as to several homes in Ontario.

"Overall, the situation in the CHSLDs has greatly improved," he said at a stop at an Ottawa craft brewery. "The needs are no longer the same as they were two months ago."

More than 3,730 people have died of COVID-19 in Quebec's care homes, which have long suffered from a lack of staff.

Trudeau said the replacement of Armed Forces personnel with civilians was part of a "transition plan" created in conjunction with the province that would allow the soldiers to return to their regular duties.

The workers will be paid from the $100 million in federal funding the government announced for the Red Cross in May to help it meet the demand created by COVID-19.
As many as 98 per cent of shareholders voted to approve the measures at a general meeting on Thursday, Xinhua news agency quoted Lufthansa as saying in a tweet.

Berlin, June 26 (IANS) Shareholders of German flag carrier Deutsche Lufthansa gave the green light to the federal government's 9-billion-euro ($10 billion) stabilization package, the company said.

Earlier on Thursday, the European Commission's competition officials also approved the rescue package.

The package of loans and various measures was offered via Germany's Economic Stabilization Fund in late May to help the airline weather the coronavirus crisis.

Before the general meeting of shareholders was held, the package had already been approved by both the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of the company.

In Lufthansa's tweet, CEO Carsten Spohr said that Thursday's decision "ensures outlook for the future".

The tweet also said that the flight schedules of the group's airlines will be further expanded.

Due to the impact of the pandemic, the flag carrier had announced earlier this month that it planned to lay off a total of 22,000 full-time employees and also reduce its fleet by around 100 aircraft.

--IANS

ksk/
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 06:14:28|Editor: huaxia

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DUBLIN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Most of the party members of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Green Party in Ireland on Friday voted in favour of a deal reached earlier by their party leaders on forming a coalition government, Ireland's National Television and Radio Broadcaster RTE reported.

Fianna Fail voted 74 percent in favour of backing the deal reached by its leader Micheal Martin with Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan on June 15 while 80 percent of Fine Gael party members and 76 percent of Green Party members supported the deal in their separate votes, said the report.

The endorsement of the deal by the members of the three parties means that a new coalition government in Ireland has eventually been formed after months of delay partially due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the deal reached among the three parties, Fianna Fail leader Martin will become the new prime minister of Ireland for the first half of the five-year term of the new government and after that the role of prime minister will be passed on to Fine Gael leader Varadkar until the end of the term of the new government.

It will be the first time in Ireland's history that a prime minister role of a government will be played on a rotating basis, according to local media reports.

Martin's nomination as the country's new prime minister is set to be approved at a special meeting to be convened by the lower house of the Irish parliament at Convention Centre Dublin on Saturday morning, RTE reported, adding that a new cabinet will also be revealed on Saturday.

It is not known yet what role in the new government will be given to Green Party leader Ryan, who has played a crucial part in forming the new government.

It has been reported that both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have made considerable concessions to Green Party in forming the new government, especially to the 7-percent greenhouse emissions reduction target proposed by Green Party as a main condition for entering a coalition government with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

Both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael need Green Party in forming a sustainable government.

According to Irish laws, a government can only be formed if it can win a simple majority of support in the lower house of the Irish parliament.

Following the general election on Feb. 8, Fianna Fail won 38 seats in the 160-seat lower house, followed by Sinn Fein (37 seats), Fine Gael (35 seats) and Green Party (12 seats), with the remaining seats going to other smaller parties and independents.

As both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael refused to enter a government with Sinn Fein, a left-wing party in Ireland, they both turned to Green Party in the belief that such a combination can ensure a sustainable government to a maximum possible extent. Enditem
Turkish churches vandalized, Christians becoming 'scapegoat' amid pandemic woes: SAT-7

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Attacks on churches in Turkey have spiked during the coronavirus pandemic as some blame Christians for the crisis and other social woes, according to a leading international Christian satellite television network.

SAT-7, which broadcasts Christian programming into the Middle East and North Africa, warns that angry individuals have attacked churches, including incidents of attempted arson and removals of crosses, as coronavirus-fueled anger" has led to a "climate of fear [and] hatred."

In Turkey, there have been at least 191,000 cases of coronavirus and 5,000 related deaths as of Thursday. Even before the pandemic, Turkey was experiencing economic struggles with increasing unemployment, a problem made worse by coronavirus-related financial hardships.

In a statement to media this week, SAT-7 warned that some Turks have been looking for a scapegoat to vent their anger, which has put Christians and other minorities in the direct line of protests.

We know firsthand the climate of hatred and its devastating effects on Turkey and on the churches exposed to it, Turkish SAT-7 presenter Senem Ekener said. We aim to counter that with lives that reflect Christ.

In early May, a person attempted to set the front gate of the Dznunt Surp Asdvadzadzin Armenian Church in Istanbul on fire. No officials of the church were hurt and the gate sustained no structural damage.

Church leadership filed a complaint with police and were told that authorities would do all they could to catch the perpetrator. The Armenia-based News.am reports that a suspect was apprehended.

This week, a Turkish citizen named Mazlum Serin was sentenced to five years and four months in prison after he was caught on camera breaking a cross on the gate of the Surp Krikor Lusavoric Armenian Church in Istanbul on May 23.

According to Middle East Monitor, Serin told investigators that he was just angry that day and didnt plan or intend to harm the church, adding that he respects all religions. Serin was charged with the crime of damaging places of worship and cemeteries.

SAT-7 is the only Christian network that broadcasts every day in the Turkish language. It is trying to use its platform to get the point across that Christians are not a threat and to encourage local Christians to respond to the attacks by living out their faith with love and taking the path of peace.

The pandemic has created fear and frustration in Turkey, with Christians sometimes being blamed for the problem, SAT-7 President Rex Rogers said in a statement.

According to the nongovernmental organization International Christian Concern, Armenian churches in Turkey are not strangers to vandalism and defacement. The group warned in a statement Wednesday that attackers of churches and Christians often escape justice.

Turkish media also perpetuates and even encourages these incidents, making it even more common for justice to remain fleeting, ICC, a United States-based advocacy group, contends. Turkeys media is mostly state-run and it frequently posts hate speech directed toward Christians, Jews, and other religious minorities. These instances of hate speech are often linked to an increase in persecution incidents.

ICC reported in May that the Turkish magazine Gercek Hayat published a 176-page special edition that alleges key religious minority leaders, including Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, are part of a terrorist movement and accused them of staging the 2016 coup attempt of trying to overthrow the Erdogan government.

According to ICC, religious leaders condemned the allegations and warned that they could incite attacks and desecration.

A similar accusation was made against American missionary Andrew Brunson, who spent two years in a Turkish prison before being allowed to return home to the U.S. in October 2018.

Alexander Gorlach, a senior fellow with the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and a senior research associate at the Religion & International Studies Institute at Cambridge University, warned in a recent op-ed that Christians are becoming a welcome scapegoat for Ankara, even on issues relating to Syria and Libya.

The marginalization of Turkey's Christians isn't new for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: He's been busy reorganizing his secular republic into a mixture of Ottomanism and Islam for some time now, Gorlach stated.

Turkey, one of the worlds largest Muslim countries, ranks as the 36th-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA, a U.S.-based group monitoring persecution in 60 countries.

Open Doors notes in an online fact page about Turkey that media reporting on Christians there is very biased, resulting in discrimination.

Those from ethnic minorities, such as Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Syriac Christians, experience discrimination in the workplace, especially where employers have government ties, Open Doors warns. Religious affiliation is recorded on ID cards, so its easy to discriminate against Christian applicants.
UK radio ham answers call for help ARRL report UK radio amateur Maxis Johnston GM0MRJ answered a call for help made on DMR by an amateur in Massapequa, New York



The ARRL say:



When Richard Tashner, N2EO, of Massapequa, New York, suffered a medical emergency on May 18, his DMR radio was closer than his phone. His call for help was answered by Maxis Johnston, GM0MRJ, who put out a call for anyone in the states.



Kent County Amateur Radio Club member Ken Dix, KB2KBD, in Delaware heard the call on the local 146.91 MHz repeater, which was linked to the North American talk group. Dix called authorities in Tashners vicinity, and help was dispatched.



Dix said the dispatcher in New York was able to hear part of the call and was amazed at how an amateur radio communication had gone from New York to Scotland to Delaware and then back to New York. The dispatcher expressed surprise at how quickly the information had been relayed across the Atlantic. The Delaware repeater, at the Delaware State Communications complex, is set on C4FM Fusion and linked to DMR on America's Net.

 Thanks to the ARES E-Letter via Jerry Palmer, N3KRX



Source ARRL

http://www.arrl.org/news/radio-amateur-s-call-for-help-relayed-from-across-the-atlantic


Content Partner Engineer Santa Clara Valley (Cupertino) , California , United States Software and Services Summary

Posted: Jun 26, 2020 Role Number: 200177837 The Apple TV Services Teams What happens when the world's most innovative engineers collaborate with the world's most creative storytellers? TV gets reinvented. Meet the reinventors: The Apple TV Services teams created and manage the Apple TV app as well as tvOS, which redefined and refined the way people watch their favorite shows, movies, and so much more - including everything they love from the major subscription services. Today, these teams also manage one of the most exciting new realms at Apple: They bring viewers the critically acclaimed and award-winning Apple Originals in Apple TV+. And they've engineered it so Apple TV+ can be enjoyed not only on Apple devices, but also directly on many new televisions and third-party streaming devices. To deliver Apple-level quality on a global scale, these engineers employ talent and tools to smoothly ingest and process a wide array of media assets. They work cross-functionally to handle video flow from content ingestion, playback, transcoding, and virtually everything else it takes to make the experience as seamless as possible. Join them to see what else is possible. Areas of work include macOS/iOS Engineering, Full-Stack Engineering, Front-End Engineering, Back-End Engineering, Quality Engineering, Machine Learning Engineering, Data Science, Data Engineering, Site Reliability Engineering, Commerce Engineering, and Engineering Project Management. As part of a team, you will work closely with our partners to migrate the Apple TV app onto new platforms. This role will collect and understand the requirements for new platforms, clearly communicate those requirements with the larger team, and help manage the pipeline of new features and issues being reported. As issues are reported you will engage with partners to investigate & debug issues, help to resolve problems , provide solutions and triage appropriately. Manage the technical engagement with our partner platforms Help with initial app bring up on new platforms First line debugging and triaging of issues Collaborate with internal and external engineering teams to communicate requirements, issues, and resolutions Key Qualifications 2 to 6+ years experience with video technologies including HTTP live streaming

You have a deep understanding of computer science fundamentals (data structures, design, performance, debugging,..)

You bring extensive experience with scripting languages, in particular Javascript, but others such as python or bash are useful as well.

Strong experience with data interchange formats such as XML, JSON Experience with Objective C and Swift.

You also have experience with iOS and tvOS app development and release

Comfortable using a shell environment and common system utilities such as ssh, grep, tail

We value experience working with QA/QC, issue tracking and documentation

You have the ability to work with and lead multiple projects and timelines, so time management will be crucial.

You love collaborating under tight deadlines and tackle problems with imaginative and elegant solutions.

You are excited about reaching millions of users across our many platforms

You bring an affinity for Apple Media Products and digital content, in general.

Strong communications skills

Able to manage multiple projects

Problem solver

C/C++, Javascript, NodeJS, OpenGL

Experience with multi-platform development (Linux, Android, embedded)

Understands the full video stack, including HLS and content protection Description Engage with external partners as they integrate their content with Apple TV App, and other Video features. You will provide support to external partners by investigating issues and help to provide solutions for integration. Evaluate partner video streams, and serve as liaison to internal video groups to help problem solve. Responsible for reporting vendor progress and tracking issues to resolution. Responsible for tracking vendor feedback on new feature requests. You will work with a team of engineers who are passionate about building new technologies and tools. Education & Experience BS CS/CE/EE or equivalent experience


WASHINGTON - The Democratic-controlled House approved a bill Friday to make the District of Columbia the 51st state, saying Congress has both the moral obligation and constitutional authority to ensure that the citys 700,000 residents are allowed full voting rights, no longer subject to taxation without representation.

Lawmakers approved the bill, 232-180, largely along party lines, marking the first time a chamber of Congress has passed a D.C. statehood bill. Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson was the sole Democrat to oppose the bill. No Republican voted for it.

The legislation now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate, where it faces insurmountable opposition from GOP leaders.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the districts non-voting representative in Congress, sponsored the bill, saying it has both the facts and Constitution on its side.

D.C.s population is larger than those of Wyoming and Vermont, and the new state would be one of seven with populations under one million, she said. The citys $15.5 billion annual budget is larger than those of 12 states, and D.C.s triple-A bond rating is higher than those of 35 states, Norton said.

Opponents, mostly Republicans, called the bill a power grab for the firmly Democratic city, and said the nations founding fathers intended the capital to be separate from the other states.

This is about power. Make no mistake about it, said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. The bill would fundamentally alter what D.C is, he added.

Norton, who has served as D.C. delegate since 1991, said the issue is deeply personal for her and thousands of other city residents who have long been disenfranchised. Her great-grandfather Richard Holmes escaped slavery at a Virginia plantation and made it as far as D.C., a walk to freedom but not to equal citizenship, she said. For three generations my family has been denied the rights other Americans take for granted.

Congress has two choices, she added. It can continue to exercise undemocratic, autocratic authority over the 705,000 American citizens, treating them, in the words of Frederick Douglass, as aliens, not citizens, but subjects. Or Congress can live up to this nations promise and ideals, end taxation without representation and pass the statehood bill.

The bill would create a new state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, in honour of the Virginia-born first president and the Maryland-born abolitionist and former slave.

The bill also would reduce the size of the federal district to a tourist-friendly area that includes the White House, the Capitol, the Supreme Court, federal monuments and the federal executive, legislative and judicial office buildings adjacent to the National Mall and the Capitol. Congress would retain control of that 2-square-mile area.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser invoked Douglass as she hailed the historic vote bringing the city closer than ever to becoming the 51st state.

More than 160 years ago, Washingtonian Frederick Douglass told us: Power concedes nothing without a demand, Bowser said. As Washingtonians and as taxpaying American citizens, we are demanding what is owed to us  the rights guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution. It is past time to fix this injustice.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., blasted the bill ahead of the House vote. In a Senate speech, he dismissed Washington, D.C., as a city with little more to offer than lobbyists and federal workers.

Yes, Wyoming is smaller than Washington by population, but it has three times as many workers in mining, logging and construction, and 10 times as many workers in manufacturing, Cotton said. In other words, Wyoming is a well-rounded working-class state.

Cotton also criticized Democrats for prioritizing the D.C. statehood vote while there is mob violence in the streets. Recent protests near the White House required force by federal law enforcement officers under federal control, he said.

Would you trust Mayor Bowser to keep Washington safe if she were given the powers of a governor? Would you trust Marion Barry? Cotton added referring to current and former mayors, both Black.

Cottons remarks stirred outrage on social media, with many describing the remarks as racist. D.C. has a large African American population and was once known as Chocolate City, although it is no longer majority Black.

Supporters said the bill has become even more important in the aftermath of protests for racial justice in both Washington and across the nation. Democratic leaders scheduled the vote after the Trump administrations much-criticized move to use federal forces to clear Lafayette Square near the White House of peaceful protesters so that President Donald Trump could trumpet his law and order credentials in a photo op.

There shouldnt be troops from other states in Washington, D.C., said Bowser.  There shouldnt be federal forces advancing against Americans, and there very definitely shouldnt be soldiers stationed around our city waiting for the go to attack Americans in a local policing matter.

Trump said last month that D.C. will never be a state because it would likely mean two more Democratic senators. No, thank you. Thatll never happen, he said.

But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the rights of D.C. residents should transcend political calculations.

We are the only free country in the world, from all our research, that doesnt have a voting member of their parliament in their country. We call our parliament Congress, Hoyer said.

Recent events have focused national attention on the citys plight. Earlier this year, when Congress passed the CARES Act stimulus package, the capital was classified as a territory rather than a state  a distinction that cost Washington more than $700 million in federal funding.

All District laws are subject to review by a congressional committee, which can veto them or alter them by attaching riders to federal appropriations bills. During GOP control of Congress, conservatives have sought, mostly unsuccessfully, to restrict some of the citys liberal initiatives such as needle exchanges for drug users and abortions under its Medicaid program.
AYBINTIO , a biosimilar candidate referencing Avastin i (bevacizumab), is Samsung Bioepis' second oncology biosimilar to be recommended for marketing authorization by the European Medicines Agency



, a biosimilar candidate referencing Avastin (bevacizumab), is Samsung Bioepis' second oncology biosimilar to be recommended for marketing authorization by the European Medicines Agency AYBINTIO is recommended for the treatment of the same types of cancer as reference bevacizumab

INCHEON, Korea, June 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. today announced that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion for AYBINTIO, a biosimilar candidate referencing Avastini (bevacizumab). AYBINTIO has been recommended for approval for the treatment of the same types of cancer as reference bevacizumab in the European Union (EU)ii,iii, including metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum (mCRC), metastatic breast cancer (mBC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), advanced and/or metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC), epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube and primary peritoneal cancer and cervical cancer. The CHMP's positive opinion will now be reviewed by the European Commission (EC) to decide on granting marketing authorization for AYBINTIO.

"We are delighted by our progress in expanding patient access to high-quality biopharmaceuticals," said Hee Kyung Kim, Senior Vice President, Clinical Science and Regulatory Affairs at Samsung Bioepis. "Once approved, AYBINTIO will be a valuable treatment option for different types of cancers, potentially helping many patients across Europe."

The Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for AYBINTIO was supported by a comprehensive data package and totality of evidence which included analytical, pharmacokinetic (PK) and clinical data, as well as pharmacology and toxicology data. These data demonstrated that AYBINTIO and reference bevacizumab are highly similar with no clinically meaningful differences. Further, the company submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) for AYBINTIO in September 2019 and is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

About Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd.

Established in 2012, Samsung Bioepis is a biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing healthcare that is accessible to everyone. Through innovations in product development and a firm commitment to quality, Samsung Bioepis aims to become the world's leading biopharmaceutical company. Samsung Bioepis continues to advance a broad pipeline of biosimilar candidates that cover a spectrum of therapeutic areas, including immunology, oncology, ophthalmology and hematology. Samsung Bioepis is a joint venture between Samsung BioLogics and Biogen. For more information, please visit: www.samsungbioepis.com and follow us on social media - Twitter , LinkedIn .

MEDIA CONTACT

Evelyn Hong: +82-31-8061-1215, eubene.hong@samsung.com

Na Yun Kim: +82-31-8061-1604, nayun86.kim@samsung.com

Yoon Kim: +82-31-8061-1783, yoon1.kim@samsung.com

_________________________

i Avastin is a registered trademark of Genentech Inc.

ii European Medicines Agency. Avastin Summary of Product Characteristics. Available at https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/product-information/avastin-epar-product-information_en.pdf [Accessed May 2020]

iii AYBINTIO is recommended for the treatment of certain types of cancer, including in combination with fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy for metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum; in combination with paclitaxel for metastatic breast cancer; in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy for unresectable advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) other than predominantly squamous cell histology; in combination with erlotinib for unresectable advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-squamous NSCLC with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) activating mutations; in combination with interferon alfa-2a for advanced and/or metastatic renal cell cancer; in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel for advanced (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages III B, III C and IV) epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer; in combination with carboplatin and gemcitabine or in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel for platinum-sensitive epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer; in combination with topotecan, or pegylated liposomal doxorubicin for platinum-resistant recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer; and in combination with paclitaxel and cisplatin, or alternatively, paclitaxel and topotecan for persistent, recurrent, or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix. AYBINTIO is not recommended for use in combination with paclitaxel for the treatment of adult patients with platinum-resistant recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.
New Delhi, June 26 : Was the donation from the Chinese Embassy towards the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) just a tip of the iceberg or was it an aberration? IANS has learnt that between 2004 and 2005, the Foundation, which is now run by Sonia Gandhi, had ran the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies (RGICS), which in turn was linked to a body that the US government in a 'staff research report' in 2018 called a "front organisation", which performed "dual roles of intelligence collection and conducting propaganda and perception management campaigns".

In other words, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which is in the eye of a political storm right now, had association with a Chinese body between 2004 and 2005 which the US government alleged in 2018 to be involved in intelligence collection.

The RGF in its website claims that the role of Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies involved primarily research activities, activities with schools and the China Association for International Friendly Contact (CAIFC).

Now the role of CAIFC has become a matter of concern. The US published a report in August 2018 under the name "China's overseas United Front Work: Background and implications for the United States".

It was written by Alexander Bowe, who was a policy analyst in security and foreign affairs. The report alleged, "...the China Association for International Friendly Contact (CAIFC), a front organisation for the former General Political Department, performs dual roles of intelligence collection and conducting propaganda and perception management campaigns..." The report also alleged that CAIFC, along with a host of Chinese organisations, work at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The report further alleged that CAIFC is part of many other organisations which the Liaison Department of the former People's Liberation Army General Political Department (GPD), "facilitated".

This new revelation has come in the wake of the BJP citing donations made by the Chinese Embassy and the government of the People's Republic of China to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which was also alleged to have received donations from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

In fact, on Friday, BJP President J.P. Nadda lashed out at the Congress, saying, "PMNRF, meant to help people in distress, was donating money to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in the UPA years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Sonia Gandhi. Who chairs RGF? Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics and processes and not bothering about transparency." In the backdrop of rising anti-China sentiments across the country after 20 Indian soldiers were martyred in eastern Ladakh on June 15 following a bloody clash with the Chinese People's Liberation Army troops, the association between the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and China has put the grand old party in an uncomfortable position.

Now RGF's past association with a Chinese front organisation alleged to have intelligence collection background coming to fore has surely complicated the matter for the Congress, whose interim President now heads the Foundation named after her deceased husband.

IANS contacted at least three Congress spokespersons, including its chief spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala. However, no one responded.

Earlier, speaking about the RGF's donation allegations, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera had termed it as a "diversionary tactic", while alleging that "the government is fighting the Congress instead of fighting China".

However, the BJP was unsparing. Reacting to the development, BJP's social media wing shief Amit Malviya told IANS, "Is this association between the RGF and CAIFC surprising? It is a reassertion of what we have always been claiming." (Anindya Banerjee can be contacted at Anindya.b@ians.in)
The upcoming intra-Afghan dialogue is the first high-level meeting between the two after years of fighting.

A watchdog in the United States has warned that systemic corruption within the Afghan government is weakening its bargaining position in upcoming peace negotiations with the Taliban, even as the armed group said it was ready and had compiled its agenda for the long-awaited talks.

John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, said the Taliban and other fighters underscored the governments corruption, using it to undermine public support for the government, garner recruits to their cause and weaken the governments bargaining position during future peace negotiations.

It is the most insidious threat the Afghan government faces because it saps the support of citizens who are trying to go about their daily work, feed their families, and live free of fear and intimidation, Sopko told a monitoring group known as Integrity Watch Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, about 50 civil society activists in Kabul rallied on Thursday against corruption, urging the International Monetary Fund to rescind a $220m loan given last month to the Afghan government to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.





Afghanistan has reported more than 30,000 cases, including 675 deaths, but testing is severely limited, and experts say the number of infections is likely much higher.

The protesters said the government has already wasted billions of international money. Najibullah Azad, who led a group of lawyers, doctors and economists in the protest, said government corruption is devouring international money and that he feared the IMFs $220m would disappear.

Sopko criticised Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis government, saying it only paid lip service to fighting corruption, ticking off the boxes rather than implementing changes and arresting some of the worst offenders.

The private sector and particularly international investors  who care far more about their own bottom line  will not overlook Afghanistans failure to tackle the corruption challenge, he said.

Afghanistans leaders must come to realise that in the end, private sector investment will matter far more to their countrys future than international donors, because after 19 years of war, foreign governments, including the United States, are growing weary of paying Afghanistans bills.

https://twitter.com/IntegrityWatchA/status/1275769535350681606?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

International donors cover 75 percent of Afghanistans operating budget and the US alone pays $4bn annually to finance the war-torn countrys military and security forces.

200615054551706

Ghanis spokesman Sediq Sediqqi objected to Sopkos criticism, insisting that the government has done a lot to tackle corruption and that has to be seen.

No date has yet been set for negotiations but Deborah Lyons, the UN special representative to Afghanistan, told the UN Security Council on Thursday that she was cautiously optimistic the talks could start in July in Qatar, where the Taliban maintains a political office.

One of the obstacles to the start of the negotiations has been the exchange of prisoners, envisaged under a deal the Taliban signed with the US at the end of February.

That accord  and the Afghan-Taliban talks that were meant to follow  are seen as Afghanistans best chance for peace and an opportunity for US and NATO troops to leave the country after nearly two decades of fighting.

The Talibans political spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, told The Associated Press that the Afghan government has so far released 3,500 Taliban prisoners.

The US-Taliban deal calls for 5,000 Taliban prisoners to be freed by Kabul. It also said the Taliban should free 1,000 government personnel, including military men, they hold captive.
URBANA  Friends of the Geese are hosting a memorial service Saturday for the 175 geese killed this week by the Urbana Park District in its charity harvest.

Please wear dark clothes if you can, bring a candle, and some small token to leave in Crystal Lake Park for the spirits of these brave and faithful animals, organizer Susan Parenti said in an email.

The park district held the harvest Monday morning to bring the population to a manageable level; 35 geese were released back into the park.

Since the park district board unanimously approved the harvest in May, the Friends of the Geese have protested in front of the park twice a week.

The group plans to meet at 5 p.m. at the Lake House for the memorial.

In this Memorial well also remember the attempts happening right now to halt brutality, to increase care, Parenti wrote. To stand up for an animal does not mean to stand down for humans.

The park district received its permit from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the state department and U.S. Department of Agriculture managed the geese collection.

The geese were loaded into transport crates, which were put on vehicles with trailers. From there, they were taken to a poultry processing plant, with the to be donated to a food bank.
Tsukuba, Japan - When most of us think of dinosaurs, we envision large, lumbering beasts, but these giants shared their ecosystems with much smaller dinosaurs, the smaller skeletons of which were generally less likely to be preserved. The fossilized egg shells of these small dinosaurs can shed light on this lost ecological diversity.

Led by the University of Tsukuba, researchers scoured an exceptional fossil egg site first discovered in 2015 in Hyogo Prefecture, southwestern Japan, and reported their findings in a new study published in Cretaceous Research.

The Kamitaki Egg Quarry, found in a red-brown mudstone layer of the Ohyamashimo Formation, deposited in an Early Cretaceous (about 110 million years old) river flood plain, was carefully and intensively excavated in the winter of 2019, and yielded over 1300 egg fossils. Most were isolated fragments, but there were a few partial and almost complete eggs.

According to lead author Professor Kohei Tanaka, "our taphonomic analysis indicated that the nest we found was in situ, not transported and redeposited, because most of the eggshell fragments were positioned concave-up, not concave-down like we see when egg shells are transported."

Most of these fossil eggs belong to a new egg genus and species, called Himeoolithus murakamii, and are exceptionally small, with an estimated mass of 9.9 grams--about the size of a modern quail egg. However, biological classification analysis implies that the eggs belonged not to early birds, but to their cousins, the non-avian theropod dinosaurs (the group that includes well-known carnivores like Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor). That puts Himeoolithus murakamii among the smallest non-avian theropod eggs reported to date. These tiny eggs were notably elongated in shape--unusual for similarly small eggs among Cretaceous birds, but typical among larger non-avian theropod eggs.

In addition to the abundant Himeoolithus murakamii egg shells, five more ootaxa (distinct types of egg fossils) were recognized in the Kamitaki locality. All of these ootaxa belonged to small non-avian theropods.

As Professor Tanaka explains, "the high diversity of these small theropod eggs makes this one of the most diverse Early Cretaceous egg localities known. Small theropod skeletal fossils are quite scarce in this area. Therefore, these fossil eggs provide a useful window into the hidden ecological diversity of dinosaurs in the Early Cretaceous of southwestern Japan, as well as into the nesting behavior of small non-avian theropods."

###
When the coronavirus prompted states to order residents to stay at home in March, unemployment surged around the country as huge parts of the economy slowed or stopped. Soon after, there were calls for philanthropists, charitably inclined people and even occasional donors to accelerate any giving they were planning to do.

They stepped up, it turns out, giving more and giving faster then they typically do.

The needs were urgent. Virus-related charities and social service agencies, like food banks, were thrust into an immediate role whose size and scope they were not prepared for. At the same time, arts organizations and other nonprofit groups that depend on sales of tickets to their shows and productions suddenly had no audience.

To encourage donations, the CARES Act expanded the amount of cash contributions that could be taken as a tax deduction. But the focus of the call to action was firmly on foundations and donor-advised funds, which have huge pools of money that can go only to charity.

Now three months after the initial outbreak, two reports show that Americans gave at a rate and a level that eclipsed donations during the 2008 recession and after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
A 32-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of two men at an outdoor lockdown party in Manchester.

Police made arrested the suspect, from the Birmingham area, following their investigation of the murder of two men in Moss Side, just south of Manchester.

She remains in custody for questioning as police continue to appeal for information.

At around 12.55am on 21 June 2020, police were called to reports that gun shots on Caythorpe Street in Moss Side.

Police wear protective clothing and masks as they arrive to the scene of the fatal shootings in the Manchester today

A short time later, police were made aware that two men had arrived at hospital with gunshot wounds.

Despite the best efforts of medical professionals, 36-year-old Abayomi Ajose and 21-year-old Cheriff Tall sadly died.

The families of the victims are being kept up to date with the progress of the investigation by specialist liaison officers.

Detective Inspector Andrew Butterworth said: 'Firstly, our thoughts are with the victims' loved ones, who are understandably devastated.

At around 12.55am on 21 June 2020, police were called to reports that gun shots on Caythorpe Street in Moss Side. 36-year-old Abayomi Ajose was taken to hospital but sadly died

Cheriff Tall, 21, was also shot in the horrific incident, and died from his injuries in hospital

'A thorough and fast-paced investigation is already well under way to establish the full circumstances surrounding this incident and arrest those responsible. As we speak, dedicated teams of officers are carrying out house to house inquiries and reviewing CCTV.

'We are aware that, in the hours before this incident, there was a community event in Moss Side.

'This event was monitored by Greater Manchester Police in conjunction with partner agencies - it was not an illegal rave and it had concluded prior to this incident.

'We know that there were a number of people in the area at the time and, if they haven't already, I appeal directly to them or anyone else with information, photographs or videos which may aid our investigation, to contact police straight away.

'Finally, I would like to use this opportunity to offer the community some reassurance.

'I understand this news will cause concern but there will be an increased police presence in the area throughout today and the coming week - I would encourage anyone with any concerns at all to speak.'

Earlier this week, Greater Manchester Police vowed to take 'serious action' to deter more illegal raves after two gatherings in Trafford and Oldham last weekend.

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 6777 quoting 221 of 21/06/20 or the independent charity, Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Any photos or videos should be uploaded to scd.cctv@gmp.police.uk. This can be done anonymously.
Mahavir Chopra

The pandemic has forced the delivery of a large number of services to be moved online. Telemedicine offers great convenience to many who need to consult a doctor without having to travel to a medical centre or hospital during the lockdown. Teleconsultation has been a boon for people living in Tier 2, Tier 3 towns and even rural areas of the country, where the availability of quality healthcare is an issue.

A recent IRDAI circular has now advised insurers to recognize telemedicine as a valid doctor consultation. IRDAI issued these instructions in lieu of guidelines issued by the Medical Council of India that allowed doctors to provide teleconsultations through telephone, emails and text messages using social media avenues such as WhatsApp and Skype.

Insurers will soon lay down claim processes that accept teleconsultation as a substitute to doctor consultations covered by a health insurance policy.

How the coverage works

Pre and Post Hospitalization Expenses: Doctor consultations are usually covered under pre and post-hospitalization expenses of a standard health insurance plan. With the recent guidelines, you will now be able to claim for teleconsultations as a substitute to face-to-face consultations. Teleconsultations will be covered under similar conditions applicable to Pre and post-hospitalization expenses.- The teleconsultation should be for a condition for which the person insured is/was hospitalized.- The consultation is within the specified time period before the admission or after the discharge from the hospital.

- The expenses for the final treatment in the hospital are covered as per the terms and conditions of the health insurance policy.

ePrescriptions generated under Teleconsultations: Apart from pre and post-hospitalization, doctor prescriptions are also required as proof to account for expenses related to follow-up consultation with specialist doctors, carrying out investigative diagnostic tests, or ordering medicines before and after hospitalization. With this circular, insurers are likely to accept ePrescriptions issued by Doctors during teleconsultations as valid documents.

While you should wait for your insurer to issue guidelines in this respect, in case you need to take any teleconsultations in the interim, ensure the following:

- Use only a credible app, website, or service to consult a doctor through telemedicine.- All receipts and prescriptions should have the name of the doctor and his registration number.- All receipts should be system generated and have a unique receipt number.- Retain all the records of consultation within the healthcare app or website.

- You can additionally keep a record of all the consultations as a screenshot in your device.

(The writer is the founder of Beshak.org)
Courtesy NetflixDemi Lovato co-stars in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, which debuts on Netflix Friday. The comedy, starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, is about musicians competing to represent Iceland in the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Demi plays Katiana, the top contender, and director David Dobkin tells ABC Audio he was surprised she agreed to do it.

"We do some weird stuff with her visually," Dobkin explains. "I don't want to say what that is, but I was worried when we sent it to her that she was gonna be like, 'Ewww, I don't want to do that!'" But she's like, 'Oh, my God, that's the reason I wanted to do it...the fact that you were gonna f***k me up like that, that was cool!'"

But on a serious note, Dobkin says getting her to make the film was actually difficult, because during that time, she was laying low following her 2018 overdose.

"She had not really been out in the world with her music or any of her story at that time," he explains. "She was taking a risk. I know her manager was like, 'Hey, I just wanna make sure she's taken care of.' And I was like, "I promise you, this will be a really great experience for her." And we had so much fun!"

He also confirms that Demi, "loved the movie when she saw it."

Dobkin also reveals that during the shoot in August and September of 2019, he got an early listen to Demi's new album, which she still hasn't released.

"I don't think anyone knew [she was recording]," Dobkin recalls. "And I was like, 'Oh my God, you have a whole album ready to go!'"

Hopefully, we'll get to hear that album in the near future.

By Andrea Dresdale & Jason Nathanson

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) is moving forward with plans to close the State Correctional Institution at Retreat by Saturday, according to a press release.

Though the DOC will maintain minimal operations at the facility in Hunlock Creek, Luzerne County, in case it is needed to deal with a future COVID-19 outbreak, it already has relocated employees at the SCI Retreat to other facilities within a 65-mile radius, with some employees choosing different positions within the department or commonwealth and others retiring.

I would like to thank SCI Retreat employees for stepping up to the challenge of turning their facility into a reception facility during the COVID-19 pandemic, DOC Executive Deputy Secretary for Institutional Operations Tabb Bickell said. They made a huge impact on our work to slow the spread of the virus throughout our system.

Prison staff tested 1,166 inmates during the period that SCI Retreat was used as a reception facility during the COVID-19 pandemic, with only 13 positive results, the release said.

This COVID-19 testing figure from SCI Retreat shows that a very small number of individuals coming to our system are positive, and I believe that is a good reflection on both the county and state prison systems as well as the overall mitigation efforts and leadership under Gov. Tom Wolf, said Secretary of Corrections John Wetzel.

In anticipation of SCI Retreats closure, DOC officials directed that beginning Friday, SCI Coal Township in Northumberland County and SCI Greene in Greene County will serve as parole violator reception facilities for the eastern and western parts of the state, respectively. The focus will be on moving individuals through the parole process using strong reentry planning. Parole violators needing detox services will be sent to SCI Smithfield in Huntingdon County. Following successful detox, parole violators will then be moved to Coal Township or Greene for programming, according to the press release.

The DOC also announced that beginning Monday, SCI Camp Hill in Cumberland County will again be accepting new court commitments from counties. Such new commitments only will be received every other week at SCI Camp Hill, which will allow the prison to place newly received inmates in cohorts to minimize the impact COVID-19 might have on the system moving forward.

READ MORE:

Pa. corrections secretary draws more fire for remarks about planned prison closing, and he says he deserves it

York County man pulled gun on his neighbor during argument over extremely loud firework: state police

19-year-old charged after shooting in Harrisburg neighborhood: police
A Carnival Australia executive says he was unaware the ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise ship was low on medical supplies and swabs for on-board COVID-19 tests.

Carnival Australia guest experience senior vice president Peter Little told the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Ruby Princess that he was responsible for circulating NSW Health's enhanced COVID-19 cruise ship protocols - dated February 22 - to health personnel on the ship.

The special commission inquiry into the Ruby Princess continues. Credit:Janie Barrett

Cruise companies were informed swabs were to be taken from passengers with respiratory or influenza-like illness who had travelled to countries of COVID-19 concern.

Not complying with this could affect a ship's ability to dock at NSW ports.
The CBSEs decision to cancel pending board exams in view of the spike in COVID-19 cases has not ended the anxiety of students who say they dont know what is next and how will this affect their next admission, further education and the career. Have the examinations been completely cancelled or made optional? What will be the criteria for internal assessment? How will undergraduate admissions be impacted with the move? What about students who were preparing for competitive exams, and hence did not treat internals with the required degree of importance? These are among some of the questions that are causing anxiety to students whose board exams were postponed in March due to COVID-19 pandemic, and later rescheduled for July.

However, these remaining CBSE and ICSE Board examinations for classes X and XII have now been cancelled, the Supreme Court was informed on Thursday.

CBSE cancels 10th, 12th board exams, releases notification for internal assessment scheme

Class XII students of CBSE Board will, however, have the option of either taking the exams later or to move ahead with the assessment based on their performance in the last three internal exams. The re-exam option will not be available to class X students.

The option of re-examination would not be available to the ICSE Board students -- neither class XII, nor class X.

The CBSE board has not issued any official notification yet as it has been directed by the apex court to submit an affidavit on Friday detailing its plan. When reached for a clarification, board officials refused to comment on the confusion saying the matter is subjudice. Said Romesh Jha, a class 12 student, They just announced that the exams are cancelled but where is the clarity? Students get to choose whether they want to write exams or take results on the basis of assessment? At what stage the option is to be chosen? There is no clarity, the exams have been delayed for over three months and still there is uncertainty, Shruti Das, another class 12 student said, What will be the criteria for internal assessment? Which three last exams are they talking about? How are they going to calculate an average? Will that impact admissions to universities like DU where cutoffs are too high. Nobody is able to answer these questions.

Taking the internal marks into consideration for the final board result would not be fair to the students now as well as in future. Different schools might have had varying difficulty levels in internals, said Shreeni Ghosh.

Students have also launched an online petition, saying that the decision to go by internal assessment has been taken keeping in mind the safety of the students but not their educational future. Even though, we have been given a choice to appear for our remaining exams later, this decision has still not yet been finalized, the petition said. Also, taking the exams this late will not be feasible for all the students due to the large time gap as well as due to the upcoming college examinations. This would lead to a lot of inadequacies and unfairness in the final board results. Pooja Singh, a student of Delhi Kannada Senior Secondary School in Lodhi Estate, said, The decision to cancel exams is good considering the coronavirus threat. Students have the option of taking the exams at a later date but there has to be a clarity on the later date. My Hindi exam was left and I have confidence about my score in the pre-boards. But many of my friends could not take the pre-Board exams due to some reason or the other. How will they be eligible for admission to Delhi University, which in all probability, will announce its cut-offs in August? Rahul Gupta, a student of Mamta Modern School Vikaspuri, said, I had fallen sick during my pre-board exams and missed some papers. I had two board papers left -- Business Studies and Informatics Practices. As a student, I have been left in the lurch about my future. How will the CBSE work out a formula for those students who missed their internal assessment or pre-Boards? Astha Arora, a student of Delhi Public School, Rohini, said students do not take their internal assessments seriously and focus on preparing for Board exams since that is how they are conditioned.

It has been very frustrating since March. We do not know what is happening. Today the CBSE told the Supreme Court that the Board exams are cancelled but students will have the option of choosing whether they want their internal assessment marks to be considered or they would like to take the exams at a later date. There is so much confusion with no clarity when the exams will be held. The CBSE could have formulated a scheme where students could have taken the exams online.
South Korea has added Gileads anti-viral drug remdesivir to its coronavirus treatment guidelines in its first revision of recommendations since the outbreak began and urged caution in the use of the steroid therapy dexamethasone.

South Korea, widely praised around the world for its handling of the pandemic without a full lockdown, has reported 12,602 coronavirus cases as of Thursday midnight, with 282 deaths.Remdesivir is designed to hinder certain viruses, including the new coronavirus, from making copies of themselves and potentially overwhelming the bodys immune system. The drug previously failed trials as an Ebola treatment.

South Koreas updated guidelines come after a study showed that the cheap and widely used dexamethasone reduced deaths in very sick Covid-19 patients. They advised doctors to take caution until a full study is published.It seems appropriate to administer (dexamethasone), limited to severe cases with acute respiratory syndrome, as the doctor monitors the patients condition, Kim Young-ok, director general of pharmaceutical safety bureau at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, told a briefing on Friday.

There was enough domestic supply of the dexamethasone, widely used since the 1960s, with the production of approximately 43 million tablets and 60 million injection ampoules a year, said Kim.Doctors in Europe will soon be able to treat patients with the drug after the health care regulators endorsement put it on track to become the first therapy for the disease on the continent.

An excessive use of dexamethasone can trigger different side effects as it tamps down the immune system along with inflammation, possibly leading to even cataract or glaucoma, said Dr. Song Dae-sub, professor of pharmacy at Korea University.Korean health authorities also advised the dropping of hydroxychloroquine after a study found the decades-old malaria drug, which U.S. President Donald Trump touted a possible treatment, did not provide any benefit.

There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the coronavirus, which has killed more than 488,467 people globally, but about a dozen vaccines from more than 100 candidates globally are being tested on humans.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- As long as the pandemic rages, the worlds leaders are understandably preoccupied with the threat of disease. But there are other dangers to humanity that demand attention. One of the most frightening is nuclear war. Unfortunately, the risk of that happening keeps rising.

The headline numbers are misleading. Yes, the global stockpile of nuclear warheads decreased slightly last year, according to the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. But thats only because the U.S. and Russia, the two countries that still account for more than 90% of global nuclear stocks, dismantled some of their obsolescent warheads.

Meanwhile, all nine countries with nukes are modernizing their other warheads and delivery systems. In a test just last week, France successfully fired, from a submarine, a nuclear missile that can travel between continents at 20 times the speed of sound. Other countries, most notably China, are adding to their nuclear stashes as fast as they can.

Even more worryingly, states are reviewing their strategies for using these weapons. Gone is the amoral but logical stability of the Cold War, when two superpowers kept each other and the world in check with a credible threat of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD).

Russia, for instance, increasingly sees smaller tactical warheads as a possible way to compensate for weaknesses in its other military forces. Its conceivable that a conflict starting with hybrid warfare  ranging from disinformation campaigns to soldiers in unmarked uniforms  could escalate to a conventional war and a limited nuclear strike, inviting a counter strike and so forth.

Theres also speculation that India could soften its policy, adopted in 1998, never to be the first to use a nuclear weapon. Such thought experiments are no small matter for a country with two hostile and nuclear-armed neighbors, Pakistan and China. Just this week, India and China clashed again over their disputed border in the Himalayas. What North Korea could get up to in a crisis that it itself provokes is anybodys guess.

Story continues

Meanwhile, all efforts to limit or reduce nuclear weapons have ground to a halt. A treaty between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that eliminated land-based missiles with short and intermediate ranges collapsed last year, after the U.S. accused Russia of cheating.

And the two old foes arent even close to extending their only remaining arms-control agreement, called New START, which expires in February. One reason for that failure was Americas insistence that the third and rising superpower should join the negotiations. But China, which sees itself as merely catching up with the two nuclear kingpins, balks at accepting any limits.

Progress has also stalled in updating the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, exactly 50 years after it took effect. It sought to keep additional countries from making bombs by encouraging them to use fissile material (uranium or plutonium) only for civilian purposes such as generating electricity. But five countries have gone nuclear since it was signed. Worse, game theory suggests that its rational for more states to follow. Iran could be next.

The only international agreement to ban these evil weapons altogether, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons passed by the United Nations in 2017, has the same chance as a snowball in a fission event. No member of the nuclear club intends to ratify it, nor do many other countries.

As if all that werent bad enough, doubt is also creeping into the transatlantic alliance, undermining its credibility and thus the deterrence thats so vital to preventing war. Germans, in particular, are aghast at their treatment by U.S. President Donald Trump, who this week chastised them as delinquent allies and confirmed that he will withdraw about one in four American troops from Germany.

In May, several leaders of Germanys Social Democrats, a party with a tradition of anti-Americanism, even suggested opting out of NATOs policy of nuclear sharing, whereby some allies, such as Germany, forego building their own nukes but provide the airplanes to deliver U.S. bombs in a pinch. This policy is meant to make joint deterrence more credible. But to German lefties, distrust of Trump is enough reason to challenge its logic. Fortunately, Chancellor Angela Merkel quickly overruled them.

Between naivety in Germany, belligerence in Russia, ambition in China, inanity in Trumpist America and brinkmanship in North Korea, the outlook is grim. Egomaniacs or rogues could be tempted to test the boundaries in their foes deterrence plans, and human error could compound the folly.

Whats more, the climate in international relations isnt exactly conducive to solutions. The world leaders who matter most are so busy with trade wars and vaccine nationalism, they can barely even imagine sitting around a table with people they loathe but should talk to, an activity known formerly as diplomacy.

But they must rise above themselves. If they cant, the rest of us, from voters to the military brass, should force them. Only patient multilateralism, as unsexy as that polysyllabic Latin word may sound to alpha males, can save us in the long run. Otherwise, to use a Cold War metaphor, the nations of the world will find themselves standing in a room awash with gasoline, each counting who has how many matches, until one is lit.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Andreas Kluth is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. He was previously editor in chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for the Economist. He's the author of "Hannibal and Me."

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

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DENVER, June 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MDC), one of the nation's leading homebuilders, will release its 2020 second quarter earnings before the market opens on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. MDC will host a teleconference the same day at 12:30 pm ET. The live teleconference will be available by calling 866-652-5200 and requesting to join the M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. conference call. A replay of the teleconference will be available through August 4, 2020 by calling 877-344-7529 and entering Access Code # 10145615.

A webcast of the teleconference will be available live at www.mdcholdings.com, and beginning two hours after the call, a replay of the webcast will be available on the website.

About M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.

M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1972. MDC's homebuilding subsidiaries, which operate under the name Richmond American Homes, have built and financed the American Dream for more than 210,000 homebuyers since 1977. MDC's commitment to customer satisfaction, quality and value is reflected in each home its subsidiaries build. MDC is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Its subsidiaries have homebuilding operations across the country, including the metropolitan areas of Denver, Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Riverside-San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Orlando, Jacksonville, Seattle and Portland. MDC's subsidiaries also provide mortgage financing, insurance and title services, primarily for Richmond American homebuyers, through HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation, American Home Insurance Agency, Inc. and American Home Title and Escrow Company, respectively. MDC's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MDC." For more information, visit http://ir.richmondamerican.com/.

SOURCE M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.

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http://www.richmondamerican.com


VICTORIAA report into a bus crash that killed two University of Victoria students says travel should be restricted to daylight hours on a narrow logging road that it wants improved by the provincial government.

The report makes 43 recommendations in a report released Thursday from an independent expert commissioned by the university after the crash on the evening of Sept. 13, 2019.

Forty-five students and two teaching assistants were headed to the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre aboard a chartered bus that moved over for an approaching vehicle and rolled down an embankment.

First-year biology students John Geerdes of Iowa City and Emma Machado of Winnipeg, both 18, died, and many others were injured.

Ross Cloutier, author of the report and a risk management expert, said the sciences centre hosted 112 school groups from 2018 to 2019 with about 3,400 participants.

He said only eight groups arrived after dark and the University of Victoria accounted for two of them.

Given the universitys proximity to (the centre) it seems reasonable to expect the universitys groups to arrive during daylight hours, he said.

That would require leaving Victoria by noon and adhering to an organized and disciplined travel schedule, said Cloutier, principal of Bhudak Consultants Ltd.

University president Jamie Cassels said the school fully accepts the recommendations and is working to implement them.

We know this devastating accident has caused immeasurable grief and that the impacts are ongoing for families of the students who died, and for the other students on the bus and their families, he said in a statement.

To those who have suffered loss and hardship, the university is profoundly sorry.

The university said all surviving students and their parents or guardians were given the opportunity to speak or correspond with Cloutier and that he travelled to Manitoba and Iowa to meet with the families of the students who died.

It said that while university services and supports are currently focused on students it will also determine those that could be provided to their families.

This will include more regular and timely communication with parents.

The university said in response to the recommendations that it will collect emergency contact information at registration. It said future bus trips to Bamfield will include a hazard assessment and travel will happen during daylight.

Predetermined itineraries, an additional satellite communications device and first-aid equipment for the group size will also be part of trip planning.

Staff on board will enforce protocols, such as adhering to the itinerary and the wearing of seatbelts, the school said, and it agrees with the review that using a ferry service from Port Alberni to Bamfield may be useful for some trips.

Cloutier also called for the development of more robust crisis response protocols by the university, as well as a separate way to deal with major off-campus incidents.

Campus security, while being a convenient first point-of-contact, is not the unit that should be handling parent and student inquiries for academic or service questions.

The university said it recognizes its resources are not sufficient to support response to serious incidents.

To better support our students and staff during such an event we will look to develop external resources that can be quickly scaled to provide a range of potential services and supports.

It also said the condition and suitability of the logging road as an essential corridor between Bamfield and Port Alberni continues to be a concern.

The university, along with the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, the (centre) and others are advocating to the B.C. government for road improvements. Parents of the students have identified this as an important priority.

Scott Fraser, the minister of Indigenous relations and reconciliation, said options for safety measures are being considered by his ministry, the Ministry of Transportation, the Huu-ay-aht First Nation as well as timber companies that maintain the road where the crash occurred.

At the premiers request, a working group was formed to do a technical review of Huu-ay-aht First Nations road upgrade proposal, Fraser said.

This work takes time and we hope to have more to say in the next few months.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said the Mounties have concluded their investigation and determined there was no criminality or contravention of the Motor Vehicle Act that could have contributed to the incident.

A spokesperson for Transport Canada said its collision investigations team worked with the RCMP and provincial authorities by providing technical support.

The centre will not be booking field trips until at least April 2021 due to COVID-19 and buses wont be used for field trips until the recommendations are in place, the university said.

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Mitron was launched on the Google Play Store in mid-April and then was pulled off for a while since it violated Googles Play Store policies.

Indias alternative to TikTok, Mitron, has crossed one crore downloads on the Google Play Store. According to AppBrain, Mitron has pulled off this feat in just about two months since launch.

AppBrain lists April 17 as Mitrons launch date on the Google Play Store and says that the app clocked 100,000 downloads in just seven days. If you have followed the timeline you will know that this was the first version of the Mitron app that was pulled off the Google Play Store on June 2 for violating the Play Store policy.

After a rehaul of its website and a new privacy policy, Mitron was allowed back on on Google Play Store on June 5. According to AppBrain, Mitron crossed 1 crore downloads on June 22. Mitron also has a rather favourable 4.5 rating on the app store.

Given the current anti-China sentiment in the country it is not surprising that Mitron is getting more and more popular. For all intensive purposes, it IS Indias in-house alternative to TikTok. Mitrons source code was purchased by Mitron creators Shibank Agarwal and Anish Khandelwal from Pakistani developers Qboxus.

Qboxus uses the same code for its app TicTic and Qboxus CEO Irfan Sheikh said that Mitron creators made no changes to it and uploaded it with a name change. The Mitron team has been trying to downplay the Pakistan angle by speaking about the apps Indian origins in their press releases.

In the release sent out to mark the 1 crore milestone, Agarwal said that they are working to create a more India-centric product encashing on the #VocalforLocal drive that was initiated by the government. According to reports, Khandelwal has said that the initial template for MitronTV was bought from an Australian marketplace EnvatoMarket, however, they did not reveal the name of the seller.

Besides the bugs on the app and the security warnings, Mitron has one more thing they will need to worry about. Zee5 is all set to launch an app like TikTok to take on the Chinese video-sharing platform. Since this will actually be India-made in the true sense of it, well have to wait and see if users gravitate towards this and away from Mitron in the future.
The literary world can both help you find yourself or lose yourself in a story. Whether it's through the lens of Julia Alvarez or Gabriel Garcia Marquez, there's always a magical world awaiting through the original words between Latin books.

You can't leave more inspiring words for yourself and others better than through a good book. So if you're looking for encouraging words between the pages of a good book, you're in luck.

Here are five life-changing pieces of Hispanic literature you can find on Amazon that you must read:

"How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

With the Garcia sisters from the Dominican Republic at the center of fifteen interconnected stories, this novel tells their arrival in New York City in 1960. It talks about immigration and Latin culture, just as it does family conflict and struggle.

It gives its readers a relatable and intimate look at the struggles with identity faced by immigrants.

It examines the globalization of English and how it affects non-English speakers who maintain a harmonious multicultural identity.

"One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Published over fifty years ago, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien anos de soledad) became a classic read, garnering its author success and recognition as one of the greatest Spanish-language writers of all time.

It follows the story of the Buendia family, whose patriarch founded the town of Macondo, Colombia. It chronicles the conflict of wanting to be alone and the need for love.

At its time of publication, critics did not agree that its story was groundbreaking. But today, it is recognized as the "Bible of magical realism" and was dubbed by The Atlantic as a "classic".

"Don't Date Rosa Santos" by Nina Moreno

Debut author Nina Moreno may have written this book for teens but it still suits adult readers.

The protagonist, Rosa, comes from a family where women are cursed to lose their love at sea.

This Cuban-American novel mixes the ingredients of a regular rom-com with essential themes such as culture, family, grief, and loss. It wraps it up in a magical South Florida setting.

Don't Date Rosa Santos is perfect for fans of To All The Boys I've Loved Before and other stories that sweep you off your feet.

"Retablos: Stories from a Life Lived Along the Border" by Octavio Solis

This book paints a picture showing what life is really like on the Mexican border.

"Retablos" is composed of gorgeously written accounts of traumas, transformations, and moments that made Solis' childhood in the east side of El Paso.

It shows a glimpse of the experiences of the working class.

"Ordinary Girls: A Memoir" by Jaquira Diaz

This piece of Hispanic literature is a painful yet illuminating read.

Diaz displayed much courage when such exposed her family's history of violence, dysfunction, and substance abuse.

Diaz grew up in Puerto Rico's el Caserio Padre Rivera housing project, a place that she described to NPR as a neighborhood where outsiders didn't go. She grew up with a family that earned through a deadly trade.

As readers flip through the pages of the book that talks about her childhood, the memoir brings the promise of surviving even the most painful things.
A reported possible Joe Biden vice presidential pick this week reiterated her support for a program that would require all Americans to dedicate time in service to their country, at least in a civilian capacity.

Susan Rice, former United Nations ambassador and national security adviser, said she believes a mandatory national service program would help to heal some of the nation's fractures along racial and economic lines. Speaking at an event organized by the congressionally created National Commission on Military, National and Public Service, Rice described her vision for this requirement.

Read more: 'Brandon Act' Would Give Troops a Safe Word to Access Mental Health Care

"I wish we could have mandatory national civilian service in this country, so that every kid between the ages of 18 and 21 spent six or 12 months in national service, whether it's laying broadband or building infrastructure, or rehabilitating inner-city schools and libraries," she said. "The reason I think service is so important is, not only is it creating economic opportunity in training and skills for those who may not otherwise have them, but most importantly, it's teaching us to understand and to know each other as Americans across different geographic, racial, socioeconomic lines, as part of one nation and one community."

Rice noted that, in her family, national service was "in the breakfast food" growing up -- her great-grandfather had been a slave who fought for the Union Army in the Civil War, and her grandfather was one of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, a group of Black Air Force pilots who served in World War II.

"As powerful as that experience was and as proud as he was of it, he was also very tortured by it, because he served in a segregated military, fighting on behalf of freedom for everybody but his own people," Rice said of her grandfather. While military segregation is over, she added, psychological divisions remain.

"And so to bridge those gaps is really a real core part of our national mission. ... If we live together, if we work together, if we know each other as human beings, it's a whole lot harder to hate each other."

Rice also said she supports adding civics education questions to the SAT and ACT, standardized tests that factor into college admission.

The commission, which released its final report March 25 following years of research and hearings, recommended, among other things, that women for the first time in U.S. history be required to register with the Selective Service System for a possible draft, and that civilian national service opportunities be expanded.

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who also spoke at the event, said he supports requiring women to register for the draft. "If they can serve in the military, if they can put their lives on the line, there's no reason why they shouldn't be part of the Selective Service System, if we need them in a national emergency," he said.

Multiple commission recommendations are expected to be included in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2021; it's not yet clear whether the bill will include a provision requiring women to register for the draft.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.

Related: Women Should Have to Register for the Draft, Congressional Commission Says
By PTI

KOLKATA: Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Friday asked the government to prepare to hit back at China and recapture the territory lost in the Galwan valley instead of targeting the main opposition party to hide its own "strategic blunders".

He claimed China was taking advantage of the Modi government's "indecision" over retaliation.

Chowdhury also dared the BJP leadership to substantiate its charge that the Congress party had ever compromised national security, and said he will resign as MP if the allegations are proved.

"The BJP, to hide its own failures, its own Himalayan strategic blunders, is targeting the Congress.

The BJP leadership has complete disregard for history, or else they would have never said that Congress compromised national security.

"It was the Congress led by Indira Gandhi which snatched away Siachen in 1984 by conducting operation Meghdoot, it was Congress which broke Pakistan and created Bangladesh in 1971," Chowdhury said in a video message.

Demanding that the BJP leadership, including Defence minister Rajnath Singh, furnish proof that the Congress had compromised national security, Chowdhury said," I challenge them to prove it. If the allegations can be established, I will resign as an MP."

In the midst of the ongoing war of words over the Sino-India standoff in eastern Ladakh, BJP chief J P Nadda had on Thursday alleged that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) had accepted $ 300,000 from China and the Chinese embassy in 2005 -06 for conducting studies that were not in national interest.

The Congress, however, dismissed the allegation as an attempt to divert the attention of the country from issues of national security.

The BJP has also alleged that the previous Congress governments signed pacts with China in utter disregard for national security.

Criticising the Modi government for alleged lack of political will to take on China and recover the lost territory, Chowdhury said, do or die should be the national mantra and only counter violence can teach China a much-needed lesson.

"Do or Die is our National Mantra. In a changed situation, it needs to be accompanied by counter-violence, we have to prove that China is an international rogue and never ever be invincible," Chowdhury said in a tweet.

"The situation across Indo-China boundary is grim, our options are being tapered off. China took the opportunity of India's indecision, Hit back China, Hit Hit Hit back the Dragon who wants India to be dragooned into submission," he said in another tweet.

Twenty Indian Army personnel including a colonel were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on the night of June 15 in the biggest military confrontation between the two countries in over five decades.
Qantas is set to make a profit this year after axing a fifth of its workforce and grounding the bulk of its international fleet to try and survive the COVID-19 crisis.

The national airline has shed 6,000 jobs as part of a drastic three-year plan to slash costs by $15 billion. Almost 15,000 other staff will remain stood down without pay or on enforced leave.

Industry experts say the coronavirus pandemic could lead to thousands of other job losses within the tourism sector.

Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce on Thursday said he did not expect the airline to resume international services in any significant way until July next year at the earliest.

Pictured: An empty Qantas check in terminal is seen at Sydney Airport on Thursday

'The collapse of billions of dollars in revenue leaves us little choice if we are to save as many jobs as possible long term,' Mr Joyce said.

'We have to position ourselves for several years where revenues will be much lower. And that means becoming a smaller airline in the short term.'

Mr Joyce said vital signs were strengthening for domestic operations and the airline has 'extremely bright prospects for recovery'.

But to get there, the carrier will have to raise $1.9 billion through a share sale to balance its books.

Qantas made $771 million in profit before tax in the first half of fiscal 2020, on $9.5 billion in revenue.

The company expects to report a full-year result between breakeven and a small underlying profit.

Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce on Thursday said he did not expect the airline to resume international services in any significant way until July next year at the earliest

Its fuel hedging program, which aimed to protect Qantas from fluctuations in the cost of jet fuel, will cost the airline between $550 million to $600 million given its reduction in fuel consumption.

The $1.9 billion equity raising announced on Thursday will give Qantas pro forma liquidity of $4.6 billion - $3.6 billion in cash and $1 billion in undrawn debt facilities.

Mr Joyce promised generous redundancy payouts, worth $600 million, to the 6,000 who will lose their jobs - a mix of pilots, cabin crew, engineers, ground workers and corporate staff.

Voluntary redundancies will be offered before people are tapped to leave.

He said he would continue not taking a salary while executive staff will take a 15 per cent pay cut.

'This year was supposed to be one of celebration for Qantas. It's our centenary. Clearly, it is not turning out as planned,' Mr Joyce said.

Pictured: Qantas staff are seen at Sydney Airport on Thursday

The three-year plan aims to have 21,000 active employees by June 2022. The Qantas Group currently has 29,000 staff.

Industry experts predict the loss of 6,000 Qantas jobs and grounding at least 100 aircraft for up to 12 months will impact thousands of other workers in the travel sector, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Executive director of the Australian Tourism Industry Council Simon Westaway said the international market is 'not coming back any time soon' and 'big gateways' for international travellers would take the hit.

This includes major cities Sydney and Melbourne, as well as the south-east and north-east corners of Queensland.

'They are most aligned to the international dollar. There are tens of thousands of jobs interrelated to this decision today,' Mr Westaway said.

National CEO of the Tourism Accommodation Association Michael Johnson said hotels would not be able to fully recover until international travel returned to normal.

'Problems in the airline industry will slow the recovery of the accommodation sector right across the country, which is why Tourism Accommodation Australia has been lobbying the government to extend the JobKeeper payment,' Mr Johnson said.

'At the moment JobKeeper is the only thing keeping the industry afloat.'

Qantas has shed 6,000 jobs as part of a drastic three-year plan to slash costs by $15 billion. Almost 15,000 other staff will remain stood down without pay or on enforced leave
Moriah and Jeordie Dolente are celebrating an anniversary today: their fifth wedding anniversary. The Dolentes were the first homosexual couple to get married in Athens-Clarke County on June 26, 2015.
RICHMOND  A new committee within the House of Delegates, composed of members of the courts and public safety panels, will immediately take up police and criminal justice reform, with hearings planned for July and August.

House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn announced the creation of the new committee on Friday, saying that the new platform will allow for public, transparent discussions on reform ahead of the special session planned for late summer.

The stories of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd continue in our minds to have all of us realize that we need to do something. Clearly people of color are not treated the same as people that look like me, said Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax. There is a lot of frustration and dismay, but a lot of desire and energy to act.

House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria and Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, will jointly lead the panel.

Democrats in the House and Senate have signaled interest in addressing police reform and systemic racism in the criminal justice system, following protests in Richmond and across the nation.

Gov. Ralph Northam, too, has said he hopes the issue will be addressed during a special session on the budget planned for late August or September.

Lawmakers are looking at banning chokeholds, boosting police training in excessive use of force, mandating citizen review boards to boost oversight of police misconduct, expanding avenues to fire or punish misbehaving officers, and rethinking the presence of police in schools.

Many of those proposals were part of a wide-ranging list of measures published Wednesday by the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, which is urging a bold swing toward racial equity and social justice in the state.

Broadly, the caucus is urging greater accountability and transparency from law enforcement agencies, and the reallocation of funding from law enforcement budgets to community services. They are also calling for a declaration of racism as a public health crisis in Virginia.

Which reforms lawmakers might take up and seek to pass during the short special session remains unclear. Filler-Corn and Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, chairman of the caucus, said the topic is part of ongoing discussions.

Filler-Corn said in an interview Wednesday that the new join committee will bring transparency to that process, and help decide which measures lawmakers will take up this summer, and which will wait until the regular session in January.

Its time to do it now in a more formalized fashion before the special session, Filler-Corn said. There are so many ideas, and obviously, during the special session well have the biennial budget, our response to COVID-19 and police and criminal justice reform. Thats a lot in August.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday said that all schools in Delhi will remain closed till July 31 in the view of the current situation arising due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Sisodia, who also holds the portfolio of Education Minister, convened a high-level meeting on the plan to reopen schools in the national capital.

Earlier in June, the Deputy CM had also written a letter to Union Human Resource Minister (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal `Nishank` requesting him to consider the new role of schools. He wrote that we still have to decide whether we will rebuild our schools keeping in mind the needs of our country and society or wait for some other country to do something, after that we copy-paste it here.

A district-wise report based on online suggestions of 829 teachers, 61 school heads, 920 students and 829 parents of government and private schools of Delhi and 23262 teachers and 98423 parents at school level was considered in the meeting.

Sisodia and his team received various suggestions on changing approaches to learning and reopening of classes in Delhi schools. There was a suggestion that primary classes should be held once or twice in a week with the strength of 12-15 students in a class.

Another point was made that classes can be conducted on alternate days for students of classes 3 to 5. There were also suggestions for students to continue online education as far as possible, to do proper sanitization in all classrooms, to distribute masks to students, to conduct thermal screening of each student at school and reduce syllabus.

Similarly, for classes 6 to 8, there was a suggestion to conduct classes in a small group once or twice a week. Some people also suggested class 3 days a week. Many people also insisted on reducing syllabus from 30 to 50 per cent. There was also a suggestion to ban students' mass activity and the crowd.

For classes 9 and 10, it was suggested to the Education Minister that classes should be taken in very small groups once or twice a week. Some people suggested daily classes for class X. There was a suggestion to continue the online class and videos of YouTube channel Khan Academy.

It was suggested to conduct classes of 11th and 12th on alternate days and online classes should be carried on remaining days. There was also a suggestion of a reduction in their syllabus. Some also suggested that only 3 to 4 hours of classes should be carried per day.

In the meeting, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said that we should make a plan to reopen schools in the light of all the suggestions that can teach the students to live with the corona and prepare them for a new role in new circumstances.
Michigans biggest boat party is underway.

Jobbie Nooner, which annually attracts thousands of boats and people to Lake St. Clair each summer, is officially set to begin at noon on Friday.

However, social media photos and TV footage from the area show the party is already underway despite concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The party was trending on Twitter in Michigan on Friday morning.

Many boaters dock around submerged Gull Island in St. Clair County. Sgt. Marty Stoyan of the county sheriffs marine division told the Detroit News that social distancing will be up to the participants.

"There is really no way we would be able to enforce something like that out on the water," Stoyan told the newspaper. "It is an unsanctioned event and we hope that people will act responsibly."

The Macomb County Sheriffs Department and the U.S. Coast Guard, among other agencies, are also monitoring the event mostly checking watercraft for proper safety equipment, such as life jackets, flotation devices, fire extinguishers and safety lights.

Officials will also be monitoring the U.S.-Canada border to make sure boats are coming in from Canada. The border between the nations remains closed until at least July 21.

Jobbie Nooner began in 1974 when auto workers who called themselves Jobbies would take the last Friday in June off work to party on the lake. The event has exploded each year as its reputation grows, often attracting about 10,000 boaters and more than 100,000 people.

A Jobbie Nooner 2 now occurs the first Saturday after Labor Day. Both parties feature music, social games, lots of alcohol and at times, limited clothing.

This years party comes as Michigans COVID-19 case numbers began to creep back up this week. State totals have grown to 62,306 known cases and 5,887 deaths linked to the infectious respiratory illness.

Elsewhere, the Florida Department of Health confirmed nearly 9,000 cases of coronavirus on Friday.
Brexit

Britain's exit from the European Union will leave few areas of life in government untouched. Our Brexit section brings together the latest breaking news, in-depth analysis and thought-provoking opinion pieces as the civil service rises to the challenge of leaving the EU
Macy's is eliminating a quarter of its corporate workforce, slashing 3,900 white-collar jobs in a sweeping effort to cut costs during the coronavirus pandemic.

The layoffs announced Thursday come just months after the beleaguered retailer announced it would close 125 stores - about a fifth of its total - and shed 2,000 positions after a disappointing holiday season. The company also is scaling back staffing at its Macy's and Bloomingdales stores, distribution facilities and customer service centers, but says it will "adjust as sales recover."

The department store chain projected the moves would save it $630 million a year.

The pandemic "has significantly impacted our business," chief executive Jeff Gennette said in a statement. "While the reopening of our stores is going well, we do anticipate a gradual recovery of business . . . We know that we will be a smaller company for the foreseeable future."

Coronavirus-related store closures have led to a precipitous drop in sales that has roiled the retail industry, which was in trouble long before the pandemic. Six national retailers - including department store chains J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus - have filed for bankruptcy since May. As many as 25,000 brick-and-mortar stores are expected to permanently close this year, according to Coresight Research, which will have far-reaching effects on shopping malls, workers and local communities.

Macy's latest announcement, analysts say, shows that retail job cuts - which until now had been largely concentrated among store employees and hourly workers - are beginning to reach white-collar positions in office buildings.

"This is a significant number of layoffs and it really underlines the fact that while Macy's has done a good job of securing financing to see it through this crisis, it is still burning through cash," Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail. "It is a long-term retrenchment, and an acknowledgment that sales are nowhere close to what they used to be."

Analysts say Macy's, though, is in relatively good shape. The probability that it will default on its loans in the coming year has declined from 44% in April to 17% in June, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, as stores reopen and sales inch back up. Macy's has also obtained about $4.5 billion in financing that Gennette said would make it "a more stable, flexible company."

"Macy's is doing what it can to quickly cut costs - which, in this case, means cutting corporate jobs," Saunders said. "But the truth is, its costs are still way in excess of profits."

The nation's largest department store chain furloughed the majority of its 125,000 employees in mid-March, after coronavirus-related closures led to a steep decline in sales. Many of those workers are expected to return to work in July, as the company systematically reopens stores across the country.

The latest round of troubles comes on top of what was already a difficult time for the retailer. Annual sales fell 1.6% to $24.6 billion last year, as the company lost out to online competitors. In February, it said it would close offices in San Francisco and Lorain, Ohio, as well a customer service center in Tempe, Ariz., resulting in a 10% reduction of corporate and support staff.

Macy's shares closed Thursday at $6.50, down 4.1%. The stock has lost more than 61% of its value year to date.
According to a statement put out by the department, the deaths in lightning strikes occurred in 23 districts of Bihar, with Gopalganj accounting for the maximum number of casualties at 13.

Patna/Lucknow: Thunderstorms and lightning wrought havoc in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh over the past two days, claiming 110 lives, leaving at least 32 injured and causing widespread damage to property, officials in the two states said on Thursday.

The lightning strikes were more devastating in Bihar, where 83 people have lost their lives since Wednesday, according to the figures released on Thursday by the Disaster Management Department in Patna.

More than 20 people have been injured in these incidents and hospitalised, they said.

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, at least 24 people died when they were struck by lightning on Thursday, while 12 were injured, officials said in Lucknow.

Three had perished to lightning strikes in the state on Wednesday, they said.

Coming back to Bihar, the state's Disaster Management Department said that Gopalganj district accounted for the maximum number of casualties at 13.

Other deaths were reported from: Nawada and Madhubani (eight each); Siwan and Bhagalpur (six each); East Champaran, Darbhanga and Banka (five each); Khagaria and Aurangabad (three each); West Champaran, Kishanganj, Jehanabad, Jamui, Purnea, Supaul, Buxar and Kaimur (two each); and Samastipur, Sheohar, Saran, Sitmarhi, Madhepura (one each), it said.

The lightning has also caused widespread damage to houses and belongings of the residents.

In Uttar Pradesh, nine people were killed in Deoria, six in Prayagraj, three in Ambedkar Nagar, two in Barabanki, and one each in Kushinagar, Pratapgarh, Balrampur and Unnao, an official report released in Lucknow said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives. "Received tragic news about death of several people in some districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar due to heavy rains and lightening. The state governments are engaged in relief work with promptness," he tweeted in Hindi.

Expressing grief over the deaths, the two chief ministers announced a payment of Rs 4 lakh as ex gratia to the next of the kin of each deceased in their respective states.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appealed to the people of the state to remain alert and stay indoors as far as possible during bad weather conditions. He also asked them to follow advisories issued by the Disaster Management Department in this regard.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also directed officials to provide best healthcare facilities to those injured.

Meanwhile, the weather department in Patna has forecast that inclement weather could persist for some more days.

An IMD release said thunderstorms are likely to lash all the 38 districts of the state over the next few days along with "heavy to very heavy rainfall" in the northern, flood-prone districts, bordering Nepal.

The Met department in Lucknow has forecast heavy rain at isolated places over east UP on June 26.
A teenager cured her boredom during lockdown by spending six hours mastering the perfect ping-pong ball trick shot.

Mackenzie Allan, 19, followed in the footsteps of other TikTok and Instagram stars by dedicated hours of her day to perfecting a ping-pong course down her stairs.

In the satisfying video, she sits at the top of her staircase in Georgia before balancing a pan upside-down on one of the top steps. She drops the ping pong ball off a table and and pays close attention to where it lands.

Mackenzie Allan, 19, from Georgia, spent six hours perfecting a ping-pong course down her stairs

The Kennesaw State University student then continues adding more pots and pans onto the steps where the ball lands, finding the perfect spot for it to bounce.

Her video, which she shared on TikTok, shows the painstaking and time-consuming process of adding more kitchenware at every stage.

The trick also features other household items to prop up the pans, including a plant, a sellotape dispenser and a pile of books.

She begins adding more obstacles to the trick shot, including six pots and pans, a flower, piles of books and a sellotape dispenser and when she eventually lands the ball in the black cup at the bottom of the stairs she shouts 'yes'

The teenager eventually ends up with six pots and pans which are strategically placed to ensure the ping-pong ball lands perfectly into the black paper cup at the bottom of the stairs.

She shouts 'yes' as she makes the final shot and it is clear she is pleased to have finally mastered it.

After uploading the video on May 29, she has received more than 3.4million likes.
A n Islamic State fanatic who encouraged a terror cell in Germany to cause mass murder with a car, bomb and meat cleaver has been jailed.

Fatah Abdullah, 35, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of nine years at the Old Bailey on Friday.

Abdullah, of Arthurs Hill in Newcastle, learnt how to make a pressure cooker bomb in order to teach continental conspirators Omar Babek and Ahmed Hussein.

He bought more than 8,000 matches, explosive pre-cursors, fireworks, fuses and a remote control detonator, the court heard during his trial earlier in June.

Jurors were told that ingredients obtained by the 35-year-old to make gunpowder were never found, suggesting they had been used.

In an encrypted chat on messaging app Telegram, the defendant encouraged the plotters in Germany to drive a car into a crowd, attack people with a meat cleaver and cause an explosion.

In one message, he wrote: After you have set off the explosions, you target crowd or group of people with your car, you drive through them.

Find a meat clever which is used by butchers, once you have ran them over with the car, get out of the car start attacking them with it.

If you couldnt attack them with a car after the explosion, attack them with knife, sword or meat cleaver.

The aim is that you kill them and make them feel terrified and show them that (Islamic State), is here and Islam is here. The most important thing is that you carry out the jihad.

The murderous plan was foiled in January last year when Hussein and Babek were arrested, the court was told.

Abdullah had been arrested by British police the month before.

He denied being involved in planning an imminent attack and attempted to explain away items at his flat.

He claimed he bought a pocket knife on Amazon to cut grass for his rabbits.
America is taking a collective course on American history this summer because of the George Floyd murder and the subsequent protests.

The subjects covered this summer have been the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 where whites destroyed the vibrant African American community known as Black Wall Street. Many Americans have also learned that memorials and statues of Confederate generals and leaders like Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee were not constructed before the Civil War or immediately after the Civil War; most were built in the 20th century during the height of the Jim Crow era of government-sponsored American apartheid. In fact, America was the model for South African apartheid, and Hitler even acknowledged Jim Crow as a model for his vision of Germany.

Americans have also learned that the last Black Americans were freed from slavery on June 19, 1865, (Juneteenth) more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. And white Americans have learned there is deep systematic bias by police departments across the country that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Black Americans. However, one thing that has not been prominently discussed is the relationship between this history and its connection with the racial wealth gap and state of Black businesses.

According to the Federal Reserve, the typical white household has $171,000 in net worth while the typical Black household has $17,600. Net worth is calculated as the difference between what you own and what you owe. This racial wealth gap manifests itself in lower rates of homeownership and greater levels of poverty passed down from one generation to the next. Yes, just as wealth can be passed from one generation to the next, so too can poverty.

And because homeownership is one of the primary methods of funding a business, Black entrepreneurs typically start with significantly less capital, resulting in smaller, unstable enterprises. A recent report showed that 41 percent of Black businesses have shut down since the start of the pandemic compared to only 17 percent of white businesses. The Minority Business Development Agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that only 4.2 percent (109,000) Black-owned businesses out of the over 2.6 million nationwide have employees. Over 21 percent of white-owned businesses have employees. This is the direct result of the lack of household wealth in Black communities.

Unfortunately, the racial wealth gap is not going to close naturally; in fact, it is only going to get worse. This is not a political statement, this is math. Assuming both Black and white household wealth increases by 7 percentage points every year for the next 30 years, white household wealth will grow from $171,000 to $1.3 million by 2050, while Black household wealth will grow from $17,600 to $134,000. The racial wealth gap will increase from $153,400 to $1.17 million in 2050.

The only way to close this wealth gap and give Black entrepreneurs a chance to form businesses and for Black communities to have a chance to experience better schools, better health care, better housing and better public services is for there to be a massive wealth transfer to Black households. In other words, it is time for a national conversation on the case for reparations.

Many opponents bristle at the word reparations. Some argue that they were not party to the crime of slavery and should not have to pay for those historical wrongs. Some state that is nearly impossible to identify who should be eligible for those payments. Some argue that reparations would only heighten tensions. And some even argue it would not make a difference in the material conditions of Black Americans.

My brief response to each of these arguments is that if each of the 14 million Black American households were to receive $100,000 in reparations (for a total cost of $1.4 trillion), it could be completely financed by a one-time 3 percent wealth tax on the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans who own more than $36 trillion of wealth. Therefore, 99 percent of Americans would not have to pay one cent to correct part of the damage caused by the history of slavery and Jim Crow. These resources would make a material difference in the lives of not only every Black American, but would drastically reduce if not eliminate the need for much of the current social welfare system that imperfectly addresses the problems of this wealth gap that do cost most white Americans.

In January 1865, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman asked Black leaders in Savanah, Ga., what they wanted. Those leaders had a one-word answer  land. General Sherman then issued Field Order No. 15 that authorized 400,000 acres of land from Savanah to Jacksonville, Fla., be given to the newly freed slaves. Each former slave household was to receive 40 acres of tillable land. Unfortunately, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 15 of that year and Andrew Johnson, his successor, rescinded Shermans order and gave the land back to the Confederate slaveholders.

If America wants to finally end the Civil War, we must provide reparations to Black Americans. Only then can we as a country move beyond race.

Fred McKinney is the Carlton Highsmith Chair for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and director of the Peoples United Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Quinnipiac University School of Business. He is on social media at @drfredmckinney.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 01:12:55|Editor: huaxia

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A destroyed power distribution station is seen in Salah al-Din area, southern Tripoli, Libya, on June 23, 2020. Most Libyan cities, especially Tripoli, suffer from daily power blackouts that last up to 12 hours, especially during winter and summer. The power deficit is almost 2,500 megawatts per day, while the current production is no more than 5,000 megawatts per day. (Photo by Mohamed Arhoma/Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Adel Gharmul, a 38-year-old Libyan national, was able to return to his home in south of the capital Tripoli after more than a year of war between the eastern-based army and the UN-backed government.

However, power and water supplies are cut from his neighborhood due to heavy fighting.

"My house, my neighbors and the entire area have no electricity. The power transport poles were completely destroyed, of which maintenance may take weeks for the electricity to return to the area," Gharmul told Xinhua.

"I cannot wait. I was displaced away from my home and stayed at my brother's house for about a year. His house is small and does not accommodate two families with a large number of children. He forced me to buy a generator so that I could power my house and have my family return next week," he said.

"It's true that a power generator provides a temporary solution and enables us to go back to our homes, but it is an economic pressure for the heads of families," he said.

A power generator needs fuel and periodic maintenance, all of which are burdens that not every citizen can afford, particularly with the decline in the weak economic abilities of the Libyans due to the ongoing war and displacement of hundreds of thousands of them away from violence, Gharmul explained.

Most Libyan cities, especially Tripoli, suffer from daily power blackouts that last up to 12 hours, especially during winter and summer. The power deficit is almost 2,500 megawatts per day, while the current production is no more than 5,000 megawatts per day.

Many Libyans use private power generators for their homes and shops. Workshops for power generators maintenance became very popular in Libya over the past few years.

Ibtihal Al-Mizoughi, a Libyan national, believes that electricity has become a "nightmare for Libyans" alongside armed conflict, and that providing power regularly "has become a dream."

"When I go to the headquarters of the Ministry of Education where I work as administrative assistant, I find a blackout. When I return home, I also find a blackout. All of the house's appliances are exposed to breakdowns from time to time. My children no longer bear (to stay) in the house, especially in the summer," she told Xinhua.

"Electricity is cut off for long hours every day. During the curfew hours, we cannot go out, go for a walk, or even go to the beach in Tripoli for fear of coronavirus infection. In fact, Tripoli and Libya in general have become more like prison and life has become unbearable in light of lack of services in general," Al-Mizoughi said.

The state of insecurity and political instability in Libya since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011 prevents foreign companies from returning to the country and resuming suspended power projects.

The total value of contracts for power projects in Libya is 7 billion dinars (5 billion U.S. dollars), while losses of the Libyan power sector over the past few years exceeded 1.5 billion dinars, according to official figures.

Mahmoud Al-Rayani, a media official for the state-owned General Electricity Corporation, explained that there is high demand for power during the summer and winter, which causes a deficit and forces the company to cut power to prevent total collapse of the network.

"There is no solution other than resuming the suspended projects. We have five projects to construct new power plants at a value exceeding 8,000 megawatts, if we can complete them, we will have a surplus of energy that can be sold to neighboring countries," he told Xinhua.

Providing electricity in light of the conditions that Libya is currently going through is a miracle with the continuous attacks and wars, which cause severe damage to the generation and transmission stations and energy towers, Al-Rayani said.

"We work in abnormal conditions, and the electricity workers have proven eagerness to work in the most difficult security conditions," Al-Rayani added.

Armed clashes over the past few years, especially recently in western Libya, caused massive destruction to power facilities, as well as some stores of equipment and spare parts of the General Electricity Company worth millions of U.S. dollars. Enditem
Journal Register Co.

HAMDEN >> A local man was arrested in connection with an alleged stabbing at TJ Maxx Monday afternoon, according to police.

Capt. Ronald Smith said Carlos Burgos, 22, of 32 Lymoor Place, was charged with second-degree assault and breach of peace. Police responded to the store at 2335 Dixwell Ave. and met with the stabbing victim, Ivan Fernandez, 20, who Smith said is an employee at the store. Smith said Fernandez had suffered a stab wound to the leg.
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To manage, organise, and store photos and videos in one place, Google has redesigned its Photos app.

Product Director of Google Photos David Lieb says the redesigned app is focused on your memories, to help you find and relive your most treasured moments.

There is a new design being introduced to the UI, including a refreshed icon. Google has retained the colorful pinwheel.

The refreshed logo is flattened and rounded from all the corners.

As per the Google blog, the redesigned Google Photos app is providing more prominence to images and videos. It is also bringing search front-and-center with a new three-tab structure instead of four.

These tabs  Photos, Search and Library  can be spotted at the bottom once users open the app.



via GIPHY

The Google Photos app that is available now has a Search section present as a search bar at the top with Photos. Albums, For You and Sharing features are positioned at the bottom.



via GIPHY

In the redesigned Google Photos app, the Photos tab will now show larger thumbnails, auto-playing videos, and less white space between photos. At the top, you can see a larger Memories carousel, somewhat similar to what we see on Facebook or Instagram Stories.

Google has put the Search tab on front and center to give you quick access to the people, places and things that are most important to you.

Users will also get to see a new interactive map for searching using location. You can pinch and zoom around the globe to see your photos at different destinations. There is also view button in the search tab.

The Library tab in the redesigned app contains most important destinations in your photo library, like Albums, Favorites, Trash, Archive and more. Users in the US, EU or Canada will be able to see the Print Store where they can purchase printed products of their photos.

Google Photos introduced Memories to help users revisit their most important memories from the past. The redesigned Google Photos app has added more types of memories like the best pictures of you and your closest friends and family over the years, trips, and even just the highlights from last week.



via GIPHY

Google Photos said that it has also moved its automatic creations  like movies, collages, animations, stylised photos from the For you tab (which is now gone) and into Memories.

The update is rolling out on the Google Play Store and App Store for Android and iPhone users.
A hot potato: Video-sharing social network service TikTok was already popular before the lockdowns, and its userbase saw even more growth during the last three months, but developer ByteDances policies and alleged ties to the Chinese government have brought controversy. Now, its been revealed that the app has been reading the contents of iOS users' clipboards, though it claims this was an anti-spam feature.

As the Telegraph notes, TikTok was one of several applications discovered to be reading users clipboards back in March. A couple of developers found popular applications such as AccuWeather, Overstock, AliExpress, Call of Duty Mobile, Patreon, and Google News were all snooping on both Android and iOS. ByteDance told Forbes this was related to the use of an outdated Google advertising SDK that was being replaced.

At the time, TikTok promised it would end the practice within a few weeks, but a new feature in iOS 14 showed the snooping hadnt stopped. Apples latest operating system update doesnt arrive until the fall, but those with early access got to see how it alerts users if an application is copying and pasting text from their clipboard.

Emojipedias Chief Emoji Officer, Jeremy Burge, revealed on Twitter that TikTok was still grabbing the contents of the clipboard every 1 to 3 keystrokes, as shown by iOS 14.

Okay so TikTok is grabbing the contents of my clipboard every 1-3 keystrokes. iOS 14 is snitching on it with the new paste notification pic.twitter.com/OSXP43t5SZ  Jeremy Burge (@jeremyburge) June 24, 2020

TikTok now says this is triggered by a feature designed to identify repetitive, spammy behavior. The company added that it has already submitted an updated version of the app to the App Store removing the anti-spam feature to eliminate any potential confusion.

While TikTok might no longer be reading clipboards on iOS, its unclear whether the anti-spam filter has been removed from the Android version of the app.

Back in February, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman called TikTok spyware and fundamentally parasitic. His words came soon after the TSA and US Navy banned the app over security concerns.
In a nutshell: A lot of people dont even answer incoming calls from numbers they dont recognize these days, but it would help to know who is calling and for what reason. Thanks to an upcoming feature called Verified Calls in Googles phone app for Android, youll soon know why businesses are trying to contact you before answering.

Android Police spotted a Google support page explaining how Verified Calls work. To be a partner in the program, businesses will need to share their phone number, the number of the person being called, and the call reason, such as" scheduling internet installation" or "food delivery time," with Google. This will be saved in a dedicated Verified Calls server before the information is sent to your Google phone app.

When a business calls you, your device will check the incoming call information against the stored data. If theres a match, the app will show a Verified Call message along with the business name, logo, and reason for the call.

Google says that once the call is over, your phone number and the call reason will be deleted from its servers within minutes.

Not every business can become a Verified Caller. Each one must first pass a verification process by Google before its information can be added. The search giant says that all verification data sent between Google, the business, and your device is done so using a Transport Layer Security (TLS) encrypted network.

Verified calls will be enabled by default on the Google phone app, though users can opt-out using an option under Settings > Caller ID and Spam.

Theres no word yet on how many businesses have signed up for the Verified Calls program, which sounds like it could be a useful feature for those who dont want to ignore every phone call they receive.
A new super junior minister will be tasked with protecting the roads infrastructure in a new Green Party-run Department of Climate Action and Transport.

The super junior minister for roads will be appointed by either Fianna Fail or Fine Gael.

However, a decision on which party will fill the ministry has yet to be decided.

It is expected Green Party leader Eamon Ryan will be appointed as Climate Action and Transport Minister, if a programme for government deal is agreed by the membership of all three parties today.

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The decision to appoint a super junior minister for roads follows tension during government negotiations over the transport budget.

The Green Party insisted on a 2:1 split in favour of investment in public transport over funding for roads infrastructure. The Greens insisted this should include spending on road maintenance.

However, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael blocked this proposal - and ensured a number of major road projects were protected.

It comes as outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he expected all three parties to vote in favour in the deal.

"My prediction is that the three parties tomorrow will vote to go into coalition with each other and that the yes vote will be larger than people expect in all three parties and that we will have a new government on Saturday," Mr Varadkar said.

The Fine Gael leader also warned there's "no arrangement in place" for a scenario where the deal does not pass.

Sources said the delay in finalising the new ministerial portfolios was due to Mr Ryan seeking time to clarify issues relating to the cabinet reshuffle.

The leaders will not appoint TDs to the portfolios until after Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin is elected Taoiseach tomorrow afternoon.

At Cabinet yesterday, Mr Varadkar wished his team of ministers well, and noted that the majority of them will not be returning - as he could only appoint six TDs to senior government positions.

The only Fine Gael ministers guaranteed to retain their seats are Paschal Donohoe and Simon Coveney, according to senior Fine Gael sources.

Mr Donohoe will remain Finance Minister and will campaign to become the next president of the Eurogroup - an influential role responsible for co-ordinating finance ministers across the eurozone.

Mr Coveney is expected to remain in the Department of Foreign Affairs where he will oversee the country's Brexit strategy and Ireland's tenure on the UN Security Council.

Fianna Fail's finance spokesperson Michael McGrath is expected to be appointed Public Expenditure and Reform Minister. Mr McGrath will have special responsibility for redrafting the Government's national development plan.

Fianna Fail deputy leader Dara Calleary is also destined for cabinet but it was undecided yesterday what portfolio he will hold.

Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin was being tipped to become education minister.

The negotiations on the carve-up of cabinet portfolios will continue today, following a meeting between the party leaders yesterday.

The leaders and their advisers are expected to have the shake-up of cabinet portfolios completed ahead of the proposed vote on the Taoiseach.

The cabinet will potentially be appointed tomorrow, while ministers of State will be announced on Tuesday after another meeting of senior ministers.

However, they will have to await the outcome of the votes of all three parties which are expected to be known by around 6pm today. The Green Party's vote was still on a knife edge last night, ahead of the deadline to cast a ballot on the deal at noon today.

Continued from Page 1
Be Ready for 'Forceful Response', Venezuelan MoD Warns US Navy on Its Caribbean 'Act of Provocation'

Sputnik News

Oleg Burunov. Sputnik International

12:34 GMT 25.06.2020

On Tuesday, the US Southern Command said that the American Navy missile destroyer USS Nitze had carried out a "freedom of navigation" mission in the vicinity of Venezuela's coast.

Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino has warned the US Navy against conducting operations close to the South American country's territorial waters.

"A US Navy destroyer approached within 30 miles [48 kilometres] of the coast, in a clear act of provocation. It cannot be termed otherwise [] it is a clear defiant act", Padrino told a military gathering in the northern state of Carabobo on Wednesday.

He also cautioned that if the US warship conducted "military operations" in Venezuelan waters, it "will receive a forceful response from our armed forces".

The statement followed the US Southern Command saying in a press release on Tuesday that the US Navy guided missile destroyer USS Nitze "conducted a freedom of navigation operation [] in international waters outside Venezuela's 12 nautical-mile territorial jurisdiction".

According to the press release, US Navy and Coast Guard vessels are currently operating in the Caribbean "as part of the president [Trump]'s enhanced counter-narcotics operation".

The same anti-drug goal was mentioned by the US Air Force (USAF) last week, when they dispatched two surveillance aircraft to a base located a few dozen miles off the Venezuelan coast.

This was preceded by Washington designating several top Venezuelan officials, including President Maduro, as "narco-terrorists", filing federal indictments against them and issuing multimillion-dollar rewards for their capture. Maduro refuted the accusations, stressing that the US "laid new false charges" and that "Venezuela has been at the forefront of the fight against illegal drug trafficking for 15 years".

The US counter-narcotics missions come after Washington's so-called "maximum pressure" on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro failed to deter a huge shipment of Iranian gasoline to the South American country late last month.

The deliveries were followed by Washington slapping sanctions on the captains of five Iranian tankers that delivered an estimated 1.5 million barrels' worth of gasoline to Venezuela, in a move that was slammed by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza as "an outburst of arrogance".

According to him, the sanctions indicate "more evidence of the Trump hawks' hatred of all Venezuelans".

In order to topple democratically elected President Nicolas Maduro, Washington started slapping tough economic sanctions on the Venezuelan economy, which is in the grip of an ongoing crisis, back in 2018.

Part of America's sanctions pressure was the freezing of US-based assets of the national oil and gas company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), something that was slammed by Caracas as an unlawful move and an attempt by Washington to get its hands on Venezuela's oil reserves.



 Sputnik

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SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court on Friday ruled against the Trump administration in its transfer of $2.5 billion from military construction projects to build sections of the U.S. border wall with Mexico, ruling it illegally sidestepped Congress, which gets to decide how to use the funds.

In two opinions, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a coalition of border states and environmental groups that contended the money transfer was unlawful and that building the wall would pose environmental threats.

The rulings were the latest twist in the legal battle that has largely gone Trumps way. Last July, the Supreme Court allowed the $2.5 billion to be spent while the litigation continued, blunting the impact of the latest appeals court action.

The administration has already awarded much of the money, including a $1.3-billion job in Arizona that was announced last month. Trump visited Yuma, Arizona, on Tuesday to mark completion of the 200th mile of border wall during his administration, much of it with the transferred military funds that the 9th Circuit panel found illegal.

After the $2.5 billion transfer of military funds, the Pentagon diverted another $3.6 billion that an appeals court in New Orleans ruled in January could be spent.

Still, critics of Trumps wall praised the rulings on Friday for upholding the Constitution, which grants Congress the power of the purse.

The funds that he is pilfering, which were appropriated by Congress, are vital to support the safety and well-being of the brave men and women in uniform, as well as their families, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat.

The 9th Circuit ruled that the Trump administration not only lacked the authority to authorize the transfer of funds, but also violated an express constitutional prohibition designed to protect individual liberties.

The vote on both rulings was 2-1 with judges appointed by former President Bill Clinton in the majority and a Trump nominee dissenting.

The panel said the government was proceeding with border wall construction without ensuring compliance with any environmental regulations, thereby harming the interests of Sierra Club members who visit the border region for hiking, bird watching and other recreational activities.

The panel also held that the government failed to show that construction would halt the flow of illegal drugs. It said the administration had cited drug statistics but didnt address how the wall would have an impact on the problem.

The executive branchs failure to show, in concrete terms, that the publics interest favours a border wall is particularly significant given that Congress determined fencing to be a lower budgetary priority and the Department of Justices data points to a contrary conclusion, the majority wrote.

The White House said the decisions wont interfere with its ability to continue building the wall and noted that the Supreme Court has overturned many of the courts rulings.

After the Supreme Court gave the green light last year to begin work on the wall using Defence Department money, the Justice Department vowed to continue to defend the administrations efforts to protect the southern border.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who led a 20-state coalition of attorneys general that sued the administration, praised the court decision.

While the Trump administration steals public funds to build an unauthorized wall at the southern border, families across the country are struggling to pay their bills, Becerra said. They deserve to know that their hard-earned dollars are going where Congress intended  to benefit them and their communities.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which sued on behalf of Sierra Club and Southern Border Communities Coalition, said if the Trump administration appeals, the case will go back to the Supreme Court where the ACLU will seek to tear down sections of the wall that were built with the military money.

Theres no undoing the damage thats been done, but we will be back before the Supreme Court to finally put a stop to this destructive wall, said ACLU staff attorney Dror Ladin.

___

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin at the White House, Brian Melley in Los Angeles and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.
L abour leader Keir Starmer was right to sack Rebecca Long-Bailey after she shared an article containing an "anti-Semitic conspiracy theory", a snap poll reveals.

The former Shadow Education Secretary retweeted an interview with actress and Labour supporter Maxine Peake, but she later said she did not endorse all aspects of the story.

Speaking to the Independent, Ms Peake claimed that the brutal tactics US police involved in the death of George Floyd had been learned from the Israeli secret services. The actress later apologised for making an "inaccurate" assumption .

According to a YouGov poll, 47 per cent of participants backed Sir Keir's decision, 12 per cent said he was wrong to do so and 41 per cent said they didn't know.

The Labour MP said she did not support all the statements in the article (AFP via Getty Images) / AFP via Getty Images

Labour voters had marginally less support for Sir Keir's decision with 44 per cent agreeing with the move and 16 per cent saying it was the wrong option.

It comes as major both political parties faced crises this week, with Boris Johnson refusing to sack housing minister Robert Jenrick after published documents cast further doubt over his relationship with billionaire property developer Richard Desmond.

The snap indication showed 39 per cent agreed that Mr Jenkins should resign, 11 per cent said he should stay and 50 per cent didn't know.

The PM has stood by Mr Jenrick / 10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty

Out of Tory voters, 33 per cent said he should lose his job, while 22 per cent agreed with Mr Johnson and said he should remain.

Mr Jenrick faced calls to resign after documents revealed he was insistent that a controversial east London development was approved before the introduction of a new levy that would cost its Tory donor backer millions.

The Prime Minister backed the beleaguered minister, with the head of the civil service saying Mr Johnson considered the matter closed.

Labour has called on the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to investigate whether Mr Jenrick breached the code of conduct for members of Parliament.

Chris Curtis, Political Research Manager at YouGov said: Given the public are almost always pro-sacking MPs when they are accused of wrong-doing, Keir Starmers decision to sack Rebecca Long-Bailey was always going to be more popular than the Prime Ministers decision to stand by Robert Jenrick.

But The Conservatives may take some comfort from the high number of Brits who said dont know when asked today if Jenrick should resign, indicating the story is yet to get much cut through.

However, what might concern them most is that among those who do have a view, by almost four to one the public say he should stand down, with even more Conservative voters thinking he should resign than should not.

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"The government will be hoping that this story dies down before it gets more traction.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > China, India should keep cooperation as a priority | Ma Bo

by Ma Bo

The Sino-Indian border military confrontations have drawn the worlds attention. Many in the West would hope India would "stand up "against Chinas "aggression".

However, the relationship between China and India is much deeper than some Western observers think. They have the wisdom to peacefully resolve the disputes by themselves.

Chinese and Indian leaders decisions to form a "strategic partnership" in 2005 opened the window for the two countries to build a long-term partnership for peace and prosperity.

Jairam Ramesh, Indias former environment minister, adopted the notion of "Chindia" to describe future relations of the two countries and wished "Chindia" can represent the "rise of the rest" in the world.

This trend and spirit were reinforced during President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modis 2019 meeting in Wuhan, with both sides agreeing to promote cultural exchanges and mutual respect to achieve joint development and prosperity.

At a time of unfortunate confrontations between the two countries, both sides need to remind themselves that only cooperation will lead to a better future.

Focusing on economic development and peaceful negotiations will do both countries good in handling differences.

Since 2009, China has become Indias largest single trading partner, and both countries are engines of global economic growth. They can complement each other in economic growth.

China has emerged as the "factory of the world" with a focus on advanced manufacturing, while Indias information and communication technology industry and outsourcing industry have gained global recognition. The complementary strengths of the two economies can be exploited for mutual benefit.

Despite the growing economic and military capacity of both countries, neither sees the other as a strategic competitor. Border disputes have been the only obstacle.

Since the late 1970s, China advocated peaceful negotiations in solving territorial disputes with India. Huang Hua, a former Chinese foreign minister, had suggested a three-point solution. First, both sides should maintain the status quo. Second, the border issues should not hinder overall relations. Third, both parties should have further engagements in terms of border negotiations.

For decades, both countries have maintained tranquility at the border. They signed the Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control, a loose demarcation line that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory, in the China-India border areas in 1993, followed by the Agreement on Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field along the Line of Actual Control in 1996.

Both agreements reaffirmed the "principle of good faith and mutual confidence" in the "settlement of differences that may arise in that process".

An India-China Joint Working Group on the boundary question was established in 1988. It has become a mechanism to conduct China-India border dialogue since then.

In 2005, both countries signed the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question. It said: "The two sides will resolve the boundary question through peaceful and friendly consultations. And neither side shall use or threaten to use force against the other by any means."

China and India, two of the oldest civilizations, share similar humiliating historical and political experiences from the early 19th century.

India was part of the British Empire for more than 200 years, and won its independence in 1947. China, on the other hand, was a semi-colony, a victim of both European and Japanese imperialists, and became a socialist state in 1949.

The colonial past of both countries is significant in determining the future of post-colonial state relations.

China has been calling for "peaceful development" for decades, and India has been a champion of the Non-Aligned Movement, a group of countries that are not aligned with or against any major power bloc. These political identities will prevent both from engaging in a war.

Both countries should be cautious in handling the issue, with a bigger picture of strategic and peaceful cooperation in mind.

It would be a national tragedy for both if they engage in further military conflict at a time when the world needs them to provide global leadership.

The author is a research fellow at the Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies at Nanjing University

(Courtesy: China Daily, June 22, 2020)
India has moved down three places to 77th rank in terms of money parked by its citizens and enterprises with Swiss banks at the end of 2019, while the UK has retained its top position, as per the latest data from Switzerlands central bank. India was ranked 74th in the previous year. An analysis of the latest annual banking statistics released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) showed that India remains ranked very low when it comes to money parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through their India-based branches, accounting for just about 0.06 per cent of the aggregate funds parked by all foreign clients of Switzerland-based banks.

In comparison, the top-ranked UK accounted for close to 27 per cent of the total foreign funds parked with Swiss banks at the end of 2019. According to the latest SNB data, funds parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through India-based branches, fell by 5.8 per cent in 2019 to 899 million Swiss francs (Rs 6,625 crore). The data is for total liabilities of Swiss banks towards Indian clients takes into account all types of funds of Indian customers at Swiss banks, including deposits from individuals, banks and enterprises.

This also includes data for branches of Swiss banks in India, as well as non-deposit liabilities. These are official figures reported by banks to the SNB and do not indicate the quantum of the much-debated alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland. These figures also do not include the money that Indians, NRIs or others might have in Swiss banks in names of third-country entities. Among the top-ranked jurisdictions, the UK is followed by the US, West Indies, France and Hong Kong in the top five. The top-five countries alone account for more than 50 per cent of the aggregate foreign funds parked with the Swiss banks, while the top-10 account for nearly two-thirds.

The top-15 countries account for nearly 75 per cent of all foreign money in Swiss banks, while the contribution of the top-30 is almost 90 per cent. The top-10 countries also include Germany, Luxembourg, Bahamas, Singapore and Cayman Islands. Only 22 jurisdictions have 1 per cent of more of the total foreign funds parked with Swiss banks and these include China, Jersey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Panama, Italy, Cyprus, UAE, Netherlands, Japan and Guernsey.

Among the five-nation BRICS block of emerging economies, India is ranked the lowest while Russia is ranked the highest at the 20th place (same as last year), followed by China at 22nd (same as 2018-end), South Africa at 56th (up two places) and Brazil at 62nd (up from 65th last year) in terms of money parked by their citizens and enterprises at the end of 2019. The countries ranked higher than India also include Kenya (74th), Mauritius (68th), New Zealand (67th), Venezuela (61st), Ukraine (58th), Philippines (51st), Malaysia (49th), Seychelles (45th), Indonesia (44th), South Korea (41st), Thailand (37th), Canada (36th), Israel (28th), Turkey (26th), Mexico (26th), Taiwan (24th), Saudi Arabia (19th), Australia (18th), Italy (16th), UAE (14th), Netherlands (13th), Japan (12th) and Guernsey (11th).

However, several of Indias neighbouring nations are ranked lower, with Pakistan ranked 99th, Bangladesh 85th, Nepal 118th, Sri Lanka 148th, Myanmar 186th and Bhutan 196th. All these countries recorded decline in their figures for 2019. A number of countries have seen their funds falling in Swiss banks in recent years amid a global clampdown against the erstwhile banking secrecy walls in the Alpine nation. In terms of percentage change in the aggregate amount during 2019, Central African Republic saw the biggest increase of over 3,600 per cent, while Iraq and North Korea also figured among the top-ten countries in terms of rise in their figures of nearly 500 per cent and 110 per cent, respectively.

The decline was highest for Maldives at over 97 per cent. It has been often alleged that Indians and other nationals seeking to stash their illicit wealth abroad use multiple layers of various jurisdictions, including tax havens, to shift the money to Swiss banks. Also, with Switzerland putting in place an automatic information exchange framework with India and various other countries, the famed secrecy walls of Swiss banks are said to have crumbled. India started getting this automatic data last year, while it has already been getting information on accounts where proof of illicit funds can be furnished.

At the end of 2018, funds officially held by Indians with banks in Switzerland accounted for about 0.07 per cent of the total funds kept by all foreign clients in the Swiss banking system, almost the same as the level seen a year before that after a modest increase from 0.04 per cent in 2016. India was placed at 75th position in 2015 and 61st in the year before, though it used to be among the top-50 countries in terms of holdings in Swiss banks till 2007. The country was ranked highest at 37th place in the year 2004.

The total money held in Swiss banks by foreign clients from across the world rose marginally to CHF 1.44 trillion in 2019. In terms of individual countries, the UK continues to account for the largest chunk at about CHF 385 billion (up from CHF 372 billion a year ago), which accounts for nearly 27 per cent of the total foreign money with Swiss banks. The US remains on the second position with an increase in its funds to USD 160 billion, accounting for over 11 per cent of all foreign funds. India was ranked in the top-50 continuously between 1996 and 2007, but its rank started declining after that  55th in 2008, 59th in 2009 and 2010 each, 55th again in 2011, 71st in 2012 and then to 58th in 2013.
Drogheda's premier stateswoman, Ireland's UN Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, has been heralded as the mastermind behind securing Ireland a place as a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council.

Ireland defeated Canada in a vote in the UN in New York last week to secure the two-year term. It runs from January 2021. Ireland joined India, Mexico and Norway in the role.

The role of Ms Byrne Nason, a native of Ballsgrove and who was afforded the Freedom of the Town of Drogheda during the last ever term of Mayor Paul Bell, has been recognised around the world.

The Irish embassy in Australia remarked, 'Comhghairdeas to our Ambassador, Geraldine Byrne Nason for achieving an incredible result.'

The Irish group remarked,'looking forward to working with our partners from all around the world to promote our shared values of peace, justice, and human rights.'

Geraldine had a bit of support along the way in her fight, not least from Bono and former President, Mary Robinson, who both visited NYC as part of the campaign. As part of her role, Geraldine will be sitting at the famed 'Horseshoe Table' from January.

'The election of Ireland to the Security Council of the United Nations for the period 2021-2022 is a cause for celebration. The work of a dedicated team has been recognised, and I congratulate them on having brought what was a principled campaign, in a competitive environment, to both fruition and success.

'The support Ireland has received vindicates the decision to run a campaign that did not avoid the issues that are urgent, such as peace-building and peacekeeping, the elimination of global poverty,' President Higgins stated.
A huge explosion at a gas storage facility has lit up the night sky bright orange over Tehran early on Friday morning.

The explosion took place at an Iranian gas storage facility by a sensitive military site near the capital of Tehran, a defence ministry spokesman told state TV today.

Videos and pictures posted on social media, that were picked up by local news outlets, showed an explosion with a bright orange flash followed by a large plume of smoke.

An explosion took place at an Iranian gas storage facility close to a sensitive military site near the capital Tehran (above) today

Defence ministry spokesman Davoud Abdi said the fire was brought under control and there were no casualties. He did not give any information about the cause of the blast

Defence ministry spokesman told state TV the blast happened at the gas storage facility in a 'public area' of Parchin, rather than at the military base.

Western security services believe Tehran carried out tests relevant to nuclear bomb detonations on the military site more than a decade ago, but Iran has denied this.

In 2014, the base was suspected to have been damaged by a fire or explosion. But investigations lead by the International Atomic Energy Agency were hindered due to a lack of access.

Abdi said the fire was brought under control and there were no casualties.

He did not give any information about the cause of the blast.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 15:31:26|Editor: huaxia

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SINGAPORE, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Singapore Economic Development Board announced on Friday that the country's manufacturing output decreased 7.4 percent year on year in May, compared to a revised 13.6-percent increase in April.

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, the output fell 10.4 percent from a year ago.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, Singapore's manufacturing output decreased 16.5 percent in May. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, the output decreased 6.2 percent.

The biomedical manufacturing cluster saw its output grow 5.9 percent year on year in May, compared to a revised 100.8-percent growth in the previous month.

Growth in the cluster this May was largely attributed to the pharmaceuticals segment, which expanded 14.7 percent on the back of higher production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and biological products.

However, output of the medical technology segment fell 20.1 percent due to the tighter circuit breaker measures imposed by the Singaporean government to reduce COVID-19 transmission.

As for the performance of other clusters, the electronics cluster's output decreased 1 percent year on year in May. Meanwhile, the precision engineering cluster's output contracted 5.3 percent year on year, while the transport engineering cluster's output decreased 40.7 percent. The chemicals cluster's output fell 13.5 percent, and the general manufacturing industries cluster's output contracted 26.9 percent. Enditem
By ANI

NEW DELHI: A day after receiving a notice from Uttar Pradesh Commission for Protection of Child Rights (UPCPCR) in connection with Kanpur shelter home case, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government is wasting its time by threatening her through various departments.

"My duty as a public servant is towards the people of Uttar Pradesh and to put forward the truth before them. No government propaganda is to be put forward. The UP government is wasting its time by threatening me through its various departments," the Congress leader said.

ALSO READ | I am Indira Gandhi's granddaughter: Priyanka dares UP government

Cornering the ruling party in Centre and Uttar Pradesh, the Congress leader said that she will keep saying the truth as she is not an "undeclared spokesperson of the BJP" like some Opposition leaders.

"Do whatever you want to do, of course. I will keep the truth in front. I am the granddaughter of Indira Gandhi, not an undeclared spokesperson of the BJP like some Opposition leaders," she added.

On Thursday, the UPCPCR had issued a notice to Priyanka, asking her to issue a corrigendum to her Facebook post regarding Kanpur shelter home case.

"Action will be taken if corrigendum is not issued in time," the notice read.On June 21, Priyanka Gandhi had attacked the state government over the Kanpur shelter home case and said that facts are being suppressed in the name of investigation in such cases.As many as 57 girls at a government-run shelter home here, were found to be COVID-19 positive."

57 positive cases have been reported, all have been admitted to hospitals. Five girls among them are pregnant, they were brought at the shelter home, under various POCSO cases, from different places," said BR Tiwari, District Magistrate.
Australia's former governor-general Dame Quentin Bryce is calling on governments to resist alcohol industry pressure and roll out clear, mandatory pregnancy warning labels.

Dame Quentin has signed an open letter asking state and federal ministers to approve the label recommended by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, with red and black lettering stating "HEALTH WARNING: Any amount of alcohol can harm your baby".

Former governor-general Dame Quentin Bryce is calling for clear pregnancy warning labels on alcohol. Credit:Paul Harris

The Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation, chaired by federal Food Minister Richard Colbeck asked FSANZ to review its recommendation, saying the label would place "an unreasonable cost burden" on producers, just weeks after Senator Colbeck held two meetings with alcohol industry lobbyists.

Dame Quentin - who is patron of the organisation NOFASD, the peak body for individuals and families living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders - said the industry lobbying against the label was "absolutely outrageous and irresponsible."
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is searching for a man who punched a 78-year-old woman in the head in Brooklyn earlier in June, continuing a trend of unprovoked assaults on elderly people in the city. (NYPD)

Woman Punched in Head While Walking Down Street in NYC: Police

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is searching for a man who punched a 78-year-old woman in the head in Brooklyn earlier in June, continuing a trend of unprovoked assaults on elderly people in the city.

The elderly woman was walking down Broadway near Park Street in the Bushwick neighborhood when a man walking in the opposite direction hit her in the head. He is seen casually walking before flipping his closed fist out, punching her in the face.

He then appears to say something to her as she holds her head.

Officials told 1010Wins that she woman was not hospitalized but suffered pain in the attack.

Authorities said the attack happened on June 10 at 5:15 p.m., according to ABC7.

The attacker is described as a male, with a dark complexion or is black, about 59 tall, and a medium build with short dark hair.

He was last seen wearing a black long sleeve shirt, green pants, and black shoes.

The incident comes after a man was arrested for pushing a 92-year-old woman to the ground in Gramercy, Manhattan, which was also caught on a surveillance camera. The woman hit her head on a fire hydrant and is in stable condition in the hospital.

In a later incident, an 80-year-old man was knocked down to the ground and robbed of his backpack in the Bronx, which was also captured on video.

WANTEDfor an ASSAULT on 6/17/2020 @ 6:15 P.M., on the southbound B D train 174-175 street subway station. #bronx @NYPD41PCT @NYPDTD11Reward up to $2500Seen him? Know who he is?Call 1-800-577-TIPS orDM us!Calls are CONFIDENTIAL! #YourCityYourCall pic.twitter.com/zVLwgw1zBM  NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) June 20, 2020

On June 21, the NYPD announced the arrest of a homeless man who randomly punched a 73-year-old woman on a subway platform in the Bronx. Ahmed Kromah, 23, was accused of walking up to the woman, punching her, and running away.

Police officials have said violent crimes have spiked in recent weeks across New York City, coming after protests, unrest, and vandalism in the wake of George Floyds death in Minneapolis in late May.

NYPD officials told news outlets on Sunday that at least 22 people have been shot in the city in separate incidents over the weekend, including a fatal incident in East New York, Brooklyn. A 35-year-old male was gunned down as he was washing his car, officials said.

Officials said that anyone with information about the attack in Bushwick, Brooklyn, should call NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Jerusalem/Dubai, United Arab Emirates  Fri, June 26, 2020 09:00 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661c22a8 2 World Israel,UAE,United-Arab-Emirates,coronavirus,COVID-19,bilateral-cooperation,gulf-state,bilateral-relations,bilateral-ties,SARS-CoV-2,novel-coronavirus,virus-corona,pandemic Free

Israel and the United Arab Emirates will cooperate in the fight against the coronavirus, the two countries said on Thursday, a possible boost to Israeli efforts to normalize relations with Gulf Arab countries.

Two private companies from the United Arab Emirates and two Israeli companies will work together on medical projects, including those to combat the new coronavirus, the UAE's state-run news agency WAM said.

The cooperation comes at a time of strong Arab opposition to Israel's plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank - territory Palestinians seek for a state - under a US peace plan.

Israel has no diplomatic relations with Arab countries in the Gulf, but common concerns about Iran's regional influence have led to a limited thaw in relations.

"This scientific and medical partnership overcomes historical and political challenges in the region," an Arabic statement from WAM said, adding that the priority was humanitarian action and constructive cooperation to safeguard people's health.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said earlier on Thursday that a formal announcement about the partnership was imminent.

Last week, the UAE's minister for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said it could work with Israel on some areas, including the battle against the coronavirus and on technology, despite political differences.

Netanyahu said at a military ceremony that Israel and the UAE would collaborate in research and development and technology "to improve the well-being of the entire region".

He said the agreement stemmed from intensive contacts with the UAE over recent months.

In May, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad made the first known flight by a UAE carrier to Israel, carrying coronavirus-related aid for Palestinians.

Speaking to a conference of the American Jewish Committee advocacy group on June 16, Gargash said Israel cannot expect to normalize relations with the Arab world if it annexes West Bank land. He also said cooperation with Israel on the pandemic would not affect the UAE's opposition to annexation.

Israel is due on July 1 to begin a cabinet debate on extending Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc inspects preparations for 36th ASEAN Summit (Photo: VNA)

During the meeting, ASEAN leaders are scheduled to review the building of the ASEAN Community since the 35th summit, and discuss the implementation of priorities for this year as well as the groupings external affairs in the time ahead. They will also exchange views on regional and international issues of shared concern.

In this special circumstance, the leaders will focus on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and how to enhance the blocs recovery capacity.

The summit brings together leaders of nations and ministries in charge of politics-security, culture-society, and economy from the 10 ASEAN member countries, ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi, heads of ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) and ambassadors, among others.

It will feature a special session of the ASEAN leaders on womens empowerment in the digital age initiated by Vietnam to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

The session aims to affirm the ASEAN leaders commitment to fully and effectively implementing goals set in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, promoting gender equality and improving womens role in socio-economic development and ASEAN cooperation.

Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi, and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Armida Alisjahbana are invited to the event.

There will be a dialogue between leaders of the ASEAN countries and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) led by Ngan, who is also the Chairperson of AIPA-41. NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong, head of the Vietnamese delegation to AIPA, will attend the dialogue.

During the event, the ASEAN leaders and AIPA representatives will seek ways to enhance coordination between the two organisations in building the ASEAN Community towards the people and for the people.

The leaders will also hold a dialogue with ASEAN youths on promoting the role of the latter in the community building.

In another dialogue, representatives of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) are scheduled to present recommendations of the business community to the ASEAN leaders, in order to promote enterprises participation, and investment-trade freedom and facilitation in the region and the world.

The ASEAN leaders are expected to adopt the ASEAN Chair Statement on the outcomes of the 36th ASEAN Summit, a vision statement on ASEANs cohesion and proactive adaptation, and an ASEAN declaration on human resources development for the changing world of work.

The 36th ASEAN Summit offers an opportunity for Vietnam and the other ASEAN member countries to continue seeking measures to build the ASEAN Community, strengthen solidarity and unity, enhance mutual support, improve cooperation efficiency and focus on implementing priorities and initiatives in 2020, while improving ASEANs proactiveness in response to regional and international challenges, including COVID-19.
European stocks look poised to make up ground on Wall Street in the second half of 2020 as Joe Biden consolidates his lead over Donald Trump ahead of the November US presidential election and a surge of new COVID-19 cases threatens the US economic recovery.

The US stock market has consistently outperformed Europe since the 2016 election of Trump, which was followed by a rally widely dubbed the 'Trump bump'.

Fund flows suggest a shift in sentiment. Bank of America's latest weekly report on Friday showed $6.6 billion left US equity funds, the largest exodus in seven weeks, while $800 million made their way into European ones.

The pan-European STOXX 600 has outperformed world stocks by about 1.5 percent in the last month, while Wall Street's S&P 500 has underperformed by the same extent.

Among factors boosting European assets is Europe's relative success in gradually reopening its economy and the European Union's proposed 750 billion euro ($841.73 billion) recovery fund to help countries deal with the fallout from the coronavirus crisis.

The spending plan, which could be approved in July, would bring the EU closer to a fiscal union and as such has boosted sentiment and soothed recurrent worries about peripheral euro zone countries such as Italy.

The common currency has risen 4 percent since France and Germany unveiled a joint proposal for the recovery fund on May 18.

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"The strengthening of the euro reinforces the appeal of European equities, particularly for US investors", said Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays.

"There's a very strong re-rating potential for the European market which has long been underinvested and undervalued."

Before the COVID-19 financial crash, the S&P 500 had gained over 60 percent since November 2016, about twice as much as the pan European STOXX 600.

"We are warming up to European assets as the region steps up its policy response and demonstrates relative success in tamping virus growth," BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, told its clients on Monday.

Similarly, Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating for Europe to "overweight" for the next three months, citing "a combination of favourable tailwinds".

Investors were pleasantly surprised this week when IHS Markit's euro zone Flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), seen as a good gauge of economic health, reached 47.5, moving closer to the 50 mark separating growth from contraction.

Meanwhile, the US newsflow was less favourable, with record COVID-19 infections and jobs data suggesting the labour market could take years to recover.

Opinion polls give Biden a substantial lead over Trump both nationally and in key states, and betting odds currently give the Democrat candidate a 60 percent chance of winning.

Goldman Sachs said the possibility of a Biden victory - and the possible reversal of Trump's 2017 tax cuts - wasn't fully priced into markets.

Given the uncertainty of the race and bearing in mind the surprise win of Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016, many may choose to stay on the sidelines and wait for the dust to settle.

"European equities may get an edge over their US peers as we get closer to the US election," Morgan Stanley's head of cross-asset strategy Andrew Sheets told Reuters.
The Tate Modern, including the 10th-floor viewing platform from where a six-year-old child was reportedly thrown, is seen in London, Britain, on Aug. 6, 2019. (Peter Nicholls/Reuters)

Teenager Who Threw French Boy From London Art Gallery Roof Jailed for 15 Years

LONDONAn autistic British teenager who threw a six-year-old French boy from a 10th-floor viewing platform at the Tate Modern art gallery in London with the intention of killing him was jailed for 15 years on June 26 and told he might never be freed.

Jonty Bravery, who was 17 at the time of the incident and told police he carried out the act because he wanted to be on the television news, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder last December.

The unnamed victim, who was visiting Britain with his family, fell 100 feet (30 meters) after he was targeted by Bravery and was found on a fifth-floor roof. His mother was heard by witnesses screaming: Wheres my son? Wheres my son?

The boy survived but suffered a bleed to his brain and several fractured bones. Judge Maura McGowan said the boys life would never be the same again and his parents had been forced to give up their lives to care for him.

Metropolitan police press officer Melanie Pressley (C) gives a statement outside the Old Bailey on behalf of the family of the victim, after a troubled British teenager who threw the six-year-old French boy off a viewing platform at Londons Tate Modern art gallery last year was jailed for life, in London, Britain, on June 26, 2020. (Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images)

You had intended to kill someone that day. You almost killed that 6-year-old boy, she told Bravery.

Bravery, now 18, who was arrested shortly afterwards, told police he had planned to hurt someone at the museum to be on television. He had researched how to kill people on the internet the previous day and before the incident, he had asked a member of the public the location of a tall building.

The teenager, who has autistic spectrum disorder and a personality disorder, was being held at the high-security Broadmoor Hospital but the judge at Londons Old Bailey court decided he should be jailed for a minimum of 15 years.

You may never be released, she said.

In a statement read out by a police officer on their behalf outside court, the victims parents said he had been able to eat again in January, could speak a little but remained very weak, with many years of physiotherapy ahead of him.

He is still in a wheelchair today, wears splints on his left arm and both his legs and spends his days in a corset molded to his waist sat in his wheelchair, they said. He is in pain. There are no words to express what we are going through.

By Michael Holden
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 16:20:16|Editor: huaxia

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CAPE TOWN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- South African lawmakers on Friday voiced concern over food insecurity threatening 8 million people in the country as a result of COVID-19.

COVID-19 is a huge threat to food security and a large proportion of the population could experience food insecurity as a result of the pandemic, said Mondli Gungubele, chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Social Development.

On Thursday, the committee was briefed by the national Department of Social Development and the provincial departments on the implementation of food distribution and progress on other programs responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The need to feed the South African people came out very strong in the meeting, Gungubele said in a statement emailed to Xinhua.

"If we are supposed to feed 14 million people and we are only able to feed just over 5 million, then it is a serious problem," he said.

The committee heard that the demand for food far surpasses supply and the government's ability to assist is limited, according to Gungubele.

Furthermore, the impact of COVID-19 on food security will be prolonged, he said.

The most worrying issue is food insecurity among the vulnerable, the chairperson said,

Gungubele appealed to the government to do everything in its power to ensure that children, the vulnerable and people in dire need have access to food.

"It is also important as a committee that we must express a strong appropriation to members of civil society who made contribution to feeding our nation, whether through donations or volunteering," he said.

As of Thursday, South Africa's has reported 118,375 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 6,579 cases recorded in the previous 24 hours, the highest single-day surge since early March, according to the latest official figures.

Meanwhile, 87 new deaths were reported, bringing the toll to 2,292. Enditem
Professor Neil Ferguson today admitted breaching the Covid-19 lockdown for secret trysts with his married lover was the 'wrong thing to do'.

The shamed scientist, nicknamed 'Professor Lockdown' because his grim modelling convinced ministers to shut the UK down, said: 'I should have followed the rules and I regret that.'

Professor Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, sensationally quit his role on the influential government advisory SAGE committee in the wake of his actions.

As well as discussing his breach of the rules, he told BBC Radio 4 today that the next stage of the UK's coronavirus outbreak may resemble a game of 'whack-a-mole.

He revealed he does not think another nationwide lockdown mirroring the one imposed on March 23 would be necessary - but said there are likely to be targeted local shutdowns.

Professor Neil Ferguson (left), 51, asked his mistress Antonia Staats (right), 38, to travel across London to his home at least twice during the peak of the outbreak, it was revealed at the beginning of May

Professor Ferguson, 51, asked his mistress Antonia Staats, 38, to travel across London to his home at least twice during the peak of the outbreak, it was revealed at the beginning of May.

Critics argued his actions 'undermined the government's lockdown message'. He admitted he made an 'error of judgement' in his resignation letter from SAGE.

And he claimed he thought he was 'immune' to the illness - despite leading scientists warning there was still not enough evidence that Covid-19 survivors are protected from reinfection.

Discussing his actions that led to him quitting SAGE on BBC 4's Political Thinking podcast, he said: 'It was the wrong thing to do. I should have followed the rules and I regret that.'

The director of the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial authored the report containing the apocalyptic prediction that coronavirus could kill 500,000 Britons without action. Pictured, one of his graphs showing how hospitals could be swamped if no action was taken

BRITAIN'S COVID-19 DEATH TOLL COULD HAVE BEEN HALVED IF LOCKDOWN WAS INTRODUCED A WEEK EARLIER, SAYS PROF LOCKDOWN Britain's coronavirus death toll could have been halved if stay at home measures were introduced a week earlier, 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson claimed a fortnight ago. Boris Johnson imposed the lockdown on March 23 on the back of the Imperial College London scientist's grim modelling, which predicted 500,000 people could die if the virus was left unchecked. Professor Ferguson said that, based on what was known about transmission and fatalities at the time, the draconian measures were implemented at the correct time. But he conceded that, in hindsight, around tens of thousands of lives could have been saved if the lockdown had come a week earlier. Britain has officially suffered 43,000 fatalities where Covid-19 was the definite cause of death - the most in Europe. But the true death toll is thought to be above 50,000 according to estimates which factor in suspected cases who did not receive a test. Advertisement

Professor Ferguson, who regularly appeared on TV to urge the public to stick to lockdown rules, added: 'Im glad its behind me now and I understand how people feel disappointed.'

He claimed a lot of scientists 'have been subject to really quite vitriolic attacks in personal emails and in the media and that's what's been one the most regrettable aspects of what's happened'.

The director of the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial authored the report containing the apocalyptic prediction that coronavirus could kill 500,000 Britons without action.

Professor Fergusons devastating conclusion persuaded Number 10 to perform a drastic U-turn and imposed the lockdown. Schools were closed and people told to stay at home.

But doubts have since been cast about the grim modelling, with rival academics accusing him of having a patchy record and others describing his work as 'totally unreliable'.

He was previously instrumental in the decision that led to the cull of more than 6 million animals during the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001, which left rural Britain economically devastated.

Fellow researchers claim they have been unable to replicate his findings when they tried to do so using the same data model, branded by one expert as a 'buggy mess'.

Professor Ferguson also said Britain has to be cautious about the lockdown changes Boris Johnson announced this week.

The Prime Minister dramatically unwound the coronavirus lockdown on Monday, in his plan to bring the country out of 'hibernation'.

It has allowed a return for pubs, haircuts and weddings from July 4 and means family and friends can finally meet up indoors for the first time in months.

Professor Ferguson added: 'Right now we are experimenting frankly. I dont disagree with the policy changes announced this week.

'But I would say we need to monitor their effects very closely and be prepared to row back a bit if we start seeing increases in case numbers.'

In the interview - aired in full tomorrow evening - he revealed he doesn't expect to see a uniform resurgence in cases crop up across the country after July 4.

Instead, the UK is likely to be hit by local outbreaks in food production plants, work places and schools, Professor Ferguson said.

He added: 'We will be playing in some senses, and its not a nice metaphor, a game of Whack-A-Mole of trying to suppress those outbreaks.

'I think as we go into the autumn and winter theres a bigger potential risk of more widespread community transmission.'

Professor Ferguson also revealed he did not present his findings directly to the Prime Minister, saying 'thats not how scientific advice works in the UK'.

And he claimed he welcomed the presence of the Prime Minister's maverick chief aide Dominic Cummings in SAGE meetings.

Professor Ferguson told the BBC's Nick Robinson: 'I viewed it as an indication that Number 10 were taking the epidemic much more seriously.'

And he added any inquiry into the handling of the pandemic should be delayed until the end of this year.

He said: 'Right now people are still heavily engaged in managing this epidemic and our exit from lockdown and setting up the track and trace system.

'Towards the end of this year would about the sort of time I think would be appropriate to look back.'
While Bayer AG said it took a major step toward wrapping up litigation over its Roundup weedkiller with a settlement of almost $11 billion, the company still faces about 30,000 unresolved cancer claims that could cost billions, and lawyers are vowing even more lawsuits.

If Bayer and its investors thought the Roundup litigation was wrapped up in a nice, neat ball with this settlement, they are sadly mistaken, said Tom Kline, a Philadelphia-based plaintiffs lawyer who won an $8 billion verdict against Johnson & Johnson last year over one of its anti-psychotic drugs. We are working hard getting these cases in and ready for trial.

Roundup litigation was by far the biggest liability that the German chemical giant inherited when it acquired Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018. On Wednesday, Bayer announced settlements totaling $12.1 billion that included as much as $10.9 billion for Roundup, $820 million for toxic-chemical pollution and $400 million related to damage from a dicamba-based herbicide.

But Bayer only managed agreements to end about 95,000 of the 125,000 lawsuits claiming Roundup caused cancer. The others refused to settle, and the number of cases is growing. Last week, attorney Fletch Trammell filed 13 suits on behalf of kids who developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma after being exposed to the weedkiller in backyards, parks and playgrounds.

Finger in Dam

The settlement announcement feels like Bayer is trying to stop a gigantic problem by putting its finger in the proverbial dam, said Jason Itkin, a Houston based lawyer who won a $70 million verdict against J&J last year. Every day, new people are diagnosed with Roundup-induced cancer. There will be thousands and thousands of future cases because Bayer is currently still selling this dangerous product.

The company denies Roundups active ingredient, glyphosate, is a carcinogen, a position backed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

William Dodero, Bayers global head of litigation, said at a press conference Wednesday he couldnt predict how many new Roundup cases will emerge. But the Leverkusen, Germany-based company has made progress in ending its Roundup litigation, resolving all the cases set for trial and those brought by the plaintiffs lawyers leading the litigation, Dodero said.

The settlements must still be approved by a federal judge in San Francisco who has some of the cases consolidated before him.

This litigation has been going on for four years with speculation about settlement for more than a year and plaintiff attorneys have had ample opportunity to bring forward claims, Chris Loder, a company spokesman, said in an emailed statement. Weve now settled approximately 75% of claims, resolved cases with all leaders on the plaintiffs side and have an allowance to resolve the remaining cases.

Shareholders seemed to welcome the agreements. Bayers American depositary receipts climbed on the settlement news, gaining as much as as 5%. The ADRs, which represent one-quarter of a regular share, were up 15 cents to $20.54 at 5:19 p.m. in New York.

The company made offers to all the holdouts and is confident that we can bring this to a final closure in due course, Dodero said.

Too Low

But Bayers settlement offers were insultingly low, according to James Onder, a St. Louis lawyer who held his 24,000 cases out of the settlement.

The unsettled legal exposure for Bayer could easily exceed tens of billions of dollars as our firms and others have rejected the minuscule offers accepted by some other lawyers, Onder said in an email. To act as if one quarter of the Roundup cancer victims dont exist is nothing more than a flagrant attempt by Bayer to manipulate its stock price and serves as a slap in the face to those victims, he said.

After Bayer officials refused to make serious settlement offers, Trammell said he filed the 13 state court cases on behalf of families who say their children developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma from Roundup exposure. Eleven suits were filed in St. Louis last week and the others were file in San Francisco, he said.

The children range in age from five to 17, according to court filings. Most are still battling their cancers, but 13-year-old Jacob Savage of Forks, Washington, died in 2017. Bayer has been hit with at least 20 other suits involving children and Roundup, court dockets show.

Im happy they didnt settle with me and that I can go out and get more good cases, said Mark Robinson, a California attorney. These guys need a couple of more verdicts against them to start valuing the cases properly.

The company lost three damage verdicts totaling more than $191 million. While those cases are on appeal, they spurred a surge in new filings over the past year that led to a plunge in Bayer shares.

Precautions taken by courts during the Covid-19 pandemic  including suspensions of jury selection  may make it difficult for any of the plaintiff laywers to get cases set for trial until at least next year, said Ken Feinberg, who is serving as the chief settlement mediator in the Roundup cases.

I predict all the remaining cases will settle within a few months, Feinberg said. People are going to want their share of this settlement.

Glenn Norton, a retired Missouri appellate judge who served as a mediator for cases in St. Louis and worked with Feinberg on national settlements, said lawyers whose cases werent part of Wednesdays agreement are still determined to get them settled, too.

Norton said Bayer paid a little more than people thought they would to resolve most of the Roundup cases, which shows company officials were keen to get as much of the litigation behind them as possible.

The consolidated case is In re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2741, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

Topics Lawsuits Claims Pollution
Birkett also pointed in his decision to other information Gliniewicz shared with investigators about her marriage, their finances and the Explorers program, quoting as telling investigators that her husband would use the Explorer credit card (but) we always paid that back, and they were not embezzling funds. She told them she thought they owed the Explorer program about $1,000, including for airline tickets purchased for their son, according to the opinion.
VALLEY FORGE, Penn., June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard announced today an effort that began in early May to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. The firm contributed $100,000 to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund's COVID-19 HBCU Emergency Fund, which provides resources to ensure students and faculty have access to virtual learning tools, mental health support, and tuition assistance. In addition, Vanguard provided $50,000 in direct emergency support to each of the following schools: Delaware State University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, and North Carolina A&T State University.

"Vanguard believes that diversity, inclusion and belonging are essential to our success as a leader in the asset management industry," said Crystal Hardie Langston, Vanguard's Chief Diversity Officer. "Vanguard understands the important role Historically Black Colleges and Universities play in educating some of our nation's most promising students, and we are dedicated to providing the resources necessary to ensure these vital institutions are given the opportunity to grow and thrive."

Significant gaps in philanthropy and an anticipated decrease in enrollment as a result of COVID-19 have created financial insecurity for many HBCUs and their students. A lack of adequate technological infrastructure and internet access, combined with substantial economic hardship for students and their families, have hindered the ability of many HBCUs to pivot to large-scale virtual learning opportunities. Faced with ongoing financial distress and substantial challenges, many HBCUs are working diligently to implement creative strategies to help make ends meet.

"We are extremely grateful for our partnership with Vanguard and remain thankful for their ongoing support to our nation's HBCUs," said Harry L. Williams, President and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF). "These funds will continue to provide much needed support to our students impacted by COVID-19."

Vanguard has a long history of partnering with HBCUs and has developed a comprehensive recruiting strategy designed to reach underrepresented communities. The firm has established long-term commitments with marquee partnerships and conferences, including the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Leadership Institute and the HBCU Career Development Marketplace. Vanguard's Black Professional Network, a Crew Resource Group committed to engaging, encouraging, and supporting Black crew members in their personal and professional development, frequently engages with HBCUs to develop high-impact experiential learning initiatives. This partnership led to the creation of the HBCU EXPLORE Program, a two-day interactive opportunity that supports the expansion of a diverse talent pipeline across all business areas. Vanguard also frequently holds in-office sessions that are centered on the HBCU experience and are designed to engage and connect crew members, students, and school faculty and administrators. These events not only fuel rich partnerships within the HBCU ecosystem, they also provide education about the rich history of HBCU culture beyond their campuses.

About Vanguard

Vanguard is one of the world's largest investment management companies. As of May 31, 2020, Vanguard managed $5.9 trillion in global assets. The firm, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, offers more than 425 funds to its more than 30 million investors worldwide. For more information, visit vanguard.com.

SOURCE Vanguard
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 11:17:43|Editor: huaxia

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LOS ANGELES, June 25 (Xinhua) -- California reported 5,349 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, down from a high of 7,149 one day before, although a rising positivity rate over the past few weeks has rattled authorities.

"Yesterday we had a high of 7,149 new cases. Today, that dropped to 5,349 -- still higher than it should be." California Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted Thursday, warning local residents must "WEAR A MASK. Wash your hands. Practice physical distancing."

Newsom also noted at his online daily briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic that the hike of new cases in the state, which continued to grow in the last two weeks, cannot be attributed to increased testing.

"We've seen 56,000 new cases just in the past 14 days," he said. As of Thursday, the Golden State has total 195,000 confirmed infections.

He indicated that the positivity rate of tests each day had been rising up to 5.1 percent over the past 14 days and the rate in the past seven days was even higher, standing at 5.6 percent at present.

The World Health Organization recommends regions open up only after the positivity rate falls below 5 percent.

According to data from a new official website launched by California Thursday, which measures the effective reproduction number (R-effective) to assess the rate at which COVID-19 is spreading, the latest number is 1.09, meaning the state "is likely stable," but some counties are very high.

R-effective is the average number of secondary infected persons resulting from an infected person. If the figure is higher than 1, the number of infected persons will increase.

For all 33 counties of California, only three counties show an R-effective number lower than 1, while Marin and Merced counties are the only two areas where the spread of the virus is listed as "likely increasing rapidly."

The spike in Marin may be partially due to an outbreak at San Quentin Prison. There are about 4,000 staff and inmates there and the infections number jumped from zero to 456 in the past three weeks.

Local ABC 7 news channel reported Wednesday that infections in the prison located in Northern California would likely top 800.

Newsom also released other worrisome numbers on COVID-19 trends in the state Thursday, including hospitalizations which increased by 32 percent over the past 14 days, and ICU hospitalizations which went up 19 percent in the same period. COVID-19 patients occupy 34 percent of all available ICU beds in the state.

"Some people just let down their guard," he said. "We are spreading this virus. It is our behaviors that are leading to these numbers."

Newsom warned that the state authority is prepared to "revert back" to more stringent coronavirus restrictions, if the data showed the disease continued to spread.

"We don't intend to do that, we don't want to do that, but I want to make this clear -- we are prepared to do that if we must," Newsom said.

Newsom praised Disney for not reopening its theme park in the city of Anaheim, which was scheduled to reopen on July 17, saying "I want to compliment Disney and their team for making that determination."

Disney said Wednesday that the company will delay the phased reopening of the Disneyland Resort, which is home to two theme parks -- Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. Enditem
A Tesco supermarket in Krakow, Poland. (Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Tesco (TSCO.L) has agreed to sell its Polish arm to Denmarks Salling Group for 181m ($227).

Tesco announced the all-cash deal on Thursday. The transaction, which covers 301 stores, is expected to close by the end of this financial year.

We have seen significant progress in our business in Central Europe, but continue to see market challenges in Poland, chief executive Dave Lewis said in a statement.

Today's announcement allows us to focus in the region on our business in Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, where we have stronger market positions with good growth prospects and achieve margins, cashflows and returns which are accretive to the Group.

Read more: Tesco CEO gets 4.8m bonus after profit rise

Tesco Polska had sales of 1.3bn last year but made an operating loss of 24m.

We understand and welcome the exit from a market where the business never really did breakthrough, wrote Clive Black and Darren Shirley, retail analysts at stockbroker Shore Capital.

The deal will leave Tesco with 19 stores in Poland. The supermarket said it was seeking to offload these and said 22 stores have already been sold over the last 18 months for around 200m.

The sale of Tesco Polska is the latest move by Lewis to slim down the supermarket groups international operations. Tesco has exited a joint venture in China and the sold its Thai and Malaysian business over the last years.

Read more: 'Unknown' new Tesco CEO must battle Brexit, German discounters, and changing tastes

Lewis thanked Tesco Poland staff for their dedication to serving customers in Poland over many years.

The energy and commitment they have shown over the past two years transforming Tesco Poland to a two-format business has been incredibly impressive, he said. We see this transaction as the best way to secure the future of the business for our colleagues and customers in Poland.

Tesco shares rose 1.2%, amid a wider market sell-off.
Louise Meuwissen in blossom shirt created with Glenn Barkley (2018). Credit:Isabelle Gander Employing techniques historically associated with 'women's work' allows contemporary artists to examine questions of gendered labour. Bulli-based artist Harriet Body, whose practice is driven by her work as an educator and community worker, believes that "to use [embroidery] in an art practice  puts ideas of care and the home into a place of importance". Body recently commenced a residency at Liverpool Hospital's Palliative Care Ward for Groundwell's Creative Legacy project. Conversations with patients will lead to works embroidered by the artist in the patients' handwriting. "It's a slow and thoughtful process  in contrast to the speed and greed of consumer culture," Body says. "The use of thread is poetic [and] there is time and body placed into the medium." Embracing textiles' temporality, corporeality and domestic familiarity can be seen in part as a turn away from screens. "Many young artists these days would say 'the only legitimate thing I can do is work digitally or post-digitally'," says curator John Cruthers, "but  other artists are saying 'no, we want to go back to  activities as elemental as getting your hands in wet clay, or using the sewing needle.'"

Spectrum's selection of these very different Australian female artists highlights the varied ways contemporary artists incorporate textiles into their practices  continuing and innovating traditional methods, upending assumed histories and realities, and exploring material and conceptual possibilities. LORRAINE CONNELLY-NORTHEY Waradgerie (Wiradjuri) Country, NSW Sculpture Works by by Lorraine Connelly-Northey at NAS Gallery, 2018. Credit:Peter Morgan

Detail of Teelah George's Sky Piece (Berlin, Belfast, Paris, Perth)', 2019-2020. Credit:Bo Wong In Connelly-Northey's hands, brittle rusted metal is deftly manipulated into stunning objects. Fashioned from salvaged materials such as bed springs and corrugated iron, these shapes are recognisable as scaled-up narrbong (fibre) bags and kooliman (coolamon), informed by the artist's knowledge of traditional weaving techniques of south-east NSW. A combination of deep cultural investigation, extensive sculptural practice, and aesthetic sensitivity makes for resonant works which draw on the intersection of knowledge from Connelly-Northey's parents. The striking minimalism of these sculptures deliver complex stories: the meeting of worlds, the gathering and distributing of resources, abandonment and waste. TEELAH GEORGE Perth, WA Painting, embroidery, sculpture

George's paintings are informed by her background in textiles, and her textiles layer threads like paint. Tonal harmonies are overlaid with topographic lines and lozenge shapes which lead the eye around and out of the work's boundaries. The artist's hand is present in the pushed and pulled colour, the innumerable embroidered threads, the fingerprint impressions in the cast bronze accents. While they hang on the wall, George's embroideries have an "objecthood", slumping under the weight of fibre. Through the historical format of the embroidery 'sampler', George also considers questions of repetition, labour and domestic skills. MEHWISH IQBAL Sydney, NSW Painting, printmaking, textiles, ceramics, sculpture and installation art Mehwish Iqbal's 'Monster Within' (detail), 2019. Credit:Mim Stirling

Ali Noble's 'Family Portrait', 2019. Credit:Ali Noble Flora, fauna, limbs and text intersect and interrupt each other, forming landscapes of the inner world. Layered, beautiful, and complex but also burdened, tangled and tenuous  Iqbal's embroidered works on paper evoke human identities and the journeys which shape them. Using very thin paper not designed for printmaking, Iqbal builds up layers of imagery, first through multiple printing presses and then with embroidery thread. In pushing these materials to their limits, Iqbal reminds us that human identity is shaped through experiences of upheval, such as migration and womanhood. ALI NOBLE Sydney, NSW Textiles, needlework, sculpture

Scalloped, coiled and teardrop shapes shimmer on a matte background, the kitschy crushed texture of pastel velveteen striking against the luxury of black velvet. In other works, swathes of fabric cascade from the loops of a metal stand, suggesting figures in gowns or capes. Flickering in the light as the viewer moves, Noble's works explore gendered labour via the tactile intimacy of velveteen, and its unfashionable but tantalising connotations. Made while the artist was jugglingmulti-generational care duties, the use of velveteen in recent works was inspired by velvet gifted to her by her seamstress mother. 'Ecology of Time' (2018) by Louise Meuwissen (detail). Credit:Louise Meuwissen LOUISE MEUWISSEN Melbourne, VIC Textiles, embroidery, sculpture, installation

Interlinked necklaces loop from rafter to rafter. Diamante-studded tiaras, chandelier earrings and floral hairpieces form elaborate crowns. A floating continent is encrusted with paillettes and beads, graphite and coral-red clusters amongst pearlescent blue. Mushroom-like pleated forms sprout from shibori-dyed fabric. Meuwissen's training as a painter is clear in her sculptural and wearable works which employ recycled found materials to create compositions in which colour, texture and form are considered to the minutest detail. The hours of painstaking work visible in each piece is a reminder of the uneasy relationship between labour and luxury. RAQUEL ORMELLA Canberra, ACT Embroidery, video, painting installation, drawing, zines Raquel Ormella, 'Wealth for Toil' #2. Credit:Milani Gallery, Brisbane

Reflective strips and neon work shirts, remnants of Australian flags, nylon banners: these everyday materials loaded with association have been poked, unpicked, shredded, their edges trailing off. Ormella's banner works are emblazoned with phrases with just enough ambiguity to speak to the viewer's own beliefs, such as Golden Promise, Nullius, and Fly In Fly Out. Other, smaller-scale embroidered works explore labour and memory through the repurposing of material, the use of scraps, and an equal focus on both sides of the object. KATY B. PLUMMER Sydney, NSW Video, sculpture, installation 'The Hooved and the Clawed Will Consider Their Violent Bond', 2017 by Katy B Plummer. Credit:Katy B Plummer

Textiles are celebrated as a theatrical stalwart in Plummer's works  all drapery, quilting and tassels. The tactile quality of Plummer's costumes and props expands out of the screen as installations, meeting the audience in the gallery in the form of objects such as rugs made from hand-dyed jute, and props of painted calico. Plummer's films explore memory, identity and the human condition with pathos and playfulness, using rich colours, excesses of makeup, curious features and bold costumes, and by exploiting and exploding the "feminine" qualities associated with needlework. 'Action for Arachne', a hanging work made from the re-purposed jeans of women artists by Rebecca Shanahan. Credit:Rebecca Shanahan REBECCA SHANAHAN Sydney, NSW Textiles, performance, photography, video

Shanahan has sat with visitors to her exhibition, talking with them and sewing labels onto the outside of their clothes just as many mothers have sewn name labels onto the inside of their children's clothes. Except, these labels read IT WILL NEVER TRICKLE DOWN, in reference to the neoliberal concept of trickle-down economics. Shanahan's practice interrogates the place of women, and of art, within the framework of labour and capitalism. Where does women's labour, such as sewing, sit in relation to the 'white cube' of the gallery? Shanahan's works confront didacticism and commerce with notions of exchange and intimacy. SALLY SMART Melbourne, VIC Film, performance, painting, collage, installation Sally Smart, 'The Violet Ballet', 2019. Credit:Sam Roberts

Collage, cutting and fabric recall and harness the power of choreography and theatre in Smart's works. Whether they take the form of an installation, a collage or a costume, Smart's images travel across history, bringing life to gestures past. Fabric marks and asserts space  dividing a room, forming a backdrop, clothing performers. The legacies of art history  Surrealism, Dada, the Ballet Russes  provide a sense of aesthetic familiarity, while women's bodies and histories take centre stage. Textiles in Smart's works are simultaneously strong and pliable  holding ideas and allowing for movement. HIROMI TANGO Tweed Heads, NSW Sculpture, installation, performance Artist Hiromi Tango pictured with her sculptures: 'Kimono's Will (Mother)', right and left,' Kimono's Will (Daughter)', both 2019. Credit:Greg Piper

Fibre's potential to be ethereally fine or densely woven allows artists to use it to gently caress or firmly envelop the viewer, evoking a sense of intimacy. Within their wild and woolly forms, Tango's works contain a meditative side. The artist's sculptures and environments are often riotously colourful, but their mass also enable an absorption of noise. Tango's performative installations are made up of objects and materials of significance, either to the artist or those who have donated them. Using metaphors from nature to represent scientific concepts, Tango collaborates with health and science researchers to create immersive, interactive environments which forge connections between scientific concepts and individual experiences. TJANPI DESERT WEAVERS NPY Lands, WA/NT/SA Weaving, sculpture Judith Yinyika Chambers from Warakurna (WA) work 'The Big Green Tractor' (2014). Credit:Karina Menkhorst

Continuing a legacy of cultural practice passed through generations, while innovating individually and collectively, the Tjanpi Desert Weavers are a group of over 400 artists from 26 remote communities across the remote Central and Western deserts, making sculptural and functional fibre art with native grasses. A social enterprise of the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women's Council, Tjanpi (meaning grass in Pitjantjatjara language) regularly collaborate with other artists and organisations including theatres and animators. Tjanpi artists worked with artist Fiona Hall on the work Tjukurpa Kumpilitja (Hidden Stories), Kuka Irititja which was exhibited as part of Hall's exhibition Wrong Way Time at the 2015 Venice Biennale. KATIE WEST Perth, WA Installation, performance Installation by Katie West at the TarraWarra Museum of Art, 2019.
An Irvington tax department employee claims the township denied him federal money reserved for those sickened by the coronavirus and had his paycheck reduced after he spoke up about it, according to a lawsuit.

In a complaint filed in federal court June 19, Anthony Brown, of West Orange, alleges he was exposed to the virus while working in the municipal office, after being deemed an essential employee. He claims Irvington did not allow him to collect money provided to those who leave work to recover from COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, and had multiple requests denied by the city. When Brown continued to ask for the federal aid, he began to see deductions from his paychecks, according to the lawsuit.

Following Browns complaints regarding Irvingtons failure to provide him paid Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) leave, the township began making improper deductions from Browns pay, the lawsuit reads. Brown requested explanations for the deductions from his pay and demanded that the deductions stop. Irvington did not respond to Brown.

Calls to Musa Malik, the township business administrator, were not immediately returned. Township attorney Ramon Rivera responded to inquiries, denying allegations in the complaint but declining to offer more details.

The township denies the allegations made in the complaint, Rivera wrote in an email. Nonetheless, I cannot comment further as this matter involves personnel issues that must remain confidential.

As the coronavirus outbreak grew, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a stay-at-home order March 21 for all residents to remain in their homes aside from essential shopping and activities. But, after being deemed a critical employee for his work as a clerk-typist in the townships tax department, Brown was told to report to work as usual.

Around mid-March, employees in the townships tax assessors office were exposed to COVID-19, the suit alleges, and the virus began to spread among employees in Browns department. On March 20, a day before Murphys order, the township notified all its employees that all staff that were experiencing symptoms of the virus should not report to work, the suit said.

Days later, on March 26, Brown began experiencing symptoms of the virus, including fatigue, fever and coughing, according to his lawsuit. Brown visited a doctor, who gave him a note to give the township that certified he was being treated for COVID-19.

But it was after April 17, when Brown showed the township the doctors note, that he began to run into problems, being given different reasons by the township why he wasnt eligible for federal sick leave, according to the complaint.

As part of the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, certain employees are entitled to up to two weeks, or 80 hours, of paid sick leave to take care of family or loved ones stricken with the coronavirus, or to recover from the virus themselves. Private employers with less than 500 employees and public employers are required to pay this sick leave.

But when Brown asked for two weeks of medical leave through the act, he claims he was told by someone at the township that he did not qualify, since the township already provided sick leave and vacation time. After Brown talked to an attorney and came back to the township with information from the U.S. Department of Labor that said he could receive federal sick leave along with sick leave from his public job, he was once again denied, the complaint alleges.

This time, Malik told Brown that the township didnt need to give the federal sick leave because it had more than 500 employees, the complaint said.

According to the website for New Jerseys department of labor, the 500 employee exemption specifically applies to private employers. Most government employers are also required to pay the federal sick leave, according to the website.

At this point, Malik told Brown that if he felt he was entitled to the federal sick leave, he should file a complaint with the department of labor, the complaint said. Brown once again spoke to an attorney, who gave him information that showed the 500 employee exemption only applied to private employers. After Brown sent the information to Malik on May 7, he had not received a response as of June 19, when the complaint was filed.

After he complained and tried to get the federal sick leave pay, Brown said he began to see improper reductions to his pay and was given no explanation. The pay reduction amounted to around 10 hours of work lost, said Colin Page, Browns attorney.

As of Thursday afternoon, Brown was still employed by the township and the pay reductions had not been corrected, said Page.

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

Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com.
Now, though, the protests in New York City are ebbing somewhat, though they are still drawing thousands of people to some events, particularly on weekends. And outside City Hall, there is a growing encampment of diverse demonstrators who are demanding deep cuts in the police budget.

And so that naturally raises a question for black activists who have long been dedicated to the movement: Will the commitment of white protesters endure?

Some of the white protesters identify as liberal and said they had long been sympathetic to the Black Lives Matter movement but had not done much, if anything, before to show it. Other white people said they had once believed that the police did not discriminate against black people but had changed their minds because of Mr. Floyds killing.

Some black people have responded to the influx of white protesters with a mix of hope, I-told-you-so sentiment and skepticism. For longtime activists, there is a frustration that it took a global pandemic and yet another death at the hands of the police to push white people to publicly embrace the movement. They wonder how long white people will keep showing up.

We see so many white people who hate us, absolutely hate us for the way that we look, Ms. Patton said, adding: To see white people on the front lines, its exciting to know that these younger generations of white people care.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size More than a thousand kilometres north of Indonesia's sprawling capital Jakarta, Natuna Besar island is just a speck in the vast South China Sea. The largest island in one of the most remote parts of Indonesia, it remains an undeveloped, quiet frontier town, home to about 80,000 people. But it is on the front line in the contest for influence and control of a vital strategic waterway. Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines all have rights in this sea under the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea. Taiwan also has a claim and China, under its "nine-dash line" policy, considers more than 80 per cent of these waters to be Chinese. The sea accounts for 12 per cent of the global fish catch, according to a 2015 estimate, in a region where populations and incomes are growing rapidly. But the increasingly tense contest here is not just about fish. It's also about tiny, militarised islands and freedom of navigation in waters through which one-third of global shipping passes each year. The US State Department estimated in 2019 there were $US2.5 trillion ($3.6 trillion) in untapped oil and gas reserves in the South China Sea. Another estimate, from the US Energy Information Agency, is of 11 billion probable barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

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It's China's claim to the sea  and its program of building up reefs into artificial islands since 2014  that is the greatest concern. Places once marked only by fishing huts can now host military planes, missiles and refuelling stations for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N). The rising superpower's building program has been the most aggressive, its claim the most extensive, and its air force is by far the largest and most capable in the region. It is Beijing that can create facts on the water and change the very terrain that is subject to dispute. December 2019: Chinese President Xi Jinping at the commissioning of China's first entirely home-built aircraft carrier in Hainan Province, on the South China Sea. Credit:Xinhua via AP A contest on the waves In December 2019 and January 2020, Indonesia - which is not a claimant state to the Spratly or Paracel islands, but which faces a competing Chinese claim to the seas north of the Natuna Islands  was dragged back into the contest. A flotilla of as many as 63 Chinese fishing boats, four Chinese coast guard vessels and a Chinese maritime surveillance vessel sailed into the Natunas, causing a tense confrontation on the water and a furious exchange between Jakarta and Beijing. More recently Chinese forces were harassing a ship, the West Capella, contracted by Malaysia to survey for resources in waters China claims. In April, Chinese vessels rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat. In recent years it has sent its outsized coast guard, maritime militia, fishing fleet and more to intimidate countries which have valid legal claims under the UN convention.

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The US and Australia conducted naval exercises in the disputed waters earlier this year, but while many nations condemn China's actions, Beijing isn't slowing down. After Chinese vessels entered Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) earlier this year, Jakarta scrambled its navy and Bakamla (maritime security) vessels, a handful of F-16 fighter jets and sent fishing boats from the main island of Java to repel the incursion. Eventually the Chinese vessels left the waters. Greg Poling, the director of the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, says that China has not yet "won" the South China Sea but "I do think on whatever metric you use the US is losing and South-east Asian states are losing. Whether you want to look at that as a question of international law or access or resources, clearly China is winning on all fronts." Poling has a blunt warning for a world already reeling from China's recent bloody border confrontations with India, its crackdown on Hong Kong's rights and freedoms and its sabre-rattling towards Taiwan. "It still seems unlikely to me [that] you would have an intentional clash between the PLA-N and the US Navy, [but] we cant discount the possibility of an accidental clash," he says. "The way China intends to dominate the South China Sea is without force, by forcing south-east Asian states to accept that they have already lost, that Chinas predominance with paramilitary and coast guard forces is such that [they] should just take whatever bad deal is on the table - thereby undermining the credibility of the US, Australia, Japan and anyone else."

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'They will just return' During a visit to Natuna Besar by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age and in interviews over the past three months, local fishermen told us that Chinese vessels have already returned, despite an initial show of force from Indonesia and China's struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic. The island boasts unspoiled beaches and idyllic forests, but minimal facilities such as restaurants, shops, hotels or even a taxi service for tourists. There are no flights from Jakarta and just two a day from the regional capital Batam to the island's airport, which doubles as an air force base. The runway at Natuna Besar's airport. Credit:Amilia Rosa The local bupati, or regent, has big plans to attract foreign investors from the US and beyond  including Australia  to turn the island into a hot tourist destination. The potential is there, though not yet the money. Many of the locals still make a living from traditional fishing in small, five or six-tonne wooden boats. Local man Dedi, 36, who uses just one name, has been fishing in the North Natuna Sea (a term Jakarta began using in 2017 to bolster its position there) since he was a child.

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He and other local fishermen such as Endang, 33, fish using traditional fishing lines. The men willingly shared videos they have taken and GPS data that show the Chinese vessels, including coast guard and a government-funded fishing fleet, that encroach upon Indonesian waters. Dedi says the last time he saw Chinese vessels in the waters of the Natunas was on May 4 and 5. Dedi, a fisherman and resident of the Natuna Islands, with his catch. Credit:Amilia Rosa "It was Chinese coast guard and further in the distance at least three Chinese fishing boats. They all have metal hulls, big ones, hundreds of tonnes. There could have been more Chinese fishing boats, but it was too far for me to see. "I am sad, we Natuna fishermen are sad, we have all these foreign vessels in our waters. Everywhere, all the time. I don't see the Chinese as often, only every few months. But the Vietnamese, there are so many of them, some come so close to shore, to shallow waters, only 60 nautical miles from land. They use smaller boats [compared to the Chinese], maybe 60 to 80 tonnes, they use Malaysian flags, but we can tell, the shape of their boats is different to the Malaysians'." He says he saw two Malaysian boats and at least 40 Vietnamese boats on his last trip: "There were so many of them, I was the only Indonesian boat, tiny [six tonnes] compared to them." Vietnamese and Malaysian fishing boats confiscated by Indonesian authorities and held at Batam Island. Credit:Amilia Rosa

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THINGS got heated in the House of Assembly this week when the Public Order and Criminal Justice Bill came up for what was expected to be its first, second and third reading, and passage.





The public outcry surrounding the bill descended into disorder among the elected and appointed officials in the House on Monday (June 22).





Impassioned comments from government appointed member Hon. Maxovonna Thomas about the consultation period being widely ignored by the Opposition and local lawyers, led to a shouting match between him and PNP elected member Hon. Akierra Missick - an attorney herself.





Speaker of the House, Hon. Dwayne Taylor quelled the disagreement by ordering the two out, after shouting to be heard for several seconds.





When things quietened down, Hon. Taylor granted Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinsons motion that the bill should go through two readings by the Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles - the mover of bill - and debate among members of the House stayed until the public gets a chance to have a say.





Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Washington Misick was not in agreement with the suggestion, protesting vehemently that the provisions of the document should not be read in parliament before the public is first given a chance to be heard.





He was advocating for only a first reading of the document, if that, as it needed a lot more review before coming to the House, he said.





The vote for the AGs two readings was granted 11 to five in favour.





The premier sought to assure the House and the public that the Government is not looking to take away the rights of citizens.





"We will educate persons on the bill, the Opposition as well as other members in this House will have the opportunity to look at the bill that is presented today and also be the benefactors of the amendments ahead of the debate and that is a commitmentthe only objective is to get the bill righter.





She also had some words for Hon. Misicks insinuations that the Government was trying to sneak the bill past the public.





The premier pointed out that he and members on his side had several opportunities to offer comment on her suggestions that the bill be read twice on June 22, before being sent for public consultation.





"We gave notice, he had no response at that time, zero response and when he did respond, transparently I said to the leader of the Opposition consider the people who this bill is seeking to protect.





"The same issue of crime, threats on witnesses and jurors and judges, this situation that they are facing this bill is not a bill to not criticise the premier or the Government, people can still cuss the Government and we will defend their right to do that.





"So dont act as if this bill has nothing to do with the criminal situation that we have going on in Turks and Caicos, she said.





The decision announced by the Government in parliament to hold the bill, came after several days of continuous public protests, both online and in front of the Premiers Office.





Residents wanted the bill to first be presented to the public so that they can be educated on the provisions of the proposed law and can give feedback to protect their constitutionally enshrined rights to freedom of expression.





After the passage of her parliamentary motion, the premier also proposed that two members from the Government and two members from the Opposition should join the attorney general to capture all amendments that are made, as well as concerns by members of the public.





The bill went through its two readings, but Opposition members were not present as they had walked out of the House before the AGs presentation.




India has accused China of turning the bilateral relationship clock back to 1990s by trying to foist a war-like situation along the 3,488-kilometre-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) through its aggressive military posture in East Ladakh.

Short of saying that Xi Jinping, who is also commander in chief of the PLA, had literally torn the 1993 peace and tranquility agreement to shreds, the Modi government has served a diplomatic ultimatum on him with serious consequences on the bilateral ties. The 1993 agreement signed during Narasimha Rao-Jiang Zemin era makes it amply clear that the military forces have to be kept to a minimum level along the LAC.

Also Read: Chinas dragon act on LAC to be decoded by General Naravane in high-level meet today

The Indian statement on Thursday carries a sting in the very last line by conveying that all gains made in the bilateral relationship in the past three decades will be lost if China does not de-escalate and disengage the PLA forces from the LAC. India is quite capable of handling the military to military posture on the LAC but the entire economic relationship will go for a toss if PLA does not de-escalate. It cannot be business as usual for China if this situation continues. It is this call that General Secretary Xi Jinping has to take, said a senior official.

Also Watch | Ban Chinese companies from Indias 5G trial: Former envoy to China

Even though there has not been any military flying by the Chinese Air Force in the past three days, PLA has amassed troops all along the LAC with artillery and missile support. Its posture along the 1,597 km LAC in Ladakh is threatening with troops ready for the red flag to go up. Its military air bases at Kashgar, Hotan, Yarkand, Korla and Gor Gunsa are battle ready.

However, the PLA is rather unhappy at the change of military attitude showed by the 16 Bihar Indian Army unit at the June 15 Galwan flare-up and the Indian posture at Daulet Beg Oldi. With the Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road complete, India has made game changing military posture near the Karakoram pass with the deployment of T-90 tanks, Russian BMP amphibious infantry fighting vehicles and American M-777 155mm howitzers.

Also Read: At 4-hr long India-China border talks, focus on de-escalation and disengagement

With the Indian deployment of state-of-the-art weaponry at the highest DBO post and all advance landing grounds, including Nyoma active, the PLA will suffer heavy casualties in case it tries to bully across the LAC.

The DSDBO road has been the turning point for India as the strategic axis had put paid to all Chinese plans to occupy Ladakh by linking up to Siachen Glacier and virtually make Indian defences untenable in Kashmir. Had the Indian governments in the past agreed to so-called peaceniks who wanted Indian Army to demilitarize Siachen or turn it into a park, the Chinese plan would have become a reality.

While the Chinese posture on LAC continues to be aggressive, the clock is ticking on the bilateral relationship as India has made up its mind that it will slam the economic door on Beijing if dis-engagement does not take place within weeks.

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The Victorian government has refused to explain how Australian Defence Force members would be used in the state's COVID-19 response, hours after a last-minute backflip on plans to call in 850 defence officers.

Senior government minister Jacinta Allan told reporters on Friday that some ADF personnel were already helping the Victorian response, but was unable to specify how many, or how many more would be called in, amid reports Daniel Andrews' government downsized its request from 850 members to 200.

Senior government minister Jacinta Allan speaking to reporters on Friday morning. Credit:Justin McManus

Ms Allan said Victoria Police protective services officers would instead be called into hotels, but refused to say what their responsibilities would be and whether they would replace private security contractors, after several security guards contracted coronavirus in the Rydges on Swanston and Stamford Plaza hotels.

Late on Friday afternoon, the government confirmed all of the 200 personnel would work at testing sites to support the bolstered testing regime.
NASA has stepped closer to allowing remote onboard computers to direct the search for life on other planets.

Scientists from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre have announced first results from new intelligent systems, to be installed in space probes, capable of identifying geochemical signatures of life from rock samples. Allowing these intelligent systems to choose both what to analyse and what to tell us back on Earth will overcome severe limits on how information is transmitted over huge distances in the search for life from distant planets. The systems will debut on the 2022/23 ExoMars mission, before fuller implementation on more distant bodies in the Solar System.

Presenting the work at the Goldschmidt Geochemistry conference, Lead researcher Victoria Da Poian said "This is a visionary step in space exploration. It means that over time we'll have moved from the idea that humans are involved with nearly everything in space, to the idea that computers are equipped with intelligent systems, and they are trained to make some decisions and are able to transmit in priority the most interesting or time-critical information".

Eric Lyness, software lead in the Planetary Environments Lab at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), emphasized the need to have smart instruments for planetary exploration: "It costs a lot of time and money to send the data back to Earth which means scientists can't run as many experiments or analyse as many samples as they would like. By using AI to do an initial analysis of the data after it is collected but before it is sent back to Earth, NASA can optimise what we receive, which greatly increases the scientific value of space missions"

Victoria Da Poian and Eric Lyness (both at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre), have trained artificial intelligence systems to analyse hundreds of rock samples and thousands of experimental spectra from the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA), an instrument that will land on Mars within the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover in 2023. MOMA is a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer-based instrument, capable of analyzing and identifying organic molecules in rocks samples. It will search for past or present life on the Martian surface and subsurface through analysis of rock samples. The system to be sent to Mars will still transmit most data back to Earth, but later systems for the outer solar system will be given autonomy to decide what information to return to Earth.

First results show that when the system's neural network algorithm processes a spectrum from an unknown compound, this can be categorized with up to 94% accuracy and matched to previously seen samples with 87% accuracy. This will be further refined until being incorporated into the 2023 mission.

Victoria Da Poian continued:

"What we get from these unmanned missions is data, lots of it; and sending data over hundreds of millions of kilometres can be very challenging in different environments and extremely expensive; in other words, bandwidth is limited. We need to prioritize the volume of data we send back to Earth, but we also need to ensure that in doing that we don't throw out vital information. This has led us to begin to develop smart algorithms which can for now help the scientists with their analysis of the sample and their decision-making process regarding subsequent operations, and as a longer-term objective, algorithms that will analyse the data itself, will adjust and tune the instruments to run next operations without the ground-in-the-loop, and will transmit home only the most interesting data."

The team used the raw data from initial laboratory tests with an Earth-based MOMA instrument to train computers to recognize familiar patterns. When new raw data is received, the software tells the scientists what previously encountered samples match this new data.

Eric Lyness said:

"The mission will face severe time limits. When we will be operating on Mars, samples will only remain in the rover for at most a few weeks before the rover dumps the sample and moves to a new place to drill. So, if we need to retest a sample, we need to do it quickly, sometimes within 24 hours. In the future, as we move to explore the moons of Jupiter such as Europa, and of Saturn such as Enceladus and Titan*, we will need real-time decisions to be made onsite. With these moons it can take 5 to 7 hours for a signal from Earth to reach the instruments, so this will not be like controlling a drone, with an instant response. We need to give the instruments the autonomy to make rapid decisions to reach our science goals on our behalf".

See NASA's planned Dragonfly mission to Titan. This is part of NASA's "New Frontiers" program"

Eric Lyness commented: "When first gathered, the data produced by the MOMA life-searching instrument is difficult to interpret. It will not shout out "I've found life here", but will give us probabilities which will need to be analyzed. These results will largely tell us about the geochemistry that the instruments find. We're aiming for the system to give scientists directions, for example our system might say "I've got 91% confidence that this sample corresponds to a real world sample and I'm 87% sure it is phospholipids, similar to a sample tested on July 24th, 2018 and here is what that data looked like". We'll still need humans to interpret the findings, but the first filter will be the AI system".

The researchers note that data is expensive to send back from Mars, and gets more expensive as landers get further from Earth. "Data from a rover on Mars can cost as much as 100,000 times as much as data on your cell phone, so we need to make those bits as scientifically valuable as possible." said Eric Lyness.

Commenting, Dr Joel Davis (postdoctoral researcher in planetary geology at the Natural History Museum, London) said: "One of the main challenges for planetary missions is getting the data back to Earth - it costs both time and money. On Mars, the travel time delay is around 20 minutes and this gets more the further you go out in the solar system. Given the finite lifespans of missions, scientists have to be very selective about the data they chose to bring back. These results certainly seem promising; having greater autonomy onboard spacecraft is one way of ensuring the usefulness of the data returned."

Dr Davis was not involved in this work, this is an independent comment.

The Goldschmidt conference thanks the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre for their assistance in the preparation of this material. ExoMars is a joint European-Russian, European Space Agency-Roskosmos project. One of the central goals of the mission is to search for traces of past and present life. A key instrument is the Mars Organic Molecule Analyser (MOMA), which is a joint German-French-American investigation led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Gottingen.

The Goldschmidt conference is the world's main geochemistry conference, hosted by the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry. Held annually, it covers such material as climate change, astrobiology, planetary and stellar development and conditions, chemistry of Earth materials, pollution, the undersea environment, volcanoes, and many other subjects. For 2020 the scheduled Hawaii congress has been moved online, and takes place from 21-26 June, see https://goldschmidt.info/2020/index. Future congresses are in Lyon, France (2021) and the rescheduled Hawaii congress (2022).

Please follow Astrobiology on Twitter.
Days after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) clarified in the Delhi High Court that Google Pay did not provide any payment systems raised questions about the legitimacy pf the digital transaction platform, Google Pay has clarified that it operated completely within the law.

In a tweet, GPay clarified that the app functions as a "technology service provider to partner banks, to allow payments via UPI". It also clarified that "All transactions made via the app are fully protected by redressal processes laid out by applicable guidelines of the RBI/NPCI".

The clarification came after the electronic payment and settlement systems infrastructure provider The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), confirmed that the platform was indeed an authorised app and that payments made through it are fully protected.

READ: Google Pay is NOT Banned By RBI: Your Transactions Are As Safe As Any Other Payment App

Despite the clarification, social media has been filled with reactions and debate regarding Gpay with many erroneously claiming that the transaction app had been banned by RBI. Despite the clarification, "RBI bans Gpay" trended on Twitter and memes flooded the microblogging site Twitter.

Google pay banned by RBIMe who got 'Better luck next time' in every scratch card pic.twitter.com/fUlxBUcMLQ $U@ (@97suryanarayan) June 26, 2020

* GPayBanned By RBI *Google Pay ke rivals : pic.twitter.com/0Dm5vuzeyy Vijay Jaiswal (@puntasticVU) June 26, 2020

GPayBanned By RBIMe who never used Google Pay as I have no money in my bank acc.#GPay pic.twitter.com/6N4EJzRTTh Sociopath Memer (@sociopath_ladka) June 26, 2020

#googlepayGPayBanned by RBI..Google pay users after hearing this news :- pic.twitter.com/fgjiLrsU5f Naman (@ama_joking) June 26, 2020

#googlepayGPayBanned by RBI..Google pay users after hearing this news :- pic.twitter.com/fgjiLrsU5f Naman (@ama_joking) June 26, 2020

Google Pay looking at Personal data in Mobile Phones after getting fully protected under RBI, NPCI Guidelines: pic.twitter.com/UKjQWFBRMF not Slim just Shady (@Saartistic_Guy) June 26, 2020

Some, however, took to Twitter to clarify that GPay indeed was not banned by RBI and that the trend was absolutely fake.

Attention Please !FAKE TREND EXPOSED'GPayBanned By RBI' is a totally fake trend, mostly probably from IT CellGoogle Pay is authorized and fully secured under the law, clarifies NPCI IT Cell; please don't waste public's timeRT to STOP FAKE NEWS https://t.co/wdjMu3srTX Mohd. Abdul Sattar (@SattarFarooqui) June 26, 2020

Who gains by creating fake news against Google Pay? Srinivas Kodali (@digitaldutta) June 26, 2020

It is important to note that Gpay has NOT been banned by either RBI or NPCI.

The trend has likely stemmed from a report from earlier this week, wherein a Press Trust of India report quoted the Reserve Bank of India as stating that Google Pay does not operate a payment system in India, and hence does not find a place in the list of authorised payment system operators published by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). RBIs response came in light of a PIL to the Delhi High Court, filed by economist Abhijit Mishra. However, Google has since responded to RBIs submissions, stating that it is a legal operator in India, and as a result, your money is as safe as it would be on another other payment services platform.
In a study not yet published in a journal, scientists have reported that the new coronavirus was present in wastewater in Barcelona, Spain in March 2019, a finding that, if confirmed, would show that the pathogen had emerged much earlier than previously thought.

But independent experts who reviewed the findings said they doubted the claim. The study was flawed, they said, and other lines of evidence strongly suggest the virus emerged in China late last year.

Up until now, the earliest evidence of the virus anywhere in the world has been from December 2019 in China and it was only known to have hit mainland Spain in February 2020.

Barcelona is a city that is frequented by Chinese people, in tourism and business, so probably this happened also elsewhere, and probably at the same time, said the lead author, Albert Bosch, a professor in the Department of Microbiology of the University of Barcelona who has been studying viruses in wastewater for more than 40 years.
Dublin, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ResearchAndMarkets.com has published a new article "Smokers Urged to Quit While Researchers Look to Tobacco Pharming"



Smoking increases the risk factors for many respiratory conditions such as pneumonia. Many health officials are encouraging smokers to quit in order to minimize their risk of being severely affected by the coronavirus. Although the numbers quitting smoking have increased, some smokers are continuing to smoke to cope with stress and anxiety during the pandemic. South Africa banned the sale of tobacco products as part of its pandemic response. However, many smokers continued to get cigarettes from street vendors or family and friends. The sales of single cigarettes and lesser-known brands also increased as many popular brands were unavailable.



Some researchers are investigating the use of tobacco plants to develop potential therapies and vaccine candidates for COVID-19. Known as pharming, the process involves injecting other DNA into plants to grow tailored molecules. Researchers at the Institute for Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology in Valencia are using a close relative of the tobacco plant to help to produce molecules to fight COVID-19. This plant has previously been used in the development of treatments for the Ebola virus. Meanwhile, British American Tobacco subsidiary Kentucky Bioprocessing is also working on a potential vaccine candidate using tobacco plants.





To see the full article and a list of related reports on the market, visit "Smokers Urged to Quit While Researchers Look to Tobacco Pharming"

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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(Natural News) The Black Lives Matter movement has begun actively targeting Christian statues and churches, expanding their historical revisionist drive, which initially only targeted statues of and places named after former Confederate officers.

In Washington, D.C., protesters have vandalized and illegally occupied St. Johns Episcopal Church, which is located across the street from the White House, and is where President Donald Trump, several weeks ago, held up a Bible after vandals occupied it.

BHAZ  Black House Autonomous Zone  has been spray painted on the columns of the historic St. Johns church outside the White House. pic.twitter.com/or2C2myVSX  Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) June 23, 2020

The churchs front exterior was occupied and vandalized, with the letters BHAZ spray painted onto the front pillars  the acronym for Black House Autonomous Zone. Several rioters interviewed by the Washington Examiner said that the establishment of BHAZ was a way of scoring restitution for Episcopalians who happened to be slave owners.

Fortunately, the damage done to St. Johns is only cosmetic, and once law and order is reestablished in the area, everything can be repaired and repainted. However, in other parts of the country, the BLM rioters are dealing more permanent destruction on Christian symbols.

In San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, rioters took down two statues of Junipero Serra. The Catholic priest is known as the founder and leader of the mission system. Serra was recognized by Pope Francis and the Catholic Church as a saint in 2015.

Activists just toppled the Junipero Serra statue in Golden Gate Park here in San Francisco Now theyre onto Francis Scott Key, slave owner and writer of the Star Spangled Banner pic.twitter.com/Ykv0hFMZvK  Joe Rivano Barros (@jrivanob) June 20, 2020

The Spanish Embassy defended Serra, asking the country to protect its rich shared history with Spain. Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco Salvatore Cordileone issued a statement saying that the BLM movement has descended into mob rule, and that the once-peaceful protests that had sincere calls for racial justice for George Floyd and other victims of police brutality have been hijacked by opportunists, turning it into a movement of violence, looting and vandalism. (Related: McConnell and other Republican senators denounce the mobs that have toppled statues of historical figures.)

Statues of Jesus are next, said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union. It wont end. Pray for the USA.

Some of the anti-Christian sentiments are also coming from inside Christian organizations. Earlier in June, Monsignor Charles Pope, pastor at the Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Catholic Church in D.C. was canceled after he led a religious procession and prayed for racial healing in front of the Emancipation Memorial.

In Boston, the Catholic Archdiocese of the area asked for the resignation of Father Daniel Moloney, who has served as a chaplain for MIT since 2015, after he wrote an email to students in which he questioned whether George Floyds death was racially motivated, that people need to treat each other with more charity and that unfriending and canceling each other over charges of racism will not bring about healing.

Furthermore, the BLM movement has been expanding their reach into Europe. The Black Madonna of Czestochowa in Breda, Netherlands, a monument dedicated to Polish soldiers in World War II who gave their lives defeating the Nazis, was spray-painted with the letters BLM.

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how the BLM movement is filled with people who are bullying Christians and conservatives who dont want to bow down to their movement.

President Trump vows to defend Christian statues and churches

President Trump has vowed to sign an executive order that would protect federal monuments and other public statues from being vandalized or desecrated in any way. This executive order would make the act punishable by jail time. While its still unclear what the punishment will be, Trump has said in a tweet that vandals should get up to 10 years in prison for destruction of federal property.

..This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2020

On June 24, at a press conference Trump held with Polish President Andrzej Duda, he said that this very strong executive order will come out by the end of the week, and it will send a powerful statement to the BLM movement and to the rioters that vandalize and destroy Americas monuments.

Now they are looking at Jesus Christ, they are looking at George Washington, Thomas Jefferson. Its not going to happen.

The civil unrest has not stopped. Stay updated by subscribing to Rioting.news.

Sources include:

FoxNews.com 1

WashingtonExaminer.com

MercuryNews.com

CatholicNewsAgency.com

FoxNews.com 2

MEAWW.com
Delhi, Karnataka, Bihar: What is allowed and what is not

Unlock 2.0 guidelines: Here is what may open and what may not

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 26: The Centre is likely to announce the Unlock 2.0 guidelines on June 30. While cases continue to rise, there are likely to be more easing of the restrictions.

Reports suggest that as part of Unlock 2.0, there is a likelihood of international travel being allowed on certain routes. This also comes in the wake of several airlines raising objections to Air India's monopoly in the Vande Bharat Mission.

It is likely that flights may be allowed on the US, UK, France and Germany routes. Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri had said that a decision to resume international passenger flights will be taken in July. He said that it would depend on the coronavirus behaviour and if the entire ecosystem and state governments are onboard.

Modi to CMs: Need to think about Unlock 2

Puri said that he is often asked, when can international flights resume. If you leave it to me and if the ecosystem works, and if we have the predictability in terms of the behaviour of the virus, I think in the coming month, we should taking the decisions, he had also said.

China muscle flexing: US reviews troop deployment after India-China tensions rise | Oneindia News

On the education front, schools, colleges and universities are likely to remain shut, post June 30 also. State governments have expressed their reluctance to resume classes.

Parents too have been extremely skeptical about sending their children to schools. MHRD Minister, Ramesh Pokriyal had said that educational institutions may only start in August.

Unlock 2.0 would also see the Centre taking a decision on re-opening of gyms and bars.

While there is no word on this, sources have told OneIndia that the Centre would take a feedback from the states on various such issues.

In several states, area wise sealing has been undertaken. Four areas in Bengaluru were completely sealed off in the wake of the rising number of cases. Tamil Nadu, Assam and Mizoram have extended the lockdown until June 30. In West Bengal, the lockdown has been extended in the containment zones until July 31.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 11:03 [IST]
Guwahati, June 26 : Alarmed by the sudden spike in the number Covid-19 cases, the Assam government has decided to promulgate 14-day 'total lockdown' from Monday midnight in Guwahati, night curfew in the entire state and 'complete lockdown' on Saturdays and Sundays in major cities and towns of the state, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.

Briefing the media about the government decision, Sarma said that all government and non-government offices, markets, shops, business establishments, commercial and industrial units would be shut and no public or private transport would be allowed to operate in Guwahati for 14 days starting Monday midnight.

Assam reported 276 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the state's tally to 6,646, with active cases at 2,601 while 4,033 patients have been discharged from various hospitals after recovering from the disease. Ten people, including a 16-year-old girl, have died of Covid-19 so far.

"It is very alarming that 762 cases, including 677 patients with no travel history, were found in Guwahati city after the Assam Targeted Surveillance Programme (ATSP), which aims to conduct 50,000 random tests in 11 days across the state, started last week.

"However, it is a matter of satisfaction that Assam's recovery rate is 60.68 per cent, which is much higher than the national average of 58.24 per cent," Sarma said.

He said that the 12-hour night curfew from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. would be imposed from Friday evening and strictest lockdown measures would be maintained in the first seven days of the 14-day lockdown.

The Health Minister advised the people that if anyone shows any Covid-19 symptom, he or she, except the aged people, can take rest and medical care at his/her home as in most cases, patients recover from the disease.

The minister said that medicine shops, hospitals, physiotherapy centres, railways, airliner services, banks, ATMs, telecommunication, power generation and transmission, transportation of essential goods, petrol pumps, media and hotels with quarantine facilities would remain functional.

Assam government secretariat, directorates of various departments with skeleton employees would remain open and critical infrastructure, including oil sector, would remain operational.

"The government was totally reluctant to re-promulgate total lockdown in Guwahati as it badly affected the economic and revenue aspects of both the government and common people, besides causing distress to all walks of life. But the alarming rise in Covid-19 cases in the community prompted the government to take the harsh step," Sarma added.

"Please finish your shopping of essentials by Sunday," the minister told the people.

In view of the sudden spike in coronavirus cases in Guwahati and other parts of the state, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal reviewed the Covid-19 situation in Assam.

Sonowal said steps have been initiated to control the recent jump in cases, but if required more stringent measures would be taken to deal with the situation.
Alleged nepotism by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and workers involved in distribution of compensation in districts hit by Cyclone Amphan has revived the ghost of cut money or illegal commission they charged from beneficiaries of rural housing schemes in the past.

The allegations have led to clashes and protests with governor Jagdeep Dhankhar tweeting on Friday that the law and order situation in three districts was worrisome.

A majority of the peoples representatives in the cyclone-affected districts belong to the TMC. Villagers in around a dozen panchayat areas have alleged that the sum of Rs 20,000 that the state has sanctioned for repairing damaged houses is being given to people who are close to the ruling party and own houses that have suffered no damage. There are also allegations that people, many of whom are jobless migrant labourers, are not getting work under the MGNREGA projects.

After the cyclone, the state government told the visiting inter-ministerial central team that the quantum of damage caused by the cyclone stood at Rs 1.02 lakh crore. The states report said 28.6 lakh houses and 17 lakh hectares of farmland were damaged while damage done to dwellings stood at Rs 28,560 crore.

On Monday, a panchayat office and the home of a TMC leader were ransacked by the partys supporters at Sagar in South 24 Parganas district and the office of the community block development officer (BDO) at Deganga in adjoining North 24 Parganas district was vandalized. Fifteen people, including some college students, were arrested in Deganga.

On Tuesday, there was unrest at Mathurapur in the South 24 Parganas and Nandakumar in East Midnapore. On Wednesday, BJP and TMC workers clashed at Bhagabanpore in East Midnapore district when the opposition party demanded scrutiny of the beneficiaries. On Thursday, there was a clash at Amdanga in North 24 Parganas.

On Friday morning, Dhankhar tweeted, Protests @MamataOfficial over corruption, nepotism and politicization #Amphan relief distribution is rocking the state. Worrisome law and order scenario in East Midnapore, South and North 24 Parganas as BDO offices are being gheraoed.

Lip facade will not work. Officials @MamataOfficial must face consequences for such omission acts and abandonment of their work to political party. Officials must be booked for acts of omission and commission. Non entitled beneficiaries be penalized and benefit retrieved, Dhankhar said in another tweet.

The incidents triggered a debate at the all-party meeting that chief minister Mamata Banerjee convened on June 24, primarily to discuss the Covid-19 crisis, said BJP, Left and Congress leaders who took part.

Everybody should get compensation. Political background of people should not be considered. I request people not to vandalize officers of the BDOs. The administration will prepare the list of beneficiaries, Banerjee said after the all-party meeting. The agitations, however, did not stop.

Opposition leaders said that at the meeting Banerjee told them that the unrest was a stray incident and there was no large-scale nepotism as alleged.

According to our conservative estimate anything between Rs 250 and 300 crore has been distributed among people who are not entitled, said BJP vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar who attended the all-party meet along with BJP state president Dilip Ghosh.

To the opposition parties, the alleged corruption in cyclone-hit districts is just another avatar of the cut money scandal that rocked Bengal a year ago. It became one of the key issues in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the principal opposition force, won 18 of the states 42 seats.

While addressing a TMC meeting on June 18 last year, Banerjee asked party leaders to return the cut money they took from people and exposed corrupt functionaries to public scrutiny. Her statement became a political weapon for the BJP which had just won 18 Lok Sabha seats even as the TMC claimed that 99.99 % of its leaders and workers were honest and that the CMs warning was meant for just 0.01%.

Soon after this, Didi ke Bolo (Tell Didi) a helpline planned by election strategist and Banerjees advisor Prasant Kishor to let people to reach out to the government with their grievances led to thousands of complaints against party leaders. Most of these were against panchayat and district leaders.

TMC can never change its character no matter how loudly the chief minister may have claimed that there is no corruption in distribution of compensation. We have demanded an all-party monitoring committee, said Congress state president Somen Mitra.

This is the last opportunity for TMC workers to make money because they know the party will be out of power in 2021, said Sujan Chakraborty, Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator and leader of the Left parties in the state assembly.

The allegations have surfaced because the government allowed panchayat leaders to select beneficiaries. The job should have been done by the administration right from the beginning, said Kolkata-based political science professor Udayan Bandopadhyay.

Those who own brick and concrete houses cannot claim compensation. People who misrepresented facts will have to return the money, a BDO in South 24 Parganas said on condition of anonymity.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the affected areas in Bengal and Odisha within 48 hours of the cyclone. He announced an initial grant of Rs 1,000 crore for relief and rehabilitation in Bengal and assured both states of more support after conducting separate aerial surveys with Mamata Banerjee and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 25)  A bill pushing to rename the countrys primary airport has been filed in Congress.

House Bill No. 7031, authored by Representatives Paolo Duterte, Lord Allan Velasco, and Eric Go Yap, seeks to change the name of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas.

NAIA is the international gateway of the Philippines, being the biggest and largest international airport in the country," the House bill read. "As such, there is a need to identify the same as belonging to the Philippines."

According to a press release from Rep. Duterte, the name change will finally get rid of the [airports] bad image and enable it to start fresh," after previously being named as one of the worst airports in the world.

With the Filipino name, the representatives argue that the airport will easily be identified as the international doorway of the country.

The proposed bill will be calendared for first reading where it will be referred to the Committee on Transportation for deliberation.

In December 1987, under the administration of President Corazon Aquino, the Manila International Airport was renamed after her late husband, Senator Benigno Ninoy Aquino Jr., who was assassinated at the airport's tarmac in 1983.
Amazon is sweetening its Prime membership to retain customers on its popular premium service. The Amazon Prime membership costs Rs 999 annually while its monthly subscription is available for Rs 129 per month. Now, the US-based giant is offering a Rs 100 discount on the yearly subscription when you renew your Prime membership, but there are some caveats.

The Amazon Prime membership can be re-bought for Rs 100 less, which brings the price down to Rs 899 for the annual subscription. But this deal is only available to the Prime members whose membership is about to end. Moreover, the deal is available until the current membership period ends. This means that if you renew the Prime membership within your existing membership period, the next yearly subscription will cost you Rs 899. The regular price of the Prime membership for a year is Rs 999.

Since Amazon offers many services under its Prime membership, such as free one-day and two-day deliveries, access to Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Reading, and Prime Gaming, it seems rather impractical for someone to cancel the subscription. But there could be different reasons when you have to end the services and stop paying Rs 999 annually. If you cancelled the subscription or if your Prime membership is about to end in a few days, Amazon will slash Rs 100 on the yearly subscription price on the renewal.

The Rs 100 discount on the re-joining of Amazon Prime membership is reflecting on my end after I cancelled my subscription. Amazon gives the Rs 100 discount in both cases, when you cancel the subscription before it ends or when you membership is about to end because you did not opt for auto-renewal. You will need to check if Amazon is also giving you the benefit of not having to pay Rs 100 on the annual Prime membership. To do that, visit amazon.in or open the Amazon app on your smartphone. Now, head to the Prime section available on the top of the website and on the sidebar inside the mobile app. The Prime section will show you the offer if it is available for you.

Separately, Amazon's biggest shopping day in the world, known as Prime Day, has been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic that has crippled businesses globally. The Jeff Bezos-led company is yet to declare the dates for Prime Day this year, which sees big discounts on a range of products and is available in India, as well. The Prime Day sale could have been deferred to August this year due to the pandemic, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Usually, the Prime Day sale is held towards the middle of the month of July.
An Instagram artist, who has made millions from her nude paintings, is set to bring her designs to life in Australia.

27-year-old Sophie Tea, who hails from the UK but spends most of the year in Sydney, will open her first-ever high street shop in Manly where she will showcase an empowering celebration of the human form, female body diversity and self-love with her Send Nudes collection.

Sophie Tea is set to bring her 'Send Nudes' collection to Sydney with a shop in Manly. Photo: Supplied

The collection is n empowering celebration of the human form, female body diversity and self-love. Photo: Supplied

The shop will open on Thursday 2nd July however to celebrate the big launch, Sophie will be creating a naked window display this Sunday June 28th, which will feature Aussie female volunteers of all ages, sizes and backgrounds, all wearing nothing but body paint.

Sophie went viral back in 2017 after she and her friend, Jenna Meek, gave birth to the glitter boob trend.

They were at a ski festival in the French Alps and had become locally famous for painting peoples faces with glitter.

It was so popular in real life but to scale a business, its important to make noise online, Sophie told Yahoo Lifestyle lsat year.

We knew we had to do something outrageous.

It was Jennas idea for me and two other girls to take our tops off on the top freezing cold mountain and cover our boobs in glitter.

I remember everyone at the bar was glaring at us but I dont regret it one bit!

The photos quickly spread around the world, and glitter boobs soon became the outfit of choice for many festival goers.

Sophie Tea's artworks sell out within seconds of being posted to Instagram. Photo: Instagram/Sophie Tea

Her shop will open up in Manly next week. Photo: Instagram/@sophieteaart

Now, Sophies art creations sell out within seconds of being posted online for her 97,000 followers and last year, she turned over nearly AU$2 million.

The artist, who has a degree in business, is known for shunning the traditional methods of selling art by cutting out the gallery and middle man and instead operating purely from Instagram.

Story continues

Sophie is passionate about opening up original art to a demographic who are primarily between the ages of 20 and 35, and have never thought of purchasing original art before.

Ive had to adapt my entire strategy to cater for my audience, she previously told Yahoo Lifestyle.

I pride myself on taking peoples art virginity and making it accessible to everyone.

One of the ways I have gained so many orders is by offering payment plans where my customers can pay for an original piece of art in monthly instalments up to a year, with no interest.

Sophie made nearly $2 million last year from her artwork. Photo: Instagram/sophieteaart

Its an affordable way to invest in original art and allows me to impress more people when they display my work proudly in their house, leading to a 50 percent repeat customer rate.

When in Sydney last year, she posted 50 small original pieces to her Instagram page priced at $700 each, and they sold out in less than half an hour.

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com
Read more: Governor, Department of Insurance mandate insurer rebates

But the CFA believes that insurers can do more to compensate drivers, especially since the pandemic-driven lockdowns have led to drastically reduced driving activity and less roadside collisions  while insurers continued to charge regular rates.

They are sitting on this coronavirus windfall, and they need to give it back, CFA national insurance expert Doug Heller told MLive.

Crash data collected by the Michigan State Police found that there were 13,930 crashes in the state in March this year. This represents a 60% year-over-year reduction from the 23,088 crashes recorded in March 2019. The months of April and May also saw their crash numbers reduce by 40% and 52%, respectively, year-over-year.

So far, only one insurer in Michigan has planned to lower rates based on projected declines in vehicle miles driven and accidents  State Farm. The company will be lowering its rates on top of the 25% credit it gave policyholders on premiums paid from March 20 to May 31.

A spokesperson told MLive that State Farm is planning a 12.7% average rate reduction for its 1.1 million customers in Michigan, resulting in savings estimated at $173 million.

In April, the DIFS announced that it had approved auto insurance rate filings that exceeded state law-mandated reductions. The rate filings were in response to the changes the state made to its no-fault auto insurance laws.

Read more: MI insurance regulator approves auto rate reductions that exceed government expectations

Michigan has some of the highest auto insurance rates in the US, and legislators passed a reform bill last year to address the issue. The reforms change the no-fault auto insurance laws, allowing drivers to choose their level of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits, and thus also allowing insurance companies to adjust their rates to account for their customers being able to select PIP benefits.

But with driving activity and collision frequency dropping during the pandemic, Heller believes that the previously approved rates are likely higher than they should be, citing State Farms further rate reduction as proof.

Every single company that sells a new auto insurance policy starting July 02 will be overcharging their customers, because were just not causing accidents as much as we used to in the pre-pandemic world, the CFA executive director said.

Heller added that insurers have an obligation to adjust since the world has changed, and DIFS has an obligation to ensure they adjust.
Harry Hains, who starred in the TV series American Horror Story: Hotel and The OA, died in January at the age of 27.

Five months on, the late Australian actor's family has now released Harry's first posthumous single, Good Enough, from his forthcoming EP.

Harry's mother, 66-year-old Hollywood actress Jane Badler, spoke to Daily Mail Australia about the decision to release his music to the world.

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'Through my son's music and legacy, I hope to help others': Jane Badler, the mother of late American Horror Story star Harry Hains (pictured), has released a posthumous track from her son's forthcoming album. Harry died of a fentanyl overdose in January at the age of 27

Harry, who was a gifted musician in addition to his acting career, had recorded a large collection of music under the pseudonym ANTIBOY before his death.

Jane, who is best known for her role in '80s soap opera Falcon Crest, said: 'My son Harry was an extraordinary boy. He was hugely creative and his life revolved around his art. Some would say he was his art.

'His first album, Glitch in Paradise, deals with a love that can never seem to come to pass. A love that is so deep but yet so ill-fated.'

Memories: Harry is shown here in a family photo with his parents, Jane and Stephen, and a man believed to be his brother

Legacy: Harry, who was a gifted musician in addition to his acting career, had recorded a large collection of music under the pseudonym ANTIBOY before his death

Tribute: 'My son Harry was an extraordinary boy. He was hugely creative and his life revolved around his art. Some would say he was his art,' said Jane

Famous mother: Jane is pictured in 1983 as Diana in the American science fiction series V

'He would be the first to say that he was not of this world. He identified as non-binary at a time when no one quite accepted that term,' she explained.

The Melbourne-born artist performed under the name ANTIBOY, which was an alter ego he described as a 'gender fluid robot from the future'.

The late star's music touched on subjects of gender fluidity, sexuality and mental health.

'Harry's vision of acceptance regardless of race, identity or gender could not be more timely... Through my son's music and legacy I hope to help others who struggle with feelings of self worth and isolation,' Jane continued.

Artistic: Harry's music, recorded under his ANTIBOY alter ego, touched on subjects of gender fluidity, sexuality and mental health

'Sadly he struggled with mental illness and addiction': Jane hopes her son's music can help others struggling with 'feelings of self worth and isolation'

Jane had announced her son's death in January, and held a funeral service for him at the Hollywood Forever cemetery in Los Angeles later that month.

'He was 27 and had the world at his feet,' she wrote on Instagram at the time.

'But sadly he struggled with mental illness and addiction. A brilliant spark shone bright too short a time... I will miss you, Harry, every day of my life.'

After a two-month investigation by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, the coroner's report ruled Harry's death an accidental fentanyl overdose.

Tragedy: Jane had announced her son's death in January, and held a funeral service for him at the Hollywood Forever cemetery in Los Angeles later that month

Notable role: Harry (left) was best known for playing a victim of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in a 2015 episode of American Horror Story: Hotel

Harry was best known for his work on American Horror Story.

He played a victim of Jeffrey Dahmer in the Hotel version of the series in the episode Devil's Night that aired in 2015.

After appearing in several short films, the actor was seen in three episodes of the TV series The Deleted, in which he played a desk clerk.

In 2018, Harry was paired with Alexis Nichols in the film I, Matter about a college girl in Los Angeles who contracts AIDS.

Gone too soon: Harry shared his last Instagram post - a celebratory New Year's Eve photo with a female friend - just days before his death

'His utopia is a lasting wish for us all': Harry's mother shared her son's vision for a 'fluid future' while announcing news of his posthumous projects this week

New work: The late actor's forthcoming concept EP, A Glitch in Paradise, is due out later this year. His first posthumous single is available to stream now

He had another break in 2019 when he was cast as Noah on an episode of The OA called Angel of Death.

His future looked promising as he had filmed the movies Mirrors and Caihong City. The budding star was also in the middle of playing Jake Hopper in the movie The Mangled, and had been announced for the TV mini series Xtra Life.

Harry's forthcoming concept EP, A Glitch in Paradise, is due out later this year. His first posthumous single is available to stream now.
British butterflies are at risk of being wiped out by intensive farming as conservation measures are failing to protect some of the country's rarest species, a study found.

Species under threat include Duke of Burgundy, the Dingy Skipper and the High Brown Fritillary, researchers have warned.

Conservation efforts around the margins of agriculture are not enough to protect all the rare species, they added, which are suffering from pollution and climate change.

The subsidised schemes are instead helping common, more mobile, grassland varieties like the Ringlet and the Meadow Brown  even doubling their numbers.

The programmes work by offering financial rewards to those farmers who manage their land in ways that aim to reduce the environmental impacts of agriculture.

Popular options include setting aside small areas of land for butterflies  for example, strips of grass at the edges of crops.

British butterflies are at risk of being wiped out by intensive farming as conservation measures are failing to protect some of the country's rarest species, a study found. Pictured, a male Duke Of Burgundy (Hamearis lucina) butterfly, which is under threat in the UK

'These kind of set-aside schemes help mobile, common butterfly species move across landscapes. But they do not help all species,' said paper author and biologist Katie Threadgill of the University of York.

'I would expect something like a Grizzled Skipper also to be in the camp of species unlikely to benefit from this management approach.'

In their study, Ms Threadgill and colleagues examined whether these conservation schemes were indeed helping insects  including butterfly populations.

The analysis used ecological models to see if the programmes improved the survival of insects locally and helped them expand across landscapes  as species will need to move in response to climate change.

'The greatest benefits were seen in species which were either highly mobile or which live in high densities,' explained Ms Threadgill.

'High-density species which could travel further were already successful expanders regardless  although expansion rates were still improved when set-asides were added.'

'Overall, the strips did increase rates of range expansion across landscapes by up to 100 percent for some species. But they did not boost long-term butterfly survival locally.'

Farmland makes up three-quarters of the UK's landscape  but recent research has shown that the number of butterflies such as the High Brown Fritillary have more than halved since 1990.

Species under threat include Duke of Burgundy, the Dingy Skipper (pictured here pollinating a flower) and the High Brown Fritillary, researchers have warned

'Small-scale set-asides have the potential to improve connectivity, which will help some species move to cope with climate change and connect up habitat patches for others,' said lead author and biologist Jane Hill of the University of York.

But the study concluded that set-asides are unlikely to benefit low dispersal, low density species  which are likely at greater risk from agricultural intensification.

'Our results suggest small set-aside strips alone are not an appropriate solution for preventing extinctions in the long term, but can provide other benefits,' said Ms Threadgill.

Increasing intensive farming and habitat fragmentation is reducing biodiversity and the resilience of insects, she added.

The results show that conservation incentives can help combat the problem by boosting the extent to which species are able to traverse landscapes.

'Set-aside schemes help mobile, common butterfly species move across landscapes. But they do not help all species,' said paper author and biologist Katie Threadgill of the University of York. Pictured, two High Brown Fritillary butterflies, which are at risk in the UK

'The magnitude of range expansion benefits are not universal across species or landscapes, but can be considerable,' Ms Threadgill said.

'Thus, land management activities can have important landscape connectivity co-benefits which should be carefully weighed up in the evaluation of environmental policies and the design of future schemes.'

The annual UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme published in March found that the insects had bounced back to their best levels for 20 years.

There was an increase in numbers for more than half of species in 2019 compared with 2018.

Conservation efforts around the margins of agriculture are not enough to protect all the rare species, they added, which are suffering from pollution and climate change. The subsidised schemes are instead helping common, more mobile, grassland varieties like the Ringlet and the Meadow Brown (pictured)  even doubling their numbers

A warm and wet summer helped butterflies in their younger stages and when they emerged from their cocoons as adults.

The Marbled White Butterfly had its best year, with its numbers up by two thirds.

However, the Common Blue population dropped by more than half  and it was just one of several species that saw a decline.

Butterfly Conservation associate director of monitoring and research Tom Brereton said that butterfly numbers were still a cause for concern.

'The results from the 2019 season are really encouraging and provide evidence that the overall rate of decline of butterflies is slowing and for some species being reversed,' he added.

'We are really heartened to see a shift in the fortunes of many of our most loved species.'

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Ecography.


(Photo : Pixabay)

Data breaches have become commonplace these days, increasing as hackers become ever more sophisticated. A podcast from Thomson Reuters from last year talked about the Taxpayer First Act, which sought to contend with identity theft involving the Internal Revenue Service and create measures to inform taxpayers when suspicious activity occurred. The act came about because the IRS suffered a massive breach in 2016, with over 700 thousand social security numbers stolen from stored W-2 forms, along with other payroll-related information.

It's telling that when the IRS commissioner testified in 2017 in front of the US Senate Finance Committee, he admitted to another breach that allowed hackers to gain access to the personal information of students, who use an IRS software application to apply for student aid. This breach allowed identity thieves to steal some $30 million from the US government by submitting fraudulent tax returns. Payroll information that employers collect for taxation purposes - including W2 and I9 forms - has increasingly become used by criminals and sold clandestinely online.

In another case in 2018, involving the Department of Defense, a third-party vendor who conducted background checks for the government was breached. The hack allowed access to birth dates, social security numbers, and fingerprint records of former, current, and potential government workers. And there are other accounts of hacked government agencies tied to payroll security issues.

Top Breaches

It's not just government organizations that are targets of these breaches. Here are some of the top data breaches:

Yahoo experienced two breaches, with 3 billion and 500 million records stolen in consecutive years due to hacking in both 2013 and 2014. First American Financial Corporation lost 885 million records in 2019 due to lax security. Facebook had 540 million records compromised due to inadequate security measures in 2019. In 2018, Marriott International was hacked, compromising 500 million records. And due to both poor security and hacking, Friend Finder Networks had 412.2 million records affected.

So what does a company do to prevent such breaches?

Preventing Data Breaches

It's important to educate employees and implement protocols to keep your payroll information secure. The IRS works with employers and taxpayers, keeping them informed on what security measures to use. Here are a few simple solutions to help prevent identity theft from stolen payroll information:

Activate anti-virus software: Antivirus software helps detect attacks before they cause significant damage, and they're not just effective against viruses. Most modern antivirus solutions have advanced detection capabilities beyond merely filtering out threats.

Use a firewall: Firewalls act as a shield to protect your PC, tablet, or phone from malware and other threats that seek to compromise your data. When data passes from your computer to routers and servers, firewalls monitor where these packets of data go, often disallowing the data exchange when a site is considered unsafe.

Implement two-factor authentication: Two-factor authentications require two different factors in order to authenticate who you are before it allows access. Commonly, it configures your firewall to require a personal password along with a hardware token.

Use backup software and services: Data backups ensure you don't lose important files if your system crashes or your hard drive fails. Often a data breach will cause information to be lost, so it's important to save important company data in the event of a cyber break-in.

Utilize drive encryption: Encrypting information allows you to protect it better against cyber-criminals, significantly reducing the risk that data will become compromised. Full data encryption further ensures that a company will be in compliance with government regulations, and thus less likely to be the target of potential fines or lawsuits. Keeping your data safe with electronic signing of payroll and other employee documents, for example, is one good way to use encryption technology.

Use secure virtual private networks (VPNs): A VPN provides an inexpensive way to safeguard your payroll information against cybercrime by encrypting data prior to sending it over the Internet. If you're using a VPN, your connection is more secure and less easy to hack, especially when using the company's WiFi.

Managed Security Services

Though we talked earlier about a breach due to the DoD using a third party, just because you're using a third party doesn't mean that your data is less safe. In fact, according to the 2019 Cybersecurity Pulse Report cybersecurity companies were asked, "Where do you see the highest risk coming from?"

Of these firms, 87% replied, "The greatest threat lies with untrained general staff."

It may actually make more sense to have a third-party security specialist act as your cyber-security guard rather than keep security in-house. Having security experts can help your company avoid the devastating financial and reputational damage resulting from such breaches.

Experts who provide managed security support tend to provide much more advanced security measures than your in-house teams can. As specialists in their field, they're trained to manage risks, effectively implement the proper controls, and develop custom strategies that make sense for your business and industry.

If you had to train such workers, it would be financially impossible for many businesses. Plus, these managed security providers are steeped in the knowledge of what businesses need to remain in compliant to government regulations, along with knowledge of how to mitigate effects of common risks. Their security plans tend to be tailored towards specific needs, and they're in a position to maximize your return on investment while dealing with security priorities.

Implementing Best Practices

Still, companies need to employ best practices when dealing with payroll data. Employees can be your weakest link, or they can be one of your strongest. You need to ensure that your workers are aware, and this takes effective training.

A 2018 report on privacy and security found that 75% of employees couldn't properly identify the best ways to deal with data privacy and cybersecurity. Workers using their own devices in the workplace can open portals for hackers, so limitations on where smartphones can be used may be necessary. Employees should also be aware how criminals can utilize cloud storage and the Internet of Things to access sensitive payroll data.

Effective training is critical to ensure your employees know the importance of data security. And training will empower them to report potential risks. It's important that payroll data is treated with care, and that only those with the need to know have access. Regularly updating employees on potential threats will ensure awareness, making them part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
France-based energy major Total and Algerias Sonatrach have signed an agreement to renew their partnership in the field of liquefied natural gas (LNG).



This agreement allows to extend the existing supply contracts for three additional years in order to provide two million tons per year of Algerian LNG to the French market, primarily through the LNG terminal at Fos Cavaou. The agreement also includes the sub-charter of an LNG tanker of Total by Sonatrach.



"This agreement is part of the long history of cooperation between Total and Sonatrach. Thanks to the quality of our relationship we were able to conclude it in an extremely volatile market environment. This new contract further enhances the flexibility of Total's LNG portfolio and strengthens our position as a major partner of Sonatrach, said Laurent Vivier, President Gas of Total.



Total has been a historic player in the energy sector in Algeria for almost 70 years. The group is active in oil and gas exploration and production (participating interests in the TFT II and Timimoun gas fields and in the oil fields of the Berkine basin), as well as in liquefied natural gas through supply contracts with Sonatrach. The group is also active in the marketing of lubricants and bitumens. In addition, Total and Sonatrach have launched engineering studies for a petrochemical project in Western Algeria.  TradeArabia News Service


It's been four and a half years since Houston's 'filthiest house' hit the market, but the smell is one you don't forget.

Paul Gomberg, who was part of the "Rockstar Realty Group" at Keller Williams Realty in Conroe at the time, was going to sell the Champions-area home for a couple he had worked with in a different part of the city.

When the couple first told Gomberg about the home, all they said was a "little rough around the edges and they had to do some clean up to it."

He recalls how instantly disgusted he was when he finally saw it for himself. "Where should I puke first?" was his first thought, he said, when he entered. The play room was full of animal poop. The bed was soaked in urine. The toilet was full of feces that sat mountain high.

What the couple had failed to mention to Gomberg was that they hadn't lived in the home for months and was now using it to store their animals. For a three month period, 12 dogs, six cats and a potbelly pig lived in the home alone.

"I had never seen anything like it before," Gomberg, who's been in the real estate business for almost 40 years, said. The couple didn't seem to think the animal waste, trash and rancid smell mattered too much though, offering to take up some carpet and paint a few walls to restore the home before kicking off the selling process.

Gomberg had a different idea. "Let me just sell it how it is," he told them. The couple was shocked, but Gomberg knew what he was doing.

He immediately put his marketing, and comedy, skills to use. He first posted the listing to the Houston Association of Realtors website. "This is the filthiest house in Houston. Be prepared before you enter," the listing warned. "The home really smells terrible but is getting better with time. It will need a lot of work. The pool is dark, mercury green. The power has been off for about a year."

Gomberg and his photographer also produced a 2+ minute YouTube video, highlighting the homes worst features.

THE HOUSE AWAKENS: Houston realtor and his kids don 'Star Wars' gear to help showcase $1M Friendswood home

"Let's travel back in time three years ago, when this house was in its glory days," the video began, with glamour shots of the home in its better cared-for days.

But from there, Gomberg stuck with his plan to market the home as is, eventually showing viewers what the home looked like in its current state.

"Recently, 12 dogs, six cats and a potbelly pig lived here and converted this lovely home into a giant toilet," he continued in the video.

His marketing idea seemed to work, because shortly after, people were calling to view the home. Gomberg even gave a few limousine rides to a couple of people who wanted to see the home with their own eyes.

He started the listing around $180,000. After speaking with the short sale department at the couple's bank, Gomberg decided they needed to lower the price even more, considering the condition the house was in.

They lowered the price to $115,000, and offers ranging between between $115,000 and $216,000 started rolling in. The owners weren't satisfied though. They turned down about 40 offers because, even though the home was full of animal feces and had a smell you couldn't get rid of, they wanted $280,000.

"People would show up and come out holding their nose," said Gomberg. "I remember one person walking out and throwing up in the bushes. Another person wouldn't even go in. That's how bad it smelled."

Gomberg got used to it though. He tried his best to reason with the couple and get them to realize that a home in such 'disgusting' condition was not going to sell for almost $300,000, considering the amount of work that would have to be put into it.

After putting the home on and off the market for about eight months, he eventually grew tired.

"The bank wasn't willing to deal on it at the time," he said. "There was nobody that was going to pay $280,000 for that home. That would be if the house was in great condition and only needed a little paint."

The home was beyond that.

"It became such a nuisance to me because the bank wasn't willing to budge on it," Gomberg said.

After about a year, Gomberg gave up. He talked to the seller and decided he was done. "I kind of walked away from it and never looked back. Here I am four and a half years later and I still get calls (about the home)."

Gomberg said he doesn't regret the way he marketed the home because at the time, his tactic worked. "My success has been based really on my counter intuitive to any normal real estate marketing," he said.

The bank eventually sold the home at a trustee's auction in 2018. Today, according to the Harris County Appraisal District, the home is appraised at $305,120.
The last month has been an intense period of reflection when it comes to racism. Perhaps you've also heard the term "reverse racism" in the media, on Instagram, at work or in pockets of mostly white communities in recent weeks. But what does the term really mean?

Before understanding the concept of "reverse racism"  the claim by white people that they've been victims of racism by people of color  Worku Nida, an expert in sociocultural anthropology with a Ph.D. from UCLA, says it's imperative to first break down the roots of racism in the U.S.

"Racism is a mechanism where resources and unfortunately power, wealth, prestige and even humanity are distributed along a color line. Thats what racism is about," Nida, who is currently an assistant professor in the University of California Riverside Anthropology Department, said.

TMRW interviewed Nida and other experts to understand what drives the idea of reverse racism and if the term is actually valid.

Types of racism

There are two types of racism, individual and systemic, which, according to Nida, are intertwined to reinforce and perpetuate racism in this country. So what are the differences?

Individual racism

Individualized racism is when a person in a position of privilege has some prejudice against another person based on the color of their skin.

"My practice and knowledge is that racism is the combination of two things: discrimination plus power over," Lynne Lyman, a justice advocate and former California state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, told TMRW. "Where a lot of white people get caught up and confused is that they may have felt discriminated against  but it's very different from racism when you dont have the power. [Racism] can only come from the most dominant group."

The problematic pattern of individualized racism, according to Lyman, is that once you put a person who has been taught to have racial biases, overtly or subconsciously, into a position where they have any clout, their "personal racist tendencies" become "amplified and empowered."

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For example, if one white manager at a company was racist against Black people and never hired Black people during a 10-year management period, it would eventually impact the entire structure and culture of the company. With no Black employees hired at entry-level positions, there would be no advancement for Black people into higher positions.

"Now that company's practice has been institutionalized over time with no room for Black people," Lyman told TMRW.

Lyman compared this to sexism, which by definition cannot be experienced by cisgender men because they have, historically and undeniably, been in positions of power over women. All it takes is one individual with racist or sexist tendencies in a position of power at a school, corporation, on a police force or in the government to cultivate a toxic culture.

Systemic racism

"Systemic and structural racism is rooted in institutions, actions and policies that allow certain groups of people to (advance) while preventing other people from having access to resources," Nida told TMRW. "This works through the court system, congress, presidency, through all levels of structures of government, in business, in education  you name it."

A "glaring" example of systemic racism, Nida said, is the G.I. Bill of Rights that was passed after World War II. Officially titled the Servicemens Readjustment Act of 1944, the bill was designed to help veterans start their lives and families with low-interest mortgage rates, access to loans for education and training and other privileges.

FDR Signing G.I. Bill of Rights (Bettmann / Bettmann Archive)

"This is a very important landmark. The G.I. Bill created the largest group of middle class probably in the world and is how the U.S. economy really formed," Nida told TMRW. "Black and brown people fought alongside white people in World War II, and they were excluded from this, unfortunately."

Passed 20 years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, during a time when overt racism was the norm in many areas, the G.I. Bill required veterans to get benefits from a white Veterans Administration and loans from white bankers who refused them regardless of their eligibility. The V.A. also adopted "redlining," developed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1933 New Deal. On a color-coded map of metro areas throughout the entire country, the Home Owners Loan Corporation and the Federal Housing Administration circled places in red to indicate they were too risky to insure mortgages.

A map depicts redlining in the city of Chicago. (Mapping Inequality)

Anywhere a Black family lived or lived near was circled red. When Black people applied for loans, whether they had secured benefits from the G.I. Bill or not, they were segregated to areas within the red lines. If a Black family persevered through racist red tape to buy a house in one of the nicer, low-risk areas, there was "white flight," a concept referring to white people moving from an area to keep people of color separate.

Another example of structural racism is President Richard Nixon's 1971 declaration of the "War on Drugs." Drugs, according to Lyman, were strategically made illegal to oppress certain minorities at different times throughout this country's history.

Laws created on "clearly" racist principles to keep people of color, minorities and immigrants oppressed and controlled, Lyman said, have continued to this day. This has culminated in drastic incarceration rates.

Richard Nixon In United States In The 1970S - (Don Carl STEFFEN / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

In a recent Harper's Magazine article, Nixon aide John Ehrlichman was quoted admitting the War on Drugs was a ruse to fight the Nixon White House's "two enemies: the antiwar left and black people."

"We knew we couldnt make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities," Ehrlichman said. "We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.

Some white people may diminish racism in 2020 by justifying that they, their parents or grandparents came from nothing and worked hard to get what they have. But federal legislation and structures like the G.I. Bill and the War on Drugs are crucial to understanding that hard work was not enough for Black Americans to overcome the structural barriers they faced.

Where does structural racism come from?

Both Lyman, who is white, and Nida, who is Ethiopian, emphasized that racist beliefs and structures in the U.S. were cultivated in anti-Blackness.

"White supremacy and white privilege are at the heart of and define structural racism. They were constructed historically and legally codified in 1691 in Virginia," Nida told TMRW. "Different plantation owners put on paper as the law that white Americans were superior to enslaved Africans and people of color, and had the right to own the land, to be in charge and to be in charge of slave labor."

When groups of enslaved laborers began to rebel against their exploiters and plantation owners, who were comparatively few in number, Nida said the ideology of white supremacy was crafted and distributed to all groups of white people. This promoted a political system that for hundreds of years would align working class and poor white people with the elite white people over Black communities with a similar socioeconomic standing.

"People werent just born racist because you grew up on this soil. It was a very deliberate, conscious and centuries-long marketing effort," Lyman told TMRW. "When the abolitionists started pushing out ideas that all humans are equal, a lot of which was based in Christianity and other religions on how you treat other people, in the South, (white people) knew there had to be a counter-narrative. It was like a slave labor PR Firm. Through the social media of the time (the printing press, public speeches, pamphlets), there was a very intentional effort to prove that Black people were inferior."

So, what about reverse racism? Can a person of color be racist against a white person in this country?

The term "reverse racism," according to experts on the subject like Lyman and Nida, is a mythological ideology that stems from discourse and propaganda on anti-Blackness.

With roots dating back to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Nida says this concept has sprung up repeatedly through history: in the campaigns launched against abolitionists, in Jim Crow, in the War on Drugs, in the Civil Rights movement and still today in the Black Lives Matter movement in an effort to deflect and distract from the realities of the Black experience in this country.

Street Artists Use Boarded Up Buildings As Canvases Amid Coronavirus Closures, Protests (Gotham / Getty Images)

"Affirmative action emerged in 1966 after the Civil Rights movement when the people of color and Black people included were given limited access to education. Doors were being opened to them that had been closed for centuries for no other reason than being who they are," Nida told TMRW. "Some white folks brought up the analogy of reverse racism. Its a social lie, it doesnt exist. (Because) if we're talking about dismantling systemic racism, we're talking about white supremacy and white racism. People who are benefiting from (those concepts) are not going to be happy with changes that affect the status quo."

Now, there are plenty of Black people in white-collar jobs who are loved and treated well by their white friends and colleagues. But the deeply embedded structures and federal laws passed by outright racists when outright racism was the norm still exist. A white person may not feel or be individually racist, but we live in a system that was designed to uplift white Americans and neglect the pain and suffering of Black Americans.

Racism stems from this imbalance in power. Before considering whether a white person has experienced "reverse racism," Nida urges you to ask yourself these questions:

When is the last time Black people and people of color forced white people to work on plantations?

When was the last time Black people and people of color subjected white folks to lynching?

When was the last time Black people and people of color excluded white folks from having access to the middle-class opportunities?

How many Black presidents have we had? How many Native American presidents have we had? How many Hispanic?

A Black person can treat a white person poorly. A Black person can hate a white person for being white. But its this idea of reverse racism that doesnt work, Lyman told TMRW. Its never too late to see and acknowledge this kind of gross injustice and start to fight against anti-Blackness. You can never be too late to this party. We need to undo it in ourselves, in our communities, in our laws and in our society.

For more readings on the topic of racism and Black experience in the U.S., Nida and Lyman recommend these books:
The Midland City Clerks Office will begin mailing absentee ballots for the Aug. 4 primary election this week to absentee voters who have returned their applications to vote by absentee ballot.

The Midland Clerks Office has had an influx of thousands of ballot requests in last few weeks. Ballots have now been delivered and processing has begun, but will take time to be completed.

Absentee ballot applications will be processed in the order they were received and by precinct. To track if an application has been received, a ballot has been mailed, or if a ballot has been delivered back to the Midland Clerks Office, visit the Michigan Voter Information Website (MVIC) found at https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/.

Absentee ballots will arrive by mail in a white envelope with a blue stripe on the left side labeled Official Absent Voter Ballot. The envelope will contain the ballot and another white envelope with a green stripe on the left side which should be signed and used to return the completed ballot back to the Midland City Clerks Office.

Voters may obtain an absentee ballot by submitting an application by mail to the Midland City Clerks Office, 333 W. Ellsworth St., Midland, MI 48640; by fax to 989-835-2717; or via email to clerk@midland-mi.org. A request for absentee ballot form can be found at www.cityofmidlandmi.gov/absentee.

As Midland City Hall remains closed to the public through Monday, July 6, in accordance with current COVID-19 preventative measures, voters cannot pick up or drop off an absentee ballot application or ballot in person. The entire process from application through voted ballot can be completed by mail and voters should continue to utilize this contactless method even when Midland City Hall reopens.

A ballot drop box will be installed at Midland City Hall in the coming weeks for submitting voting materials. Voters should not use the payment drop box inside the doors of City Hall to return absentee ballot applications and ballots as they will not fit and may become damaged and unable to be processed.

Completed absentee ballots must be received by the Midland City Clerks Office by 8 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted. The clerk's office recommends allowing two weeks mailing time for returning voted ballots by mail. Return postage of 70 cents is required to mail back an absentee ballot.

Following the passage of Proposal 3, all registered Michigan voters are now eligible to vote by absentee ballot for any reason in any election. For questions or more information on how to obtain an absentee ballot, visit www.cityofmidlandmi.gov/clerk or contact the Midland City Clerks Office at 989-837-3310 or clerk@midland-mi.org.
Bhutan on Friday said the supply of river water to Assam has been disrupted because irrigation channels have been affected by heavy monsoon rains, dismissing reports that the flow of water had been deliberately stopped.

People familiar with developments in New Delhi said on condition of anonymity that the reports of Bhutan deliberately stopping the supply of water for irrigation in Assam were not true.

In fact, the Bhutanese side has categorically denied this, saying they have been carrying out repairs of channels to ensure the smooth flow of water to Assam, said one of the people cited above.

Some reports in the media, mainly in the northeastern states, had said Bhutan had stopped the flow of water through dongs or traditional irrigation channels. The reports had said thousands of farmers in Assams Baksa and Udalguri districts had been affected as they have been dependent on river water from Bhutan since the 1950s.

Reacting to these reports, Bhutans foreign ministry said in a statement that authorities, especially in Samdrup Jongkhar district that borders Assam, were working to ensure that the disruptions caused by the monsoon rains to the irrigation channels are addressed without delay and water is available for farmers on the Indian side.

Bhutan would like to request for the understanding of the farmers in Assam as sometimes there could be few delays in the flow of water due to disruptions caused by the heavy monsoon rains and the operational difficulties arising from the restrictions put in place by both the countries due to Covid-19, the statement added.

The people cited above said all works along the border had earlier been affected by Bhutans strict Covid-19-related restrictions.

Bhutans statement described allegations about the deliberate stopping of river water as distressing and the news reports totally baseless. It said there was no reason why the flow of water should be stopped at this time. It added that a deliberate attempt was made by vested interests to spread misinformation and cause misunderstanding between the friendly people of Bhutan and Assam.

Since the lockdown in India and the closure of Bhutans borders due to the pandemic, Assamese farmers have been unable to enter Bhutan to maintain irrigation channels as was done in the past, the statement said.

However, understanding the difficulty that would be faced by the farmers in Assam, the Samdrup Jongkhar district officials and the general public have taken the initiative to repair the irrigation channels whenever there are problems to ensure the smooth flow of water to Assam, it said.

Heavy monsoon rains and a sudden rise in water levels, however, are posing serious challenges and Bhutanese authorities, equipped with heavy machinery, are on standby to clear blockages. Authorities in Samdrup Jongkhar are also in close contact with their counterparts in Baksa and Udalguri.

The people of Bhutan, especially those living along the borders of India, deeply value their age-old ties of friendship and cooperation with the people of India, particularly their close neighbours across the borders in Assam and West Bengal. The people of Bhutan feel that such ties of friendship, cooperation and support must continue and be reinforced during these difficult times, the statement said.
A suspect has been shot dead by police in Glasgow after a stabbing attack that left at least six people in hospital, including a police officer.

The incident took place at at hotel in the city centre early on Friday afternoon.

Armed police and ambulances descended on the scene and have blocked off nearby streets.

Here is what we know so far about the attack.

Glasgow Attack - In pictures 1 /22 Glasgow Attack - In pictures Emergency services staff with a person on an ambulance trolley at the scene in West George Street in Glasgow Milroy1717/AFP via Getty Images Getty Images Armed officers @ThatReilz/PA Emergency respoders are seen at the scene @Milroy1717/Reuters Sky News Sky News @JATV_scotland/PA @JATV_scotland/PA Sky News @Milroy1717/Reuters @JATV_scotland/PA @JATV_scotland/PA Sky News @Milroy1717/PA @Milroy1717/PA Getty Images Getty Images

When and where did it happen?

The incident took place at the Park Inn hotel in West George street in the centre of Glasgow, a short walk from the city's main railway station.

Emergency services including armed officers swarmed the area shortly after 1pm on Friday.

The hotel is currently being used to house asylum seekers during the coronavirus pandemic, the BBC reported.

Ambulance staff and police in Glasgow / Milroy1717/AFP via Getty Images

How many people were attacked?

Six people have been wounded, Police Scotland said on Friday.

A police officer is among the people injured while on the scene. He is in a "critical but stable condition" in hospital, police added.

The head of the Scottish police union said they were "assisting the family" of the injured officer.

Scottish Police Federation David Hamilton said in a statement: Whilst there is understandable and considerable public interest in the major incident in Glasgow earlier today, our focus at this time is in assisting the family of our colleague who has been seriously injured.

This is obviously an anxious time for them and we ask that they be left alone as their attentions are very obviously directed towards the care of their loved one.

Our thoughts, prayers and best wishes are with our colleague, his family and friends, and all colleagues affected by this incident at this time.

A man is led away by police after the attack / PA

One witness described the moment she saw several people with "blood all over them" in the wake of the attack.

Speaking to Sky News, the unnamed woman said: "In the aftermath, I saw people being treated who had blood all over them - there was blood on the ground.

"I saw people running out of the hotel with the police shouting 'put your hands up'.

"There were police cars, ambulances, all over the street. They cordoned it off and they were shouting to people in other buildings, away from the Park Inn Hotel, to stay inside and to not come out into the streets."

She added: "There were quite a number of people coming out with their hands up, running down the steps of the hotel. I saw people with blood all over them, with blood on the ground, in a trail."

Police officers in Glasgow / Getty Images

Do we know who is responsible?

Police shot and killed a suspect at the scene on Friday. Further details on the suspect remain unconfirmed.

Officers are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attacks, they said.

Police Scotland assistant chief constable Steve Johnson said: The individual who was shot by armed police has died. Six other people are in hospital for treatment to their injuries including a police officer, who is in a critical but stable condition.

"We are continuing to deal with the incident on West George Street, Glasgow, and would ask people to avoid the area."

Emergency services in Glasgow / Getty Images

Do we know the motive?

The motive of the attacks remains unknown.

Mr Johnson added: We would urge the public not to speculate about this incident or share unconfirmed information on social media.

Scottish justice minister Humza Yousaf tweeted: Please do not circulate rumours or hearsay of the incident in Glasgow, Police Scotland will share information publically [sic] as and when appropriate.

Counter-terrorism police are monitoring the situation, the Guardian has reported.

Police officers at the scene in Glasgow / Getty Images

What has been the political response?

Politicians have condemned the attacks and offered their condolences to those injured.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: Deeply saddened by the terrible incident in Glasgow, my thoughts are with all the victims and their families. Thank you to our brave emergency services who are responding.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon added on Twitter: My thoughts are with all those who have been injured in the incident in Glasgow today. My sincere thanks go to our emergency services.

"The injury of a [police] officer is a reminder of the great bravery our police officers show every day as they work to keep us safe...

"Some of the information that has been circulating is unconfirmed/inaccurate - and the situation is serious enough without that. And lets all keep the injured and their families uppermost in our thoughts."

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: "Deeply alarming reports coming from Glasgow. Please follow police advice and avoid the area. Thoughts are with the emergency services as they continue to respond to this incident.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: Extremely concerning reports about an incident in the West George Street area of Glasgow. My thoughts are with all of those who are involved. Please follow the [Greater Glasgow Police] advice and avoid the area.
BRUSSELS  The European Union is ready to bar most travelers from the United States, Russia and dozens of other countries considered too risky because they have not controlled the coronavirus outbreak, EU officials said Friday.

By contrast, travelers from more than a dozen countries that are not overwhelmed by the coronavirus are set to be welcomed when the bloc reopens after months of lockdown Wednesday. The acceptable countries also include China  but only if China allows EU travelers to visit as well, the officials said.

The list of safe countries was completed by EU senior diplomats in Brussels after tortuous negotiations on how to reopen the 27-member bloc to commerce and tourism under a common set of standards after months of lockdown.

The list was backed in principle by most EU ambassadors and does not require unanimous support, but still needs to be formalized in member states capitals as well as in the central EU bureaucracy before taking effect Wednesday. Diplomats did not expect the list to change.

EU officials first disclosed Tuesday that the United States, which has reported more coronavirus deaths and infections than any other country, was highly unlikely to make the final list.

The exclusion of the United States, an important source of tourism to the European Union, represented a stinging rebuke to the Trump administrations management of the coronavirus scourge.

Countries that made the safe list, which include Canada and Australia, were judged on a mix of scientific criteria that included their infection rates and the credibility of their public health reporting data. The list will be updated every two weeks, raising the possibility that excluded countries will be added.

The officials who revealed the contents of the final list spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of its official release next week.

Deciding how to carefully open up travel to outsiders and restart the economy without worsening an already precarious health situation in Europe has been contentious, with senior officials meeting for hours at least six times in the past few weeks.

EU officials tried to base their decision on scientific criteria, in part to depoliticize the process and shield themselves from diplomatic pressures. But its proven to be difficult, and officials said the United States and other nations had been lobbying intensely to get on the safe list.

The United States, which banned most EU travelers in March when the virus was raging in Europe, has not eased its own restrictions since then, even though European infections and deaths have dropped.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, asked Thursday about the prospect of a prolonged ban on American travel to Europe, struck a conciliatory tone but said that many European countries were eager to admit American visitors.

Well work closely with our European friends, broadly, because I know theres different views, Pompeo said during a virtual conference organized by the German Marshall Fund.

Weve heard from a dozen or more countries that have very different views about their willingness to open up their borders to anyone, not only folks from the United States of America, he said.

Although travel between the United States and Europe has been severely limited by lockdown restrictions, exceptions have been made. A regular flight between Newark, New Jersey, and Amsterdam, for example, is limited to essential travelers such as diplomats and health care professionals, and for repatriating Europeans from the United States.

Creation of a common list of outsiders who can enter the European Union is part of an effort by the bloc to fully reopen internal borders among its 27 member states. Free travel and trade among members  a core principle akin to the freedom of movement within the United States  has been badly disrupted.

Since the outbreak, the bloc has succumbed to piecemeal national policies that have produced an incoherent patchwork of open and closed borders.

While the new list is not legally binding, member states that open up to excluded countries face the risk that their EU partners will close their borders to them  reinforcing the disjointed response to the pandemic that the bloc has been striving to overcome.

Several EU countries, particularly those in the south that benefit from U.S. tourism, had pushed to make the common list dependent on both scientific and economic criteria. Seven million Americans visited Europe between June and August last year, according to U.S. government data.

Greece, for example, depends on tourism for one-fifth of its economy. In the scramble to salvage part of the summer tourism season, Greece has ignored the European Unions current recommended ban, permitting visitors and committing resources to testing and quarantining them upon arrival.

The complexity of this approach became clear in early June, when a flight from Doha, Qatar, to Athens with 91 passengers aboard included 12 who tested positive for the virus. All were quarantined, and all flights from Doha were suspended.

Like Greece, countries such as Spain, Cyprus, Italy and Portugal see a broad list of acceptable visitors as critical for tourist income. They have prepared health screenings of arriving foreigners in order to accept the risk of infection more confidently. Both Spain and Greece currently allow a small number of visitors from outside the European Union.

For other EU countries, the risks of that approach outweigh the benefits.

The Netherlands, a key transfer point for goods from the rest of the world to Europe, sees open internal EU borders as essential to its economy and so has been reluctant to encourage a liberal reopening to outsiders if the price is shuttered internal borders because of health concerns.

The conundrum is in some ways similar to a decision this week by New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to impose mandatory quarantines on travelers from other states where the virus is flaring, like Florida and Texas.

The competing demands within the European Union have highlighted the difficulties in restoring the global network of leisure and business travel that was virtually shut down by the pandemic

The criteria for the list, which will be revisited every two weeks to add countries that are doing much better or remove those that have worsened, has been a major challenge for EU diplomats.

The full list finalized Friday includes Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay, Andorra, San Marino, Monaco and the Vatican. China will be included if it also opens its borders to EU travelers, as reciprocal reopening is one of the criteria used to make the final selection for the safe list.

Britain, despite having left the EU, is still being considered part of the bloc until years end, and so was not part of the discussion over outside visitors.

A detailed guide of criteria shared among diplomats and reviewed this week by The New York Times said that the list should include only countries with a comparable or better epidemiological situation as the average in the EU+ area, and that the data from those countries must be credible and demonstrate a robust system for containing the virus.

The term EU+ refers to the European Union plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which do not belong to the EU but are normally part of its open-borders zone.

Criteria for exceptions to the safe list were also detailed in the guide, adding flexibility. Those included health workers, diplomats, humanitarian workers, transit passengers, asylum-seekers and students, as well as passengers traveling for imperative family reasons and foreign workers whose employment in Europe is deemed essential.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
This is how desperate things have gotten: A dog in Tennessee turns 20 years old, and the world rejoices.

OK, maybe not the entire world, but a whole lot of people saw the recent news story about the golden retriever named August who celebrated her 20th birthday and in so doing became the oldest known living golden retriever. Though the dogs actual birthday was April 24, CNN just reported the milestone the other day.

And get this: The story was picked up by news outlets across the United States and even overseas. I saw it this past week on CNN and in a local TV stations morning newscast, but a quick Google search yielded numerous other hits far and wide.

Apparently, this was big news because golden retrievers usually live just 10 to 12 years. Plus, golden retrievers are reportedly among the sweetest dogs known to humankind, so when we saw photos of Augie, whose real name is August, and we learned that her big birthday bash was cancelled because of the coronavirus, and we heard that she celebrated with a dog-friendly carrot cake, well, naturally all of us uttered a collective, Aww.

The aww was more than an ordinary aww, however. It was an aww that said, Thank God for a news story with no political overtones, or Thank God for a news story that doesnt predict a quarter of a million U.S. coronavirus deaths by Christmas, or simply, Thank God for a story that doesnt jack up my blood pressure.

To say were living in stressful times is an understatement, and news reports reflect these times. The man in the White House is intensely liked and intensely disliked, depending upon whom you ask, and maybe more so than any other U.S. president. The leader of North Korea is making provocative statements that generate headlines like this one in U.S. News & World Report: North Korea Threatens U.S.: Nuclear Attack The Only Option Left. Meanwhile, COVID-19 is on the rise across the South and Southwest, the nation is facing an overdue racial reckoning and theres a presidential election looming on the horizon.

It is impossible to watch, read or listen to the news without wondering whether our nation is coming apart at the seams.

Then along comes Augie, and we can latch onto such details as she gets a combination of wet and dry dog food, she takes a daily walk and her owners give her subcutaneous fluids twice a week. She got to eat blueberries, pasta and bread at her birthday party, in addition to the dog-friendly carrot cake. As for the party itself, originally 100 people had been invited, but thanks to COVID-19, attendees were mostly family -- both human and canine.

Now, I know that a dogs birthday isnt as important as politics, race relations and threats of nuclear war. But sometimes those topics are so anxiety producing that we need a break from the regular news. Even people who dont love dogs (I do) or dont know anything about golden retrievers (I dont) need an occasional warm-and-fuzzy, aww-inspiring story.

So even though I dont know what a dog-friendly carrot cake includes or how you administer subcutaneous fluids to a dog, I salute you and I thank you, Augie. You gave us a respite from the tension we live with on a daily basis.

Heres to you, and heres hoping you make news -- and history -- again by reaching your 21st birthday next year.

Frances Coleman is a freelance writer who lives in Baldwin County, Alabama. Email her at fcoleman1953@gmail.com and like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prfrances.
While Boston police were arresting a suspect accused of carrying an illegal gun and ammunition on Tuesday, a crowd of people reportedly opened a fire hydrant, prompting someone to throw buckets of water on the officers, the Boston Police Department said in a statement.

The officers received a call at 5:40 p.m. on Tuesday about a man carrying a fanny pack with a gun inside in the area of Maple Street and Cheney Street.

Officers stopped their cruiser on Cheney Street and questioned a man, later identified as 44-year-old Jermaine Thomas, of Mattapan, who had a fanny pack around his left shoulder. Police said there was a large crowd gathered in the area at the time.

Officers attempted to gain control of the suspects hands at which time the suspect immediately grabbed the officers wrist and began squeezing it, police wrote. As officers struggled to gain control, the suspect ripped his hands away and continued to resist by clinching his arms and pushing at officers causing a Body Worn Camera to be knocked off and picked up by an unknown bystander.

That was when the crowd reportedly opened the hydrant, causing a heavy flow of water pressure onto the street directed at the officers.

While the officers were attempting to put the suspect in handcuffs, an unknown suspect began tossing the buckets of water on them, police wrote.

Officers recovered a weapon loaded with five rounds of ammunition on Thomas. He is being charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and resisting arrest, police said.

#BPD Officers Surrounded and Assaulted by Hostile Crowd While Attempting to Arrest Resistant Suspect Armed with a Loaded Firearm in Roxbury https://t.co/Wpc8SiiypH pic.twitter.com/H7R4B1L5Gm  Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) June 24, 2020

In the aftermath of the arrest, Boston Police Commissioner William Gross issued a statement: Im alarmed by the level of hostility my officers had to face while arresting a felon armed with an illegal firearm. They were attacked by members of the very same community they were attempting to protect by affecting this arrest. Public safety is a shared responsibility, we need to continue to work together, not in opposition towards one another, to achieve that goal.
At the ninth hearing in MH17 trial on June 26, the Dutch prosecutors have had an opportunity to respond to everything that was said earlier by lawyers of suspect Pulatov who expressed a desire to join the trial.

As an Ukrinform correspondent in The Hague reports, Dutch prosecutors consider inappropriate the statements of Pulatovs lawyers, who insist that the investigation is not completed, in particular regarding the military aircraft scenario.

Dutch prosecutor Ward Ferdinandusse was the first to speak. "Such a motion can be granted only if such a scenario is plausible. The information on the study of such a version is already in the case files," he said.

All the evidence indicates that MH17 was destroyed by a Buk missile, he stressed.

There is evidence that such a scenario [military aircraft scenario] is not possible. In particular, damage to the aircraft, fragments found in the bodies of the dead, radar data, witness statements, photos and videos indicate that MH17 was destroyed by Buk missile system, he said.

According to him, the defense must first prove that the main version has dubious evidence, which has not been done.

After the break, Dutch prosecutor Thijs Berger took the floor, emphasizing that there was a lot of evidence pointing to the use of the Buk missile and nothing that would confirm the launch of an air-to-air missile.

On June 8, 2020, the second block of court hearings in the MH17 trial began. Prosecutors revealed details of the investigation in the courtroom.

The number of people present in the courtroom is limited due to the coronavirus quarantine restrictions. All court proceedings of the MH17 trial are live streamed.

In March this year, the District Court of The Hague began the consideration of the case of the downing of flight MH17 in the sky over Donbas.

On June 19, 2019, the international Joint Investigation Team named four suspects believed to be involved in the transportation and combat use of the Buk missile system, from which MH17 flight had been downed. Three of them are Russians: Igor Girkin (Strelkov), former colonel in Russia's FSB intelligence service and former so-called defense minister of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"; Sergey Dubinskiy, general (at the time of downing  colonel) of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and head of the so-called "Main Intelligence Directorate of the Donetsk Peoples Republic"; Oleg Pulatov, lieutenant colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. The fourth suspect is Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian civilian, who fought on the side of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic."

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over conflict-hit Donbas in July 2014. There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board. All of them died. The JIT reported that the plane had been shot down from a Buk missile system that belongs to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Kursk.

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The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka.

Tuesday, June 23

10:52 p.m. -- A deputy investigated a malicious destruction of property complaint at the Midland County Jail. The deputy made contact with a 33-year-old male inmate who damaged a sprinkler in a cell. The estimated cost of damage was $200.

10:32 p.m. -- Officers responded to a report of malicious destruction of property.

8:45 p.m. -- A 39-year-old Auburn man was arrested for felony operating while intoxicated, causing an injury accident, driving while license suspended, an improper plate and no insurance following investigation into a two-car crash in Lee Township. The man was taken to the hospital for injuries sustained in the crash, and later transported to the Midland County Jail.

6:45 p.m. -- A 36-year-old Lee Township woman reported her 35-year-old ex-boyfriend vandalizing her vehicle. Deputies located the suspect vehicle that the 35-year-old allegedly fled in, and spoke with the single female occupant, who was a 44-year-old homeless woman. The 44-year-old said the 36-year-old assaulted her. The 35-year-old man was unable to be located. The 44-year-old wants to press charges for the assault and the 36-year-old wants to press charges for the vandalism.

6:30 p.m. -- Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the 7400 block of Heather Street.

4:37 p.m. -- Officers responded to a report of domestic violence in the 200 block of West Union Street.

1:12 p.m. -- Officers responded to a domestic assault in 1300 block of Elizabeth Street.

10:35 a.m. -- A deputy was dispatched to a two-vehicle crash in Lincoln Township, causing minor injuries. A UD-10 crash report was completed, and a citation for disregarding a traffic control device was issued to the at-fault driver.

9:30 a.m. -- Officers responded to a report of fraud in the 2400 block of Alta Court.

8:35 a.m. -- Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the area of Bay City Road and Rockwell Drive.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 25, 2020 | 06:04 PM | CARLISLE COUNTY





According to the Carlisle County Sheriff's Office, deputies spotted a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed through Bardwell. The driver was reportedly identified as 28-year-old Dakota Drew.







Carlisle County Sheriff Will Gilbert attempted to stop Drew, but he reportedly drove through several residential streets until he reached US 51 and headed south towards Arlington.







His vehicle was slowed by traffic, so he pulled into a farm. He reportedly left his vehicle and ran towards a barn on the property when Gilbert ordered him to get on the ground. Drew allegedly refused to comply and resisted arrest. Gilbert says he then used a taser on Drew and he immediately complied.







According to Gilbert, after a search he found marijuana, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and a rifle.







Drew was lodged in the Ballard County Jail.







He is being charged with first degree fleeing and evading police, resisting arrest, first degree possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of marijuana, wanton endangerment, reckless driving, and drug paraphernalia.

A Clinton man was arrested after a chase through Bardwell on Thursday.
Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), a Kochi based laboratory of DRDO, has developed a virus obliterating conveyor for the disinfection of baggage at airports, railway stations etc. Dr G. Satheesh Reddy, Secretary DD R&D & Chairman DRDO will release the product on 26th June 2020 online.

The machine is an automated stand-alone system which uses UV bath technology to disinfect any item within seconds. The disinfector functions with the help of a roller based conveyor carriage that carries any item through the machine chamber. The chamber has accurately calibrated UVC sources placed inside which do the actual disinfection work. The machine looks like an X-ray scanner found at airports and metro stations.

The sensing mechanism in the chamber automatically detects the entry of any item into it and powers the UV illumination system. The UV illumination system has been designed in a way that it irradiates the body of any item from all directions and disinfects the entire surface as per the required intensity and exposure. The machine has an inbuilt mechanism which prevents the harmful UV rays from leaking out of the machine. The UV rays kill any and all viruses they come in contact with, leaving the baggage coronavirus free.

Similar to X-ray machines the baggage disinfector can be installed at airports, railway stations, metro stations, bus stations and institutional gates.

NPOL has developed the system in partnership with Apollo Microsystems Limited, Hyderabad.

Also Read: Coronavirus: Over 40 crore people to be screened by July-end in India

Also read: Will take action against Patanjali if COVID-19 drug not approved by AYUSH ministry: Rajasthan govt
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday there was nothing wrong in imports to spur growth but wondered why even Ganesha idols should be bought from China.

Importing raw materials that were not available in the country and needed for our industries was not wrong, she said addressing the BJPs Tamil Nadu unit workers via a virtual link.

There is nothing wrong in imports that would spur production and create job opportunities and it can be done definitely, she said while speaking on the Centres Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan initiative.

However, imports that could not bring benefits like employment opportunities and support growth would not help self-reliance and the Indian economy, she said.

Also read: Centre weighs tariffs to curb China imports

Ganesha idols made of clay have been traditionally bought from the local potters during Ganesh Chaturthi festival every year, she said.

But today, why even Ganesha idols are imported from China..why such a situation...cant we make a Ganesha idol from clay, is it the situation? she asked.

She wondered if importing household products used everyday like a soap-box, plastic items or incense sticks used for pooja purposes would support self-reliance especially when such products were made locally by Indian firms and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Such a situation of importing things that are locally made and available should change and self-reliance is the basic idea behind the Aatmanirbhar Abhiyan, she said.

Also read: How India can keep China in check | Opinion

Self-reliance was practised in India for long, but it faded subsequently and now the Abhiyan initiative stood for local manufacturing, she said.

Self-reliant India (Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan) does not mean that imports should not be done at all.

For industrial growth and creation of job opportunities here you may please do whatever imports that are needed.  In her speech in Tamil, she referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Modi Ayya (sir), and listed out the achievements of the government in the past one year after her party returned to power at the Centre.

She praised the valour of Havildar K Palani from Tamil Nadu who was among the 20 soldiers killed in a clash with Chinese troops at Ladakh on June 15.
A post has been made on the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev`s official Facebook account, marking the Armed Forces Day.

"The power of our army lies in the Azerbaijani people`s confidence in it and support. Each Azerbaijani soldier is a source of pride for our nation," the post said.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
GILLETTE  An Alabama man must pay $72,320 in fines and restitution and serve 80 days in the Campbell County Detention Center for big game violations from 2003-07.

Russell Vick, 55, pleaded no contest to eight counts of illegally taking a game animal without a license or during a closed season. Thirty-six other charges were dismissed.

Vick, who lives in Buhl, Alabama, was charged with 42 big-game violations, including 20 counts of illegally taking a game animal without a license or during a closed season involving buck antelope, buck mule deer, bull and cow elk from 2003-12, according to charging documents.

They also include 13 counts of fraudulently getting or trying to get big game hunting licenses and three instances in which he allegedly killed elk or was around people who killed elk over their limit.

All of the eight counts he pleaded no contest to on Monday involved the illegal killing of mule deer and antelope.

Vick must pay a $5,000 fine and $4,000 in restitution to Wyoming Game and Fish for each count, as well as $40 in court costs for each one. Each count also comes with one year of unsupervised probation, a lifetime hunting ban and 10 days in jail.

Vick was facing one year in jail for each count, but Bartlett waived 355 days for each one. In total, Vick must serve eight years of unsupervised probation and pay $40,000 in fines, $32,000 in restitution to Wyoming Game and Fish and $320 in court costs.

He has posted a $7,500 bond, which will be applied to his balance, meaning he has $64,820 left to pay. It is due by June 2028, the end of his probation.

Vick also must spend 80 days in the Campbell County Jail.

Circuit Judge Wendy Bartlett said Vicks actions were offensive to the state of Wyoming and to the thousands of hunters who follow the rules.

What were you thinking? she asked him.

I was in a different place, Vick replied. I was young and stupid, and I apologize for what Ive done.

Dustin Kirsch, an investigator with Wyoming Game and Fish, said Vick falsely claimed Gillette as his home and worked with Robert and David Underwood to illegally poach animals and further his taxidermy business.

For nine years, they killed a number of animals without a license and illegally bought resident hunting licenses even though they didnt live in Wyoming. Kirsch said their actions were some of the most egregious weve seen as investigators.

Vicks attorney, Donald Fuller, argued that Vick shouldnt have to serve any jail time. Fuller said that while this is an egregious case, it happened more than a dozen years ago.

He accepts full responsibility of this, Fuller said. But this happened long enough ago (that) Russell Vick is not the same man (now).

Fuller said he doesnt see the good that jail time would do, and asked that Bartlett suspend all jail time due to a major COVID crisis in Alabama.

Alabama has had more than 30,000 cases, including 9,000 in the last two weeks, and 854 deaths from the coronavirus. Vick lives in Tuscaloosa County, which has 1,637 cases and 35 deaths.

Vick serves in his towns volunteer fire department, where its his job to clear the scene to keep firefighters from getting the coronavirus. He also helps put on a food drive once a month for those whove been affected by the pandemic, and he picks up and drops off school lunches for 17 families.

Bartlett was not swayed.

Youre not going to avoid jail, she said.

She sentenced Vick to 80 days in jail. However, she will allow him until Sept. 1 to report to the Campbell County jail with the hopes that the pandemic in Alabama dies down.

If Vick had been convicted of all 42 charges, he faced up to 31 years in prison and up to $218,000 in fines.

Robert and David Underwood previously pleaded no contest for their involvement in the case. Robert must pay $52,540 and serve two months in jail, while David must pay $10,010. Roberts hunting privileges were revoked for life, while David is serving a 15-year suspension from hunting.

The investigation started in 2015 over the illegal purchase of Wyoming resident hunting licenses by Vick and others, which evolved into a federal case, according to an affidavit of probable cause. That led the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service getting search warrants for several homes  including Vicks Buhl, Alabama, home and taxidermy shop  as officials sought cellphones, computers, documents and taxidermy that linked him and others to big game violations.

Those led to more search warrants in the ensuing years as the case developed.

Wildlife officials were aided in their quest by finding numerous photographs that were taken of Vick and others posing with animals that they had killed.

The photographs offered investigators a time and date stamp of various wildlife kills and were detailed enough that they could match the photos of the dead animals to taxidermy mounts found when they conducted their searches. Two of those included a six-by-six bull elk killed illegally in Campbell County in 2007 and 2009, according to court documents.

Game and Fish investigators also were able to determine that Vick had lived in the same area in Buhl since 1985 despite the fact that he used a Wyoming address to apply for hunting licenses. He had never lived in Wyoming the requisite 365 consecutive days, according to the affidavit.

Starting in 2004, Vick began buying Wyoming resident hunting licenses and through the years got or applied for about 30 licenses or preference points, according to the affidavit. They included five game bird license, a deer license, five bull elk licenses, six antelope licenses, three cow/calf elk license, a female/calf wild bison license and preference points for moose and bighorn sheep.

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Disgruntled employees from India are now selling software licenses and companys sensitive information on the dark web, according to a recent report by Cyfirma, a cyber intelligence platform.

Client data of an IT firm, remote desktop protocol and even Microsoft licenses for few hundred dollars are available on the dark web, the report noted.

Kumar Ritesh, founder, Cyfirma, told Moneycontrol the number of sacked employees selling information on the dark web has gone up significantly in the past four months, especially from India.

Though quantifying the scale of such transaction is tough, Ritesh said the firm has noticed at least 68 different cases of employees selling confidential information and close to 23 of them are from India.

Take for instance, the employee from an Indian startup selling 300 Microsoft licenses. In a conversation with a potential buyer, the employee could be seen telling, "I was retrenched from my job recently and my employer did not pay my salary." The employeee was selling the software in bulk for $800.

Also Read | When layoffs and pay cuts abound, how large should your emergency fund be?

In another case, the laid-off employee could be seen selling 9,400 client details of one of the largest IT firm in India that includes the customer contact, payment details and also projects in an excel sheet for $2800. Another employee was selling remote desktop protocol, which is a software used for connecting to client system remotely.

Moneycontrol has seen the screenshots of these conversations.

These information, particularly the client data and remote desktop protocol could be detrimental to the company's image and relationship with its clients.

Also Read | Job loss most severe immediate impact of COVID-19: Survey

Earlier, a company would probably need not worry about these instances. However things have changed. It is almost impossible to trace these employees, and the anonymity dark web offers is making more number of them get on to the platform selling information.

For instance, consumption of dark web has gone up by 16-20 percent, said Ritesh. He explained that if there were 10,000 people joining the dark web before COVID-19, in the past four months, it has gone up to 11,600 to 12,000 people.

This is a dangerous trend as coming months will see more employees being laid off, pointed out experts. Aditya Narayan Mishra, CIEL HR Services, had said in an earlier interaction with Moneycontrol that the IT industry could see 1.5 lakh employees losing their jobs.

Hiring experts added that while retrenchments might be inevitable, companies should ensure that terminated employees receive fair compensation to avoid such incidents.

A startup executive, whose firm handed pink slips to 40 employees recently, said the company ensured that these employees were given six months salary and outplacement opportunity.

Follow our coverage of the coronavirus crisis
Russia Baffles German Historians With Request They Supplement Lectures With An Article By Putin

By Matthew Luxmoore June 25, 2020

MOSCOW -- When Julia Obertreis, a professor at a university in Bavaria, Germany, checked her e-mail on June 22, she was surprised to see a message from the Russian Embassy in Berlin.

It touted a revisionist article about World War II authored by none other than Russian President Vladimir Putin. Attached to the e-mail was a German translation of Putin's text -- all 9,000 words of it.

What rankled Obertreis most was the direct appeal with which the embassy's message ended.

"The Russian president's article will undoubtedly arouse considerable interest among your readers," read the e-mail, a copy of which Obertreis, of Friedrich-Alexander University, shared with RFE/RL. "With that in mind, we propose that you use Vladimir Putin's article when preparing future lectures on history."

Baffled, Obertreis took to Twitter to register her chagrin over what she saw as an unsolicited attempt to influence her teaching. It turned out the same e-mail had gone out to many other German historians, who took to the platform to likewise make their views clear.

"I'm not sure if I should be laughing or crying," wrote Anke Hilbrenner, a historian of Eastern Europe at Goettingen University.

"Putin is again playing the historian," Martin Aust of Bonn University tweeted.

Revisionist Views

Putin's article, titled The Real Lessons Of The 75th Anniversary Of World War II, has been subject to major controversy since its publication in U.S. journal The National Interest on June 18. It cites archival documents but is riddled with grammar mistakes and odd phrasing. The Kremlin has denied accusations by a Russian historian that a quote attributed to Hitler is a fabrication.

The extended monologue on history reads like a summary of revisionist views Moscow has actively advanced in recent years, as it rails against what it calls Western distortions of World War II and reminds the world of the Soviet role in defeating Nazi Germany -- at the price of almost 27 million lives.

The text, the latest in an array of combative Russian public statements on the subject by Putin, incensed governments of the Baltic states for its suggestion that they willingly relinquished sovereignty to occupying Soviet forces. In Warsaw, it prompted condemnation -- but apparently little surprise -- for its claim that Poland was responsible for its double invasion by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939, enabled by a secret protocol to Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which Putin justifies as defensive.

'Memory War'

In e-mailed comments to RFE/RL, Aust of Bonn University admitted he was "taken by surprise" when the Russian Embassy's message dropped in his inbox. But he said he viewed Putin's article as part of a memory war that Eastern Europe has waged with Russia in recent years, and was sympathetic to some of its conclusions, including Putin's condemnation of British-French appeasement of Hitler in 1938 and the emphasis on the enormous suffering the German invasion of 1941 inflicted on the Soviet people. But he calls other parts of the text distortions.

"No historian in Germany will subscribe to blaming Poland for World War II. That is completely outlandish," he said. "My guess is that quite a lot of colleagues will use Putin's text as a source that can be studied to learn more about the mechanisms of politics of history in general, and antagonistic memory culture in particular."

But in Russia, the successor state to the Soviet Union, the views Putin expressed enjoy widespread support, with many people angry their country is sometimes overlooked in discussions of the Allied victory over fascism. Commemorative events in the West that fail to mention the Soviet contribution provide fodder for Moscow's claims that a deliberate campaign to rewrite World War II history is under way, and that Russia is its target.

'A Remarkable Event'

Nevertheless, few recipients of the Russian Embassy's circular e-mail appeared to be impressed.

"Usually we understand history as a discourse free of bias," historian Schulze Wessel told the German TV series Tagesschau. "But when a president puts pen to paper and lets his article be shared with tenured professors with the request that it be used in history classes, then that is a remarkable event."

In written comments to RFE/RL, Russian Embassy Berlin spokesman Ilya Rozhkov defended the e-mail and said it was "of a purely informational character aimed at helping readers develop an objective view of the material."

Responding directly on Twitter to Obertreis, the history professor who first shared her irritation about their e-mail, the embassy said Putin's article had prompted debate in German society and it was simply sharing it with German experts.

The aim, it said, was to ensure that people make their own conclusions about the article, "and don't rely on foreign assessments."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-baffles- german-historians-with-request-they-supplement-lectures -with-an-article-by-putin/30690752.html

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

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Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 16:30 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661f389d 1 National TNI,gender-equality,gender-imbalance,Education,Indonesian-Military,military-officers,human-rights,women-rights Free

The low number of women in the Indonesian Military (TNI) has hampered gender equality within the institution as mandated by the TNI Law, scholars and activists have said.

Indonesian Defense University graduate Umi Farida, who wrote a thesis on women's participation in the military, said the low number of female personnel in the force reflected inequality.

According to the latest data from the TNI, 10 percent of the armed services personnel of some 450,000 are women.

She said a recruitment process that was limited to men contributed to the gender imbalance, adding that the Indonesian Army Academy (Akmil) had not opened recruitment for female cadets in the past two years.

Prospective female cadets, meanwhile, could only enroll in the Army through the non-commissioned officer candidate schools (Secaba), alumni of which were said to have a slimmer chance than their Akmil counterparts of being posted to key positions in the military.

Another route for female soldiers to further their career is to enroll in the Army's Officer Candidate School (Secapa), which is highly competitive among non-commissioned officers.

This hinders female personnel from serving in leadership positions or higher ranks, Umi said during an online discussion on Thursday.

Read also: Indonesia Air Force gets first female fighter pilot

On the other hand, the Air Force Academy (AAU) and the Navy Academy (AAL) still recruit female cadets.

Law No. 34/2004 on the TNI mandates the fulfillment of womens rights as part of human rights, as the regulation requires the armed services to be developed professionally adhering to principles of democracy, human rights as well as other national and ratified international laws.

The country has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) through Law No. 7/1984. The regulation, however, does not stipulate gender mainstreaming efforts in the armed forces.

Gender activist Adriana Venny, also a speaker in the discussion, said the military would need to improve to mainstream gender issues within the institution.

Adriana, who is the coordinator of an NGO against gender-based violence, urged the TNI to apply a gender perspective in its policies, such as creating gender-based standard operating procedures as well as a gender-based curriculum in military education.

"Womens presence within the armed service can promote respect of human rights and gender equity, she said.

------------

Editor's note:

The article has been updated to clarify that only the Indonesia Army Academy (Akmil) no longer accepts female cadets.
A young woman experiencing pelvic discomfort, she is grimacing in pain.

When people think of pelvic-floor muscles, it's usually in the context of pregnancy (or post-pregnancy), urinary incontinence, and the well-known pelvic floor exercise kegels. But, believe it or not, the pelvic floor has a very important job for all genders, regardless of whether you've given birth before. "The pelvic floor is a thin, bowl-shaped group of muscles that makes up the bottom-most portion of the abdomino-pelvic cavity," explained Dr. Sarah Collins, urogynaecologist at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Illinois. "It supports your pelvic organs, including your vagina, uterus, rectum, bladder, and urethra. The pelvic floor is so important for a number of reasons. First, your urethra, vagina, and rectum pass through it, and the function of those structures is affected by your pelvic floor."

If all of this is new to you, you're definitely not alone. The conversation around pelvic floor dysfunction has predominantly centred around having a weak pelvic floor, with the most common symptoms people present with being urinary or stool incontinence, or a heavy or bulging sensation in the vagina. But, it turns out that having overly tight, or "hypertonic," pelvic floor muscles is an issue spoken about a lot less often, even though it's equally important and comes with a whole other set of symptoms.

"The pelvic floor is so important for a number of reasons. First, your urethra, vagina, and rectum pass through it, and the function of those structures is affected by your pelvic floor."

All the experts who spoke to POPSUGAR agreed that common symptoms of hypertonic pelvic floor muscles are: back pain, difficulty controlling your bladder or bowels, and pain or unpleasant sensations in the bowel or bladder during penetrative sex. On the last point, Dr. Helen Bernie, a urologist at Indiana University Health, added that "sex should never be painful. Pelvic floor dysfunction can cause painful sex, vaginismus, decreased or painful orgasms, as well as positional pain."

Story continues

Historically, the only thing we've been taught about our pelvic floor muscles is that tighter equals better, and weak is disastrous - but it turns out, that's not strictly true. "Believe it or not, the focus on 'strengthening' and 'tightening' the pelvic floor muscles is usually misplaced," Dr. Collins told POPSUGAR. "In most women with pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, the muscles are not weak but actually too tight, so they can become chronically contracted, losing their range of motion. Muscles that are chronically contracted do not work properly because they are unable to relax or squeeze well." Dr. Bernie agreed, explaining that "our goal is to have a strong pelvic floor that can lengthen, elongate, relax, and contract as it needs to for normal body functions and support."

"There are many causes of hypertonic (overly contractile, tight pelvic floor muscles), including emotional states such as high stress, anxiety, or fear," Dr. Bernie said. "Many people carry their emotions in the pelvic floor, which can cause overly contractile, hypertonic states, leading to weakened pelvic floor muscles and dysfunction." She explained that there are many causes for this, such as overusing the pelvic muscles (for example, going to the bathroom too frequently or pushing and straining too hard when you do), which eventually leads to poor muscle coordination.

Dr. Bernie also noted that overtraining your pelvic floor muscles with repetitive exercises such as kegels, which focus only on tightening the muscles, can also result in an imbalance in the pelvic floor. Dr. Collins seconded this point, explaining that "kegels actually are not right for most women as a form of exercise because, while it is important to be able to perform a pelvic floor muscle contraction (or kegel squeeze), it is at least as important to be able to relax the pelvic floor."

"Our goal is to have a strong pelvic floor that can lengthen, elongate, relax, and contract as it needs to for normal body functions and support."

Dr. Karyn Eilber, MD, a urologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in California, who has a subspecialty board certification in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, said that a common scenario is a woman who has recurrent bladder infections eventually developing hypertonic pelvic floor muscles. "Every time she urinates, she contracts her pelvic floor in anticipation of pain, and over time, her muscles can stay tight. Another situation is chronic pelvic pain due to conditions such as endometriosis. Similar to the woman with recurrent infections, because she is in pain, she clenches her pelvic muscles to help ease the pain, which actually makes her situation worse," thus, resulting in muscles that are overly tight.

Unfortunately, the deeper you dive, the clearer it is that pelvic floor dysfunction is extremely common, so seeing a specialist if you suspect pelvic floor dysfunction is the best way forward. The first step is booking to see your general practitioner, who can then refer you to a urologist, urogynaecologist, or a specialist physical therapist. Dr. Bernie also recommended ISSWSH.org (The International Society For the Study of Women's Sexual Health), which she said is a wonderful website full of information for women with sexual dysfunctions or pelvic floor dysfunctions.
A volleyball game at Daytona Beach, Florida on April 20, 2020.

Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A Mississippi health official said that the increase in US coronavirus infections can be blamed on people not wearing face masks or adhering to social distancing measures.

"It's not a joke...I'm afraid it's going to take some kind of catastrophe for people to pay attention. We are giving away those hard-fought gains for silly stuff," Dr. Thomas Dobbs said.

The uptick in infections is prompting some state authorities to reimpose bans or put a pause on lifting more restrictions.

Many say a large part of the problem is that the public is failing to wear face coverings and are not following social distancing rules.

The US has surpassed 2.5 million total coronavirus cases and observed more than 126,000 deaths since the start of the outbreak.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Video: How long will social distancing last?

A Mississippi health official has blamed the dramatic uptick in coronavirus in parts of the US on people ignoring official advice on face coverings and social distancing.

Dr Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi's State Health Officer, said that only a "catastrophe" will make them change.

Some states, including Arizona, California, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Texas, have set records this week for the number of new coronavirus cases they recorded.

In Mississippi, which saw its daily count of confirmed cases reach record highs twice this week, authorities are increasingly worried.

"It's not a joke...I'm afraid it's going to take some kind of catastrophe for people to pay attention. We are giving away those hard-fought gains for silly stuff," Dobbs said.

His remarks were about his own state's outbreak, but came as many other areas were experiencing similar struggles with the virus.

To some extent the increased infection numbers in the US can be attributed to officials carrying out more tests.

But other factors suggest the virus is genuinely spreading at in increased rate. Daily recorded deaths and hospitalizations are both on the rise in the worse-hit states.

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In some states, the uptick in infections is prompting authorities to reimpose bans or put a pause on lifting more restrictions.

In Arizona, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said that further efforts to reopen the state are on hold after nearly a quarter of the tests conducted in the last week came back positive, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The state's hospitals are also starting to become overwhelmed: A record 415 COVID-19 patients are currently on ventilators and Arizona's largest hospital system, Banner Health, said last week that its intensive care units will soon exceed capacity, according to the Guardian.

The chief clinical officer at Banner Health, Dr. Marjorie Bessel, has urged the public to wear masks in public more frequently and practice social distancing as much as they can.

Public officials in Texas have reimposed a ban on elective surgeries in some areas to preserve hospital space after the number of coronavirus patients more than doubled in two weeks, the AP reported.

A bartender wearing a facemask and gloves makes drinks at Eight Row Flint in Houston, Texas, on May 22, 2020, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images

Texas was one of the first states to reopen, but it has recently emerged as a new hotspot. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has urged residents to stay at home and warned that the state is facing a "massive outbreak."

"The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses," he said. "This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business."

The decision does not reverse any of the reopening measures already in place, which include permitting bars, restaurants, malls, bowling alleys, and other non-essential businesses to operate with some restrictions.

The US has surpassed 2.4 million total coronavirus cases and experienced more than 124,000 deaths since the start of the outbreak, according to a tracker by John Hopkins University."

Some experts believe that the uptick in infections can be pinned on the country's recent efforts to ramp up testing.

Public health officials say they are now probably finding less-serious cases that previously would have gone undetected because testing was either limited or only done on patients who were severely sick.

Private First Class Armon Ramirez from the Texas National Guard is given hand sanitizer after testing people for COVID-19 in the parking lot of Memorial Swimming Pool on May 18, 2020 in El Paso, Texas.

Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images

The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, said Thursday that the number of Americans that have been infected with coronavirus is likely 10 times higher than the official count.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - The Palestinian Authority has announced a multi-million-dollar fund to support residents of the Jordan Valley, just days before Israel intends to start annexing the strategic swathe of the occupied West Bank.

"The government has decided to establish projects to support the residents of the Jordan Valley," Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh told AFP on Wednesday.

The scheme will be implemented within days and amount to 35 million Israeli shekels ($10 million), the premier said.

The financing will largely focus on agricultural improvements, although it also includes education and health projects.

Additionally, Shtayyeh said the PA will "allocate land to all Palestinians who want to invest in the Jordan Valley."

Palestinians greatly outnumber Jewish settlers in the fertile valley, which makes up about 30 percent of the occupied West Bank.

But Israel considers the area essential to its security and intends to take steps towards annexing it, along with Jewish settlements across the West Bank, from July 1.

President Donald Trump promised US blessing for the annexations as part of a controversial peace plan he unveiled in January that has been angrily rejected by the Palestinians as a violation of international law.

The plan broke with longstanding international consensus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has been opposed by Washington's Arab and European allies as well as the United Nations.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 07:37:44|Editor: huaxia

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Firefighters douse the fire at Parel area in Mumbai, India, June 25,2020. According to media reports the fire broke out at a three-storey vacant building in Lower Parel. (Str/Xinhua)
Severe thunderstorms are set to affect areas along an approximately 1,500-mile-long swath from the central Appalachians to the southern High Plains through Friday night -- and forecasters warn that high winds could leave some areas in the dark to start the weekend as power outages are possible.

This image, taken during Friday midday, June 26, 2020, already revealed developing thunderstorms over parts of the Plains. (NOAA/GOES-East)

The areal coverage of the forecast storm risk includes close to 60 million people in urban, suburban and rural areas.

The greatest threats from the storms will be high winds, large hail and flash flooding.

AccuWeather Local StormMax wind gusts of 70 mph can occur with the strongest storms. Winds this strong can knock over trees, break large tree limbs, cause minor property damage and trigger sporadic power outages.

There is the potential for a large complex or two of severe thunderstorms to organize and produce a swath of high winds over an extensive zone of more than 100 miles. When a complex of storms produces continuous damaging winds along a swath of 250 to 400 miles or more, it may be classified as a derecho and up to the scrutiny of local National Weather Service offices.

"While an outbreak of tornadoes is not foreseen with this event, a few tornadoes may occur when the severe thunderstorms first erupt, mainly from eastern Iowa to the southern shores of Lake Michigan," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said.

Chicago and Milwaukee lie within a zone facing an enhanced risk for severe thunderstorms, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

A flood advisory was issued for portions of Lake, Cook, DuPage, Kane and De Kalb counties in Illinois on Friday around 6:50 CDT until 9:45 CDT due to heavy rainfall. At 8 p.m. CDT, another flood advisory was issued until 10:45 p.m. CDT, including the south side of Chicago.

Other locations at risk for dangerous, damaging and disruptive weather conditions include Detroit; Denver; Kansas City, Missouri; Davenport, Iowa; Topeka, Kansas; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Buffalo, New York; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio.

Story continues

Airline passengers and motorists should anticipate weather-related delays as the storms erupt and move along.

Motorists are urged to avoid driving over flooded roadways as water could be much deeper than it appears. Water can also disguise washed away or compromised road surfaces.

Even outside of thunderstorms that turn severe, frequent lightning strikes can threaten those with outdoor plans. A leading expert in the United States with the National Lightning Safety Council, John Jensenius, told AccuWeather's Monica Danielle that if you can hear thunder, then you are at risk for being struck by lightning.

Jensenius said the slogan "when thunder roars, go indoors" can be a helpful reminder, but the first step to staying safe from lightning dangers is to monitor forecasts before heading out and to remain alert to changing weather conditions while outdoors.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

Even though the storms may be most active and most intense during the late afternoon and evening hours, some of the storms are forecast to be long-lived and survive well after dark as they advance into portions of the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians, the Mississippi Valley and the Plains.

It is possible that thunder from the storms may rattle windows, wake people from their sleep and agitate pets in portions of New York state, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and eastern Colorado during Friday night.

"People in Cleveland, Buffalo and Erie should not let their guard down when no severe thunderstorms occur during the daylight hours as the worst will likely come overnight as violent thunderstorms that are set to erupt over Michigan track eastward," Pydynowski said.

GORILLA HAIL core due to copious amounts of hail in Black Forest CO punching core to catch tornado warned circulation. Flash flood warning now in effect @NWSBoulder pic.twitter.com/F8PxyT0AMH  Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) June 26, 2020

Hail up to 1.75 inches in diameter fell over Black Forest, Colorado, on Friday afternoon. Also within El Paso County, hail 2.50 inches in diameter, the size of tennis balls, barraged the area.

At night, flashes of light from distant thunderstorms can be seen from hundreds of miles away. People can check the AccuWeather app with its radar to see how close the storms are and the direction they are moving relative to their location. AccuWeather MinuteCast can provide an estimate on the rain's arrival time.

The storms are forecast to shift across the Northeast on Saturday, but where rain falls during late Friday night to Saturday morning, the atmosphere may stabilize and the severe threat may focus farther south in the Appalachians and close to coastal areas in the mid-Atlantic and southern New England as a result.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
SACRAMENTO  Supporters of a proposal to expand Californias landmark consumer privacy law have qualified their measure for the November ballot.

The initiative asks voters to expand the California Consumer Privacy Act on several fronts, including giving people move control over sensitive personal information. It would also triple penalties for companies that break laws regarding the collection and sale of childrens private information.

Privacy advocates, led by Alastair Mactaggart, a wealthy San Francisco developer, say the ballot measure is needed to protect the law that state legislators passed in 2018.

During these times of unprecedented uncertainty, we need to ensure that the laws keep pace with the ever-changing ways corporations and other entities are using our data, Mactaggart said in a statement.

Supporters submitted more than the necessary 623,212 valid signatures, Secretary of State Alex Padillas office said Wednesday.

Mactaggart says the initiative would enshrine the states existing privacy law so legislators cannot weaken it. His proposal would create a state agency to enforce consumer privacy protections.

The effort is likely to face fierce opposition from tech firms and business associations, which say it will harm small companies struggling during the pandemic.

Its not the time to add additional costs or confusion to Main Street, said John Kabateck, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business. He called the measure a real insult to small businesses that are just trying to recover and get the lights turned back on.

The Legislature passed the Consumer Privacy Act, the most sweeping law of its kind in the nation, in 2018. It allows consumers to tell businesses not to sell their data and to demand that they delete the information altogether.

Mactaggart pushed legislators to approve the law after he spent more than $3 million collecting signatures to get a privacy initiative on the 2018 ballot. He agreed to withdraw it after the law passed.

Now, Mactaggart says the law must be strengthened to achieve its original goals and prevent lawmakers from watering it down.

Consumers need stronger laws to place them on a more equal footing when negotiating with businesses in order to protect their rights, the initiative says.

The initiative would also expand the types of information that consumers can block businesses from sharing, including data about their health, genetics, race, union membership, sexual orientation, religion and precise geolocation.

Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner
Nothing puts us of from watching a random movie on Netflix more than knowing that even though you tapped out after 2 minutes, it'll haunt you in the 'continue watching' bar for the rest of eternity.

Well, no more!
The seven-year-old MINUSMA operating in Mali has faced an array of issues as insecurity in the Sahel grows.

The United Nations Security Council is expected next week to renew the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA.

Often dubbed the UNs most dangerous mission, MINUSMA will enter its eighth year at the centre of a multilayered and complicated conflict that has spread across the Sahel, a semi-arid region directly south of the Sahara desert in northwestern and central Africa.

Its challenges are myriad: a volatile environment that often proves deadly for UN forces, restricts peace-building initiatives and keeps the mission on a defensive footing; an inconsistent Malian ruling class; and a shifting and complex crisis that has exploded in the centre of the country that lacks an adequate framework for resolution.

Despite such obstacles, Security Council members have not yet been able to deny that the 15,000-strong mission, which includes 13,000 peacekeepers, is a necessity in a country considered the epicentre of the wider security crisis in the region, said Paul Melly, a consulting fellow at Chatham Houses Africa Programme.





However difficult the track record, however troubling the situation, however slow the pace of progress, where there is any, when the Security Council is confronted with the actual reality of the situation on the ground, they come to the conclusion that there is no alternative, he said.

MINUSMA needs to be there.

The mission has become life support for a Malian state teetering on the edge, providing critical infrastructure, in particular air transportation, for a government that has largely retreated from large swaths of the country, said Judd Devermont, director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

I think that without MINUSMA, for as dire and desperate as the situation in Mali is, it would slide even further down into instability, unrest and un-governability, he said.

The most generous thing we can say about MINUSMA is that it slows Malis slide  But Mali continues to devolve and worsen despite MINUSMAs presence.

Strategic priorities

Malis crisis was triggered in 2012 when ethnic Taureg separatists, allied with fighters from an al-Qaeda offshoot, launched a rebellion that took control of Malis north. But the armed group fighters swiftly pushed over the Tuareg rebels and seized key northern cities until they were driven out in early 2013 by French troops, together with Malian forces and soldiers from other African countries under the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) banner.

On April 25, 2013, the UNSC established MINUSMA, or the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission, which took over operations from AFISMA in July 2013.

MINUSMAs strategic priority first focused on the sprawling north, a flat and unforgiving desert and semi-desert area about the size of Afghanistan. Its mandate included protecting civilians, aiding in implementing a 2015 peace agreement between the government and some separatist groups in the north, helping to re-establish the state authority and building the security sector, which was and continues to be largely absent in some regions.

The mission is also charged with monitoring human rights abuses by armed groups and the array of security forces operating in the country, a tenuous role, at times, since MINUSMA works in cooperation with many of those forces.

Malis President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita inspects the damage after an attack by gunmen on Fulani herders in Ogossagou, Mali in March of 2019 that killed at least 160 people [File: Reuters]

In 2018, the mission began to shift focus to Malis hot semi-arid centre as the situation there began to devolve drastically. A year later, MINUSMA added a second strategic priority that includes helping the Malian government restore stability in central Mali, while also protecting civilians, helping to restore the presence of the state and promoting political peace initiatives.

In this region, various armed groups  including Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an offshoot of al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Greater Sahara, an ISIL (ISIS) affiliate  have been jockeying for control while exploiting poverty and inflaming tensions between ethnic groups, notably Fulani herdsmen and Dogon farmers. Those communities have already been pushed to a breaking point as climate change stifles resources in a land where the dry season is long and rainfall unreliable.

Attacks in Mali have spread into neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso and grew fivefold between 2016 and 2020, with 4,000 people killed in 2019, up from about 770 killed in 2016, according to the UN. This year, the unrest including armed group attacks and intercommunity violence has so far killed 580 civilians just in central Mali.

Meanwhile, the number of people forced to leave their homes due to the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the region has surged from about 600,000 internally displaced people recorded in May 2010 to 1.5 million by April 2020.

The evolving situation, and the increase in violence perpetrated by jihadist armed groups in central Mali, as opposed to the northern rebel separatist groups, has created a unique position for the UN mission, said Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, a senior Sahel analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG).

MINSUMA is not a force that does counterterrorism, he said. However, it collaborates with other forces that operate on the ground  So it is not unengaged in the counterterrorism arena, even though it does not engage directly in it.

Most dangerous

MINUSMAs expected renewal signifies a temporary truce between the United States and France, both permanent UNSC members and veto-power holders, analysts say.

The US, citing the security deterioration in recent years, has repeatedly called for a major drawdown in the mission and that it be repurposed with the sole aim of protecting civilians.

Meanwhile, France, which has taken the most active military role of any foreign power in its former colony since its 2013 intervention, sees MINUSMA as an essential component of a broad coalition of forces currently attempting to root out armed groups.

The forces operating in the Sahel include Frances Operation Barkhane, whose roughly 5,000 troops are largely based in the north and east of the country; the internationally supported G5 Sahel Joint Force, which is mostly composed of troops from neighbouring Sahel countries while operating in the south, centre and east of Mali; a European Union training mission that supports Malian security forces; and the recently approved task force Takuba, an EU special forces initiative set to be operational in the restive tri-border region of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger by 2021.

More than half of the attacks on MINUSMA have occurred in the central Mopti region [Al Jazeera]

Still, insecurity has continued to reign.

Just two days after a virtual UNSC meeting on June 11 to discuss the mandates renewal, unidentified armed assailants attacked a logistical convoy of the UN mission travelling between the towns of Tessalit and Gao, killing two Egyptian peacekeepers.

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Such incidents occur regularly. To date, 209 UN personnel have been killed in the seven-year-old mission.

Thats the main challenge and that has lots of implications, Jair van der Lijn, director of the Peace Operations and Conflict Management Programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), told Al Jazeera.

The mission becomes more expensive, because you need to have all the protection, he said. It means that you are not as close to the population as you would like to be and youre not able to do the projects in the way that you would like them to be done.

In the year since the mandate was last extended, in June 2019, MINUSMA was attacked 136 times, according to quarterly reports by the secretary-general. Seventy-one of those attacks, a majority, occurred in the central Mopti region.

Political will

From the Malian government, analysts and observers say the will to end the conflict has fluctuated.

It remains to be seen how recent protests in the capital, Bamako, belying growing unrest with the government that includes its handling of the central crisis, will affect the attitude of officials currently in power.

The large street demonstrations calling for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has been in power since 2013, have been supported by Mahmoud Dicko, a prominent Muslim leader who has long called for dialogue between the government and the armed groups in the central region.

Protests in Bamako beginning on June 5 have called for the resignation of Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita [Michele Cattani/AFP]

Prior to the recent demonstrations, CSISs Devermont wrote in December 2019 that Malis political class has appeared more reticent than other leaders in the region to find a solution to the complex crisis, noting that they have not appeared to view the issue as relevant to the 90 percent of their constituents who live in the more hospitable south.

The politics in Bamako and the southern part of the country are paramount and supersede the troubling developments in northern and central regions, wrote Devermont. Not only has the government faced little sustained pressure to address insecurity, but it may believe there is an unacceptable political cost to doing more, particularly because it believes the violence does not pose an existential threat to stability in the countrys south.

He added: Malis political and business classes may have an incentive to prolong the conflict because they benefit from international financial flows into the country.

A lack of inclusivity in the government, as well as corruption and allegations that some officials are involved in criminal networks that fund the violence, have all hindered attempts at reconciliation in the centre, despite a political peace-building initiative led by Bamako and supported by MINUSMA.

The government has its plans for how to deal with the centre of the country. And the best [the UN] basically can do is support any kind of the local mediation that is ongoing and support the parties wherever they are willing to do something, SIPRIs van der Lijn said.

More than one million people have been internally displaced from the conflict between May 2019 and April 2020 [Michele Cattani/AFP]

But the challenge for the UN is, you can strengthen governance or you can strengthen the government, but it needs to become more inclusive. And as long as that does not happen, its going to be a very difficult process.

Moreover, the government support of some local militias against others and accusation of abuses and extrajudicial killings by Malian forces have perpetuated deep-seated mistrust and enmity in regions with little government presence otherwise.

MINUSMAs human rights monitor has documented 119 extrajudicial killings in the first three months of 2020 committed by Malian security forces in the central Mopti and Segou regions, including some by local forces operating under the auspices of the G5 Sahel Joint Force. Most recently, in June, a Fulani association accused the Malian army of massacring dozens of civilians in a village in the Mopti region.

No framework for peace

Going forward, several analysts agree the most fundamental challenge faced by MINUSMA is fulfilling its dual mandates in Malis north and centre.

Pivoting away from the north without an increase in funding could jeopardise the substantial gains made there, but resources needed to operate properly in the centre have not materialised, said Flore Berger, a Sahel research analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

They still dont have, in the Mopti region, military helicopters and ISR aircraft. So even if there is an attack somewhere in Mopti in the central sector, they cannot intervene quickly, she said. They dont have helicopters and its the only way to safely move around the region because of IEDs and the presence of armed groups.

And while the 2015 accord offers a framework, although laden with obstacles, to approach peace with some of the armed groups in the north, there is no such framework for peace in the centre for MINUSMA to support.

The reason why they have been productive in northern Mali is because there is a peace agreement that theyre trying to implement, said ICGs Ibrahim.

In central Mali, there is no such thing, there is no peace framework that MINUSMA can implement and bring all the actors to respect.
A department spokesman, Alexei Woltornist, said on Friday that it was sorely disappointed in this decision.

The administration is facing a separate legal challenge to the similar transfer of $3.6 billion from Pentagon construction funds to build the border wall. The White House celebrated a win in that case in January when the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans lifted a lower-court ruling to allow the administration to use the military funds.

Despite the court challenges, the administration has continued to tap the Defense Department for wall funds as Mr. Trump tries to turn political attention to the border to help his struggling re-election campaign. The administration notified Congress this year that it would take another $3.8 billion from the Defense Department for the wall, almost exactly a year after Mr. Trump used a national emergency declaration to initially circumvent Congress for his barriers.

The funds that he is pilfering, which were appropriated by Congress, are vital to support the safety and well-being of the brave men and women in uniform, as well as their families, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said in a statement on Friday. We will never allow our national security and the strength of our military families to suffer so that the president can fulfill an outrageous campaign promise.

With about $15 billion of available wall funding, the administration has completed construction of 216 miles of new border wall. All but three of the miles of wall have replaced much shorter, dilapidated fencing or Normandy barriers.

Its the most powerful and comprehensive border wall structure anywhere in the world, Mr. Trump said this week even as Customs and Border Protection has requested ideas from the private sector on how to prevent people from climbing over the wall or cutting through it.

The White House is aggressively trying to meet a mandate set by Mr. Trump to complete 450 miles by the end of the year, regardless of the tribal lands, archaeological sites, contracting laws and private owners that stand in the way.
The Queen has thanked the army for their services 'both at home and overseas' as she marks Armed Forces Day, which takes place on the last Saturday of June.

In a letter written by the Queen, the monarch, 94, recognised the 'dedication and risks faced by those serving our nation'.

Referring to her role as 'your Commander-in-Chief', the royal also added a personal touch, referring to her own family members who had served in the armed forces, and revealing she 'knew the pride service personnel take in their duty'.

Both Prince William, 38, and Prince Harry, 35, served in the armed forces for several years.

The Queen has thanked the army for their services 'both at home and overseas' as she marks Armed Forces Day, which takes place on the last Saturday of June

Writing in the letter, the Queen said: 'The Duke of Edinburgh and I join many around the United Kingdom in celebrating Armed Forces Day, and the efforts of our military both at home and overseas.

'Today provides an opportunity for thanks, and a recognition of the dedication and risks faced by those serving our nation. We also have cause to thank veterans, who continue to contribute to our way of life, long after they leave the Armed Forces.

'Having had members of my family serve in each of the Armed Services, I know only too well of the pride Service personnel take in their duty.

Referring to her role as 'your Commander-in-Chief', the royal also added a personal touch, referring to her own family members who had served in the armed forces (Seen: Guardsmen during a ceremony at Windsor Castle in Berkshire to mark her official birthday this month)

'As your Commander-in-Chief, I send my warmest best wishes to you all, your families, and the entire Armed Forces community.'

The letter is signed, 'Elizabeth R.'.

To honour the military forces, many countries around the world hold an annual celebration similar to Veterans Day in the US and in the UK, it is referred to as Armed Forces Day.

Armed Forces Day gives communities the chance to show support to the men and women who are currently serving, Service families, veterans and cadets.

In a letter written by the Queen, the monarch, 94, recognised the 'dedication and risks faced by those serving our nation'

After replacing previous Veterans Day, Armed Forces Day was first observed in 2009 on the day after the anniversary of the first investiture ceremony for the Victoria Cross military medal for heroism, which was held on June 26, 1957.

The celebrations were held at a former Royal Navy base, the Chatham Historic Dockyard, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his wife Sarah, Prince Richard, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were in attendance.

Every year, a different city holds the national event, with celebrations taking place for a week with Armed Forces Day being held on the last Saturday each June.
Donald Trump has boasted a veterans law first passed by former President Barack Obama as one of his greatest achievements while in office.

The president was asked what he thought was his greatest achievement during a town hall in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Thursday evening, which was hosted by Fox News Sean Hannity.

In response to the question, Mr Trump said: We got Veterans Choice approved and Veterans Accountability ... Very hard to get. You couldnt get it for 50 years. I got it. The other thing is Veterans Choice ... If you cant see a doctor you go out and you see a private doctor, and we pay the bill.

The Veterans Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act was first signed by Mr Obama in 2014 after it passed through Congress.

Under the act, veterans could see doctors outside the government-run Veterans Affairs system if they had to wait more than 30 days for an appointment or drive more than 40 miles to a VA facility.

Mr Trump did expand the eligibility of the program starting in 2019.

The expansion allows for veterans to seek out a private doctor if their wait time was more than 20 days (28 days for speciality care) or if they lived more than 30 minutes away from a VA facility.

This was not the first time the president has falsely boasted about creating the Veterans Choice program.

He made a similar claim in 2019 when announcing the expansion of the program in collaboration with VA secretary Robert Wilkie.

At the time, the president claimed the program finally passed after 45 years of failed attempts from other presidents, despite Mr Obama successfully creating the program in 2014.

The Obama administration also passed same-day mental health services at the VA and wait times for patients at VA medical centres fell between the years of 2014 and 2017.

While Mr Trump was correct in stating he made expansions and improvements to the program, he was misplaced in suggesting his administration completely created the veterans program.
President Donald Trump isn't known for his affinity for luxury foods. But in early June he began expressing keen interest in Maine lobster and flew there to meet with commercial fishermen. This week he signed a memo directing the Department of Agriculture to provide aid to the U.S. lobster industry.

"Enjoy your 'lobstering,' " the president posted on Twitter. The crustacean's prices are at unprecedented lows thanks to trade wars and the effects of coronavirus on shipments of the prized seafood to Asia, notably for occasions such as Lunar New Year.

In the U.S., the virus has also stymied a traditional summer rite of passage for many people on the East Coast: a road trip to Maine highlighted by a lobster roll. Restrictions on out-of-state visitors have eased - travelers now just need to confirm they've tested negative for the coronavirus or quarantine for two weeks - but that doesn't mean it's worth making the trip.

For those who are forced to skip annual Maine vacations but still want to savor the New England specialty-and take advantage of value-priced lobster-a new cookbook comes just in time. In "Eventide: Recipes for Clambakes, Oysters, Lobster Rolls and More From a Modern Maine Seafood Shack," by Arlin Smith, Andrew Taylor, and Mike Wiley with Sam Hiersteiner (Ten Speed Press; $30), the authors deliver details on how to make their coveted version.

The lobster roll served at the groovy James Beard-winning, Portland-based Eventide Oyster Co. isn't a classic mayo-slathered option. It's served warm, dripping with a lemon butter dressing; Eventide ups the ante by using nutty brown butter, which amplifies the richness. Almost no one walks in without ordering one. On busy nights the restaurant might sell 500 of them, and the cooks are so adept at making them that a table that orders a dozen oysters and a made-to-order lobster roll often has the roll before the oyster platter, according to chef and co-owner Mike Wiley. "They're definitely on our leader board," he says.

At Eventide, the dish of course starts with live lobsters. (In the cookbook, the recipe directs you to use them too: "Dispatch the lobsters as humanely as possible by thrusting a sharp thin knife through the lobster shell between the eyes" before cooking them briefly in boiling water.)

If, like me, you're not prepared to kill lobsters in your own kitchen, the Eventide team recommends buying whole cooked ones instead of cooked meat in a container.

"The quality is through-the-roof better if you start with live lobster. Cooked whole lobster is second-tier; cooked meat is third," says Wiley. He does acknowledge the convenience of cooked, picked meat. "You can have your roll on the table in minutes," he adds. (After spending half an hour pounding lobster claws with my toolbox hammer, I've moved into the convenience camp.)

For those who are squeamish but want the freshest possible lobster, Ready Seafood specializes in a mail-order product, Cold Cracked Lobster, raw meat that's been processed within 12 hours of being harvested. (For the recipe below, cook it a little longer in the pan.)

One other tip from Wiley and the Eventide team is to tear lobster meat rather than cut it: Tearing gives it the most possible surface area to draw in whatever you're tossing the meat with, such as butter.

One other innovation at Eventide is to use steamed buns; Wiley credits Momofuku founder David Chang for the inspiration. But you can use a hot dog bun that's steamed in a steamer basket or a microwave, and it makes a gorgeous puffy encasing for the luscious dressed lobster.

The following recipe is adapted from the Eventide cookbook.

The Brown Butter Lobster Roll

Serves 4

Ingredients

 cup Brown Butter Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

12 oz. cooked lobster meat (from two 1 to 1 lb. cooked lobsters if using whole ones)

Kosher salt

4 hot dog buns, split

Minced fresh chives for garnish

Steps

In a skillet, combine the Brown Butter Vinaigrette and lobster meat over medium heat, stirring frequently until just heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt.

Working in batches, put the hot dog buns in a shallow bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and steam in a microwave on high until hot, about 15 seconds. (Alternatively, warm them in a steamer basket over simmering water.) Transfer the buns to plates, divide the lobster meat among them. Garnish with chives and serve warm.

Brown Butter Vinaigrette

Makes about 1 cups

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

 cup nonfat dry milk powder

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the milk powder and cook, stirring frequently, until the solids begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Pour the butter into a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and salt to taste. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 1 month. Use the leftovers to add a little luxury to any recipe that calls for melted butter.
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

Not as cold with limited sunshine. A flurry or snow shower late in the day can't entirely be ruled out, mainly north and west of the Lehigh Valley..

Tonight

A passing snow shower or flurry possible early; otherwise, clouds initially will give way to clearing late.
Police in riot gear on June 23, 2020, at Marconi Plaza in South Philadelphia, where tensions have erupted between protesters and residents who oppose the removal of a statue of Christopher Columbus. Read more

In Philadelphia, Democrats are starting to rethink the political value of an endorsement from the police union, and all but one Democrat on City Council have called for fully resourced, independent police oversight.

In the suburbs, a police union leaders threat to destroy people who speak out against cops presented an early challenge for newly empowered Democrats who took control of county government just six months ago.

And in Harrisburg, the Democratic state attorney general, who has long been seen as positioning himself for a run at the Governors Mansion, could find his law enforcement pedigree out of step with the partys increasingly progressive streak on criminal justice.

For decades, Democrats were fearful of being painted as soft on crime, a legacy of electoral defeats at the hands of law-and-order Republicans like Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush. But the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the resulting protests against systemic racism have accelerated a shift for the party that began in recent years amid highly publicized police violence against Black people.

It does feel like some things are drawn into sharp relief right now, in a way Im not sure has been true for a very long time, said Lisa Miller, a Rutgers University professor who studies racial politics.

The presidency of Donald Trump, the coronavirus pandemic, and low rates of violent crime compared with the late 20th century have helped make this a turning point in American politics, Miller said: There are a lot of things going on here that have converged in this moment that have opened up space for critical examination of the police.

Now, Democrats are facing pressure to reconsider their relationship with police unions, which have come under scrutiny for using labor protections that liberals generally support to protect cops who were fired or disciplined for misconduct. In Washington on Thursday, every House Democrat from Pennsylvania, even ones representing conservative-leaning districts, voted in favor of the most sweeping police reform bill in modern memory. And unions representing police officers have become a crucial constituency and voting bloc for Trump, who regularly threatens protesters.

There is a very strong affinity between especially white police officers and Trump, said Michael Zoorob, a doctorate student at Harvard who has researched the influence of the Fraternal Order of Polices endorsement of Trump in 2016. Democrats are sort of distancing themselves. I think this is accelerating pretty rapidly after the George Floyd killing.

Over the last 10 years, he said, the publics confidence in police has diverged along partisan lines, with Democrats expressing less confidence over time and Republicans showing more.

I think that will trickle down to state and local levels as well, that police unions will become consistent supporters and organized supporters of Republican candidates, Zoorob said.

In heavily Democratic Philadelphia, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the citys police officers union has backed plenty of Democrats, including Mayor Jim Kenney. But even the union acknowledges it has lost allies. The lone Democratic holdout from a City Council letter to Kenney this month urging him to adopt 15 police reforms was Bobby Henon, who represents a Northeast Philadelphia district that is home to many police officers.

Council passed legislation Thursday to put a referendum before voters on whether to create a civilian oversight commission, something Lodge 5 has long opposed. Henon voted in favor of it.

FOP Lodge 5 president John McNesby didnt return a message seeking comment for this article. But in an interview with The Inquirer earlier this month, he conceded the political winds may be shifting. Some of the ones who were our friends, he said, now their phone is off the hook.

A harbinger came in 2017, when the FOP-backed candidate lost in the Democratic primary for district attorney to civil rights lawyer Larry Krasner. Progressive candidates have continued to rack up wins, including in the South Philadelphia-based 1st Senate District, where self-described democratic socialist Nikil Saval defeated State Sen. Larry Farnese in this months primary.

I think the FOP endorsement, a lot of people will start to see that, with reason, as support for lack of accountability for the police, Saval said in an interview.

Saval and Rick Krajewski, another progressive who beat an incumbent Democratic state representative in West Philadelphia this month, have been marching with protesters. Speaking Tuesday outside City Hall, Krajewski promoted efforts to defund the police and called Philadelphias budget an oppressive document.

Mustafa Rashed, a public relations consultant and lobbyist, said more and more Philadelphia-area Democrats would decline endorsements from FOP Lodge 5.

It feels that dynamic has changed entirely, he said.

One question is whether Democrats in Northeast Philadelphia will distance themselves from the union. I want the endorsement of working folks, said State Rep. Jared Solomon, who represents a Northeast district. Others were reluctant to discuss the subject on the record.

If Democrats do end up breaking with police unions, it probably wont happen as quickly in the suburbs.

Consider the Bucks County-based 1st Congressional District, where 86% of the population is white and which Hillary Clinton narrowly carried over Trump in 2016. In 2018, Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent, promoted endorsements from police unions and portrayed Democrat Scott Wallace as hostile to law enforcement.

Fitzpatrick was reelected even as Democrats won elsewhere across the region. In a sign of how much has changed since then, Fitzpatrick on Thursday was one of the only Republicans to vote for the Democratic House bill.

In down-ballot races, Democratic operatives said having the endorsement of police unions in candidates campaign literature signaled to suburban voters that you were an OK Democrat, as one put it.

Some Democrats in the suburbs are just now forging relationships with police unions, which for years backed Republicans in the former GOP strongholds. As Democrats seemed poised last year to take control of the Delaware County Council for the first time since the Civil War, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 27 decided to endorse the partys slate of candidates  also for the first time.

I think that shows they are at a point in their leadership and also their mind-set that they might be willing to think outside the box and move in a new direction, said first-term Councilmember Monica Taylor.

The Democrats won, and the party swept to power in other collar counties as well.

 READ MORE: Democrats now outnumber Republicans in all suburban Philly counties as GOP loses the edge in Chester County

But their relationship with FOP Lodge 27 was tested earlier this month. After a local business owner expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement on Facebook, a union official replied on the FOPs account: If you choose to speak out against the police or our members, we will do everything in our power to not support your business.

Try us, the union official, Sgt. Robert Skippy Carroll, added on his personal page. Well destroy you.

The incident prompted an outcry from Black community leaders and others. Carroll deleted the post, and the FOP apologized. Newly elected District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, a Democrat who was opposed by the union in last years campaign, tried to smooth things over between Carroll and the business owner  but faced criticism himself for initially failing to condemn Carrolls remarks.

Last week, Stollsteimer announced a county task force on criminal justice reform. It includes the FOP. They are coming to the table, Taylor said.

In Upper Darby, newly elected Democratic Mayor Barbarann Keffer said she did not seek the police unions endorsement. I think its sort of a dangerous combination to mix politics and policing, she said.

Upper Darby has to negotiate new contracts with police and other unions this year. It definitely, going into the negotiations, looks a lot different now than it did three months ago, Keffer said. Its just a different atmosphere now.

The current reckoning could also have implications for statewide politics.

Long seen as a rising Democratic star, Josh Shapiro served as a state lawmaker and chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners before he was elected attorney general in 2016. He is widely seen as a leading contender for his partys gubernatorial nomination in 2022.

He made a calculation ... that being in law enforcement was the right next step for him, said Ben Waxman, a former Krasner aide. I think traditionally that has been a safe bet.

Hes definitely on more unsteady ground than I think he expected to find himself on, Waxman said.

Some progressives have griped that Shapiro is too cozy with police unions like FOP Lodge 5, which endorsed him in his 2016 campaign and has contributed more than $40,000 to his reelection bid this year.

They also have questioned his record on the Board of Pardons, criticizing Shapiro as a roadblock to efforts to increase use of commutations for inmates serving life sentences. Dozens protested outside his offices in February, urging him to support more commutations.

Shapiro this month announced a coalition of law enforcement organizations and police unions to support legislation that would require authorities to maintain a confidential police misconduct database for officer background checks. That bill passed in the state House on Wednesday.

Dana Fritz, a Shapiro campaign spokesperson, said the attorney general is a progressive reformer who had rebuilt the office to work for the people.

In his first term, Fritz said, hes created Pennsylvanias first statewide conviction integrity unit and reentry council, formed the coalition to advance long-stalled legislation including police hiring reform and a choke hold ban, defended against President Trumps repeated attacks on civil rights and taken on big banks and predatory lenders.
At least 65 US meatpacking employees and 28 food-processing employees have died from COVID-19, the country's largest meatpacking union said on Thursday, reflecting the steep toll the contagious respiratory disease has taken on essential workers.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union said that more than 196 of its members who work in meat and food plants, grocers and healthcare facilities have died from COVID-19, which is caused by the new coronavirus. More than 2,300 members were exposed to or affected by the virus in the last month, the union told reporters on a call.

New daily COVID-19 cases around the country have recently climbed to a near-record high and US government experts said the coronavirus may have infected 10 times more Americans than reported.

"Our country's frontline workers are still getting sick and dying," said Marc Perrone, the union's president.

Many meatpacking employees are missing work because they are quarantined or afraid they will fall ill if they return to their jobs at plants that house thousands of workers.

At a Tyson Foods Inc pork plant in Logansport, Indiana, about 200 employees out of 2,000 have not returned to work after the company temporarily closed the facility in April because of the pandemic, Dennis Medbourn, a union steward at the slaughterhouse, said on the call.

"I believe it's strictly out of fear," Medbourn said.

About 20 plants run by companies like Tyson, JBS USA and Smithfield Foods closed in April as thousands of workers tested positive for COVID-19. The shutdowns sent meat prices soaring and contributed to shortages of some products in grocery stores.

President Donald Trump issued an order on April 28 telling meatpackers to stay open. Companies say they spent tens of millions of dollars stepping up cleaning at plants, installing physical dividers on production lines and implementing other measures to protect workers.
Children infected with Covid-19 and who also have other viruses are more likely to end up in intensive care, a major study involving Ireland and other European countries reveals today.

The finding that children who have other viruses are at greater risk of being treated in intensive care will have implications for the winter months.

Some 29 children were found to be infected with one or more additional respiratory viruses at the same time as the coronavirus, such as a cold or flu viruses.

The first Europe-wide study of children confirms Covid-19 predominately causes mild disease in children and fatalities are very rare but some had to be treated in intensive care.

The findings in 'The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health' across 25 European countries showed only a quarter of the 582 children had pre-existing medical conditions.

Dr Marc Tebruegge, lead author from the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health in London, said: "A notable number of children do develop severe disease and require intensive care support, and this should be accounted for when planning and prioritising healthcare resources as the pandemic progresses."

Four patients died during the study period, two of whom had pre-existing medical conditions. All of the patients who died were older than 10 years of age.

It comes as another death from the virus was announced here by the Department of Health yesterday.

There has now been a total of 1,727 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.

Eleven new cases of the virus were confirmed, bringing the total to 25,405.

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), which met yesterday, highlighted how more than a third of new cases in the past 14 days were under 35 years of age.

It also noted a number of EU countries reported an increase in new cases.

He warned that 7pc of cases notified in Ireland over the past fortnight had been associated with travel.

"Nphet expressed a clear view that overseas travel poses a risk to importation of the disease and to further transmission in Ireland.

"The European Centre for Disease Control has recently warned that the pandemic is not over.

"Ireland has made significant gains in suppressing Covid-19. Our task over the coming weeks and months is maintaining these gains," he said.

Deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn added: "Covid-19 is accelerating globally with four million cases recorded in the last month.

"Considering the international experience with the disease, we cannot afford complacency.

"Continue to be aware of the risks and follow the public health advice designed to protect individuals."

Meanwhile, a separate study today provides new insights into the after effects of Covid-19 in those who recover.

The research on 153 patients treated in UK hospitals during the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic describes a range of neurological and psychiatric complications that may be linked to the disease.

The findings in the 'Lancet Psychiatry' journal found the most common brain complication observed was stroke, which was reported in 77 of 125 patients.

Of these, 57 patients had a stroke caused by a blood clot in the brain, known as an ischaemic stroke, nine patients had a stroke caused by a brain haemorrhage, and one patient had a stroke caused by inflammation in the blood vessels of the brain.
Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Constables Office animal cruelty task force has seized a dog and arrested its owner after the animal was found with a metal chain embedded in her neck.

John Mora, age 63 has been charged with animal cruelty to a non-livestock animal and failure to provide basic care for an animal after investigators discovered his dog, Molly, chained in the yard. Deputies from the constables office found the dog after receiving a phone call from a concerned witness, said Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Constable Wayne Thompson.

Molly was removed from Moras home on March 19, and Mora was arrested on June 19.

According to a spokesperson for the Texas Human Legislation Network, an animal rights advocacy group, the chain had been wrapped tightly around her neck for so long that her fur had worn off from the area, and the chain had grown into her skin.

Molly, a 4-year-old mixed breed, is also extremely malnourished, tested positive for heartworms and is suffering from a severe flea infestation.

Veterinarians from the Houston Humane Society were able to remove the embedded chain surgically, but the dog is still undergoing treatment for her other maladies.

"We see animals like Molly come into our facility far too often. Molly's incident is not an isolated one. For a chain to embed in the flesh takes time and is extremely painful for the animal. There are many animals who are suffering from heavy chains, short chains, and tight chains, and it's truly heartbreaking," said Gary Poon, executive director of the Houston Humane Society.

THLN used Mollys case as an example for why the state needs stronger anti-cruelty legislation. "This poor animal was made to suffer unnecessarily by its owners. Unfortunately, we see this all across the state due to our inadequate laws on humane restraint of a dog outside," said Shelby Bobosky, executive director for the THLN. "The use of a heavy metal chain, which is an improper restraint for any living creature, combined with prolonged neglect, can be stopped if we repair our broken law."

Thompson has a long-standing commitment to investigating animal cruelty. In February, Thompsons task force rescued more than 200 animals from an alleged hoarding case.

Related: Fort Bend Countys first animal cruelty task force seizes 227 animals in alleged hoarding case

We are so thankful to have the only animal crimes investigator in the county, Thompson said. We have made meaningful strides in addressing the huge issue of animal crimes and cruelty in Fort Bend.

The Houston Humane Society is requesting donations to help cover Mollys medical costs. To donate, visit www.houstonhumane.org
The global bare metal cloud market is expected to grow by USD 7.89 billion during 2020-2024. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect the impact to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005205/en/

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The shift from the CAPEX model to the OPEX model is the primary factor driving the adoption of bare metal cloud services in several industry verticals such as BFSI, healthcare, retail, and IT and telecom. The rising cost pressure due to uncertain business and economic conditions has compelled several companies to use flexible IT solutions. Bare metal cloud solutions offer flexibility as they are available in three deployment models, such as public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud. This enables organizations to build their cloud-based infrastructure based on business requirements. Bare metal cloud solutions are also available in pay-per-use model and have no fixed upfront costs, which is attracting end-users. With the growing shift from CAPEX model to OPEX model, the demand for bare metal cloud is expected to increase during the forecast period.

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The global outbreak of COVID-19 has created financial pain for businesses across several industries. At the same time, the pandemic has increased the need for additional investments in the IT sector to support remote work. As a result, the IT industry is expected to witness a mixed growth in the coming future. Similarly, the bare metal cloud market is expected to have a neutral impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

As per Technavio, the the rise in adoption of hybrid bare metal cloud storage systems 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.

Bare Metal Cloud Market: Rise in Adoption of Hybrid Bare Metal Cloud Storage Systems

Hybrid bare metal cloud storage systems provide both on-premise and cloud-based bare metal data center storage systems to improve efficiencies of operations. They also offer benefits such as enhanced data management, improved IT infrastructure management, and better security and compliance. Owing to many such advantages, organizations are increasingly adopting hybrid bare metal cloud storage systems. This is expected to boost the growth of the global bare metal cloud market during the forecast period.

"Factors such as the emergence of hyper-convergence technology, green bare metal data centers, and increasing adoption of centralized and micro-mobile data centers will have a significant impact on the growth of the bare metal cloud market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio.

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This market research report segments the bare metal cloud market by end-user (BFSI, government, IT and telecom, healthcare, and others) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA).

The North American region led the bare metal cloud market in 2019, followed by Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA respectively. During the forecast period, the North American region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to the increased adoption of secured cloud services in the region.

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MUSKEGON, MI - An apparent lack of interest among mural artists has prompted an extension of the deadline for proposals to transform rusty railway bridges over Muskegons main thoroughfare.

Artists across the state are invited to submit proposals for mural art that will eventually cover at least one, and possibly two, old bridges that span Seaway Drive.

Previously, 20 known artists had been invited in April to submit mural proposals in April, according to Judy Hayner, project manager for the Muskegon City Public Art Initiative, which is overseeing the murals process.

On Wednesday, two days before the original deadline of Friday, June 26, there had not been any proposals yet submitted, Hayner told MLive.

Since then, the request for proposals has been opened to anyone interested. On Friday, Hayner said she has received six proposals from local artists not on the original list of 20.

In order to give local, regional, and statewide artists more time to submit, the deadline for those submissions has been extended to Friday, July 24, Hayner said.

The hope is to solicit four murals, one for each side of the two overpass bridges, which are owned by CSX Transportation, Hayner said. The murals for the Muskegon bridge will likely be commissioned in September, and murals for a bridge between Muskegon Heights and Norton Shores will likely be commissioned next spring, according to a press release.

The artworks should express themes that celebrate our community, its diversity and resiliency, our natural resources and our beautiful surroundings, and may be abstract, conceptual, or representational, according to the release.

Artists will be paid $8,000 each for the two murals on the Muskegon bridge and $7,000 each for the two on the smaller Norton Shores/Muskegon Heights bridge, according to the request for proposals.

A $70,000 cleanup and restoration project is already in the works for the Muskegon bridge, which is 9 1/2 feet tall and 210 feet long and located between Laketon and Hackley avenues. Both city and private dollars are going toward that project.

RELATED: Rusty railroad bridge on Muskegon thoroughfare getting some love

The southern bridge, measuring 8 feet high and 108 feet across, has not yet received a go-ahead from local stakeholders, but Hayner said she hopes that the commissioning of the mural will help move leaders from Muskegon Heights and Norton Shores, as well as the Michigan Department of Transportation and CSX.

Having committed artists may generate some readiness on the part of the cities of Norton Shores and Muskegon Heights to push their bridge renewal projects forward, Hayner previously told MLive.

Interested artists or teams of artists can access the request for proposals (RFP) here.

Read more on MLive:

A fish, two owls and other street sculptures unveiled in downtown Muskegon

High water infiltration of wastewater system means higher sewer bills in Muskegon

Mural art planned for rusty railway bridges on Muskegons main entry point

Proposed abstract sculpture at Lake Michigan beach draws criticism
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The special inspection on private labs across Telangana has thrown open a can of worms as the Director of Public Health issued a detailed note on how private labs flouted norms on multiple levels within just 10 days of operations.

These violations range from incorrect method of RTPCR which may have turned some negative samples into positive, not using PPE kits and poor quality control that may have cross-contaminated samples.

The inquiry panel comprises four teams of senior microbiologists and officers from the State Health Department who visited all the 16 private labs in the State.

ALSO READ | Telangana records 985 new COVID-19 cases, tally goes up to 12,349; death toll at 237

The inquiry primarily hints that there are chances of several false-positive cases of coronavirus in present numbers as labs have done pool testing.

A major drawback of this, is that all the tests coupled together could reflect as all positive, even if the bunch has a few negatives without independent investigations.

The panel will now study this issue using special techniques to see how much of this issue may have occurred in the large number of cases reported in the last 10 days.

A main point to note among these discrepancies is the fact that tests recorded in ICMR portal, state portal and the records of the labs are different.

Thereby, a huge question mark hangs over the present reported numbers.

For instance, the data uploaded by all laboratories in ICMR portal is 9,577, 6,733 in the state portal and and in personal lab records the figure rises to 12,700.

As far as positive samples go, the ICMR portal says there are 2,076, state portal says 2,836 and lab records say 3,571.

The expert committee will conduct further inspections to study the problem in detail.

They also propose that senior microbiologists will check the amplification plots and other data in the RTPCR machines of private labs to check whether the reports are correct.

Stringent action will be taken against those found violating norms.
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A live version of "Walk on the Wild Side" wafts from the jukebox as Tommy Mofid points a temperature gun at my forehead. I'm standing in the entryway of his Long Beach bar, the Wrigley Tavern, on what should be a routine Friday night. But it's Juneteenth. And the eve of the Summer Solstice. And we're in the midst of sweeping civil rights protests as well as a society-altering global pandemic. Mofid couldn't have found a more auspicious date to reopen his bar, after a painful three-month closure, if he had tried. Fireworks, probably illegal, explode somewhere in the distance and he checks the readout. "You're too cool," he says, his grin peeking out of his mask as he squirts a glob of hand sanitizer into my palms.

This is the new normal, not just for Mofid but for the proprietors of most Los Angeles County bars  if their establishments haven't closed for good.

On Thursday, June 18, county health officials announced bars could reopen the following day, as long as they followed certain protocols. Some rules were obvious  operating at reduced capacity, enforcing physical distancing, requiring employees to wear masks. Some, obscure  no buying or consuming beverages while standing, no board games, no loud music.

Like most bar owners, Mofid is muddling his way through the regulations, hoping it will be enough to keep his business afloat.

The interior of the Wrigley Tavern in Long Beach. (Courtesy of Tommy Mofid)

He opened the Wrigley Tavern, a vintage cocktail lounge, nearly two years ago in northwest Long Beach. It quickly acquired a cadre of hyper-local regulars looking for imaginative cocktails and interesting conversations. "Best-kept secret" is probably the most overused cliche in the world of food and drink writing but that's how the Wrigley Tavern's patrons often describe the joint. It's humble yet classy. Note the ornate, vintage light fixtures and jukebox that pipes tunes through a custom sound system designed by producer Andrew Murdock.

Cameron Crocket, an architect who has lived in the area for 12 years, calls it a "neighborhood nexus." "It is the kinda location where we get together and have conversations about what is going on with each other," Crocket says.

Mofid and I met when he was one of the head bartenders at The York, in Highland Park, where he owns a home. Before that, he had tended bar at Edendale in Silver Lake. We were reunited when we both moved to the Long Beach area and Mofid purchased the bar, which would become the Wrigley Tavern.

A cocktail at the Wrigley Tavern in Long Beach. (Courtesy of Tommy Mofid)

As regulars trickle in during his first night back in business, Mofid struggles to settle back into his routine. Like a jazz musician searching for the right note, he tries to remember where he stores certain bottles of liquor. He mixes gin, ginger ale, grapefruit and pickle juice into a Galapagos, one of his signature cocktails. Customers start conversations as though they left them a few minutes  not a few months  ago.

Mofid reflects on the emotional rollercoaster of the COVID-19 quarantine.

"We couldn't pay our bills... tried to apply for all the loans," he says. For the first time in his life, Mofid says he applied for unemployment. He was told he had qualified but hasn't yet received any money.

Amid this economic uncertainty, protests against racism and police brutality sprung up around Southern California. Mofid joined a march in downtown Long Beach on May 31 then rushed back to his bar after hearing reports of civil unrest.

Tommy Mofid, owner and bartender of the Wrigley Tavern in Long Beach. (Gab Chabran for LAist)

The protest in support of Black Lives Matter had begun peacefully with approximately 200 people kneeling in front of approximately two dozen officers in riot gear. But as a 6 p.m. curfew was haphazardly announced, civil unrest spilled into areas surrounding downtown Long Beach, including Wrigley to the north and Cambodia Town to the east.

Mofid purchased two-by-fours and boards for the windows but couldn't bring himself to put them up. "It kind of felt defeatist to me. For two years, these windows have never been tagged, never scratched, never broken. I had the stuff and it was just like, 'I'm not going to do this. I'm going to wait it out,'" Mofid says.

That night, he joined forces with other local shop owners who had armed themselves with machetes, bats, shovels and whatever else they could find. One nearby shop owner, from El Salvador, parked his car on the sidewalk. Other business owners followed suit.

Friends and family members implored Mofid to leave but he refused. "I've spent my whole livelihood here," he says slamming his hands on the bar, "30 years [of bartending] coming to this. People were like, 'It's not worth your life.' Well, it's like two-thirds of my life. What am I supposed to do? Go become a barback at 51? I can't really afford that kind of hit," he says.

That night, he and approximately 10 other business owners were joined by a few employees and a handful of die-hard residents as they stood outside their establishments, waiting and watching. When groups ranging in size from six to 15 people drove through the neighborhood, Mofid and his fellow business owners brandished their DIY weapons. The scenes of literal saber-rattling continued until 3 a.m.

The next morning, he experienced a jumble of emotions, mainly numbness mixed with a feeling he calls "treading water." The experience recalled his life in Iran in the late 1970s and, later, the 1992 uprising in Los Angeles. Some surrounding Long Beach businesses, such as a bike shop and the nearby Walgreens, had suffered damage but the Wrigley Tavern had remained intact. Mofid spent the next three nights sleeping at the bar with Gordy, his adopted, nine-year-old Terrier.

Tommy Mofid stands outside his Long Beach bar, the Wrigley Tavern, with his dog, Gordy. (Gab Chabran for LAist)

Prior to Friday's reopening, Mofid and a neighbor conducted a top-to-bottom cleaning of the Wrigley Tavern, wiping down all surfaces with bleach. Mofid says he has no issue with the county's regulations although he doesn't like the way the bleach leaves streaks on his live oak bar.

Approximately 18 customers showed up, not all at once, on opening night, well below the 50% occupancy level for a venue that can hold 48 people. Mofid used to have two bartenders. They have both moved and he now tends bar alone. He works double-time to check people's temperatures, take orders, mix drinks, wash glasses and bus tables.

"You are working so hard for such a thin margin of profit and now you are going to add all of this," Mofid says. Still, he considers himself lucky. Several nearby bars and restaurants including PBS Pub & Company have gone out of business.

Mofid credits his imagination and some of the difficult experiences he lived through for this resilience. In December 1982, when he was still an adolescent, Mofid and his family fled Iran. They soon landed in the San Fernando Valley.

"I'm an immigrant. I feel like I understand the morphing reality. If you don't have that change, it could be hard for you to go through this change," Mofid says.

Tommy Mofid stands behind the bar of the Wrigley Tavern in Long Beach. (Gab Chabran for LAist)

Mofid is also a storyteller who comes from a long line of storytellers, most notably his uncle, Bijan Mofid, an influential Iranian playwright who got his start in the 1950s with the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults. Commonly known as Kanoon, the program was a personal project of Farah Pahlavi, the Shah's wife. When Mofid came to the United States, he and his family performed in a roving theater troupe. He still travels around the country to act in speculative interpretations of Persain folktales and play traditional music, mostly at Iranian and Persian events.

The last few months he hasn't been able to do any of that, and it has left Mofid restless and anxious. He hates not being able to bartend, something he has done for the last 30 years. When he heard last week L.A. County bars would be allowed to reopen, he was ready  in part, he says, because he had initially been told by officials to expect a June 2nd reopening.

With the reopening come new challenges. How does he follow the health department's guidelines without destroying the bar's ambiance? Mofid balked at putting tape on the floor  too childish for such an adult place, he says. Otherwise, he says he's taking all the proper precautions. But he feels certain guidelines are unclear and he isn't always sure what he can and can't do. Case in point, he wants to set up tables and chairs on the sidewalk and in the rear parking lot surrounding the bar but says he hasn't received word from authorities on whether his plans are in compliance with recently passed ordinances.

The confusion didn't dampen his excitement about the Wrigley Tavern's first night back in business, when he finally got to see some of his regulars. "It is weird but you adapt," Mofid says. "I was pretty excited. They're not just my customers, they're my friends and neighbors."
The world is waking up to China's intentions to dominate the 5G telecommunications field amidst the coronavirus pandemic, unrest in Hong Kong, standoff with India and other efforts by Beijing to "conceal, coerce and co-opt the world," a top American diplomat has said.

Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach told reporters that Huawei's deals with the telecommunications operators around the world are evaporating because countries are only allowing trusted vendors of 5G networks.

It's really giving the political will to government leaders around the world, and also to corporate leaders, he said during a news conference on Thursday.

Following the pandemic, Hong Kong, skirmishes at the Indian border, and so many other efforts by Beijing to conceal, coerce, and co-opt the world, it's waking up the citizens of the world to the Communist Party's true intentions to dominate 5G. And Huawei's efforts are running out of steam, Krach said.

In telecommunications, 5G is the fifth generation technology standard for cellular networks, the planned successor to the 4G networks which provide connectivity to most cellphones currently.

Spanish multinational telecommunications company Telefnica states in its digital manifesto that security is paramount.

Its CEO and chairman Jose Lopez this week declared that Telefnica is proud to be a Clean Path company, and Telefnica in Spain and the UK are fully clean networks. Telefnica Deutschland and Brazil will be, in the near future, without equipment from any untrusted vendors, he said.

Just a few weeks ago, the big three telcos of Canada decided to partner with Ericsson and Nokia because Canadian public opinion was overwhelmingly against allowing Huawei into the 5G networks. The largest telco companies in major countries around the globe are also becoming Clean Telcos, Krach said.

In addition to Telefonica, we've seen this with Orange in France, Reliance in India, Telstra in Australia, SK and KT in Korea, Cosmote in Greece, NTT in Japan, and O2 in the United Kingdom, Krach said, adding that the momentum in favour of securing 5G is building.

The more countries, companies and citizens ask whom they should trust with the most sensitive data, the more obvious the answer becomes: not the Chinese Communist Party's surveillance state, the US diplomat said.

Krach said that the UK's decision to reconsider the use of Huawei and its 5G networks resulted in a dramatic backlash from China. It threatened to punish the British bank HSBC, and pull investment from major British infrastructure projects.

Clearly, the Chinese Communist Party sees much more than mere financial benefit to having Huawei embedded in foreign 5G networks. I think it is no wonder why so many countries are reevaluating their partnerships with Chinese firms and standing up to the Chinese Communist Party's aggression, like Australia, he said.

Earlier this year, Huawei boasted that it had 91 5G commercial contracts signed. That list has dwindled down to low double digits. Huawei's deals have evaporated in direct proportion to the threats to retaliate against any country taking steps to protect its citizens and businesses' most personal, sensitive information, Krach said.

For too long, Beijing bullied other countries and threatened retaliation if it did not get its way. China is a big marketplace, and consequences of retaliation are real. Just ask the people of Norway, who suffered economically for years after the committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize and they bestowed that prize on a democracy activist who questioned the Communist Party, he told the reporters.

Alleging that the bullying is out of desperation, perhaps fear, he said China is feeling its 5G dream of global domination suddenly slipping through its fingers.

We've all had experience with bullies in our lifetime, and if there is one thing we know about bullies, it's that they back down when they're confronted. And they really back down when your friends are standing by your side, Krach added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Concerns Over the Three Gorges Dam Grow, as China Begins Censoring News of the Floods

The Three Gorges Dam in China has become a center of attention, as waters rise and local authorities issue flood warnings nearby. Taiwan News reports that a prominent Chinese hydrologist, Wang Weiluo, is claiming the dam could collapse at any moment. He pointed to existing concerns over the dams design, construction, and process for inspections.

Chinese authorities, meanwhile, are declaring that information on the flood in Chongqing is sensitive information, which subjects it to censorship. The floods havee already hit 26 provinces, required emergency rescue of over 213,000 people, and damaged over 171,000 homes. The situation may grow worse as the 980 reservoirs are impacted.

These stories and more in this episode of Crossroads.

Crossroads is an Epoch Times show available on Facebook and YouTube.

Join Patreon to Support Crossroads: https://www.patreon.com/Crossroads_Joshua
She married Chandler Powell in a last-minute wedding at Australia Zoo in March.

And on Friday, Bindi Irwin gushed over her husband as she shared an adorable photo to Instagram of the couple posing with a lizard.

The conservationist, 21, posted a picture of the lovebirds smiling while former professional wakeboarder Chandler held up a blue-tongued lizard.

'I love you so much': Bindi Irwin gushed over her husband, Chandler Powell, as she shared an adorable photo of the couple posing with a blue-tongued lizard on Friday

'Every day you make me smile. I love you so much,' she captioned the photo.

In the photo, Bindi wore her signature khaki uniform and green jacket. Meanwhile, Chandler's wedding band was visible as he clutched the reptile.

Bindi and Chandler raced down the aisle just hours before Prime Minister Scott Morrison enforced restrictions on weddings during the coronavirus pandemic on March 25.

She recently blasted Australia's major TV networks for ruining her 'dream wedding'.

It's official! Bindi and Chandler raced down the aisle just hours before Prime Minister Scott Morrison enforced restrictions on weddings amid the coronavirus pandemic on March 25

She claimed news helicopters flying overhead had forced the couple to change the venue from the 'African savannah' section of Australia Zoo to a nearby barn.

'This isn't the fairytale image capturing the "perfect" wedding day feeling. In fact, it's quite the opposite,' she wrote on Instagram.

Bindi explained she and Chandler had hoped to say 'I do' in the African savannah, but things didn't go to plan when someone tipped off the media.

'On our wedding day we were finally about to get married and the paparazzi flew over us in a helicopter scaring our wildlife,' she wrote.

'We had to leave our stunning wedding venue': Bindi recently blasted Australia's major television networks for ruining her 'dream wedding'

'We had to leave our stunning wedding venue on the African savannah for their safety. I said goodbye to the place I had dreamed of getting married for so many years,' she added.

She met Chandler, who originally hails from Florida, in 2013 while giving him a tour of Australia Zoo.

The pair became engaged on the grounds of the zoo on her 21st birthday in July 2019.

Chandler now works with Bindi and her family at the Sunshine Coast tourist attraction.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The 48-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting two coworkers and critically wounding another at a central Illinois warehouse Friday died after apparently shooting himself, the citys police chief said.

Springfield police believe Michael L. Collins fatally shot himself Friday after shooting and killing two co-workers at the Bunn-O-Matic facility shortly after 11 a.m. Collins, of Springfield, also critically injured another woman, police said.

Collins, the two other men and the woman all arrived for work at about 7 a.m. Friday in the welding area of the facility, Springfield Police Chief Kenny Winslow told reporters Friday evening. They all worked in the same area, he said.

Winslow said the sheriff of nearby Morgan County called his office later Friday to say Collins body had been found in the suspects car. Two handguns were found in the car. No other suspects were being sought.

Winslow released Collins name earlier Friday but later said he would not repeat it. The names of the victims were not released, neither was the name of the female co-worker who was in critical condition at a hospital.

Words cant explain what occurred, Winslow said Friday evening. I know we all want answers. People want motives. I dont have that at this time. Its too early in the investigation.

The bodies of the two dead employees were found by officers searching the building. The female employee was found in the parking lot and taken to a hospital. Winslow said one of the men who died was in his 60s, one was in his 20s and the woman is in her 50s.

Were trying to verify if anything occurred today, or if there was any kind of activity that would cause something like this, he continued. We are digging into the background of the suspect. We are reaching out to acquaintances and family members of him.

Bunn-O-Matic manufactures dispensed beverage equipment, and is headquartered in Springfield, according to the companys website.

One employee described a chaotic scene when the crack of gunfire shattered an otherwise quiet workday. Charles Bantle estimated that about half of the warehouse employees werent working due to concerns about the coronavirus.

I was in the maintenance shop and just heard the gunshots and everybody started running, Bantle told The (Springfield) State Journal-Register. And Im in maintenance, so I figured somethings broken. So I started walking towards it, figured it was the air compressor blowing up or something, and I was going to have to go fix it. But then everyone was screaming and yelling, telling me to go the other way. So we all ran and took cover.

Nearly 175 workers were in several buildings at the site at the time of the shootings, Winslow said. About 100 employees hurried from the main building, and police gathered them together to determine if everyone had left the facility, he said.

Were still trying to see exactly when he left, Winslow said of the suspect.

Winslow said investigators are working with the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency to determine whether the guns in Collins car were obtained legally. Theyre also looking into how Collins was able to get a weapon into the Springfield facility.

I dont know what the protocols are at this time for entering the building, Winslow said. I dont know what safety mechanism they may or may not have in place.

___

Babwin reported from Chicago. Reporter Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan, contributed to this report.
One could swear Farooq Kperogi, the runaway patriot and serially busted liar obsessed with the idea of pulling President Muhammadu Buhari down, is the lowest of all wailers given his poor ability to properly contextualize issues and or match allegations with common sense. In his latest round of regular display of such consuming behaviour, he came out with a revelation which even to his best friends, couldnt be anything more than the confirmation of his state of mind.

As usual, Kperogi was told by an insider about a supposed one TRILLION naira in cash President Buharis Special Assistant Sabiu Tunde Yusuf stashed in various banks accounts in his own name, properties worth billions in many parts of Nigeria, and up to N7 billion worth of shares in AA Rano Oil.

First, let me make it clear this is not an attempt to hold brief for Tunde Sabiu, who could approach any court to seek redress if he feel injured or slighted by Kperogis outlandish allegations. However, I feel duty bound to expose the lies of Kperogi and highlight the dangers of allowing desperate people like him to invest the honor and dignity of innocent people to fuel their hatred against President Buhari or anyone else.

Let me begin by saying Im fully convinced this insider exists only in the infantile imagination of Mr Kperogi. This insider has been trailing Kperogi and pushing him into avoidable gaffes that ordinarily one would assume are beyond Americans Kperogi is perpetually striving to emulate. The same insider once upon a time informed Kperogi of the murder of former NSA Dasuki in a prison cell by President Buhari only for Dasuki to resurrect, later regain his freedom and is now living happily ever after.

So, how long will Nigerians continue to clap for this clown even when his lies are busted with more regularity than updates on Facebook? Me Kperogis classical desperation is such that he could author an absurdity that could shake the dumbest of the dumb to the bone marrow, ascribe it to an unverifiable source and except readers to swallow without chewing as if hes the best thing of all times to happen humanity. This is an insult to the collective sensibilities of Nigerians. Notwithstanding, lets review the fresh lies from Kperogis library in as speculative manner as he cooked and served Nigerians.

According to Kperogis insider source Sabius friends tell him he has up to one TRILLION naira in CASH in various bank accounts in his own name, properties worth billions in many parts of Nigeria, and up to N7 billion worth of shares in AA Rano Oil. Unquote.

ONE TRILLION NAIRA equals one thousand billion naira. I wonder why Tunde would be so dumb to keep such a humongous amount in cash in various bank accounts as if he was in planet Jupiter on holiday when bank accounts of thieving politicians and civil servants were at different times ransacked to retrieve such illicit proceeds by this administration and few others before it. Certainly if he could make an illicit ONE TRILLION, he will understand the danger of stashing it in bank accounts and make it easily traceable to him by his friends or whoever. Actually Kperogi confirmed this much when he opined President Buhari does his own stealing by proxy, which makes it impossible for anyone to trace anything to him. We dont expect President Buhari to be so skillful a thief only to leave his nephew untrained  a nephew described as so close to his heart by Kperogi in his numerous outings.

One will also like to know who is the dumbest here between Tunde who stashed a stolen ONE TRILLION NAIRA in bank accounts for his friends to discover and tell Kperogi and the Kperogi who lack the common sense to request for bank statements of the illicit bank accounts to build a watertight case with which to nail Tunde and President Buhari and score his life ambition. This is classical stupidity especially coming from somebody who throw around his American residency with more pride than the official occupants of the White House. I thought his American experience has taught him matters like this are settled with documents not with mere social media updates.

By the way, this wannabe didnt even notice that ONE TRILLION is more than 10% of Nigerias annual budget and couldnt be stolen by Tunde in the life of President Buharis administration without anybody noticing until when Kperogi was told by a friend of Tundes friend. Not even in the madness of the social media jungle where hes a leading professor could Kperogi make this allegation stick. Actually if one deduct all the sums Kperogi alleged were stolen under Buhari, I wonder if there will be enough left to fuel Buharis official convoy much less, something for Tunde to steal ONE TRILLION out of.

READ ALSO:

The silliest of Kperogis allegation is the one about Tunde buying N7 billion worth of AA Ranos share. Its easily verifiable in the registry of CAC that AA Rano is a limited liability company. Now, either Kperogi is working with the idea that Nigerians are stupid or he is stupid not to know shares of quoted and unquoted companies are not sold/traded over the counter like chocolates. Shares of quoted companies are traded by stock brokers who must be licensed by the Nigerian Stock Exchange while Financial Markets Derivatives Quotes (FMDQ) is where shares/stocks of unquoted companies are sold/traded. Is Kperogi so daft or just unconcerned about the integrity of honest and hardworking Nigerians to crosscheck his insider information with NSE or FMDQ if not to avoid dragging names of honest and hardworking Nigerians at least, to save whats left of his largely phantom reputation? By the way, its absurd somebody with a cool ONE TRILLION Naira is his bank accounts would bother to buy N7 billion shares of A A Rano. For what if I may ask?

The allegation of buying N7 billion AA Ranos shares, coming after the allegation of a ONE TRILLION heist by one and the same person, is sillier than alleging the subject has a private jet only to add he has a Honda Accord. Who but a disturbed mind will put emphasis on N7 billion over a trillion naira cash? But then, Kperogi, a professor of Emerging Media, is perhaps too far gone to be bothered about the repercussions of this stupidity. He it was that published a Kannywood movie scene depicting it as a war scene in Sambisa just to disparage the Nigerian Army and ridicule President Buhari.

If Kperogi could be caught pants down with such an unprecedented lie in an area he claims to be a professor, what more could one expect when his envy and hatred drag him into a more sophisticated and alien field like the stock exchange. If hes daft to confuse a movie war scene with a real life event, honestly I dont expect him to know how to connect shares, brokerages, investors and make sense of them for a successful malicious campaign. That he has been doing it and getting away with is what emboldens him. If I were A A Rano I would have challenge the unsubstantiated claim and demand at least an apology from the rumour monger if not to shame him at least, to teach him a lesson and save his future victims from his malicious, childish and baseless attacks.

Lastly, this one is to assist Kperogi translate his gaffe into money. ONE TRILLION NAIRA is quite a huge sum and, despite the overhyped comfort of his American life, Kperogi could join the big American league with just 5% of the sum which equals N50 billion. However, its obvious hes either so consumed by hatred or idiocy to see a very simple opportunity to hit it big by whistleblowing. Theres a policy in place in place that allows 5% of the total amount recovered from whistleblowing. Is it that Kperogi is too big to be enticed with a N50 billion jackpot or hes just a liar whos feeding Nigerians low quality lies just to create confusion in Nigerian?

Danmallam is a public affairs commentator.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 05:39:22|Editor: huaxia

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (on the screens) speaks at a virtual press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York, on June 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Xie E)

The UN Charter "remains our touchstone for a world mired in a pandemic, torn by discrimination, endangered by climate change and scarred by poverty, inequality and war," the UN chief said.

UNITED NATIONS, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The UN Charter "brought rules and hope to a world in ruins," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a virtual ceremony on Friday, commemorating 75 years since the organization's foundational text was signed.

The Charter was signed in U.S. San Francisco on June 26, 1945 when World War II was ending, and came into force on Oct. 24, 1945.

Conceived above all as a means to save future generations from the scourge of war, the Charter calls for the organization to maintain international peace and security; promote social progress and better standards of life; strengthen international law; and promote human rights.

The UN Charter "remains our touchstone for a world mired in a pandemic, torn by discrimination, endangered by climate change and scarred by poverty, inequality and war," the UN chief said.

Speaking of the post-war multilateral arrangements, Guterres said that they "have compiled a solid record of service - saving millions of lives, advancing the human condition and fulfilling its cardinal task of preventing World War Three."

Talking about trust, Guterres noted that "people continue to lose trust in political establishments."

"Today's marches against racism were preceded by widespread protests against inequality, discrimination, corruption and lack of opportunities all over the world - grievances that still need to be addressed, including with a renewed social contract," he said.

Photo taken on June 26, 2019 shows the United Nations General Assembly holding a commemorative event to mark the day of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations at the UN headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

Recalling what the founding people of the UN did 75 years ago, Guterres said that the delegates in San Francisco in 1945, "having themselves lived through a global pandemic, depression and war, seized their opportunity to plant the seeds of something better and new."

"Today, we must do the same," he stressed.

The UN chief encouraged the international community to drive onward by displaying "heroism and solidarity" in the fight against the pandemic; embracing the Sustainable Development Goals; and advancing "equality, climate action and green economy."

The penholders of the Charter "dared to imagine a better world defined by peace and equality," General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande told the commemoration.

"As we work towards the future we want, and the UN we need, we must be results-focused," he asserted. "Now more than ever, we need a strong UN development system and effective collaboration between the UN and international financial institutions."

In pursuit of inclusive multilateralism, the Assembly president said that "we must continue to create space for civil society and ensure the full participation of voices that have gone unheard for too long," such as women, youth, indigenous persons and people with disabilities.

"This is a moment of reckoning for our shared planet and shared future. This is a time for action, ambition and partnership," he said.

Mona Juul, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) pledged "to continue engaging ... to ensure that ECOSOC remains as relevant today and, in the future, as it was when first envisioned in the Charter 75 years ago."

"Today, the world is shifting beneath our feet," she said, calling the COVID-19 pandemic "a wake-up call for us to strengthen international collaboration."

"Seventy-five years ago, today, the UN Charter was signed in San Francisco," chief for UN political and peacebuilding affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said. "A declaration of unity of purpose after the ravages of the Second World War, it set out our mission: 'to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war' (and) guides us to this day." 
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on June 25 adopted Resolution 2529 on reappointing the prosecutor and reviewing the two-year operation of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT).

At the UNSC meeting

In its capacity as the Chair of the UNSCs Informal Working Group on International Tribunals, Vietnam compiled and chaired the negotiations of the resolution.

Resolution 2529 acknowledged operation outcomes of the mechanism in 2018 and 2019, focusing on gender equality, geographical balance among the mechanisms staff, and expenditure cuts.

It asked the mechanism to continue building a clear and centralised roadmap on the settlement of cases and judgement enforcement, and called on relevant countries to cooperate with and support the mechanism.

Under the resolution, Serge Brammertz was reappointed as the prosecutor of the IRMCT from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022.

Many UNSC member countries lauded Vietnams coordination and management role in the negotiation work.

Established in 2010, the mechanism is mandated to perform a number of essential functions previously carried out by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

The UNSC reviews the operation of the mechanism every six months./.VNA
Photo: Unsplash

You can leave your umbrella at home for today, but light rainfall is in the forecast for Philadelphia starting on Tuesday, according to the seven-day forecast from drone-powered weather service Saildrone. The greatest chance of rain is expected on Sunday at 60%, with the potential for light rainfall of 0.25 inches.

The next few days will also bring hot temperatures, forecast to persist throughout the week. The weather will bring a high temperature of 94 degrees on Monday.

Skies will be cloudy today. Winds should reach a modest high of 13 mph on Saturday, while today will be quieter.

This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
If the changes are passed by parliament, students will pay a greater proportion of the overall domestic teaching bill than the Commonwealth for the first time in decades, albeit through HECS-HELP, a government-funded loan scheme. Even in degrees it hopes to encourage with cheaper fees, the government will lower its contribution. In science and engineering, there will be an overall per-student reduction of $3500. Environmental studies will be among the hardest hit, losing $10,000 a head. "We are very worried," says Dianne Gleeson, from the Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors. "It's supporting a whole lot of things around climate change, bushfires. Each university will weigh up ... what is going to be viable long term. I'm concerned maybe some of the smaller universities might struggle." Over many years, subject-based funding rates for domestic students have not reflected the exact cost of teaching. In some subjects, like nursing, universities made a small surplus. That was used to subsidise subjects that were underfunded, like dentistry, in a "swings and roundabouts" business model. About 10 per cent was left over, which was used to fund staff research. "They've never officially said the [teaching and research funds] were coupled, but they were," says Merlin Crossley, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at the University of NSW. "We'd ensure that the teaching staff were active in research, and that cost both time and resources."

The government says the new rates reflect the exact cost of teaching for each subject, based on research by Deloitte, although some in the sector wonder. "One would have to ask, how sure are they about those numbers?" says Crossley. The teaching-only focus also means the bit left over for research will go. "This is a very, very significant change," says Margaret Gardiner, Vice-Chancellor of Monash University. Over the past week, universities have been wading through the detail of the proposal, trying to work out what the new measures mean for their bottom lines. If they pass parliament, cross-subsidy business plans will have to be ripped up and new ones urgently drawn up for 2021. Financial officers are still seeking answers on how transition funding will work and whether they will cover a gaping revenue gap that will emerge next year, as fee reductions begin for all existing and new students. There has already been speculation that class sizes will have to increase. Crossley points out that Australia had five universities among the top 50 in the latest QS international rankings, yet most of those are not in the top 600 for staff-student ratio. "And yet there's the perception that we can reduce the amount of money given to universities to teach." Another uncertainty is the impact of the new fees on student behaviour. Will students balk at $45,000 arts degrees, or be undeterred because they can kick payments a decade down the road thanks to HECS? Will they opt for price over passion?

Many speculate there will be little long-term impact on their decisions, if research done during a debate over fee deregulation is any guide. But that research didn't factor in a pandemic-driven recession. "I don't think we'll know the answer to that definitively until we see two or three years and we see students respond," says Barney Glover, Vice-Chancellor of Western Sydney University. Year 12 student Jasmine Buric, 17, was already tossing up between arts and teaching when she heard the news. Even though arts has become more expensive and teaching cheaper, she is still in two minds. "If I'm being honest, I don't really want to be persuaded by price," she says. "At the same time, I would rather not pay so much." Jasmine Buric is in two minds about an arts degree, which just got more expensive, or a teaching degree, now cheaper. Credit:Nick Moir Sector leaders have warned the fee restructure could lead to unintended outcomes, such as universities being tempted to subsidise scientific research by recruiting heavily into humanities, which bring in $14,500 per head in fees, gain just $1100 in government contributions, and cost less. "It's the same question on the flip side; if resources are not adequate to deliver engineering or science, will universities put ATAR [Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks] up so there are fewer students? I doubt that will happen," says Glover. "One thing to watch very carefully is to see the movement in ATARs next year, that's the biggest indicator if universities are shifting to attract more load."

Australian National University Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt says the increased student fees would be "good for the humanities [departments], not bad. But I wouldn't be very happy if I was a humanities student." A restructure of local student funding would exacerbate another problem; the crisis facing research. Traditionally, but less frequently in recent times, an academic's workload has been a 40-40-20 split between research, teaching and administration. That research time - historically considered part of teaching, too, as it brings students together with those at the forefront of intellectual discovery - has been subsidised by the unofficial 10 per cent slice of domestic student funding, as well as international student revenue. Universities have also been relying on international student income to subsidise their research. In Australia, grants only cover about half the cost of a project; an Australian Research Council grant pays for the materials to do the experiment but not the infrastructure. "They'll pay for the Petri dishes and the test tubes, not for the Bunsen burner," says Crossley. As technology advances, universities' costs have risen. "We've moved from Bunsen burner to super collider." Some argue Australia should adopt a system similar to that in Britain, where research and teaching money is in separate buckets, alongside a few more funds for disadvantaged students and university-business partnerships. Research groups are ranked from one to five, based on their success in their field, and the grants - which cover almost the entire cost of the project - are given to those with the highest rankings. "The beauty of that model is you end up funding excellence, rather than just funding every institution," says Professor Paul Wellings, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wollongong.

Schmidt says Britain's system makes sense. "Then you don't have these distortions where we ask humanities students to pay for science research, which is sort of what is going to happen here," he says. "That would be a bad outcome for students and it's bad policy." Tehan's proposals last week - restricting domestic student funding to teaching and setting up separate funds for disadvantaged students and industry partnerships - would lay the groundwork for that model. It would cause the demise of some departments - in Britain, it led to a 40 per cent reduction in the number of chemistry schools - and regional and second-tier universities would be most affected. It could hinder emerging researchers. But it would appeal to the Group of Eight universities, who receive the bulk of research funding anyway. "You can't have everyone doing everything, and what you tend to do is invest in strengths," says Crossley. "Most universities have strengths." Loading A casualty is likely to be the 40-40-20 employment model, which is still baked into many contracts and enterprise bargaining agreements. "It's on its last legs," says Andrew Norton, an expert in higher education policy at the ANU. "It relies on a link between research funding and student numbers, and without international students and the [current domestic student funding model], that link does not exist any more. This will cause huge industrial [problems] - the staff and union will resist teaching-only positions - but that's the inevitable logic of the funding arrangement."
Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46 are believed to have been killed by a stranger in Fryent Country Park in the early hours of June 6, after meeting friends there the previous evening to celebrate Ms Henrys birthday.

It emerged yesterday that two Metropolitan Police officers have been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office after photos from the scene were allegedly over WhatsApp.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the pictures were allegedly shared with a small number of others, adding that Scotland Yard was handling matters involving those members of the public who may have received those images.

Flowers left near the scene / PA

The IOPC is separately investigating how the Met handled calls from worried family and friends of the sisters after they went missing.

The pair's mother, Mina Smallman, was the Church of England's first female archdeacon from a black and minority ethnic (BAME) background.

She told the BBC that the pictures had taken the family's grief "to another place".

"They were nothing to them and what's worse, they sent them on to members of the public," she said. "This has taken our grief to another place.

"If ever we needed an example of how toxic it has become, those police officers felt so safe, so untouchable, that they felt they could take photographs of dead black girls and send them on.

"It speaks volumes of the ethos that runs through the Metropolitan Police."

The two women were celebrating Ms Henry's birthday on the night of their murder by a stranger

She also revealed that the women's bodies had not been found by police, but were instead discovered by a family search party.

The pair had met with friends in the park at around 7pm on June 5 to celebrate Ms Henrys birthday, and by midnight only the two sisters remained. They were found more than 36 hours later, while forensic officers later recovered their mobile phones in a pond some distance away.

Detectives believe the pair were stabbed to death in the early hours of June 6 by a stranger who suffered injuries during the attack. The suspect is still at large.

After the sisters failed to return home, member of their family and friends filed a number of missing persons reports.

The former Archdeacon of Southend alleged that the police were slow in responding to her family's pleas after "making assumptions" about her daughters.

"I knew instantly why they didn't care", she said.

"They didn't care because they looked at my daughter's address and thought they knew who she was. A black woman who lives on a council estate."

Ms Smallman added that she was now afraid the pictures would make their way onto the internet.

The Metropolitan Polices Directorate of Professional Standards was informed that non-official and inappropriate photographs had been taken by police at the crime scene last Wedneday

Two serving officers were arrested by the Independent Office for Police conduct on Monday, on suspicion of misconduct in a public office.

The pair, who are based on the North East Command, were bailed pending further enquiries and have been suspended from duty.

Commander Paul Brogden said: I am horrified and disgusted by the nature of these allegations."
A BART board director called the leader of the Confederate Army an exemplary general in a public meeting Thursday  an abrupt and controversial statement that briefly derailed a discussion on Black Lives Matter and policing.

Director John McPartland, whose district includes Hayward, Livermore, Dublin, Pleasanton and Castro Valley, praised General Robert E. Lee and said he is troubled by the toppling of Confederate monuments, a cathartic expression of rage as the nation grapples with its long history of racial oppression.

From a political perspective, we are really shooting ourselves in the foot, McPartland said. Robert E. Lee was an exemplary general. He was a West Point graduate ... He ended up becoming a general that ended up simply doing his job. And hes being villainized.

Later in the meeting, Director Bevan Dufty invited McPartland to walk back his statements.

I love you a lot, and I would just be grateful if you could just take a moment and lets walk back, Dufty said. Because I dont think this is a time to think about statues or any of those things. I think in your heart I know you know that.

McPartland agreed to recant the comments.

Yeah, I need to walk that back, he said. He blamed lack of sleep, saying hes been troubled by the intense criticism of police departments, equating it to the hostility he endured after returning from the Vietnam War. He went on to condemn President Trump for sowing division.

We need to end up having more Oprahs, in the process of getting people to read off the same piece of music, he said. I am so concerned about what is happening to our nation. I grew up being color blind, and thats not good enough.

McPartland, who is white, angered members of the public last year when he told a Black lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union that she was very articulate.

If you are a law student, then youre doing great, McPartland told Abre Conner, who addressed BART during a discussion over a possible panhandling ban last October. And if youre not, you should consider it.

Shes a lawyer, Board President Lateefah Simon responded in the background. Out of one of the top-rated law schools in the country.

Although McPartland represents some of the more conservative parts of the East Bay, hes recently joined the progressive wing of the board on key votes, including the approval of a budget Thursday that would shift duties away from BART police, and over to ambassadors or social workers.

Before joining the board, McPartland worked as a BART safety specialist and had a long career in emergency management. He also served in the armed forces, doing a tour in Vietnam and returning to active duty for Operation Desert Storm in 1991. He was a colonel for 36 years and has several medals.

He responded to a request for comment late Thursday night.

First and foremost, let me be unequivocal. Black Lives Matter. Systemic racism is real and as an elected official I pledge to do everything in my power to root it out, McPartland said in an email to The Chronicle. At today's BART Board meeting, I was trying to make that point but was cut off prematurely. As a result, some may have mis-interpreted my remarks as racist. I fully support the Black Lives Matter protesters. However, those who use the protests as an excuse to destroy property can turn away the very allies that we need to fight for systematic equality for people of color. All lives can't matter until Black lives matter.

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.

Dufty sighed heavily during an interview after the meeting, saying that McPartland occasionally makes gaffes, but that he felt compelled to correct the statements on Thursday.

I dont think its OK to just pretend somebodys outburst is over and move on, Dufty said.

Later in the afternoon McPartland sent a text to Simon apologizing for his comments. She said she accepts his willingness to learn the true story of racial terror in the country.

Simon, who is Black and active in fighting racism, said she has received three calls in the last five days from anonymous men who spew racial slurs and threaten her life. She said she experiences racism every day, and appreciates that McPartland at least acknowledged his mistake.

However, she added, I think Robert E. Lee was a slave-trading racist.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misquoted BART board director John McPartland, who called Robert E. Lee an exemplary general.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
IRISH hotel group Dalata has been picked by Jefferies as its top mid-cap hotel stock pick in Europe after it initiated coverage of the group.

Dalata is the largest hotel group in Ireland, operating a total of almost 9,000 owned and leased rooms across about 30 hotels here and in the UK. It trades under the Clayton and Maldron brands.

Jefferies said that Dalata is likely to gain market share from independent hoteliers with weaker balance sheets as trading becomes more challenging.

The investment bank said there will be weak demand for this summer, with consumers worried about international travel.

"The road to recovery will take time with consumers reluctant to book international travel for 2021," it added. "Hotel operators with meaningful exposure to European gateway cities such as Accor, PPHE, and Dalata, will also be impacted by the slower-to-recover international demand."

Jefferies said it expects Dalata's revenue per available room (revpar) to fall in line with the market.

It expects group revpar to be 59pc lower in the first half of this year, and 61pc down in the full year. However, Jefferies expects Dalata to post a "strong" recovery in revpar next year, with the figure forecast to be up 89pc, and up 31pc in 2022.

"We expect a 70pc recovery in occupancy by December 2020 and a full recovery by March 2022," analysts at the investment bank said. They are assuming that pricing at the group will fall by 20pc and not fully recover until September 2022.

"We believe that the proliferation of the franchise model by international hotel operators has left a shortage of operators with any scale. We think that Dalata can take advantage of this gap, using management's expertise and decentralised approach to run hotels more efficiently and profitably than competitors," Jefferies analysts said of the UK market.
Washington

House Democrats approved a far-reaching police overhaul Thursday, a vote heavy with emotion and symbolism as a divided Congress struggles to address the global outcry over the deaths of George Floyd and other Black Americans.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gathered with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Capitol steps, challenging opponents not to allow the deaths to have been in vain or the outpouring of public support for changes to go unmatched. But the collapse of a Senate Republican bill leaves final legislation in doubt.

"Exactly one month ago, George Floyd spoke his final words  'I can't breathe'  and changed the course of history," Pelosi said.

She said the Senate faces a choice "to honor George Floyd's life or to do nothing."

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is perhaps the most ambitious set of proposed changes to police procedures and accountability in decades. Backed by the nation's leading civil rights groups, it aims to match the moment of demonstrations that filled streets across the nation.

It has almost zero chance of becoming law.

On the eve of the vote, President Donald Trump's administration said he would veto the bill. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has also said it would not pass the Republican-held chamber.

After the GOP policing bill stalled this week, blocked by Democrats, Trump shrugged.

"If nothing happens with it, it's one of those things," Trump said. "We have different philosophies."

Congress is now at a familiar impasse despite protests outside their door and polling that shows Americans overwhelmingly want changes after the deaths of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others in interactions with law enforcement.

The two parties are instead appealing to voters ahead of the fall election, which will determine control of the House, Senate and White House.

"We hear you. We see you. We are you," said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., during the debate.

It has been a month since Floyd's May 25 death sparked a global reckoning over police tactics and racial injustice. Since then, funeral services were held for Rayshard Brooks, a Black man shot and killed by police in Atlanta. Thursday is also what would have been the 18th birthday of Tamir Rice, a black boy killed in Ohio in 2014.

Lawmakers who have been working from home during the COVID-19 crisis were summoned to the Capitol for a debate. Dozens voted by proxy under new pandemic rules.

During the day, several Democratic lawmakers read the names of those killed, shared experiences of racial bias and echoed support of Black Lives Matter activists.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said hundreds of thousands of people "in every state in the union" are marching in the streets to make sure Floyd "will not be just another Black man dead at the hands of the police."

Republican lawmakers countered the bill goes too far and failed to include GOP input. "All lives matter," said Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz. New York Rep. Pete King said it's time to stand with law enforcement, the "men and women in blue." House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy decried the "mob" of demonstrators.

At one point Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., stood up to say he just didn't understand what was happening in the country  from Floyd's death to the protests that followed.

Several Black Democratic lawmakers rose to encourage him to pick up a U.S. history book or watch some of the many films now streaming about the black experience in America.

In the stalemate over the policing overhaul, the parties are settled into their political zones, almost ensuring no legislation will become law. While there may be shared outrage over Floyd's death, the lawmakers remain far apart on the broader debate over racial bias in policing and other institutions. The 236-181 House vote was largely on party lines.

Both bills share common elements that could be grounds for a compromise. Central to both would be the creation of a national database of use-of-force incidents, which is viewed as a way to provide transparency on officers' records if they transfer from one agency to another.

The bills would restrict police chokeholds and set up new training procedures, including beefing up the use of body cameras.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Los Angeles, United States  Fri, June 26, 2020 11:09 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661d2b91 2 News Disney,theme-park,Splash-Mountain,Disney-World,travel,Racism,rebranding Free

"Splash Mountain" rides at Disney theme parks will be rebranded with a film featuring the company's first black princess, it said Thursday, after petitions drew attention to the log flume's racist history.

The popular "Splash Mountain" attractions at Disneyland and Disney World are based on the controversial 1946 film "Song of the South" -- a movie long accused of peddling racist tropes about the post-Civil War South.

They will be "completely reimagined" to tell the story of 2009's "The Princess and the Frog," which starred an African-American Princess Tiana.

"The new concept is inclusive - one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year," Disney said in a statement.

The move comes at a time when historic statues and monuments are being removed across the country, as Americans grapple with the legacy of racism.

Vast nationwide anti-racism protests followed African American George Floyd's death in police custody last month.

Disney said the "retheming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance today," but emphasized that it had been working on the changes since last year, and has a long history of updating attractions.

For instance, a scene depicting women on the auction block was recently removed from Disneyland's "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction.

"It is important that our guests be able to see themselves in the experiences we create," said Carmen Smith, creative development and inclusive strategies executive at Walt Disney Imagineering.

No timeline was given for when the changes at Disney's California and Florida parks will be completed. Both are currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Disney World in Orlando is set to reopen mid-July, while the return of Disneyland near Los Angeles was indefinitely postponed Wednesday.

"Song of the South," best known today for its Oscar-winning tune "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," has never been released on home video in the United States. It was excluded from Disney's recently launched streaming platform Disney+.

Read also: US brands Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben's to change amid protests

In March, then-CEO Bob Iger said that "even with a disclaimer" the film was "just not appropriate in today's world" and likely to cause offense.

The animation is accused of glorifying the plantation world of the old Deep South, and crudely stereotyping its black characters.

An online petition calling the film's history and storyline "extremely problematic," and demanding the "Splash Mountain" ride be rebranded, drew over 21,000 signatures.

The ride's new storyline will be set immediately after the "final kiss" of "The Princess and the Frog," Disney said.

Anika Noni Rose, who voiced Princess Tiana, said it was "really exciting to know that Princess Tiana's presence in both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom will finally be fully realized."
The Minneapolis City Council on Friday unanimously approved a proposal to change the city charter to allow the police department to be dismantled, following mass public criticism of law enforcement over the killing of George Floyd.

The 12-0 vote is just the first step in a process that faces significant bureaucratic obstacles to make the November ballot, where the city's voters would have the final say.

And it came amid a spate of recent shootings in Minnesota's largest city that have heightened many citizens concerns about talk of dismantling the department.

The proposed amendment next goes to a policy committee and to the city's Charter Commission for a formal review, at which point citizens and city officials can also weigh in.

People march in the street during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Minneapolis on Thursday.

'I hope that the Charter Commission will recognize the moment that we are in and take our offer of support, however we can provide it, to expedite this process so that voters have a chance to have their voices heard on this important question and this important moment in our citys history,' Council President Lisa Bender said.

The Minneapolis force has come under heavy pressure since Floyd, a black man in handcuffs, died May 25 after a police officer pressed his knee on his neck for nearly eight minutes.

Activists have long accused the department of being unable to change a racist and brutal culture, and earlier this month, a majority of the council proclaimed support for dismantling the department.

What will Minneapolis look like without a police department? There is no short-term plan to scrap the Minneapolis police department, the city council says. As of Friday, the council have started a year-long process to find recommendations for what will replace it. The replacement is set to be a community-led public safety system that will redirect funds from the department and channel them into community services aimed at preventing crime. Money could be redirected to mental health services, social services, jobs programs, and arts groups. Jobs such as traffic stops, overdose call-outs and mental health calls may be taken away from officers. One recommendation from activists involves a smaller, more-specialized force of 'public servants' who would deal with solving violent crimes. County sheriffs, whose jurisdiction includes Minneapolis, could be used as a stop-gap police force. Advertisement

Jeremiah Ellison, a member of the council and the son of state Attorney General Keith Ellison, said after the vote that the charter has been a barrier to the kinds of changes that citizens have demanded.

Keith Ellison's office is handling the prosecution of the four police officers charged in Floyd's death.

Activists had long accused the department of being unable to change a racist and brutal culture, and earlier this month, a majority of the council proclaimed support for dismantling the department.

Doing so would first require amending the city charter.

Draft language of the amendment posted online would replace the department with a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention, 'which will have responsibility for public safety services prioritizing a holistic, public health-oriented approach.'

The amendment goes on to say the director of the new agency would have 'non-law-enforcement experience in community safety services, including but not limited to public health and/or restorative justice approaches.'

It also provides for a division of licensed peace officers, who would answer to the department's director.

Council members who support the change are looking to seize on a groundswell of support for significant policing changes following Floyd's death.

If they don't get the charter change on the November ballot, their next chance won't come until November 2021, they say.

'It is time to make structural change,' Council Member Steve Fletcher said.

'It is time to start from scratch and reinvent what public safety looks like.'

The proposed amendment is expected to be approved Friday, but that's just a first step.

A protester in front of the Second Precinct Police Station in Minneapolis on Thursday holds a 'Justice for George Floyd' placard. The Minneapolis city council is set to take the first step toward banning the police department

It goes then to a policy committee and to the city's Charter Commission for formal review.

The commission's recommendation doesn't bind the council, but it takes time.

Barry Clegg, chairman of the Charter Commission, said the process feels rushed.

'As I understand it, they are saying, "We are going to have this new department. We don't know what it's going to look like yet. We won't implement this for a year, well figure it out",' Clegg said.

'For myself anyway, I would prefer that we figured it out first, and then voted on it.'

Clegg said that to get the proposed amendment question on the November ballot, it has to be finalized by August 21.

He said if the Charter Commission took its final action at its August 5 meeting, there would likely be enough time for it to get passed by the full council, go through a veto period, and then, if vetoed, have time to spare for a possible mayoral veto override.

Once on the ballot, the measure would go to voters.

Mayor Jacob Frey doesn't support abolishing the department, a stance that got him booed off the street by activists who demonstrated outside his house following Floyd's death and demanded to know where he stood.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (seen above on May 28) has come out against abolishing the police

Frey expressed concerns about the proposed amendment as currently drafted, including whether the change would eliminate police altogether or allow for a police presence going forward.

He also said that when something currently goes wrong, the chief and the mayor are accountable - but under the new plan, accountability would be dispersed among 14 people.

Frey also questioned whether policing practices would vary, based on ward or other factors.

MINNEAPOLIS' COMPLICATED PATH TO ABOLISHING THE POLICE Minneapolis Police Department Chief of Police Medaria Arradondo is seen above on June 10. The city council on Friday is expected to take the first step toward abolishing the police, but many bureaucratic and political obstacles remain Five members of the Minneapolis city council have authored an amendment to the city charter that would effectively do away with the citys police department. And while the initial vote on Friday is expected to pass, there remain many bureaucratic and political obstacles to abolishing the police in the City of Lakes. Any final decision on abolishing the police would have to be made by city voters - a majority of whom would need to approve any change in the city charter. After the council approves the amendment on Friday, it would then go to a policy committee that has subject-matter jurisdiction. The committee would then have to review the proposed amendment and forward its recommendation to the council, which would then pass on those recommendations to the charter commission. The commission would then review the proposed charter amendment and, if it so wishes, could make changes to it. Its final recommendation would then be passed on to the council. The council, in turn, refers the recommended changes sought by the commission to the policy committee, which is legally required to hold public hearings on the issue. The committee would then need to vote either for or against the amendment as is - meaning it could not make any changes to it. The city council would then need to unanimously approve the ordinance. The mayor would then need to sign off on the ordinance. If he vetoes, the city council could override it with a two-thirds vote in favor. Then the proposed amendment would be put to the voters in November. Only after voters approve would the charter be officially amended. Advertisement

'There is a significant lack of clarity. And if I'm seeing a lack of clarity, so are our constituents,' said Frey, who has said he supports deep structural change in the existing department.

Fletcher said under the new agency when someone calls 911, there will always be a response that's appropriate, including the option for a response by employees authorized to use force.

But he said the vast majority of calls that police officers currently take will be answered by employees with different expertise.

Miski Noor, an organizer with Black Visions, criticized the proposed amendment for creating a division of licensed peace officers at all.

She said it 'would give current and former police way too much power to shape public safety in Minneapolis.'

Steven Belton, president and chief executive of Urban League Twin Cities, said the way some council members went forward without a concrete plan is "irresponsible."

'The problem that needs to be stated up front, from my perspective, is racism. ... I'm not sure what they are trying to fix here,' he said.

Don Blyly, whose beloved science fiction and mystery bookstores were destroyed by arson in the unrest that followed Floyd's death, said if local leaders do something 'sufficiently stupid' when it comes to policing, he wont reopen in Minneapolis.

'There are legitimate problems with the Minneapolis police, but the way the politicians are going about it is just ridiculous,' Blyly said.

'They are pandering to a certain segment of the electorate.'
An al-Qaeda branch in northwest Syria has confirmed that a US drone strike earlier this month killed one of the groups most senior leaders, a veteran Jordanian jihadi who had been the brother-in-law of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Huras al-Din, an al-Qaeda branch in northwest Syria, released a statement Wednesday saying that Khaled al-Aruri, also known as Abul Qassam al-Urduni, was killed as a result of a US strike on a vehicle he was in earlier this month in Idlib province.

Aruri was headed to a meeting of local militant leaders in order to form a military cooperation body, the statement read.

Video of the vehicle appeared to show it had been struck with a non-explosive missile bearing long metal blades, possibly the RX9 Hellfire missile, which the US military and CIA have used in prior strikes to limit collateral damage. The United States took credit for the strike last week.

Why it matters: The strike is one of Washingtons latest assassinations of senior jihadi leaders hiding out in an area of Syria controlled by Islamist rebels, some of whom are backed by Turkey.

Huras al-Dins statement said Aruri was the groups deputy emir for martyrdom, though others have suggested he may have been the groups de facto leader. The veteran jihadi fought in Afghanistan both before and after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and fought against the US occupation of Iraq from its first days alongside Zarqawi, the statement read. Zarqawi was killed in a 2006 US airstrike near Baquba, Iraq.

Last week, local reports said a senior Islamic State (IS) official who had been close to that groups deceased leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was also killed in a drone strike northwest of the Syrian city of al-Bab. A representative for US Central Command declined to comment on that strike. Baghdadi died during a US Delta Force raid on a house in northwest Syria in October.

Whats next: Fighting broke out between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Huras al-Din earlier this week as rumors circulate in Idlib that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham may be leaking intelligence on the location of Huras al-Din leaders. Another Huras al-Din figure is believed to have been killed in a drone strike in Idlib on Wednesday.

US strikes on al-Qaeda and IS figures in northwest Syria are unlikely to let up. The State Department on Wednesday doubled its reward to $10 million for information leading to the killing or capture of Amir Muhammad Said Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, whom the US government believes is IS current leader, publicly known by the name Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi.

Know more: Fehim Tastekin looks at Turkeys perilous choices in Idlib province, including its commitment to Russia to get rid of hard-line groups.
This week marks 25 years since the death of Ed Winn, a longtime member of the Workers League, forerunner of the Socialist Equality Party in the US, and twice the Workers Leagues presidential candidate. This obituary, commemorating Ed Winns life and work, appeared in the International Workers Bulletin , a forerunner of the World Socialist Web Site . It has been slightly edited for republication.

Ed Winn, a leader of the Workers League and the partys candidate for US President in 1984 and 1988, died in Wilmington, North Carolina on June 20, 1995. He was 58 years old.

Ed Winn

Comrade Winn had suffered for some years from kidney disease and had been on a waiting list for a kidney transplant. However, his death from an apparent heart attack was sudden and unexpected. It is a great loss for the working class and the revolutionary movement.

For nearly two decades, Ed Winn was a member of the Workers League and a political supporter of the Fourth International. His history of struggle, as a transit worker in New York City and, above all, as a leader of the Trotskyist movement, is bound up with the great political issues of our time.

Ed was born on February 12, 1937 in Wilmington, North Carolina. His father, Richard, was a bricklayer, and his mother, Anna, a homemaker. His family, like millions of others, struggled to sustain itself during a period of mass unemployment and poverty.

The Jim Crow system of racial apartheid was firmly entrenched in North Carolina during his childhood. Eds political awareness as he matured in the 1950s was shaped by the growing civil rights struggle. He recalled the threats from the police and white racists and the whole system of segregation: the separate drinking fountains set up for white people, the separate public facilities that were set up by the racist laws of Southern states from Maryland, where I had relatives, all the way to Mississippi, where I visited and stayed for a while.

Ed was 18 years old when Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black youth, was beaten and lynched by the Ku Klux Klan in Sumner, Mississippi in the fall of 1955. Till, a Chicago youth who was visiting relatives, was slain for the crime of allegedly whistling at a white woman. His murderers were acquitted.

When Ed Winn arrived in New York City in 1958 he already knew a great deal about the struggle for equal rights. He soon found out about the struggles of workers on the job. He obtained work at a clothing store and became for a period a member of the clothing workers union. ln late 1965 he was hired by the New York City Transit Authority, where he worked for the next 22 years.

Only a few months after becoming a transit worker, Ed joined thousands of others in a militant strike which shut down the System. The 1966 transit strike was among the bitter struggles, including those in auto, the mines and other sections of basic industry, which erupted as the post-World War II boom was coming to an end. Transport Workers Union President Mike Quill, the unions founder, was forced to call the walkout and defy the capitalist politicians and the courts. Quill, who suffered from a serious heart ailment, had a fatal heart attack after being jailed.

Ed Winn campaigning in 1984

The strike ended in a victory for the transit workers, although the gains made in wages and benefits have since been largely destroyed by years of concessionary contracts. Ed was elected as a shop steward at a car maintenance yard during his first year on the job.

Several years later, Ed joined an opposition caucus in Local 100, the Rank and File Committee, which was dominated by a black nationalist outlook. The Opposition challenged the right-wing union leadership on racial grounds, claiming that attacks on workers were the result of discrimination and arguing that the increasing number of black workers in the transit system made possible a change to black leadership of Local 100.

As Ed Winn later explained, We did not understand the class issues that were involved, that the problems that were developing in work locations were problems affecting both black and white workers, that these were problems affecting the working class itself. Our narrow nationalist outlook prevented us from bringing black and white workers together in order to take up a common struggle against those, namely, the bankers and businessmen, who wanted to place the burden of the crisis in transit onto the backs of the workers.

The Rank and File Committee disintegrated in 1972. Ed, along with most of its other active supporters, turned away for a time from political and union activity.

In the mid-1970s, world capitalism was shaken by a series of economic and political convulsions. In the US, the Watergate crisis precipitated the resignation of Richard Nixon, which was followed by the defeat of the American war against Vietnam. In 1975 New York City teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, and a state Emergency Financial Control Board was established to tear up union contracts and force city workers to pay for the crisis.

Joining the Workers League

Ed was by now working as a bus maintainer at the East New York surface maintenance shop in Brooklyn. It was here that he came into contact with the Workers League. He heard about the partys campaign on behalf of Gary Tyler, a youth who had been framed up and imprisoned in Louisiana for a crime he did not commit.

Tom Henehan, a young leader of the Workers League and its youth movement, the Young Socialists, played the key role in recruiting Ed Winn into the Workers League.

Tom discussed the Workers League pamphlet Black Nationalism and Marxist Theory with Ed, arguing that the fundamental issue facing every section of workers was the class struggle and not struggles based on race. Tom also stressed the importance of taking up a fight inside the transit union against its pro-capitalist leadership and of fighting to build a labor party to establish a workers government.[1]

As a result of these discussions and his reading of the Bulletin, as the newspaper of the Workers League was then called, Ed joined the Workers League in early 1976.

He later said that the very first work by Leon Trotsky that I read was Marxism and the Trade Unions, in which he dealt with the economic decay of capitalism and the necessity for transforming the trade unions into revolutionary organizations. This, in turn, meant replacing the reformist union leadership with a revolutionary leadership. At the same time Trotsky warned that the trade unions could not replace the revolutionary party: that the revolutionary leadership could only come through the building of a party trained in the Marxist world outlook and a scientific perspective.

One of the crucial political experiences through which Ed and other members of the Workers League passed came less than two years later, when Tom Henehan, then 26 years old, was shot and killed at a Young Socialists dance in support of Gary Tyler in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn.

Ed Winn speaking at the memorial meeting for Tom Henehan in 1977

Along with other members and supporters of the Workers League, Ed Winn responded strongly to this political murder, gathering the support of thousands of transit workers and others on petitions demanding an investigation of the killing and action to bring the assassins to trial. After more than three years, the two gunmen were arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to maximum prison terms.

In December 1977, Ed Winn was elected to the executive board of TWU Local 100, representing more than 1,000 workers in the Surface Maintenance division of the union. He ran on a program calling for the building of a labor party and socialist policies. He was reelected in 1979.

During these years Ed developed as a Marxist fighter in the working class. When the transit workers struck once again in 1980, he was on the executive board and fought against the moves of the bureaucracy, then headed by John Lawe, to isolate and betray the strike.

Ed fought for transit workers to turn to the entire working class against the union-busting Democratic Mayor Ed Koch. Lawes other opponents on the Local 100 executive board, however, based themselves simply on trade union militancy and ignored the political issues in the struggle against the union bureaucracy. They themselves refused to break from the capitalist Democratic Party and challenge the so-called right of a few billionaire bankers to dictate wage concessions, layoffs and cuts in social services, Ed stated. Therefore, they could offer no viable alternative to the capitulatory policy of the Lawe leadership.

Candidate for president

The defeat of the transit workers in 1980 foreshadowed the betrayal of the PATCO air traffic controllers struggle one year later and the ensuing decade of betrayed and broken strikes. The next stage of Ed Winns activity as a transit worker and a leader of the Workers League was bound up with the struggle against these betrayals. In 1984 Ed applied for and was granted a leave of absence from his transit job in order to run as the presidential candidate of the Workers League in its first-ever national campaign.

This was a period of wholesale wage-cutting, concessions, plant closures and union-busting. The assault on the working class was carried out by both the Democratic and Republican parties. Jesse Jackson pursued his own campaign as a Democrat in order to keep workers tied to that big business party. Ed and his running mate Helen Halyard were placed on the ballot in six industrial states, and they received 14,363 votes. He spoke to thousands of workers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota.

Ed Winn and Helen Halyard campaigning at the Ford Rouge plant

In 1988, Ed was again the Workers League candidate for President, joined this time by Barry Porster as the vice-presidential candidate. The Workers League campaign exposed the deterioration in the social conditions of millions following eight years of the Reagan presidency and the huge transfer of wealth to the rich, as well as the crisis facing the labor movement.

The union-busting onslaught, aided and abetted by the AFL-CIO leadership itself, had deepened during the 1980s. The defeat of the Hormel meatpacking strike was followed by the frame-up of the four coal miners involved in the 1984-85 strike against A.T. Massey in Kentucky. During this period trade union membership continued to decline rapidly.

One of the high points of the 1988 campaign was Ed Winns appearance before one thousand paperworkers and their supporters at a rally in Lock Haven, Pa., marking the first anniversary of the struggle against International Paper. In that speech, listened to intently by locked-out workers and strikers from several States, Winn analyzed the defeats suffered in the 1980s and explained their source.

No one can claim, he concluded, that American workers did not want to fight the corporate union-busters or that they were too weak to defeat them. The weakness is not in the ranks of labor, but in the cowardice and treachery of the bureaucrats. With a revolutionary leadership, a leadership which fights for socialist policies, and a revolutionary strategy, the working class can defeat its enemies and open up a new road for society, throughout the United States and internationally. This is what I call upon you to do.

In the 1988 campaign the Workers League placed its candidates on the ballot in eight states and the District of Columbia. Ed Winn received 18,662 votes.

Struggle against opportunism

The period between the 1984 and 1988 campaigns also witnessed a historic struggle against opportunism inside the Fourth International. The Workers League and its co-thinkers internationally defeated the opportunist leadership of the British Workers Revolutionary Party, which reacted to the protracted degeneration of Stalinism, Social Democracy and the trade union bureaucracy by abandoning the fight for revolutionary leadership. The struggle between the majority of the International Committee and the WRP leadership, which began in the early 1980s, culminated in a split in 1985-86.

The final 1984 Workers League election rally

In 1984, Ed had a chance to witness the degeneration of the WRP first-hand, when he visited Britain as the presidential candidate of the American Trotskyists. At a public meeting his hosts introduced him simply as a transit worker, omitting all mention of the Workers League election campaign. In fact, at this point the WRP was providing Jesse Jackson with favorable coverage in its press.

Ed retired from his transit job in order to devote himself fully to the 1988 election campaign and other political work. Soon after the campaign, however, he was diagnosed as suffering from polycystic kidney disease, a hereditary disorder leading to progressive loss of kidney function. He began receiving kidney dialysis treatments and prepared for an eventual transplant, which would enable him once again to lead a normal and active life.

During this period Ed continued to participate in political work to the best of his ability. He met with his fellow transit workers, spoke at public meetings of the Workers League, and wrote articles and columns for the Bulletin on the struggle in transit, as well as on other subjects.

In 1990 and 1991 New York City was the scene of several bitter struggles, including the Daily News and the Greyhound strikes. In November 1990, police, with the collaboration of Newspaper Guild union officials, arrested Ed on the Daily News picket line on a phony charge of disorderly conduct. A campaign by the Workers League forced the Guild to come to Eds defense, and the charges were dropped.

The fear which Ed Winn continued to evoke within the TWU bureaucracy, three years after his retirement, was demonstrated in March 1991, when Local 100 President Sonny Hall wrote Winn a hysterical and threatening letter in response to a column in the Bulletin which exposed Halls fraudulent claim to support the Daily News strikers. Hall wrote, what you ... wanted was a Mass Strike, not to win wages, but to bring down the government. In Winns reply, he wrote: Whats so terrible about that? If thats what it takes to defend the jobs and living standards of transit workers, then so be it!

Ed was always proudest of his collaboration with his international comrades in the Trotskyist movement in Europe, Asia and Australia. In November 1991 he was able to travel as part of the US delegation to the World Conference Against Imperialist War and Colonialism, held in Berlin, where he met with workers from many parts of the world and participated in its proceedings.

Comrade Winn moved back to Wilmington in 1993 after his fathers death and remained on a waiting list for a kidney transplant. He continued to participate in the political life of the Workers League, meeting with other party members and discussing political developments.

Ed is survived by his three children, Ed Jr., Adrienne and Debbie, and by ten grandchildren. A funeral took place in Wilmington on June 25. The Workers League will soon announce the date for a memorial meeting to be held in New York City.

Anyone who knew Ed Winn would be willing to testify to his integrity and honesty. He was universally respected by his fellow workers, even those who disagreed with his political views, and by his neighbors in Brooklyn. A calm and dignified man, he would seethe with scarcely concealed emotion when fundamental questions of principle were at stake. He had an intellectual and moral impact on those who encountered him.

Eds political legacy has to be set against the degeneration and collapse of the old leaderships of the working class all over the world.

He never wavered in his dedication to the struggles of workers, his confidence that a new period of revolutionary struggle was approaching, and his scientific conviction of the necessity for the socialist transformation of society. That is why so many workers will learn from and honor the example that he set.

[1] During this period, the Workers League fought for the building of a Labor Party, based on a socialist program, as the political form through which the American working class could establish its independence from capitalist politics. The bankruptcy of the nationalist program of the unions, and their degeneration into direct instruments of the corporate financial elite to police the working class, led the Workers League to conclude in 1995 that the Labor Party demand was no longer viable. For more information, see The Historical and International Foundations of the Socialist Equality PartyPart 11 .
France, the UK, Italy, and Spain offered to limit the scope of a proposed global digital tax, a concession after the US threatened to hit those countries with tariffs if they moved ahead with levies on tech companies.

This approach would considerably ease the task of achieving a consensus-based solution and make a political agreement within reach this year, according to a letter to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin obtained by Bloomberg News.

The finance chiefs from the four countries offered to proceed with a phased approach that would initially only include automated digital services companies. Its the clearest indication yet of Europes negotiating strategy on what has become a politically loaded issue with big economic implications.

The US this month started an investigation into digital taxes that are being considered by several of its trading partners, including the four signatories of the letter. A similar investigation into Frances tax led to the threat of tariffs.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is developing the global tax plan, is pursuing two types of businesses, automated digital services, like online search engines and social media platforms, and consumer-facing businesses, that sell goods and services.

A French finance ministry official said the European offer wasnt a concession to Washington and that the US had initially proposed expanding the tax to include non-digital companies. The official said Frances primary objective of getting a digital tax in 2020 hasnt changed.

The tax is an effort to capture the profits of businesses with little or no physical presence in a market where they do business. Talks have been ongoing at the OECD since 2016 to try to form a joint set of rules.

- Bloomberg
Vice President Mike Pence on Friday defended President Donald Trump's campaign rallies as the right to peacefully assemble and part of the freedom of speech as he issued the reminder: 'We have an election coming up this fall.'

In the first public briefing of the White House Coronavirus Task Force since April, Pence was grilled about how he and the task force could recommend to people they listen to local officials for guidance on the coronavirus pandemic when the campaign disregarded advice from Tulsa experts on holding Saturday's rally there.

'Well, I want to remind you again that freedom of speech and the right to peaceably assemble is enshrined in the constitution of the United States. Even in the health crisis, the American people don't forfeit our constitutional rights,' Pence said in response.

'Working with state officials, as we did in Oklahoma and as we did in Arizona, we are creating settings where people can choose to participate in the political process. We will continue to do that,' he added.

And he pointed out: 'We have an election coming up this fall.'

Vice President Mike Pence defended President Donald Trump's campaign rallies as the right to peacefully assemble

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, encouraged all Americans to take part of safety measures - including social distancing and wearing a face mask

The briefing from Pence and Coronavirus Task Force members Dr. Deborah Birx, Dr. Tony Fauci and Health and Human Service Secretary Alexander Azar came as the United States saw a spike in coronavirus infections as the country began to reopen.

Infections rose across the United States by at least 39,818 on Thursday, marking the worst day since the virus first hit the U.S

Some states - Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Florida among them - put the pause in their reopenings as their COVID-19 numbers went up.

'Our focus today is to make sure that, in those areas in the country were receiving a significant, not only an increase in cases but an increase in positivity levels, that the American people know just how important it is to listen to what they are state and local health officials are directing them to do,' the vice president said.

But the Trump campaign disregarded such local warnings in regards to the campaign rally in Tulsa on Saturday - its first since March. Health officials in Tulsa urged the campaign to postpone the event, noting the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma. Trump and Pence both spoke at the rally.

Tulsa health department director Dr. Bruce Dart warned anyone attending it faced 'an increased risk' of contracting the coronavirus. He also admitted he'd like to see the rally postponed but, since it wasn't going to be, then officials would deal with the fallout.

'I recommended we postpone it until it's safer,' he said. 'If we could push it back to when the data tells it's safer, that was my personal recommendation, that is what I'd personally like to see happen. It's here so let's focus on staying safe while it's here.'

The Trump campaign emphasized the safety measures it had put into place - including temperature checks and handing out face masks. But attendees were not required to wear the masks.

Additionally, eight members of the advance team, including members of the Secret Service, tested positive for the coronvirus. After the rally, several members of the campaign staff self-quarantined as a precaution.

Trump held a similar event in Phoenix on Tuesday when he addressed a group of 3,000 students - an event that had the feel of a campaign rally.

Most attendees at the Tulsa and Phoenix events did not wear masks and did not social distance.

President Donald Trump held his first campaign rally since March on Saturday even as officials in Tulsa warned against and the campaign staff self-isolated after it

President Trump also spoke to 3,000 students in Phoenix on Tuesday at an event that had the feel of a campaign rally

Before the Tulsa rally, Fauci said he would not go, pointing out his age put him in a high risk category.

And, at a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Fauci offered this advice: 'Plan A: Don't go in a crowd. Plan B: If you do, make sure you wear a mask.'

Fauci, at Friday's Coronavirus Task Force briefing, encouraged all Americans to take part of safety measures - including social distancing and wearing a face mask, pointing out even those at low risk from getting seriously sick from COVID could transmit to someone in a high risk category.

'If we don't extinguish the outbreak, sooner or later, even ones that are doing well are going to be vulnerable to the spread. So, we need to take that into account, because we are all in it together, and the only way we are going to end it is by ending it together,' the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said.

When Fauci finished talking and was walking from podium, Pence grabbed his arm and told him 'well said.'

Pence spent Friday's briefing trying to spin the 'remarkable progress' the administration has made in fighting the virus even as the numbers showed a different story.

'We slowed the spread. We flattened the curve. We saved lives,' he said.

Asked by DailyMail.com whether he expected the death rate to rise, Pence responded: 'Our hope and our prayer is it's not the case.'

'One is too many. We grieve the loss of every American life,' Pence added.
Boris Johnson was warned confusion about the Covid-19 alert level may spark 'public anxiety' days before eased lockdown, secret papers published today revealed.

SAGE scientists urged Number 10 to be clear about the threat level of coronavirus in a report submitted to ministers on May 26.

It came two days before the Prime Minister reopened schools, outdoor markets and car showrooms, and told a chunk of the workforce to return to work.

At the time, the coronavirus alert level was at a four, meaning the virus was growing exponentially. Government scientists urged ministers not to ease lockdown until this had come down to level three.

In the SAGE report, scientists said: 'People need to know what to do at a particular alert level and how to prepare for a change in Alert Level.'

'If it is not clear what to do when an Alert Level increases, it is expected that levels of public anxiety will increase.'

In a public service announcement that was criticised for being confusing, Mr Johnson told the British public that the UK was currently at level four, but was 'moving towards level three'.

The SAGE report specifically warned against this kind of mixed-messaging, adding: 'For clarity of public communications, Alert Levels should be a simple step level system with no sub-division.'

Some 31 documents were today published by the Government Office for Science, which is headed by Sir Patrick Vallance, England's chief scientific adviser.

The SAGE papers are being released in a bid to show greater transparency from the Government.

They are among dozens in a tranche of papers presented to SAGE, the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, over recent months to help guide ministers through the crisis.

And the reports detail all the scientific advice which is being presented to decision-making officials who dictate when and how the country moves out of lockdown.

Files released today revealed scientists told the Government:

As many as one in 20 Covid-19 patients hospitalised with the disease remain infectious after two weeks;

The Government's top experts still don't know how accurate Covid-19 swab tests are. with some studies suggesting they could miss one in five Covid patients;

A YouGov poll on March 17 found more than half (55 per cent) of Brits were still going to bars pubs and restaurants and six in 10 were still seeing family members and friends from other households, despite Government guidance advising not to;

NHS antibody testing scheme suggest 16 per cent of staff have had coronavirus and a FIFTH of hospital patients have recovered from the virus;

The Government has been warned since April 20 that taxi drivers and factory workers are among the most at-risk occupations for catching the disease;

SAGE experts admitted it still doesn't know how often the Covid-19 swabs rolled out nationally in the UK give false negatives;

Prisons, migrant centres, long stay mental health hospitals and homeless shelters could be potential Covid-19 breeding grounds in the future;

The Government has been told that coronavirus health messages tailored specifically for different ethnic groups are 'particularly important'.

SAGE scientists urged the Government to be clear about the threat level of coronavirus in a report handed to No 10 on May 26. It came two days before the PM reopened schools, outdoor markets and car showrooms, and told a chunk of the workforce to return to work

SAGE scientists urged Number 10 to be clear about the threat level of coronavirus in a report submitted to ministers on May 26. It came two days before the Prime Minister reopened schools, outdoor markets and car showrooms, and told a chunk of the workforce to return to work

One in 20 hospitalised patients may be infectious beyond 14 days

About 5 per cent of patients ill enough with coronavirus to be admitted to hospital are contagious to others after two weeks, two separate SAGE reports found.

Two teams of Government scientists submitted papers to ministers on May 28 warning some sufferers had high enough viral load to infect others for 20 days.

They reviewed the available evidence from around the world looking into viral load in hospitalised patients with the disease, as well as new UK research on British patients.

The team of virologists and infectious disease experts - which included Professor Peter Horby, an epidemiologist from Oxford University - found most people are not infectious 12 days after symptoms start.

Samples from the upper respiratory tract of 74 Covid patients in the UK showed viral load was picked up after 20 days in some patients

'However, a very small minority of hospitalised individuals might remain infectious until day 20', they write, adding that many of these patients will be elderly.

They warned that this finding poses a 'risk for onwards transmission to carers', care home workers and family members who may then go and pass the disease onto others.

The scientists recommended that people working in high risk areas like care homes, as well as care home residents themselves, be given swab and antibody tests after recovering from the virus before returning.

A high level of antibodies in the blood 'is likely to correlate with a low probability of infectiousness', the researchers say.

Accuracy of coronavirus PCR swab tests is still not fully understood

The swab tests currently being used in the UK to diagnose coronavirus can miss infected people up to a fifth of the time, according to a paper submitted to ministers this month.

The UK's Covid-19 testing programme uses a network of laboratories to detect SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal swabs, which take samples from the throat and nose.

SAGE researchers said these swabs - the gold standard of testing currently- are 95 per cent sensitive and specific.

This means that, under laboratory settings, they are correct more than nine times out of 10.

But errors in the way samples are collected in the community and transported to laboratories can bring down their accuracy significantly.

A model used by SAGE scientists shows the likelihood of a swab giving a false negative is lowest between day five and day 10 of infection of symptoms

Coronavirus death rate is TWICE as high among factory workers and security guards than doctors and nurses, shock data reveals Men working in factories or as security guards were twice as likely to die of coronavirus than healthcare workers during the height of the outbreak in Britain, shocking data revealed today. Office for National Statistics (ONS) experts analysed the occupations of all the 4,700 Covid-19 victims in England and Wales who were of working age (20-64) and died between March 9 and May 25. Analysis showed 74 male security guards or bouncers died for every 100,000 men during the brunt of the crisis, followed by a rate of 73 for male factory workers. In comparison, male nurses and doctors - who were treating the sickest Covid-19 patients, many without proper protective gear - died at a rate of 30 per 100,000 men, as a whole. The rate among ambulance staff (82.4) was still higher, however. The ONS - who cautioned there was not enough data to accurately look at the most dangerous jobs for women - says its data does not prove these jobs are more dangerous than working in hospitals because it does not take into account ethnicity or deprivation, two factors linked to a higher risk of dying. And statisticians warned the rate for factory and security workers will also be skewed upwards because there are many more healthcare workers. For example, 130 male healthcare workers died from coronavirus during the two-and-a-half month period, compared to 62 deaths among factory employees. Factory workers have worked throughout the crisis to keep the nation fed during lockdown, and are among the most likely to have been interacting with others when the disease was spreading at its fastest. Security guards had to be deployed to supermarkets during the outbreak to ensure social distancing was adhered to inside shops and in queues, exposing them to hundreds of potential Covid-19 carriers each day. Data also shows the death rate was higher in 17 different occupations for men, including taxi drivers (65), chefs (56.8), busmen (44.2) and shop assistants (34.2) at a higher rate than the national average (19.1). They were up to six times more likely to die from Covid than men in 'professional' occupations (11.1 per 100,000). This is largely thought to be because they continue to work from home and avoid contact with others. Experts said today's findings showed that Covid-19 'is largely an occupational disease' and called for all workers who have regular contact with patients or the public to be supplied with personal protective equipment (PPE). Advertisement

For this reason, 'the UK operational false positive rate is unknown', the experts said, and 'there are no published studies on the operational false positive rate of any national COVID-19 testing programme.'

They used a model which combined results from seven studies and more than 1,300 swab tests to create a model of the the false negative rate for the test.

The model suggested that in the first four days of infection, when a patient is pre-symptomatic, the tests can give a false positive up to 67 per cent of the time.

This is because the virus has not yet had time to duplicate inside their respiratory system, making it hard to pick up by the test.

The chance of a false negative then dropped to 38 per cent on day 5 - the day when most people get symptoms.

By day eight, the tests were 80 per cent accurate, meaning they gave a false negative one in five times to people who had symptoms for at least three days.

The researchers recommended the Government launches an independent quality assessment review of the testing programme to make sure its fit for purpose.

They also said negative results that allow people to return to work, leave hospital or come out of isolation should be 'treated with extreme caution'.

These people should self-isolate for 14 days regardless of the test result, the experts advised.

Reacting to the SAGE paper, Professor Rowland Kao, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh, said: 'The report that up to 20 per cent of PCR tests may be falsely negative reflects the many operational challenges associated with correctly doing the test ranging from the initial collection of the sample, through to potential issues with storing or transferring the sample taken, or the laboratory procedures to interpret the sample.

'It's important to remember that the test does not have to be perfect in order to be an effective component of disease control. All that is necessary is that the combination of measures taken have to be sufficient to keep the R number below one. Therefore maintaining those other measures, including social distancing and self-isolation, remain important even if with an extensive testing capability.'

More than half of Brits ignored PM's plea to avoid pubs and bars

Boris Johnson's plea for Britons to stay away from pubs, bars and restaurants in mid-March fell on deaf ears, a poll submitted to SAGE revealed.

A YouGov survey between March 17 and 18, a week before lockdown, showed more than half (55 per cent) of adults were still eating and drinking out.

Forty-five per cent said they'd stopped altogether and 17 per cent said they'd reduced the amount of times they attended the establishments.

Mr Johnson was adamant not to put the UK into lockdown, as the rest of Europe had at the time, and instead tried to use public messaging on social distancing and hand washing in early March to curb the spread.

But the YouGov poll, along with alarming predictions that hundreds of thousands of people would die from the virus, forced him to impose the nationwide quarantine.

The survey also found that just 27 per cent of people stopped seeing family from other households.

Just over a third (35 per cent) of the public, and more than half (59 per cent) of full-time workers were still going to work as often as before.

Only 16 per cent of children had stopped going to school by March 18.

Extra attention must be paid to homeless hostels, migrant centres and mental health institutions, where Covid-19 could run rampant

A University College London paper submitted in late May warned the Government that there were several institutional settings at high risk of suffering clusters of infections.

The team said that, as well as hospitals and care homes, cruise ships, prisons, homeless shelters, migrant centres, factories and long-stay mental health facilities were vulnerable.

This is because they are enclosed institutions which act as 'reservoirs of infection', house vulnerable individiuals and often include individuals who are less inclined to seek treatment or find it difficult to access healthcare (such as the homeless and migrants).

The report offered one piece of evidence - drawing on data from the US, France and UK which suggested homeless shelters housed up to a third of residents with Covid and up to 15 per cent of staff with the disease.

But the report was primarily a warning based on other reports. The researchers said it was important these 'forgotten institutions' were provided with adequate PPE, clear social distancing instructions and that more surveillance studies be launched into them.

On May 28, SAGE used the UCL report to advise the Government 'strongly' that identifiying these high risk areas and implementing preventative measures in these places must be 'proactive'.

Brits in high-risk jobs must be made aware of the threat of Covid

SAGE urged the Government to raise awareness about the risk of catching Covid for people in certain jobs.

Office for National Statistics figures have shown that shop assistants, taxi drivers, factory workers and other public-facing workers are being disproportionately killed by Covid.

Scientists said these people should be targeted through public health messaging, telling them to 'pay particularly close attention to the social distancing and hygiene recommendations '.

Men working in so-called 'elementary occupations' were the worst-hit group during the height of the coronavirus outbreak in Britain. These workers are mostly in public-facing jobs and are least likely to have been able to work from home. Whereas men in 'professional' occupations had the lowest death rate, largely thought to be because they continue to work home and avoid contact with others

It is vital that the responsibility for managing infection risk due to multiple contacts is shared between the people at risk and their employers, SAGE said.

Wherever possible, changes to the structuring of workplace activities and environments should be prioritised, they said.

This would include 'taking extra care to manage infection risk may also involve everyone concerned undertaking additional actions such as handwashing at appropriate times, avoiding touching face or surfaces, cleaning all shared surfaces, changing/washing clothes, using and disposing of tissues, ventilating shared spaces, social distancing, wearing a face covering when close to others if social distancing is not possible'.

Ministers must tailor health messages to people from BAME groups

The Government has been told that coronavirus health messages tailored specifically for different ethnic groups are 'particularly important'.

Ministers were recommended to give people from BAME backgrounds - who are disproportionately affected by the virus - extra advice on how to stay safe during the crisis.

The advice is outlined in a summary of a discussion on ethnicity and Covid-19 risk, endorsed SAGE on June 4.

The Sage summary said: 'Work was discussed that highlighted the importance of faith practices, differences in patterns of healthcare usage, willingness of communities to engage with prevention, and other factors such as access to outdoor space.

'Different messaging, including health messages tailored specifically for different ethnic groups was highlighted as being particularly important.'

Two reports have been published by Public Health England (PHE) in recent weeks which suggested BAME communities are dying from Covid-19 at greater rates than people in white ethnic groups.

The earlier findings from PHE said that people of Bangladeshi heritage were dying at around twice the rate of white Britons.

It also found that other minority ethnic groups were at up to 50 per cent higher risk of dying.

The second report pointed to a raft of recommendations from stakeholders, including the need to develop 'occupational risk assessment tools that can be employed in a variety of occupational settings and used to reduce the risk of employee's exposure to and acquisition of Covid-19'.

This is especially true for BAME workers in health and social care and on the front line in occupations that put them at higher risk, it said.
A young woman has tragically died after falling out of the back seat of a moving car in Sydney's western suburbs.

The 23-year-old was travelling in a car at 10pm on Thursday when the rear door opened and she fell out onto Hambledon Road in Quakers Hill.

Paramedics were called but the woman died at the scene.

A 23-year-old woman was travelling in a car at 10pm on Thursday when the rear car door opened and she fell onto the road. The woman died at the scene

The 27-year-old male driver was taken to hospital where he underwent mandatory testing.

The area was declared a crime scene and police have launched an investigation into the woman's death.

A spokesperson from NSW Police said early signs of the investigation pointed towards the death resulting from an accident.

The driver and a 52-year-old male passenger are now helping police with their investigation.

Police will prepare a report for the Coroner.
Implying that the country will not succumb to hostage diplomacy, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rebuffed a letter from a group including four former federal ministers, that asked him to have an extradition trial against a senior Huawei executive in Vancouver stopped so she could return to China in exchange for the release of two Canadians imprisoned there.

During his daily media briefing, Trudeau said the letter writers were wrong in their approach. Expanding on the issue, he said that if countries around the world, including China, believed that by arbitrarily arresting random Canadians they could influence Canada politically, that would leave a lot more Canadians who travel around the world vulnerable to that kind of pressure.

Trudeaus rebuff came as 13 Canadian senators sought to have sanctions imposed upon Chinese officials involved in human rights violations targeting Muslim Uighurs, Tibetans and residents of Hong Kong.

Trudeau was referring to the ongoing trial of Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Chinese telecommunications company Huwaei and daughter of its founder. She is facing trial in Vancouver and could potentially be extradited to the US on charges related to committing fraud and bypass international sanctions against the Iranian regime. Days after she was detained in Vancouver in December 2018, two Canadians including a former diplomat, were arrested by Chinese authorities, who charged them with spying last week.

We need to continue to be absolutely crystal clear that Canada has an independent judiciary and those processes will unfold independently of any political pressure, including by foreign governments, Trudeau said, according to the outlet CBC. We deplore what China did, he added. The letter writers include three former foreign ministers and a former justice minister, among others. I respect these distinguished Canadians who put forward that letter but I deeply disagree with them, Trudeau said.

Meanwhile, in another letter to Trudeau, Canadian senators have asked him to respond to Chinas tyrannical behaviour by imposing sanctions upon Chinese officials for gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, according to CBC.

Those sanctions can be imposed under Canadas Sergei Magnitsky Law, named after a Russian expert who was killed by authorities in Moscow over exposing fraud.
European markets closed lower on Friday, amid concern over surging coronavirus cases in the U.S.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.4% lower, with most sectors and major bourses in negative territory. Markets had advanced as much as 1.1% earlier in the session.

Those early gains were wiped out amid an increase in the number of coronavirus infections in the U.S., with Texas pausing the reopening of its economy after another record daily rise in new cases and hospitalizations.

U.S. stocks slipped on the news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average declining over 500 points.

As of Friday morning, the U.S. has more than 2.4 million confirmed cases and more than 124,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday that the true number of infections could be 10 times higher than the official count.

Localized restrictions have also been reimposed in parts of the Portuguese capital Lisbon, western Germany, Beijing and Victoria state in Australia.
Tardy tradesmen were hit, tackled and sprayed with a fire extinguisher by their colleagues as they ran a gauntlet to punish them for arriving late to work.

A crane operator recorded the workplace punishment at a construction site across the road from Canberra Centre shopping mall in the ACT on Thursday.

He later uploaded the video to TikTok, where is has amassed almost 300,000 views.

'Dont come to work late #showupontime,' he captioned the post.

Tradesmen who arrived late to work were whacked with poles and sprayed with fire retardant as a punishment from their colleagues at a construction site across the road from Canberra Centre shopping mall in the ACT on Thursday

In the video, 15 tradesmen holding metal and plastic poles lined up in two rows, forming a gauntlet for their late-to-work colleagues to run through.

They banged their poles on scaffolding and cheered before the four late tradesmen ran through their obstacle course.

The four late men were hit with the poles and at one point were sprayed with fire retardant from an extinguisher.

At the end of the gauntlet, one of the construction workers was even thrown to the ground after one of his colleagues ran into him.

The moment one tradesman is tackled to the ground while another begins outrageously spraying a fire extinguisher

'F***ing funny!' one person can be heard saying in the background.

'Don't come late to work when you work with this bunch of k**bs,' another person said.

'Running the gauntlet' was originally a military punishment where the victim was forced to run between two rows of men who would strike at him as he passed.

The punishment is also used as a rite of passage or 'hazing' for uninitiated members of a certain groups, such as university colleges.
Kareena Kapoor Khan is urging her followers to support the #ChildhoodChallenge by sharing their happiest childhood memories and donate to UNICEF India the amount equal to the year they were born in. Kareena posted a throwback photo from her childhood, with sister Karisma Kapoor, as a happy memory to promote the campaign.

The photo showed the Kapoor sisters dressed in similar clothes, eating at some event. Kareena wrote in the caption, "Some of my happiest memories are from my childhood, which shaped me into what I am today. But that's not so for many children around the world who miss out on a safe, healthy and happy childhood. The #COVID-19 pandemic is only going to make it worse.

"UNICEF is providing urgent and lifesaving support for vulnerable children. I have seen their work and have donated to support their cause of saving precious lives. Join me and support the #ChildhoodChallenge by sharing your happiest childhood memories and donate to @unicefindia the amount equal to the year you were born in. By taking part in this challenge you can help avoid a lasting crisis for children."

A day before, Kareena had posted more throwback moments with Karisma since it was her birthday. She wished her sister with the caption, "To the most purest, most precious love ever! My sister, my second mother and my best friend...To the ultimate Diva... Happy birthday Lolo @therealkarismakapoor!  May our morning phone chats last forever "

Kareena and Karisma have a considerable age gap but are bonded like best friends. They never miss a chance to be part of all important occasions in each other's lives.

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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/6/2020 (576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They told us so.

Advocates for a pedestrian-friendly Portage and Main tried to warn voters in 2018 that they didn't have the whole picture. That fall, a plebiscite on whether to reopen the intersection was rushed onto the ballot in the civic election.

Related Items Click to Expand Articles Jun 25, 2020: Council hasn't seen study on concourse repairs Danielle Da Silva

Jun 24, 2020: Portage, Main underground not up to code on barrier-free access: report Danielle Da Silva

Jun 23, 2020: Portage, Main concourse roof waterproofing failing: engineering report Danielle Da Silva Poll Loading... Would you have voted differently in the plebiscite to reopen Portage & Main to pedestrians if you had known of the issues contained in the engineering report on the concourse? Yes. I voted no the first time and would change my vote because of the new information. No. I voted no the first time and I haven't changed my mind. No. I voted to reopen the intersection the first time and would vote that way again. Would you have voted differently in the plebiscite to reopen Portage & Main to pedestrians if you had known of the issues contained in the engineering report on the concourse? Yes. I voted no the first time and would change my vote because of the new information. 11% (157 votes) No. I voted no the first time and I haven't changed my mind. 49% (698 votes) No. I voted to reopen the intersection the first time and would vote that way again. 39% (557 votes) Total Votes: 1412 View ResultsHide Results

The "open" forces argued vehemently that more details were needed about the physical condition of the underground concourse, accessibility features and the brutalist barriers that keep pedestrians out of the intersection before any ballot proposition was to be considered.

And guess what? Two years after Winnipeggers voted to keep Portage and Main closed, we finally know the intersection  both above ground and below  needs to be dismantled and rebuilt. This information fundamentally changes the debate about reopening it.

A redacted copy of a report by SMS Engineering Ltd., obtained by the Free Press, indicates Portage and Main will need to be closed for extended periods to excavate the intersection and repair the concourse roof and membrane that is designed to keep moisture from leaking underground. That will likely mean removing the crumbling concrete barriers that prevent pedestrians from crossing the intersection.

Major improvements will likely be needed to improve the accessibility features of the concourse which are, the report said, "largely non-compliant" with city code and guidelines.

Many of those who opposed the reopening of the intersection were concerned about the effect on vehicular traffic. Advocates came forward with several plans to create dedicated transit malls, such as a portion of Graham Avenue, to divert bus traffic from the intersection.

Other concerns were raised about pedestrian safety. Again, advocates noted that Portage and Main is not the largest intersection downtown, and is not significantly busier than other major intersection where pedestrians cross at street level.

The only issue that 'open' proponents struggled to overcome was money.

Water accumulated in various parts of the underground concourse at Portage and Main in March. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Opponents such as Coun. Jeff Browaty  the man who has made a career out of tormenting downtown residents with his suburban sensibilities  moaned about the cost of removing the barriers. He claimed any money spent to reopen Portage and Main was a de facto cut to the regional roads budget. It's a false premise but at city hall, even the hint of reduced funding for road renewal is a death knell for any competing idea.

The trump card in this debate always was the rapidly decaying state of the underground concourse.

If the intersection and concourse needed major repairs, then this was never about the cost and trouble of simply removing the pedestrian barriers. The scope of work needed means this was a generational opportunity to redesign an intersection and amenity that is woefully past its best-before date.

If we have to endure several years of construction that would close huge sections of the intersection, why wouldn't we reconsider the design and role of the concourse?

Yes, Winnipeggers ultimately voted 'no' by a 2-1 margin, but they did so without knowing all of the facts. That makes this vote more than just a travesty; it was a crime against the integrity of public discourse.

Winnipeggers voted against removing the barricades at Portage and Main in a 2018 plebiscite. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Even worse, this sorry excuse for a plebiscite continues to affect the city even today, as witnessed by the incomprehensible efforts to hide the engineering report from the public.

The SMS report was commissioned in August 2018 immediately before the fall election; a final report was not submitted until the following May. However, it appears the report was not submitted for consideration to council or any committee. A spokesman for Mayor Brian Bowman said he had not seen the SMS report before it was published in the Free Press, nor was there any vote to keep it under wraps.

And yet, when the Free Press asked to see the SMS study in the spring, the request was denied. A reporter filed an application under freedom-of-information legislation, and eventually obtained a redacted copy.

There are several important questions that need to be answered about why this report was kept from the public.

First, why did the city not release the report when it was received? City officials claim this is standard practice, but this is a taxpayer-funded report on a key piece of public infrastructure that was the subject of a citywide plebiscite. That makes this report very much in the public interest.

A report by SMS Engineering Ltd. indicates Portage and Main will need to be closed for extended periods to excavate the intersection and repair the concourse roof and membrane designed to keep moisture from leaking underground. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press)

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Also, why were parts of the report redacted? City officials claimed some details would harm the city's negotiations with the private owners of the properties that surround Portage and Main and reveal "vulnerabilities" in the overall safety and security of the concourse.

Finally, where was Mayor Brian Bowman when this was going on? In 2014, Bowman campaigned to reopen the intersection, but rolled over like an aging Labrador retriever when Browaty dropped the plebiscite bomb. Now, he says he is neither concerned by the report or the fact it wasn't released.

The mayor is so over Portage and Main.

City hall provocateurs, such as Browaty, will never admit the plebiscite was undermined by a lack of important information on the underground infrastructure at Portage and Main.

But deep down inside, he and the others who campaigned robustly against the reopening of our most famous intersection know that this was not a fair fight. And that's pretty much the way they wanted it.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Controversial S. Korean church donating $83B worth of blood plasma as prices soar in pandemic

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Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which many view as a religious cult and was blamed for the propagation of the new coronavirus in South Korea, said 4,000 church members who fully recovered from the disease will donate coveted blood plasma with an estimated market value of up to $83 billion toward convalescent plasma therapy.

Convalescent plasma therapy is an experimental treatment that some doctors are using to treat people with severe coronavirus infections, according to the Mayo Clinic. Due to high demand for the treatment, however, it has been growing costly around the world.

At a time when plasma donations to the Korean Green Cross have been low, Shincheonji Churchs contribution is invaluable.  With prices of plasma from biotech companies around the world ranging from $350 to $40,000 dollars per milliliter, this sets Shincheonjis donation at a value of about $83 billion dollars, the church said in a statement to CP Wednesday.

A recent report from the Wall Street Journal pointed to the skyrocketing price of convalescent plasma, which is also used to develop antibody tests to tell whether someone has already been infected with the coronavirus. The tests are seen as critical to easing lockdowns that have shut down economies around the world but diagnostic companies say the high prices for the blood of recovered coronavirus patients are posing a hurdle to developing tests.

Weve had a terrible time trying to obtain positive specimens at a decent rate, Stefanie Lenart-Dallezotte, manager of business operations for San Diego-based Epitope Diagnostics Inc., which sells an antibody test for COVID-19, told WSJ. I feel people are taking extreme advantage of the situation because they can, because theres crazy demand.

Traders who source the plasma for these companies are known as blood brokers and Lenart-Dallezotte said she was quoted a price of $1,000 for a one-milliliter sample of convalescent plasma. Executives at other diagnostics companies told the WSJ that they have been quoted prices of several thousand dollars for one milliliter of plasma as well.

As of Thursday morning, Johns Hopkins University confirmed nearly 9.5 million coronavirus infections globally with more than 483,000 deaths. The United States alone has contributed nearly 2.4 million infections to that number with nearly 122,000 deaths. And as infections continue to spread around the U.S. in states like Texas, health officials are pleading with coronavirus survivors to donate their plasma.

If we do not get the message out, that means we are not saving lives, Paul Basaldua, a San Antonio resident who recovered from the coronavirus in April, told KENS5 Wednesday.

He said the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center is so low on blood plasma theyve had to buy plasma from other areas, which can cost them from $500 to $700 per unit.

In March, Shincheonji Church of Jesus in South Korea, which has some 245,605 congregants, became the center of the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea. The government stepped in quickly to contain the spread of infections in the nation of more than 51 million people to just 12,400 cases, according to The Korea Herald. Some 5,200 of the countrys coronavirus cases were connected to Shincheonji Church.

The city of Daegu filed a civil lawsuit against the church for the outbreak and is asking for $82.3 million.

Shincheonji Media Coordinator Kim Young-eun said their blood plasma donation is a sincere thank you to the governments medical system and staff who worked hard to help our church members recover. We hope this will accelerate the development of coronavirus therapies and lead to more lives that can be saved.

Shincheonji Chairman Lee Man-hee said he also asked his congregation to help fight the coronavirus in South Korea and around the world.

I promised to cooperate for the benefit of humanity and the governments policy and conferred with our church members so that the estimated 4,000 congregants who recovered from COVID-19 can provide their plasma to develop a good medicine to solve this infectious disease, Lee said in a statement.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently encouraging persons who have recovered from the new coronavirus to donate their plasma to help save lives.
New York, Connecticut and New Jersey asked Wednesday for travelers from states with high coronavirus infection rates to go into quarantine for 14 days in a bid to preserve hard-fought gains as caseloads rise elsewhere in the country.

We now have to make sure the rates continue to drop," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday at a briefing in New York City, joined via video by Govs. Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Ned Lamont of Connecticut, both fellow Democrats. We also have to make sure the virus doesnt come on a plane again.

What was presented as a travel advisory that starts Thursday affects three adjacent Northeastern states that managed to check the spread of the virus this spring as New York City became a hot spot for the pandemic.

Travelers from more than a half-dozen states, including Florida and Texas, are currently impacted. The quarantine will last two weeks from the time of last contact within the identified state.

The announcement comes as summer travel to the states beaches, parks and other attractions  not to mention New York City  would normally swing into high gear.

It also marks a flip-flop in the COVID-19 battle since March, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, both Republicans, separately issued orders requiring people flying in from the New York tri-state area, where cases were surging, to quarantine for 14 days.

Now, Florida and Texas are among the struggling states being eyed warily by the three northern governors.

As Governor DeSantis said on Saturday, Governors have a prerogative to do what they need to do," press secretary Cody McCloud said. "He just asks that Floridians not be quarantined in the nursing homes in New York.

Murphy called a quarantine the smart thing.

We have taken our people, the three of us, these three states, to hell and back, Murphy said. "The last thing we need to do right now is subject our folks to another round.

The states will relay the quarantine message on highways, at airports, and through websites and social media. Lamont signed an executive order on Wednesday evening requiring such messages be posted at all major points of entry into the state and at the state's airports. He said the governors plan to also ask hotels and vacation rental companies to tell guests from affected states.

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Lamont's order also allows the state's public health commissioner to make exceptions for essential workers and for other extraordinary circumstances when a quarantine is not possible.

Enforcement will vary by state. The Cuomo administration said violators in New York will be subject to mandatory quarantine and face fines from $2,000 to $10,000. Violators could be discovered at business meetings or during a traffic stop, he said.

It was not clear what, if any, penalties violators in New Jersey and Connecticut will face.

Lamont described the quarantine as urgent guidance. Murphy called it a "strong advisory ... to do the right thing.

The quarantine applies to people coming from states with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents on a seven-day average, or with a 10% or higher positivity rate over seven days.

As of Wednesday, states over the threshold were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas, Cuomo said.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said later Wednesday that his state was erroneously included on the list.

A spokeswoman for Cuomo, Caitlin Girouard, said there had been an initial discrepancy with Washington's reporting, but they have since corrected it and we have removed them from the list of states under travel advisory.

The order appears to apply to President Donald Trump, who was in Arizona on Tuesday and is slated to go to Bedminster, New Jersey, this weekend.

White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an email Wednesday that standard procedures were in place in Arizona to ensure the president did not come into contact with anyone who was symptomatic or had not been tested.

It could come back and we can have a second wave arriving by jet airplane a second time, Lamont said. And right now, they wouldnt necessarily be coming from China. They could be coming from one of six or seven or eight states that have a very high positivity rate.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Marina Villeneuve in Albany, N.Y.; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut; and Mike Catalini in Trenton, N.J.
Virgin Australia

US private equity group Bain Capital said on Friday it has agreed with the administrator of Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd to buy Australia's second-biggest airline for an undisclosed sum.

Bain's bid was chosen over a rival offer from Cyrus Capital Partners and a recaptalisation proposal put forward by Virgin Australia bondholders, administrator Deloitte said.

Deloitte said it was not yet possible to estimate the return to creditors and did not expect any return to shareholders. An update on the return will be provided ahead of a creditor's meeting in August, it said.

The deal will need to be approved by 50% of creditors by value and 50% by number to be finalised.

Bain is using private equity as well as its distressed and special situation funds for the deal, according to Deloitte, which said the deal provided a "significant" injection of capital into the airline to help recapitalise and position it for the future.

"Under our ownership we will strengthen Virgin's regional services and ensure the airline emerges offering exceptional experiences at great value while continuing to service business travellers, as well as those of us travelling for fun or to visit loved ones," Mike Murphy, an Australia-based managing director at Bain, said in a statement.

Virgin Australia entered administration in April owing nearly A$7 billion ($4.82 billion) to creditors but is viewed as an attractive investment given the Australian domestic aviation market duopoly it shares with larger rival Qantas Airways Ltd.

Cyrus on Friday morning said it had pulled out of the bidding, citing unwillingness on the part of Deloitte to engage in meaningful talks about its offer.

The Bain proposal supports Virgin Australia's current management team led by Chief Executive Paul Scurrah and its improvement plan for the airline, and has committed to the retention of thousands of jobs, Deloitte said in a statement, thanking Cyrus for participating in the bidding process.

"We believe Bain Capital's proposal offers the best possible future for Virgin Australia, its employees and its customers," Scurrah said in a statement.

Virgin Australia has around 9,000 employees.

Qantas on Thursday said it would cut more than 20% of its 29,000-strong workforce due to a bleak international travel outlook due to border closures associated with the coronavirus outbreak.

Virgin Australia has a smaller international business than Qantas and is more exposed to the domestic market, where some state travel restrictions are being lifted and airlines are adding capacity.
(TNS)  Clark County Schools Superintendent Jesus Jara said coming up with a plan to safely reopen campuses following coronavirus closures will be challenging on many fronts, especially because of the unknowns with the budget. A proposal , which calls for $84.6 million in additional funding for transportation, technology, personal protective gear and more, will be discussed today during a Clark County School Board meeting.The plan is on track to be approved July 9, although a special session of the Nevada Legislature to address a statewide budget shortfall of $1.27 billion could impact funding.When you really look at the time my principals need to be able to open schools, its late, Jara said.The proposal for elementary-school students includes in-person learning for half of a schools students on Monday and Tuesday, and the other half on Thursday and Friday. Wednesdays would be reserved for deep cleaning.Once the plan is approved, families will work directly with the school to select the block that best suits their schedules. Remote learning would occur on the other three days of the week. A third cohort of students could avoid campus altogether, opting for virtual instruction only.Jara said the district will provide Chromebooks for students without devices through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which provided $31 billion in emergency funding for schools across the country.When schools suddenly closed in March out of virus concerns, many Las Vegas children faced connectivity issues and were left behind.Am I confident that well have the CARES Act dollars? Absolutely. Will we be able to get them here? Thats supply and demand, he said.The Nevada Department of Education on Wednesday gave guidance on how to reopen safely and efficiently, including plans to identify children who cant get online, required check-ins with an instructor and criteria for attendance. Each districts plan has to the approved by the department.Our top priority is to promote high-quality and accessible learning opportunities for all students  without regard to means, ability, or at-home support  while ensuring the health and safety of students, staff and communities, said Jhone Ebert, superintendent of public instruction, in a statement.Receiving guidance one day before the school board meeting, and when the CCSD proposal was already published, didnt sit well with Jara, he said. Theyve been busy for months coming up with a plan and needed earlier guidance, he said.My elementary school principals and my middle school principals are not on contract and theyre out for the summer. And now we have to go and retool our schools, without any answers from the executive branch, Jara said.The plan would push the start of the school year to Aug. 24. Teachers would report back 10 days earlier before students return to receive training. Of course, this is if the state stays in its current reopen phase, as the infections have spiked over the past week and Gov. Steve Sisolak could tighten restrictions to return to exclusively remote learning.John Vellardita, executive director of the Clark County Education Association, said the school district will probably have to alter reopening plans after budget cuts, which wont be known until a special session of the Nevada Legislature in July.The district is in a catch-22. The governor has ordered schools to be reopened. Were less than eight weeks away from the start of a new school year. We dont know what the revenue will be coming into the school district, Vellardita said.
WATERLOO REGION  Hospitals in Waterloo Region are allowing visitation by care partners for a list of patients that include those nearing end of life.

The new protocol came into effect at Cambridge Memorial Hospital and St. Marys General Hospital on Wednesday. Grand River Hospital expects to launch the program at its Kitchener location next week.

Care partners, as defined by Cambridge Memorial in an internal staff email, are individuals identified by patients as being essential for their well-being, whose presence enhances their stay and contributes positively to their overall healing process. By contrast, visitors are people wanting to provide well wishes. Visitors are not yet allowed to come into the hospital.

General visitation is still not permitted.

St. Marys General is allowing for select patients to name up to two care partners, though only one will be allowed in the building at one time.

Eligible patients include those who are critically ill, receiving palliative care or are terminally ill and nearing end of life. Parents of children under the age of 18 will also be permitted.

Under the St. Marys General guidelines, care partners will assist with meals, mobility and personal care; supply communication assistance with hearing, visual, speech, cognitive, intellectual or memory impairment; provide assistance for persons with disabilities; give emotional support and help in decision-making.

Hospital-provided personal protective equipment will be required at all times.

Care partners are not visitors, the guidelines read. Care partners are expected to be actively involved in a patients care for any of the reasons listed above. As such, the care partners stay should be limited to 2 hours (extenuating circumstances can be approved by the health care team).

A care partners involvement may be re-evaluated if a patients condition or situation improves and the patient no longer meets the criteria.

And in the event of a future outbreak, access may be re-evaluated.

Cheryl Evans, spokesperson for Grand River, said Friday it has started working with small groups of patients at its Freeport campus this week, which has areas that can accommodate visitors.

Patients have been asked to identify one care partner visitor with whom we can schedule hospital visits, she said. This started this week. We are planning to initiate the same process at our K-W Campus this coming week. We are proceeding cautiously, by appointment, and with infection prevention and control protocols in place to support the health and wellness of all.

Meanwhile, she said, the hospital is currently working on updating its visitor guidelines and hopes to share more information soon.

Allowing visitors back in the hospital is determined by Ministry guidance and many other factors including the number of community COVID cases, the volume of patients in hospital, the needs of each specific hospital program, the ability of visitors and patients to physically distance and access to supplies, such as masks, to support visitors, patients and staff.
NEW DELHI - India neared half a million confirmed coronavirus cases Friday with its biggest 24-hour spike of 17,296 new infections, prompting a delay in resumption of regular train services of more than a month.

The new cases took Indias total to 490,401. The Health Ministry also reported 407 more deaths in the previous 24 hours, taking its total fatalities to 15,301.

The ministry said the recovery rate was continuing to improve at 57.43%. Also, deaths per 100,000 stood at 1.86 against the world average of 6.24 per 100,000, it said.

The actual numbers of infections and deaths from COVID-19, like elsewhere in the world, are thought to be far higher due to a number of reasons including limited testing.

Indian Railways was due to resume regular train service on June 30 but said Thursday that it wouldnt fully resume until Aug. 12. Trains were halted when the government declared a nationwide lockdown in late March. Special trains linking main cities have been running since mid-May as part of an easing of the lockdown.

Domestic flights have resumed on selected routes, but a government decision on restarting international flights is expected next month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to strictly observe social distancing and wear face masks, saying such precautions are the only option available until a vaccine is developed.

In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:

 Australia reported 37 new cases, including 30 in Victoria state, where health authorities are scrambling to contain an outbreak. Authorities said they tested 20,000 people after going door-to-door in Melbourne suburbs Thursday in their attempts to stamp out the virus. In Sydney, a 12-year-old student tested positive, forcing the closure of his school for cleaning. New Zealand, meanwhile, reported one new virus case from a returning traveller. New Zealand has 14 active cases, all of them returning travellers who remain quarantined.

 South Korea reported 39 new cases, mostly from the Seoul metropolitan area where officials have been struggling to stem transmissions. South Korea was considered an anti-virus success story after containing an outbreak during February and March surrounding the southeastern city of Daegu. However, the country has been seeing an uptick in new infections since authorities moved to ease social distancing guidelines and reopen schools starting in May. The update from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday brought national totals to 12,602 cases, including 282 deaths. Twelve of the new cases were linked to international arrivals.

 China reported a further decline in new cases Friday, with 13. Eleven were in Beijing, where mass testing has been done following an outbreak that appears to have been largely brought under control. The other two cases were brought by Chinese travellers from overseas, according to the National Health Council. This months outbreak in Beijing has seen 260 people infected, leading authorities to lock down some communities and cancel classes. Since then, 3 million test samples have been taken from 2.43 million people.

 Japans capital confirmed 54 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, a level which is raising concerns about the possible need for additional cautionary steps. Japan lifted a seven-week state of emergency in late May, and social and business activity has since largely resumed. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said the daily increase in cases is rather high, but the citys hospitals and medical systems have not been overwhelmed. Most of Fridays new cases were people in their 20s and 30s, Koike said. She said many recent cases are linked to workplaces and nightclubs. Tokyo has reported 5,997 cases and 325 deaths, about one-third the national total.
Dublin commuters in the city centre yesterday were overwhelmingly in support of a proposal for mandatory face masks for people using public transport.

Edita Gutaitiene: "I use the Luas every day and I wear a face mask. I think everybody should, especially if there are going to be more people allowed on public transport.

"I would feel more comfortable if everyone was wearing a face covering. I have noticed that on the Luas people are sitting in the seats which are sectioned-off as the trams get full. It is a bit scary because they are not supposed to use those seats.

"I don't have a choice in using public transport. I have to use it to get to the city from Stillorgan."

Siobhan Farrell: "I'm a regular Luas user, and it wouldn't matter to me if I had to wear a face mask if it kept everyone safe. I sometimes wear one, but if it was a situation where I couldn't use the Luas without one then I would wear one."

Kauany Abreu: "I wear a face mask every day on the Luas, and I wish everybody would. I see a lot of people using face masks in Ireland, which is good, but they should all wear them on public transport.

"I do feel at risk if there are people on the Luas not wearing them, and I do see people using the seats that have signs on them telling passengers they are not in use. I would get off a tram instead of sitting in one of those seats."

Barry Byrne: "I live in the city and use the Luas every day, and I think everybody should wear a face mask. I wear one and I've taught my kids to use them too.

"I'm not happy with the number being allowed on Luas trams and sitting in seats they shouldn't be in. I tell people to move. I'd be happier if everybody wore a cover on their face."

Eamon Rice: "I use the bus regularly. I have the free pass, and I would agree that everyone on public transport should wear a face mask. I usually wear a mask and gloves too, it makes sense. I would agree with a policy that makes face masks mandatory."

Shannon Monko and her mother Linda: "We travelled in from Ashbourne on Bus Eireann and it was the first time on a bus in a long time. There was hardly anybody on it, but I had a face mask with me as a precaution," said Shannon.

"Anyone can get coronavirus so I think a rule to make everyone wear a mask on public transport would be a good one, especially if more people are going to be allowed on buses and trains. I'd feel safer."
Iraqi counterterrorism forces detained 14 members of the militia, including one man they said had been involved with previous rocket attacks and was believed to be planning another.

The armed groups, which were formed as volunteer militias to help fight the Islamic State in 2014, became national heroes in that war, which ended in 2018. Since then, many have proved an invaluable ballast to the governments security forces, but a few have presented serious problems.

Of the more than 20 militias, only a handful have close ties to Iran. But those groups, including Khataib Hezbollah, have become the most powerful. Most have political wings in the Iraqi Parliament where they often push Irans interests.

Since 2017, the militias have been regularized and they now receive salaries, weapons and training from the Iraqi government.

They ostensibly report to the prime minister but in practice maintain a great deal of independence. The legal status of some of these groups is murky because they are at once part of the governments security forces, but also flout Iraqi law.

Irans close ties to the militias as well as to Iraqs previous political leaders inhibited efforts to move against the groups when they attacked Iraqi forces and the Green Zone. The powerlessness of the Iraqi government in the face of the Khataib Hezbollah was clear in January when several thousand militia members marched on the Green Zone after the United States bombed Khataib Hezbollah bases in western Iraq.

Members of the group vandalized the wall surrounding the U.S. Embassy and set fire to some of the embassy guard posts. The prime minister then, Adel Abdul Mahdi, was slow to use force to protect the embassy, and the militia members left only after he promised to push legislation expelling the American military.
Dr Priyamvada Gopal sparked a backlash after tweeting: "White Lives Don't Matter". (Churchill College Cambridge)

A controversial tweet by a Cambridge University professor saying White lives dont matter has been deleted by Twitter, she has claimed.

Professor Priyamvada Gopal, a fellow of Churchill College, sparked a backlash after she posted the tweet saying: Ill say it again. White Lives Dont Matter. As white lives.

Since posting, the professor has received death threats and abuse, while a petition was launched demanding that she be fired by Cambridge University.

It comes after a banner reading White Lives Matter was flown over the Etihad Stadium in Manchester just after kick-off between Manchester City and Burnley on Monday night, sparking a police investigation.

A controversial tweet by Dr Priyamvada Gopal has been deleted by Twitter, she has confirmed. (SWNS)

Prof Gopal later confirmed that the tweet had been deleted by Twitter, but said she stood by it as it was about structure and ideology rather than people.

She wrote: I would also like to make clear I stand by my tweets, now deleted by Twitter, not me.

They were very clearly speaking to a structure and ideology, not about people. My Tweet said whiteness is not special, not a criterion for making lives matter. I stand by that.

Read more: Black Lives Matter: Pictures show scale of demonstrations around the world

The academic and activist also shared abuse she had been received both publicly and privately following the tweet.

One person replied saying she was disgusting inside and out, and, [i]f you dont like white people, pack up your sh*t and go home. Problem solved.

Other examples included: ...On another note, kill yourself. Else someone might show you which lives really Matter :)

Why would you want to abolish whiteness anyway, weve given you everything you own, without us youd still be chasing Bush meat with a blowpipe.

Dr Gopal says she stands by the tweet because it was about ideology, not people. (Twitter)

Prof Gopal, who revealed on Thursday that she had been promoted to full Professorship in the English department, was defended by Cambridge University as well as by the University and College Union (UCU).

In a statement, Cambridge University said: The university defends the right of its academics to express their own lawful opinions, which others might find controversial.

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[It] deplores in the strongest terms abuse and personal attacks. These attacks are totally unacceptable and must cease.

The Cambridge branch of the University and College Union (UCU) wrote: Solidarity with Priyamvada Gopal - being targeted with vile sexist and racist abuse for speaking up against white supremacists.

We are proud to be your colleagues both on the picket line and off it. #BlackLivesMatter #Solidarity.

However, the universitys support of Prof Gopal has been criticised by some as inconsistent, with some pointing to the recent removal of Noah Carl from a research position at St Edmunds college over links with far right extremist groups.
Joe Biden said on Thursday that if he were president, he would mandate that every American wear a mask in public to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

In an interview with KDKA, the CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, the presumptive Democratic nominee said he would attempt to leverage federal power to mandate mask wearing.

"The one thing we do know is these masks make a gigantic difference," he said. "I would insist that everybody out in public be wearing that mask. Anyone to reopen would have to make sure that they walked into a business that had masks."

When asked whether that meant using executive actions to try to require such actions, Biden said he would use the power of the office.

"Yes, I would," he said. "From an executive standpoint, yes, I would."

Asked if that meant he would be effectively mandating that all Americans wear a mask, he responded by saying, "I would do everything possible to make it required that people had to wear masks in public."

These comments highlight another major difference between Biden and President Donald Trump, who has refused to wear a mask himself and has often downplayed the importance of doing so. During the interview, Biden was standing eight feet from the reporter, and he had his mask on.

Biden said he has a hard time imagining himself being sworn in as president in a mask, but he said the crowd on the Capitol steps might be more spread out.

Biden said he would probably accept the Democratic nomination in August to an empty room.

"I can't say for sure, but it's probable that will be the case," he said.

Biden said he can't imagine having large indoor rallies like the one Trump had in Tulsa over the weekend. He also said it seemed unlikely that he would return to doing any rallies anytime soon.

"If the virus were under control and moved and we had like we've talked about a vaccine, and we had ways in which to make sure this was not being transmitted, then yes," he said. "But I don't see that happening."

The remarks came during a day in which Biden held an event in Lancaster, Pa., where he talked about the Affordable Care Act and ridiculed Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The president is bizarre," Biden said in a separate interview with WGAL, the NBC affiliate in Lancaster. "We left behind a pandemic office. We warned them about - as early as January, the middle of January, I was saying a pandemic is coming. We should be prepared."

During the interview, Biden said he had not decided whether his running mate would be a black woman.

"I have not made that judgment, because we have just started now the deep dive in doing the background checks, that go into the thorough background of everyone," he said. "It takes six to eight weeks to get done. And there are a number of African American women that are being considered, as well as Hispanic, as well as Caucasian."

He demurred when asked how many people were on his short list.

"I don't have a short list yet," he responded.
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Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Dublin, Ireland  Fri, June 26, 2020 09:50 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661cc1e2 2 World Ireland,coronavirus,coronavirus-restrictions,COVID-19,COVID-19-lockdown,COVID-19-travel-ban,COVID-19-travel-restriction,COVID-19-quarantine,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus,COVID-19-lockdown-easing Free

Ireland plans to lift from July 9 a 14-day quarantine for people arriving from countries that have also suppressed the coronavirus, acting prime minister Leo Varadkar said on Thursday.

Ireland will produce a "green list" of countries where the 14-day quarantine will not apply by the July 9 resumption date, Varadkar told a news conference, approving Ireland's move to the third of the four-phase plan for reopening its economy.

Varadkar said the list of countries and criteria for so-called "air bridges" would be coordinated at an EU-level but also cautioned prospective holiday-makers that the list would be reviewed and may change every two weeks.

Ireland has reported an average of nine coronavirus cases a day for the past seven days, representing the biggest drop in new cases across the European Union over the last two weeks, Health Minister Simon Harris said.

So far, 1,727 people have died in Ireland from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Asked if the quarantine measures would remain in place with Britain, Varakdar said that while the incidence of the disease seemed to be going in the right direction there, its larger neighbor would not currently meet the criteria.

"That's going to depend on the numbers but at the moment the incidence is very high in Great Britain, so if it was today, we would not be removing the 14-day requirement. We'll see where we stand on July 9," he said.

Varadkar made clear that the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland would remain open as it has been throughout the pandemic.
Friday, June 26, 2020

Docufraud Canada

Forensic Examination services continue for handwriting analysis, signature verification and examination of forged and fraudulent documents

Handwriting expert necessary to determine legitimacy of a fraudulent document  Dwayne Strocen

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, June 26, 2020 / EINPresswire.com / -- Dwayne Strocen, President of Docufraud Canada www.docufraudcanada.ca/ ) says Provinces have begun the gradual re-opening of courts for both civil and criminal proceedings. As this opening resumes across the country, an enormous backlog of cases present new challenges.

During this time of stay-at-home and work-from-home orders, the judicial system has not ground to a complete stop. Legal matters continue to be filed, attorneys continue to prepare for court and document examiners continue to examine allegations of fraudulent documents, signature forgeries and contested wills including holographic wills.

Problem one says Strocen, is how to keep people safe. Many jurisdictions will be enhancing their use of video conferencing. One source revealed that while video conferencing is not new, the judicial system faces enormous cost outlay for purchase and installment of the technology.

The COVID-19 experience also requires that plexiglass screening is likely to be installed to protect staff, attorneys, litigants and members of the jury. While all of this is likely to be similar across each Province, there will also be differences.

One aspect that will not change is the basic rule of law, particularly as it pertains to the use of forensic experts. Docufraud Canada employs fully accredited examiners who are specialists in handwriting analysis, signature verification and the examination of altered documents.

Docufraud Canada is no different in that we continue to review documents, and prepare for court either in the presentation of our notarized reports or simply to confirm the legitimacy of a document or signature. Dwayne Strocen also notes the increase in matters related to employment contracts. This is a time where employment stress is compounded by layoffs and general uncertainty.

Our work continues and presenting a winning legal strategy is not dependent on chance or a winning smile. It is won by presenting all of the evidence in a manner that is clear and concise. Docufraud continues to represent Canadians in a variety of matters and we can do so for you.

About Docufraud Canada:

We are a Canadian company and one of Canadas premiere certified and court appointed forensic examiners. Our examiners have many hours of court experience and our forensic reports have been court recognized in all provinces throughout Canada and the U.S.A. In addition, our forensic reports have been accepted and recognized by the courts in Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Turks & Caicos, India, Iran, Pakistan, Poland and others.

Contact Information
Irish exploration company United Oil and Gas plans to lower its exposure to the UK market as part of a refocusing on its three main geographical areas of interest of Egypt, Italy and Jamaica.

The company, which is headed by former Tullow Oil executives Brian Larkin and Jonathan Leather, is looking to sell its interest in the Wessex Basin suite of licences in Britain, the main elements of which are the offshore Colter field and the onshore Waddock Cross licence. In all, United has a stake of between 10% and 26% across five licences in the Wessex Basin.
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Republican lawmakers urged people to wear face masks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus as the number of infections spiked but President Donald Trump again refused to don one, going bare faced at a White House event on Friday afternoon.

'Dick Cheney says WEAR A MASK. #realmenwearmasks,' tweeted Republican House member Liz Cheney along with a photo of her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, wearing a blue face mask and a white cowboy hat.

And Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell added his voice to the chorus of those urging people to wear the masks.

At a press conference in his home state of Kentucky, McConnell held up a face mask and told people: 'Until we find a vaccine, these are really important. This is not as complicated as a ventilator, and this is a way to indicate that you want to protect others.'

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell added his voice to the chorus of those urging people to wear the masks - the Kentucky Republican wears a mask in the hallways of the Capitol

President Donald Trump has refused to wear a face mask and was bare faced at a White House event on Friday afternoon

Ivanka Trump wore a face mask when she left her home in Washington D.C. on Friday morning

Vice President Mike Pence did not wear a face mask during Friday's Coronavirus Task Force meeting although fellow task force members Dr. Deborah Birx, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar did

McConnell did not mention President Trump by name but did say: 'I see various events on TV in which people are clearly not wearing masks, not taking this seriously, and not doing others a favor.'

The Senate leader wears a mask in the hallways of the Capitol.

'We need to get past that in order to not only protect ourselves but our friends and colleagues and others until we get to a vaccine,' he added.

Trump, meanwhile, went without one when he signed an executive order modernizing the American work face during a White House event on Friday. The president spoke to the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board roundtable, which includes his daughter Ivanka Trump, who serves as an adviser to the president.

Ivanka Trump arrived at the event wearing a mask but took it off before she sat down.

The debate over wearing a face mask intensified on Friday as the coronavirus infection rate rose across the United States by at least 39,818 on Thursday, marking the worst day since the virus first hit the U.S. Red states in the South - like Texas, Florida and Arizona - have been some of the worst hit.

Vice President Mike Pence and the White House Coronavirus Task Force held their first public briefing since April. Pence did not wear a mask during the times he wasn't at the podium although fellow task force members Dr. Deborah Birx, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar did.

Trump, meanwhile, has doubled down on claiming the soaring numbers are simply the result of more testing - which his own experts, led by Dr. Tony Fauci, say is simply untrue.

Throughout the pandemic, Trump has resisted wearing a face mask, despite CDC recommendations. He was captured wearing one during a Ford factory tour in Michigan in May but that image was captured back stage. Trump had removed the covering when he went out to face the media.

He also abruptly canceled his planned trip Friday to his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course for a weekend golfing, although the White House claimed it had nothing to do with the quarantine order he state has in place for anyone who has been to a spiking state - which includes Trump, thanks to his trip to Arizona for a rally earlier this week.

Now his own senators are suggesting it's time for the president to set an example.

'I'd prefer he do it. He's not going to. You know he's not going to do it,' said Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio. 'I'm not excusing it obviously. I prefer him wear one because people follow an example.'

Rubio said masks should be worn out of 'respect for other people' so no one is inadvertently infected. But, he acknowledged, 'the president obviously lives in a bubble. It's a very different situation.'

Republican senators are urging President Donald Trump to wear a face mask to set an example as coronavirus cases rise across the country

Florida Republican Senators Marco Rubio (left) and Rick Scott (middle) have encouraged the wearing of face masks as coronavirus cases rise in their state and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina (right), a close ally of President Trump's, said masks should be worn - although he admitted the president was unlikely to do so

President Donald Trump has resisted wearing a face mask in public although he was caught wearing one backstage during a Ford factory tour in Michigan in May

The U.S. mortality rate of 5.5 per cent - 124,415 deaths from 2,242,312 cases - is below that in many European countries but by no means exceptionally low, with even hard-hit countries such as Brazil and Russia seeing a lower rate

Rubio's fellow Republican senator from Florida, Rick Scott, also encouraged mask wearing.

'We haven't beat it. We've got to wear masks. We've got to social distance. You got to get more information out,' he said, adding: 'I hope everyone takes it seriously because we haven't beat this.'

Florida reported 5,004 new infections in a single day Thursday - a day after its one-day record of 5,508 reported on Wednesday.

The death toll last night rose to 124,415 after another 751 deaths in 24 hours while several states including Florida and Texas are seeing an alarming rise in cases.

The U.S. mortality rate of 5.5 per cent - 124,415 deaths from 2,242,312 cases - is below that in many European countries but by no means exceptionally low, with even hard-hit countries such as Brazil and Russia seeing a lower rate.

But Trump ignored the soaring numbers and instead declared on Twitter that 'our Economy is roaring back and will NOT be shut down' and that any remaining 'embers' or 'flare-ups' of virus cases would be 'put out, as necessary.'

Speaking to his Fox News ally Sean Hannity last night, Trump defended his response to the coronavirus pandemic, claiming that his border wall with Mexico is working to stop further spread and doubling down on branding it the China plague.

The Democrats want to open borders, even if you just look at the virus that were talking about, look at San Diego where we built that wall - it would be infecting lives like nobodys ever seen before,' he said.

Trump said that the United States has one of the best coronavirus mortality rates in the world, despite it being the country with the highest death toll, and said that it was down to a high level of testing.

'So we have more cases, because we do the greatest testing. If we didn't do testing, we'd have no cases. Other countries they don't test millions,' Trump told the host.

'If we didn't do tests, we'd look great. But, it's the right thing to do.'

The senators' concern came as a slew of new polls showed Trump behind his Democratic rival Joe Biden in several battleground states that are key in November's election. And Republican lawmakers fear if the president loses, he may take the party's majority in the Senate down with him.

Even Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close ally of President Trump's, said masks should be worn - although he admitted the president was unlikely to do so.

'Well you know, he's got his own view of whether or not he should wear a mask,' Graham said of Trump, 'but my advice to people is if you're around strangers, try to stay six feet, wear a mask.'

Nearly 9 in 10 Americans - 89 per cent - said they wore a face mask or a face covering when they left their homes in the past week, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll, up 20 points since the last time the question was asked in mid-April.

Trump did not wear a face mask during the taping of his Fox News townhall on Thursday in Wisconsin, despite the network requiring attendees to do do.

He also did not wear one at his first campaign rally in four months in Tulsa on Saturday - where several members of his advance team tested positive for coronavirus.

And he didn't wear one Tuesday in Arizona when he spoke to nearly 3,000 students. Most attendees at the Tulsa and Phoenix events did not wear masks either.

Coronavirus cases are on the rise in all three states Trump has visited in the past week.

Additionally, the Senate will soon begin debate on another big coronavirus relief measure, a legislative package that could come before November's election.

President Donald Trump did not wear a face mask at his campaign rally in Tulsa (left) on Saturday; nor did he wear one when he spoke to students in Phoenix on Tuesday (right)

President Trump did not wear a face mask during the taping of his Fox News townhall on Thursday in Wisconsin, despite the network requiring attendees to do do

A Trump supporter going to Thursday's town hall in Green Bay checks in before going inside

Republican lawmakers also encouraged more testing - a move that came as the Trump administration plans to end federal funding for 13 coronavirus testing sites.

Seven of those centers are in Texas and the state's Republican senators - John Cornyn and Ted Cruz - expressed outrage at the move.

'I think it's clear to all of us, that with the uptick of cases, now is not a time to retreat from our vigilance in testing,' Cornyn said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

Texas recorded yet another bleak milestone Thursday, as it beat its own record for new daily infections for the third day running, reaching almost 6,000 cases.

The state reported 5,996 new cases in a single day, up from 5,551 and 5,489 in the previous two days.

Texas - along with New Mexico, Arizona and Florida - all pledged to pause their reopenings as the virus rates in those states spiked.

Graham also advocated for more testing. His home state of South Carolina is seeing a rise in coronavirus infections.

'I just think we need to do more testing, not less,' he said.

Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services countered the testing sites would not be shut down - they would simply be funded by the states instead of the federal government.

The Trump administration plans to end federal funding for 13 coronavirus testing sites

President Trump was in Wisconsin on Thursday to tout his economic record; his focus has been on the economy instead of the coronavirus in recent weeks

And Republican Senator Mike Braun of Indiana shrugged off the administration's decision, arguing states and private companies would fill any testing gap.

'Testing is going to plow forward because that's a function of companies wanting to do it and state and local governments. So that's not going to make a difference anyway. People are going to test to the extent they want to, and there are plenty of them available now,' he said.

Trump, at his rally in Tulsa on Saturday, said he told his people to 'slow the testing down, please,' in order for the U.S. to have lower COVID-19 case numbers.

The White House tried to walk back his remarks after criticism poured in at Trump's suggestion he ordered less testing for the virus.

On Sunday, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on CNN the president was simply being 'tongue in cheek,' and on Monday White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said he was speaking 'in jest.'

But on Tuesday, Trump told reporters, 'I don't kid,' and continued to push his claim that there are spikes in states - including Texas - because the country is performing more tests.

The president, however, has turned his focus from the coronavirus to the economy, pushing for the country to reopen and focusing his day trips out of the White House on economic matters.

On Thursday he visited the Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin to brag about a new $5.5 billion contract it was awarded to build ships for the Navy.

'It's gonna be built right here in the American heartland and it's going to be built by you. And it's going to go on for a long time because it's up to 20 ships and might be extended,' he said.
The United States Department of Justice yesterday sentenced a 22-year-old Washington-based hacker to 13 months in federal prison for his role in creating botnet malware, infecting a large number of systems with it, and then abusing those systems to carry out large scale distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against various online service and targets.According to court documents,, a resident of Vancouver, and his criminal associatesAaron Sterritt and Logan Shwydiukcreated multiple DDoS botnet malware since at least August 2017 and used them to enslave hundreds of thousands of home routers and other Internet-connected devices worldwide.Dubbed Satori, Okiru, Masuta, and Tsunami or Fbot, all these botnets were the successors of the infamous IoT malware Mirai , as they were created mainly using the source code of Mirai, with some additional features added to make them more sophisticated and effective against evolving targets.Even after the original creators of the Mirai botnet were arrested and sentenced in 2018 , many variants emerged on the Internet following the leak of its source code online in 2016.According to a press release published by the Department of Justice, thought the primary aim was to earn money by renting other cybercriminals access to their botnet networks, Schuchman and his hacking team themselves used the botnet to conduct DDoS attacks.In late 2017, CheckPoint researchers spotted Mirai variant Satori exploiting a zero-day RCE vulnerability (CVE-2017-17215) in Huawei HG532 devices that infected more than 200,000 IP addresses in just 12 hours.The report linked the malware to a hacker using the online alias 'Nexus Zeta,' who turned out Kenneth Currin Schuchman after the FBI's investigation."Cybercriminals depend on anonymity, but remain visible in the eyes of justice," said U.S. Attorney Schroder. "Today's sentencing should serve as a reminder that together with our law enforcement and private sector partners, we have the ability and resolve to find and bring to justice those that prey on Alaskans and victims across the United States.""Cyber-attacks pose serious harm to Alaskans, especially those in our more remote communities. The increasing number of Internet-connected devices presents challenges to our network security and our daily lives," said Special Agent in Charge Robert W. Britt of the FBI's Anchorage Field Office."The FBI Anchorage Field Office will continue to work tirelessly alongside our partners to combat those criminals who use these devices to cause damage globally, as well as right here in our own neighborhoods."Schuchman and his associates Sterritt, a 20-year-old U.K national, also known as "Vamp," or "Viktor" and Shwydiuk, a 31-year-old Canadian national, also known as "Drake," have also been charged for their roles in developing and operating these botnets to conduct DDoS attacks.Schuchman has been sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess after he pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and related activity in connection with computers, in violation of the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act.Schuchman has also been ordered to serve a term of 18 months of community confinement and drug treatment, following his release from prison and a three-year term of supervised release.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 10:47:13|Editor: huaxia

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A security agent (front) observes a village under COVID-19 lockdown in Kigali, Rwanda, June 26, 2020. The Rwandan Ministry of Local Government has ordered residents in some parts of the capital Kigali to stay at home in a 15-day lockdown starting from Thursday evening to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the city. (Photo by Cyril Ndegeya/Xinhua)

KIGALI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Rwandan Ministry of Local Government has ordered residents in some parts of the capital Kigali to stay at home in a 15-day lockdown starting from Thursday evening to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the city.

The decision affecting residents in six villages was based on a health analysis. Only people who seek health services or move for other urgent reasons can go out, and workers in both government and private institutions in the affected areas were asked to work from home, the ministry said Thursday in a statement.

The ministry warned that the lockdown could be reinstated in other areas of Kigali in case a health assessment requires to do so.

The country has reported new COVID-19 cases for days. The health ministry reported 20 new cases on Thursday, including four in Kigali, bringing the national count to 850.
Tax policies for FDI should be revised to prevent tax avoidance and evasion. - bizjournals.com

Thats according to the Vietnam Institute for Economics and Policy Research (VEPR) who say it is necessary to ensure companies pay correct taxes.

In the recent Vietnam Annual Economic Report 2020 themed Consolidating the base for fiscal policy, VEPR pointed out that corporate income tax (CIT) avoidance and evasion was a global phenomenon that took place particularly in multinational companies.

Tax avoidance exploited gaps in customs and tax regulations to reduce payable taxes. Tax evasion was illegal acts so that tax liabilities were not required.

There are many channels of tax evasion and avoidance, including transfer mispricing, strategic location of intellectual properties, international debt shifting, tax treaty shopping, tax deferral, and corporate inversions.

Industry 4.0 or the digital economy produces new business models that reduce the physical presence of businesses, while increasing the importance and mobility of intangible assets and increasing the integration of the value chain, therefore creating great challenges for the international tax system, the report wrote.

According to VEPR, countries around the world were making great efforts to prevent tax avoidance and tax evasion with a series of tax system reforms, focusing on tightening regulations or increasing tax transparency.

In Vietnam, tax violations in recent years occurred not only in corporate income tax (CIT) but also in other taxes.

The act of tax fraud is becoming more and more complex, the scope is wider, the scale is bigger and the tricks are increasingly sophisticated, VEPR stated.

VEPR estimated that on average, in the period of 2013-17, the tax revenue loss due to tax avoidance and evasion each year ranged from VND13.3 trillion (US$573 million) to VND20.7 trillion, equivalent to between 6.4 per cent and 9.9 per cent of the total CIT revenue.

These estimated figures were about four times larger than the number detected annually by the management agency agencies, according to VEPR.

For the FDI sector, the estimated annual tax revenue loss could reach VND8-9 trillion and V10.5 trillion for the non-State sector.

VEPR said Vietnam would improve the existing policies and develop policies that were widely applied and recommended by developed countries and international organisations.

Gradually tightening the ceiling of tax deductible interest exposes companies with related party transactions and prevents tax base erosion and thin capital should be put into consideration, it said.

Excessive tax incentives should be abolished while a database for tax administration purposes should be improved together with enhancing information exchanges with other countries.

Focus should also be placed on tax administration regulations for e-commerce, digital-based business, and other services performed by suppliers in foreign countries without permanent establishments in Vietnam.

According to Vietnam Tax Consultants Association, it was necessary to improve the capacity of tax officials and auditors. The incentive policies for FDI must be revised to not only ensure a favourable business climate but also prevent tax avoidance and evasion.

Statistics of the Foreign Investment Agency showed there were more than 32,000 valid FDI projects in Vietnam as of May 20 with a total registered capital of $376.6 billion.
In Southwest Colorado, a new vehicle is now available for search and rescue crews to use for their operations that take place in the deep backcountry.

According to a report by the Durango Herald, the new vehicle is a former military truck that has been modified to ride on the tracks of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Check out the truck here.

More Recreation Leads To More Rescues

The Animas River Canyon has recreation rising, which leads to an increase in the need for emergency rescues on the far stretch of isolated backcountry. The remote backcountry has little access routes excluding the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad locomotives that travel to Silverton from the Rockwood Station, which is around 18 miles north from Durango.

Over many years, the Sheriff of San Juan County Bruce Conrad has stated that he has wanted his department to get a vehicle they could run on the railroad tracks. The vehicle could help the rescue crews get to the people who need to be rescued quicker.

The remote backcountry has barely any roads to be seen, which is why it is necessary to have a shortcut so they can access the place with less difficulty.

Fortunately for the San Juan County's Search and Rescue team, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad gave the team a Haflinger military vehicle. The military vehicle is like a miniature Volkswagen bus and it's outfitted so that it can ride on the railroad tracks.

With the military vehicle, the response time of the search and rescue team will be significantly reduced for operations that take place in that region.

Read more here

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Drip irrigation  an effective Israeli invention that helps save water significantly  could be applied in Vietnam, particularly when part of Vietnam was heavily hit by droughts and saline intrusion, Israels agriculture expert said.

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The Israeli agriculture expert Shlomo Kramer tells Vietnamese officers and researchers about the drip irrigation technology through a webinar. Photo courtesy of Israel Embassy in Vietnam

Presenting in a webinar on irrigation and water management on Thursday, the Israeli expert Shlomo Kramer told Vietnamese officers and researchers about the drip irrigation technology, especially the technology applied for saline water, for example those in greenhouses where watermelons, carrots, onions or grapes are grown.

Drip irrigation helped save 80 per cent of water compared with conventional watering techniques, Kramer said.

In Vietnam, the technology can be applied for rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta region which is heavily hit by saline intrusion and water shortage, he said.

Israel and the Mekong Delta region had a common problem of saline intrusion and drip irrigation could help solve the problem as well as ensure sustainable production and development for farmers.

Director of Overseas Programme of Israels Agency for International Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MASHAV) Daniel Zonshine said that the issues of water and salinity intrusion were serious in both Israel and the Mekong Delta.

He said he hoped that drip irrigation technology and Israels experiences would be helpful to Vietnam.

The webinar on Thursday was co-organised by the Israel Embassy to Vietnam, MASHAV and Vietnam Water Resources Sciences Institute. Participants in the webinar included officers of agriculture departments from central and southern provinces of Vietnam like Tay Ninh, Dong Thap, Lam Dong, Binh Phuoc, HCM City, Can Tho and Hau Giang which have experienced severe droughts and saline intrusion since early this year. VNS

Coffee farms see high yields from new trees Coffee farms in Kon Tum Province are producing higher yields from new coffee trees and older trees grafter with young shoots.
Syracuse, N.Y.  The Syracuse Police Department had a banner year in 2011 recruiting Black cops. Nine of the 23 new officers that year  some 39%  were African American.

But the department has not been able to sustain that success. Black officers still represent just 9% of the police force in a city that is 30% Black.

Chief Kenton Buckner on Thursday said that he is looking at ways to change that, but he offered city councilors little hope that the numbers will change quickly.

This is not a very popular profession for Black and brown people,' Buckner said at a Common Council committee meeting.

Of the 109 new officers sworn in since 2018, only 14  or 12.8%  have been African American, according to data the police department presented Thursday. Despite a 40-year-old federal consent decree that enables the city to give preference to minority police candidates, recruiting Black cops has been a challenge, Buckner said.

Out of 427 sworn officers, 37 are Black.

City officials are taking a sweeping look at police practices in the wake of daily protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and similar incidents. Race relations between police and the community are a pressing concern. Mayor Ben Walsh last week issued an executive order with a 16-point reform plan for the police department.

One part of that initiative is to review recruiting and hiring practices with a view toward increasing diversity. Buckner said the department will look at an array of potential changes, such as broadening recruitment to include social workers or English majors in addition to military veterans and corrections officers.

Meanwhile, city officials are fighting a federal effort to dissolve the consent decree, which allows the city to give preference to Black and female candidates. Buckner said the decree has helped him hire African Americans and other minorities.

While were certainly not at the level we would like to be in comparison to (the population of) our city, I think we have seen some incremental improvements,' he said.

Tim Knauss is a public affairs reporter for syracuse.com/The Post-Standard. Contact him anytime: email | Twitter | | 315-470-3023
Last week, Austrias lower house of parliament voted to make Covid vaccines mandatory for almost everyone 18 and over. They did so because they are concerned about the low rate of vaccinated people in their country.

Do you know their vaccination rate is about 71 per cent and they are this concerned? Our rate is just over 48 per cent. In the last couple of days, we have had over 1,000 new cases daily.
T he CEO of the Music Venue Trust, the body representing grassroots music venues in the UK, has slammed the Governments proposed roadmap plan for restarting live concerts.

It comes after Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden outlined a five-step plan, which aims to get in-person performances back up and running in the nations theatres and music venues.

Responding to the plan, Mark Davyd, CEO of the MVT, said: We have consistently told [the] Government that what the culture sector needs is the support to enable them to do what they do best.

We dont need guidance on how to organise creative activity and connect with audiences, this is what our venues do professionally. We need the money to survive the crisis and plan our own route back to full use.

Mr Davyd proposed an alternative five-step plan for the sector. Read it in full below:

"Step 1: Create the sector support financial package that is immediately required so that any sort of grassroots music venue sector survives to require any more steps at all.

"Step 2: Check if you have completed Step 1. If not, keep checking until you have.

"Step 3: Get out of the way of one of the most dynamic and innovative creative industries in the world and let them get on with it.

"Step 4: Continue to receive massive social cultural and economic benefits for decades to come because you got Step 1 right.

"Step 5: Realise this doesnt need five steps, it only needs Step 1."

The MVT has called on the Government to provide a 50m financial aid package, writing an open letter which was signed by more than 550 venues across the country.

Grassroots music venues are particularly at risk during the pandemic. No concrete date has been given by the Government as to when they will be able to welcome audiences again, and many venues are crowdfunding to survive.

The best albums of 2020 so far 1 /14 The best albums of 2020 so far Getty Images Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia Future Nostalgia arrived at the end of March, a ray of light to pierce the lockdown gloom. It was a shot at writing something timeless, taking strands of classic disco and Eighties synth-pop and putting them through a slick, modern filter. On standout tracks such as Dont Start Now and Cool, Dua Lipa hit her target. More than anything though, this was something defiantly fun, a heartening reminder that there are brighter times ahead. Getty Images Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher It would be easy to label Punisher as a sad album, because it is, with heartache and despondency always within an arms reach. But to simply call it that would be to grossly undersell it  the album, also out today, is cathartic, nostalgic, surreal, grounded, darkly comic and, more often than not, weepingly beautiful. The disarming vocals are morbidly quotable (The doctor put her hands over my liver /She told me my resentments getting smaller) and confirm the 25-year-old Bridgers as one of her generations deftest writers. Getty Images for Tibet House Tame Impala - The Slow Rush It took some time to fall in love with Kevin Parkers latest album as Tame Impala. Its layers were dense and meticulously produced, a product of the Australians dogged perfectionism, but when they did eventually unravel, the albums brilliance was revealed in vivid colour. There was squelchy hip-hop and tap-dancing piano on Borderline, alluring sophisto-funk on Breathe Deeper, and dizzying disco on One More Year. Parkers lyrics were typically conflicted, stuck between past and future, but musically, hed never sounded so assured. AFP via Getty Images Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters Fiona Apples fifth album was eight years in the making, and sounded as if it had been simmering for all that time. It was inescapably personal, rattling with homemade percussion, grinding against Apples visceral vocals as she retold traumas of sexual abuse and toxic relationships. But it all coalesced to give momentum to a magnificent release of tension, the sound of a furiously convinced artist. Kick me under the table all you want, she asserted, I wont shut up. Getty Images Run The Jewels - RTJ4 When Killer Mike, one half of Run The Jewels, wrote Walking In The Snow (You so numb, you watch the cops choke out a man like me) he was remembering the tragic death of Eric Garner in 2014. It should have been retrospective; instead, it was hideously prophetic, arriving on RTJ4 amid the George Floyd protests. But these were wide-lens raps  joined by partner El-P, they fired lyrical missiles at the racist police and ruling elite, interspersing it with cutting quips and dark humour. Painful, prescient, and hugely powerful. Getty Images for DIRECTV J Hus - Big Conspiracy Big Conspiracy was the sound of an artist taking his time. The eclectic beats, largely provided by chameleonic producer Jae5, avoided the usual bombast for something understated. The lyrical gaze was sharp, ranging from the legacy of slavery to the grind of everyday life, all of it recounted with clever wordplay. It wouldnt be a Hus album without tales of at least one sexual conquest  the song Cucumber provides it  but all in all, never has the east Londoner been so searingly composed. Getty Images for Nike Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways Bob Dylans 39th studio album, released today, might just be one of his greatest. Before this, eight years had passed without any new original music. Had the old master lulled himself into retirement? The surprise release of a 17-minute song about the JFK assassination did away with any doubts. Its a densely lyrical album, a poetic and historical tapestry, proving that, at 79, the Nobel Prize-winner is still at the peak of his songwriting powers. AFP via Getty Images Georgia - Seeking Thrills Georgias exhilarating second album landed back in January (oh, those halcyon days) and was the sound of an artist brimming with new-found conviction. Arriving five years after her debut, she had finally found her voice  quite literally, shunning the over-produced vocals of before  and a winning musical formula: retro-tinted dance pop, pairing the throbbing echoes of Chicago house with sharp modern melodies. Hollie Fernando Orlando Weeks - A Quickening Former Maccabees frontman Orlando Weeks took a mature step away from his indie-rock past on his debut solo album, supplanting it with soft, cloudy atmospheres. A Quickening covered his impending fatherhood, and all of the unknowingness that comes with it. It was minutely intimate  Ill be your blood sugar, he pledged to the unborn child  with his vocals at their most tender and innocent. Jackson Bowley Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter Another album to ease the pandemic blues, Laura Marling had initially planned an August release, but brought it forward to April. It had an effortlessly classic sound to it  the folky tones of Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake chimed throughout  but this album was undoubtedly Marlings own. Her vocals were soaring, sardonic and soothing, singing with all the wisdom of an artist who, still only 30, now has seven albums worth of experience behind her. Getty Images

Earlier this month, in an interview with the Standard, Mr Dowden said intricate discussions were taking place with Chancellor Rishi Sunak about a long-term financial package, adding: Of course I want to get the money flowing. I am not going to let anyone down.

As yet, the Government is yet to confirm details of this package.
Islamabad: International airline investigators are looking into potentially serious safety lapses in Pakistan's flight industry after the national carrier disclosed a third of its pilots may hold "dubious" flying qualifications.

Pakistan International Airlines said on Thursday it would ground more than 150 pilots after an investigation cast suspicion on their flying licences and certificates, with allegations others had sat the licence exams for them.

Pakistan International Airlines will ground 150 pilots following allegations of falsified credentials. Credit:AP

Abdullah Hafeez, a spokesman for PIA, did not give additional details about the alleged cheating but said a process to fire the pilots had been initiated.

"We will make it sure that such unqualified pilots never fly aircraft again," he said, adding that the safety of passengers was the airline's top priority.
NASCAR racing continues at the Tricky Triangle on Sunday -- but thunderstorms are complicating the busy weekend schedule.

The first Saturday race, the Truck Series Pocono Organics 150, was met with wet weather at the start of the weekend, and was delayed until Sunday at 9:30 a.m. EDT.

Later Saturday afternoon, the first Cup Series race of a rare doubleheader weekend ended up running an hour and a half later than planned due to weather, but the race was still able to be completed.

Dark clouds hover over the spotters for the drivers as the NASCAR Cup Series auto race gets under way at Pocono Raceway, Saturday, June 27, 2020, in Long Pond, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Now three races are scheduled back-to-back on Sunday, leaving little time for weather delays.

No fans will be watching the race from the grandstands or the infield due to COVID-19 restrictions, but fans watching from home may also be watching the weather radar as thunderstorms threaten to throw a wrench in the action-packed end to the weekend.

Sunday's triple header started with the Truck Series and Xfinity series races kicking off on time. Should the Cup Series race go on as scheduled, it will be the first time ever all three race at the same track on the same day.

Forecasters say showers and thunderstorms will once again be around the area, especially during the afternoon hours, potentially delaying the end of the Xfinity race, or Cup series race which is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. EDT, respectively.

A poorly-timed downpour could easily put the skids on racing for a good chunk of the afternoon. It takes a long time to dry the 2.5-mile track after heavy rain, and with no lights at Pocono Raceway, the racing for the day will need to conclude before sunset at 8:38 p.m. EDT.

The temperature will climb to the upper 70s F during the afternoon, with an AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature in the lower to middle 80s.

There is some good news if the Cup Series race is postponed and moved to Monday.

Story continues

Drier conditions are expected to arrive over the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania by Monday, providing much better weather should a race get postponed.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

The Tricky Triangle' is known for having some unusual weather, and drivers and their crews are always prepared for what Mother Nature has to bring.

"We've been in all kinds of weather. Don't get me started about the weather at the track!," Brehanna Daniels told AccuWeather. Daniels is a tire changer and is NASCAR's first African American pit crew member.

Clint Bowyer (33) and Kyle Busch drive side-by-side as they lead the field under dark clouds during a pace lap for the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 auto race Sunday, June 6, 2010, in Long Pond, Pa. The race was delayed by rain. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Although rain is one of the biggest weather factors, Daniels said that there's another element that really makes the job challenging.

"The heat! The worst?!," she told AccuWeather National Reporter Dexter Henry, adding, "it gets real hot out there to the point where if you're not drinking enough water out there, you are going to get dehydrated.".

After the tripleheader at Pocono Raceway, NASCAR will be heading to the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Independence Day weekend.

Conditions look to be much hotter in Indianapolis with the mercury climbing into the upper 80s F and AccuWeather RealFeel Temperatures flirting with triple digits.

Additional reporting by Dexter Henry.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Coronavirus causes mild disease in most children, fatalities rare: Lancet study

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

London, Jun 26: Majority of COVID-19 patients under 18 years old experience a mild disease, and fatalities are extremely rare, according to the first multinational study of 582 children and adolescents.

The study, which included children and adolescents aged from 3 days up to 18 years old, found that although the majority were admitted to hospital, fewer than one in ten patients required treatment in intensive care.

Even asymptomatic COVID-19 patients can contaminate environment: Study

The researchers advise against extrapolating the numbers observed in their study to the wider population. However, they say their findings, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal, should be taken into consideration when planning for demand on intensive care services as the pandemic progresses.

Delhi CM cautions Covid patients, says oxygen drops suddenly in some cases | Oneindia News

"Our study provides the most comprehensive overview of COVID-19 in children and adolescents to date," said Marc Tebruegge, study lead author from University College London (UCL) in the UK "We were reassured to observe that the case fatality rate in our cohort was very low and it is likely to be substantially lower still, given that many children with mild disease would not have been brought to medical attention and therefore not included in this study," Tebruegge said.

"Overall, the vast majority of children and young people experience only mild disease. Nevertheless, a notable number of children do develop severe disease and require intensive care support, and this should be accounted for when planning and prioritising healthcare resources as the pandemic progresses," he said.

The study was carried out from April 1 to 24, during the initial peak of the European COVID-19 pandemic. It involved 82 specialist healthcare institutions across 25 European countries. All of the 582 patients included in the study were confirmed to be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus by a PCR test, the researchers said. They found that the most common symptom reported was fever.

Around half of the patients had signs of upper respiratory tract infection and a quarter had evidence of pneumonia. Gastrointestinal symptoms were reported in around a quarter of the children, 40 of whom did not have any respiratory symptoms, the researchers said. Some 92 children, most of whom were tested due to close contact with a known COVID-19 case, had no symptoms at all, they said.

The vast majority of patients did not require oxygen or any other support to help them breathe at any stage, according to the researchers. Only 25 children needed mechanical ventilation, but when they did need it, that support was typically required for a prolonged period, often for a week or more, they said.

The researchers said robust clinical trial data are urgently needed to help doctors make decisions regarding the best treatment strategy for children under their care. "Although COVID-19 affects children less severely than adults overall, our study shows that there are severe cases in all age groups," said Florian Gotzinger, from Wilhelminenspital in Austria.

"Those who have pre-existing health issues and children under one month of age were more likely to be admitted to intensive care. "Well-designed, randomised controlled studies on antiviral and immunomodulatory drugs in children are needed to enable evidence-based decisions regarding treatment for children with severe COVID-19," Gotzinger said.
Deutsche Lufthansa dodged insolvency. Now Europe's biggest airline faces the arduous task of transforming itself into a leaner carrier to compete in an air-travel market hamstrung by the coronavirus.

The approval of a $10.1 billion (9 billion-euro) German bailout concludes weeks of sometimes rancorous negotiations with the government and follows frenzied speculation in recent days over whether billionaire Heinz Hermann Thiele, Lufthansa's largest shareholder, would scupper the deal. Instead, he backed it.

With the rescue sealed, Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr's next challenge will be a restructuring to reflect a collapse in air travel and the dim prospects for a quick revival, especially on the business routes Lufthansa favors. The airline has said it may have to shrink its fleet by 100 jets and shed some 22,000 of its 140,000 or so employees.

The revamp won't be easy. He'll face resistance from powerful labor unions and work rules that make it hard to cut jobs or pay. And although the government has said it will stay out of management decisions, deep job losses may test that resolve. Unions are already arguing the bailout funds should be used to preserve employment.

"With government aid, jobs and income now have to be secured," said Christine Behle, a member of Lufthansa's supervisory board and chair of the Verdi union for ground staff.

The state will provide loans and equity to the airline after the coronavirus pandemic grounded its fleet and left it burning through cash. Under the rescue, the government will take a steeply discounted 20% stake, returning to the shareholder ranks of the German flag carrier two decades after its privatization.

The approval of the German package opens the door for further aid already promised by Austria and Switzerland for operations in those countries. Belgium is also discussing funding.

The stock has declined 42% this year.

Lufthansa will also have to deal with a total debt load that's set to reach 26 billion euros with the rescue, according to Daniel Roeska, an analyst with Sanford C Bernstein. The airline will have to make tough choices to repay the government by 2023, he said.

CEO Spohr said the company is "aware of our responsibility to pay back the up to 9 billion euros to the taxpayers as quickly as possible."

The company, which previously said it would look at selling its catering arm and a minority of its Lufthansa Technik jet maintenance and refitting division, reassured shareholders Thursday that there would be no fire sales. Even selling aircraft at decent prices may pose a challenge as long as the pandemic lasts.

The airline is also a fighting a rear-guard action by discount carrier Ryanair Holdings Plc, which has argued that the state bailouts of Lufthansa and Air France-KLM confer an unfair advantage that will distort competition in Europe for years to come. Ryanair's combative CEO, Michael O'Leary, last month pledged to challenge the European Commission's approval for the Lufthansa aid.

On Thursday, European Union regulators signed off on the bulk of the package in exchange for Lufthansa making some slots available at its Frankfurt and Munich hubs.

Air France-KLM's Dutch arm will get a 3.4 billion-euro bailout from the Netherlands, Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said in a letter to parliament Friday. That follows a 7 billion-euro aid package for the group from the French state.

German government officials applauded the Lufthansa vote.

"This is very, very good news for the company, the employees and German business," said Finance Minister Olaf Scholz. "Our engagement is temporary. When the company is fit again, the state will sell its stake -- hopefully with a small profit."

Securing a state holding marks a victory for Scholz and Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, who intend for the watershed deal to serve as a model for any future corporate bailouts. The approval also spares the German government the embarrassment of a second insolvency of a high-profile company after payments firm Wirecard AG collapsed this week amid an accounting scandal.

Labor tension was on display when Lufthansa missed a self-imposed June 22 deadline for a pay-cut accord with worker representatives before the shareholder vote.

Late Wednesday, it reached a deal with its cabin crew union that would save around 500 million euros through 2023. In return, Lufthansa pledged not to make redundancies for the duration of the coronavirus crisis. Agreements with the pilot and ground crew unions have yet to be reached.

"If there is a mountain to climb for Lufthansa, today they only reached base camp," Roeska said of the bailout.
Kerala, celebrated as a model for the way it tamed Covid-19 in the initial days of the outbreak, is in the grip of the pandemic again and the government, naturally, is facing tough questions on its testing and containment strategies. With the numbers rising rapidly, the government came up with the idea of insisting on Covid-negative certificates from Keralites returning from abroad, and asked the Centre to arrange for testing through Indian embassies.

But with the Centre expressing its inability to ensure testing in foreign nations and opposition parties turning it into an opportunity to score political points, the state government had to backtrack from its rigid stance and water down the rules. It may have also dawned on the government that the decision defied logic and, hence, was impractical.

Its a fact that the returning expats account for the majority of cases being reported in the state currently, but thats no reason to make it more difficult than it already is for them to come back, especially given the circumstances. Most wanting to return are desperatemany have lost jobs and have no means to survive in a foreign country, and others are sick and unable to get medical attention. Returning could be the difference between life and death for many as, according to reports, close to 300 Keralites have died in West Asia due to Covid-19.

Distressed expats, unable to find seats on the repatriation flights, are even chartering planes, paying money they dont have, in desperate attempts to reach home. The government can ill afford to ignore their plight. The state, as part of its Covid-fighting strategies, is entitled to take all steps it deems necessary to contain the virus, but it is also duty-bound to ensure the well-being of its people, wherever they are. Moreover, it cant make rules that are beyond its jurisdiction to implement. What it can, however, do is ensure testing and enforce strict isolation norms on all who return so that the fight against Covid-19 is not compromised. It should not place impediments in the way of Keralites return because its here that they belong.
The Uttar Pradesh government has told the Allahabad High Court that it will begin using rapid test kits to detect coronavirus across the state as soon as possible. The court issued directions to the state on Thursday, asking it to implement antigen testing in all districts.

The order followed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea seeking a better handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar also asked the UP police chief to ensure wearing of masks and social distancing in the state.

On Tuesday, the state government had said in Lucknow that it has received the antigen test kits and planned to begin using them from Wednesday, focusing on six districts.

During the hearing, Additional Advocate General said the state government has increased the number of tests from 17,000 to 20,000 per day during the past week.

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 government said mohalla committees in Allahabad city are contacting residents to find out if anyone in their families showed any COVID-19 symptoms.

It expressed appreciation for what the state government's efforts to contain coronavirus.

"In the end, we would like to record a word of appreciation for the state of UP and for the district administration for having brought palpable changes within the last one week in the testing, tracking and treatment of COVID-19 patients," it said.

It fixed July 9 as the next date of hearing.

On June 18, the high court had suggested to the state government to conduct mass testing for COVID-19.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here
Pirates are holding captive the captain and crew of a Ghana flagged Tuna Purse Seine vessel they hijacked in Benin waters.



The Ghana News Agency learnt that the vessel, Panofi Frontier, was hijacked at about 1400 hours on Wednesday by suspected Nigerian pirates.



Confirming the incident to the GNA, Mr Charles Nii Amponsah, Acting Head Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Division of the Fisheries Commission, said his outfit received the information that five Koreans and a Ghanaian crew who were on the vessel which was headed to Ghana, had been captured.



Mr Amponsah said the vessel had been forced to sail to an unknown destination and that they were unable to communicate with the crew therefore had limited information on their current circumstances.



He added however that all security agencies in Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria had been placed on alert as the Fisheries Commission and other relevant agencies were making frantic efforts to get to the crew.

Source: GNA









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As Gov. Roy Coopers order requiring face coverings in certain places takes effect, local sheriffs are saying the order cannot be enforced.

On Wednesday, Cooper announced that North Carolina will remain in Safer At Home Phase Two for the next three weeks. He also issued an executive order that requires most people to wear face coverings when in public places where physical distancing is not possible. The order goes into effect at 5 p.m. Friday.

On Thursday night, the Catawba County Sheriffs Office posted a statement on Facebook attributed to Sheriff Don Brown saying the office reviewed the order and determined it to be unenforceable.

We otherwise recognize that this matter, like many facing us, is an emotional issue which has strong opinions on all sides, Brown said via the statement. We encourage all citizens to take the precautions they feel are necessary to protect their families and themselves.

In a follow-up post, Brown said residents should still comply with the order.
A petition was filed before the Supreme Court on Thursday challenging a Kerala law which prohibits animal sacrifice for appeasement of deity in temples and temple precincts.

The petitioners, who are followers of Shakthi worshipping tradition, claimed that appeasing deity through animal sacrifice is an essential religious practice mandated by religious texts and scriptures followed by them and should, therefore, be permitted.

In Shakthi worship as per its scriptures and practices popularly known as pramanas, animal sacrifice is essential and unavoidable for the propitiation of the deity, the petition filed through advocate A Karthik stated.

The law in question, Kerala Animals and Bird Sacrifices Prohibition Act, 1968 (Act), therefore, violates the right to equality guaranteed by Article 14 and the right to practice religion and manage religious affairs under articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, it was submitted.

The Act was earlier challenged before the Kerala high court, which on June 16 dismissed the plea. The Act imposes ban on sacrifice of animals and birds in temples for propitiation of deity and criminalises the same. Violation of the law attracts jail term of upto 3 months and fine of Rs. 300.

A similar case from Tripura concerning validity of animal sacrifice in temples is already pending before the apex court.

The petitioners claimed that the Act violates right to equality because identical practices by other religious communities are not prohibited by the Act.

Further, it was also contended that the Act only penalises killing of animals for propitiation of deity and animal or bird sacrifice for all other purposes including personal consumption within temple precincts is not prohibited.

If the object of the law were to ensure preservation and protection of animals, it would demand its uniform application across all religious communities, the petition stated.

The petitioners also submitted that the law enacted by the central government to prevent cruelty to animals, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960 specifically permits sacrificing animals as ritual in Hindu temples throughout India.

Kerala Animals and Birds Sacrifices Prohibition Act, 1968 is repugnant to the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 insofar as the Act operates in the same entry and criminalises an act which the Union Legislation chooses explicitly not to criminalise, the plea added.
Denzel Washington recounts being filled with the Holy Ghost: 'It scared me'

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Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington sat down for an Instagram Live with his pastor friend, A.R. Bernard, on Thursday and recounted the moment he was filled with the Holy Spirit and how it impacted his life and even his childrens lives.

During the 30-minute discussion, Washington told the senior pastor of Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., that he gave his life to Jesus three times and on one of those occasions he had a supernatural encounter with God.

"I was filled with the Holy Ghost and it scared me. I said, 'Wait a minute, I didn't want to go this deep, I want to party,' Washington admitted.

The moment happened at Bishop Charles E. Blakes West Angeles Church of God in Christ in the 80s.

I went to church with Robert Townsend and when it came time to come down to the altar I said, 'You know this time, I'm just going to go down there and give it up and see what happens.' I went in the prayer room and gave it up and let go and experienced something I've never experienced in my life, the Fences actor explained. I remember calling my mother afterwards and asking her, I said, 'Well, you know it felt like I was going up in the air, and my cheeks were filled' and she said, 'Oh no, that's the devil you're purging.

"It was a supernatural, once in this lifetime experience that I couldn't completely understand at the time.

It would take years before the entertainer fully dedicated his life to God. In a 2017 interview with The Christian Post, Washington shared his testimony.

"I speak now and I'm doing what God told me to do from the beginning," he testified. "It was prophesied that I would travel the world and preach to millions of people. It was prophesied when I was 20. I thought it was through my work and it has been."

"My mother said to me when I was 59, she said, 'Denzel, you do a lot of good. You have to do good the right way and you know what I'm talking about.' I don't drink anymore, I don't do any of those things. I'm all about the message to the degree that I know it, and I'm unashamed and unafraid to share it!

In his new discussion with Bernard, Washington explained that his experience with the Holy Spirit kept him throughout all the years of his fame and success.

"It kept me grounded in spite of myself; I mean, I accepted it, I definitely experienced it, but I wasn't ready to live it. I don't know how old I was then but I wasn't ready to live it then. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's gone through that kind of experience, Washington told his spiritual mentor.

The actor also wanted people to know that having a moment with God like his doesnt mean that life would now go his way.

"You have that moment ... But it doesn't mean that the rest of your life is going to go the way it should. It's not like 'Oh, I had this moment, I'm filled with the Holy Spirit and now everything's going to be pretty, not going to be perfect. The next day I'm ready to save everybody. I'm in charge of saving people.

Bernard mentioned that Washington called him the day his own son, John David Washington, experienced a similar infilling with the Holy Spirit.

"He's a very talented and spiritual young man, Washington said of his oldest son who has followed in his fathers acting footsteps. We are happy about his success but we are equally excited about the example he's setting for his brothers and sisters, as a man of God and their sibling being an example of that and being unashamed of it.

I dont put value in monetary and all of those things. What happened with one of our sons, we pray, happen to all of our children. I've tried everything else and it doesnt pay off.

Concerning what he sees in the world today, Washington said hes empowered and inspired by the young people  black, white, male or female.

During the conversation, Washington also shared his thoughts on racial injustice and the move for equality still happening long after the civil rights movement.

"I'm 65, not 15 [now], that's different. I'm looking at it from a different perspective, he noted. Some of the underlying issues obviously are still the same. The platforms that young people or people have now to express their opinions are obviously, there are ... so many more of them and there's so much more of an opportunity.

"In a sense, part of Martin Luther King's dream has come true. He talked black and whites walking hand in hand. Well, that's actually the case. They are walking down the streets by the thousands, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands. They are not yet seeing 'Free at last, Free at last, thank God almighty I'm free last' because they're not. But they are together. So he was and is a prophet. It is changing, we are in the middle of it. Where it's going to go, we will see.

The popular actor concluded his time with Bernard by saying, After all is said and done, I want to be in that number! I just want to be in that number when the saints go marching in. I want more than anything else in my life to be in that number.
- A video of Anerlisa Muigai rocking a white wedding gown was first shared on social media by an account identified as @the_originaleast

- From the video, the beauty looked like a goddess on her wedding day as the gown hugged her curves in the right places

- Her face was well-taken care off with tones of makeup and she covered her head with a white veil

Weeks after Anerlisa Muigai said 'I Do' to Ben Pol in a private wedding attended by close friends and family, a lot of photos from the event have surfaced online.

And the latest from the event is a video of the Keroche heiress rocking a gorgeous white gown that has been making rounds on social media.

READ ALSO: Diamond Platinumz's sister Esma Platinumz says I do to new lover in private wedding

Anerlisa Muigai wedded her Tanzanian lover at a private wedding. Photo/Source: Anerlisa Muigai.

Source: Instagram

READ ALSO: Shix Kapienga confirms exit from Hot96: "It has been one amazing journey"

The video of Anerlisa in the official wedding gown was first shared on Instagram by @the_originaleast on Thursday, June 26, at night.

From the video, the beauty looked like a goddess on her wedding day as the gown hugged her curves in the right places.

READ ALSO: Aliyekuwa Rais wa Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza kuzikwa hii leo

Her face was well-taken care of with tones of makeup and she covered her head with a white veil.

The beauty was glowing from head to toe as she held her hair in a neat tight bun leaving more room for people to see her gorgeous face.

READ ALSO: Kenyan man showers Asian witch doctor with praises for helping him catch unfaithful wife

Anerlisa and Ben have always laid low on their love and this has seen their fans miss the photos of the couple's big day.

The video came days after the riveting beauty shared a photo of her wedding decor.

The place looked like a safe haven where only the mighty had the power to access as it only screamed of wealth and class.

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I know my mum will walk one day - Anne Flavia | Tuko TV

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(JNS)  Donald Trump was elected four years ago because Americans wanted to save their country. Both in domestic and foreign policy, in the eighth year of Barack Obamas presidency, America was going off the rails. At home, Obamas identity politics were tearing the country apart. As is now graphically apparent, identity politics are not about expanding justice. They are geared toward tearing Americans away from one another and undermining the very idea of America.

Abroad, America had become the laughingstock of its enemies and the worst nightmare of its friends, as Obama and his merr...
Back in 2018, a then-70-year-old Taiwanese Pokemon Go superfan Chen San-yuan made headlines with his preposterous rig designed to let him play the mobile game across 11 phones at the same time. He was easily identifiable as the only person driving around town on a bike that had a T-Mobile store display where his handlebars should be.



In 2019, Chen's bike rig evolved to its second form: a 45-phone mural dedicated to Pokemon Go that there's no way he was able to see over as he rode.

Chen has since touched the void. He currently resides within the eternal bliss of insanity. He's evolved his rig to its third form -- a 64-phone Pokemon Go Tower of Babel that might one day crush him beneath the weight of his own hubris.
The amendments include a change in the constitution that would allow Putin, who has ruled Russia for over two decades, to run for two more six-year terms after his current one expires in 2024. The amendments have been approved by both houses of parliament and the Constitutional Court, and signed into law by Putin. He insisted they be put to voters even though it was not legally required. Many see this as an effort to put a veneer of democracy on the changes.
The attacks on statues and public art in the U.S. are horrible stuff, a Taliban-like effort to erase American history and deprive the nation of its past, its heroes, and the sense of exceptionalism that comes from it.

It's a vile trend that America's enemies can only envy for not thinking of first: Erase American heroes, erase the entire American story as its participants told it, and leave only the ignorance, lies, and gibberish of the angry left positing that there's nothing good about this country.

The latest threat to a statue of Abraham Lincoln in a Washington D.C. park, positioned with a freed slave at his knees, is especially despicable.

The statue has a Victorian sensibility, showing a slave on his knees with broken chains looking up to Lincoln in gratitude, which gets the message out in a literalistic way that the freed slaves were grateful to Lincoln. It's treacly, it's Victorian, it's from the 19th century - a time of storytelling and great novels - it had some controversy even in its own era. It's fair to say it's not how we might depict the idea today.

However, it's heartfelt and in sync with the era it came from and for that reason valuable to us for trying to understand how people felt at the time. There are many good things about it that the cellphone generation might not recognize - the slave is looking up, not down, his path open to rising. He's down, yes but remember, he's just been freed of slavery, which was for him, literally chains. This is what it looks like to be just freed of literal chains, and how it felt to many.

It's very clear that this statue meant something to someone when it was erected - because it was paid for by freed slaves themselves who wanted this to be the way they told their story.

The idea and first donation for this monument was by Charlotte Scott a freed slave from Virginia, who was residing in Ohio. Having heard of Lincoln's [assassination], she told her employer "colored people had lost their best friend on earth". She told her employer that she wanted to honor Lincoln with a memorial and to donate the first money for it. Along with the first $5 Ms. Scott had earned as a free woman, the employer forwarded her request on to the Western Sanitary Commission in St. Louis where the suggestion was taken up enthusiastically. The commission then offered Thomas Ball the work for the $18,000, which had taken two years to collect, all from freed slaves. The slave statue was modeled after Archer Alexander, who is said to have been the last man captured under the Fugitive Slave Act.

The great American abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, dedicated it, which means it wasn't just some old ladies with money trying to control a narrative, it had the imprimatur of the best on it.

His account had some reservations, yet it also acknowledged that Lincoln was in fact a liberator.

He was the white man's president, with the white man's prejudices and he had been ready and willing at any time during the first years of his administration to deny, postpone, and sacrifice the humanity of the colored people to promote the welfare of the white people. Lincoln was neither our man or our model". Addressing the whites in the audience he continued, "You are the children of Abraham Lincoln, we are at best his step children; children by adoption; children by force of circumstances and necessity". He concluded with, "even if Lincoln was motivated by political expedience by signing the Emancipation Proclamation, he is our liberator"

It was the story from the people who lived it. And it now speaks to us in a symbolic language we don't completely use, yet leaves us with a sense of how they looked at the world by looking at what they left for us. And that means their voices speak to us, we encounter them directly, we don't take our history from rabid leftists anxious to enact a socialist hate-America agenda. We don't need their mediation.

See that statue, see how slaves felt, think about what Douglass felt and did. That's why we have it. We don't have to duplicate it in our own interpretations of the topic, but we do have to respect the people who created the monument and told the story in the way they wanted it to be told.

Leftists claim that the composition depicts a white supremacist sensibility, suggesting that the freed slaves had no role in their own liberation.

No statue can tell a whole story, and yes, black abolitionists did have an important role in helping free the slaves. The left, naturally, is nowhere in any bid to honor them.

What it wants is nothing but a bid to erase Lincoln's role from history. It is in fact nonsense to claim that the slaves had the entire role in freeing themselves. Slave revolts did exist in the ante-bellum South before the war - and their endings were terrible.

Lincoln put millions of men at arms at a cost of 600,000 lives, in what was still America's bloodiest war, to free the slaves, and paid for it with his own life, too, felled by an assassin's bullet from a die-hard slavery advocate. Was there something wrong with depicting that moment, even in a mythic and metaphorical sort of way, as a marker to future generations about how those freed slaves felt about being freed of a lifetime of slavery?

The gratitude expressed in the statue tells us a lot about the goodness of the people who erected it. They were grateful. How much gratitude do we see from anyone for any cause today? Maybe that alone is worthy of contemplation, something these people can teach to the current generations.

There are so many clues from the statue that serve to educate us, and make us think which incenses the left.

Leftists honestly want to erase that. They want to silence the freed slaves instead of erect new monuments, perhaps to Douglass, and Harriet Tubman, and other founding leaders of what eventually became the Civil Rights movement.

They want all history to be re-written to conform to their own point of view, and are incapable of listening to and appreciating earlier points of views, colored as they were by their times and eras, from the very people who lived it firsthand.

Incapable of building something new, they seek to silence those who were really there and who lived the experiences they now claim to own. Their revisionist nonsense could just as easily go the way of the Confederate cults (think Jubal Early) that depict heroisms and grievances that never existed in truth.

Image credit: David, via Flickr
A comedy show or a piece of theater, some locally made visual art, a set by a songwriter  all things you could take in during a busy Friday night in downtown Missoula before the novel coronavirus swept closed the doors of many venues three months ago.

Those creators and their work are "all important to the fabric of our community, and we want to support them," said Kia Liszak, the executive director of the Zootown Arts Community Center.

To help offer some financial assistance and appreciation, the nonprofit launched an Artist and Performer Relief Fund last month. Each week, a pair of artists receive $250 and a spotlight on their social media.

"It's not going to change somebody's entire situation at all. But I think it's a nice gesture, and a meaningful amount of money" to help with rent, bills or to help them do something they'd otherwise delay, she said. Last fall, after the ZACC moved to its new building downtown, with an events space and galleries for DIY and alternative art, that's roughly what an artist might earn for one night.

United Way of Missoula County started it off with $5,000, and Clearwater Federal Credit Union gave $5,000 as well. The ZACC is seeking more donations from individuals and groups to keep it going.

It could be "a long time" before artists can resume normal activity, whether that's presenting their work on stage, or in a full gallery on First Friday. "We hope to keep this fund going and growing, and we hope more people will feel emboldened to apply for it," she said.

So far, about 40 people have applied, including "comedians, actors, writers, musicians, visual artists, performers, dancers, culinary artists" and more, she said.

The original criteria were that an artist is based in Missoula and has been involved with the ZACC in some capacity during the past 10 years. They recently adjusted that, and artists who are Black, Indigenous or people of color who live Montana can apply regardless of any involvement with the ZACC.

Anyone who meets the criteria gets their name put on a list that's fed into a randomizer on the Internet.

Each week, with the exception of one recent post with four, they pick two artists and feature them online to "be a platform for them, to promote their work and anything they have going on at this time so more people can support them," she said. (They don't have to be featured if they don't want to.)

***

Charley Macorn's last public performance was at the end of February for "Trash Talk," when the comedian and writer gets on stage with their co-host, Solveig Gasnner, to present a very bad movie for a crowd who expects nothing less.

Macorn, who also hosted comedy shows at the Badlander, said the lack of a live, creative outlet has been "frustrating," comparing the community to a group of co-workers who only see each other at a bar.

"Stand-up comedy, it's a lot like professional wrestling, like you need to have an audience," they said. A few attempts at live Zoom events weren't the same without the "call and response, that living, breathing energy."

Last year, Macorn toured around the United States, including a spot at an Onion-Clickhole event, and had plans for another this summer  now all canceled. A showing of photography at the Western Montana LGBTQ+ Center in April was called off. Macorn said non-gallery venues like those were important for Missoula  "the small spaces, the small venues, the basements, the lofts, the backrooms"  which might not have the resources to re-open safely the way the museums can.

Macorn isn't at all comfortable with the idea of returning to the stage yet, even if Montana's numbers are low relative to other parts of the country.

"I think that people are trying to put stage time in front of the health and well-being of other people, which I think is a little disgusting."

While completing an MFA in media arts from the University of Montana, Macorn has started up other creative outlets, such as a comic book and freelance writing.

"Ive been so professionally weird for so long, Im kind of worthless in any other job. Im just going to keep rolling the art-o dice," they said.

"Trash Talk" continues as an online watch-along and a podcast with Gasnner. Macorn has started a channel on YouTube, where they introduce a horror movie that's in the public domain. (The first selection was director Ed Wood's notoriously awful "Glen or Glenda?")

During the "commercial breaks," Macorn cuts in interviews with Missoula and Montana artists.

"Comedians don't just hang out with comedians," Macorn said. They all know each other and work together in an art scene that is as good as it is because "we're all helping each other out, and continue to do that for the foreseeable future, and the unforseeable future because we're all in this together, and none of us are making any money regardless, so now that we're making even less, we've got to have each others' backs," they said.

***

Two years ago, April Werle, a University of Montana fine arts alumna, began moving from wall-hanging paintings and sculptures to murals. She loves traveling, working big, and has a background in house painting, and so she bartered those skills to pay her living expenses as she traveled, creating murals in Bangkok, Malaysia and Morocco.

Here in Missoula, she painted colorful, geometric wall art inside Kulture Kava downtown and outside Drum Coffee on South Avenue. She'd completed a piece in the Giggle Box, the Instagram-friendly installation art museum at Southgate Mall, a few weeks before the pandemic shut everything down. She was in discussions about a commission for the city of Butte that also went quiet.

Since then, she's been "focusing on different facets of my business" even though "walls are what really make me feel fulfilled," she said. She's working on panels, including several commissions. Side jobs modeling and teaching workshops are paused, she's been tidying up her online presence.

"You never know when another pandemic might happen, like if youre just focusing on one facet of your business, and you lose that, then you dont have any way of making money," she said.

She and Emmet Ore of local band Shakewell, are starting a podcast called "Secret Layer," where they interview local creators about art and business.

"I try to just see the positivity in things, otherwise. You know, you got to, to get through things like this. I think positivity draws in more positivity," she said.

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Vietnam Airlines flight VN311 carrying 150 Japanese experts landed at Van Don international airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh on June 25 afternoon.

At Van Don international airport

All passengers wore protective suits, filled compulsory health declarations, and put under quarantine at facilities for 14 days. Check-in counters and airport terminals were also later sterilised.

This week, three flights from Japans Narita airport are scheduled to land at Van Don, carrying nearly 450 Japanese businesspeople to Vietnam, marking the resumption of flights between the two nations following travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Such flights are supported by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) in Vietnam.

Since February, Van Don international airport has welcomed 30 flights carrying about 5,000 experts from the Republic of Korea, Japan and Taiwan (China) to and from Vietnam, contributing to the country's economic recovery following the pandemic. It also received 37 flights with more than 6,100 Vietnamese from epidemic-hit areas worldwide.

Besides, the airport serves commercial flights from Van Don to Ho Chi Minh and vice versa operated by Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways with one flight per day.

Vietnam Airlines will also tap the Van Don  Ho Chi Minh City route with four weekly round-trip flights from July 1.VNA
New Jersey, which has the nations highest rate of coronavirus-related deaths in prisons, received a failing grade for its handling of the pandemic behind bars in a report released Thursday.

The report by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Prison Policy Initiative, gave New Jersey an F plus.

All but nine states also received a failing grade. Those nine eked out D-minuses.

Governors across the nation have failed to take adequate steps to protect people in prisons and jails from the COVID-19 pandemic, said Udi Ofer, director of ACLUs justice division.

Today, prisons and jails are ground zero for the COVID-19 pandemic, inflicting particular devastation on Black and Brown people, yet prisons and jails continue to be largely ignored in the governments response to the pandemic.

A study released last month by the Marshall Project said New Jersey prisoners died at a rate of 16 people for every 10,000. And the point system used in the ACLU report reinforced those findings, with the state receiving the highest negative score in that category, even as it fared better in other areas.

Gov. Phil Murphy said he had not seen the report and could not comment on it, but said the state was taking steps to protect both inmates and staff and had a process in place to review inmate requests to be released.

Weve said from Day 1 that our prison population, both inmates and staff, are in a vulnerable, at-risk community, he said at his daily coronavirus press briefing. Its been a priority. It has been and continues to be a testing priority. Steps have been taken to segregate patients based on positive test results.

Its not been an easy one to deal with, he said. Youre balancing, by the way, public health with public safety.

New Jersey received high marks for providing personal protective equipment to prisoners and staff and for regularly updating its data. But it was criticized for failing to halt jail admissions and for not adequately testing everyone.

Murphy in April identified more than 1,100 prisoners, primarily those 60 and older or with serious health conditions, who could be eligible for release.

The state Supreme Court earlier this month told the governor to overhaul its handling of release requests, saying the state failed to protect their rights.

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant.
President Donald Trump's administration has asked the US Supreme Court to invalidate the Obamacare law introduced by his predecessor that added millions to the healthcare safety net but has been a major political controversy.

Government advocate Noel Francisco argued in a filing late on Thursday that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) - one of former President Barack Obama's signature achievements - became invalid after the previous, Republican-led Congress axed parts of it.

"Nothing the 2017 Congress did demonstrates it would have intended the rest of the ACA to continue to operate in the absence of these three integral provisions," said Francisco, who leads the Justice Department's Office of the Solicitor General.

"No further analysis is necessary; once the individual mandate and the guaranteed-issue and community-rating provisions are invalidated, the remainder of the ACA cannot survive."

The legal push is sure to be an important political battleground in the presidential election, where Trump is seeking re-election against the challenge of Democratic candidate Joe Biden in a November vote.

"President Trump and the Republicans campaign to rip away the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus crisis is an act of unfathomable cruelty," said Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"If President Trump gets his way, 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will lose the ACA's lifesaving protections and 23 million Americans will lose their health coverage entirely. There is no legal justification and no moral excuse for the Trump Administration's disastrous efforts to take away Americans health care."

BIDEN CALLS MOVE "CALLOUS"

The United States is the nation worst-hit by COVID-19, with more than 124,000 deaths and 2.4 million infections.

It was the ACA that has prohibited health insurers from denying coverage to Americans with pre-existing health conditions.

"It's cruel, it's heartless, it's callous," Biden said in a campaign speech on Thursday of the move to gut Obamacare.

Trump has criticized healthcare costs and coverage under Obamacare and has been promising since his 2016 campaign to replace it with a different plan.

Republicans view the law as excessive government intrusion into the healthcare market. They argue that the system is broken anyway and that they will help more people gain coverage by repealing the law while working to minimize disruptions to those who depend on it.

"Obamacare has been an unlawful failure and further illustrates the need to focus on patient care", White House spokesman Judd Deere was quoted as saying by the Washington Post after Thursday's filing.

"The American people deserve for Congress to work on a bipartisan basis with the president to provide quality, affordable care."

The Trump administration's filing was made in support of a challenge to the ACA by a coalition of Republican governors.
They rang in their 14th wedding anniversary this Thursday.

And Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were spotted that afternoon picking up a takeout lunch at a Beverly Hills restaurant.

The 53-year-old Oscar-winning actress cut a stylish figure in a sleek white blazer and a straw hat when she emerged from Ferrarini Cafe.

Stepping out: Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were spotted that afternoon picking up a takeout lunch at a Beverly Hills restaurant

Big day: Kidman and Urban seen after their wedding ceremony in Sydney back in June 2006

Nicole slid her slender legs into a pair of fitted jeans and threw on a summery floral blouse, wearing her signature blonde hair down.

Meanwhile her country star husband wore a denim shirt open over a T-shirt and a pair of dark jeans with folded-up hems.

He gushed over Nicole on Instagram that day, writing: 'Happy Anniversary Baby!!!!! 14 years.... and i feel like your boyfriend in ALL the right ways!!!!'

The heartwarming message was accompanied by a photo of the showbiz hot couple holding hands as they jumped up joyfully on the beach.

Anniversary: The 53-year-old Oscar-winning actress cut a stylish figure in a sleek white blazer and a straw hat when she emerged from Ferrarini Cafe

Out and about: Nicole slid her slender legs into a pair of fitted jeans and threw on a summery floral blouse, wearing her signature blonde hair down

They were first introduced in January 2005 at G'Day LA, an event for Hollywood Australians, and they married in Sydney on June 25, 2006.

Both of them are Australians - Keith was born in New Zealand but raised outside Brisbane, while Nicole was born in Honolulu and brought up in Sydney.

During an early date Keith took Nicole for a ride on his Harley Davidson through Woodstock, New York, she told the Wall Street Journal Magazine.

The ride ended when they arrived at the spot where he had set up a picnic for the two of them. 'I was a goner - I mean, c'mon,' she dished.

Meanwhile: Her country star husband wore a denim shirt open over a T-shirt and a pair of dark jeans with folded-up hems

So sweet: He gushed over Nicole on Instagram that day, writing: 'Happy Anniversary Baby!!!!! 14 years.... and i feel like your boyfriend in ALL the right ways!!!!'

Before her romance with Keith she was married to her Eyes Wide Shut co-star Tom Cruise with whom she adopted her children Isabella, 27, and Connor, 25.

Isabella was one of Nicole's bridesmaids at her wedding to Keith, while Connor served as an usher at the star-studded ceremony.

The fete took place at the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel on the grounds of St. Patrick's Estate in the Manly suburb of Sydney.

Australian director Baz Lurhmann, who had directed Nicole in Moulin Rouge, was one of the guests as was her longtime pal Naomi Watts.

Origin story: They were first introduced in January 2005 at G'Day LA, an event for Hollywood Australians, and they married in Sydney on June 25, 2006

Family matters: Before her romance with Keith she was married to her Eyes Wide Shut co-star Tom Cruise with whom she adopted her children Isabella, 27, and Connor, 25

Simply stunning; Nicole looked gorgeous on her wedding day back in 2006

Not too shabby: The happy couple married St Patrick's College in Manly

Hugh Jackman, who went on to star with Nicole in Baz' 2008 film Australia, was at the wedding with his wife Deborra-Lee Furness.

Nicole is also a longtime pal of her fellow Australian actor Russell Crowe, who was among the celebrity guests at her wedding to Keith.

The bride went down the aisle in a Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga gown to the sound of Wagner's Bridal Chorus on the organ, People reported.

She and Keith have gone on to have two more daughters together - an 11-year-old called Sunday and a nine-year-old called Faith.

Mother of four: She and Keith have gone on to have two more daughters together - an 11-year-old called Sunday and a nine-year-old called Faith

'That's very unusual': A couple of years ago Nicole dished that one of the tips behind their long marriage is that they almost always talk verbally on the phone rather than texting

Tips and tricks: 'We dont email each other either,' said Nicole, adding: 'So its about trying to keep it as intimate and personal as possible'

A couple of years ago Nicole dished that one of the tips behind their long marriage is that they almost always talk verbally on the phone rather than texting.

'My husband and I never text each other. We never do. Once in a blue moon, well text. But mainly we say: "I want to hear your voice,"' she told DuJour.

'Thats very unusual but weve been together for 10 years. We started like that and we havent changed it,' Nicole explained.

'We dont email each other either. So its about trying to keep it as intimate and personal as possible,' she dished.

'Happy anniversary, baby': Earlier in the day Keith shared a sweet tribute to his wife Nicole to celebrate 14 years of marriage

'Us': Nicole also shared an adorable picture of the couple embracing one another while at an event to her Instagram

Anniversary: Nicole and Keith married on the 25th of June, 2006, after meeting at an event the previous year
South Korea police on Friday raided the office of an activist whose anti-Pyongyang leafleting campaign has intensified tensions with North Korea.

Police said officers visited the Seoul office of Park Sang-hak to confiscate leaflets, account books and other related materials. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said that Park will be summoned soon for an investigation.

Park, a North Korean refugee who has launched balloons carrying propaganda leaflets toward North Korea for years, has been at the center of international media spotlight after North Korea abruptly used his campaign as a justification for a series of provocative steps against South Korea. Among them was blowing up an empty liaison office built by South Korea on the North's territory.

South Korean officials later demanded police investigate Park for allegedly raising animosities on the Korean Peninsula and potentially endangering residents living near the border.

Authorities in Gyeonggi province, which borders North Korea, requested a separate investigation of several activist groups, including Parks, for alleged fraud, embezzlement and other charges over their donation activities.

Park could not be immediately reached for comment.

The pressure on activists has led to criticism that the liberal government of President Moon Jae-in is sacrificing democratic principles to salvage its faltering efforts for reconciliation with North Korea. The governor of Gyeonggi province is affiliated with Moons ruling party.

A police agency official involved in the case said officers also raided the office of Parks brother, Park Jung-oh, who has floated plastic bottles filled with rice toward North Korea across the sea boundary. The official, who requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said police plan to summon Park Jung-oh too.

Earlier this week, Park Sang-hak said his organization covertly launched huge balloons carrying 500,000 leaflets toward North Korea, despite the repeated warnings from both Koreas not to do so. The South Korean government expressed strong regret over Parks activities, but it wasnt independently confirmed whether all his balloons reached North Korean territory. One was later found in South Korea.

Tensions between the Koreas temporarily eased on Wednesday, when North Korea announced it would put off steps to avenge the South Korean leafleting, such as sending its own anti-Seoul flyers, resuming military exercises and reestablishing guard posts at the border in violation of 2018 agreements to reduce tensions.

Some experts say North Koreas saber rattling was believed aimed at extracting outside concessions in the face of crippling U.S.-led sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic.
At the end of 2021, the country's GDP will be about 6% lower than in 2019.

The IMF Resident Representative predicts Ukraine will return to pre-quarantine levels of economic development by 2024.

"The IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine, Gosta Ljungman, noted that there will be slight improvements in the economic situation next year. However, even at the end of 2021, the GDP will be about 6% lower than in 2019. According to preliminary estimates, Ukraine will return to the pre-quarantine level only in 2024," the press service of the European Business Association (EBA) said after an event, titled: "The EBA Business Outlook: Crisis Management Lessons," on June 25.

Read alsoIMF to decide on next disbursement for Ukraine in autumn

Also, Ljungman listed the main priorities in Ukraine's cooperation programs with the IMF. Among the long-term goals  the fight against corruption, reforming the law enforcement agencies, namely the Tax and Customs Services by creating a single legal entity, implementing a judicial reform, promoting the privatization process, developing the financial sector. It is important to combine effective short-term measures aimed at rapid economic recovery with the preservation of long-term structural reforms. Ukraine is also expected to resume fiscal consolidation, which will allow stabilizing public finances after the crisis in the near future.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the growth of real GDP in Ukraine in 2019 slowed to 3.2% from 3.4% in 2018, or the maximum indicator for the last seven years. The World Bank expects that in 2020 Ukraine's economy will shrink by 3.5%, while the global economy will fall by 5.2%.

The International Monetary Fund worsened its forecast for a decline in Ukraines economy in 2020 to 8.2% from 7.7%, which was projected in April.
To the Editor:

There was a legal notice from the village of Sylvan Beach in their official newspaper Wednesday informing the public that aerial spraying will take place over Sylvan Beach. What members of the public read legal notices except people like me?

Unlike Onondaga and Oswego counties, Sylvan Beach officials do not inform the public of dates and times of the spraying so the public can prevent coming in contact with the pesticide. The only public notice is the legal notice and it gives a span of when the spraying may take place, beginning June 24 and then occurring every 10 to 14 days.

With restaurants serving customers with outside seating, there is something else to worry about other than the coronavirus. Even going indoors does not prevent being expose to this neurological pesticide, Kontrol 30-30, unless the ventilation system had been shut down before the plane went overhead.

Why would someone agree to be sprayed with a pesticide that is considered a possible cancer-causing agent? Why would you want your property sprayed with this pesticide, possibly up to eight times during the summer season, and and have it build up its potency in your soil, since it can take up to eight days under normal weather conditions to lose half its potency?

Think about the children. Pyrethrin, the active ingredient in Kontrol 30-30, is a neurological disrupter much like the pesticide chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos has been banned by the governor from use in aerial spraying because of its linkage with ADHD, autism and delayed spectrum disorder. I have read studies related to Kontrol 30-30 from a college in New York and one from Canada and England, and they all say there appears to be a connection with these childhood health issues and the use of this pesticide. More studies need to be done to be sure, but why take a chance?

So those that live and visit the village of Sylvan Beach over the summer, you have been informed you could be sprayed with a pesticide on the nice warm clam evening when you are sitting outside having dinner.

Joseph W. Sallustio

Blossvale

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ARF youth is holding a rally in front of the Constitutional Court building on Friday.

Human rights activists, political and public figures who are against the constitutional amendments also gathered in front of the Constitutional Court.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to his Facebook on Friday night to share an update on the constitutional amendments regarding the Constitutional Court (CC) of Armenia.

Minutes after midnight, the PM wrote: "The constitutional amendments came into force. From now on, Hrayr Tovmasyan is not the president of the CC, and Felix Tokhyan, Hrant Nazaryan, and Alvina Gyulumyan are not members or judges of the CC.

Three new judges of the CC must be elected within two months.

All state bodies of Armenia are obliged to take note of this reality and be guided by it."

In the meantime, a rally was held in front of the Constitutional Court of Armenia last night right after the decision came into force.

"The current authorities have gone the way of privatizing the Constitutional Court," one of the protesters said.
Jammu, June 26 : A girl was injured on Friday when Pakistan troops fired at her when she was grazing goats near the line of control (LoC) in J&K's Poonch district.

Police said 17-year-old Nazia was grazing goats near the LoC on the Indian side in Mendhar sector when Pakistan troops fired at her.

"The girl sustained a gunshot injury and has been shifted to hospital for treatment", police said.
STATEN ISLAND N.Y. -- When everyday life came to a halt, these brave Staten Islanders continued to move forward.

Meet some of Staten Islands essential workers who have been reporting their jobs every day to serve our community.

From medical personnel to Amazon drivers to deli clerks, we are looking to highlight the ones who have been on the frontlines since the start of the pandemic.
Radio producer Jana Hocking, 34, from Sydney's Triple M station

A short relationship with a wealthy man has taught an Australian radio producer that money alone doesn't buy happiness.

Jana Hocking, who works at Sydney's Triple M station, was dating an older man who was 'financially comfortable' enough to own a Range Rover and a swanky property in a desirable city suburb.

The 34-year-old, who writes about her relationships and romantic escapades, said her well-heeled beau was keen to settle down and start a family, the very opposite of the stereotypical modern single who flirts with other women and parties through the night without calling.

The only problem was, she wasn't.

'I believe the term for a guy like this is a 'unicorn'. They're almost too good to be true,' she told news.com.au.

Scroll down for video

Ms Hocking (pictured) says she thrives on lively debate and wants a man who will challenge her intellectually on her outspoken opinions

Despite friends swooning with envy over her new man, Ms Hocking was turned off by his overly agreeable nature that allowed her to dominate the relationship with her desires and decisions at all times.

The straight-talking journalist who 'thrives on a good debate' was disappointed when her partner didn't seem interested in challenging any of her outspoken opinions or even taking charge and making plans for them as a couple.

Ms Hocking said she always chose the restaurants they dined at, the destinations they holidayed in, and constantly dictated the topic of conversation which her boyfriend generally contributed little to.

Ms Hocking, who writes about her romantic escapades, was turned off by the drudgery of dictating everything from holiday destinations to topics of conversation

Bored by the drudgery of dictating every aspect of their relationship, Ms Hocking began cancelling plans last minute and disappearing to bars with her friends without letting her partner know where she was.

The final straw came one morning when he asked her what they'd be doing that day, and Ms Hocking realised she had to break things off.

Although it was painful to abandon the comfortable life and idyllic future that being with this man offered, Ms Hocking said the financial gain was simply not worth being with someone she didn't truly love.

Since the break-up, Ms Hocking said her ex has found love with a 'gorgeous' woman who appreciates him for the way he is.

'He really was a unicorn. Just not my unicorn,' she said.

What men value most in women PERSONALITY 1. Honesty 21.3 percent 2. Confidence 20 percent 3. Playfulness 18 percent 4. Kindness/Gratefulness 14 percent 5. Loyalty 12.6 percent LOOKS 1. Eyes 41.6 percent 2. Smile 29.6 percent 3. Bum 12.2 percent 4. Breasts 9.2 percent 5. Legs 7.4 percent Source: Louanne Ward via She Said He Said Advertisement

She's dated a plethora of exciting new suitors who she found both attractive and stimulating intellectually.

Her experience of dating a wealthy man has led her to wonder if many women are taking 'the easy way out' by settling for someone simply because of their bank balance.

To avoid wasting time on men she is incompatible with, Ms Hocking now asks herself how she would feel if she had to sit with them on a long-haul flight before agreeing to a second date.

'It's a simple question, but if the answer is 'they would drive me nuts'  then it's gotta be 'see ya later'.'

Ms Hocking said while finding the right romantic partner is tricky, she's determined to keep trying until she meets 'the one'.
South Africa: Competition Commission welcomes court judgment

The Competition Commission of South Africa has welcomed the Constitutional Court judgment delivered on Wednesday in the matter between the Commission and Pickfords Removals.

In its judgment, the Constitutional Court upheld the Commission's appeal that section 67(1) of the Competition Act does not prevent the Commission from investigating and prosecuting cartel conduct, which stopped three years before the investigation started.

The court had also awarded costs in favour of the commission against Pickfords. It ordered Pickfords to pay the commission's costs at the tribunal, the costs at the Competition Appeal Court (CAC) and the costs at the Constitutional Court.

The court further held that it is not necessary for the Commissioner to list all firms in a cartel when initiating a complaint. The complaint is initiated against a restrictive practice.

The case emanated from an interlocutory application brought before the Competition Tribunal by Pickfords Removals after the commission referred 37 instances of collusive tendering in September 2015 against Pickfords to the tribunal for prosecution.

Pickfords raised an objection that out of the 37 instances of collusion, 20 should be dismissed, as 14 of them occurred and stopped three years before the investigation started and six were not sufficiently pleaded. The commission opposed this exception at the tribunal.

The tribunal ruled in Pickfords's favour that the commission could not investigate and prosecute the 14 cartel instances, as these stopped three years before the commission started its investigation into the matter.

The commission appealed the tribunal decision to the CAC, which was dismissed on the basis of the same reasoning that section 67(1) prevents the commission from investigating and prosecuting cartels that stopped three years before the investigation started.

The commission approached the Constitutional Court for relief, which upheld the commission's appeal and set aside the judgment of the CAC.

Said the Court: "It bears emphasis that prescription is aimed at penalising negligent inaction, not the inability to act. In the case of prohibited practices under section 4[1](b), it is trite that cartels are, by their very nature, secretive.

It would be inequitable to penalise the commission, which would invariably have no knowledge of, for instance, surreptitious price fixing by cartels, for its failure to act within the three-year period.

That would be tantamount to rewarding cartels for their covert unlawful conduct and would not be in the interests of justice.

Competition Commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele said: "This is a seminal judgment that vindicates the Commission's approach in tackling cartels, which are so prevalent in South Africa.

The highest court in the land has sent a very strong message that it has no tolerance for technical explanations for not answering allegations of cartel behaviour, which is very encouraging."  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
At least 50 women teachers on Friday marched to the residence of popular Malayalam actor Sreenivasan asking him to apologise for his remarks against Anganwadi teachers.

Shouting slogans against the actor, the teachers said that if Sreenivasan fails to apologise, they will seek legal recourse.

Following COVID-19 norms in place, the protesters maintaining social distancing norms and wearing masks took part in the march.

In an interview with a vernacular TV channel, Sreenivasan turned critical about the Anganwadi teachers here and said they are people who have no qualifications at all, while in countries like Japan and others those who teach children are qualified in psychiatry and psychology.

"This is one profession where one has to have a lot of patience and the children are exposed to them and it's their qualities they acquire," was the statement he made.

The association approached Shahida Kamal - a member of the Kerala Women's Commission and gave the complaint and this is being looked into.

Sreenivasan is an actor, writer and director and his films have won him a lot of acclaim.
Contact tracing is under way in Papua New Guinea after a Queensland man working for the Australian Defence Force tested positive for COVID-19.

The man was flown back to Brisbane after testing positive to the virus last week and was being assessed by doctors on Friday morning.

Contract tracing is underway in Papua New Guinea after an Australian Defence Force member tested positive for COVID-19. Credit:Eddie Jim

It was understood he was doing well and would be moved to quarantine later on Friday.

In a statement, the ADF confirmed the man tested positive on June 18.
Erik Crist (left) and Chet Crist at their shop, Flex and Flannigan's, in Gettysburg, Pa. He welcomes the renewed push for flag bans, because he sells more of them. Read more

GETTYSBURG -- The nationwide push to take down symbols of the Confederacy, to question why anyone flies a rebel flag at all, has come to Gettysburg, a city of barely 1,100 on the South Dakota prairie, where the buffalo once roamed.

Gettysburg, S.D., is approximately 1,400 miles northwest of its sister city in Adams County, Pa., where Union troops defeated Confederate forces in the pivotal battle of the Civil War in 1863. The South Dakota city got its name, according to one account, because soldiers who fought in Pennsylvania settled there. Its slogan is Where the Battle Wasnt. Its symbol, emblazoned on police cars and uniforms, is an American flag and the traditional Confederate stars and bars.

The city adopted that symbol in 2009, and in 2015 addressed it in a Facebook post, claiming no racist intentions. An uncle of George Floyd, a Black man murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, happens to live there, and now is calling for its removal.

For the last two weeks, Charles Gable, borough manager for Pennsylvanias Gettysburg, said hes been getting phone calls from concerned citizens of the South Dakota community who want advice on their logo.

We dont display it. Weve never been asked to display it, Gable said of the Confederate flag. Theres two U.S. flags on borough property, and those are sacrosanct. Its only the flag and maybe a couple of flowers. Who can complain about flowers?

While the Confederate flag may not fly on borough property, its a symbol that tourists  about one million per year  are used to seeing in Gettysburg, population 7,700. They can buy Confederate bath mats and bikinis in town gift shops, or order one of eight burgers named after Confederate generals at a local bar. The Gen. Robert E. Lee burger has ham and Swiss.

The Confederacy lost 3,903 soldiers and the Union 3,155 during the bloody, three-day battle that raged from July 1 to July 3. Across the 6,000 acres of Gettysburg National Military Park, more than 1,300 monuments have been placed since the war ended, and approximately two dozen are dedicated to the Confederacy and its soldiers. The largest is topped with a statue of Lee on horseback. Many Confederate monuments were erected in the 1960s and 1970s, during the height of the civil rights era. A small marker for the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment was placed there in 2000, featuring the Confederate flag etched into stone.

Everything thats here was congressionally mandated, said Jason Martz, the National Park Services acting spokesperson for Gettysburg.

Martz said the flag is rarely displayed on its own at the battlefield unless its directly related to a historical event. In 2015, after a white supremacist shot and killed nine Black churchgoers in South Carolina, many of the nations retailers stopped selling the flag. Martz said the battlefields bookstore removed all single pieces of Confederate memorabilia. That eliminated approximately 11 of the 2,600 items sold there, he said. Book covers bearing the flags image, for instance, were allowed to stay.

In the case of, like, belt buckles and pins, that was removed, Martz said.

Scott Hancock, an associate professor of history and Africana studies at Gettysburg College, said the parks museum and visitor center does an excellent job of laying out the causes of the conflict, that the Confederacy was fighting to preserve slavery.

If you go on the battlefield and never go in the museum, you would never know about slavery, would never know that there was anything to do with Black people at all in Gettysburg, he said.

Hancock said he would like to see the battlefields Confederate monuments put into context, perhaps with placards informing visitors that many were erected during the civil rights era to protect and maintain white supremacy. Without that context, Hancock said, hed rather see those monuments removed.

While Gettysburg, like many small towns in Pennsylvania, has had its own Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyds murder, there have been no physical attempts to remove battlefield monuments.

A few blocks away from the battlefield, the Gettysburg Heritage Center, a former wax museum now run by the nonprofit Gettysburg Nature Alliance, is phasing out standalone Confederate flags from its vast gift shop. If the shop does sell an item that features the flag, said alliance president Dru Anne Neil, a pamphlet will be included to remind people that the flags use, from our perspective as a museum, should be used only for educational purposes within the context of the actual fighting that occurred during the Civil War.

Theres a difference between education and glorification, Neil said.

On a recent day on Chambersburg Street, just off the town square, the LGBTQ rainbow flag outnumbered all others for Pride month. Gettysburgs fourth annual Pride celebration was held virtually this year. Jacob Schindel, owner of Ragged Edge Coffee House, said a few of his rainbow flags were stolen. He also said fewer businesses in town are flying the traditional Confederate flag.

I do think it will age itself out, he said. Unfortunately, I think it will take longer than Id like.

The bulk of Gettysburgs gift shops are located on Steinwehr Avenue, where one owner of several stores said she wasnt interested in talking about the flag and asked The Inquirer not to visit or photograph her properties. Six of eight top sellers on the website featured Confederate flags.

At Flex & Flannigans, another gift shop on Steinwehr, owner Erik Crist welcomes the renewed push for flag bans, because he sells more of them. Confederate items outsell Union pieces 10 to 1.

We loaded up, Crist said. We just got three cases of Confederate flags the other day.

Customers can buy Confederate bathing suits, swim trunks, bedsheets, and shower curtains. One bumper sticker reads: I believe the South was right. And I dont believe in slavery then and now. Crist even helps customers pick a more obscure Confederate flag if theyre nervous about blowback from neighbors.

We tell them to fly the first Confederate flag, because no one knows what it is, he said. Thats my secret.

That flag features seven white stars on a blue canton with a field of three alternating stripes, two red and one white.

Above the door, Crist displays an Advance the Colors award the store received in 2015 from the Sons of Confederate Veterans for continuing to sell the rebel flag.

Customer Merle Toms, of Frederick County, Md., bought the more conspicuous flag  a few of them.

Why? Because everybody else is against it, Toms said.

Kenneth Huston, president of the Pennsylvania NAACP, said theres no safe space for the flag, even in Gettysburg, and no room to discuss its meaning.

The flag represents hate, he said. Its not a symbol that we as a civil rights organization want to be seen anywhere. That flag was a terror symbol for Black people. It should not fly.
Neighbors found a man stabbed to death on the street in Montrose late Thursday night, according to police.

The mans body was found near the intersection of Sutton near Genesee streets around 11:45 p.m. Officers initially thought the man had been the victim of a hit-and-run, but they later found as many as 10 stab wounds on the mans neck and chest, according to Houston Police Department homicide detective Jake Gardner.
Natasha Oakley has made a fortune as a bikini blogger, model, swimwear designer and brand ambassador.

And the 29-year-old looked to have had a busy day while running errands on Friday, parking a grey Porsche in a bus zone in Sydney's Tamarama.

Covering up her famous curves in a black top, tan blazer and jeans ensemble, the blonde bombshell exited the luxury vehicle after spending time on her iPhone.

Missed the sign? Natasha Oakley, 29, was pictured parking her Porsche in a BUS ZONE in Sydney's Tamarama on Friday

It appears Natasha has a number of social media obligations to fulfil, as an ambassador for Porsche.

She was picture-perfect on the occasion, teaming her chic clothing with pristine white sneakers and trendy sunglasses.

Her fair tresses fell around her shoulders in cascading waves, and her makeup was natural and elegant.

Sighting: Covering up her famous curves in a black top, tan blazer and jeans ensemble, the blonde bombshell exited the luxury vehicle after spending time on her iPhone

Latest endorsement deal? It appears Natasha has a number of social media obligations to fulfil, as an ambassador for Porsche

Natasha rose to prominence in the influencer biz back in 2012 when she founded the A Bikini A Day blog with best pal Devin Brugman.

The pair generated countless likes by sharing a photo of a new swimsuit each day.

Two years later, Natasha and Devin founded their own line, MONDAY Swimwear.

Attire: She was picture-perfect on the occasion, teaming her chic clothing with pristine white sneakers and trendy sunglasses

Cashing in: Natasha rose to prominence in 2012 when she founded the A Bikini A Day blog with best pal Devin Brugman (both pictured in July 2019). In 2014, they founded their own line, MONDAY Swimwear

Brands took notice, landing the stars their own lucrative endorsement deals.

While promoting her own collection with Nasty Gal last year, Natasha told FASHIONZ in October that it's important to have patience when setting your sights on becoming a businesswoman.

'Learn your trade, do your homework and be patient! It's important to focus on the big picture with your business and stay true to your vision and direction,' she said.

Advice: While promoting her own fashion collection with Nasty Gal last year, Natasha told FASHIONZ that it's important to have patience when setting your sights on becoming a businesswoman

'Results take time and success takes hard work and diligence day in and day out. There is no such thing as overnight success, hard work pays off!'

Known for showing off her incredibly toned figure in scanty swimwear, Natasha went on to say that body confidence 'comes from the inside'.

'By living a balanced life and feeling secure within yourself,' she revealed. 'You can't expect to feel great on the beach if you aren't happy and confident within.'
Jerusalem, June 26 : Israel and the Islamic Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip have exchanged threats to launch full-blown wars against each other amid the former's plan to annex part of the occupied West Bank.

"I suggest that Hamas leaders remember that they will be the first to pay for any aggression," Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz tweted on Thursday.

Gantz, who also serves as Israel's alternate Prime Minister in the new power-sharing coalition, said his country "will not accept threats".

In a warning sent to the leaders of Hamas, the Palestinian movement that runs Gaza, he said that "the price for any attempt to hurt our civilians will be painful and forceful".

Earlier on Thursday, Hamas warned that it considers Israel's plan to annex a portion of the West Bank as a declaration of war on the Palestinian people.

"The resistance (Hamas) is ready to protect its people and its holy places," Abu Ubaida, a spokesman with Hamas' armed wing, the Izz ad-Deen al-Qassam Brigade, said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing his plan to annex the Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley, an area that makes up some 30 per cent of the West Bank.

Netanyahu set July 1 as the starting date for the beginning of the plan despite international condemnations.

The annexation plan is part of US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, so-called "Deal of the Century" that was revealed earlier this year.

A joint US-Israeli team is working on the maps that will determine the demarcation of areas to be annexed by Israel, a move that has been strongly criticized by the international community.

The Palestinians, who claim all of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, have rejected the idea.

Israel has occupied the territories since the 1967 Middle East war.

More than 600,000 Jews live in about 140 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Natuna: The regent of Indonesia's Natuna Islands has called for Western powers  including the United States, Japan and Australia  to open their chequebooks and invest in the strategically vital island, while pointedly declaring Chinese investment is not welcome.

In an interview with The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Abdul Hamid Rizal, the Bupati  a regent or ruler similar to a provincial governor - said he wanted US investment to build a new international airport which would replace the limited-use military airport currently serving the island.

Way of life: fishermen in the Natuna Islands. Credit:Amilia Rosa

Natuna Besar, or Great Natuna, is the tiny main island of the Natuna Archipelago on the edge of the South China Sea, more than 1000 kilometres north of Jakarta. Home to about 80,000 people, it is Indonesia's strategic frontline on a body of water also claimed in part or in full by China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan.

A new international airport that would bring tourists to the island, hasten development and reinforce Indonesia's control of the North Natuna Sea, some of which China claims under its nine-dash line policy, as well as the natural resources in the sea.
SCHOOLCRAFT COUNTY, MI  A woman trespassing to pick asparagus was busted by the DNR shortly after telling the landowner to go ahead and call the DNR.

According to an official report, the incident occurred when Robert Freeborn and Mike Evink, conservation officers in DNR District 2, responded to a recreational trespass complaint involving a subject picking asparagus in Schoolcraft County.

The COs arrived shortly after the call and spoke to the landowner who said a female subject was trespassing on his farmland to pick his asparagus. He added that when he told the woman she was on private property she told him to go ahead and call the DNR.

Man vacationing in Northern Michigan caught dumping stinky garbage in strangers driveway

After getting the suspects description, the COs knew exactly who the woman was since they had dealt with her a few years ago for the same thing and had issued a warning, according to the report.

The COs located the female suspect at her house and she eventually admitted to the trespass. The suspect also recalled being talked to by the COs a few years ago as well.

A report will be submitted to the prosecutors office requesting charges for the trespass, according to the report.

DNR District 2 is located in the eastern Upper Peninsula and includes Alger, Chippewa, Delta, Mackinac, Luce and Schoolcraft counties.
ISLAMABAD  Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has sparked outrage after telling his country's parliament that former al Qaeda leader and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden had been "martyred" by U.S. forces.

"I will never forget how we Pakistanis were embarrassed when the Americans came into Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden, martyred him," Khan told lawmakers Thursday, while recounting the lows of the relationship between Islamabad and Washington.

His comments were immediately criticized by rival politicians.

Opposition leader Khawaja Asif, the foreign minister in the last government, was among those who objected to the remark, describing bin Laden as the "ultimate terrorist," in his response to Khan's comment.

"He destroyed my nation, and he (Khan) is calling him a martyr," said Asif.

Bin Laden, who masterminded the 9/11 attacks on the United States, was killed in a raid on his hideout in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in May 2011 after eluding detection for nearly 10 years.

Pakistan was not aware of the operation, which involved U.S. helicopters flying deep into the country from Afghanistan.

Image: Supporters of Pakistan's religious party pray for the al Qaeda's former leader Osama bin Laden at rally in Quetta, Pakistan in May 2013. (Arshad Butt / AP file)

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whose Pakistan Peoples Party was in power when bin Laden was killed, accused the prime minister of appeasing violent extremism.

A spokesman for Pakistan's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Khan's remarks and the opposition leaders' criticism.

Khan's speech came as the country's foreign office hit out at a U.S. State Department report that accused Pakistan of continuing to be a safe haven for "regionally focused terrorist groups".

"While the report recognizes that al Qaeda has been seriously degraded in the region, it neglects to mention Pakistan's crucial role in decimating al Qaeda, thereby diminishing the threat that the terrorist group once posed to the world," the foreign office statement said on Thursday.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday that the global economic crisis spurred by the coronavirus could ultimately test the Fund's $1 trillion in total resources, "but we're not there yet."

Georgieva told a Reuters Newsmaker webcast event that it was now clear that an economic recovery would have to get underway without a medical breakthrough and the virus' presence still widespread throughout the world. IMF member countries were standing by to provide more support to the Fund if necessary, she said.

The IMF on Tuesday forecast a deeper global recession than initially anticipated, as business closures, travel restrictions and social distancing measures persist in most countries. It now anticipates a global GDP contraction of 4.9% this year and a total output loss of $12 trillion through the end of 2021.

"We still have about three quarters of our lending capacity available," Georgieva said. "I wouldn't put it beyond us that we might be in a place where the IMF resources are being tested, but we're not there yet."

Regarding the possibility of additional resources, she said: "Our members are telling us, 'Everything is on the table. You come to us if you need to do more of something, we are there for you.'"

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 IMF has been rapidly deploying some $100 billion in emergency financing and has now provided loans and grants to 72 countries in just over seven weeks, Georgieva said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 00:01:49|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 5,425 after 250 new COVID-19 positive cases were confirmed on Friday, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Health, in a statement issued on Friday, revealed that from the total of 5,414 medical tests that were conducted within the last 24 hours, 250 of them have been tested positive for COVID-19, eventually bringing the total number of cases in the country to 5,425 as of Friday afternoon.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Health further indicated that 240 of the latest confirmed cases are Ethiopian nationals, while the other 10 patients were said to be foreign nationals. Among the latest 250 confirmed COVID-19 positive cases include a three-month-old child, it was noted.

Among the latest confirmed COVID-19 positive cases, some 177 of them were said to be in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, which is so far considered being the hotbed of COVID-19 infections in the East African country.

The ministry further said that 1,688 patients who were tested positive for COVID-19 have so far recovered from the virus, in which 144 of the patients recovered during the past 24-hours period.

The ministry said that eight more COVID-19 patients succumbed to the disease on Friday, eventually bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the East African country to 89.

Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation with about 107 million people, confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 13, which has so far conducted about 237,464 COVID-19 medical tests.

Since then, the Ethiopian government has instituted a wide range of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.

In April, the Ethiopian House of People's Representatives announced a five-month state of emergency to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country. Enditem
YEREVAN.  First of all, I congratulate on the entry into force of the constitutional amendments today. Judge Vahe Grigoryan of the Constitutional Court of Armenia on Friday stated this in a conversation with journalists in front of the Constitutional Court.

"I consider that this is a solution to the crisis of the Constitutional Court, and I unequivocally welcome this step of the National Assembly; this is a bold and historic step. The historic fact is that for the first time the National Assembly, acting on behalf of the Constitution, amending the Constitution, dedicated that amendment to the Constitutional Court itself, thus emphasizing the importance of the Constitutional Court in the system of state bodies and viewing it as a primary crisis that needed to be resolved," he said

Grigoryan noted that he comes to the Constitutional Court for work every day, but starting today, he will take part in the courts sessions, too. "As of now, there are already six judges in the court; that is enough quorum to exercise all the powers of the Constitutional Court, he added.
Astronomers have discovered at least two, and possibly three, planets orbiting a nearby star - a planetary system so close that a new generation of telescopes should be able to scrutinize it for potential chemical signatures of a living world, according to a report published Thursday in the journal Science.

The star is officially GJ 887, or Gliese 887, named for the scientist who put together a catalogue of stars. It's a red dwarf star - cooler than our sun and not nearly as big. It is 11 light-years away, or 64 trillion miles, which is cosmically right next door. Only 11 star systems are closer to our sun than this one.

Astronomers studied the light from the star for months and could see that it was being tugged by the gravity of orbiting bodies, according to the new report. The planets are outside our solar system - what astronomers call exoplanets.

"I would really like to go and explore," said Carole Haswell, an author of the paper and an exoplanet expert at Open University in London. "I would like to think that's where the human adventure is going."

At the simplest level, the discovery is the latest reminder that planets around stars are common - something no one knew just a generation ago, before the hunt for exoplanets took off in 1995, the year Swiss astronomers announced they'd detected a planet orbiting the star 51 Pegasi.

"Our dream is that every star has planets. It's becoming a reality," said Sara Seager, an astrophysicist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was not involved with this study. "It's incredible to see it come true."

Astronomers have found more than 4,000 exoplanets in recent decades. Scientists are eager to know whether these worlds have atmospheres - and, if so, what kind of gases envelop them. Water vapor, carbon dioxide and oxygen gas, in particular, may be markers of life on an alien world.

But many exoplanets are too far beyond the reach of atmosphere-sensing telescopes. Which is why this study is part of a project, run by the European Southern Observatory, focused on the closest stars. The team has so far found seven exoplanets around four stars.

"The newly detected planets orbiting Gliese 887 are the best possibilities, of all the known planets in close proximity to the sun, to see if they have atmospheres," said study author Sandra Jeffers, an astrophysicist at Germany's University of Gottingen.

Astrobiologists have long debated whether red dwarf stars are congenial to life. Most of them writhe with magnetic activity and erupt in flares, belching radiation potent enough to sterilize life. Yet GJ 887, the study authors observe, is remarkably calm. "This particular one presents a benign environment for its planets," Haswell said. "It's quite a nice one."

GJ 887 is the brightest red dwarf in the night sky but nonetheless is too dim to see with the naked eye.

What red dwarf stars lack in mass and brightness they make up in longevity. "Because they're burning their nuclear fuel so much more prudently, their life is very much longer" than suns like ours, Haswell said.

Jeffers, Haswell and an international team of astronomer colleagues used a planet-hunting telescope in the Chilean desert to monitor the star for three months. The device used in the study is so sensitive it can detect movements of a meter per second, Haswell said - it can sense a sun trillions of miles away, moving at speeds as slow as a person walks.

Subtle perturbations in the star's light revealed that gravity from nearby planets tugged on Gliese 887.

The pattern of those shifts of starlight suggested that two "superEarths" - at least four to seven times the size of our own - are orbiting the star at a close distance and at a dizzying rate, with one needing just nine days to complete a full tour and the other, 22 days.

Additional wobbles in the starlight hint at the existence of a third planet. "Whether there's more planets in the system, I don't know," said study author Paul Butler, an astrophysicist at the Carnegie Institution for Science.

The scientists could not say conclusively that they had found it because the star's natural activity might have created a false signal of a third orbiting body.

But if that planet is really there, it would be in the "habitable zone," an orbital region in which the amount of radiation from the star would allow water to remain liquid at the planet's surface rather than freezing or boiling away.

At 33,000 mph, the speed of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft cruising at the edge of the solar system, a trip to GJ 887 would take more than 220,000 years.
At the same time, she failed to print thousands of copies, double-sold more and took many others to use for self-promotion, prosecutors said. Investigators also asserted that she laundered illegal campaign contributions and failed to pay taxes.
Matt Reeves' The Batman can resume filming in the U.K. now that a comprehensive set of health guidelines has been approved by the government and health bodies.

That means Zoe Kravitz, who plays Selina Kyle/Catwoman, will have to catch a plane from New York back to London just as soon as the production team finalizes the re-start and how it will implement all the new safety rules.

With some free time still on her hands, Kravitz decided to spend part of her Thursday with a group of friends.

Casual: Zoe Kravitz, 31. enjoyed a day out with friends in New York City on Thursday

Kravitz was spotted out with a male and female friend as they were strolling down the streets of Manhattan.

With the temperatures in the mid-80s Fahrenheit, the actress, 31, opted to for a more sparse ensemble, dressed in black denim cut-off shorts, a white tank top and black flats.

The Mad Max: Fury Road star also donned dark sunglasses and a white bucket hat to help stave off the glaring sun when it blew through the clouds.

Revealing comfort: With the temperatures rising, the actress opted to for a more sparse ensemble, dressed in black denim cut-off shorts. a white tank top and black flats

Since Kravitz was in London for the filming of The Batman since January, she ended up spending almost all of her time in quarantine in the UK.

Now, after more than three months of idle time, Kravitz is ready to get back to work.

'I'm hoping to wake up every day to an e-mail or phone call saying we're ready to go,' the actress told Movieweb in late May.

'I'm in touch with everybody, and everybody's ready to go when it's safe.'

Kravitz had been in London shooting The Batman when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the production to temporarily shut down

During the initial COVID-19 crisis in early March, Warner Bros. moved production of The Batman from London to Liverpool, but eventually pulled the plug and shut it down a couple weeks later, around the time it was deemed a pandemic.

The superhero franchise re-boot, starring Robert Pattinson as Batman, has since seen its premiere date pushed back from June 25, 2021 to October 1, 2021.

The stellar cast also includes Colin Farrell as The Penguin, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Paul Dano plays The Riddler, John Turturro is Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard plays Gil Colson, Jayme Lawson portrays Bella Real and Andy Serkis has the role of Alfred Pennyworth.

'I think hes perfect for this role. He can relate in that way, and he looks good in the suit, man. He looks good in the suit. Thats a good jaw line,' Zoe said on Variety and iHeart podcast's The Big Ticket

She recently gushed that her co-star Pattinson is a 'really interesting artist' and more than just a 'teen pop sensation.'

'I think hes perfect for this role. He can relate in that way, and he looks good in the suit, man. He looks good in the suit. Thats a good jaw line,' Zoe said on Variety and iHeart podcast's The Big Ticket.

In addition to praising his acting, she pointed out his creativity under the restrictions of wearing the iconic suit, before concluding the casting was 'perfect.'

Lockdown mode: Kravitz spent most of her quarantine time in the UK because she had been filming The Batman in London

Meanwhile her husband Karl Glusman's 2015 movie Love, directed by controversial filmmaker Gaspard Noe, is climbing up the Netflix charts this week as he went full frontal throughout the movie and has unsimulated sex scenes with his co-stars.

The film was famous for its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival that year where people walked out of the theater after an ejaculation scene in 36.

Karl told Variety at the time: 'Well, as far as close-ups in the movie, Gaspar likes surprises. And so the first day of shooting, he said, "Its time for your big close up!"He lowered the camera to my waist level and got the focus right.

'And he said, "All right, take your pants off!" The scene [with the ejaculation] was on the first day of shooting. That was my ice breaker.'

He was also asked if he considered quitting at any point to which Glusman replied: '

I went to the bathroom to garner some courage. I looked in the mirror. It felt like the scene in Boogie Nights, where hes pumping himself up. I was like, "What are you doing?! This is not you. You cant do this. You should run away." I definitely had a moment when my heart sped up, and I thought, This is a huge f***ing mistake.'
WA Police have apologised to a fly-in, fly-out worker who was ordered to self-isolate at home after they falsely thought he arrived at Perth Airport from interstate.

The mining engineer, who works at Citic Pacific's Sino Iron operation in Cape Preston, disembarked from a flight from the states North West on June 1.

Citic Pacific's Min Chen and Matt Blechynden are angry about a police direction ordering Mr Chen to self-quarantine for no reason.

But Min Chen, an Australian citizen originally from China, joined a queue of interstate passengers.

He said when he tried to explain he had a travel exemption he was unable to get authorities to listen to him.
Racist threats, messages on rise against black US senator behind police reform efforts Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin calls Republican Sen. Tim Scott's legislation a 'token'

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Racially-charged threats are reportedly mounting against a black U.S. senator amid heightened political tensions nationwide over race issues and policing.

According to CNN, during a policy lunch on Tuesday, Senator Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, played two of voicemail messages he has been receiving lately.

One of the callers referred to Scott as "Uncle Tim,"  a spin off the racist slur "Uncle Tom"  and accused him of being a "sellout" and "the lowest piece of sh*t this country ever produced."

Another caller said: "Tim Scott, my crosshairs on my rifle are going to be pointed right at your forehead and blow your black (inaudible) dumba** away."

Yet another caller spoke of the "stimulus package" and the "KKK" and said the South Carolina senator was "going to die" since people from the South "just don't like blacks."

Scott was also at the receiving end of attacks from Democrats in the Senate, one of whom referred to his police reform bill, which he has been working on for five years, as a "token."

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., called the Republican-backed proposal a "token, half-hearted approach."

"To call this a token process hurts my soul for my country, for our people," Scott said.

Scott spokesperson Sean Smith said the senator's office has been receiving more threats in light of Scott's increased visibility on specific issues.

"Most don't mention any legislation, but it's clear they're related to police reform," Smith said of the hostility directed toward Scott in messages.

"The volume has increased greatly the past two weeks since it became known he was leading police reform efforts."

Earlier this week, Senate Democrats blocked the police reform bill spearheaded by Scott with a procedural vote, a move he said was cynical and represented "pure race politics at its worst." The senator noted that the recent threatening phone calls were not affecting him much and that he is comfortable with the security measures he has in place.

"I think 2015 and the [Charleston] church shooting had more impact on me than the failure of this legislation. What is frustrating to me and what makes me emotional is not the toll that it has on me  I'm a pretty resilient guy, and I'm going to be great tomorrow and the next day and next day. It's those people that we're talking about that we almost make caricatures of them. That's the toll. Toll's not on me. Toll's on communities that continue to see, like, they are walking in quicksand," Scott said.

Scott, a native of North Charleston, has served in the U.S. Senate since 2013, when he was appointed by then-governor Nikki Haley. He retained his seat in a subsequent special election in 2014 and was then reelected for a full six-year term in 2016. He previously served as a U.S. Congressman and in the South Carolina House of Representatives.

Last Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at guiding police reforms after weeks of turmoil in cities around the country inspired in part by the police-involved killing of unarmed black Americans, specifically George Floyd in Minneapolis.
B Anbuselvan By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers Welfare Association has announced a ban on milk supply to the houses of police personnel citing harassment meted out to its members at the hands of police during the lockdown.

Though the government announced that milk supply would be allowed during the complete lockdown, milk dealers and agents were often beaten by police and their vehicles seized, claimed S A Ponnusamy, state President of TNMDWA.

Retail shop owners are threatened by police to close shops without any regulation. Though milk sale is allowed between 6 am and 2 pm, often policemen threaten owners to shut the shops even before 10 am, explained Ponnusamy.

The relaxations announced by the Chief Minister were not implemented, he said. We are now fully at the mercy of the police. If shops have to function as per the whims and fancies of policemen, why does the Chief Minister issue a statement permitting milk sale upto 2 pm? asked Ponnusamy.

He said many shop owners were taken to police stations for selling milk even during the permitted time. Many of our dealers two-wheelers were confiscated while they were transporting milk before 7 am. Hence, we will not supply milk to police quarters and residences of police from Saturday, he said.

However, Aavin officials clarified that milk supply to its card holders and retail shops will continue.
HICKORY - People are invited to join Calvin Reyes and Taylor Edwards from Henry River Mill Village for a glimpse into the past during a virtual presentation at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, June 29, in cooperation with Hickory Public Library.

The story of North Carolina cannot be told without including cotton and hosiery mills and the communities that grew up around them. Almost all of these mill villages have been torn down or destroyed, but the Henry River Mill Village is an exception.

It offers a view of life in the last century and allows you to explore the rich heritage of western North Carolina mill towns. Imagine your story if you were living in North Carolina 100 years ago.

Henry River Mill Village is on the National Register of Historic Places with a history that stretches back to the early 1900s. Built by the Aderholdt and Rudisill families, it functioned as a manufacturing village until 1970.

Twenty of the original 30 houses still remain as well as the company store; the store also had a butcher, post office, bank, school and church. This was a typical hosiery mill village for the area. The Henry River Mill Village sits as a ghost town just one mile off I-40.
Mayor John Tory now says hes open to considering an order forcing Torontonians to wear non-medical masks or face coverings in stores and other indoor public spaces.

His change of tone comes amid new advice from the city solicitor on whether Toronto has legal authority for such an order, and a growing number of municipalities considering telling stores to compel masks for staff and customers.

I think its going to move in that direction, the mayor said Friday when asked if he could support a mask order when council next week debates the city solicitors report and other issues facing Toronto in Stage 2 reopening from the COVID-19 lockdown.

Tory said he has been consulting Dr. Eileen de Villa  the public health chief who so far has only strongly recommended cloth mask use when people cant physically distance  on infection control measures including a mask order.

De Villa has noted research citing infection risk during sustained indoor contact.

More covered faces could reduce new cases of the virus spread primarily through water droplets from peoples mouths and noses, and get Toronto quicker to a wider reopening that includes restaurants with some indoor dining, Tory said.

Im not indisposed to that, he said of an order broadening the list of places with mandatory mask use beyond TTC vehicles and stations, and city ferries to the Toronto Islands.

But Tory said hell follow de Villas advice as to whether an order for non-city sites would be an effective way to reduce COVID-19 spread and allow us to get back to a more normal functioning of our economy.

De Villa would not say Friday what advice shell give to council

Wendy Walberg, Torontos chief lawyer, said in a new report to council that the Ontario government is best positioned to issue a mask order under its Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.

City council could, however, issue an order under its general authority to legislate health, safety and well-being of Torontonians based on clear recommendations of public health authorities and operational requirements, she wrote.

Both Tory and de Villa recently questioned Torontos legal ability to follow the lead of Guelph where, since June 12, commercial establishments are ordered, under Ontarios Health Protection and Promotion Act, to require mask use.

Provincial health authorities this week assured Toronto it has that power.

At Queens Park Friday, Premier Doug Ford said hes not against mask wearing but wont order it across the province because its difficult to enforce, particular in many regions of Ontario where there have been no new cases for weeks.

Its up to the local chief medical officer if they want to do it, he told reporters.

York Region is considering an order at the urging of Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, who told reporters Thursday: The pandemic is not over and the threat of a second wave is a real possibility.

Kingston said its considering an order after an outbreak at a nail salon.

Toronto councillors appear to be split on the merits of a mask order.

Cynthia Lai is a strong supporter. I think we need to be proactive for the second wave, of the virus expected in fall, said the Ward 22 Scarborough North councillor. There are store owners who would really like the city to take the lead with a mandatory order.

Stephen Holyday (Ward 2 Etobicoke Centre) said retailers are best suited to decide what people must wear in their shops.

We are already familiar with seeing signs like No shirt, no shoes  no service, he said, and store personnel have experience in keeping order in their spaces.

With files from Rob Ferguson

David Rider is the Stars City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering city hall and municipal politics. Follow him on Twitter: @dmrider
PARIS, Tenn. - Three people are facing a multitude of charges after police found a caged toddler in a filthy Tennessee mobile home that also contained dogs, rodents and snakes, authorities said Friday.

Authorities went to the home Thursday after receiving an anonymous tip about possible animal cruelty, Henry County Sheriff Monte Belew. They found not only the child and animals, but guns and drugs, Belew told news outlets.

The 18-month-old boy was found in a 4-by-4 dog kennel in the living room, which also had eight snakes, including a 10-foot boa constrictor, and buckets filled with hundreds of mice, Belew said.

The home had 15 to 20 dogs running loose inside, feces on the floor and thousands of cockroaches and maggots, he said.

Outside the home, the sheriff said officials seized dozens of animals on the property including 86 chickens and roosters, 56 dogs, 10 rabbits, four parakeets and three cats.

The also found 127 marijuana plants and 17 guns, Belew said

Heather Scarbrough, 42, T.J. Brown, 46, and Charles Brown, 82, have been charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated cruelty to animals and manufacturing marijuana and other counts, Belew said.

It wasnt immediately clear whether the suspects have attorneys.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  The turkey legs and funnel cakes are going to have to wait a year.

New Mexico announced the cancellation of its 2020 State Fair on Friday, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, which has contributed to the deaths of 489 residents and infected thousands of others.

Its the first cancellation since the fair began in 1938.

In a written statement, General Manager Dan Mourning said Friday that fair organizers examined their options, consulted with health officials and determined it wasnt feasible to proceed with the event  for the first time in 82 years.

The decision to cancel this years fair has come after weeks and months of deliberations, fact finding, and consultation with state health officials, Mourning said. We have been unable to find a path to follow that would result in a State Fair that we all recognize.

The fair had been scheduled for Sept. 10-20 in Albuquerque at Expo New Mexico.

Cancellation of the State Fair comes as the spread of COVID-19 accelerates in New Mexico. Health officials reported 225 new cases Friday  the third-highest daily total since the outbreak surfaced March 11.

Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham this week put the states next reopening phase on hold, and she has pleaded with New Mexicans to wear masks to help slow the spread of the disease.

Surrounding states are also responding to surges in virus cases.

In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said the state had been hit with a massive outbreak, and he ordered bars to close and restaurants to scale back to 50% capacity.

The Lujan Grisham administration has not yet allowed bars in New Mexico to resume operations, though breweries can open at half capacity. In-person dining at restaurants is also allowed at half capacity.

A public health order in effect through Wednesday  and expected to be extended  advises New Mexicans to stay at home for all but essential outings. It generally prohibits gatherings of five or more people.

Cloth masks are required in public settings, except when eating, drinking or exercising at least 6 feet from other people.

The worst thing we can do is move backward, Lujan Grisham said on Twitter. In New Mexico we will be safe, methodical and smart as we learn to live in a COVID-positive world. Please  help me, help your neighbors and help your state keep this virus under control.

State Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said the health orders are damaging the livelihoods of New Mexicans.

The governor has shown little understanding of how her policies have devastated our state and have clearly sounded a death knell for our economy, he said in a written statement.

Mourning said cancellation of the State Fair ensures compliance with New Mexicos health orders.

While we are heartbroken that there will be no New Mexico State Fair in 2020, he said, we remain committed to putting the safety and well-being of our staff, vendors and our community above all else.

Organizing the fair takes year-round planning  work thats been disrupted by the pandemic  and it made sense to cancel the event now rather than wait, he said.

Anyone who already has tickets to the 2020 fair can use them for the State Fair next year or in 2022.

Mourning estimated the fair draws 500,000 people, making it one of the best-attended events in New Mexico.

Health officials, meanwhile, are confronting a growing number of coronavirus cases.

New Mexico health officials reported four more COVID-19 deaths Friday, pushing the statewide death toll to 489 residents.

All four deaths were adults in McKinley County with underlying health conditions, including a woman in her 20s. The others were in their 50s, 60s and 70s.

The 225 new cases reported Friday are among the highest single-day totals in New Mexico. The only two bigger days were June 5  when 330 positive tests came in, driven partly by an outbreak among inmates  and April 29, when the state had 239 new infections.

The falling number of virus patients hospitalized, however, remains a bright spot  with just 128 people in the hospital Friday, down 13% from a week ago.
WHOI scientist Ying-Tsong (Y.T.) Lin emerges from the deep-sea submersible Limiting Factor following his historic dive to the deepest part of the ocean, Challenger Deep, with Caladan Oceanic's Victor Vescovo on June 22, 2020. Credit: Mike Moore, EYOS Expeditions

A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution researcher became one of just a handful of people to visit the deepest part of the ocean following a successful dive in the deep-submergence vehicle Limiting Factor on Monday.

Ying-Tsong "Y.T." Lin, a scientist with WHOI's Ocean Acoustics & Signals Lab, traveled to the central pool of Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, a depth of 10.9 kilometers (6.8 miles), with Victor Vescovo, the pilot and founder of Caladan Oceanic. As a Taiwanese-American, Dr. Lin's dive marked the first time a person of Asian descent had traveled to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. This record-setting dive was among a series of history-making expeditions that Vescovo piloted this month, including dives by the first woman, former astronaut Kathy Sullivan, and by Kelly Walsh, the son of Don Walsh, who, with Jacques Piccard, made the first-ever dive to the Mariana Trench in 1960.

"The sub Limiting Factor is a space-time capsule bringing us to another world, which has not been touched for millions years," Dr. Lin wrote in an email from the ship following his 10-hour dive. "Looking at the sand waves on the bottom of the world, thinking how long it took for the weak currents at that depth to build them up, space and time just collapsed; I was watching a million years of evolution in just an instant. What I saw down there makes me feel how insignificant I am. I would like to share this opportunity to understand life better with all my friends and colleagues who helped make it possible."

As part of Caladan Oceanic's multidisciplinary Ring of Fire expedition, Dr. Lin is conducting an acoustic experiment aboard the submersible's support ship, Pressure Drop, to determine how sound waves propagate in the deepest parts of the ocean. Because of the pressure at extreme depths, the increased density of water causes changes in the speed of sound, which need to be carefully accounted for to ensure the accuracy of deep-water acoustic instruments.

With a specialized hydrophone recorder provided by the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory deployed in Challenger Deep, Dr. Lin successfully recorded ambient sound as well as acoustic signals transmitted from an underwater speaker deployed near the ocean surface from the ship. In addition to improving scientists' understanding of how sound refracts in the deep ocean, Dr. Lin's shipboard experiments will provide greater clarity on how acoustic communication and geo-location could be improved at extreme depths.

"We are so pleased to have partnered with Y.-T. and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on this dive and showing the access we can provide to any individual who wants to regularly and reliably visit any point on the ocean floor," said Vescovo after the dive.

Dr. Lin is the first WHOI scientist to visit Challenger Deep in-person, but the institution has a history of conducting research at the ocean's greatest depths. In 2009, WHOI scientists and engineers sent the hybrid remotely operated vehicle Nereus to Challenger Deep, making it just the third vehicle in history to reach a depth of over 10,900 meters. In addition, following James Cameron's solo dive to Challenger Deep in 2012, the Canadian explorer and director donated his submersible DeepSea Challenger to WHOI so that engineers could document and redeploy some of the technology he and his team developed. These technologies have been incorporated into the autonomous underwater vehicle Orpheus, currently awaiting deep-sea trials.

At WHOI, Dr. Lin is best known for his work on three-dimensional ocean acoustic technologies that help scientists explore the ocean through sound. He lives in Falmouth, Mass., with his wife and sons.

Explore further 'Unprecedented': Dallas businessman completes deepest ocean dive by any human in history
The US House has passed a broad legislative package to reform policing that includes a nationwide ban on choke holds and no-knock warrants, along with provisions that would make it easier to prosecute and sue law enforcement entities for officer misconduct.

The bill, which passed on a party-line 236-181 vote on Thursday, is expected to languish in the Republican-controlled Senate as divisions persist between the parties over how  and how much  to reform US law enforcement.

A leaner policing reform bill from Senator Tim Scott, the only black Senate Republican, failed on Wednesday to reach the 60-vote threshold to clear a Democratic filibuster and move into the amendment phase.

House Democrats bill  named for George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis police custody last month provoked nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism  contains a handful of provisions Donald Trump has dismissed as non-starters in negotiations.

For one, it would fundamentally alter qualified immunity laws to make it easier to sue police and other government agencies for misconduct, a proposal the Trump administration vehemently opposes.

Democrats' bill would also change the language of section 242 of title 18 of the US criminal code to make it easier to prosecute law enforcement officers for misconduct, another non-starter for Republicans.

And while the parties have similar proposals to incentivise state and local police departments to ban choke holds and no-knock warrants for drug cases, they are at odds over the various definitions of choke hold manoeuvres and whether or not to ban them at the federal level.

Leaders in both parties and chambers have accused their counterparts of letting political posturing derail the potential for good-faith legislating.

While Democrats have touted endorsements of their bill by leading civil rights and social justice groups such as the NAACP, National Action Network, and Urban League, Republicans have complained that they were never consulted on the bills creation.

I reached out to those on the Democrat side explaining that I wanted to make law. I wanted to work together, and I still do, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Thursday.

But Democrats have shot back that Republicans have only proposed hollow half-measures.

"This is not the time for fake reform, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said on Thursday.

If our Republican colleagues truly want to pass bold comprehensive legislation that will change the culture of policing and hold officers accountable, we welcome them to the table. But we will not acceptand the protesters whose energy has propelled a worldwide movementwill not accept anything less, Mr Nadler said.

The vast differences in rhetoric between the parties, however, paint a bleak picture for the prospect of bipartisan compromise.

LAW & ORDER! the president tweeted for the second time in as many days as the debate over policing reform continued to roil Capitol Hill.

Mr McCarthy lambasted Speaker Nancy Pelosi for being silent on the rioters and criminals who continue to destroy and deface the heroes and history of our country, and assault innocent citizens, claiming Ms Pelosi wants to appease the radical left.

Beneath the frosty rhetoric, Republicans and Democrats do overlap on some elements of policing reform.

Both bills include:

an anti-lynching measure aimed at protecting minorities from hate crimes;

provisions to either incentivise or mandate local law enforcement entities to report use-of-force incidents to a nationally centralised database at the Justice Department; and

incentives for de-escalation and racial bias training.

But the window for compromise on policing reform may have already passed, with negotiations on the annual defence spending bill commencing in earnest in the Senate next week and lawmakers turning their eyes towards another round of coronavirus aid.

All I can say is, I dont see a way forward, Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, a Republican, told reporters this week after the Senates failed procedural vote on policing reform this week.

Read more on the dwindling prospects the two chambers and White House will produce a compromise bill here.
A 26-year-old man who got bail on condition that he would have no contact of any kind with his partner approached her moments later outside the courtroom saying, Youll regret this.

The man effectively blew his bail and ended up being remanded in custody until Wednesday as a result of his actions moments after being granted bail at an in camera hearing in Cork District Court.

Another young man who appeared in the same court in relation to an unpaid drugs fine approached gardai and alerted them to the threat made to the young woman outside Courtroom 1.

Parties to the in camera case had to be reassembled over lunchtime to deal with the evidence of the defendant threatening his partner in this way.

Defence solicitor, Eddie Burke, said he had arrived back at this office when he was alerted to the matter and the defendant himself was on his way home with his father when he was told that he would have to come back to court.

Mr Burke said in a submission to the court: Unfortunately, what he did was extremely stupid. It was in the heat of the moment. When he left the courtroom she was the first person he saw outside the door.

Judge Olann Kelleher said this man had just been given bail and had signed his name to the conditions which included having no contact with the complainant, direct or indirect. He was also precluded from using social media to contact her.

The defendant had been arrested on Thursday night and charged with putting his partner in fear by turning up at her house. Inspector Finbarr OSullivan said at the initial court appearance that gardai were not opposed to the defendant being released on bail.

Judge Kelleher said during the hearing after the incident outside the court: It is a serious matter when someone brings an application before the court. It is explained to her that there will be no contact.

"That must mean something. She is entitled to rely on that. If the court does not enforce it, the system breaks down.

The judge then remanded the young man in custody.

The defendant said at the second hearing that he had not slept the night before in the holding cell at the garda station and was upset about what happened.

Asked about approaching the young woman outside the courtroom he said: It was emotionally drive. I dont contest their accounts (the young woman and the independent witness). I said what they said in their accounts. I would like to apologise. I have not slept one wink. I did not think she would call the guards (on Thursday night). I thought we were beyond that because we got back together.

Cross-examined by Inspector OSullivan about the words, You will regret this, he said he did not mean what he said, adding: I am struggling with my head. I am heartbroken over her situation as well. There was not real meaning behind what I said. It was just taking a (verbal) dig at her really.
Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Churchill China plc (LON:CHH) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

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. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

See our latest analysis for Churchill China

The calculation

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. 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.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, 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) forecast

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 Levered FCF (, Millions) UK6.83m UK7.70m UK8.41m UK8.98m UK9.45m UK9.82m UK10.1m UK10.4m UK10.6m UK10.8m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ 17.6% Est @ 12.69% Est @ 9.25% Est @ 6.84% Est @ 5.15% Est @ 3.97% Est @ 3.15% Est @ 2.57% Est @ 2.16% Est @ 1.88% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 8.8% UK6.3 UK6.5 UK6.5 UK6.4 UK6.2 UK5.9 UK5.6 UK5.3 UK5.0 UK4.7

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK58m

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 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 1.2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.8%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2029  (1 + g)  (r  g) = UK11m (1 + 1.2%)  (8.8% 1.2%) = UK144m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= UK144m ( 1 + 8.8%)10= UK62m

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 UK120m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of UK10.4, the company appears about fair value at a 5.3% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

AIM:CHH Discounted Cash Flow June 26th 2020

The assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. 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 Churchill China 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 8.8%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.096. 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.

Looking Ahead:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or 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 Churchill China, we've compiled three essential items you should look at:

Risks: We feel that you should assess the 2 warning signs for Churchill China (1 is a bit concerning!) we've flagged before making an investment in the company. 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! Other Top Analyst Picks: Interested to see what the analysts are thinking? Take a look at our interactive list of analysts' top stock picks to find out what they feel might have an attractive future outlook!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the AIM every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

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.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
Anthony Brower was in his element Thursday. Wearing his yellow t-shirt, blue jacket, and New York Giants-themed face mask, the Friends In Action president walked around his event inside the Bangladesh Association of South Jersey building in Atlantic City. It was similar to other events his group has held, but this time, in addition to their normal volunteers and law enforcement officers helping out, First Lady of New Jersey, Tammy Murphy, was there, too.

I want to spotlight the great work that Friends in Action is doing and to just thank everybody for coming together in this really difficult time, Murphy told NJ Advance Media at the event, which saw volunteers packing and doling out donated food to those in need.

We are putting a spotlight on volunteerism and how it is really important for the whole community to come together and help their neighbors.

The group was there to organize food -- and lots of it. Whole chickens, onions, celery, cantaloupe, and other fresh fruits. It was all packed and distributed to the residents dealing with food insecurity.

Brower and Friends in Action, a nonprofit he helped found in 2014, have organized a number of community events over the years, ranging from those focusing on senior citizens to throwing Easter Egg hunts for the children.

But, since the coronavirus pandemic struck the state in March, the group has kicked into high gear. As many as seven times a month, the non-profit moves around each of the citys six wards to distribute food. They began with a couple of locations. As word spread of the undertaking, many businesses and charitable organizations wanted to pitch in and help.

New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy, right, helps distribute food to Atlantic City residents at the Friends In Action headquarters in Atlantic City, Thursday, June 25, 2020. Thousands of Atlantic City casino workers were laid off at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing directly to a high unemployment rate and even greater need for food assistance.Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The food gets donated from a variety of businesses, corporations, and entities such as the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.

At Thursdays distribution, people were waiting in a line that wrapped around the block. One person even had saved a place in line as early as 6:30 a.m.

I think that is what the community sees, that no matter what it was, there is a resource that is here in the city, Brower said. Every time, every month, it is here. That is why they are here. The line keeps forming. Even though they may get some food elsewhere, they are always going to be supplied with food.

Volunteers pack bags of food for distribution to Atlantic City residents at the Friends In Action headquarters in Atlantic City, Thursday, June 25, 2020. Thousands of Atlantic City casino workers were laid off at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing directly to a high unemployment rate and even greater need for food assistance.Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Murphy called the event, Community at its best.

The diversity of people here is so typical of New Jersey, and it is just so nice to see that in these days and times, that everybody is rubbing shoulders together and doing the right thing, she added.

LogistiCare, the nations largest non-emergency medical transportation company and the contracted transportation vendor for New Jersey Medicaid participants, partnered with Friends in Action. Having extra transport routes available because of the decreased demand due to COVID-19, LogistiCare reached out to help Brower deliver the food to the residents who needed it the most and not able to stand in the line. With the companys help, and Millville-based JAC Medi Transport pitching in, a total of 5,000 city residents have been fed.

Kathryn Stalmack, SVP and General Counsel of LogistiCare flew out from Denver to Atlantic City just for the day to see the undertaking.

I am just moved by everyone here, Stalmack said. I am just honored and grateful to be a part of something so impactful to peoples lives during a time of struggling and the crisis that we see throughout our country. It is just beyond moving to see everyone come together to partner together.

Volunteer Nancy Mendez, of Atlantic City, left, packs bags of food for distribution to Atlantic City residents at the Friends In Action headquarters in Atlantic City, Thursday, June 25, 2020. Thousands of Atlantic City casino workers were laid off at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing directly to a high unemployment rate and even greater need for food assistance.Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Volunteers pack bags of food for distribution to Atlantic City residents at the Friends In Action headquarters in Atlantic City, Thursday, June 25, 2020. Thousands of Atlantic City casino workers were laid off at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing directly to a high unemployment rate and even greater need for food assistance.Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Thursdays packing event is not the first one that has been held. Brower has organized volunteers from all parts of the city and county, including the Atlantic City Police Department and the Atlantic County Sheriffs Department.

"We have been here packing bags at times and work with the volunteers," said Atlantic County Sheriff Eric Scheffler. "They are absolutely amazing. You see people from every walk of life, every political association, and every job you could think of. We all realize that some people need help, and we are all willing to chip in. I am honored to be part of it. I really am."

Joseph Jingoli & Son, Inc. CEO Joe Jingoli Jr. has known Brower for more than 20 years, and the two have worked on projects together. Jingoli said Browers efforts were not a surprise to him, considering Brower has helped assist him with his project of helping young, at-risk children learn the trade career skills. Brower is also keen on raising awareness about residents filling out the census.

Government, industry and organized labor getting together in Atlantic City, taking care of our people, programs like this, Feed AC and others. We believe we are going to come out of the other side of this and be better people, all of us, said Jingoli.

After most of the line had dissipated and gone back to their families with the newly acquired food, Brower looked around, still seeing what needed to be done and assisting those asking questions. While standing near the back of the open garage door in the building, another man approached Brower.

You are a saint for doing all of this, the man said in passing. You are a good man.

A humble Brower thanked the man as he went on his way to continue his work.

I always said that I wanted to make my dad proud, Brower said. He has been deceased for seven years. My dad always said that when you do good stuff, you bring honor to our family. He may not be here, but whatever I do to help, it helps bring honor to my family and helps our legacy to help the people.

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 story or send a tip here.

Chris Franklin may be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com.

Lori M. Nichols may be reached at lnichols@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Lori on Instagram at @photog_lori.
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The Linux Foundation is priming the pump to help software engineers get cloud technology-certified through a self-paced bootcamp and discount pricing.

LF last week announced the availability of the Cloud Engineer Bootcamp, its first-ever training bootcamp. This new offering enables individuals to go from complete IT beginner to certified cloud engineer in only six months.

At US$599, the cost of the training program is far lower than similar bootcamps, which typically cost $999. The introductory price will be in effect through June 17.

The cloud engineering bootcamp is a great way for IT workers to move into a new, highly in-demand career in a structured, accessible format, according to the foundation.

The cloud tech bootcamp is a response to need within the industry and proactive planning by the foundation, noted Clyde Seepersad, general manager for training and certification at The Linux Foundation.

We have been considering ways to increase that talent pool to meet existing demand, and also prepare for future waves as cloud adoption continues to accelerate in the coming years, he told LinuxInsider.

Essential Solution

LFs first-ever cloud school for engineers is a viable approach to addressing the issue of cloud engineering proficiency, said Thomas Hatch, CTO of SaltStack.

The current void of Linux cloud engineers is significant, and demand is also growing rapidly, he told LinuxInsider.

Although a number of existing programs and boot camps are available, The Linux Foundation should be able to deliver a more credible and solid program, and the price is amazing, Hatch said.

The project is well aligned with the goals of The Linux Foundation, he added.

Quite a few cloud providers, tech schools, and universities have offered these sorts of boot camps. With that said, there are very few, if any, that are as authoritative and affordable as this program from The Linux Foundation, Hatch maintained.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Companies are adopting cloud technologies at a near exponential rate, noted Wei Lien Dang, chief strategy officer at StackRox.

This rapid movement makes a Linux-based program an especially appealing starting point for cloud engineering, since Linux serves as the underpinning of so many cloud technologies, he pointed out.

Cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft and Google also provide great resources for learning, but those programs tend to be specific to their own platforms and ecosystems, Dang told LinuxInsider.

Engineers could consider those providers offerings on top of The Linux Foundation program, he suggested, as a next step before pursuing additional specialization.

Curriculum Specifics

The Linux Foundation Cloud Engineer Bootcamp bundles self-paced e-learning courses with certification exams and dedicated instructor support for a comprehensive educational program that begins with Linux at the operating system layer.

The curriculum then moves up the stack, covering DevOps, cloud, containers and more.

The following specific courses and exams are included:

Essentials of Linux System Administration (LFS201)

Linux Networking and Administration (LFS211)

Containers Fundamentals (LFS253)

DevOps and SRE Fundamentals: Implementing Continuous Delivery (LFS261)

Kubernetes Fundamentals (LFS258)

Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator Exam (LFCS)

All of them are taken online.

Participants will have access to a bootcamp-specific online forum to interact with other students and instructors. Also provided are live virtual office hours with course instructors five days per week.

Participants will have access to reading, videos, and lab exercises in simulated real-world environments. They also will have access to support from the Linux Foundation training instructors who helped develop the courses. There is an interactive forum monitored by the instructors.

This gives them the opportunity to discuss their progress in the program, ask questions about specific topics, and even get advice on career paths, said Seepersad.

Those who spend 15-20 hours per week on the coursework should expect to complete the bootcamp in about six months. Upon completion, participants will receive badges for the LFCS and CKA certification exam, as well as a badge for completing the entire bootcamp. Badges can be verified independently by potential employers at any time.

Satisfying Multiple Needs

The bootcamp will help close the talent gap and ensure adequate staffing for companies seeking cloud talent, Seepersad said.

More engineers are seeking nontraditional forms of education  like online courses and bootcamps  that are reliable and offer practical experience, said Kim McMahon, director of marketing at the Cloud Native Computing Foundation.

The Cloud Engineer Bootcamp is a perfect way to certify their working knowledge of Kubernetes while also advancing their careers in the cloud native and open source communities, she said.

Broad-Based Cloud Coverage

While much of the foundations cloud engineering bootcamp course focuses on Linux, it also provides crossover to dealing with other cloud platforms. Like all LF training, the course is vendor-neutral, noted Seepeersad.

Azure is clearly one of the largest cloud providers in the world, and Microsoft themselves revealed last year that the majority of Azure instances are Linux. Beyond that, regardless of the cloud vendor one might be using, the fundamentals beneath all of them are built on the same building blocks, which is what this bootcamp really delves into, he explained.

Engineers can choose from a number of existing programs for cloud engineering certification, noted StackRoxs Dang  but none brings the implicit value of being backed by the Linux Foundation.

Cross-Training vs. Platform-Specific Expertise

The cloud providers also offer abundant training opportunities for various roles, at different levels and in different formats, to help people home in on the specific skills they need to be a cloud practitioner in todays market, Dang explained.

AWS, for example, has one of the longest-standing programs, which provides support from foundational learning to deep specializations. These programs help support communities of users who are well-versed and qualified to operate services on their platforms and within their ecosystems, he said.

Each cloud provider offers similar resources, particular to that cloud platform. AWS was an early mover that established a strong curriculum for training and certifications.

Other cloud providers have followed suit. If engineers want to become proficient in a specific cloud platform, they will need to understand the intricate details of those specific platforms and environments, which would come best from the provider itself, Dang suggested.

Signup Details

Individuals interested in LFs cloud engineering certification program may enroll here.

Enterprises interested in purchasing bulk bootcamp enrollments can request more information here.

Free Jenkins Training

The Linux Foundation and Continuous Delivery Foundation on Monday announced a new, completely free, training course to help teach the fundamentals of continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD). The course includes a detailed understanding of the role that Jenkins plays in the software development lifecycle.

The course, Introduction to Jenkins, focuses the leading open source automation server. It provides details on how to install a Jenkins server, how to build software with it, how to manage third-party integrations/plugins, and how to scale and secure Jenkins.

Those who take the course will get a glimpse of what they can do to further enhance their CI/CD skills.

Introduction to Jenkins was developed by Deepika Gautam, an author, speaker, trainer and DevOps evangelist with almost two decades of experience in the software industry. She specializes in implementing DevOps toolchains in multi-cloud environments, and is a cofounder of Aplima Solutions, a DevOps consulting and training company.

Get more details about this free course here.
Dr. David Callender, CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, told CNBC on Friday that its hospitals continue to have adequate capacity despite Texas' growing coronavirus outbreak.

"We actually still think we have plenty of capacity to meet the demand for Covid, as well as non-Covid patients" Callender said on "The Exchange." "We're always busy in the summertime, and what we're seeing now is a typical summer for us."

Callender, whose not-for-profit health system has 17 hospitals in the Houston area, stressed that the medical network's capacity is "constantly in flux" and needing to be managed. "But right now, we're able to do that very well," he said.

Callender's comments came shortly after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott rolled back part of the state's reopening plans, following a surge in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks. Bars in the state had to close for on-premise drinking by noon Friday. Starting Monday, restaurants could not exceed 50% dine-in capacity.

And on Friday, Lina Hidalgo, chief executive of Harris County, where Houston is located, issued a "stay-at-home" advisory and raised the county to the highest threat level for Covid-19.

TWEET

As of Friday afternoon, Harris County had 27,017 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, 17,350 of which were active, according to the county health department. The Texas Department of State Health Services estimates the state, overall, has about 55,000 active cases of Covid-19.

On Thursday, Abbott also temporarily postponed elective medical procedures in some Texas counties to preserve hospital capacity, including Harris, Dallas and Travis, which is home to the city of Austin. Bexar, where San Antonio is located, also was included in Abbott's order.
Sonia Gandhi and Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take the nation into confidence on the situation in Ladakh.

In a video message put out as part of the Congress party's campaign to honour the Army personnel who sacrificed their lives in Ladakh, she asked why the country's soldiers were martyred when China has not captured any Indian territory, as claimed by the Prime Minister.

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Sonia Gandhi and Narendra Modi"Today when there is a crisis-like situation at the India-China border, the central government cannot shirk its responsibility (of securing them)," she said in a video message as part of 'SpeakUpForOurJawans' campaign.

"The country wants to know if China has not captured our land in Ladakh, as claimed by the Prime Minister, then why were our 20 soldiers martyred," she asked.

Sonia Gandhi "When and how will the Modi government take back from China our land in Ladakh? Is our territorial integrity being violated by China in Ladakh? Will the Prime Minister take the nation in confidence on the situation at the border?" Gandhi asked.

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She said the government should give full support and strength to the Army, saying "this will be true patriotism".
CARROLLTON, Texas  A surprise birthday party that resulted in 18 people testing positive for the coronavirus has left a North Texas man horrified as his father continues to fight for his life in a hospital intensive care unit.

Ron Barbosa, who is married to a doctor and refused to attend the May 30 party for his daughter-in-law because of safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said those hospitalized included his parents, both in their 80s, and his sister, who is also battling breast cancer.

Barbosa said his nephew, unknowingly infected with the virus, hosted last months gathering of 25 people that only lasted a few hours and followed the states latest health standards. During the party, he said the nephew interacted with seven relatives, who subsequently contracted the virus and spread it to 10 other family members, including two young children.

When people started getting sick, we really let everyone have it, Barbosa told WFAA-TV. We knew this was going to happen, I mean, this whole time this has been going on weve been terrified.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday said Texas would halt its aggressive reopening as it deals with a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations that has made the state a virus hot spot. Statewide, the number of COVID-19 patients has more than doubled in two weeks. Texas has reported more than 11,000 new cases in the previous two days alone.

Barbosas mother, Carole, who stopped by the function to drop something off, tested positive for coronavrius June 6 and was admitted to the hospital a week later.

Barbosa said his father, Frank, who didnt attend the get-together but later contracted COVID-19, was hospitalized June 17. He said his dad is currently hanging on by a thread in the ICU while on life support.

Its heartbreaking, Barbosa said, holding back tears.

Frank received a plasma donation Wednesday from a recovered coronavirus patient, according to Barbosas Facebook page. Barbosa said he hopes the procedure will save his dads life.

Prayers were answered today, Barbosa wrote on Facebook. Now he (Frank) needs to get well for mom and the Barbosa Family.

Barbosa said his family remains united despite feeling a pendulum of emotions over the past few weeks.

We were horrified. People couldnt believe that they took it to a family member, he said. But now, were holding on together.

Carole has returned home to recover, according to a Facebook page the family created, which indicated that Barbosas sister, Kathy, is feeling better and back home to recuperate.
WESTFIELD  It was a historic moment Friday morning when retired Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice John M. Greaney raised the Pride flag at city hall on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

Greaney, a Westfield native and Saint Marys High School graduate, authored the concurring opinion in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health in 2003 in which he agreed with the majority opinion that denying couples the right to same-sex marriage was discrimination.

The ruling made Massachusetts the first state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage.

This is one of the most momentous occasions in our history, and represents the progress weve made, Greaney said Friday. When we did this in 2003 I never thought it would sweep the nation the way it did.

The flag raising saw city and state officials gather on the front lawn at City Hall to recognize the citys LGBTQ community.

City Councilor Kristen Mello, an event organizer, said the decision to hold the flag raising came after the recent Black Lives Matter protest against racism and police brutality held on Park Square Green.

Someone asked if it would be difficult to raise the flag, so we got together and created an event, she said. We didnt know how quickly the project would come together.

The event, held on the heels of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this month barring LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace, was a joint venture between the newly formed Westfield Pride Alliance and city officials, including Mayor Donald F. Humason Jr. The mayor said he supported the flag raising and what it represents.

Although we may all be different, it is our differences that make us stronger, he said in his remarks.

The Pride flag is raised at City Hall in Westfield on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to legalize gay marriage.Manon L. Mirabelli / Special to The Republican

Westfield Pride Alliance organizer Dennis Aikens hosted the event, and said the organization is the first-ever in the city. The gay community wouldnt be anywhere without its allies, without you, he told the crowd.

Aikens said he attempted to have a Pride flag raising in the past, but it never came to fruition. He thanked Humason for supporting the cause.

My brothers and sisters of color, gay, lesbians, and transgender people have been under an oppressive weight, he said. This is happening today under this mayor.

Aikens, an advisor to state Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, lauded the senator for seeking a deeper understanding of the LGBTQ community, the struggles it faces and the personalities behind the movement.

Im so proud he wanted an openly gay man as an adviser, Aikens said. Being a straight man who didnt understand, John Velis asked me to explain our life difficulties. He is a warrior, a major in the United States Army. I knew in John Velis we would have a warrior working for us.

Velis called the event and absolutely awesome occasion and spoke of the Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy in the military that banned openly gay service members until 2011.

I thought it was an antiquated notion of humanity, he said. Every person should be proud that they are who they are and never run from that.

Alexander Campurciani also spoke. He said that as a young, gay man of color, he wants to create a community action group to help gay people come out. He told the story of coming out to his father, who supported him. He also spoke of his difficulty in coming out while in high school.

I remember how hard it was to come out, he said. Its not just about coming out, but about who you are in your heart. I will do everything in my power to help people who want to come out.

For Kathi McColley Bradford and her wife, Kelli, who were married on Aug. 8, 2014, the event represented the progress the city has made in recognizing the LGBTQ community  especially because Westfield was not always a very open and accepting place.

Today was surprisingly emotional because this was truly a recognition of the LGBTQ community that we have lived in for 16 years, McColley Bradford said. We are very proud of our relationship, our love, our family, and now our community. It was a real labor of love serving on the committee, and I look forward to seeing more pride in Westfield.

Related Content:
Platts, Argus Launch New Benchmarks for U.S. Crude for Export

U.S. Gulf Coast to get its Own Oil Benchmark

U.S. Gulf Coast Crude Gets Its Own Oil Benchmark

Platts, Argus Launch U.S. Gulf Coast Crude Benchmark

U.S. Gulf Coast Crude Becomes Worlds Newest Benchmark

S&P Global Platts and Argus Media will today launch new benchmarks for pricing U.S. crude oil that is being exported to replace the West Texas Intermediate benchmark.

WTI serves as a basis, but it is, in fact, linked to oil delivered to the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub.

Reuters reports that oil shipments from the U.S. Gulf Coast are only quoted as a premium or discount to West Texas Intermediate, based on crudes produced in Texas, Louisiana, and North Dakota. Yet Cushing has declined in importance thanks to the shale oil boom, which has made the United States an exporter of crude once again.

Traders will now have the option of a new benchmark that will represent the totality of the Gulf Coast market, the head of Americas at Argus Media, Euan Craik, told Reuters.

The Argus benchmark, according to the report, will include oil stored at seven locations along the Gulf Coast, including the East Houston terminal operated by Magellan Midstream Partners, three terminals that are property of Enterprise Products Partners, and three offshore facilities in Houston, Seabrook, and Texas City. At a later point, two more locations will be added to the list, including the Corpus Christi terminal and Nederland in Texas.

Platts benchmark, dubbed Platts American Gulf Coast Select, or AGS, will be based on light sweet crude produced in the Permian basin and transported by pipeline to the Gulf Coast.

Cushing has for several years failed to represent the economics of crude oil in this market. Market participants have called for a benchmark that correctly reflects the core of the physical market in the Gulf Coast, rather than a landlocked financial value, the Americas editorial director of Platts, Richard Swann, told Reuters.

The new benchmarks will seek to put U.S. oil for export on a more equal footing with Brent crude, which is currently used for the pricing of more than 50 percent of the oil exported around the world.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Ancestors of a distinctive pollinating bee found across Australia probably originated in tropical Asian countries, islands in the south-west Pacific or greater Oceania region, ecology researchers claim.

Describing the likely dispersal corridor for the ancestral lineage of the bee genus Homalictus will help understand the social evolution of the vibrant halictine bees, South Australian, Czech and PNG researchers say in a new paper.

It follows earlier research* connecting the origin of other Australian bees to the polar south or Antarctica routes millions of years ago - helping to explain the diversity and complexity of natural ecosystems and their resilience or susceptibility during periods of climate change.

Ecologists are hopeful that the diverse origins of native bees are giving them an edge in withstanding and adapting further to climate change.

"Homalictus bees are a leading generalist plant pollinator across Australia and as far north as southern China," says Flinders University PhD candidate, photographer and native bee expert James Dorey.

"Our study highlights the importance of the habitat and ecology of tropical regions, including Papua New Guinea and the Fijian islands, for our endemic species and shows us how these bees might have expanded across the Pacific and possibly higher latitudes of Southeast Asia."

SA Museum senior researcher Associate Professor Mark Stevens says the ongoing research aims to better understand the origin and radiation of insects and other animals, help environmental management during changing climates and mitigate the effects of further human expansion and habitat destruction.

"Many species historically evolved under difference climatic conditions and those different histories may determine how they will cope with new climates," he says.

"As climates change, species that have narrow thermal tolerances that are unable to adapt either track their preferred climate by moving, or become extinct. We see this in our studies on tropical bees and also in the studies of Antarctic biodiversity."

"What has not been fully appreciated is the movement of bees in the southern hemisphere that included Antarctica as a likely dispersal corridor before it became the glacial continent that it is today."

Antarctica was the crossroads between South America, Africa and Australia as the supercontinent of Gondwana was breaking up. The last landmass connections between Australia and Antarctica finished about 35 million years ago while the interchange with Asia began about 20 million years ago.

In contrast to the colourful tropical varieties, SA researchers have previously explored the origins of the cooler adapted and less colourful Exoneurine allodapine bees, believed to have originated in Africa but dispersed to Australia about 42-34 million years ago from Antarctica when there was still a land bridge connection to Tasmania.

Co-author on the online Homalictus paper, Associate Professor Mike Schwarz says Australia has the most unusual bee fauna in the world, resulting from three major events - the gradual breakup of Gondwana, then a period when the bees evolved in "splendid isolation", long before humans arrived.

"Thirdly, there was a northern influx of species from tropical Asia as the Australian continent collided with Asia. "Australia's complex systems diversity if a key ingredient for survival of our species," Flinders Associate Professor Schwarz says.

"Hopefully, the diversity of our native bees will make them more resilient to future climate scenarios, which will be critical for agriculture in a changing world.

###

The new paper, Origin and dispersal of Homalictus (Apoidea: Halictidae) across Australia, Papua New Guinea and Pacific (2020) by S Ibalim, SVC Groom , JB Dorey, A Velasco-Castrillon, MP Schwarz and MI Stevens has been published in Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, DOI: 10.1080/03721426.2020.1740957

This work was supported by the Australia and Pacific Science Foundation

*Biogeographical origins and diversification of the exoneurine allodapine bees of Australia (Hymenoptera, Apidae) (2011) by L Chenoweth and M Schwarz was published in the Journal of Biogeography DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02488.x
Backlash continues in the community over comments made on Facebook by the owner of a local market. People protested at the Monnettes' Market on Reynolds Thursday night. The store closed its doors early because of it.

Several dozen people were on hand. They say the owner's apology isn't enough and they're calling for a boycott. Linwood Beale says it was important for him to be part of the protest.

"We're not sharing a divisive message. We are here with a message of unity, and if you can't include us, we can never be one," said Beale.

The protest was in response to comments made by owner John Monnette in May about the Black Lives Matter movement and police reform. Monnette apologized, but protesters say it is too little too late.

The other two Monnettes Markets in Toledo are independently owned by members of the family. The owners of the other two markets came out with messages this week denouncing what John wrote.

The protest was organized by Hi Frequency Ohio, and leaders are asking people to boycott all three markets. However, they add that they would like to sit down and talk with the Monnette family.

John Monnette told us earlier this week he was stepping down as CEO of the market on Reynolds
A publicity campaign is held on June 22 in Shenbei New District, Shenyang City, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, to mark the 33rd International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. [WeChat account of Liaoning Women's Federation]

The Liaoning Women's Federation and the province's Anti-Drug Office jointly organized a publicity campaign on June 22 in Shenbei New District, Shenyang City, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, to mark the 33rd International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls on June 26 every year.

The campaign themed "A Life Without Drugs, A Safe Liaoning," was aimed at giving full play to the advantages of the women's federation, mobilizing more women and family members to participate in the anti-drug battle, creating green and healthy lives, and continuously enhancing the public awareness and people's capability to resist drugs.

The federation considers anti-drug publicity as an important part of legal education. In recent years, the women's federations at all levels in Liaoning Province have focused on the unique role of women in family and social life, and stepped up efforts in mobilizing and guiding women and families to take part in the fight against drug, and creating a safe living environment.

A representative of the Most Beautiful Family of Shenbei New District announces an initiative to call for the women and families in Liaoning to contribute to the anti-drug work during the activity. [WeChat account of Liaoning Women's Federation]

A representative of the Most Beautiful Family of Shenbei New District announced an initiative to call for the women and families in Liaoning to contribute to the anti-drug work during the activity.

The leaders who attended the ceremony gave honorable flags to seven drug-control volunteer teams including a women volunteer group.

The leaders attending the ceremony give honorable flags to seven drug-control volunteer teams including a women volunteer group. [WeChat account of Liaoning Women's Federation]

(Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China)
JUNEAU, Alaska - Alaskas largest city will begin requiring masks in certain public settings, Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said Friday, calling it an act of community responsibility amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The order, set to take effect Monday, will apply to indoor public settings, particularly where maintaining distance can be difficult, such as restaurants, bars, stores and public transit, he said. There will be exceptions, including for young children, people with health issues and people for whom wearing a mask would impair their ability to carry out a duty, Berkowitz said.

Further details were expected to be released later Friday.

Im hoping that we will continue to do the right thing, because it is the right thing, Berkowitz said. The requirements will be difficult to enforce, he said. But thats true of pretty much all the rules that a society has. ... And we count on one another to make sure that we uphold these community standards.

He said there has been a lot of talk of the rights that people have when it comes to wearing masks. Im just astounded by the number of constitutional scholars and epidemiologists that exist in our community, he said, adding that if people dont want to wear a mask for themselves, they should wear one for others.

He said he considered this an intermediate step as reported case counts rise. He said he does not want to return to a hunker-down phase, noting the economic consequences could be fairly profound.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended use of cloth face coverings in public settings where maintaining physical distance from others is difficult. The state has encouraged  but not mandated  use of face coverings.

Alaska has reported 836 cases of COVID-19 involving residents and 167 cases involving nonresidents. On Friday, the state reported two deaths, of individuals who had been in long-term care facilities in Washington and New Jersey and who died last month, health department spokesperson Clinton Bennett said. The state has now reported 14 COVID-19-related deaths.

Juneau was listed as the residence for the man and woman whose deaths were newly reported, according to a release from the city of Juneau, which added the two individuals had no connection to each other.

The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.
by Fady Noun

The meeting called by President Aoun to revive the national dialogue failed to meet expectations. On the ground, the divisions that emerged in recent weeks remain, resulting in violent clashes in Beirut Square and Tripoli. The collective responsibilities of the political establishment, unable to reason with a view to unity. The unresolved issue of the Shiite militant Hezbollah.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - An extraordinary national meeting was held yesterday in the presidential palace in Baabda, on the initiative of the head of state Michel Aoun and with the active support of the President of the Chamber Nabih Berry.

Intended to empower political forces in the face of a climate of revolt that threatens national unity, this appeal did not succeed in fostering unanimity among political forces. The event was attended by former heads of state, past government leaders, party leaders and parliamentary blocs and the vice-president of the Chamber.

However, the former heads of government, who represent the vast majority of the Sunni community, did not respond to the appeal. Likewise, representative leaders of Christian communities who are in opposition, such as Samir Geagea and Samy Gemayel.

The press release issued by the presidential office last week announcing yesterday's appointment, stated that the aim was to prevent the repetition of the "excesses" which, on June 6, 2020, almost burned some districts of Beirut and Tripoli.

The excesses were committed by demonstrations between opposing factions in Beirut, Tarik Jadide and Barbou, with neighborhoods with a Sunni and Shiite majority, which in a first saw the appearance of armed civilians on the streets.

The army's intervention between the two neighborhoods prevented the worst. The soldiers at the same time prevented the clashes from escalating, at that juncture, into one of the old dividing lines that separate two Christian and Muslim majority neighborhoods in Beirut, Ain el-Remmane and Chyah.

Sources close to the head of state say that since June 6, and as a result of reports he received the President convoked all political forces to express his concern at a situation getting out of control, asking them to join together to block the road to everything that threatens the unity and security of the country.

In his speech at the opening of the meeting in Baabda, yesterday, the president clearly echoed the specter of the "civil war". "It is with great concern - he said at the beginning of the meeting - that we have seen a return of certain signs indicating the risk of a civil war".

The final communique from the encounter stated that stability in security "is essential and represents a condition for the country's economic, financial, monetary and social stability [...] Fighting against sedition and attempts to create chaos is the responsibility of all components of society. It also called on the government and opposition forces to "work together to save the country" from a social crisis "more dangerous than the war itself".

It is obvious that all political forces in Lebanon will sign this appeal. However, what this extraordinary meeting really lacked beyond the failed participation of the Sunnis and Christian opposition, was a clear agenda. This would have given participants the opportunity to frankly discuss what appears to be one of the causes, albeit indirect, of this climate of revolt. Furthermore, in the days preceding the meeting, the Maronite patriarch, Card Beshara Rai, aware of someone reticence, had proposed to the head of state to postpone the appointment for a few days "in order to complete the necessary preparations" for its development. The leader of the Maronite Church also suggested indicating, among the constants of the country that he had to adopt to strengthen himself, that of his "neutrality" at the geopolitical level.

In this case, this is a particularly delicate issue because it automatically raises the status of Hezbollah, an ally of the Free Patriotic Current (Cpl), an armed party whose presence weighs heavily on the country, its society, the economics and politics. And it is precisely the "taboo" that revolves around this issue, which the head of state had promised to raise in the first period following his election, and which prompted some invitees to desert the meeting.

The question that these forces never stop asking is that, with its armed presence alone, its political ideology and presence sprawling, Hezbollah endangers the very notion of the civil state and peace. It does so by tapping on the button of Lebanon's neutrality, influencing its foreign policy, alienating the support of the United States, surrounding its land, air and sea borders, and paralyzing its economy for personal gain.

In lending an ear to these demands and exposing himself to the claim of being the president of only a part of the Lebanese, the head of state refused to draw up a clear agenda for the meeting, or to raise the issue of a "defensive strategy which would place Hezbollah's armed wing under Lebanese military command.

At the same time, it should be specified that, to the surprise of those present, the head of the CPL Gebran Bassil had to affirm during the meeting that no element should be "taboo" and impossible to discuss, including the defense strategy. Nonetheless, this bold statement still appears insufficient to reassure the opposition.

Stripped of its unanimity, the June 25 meeting was drained of part of its original strength. Of course, those who boycotted it are the last to be able to lecture the head of state. The responsibility for the dangerous situation facing the country is collective and it will not be "talks" or an additional final declaration that will make the difference. For civil society, the risk is great in wanting to fight the crisis with police vehicles. We must get to the root of the problem, and that is what neither the head of state nor the parties involved seem ready or willing to do.

Photo 1: inaugural session of the Baabda summit

Photo 2: Traders' demonstrations in Saida: 5000 families in difficulty, 1200 schools threaten to close. Credits: Agence nationale d'information - officielle
Last week the United States imposed new sanctions on Syria: a sustained campaign of economic and political pressure to end the nine-year war by forcing President Bashar al-Assad to UN-brokered peace talks where he would negotiate his departure from power. Assads wife was already cross about not being able to shop at Harrods or Bergdorf Goodman, so he should crumble any day now.

Other things are crumbling already. Ordinary peoples incomes are collapsing (down by three-quarters since the beginning of the year). The price of food in Syria has doubled. Lebanon next-door, already in financial meltdown, is now seeing its large trade with Syria vanish as well.

Even those Syrians who support the regime  around a third of the people who have not fled the country  will have a much harder time, but they wont desert the regime. The more prosperous ones depend on Assads regime for their income, and the poorer ones are mostly minorities who fear they will be slaughtered if the jihadis win.

The U.S. decision to raise the pressure on Assad is probably a random byproduct of Donald Trumps obsessive campaign against Iran. If Trump even knows that the remaining rebel groups in Syria are by now all led by fanatical Islamists linked to al-Qaida, the group that organized the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he doesnt care.

The Syrian tragedy is mainly due to endless foreign interventions. The Syrians who called for an end to Assads regime in the Arab Spring of 2011 were just like the young men and women who started demanding the fall of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak at the same time. They were both genuinely popular movements, not fronts for jihadis.

The Egyptian protesters won, there was a free election  and then the army struck back in 2013, slaughtered several thousand people in the streets of Cairo, and put General Abdel Fatah el-Sisi in power, where he remains to this day.

The Syrian protesters didnt get that far. They were driven from the streets  but then various foreign powers started organizing the rebels and giving them arms. The war has lasted another eight years, and somewhere between 400,000 and 700,000 Syrians have been killed. Five million Syrians have fled abroad, and another 5 million are displaced within Syria.

So heres the question; would you prefer Egypts fate or Syrias? Both countries are still tyrannies, but one is literally in ruins, with half the population out of their homes, and the other had a few thousand deaths. Its a no-brainer, isnt it?

The Syrian power struggle would probably have ended in an Assad victory around the same time that General Sisi took over in Egypt if the U.S., Turkey and Saudi Arabia hadnt begun sending the Syrian rebels arms and money. U.S. motives were mixed, but the Turks and the Saudis, both led by different kinds of militant Muslims, just saw an opportunity to replace a secular regime with a hard-line Islamist one.

They would probably have succeeded if Russia had not intervened to save Assad in 2015, and Syria would probably be divided today between al-Qaida and Islamic State. The groups linked to al-Qaida absorbed or destroyed all the others, and today they rule over a single province in northwest Syria under Turkish protection. But still the war drags on.

When governments impose sanctions they usually explain that they had to do something, but the new sanctions will hurt ordinary Syrians very badly. They might be justified if there were a reasonable chance that more sanctions could bring Assads regime down, but theres no chance of that, and everybody knows it.

In a famous paper in 1997, Robert Pape of the University of Chicago showed that out of 116 cases of international sanctions being imposed during the 20th century, in only six cases did the target government yield to the demands of the country imposing the sanctions. The success rate has not improved since.

Its 70 years since the United States imposed sanctions on North Korea, and the Kim family is still in power. Its 60 years since it put sanctions on Cuba, and the Communists still rule. Its 40 years since Washington slapped sanctions on Iran, and the ayatollahs still rule. Not to mention Zimbabwe (sanctions since 2003), or Venezuela (2006) or Russia (2014).

Doing something feels good, but it doesnt usually do much good.
Texas businesses that own their own real estate face an unsolvable math problem.

Lets start with one side of the math equation. Property tax appraisals by law are set in January. You may recall January 2020, which we all agree took place about seven years ago. COVID-19 months are like dog years. The lines on my face prove it.

Back in January  the halcyon days, the golden years, the boom time  the stock market indices traded at record highs, the Texas unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, and oil sold at $60 per barrel. The result: Real property tax appraisals went up, compared to 2019.

Those higher appraisals have arrived in the mail. We calculate taxes by multiplying appraisal values by tax rates. The tax rates did not drop. So real estates taxes owed are up. In many cases by a lot.

Meanwhile, the stock market has been  lets call it volatile. Texas unemployment hit 13 percent in May. Until last week, oil had been below $40 per barrel since March.

So heres the other side of the math equation. While results vary, the last three months for many businesses have been terrible. Catastrophic for most in the food and drink, lodging, retail and real estate sectors, as well as oil and gas.

More from Taylor: Liberty Bar owner in the age of coronavirus: I feel like the tail struggling to wag the dog

The unsolvable math equation is this: How do already vulnerable businesses stay afloat when theyre sustaining and the one authority they cant avoid  the tax man  is taxing them on boom-time valuations?

If you start asking around for responsible authorities who can solve this, you quickly get a picture that reminded me of that scene in Quentin Tarantinos Reservoir Dogs in which everybody points the gun at everybody else. A more sophisticated movie critic than me (my wife) points out that Tarantino appropriated that image from movies directed by John Woo. But I digress.

The point is, everybody points to somebody else as the authority to fix it.

I sat down with Bexar County Tax Collector-Assessor Albert Uresti. He said cities and counties have asked the state of Texas to freeze taxes at 2019 levels but the governor has refused.

He also pointed out that the county appraisal district, not his office, sets property value levels in January. By law, those appraisals cannot be changed. Further, taxing authorities  school districts, the county hospital district, the city and county, Alamo Colleges  all set tax rates. Lower tax rates would have to come from them. So there are a lot of moving parts. Urestis office merely collects the taxes that others have set.

Roberto Trevino, the District 1 city councilman and chair of the Bexar Appraisal District board, confirmed that cities and counties asked the governor to freeze taxes at 2019 levels. He said Gov. Greg Abbott ignored that request but responded via the news media that tax rates could not be frozen at 2019 levels as requested.

Trevino echoed Urestis frustration, saying a freeze or rollback could be done through a specific disaster declaration, but the pandemic, so far, has not been declared a disaster, at least for the purposes of tax relief.

And about those taxing entities?

I dont have any evidence that taxing entities are lowering their tax rates, Trevino said.

Referring to the city  knowing that our revenue issue is in the hundreds of millions  he said he saw little chance the city or other taxing authorities will cut tax rates.

More from Taylor: On this scary stock market ride, our only control is over ourselves

So what happens next?

Property owners have until Monday to protest their January 2020 tax valuations. A tax protest could be taken up online or through an in-person hearing, probably no sooner than August. Appraisal offices are currently closed because of the pandemic. As Trevino explained, the appraisal district has been working to make in-person tax valuation appeals possible.

This unsolvable math problem for businesses has severe consequences. As Uresti confirmed, the penalty rate for nonpayment on taxes is 13 percent added to the balance due. Delinquent payers will also eventually become liable for attorneys fees, which run between 15 and 20 percent of the balance.

Without a disaster declaration, Uresti said, his office is not allowed to waive any of those fees.

This is particularly bitter for business owners who shut down from March to May. The solutions available to homeowners to soften the blow of real estate taxes do not apply to businesses that own their property.

Uresti touted Bexar Countys 10-month payment plan available to homeowners as an example of his offices flexibility. However, most business owners with commercial mortgages already set aside tax installments, in escrow, throughout the year. In other words, theyre already on a monthly payment plan.

Homestead exemptions, senior citizen exemptions, health-related exemptions  the programs Urestis office is rightly proud of  do not apply to business owners.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

They really have no recourse, except to fight their property value appraisal.

Trevino said the appraisal district anticipates plenty of valuation challenges. This year in particular, he said, We recognize that there is a major flaw in the way tax appraisals are being done.

But, he said, the appraisal districts hands are tied by state law.

We will work with anyone, he said. My staff will tell you that I have never, ever once turned away a homeowner or business owner that was sincere and wanting to keep their property. If they come and see us, yes, were going to require a down payment. Yes, were going to require them to enter into a payment agreement, but we will work with them.

And yet heres the thing. Nobody has a solution to this unsolvable math problem for Texas business owners who own property.

Except, I guess, just protest your appraisal value? You have one day left.

Michael Taylor is a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News and author of The Financial Rules for New College Graduates.

michael@michaelthesmartmoney.com | twitter.com/michael_taylor
WINNIPEG, MB / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / FP Newspapers Inc. (TSXV:FP)(OTC PINK:FPNUF) ("FPI") announces that all resolutions presented at the Corporation's annual meeting held on June 26, 2020 were approved by the shareholders. The proxy results on the election of directors were as follows:

Name of Nominee Votes For Votes Withheld Phil de Montmollin 2,061,984 (99.77%) 4,700 (0.23%) Stephen Dembroski 2,057,658 (99.56%) 9,026 (0.44%) Darryl Levy 2,062,084 (99.78%) 4,600 (0.22%) Aldo Santin 2,050,963 (99.24%) 15,721 (0.76%) Phil de Montmollin (as the Corporation's nominee as a director of FPCN General Partner Inc.) 2,061,984 (99.77%) 4,700 (0.23%) Stephen Dembroski (as the Corporation's nominee as a director of FPCN General Partner Inc.) 2,061,984 (99.77%) 4,700 (0.23%) Darryl Levy (as the Corporation's nominee as a director of FPCN General Partner Inc.) 2,062,084 (99.78%) 4,600 (0.22%)



Robert Silver, who serves as Chairman of the Corporation, was also re-elected as director of the Corporation by FPCN Media Management Inc. pursuant to its rights as the holder of preferred shares.

About FPI

FPI owns securities entitling it to 49% of the distributable cash of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership ("FPLP"). FPLP owns the Winnipeg Free Press, the Brandon Sun, and their related businesses, as well as the Canstar Community News division, the publisher of six community newspapers in the Winnipeg region, The Carillon in Steinbach with its related commercial printing operations. The businesses employ approximately 364 full-time equivalent people in Winnipeg, Brandon, Steinbach, Manitoba.

Further information can be found at www. www.fpnewspapers.com and in disclosure documents filed by FP Newspapers Inc. with the securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedar.com.

For further information please contact:

Daniel Koshowski, CFO

FP Newspapers Inc.

Phone (204) 771-1897

SOURCE: FP Newspapers Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/595382/FP-Newspapers-Inc-Reports-Results-of-Annual-Meeting-of-Shareholders
The state of the Covid-19 pandemic on both a global and national scale, is "more bleak than I would have expected," Bill Gates said on CNN's "Coronavirus Town Hall" Thursday.

"Because our behavior and our contact-tracing is not working well [in the U.S.], we continue to have very large case spread. And it is embarrassing," Gates said.

The Microsoft co-founder has been outspoken about the threat of infectious diseases for years. In a now prophetic 2015 TED Talk with more than 35 million views, Gates said, "We're not ready for the next epidemic."

Indeed, Gates is "still pretty disappointed" with the United States' response to the current pandemic, citing a lack of leadership messages and coordination, he said on CNN.

Other reasons why the U.S. has been hit the hardest: People are ambivalent to follow important Covid-19 protocol, such as wearing a mask and self-quarantining, he said.

"The range of behaviors in the U.S. right now, some people are being very conservative in what they do, and some people are basically ignoring the epidemic, it's huge," Gates told CNN. "We've worn out people's patience."

"Some people almost feel like it's a political thing, which is unfortunate," he added. (President Donald Trump has been accused of politicizing face masks, for example. He does not wear one himself and before his indoor campaign rally in Tulsa on Saturday, he said people should "do what they want" about wearing a mask. Meanwhile, presumed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has said, if elected, he would make face coverings mandatory.)

As states reopen, people are less willing to stay home, quarantine and wear a mask, Gates said. And people who haven't been immediately affected by Covid-19, or know someone who has, may not understand the gravity of the situation.

"It's almost as though people have a willingness to go under lock down once, and for a certain period," Gates said. "To get them to extended it past a certain [time], or even to inconvenience themselves with masks, requires maybe somebody they know to not only test positive, but maybe get very sick as well."

Unlike the U.S., countries such as South Korea, Germany and Australia have had success with contact-tracing and quarantining when people become infected.

With an approaching next wave of the virus, which could take place in the fall and winter as weather gets colder, it's imperative that people take prevention measures seriously. White House advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that the second wave isn't inevitable, so long as people remain stringent.

"We know now that we're benefiting from the summer," Gates says. "The infection will get worse in the fall, so all the more reason not to get completely lax in our behavior."

As for what Gates sees happening with the next highly infectious virus? "I'm not fatalistic about future pandemics, even though I'm disappointed we didn't get ready for this one," Gates told CNN.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC Make It's request for comment.

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The assets were provided by Kyiv-based real estate developers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has handed first ownership certificates for new apartments over to 12 families left homeless because of an explosion in a residential building in Kyiv's Pozniaky area.

"I deeply sympathize  everyone understands what it means to lose the loved ones, no apartment could compensate the loss. We help how we can and we are ready to help right now. We're keeping track of all 40 apartments," he said during a live video broadcast on the Presidential Office's Facebook page on June 25. "Now we want to give the first 12 apartments to the families with children ... and a separate apartment will be given to Anastasia [Nedashkivska], who lost her whole family [both parents and a brother], and Anatoliy, who lost his father."

Read alsoKyiv house blast: Residents claim smelled gas mixture following maintenance works

According to the president, these are newly built apartments without interior decoration. Zelensky asked Mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko, who was present at the event, to help finish the decoration of the apartments.

The president said that 28 certificates for the remaining apartments would be handed over to all other victims within a month.

"I'd like to say that we have found all 40 apartments. They are all in Kyiv  not in the region. These are new apartments. Twelve apartments are ready  they are completed," the presidential press service quoted Zelensky as saying on the air of the Right to Power program during a TV broadcast from Ivano-Frankivsk region, where the president is on an urgent working trip. "Within a maximum of one and a half months, we will allocate another 28 apartments to the families."

The president stressed that no budget money would be spent on the purchase of the apartments.

"We talked to real estate developers. The President's Office found developers who helped us," Zelensky explained.

As UNIAN reported, several apartments in a ten-storied apartment block at 1/5 Solomii Krushelnytskoi Street in Kyiv's Darnytsky district were damaged by an explosion at about 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 21. The explosion destroyed interfloor structures between the fourth and eighth floors. A leak of household gas is reportedly the cause behind the incident. More than 100 people lived in the destroyed part of the building, they were evacuated. The incident is being investigated under Part 2 of Article 270 (violation of fire safety requirements established by law) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Since the launch of the rescue operation, five bodies have been found under the debris: two women, born in 1943 and 1974, and three men born in 1991, 1967, 1976. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said all residents of the destroyed apartment block had been identified.

On June 24, Deputy Chairman of Kyiv City State Administration Petro Panteleev said that the victims would be paid compensation worth from UAH 50,000 to UAH 100,000 (about US$1,800  US$3,700) each and provided with housing equivalent to the one they had lost.
Mumbai: A single bench of the Bombay high court (HC) has expressed its inability to provide permanent protection to companies such as Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) from fraudulent websites that use deceptive or misleading domain names to dupe unsuspecting consumers of reputed brands.

Eternal vigilance is not just the price of liberty; it is also the cost of doing large-volume businesses, stated the bench of Justice Gautam Patel.

The judge, in his 16-page order, also explained that though it is trivial to get a domain name registered on the worldwide web, it is extremely difficult to ensure its permanent suspension.One has to look up the availability of a combination of words and choose a desired top-level or other domain (.in, .com, .net, etc), said Justice Patel.

The process of registration is automated and requires no manual intervention, he added.Justice Patel held that it was not possible for permanent suspension of such domain names because the registration is applicable only for a stipulated timeframe.

The court also pointed out that blocking access to websites could be circumvented by using a commonly available Virtual Private Network (VPN) to connect to another network and all stringent restrictions could be easily bypassed.Justice Patel, however, expressed his doubt about the popularity of VPN among users, even though the application is now available on all smartphone platforms.

He concluded that blocking access achieves next to nothing and didnt want to lull an applicant into a hollow and faux sense of safety.Justice Patel suggested that HUL should take up the matter with the domain name registrars concerned for suspending the offender, and could move a fresh plea in the HC, if the matter is still unresolved.

Earlier, HUL had moved court, seeking orders for suspending and blocking several websites and e-mail addresses using its generic name or its deceptively similar variants.The company had filed the case after it noticed that its name was fraudulently used for duping unsuspecting consumers by fake dealers of HUL products.

Some consumers were duped over 70 lakh by a fraudulent website.The court observed that the registration of these domain names was mala fide and an infringement of HULs statutory and common law rights.

However, the bench rejected HULs other plea, urging the court to find a suitable mechanism and pass orders to deal with fraudulent domain names, websites, and e-mail addresses that might cause damage to the companys business prospects.
Ludmila Yudina, a retired speech therapist and supporter of President Vladimir Putin, has been butting heads recently with her grandchildren.

The 81-year-old is backing constitutional reforms the longtime Russian leader proposed earlier this year, which Russians are voting on in a nationwide ballot that will end on Wednesday.

The reforms, the first major changes to Russia's basic law since 1993, will reset presidential term limits, potentially allowing Putin to serve two more terms.

They will also enshrine conservative values in the constitution, including an effective ban on gay marriage and a mention of the country's "faith in God" -- moves that sociologists say are exposing a growing gap between the values of older and younger Russians.

For Yudina, these changes are needed to protect traditional Russian values, under threat from Western influences.

"For some reason, young people are more oriented towards the West," she says after a family lunch on the patio of the family's summer home outside Moscow.

"Russia is a completely different country, we have a different mentality, we have spiritual values in relation to family and marriage, between a man and a woman... I would like to keep these traditions."

Sitting in the shade of a gazebo and sharing tea, her two grandsons -- 19-year-old Ilya Bagdasrov and 20-year-old Ivan Loznitsa -- disagree.

Ivan, an aviation student, says the reforms will help make Russia a "conservative, totalitarian state", pointing out that it is younger Russians who will be living with the new constitution for "the next five or 50 years".

Ilya, a science student, says the appeal to conservative values is a cover to convince older Russians to back the reforms.

"All of this is a contrivance," he says. "It's obvious that the crucial amendment is the reset of (presidential) terms."

Polls show that younger voters -- many of whom cannot remember life before Putin came to power in 2000 -- overwhelmingly oppose the reforms.

A recent survey by independent pollster Levada showed only 33 percent supporting the reforms and 45 percent against. Voters aged over 65 were 71 percent in favour.

"The new generation prefers individual freedoms over traditional values, and does not appreciate this unchanging power," says sociologist Alexei Levinson.

Anti-Russian propaganda

Several prominent young Russians have slammed the reforms, including internet star Yury Dud -- a 33-year-old whose online documentary videos rack up millions of views -- who called the vote a "shameful" attempt to extend Putin's rule.

Svetlana Khokhlova, 50, a former conservative lawmaker in the Istra district near Moscow, believes the country's youth have become victims of "anti-Russian propaganda".

She has taken to social media to try to convince young people -- who often do not follow state-run journalism -- of the importance of supporting the reforms.

"People who are against Putin's constitution today did not know the USSR as a superpower, and they did not know the disaster of the first post-Soviet years," she says.

"I have three grandchildren... and I don't want my great-grandchildren to become people without gender, nationality or a country."

It is unlikely the youth vote will be enough to block the reforms from passing with a large majority.

Voters are expected to overwhelmingly back the proposed constitution, which has already been on sale in Moscow bookshops since mid-June.

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Under flak over the launch of a drug it claims be a cure for Covid-19, yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved on Thursday insisted that it broke no law. "There is no room for confusion," the herbal products company said in a tweet. "The licence for the drug was obtained on the basis of the traditional knowledge and experience related to the medicinal virtues of Ashwagandha, Giloy and Tulsi," Patanjali spokesperson S K Tijarawala said. "The positive results of the clinical trials conducted legally on corona patients were shared," he added.

In another tweet, the company said no illegal claim has been made on the label of the medicine. "Manufacture and sale of a medicine is carried out as per the rules laid down by the government and not in accordance with someone''s personal belief or ideology," it said.

"Patanjali has complied with all legalities," it said asking people to refrain from unnecessary commentary on the issue. The Haridwar-based company on Tuesday launched "Coronil", claiming it can cure COVID-19. The company said the drug, when taken with another Patanjali product, had cured all coronavirus positive patients who took part in a trial within seven days. The trial, it said, was conducted in association with the National Institute of Medical Sciences, a Jaipur-based private institute.

Hours after the launch of drug, the AYUSH ministry had asked Patanjali Ayurved to provide details on the research leading up to it and its composition, telling the company to stop advertising it till the issue is examined. On Wednesday, an Uttarakhand official said Patanjali Ayurved had only applied for a licence to manufacture an immunity booster against cough and fever.

"There was nothing in their application related to the treatment of coronavirus," the state Ayurved department's licence officer Y S Rawat had said. The company was being sent a notice, asking for an explanation, the department said. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday warned the yoga guru that the state government won''t allow sale of "spurious" medicines.

Also read: Will take action against Patanjali if COVID-19 drug not approved by AYUSH ministry: Rajasthan govt
Backed by the trade unions, in defiance of widespread anger among their members, the state Labor Party government in Queensland last week pushed through legislation for a public sector pay freeze, thinly disguised as a deferral.

While portrayed by the government and the unions as a temporary measure to defray the economic costs of the COVID-19 pandemic, it sets a new precedent for exploiting the health emergency to intensify the ongoing corporate and government attack on the living and working conditions of workers.

The legislation cancels all the previously-agreed wage increases for this year and 2021, amounting to 2.5 percent this year and the same next year. In April, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk initially announced a 12-month wage freeze. Now, through a deal cut with the unions, this will be a two-year deferral, with the unpaid wage rises supposedly to occur in 2022.

In reality, with the pandemic worsening worldwide, there is no guarantee of any pay make-up in two years time. Moreover, the government has refused to provide any estimate of how much the revamped plan will cost the 230,000 affected workers10 percent of the states workforceeven if it honours that promise.

By one estimate, made by the Queensland Teachers Union (QTU), the government will effectively take $500 million from the pockets of public sector workers, including cleaners, nurses, firefighters and paramedics, with $100 million of that coming from QTU members.

Given the cost of living, any pay deferral is in truth a cut, at a time in which most workers and their families are under tremendous stress from having lost jobs and other sources of income.

Nevertheless, the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) has openly backed the plan. QCU General Secretary Michael Clifford claimed: The deferral now proposed by the government will mean that workers will still receive the same pay increases over the life of their agreement.

As for the teachers union, it is trying to head off the anger of its members by proposing a ballot, but with one option being to accept the pay cut, alongside other options of limited industrial action or protest campaigns.

One teacher told the WSWS: The people in my staff room are not happy. We have done a lot more work in the past period to cope with the pandemic, and now we are having a pay cut. An industrial relations rollover is taking place. The union has done nothing to fight this, and now it is treading water with a fake ballot plan.

State Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said: We are not asking the public sector to do anything that members of parliament, ministerial staff, senior public service will not be asked to do. Such claims are preposterous, given that members of parliament earn a base salary (before entitlements and other claims) of double the median state wage.

In an earlier effort to let off workers steam over the freeze, and seek a deal with the government, Australian Workers Union (AWU) called a token one-hour walkout by health workers on June 5. At the time, AWU state secretary Steve Baker promised further action. But last week he endorsed the deferral deal, claiming it ensures that health workers arent left completely out in the cold. An AWU leaflet circulated called the legislation a big step forward.

Other unions were more explicit in backing the demand for sacrifice from their members. United Workers Union (UWU) state secretary Gary Bullock said his union understood the financial situation of the state.

Nationally, the unions have made every effort to keep workers isolated across both industry and state lines, despite similar measures being announced. No attempt has been made to engage in a joint struggle against a similar public sector wage freeze in neighbouring New South Wales, and the federal Liberal-National Coalition governments public sector pay freeze.

It is significant that the Labor Party has been at the forefront, in Queensland, of imposing wage cuts. While held up by the trade unions and pseudo-left organisations as a lesser evil to the Coalition, Labor has formed a virtual de facto government with the Coalition, via the national cabinet of federal, state and territory government leaders.

Likewise, the Australian Council of Trade Unions has joined Prime Minister Scott Morrisons federal Coalition government and the employers in five tripartite working groups to restructure working conditions.

The pay freezes will pave the way for further attacks on jobs and working conditions, while governments are continuing to hand billions of dollars to business to safeguard profits. The unions suppression of their members opposition to the pay freeze further demonstrates that workers can defend their interests only by breaking with these thoroughly corporatised entities and forming rank-and-file action committees.

The author also recommends:

Oppose the premature lifting of COVID-19 safety restrictions!

[ 3 June 2020 ]

COVID-19 and the role of Labor and the unions in Australia

[16 April 2020]
Mr. Kozak served in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1970, mostly at Kishine Barracks Army Base in Japan, where he worked with soldiers who had been injured and traumatized in Vietnam. Mrs. Kozak, who has worked as a nurse for more than 50 years, was a civilian nurse in the burn treatment center of the 106th General Hospital on the base.

After his service, the Kozaks returned to Buffalo, settling in North Tonawanda in 1973. In 1971, he earned a master's degree in social work from the University at Buffalo and worked in social services at Buffalo General Hospital, Child & Family Services in Buffalo and in private practice with a local psychiatrist.

In 1976, Mr. Kozak was hired by Family & Children's Service of Niagara, where he guided the agency's growth for 21 years. Among other innovations, he established the first Family Resource Center in Western New York in the Newfane Central School district. He was also recognized for his work in the PASSAGE Program, which assisted victims of domestic violence and child and elder abuse.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The Dutch government on Friday approved a 3.4-billion-euro ($3.8-billion) bailout to prop up KLM through the coronavirus pandemic.

The aid package comes after Paris pledged seven billion euros for partner airline Air France after the outbreak brought international air travel to a near-standstill.

"The aid consists of a guarantee for bank loans of up to 2.4 billion euros and a direct loan from the state of up to one billion euros," a Dutch government statement said.

Air France-KLM said the loans would help the airline "overcome the crisis and prepare for the future."

"These loans will enable KLM to weather the current COVID-19 crisis and prepare for the future," it said.

The Dutch government announced in April that it would give KLM an aid package of between two and four billion euros.

KLM and Air France are among a host of European airlines given state support to get through the pandemic.

Germany's Lufthansa is getting nine billion euros from Berlin to save Europe's largest airline group from bankruptcy.

Explore further EU approves 7 bln euros in French state aid to Air France

 2020 AFP
You are here: China

China's national observatory on Thursday issued a blue alert for rainstorms as heavy downpours continue to wreak havoc in vast stretches of the country.

From Thursday to Friday afternoon, heavy rain and rainstorms are expected in the regions of Guangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang, the National Meteorological Center said.

Some areas in Guangxi will see up to 150 mm of rain, the center said, warning that regions of Gansu, Hebei, Shandong, Liaoning, Yunnan as well as the Tibet Autonomous Region will experience downpours with up to 70 mm of hourly rainfall.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Since June, continuous downpours have lashed large parts of southern China and the water levels of many rivers in the affected areas exceeded the danger mark.

China's Ministry of Water Resources has called for all-out efforts to prevent floods and has dispatched teams to affected areas to facilitate flood prevention and control.
A bill to end courts ability to revoke Oregonians driving privileges for failure to pay a fine passed the House largely along party lines Thursday.

All House Democrats voted yes. Thirteen of 20 House Republicans who were present voted no. The most prominent exception was House Republican Leader Christine Drazan of Canby.

The bill now heads to the Senate for a vote as early as Friday.

The House heard no testimony Thursday on House Bill 4210. During a committee hearing Wednesday, there was heated testimony on both sides. Most of those in favor said the law disproportionately affects low-income and people of color, both of whom are disproportionately stopped and cited by law enforcement.

The bill, which was most recently introduced in the 2020 regular session as House Bill 4065, originally had bipartisan support.

But most Republican House members voted no Thursday. During committee debate Wednesday, lawmakers in opposition cited concerns about declining revenue for local courts and an abbreviated window to read the bill during the special session, although it is identical to the text of House Bill 4065.

House Bill 4210 does not forgive debt owed from fines and does still allow courts to suspend the license of drivers who fail to appear in court.

The other Republicans who voted yes were Cheri Helt of Bend, Cedric Hayden of Roseburg, Ron Noble of McMinnville, David Brock Smith of Port Orford, Duane Stark of Grants Pass and Jack Zika of Redmond.

All other House Republicans voted no with Rep. Sherrie Sprenger, R-Scio, and Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove, absent.

Rep. Chris Gorsek, D-Troutdale, gave a floor speech highlighting the increased burden placed on Oregonians of color by license suspension. Gorsek noted that Oregon State Police officials testified in February that there is a direct throughline from the law to driving while suspended charges being levied disproportionately against Black and Native American Oregonians.

Gorsek became emotional with a final plea to lawmakers to support the bill, as it will be the last bill he expects to carry on the House floor. Gorsek decided to step down from his House seat to seek a Senate seat and won the Democratic nomination in May.

-- K. Rambo

krambo@oregonian.com

@k_rambo_

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

By Nargiz Ismayilova  Trend:

Azerbaijans Sumaks Technologies company has begun implementing projects in the public sector since the beginning of 2020, Executive Director of the company Javid Mammadov told Trend.

In early March 2020, the company began the development of several devices before the introduction of a special quarantine regime amid the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), noted Mammadov.

During the pandemic, even before the announcement of the quarantine regime and given the situation, Sumaks Technologies launched the production of artificial lung ventilation (ALV) apparatuses. At the initial stage, it was planned to develop an apparatus that would meet the minimum requirements and could be applied in a critical situation. Two different samples of such apparatuses were created and provided to the Ministry of Health, the executive director said.

He noted that the apparatuses were developed with the support of local doctors.

This was not a professional appliance, as it was designed urgently within a month and ready in mid-April. Then the Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) sent us recommendations to increase the functionality of the device, which requires more time and serious resources. In this regard, we also put forward our proposals, Mammadov noted.

The company also introduced a device for monitoring social distance. It is intended for the employees of government agencies, catering facilities, factories and other structures where violation of social distance is most likely, the director said.

Due to the softening of the special quarantine regime in the country, the number of cases of social contact between people is also increasing. A device equipped with special sensors instantly signals when there is a violation of the established social distance of two meters. In the near future, this device will be offered to various organizations, he said.

In connection with the pandemic situation, Sumaks Technologies also began the development of a disinfectant under the Benovshayi (Violet) brand, said the executive director.

It can disinfect banknotes, wallet, keys, watches and other accessories. For disinfection, the items are placed in this unit and the time is set. The device emits ultraviolet rays, which are used for disinfection in medicine," he added.

Mammadov said that the company began developing the second version of Benovshayi, which is designed to disinfect escalator handrails.

For example, these special disinfecting devices can be installed at escalators at stations and in the passages of the Baku Metro, the director noted.

As said, the disinfection is carried out using ultraviolet rays. Moving handrails of the escalator will be disinfected, periodically passing through the device. It is expected that at first, this device will be implemented in the ASAN Service centers, and then it will be offered to other structures, Mammadov added.

In 2020, the company continues to work on a number of projects and equipment manufactured by the company are used in various fields.
Kochi, June 26 : At least 50 women teachers on Friday marched to the residence of popular Malayalam actor Sreenivasan asking him to apologise for his remarks against Anganwadi teachers.

Shouting slogans against the actor, the teachers said that if Sreenivasan fails to apologise, they will seek legal recourse.

Following COVID-19 norms in place, the protesters maintaining social distancing norms and wearing masks took part in the march.

In an interview with a vernacular TV channel, Sreenivasan turned critical about the Anganwadi teachers here and said they are people who have no qualifications at all, while in countries like Japan and others those who teach children are qualified in psychiatry and psychology.

"This is one profession where one has to have a lot of patience and the children are exposed to them and it's their qualities they acquire," was the statement he made.

The association approached Shahida Kamal - a member of the Kerala Women's Commission and gave the complaint and this is being looked into.

Sreenivasan is an actor, writer and director and his films have won him a lot of acclaim.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
NANJING, China, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nanjing Jiangbei New Area, a state-level new area in East China's Jiangsu Province, celebrated its fifth anniversary of establishment on Wednesday.

Since its establishment was officially approved by China's State Council in June 2015, Jiangbei New Area has been actively engaged in the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.

Over the past five years, data show that its major indicators, including GDP, general public budget revenue and fixed investment, have doubled.

Jiangbei New Area has constantly improved business environment by reforming its administrative examination and approval system. Up until now, 33,298 enterprises and 352.7 billion yuan of registered capital have been added to the new area.

Since 2018, Jiangbei New Area has carried out the reform of separating business licenses and operation certificates. So far, documents for applying starting business in the new area have been reduced by nearly 60 percent and the approval efficiency has been increased by nearly 90 percent.

To promote innovation, Jiangbei New Area has been making efforts to gather high-end and competitive innovation forces. More than 100 new research and development institutions have been set up, including a science and technology innovation center of the University of Cambridge and the largest gene sequencing base in Asia.

To participate in the building of a modern industrial agglomeration area in the Yangtze River Delta, the new area has been focusing on the construction of a city of chips, a city of gene technology and a new financial center.

The city of chips has become home of more than 600 enterprises in three years, including industry leaders such as Huawei, Aisino Corporation and Empyrean Software, with the industry's total output value surpassing 50 billion yuan.

The city of gene technology has gathered more than 800 enterprises with an industrial scale of nearly 100 billion yuan, while the new financial center hosts over 400 funds with a total capital of 500 billion yuan, providing strong support for the development of emerging industries.

Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/314450.html
GLEN CARBON  Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois welcomes Beth Hammock as Vice President of Advancement and Communications, where she will provide leadership in the areas of fund development, media relations, communications and marketing.

Hammock is a graduate of the University of Missouri and comes to the organization with 20 years of experience, as well as 12 years of experience in television news. She has served in leadership positions for nonprofits through professional and volunteer service, including being a member of the Board of Directors and delegate to the Girl Scouts national convention at Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri.
If Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor fails to repay Indiabulls within the next two months, then one of the most expensive addresses in India may be sold-off.

According to a report by Moneycontrol, a two-storey residential building known as Khursheed-Abad on Altamount Road, Indiabulls Blue Tower B and C in Worli and three duplexes in Sesen, Napean Sea Road in Mumbai and 40, Amrita Shergill Marg could be sold off in auctions in the coming days.

These properties have come to be known as as New Delhis billionaires row.

Notices have been served by Indiabulls Housing Finance and Indiabulls Commercial Credit Ltd, to its borrowers under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (Sarfaesi). For the Mumbai properties, the loan default against them is Rs 650 crore, the report states.

These properties had been mortgaged by Rana and his family-controlled businesses to Indiabulls. The report points out that the Kapoors allegedly owe Rs 1,200 crore to the company.

An Indiabulls spokesperson told Moneycontrol that they had already received Section 9 order in their favour from the Delhi High Court.

The spokesperson added that they had now initiated the SARAFESI process, and were well collateralised and expected to recover their Rs 1,200 crore in the forthcoming auction of said properties.

A chargesheet had been filed by the CBI on June 26 against Kapoor and the promoters of Dewan Housing Finance Ltd in a separate case of corruption and cheating in early March.

A two-month notice is required to be given to borrowers after the loans are classified as non-performing assets under the Sarfaesi law, which is why it could take two to three months for the pre-auction process, the spokesperson told Moneycontrol.

They added that they were "extremely well collateralised with heart of town prime properties", by more than two times and looked forward to recovering the due.

The Khursheed-Abad property on Altamount Road is an independent two-storey residential building. The 1,400 square yard plot might fetch between Rs 135 crore and Rs 140 crore in an auction. According to real estate consultants, the bungalow has six to seven rooms.

Ritesh Mehtra, senior director and head, West India, Residential, Jones Lang Lasalle India, said that the property would "command a premium" owing to its address, location and said that industrialists or major stockbrokers could be among the buyers.

About 10 floors of the Indiabulls Blue Tower B and C in Worli are reportedly owned by Rana Kapoor, with a floor plate of 5,000 to 6,000 sq ft. The price per sq ft for a residential unit is around Rs 70,000 per sq ft. Brokers told Moneycontrol that these properties could fetch between Rs 350 crore and Rs 400 crore.

Brokers say that each of these apartments is spread over 10,000 sq ft. Three duplex units in Sensen, valued at Rs 110 to 112 crore each are also owned by Kapoor. Its estimated that the total value of the apartments is around Rs 300 crore.

In the year 2017, the Ranas purchased a bungalow on the Amrita Shergill Marg in Lutyens, Delhi, after borrowing Rs 370 crore for the purpose from Indiabulls Housing.

The family got this bungalow at about Rs 380 crore from Gautam Thapar. Thapar, for a corporate loan of Rs 600 crore, had mortgaged the property to Yes Bank. He later wanted to settle the dues by offering sell the property.

The ED filed a case of his money laundering against Kapoor and his wife, Bindu, after the loan and the sale. According to real estate brokers, the bungalow, may fetch Rs 425 crore to 450 crore. The size of the plot is 6,000 square yards and the total built-up area is around 12,500 sq ft, Moneycontrol reports.

The area might also be insulated from the slowdown in the real estate market, as indicated by the fact that a bungalow in the vicinity had sold for about Rs 250 crore a few years ago.

A duplex apartment in the Il Palazzo, Malabar Hill, is among the other properties owned by Kapoor and his family. The sea-facing property is spread across 3,500 sq ft and priced at around Rs 40 crore.

The former banker's family also possesses a 2,300 sq ft unit in NCPA apartments, which is a premium building located at Nariman Point. Local brokers told Moneycontrol that every unit is valued at Rs 28 to Rs 30 crore.
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Linkedin Alya Nurbaiti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 18:42 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661fd837 1 National COVID-19,COVID-19-Jakarta,covid-19-east-java,East-Java,coronavirus,health-ministry,virus-korona-indonesia,hotspot Free

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in East Java has exceeded that of Jakarta, making the province Indonesias COVID-19 epicenter.

On Friday, East Java reported 356 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing its total to 10,901 cases, surpassing Jakartas tally of 10,796.

The province has also reported the highest number of COVID-19 deaths. According to the government count, 796 people have died of the disease in East Java. Jakarta has recorded a total of 616 deaths.

The report came a day after President Joko Jokowi Widodo visited East Java. There, he urged the provincial administration to decrease the rate of COVID-19 transmission in the region within two weeks.

I demand integrated and serious controls from all institutions in the region [] so we can handle and lower the number of confirmed cases [] within two weeks, the President said in Surabaya on Thursday.

Read also: As COVID-19 transmission rate soars, Surabaya urged to restore restrictions

National COVID-19 task force spokesperson Achmad Yurianto said that Central Java and South Sulawesi reported 177 and 172 cases respectively on Friday, among the highest that day.

Yurianto appealed to citizens to adhere to health protocols to curb the spread of the virus, especially as the government began easing restrictions under the so-called new normal policy in many parts of the archipelago.

There are three places that have a high potential to be sources of transmission: offices, restaurants and public transportation. Its important for us to maintain a physical distance of at least 1.5 meters from others and wear masks while at those places, he said.

Indonesia continues to be the hardest hit country in Southeast Asia. On Friday, 1,240 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed nationwide, bringing the countrys tally to 51,427.
The Greek tourism minister has suggested that Britons could be allowed back to holiday hotspots in less than a week. (Getty)

Brits could be welcomed back to holiday hotspots in Greece within a week, the countrys tourism minister has suggested.

Haris Theoharis said the country wants UK tourists to return when it opens to European holidaymakers on 1 July.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4s Today programme, he suggested that conversations with the UK government over so-called air bridges were going well and he expected a final decision in the next few days.

Air bridges are hoped to help alleviate concerns from travel companies and airlines over the governments 14-day quarantine rule, which they have branded disproportionate and unfair and warned will have a devastating effect on the UKs aviation and tourism industries.

Theoharis told the programme that there was no need for those returning to the UK from Greece to be quarantined.

He said: The point is that Greece is a safe country  we have proven that during this crisis and we will continue proving this in the exit stages of the health situation.

We feel that the risk of someone contracting the disease in Greece is much lower than most of the countries in Europe and indeed the rest of the world.

Read more: Patel defends quarantine plans as essential for arrivals to the UK

The ministers comments come amid reports that British tourists will be able to visit any one of about 10 countries without having to quarantine, thanks to air bridges and travel corridors.

According to some reports, air bridges with France, Spain, Italy and Turkey are close to being confirmed, alongside Greece, as part of plans set to be unveiled on Monday (June 29), with the first flights expected on 4 July.

Other countries are expected to include Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Gibraltar and Bermuda, with speculation suggesting Portugal could also be on the list despite concerns over recent coronavirus outbreaks in the popular destination.
The State Department imposed visa restrictions Friday on an unspecified number of current and former Chinese Communist Party officials deemed responsible for "eviscerating" Hong Kong's freedom and autonomy.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the visa restrictions in a statement in which he cited Beijing's move last weekend to impose a new security law on the former British territory, setting up the most profound change to the city's independence since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

"President [Donald] Trump promised to punish the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials who were responsible for eviscerating Hong Kong's freedoms," Pompeo said. "Today, we are taking action to do just that."

No officials were named, nor any numbers given. State Department officials said that would violate the confidentiality of visas.

The visa restrictions against the officials and their relatives came a day after the Senate unanimously passed a bill that would place mandatory sanctions on Chinese officials who chip away at Hong Kong's autonomy and secondary sanctions on the banks and companies that do business with them.

The visa restrictions are expected to be just the first wave of punitive actions the administration will take against China. Tensions between Washington and Beijing have been building for months, fueled in part by China's lack of transparency over the origins of the coronavirus outbreak, first detected in the city of Wuhan. The tension mounted as the two countries expelled each other's journalists and Pompeo assailed China's ruling party as the "central threat of our times."

The mutual animosity started coming to a boil a month ago when Pompeo declared the United States no longer considers Hong Kong autonomous.

As the pace of deterioration in the U.S.-China relationship accelerated, Pompeo flew to Honolulu for a June 17 meeting with China's foreign policy chief, Yang Jiechi. After what sounded like a prickly meeting, Pompeo said that he was looking for China to show in deeds, not words, that it was willing to relent on limiting Hong Kong's freedoms and end other actions the United States considers aggressive. Shortly after the meeting, Beijing moved to impose the new security law.

Pompeo lambasted China at length Thursday during a virtual appearance at a German Marshall Fund forum in Brussels, calling Beijing's actions "belligerent" and "predatory."

In his statement Friday, Pompeo focused on China's recent moves in Hong Kong, which was supposed to have a "high degree" of autonomy for 50 years under the agreement struck when Britain relinquished colonial rule.

"Beijing continues to undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong by putting pressure on local authorities to arrest pro-democracy activists and disqualify pro-democracy electoral candidates," Pompeo said.

He also called on China to honor its commitments in the Joint Declaration signed with Britain in 1984, including a promise that human rights would be respected by government officials in Hong Kong.

A State Department spokesman, who would speak only on condition of anonymity, citing department policy, said Trump had promised consequences for China if it prematurely imposed its own rules on Hong Kong's residents.

"Hong Kong has flourished as a bastion of liberty," the spokesman said. "Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and the full implementation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, as well as respect for human rights, are of fundamental importance. The United States will continue to review its authorities to respond to these concerns."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 09:30:24|Editor: huaxia

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ABUJA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government on Thursday announced its plans to create up to 5 million jobs after the fight against COVID-19 in the most populous African country.

One of the government's post-COVID-19 recovery plans is to save about 1.4 million local jobs, said Adeniyi Adebayo, minister of industry, trade and investment.

Some 10 percent of the jobs to be saved are those in special needs, while 40 percent in female-owned Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the minister said in a statement.

The government's Guaranteed Offtake Stimulus Scheme will save additional 300,000 jobs in MSMEs around the country, Adebayo added.

Adebayo noted that the Nigerian government has planned several programs designed mainly with a robust governance structure and a monitoring and evaluation framework to ensure implementation. Enditem
Beijing:

President Xi Jinping Saturday appointed Luo Zhaohui, a senior diplomat with previous assignments in Pakistan and Canada, as Chinas new ambassador to India.

Luo, 54, who had also served as Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan previously was Chinas envoy to Canada from 2014 to 2016.

He is familiar with India as he worked as third and later Second Secretary in Chinese Embassy in India from 1989 to1993. He had a four year stint as Ambassador to Pakistan starting from 2006.

Later Luo served as director general of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2014. He will take over from former Chinese ambassador to India Le Yucheng who left New Delhi in April, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
How much is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worth? The question, which went viral this week, has become the focus of Israels economic journalists.

It is no secret that Netanyahu is one of Israels wealthiest politicians. He is certainly the wealthiest person to serve as prime minister. In 2019, Forbes estimated his personal wealth at around 50 million Israeli shekels ($14.5 million).

Nevertheless, questions about how robust financially Netanyahu really is were raised this week, following a decision by the Knessets Finance Committee June 23 to approve a request by the prime ministers office for a retroactive tax rebate for the prime minister, to be issued by the state. This total amount is estimated to be close to 1 million shekels ($291,000).

The request was presented to the committee by Netanyahus close confidant, Knesset member and coalition chairman Miki Zohar. He argued that Netanyahu had been harassed by the tax authorities, which want to make him financially handicapped. Making matters worse, claimed Zohar, this comes at a time when the prime minister is busy working on behalf of the country from early morning to late at night, leaving him no time to deal with his personal affairs.

Realizing that this came across like gross indifference to the real concerns of the general public, Knesset members from the Blue and White party decided to absent themselves from the debate. They did not want to face justifiable criticism over it.

It was, in fact, a show of aloof disinterest and detachment from reality. It occurred shortly after Minister of Welfare Itzik Shmuli called a press conference to discuss the steep rise in unemployment in Israel as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. This would probably be exacerbated by the fact that beginning in August, people who lost their jobs because of the virus will no longer be eligible to receive unemployment benefits, and that this will lead to their personal economic collapse.

It would be immoral to deny unemployment benefits to people who lost their jobs because of decisions made by the government  nor would it be effective, said Shmuli. He went on to warn that hundreds of thousands of Israelis would sink beneath the poverty line, calling the situation a ticking time bomb.

What makes this even more absurd is that Shmuli is a member of Netanyahus government, and a partner in all its poor decisions and misdeeds.

If anyone can attack the government freely, it is the chairman of the opposition, Knesset member Yair Lapid. He tweeted, At the height of an economic crisis, with businesses collapsing and hundreds of thousands of people left unemployed, the Knesset Finance Committee is focused on one thing: tax benefits for Netanyahu. There is no clearer definition of political corruption. It is a violation of trust between the government and the public  corruption thanks to the munificence of [Defense Minister Benny] Gantz and [Foreign Minister Gabi] Ashkenazi. You are detached from reality. We are fed up with you.

Lapid voiced public sentiment in response to the wasteful spending spree of the national unity government. Only recently, that same government approved extraordinary benefits for its two leaders, Netanyahu and Chairman of the Blue and White party Gantz, including official residences and a fleet of Audi A8 armored limos, not to mention extravagant offices and overly generous salaries for their advisers and staff.

And all of this is happening while Israel is in the midst of a serious economic crisis  perhaps the most serious in all its history  and it is only getting worse. Official figures state the number of unemployed in the country is 1 million, while hundreds of thousands of independent contractors are in serious economic crisis. Some of their businesses have already crashed. Not a day goes by without the traditional press and social media featuring heart-wrenching tales about people, who paid taxes all their lives, and yet, saw their whole world come crashing down around them when the government imposed an economic closure last March. Businesses were shut. Entire streets were suddenly lined with shuttered shops. Young people went back to living with their parents, while entire families were evicted because they could not pay rent. And it is still happening now. More and more evidence is accumulating about the miserable state of the Israeli economy, which was stable and even strong up until the coronavirus struck. Now, it is entering a period of uncertainty.

There is certainly some debate about the fairness and validity of Netanyahus insistence on receiving tax rebates. He may even be right. Still, there is no question that the request itself lacks basic sensitivity to the situation everywhere. Netanyahu is poking a finger in the eyes of millions of unemployed.

Netanyahu is far from being financially handicapped. He has a thick stock portfolio and three expensive houses, in addition to his official residence, which is owned by the state. He owns a villa by the sea in Caesarea, which the Netanyahu family uses mainly on weekends, a two-story penthouse on one of Jerusalems most prestigious streets and half of his parents expensive villa in Jerusalem. Estimates put the value of these three properties at 35-40 million shekels ($10-11.5 million). His stock portfolio is thought to exceed 10 million shekels ($2.91 million) in value.

Over the years, Netanyahu and his wife got into trouble over financial matters, including attempts to use the public coffers to cover their personal expenses. In some cases, this led to lawsuits. What makes the situation now especially cringeworthy is that Netanyahu is fully aware of how Israelis are facing economic ruin, and yet he did nothing to postpone or moderate his demands.

On June 24, the coalition voted against a law proposed by the Yesh Atid party, which would have made independent contractors eligible for unemployment. The irate public responded with demonstrations outside the Knesset and the prime ministers office.

Once again, Lapid was quick to disparage the way that the government was acting. He tweeted, The prime minister and his alternate shadow [Gantz] deigned to show up to vote against the law that we proposed, together with organizations representing independent contractors, to make those businesses eligible for unemployment benefits. Only yesterday, they also stuffed Netanyahus pocket with hundreds of thousands of shekels. Today, they are voting against independent contractors and small businesses that can barely breathe. Shame is dead. You are detached from reality. We are fed up with you.

Meanwhile, polls show that Netanyahu has not been harmed by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. On the contrary, his standing in the polls has only gotten stronger. On the other hand, public opinion surveys show that the economy is the No. 1 issue of concern for Israelis. That's why public sentiment could still turn on Netanyahu.

All economists agree that the depth of the countrys economic abyss has yet to be seen. Peoples financial reserves are running out with each passing week, and this could leave them financially disabled. Many of these people are Netanyahu supporters. There is no assurance that they will still hold back from turning on him if they take a hit.
Ghana has always prided herself as one of the best countries when it comes to medical education. Ghanaian doctors and nurses are highly sorted after around the globe and the country has been known to be home to some of the best medical schools in Africa.

Over the last 15 years, Ghana has built some of the best medical facilities, increased her medical schools, from innovative teaching methodologies to ultra-modern clinical and research faculties (Ho, Tamale, University of Ghana, teaching hospitals and Bolgatanga Regional Hospital among others), medicine is fast becoming Ghanas top academic faculty.

With a population of over 30 million and one of the countries in Africa with the youngest population, Ghanas health care delivery has been found to be inadequate.

In an address he made to the nation in the early days of the lockdown due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo pledge to build 88 district hospitals and 6 regional hospitals plus rehabilitation of Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi/Takoradi, however he admitted that in other to staff these new facilities more medical personnel would have to be trained. Not long after, the former President, John Mahama, also pledge to build a first-class hospital in the newly created regions and a district hospital in all the districts in the country.

According to the World Bank development indicators data the ratio (2017) of doctors (per 1,000 patients in Ghana) was reported at 0.1359. Emigration of doctors have always been a challenge for the Ghanaian authorities which has crested shortages in the health and has affected health care delivery in the country. The training of physicians is low relative to the countrys needs. From 2014 a raft of reforms was introduced by President Mahama led NDC administration to assist with the retention and enhanced productivity of health workers, however there are still shortages outside of the large cities.

In terms of the policy differences between New Patriotic Party led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo and the National Democratic Congress led by Former President John Mahama isnt much. In the 1970s and 80s Ghana lost majority of her skilled professionals, which was exacerbated by the expulsion of Ghanaians from the neighbouring countries in 1983 and 1985. Majority of Ghanaian professionals who returned to the country left soon afterwards to mainly Europe and North America. This excessive outmigration of Ghanas professionals left the country in a very precarious state, especially the effects of the outmigration of health professionals affected Ghanas health care delivery.

Under the Structural Adjustment Programs, which was initiated under the Bretton Woods Institutions (World Bank and the IMF) in Ghana( a program that was first implemented in Japan, and later applied in a host of countries  the so called Economic Miracle) opened up the economy which allowed private investments into the country and selling of state assets and job cuts in civil service, including reforms in the financial, educational and health sectors. User fees were for the first time in the nations history were introduced in the health and education sectors.

The shortages of health professionals, especially nurses and doctors led the PNDC/NDC administration under ex-President Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings to respond by expanding the training and allowing private sector involvement in the training of health workers especially nurses and midwives, Asamani et al, March 2020. The expansion of nurses and midwifery training colleges and the improvement of health sector salaries attracted more people into the profession and other allied health colleges. This expansion in both government and private nursing colleges has led to the Ghanaian governments inability to absorbed the excess graduates into the limited health facilities in the country.

Throughout the history of Ghanas health care delivery, nurses and midwives have played key roles and their contribution to health development in the country have been immense.

Within the opposition NDC have emerged two schools of thought on how to health care delivery must be delivered, both at the district and regional levels. The first group, which includes NDC Ranking member for Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, argued that by building more district hospitals, including accommodations, transport and scholarships for their children to attend boarding schools and improved allowances, would encourage them to work in the rural areas. However, the second group, which includes most of the NDC leadership have explain that in addition to proposals of the first school of thought, the incoming NDC administration under President John Mahama would ensure all the 16 regions of the country have a first-class Regional Hospital.

With the shortage of physicians in the country Ex-President John Mahama (the current Presidential candidate of NDC) has proposed a series of measures to enhanced the delivery of health care in the country. Under President Mahamas health reforms, medical school education would be expanded and encourage bright students from the rural and less privilege back grounds to attend medical school, as well as increased the number of teaching hospitals in the country. With the University of Technology and Applied Sciences to start medical school as soon as the university is inaugurated, it is envisaged that Bolgatanga Regional Hospital, which has all the facilities in place to train medical doctors and other allied health professionals, would be converted into a teaching hospital.

According to those close to President Mahama, his health policy would be the most comprehensive health reforms ever implemented in the history of the country. President Mahama has been credited with building most of the current health infrastructure in the country which have helped Ghana to deal effectively with the COVID 19 cases. Under the Mahama health plan, the following hospitals would be converted into teaching hospitals:

Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital) Accra

Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital would be rehabilitated and converted into a teaching hospital

Police Hospital in Accra would be converted into a teaching hospital

37 Military Hospital and Kumasi Military Hospital would be converted into teaching hospitals

Bono Regional Hospital in Sunyani would be converted into a teaching hospital.

Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua would be converted into a teaching hospital.

Upper East Regional Hospital, Wa, to be converted into a teaching hospital.

Tema Regional Hospital, Tema, to be converted into a teaching hospital.

As part of President Mahamas health reforms all nursing and midwifery training colleges are to be University Colleges and will offer 4-year Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and Midwifery. The shake of the health reforms would include a proposal where anyone with a health professional qualification, including nurses and midwives, can sit an entrance examination to go to medical school. Experience Nurses and Midwives would be trained to become nurse consultants and offer general practitioner services in rural and district hospitals alongside physicians as is the case in most developed countries.

The growth of private for profit accredited health providers would be given added incentive to employ full time nurses and midwives, instead of relying on dual public sector health employees, a measure which would be strictly enforced to stimulate health sector job creation, Asamani et al.

President Mahamas health care expansion would reform the National Health Insurance Scheme. According to those close the NDC Ranking Member of Health, Hon. Kwabena Akandoh, the government would bring in innovative policies to make the scheme the best in Africa. Already, Hon. Akandoh is in the process of setting up a committee to look into the reforms on the NHIS. With the proposal to convert 6 regional hospitals and 2 Security Services hospital into Teaching Hospitals, the transformation of Ghanas health care systems would bring first class health delivery to the citizens.

The number of medical schools in Ghana currently are:

School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, and the largest in the country

School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi

School of Medicine, University of Development Studies, Tamale

The Medical School, University of Cape Coast

University of Allied Health Sciences

Family Health Medical School

Accra College of Medicine

C4C Homeopathic Medical College

Under the Mahamas health policy proposals, Ghana will have 3 additional medical schools, however, The Police Hospital Medical School, 37 Military Hospital Medical School, and Kumasi Military Medical School would only train service personnel who would work alongside their civilian counterparts.

Ghanas rapid development over the past decade has turned the country into a thriving hub for most companies setting up their regional headquarters in the country. President Mahama knows that a healthy and educated workforce would not only increase the productivity of the country but would encourage more inward investments into the country.

According to those close to the NDC Ranking Member for Health, Hon. Akandoh, the committee set up by President Mahama during the COVID 19 pandemic would be transited when NDC takes over the government from NPP and advises the Mahama government in its health delivery policies.
SAN FRANCISCO - Verizon is joining an escalating movement to siphon advertising away from Facebook in an effort to pressure the company into doing more to prevent racist and violent information from being shared on its social networking service.

The decision announced Thursday by one of the worlds biggest telecommunications companies is part of an boycott organized by civil rights and other advocacy groups under the rallying cry of #StopHateforProfit. The protest, spurred by last months killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, is supposed to last through July.

We have strict content policies in place and have zero tolerance when they are breached, we take action, New York-based Verizon said in a statement. Were pausing our advertising until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable.

Verizon noted that it has previously stopped advertising at other popular online destinations, such as Googles YouTube video service, when it has felt its promotions might appear alongside content inconsistent with the companys values.

In its own statement, Facebook executive Carolyn Everson said the company respected Verizons decision and remains committed to purging hateful content from its services.

Our conversations with marketers and civil rights organizations are about how, together, we can be a force for good, said Everson, vice-president of Facebooks global business group.

Other advertisers who have pledged to stay off Facebook and other company services such as Instagram include three major outdoor gear companies, Patagonia, The North Face and REI.

Common Sense, one of the boycott organizers, said other companies who have agree to pause their Facebook advertising include retailer Eddie Bauer, web browser maker Mozilla and and a movie studio, Magnolia Pictures.

The boycott, in theory, could pinch Facebooks profits since the company makes most of its money from ads targeted at the interests that more than 2 billion people share on its various services. Investors, so far, dont appear worried about that, though.

Shares in the company based in Menlo Park, California, hit an all-time high $245.19 earlier this week and havent fallen dramatically. The stock closed Thursday at $235.68.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 00:28:36|Editor: huaxia

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NEW DELHI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- All schools in the Indian capital will remain closed till July 31, announced Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday after a meeting with the education department officials.

The schools in Delhi have remained shut since March 25, when countrywide lockdown was first imposed and extended several times thereafter.

The decision has been taken as safety precautions in the wake of the continued increase in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. Delhi has emerged as one of the most feared hotspots of COVID-19 cases in the country.

The education department officials agreed that online classes of the school students and other activities with the help of parents and teachers should continue in the meantime, amid the extended closure of the schools.

Till Friday Delhi recorded 2,429 COVID-19 deaths and total cases 73,780. Enditem
Chinese handset maker has begun covering its retail store branding with 'Made in India' logo in white colour amid fears of vandalism at outlets in the backdrop of the Sino-India border tension, the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) said.

The association had written to Chinese mobile brands to highlight the threat of vandalism at offline stores by people amid calls for boycotting Chinese products in certain sections.

"In our letter, we had requested the brands to allow retailers to cover these signages with cloth/flex or to remove the boards from the storefront for a few months given the situation... has started putting 'Made in India' banners in white colour on its boards," AIMRA President Arvinder Khurana said. He added that other companies are yet to take any such steps but are keeping a watch on the situation.

did not respond to an e-mailed query.

Khurana said some anti-social activists recently visited several markets in various parts of the country and threatened to damage the mobile phone stores, and asked them to remove Chinese branding from their outlets.

"This could be a threat to the safety of retailers in case the aggression increases. Damage to the boards displaying Chinese branding should not be the retailer's liability," he said.

Asked if these sentiments have affected sales, Khurana said there has been an impact.

"Customers are saying they don't want to be shown Chinese products, and Samsung will benefit from this given that is the only major non-Chinese brand in the country. I think the focus should be on promoting Indian players, maybe provide extra support like the Chinese government gives to its companies," he added.

While mobile phone makers have remained mum, industry executives, not wishing to be identified, have said sales have largely remained unaffected.

Factors like almost two months of lockdown and people working and studying from home have created a pent-up demand for smartphones, and many firms have had to resort to expensive imports to meet the spurt in demand, they said.

However, Chinese firms are keeping a close watch on the developments, and monitoring the situation on ground as well as on social media.

Xiaomi India Head Manu Jain has also said the anti-China sentiment was limited mainly to social media and it had not impacted its business in the country. In a tweet on June 24, Jain had said Xiaomi's Redmi Note9 Pro Max was out of stock in less than 50 seconds during a sale.

Four of the top-five smartphone brands in India (Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme and Oppo) are from China, and accounted for almost 76 per cent share of the 32.5 million smartphones shipped in India during the March 2020 quarter (according to IDC data).

South Korea's Samsung, which ranked third and cornered 15.6 per cent share of shipment in the said quarter, is the only non-Chinese firm in the top-five tallies. India is the second-largest smartphone market after China and clocked a shipment of 152.5 million smartphones in 2019.
KLM airplanes in front of Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Photo: Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images

The governments of Germany, the Netherlands and France have offered financial bailout packages worth billions of euros to save their flag-carrier airlines from going bust, after the coronavirus pandemic brought the aviation industry to its knees.

The Dutch government has agreed to contribute 3.4bn (3.07bn, $3.8bn) to a bailout of the Air France-KLM (AF.PA) airline alliance.

The KLM rescue package will be a mixture of loans and guarantees, according to Reuters, and the Dutch government will appoint a trustee to the board. France got EU approval in May to offer a 7bn bailout to Air France, so in total the partner airlines are set to get 10.4bn in state support.

In Germany, shareholders in Lufthansa (LHA.DE) approved the government bailout offer of 9bn on Thursday (25 June), after weeks of deliberation and debate while the airline rapidly ran out of money.

READ MORE: Lufthansa shareholders approve 9bn German government bailout

The Lufthansa bailout is structured as 5.7bn of silent capital contribution and 3bn as a loan from state-owned development bank KfW. Berlin will also take a 20% stake in the airline, worth 300m, and get two supervisory board seats.

The government buying a stake at that price was an issue for Lufthansas biggest shareholder Heinz Hermann Thiele, who could have torpedoed the deal, but backed it at the last minute.

Ryanair (RYAAY) chief executive Michael OLeary said in May that he intends to appeal to the European Commission over the Lufthansa bailout, which he slammed as illegal state aid, which will massively distort competition.

READ MORE: EasyJet raises 419m in battle to survive crisis

In order to approve the Lufthansa rescue deal, the European competition regulator ordered the airline to give up some valuable landing slots at Frankfurt and Munich airports. It has also placed caps on executive salaries and been asked to waive dividends.

In the UK, British Airways owner IAG in May said it had requested 300m ($372m) from the government-backed Coronavirus Corporate Finance Facility.

The bailouts and loans will likely still fail to prevent massive job cuts across all airlines, including British Airways, Ryanair, Lufthansa, EasyJet, and Qantas.
Management of Despite Media Group has learnt with grave concern the establishment of such an endowment fund for the family of our late employee Kwadwo Wiafe Annor circulating on social media.



First and foremost, Management has no stake in such a fund and thus the establishment of the fund was neither initiated or authorised by Despite Media Group in any way.



Our checks as a Company indicates some friends and well wishers took this initiative which in no way was sanctioned by Management.



We therefore dissociate ourselves from the said fund in its entirety and urge all our business partners, friends and allies to note that we would not do anything to jeopardise our hard won reputation.



Signed







Management

(Despite Media)

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana





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

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Egypt will reopen nurseries nationwide starting Wednesday, after three months of closure amid the coronavirus pandemic, the countrys Social Solidarity Minister Niveen El-Qabbaj said on Thursday.

This weekend will see a lifting of a number of restrictions in place since March, including the end of a nightly curfew and a reopening of restaurants, cafes, many shops, and some cultural and social venues, albeit under new hygiene and safety restrictions.

The reopening of nurseries is required as some mothers will go back to work in the coming days, El-Qabbaj told Egyptian state television.

The total number of nurseries countrywide stands at 14,000, according to the minister, but only places that are able to abide by new coronavirus precautions will be able to open.

The ministry, which is responsible for the countrys childcare centres, will announce what those precautions are on Saturday.

They will include intensifying sterilisation and disinfection measures and implementing physical distancing, according to the minister.

She noted that large-capacity nurseries have already been contacted by the ministry and told to be ready to reduce the number of children they can take care of in the upcoming period.

The ministry will inspect all operational nurseries to make sure all preventative measures are being met.

El-Qabbaj said that up to 176 other nurseries designated for challenged children will be allowed to reopen very soon.

Starting Saturday, Egypt will reopen restaurants, cafes, and sporting clubs at a maximum capacity of 25 percent, in what the government has said is the first stage of reopening.

Religious venues will be allowed to host daily prayers under certain conditions, although weekly Friday prayers at mosques will not be allowed.

International flights will resume at all Egyptian airports on Wednesday, although foreign tourists will only be allowed into three coastal governorates: South Sinai, Matrouh, and the Red Sea.

Egypt has been witnessing a steady increase in coronavirus cases, with total infections as of Thursday at 61,130 and deaths reaching 2,533.

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Orton Caswell Cas Walker would have to be described as one of the most unorthodox businessman, politician, and/or radio and television personalities.

The stories about this East Tennessean have to be distinguished between fact and fiction but he was a public figure that lit up the skyline in his adopted hometown of Knoxville with his wild and unusual antics that were displayed in an open forum to an adoring number of citizens so the majority of them have to be true.

Cas Walker was born in Sevier County, Tennessee on March 23, 1902, and quit school when he was 14 years old to start working in a variety of jobs in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky. When he had earned and saved enough money to go into business for himself, he returned to Knoxville in 1924 and established the first Cas Walkers Cash Store. From this beginning he developed and operated 27 stores in Tennessee and Kentucky which grossed over $60,000,000 in one year.

He was famous for his low prices compared to his competitors, his aggressive marketing, and innovative advertising. His stores had as his logo a pair of shears indicating price cutting in his grocery locations. He threw thousands of discount coupons out of airplanes in the neighborhoods near any of his stores to advertise his weekly specials.

One of his most outrageous stunts was to hire an individual by the stage name of Digger ODell (stolen from the undertaker in the popular Life of Riley radio program) to be buried alive in the parking lot of a Cas Walker Store on Chapman Highway in Knoxville for $100 a day with a pipe to breathe and a telephone to answer calls during the day or night. The intended underground entombment was supposed to be for 30 days. Because the gimmick was so successful with breaking crowds and grocery sales Cas refused to let Digger out before the scheduled 30 days. No way said Cas, sales were too good and a deal was a deal! Digger tried to get dug up by calling the newspaper claiming he was having a heart attack and that Cas was denying proper medical treatment. Cass solution to his complaints was to dress two women up who worked for him in nurse uniforms and station them above the grave selling barbecued chicken sandwiches.

Another money providing gimmick was when Cas one Saturday started throwing live chickens off the roof of one of his stores with the announcement that if you could catch one, it was yours! This became a regular Saturday night event and drew crowds by the thousands and record grocery sales. Other sales promotions included greased pigs contests, free flea dips, and other promotions that ranged from the crafty to the ridiculous.

In 1929 Walker created a variety of radio shows known as the Farm and Home Hour to help promote his grocery sales. In 1953 he went on television in Knoxville which aired until 1983. The show featured established county music performers such as Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, Jim Nabors, Chick Athens and others. It also launched the music careers of Dolly Parton who first performed on Cass show at the tender age of 10 in 1956 as well as the Everly Brothers who were regulars on the show in the mid 1950s and Barbara Mandell and Con Hunley. However, Cas fired the brothers when he claimed that they were beginning to play too much rock and roll and that jumpin' up and down music don't sell groceries."

Cas also started a newspaper called the Watchdog that was distributed at his stores and was basically a rant by Cas as to what he was hacked off about at the moment. He loved to get on political rivals and police who he had seen hanging around his competitors while on duty. He also hated dog dealers and women who wore hot pants and then accused Cass friends of raping them.

As to politics he projected himself as a hick, a redneck, and sometimes a just plain idiot. Cas was first elected to the Knoxville City Council in 1941 and was elected mayor in 1946 but after a few weeks of rowdy meetings and the firing of the city manager the other members of the council ousted him in a recall decision. Nevertheless, he was re-elected repeatedly until he retired voluntarily in 1971 and remained a political force and champion of the little people into the 1980s.

One of his early mentors who turned political opponent and enemy was George Dempster who invented the Dempster Dumpster and served as city manager and mayor of Knoxville. After the relationship cooled and became bitter Dempster once said, If I ordered a whole carload of SOBs and they just sent Cas Id sign for the shipment.

His most famous political stunt which got him in Life Magazine on March 19, 1956, occurred during a meeting of the Knoxville City Council when he exchanged punches with fellow councilman, J.S. Cooper, a former political supporter over tax rates and property assessments.

In later years Cas was in a nursing home and he confided in reporter Betty Bean that it was a made-up fight between the two of them. Rumors about Cas putting ice in the hamburger meat to make it weigh more and chemicals in stale meat to preserve it longer also dogged Cas over the years but he managed to survive each allegation.

The antics of Cas Walker are too numerous to cover in a short article! Many of the stories about his life are contained in a book entitled Cas Walker: Stories on his Life and Legend published by U.T. press in Knoxville and edited by Joshua Hodge, who at the time was a PhD student in the History Department but passed away while the book was in its final stages of completion. The book can be found at www.utpress.org/title/cas-walker.

* * *



Jerry Summers

(If you have additional information about one of Mr. Summers' articles or have suggestions or ideas about a future Chattanooga area historical piece, please contact Mr. Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com
Catch this weeks episode of Worldwide Business with kathy ireland on Sun. 6/28 & Weds. 7/1 Worldwide Business with kathy ireland will be live streaming this weeks episode of their successful business program on Sunday, June 28, 2020 and Wednesday, July 1, 2020 at 8:00pm ET / PT !

Worldwide Business with kathy ireland will be LIVE streaming this weeks episode of their successful business program on Sunday, June 28, 2020 and Wednesday, July 1, 2020 at 8:00pm ET / PT  prime time on both coasts for two chances to watch each night!

As leaders in their industries, the four companies featured demonstrate the unique branding opportunity Worldwide Business with kathy ireland offers by bringing strategic messages and unique solutions to the business community.

Our upcoming episodes exclusive interviews will spotlight key executives and innovations from the following companies:

Condair

The Importance of Indoor Air Hydration

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Excess Oil Field Gasses Powering Data Mining Supercomputers

Dragon Gate Investment Partners

Excellence in Providing Effective Cross-Border Business Solutions

Execu-Team Resources

Premier Management Recruitment Firm for the Beauty & Fashion Industry

To learn more about the companies highlighted above, catch their full interviews on Sunday, June 28, 2020 and Wednesday, July 1, 2020 at 8:00pm ET / PT due the LIVE stream of this weeks episode of Worldwide Business with kathy ireland! For a sneak peek, be sure to visit the upcoming episodes page on our website!

About Worldwide Business with kathy ireland

Worldwide Business with kathy ireland is a weekly half-hour show featuring global executives sharing their business insights and framing the opportunities shaping their industries. Hosted by a business mogul, Kathy Ireland interviews some of the brightest minds in business today. The show broadcasts on Fox Business Network as part of their sponsored content line up and globally on Bloomberg Television. Worldwide Business with kathy ireland extends beyond the weekly on-air program with digital content delivered on various video platforms and across social media.
The headline flew around the globe like wild fire. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published their long-awaited draft fracking drinking water study and concluded: fracking has had no widespread impact on drinking water. But if youve had your ear to the ground in fracking communities, something didnt sit right with the EPAs takeaway. Though the gas industry claims fracking is safe and doesnt harm drinking water, that story doesnt match what many landowners report from the fracking fields.

Fracking well pads are six-acre plus industrial zones that concentrate many gas wells on one location.

At least in Pennsylvania, the reason for this discrepancy comes down to a singular issue: mismanaged record-keeping and reporting by the Department of the Environment (DEP). Based on 2,309 previously unreported fracking complaints unearthed by the non-profit Public Herald, the public can now peek into 1,275 fracking water complaints from 17 of 40 fracking counties. However, Pennsylvanias official tally of water contamination is only 271 for all 40 counties.

Contrary to the EPA fracking studys conclusion, the prevalence of drinking water contamination appears to be much higher than previously reported. Accurate drinking water complaint data is vital to know as Maryland drafts new fracking regulations to potentially welcome the natural gas industry into Western Maryland in 2017.

What is a Contaminated Water Well?

Officially, Pennsylvania reports 271 confirmed cases of water degradation due to unconventional natural gas operations (a.k.a. fracking).

In Pennsylvania, water degradation is when a private water well located within 2,500 feet of a fracking well has been negatively impacted within six months of drilling. According to the DEP, water degradation falls into two campsreduced water volume or the presence of constituents found in higher levels after drilling than before drilling. Constituents can be naturally-occurring, fracking-related chemicals or methane gas than seeps into aquifers and water wells.

Homeowners usually know right away if somethings up with their well water. Their tap waters clarity or color changes, the water smells gross or the well runs dry. Whats harder for homeowners to self-identify is natural gas (methane) migration because methane gas is odorless. Methane is highly flammable and if present at dissolved levels above 28 mg/L requires immediate remediation or the potential for explosions exists.

Tainted water collected from a private drinking water well in PA near a fracking site.

Pennsylvanias DEP regulates the oil and gas industry and is also the 911 dispatch center for fracking complaints. DEPs role is to register citizen fracking complaints, research complaints and conduct water tests if needed. If water well damage is proved to be caused by nearby fracking, DEP notifies the gas driller that they are responsible for providing water replacement.

Buried in Folders: 1,275 Water Complaints

Prior to Public Heralds fracking complaints database (an open source project named #fileroom) which was launched in September 2015, the public had little access to Pennsylvanias fracking water complaints. What was known is that the DEP fracking complaint system was horrendous.

After considerable legal wrangling, the Scranton Times-Tribune obtained 969 determination letters and the newsroom reported in May 2013, water damage and murky testing methods.

In May 2014, Pennsylvanias Auditor General reviewed DEP complaint files and reported eight areas of mishandling with sloppy record keeping topping the list.

When asked if the publics health was being threatened from fracking water contamination, Pennsylvanias Auditor General publicly commented, we cant say one way or the other because their [DEP] record keeping is so poor.

After threatening legal action in 2013, Pennsylvanias DEP offices finally gave Public Herald volunteers access to all fracking complaints.

Over more than two years, Public Heralds team scanned 2,309 complaints from 17 of 40 counties. The complaints are stored online in the #fileroom database. The fracking complaints were stored in filing cabinets and most cases werent entered into any formal central tracking system. The 17 counties account for about 80 percent of Pennsylvanias fracking wells drilled.

Public Heralds volunteers scanned 2,309 fracking complaints found in paper folders at PA. DEP offices. Photo credit: J.B. Pribanic

Seventeen (or 44 percent) Water Contamination RateDepending on How You Look at It

Not only are Pennsylvanias water complaints much higher than previously reported, but also the basis that complaints are compared to leads people to believe that contamination rates are lower than they really are.

Heres why: A key fracking selling point is that multiple gas wells can be drilled from one central location, also called a well pad. A fracking well pad is a six-acre plus industrial zone that can host as many as 10 individual gas wells that spread out like a spider web underground. The number of fracking well pad locations interspersed near homes is actually smaller than realized because many fracking wells are concentrated from one location. Pennsylvanias DEP reports an average of 2.6 wells drilled per fracking well pad location. (As of Jan. 26, Pennsylvania has 3,687 unconventional well pads and 9,632 unconventional wells drilled since 2000).

If youre a homeowner or an elected official, assessing the scale of water complaints, comparing to the number of well pad locations is more relevant than comparing to the number of wells drilled. Using the higher figure of wells drilled, which most reporting does, minimizes the scale of impact to people living near concentrated fracking operations.

To understand how this changes the story, if DEPs official tally of 271 confirmed water contaminations is compared to 9,632 fracking wells drilled since 2000, thats a three percent water contamination rate. That figure seems pretty low and supports the EPAs conclusion that fracking water contamination isnt widespread.

Public Heralds Pennsylvania fracking water complaints by county. Photo credit: Public Herald / DEP

But if you dig into Public Heralds #fileroom database, as the chart above illustrates, 1,275 water complaints were filed in 17 counties with only 2,923* fracking well pads. Those well pads hosted 7,627 gas wells. That means that for about every two fracking well pads, one homeowner called in a water complaint, instead of one for every seven wells drilled. Thats a 44 percent fracking water complaint rate suggesting that water well issues are pervasive. Even if the water complaints are compared to the number of wells drilled in these 17 counties, its a 17 percent water complaint rate.

Not only is the sky-high complaint rate concerning, but why did the DEP dismiss and not report more than 1,000 water well complaints? Did 1,000+ homeowners call in bogus water well claims?

Why Were Three-Quarters of Citizen Water Well Complaints Dismissed?

It is clear that as Pennsylvania rapidly began drilling fracking wells around 2006, the DEP was overwhelmed and unprepared to process the volume of citizen complaints. As explained above, both the Scranton Times-Tribune and Pennsylvanias Auditor General found many points-of-failure in the DEPs fracking complaint process.

A Harvard Law School study analyzed 450 Pennsylvania fracking complaints and produced a what-not-to-do-report suggesting four recommendations: require baseline water well testing, seriously improve the complaint administrative function, improve communication with landowners and allow for appeals. The Scranton Times-Tribune, Pennsylvania Auditor General, Harvard School analysis plus Public Heralds#fileroom complaint database call into serious question if the 1,000+ water complaints should have been dismissed.

Public Heralds own in-depth analysis of 200 complaints found nine ways DEPs decision on water contamination could be challenged and possibly reversed.

Most concerning is that the states Auditor General found that the DEP encouraged gas drillers and homeowners to reach voluntary restitution agreements on the side. Yet, the DEP did not register and track many of those agreements.

How Does a Lack of Data Lead to No Widespread Damage Claim?

Because fracking is regulated at the state level, all 30+ fracking states have different and separate complaint processes. There is no accurate and centralized database in the U.S. reporting drinking water damage resulting from bad well casings, hydraulic fracturing, above ground spills, waste pond spills or drilling mishaps and failures.

That point is printed throughout the EPAs draft Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas on Drinking Water Resources. The study relied on available data and reporting. The EPA essentially used Pennsylvania DEPs official tally of 271 determined cases. Its unclear if the thousands of unreported fracking complaints were even analyzed.

The U.S. EPAs executive summary spells this out plainly in the Key Data Limitations and Uncertainties section: This assessment used available data and literature to examine the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing from oil and gas on drinking water resources nationally. As part of this effort, we identified data limitations and uncertainties associated with current information on hydraulic fracturing and its potential to affect drinking water resources. In particular, data limitations preclude a determination of the frequency of impacts with any certainty. These limitations and uncertainties are discussed in brief below.

It is unclear how the EPA concluded there is no widespread water contamination due to fracking when there is little to no data.

Thats exactly the same conclusion the EPAs own 31-member Science Advisory Panel announced recently in a statement on Jan. 8. The panel announced that the EPAs draft Fracking Drinking Water Studys findings, are inconsistent with the observations, data and levels of uncertainty.

But the fracking-is-safe train has already left the station.

Collateral Damage

Whats clear is that fracking causes damage to private drinking water wells. Sadly, many Pennsylvania landowners whose drinking water wells were compromised because of nearby fracking operations received no restitution because the DEP did not properly assess their complaints.

Washington and Bradford counties registered more than 500 citizen complaints in each county. Photo credit: FracTracker

Even with the large volume of incoming drinking water complaints, Pennsylvanias DEP did not assume a presumption of liability for the gas drilling industry; the onus of proof was on the homeowner to prove contamination for their water wells that were within half a mile from a fracking well pad. And many landowners, especially in the early phases of fracking, didnt have pre-drilling water tests to compare post-drilling results.

Looking Ahead for Maryland

To ensure that Western Maryland landowners dont face the same situation, Marylands Department of the Environment and elected officials should consider closely analyzing Pennsylvanias thousands of fracking complaints. Public Herald is still scanning the Southwest regions files.

Joshua Pribanic, Public Heralds editor-in-chief adds, At this point, there is no way to find out what happened with thousands of fracking water complaints except to go door-to-door and ask what happened with a complainants drinking water. In many cases youll find rooms stuffed with bottled water. Or, youll find in the basement an industry-supplied reverse osmosis system or a methane mitigation system. The true extent of water contamination has been concealed. And that doesnt help Maryland as we look to study and analyze our sister states actual results.

Reposted with permission from our media associate Baltimore Fishbowl.
The United States is trying to launch the Economic Prosperity Network as a comprehensive alliance of countries, companies, and civil society organizations, that are anchored in principles of openness, rule of law and transparency. Countries that share these values are welcome to be part of the network and enjoy the benefits of partners within the network. It is effectively an attempt to create selective economic interdependence based on common political values.

The EPN aims to reduce reliance of global supply chains on China and to create more predictability and transparency in supply chains through countries that participate. It will probably be a facet of U.S. foreign policy in either a Trump or Biden administration. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the dangers that were already apparent in having supply chains dependent on China, but movement in this direction was apparent before the virus struck.

The U.S. has made clear it wants its democratic allies to join the EPN. But in many cases, these countries are military allies of the U.S. while their top trading partner is China, posing a fundamental dilemma.

The U.S. focus on Korea is unmistakable. Undersecretary Keith Krach, the point person for the EPN, introduced the concept to Korean officials in November 2019 during the Senior Economic Dialogue. He explained the concept with greater specificity in June 2020 to Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho. The U.S. will probably want an answer from Korea on the EPN by the next Senior Economic Dialogue in the fall of this year.

Korea's response thus far has been decidedly ambivalent. Foreign Ministry officials initially characterized the discussions as largely "conceptual" without much specificity when Krach first raised the idea. They made a point of saying that the U.S. did not specifically ask for Korea support it and that the discussion was general.

As U.S. entreaties became more focused, the Korean government became more non-committal, saying only that it would take a "prudent" approach and that the government has not reached a "conclusive" position. Korean newspaper editorials called the EPN idea "far-fetched" and fretted about Chinese retaliation like the boycott over the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense controversy.

Yet as much as Korea would like to hedge on the EPN or delay a decision indefinitely, a second Trump administration will likely push the initiative with vigor as it would become part of a broader strategic effort to structurally decouple from China. Sitting on the fence will become harder. There is no "right" answer for Korea when faced with this with this choice. The choice is "zero-sum" in the sense that siding with one of the great power patrons will incur negative repercussions with the other power.

The U.S. has a strategy for China and EPN, but it needs a better strategy for its allies. Demarching counterparts on the need to join the EPN because it aims to create supply chains with countries "trustful" of one another is not enough. If the U.S. expects allies like Korea to make difficult choices against China like accepting THAAD, denying Huawei access to 5G networks, and joining the EPN, then it is absolutely incumbent on Washington to help Seoul manage the consequences of these choices.

This is because China will one hundred percent retaliate against Korea, as it has have done to every country that acts against its will, including Japan, the Philippines, Norway, Australia, and many others. Elsewhere, I have described this as China's "predatory liberalism." If the U.S. cannot promise to support smaller partners like Korea against China's predatory behavior, then it should not ask them to make those choices.


Vietnam enters 71st day without COVID-19 local transmissions

Vietnam has entered the 71st day in a row without new COVID-19 infections among the community as of June 26 morning, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Among the total 352 cases in the country, 212 were imported and quarantined upon arrival.

At present, 6,889 people having close contact with COVID-19 patients or entering from pandemic-hit areas are quarantined at hospitals, concentrated quarantine establishments, and at homes.

As many as 329 patients have recovered so far, while the remainders are being treated at medical facilities and in stable condition. One tested negative for the coronavirus once and three at least twice.

British pilot's health improves as repatriation plans made

The British Covid-19 patient can walk after 100 days of treatment in Vietnam as his health continues improving and plans to bring him home are also being set up.

According to the Ministry of Health, they will work with the British Embassy in Vietnam to help complete procedures for hospital discharge and repatriation. One of the plans is when the patient is strong enough, a British insurance company will help transfer him to the health sector in his home country.

On the 100th day of treatment on June 26, the patient has shown outstanding recovery. His lungs can now function normally and he no longer needs breathing aid. He can also sit and walk around for a bit. The function of other organs such as liver, kidney, heart and pancreas also return to normal.

Vietnam has reported zero community transmission of Covid-19 over the last 71 days. There are 352 confirmed cases, 212 of which are imported cases and have been quarantined immediately. 117 people are being quarantined at hospitals, 6,062 people are being monitored at other quarantine centres and 710 are home-isolated.

A report from the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control showed that 329 out of 352 patients have recovered. 23 patients are in stable condition, four of them have tested negative once or twice for SARS-CoV-2.

More Vietnamese from Africa, Malaysia brought home

Vietnamese and Ethiopian flag carriers brought home over 130 Vietnamese citizens from Nigeria, Cameroon and Malaysia from June 24-25.

On June 24, 90 Vietnamese citizens in Nigeria and Cameroon, with support from the Vietnamese Embassy in Nigeria in collaboration with local authorities, moved to Lagos city, Nigeria, then boarded a flight operated by the Ethiopian flag carrier to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Later on June 25, the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia and Vietnam Airlines took them along with over 40 Vietnamese workers stranded in the country to the homeland.

After landing at Tan Son Nhat international airport in Ho Chi Minh, they were put under quarantine in line with regulations.

Considering epidemic situation at home and abroad and quarantine capacity in localities, representative Vietnamese agencies and domestic airlines will run more flights to bring citizens homes.

COVID-19 cases climb to over 50,000 in Indonesia

Indonesia recorded an additional 1,178 new cases of COVID-19 on June 25, pushing the countrys total to 50,187, while the number of fatalities increased to 2,620.

Infections continue to rise while the Indonesian Government allowed businesses to resume operation amid rising economic pressure.

Offices, restaurants and shopping malls have been permitted to open but with only 50 percent of capacity. Public transport has also resumed.

The Government plans to deploy 340,000 security personnel to ensure social distancing measures are observed.

Indonesia saw a 2.9 percent economic growth in the first quarter, the lowest for the past two decades. The World Bank forecast a zero percent economic growth for the country this year, while the Asian Development Bank projected a minus 1 percent growth, the lowest since the Asian financial crisis in 1998.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines rose to 33,069 after 778 more infections were confirmed on June 25. A total of 8,910 patients have recovered while fatalities increased to 1,212.
Dr. Shehab's book, Generation Virtual, explores the impact of technology, and the growing demand for remote work on the daily operations of businesses

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / In his recently released explosive new analysis of the intersection between technology and the modern workforce, Generation Virtual: The Next Generation Workforce & Workforce Virtualization Implications on Environment, Society, and Enterprises, Dr. Shehab explores the impact of technology, and the growing demand for remote work on the daily operations of businesses. In this light, instead of forcing younger workers to adapt and adhere to a framework built for the generations that came before them, Dr. Shehab advocates for informed, incremental change before Generation V hits the working world in 2025.

Advances in technology have rendered remote work possible on a broad scale for a vast array of industries. While acknowledging that certain occupations, such as working as a barista, require an in-person presence, Dr. Shehab challenges readers to consider whether flexible working arrangement could lead to happier and more productive employees. Additionally, the coronavirus and the potential for many workers of all ages to experience telecommuting for the first time, only enhance Generation Virtual's timeliness.

Dr. Shehab's forward-looking research is also a warning to organizations that are unable or unwilling to adapt. Companies that fail to respect the emerging needs of the Generation V workforce will struggle to recruit, retain, and communicate meaningfully with their employees. On the other hand, those that embrace change are likely to discover hidden advantages of virtualization. As an illustration, without the constraints of physical location or commuting distances to a physical office, recruiters will be able to expand their search to encompass anyone, anywhere. In the words of Dr. Shehab, the arrival of Generation V will produce "a tsunami of change."

Story continues

Preparing for this unprecedented wave, will require a keen understanding of the dynamics at play and an intimate knowledge of the generation poised to be in the driver seat. That is why, business owners, leaders, and human resources managers alike can benefit from Dr. Shehab's insights into how Generation V relates to the workforce. Generation Virtual is designed to help readers understand technology from the standpoint of a generation that was born, raised, and socialized alongside it. Taking into account the fact that Generation V constitutes both a growing portion of employee pools and customer bases, failing to comprehend the importance of technology is a costly mistake.

The virtualization of the workplace is both exhilarating and challenging; and although, this movement has become unavoidable, understanding the generation V that is at its forefront, is the best way to take advantage of it.

With this book, Dr. Shehab unlocks this concept and allows us to keep moving forward and better. As our economies develop financially, the relative importance of environmental and societal concerns increases and that has led many organizations to implement Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. Dr. Shehab does not ignore these concerns and examines workforce virtualization's impact on various environmental and societal issues.

About the author:

Dr. Shehab is a professor at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada; where he teaches several business-related courses. He earned his doctoral degree in management from the University of Phoenix in 2013, focusing on Virtual Working. For the last 15 years, he has researched Workforce Virtualization. His book, entitled, "Generation Virtual" represents the summary of his findings. Dr. Shehab is the CEO and Founder of ENCADE Corporation. Under his leadership, a team of experts develops new business management systems for administering the next generation of the virtual workforce. Ultimately creating a book of knowledge, and guidance, for managing the next generation workers and virtual enterprises. More information on Dr. Shehab can be found on his website https://faisalshehab.com/

About the book:

Generation Virtual: The Next Generation Workforce & Workforce Virtualization Implications on Environment, Society, and Enterprises is available for purchase on Amazon.com.

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Organized as part of the Gaithersburg Book Festival, the online panel How Diverse Books Can Open Minds and Change the World, held June 24, brought together three highly regarded authors (and moderator), all notable for popular works for young readers as well as for their eloquent and passionate support of the diverse books movement.

Moderated by Wade Hudson, president and CEO of multicultural childrens book publisher Just Us Books and an acclaimed author himself, the panelists responded to Hudsons questions about the books that influenced them, why they write for kids, and what they hope their books will accomplish. And later in the panel, novelist Dhonielle Clayton, author of the book Pretty Little Things and The Belles, as well as COO of We Need Diverse Books, gave a grim account of the backlash of hate, personal threats and online harassment she endured simply for asking that little brown people appear in books during and after the 2014 launch of WNDB.

Pakistani American middle grade writer Hena Khan, author of Aminas Voice and More to the Story, described growing up in an American Muslim family, her love of the library, and wanting to read stories about how other people lived. She read books by such popular authors as Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary, but it seemed to her as a child that stories about her life as a Pakistani American didnt matter. She noted that as a child she even produced a family newsletter, but looking back at my old kid writing, I left out all the details of my life, the things that made me different, the food, the language, the clothes.

She described becoming a writer as an accidentshe was a journalist and was invited by a friend at Scholastic to work on a projectand said that becoming a mother also made her want to write for children. The confusion around the Muslim community made we want to do something to make my child accepted and understood.

Adam Gidwitz, author of A Tale Dark and Grimm and the Newbery Honor book The Inquistor's Tale, grew up in Baltimore in a white enclave and as a child I knew that races were kept apart. The deed for his parents house, he recalled, even had a restrictive covenant that prohibited selling the house to Black people. Throughout the event, Gidwitz was honest and open about the need for white people to move beyond their all-white enclaves. And he spoke about the impact of diverse books on his development, all while examining his own privilege as a white author in an industry all to often only focused on white readers.

As a white male writer I can write almost anything I want. Its a freedom that most writers dont have, especially writers of color, he said.

Clayton, a former childrens librarian and teacher, was quick to cite the influence and impact of Hudson, a pioneering advocate for multicultural literature and a prolific childrens author, and the influence of his books on her life as a young reader. I was blessed that I had your books filled with characters that looked like me, she said.

While growing up she read the popular white authors, but she also read African American authors such as Mildred Taylor. But Black authors, Clayton said, werent taught in most school classes: Black stories were put in silos and were only for Black students. I wanted these books to be read by everybody. It made me angry and it fuels the work that I do today for We Need Diverse Books, Clayton said.

Indeed, Clayton spoke of her work with WNDB cofounder author Ellen Oh launching the diverse books movement (as well as Cake, a literary agency Clayton founded for diverse authors), and the backlash she suffered from advocating for writers of color, and for her work as a sensitivity reader. I received death and rape threats; I was doxed by white supremacists, I was sent bananas and for months I had to have a security detail, she said. All just for asking that children be able to see themselves in books. I guess being a woman of color, I was just asking for too much. But Ill take the lumps.

A former teacher and librarian, she laughed and described herself as a book bully who told people what to read, as she grew into her work as a writer and an advocate. I wanted to see Black kids in stories, stories about saving the world, she said. I want to see joyful high concept stories with Black kids in them that explore mystery, magic and love, and not just the burden of Blackness.

I want kids to know that a Black woman created this book so they know that they can do it too and make a living doing it. Like Octavia Butlers books did for me, Clayton said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-25 23:47:11|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows Chinese ambassador to Tanzania Wang Ke (R, front) and Dar es Salaam regional acting administrative secretary Lawrence Malangwa (L, front) taking part in a donation ceremony in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The Chinese Embassy in Tanzania on Thursday donated COVID-19 protective facilities to 100 primary and secondary schools in the country's Dar es Salaam Region. The donation consists of 100 sets of hand washing facilities and 550 liters of liquid hand soaps valued at 22 million Tanzanian shillings (about 9,500 U.S. dollars). (Xinhua)

DAR ES SALAAM, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Tanzania on Thursday donated COVID-19 protective facilities to 100 primary and secondary schools in the country's Dar es Salaam Region.

The donation consists of 100 sets of hand washing facilities and 550 liters of liquid hand soaps valued at 22 million Tanzanian shillings (about 9,500 U.S. dollars).

The donation, coordinated by project partners including Dar es Salaam regional authorities and Sukos Kova Foundation, will be sent to the schools before their reopening on June 29.

Wang Ke, the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, said the donation manifested Chinese care for the health of the students and teachers in primary and secondary schools in Tanzania.

Wang said since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has provided anti-epidemic supplies to Tanzania and organized several video conferences for Chinese and Tanzanian medical experts to exchange experience in epidemic control, and diagnosis and treatment, including using traditional medicine to treat COVID-19 patients.

Lawrence Malangwa, Dar es Salaam regional acting administrative secretary, thanked the Chinese embassy for the donation, saying the contribution proved again the long-standing China-Tanzania friendship.

Malangwa urged other stakeholders to emulate the generosity shown by the Chinese embassy by donating more COVID-19 protection facilities. Enditem
Amid mounting tension between India and China, reports came in that in a desperate move by China to safeguard its territory, PLA allegedly annexed Nepal's Rui village in Gorkha district. However. refuting the claims, Nepal government has termed the news as fake. Releasing a statement on Thursday, Nepal's foreign ministry (MoFA) said that media reports regarding boundary issues and illegal encroachment of some territories by China were false.



"The news allegedly based on the 'report' of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development which that Ministry has already refuted and clarified stating that such "report" doesn't exist and that the subject matter doesn't fall under its jurisdiction," the MoFA said in a press release. The ministry also requested the media to verify the information from the relevant authorities before commenting on such sensitive matters which may adversely affect the relations between the two friendly neighbours.

READ | Delhi: Amid sloganeering, protests erupt against China in front of Nepal Embassy

"The Government of Nepal will solve through mutual consultation between the concerned authorities of the two countries in case any issue arises," the press release added. The boundary between Nepal and China was delineated and demarcated on the basis of the Boundary Treaty of October 5, 1961, and the subsequent protocols signed between the two countries, the ministry clarified. Boundary Markers No. 37 and 38 reported as missing in the media reports have never been erected as agreed between the two countries owing to natural conditions, the ministry said.



READ | Telangana CM KCR announces Rs 5 Cr aid for Colonel Santosh Babu's family, job for wife

Border dispute between India and Nepal

Nepal has passed country's new map showing Indian territory of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its own. Nepal's PM has said that the issue remians their big priority. Moreover, even as Monsoon hits Bihar, Nepal stalled repair work on the Gandak barrage and a key embankment on the Lalbakeya river, thus increasing the possibility of flood in Bihar's Mithilanchal region.



Additionally, quoting villagers in the Indo-Nepal borders, news agency PTI reported that Nepals FM radio channels are broadcasting anti-India speeches. Nepal had earlier in 2020 opposed 80-km strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand as a link road to Kailash Mansarovar.

READ | China's Galwan retreat proven: Before-After spectral images of India-China LAC clash here

READ | Coronavirus Live Updates
The 15-year-old suspect in a homicide is facing an additional charge of manslaughter.

The teen was taken into custody in connection with the June 10 shooting of 20-year-old Jonathan Baltimore. Baltimore was taken from the area of 46th Street and Grand Avenue to the Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition. Baltimore died from his injuries on June 13.

The manslaughter charge has been filed in juvenile court by the Douglas County Attorney's Office, Omaha police said in a press release on Friday.

The 15-year-old was originally booked into the Douglas County Youth Center on suspicion of second-degree felony assault, use of a weapon to commit a felony, unlawful possession of a handgun by a minor and possession of a defaced firearm.

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Malls in Gurugram will be allowed to reopen from next week, three months after they were closed to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease, the district administration said on Friday.

Municipal commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh said that the malls will have to strictly enforce social distancing and follow the SOP laid down by the ministry of home affairs. Violation of norms will invite strict action against such establishments, he said.

It has been decided that malls will be allowed to open next week and they will have to follow the standard operating procedure issued by the ministry of health and family welfare. All norms pertaining to social distancing will have to be strictly followed, said Singh, who was addressing a joint press conference with deputy commissioner Amit Khatri.

Barring Faridabad and Gurugram, malls were open in the rest of Haryana as the state government on June 8 had decided against opening shopping malls and religious places due to rising number of Covid-19 cases.

Singh also said that in the last one week the number of cases was stabilising and the situation was under control.

The shopping malls operators, meanwhile, welcomed the decision and said that they had already prepared a detailed standard operating procedure to ensure safety of visitors.

Vijay Aima, vice president of Ambience Group which operates the Ambience Mall, said that steps have been taken to ensure that temperature of visitors is checked, sanitiser dispensers have been installed and markings made to ensure social distancing. Only those visitors who wear a mask and have temperature under the limit will be allowed entry, he said.
Kathleen Cadenhead grew up around Scottish terriers, her familys favorite breed of canine.

A dog lover from the get-go, she took on the jobs no one else wanted  trimming doggie toenails, washing dirty doggie coats.

It wasnt until she was working at a veterinarians clinic one summer during college that she met her first Great Dane. The dog had been rescued from a puppy mill in Houston and was very sick. It would end up dying of cancer.

I decided that whenever I bought a house, I would adopt a Scottie, but I would foster a Great Dane, in her honor, said Cadenhead, a 29-year-old Houston native.

Fast-forward to 2016, when Cadenhead moved to San Antonio for a job at USAA. She learned of an animal rescue group in nearby Pipe Creek that specialized in placing rescued Great Danes. She became a dog foster parent, taking in a pooch that had been surrendered by its owner, who was moving away.

That was almost 100 dogs ago.

More Information Making a Difference Every Sunday, the Express-News will profile someone who is making life a little better for others during the coronavirus pandemic. Send suggestions to Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje at mstoeltje@express-news.net or leave a message at 210-250-3226 See More Collapse

Cadenhead has become such a prolific foster mother to rescued dogs  not just Great Danes but the whole canine panoply  that the Petco Foundation recently honored her as one of 22 foster heroes across the nation.

She also works hard to place her fostered dogs for adoption, something thats become more common during the coronavirus pandemic, which has triggered a desire for pet ownership among the public, say those who work in the field.

Absolutely we have seen an uptick in adoptions, and Kathleen has taken every dog that we have asked her to foster, even the puppies that require so much more time, said Jo Ellen Cockroft, who owns San Antonio Save Protect Care for Animals, or SASPCA, the rescue group for which Cadenhead volunteers. She has truly stepped up her game during the pandemic.

On ExpressNews.com: Making A Difference: Medical students help out during the pandemic

SASPCA, located on 15 acres between Helotes and Bandera, now mainly rescues stray dogs of all breeds from the streets of the Rio Grande Valley region. They are then transported to San Antonio. Cockroft said theres been no dwindling of supply, even with the uptick in adoptions. Unfortunately, the targeted cities always have a plenitude of unwanted dogs, she said.

These animals  about 1,500 a year  first need to receive medical care, including vaccinations and spaying or neutering, and often have to be socialized before they can be placed in adoptive homes.

Some dogs are scared or shy around humans, owing to abuse and other maltreatment they endured on the streets. Thats where Cadenhead shines again. Cockroft said she is her groups go-to foster parent for dogs that have been traumatized.

We dont know why shes so good at that, she said. I often cant even get close to these (formerly abused) dogs, and within days she has them sleeping in bed with her. She is able to get even the hardest-to-place dog doing well, and they end up getting adopted. We would clone her if we could.

In nominating Cadenhead for the Petco recognition, Cockroft wrote: Kathleen writes the most compelling shelter pet bios and takes such great pictures that her foster pets are adopted even faster than our very social shelter dogs. She finds them the most amazing homes and stays in close contact with their new families.

Even Wilson loves her

On a recent morning, Cadenhead played with her dogs in the backyard of her home on the Northwest Side, a spacious if well-worn green space featuring multiple dog toys and a hole dug by an earlier foster dog.

The canine menagerie includes her own dog Chula  a huge but gentle mastiff mix  and her three current foster dogs, Paddy, Amber and Wilson. Her other owned dog, Murphy, a Scottie, was at the vet.

Of the three fosters  all of them adorable mutts whove required some level of medical care because of their time living on the streets  Wilson is the only one that exhibits some psychic scars from past negative interactions with humans.

A long-haired dachshund/cocker spaniel mix, he keeps his distance and barks when two strangers arrive. Only occasionally will he tentatively venture forth to take a treat from a strangers hand, quickly scurrying back to a safe distance. Only with his foster mother does he trot up to receive affection.

Cadenhead said Wilson let down his guard with her after the first time she bathed him. She has no idea why she is something of a dog whisperer for those that have been hurt or mistreated.

I have just always come across as nonthreatening to dogs, she said. Eventually, they come around, with treats and affection. You almost can see them thinking, I didnt know people could be so nice.

On ExpressNews.com: Making A Difference: Super donors help those with the virus

Cadenhead works with a foster dog for as little as three weeks or as long as a year, depending on their medical and socialization needs. (SASPCA, an all-volunteer rescue group funded by donations and fees, pays for the medical care.)

Chula started out as one of Cadenheads foster dogs. She came into the rescue group with a broken femur and ended up getting an antibiotic-resistant infection. Cadenhead cared for her for 18 months, changing her bandages and giving her sometimes painful injections.

After that, she was my dog, she said.

Cadenhead said that while she loves her foster dogs, she doesnt begrudge having to give them up to their new adoptive families.

Its the most wonderful thing to see them run to their forever families, she said. Its a little sad, but its more joy than anything to see how different they are than from before. And, of course, I can go help another one.

Cockroft said fostering allows shelters or rescue agencies to create space to take in and help more animals. It also allows the dog to get used to home life, away from the noise and stress of a shelter.

A surge in adoptions

Cockroft thought the pandemic would put a dent in adoptions, with people out of work or hunkered down at home. But the opposite has happened. Her nonprofit handles about 20 adoptions a week, about double from before the virus. A volunteer struggles to keep up with emails  some 30 a day  from people asking about the application process.

And the nonprofit has had to change how it handles adoptions. Before the pandemic, it set up its kennels and tables on the sidewalk outside of the Petco store at Northwoods Shopping Center, but people started swarming. Now, adoptions are handled inside the store, by appointment only and with social distancing.

Cockroft theorizes that the adoption surge comes from people being home all day and longing for animal companionship. Shes hoping it doesnt subside when folks start going back to work and school.

Cadenhead feels the same and hopes that shelters dont see an influx of dogs once people start returning to their old routines. Right now, even less-comely mutts are finding a way into human hearts.

I had one awhile back who was a nice dog, but shes wasnt a looker, she said. She got placed in two weeks.

Like many, Cadenhead, who works in information technology at USAA, is doing her job from home for the time being, which has enabled her to foster more puppies, which benefit from having more human supervision and attention.

San Antonio, which has long had a stray dog problem  although a study last year found that most of the 30,000-plus dogs roaming the streets were actually owned  has seen some happy pet-related trends as well.

Lisa Norwood of Animal Care Services said the number of strays brought in to the citys facility from March until mid-June has declined  from 5,892 last year to 4,405 this year. She believes the drop may be related to so many peoplestaying home and looking after their pets better.

In the pandemic, one-time errant pet owners may have discovered what wonderful companions their pets actually are, and hopefully that leads to an increase in compassion, she said.

Because of the virus, all business at ACS, including its foster and adoption program, is done by appointment only.

Cadenhead said she didnt even know shed been nominated for the Petco award when an email arrived, telling her she was being recognized. Its nice, she said, but she really hopes it gets more people fostering and gets more dogs adopted.

Both objectives serve to reduce the number of dogs euthanized in animal shelters.

You dont have to foster 100 dogs, Cadenhead said. Just one or two would make a big difference.

Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje is a general assignment reporter covering breaking news, cultural trends and interesting people and goings-on around San Antonio and Bexar County, as well as all across South Texas. To read more from Melissa , become a subscriber. mstoeltje@express-news.net | Twitter: @mstoeltje
VAS can offer considerable savings on the investment in education whilst ensuring the childrens academic results with the bilingual programme

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted school choice because of the challenging economic conditions and considerations about accessing a rigid and comprehensive education during a crisis, which has altered the long-term financial planning of households.

In Vietnam, schools teaching general education are divided into three main groups: public schools; fully international schools that teach educational programmes of the worlds developed countries such as Canada, the UK, Australia, France, and the US; and bilingual international schools like Vietnam Australia International School (VAS), which combine the Vietnamese curriculum from Vietnams Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) and international education programmes following the teaching standards of the UK, the US, and Australia.

Tuition at bilingual schools ranges from VND150-400 million ($6,500-17,400) per year. Students taking the bilingual pathway at VAS pursue both the Cambridge AS or A Level degrees and the national degree from the MoET.

Balancing academic standards and family finances

In fact, parents school choices are shaping the development of the education market. A bilingual international school education is a high value choice for an increasing number of parents wishing to prepare their children to study at top universities and training programmes.

The Cambridge curriculum is the most popular choice worldwide for high-standard international education at both bilingual and fully international schools.

There are 18 schools in Ho Chi Minh City accredited as Cambridge schools, eight of which are part of VAS. VAS appears to be the top choice for parents with more than 2,000 new students enrolled each year. Notably, VAS students taking Cambridge Academic Programme (CAP) or Cambridge Academic Programme International (CAP International) can get additional national degrees to attend local universities if they choose.

Stable development and quality of education programme

A world-class education features strong curriculum, qualified teachers, and leadership by management  all of which have been evaluated objectively through years of operating experience, scale, increased enrolment, and academic results and outcomes.

At VAS, besides the curriculum, students are encouraged to develop their potential, cultivate rich experience through community activities and environmental projects to adapt to a new learning environment and gain advantages when applying for a scholarship.

VAS is currently one of the leading schools in terms of size among foreign-based schools in the southern hub with nearly 9,500 students from kindergarten to Grade 12 attending seven campuses.

VAS also possesses an exceptional advantage as an official strategic partner of the Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) for carrying out the Cambridge programme. VAS students can take exams to receive CAIE degrees and certificates in accordance with their study pathways on campus without having to register through intermediaries.

VAS is still the school with the highest English contact time among Cambridge English programmes with 10-12 English classes a week in the kindergarten level, 22 lessons a week in the primary school, 23-30 classes a week in secondary school, and 38 lessons a week in grades 11 and 12.

This is also a factor that helps VAS students to consistently achieve impressive results on Checkpoint exams, the IGCSE, AS, and A Level exams.

At VAS, besides the curriculum, students are encouraged to develop their potential, cultivate rich experience through community activities and environmental projects to adapt to a new learning environment and gain advantages when applying for a scholarship.
Four British men have been banned from working in Singapore and handed hefty fines after they broke lockdown to go on a bar crawl.

Neil Gordon Buchan, 30, Perry Scott Blair, 37, James Titus Beatt, 33, and Joseph William Poynter, 35, pleaded guilty at court on Friday to breaking the rules on May 16.

An American couple - Jeffrey George Brown, 52, and Bao Nguyen Brown, 40 - and 45-year-old Austrian man Michael Czerny, were also punished.

Four British men have been banned from working in Singapore and fined 5,000 each after this image of people drinking in public in violation of lockdown went viral. All four drank in this square on the day this photo was taken, though it is not clear if they are shown here

It comes after a picture of people drinking outside in Robertson Quay, an area known for its bars, went viral on social media the same day - causing outrage.

It is not clear if any of those fined were shown in the picture.

The court heard that the British men met by coincidence on the day in question at a venue called Bar Bar Black Sheep, which was closed but selling takeaway alcohol, in Robertson Quay.

The foursome bought drinks and then walked to another nearby area, where they bought more drinks from a venue called Boomarang.

Their final destination was an Italian restaurant called Rosso Vino, where they bought their final round, the Straits Times reports.

The men then stood in the road drinking and smoking for about 25 minutes before going home, prosecutors said.

On the same day, Brown and his wife also headed to Robertson Quay and bought alcohol before sitting down at a table to drink.

Czerny happened to be passing by walking his dog, and agreed to join the pair after they offered him a drink.

The trio spoke for about half an hour, before Czerny left.

Singapore, which was initially praised for keeping coronavirus under control without having to go into lockdown, was forced to bring in tough measures on April 7 as cases spiralled following outbreaks among migrant workers.

Dubbed 'the circuit breaker', people were told not to go outside except for essentials and were warned to stay one meter apart and wear masks.

Singapore, initially praised for controlling coronavirus without a lockdown, was forced to bring in strict measures on April 7 after an explosion of cases in the city-state (file image)

Images of people gathered in Robertson Quay on May 16 caused outrage because people were ignoring social distancing and had no masks on.

Prosecutors had called for the Britons to be jailed for a week in order to set an example after their bar crawl - a description their lawyers vehemently rejected.

In the end the court settled for fines and work bans.

Bars in Robertson Quay were also ordered to stop selling alcohol because it was encouraging people to gather.

Two more Britons - Alfred Jon Veloso Waring, 34, and Olagunju Daniel Olalekan Olasunkanmi, 30 - have also been charged with drinking in the same area on the same day, but their cases are pending.

They are due back in court on July 7.

In total, Singapore has revoked the work passes of 140 people for breaking lockdown rules, the Ministry of Manpower announced.

Of those, 98 were punished for eating, drinking or gathering in groups outside. The other 42 were caught breaking stay-at-home or quarantine orders.

Singapore has 42,763 confirmed cases of the virus - the highest total in southeast Asia - and has registered 21 deaths from the virus.
Google Doodle of activist Olive Morris to mark her 68th birthday (Google/PA)

Google has marked the birthday of British community activist Olive Morris in its latest Doodle illustration.

The Jamaica-born south Londoner fought for racial, gender and social equality in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s.

Some of her work included helping to found the Brixton Black Womens Group, one of Britains first networks for black women, to co-founding the Organisation of Women of Asian and African Descent, considered instrumental in rallying movements for change.

Ms Morris passed away in 1979 at the age of 27 after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Friday would have been her 68th birthday.

Expand Close Google regularly changes its logo with a Doodle illustration to mark special events and celebrate notable historical figures (Yui Mok/PA) PA / Facebook

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Google enlisted Londoner Matthew Cruickshank to design the Doodle, which shows a mural painting of Ms Morris on her street, Railton Road, in Brixton.

As with all Google Doodles, the artwork will appear on the search engine for the duration of Friday.

Google Arts and Culture also features a dedicated exhibition of artwork by Linett Kamala inspired by the activism of Ms Morris, in partnership with the Black Cultural Archives.

There has never been a more timely moment to commemorate the birthday of Olive Morris, whose fight for equality, left an extraordinary legacy of local activism in Brixton and beyond, Google said.

We hope that by recognising and celebrating Olive Morris with a Google Doodle, we can inspire others to keep pushing forward for change.
A survey this spring of Bethlehem Area School District parents shows eight of 10 parents are prepared to send their children back to school in August -- with recommended safety precautions in place.

Bethlehem Area schools Superintendent Joseph Roy shared the survey results in a districtwide update Thursday.

"As conditions improve in the community, we are definitely on a path to open school fully for all students in the fall at this point," he said.

For parents too concerned about the coronavirus or their childrens health to send their kids back, the district asks them to respond to a BASD Cyber Learning Planning Information Request available through basdschools.org.

Roy, the father of daughters entering fifth and third grades in the district, said he is among the 80% ready and willing to get their children back into the classroom.

I understand theres a little hesitation for all of us about whats going to happen when we get back into a little more normal routine and they go back to school, he said. But I know that were not going to open schools unless its safe to do so.

At the elementary level, students are not expected to have to wear masks while in school, other than upon entering and exiting the building, Roy says in an update on the district website. At the secondary level, students will likely be expected to wear masks in the halls and upon entering and exiting the building.

"We are confident we can achieve appropriate social distancing in the classrooms," Roy says in the update.

Roy advises parents considering enrolling students in the BASD Cyber Academy that the school day will be much more rigorous compared to online learning opportunities offered at the end of 2019-20 year, as COVID-19 forced all students to remain home.

"Our best means of educating children is in person in our schools, the personal relationships, the one-to-one connection with teachers, collaborative learning -- all those things make our model of education really based on in-person learning," Roy says in a back-to-school update video. "So that's our best option."

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
The Suspect, Ahmed Mohammed Wakil

The people of Bauchi State can now sleep with their two eyes open as a serial motorcycle thief who was a dismissed police sergeant has been arrest.

According to information by the Commands public relations officer, Ahmed Mohammed Wakil, the Patrol team attached to Yelwa Police Station Bauchi arrested dismissed police sergeant Makama Musa M aged 34years of Gombe, Gombe State on 24 th of June

Wakil, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), explained that the dismissed sergeant was arrested wearing police uniform along Dass road following a series of complaint by residents.

The suspect confessed to the crime and the following exhibit was recovered from him; Neon blue shirt and black trouser.Device rank of sergeant and Police badge.

Boxer motorcycle with number plate DBM-319-UR, Bauchi, the PPRO disclosed.

The Commissioner of Police directed that the case should be transferred to SCID for discreet investigation after which the suspect would be charge to court for prosecution/possible conviction, he added.

The command then assured members of the public that it is committed to the fight against Crime and Criminality in the State and will appreciate every useful information that will assist in apprehension and prosecution of offenders.
White supremacists are openly organising violent action on the messaging app Telegram, according to a report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.

Telegram is an encrypted messaging app, similar to Signal.

The report, which was shared with CNN, said that the white supremacists are using over 200 groups on the app to combat minority communities and Black Lives Matter protestors.

One of these channels is called the Fascist Group Esoteric Anti Root Collective, another is called Only White Lives Matter or Hans's Right Wing Terror Center.

The ISD analysed over one million posts on Telegram in white supremacists channels, each with an average of 1773 members.

These channels share content including how to manufacture 3D guns and outright praise for mass killers, CNN reports.

Recommended Facebook prepares for month of boycotts

One Telegram channel compiled a list of terrorists, such as the Charleston church shooter Dylan Roof and the Christchurch mosques attacker Brenton Tarrant, calling them saints.

Others encourage sending gifts or letters to these terrorists.

These channels are deeply interconnected; 205 out of the 208 channels found by the ISD linked to each other.

They are also crossing over with the Boogaloo movement, which advocates for civil war in the United States.

Boogaloo advocates have reportedly conspired to prevent states from enforcing lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic  due to their anti-government stance  as well as planning to disrupt Black Lives Matter protests.

However, Boogaloo members have separated themselves from others along political lines, between those who support white supremacy and those who do not.

The pandemic plays into some of the accelerationist narratives that there will be a breakdown of society which will eventually lead to a race war through which the Whites will be victorious and able to establish a White ethnographic state, said author of the study Jakob Guhl.

Accelerationists believe that capitalism should be encouraged more that it currently is in order to generate social change.

Such views come from both the left and the right. Left-wing accelerationists believe that increased capitalism will result in its collapse sooner, as Karl Marx predicted, while right-wing accelerationists believe that capitalism should be continued indefinitely and with greater intensity.

 Vast Black Lives Matter crowd gathers in Brooklyn

The reason that white supremacist content is so prominent on Telegram is that such content is not moderated as strictly as on other social media networks.

The ISD reports that Telegram is failing to enforce its own, limited, content moderation policies.

Joshua Fisher-Birch, a research analyst at the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), told CNN that the fact that [Telegram does] not take action, despite these channels blatant advocating for violence, indicates that Telegram is either unwilling to take a stand, or that Telegram wants as much market share as possible.

If Telegram removed these channels, it would signal to other White supremacist users that Telegram is taking a stand on content removal, and might lead to White supremacists and the extreme right looking for a new platform.

Telegrams policy states that the company prides itself on not interfering with its users' content and opinions.

While we do block terrorist (eg ISIS-related) bots and channels, we will not block anybody who peacefully expresses alternative opinions.

In a statement given to CNN, Telegram said: Telegram is a neutral platform used both by Black Lives Matter and their opponents, as well as by thousands of other political movements around the globe. Our mission is to support privacy, free speech and peaceful exchange of ideas. Calls to violence are not welcome on our platform.

Telegram allows users to report public calls for violence. Our moderators routinely take down posts violating our Terms of Use  and block channels that are made up entirely of such posts.

Telegram is not the only company with issues around hosting far-right content. White nationalists groups have been openly operating on Facebook, Twitter has historically verified white supremacists before reversing its decision following a backlash.

Reddit is also facing a backlash from users because of its inaction against racism, and far-right users banned from these platforms have migrated elsewhere  joined by some British MPs.
LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- A proactive and friendly visit is how Mayor Meghan George characterized neighborhood police officers this week reminding local businesses and restaurants about COVID-19 safety measures, which include social distancing and face covering requirements.

We received some calls in my office about the lack of social distancing at some of the bars and restaurants, George said. We just want to have our community officers remind restaurants of the social distancing guidelines and to make sure theyre abiding by them.

Its a reminder (that) the Cuyahoga County Department of Health is the one who would come down and have a more severe action against the establishment thats in violation, she said.

We dont want that to happen in Lakewood. We want to make sure everyone is operating in a safe manner, so this is community policing at its finest.

Police Capt. Leslie Wilkins, who is in charge of traffic and patrol, called it an in-person public service announcement. The departments four neighborhood officers have been visiting bars and restaurants over the last few nights.

The impetus for the visits is tied to the warm weather -- after surviving the stay-at-home spring, the community wants to get outside and enjoy Northeast Ohios fleeting summer.

The only issue I heard was some of the employees werent wearing masks, Wilkins said. Some of the more popular spots are getting busier. Its been a pretty nice stretch of weather here were having, so I think residents are probably noticing that people are out and about a lot more.

Considering that patrons arent expected to wear a mask while eating or drinking, the mayor said the onus is on the establishment to follow mask-wearing guidelines.

In addition, George said shes been actively reminding residents that, despite the loosening of restrictions, COVID-19 remains a real threat that shouldnt be taken lightly.

I got some negative pushback on social media for this, but the virus is still out there and its not going away, George said. Weve seen a huge uptick in many places in the United States. I dont want Lakewood to be next.

We have to make sure were being safe, because I dont want the worst-case scenario to happen, which would be we have to go through another shutdown. Theres some personal responsibility here, and people have to be safe.

Read more news from the Sun Post Herald.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: At a time people are losing their lives to COVID-19 worldwide, a Guwahati-based doctor has described it as hoax.

Dr. Satyakam Phukan, who is a general surgeon in his sixties, filed an FIR online with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), marking a copy to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), on June 18 requesting the agency to take steps to ensure that people do not suffer in the name of the hoax. The CBI has not yet responded to the FIR.

To buttress his claim, he shared the links of several stories on COVID-19 published in the international independent media.

It has come to my notice that the whole issue of the Corona/Covid-19 virus has been reported to be a hoax in the international independent media and has been reportedly exposed by many in America and Europe, although the same has not been reported so in the corporate media, Dr. Phukan wrote in the FIR.

He said he, as a doctor, did not see any rationality in the kind of harassment meted out to people in the name of this so-called disease.

I am providing some of those links to you. Many more can be found on searching Corona Virus Hoax or Corona Virus Hoax empty hospitals in Yandex or Duckduckgo search engines, while such contents do not come on searching Google or Bing. I am providing more links below to the exact reporting. Added to that Supreme Courts in Wisconsin state of USA and in Pakistan have lifted the lockdown on the ground that the said disease is not a pandemic, the FIR reads.

I hereby lodge this first information report on the issue of Corona/Covid19 Virus Hoax. I request you to kindly look into the matter and take steps to see that our country and the people do not suffer in the name of a HOAX, it further reads.

Talking to this newspaper on Friday, Dr. Phukan expressed unhappiness that medicines for diseases such as malaria, mumps and scabies were being used to treat a viral disease.

Stating that there is nothing called social distancing in a viral disease, he said its enforcement meant there was a psychological element there.

I do not wear a mask or follow social distancing. There are many doctors around the world who do not wear masks, the doctor added.
[June 26, 2020] Using 21st Century Picks and Shovels, Bitcoin Miners Look to Strike Gold

NEW YORK, June 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NetworkNewsAudio -- International Spirits & Wellness Holdings Inc. (ISW Holdings) (OTC: ISWH) announces the availability of a broadcast titled, The New Gold Rush Isnt Gold.

To hear the AudioPressRelease please visit The NetworkNewsAudio News Podcast To read the NEW ISW Holdings (ISWH) Syndicated Brand Awareness Distribution (BAD) editorial article please visit: http://nnw.fm/3uG5b. Like the gold rush of 1848, hordes of computer-savvy entrepreneurs have flocked to mining cryptocurrencies looking for riches. Crypto miners extract the digital rewards of Bitcoin plus a share of transaction fees using purpose-built hardware, cost-effective power sources and computational muscle, the picks and shovels of the 21st century. The rewards appear to be greater than striking a motherlodethe global cryptocurrency mining market was valued at US $610 million in 2016 and has been projected to exceed $38 billion by 2025 . Intent on capitalizing on the crypto mining market boom, ISW Holdings (ISWH) intends to deliver innovative crypto mining solutions by leveraging its new joint venture with Bit5ive. ISW Holdings is a holding company built of diversified partnerships focused on a common goal of brand communication from developers, consultants, design engineers, contractors, subcontractors, equipment providers, installation providers, end-users, and service providers. Bit5ive is a leader in cryptocurrency mining data centers with several projects currently in development in the United States. The synergistic partnership of the two companies intends to capture a sizale share of the burgeoning crypto mining market.



About ISW Holdings ISW Holdings (ISWH), based in Nevada, is a diversified portfolio company comprised of essential business lines that serve consumer product demands. Our expertise lies in strategic brand development, early growth facilitation, as well as brand identity through our proprietary procurement process. Together, with our partners, we seek to provide a structure that meets large scalability demands, as well as anticipated marketplace needs. We are able to meet these needs through a variety of strategic innovative processes.

ISWH is creating and managing brands across a spectrum of disruptive industries. It maneuvers its proprietary companies through critical stages of market development, which includes conceptualization, go-to-market strategies, engineering, product integration, and distribution efficiency. The company has also partnered with a well-known software development and consulting company, Bengala Technologies LLC, which is developing significant enhancements in the supply chain management space; and, the partnership has a vitally needed patent pending. For more information, visit www.iswholdings.com About NetworkNewsAudio NetworkNewsAudio (NNA) allows you to sit back and listen to market updates, CEO interviews and a company?AudioPressRelease (APR). These audio clips provide snapshots of position, opportunity and momentum.?NNA?can assist your company by cutting through the overload of information in today's market. NNA brings its Client Partners unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. NNA is just one site within our sizable family of 40+ brands within the InvestorBrandNetwork (IBN). IBN is a comprehensive provider of news and original articles; we aggregate and syndicate this content for much bigger impact. IBN also adds Press Release Enhancement and a full array of social media communication solutions and has amassed a collective audience that includes millions of social media followers. As a multifaceted financial news and distribution company with an extensive team of journalists and writers, IBN has the unparalleled ability to reach a wide audience comprising investors, consumers, journalists and the general public with an ever-growing distribution network of 5,000+ key syndication outlets across the nation. For more information visit www.NetworkNewsAudio.com or The NetworkNewsAudio News Podcast. Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the InvestorBrandNetwork website applicable to all content provided by IBN, wherever published or re-published:?http://IBN.fm/Disclaimer Forward-Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain as they are based on current expectations and assumptions concerning future events or future performance of the company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. In evaluating such statements, prospective investors should review carefully various risks and uncertainties identified in this release and matters set in the company's SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Corporate Communications: NetworkNewsWire (NW)

New York, New York

www.NetworkNewsWire.com

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Indias number of Covid-19 infections crossed 500,000 on Friday, making the country one of only four where the tally has breached this milestone. Fatality and recovery numbers offer some signs that the outbreak is still under manageable levels, although experts warned that this control was fragile and the situation could drastically turn if citizens and the government are not careful.

According to HTs dashboard of state-level statistics, the total number of infections grew by 18,370 on Friday, and 383 new deaths were recorded. In all, the country now has had 509,306 infections and 15,689 fatalities, translating to a case fatality ratio (CFR) of 3.08%.

Nationally, however, the total number of recoveries crossed 295,852 and -- on an average over the past week -- for every five people testing positive in a day, four were being discharged after recovery.

In terms of total cases, Maharashtra continued to have the highest numbers  roughly twice of Delhi that has the second-most number of infections. Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh are the other states in top five. The states were ranked similarly if fatalities are taken as a parameter.

According to experts, these trends could determine how the disease peaks, which is likely to be at different periods in different regions. It will probably start peaking in the next few next few weeks in places like Mumbai and Delhi, but in other areas it may take a little longer time for the infections to stabilise. Herd immunity will take a longer period of time, said Randeep Guleria, the director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, in an interview to HT.

Guleria said in his assessment the country avoided being overwhelmed by going for an early lockdown, which helped create a gradual rise instead of a sharp surge of the kind seen in some early hot spot countries such as Italy.

But the pace of the outbreak has still quickened. The latest 100,000 cases came in six days, compared to the eight days that it took for the 100,000 cases before that.

The surge was kind of expected, given our poor discipline in hygiene practices, it was too optimistic to believe that behaviour patterns will change in a few weeks. Masks and hand-washing are the way ahead as social distancing is difficult in densely populated areas, like urban slums, said Dr V Ramana Dhara, additional professor, Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad.

Indias 509,306 cases is next only to Russia, Brazil and the United States  with the last two having crossed a million infections. In terms of absolute number of fatalities, India ranks eighth in the world.

Italy, as an example of where the surge was overwhelming, has less than half the number of infections as India but more than twice the number of deaths. Among the top four, only Russia has been able to mitigate the pandemic more effectively than India, logging less than 9,000 deaths from among its over 620,000 cases.

Brazil has roughly 2.5 times the number of infections as India but more than 3.5 times the number of deaths. The United States, now firmly at the top as the hardest hit by the pandemic, has five times the number of cases (over 2.5 million) and a fatality count that is a whopping eight times higher than Indias.

The US saw a record number of new Covid-19 cases in a single day, with 37,077 reported on Thursday, according to the tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University. Thursdays tally eclipses the previous high on April 24, when 36,291 new cases were reported across the country.

This, Guleria as well as Dhara, said was a good example of how things can quickly go out of hand if people do not maintain discipline. The graph that was stabilising in the US is now going straight up, they had [close to] 40,000 cases in a day, the highest single day record. It is a classic example of people not realising their responsibility and whatever gains they had have now been lost, Guleria said, adding that India must closely watch experiences of other countries to avoid making the same mistakes.

Unfortunately, there are very few good choices left, and neglecting them would be foolish  look at how the cases are exploding in Florida, Texas and Arizona in the US, said Dhara, urging citizens to also ensure they do their part.
A U.S judge on Friday ruled that Roger Stone must report to prison on July 14 and that he will immediately be placed on house arrest until then.

Stone, a former self-proclaimed adviser to President Donald Trump, was convicted last year of witness tampering, obstruction of justice and lying to Congress and was set to begin his 40-month sentence at a prison in Georgia on June 30.

However, the 67-year-old claimed he has health issues that increase his risk of contracting the novel coronavirus and has asked that his start date be pushed back 60 days until September.

US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson decided not to grant the 60-day extension on Friday but gave Stone a further 14 days until he must hand himself in to begin his sentence.

US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson denied Roger Stone's request to push back the start of his sentence for 60 days but granted him 14 more days and placed him in home confinement. Pictured: Stone after he was sentenced to 40 months in prison in February

US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, pictured, ruled Friday to grant Roger Stone just a two-week extension and to place him in home confinement until he reports to prison

She also ordered Stone to begin immediate home confinement until July 14, noting the rising number of coronavirus cases in Florida, where he is located.

The judge wrote in her order that this was added because of 'the strong medical recommendation' submitted by Stone's defense lawyers.

The home confinement would be monitored by court officials before Stone is required to surrender at the prison on July 14.

Jackson had previously noted the frequency of Stone's travel during sentencing in February.

'This will address the defendants stated medical concerns during the current increase of reported cases in Florida, and Broward County in particular, and it will respect and protect the health of other inmates who share defendants anxiety,' Jackson wrote in the ruling.

She added that the further extension has granted Stone 75 extra days in total past his first reporting date for the more than three-year sentence.

The Department of Justice had denied this week that Stone is being giving special treatment - after they agreed to his request to delay the start of his prison sentence.

On Wednesday, Judge Jackson had asked prosecutors why the Department of Justice did not resist Stone's effort to delay his sentence.

Prosecutors wrote in a court filing Friday that they were following a directive from the Justice Department not to oppose sensible delays in sentencing as the pandemic, which has killed more than 124,000 Americans, rages on.

According to the US Attorney's Office, all defendants not deemed a flight risk are having their sentences delayed due to the pandemic.

'The US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia has uniformly adhered' to this standard, reads a filing from Thursday that was first reported by Politico.

The Justice Department had previously denied that Stone is being giving special treatment by agreeing to his request to delay the start of his prison sentence. He asked for a delay for health issues that make him more susceptible to COVID-19 but was denied the full extension Friday

'For that reason - and that reason only - the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia does not oppose Stone's motion for a 60-day delay.'

Judge Jackson still ruled against the full extension Friday.

As of Thursday, nearly 5,000 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, since late March.

The Bureau of Prisons has said that more than 3,200 have recovered while at least 60 inmates have died.

In a previous filing, Stone said he was wary because 25 tests for the virus have been conducted at FCI Jesup, a medium-security federal prison in Georgia, where he will be serving his sentence.

There have been no reported coronavirus cases at FCI Jesup and more than two dozen inmates who had been awaiting test results this week had all tested negative, federal prosecutors said.

The Bureau of Prisons has said Stone would not be required to go to a quarantine facility because he's voluntarily surrendering.

Roger Stone was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to be convicted on charges brought as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election

But officials said last month that Stone would be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine once he arrived at the facility.

It isn't clear whether Stone would still have to undergo that quarantine, as well.

Stone was convicted in November on all seven counts of an indictment that accused him of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election.

He was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to be convicted on charges brought as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Before his February 20 sentencing, the Justice Department leadership backed away from its initial recommendation just hours after Trump tweeted his displeasure at the recommendation of up to nine years in prison, saying it had been too harsh.

The move led to a brief flare-up between Attorney General William Barr and Trump.

Throughout Stone's trial and conviction, several people have been accused of interference including Trump, Barr and top officials at the DOJ.

Aaron Zelinsky (pictured), who prosecuted the Stone case, said Stone was 'being treated differently from any other defendant because of his relationship to the president'

Aaron Zelinsky, a member of Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller's team who prosecuted the Stone case, testified about interference from the DOJ to drop the charges against Stone.

Zelinsky told Congress that he recommended a harsher sentence for Stone but DOJ leaders pushed for a more lenient sentence at Barr's direction because they were 'afraid of the president.'

In written testimony, he said Stone was 'being treated differently from any other defendant because of his relationship to the president'.
The travel restrictions and border closings imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have dealt a severe blow to the aviation industry. Copenhagen Airports A/S (CPH) has also been affected with passenger traffic reduced to levels not seen since World War II. This has had a negative effect on the company's financial guidance for 2020, and CPH now expects to incur a loss for the full year.



Due to the widespread uncertainty about air traffic in Denmark and the rest of the world caused by this health crisis, it has previously not been possible to assess the effect of the crisis on CPHs financial situation. It has now become clear, however, that the COVID-19 crisis will have a significant negative impact on CPHs revenue and earnings for 2020.

Based on financial developments in 2020 to date and the prospects of very limited passenger traffic for the rest of the year, CPH expects a significant drop in revenue relative to 2019. Given the costs of keeping the airport operational, CPH now expects an overall loss after tax of DKK 450750 million for 2020. This estimate includes the effects of various government relief packages. Without them the loss after tax would likely be in the range of DKK 700-1,000 million.

The forecasts remain subject to significant uncertainty and will depend on, among other things, developments in air traffic for the rest of the year.

Maintaining tight cost management and organising operations more efficiently

As stated in a company announcement of 17 March 2020, CPH has implemented a number of operational and investment cost cuts in order to align costs to the current level of activity. Operational cost cuts implemented amount to as much as DKK 250 million in 2020. In addition, current projects and investments in CPHs investment programme put on hold or postponed are expected to produce CAPEX savings of about DKK 600-700 million in 2020.

CPH still applies the governments wage compensation scheme, as some 2,200 employees equivalent to 1,600 full-time positions have been put on furlough with partial compensation for CPHs wage expenses. However, the compensation scheme has been far from enough to cover the costs of keeping the airport operational.

Story continues

Accordingly, CPH will remain focused on aligning the airports costs and operations with expected developments in passenger traffic going forward.

Developments in passenger traffic over the coming months will be subject to substantial uncertainty. Parts of the airports operations have already been shut down in response to the significant drop in passenger traffic, and CPH has implemented a general hiring freeze. In addition, CPH will have to take initiatives that will introduce more permanent changes to day-to-day operations in light of the altered conditions caused by COVID-19. A priority is to plan the work involving passenger-facing functions to be performed as efficiently as possible and to organise it going forward to take account of the much lower passenger figures expected in 2020 and 2021. More specifically, changes will made to the way work is planned and organised in Security, which is CPHs largest department staff-wise. CPH's management has terminated eight of forty-five local agreements and four of the fourteen common practise agreements, all involving the scheduling and organisation of duty rosters and rotation schemes for the some 970 staff in Security. No changes have been made to the basic collective agreement for security.

The aviation industry is facing a very serious situation. While there have been some positive news recently that travel restrictions would be eased, it will likely be a long time before commercial air traffic recovers to pre-COVID-19 levels. This scenario is clearly reflected in our financial outlook for 2020. That means we are compelled to continue our tight cost management and to adjust operations, so we are positioned effectively to serve much fewer passengers. Our goal at CPH is to safeguard as many jobs as possible, but our duty as a management is also to keep our business afloat for the duration of the crisis, which in a worst case scenario could impair Copenhagens position as an international hub in competition with airports in neighbouring countries, says Thomas Woldbye, CEO of Copenhagen Airports.

For further information, please contact Thomas Woldbye, CEO at Copenhagen Airport, via Media Relations tel. +45 32 31 28 00





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New Mexico congresspeople led a group of U.S. representatives in a push for Congress to provide funding to states to plug abandoned wells while the industry faced steep declines amid the COVID-19 pandemic and operators in major oil-producing regions such as the Permian Basin scaled back operations.

Democrat U.S. Reps. Xochitl Torres Small and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) of New Mexico were joined by Republicans Reps. Mike Kelly and Glen Thompson of Pennsylvania in sending a letter to House leadership calling for federal funds to be set aside to plug wells abandoned by operators in future COVID-19 economic relief packages.

In New Mexico, the State reported 708 such wells existed, while the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division (OCD) had about $2 million in financial assurance from operators to pay for plugging and remediation of the land along with $1 million per year in revenue from the Bureau of Land Management.

OCD Director Adrienne Sandoval said the State can plug about 50 wells per year at a cost of about $35,000 per well not including the $50,000 to $80,000 in costs with remediating the land once a well is plugged.

If the land has historical environmental problems, the OCD estimated it could cost millions to remediate.

In their letter, the Congresspeople pointed to 3 million abandoned wells across the country that many state agencies reportedly do not have the funds to mitigate.

They wrote that it was Congress duty to step in and contribute to the solution.

Along with the environmental impacts of abandonment, this situation has created new economic suffering throughout the industry, especially for small rural producers which historically operate on tight profit margins and oil and gas workers who have lost their jobs, the letter read.

Congress should respond to this challenge with strong funding for state and tribes to help address the current backlog of orphan wells put thousands back to work and clean up our environment.

Torres Small, who represents the 2nd Congressional District spanning the southern half of the state argued states like New Mexico need additional financial assistance from Congress to solve the problem.

She said a federal program to plug wells could create thousands of jobs in producing regions like southeast New Mexico suffering from unemployment as oilfield workers were laid off during the market downturn.

She said oilfield workers had lost up to $500 million in lost wages amid the downturn.

The State of New Mexico reported in May that about 4,100 oil and gas workers had filed for unemployment during the pandemic, resulting in about $20 million in lost income tax revenue.

It will help rebuild our economy with a shovel-ready project, Torres Small said of the proposal. Its deeply important that rebuild southeast New Mexico and have its energy workers go back to work. As we rebuild, we need to make sure southeast New Mexico is not left behind.

New Mexico was joined in a coalition of 31 states, she said, in demanding the funding and supportive members of Congress represented both political parties.

When it comes to oil and gas production, a lot of states are concerned, Torres Small said. Folks want to make sure its done responsibly and one of the best ways is to address aging infrastructure that is no longer used but can still be harmful.

Orphaned wells are known to leak chemicals into groundwater sources and methane into the air, causing unchecked pollution when they are abandoned, she said.

Providing better support to plug the wells would protect the environment, Torres Small said, from the risks that could be exacerbated when the industry busts and operators cut operations.

This is something we can all do together for responsible energy production, she said. We all use this energy, so we need to work together to prevent groundwater contamination and methane leaks.

Protecting our groundwater resources is important and one of the biggest threats is this aging infrastructure. And its damage that isnt monitored.

Lujan touted the inclusion of $2 billion in funding for remediating orphaned wells in infrastructure funding package proposed by U.S. House Democrats known as the Moving Forward Act.

The wide-ranging, $1.5 trillion proposal also included $100 billion to increase broadband access for low-income communities and connect school buses to Wi-Fi to address a homework gap Lujan said Native American students often face during long bus rides from their rural communities to school.

Another $70 billion was added to invest in renewable energy and modernize Americas renewable energy infrastructure while increasing the nations solar capabilities, read a news release from Lujans office.

The bill would also provide $5 billion in construction, modernization and renovations for healthcare facilities.

Torres Small said she had some concerns that the ambitious legislation might have opposition in the House and Senate.

My goal is to make it something that can pass both the House and Senate, she said.

But Lujan, whose 3rd Congressional District represents the northern half of New Mexico said the bill would provide needed relief for New Mexicans suffering under the economic hardship of the pandemic by ensuring adequate access to public services and creating new jobs in multiple sectors.

Ensuring that New Mexicans can access up-to-date public health and education resources during this pandemic is crucial, he said. Im also glad this package addresses the critical need to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells across New Mexico, which will help put New Mexicans back to work and protect our environment.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.



2020 the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.)

Visit the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.) at www.currentargus.com

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The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is concerned about the decision of the Prosecutor General's Office to cancel the decision of Deputy Prosecutor General Vitaly Kasko made on September 18 last year to resume criminal proceedings in the case of the issuance of a UAH 1.2 billion stabilization loan by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in the autumn 2014 to VAB Bank, the NABU said on its Facebook page on Friday.

"Explaining his step, the prosecutor refers to the ruling of the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv, which obliged them to take appropriate actions, leaving no room for appeal. First, the decision of the Pechersky district court of Kyiv did not enter into legal force," the NABU said in the statement.

The NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) on June 15 filed an appeal against the decision of the Pechersky district court, which the court was to hear on June 17 and the NABU 19. However, due to the fact that the Pechersky District Court did not send the case file on time, the appeal was adjourned until July 20.

"Secondly, there were isolated cases when the courts made decisions on NABU cases, going beyond their competence, trying to intervene in the criminal process in this way. And despite the existence of a clause about the alleged impossibility of an appeal, we lawfully proved that this is not so. As a result, such decisions were canceled," the NABU said.

According to the NABU, the case could not be closed, since the investigation has "convincing evidence of the involvement of suspects" in the embezzlement of UAH 1.2 billion. The NABU also said that at this stage, the investigation has reached its final stage.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Detectives are probing whether any of the shootings on the North Shore this week are connected, and are considering several theories in their investigation -- including the possibility some of the incidents are part of a gang turf war, a law enforcement source said.

The borough saw three non-fatal shootings from Sunday to Tuesday, and a fourth shots-fired incident on Wednesday where no one was injured.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 12:00:31|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on March 10, 2020 shows the visitors' entrance to the United Nations headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Wang Jiangang)

The UN organization described in the charter is a tool designed to prevent another major world war and make the world a better place. If member states show more spirit of cooperation and engagement, the UN will play its role as designed, said a senior UN diplomat.

GENEVA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- After 75 years, the UN Charter still matters because it was based on important principles that will be valid forever, such as solving international problems through cooperation, a senior UN diplomat told Xinhua.

"Inclusion and cooperation are extremely important, especially in this day and age," said David A. Chikvaidze, chef de cabinet to the director-general of the United Nations Office at Geneva, in a written interview.

The UN organization described in the charter is a tool designed to prevent another major world war and make the world a better place. If member states show more spirit of cooperation and engagement, the UN will play its role as designed, said the diplomat.

The Non-Violence sculpture is pictured at the United Nations headquarters in New York, on the International Day of Non-Violence, Oct. 2, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

"The UN is an organization of member states. It's a tool that all the member states have created for themselves. So if they don't use it, the tool remains on the side of the road and becomes irrelevant," he warned.

However, he said that the UN is not irrelevant, certainly not because of its age. Even after 75 years, the most important thing is to improve the atmosphere that encourages member states to use the UN tool.

To solve problems through the UN, he stressed, member states need to make it active and do a lot of diplomatic work, and this is exactly what the UN is made for.

Unfortunately, as years go by, the world has witnessed more and more unilateralist approaches, instead of seeking solutions via consultation and negotiation, he said.

A Chinese peacekeeper salutes toward the direction of China at the military camp in Lebanon, May 11, 2014. (Xinhua/Wang Yanbo)

"Big countries have the biggest responsibility. That's why they have veto power in the UN Security Council. It's not a perk. It's a responsibility for peace and security," he added.

Taking the current deadlock in disarmament as an example, Chikvaidze said it's urgent for all the relevant parties to sit down and talk. After the Cuban missile crisis, there was an understanding that disarmament is a large part of national security, but this mindset has been weakened in recent years.

"There is a place called the UN. You need the will to open the door, go in and sit down and talk," he said.

For him, a place like the UN at least teaches young people one thing: how to interact with people of other nationalities. To do this, he said, one needs to respect and communicate, which is very important to shape a better future.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

As one of the UN officials in charge of preparing Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Geneva three years ago, Chikvaidze still remembered the keynote speech Xi delivered inside the Palais de Nations, which is titled "Work Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind."

"It was a very impressive speech. It was a very statement-like speech. And I think China is presenting a very valid road to this concept of a shared humanity and a shared future, because we are on one planet, we are in the same boat, you can't get away from that and we have to find a way to coexist," he said.

Xi recently said that China and Europe should serve as two great civilizations that adhere to multilateralism and help improve global governance. In this regard, Chikvaidze said that it's a "very valid proposal" based on the concept of "inclusivity."

Both China and the EU are two very powerful centers of power, and it's good to see an "inclusive cooperation" open to others, he noted.

Photo taken on Nov. 20, 2018 shows the snow-covered Palais des Nations, the headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)

As for COVID-19, Chikvaidze said it is just the latest wake-up call, and that many current global challenges, such as climate change, natural disasters and poverty, need to be solved in a systemic and multilateral way.

"The new wake-up call is heard by everybody," he said, adding that a common reaction from many countries would be that they need to work together.

However, he was not sure whether COVID-19 would suddenly make multilateralism flourish, because multilateralism requires every member state to engage in. "This is where leadership comes in. This is where vision comes in." 
(Natural News) The Black Students Association (BSA) at Rice University in Houston, Texas has demanded that they be given a Black-only safe space on campus in the form of a racially segregated non-residential Black House. This demand, they say, is part of a way Rice can address its history of systemic oppression and inequity.

The BSAs original list of demands were made public on a social media post on Rices official Graduate Student Association (GSA) page by graduate research assistant and GSA Vice President of Equity and Inclusion Dani Perdue.

Here are what Black undergraduate students have demanded from Rice University administration, she wrote in the GSA page. I hope they are listening! #NoMoreLipService #blacklivesmatter. (Related: BLM rioters in Olympia, Washington vandalized their mayors home in an act of domestic terrorism  but she still DEFENDS them.)

We demand that Rice invest in creating a non-residential Black House that has all the features of a residential college but is specifically made for Black students and Black organizations to congregate and hold events, said the BSA in a statement of their demands, which were shared by many official Rice University social media accounts, such as the Rice University Students Association.

We believe it would be best to have a central, safe space that Black students can meet and hangout in anytime of the day.

Rice is already working on creating a Multicultural Center to highlight the universitys ethnic diversity. The BSA argues that this is not enough, and that they should be given a space that is exclusively theirs.

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how the Black Lives Matter movement has achieved absolute legal immunity, giving them free rein to burn, loot and murder their way through the United States with impunity.

Rices Black Students Association also wants to scrub away universitys history

The BSAs list of demands also includes increasing the number of Black students accepted into Rice, increasing the number of Black faculty and staff, hiring more Black therapists and counselors who can provide care for students dealing with racial trauma and the removal of the statue of the universitys founder, William Marsh Rice.

William Marsh Rice, known as the richest man in Texas during his lifetime, made his enormous fortune by investing in oil, real estate, lumber, railroads and cotton. Rice also owned at least 15 slaves before the abolition of slavery.

Rice was also a noted philanthropist. He left at least half of his vast fortune to the establishment of Rice University as a tuition-free institution for higher learning. His will did state that it should be a whites only institution, but this ruling was overruled and the university was fully desegregated in 1964.

His legacy is a constant reminder to many Black students of what Rice University used to be like and what it stood for, wrote the BSA in their list of demands.

Interestingly, the BSAs letter does not demand that Rice University change its name.

The BSAs list includes other requests, such as banning hate speech (which is already explicitly prohibited in the universitys Code of Conduct), establishing a mandatory class on systemic racial inequity, mandatory diversity training for student leaders, allowing Black students to request for better lighting for ID photos. They said that many Black students have had significant issues with their student IDs, and that the university must represent them properly by giving them better lighting.

One of their demands, however, echoes a call being made by Antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement: the abolition of campus security. The BSA stated that Rice must cut ties with the Houston Police Department (HPD) and to gradually decrease the presence of Rice University Police Department (RUPD) on campus, with the goal of complete abolition.

The BSAs full list of demands have received widespread criticism on social media, especially from conservative commentators, such as radio host Jesse Kelly, who said that he remembers protesting against segregation when he was young, and to see students actively calling for segregation is troubling. If my parents could see us now, he said.

Rices current conflict with its Black students echoes an ongoing trend in other universities and colleges nationwide that are being asked to accede more and more to the demands of Black students citing social justice and racial injustice.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

FoxNews.com

BET.com
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have agreed to take immediate action to facilitate the recovery of tourism in a number of countries, including Egypt.

Some of the other countries include Albania, Armenia, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Jordan, Lebanon, Montenegro, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Uzbekistan, the EBRD announced on Friday.

The bank said that the immediate response was designed under the three pillars of the UNWTOs Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package, which includes measurement of the impact of the coronavirus, recovery plans with incentives to revive the tourism sector, protocols to ensure the enhanced safety, hygiene and security of tourists and employees, marketing of measures that can boost tourism demand, capacity-building for tourism officials, and training for tourism sector enterprises on adopting the new protocols.

A key element is to preserve human capital as well as to adapt and strengthen inclusion, according to the bank.

The EBRD said also that it is committing all of its activity in 2020-2021 to helping its regions counter the economic impact of the pandemic, with investment expected to reach up to 21 billion.

The bank said such investments will target all sectors of the economy, including tourism and hospitality, which were particularly affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

The EBRD and UNWTO are longstanding partners and signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in 2015, which they renewed in 2019.

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Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center We are incredibly proud to be joining the Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center family of med spas. With decades of franchising experience, we are excited to be a part of and look forward to growing with a brand like BHRC, said co-owner, Nick Samios.

Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center, renown medical spa and wellness center, today announced that its newest franchised clinic will be opening in La Jolla, CA, making this the company's 17th location nationwide. The newest Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center is located at 909 Prospect Street #100C, La Jolla, CA 92037. The medical spa will be open July 6th, 2020.

Known for its advanced techniques and pioneering treatments, BHRC offers affordable, transformational and non-invasive services such as laser treatments, facial treatments, hormone replacement, weight loss and injectables. Other innovative treatments include Botox, CoolSculpting, body contouring, hair restoration and regenerative therapy.

The new med spa is owned and operated by Nicholas and Zachary Samios.

We are incredibly proud to be joining the Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center family of med spas. With decades of franchising experience, we are excited to be a part of and look forward to growing with a brand like BHRC. Opening our first center in La Jolla, with six more to follow in the Southern California area, will bring its state-of-the-art medical aesthetic services and second-to-none providers to an amazing market, said co-owner, Nick Samios.

Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center has quickly become the go-to medical spa for celebrities such as international model and star of Bravos Real Housewives of Miami, Joanna Krupa; television and film actor, Dean Cain; legendary actress, Morgan Fairchild; former Miss USA and health and fitness celebrity, Ali Landry, to name a few.

Cain has described BHRC as his fountain of youth, while Krupa vows Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center is The only place I go to look and feel great.

The expansion in La Jolla is part of the brand's overall franchise development plans for this year. Today, there are 16 locations open and operating in five states, with several more in various stages of development across the country.

To book a free consultation and to learn more about La Jollas first Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center, visit us online at http://www.bhrcenter.com or call 619-900-BHRC (619-900-2472) for more information. Be sure to ask about opening specials!

Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center is quickly becoming one of America's fastest growing premier med spa and wellness center. Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center franchisees are experiencing rapid growth and the company is currently seeking single- and multi-unit operators to join the brand's rapid expansion. For more information about franchise opportunities, visit Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center online at http://www.bhrcenter.com/medspa-franchise/.

ABOUT BEVERLY HILLS REJUVENATION CENTER

For more than 15-years, Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center, has been the leader in the aesthetic and wellness industries for their innovative elite health and wellness programs, customizing anti-aging therapies, cutting-edge technologies, and seasoned team of industry professionals. Currently, BHRC has 20-locations under construction or operating in key markets including Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Las Vegas, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Boca Raton, Chino Hills, Houston and now La Jolla.
Bulgarian police have arrested the head of the anti-drug trafficking unit and two other officers for taking bribes from smuggling cartels.

The men - dubbed the highest ranking anti-drug officers in Bulgaria - took bribes from both local and international drug trafficking rings in exchange for protection.

They were also the main points of contact between Bulgaria's own anti-drug operation and its international partners in the EU and abroad.

Bulgarian police have arrested the head of the anti-drug trafficking unit and two other officers for taking bribes from smuggling cartels (stock image)

Bulgaria, which joined the European Union in 2007, is a central part of the so-called 'Balkan route' (pictured), which has long served as the main path for smuggling drugs from Asia into Western Europe

Chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev told reporters: 'The men are suspected of opening an umbrella above the activity of organized crime groups engaged in trafficking of narcotics in Bulgaria and abroad.'

He acknowledged that it was disturbing that these men 'are the highest ranking anti-drug officers in Bulgaria and the main contact persons with our international partners, not only in the EU.'

Bulgaria, which joined the European Union in 2007, is a central part of the so-called 'Balkan route', which has long served as the main path for smuggling drugs from Asia into Western Europe.

The men - dubbed the highest ranking anti-drug officers in Bulgaria - took bribes from both local and international drug trafficking rings in exchange for protection (stock image)

Heroin, morphine and opium from Afghanistan travel along the Balkan route via Iran.

The route provides drugs to countries including Greece, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Britain.

The money made by trafficking drugs accounts for a large part of Bulgaria's economy, making up between two and three per cent of the country's GDP, the UN report.
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Linkedin Riska Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 27 2020

Publicly listed consumer goods companies managed to book profits in the first quarter of this year  some even higher than last year  as they emerge as winners during the pandemic-induced economic crisis.

Koneksi Kapital equity analyst Alfred Nainggolan said on Tuesday that the growth of consumer goods companies had been caused by an increased need for staple goods during the pandemic.

PT Unilever Indonesia, which sells soap, shampoo and other personal-care products, as well as food and refreshments, reported higher net profits in the first quarter of this year than in the same period last year. At Rp 1.86 trillion (US$118.14 million), Unilevers January-March net profits grew 6.5 percent year-on-year (yoy). Sales grew 4.6 percent to Rp 11.15 trillion for the same period.

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[June 26, 2020] World's Leading Trusted Third Party Hires General Manager

DENVER, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Subsentio, the world leader in end-to-end lawful intercept solutions and records production for communications service providers (CSPs) and law enforcement agencies (LEAs), announced it has hired Tom Gudsnuk as its General Manager. "Our decision to bring Tom in to hold a leadership position was simple. Many of us here at Subsentio have worked with him at prior CALEA and communications companies and look forward to his work ethic, intellect, and application of prudent business practices with a vision toward expansive growth. Tom has an extensive background in law, finance, strategic planning, CALEA compliance, and technology and has hit the ground running positively making an immediate impact in the company," said Steve Bock, Founder and CEO. Bock further adds, "Finance, Sales, Product Management, and Legal report up to Tom. With over 30 years of experience as an Attorney, coupled with over 20 years in technology executive leadership positions, Subsentio is better positioned to continue our growth as a global market leader in lawful intercept, records production, and providing assistance to LEAs supporting the Subsentio mission of 'Together We're Saving Lives.' Coincident with the hiring, Tom has been elected to the Board of Managers, appointed company Secretary, has become the Company Registered Agent, and functions also as the Chief Legal Officer."



"It is an honor to join such a prestigious company that holds a unique space in the industry and to work with an amazing group of dedicated individuals," Tom Gudsnuk said. "I look forward to helping drive an initiative to not only keep our customers compliant with the laws and regulations, but also move to unify the various aspects of our industry to provide more timely information and intelligence to the LEAs." About Subsentio

Subsentio provides total solutions for compliance with records production and surveillance laws including the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). Subsentio's CALEA Compliance Service bureau model is unique in the industry, providing all components essential to compliance with the law, including outstanding technology, legal expertise, and direct experience in law enforcement. A current initiative is to bring together in one eco-system the various pieces of the Records Production and Lawful Intercept community to provide actionable intelligence to the LEAs. The company is based in Centennial, Colorado and Chantilly, Virginia, and serves 24 nations in the Americas, Europe and the AsiaPac region. www.subsentio.com Media Contact:

Jim Crawford, for Subsentio

703-498-7315

[email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/worlds-leading-trusted-third-party-hires-general-manager-301084347.html SOURCE Subsentio, LLC

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PLANS to reinstate the ShannonDoc out-of-hours GP service in Hospital town have been welcomed by Deputy Collins.

The HSE has confirmed they will reinstate the service, however, I am concerned about the ongoing lack of service being delivered from Hospital. This pre-dates Covid. This is a very big issue. It is a hugely valuable service used by people in Hospital and many surrounding areas, said Deputy Collins.

In correspondence with the Fianna Fail TD, a HSE employee informed him: At a recent meeting with ShannonDoc, it was confirmed that they are reviewing their current level of service provision on a regular basis and will re-instate the service in Hospital as soon as possible in the context of ensuring the health and safety of staff and patients and Covid-19 requirements. ShannonDoc is monitoring the situation on a daily basis and will reinstate the service as soon as possible.

While Deputy Collins welcomes this he states that communities across south east Limerick are concerned that there is an attempt by the HSE to close this by stealth. I am working to ensure this does not happen, he said.

In response to Covid-19 a temporary consolidated model of service has been implemented by ShannonDoc to operate from five overnight treatment centres across the Mid-West - Nenagh, Limerick, Newcastle West, Ennis and Miltown Malbay.

One person contacted Deputy Collins to say: Of late we have had occasions where we have had to go into A&E for things that would have been dealt with before at ShannonDoc. It is crazy to make people travel into a high density population area where Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in their hundreds when they could be seen in an area where there was two cases. The elderly and those with mental health issues need the ShannonDoc service.

Cllr Martin Ryan made this point on A&E at a Cappamore-Kilmallock municipal meeting in February. If a person goes to ShannonDoc in Limerick it is as easy to go around the roundabout to A&E and thats one more person in A&E, he said.

Cllr Ger Mitchell has a motion down for this Tuesdays meeting asking the council to write to the HSE and ShannonDoc to seek an update and full clarity on this essential and necessary service which serves a huge area and what are its future plans.
WESTLAND, MI -- An officer for the Westland Police Department has been fired after an into claims that he used excessive force on an autistic man during an incident in January. According to WXYZ Detroit, officer Kristopher Landis was fired following an investigation and review of body cam footage of the incident.

Landis was investigating an alleged armed robbery at an Arbys restaurant when he encountered the unidentified man. Landis is accused of using a police-issued baton to strike the autistic man, causing a severe eye injury. Westland police chief Jeff Jedrusik said a weapon was never found that was linked to the suspect of the robbery.

The case has been turned over to the Wayne County Prosecutors Office for consideration of criminal charges. Westland Police did not say why the incident was not investigated by an outside department.

Landis was previously arrested and charged for driving under the influence in March 2013. At that time he was working with the Farmington Hills Police Department. After hitting an unoccupied car, Landis blew a .17, more than double the legal limit.
While the world is being distracted by a pandemic, Israels most audacious land-grabber is working overtime.

Beginning July 1, in defiance of international law but encouraged by Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to annex perhaps as much as 30 per cent of the occupied West Bank to make permanent the illegal Israeli settlements that he has allowed to develop on Palestinian land.

If implemented, even in a gradual and staged way, it will rock the region and prove to be a provocative challenge to the world communitys oft-stated commitment to an equitable and peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

And within Israel itself, it will throw into question the existence of Israel as a predominantly Jewish democracy that, according to the promises of its 1948 Declaration of Independence, will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex.

It is unclear how this will all play out, but the prospects are grim.

Netanyahus move appears intended to kill, once and for all, any hope for a two-state solution that would lead to the creation of a viable, independent State of Palestine.

It would seem to ensure that thousands of Palestinian residents in these newly annexed territories would be granted neither citizenship nor equal rights.

And as a consequence, it would likely lead to the emergence of a modern-day version of apartheid South Africa where institutionalized racial discrimination against Palestinians shapes the future direction of Israeli society.

But like the apartheid policy in South Africa in the 1980s, which collapsed in the face of international pressure, this initiative by Netanyahus government has considerable risks.

It could very well ignite a new wave of violence in the West Bank, further undermine Israels standing in the world and threaten its relations with its Arab neighbours  particularly Jordan, whose ruler, King Abdullah II, has warned that its countrys peace treaty with Israel would be endangered.

It would also encourage more countries to grant diplomatic recognition to the State of Palestine and provide fresh impetus to those who feel that Israel should face the same kind of sanctions that Russia did when it annexed Crimea from Ukraine.

In one sense, Netanyahu has chosen an odd time to make this move.

It comes as Israel is bracing for the coming of a second wave of coronavirus infections and is facing what researchers in the Jerusalem Post describe as one of the greatest economic crises in its history.

So, why now, we might ask? What could he be thinking?

The answer to that appears to be found a world away in the grubby political melodrama of U.S. presidential politics.

Netanyahu is afraid this may be his only chance. Four months from now in the U.S. presidential election, Americans will likely be tossing the imploding Trump presidency into the dustbin of history.

And that may spell trouble for Netanyahu and his dreams of expanding Israels borders at the expense of the Palestinians.

The likely next U.S. president, Democrat Joe Biden, is certainly no critic of Israel, although he opposes the idea of annexation. But his party is increasingly skeptical of Israels recent aggressive actions, and there are now prominent party leaders that no longer assume that Israeli and American interests are necessarily the same.

Recent polling suggests that many Americans, including Jewish Americans, are increasingly skeptical of Israels complacency towards the U.S.  perhaps best summed up years ago by the Israeli military hero, Moshe Dayan:

Our American friends offer us money, arms and advice. We take the money, we take the arms, and we decline the advice.

In addition, the pressure will be intensified in Europe and Canada to hold Netanyahus Israel to account in the months ahead.

The outrage in Europe is growing, and there appears to be a certainty that sanctions of some sort will be imposed.

In Canada, Justin Trudeaus government was slow in being critical of Israel over annexation  and was widely attacked for that. Its one-sided soft support of Israel in recent years, at the expense of the Palestinian cause, was seen as one of the reasons Canada lost out in its quest for a UN Security Council seat.

A Canada-wide survey conducted this month by Ekos Research Associates suggests that Canadians are more militant about Israels actions than their government. While opposing Israeli annexation by an overwhelming margin (74 per cent), the poll indicates that 42 per cent of Canadians want Canada to impose sanctions against Israel. It was sponsored by Independent Jewish Voices Canada and United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine-Israel.

If we have learned anything in recent decades, it is that these issues cannot be easily resolved.

I remember in 2008, after I had just taken over in Qatar as managing director of al Jazeeras English-language network, several boxes of embossed Al Jazeera Daily Journals arrived in my office. I was encouraged to hand them out to any international guests I had.

I noticed that these Journals included several pages of coloured maps  which I thought was clever. Except for one thing.

The Middle East map didnt include any reference to Israel.

That part of it was blank.

It was apparently felt that until Palestine was formally included in that regions geography, that part of the map should remain blank.

I respected the feeling behind that decision, but I didnt share it, so I sent the boxes of Journals back.

I remember thinking at the time that Israels reality  however flawed its governments policies may be  cannot disappear just like that.

And in that same spirit, I am certain that the reality of an independent Palestine  regardless of what Netanyahu and Trump try to do  is a chapter in history that will eventually be written.

Tony Burman, formerly head of CBC News and Al Jazeera English, is a freelance contributing foreign affairs columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: , formerly head of CBC News and Al Jazeera English, is a freelance contributing foreign affairs columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyBurman

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New York, US (PANA) - The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has described torture is an egregious abuse of human rights, as the world on Friday marks the International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture
Albertsons, an Idaho-based grocer whose brands include Safeway, raised $800 million in its IPO. The Cerberus-owned company priced 50 million shares at $16, below initial plans to offer 65.8 million shares at $18$20, for an initial market cap of $7.7 billion.

Why it matters: This is one of very few 2020 IPOs to majorly miss expectations, and came on the same night that six other issuers beat their targets.
Click here to read the full article.

The king of the superyacht exhibitions, the Monaco Yacht Show, has been canceled due to concerns over the spread of Covid-19. It was scheduled to run September 23-26, 2020.

Organizer Informa Markets issued a statement saying it had been in constant discussions with stakeholders and partners in the superyacht industry about the challenges facing yacht owners, shipyards and brokers in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

More from Robb Report

Like many other industries, the international super yachting community has experienced significant disruption in 2020, said Charlie McCurdy, CEO of Informa Markets, who made the announcement on Friday. McCurdy noted that much of the superyacht fleet was currently located in the US and Canada. Several charter brokers told Robb Report that about 50 to 75 of those yachts were not going to Europe this year for the charter season.

The organizers had been working with exhibitors and the Principality of Monaco to determine if a low-density, not-for-profit, support event would have been both practical and beneficial to the market. Ultimately, they determined that it was in the superyacht industrys best interests to postpone the prestige experience of the show until next year for its 30th edition.

Two important groups of superyacht builders and international brokerage firms announced earlier this month that they were pulling out of the event due to Covid-19 and other concerns.

According to the statement, many exhibitors have agreed to focus their efforts on supporting the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, scheduled to take place in late October. Last year, FLIBS had more than 900 boats at the event, including 100 superyachts.

Story continues

Were focusing our efforts on delivering a strong platform to showcase the industry at Fort Lauderdale, with the Monaco Yacht Show now set to return in style in September 2021, McCurdy said.

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Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Qantas is axing at least 20pc of its workforce and intends to raise up to AU$1.9bn (1.16bn) of equity under a sweeping cost-saving plan prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Australian airline also said yesterday it will ground 100 aircraft for up to 12 months and retire its remaining Boeing 747 fleet immediately, six months ahead of schedule, given travel restrictions imposed by the global health crisis.

"We have to position ourselves for several years when revenue will be much lower," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said of the three-year plan. "And this means becoming a much smaller airline in the short term."

The capital raising, at a discount of 13pc to the airline's last trading price, includes an underwritten AU$1.36bn institutional placement and a AU$500m share purchase plan.

The 6,000 job cuts will come from across the airline's 29,000-strong workforce, with 15,000 workers remaining furloughed till flights resume.

Reuters
The Tema Regional Immigration Command has apprehended a Nigerian national for attempting to acquire a Ghanaian passport at the Passport Application Centre (PAC), Tema.



The Nigerian, 29-year-old Obina Ukah, was arrested during the vetting of his application by Immigration Officers, and was subsequently referred to the Tema Regional Command for further investigations.



This was made known to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Friday in a press release signed by DSI Mercy Budu, Regional Public Affairs Officer, Tema Regional Command.



According to the release, Mr. Ukah had entered Ghana illegally through the Aflao border and had been working at the Volta Hotel in Akosombo, for six months as an engineer without a valid work/residence permit.



Mr. Ukah then decided to acquire a Ghanaian passport and was assisted by a 53-year-old Ghanaian national, whose name has been withheld for security reasons. His Ghanaian accomplice was to assist him to acquire a Ghanaian birth certificate with false personal information at a fee of 200 Ghana cedis to aid in the processing of the passport.



The two suspects had been referred to the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) National Headquarters for further investigations.



The GIS cautioned all foreign nationals in Ghana, especially those from the ECOWAS sub-region, to desist from attempting to acquire a Ghanaian passport by false pretense, which was a serious offense under the laws of the country.

Source: GNA









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Global e-commerce giant Amazon is all set to acquire California-based ride-hailing company Zoox. The latest deal would enable Amazon to expand its presence in the autonomous mobility segment.

Amazon will reportedly shell out over a billion dollars to buy the six-year-old self-driving vehicle technology startup.

"Zoox is working to imagine, invent, and design a world-class autonomous ride-hailing experience," said Jeff Wilke, Amazons CEO, Worldwide Consumer. "Like Amazon, Zoox is passionate about innovation and about its customers, and we're excited to help the talented Zoox team to bring their vision to reality in the years ahead," he added.

"This acquisition solidifies Zoox's impact on the autonomous driving industry," said Aicha Evans, CEO of Zoox. "We have made great strides with our purpose-built approach to safe, autonomous mobility, and our exceptionally talented team working every day to realise that vision. We now have an even greater opportunity to realise a fully autonomous future."

Amazon noted in a release that Evans and Jesse Levinson, Zoox co-founder and CTO, will continue to lead the startup as a standalone business.

Amazon has stepped up its investment in the car sector, participating in a $530 million funding round early last year in self-driving car startup Aurora Innovation.
Ukraine continued to insist on the mutual release of captives based on the "all-for-all" principle at a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG, which comprises Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE) for Donbas.

"The humanitarian group discussed the coordination of lists for the mutual release of captives. The Ukrainian party continues to insist on an "all-for-all" release," the press service of the Office of the Ukrainian President said on Thursday following the TCG meeting held by video link.
[June 26, 2020] BROOKDALE SENIOR LIVING ALERT: Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Announces That a Class Action Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on behalf of investors that purchased Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE: BKD) securities between August 10, 2016 and April 29, 2020 (the "Class Period"). Investors have until August 24, 2020 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. Click here to participate in the action. As of February 1, 2020, Brookdale owned 356 communities, leased 307 communities, managed seventy-seven communities on behalf of third parties, and three communities for which it has an equity interest. The Company operates independent living, assisted living and dementia-care communities and continuing care retirement centers ("CCRCs"). Through its ancillary services programs, the Company also offers a range of outpatient therapy, home health, personalized living, and hospice services. On April 30, 2020, Nashville Business Journal reported that a proposed class-action lawsuit had been filed against Brookdale in this Judicial District, which accused the Company of, among other things, purposeful "chronically insufficient staffing" at its facilities to meet financial benchmarks since at least April 24, 2016. According to the lawsuit, Brookdale misld residents and their families when it promised to provide basic care and daily living services. The lawsuit also claims that the proposed class of plaintiffs "have not received the care and services they paid for." The lawsuit asks for damages and Brookdale to "stop the unlawful and fraudulent practices."



On this news, Brookdale's stock price fell $0.56 per share, or 15.22%, over two trading sessions to close at $3.12 per share on May 1, 2020. The complaint, filed on June 25, 2020, alleges that throughout the Class Period Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Brookdale's financial performance was sustained by, among other things, the Company's purposeful understaffing of its senior living communities; (ii) the foregoing conduct subjected Brookdale to an increased risk of litigation and, once revealed, was foreseeably likely to have a material negative impact on the Company's financial results and reputation; (iii) as a result, the Company's financial results were unsustainable; and (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

If you purchased Brookdale securities during the Class Period, are a long-term stockholder, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Melissa Fortunato or Marion Passmore by email at [email protected], telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you. About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.: Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York and California. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005524/en/

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Marijuana businesses are falling through the cracks when it comes to economic assistance for COVID-19.

Although pot businesses were deemed essential and allowed to remain open throughout the pandemic, they havent been immune to its economic imp...
WASHINGTON - The District of Columbia sued Exxon Mobil and other large oil companies Thursday over their contribution to climate change, adding the nation's capital to a growing list of states seeking to hold the oil sector accountable.

In recent years large oil companies have become increasingly vocal about the need to address climate change, but the suit tackles a long period when, despite warnings from their own scientists, oil executives openly questioned studies showing that greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels were warming the planet.

"For decades, these oil and gas companies spent millions to mislead consumers and discredit climate science in pursuit of profits, Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine said in a statement.

RELATED: After Exxon victory, oil sector faces lengthy climate fight

A spokesman for Exxon described the lawsuit, which also named Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and BP, as part of a "coordinated, politically motivated campaign against energy companies. Both Shell and Chevron questioned what state attorneys general hoped to gain through the litigation.

"Addressing a challenge as big as climate change requires cooperation between all segments of society, not lawsuits that masquerade as climate action and impede the collaboration needed for meaningful change," the Shell spokesman said.

BP declined to comment.

The D.C. lawsuit comes a day after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed suit against Exxon, Kansas-based Koch Industries and the trade group American Petroleum Institute, adding to a years-long litigation campaign by Democratic attorneys general.

Last year the industry managed to fight off claims that its alleged climate denial represented an attempt to defraud its investors, when a New York state judge ruled in favor of Exxon Mobil in a lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General's Office.

But with more and more states now claiming oil companies should pay for public costs associated with climate change, such as fighting wildfires and the construction of sea walls to prevent flooding, the industry's legal fight is far from over.

Last month the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments from Chevron, Exxon, BP, ConocoPhillips and Shell to move a climate lawsuit filed by eight California municipalities to federal court, where the legal bar for plaintiffs is harder to clear, while also overruling a lower court decision to dismiss lawsuits brought by San Francisco and Oakland.

"A lot of potential plaintiffs were watching that case, and a month later we two get two new plaintiffs in two days," said Carroll Muffett, president of the Center for International Environmental Law. "It's all been really bad news for the oil industry."
San Francisco: Verizon, one of the world's biggest telecommunications companies, has become the latest in a string of businesses boycotting advertising on Facebook over its failure to prevent racist and violent information from being shared on its social networking service, including from US President Donald Trump.

The growing movement, organised by civil rights and other advocacy groups under the rally cry "#StopHateForProfit", was spurred by last month's killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and has drawn support from companies including Ben & Jerry's ice-cream, Patagonia, The North Face, Mozilla, movie studio Magnolia Pictures and more.

One of the world's biggest telcos has joined a growing ad boycott against Facebook. Credit:Bloomberg

"We have strict content policies in place and have zero tolerance when they are breached, we take action," Verizon said in a statement.

"We're pausing our advertising until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable."
The National Identification Authority (NIA) has described as inaccurate certain statements made by the flag bearer of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Dramani Mahama at a press conference held on Thursday, 25 June 2020, following the Supreme Court ruling on the NDC vs the Electoral Commission case.



Mr Mahama claimed at the press conference that: The Ghana card, which has been made one of two identification documents for the registration of a new voter card, has not been rolled out in full.



Responding to this claim, the NIA, in a statement, said: It fully rolled out the mass registration exercise on 29 April 2019 to register Ghanaians and issue them with biometric ID cards and was left with just a week to complete. But for the outbreak of COVID-19, NIA would have completed the registration exercise in the Eastern Region by 27 March 2020 after having conducted the exercise in 15 other regions. The mop-up exercise currently underway is to further provide opportunity for those who could not register to do so.



It continued that: Indeed, as of 23 June 2020, NIA had registered a total of 11,385,494 eligible Ghanaians, printed 11,172,261 cards and issued 10,854,829 cards to qualified Ghanaians. The target was to register 80% of the population aged 15 and above. A total number of Ghanaians aged 18 and above have been issued 10,576,120 Ghana Cards. By the end of the mop-up registration exercise, it is expected that 16.7 million eligible Ghanaians would have been captured on the National Identity Register and issued the Ghana card.



Touching further on Mr Mahamas claim that the Ghana cards are still being issued with no mechanism for verification, the NIA said the claim is false.



The authority explained that: The majority (7,163,935) of Ghana cards have been issued through the online verification mechanism. There is an inbuilt mechanism for the verification of the 3,690,894 cards currently being issued using the card issuance album. The use of manual verification is not a novel practice. There are various methods of verification. One can use the ocular inspection method, the match-on-card method or the one-to-many method which is online. The National Identity System is designed to utilise any or all of these methods.



Applicants who visit the card issuance centres are identified and issued their Ghana Cards by NIA officials using the ocular verification method, i.e., crosschecking of their photographs, name, date of birth, telephone number and other details as captured in the album against the registration slips they submit or their verbal claim.



It added that the adoption of the card issuance album in the card distribution process was informed by the following considerations:



i. To enable speedy distribution of 3.9 million cards to applicants.



ii. To prevent the situation of having 3.9 million applicants across the country going to the registration centres when NIAs mop-up exercise starts. The manual verification will reduce the risk of applicants undermining the protocols on physical distancing (COVID-19).



The NIA further described as false, another claim by Mr Mahama that the authority itself has admitted to duplication of thousands of these cards.



This statement is regrettably false. Out of the 11,172,261 printed as at 23 June 2020, there has only been 525 instances where more than one card has been printed for an individual bearing different Personal Identification Numbers. This situation was caused by an error during a system update which error has since been resolved.



A more detailed explanation is on the NIA website and was in the speech of the Executive Secretary of NIA when he addressed the media on 17 June 2020. Suffice to add that, only one card can be active against a set of biometrics (face, fingers and iris). In effect, no one can use two cards at the same time neither can anyone use the card of another person. The system automatically assigns invalid multiple card details to a watch list, the statement signed by Francis Palmdeti, Head, Corporate Affairs, explained.





Source: classfmonline.com









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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.
Like many others, my company's entire team has been working from home for the last three months. It's difficult for many reasons, but I recently encountered one big, scary challenge I hadn't thought about: cybersecurity. That's the scary part--it's not top of mind until something goes wrong.

Within the last couple of months, my team realized we were receiving more and more phishing attempts. They looked like emails with subject lines that read "Action required for your SBA Loan," or "You're one click away from reserving your Covid-19 antibody test" or "The WHO says we may all be carriers," followed by a link to click or an attachment to open to learn more. Luckily, my team caught these attempts without opening anything that compromised our data, but the experience left me with an uneasy feeling that we were somehow more vulnerable than usual.

To understand our cybersecurity better, I got in touch with Eric O'Neill, former FBI Special Agent and the National Cybersecurity Strategist for VMWare Carbon Black. He laid out the reasons for the uptick in cyberattacks around the world and helped me protect my company's data.

Cyberhackers and terrorists notoriously hit harder during times of conflict. Starting with the spread of misinformation related to Covid-19 and followed by the political unrest that's gripping the world, rapid information is in high demand. When you pair that with the fear-mongering that is driving common sense right out the window, you get a perfect storm. On top of all that, people are even more vulnerable than usual because they are working from home on personal and unprotected devices.

For a company that has private information for big names in every industry, that's a terrifying thought. So, O'Neill helped me ensure my team and our data were safe by having us implement these procedures.

Safeguard personal devices.

First things first, get your employees off their personal devices. Request they take their office computers home or, if you have the means, ship them. Or purchase portable computers for your staff with preloaded cybersecurity and VPN software.

If you're like us, you're readjusting your budget due to unforeseen Covid-related changes, so I wasn't sure this was the best use of our money. However, O'Neill walked me through a few cyberhacking scenarios that lead to ransom, extortion, and blackmail, and I quickly saw the light.

If you're unable to provide company devices to your employees, there are measures you can take to ensure their personal devices are secure, such as purchasing cybersecurity software for your team's personal devices and walking them through the installation.

Securing your devices against malware is not the area to skimp. Budget for your data's protection and it will save you money in the long run.

Secure your emails.

Your company should have an email level of cybersecurity that filters out phishing attempts. This firewall protection filters your incoming emails by IP addresses and rejects any harmful looking emails coming from Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, since these countries are constantly sending broad spectrum attacks to massive email lists.

Turn your team into spy hunters.

Your firewall protection only covers you so much. If the cyberhacker chooses to bounce the email from Moscow through an IP address in Arizona, then your protection will most likely not catch it. So it's important to train your team on deciphering phishing attempts. O'Neill calls this spy hunter training.

Start by having your team turn on two-step authentication for all emails. When examining an email, O'Neill says there are certain tells a spy hunter should look for:

Double click the sender's email to see the actual email instead of the name they want you to see. You can often identify a hacker by an email address that is spelled wrong or slightly off.

Check grammar and spelling. Often, hackers are in a rush or English is their second language, so you can find errors that don't make sense coming from the sender they claim to be.

Never click a link or open an attachment from a suspicious sender. If the email is supposedly coming from a bank, institution, health care provider, or some other partner, log on to their site directly after closing the email browser or call their helpline. Never give any personal information over email.
United Nations, June 26 : The top UN envoy for Afghanistan has expressed optimism about the peace prospects in the war-torn country, saying talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban could begin in July.

"I am cautiously optimistic that the talks between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban negotiation teams will indeed start in the next few weeks in Doha, during the month of July," Deborah Lyons, the UN Ssecretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, told the Security Council on Thursday.

"As the two sides embark on what will likely be a long and complex series of talks, I have encouraged them to show the necessary flexibility and foresight, the commitment to peace and most importantly, compassion for their people, that will be needed to bring these negotiations to a successful conclusion," she said.

The announcement of a three-day Eid al-Fitr ceasefire in May by the Taliban and the Afghan government led to a welcome and much-needed reduction in violence, which is essential to an environment conducive for peace talks and will pave the way for an eventual permanent ceasefire.

But the recent spiraling levels of violence threaten this process, she noted.

Lyons saw encouraging commitment by the two sides on the issue of prisoner releases, which is an important confidence-building measure that has created momentum toward the negotiations.

"As I am speaking to you now, we are in the final stages, and it is noteworthy that both sides have agreed that the (peace) talks could start within a week of the completion of the prisoner releases. But again, this must be commensurate with a reduction in violence," she said.

Lyons recognized the efforts of the US, Qatar, and a number of other regional countries in bringing the Afghan government and the Taliban to this point.

"We all look forward to the formal commencement of the negotiations. The UN stands ready to support these direct talks, as required, and I have been in discussion with both sides to identify and address their needs going forward. We are working now very closely with a number of countries to build a network of support for the talks and for the parties, as needed." Lyons also voiced concern over the impact of COVID-19 on the livelihood of Afghans.

"At the same time as peace rises out there on the horizon, COVID-19 is casting a huge shadow over Afghan daily life," she said.

The global pandemic also poses unique challenges for the operational posture of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which Lyons leads, and has limited its ability to fully deliver on its mandate, she said.

In light of the scale of the crisis and the crippling economic consequences, the UN humanitarian response plan for Afghanistan has been updated to incorporate the COVID-19 requirements for 2020.

In total, $1.1 billion is now required, she added.
Agartala/Shillong, June 26 : Meghalaya and Tripura top the COVID-19 recovery rate in the country, a Tripura Minister said on Friday night.

Meghalaya's recovery rate is 89.36 per cent and Tripura's 81.47 per cent as against the national average of 58.24 per cent, Tripura Law and Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath told the media.

Nath, who is the spokesman of Tripura government, said that 15,050 test per million were conducted in his state compared to the national average of 5,635 tests while in Sikkim it is 15,098.

"In tests per million, Tripura is at the 6th position after Andaman, Sikkim, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Goa," the Minister said.

In Meghalaya, 47 people have tested positive so far, with four active cases and one death. In Tripura, 1,295 coronavirus cases were reported, including 232 active cases and one death.
School Police Officer Donald lewis and his Men of Mitchell walking the halls of the school on their way to speak to a first-grade class at Mitchell Elementary School in Southwest Philadelphia. Read more

As cities across the country debate police reform in the wake of massive civil unrest following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, many people have questioned whether officers belong in schools.

After the shooting at Parkland, Fla.s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, many people, including President Donald Trump, called for additional police officers in every school. Others, however, argue that the presence of these officials  known as school resource officers  can exacerbate existing issues, or create unintended consequences, particularly for students of color.

The Inquirer turned to the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvanias expert on school police and the Philadelphia School Districts superintendent to debate: Do police belong in schools?

NO: Police presence exacerbates the school-to-prison pipeline.

By Ghadah Makoshi

Police should not be in our schools. The harm caused by a police presence in schools far outweighs any arguments about the presence of police making a school safer. The acceleration of the number of students entering the so-called school-to-prison pipeline in recent decades makes clear the dangers of bringing police into schools.

Study after study has shown that arrest rates, particularly for Black students for minor offenses, are higher in schools that have officers, despite efforts to teach de-escalation. Arrests have terrible consequences for students. When a student is arrested, the odds of that student dropping out of high school doubles. Just a single court appearance for a student makes that student four times more likely to drop out. Those statistics bear out in real-world consequences. Just 26% of students arrested graduate from high school.

Which begs the question: If the consequences for students being arrested are so significant in shaping their young adulthood, why are police officers even in schools in the first place?

Advocates say that police presence in schools is a matter of keeping students safe.

The CDC estimates that of the total number of student deaths, less than 2% happen at schools. School shootings have occurred at schools with and without armed law enforcement officers, where sometimes they have intervened, but in most situations, for example, Columbine, Colo., and Parkland, Fla., they have not been able to stop the violence. Additionally, there is no conclusive evidence indicating that school police reduce crime among students.

Even the most caring and best-trained police officer cannot, and should not be expected to, operate as counselors in our schools. Ghadah Makoshi

And if the expectation of a police officer in a school is to intervene in deadly situations and become martyrs, then the type of people who are going to be attracted to that job are not the type of people that we want to be in charge of the safety of our students.

We want people in our schools who can interact in a compassionate way; people who understand childhood development. Schools need counselors, not police. Even the most caring and best-trained police officer cannot, and should not be expected to, operate as counselors in our schools.

A study published in Adolescent Research Review in 2016 reviewed and analyzed existing research and found that schools with police have higher rates of exclusionary discipline, such as out-of-school suspensions and expulsions, than do other comparable schools. Evidence shows that a police presence can mean increased rates of student arrests for minor offenses, such as disorderly conduct or simple assault, resulting in greater numbers of children than necessary being exposed to the justice system. Importantly, youth of color are considerably more likely than white youth to experience these harms.

Implicit bias plays a role in school discipline when students of color are seen as threatening and are disproportionately punished and arrested.

And despite good intentions, officers can make school climates less inclusive and reduce trust, which undermines effective behavior management. Student misbehavior, including criminal behavior, is less likely in schools that have inclusive social climates. These are schools where students feel valued, respected, listened to, and part of a community. These are schools with adequate support and resources for students. These are not schools that prioritize a police presence.

There is no compelling reason that justifies or excuses the harm done to our most vulnerable students with their continued presence in schools. If we are going to divest from the police, an excellent place to start would be getting police out of our schools.

Ghadah Makoshi is the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvanias community advocate focusing on school policing reform.

YES: Safety officers, replacing traditional police, will help us best serve students.

By William R. Hite Jr.

As the superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, I believe there is a place for police in our schools, though I know reforms are needed in order to best support our students, educators, and community members.

Our Office of School Safety (OSS) stands committed to dismantling institutional racism, classism, and social injustices in our schools, communities, and nation. I, and other district leaders, recognize the critical need to recreate the districts current school safety approach, and we will do so by cultivating a program that provides school safety officers (SSO) with the tools to understand adolescent development, trauma, and de-escalation.

As we prepare for the 2020-21 academic year, the OSS is currently reviewing and making necessary operational changes that will revamp the culture of discipline in schools, and ensure our practices and protocols align with the values of the community and show respect for our students. It is important for all us to take into account that although the majority of a school safety officers work occurs within school walls, the OSS has a duty to protect students, staff, and administrators from internal and external threats. This is a daily challenge, and as we reimagine the office, we must keep this critical and essential safety role in mind.

Our new safety officers are required to complete a mandated training program that includes, but is not limited to: de-escalation and conflict management, racial equity and diversity, child development, and traumatic stress in adolescents. Every year, all officers will be required to complete a series of extensive in-service and specialized trainings that instill procedurally just practices and support ever-changing school climates.

We have eliminated the title school police and, at the start of the year, officers will be recognized as school safety officers. The title change is in accordance with Pennsylvanias Safe Schools Legislation, and the change allows for students to understand the responsibility of our personnel  which is to actively create a safe and supportive educational environment. Safety officers are not police officers, which means they are not armed, nor do they make arrests. Instead, they alternatively help to minimize juvenile arrests by serving as a liaison between students and the Philadelphia Police Department.

Our vision is to continue reducing the number of students being arrested. To meet this objective, the Office of School Safety will be working in collaboration with the Philadelphia Police Departments School Diversion Unit, the Department of Human Services, and the District Attorneys Office to significantly expand our diversion efforts to serve more students. Through this enhancement, we will gain additional insight into diversion services, streamline our processes, and expedite results. All of which would help us create a comprehensive program that deters negative contact with children.

We are also gradually phasing-out current SSO uniforms. They will be replaced with a more scaled-down and approachable, yet readily identifiable, uniform. Additionally, the current day-to-day use of metal detectors will be revised to ensure the process is conducted in a procedurally just, humane, and dignified manner.

We are developing a comprehensive communication plan focused on organizational transparency and integrity that will help build relationships and trust within the community. We will be updating our website with meaningful content that will include our training programs, code of conduct, data and reports, and other safety resources.

The district needs the OSS to help us collaborate with students, social workers, teachers, administrators, and other community organizations to ensure we are prioritizing student health and safety while promoting an enriching learning environment. We will continue to coordinate virtual meetings with youth advocacy groups to continue fostering a two-way dialogue, and give students the opportunity to be a part of the conversation and plans moving forward.

We know there is much work to be done, and we are committed to doing it with urgency, listening to feedback, and emphasizing respect for our students, staff, and school communities.

William R. Hite Jr. is the superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia.
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In the study carried out in Malta, 15 participants with diabetic foot disease were asked to walk in footwear fitted with made to measure 3D-printed insoles designed by the Centre for Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Technologies (CBRT) at Staffordshire University. These footbeds were used to change the stiffness of the entire sole across a spectrum of very soft to very stiff.Dr. Chatzistergos, Associate Professor at CBRT and the lead author of the study, said: "The optimum stiffness is clearly related to the patient's body mass index (BMI). This study adds to our earlier findings and concludes that stiffer materials are needed for people with a higher BMI."Collaborators Dr. Alfred Gatt and Dr. Cynthia Formosa from the University of Malta and Visiting Fellows at CBRT provided clinical support for this study and led the experiments in Malta. Dr. Gatt noted: "We hope that the results reported within this study will generate interest amongst all professionals managing this debilitating condition."Further work is now underway to develop a method to help professionals identify the optimum cushioning stiffness on a patient-specific basis. Professor Nachi Chockalingam, Director of CBRT and a co-inventor of the technology, said, "With numerous patients losing their limbs to diabetic foot disease, our research will help clinicians effectively manage this disease."Source: Eurekalert
A safe house supported by the Soeurs Saint-Jean religious order in Ouanaminthe, Haiti, provides a secure, temporary space for children who have been abandoned or separated from their parents along Haitis porous northeast border with the Dominican Republic.
Ben Affleck has already introduced his kids to his girlfriend Ana de Armas, and it looks like their relationship is getting pretty serious.

A source told Life & Style Weekly that on their June 29, 2020, issue, the "Knives Out" actress is impressed with how "smart, fun and well-behaved" his boyfriend's kids are.

The insider claimed that de Armas is closest to the eldest, Violet, 14, among the three children - Seraphina, 11, and Samuel, 8.

"She really enjoys spending time with all of them."

The feeling is reportedly mutual, as the magazine claimed that Ben Affleck's kids, whom he shares with ex-wife Jennifer Garner, are said to be charmed with the 32-year-old after they were able to get to know her better while in quarantine.

Now, the kids are said to be begging their dad to marry de Armas.

"Violet and Seraphina adore Ana. Sam, too, thinks she's nice and loves that Ana's goofy and willing to play games with them."

The source added, "The trio keep telling Ben they want her to stick around."

While the two have only publicized their relationship in March, after meeting in a film production set last November 2019, Ben Affleck thinks that his kids are really onto something when it comes to his relationship with Ana de Armas.

Things had gotten even more serious when the "Daredevil" actor headed to Cuba, de Armas' native, to meet her parents.

Despite being discreet and sensitive in introducing his previous girlfriends to Garner and their kids, Affleck made sure that the people he introduced her would get the chance to know her new babe better.

"Ben has made no secret about his desire to spend the rest of his life with Ana, and he wants to make sure he does things the right way," said the source.

"That includes ensuring Jen and the kids are on board with his new life."

And they reportedly are.

The 48-year-old mom of three has described Ana de Armas as a good influence on her ex-husband, who once struggled with alcohol abuse during their more than ten years of marriage.

The children, on the other hand, has approved de Armas "right away."

It was easy for her to fit into their family, even though they have only known her for months, and the three kids are just excited to make things official with de Armas.

"The kids are so anxious for their dad to marry Ana, they've even offered to help plan the wedding."

But Ben Affleck is still yet to pop the question. Despite only dating for a few months, he wants the proposal to be anything but special as he thinks, "Ana deserves nothing but the best."

With Affleck finally pulling his life together thanks to Ana de Armas, Jennifer Garner is said to be having difficulties seeing her ex-husband's love story to another woman "play out so publicly."

Star Magazine's source reported, "She's always wanted him to be happy. Jen remembers when she and Ben first fell in love, and it stings."

However, she is pleased to see that Affleck is finally finding peace and happiness and have stayed off alcoholic beverages.

"Jen did everything she could to set him on the right path and save their marriage. It hurts that he's taking such good care of himself with Ana but couldn't do it with her."

READ MORE: Jennifer Garner Heartbreak: Actress HURTING Over Ex Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas PDA
A Turkish court has maintained in detention three journalists facing prison sentences for revealing the identity of state spy agents who died in Libya where Ankara backs militarily the Government of National Accord (GNA).

The reporters have been detained since early March pending trial. One of them, Murat Agirel of the Yenicag newspaper said in a statement: With these nonexistent charges, I have been held alone in a cell in prison for 120 days. The charges against me are neither based on tangible evidence nor conscientious.  The MIT officer was reported about on social media before I wrote [about] it.

The MIT is the Turkish intelligence service. One of its agents reportedly died in Libya, killed by rebel forces led by Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar.

Turkey since December last year has been militarily active in Libya on the side of the GNA, to push back the offensive launched in April by Khalifa Haftars forces to seize the Libyan capital.

Ankara has sent troops as well as Syrian mercenaries to prop up the GNA.

On March 5, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reports, Interior Minister, Suleyman Soylu, told a local TV station that under Turkish law, people who obtain documents and information concerning the countrys intelligence operations shall be sentenced to between two and eight years in prison with hard labor or a more severe punishment.

The three journalists will re-appear in court on September 09. Three other reporters also held in connection with the case have been freed.

Turkey is known for harassing journalists. Can Dundar, former editor-in-chief of opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, fled to Germany in 2016 after a court convicted him of espionage over a story about MIT arms shipments to Syrian opposition groups.

There are currently according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 47 journalists held in Turkish prisons  the second highest number in the world behind China.
Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagicKelly Rowland is the latest celebrity to support Jay-Z and Meek Mill's Reform Alliance by donating masks to inmates at prisons and jails for COVID-19 relief.

"Thank you for donating 70k masks to REFORM," the organization tweeted on Thursday. "We're rushing these masks to people who live and work behind bars in Fulton County, GA and Harris County, TX -- where Kelly was born and raised. Let's save lives from #COVID19 together."

Billboard initially reported the generous act would help protect incarcerated individuals, officers, and healthcare professionals from the coronavirus, after jails in both counties and states saw a rise in positive cases.

According to the Houston Chronicle, over 1,000 inmates and staff in the Harris County jail contracted the virus by mid-May, making up more than 10 percent of all the county's confirmed cases.

Texas Governor Greg Abbot recently issued a new executive order limiting gatherings at certain businesses in hopes of containing the virus, though Harris County's "careening towards disaster." According to Judge Lina Hidalgo, patients in Harris country have doubled since June 13.

By Rachel George

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This officer should have been held with other criminals in the justice system, because on that day thats what he acted like  a criminal, said the Rev. Kevin McCall. He violated the law, and he should be held to the fullest account of the law ... We are not going to sit back and allow these injustices to happen.
The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases per day in the US hit an all-time high of 40,000  eclipsing the mark set during one of the deadliest stretches in late April.

The figure represents a resurgence that has led some governors to back track or at least pause the reopening of their states.

While the increase is believed to reflect, in part, greatly expanded testing, experts say there is ample evidence the virus is making a comeback, including rising deaths and hospitalisations in parts of the country, especially in the South and West.

Arizona, Texas and Florida are among the states that have been hit hard.

New data from our Coronavirus Resource Center shows a timeline of state social distancing policies and re-openings compared to trends in new COVID-19 cases and deaths. More here: https://t.co/HjottZHYQO  Johns Hopkins University (@JohnsHopkins) June 25, 2020

The number of confirmed infections soared past the previous high set on April 24 of 36,400, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Deaths from the coronavirus in the US are down to around 600 per day, compared with about 2,200 in mid-April.

Some experts have expressed doubt that deaths will return to that level, in part because of advances in treatment and prevention but also because a large share of the new infections are in younger adults, who are more likely than older ones to survive.

The virus is blamed for 124,000 deaths in the US and 2.4 million confirmed infections nationwide, by Johns Hopkins count.

But US health officials said the true number of Americans infected is about 20 million, or almost 10 times higher. Worldwide, the virus has claimed close to a half-a-million lives, according to Johns Hopkins.

We can contain the spread of #COVID19, but we've got work to do, Arizona.



One thing is for sure: you are safer at home. Avoiding unnecessary trips out is one of the simplest ways you can fight this virus. 1/ pic.twitter.com/TYWruins4a  Doug Ducey (@dougducey) June 25, 2020

Elsewhere around the world, China moved closer to containing a fresh outbreak in Beijing.

Another record daily increase in India pushed the caseload in the worlds second most populous nation toward half a million.

And other countries with big populations like Indonesia, Pakistan and Mexico grappled with large numbers of infections and strained health care systems.

South Africa, which accounts for about half of the infections on the African continent with over 118,000, reported a record of nearly 6,600 new cases after loosening what had been one of the worlds strictest lockdowns earlier this month.

Italy, one of the hardest-hit European nations, battled to control an outbreak among Bulgarian seasonal crop pickers near Naples.

The governor of the southern Campania region insisted that the workers who live in an apartment complex with dozens of Covid-19 cases stay inside for just over two weeks, not even emerging for food  authorities will deliver groceries to them.

In the US, Arizona reported over 3,000 additional infections on Thursday, the fourth day in a week with a increase over that mark. The state postponed further efforts to reopen.

The numbers continue to go in the wrong direction, said Republican Gov Doug Ducey said.

Similarly, Republican Gov Greg Abbott of Texas put off lifting any more restrictions Thursday and reimposed a ban on elective surgeries in some places to preserve hospital space after the number of patients statewide more than doubled in two weeks.

And Nevadas governor ordered the wearing of face masks in public, Las Vegas casinos included.
By Yadarisa Shabong

(Reuters) - Intu Properties <INTUP.L> called in administrators on Friday after failing to secure a deal with creditors, but said all its malls, including Manchester's Trafford Centre, will remain open.

KPMG said it had appointed administrators to the British firm, which was last year struggling with net debt of some 4.69 billion pounds ($5.8 billion), before the coronavirus lockdown hit rent payments, piling pressure on its finances.

Jim Tucker, a KPMG partner appointed as one of three joint administrators to Intu, said owning Britain's biggest and best-known shopping centres was not enough to insulate it from the trading conditions which had hit British retailers.

"Those challenges have fed through to owners of retail property, even to owners of high-quality shopping centres such as Intu's," Tucker said in a statement.

Intu, which owns 17 major shopping centres including Lakeside in Essex, out-of-town Merry Hill centre in central England and the MetroCentre in the north east, also has a shopping centre and development site in Spain.

Its shopping centres are home to hundreds of well-known retailers and normally get millions of visitors a year. But the coronavirus crisis hit both footfall and rents.

Intu's London-listed shares had collapsed nearly 70% to a record low of 1.2 pence, valuing it at around 16 million pounds, from a peak of 13 billion pounds in 2006. Its shares in London and Johannesburg were suspended on Friday.

Intu, which has around 2,600 staff, began talks with creditors in May but could not reach an agreement on the duration of a debt standstill, how much creditors would share in any future recovery and funding.

The administrators said they would work with staff, suppliers and other stakeholders to preserve value and jobs.

A debt waiver Intu secured in early May expired on Friday, triggering a breach.

Two years ago, Intu's largest shareholder John Whittaker's Peel Group made a 2.9 billion pound approach and rival mall operator Hammerson <HMSO.L> later offered 3.4 billion pounds.

Story continues

"The fact several suitors took a look at the business in the last couple of years before walking away should have set alarm bells ringing," AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould said.

"The chances of a white knight riding to the rescue are practically non-existent at this point."

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru and Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Anil D'Silva, Uttaresh.V, David Evans and Alexander Smith)
Each summer sees Atlantic salmon by the tens of thousands migrating from the Barents Sea to the Teno River in Finland to breed in the streams from which they hatched, and it seems that size matters, and the larger they are, the better their chance for sex life or to find a mate to breed with.

They will need extreme endurance to spawn. They stop feeding and swim upstream against the rapid waters, overcome obstacles, and survive the myriad predators and fishing hooks and nets before finally reaching spawning grounds. If they survive their journey, they need to fight others for the chance to have sex and hopefully spawn offspring.

A new study has been published in the Molecular Ecology journal, which discovered that the fishes with the largest size have the most number of offspring. It also found that far fewer larger fishes are in spawning grounds compared to smaller and younger competitors. The research team from the University of Helsinki, as well as the Natural Resources Institute in Finland, conducted the study as part of an extensive monitoring effort.

To identify the fishes, they collected fin tissues and scales to use in genetic fingerprinting of over 5,000 juveniles and adults. The adults also get an identification tag. The researchers used the scales to record growth.

Lead author Kenyon Mobley said they took great care to avoid harming the fishes. They recaptured the adults and previous juveniles that have become adults that return to spawn many years after sampling.

Many Teno River salmon are in the sea one to four years before migration, and the more time they spent in the sea, the bigger they become. In general, females take two to three years to become mature, while males take just one year. For each year they spend in the sea, the females gain more than four kilos in weight and have 60% more spawn. For males, the rate is almost 5 kilos and 200% more spawn per year spent in the sea. The downside of being in the sea, however, is more exposure to predators, diseases, fishing, and, consequently, death. Indeed, very few older and larger fishes return.

According to Natural Resources Institute Finland professor Jaakko Erkinaro, knowing these facts help in making accurate reproduction models and developing management guidelines. The study found that larger fishes, particularly males, get more mates and reproduce more offspring.

Females are also rarer than males, with a maximum ratio of seven males per female, at least at Utsjoki River's spawning ground. It is not yet clear why there are fewer females here since, in other parts of the Teno River, the ratio is more balanced.

Juveniles often spend three to five years of life in freshwater, and the fewer years spent in the sea, the smaller the adult sizes become. Smaller females lay fewer eggs and consequently have fewer offspring. Meanwhile, males are seemingly unaffected by time spent in freshwater. Moblew said knowing these details in Atlantic salmon life history is needed for their conservation.
President: Oil projects strengthen Iran position as energy supplier

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, June 25, IRNA -- President Hassan Rouhani is to open three important oil projects that will not only meet the country's needs but also strengthen Iran's position as the international energy supplier.

The projects included launch of Goureh-Jask crude oil pipeline, Minadoab petrochemicals and production line of hexane.

The pipeline plan which transports crude oil from Goureh to Jask in south of Iran is among the most important strategic projects in the country.

Event the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has stressed the importance of implementation of the project as soon as possible to let Iran have access to Sea of Oman to export oil.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had already commented on the project, saying Iran will skirt Strait of Hormuz in south of the country to export oil.

Today, June 25, President Rouhani is to inaugurate officially launch of Goureh-Jask crude oil pipeline project and oil station in the Makran coastal region in southeastern Iran.

Goureh-Jask oil pipeline is aimed to increase the capacity of transporting daily crude oil to one million barrels, create sustainable development and job opportunities in Makran and export oil through the new station.

The national strategic project, which will meet over 95 percent of national needs, is being implemented by the Iranian contractors and producers.

Another project is Miandoab petrochemicals which will bring 140,000 tons of growth in petrochemical products after being implemented.

In addition, the production line of hexane will provide the country with all petrochemical products needed for the nation.

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T he World Health Organisation has warned that some British people are demonstrating a real reluctance to co-operate with the UK governments contact tracing efforts.

The organisation's Covid-19 special envoy, Dr David Nabarro, made the comments on Friday while reiterating that making a success of NHS Track and Trace and similar systems will be essential in avoiding a second spike in novel coronavirus infections.

Latest figures show that 24 per cent of people (5,062) who tested positive for Covid-19 between May 28 and June 17, and who had been transferred to the tracing system, were not reached.

Mr Nabarro said: "When I saw the early figures I thought 'this is a great start but there's more to be done'.

"Then I've seen actually the numbers have stayed pretty static for the last three weeks.

The World Health Organisation is advising world leaders on handling the next phase of the pandemic / AFP via Getty Images

"And if I was in charge of the contact-tracing system I would be really asking myself, why is it proving so hard to find all those who have got the disease and to get to their contacts?

"It does appear there is still a real reluctance among some British people to be open about their contacts, and perhaps they feel it's an intrusion into their privacy.

"And I say here and now, when you're trying to get rid of this virus, contact tracing is absolutely critical.

"It's the only way to do it. And we have that information now from all over the world.

"So if you're in any doubt, please do co-operate on this contact-tracing issue, because it is key to getting down to the low levels that we need for life to recover and people to go about their lives as they wish to."

The health expert added that the danger from crowds flocking to beaches en-masse during the mini-heatwave this week is more potent from toilet usage and impact on cleaning staff than from sitting together outside.

He said: "I don't personally get really concerned when I see people outside in the open, because as you have just said, transmission is less likely to occur there.

"But it's what happens out of sight that I'm more worried about. People going to the toilet and being in a queue and perhaps there being transmission there.

"Or particularly the person who is cleaning the toilet being exposed to lots of folk with disease, people getting on the public transport and exposing bus drivers and the like.

"That's where I get nervous, because I actually feel this vast amount of movement that's going on, that is absolutely essential for people to come out and enjoy themselves again, does come at a risk.

"And I just ask everybody, don't just think of yourself. Think of the other person who you might be exposing to the virus, because sometimes they don't have a choice."

He urged the Government to "be careful" in setting up air bridges between countries to restart international travel - warning that we are currently in a delicate phase.

He said: "We're right at this delicate phase where we can actually push this virus right down, suppress it, and get on with life and have a good life.

"But if we are just a little bit careless and we get one of these major, what we call 'spreader events', where a lot of people get ill and then suddenly our health services get overwhelmed again, in the coming months or two we're going to look at each other and feel really frustrated.

"So please, when it comes to restarting international travel, be careful. Make sure that these air bridges are between places with just about the same risk profile. Then it makes sense.

"But don't be pushed into establishing air bridges that might then raise the risk of one or other country having a much higher level of disease.

"We would be very cross in two or three months time with ourselves if we don't get this right."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: NHS Test and Trace has already helped prevent more than 100,000 people from unknowingly spreading the virus.

We have over 27,000 fully trained contact tracers in place who receive the initial contact and escalate cases to local public health protection teams where necessary, as part of our integrated system."

With additional reporting from the Press Association
Members of the Wave Injured Group applaud as the hearse passes by (Liam McBurney/PA)

A veteran victims campaigner died without the recognition he deserved, his family has said.

Paddy Cassidy, from north Belfast, survived a random loyalist shooting in 1971 when he was 21 which left him to contend with severe spinal injuries for the rest of his days.

He was involved in a campaign to secure support payments for those injured in the Troubles but died earlier this week while the scheme remained stalled due to political disagreement.

Expand Close Members of the Wave Injured Group applaud as a hearse carrying their fellow campaigner Paddy Cassidy passes on the way to Roselawn Cemetery (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Members of the Wave Injured Group applaud as a hearse carrying their fellow campaigner Paddy Cassidy passes on the way to Roselawn Cemetery (Liam McBurney/PA)

As he was laid to rest on Friday, his family said he died without the recognition he deserved and vowed to fight on.

There have been reports that Stormont will announce next week that it will contribute 2.5 million towards preparatory work for the scheme that had been due to open for applications on May 29.

Stormont and the Government are at odds over who foots the 100 million-plus bill.

#Day28 without the #InjuredPension Most of Paddys life was lived in excruciating pain following a severe injury sustained through no fault of his own. No pension for Paddy! Shame on them! Where is the pension? @DUPleader @moneillsf https://t.co/CY6sZWHdSn  WAVE Trauma Centre (@WAVETrauma) June 26, 2020

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein are blocking the appointment of a Stormont department to oversee the scheme, due to a stand-off with the Government over eligibility criteria which would require former convicted paramilitaries to go before an independent panel to determine whether they should get the payment.

Mr Cassidys family welcomed reports of the 2.5m but said things are beyond the point where preparatory work is an acceptable outcome.

This pension scheme is one that should already have been in place, the family said in a statement.

This is a pension that Paddy Cassidy and the other injured victims of the Troubles should already have been able to apply for when he was alive.

This can-kicking exercise has meant that our grandfather, father, husband has died without the recognition he deserved.

They have urged politicians to do the right thing and ensure the payments start.

Expand Close Family and friends of Paddy Cassidy join in with the applause with members of the Wave Injured Group (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Family and friends of Paddy Cassidy join in with the applause with members of the Wave Injured Group (Liam McBurney/PA)

Members of the Wave Injured Group  who have been campaigning for the payment  gathered on the Castlereagh Road to pay tribute as the cortege passed on the way to Roselawn cemetery.

They clapped for around 30 seconds as the cortege paused beside them.

Alex Bunting, a fellow campaigner and friend of Mr Cassidy, was among those who gathered.

He was left severely injured in a bomb placed under his taxi on the Sandy Row in south Belfast in 1991.

Mr Bunting told the PA news agency the applause had been a show of respect to their friend.

It was very sad as the cortege pulled in and we clapped, it was a very sad, poignant moment especially on the journey we have all travelled together  and we are still nowhere near it yet, he said.

Expand Close Paddy Cassidy was laid to rest at Roselawn Cemetery (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Paddy Cassidy was laid to rest at Roselawn Cemetery (Liam McBurney/PA)

He recalled Mr Cassidy, a former member of the Merchant Navy, as contending with pain from his injuries throughout his life.

I have known Paddy for most of my life as he was born on the Oldpark Road and so was I, he said.

But I really got to know him better over the last 11 years when we started the campaign for the injured.

He was a die-hard supporter of the group because he had been shot in the back and paralysed. When he did walk it was with calipers but then it got to the stage where the pain was unbearable, he was in pain 24 hours a day.

The only time Paddy was ever out of pain was when we went swimming and he was in the water.

He was also a character, always up for a laugh, told all the stories because he was in the Merchant Navy when he was young, telling us about all the different countries he used to travel in.

Later on, over the last couple of years, he was in enormous pain, he was back and forth to England for operations but nothing ever worked to ease his pain.

Mr Bunting said Mr Cassidy wanted the payments not for himself but his family who cared for him.

Paddy always said he would take a lump sum because of his age, he always said to me, I look forward to trying to help my children and my grandchildren, I would give it round them, because he never had any money in life as he was unable to work from he was shot at such a young age, he added.
A local business owner accused of trying to solicit a minor for sex pleaded not guilty in southern Illinois Wednesday.
Rebel Wilson was clearly proud to have snagged a pack of toilet rolls amid the re-emerging hoarding crisis in Australia.

The 40-year-old Pitch Perfect star serenaded and passionately kissed a large pack of toilet paper, sharing the bizarre footage to Instagram on Friday.

'It's just a Friday night in Australia and I'm here with my boo. Don't be shy, get in here,' Rebel told the camera, before starting to passionately kiss the toilet roll pack.

Lucky girl! Rebel Wilson (pictured) serenaded and passionately kissed a large pack of toilet paper, sharing the bizarre footage to Instagram on Friday

'Everyone knows Australians love their toilet paper. We know how to appreciate dem ROLLS,' Rebel wrote in the caption.

On Instagram stories, Rebel created a musical version of the same post.

'It's Friday night and I'm sitting tight. It's just me and my boo, who's normally in the loo,' Rebel sang.

She continued: 'But tonight is the night where we just hang out together because we love each other and that's why I buy you from the shops a lot.

Hilarious! 'It's Friday night and I'm sitting tight. It's just me and my boo, who's normally in the loo,' Rebel sang

'I don't want you sitting on a shelf, I want you sitting here with me at my house. I love your rolls baby, yeah.'

It comes after the Australian actress told The Sun she suffered emotionally after staying overweight for the sake of her Hollywood career.

'I had a job where I was paid a lot of money to be bigger, at times which kind of can mess with your head a bit,' she said.

'I turned 40 as well in March and so I thought, this is going to be the year for me to just concentrate on the health benefits.

'It messed with my head': Rebel recently revealed that she is finally prioritising her health after years of film bosses 'paying her a lot of money to stay bigger'

'It's not like I want to lose weight and get to around a certain number. It's more than that, it's about dealing mentally with why I was overeating'- she continued.

Rebel - who has seen significant fame with roles in Bridesmaids and How To Be Single - said she was affected emotionally from having to stay a certain size by Hollywood execs.

She explained she is now adamant about 'working on her mental side' as well as the physical, in order to stay happy and healthy.
Activists of Gujarat's Karni Sena organisation shout slogans while holding a poster with the image of Chinese President Xi Jinping during an anti-China demonstration in Ahmedabad on June 24, 2020. (AFP)

Islamabad: Pakistan has accused old rival India of trying to distract the attention of its people by expelling Pakistani diplomats after Indian forces got a battering at the hands of Chinese troops in a clash on their disputed Himalayan border.

Pakistan is concerned about the tension after the June 15 clash in the Ladakh region, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, in particular about the possibility Pakistan could get dragged in, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.

Things have deteriorated, things are very delicate, Qureshi told Reuters in an interview at his ministry in Islamabad late on Thursday.

The three nuclear-armed neighbours all have historic disputes over high-altitude border demarcation in the Himalayas.

For years, confrontation between India and Pakistan has been seen as the most dangerous of the disputes but the violence between Indian and Chinese forces has renewed alarm about theirs too.

Qureshi denounced Indias announcement on Tuesday that it would expel half the staff in Pakistans embassy in New Delhi over spying, saying India was trying to divert attention at home.

The accusations were baseless, he said.

They have no answers for the battering they got in Ladakh, so to quell the domestic dissent they want to refocus, he said.

Indias foreign ministry did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Qureshi said he was concerned that India could try to get Pakistan involved in the regional tensions with a false flag operation - an incident staged to provide a pretext for action.

He said he feared any Indian misadventure in Pakistans territory would prompt Pakistan to respond with force.

Qureshi said Pakistan backed the position of its ally China over Ladakh and he had recently had a call with Chinas top diplomat, Wang Yi, who had expressed appreciation for that position.

China and Pakistan have long had close diplomatic and economic ties.

China has pledged about $60 billion for projects in Pakistan central to Chinas Belt and Road initiative to develop land and sea trade routes across Asia and beyond.
The number of coronavirus cases has spiked across much of the United States, particularly in the Sun Belt states that were among the first to reopen large parts of public life

Washington: Former vice-president Joe Biden on Thursday laid into President Donald Trump, condemning him for saying he had ordered a slowdown of coronavirus testing and comparing the sitting president to a whiny child.

He admitted telling people, and I quote, You have to slow the testing down. Slow it down, please, said Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. He thinks that finding out that more Americans are sick will make him look bad. Thats what hes worried about: Hes worried about looking bad.

Bidens speech, delivered in a gymnasium in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was intended to focus attention on his call to expand protections under the Affordable Care Act. Biden warned that insurance companies, if freed from the federal mandate to cover preexisting conditions, could deny coverage to people who had recovered from the coronavirus. And he called the Trump administrations legal efforts to overturn the 2010 health care law cruel.

If Donald Trump has his way, complications from COVID-19 could become a new preexisting condition, Biden said.

The Trump administration has fought for years to undermine and repeal the Affordable Care Act, the signature legislative achievement of Barack Obamas administration, in which Biden was vice-president. In May, the Trump administration argued to a federal appeals court that the entire law was unconstitutional and should be struck down.

The emotional thrust of Bidens 18-minute remarks came in his denunciation of Trumps halting response to the pandemic. Without a capable leader in the White House, Biden said, it would be up to the American people to care for themselves during the crisis.

The number of coronavirus cases has spiked across much of the United States, particularly in the Sun Belt states that were among the first to reopen large parts of public life. In Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott encouraged a quick reopening and forbade local governments to mandate that masks be worn, Abbott paused the reopening process on Thursday in an effort to free up hospital rooms for people affected by the virus.

The number of cases is increasing in 29 states, Biden said. We are going to be dealing with this for a long time. Trump cant wish it away. He cant bend it to meet his political wishes. There are no miracles coming.

Bidens Lancaster event came as the former vice-president has been under harsh criticism from Trumps reelection campaign for conducting his campaign primarily from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, 50 miles away, because of coronavirus concerns.

But there is little evidence so far that American voters are punishing Biden for his caution. A suite of polls from The New York Times and Siena College released this week show Biden leading Trump by 14 percentage points nationwide and with healthy leads in the battleground states of Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

On Thursday, Biden called on Americans to wear masks in public to protect themselves and others. He began his remarks wearing what has become his signature black face mask, which hung from his left ear for the opening minutes of his speech. As he finished and walked offstage, Biden reattached the mask.

I know as Americans, its not something were used to, but it matters, he said. All the evidence from all over the world tells us it might be the single most effective thing we can do.

Trump, who has refused to wear a mask in public and has appeared at political events at which most of his supporters have gone maskless as well, first said that he had ordered a slowdown in coronavirus testing during a speech he gave to a half-full arena Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He said that more testing had led to more evidence of infection, which he said reflected poorly on the United States.

So I said to my people, Slow the testing down, Trump said.

Almost immediately, White House aides said the president had been joking. But later this week Trump told reporters, I dont kid, and reiterated his opposition to increased testing.

Biden called Trumps response self-centred and compared him to a child who constantly complains about being unable to get what he wants.

The president wants you to believe this is a choice between the economy and the publics health, Biden said. He still hasnt grasped the most basic fact of this crisis: To fix our economy, we have to get control of the virus.

Hes like a child who just cant believe this has happened to him, he added. Its all whining and self-pity. This pandemic didnt happen to him. It happened to all of us.

Reid J Epstein c.2020 The New York Times Company


It is hard to imagine that there is anyone in the world who has not heard of the new coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19.

But, migrants arriving in Somalia tell United Nations workers that they have never heard of the virus.

Observers for the U.N. migration agency have spoken with people at the border in Somalia, a country that has suffered years of conflict. The people are at the crossroads of one of the worlds most dangerous migration paths. They cross the Red Sea with traffickers, pass through Yemen, which is torn by a civil war, and then hope to enter one of the rich Gulf countries.

The U.N. agency wants to know more about these people. So they ask questions about where they come from and where they are going. They are also asked if they have heard of COVID-19. In recent weeks, 51 percent said they had not.

Celeste Sanchez Bean leads a program with the U.N. agency based in Mogadishu. She told the Associated Press (AP), The first time I saw this I was also very shocked.

The finding, which appeared in an agency report, shows how difficult it is to reach people everywhere with information about infectious disease.

She said the migrants are often young men from rural parts of nearby Ethiopia. Most have no education. The internet is not widely available. In the past, some were not even aware that there was a civil war going on in Yemen.

Bean is pleased that the number of those who do not know appears to be falling. When COVID-19 questions were first asked about 12 weeks ago, 88 percent had not heard of the disease.

When migrants who are questioned have not heard of the virus, workers explain how it spreads and what can be done to prevent infection. However, Bean is concerned because there is evidence that migrants are passing through areas where infections have been found.

The migrants are putting themselves at risk, she said.



The migrants face other problems in cities like Bosaso. That is where boats leave for Yemen. The U.N. migration agency said local people blame the migrants for bringing the virus to their city.

However, it is not only migrants who have not heard of the coronavirus. The AP spoke to Fatima Moalin, who lives in southern Somalia. She said, Muslims dont contract such a thing.

Others in rural Somalia, especially areas held by the Muslim extremist group al-Shabab, dismiss concerns about the virus. Officials blame limited internet and even extremists restrictions on communications.

A recent study by the U.N. of displaced people in Somalias separatist area of Somaliland found very high levels of misunderstanding about the coronavirus. Some people thought it was spread by mosquitos and that it causes diarrhea.

But most people knew about the disease outbreak. Information comes from radio broadcasts, word of mouth and message played on mobile phone services. All these methods are common in Africa.

Bean said, Slowly, slowly the information is getting there.

But so too is the virus. Somalia, a country with one of the worlds weakest health systems, now has thousands of cases.

Im Mario Ritter, Jr.

Cara Anna reported this story for the Associate Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

contract v. to become sick with a disease
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA), a global automotive technology leader in Seating and E-Systems, was named a GM Supplier of the Year by General Motors during a virtual ceremony honoring the recipients of the company's 28th annual Supplier of the Year awards on Wednesday, June 24, 2020.

During the event, GM recognized 116 of its best suppliers from 15 countries that have consistently exceeded GM's expectations, created outstanding value or introduced innovations to the company. The awards ceremony was originally scheduled as a live-event to be held in March but was postponed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recognition is for supplier performance in the 2019 calendar year.

This is the 19th time Lear has been named a GM Supplier of the Year. As a winner in 2019, Lear's Seating division exceeded GM's targets for business performance and cultural priority metrics.

"Our suppliers play a key role in delivering the products, services and experiences our customers deserve  and these award-winning suppliers went above and beyond our expectations," said Shilpan Amin, GM vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.

"We also believe it's important at this point in time to thank our entire supply base for their efforts the last few months to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19," added Amin. "Not only have we been able to safely restart our manufacturing operations, our suppliers played a key role in assisting our initiatives to increase the supply of ventilators and personal protection equipment (PPE) for frontline health care workers to help save lives and keep communities safe."

The Supplier of the Year award winners were chosen by a global team of GM purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics executives. Winners were selected based on performance criteria in Product Purchasing, Global Purchasing and Manufacturing Services, Customer Care and Aftersales, and Logistics.

"As a company focused on exceeding our customers' expectations, being chosen for this prestigious award from General Motors demonstrates our team's inventive and results-focused culture," said Ray Scott, Lear's President and CEO. "Winning 19 times overall, including the last three years consecutively, is a great accomplishment, and I would like to thank Lear's Seating team for their hard work and dedication to Making every drive better for our customers."

About Lear Corporation

Lear, a global automotive technology leader in Seating and E-Systems, enables superior in-vehicle experiences for consumers around the world. Our diverse team of talented employees in 39 countries is driven by a commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and sustainability. Lear is Making every drive better by providing the technology for safer, smarter, and more comfortable journeys. Lear, headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, serves every major automaker in the world and ranks 166 on the Fortune 500.

General Motors is a global company committed to delivering safer, better and more sustainable ways for people to get around. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities, sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Holden, Baojun and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety and security services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.

SOURCE Lear Corporation

Related Links

http://www.lear.com


Riot police reinforcements have been sent to an Italian council estate where a cluster of coronavirus cases in five quarantined apartment blocks have sparked tensions with locals.

Some 700 residents were placed in total lockdown for 15 days this week in the complex in Mondragone - 60km north of Naples - where 49 people tested positive for coronavirus.

Four of the high-rise blocks house undocumented Bulgarian workers while Italian squatters occupy the fifth.

Those under lockdown must remain inside - not even emerging for food - while tests are carried out on all the residents.

But hundreds of Bulgarians who wanted to return to work to earn money for food came out to demonstrate on Thursday. They were persuaded by police to return inside.

News that the residents had left the Palazzi Cirio estate reached angry locals who blame them for spreading the virus. Crowds turned up to hurl stones and trash cans, local media reported.

Civil protection and army officers outside the Italian council estate where a cluster of coronavirus cases in five quarantined apartment blocks have sparked tensions with locals

Residents stand on a balcony of one of the apartment blocks. Occupants have been told they cannot leave the five blocks

A healthcare worker wearing a protective suit carries an oxygen tank into a locked-down apartment block in Mondragone

An Italian police officer wearing a protective face mask stand guard below the locked-down buildings yesterday

Since the clashes, 50 army soldiers have been sent in to secure the zone.

De Luca said a few people with the virus had since slipped through the net and disappeared, but insisted surveillance of the estate would be 24 hours non stop from now on.

The south has been spared the high numbers of coronavirus cases that have ravaged northern Italy.

Known for his particularly hard line on anti-contagion measures throughout the nationwide coronavirus outbreak this year, De Luca has vowed to lock down all of Mondragone, population 30,000, if the number of cases at the hotspot reach 100.

'Have I been clear? I'm used to speaking clearly,' De Luca told RAI state TV.

The complex must be kept in 'rigorous isolation,' De Luca said, with the national civil protection agency delivering groceries to occupants.

That means that for 15 days, 'nobody leaves and nobody enters' the apartments.

Following yesterday's clashes, (police pictured yesterday) riot police reinforcements have been sent to the council estate

Italian army officers stand at a road block in front of an apartment complex where dozens of Covid-19 cases have been registered

A healthcare worker wearing a protective suit is seen inside a van near the quarantined residential complex

Organised crime expert Roberto Saviano said: 'The Bulgarian workers... are part of the endless labour force working in the southern countryside without rights, often without contracts, without any security.

'It's easy in this case to say that those spreading the disease are the foreigners, the invaders, the immigrants, the families of Bulgarian workers accused of going out to continue working.

'But it would have happened the same if it had been Italian workers living in those working conditions, with those wages'.

Corriere della Sera's editorialist Goffredo Buccini said the estate is 'one of the thousands of ghettos in Italy, where we amass undocumented foreigners to make them live in more or less heinous conditions.'

Yesterday, an angry resident quarantined in one of the blocks threw a wooden chair off the balcony

The man was one of 700 people ordered to stay indoors in four council housing blocks in Mondragone

The region's head Vincenzo De Luca called for back-up from the army. New cases, including those who are asymptomatic, are being transferred to a local hospital. (It is not known if those pictured have displayed symptoms)

This is not the only cluster of new cases in Italy - which lifted its lockdown at the start of June after three months of a pandemic which has officially killed over 34,600 people.

At least 64 cases have emerged at a warehouse in Bologna used by express courier Bartolini, including 17 friends and relatives of workers.

Italian media identified 10 cases of new clusters across the country this week, including in care homes in Como and Alessandria in the north, and a religious institute in Rome.

Ten scientists in Italy on Wednesday released a joint statement declaring the coronavirus emergency to be 'over'. Above, the scene in Mondragone on Thursday

Crowds gather at the base of the apartments on Thursday. Some Italian protesters responded to the furniture-hurling residents by throwing stones at the Bulgarians' cars and smashing their windows

Yesterday, an angry resident quarantined in one of the blocks threw a wooden chair off the balcony.

A group of Italian protesters responded to the furniture-hurling by throwing stones at the Bulgarians' cars and smashing the windows.

The police and army were sent in to secure the Covid hot spot after frustrated residents attempted to escape from the blocks.

One group ducked under the police tape cordoning off the complex on Thursday and had to be marched back in by police.

New cases, including those who are asymptomatic, are being transferred to a local hospital.
By Express News Service

PATNA: Amid the high alert sounded against the possibility of heavy rains with lightning strikes, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has an appeal to the people of the state to follow the advisory issued by the state disaster management department for safety during the lightning.

Kumar asked people to remain at safe places whenever rain coupled with thunderstorm occurs and maintain the safety tips provided in the advisory.

The state has cautioned the people of heavy rains for the next few days with the possibility of lightning.

Bihar has witnessed 88 death, including dozens of farmers and labourers who were killed by lightning in 23 Bihar districts since Thursday.



The highest number of 13 deaths due to the lightning have been reported from different parts of Gopalganj district alone followed by eight deaths each from Madhubani and Nawada, six from Bhagalpur, five each from East Champaran, Darbhanga, Banka and the rest from other districts of the state.

People killed in the lightning strikes were mainly farmers or seasonal labourers in all the 23 districts.

All the deceased were working in the paddy fields when the lightning struck on them during heavy rains coupled with thunderstorms.

Altogether eight persons including a farmer-couple were killed in Madhubani district's Fulpras and other areas working in the paddy fields on Thursday.

After Madhubani, Nawada district had reported the same number of eight deaths while six deaths were reported from Hussianganj block of Siwan district.

Confirming the deaths of 83 persons due to lightning, principal secretary of State Disaster Management, Pratyay Amrit said that officials of concerned districts were taking the details and providing whatever assistance is given by the state government accordingly.

According to him, five deaths were reported from Darbhanga while two deaths were reported from West Champaran, Jehanabad, Kishanganj, Jamui, Purnia, Supaul Buxar and Kaimur each.

The deaths were also reported from Banka, Bhagalpur, Khagaria, Madhubani, West Champaran, Samastipur, Sheohar, Kishanganj, Saran and Jehanabad in addition to Gopalganj, Siwan, Sitamarhi, Aurangabad and Madhepura. Sources said that dozens of other people were injured by lightning in Bihar on Thursday.

The deaths due to lightning take place every year in Bihar. The state is sixth terms of reporting maximum of lightning strikes in the country with an average of 100 or more deaths every year.

According to official figures, this year more than 150 persons have died so far due to lightning strikes alone. In 2019, 172 persons were killed by lightning strikes while 139 deaths were reported due to the same phenomenon in 2018. 180 people died in 2017 and 107 people in 2016.

When asked about the steps taken to prevent such disasterous occurrences, Pratay Amrit, principal secretary of disaster management department, said that lightning alert systems have been installed in many lightning prone districts, including Gaya, to alert about the possibility of lightning 20 to 40 minutes in advance. The alert SMS messages are sent on the cellphone numbers of around 3.5 crores of users here.
US officials pushed Libyas UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) to demobilize its militias in a virtual meeting this week, the State Department announced today. The State Department also announced that the US delegation will convene a similar conversation with representatives from the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by strongman Khalifa Hifter.

The delegations reaffirmed that armed groups that attempt to spoil the political process or engage in criminal acts do so at a significant risk of international sanctions, the State Department said in a statement. The statement also noted that US and GNA representatives affirmed that all Libyan citizens should enjoy the protection of capable and accountable security forces, free from the dangers posed by militias, armed groups and foreign fighters.

Why it matters: The United States is pushing for a diplomatic solution to the Libyan conflict as regional powers continue to fuel what has become a rapidly escalating proxy war. The Turkey-backed GNA has pushed back Hifters forces from Tripoli in recent weeks, making a slow advance on Sirte, the strategic gateway to major oil facilities. This has prompted Egypt to threaten to deploy forces on behalf of Hifter, who also receives support from the United Arab Emirates and Russia. France has also thrown its weight behind Hifter, while Italy  Libyas former colonial power  is closer to the GNA.

Whats next: The US delegation stressed opposition to all foreign intervention in Libya and discussed the imperative of an immediate cease-fire and return to UN-facilitated security and political negotiations.

Know more: Fehim Tastekin delineates the increasingly complex situation and explains why Sirte is everybodys red line in Libya. And Shahira Amin dives into Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisis saber-rattling on Libya.
JOLIET, IL  Anne Hiller can remember when her mother started La Danse Academie in the basement of her familys home in 1969 and how from the very beginning, the mission of the studio centered around family.

There were times, Hiller recalls, when dancers would spend dinner time sitting around Fran Fredericks table as they waited for their ride to arrive. But no matter the reason why Hiller found herself surrounded by her mothers pupils, she knew they were always welcomed.

As La Danse Academie celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, it does so much differently than Hiller and her business partner, Lori Bowen, originally planned. After the coronavirus pandemic forced the Joliet-based, woman-owned business to alter how it teaches students to dance over the past three months, La Danse is preparing to reopen on July 6 having never missed a step in providing well-rounded dance education.

Now, as Hiller runs a studio her mother started and that her daughter, Taylor, teaches at and that her daughter Dannie and niece Samantha are also involved in, La Danse is seeing second and third generation dancers continue the tradition of self-expression in a inclusive environment that offers instruction in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, contemporary and lyrical dance.

Over the years, La Danse has remained engrained in the Joliet community. Dancers have performed at area nursing homes and have become an annual participant in the Joliet Easter Seals Telethon and have donated more than $700 to the local fundraising effort.

La Danse Acaemie has had to adjust its 50th anniversary celebration with virtual classes and a reverse parade.





Now, five decades after dancers performed to music that was recorded on reel-to-reel, technology has helped to drive change in the way the craft is taught. Technology has been especially vital over the past three months, when meetings have been held over Zoom, classes have been held virtually and students have recorded their routines on video for instructors to review. The studio recently held a reverse parade in which they filled the academys parking lot and had the shows audience drive through.

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Although the 50th anniversary celebration and recital had to be canceled due to the pandemic, La Danse has managed to keep students engaged despite not being able to bring former students together with the current cast of dancers in the way Hiller had hoped to commemorate the occasion.

It went full-circle, Hiller said this week. In 1969, the dances were just about the dance and the individual dancer. It wasnt about formation, pattern changes and fancy tricks with partners or anything like that. It was about the individual dancer. Now, well return (on July 6) and everybody has to have their own 6x6 little box to dance in, but its all about them again.

Its about their space, their dance. Its their story now. Its not about the showy part of the dance anymore. Its about the individual dance.

Hiller said La Danse will hold several smaller shows once it reopens in lieu of the anniversary celebration it had planned. The academy will open with new safety guidelines in place to ensure safety and social distancing guidelines are met and to protect students and staff from the spread of the coronavirus.

After three months of being closed and having to conduct classes virtually, Hiller said she and others at La Danse look forward to reopening and resuming the in-person brand of teaching that her mother started so many years ago. And just as Frederick emphasized when the studio started in her basement, the philosophy of belonging at a studio that has taught thousands of dancers ever since the start will remain the same.

Coming into the dance studio has always been (about) when you walk in, everybody loves you for who you are and when you get there, you just get to be yourself and leave everything behind, Hiller said. We are all individuals, we all deserve to be ourselves and feel free to be ourselves.

To be able to release whatever bothered you for the day or if youre really happy for the day, just letting it come out of your body is really important.

That may be even more important after the pandemic kept students from being together and experiencing in-person learning. But as La Danse prepares to reopen in just more than a week, Hiller said the staff is ready to welcome students back and continue the 50th anniversary celebration in ways that no one expected.

But for Hiller, seeing students express themselves after being forced to remain at home for so long will be worth it all.

In 50 years, weve seen bad times but we pick ourselves up and we go on, Hiller said. Thats what dancers, performers, creative people  I guess all of us have to  but we have to say, all hands in and work this out. Well build it back up and it will be OK. Were all going to survive this. Were all going to make it through, laugh again and pay it forward  thats our biggest thing. Pay it forward with a smile.

Thats an easy, generous gift and its free.

This article originally appeared on the Joliet Patch
The social media firm has announced a notification screen that will warn users if the content that they are about to share is older than 90 days.

Recently we saw Twitter introducing a feature wherein it will show you an alert in the form of a card at the bottom of the screen if you retweet the article without opening it. Now, a similar move is being made by Facebook as well. The social media firm has announced a notification screen that will warn users if the content that they are about to share is older than 90 days. They will also be given the option to click and share the article anyway.

To ensure people have the context they need to make informed decisions about what to share on Facebook, the notification screen will appear when people click the share button on articles older than 90 days, but will allow people to continue sharing if they decide an article is still relevant, says John Hegeman, VP Feed and Stories at Facebook.

The post also explains that Facebook found that the timeliness of an article is an important piece of context that helps people decide what to read, trust and share. Also, several news publishers also expressed their concern on the spreading of an old article, just to fuel tha unrest in the community. So this solution is likely to end all that.

This has started rolling out globally and will be coming to Android and iOS platforms.

Facebook adds that it plans to improve these alerts in future for links mentioning Covid 19. For posts with links mentioning COVID-19, we are exploring using a similar notification screen that provides information about the source of the link and directs people to the COVID-19 Information Center for authoritative health information, adds the post.
For Amazon, its never too late to try something in India. The e-commerce giant is exploring ways to further spread its tentacles in the largely offline, technology-free neighborhood stores in one of its key overseas markets.

The American firms latest attempt is called Smart Stores. For this India-specific program, Amazon is providing physical stores with software to maintain a digital log of the inventory they have in the shop, and supplying them with a QR code.

When consumers walk to the store and scan this QR code with the Amazon app, they see everything the shop has to offer, as well as any discounts and past reviews from customers. They can select the items and pay for it using Amazon Pay . Amazon Pay in India supports a range of payments services, including the popular UPI, and debit and credit cards.

Amazon told TechCrunch that it piloted this project two months ago and is formally launching it now after seeing the early feedback. More than 10,000 shops, ranging from mom and pop stores to big retail chains, including Big Bazaar, MedPlus and More Supermarkets, have deployed the companys system, it said.

The company said these digital storefronts are a win-win for both consumers and shop owners. Consumers do not need to stay inside the store and worry about handling plastic cards or cash -- that is, to maintain social distance -- and they will also get rewards for using Amazon Pay.

Amazon's QR code at display at a store. Photo: Amazon

Customers also get the ability to use Amazons Pay Later feature that enables them to pay for their purchases in installments. All of this means that merchants, most of whom shut stores until recent weeks to comply with New Delhi's lockdown order in late March, are seeing increased footfalls and improving their sales. Amazon said it is not taking any cut from merchants or customers.

The company has been aggressively engaging with physical stores in India in recent quarters, using their vast presence in the nation to expand its delivery network and warehouses and even just relying on their inventory to drive sales.

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The companys push into physical retail, which accounts for the vast majority of sales in India, comes as Facebook, Flipkart, Google and Reliance Jio Platforms, which recently raised $15.2 billion, also race to capture this market. On Thursday, Google said it plans to offer loans to merchants in India by the end of this year.

These mom-and-pop stores offer all kinds of items, are family-run and pay low wages and little to no rent. Because they are ubiquitous -- there are more than 30 million neighborhood stores in India, according to industry estimates -- no retail giant can offer a faster delivery. And on top of that, their economics are often better than most of their digital counterparts.

Local is new global business plan. #O2O will be mainstream faster than "online retail" in India. https://t.co/NHIeFr2nJ6  Vijay Shekhar Sharma (@vijayshekhar) April 23, 2020

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Amazon Pay is already accepted at millions of local shops, we are trying to make customers buying experience at local shops even more convenient and safe through Smart Stores. Further, through EMIs, bank offers and rewards, we seek to make these purchases more affordable and rewarding for customers, and help increase sales for merchants, said Mahendra Nerurkar, chief executive of Amazon Pay, in a statement.

Amazon's tardy but increasingly growing interest in the Indian physical retail market is not surprising. The company has often taken longer than most firms in India to study the market, then adds its own spin to tackle those challenges. Another recent case in point: Its foray into the food delivery market in India.

Despite ubiquitous interest in the physical retail market, one thing that no company is talking about yet is just how they plan to commercially incentivize these merchants.

The technology solutions built by these companies is unarguably driving sales for them, but a significant number of these small businesses take cash and under-report their revenues to pay less tax. That incentive is multifold of any other incentive for many of them.
By combining resources, we will be able to further our mission to better meet the ever-changing needs of the healthcare staffing industry, where speed and time-to hire are more important than ever.

UNA Health Inc - a leading provider of mobile recruitment, onboarding, and testing solutions for hospitals and healthcare staffing firms - is pleased to announce that the company recently merged with RSquared Ventures LLC, a boutique healthcare application development firm based in Miami FL. The merger further strengthens both companies' commitment to developing best-in-class solutions to address the current challenges facing the healthcare industry.. The merger further strengthens both companies' commitment to developing best-in-class solutions to address the current challenges facing the healthcare industry.

The RSquared Ventures portfolio consisted primarily of technology that focused on improving patient care and communication, reducing overhead, and increasing provider engagement, stated Ron Gonzalez, Managing Partner of RSquared Ventures, CEO of UNA Health, and Founder and Former CEO of Prophecy Healthcare. By combining our resources, we will be able to further this mission to better meet the ever-changing needs of the healthcare staffing industry, where speed and time-to hire are more important than ever.

UNA Healths flagship product, UNA-Test, is the worlds first mobile competency testing platform for the healthcare staffing industry and was developed specifically to address the drawbacks of traditional desktop assessment experiences. Because it was designed and optimized for mobile devices, healthcare professionals will now have the ability to test anywhere, anytime, and on any device. The end result is shorter assessments that can better determine if a professional demonstrates the minimal level of competency required to deliver safe and effective patient care.

Many hiring processes in the healthcare staffing industry are still slow and outdated, added Rich Benvenuto, Senior Partner of RSquared Ventures and Chief Relationship Officer of UNA Health. Our goal with the merger is to become the gold-standard by providing world-class technology to recruiters, hospitals and staffing companies that will better engage and onboard healthcare professionals nationwide.

About UNA Health Inc

UNA Health Inc is a leading provider of mobile recruitment solutions for hospitals and healthcare staffing firms. The UNA platform of fully customizable mobile solutions includes engaging onboarding tools, competency testing, skills checklists, annual competencies, credential management and position notifications  all in one client branded app. The platform seamlessly integrates with applicant tracking systems and hospital H.R. software, and provides end users with a truly mobile experience and the ability to effortlessly apply for positions with one-click, as well as upload credentials into our proprietary credential management portal.

UNA streamlines the hiring and credentialing process, and saves both recruiters and Q.A. teams worker hours, which translates into increased efficiencies, and ultimately, cost savings.

For more information, contact Ronald Gonzalez at ron@unahealth.co or 866-UNA-HLTH, 866-862-4584.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Analysis from the University of Surrey suggests that the economies of countries such as America, the United Kingdom and Germany should prepare for a long slow recovery with prolonged periods of instability.

Rates of growth across member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have been in decline since the 1970s, a phenomenon known as 'secular stagnation'. The average growth in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita fell from over 4 percent in the mid-1960s to little more than 1 percent in the pre-pandemic years. The International Monetary Fund expects global GDP to decline by 5 percent this year alone (2020) with a contraction of 3 percent likely even in the emerging and developing market economies.

In a paper published by Scientific Reports, researchers from Surrey's Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) broke new research ground by applying critical slowing down (CSD) theory, typically used in physics and ecology, to analyse long-term trends in the global GDP datasets from as far back as the 1820s.2,3

CSD theory suggests that when a constrained, dynamic system is close to breaking point, its ability to recovery decreases. Fluctuations around the system's equilibrium become deeper and more pronounced because its internal stabilisation forces have weakened.

The team from CUSP found that, even before the COVID-19 crisis, many of the world's leading economies were experiencing larger slower growth cycles (recession cycles), suggesting precisely such a period of critical slowing down in the economic system. The team's analysis suggests that the added weight of the COVID-19 crisis may result in one of the weakest and most unstable recoveries in recorded history for many economies.

Professor Tim Jackson, director of CUSP at the University of Surrey, said: "The global economy is facing one of the largest downturns since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Placing the economy on hold to prevent unfathomable human tragedy from the COVID-19 pandemic was the right decision. Trying to force our way back to economic growth now would be the wrong one. A post-growth world is the new normal.

"It's time to rethink and remake the economic models that have been failing us for decades. The challenge is enormous. But so is the prize. CSD theory suggests that a resilient, sustainable economic system which protects the health of people and planet is now within our grasp."

Explore further Developing economies hardest hit by pandemic downturn

More information: Craig D. Rye et al. Using critical slowing down indicators to understand economic growth rate variability and secular stagnation, Scientific Reports (2020). Journal information: Scientific Reports Craig D. Rye et al. Using critical slowing down indicators to understand economic growth rate variability and secular stagnation,(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-66996-6
A man who fled the US after shooting his teenage nephew dead and burning his body nearly three decades ago in Colorado is now being sought for the murder of his boyfriend in Mexico.

Police in Mexico City have launched a manhunt for Manuel Enrique Muela Luna after he allegedly killed his partner, a 31-year-old identified by authorities as 'Omar'.

Mexican newspaper El Universal reported that Omar's sister spoke to him Tuesday night to check on his well-being following a 7.5-magnitude earthquake that had struck the southern state of Oaxaca and impacted Mexico City.

Manuel Enrique Muela Luna is wanted in Mexico City for the killing of his boyfriend identified by authorities as 'Omar.' Muela Luna allegedly killed him in his apartment some time Tuesday before the body was found by cops Wednesday

Omar was reportedly killed inside his Mexico City home by his boyfriend, who after leaving the apartment apologized to a neighborhood for the noise that came from the apartment

The woman became concerned when calls to Omar went repeatedly unanswered at 1:30am.

She went to Omar's home in the Zona Rosa neighborhood and called police when he failed to open the door and she noticed his vehicle was not parked outside the residence.

The police who broke into the apartment discovered Omar body, which had been tied up.

A woman who lives next door said Muela Luna had apologized to her for a commotion between the couple before he drove off in Omar's SUV.

No arrests had been reported as of Friday morning.

Muela Luna had an extradition warrant from U.S. authorities for the murder of his 18-year-old nephew Luis Armendariz, who was shot in the head in 1992 in Colorado.

Prosecutors then said that Muela Luna had sexually abused his nephew and got upset when he found out that Armendariz was planning to marry his pregnant girlfriend. Armendariz was shot and was burned by his uncle.

Muela Luna fled to Mexico and was arrested in the northern state of Chihuahua.

The Mexican government, however, refused to hand over Muela Luna to U.S. authorities because he would have been eligible for the death penalty in Colorado if convicted.

Muela Luna, instead, faced charges in a Mexican court and was convicted for the murder.

He was sentenced to 27 years in jail, but for unknown reasons was released after serving just six months.


Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 09:41:54|Editor: huaxia

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By Abdul Haleem

PUL-E-KHUMRI, Afghanistan, June 26 (Xinhua) -- "I used to earn 20,000 afghanis (260 U.S. dollars) annually from my two acres of farmland six years ago, but now I'm earning 400,000 afghanis (5,200 U.S. dollars) each year," Amanullah, a farmer from the Andarab district of Afghanistan's Baghlan province said with delight.

Thanks to new agricultural machinery, he has been able to earn this amount over the past three years. he said.

Conflict-battered Afghanistan is largely an agricultural country. According to officials, about 80 percent of the country's 32.5 million population are dependent on agriculture, animal husbandry and horticultural products.

However, the agriculture and horticultural infrastructure like other national institutions have been badly damaged due to decades of war.

The government has been trying to revive the agriculture and husbandry infrastructure by introducing new machinery, improved seeds, chemical fertilizer and saplings to the farmers.

Amanullah told Xinhua that in the past, he used traditional farming methods such as using an ox to plough his land. But recently he replaced the slow moving animal with a tractor, with better quality seeds also helping boost his and other farmers' output.

Sitting atop of his tractor, the father of six said, "to be frank, I am much happier than I was in the past, because I now have a variety of fruits and vegetables I can grow on my land."

He said he can now also grow saffron rice on his land, some of which is eaten by his family, while the rest being sold at the market.

"Replacing oxen with tractors and with the introduction of new farming systems helping the horticulture industry to develop, many farmers' living conditions have improved in this area," Amanullah said joyfully.

However, the young farmer said the protracted war, persistent insurgency and conflicts sometimes prevent the farmers from being able to take and sell their produce in major cities.

The ministry for agriculture, according to its spokesperson Akbar Rustami, would spare no efforts to support the farmers and find markets for their products.

Another farmer also expressed satisfaction over his harvest.

"In the past, I harvested one ton of wheat from my one acre of farmland annually, but over the past couple of years, I've collected 10 tons of wheat each year," Hasamudin, a farmer from the Kilagai area outside Baghlan's provincial capital Pul-e-Khumri, told Xinhua.

The price of one ton of wheat is 25,000 afghanis (325 U.S. dollars) while 10 tons of wheat fetches 250,000 afghanis (3,247 U.S. dollars), which is enough for a four-member family to live comfortably, the farmer said.

Expressing satisfaction over the new farming and horticulture systems, the head of National Horticulture for the northern Baghlan, Kunduz, Takhar and Badakhshan provinces, Mohammad Hasan Frotan, told Xinhua that since 2013 a total of 37,464 acres of land have been turned into farmland and the farmers are happy with their higher income.

"The increase in local products on the one hand increases the farmers' income, and on the other hand decreases the need for imports," Frotan noted, saying the government would continue to support the farmers to increase their output. Enditem
The Assam government has imposed lockdown restrictions in the Kamrup Metro district, including the states biggest city Guwahati, for 14 days beginning 7pm on Sunday because of 677 fresh coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive cases in the past 10 days among patients, who had no recent travel history.

The government has also decided to impose a curfew from 7pm to 7am across the state, beginning Friday.

Weekend curfew on Saturday and Sunday will be imposed in all urban areas -- except Kamrup Metro -- from Saturday and will continue till further orders by the state government.

State health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the painful decision was taken, as residents of Guwahati were not following safety protocols and posing health hazards for themselves and others. People have failed to fulfil their social responsibility and when that happens the government has to step in. We have decided to impose complete lockdown in Guwahati from Sunday 7pm onwards for 14 days till 6pm on July 12, Sarma told media persons on Friday afternoon.

We didnt want to go from unlocking to a lockdown mode again, but have to take certain tough but painful decisions. It will be strictly enforced and nothing, except hospitals, pharmacies, and laboratories, will be allowed to operate, he added.

The minister said the move was necessitated following the detection of 677 Covid-19 positive cases in Guwahati, who had no travel history, during a community testing campaign in the city that had started from June 15.

We have tested 10,617 Guwahati residents, who havent had any recent travel history, since June 15. Of them, 677 tested Covid-19 positive. On Thursday, of the 276 Covid-19 positive cases reported across the state and 133 were from Guwahati alone, he said.

In Guwahati, barely 10% of the people are following social distancing and other safety norms. The situation is becoming scary and critical. While we expect Covid-19 positive cases across Assam to dip in the coming days, the surge is likely to continue in Guwahati, Sarma warned.

The minister said that government-run hospitals in Guwahati and the rest of Kamrup Metro district have 890 beds that have been set aside for Covid-19 patients, and if the present trend continues, it would become an uphill task for the health authorities concerned.

Sarma said all offices, including government and private firms, would remain closed during the lockdown. All shops and business establishments and industries would also remain shut, private and public vehicles would not be allowed to ply, all hotels, educational institutions, and religious places would close down. Inter-state transport services would also remain shut unless the passengers have prior permission.

No functions of any kind will be allowed and only 20 people can take part in a funeral. No grocery, fruit and vegetable shops and establishments selling meat and poultry products will be allowed to open. I urge the public to buy their essential items before the lockdown starts, Sarma said.

Exemptions include movement of defence and police personnel, government officials involved in essential duties such as fire services, disaster management, electricity, water supply, garbage disposal, health workers, banks (with skeleton staff), automated teller machines (ATMs), milk supply, baby products, medicines, telecommunication, print and electronic media and train and air services.

Only those hotels used for quarantine and by airline crew will be allowed to operate, government directorates and secretariat will function with skeleton staff and petrol pumps allowed to open, Sarma said.

He added that people would be allowed to visit the 31 centres opened in all the wards under Guwahati civic bodys jurisdiction to voluntarily undergo Covid-19 tests.

The government is planning to conduct over 50,000 Covid-19 tests in Guwahati by Tuesday.

Assam will be under curfew from 7pm to 7am daily from Friday till further notice. Weekend lockdown on Saturdays and Sundays will be imposed in all urban areas -- except Kamrup Metro --- from this Saturday, said the minister.

Rural areas in the state will be exempt from weekend lockdown measures. The first seven days of the lockdown in Kamrup Metro will be extremely strict. We will have a review meeting on July 3 and decide if any relaxations can be allowed, Sarma added.

Assam had recorded 6,646 Covid-19 positive cases till Friday noon. The state has recorded 10 deaths to date. While 4,033 Covid-19 patients have recovered from the viral infection.

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Many Americans have been staying close to home since the start of the coronavirus health crisis. Those interested in traveling are now exploring where they can go on vacation this summer. They are discovering that such a trip may require coronavirus tests and even quarantines.

States from Maine to Hawaii are trying to balance the need to contain the virus with urging out-of-state visitors to spend money at hotels, restaurants and other businesses.

Coronavirus containment measures get little support from many in the tourism industry. They fear that visitors will choose to wait things out until they can go without worrying about violating a state-ordered quarantine or searching for a testing station for the virus.

Pauline Frommer is editorial director for Frommers.com and Frommers travel guidebooks. She says discretion is the better part of valor during a health crisis.

You dont want to die because you went on vacation, she told The Associated Press.



Some states like Hawaii require quarantines for out-of-state visitors. Maine, Alaska and Vermont have some version of a test requirement.

In Maine, a state that calls itself Vacationland, Governor Janet Mills provided an alternative to the 14-day quarantine. Visitors are welcome if they can show that they have been tested within 72 hours of arrival and are not carrying the virus.

Operators of hotels and restaurants say the governors measure falls short of what is needed to bring in tourists and save their summer season.

We dont think visitors are going to jump through hoops like that, said Steve Hewins from HospitalityMaine, the states tourism trade group. He worries that visitors will just go somewhere else.

Hawaii Governor David Ige extended his states required two-week quarantine for all arriving travelers. However, state officials are trying to develop a process that could let some travelers return.

Florida has recently reported an increase in coronavirus cases. The state requires a quarantine for visitors from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Those states have had some of the highest infection rates during the early days of the health crisis. New York officials now say they are considering requiring Florida visitors to quarantine.

Travelers to Alaska who are tested upon arrival can avoid a quarantine if a test shows they do not have the virus. But visitors are told to limit their activities until they get a second test result showing no infection.

In Vermont, visitors can cut short the required two-week quarantine if they get a test after a week that shows no sign of infection.

Tim Piper is president of the Vermont Inn and Bed and Breakfast Association. He noted, There is pent-up demand, people are wanting to come to the state.

Neighboring New Hampshire is requiring out-of-staters to prove to having quarantined at home for 14 days before staying at a hotel or other property. The state rejected the idea of requiring visitors to quarantine while they are on vacation.

The safety concerns in Maine have a reason. The state has the highest percentage of people over age 65 -- the group most at risk to the coronavirus.



Businesses like hotels in Maine say the test requirements are difficult, can be costly and are not easily available.

At the Cod Cove Inn, owner Ted Hugger wonders whether out-of-staters will pay for the tests, which can cost $150 per person. He also questioned whether testing would keep people safe since it is not required of children 18 years and under who are traveling with adults.

It just doesnt make sense, he said.

Hewins, of HospitalityMaine, does not like the idea of turning away families who have driven hours to vacation in his state. He likes the rules in New Hampshire, which has something closer to an honor system for visitors.

Compared to some states, Maine has had fewer coronavirus infections and deaths. But Maines governor worries that rural hospitals could have large numbers of coronavirus patients if millions of visitors arrived without observing safety measures.

I can think of nothing more devastating than an outbreak or resurgence of this deadly untreatable virus duringtourism season, she said.

Im Mario Ritter, Jr.

David Sharp reported this story for The Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

quarantine n. keeping someone apart from other so they do not pass on a disease

tourism n. the businesses of providing hotel, restaurant or other services for people who travel for pleasure

discretion n. being careful about what you say or do

valor n. courage or bravery

jump through hoops n. to do a complicated or bothersome series of things in order to reach one goal

pent-up n. held in or kept inside and ready to burst out

devastating n. causing damage or harm

resurgence n. growth or increase that happens after a period of little activity
President Trump, shown speaking Thursday in Marinette, Wis., urged the Supreme Court to throw out the entire Affordable Care Act. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a huge spike in layoffs, leaving tens of millions of Americans without the employer-sponsored health insurance that had protected their families. But the 2010 Affordable Care Act offered a safety net for them  laid-off workers can sign up for replacement coverage for themselves and their families through their state insurance exchanges. And according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's estimates, nearly 80% of those who'd lost their coverage at work in the pandemic's first two months were eligible for federal subsidies that lowered the cost of those new policies.

Yet on Thursday, the Trump administration urged the Supreme Court to throw out the ACA because two self-employed Texans assert that the law injures them. In fact, the administration's brief makes a wholly specious argument that the sections of the law it connects to the plaintiff's injuries cannot be separated from the portions of the law that extend Medicaid to more poor Americans, improve the quality of care, cut prescription drug costs for the elderly, explore ways to slow the growth of healthcare costs, increase the supply of doctors and nurses, let young adults stay on their parents' insurance policies, and make it cheaper for everyone to get preventive health services.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but in the middle of a pandemic the administration is demanding the elimination of a law that has extended coverage to roughly 20 million Americans, and that protects some 50 million Americans with preexisting conditions from being gouged or dropped by their insurers.

Didn't President Trump take the hint from the 2018 election, when Democrats retook the House of Representatives by running against the GOP's efforts to repeal the ACA? The closer Republicans came to wiping out the law and its extremely popular safeguards for people with preexisting conditions, the more the public's support for the ACA grew.

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The notion that Obamacare does more harm than good has been central to the Republican argument against the law since the day it went into effect. And there's no question that some people, like the two individual plaintiffs in California et al. vs. Texas et al., have been forced to pay more for coverage, even as millions of others benefited from the new federal subsidies. That's because the law sought to rein in "junk" policies that didn't cover many important forms of care and to spread individuals' risks and costs more broadly. As a consequence, the comprehensive policies offered on the exchanges are costlier than the more limited ones that had typified the market for non-group coverage. And under the law's individual mandate, every adult American was required to obtain healthcare coverage or pay a tax penalty (unless they qualify for an exemption, such as the one for financial hardship).

The case before the Supreme Court uses that claim of injury to tee up a too clever by half attempt to kill the entire ACA, based on Congress' decision to excise one small but important part of the law. Unable to repeal the entire act after they took complete control of Congress in 2017, Republicans settled for eliminating the widely disliked tax penalty for people who did not comply with the individual mandate, which remains on the books.

That's a problem, the plaintiffs in California vs. Texas argue, because the Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate in 2014 only as an exercise of Congress' power to levy taxes. Removing the tax rendered the mandate unconstitutional, which upends the insurance reforms that are the heart and soul of the law. And if those insurance reforms are off the table, Congress wouldn't have enacted any of the other provisions of the ACA. Or so the plaintiffs and the Trump administration argue.

The administration is right about one thing here: Congress (and many analysts) viewed the individual mandate as an important stabilizing force for insurers once they were required to take all comers and ignore preexisting conditions. But it was hardly the only stabilizing force; as we've seen in the two years since the tax penalty was repealed, average insurance premiums have declined in the state exchanges. The facts on the ground are the strongest argument against the administration's case.

Oddly, the Trump brief argues most forcefully against the insurance reforms designed to protect people with preexisting conditions  the people Trump insists he cares about, despite Republicans' multiple efforts to expose them to higher costs. Those provisions are the reason congressional Republicans ultimately abandoned their effort to repeal the ACA, which is why it makes no sense to argue, as the Trump brief does, that Congress wouldn't want those protections to survive if the individual mandate dies. There's no need for the court to guess lawmakers' intent on that issue.

This case never should have gotten this far; it's absurd to contend that anyone is injured by a mandate that can be ignored without penalty. Yes, other aspects of the law created winners and losers at the micro level, as just about every law does. But if Republicans hadn't been so hellbent on repealing the ACA, Congress could have moved sooner to help people like the two plaintiffs from Texas whose costs have gone up. House Democrats are poised to pass a bill to do just that; the Senate will almost certainly ignore it.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in California vs. Texas this fall, potentially before the election in November. Voters need to keep in mind what the administration's lawyers say in this case whenever Trump tells them how much he cares about their healthcare coverage.
Texas and Florida clamped down on bars again Friday in the biggest retreat yet amid a surge across the South and West that sent the number of confirmed new coronavirus infections per day in the U.S. to an all-time high of 40,000.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all bars closed, while Florida banned alcohol consumption at all such establishments. Together the two states joined the small but growing list of those that are either backtracking or putting any further reopenings of their economies on hold because of comeback by the virus.

Abbott had pursued up to now one of the most aggressive reopening schedules of any state and had not only resisted calls to order the wearing of masks but had also refused until last week to let local governments take such measures.

It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars, he said. The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health.

The Florida agency that governs bars acted after the daily number of confirmed cases neared 9,000, a record that was almost double the previous mark set just two days earlier.

Texas, meanwhile, reported more than 17,000 confirmed new cases in the past three days, with a record high of nearly 6,000 on Thursday. The days tally of over 4,700 hospitalizations was also a record.

A number of the hardest-hit states, including Texas, Florida, Arizona and Arkansas, have Republican governors who have resisted mask-wearing requirements and echoed President Donald Trumps desire to quickly reopen the economy.

Amid the surge, the White House coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Pence, was scheduled to hold its first briefing in nearly two months on Friday afternoon. signaling the adminstration's recognition that it cannot ignore the alarming increases.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed new infections in the U.S. per day soared past the previous high of 36,400, set on April 24, during one of the deadliest stretches in the crisis so far, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University. The average number of new cases per day has risen about 60 percent over the past two weeks, according to an Associated Press analysis.

While the increase is believed to reflect, in part, greatly expanded testing, experts say there is ample evidence the virus is making a comeback, including rising deaths and hospitalizations in parts of the country, especially in the South and West.

Deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S. are down to around 600 per day, compared with about 2,200 in mid-April. Despite the rise in cases, some experts have expressed doubt that deaths will return to that level, because of advances in treatment and prevention and also because a large share of the new infections are in younger adults, who are more likely than older ones to survive.

The virus is blamed for 124,000 deaths in the U.S. and 2.4 million confirmed infections nationwide, by Johns Hopkins' count. But U.S. health officials said the true number of Americans infected is about 20 million, or almost 10 times higher. Worldwide, the virus has claimed close to a half-million lives, according to Johns Hopkins.

In addition to closing bars again, Abbott scaled back restaurant capacity and shut down rafting operations and said any outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people will need approval from the local government. The move came as the number of patients at Texas hospitals statewide more than doubled in two weeks.

On Thursday, Arizona put on hold any further efforts to reopen the economy, with Republican Gov. Doug Ducey saying the numbers continue to go in the wrong direction. Arizona reported over 3,000 additional infections Thursday, the fourth day in a week with an increase over that mark.

Nevadas governor ordered the wearing of face masks in public, Las Vegas casinos included.

Elsewhere around the world, China moved closer to containing a fresh outbreak in Beijing. Another record daily increase in India pushed the caseload in the world's second most populous nation toward half a million. And other countries with big populations like Indonesia, Pakistan and Mexico grappled with large numbers of infections and strained health care systems.

South Africa, which accounts for about half of the infections on the African continent with over 118,000, reported a record of nearly 6,600 new cases after loosening what had been one of the worlds strictest lockdowns earlier this month.

Italy, one of the hardest-hit European nations, battled to control an outbreak among Bulgarian seasonal crop pickers near Naples.

The governor of the southern Campania region insisted that the workers who live in an apartment complex with dozens of COVID-19 cases stay inside for just over two weeks, not even emerging for food  authorities will deliver groceries to them.

By MICHELLE R. SMITH and FRANCES DEMILIO
Goh Chok Thong and Low Thia Khiang.

By Bertha Henson

I am getting old. The newsmakers of my past are fading away.

When Mr Chiam See Tong failed in his bid to win a Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the election of 2011, there was at least his wife, Lina, who became a Non-Constituency MP between 2011 and 2015 after narrowly losing Potong Pasir. Its 2020, and the Chiam name will no longer surface in any electoral list.

I thought that Workers Partys (WP) Low Thia Khiang, 63, would go for one last round, but hes decided not to stand in this election. The man who exploded into the political scene at the 1991 General Election (GE) and who built the party into Singapores biggest opposition force, will be missed. Not just because of his fiery speeches, but his very deft and sharp questions in Parliament.

I recall perfectly the first and only words he uttered in public when the Returning Officer announced his win in Hougang: Tonight is the beginning of the next lap. This was a jibe at the manifesto of the Peoples Action Party (PAP), which its then-leader Goh Chok Tong had coined: The Next Lap.

Then, it was also announced that Goh himself, after 44 years in Parliament, was not standing in this election. The old warhorses are going back to the stable; fresh studs are doing the racing.

Is declining to stand for re-election the same as retiring from politics? The media seems to think so, adding to the perception that once someone is no longer an MP, he or she is past the political use-by date.

WP chief Pritam Singh didnt agree. Low, as well as MPs Chen Show Mao and Png Eng Huat, might have decided not to stand for election, he said, but their decision is not a retirement, he said.

Yup. It is retirement from electoral politics.

I think this distinction is important. People who have done much in their political career should continue in a political, or at least civic, capacity in some way  and I mean more than seats on company or agency boards. The country needs their insights and their views, especially in an era when news, fake news and all sorts of views are being bandied around which will undercut any consensus on how the nation should carry on.

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Goh, 79, Singapores second prime minister, said he wouldnt have the stamina for the job once he crosses into his 80s. He forgot he is a contemporary of Progress Singapore Partys (PSP) Dr Tan Cheng Bock, 80, who is going back into the parliamentary elections as head of a new political party. There is another politician across the Causeway who is even older. I have always enjoyed Gohs pithy remarks about former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad on social media. It had seemed to me that only an ex-prime minister has the stature to get away with such tsk-tsking.

Likewise, only an ex-prime minister can nudge the present leaders to get on with picking the first among equals in the 4G team, like Goh did in December 2017. In fact, in his farewell letter, Goh suggested that the PAP start building the core of a 5G team.

Experienced views, wisdom of the old guard

For this GE, the PAP has said that it will field 26 new candidates, which means about 20 sitting MPs or so will not be standing for re-election. In GE2015, 14 MPs left and 20 were brought in.

The PAP hasnt given its departure list. So far, only former Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim, 64, has said unequivocally that he would not be throwing his hat in the ring. For your information, after PM Lee, who is 68, those of his vintage include Mr Khaw Boon Wan, 68, and Mr Charles Chong and Dr Lily Neo, both 67. This time, the PAP hasnt said much about political renewal nor even about bringing in candidates who can achieve high office. The message has been focused on getting a diverse group of candidates into Parliament. Over the past few days, it hasnt even talked about passing the baton to the 4G leaders.

Every political party is entitled to keep its strategy secret but it bears noting that this was not so in the past two GEs. Old-timers and their new replacements were at the press conferences held where they should be, at the constituency. I suppose the safe distancing measures has something to do with all press conferences done virtually at the PAP headquarters in Bedok South.

The PAP has never found itself handicapped with fewer old-timers around. Indeed, it is part of its much vaunted renewal strategy. The ex-MPs and ministers, were told, will still be contributing to the nation by their participation in boards and other government agencies. Supporters will cheer but detractors, however, will describe them as cushy sinecures for the party faithful.

I feel sad for Singapore when old-timers seem more than happy to quit the political scene completely, suddenly becoming mute. Most disappear from the news. Perhaps there is a party rule that ex-MPs should not comment on political matters, in the same way that ex-ministers who moved to the backbench stay mum in Parliament.

There are only two former PAP MPs whom I can recall who added to the civic discussion in the public space. One would be former minister Lim Boon Heng, who had a high-profile exchange on minimum wage with Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh in October 2018. The other is former PAP MP Inderjit Singh, who is viewed as a maverick in some quarters even while he was still an MP. Singh, a businessman, can always be counted on to give quotes on political developments, some of which are not very complimentary. In fact, he is the only former elected MP who is sought for views. Most times, it is the usual coterie of academics and political observers who are asked to shed insights.

A few have written books on their political experiences, like Messrs Loh Meng See and Ho Peng Kee. Goh himself has a second book in the offing. Beyond that, wed probably need to dive into the oral history archives for the rest  and theres a moratorium of 25 years before it is made public.

Past perspectives may inform the future, but what is more important is current input for the present.

People with political experience should continue to contribute to discussions on politics or policies. They should not be worried about saying the wrong things nor should they feel shackled by a closed door practice so as not to be seen to be breaking ranks. The latter approach does not help at a time when news and views, informed and silly, are crowding public discussion, allowing stray, fringe views which can hijack the agenda.

Yes, politicians from different parties will be slammed from opposing sides for being biased, but they have surely been toughened up after so many years in the crucible. Let me put it this way: They can speak from their conscience and will no longer be hampered by considerations of re-election. Will they please do so even though they longer carry the minister or MP in their name?

Finally, I want to record my thanks to Low and Goh for their years of service to the nation. On a personal note, I had a great time reporting and writing about both of you over the years  and still hope to do so in my limited capacity.

Bertha Henson is a veteran Singapore journalist who now lectures at NUS. The views expressed are her own.

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A major new Government-led scheme could be set up in Northern Ireland to help tens of thousands of people losing their jobs amid the Covid-19 crisis retrain and find new employment.

A Stormont-led 'work ready' employment service would work in addition to the existing Jobs and Benefits schemes, but focus on expertise to supplement that with specialist areas or the ability to "ramp up and down" when needed, Ulster Business revealed.

The scheme is being proposed by the Department for Communities.

It is also warning that unemployment levels, while already at record highs, are "likely to increase when government support tapers off".

It is being designed to help those who have lost their jobs, but are ready to start work in a similar or entirely different area of employment.

As part of an early market consultation, pre-tender, it says a "large number of work ready people on the lower end of the skills spectrum may become unemployed".

It also says it is aimed at helping vulnerable people, such as those with health conditions, ex-offenders, former carers, for example, to find new roles.

And it is looking at those recently unemployed people who "will become economically inactive with new or exacerbated health conditions especially mental health conditions".

The early proposal says that "existing long term unemployed, economically inactive and disabled people will face greater labour market competition from recently unemployed people" and adds that "young people exiting education or training run the risk of longer term scarring".

A market consultation is also being carried out with those who could potentially be involved in the scheme and procurement options include a 'multi-supplier' framework agreement, a 'one-stop-shop' single contract for specific regions, or a contract for services right across all council areas. The document says: "As part of a move across government in Northern Ireland to respond to the impacts of Covid-19 outbreak and the potential significant rise in unemployment, the Department for Communities has initiated a project to assess the feasibility and benefits of establishing a 'work ready' employment services contract to help people who may have lost their job."

The Department for Communities says that the purpose of the market consultation exercise is "to gain an understanding of the current capability and capacity to deliver Work Ready Employment Services throughout Northern Ireland as well as understand the latest developments and innovations in the delivery of these services utilising a range of channels".

The consultation is now open and closes on July 16.

As many as 40,000 furloughed workers here could face unemployment when the Government's job retention scheme expires, it has been claimed.

Around 211,700 people are enrolled on the emergency scheme, which enables companies to keep their workers on the payroll despite a catastrophic drop in business due to Covid-19.

Senior economist Gareth Hetherington, director of the Ulster University economic policy centre, said that it is estimated 10% to 20% of furloughed workers would ultimately end up unemployed.
The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission passed an emergency rule to provide a different procedure for issuing duck blinds this year to help protect public health due to Covid-19. The action came Friday at the June meeting of the commission held at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agencys Region II Ray Bell Building.

The handheld drawings usually result in large crowds gathering at the various sites.

A computerized drawing will be held instead of a handheld drawing for 12 wildlife management areas and applications can be submitted at GoOutdoorsTN.com from July 2-26. Results will be available by Aug. 1 and successful hunters will receive an electronic blind permit. Additional details concerning this years process will be coming soon.

In addition, TWRA will also hold a computerized drawing for all sandhill crane tags and not conduct the traditional in-person drawing for the Southeast Sandhill Crane Zone tags. The application period will be Sept. 2-23 on GoOutdoorsTN.com. More information will also be available in the coming weeks.

An update on chronic wasting disease (CWD) was given. Chuck Yoest, TWRAs CWD coordinator, said the agency is in the process of finalizing procurement for the incinerator to be placed in Unit CWD. It will be located at the Fayette County Landfill in Somerville.

In partnership with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA), the TWRA is continuing disposal planning for this fall. In, addition, an extensive effort will begin to recruit landowners in strategic CWD areas to supplement hunter harvest to help best manage CWD. Other planning includes developing a comprehensive budget for CWD and preparing to provide CWD testing opportunities to hunters for the deer they harvest this fall.

Fisheries Chief Frank Fiss presented an overview of angler recognition programs. The Tennessee Angler Recognition Program (TARP) started in 2003 and recognizes trophy-sized fish as well as first catches. To date, more than 7,000 entries have identified some of the best waters to fish in the state. Anglers can look to the TWRA website to learn more about these programs and where trophies are being caught.

Jenifer Wisniewski, Outreach and Communications chief, reported on R3 (Recruitment, Retention, Reactivation) during the Covid-19 pandemic. People are returning to or trying hunting and fishing for the first time this year, and officials can see that in the increase in the number of fishing and hunting licenses sold so far. There are several projects on the horizon including brand partnerships, advancing CWD communications, an online store, event system, and continuing outreach and marketing efforts.

The TFWCs next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 20-21 in Kingsport.
By Basit Khan, TwoCircles.net

The idea of jihad (to struggle) is so common and normal in every Muslims life but still an untouchable topic among many. The way jihad as an idea has been misinterpreted & misused at large, has made it very controversial & a frightening topic so much so that many times we can not even talk about it over the phone with our family members. During the last two decades, the propaganda on jihad has been so extensive that a simple Google search on Jihad will give you more than 50 lakh results.

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To understand the true implications of the concept of Jihad and what it entails in a Muslims life, we need to know the actual meaning of the concept. Writing this piece is itself like jihad for me i.e. to strive for an appropriate & correct narrative to explain this very simple and day to day activity of Muslims.

The literal meaning of the Arabic word jihad means to strive or to struggle. The person who follows Islam does jihad every day to follow the basics of Islam i.e. 5 pillars of Islam. There is no 6th pillar of Islam. Jihad is not a 6th pillar but an integral part of all the 5 pillars of Islam. To illustrate this let us give an overview of all five tenets of Islam and jihad as a concept is central to each of them.

The first and foremost tenet is Tawheed (To believe in the oneness of Allah). Jihad is to struggle & learn to believe in the oneness of Allah.

Secondly, for Namaz (To pray 5 obligatory prayers a day). It is one of the greatest jihads to come out of bed for morning prayers (Fajr).

Thirdly, in case of Fasting (Saum), the application of the concept of jihad in this is to not to waste food but to share food.

Fourthly, in the case of Charity (Zakat), the idea of Jihad here is to believe that Zakat is not losing money or not to feel superior by helping others but it is the responsibility of a believer.

Finally in the case of the holy pilgrimage of Hajj, (to visit Kaba to follow Prophet Ibrahims practice), the idea of Jihad is to believe Hajj is a duty and not to make it an extravagant affair.

There is no aarthik jihad, vaicharik jihad, love jihad in Islam, but to fight against ones will and fight against satan are the greatest jihad in a Muslims life.

The first jihad is followed by the certainty of faith, and the second is followed by patience.

The Quran describes three types of jihad (struggles), and none of them permits terrorism. These are: the jihad against yourself, the jihad against Satan  which are called the greater jihads  and the jihad against an open enemy, which is known as the lesser jihad.

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said the best jihad was to speak words of truth in front of a tyrannical leader.

The jihad of fighting against ones will called Jihad-an-Nafs is of four kinds.

Firstly, Jihad-an-Nafs entails striving to learn the teachings of Islam. It is not jihad to believe in anybody giving fatwas or forwarded messages on WhatsApp.

Secondly, Jihad-an-Nafs means to strive to make oneself act in accordance with what one has learned. Jihad here means to say no to dowry. In my view, this is one of the greatest fights in current times, where a Muslim has to fight against society, money, his/her parents, relatives just to follow the basics of Islam.

The third kind of Jihad-an-Nafs is to strive to impart Islamic teachings to others who do not know about it. One of the major reasons of Islamophobia is misinterpretation & lack of knowledge of Islam among Muslims as well as non-Muslims. This will be solved to a greater extent if people get to know about Islam.

The real jihad is to educate others via your behaviour, your actions and your words. This is how the Prophet of Islam won many followers in 7th century Arabia. For example, to help your wife in daily chores is itself a jihad, to fight against your own, your family and society to follow the Prophets teaching to help your wife is jihad.

The fourth type of Jihad-an-Nafs is to strive to bear patiently the difficulties and the insults of people for being Muslim. Nowadays, having a Muslim name itself is the reason to be boycotted even if you are a vegetable seller. In the current time, it is also jihad to strive for your right of freedom and choice to wear hijab and to face prying eyes & statements against wearing it.

To extend the meaning of jihad lets talk about jihad which involves fighting against Satan. Jihad against Satan is of two types and this involves warding off the doubts that he stirs up to undermine faith. To not discriminate against each other on the basis on money, power, ethnicity, skin colour etc is also jihad. To not commit suicide is also jihad against Satan as Islam does not permit hopelessness.

To strive against Satan to ward off the corrupt desires that he provokes is jihad. Jihad also means to not cheat for money or power, to not get carried away with fame or honour but to make your self always humble & available for others.

The irony is, western media run the propaganda on the term Jihad and the concept full of violence while the western world has been mercilessly killing millions of innocent human beings for no reason, routine gun violence, domestic violence and violent hate crimes against Muslims.

Lately, Indian media has picked up the same propaganda on jihad, where they have defined jihad as hate towards other religions, killing non-Muslims if they dont believe in what you believe, forcing others to chant religious words and luring others towards Islam making them fall in love with you etc.

Nothing can be further from the truth.

On the contrary, if we look at the incidents of hate from last 5 to 7 years in India, we see that Muslims are the being lynched, their properties were attacked, they are being asked to chant Jai Sri Ram forcefully by the right-wing fringe groups, Muslim places of worship were attacked & destroyed. All of this has happened because the victims were Muslims.

An analysis of the trends on the type of violent incidents against Muslims in India shows that Hindutva brigade is following the exact concept that is shown by the mainstream media i.e. corrupting and abusing the meaning of jihad.

In conclusion, the problem is not the concept of jihad in Islam but the propaganda & misrepresentation of this word at large by so-called mainstream news media, cinema and politicians.

The real meaning of jihad can, in fact, be a solution to many problems of modern life. Muslims need to make it as a normal topic or a concept as it is enshrined in the religion of Islam, which is followed by billions of people across the world.

The need of the hour is to talk more about the real concept and the easier it will be to shut down medias propaganda against Muslims.

As this piece lays down jihad as a day to day common phenomena in the lives of Muslims, it shouldnt be an untouchable topic.
Burma Senior Myanmar Police Officer Accused of Sexual Exploitation of Female Officer

Police Brig-Gen Zaw Moe Than

YANGONHome Affairs Ministry spokesman Police Colonel Kyaw Thiha confirmed the ministry has received a complaint against Police Brigadier-General Zaw Moe Than, who oversees appointments in the Myanmar Police Force, for alleged sexual exploitation of one of his subordinates.

Reports that around 18 female police officers were forced to sleep with their supervisors in exchange for promotions spread on social media last week.

At the press conference at the Home Affairs Ministry on Monday, Police Major-General Myo Swe Win said the case was under investigation, but did not identify the police officers who were the subjects of the complaints.

We are still investigating the complaint. And if it is found to be true, action will be taken through the police court. We will provide updates on the latest situation, said Police Maj-Gen Myo Swe Win.

Police Colonel Kyaw Thiha, when asked by The Irrawaddy on Thursday, confirmed that a complaint was filed against Police Brig-Gen Zaw Moe Than, but declined to provide further details.

It is still under investigation. I cant reveal the details, he said.

According to police sources close to The Irrawaddy, Police Brig-Gen Zaw Moe Than is being detained in a police cell in Naypyitaw.

Demanding sex in exchange for a promotion is quite rare, though the practice of buying promotions and transfers to cities and money-making positions is common in the police force, said a retired officer who asked not to be named.

Some want the alleged sexual exploitation to be handled as an act of corruption. The Anti-Corruption Law defines corruption as occurring when those in a position of power abuse their position to gain something or avoid something.

When asked by The Irrawaddy, Myanmar Anti-Corruption Commission member U Kyaw Soe said the commission does not divulge information on the receipt of complaints. The commission always issues press releases about its activities, it said.

Lawyer U Thein Than Oo from Mandalay called for reforms to the police force. Unless and until the 2008 Constitution is amended, such cases will remain. And they are not the real police, but transferred from the military. So, it is impossible for ordinary police [who joined the police force from lower ranks] to get promotions. They are blocked by ex-military personnel transferred from the military. As they cant get promotions by honest means, they try dishonest means, he said.

Police Brig-Gen Zaw Moe Than was a graduate of Intake 26 of the Defence Services Academy.

The most appropriate law under which to punish him would be the Myanmar Police Force Maintenance of Discipline Law, said U Thein Than Oo.

However, the police manual and police laws do not include provisions about sexual assaults by police, and only contain general provisions about morals, pointed out lawyer Daw Hla Hla Yi, the director of Legal Clinic Myanmar. Therefore, a lot needs to be done for women who face sexual harassment and exploitation in the workplace in Myanmar, she added.

Myanmar lacks laws and policies that can effectively protect women against sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace, the lawyer said.

There is no specific law regarding the abuse of power and sexual exploitation and harassment in the workplace. And there are no policies. And it is difficult for subordinates to file lawsuits against their superiors under the Penal Code. In some cases, the lawsuits have to be filed by the victims themselves, and cant be filed by police on their behalf. So, by filing the lawsuits, they risk losing their jobs and their safety, Daw Hla Hla Yi said.

It is quite a shame for our department. How will other government departments view female police officers? said a police officer who asked for anonymity.

Former police captain Moe Yan Naing, who was sacked from the police force after testifying in court that two Reuters reporters were set up by the police while investigating extrajudicial killings in the sectarian conflict in Rakhine State, shared that view.

This has seriously ruined the reputation of the police force. The fact that a top-level leader has committed a crime will undermine public trust in the police force. And this will make it difficult for lower level police members to engage with members of the public on the ground, he told The Irrawaddy.

Women who are single, at least 5 feet, 3 inches tall and aged between 18 and 25 who have passed the second year of a university degree course are eligible to take the test to become a police constable.

They are entitled to a basic monthly salary of 144,000 kyats (US$104) and 54,000 kyats for food allowance per month plus two police uniforms and a month of leave per year, according to the Home Affairs Ministry.

The ministry stepped up its recruitment of policewomen in 2012, boosting its recruitment rate by over 20 percent compared to the past. They are assigned to office work, as well as to various departments. The highest rank a female police officer can achieve in the Myanmar Police Force is police major.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

Trend:

About 1,800 Uzbek citizens returned to Uzbekistan via charter flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on June 25 morning, Trend reports referring to www.kun.uz.

When compiling the lists, special attention was paid to severely ill people, pregnant women, elderly people (55 and older), families with children, students, tourists, people who served their sentences in prisons in the UAE.

More than 600 Uzbek people, with the help of the diaspora and local authorities, have been free of charge accommodated in hotels and hostels in Dubai, including two or three meals a day, since March 15, 2020. More than 1,000 citizens in a difficult situation in the UAE were provided with food.

Moreover, doctors and nurses among Uzbek citizens working in medical facilities in the UAE, gave free consultations to the sick fellow citizens.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 09:33:37|Editor: huaxia

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With a happy family and a stable job, 30-year-old Zhou Yiru leads a comfortable life. Yet, when her company encouraged employees to sign up for the Dragon Boat Race, she was eager to join in. Surrounded by "Muscle Men", Zhou became a member of the mixed dragon boat team. Check out the video "On the Miluo River: How one lady braves the wind and waves".
JACKSON, MI  From the Jackson community coming together to help a teacher who lost her home in a fire, to a man killed running across the freeway, a lot has been going on in the Jackson area this week.

Here are some headlines you might have missed.

Community rallies, collects $29,000 for Western music teacher who lost home to fire

A fire left Western School District music teacher Joan Fitzpatrick and two children homeless earlier this month, but not for long, thanks to support from her neighbors and the community.

Seeing what had happened to the long-time music teacher for Westerns three elementary schools, her neighbors and the surrounding community came to her aid collecting items for her and starting a GoFundMe page which, as of June 24, has collected $29,111 in donations.

Man killed running across I-94 in Jackson identified

Police have identified the pedestrian who was killed running across I-94 west of Jackson Friday morning.

Jermine Dashawn Potts, 42, of Jackson, died Friday, June 19, when he was hit by a car then run over by a semitruck while he was running across Westbound I-94 at Airport Road in Jackson County, according to the Blackman-Leoni Township Department of Public Safety.

Layoffs, budget cuts probable in Grass Lake as COVID-19 takes toll on school funding

Like districts across the state, Grass Lake Community Schools is dealing with cuts to education funding caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

More specifically, the district is facing a $500,000 deficit in the 2020-21 school year.

Short joyride ends with 4 teens injured in rollover crash in Spring Arbor Township, police say

What was supposed to be a short joyride to the end of a long private driveway and back again Wednesday night ended with four teens being injured in a rollover crash, police said.

The cause of the crash has been attributed to inexperience of the driver as he, as well as everyone else in the car, was unlicensed.

After 6-month delay, added costs, Greenwood Avenue project in Jackson nearly complete, officials say

The delayed Greenwood Avenue construction project in Jackson is expected, to be completed early next week, Aaron Dimick, city of Jackson public information officer, said,

The project began in July 2019, but a six-month hiatus has delayed and added costs to the now $2.3-million project.

Motorcyclist killed in crash after car runs stop sign

A Portland Michigan man was killed on Fathers Day when his motorcycle was hit by a car that ran a stop sign at an intersection in Eaton County

Richard Genautis, 63, was pronounced dead Sunday, June 21, after a car crashed into him while he was riding his motorcycle through the intersection of Charlotte Highway and Eaton Highway in Roxand Township, west of Lansing, according to the Michigan State Police.

History and character highlight Jackson condominium home listed for $369K

A touch of history is on the market.

A 2,112 square foot condominium, featuring two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a huge garage is on the market in Jackson Countys historic Stone Village for $369,999.

This Stone Village estate was the dream of Theodore G. Bennett. He was president of Jacksons Bennett Sewer Pipe Co. and owner of the Bennett Clay Machinery Co., which made sidewalk bricks, sewer pipe, drain and roofing tiles.

CARES Act allows Jackson College to provide financial relief to students

Jackson College students who had extra expenses and financial issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic can now apply for emergency aid.

The funding for the assistance comes from the colleges share of the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund of the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security Act.

Drivers can expect more I-94 lane closures in Jackson due to construction

Eastbound I-94 is closing near the M-60 ramp and westbound I-94 is being shut down to one lane at the M-60 ramp on Tuesday night.

The overnight closures are being done so crews can install beams between 8 p.m. June 23 and 6 a.m. Wednesday, June 24, Michigan Department of Transportation officials said. The work is part of the larger I-94 corridor project.
On This Day The Day a Student Leader was Hanged for Anti-Junta Activism

Salai Tin Maung Oo

Yangon  On this day in 1976, 25-year-old student leader Salai Tin Maung Oo, a strong voice of dissent against the military regime led by dictator General Ne Win, was hanged in Insein Prison.

The ethnic Chin zoological student at the University of Yangon (then Rangoon) participated in student movements and labor strikes against military rule. He became a well-known opposition figure in 1974 when students took to the streets against Gen. Ne Wins refusal to honor former United Nations secretary-general U Thant, who died that year of lung cancer, with a state funeral.

Following the militarys violent crackdown on protesters, an event which would later be known as the U Thant incident, Salai Tin Maung Oo fled to the Thai border and led an underground student movement.

While plotting to stage an anti-government protest to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Thakhin Kodaw Hmaing, a father of nationalism in British-run Burma, he was arrested by military intelligence in Yangon, allegedly with a pistol, in 1976. He was hanged three months later in Insein.

When Salai Tin Maung Oo, who was the eldest son in his family, was hanged and his body was cremated at Kyan Taw Cemetery (now the site of Junction Square Shopping Center), his parents and three siblings who were arrested along with him remained in prison.

Salai Tin Maung Oo is the only student recorded as being hanged in the countrys history. His opposition to the military dictatorship influenced subsequent generations of students.

What happened to Salai Tin Maung Oo must not be allowed to happen to anybody else in Burma, said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, while she was an opposition leader, at a commemorative event to mark his death.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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Parents in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois varied in their support for risk-reduction measures like random COVID-19 testing and face mask requirements

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Kindergartners in face masks. Closed playground structures. Random COVID-19 testing.

They are among the long list of hypothetical scenarios for school in the pandemic era.

And as lawmakers and educators reimagine the K-12 model for fall, a new survey assessed parents' plans for in-person school and support for 15 potential measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in schools in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio.

The majority of parents surveyed (two-thirds) said they will likely send all of their children to school in fall. Most also support certain safety measures, including decreasing the number of children on buses, daily temperature screens for students, alternating between in-person and online classes, regular testing of school staff, and requiring school staff and older children to wear masks.

The report, published by the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center (CHEAR) at the University of Michigan, included 1,193 parents of school-aged children in the three states who were surveyed from June 12-22.

"Families are facing a challenging decision regarding whether to send their children to school for in-person classes in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic," says lead author Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatrician and researcher at Michigan Medicine C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, CHEAR and the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, which funded the report.

"On the one hand, sending children to school could increase the risk of COVID-19 among children and family members. On the other hand, children who don't return to in-person school may experience disruptions in their education. Some families simply don't have a choice because they need to go to work."

Parents' plans on sending their children to school were similar between each state but varied by demographic factors. Respondents who were Black, Hispanic, or Asian were less likely to report that they will send all of their children to school compared with respondents who were white/non-Hispanic.

Parents from low-income households were the least likely to report that they will send all of their children to school, with 40 % reporting that they are unsure of their plans or are not planning on sending at least one of their children.

"The disparity by household income raises the possibility of potential educational disruption among less advantaged students," Chua says. "Efforts should especially be made to understand and address barriers to school attendance for these students, and to ensure high-quality education for students who do not attend school in-person."

Views on masks and other safety measures

The survey revealed strong support for a number of measures to reduce COVID-19 exposure risk at school. Three-quarters of parents supported daily temperature screens of students and requiring testing of children if a classmate tests positive for COVID-19.

More than 60 % of parents supported decreasing the number of children on buses, alternating groups of children between in-person and virtual classes, staggering arrival and pick-up times, and random weekly COVID-19 testing for staff. Half supported random weekly COVID-19 testing of children and requiring children to eat meals in classrooms rather than cafeterias.

Most parents supported requiring face masks for school staff and middle and high school students, but were less likely to support requiring face masks for younger children, especially kindergarten through second grade.

Support was low for closing playground structures and stopping all extracurricular programs.

Overall, the average parent supported or strongly supported eight of the 15 measures assessed in the survey. While this number was lower in some demographic groups, three-quarters of parents supported four or more measures.

"Preferences for the number and types of measures vary among parents," Chua says. "But they broadly agree with the notion that schools should take steps to keep children as safe as possible."

Factors impacting a return to school

Twelve percent of parents surveyed indicated they will likely not send at least one of their children to school in fall, with health concerns being the biggest factor. Respondents were less likely to say their children would attend in-person school if they believe someone in their home has a condition that increases the risk of severe COVID-19 illness.

But many feel that the in-person school experience is best for their kids.

"I feel like (my child) gets a better education in person. I want her to be able to go to school where she can directly interact with teachers," one Michigan parent said.

Twenty-one percent of parents said they weren't sure yet about school attendance plans. Many are waiting to see how the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, while others are waiting to hear more about their schools' plans.

"If the schools here decide to open, then that will mean we are trending in a favorable direction as far as the virus is concerned. I trust the local school districts to make the best decision based on their staff/cleaning/knowledge of the situation," a parent from Illinois wrote.

Many respondents also indicated they had little choice to send children to school due to jobs and financial constraints.

"We have no family to babysit and do not have the funds to hire a babysitter if the kids stay home. If one of us has to stay home to watch them we will likely lose our house," one Ohio respondent said.

Many families indicated that a surge in COVID-19 cases would cause them to reconsider plans for sending children to school. Others would likely reconsider based on the safety strategies implemented in schools or the type of educational experience their children might have.

Governors across the country are working with educators to develop plans to safely open school. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to announce her "Return to School Roadmap" on June 30, which will provide an outline for schools across the state to reopen for in-person learning in fall.

As these plans are announced, Chua believes it will be important to continue to survey parents regarding their plans and support for COVID-19 risk mitigation measures.

"In our survey, parents expressed a lot of uncertainty regarding their plans for school attendance," he says. "Many are waiting to see how schools address safety and how the pandemic evolves. It's very likely that parents' views and plans will change as new information becomes available."

###

Other authors of the report included Melissa DeJonckheere, Ph.D., Sarah Reeves, Ph.D., Alison Tribble, M.D., M.S.C.E., and Lisa Prosser, Ph.D., all from the Department of Pediatrics at Mott or Department of Family Medicine at Michigan Medicine.
The man charged in the kidnapping and murder of Aniah Blanchard is now charged in a previously-unsolved killed in Montgomery two years ago.

Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey on Thursday announced the murder charge against Ibraheem Yazeed in connection with the death of Stephen Hamby. Hamby was shot multiple times in a wooded area near the Salvation Army on Maxell Boulevard in December 2018. He was taken to a hospital and later died.

Yazeed is charged with capital murder in Blanchards death. The 19-year-old Southern Union College student from Homewood was officially reported missing Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. She last communicated with a friend late on the night of Oct. 23, 2019. Her remains were found Monday, Nov. 25, during a search in the 38000 block of County Road 2 in Shorter.

Details of what led to the new charge against Yazeed werent made public. He is also charged with attempted murder after a woman  Geraldine Talley - was shot in the face during the same incident in which Hamby was killed.

In addition to the charge against Yazeed, Bailey also announced a murder charge against De Juan Smith in the 2016 shooting death of Rafael Montiel-Perez. That shooting happened in the 600 block of North Pass Road.

Bailey announced the charge during a press conference lauding the work of the Montgomery County Cold Case Task Force launched last year. He was joined by Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, Montgomery Police Chief Ernest Finley, Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham and members of the Montgomery County Commission which has supported the task force through funding.

Without their funding and support, hundreds of families would never see justice, nor in the future,' Bailey said. The goal of this task force is to bring closure to hundreds, and maybe thousands, of family members in our community that have to live every day with the pain of their loved one having been ripped away from them, compiled with the pain of not knowing what happened and who was responsible.

Stated quite simply, this task force exists to provide answers,' the district attorney said. Within a short amount of time, we were able to put together a team who are, in my opinion, the best homicide detectives in the country.

Bailey said since September 2019, the task force detectives have worked to identify hundreds of cold cases. They began digging into cases that could be solved and spent countless hours researching, interviewing old and new witnesses, and reexamining old and new evidence.

We knew this task forces job would not be easy,' Bailey said. If the cases could have been easily solved, they would have been solved at the time of the events.
Iran annual petchem output nearing 100 mln tons: Minister

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 25 June 2020 1:48 PM

Iran has opened two major petchem projects in northwest and center of the country to add some 25 million tons of capacity to its annual output.

Using a video conference call on Thursday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani opened the Miandoab Petrochemical Complex, a facility for production of polyethylene located in the West Azerbaijan province on the border with Turkey.

Rouhani also gave the go-ahead for the start of works at a hexane production unit at Shazand Refinery, a major petchem complex located in Markazi province.

Iran's Oil Minister BIjan Namdar Zanganeh said launching the new projects would help Iran increase its gross annual output of petchem products to 100 million metric tons by March 2021 from 70 million tons currently.

Miandoab Petrochemicals would feed on ethylene transferred from southern Iran through a 1,660-kilometer pipeline, the longest in the world which has enabled Iran to economize fuel consumption in refineries located west of the country.

The refinery in Miandoab has cost over $100 million and is capable of producing some 140,000 tons of heavy polyethylene each year, said a report by the official IRNA news agency.

Another petchem project launched on Thursday was a unit for production of hexane, a key constituent of gasoline, in Shazand Refinery. Authorities said the scheme would generate around $45 million in revenues for Iran through an increase of half a million liters in gasoline production per day.

Iran has continued to develop its oil industry regardless of a series of harsh American sanctions that have been in place since November 2018.

The country's petchem sector has thrived massively at the time of sanctions as refineries keep sending major shipments to countries around the world, generating over $20 billion in revenues for the government each year.

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Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday that Texas bars must close once again as the numbers of COVID-19 cases continues to spike.

Under the new executive order, restaurants must reduce their capacity from 75 percent to 50 percent on Monday.

Commercial river rafting and tubing services have been suspended.

On ExpressNews.com: Gov. Abbott re-closes all bars in Texas as COVID-19 surges

"Every Texan has a responsibility to themselves and their loved ones to wear a mask, wash their hands, stay six feet apart from others in public, and stay home if they can," Abbott said.

Businesses in the state, with several exceptions, must operate at no more than 50 percent of their listed occupancy. The exceptions include religious services.

The new order does not include a mandate to wear masks, but allows businesses to require customers to wear them. San Antonio businesses must do so under orders signed by local officials.

"Individuals are encouraged to wear appropriate face coverings, but no jurisdiction can impose a civil or criminal penalty for failure to wear a face

covering," the order reads.

Abbott's order comes amid a surge in new coronavirus cases. The number of confirmed cases in the San Antonio area shot up by 638 on Thursday, the largest one-day increase since the start of the pandemic in March.

The new cases brought Bexar Countys total to 8,452  double the number reported less than two weeks ago.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:
(Photo : REUTERS/Brendan McDermid) Workers board up a Verizon store in midtown Manhattan during protests against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in New York City, U.S., June 2, 2020.

Verizon is the newest company to enter an ongoing Facebook and Instagram ad boycott in the biggest campaign to join the #StopHateForProfit boycott.





The boycott, coordinated by the Anti-Defamation League, is in response to the handling of inflammatory posts by the social media giant. Ongoing misinformation concerns have escalated in recent weeks due to demonstrations against police brutality, racism, and other events that have highlighted the shortcomings of Facebook's moderation approach.

Several digital ad agencies have also begun advising clients on how to participate. One, i360, has publicly expressed support, The Wall Street Journal reported.

CNN reported that Verizon's move marks the first United States telecommunications company to participate in the boycott.

ALSO READ: Zuckerberg: 'Black Lives Matter,' Facebook to Review Policies

Blame it on hate speech

A coalition of six organizations last week called on Facebook advertisers to suspend their advertising on the social media site in July. The Anti-Defamation League, NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color of Change, Free Press, and Common Sense asked Facebook to prove they're not "going to help a business that's putting profit on protection."

On Thursday, June 25, the Anti-Defamation League released an open letter written by the organization's Chairman and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt to businesses advertising on Facebook.

"We found an [ad] for Verizon appearing next to a video from the conspiracy group QAnon drawing on hateful and antisemitic rhetoric," the letter read. "[It warned] that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is planning to bring on the civil war with concentration camps and coffins at the ready and claiming Americans are already quarantined in militarized districts."

In its statement Thursday, Verizon said they have strict content policies in place and have zero-tolerance when they are breached.

"We're pausing our advertising until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable and is consistent with we've done with YouTube and other partners," said John Nitti, chief media officer for Verizon, in a statement to CNN.

ALSO READ: Investigation Finds Facebook Enforces Hate Speech Unevenly, Facebook Then Apologizes

Facebook respects decision

Regarding previously announced ad boycotts, Carolyn Everson, VP Global Business Group Facebook, told CNN Business: "We deeply respect any brand's decision and remain focused on removing hate speech and providing critical voting information."

She added their conversations with marketers and civil rights organizations are about how we can be a force for good together."

This isn't the first time Verizon has engaged in a social media ad boycott. The carrier yanked their YouTube ads in 2017 following an earlier public outcry about the site's treatment of hate speech.

Verizon 's decision Thursday indicates that its boycott will continue longer than that of other businesses that have joined the Civil Rights coordinated movement.

The awareness drive is led by activist organizations, including NAACP, ADL, and Change Color.

"We applaud Verizon for joining this growing fight against hate and bigotry by pausing their advertising on Facebook's platforms until they put people and safety over profit," said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. "This is how real change is made."

ALSO READ: Facebook Employees Reportedly Feel the Company's Leadership Has Failed - Report

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Physicists obtain molecular 'fingerprints' using plasmons

Scientists from the Center for Photonics and 2D Materials of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), the University of Oviedo, Donostia International Physics Center, and CIC nanoGUNE have proposed a new way to study the properties of individual organic molecules and nanolayers of molecules. The approach, described in Nanophotonics, relies on V-shaped graphene-metal film structures.

Nondestructive analysis of molecules via infrared spectroscopy is vital in many situations in organic and inorganic chemistry: for controlling gas concentrations, detecting polymer degradation, measuring alcohol content in the blood, etc. However, this simple method is not applicable to small numbers of molecules in a nanovolume. In their recent study, researchers from Russia and Spain propose a way to address this.

A key notion underlying the new technique is that of a plasmon. Broadly defined, it refers to an electron oscillation coupled to an electromagnetic wave. Propagating together, the two can be viewed as a quasiparticle.

The study considered plasmons in a wedge-shaped structure several dozen nanometers in size. One side of the wedge is a one-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms, known as graphene. It accommodates plasmons propagating along the sheet, with oscillating charges in the form of Dirac electrons or holes. The other side of the V-shaped structure is a gold or other electrically conductive metal film that runs nearly parallel to the graphene sheet. The space in between is filled with a tapering layer of dielectric material -- for example, boron nitride -- that is 2 nanometers thick at its narrowest (fig. 1).

Such a setup enables plasmon localization, or focusing. This refers to a process that converts regular plasmons into shorter-wavelength ones, called acoustic. As a plasmon propagates along graphene, its field is forced into progressively smaller spaces in the tapering wedge. As a result, the wavelength becomes many times smaller and the field amplitude in the region between the metal and graphene gets amplified. In that manner, a regular plasmon gradually transforms into an acoustic one.

"It was previously known that polaritons and wave modes undergo such compression in tapering waveguides. We set out to examine this process specifically for graphene, but then went on to consider the possible applications of the graphene-metal system in terms of producing molecular spectra," said paper co-author Kirill Voronin from the MIPT Laboratory of Nanooptics and Plasmonics.

The team tested its idea on a molecule known as CBP, which is used in pharmaceutics and organic light emitting diodes. It is characterized by a prominent absorption peak at a wavelength of 6.9 micrometers. The study looked at the response of a layer of molecules, which was placed in the thin part of the wedge, between the metal and graphene. The molecular layer was as thin as 2 nanometers, or three orders of magnitude smaller than the wavelength of the laser exciting plasmons. Measuring such a low absorption of the molecules would be impossible using conventional spectroscopy.

In the setup proposed by the physicists, however, the field is localized in a much tighter space, enabling the team to focus on the sample so well as to register a response from several molecules or even a single large molecule such as DNA.

There are different ways to excite plasmons in graphene. The most efficient technique relies on a scattering-type scanning near-field microscope. Its needle is positioned close to graphene and irradiated with a focused light beam. Since the needle point is very small, it can excite waves with a very large wave vector -- and a small wavelength. Plasmons excited away from the tapered end of the wedge travel along graphene toward the molecules that are to be analyzed. After interacting with the molecules, the plasmons are reflected at the tapered end of the wedge and then scattered by the same needle that initially excited them, which thus doubles as a detector.

"We calculated the reflection coefficient, that is, the ratio of the reflected plasmon intensity to the intensity of the original laser radiation. The reflection coefficient clearly depends on frequency, and the maximum frequency coincides with the absorption peak of the molecules. It becomes apparent that the absorption is very weak -- about several percent -- in the case of regular graphene plasmons. When it comes to acoustic plasmons, the reflection coefficient is tens of percent lower. This means that the radiation is strongly absorbed in the small layer of molecules," adds the paper's co-author and MIPT visiting professor Alexey Nikitin, a researcher at Donostia International Physics Center, Spain.

After certain improvements to the technological processes involved, the scheme proposed by the Russian and Spanish researchers can be used as the basis for creating actual devices. According to the team, they would mainly be useful for investigating the properties of poorly studied organic compounds and for detecting known ones.

###

The MIPT Center for Photonics and 2D Materials, which incorporates the Laboratory of Nanooptics and Plasmonics, pursues global leadership in the fields of active plasmonics, 2D-material optoelectronics, and quantum optoelectronics. The center's primary objectives are developing and implementing a brand-new type of nanosized optoelectronic devices and components with a broad range of applications: electronic components, nanosensors, biosensors, nanolasers, quantum communication lines, energy efficient optical devices, etc. The center is headed by Valentyn Volkov (nano@phystech.edu).

Header Image. Plasmons on graphene. Credit: Daria Sokol/MIPT Press Office

This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 22:41:20|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government will brief students at school about the law on safeguarding national security in the HKSAR, an official said Friday.

Yeung Yun-hung, secretary for education of the HKSAR government, said the bureau will study how to let students more deeply understand the significance of the law, its key content, and the influence on young people in class after the law takes effect.

The bureau currently plans to promote the learning of the law through various subjects, the same way with that of the Constitution, the Basic Law and the National Anthem Ordinance, Yeung said.

Yeung said national security is crucial to every country in the world and is also a very important task of every government and called on Hong Kong residents to support the legislation. Enditem
US Senate Approves Sanctions Against Chinese Officials Over Hong Kong Security Law

Sputnik News

17:04 GMT 25.06.2020(updated 17:49 GMT 25.06.2020)

The Hong Kong security bill has sparked criticism from a number of countries and triggered massive protests in the autonomous city. The legislation, which bans secessionist activities, among other things, is regarded by residents of Hong Kong as undermining their liberties.

The US Senate has approved a bill that would impose sanctions on Chinese officials over the Hong Kong security law.

The bill, which would allow the US to impose sanctions against Hong Kong police, Chinese officials, and banks, still needs to be passed by the House of Representatives.

According to a draft document, the legislation is expected to maintain Hong Kong authorities' power to carry out most of the law enforcement functions and judicial proceedings on their own, while allowing the central government to intervene under certain emergency conditions.

The draft states that "almost all judicial proceedings in the relevant cases, including the initiation of criminal proceedings and investigation, prosecution and punishment should be conducted under the jurisdiction of Hong Kong with the application of the said bill and local laws".

Earlier today, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States has accepted a European Union proposal to launch a dialogue on China.

Under the Trump administration, US-China relations have considerably worsened, with Washington accusing Beijing of unfair trade practices, human rights violations in some of its regions, and encroachment of the special status of Hong Kong, prompting discussions on potential sanctions against Beijing.

China has rejected the accusations and, in turn, pointed to various violations of international law on the part of the United States.

Wide-scale protests have been taking place sporadically in Hong Kong since June 2019, with protesters claiming to oppose Beijing's increasing influence on the special administrative region. The latest wave of protests was caused triggered the Chinese central authorities' plans to pass a security bill for Hong Kong.

Mass protests in Hong Kong were sparked in June 2019 by another controversial bill, now defunct, that would have allowed the extradition of Hong Kong residents to mainland China. The protests morphed into a full-blown movement against Beijing's authority and were characterised by violent clashes with police forces.

A Sputnik

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A Dublin woman has said she is lucky to be alive after she fell into a river while walking her dog.

Ann Lam (55) suffered a terrifying fall into the River Camac in Knockmitten Park, in Clondalkin, on Tuesday morning.

With heavy rainfall during the previous few days, the water was quite deep and Ann went underwater several times as she scrambled for her pet Millie, who had run into the river - pulling in Ann in the process.

Ann became trapped under a bridge, clutching her dog and yelling for help.

"I was terrified," she told the Herald.

Shouting

"I felt like I was under the water for a lifetime, I was totally exhausted and thought I wouldn't see daylight again.

"I kept shouting for help and slipped under the water several times as I tried to hold onto the side of the wall of the bridge.

"I couldn't get out because the current swept me back and I kept going under."

Luckily for Ann, two hero gardai from Clondalkin Garda Station pulled her out of the water and a third officer helped her calm down.

"I was in a lot of shock, I couldn't hear anything," she added.

"But I was doing my best to hold onto the side of the wall and I saw a garda's head, who told me not to worry."

Two gardai, Brendan and Kieran, waded into the water and pulled her and Millie out. A third garda, Ciara, also rushed to her assistance.

"You don't realise how grateful I am - they're three heroes," said Ann.

"I was really relieved and I just wanted to go home.

"The ambulance crew then arrived and did the vitals, and said I was fine. They even drove me back to the house."

Ann said her son Jimmy was shocked when he saw the ambulance crew dropping her off.

"He didn't know what to think, but he was happy to know I was okay," she said.

On yesterday's RTE One's Liveline, Ann spoke to Alan Fleming and his grandson Evan (4), who called the gardai after spotting her in the water.

Gone

Speaking on the show, Alan said they were walking their dog along the river, where the water had risen about two feet.

"I only saw her head and her shoulders and I saw her pulling and I thought the water must be pulling her. But then she was gone," he said.

"I barely saw somebody moving under the tunnel. I thought the best thing to do was ring the guards."

Ann thanked Alan and Evan for saving her life. "God knows what would have happened without them," she said.

"I'm very grateful and it would be great to meet up and thank them once the pandemic is over."

The gardai, as well as Alan and Evan, were rewarded certs of recognition today for their bravery.
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. won arrest warrants for the former president of a China state-owned chipmaker and two other engineers charged with stealing secrets from Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc.The effort to apprehend the three men is notable because they were charged in 2018 in the first case filed under the Trump administrations China Initiative targeting trade-secret theft, hacking and economic espionage. A federal magistrate judge in San Francisco issued the warrants Wednesday after the three men failed to show for their arraignments.

While the prosecution of Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. has hobbled Chinas aspirations of mass producing memory chips, the case has crawled along, even as the Justice Department said the China Initiative would prioritize rapid action. The arraignments of the engineers were repeatedly postponed by agreement between the U.S. and their lawyers. Suddenly on Wednesday, in a three-minute hearing, a U.S. prosecutor requested the warrants, telling the judge she knew the defendants wouldnt show up after talking to their lawyers Monday.Their clients are not here for different reasons, Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Vartain Horn told the judge, without offering details. The appropriate thing to do, and what the government requests, is a warrant for each of the individual defendants.

Fujian Jinhua has pleaded not guilty and said its eager to go to trial. Taiwan-based United Microelectronics Corp., or UMC, has also pleaded not guilty.

After the Justice Department billed the matter as a banner prosecution under a special initiative, there may be political pressure to do something about this case and chalk up a win, said Calvin Lee, a white-collar criminal defense lawyer.Beyond appearances, the U.S. also has a responsibility to pursue the accused engineers, said Preston L. Pugh, a former prosecutor who works with Lee.Even if theres no way for prosecutors to realistically get the men into a U.S. court, they cant lay down and not do anything about it, he said. The Justice Department may be also be asking Taiwan to extradite the men in return for the U.S. doing if not the same, some other gesture, Pugh said.This is not an off-the-shelf agreement, and not one that happens often but it has happened, he added.

Story continues

The warrants were issued for former Fujian Jinhua president Chen Zhengkun, or Stephen Chen; He Jianting, or J.T. Ho; and Wang Yungming, or Kenny Wang. All three are Taiwanese nationals, and legal experts have said theres little motivation for them to appear in a U.S. court. Neither China nor Taiwan has an extradition treaty with the U.S.

Read More: Engineers Found Guilty of Stealing Micron Secrets for China

Ho and Wang, who previously worked for Micron before moving to UMC, and a third UMC staffer were found guilty by a Taiwanese court two weeks ago of theft or assisting in the alleged theft of Microns secrets. The three men were sentenced to jail for periods ranging from 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 years and fined between NT$4 million and NT$6 million. The court also fined UMC NT$100 million ($3.4 million).UMC declined to comment. Fujian Jinhua spokesman Chad Kolton had no immediate comment.Mary McNamara, a lawyer for Chen, didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. Vanessa Chuang, who represents Wang in Taiwan, declined to comment as she said she doesnt represent Wang in the U.S. Of the three, only Ho is still working for UMC. A call to the law firm that was listed two years ago in the indictment as representing Ho wasnt answered.In October 2018, a few days before the China Initiative was announced, the Commerce Department blocked sales of U.S. chip-making gear to Jinhua, grinding to a halt the companys plans to produce semiconductors. China, by far the largest market for dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, has made its production a national priority so it can end its reliance on hundreds of billions of dollars of annual imports.From the criminal case, prosecutors stand to win an order requiring Jinhua and UMC to forfeit chips and income derived from technology allegedly stolen from Micron, as well as a ban on using Microns secrets for as long as five years.

The case is U.S. v. United Microelectronics Corp., 18-cr-00465, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

(Updates with comments by legal experts starting in sixth paragraph)

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Senior Congress leader Prithviraj



Chavan on Friday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that his remark that 'nobody intruded into the Indian territory' has made him popular in China.

Addressing a press conference, the former Maharashtra chief minister alleged that Modi's 'no intrusion' remark, however, demoralised India's armed forces.

Twenty Indian soldiers died after a fierce clash with the Chinese army personnel at Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh earlier this month.

During an all-party meeting held last week, the PM had said that neither is anyone inside our territory nor has any Indian post been captured.

Referring to Modi's comment, Chavan said, "China praised the Indian PM for his statement and he has become popular in that country."



"We are concerned over the Chinese intrusion in Galwan valley and are proud of our jawans stationed at the borders. Protecting the borders and preventing intrusion is the main responsibility of the government. Congress has been raising this issue but the government had neglected it," he said.

Chavan alleged that there were divergent views on the Galwan valley incident even within the government.

"The foreign minister admitted the presence of Chinese soldiers and construction activities along the Indian side of the Line of Actual control (LAC). But, at the all party meeting, Modi said that there was no intrusion," he said.

Chavan said that former PM Manmohan Singh advised Modi that nothing should be said that would give strength to China.

"He made it clear that it was the duty of the opposition to question the government when the country is facing a crisis and the government should respond adequately," Chavan said.

The Congress leader claimed that as per the satellite images, Chinese soldiers were constructing tents within the Indian territory.

"Army vehicles and bulldozers are visible in the satellite images. There are 10,000 Chinese soldiers in the Galwan valley. We want to know how many times China intruded in Galwan valley and why did Modi say that there was no intrusion. Has Indias power to negotiate diminished due to these comments?" he asked.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The voters registration exercise billed to start from Tuesday, June 30, will happen as planned, the Electoral Commission has announced.



A Press Statement issued by the Election Management Body(EMB) asked stakeholders to be on standby for the exercise.



The Commission entreats all stakeholders to hold themselves in readiness for the Voters Registration Exercise, a statement signed by Mrs. Sylvia Annoh, Ag Director of Public Affairs, said.



The registration exercise will end on August 6, 2020.



The latest notice comes on the heels of the Supreme Courts clearance on Thursday for the EMB to proceed with the exercise in accordance with CI 126.



The parties involved in the suit were sharply divided over the Courts direction.



The Court upon dismissing some of the reliefs sought by the NDC and Mark Takyi-Banson directed the EC to go ahead with the voter registration exercise as scheduled.



The Court also said the registration should be conducted in line with the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations 2012, C.I. 91 as amended as the newly passed Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2020 C.I. 126.



This left the parties involved divided over whether the Court upheld the use of the existing voter ID card as proof of identity for the purposes of registration or not.



Meanwhile, NDC general secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia has told the media the outcome is a vindication of their position.



So we will get back to the office and we will address a full-blown press conference on the consequential matters arising. We feel vindicated because the court itself in an earlier ruling has clearly stated that the possession of an existing voters ID means that the holder is a citizen of Ghana who is qualified to be registered and to exercise his or her powers and so the court couldnt go back on its own earlier ruling, he said.



The opposition NDC argued that a new voters register will deprive many Ghanaians the right to vote in the polls if the existing voters ID card is rejected a claim the EC disagrees with.



The party had argued in its suit that the EC lacked the power to go ahead with its plans because it can only compile a register of voters only once, and thereafter revise it periodically, as may be determined by law.







Source: kasapafmonline.com









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A New York court on Thursday rejected an effort by President Donald Trump's family to block publication of a book by the president's niece, Mary L. Trump, who is said to describe the "nightmare of traumas" that led to her uncle being the "world's most dangerous man."

However, the effort to block the book is set to continue in a different court.

Judge Peter J. Kelly of Queens County Surrogate's Court dismissed the effort by President Trump's brother, Robert, to block publication on grounds that it was filed in an improper jurisdiction and that the probate dispute had long been settled.

Mary Trump's lawyer, Theodore Boutrous Jr., said in a statement that the court "has promptly and correctly held that it lacks jurisdiction to grant the Trump family's baseless request to suppress a book of utmost public importance."

Boutrous said he hoped that ends the matter. "Democracy thrives on the free exchange of ideas, and neither this court nor any other has authority to violate the Constitution by imposing a prior restraint on core political speech."

But Robert Trump's attorney, Charles J. Harder, said he would refile the petition to the state Supreme Court. In the petition, Robert Trump said that Mary had agreed not to publish anything about those involved in the case after agreeing to an unspecified payout in a family inheritance case.

"Robert Trump, Mary Trump and the other family members who settled in 2001, agreed to jurisdiction of future disputes in the Surrogate's Court of Queens County, New York," Harder said. "This matter therefore was filed in that court. Today, the Surrogate's Court ruled that it does not have jurisdiction over the dispute. Therefore, Robert Trump will proceed with filing a new lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court."

Mary Trump, 55, is a psychologist. Her book is titled, "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man."

Presales of the book, slated for publication on July 28, have soared to the top of bestseller lists on the basis of a description from publisher Simon & Schuster that it will reveal decades of family secrets, including a "nightmare of traumas" that explain the psychology of the man who is now president.

President Trump and his allies have made or threatened numerous efforts to block books by journalists and former staffers, and his administration most recently failed to stop publication of former national security adviser John Bolton's highly critical memoir, "The Room Where It Happened," published Tuesday by Simon & Schuster.

But an effort to stop publication by a member of his family is unprecedented and is bound to bring even more attention to it. In the case of the Bolton book, the contents had already been leaked and volumes printed by the time Trump tried to stop it. In the case of Mary Trump's book, its contents remain closely guarded by the publisher.
Clemson announces deans list

CLEMSON, S.C.  Clemson University has announced the deans list for the spring 2020 semester. To be named to the deans list, a student achieved a grade point average between 3.50 and 3.99 on a 4.0 scale.

Local students include:

Brian Coffey of Adirondack, wildlife and fisheries biology; and

Tricia Jordan of Greenwich, food science and human nutrition.

Jordan of Greenwich makes presidents list at Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C.  Eliza Jordan of Greenwich has been named to the Clemson University presidents list for the spring 2020 semester. To be named to the presidents list, a student must achieve a 4.0 grade point average.

Carpenter makes deans list

NOTRE DAME, Ind.  Cole Carpenter of Queensbury has been named to the deans list at the University of Notre Dames College of Science for outstanding scholarship during the spring 2020 semester.

Students who achieve deans honors at Notre Dame represent the top 30 percent of students in their college.

Ripley graduates as summa cum laude

BOSTON  Katelyn Ripley of Queensbury graduated summa cum laude from Northeastern University May 1 with a B.S. in chemical engineering and a M.S. in engineering management.

Ripley received the Compass Award recognizing her dedication to a core set of values: leadership, volunteerism academic integrity, and commitment to Northeastern.

At Northeastern, Ripley was a member of the Omega Chi Epsilon and Tau Beta Pi engineering honor societies. In the fall, she will be pursuing her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at MIT with a Presidential Fellowship.

Knapp earns osteopathic medical degree

LEWISBURG, W. Va.  Blayne Knapp of Glens Falls graduated from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine with a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree May 30.

While at WVSOM, Dr. Knapp received a Mountain State Osteopathic Postdoctoral Training Institutions Rural Scholars Program Scholarship; a Child Family Health International AMSA Global Health Scholarship; a Glens Falls Foundation and Gilberto and Lennetta Pesquera Medical School Academic Scholarship; and a Saratoga Hospital Foundation Academic Scholarship.

Knapp earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont, in 2010. She is a 2006 graduate of Glens Falls High School. Knapp is the daughter of George and Ellen Knapp of Glens Falls.

She plans to enter an internal medicine residency at Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo, Colorado.

Local residents named to RIT deans list

ROCHESTER  Local residents made the deans list at Rochester Institute of Technology for the 2020 spring semester. Degree-seeking undergraduate students are eligible for deans list if their term grade point average is greater than or equal to 3.400; they do not have any grades of Incomplete, D or F; and they have registered for, and completed, at least 12 credit hours.

Local students include:

Ian Quillinan of Lake George, graphic design;

Shelby Doheny of Fort Edward, industrial design program;

Alex Silver of Gansevoort, mechanical engineering technology;

TJ Dardis of Gansevoort, computer engineering technology;

Samantha Sandwick of Corinth, applied mathematics;

Daniel Sause of Lake George, computing and information technologies;

Nick Larrabee of Gansevoort, mechanical engineering;

Mikayla Bader of Gansevoort, illustration;

Thomas Fuller of North Creek, software engineering;

Ben McAlonie of Shushan, mechanical engineering;

Em Carter of Hadley, ASL-English interpretation;

Ashley Tucker of Fort Edward, biomedical sciences;

Jenna Albrecht of Queensbury, environmental sustainability, health and safety;

Cole Boggan of Cambridge, game design and development;

Tom Sperry of Fort Edward, chemical engineering;

Ben Sperry of Fort Edward, chemical engineering;

Jamison Friauf of Gansevoort, management information systems;

Amanda Davis of Greenfield Center, electrical engineering;

Jeff Bingham of South Glens Falls, mechanical engineering;

Will Byron of Greenwich, biomedical engineering;

Renee Banagan of Gansevoort, mechanical engineering;

Allison Buser of Gansevoort, biomedical engineering;

Haley Wiskoski of Whitehall, imaging science;

Xavier Dufour of Hartford, mechanical engineering technology;

Ben Middleton of Queensbury, new media design;

Dan Shaw of Gansevoort, industrial engineering;

Reice Hayes of Lake Luzerne, game design and development;

Dave Sanders of Queensbury, electrical engineering technology;

Andrew Doten of Gansevoort, electrical engineering;

Elizabeth Ahrens of Fort Edward, chemical engineering;

Jake Rafferty of South Glens Falls, electrical engineering;

Tristan Turner of Schuylerville, biomedical sciences;

Katie LeGere of Queensbury, photographic and imaging arts;

Connor Kirkpatrick of Queensbury, physics program;

Kevin Claps of Schuylerville, chemical engineering; and

Justin Ross of Gansevoort, mechanical engineering.

Holser of Queensbury named to deans list

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. Rachael Holser of Queensbury has been named to the Springfield College deans list for the 2020 spring semester. Holser is a psychology major.

University of New Hampshire honors scholars

DURHAM, N.H.  Students have been named to the deans list at the University of New Hampshire for the spring 2020 semester. Students named to the deans list have earned recognition through their superior scholastic performance during a semester enrolled in a full-time course load (12 or more graded credits).

Highest honors are awarded to students who earn a semester grade point average of 3.85 or better out of a possible 4.0. Students with a 3.65 to 3.84 average are awarded high honors and students whose grade point average is 3.5 through 3.64 are awarded honors.

Local students include:

Samuel Hawkins of Glens Falls, highest honors, business administration: finance;

Lauren Dwyre of Glens Falls, high honors, environmental engineering;

Madeline Guay of Queensbury, high honors, business administration: finance;

Rachel Spaulding of Queensbury, highest honors, business administration: management;

Annaliese Schmiel of Queensbury, honors, outdoor education;

Kathryn Rascoe of Queensbury, highest honors, business administration: marketing;

Marlies Amberger of Gansevoort, highest honors, English;

Lily Neher of Gansevoort, high honors, theater: dance;

Abigail Tetreault of Greenfield Center, highest honors, health management and policy; and

Rowan Metivier of Lake George, high honors, political science.

Students earn degrees at polytechnic college

WORCESTER, Mass.  Worcester Polytechnic Institute celebrated the Class of 2020 with a socially distanced commencement season in place of its traditional 152nd commencement exercises. Local graduates include:

Madison Cunniff of Schuylerville, Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering;

Zachary Ahrens of Fort Edward, Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering with high distinction; and

Glenn Defrees of Gansevoort, Master of Science degree in fire protection engineering.

Spinelli makes the WPI spring deans list

WORCESTER, Mass.  Kamryn Spinelli of Queensbury has been named to the deans list at Worcester Polytechnic Institute for the spring 2020 semester.

The criteria for the WPI deans list differ from most other universities as WPI does not compute a grade point average. Instead, WPI defines the deans list by the amount of work completed at the A level in courses and projects.

Spinelli is a member of the class of 2021 majoring in mathematical sciences.

Seacord named to deans list at Dean College

FRANKLIN, Mass.  Miranda Seacord of Cambridge has earned a place on the deans list for the spring 2020 semester at Dean College. Students earning a place on the deans list have demonstrated serious commitment to their studies while at Dean College.

Students make list at University of Scranton

SCRANTON, Pa.  More than 2,000 students were named to the University of Scrantons deans list for the 2020 spring semester. The deans list recognizes students for academic excellence. A student must have a grade point average of 3.5 or better with a minimum number of credit hours during the semester. Local students include:

Nicholas J. Sumner of Granville, counseling and human services major; and

Ruth C. Martin of Greenfield Center, occupational therapy major.

Cazenovia College announces deans list

CAZENOVIA  Cazenovia College recognized students for their academic achievement during the spring 2020 semester. Those named to the deans list have achieved a 3.5 or better grade point average. Local students include:

Jillian Aria of Gansevoort;

Kyle Durkee of South Glens Falls;

Madeline Godfrey of Fort Edward;

Casey Heasley of Hudson Falls;

Kaitlyn Jackson of Fort Ann;

Lauren Kelleher of Schuylerville; and

Alicen Simpson of Argyle.

Students excel at Coastal Carolina University

CONWAY, S.C.  More than 2,300 undergraduate students at Coastal Carolina University were named to the deans list for the spring 2020 semester.

Local students include:

Callie Lavit of Diamond Point, marine science; and

Owen Smith of Queensbury, biochemistry.

Students make deans list at Mount St. Marys

EMMITSBURG, Md.  Mount St. Marys University announced that 705 students earned deans list honors in spring 2020, achieving this accomplishment despite transitioning to online learning midway through the semester due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Local students include:

Peyton Howard of Argyle; and

Steven Schmitt of Schuylerville.

Brady graduates from University of Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah  Jon Brady of Fort Edward graduated from the University of Utah in the first-ever virtual commencement ceremony on April 30. Bradys major is listed as Mining Engg BMG.

On campus is compiled by Gretta Hochsprung. If youd like to let her know about an upcoming event, email ghochsprung@poststar.com or call 518-742-3206.

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She's among a host of British soap stars who have been forced to take some time away from the screen amid the global COVID-19 lockdown.

And EastEnders star Maisie Smith showed that she was making the most of her downtime on Thursday, when she shared shots of herself soaking up the sunshine.

The 18-year-old actress took to Instagram to share a trio of snaps of herself posing in a red strapless Adidas crop top, which she teamed with black denim hot pants.

Soaking up the sun: EastEnders star Maisie Smith showed that she was making the most of her downtime on Thursday, when she shared shots of herself soaking up the sunshine

Keeping the sporty theme going, she complemented her ensemble with a pair of pristine white Adidas socks, while red-and-white Nike mid-tops rounded out her look.

With her locks falling beyond her shoulders in voluminous curls, the screen star struck a series of poses for the camera as she relaxed in a large field.

Captioning the set of images, she wrote: 'My outfit has never matched so good.'

Sporty: The 18-year-old actress took to Instagram to share a trio of snaps of herself posing in a red strapless Adidas crop top, which she teamed with black denim hot pants

Last week, Maisie chose to get in on a shocking new TikTok trend, which saw her pretending to engage in a violent fight with American influencer @iheartmemphis.

The trend began when verified TikToker @iheartmemphis posted a video of himself and asked his followers to '#duetwithme,' urging them to upload a response video on the platform.

Maisie shared her 'duet' video with the social media star to her TikTok (where she has over 1.5m followers) and her Instagram (where she has over 600k followers).

In the clip of herself acting while the song 'Hips Don't Lie' by Shakira plays, Maisie can be seen pretending to punch her fellow TikToker.

What!? The soap star also chose to get in on a shocking new TikTok trend, which saw her pretending to engage in an extremely violent fight with influencer @iheartmemphis

Bizzare! While sharing the pretty photos of herself to the grid, Maisie also uploaded a video of herself trying out a bizarre new TikTok trend to her stories

Retaliating, he mimics popping a gun and shooting her and she fakes being shot, displaying her impressive acting skills in the process.

The pair then pretend to extremely aggressively hit and punch each other back and fourth until the video cuts out.

Maisie captioned her TikTok upload of the duet: 'This better pop coz I got whiplash from dis duet with @iheartmemphis.'

MailOnline has contacted Maisie Smith's representatives and EastEnders for comment.

Aggressive! In the clip of herself acting while the song 'Hips Don't Lie' by Shakira plays, Maisie can be seen pretending to punch her fellow TikToker

Violent! Retaliating, he mimics popping a gun and shooting her and she fakes being shot, before the pair pretend to hit and punch each other back and fourth until the video cuts out

Maisie captioned her TikTok upload of the duet: 'This better pop coz I got whiplash from dis duet with @iheartmemphis.'

Maisie continued to entertain her fans with a light-hearted TikTok video uploaded last week.

The actress enlisted her mother Julia and sister Scarlett to join her to perform a perfectly choreographed routine to Don't Need Love by 220 Kid & Gracey.

Maisie paraded her pins in fluorescent pink velour shorts and matching tracksuit top that slipped playfully off her shoulder.

Her lookalike team wore co-ordinated white and red ensembles before the trio smashed the energetic routine with their fast-paced moves.

Maisie is currently quarantined at home with her family at home since the UK went into lockdown.

Playful: Maisie continued to entertain her fans with a light-hearted TikTok video uploaded on Wednesday

Sizzling: Maisie paraded her pins in fluorescent pink velour shorts and matching tracksuit top that slipped playfully off her shoulder

The thespian, who joined EastEnders as Tiffany aged seven, recently shared a beautiful self-penned song with her social media followers.

Maisie opened up about her battle with body dysmorphia in the lyrics, admitting she remembers 'wishing she was thinner' from a young age.

She said that she has been feeling 'anxious' and 'trapped in her thoughts' while in isolation she penned the song in a bid to 'heal her mind'.

The song began: 'When I was little I would look in the mirror, holding in my stomach wishing that I was thinner.

Suggesting it is something she struggles with, Maisie added: 'Guess I had a case of body dysmorphia - and I still haven't shaken it off.'
The Senate passed a bill on Thursday that places sanctions on individuals, entities, and banks that help facilitate greater Chinese control over Hong Kong.

Senator Kevin Cramer (R., N.D.), a co-sponsor of the legislation, blocked the bills passage last week at the request of the White House. The bill was amended with minor technical changes desired by the Trump administration, a Senate aide told Politico.

They were able to reach some accommodation with the Treasury, and so the White House apparently didnt object, Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) said. It is not yet clear whether the Trump administration will implement the sanctions approved in the bill.

The passage comes after President Trump told Axios that he refrained from imposing sanctions on China over the countrys treatment of its minority Uighur population in order to complete a U.S.-China trade deal.

I made a great deal, $250 billion potentially worth of purchases, Trump said. And when youre in the middle of a negotiation and then all of a sudden you start throwing additional sanctions on  weve done a lot. I put tariffs on China, which are far worse than any sanction you can think of.

China approved a new national security law in late May that applies to Hong Kong. Similar laws in place in mainland China can serve as pretext to jail dissidents.

The new laws passage prompted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to inform Congress that the territory of Hong Kong could no longer be considered independent of China. Hong Kong had retained a degree of autonomy and relative democratic governance since 1997, when Britain relinquished control over the territory.

More from National Review
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 25, 2020 | 06:41 PM | BARDWELL





On Thursday, 32-year-old Devin Roberts contacted the Carlisle County Sheriff's Office and requested that a deputy come to his home. A deputy arrived at the home and was reportedly told by Roberts that he had taken a large water proof case that was reportedly beside a dumpster owned by the City of Bardwell.







Roberts says he took the case into his home and opened it, and reportedly became nervous because all of the items inside of the case were marked as property of the City of Bardwell.







Deputies say that a follow-up investigation revealed that the case had been stored in a city building on the property. The case and its contents were identified by a City of Bardwell representative. The case contained various tools, emergency lights, hydraulic pumps, and other items that were valued at over $5,000.00.







Roberts was lodged in the Ballard County Jail.







He is being charged with receiving stolen property under $10,000.00.

A Bardwell man is facing charges after allegedly taking city property then reporting it to the Sheriff's Office.
University College Cork will play a leading role in Ireland's participation in the World Health Organisation's trial to evaluate potential Covid-19 treatments.

Health Minister, Simon Harris, signed an agreement on behalf of the Government so Ireland can participate in WHO's Solidarity Trial.

Mr Harris said 2.4m is being provided to support hospitals to recruit patients for the trial that would start next week.

Several drugs have been included in the trial but other drugs can be assessed based on emerging evidence.

More than 5,000 patients in over 400 hospitals across 35 countries have already been recruited for the trial to date and another 100 countries are awaiting approval to be included.

By enrolling patients in many countries the trial aims to rapidly discover whether any of the drugs slow disease progression or improve survival.

Mr Harris said he is glad Ireland is playing its part in the global response to the Covid-19 crisis, in solidarity with its international partners: There is still no proven treatments for Covid-19 and it is really important that any potential treatments are prescribed within the context of clinical trials where patients provide consent and everything is controlled and monitored."

Lead investigator, Prof Joe Eustace, from UCC, said the trial might allow them to identify treatments that will reduce the severity of the infection, decrease the need for intensive care and reduce the infection's mortality rate.

The trial that will run until March 2021 is being co-ordinated by the Health Research Board. Also involved are the six main university-based clinical research facilities and centres and their affiliated hospitals.

Mr Harris said the trial is a key element in the country's preparedness for the second wave of Covid-19: Successful treatments will decrease the impact of Covid-19 on patients and Irish society, and the potential need for further lockdowns."

Participation in the Solidarity-Ireland trial, which is only open to adults, is entirely voluntary and consent-based.

The Government is delegating certain sponsor responsibilities to UCC and will provide indemnity to the college for performing these functions on its behalf.

Prof Eustace is director of the Clinical Research Facility in Cork and chairman of the senior management team of HRB-Clinical Research Coordination Ireland.

Funding for the trial will primarily support a cadre of research nurses and research assistants to optimise recruitment of patients across the country.

Prof Eustace said the global trial was launched in mid-March and Ireland expressed an interest in participating from April: We have spent the last two months getting the various regulatory and ethical approvals for conducting the trial in Ireland.

One of the reasons why the trial is so important is that other drugs can be added based on emerging evidence.

Two treatment options being trialled are Remdesivir, a broad-spectrum antiviral medication that is already being used in the US and Britain to treat seriously ill Covid-19 patients and Interferon Beta-1a, used to treat multiple sclerosis.

Prof Eustace said they want as many patients as possible to benefit from being enrolled in the trial.
The risk of dying from coronavirus after being hospitalised has plummeted since the peak of the outbreak, suggesting doctors are getting better at treating it.

Analysis by Oxford University shows that 6 per cent of people admitted to hospitals in England with the virus died at the beginning of April.

But the figures show by June 15, just 1.5 per cent of Covid-19 patients were dying of the disease - a quarter of the level at the peak of the crisis.

Oxford statisticians can't pin down exactly why survival rates have fallen so much - but they believe doctors may be becoming better at treating the virus.

In April there was no approved medicine to treat Covid-19, a disease still shrouded in mystery after jumping from animals to humans at the end of 2019.

But now the NHS now has two drugs at its disposal to treat critically-ill patients - the Ebola medicine remdesivir and anti-inflammatory steroid dexamethasone.

Dexamethasone, a 5 steroid that has existed for decades, was the first drug proven to reduce the death rate among hospitalised patients needing oxygen.

The evidence around remdesivir is more mixed but studies have shown it helps the most critically ill people who need ventilation.

There is probably also be fewer people catching the coronavirus in hospital than at the peak of the crisis, which may have contributed to the fall in death rates.

Hospital patients are inherently more likely to be already unwell or elderly and so are more likely to die if they do catch it.

Analysis by Oxford University shows that 6 per cent of people admitted to hospitals in England with the virus died at the beginning of April. But the figures show that by June 15, just 1.5 per cent of Covid-19 patients were falling victim to the disease - a quarter of the level at the peak

Of 10,387 people in hospital in England with Covid-19 on April 2, 644 died, giving a death rate of 6 per cent.

On June 15, 50 out of 3,270 hospital patients fell victim to the disease, which works out at roughly 1.5 per cent.

The researchers considered whether those being admitted to hospital were younger, and so more likely to survive.

Decline in new coronavirus cases has 'levelled off' as data shows between 1,900 and 3,200 people are still catching Covid-19 in England each day Between 1,900 and 3,200 people are catching the coronavirus every day in England  but the speed at which the outbreak is shrinking has 'levelled off', according to data. The estimate is lower than last week, when two separate projections from King's College London experts and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) ranged from between 3,200 to 3,800. King's College's COVID Symptom Tracker app predicts 1,978 people in England are getting struck down daily. The ONS, whose estimate is based on population swab testing, puts the figure at approximately 3,142. But statisticians cautioned the number of people infected with Covid-19 could have even gone up  from 33,000 people a fortnight ago to 51,000 on June 21, around 0.09 per cent of the population (one in 1,100 people). The ONS explained that the extremely small sample size  the number is based only on 14 positive tests, up from 10 last week  is likely to have swayed the estimate. Experts stopped short of saying the outbreak had rebounded and started to rise again, instead saying there was no evidence it was either growing nor shrinking. Government advisers today claimed the R rate for the UK and England remains between 0.7 and 0.9 for the third week in a row. But they admitted it could be as high as 1.0 in the North West. Number 10's scientific advisory panel SAGE today also revealed the growth rate  how the number of new daily cases is changing day-by-day  is still between minus four and minus two per cent. Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week dramatically unwound the coronavirus lockdown, bringing the country out of 'hibernation'  with a return for pubs, haircuts and weddings and family and friends getting the green light to meet up indoors for the first time in months. The Prime Minister said he wanted to 'make life easier' after an 'incredibly tough time' with bars, restaurants, cinemas and hairdressers in England able to get back up and running from July 4 - dubbed 'Super Saturday'. Advertisement

But the data showed there are actually now more deaths over the age of 60 than at the peak in early April.

Jason Oke, from the University of Oxford, was one of the statisticians behind the UK analysis.

He told The Times that he was initially uneasy about releasing the analysis, adding: 'We sat on it. We had a good discussion about it to try and work out all the different ways we could be wrong.

'Then we thought we should put it out there  it's what we've observed. The caveat is, we don't really understand why this is happening. But it's happening.'

Other hard-hit countries, including the US and Italy are seeing similar trends in their death rates.

Dr Oke admitted the newly-approved drugs may be partly behind the fall, but he said there would be other factors at play.

He warned a less optimistic explanation may be that a large number of mild to moderately ill patients were turned away from hospitals in April.

He said: 'Maybe early on the pandemic, when we thought we would be overrun, we took only the severest cases.'

If only the sickest patients - who are more likely to die from Covid - were being treated, then this could skew the death rate upwards, even if there was no difference in the actual survival rate.

The total number of people dying with Covid-19 in English hospitals each week has fallen by 4.3 per cent a day, meaning numbers have halved every 16 days.

Deaths hit their peak of 899 on April 8 but have since fallen to just 50 on the week ending June 15.

The number of people in hospital with coronavirus has also fallen from a peak of 15,702 on April 10 to 2,891 on the June 19 - meaning numbers have halved every month.

Data shows that between 1,900 and 3,200 people are catching the coronavirus every day in England  but the speed at which the outbreak is shrinking has 'levelled off', according to data.

The estimate is lower than last week, when two separate projections from King's College London experts and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) ranged from between 3,200 to 3,800.

King's College's COVID Symptom Tracker app predicts 1,978 people in England are getting struck down daily. The ONS, whose estimate is based on population swab testing, puts the figure at approximately 3,142.

But statisticians cautioned the number of people infected with Covid-19 could have even gone up  from 33,000 people a fortnight ago to 51,000 on June 21, around 0.09 per cent of the population (one in 1,100 people).

The ONS explained that the extremely small sample size  the number is based only on 14 positive tests, up from 10 last week  is likely to have swayed the estimate.

King's College London 's COVID Symptom Tracker app estimates that just 2,341 Britons are being struck down with the coronavirus every day. Last week they used this data to estimate that there were 3,612 people catching the virus every day in Britain and roughly 4,942 people the week before that. The figure was higher than 11,000 per day a month ago

Experts stopped short of saying the outbreak had rebounded and started to rise again, instead saying there was no evidence it was either growing nor shrinking.

Government advisers today claimed the R rate for the UK and England remains between 0.7 and 0.9 for the third week in a row. But they admitted it could be as high as 1.0 in the North West. Number 10's scientific advisory panel SAGE today also revealed the growth rate  how the number of new daily cases is changing day-by-day  is still between minus four and minus two per cent.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week dramatically unwound the coronavirus lockdown, bringing the country out of 'hibernation'  with a return for pubs, haircuts and weddings and family and friends getting the green light to meet up indoors for the first time in months.

The Prime Minister said he wanted to 'make life easier' after an 'incredibly tough time' with bars, restaurants, cinemas and hairdressers in England able to get back up and running from July 4 - dubbed 'Super Saturday'.
OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau says a first ministers declaration condemning racism didnt mention systemic discrimination because not all the premiers would agree.

The statement released Thursday says firmly that all 14 first ministers oppose racism and will drive the governments they lead to fight it.

Recognizing that one of the strengths of Canada is its diversity, first ministers condemn all forms of racism, discrimination, intolerance, and bigotry, it says in part.

First ministers are determined to combat it  including anti-Black, anti-Indigenous, and anti-Asian racism and hate, as well as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Hate has no place in Canada and will not be tolerated.

But the statement doesnt talk about more subtle forms of discrimination, in which members of some groups are denied opportunities because of the way systems or programs are designed, without overt expressions of bigotry.

There was not consensus on using the phrase systemic discrimination or systemic racism, Trudeau said Friday. I have been crystal clear that the federal government recognizes it in order to be able to better address it.

Trudeau wouldnt say which premiers werent on board.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday that he was.

First of all, I agree, there is systemic racism, he said in his own news conference.

I guess the biggest concern about the letter, with all the premiers, is a letter is one thing. We all acknowledge it, and I think weve all acknowledged it in our own provinces, and three to four weeks later were putting this letter out. We want action, and I know the prime minister wants action, too, but all the premiers are saying, Enough of the talking. Lets start getting action.

Talk is cheap, he said, and its time to do things about racism.

Public officials such as RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and Quebec Premier Francois Legault have said publicly that they want to root out racism but have rejected the idea that there are discriminatory features inherent to their institutions.

Lucki later reversed herself with a written statement that there is indeed systemic discrimination in the Mounties, though she has had difficulty citing examples.

The national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls offered several instances in its purview a year ago, including the forces poor data on Indigenous homicide victims, gaps in dispatching in remote areas, a lack of cultural awareness among officers assigned to Inuit communities and numerous instances of Indigenous womens reports of crimes not being taken seriously.

Legault, though he set up an anti-racism task force for Quebec earlier this month, has stuck to acknowledging that there are racists in Quebec but no deeper racist structures.

My definition of systemic racism is that theres a system in Quebec of racism and I dont think theres a system, he said at the announcement of the task force.

Trudeau said he thinks the gap in the first ministers statement indicates how much work needs to be done to fight systemic racism.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. Previous version said 14 premiers.
When 30-year-old Charvee Buch launched a business selling cleaning wipes online in February, she and her doctor husband Vishaal planned to use the proceeds to fund a free family health clinic in Los Angeles.

Then the coronavirus hit.

While starting a cleaning wipes business as the pandemic took off might seem like a goldmine, the Buchs' product is organic, biodegradable and anti-bacterial, but also non-alcoholic. That means it does not meet the CDC's criteria for sanitizing products recommended to prevent the spread of coronavirus (which the company tells customers).

Needless to say, sales for The Wellnus Company got off to a slow start. But the experience did give Buch another idea for a side hustle  one that has already earned her over $4,500 in extra income in just four months.

In March, she started offering web design services on freelancer marketplace Fiverr.

Buch, who built the site for Wellnus after teaching herself web design online, thought, "there's got to be other small businesses out there that don't have the funds to invest in a website," she tells CNBC Make It.

She was right. With so many small businesses forced to pivot to an online business model to reach customers stuck at home, Buch's web design services took off.

Her first client reached out less than two days after she started offering her services on Fiverr, and she's already designed websites for over 30 others, she says.

"I was very surprised," Buch says. "From a person who has no experience within that field, I did not expect anything."

Buch, who has a 16-month-old daughter and runs The Wellnus Company with her husband, spends about 20 hours a week on Fiverr projects. Her services start at $30 to design a logo for a business. "I do a basic landing page design for $50. And then, depending on the needs of a full website design, I start at $150," she says.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs called for an urgent meeting with the Council of Ministers and the Windward Islands Collective Labor Union (WICLU). The meeting was requested to provide clarity and answer any outstanding questions to the unions. This meeting also served to inform the Council of Ministers regarding the ongoing manifestations in order to ensure collaboration in the interest of all the people of St. Maarten.

On Thursday, June 25, 2020, the meeting was held with the Council of Minister and WICLU representatives from the WICSU/PSU, WITU, WIFOL, NAPB, and the ABVO Sint Maarten, along with Mr. Jessurun of the Anti-Poverty Platform. Prime Minister Jacobs apologized for not providing timely responses, seeing the hard work to prepare and finalize all aspects to be able to comply with the proposed measures. They also expressed solidarity with the workers who were out of work, underemployed, or only receiving a portion of their pay as a result of the Sint Maarten Stimulus and Relief Plan. The government also clarified that no salaries of civil servants would be cut and the understanding related to the vacation pay cut was indeed what had been agreed upon in previous meetings.

The WICLU was provided the opportunity to present the challenges encountered within the private sector and explained areas of concern within all sectors. They also explained the reasoning behind the manifestations as unity among members, lack of proper communication, and being against the measures which infringe on their workers rights.

The WICLU further elaborated on the content of their letter of June 19th, wherein their stance is that the cost-cutting conditions, imposed by the Kingdom Council of Ministers, to obtain the much-needed liquidity support, are in violation of human rights, and in some cases a violation of international and local labor agreements. The unions in their letter further reiterated that these cost-cutting conditions are considered an act of social and racial discrimination within the kingdom, as they are only being implemented on this side of the Atlantic. Furthermore, the union would like the Council of Ministers to publicly state their agreement with this and to follow up with further actions in the deliberations and negotiations with the Netherlands. This is because St. Maarten only agreed to the proposed conditions insofar as they were executable within the framework of our local, Kingdom, and International laws.

The Council of Ministers will continue to deliberate on the matter, considering the arguments presented and the letter sent by the WICLU, to determine what concrete actions should follow. The meeting was a fruitful one and both parties agreed to continue to dialogue in the interest of the best interest of the people of St. Maarten. The unions will also receive responses within short to all written correspondences received.
There is a heartwarming new program coming to Channel Seven, and it promises to help ordinary people strip back years of damage to their looks and self-esteem.

Fronted by the glamorous Cherry Healey, 10 Years Younger in 10 Days follows a team of cosmetic specialists, stylists and hairdressers as they offer members of the public age-defying makeovers.

A new trailer released by the network on Thursday promises it will be the most 'life-changing show' you'll see this year.

Transformations: 10 Years Younger in 10 Days, hosted by Cherry Healey (pictured), will leave viewers astounded with its amazing makeovers when it premieres on Seven on Monday

The hit program left viewers 'gobsmacked' by the guests' amazing transformations when it aired in Great Britain earlier this year.

The participants include a cancer survivor, a recovering alcoholic and a woman who 'often gets mistaken for her husband's mother'.

Featured in the promo is mother-of-two Klara, 41, who says she 'wants to get back to the person I used to be proud to be'.

Lucky ladies! 10 Years Younger in 10 Days follows a team of cosmetic specialists, stylists and hairdressers as they offer members of the public age-defying makeovers

Klara says she feels insecure about every inch of her body, and compares herself to a '200-year-old pot-bellied dwarf'.

Before the makeover, Klara used to hide her figure in baggy clothes and didn't know how to accessorise or pick out outfits by herself.

At the end of her 10-day transformation, however, Klara leaves host Cherry stunned by her makeover.

Wow! Featured in the promo is mother-of-two Klara, 41, who says she 'wants to get back to the person I used to be proud to be'. Pictured before and after her makeover

Also featured in the advert is Gail, a 50-year-old farmer and mother of two, who no longer wants to 'feel invisible in life'.

While the program does include expensive cosmetic treatments and dentistry which may not be within everyone's reach, Cherry also offers 'practical' advice on styling and makeup which viewers at home can also use to look younger.

10 Years Younger in 10 Days premieres Monday at 9pm on Channel Seven
San Francisco, June 26 : Facebook-owned Instagram has expanded its new video-music remix feature Reels, which takes inspiration from the Chinese short video making app TikTok, to France and Germany.

Instagram Reels was first launched in Brazil last year as a pilot.

According to a TechCrunch report, Instagram will now enable users to share Reels to their main Instagram feed, in addition to Stories.

Instagram Reels allows users to record short, 15-second video clips set to music or other audio and share those on the platform.

Just like TikTok, users can soundtrack their 'Reels' with a huge catalog of music, or borrow the audio from anyone else's video to create a remix of their meme or joke.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said that in India, TikTok has gone ahead of Instagram. He also mentioned that TikTok works much like Instagram's Explore feature.

Facebook's experimental app division has also introduced a new iOS app called Collab for making and mixing music with friends.

The social network also has a stand-alone app called 'Lasso'. Currently available in the US, users can record themselves dancing and lip-syncing to music, similar to what they can do on TikTok.

Google-owned YouTube is reportedly working on a TikTok rival called Shorts, to be introduced by the end of this year.
In a video message on 'Shaheedon Ko Salaam Divas', Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi on Friday said that the Chinese army has occupied Indian territory in Ladakh.

Targetting the BJP-led Central government over the border stand-off with China, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi on Friday said that the Chinese army has occupied Indian territory in Ladakh and asked how will the Modi government take back our land.

She further reiterated that the Centre cannot back away from its responsibilities. The Chinese army has occupied Indian territory in Ladakh. How will Modi government take back our land? Today, people are standing beside the army and our soldiers. The government should give full support to the army. This is true patriotism, she added.

Gandhi, in a video message on Shaheedon Ko Salaam Divas, said that the Central government should extend full support to the Indian armed forces. Today, when there is a crisis at the Indo-China border, the Central government cannot back away from its responsibilities. The Prime Minister said that there is no incursion on Indian territory. However, Defence Minister and Foreign Minister have repeatedly mentioned Chinese incursion, the Congress interim chief said.

PM says China didn't infiltrate, but on the other hand, Defence Min&External Affairs Ministry keep discussing it. Today when we're paying tribute to our martyrs, then India wants to know why & how our 20 soldiers were killed (in Galwan Valley): Congress interim pres Sonia Gandhi pic.twitter.com/oSxiB0SU1R  ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2020

Also Read: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to UP govt: I am Indira Gandhis granddaughter, not an undeclared BJP spokesperson

Also Read: After Delhi, Centre shifts attention to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana to combat high fatality rates

This comes days after 20 Indian Army personnel lost their lives in a violent face-off with the Chinese troops in Ladakhs Galwan valley. Generals of our army, defence experts, and news outlets have confirmed Chinese incursion in our territory. If what Prime Minister Modi is saying is true, how did 20 Indian Army personnel lose their lives? she asked.

The Congress leader said that the Congress and the people of India are observing Shaheedon Ko Salaam Divas to pay their respect and tribute to the martyrs.

Twenty of our soldiers were martyred while trying to prevent Chinese incursion in Ladakhs Galwan valley. The country will always be indebted to their service. We are proud of our soldiers and the army. We are safe because our army secures the country by putting their lives at stake, she said.

Also Read: JP Nadda sharpens attack on Congress over PMNRF

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 00:09:45|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Thursday launched a COVID-19 mitigation contact center to offer psychosocial support to the frontline healthcare workers.

Joe Mucheru, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Information Communication Technology (ICT), said that the center will also facilitate access to information and sharing of best practices among the practitioners.

"The government and partners have set up this COVID-19 Call Centre, a platform for frontline health workers to access information, exchange best practice, training, psycho-social support and keep track of disease incidence amongst them," Mucheru said during the launch of the call center in Nairobi.

He said the platform will also act as a one-stop shop for COVID-19 related queries from the general public.

Mucheru said that following the COVID-19 pandemic, health systems are overwhelmed, with health professionals having to deal with the double burden of managing the disease alongside stigma and fear of contracting it.

He said the government through Konza Technopolis Development Authority will provide technical support, reliable infrastructure and devices.

Mucheru said the authority will avail Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) that will be set up at the call center.

"The VDI platform will enable the integration of additional systems like video conference solutions that will support telemedicine," said Mucheru.

He said the platform can facilitate counseling services, enable healthcare workers to see the status of their colleagues, deliver faxes and voicemail to inbox, use instant messaging and videoconferencing and also provide interconnection to nurses and doctors countrywide.

Mercy Mwangangi, chief administrative secretary in the Ministry of Health, said the government is keen on harnessing digital platforms to boost response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The ministry of health has adopted the use of mobile and web-based applications for data collection and reporting to monitor and respond to COVID-19 pandemic," said Mwangangi.

The east African nation has so far confirmed 5,384 COVID-19 cases, with 132 deaths as of Thursday, according to the health ministry. Enditem
An outside view of Bascom Hall on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. (Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)

Student Activists Want Abraham Lincoln Statue Removed From University Campus

Student activists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are calling for administrators to remove and replace a statue of Abraham Lincoln, which has been sitting on the universitys campus since 1909.

An online petition calling for the century-old statues removal has been circulating among UW-Madison community members over the past weeks. The statue, according to the universitys alumni association, is a replica of one erected in Lincolns birthplace in Kentucky. Richard Lloyd Jones, an alumni, worked with prominent UW donor Thomas E. Brittingham to purchase the statue and donated it to the university.

The petition took a particular issue with the two people, claiming that Jones was an ultra-racist responsible for a news article that led to the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, which killed 12 people and injured 800. Brittingham, as the petition pointed out, is a known member of the Ku Klux Klan.

When it comes to Abraham Lincoln, however, the student who created the petition ignored the 16th presidents many legacies, saying dismissively that he has a questionable history with race relations.

This statue has nothing to do with the creation and continuation of education on UW-Madisons campus and was merely a gift of political capital, it states. We ask that the university consider removing the statue from Bascom and direct funding towards a new installation acknowledging the past, present and future of UW-Madison.

The petition comes as activists in Wisconsin start eyeing not only monuments of the Confederacy, but also statues commemorating those who fought to preserve and fulfill the founding principles of the United States, such the abolitionists. According to the Madison Police Department, protesters removed the Hans Christian Heg statue from Capitol grounds during Tuesday nights protests.

Hans Christian Heg was a Norwegian immigrant and abolitionist. During the Civil War, Heg formed and led the 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment, a unit mostly consisted of Scandinavian immigrants, and died in a battle. Protesters torn down the Heg statue, which had been standing in front of the Capitol since 1925, ripped one of its leg off, and threw it into Madisons Lake Monona.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a Wednesday press release that the Heg statue has since been recovered.

A protester told the Wisconsin State Journal that the Heg statue was removed because it created a false representation of what this city is and the state government is not taking that same stand with the Black Lives Matter movement.
The next meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) (Ukraine, Russia, OSCE) to resolve the situation in Donbas is scheduled for July 8.

"The next round of consultations within the framework of the TCG is scheduled for July 8. Summing up the discussion, the OSCE moderator, Ambassador Heidi Grau, positively assessed the intensification of the work of the Ukrainian side, noting that this made the work constructive for all TCG groups," the Office of the President said according to the results of the next meeting of the TCG, which was held in the form of a video conference with the participation of representatives of the ORDLO of Ukraine as part of the Ukrainian delegation.
Brendan Murphy never imagined when he became Australia's Chief Medical Officer four years ago he would become so recognisable he would resort to wearing dark glasses and a baseball cap to remain anonymous on a Saturday walk around Lake Burley Griffin with his wife.

Strangers who came up to him were "generally pretty good" at keeping a COVID-safe distance of 1.5 metres, Professor Murphy said in an interview to mark his final week in the role.

Brendan Murphy is wrapping up his final week as Australia's Chief Medical Officer. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"They just come up and sort of say 'hi'. They're mostly very positive, very friendly," he said.

"When I got my hair cut in Canberra a few weeks ago, the little daughter of the owner of the shop came up to me, about five, and she said: 'How did you get out of the TV?'"
Bengaluru, June 26 : Asserting that reviving the economy was equally important, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Friday said there will be no fresh lockdown in Bengaluru despite the rise in coronavirus cases in the city.

"There will be no fresh lockdown in Bengaluru where all efforts were underway to control the spread of coronavirus as reviving the state's economy was equally important,'' Yediyurappa said at a meeting of city legislators and Members of Parliament on measures to contain the pandemic.

Ruling out re-imposing a lockdown across the city for any reason, the chief minister said areas where more positive cases were reported have been declared as containment areas and sealed to prevent the virus spread.

The chief minister's reiteration comes a day after state Revenue Minister R. Ashoka ruled out enforcing a lockdown in Bengaluru again, which began Unlocked 1.0 on June 1.

"No lockdown again in Bengaluru. Only containment zones in the city where large number of Covid-19 cases are reported will be sealed," Ashoka told reporters after a cabinet meeting on the growing number of infections in the city.

Of the 442 new cases reported from across the southern state on Thursday, Bengaluru accounted for 113, taking its tally of positive cases to 1,791. With 505 people discharged so far, including 30 on Thursday, active cases are 1,207.

Of the 170 Covid deaths in the state, Bengaluru accounted for 78.

Sharing the Covid data with the ruling and opposition lawmakers from the city, the chief minister said a nodal officer would be appointed in each Assembly segment for monitoring the cases and taking steps to contain them.

Apprising the legislators about the measures taken to contain the virus spread in the city, the chief minister said 50 per cent of beds in private hospitals across the city have been reserved for Covid cases in addition to the state-run hospitals.

Assuring their support to the state government in its fight against the deadly infection, opposition lawmakers said there were complaints of delay in serving food to the Covid patients under institutional quarantine and shortage of personal protection equipment for healthcare warriors in state-run hospitals.

"Swab testing facility will be set in all 28 assembly segments across the city and separate ambulance facility to transport bodies of Covid patients will be provided,'' assured Yediyurappa to the legislators.

The all-party meeting also suggested to the state government to take over huge marriage halls around the city's outskirts to quarantine asymptomatic patients.

The chief minister asked the MLAs to visit the state-run hospitals and report to him on the situation in them for improving the facilities.

As state Medical Education Minster K. Sudhakar is attending to his father, wife and daughter who tested positive last week, the chief minister has entrusted the charge of supervising the Covid management in the city to Ashoka, who is an MLA from the city.

Of the 28 assembly seats across Bengaluru, 14 belong to the ruling BJP, 12 to the opposition Congress, 1 to the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and 1 is vacant as a by-election has not been held due to a court case over its verdict in the May 2018 assembly elections in the southern state.
In a relief to TV news anchor Amish Devgan, the Supreme Court Friday protected him from any coercive action in pending and future first information reports which may be lodged over his alleged defamatory comment against Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in a show telecast on June 15.

Presently, five FIRs have been lodged against Devgan in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Telangana for using the term 'Lootera Chisti' for the Sufi saint in the news debate show called 'Aar Paar' on his channel.

However, he later tweeted an apology saying that he was actually referring to Muslim ruler Alauddin Khilji and inadvertently ended up naming Chisti.

A bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari took note of the submissions of senior lawyer Siddharth Luthra and advocate Mrinal Bharti and also stayed the pending or future probes in the case against the journalist by police agencies till July 8, the next date of hearing.

'As regards the interim relief, till the next date of hearing, we deem it appropriate to pass ad interim relief in terms of prayer clause (A) and (B) (which seek stay of investigation in pending and future FIRs and the protection from possible coercive action),' the top court said in the order.

Issuing notices to Maharashtra, Telangana and Rajasthan, the bench asked the lawyers for the journalist to make the complainants, who have lodged FIRs, as parties to his petition and sought their responses as well by July 8.

The top court also granted liberty to one of the complainants, represented through lawyer Rizwan Merchant, to file the 'link of original broadcast within one week from today'.

Two FIRs for the alleged offence have been registered at Ajmer and Kota in Rajasthan and one has been lodged at Bahadurpura in Hyderabad, the plea said, adding that two such FIRs have been lodged at Nanded and Pydhonie in Maharashtra.

During the brief hearing via video-conferencing, Luthra said the journalist has already issued a clarification through a tweet and moreover, errors cannot be construed as criminal offences.

The petition, filed through lawyer Mrinal Bharti, said that the plea concerned the life and liberty of the journalist.

'In a well-orchestrated manner -- the Petitioner has been made a victim of country wide filing of false and baseless Criminal Complaint and FIRs on one hand and on the other hand Petitioner, his family and his crew has been abused unabashedly on the social media and by personal messages by unknown persons. The Petitioner has also received several death threats from various anti-social elements,' the plea said.

It said that Devgan was holding a discussion on a petition filed before the top court on his show on June 15 on the issue of the Places of Worship Special Provisions Act.

'During the course of the live heated discussion one of the panelists quoted 'Chisti' (Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti) and inadvertently, Petitioner (Devgan) who wanted to refer to the historical figure 'Khilji' (Alauddin Khilji) as a marauder, mentioned the name 'Chisti',' the plea said.

'That immediately on realising his inadvertent slip of tongue during heated debate in his news debate show, petitioner tendered a clarification and clarified that the name 'Chisti' was mentioned by error and inadvertently,' it said.

Devgan tweeted the clarification on his personal twitter account on the intervening night of June 16-17 and moreover, the channel carried video clarification featuring the journalist, the plea said.

One of the FIRs was lodged at Pydhonie police station in Mumbai against Devgan for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by referring to saint Chisti in derogatory terms in the TV programme on the complaint of Arif Razvi, general secretary of Raza Academy.
The latest analyst coverage could presage a bad day for John Menzies plc (LON:MNZS), with the covering analyst making across-the-board cuts to their statutory estimates that might leave shareholders a little shell-shocked. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts went under the knife, suggesting the analyst has soured majorly on the business.

Following the latest downgrade, the current consensus, from the solitary analyst covering John Menzies, is for revenues of UK636m in 2020, which would reflect a concerning 52% reduction in John Menzies' sales over the past 12 months. After this downgrade, the company is anticipated to report a loss of UK0.21 in 2020, a sharp decline from a profit over the last year. Before this latest update, the analyst had been forecasting revenues of UK1.4b and earnings per share (EPS) of UK0.27 in 2020. So we can see that the consensus has become notably more bearish on John Menzies' outlook with these numbers, making a sizeable cut to this year's revenue estimates. Furthermore, they expect the business to be loss-making this year, compared to their previous forecasts of a profit.

View our latest analysis for John Menzies

LSE:MNZS Earnings and Revenue Growth June 26th 2020

The consensus price target fell 61% to UK2.10, implicitly signalling that lower earnings per share are a leading indicator for John Menzies' valuation.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. Over the past five years, revenues have declined around 11% annually. Worse, forecasts are essentially predicting the decline to accelerate, with the estimate for a 52% decline in revenue next year. Compare this against analyst estimates for companies in the wider industry, which suggest that revenues (in aggregate) are expected to grow 0.8% next year. So it's pretty clear that, while it does have declining revenues, the analyst also expect John Menzies to suffer worse than the wider industry.

Story continues

The Bottom Line

The biggest low-light for us was that the forecasts for John Menzies dropped from profits to a loss this year. Unfortunately the analyst also downgraded their revenue estimates, and industry data suggests that John Menzies' revenues are expected to grow slower than the wider market. After such a stark change in sentiment from the analyst, we'd understand if readers now felt a bit wary of John Menzies.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At least one analyst has provided forecasts out to 2023, which can be seen for free on our platform here.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are downgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
Rouhani Says Iran Building Pipeline To Circumvent Hormuz

Radio Farda June 25, 2020

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Thursday, June 25, the 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) Goureh-Jask oil pipeline would enable the Islamic Republic to export its oil without relying on the Strait of Hormuz.

Describing the project as "strategic", the mid-ranking cleric said 404 kilometers of the pipeline has been laid so far.

"What is strategic about this project is that many countries in the region have managed to find a second way to export their oil using other routes whenever the Strait of Hormuz faces danger," Rouhani said while inaugurating the project.

"This move will assure our oil buyers that Iran will continue exporting crude even if the international maritime passage was to be closed one day," Rouhani announced.

The comments were expressed at a time that, under U.S. sanctions, Iran's oil exports have dropped from two million to around 200,000 barrels per day.

In recent years, Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, where about twenty percent of the world's oil shipments pass through.

In the light of the strategic value of the straits, it is not clear if Iran's move to build a pipeline is a defensive or an offensive move. If Iran one day can pump its oil to the sea of Oman, it can afford to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Following Iran's threats and the possibility of a regional war, some of Iran's southern neighbors, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, completed pipeline projects to export their crude through routes other than the Strait of Hormuz.

In the meantime, Iran, for its part, exports all its oil products solely through the Strait of Hormuz.

Referring to Iran's southern neighbors, and their projects to skirt the Strait of Hormuz, Rouhani noted that the only country "left in the middle" was the Islamic Republic.

"If the Strait of Hormuz closed for any reason, Iran would be the only country in the region that its oil exports would be completely stopped," Rouhani said.

Rouhani went further by describing the project as unique, "This pipeline through which we will be transporting our oil to Jask and the Sea of Oman is a great, huge and unique work in the history of Iran."

The project's start was announced six years ago and less than half the pipeline network has been complete according to Rouhani. However, experts told Radio Farda that sending oil through the pipeline needs large investments for powerful pumping stations; a task Iran cannot easily complete facing severe technology and banking sanctions.

Despite repeatedly threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, Rouhani last year insisted that Tehran would guarantee to keep it open.

In the meantime, he dismissed calls for closing the waterway as a dangerous "slogan", asserting that blocking the Strait of Hormuz could backfire and create enormous problems for Iran.

The new terminal is close to the port of Chabahar on the Sea of Oman, which Iran is developing in cooperation with other countries, most notably India.

Iranian Oil Minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, said Thursday night that the pipeline alone would cost $ 1.1 billion, of which $300 million has been invested so far.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/rouhani -says-iran-building-pipeline-to- circumvent-hormuz/30690700.html

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

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(Alliance News) - Investec PLC and Investec Ltd on Friday said former chief executive officer Ian Kantor will step down from the board in August.

Kantor, who co-founded the financial services firm, serves as a non-executive director. He will not stand for re-election at the company's annual general meeting on August 6.

Investec said: "The board is grateful to Ian for his exemplary service, commitment and contribution to the group. Having been with Investec as a director for over 45 years, Ian's entrepreneurial spirit, passion and tenacity have been an instrumental driving factor in growing the group."

Investec was trading 3.6% lower at 158.05 pence each in London on Friday afternoon. In Johannesburg it was 4.1% lower at ZAR33.77.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
OTTAWA - Justin Trudeau defended Friday employing WE Charity to administer a $900-million federal student aid program, despite the group's ties to the prime minister and his wife.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a news conference at Big Rig Brewery amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa on Friday, June 26, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - Justin Trudeau defended Friday employing WE Charity to administer a $900-million federal student aid program, despite the group's ties to the prime minister and his wife.

Trudeau said the decision to use WE was made by the non-partisan public service, not by him.

WE will administer the Canada Student Service Grant that provides eligible students with up to $5,000 for volunteer work with non-profit organizations helping to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government said Friday it has allocated $19.5 million to cover administrative costs. Of that amount, $5 million is for non-profits to provide volunteer jobs for students, including $300,000 for accessibility supports.

The program is supposed to place up to 20,000 students in volunteer positions between now and October, and will only count hours accumulated during that time, leaving out anything done since the pandemic started. The grants will range from $1,000 to $5,000, depending on the amount of time spent on volunteer work.

The decision to go with WE raised conflict-of-interest concerns for Trudeau and some negative reactions on Twitter from some corners of the charities sector.

Trudeau said delivery of the grant program demanded an organization able to reach the tens of thousands of students the government hopes to help with the program.

"As the public service dug into it, they came back with only one organization that was capable of networking and organizing and delivering this program on the scale that we needed it, and that was the WE program," he said at press conference in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata.

Speaking to The Canadian Press on Thursday, Youth Minister Bardish Chagger said it's not unusual for the government to outsource such work, noting the United Way is tasked with dispersing emergency COVID-19 grants to non-profits and charities.

"WE Charity demonstrated to have the capacity to deliver this program and that's why it was recommended by the department," Chagger said.

WE directed questions to the government.

The department that signed the deal, Employment an Social Development Canada, said the government has set the "high-level funding parameters" for the program, "including the objectives, desired outcomes, eligible expenditures, and performance measurement." But it said WE is "not acting on the government's behalf," nor will Ottawa "direct or dictate" how WE carries out their project.

New Democrat Charlie Angus called the decision "highly dubious" because Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau have appeared at events run by the WE organization, and Gregoire Trudeau hosts one of their podcasts.

"The COVID crisis shouldn't be used to privatize public jobs to groups who hang with the Trudeaus," he tweeted.

Trudeau said there's no conflict of interest, since the WE organization, founded by brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger, isn't making a profit on the work and neither he nor his wife is paid for anything they do with the group.

The grant program is part of a $9-billion student-support package aimed to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic on young people that also includes money for thousands more summer-job placements and internships.

Direct federal spending on emergency aid measures now stands at $174 billion, the government announced Friday, driven by a jump in the estimated cost of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit to $80 billion  up from the previously revised $60 billion and more than double the original $35-billion estimate, as demand rises and recipients get ready to receive eight extra weeks of payments.

Statistics Canada's latest jobs report showed that returning post-secondary students, aged 20 to 24, had a record-high unemployment rate in May of 42.1 per cent, and about one-third had seen summer placements disappear because of COVID-19.

Data released Friday by the agency also found that youths in the so-called internet generation were the most likely to formally volunteer. They contributed on average 82 unpaid hours to charities in 2018 and had a volunteer rate of 52 per cent.

As the government designed the grant program, volunteer and charitable groups urged it to not link the number of volunteer hours to the amount paid out.

The Liberals were also told they needed to temper public expectations about opportunities that aren't as available as they were pre-pandemic, and not to create a new online platform for volunteer opportunities since one already existed.

"Whoever came up with this idea, I'm going to guess that it was good intentions. In other words, this sounded like a win-win," said Paula Speevak, Volunteer Canada's chief executive.

Ian Bingeman, executive director of Youth Ottawa, said the design of the program could narrow who is able to volunteer the maximum time to get the maximum payment to those who are already relatively financially well-off.

"I just can't square it," he said.

The money, he added, would be better spent on those "who do need more opportunities, but by the same token have way better experiences and perspectives on problems that community organizations are setting out to solve."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2020.

 with files from Joan Bryden
The Oklahoma zoo previously owned by Joe Exotic and featured on Netflix's Tiger King is being investigated by wildlife authorities after PETA launched new animal mistreatment allegations this week.

The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Garvin County, Oklahoma, is being investigated by federal, state, and local authorities after disturbing photos shared by PETA suggested negligence.

Three juvenile lions were photographed inside a cage with various wounds and lesions on their bodies.

One lion had bloody, open wounds on both ears and another had open lesions on its right forelimb.

**WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT**

Photos shared by PETA on Thursday shows one juvenile lion with open wounds on his ears (left) and another with a lesion on its forelimb (right)

A third juvenile lion was reportedly suffering from 'flystrike,' according to a press release from PETA

A third lion had its ears covered in 'flystrike,' which is a painful, sometimes fatal condition that affects animals when flies bite an animal and lay eggs.

The eggs will hatch into maggots that will essentially eat their skin away. It usually occurs in unsanitary places.

Footage from PETA showed the lion suffering from flystrike resting inside a cage as the small insects swarmed.

If not given proper care immediately, veterinarians who observed the photos said the lion risks losing its ears.

The evidence was provided to PETA by a concerned whistleblower, according to a press release from the animal rights organization.

THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT

The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (pictured) was where Exotic held many of his tigers and lions and exotic animals

The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (pictured) rose to fame on the Netflix series Tiger King: : Murder, Mayhem and Madness

Jeff Lowe, who briefly took over the zoo after Exotic was jailed this year, told TMZ that PETA's allegations are unfounded and that the animals are being treated.

He said the zoo spends thousands a month on medication for its various big cats and other animals, as well as fly repellent.

Lowe claimed that flies have always been an issue for the zoo because it's near a large horse farm. He hopes to transfer the animals to a new zoo he's building in Thackerville, Oklahoma, named 'Tiger King Zoo.'

The publication added that the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation conducted an investigation and found that the animals were in 'good shape.'

Joe Exotic (pictured in his mugshot) was sentenced to 22 years in prison for wildlife violations and a botched murder-for-hire plot

PETA said it contacted the United States Department of Agriculture to investigate the alleged mistreatment, but blasted the agency for allegedly allowing animal abuse to continue at the same park for years.

'The USDAs inaction allowed Joe Exotic to abuse and neglect animals for years, and so far, its also failed to help the big cats held by Jeff Lowe,' said Brittany Peet, PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement.

'In the wake of Tiger King, the public eye is on the USDA to do its job and shut Lowe and his despicable roadside zoo down pronto.'

The Garvin County Sheriff's Office on Thursday confirmed that the USDA, as well as several other agencies, have signed on to investigate the matter.

'The Garvin County Sheriff's Office has received numerous calls regarding the Greater Wynnewood Zoo and the welfare of animals,' a statement on Facebook read.

'We have requested the USDA, US Fish and Game and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife start their own investigation.

'Based on those complaints, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife has been to the park and has conducted their own inspection. The USDA has been to the park and is currently conducting an investigation as well. Animal's that are injured are receiving veterinarian care in isolation and are being monitored by the USDA.'

The Garvin County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that the USDA and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife have conducted their own investigations into the matter

In a follow up statement, the department revealed that the USDA had removed a lion cub from the zoo on Monday and a big cat was placed in isolation for medical reasons.

'If, based off the investigations, charges need to be filed, this office, along with the USDA, will submit charges,' the department wrote.

The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park began topping headlines after it was prominently featured as part of the Netflix series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.

Joe Exotic, 57, real name Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, originally operated the Oklahoma big cat zoo for more than 20 years, but was jailed over a botched murder-for-hire plot involving his rival Carole Baskin and various wildlife violations.

Specifically, Exotic was given two counts of murder-for-hire, eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.

Joe Exotic, real name real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, (pictured) owned the zoo for more than 20 years and rose to fame on Netflix's series Tiger King

Carole Baskin (pictured), one of Exotic's rivals, recently gained ownership of his zoo after he went to prison and a judge found a previous property transfer was fraudulent

Jeff Lowe (left), pictured with his wife Lauren (right), has been running the park for the past few years

While he serves a 22-year sentence in prison, Exotic left the zoo to his former business partner, Jeff Lowe, and his wife, Lauren.

But a judge ruled that Exotic's transfer of the zoo land to them a few years ago was fraudulent.

A judge later awarded Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park to Baskin, but Lowe has 120 days to vacate the premises, including all of his exotic animals residing there.

It's a large victory for Baskin, who owns the Big Cat Rescue sanctuary, because she for years accused Exotic of animal abuse and neglect of his several big cats.

Meanwhile, Exotic was finally released from solitary confinement and moved into a medical unit in prison after he was placed in isolation amid coronavirus fears.

His representatives announced on Instagram that he is now in a room 'with a hospital bed and a window' following a months-long campaign to have him removed.

Exotic is currently serving a 22 year jail sentence after being convicted of two counts of murder-for-hire

'Two thousand of you were kind enough to take time out of your busy lives, in spite of all that is going on in the world around us today, to write and ask that he be released,' a statement posted on social media said.

'For the first time in two years he is able to simply look out of a window into the world beyond while being lifted out of hopelessness and desperation by the kindness shown from all of you.'

Exotic's release comes just days after husband, Dillon Passage, 22, said he hasn't been able to see his spouse because he has been held in solitary for four months.

Passage told Australia's The Sunday Project: 'He's still locked up in solitary confinement. He can't have face-to-face visits. We only get to chat when he's talking to his lawyers.

'[He's been in solitary confinement] four months, yeah. It's cruel and unusual punishment to the max for sure.'

He added: 'I've only been able to speak to him maybe six times since the show. It's pretty ridiculous.'

Earlier this month DailyMailTV also obtained a letter penned by Joe that detailed his torment in isolation behind bars.

The Netflix star's reps announced the news on Instagram on Tuesday saying he is now in a room 'with a hospital bed and a window' following a months-long campaign to have him removed

Exotic wrote to pen pal and fan Kathleen Lafferty describing how his soul 'dies a little each day' and how his 'heart will stop like an animal' while he's locked up.

In a second note titled 'Media Statement', Joe begs Lafferty to be his voice to the public: 'No email, 4 calls per month, no commissary like others get, unable to buy shampoo-conditioner or basic health care needs,' he wrote.

He goes on to ask President Trump and his son Don Jr. to pardon him and 'make the world smile during this pandemic.'

Joe's lawyer, Francisco Hernandez, corroborated the claims the Tiger King star made in his letter to Lafferty.

'He is in the Special Handling Unit for unexplained reasons,' explained Hernandez, 55, a Criminal Law Specialist based in Texas.

'The worst part about it is they're denying him visits with his lawyers. You have a [constitutional] right to counsel.'

'All his mail is being held up to a month and they're screening mail from his attorneys.

'It's unprecedented. Why would they have you in solitary confinement if you haven't done anything wrong?
After being missing for four days, two Pakistani reporters reappeared on June 20 with their bodies covered in injuries. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges authorities to conduct an independent investigation into the torture of the two journalists.

Afghan nationals wait to cross the Pakistan and Afghanistan border during the Covid-19 lockdown on April 6, 2020 in Chaman, Pakistan. Credit: ASGHAR ACHAKZAI / AFP

Abdul Mateen Achakzai, a reporter for Khyber News TV and Saeed Ali Achakzai, a reporter Samaa News TV said they were tortured for three days by the Anti-Terrorism Force operated by a paramilitary force known as the Balochistan Levies. Achakzai said the parliamentary force commanders threatened the two on WhatsApp for their coverage of the inadequate conditions in a Covid-19 quarantine centre near the city of Chaman. The deputy commission of Qala-e-Abdullah district, Bashir Barechi allege the journalists were detained for spreading misinformation and defaming him on social media.

According to AFP, the two journalists said they were told to report to the paramilitary border police, who delivered them to the Anti-Terrorism Force. Saeed Ali Achakzai said, I never imagined that I would have to go through this, at one point I thought I am not going to survive now, they are going to kill me.

Balochistans home minister Ziaullah Langove said the investigation is ongoing and three officials who were directly involved in the incident have been suspended.

The IFJ said: The torture of the two reporters highlights the brutal reality and fears journalists in Pakistan endure. The IFJ urges the government to hold the paramilitary force accountable and ensure an impartial and independent investigation takes place.
According to prosecutors, Jones, two cafeteria workers and a security guard were eating lunch in the cafeteria after distributing meals that day when a discussion ensued about games, including dodgeball. When one of the cafeteria workers repeatedly said she did not want to take part in any game or horseplay, Jones then threw two lunches on the floor towards (the workers) in an attempt to be funny, prosecutors said.
On May 9 Prime Minister Trudeau stood before the people of Canada and said that Canada needs to reflect on how it treats frontline and marginalized workers."

Included in his words were that the provinces will decide who receives this pandemic pay. John Horgan and Carol James took a page from George Orwell's book Animal Farm and decided that only government funded facilities and their employees would benefit from the pandemic pay.

In essence what the did was to state that  We are all equal, its just that some are more equal than others.

By favouring assisted living facilities under the provincial funding and ignoring frontline marginalized workers in the private care homes, they have shown their true colours. These workers in private run care homes perform exactly the same work as workers in government facilities.

They put themselves at risk just as much as government workers do but under the leadership of the NDP are not equal to share in the co-benefits from federal and provincial pandemic pay initiative. It surprises me that there is not a show of support from the opposition MLAs and MPs on this issue.

It is clear discrimination of a working class of people chosen not to receive the same benefits as their contemporaries. One can only hope that come election time theses leaders are reminded of this abhorrent use of political favouritism. The opposition MPs and MLAs should be ashamed of themselves for not catching this and speaking up for the thousands of private care home frontline/marginalized workers, who believed they would be entitled but were let out.

Robert Thompson
A knife-wielding man was shot dead by the police in Glasgow on Friday after he slashed and injured six people, including a police officer, in a hotel in the city centre in an incident described by Scotland authorities as a major incident.

Earlier reports said three people had been stabbed to death, but the police later in the day said the attacker in the hotel where asylum seekers had been lodged in the coronavirus pandemic had been shot dead. No one else was killed and the incident was not terror related.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was deeply saddened by the terrible incident in Glasgow, while home secretary Priti Patel said reports from Glasgow were deeply disturbing, and Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the incident was truly dreadful.

The police said: A man was shot by armed police and has died. Six other men are in hospital for treatment, including a 42-year-old police officer, who is in a critical but stable condition. The officers family is aware.

The other men in hospital are aged 17, 18, 20, 38 and 53. Liaison officers have been appointed. Our thoughts are with the families of those who were injured, including our officer. The incident is not being treated as terrorism related and our investigation is continuing into the circumstances, the statement added.

The police added that there is no wider risk to the public. Witnesses said they saw a man of African heritage lying on the ground as the police moved in.

Sturgeon said: First and foremost my thoughts are with all those people who have been caught up in this terrible incident, particularly the six injured people taken to hospital for treatment, as well as residents and staff at the hotel.

While such a serious incident is rare in Scotland it is another reminder of the courage and professionalism of our police officers who are willing to run towards danger in order to protect the lives of others.

Clearly there is already much speculation around this incident, which remains under investigation. I would urge everyone to avoid such speculation, to not share potentially harmful or upsetting material on social media and to follow police advice while investigations are underway, she added.
Indian envoy to China Vikram Misri told PTI that India hopes that China will 'move back to its side of LAC' offering a completely different picture of the situation along the LAC near eastern Ladakh

An Indian envoy on Friday asked China to "move back to its side of LAC" in order to support the ongoing efforts to "de-escalate and disengage", contradicting an earlier statement of the Prime Minister's Office that "there (is) no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC" in eastern Ladakh.

"India hopes China will realise its responsibility in de-escalation and disengaging by moving back to its side of LAC," Indian envoy to China Vikram Misri said on Friday during an interview with news agency PTI.

"China has to stop the practice of transgressing and trying to erect structures on the Indian side of the LAC," he added.

Misri's statement comes just days after the government had clarified that Chinese soldiers are no longer on Indian side of the LAC.

India-China ties have come under severe strain after Chinese military killed 20 Indian Army personnel and injured around 76 in a violent clash in Galwan Valley on 15 June. Though reports claimed casualties on the Chinese side as well, Beijing is yet to make an official statement on the same.

In a statement on the all-party meeting called by Modi on 19 June to discuss the situation at the India-China border, the government had said, "At the outset, prime minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our posts captured."

The prime minister had reportedly also said that the soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice taught a "lesson" to those who had dared to look towards India and assured the leaders that the armed forces are leaving no stone unturned to protect the country.

The categorical statement by the prime minister had come in the wake of reports that Chinese military has transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de-facto border, in several areas of eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley.

Opposition leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, had questioned the government's handling of the situation, asking if there was any intelligence failure and seeking assurance that China will "revert" to its original position.

However, instead of calming the nerves, Modi's remarks of "no intrusion" had the opposite effect as both the Opposition as well as civil society groups accused the government of having "surrendered" to China.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) clarified the statement saying that attempts were being made to give a "mischievous interpretation" to Modi's remarks at the all-party meeting.

"As regards transgression of LAC, it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on 15 June arose because Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions," the PMO had clarified, adding that "there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forces".

Government of India statement on yesterdays All-Party meeting. pic.twitter.com/VeRHRptPdR  ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2020

In contrast, Misri on Friday told PTI that India hopes that China will "move back to its side of LAC", offering a completely different picture of the situation along the LAC.

Misri, however, reiterated the Minisry of External Affairs stand on China's claim of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley, saying that Beijing's claim is "untenable" and that such exaggerated claims are not going to help the neighbouring country.

He also stated that China's attempt to alter status quo on the ground can have 'ripples and repercussions' in broader bilateral relationship.

He also said that maintaining peace and tranquillity on the border is sine qua non for progress in the rest of bilateral relationship between India and China.

"Actions taken by Chinese forces on the ground have damaged considerable trust in bilateral relationship," he said a dding that China should stop creating obstructions and hindrances in normal patrolling of Indian troops.

Mistry also defended the recent infrastructure projects taken up by India in Ladakh, which is also a point of contention between the two neighbours, stating that "India has always carried activities on the Indian side of the LAC".

With inputs from agencies
San Francisco, June 26 : Google has announced to expand Business Messages in Maps and Search to support all kinds of businesses connect directly with their customers.

Business Messages will also be available on mobile websites so that a business can add the ability for customers to quickly "Message" right from their website and offer the same smart automated replies, paired with live agent connection, Google said in a statement on Thursday.

"Messaging has become such a valuable way to connect with customers that twice as many businesses are messaging via Google now, compared to last year," the company informed.

Business Messages provides brands a comprehensive messaging solution across Android devices, and through Maps on iOS.

Several organisations, including MyGov in India, were among the first to try the updated Business Messages experience to make customer care more effective and efficient, particularly during Covid-19.

"MyGov, with partner Amplify.ai, is providing help and answering live questions from Indian citizens about hours, Covid-19 helplines, and ways to volunteer and donate, for more than 11,000 food and night shelters across India," said Google.

The tech giant this month launched a new feature on Google Search, Assistant, and Maps for users in India to help them find information on Covid-19 testing centres near them.

The search giant partnered with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and MyGov to provide the information on authorised testing labs. The Search, Assistant, and Maps currently feature 700 testing labs across 300 cities in India.

The feature is currently available in English and eight Indian languages including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati, and Marathi.

Business Messages, however, is currently available in English, with expanded coverage to other languages launching soon, said Google.
STEPANAKERT.  Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) President Arayik Haroutyunyan on Friday visited the Tigranakert military training facility of the Defense Army and followed the shooting phase of the tactical exercises various military units. This was reported by the Central Information Department of the Office of the Artsakh President.

Accompanied by Defense Minister Jalal Harutyunyan, the President also got acquainted with the target facilities used at the Defense Army, and the recently complemented communication and video surveillance means, as well as their technical capabilities.

During the visit, the President also followed the demonstration training of the Defense Army special forces.

Subsequently, Haroutyunyan stressed that the results of these training exercises show once again that the Armenian armed forces are the real deterrent to the aggressive behavior of the military and political leadership of the adversary.

Onik Gasparyan, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia, and some other officials were also present at this military training exercise.
Australia's spy agency and police raided a lawmaker's home Friday as they probed alleged Chinese influence operations and Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned the country would not tolerate foreign political interference.

The developments added to months of escalating tensions between the two nations, partly driven by Australia accusing China of economic 'coercion' and raising concerns over espionage.

Security agents on Friday searched properties linked to New South Wales state legislator Shaoquett Moselmane, who has long faced allegations of links to the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

Shortly after the dawn raid the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation told AFP that "search warrant activity is occurring in Sydney as part of an ongoing investigation".

They added that there was no "specific threat to the community".

Speaking after the raid, Morrison said Australia would "stand up" to any attempt at foreign interference.

"The threats in this area are real, the need to take action is necessary," Morrison said. "We won't cop anyone coming and seeking to interfere in our political system."

Moselmane's pro-Beijing positions and contact with party officials have long raised eyebrows even among colleagues in his centre-left Labor Party, which scrambled to contain the political fallout.

New South Wales party leader Jodi McKay said she was informed about the operation on Moselmane's home and office and said she had begun the process of suspending his party membership.

"It's dreadfully concerning," she said. "It's important that every MP focuses on the people in their state."

Moselmane has publicly praised Chinese President Xi Jinping's "unswerving" leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, contrasting it favourably with Australia's own response.

Local media have reported he hired a staffer who trained at Beijing's Chinese Academy of Governance, a school of party members going into public office, and made almost a dozen trips to China.

Some political foes had dubbed him "the member for Beijing".

- 'Insidious' and systematic campaign -

The operation is a signal of Australian authorities' new willingness to tackle allegations of Chinese subversion of Australian politics and is likely to raise the temperature in an already fractious relationship between Beijing and Canberra.

Last year the former head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Duncan Lewis, said China wanted to "take over" Australia's political system with an "insidious" and systematic campaign of espionage and influence peddling.

Lewis at the time cited the case of Labor Party power broker Sam Dastyari -- dubbed "Shanghai Sam" -- who was forced to resign in 2018 after taking tens of thousands of dollars from a Communist Party-linked donor.

Morrison's government passed foreign-interference legislation following revelations that wealthy Chinese businessmen with links to Beijing had been bankrolling local parties and candidates across the political spectrum.

The law notably required the registration of any person or organisation acting on behalf of a foreign government.

As part of that crackdown, the government barred a high-profile Chinese businessman who held permanent Australian residency from returning to the country.

Australian authorities are also looking into a claim that China tried to recruit a Melbourne businessman and get him elected to parliament.

Bo "Nick" Zhao -- a 32-year-old luxury car dealer who was a member of Morrison's Liberal Party -- apparently rebuffed the offer and was found dead in a motel room.

China has branded the claims "lies", accusing "some politicians, organisations and media in Australia" of "cooking up so-called China spy cases".

Last week Morrison revealed Australian government agencies, businesses and critical services were coming under a large state-sponsored cyber attack, which was widely suspected to be from China.

A recent survey from Sydney's Lowy Institute showed the number of Australians who trusted Beijing to act responsibly on the world stage had fallen from 52 percent in 2018 to a record low of 23 percent.

China has become increasingly assertive under Xi, as Beijing looks to translate its rising economic might into political, diplomatic and military power.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The latest COVID-19 daily report from the Plainview/Hale County Health Department shows 14 new cases and three new recoveries in Plainview.

The current active case count is up 111 in Hale County and 110 of those are in Plainview. The other case is in Petersburg.

Newly diagnosed individuals include two men and five women between 21-40 years old; two women and one man between 41-60 years old two women who are 61 or older; and two females who are 20 years old or younger. Each of these cases was a result of local transmission. The two eldest individuals are in a medical facility and everyone else is listed as being at home.

According to the report, 1,833 tests had been conducted across Hale County by 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The number of tests conducted is 79 higher than the day before. Of the total number of tests conducted by Wednesday afternoon, 1,568 have returned negative results. There are 115 test results still pending. These numbers reflect only those tested within Hale County. If a Hale County resident tests positive outside the county, theyre included in the case counts for the county but their test is not.

A total of 213 people were under monitoring by Wednesday afternoon. This number indicates the number of individuals who have traveled to a known virus hot spot and/or who have come in close contact with a person who tested positive.

Plainview is up to a total of 191 tests confirmed since the first was announced in March. There have also been 78 recoveries and three deaths since then.

The total confirmed case count for the county is up to 214. There have been 96 total recoveries and seven deaths.

Of the total confirmed cases, 182 of them have been results of local transmissions and 32 have been out-of-county transmissions.

A further breakdown of the statistics show 124 of the individuals who have had confirmed cases in Hale County have been females and 90 have been males. Of those total confirmed cases, 95 have been among those who are between 21 and 40 years old; 57 in the 41 to 60 age group; 37 in the 61 or older age group and 24 among those who are 20 or younger.

Of the current active cases, 98 are listed as being at home, 12 are in a medical facility and one is listed as under investigation.

As the case counts continue to rise, Plainview city leaders are encouraging the citizens to wear masks in public, wash your hands frequently, practice social distancing when possible and contact a physician if youre feeling sick.

A city spokesman told The Herald this week that there are no known hot spots in Hale County.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

Trend:

The Turkish Ministry of National Defense congratulated Azerbaijan on the Day of Armed Forces, Trend reports referring to the Turkish Ministry of National Defenses message on Twitter page.

"Congratulations on the occasion of the 102nd anniversary of the formation of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, the message said. We will continue to be with our brothers upon the "one nation - two states" principle."

Today Azerbaijan marks the Day of the Armed Forces.

The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), created in 1918, existed only 23 months, but it managed to do a lot over this short period of time, including the creation of its own armed forces.

According to Azerbaijani presidents decree dated May 22, 1998, June 26 was declared the Day of the Armed Forces.
An Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper made an emergency landing on the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal expressway in Haryana on Friday following a technical glitch, a police official said.

The air force personnel on board the chopper are reported to be safe, according to the police.

The IAF helicopter made an emergency landing due to a technical glitch. All Police Control Room vehicles and police personnel were rushed to the spot. Later, IAF engineers attended to the chopper and it took off after two hours, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Sonipat Police Sandeep Kumar told news agency PTI.

The chopper made the emergency landing on the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal expressway, also called the Eastern Peripheral Expressway.

The incident occurred about 10 to 12 kilometres away from Haryanas Sonipat.

On receiving information about the emergency landing by the IAF helicopter, the police reached the spot and stopped vehicular traffic movement on that stretch of the expressway where the chopper had landed.

No one was allowed to go near the chopper. The vehicular traffic movement was restored when the chopper took off, the police official said.

After necessary repairs, the helicopter took off for its destination about two hours later.

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Zhangs family has argued Miebach and Maupin should have done more when Brendt Christensen told them months before her disappearance of his fascination with serial killers and he had purchased items to move and dispose of a body
Job

Title: Program

Officers (Several Job Placements)

Organisation: African

Diversity and Inclusion Center (ADIC)

Duty Station:

Kampala, Uganda

Reports to: Director

of Programs

About US:

Established in 2018,

African Diversity and Inclusion Center (ADIC) is a Pan-African organization

that promotes diversity, Equality, Equity and Inclusion in Africa through

education and trainings, research and documentation, policy analysis and

recommendations, and Events management. We do this through building programs

and initiatives that seek to strength institutions both private and public,

work with corporations and businesses, civil society and governments including

national, regional and the African Union for the benefit of the most

marginalized including women, youths and minority groups of people across

Africa. We are a Not-for-profit pursuing our charitable status in Uganda as an

International Development Organization.

Job Summary: The Program Officer will oversee program

development, seek grants and proposals, manage projects and oversee budgets.

Generally ensuring that activities and programs align with the goals and

mission statements of ADIC. The Program Officers must be able to complete

various tasks in meeting the demands of this position.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:



Oversee

programs development. This includes staff development, project management,

implementation and daily management of activities.



Create

budgets for project costs and program expenditures working closely with other

stakeholders in developing, maintaining and ensuring adherence to budgets. This

responsibility also includes reviewing grant proposals.



Build

and maintain partnerships and relationships with other organizations, such as

non-profits, corporations, public and private entities and governments including

national, regional and African Union in order to expand resources, raise

funding and educate the public about the work of a particular foundation.



Supply

reports about program development and ongoing activities. These reports might

be generated weekly, monthly or quarterly.



Understanding

organizational goals and objectives and creating programs that adhere to these

guidelines



Implementing

programs and projects to help organizations meet goals and objectives



Apply

project management knowledge regarding development, staffing, budgeting and

scheduling



Researching

grant proposals and funding opportunities



Developing

relationships with various national, regional governments and African Union in

order to expand resources, raise funding and educate the public about the work

of ADIC.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:



The

applicant must hold a Bachelors or Masters degree in related field, or

equivalent work experience



Two

years of professional experience in a related organization



Exceptional

attention to detail and organizational skills as demonstrated in at least 2

years of professional experience



Demonstrated

ability to work within a team environment



Demonstrated

project management experience



A

critical understanding of and deep commitment to social justice and human

rights issues facing women and trans* peopleworldwide



Excellent

written and oral communications skills



Demonstrated

interest in a career within the field of womens, youths and minority human

rights and commitment to the mission and vision of ADIC.



English

language proficiency required; proficiency in French is an added advantage.



Demonstrated

ability to prioritize tasks and work well under pressure



Strong

critical thinking skills, ability to problem solve and resourcefulness



Ability

to work well with a diverse group of constituents; Awareness and understanding

of issues of privilege, oppression, and marginalized communities



Willingness

to assume a range of unanticipated tasks and work flexible hours, including

some weekend



Excellent

computer skills, including MS Office, familiarity with Mac preferable



International

travel may be required after training period



Knowledge

of MS Word and Excel



Strong

understanding of financial management concepts

How to Apply:

Please submit your

letter of motivation with a detailed CV/resume stating your expected

remuneration, email, telephone contacts, names and full contact details of

three referees to recruit@africandicenter.org

Please write ADIC

Program Officers in the Subject Heading.

Deadline: 30th July 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
Four decades after launching its drive for U.S. statehood, Washington, D.C. was poised to take a step toward becoming the 51st state as the House of Representatives on Friday was expected to approve its admission.

Though the initiative was likely to pass handily in the House, where Democrats hold the majority, Republicans for years have actively opposed creating a state that they predict would elect Democrats to Congress.

Indeed, voters in the city of Washington have elected only Democratic mayors in recent history. Creating a state out of Washington would likely make it more difficult for Republicans to win majorities in the Senate.

Last month President Donald Trump, a Republican, told https://nypost.com/2020/05/05/trump-says-washington-dc-will-never-be-a-state-because-of-all-the-democrats the New York Post: "You mean District of Columbia, a state? Why? So we can have two more ... Democrat senators and five more congressmen? No thank you. That'll never happen."

If it became a state, Washington would likely only have one lawmaker, not five.

Proponents say Washington's 700,000 inhabitants - more than Vermont and Wyoming - have no voice in the federal government, despite paying federal taxes.

That status is protested with a slogan on Washington's automobile license plates that screams: "Taxation without representation."

Currently, legislation passed by the district's local government is subject to congressional review.

Local anger over the district's status flared up most recently during the coronavirus pandemic. Washington received $500 million for its pandemic response, compared to the $1.2 billion the federal government accorded to each of the 50 states.

Amid nationwide protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd, an African American man who died after a police officer kneeled against Floyd's neck, Trump sent National Guard troops from 10 states, over the objection of the district's mayor, to quell protests against racism and police brutality in the district.

"Not only do we not have voting senators and our congresswoman not have the right to vote, the whims of a federal government can encroach on our even limited autonomy," said Mayor Muriel Bowser at a press conference.

The state would be named Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, after George Washington, the first U.S. president, and Frederick Douglass, a former enslaved person turned famed abolitionist.

It would include the district's current 700,000 residents, but not major federal buildings, the National Mall, memorials and the museums, which would be housed in a federal enclave.

The last time the United States expanded was 1959, when Congress approved admitting Alaska and Hawaii as the 49th and 50th states, respectively, following congressional votes and the support of the president.

The U.S. constitution gives Congress the power to admit new states without specifying a process.
Tents sit outside of the Seattle Police Department's vacated East Precinct in the area known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) in Seattle, Wash., on June 25, 2020. (David Ryder/Getty Images)

Protesters at Seattle Autonomous Zone Say They Wont Leave Until Demands Are Met

The people remaining inside Seattles so-called autonomous zone are insisting they wont leave until their demands are met.

A few dozen people remain camped outside of the Seattle Police Departments East Precinct, according to video footage from Thursday night.

Leaders of the group say the dwindling crowd is actually beneficial to their cause.

Weve really weeded out the people that are here to protest and the people that are here to party, Mark Anthony, who said hes a member of the zones council, told KOMO News.

Im not sure whos going and spreading these lies about us leaving but as you can see, our tents are still pitched, he added.

On the other hand, organizers are asking people who are camping at Cal Anderson Park to leave.

Naudia Miller, a representative of Black Collective Voices, a group involved in the occupation, said at a press conference on Thursday, We will stay here as long as the people want to stay here.

Its the will of the people, she said when asked how long the occupiers would remain in place.

Jesse Miller, her daughter Naudia Miller, and Marcus Henderson, who are organizers within the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP), speak during a press conference in Seattle, Wash., on June 25, 2020. (David Ryder/Getty Images)

Members of the council were planning to convene Friday to assemble a list of demands to present to the city in the hopes of a peaceful surrender, according to Anthony.

Demands on a lengthy list the group released earlier in June included abolishing the Seattle Police Department, reparations for victims of police brutality, and a retrial of all minorities currently in prison for violent crimes.

The city faces an injunction unless it documents plans to dismantle the zone in a case brought by businesses and residents who live and work in the area and say theyve struggled to access their homes and companies because of intimidation and violence from the occupiers.

Photographs and video footage from the area Friday morning shows Seattle Department of Transportation personnel on the scene working to remove barriers.

The department didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Seattle Police Department abandoned the East Precinct on June 8. Protesters who had clashed with police soon entered the area and laid claim to it, moving barriers into roadways. Armed guards began checking the identities of some people entering and others who had entered were rejected for, among other actions, carrying American flags.

The area was mostly peaceful during the day but would devolve into violence at night, according to video footage captured by reporters and an Epoch Times reporter who spent days in the zone.

An entrance to the Seattle Police Departments vacated East Precinct is seen in the area known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) in Seattle, Wash., on June 23, 2020. (David Ryder/Getty Images)

Two shootings took place over the weekend, leaving one man dead and others wounded.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, a Democrat who openly supported the continued occupation, said Monday the city would dismantle the zone. Some organizers told protesters to go home and continue the struggle online.

In a statement to The Epoch Times Thursday, Durkans office acknowledged the zone still hasnt been fully cleared.

City leadership have been on the ground daily having discussions with demonstrators, residents, and businesses and trusted community-based, black-led organizations to determine a path forward that protects the right to peacefully protest and keeps people safe, a spokesperson said.

Over the coming days, city officials and community groups are planning to encourage people to peacefully depart from the autonomous zone in the evening for their safety and the safety of the surrounding community, while also encouraging individuals to peacefully demonstrate across the city throughout the daytime hours, the spokesperson added.
Army Chief General M M Naravane on Friday briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the overall situation in eastern Ladakh as well as India's military preparedness in the region where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a bitter standoff, official sources said.

Photograph: Umar Ganie for Rediff.com

The Army Chief was in Ladakh on a two-day visit from June 23 to take stock of the situation.

"The Chief of the Army Staff apprised the defence minister about the situation in eastern Ladakh," said a military source.

Singh was on a three-day visit to Russia from June 22-24.

On Thursday, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastaba said the conduct of the Chinese forces in the region is in 'complete disregard' of all mutually agreed norms, and warned that 'continuation of the current situation would only vitiate the atmosphere for the development of the relationship' between India and China.

The Indian and Chinese armies are locked in a bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last six weeks, and the tension escalated manifold after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash in Galwan Valley on June 15.

Senior military commanders of the two armies on Monday held a nearly 11-hour meeting during which they arrived at a 'mutual consensus' to 'disengage' from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh in a gradual manner.

The two sides on Wednesday held diplomatic talks under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs.

In the diplomatic talks, both sides agreed to ensure expeditious implementation of the understanding on disengagement of troops from eastern Ladakh as decided in a meeting of senior military commanders on June 6.

Following the Galwan Vally clashes, the Army has sent thousands of additional troops to forward locations along the Line of Actual Control in various sectors including in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.

The Indian Air Force has also moved a sizeable number of its frontline Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar, Mirage 2000 aircraft and Apache attack helicopters to several key air bases including Leh and Srinagar following the clashes.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on May 5 and 6. The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9.

Prior to the clashes, both sides had been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it was necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
Politics has heated up in Uttarakhand for the first time in the last few days since the coronavirus pandemic outbreak in mid-March, with Congress taking to the streets and the BJP starting virtual rallies in all 70 assembly constituencies of the state.

On Thursday, Congress leaders and workers assembled in Dehraduns Gandhi Park area to protest against the continuous hike in the prices of diesel and petrol. Following the protest, police booked Congress state president Pritam Singh, senior vice president Suryakant Dhasmana and 163 other Congress workers for staging a protest without permission and for not adhering to social distancing norms during the protest action, said police.

Station house officer of Dehradun Kotwali police station SS Negi said all the 165 Congress leaders and workers have been booked under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 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) and section 51 of the Disaster Management Act 2005.

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Congress leaders have lashed out at the state government for trying to silence them by booking such a large number of party members.

Leader of opposition Indira Hridayesh said the BJP government was trying to intimidate Congress leaders and workers by filing FIRs against them. This is an attempt to stifle the voice of the Opposition in the state. We have demanded the withdrawal of all cases filed against our people. Congress is not afraid of this harassment. We will continue to oppose anti-people policies of the BJP in future also, she said

Congress vice president Suryakant Dhasmana said the party wont be stopped by such tactics as it was fighting for the people. People across the country are suffering due to price hike in petrol and diesel, that too, when they are already facing hardships on all fronts due to the coronavirus epidemic. Whatever number of cases they lodge against us, we will not stop. We will continue to fight for people. People cannot be looted like this. They are already facing severe financial hardship, he said.

BJP leadership has rubbished Congresss claims. State BJP president Bansidhar Bhagat said nobody is trying to silence the Congress. He said Congress or anybody in the state has a right to protest as long as they follow the laid out rules. But these protests have to be staged as per the norms by seeking prior permission from the authorities concerned and by adhering to social distancing norms these days. Congress or anybody else cant violate these norms.

Kedarnath visit: HC directs UP MLA, Uttarakhand govt to submit replies within 10 days

Bhagat also said that the price hike in petrol and diesel keeps changing according to the price of crude oil. Sometimes they increase and sometimes they decrease. It has been happening during Congress regimes and it will continue to happen as prices keep fluctuating from time to time, he said.

Three days ago, BJP also started virtual rallies in the state to mark the completion of the first year of the second term of the NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The inaugural virtual rally was held by party state president Bansidhar Bhagat addressing party workers in Tehri assembly constituency from Dehradun party office.
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Maharashtra recorded its highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases for the third consecutive day on Friday, when 5,024 new cases took the states tally past 1.5 lakh to 152,765. The states toll rose to 7,106 with an addition of 175 fatalities. Mumbai, the worst-hit city in Maharashtra, reported 1,297 new cases, taking its coronavirus count to 72,175, while 17 deaths pushed up the citys toll to 4,197.

State officials said they expect a further surge in cases, with the government planning to ease industrial and commercial curbs next week under its Mission Begin Again.

The cases are expected to rise in July and August, but we are working to ensure that the case fatality rate (CFR) does not go up. We are increasing the number of doctors and ICU beds across the state, said health minister Rajesh Tope.

Also read: Mumbai records 1,297 new Covid-19 cases and 117 deaths

The states CFR dropped to 4.65% from 4.69% on Thursday, against the national rate of 3.12%.

The minister also said that the state is not hiding its fatality numbers. Due to reconciliation, a number of deaths are added from the past, but it does not mean we are hiding cases. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines are strictly followed, Tope said.

Of the 175 deaths reported on Friday, according to the state health department, 91 are from the past two days, while the remaining 84 were from before that.

Maharashtra has reported 28,434 cases and 1,213 deaths in the past seven days, with a daily average of 4,062 cases and 173 deaths, and the state went from 100,000 to 152,765 cases in just 14 days.

Maharashtras recovery rate, on the other hand, has improved to 52.25%, with the total number of discharged patients going up to 79,815.

State officials, however, are wary of whats to come, as the government has already announced opening of salons and beauty parlours from this weekend, and further easing of restrictions on industrial and commercial activities after June 30. A decision to allow running of taxis and autorickshaws is also expected to be taken soon.

Like witnessed earlier, we expect a surge in cases after relaxations under the next phases of Mission Begin Again come into effect. To contain the rise [of cases], we are focusing on areas that have higher infections and fatalities. Ramping up of the health infrastructure is being done aggressively, said a state government official, asking not to be named.

Dr Sadhana Tayade, director, health services, said there will be more tests conducted after the introduction of antigen and antibody testing in the state. We cannot say if the number of positive cases will increase, but the health infrastructure across the state has been ramped up. We will be able to identify patients at an early stage, helping us in reducing the case fatality rate. The spread in rural areas is high owing to the crowding after opening up of the activities, said Tayade, adding that they expect the states Covid curve to plateau in August.

Meanwhile, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with municipal commissioners of the civic bodies in Thane district on Friday and directed them to strictly follow tracing and testing protocol. Thackeray convened a meeting with the commissioners of seven corporations after Covid-19 cases have risen in the areas surrounding Mumbai.

On Friday, Thane city recorded 386 new Covid-19 cases, while 343 cases were recorded in Kalyan-Dombivli. Vasai-Virar saw 203 new cases, and 236 fresh cases were recorded in Navi Mumbai. Mira-Bhayander reported 116 new cases.

Thackeray also said segregation of patients in three levels  Covid Care Centre, Dedicated Covid Health Centre and Dedicated Covid Hospitals  need to be strictly followed.

In a statement from the Chief Ministers Office (CMO), Thackeray told the commissioners that like Mumbai and other districts, Thane district, too, needs to seriously follow the laid down protocols of contact tracing and initiate treatment on patients immediately as per the protocol. It statement further said that the three level segregation of patients has been effective in Mumbai, and that needs to be replicated in neighbouring areas too. The CM asked the civic chief to look their need for more doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers.

State transport minister and Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab, meanwhile, said the decision over allowing taxis and autos to ply will be taken after consultations with the chief minister and deputy chief minister. Parab on Thursday had said the government wants to make adequate transportation facilities available for office goers and industries after more relaxations are extended.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

One day after pausing the reopening of Texas and making changes to aid hospital capacity in the metroplex, Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order Friday morning imposing restrictions across the rest of the state.

According to the order, all bars and similar establishments that receive more than 51% of their gross receipts from the sales of alcoholic beverages were ordered to close Friday and must offer only delivery and take-out, if authorized by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
In a June 25 virtual graduation ceremony, Susan Wagner saluted 803 graduates, the second highest number on Staten Island behind Tottenville.

The general theme of the graduation was about the pandemic and how the Susan Wagner students and faculty didnt let the virus stand in their way during this unprecedented time.
States faced challenges responding to the COVID-19 outbreak because of outdated software and an overwhelming number of benefits program applications, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

The variance in state and local agencies ability to easily modify data systems to incorporate new flexibilities led to numerous delays and interoperability challenges across multiple CARES Act recovery programs, GAO found.

The Department of Health and Human Services reported that states had to coordinate data across different systems to serve existing beneficiaries and accommodate the surge of new applicants for programs like Electronic Benefit Transfer and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments. Meanwhile, states uneven technological sophistication made remote collaboration difficult while they tried to coordinate payments for the Women, Infants and Children program.

According to Department of Labor officials, many states processing unemployment claims (UI) were using IT systems that date as far back as the 1970s" and crashed under the load of newly laid off workers filing for benefits. The department has provided federal grants, technical assistance and guidance to help modernize those systems, but "relatively few" states conducted adequate load-testing to handle the volume of claims they have received since March.

These systems was already straining, with federal and state governments overseeing more than $2.7 billion in improper unemployment payments in 2019, and overseers worry the numbers will look even worse this year as the government has rushed to respond to the economic fallout of the virus.

A rushed response also led the IRS to send more than a million stimulus checks to citizens who were deceased. The agency emphasized speed to get relief dollars into the hands of Americans as soon as possible, leading to processing errors and opening the door to potential fraud. Auditors suggested that implementing 2018 recommendations to align their authentication practices with cybersecurity guidance from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and making better use of death data housed at the Department of Treasury and other agencies could address the problem.

Auditors noted that "IRS has full access to the death data maintained by the Social Security Administration  but Treasury and its Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which distribute the payments, do not."

In a response attached to the audit, IRS Chief Risk Officer Tom Brandt said employees worked "around the clock since mid-March to develop new tools and new guidance" to handle economic impact payments but acknowledged that "our work is not done yet" and the agency will consider the GAO's recommendations further.

IT challenges and delays also reportedly hampered efforts by the Small Business Administration to process economic injury disaster loans, though details are scarce. The report painted a portrait of disorganized agency that at times was unresponsive to oversight. While auditors asked to meet with agency officials on April 13 to get more detailed information on individual loan data and other aspects of the response, SBA didn't agree to a meeting until June 1 and provided "primarily publicly available information in response to our inquiries" about loan data, GAO said.

In a statement, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said the report "provides a comprehensive and independent look at the Trump administration's incompetent and dangerous response to the coronavirus pandemic" and pressed for more information on IRS stimulus payments to dead Americans. She also called on SBA to address transparency concerns about its loan program "immediately."

SBA responded to a draft version of the report disputing GAO's claims, saying it offered staff for interviews and provided 420 pages, including "information on loan numbers and loan volume, the number and type of lenders participating in [the Paycheck Protection Program], loan numbers and loan volume for each type of lender, loan numbers and volume by industry and state" and other figures.

"To be clear, SBA has never refused to provide data to GAO," wrote William Manger, chief of staff for Administrator Jovita Carranza.

Federal agencies were of course not immune from technological troubles, and the audit suggested modernization efforts at the IRS, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other agencies can better position them to process funds related to the CARES Act.

This article was first posted to FCW, a sibling site to GCN.
The suit alleges that police fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray at demonstrators to disperse protests.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana filed a lawsuit on Friday against the City of Fort Wayne and the Allen County Sheriffs Department alleging the use of chemical agents, projectiles and drones on peaceful protesters violated their constitutional rights.

Protests against systemic racism in police departments erupted across the country after the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

The ACLU suit addresses protests in Fort Wayne directed to institutional racism and policing practices beginning May 29, and continuing with more protests to be held in the future.

It alleges the Fort Wayne defendants engaged in a range of unreasonable and inappropriate behaviors designed to prevent the persons from engaging in lawful protest.

The suit claims the almost entirely peaceful protests were marred by local law enforcement, which violated demonstrators rights under the First and Fourth Amendments of the United States Constitution by firing tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray to disperse protests and used drones to identify protesters.

These events took place several times over the past month, the suit alleges.

BREAKING: We are suing the City of Fort Wayne and the Allen County Sheriff to immediately stop the use of chemical agents and projectiles on protesters. Police must not respond to protesters speaking out against police brutality with yet more brutality.  ACLU of Indiana (@ACLUIndiana) June 26, 2020

During the May 29 protest, police allegedly indiscriminately shot dozens of tear gas canisters at protesters, going on to use pepper spray on demonstrators who did not retreat.

The complaint also claims that protesters marching near Martin Luther King Bridge were blocked by police in both directions and then were shot with tear gas canisters by police that same day.

The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the rights of free speech and assembly among others, and the Fourth Amendment protects from unreasonable searches and seizures and deals with privacy rights.

Members of Fort Wayne City Council reflect on the demonstrations and protests over the weekend for George Floyd. https://t.co/GvnOj44qj9  Jentill Neal (@JNealFOX55) June 3, 2020

Police must not respond to protesters speaking out against police brutality with yet more brutality. We will not let these violent attacks on our constitutional rights go unchecked, Ken Falk, legal director at the ACLU of Indiana, said in a statement. Excessive use of force against protesters chills free speech, and widens the rift of distrust between communities and the police that are sworn to serve them.

The ACLU of Indiana alleges in its lawsuit that the constitutional rights of peaceful protesters were violated [Darron Cummings/AP Photo]

In another incident on June 14, the ACLU alleges that police dragged protesters who had dispersed out of private businesses where they had sought shelter.

The ACLU seeks damages and an injunction in the lawsuit, which comes just a week after a similar lawsuit against the city of Indianapolis was filed by the group.

The ACLU of Virginia filed another similar suit on behalf of student protesters on Friday against the City of Richmond, the Richmond police department and the Virginia state police for violating constitutional rights to free speech assembly and protest, the group said in a statement.
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GOTEBORG, Sweden, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second time in a short period, Castellum has won the confidence of the Swedish National Courts Administration to create modern and effective premises - this time situated in Jonkoping. The Swedish government gave approval for the Swedish National Courts to sign a leasing agreement with Castellum, at an estimated investment cost of about MSEK 325.

"It is an honour to once again be working on behalf of the Swedish justice system," says Henrik Saxborn, CEO at Castellum AB.

The government's decision arrived at the same time that construction starts for the new Swedish National Courts Administration building in Malmo. With its 25,000 square metres, the Malmo building will be one of Europe's largest workplaces for legal professionals, and it is also one of Castellum's biggest-ever construction projects.

The new assignment in Jonkoping comprises just approx. 9,200 square metres and will house the Gota Appeals Court and the Jonkoping Administrative Court of Appeal, as well as ten negotiation rooms and approx. 180 workplaces. The building has been designed by FOJAB Architects and will be constructed at Slottskajen near Munksjon in central Jonkoping.

The existing court premises do not meet today's demands for accessibility, negotiation rooms and security. The new building will feature well-adapted and modern premises for the two appellate courts. Co-location of the two courts provides abundant opportunity for cooperation and increased efficiency within the same building. The new premises will also provide accessibility for both personnel and visitors. One vital aspect of the project is security - ranging from security checks with x-ray in the entrance area, to several security-classed negotiation rooms. In line with Castellum's strong focus on sustainability, the new courthouse building in Jonkoping will be designed and built to match the Miljobyggnad Gold certification, the highest level issued by the Sweden Green Building Council.

Fact sheet

Tenant: Swedish National Courts Administration

Area: approx. 9,200 square metres (100% Swedish National Courts Administration)

Preliminary investment total: approx. MSEK 325

Leasing contract duration: 15 years

Annual leasing value: approx. MSEK 23 per year

Construction start: Autumn, 2020

Occupancy: Autumn 2022

For further information, contact:

Henrik Saxborn, CEO, Castellum AB +46 31-60 74 50

Ulrika Danielsson, CFO, Castellum AB, +46 31-60 74 74

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/castellum/r/swedish-national-courts-administration-chooses-castellum-again-for-a-new-courthouse-building,c3142070

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/8364/3142070/1269928.pdf Release https://news.cision.com/castellum/i/hamngatan-fojab,c2800417 Hamngatan FOJAB

SOURCE Castellum
Former Finance Minister Rafi al-Issawi, a prominent Sunni figure, has returned to Iraq and turned himself in for trial on terrorism charges.

On June 21, parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi said Issawi has no ties to terrorism and that such allegations are malicious, saying Issawis return is a part of yearslong UN efforts involving Iraqs political and social reconciliation dossier. President Barham Salih has been engaged in Issawis return.

This brought a quick reaction from Shiite politicians. Fatah Alliance leader Hadi al-Ameri warned that he will take a clear and strong position on the matter of allowing Issawi to return and receive a new trial, and found it odd that Salih and other officials had such knowledge of Issawis return.

The State of Law Coalition led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki threatened June 19 to take up arms if the Saddam Hussein's Baath [Sunni-led party] was brought back to political life, as well as the terrorists and killers, [namely] the other side of the Baath.

However, before coming out with such a strongly worded stance, Maliki had tweeted, In Rafi al-Issawis case, we will respect the decision of a professional and impartial judicial system, in its judicial context.

Three days before Maliki's tweet, the Supreme Judicial Council said an Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service judge had arrested Issawi after he turned himself in to the judiciary on charges of terrorism, and that he is expected to be retried on charges of corruption and squandering public funds for which he was sentenced to seven years in prison in absentia in June 2017.

Issawi's arrival in Iraq ignited a wide controversy in political and media circles, with some denouncing his return and others welcoming it.

A senior source at the Iraqi Forces Alliance, the largest Sunni parliamentary bloc, told Al-Monitor, President Barham Salih and Faleh Fayadh, chairman of the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Units, sought to bring Issawi back to his standing [as a Sunni leader]. The source added, The talk is focused now on other Sunni leaders, such as former Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi and Sheikh Ali Hatem al-Suleiman, who will be able to come back in case a settlement is reached in Issawis dossier, considering that the dossier mainly revolves around him and that he was behind the 2013 demonstrations.

After Issawi came back, Hashemi  who was convicted on charges of terrorism  said he is willing to return to Iraq and turn himself in.

Speaking to Al-Monitor from Istanbul, where he resides, former Ninevah Gov. Atheel al-Nujaifi  who was convicted of corruption and of negligence in performing his duties in the fall of Mosul to the Islamic State in 2014  said he would return to Iraq once the files involving him are resolved.

The source at Iraqi Forces Alliance said, Nujaifi opened a direct channel with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi so as to have his judicial file settled and have a political return to Mosul," and added that the Turks and Qataris are pushing for Nujaifi's return.

Ihsan al-Shammari, who served as an adviser to the office of Haider al-Abadi when Abadi was prime minister, said, The return of Issawi and other leaders is  an attempt to rekindle a new Sunni project in Iraq so Sunnis can be better organized politically.

He said, This issue could be related to a vision put forward by Iran, namely an attempt to revive Iraqs internal political affairs based on Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish grounds.

Iran perceives the Iraqi Islamic Party, which Issawi and Hashemi are the most prominent leaders of, as being closer to Tehran than the rest of the Sunni parties. Based on that, Iran may be supporting the exiled Sunnis' return so as to obtain greater influence within the Sunni political community.

According to legal expert Tariq Harb, the Criminal Procedure Code 23 of 1971 grants those convicted to more than five years in prison in absentia the legal privilege to be retried when turning themselves in or after they are arrested.

Issawi worked with Maliki for nearly seven years. He served as deputy prime minister in the 2006-2010 government, and as finance minister from 2010-2013, when he resigned. Issawi had been at odds with Maliki since at least 2010. Sunni protests against Maliki's Shiite-led government began in Anbar province in December 2012 after Maliki had Issawi's bodyguards arrested.

The raid, the resignation and Maliki's issuance of an arrest warrant against Issawi prompted the Issa tribe he is a part of to also take to the streets in Anbar and take up arms in an attempt to defend him. These rotests and conflict were seen as a prelude to the Islamic State (IS) takeover of Mosul in 2014.

Harb said that he expects the ruling against Issawi to be voided and that he will be released, "in case he provides new evidence, documents and testimonies denying the charges brought against him, especially the financial and administrative corruption charges. Yet it is up to the court to decide and its ruling could be appealed.

That is not the first time that figures accused or convicted of charges of terrorism have returned. Mishaan al-Jaburi, a Sunni politician who owned Al-Zawraa Channel and who encouraged the taking up of arms against the Shiite-led government, returned in 2013. Three years later, Mohammed al-Daini, who was accused in the 2007 Iraqi parliament bombing, also came back to Iraq. Moreover, cases involving Sunni leader Khamis al-Khanjar, who was accused of financing IS, were settled. All of the above-mentioned figures returned to Iraq and were acquitted as well.
Many will agree with me the term amicus curiae brief became popular in Ghana in the 2012 election petition when the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed an application for amicus curiae, filed by Lawyer Benoni Tony Amekudzi, which sought to argue that it was unlawful for the NPP to join John Mahama to the lawsuit because he was a sitting president.

The court rejected the application by indicating that John Mahama had been sued as a candidate who had benefited from a supposedly fraudulent election. It is important to note that Lawyer Amekudzi was in court to draw the courts attention to a constitutional provision which he thought the court had not averted its mind to.

What is amicus curiae? Literally, amicus curiae is a "friend of the court" and amicus curiae brief is a document filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case. Normally, a person or group who is not a party to a lawsuit, but has a strong interest in the matter, will petition the court for permission to submit a brief in the action with the intent of providing expert opinion, or providing relevant information missing in the statements of claim or defence of the litigants or averting the mind of the court to a relevant legislation the court or the parties may have overlooked.

With this basic knowledge lets interrogate the brief filed by Imani and the other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) vis-a-vis the grounds for rejection of the application.

It is instructive to note that the court rejected the application simply because the amicus brief was not supported by law.

Imani failed to draw the courts attention to any law or decision that appears to have been overlooked by the parties in the case. When Chief Justice Anin Yeboah asked lawyer Joe Aboagye Debrah whether he had read the two cases pending at the Apex court, he responded that he had not read. Is it not surprising to any sane mind how Imani was able to reach a conclusion that they can add something new to the court if they had not read the writ? All hail franklin Cudjoe and his friends, the new magicians in town. This was a joke!!! Imani failed to demonstrate any expertise in law or regarding the matter pending to merit audience in the case. This is a matter that borders on legal interpretation and the Supreme Court has the primary and final jurisdiction. So, how on earth do you submit an amicus brief without reference to any relevant legislation or facts missing in the writs submitted by the litigants? As a CSO which has opinion on every issue but expertise on none, what sort of expert opinion were they seeking to express at the Supreme Court? Imani lacked the neutral identity expected of an amicus curiae in order to submit a brief. It is a fact that for a person to submit a curiae brief, you must be an interested party. It is your interest in the case that would move you to submit the application in the first place. However, it is unacceptable to appear as a friend of a party in the litigation disguising yourself as friend of the court. An amicus curiae is more or less an intervener, an impartial adviser to a court of law in a particular case. What was the meaning of that trick? Was it a case of an overhyped goat thinking it can outrun and escape from a lion?

We must recognize that the court is not deaf to happenings in its environment. The court takes cognizance of comments of people outside the court. This explains why some individuals including Sammi Awuku, Ken Kuranchie, Sir John and Atubiga were found to be contempt of the Supreme Court because of their comments outside the court.

The court was aware of the position and utterances of the CSOs so for them to cloak themselves as friends of the court was extremely disingenuous. For all intents and purposes, Imani and the other CSOs had not gone to the court to assist it with any new information useful in determining the matter but rather to support a side.

I find it quite disturbing to read arguments from Prof Azar and Prof. H.K Nketia which sought to suggest that the issue of neutrality of an amicus curiae is alien. I am convinced Justice Baffoe Bonie was right in directing the CSOs to rather join the case or submit the so-called arsenals or relevant information they have to the party they support.

I have always advised that we should be mindful of some of these vulture CSOs and the way the media gives them so much opportunity to sometimes express their pedestrian views as if they are experts and are embodiment of knowledge in all fields from archaeology to medicine.

Franklin Cudjoe and Bright Simons made so much noise in the media that the Electoral Commission had no right and justification for compiling a new voters register yet they were afraid to take the matter to court. They knew it was going to be a Sisyphusian task to convince the Supreme Court with their hollow arguments so they sought to engage in populist gimmicks. We entertain too much empty noise in Ghana.

I wish the Supreme Court had sanctioned Imani and the other CSOs to deter others from treating the apex court as some kind of an amphitheatre for comedy. I thought the Amekudzi amicus curiae joke in 2013 was enough. With all said, I feel very sad for lawyer Joe Aboagye Debrah. He is a fine, brilliant Lawyer. He didnt deserve this. Unfortunately, a client with a bad case has a way of subjecting an experienced lawyer to public ridicule. I hope somebody has learnt a lesson.

Asiedu Nketias Comfortable lead

Were you surprised about the speed with which Asiedu Nketia spoke with the Media? The truth is, Asiedu Nketia is not happy with Mr Koku Anyidoho for his utterances in the media in recent times. Yes, seriously. HmAsiedu Nketia has become so petty and jealous of Koku Anyidoho to the extent that he was willing to go every extent to take the comfortable lead tittle from Koku. Hurraylets welcome General Mosquito, the new King of comfortable lead. You can laugh again!! But on a more serious note, I disagree with those who have subjected the NDC General Secretary to ridicule thinking he misunderstood the verdict. What Asiedu Nketia did was a calculated grand scheme to create unnecessary chaos. The NDC is not comfortable with the compilation of a new voters register and have decided to go every length to disrupt or stall the process no matter how ludicrous and farcical it will appear in the sight of right thinking Ghanaians. Didnt you see the tenacity and confidence with which he spoke about their comfortable lead? Even legal aficionados who had read the statement of claim and the reliefs of the NDC and were sure the NDC didnt have any strong argument intelligent enough to convince the Supreme Court were thrown off balance by the sheer bravado of Asiedu Nketia.

Did you see how Abraham Amaliba and Edudzi Tamakloe both NDC lawyers who are supposed to know better were standing behind the general secretary nodding their heads like agama lizards in support of such ignorance, lies, misinformation and misreporting instead of correcting him? They knew what they were doing. I agree with those who say the journalists should have spoken to the lawyers instead of Asiedu Nketia. However, I do not think they would have said anything different from what General Mosquito said. They had rehearsed the same statement.

The Facebook President

As for the Facebook President, Mr John Mahama, the least said about him the better. He now behaves like a lousy boxer who has been dealt a hefty blow. Ntase ntase akye no. He struggled to make any sense in his press briefing after the Supreme Court verdict. His attempts to incite people against the Electoral Commission and the hardworking government of Nana Akufo-Addo will not wash.

Indubitably, John Mahama and his NDC are setting the agenda to discredit the impending general election with the view to legitimizing their future post-election misbehaviour. Ghanaians should not treat such a devilish agenda against the peace of the country as some form of joke and laugh it off. We will resist any attempt by any dead goat to resurrect to disturb the peace of the country.

The Supreme Court has spoken and the verdict is unambiguous. The EC is ready to ensure all qualified Ghanaians are registered. Remember you have the right to vote but you have responsibility to register before you can enjoy such right. Let us be citizens, follow the necessary COVID-19 protocols and join the queue to register to vote. Elections belong you. It's your decision. But if you decide to turn your back on the fire and burn your behinds, then you will just have to sit on your blisters.

Long live Ghana

James McKeown

1st Vice Chairman,

NPP- Finland

[email protected]

[email protected]
An Accra High Court has awarded damages against Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Assin Central Constituency MP in a suit filed by Editor-in-chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr.



According to the High Court, the Assin Central MP has been given 30 days to retract and apologies three times on the platforms he made those defamatory statements against Mr. Kweku Baako.



Kweku Baako who was seeking reliefs including general damages in the sum of GH25million against Mr Agyapong was awarded a sum of Ghc 100,000 and Ghc 30,000 as cost of legal expenses by the High Court.



Peace FM's 'kokrokoo' programme morning show host, Kwami Sefa Kayi announced on his show, Friday morning.



More details soon . . .



Background of Gh25m defamation suit



The Editor-in-chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr sued the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, for defamation.



Kweku Baako is seeking reliefs including general damages in the sum of GH25million against Mr Agyapong.



In his statement of claim, Kweku Baako states that, on July 18, 2018 and on several occasions thereafter, Mr Agyapong published several statements against him on Oman FM, Net 2 TV, Adom FM and Asempa FM which are defamatory.



According to him, on certain occasions when the hosts of the programmes on which he made those defamatory comments against him asked him to retract or provide facts to back the claims he [Agyapong] made failed to do so.



According to Kweku Baako, Mr Agyapongs assertions have affected his image and reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of the society.



He is, therefore, asking the court to order Mr Agyapong to retract his comments and render an unqualified apology to him.



He is also asking the court to place a perpetual injunction restraining Mr Agyapong, his agents, assigns and servants from further publishing any defamatory words against him.



Kweku Baako filed the suit at the Accra High Court on Tuesday October 16, 2018.



Accept my terms or forget it



Veteran Journalist, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Junior insisted businessman Kennedy Agyapong either agrees to his terms of settlement or forget an out of court settlement as proposed by his lawyers.



Unless my terms are accepted it is as simple as that. The basic point is retract and apologize publicly. The key point is retraction and apology otherwise let the courts determine, he said on Metro TV in an interview last year.



Lawyers of Mr. Kennedy Agyapong had prayed to an Accra High Court for an out of court settlement in a defamation suit according to Mr. Kweku Baako who said this was not the first time.



There have been attempts to do an out of court settlement at their initiative. Money is not the problem but I have already gone in the dock and given my testimony he came on to do his but it was truncated because the judge adjourned. There were other businesses she wanted to deal with but when we came back the next court day, they had come with an initiative seeking for an out of court settlement, he revealed.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Adani Transmission has signed Share Purchase Agreement with Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company on 25 June, 2020 for acquisition of its entire stake in Kharghar Vikhroli Transmission (KVTPL).

KVPTL Project comprises of approximately 34 km of 400 kV and 220 kV transmission lines along with 1500 MVA 400kV GIS Substation at Vikhroli in Mumbai. This project is critical to the city of Mumbai as the existing capacity of transmission corridor is not sufficient to carry further power into the city. This project would enable additional power to be brought into Mumbai and would thus help in meeting the future demand of the city.

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(Alliance News) - Ingredion Inc on Friday said the Supreme Court of Bermuda has made an order sanctioning the acquisition of PureCircle Ltd by Ingredion SRSS Holdings Ltd.

The last day of PureCircle's trading in London is expected to be Tuesday next week, with shares to be suspended on Wednesday next week. The day after, the shares will be cancelled.

Back in April, the stevia sweetener producer agreed a GBP185.3 million takeover offer from US-based food ingredients maker.

Under the terms of the acquisition, PureCircle shareholders will receive 100 pence in cash for each PureCircle share or will be able to receive shares in SRSS Holdings Ltd, a UK company formed by Westchester, Illinois-based starch producer Ingredion.

PureCircle investors opting for the share alternative will get one SRSS share for each PureCircle share held.

Following the completion of the deal, Ingredion will own 75% of SRSS, while minority PurcCircle shareholders electing for the share alternative will own 25%.

PureCircle shares closed 0.2% lower in London on Friday at 96.40 pence each.

By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Malaysia, which does not recognise refugee status, has recently turned away boats and detained hundreds of Rohingya.

Malaysia can no longer take in Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has said, citing a struggling economy and dwindling resources as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Muslim-majority Malaysia has long been a favoured destination for Rohingya people seeking a better life after fleeing a 2017 military-led crackdown in Myanmar and refugee camps in Bangladesh.

But Malaysia, which does not recognise refugee status, has recently turned away boats and detained hundreds of Rohingya, amid rising anger towards foreigners who have been accused of spreading the coronavirus and taking up scarce state funds.

We can no longer take more as our resources and capacity are already stretched, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, Muhyiddin said in a teleconference with other leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes Myanmar.

Yet, Malaysia is unfairly expected to do more to accommodate incoming refugees.





Divisive issue

The treatment of Rohingya people has been divisive for ASEAN, with its two Muslim-majority members  Malaysia and Indonesia  criticising Buddhist-majority Myanmar and expressing growing frustration with Rohingya arriving on boats operated by people smugglers.

Myanmar denies abuses against members of the minority in Rakhine state in western Myanmar, but says the Rohingya are not citizens but undocumented immigrants from South Asia.

Rohingya have for years boarded boats between November and April, when the seas are calm, to get to Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Muhyiddin urged the United Nations refugee agency to speed up the resettlement of Rohingya in Malaysia to third countries. The UNHCR says there are more than 100,000 Rohingya in Malaysia, though rights groups say the number is higher.

He also called for more efforts to combat the trafficking of Rohingya, who he said were increasingly at risk for exploitation, slavery and recruitment by armed groups.

ASEAN must do more to help Myanmar, and Myanmar must also do more to help itself for this crisis to be put behind us, he said.

Dozens of Rohingya refugees died and their bodies were thrown overboard from a boat that later landed on a Malaysian island this month with 269 people on board, authorities said.

On Thursday, 94 Rohingya refugees were rescued by fishermen from a boat adrift off Indonesia.
A teenage girl has been killed while showing her mother a dance routine at their Chicago home.

Amaria Jones, 13, was dancing for her mother when a stray bullet flew through their living room window and hit her in the neck.

Lawanda Jones said that her last memory of her daughter was the sight of blood gushing from her wounded neck.

Ms Jones said that before 9pm on Saturday, Amaria was showing her a dance routine she learned on TikTok when the sound of gunfire rang out outside their home in west Chicago.

Amaria Jones (family photo)

She told CBS that the bullet smashed the family's television and hit Amaria on her neck while she danced.

Ms Jones added: "I turned around and I was looking for her and she was on the ground reaching out like this, holding her neck. I was like, 'What?! What?! What?!'"

Amaria died about half an hour later after being rushed to hospital. Two boys were also wounded in the incident and received hospital treatment.

Lawanda, whose nephew was also reportedly killed last year, called on the person who killed Amaria to come forward.

Amaria was one of 100 people shot over the weekend of June 19-21 in Chicago. Fourteen died, of whom four were children - including a three-year-old.

Mekhi James was hit by a stray bullet while sitting in the back seat of his stepfather's car, two hours before Amaria was killed.

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown told reporters: Bullets dont just tear apart the things they strike. Bullets also tear apart families. Bullets destroy neighbourhoods and they ruin any sense of safety in a community."
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio

Theft: Cedar Road

At 11:10 a.m. June 21, police responded to an alarm that emanated from the T-Mobile store at 13996 Cedar Road. Employees reported that a man, between the ages of 35 and 40 and wearing a protective mask, had stolen a demonstration phone valued at $1,100. Police were unable to locate the suspect and are investigating.

Noise violation: Milton Road

Just after midnight June 15, police received a loud noise complaint and traced the music to a Milton Road home. Police cited the homes resident, a man, 37, for a noise violation.

Theft: South Green Road

At 3:10 p.m. June 15, an employee of Heinens, 2180 S. Green Road, went to the police station to report the theft of meat worth a total value of $96.29. Police took a report and are investigating.

Property damage: Groveland Road

At 5:15 p.m. June 15, a resident reported that there were multiple scratch marks found on both of the cars parked in his driveway.

Burglary: Warrensville Center Road

At 5:40 p.m. June 17, a woman reported that she had returned home to find that the front door had been forced open. Police are investigating.

Theft: Warrensville Center Road

At 6:55 p.m. June 19, it was reported that security at Macys, 2201 Warrensville Center Road, had attempted to stop a shoplifter leaving the store with stolen property. A total of $461 worth of merchandise was stolen.

As security chased the suspect, he dropped some of the merchandise. The suspects car was identified from a prior theft he had committed at the store. Police are investigating.

Warrant arrest: Washington Boulevard

At 12:45 p.m. June 20, a man informed police that, on that day, a protection order had been issued against his wife, naming him and his residence as the protected person and property. The man told police that his wife was now at his house.

At the house, police learned that the woman, 46, was the subject of a Cleveland police warrant pertaining to the protection order. The woman was arrested and taken to the Solon jail.

Disorderly conduct: Washington Boulevard

At 8:55 p.m. June 20, police responded to a call of a man stumbling as he walked on Cedar Road. Officers found the man passed out on the sidewalk. The Garfield Heights man, 31, was charged with disorderly conduct/intoxication and resisting arrest.

Disturbance: Fairmount Boulevard

At 10:40 a.m. June 21, police were called to Bellefaire JCB, 22001 Fairmount Blvd., on a report of a disturbance. At the scene, officers learned that there had been a small altercation among clients in the commons area. As staff cleared the room, it was noticed that a teen boy was on the floor, having a seizure.

It is believed that the boy had been involved in an altercation with another boy over a sweatshirt. Police took the boy who had been seizing to the hospital. Investigation revealed that the seizing boy was injured by the other boy. The detective bureau is following up on the matter.

Read more from the Sun Press.
OAKLAND, Calif., June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest integrated health system, announced a series of actions  including $60 million in joint investments and $40 million in grant funding  to address systemic racism and lack of economic opportunities that have persisted for far too long and prevented communities of color, and especially Black communities, from achieving total health. This announcement comes as Kaiser Permanente deepens its 75-year commitment to equity and inclusion and sends a clear message that the organization stands with those who are fighting for equity and social justice.

"The tragic murder of George Floyd and so many others has reverberated around the world, pushing us to demand overdue change to a status quo that keeps communities of color in the margins and holds us all back as a society," said Greg A. Adams, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente. "As a country, this is a moment to define who we are and what we stand for. We must take strong action to stop the physical, psychological, economic and social impacts of inequity and systemic racism so that we can create healthier communities where everybody, regardless of their skin color, can feel safe and thrive."

Support for businesses led by Black and other underrepresented communities

As a critical step toward supporting communities in overcoming systemic and structural disadvantages, Kaiser Permanente will provide support to more than 2,000 businesses owned by Black and other underrepresented people across the country. Communities of color are disproportionately impacted by a lack of economic opportunity, living under sustained financial strain that creates multiple barriers to good health. The health crisis and economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic are hitting low-income and communities of color  particularly Black communities  disproportionately hard, threatening to widen the health equity gap in even further.

To support businesses led by Black and other underrepresented individuals, Kaiser Permanente and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the nation's largest community development organization, have launched a $60 million investment partnership to strengthen businesses in the wake of COVID-19. The partnership will provide business loans of $100,000 to $4 million. Kaiser Permanente is also designating $15 million in grant dollars to increase access to formal training, business networks, and recovery and growth capital to help businesses led by Black and other underrepresented groups overcome systemic economic disadvantage. Pacific Community Ventures and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC)  two organizations with expertise in the needs of these small-businesses owners  will be initial partners in this work.

"All across the country, we can see that health and wealth are inextricably linked. Creating pathways for people to get back to work in quality jobs, and for small businesses to get on solid ground and grow, is so important for the well-being of the nation at large," said Maurice A. Jones, LISC president and CEO. "This new partnership with Kaiser Permanente not only helps small businesses sustain their operations during the pandemic, but it also looks to the future strengthening the economic infrastructure of our communities so that families and businesses can thrive."

Grassroots efforts to end systemic racism and break cycles of trauma

Kaiser Permanente also announced actions to help end systemic racism and break the cycles of trauma and chronic stress that contribute to poor health outcomes.

Kaiser Permanente was one of the first health care organizations to recognize the link between trauma and health through the landmark adverse childhood events, or ACEs, study it conducted along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Today it is understood that traumatic childhood events  which include systemic racism as well as abuse, neglect and household dysfunction  are associated with a long-lasting, exaggerated chronic stress response that has been linked to chronic health conditions, including an increase in mental health issues. Previous studies have indicated that those with 4 or more ACEs are 12 times more likely to attempt suicide and those with 6 or more ACEs have a 20-year shorter life expectancy. Research has also shown that Black people experience 11 percent more ACEs than white people at all income levels.

Kaiser Permanente is designating an additional $25 million in grants to build upon its work to address ACEs and trauma and to support grassroots efforts to end systemic racism. In the coming weeks, Kaiser Permanente will solicit proposals from community based organizations, particularly those that are led or governed by Black people or other people of color, that are focused on dismantling discriminatory institutional practices and structures and/or on promoting healing from chronic stress, trauma and grief that stems from systemic racism and social injustice.

Commitments to workplace inclusiveness and supplier diversity

Kaiser Permanente is also stepping up its commitment to workplace inclusiveness and supplier diversity. This internal work will build upon the organization's existing commitment to the Billion Dollar Roundtable and related efforts to spend almost $2 billion per year on women-, LGBTQ+-, veteran-, individuals of color-, and individuals with disabilities-owned enterprises. Efforts to improve workplace inclusiveness will take the shape of a workforce equity analysis to identify improvement areas and redesign core talent programs to reflect inclusion; adopting science-based strategies to further remove bias and racial inequities from the employee and physician experience; and an accelerated approach to health equity through a new advisory board.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 12.4 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. https://about.kaiserpermanente.org

For more information, contact:

Hilary Costa, [email protected]

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente

Related Links

http://www.kaiserpermanente.org


Demonstrators at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix joined in support of those in cities around the globe protesting against President Trump in 2017. (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

President Trumps storied grip on the white working class is weakening among women, threatening both his reelection prospects and his party's efforts to improve its standing with female voters.

While working-class men remain among Trumps most loyal backers, defections among their wives, sisters and daughters are a big part of the president's recent slide in opinion polls. That gives Democrat Joe Biden a shot at winning a swath of female voters that have long favored the GOP.

White working-class women heavily favored Trump in 2016. But recent polls show they are being driven away by his combative style, his erratic handling of the coronavirus crisis and his effort to quickly reopen the economy despite health risks.

These women will be a real battleground, said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster who is working with the Biden campaign. These women are also cross-pressured, because they are surrounded by Trump-supporting men in their lives.

Four years ago, Trump won among white women of the working class  which pollsters typically define as people without a college degree  by a 27 percentage-point margin over the white woman at the head of the Democrats' ticket, Hillary Clinton, according to exit polls. His edge over Biden in that group, however, was just 6 points in a Washington Post/ABC News poll in late May.

If those numbers hold, Brookings Institution scholar William Galston calculated it could cut 2 percentage points from Trump's popular vote total and likely sink his reelection hopes.

It took a near-miracle for him to win the electoral college with only 46% of the popular vote in 2016, said Galston, who has advised six Democratic presidential campaigns. With 44% of the vote, it would not be possible.

Surveys in some battleground states have found Biden not just slashing Trump's lead among working-class white women but overtaking him. In Wisconsin, where Trump beat Clinton among white women without college degrees by a 16-point margin, Marquette University Law School polling has found the president trailing Biden in eight of the nine polls conducted since August 2019.

Story continues

The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee have launched a major effort to recapture the support of women who were with him in 2016 but did not show up for Republican candidates in the 2018 midterm elections. They are called 'downshifters,'" RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in an interview with 19th, an online womens news outlet. "They were with us, they lapsed, and they are easier to get back."

The goal is to hold on to women like Connie Logerfo, an 83-year-old retired baker in New York who is supporting Trump even though she is unhappy with his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including his refusal to wear a face mask to halt the spread of the virus.

I do like Trump; I think what he is doing is good, Logerfo said. But I think he should set a better example.

It will be hard, however, for Trump to win over women like McKaelyn Henderson, a 22-year-old Republican in San Diego who liked his business policies, but lost patience with his Twitter tirades and what she believes is a cavalier attitude toward the pandemic.

If hes not taking issues like this seriously, what else is he not taking seriously? said Henderson, who is considering voting for Biden or a third-party candidate. Honestly, I think he needs to stay off Twitter and not let his emotions get the better of him.

Republicans have suffered from a yawning gender gap for years. The party saw its share of the female electorate dwindle from 42% in 1994 to 37% in 2017, according to the Pew Research Center. Trump drew 42% of the female vote against Clinton, exit polls found, despite his big margin among white working-class women.

His election spawned a backlash among female voters that was evident with the massive Womens March after his inauguration and helped Democrats win control of the House in 2018. Women voters favored Democratic candidates by 19 points.

"When you are losing a majority of the electorate by 19 points, that's a pretty difficult position to be in," Republican pollster David Winston said. You just cant do that.

To try to recapture support among women, the RNC and the Trump campaign are using a sophisticated data operation to target the downshifters, inviting them to Women for Trump events and other new outreach programs that have gone online during the pandemic. The RNC said it has hosted 110 women's events since the shutdown began.

There are so many women who support Trump all over the country, but I feel like we don't always get to meet each other, Danielle DSouza Gill, a conservative writer, said during an online event for young Republican women. So sometimes it kind of feels like you're the only one.

One party official said the online format has helped in reaching working-class women who might otherwise struggle to get to an actual meeting because of child-care demands or because they are in a remote town.

A Trump campaign official shrugged off troubling poll findings and insisted that the president is making strides with women. The official pointed to an increase in the share of campaign donations that come from women. According to the campaign, roughly half of its fundraising comes from women compared with just over a quarter in 2016.

Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg found signs of waning support for Trump among working-class women long before the country was socked with the pandemic, economic crisis and civil unrest over police brutality against Black Americans.

In focus groups of working-class voters he conducted a year ago in Maine and Wisconsin, Greenberg found that the president had consolidated the support of men. But one-third of the women who had voted for Trump in 2016 said they were considering voting for someone else.

They pulled off because his ego makes him impulsive and a bully, healthcare remains unaffordable, hes dividing the country, he doesnt care about the working class, only the 1 percent, hes corrupt and out for himself and he doesnt respect women, said a report on the focus groups.

Since then, the coronavirus crisis and the resulting economic woes have driven a wedge between working-class men and women: Female voters are more critical of Trumps handling of the pandemic, and men are more eager to reopen the economy, polls show.

If there were an example in politics of women coming from Venus and men coming from Mars, its now in the response to the COVID crisis, said Lake, the Democratic pollster.

The Washington Post/ABC poll in May found that 71% of white men without a college degree approved of Trumps handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with 51% of women without a degree.

Asked whether it was more important to control the virus or open the economy, 57% of white noncollege women gave priority to controlling the virus even if it hurts the economy, while 59% of working-class men said restarting the economy was more important, even if it hurt efforts to control the virus.

As most polls find that voters trust Trump more than Biden to handle the economy, the Biden team is trying to cut into that support by telling working-class women that Trumps policies benefit the wealthy and big corporations, not small businesses and consumers.

We are the party of the working people, Rep. Haley Stevens said at a virtual Michigan Women for Biden event that drew 1,200 online participants. Joe Biden  a man from Scranton [Pa.]  he knows what hard work is. He knows what the values of work means. Thats how were going to get out of this. Hes going to get us fair pay, he is going to protect womens rights.

Ruy Teixeira, a political demographer at the liberal Center for American Progress, said it might be hard for Trump to win back working-class women because they not only tend to favor more liberal policies than men, but they've also tired of Trump's behavior.

In 2016, maybe they werent yet sick of his style. They are pretty sick of it now, Teixeira said. What was keeping some of them in the Trump camp was the need to try something new. But women are more likely than the men to have concluded hes a divider, not a uniter."

With Trump struggling to hold on to the working-class women who voted for him, he surely wont win back Republicans like Teresa Frey, 60, a Navy veteran in Lapeer, Mich., who voted for Clinton in 2016 and cannot imagine coming back into the party fold to vote for Trump.

Said Frey: Its the lump sum of his inability to focus on anything but the mirror.

Times staff writer Evan Halper contributed to this report.
Born in Santa Monica, Calif., in 1927, Stanley joined the Navy near the end of World War II at the age of 17. Following the war, he attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where he studied political science. But shortly after graduating, he was drafted by the Army to serve in the Korean War.
The Lennons came into my life, unexpectedly, and in different ways. What in the world am I talking about? I will explain. On Wednesday, I saw an extraordinary tweet written by Sean Ono Lennon  son of John and Yoko. He wrote,

Those who want to see everything through a lens of race and class, judging individuals based on immutable characteristics, pretend to be fighting the very thing they are enacting. And none of us wish to speak up because we have been bullied into silence. Anyway how was your day?

Holy smokes. I guess I am now a Lennonist. (I have never been much of a Marxist, not quite cottoning to the humor of those very talented brothers.)

Yesterday morning, Ben Shapiro circulated this article, from the editor-in-chief of Yahoo Music. The title of the article: Why it might be time to finally replace The Star-Spangled Banner with a new national anthem.

The writer quotes an activist and journalist named Kevin Powell, who suggests that The Star-Spangled Banner be replaced by Imagine, the John Lennon song. Powell called it the most beautiful, unifying, all-people, all-backgrounds-together kind of song you could have.

I of course thought of William F. Buckley Jr. and a classic column of his, written in 1990. Enjoy it here. And I will quote a sentence: Now I do not know the melody of Imagine, but I have the lyrics in front of me, and what it amounts to is a kind of Bible, as written by the sorcerers apprentice.

 My whole life, I have heard one cry from the Left: racist, of course, but now I am thinking of warmonger. Ronald Reagan was called a warmonger every single day. When he ran for president in 1980, I was a junior in high school, and some of the kids referred to him as Ronald Ray-Gun.

(Three years later, his missile-defense initiative would be derided as Star Wars.)

John Bolton is an old Reaganite, and indeed Goldwaterite. On Election Day 1964, when he was 15, he got permission to be absent from school, in order to pass out leaflets for Goldwater.

Story continues

One of the candidates concepts was peace through strength. Goldwater didnt make it, but Reagan did, carrying that concept to the White House.

I am going down Memory Lane because of a statement from the Republican National Committee. On Twitter, the RNC denounced Bolton as a warmonger. This has always been the denunciation of the Left. Now it is the denunciation of the GOP, officially.

A young colleague of mine, Jimmy Quinn, forwarded me an article about Eliot Engel in Jacobin. Engel is a veteran Democratic congressman from New York who has just been defeated in a primary; Jacobin is a leftist magazine. The magazine called Engel a longtime and steadfast warmonger.

Thus do Left and Right come together, using the same language. On Twitter, I decried this new reality in our politics, and a writer for The American Conservative magazine commented, its like the only good thing going on.

That is where we are.

I further think of what Patrick J. Buchanan told Tim Alberta, in Politico, at the beginning of the Trump presidency. (Buchanan, remember, ran for president a couple of times himself.) The ideas made it, said PJB, but I didnt.

The ideas made it indeed.

 Diamond & Silk, the Trumpite media duo, appeared at the presidents recent rally in Tulsa. Donald Trump is not a racist, they said, hes a realist. The only color he sees is green  and he wants you to have some of it.

I thought of what Larry Holmes said about Don King. Holmes, you remember, was heavyweight champion, and King was a promoter (and con man) (and friend of Trumps). Said Holmes of King: He looks black, lives white, and thinks green.

 Take a look at this offering from RFE/RL  Now thats higher education. Yup. The story concerns a Pakistani college student whose classes have been forced online  whose havent?  and who must climb mountains to get an Internet connection.

Aint no mountain high enough;

Aint no valley low enough;

Aint no river wide enough

To keep me from gettin to you, babe.

RFE/RL is a combo of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. As readers may know, I value this organization highly, as do so many around the world. I wrote about it two years ago, here. I also value the other radios: including Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. They are jewels in the American crown, doing a ton of good for not very much dough.

Until the other day, Jamie Fly headed RFE/RL; Libby Liu headed RFA; and Alberto Fernandez headed MBN. (He is a Cuban American who became an Arabist.) I admire them all highly. And suddenly they are all gone, in what seems a great Bannonite brooming.

Nervous times.

One more story, please, from RFE/RL  which says that Russian schools are getting a new surveillance system called, honest to goodness, Orwell. Read about it here.

 My friend and colleague David French wrote a piece that explains important things. Published in Time magazine, its titled Boltons Book Wont Make a Difference in Trumpland.

David notes that the presidents supporters hold tight to him in spite of the fact that he routinely engages in behavior that theyd condemn in any other politician. David continues,

Gallons and gallons of ink have been spilled explaining this phenomenon, and all the popular theories have some merit. Yes, he fights the media and the Democrats, and GOP base voters will tell you that they long for a fighter. Yes, theres a transactional element to some of his support. So long as he nominates good judges and grants his base the political victories they want, he gets a pass on his personal behavior. But to this day, I think journalists gloss over a separate, important reality  his voters simply dont believe many of the facts about Trumps conduct.

That is so true. I have witnessed it in my own, personal experience, over and over (as has David).

Think back to the impeachment trial in the Senate. Lamar Alexander said, in essence, We dont need any more evidence or any more testimony. Everyone knows the president is guilty of what hes been charged with. We just dont think it merits removal from office. Some of my colleagues said, Yes, yes  well put.

But the thing is, they knew he was guilty. Millions upon millions did not  because they never heard or read anything that told them so. On the contrary. It was hoax this, Deep State that.

Again, David French has written an important and gratifying piece.

 A tweet from Richard Samuelson:

@jaynordlinger A little language. NY Times in the 1619 libel speaks of The abolishment of slavery, as opposed to the abolition of slavery. I correct my students. Has the linguistic convention changed?

My answer:

Two good English words. I myself prefer abolition. But I love the bigness of our language, its protean nature. We are spoiled for choice, as the Brits say. We are showered with options. Its really a pleasure to express oneself in this language.

Two days later, someone circulated a cartoon. It shows Noah in his ark (apparently). A penguin is labeled Latin. A rabbit is labeled French. An elephant is labeled German. A lobster is labeled Greek. An octopus is labeled Norse.

Standing apart from this menagerie is a strange-looking animal, combining elements of the other animals: a trunk, a claw, etc. Noah points at it and says, What the hell is this? The strange, hybrid animal is labeled English.

Thats one of the things I so love about our language (and about America, by the way).

 The New York Times obituarized Shirley Siegel, Leading New York Civil Rights Lawyer, who died at 101. Allow me to excerpt:

After graduating fourth in a class of 125 from Yale Law School in 1941  her classmates included a future president, Gerald R. Ford; a future Supreme Court justice, Potter Stewart; and the future founding director of the Peace Corps, R. Sargent Shriver  40 law firms rejected her job application, despite an unsolicited endorsement from Arthur L. Corbin, a Yale professor. Anyone who employs her in legal work will have reason to be thankful to us, Professor Corbin wrote. And she needs help to get a starting job, first because she is a girl, and second because she is Jewish. There is no reason for the slightest hesitation on either ground.

I love that. (Never mind the dangling participle in the first paragraph, or first sentence.)

 In the Associated Press, the headline read, Plastic keeps virus, not love away from Spain nursing home. Will you get a load of the photo? (Here.) Snapped by Emilio Morenatti, its an all-timer.

See you, my friends.

If youd like to receive Impromptus by e-mail  links to new columns  write to jnordlinger@nationalreview.com.

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Anoop Menon, the talented actor-writer is back again with yet another love story. Recently, the multi-faceted talent announced that he is all set to romance the Oru Adaar Love fame actress Priya Prakash Varrier in his next outing, through his official social media pages. Reportedly, the duo is teaming up for an upcoming project, which has been titled as Nalpathukaarante Irupathiyonnukaari.

The actor-writer, who is all excited about the project, took to official social media pages to reveal the title and major details. 'Teaming up with vkp after "Trivandrum lodge"...announcing the title ..bless us with your love..' wrote Anoop Menon in his post. Anoop Menon and Priya Prakash Varrier will essay the titular characters, Nalpathukaaran and Irupathiyonnukaari respectively in the movie.

Nalpathukaarante Irupathiyonnukaari will mark Anoop Menon's third collaboration with the renowned filmmaker VK Prakash, after the superhits Beautiful and Trivandrum Lodge. The movie, which is scripted by the actor-writer himself, reportedly revolves around the unique love story of a 40-year-old man and a 21-year-old girl. As per the reports, the team is yet to finalise the rest of the cast and crew of the project, which is expected to start rolling once the lockdown ends.

The Anoop Menon-VK Prakash project will thus mark the comeback of Priya Prakash Varrier to the Malayalam film industry, after a short hiatus. The young actress, who made her Malayalam acting debut with the Omar Lulu directorial Oru Adaar Love, had taken a break from the industry after her debut due to her commitments in other languages.

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Lijo Jose Pellissery Writes A Thought-Provoking Note, Calls Himself An Independent Filmmaker
The US Senate on Thursday (local time) passed a bill by unanimous consent that would impose sanctions on China for its decision to implement the controversial national security law on Hong Kong, which critics say will erode the city's democratic freedoms.

One of the bills, the Autonomy Act, would slap sanctions on individuals and businesses that help China restrict the autonomy of The bill was authored by Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, CNN reported.

"What the government of China is doing in is unacceptable. They are taking away the rights of people in Hong Kong. They are snuffing out freedoms that exist there right now," Van Hollen was quoted as saying.

A second measure from Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri is a resolution condemning China for violating the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in 1984 to guarantee autonomy for Hong Kong.

The new security law being adopted by China would "deal a mighty blow to the freedoms and liberties that Hong Kongers have enjoyed for decades now. It is a permanent break from the one country, two systems principle that has governed that city since 1997," said Hawley.

The measures, which were combined into one bill before getting the Senate's nod, still needs to be passed in the House of Representatives before President Donald Trump gives his assent.

Last month, Trump had said that his administration will revise the State Department's travel advisory for Hong Kong to reflect "increased danger of punishment by the Chinese state security apparatus".

Massive demonstrations in Hong Kong have prevented China from implementing the security law, but Beijing has made it clear that the legislation would be enacted "without delay". Under the law, a police unit will be established to oversee the implementation of the legislation, along with secret policing in the former British colony.

The security law has been criticised by the international community despite both China and Hong Kong's leadership asserting that they have the full right to implement the legislation.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Although rye has a pronounced American identity, distillers point out that the grain itself has deep roots in the Old World, especially in Northern and Eastern Europe. At Kyro Distillery Company, a six-year-old producer in the Ostrobothnia region of western Finland, the distiller Kalle Valkonen compared the flavors of his spirit to those of another local culinary staple.

In 2017, when Finland was turning 100 years, rye bread was voted to be the national dish, Mr. Valkonen said. We have a really, really intimate relationship with rye and especially rye bread. If we want to make a particularly Finnish whiskey, it needs to be rye.

Like InchDairnie, Arbikie and other European distillers, Kyro produces its rye whiskey on a pot still, rather than the column stills commonly used in the United States.

Otherwise, theres a good amount of regional variation. InchDairnie makes its spirit with malted rye, though Arbikie uses unmalted rye; both use less than 60 percent rye in total, with the remainder being malted barley. At Kyro, the mash bill  the list of grains used  is 100 percent malted rye, echoing the traditionally all-rye recipe of Finnish bread, Mr. Valkonen said. (Many American versions contain 51 percent rye, the legal minimum, or just slightly more, while relatively few are made from 80, 90 or even 100 percent rye.)

In Southwold, on the Suffolk coast in England, the Adnams brewery and distillery was inspired to make its rye whiskey by the nearby village of Reydon, whose name means something like rye on the hill. Adnams Rye Malt was initially released as a 100 percent rye spirit in 2017, said the head brewer, Fergus Fitzgerald, and is currently made from 75 percent rye malt, distilled on a pot still using rye grown by the companys owner.

Wed already made a couple of whiskeys, obviously with barley, and we did one with some wheat and some oats and barley, but we hadnt done anything with rye, although we were using rye in one of our beers quite a lot, Mr. Fitzgerald said. So that came up, that conversation about Reydon having this historic link to growing rye, and then Jonathan Adnams said he would go and grow it.
Compassion first

When a far-right demonstrator at a protest in London this month found himself on the ground being pummeled by angry protesters, his salvation came in an unexpected form: a member of Black Lives Matter.

Patrick Hutchinson, a black British member of the U.S.-founded activist group, intervened with some friends. Hutchinson, a grandfather and personal trainer, lifted the white demonstrator over his shoulder and carried him to safety.

Hutchinsons actions have been hailed by British media and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In an interview, Hutchinson contrasted the actions he and his friends took with those not taken in Minneapolis on May 25: If the other three police officers that were standing around when George Floyd was murdered had thought about intervening, and stopping their colleague from doing what he was doing, like what we did, George Floyd would be alive today still.

Devin Nunes Cow wins in court

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-California, has long asserted that a fake internet cow libeled him. He sued the parody cow in court, but a California judge effectively ruled Wednesday that statements made by imaginary farm animals on Twitter are not covered under defamation and libel statutes. The judge also ruled that Twitter cannot be held responsible for the content, including obvious parodies, posted by account holders.

The rest of the world pretty much already knew this. But Nunes, who tragically was born without a sense of humor, insisted that the Twitter accounts known as Devin Nunes Cow and Devin Nunes Mom were responsible for defaming him. And since Twitter hosted the accounts, it should be subject to the libel suit as well. He demanded $250 million in compensation from the cow and Twitter. He also wants $400 million from Twitter critic Liz Mair.

The judge should have cited Nunes for filing a frivolous lawsuit and wasting the courts time. Being a federal lawmaker, Nunes should have known that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects online providers like Twitter from being held responsible for what account holders post. Besides, theres this other technicality called the First Amendment.

Modernizing the definition of racism

A recent college graduate challenged Merriam Webster over its dictionary definition of racism, which Kennedy Mitchum of Florissant argued was woefully outdated in the current context.

Racism is not only prejudice against a certain race due to the color of a persons skin, as it states in your dictionary, she wrote. It is both prejudice combined with social and institutional power. It is a system of advantage based on skin color. The editors took a look and agreed.

The current definition lacks any mention of systemic racism based on skin color, which was Mitchums main complaint. Editors agreed. An updated definition is currently being drafted.

No coattails

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows vacant seat in Congress may soon go to a 24-year-old novice after he defeated the candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump in a North Carolina Republican primary runoff. The result is the latest example of an encouraging trend in elections around the country testing Trumps coattails.

Republican candidate Madison Cawthorn, who will turn 25 in August, scored a surprise victory in North Carolinas 11th Congressional District GOP runoff over real estate agent Lynda Bennett, whod been endorsed by Trump, Meadows and other top Republicans. It wasnt what you call a squeaker; Cawthorn took almost two-thirds of the vote.

Assault and splattery

Police in California are seeking information about a woman who purposefully coughed in the face of a toddler after an argument with the toddlers mother about social distancing  or possibly the fact that the mother was speaking Spanish. Its part of a spate of coronavirus-related altercations around America.

Mireya Mora and her 1-year-old son were at a San Jose yogurt shop when she got into an altercation with an older woman in line ahead of her. The woman accused Mora of not properly socially distancing, which both Mora and witnesses said wasnt the case. Mora alleges that the woman, who was white, didnt confront her until she heard her speaking in Spanish to another family member.

According to The Washington Posts description of video of the encounter: The woman suddenly makes a beeline toward the family, taking off her mask as she walks. Once she gets near Moras stroller, she leans down and unleashes exaggerated coughs in the direction of the young boy. Its unclear if the woman will face charges but, really, some people need to get a grip.

Security threat?

President Donald Trumps campaign, in its embarrassment over the sparsely attended Tulsa rally last Saturday, has vastly exaggerated the impact of protests outside the venue, which were in fact modest. But there was one protest arrest that speaks volumes about this president and his campaign: A 62-year-old grandmother was cuffed and arrested for peacefully praying in an outdoor area where others were allowed to congregate, for no apparent reason other than the T-shirt she wore, which said, I cant breathe.

Sheila Buck told The Washington Post she reserved a ticket to the rally planning to show support for Black Lives Matter. Her ticket got her into an outdoor overflow area. She knelt to pray, and was asked to leave. She refused and was arrested.

Tulsa Police Capt. Richard Meulenberg confirmed it was Trump campaign staffers who directed police to arrest Buck, since they had an event permit for the area. They basically have that area, he said, and they can pick and choose whom they want.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 20:40:42|Editor: huaxia

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Stephen Phillips, director-general of investment promotion at Invest Hong Kong of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, is seen in his office in Hong Kong, south China, June 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

HONG KONG, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Businesses are generally positive about the legislation on safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the director-general of investment promotion at Invest Hong Kong of the HKSAR government said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"We are talking in quite some details with both existing and prospective investors about the overall environment in Hong Kong, and that includes talking about the proposed national security legislation. Most of the businesses that we're talking to really welcome it," Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) Stephen Phillips said.

As the head of InvestHK, a department of the HKSAR government responsible for attracting foreign direct investment and supporting overseas and Chinese mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong, Phillips pointed out that the social unrest since June 2019 has undoubtedly caused concerns for many of the investors InvestHK is working with, and certain sectors, such as retail and hospitality, were substantially hit in particular.

After months of turmoil, businesses generally welcome and understand the need for the legislation, he said.

"What businesses want is stability and certainty. They want to know that their business isn't going to be disrupted by social unrest. So the vast majority are really welcoming."

As Hong Kong's economy is struggling under the double blows of the social unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic, companies clearly want to see Hong Kong pull together and start afresh, Phillips said.

As an international financial and trade hub, Hong Kong has enjoyed a range of advantages including high-quality talent, strong institutional arrangements and the rule of law under "one country, two systems", he said, affirming that he does not expect these advantages to be affected after the law on safeguarding national security in Hong Kong is enacted.

"If you listen to everything that we hear from the central government, the messages are very clear about the commitment to 'one country, two systems' and Hong Kong's role as an international city within the country and an international financial center. I don't think those messages could be any clearer," he said.

"So I'm very optimistic about the future. And I think once we see the law in place we'll see things calm down and get back to business as usual."

According to Phillips, the optimism is shared by many investors. "We continue to talk to investors about opportunities that Hong Kong offers and most of them in the medium and long term remain quite optimistic."

The department assisted 487 companies from overseas and the Chinese mainland to set up or expand in Hong Kong in 2019, up 11.7 percent year-on-year, setting a new record.

The figure by the end of this May was at about 75 percent of the level expected to be, but he thinks it is a temporary situation that has more to do with the impact of COVID-19.

"We've seen a bit of slowdown, but we're optimistic that once the borders open up we will see a rebound."

Phillips said his department remains very committed to finding ways both to get existing investors grow here and to continue to attract new investors.

InvestHK's teams in more than 30 cities around the world continue to talk to prospective investors, and virtual meetings and digital and social media are used to keep the conversation warm and get the messages delivered.

"We're keeping visibility high for Hong Kong. Hopefully once people can begin to travel again, we can hit the ground running," he said.

With existing investors, InvestHK is assisting them in navigating the current challenges with help from a wide range of economic relief measures introduced by the HKSAR government, and at the same time in seeking new avenues for growth.

The new growth opportunities, Phillips said, lie in Hong Kong's innovation agenda, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and, more broadly, Asia.

Asia will continue to be the engine of global economic growth, and the GBA is seen as a phenomenal opportunity that captures the imagination of companies around the world, he said. "Many companies are very keen to understand how they can leverage that."

Hong Kong is geographically super connected with other parts of the region, and an interplay is expected between Hong Kong's development in innovation areas, such as Fintech, biotech, smart city and AI and robotics, and the opportunities within the GBA, across China and also other parts of Asia, Phillips pointed out.

"When you look towards the horizon, companies still are very interested in coming to Hong Kong and using Hong Kong to access GBA and the wider markets of Asia," he said.

Since he first came to Hong Kong as a young banker from Britain more than 30 years ago, Phillips has focused his career on Hong Kong and the mainland for decades.

"There are so many opportunities either for international companies using Hong Kong to access the mainland, but increasingly, mainland companies using Hong Kong as a stepping stone to the rest of the world," he said. "So we'll continue to work really hard to find the win-win situations for everybody." Enditem
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Read more about Donald Trump in the news, get the latest coronavirus updates and check out more stories trending online today.

Top trending headlines

Some states pause reopenings as coronavirus cases soar (ABC News)

House passes Democrat-led bill for sweeping police reform in wake of George Floyds death (NBC)

Trump calls for retribution against protesters toppling statues (CBS News)

More on Donald Trump in the news

Trump trails in the polls in nearly 20 swing states (Forbes)

Trump administration tells Supreme Court Obamacare must fall (NPR)

Trumps post-Covid bubble is popping (CNN)

Trump family will ask second court to stop publication of tell-all book (NY Times)

Tucker warns Trump could well lose in November, says president must rediscover core appeal (Fox News)

Latest coronavirus news around the globe

A man carrying a paddleboard passes rubbish collected by locals at Tynemouth beach after crowds gathered Thursday, in north east England, Friday June 26, 2020. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned that the government has the power to close beaches and other public spaces in England amid growing concerns over the public's adherence to coronavirus social distancing rules. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)AP

Millions of people may have had coronavirus in the past without knowing it, CDC says (CNN)

Thousands ignore health warnings to flock to U.K. beaches during heatwave (CBS)

China declares new outbreak contained after massive testing effort (NBC News)

Texas stops reopening as coronavirus cases spike (Newsweek)

Mortgage bailouts swell as homeowners face struggles (CNBC)

CDC adds three new symptoms (NY Post)

Read complete prior coronavirus coverage.

Other stories trending today

ACLU sues Denver Police over excessive force during protests (CBS Local)

Christopher Nolans Tenet release date moved back (Deadline)

Saharan dust cloud could reach Ohio (cleveland.com)

Dixie Chicks change name to The Chicks (Fox News)

Justin Bieber files $20 million defamation lawsuit (People)

Mysterious new creature unearthed in Australia is bear-sized wombat cousin (CNET)
UPDATE SATURDAY, JUNE 27: The Oregon Health Authority said Saturday that on Friday it reported five new deaths in error. The total deaths announced on Friday should have been four. This story has been updated to reflect that.

The number of coronavirus cases in Oregon hit their second highest daily mark Friday since the COVID-19 pandemic began months ago: 250 infections.

The record of 278 cases was set 10 days ago, boosted by the states largest outbreak yet, at a church in Northeast Oregons Union County.

The Oregon Health Authority also announced four people died, bringing the total Friday to 201. The record for daily deaths stands at seven, set on April 28.

As of Friday, officials have identified 7,818 confirmed or presumptive cases of the disease.

Oregon officials didnt offer a reason for the daily elevated numbers in a Friday news release, such as a specific outbreak that drove up numbers. But the state has been struggling with a surge in cases for the past month. Public health officials say thats largely due to Oregons reopening, which began in many counties on May 15, and residents who are reluctant to wear masks or are growing tired of strictly following physical distancing measures.

Oregons numbers reflect a nationwide trend. The numbers of new U.S. cases have set records for each of the past three days -- surpassing the previous high set in April. According to The New York Times, 30 states are seeing upward trends in new cases.

Also Friday, the Oregon Health Authority said residents should prepare to see exponential growth in coronavirus infections in the next three weeks -- with roughly 900 to 5,000 new daily infections possible under moderate to pessimistic models.

Where the numbers grew: New cases announced Friday were from the following counties: Benton (4), Clackamas (17), Columbia (1), Deschutes (4), Douglas (4), Jackson (5), Jefferson (6), Josephine (2), Lake (3), Lane (10), Lincoln (4), Linn (4), Malheur (13), Marion (18), Morrow (12), Multnomah (61), Umatilla (22), Union (12), Wasco (3), Washington (39), and Yamhill (6).

Washington County set a record with 39 new infections. The previous record was 37 cases, announced on June 16 and June 20.

Multnomah County saw its second highest number of cases -- 61, compared to the record of 84 set on June 21.

Recent deaths: Among the four new deaths announced was the first death in Union County, the site of the states largest outbreak at Lighthouse Pentecostal Church earlier this month. A 90-year-old woman tested positive June 13 and died Thursday at Grande Ronde Hospital in the countys seat of La Grande. She had underlying medical conditions.

The other reported deaths were:

A 79-year-old Marion County woman tested positive June 18 and died in her home Wednesday. She had underlying medical conditions.

A 96-year-old Marion County woman tested positive June 18 and died in her home Thursday. She had underlying conditions.

A 90-year-old Marion County man tested positive June 19 and died in his home Thursday. He had underlying conditions.

Death toll: The 201 people whove died were from 16 counties -- 68 people from Multnomah, 41 from Marion, 24 from Clackamas, 20 from Washington, 12 from Polk, nine from Linn, eight from Yamhill, five from Benton, four from Umatilla, three from Lane, two from Lincoln and one each from Josephine, Malheur, Union and Wasco. Because of the Oregon Health Authoritys error in reporting an extra death Friday, its unclear if Morrow Countys death toll stood at one or two.

Their ages ranged from 36 to 100. Among them, 114 men and 88 women have died. All but six had underlying medical conditions.

The breakdown of deaths by age: ages 30-39 (1), ages 40-49 (3), ages 50-59 (9), ages 60-69 (40), ages 70-79 (55), ages 80-plus (94).

How the disease is spreading: Part of the problem is that contact tracers have been unable to identify the sources of an unsettling percentage of new cases: one-third statewide.

In the Portland metro area, they havent pinpointed the sources of 34% of cases in Washington County, 42% in Clackamas County and 45% in Multnomah County, according to the latest data available from June 15-21.

Public health officials have set a goal of keeping those figures below 30%, which they say is necessary to keep the diseases spread under control.

Officials say other than the significant proportion of unknown sources, they know the disease is spreading through outbreaks at food processing plants, group living situations such as nursing homes and prisons, and during social gatherings when friends and family get too close, dont wear masks or meet up indoors.

County case totals: Multnomah County surpassed 2,000 infections. Two counties -- Marion and Washington -- have more than 1,000 known coronavirus cases each. Another 10 counties -- Clackamas, Deschutes, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Polk, Umatilla, Union, Yamhill -- have reported at least 100 coronavirus cases. Gilliam and Wheeler havent identified any.

Heres the overall count -- confirmed and presumptive cases -- by county: Baker (1), Benton (80), Clackamas (665), Clatsop (48), Columbia (27), Coos (39), Crook (9), Curry (7), Deschutes (159), Douglas (38), Grant (1), Harney (1), Hood River, (88), Jackson (98), Jefferson (91), Josephine (28), Klamath (111), Lake (12), Lane (122), Lincoln (305), Linn (136), Malheur (73), Marion (1,400), Morrow (48), Multnomah (2,028), Polk (134), Sherman (1), Tillamook (7), Umatilla (363), Union (309), Wallowa (8), Wasco (58), Washington (1,214) and Yamhill (109).

Oregons Latino population has been disproportionately hit hard by the coronavirus. Though Latinos make up 13% of the states population, they represent about 35% of all positive cases.

Testing: The number of tests conducted wasnt immediately available Friday. Public health officials have said, however, that the disease is spreading more. The higher numbers arent just because of increased testing.

Hospitalizations: The number of confirmed COVID-19 patients in the states hospitals crept up from 95 Thursday to 98 Friday. Thats more than doubled since June 2, when hospitalizations hit a statewide low during the pandemic.

Currently, 39 patients are in intensive care units and 27 are on ventilators.

At least 1,022 of the states COVID-19 patients, or 13%, have been hospitalized at some point during their illness, according to state officials.

Most -- at least 750, or 73% -- have been 50 or older.

Recoveries: At least 2,649 COVID-19 patients have recovered from the illness, according to the latest published numbers.

Nationwide: More than 2.4 million people have been diagnosed with the disease, and 124,000 are known to have died.

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

-- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee

Shane Dixon Kavanaugh contributed to this report.

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
(Fixes typo in first paragraph)

PRAGUE, June 25 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic recorded 127 cases of the new coronavirus on Wednesday, health authorities reported on Thursday, the highest daily number in two months as the country eases restrictions on business and public life.

As of Thursday morning, the European Union country of 10.7 million had 10,780 cases of the disease. So far 7,592 have recovered, leaving 2,844 active cases and 344 deaths.

The Czech government was fast to close down schools, borders and retail businesses in mid-March, before any deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

It has gradually removed most of the restrictions on business apart from wearing masks indoors, limits on pub opening hours and holding mass culture events, and has said it will focus on local quarantine, tracing and testing measures rather than national lockdowns in the future.

As of this week, public gatherings can reach 1,000 people, up from 500. Trade fairs with up to 5,000 people have also been given the green light. Pools, zoos, museums and castles and chateaux can also return to normal operations, cancelling limits on the number of visitors.

Wednesday's daily number of infections is the highest since April 21, when the country reported 133 new cases.

The number of new infections exceeded 100 on three days in the past week, also for the first time since mid-April.

Infections in recent days have been centred in the northeastern Ostrava region which had an outbreak among coal miners, and in and around the capital Prague.

** For an interactive graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/3bBIr2U (Reporting by Robert Muller, Editing by Jan Lopatka adn Timothy Heritage)
Jos Verstappen has assisted his son Max towards every great triumph, but one trophy is still missing, that of world champion. This season could be the first serious opportunity for this. How does he think Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing are doing at the moment?

"We think we are there, but you don't know how fast exactly, but we definitely think we can participate in Austria", Jos says in front of Ziggo Sport's camera at the Formula 1 Cafe. "If Mercedes has a very fast car, it will be between Hamilton and Bottas, but if it's a little bit together, as we expect, it will be between Lewis and Max".

Teams didn't go testing for nothing

In the winter tests at the Barcelona circuit Mercedes seemed to have the upper hand. However, the question is how many steps forward the different teams made during the lockdown. On the RB16 renewals were already visible during the test at Silverstone.

"I do think there have been some jumps. That's why a lot of teams have tested for a day. That way you can do some things on the car and see if it works or not", says Verstappen, who doesn't see it as a big disadvantage that his son couldn't drive there.

Read more Documentary: The trial in which Ecclestone was facing imprisonment

Verstappen needs little preparation

"There's been talk of doing it with a Toro Rosso [so not in Britain], but that's a different car. And Max says he'll be up to speed within four or five laps." Verstappen has little time to adjust next week on the Red Bull Ring. A weekend that will be a bit lonely because of the coronary measures. Also his father will stay at home.

"We have talked about it, but the team will act as a bubble and the spotlights are full on it. They don't really want to leave anyone there, except Max. If I were to go there, I wouldn't even be able to stand in the garage and it wouldn't be any good to be there."
Former President John Dramani Mahama is convinced that the compilation of the new voters register will not compromise their victory in the 2020 elections.

He says although the partys hopes of having the polls conducted with the existing voters register have been dashed, it is still confident of recapturing power from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

This assertion from the opposition leader comes on the back on the Supreme Courts dismissal of the NDCs case against the Electoral Commission (EC).

The Supreme Court gave the EC the green light to compile a new electoral roll on Thursday.

The court also endorsed the ECs decision to exclude the current voter's ID card from the list identification documents needed to register to vote.

Addressing the public at a news conference on Thursday, June 25, 2020, the former President said no election rigging schemes by the failed Akufo- Addo administration will save them from losing their re-election bid.

No politically engineered register can save this failed government from the inevitable defeat that awaits them in the next 165 days. With or without a new voters register, the NDC shall win this election by the grace of God, John Mahama said.

John Mahama accused the government of engaging unscrupulous activities over fears Ghanaians will not renew its mandate in the December polls.

He indicated that the government's attempt to systemically disenfranchise eligible citizens of this country, is to cover up for its poor performance.

This represents the handiwork of a desperate incumbent that on account of its very poor performance in government, sees its very political survival only through the prism of manipulation of the electoral process to exclude a section of Ghanaians who they suspect may not renew their mandate at the polls, he said.

---citinewsroom
The number of allegations of Catholic clergy sex abuse of minors more than quadrupled in 2019 compared to the average in the previous five years, U.S. church officials reported this week, in part the result of new church-run compensation programs for victims as well as survivors driven to come forward by several major clerical abuse scandals.

The annual audit of nearly 200 dioceses and church entities across the country has been done since 2002, when reports of clergy abuse and coverups exploded and U.S. bishops approved reforms including a yearly review of complaints and compliance. The reform package is often called the "Charter."

The report released Thursday by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said that the 2019 report - which covered July 2018 through June 2019 - counted 4,434 allegations of clergy sex abuse against minors. That number was 1,451 in 2018, 693 in 2017, 1,318 in 2016 and 903 in 2015.

Of the 4,434 allegations covered in the report, about half - 2,237 - were deemed credible by the church.

Thirty-seven of the 4,434 allegations came from people who were minors during the time period the report covered -- eight of which the church-run bodies deemed substantiated, according to the report. In recent years, that's about average for substantiated, past-year claims. There are about 37,000 diocesan and religious order priests in the country.

The complaints the church deemed credible were analyzed further by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, a church-affiliated research center on the Catholic Church. CARA found that of those whose time frame could be determined, 57 percent of credible allegations that came in in 2019 happened before 1975, 41 percent between 1975 and 1999, and 2 percent since 2000, the report said.

Church officials said the fact that there remains such a small number of claims of recent abuse shows that their reforms are working and that the jump in reporting of older claims reflects confidence complaints will be taken seriously.

"It reflects the same pattern we've been seeing - there hasn't been a real uptick in cases since the Charter," said Francesco Cesareo, chairman of the National Review Board, a committee created by the Church in 2002 to oversee the implementation of the Charter. "I think the data is out there to show that the Church has been the one institution that has really taken an institutional approach to this and put in place policies and protocols that have resulted in a much safer environment within the Church."

Some survivor advocates saw other things in the report. SNAP, a clergy-abuse survivors' organization, emphasized the report's finding that the status of 863 of the allegations is "unknown" and another 956 are ongoing.

"Church officials pretend they're reporting on a past problem when in fact thousands of proven, admitted and credibly accused clerics who have committed or concealed child sex crimes remain 'under the radar,' living and working among unsuspecting neighbors, friends, co-workers and even relatives," SNAP wrote. The Church, it said, should be focusing on locating all still-living child abusers to protect from future abuse and "punishing the still-living 'enabling' clerics who are ignoring or hiding those criminals."

Cesareo wrote in a letter attached to the report that the Church needs to allow a more in-depth and truly independent audit. While the report uses the word "independent" six times, the nature and scope of the audit is determined by the bishops, as are the questions. The audit is done by StoneBridge Business Partners, using information given to it by dioceses. The dioceses also determine which allegations are credible.

A more independent process is needed "if the bishops hope to regain the credibility that has been lost among the laity," Cesareo wrote.

The report says the spike in numbers is in part due to the fact that multiple dioceses around the country created compensation funds for victims whose cases had passed the statute of limitations in their states to sue, as well as lawsuits and diocesan bankruptcies. The report says such cases account for 37 percent of allegations.

Catholic provinces and dioceses that responded to the CARA survey said they had paid out a total of $282 million related to allegations the came in between July 2018 and June 2019.

Chieko Noguchi, spokeswoman for the USCCB, said researchers believe there are many additional factors, including "the news of high-profile revelations that also prompted people to step forward."

In June 2018, the Vatican announced the suspension of then-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a popular U.S. church leader who was archbishop in the District of Columbia before he retired to serve as a part-time global diplomat for the Vatican. He was credibly accused of child sexual abuse and then, later, of sexually harassing seminarians and young clergy. He was defrocked last year.
New Delhi, June 26 : Centre will soon notify the exclusion of export turnover threshold limits for bestowing the MSME status on firms, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said.

Accordingly, the move will side in identifying MSME unit under the new definition of the sector.

Speaking at an EEPC India meeting held a day ago, Gadkari said that the move can be expected within two to three days.

The Minister in an EEPC India statement which was issued on Friday was quoted as saying that export turnover would not be taken into account for calculating the turnover limit in the new definition of MSME, but the gazette notification did not mention this exclusion.

"The operational notification regarding exclusion of export turnover for calculating turnover limit is under legal vetting , and will be issued within two to three days," Gadkari said, whie addressing the EEPC India members via video conference.

Besides, the Minister exhorted the engineering exporters to set up logistics parks along the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway being developed by the National Highway Authority of India.

He said the NHAI has decided to develop industrial clusters alongside the expressway.

Gadkari also impressed upon the exporters to shift to waterways for cheaper mode of transporting cargo to the ports.

Additionally, he emphasised that trucks should also shift to new fuels like LNG and CNG.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
In light of the recent protests across the country, many individuals around Connecticut are demanding that statues of the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus be taken down. Columbus, who purportedly discovered the Americas in 1492, has been marred by his history of slavery and genocide against Native Americans.

Connecticut cities and towns have already begun to take action against the statues, and in some cases, have had the statues removed permanently.
HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia government is moving ahead with plans to further reopen the province now that it hasn't reported a case of COVID-19 in the past 17 days.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Stephen McNeil arrives at a news conference in Halifax on Sunday, March 15, 2020. Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil says the province is lifting more restrictions after going more than two weeks without a new case of COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia government is moving ahead with plans to further reopen the province now that it hasn't reported a case of COVID-19 in the past 17 days.

However, Premier Stephen McNeil warned Friday that with limits being raised on how many people can gather at bars, restaurants and organized events, the risk of a resurgence in infections was also increasing.

As a result, the province has issued an emphatic recommendation for residents to wear non-medical masks when physical distancing among strangers becomes difficult.

McNeil said Nova Scotians must get in the habit of wearing a mask, noting that he has had to change his own habits.

"Even when I saw others wearing them, I didn't always wear one myself," he told a virtual news conference.

"I've had to rethink this and do a bit of soul-searching. After all, when someone is wearing a mask, they are protecting me and others. So I need to do the same for them."

The premier then offered a slogan of sorts to promote the use of masks.

"Don't think of it as a task. When in doubt, wear a mask."

The province's previous advice was to ask residents to "consider" wearing a mask when physical distancing couldn't be maintained.

But the province's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Strang, said he wants to "normalize" the wearing of masks to reduce the inherent risks that come with allowing larger gatherings.

As examples, Strang said masks should be worn when entering grocery stores or malls, using public transit or at public gatherings with limited space.

"Wearing a mask is a way of showing that we care about other people," he said.

Meanwhile, the province announced Friday that all bars and restaurants will be allowed to operate at full capacity and continue serving until midnight, effective immediately.

However, that change assumes establishments will continue to adhere to physical distancing rules, which has required bars and restaurants to create more space for patrons by moving chairs and tables farther apart.

The province is also allowing private campgrounds to operate at 100 per cent capacity, and all public pools can reopen with physical distancing for lane swimming and aquafit classes.

As of next Friday, Nova Scotia will increase the limits on gatherings organized by recognized business or community organizations.

That includes weddings, funerals, cultural events, concerts, festivals, dance recitals and faith-based gatherings, which will increase to 250 people if they are outdoors and 200  with maximum 50 per cent capacity  if they are indoors. In either case, physical distancing is still required.

These events do not include family gatherings, which remain limited to a 50-person maximum with physical distancing.

Last week, the province announced that Nova Scotians could start gathering in close social groups of up to 10 without physical distancing.

Though the province announced these groups did not have to be exclusive, Strang said Friday there seemed to be confusion over what that actually meant.

"We're telling people that you can chose who is in your group of 10, but this is limited," he said, adding that it was wrong to think any random gathering of 10 people was acceptable. "Ideally, people would have a single, closed social group."

A total of 1,061 people in Nova Scotia have tested positive for the virus  and 63 of those people have died, most of them in a long-term care facility in Halifax. Two people remain in hospital, though their cases are considered among the 998 officially resolved cases.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2020.
Amid soaring numbers of COVID-19 infections, protective face masks are emerging as fashion accessories for several Indonesians and Malaysians. From scary masks to Batik designs, people are adding some style and humour to their health wear essentials.

While speaking to an international media outlet, a Jakarta print shop owner said that he started creating masks with peoples own faces printed on reusable neoprene material. Heni Kusmijati reportedly said that he added masks to his services after his business sales slumped due to coronavirus lockdown. Heni also added that his unique idea of turning the health wear essential into a fashion statement also helped his business stay afloat amid such challenging times.

According to an international media outlet, customers in Indonesia and Malaysia are placing orders online. The unique masks take 30 minutes to produce and each coast approximately $3.50. The demand for such fashion masks has also reportedly surged and helped several businesses to recover from the loss.

READ: Malaysia Hair Salon Owner On Impact Of Virus

Recently, a prosthetic specialist from the Philippines also started using his skills to make scary masks. Rene Abelardo, in a bid to stay afloat financially, came up with the idea of making ghastly looking masks that were inspired by monsters and zombies. According to an international media outlet, Rene is a special effects artists and while the film and television productions have been halted due to the lockdown, he started making the unusual looking masks to raise cash.

READ: Some Schools Reopen In Malaysia

Batik design face masks

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, as Batik designs are popular, a textile designer Hafiz Drahman started making masks using soft cotton that also include optional pockets for adding filters. Hafiz reportedly said that started making the face masks using his stocks of cloth and decorated them using wax and dye, which is an ancient tradition. While speaking to the media outlet, Hafiz said that he saw the new opportunity in making batik face masks as the government made wearing masks mandatory and the demand also rose as the lockdown was eased.

READ: Masks, Travel Restrictions, Testing As Virus Cases Surge

READ: Nancy Pelosi Starts New Fashion Trend As She Matches Masks To Her Outfits Amid COVID-19
Operator: Welcome, and thank you all for standing by. At this time, I would like to inform all participants that your lines have been placed on a listen-only mode until the question-and-answer session of todays call. Todays call is also being recorded. If anyone has any objection, you may disconnect at this time. And I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Ben Haynes. Sir, you may begin.

Ben Haynes: Thank you, sue. And thank you for joining us today for this embargoed briefing to update you on CDCs COVID-19 response. All of the information included today is embargoed for 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. We are joined today by CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield and CDCs COVID-19 incident manager, Dr. Jay butler. And Dr. Redfield and Dr. Butler will discuss CDCs updates on who is at higher risk for severe illness due to COVID-19. Following their remarks, Dr. Dana Meaney-Delman will join us for the questions and answers. At this time, Id like to turn the call over to Dr. Redfield.

Robert Redfield: Thank you, Ben, and thank you all for joining us today. When Dr. Butler and I talked to you last, we spoke about the need to understand and consider your personal risk in the situations in your community. As states continue to adjust mitigation efforts, I want to remind you about how to protect yourself, your family, and your community in advance of the 4th of July holiday.

While the past few weeks saw cases begin to trend downwards, there are a number of states across the united states, particularly in the Southeast and Southwest that are seeing increases. Evidence tells us that these increases are driven by many factors, including outbreaks in settings that are particularly challenging, as well as increased testing, and community transmission as well. In addition, in some instances, the hospitalizations are going up as people seek care for non-COVID-related health issues as well as COVID-19. CDC is closely monitoring these increases and currently have deployed well over 100 staff to more than 20 or so states, including those states seeing these increases to support the state and local health officials.

We continue to work to get information we need to understand the complexities of this disease and share that with the public. We cant lose sight of the fact that this pandemic is caused by a new virus that was totally unknown to us just a year ago. And we will continue to refine guidelines on how we can best reduce the risk of infection based on data and science. As we move forward and each of us weigh our risk of infection and make decisions about how to go about our lives, its important for all of us to try the best we can to continue to take steps that we know are effective in preventing COVID-19.

For those at higher risk, we recommend limiting contacts with others as much as possible or restricting contact to a small number of people who are willing to take measures to reduce the risk of becoming infected. In other words, when you must go out into the community, being in contact with few people is better than many, shorter periods are better than longer, and contact at greater distance, ideally, at least six feet, are better than closer. Everyone can take these steps to protect themselves, their family, and their communities, but they are particularly important for people who are at higher risk and for people who live with and care for individuals at higher risk. In summary, the keys to COVID prevention remain  number one, social distancing. Number two, frequent hand washing and hand hygiene. Number three, staying away from others if youre ill. And number four, properly wearing a face covering when youre unable to social distance.

I want to share with you some other important news. After gathering and thoroughly reviewing the most current evidence, CDC is updating its information that were providing about people who are at the higher risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19. First, we want to be clear about what we think puts people at higher risk for severe disease, hospitalization, intensive care, and even death. We know that risk is a continuum. Its not just the risk of those ages 65 and older. And based on what weve learned, we now understand that as you get older, your risk for severe disease, hospitalization, and death increases. We also updated the list of underlying health conditions that can put you at higher risk for severe disease, hospitalization, and death, based on the latest review of scientific evidence to date. A key point is that we want to make sure that people know that as your numbers of underlying medical conditions increase, your risk of severe illness from COVID also increases. Id like to turn it over now to Dr. Jay butler, our COVID-19 incident manager, to provide further discussion on these issues. Thank you.

Jay Butler: Thank you, Dr. Redfield. And good afternoon, or good morning, everyone. Its good to be able to speak with you again. Let me provide a bit more detail about the update to the underlying medical conditions that increase ones risk for a severe outcome due to COVID-19.

First, as Dr. Redfield mentioned, we know that the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 increases progressively with increasing age. Or to put it another way, theres not an exact cutoff of age at which people should or should not be concerned.

Second, we want to reiterate and update information about which underlying health conditions put people at higher risk. Part of the reason why risk increases with age is because as people get older, they are more likely to have other health issues that may place them at higher risk. We reviewed the evidence related to each of these conditions and determined whether there was strong, mixed, or limited evidence whether they were associated with increased risk of more severe illness, which may be measured by hospitalization, ICU admission, or death. The underlying conditions for which there is the strongest evidence of higher risk are

cardiovascular disease,

chronic kidney disease,

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, such as emphysema,

obesity  that is, a body mass index of more than 30 

any immunosuppressing condition or treatment,

Sickle Cell Disease,

history of organ transplants and

type 2 diabetes.

We also clarified a list of conditions that might increase the risk of severe illness. Some of these conditions include

Chronic lung diseases, including moderate to severe asthma and cystic fibrosis

High blood pressure

A weakened immune system, as may occur among persons after blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV, or use of other immune weakening medicines

Neurologic conditions, such as dementia or history of stroke

Liver disease

And pregnancy

Let me tell you a bit more about that last one. Today well be publishing an MMWR that compares data on pregnant and nonpregnant women with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Based on analysis of these surveillance data, pregnant women with COVID-19 were more likely to be admitted to the ICU and also to receive mechanical ventilation than were nonpregnant women. Based on the data available now, it does not appear that pregnant women are at higher risk of death from COVID-19. We are collecting additional information, and were working to find out if COVID-19 is associated with pregnancy complications.

As always, were sharing these updates and others as we learn more so that you can have the best, most-current, science-based information to help all of us make decisions about how to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities. We want to live as safely as we can and minimize the risk of COVID-19 while it is circulating. As Dr. Redfield mentioned earlier, each person has to make decisions about what level of risk theyre comfortable with as we go about our daily lives. CDC is committed to providing science-based information about how everyone can reduce the risk. Ill turn it back to ben, and I look forward to taking your questions.

Ben Haynes: Thank you, Dr. Butler, and thank you, Dr. Redfield. Sue, we are now ready to take questions.

Operator: Thank you. One moment, please. In order to provide everyone the opportunity to ask questions, we do ask that you limit your questions to one question and one follow-up. If you do have any further questions, simply reinsert yourself back into the queue, and your additional questions will be answered as time permits. To ask a question, please ensure that your phone is unmuted. Press star-1, and record your name clearly. If you wish to withdraw your question, press star-2. Again, to ask a question, please press star-1. One moment for the first question. The first question is from Eben Brown with Fox News. You may go ahead.

Eden Brown: Good afternoon. Good morning. Thank you for doing this. Im speaking to you from Florida where weve had another day of 5,000-plus new positive cases. This number has  weve seen similar numbers in other southern states. Now the northeastern states are imposing a mandatory quarantine for anyone who travels from here to there. Its something that Florida did to the northeastern states a couple months ago. Are these quarantines really going to be effective? Is there that much migration between the two regions that its really going to cause a problem? Or is the problem for these surges elsewhere?

Robert Redfield: You know, thank you for your question. I think the comment that I will make is that, clearly, we have seen, as you commented, in the Southern states some increases in cases. You know, I keep trying to remind people that the real focus is the consequence of those cases, particularly hospitalizations, mortality, and death. Obviously, there are also consequences in terms of the disruption of the economy, education system, et cetera. So, I dont think we have any clear evidence. As you know right now, the individual states are making their individual decisions. I think the tone of your question, which is good, is I think, but we dont have any evidence-based data to support the public health value of that decision. Obviously, its an independent decision that independent governors are going to make.

Ben Haynes: Great. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. The next question is from Helen Branswell with STAT. Go ahead.

Helen Branswell: Hi, thank you very much for taking my question and for doing this. Im wondering if CDC is concerned that the public may be getting mixed messages about the risk of COVID-19 transmission at this point. You know, the president is telling people that the virus is receding, and yet, it clearly is not in parts of the country. As a consequence, it seems that a lot of people are no longer following the sort of prudent social distancing measures that are really needed to drive back transmission of the virus. Does this concern you all?

Robert Redfield: Im going to make a comment and then ask Jay to follow up with his perspective. I think, obviously, that were seeing right now infections that are targeting younger individuals. As you know, in Florida, a significant number of the infections, and actually in the Southeast and Southwest, are in individuals now that are younger than the age of 50. I think, Helen, one of the points I want to make is, in the past, I just dont think we diagnosed these infections. CDC has completed a series and will continue to do fairly extensive surveillance throughout the nation using antibody testing. And our best estimate right now is that for every case that was recorded, there actually are ten other infections. But in the past, we didnt really aggressively pursue diagnostics in young, asymptomatic individuals. So thats the first thing I want to say, is you know, how much of what were seeing now was occurring and just not recognized because now were getting the younger population to get diagnosed. But I will say, I remain concerned about trying to understand the effective public health messaging that we need to get to those individuals that are say under the age of 45, under the age of 30, whereas the impact and consequences of COVID-19 infection on them may not be highly associated with hospitalization and death. They do act as a transmission connector for individuals that could, in fact, be at higher risk. So, trying to understand the effectiveness. The last thing Ill say on this and turn it to Jay, is this is one of the reasons I think its important that we really have good data at a granular level. When you look right now at some of the maps youve seen on television, you know, it looks like a substantial portion of the united states is red. But in reality, we have probably about 110, 120 counties that we consider as having significant transmission. We refer to them as hotspots. That represents about 3% of the counties in the United States. So, when you see that it basically looks like the whole state is red, I do think that that can have a mixed message for the public health response. I remember, for example, in my days as an AIDS researcher, when the messaging came out to the African American male that happens to have sex with men, that you have a 50% lifetime risk of getting infected. Many young people just assumed that prevention didnt really play a major role in their lives because the risk was so high. I think its important that we be very granular in understanding where were having this transmission risk. I think its very important we continue to try to figure out effective public health messaging for the younger group. But let me ask Jay what his comments would be.

Jay Butler: Yeah, thank you, Dr. Redfield. One of the things that I will add is, as we look at the cases that have occurred over the past month compared to those that occurred in the months before that, we are seeing a greater proportion of cases that are being diagnosed in younger people. And this could reflect a number of things, including the fact that people actually are hearing and understanding the messages, including the message that people who are at higher risk need to take more precautions. So, its possible that were seeing a smaller proportion of infections in older people because there actually is less exposure. I think the question of how to best communicate these messages to younger people is one that I will defer to health communications experts. But earlier this week, the MMWR put out a report about a cluster of infections that occurred in college students returning from spring break. So, I think getting that message out that young people are not somehow naturally immune to this new virus, although they may be at lower risk of death or severe infection, doesnt mean that they are completely unable to become infected or to potentially transmit it to others. So, I think being able to get that message out more clearly than probably I just tried to articulate it is very important. Thank you.

Helen Branswell: Could I follow up, please? You know, it sounds, Dr. Redfield, like you are actually sort of playing down the significance of the situation that is occurring in the southern and eastern  or western united states? Texas is now in a situation where theyre deferring elective surgeries again  or not again, in their case, but deferring elective surgeries because of the stress on hospitals. Theres a lot of virus spreading in parts of the united states. And if its spreading among young people, it wont stop spreading just among young people. They will infect other people. Thats the way this works. Im a little surprised that you seem to 

Robert Redfield: Yeah, Helen, I think youre misunderstanding me. Im not playing it down at all. This is a significant event. We are obviously concerned. I was trying to get people to understand, theres cases and consequences. Its not to underplay the cases. We have significant increase in cases. We need to understand that. We need to try to interrupt that. And were going to continue to do that. What I was trying to do, in contrast to where we were, say, in March, where we had, obviously, cases, hospitalizations and deaths that were greater than now. If you look back about eight to ten weeks, it was shocking to me that over 27% of all deaths that occurred in the United States occurred in somebody that died of a pneumonia, influenza, or coronavirus. 27%. One in four. All right? Today were back to the baseline, which is about 7%. So, I really hope that you dont misinterpret or misrepresent what Im saying. This is still serious. Its significant. Everything you said, we may have a lag in what we see in hospitalizations and deaths, because that can lag by three or four weeks. But Im asking people to recognize that were in a different situation today than we were in March, in April, where the virus was disproportionately being recognized in older individuals with significant co-morbidities that was causing significant hospitalizations and deaths. Today were see more virus. Its in younger individuals. Fewer of those individuals are requiring the hospitalizations and having a fatal outcome, but that is not to minimize it. I think if you listen careful to me, I am one of the individuals thats highly concerned about the complexity that were going to be facing in the fall with the coronavirus and when we have influenza. Im also, you know, I think its important to recognize, were not talking about a second wave right now. Were still in the first wave, and that first wave is taking different shapes. Were going to continue to respond. I mean, Im happy to see that when we have outbreaks like we did in North Carolina and Alabama, CDC provided technical assistance to help the local health departments. Those hotspots are beginning to turn around. But these hotspots that we see, dont minimize them. Theyre significant. We need to respond to them. And as you see in certain areas, like in Houston, Texas, in Arizona, these cases are actually now causing challenges, as you mentioned, in terms of hospitalizations. So, I am not minimizing it. Its a significant issue. Im just trying to let individuals understand the distinction between where we were in March and April and where we are today.

Ben Haynes: Next question, please.

Operator: Thank you. The next question is from Leigh Ann Winnick with CBS News. You may go ahead.

Leigh Ann Winnick: Thank you. Id like to touch on two things you just said about the younger people and the prospect of lingering effects in both younger and older people. What are those concerns and how are you messaging to younger people? Is there not some kind of advertising campaign thats specifically targeted to younger people after now three months of grappling with this?

Robert Redfield: Jay, do you want to comment on that, since I spoke on the last one?

Jay Butler: Sure. So, the question of a long recovery is a very good one. We hear anecdotal reports of people who have persistent fatigue, shortness of breath. So, how long that will last is hard to say. Again, were talking about a new disease. So, whether or not this could be something that could persist for more than a few months, we dont yet know. There is work that is ongoing to create a follow-up of people who have confirmed COVID-19 so that we can determine better what some of those long-term effects are. In terms of messaging to younger people, I think youre exactly right, that the message needs to include, even if theres not as much interest in the risk of transmitting to those who are at higher risk, everyone needs to understand that there is some risk of severe illness, including among younger people. The tools that can be used include social media. Were exploring Tik Tok tools, PSAs are a bit older, but that is something that in the right media can help to reach younger people as well. Thank you. Next question, please.

Leigh Ann Winnick: Can I just follow up? If theres some Tik Toks that are out there, if you could flag those at the press office, supply those to us?

Jay Butler: At this time, we do not have any, but thats something that we are looking into. And Im of the age, I have to stop and think, what is a Tik Tok? But Ive learned that over the past month.

Ben Haynes: Next question, please?

Operator: Thank you. The next question is from Jeremy Olson. With the Minneapolis Star Tribune. You may go ahead.

Jeremy Olson: Thank you for taking my question. I was just wondering, there are tracker apps that now exist, google platforms, android platforms, that could aid with the monitoring of these local hotspots and contact tracing, but it seems like its been left to states and its really been a fledgling start with these apps. I wonder if theres been any federal or national effort to make use of this technology to improve our tracking?

Jay Butler: So, there has been work to determine the utility of these devices. One of the challenges has been the willingness of the members of the public to utilize these devices. So, its  it has a lot of promise. I think it also has some challenges. There are a large number of apps that are out there, so we dont endorse any one of those, but the ultimate authority in conducting contact tracing as well as case investigation is going to be at the local, state, or tribal level.

Ben Haynes: Next question, please.

Operator: Thank you. The next question is from Maggie Fox from CNN. You may go ahead.

Maggie Fox: Thanks. Dr. Redfield, I was very intrigued by something you said, that for every case thats tested positive, there might be ten that werent detected. Can you expand on that? And I think you probably know, the Wall Street Journal has said that the CDC estimates many millions more cases than has been diagnosed. Thanks.

Robert Redfield: Yeah. Thank you for the question. I mean. We have one of the realities, because this virus causes so much asymptomatic infection. And again, we dont know the exact number. Theres ranges between 20%, as high as 80% in different groups. But clearly, it causes significant asymptomatic infection. The traditional approach of looking for symptomatic illness and diagnosing it obviously underestimated the total amount of infections. So, now, with the availability of serology, the ability to test for antibodies, CDC has established surveillance throughout the united states using a variety of different mechanisms for serology, and that information now is coming in and will continue as we look at the range, for example, where you have a different range of percent infections, say on the west coast, where it may be limited, say 1% or so, and then you have the northeast, where it may be much more common. The estimates that we have right now, that I mentioned  and again, this will continue with more and more surveillance  is that its about ten times more people have antibody in these jurisdictions that had documented infection. So that gives you an idea. What the ultimate number is going to be  is it 5-1, is it 10-1, is it 12-1? But I think a good rough estimate right now is 10-1. And I just wanted to highlight that, because at the beginning, we were seeing diagnosis in cases of individuals that presented in hospitals and emergency rooms and nursing homes. And we were selecting for symptomatic or higher-risk groups. There wasnt a lot of testing that was done of younger-age symptomatic individuals. So, I think its important for us to realize that, that we probably recognized about 10% of the outbreak by the methods that were used to diagnose it between March, April, and May. And I think we are continuing to try to enhance surveillance systems for individuals that are asymptomatic to be able to start detecting that asymptomatic infection more in real time.

Maggie Fox: May I follow up on that, please? Youre also talking about younger people becoming infected, and perhaps theyre at lower risk, but youve also updated the list of people with the underlying conditions that place them at higher risk. That includes pregnant women, who, of course, by definition, will be younger. And we also have a high rate of obesity and diabetes in our younger population. Can you talk about how not everybody is young and perfectly healthy and that, perhaps, the US younger population might be at higher risk of complications?

Robert Redfield: Yeah, I think its a critical question. Im going to let dan and Jay chime in on it, but I think youve hit it. And I think we have to recognize the reality. Our nation isnt as healthy as some other nations, particularly as you look at the issue of obesity or at some of these chronic medical conditions. But I think dana may talk about pregnancy? And Jay, if you want to talk about the existence of co-morbidities in younger populations.

Jay Butler: Sure, Dr. Redfield. And I think, again, it highlights the fact that younger people in no way are completely immune to the effects of SARS-CoV-2, nor are they at risk of more severe manifestation. And among young people, that risk is elevated in those with underlying illnesses or health conditions, including things like diabetes or obesity. As you mentioned, pregnancy, of course, is going to be always in younger people. And so, the emerging data on the increased risk of more severe illness among people who are pregnant is something that has become more visible as we have increasing numbers of cases occurring. And I would anticipate that well get more granularity on our understanding of the degree of risk as we continue on and we have additional data. Ill turn it over to Dr. Meaney-Delman to see if she has any additional comments on the risks associated with pregnancy.

Dana Meaney-Delman: Thanks for your comment. We appreciate that. I think theres a good news/bad news picture here. The good news is that at least from the data we have so far, pregnant women are not at increased risk of death. And to your point, I think thats because there are  pregnant women are generally a younger population. So thats the good news. But we do see higher rates of admission to the ICU and mechanical ventilation based on this data set that we have to date. And so, I think its very important to get the information out there that pregnant women need to take precautions with regard to coming in contact with others, the number of people they come in contact with, wearing face coverings, social distancing. So, we really think this is a pivotal moment to emphasize those precautions that people can take as theyre living their lives in the face of COVID-19.

Ben Haynes: Next question, please.

Operator: Thank you. The next question is from Alison Aubrey with NPR. You may go ahead.

Alison Aubrey: Hi. Thanks so much for taking my call. One question a lot of our listeners are asking is how do I affect my own personal risk? And one factor of course to look at here is the spread in your community or in your state. But people are confused about the best metric to look at. One metric is of the severity of the spread is the positivity rate. We see rising positivity rates in Arizona, 25%, South Carolina, multiple other sunbelt states. New York is now down to fatal digits. Doing more testing. They say you want to see a single-digit positivity rate. Does the CDC have guidance? Is there an agreed-upon threshold of what a good  of what an  positivity rate or what a low positivity rate is? Would it be 3%, 5%? Do you have a specific guidance?

Jay Butler: Yeah, I think the answer to that question is lower is better, and that may be obvious. But again, theres no magic number above which we would say everyone needs to, basically, stay home, and no number below which we would say dont worry about this at all, unless that number is zero and theres a significant amount of testing thats occurring. I think it may be more important to look at some of the other metrics as well, such as whether or not your local health department is reporting a significant number of cases occurring. And also, look at the trends. Is it on the upward trajectory, or is it coming back down again? In terms of assessing the risk for getting out into the community, I think youve touched on an important factor, what is the amount of transmission occurring in your community. Also, also the issue of personal assessment, and thats one of the real areas of focus in the discussion today, thinking about increasing age, increased risk, also the presence of underlying health conditions. And then finally, where are you going to go when you go out? Being around fewer people is better than being around a greater number. Being able to keep a distance of at least six feet is better than being closer. Probably its better to be out of doors than indoors. And being around people who are using face coverings is likely better than being around those who do not. Theres a lot of different variables, I recognize, but they all play an important role.

Alison Aubrey: But I just want to help people understand, if the transmissions or cases are growing in their area  you just mentioned several different metrics. And I think whats confusing for folks is, like, everyones saying, oh, check with your local health people to say, you know, are cases growing? Whats the risk in your area? But theres no easy way for people to do that. I know that Tom Frieden and others have suggested a sort of green light, orange light, red light for the amount of spread in your area. Some simple indicator that we know works in public health to signal to people, what is the risk in my area? Are cases up or down? I think theres a lot of interpretation youre asking people to do that theyre not capable of doing, and Im wondering if you might be able to  have you thought about sort of setting a consistent, easy signal for people to know what the risk is in their area?

Jay Butler: Yeah. I think the challenging words in that question is easy and simple, because we all want those. And thats certainly something that we continue to look at the data to determine what are the best metrics. You know, weve never had a coronavirus pandemic before. We are only a few months into this, so that is a big focus of what were trying to do, is to be able to get the data together to give people the best advice possible. But at this point in time, there is not a simple answer to that question.

Ben Haynes: Next question, please?

Operator: Thank you. The next question is from Marilynn Marchionne with Associated Press. You may go ahead.

Marilynn Marchionne: Thank you. I have two quick questions. The first is, youve reset the list of who is at high risk from coronavirus and add pregnant women. Why did you also not include Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans, given all the findings about higher hospitalization and death among racial and ethnic minorities? I have a second question as well.

Jay Butler: Yeah, great to hear from you. So, we actually do have some additional information coming out on the risks that are associated with race and ethnicity. And thank you for raising that question as well. There are increased risks of infection in certain racial and ethnic groups. Much of this may be driven by the fact that it is very difficult for people of lower socioeconomic status to be able to do things like telework or to be able to maintain social distancing, at lower socioeconomic levels, certain racial and ethnic groups are overrepresented. And so, that is likely a major driver to why we are not  we are seeing some inequities in terms of the rates of infection and outcomes in some groups. Someone said early on that the pandemic is a boat that were all in. I think the pandemic is a storm that were out to sea together in, but some of us are able to be in better boats than others. So, looking at how we can achieve better health equity is a big part of what we need to too.

Marilynn Marchionne: My other question is for Dr. Redfield about the new estimate that was just released, that 20 million Americans had been infected. Is that a CDC estimate? Did the CDC come up with that? And what can you tell us about where those surveys were done, if they were nationally representative or just in hotspots, how youve determined this 20 million? And that would mean about 6% of the population has been infected, and doesnt that mean the vast majority remain susceptible? And these are lower than the 25% asymptomatic estimates weve been hearing.

Robert Redfield: Yeah, were still collecting serological data. This is happening across the nation and we continue to add samples to those surveys, you know, each month, to continue to look to see what the extent is. There is great variability, and Im confident at some time in the near future that that will be collated into information that can be broadly shared through the MMWR. I think two points are important. One, the one that you said at the end. Its clear that many individuals in this nation are still susceptible. There are, as I mentioned before, states that are going to have antibody prevalence base of less than 2%, which would mean a majority of those individuals in those regions are still susceptible. Theres other areas like the New York metropolitan area that clearly had a higher penetration of antibody positivity and will have fewer individuals that remain susceptible. But all in all, I think youre in the right range, that somewhere between 5%, 6%, 7%, 8% of the American public has experienced infection, whether they recognized it or not. The estimate that we have given you at this point is it appears that the rate is  and this is CDCs serology data  that the rate is approximately ten seropositive antibody individuals for every one case. Obviously, that will be refined in the weeks ahead, but I think, youre right, looks like somewhere between 5% and 8% of the American public. That will be refined. And it does suggest the critical point that you point out and let me re-emphasize, this outbreak is not over. This pandemic is not over. The most powerful tool that we have, most powerful weapon, is social distancing. The virus doesnt like  its not efficient at going, you know, six, seven, ten feet between individuals. So, if we can maintain the six-feet distancing, if we can wear face coverings when were in public, and particularly when we cant maintain the distancing, but we recommend them in public, and maintain vigilance in our hand hygiene, so we dont end up self-inoculating ourselves from certain surfaces that are contaminated, its really important, powerful tools. And as we go into the fall and the winter, these are going to be really, really important defense mechanisms for you, for all of us, because as you pointed out, a significant majority of the American public, probably greater than somewhere  greater than 90% of the American public hasnt experienced this virus yet, and yet, remain susceptible.

Marilynn Marchionne: The sero surveys that were nationwide, you said they were nationally representative. Have you done  do you have bloodwork from, you know, half of the states? Just help us understand 

Robert Redfield: The way this is being done  and we can give you more information  we have surveys that are being done through samples that were collected for other reasons, whether its blood banks or laboratory testing, and then theyve been sampled in a representative way across the nation. And that process is continuing. Theres additional projects, protocols that are actually being added to continue to make it more and more representative across this nation so that well have a pretty complete understanding as we get through this over the next month or two. But we have a pretty good representation already across the country through blood banks and other sampling sites that weve done around the country.

Ben Haynes: Next question, please.

Operator: Thank you. The next question is from Elizabeth Weise with USA Today. You may go ahead.

Elizabeth Weise: Hi. Thanks for taking my question and Im so happy that we get to have these briefings with you all. I had two questions on pregnancy, and I wanted to get the correct spelling of Dr. Delmans name. The first question is, do we have any data on outcomes for the babies yet? Probably not, because there hasnt been enough time for many women to actually give birth. And secondly, do we have any data on where in pregnancy you get sick and whether that affects either your outcome, the womans outcome, or the fetus outcome? Im thinking of things like German measles, wondering if theres any correlation there.

Dana Meaney-Delman: So, thank you for those terrific questions. Many of the same ones were facing here. As you alluded to, pregnancys nine months, so we dont have a lot of data that we need given where we are in the outbreak, so I dont think we know the answer to the outcomes of pregnancy specific to COVID-19. We do know that other infections increase risk for things like preterm birth. I wouldnt be surprised if thats a factor here, but we need more data and more time to collect that information about outcomes. In terms of timing, the MMWR thats coming out shortly did not collect information about trimester. So, its hard to know at this point. A good move during this pandemic is were collecting pregnancy status as part of our surveillance data from states, in a much more robust fashion, and we are going to follow along with more information about gestational age. Given that this is a surveillance data point, my suspicion is that we probably have more in the mid-trimester or late because its easier to identify someone whos pregnant than in the first trimester, but we dont actually have the data yet. And it would make sense, based on the physiology in the third trimester and limitations on respiratory function, since this is a respiratory virus. I think I emailed you my information, so let us know if you dont have that.

Ben Haynes: Next question, please.

Operator: Thank you. The next question is from Roni Rabin with the New York Times. You may go ahead.

Roni Rabin: Yeah, I was curious about  it seems youre downgrading the risk of hypertension. This has been up there along with diabetes since the beginning of the outbreak in china as a risk factor that increases the risk for severe COVID-19 illness, and Im just wondering whats caused the change, and obviously, also seem to put obesity up higher. Then if you can discuss that a bit, a little bit more about the concerns for the US. Where obesity rates are so high and also among young people.

Jay Butler: Sure, and I appreciate the opportunity to clarify a bit. So, were really talking about the strength of evidence, rather than the downgrading or upgrading the level of risk. The question of hypertension is one that came up very early on, even as we were receiving some of the early data out of china. I think what weve been able to do, as more data become available, recognizing that hypertension is a risk factor for other diseases, such as heart disease, chronic kidney failure, weve been able to tease apart a little bit more how much just having hypertension alone, as opposed to having some of those end-organ manifestations of hypertension, may be driving the increased risk.

Roni Rabin: So does the same go for obesity, then? I mean, obesity, youre actually separating it as a risk factor in and of itself.

Jay Butler: Yes, and it does, of course, interact with some of the other issues, such as diabetes. But also, I want to just highlight that early on, it was most obvious among people that had severe obesity  that is, a body mass index above 40  as we have more data, it appears that even obesity at the lower levels, such as the body mass index above 30, may increase the risk as well. So, obesity is appropriate to include as one of those conditions where there might be at increased risk.

Operator: Thank you. The next question is from Tom Howell with the Washington Times. You may go ahead.

Tom Howell: Hi. Thanks for doing the call. Just wanted to be clear on the list of underlying conditions. Can you tell us which conditions are new? You said its an updated list. Maybe you said it. I just want to understand which ones have been added. And also, you mentioned july 4th is coming up. What are your concerns in terms of gatherings, cookouts, et cetera, fireworks? And what should people do to take care of themselves? Thanks.

Jay Butler: Sure. In terms of what is new, again, its a little bit complex because some of it is rearranging based on the strength of the evidence and the stratification there. So it may be best just to get back with you on that. Regarding the upcoming fourth of July holiday, again, the issues are the same in terms of how you can reduce your level of risk. Gatherings that are smaller are better than gatherings that are large. Being able to maintain social distance or physical distance, at least six feet, is better than being in closer proximity. Being outdoors is probably better than being indoors. And being around people who are wearing face coverings is better than not around those  around people who are not utilizing face coverings. So, we do recognize that families will want to be together over the holidays, but being able to minimize the people that you are around, particularly people that you have not been around in the past, is particularly important.

Robert Redfield: And to reinforce the message, because there are going to be family gatherings, how important it is, you know, what we stressed even back in march  just to re-emphasize that message, that we have responsibility to practice these social mitigation strategies to protect the vulnerable, to protect the elderly. I will also just say, you know, a lot of us may not even know which one of our close friends have, or even family members may have some of these significant medical co-morbidities. So, again, I think stressing the importance that we all have a critical role, not for ourselves, per se, but to protect the vulnerable. And Ive said it before, Ive been really proud and congratulate the American public. I think most of us back in March, when we did the 15 days of slow the spread, I mean the 30 days of slow the spread. Im not sure all of us really believed that the American public was going to listen and buy into it. As a physician, which I am, Ive worked over my lifetime to help my patients stop smoking or lose weight or exercise more, or you know, do other things to improve their health. And its very hard to be able to affect behavioral change as a physician, when youre asking someone to do this to improve their own health. But I really think it was remarkable that the American people really did embrace the mitigation steps when the consequence was to protect the health of somebody else. Were asking that again, so we really think thats important. This is one of the complexities now with the younger individuals. As we see these infection case numbers go up, its just really important. And so, for the fourth of July, which is a family event, we want to re-emphasize that its really important that we get back to being vigilant to our collective commitment to do these social mitigation steps to protect the vulnerable friends, family, community, and those individuals that we dont know that were interacting with, from potentially getting infected and having a poor, negative outcome because of the co-morbidities.

Ben Haynes: We have time for two more questions, please.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question is from Donna Young with S& P Global News. You may go ahead.

>> thank you. Appreciate you taking my question and holding the call today. This question is for Dr. Redfield. Dr. Redfield, are you willing to admit that it was a mistake to dismiss Dr. Messonniers February 25th warnings, to hold that press conference that HHS held later in the day where the officials there, including Dr. Fauci, tried to minimize what she said, tried to say that it was education for the future but nothing that people needed to be doing at that point, and that you, as well as Dr. Fauci, all throughout January, February, and well into March, were advising Americans that they did not need to make any behavioral changes or any changes to their daily activities, as well as also, I wanted to ask about the masks. Why did you think later that there was a difference in wearing a cloth mask, later on, that that was okay, but officials were shaming Americans early on for wearing, most of them, you know, cloth masks? Why was that shaming actually going on? But if you could, you know, please  it seems like youre able to say now, well, you know, its a new virus, we didnt know what was going on. But early on, it seems like you were very willing to say, theres no need to wear a mask, you know, were right about this, and pretty much dismissed Dr. Messonnier for what she  well, actually, did dismiss. Americans were pretty much told to ignore that for now, thats something for the future, education for the future, but dont pay attention to her today, on February 25th. So, thank you.

Ben Haynes: Donna, this is Benjamin. I will follow up with you on that question after the briefing. Sue, can you give us the last question, please?

Operator: Sure. The last question is from Will Feuer with CNBC. You may go ahead.

Will Feuer: Hi. Thanks for taking my question. I do think that I speak for all of us to say that I am interested to hear the answer to the previous question. But my question is about contact tracing. Dr. Redfield, you testified earlier this week theres about 27,000 or 28,000 contact tracers deployed now across the nation. Im wondering, though  and you said youre going to ramp that up. What is the goal there? And I know that number shifts and the goal might shift depending on the epidemics around the country. But you know, roughly what kind of number are you looking for with the number of contact tracers? And you know, I understand its mostly an effort run by local health departments. So, whats the CDC doing to support local health departments in ramping up capacity to conduct contact tracing?

Robert Redfield: Thank you very much. A very important question. And its important, its not just contact tracing, but its the consequence of that, to have the ability to isolate individuals. You know, in January, the estimate of the country was, there was about the health departments collectively had about 6,000 individuals that were in this contact tracing space. I think the second of January, when the states were polled by intergovernmental affairs, it was now almost 28,000, I think 27,800, approximately. But if you ask the states, when all polled, its close to 77,000, 78,000. Ive estimated that I think the nations going to need close to 100,000 in this space. You know, Tom Frieden has estimated he thought as high as 300,000. I think we have to work, as we begin to build this workforce capacity, to get it in praise and get those individuals. The efforts that we have  and again, congress has been, you know, I think provided leadership in this regard. Theyve provided CDC significant resources. Weve disbursed $10,250,000,000 to the states to augment their testing, contact tracing and isolation capability. The states have put together their plans for June and July, which have undergone review and areas of weakness have been discussed so they can correct them. And then theyll have their formal plans for basically the rest of the year due on the tenth of July. Significant human resource. Significant financial resources to help them. CDC has, obviously, embedded people. We have over 650 people embedded now in the state and local tribal territory, also environments weve augmented. Weve offered the states the opportunity to hire individuals though our foundation. Weve obviously given them their own resources to hire. AmeriCorps now is making AmeriCorps volunteers available. Some of the states have used other state employees. Some of the states have looked at different strategies. So, were going to continue. I think one of the critical things to do in parallel, though, is we cant just build contact tracing. Youve got to build the capacity to isolate people. And its important to be able to isolate people that live in congregate living settings or that live in a setting that would then put another individual significantly at risk, so they couldnt, in fact, minimize the risk to an elderly parent or grandparent. Obviously, its another issue in isolating individuals that are homeless. So, this has to be built. I think the bottom line that I like to tell people is, for decades, this nation has underinvested in the core capabilities of public health, whether its data analytics and predictive analysis, whether its resilience in the public health laboratories across our country, whether its the public health workforce that we just talked about, obviously, whether its related to emergency funding to respond in a timely fashion. But you know, that will continue to be the core. And being able to effectively operationalize the contact tracing and isolation thats going to be required. And yes, it is going to be different plans by different states that are trying to put those, and we will continue to provide guidance, technical assistance, training manuals, training curriculum, to get these contact tracers in place over the summer.

Ben Haynes: Thank you, Dr. Redfield. Thank you, Dr. Butler. And thank you, Dr. Delman. And thank you all for joining us for todays briefing. As I mentioned at the start of the briefing, the information we shared is embargoed until 1:00 p.m. Please check CDCs COVID-19 website for the latest updates on CDCs response effort. And an audio recording and transcript of this briefing will be posted on CDC newsroom at www.CDC.gov/media. If you have further questions, please call the main media line at 404-629-3286 or email media@CDC.gov. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. That does conclude todays conference. Thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Mumbai, India  Fri, June 26, 2020 17:05 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661f8015 2 Entertainment bollywood,Movie,India Free

Bollywood will resume film shoots immediately, industry representatives said Thursday, but strict virus rules banning "elaborate or extravagant" scenes threaten to strip the world's biggest movie-making machine of its trademark dazzle.

The decision by three major industry bodies ends a months-long hiatus following the imposition of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown in India in late March.

Although the government allowed shoots to resume earlier this month, producers, actors and crew have been embroiled in negotiations about the health risks involved.

Read also: Bollywood faces flak for protesting racism while backing skin lightening

On Thursday, industry representatives said they had "amicably resolved the outstanding issues (and) paved the way for the immediate resumption of shootings", including the provision of medical and life insurance to all crew members.

But tough restrictions to fight the spread of the virus pose a major challenge to filmmakers, who will not be allowed to film wedding scenes or fight sequences that have long been Bollywood staples.

Furthermore, actors over the age of 65 are banned from being on set -- a rule that would see some of India's most revered stars, such as 77-year-old Amitabh Bachchan, forced to stay home instead.

Social distancing norms will put a stop to scenes showing actors kissing or embracing, spelling a return to the more conservative 1980s, when Bollywood songs often cut to images of flowers brushing against each other -- then a shorthand for romance.

Producers will also be required to have a doctor, nurse and an ambulance on set -- a punishing requirement at a time when Mumbai is already struggling with a shortage of health workers and ambulances.

The 16-page set of guidelines, framed by the Producers Guild of India, also includes a request for actors to do their hair and makeup at home and urges casting directors to locate real-life relatives for family sequences to limit interactions between strangers.

Topics : bollywood Movie India
COVID-19 is not a time for politics. The so-called Healthy Buildings Ordinance put forward by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has nothing to do with health or business. Its a sell-out to politically connected union leadership.

San Franciscos Board of Supervisors is playing politics with the health and safety of hard-working San Francisco workers. The ordinance is not based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, but rather, the self-interests of the largest hotel union in the country. It puts labor protections ahead of proven health protections. There is nothing progressive about it.

We believe it threatens the lives and livelihoods of potentially thousands of San Francisco workers. The legislation was drafted by the hotel union. The legislation is designed to add new positions at every hotel while also supporting the hotel union bosses to legislate the end of incentive programs that allow guests to opt out of daily cleaning. This is unfair - and unsafe.

The legislation exempts all city, state and federal buildings. Why are these standards being added for targeted specific industries and not the public buildings where the legislation is being heard? There should be a level and equitable playing field for all employees. During COVID-19, San Franciscos hotel community has been in the forefront of stepping up to help, including housing first responders and our most vulnerable populations.

In pre-COVID times, no industry was safer, cleaner or more committed to the health and welfare of visitors and employees. Since the onset of COVID-19, no industry has done more to improve, accelerate, and communicate its even more stringent hygiene protocols. Our Hotel Council of San Francisco cleaning protocols are based on the CDCs recommendations, which is based on scientific research with additional guidance from Johns Hopkins, Cornell and Purdue universities, the major hotel brands, California Hotel & Lodging, and the American Hotel & Lodging Associations. These are the same safe standards that are being followed in other cities. San Franciscos hotel community knows how to welcome back our employees and visitors safely, and are prepared to do so.

We have every incentive to ensure that all of our employees and visitors to our hotels are safe and healthy.

San Franciscos hotel industry employs tens of thousands of people directly and supports hundreds of thousands of other businesses. Our hotels and small businesses have had to lay off thousands of workers. This legislation will stop hotels from reopening and keep these hard-working employees unemployed.

The Board of Supervisors, once again, has turned a cruelly deaf ear to our repeated requests for help and understanding. This latest bit of ill-advised and unnecessary legislation might very well be the final blow for San Franciscos No. 1 industry: tourism. This entire issue should be handled by the San Francisco Department of Health and not be subject to special interest legislative interference.

Even though San Francisco is the second densest city in the country, we have been a national leader in good, science-based health practices that have helped flatten the curve - in fact, San Francisco squashed the curve. There are no doctors or medical professionals on the Board of Supervisors. With all due respect, we would strongly suggest they get back to doing their job  like cleaning our streets and providing services that keep San Franciscans and visitors alike safe and secure. In turn, let the San Francisco Department of Health and our hotel family do theirs.

In short: Board of Supervisors - clean our streets. Well clean the sheets.

Kevin Carroll is president & CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco
When will international flight operations to India be fully normal? Heres what govt says

International flights to remain suspended until July 15

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 26: International flights will remain suspended till July 15, the government has said. This was announced by the DGCA.

The centre said that scheduled International commercial passenger services to and from India will remain suspended till July 15. Consultations have begun on allowing private carriers to operate on some international routes.

The restriction would not apply to international cargo operations and flights that are specifically approved by the aviation regulator.

The US administration had objected to India's Vande Bharat mission under which Air India is flying to the US, but American carriers are being denied permission to fly on the American India routes.

Total lockdown in Guwahati for 14 days from Sunday after spurt in cases | Oneindia News

The US had called this monopolisation and threatened to disallow Air India's Vande Bharat flight. A similar objection had come from the UAE too.

Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri had said that a decision to resume international passenger flights will be taken in July. He said that it would depend on the coronavirus behaviour and if the entire ecosystem and state governments are onboard.

Puri said that he is often asked, when can international flights resume. If you leave it to me and if the ecosystem works, and if we have the predictability in terms of the behaviour of the virus, I think in the coming month, we should taking the decisions, he had also said.
A Chinese military research institute has been approved to test its second experimental coronavirus vaccine in humans, the eighth candidate in clinical trials for China as it emerges as a front-runner in the global fight against Covid-19.

No vaccine has been approved for sale against the virus that has killed over 470,000 people, but more than a dozen candidates have entered different stages of human test globally.

The new drug is developed by the Academy of Military Science (AMS), a research institute affiliated with the People's Liberation Army, and was approved to proceed to human trial by China's National Medical Products Administration.

AMS' latest candidate, named ARCoV, uses mRNA technology, an approach that is also used for candidates developed by Moderna Inc in the United States and German firm CureVac but has never been tested in China-based clinical trials, the institute said in its social media WeChat late on Wednesday.

"The core raw materials and equipment are all domestically produced, and rapid production capacity ramp-up is achievable," Qin Chengfeng, a researcher responsible for the mRNA project, said in the statement.

The Chinese Clinical Trial registry, without naming ARCoV, said a phase 1 clinical trial for an mRNA vaccine, sponsored by AMS, Yunnan Walvax Biotechnology and Suzhou Abogen Biosciences, would start on Thursday and evaluate the safety of the candidate. http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=55524

Separately, Ad5-nCoV, a vaccine candidate co-developed by AMS and CanSino Biologics using a different technique, is under phase-2 clinical trial in China and has won approval to begin human testing in Canada.
The family of a North Carolina man killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in Washington state filed a $28 million wrongful-death claim.

The family of 26-year-old Said Joquin filed the claim against the city of Lakewood, its police chief and the officer, The Seattle Times reported Tuesday.

The claim alleges Joquin had his hands up when Officer Mike Wiley approached the vehicle with his gun drawn May 1.

Wiley told Joquin to shut up or youll get shot before firing three times and dragging Joquin from the car, the claim said.

Wiley told investigators he believed Joquin was reaching for a handgun on the floor of the vehicle after Wiley pulled him over for running a stop sign in the city 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Tacoma.

The tort claim filed by Tacoma civil-rights attorney Jack Connelly on behalf of Dawn Kortner, Joquins mother from Fayetteville, North Carolina, puts the city on notice that a lawsuit may be filed unless the claim is resolved.

The city has 60 days to respond.

Lakewood spokesperson Brynn Grimley said the city would comment after the completion of an ongoing investigation into the shooting.

Topics Washington
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Linkedin Michelle Nichols and Tom Perry (Reuters) New York, United States/Beirut, Lebanon  Fri, June 26, 2020 07:00 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661b7eb1 2 World Russia,UN,Syria,Syria-war,Syrian-civil-war Free

Russia said on Thursday it has quit a voluntary United Nations arrangement that aimed to protect hospitals and humanitarian aid deliveries in Syria from being hit by the warring parties.

Russia made the decision following an internal UN inquiry in April found it was "highly probable" the Syrian government or its allies carried out attacks on three healthcare facilities, a school and a refuge for children in northwest Syria last year.

Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused "various 'opposition groups' and terrorists through their proxies" of abusing the humanitarian deconfliction process. Russia believed the United Nations should give any relevant information to Syrian authorities, he said.

"We do not see withdrawal as a threat to the humanitarian workers on the ground if information provided is accurate and trustworthy," Nebenzia told Reuters.

Russia has provided military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war, which erupted after Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protesters in 2011.

Russia and Syria have said their forces are not targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure and have long-questioned the sources used by the United Nations to verify attacks.

Under the UN deconfliction arrangement, the locations of UN supported facilities and other humanitarian sites like hospitals and health centers had been shared with the warring parties in a bid to protect them. However, the United Nations has questioned whether it made them a target.

In a note to aid groups, seen by Reuters, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed Russia's withdrawal.

"The United Nations is concerned about the withdrawal of the Russian Federation from the notification mechanism and is examining the implications of this decision for humanitarian personnel and operations in Syria," the UN note said.

The United Nations said in the note that it would discuss the situation further with Russia. It also said all parties - whether they participated in the deconfliction arrangement or not - were still bound by international humanitarian law.

"If Russia thinks this will help them escape accountability for war crimes, they're dead wrong," said Louis Charbonneau, UN director for Human Rights Watch. "We and other groups will continue to investigate and document the deliberate bombings of hospitals and other grave crimes in Syria."
Here are some of the things Ive discovered while in quarantine. Drinking yoghurt is all the fun of regular yoghurt, but with less work. (Why is it that spoons, in particular, seem to multiply in kitchen sinks?) There is, actually, such a thing as too much dried mango. One other revelation, with apologies to Love Story, or perhaps Fight Club: good government means never having to talk about good government.

Politicians are supposed to solve big problems. But in the US they've turned even mitigating strategies, like mask-wearing, into political acts. Credit:Getty Images

Allow me to explain. As Australia opens up, its been difficult to explain to my friends and family there just what a colossal mess the United States remains. They dont get it. Sure, things are opening up here, too. People are making noises about phases, which implies some sort of plan. But the decision to resume normal life is nonetheless based on a collective delusion that coronavirus is solved, when in fact cases are still rising in more than 20 states and we are no closer to finding a way out than we were back in March.

When I see images of Australians going back to their offices, attending a dinner at a restaurant with nine of their closest friends, I see a people who look after one another.

That hasnt stopped the country from deciding that its going to enjoy a regular summer, with all that entails. I was astonished to read that the airline industry predicts domestic travel to be back to its regular levels by August. The patio of our local Mexican restaurant is filled with patrons enjoying frozen strawberry margaritas. Summer camps in New York  the worst-hit spot  are mostly going ahead.
A close student of the Chinese Communist Party's operations in Australia, Professor Feng Chongyi of the University of Technology in Sydney, says that some of the organisations and activists operating on behalf of the Chinese government ceased activity when Parliament passed the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme, in tandem with an updated Espionage and Foreign Interference law. "But we still see some friends of the Chinese Communist Party in the community  as well as some Australian politicians and the staff of politicians  continuing to be active after the law was passed. Some are covert but some are operating quite openly." Loading The United Front Work Department is the arm of the Chinese government that seeks to impose Beijing's will in foreign countries through the Chinese diaspora abroad. Chinese President Xi Jinping has described it as one of the party's three "magic weapons", together with party-building and armed struggle. Professor Feng counted more than 300 United Front organisations in Sydney alone. "They've had no investigation to deter or to punish this unhealthy trend," Feng said. Australia has many fine laws that have been flouted through lack of political will. Underpaid workers? Major businesses and famous chefs systematically underpaid staff with impunity for years because the Fair Work Commission wasnt enforcing the law. Bank bastardry? Misconduct by the major banks was rampant because federal agencies lacked the staff and the will to investigate. New apartment blocks abandoned? New structures are uninhabitable because state governments failed to enforce their building codes. Was the foreign interference law going to suffer the same fate? One prominent individual with ties to Beijing, billionaire Huang Xiangmo, had settled in Sydney. He financially supported Labor Senator Sam Dastyari until Dastyari was drummed out of Parliament. And he personally recruited former foreign affairs minister Bob Carr to run the Australia-China Relations Institute, a post Carr has since left.

The federal government cancelled Huangs visa after ASIO advice. Hes now persona non grata. It was an important step. But it was an old-fashioned visa decision that removed one man from the equation. It was not a systemic response to a systemic problem. In Chinatown, in the Chinese community, there are lots of guys who behave like Huang Xiangmo,"remarked Feng. "They should be required to explain their activities too. After media reports of Chinese government efforts to put agents of influence into the Australian Parliament, and with the NSW Labor Party investigated by ICAC over dubious donations from Huang among others, Scott Morrison acted. In December last year, the Morrison government allocated $88 million to create an enforcement capability. The Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce was set up, led by ASIO and also staffed by the Federal Police and other agencies. Now, with Friday's raid, we see the first public evidence that it is on the job. Shaoquett Moselmane is a fool. That's no crime. He has said all sorts of foolish things expressing his admiration for the Chinese authoritarians and disdain for his own country. That's no crime either. We enjoy freedom of speech in Australia. It's one of the defining differences between the two countries.

Moselmane enjoys the presumption of innocence before the law, and he has not been charged with any offence. That's another defining difference, of course. In China, the Communist Party is the police, the prosecutor, judge, jury, jailer and executioner. This investigation might turn out to be important for what it finds or fails to find. Loading As my colleague Nick McKenzie, who broke the story, writes: "If sufficient evidence was found, the inquiry could ultimately result in an Australian and world first: a prosecution for foreign interference offences arising from an alleged covert Chinese Communist Party plot to influence a serving politician." But, then again, it might not matter much. The federal government's preparedness to act in defence of Australia's sovereignty is the far greater revelation here. Australia has been likened, more than once, to the "canary in the coalmine" for democracies that are under assault from Chinese government pressure campaigns.

"Australia is the canary in the coal mine of Chinese Communist Party interference," the former Beijing correspondent, now consultant, John Garnaut, wrote a couple of years ago. "Nobody knows what happens when a mid-sized, open, multicultural nation stands its ground against a rising authoritarian superpower that accounts for one in every three of its export dollars. The canary stuck its head into the coal mine when Turnbull proposed the foreign interference laws, and then deeper when his government banned China's national champion telecoms gear maker, Huawei, from the 5G network. It went deeper with the call for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus. The noxious coal mine gases of Beijing's response is threefold. First, political. It imposed a ban on top-level political contact. Which it this year extended to minister-level contacts. With the odd insult  Australia is "chewing gum stuck on the sole of Chinas shoe", according to state media  for good measure. Second, economic. It applied a customs "go slow" on Australian thermal coal last year, followed this year by sanctions on Australian barley and beef, and a travel warning to threaten the tourism and university education industries. Third, it began a campaign of internet intrusions. Morrison raised the alarm on this last week as the campaign intensified.

The raid on Moselmane's house demonstrates that the canary of Australian sovereign independence is still alive, in spite of all this. The raid on a sitting MP related to a Chinese government interference investigation had to be authorised by the Attorney-General, Christian Porter. And, in a sign of the gravity of the act, the Prime Minister himself was briefed on Thursday night. Loading Asked about it at a Friday press conference, Morrison made no effort to minimise it as a one-off matter, or to soft-soap China, or to understate it in any way: "The government is absolutely determined to ensure that nobody interferes with Australia's activities. We won't cop it. We are a resilient people. We will stand up to it and we will take action, as what you've seen today demonstrates." Commendably tough in the face of an authoritarian bully, yes. But politically risky, no. Morrison has a double luxury. He enjoys solid support from the Labor Party. And he has strong and rising support from the Australian people. As this week's Lowy Institute poll shows, the people's trust in China has halved, from 52 to 23 per cent, over two years. The prime minister who initiated the foreign interference law says of Beijing's latest frenzied pressure tactics: "How can you describe it as anything other than bullying?" Says Turnbull: "All that's really needed is to ensure the relationship progresses harmoniously is for each side to treat each other with respect. That doesn't mean deference. We respect China's sovereignty and China should respect ours."
Friday, June 26th, 2020 (12:01 am) - Score 18,533

New customers of UK broadband ISP Talk Talk Business may be pleased to learn that they too can now access the providers latest best-ever Wi-Fi Hub (Sagemcom F@st 5364) router, which was first launched for their residential subscribers (here) all the way back in May 2018. At least it looks identical to us.

Apparently this router is designed for businesses who need high-performing connectivity (and ehumm.. homes) and has been optimised for Talk Talk Business Superfast, Fibre network (although it lacks any phone ports for VoIP or USB). The kit is said to be capable of 1Gbps wireless connectivity, while MU-MIMO beamforming minimises signal interference and ensures reliable connections, although in reality we all know how WiFi rarely ever gets close to such speeds in a real-world setting.

The router is also said to support 50 simultaneously connected devices, allowing operations to collaborate with crystal-clear video and audio conferencing while safeguarding the responsiveness of SaaS products such as Microsoft 365, Slack and Salesforce (these days 50 isnt actually all that big).

Jon Nowell, TTBs Director of Small Business, said: As businesses turn their focus to how they bounce back, strong Fibre connectivity has never been as important. Our Wi-Fi Hub will be a significant enhancement to UK digital transformation strategies and increasing business productivity. Weve been working incredibly hard to help keep UK businesses operational, providing round the clock support for our customers and facilitating unparalleled increases in bandwidth demand.

We have asked if there are any differences between this model and the one that has been available to residential customers since 2018. In response TalkTalk said that the router is different on the inside due to significant code changes and performance enhancements that support the needs of Small Businesses including Static IPs and Network Address Translation (NAT) and Assia Cloudcheck (i.e. software changes rather than hardware, although features like static IP addresses are ISP-side measures and all routers can handle them).

Otherwise the spec sheet certainly seems to be pretty similar and, assuming its truly identical to the residential model, then the theoretical peak WiFi speed should be 2.4GHz = 217Mbps and 5GHz = 1733Mbps, which is good. The new Hub is being supplied free of charge with all new TT Business Broadband and Fibre subscriptions.
BRIDGEPORT  Police have identified the 21-year-old killed in the Park Citys latest instance of gun violence, but say the survivors from that shooting arent providing detectives with answers about what happened.

Dead is Tyler Ballew who was released from prison just weeks ago after serving nearly two years of an eight-year sentence on multiple drug convictions from 2018, records show.

He was freed early because of the COVID-19 pandemic, police said.

At 7:55 p.m. Thursday, police responded to a shooting in front of 527 Huntington Road, finding four people hit by gunfire, according to Capt. Brian Fitzgerald.

Ballew was shot in the head, collapsed at the scene and was taken by medics to Bridgeport Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Fitzgerald said.

Two females and another male were shot while sitting in a vehicle, Fitzgerald said. They were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Bridgeport Hospital.

The second male victim sustained a graze wound to the head, a female victim sustained a graze wound to the head and the second female victim sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen, Fitzgerald said. None of the surviving victims would cooperate with police. Detectives believe all of the victims were intended targets.

Ballew had been sentenced in September 2018 on multiple offenses of sale and possession of narcotics.

Police Chief Armando Perez attributed Thursday nights gun violence to violent groups in the city that have targeted each other for years.

Ballews killing marks the citys ninth homicide of the year, and the third just this week.

Multiple people were injured, two fatally, in a series of separate shootings in the city starting late Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning.

Two victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries at a Harral Avenue shooting around 5 p.m. Monday.

The citys seventh homicide took place in the area of Fairfield Avenue and Albion Street shortly after 6 p.m. Monday. Police identified the victim as 18-year-old Eugene Stinson. A close family friend said he was known as Stink.

The eighth homicide in Bridgeport this year was 52-year-old Wayne Wollcock, killed on William Street around 10:45 p.m. Monday, police said.

One man was in critical but stable condition after a shooting around 12:40 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Ellsworth Street and Fairfield Avenue.

Another individual had non-life-threatening injuries after a shooting on Dover Street Tuesday morning around 11 a.m., police said.

Detective Robert Winkler is the lead investigator on the shooting that killed Ballew. He can be reached at 203-581-5224. Anyone with information on any of the recent shootings can call the Bridgeport Police tipline at 203-576-8477.

Staff writer Daniel Tepfer contributed to this report.
Evening Standard

Brentford will be looking to get out of their recent slump as they take on Wolves in the Premier League this afternoon, coming off a midweek result that will be hard to take. Obviously, to expect a newly-promoted side to go out and match Manchester United with all of their resources would be ridiculous on first glance but the manner in which Thomas Franks side dominated in the first-half left the Dane ruining their second-half showing. Wolves, however, are unlikely to be anywhere near as bad as United were at times.
On a day when nearly every county in Pennsylvania is now in the green phase, the state reported a relatively low number of new coronavirus cases.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 600 new coronavirus cases Friday, raising the statewide total to 84,370.

Across Pennsylvania, 6,579 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, including 22 new fatalities reported Friday. More than two-thirds of the states deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes. The health department released new data Friday morning; the figures reflect cases and deaths reported as of midnight.

The number of new cases is the highest in two weeks but remains well below the peak days in the spring, when the state regularly reported more than 1,000 new cases in a day. The one-day peak of 1,989 new cases was reported on April 9. There are 634,711 people who have tested negative.

Fewer people are being treated for the coronavirus in hospitals. The health department reported 677 COVID-19 patients are in hospitals, down from about 700 on Thursday. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals is about a quarter of the peak in the spring.

Earlier Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf moved 12 new counties - including the Philadelphia region - to the green phase of his color-coded plan to reopen Pennsylvania. These counties have now been given state approval to enter the green phase: Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Susquehanna.

Philadelphia will actually wait another week before moving to the green phase; city officials have said they want to keep some restrictions in place until July 3.

The last county will go green

As of Friday, only one of Pennsylvanias 67 counties remains in the yellow phase: Lebanon County. Wolf announced Friday Lebanon County can move to the green phase on July 3.

Last week, the Wolf administration cited an uptick in cases for keeping Lebanon County in the yellow phase. The administration faulted Lebanon County officials for allowing businesses to open ahead of the states guidelines.

Speaking at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Wednesday, Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said a combination of community spread and cases in long-term care facilities are responsible for the recent high rate of increase in Lebanon County.

When the numbers have shown that the number of new cases have decreased, theyll be able to go green she said.

Lebanon County lawmakers and businesses denounced the Wolf administration for not moving the county to the green phase.

Earlier this week, Karen Groh, president and CEO of the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce, said very few local businesses chose to reopen against the Wolf administrations orders. In a letter to the Wolf administration, Groh wrote it was a tremendous disappointment when the governor kept the county in the yellow phase.

The impact of continued closures for these businesses may prevent recovery for many, the chamber said.

Nursing homes

Statewide, 4,518 coronavirus deaths have occurred in nursing homes and personal care homes, according to the health department. That represents 68 percent of the states COVID-19 deaths.

There are 17,527 residents of long-term care facilities who have contracted the virus, along with 3,162 employees. A total of 20,689 people have been infected in long-term care facilities.

Cases have been found at 678 long-term care facilities in 51 counties.

Across Pennsylvania, 6,395 health care workers have been infected.

More from PennLive

Gov. Wolf predicts COVID-19 resurgence in fall, offers hope it wont force new round of school and business closings

When, and how, will theaters and music venues reopen safely? This could be curtains for them

Penn State Health has no short-term plans to downsize Holy Spirit, calling it perfect fit for West Shore expansion

Probation reform moves forward in Pa. Senate, but some say bill wont change a flawed system
The Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) has condemned the attack on afro pop/dancehall artiste, Kelvyn Boy, by some unidentified persons at Ashaiman, describing it as uncalled for.



The union, which described the attack as a direct threat on the safety of Kelvyn Boy, called on the management of both Stonebwoy and Kelvyn Boy to cease fire and settle things amicably.



Kelvyn Boy was assaulted by an unknown person believed to be Stonebwoys bodyguard in Ashaiaman during the opening of the new Electroland Ghana Limited shop.



The Director of Communication and Special Projects at MUSIGA, Ahuma Bosco Ocansey (Daddy Bosco), in an interview with Beatwaves yesterday, bemoaned the escalation of physical attacks and indiscipline among Ghanaian artistes, especially, dancehall artistes.



According to him, a lot of people, including music fans, see Ghanaian artistes as role models so they need to discipline themselves when they attend social events.



He therefore advised Kelvyn Boy to desist from throwing jabs at Stonebwoy, whom he once worked with.



Daddy Bosco called on both parties (Stonebwoy and Kelvyn Boy) to sit down and resolve the misunderstanding between them to avoid another brawl in future.



On his part, the president of MUSIGA, Bessa Simons, warned that any member of the union who engaged in any activity that sought to undermine the image of the union would be dealt with.



Any member of MUSIGA who misbehaves will be referred to the disciplinary and arbitration committee and they will be dealt with according to our constitution. Afterward, they will be referred to our National Executive council, who will then decide on which type of sanction, he declared.

Source: Daily Guide









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

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Sometimes looking backward can show us the way forward.

Booker T. Washington (18561915) was born into slavery in Virginia. After emancipation, his mother took her family to West Virginia, where Washington learned to read, received a rudimentary education, and worked for several years in salt furnaces and coal mines. Ambitious and eager to learn more, he left home to attend the Hampton Institute, a school in eastern Virginia established to educate African Americans.

Portrait of Booker T. Washington, circa 1895, by Frances Benjamin Johnston. United States Library of Congresss Prints and Photographs division. (Public Domain)

Like most of the other students, Washington worked his way through Hampton. He became a star pupil, and won the respect and admiration of Samuel Armstrong, president of the institute.

The Tuskegee Institute

When contacted by citizens in Alabama interested in founding a similar institute in Tuskegee, Armstrong strongly recommended Washington. Though the committee was searching for a white man to lead the school, on Armstrongs recommendation they offered the post to the 25-year-old Washington.

Booker T. Washington and family. (Photographs of Tuskegee Institute: An Illustrated Inventory of the American Antiquarian Society)

And so was born one of the most remarkable colleges in American history.

The original mission of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, now Tuskegee University, was to educate African Americans and send them back to their communities as teachers, ministers, and industrial and agricultural workers trained in modern techniques, such as those developed by agricultural scientist George Washington Carver, who taught at Tuskegee. In his autobiography Up From Slavery, Washington wrote: Every student who graduates from the school shall have enough skill, coupled with intelligence and moral character, to enable him to make a living for himself and others.

Teachers of industries at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. (Photographs of Tuskegee Institute: An Illustrated Inventory of the American Antiquarian Society)

These same students literally built most of the school with their own hands, tended crops and farm animals, and lived by a strict schedule to instill in them the discipline Washington thought necessary for success.

Original buildings at Tuskegee Institute in 1882. (Photographs of Tuskegee Institute: An Illustrated Inventory of the American Antiquarian Society)

Accomplishments and Attacks

Washingtons reputation grew along with that of the school. He traveled extensively and often, raising money for his beloved institute and giving so many speeches that he was soon regarded as a leading spokesman for African Americans. In 1895, he delivered his most famous address to the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta, in which he urged blacks to develop their working skills, gain an education, and put aside dreams of political equality for the present time.

As historian Robert J. Norrell tells us in Up From History: The Life of Booker T. Washington, black critics, most of whom lived in the North, condemned Washington for this speech, calling him the Benedict Arnold of the Negro race, the Great Traitor, and a miserable toady. Even today, many historians consider Washingtons advocacy for cooperation and slow change a capitulation to the Jim Crow laws of the South. In answering these charges, Norrell points out that Washington made these proposals when in the South white hatred of blacks was intensifying, manifested in an epidemic of lynchings.

Booker T. Washington at his desk. His autobiography, Up From Slavery, 1901, was a bestseller. (Everett Collection / Shutterstock)

Despite these criticisms, by the end of his life, Washington had firmly established Tuskegee Institute, sent thousands of its graduates to small towns and cities across the South, and helped restore a sense of pride among black Southerners, many of whom named schools, parks, and libraries in honor of him.

So what lessons can we learn from this man? What might we, in this summer of discontent, protests, and riots, take from his example?

Grit and Self-Reliance

Determination

Booker T. Washington was a fighter. In Up From Slavery, Washington recounts in detail the hardships he suffered on his journey to the Hampton Institute. By the time he reached Richmond, he was broke, hungry, and without a friend in the world in that city. He eventually earned money for food by unloading cargo ships, cut expenses by sleeping at night under an elevated sidewalk, set out again for the institute, and arrived at the school with 50 cents in his pockets.

He was equally strong-willed in his creation of the Tuskegee Institute. Within 20 years of his arrival, he transformed an empty piece of land into a thriving campus. Believing in the potential of his students as a force for change in the segregated South, he constantly sought donors whose money would help improve the institute and stuck to his dream of not just a better South but also a better America.

Self-Help and Work

Unlike today, when so many of us seek government solutions to our problems, Washington stressed individual effort, willpower, and hard work as key forces for positive change. He instilled these principles in his young people, urging them again and again to rise above the poverty and bigotry oppressing them, to develop their gifts and share them with the communities where they lived.

In his Atlanta Exposition Address, Washington shared an anecdote still associated with his name. He described a ship in desperate need of water signaling another vessel for help. That ship responded several times, Cast down your bucket where you are. Finally, the captain of the distressed ship ordered a bucket dropped over the side and found it filled with fresh water from the Amazon River.

A student at Tuskegee University in Alabama, circa 1955, learns to print a newspaper page in the institutes printing works. (Bernd Lohse/Three Lions/Getty Images)

In his speech, Washington urged both blacks and whites to cast down their buckets where they are, cooperate with one another, and rebuild a region ruined by war and slavery.

Building Bridges

Interracial Engagement

In addition to his Atlanta speech, Washington delivered other addresses, sometimes to audiences composed of Southern whites and blacks. In the concluding paragraph of Up From Slavery, he writes of speaking in Richmond, Virginia, at the Academy of Music:

This was the first time the coloured people had ever been permitted to use this hall. The day before I came, the City Council passed a vote to attend the meeting in a body to hear me speak. The state Legislature, including the House of Delegates and the Senate, also passed a unanimous vote to attend in a body. In the presence of hundreds of coloured people, many distinguished white citizens, the City Council, the state Legislature, and state officials, I delivered my message, which was one of hope and cheer, and from the bottom of my heart I thanked both races for this welcome back to the state that gave me birth.

Booker T. Washington making a speech in Mound Bayou, Miss., in 1912. (Everett Collection /Shutterstock)

Because of his ability to reason and to compromise, Washington reached larger audiences, undoubtedly including some segregationists, than his critics.

Patient for Change

More than many of his contemporaries, and much more than the people of our own time when our digital technology brings us instant news and, as a consequence, loud demands for instant change, Booker T. Washington looked at the whites and blacks of the American South and realized that both groups needed time to recalibrate their vision of the future. This recalibration, this hope that the two races would cooperate and eventually regard one another without prejudice, is a theme that runs throughout Up From Slavery.

Theodore Roosevelt speaking at the National Negro Business League in 1910. Seated to his left is Booker T. Washington. (Everett Collection /Shutterstock)

Unlike other revolutionariesRobespierre, Lenin and Stalin, Mao Zedong, and the dozens of other dictators who have demanded instant changes to the societies they controlledWashington was an adherent of gradualism, a black man in the Deep South who concluded that decades would pass before blacks and whites could together forge a future. And unlike some of his African American contemporaries, especially those from Northern states, he was intimate with Southern whites, knew and recognized their fears and prejudices, and was willing to seek a compromise so that his own people might become more learned and more prosperous.

A Man Is More Than the Color of His Skin

The Blame Game Rejected

In his biography of Washington, Robert Norrell writes: Blacks needed a reputation for being hard-working, intelligent, and patriotic, Washington taught, and not for being aggrieved. Given his own time as a slave, his struggles to educate himself, and his fight to maintain Tuskegee Institute in segregated Alabama, Washington could easily have given way to finger-pointing and self-pity, blaming Southern whites and the system of oppression they had created for the condition of his people.

That he continued to move forward, to pursue his dreams of African American education and advancement, without falling into self-pity provides a remarkable example of a man battling overwhelming odds and never surrendering to bitterness or discouragement.

Character

Washington promoted the importance of character. He believed that character, not circumstances, makes the man and that I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him.

Like Martin Luther King Jr., who echoed some of Washingtons sentiments in his own speechesLet no man pull you so low as to make you hate himWashington was more interested in what lay under the skin than the color of the skin itself. In his dealings with blacks and whites, he respected and treated them as individual human beings rather than as stereotypes.

Lifting the Veil of Ignorance, a statue of Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee University. (Jeffrey M. Frank/ Shutterstock)

Near the end of Up From Slavery, Washington noted: The great human law that in the end recognizes and rewards merit is everlasting and universal. As he demonstrates time and again in this autobiography, Washington believed that merit and character were intertwinedthat regardless of their circumstances, men and women of character who were willing to work hard would find their just reward.

In this same passage, Washington wrote of the struggle that is constantly going on in the hearts of both the Southern white people and their former slaves to free themselves from racial prejudices, and of his hope that someday they would do so. That hope, that belief in progress and a higher living standard for blacks, was the standard he followed his entire life.

As Norrell tells us in Up From History, Washingtons effort to sustain blacks morale at a terrible time must be counted among the most heroic efforts in American history.

In our age of rhetoric, rage, riot, and rebellion, we could use more men and women with the values, virtues, dreams, and hopes of Booker T. Washington.

Jeff Minick has four children and a growing platoon of grandchildren. For 20 years, he taught history, literature, and Latin to seminars of homeschooling students in Asheville, N.C., Today, he lives and writes in Front Royal, Va. See JeffMinick.com to follow his blog.
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives will vote Friday to pass a bill on District of Columbia statehood, the first time such a bill will pass either house of Congress.

Making the District of Columbia the 51st state is an issue Democrats say has become far more important in the aftermath of protests for racial justice in both Washington and across the nation.

During a press conference ahead of Friday's vote on Washington DC becoming the 51st state House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters "partial citizenship is not an option. We can't deal away the rights of an American simply because they live in the District of Columbia."

A plurality of the District of Columbia is African American, and the city is overwhelmingly Democratic.

"The option is to recognize 706,000 people as full and equal citizens of the United States of America with voting rights in the capital, in their parliament, Hoyer said."

The legislation faces insurmountable opposition in the GOP-controlled Senate.

It comes even as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced delays in the consideration of most other legislation.

More than enough lawmakers are officially backing the bill for it to pass.

At the center of the demand for DC statehood is the democratic ideal that the 700,000 Americans that live in the nation's capital -- more than those Americans in Wyoming or Vermont  pay taxes and do not have voting representation in Congress.

Many Republicans as well as President Donald Trump are against the bill H.R.51, and presume it will not be considered in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that the bill represents the chance for democrats to gain two more seats in the senate and precludes it will not get a vote in that chamber.

President Trump has said he would veto the legislation if it ever came to his desk. Trump said last month that "D.C. will never be a state" because it would likely mean two more Democratic senators. "No, thank you. That'll never happen," he told the New York Post.

Hoyer said the rights of D.C. residents should transcend political calculations.

"Nobody thought that states would be admitted on the basis of their politics, he said. "Rather, they would be admitted on the basic premise of their citizenship as Americans."

Washington Mayor Muriel has pointed out that D.C. taxpayers get no voting representatives in Congress despite contributing more in federal taxes on a per person basis than many states.

(Image Credit Pixabay)
Angola's attorney general said Thursday that he did not rule out issuing an international arrest warrant against billionaire businesswoman Isabel dos Santos, suspected of corruption in her native country and Portugal.

"We are working in cooperation with the Portuguese authorities. And if the need arises... to get to that point, we will see how to proceed," Helder Pitta Gros said in response to questions at a press conference in the capital Luanda.

"These are procedural issues, (and) as you can imagine I cannot say more about a process that is under way. We are working on it," he said.

Dos Santos, 47, described by Forbes as the wealthiest woman in Africa, is accused of diverting billions of dollars from state companies during her father Jose Eduardo dos Santos's near four-decade rule of the oil-rich African nation.

She has strongly denied the allegations, describing them as "a coordinated political attack" devised by the Angolan government.

Last December, a civil court in Luanda issued a "preventative" order to freeze her business assets as part of a crackdown on graft by the former president's successor, Joao Lourenco.

A month later and after analysing a trove of more than 700,000 leaked documents, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) also accused her of looting state coffers.

Subsequently, Portugal froze her assets in that country, where she has invested mainly in banking and telecommunications.

One of dos Santos's lawyers, Dan Morrison, told AFP this month that Angola's order to freeze her assets was "manifestly unfair, improper" and based on "faked" documents.

There was no immediate response to AFP's request for comment from dos Santos' communications representatives on Thursday.
Shocking surveillance camera footage captured the moment heavily armed gunmen ambushed Mexico City's police chief and killed two cops and a civilian Friday morning.

The Mexican capital's police Omar Garcia Harfuch suffered three bullet wounds as he and his bodyguards were attacked by sniper rifles and grenades in the city's most upmarket neighborhood.

The two cops who were killed were identified as Edgar O. and Rafael O.

Security camera video shows more than a dozen of armed men spread across the flatbed of a white truck at a major intersection in Lomas de Chaputelpec, a neighborhood in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo.

Mexican newspaper El Heraldo de Mexico reported that the shooting lasted 15 to 20 minutes.

Mexico's National Intelligence Agency confirmed Friday that it knew of an imminent attack that was being planned against high-ranking official after it got wind of a recording that involved alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the country's most dangerous cartels.

Content of the audio was not released.

Mexico City police chief Omar Garcia Harfuch was shot during an assassination attempt Friday morning which he accused the Jalisco New Generation Cartel of carrying out. The attackers killed two cops assigned to the police chief's security detail and a civilian

Surveillance footage shows the moment alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel readied themselves to execute their attack against Mexico City's police chief, Omar Garcia Harfuch

Pictured: The armored vehicle that Mexico City police chief Omar Garcia Harfuch was traveling in when gunmen shot at him with .50 caliber sniper rifles this morning

Pictured are three of the 12 individuals who participated in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel's alleged plot to assassinate the police chief of Mexico City on Friday morning

Some three hours later, apparently from his hospital bed, Garcia Harfuch on Twitter blamed his injuries and the death of two bodyguards on a "cowardly attack" by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a gang renowned as one of the most violent in the country.

The attack on Garcia Harfuch was the first on a top cop in Mexico City since 2008 when Julio Cesar Sanchez Amaya, the then chief of the Federal District's Public Security, was targeted by the Sinaloa Cartel in a failed car bombing.

The police said in a statement that gunmen armed with .50 caliber sniper rifles and grenades exchanged fire with the Garcia Harfuch security detail.

The Mexico City prosecutor's office said the cartel hired the assassins three weeks ago. They were split into groups of four with seven armed men in each group. One of the individuals who was arrested is a native of Colombia.

Pictured are the 12 men who participated in Friday morning's attack against the police chief of Mexico City

As of Friday afternoon, investigators were working on recovering more than 100 bullet casings and one grenade that did not explode.

Garcia Harfuch's armored SUV was seen riddled with bullets and roped off by police.

Photographs from the scene also showed a high-sided construction truck with a number of rifles in the back that apparently were left behind by the gunmen after the ambush.

There were also images circulating on social media of Garcia Harfuch being attended to by paramedics.

Cartel gunmen blocked a street intersection in the Mexico City neighborhood of Lomas de Chaputelpec where they tried to assassinate the police chief, Omar Garcia Harfuch

Pictured: Weapons recovered from the scene which were reportedly used by the heavily armed gunmen when they attacked the Mexico City police chief this morning

Pictured: Local media reported that this image shows the Mexico City police chief being treated at the scene by paramedics. Harfuch was shot three times and one of his bodyguards died trying to protect him

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said on Twitter that public security chief Harfuch was 'out of danger' following the attack this morning that shocked residents of the Lomas de Chapultepec area of the city.

Sheinbaum said she would share more information at a news conference later in the day.

Local media reported that civilian Gabriela Gomez Cervantes, 26, died after being shot in the head in the crossfire while sitting in her car. Tania Sandoval, Gomez Cervantes' sister, suffered a gun shot wound to the hand in the attack.

Family at the scene told reporters that the pair were street vendors on their way to work at the National Auditorium.

Ernestina Godoy, attorney general of Mexico City, said 12 people had been arrested.

Local media reported that civilian Gabriela Gomez Cervantes, 26, died after being shot in the head in the crossfire while sitting in her car. Tania Sandoval, (pictured) Cervante's sister, was wounded in the attack

Police officers arrive at the area where a shooting took place in Mexico City, Mexico, June 26, 2020

A police officer stands behind a cordon tape at an area where a shooting took place in Mexico City, Mexico this morning

Speaking at a regular government news conference, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Garcia Harfuch had been injured in the attack and attributed the outbreak of violence to the work of local officials to establish order in the city.

Residents said heavy gunfire rang out for several minutes during the attack in Lomas de Chapultepec, which is home to many wealthy residents and the location of ambassadorial residences.

Police converged on the area in the west of the city, which is rarely troubled by the violence that in recent years has afflicted many parts of the country, particularly poorer ones.

A police officer (top center) leads one away of one the 12 suspects who participated in Friday morning's attack to kill the police chief of Mexico City

Residents said heavy gunfire rang out for several minutes during the attack in Lomas de Chapultepec, which is home to many wealthy residents and the location of ambassadorial residences

Lopez Obrador offered his support and solidarity to Sheinbaum and the city's public security forces.

'It has to do without a doubt with the work he is carrying out to guarantee peace and tranquility,' Lopez Obrador said.

Television images showed dozens of police cordoning off a main road in the area.
Russia has claimed it foiled a 'terrorist attack' after a soldier clutching a machine gun went berserk at a Victory Day parade in front of Vladimir Putin.

Conscript Nikita Eroshenko, 22, smashed his Soviet-era weapon into three windows of a Federal Security Service vehicle after he was told he would not be marching in front of Putin.

The parade in Moscow marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

Footage shows security officers suddenly pouncing on the errant soldier - who was 500 feet away from the President - in a corner of Red Square.

Russia has claimed it foiled a 'terrorist attack' after a soldier clutching a machine gun (pictured) went berserk at a Victory Day parade in front of Vladimir Putin

Conscript Nikita Eroshenko, 22, (pictured) smashed his Soviet-era weapon into three windows of a Federal Security Service vehicle after he was told he would not be marching in front of Putin

Some accounts say he had been identified by the FSB as a terrorist threat amid the 14,000 troops marching.

The incident on Wednesday came just one day before Russians began casting their ballots in a seven-day vote on sweeping reforms that could clear the way for President Putin to stay in the Kremlin until 2036.

Voters have been promised an increased minimum wage and higher pensions in a package - which would also allow Putin to run for another two six-year terms, an exercise that critics have called a constitutional coup.

A source told Komsomolskaya Pravda: 'FSB military counterintelligence officers allegedly prevented a serious incident, and even more so - a terrorist attack.'

The incident on Wednesday came just one day before Russians began casting their ballots in a seven-day vote on sweeping reforms that could clear the way for President Putin (centre) to stay in the Kremlin until 2036

Eroshenko smashed the windows of a security vehicle with his weapon. The parade in Moscow marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War

His gun did not fire during the incident. One report said the weapon was not loaded.

News outlet BAZA reported: 'Allegedly, right before the start of the parade, FSB counterintelligence officers identified a suspected terrorist who was preparing something during the event on Red Square.'

A criminal case has been opened against Eroshenko, from Kaluga, according to some reports.

One TV report by pro-Kremlin journalist Vladimir Soloviev suggested the soldier had confessed to a protest aimed at worsening Russia's 'international reputation'.

'It was a protest against the existing regime and the Federal Security Service. I believe that they have acted unfairly against me,' he was quoted as saying.

A criminal case has been opened against Eroshenko (pictured), from Kaluga, according to some reports

Servicemen take part in a Victory Day military parade in Red Square, Moscow, on Wednesday

However other accounts say the conscript was furious that he had been barred from marching.

An investigator asked him: 'So you intended to arrange a provocation during the parade?'

The soldier replied in a trembling voice: 'How is it? What is it?.'

TASS reported: 'According to preliminary data, the soldier suffered a nervous breakdown.'

This week's vote is taking place despite concerns in opposition circles over the safety of people voting amid the coronavirus pandemic, worries over voter fraud, and criticism that Putin has already been in power too long.

Russia's coronavirus tally surged past 600,000 cases on Wednesday, the third-highest in the world, with thousands of new infections being reported every day, although authorities say the novel virus is on the wane.

This week's vote is taking place despite concerns in opposition circles over the safety of people voting amid the coronavirus pandemic, worries over voter fraud, and criticism that Putin (pictured speaking at the parade) has already been in power too long

All necessary safety precautions will be taken during the vote, authorities say

If, as expected, the constitutional changes are approved, Putin would be able to run for two more back-to-back six-year terms after his current one expires in 2024.

The former KGB operative has been in power as either president or prime minister since 1999, and has not ruled out running again, but says he has not taken a final decision.

Critics believe he intends to cling to power like elderly Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev who died in office.

Others believe he is keeping his options open so as no to become a lame duck ahead of 2024 and may yet still hand over the reins to a handpicked but currently unknown successor.

'Since the president did not find a successor, he appointed himself,' said Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at Carnegie's Moscow Center think tank.

Supported by state media and facing no immediate threat from a divided opposition, the vote, which is on a large bundle of constitutional changes, is expected to go Putin's way despite rising unemployment, a coronavirus-battered economy and no real prospect of an economic upswing anytime soon.
What lies beyond the pandemic? MassForward is MassLives series examining the journey of Massachusetts businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

___________

Thornes Marketplace, Northamptons cornerstone downtown shopping center, shut its doors in mid-March as the coronavirus pandemic ramped up in the U.S. and shortly before Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker issued an order closing all non-essential businesses.

The 55,000-square-foot marketplace sat dark and nearly empty on Main Street for more than two months, with just three of the shopping centers more than 20 merchants allowed to continue running their businesses.

Only Herrells Ice Cream & Bakery, Paul and Elizabeths restaurant and Cornucopia Natural Wellness Market were initially permitted to operate with curbside programs until the governor, as part of his four-phase reopening plan, gave retailers the option to do the same.

Still, Jody Doele, marketing manager at Thornes, was skeptical of how much of business curbside pick-up would offer retailers. Shopping is an experiential business, she noted, and because of the COVID-19 outbreak, customers have not been able to go into stores to try on clothing, feel fabrics and talk with staff in person.

The current public health crisis has proven catastrophic for Thorness merchants, many of whom rely on those customer-employee interactions, Doele told MassLive in late May.

While the marketing manager would not disclose how much revenue businesses in the marketplace lost during the pandemic, she commented earlier this year that the loss was dramatic.

I cant really overestimate the significance of this event on the small business owners we have in Thornes, Doele said at the time. This is something that is unprecedented and difficult to respond to.

As of June 8, though, retailers have been permitted to partially open their doors again for in-person shopping, providing, potentially, a much-needed revenue spike for businesses.

Some store owners at Thornes have expressed hope that because people have stayed inside for months due to the pandemic, there will be a pent-up demand for shopping.

Folks are excited to come back, Justin Brown, owner of the furniture and art shop ASSEMBLE, told MassLive in May. I think theres a pent-up demand.

As part of the second phase of the governors reopening plan, customers are now allowed to shop inside stores as long as businesses operate at 40% of maximum permitted occupancy, meaning only eight people per every 1,000 square feet can be inside a store at a given time.

Just weeks after opening it doors again, Thornes has already seen an uptick in foot traffic, according to Doele. Despite college students and tourists not flocking to the town in their usual numbers because of the public health crisis, customers are steadily returning to the shopping center.

Sharon Cohen, owner of Footbeats for Women, a shoe store located on the main level of the marketplace, and other merchants who have instituted countless safety measures are happy to see shoppers coming back to the building, Doele said in a statement.

Weve revamped the way the store is laid out to promote social distancing, Cohen said in the statement. Shoppers are saying, I just wanted to shop with somebody locally. Were hearing a lot of that. I think thats awesome.

As she anticipates entering her fourth year of business on July 1, Cohen noted it is a difficult time right now, but like all of Thorness merchants, she is working hard to reach customers and ensure their safety, according to Doele.

Cohen, like many other business owners across the country, has also had to get creative about how to keep her businesses alive amid the pandemic.

When Thornes was forced to shut down earlier this year due to the outbreak of the viral respiratory infection, Cohen decided to launched a website, where customers could purchase her shoes and she could delivery the products to peoples homes, Doele said.

Every Friday afternoon, the business owner also used Facebook Live to talk about the selection of shoes in stock and comment on new styles that were trending. Now that her business has reopened, she hopes to continue the practice.

We tried new, inventive ways to meet the customers, Cohen said.

The shoe store owner is not the only business person to think outside of the box during the global pandemic. Cedar Chest, considered to be the anchor store of Thornes, and other businesses in the shopping center also shifted to using e-commerce sites at the beginning stages of Massachusetts state of emergency.

The marketplace as a whole has been preparing for how to reopen as early as the start of May. Prior to the announcement of the states reopening plan, staff at Thornes spent weeks preparing to open the shopping centers doors again on May 18, purchasing products like hand sanitizer and cleaning machinery, Doele said.

With in-store retail now being permitted, the shopping center will finally be able to put those products to use.

New safety protocols have been put in place at the Western Massachusetts marketplace, and Thornes has installed various pieces of equipment around the building, including air filters, hands-free door openers for bathrooms, foggers that clean the building nightly and monitors at each of the shopping centers two open entrances to ensure shoppers wear masks and sanitize their hands.

Masks are available for customers at the buildings entrances on Main Street and at the skywalk to and from the parking garage, Doele said.

Shared tables and chairs on the buildings second and third floors - where people would normally sit while resting in between shopping spurts and when sipping on drinks from Share Coffees - have been removed, and directional arrows have been added to the buildings floors to separate traffic and promote social distancing.

Signage is everywhere, Thornes co-president Richard Madowitz said in a statement. Each store is also managing its own state-mandated capacity count, and marketplace staff are overseeing the capacity of the shopping centers common spaces.

Every morning before work, all Thornes staff follow health protocols and run through a COVID-19 readiness checklist before reporting for duty, Madowitz noted.

Thornes has done a lot to prepare for our opening, and we continue to stay educated and follow safety protocols, the co-presidents statement said. We are receiving consistent positive feedback from shoppers on the cleanliness of the building and their comfort. We are providing a safe environment.

The shopping center is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Many stores are open daily, including Cedar Chest, Rebekah Brooks, Share Coffee, Booklink Booksellers, Footbeats for Women, Jackson & Connor, ASSEMBLE, Captain Candy and Herrells Ice Cream.

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New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress sparred on Thursday, the 45th anniversary the imposition of Emergency by the then Indira Gandhi-led government, with the ruling party invoking the dynastic nature of the party, and the Opposition party hitting back with a question  Why is the saffron partys majoritarian rule described as a government of two people?

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to those who opposed the Emergency and said the country will never forget their sacrifice, Union home minister Amit Shah, in a series of tweets, targeted the Congress. On this day, 45 years ago one familys greed for power led to the imposition of the Emergency. Overnight the nation was turned into a prison. The press, courts, free speech all were trampled, he tweeted and added that democracy remains absent in the Congress even today as the interests of one family prevail over party and national interest.

During the recent CWC meet, senior members and younger members raised a few issues. But, they were shouted down. A party spokesperson was unceremoniously sacked. The sad truth is  leaders are feeling suffocated in Congress, Shah tweeted and asked why leaders who dont belong to the dynasty are unable to speak up in the Congress.

The Congress hit back saying that an undeclared Emergency has been imposed in the country by the BJP.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted, As India's ruling party, BJP needs to answer: Why is its majoritarian rule described as Govt of 2 people only and all others as mere side kicks Why is horse trading, mass defections and institution-capture its only legacy? Why is it obsessed in its vile hatred of Nehru-Gandhi's (sic).
Bataan Amphibious Ready Group Marine Expeditionary Unit aviation assets conduct live-fire training in Albania

US Marine Corps News

25 Jun 2020 | Capt. Melissa Heisterberg 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit

BIZE, Albania -- U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y Venoms and AH-1W Super Cobras assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and attached to the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group participated in a live-fire training exercise in Bize, Albania, June 22, 2020.

The exercise was planned alongside Albanian allied forces and consisted of aviation ordnance-delivery training aimed at increasing readiness and reinforcing the partnership between the U.S. and Albania.

"The BATARG and 26th MEU are excited about the opportunity to build on the live-fire exercise conducted by the U.S. Navy's Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28, Det. 1, with our Albanian partners less than two months ago," said Capt. Lance Lesher, commodore of Amphibious Squadron 8. "This important training, this time with 26th MEU aircraft, continues to reinforce familiarity and interoperability with our Albanian partners, reaffirming our commitment to not only this enduring relationship, but security and stability across the region. This valuable ARGMEU training ensures that along with the Albanian military, we maintain peak mission readiness in any environment, including the challenges associated with combat operations during a pandemic."

Venoms and Super Cobras, commonly referred to as H-1's, are essential to sea-based air power and air superiority. H-1s, when coupled together, have the ability to provide close-air support, casualty evacuation from remote or austere locations, and transport Marines and Sailors from ship to shore  all from over the horizon.

"This training evolution was a great opportunity for our H-1 crews to integrate with a NATO ally through extensive coordination and combined planning, all while physically distributed from our Albanian counterparts aboard our sea-based platform," said Capt. Casey Low, an AH-1W Super Cobra pilot. "The evolution tested and demonstrated our ability to project power ashore utilizing air-delivered fires from the MEU's Aviation Combat Element to support combined NATO forces."

By utilizing the overland ranges in Albania, UH-1Y Venom and AH-1W Super Cobra pilots assigned to the 26th MEU were able to become more proficient in conducting live-fire tactical maneuvering in a challenging, mountainous environment.

"As a sea-based Marine Air-Ground Task Force, we are able to bring combat power ashore utilizing assets from our Aviation Combat Element  to include UH-1Y Venoms and AH-1W Super Cobras," said Col. Trevor Hall, commanding officer of the 26th MEU. "We are grateful for this opportunity to conduct live-fire training in Albania and demonstrate this unique capability. Being able to train in a NATO-allied country improves overall coordination with our allies and partners in the region, which ultimately ensures a free and peaceful Europe."

ARGMEUs operate continuously across the globe and provide the geographic combatant commanders with a forward-deployed, flexible and responsive sea-based MAGTF. The blue-green team is fully capable of conducting operations across a full spectrum of conventional, unconventional and hybrid warfare. Training such as this strengthens the execution of mission-essential tasks alongside NATO allies.

Bataan ARG and 26th MEU consist of more than 4,000 total Sailors and Marines, who are operating in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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Nevada governor Steve Sisolak has issued a mandatory face mask order, amid rising coronavirus cases across the US.

Mr Sisolak announced that from Friday, Nevada residents will have to wear a face mask in public places, and when they are outside and it is impossible to keep a distance of six feet from other people.

During a press conference on Wednesday the governor told reporters: This is a state that prides itself on the spirit of individualism.

Mr Sisolak, who is a Democrat, added: So Im asking all of us to take our independent spirit and turn that into our individual responsibility to keep the lights on for businesses throughout our state.

Restaurants in Nevada have been allowed to reopen at 50 per cent capacity since 9 May and casinos, which are the main attraction for its tourism industry, since 4 June, but the governor warned residents that social distancing measures are still in effect.

As I said last week, were not post Covid. Were still in the middle of the first phase, the first wave of Covid, Mr Sisolak said.

So please, I cannot emphasise this enough, wear your face covering anytime you leave your house, when you go to a restaurant, and you stop the pharmacy, when you enter a casino. Wear your face covering.

People who have a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a face mask, homeless people and children between the ages of two and nine are exempt from the new order, according to Eater Las Vegas.

Businesses have also been advised to implement a no mask, no service policy, but staff should ask someone if they have a medical condition that exempts from from wearing a face covering before denying them entry.

The Democratic governor claimed that the order is not a political decision, and told reporters: I dont know why protecting our health and our neighbours lives became a political, partisan, or even philosophical decision. For me its none of those. Its a medical necessity, a human obligation, and is good for business.

Recommended Las Vegas mayor faces recall effort for offering city as control group

Mr Sisolak added: Wearing face coverings save lives, period, and end of story.

The governors order comes amid rising coronavirus across the US, with states including Florida, Texas and California recently announcing record daily highs.

Last week, in reaction to the rise in cases in Nevada, where the state has seen a four week upward trend in new daily cases, Mr Sisolak announced that he would be extending Phase Two of the states lockdown easing measures until the end of the month.

Under Phase Two measures, certain businesses such as nightclubs are still not allowed to open, and the governor has asked residents to continue following social distancing measures, so that the state can move forward and not go back into lockdown.

Recommended Nevada plans to reopen casinos on 4 June

Theyve avoided group gatherings and so forth. They (practise) social distancing and good hygiene, and theyve worn facial coverings, the governor said in reference to Nevada residents.

I dont want to let that all go for naught by us having to take a giant step backward.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 2.4 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 122,481.
Counting of the votes of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Green Party members is underway as the parties decide whether or not to endorse the programme for government deal in Ireland.

The count results from all three parties are expected to be announced at around 6pm on Friday evening.

It has been 134 days since Irelands inconclusive general election.

(PA Graphics)

The two larger parties need the support of the Greens to have a working majority in the Irish parliament, equating to around 80 seats.

All eyes are on the Green Party as some members have indicated they will vote against the agreement, citing concerns about emissions and housing targets.

It needs the approval of two-thirds of its 2,000 members as opposed to a simple majority for Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

If the programme is endorsed, it would see Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, whose party has the most seats, become the next Taoiseach.

Outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said on Thursday night that he believed the deal would get over the line.

He said: My view is the three parties will vote to go into coalition with each other and that the yes vote will be larger than people expect and that we will have a new government on Saturday.

Any administration will face an uphill task to restore an economy steered into recession by the coronavirus pandemic and government formation talks have been delayed by the emergency.
Chennai, June 26 : Ruling AIADMK and opposition DMK on Friday announced a solatium of Rs 25 lakh each to the next of kin of father-son duo of Jayaraj and Benicks who died in judicial custody in Tuticorin district after alleged police torture.

DMK's Lok Sabha member from Tuticorin district, Kanimozhi, said she had handed over a cheque for Rs 25 lakh to the family on Friday. She also demanded an inquiry by the National Human Rights Commission into the deaths.

In a joint statement, Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and his deputy O. Panneerselvam said on behalf of the party that the two deaths were saddening and unfortunate and announced Rs 25 lakh to the bereaved kin.

Announcing the financial assistance, DMK President M.K. Stalin asked who gave the in Sathankulam police the permission to carry out the attack on the two just because they delayed closing their mobile phone shop during the lockdown period.

Stalin said the Chief Minister should take moral responsibility for the deaths.

The Tamil Nadu government too had announced Rs 10 lakh solatium each to the families of Jayaraj and Benicks and government jobs to one family member of each deceased.

Jayaraj and Bennick were booked for not closing their mobile shop in time on June 19. They were remanded in judicial custody and lodged in the Kovilpatti jail on June 21.

Jayaraj died on June 22 night and his son Benicks on June 23 morning in judicial custody. The families alleged police assault led to their deaths.

The High Court has since ordered videotaping of the post-mortems and posted the case to June 26.

The Chief Minister said the two police officials allegedly responsible for the deaths had been suspended while the Inspector of Sathankulam was kept under compulsory waiting.
A 59-year-old man who allegedly masqueraded as a prominent business owner now faces charges that he stole $1.4 million from a Bergen County business, authorities said.

Dong Chol Kim, of Jackson Heights, New York, faces charges of money laundering, impersonation, theft and forgery in the crimes, which were first reported to investigators on Aug. 14, 2019.

Thats when detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutors Office Financial Crimes Unit received a complaint from a local business that two federal tax reimbursement worth more than $1.4 million were missing. Investigators did not disclose the name of the business.

The checks were intercepted from the mail and deposited into a shell business account, county Prosecutor Mark Musella said in a statement.

An investigation revealed that Kim assumed the identity of a prominent business owner, opened the accounts and conducted multiple bank transactions for his own benefit, Musella said.

An arrest warrant was issued on Feb. 10 but wasnt picked up until June 13, when New York State Troopers pulled him over in Sullivan County and arrested him as a fugitive from justice, Musella said.

Kim is in a New York jail awaiting extradition to New Jersey, the prosecutor said.

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Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Donald Trump continued to rip into former national security adviser John Bolton over his scathing critique of the president in his book, calling the conservative hawk "crazy" and bad at his job.



During a town hall event taped on Thursday afternoon that aired that evening, the president also took a few shots at his presumptive general election foe, Joe Biden, saying he has trouble speaking and "is shot." Though Mr Trump does not view Mr Biden as politically "radical left," he predicted the progressive wing of the Democratic party would run roughshod over the former VP.

"He didn't do a good job," Mr Trump said of his former national security adviser in a Fox News interview. "He wasn't smart. He wasn't sharp."

In his book, Mr Bolton paints a picture of an ill-informed president who lacked any guiding principles except his own re-election. He called Mr Trump a danger to the country.

But on Thursday night, the president called Mr Bolton "the only man I think I ever met  I knew him for a year  I don't think I ever saw him smile once. I said to him, 'John, do you ever smile?' And it tells you something about somebody."

In his own interview with Fox this week, Mr Bolton continued hammering the president.

"The difference between Biden and Trump is that Biden has a view, and Trump has no view," Mr Bolton said, referring to the former vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. "On any given day, any decision is possible. And I find that frightening. I find the response to the coronavirus demonstrates exactly the kind of fear that I have."

But Mr Trump's rebuttal included a shot at Mr Bolton's staunch belief in the use of military force, saying the former US ambassador to the UN just wants to "drop bombs on everybody."

After Mr Biden earlier in the day erroneously said 120m Americans had died from coronavirus  instead of 120,000  Mr Trump slammed the presumptive Democratic nominee over what he called a "serious" and "not a permissible" gaffe.

The former Democratic vice president has been plagued for years by false and embellished statements, but leads Mr Trump nationally and in the six swing states that political strategists say likely will decide the election.

"Whenever he does talk, he can't put two sentences together," Mr Trump said. "He can't speak."

Still, the president appeared to predict that Mr Biden is now the frontrunner in the 2020 race.

"He's going to be your president because some people don't love me, maybe," the president told Sean Hannity.

Earlier in the day Mr Trump returned to Wisconsin for the second time this year, a state he won by just under 1 percentage point in 2016.

But polls released this week spell trouble there, as well as in five other key battleground states that political operatives say will decide the 2020 race.

In fact, FiveThirtyEight's average of several polls put Mr Biden ahead by 9.6 percentage points. The website showed Mr Biden with support from 50.2 per cent of voters polled in Wisconsin, with Mr Trump garnering the support of 40.5 per cent.

Nationally, FiveThirty's average puts Mr Biden ahead by 9.5 percentage points (50.6 per cent to 41.1 per cent).

The Trump campaign chose Brown County for the town hall, which the president won 52.1 per cent to 41.4 per cent four years ago. In so doing, they chose a county with a "high" level of coronavirus activity, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

The White House is defending his travel to swing states, saying everyone who gets near the commander in chief is tested for Covid-19. What's more, White House aides say they are adhering to each state's virus safety precautions.
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Hundred of partygoers made their way to a small island on a Michigan lake for the annual Jobbie Nooner party despite recent warnings from Dr. Anthony Fauci after recent upticks in younger people getting COVID-19.

The Friday party on the Gull Island in St. Clair County had smaller crowds than the usual thousands that come, but still had large numbers of young folks.

Local law enforcement monitored the partiers but acknowledged that social distancing was not followed and not policed.

'Everyone is just out for a good time and it's a peaceful event. And since many of them are departing from Macomb County docks, we are out there to make sure they get to their destination safely and return from them,' Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said, The Detroit News reports.

The Friday party on the Gull Island in St. Clair County had smaller crowds than the usual thousands that come, but still had large numbers of young folks

Videos and photos show revelers partying both on their boats, in the shallow waters and on the sands of the island

There were multiple law agencies at the actual party, besides the sheriff's department, according to WXZY.

They included St. Clair County Sheriff Marine Division, US Coast Guard, US Border Patrol, Michigan DNR, Clay Township Police and Fire and Algonac Fire.

Sgt. Marty Stoyan, with the St. Clair County Marine Division, felt that the virus would spread among partiers.

'I for sure see that this is a very big possibility of spreading the COVID,' he said.

Social distancing was not enforced because authorities felt there was no way they could try to control so many people

Sgt. Marty Stoyan, with the St. Clair County Marine Division, felt that the virus would for sure spread among partiers

'I for sure see that this is a very big possibility of spreading the COVID,' he said of the partying

The party has become a mainstay in the area, first started in 1974 by autoworkers.

Videos and photos show revelers partying both on their boats, in the shallow waters and on the sands of the island.

While weather started off clear for the day, forecast predict that thunderstorms could eventually hit the area.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's order to fight the virus says people should stay 6 feet away from people who don't live in their households, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Violations can carry 90 days in jail and/or a $500 fine.

Whitmer has warned that if people fail to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines the spread of the disease will increase.

While weather started off clear for the day, forecast predict that thunderstorms could eventually hit the area

The massive island party comes as Dr. Fauci issued a stark warning for young people, who may feel 'invulnerable' to the coronavirus

The party has become a mainstay in the area, first started in 1974 by autoworkers

Dr. Fauci issued a stark warning for young people, who may feel 'invulnerable' to the coronavirus.

'If you get infected you are part innocently or inadvertently of propagating the dynamic processes of a pandemic,' he told them.

There has been a sharp drop in the age of infected people, and multiple officials warned Friday about concerns younger people would transmit the virus amid states opening up and relaxing social distancing.

The-79-year-old told younger people: 'Although you may feel well, and because we know if you look at the numbers that you are probably here later on, the overwhelming majority now of people getting infected are young people, likely the people that you see in the clips and in the paper who are out in crowds enjoying themselves  understandably, no blame there, understandably  but the thing that you really need to realize, when you do that, you are part of a process.'

'When you have an outbreak of an infectious disease, it's a dynamic process that is global,' Fauci instructed.

No people or groups organized the event known as the Jobbie Nooner, which attracts boaters from across the state

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's order to fight the virus says people should stay 6 feet away from people who don't live in their households, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Violations can carry 90 days in jail and/or a $500 fine

Partiers could be seen jumping on floatation devices as they enjoyed their time out on the water

'I just want to bring this out without making it seem that anybody is at fault, you have an individual responsibility to yourself  but you have a society responsibility, because if we want to end this outbreak, really end it and then hopefully when a vaccine comes and puts the nail in the coffin  we've got the realize that we are part of the process.'

'When you get infected, you will infect someone else who clearly will infect someone else,' he noted.

He said what was most challenging about COVID-19 was the high percentage of people who don't show symptoms but still spread the virus. That means young people going out to restaurants or bars as states reopen could be spreading the virus without even knowing it.

Photos show revelers partying both on their boats, in the shallow waters and on the sands of the island

Thousands of boaters gathered out on Lake St. Clair on Friday for Jobbie Nooner
A female U.S. Army soldier is scheduled to graduate from the Special Forces Qualification Course in July and become the first woman to join the Green Berets, U.S. military officials say.

U.S. Army Special Operations Command would not comment on the female Q-Course candidate ahead of the July 9 graduation ceremony, but multiple sources have confirmed to Military.com that the National Guard member, who remains anonymous, successfully completed all the requirements to graduate from the grueling 53-week Q-Course.

Read Next: Pentagon Chief Seeks to Reassure NATO over US Troop Plans

"Earning your Green Beret is no small feat, and this qualification is just the first step in a challenging and rewarding career," a senior Defense Department official familiar with the issue told Military.com.

"Our senior leaders are extremely proud of her as well as the entire graduating class and the highly professional instructors at the U.S. Army [John F. Kennedy] Special Warfare Center and School, who develop these world-class Green Berets."

The Q-Course is made up of six phases and includes training in small-unit operations, advanced Special Forces tactics, language training and unconventional warfare. After graduating, Green Berets typically are assigned to 12-member operational detachment alpha (ODA) teams, which are made up of weapons, communications, intelligence, engineer and medical specialists.

In mid-June, the National Guard soldier finished the final requirement by making it through Robin Sage, a culminating field exercise that drops candidates into a fictional, unconventional-warfare setting at Camp Mackall, North Carolina.

During the three-week exercise, students are formed into ODA teams and forced to apply skills in guerrilla warfare; mission analysis and planning; and rapport-building as they link up with friendly foreign forces and train them to fight against an unfriendly government.

"She excelled throughout the course and earned the respect of both her instructors and her peer group based on her demonstrated capabilities and performance; this achievement is just another one in the storied history of the Special Forces," a senior Army official said.

Story continues

USASOC would not provide any details about the female soldier's identity.

"It is imperative to protect the identities of service members who are assigned to specialized units and deploy as part of ongoing operations worldwide," USASOC spokesman Lt. Col. Loren Bymer said. "We do this to protect the safety of our soldiers and their families."

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-New York, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities, congratulated the female soldier on her accomplishment in a statement on her website.

"This achievement is a testament to this soldier's individual strength, courage, and commitment, and also an important institutional milestone for U.S. Special Operations Command as it embraces the cultural change that will continue to make it the most successful and elite Special Operations Force in the world," Stefanik said in the statement.

USASOC officials recently notified Stefanik, and other lawmakers, about the female soldier's pending graduation from the Q-Course, Madison Anderson, spokeswoman for Stefanik's office, told Military.com.

The acknowledgment of the soldier's upcoming graduation is a significant milestone, but she is not a Green Beret until she actually goes through the graduation ceremony, officials said. The waiting period until graduation can be a dangerous time for Special Forces candidates, because any administrative or disciplinary action can jeopardize their eligibility to graduate the esteemed course, a second Army source, familiar with the Q-Course requirements, told Military.com.

Army Special Forces is one of the last remaining male-only communities after former Defense Secretary Ashton Carter officially opened all jobs involving direct combat to women in late 2015.

In 2015, then-Capt. Kristen Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver became the first two female soldiers to successfully graduate from Army Ranger School, a physically and mentally punishing 61-day course previously reserved for male soldiers.

There has been one woman who previously completed requirements of the Army Special Forces Course. In 1980, Capt. Kate Wilder met requirements to graduate, but was not permitted to graduate. Though she finally got her graduation certificate, she never ultimately served in an SF unit, and the Army moved afterward to prevent other women from attending the course.

The senior Defense Department official stressed that the standards of the Q-Course have not been altered in any way, and women have to meet all the same benchmarks that men do.

"I have always known USASOC to be a standards-based organization; they want to attract the top talent, and anyone who can meet these standards is welcomed in their formations," the official said.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: For First Time in Decades, Female Soldier Completes Final Phase of Special Forces Training
Spanish virologists believe they may have found traces of COVID-19 in a sample of waste water collected in Barcelona in March of last year.

If that is proven to be the case, it would mean the discovery was made nine months before the coronavirus was first identified in China.

It is a single sample, however, and more would be needed to confirm the result, said Dr Joan Ramon Villalbi of the Spanish Society for Public Health and Sanitary Administration.

He added: "When it's just one result, you always want more data, more studies, more samples to confirm it and rule out a laboratory error or a methodological problem."

Despite there being the potential for a false positive, because of the virus's similarities with other respiratory infections, Dr Villalbi said the finding was "definitely interesting, it's suggestive".

The research has been submitted for peer review after the sample was found by a team from the University of Barcelona, which has been testing waste water since mid-April.

"The levels of SARS-CoV-2 were low but were positive," research leader Albert Bosch was quoted by the university as saying.

Previously, their earliest discovery of the virus was in Barcelona on 15 January - 41 days before the first case was officially reported.

Professor Bosch said early patients were probably wrongly diagnosed with common flu, and that earlier detection of COVID-19 would have improved the response to the pandemic.

Sewage samples taken in Italy suggest the virus may have been there as early as December .

It is thought COVID-19 may have been present in France in the same month.

Spain has been one of the countries hardest-hit by the virus, with more than 28,000 deaths, and had one of the world's strictest lockdowns as residents were kept inside apart from trips for food, medicines and essential jobs.

But the country has begun to reopen and even welcome tourists , with Britons among those able to visit without quarantining despite the UK still reporting hundreds of deaths each week .
Former police officer finally arrested for sex crime he committed 17 years ago

PHUKET: A former police officer who disappeared 17 years ago after being accused of luring his then 13-year-old neighbour to his house to engage in indecent sexual acts has finally been caught.

crimesex

By The Phuket News

Friday 26 June 2020, 04:06PM

Officers apprehend the man at the Wichit workers camp where he worked. Photo: Crime Suppression Division.

In 2003, Kittisak Petch Kuttachon was working as an officer at Tha Chatchai police station when it emerged he seduced his 13-year-old girl female neighbour and lured her into his house to engage in pornographic activity. It was not specified what exactly this entailed other than the man hugging and kissing the girl, according to police reports.

On discovering their daughter in a state of deep distress, the parents of the girl uncovered what had happened and reported to the incident to Tha Chatchai police. A subsequent warrant from the court was issued for Kittisaks arrest on the grounds of taking a child under the age of 15 away from her parents for indecent purposes.

After becoming aware of the arrest warrant, Kittisak, who was 56-years-old at the time, fled and also changed his name to further evade capture.

He remained absent for 17 years before recently returning to work as a driver for a company in Wichit.

On June 24 an officer from Police Division 5 of the Crime Suppression Division of the Thai Police who was investigating the case uncovered information confirming Kittisak had changed his name to Chananan and had recently re-entered the province.

The following day, Maj Gen Jiraphop Phuridech from the Crime Suppression Division ordered officers to proceed to Kittisaks Wichit workplace and arrest him. He was apprehended at the workers house on-site.

The Crime Suppression Division confirmed Kittisak will sent to Tha Chatchai Police Station to face prosecution.

When asked for further details today (Jun 26), Lt Col Somkid Onjun of Tha Chatchai Police Station told The Phuket News: We are currently waiting for the complete documents to be sent. Therefore we cannot provide additional information at this point.
Qualcomms Snapdragon 865+ mobile processor may arrive as early as next month. According to the well-known tipster Ice Universe, the upgraded chipset is set to launch in July unless there is an accident.

There has been a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Snapdragon 865+ launch. While it was initially reported to be launching in the third quarter this year, reports later suggested it may not come at all this year. Well, it appears the initial reports were correct and the Snapdragon 865+ is indeed arriving in Q3 2020.

The same source had previously claimed that Samsungs Galaxy Note 20 Ultra will feature the new Qualcomm chipset. In fact, the Snapdragon 865+ will be in the heart of most of the flagship smartphones coming later this year.

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When Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 855+ last year, OEMs quickly switched to it. Some OEMs even re-launched their devices with the Plus variant. Expect the same to happen this year as well.

Along with the Galaxy S20 series, the likes of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G, ASUS Rog Phone III, iQoo 3 Pro, and Lenovos Legion gaming phone are also rumored to ship with the Snapdragon 865+. Samsungs upcoming flagship Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab S7 will likely pack the upgraded Qualcomm chipset as well.

The Snapdragon 865+ to launch in July

The detailed specs of the Snapdragon 865+ are still under the wraps. However, the chipset is certain to pack significant upgrades over the Snapdragon 865.

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Reports are that the new processor will have a clock speed of 3.09GHz. For reference, the Snapdragon 865 operates at a clock speed of 2.84GHz. So the new Qualcomm chipset should bring a significant performance boost over its predecessor.

AnTuTu scores of the Snapdragon 865+ are also impressive. The new chipset scored a total of 667,253 points in the benchmarking test, smashing up the high scores previously set by none other than the Snapdragon 865.

It includes a CPU score of 184,973 points, a GPU score of 283,302 points, an MEM score of 112,050 points, and a UX score of 86,928 points.

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Smartphones running the Snapdragon 865 usually just tip over the 600,000-point mark on AnTuTu benchmarking tests.

So the Plus variant appears to be quite an upgrade from Qualcomm. It should be safe to assume that the new chipset will bring improved camera capabilities and enhanced AI features along with a better performance.

While the recent piece on information comes from a pretty reliable source, its still not clear when exactly Qualcomm will announce the Snapdragon 865+. Well likely get to know that in the coming days, as we enter the month of July.
A homegrown Islamic State supporter who wanted to 'blow St Paul's Cathedral to the ground' in an Easter terror attack was getting 'cold feet' and would never have gone through with it, a court has heard.

Muslim convert Safiyya Amira Shaikh, a 37-year-old mother from Hayes in west London, kept 'having doubts' about going through with the plot, but said she did not want to disappoint two 'friends' she was conspiring with.

Shaikh was said to have become distressed following her arrest when it was disclosed to her that those two friends were actually undercover police officers.

The Old Bailey heard Shaikh carried out a reconnaissance mission to the central London landmark in September 2019, but pushed the date of the attack back from Christmas to Easter because she 'had doubts'.

Muslim convert Safiyya Amira Shaikh, (pictured) a 37-year-old mother from Hayes in west London, kept 'having doubts' about going through with the plot

She had also gone through the early stages of getting fitted for a suicide vest, saying she wanted to carry out a mass atrocity before becoming a martyr.

However, she cancelled a subsequent meeting with the undercover officers in October as she 'started to get doubts', causing concerned police to swoop in and arrest her.

Defence counsel Ben Newton said: 'This particular terrorist act would never have actually happened.

'Three people were involved in this plot, and the other two were undercover police officers.

'There was no bomb, and there never would be.

The Old Bailey heard Shaikh carried out a reconnaissance mission to the central London landmark in September 2019, but pushed the date of the attack back from Christmas to Easter because she 'had doubts'. She is pictured in a court sketch at the Old Bailey today

'On evidence before the court, there were clear indicators Safiyya Shaikh had cold feet and wouldn't go through with it.'

Shaikh, wearing a hijab, wept as her defence counsel described her 'life of pain and loneliness', and disclosed she suffered a 'truly traumatic childhood'.

Mr Newton said his client went to great lengths in her efforts to please people, even travelling to Pakistan to get married against her will, before backing out at the last minute and being sent home to the UK in disgrace.

She had also gone through the early stages of getting fitted for a suicide vest, saying she wanted to carry out a mass atrocity before becoming a martyr. Pictured is St Paul's Cathedral in London

He said: 'She didn't want to blow up a church of people, she just wanted friends.'

Shaikh - formerly known as Michelle Ramsden - admits preparation of terrorist acts and dissemination of terrorist publications on the internet.

The court heard Shaikh had converted to Islam in 2007 after being impressed by the kindness of a local Muslim family.

But she became increasingly disillusioned by what she saw as the mosques' moderate version of Islam, and 'was keen to boast' about the extremist propaganda she posted online, encouraging others to commit acts of violence in the name of so-called Islamic State, prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said at a previous hearing.

The sentencing continues.
The US coronavirus death toll has edged toward the 125,000 mark and cases have risen by nearly 40,000 in the largest single-day increase seen since the pandemic began.

A staggering 124,410 Americans have been killed by the virus as of midnight Thursday, up from a death toll of 121,979 recorded just 24 hours earlier.

Infections rose across the US by at least 39,818 on Thursday, marking the worst day since the virus first hit the U.S.

The new daily record inched past the previous record of 36,426 cases back on April 24 - which was then believed to be the peak of the pandemic - and topped the tally of 36,000 recorded Wednesday by almost 4,000.

Infections in several states that rushed to ease lockdowns early on have surged with Texas, Florida and Arizona among the states to set single-day case records in the last week.

With fears mounting that the nation is headed for a second wave of the deadly outbreak, governors of several states announced they were putting the brakes on their reopening plans.

Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Florida all pledged to pause their reopenings as the pandemic has shifted to the West and South of America, while the former virus epicenter New York continues to see cases and deaths decline.

Infections rose across the US by at least 39,818 on Thursday, marking the worst day since the virus first touched down on US soil in terms of new cases

Texas recorded yet another bleak milestone Thursday, as it beat its own record for new daily infections for the third day running, reaching almost 6,000 cases.

The state reported 5,996 new cases in a single day, up from 5,551 and 5,489 in the previous two days.

More than 17,000 people have tested positive for the virus in the last three days alone and its rolling average has skyrocketed by a staggering 340 percent since Memorial Day.

Another 47 people were killed by the virus in a single day, marking the highest daily death toll since May 20 and inching closer to the state's previous deadliest day when 58 people died on May 14.

The number of hospitalizations climbed to 4,739 patients Thursday, surpassing the 4,389 patients the previous day and setting a new record for a 14th consecutive day.

Statewide, the number of patients has more than doubled in two weeks.

Texas recorded yet another bleak milestone Thursday, as it beat its own record for new daily infections for the third day running and reached almost 6,000

Fears are growing that the state's hospitals will buckle under the strain, leading the largest pediatric hospital in the country to start treating adult patients in Houston to help free up beds.

Meanwhile, the Texas Medical Center in Houston announced it had filled all of its 1,330 ICU beds on Thursday, with 374 taken up by coronavirus patients.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Thursday he is pausing the state's aggressive reopening as it battles the rise in cases.

This includes halting elective surgeries in order to protect hospital space in the Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio areas.

'We are focused on strategies that slow the spread of this virus while also allowing Texans to continue earning a paycheck to support their families,' Abbott said in a statement.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey also announced that further efforts to reopen the state are being put on hold as cases and hospitalizations surge

A record 2,453 patients were hospitalized in Arizona including 611 in intensive care beds and a record 415 on ventilators

'The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses,' Abbott said.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey also announced that further efforts to reopen the state are being put on hold as cases surge.

On Thursday, the state health department recorded another 3,056 daily infections Wednesday, the fourth day in a week where cases have topped 3,000.

A record 2,453 patients were hospitalized including 611 in intensive care beds and a record 415 on ventilators.

'Not going to sugarcoat this... we expect our numbers to be worse next week and the week after... this is Arizona's time of challenge,' Ducey said Thursday.

He urged residents to stay home to slow the spread of the virus and to wear face masks if they must leave the house.

New Mexico, sandwiched between Texas and Arizona, is also putting its reopening on pause, as Democrat Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said: 'We're on hold.'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis backpedaled on his previous assertions that he would not let up on reopening plans when he said Thursday there are no plans to move into the third and final reopening phase as Florida reported 5,004 new infections in a single day

Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis backpedaled on his previous assertions that he would not let up on reopening plans when he said there are no plans to move into the third and final reopening phase.

'We are where we are,' DeSantis said during a press conference in Tampa Thursday.

'I didn't say we're going to go on to the next phase, you know, we've done a step-by-step approach and it was an approach that's been reflective of the unique situation of each area.'

His comments came as Florida reported 5,004 new infections in a single day Thursday - a day after its one-day record of 5,508 reported on Wednesday.

Cases and hospitalizations also continue to surge in California, with the state reporting 5,349 new cases on Thursday.

Cases and hospitalizations continue to surge in California, with the state reporting 5,349 new cases on Thursday

Hospitalizations have also reached record highs across the state with 4,240 patients, of which 1,306 require intensive care.

While Governor Gavin Newsom said part of the rise was due to testing, much is the result of people failing to engage in safe practices when gathering with friends and family, or visiting newly reopened businesses.

Mississippi also saw its daily count of confirmed cases reach record highs twice this week.

'It's not a joke. Really bad things are going to happen,' said Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi's health officer.

With the South and West witnessing surges in cases as a sign the pandemic is far from over for America, the White House coronavirus task force is planning to hold its first news briefing in almost two months on Friday.
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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.
By Trend

The European Union (EU) has decided to include Georgia in the list of the countries whose citizens will be allowed to enter the EU when borders open, Trend reports referring to Euronews.

According to the report, officials are debating on the border reopening date. Initially, the borders were supposed to open on July 1.

Among Georgia neighboring countries, only Turkey is included in the list. The citizens of Ukraine and China will be allowed to enter the EU as well.

The US with more than 2 million coronavirus cases, is not included in the list alongside Russia, Brazil, and Qatar, said Euronews.

Meanwhile, domestic tourism has already resumed in Georgia on June 15, and the country was planning to reopen its airspace to international flights starting July 1, but then postponed the reopening till August 1.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Washington/IBNS: The United States in its report on terrorism in Indian has lauded the Asian country for improving its ability to detect and deter terrorist travel by 'using watchlists, implementing biographic and biometric screening capabilities at ports of entry, and expanding information sharing.'

"Owing to resource constraints, Indian security forces have a limited capacity to conduct maritime security, although Indias ability to patrol its land border improved because of better coordination between border security forces and Indian law enforcement agencies," the US report of terrorism in India stated.

It said that bilateral capacity building is ongoing with Indian government personnel.

"Outreach training programs are ensuring Indian border security officials are collecting and using API and PNR to help identify malafide travelers," the report noted.

Indian CT forces, at the federal and state levels, were active in detecting and disrupting transnational and regional terrorist groups, such as ISIS, its local affiliate ISIS-Bangladesh, and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Between February and June 2019, Indian security forces detained nine suspected JMB and ISIS-Bangladesh terrorists from sites across India, the report claimed.

The arrested individuals were allegedly planning attacks, ranging from jailbreaks to freeing imprisoned JMB and ISIS-Bangladesh members to attacking Indian security forces in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The US noted that India suffered terrorist attacks in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the northeastern Indian states, and parts of central India in 2019.

"The Government of India continued to apply sustained pressure to detect, disrupt, and degrade terrorist activities within its borders. Prime Minister Modi and other senior Indian leaders made numerous statements to condemn domestic terrorist attacks and bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorism, in cooperation with the United States and other like-minded countries," it said.




Police in Connecticut are investigating a possible hate crime after a white man was caught on camera claiming that he was being 'harassed' by a group of black men, and yelled: 'White lives matter too!'

The incident took place on Saturday at Cove Island Marina in the affluent town of Stamford.

Darnell Crosland, attorney for the group of five black men - one of whom is a police officer - said the group met in the park to celebrate two of their birthdays.

He said the white man, who claimed to be neighborhood police, pulled up to the group and yelled that they can't have their boat there, which is what led to the confrontation.

'What is wrong with you?' one of the black men asks. 'No one was in the water. Just relax.'

The white man yells: 'I've been down here my whole f****** life. I live here.'

The unidentified white man was caught on camera yelling at black people in Stamford

When he walks towards one of the young men, he squares up to him, with his phone to his ear, and says: 'What are you going to do to me? Oh yeah?'

One of the other black men attempts to calm the white man down, saying: 'Hey, back it up.'

The white man carries on talking into his phone, and says: 'I am being harassed by a bunch of black men here.'

The black man filming, shocked, says softly: 'Wow.'

The white man then tells the person on the phone that he has a boat in the marina, and has a right to get to his boat.

'They came down here to sit on the boat in the parking lot, apparently,' he says.

The man filming says: 'Who said we were going to put the boat in the water? We're hanging out.'

He asks the white man what his name is, and the white man responds: 'My name is God. G.O.D.'

The black man laughs and says: 'The nerve of this guy.'

The white man yells: 'A bunch of black guys harassing me. White lives matter too!'

The black man laughs at him again, and says: 'You're going viral.'

The white man yells into his phone that he is being 'harassed' by the group of young men

One of the five men, Ty Davis, photographed the man firing pepper spray at the group

The man is photographed attempting to spray mace or pepper spray at one of the group - an off-duty policeman with Bridgeport police department.

Two of the black men, who are cousins, spoke out at their attorney's office.

'I felt afraid,' said Tarae Frazier, speaking to ABC.

'Had a couple flashbacks of videos that we've all seen in the same particular situation, and I still don't feel comfortable.'

The group members say they were only meeting up at the park before heading to another beach.

'We shouldn't have to be fearful of our lives going out of have fun,' added Tyshawn Frazier.

'My birthday is on Juneteenth, so we went to the beach to have a good time, to have a great b-day weekend.'

Ty Davis posted about the incident on Instagram, saying it was a perfect example of racism

Tyshawn Davis said it was wrong that they were 'fearful for their lives' for their skin color

Tarae Frazier (left) and his cousin Ty Davis (right) with their attorney Darnell Crosland (center)

'What this gentleman knew was that he can weaponize the 911 system, just like the lady in Central Park did, and so he doesn't have to pull a gun anymore,' their attorney, Crosland, said.

'Because of the system that is built on racism and prejudice, he was able to just call 911.'

Police have confirmed that they are investigating.

'This incident is currently an active investigation,' said Lt. Tom Scanlon, head of the Bureau of Criminal Investigations with the Stamford Police Department.

'Numerous individuals were involved and or witnessed circumstances leading up to the confrontation that had occurred,' he said.

'The Department is in the process of interviewing and obtaining formal statements from all involved individuals and sourcing a complete video as evidence.'

The white man has not been identified by police because his wife reported they are being harassed as a result of the video.

Stamford police said in a statement that, based on their investigation so far, 'this escalated into a racial incident.'

Davis thanked the police for their support.
Public health officials have been urging Americans that mask-wearing works to slow the spread of coronavirus - and now there is data to back up their claims.

An Axios/Ipsos poll revealed in which states people are most - or least - likely to wear masks.

It found that people in the Mid Atlantic region - led by New Yorkers - are the most diligent about wearing masks.

Meanwhile, only about a third of the East South Central region, which includes Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, regularly wear masks. Mississippi's case numbers remain relatively low, but with each case leading to another 1.26 cases on average, the state has the eighth highest transmission rate in the nation.

It comes as cases surge in Arizona, Texas and Florida, where many residents, especially young ones, have been increasingly going out to bars, restaurants and churches, often without masks, since their states reopened early.

Many states in the Northeast, like New York, Maryland and Massachusetts where more than 60% of residents say they 'always' wear masks have lower rates of coronavirus transmission

Ipsos polled more than 6,000 Americans about their mask-wearing practices during two time periods: April 10-May 4 and May 8-June 22.

All in all, about half of Americans surveyed in the latter time period have been wearing masks any time they leave home.

In the Mid Atlantic region, 64 percent of respondents said they effectively don't leave home without covering their faces these days.

Ranking second, 60 percent of northeasterners said they always wear a mask out.

On the West Coast's Pacific region, about 58 percent of respondents said they always mask.

Mask-wearing rates start to drop off in the West South Central region - including those in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana - where only about 51 percent of residents always wear masks in public. Rates were similar in the South Atlantic region and East North Central (the area of Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin) where 50 and 45 percent of people always wear masks, respectively.

Less than 40 percent of people living in the Mountain region (starting with Montana in the North and ending with Arizona and New Mexico in the South) consistently wear masks.

Only about a third of residents of the West North Central region (Minnesota and North Dakota down to Kansas and Missouri) and the East South Central area wear masks all the time, according to the survey.

New Yorkers were most likely to wear masks - even amid protests - and the state's transmission rate has fallen below one per every coronavirus case (file)

Broadly speaking, people who live in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky are collectively the most negligent about masks.

Although the overall sample size of the survey was large, not enough people responded in most states to draw conclusions about mask-wearing in each.

But 75 or more people did answer the survey in 28 states.

More than 60 percent of people in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts and Connecticut reported always wearing masks.

And in all but one of those states - California - the coronavirus transmission rate has fallen below zero.

That means that each new infection leads to less than one additional case on average.

Meanwhile, many states where few people wear masks on a constant basis had significantly higher transmission rates.

Iowa, Utah and Tennessee fell to the bottom of the list, with fewer than 30 percent of residents 'always' wearing masks. Tennessee was dead last - only 25 percent of people there reported constant mask-wearing.

All three states have transmission rates of greater than one, according to data from Rt.live.

Mask-wearing does not perfectly correlate to low transmission rates. In California, where Governor Gavin Newsom Friday urged residents to wear masks, most already say they are - but the state's transmission rate remains about one

Arizona is currently in the throes of one of the worst epidemics in the nation, with more than 3,428 cases reported yesterday and hospitals on the verge of being overrun with coronavirus patients.

Only 36 percent of its residents reported 'always' wearing masks last month, and the transmission rate is sitting at 1.22 right now.

It's impossible to know exactly what proportion of coronavirus prevention can be credited to mask wearing. Some studies have suggested masks can block up to 30 percent of viral particles. Others have conjectured that mask wearing may prevent the spread of coronavirus by as much as 85 percent.

And the link between the percentage of residents wearing masks consistently and the transmission rate in the state was an imperfect one. Some states with low mask-wearing numbers still had transmission rates below zero. Others where mask wearing was prevalent still had transmission rates above one.

But there was certainly a pattern, one that reflected public health guidance encouraging mask wearing alongside social distancing and good hand hygiene for each American to do their part to slow the spread and keep themselves and others safe.
Human rights organisations say that Israeli military courts give an illusion of justice when the victims are Palestinians.

The International Criminal Courts prosecutor is expected to launch an investigation into potential war crimes committed by Israelis.

The courts pre-trial chamber is looking at what jurisdiction it has over illegally occupied Palestinian territory.

Palestinians have long called for the ICC to begin examining cases.

Al Jazeeras Nida Ibrahim spoke to a family whose son was killed near Bethlehem.
Texas Republicans may pay a high price for their encouragement of coronavirus denial. Photo: Eric Gay/AP/Shutterstock

At the beginning of June, Texas Democrats drew some national attention for holding a virtual state convention that might serve as a prototype for the (mostly) virtual national convention now being planned for August. They made a good case that going virtual was not simply an intelligent accommodation to the coronavirus pandemic, but also a potentially better way to engage more people, raise money, and organize for general elections in the post-pandemic future.

Texas Republicans, who until very recently labored under the reckless illusion that the pandemic was over and it was time to go back to business as usual, are holding their convention in Houston on July 1618. As with the partys national convention, it will be a live, in-person, not virtual event. But it will take place in what is now emerging as one of the most dangerous COVID-19 hot spots in the country, as the Texas Tribune reported earlier this week:

Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, predicted over the weekend that Houston is on the brink of a disaster, based on the latest trends in increasing numbers.

My observations if this trajectory persists: 1) Houston would become the worst affected city in the US, maybe rival what were seeing now in Brazil 2) The masks = good 1st step but simply wont be enough 3) We would need to proceed to red alert, Hotez tweeted.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner echoed the concern in a Monday press conference.

Today we have another grim reminder that the virus is very much alive in our community, Turner said. Were moving very fast in the wrong direction.

Its bad enough that Texass Republican governor Greg Abbott, hardly a coronavirus alarmist, has just suspended elective surgeries in Harris County (where Houston is located) and three other urban counties to preserve hospital bed space for COVID-19 patients, while pausing the states reopening process. Yet plans for the Texas GOP clambake continue, and the state party chair made it clear this week that any mask-wearing would be optional, as the Corpus Christi Caller reported:

The Texas Republican State Convention, which is projected to have about 2,000 more delegates and alternates than the partys planned national gathering, is continuing as a live event next month in Houston with no mandate that participants wear masks.

Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey said Wednesday there will be no mask shaming for those who chose to cover the faces to avoid any coronavirus spread. But no one will be required to wear one even though Republican Gov. Greg Abbott this week strongly encouraged all Texans to wear masks in public as a way to help tame the renewed surge in COVID-19 cases statewide.

Texas Republicans arent completely oblivious to the risks they are taking. Theyve tried to cut convention attendance in half from the 15,000 or so originally contemplated. And Dickey indicated to the Caller that the party has doubled the space it had planned to reserve for the convention so that official meetings and gathering can be conducted without cramming people together.

Still, such precautions could be too little, too late, as Texas Democratic Party executive director Manny Garcia was quick to point out in an email:

Texas Republicans holding an in-person convention in the middle of one of coronavirus top hot spots is another example of how theyve downplayed and mismanaged this crisis from day one. Not requiring attendees to wear masks is unconscionable and will lead to more cases and deaths. They are willing to put everybodys life at-risk in order to score political points with their base. We wish they would follow the advice of healthcare experts and not put people at risk, especially the hospitality workers that will need to host them.

If things do go wrong in Houston, it will be an ominous sign for the national confab. After all, Donald Trump took the extraordinary step of moving key parts of his partys convention from Charlotte to Jacksonville precisely because in the former venue he couldnt be guaranteed a packed hall of sweaty, cheering, mask-free supporters when he makes his acceptance speech. But from Houston to Jacksonville to Washington, Republicans may soon pay a high price for encouraging their base to believe the pandemic didnt exist, or was already over, or was no big deal compared to the stock market.
Right: H.E. Calvin Ho, Taiwans Ambassador to SVG (masked) makes presentation to Senator Luke Browne, Minister of Health (unmasked). (Photo: Facebook)

The Republic of China (Taiwan) continues to add to its list of physical infra-structural projects it has funded in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





During his now weekly programme on NBC Radio, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves announced that Taiwan will provide a soft loan of $20 million, for the construction of a Modern Parliament and Modern Court House here.





The Loan Authorisation Bill for the projects was passed in the House of Assembly during its Sitting on Monday.

No further details on the project were given.





Meanwhile, Taiwan demonstrated its ongoing commitment to assist this country in its effort to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.





On Wednesday 17th June, Taiwans Resident Ambassador in Kingstown, H.E. Calvin Ho, handed over two PCR machines with test kits, 200,000 surgical masks and 450 infrared forehead thermometers to the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment.





Senator Luke Browne, Minister of Health, accepted the donation on behalf of his ministry.




Shameless alum Emmy Rossum dressed down in a black T-shirt and baggy blue jeans to stop by salad restaurant Sweetgreen in West Hollywood on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old Golden Globe nominee protected herself with a cloth mask, which California Governor Gavin Newsom made mandatory for all public outings last Thursday.

Mayor Eric Garcetti extended the stay-at home order indefinitely due to the 89K confirmed COVID-19 cases in LA County, which has led to 3,208 deaths as of Thursday - according to Johns Hopkins University.

Out and about: Shameless alum Emmy Rossum dressed down in a black T-shirt and baggy blue jeans to stop by salad restaurant Sweetgreen in West Hollywood on Wednesday

89K infected in LA: The 33-year-old Golden Globe nominee protected herself with a mask, which California Governor Gavin Newsom made mandatory for all public outings last Thursday

On Tuesday, Rossum ranted over Winona Ryder's claim in this week's The Sunday Times edition that Mel Gibson once called her an 'oven dodger' when he discovered she was Jewish.

'This stirred up a lot for me in a time when I'm already pretty stirred,' Emmy (born Emmanuelle) tweeted.

'It's disgusting. It's sad. And yet not a surprising or unique experiece of the white supremacy and bigotry that pervades our country and industry at all.'

The Manhattan-born beauty - whose mother is Jewish and father is Protestant - then recounted her own experience with anti-Semitism in the industry.

'This stirred up a lot for me': On Tuesday, Rossum ranted over Winona Ryder's claim in this week's The Sunday Times edition that Mel Gibson once called her an 'oven dodger' when he discovered she was Jewish

They usually react with "Oh! Wow. You don't really LOOK Jewish!"' Emmy - whose mother is Jewish and father is Protestant - then recounted her own experience with anti-Semitism in the industry

That same day, Gibson (L) called Ryder's (R) claims '100% untrue' and told Variety: 'She lied about it over a decade ago, when she talked to the press, and she's lying about it now'

'On multiple occasions I've had people - both in the industry and not - be surprised to learn that I'm Jewish. They usually react with "Oh! Wow. You don't really LOOK Jewish,"' Rossum - who boasts 6.5M social media followers - continued.

'And when I offer no response and let the statement linger they continue with some kind of defensive qualifier like "I mean that in a GOOD way!" As if "looking Jewish" - whatever that means to them - is something I should want to avoid. This makes me sick.'

Emmy went on to say if she was treated differently for her 'ethnic' look she can't even imagine how degrading it feels to be an actress of color.

'I know it's not helpful to compare,' the Cold Pursuit actress noted.

Quarantine life: The Manhattan-born beauty and her second husband - Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail - just celebrated their third wedding anniversary on May 28

Unrecognizable! The showbiz couple co-executive produced creator Nancy Oliver's unauthorized four-episode miniseries Angelyne, which streams later this year on Peacock

'It's only helpful to find deep deep empathy and love and call out intolerance where we see it - both in ourselves, others, systems, the world. It's painful and scary. It's a lifelong commitment and journey. I am and will continue to be an ally.'

That same day, Gibson called Ryder's claims '100% untrue' and told Variety: 'She lied about it over a decade ago, when she talked to the press, and she's lying about it now.'

Meanwhile, Rossum and her second husband - Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail - just celebrated their third wedding anniversary on May 28.

The showbiz couple co-executive produced creator Nancy Oliver's unauthorized four-episode miniseries Angelyne, which streams later this year on Peacock (launching July 15).

Yikes! The 69-year-old Hollywood 'billboard queen' (R) thinks Rossum 'looks nothing like me at all' - blasting the biopic to DailyMail.com as 'fictionalized to the hilt' (pictured February 19)

Unauthorized? However, Angelyne (born Ronia Goldberg) is still credited on IMDb as an executive producer having earned an alleged $1M paycheck for her expertise

The 69-year-old Hollywood 'billboard queen' thinks Emmy 'looks nothing like me at all' - blasting the biopic to DailyMail.com as 'fictionalized to the hilt.'

However, Angelyne (born Ronia Goldberg) is still credited on IMDb as an executive producer having earned an alleged $1M paycheck for her expertise.

It's based on THR reporter Gary Baum's 2017 expose which uncovered the true identity of the 2003 California gubernatorial candidate, whose parents survived the Holocaust.

The Universal Content Productions series also reportedly features Martin Freeman, Charlie Rowe, and Alex Karpovsky.
Commissioner Drew Harris at the State funeral of Det. Garda Horkan in Charlestown

Mourners at St James' Church in Charlestown and across the country were told Detective Garda Colm Horkan epitomised what all members of An Garda Siochana should strive to be.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris told the funeral Mass that Garda Horkan was approachable and well known and respected.

"He was approachable and well known and respected in his local community and also in Castlerea where he was extremely well regarded, well liked and where he policed for 21 years of his 26 years of service."

The Garda Commissioner said he felt immense sadness but also privileged to be asked to speak at the State Funeral of the Detective Garda.

Commissioner Harris told mourners that Det Gda Horkan's police service was characterised by hard work.

"In the end at 12 midnight on Wednesday evening his service is entirely characterised by his determination and courage in the exercise of his duty to protect society."

The Commissioner said An Garda Siochana had been 'overwhelmed' by the support of communities in Mayo, Roscommon and throughout Ireland.

"The outpouring of condolence and support in response to Colm's death and also in response to the shocking manner of his death has supported all of us who work in An Garda Siochana.

He said the manner of Colm's death should not eclipse his life.

"Colm belonged first to his family," said Commissioner Harris who then extended his sincere condolences to the Horkan family.

He noted Colm's involvement in the community and his great interest in sport.

"I know he took great interest in all sport, but took particular interest in GAA where he excelled. He was also a committed and active club member.

Colm also belonged to the wider family of An Garda Siochana and his death has been a heavy blow to us all."

He went on to assure the Horkan family that they would have the full support of the force over the months and years ahead.

"Colm's name will live on and he will be remembered within An Garda Siochana in the years ahead. Today we grieve beside his coffin, but this is only the beginning of our remembrance of Det Gda Colm Horkan."

"I trust that those who continue to serve can honour Colm's legacy in the manner we conduct our duties, in the manner we protect and serve society and as Colm did and step forward at a crucial moment."
TRUMBULL - Police have issued a traffic advisory for a march planned in town on Saturday.

The advisory, posted on the departments Facebook page reads:

In response to a rally being held by some Trumbull citizens, the Trumbull Police Department has issued the following travel advisory for Saturday, June 27, 2020 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.. This is not a Town sponsored event.

The Trumbull Police Department would like to advise members of the public of March for Racial Justice and anticipated abundance of pedestrian traffic on lower Church Hill Road., and Edison Road. to Main Street this Saturday.

Traffic disruptions are expected between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and motorists are asked to avoid these areas if possible.

The Trumbull Police Department will be in assistance in these areas and during these time to aid in the safety of the pedestrians, and assist with the flow of vehicular traffic.

Motorists could encounter possible delays if operating in the vicinity of these areas, and may wish to consider alternate routes during these times. The Trumbull Police Department also wishes to remind motorists in this vicinity to proceed with caution, and advise that any illegally parked vehicles, or those that pose a hazard to traffic, will be ticketed and towed.

All traffic related matters and listed times are subject to change based upon prevailing or unexpected conditions.
Giant panda Wu Wen [File photo/China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda]



President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan exchanged congratulatory letters with Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima on the birth of a panda cub in the Netherlands.

According to letters released on Thursday, Xi and Peng said that the panda cub is an important outcome of the two countries' dedication to the protection of biological diversity, which deserves celebration.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese and Dutch governments and people have supported and helped each other in fighting the disease, they said.

Noting that China attaches great importance to the development of bilateral relations, they said that China would like to make joint efforts with the Netherlands to coordinate disease prevention and control with bilateral cooperation and lift bilateral ties to new levels.

Giant panda Wu Wen gives birth to a cub in a Dutch Zoo in May, 2020. [Photo/China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda]



King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima said in their congratulatory letter that the birth of the panda cub is a symbol of the fruitful outcomes of Netherlands-China relations and a contribution to global biological diversity.

The Netherlands pays great attention to cooperation with China on fighting COVID-19, and only through unity and cooperation will the world overcome it, they said.

Relations between the Netherlands and China have a solid foundation, and the Netherlands would like to work together with China to defeat the disease and restore normal bilateral exchanges as soon as possible, they added.

In April 2017, a pair of pandas, male Xing Ya and female Wu Wen, arrived at Ouwehands Zoo in the Netherlands. Last month, Wu Wen gave birth to a baby cub at the zoo.

According to the arrangement with China, the cub can stay in the Netherlands for four years. After that, it will move to China. Just like its parents, the giant panda cub is owned by China.


The emergence of a new, extremely sophisticated spyware has suggested that China is infiltrating foreign companies working on its soil with tools of surveillance. A report by cyber security firm Trustwave has detailed a tool called GoldenSpy, which it believes is an act of Chinese nation-backed threat actors planting sophisticated cyber surveillance algorithms in seemingly legitimate software. GoldenSpy, as Trustwave has claimed, was planted in a copy of a Chinese accountancy software, and may have been used by an unnamed technology company that works in American, Australian and British Defence sectors.

Brian Hussey, VP of threat detection and response at Trustwave, and a former FBI cyber crime specialist, told NBC, We dont know how widespread it is. Was our client targeted because they have important information? Or is everybody targeted? While Trustwave has not managed to conclusively judge whether this was an act of a criminal group or backed by the Chinese government, the firms report speculates that the sophistication of the malware coupled with the lack of apparent financial motives indicate state-backed action. Alleging that GoldenSpy had all the signs of an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) hacking campaign, Hussey further called for additional vigilance, and urged everybody (i.e. foreign companies doing business in China) to check if theyre impacted by GoldenSpy.

The spyware in question is reportedly quite sophisticated in nature. After the said accounting software was installed by the mentioned technology firm, the tool took two hours to activate. It installed itself in two different nodes of a network, so that the second node would automatically start operating if the first was detected and deleted. Trustwave also states that after installing, GoldenSpy covertly installed a backdoor in the system, which would allow remote attackers to install more malware in a systems framework, presumably to steal more data. To prevent detection, GoldenSpy beaconed a remote terminal in random and irregular intervals, and even had what Trustwave calls a protector module, which would use the previously installed backdoor to re-download the spyware in case the entire setup was deleted.

We currently know of one targeted technology/software vendor and a highly similar incident occurring at a major financial institution, but this could be leveraged against countless companies operating and paying taxes in China. It may also be targeted at only a select few organisations with access to vital information, said Hussey in Trustwaves report.

While China has officially denied such aggressive cyber espionage efforts, numerous cyber security firms have repeatedly spotted such breaches by alleged state-backed threat actors. While GoldenSpy is a seemingly unknown entity right now, it remains to be seen if the tool is affecting more companies on a larger scale, in which case this may present a greater cyber threat to organisations based in various other nations as well.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Kent County is defending its decision to hire the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce to distribute $25 million to small businesses that have been hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.

The West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses have expressed concern that minority-owned businesses wont have equitable access to the funding now that the Chamber is managing the program.

But in a statement issued Friday, Kent County Administrator Wayman Britt expressed that he stood behind the chamber, saying the organization is positioned and prepared to ensure minority-owned businesses will receive equitable funding through this program  and has a proven track record in this area.

He said the Chamber has shared information about the Small Business Recovery Program grants with community groups that represent people of color.

In addition, he said county administrators and Board of Commissioners recognize that it is critically important to ensure equitable access to this funding among Black, Latinx and other minority-owned businesses.

The $25 million came from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to assist with recovery from the pandemic.

In a joint statement, the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses (GRABB) were critical of the countys process for hiring the Chamber to distribute the funding.

They requested that the funding be allocated directly to the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and GRABB to distribute directly to the businesses our organizations serve.

There was no discussion of proposals or contracting with those who have had a long history and proven track record of serving diverse businesses, the statement reads.

Instead with no engagement of diverse leaders of these organizations that have served Black and Brown businesses these funds were immediately funneled to the Grand Rapids Chamber. For a City and County that speaks so eloquently of inclusion and equity yet again, there was no action put behind these words.

Jamiel Robinson, the founder and CEO of Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses, said on Friday that he had read Britts statement but that he still has concerns about minority-owned businesses getting an equitable share of funding.

He said the Chamber has the capacity to oversee the program, but not when it comes to ensuring the deliverables that need to be seen in the African American business community.

Guillermo Cisneros, executive director of the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.

Officials with the Chamber say theyre dedicated to ensuring that minority-owned businesses receive an equitable share of $25 million in funding.

Dante Villarreal, the chambers vice president of business and talent development, pointed out that he is Hispanic, and that the majority of the Chambers team that are administering the grant program are professionals of color.

We have a very strong outreach effort, he said. We understand outreach is critical to the process. We are engaging with communities of color in Kent County. We are being very intentional. We are working with many partners that are helping us do outreach.

He said the Chamber is advertising the program in media outlets focused on serving people of color, and that Chamber representatives are having in-person meetings and virtual presentations geared toward serving applicants of color.

As of Thursday, June 25, the Chamber had received over 450 applications from businesses seeking funding. Thirty-one percent of those were from applicants who identified as white; 30 percent were from Hispanic applicants; 19 percent were Asian; and 13 percent were from African Americans, Villarreal said.

He said his goal is to have the percentage of funding for each minority group exceed that minority groups share of the population in Kent County.

Kent County spokesperson Lori Latham said in an email that one reason the county chose to hire the Chamber was because it was the only organization that presented a plan and demonstrated the capacity and experience to assist the County with distributing the funds.

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Chief election commissioner Sunil Arora, in an e-mail interview with Sunetra Choudhury and Deeksha Bhardwaj, speaks on the Bihar elections, how polling could change due to Covid-19, and on offering postal ballot facilities to those above 65 years and those in home/institutional quarantine due to the coronavirus disease. Edited excerpts:

We saw a legislator found positive for Covid-19 voting in the recently held Rajya Sabha polls. Do you think it was a good idea? What are ECs takeaways from the RS elections?

Our electoral process has been inclusive and the commission always takes necessary measures to address any particular challenge so that it remains inclusive. Any elector found Covid positive needs to be facilitated, keeping the guidelines/instructions prescribed under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in view for the purpose of voting without compromising on security, safety and transparency. Our polling team took all prescribed measures to facilitate voting of the elector (in the Rajya Sabha polls).

Realising the changed environment, the commission on June 1 recommended to the ministry of law and justice amendments in the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, to facilitate postal ballot for electors who are 65 years and above, and electors who are under home/institutional quarantine due to Covid-19 (in upcoming elections).

On June 19, the ministry notified the amendments, as proposed by the commission. This is in addition to the existing postal ballot facilities for PwD (persons with disabilities) electors and electors employed in essential services.

Will these initiatives be carried into the Bihar polls? When the ambit of the postal ballot is expanded, how do you ensure the sanctity/ security of the vote?

In 2019, the commission facilitated postal ballot for electors above 80 years and PwD electors in select constituencies in Jharkhand, and in 2020, in all constituencies in the NCT (National Capital Territory) of Delhi. In the NCT of Delhi, people in essential services also exercised their right to vote using the postal ballot option. All these categories are extended postal ballot facilities following due procedures, with proper video-recording of the process, and keeping candidates informed at every stage. Hence, each postal ballot vote remains secure, safe and transparent.

Is it now certain that elections for the Bihar assembly will go ahead as planned?

At the moment, there is no consideration of deferring the conduct of Bihar elections. Necessary preparations are underway at the Election Commission of India (ECI), the state and the district levels.

In Bihar, approximately 71.8 million electors will be casting their votes in approximately 97,000 polling stations.

How do you foresee elections changing during a pandemic?

Covid-19 has impacted the electoral process world over. Definitely, restrictions and social distancing will impact electoral activities on ground. Keeping these in view, the commission is contemplating a number of measures such as:

(a) Number of electors per polling station will be restricted to a maximum of 1,000 (as opposed to the current limit of 1,600). Thus, auxiliary polling stations (PS) would be created (for the additional voters); for instance, 34,000 additional PSs are being planned for Bihar.

(b) Campaigning and outreach by political parties and even ECIs Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) efforts will need to shift to digital mode to a larger extent.

(c) While ECI is ensuring that all ECI guidelines pertaining to electoral machinery, voters, political parties, candidates and other stakeholders are tweaked, a reassessment of procedures at various stages of the election is being worked out by a team.

(d) All advisories and guidelines issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), under the Disaster Management Act...shall be adhered to.

(e) Our field functionaries need to account for all related instructions of managing the issues of Covid-19 at each stage of the electoral process.

(f) All stakeholders including political parties will have to collectively ensure that the relevant safety guidelines issued by NDMA and public health authorities are followed in letter and spirit to ensure appropriate arrangements regarding social distancing, sanitization, disinfection, and masks/gloves etc.

How will the model code of conduct change and adapt to the new digital mode of campaigning?

The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has evolved over a period of time in close consultation with the political parties, as a successful code of ethical behaviour in Indian elections. MCC consists of two parts: first, behaviour/activities which are already covered/regulated under existing statutes; and second, behaviour/activities not covered by any statute.

In case of the enforcement of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to mitigate the dangers of spread of Covid-19, the concerned election authorities will ensure the implementation of regulating specific behaviour/activities, which relate to elections...

The commission has already established mechanisms to monitor digital environment for elections. There is a dedicated social media monitoring section in the commission, which monitors popular sites and deals with complaints received regarding misuse of social media for electoral purposes during election period. Hence, with a proper monitoring mechanism in place, shifting of campaign to the online mode would not affect the implementation of MCC.

Is the Election Commission considering voting via mobile apps and online?

The commission has not considered the option of voting via mobile apps and online.

The Election Commission has been considering the prospect of remote voting for a couple of years now. With lockdowns in various states, do we see a prospect of that materialising? If yes, who all will be eligible?

The focus of remote voting is on those voters who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to exercise their franchise; who move from their places of ordinary residence for purposes of education, medical treatment or a temporary vocation. Similarly, a large number of overseas electors are unable to cast their ballot. ECI has set up a Technology Advisory group, drawn from academic experts from IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) and other premier institutions to guide the commission on futuristic models for voting. They are actively engaged in simulating a workable prototype which can be tested for remote voting application. Fundamentally, it must meet the test of transparency, secrecy of ballot, security of data and network. A remote voting cell is being set up in ECI, which will have the mandate to consult various stakeholders and experts for brainstorming on the efficacy of technology. I am confident that we would be able to test...such a prototype over the next few months.
In an ongoing effort to protect Tennessee consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance is alerting Tennesseans about national and state reports of fraud being perpetrated by scammers via bogus COVID-19 testing sites and phony telemedicine treatments.

While honest, hard-working Tennesseans have taken steps to protect their health and safety during the pandemic, scam artists and criminals are using the emergency to better themselves at the expense of others, said TDCI Commissioner Hodgen Mainda. I urge Tennesseans to not allow scammers to take advantage of them during this time of uncertainty. Never share your personal information or financial information with someone you dont know. If you suspect a scammer is at work in your community, contact law enforcement immediately.

As Tennesseans continue to wear masks, practice social distancing and get tested for the COVID-19 virus, TDCI urges consumers to beware of the fraudulent tactics used by scammers falsely posing as legitimate insurance and healthcare providers.

Fake COVID-19 Testing Sites

TDCI has been alerted to reports that some consumers have fallen victim to fake COVID-19 testing sites. At these phony testing sites, consumers give their personal identification information as required to be tested. Unfortunately, valid tests are not administered, and the patient never receives the test results.

In some cases, the consumers personal identification information is then sold or used to commit identity theft. Some of the scammers at these fake testing sites also ask for an exorbitant amount of money before administering the test and do not follow sanitation requirements.

What You Need to Know

Coronavirus tests for the purpose of medical diagnosis should be provided without copays or cost-share for insured patients. Anyone can receive free testing at Tennessees local health departments. If payment is requested at a testing site, leave immediately.

Health insurance companies in Tennessee have agreed to fully cover medically necessary COVID-19 testing. If you have issues with your health insurance company, file a complaint at tn.gov/insurance.

Only go to legitimate testing sites acknowledged by state or county health departments. Click here to find a site near you.

Legitimate testing sites only perform nasal swabs for COVID-19 tests, not genetic tests or other services.



If you believe you have fallen victim to one of these scams, contact local law enforcement immediately.

Telemedicine Scams

Consumers may receive unexpected calls from fraudulent providers who convince them they might have COVID-19 and should seek treatment using telemedicine. The caller then asks for insurance and other personal identification information, which is then sold or used for identity theft.

What You Need to Know

Be wary of unexpected calls from telemedicine providers. At no point should a telemedicine provider solicit a consumers business.

You should only receive treatment or provide information to a licensed medical professional that you intentionally contacted, or to a public health worker, who will contact you if youve been tested to give you test results, or to notify you that you were in contact with someone with COVID-19. Public health workers will not ask you for insurance or financial information and do not charge you for these services. You can find telemedicine through your health insurance or your regular medical provider.

Make sure the provider is a licensed medical professional for the services they are offering. For example, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has seen cases where patients believe they are speaking with a psychiatrist and the patient is actually speaking to a counselor.

Always look over your medical bills to make sure you and your insurance company are not being billed for services you did not receive. CMS has discovered cases of providers billing patients insurance for services that are supposed to by hands-on, yet claiming they used telemedicine, as well as home health providers billing for 30 hours of services in a 24-hour period.

At this time, there is no vaccine or cure for COVID-19. Anyone selling a product said to cure the virus is a scam.

If you believe your insurance company is wrongfully denying your claim, file a complaint here or contact Consumer Insurance Services at (615) 741-2218.

For more information about TDCI, visit tn.gov/commerce.
'Anyone familiar with Modi's track record will know he never forgets a slight, a betrayal,' notes Virendra Kapoor.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi takes notes at the all-party meeting he convened on June 19, 2020 to discuss the China crisis. Photograph: PTI Photo

Prime Minister Modi's assertion that 'no one has entered Indian territory or captured any military post' has been met with widespread incredulity.

If that was indeed the case, then what was that deadly brawl about between the Indian soldiers and the Chinese troops in which twenty of our bravehearts perished? Defending whose territorial claim did they die?

Such sophistry cannot pull the wool over the eyes of the nation. We lost our men in defence of territory we lay claim to in the dispute with China.

Only two days before his shocking claim at a meeting of the Opposition last Friday, Modi's hand-picked Foreign Minister S Jaishankar had sparred with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, arguing that the Indian soldiers were killed while removing a tent on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control.

Apologists will defend the prime minister's statement, arguing that no one had encroached on territory which was undisputedly Indian.

Such word play does not hide the fact that the Chinese had forcibly intruded into the Indian side of the LAC in the Galwan Valley and at several other points along the disputed 3,440 sq km border. This is undeniable.

But wait. It may be wrong to pronounce from house tops that the prime minister had ceded control over the Galwan Valley.

For it is not in Modi's character to give up so easily. Besides, the costs of such a 'surrender' for him personally will be irredeemably high.

The BJP cannot be seen to be going down the Nehruvian road of defeat and abject surrender.

Therefore, we trust that the country may yet be surprised by action on the border to avenge the death of our soldiers.

When, where and how the Indian military will swing into action is not known. But anyone familiar with Modi's track record will know he never forgets a slight, a betrayal.

He has reason to feel personally let down by 'My friend Xi Jinping' whom he had gone out of the way to court, holding back criticism when China most deservedly invited a rap on the knuckles for its actions in regard to Hong Kong, Xinjiang, WHO et al.

The continuing buildup of the two militaries at the LAC following the Galwan Valley clash also indicates that India will not allow the sacrifice of its men go unpunished.

Failure to respond will only embolden a rogue China further.

Having moved into the Indian side of the LAC as part of its strategic plan to secure its all-weather road linking the ever restive Tibet to the troubled Muslim-majority Xinjiang province, China has illegally grabbed the Galwan heights.

It is from here that it seeks to target the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg road which is the life-line for our military in the forward positions in Aksai Chin.

Notably, China did not lay claim to the Galwan Valley till the Darbuk Syok-Daulat Beg all-weather road was ready a few months ago.

But the immediate question troubling Indians is whether we can evict China from the disputed land it occupied since early April.

Modi's statement is not only hard to square with the facts on the ground in eastern Ladakh, but is at odds with what we know of Modi the leader.

He loves to reflect strength, a decisive leader who brooks no resistance.

Of all the Indian prime ministers that we have had, Modi is the last, we believe, will meekly accept the abominable aggression of China and the resulting killing of 20 soldiers.

In short, India should not be disappointed in Modi. Whatever the costs, he will try and inflict pain on China sooner than later.

Meanwhile, this business of boycotting Chinese goods can be grossly overdone. Yes, boycott by all means wherever quality and cost match the Chinese products.

But rejecting them in favour of shoddy and costlier goods will be akin to cutting one's nose to spite your face.

India accounts for but only three percent of the total Chinese exports. Boycott will barely impact the Chinese economy.

Instead, it makes sense not to be overly concerned with the Chinese sensibilities and cooperate openly with other nations which are on the receiving end of the Chinese aggression and brazenness.

The way Xi Jinping, who anointed himself leader-for-life, conducts his foreign policy, chances are aside from North Korea he will have no other nation to call China's friend.

China exploits its military and economic power to bully its neighbors and to browbeat Europeans and North Americans alike.

Numerous instances of Chinese bullying have forced a re-think in the West. Recently a group of American intellectuals suggested that just as NATO was formed in the wake of the Second World War to defend against a potential military threat from Stalinist Russia, there is now an urgent need for the Americans and the Europeans to form a joint forum to repulse the economic aggression by an assertive China which refuses to respect established norms of global trade and diplomacy.

When Australia demanded an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, China slapped punitive duties on the imports of barley and other commodities and threatened to withdraw a large number of students studying in Australia.

When Sweden criticised China for human rights abuses, the Chinese ambassador in Stockholm said such people actually deserved to be shot dead.

And when Germany hinted that it might reconsider the use of the security-suspect Huawei 5-G equipment, China threatened to boycott German cars.

And we know how after Canada arrested the Huawei heiress at America's behest for violating the sanctions against Iran, China immediately detained two Canadians and now threatens to imprison them for life on trumped up espionage charges. The list of such egregious acts is long.

The short point is that the world at large has to come together to fight Chinese dadagiri.

Whatever the reason why China does it -- the most credible seems to be that Xi, having anointed himself leader for life, needs to constantly prove himself to keep his ambitious rivals at bay -- it cannot be allowed to menace the whole world.

Hurting it economically too will require wider cooperation.

Meanwhile, let us keep our fingers crossed. And hope that Modi's riposte to the Chinese perfidy on the LAC is strong and successful -- and avenges the blood of our twenty soldiers.

Production: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
GREENWICH  Local organizers are expecting 500 people to show up for a Black Lives Matter march on Saturday, beginning at Town Hall and ending in the Island Beach Ferry parking lot.

Justice for Brunch, a local group led by six young professionals, aims to disrupt the privilege that exists in Fairfield County while uplifting the Black community and demanding justice for the many Black lives lost in America, said Nicole Rincon, public relations coordinator for the group.

The groups marches deliberately occur when many are congregating and eating brunch together, she said.

The brunch culture has developed between Millennials and Generation Z, where its such a big part of their social life, Rincon said.

When you go out to brunch with your friends, you leave everything behind. ... We think that people shouldnt be doing that right now, she continued. Now is not the time to kind of remove yourself from the issue at hand. The symbolic nature of brunch and trying to escape is what were trying to disrupt.

At 11:30 a.m. Saturday, protesters will meet at Town Hall before they start to march at noon to the Island Beach Ferry parking lot on Arch Street. From 1 to 2 p.m., 12 local speakers will talk about police brutality and other race-related subjects such as diversifying the local education system, the intricacies of intersectionality and the exploitation of Black athletes.

The event will occur rain or shine. If thunderstorms occur, organizers will postpone the event.

Black Lives Matter protests sprang up after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police last month. Locally, march attendees have shifted their focus to actively calling Justice for Brunch leaders to share their experiences of racism and in turn, other allies have sought information about how they can help make life better for local people of color, said Rincon.

Saturdays speakers are presenting powerful and actionable messages, she said. Theyre giving their experiences and educational info about what (people) can do next.

Justice for Brunch organizers are asking the public to follow the group on Instagram, under the same name, for information on events, donations and volunteer opportunities. The group is urgently requesting volunteers services from a sign language interpreter to translate the rallys speakers to people with hearing impairments.

Were trying to be as inclusive as possible, said Rincon.

Organizers said they have no plans to stop organizing Black Lives Matter protests, but that in order to continue, they need the help of the community.

Now people want to take action and I feel like thats whats different now, said Rincon. This is finally culminating into something past (just) protests.

For more information, email organizers at justiceforbrunch@gmail.com.

tatiana.flowers@thehour.com @TATIANADFLOWERS
The Boeing Company BA recently secured a $439.2-million contract for developing new Apache AH-64E aircraft and Longbow crew trainers. Work related to the deal is scheduled to be completed by Mar 1, 2025.



Per the deal terms, Boeing will develop the combat helicopter for the Moroccan Army. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL, and the tasks will be executed in Mesa, AZ.



Growing Importance of Apache AH-64E Helicopters



Boeings AH-64 Apache has already emerged as the worlds most advanced, multi-role combat helicopter that is used by the U.S. Army and a growing number of international defense forces. Its AH-64E is the latest version of the AH-64 gunship, which is equipped with new sensors, avionics and improved night operation capabilities.



In addition, it has an infrared suppressing exhaust system as well as chaff and flare dispensers, which jointly reduce the chances of being hit by enemy air defense missiles. Notably, militaries of nations, such as India, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Morocco, Israel and Egypt, among many others, alongside the United States have deployed the Apache Helicopters in their arsenal.



What Favors Boeing?



Boeing has already delivered more than 2,400 Apaches to various customers globally. In recent times, increasing geopolitical tensions across the world have prompted developing nations to effectively increase their defense budget. In line with this, the fiscal 2021 U.S. defense budget proposal includes a spending provision of $1.2 billion, specifically for developing 52 AH-64E Attack Helicopters. If approved, such fresh orders will boost prospects for the company.



Further, per a report by the Research and Markets firm, the global military rotorcraft market is expected to witness a CAGR of 4.28% to $30.7 billion by 2028. Such growth can be attributed to the need for replacing aging fleets and enhancement of capabilities pertaining to disaster relief operations. Additionally, many nations are now focusing on either developing or procuring helicopters with multiple mission modes, which is driving the demand for military helicopters across the world. As a result, such projections could significantly benefit helicopter-makers like Boeing, Lockheed Martin LMT and Textron TXT in the days ahead.



Price Movement



Boeings stock has improved 8% in the past three months compared with the industrys growth of 3.3%.

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By Oscar Grenfell

June 25, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - The Department of Justice today issued a superseding indictment against Julian Assange in the latest salvo of a decade-long campaign by the US government and its intelligence agencies to destroy the WikiLeaks founder and besmirch his reputation.

The new indictment does not contain any charges additional to those filed in May 2019. The 17 Espionage Act counts over WikiLeaks publication of documents leaked by Chelsea Manning exposing historic war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan and illegal global diplomatic intrigues remain. These represent the greatest attack on press freedom and the First Amendment of the US Constitution in decades, directly targeting the right of all journalists to publish national security material.

The indictment also contains one charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. It was the first US count unveiled against Assange after he was dragged by British police from Ecuadors London embassy in April 2019.

The additional material added to the introductory section of the new indictment is a desperate attempt to bolster that count, and the broader narrative that Assange is a hacker, not a publisher or journalist.

Its inclusion follows the public discrediting of the computer intrusion allegation, including in the first week of Assanges British extradition hearings last February. According to the indictment, in March 2010, Manning asked Assange for assistance with cracking a hash value, or a password, that would have enabled her to log into the US army computer network anonymously.

It is now almost universally acknowledged that the hash value was never hacked. Manning, moreover, had by that point already gathered the material that she would provide to WikiLeaks. The purpose of her request, apparently made half in jest, was to browse the internet and download music anonymously.

The new indictment further exposes the attempt to extradite Assange to the US as a dirty-tricks political operation, rather than any sort of legal proceeding.

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It paints a picture of US government operatives pouring through decade-old tabloid gossip and dredging up the most unsavoury creatures of their own intelligence agencies to fling mud at Assange. It is an attempt to salvage their claim that he is a hacker, more than a year after they first publicly-unveiled charges against him.

Almost all of the new material has been on the public record in one form or other, for six years or longer.

Points four through six, for instance, reference Assanges speeches to public conventions of computer experts in the Netherlands and Malaysia, in 2009 and 2010. The indictment claims that he encouraged those present to use their computing abilities to access classified material. To assert that such a statement, made in public, constitutes evidence of a conspiracy, is laughable.

However, the accusation continues the strand that runs throughout the indictment of seeking to criminalise standard journalistic practices, including encouraging sources and potential sources to provide a media organisation with newsworthy information in the public interest.

Sections F and G similarly allege that Assange and WikiLeaks associates encouraged administrators and others with access to computer systems to expose illegal activities by the intelligence agencies and corporate malfeasance. They are, again, based on statements at public gatherings spanning from 2013 to 2016, some of which have been viewable on the internet ever since.

Significantly, none of the events was held in the United States, but are cited as evidence of intent, or conspiracy, to violate American laws. This is in line with the unprecedented assertion of extraterritorial jurisdiction on which the entire indictment is based. The Justice Department is essentially arguing that domestic US laws apply to all individuals and gatherings in every part of the world.

Unlike the previous indictment, the latest US charge sheet condemns Assange over WikiLeaks role in assisting Edward Snowden to travel from Hong Kong to Russia in 2013, where he successfully obtained political asylum. Snowden is a multi-award winning whistleblower, who exposed illegal global surveillance operations by the US National Security Agency.

The document complains that WikiLeaks publicised its role in defending Snowden to display its commitment to whistleblower protection. This alone brands the new indictment as a further assault on fundamental journalistic practices.

A substantial part of the new material in the indictment appears to be based on testimony and information provided by two acknowledged informants of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Sigurdur Siggi Thordarson, named in the document as Teenager, and Hector Monsegur, known by the online pseudonym Sabu.

In June 2019, WikiLeaks issued a statement reporting that the US government could be preparing a new indictment against Assange, based on testimony from Thordarson. The Icelandic man had made it known on social media that he was being ferried to the US for discussions with American government agencies. In subsequent press interviews, he revealed that Monsegur was also involved. WikiLeaks warning has now come to pass.

The indictment alleges that in early 2010, Teenager provided Assange with information stolen from a bank. It claims that the WikiLeaks founder asked Teenager to commit computer intrusion and steal additional information, including audio recordings of phone conversations between officials in NATO Country-1, including members of parliament

The country being referenced is Iceland. The allegation that WikiLeaks attempted to surreptitiously record parliamentary conversations there has been in circulation for years. The story was only publicly promulgated after Thordarson began secretly working with the FBI. Its transparent purpose was to jeopardise WikiLeaks activities in a relatively liberal country where it enjoyed high levels of popular support.

Assange, moreover, has never been accused, let alone charged with a crime by any Icelandic agency. Senior government officials, however, including then Interior Minister Ogmundur Jonasson, have stated that FBI dirty-tricks operations were afoot against WikiLeaks.

Jonasson has testified that in June 2011, he blocked a plane load of FBI agents who had been sent to seek our cooperation in what I understood as an operation to set up, to frame Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. The frame had been accompanied by warnings of a plot to hack Icelandic government infrastructure.

The related new strand of the indictment asserts ties between WikiLeaks and computer hackers. The first set of alleged contacts, from December 2010 until the end of 2011, all involved Teenager, i.e., Thordarson, who claims to have been acting under the direction of Assange.

The most significant of those, beginning in June 2011, was with Lulzsec, a loose affiliation of US hackers. The supposed contact between WikiLeaks and the group was again brokered by Thordarson. The indictment alleges that Assange encouraged Lulzsec to hack into private security companies, including Intelligence Consulting Company, and provided them with scripts to search material gathered. It does not claim that Assange was involved in the computer intrusion.

That WikiLeaks published material obtained by Lulzsec has been known for years. In 2012, one of the hackers Jeremy Hammond was arrested and convicted for hacking into Stratfor, a private company dubbed a shadow CIA. WikiLeaks released emails from the firm showing that it had spied on activists and revealing its close relations to US government agencies.

The threadbare character of the allegations, however, is overshadowed by the fact that when Thordarson first made contact with Lolzsec, it was already effectively controlled by the FBI. Monsegur (Sabu), its leader, had been arrested on June 7, 2011, and had immediately agreed to collaborate with the US government.

A Justice Department press release accompanying the indictment coyly states: In 2012, Assange communicated directly with a leader of the hacking group LulzSec (who by then was cooperating with the FBI)... This is a gross understatement. By that stage, Monsegur had been frantically burning associates for over six months, to avoid decades in prison, and had agreed to transform Lulzsec into a US government entrapment service.

It is not yet known whether Thordarson (Teenager) was already cooperating with the FBI when he made contact with Lulzsec. If he was, the conversations were between two FBI assets seeking to frame Assange.

Thordarson had insinuated himself into WikiLeaks as a 17-year-old volunteer in early 2010. In August 2011, Thordarson claims that he contacted the US embassy in Reykjavik, offering to assist in the ongoing criminal investigation in the United States against Assange.

By his own admission, Thordarson met with FBI agents multiple times in Reykjavik between 2011 and 2012. During that period, US authorities flew him to Denmark three times and to the US on one occasion, for secret meetings about WikiLeaks. He handed over WikiLeaks hard-drives and received thousands of dollars.

Some WikiLeaks collaborators who encountered him have stated that Thordarsons behaviour was strange from the beginning, raising the possibility that he was sent into WikiLeaks as a plant.

Either way, Thordarson is an individual who could never be deemed a credible witness. WikiLeaks has alleged that he stole at least $50,000 from the organisation.

In 2014, he pled guilty in an Icelandic court to 18 counts of fraud, embezzlement and theft, some of them relating to his missapropriations from WikiLeaks. The combined offenses carried a dollar value estimated at $US240,000. Thordarson was also convicted of impersonating Assange.

The following year he pled guilty to a raft of sexual offences, after admitting that he had coerced underage boys into performing sexual acts on him. A court-appointed psychologist found that he was a sociopath suffering from a severe anti-social personality disorder.

In Thordarson, a convicted paedophile and conman, and Monsegur, a former petty criminal turned stool pigeon, the US government has found the fitting representatives of its campaign against Assange. The reliance on testimony from both men demonstrates that the US extradition request should be dismissed as a criminal operation, involving individuals who themselves should be in prison.

The British courts and government, however, have made clear their support for the US-led vendetta against Assange, underscoring that it is up to the working class to take forward the fight for his freedom.

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Dr. Holt wondered about the popularity of face shields because, she said, despite the shield casting a minor glare, it is so comfortable that she sometimes forgets to take it off at the end of the day.

John Anderson, who lives in Penn Valley, Calif., asked a similar question about face shields. Mr. Anderson is hearing-impaired and prefers that others use face shields so that he can read lips. During a recent health checkup, his doctor wore a mask and his wife wore a face shield. He read his wifes lips as she repeated the doctors words.

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all Californians to wear face coverings, like cloth masks, when out in public. The states Department of Public Health recommends wearing a plastic face shield with a cloth draped along the bottom only if the wearer has a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a cloth mask.

Face shields are also commonly used by front-line health workers, but more people are looking at face shields as an added layer of protection.

The Palo Alto Unified teachers union requested that the district supply teachers with face shields and other personal protective equipment when they return to school. And the states Department of Education recommends that everyone on school campuses wear masks or face shields with a drape across the bottom when schools reopen.

My colleague Knvul Sheikh wrote about the use of face shields, which can be easily wiped down and reused. Face shields also have the benefit of stopping people from touching their faces, and can be easier and more comfortable than masks.

However, experts say face shields have limits to the amount of protection they can offer. They seem to be most effective in protecting against cough droplets for people in close range of one another. And droplets can seep in through the back and sides of a face shield, which is why draping a piece of cloth along the bottom is recommended. But their efficacy has not yet been widely studied. For now, face masks are the better option for most people.
Richard Desmond today dragged Sadiq Khan into the Westferry planning row, claiming the London Mayor had offered to fast track the controversial 1bn development.

The publisher and property developer said he had discussed plans to build 1,500 homes in East London with Mr Khan during a celebration for the Queens Birthday at the Albert Hall in April 2018.

Approval for the scheme was given in January this year by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick, who is now facing a parliamentary probe over the decision, despite receiving backing from Boris Johnson.

London mayor Sadiq Khan (pictured) reportedly offered to 'fast track' the development of the controversial Westferry development in the London Docklands, according to tycoon Richard Desmond

Mr Desmond (pictured left) claims to have been given this offer by the London mayor during a 2018 meeting for the Queen's birthday celebrations at the the Royal Albert Hall

Attention has focused on Mr Jenricks relationship with Mr Desmond, but now the latter has embroiled Mr Khan in the affair, claiming the idea was discussed in several meetings and via text messages.

Mr Desmond, 68, said: Sadiq told me that if I wanted to look at a denser scheme, as long as I gave him 35% affordable housing he would support it and would fast track it, with no review mechanisms. This is where it all started!

When approached by MailOnline, Mr Khan said he had no recollection of meeting Mr Desmond at the Queens event.

Such is the political fallout over the scheme, that Mr Jenrick is facing calls to resign and a potential investigation to see if he breached the code of conduct for MPs.

He took the decision to approve the development the day before new infrastructure charges came into force which allowed Mr Desmond's Northern and Shell firm to avoid paying between 30-50m extra to the local council.

The planning approval for the Westferry development by the Tories is believed to have saved Mr Desmond between 30-50m in tax payments

Labour has accused the minister of taking the decision following a "glitzy fundraising dinner" with Mr Desmond in November 2019.

However, Mr Desmond said today the project had been started at an earlier social meeting with Londons Mayor.

It was Sadiq who approached me when I was with my wife Joy at The Queen's birthday party at the Royal Albert Hall in April 2018 and said he didn't think I was fully utilising the Westferry site, he declared.

Sources close to the former proprietor of the Daily Express went on to explain that the businessman already had planning permission for his originally planned development at that stage

This approval was given in 2016 by Sir Eddie Lister, now the prime ministers chief strategic adviser, when he was Mr Johnsons deputy mayor at City Hall.

Sources said it was Mr Khans intervention in 2018 which prompted Mr Desmond to revise his plan and he had numerous meetings with the new mayors team, texts between Mr Khan and Mr Desmond and confirmation that the scheme would be approved.

This revised plan was subsequently rejected.

Richard had met Sadiq a number of times, including at his office, and he was also Richard's guest at a table at Buckingham Palace in March 2017 to support the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, said the source.

Mr Desmond (pictured left) claims to have met the London mayor several times, including at a 2017 Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme event in Buckingham Palace

The site would have delivered affordable homes, much needed housing, over 1,500 jobs over 10 years and put over 800million into the economy.

Today the Mayor of London distanced himself from the claims.

His spokesman said: The Mayor has no recollection of meeting Richard Desmond at the Albert Hall.

The Westferry application went through the early stage of the GLA planning process following all appropriate rules and guidelines, before being taken over by the Secretary of State.

The GLAs public stage one report makes it clear that the application was unacceptable, particularly its lack of affordable housing.

Mr Desmond met Mr Jenrick in 2019 at a 900-a-plate Tory fundraising dinner where the pair exchanged numbers and kept in touch.

Under pressure from Labour to explain contact with Mr Desmond, the MP this week released a series of documents and text messages related to the planning application.

In a text to Mr Desmond on November 18 after spending time with him at the fund raising event, Mr Jenrick said: 'Good to spend time with you tonight Richard. See you again soon I hope.'

Mr Desmond replied: 'Thanks Robert I really appreciate your text Will call your office tomorrow to arrange Very best.'

Mr Desmond (pictured) met Mr Jenrick in 2019 at a 900-a-plate Tory fundraising dinner where the pair exchanged numbers and kept in touch

In a text two days later regarding the development, Mr Desmond said: 'We appreciate the speed as we don't want to give Marxists loads of doe for nothing!

'We all want to go with the scheme and the social housing we have proposed and spent a month at the Marxist town hall debating, thanks again, all my best Richard.'

Mr Jenrick replied: 'As Secretary of State it is important not to give any appearance of being influenced by applicants of cases that I may have a role in or to have predetermined them and so I think it is best that we don't meet until after the matter has been decided, one way of [sic] another - and I can't provide any advice to you on that, other than to say that I will receive advice from my officials after the general election assuming I remain in office and will consider it carefully in accordance with the rules and guidance.

'I hope that is okay and we can meet to discuss other matters soon, hopefully on the 19th. Robert.'

Two weeks after the scheme was approved, records from the Electoral Commission show that Mr Desmond personally gave 12,000 to the Conservatives.

The decision has since been reversed after legal action by Tower Hamlets Council, with the local authority saying the "timing of the decision appeared to show bias" by Mr Jenrick.

Labour have now called for all documents involved in the planning row to be made public.
The Catholic Archbishop of Ireland Eamon Martin has said he is very confident that measures put in place by parishes and support teams will allow churches to reopen safely.

It will be a collective responsibility, he told RTE radios Morning Ireland.

For two months clergy had been working with support teams in parishes on plans for the safest ways to worship together, he added.

Such measures will mean extra cleaning and security, but churches should only be reopened if these checks are in place said the Archbishop.

Social responsibility and community partnership will keep everyone safe, he said. There was a general acceptance that the governments recommendations and guidelines were for the public good, for priests and ministers.

As it goes on we are hopeful that the restrictions can be relaxed further, he said.

"People dont have to go straight back to worship in a church, they should take their time.

"In the meantime, online services will continue and are likely to continue in the future so that people who cannot attend can still feel part of the service of worship."
Leaders of all five Kenosha County law enforcement agencies put out a joint statement Friday condemning excessive force by police officers and pledging to address bias in policing.

We condemn excessive force and will hold our officers and each other accountable. We strongly support legitimate police action but are disgusted by any instance of police misconduct, especially those where racist ideology may be a contributing factor, states the message, which is signed by Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth, Pleasant Prairie Police Chief David Smetana, Twin Lakes Police Chief Adam Grosz and UW-Parkside Police Chief James Heller.

We hear you and we see you. We are dedicated to evaluating our policies and practices to address the issue of bias in policing, they state.

The message was issued after weeks of protests around the United States in the wake of the death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis. Floyd died in front of an outraged group of onlookers, begging for help as a police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. That officer was later charged with second-degree murder.

Floyds death, along with filmed instances of violent interactions between police and protesters in some cities, reignited the Black Lives Matter movement and led to a national call for an evaluation of police practices and bias in the criminal justice system. The protests have also sparked criticism and support for police, especially as protests in some cities  including Madison  have sometimes included rioting, violence and property damage.

A support law enforcement rally is planned for Civic Center Park Saturday.

According to a Marquette Law School poll released this week, 61 percent of Wisconsin voters approve of the mass protests while 36 percent disapprove. A majority of black residents polled said police made them feel anxious rather than safe. While large majorities of people had favorable views of the police overall, 42 percent believe police are too willing to use deadly force.

The statement from the chiefs says the departments are all increasing training on de-escalation and in awareness and avoidance of bias. We are increasing dialog with our communities to gain perspective and foster trust. Those who live, work, recreate or seek education here have every right to expect that their life is respected and valued, it states.

Smetana said the statement was an outgrowth of discussions among the chiefs, the most recent organized by Miskinis this week.

This was obviously a high priority for us to get together to discuss, Smetana said. As we talked (we decided) it was important that the message we were talking about at the table be relayed to the public.

Miskinis and Beth were unavailable for comment.

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A small number of votes by Green Party members will decide whether Ireland finally gets some political stability today.

The deadline for voting by Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Green Party on the Programme for Government concludes today and while it is expected that the former two parties will strongly endorse it, the result of the Green Party, with its two-thirds majority threshold is more uncertain.



It is reported that about 2000 members of the Green Party are registered to vote. With most of those registered to vote in Northern Ireland and the younger cohort expected to reject the PFG, this means that c.80% support will be required in the constituencies for it to pass.

Several Green Party TDs are quoted in this mornings media as saying that it is likely to pass but will be close. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, meanwhile, is very bullish on the prospects of it being carried by all three parties, stating last night that "the Yes vote will be larger than people expect in all three parties and we will have a new government on Saturday."



The results are expected to be announced later today (after 6pm) after all the votes are counted. If it is passed, the Dail will meet in the Convention Centre in Dublin for the first time tomorrow (to comply with social distancing guidelines) to elect Micheal Martin as Taoiseach. Important legislation on law and on a package for SMEs will then likely be passed early next week.

According to Goodbody Stockbrokers, "If the vote fails, Ireland faces uncertain territory once again, but it is likely that some form of government, including participation from independents, will be put together. Such an arrangement would be unstable and undesirable and would be unlikely to last very long before another election is called."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Both symptomatic and asymptomatic Covid-19 patients have the capability of contaminating their surroundings, according to a new study conducted in China.

The study, published in the journal mSphere, demonstrates the importance of environmental cleaning in areas occupied by patients with Covid-19.

Follow: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on June 25

"Placement of Covid-19 patients in rooms with negative pressure may bring a false feeling of safety and rigorous environment cleaning should be emphasised," said study lead author Zhiyong Zong, from Sichuan University in China.

While it has been well recognised that SARS-CoV-2 that causes Covid-19 can be acquired by objects which are likely to carry infection, such as clothes and furniture, the contamination of patients' surroundings by the virus is largely unknown and understudied.

In the new study, researchers sampled the surroundings and the air of six negative pressure non-intensive care unit (ICU) rooms with 13 laboratory confirmed COVID-19 patients who had returned from overseas in a designated isolation ward in Chengdu, China.

The study cohort included 2 asymptomatic patients.

For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here

Sampled sites included bedrails, room and toilet door handles, light switches, foot flush buttons, sink rims, sink and toilet bowls and drains, bedside tables, bedsheets, pillows, equipment belts on wall, floor, air exhaust outlets and air.

The researchers found that 44 of 112 surface samples (39.3 per cent) were positive for SARS-Cov-2, detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

All of the air samples were negative, they said.

"The findings suggest that patient surroundings in this non-ICU negative pressure isolation ward for Covid-19 patients with mild disease or no symptoms were extensively contaminated by SARS-CoV-2," said Zong.

"In particular, in a single room with an asymptomatic patient, 4 sites including bedrail, pillow, bedsheet and the air exhaust outlet were SARS-CoV-2 positive," he said.

CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH

This highlights that asymptomatic Covid-19 patients can contaminate their surroundings and therefore expose persons who have direct contact with them, such as their family members and healthcare workers, to SARS-CoV-2, the researchers said.

They said that isolation of asymptomatic Covid-19 patients at home impose risks to their family members, and that shelter hospitals may be a better option.
Childrens museum to host summer camps

GLENS FALLS  The World Awareness Childrens Museum will host 2020 Summer Camp programs in July and August, starting with the Wonderful, Wild Animals Camp from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 13-17 and Aug. 10-14 at 89 Warren St.

Campers will explore different countries, learn about the animals that live there, and make an art project each day. This program is intended for children pre-K to kindergarten.

There is also the World Travelers Camp from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 20-24. Children will travel the world and learn about different countries, create their own artistic masterpieces and play games together. This program is for children entering first through third grade.

Children looking to get creative can join the Messy Art Camp from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 27-31 and Aug. 24-28. Children will learn about different artists, create messy art masterpieces and learn how to work together with daily team challenges. This camp is for children entering fourth through sixth grade.

Learn about them and other fantastical creatures during the Mythical Creature Camp from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 3-7. Guests will encounter unicorns, fly with dragons and learn about other mythical creatures. This program is intended for children entering first through sixth grade.

Learn about different ways to help the residents of Earth during the Mission Earth Camp from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 17-21. Guests work with their outer space friends and explore countries around the world, make an art project each day. This program is for children entering first through sixth grade.

The camp programs are $150 per child per week for museum members, $200 per child per week for not-yet-members. The museum will also be offering before-care (8-10 a.m.) and after-care (3-5 p.m.) during the summer camp programs, which is $50/child per week. Parents can visit www.worldchildrensmuseum.org/summer-camps to sign up their children or for more information about the summer camps, or can call 518-793-2773.

The museum will not be open to the public for regular hours in July, only summer camps.

Grant awarded to BackPack Program

TICONDEROGA  The Ticonderoga Area Backpack Program recently received funding from the Adirondack Foundations Generous Acts program. The backpack program provides backpacks filled with nutritious foods to local area children on weekends throughout the school year. In addition, there also is a summer food program that provides a whole week of food in each of eight weeks during July and August. The grant funds will be used exclusively to purchase the food from the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York.

Adirondack Foundation enhances the lives of the people in the Adirondacks through philanthropy. Recently, the Adirondack Foundation spearheaded the Special and Urgent Needs Fund to provide timely relief to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lake George library has reopening plans

LAKE GEORGE  Reopening plans are in place for online or telephone requests for materials at Caldwell Lake George Library. Items will be put in paper bags and placed in front vestibule for no-contact delivery. There are currently limited interlibrary loans. Patrons may check the website caldwell-lakegeorgelibrary.sals.edu or Facebook page for virtual programs for kids and adults or call the library at 518-668-2528. Masks will be mandatory when building reopens for patrons with social distancing required.

New board member Stacey Dunn replaced Cheryl Dybas at the annual meeting June 12. The slate of officers includes President Laura Cocozza, Vice President Todd Earl, Treasurer Debbie Smith and Secretary Mona Seeger.

Online summer art classes for kids to start

SARATOGA SPRINGS  Saratoga Arts will offer online classes this summer for children ages 5-15 starting June 29 through August. Sessions are available in visual art, theater and creative writing. All classes will be hosted via Zoom and are fully interactive.

Visual arts classes are available for all ages, with options in drawing, painting, learning about artists and art history, collage and more. Many classes will focus on nature and creating with objects found in the home and community. All participating students are welcome at a Show and Tell session held each Friday.

For children interested in theater, there are weekly classes focusing on different types of theater and subjects: fairy tales, ancient Greek, puppets, science fiction and more. More serious students have classes available in studying monologues and scene writing.

Saratoga Arts will again collaborate with Northshire Bookstore for Pageturners, a chance for young readers to read and meet virtually with noted authors. Literary-minded youths may also be interested in Creative Writing, a four-week workshop for ages 7-10.

Individual class sessions start at just $10 for members. Information about all classes is available at https://www.saratoga-arts.org/online-classes/. Classes are scheduled through July, though as they fill more will be added; the website will be updated frequently as programs are confirmed. Details will also be posted on social media.

What to do with all of that produce

WARRENSBURG  Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County will be holding a free webinar on What to do with all of that produce! at 1 p.m. July 30. A webinar will cover practical tips for using and storing fresh produce, discuss recipe ideas and also discuss the nutritional benefits of fresh, local produce.

This free webinar will include a question-and-answer session, and participants will have the opportunity to receive an electronic .pdf version of farmers market recipes. To sign up for this specific class, register at: https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwsdOigrjIoHtNPdUsIk7JEfbjMYujKElwn. For questions about this webinar, contact Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County at 518-623-3291, or email MB at mem467@cornell.edu.

Quakers to open meeting house July 5

SOUTH GLENS FALLS  Adirondack Friends Meeting will reopen July 5 at 27 Saratoga Ave. Social distancing will be practiced, and masks and hand sanitizer will be available.

New pastor Susan MacKenzie can be reached at 715-668-9750 or annieadirondack@gmail.com.

Some of the first settlers in the area were Quakers. In 1762, Abraham Wing and 30 Quakers came to Queensbury. Glens Falls was first named Wing Falls. The South Glens Falls Meeting was established in 1765. For 10 years, worship was held at the home of Abraham Wing. The first meeting house, still at its present location, was built in 1880.

Virtual photography show and new website

GLENS FALLS  North Country ARTS is looking for submissions for the upcoming Virtual Photography Show to be hosted at https://northcountryarts.org. There will be no fee for submissions and no restrictions on size. Interested individuals can submit one photograph per person in .jpg format. The following information should be included: last name, first name, title, medium, size and price. Send submissions directly to NCA board member Phil Casabona at phil.casabona@gmail.com by June 28.

North Country ARTS also has a revamped website. Due to coronavirus, a number of exhibitions were canceled or pushed back, but they are hosting a number of virtual showcases. Visitors can enjoy virtual exhibitions from artists Jack Montoya, Valeria Orozco, Sandra Jabaut, and more. Visit https://northcountryarts.org/ to view them.

Gallery hosts virtual algal blooms exhibit

LAKE GEORGE  The Lake George Arts Projects Courthouse Gallery will host an online gallery of Kathy Bozonys work documenting and researching the algal blooms in Lake George.

Bozony has been documenting algal blooms in Lake George for more than 10 years. She has taken thousands of underwater photographs and shared them with the lake communities. Algae naturally occur in all water bodies, but excessive algae growth does indicate a problem.

The exhibit is on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejKWWqZ0F_c&feature=youtu.be.

Hometown is compiled by Gretta Hochsprung. If youd like to let her know about an upcoming event, email ghochsprung@poststar.com or call 518-742-3206.

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Last June, a group of protesters lay down in the intersection of Market and Sixth streets. They made a bed of the warm asphalt and streetcar tracks. They chanted F the police! and Pride was a riot. And for nearly an hour that morning they halted San Franciscos annual Pride Parade.

There were shouts to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement and calls for San Francisco Pride to exclude the police. Eventually, two people were arrested and the parade continued.

This all made headlines, but the truth is San Franciscos Pride Parade, for all its rainbows and smiles and messages of love and togetherness, has never been a simple and tidy thing. Not then, not ever.

The parade has been so many things, says Fred Lopez, the executive director of San Francisco Pride. Its been protest marches. ... For some, they feel like its been too commercial and theres a lot of logos. And for some who work for companies who are represented in the parade, its a really big deal to feel accepted and elevated by ones employer for that month, for that day.

Thats always been the joy and the challenge of Pride organizers to acknowledge that and to sort of fold it in and embrace it.

Last month this years Pride Parade was canceled  another in a long stream of public events waiting for a pandemic to pass. Few are likely happy about this, but the quiet does offer space for introspection and reflection.

Before San Francisco Pride was San Francisco Pride, it was Gay Liberation Day and before that, it was Christopher Street West, a commemoration of the 1969 Christopher Street Stonewall Riots in New York City.

San Francisco queers marked the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots with a small march down Polk Street and a Gay-In at Golden Gate Park. Two years later, in 1972, the citys LGBTQ community held what The Chronicle called S.F.s Lively Gay Parade. There were more than 2,000 people marching with full flourish through 22 blocks of the city. Some 15,000 people watched as the marchers walked from Montgomery Street to City Hall with elaborate gay horseback riders, marching bands and drag queens throwing kisses. There were gay celebrities (Mr. Gayzette), a gay wedding, a gay clown on skates and gay Boy Scouts.

And then there was this at the end of it all: (D)ifferent gay factions were pushing and shoving for possession of the microphone. A reverend was kicked and shoved. Lesbians said they were not given a chance to speak. Militant male groups also said their spokesman had been barred.

Mark Costantini / The Chronicle 2005

Gay liberation, like all civil rights movements, has been a rhythmic tide  high, then low, then high, then low again  but unpredictable all the same.

Take recent history. In 2004, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom allowed same-sex marriage, only to have the state Supreme Court void it in 2008 . Lawsuits followed and then a state proposition and then more lawsuits. Legal; then not; legal; then not  until, 10 years later, in 2018, the right to marry extended to all couples nationwide. This year, the United States Supreme Court enshrined the right to work for all LGBTQ people.

The tide is just as evident in San Franciscos Pride parade.

Marke Bieschke, a multi-hyphenate if ever there were one (nightlife historian, bar owner, DJ, author, 48 Hills editor), has experienced much of the recent ebb and flow. He came to San Francisco the day after Pride in 1994. The city was completely trashed, he says. I remember seeing just all the detritus and everything and being like This is all gay trashy.

This, he says, was his first real Pride, even though it had passed. Hed known Detroits Pride, but that was a picnic, not days of floats and parties and political discussions about queer rights.

These were things that just blew my mind, he says. I gradually had to relearn the history of Pride because I feel like we go through these cycles again and again of where Pride is and where it started. Not just Stonewall, but earlier riots and uprisings  San Franciscos Comptons Cafeteria Riot, for example. (Just this month he published a book about these movements and more: Into the Streets: A Young Person's Visual History of Protest in the United States.)

Bieschke watched Gay Shame march against the Pride parade. He saw, in 2015, 8,000 Apple employees add hours to the program, and that same year saw the Dyke March splinter reclaim its original, separate route, against city orders. Hes witnessed the Trans March grow from a small group of people to something much more  just dazzling to watch.

Terry Schmitt / San Francisco Chronicle 1978

A digital exhibit from San Franciscos GLBT Historical Society,  Labor of Love , charts the movements early progress and growth here. From Stonewall to the Gay-In to the first parade. By 1975, Harvey Milk was arguing that Gay Freedom Day was due more money  funds equal in proportion to the turn-out of other parades. Three years later, The Chronicle photographed him riding a car at the front of the Pride Parade, leading a fight against an initiative that would bar gay teachers from working. Four months later, he was assassinated.

Through it all, the community argued  about representation, about funding, about respectability or lack thereof.

Amy Sueyoshi, the dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University, is one of the curators alongside Gerard Koskovich and Don Romesburg. She also sits on Prides board of directors. The arguments persist.

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.

I did find the contentions were absolutely exhausting, she says. Legitimate. But exhausting.

Curating the exhibit, learning this was nothing new, helped, though. Theres always been contention. That sort of made the burden less weighty for me. The work of Pride, the labor of Pride, was something our predecessors took on as well. And not lightly.

Gabrielle Lurie / Special to The Chronicle 2016

So what comes next?

I think at the center of most, if not of all, of what Pride does is really putting a premium on visibility, Pride Executive Director Lopez says. We cant write visibility off as something that isnt important anymore. Its clear that there are people in this world that would like those hard fought rights taken away.

We think we need corporations more than they need us, Bieschke says. But the truth is corporations need us way more. ... What we need to do is use our imagination and our bravery to move beyond the corporate model and the policing model that weve relied on and come up with our own things.

If folks could come together, it could be like an old-fashioned lezzie potluck but with thousands and thousands of people, Sueyoshi says. Some kind of free event that could be massive but still friendly and safe and obviously not rooted in the exchange of money or capital or anything like that, but more about just exchanging ideas and love and community.

Gay liberation has always been a rhythmic tide  high, then low, then high, then low again. So has Pride and its parade.

The official 2020 parade has been canceled, but protest parades are planned, on Polk Street in the Tenderloin, near Dolores Park in the Mission.

This is how, in 2020, the parade shifts, once again, to fit the moment.

Ryan Kost is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkost@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @RyanKost
YouTube removed the live webinar Exploring non-homophobic religions stating the content breached community guidelines. The International Federation of Journalists and its affiliate the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia urge YouTube to explain the removal of the live stream.

The Association of Journalists for Diversity (Sejuk) broadcast on June 24 was interrupted after 48 minutes by YouTube after users reported the webinar for breaching community guidelines. YouTube did not specify what section of the community guidelines Sejuk breached.

In response, Sejuk noted there was no reason to stop the live stream and it did not break the law. YouTube restored the vide on June 25 on Sejuks channel.

YouTube has a history of discriminating against the LGBTI community with claims from YouTubers saying the platforms algorithm systematically demonetises LGBTI content. A study by the Sealow research group found YouTube automatically demonetised 33 per cent of videos with LGBTI content in the title. A spokesperson from YouTube rejected claims stating the algorithm discriminated against LGBTI content.

A joint statement signed by Sejuk, AJI, and several other Indonesian human rights organisations said YouTube contravened Indonesias constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech and expression, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The statement said: We demand an explanation from YouTube to know whether the decision to stop the live streaming too fair consideration and referred to Community Guidelines or was there an intervention from other parties.

The IFJ said: YouTubes censorship of Sejuks live stream without explanation is of grave concern. The IFJ calls on YouTube to clarify why Sejuks live stream was removed and review the processes that led to the live streams removal.
John Mahama

26.06.2020 LISTEN

A Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central and a leading member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has hinted that the flag bearer of the party will mention his running mate by the end of June 2020.

Despite being sure of when the running mate will be mentioned, Inusah Fuseini could not mention which section of Ghana the chosen one will be coming from or any clue that could be linked to former President Mahama's running mate.

Mr. Fuseini was speaking in an interview on a Bolgatanga-based radio station (A1Radio) on Thursday, June 25.

When asked if the person is a popular Ghanaian and also well known in the NDC, the Tamale Central MP said, just wait for the person to be mentioned then everyone will see and appreciate the person

He was, however, quick to say that he (Inusah Fuseini) was not in the list, adding, President Mahama is my brother and so he will not select me as his running mate.

The NDC has barely five months to go into a major election, one that the party is leaving no stone unturned to win and yet the flag bearer has no running mate to support his campaign.

For some sympathizers of the NDC in the Bolgatanga Municipality, their flag bearer's inability to mention a running mate to date is worrying, especially when their opponents in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) tease them with the situation on a daily basis.

Some of them who spoke with DAILY GUIDE in response to Inusah Fuseini's hint said they were relieved and would wait for the announcement at the end of June 2020.

Daily Guide
The House voted to recognize Washington, D.C., as a state largely along party lines, 232-180.

Why it matters: The vote marks the first time that either chamber has voted to recognize the District as a state, although the bill is doomed in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said that the bill will not be taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate, Politico reports.

has said that the bill will not be taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate, Politico reports. President Trump has said Republicans would never agree to giving Democrats more seats in Congress.

What they're saying, via Axios' Alayna Treene: Ahead of Fridays vote, Pelosi described the injustice against D.C.s residents: For more than two centuries, the residents of Washington D.C., the District of Columbia, have been denied their right to fully participate in their democracy, Pelosi said during a news conference.

Instead, they have been dealt the injustice of paying taxes, proudly serving in uniform in great numbers and contributing to the economic power of our nation while being denied the full enfranchisement which is their right.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has also been a vocal proponent of the legislation. Lets fight back against the cries that we are too liberal or too black or too many Democrats, she said at a press conference Thursday.

Worth noting: The nation's capital has voted overwhelmingly Democratic in recent years, with Trump picking up around 4% of the vote in 2016. Nearly 86% of D.C. residents supported statehood in the same election.

Go deeper ... Q&A: How Washington, D.C., Would Become a State (WSJ)
COPENHAGEN - Denmarks Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is postponing her wedding next month because of a European Union summit on the future of the blocs budget.

The Council meeting in Brussels takes place on the Saturday in July, where we had planned a wedding. Darn. But I have to take care of my work and take care of Denmarks interests. So, we have to change plans once again, Frederiksen said on her Instagram account.

It is the second time she has rescheduled the ceremony. Last year, Frederiksen postponed it because of national elections on June 5 that led her Social Democrats to form a one-party, minority government.

Frederiksen and her fiance Bo Tengberg met in 2014 and got engaged in 2017, according to Ekstra Bladet.

Frederiksen said she would probably succeed in getting married soon and praised her fiances patience.

After a number of virtual meetings, The EU has scheduled a physical meeting of the European Council July 17-18 to discuss, among other things, a new long-term EU budget.

Denmark is one of four countries that opposes grants, as opposed to loans, under the recovery fund, and also insists on the 2021-27 EU budget not exceeding 1.0% of the blocs gross national income. The four countries  Demark, Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands  have been arguing for a smaller sum after Britains departure from the EU.

They oppose the plan by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who have agreed on a one-off 500 billion-euro ($543 billion) fund to help the EU recover from the coronavirus pandemic, a proposal that would add further cash to an arsenal of financial measures the bloc is readying to cope with the outbreaks economic fallout. That plan would involve the 27-member bloc borrowing money in financial markets to help sectors and regions that are particularly affected by the pandemic.
The late Michelle McNamara, pictured in "I'll Be Gone in the Dark." (Robyn Von Swank / HBO)

Two narratives drive HBOs chilling six-part docuseries, Ill Be Gone in the Dark: the hunt for the Golden State Killer, who allegedly perpetrated at least 13 murders and 50 rapes over two decades, and the personal journey of a true-crime buff who spent the last years of her life immersed in tracking him down.

The docuseries, which premieres Sunday, chronicles the horrific crimes of suspect Joseph James DeAngelo, who was finally arrested in 2018 more than two decades after his last known alleged murder. It does so by following the journey of the late Michelle McNamara, author of the bestselling book on which the series is based. She built her career as a journalist and her True Crime Diaries blog on her lifelong obsession with cracking unsolved cases. McNamaras book was published in 2018, two years after her death at the age of 46.

Co-directed and executive produced by Liz Garbus ("Who Killed Garrett Phillips?," What Happened, Miss Simone?"), the documentary series is in large part the story of the woman who was obsessed with tracking down the serial rapist and killer who had evaded capture since the 1970s.

McNamara did not live to see the arrest of the phantom she refers to in her book as the Golden State Killer, but much of her focus on revisiting cold cases helped reinvigorate interest around his terrifying spree, which he perpetrated up and down the California coast.

Law enforcement had many names for the man who sexually assaulted teens and women in their homes: The Original Night Stalker. The East Area Rapist. The Diamond Knot Killer.

The suspect turned out to be a former police officer who was 72 by the time he was arrested on a warrant stemming from two of the murders. He was identified through DNA evidence.

Patton Oswalt, photographed at his L.A.-area home, is an executive producer of "I'll Be Gone in the Dark." (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)

The six-hour production features footage of McNamaras quest to crack the case, be it her own gumshoe investigation of crime scenes, interviews with victims or poring over reams of police reports night after sleepless night.

Story continues

Also shown is her home life, parenting a young child and interacting with her husband, Patton Oswalt. The actor and comedian is interviewed in the series about his late spouses struggles to balance her home life and her drive to unravel a mystery that had vexed law enforcement for decades.

The hunt takes its toll on McNamara. An autopsy done after she died in her sleep found that she had an undiagnosed heart condition and a mix of prescription drugs including Adderall, Fentanyl and Xanax in her system at the time of her death. But she was determined to give voice to survivors of the crimes committed by a killer she didn't live to see arrested and highlight how theyve coped all these years knowing he was still out there.

McNamaras voice is represented here too, through actor Amy Ryan, who serves as narrator, reading passages from the book throughout each episode: I had a murder habit," she confesses, "and it was bad." Those moments, from a book that was completed posthumously after McNamaras death, are haunting.

Ill Be Gone in the Dark has some pacing issues and can be clumsy in its attempt to move between the various crimes, the investigation and McNamaras impassioned quest. But it does something most true crime productions do not: It offers a form of closure for the women and men whose lives were shattered, or whose loved ones were murdered, by a prolific monster. It includes archival footage and police files, exclusive new interviews with detectives and even family members of the killer.

Their stories are hard to hear, especially the accounts of survivors. One recounts her assault, in her parents' home, when she was just 15. She was alone in the living room, playing the piano, when confronted with a pantless, masked intruder. The horror lasted for hours, but the healing has taken a lifetime. Though heartbreaking, it shines a light on the callous ways rape survivors were considered by law enforcement and their communities, and explores how much has changed since  partly because of these cases.

Closure is one goal throughout "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," and so is fulfilling the dark fascination with a disturbing chapter in American crime and California history. But the docuseries is also a fitting eulogy for McNamara, who didnt live to see justice served but lives on in this dueling narrative of compelling timelines.
A Virginia man was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison after he admitted running a prostitution operation that circulated Asian prostitutes between brothels in several high-end apartments in Cambridge, Atlanta and eastern Virginia.

Yoon Kim, 39, of Haymarket, Virginia, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston Friday. He entered guilty pleas in 2018 to one count of conspiracy to persuade, entice, induce, entice or coerce individuals to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution and one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering.

According to prosecutors, over the course of at least five years Kim and a group of co-conspirators, including his wife, circulated a group of prostitutes through brothels set up in various cities, including several locations in Cambridge, then advertised the services of the women on specialized websites. The operators of the ring took a percentage of the revenues.

The conspiracy also used the U.S. Postal Service and postal money orders to shuffle money in an attempt to launder the proceeds of the prostitution operation.

Kims co-conspirators, Jineok Kim, Susan Bashir and Kyung Song, pleaded guilty and were sentenced earlier. Taehee Kim also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
CAMBRIDGE  The former Preston Springs hotel will remain standing this summer even though it was expected to be demolished this month.

Any decision on the heritage buildings fate has to wait until the provinces Conservation Review Board reviews the citys case to demolish it.

Dennis Purcell, the citys chief building official, said the city is in the process of finalizing a hearing date with the board this fall. The Conservation Review Board is a provincial tribunal that handles heritage disputes. Hearing dates have been delayed due to COVID-19.

The owner continues to monitor the property and provide our bylaw division with monthly updates on the securing of the property, Purcell said in an email to The Record.

In January, Cambridge council was told the building was a threat to public safety. The former tourist hot spot has been vacant for decades and subject to vandalism and trespassing over the years.

Built in the 1880s, Preston Springs hotel took advantage of the natural sulphur springs that bubbled beneath it and attracted wealthy tourists from far and wide to soak in the healing waters.

It is one of the few surviving buildings of its era, prompting heritage advocates to fight to protect portions of the building from demolition.

A motion to remove the bylaw that protects the building for its heritage value was appealed by local heritage advocates earlier this year, sending the matter to the provincial tribunal.

In January, Purcell told council the building has been vacant for nearly 30 years and has deteriorated significantly over that time. From water damage in the basement to rotting ceilings and eroded structural elements, he said the building poses a significant safety risk.

He issued a demolition permit at the time, but the historic building at 102 Fountain St. S. cannot be demolished until the heritage designation is removed.

Several developers have come and go over the years, but it has sat empty ever since. Haastown Holdings currently owns the property. It purchased it in 2012.
NSW Health Minister: Dont Visit Victoria Particularly Melbourne Virus Hotspots

New South Wales residents are strongly advised not to travel to Victoria in response to the increase of COVID-19 cases in six Melbourne suburbs.

Despite only one community transmission case and three other positive cases from returning travellers, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard sees a serious threat of a second wave and is taking action.

This is no time for NSW residents to be complacent or cocky, Hazzard said in a press conference on June 25.

Rather than closing borders and put up walls Hazzard is strongly advising people against travelling to the six Melbourne coronavirus hotspots of Brimbank, Hume, Casey, Moreland, Cardinia, and Darebin.

Related Coverage Victoria Calls in the Australia Army to Help Curb COVID-19 Outbreak

In a stern message, Hazzard said, Dont visit Victoria, dont particularly visit Melbourne hotspots!

He also discouraged Victorians from visiting regional NSW and Sydney.

Additionally, Victorian National Rugby League fans will be turned away from games at NSW stadiums for the next couple of weeks. Staff have been alerted to check driving licenses and turn away Victorians under the directive of state health guidelines.

People coming from Melbourne hotspots should self-quarantine for 14 days.

Anyone who returns from Melbourne hotspots, including NSW residents, should not attend aged care facilities, hospitals, or other settings with vulnerable people, and should avoid gatherings outside of their immediate household for a period of 14 days, NSW Health advised.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told 2GB that businesses and tourist operators had been discouraged from welcoming people from the Melbourne CCP virus hotspots.

Calling Upon Multicultural Community

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard also announced at the press briefing on June 25 that the government will double its efforts to reach non-English speaking residents to ensure they get the message about avoiding travel to Victoria.

We have a multicultural community who contribute incredibly to our nation, and we want to make sure we reach out to them out the best way they can  Hazzard said.

We want our multicultural community to be aware that they should also be sending the message to their family members in Victoria that now is not the right time, he added.

NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service has released a series of notices in various languages in a bid to reach non-English speakers.

A Facebook post reads, Thinking of going to Melbourne? Think again. Keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
Shaquille Marshon Francis (pictured in mugshot) allegedly shot dead a seven-year-old girl on Tuesday

A young North Carolina girl was allegedly shot dead by a man who had been freed from jail just three hours before the killing.

The Forest City Police Department confirmed that seven-year-old Aaliyah Norris died from her wounds after being shot while riding inside a vehicle on Oak Street.

Family members said that Aaliyah had been eating ice cream at the time she was killed.

Officers responded to the incident at the intersection on Tuesday and found two people removing Aaliyah from a car.

Aaliyah had a single gunshot wound to the head.

The young girl was transported to a local hospital where she was listed in critical condition, but ultimately succumbed to her injury one day later.

Forrest City Dunbar Elementary shared a photo of Aaliyah on Thursday and announced her tragic passing.

Aaliyah Norris (pictured), 7, was reportedly riding inside a vehicle and eating ice cream when she was unexpectedly shot dead near Oak Street

'The Forest City - Dunbar family is incredibly saddened at the loss of one of our students Aaliyah Norris. Please keep her family and friends in your prayers,' they wrote.

Authorities discovered the suspect fled the scene in a black SUV, and launched an investigation.

A press release said authorities used tips from community members and additional help from law enforcement partners to eventually charge Shaquille Marshon Francis, 26, in the shooting.

Forest City Police Chief Chris LeRoy told WLOS that Francis was released from jail on unrelated charges just three hours before allegedly shooting Norris.

Arrest records from Rutherford County reportedly show Francis was arrested that day for assault by pointing a gun, before being released.

Aaliyah was rushed to a local hospital where she remained in critical condition before ultimately succumbing to her injuries

LJ Miller: 'Aaliyah Grace Norris was a warrior and she fought and fought but the good LORD call her home today'

Francis was taken into police custody without incident on Wednesday and charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill, discharging a weapon into occupied property inflicting serious bodily injury, and discharging a firearm within the city limits.

Police have since upgraded those charges to murder after Aaliyah died during treatment.

He is being held in the Rutherford County jail in lieu of a $10million secure bond. Its not known if he has an attorney.

It's unclear why Francis allegedly shot into the vehicle, but a relative on Facebook suggested he targeted the wrong vehicle.

'Today my niece Aaliyah Grace Norris was shot and is in critical condition in Spartanburg hospital. This is something that has broke my heart because they shot into the wrong car,' wrote her uncle, LJ miller.

'He shot at the wrong car, it was a car thats was full of kids. Now look a sweet beautiful little girl that done nothing wrong got shot because stupid people with guns.'

Miller also shared a touching tribute to the young girl where he called her a 'warrior.'

Authorities have not revealed what led up to the shooting, but family members have suggested that Aaliyah's (pictured) death was a result of mistaken identity

'Aaliyah Grace Norris was a warrior and she fought and fought but the good LORD call her home today. Big Granny and papa was waiting for her at the gate and the time they are having up there in heaven,' he wrote.

'To Breanna and Teddy I'm sorry this happen but just know that she is in heaven with the lord and watching down on us with others that have pass on.

A family friend shared a heart-wrenching Facebook post that also suggested it was a case of mistaken identity.

'When the words theyre taking my grand baby off of life support come out of your close friends mouth, and you can hear the pain and devastation choking him up. If there was anything in this world I could do to change this for you guys, Id do it without a second thought,' wrote Bethany Mae.

'A case of mistaken identity has cost an innocent child her life.. it has cost a mother her child, a grandfather his princess, a little girl and a little boy their sister.. a father his daughter.. Aunts and uncles their Niece.. a case of mistaken identify has caused a war..

'This baby will never get to sit and gossip with her friends about their crushes, will never have a first kiss, never meet her Prince Charming, never know the soul shaking love of looking into the eyes of her freshly born baby.

'A case of mistaken identity has robbed her of all of the things little girls dream of.'

A GoFundMe was created this week to initially raise money for medical costs, but it has since been changed to include funeral costs.

Francis was arrested earlier in the day for assault by pointing a gun before he allegedly shot dead Aaliyah (pictured)

A family friend is selling 'JusticeForCookie' t-shirts to help Aaliyah's family cover funeral costs

On Thursday evening, family members and people who loved Aaliyah held a balloon release in her honor.

'We just lost a 7-year-old innocent child in our family for no reason,' said Kenneth Woods, one of Aaliyah's relatives, WLOS reports.

'We just want peace in the community, we want safety for the kids,' said relative Mahasia Washburn. 'We dont want to think about stuff like this happening when we all have kids.'

Loved ones knew Aaliyah as a 'Cookie,' a bright and sweet child who unfairly lost her life to gun violence.

A balloon release was held in North Carolina on Thursday in a heart-touching tribute to Aaliyah (pictured)

Family members and loved one called for an end to gun violence in the community at the balloon release on Thursday

'She was greedy and chubby, and she liked cookies,' said Woods. 'She was sweet, adorable, nicest little girl. Everybody that came in contact would love her.'

And now, more than ever, family members are calling for an end to gun violence in the community.

'I just want people to put the guns down, its just senseless acts of violence,' said Alicia McSwain, a family friend.

In addition to the GoFundMe, relatives and friends are selling plates of food on Saturday and Sunday to raise money.

People can purchase #JusticeForCookie t-shirts from family friend Bethany Mae. The proceeds will go towards funeral costs.
Hong Kong: 2 residential sites to be sold

The Government will sell two residential sites by tender in the July-September quarter.

They are in Sai Kung and Tai Po.

Briefing the media today on the Government's land sale programme for the coming quarter, Secretary for Development Michael Wong said the two sites will provide about 160 flats.

Including the MTR Corporations plans to open tenders for LOHAS Park phase 13, which will produce about 2,550 flats, the total estimated number of flats provided in the quarter are 2,710.

The Government will also put up for sale two commercial sites for the same quarter.

They are at the New Central Harbourfront and in Tung Chung. Both sites could yield about 267,000 sq m of gross floor area in total.

Mr Wong said: The site at the New Central Harbourfront can provide about 150,000 sq m of commercial GFA (gross floor area).

The developer will be required to provide a large scale public open space and the landscape that is spanning across the site to enhance pedestrian connectivity to the Central harbourfront.

Mr Wong explained that the Government will adopt a two-envelope approach for this tender, so that both design and price submissions would be taken into account during the tender evaluation.

The Government will continue to increase land supply through a multi-pronged approach to meet the communitys housing, economic and social development needs, he added.

This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
>>> PM inspects preparations for 36th ASEAN Summit

>>> 36th ASEAN Summit to concentrate on addressing COVID-19 crisis: Deputy FM



>>> ASEAN 2020: Member nations discuss important cooperation issues



>>> ASEAN Social-Cultural Community Council convenes 23rd meeting

As the ASEAN Chairman for 2020, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is chairing the opening session, the plenary session, and a special session on women's empowerment in the digital age, as well as dialogues between leaders of the ASEAN countries with the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), representatives of ASEAN youths, and delegates from the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC).

Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who is also the Chairperson of AIPA-41, will deliver her speech on behalf of Vietnam at the special session on womens empowerment in the digital age. She will also join her deputy, NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong, who is the head of the Vietnamese delegation at AIPA, to attend a dialogue between leaders of ASEAN countries and AIPA. Previously, there were preparatory meetings of ministerial-level officials and senior officials of ASEAN's Political-Security, Economic and Social-Cultural Communities.

The 36th ASEAN Summit is an important occasion for Vietnam and ASEAN member countries to continue exchanging initiatives and discussing measures towards building the ASEAN Community, while consolidating solidarity and unity and strengthening mutual assistance, as well as enhancing effectiveness of cooperation, focusing on the implementation of priorities and initiatives in 2020, and enhancing the activeness of ASEAN in the face of current regional and international challenges, including the COVID-19 epidemic.

Promoting the "Cohesive and Responsive" spirit, as assuming the ASEAN Chairmanship 2020, Vietnam has led the bloc to effectively respond to the COVID-19 epidemic, presiding over multiple online conferences, including the ASEAN Special Summit and the ASEAN+3 Special Summit on COVID-19 Response, as well as the ASEAN Foreign Ministers meetings and meetings between ASEAN and its partners (the European Union, USA, Russia, etc...) with positive effects, thus contributing to maintaining ASEAN's momentum on cooperation. These activities create a positive media effect in domestic and international community, demonstrating the active role of the country holding the ASEAN Chair.

As ASEAN Chair in 2020, right from the beginning of its term, Vietnam has been proactively and actively creating consensus and coordinating ASEAN's joint efforts to consolidate solidarity and unity and strengthen cohesion and mutual support, while enhancing ASEAN's cooperation and initiative in the face of the current regional and international challenges, including COVID-19, thus promoting a "Cohesive and Responsive" spirit.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic having spread around the globe as well as through all ASEAN countries, Vietnam has ensured the implementation of its priorities and initiatives for ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020 while actively realising the agreements reached at the recent online conferences on responding to COVID-19, especially the ASEAN Special Summit and the ASEAN+3 Special Summit on COVID-19 Response, in addition to the ASEAN Chairmans Statement on ASEAN Collective Response to the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease, preventing the pandemic from spreading as well as limiting its negative impacts.

In addition to the opening and plenary sessions, special meetings and dialogues will also take place during the 36th ASEAN Summit. In particular, it will feature the special session of the ASEAN leaders on womens empowerment in the digital age, initiated by Vietnam to affirm the ASEAN leaders commitment in promoting gender equality and the role of women in the process of building the ASEAN Community. It also aims to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on promoting the rights of women.

At the dialogue between leaders of the ASEAN countries and the AIPA, the ASEAN leaders and AIPA representatives will seek ways to enhance coordination between the two organisations in building the ASEAN Community towards the people and for the people.

At the dialogue between leaders of ASEAN countries and ASEAN youths, the ASEAN leaders will discuss with representatives of ASEAN youths, nominated by ASEAN member countries, on promoting youth participation in the ASEAN Community building. The youth representatives will submit the ASEAN Youth Declaration to the leaders of ASEAN countries at the dialogue.

At the dialogue between leaders of the ASEAN countries and representatives of the ABAC, the latter will present recommendations of the business community to ASEAN leaders, in order to promote enterprises participation and facilitate trade - investment freedom in the region and the world.

May the 36th ASEAN Summit, chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, will be a great success. With joint efforts and high consensus, the ASEAN leaders are expected to adopt the ASEAN Chair Statement on the outcomes of the 36th ASEAN Summit, a vision statement on ASEANs cohesion and proactive adaptation, and an ASEAN declaration on human resource development for the changing world of work, as well as many other documents. The success of the 36th ASEAN Summit will be an important milestone, creating a strong momentum to contribute positively to a cohesive, flexible and responsive ASEAN.
Press Release

June 26, 2020 Lapid wants public announcements translated to Tagalog, vernacular language Sen. Manuel "Lito" Lapid has filed a bill seeking to mandate government agencies to translate all documents including announcements, advisories, press releases and other information on local and national disasters to Tagalog or the vernacular language. According to Lapid, most, if not all advisories, announcements or issuances regarding impending disasters or calamities are delivered either in English or Tagalog. But for a country like the Philippines where more than 170 languages are spoken, he said the government's aim to keep its constituents well-informed of and prepared for impending disasters fall short of its objective because not all could understand English or Tagalog. He said the enactment into law of Senate Bill No. 1539, otherwise known as the Language Accessibility of Public Information on Disaster Act, would ensure that information relating to impending calamities or emergencies such as those on epidemics, outbreaks, social amelioration program, emergency assistance and other social protection measures of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are converted into an easily understandable form and translated to Tagalog or the appropriate dialect. "Nais nating ang lahat ng impormasyon ukol sa mga kalamidad ay madaling maunawaan, lalo na ng ating mga kababayan sa iba't ibang rehiyon (We want all disaster-related information to be language-accessible and readily-comprehensive, especially to speakers of our regional languages and dialects)," Lapid said. He said the translated information shall be disseminated as widely as possible through all available media and communication channels. Lapid said the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) shall render the necessary technical assistance and expertise to the government agencies and local government units and monitor their compliance to the duties mandated by the Act.
The City Council, having seen a month of widespread protests and having held three public listening sessions about racial bias in policing, had its first chance Thursday to take a stand on the issue.

Instead, it did nothing.

In question was a resolution, drafted this week at the urging of Mayor Ron Nirenberg, that would have established the citys priorities on police discipline and arbitration as it approaches contract negotiations with the officers union next year.

I wanted to strike while the iron was hot, Nirenberg said, explaining his push for the resolution. I wanted to get this council on the record saying we are not again going to accept a union contract that doesnt fix this stuff.

Specifically, the resolution would have established four priorities for changes in officer disciplinary procedures as outlined in the collective bargaining agreement. Among the priorities:

Eliminate the 180-day rule that restricts when the police chief can impose discipline.

Allow the chief to consider an officers past behavior issues in disciplinary considerations.

Permit the city to independently appoint a citizen review board to examine the departments internal affairs investigations.

Grant the police chief or city manager the ability to have the final say over an arbitrators decision during the appeal process.

Its not going to address everything we are going to do, Nirenberg said. We will never get a resolution like that done. But its supposed to be a flag in the ground about what were not going to accept next time.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio activists want to gut police unions power amid George Floyd protests

Council members said the resolution, by and large, was on target. But having received a copy less than 24 hours in advance, they questioned why the document was drafted so quickly without first gathering community input.

They also disputed whether a resolution was the best next step.

Actions speak louder than words, District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino said. What actions are we prepared to take to ensure the safety and requests from our community are thoughtful and genuinely answered?

Trevino, like others, said he would support the resolution. But he hoped the council would move forward with more tangible actions, including a push to reallocate resources from the Police Department budget to fund social services.

He also asked why Nirenberg didnt fast track a request he filed last week to rename a downtown park and take down a statue of Christopher Columbus.

We had an opportunity to take action, to ensure it was removed and returned safely, Trevino said, referencing the damage done to the statue by a vandal the previous night. It would have also answered the request of our community, who have been asking for change and its removal.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio councilman wants Columbus Park renamed, statue removed

Likewise, many of the 30 people who addressed the council Thursday decried the priorities.

I cant believe you put this ordinance on the agenda without getting all of our input, Brielle Insler, a local activist who worked on Trevinos election campaign, told the council. You could have gone ahead and taken down the Columbus statue. But instead, you chose to do this.

Insler asked, If we cant trust you to do the things that are packaged and ready to go, how can we trust you to get the difficult things done?

In the end, Nirenberg conceded that the resolution had been rushed. At the urging of his colleagues, he suggested they reconsider the item during a B session meeting in August, when council meetings are scheduled to resume.

He urged activists and the council not to let the momentum die.

What this resolution was intended to do was to send a message and to identify and put in writing for the whole public to see what our position is on the things that went awry, sideways last time, Nirenberg said.

Ive seen this movie before, he added. And I see how union politics can get its fangs into a City Council to prevent reform from happening. I dont want that to happen this time.

Emilie Eaton is a criminal justice reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Emilie, become a subscriber. eeaton@express-news.net | Twitter: @emilieeaton
It is not unusual to come across headlines about pollution or global warming and find that they reach different conclusions depending upon the data source.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis used a harmonized approach, incorporating data from multiple satellites and ground monitors with computer modeling to compile a comprehensive, consistent map of pollution across the globe.

Their data spans 1998-2018, providing a current picture of the state of the world's air quality that reveals some surprises, both for better and for worse.

The research was led by Melanie Hammer, a postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Randall Martin, professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering.

Results of their study that looked at PM2.5 -; tiny particles that are able to make their way deep into a person's respiratory system -; were published June 3 in Environmental Science & Technology.

"Prior studies that look at long-term PM2.5 haven't used data as recent as we have," Hammer said. Older data can't capture the results of many programs aimed at curbing pollution -; even if they have been in effect for nearly a decade.

That turned out to be the case in China, where a significant drop in pollution in the recent past was the result of strategies begun in earnest around 2011. Other data sets don't capture the drop.

And in India -; another area of concern -; the story was not as positive. "It seems there's a bit of a plateau of PM2.5 levels," Hammer said. Though still, levels are not rising as steeply as other reports may suggest.

PM2.5 refers to the size of particles -; 2.5 microns. These tiny particles are created in nature, but also by human activities, including some manufacturing processes, car exhaust and the use of wood-burning cookstoves.

In people already sick with illness such as asthma, PM2.5 can have immediate health consequences. Long-term, however, breathing in these particles carries consequences for everyone.

PM2.5 is a major public health concern globally. It's important to get accurate exposure estimates to estimate health impacts."

Melanie Hammer, Postdoctoral Researcher, Lab of Randall Martin, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University

That's why organizations, including World Health Organization and Global Burden of Disease, use data from Martin's lab.

It's not easy to measure the amount of PM2.5 on the ground because there isn't any kind of comprehensive monitoring network covering the globe.

North America and Europe have extensive monitoring systems, as does China. But, Martin said, "There are large gaps in ground-based monitoring. People can be living hundreds of kilometers away from monitors."

To develop a comprehensive pollution map, then, ground-based monitors are simply insufficient.

To capture a global snapshot, Martin's team started with satellite images of columns of atmosphere that spanned the ground to the edge of space. Using the established GEOS-Chem model, which simulates atmospheric composition, they could infer how much PM2.5 should be on the ground, at the bottom of any given column.

When comparing the predictions to actual levels measured by ground monitors, the agreement was striking. In fact, Martin said, "It's the best level of agreement found to date."

But the researchers still went a step further.

The agreement was great, but not perfect. So Hammer added the differences between the observed and predicted amounts of PM2.5 and expanded the ground-based predictions across the globe, filling in the massive gaps between monitors.

This extra step brought the observed and predicted levels of PM2.5 from 81% to 90% agreement.

Once they were able to take a good look at the most recent pollution levels around the world, the researchers saw some stark changes from previous trends. Particularly in China.

"We're used to seeing just large, increasing trends in pollution," Hammer said. But in China, "What we found, from 2011 to 2018, is that there actually is a particularly large negative trend."

Elsewhere in Asia, the picture wasn't as positive.

While pollution levels did not seem to be increasing in India, the country seems to be in a plateau phase.

The broad plateau of very high concentrations, to which a large population is exposed, is quite concerning. It affects the health of a billion people." Randall Martin, Professor of Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering

However, the takeaway from this research can be, on the balance, a hopeful one: It seems to show one possible way forward.

"The data Melanie's analysis reveals is a real success story for air quality controls," Martin said. "It shows they can be remarkably effective at reducing PM2.5." Although scientists have known these controls contain the potential to make an impact, he said, "The changes in China are very dramatic, larger than we have seen anywhere in the world over the observational record.

"It illustrates a real opportunity to improve air quality through effective controls."

Pollution, health around the world

In people already sick with illness such as asthma, PM2.5 can have immediate health consequences. Long-term, however, breathing in these particles carries consequences for everyone. "PM2.5 is a major public health concern globally," said Melanie Hammer, postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Randall Martin in the McKelvey School of Engineering. "It's important to get accurate exposure estimates to estimate health impacts." That's why organizations, including World Health Organization and Global Burden of Disease, use data from Martin's lab.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Passengers travelling to or from Italy by air will no longer be able to use the overhead baggage lockers in planes after the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (Enac) decided they were a health risk.

The new rule results from a government decree, prompted by fears of further spreading the novel coronavirus, that specifies travellers may only board with a bag small enough to slide under the seat in front.

The intention is to prevent close contact between passengers and limit movement in aircraft cabins.

Enac said that passengers would not need to pay a supplement to put their suitcases in the hold.

An Italian consumer association, Codacons, welcomed the decision on Friday, saying it would "avoid the chaos" which sometimes occurs in the cabins "when passengers place their luggage in the overhead compartments".

"In this area, the Italians are among the most unruly travellers in Europe, causing delays and queues which today would fuel the risk of contagion," the association said.

Italy was the first country in Europe to be hit by the coronavirus which has so far killed over 34,600 people in the country.

Explore further EU aviation agency tells airlines to disinfect planes

 2020 AFP
North called on to end 'most sorrowful war'



After a sudden hike in tensions, the two Koreas are exchanging reconciliatory actions and words that could provide an opportunity for dialogue. Marking the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-1953 Korean War, President Moon Jae-in all but proffered the North a chance to revive peace talks.



"The first step toward putting an end to the war is not to forget its horrible tragedy," in his address at a ceremony held at Seoul Air Base Thursday. Touting the "long-desired wish" of 80 million Koreans for peace, he called on the North to "boldly embark on an endeavor to end the most sorrowful war in world history."



The President's cautiously couched-words came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called off military confrontation against the South few days before. It was preceded by a series of more direct conciliatory remarks from the ruling bloc. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has proposed pursuing a formal end to the Korean War. Other DPK members have sponsored a motion calling for a formal end to the Korean War.



Thus, following two weeks of "hot" tension after the North's demolition of the inter-Korean liaison office, the two Koreas are at a "cold" point of waiting to see which party moves first. Once again, the burden of initiative seems to fall on the South's shoulders. For if the North had intended to grab world attention by ratcheting up tension, it has succeeded most definitively with the South. Seoul hurriedly dispatched Lee Do-hoon, the special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs to U.S. to meet with his counterpart, Stephen Biegun, the special envoy for North Korea, over the tension spike.



Also North Korea resumed criticism of the South through its state media outlets Friday, while remaining relatively silent against the U.S. The North's Tongil Voice blasted Seoul for not implementing the inter-Korean declaration, "hamstrung by working group meetings with the U.S."



There are tricky hurdles ahead. The United States is maintaining the stance that without the North's denuclearization, there will be no let-up in sanctions or adopting a declaration to formally end the war. The North has loudly complained of the ineffectiveness of talking with the South. Policymakers should be clear about how they will balance these divergent parties to negotiate for peace. Also, domestically, 70 years after the fratricidal Korean War, Koreans desire peace. But the question is just how many more cycles of "hot and cold" interchanges will there be in the future? The North hopefully can find rapport with the President's words: "If we are going to talk about unification, we have to achieve peace first."




On Thursday of June 25, President Trump and First Lady, Melania Trump commemorated the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War which divided the Korean peninsula into two: a communist North and a democratic South with no peace treaty.

President Trump and the First Lady honored the soldiers who sacrificed themselves to preserve democracy by sharing a moment of silence before laying their hands on a wreath at the Korean War Memorial which was dedicated on July 27, 1995, in Washington.

As a military trumpeter played "Taps," President Trump saluted the wreath and the First Lady placed her hand on her heart before greeting Korean War veterans.

Trump didn't make any public remarks but could be overheard sharing words of gratitude to one vet. "Appreciate it. Thank you very much. We'll take good care of all of you," President Trump was heard speaking to the Korean War Veterans.

As President Trump was departing he was seen calling out, "Thank you," to all the veterans.

The Korean War started on June 25 of 1950 and lasted 3 years yielding over 33,000 combat casualties and 5.8 million Americans serving in the war that was fought between North Korea backed by the communist Soviet Union and South Korea backed by the democratic United States.

The Korean war ended without a peace treaty which leaves S. Korea and N. Korea still at war today with the Demilitarized Zone at the 38th parallel diving the two Koreas.
Speaking in parliament during the budget session, Khan said the American forces entered Pakistan and killed bin Laden without informing Islamabad after which everyone started abusing his country.

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday called slain Al-Qaeda chief and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden a shaheed or martyr and said that Islamabad faced "embarrassment" by taking part in America's war on terror.

Speaking in parliament during the budget session, Khan said the American forces entered Pakistan and killed bin Laden without informing Islamabad after which everyone started abusing his country.

"I don't think there's a country which supported the war on terror and had to face embarrassment for it. Pakistan was also openly blamed for US' failure in Afghanistan," Khan said.

"For Pakistanis across the globe, it was an embarrassing moment when the Americans came and killed Osama bin Laden at Abottabad, martyred him. The whole world started abusing us after that. Our ally came inside our country and killed someone without informing us. And, 70,000 Pakistanis died because of US war on terror," he said.

Bin Laden was killed by US Navy Seals in Pakistan's Abbottabad in May, 2011.

Khan's remarks drew criticism from the Opposition. "Osama bin Laden was a terrorist and our prime minister called him a martyr. He was behind massacre of thousands," said Khawaja Asif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

In his address, the prime minister defended his government's response to the coronavirus crisis, saying there has been no confusion or contradiction in official policies since the start of the pandemic.

"They say again and again that there was confusion ... if there was one country whose government did not have confusion, it was ours," Khan was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

People give the example of New Zealand when talking about social distancing, he said, adding that "New Zealand has social distancing already" with a low population density.

"I said from day one we had a dual problem; we had to save the people from corona and hunger, and those dying from poverty," he added, acknowledging that his government had to face "a lot of criticism" at the start and there was pressure to implement a more strict lockdown as was done by India.

Reiterating the "destruction" a sweeping lockdown could cause to a country, Khan said: "India's reports are in front of the world".

The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan crossed 1,92,000-mark, while the toll reached 3,903 on Thursday.

Khan also said that his government has devised a plan to further highlight the Kashmir issue at the world level. Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to drum up international support against India for withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special status on 5 August, 2019 and bifurcating it into two Union territories.

India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 was its internal matter. It also advised Pakistan to accept the reality and stop all anti-India propaganda.
Alison Roman is finding herself under fire yet again after she submitted to an interview about topics related to race and racism with comedian Ziwe Fumudoh.

Ziwe, 28, hosts a popular YouTube and Instagram show called 'Ziwe; A Race-Baiting Series,' and invited Alison on to be her latest guest in an Instagram Live video recorded on Thursday.

But while Alison may have thought the interview would do some damage control following backlash after critical comments she made about Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo, instead it left many viewers cringing, laughing, and shaking their head.

Yikes: Alison Roman is finding herself under fire yet again after she submitted to an interview about topics related to race and racism with comedian Ziwe Fumudoh

On Ziwe's show, the writer and comedian asks direct and pointed questions about race, racism, Black civil rights leaders, Black people and culture, and other related topics  and often elicits responses from her guests that are racist, ignorant, and otherwise questionable.

The tone of her interviews  and the fact that many guests put their foot in their mouths  is no secret.

In fact, before Alison came on as a guest, Ziwe had interviewed controversial social media figure Caroline Calloway, who was widely mocked for the things she said in the interview.

Alison, however, appeared to think she would perform better  though after watching, viewers beg to differ.

Ziwe began the chat by calling Alison 'fascinating' and telling her she wrote 'one of the best apologies in white people apology tours in the past three to six months.'

Alison replied that she had several friends help her with it, not to tell her what to say but to help her to understand 'what I was actually apologizing for.'

Ziwe didn't miss a beat, coming back with a question about whether Alison paid those friends for their emotional labor.

Spotlight: On the show, Ziwe asks direct questions related to race and racism, which often leads guests to say racist, ignorant, or otherwise questionable things

Whoops: Alison talked about being 'canceled' following critical comments she made about Chrissy Teigen and Alison Roman

She then fired off one of the most direct questions of the interview, asking Alison why she hates Asian women.

'I don't hate Asian women, I don't hate anyone,' Alison answered simply  prompting Ziwe to note that Alison appeared to have watched the Caroline Calloway interview and was choosing her words carefully so as not to find herself in the same boat.

Ziwe also asked where Alison was when she realized she was getting canceled.

'I was at home. I was home alone. It was a Friday night. It felt like I had taken drugs, but I hadn't,' she said.

Alison also denied Chrissy's previous claim that she has been set to executive produce a cooking show that Alison sold to a production company.

'That was a challenging comment because it wasn't true but it wasn't the time or place for me to correct that,' she said.

Ziwe then pivoted to Marie Kondo, the other woman Alison infamously criticized in her now-viral interview, asking Alison what 'that nice lady ever [did] to you.'

Baited: Ziwe began the chat by calling Alison 'fascinating' and telling her she wrote 'one of the best apologies in white people apology tours in the past three to six months'

She said: '[Being] a white woman is to be born into a place of very obvious privilege that you might be unaware of until somebody or millions of people point it out to you on the internet'

'She never did anything to me. I feel like an absolute piece of garbage for dragging either of their names,' Alison replied.

Switching focus again, Ziwe asked Alison if she considered herself the 'Christopher Columbus of food influencing,' which Alison denied.

But when she followed up about Alison's recipe for collard greens  a traditional Black southern dish first cooked up in the US by enslaved Africans  Alison had a less direct response.

'What Black person taught you how to cook collard greens and why did you degrade their recipe?' Ziwe asked of the recipe, which includes cashews and lime.

Alison answered in a roundabout way, eventually saying that she simply liked them crunchy and leafy.

When Ziwe asked her what it is like 'to be a gorgeous white woman,' Alison answered: 'That is nice of you to say.'

'I don't know,' she added. 'I've not thought of myself as that, like ever, in my life. I think what it's like to be a white woman is to be born into a place of very obvious privilege that you might be unaware of until somebody or millions of people point it out to you on the internet.'

Friends: Alison also talked about her Black friends, saying she has 'like, four or five Black friends that would pick me up at the airport'

She spoke about her background, which is Irish, German, and Russian, and admitted that she wasn't raised with any specific culture in her family.

'I don't feel ownership of any type of food,' she said.

Alison also talked about her Black friends, saying she has 'like, four or five Black friends that would pick me up at the airport.'

'I know a lot more Black people than that that are friends or friendly... but I mean like actual friends,' she added.

When asked directly what she likes 'qualitatively' about Black people, Alison started to answer about their food when Ziwe stopped her, telling the chef she was 'doing her a favor.'

After quizzing her on Black civil rights leaders  and asking her to simply name five Black people  Ziwe had Alison list the names of five Asian people in one of the more awkward exchanges of the interview.

'Chrissy Teigen  no, just kidding,' Alison said.

'She's not Asian?' Ziwe asked.

Top of her list: When asked to name five Asian woman, she awkwardly named Chrissy Teigen first

'She never did anything to me. I feel like an absolute piece of garbage for dragging either of their names,' she said after being asked about Marie Kondo

'No, she is Asian,' Alison answered, as her face continued to turn bright red.

'This is not hard and I am absolutely f***ing blowing it,' she said as she struggled to name more Asian people. 'I am blowing this for myself.'

She moved on to her time at Bon Apetit, where former editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport recently resigned after a 2004 photo of him in blackface surfaced.

'There were no Black people when I worked there,' Alison admitted.

'I didn't do anything to change that,' she went on. 'I started at a very, very low position and kind of worked my way up and never thought that  I never felt empowered to make any decisions based on hiring or speaking up.

'It was a pretty intense culture of old-school media hierarchy, and I didn't do anything to better the situation for anyone. I think everyone was collectively trying to make a livable wage...'

Finally, she was asked about her own racial costume drama, after a photo of her dresses as 'Chola Amy Winehouse' recently went viral.

'It was a dumb Amy Winehouse costume that I literally put together in 40 seconds and was drunk probably when I did it, and didn't look up the historical accuracy of any tattoos,' she said

'It was a dumb Amy Winehouse costume that I literally put together in 40 seconds and was drunk probably when I did it, and didn't look up the historical accuracy of any tattoos,' she said. 'I can't even  that's like the honest truth and I don't... yeah.'

Finally, Alison spoke about how she is 'decolonizing' her mind and why she came on the show in the first place.

'I think the easiest way to [decolonize your mind] for now is a twofold thing, which is reading a lot of books  that I paid for  and also having conversations with people... participating in a dialogue rather than asking people to teach me something,' she said.

As for allowing herself to be grilled for the show, she told Ziwe: 'I think you're really funny and I love watching you interview people and Ithink one of the best ways to talk about the things that you talk about is to do it very directly, even if its really uncomfortable.

'Hopefully people can see that it's OK to put yourself in a vulnerable position,' she said.

Entertaining: Commenters called out the interview with jokes, noting that Alison's publicist shouldn't have let her do it

Vulnerable or not, commenters during the Live video and on Twitter after the fact have roasted Alison.

'Tell me again why Alison Roman would agree to do this interview? Because she does not come out of it looking great. Or even good, really,' tweeted Stacey Lee Kong.

'Watching Alison Roman struggle to name 5 Asian and 5 Black people on Ziwe's IG Live game me enough serotonin to last the next month,' wrote another Twitter user.

'My soul left my body,' wrote Sylvia Obell.

'How Ziwe gets white people to agree to this is beyond me but I am thankful for her service,' she added. 'Y'all gotta go watch the full thing it's worth every second.
YEREVAN, JUNE 26, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian hosted Ambassadors of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy and Lithuania to Armenia, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The meeting was also attended by Armenias deputy foreign minister Avet Adonts.

The Armenian President in particular touched upon the situation with the novel coronavirus, speaking about several challenges, including the economic difficulties, the food safety issue, the recent events in the Republic, as well as the Constitutional reforms. He also answered the questions of the guests about these matters.

Speaking about the Constitutional reforms, the President said: The Constitution should be balanced based on the mechanisms of restraint and counterbalance. I am happy that the government has already started the works on this direction. I support the implementation of Constitutional reforms, he said.

President Sarkissian also thanked the international partners for assisting Armenia in this difficult period. He highlighted the importance of mutual support, joint work and efforts. If we do not work jointly, we will limit our achievements, the Armenian President said. Thank you for our friendship.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Representative image. (REUTERS)

1993 Mumbai serial blasts case convict Yusuf Memon has died at Nashik Road prison in Maharashtra.

A jail official told news agency PTI that the cause of death is yet to be ascertained, and that the body would be sent to Dhule for autopsy.

Yusuf Memon is the brother of Tiger Memon, an accused in the case who is still absconding.

Nashik police commissioner Vishwas Nangre-Patil confirmed Memon's death.

While Tiger Memon was allegedly the mastermind of the blasts conspiracy alongwith fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, Yusuf was accused of allowing his flat and garage at Al-Husseini building in Mumbai for terrorist activities.

A special TADA court had sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Yakub Memon, another Memon brother who was arrested in

the case, was hanged in 2015.

At least 250 persons were killed and hundreds were injured when 12 blasts ripped through Mumbai on March 12, 1993.

With inputs from PTI
India reports 3,33,533 new COVID cases in last 24 hours, recovery rate at 93.18 per cent

Gargling salt water may 'reduce early Covid-19 symptoms'; Scientists set to test its effectiveness

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, June 26: A new study suggested that gargling saltwater could help reduce coronavirus early symptoms. A team of Scientists at the University of Edinburgh previously discovered that using saline solutions noticeably reduced common colds by two or more days.

The new study builds on a trial published in 2019, which found participants who gargled and cleared their nose with a saltwater solution had fewer coughs and less congestion.

Loss of smell, taste symptoms can help quarantining potential COVID-19 patients: Study

Delhi CM cautions Covid patients, says oxygen drops suddenly in some cases | Oneindia News

However, the researchers will now investigate whether gargling with salt water can benefit those with COVID-19 symptoms and are recruiting adults in Scotland to take part in trials.

According to Professor Aziz Sheikh, director of the university's Usher Institute,"We are now moving to trial our saltwater intervention in those with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, and hope it will prove to be a useful measure to reduce the impact and spread of the infection. It only requires salt, water and some understanding of procedure so should - if found to be effective - be easy and inexpensive to implement widely."

Knowing how to treat Covid-19 is still a grey area for doctors, with people with mild symptoms advised to stick to paracetamol and ibuprofen.

Two antivirals have been approved for NHS use on critically-ill patients, the steroid dexamethasone, and an anti-Ebola drug remdesivir - but neither are silver bullets.

The idea for the study came from ongoing research into upper respiratory infections - which commonly cause coughs and colds.

People with those illnesses were found to benefit from gargling regularly with salt water in a trial dubbed ELVIS (Edinburgh and Lothians Viral Intervention Study).

Results from the ELVIS trial, published last year, found people who gargled saline had less severe coughs, less congestion and colds that lasted two days less, on average.

They were also less likely to pass on the cold to family members, or to resort to taking medicines from a pharmacy, compared to people who did not gargle.
An off-duty Toronto police officer's "razor-thin" claim to self-defence evaporated when he struck a badly injured and retreating Black teen in the head with a metal pipe, an Ontario judge said Friday in convicting him of assault.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dafonte Miller arrives for his testimony at the Durham Region Courthouse in Oshawa, Ont., Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. A Toronto police officer and his brother who are accused of brutally beating a young Black man more than three years ago are expected to learn their fate today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

An off-duty Toronto police officer's "razor-thin" claim to self-defence evaporated when he struck a badly injured and retreating Black teen in the head with a metal pipe, an Ontario judge said Friday in convicting him of assault.

Const. Michael Theriault was cleared, however, of the more serious charge of aggravated assault in the 2016 beating that left Dafonte Miller, then 19, with a ruptured eye and other serious injuries.

Demonstrators react as the judge reads the ruling in the case of Const. Michael Theriault and his brother Christian in the beating of Dafonte Miller outside court in Oshawa, Ont., Friday, June 26, 2020. A Toronto police officer and his brother who are accused of brutally beating a young Black man more than three years ago are expected to learn their fate today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Ontario Superior Court Justice Joseph Di Luca said that while Miller's eye injury met the threshold for aggravated assault, he could not rule out the possibility that Theriault and his brother Christian were acting in self-defence as they delivered the blows that caused it  though he acknowledged they "probably" weren't.

However, the self-defence argument vanished when the off-duty officer armed himself with a roughly metre-long metal pipe and attacked Miller, who had slipped away from the two men and was trying to get help from a nearby home, the judge said.

Christian Theriault was no longer involved in the fight at that point and thus must be acquitted, Di Luca said.

Both brothers were also acquitted on obstruction of justice for how they described the incident to investigators. They had pleaded not guilty on all counts.

The verdict, delivered amid ongoing protests against systemic racism and calls to defund the police, sparked outrage among many who called it further proof of discrimination in law enforcement and the justice system.

Miller, who was arrested as he lay bleeding on the ground and only saw the charges against him dropped months later, said the ruling does not feel like a loss.

"I remember the night it happened to me and I ended up getting charged. Now we're in the situation where an officer has been held accountable to some extent," Miller, now 22, told a news conference Friday afternoon.

"There's a lot of people in my position who don't get the same backing I got and don't get to have their day to have any vindication for what they're going through."

Miller's lawyer, Julian Falconer, said "important progress" had been made in the ongoing battle to hold authorities accountable.

"The force used that night by the Theriault brothers was found to have been more than likely intended to exact vigilante justice," he said in a statement.

"The events of that night raise questions about the entire approach of the Toronto Police Service and the Durham (Regional) Police service in attempting to shield the Theriault brothers from being held to account for their actions. We have to put an end to this type of brutality and inevitable cover up."

The case has spurred protests by members of Black Lives Matter and other anti-racism activists, and a rally was held outside the Oshawa, Ont., courthouse Friday morning, although the hearing was held over videoconference from various locations.

Friday's hearing drew significant public attention, with thousands of viewers observing the livestream at various times. An online fundraiser for Miller's family received more than $35,000 on Friday, nearly doubling in total.

In reading his decision Friday, Di Luca said he was mindful of the social context surrounding the case.

The case, and others like it, "raise significant issues involving race and policing that should be further examined," Di Luca said.

But the judge said his task was not to conduct a public inquiry on race and policing, or to deliver the verdict sought by the public  it was to determine the case based on the evidence.

Prosecutors had alleged the brothers chased Miller in the early hours of Dec. 28, 2016, cornering him between two homes in Whitby, Ont., and beating him with a pipe out of a desire to mete out street justice.

Defence lawyers argued the brothers caught Miller and his friends breaking into the Theriault family truck and sought to arrest him, then found themselves fighting for their lives as Miller turned on them and attacked with a pipe.

Miller testified last fall, and denied stealing from cars that night. He told the court he had no chance to fight back against the attack.

Michael Theriault, who testified last, admitted to hitting Miller but said he only did so with his fists. Christian Theriault did not take the stand.

Di Luca flagged credibility issues with multiple witnesses, including the Theriault brothers and Miller, whom the defence accused of perjury.

As a result, the judge said he could not conclusively determine certain facts of the case, including where the metal pipe came from or who first wielded it.

He found Miller and his friends were, in fact, stealing items from cars, and that Michael Theriault's initial intent was "likely not to arrest Mr. Miller, but rather to capture him and assault him."

It's possible Theriault also sought to arrest Miller, but at no point during the chase or ensuing fight did he identify himself as a police officer or mention an arrest, which the judge deemed "inconceivable."

Theriault bodychecked Miller against a fence as the young man was trying to escape, the judge said.

It's possible Miller grabbed a nearby pole from the yard to defend himself, Di Luca said, though it's also possible one of the brothers did or that they had brought the pipe with them.

"Even assuming that the pipe was first introduced by Mr. Miller, it was quickly removed from him and the incident became one-sided, with Mr. Miller essentially being beaten by Michael and Christian Theriault," he said.

Ideally, the pair would have stopped hitting Miller once he was disarmed, but self-defence does not require "clinical precision," he said.

"To be clear, I am simply left with reasonable doubt on this issue. The defendants were probably not acting in self-defence at this stage, and by the end of this portion of the incident, the self-defence justification would have been razor-thin," he said.

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Di Luca said he rejected Michael Theriault's testimony that he never hit Miller with the pipe, noting there was a gouge in the glass of the door the young man had been pounding on in his efforts to seek help.

One end of the pipe also had Miller's blood on it, and even if Miller held the pipe at first, he was not bleeding until later in the fight, the judge said. A trail of blood marked Miller's path from the area where his eye burst to the door and then the driveway, he said.

The judge said Theriault hit Miller a few more times with the pipe afterwards, as described by a neighbour during trial.

Di Luca said he was also "troubled" by Christian Theriault's comment, heard on one of the 911 calls, that Miller and his friends had chosen the wrong car to break in to, saying it suggested that "deserved retribution" had been delivered.

The decision was initially scheduled for April, but was postponed in light of public health measures that dramatically reduced court operations. The matter is due back in court July 15 to discuss dates for a sentencing hearing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 26, 2020.
Mumbai, June 26 : Bollywoods action star Tiger Shroff has paid a heartfelt tribute to late king of pop Michael Jackson in a throwback post he has shared on social media.

Tiger shared a clip dancing on his "Munna Micheal" numbers such as "Feel the rhythm" and "Beparwah" on Jackson's eleventh death anniversary on Thursday.

"Couldnt see a thing in front of me with all that smoke, never knew how the king did it so effortlessly thank you for leaving the blueprint for so many of us. #1959-2009 #ripking @michaeljackson," he wrote alongside the video.

In the clip, Tiger, an ardent fan of Jackson, can be seen dressed in an all white ensemble and doing some iconic steps of the late legend.

Tiger recently thanked the paparazzi for clicking his shirtless pictures, quipping he was running "out of insta material".

"Papp ninjas got me good... thanks for this one guys ran out of insta material," he wrote along with the picture, in which he is standing on his balcony.

Tiger was last seen on screen in "Baaghi 3" directed by Ahmed Khan. The third installment of the "Baaghi" franchise opened to good collections before being discontinued owing to the lockdown.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Sweden's top virus expert has said the 'world went mad' with coronavirus lockdowns which 'fly in the face of what is known about handling virus pandemics'.

Anders Tegnell, who advised Sweden to avoid full lockdown in favour of a 'herd immunity' strategy, said world leaders caved to political pressure amid panic - and that the crippling economic downsides of lockdown will far outweigh the benefits.

Sweden has confirmed 68,390 cases of coronavirus and 5,230 deaths - far above its Nordic neighbours, but its economy is intact and actually posted slight growth in the first quarter of this year.

Tegnell also hit out at the WHO after it placed Sweden on a list of 11 countries seeing a 'dangerous resurgence' in the virus, saying it had 'totally misinterpreted' the data.

He said a 'surge' in cases over the last week is actually the result of more testing, meaning mild cases that previously went undetected are now being counted.

Southern US states, Brazil and India are also seeing soaring case numbers currently - which leaders in those countries have also blamed on increased testing.

Tegnell pointed to a steady fall in deaths, hospital admissions and ICU admissions as evidence that Sweden's outbreak is actually retreating, not getting worse.

Sweden has seen seen its daily coronavirus case totals spike in recent weeks, leading the WHO to warn it is seeing a 'resurgence' of the disease

But the country's virus expert Anders Tegnell said the WHO had 'totally misinterpreted' the data, saying the 'spike' is down to improved testing and pointing to falling deaths as evidence

Deaths vs death rate per million: This graph shows the total number of coronavirus deaths in the country along the vertical axis, with the USA at the top, versus the number of deaths per million along the bottom axis, with Belgium the worst-hit and Sweden in fifth

Sweden has come under fire for its strategy because it has one of the highest death rates per million anywhere in the world, though is still behind Belgium, the UK, Spain and Italy - all of which went into full lockdown

These are the 11 European countries that the WHO warns are experiencing a 'resurgence', with Sweden recording the second-highest case total today

It comes after WHO Europe director Hans Henri Kluge warned in a press conference on Thursday of 11 European countries were at risk of seeing their healthcare systems overwhelmed by a surge in infections.

WHO's list of 11 European countries seeing a 'resurgence' Armenia Moldova North Macedonia Azerbaijan Kazakhstan Albania Bosnia-Herzegovina Kyrgyzstan Ukraine Kosovo Sweden Advertisement

The WHO later revealed Sweden was on that list, alongside Armenia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Kosovo.

Tegnell said: 'It's a total misunderstanding, I would say.

'They have looked at the number of cases per day and it has increased steeply over the past week.

'This is entirely due to extended testing and that we find more mild cases. We see no evidence at all that our epidemic in Sweden is getting worse - on the contrary.

'It is unfortunate that people are confusing Sweden with countries that have not previously had problems, which are obviously in the beginning. Sweden is nearing the end.'

Asked why the WHO had misinterpreted the data, Tegnell said no official had been in contact with Swedish authorities - meaning they missed the nuances.

He added that being included on the list could cause problems for Sweden, especially as countries decide where to allow their citizens to travel after their lockdowns end.

This is not the first time Tegnell has been forced to defend his lockdown-free strategy, which has caused unrest at home.

Polls show that Swedes are rapidly losing faith in the government's strategy, with confidence in politicians and the public health body collapsing.

In a survey this week, just 38 per cent said they approved of the government's actions during the pandemic, versus 50 per cent in May.

A particular cause for concern is the high number of deaths in Sweden, particularly in care homes which have been hard hit.

In terms of deaths per million people, Sweden is one of the worst-affected countries in the world.

Tegnell (left) said Hans Henri Kluge, the WHO's Europe chief, 'got it wrong' because he had not spoken to anyone in Sweden before making his announcement

Globally, coronavirus cases have been soaring - with more than 180,000 reported today. But deaths have remained largely flat. That has led to claims that the pandemic is easing, and increased testing is behind the apparent surge

Having once topped the board, it now sits in fifth place - behind Belgium, Britain, Spain and Italy, all of which did go into full lockdown.

Tegnell has since agreed that he underestimated how deadly the disease would be initially, and said last month that he would now have used harsher measures.

But he has continued to insist that full lockdowns do more harm than good.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned last week that the world is entering a 'dangerous new phase' of coronavirus, as global cases topped 150,000 in a single day.

Since then they have risen further, and are now routinely above 180,000 per day.

The spike comes as many countries, including those in Europe and the US, ease out of lockdowns which kept case-counts low.

While critics have pointed to a loosening of the rules for the rise in cases, others - including US President Donald Trump - say improved testing is actually the cause.

Like Tegnell, they have pointed to the fact that deaths are continuing to fall even as cases rise as evidence.

However, the picture is further complicated by the fact that deaths often lag behind a rise in cases - taking two to three weeks to show in the data.

Many countries have only recently exited lockdowns, meaning a spike in deaths - if it is coming - is several weeks away.

Tegnell was the man behind Sweden's decision not to go into lockdown, in favour of social distancing and a 'herd immunity' strategy

Are doctors getting better at treating Covid-19? Britain's coronavirus death rate in hospitals has FALLEN to a quarter of level it was during peak of the crisis

The risk of dying from coronavirus after being hospitalised has plummeted since the peak of the outbreak, suggesting doctors are getting better at treating it.

Analysis by Oxford University shows that 6 per cent of people admitted to hospitals in England with the virus died at the beginning of April.

But the figures show by June 15, just 1.5 per cent of Covid-19 patients were dying of the disease - a quarter of the level at the peak of the crisis.

Oxford statisticians can't pin down exactly why survival rates have fallen so much - but they believe doctors may be becoming better at treating the virus.

Analysis by Oxford University shows that 6 per cent of people admitted to hospitals in England with the virus died at the beginning of April. But the figures show that by June 15, just 1.5 per cent of Covid-19 patients were falling victim to the disease - a quarter of the level at the peak

In April there was no approved medicine to treat Covid-19, a disease still shrouded in mystery after jumping from animals to humans at the end of 2019.

But now the NHS now has two drugs at its disposal to treat critically-ill patients - the Ebola medicine remdesivir and anti-inflammatory steroid dexamethasone.

Dexamethasone, a 5 steroid that has existed for decades, was the first drug proven to reduce the death rate among hospitalised patients needing oxygen.

The evidence around remdesivir is more mixed but studies have shown it helps the most critically ill people who need ventilation.

There is probably also be fewer people catching the coronavirus in hospital than at the peak of the crisis, which may have contributed to the fall in death rates.

Hospital patients are inherently more likely to be already unwell or elderly and so are more likely to die if they do catch it.

Of 10,387 people in hospital in England with Covid-19 on April 2, 644 died, giving a death rate of 6 per cent.

On June 15, 50 out of 3,270 hospital patients fell victim to the disease, which works out at roughly 1.5 per cent.

The researchers considered whether those being admitted to hospital were younger, and so more likely to survive.

But the data showed there are actually now more deaths over the age of 60 than at the peak in early April.

Jason Oke, from the University of Oxford, was one of the statisticians behind the UK analysis.

He told The Times that he was initially uneasy about releasing the analysis, adding: 'We sat on it. We had a good discussion about it to try and work out all the different ways we could be wrong.

'Then we thought we should put it out there  it's what we've observed. The caveat is, we don't really understand why this is happening. But it's happening.'

King's College London 's COVID Symptom Tracker app estimates that just 2,341 Britons are being struck down with the coronavirus every day. Last week they used this data to estimate that there were 3,612 people catching the virus every day in Britain and roughly 4,942 people the week before that. The figure was higher than 11,000 per day a month ago

Other hard-hit countries, including the US and Italy are seeing similar trends in their death rates.

Dr Oke admitted the newly-approved drugs may be partly behind the fall, but he said there would be other factors at play.

He warned a less optimistic explanation may be that a large number of mild to moderately ill patients were turned away from hospitals in April.

He said: 'Maybe early on the pandemic, when we thought we would be overrun, we took only the severest cases.'

If only the sickest patients - who are more likely to die from Covid - were being treated, then this could skew the death rate upwards, even if there was no difference in the actual survival rate.
Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, October 23, 2019. Erin Scott | Reuters

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday said the company will change its policies to prohibit hate speech in its advertisements. Under its new policies, Facebook will ban ads that claim people from a specific race, ethnicity, nationality, caste, gender, sexual orientation or immigration origin are a threat to the physical safety or health of anyone else, Zuckerberg said. "I am committed to making sure Facebook remains a place where people can use their voice to discuss important issues," Zuckerberg said. "But I also stand against hate or anything that incites violence or suppresses voting, and we're committed to removing that content too, no matter where it comes from."

Additionally, Zuckerberg said Facebook will do more to protect immigrants, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers from ads that suggest they are inferior to other groups of people or from ads that express contempt, dismissal or disgust directed at them. Zuckerberg's comments come after nearly 100 brands announced that they would pull their advertising from Facebook for the month of July or longer as part a movement called #StopHateForProfit. That movement protests "Facebook's repeated failure to meaningfully address the vast proliferation of hate on its platforms." Zuckerberg did not directly address the boycotts on Friday. The boycotting advertisers include big spenders like Unilever and Verizon, along with smaller companies like Patagonia, REI, Lending Club and The North Face, according to a running list from Sleeping Giants. The group of organizations behind the #StopHateForProfit movement includes the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color of Change, Free Press and Common Sense. Facebook's stock closed down 8.3% on Friday. Additionally, Zuckerberg on Friday announced that Facebook will now label content that it decides to leave up because it is deemed newsworthy and valuable to the public interest, even if it otherwise violates the company's policies. Facebook users who try to share that content will see a prompt letting them know that the content they're sharing may violate the company's policies. Twitter has had a similar policy of leaving up tweets it deems newsworthy, especially tweets from world leaders. Those tweets are labeled accordingly. "Often, seeing speech from politicians is in the public interest, and in the same way that news outlets will report what a politician says, we think people should generally be able to see it for themselves on our platforms," Zuckerberg said in a post.
The COVID-19 shutdown left fledgling restaurants stuck in the starting gates like anxious racehorses. Now that its partly over, at least for the time being, a number of new places have been unleashed on the local dining scene. Every week, it seems, theres somewhere new to try.

One of the more unusual new spots is Green Gene Vegan Cafe, a small eatery that opened recently across from UNM. Owner Colin Forde, a cosmetic dentist, drew inspiration for the restaurant from his travels around the world as a missionary and his conversion to veganism.

Green Genes is at the north end of the Brick Light District, a complex of restaurants, retail and apartments that straddles Harvard SE between Central and Silver. The district represents a compelling idea: Bring in local businesses and a population base to patronize them. Sadly, its not immune to the economic vagaries of these times. In the location that Green Gene occupies, Juan More Taco and Rollie Rollie sushi have come and gone in just the past couple of years. On the side of Harvard opposite Green Gene, the long facades of the collectibles shop Louies Rock-N-Reels and Winning Coffee lie vacant.

Set behind a broad stretch of sidewalk and a sunbaked patio, Green Gene is somewhat buffered from the foot traffic along Central. The walls of the narrow space inside are painted avocado green, and vegan products line the shelves behind the register. Two people staffed the place during a recent weekday lunch hour, serving a steady trickle of customers who arrived to pick up takeout.

The restaurant is now operating in a kind of hybrid takeout and dine-in mode. Theres a walk-up window by the register where you can pick up your food without entering the place. Otherwise, you order at the register and wait at one of the few tables inside. When your foods ready, you pick it up at the counter. Its served in takeout containers with plastic cutlery.

There are two menus. One offers rice bowls with vegan versions of Chinese restaurant standards, such as Buddhas delight, for $9.88 each. The other presents vegan versions of traditional diner dishes, such as burgers and chili. That means no meat, no eggs and no dairy.

Green Gene proves that vegan dining need not mean sacrificing taste and texture. Exhibit A is its macaroni and cheese ($9), made with cavatappi pasta, a corkscrew variety with ridges that help it cling to the sauce  in this case, a creamy, pale-brown vegan cheese sauce made with coconut milk. That sauce, while not as sharp as the nonvegan cheddar-based version, was amply seasoned, the pasta perfectly cooked. Three florets of broccoli, steamed but still crisp, topped the presentation.

Among the meatier options on the menu are hamburgers, a Chicago-style hot dog and an Italian-style sausage sandwich. The Beyond Meat Gene Burger ($14 with fries) features the meat substitute that is everywhere these days. Although it doesnt have the caramelization or juice of a good beef burger, the Beyond Meat patty has a remarkable resemblance to the color and coarse texture of ground beef. The thick, meatless patty makes its presence known in the Gene Burger, complementing the pretzel bun, lettuce, tomato and vegan cheese. The thick-cut russet french fries were well prepared, with a thin, crisp membrane around a piping-hot, fluffy center.

The vegan menu finds its ultimate realization in Trinidad Doubles (three for $10.50), Green Genes version of a popular street food in Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean island nation just off Venezuela. The dish, made up of curried chickpeas spread over slightly spiced fried dough rounds called baras, purportedly got its name when people kept asking for two baras to make a sandwich around the chickpea spread.

The baras have a lightness to them, like an airy pancake, that plays well against the meaty chickpeas. The dish looks and tastes like Indian food  not surprising, considering that thousands of Indians migrated to Trinidad and Tobago to take low-paying jobs in the decades after the United Kingdom abolished slavery in 1807.

The Doubles are served with your choice of hot pepper sauce, tamarind sauce or mango chutney. The hot pepper sauce was absolutely molten, the chutney only slightly less so.

Green Genes limited beverage selection includes decaf-only boba tea and coffee. I had a cup of Bills World Famous Lemonade ($5), a made-to-order version that is more sour than sweet. Desserts are limited to a selection of Van Rixel Bros. sorbets. Keep in mind that Rude Boy Cookies is only a short walk away.

Green Gene Cafe provides a boost to Albuquerques vegan dining scene and another reason to visit the Brick Light District.

GREEN GENE VEGAN CAFE

3 stars

LOCATION: 2300 Central SE, 933-0435, greengenevegancafe.com

HOURS: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday; closed Saturday

NO ALCOHOL
This event just helped me close a $14 million deal.

This elite, 3-day business bootcamp will be held at the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort in Aventura, Florida on July 17-19. Grant Cardone teaches strategies for scaling a company, filling the pipeline with sales qualified leads, finding and hiring a talented team, training that team to produce, and closing big deals with dream clients. The 10X Business Bootcamp is designed to guide aspiring millionaires and billionaires in building strong marketing and sales plans for their businesses, and how to execute on these plans.

Attendees travel from around the world to invest three days in learning from Grant Cardone and his team, taking their business and life to heights theyve only ever dreamed of. 2019 attendee, Roberta Ingletto said, This event just helped me close a $14 million deal. Eric Cline, another 10X student, said Since I started working with Grant, my business has increased by 84%.

Youll know if the 10X Business Bootcamp is for you if

1. Youre not hitting the sales numbers you need

2. Youve hit a wall in your growth

3. Youre not making the money you want to be making

4. You dont have a clear sales, marketing, or business strategy

5. Your team isnt producing

6. Your team is not motivated to make money

7. You dont know how to scale your business

8. You have questions

9. You want more out of your business and life

10. You want to expand your network of high-earning individuals

Daymond John endorses Grant Cardone as a man who will help you build a sales machine, and Russell Brunson calls Grant Cardone a monster social media marketer. Time with Grant Cardone has transformed thousands of businesses and changed millions of lives. Miss this event, and risk not changing yours.
Anuja Susan Varghese By

Express News Service

KOCHI: In a heartwarming gesture amid the coronavirus gloom, an emotional appeal made online by a daughter beseeching financial help for her mothers liver transplant opened a flood of assistance. Thanks to the donations which poured in from all quarters, 46-year-old Kannur native Radha underwent a lifesaving surgery at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) in Kochi on Thursday. Where `2 lakh was sought, compassionate souls in Kerala collectively donated over Rs 50 lakh. And the daughter donated a part of her liver to save her mother.

The appeal made by 22-year-old Varsha  a final year degree student  had gone viral on social media on Wednesday. The response was immediate. In the matter of a day, assistance flooded her mothers bank account. Having arrived in Kochi with her ailing mother around ten days back with just Rs 10,000 in hand, Varsha was numb with shock when doctors told her that a liver transplant, costing Rs 3 lakh, was required urgently to save her mothers life.

With no father, siblings or family to turn to, the desperate youngster ran from pillar to post to put together Rs 1 lakh. With no other option in front of her, an anguished Varsha approached Sajan Kechery, a Thrissur-based social activist who helped her prepare the online appeal.

Im all alone and we have no one to help in our family. I came here with just Rs 10,000, and the doctors say it requires Rs 3 lakh for her liver transplant. Ive put together Rs 1 lakh, but Ive no means to gather the rest, says Varsha in the video. Radha was referred to AIMS from a hospital in Kannur.

She was suffering from hepatitis and the condition of her liver worsened. She has been in coma for the past three days and surgery was the only solution. The surgeries of both mother and daughter went well, said Dr S Sudhindran, head of transplant surgery at AIMS.

Surgeries of both mother and daughter went well.

Dr Sudhindran said the next two days are crucial for the patient. Usually, not many complications happen and the patient recovers quickly. Since she went into a coma, the next two days are critical. Hopefully, shell get better, said Dr Sudhindran who led the team of doctors alongside transplant surgeon Dr Dhinesh Balakrishnan.
Two Terrorists Killed, 5 Members of Pakistan-Based Terror Group Lashkar-e-Taiba Arrested in Kashmir

Sputnik News

05:32 GMT 25.06.2020

New Delhi (Sputnik): Indian security forces have been engaged in major counter-terror operations in the Kashmir Valley since April of this year. Security forces have eliminated more than 110 terrorists so far, with intelligence services claiming that infiltration attempts from the Pakistani border may witness a sharp increase this summer.

Police in Jammu and Kashmir along with the security forces have killed two terrorists in the Sopore area of Kashmir's Baramulla district. The encounter broke out during the wee hours of Thursday.

The police have yet to determine what group the two terrorists belonged to. Two to three terrorists are believed to still be trapped, and a search operation at the scene is still underway.

"We had specific information about the presence of terrorists in Sopore. A joint party search was launched and as the security personnel moved near the suspected spot, the hiding terrorists fired upon security forces leading to an encounter in the area", a senior police official in Jammu and Kashmir said.

Authorities have suspended mobile internet services in Sopore as a precautionary measure to prevent anything untoward from happening.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir police along with the security forces have also busted a terror module of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and arrested five terrorist associates from Budgam, the officials said.

According to the police, the accused have been identified as Ifshan Ahmad Ganie, Imran Rashid, Mohsin Qadir, Abid Rather, and Owais Ahmad.

"The five were arrested during a search operation. We have recovered heavy arms and ammunition from their possession. An initial investigation has revealed that the group provided logistic support and shelter to active LeT terrorists and had been active in the area for the last few months", a senior police official said.

He further said a case under relevant sections of Indian law has been registered and an investigation is underway.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is one of the largest and most active Islamist militant organisations in South Asia. The group reportedly operates a number of terrorist training camps in Pakistani-administered Kashmir and is banned by the United Nations. As per official data, around 120 terrorists have been killed in operations in the valley since 1 January.

 Sputnik

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When your military career comes to a close, you are often faced with a tough decision. Military retirees can essentially move to any state in the nation, allowing them to set up their post-military life. Deciding where to go is a challenge for many, especially since every state offers something different. If you are trying to figure out the best states for military retirees and whether one, in particular, is right for you, heres what you need to know.

Understanding Military Retirement

Military retirement isnt always the same as a traditional retirement. Active duty personnel can be eligible after 20 years of service. Suggesting that a person signed up for the military at age 18, they could qualify for retirement when they are 38 years old.

That means many military retirees arent necessarily leaving the workforce. When they decide where to retire, they usually factor in job prospects, as many will continue working full-time, potentially for the next two to three decades.

However, you arent required to retire from the military after 20 years of service. A person could remain in the military until they reach the mandatory retirement age of 62, in most cases, creating an opportunity for over 40 years of service.

There can also be other forms of military retirement to consider, as well. For example, a person may end up medically retired before the 20-year mark. Depending on the reason for the retirement, whether they choose to pursue additional work opportunities after separating from service could vary.

Choosing Where to Head After Retiring from the Military

Which states are best for military retirees isnt universal. Each of the situations above could lead to different needs, altering where they may be best off.

Additionally, there are also other factors to consider. Some retirees would rather be near friends and family or in a particular region. If this preference is important, it needs to be part of the decision-making process.

Ultimately, military retirees need to examine the pros and cons of different options. That way, they can choose a destination that will serve them well for the years, if not decades, to come.

3 of the Best States for Military Retirees

1. Virginia

One of the biggest reasons to choose Virginia is for federal jobs and defense-related contractor positions. With its proximity to Washington DC and numerous government and military installations, opportunities in those arenas are plentiful.

Additionally, the climate is relatively mild, and housing in certain cities is decently affordable. Theres also access to military bases for medical care as well as VA hospitals in many metro areas.

Its important to note that Virginia does fully tax military retirement pay. However, if youre looking for a state with exceptional job opportunities for those with military and defense experience, its worth keeping on the table. Plus, sales tax in Virginia is relatively low, helping to offset the presence of an income tax.

2. Florida

If you dont want to pay state income tax on your military retirement pay, Florida is a great option. The state doesnt have its own income tax, allowing you to keep more of your money in your pocket.

Florida also offers a great quality of life for those who would like to retire near beaches and in a warmer climate. Additionally, the healthcare services for veterans are fairly accessible. Along with VA facilities, there are numerous military bases throughout the state, giving retirees access to certain clinics and other on-base or on-post amenities.

Defense contractor and federal positions are also widely available in Florida. This creates career-oriented opportunities for those who arent leaving the workforce.

3. New Hampshire

When it comes to state income taxes, New Hampshire only levels one on dividend and interest. That means, by and large, your military retirement pay isnt going to be taxed.

Additionally, the state has a surprisingly high number of defense contractor positions, something that may appeal to military retirees who arent leaving the workforce yet. The state doesnt have a sales tax, either, which makes daily living more affordable.

Housing itself isnt necessarily incredibly expensive in New Hampshire. However, the property tax rates are some of the highest in the nation. But, since there isnt income or sales tax to contend with, that isnt necessarily a major financial burden as it is offset by savings in taxation.

Ultimately, all three of the states above are top contenders for anyone retiring from the military. However, they each come with pros and cons. Its wise to consider your unique needs and preferences as you make a decision. That way, you can head to a state that offers everything you require and is a place that youll enjoy long-term.

Can you think of any other states that are great for military retirees? 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.
Haddon Township residents enjoy "adult swim" at their town's municipal Crystal Lake Pool June 23, 2020 as New Jersey enters the second week of coronavirus reopenings continue. Clockwise from left are Camie Costanzo, 40; Jeraldine Schachte, 70; Larry Richio, 69. Schachte first came to the pool as a teenager, when it was a lake with a sand bottom. She brought her kids - now in their 40s, when they they young. Under Gov. Murphy's Stage 2 plan private and municipal pools can open for the summer with capacity limited to 50%, swimmers asked to practice social distancing when in the water and no pool toys allowed Read more

All of Pennsylvania, excluding Lebanon County, is now officially in the green phase. This means businesses are allowed to reopen and most restrictions are lifted. Social lives can expand, with groups up to 250 people allowed to gather.

In Philadelphia, were easing into green in stages. But on July 3, businesses and attractions such as museums, libraries, casinos, and malls will get the green light across the city, too. (Indoor dining and gyms in Philadelphia isnt expected to resume until August 1.)

In other words, after months on hiatus, were allowed to resume once-normal activities, even if it looks a little different than before, with masks and social distancing still the norm. But experts emphasize that the reopening doesnt mean the coronavirus has disappeared. Every time you leave your house, a level of risk remains.

So what does the green phase mean if youre considered high risk? If youre high risk  65 years or older or have a serious underlying medical condition  and become infected, your likelihood of developing severe complications and needing a trip to the hospital are higher.

 READ MORE: What's open in the green phase?

So, should you continue to stay at home, or is it now OK to book a salon appointment and have friends over for dinner?

Answers among experts are mixed.

Approach #1: Stay in the red phase as much as possible

Its actually relatively simple to reduce transmission  it comes down to reducing the amount of virus youre exposed to by wearing masks, social distancing, and staying outside, says Seth Welles, professor of epidemiology at Drexel University.

The problem, says Welles, is that businesses cant always ensure social distancing. Not everyone who enters will always be wearing a mask correctly. And most environments are indoors, sometimes with poor ventilation. All of this increases your risk of contracting the virus, and although case numbers are decreasing in Pennsylvania, some say its not worth testing your luck, especially if youre high risk.

Regardless of what phase were in, you need to maintain as many elements of the red phase as possible, Krys Johnson, an epidemiologist and assistant professor at Temple University, says of those who are high risk.

Johnson says that proceeding with caution may be even more important now than in the yellow phase. In the green phase, she predicts people will become increasingly lax about social distancing and wearing masks, as seen in other states where restrictions have already loosened.

People are also likely to start traveling more, which may increase the spread of the virus. While regionally were seeing lower numbers, coronavirus cases are increasing nationwide and globally.

We have to look at the bigger picture, says Dr. Patricia Henwood, associate professor of emergency medicine at Thomas Jefferson Universitys Sidney Kimmel Medical College and leader of the Emergency Medicine COVID-19 Task Force at Jefferson Health. In many places, cases are on the rise, and as people start moving around, the risk continues, especially for those who have more risk factors.

 READ MORE: How to safely get your hair cut now that salons have reopened

If considered high risk, Henwood advises that you continue to leave the house only for essential activities. No, a hair cut doesnt count as essential. She acknowledges that while this is the ideal scenario, you should talk to your doctor to assess your individual risk, and identify whats right for you. Every person and situation is different, and there are few blanket rules when it comes to navigating a pandemic.

People have to take this individual risk versus benefit approach, says Henwood. If someone is struggling from not having social contact, that needs to be taken into account. Unfortunately, COVID is going to be around for a while, and its understandably a challenging situation for people to stay isolated indefinitely.

Approach #2: Explore the green phase, with heightened caution

Some experts say its OK to start expanding your daily routine and social circle, if done with extra caution. Pick the parts of the green phase that make most sense for you.

Id pass on inside dining if youre high risk, advises Welles, who also says you couldnt pay him to dine in a restaurant right now. Youre talking about relatively small areas, with potentially infectious people that arent wearing masks.

You dont need to skip outdoor dining, though, says Welles. Just be picky about where you take a seat, and who you choose to dine with. Survey the restaurant to get an idea of the precautions theyre taking. Are the staff all wearing their masks correctly? Is there six feet or more between each table? Are they being strict about customers wearing masks when not seated? If not, choose a different restaurant. When thinking about who will join you, your safest bet is to stick to people who are in your household.

Theres been a downward trend of cases, so the likelihood of being exposed is on its way down, and you dont necessarily need to remain in your house, but truthfully, you shouldnt be eating out every night or regularly putting yourself in high risk situations no matter who you are, notes Welles.

 READ MORE: Is it safe to return to the gym?

Not only should you limit your outings, but limit how much time you spend out, says Welles. Dont settle in for a leisurely three-hour-long dinner or linger at the barbershop after your haircut. Do what youre there to do, and then leave.

Its a good idea to assess safety measures of any business before entering. If you choose to return to your gym, for example, ask how often theyre sanitizing equipment, if check-ins are contactless, and if rooms have been rearranged to create more space. As always, weigh your options and opt for the least risky.

A very distanced, quiet yoga class is different than a confined gym with heavy sweating and heavy breathing, but this is all on a spectrum of different unknowns that we need to take into consideration, says Henwood.

Approach #3: Stock up on masks, and enjoy the green phase

With additional safety requirements in place, not everyone agrees that you need to be fearful or overly cautious.

You can go to a gym if you make sure to social distance  exercise benefits everyone, says Bucks County Health Director Dr. David Damsker. If a business doesnt look like theyre following guidelines, then just dont go there, but theres no stay-at-home order, and thats not the message we want to get out anymore.

Damsker says that the yellow phase, in which case numbers continued to drop, was the real turning point for the region. And, just like in the yellow phase, people in the green phase are still encouraged  or in some cases required  to wear masks and socially distance.

Ninety-eight percent of businesses were open as of yellow, says Damsker. Places that have a lot of people crammed together still arent a good idea, but concerts and other situations like that arent really happening right now.

 READ MORE: COVID-19 cases are rising in young people. A South Philly survivor shares her experience.

There is one place Damsker says to avoid: bars. In states that have already reopened, bars have notoriously become hot spots for spreading the coronavirus. If youre high risk, pour yourself a drink at home until safety measures are fully ironed out, he says.

As for the younger crowd, whether frequenting bars or not, they are who Damsker stresses need to be extra mindful right now.

Younger, healthy people need to be smarter. They tend to think they can do anything they want, but theyre the ones who can give it to other people, he says.

Something all health experts agree on: Dont ease up on social distancing and dont tuck your mask away, whether youre high risk or not. If youre going to see your friends or go out in public, both are a must.
The Federal Communications Commission awarded UVA Health $767,139 this week to expand UVA's use of telehealth for patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Provided through the FCC's COVID-19 Telehealth Program, the grant will fund equipment and network upgrades to:

Expand remote patient monitoring as patients are diagnosed with COVID-19 or are discharged from the hospital.

Deploy a mobile telemedicine solution to congregate care settings such as long-term care and skilled nursing facilities that include remote examination tools and monitoring tools.

Build a virtual urgent care platform to provide non-emergency care without an in-person visit.

Support patient-care videoconferencing that reduces the potential for exposure for both patients and care providers exposure at UVA's emergency department and isolation rooms

"Our team here at UVA Health has been providing excellent care for patients with COVID-19, and this grant will help us maintain our readiness to serve our community in the weeks and months ahead," said K. Craig Kent, MD, UVA's executive vice president for health affairs.

How Telehealth Is Helping Patients at UVA

During the pandemic, UVA Health has expanded its interactive home-monitoring program to include many patients with COVID-19 who don't require hospitalization or have recently been discharged from the hospital, as well as patients with chronic illnesses.

UVA has also deployed telemedicine solutions and remote examination tools to patients in partner hospitals, long-term care facilities, assisted living centers and skilled nursing facilities. In each of these locations, UVA clinicians are able to track patients' vital signs and perform virtual visits, enabling care to be provided in place without a transfer to UVA.

UVA Health has also expanded the use of telemedicine tools within our own medical center and emergency department to reduce exposure of patients and providers and conserve personal protective equipment.

UVA will also develop a virtual urgent-care platform to enable patients with non-emergency medical needs to be seen online, without the need to visit the hospital. (UVA recently launched a pilot virtual urgent-care program; more information is available at uvahealth.com/services/telemedicine/virtual-urgent-care.)

"In April and May, we provided more than 46,000 virtual visits using our telehealth platforms," said Karen Rheuban, MD, director of the UVA Center for Telehealth. "We are grateful to the FCC for this grant that will enable us to further expand access to virtual care for patients in the Charlottesville area and across Virginia."

###
After voting to approve the Lee Resolution on July 2, Congress spent the next two days debating and revising the Declaration of Independence. Final passage took place on July 4, with 56 delegates from the 13 colonies signing the declaration.

Festivities began immediately after adoption of the declaration, including concerts, bonfires, parades and the firing of cannons and muskets. Philadelphia held the first official commemoration on July 4, 1777. Annual celebrations continued in cities throughout the country every Fourth of July. Independence Day was declared a federal holiday under President Ulysses S. Grant in 1870.

Two of the original signers in Adams and Jefferson, who became our second and third presidents, respectively, have a unique history. Once close allies and friends, these two men had a major falling out over political philosophies while serving under President George Washington. Both ran to succeed Washington for president in 1796, and Adams won in a very close contest.

Down but not out, Jefferson ran against Adams again four years later and was the first person to unseat a sitting president in 1800. This election, though just as bitter as the one four years earlier, was the first peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another in the United States.
As we recently mentioned, there's been a very vocal outcry against Disney's Splash Mountain ride, which prominently features characters from the notoriously racist movie Song of the South -- despite the fact that the ride was built in 1989 and the movie has been the target of protests and boycotts since 1946. Walt Disney himself was warned of a "potential racially charged blowback" by his own staff before the movie had even been released, so people being fed up with this crap in the future year of 2020 shouldn't really be surprising to anyone.

Now Disney has finally conceded, announcing that Splash Mountain will be "completely reimagined" to feature characters from a more recent movie. Though sadly not a National Treasure-themed ride where a lifelike Nicolas Cage commits animatronic felonies, instead, Disney took a cue from the fans and will be retheming the ride with a new story inspired by The Princess and the Frog.
One woman, Lora, from the Victorian home simply wrote 'Don't do it' when giving marriage advice

Touching and hilarious advice on how to enjoy a happy marriage has been shared by cheeky care home residents.

Residents from the Waratah Lodge aged care facility at Orbost in Victoria's East Gippsland offered up words of wisdom for the younger generations, with some warning off marriage all together.

The advice represents the cumulative 1,141 years of experience from the facility's ageing residents.

Suggestions varied from the touching, such as one man who encouraged people to say 'I love you' every day, to the rather more tongue in cheek.

Orbost Regional Health shared the secrets alongside images of each resident as they considered their history of relationships.

90-year-old Aileen joked that lovers should 'try before you buy' as her secret to a successful marriage

A 92-year-old man (pictured, left) said you should always 'tell your wife you love her', while 90-year-old Barb (right) agreed, saying husbands should be told how lucky they are to have you

'They certainly are a wise bunch with some poignant messages for us to consider,' they wrote.

One man, 92-year-old David, said the best tip for a successful marriage was to tell your wife you love her every day.

Others had similar advice, such as 90-year-old Barb who suggested telling your partner they are the lucky one for having you as a wife.

Meanwhile 93-year-old Joan told young Australians to always respect their partner, and to enjoy each other's company.

93-year-old Joan (pictured) told young Australians to always respect their partner, and to enjoy each other's company

Tom, 88, (pictured, left) and Ted, 93, (right) were adamant the trick to a successful marriage was finding the right partner

Grahame, 86, (pictured) advised that a 'wise man never married' but admitted he was 'still looking' for the one

A cheeky 83-year-old Brian (pictured) told young Australians to keep their heads down, bums up and 'bugger what everyone else thinks'

Another cheeky resident, 83-year-old Brian, told young couples to keep their heads down, bums up and 'bugger what everyone else thinks'.

But it was 89-year-old Lora's advice which proved the most tongue-in-cheek, offering just three simple words - 'Don't do it!'

A second series was also produced of more general advice for young people.

This included listening to your parents, smiling everyday and working hard.

Others were specifically aimed at rowdy teenagers, suggesting you should 'always make your bed', 'love your footy team' and 'keep off the grog'.

But larrikin Tom had the last laugh - advising people to spend all your money at the pub since you can't take it with you.

Others were more tongue in cheek, suggesting teens should 'always make your bed' and 'keep off the grog' (pictured, left) while others told youngsters to love their family (right)

Tom, 88, (pictured) advised people to spend all your money at the pub since you can't take it with you

Lora (pictured) told youngsters to 'smile every day' as she offered her own pearls of wisdom
CLEVELAND, Ohio  The parents of a 22-month-old girl who died while in the care of a foster family are demanding an explanation from Cuyahoga Countys Division of Children and Family Services, their attorney said Thursday.

Stanley Jackson, a lawyer with the Cleveland office of The Cochran Firm, told cleveland.com that Mandisa Sizemore choked to death on playing cards on June 16 while she and a 10-year-old were left without adult supervision in an upstairs room of the foster home.

Mandisas parents, Dayou Bruce and William Sizemore, who spoke to cleveland.com with their lawyer, said they had previously reported that their daughter suffered a split lip and other injuries at the foster home, but county social workers returned Mandisa to the home.

The couple also said the county failed to notify them of their daughters death until the following day, June 17, when a family member was told about the tragedy by a court-appointed lawyer.

We need answers, Sizemore said.

County spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan said social workers tried unsuccessfully to reach Bruce by phone within about four hours of learning of Mandisas death. Social workers went to Bruces home the following day, but were again unable to reach her, Madigan said.

Madigan described the Cleveland foster home where the girl died as in good standing with the county for about 10 years. But she declined to disclose whether social workers received any prior reports about the girl being injured at the home, citing an internal investigation.

Cleveland police were called to the foster home at 9 p.m. June 16 in response to a report about a dead body, according to police records. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiners Office later ruled Mandisas death accidental, a result of choking on foreign material.

The familys lawyer said the foster mother was on a different floor of the home at the time Mandisa choked, and the 10-year-old was the one who called police.

Mandisa was placed in the foster home on May 15 after social workers told the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court that her parents were involved in a domestically violent altercation, according to court records.

From January 2019 to December 2019, the girl also had been placed at the same foster home for similar issues, among others, juvenile court records state.

At some point prior to May, while in the foster mothers care, Bruce and Sizemore took Mandisa to the hospital after finding her lip split, her face swollen, and a broken blood vessel in her eye, Sizemore said. They reported the incident to the county, Sizemore said.

Because of that experience, the parents unsuccessfully objected to the girl being returned to the same foster home in May, Sizemore said.

Jackson said the foster home was filthy, and that the county made a rush to judgment in removing her from her parents care. He also said the county failed to place Mandisa with one of several family members who offered to take the girl in.

The attorney said his clients want the foster mother criminally charged in Mandisas death, and authorities to provide them with an accounting of the way the Division of Children and Family Services handled the case.

Cleveland.coms attempts to reach the foster mother were unsuccessful.

Sizemore described Mandisa as a smart, loving 22-month-old and the sweetest girl that I ever met.

We had her on the right path to being a great person, he said. But were never going to find out what she couldve been. She couldve been anything she wanted to be.
A large number of central and state employees on Friday joined a campaign to demand restoration of the old pension scheme, an organisation representing them has said.

The restore old pension' campaign is being spearheaded by the National Movement for Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS), a federation with over 13 lakh government employees as its members.

Since January 2004, the central government has imposed a new pension system NPS for government employees recruited after December 31, 2003 to replace the one under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972. The new pension scheme does not provide the guarantee of minimum pension on last basic salary drawn by the employees, said Manjeet Singh Patel, the president of the NMOPS Delhi unit.

Among other issues, the NPS or National Pension Scheme does not have the provision for inclusion of revised dearness allowance in the pension, he said.

Whereas, the old scheme allowed employees to get benefits of revision of dearness allowance announced twice a year, said Patel, who works with the Delhi government.

The NMOPS is against the share-market-linked pension system for the central and state government employees, he said.

In order to ensure that our demands reach the corridors of the power in the government, a campaign was launched today on As part of this campaign, a large number of central and state governments employees put up a picture of either them or their family members holding posters with restore old pension' message on them, Patel said.

He said the restore old pension' campaign was trending on the during the day with more than two lakh tweets and retweets.

The Finance Ministry has recently ruled out a proposal by the NMOPS seeking modification in the NPS, saying its corpus is invested in a prudential manner to ensure optimal returns and suggested that changes will be financially untenable.

The NMOPS, formed to oppose the NPS system, is working actively in more than 16 states and union territories, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, among others.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
While the other All Progressives Congress (APC) governors who were with him had their masks on during a media briefing after the meeting, Bello was the only one who did not have his face covered.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has criticised the state health department for not taking action against Ayush (Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homeopathy) doctors who are not reporting for Covid-19 duty.

Despite Ayush doctors being called upon to join the medical response to Covid-19 since April, only around 1,500 Ayush doctors have reported for Covid-19 duty. Of these, 500 have been posted at various Covid-19 care centres (CCC) in Mumbai to take care of asymptomatic individuals and patients with mild to moderate symptoms. So far, we have a list of 1,500 Ayush doctors who have been stationed all across the state on Covid duty, said Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, secretary of medical education and drug department (MEDD).

Data from the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) shows that there are more than 90,000 registered allopathy doctors in the state. However, to provide treatment and care to growing number of patients, state health officials said more are needed as many doctors are above 55 years old and therefore may not be assigned to Covid-19 duty.

To arrange for additional doctors, the state government in April launched an online curriculum for Covid-19 care, designed by All India Institute of Medical Sciences, for Ayush doctors. The training imparted basic knowledge on handling Covid-19 patients through video and those that cleared the video-led course and its online examination, were given a certificate.

Kuldeep Kohli, director of Ayush in Maharashtra, said 1 lakh registered Ayush doctors opted for the online test. As requested, their names have been sent to DMER [Directorate of Medical Education and Research]. After that, we dont know how many have been posted on Covid-duty. Our responsibility was to send them the list of qualified doctors, said Kohli.

Dr Avinash Bondewe, president of IMA, Maharashtra, said, In May, the medical education department stated their requirement of 25,000 doctors to handle Covid-19 cases. We suggested that Ayush doctors be included. But we (allopathic doctors) are now being blamed for shortage of doctors.

Last month, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) issued a circular that mad 15 days of Covid-duty mandatory for registered allopathy doctors. The medical education department also threatened to cancel licenses of doctors who violate the directive. We had to face the heat and criticism from doctors for the circular. But what has the Ayush department done to make their doctors work during the pandemic? said Dr Shivkumar Utture, chairman of MMC.

Despite repeated calls, Dr TP Lahane, director of DMER, and Union minister of state for Ayush Shripad Naik, did not respond to calls from HT.
Starting today, Google will begin rolling out a new update to its Google Photos app. The photo-keeping app is five years old and has gradually changed the way we keep and review memories over the years. Google says more people are using Google Photos to see memories, after all, a theres a stories-like feed that shows you what your week looked like in past years.

Anyway, theres a new design coming to the UI, including a brand-new icon. The icon is still the colorful pinwheel, but its more circle-y and totally flattened, which weve seen Google do with many of its redesigned stock app icons.

There are three main tabs now instead of four: Photos, Search, and Library.

The Photos tab will now have larger thumbnails, less space between photos, and youll see auto-playing videos as well. Theres also a larger Memories carousel  which will not show you more kinds of memories, such as memories with your closest friends and family, memories from trips, and last weeks highlights. Youll also be able to hide memories from certain people or time periods.

In the search tab, youll find a new interactive map thats helpful for finding memories. This was Googles most requested feature since Google Photos launch. You can search for photos by pinching and zooming on a map or you can watch the map move as you scroll through your photos. Google reminds that you can always remove data location or disable Location History and Location permission from the camera.

Finally, The Library tab is will youll see Albums, Trash, Archive, and Favorites. This is also where youll see the Print Store (in the US, EU, and CA) where you can order prints of your photos.

The update is now rolling out on the Google Play Store on Android and Apple App Store on iOS. You can update the app right now and youll see the new app icon, but you may not see the new UI right away as the update is server-side as well.

Source
Nineties supermodel Helena Christensen and her business partner Camilla Strk dined al fresco in Manhattan's West Village neighborhood on Thursday.

Mayor Bill de Blasio reopened some 'qualifying' restaurants and bars last Friday as part of New York City's Phase Two, according to the City of New York.

Afterwards, the half-Peruvian half-Danish 51-year-old made sure to protect herself and others from the coronavirus with a CDC-recommended face mask.

Phase Two! Nineties supermodel Helena Christensen (L) and her business partner Camilla Strk dined al fresco in Manhattan's West Village neighborhood on Thursday

Considerate: Afterwards, the half-Peruvian half-Danish 51-year-old made sure to protect herself and others from the coronavirus with a CDC-recommended face mask

As of Thursday, there have been 213K confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Big Apple leading to 22K deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Helena flaunted her slim legs and 5ft10in figure in a lavender and pink baby-doll dress as well as yellow sandals.

Christensen also brought along her beloved Australian Shepherd, Kuma, for the sunny outing.

The Global UNHCR ambassador and Camilla are co-creative directors of the Strk & Christensen brand - which spans fashion, interior design, furniture, photography, and film.

Leggy lady: Helena flaunted her slim 5ft10in figure in a lavender and pink baby-doll dress as well as yellow sandals

Fur baby: Christensen also brought along her beloved Australian Shepherd, Kuma, for the sunny outing

Partners: The Global UNHCR ambassador and Camilla are co-creative directors of the Strk & Christensen brand - which spans fashion, interior design, furniture, photography, and film

Still got it! In fact, it was Strk who styled Helena for her wet and wild cover spread in the July-August edition of Harper's Bazaar Spain

In fact, it was Strk who styled Helena for her wet and wild cover spread in the July-August edition of Harper's Bazaar Spain.

'Am truly excited to be in a @harpersbazaares double cover story honoring Spain,' Christensen gushed to her 701K Instagram followers last Saturday.

'Spain is a country I have so much love for - the people, culture, history, food, architecture, the splendid beauty of the land. There's so much magic and passion.

'Were so proud of you!' Missing from Christensen's side was her son Lucien (M) from her five-year romance with The Walking Dead heartthrob Norman Reedus (L), which amicably ended in 2003 (pictured in 2018)

Blissed out: The 20-year-old VNY Model Instastoried a b&w snap of himself on Thursday lounging in the bathtub while holding a suspicious-looking cigarette

'I spent many of my childhood holidays in Nerja, a picturesque town on the Southern coast and hold so many beautiful memories from those trips. Thank you @harpersbazaares for letting me and my little quarantine crew make this story in my favorite element, water.'

Missing from Miss Universe Denmark 1986's side was her son Lucien from her five-year romance with The Walking Dead heartthrob Norman Reedus, which amicably ended in 2003.

The 20-year-old VNY Model Instastoried a b&w snap of himself on Thursday lounging in the bathtub while holding a suspicious-looking cigarette.

Black Lives Matter? Lucien (born Mingus) also produces cringey trap rap songs on SoundCloud like 'Lump' and '2am Joint' littered with the N-word

Picnic: Meanwhile, his famous 51-year-old father now has a 19-month-old daughter with his former Sky leading lady, Diane Kruger (R, pictured June 18)

Lucien (born Mingus) also produces cringey trap rap songs on SoundCloud like 'Lump' and '2am Joint' littered with the N-word.

Meanwhile, his famous 51-year-old father now has a 19-month-old daughter with his former Sky leading lady, Diane Kruger.

Aside from Norman, Helena has also romanced Interpol frontman Paul Banks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Huston, Josh Hartnett, and INXS frontman Michael Hutchence.
HIGHLIGHTS

DHL stops shipments from China, Hong Kong and Macao to India, cites severe customs delays

Indian firms have complained of delays in customs clearance for shipments coming from China; the issue taken up with the government

Ensuring that shipments originating from other countries around the world are not impacted by the congestion, says the company

DHL says that dynamics of the current circumstances bringing uncertainties and challenges to operating environment

Express logistics major DHL has suspended its pickup operations from China, Hong Kong and Macao citing severe lag in customs clearance at Indian ports. The pickup of import shipments has been halted for 10 days.

Amid violent border skirmishes at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in Ladakh's Galwan Valley, many Indian companies have complained of delays in customs clearance for shipments coming from China. They have taken up the issue with the government as delays threaten disruptions in manufacturing. "Over the last few days, we are witnessing a severe lag in customs clearance for shipments originating from China, Hong Kong and Macao across all the ports in India. This has led to uncontrollable queuing, congestion and delays of shipments in our clearance ports across the country," the German logistics giant told its customers.

BusinessToday.In has reviewed the communication, which was sent on June 25. DHL has assured its customers that it was ensuring that shipments originating from other countries around the world were not impacted by the congestion. "Therefore, with immediate effect, we will be temporarily suspending pickup of import shipments from China, Hong Kong and Macao for the next 10 days," the company said.

Also read: India to impose 20% customs duty on solar equipment, more riders on imports from neighbouring nations

DHL has said that the dynamics of the current circumstances around the world are bringing a lot of uncertainties and challenges to the operating environment. "We will monitor the situation closely and keep you updated on the progress. We will take all suitable measures to minimise the impact on your business," wrote Sandeep Juneja, Vice President (Commercial) at India unit of DHL.

Also read: Held up Chinese imports trigger panic among Indian exporters; fear retaliatory 'delays' in Chinese ports
She was furious to discover her friend Stacey Hampton had allegedly slept with her 'husband' Mikey Pembroke on Married At First Sight.

And it appears Natasha Spencer is still holding a grudge against the 26-year-old law graduate, slamming her for being a 'fake friend'.

The brunette beauty, 26, was answering fan questions on her Instagram Stories on Friday, when one follower asked whether she was still friends with the mother-of-two.

Not happy! Married At First Sight's Natasha Spencer (pictured) has slammed co-star Stacey Hampton for being a 'fake friend'

'Are you and Stacey still friends?' the anonymous fan asked.

Natasha replied with a black and white selfie, angrily looking off into the distance.

She played the chorus of Fake Friends by YIC in the background, which says: 'I've got fake friends, fake friends again. I don't f**k with fake friends'.

It comes only a week after Stacey and Elizabeth Sobinoff were snubbed by Natasha, Mishel Karen, Poppy Jennings, KC Osborne and Cathy Evans, who met up for a girls' night at an Italian restaurant in Sydney.

Holding a grudge: Natasha had been furious to discover her friend Stacey Hampton (pictured) had allegedly slept with her 'husband' Mikey Pembroke at the Married At First Sight reunion

It's likely Elizabeth and Stacey weren't invited due to the complicated web of feuds among the Married At First Sight 2020 cast.

Natasha had exposed Stacey for allegedly sleeping with her on-screen 'husband' Mikey Pembroke on the show's reunion special.

This partially led to the split between Stacey and her then-partner Michael Goonan, who then went on to date co-star KC Osborne.

History: Natasha exposed Stacey for allegedly sleeping with her on-screen 'husband' Mikey Pembroke (right) on the show's reunion special

For months, KC has been locked in a bitter rivalry with boyfriend Michael's ex-'wife' Stacey - and their dispute became so fierce it even ended up in court.

KC took an IVO out against Stacey on May 7, accusing the single mother and her then-friend Anthony Hess of 'harassing her'.

The restraining order was summarily dropped, and a source close to Stacey later told Daily Mail Australia it had been withdrawn due to 'lack of evidence'.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 13:43:11|Editor: huaxia

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Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Ke Kim Yan, also chairman of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, speaks during a drug burning ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on June 26, 2020. Cambodia on Friday burned down 477.7 kg of illicit drugs to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, officials said. (Photo by Kosal/Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Friday burned down 477.7 kg of illicit drugs to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, officials said.

Deputy Prime Minister Ke Kim Yan, also chairman of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, set fire on the drugs at a ceremony held at the Diamond Island in capital Phnom Penh.

"The burning of the drugs today is a message to the criminals that the Cambodian government is strongly committed to cracking down on all types of illicit drugs," he said. "We will not only seize their drugs for destruction, but also seek to confiscate their assets."

Kim Yan said the burned drugs included methamphetamine, amphetamine, ecstasy, heroin and ketamine, among others.

During the January-May period of 2020, the authorities have arrested 8,927 drug-related suspects in 4,510 cases and seized 209 kg of drugs, he said.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court's prosecutor Keo Sothea said at the event that the burned drugs had been seized from the criminals last year during crackdowns made in Phnom Penh, Kandal, Kampong Speu and Takeo provinces.

Cambodia has no death sentence for drug traffickers. Under its law, anyone found guilty of trafficking more than 80 grams of illicit drugs could be jailed for life.
A bipartisan group of 30 US lawmakers sent a blanket letter to all European Union member states Thursday asking them to designate the entirety of Lebanons militia-cum-political party Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

Unfortunately, Hezbollah has increasingly used Europe as a launching pad for its criminal and terrorist activities, including money laundering, drug smuggling, recruitment and training, the lawmakers wrote. In particular, Hezbollahs fundraising and illicit business activities have generated additional annual revenue which the organization uses to support its global terrorism, including a 2012 Hezbollah terror attack in Bulgaria that killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian citizen.

The letter, signed by prominent pro-Israel lawmakers in both chambers, was spearheaded by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Jackie Rosen, D-Nev., as well as House Middle East panel Chairman Ted Deutch, D-Fla., and Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y.

Why it matters: Although the European Union distinguishes between Hezbollahs political and military wings, some of its member states have moved closer to the US position in recent months, which makes no such delineation. (Hezbollah itself makes no distinction between its political and paramilitary wings.)

The lawmakers commended Germanys April designation of Iranian-backed Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and the nations associated ban of all Hezbollah activity. The United Kingdom designated all of Hezbollah as a terrorist group in January.

Whats next: The lawmakers also acknowledged Austrias efforts with regard to a similar proposed resolution and encourage its passage in the coming months.

Know more: Rina Bassist examines the Austrian parliaments legislation to designate all of Hezbollah as a terrorist group, even as Vienna pushes back against Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its list of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms.

According to Fox News, the nation's top public health agency added three new coronavirus symptoms to its ongoing list.

Congestion, nausea, and diarrhea now join the list of other symptoms that were already included such as fever, cough, breathing difficulties, and fatigue.

The CDC also updated the list of pre-existing medical conditions that increase one's risk for developing a severe case of COVID-19.

The list, which was expanded based on consistent evidence from multiple studies and published reports, now adds:

Chronic kidney disease

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

Obesity (BMI of 30 or higher)

Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant

Serious heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies

Sickle cell disease

Type 2 diabetes

According to the health agency's statement, the recently added underlying medical conditions increased the number of people, who are now considered at high risk for catching severe COVID-19 symptoms.

The CDC noted that other conditions - including asthma, high blood pressure, and pregnancy - may also increase a person's risk of becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus.

In the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published on Friday, the agency said studies showed that pregnant women are more likely to be hospitalized, admitted to the ICU, and put on ventilators than non-pregnant women.

However, it further noted that pregnancy did not carry a higher risk of death from the coronavirus.

COVID-19 Updates

The CDC quietly updated the lists on May 13.

Similar changes were also made in April, when health officials added six additional symptoms such as chills, headache, and the loss of taste or smell.

Previously, the health agency said age was a determining factor to identify who is at high risk for developing a severe illness.

In the recent update, age was replaced with categories of people.

The changes did not include adding race as a risk factor, despite growing evidence that members of the Black, Hispanic, and Native American communities have higher rates of infections and fatalities.

CDC officials have already employed a panel of experts to help them identify, which groups should receive vaccinations first once a vaccine becomes available, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

They also shared data with the Advisory Committee, wherein it showed that hospitalization rates were four times higher for Hispanics when compared to white Americans.

With Black people, the rates increased 4.5 times.

American Indians and Alaska Natives were 5.5 times more likely to be hospitalized.

A recent study in the Atlanta area showed that Black people carried the same risk for hospitalizations as having pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes, being a smoker, or being obese.

Dr. Jose Romero, the chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, said public health agencies should address racial and ethnic groups as high risk.

He said classifying them as high-risk would help experts prioritize people of color.

"They are groups that need to be moved to the forefront," he noted.

The CDC is expected to include racial and ethnic minority groups in its recommendations in the coming weeks.

Want to read more?
Stanton Public Policy Center Launches National Campaign to Have the Bust of Margaret Sanger, An Avowed Racist and Eugenicist, Removed from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Brandi Swindell, Founder and CEO of Stanton Public Policy Center, protests the inclusion of a bust of Margaret Sanger at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Stanton Public Policy Center

June 26, 2020



WASHINGTON, June 26, 2020 /Standard Newswire/ -- Stanton Public Policy Center is a Woman's advocacy and educational group that works on issues of human rights and justice that empower and inspire women. It is affiliated with Stanton Healthcare which has life-affirming women's health clinics in America and internationally.



This national campaign will include things such as: public protests, educational initiatives, petition drives, networking with African-American organizations and members of Congress.



As part of the campaign, Congressman Russ Fulcher, recently sent a letter to the Honorable Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, who is the head of the Smithsonian Institution. In his letter, Congressman Fulcher asked for the removal of Margaret Sanger's bust from the National Portrait Gallery.



Here is a link which contains Congressman Fulcher's full letter:

http://christiannewswire.com/images/Bunch-Letter.pdf



Below are some excerpts from the letter to Secretary Bunch:

In recent weeks, our nation has confronted the issue of racial injustice with the killing of George Floyd. Seeing a police officer kneeling on Mr. Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes while he screamed, "I can't breathe," sent shock waves through America, re-igniting a national conversation on race and inequity in our society.



That is why it is so troubling the National Portrait Gallery features a bust of Margaret Sanger, Founder of Planned Parenthood. As our nation struggles to address racial injustice, it is unconscionable that an avowed racist and eugenicist is featured so prominently.



Ms. Sanger's writings and teachings stand in sharp contrast to America's founding principles which embrace equality, justice and human rights for all.

Brandi Swindell, Founder and CEO of Stanton Public Policy Center, states;

"As the founder of an organization which centers on human rights and equality for all, the horrific killing of George Floyd draws attention to the great divide America still has concerning racial injustice. During these challenging times, it is critical the National Portrait Gallery provide us with examples of heroes who offer hope and courage which inspire each of us to work for a nation where all are treated with dignity and equality. Sadly, Margaret Sanger's racist views and actions stand in stark contrast to these lofty ideals."

Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Chief Strategy Officer for Stanton Public Policy Center, comments;

"The national campaign to remove the bust of a racist like Margaret Sanger from the National Portrait Gallery is not an attempt to rewrite or change history. Rather, it is a way to ensure we celebrate individuals whose lives reflect and embody the very best of who we are as a nation and honor the values we cherish.



"As America confronts racial injustice, it is critical our national institutions honor those who have inspired us to be our 'better selves' instead of honoring those who malign and diminish entire communities."

For more information or interviews contact:

Rev. Patrick Mahoney at 540.538.4741 or stantoninternational.org.



SOURCE Stanton Public Policy Center



CONTACT: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741



Related Links



stantoninternational.org


AUSTIN  For the first time, Texas topped more than 5,000 hospitalizations for COVID-19 on Friday as Gov. Greg Abbott shut down all bars in the state and ordered restaurants to reduce occupancy starting Monday.

The 5,102 lab confirmed hospitalizations means that more than twice as many Texans are in the hospital for the virus as 10 days ago. The number has tripled since Memorial Day.

Abbott ordered restaurants to return to 50 percent of their maximum occupancy  the standard the state had in place until June 12, when he allowed them to move to 75 percent.

In addition, he is giving local governments new authority to regulate gatherings of over 100 people, which allow them to order groups to get a permit before having an event. And finally, he is shutting down river rafting activities that have been linked to a surge in cases in Hays and Comal counties. In just over a week, cases in those two counties have doubled.

As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10 percent, the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Abbott said, referring to the rate at which those tested are found to be infected with the disease. At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars.

IN DEPTH: Gov. Abbott gambled Texas reopening on contact tracing. Heres how it went bust.

Abbott again emphasized that people need to go back to wearing face coverings in public, though he has declined to mandate their use statewide.

Every Texan has a responsibility to themselves and their loved ones to wear a mask, wash their hands, stay six feet apart from others in public, and stay home if they can, Abbott said.

Abbotts orders come as the June outbreak in Texas appears to be accelerating. Since June 1, the number of COVID-19 cases in Texas has more than doubled and the sharp rise in hospitalizations has created new strains on the states health system.

Texas had been one of the most aggressive states in reopening the economy. Abbott allowed all restaurants, retail stores, malls and movie theaters to begin reopening in early May. Bars were given the authority to reopen to 25 percent of maximum occupancy on May 22.

Just last week, Abbott allowed amusement parks and carnivals to open statewide.

Abbott defended his reopening program on KPRC 2 News in Houston on Friday, saying that a month ago, the states number of hospitalizations and its positivity rate for COVID-19 testing were nowhere near as bad as they are now.

What I said from the very beginning, as we opened up, is that if the numbers worsened  which they did more than a month after we opened up  then Texas would take action and that is exactly why I took the action I did today, Abbott said.

Pressed on whether he would give Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo authority to re-impose stay-at-home orders countywide, Abbott insisted that such orders are not the right strategy.

Now is not the time for stay-at-home policies across the entire board, he said.

Abbott also said he trusts churches to maintain proper social distancing and is not changing orders that allow them to continue to hold services.

A short time later, Abbott acknowledged that he may have reopened bars too soon. During another TV interview in El Paso on KVIA, Abbott said a bar setting just doesnt work with a pandemic. People go to bars to get close and to drink and to socialize.

So sure, in hindsight it may have been better to have slowed the opening of the bar setting, Abbott said.

The Texas Restaurant Association is supporting Abbotts latest moves.

Weve watched the numbers climb with great concern, and we appreciate that Governor Abbott made a difficult decision today based on that data, which is not partisan, said Emily Williams Knight, president and CEO of the association.

Knight said while they are disappointed to take a step back, many restaurants were struggling to get past 50 percent occupancy anyhow. Because of social distancing requirements, getting to 75 percent was difficult for many places.

It just really comes down to a square footage game, she said.

Texas Reopening Timeline Texas Reopening Timeline May 1: Gov. Greg Abbott allows retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls to open to 25 percent capacity. May 8: Barber shops, salons and tanning beds allowed to reopen. May 18:Gyms allowed to reopen. May 22: Bars allowed to reopen to 25 percent capacity and restaurants allowed to move to 50 percent capacity. Bowling alleys, bingo halls, skating rinks, rodeo/ equestrian events, aquariums, natural caverns also allowed to reopen. June 3: All businesses operating at 25 percent capacity expand occupancy to 50 percent with certain exceptions. Bars and similar establishments allowed to increase capacity to 50 percent as long as patrons are seated. And Amusement parks and carnivals in counties with less than 1,000 confirmed positive cases may open at 50 percent capacity. June 12: Restaurants allowed to reopen to 75 percent June 19: Amusement parks and carnivals in counties with more than 1,000 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 may open at 50 percent capacity. Today:Texas closes bars. Restaurants moved back to 50 percent capacity. See More Collapse

Abbott has telegraphed all week that the states reopening measures were in jeopardy because of the increased strain on medical facilities from the rising COVID-19 cases. Last weekend, the state ramped up enforcement of social distancing guidelines at bars, suspending a dozen liquor licenses.

If we are unable to slow the spread over the next few weeks, then we will have to re-evaluate to the extent to which businesses are open," Abbott said on Wednesday. Because if it's not contained in the next couple of weeks it will be completely out of control and Texas will have to ratchet back.

Abbott said Thursday in a television interview in Austin that reclosing business is an absolute last resort.

Our goal is to make sure we put public health and safety first, Abbott said in an interview with KEYE CBS in Austin.

Earlier in the week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top doctor on the virus, warned that the next two weeks will be criticial to efforts to contain the virus in Texas, Florida and Arizona.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com
Almost half of Canadians know a business thats closed permanently due to COVID-19 and eight out of 10 say they wish they could do more to help, according to data collected by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Almost half of Canadians know a business thats closed permanently due to COVID-19 and eight out of 10 say they wish they could do more to help, according to data collected by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Meantime, seven out of 10 independent Canadian business owners say they believe customers wont come back, and only one in five Manitoba businesses has normal sales, according to CFIBs research on the economic toll of the pandemic.

Thats why the federation is launching its #SmallBusinessEveryDay campaign, which is designed to amplify actions to support local businesses, CFIBs vice-president and strategic officer Laura Jones said.

"Its like a parade of the many, many campaigns already being launched," she said. "Were seeing so many efforts urging consumers to help reopen the economy. The idea here is to amplify those into one consortium."

More than 60 per cent of Manitoba small businesses are fully open, said Jones, "so there is a dire need to emphasize to customers that they are critical to long-term business survival.

"Its all about building that consumer confidence again," said Jones.

Jonathan Alward, CFIBs Manitoba director, said he remembers being nervous about booking his first hair appointment during Manitobas initial phase of pandemic recovery.

"Here I was, sitting so close to someone offering me a business service, in a pandemic."

"But what I remember most was how careful that local business was being. The salon had taken every single precaution to keep their staff and those coming in as safe as possible."

Bram Strain, president and CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba, said Alward is not alone.

A poll commissioned by the provinces business councils and associations, showed almost one-half of Manitobans are nervous about reopening the economy and returning to commercial spaces.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files Laura Jones is the federations vice-president and strategic officer.

"When the government told people to stay home, business owners set much of the playbook of rules while staying operational, especially when they were dubbed essential," said Strain.

"They quite literally created rules when they werent there and are now going above and beyond the official health regulations to keep people safe."

"But now things are different," he said. "We need the government to start using its authority to tell people to safely participate in the economy."

Karen Olson owns and operates the Gimli Fish Market, which has three stores in Winnipeg.

All three locations have had a massive decline in customer traffic, she said, even as they have remained open in some capacity throughout the pandemic.

"Im struggling to pay bills and overhead and taxes, and Im not sure well survive this," she said.

"I just miss most the smiles of people that would come in and make this place what it is."

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Theres also another side to the financial crisis independent owners are facing, said Alward, which is what CFIBs campaign hopes to change.

"Theyre competing with large outlets in ways they have never had to before."

"As someone working from home, it would be really convenient for me to just order everything from large retailers like Amazon and Walmart," he said.

"We have to think of our local prairie businesses that might not survive this pandemic if things continue the way they do."

The #SmallBusinessEveryDay campaign will run until the end of the year.

Temur.Durrani@freepress.mb.ca
Since the 1980s, in seaweed farms dotted along the coastline of the subtropical islands of Okinawa, farmers have cultivated the edible brown alga, Okinawa mozuku (Cladosiphon okamuranus). Popular in Japanese cuisine, this superfood produces high levels of fucoidan - a slimy substance that has a myriad of health benefits, including the suppression of blood clots and tumors.

Every year, farmers harvest over 15,000 tons of this brown algae crop, contributing billions of Japanese Yen to the local economy. However, this once bountiful yield is now suffering due to increasingly warm, acidic and polluted waters.

In 2016, researchers from the Marine Genomics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) deciphered the genome of the S-strain, the first strain of Okinawa mozuku that was developed, shedding light on the molecular underpinnings of this brown seaweed. Now, OIST researchers have decoded the genomes of three more strains - the O-strain, the C-strain and the K-strain. Their findings, published in BMC Genomics, could help the Okinawan seaweed farming industry adapt to growing environmental stresses, as well as providing novel insights into the underlying biology of brown algae.

"Despite the ecological and economic importance of brown algae, very little genetic research has been conducted so far, with researchers focusing more on their morphology, taxonomy or ability to regenerate," said Dr. Nishitsuji, first author and staff scientist from the Marine Genomics Unit. "This is partly because of difficulties in extracting DNA and RNA from algal cells due to the accumulation of polysaccharides - long carbohydrate chains - in their cell walls."

But Dr. Nishitsuji believes that obtaining basic genomic information is essential to improve cultivation methods and to characterize each strain, with the OIST Marine Genomics Unit spearheading this effort. In 2019, Dr. Nishitsuji and his then colleague Dr. Asuka Arimoto were awarded the Okinawa Research Encouragement Prize as recognition for their contribution to Okinawa for their work on deciphering the genomes of many algal crops, including Okinawa mozuku.

"As far as we are aware, only seven brown algae genomes have been published worldwide, and OIST decoded five of these genomes," said Dr. Nishitsuji.

Extracting genomic secrets

The scientists were provided with samples of the four strains from the Okinawa Prefectural Fisheries Research and Extension Center. They estimated that the draft genomes of the K-, 0- and C- strains contained 12,511, 12,548 and 12,182 genes that coded for proteins, respectively. For the S-strain, they also modified their previous estimate of 13,460 protein-coding genes down to 12,999.

After decoding the genomes, the researchers used sequences of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA to investigate how each strain of Okinawa mozuku evolved. They found that the four strains likely diverged at different times, with the S-strain diverging first, followed by the K-strain. The researchers believe that the O-strain and the C-strain evolved the most recently. During diversification, each strain developed its own unique morphology.

When the scientists compared the whole genomes, they found that each strain was more genetically distinct than expected, with around 2-3.5% of genes that were unique to each strain.

"To put this into context, only around 0.79% of genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, the most well-studied land plant, are unique to each strain," said Dr. Nishitsuji. "The level of genetic difference that we see in Okinawa mozuku is far higher, potentially providing a case for classifying each strain as its own subspecies. This could have exciting economic benefits, as it could allow farmers to market their own unique, genetically distinct brands of Okinawa mozuku."

Due to a lack of genetic data on brown algae, the researchers have not yet pinned down the functions of these unique genes. However, they hope that further study could help identify whether some of these unique genes are involved in morphological variation or changes in physiology, which could provide differing levels of tolerance towards environmental stresses, like heat or acidity.

Combating the threats of climate change

The threat of climate change and growing levels of ocean pollution and acidification are the main driving force behind the unit's investigations into the genetics of Okinawa mozuku.

"The genic and genomic information we have acquired could help us identify strains of Okinawa mozuku that are more tolerant to heat, and which underlying genes provide this valuable property," explained Dr. Nishitsuji.

Ultimately, the unit aims to develop new strains that are tolerant to the effects of climate change by cross-breeding existing strains together. While crossbreeding is commonplace for land plants, it has so far been unsuccessful in algae. To achieve this feat, the team first plans to develop genetic markers to distinguish both the sex and strain of the algal cells involved in reproduction.

"Not only could this research help improve cultivation of mozuku in Okinawa, but it also has global implications, contributing towards a number of United Nation's Sustainable Development goals," added Dr. Nishitsuji. For example, as a carbon negative crop, seaweed farming has the potential to help mitigate climate change, and in the future, it could be an important marine resource for growing food sustainably.

"Maintaining production and improving the cultivation of Okinawa mozuku, along with other edible seaweeds is therefore a main priority," said Dr. Nishitsuji.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 14:56:12|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese railway police seized 2,469 kg of narcotics and captured 2,123 persons suspected of drug-related crimes since June 2019, according to official figures on Friday.

Railway police across the country maintained a tough stance against drug-related crimes, stepped up efforts to spot suspicious passengers and activities at major railway stations, and increased checks in key passenger and freight trains, said the Ministry of Public Security's railway bureau.

While sharing intelligence inside the railway police system, Chinese railway police strengthened cooperation with other public security and law enforcement agencies amid efforts to combat drug-related crimes, the bureau said. Enditem
While the film industry is slowly trying to crawl its way back to normalcy, with shoots of TV shows and films resuming, actor Sayani Gupta is still not convinced about the idea of getting back on set yet.

Im wary of the whole thing. I dont want to start shooting right now. I dont think we are ready, she says.

The actor feels that the next few months, at least till October, are going to be very crucial for the film industry to assess the whole situation.

Even when actors start shooting, I dont want to be the first one out there. Id first want to know what peoples experiences are. There are many whore are in charge and smart enough to understand and evaluate the right way to go about it. Im no expert, but I can say that its going to be very tricky and complicated, asserts the 34-year-old.

There may be social distancing protocols in place, but the Article 15 actor still feels that its going to take much more time for work to resume completely, especially because of the huge number of people involved in the whole process.

A film set is very hard to quarantine, especially in a country like ours. Theres a lot of human contact. Even with less number of people, how can an actor or a technician or a director not touch things, like props or each other? asks Gupta, adding that its practically not possible for everyone to be wearing masks and gloves all the time.

The heat and humid conditions in Mumbai make it just impossible. Were not prepared at all right now. Everything will have to be re-evaluated and adapted to a post Covid world, she says.

While she may not be back on sets anytime soon, two of Guptas projects have made way to the audience amid the lockdown via OTT platforms  second season of web series Four More Shots Please! and her new web film Axone, which is a quirky take on the life of Northeasterners living in Delhi.

Imagine if we didnt have content to watch. It has been stress-free, and entertaining for all of us. People are hungry for new content to watch. Our web series did exceedingly well because it came during the lockdown. In fact, every kind of content is doing very well these days. Even big films are coming on the web. Its a good time for content creators, the actor concludes.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his government and the United Arab Emirates will soon announce a partnership in the fight against the coronavirus.

The deal, which the UAE later said involved two private companies, comes despite recent warnings from UAE officials that Israels planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank would harm its efforts to improve relations with Arab states.

In a speech to graduating Israeli fighter pilots, Netanyahu said an announcement was expected in a few moments and came after months of intense contacts.

This collaboration will be in the fields of research and development, technology, in areas that will improve the confidence in health throughout the region, he said.

The Emirates state-run WAM news agency later published an item acknowledging two private firms signed a deal with two Israeli companies to develop research and technology to fight COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. The announcement did not name the firms.

As a result of the pandemics spread worldwide, it is imperative to place the protection of humanity at the forefront of global action to overcome this unprecedented crisis, WAM said.

Its unclear what that research will involve. The UAE has been working closely with China on the virus.

Israel and the UAE, home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, do not have formal diplomatic relations, but they are believed to maintain close behind-the-scenes contacts because of their shared concerns about Iran.

Earlier this month, the UAEs ambassador to the United States published an op-ed in an Israeli newspaper confirming that ties had improved but warning Israel that proceeding with annexation would upend any efforts to normalize relations with Arab states.

Annexation will certainly and immediately upend Israeli aspirations for improved security, economic and cultural ties with the Arab world and with UAE, Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba wrote.

However, last week, another leading UAE official said it was open to cooperating with Israel on efforts to combat the coronavirus and other humanitarian issues despite the political disagreement over annexation.

Can I have a political disagreement with Israel but at the same time try and bridge other areas of the relationship? I think I can, Anwar Gargash, the UAEs minister of state for foreign affairs, said in an interview with the American Jewish Committee advocacy group.

Last month, the UAE sent a cargo plane to Israel loaded with coronavirus-related aid it said was destined for the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority said it could not receive the aid because there had been no prior coordination.

Netanyahu has vowed to annex all of Israels far-flung settlements and the strategic Jordan Valley, which together amount to around 30% of the occupied West Bank. President Donald Trumps Middle East plan endorsed the move, which has been rejected by the Palestinians and much of the international community.

Israel could begin the annexation process as soon as July 1, but the Trump administration may apply the brakes in an effort to revive peace negotiations. The UAE is a close and influential U.S. military ally.

Opponents of annexation say it would make it virtually impossible to create a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, territories seized by Israel in the 1967 war. A two-state solution is still widely seen as the only way of resolving the conflict.

Netanyahu has boasted of quietly improving ties with Arab states, but full normalization still appears unlikely without a resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians.

Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab countries to have made peace with Israel. Jordan, another close U.S. ally, is staunchly opposed to any annexation, saying it would cause a massive conflict.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 07:35:11|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Philadelphia is planning to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus in Marconi Plaza, an urban park square located in south of the city, Mayor Jim Kenney's office announced Thursday.

Tensions between people pro and against the statue "have deteriorated to a concerning public safety situation," the office said in a statement.

Columbus became a symbol of Italians' contributions to American history, but "scholars and historians have uncovered first-hand documentation establishing that his arrival in the Americas also marked the beginning of the displacement and genocide of Indigenous people," the statement said.

The largest city of eastern U.S. state Pennsylvania will ask the Philadelphia Art Commission to approve the removal of the statue on July 22, and will allow public input through written statements until July 21, according to a CNN report.

In many cities across the country, including Boston, Minneapolis and Virginia's capital city Richmond, statues of Christopher Columbus are being dismounted or defaced amid protests against police brutality and racism and debates over confederate statues and other controversial monuments. Enditem
FILE PHOTO: Logo of Air France KLM Group is pictured on the first Air France airliner's Airbus A350 during a ceremony at the aircraft builder's headquarters of Airbus in Colomiers

By Toby Sterling and Laurence Frost

AMSTERDAM/PARIS (Reuters) - The Dutch government has reached a deal with France to contribute 3.4 billion euros ($3.8 billion) to an Air France-KLM <AIRF.PA> bailout that had strained relations between the airline group's state shareholders, sources told Reuters.

The agreement will see the Netherlands issue direct loans and guarantees to KLM and appoint a trustee to its board, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Air France-KLM and the French finance ministry declined to comment, but the Dutch finance ministry later announced a Friday morning news conference to "detail the financial aid package for KLM". A statement that briefly appeared on the group website also mentioned its 3.4 billion-euro value.

The governments, which each own about 14% of Air France-KLM, unveiled 7 billion euros in French aid in April and a planned 2 billion-4 billion euros from the Netherlands, as the coronavirus crisis brought air travel to a near-halt.

The Dutch funds have been held up by parliamentary scrutiny and by tense negotiations in which France rebuffed The Hague's demands for a voting seat on the KLM board, which would have weakened the group's hold on its Dutch subsidiary.

Instead, the agreement would involve the appointment of a non-voting government observer to ensure taxpayers' bailout money is strictly reserved for KLM operations, the sources said.

The French and Dutch governments remain at loggerheads over management and strategy at Air France-KLM, created by the 2004 merger between the two national carriers.

Frustrations exploded in March last year with the Dutch state's surprise acquisition of a stake in the group, designed to match France's holding and counter its clout.

Prior to the pandemic, a specially convened intergovernmental group had reported no progress on issues that included Dutch demands for board seats and greater KLM autonomy from its parent group.

But the KLM aid deal may also resolve parts of that stalemate, the sources said, after the subject came up in talks this week between French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The Dutch aid package is also likely to come with environmental conditions and restrictions on executive pay demanded by lawmakers.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling and Laurence Frost; additional reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Edmund Blair, Kirsten Donovan, Dan Grebler and Lincoln Feast)
The biggest Saharan dust storm in 50 years has hit the US and is headed for Florida, Texas and other states already struggling with COVID-19 surges, sparking fresh fears of respiratory problems among Americans.

The so-called 'Gorilla Dust Cloud' struck Mississippi's gulf coast Thursday after charting its path across the Caribbean this week where air quality plunged to 'hazardous' levels.

The 3,500-mile-long cloud traveled 5,000 miles from North Africa before reaching the region stretching from Florida west into Texas and north into North Carolina through Arkansas, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

It will hang over the US Southeast this weekend and into the middle of next week, shrouding the region in a brown haze and deteriorating the air quality in states already buckling under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic.

Experts are warning vulnerable people to stay inside in states including Texas and Florida as the poor air quality caused by the dust storm coupled with the skyrocketing cases and hospitalizations of the deadly virus poses a double threat to public health.

The biggest Saharan dust storm in 50 years has hit the US and is headed for Florida, Texas and other states already struggling with COVID-19 surges

The so-called 'Gorilla Dust Cloud' struck Mississippi's gulf coast Thursday after charting its path across the Caribbean this week where air quality plunged to 'hazardous' levels

Strong warm winds over the Sahara desert typically whip up sand at this time of year and carry it across the Atlantic to the Americas.

But the dust is more dense this year than it has been in half a century, several meteorologists told Reuters.

'It's a really dry layer of air that contains these very fine dust particulates. It occurs every summer,' said NWS meteorologist Patrick Blood.

'Some of these plumes contain more particles, and right now we expecting a very large plume of dust in the Gulf Coast.'

The dry air mass that carries the dust can suppress tropical storm and hurricane formation and can enhance and illuminate sunrises and sunsets, meteorologists said.

The dust cloud swept across the Atlantic from Africa over the past week, covering swathes of the Caribbean including Jamaica, Barnados and Puerto Rico Sunday.

The dust cloud is seen over the city of Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday

Poor visibility in Puerto Rico at the weekend. The dust cloud swept across the Atlantic from Africa over the past week, covering swathes of the Caribbean including Jamaica, Barnados and Puerto Rico Sunday

Fishermen carry on working on their boats as a cloud of dust from the Sahara desert covers the buildings of Punta Paitilla, in Panama City, Panama

San Salvador in El Salvador is covered in dust from the Sahara desert Thursday

Typically blue skies turned into a milky-brown haze and Jamaica's Blue Mountains, usually seen towering over Kingston, were hidden behind a white cloud.

Air quality fell to 'hazardous' levels and weather forecasters for the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique warned the area was suffering its worst haze in at least a decade.

By Wednesday, much of the skies over Cuba were darkened by the dust plumes and images showed poor visibility in Havana.

Fishermen were pictured in Panama working on their boats as a cloud of dust from the Sahara desert covered the buildings of Punta Paitilla, in Panama City.

The dust cloud reached south Florida Thursday and is now moving through Texas into North Carolina and Arkansas where residents can expect poor air quality, hazy skies and low visibility until the middle of next week.

Fears are mounting over the health effects of the Gorilla Dust Cloud as it plows through US states where record-high coronavirus infections have been recorded in the last week.

The dry air mass that carries the dust can suppress tropical storm and hurricane formation and can enhance and illuminate sunrises and sunsets, meteorologists said, such as this image sunset captured in Florida on Thursday

Skies over Florida Thursday. The dust cloud reached south Florida Thursday and is now moving through Texas into North Carolina and Arkansas where residents can expect poor air quality, hazy skies and low visibility until the middle of next week

The visibility out of a plane flying over Tallahassee, Florida, Thursday

'There's emerging evidence of potential interactions between air pollution and the risk of COVID, so at this stage we are concerned,' said Gregory Wellenius, an professor of environmental health at Boston University's School of Public Health.

Air pollution can be especially detrimental for people who are at risk of or suffer from cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses, he added.

Heart and lung problems heighten the risk of severe COVID-19.

Infections across the US have been surging for more than a week after trending down for over six weeks.

New cases and hospitalizations have been spiking to record levels in states like Arizona, Texas, California and Florida.

Texas, which was one of the first states to ease lockdown at the end of April, reached record COVID-19 hospitalizations for the 13th day in a row Thursday, with nearly 4,400 patients.

View of the cloud of Saharan dust over a beach in Cancun, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, Thursday

Panama City is shrouded in dust as experts warn air pollution can be especially detrimental for people who are at risk of or suffer from cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses

In Carolina, Puerto Rico, Tuesday the dust looms over the skyline. Air quality plunged to 'hazardous' levels in the Caribbean

Saharan dust is seen on the Bacardi factory in Catano, Puerto Rico, Monday

Cancun. Strong warm winds over the Sahara desert typically whip up sand at this time of year and carry it across the Atlantic to the Americas

Statewide, the number of COVID-19 patients has more than doubled in two weeks and more than 11,000 new cases have been recorded in the last two days alone.

With concerns building that the state is headed for a major health crisis, Governor Greg Abbott announced Thursday its reopening has been put on 'pause'.

In Florida, new daily cases surged to 5,508 Wednesday - a 25 percent jump from its previous record of 4,049 on June 20.

Health experts are urging residents in the areas hit by the Saharan dust plume to stay inside, for fear it could weaken the respiratory systems of people already at risk of the virus.
With the looming July 1 target date for annexing parts of the West Bank, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces an intense dilemma as he weighs the warnings of Israels top security and defense agencies about the potential fallout of such a move. Some, such as Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi and Military Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. Tamir Heyman, are more definite and explicit. Others, like the Shin Bet head Nadav Argaman, are voicing lower-key warnings, whereas Netanyahus man, also tagged by some as his successor, Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen, deflects the alarmist attitudes as exaggerated. He does not see an outbreak of Palestinian violence in the wake of annexation, and he rejects forecasts of possible damage to Israeli interests and to its clandestine ties with the Gulf States. Cohen is emphatic in dismissing the panic, in arguing that the Arab world and the Palestinians specifically will accept the Israeli move, in rejecting scenarios of a third intifada and insisting that Israels ties with its neighbors, near and far, will survive intact.

Cohen popped over to the Jordanian port town of Aqaba this week for a lightning visit, meeting secretly with the main troublemaker of the annexation plan, King Abdullah II. The Mossad director is in charge of contacts with Arab states and of Israels clandestine relations with countries that do not have official diplomatic ties with the Jewish State. In recent months, Cohen has become the cornerstone, the main pivot of Netanyahus attempts at damage control over the annexation and of his bid to prove to Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, both former military chiefs, that imposing Israeli sovereignty over land claimed by the Palestinians would not harm Israels strategic interests.

On June 25, at a pilot training graduation ceremony at the Hatzerim Air Force Base, Netanyahu announced that the health ministers of Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would declare within minutes cooperation between their countries on the coronavirus issue. This was Netanyahus and Cohens response to the June 12 op-ed piece by UAE Ambassador to the United States Yousef Al-Otaiba in the Israeli Yediot Ahronoth newspaper warning against the implications of annexation, and to the tweet by UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed backing King Abdullahs opposition to annexation.

Israel is waging its battle for the hearts and minds of the Gulf States and for the stability of its ties with Jordan and Egypt, even as Netanyahu is trying to fathom what the Trump administration and President Donald Trump himself will end up deciding in the coming days on the annexation issue. Netanyahu is less concerned about warnings by Kochavi and Argaman, according to which imposing Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank would also spark violence in Gaza, which could spread to the West Bank and even prompt a third intifada. He is mostly worried about the Americans, the Europeans and the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He is also worried about the position of his two faltering government partners, Ashkenazi and Gantz.

These two are undecided about what position to adopt. Two weeks ago at the beginning of June, they welcomed the Trump administrations clarification that it would only greenlight the annexation if all Israeli government partners were on board, effectively giving the duo veto power over the controversial move. However, the veto has turned into a double-edged sword, causing more harm than good for their Blue and White party. Given the current state of affairs, the Americans are hoping that Blue and White can talk Netanyahu down from the risky ledge he has climbed, whereas Blue and White is hoping the Americans will do the job for them. Each side is hoping the other will square its shoulders and present Netanyahu with the bitter news.

Netanyahu, for his part, is threatening his partners that if they derail the annexation plan, he will call new elections. Blue and White is trying to remain calm, even as daunting poll results of recent weeks give Netanyahu and his allies an overwhelming majority. Gantz and Ashkenazi will try to limit the annexation to the bare minimum rather than going down in history as those guilty of torpedoing the move.

And the Americans? They are still punting. The presidents top adviser, Kellyanne Conway, said on June 25 that she was leaving it to Trump to make the big announcement on the annexation. Nonetheless, Washington sources say the administration is still undecided between the conflicting views of US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, a staunch pro-annexation advocate, and of Trumps senior aide and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has serious reservations above the move at this time. Trump, himself, is far less interested in this argument than he was in unveiling his so-called deal of the century for Israeli-Palestinian peace in January. He is plummeting in the polls and needs a miracle to get him back into the saddle ahead of November. He will only do what helps him get re-elected. Period.

On the backdrop of all of that, the Israeli public is largely indifferent to the issue. Israelis are troubled by the ongoing spread of the coronavirus epidemic, by the relentless unemployment figures and the deteriorating economic fallout threatening to upend the decade of prosperity under Netanyahu. Only a negligible percentage of Israelis are interested in the annexation debate, which makes it somewhat of an electoral non-issue for Netanyahu. The defense chiefs warnings of violent escalation in response to annexation also weigh heavily on the prime minister. A document prepared by the IDFs Intelligence Directorate warns of renewed shooting attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians in the West Bank and even of renewed suicide bombings, which Israelis have been spared in recent years.

Blue and White, for its part, is expected to present an annexation blueprint of its own. It will be limited in scope to two or three settlement blocs that enjoy broad public consensus and will include an especially tempting goody bag for the Palestinians. This annexation can be called the plan for strengthening Jerusalem, a senior party source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. Israel will annex the Etzion settlement bloc and the settlement town of Maale Adumim, strengthening Jerusalem from the south and east. In return, it will give the Palestinians all the municipal Jerusalem neighborhoods that lie outside the separation barrier. The source added that a similar pilot program could apply to the north, annexing the settlement town of Ariel and giving the Palestinians in return chunks of the West Banks Area C around the town of Qalqilya on which to build high-tech parks and industrial zones.

Blue and White believes that such a move would provide Israel with maximum land at minimal cost, enabling it to both annex territory it has occupied for over 50 years and avoid extensive entanglement with opponents of such a move. In the Middle East, though, anything that can go wrong ends up going wrong. As it pertains to annexation, the mess is already here.
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USD  United States Dollar

The US dollar crept higher through trade on Thursday when measured against a basket of major counterparts, up two tenths of a percent and closing in on four-week highs.

Concerns surrounding a coronavirus resurgence pushed investors toward haven assets. As such markets appeared reluctant to extend gains across commodity currencies and risk assets.

The rapid spread of new infections across a swathe of US states, with Texas and North Carolina forced to suspend plans to re-open their economies and instead impose new measures to try and control their respective outbreaks, has prompted investors to begin re-assessing expectations for a prompt rebound in economic activity.

Activity through the short-term is likely to be muted and the recovery process slowed. This fact is beginning to weigh on investors. We are seeing a sustained risk-off shift, and the USD will likely find renewed short-term demand as markets unwind risk plays.

On the data front, the US posted a mixed bag of figures yesterday. Jobless claims were down for a 12th straight week to 1.48 million claims. Core durable goods orders were in above expectations at 4.0% vs 2.1% predicted. However, GDP dropped 5% in the first quarter, and many expect it to be even worse for the period of April-June.

Key Movers

The GBP is lower this morning after the UKs Chief Brexit negotiator refused to agree to a compromise on tariffs. While the focus remains largely with the battle against the coronavirus, there is still a long way to go before the UK leaves the EU at the end of the year and further delays/setbacks in divorce negotiations are adding further downward pressure on the GBP. Having slipped below 1.24, the GBP appears well supported on moves approaching 1.2350 for now, but a selloff in risk could prompt a move back toward 1.22 and 1.20.

The Euro also experienced a tough day of trading yesterday with EUR/USD falling to an intraday low of 1.1205. Aside from the US tariff threat on the EU, the ECB Monetary Policy meeting minutes, released yesterday, suggest theres no exit from Quantitative Easing anytime soon. The minutes also indicate policymakers see weakening price pressures, downside growth risks and weak demand. As such its likely we will see further downside for the single currency in the short term.

Story continues

On a lighter note, the Australian dollar crept higher through Thursday following the news that Australia saw its largest drop ever in job vacancies for the 3 months up to May. The AUD gains were marginal however as investor attentions remain squarely affixed to the largely unchecked spread of COVID-19 throughout the US, Latin America and South Africa.

As such markets appeared reluctant to extend gains across commodity currencies and risk assets, leaving equities, the AUD, NZD and CAD mostly flat on the day.

Expected Ranges

USD/CAD: 1.363  1.371 

GBP/USD: 1.232  1.243 

EUR/USD: 1.119  1.123 





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WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 25: U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks as other House Democrats listen during an event on police reform June 25, 2020 at the east front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. The House is scheduled to vote on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act today. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

House Passes Democrats Justice in Policing Act, Deepening the Partisan Divide

It's a bill that Democrats know neither the Senate nor President will sign

House Democrats passed their police reform package 236-181 after 5 1/2 hours of debate, basically along party lines on Thursday, with 3 Republicans voting in favor of the bill.

The vote on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act comes amid ongoing protests against alleged police brutality and racial injustice that have wreaked havoc in major cities across the nation. Floyd, a Black man, died in custody after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for almost 8 minutes as three other police officers watched on without intervening.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a press conference on the steps of the Capitol on Thursday morning, Today, we have the opportunity and the obligation to ensure that his [Floyds] death and the death of so many others are not in vain.

The Justice in Policing Act, which was spearheaded by Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Karen Bass, comes a day after Democrats blocked a vote on the GOPs police reform packagethe JUSTICE Actin the Senate.

Bass helped design the Democrats police reform package to include a ban on no-knock warrants in drug cases and amending what qualifies police for immunity, which would make it easier for courts to find officers personally liable for any violations of an individuals civil rights. The bill also seeks to amend federal civil rights law so that it no longer requires prosecutors to prove that an officers harmful actions were willful, and create a national registry of complaints, disciplinary records, and termination records of police officers.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the GOP bill did not go far enough to address the publics concerns on police brutality and racial justice.

The Senate bill would require increased data collection and reporting of use of force and no-knock warrants, provide grants for law enforcement to be equipped with body cameras and require departments to maintain and share officer disciplinary records. It also would establish several commissions, including one studying the conditions affecting black men and boys and one reviewing best practices for police departments.

In a speech on the Senate floor after the failed vote on Wednesday, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said he offered Democrats the opportunity to vote on up to 20 amendments to his legislation. But they said no.

Republicans Senators condemned the Democrats for refusing to proceed with debate to amend Scotts bill on the Senate floor on Wednesday.

House Republicans opposed the Justice in Policing Act because of a few key issues, including having no input in the process of drafting or amending the legislation, and because they did not want to strip away the legal protections that qualify police for immunity when they are under pressure to make split-second decisions in life-threatening encounters.

Democrats in the House and Senate urged Republicans to vote for their reform bill, saying that it is transformative as it has provisions that the GOP bill does not include.

Today @SenateDems stood together to demand a better bill to protect Black lives and end police brutality. And weve one ready to go @SenateMajLdr McConnell should stop dragging his feet and give us a vote on @SenKamalaHarris and @SenCoryBookers Justice in Policing Act, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

One Republican House member, Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), said: Traveling to Washington, D.C., to vote against unwise police reform legislation which targets police and puts all lives at risk.

House Republicans said that they were shut-out of offering any amends to the Justice in Policing Act and that Senate Democrats did not want to work with GOP members to get a bill that the Senate will pass and the president will sign.

Rep. Bob Woodall (R-Ga.) said that in order for the police reform legislation to be passed and made into law, it has to be bipartisan and the House Democrats Justice in Policing Act is not.

During the debate on the House floor before votes were cast, Rep. Rich Hudson (R-Va.) addressed Americans, saying that Democrats want you to believe that failure to get real reform is the fault of the Republicans when they shut us out of the process and they blocked us from having an open debate in the Senate.

Wake up America. The Democrats in Congress hope you arent smart enough to see the truth. Wake up and demand that your elected officials work together to get you the reform that all people of good will demand.

We owe it to the memory of George Floyd and to good police officers who risk their lives everyday to protect us, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 22:33:52|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Airways is projected to lose between 42-53 billion shillings (400-500 million U.S. dollars) in revenue in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has grounded commercial passenger flights, an official said on Friday.

Kenya Airways CEO Allan Kilavuka told a virtual annual general meeting in Nairobi that since January to date, the airline has probably lost in excess of 100 million U.S. dollars.

"When we estimate the end of the year we think we will lose 400 to 500 million dollars. Again we don't know how this looks like because it's unprecedented but that's what we are projecting," Kilavuka said.

He added that the national flag carrier has also suspended expansion into new routes for the next two years due to COVID-19 as the firm is not in a state to make new investments.

Michael Joseph, Kenya Airways chairman, said that the airline is keen to resume commercial flights in order to mitigate losses.

Joseph urged the government to allow passenger flights to commence as soon as possible so that they can start earning revenue and bring tourists to Kenya.

The chairman noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has also affected the process of nationalizing the airline by at least two months.

"It is a complex process because we also need to find a way to deal with the minority shareholders," Joseph said. Enditem
S everal London pubs have turned down the Government's call to reopen next week, citing safety concerns.

Pubs are allowed to welcome back drinkers next Saturday, with Boris Johnson telling Britons it's their "patriotic duty" to visit their local boozer when doors reopen.

Pub chains like Wetherspoons and BrewDog have welcomed the announcement, with 750 Wetherspoons branches set to reopen on July 4.

But several independent pubs, including the Tollington Arms in Holloway and The Gunners on Blackstock Road, have expressed doubts about the safety of reopening.

The Tollington Arms / Ewen Munro/Wikimedia Commons

The Tollington Arms said that it would not reopen because the Government was "ignoring" health advice.

The pub's management said on Twitter: "Its with a heavy heart that we must announce that we wont be opening on the 4th of July under the Guidelines which the Government has released this week.

'Its our belief that the government are ignoring the advice that science is telling us.

"We cannot in good conscience open the pub when contracting a deadly virus is still possible under these guidelines."

The pub pointed to study, published in May, which said that 5 per cent of the UK had tested positive for coronavirus antibodies.

"We care too much about our staff and our customers to risk rushing back, thus contributing to a second wave of this pandemic. We hope to open our doors in the near future when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, stay safe," it added.

Two other north London pubs managed by the same company as the Tollington Arms will also stay closed on July 4.

The Gunners pub on Blackstock Road / Ewan Munro/Flickr

Meanwhile the manager of The Gunners has said that the pub will "probably not" reopen next Saturday.

Una McKernan told the Islington Tribune: I am of the mentality of humanity over the economy. We are undecided if we will open, probably not. I would rather loyal patrons and friends were virus-free than potentially earn a quick Covid buck.

"And why should we do the Governments tacking for them? They failed in coming up with a system so now they want pubs to do it for them?

Pubs are public spaces, just like parks. If you are to legislate and track peoples movements in bars you should have done it in parks when people were buying cheap drinks from supermarkets and trashing the place. There has certainly been little to no social distancing going on in parks in lockdown.
OTTAWAU.S. President Donald Trump tried to use the prosecution of Meng Wanzhou as a bargaining chip in trade talks with China, his former national security adviser says, but the decision to seek the Huawei executives arrest was not politically motivated.

In an interview Friday on CBCs Radios The Current, John Bolton brushed aside suggestions his new book would help Meng by bolstering her claim that the American prosecution against her is driven by politics.

The facts are what the facts are, and I think when you read the book, its very clear what the purpose of the arrest was, Bolton said. It was not politically motivated at all, and Id be happy to testify under oath to that effect in a Canadian court.

Bolton told CBC that it was my view, and I think the uniform view of the presidents other advisers, that this kind of criminal prosecution should not be used as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations.

What bothered me was the presidents tendency to get involved in criminal prosecutions to give effectively personal favours to dictators he was trying to improve his relationship with. And I just think that is a mistake.

It calls into question the even-handedness of U.S. law enforcement and the seriousness with which we take violations in this case of the Iran sanctions and financial fraud, he said.

Bolton said he told Trump the prosecution of Huawei and its high-profile chief financial officer Meng was key to U.S. national security interests and protecting the integrity of its financial markets.

Bolton said he and others tried to persuade Trump  who was keen on a trade deal  that the case wasnt an anti-China move, although I do think Huawei is effectively an arm of the Chinese state.

Despite that, Trump raised the Meng case in one-on-one talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and offered to drop charges against the Huawei executive as part of a broader trade deal, Bolton says in his new book, The Room Where It Happened.

Boltons comments come at an explosive moment in Canada-China relations amid a debate about whether the Meng case is so politicized that Canadas national interests  and the lives of two Canadians subsequently detained by China  are at risk.

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained shortly after the RCMP arrested Meng at the request of the United States on Dec. 1, 2018, as she was flying through Vancouver. China has made clear that the detained Canadians could be released if Canada lets Meng go.

Kovrig and Spavor were formally charged last Friday with spying, a step that almost always ends in conviction in the opaque Chinese judicial system.

In the past several months, there have been informal diplomatic efforts to find a breakthrough in the impasse to no avail, as the Star reported Thursday.

This week Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejected calls by prominent Canadians including former Liberal ministers, ambassadors and foreign policy advisers to use a legal power to drop the extradition case against Meng, saying it would set a precedent and lead countries like China to believe they could randomly arrest Canadians to pressure the Canadian government.

Justice Department spokesman Ian McLeod said no justice minister has ever personally intervened to withdraw an extradition case after it received approval to proceed to a Canadian court. But he said Justice Department officials have withdrawn cases in certain circumstances, including on occasions when the requesting state dropped it or there were changes in evidence.

Its unclear whether the U.S. would be open to dropping the case against Meng as part of any trade deal.

The Star previously reported that Trudeau tried to persuade Trump he should secure the Canadians release if he gets a deal with China.

Bolton writes that Trumps administration is badly split between China hawks, panda huggers and confirmed free-traders but Trumps priority was a better trade deal in order to wield the upper hand in military matters as well.

His book says that during a June 18, 2019 phone call, Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed hard on Huawei. Trump repeated his point that Huawei could be part of the trade deal, along with all of the other factors being discussed.

Xi warned that, if not handled properly, Huawei would harm the overall bilateral relationship  and said he wanted to work jointly with Trump personally on the issue, and Trump seemed amenable.

Later, Bolton writes, Xi kept pushing at the G20, saying we should resolve Huawei as part of the trade talks.

Bolton told CBC that Trump gets along better with adversaries than with allies and merely tolerated Trudeau, whom he personally dislikes, in order to get a NAFTA trade deal.

Bolton acknowledged Canada was broadsided by China for upholding its obligations under a long-standing bilateral extradition treaty with the United States.

I fully understand why the government of Canada and Canadians worry about their citizens getting caught up in whats really a dispute between the United States and Huawei, he said.

But please consider this. This is the way China behaves when it's not dominant in the world and if you dont stand up to this kind of behaviour now, now what is it going to be like as China grows in economic strength?

Read more about:
It'll be more of an outside "What's On" this weekend, so go ahead and explore the Dudelange climbing park, canoeing tours, DIY Tipi-building and best swimming spots in the country!

1. High hopes at outdoor climbing park



What: Urban climbing track

Where: 203 Rue du Parc, 3542 Dudelange, Luxembourg

When: Saturday and Sunday between 10am-7pm

Temperatures are still skyrocketing this weekend, but sitting inside is still a bit boring. So the perfect spot is right below the trees, where the forest breeze cools you off and leaves keep out the sun. "Parc Leh" in Dudelange is an adventurous option, as it hosts over 100 different activities on 7 different rope courses. No matter your level, there's a track that's just right for you, low or high above the ground. Start out slowly with only a metre height, and then increase the intensity, height and adrenaline! Don't forget the Tarzan Swing!

Our colleagues even did a video report about it: RTL Introduces Park Le'h

 Kmeron / Flickr

2. Join webinar on how to become a pilot

What: Hear from an airline captain

Where: Online webinar

When: Sunday, 28 June at 11am

Dreaming of taking to the skies? Luxembourg-based aviation academy Hub'Air is hosting a free webinar on Sunday to talk you through the process and answer questions about the journey to becoming a pilot. Airline Captain Brocart welcomes you to his one-hour session online, so feel free to prepare questions in advance. Note that signing up is required on the website.

 Pixabay

3. Funky tunes with ritsch-ratsch at Kufa

What: Weekend mood

Where: 116 Rue de Luxembourg, 4221 Esch-sur-Alzette

When: Friday, 26 June between 7pm-10pm - event here.

The female power duo ritsch-ratsch will be spinning your favourite apero-tunes this Friday at Kulturfabrik. You'll find yourself dancing in no time, so do make sure you pick the right work colleagues, or you'll regret it later. Join the Facebook event here.

4. Explore natural swimming hotspots

What: Fresh splash

Where: Several locations, see map below

When: All weekend, but avoid harsh sunshine hours

What: Live music from the Philharmonie

Where: Videos available on homepage

When: Anytime, with a nice glass of wine

Over the past two months the Philharmonie has hosted several stunning live streams online. The good news is that they can all be rewatched on the venue's website. Follow this link here to the homepage, and be inspired by the afro-jazz sounds of Lionel Loueke, the stunning performance of the Reis Demuth Wiltgen Trio, and much more. And we have good news, too: the venue is back for live music. This week the OPL performed Luxembourg's National Anthem.

6. Build a heat-resistant Tipi with the kids

What: DIY sleeping spot

Where: Anywhere around the house

When: All weekend

We all have a hard time sleeping with these temperatures. Pulling your mattress outside may not be the smartest idea this weekend with expected thunderstorms, so why not get creative in the basement or in the living room with the kids? All you need is some wooden poles, string and cloth. Tie it all together, place a fan nearby, add some cosy lights - there's your home-made tipi!

7. Canoe and kayak tour in Lultzhausen

What: Refreshing day-trip

Where: Youth hostel Lultzhausen, 20, an der Driicht, Lultzhausen

When: Saturday, 27 June and Sunday, 28 June at 2pm

The youth hostel in Lultzhausen is finally open again, as well as the Upper Sure lake. The animation team of the youth hostel Lultzhausen offers guided canoe and kayak tours until the end of June  every Saturday and Sunday at 14:00. Due to the current situation, all tours require prior registration and the observance of safety and hygiene rules - register here. Tickets are 10 for kids and 14 for adults.

 Pixabay

Is there an event you think we'd enjoy and like to share with our audience? Feel free to let us know through audience@rtltoday.lu and we may consider it for next week's agenda.
Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran said Friday that he's pleased about the company's initial public offering, even as its shares fell a few dollars short of expectations.

The grocery store operator began trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "ACI." It debuted at a lower-than-expected $16 per share, below its $18-$20 target range.

On CNBC's "Squawk Alley," Sankaran said the drop in price reflects the volatility of the market, not the strength of the company.

"It's so hard to predict what's happening in the market anymore," he said. "It's so different from the beginning of the week to the end of the week, but we are just proud that in this extremely difficult environment, in the middle of a pandemic, we were able to IPO the company."

Sankaran said the IPO is "a great accomplishment" for Albertsons, and it's focused on providing fresh groceries to customers over the long-term, whether they choose to shop online or in stores.

Shares closed down about 3% Friday at $15.45.

Albertsons was founded in 1939 in Boise, Idaho. Since then, the grocery operator has grown to about 2,250 stores in 34 states and Washington, D.C. under its own name and other banners, including Safeway, Vons and Tom Thumb. All of its stores are in the U.S. and its headquarters are still in Boise.

Sankaran became CEO of Albertsons last spring. He was previously the CEO of PepsiCo Foods North America.

Over the past few years, Albertsons has been trying to go public or expand. Private equity owner Cerberus Capital Management LP has pushed the company towards an initial public offering. Two years ago, Albertsons made plans to merge with Rite Aid Corporation, but dropped the $24 billion deal after some investors objected.

The grocer has gotten a bounce in recent months as Americans have stocked up on groceries and cooked more at home during the coronavirus pandemic. Its sales in March and most of April were up 34% from last year.

Sankaran said online grocery shopping is an important growth area, especially in recent months, but he said many customers still prefer to make purchases in person.

"Stores still matter," he said. "A lot of customers shop stores and use the delivery and it's the combination that makes it really powerful and we're betting on that."

Like other grocers, Albertsons has thin margins and it has had to take on more costs to stock shelves, clean stores and fulfill online grocery orders during the pandemic.

Sankaran said it's focused on growing profits by winning more market share. He added that the company is "very good" at mergers and acquisitions and that's how it's built the company. It was one of the companies that explored a bid on Whole Foods before Amazon bought the company.

"Right now, we're focused are creating more value through the assets that we have and we have a great set of assets," he said. "We have plenty of headroom there. But we're always eyes open. When the right opportunities come by, we will do it."
Jill Karnicki, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

In the July 14 runoff for Texas State Board of Education District 6, which stretches from Tomball to the north to Bellaire to the south and includes about 1.8 million Texans, we are urging voters to vote for Michelle Palmer.

Her years as a social studies teacher in area schools including Aldine ISD and Houston ISD have made her familiar with curriculum issues and she will bring a rare perspective to the board: that of an active teacher.
Around 160 jobs are at risk at Co Antrim manufacturer Sensata Technologies after a downturn in the global car manufacturing marketing due to Covid-19.

It's the latest big business here to announce potential job losses after manufacturer Terex announced its consulting with staff over cuts.

Leaders in the manufacturing industry have warned of mass job losses as companies start to look at making staff redundant ahead of the end of the government's furlough scheme in October.

Sensata Technologies has 1,058 employees in Antrim and Carrickfergus - though it announced earlier this year that the latter plant is to close in early 2021.

Jobs in production, engineering and support roles will be hit by the move which Sensata Technologies said was in response to a significant drop in market demand due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Its Northern Ireland factories make tyre pressure monitoring systems for cars.

Global car manufacturing came to a virtual standstill during lockdown, while demand for new cars has also been hit by the economic downturn resulting from lockdown.

Sensata has operated here since it bought over Schrader Electronics six years ago.

The closure of the Carrickfergus plant will further cut its workforce by 270.

Eric Sorret, vice president at Sensata Technologies, said: As part of our long term planning it has become clear that the effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic will have a profound and lasting impact on the demand for direct tyre pressure monitoring systems.

Vehicle manufacturers around the world are significantly cutting their forecasts for the coming years, with global passenger vehicle demand set to be reduced by between 20 and 30%.

This long-term reduction in market demand has already directly affected our Northern Ireland manufactured product lines and we regret to announce that we will be making a series of reductions to the workforce at our Antrim site during 2020 and early 2021.

Like many businesses around the world, Sensata is adapting to a fast changing, challenging situation and our priority now is to support our affected employees and their families as we begin a collective consultation period. During this 90-day period proposed alternatives to compulsory redundancy will be considered. We will be providing advice and career transition guidance to affected employees.

Despite these difficult operational decisions Sensata remains committed to Northern Ireland and will continue to invest in the development of Smart and Connected products to support future growth.

Meanwhile, equipment giant Terex Materials Processing has said its consulting on job losses at its sites across Omagh, Dungannon, Ballymoney and Campsie, which have a total of 1,800 staff.

A spokeswoman for the US-owned firm said: As a consequence of Covid-19 Terex has taken a number of actions to reduce costs, including company-wide salary reductions and the use of the UK Governments furloughing scheme in order to align the business with anticipated demand. In addition to these measures we will also begin a consultation period with our employees which may lead to a reduction in our workforce.

We regret that it is necessary to consider a reduction in workplace numbers.

We understand this is a worrying time for our team members and we will continue to communicate with them as events develop. Every attempt is being made to minimise job losses in these uncertain global conditions, while at the same assuring the sustainability of the business going forward.
Anusha Ravi By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: No lockdown in Bengaluru, this is clear, declared Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Thursday, reiterating that the government has no plans of shutting down the state capital. Ashoka, who was named Bengaluru Covid-19 in-charge since Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar is under home quarantine, said there will be no blanket lockdown in Bengaluru, but measures like sealing adjoining roads in containment zones and adjoining houses in areas where single cases are reported will continue. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday morning put the onus on citizens to prevent a lockdown in Bengaluru.

Later in the day, the CM held a special meeting to discuss containment measures and the preparedness in Bengaluru in the light of the spike in the number of cases. On Friday, the CM has called for a meeting of Bengaluru legislators from all parties to discuss the situation. Yediyurappa urged officials to ensure immediate admission of patients who test positive for Covid-19 without prolonged delays. For this purpose, he said that 100 ambulances have been deployed and more will be approved on a need basis. Following review of active cases, clusters, spread and predictions on infection made over the next two weeks, the CM was apprised that the situation in Bengaluru was in control despite the spike in numbers.

Bengaluru has been a model for the entire country. Compared to other big cities, we have things under control. We have taken necessary precautions in the backdrop of the rising Covid-19 cases. We will make our containment measures even more stringent, but people have to cooperate. Even after making it convenient for people to move about, people are not following social distancing norms or other precautions leading to a spike in cases, especially in slums. If people would want to spare Bengaluru from another sealdown, please cooperate with the government and ensure precautions are taken, Yediyurappa appealed.

It is with this confidence that the State Government has decided not to go back on its decision of conducting SSLC exams despite opposition from students, parents and child rights activists. It was decided in the meeting to treat patients with moderate symptoms at Covid-19 Care Centres instead of hospitals where availability of beds should be ensured for severely symptomatic patients.

The CM instructed officials to shift asymptomatic patients to Haj Bhavan and private hotels. Ministers in charge of Covid- 19 management have been asked to hold meetings with private hospitals to address their concerns regarding treatment and to bring them on board to work in tandem with the war room for realtime updates to avoid any confusion. The recovery rate in Karnataka is at 61 per cent and the number of active cases are under 4,000. In Bengaluru too, while the numbers may be rising, recoveries have also been steady, said a minister who was part of the meeting.
Saharan dust cloud leaves Riviera Maya for the US

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  The State Coordination of Civil Protection in Quintana Roo (Coeproc) reports that the highest concentration of traveling Sahara sand has reached the region. The agency says that over the next day or so, local air quality will improve as the tail of the sand finishes passing over the Yucatan Peninsula.

Adrian Martinez Ortega of the Coordinacion Estatal de Proteccion Civil en Quintana Roo (Coeproc) said that according to the National Meteorological Service (SMN), the dust cloud of the Sahara began its passage over the Yucatan Peninsula and the slope of the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday, explaining that its maximum concentration has been reached.

In days gone by, a cloud of dust from the Sahel region in the Sahara, a phenomenon that is common during spring and summer, reached the Yucatan Peninsula, he said adding that the dust has been monitored through the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea where it has caused a notable reduction in visibility, affecting maritime and air navigation, in addition to generating a hazy sky.

When these dust clouds move through the tropical Atlantic, they limit the development or intensification of tropical cyclones, since they are large extensions of dry air, he noted.

During its passing, the State Health Secretariat (SESA) issued a series of recommendations to reduce the discomfort from the presence of the dust cloud, mainly among people with chronic respiratory diseases. The health authority suggested using sunglasses and a mouth covering as well as covering drinking water sources to avoid contamination.

The massive, thick Saharan dust cloud moves away from Mexico, bound for the US Gulf Coast

Over the past week, an unusually large area of Sahara dust began to cover the Cancun, Riviera Maya region, creating hazy skies and increased temperatures. For the most part, the dust cloud has moved off, now affecting parts of southern Florida, including the city of Miami, however, another large area of sand has been captured on satellite moving out of the Sahara and travelling across the Atlantic.
The Mississippi legislature may have the votes necessary to change the state flag, which currently features the emblem of the Confederacy.

Supporters of a flag change worked through the night to secure the remaining votes necessary for a successful vote to change the state flag, State Representative Robert Johnson III, a Democrat, told NBC on Friday. Johnson is the head of the Democrats in the states House of Representatives.

The votes to make that change are there in the House and appear to be there in the Senate, Johnson continued. There very well may be a first step taken today in the House by passing a rules suspension to take up a bill to remove the current state flag.

A two-thirds majority would be required to enact a rules suspension in the legislature, which would allow lawmakers to change the state flag without a veto. Proposals to change the flag have come up before, but have never been passed.

Governor Tate Reeves, a Republican, expressed ambivalence on Thursday regarding changing the flag.

I dont think that if you want to keep the flag youre automatically a traitor or racist, Reeves wrote in a Facebook post. I also understand that a flag isnt about the past; it is a banner for the present. Outside of all the corporate posturing and preening, there is honest pain and discomfort felt when some Mississippians look at the symbol on our flag.

Reeves continued, Im torn on the path forward for our state.I still think a vote of the people that this flag represents is the best way.

More from National Review
India, Pakistan Engage in Mortar Shelling, Firefight at Border

Sputnik News

11:27 GMT 25.06.2020

New Delhi (Sputnik): India and Pakistan, at odds over Jammu and Kashmir since independence, have been accusing each other of constant ceasefire violations across the Line of Control (LoC). While India claimed that Pakistan has violated the ceasefire over 2,000 times in 2020, Islamabad accused New Delhi of breaking the pact over 957 times.

Pakistan resorted to firing mortars and other weapons after it initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir's border in the Machhal Sector, India's Army claimed today, confirming that India is retaliating against the fire as well.

"Pakistan violates ceasefire in Machhal Sector, Kupwara (J&K). On 25 Jun 2020, in the afternoon hours, Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation (CFV) along the LoC in Machhal Sector by firing Mortars and other weapons. Befitting response is being given", stated the Indian Army's Chinar Corps infantry field formation.

Earlier, on 22 June, an Indian soldier was killed following a number of ceasefire violations by Pakistan which hit several sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

At least four civilians and a soldier in India have been killed in different incidents of ceasefire violations this week in the Jammu and Kashmir region. Pakistan also claimed that four civilians were killed in Indian fire on 18 June, while a 13-year-old girl was killed on 21 June.

Over the last few weeks, India and Pakistan have been involved in several ceasefire violations in which soldiers and civilians from both countries have been killed, while a lot of property has been damaged.

The diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Islamabad have deteriorated since August 2019, when India stripped Jammu and Kashmir, to which Pakistan also lays claim, of its special status. Earlier this week, the two countries decided to cut the diplomatic staff by half in their high commissions in New Delhi and Islamabad.

 Sputnik

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Over 500 signatories include Asian leaders Shirin Ebadi and Jose Ramos-Horta, the former Secretary of State Albright, and actor Richard Gere. The health emergency is a "formidable global challenge". The fight against coronavirus exploited to repress freedoms. The Philippines case: in the pandemic Duterte has strengthened its powers. The accusations to China.

Bangkok (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Democracy is one of the victims of the global Covid-19 pandemic with some governments exploiting the fight against the new coronavirus to "strengthen the grip on power", deeply undermining basic rights and civil liberties.

This is the warning contained in an opened letter signed by over 500 political leaders, intellectual activists and Nobel laureates, including Shirin Ebadi, Lech Walesa and Jose Ramos-Horta, by the former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and by the actor and activist Richard Gere.

The health emergency, the authors warn, constitutes a "formidable global challenge to democracy". Already in recent weeks the United Nations had raised the alarm, speaking of "exploitation" of the fight against Covid-19 to repress democratic and personal freedoms. Now the warning is being taken up by hundreds of leading figures from the worlds of politics, culture and activism that "democracy is under threat, and people who care about it must summon the will, the discipline, and the solidarity to defend it.

"At stake are the freedom, health, and dignity of people everywhere." - continues the text.

The letter, which aims to raise "awareness and mobilize citizens", was created on the initiative of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International Idea), an organization based in Stockholm, Sweden.

The pandemic has already led to "serious consequences" on an "economic and social" level, they continue, and "it is very likely that it is already having profound political consequences", says Secretary General Kevin Casas-Zamora.

Casas-Zamora pointed to "cases like Hungary where basically the emergency powers invoked by the government had no expiration date." Those powers were lifted however by a unanimous vote in parliament on June 16 that took effect the following day.

Then there is the case, adds Kevin Casas-Zamora, of the Philippines of President Rodrigo Duterte who strengthened his powers with the pandemic and, in Salvador, the use of detention centers for the sick. The special powers, the activist warns, are "part of the arsenal" of weapons that can be used to counter the spread of the virus but must be "proportional" to the emergency.

The document does not quote China by name, but at certain point, referring to China, says: It is not a coincidence that the current pandemic began in a country where the free flow of information is stifled and where the government punished those warning about the dangers of the viruswarnings that were seen as spreading rumors harmful to the prestige of the state. When voices of responsible citizens are suppressed, the results can be deadly, not for just one country but for the entire world.
SANTA FE, N.M. - Three people have died, three others are in critical condition and one person is permanently blind after apparently drinking hand sanitizer that contained methanol, New Mexico health officials said Friday.

The state Department of Health said the cases were reported to the New Mexico Poison Control Center, with the first coming in early May. The other cases occurred since May 29.

The health department confirmed that the cases were related to alcoholism. Authorities have noted that people with substance abuse issues, particularly within the homeless community, have been known to use sanitizer and other products as a substitute for alcohol and liquor.

Health officials have warned against drinking hand sanitizer, and officials said the use of hand sanitizers containing methanol for any purpose may result in poisoning. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently warned consumers not to use nine brands of sanitizers that contained methanol.

A toxic form of alcohol, methanol can cause kidney damage, blindness and death. It may be fatal when inhaled, applied topically or ingested.

State Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel said there is an antidote, but the earlier someone gets treated for methanol poisoning, the better the chance of recovery.
With 17,296 COVID-19 cases, India on Friday recorded the highest one-day increase continuing a grim trend this month during which it has registered about 60 per cent of the total of nearly five lakh infections.

As Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest daily jump, it was for the seventh day in a row that the coronavirus cases galloped by over 14,000.

The cases spiked by 5,024 in Maharashtra and it was 3,645 in Tamil Nadu while AP and West Bengal witnessed a jump of 605 and 542 infections respectively.

The country has so far reported 4,90,401 coronavirus cases after the number of infections rose by 17,296 while the death toll also crossed the 15,000-mark with 407 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The death count now stood at 15,301, it said.

Between June 1 and June 26, the country recorded 2,99,866 cases, an analysis of the data showed. The recovery rate is, however, steadily improving to touch 58.24 per cent, the ministry said.

With coronavirus cases on the rise, the Assam government announced a 12-hour night curfew across the state from Friday and a 14-day complete lockdown in Kamrup (Metro) district, of which Guwahati city is a part, from June 28 midnight while traders of Hyderabad's largest wholesale market Begum Bazar in Telangana decided to shut shops for eight days from Sunday.

Telangana has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases for the past several days with 920 people testing positive on Thursday, taking the tally to 11,364.

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Guwahati, the gateway to the northeast region, has reported 762 coronavirus cases since June 15, and 677 of them have no travel history, though many had come in contact with those returned to the state from outside.

Ten districts and cities--Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Thane, Palghar and Pune in Maharashtra , Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy in Telangana, Ahmedabad in Gujarat and Faridabad in Haryana--have accounted for 54.47 per cent of the total caseload, a health ministry official said.

As the populous state of Uttar Pradesh reported 19 new COVID-19 fatalities and 750 infections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi showered praise on Yogi Adityanath for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the vast preparations made by the chief minister saved at least 85,000 lives, something that was unthinkable before 2017.

A serological survey to undertake a comprehensive analysis of COVID-19 and prepare a broad strategy to combat the pandemic will be carried out in Delhi from Saturday, the Union Home Ministry said.

"As per the directives of HM @AmitShah, discussion was done on the serological survey in Delhi, which will be carried out jointly by NCDC and Delhi Government. Survey will begin from June 27, training of all the concerned survey teams was completed yesterday," a home ministry spokesperson tweeted.

Delhi is the second worst affected state after Maharashtra both in terms of case load and death toll which was 77,240 and 2,942 respectively. The cases rose by 3,460 and fatalities by 63 in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra has accounted for 1,52,765 cases and 6,931 deaths. Augmented testing is being attributed for the surge in COVID-19 cases in the last few days in several parts of the country.

As part of efforts to expand the COVID-19 testing labs network, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has added 11 new COVID-19 labs in 24 hours to take the total to 1,016 labs.

Tamil Nadu reported 3,645 new cases, the highest in a day so far, taking the total to 74,622, a health department bulletin said. This is the second successive day of 3,500 plus fresh virus cases. Chennai, which is under fresh lockdown from last Friday till July 31, accounted for 1,956 of the new cases, and its share of the total tally stood at 49,690.

The COVID-19 graph continued its steep incline in Andhra Pradesh crossing the 11,000-mark with the addition of 605 cases, the single highest one day spike, according to a health bulletin.

The number of COVID-19 cases in West Bengal registered its highest single-day increase, recording 542 fresh infections, to push the tally to 16,190, officials said.

Karnataka breached the 11,000 mark with the state reporting 445 new positive cases. In all, 12 states have recorded over 12,000 cases.

Kerala's COVID-19 tally is inching towards the 4,000 mark as the state continued to see a sharp spike for the eighth consecutive day with 150 people including six CISF personnel and a health worker being infected on Friday.

(with inputs from PTI)
Available in the District at Ace Beverage, Calvert Woodley, Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits, Harrys Reserve Fine Wine & Spirits, Magruders, Pauls of Chevy Chase, Rodmans, Safeway (Wisconsin Avenue), Schneiders of Capitol Hill, Sherrys Fine Wine & Spirits, Trader Joes (various locations), Whole Foods Market (H Street, P Street). Available in Maryland at Balduccis, Bradley Food & Beverage and Lances Beer & Wine in Bethesda; Bel Pre Beer & Wine and Woodmoor Supermarket in Silver Spring; the Bottle Shop in Potomac; Downtown Crown Wine and Beer and Finewine.com in Gaithersburg; Mills Fine Wine and Spirits in Annapolis; Old Town Market in Kensington; Pine Orchard Liquors in Ellicott City; Old Town Market in Kensington; Rodmans in White Flint; Safeway in Olney; Wells Discount Liquors and Wine Source in Baltimore. Available in Virginia at Balduccis and Lost Dog Cafe in McLean, Daily Planet and Lees Market in Alexandria, Dominion Wine and Beer in Falls Church, Harris Teeter (various locations), Norms Beer & Wine in Vienna, Total Wine & More (various locations), Trader Joes (various locations), Wegmans (various locations), Whole Foods Market (various locations).
Mr. Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), has cautioned the Ghanaian media to avoid the temptation of being turned into political propaganda tools.



Our duty is to promote the public interest, he cautioned, stressing that the media must not allow their parochial interests to cloud their sense of judgment as they report on political activities ahead of the December General Election.



We must work to uphold multi-party democracy by reporting fairly and objectively while giving all the contesting parties an equal platform to put across their messages, the eminent journalist said.



Mr. Boadu-Ayeboafoh, who was addressing journalists at the Media Convention 2020 in Kumasi, advocated fair-mindedness and strict adherence to professional ethics.



The programme was sponsored by the US Embassy, and organized by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), bringing together selected media establishments drawn from the Ashanti, Bono, and Ahafo Regions.



Other participants included the security agencies, traditional authorities, officials of the Electoral Commission (EC), and representatives of political parties.



The 2020 Election: Role of the Media in Promoting Civility and Discernment in the Political Discourse, was chosen as the theme for the programme.



It served as a platform for dialogue by the stakeholders on issues relating to this years Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.



Topics discussed included GJA Guidelines on Election Coverage and the various Guidelines of the NMC: Correlation and Synergies, Concerns and Expectations of the EC on Media Coverage of Election 2020, as well as Social Media as a Tool for Information Flow - Prospects and Challenges.



Mr. Boadu-Ayeboafoh pointed out that the medias role was to serve as a voice and guidance to the electorates - helping to keep them informed of the manifestoes of the various political parties to make informed decisions.



He reminded journalists of the need to always present truthful and unbiased information, and also hold duty-bearers accountable for their work and promises to the people.



It is our responsibility to criticize duty-bearers constructively and objectively to deepen democratic dispensation, the NMC Chairman emphasized.



Mrs. Linda Asante-Agyei, Vice-President of the GJA, cited the critical role the media had played in strengthening democracy and the rule of law under the Fourth Republican Constitution.



This years polls, she said, presented another challenge to the media to be alive to their responsibilities - helping to reduce needless tension to ensure stability and sustainable development.



The GJA Vice-President said the Association under the Media Convention project, would continue to engage stakeholders for dialogue as it sought to create a harmonious environment before, during, and after the December General Election.



Nana Owusu Nyanin, Chief of Kwamo in the Ashanti Region, advised stakeholders to carry out their responsibilities in a more professional manner to engender peace and unity in the country.

Source: GNA









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

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 01:18:17|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Aug. 5, 2019 shows China's national flag and the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) on the Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong, China. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

The HKSAR government expressed strong opposition to the passage of the so-called "Hong Kong Autonomy Act" by the U.S. Senate. A government spokesman urged the U.S. Congress to immediately stop interfering in HKSAR's internal matters.

HONG KONG, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government expressed on Friday strong opposition to the passage of the so-called "Hong Kong Autonomy Act" by the U.S. Senate.

A government spokesman urged the U.S. Congress to immediately stop interfering in HKSAR's internal matters and said the act and the so-called "sanctions" are totally unacceptable and will only harm the relations and common interests between Hong Kong and the United States.

The implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle in the HKSAR is entirely the internal affairs of China, and no other state or legislature has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, in those internal affairs, the spokesman said.

Since the return to the motherland, Hong Kong has been exercising "the people of Hong Kong administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law, the spokesman said, stressing that the "one country, two systems" principle has been fully and successfully implemented.

The HKSAR government will continue to implement the "one country, two systems" principle resolutely in accordance with the Basic Law, the spokesman said.

The spokesman stressed that many of the comments on HKSAR affairs in the act are seriously misleading and absolutely unfounded.

Regarding prosecution of people engaged in illegal protests, the spokesman reiterated that Hong Kong has a well-established and fair criminal judicial system.

Article 63 of the Basic Law provides that the Department of Justice of the HKSAR government controls criminal prosecutions, free from any interference, and the prosecutors have always been discharging this constitutional duty independently and professionally, without fear or favor, the spokesman said.

Prosecutorial decisions are based on an objective assessment of admissible and reliable evidence and applicable laws, made strictly in accordance with the Prosecution Code which is available to the public, the spokesman said, noting that cases will not be handled any differently owing to the political beliefs, demands or backgrounds of the persons involved.

"The people of Hong Kong enjoy extensive rights and freedoms which are enshrined in the Basic Law. Article 4 of the Basic Law provides that the HKSAR shall safeguard the rights and freedoms of the residents of the HKSAR and of other persons in the region in accordance with law. In addition, human rights and freedoms in Hong Kong are fully protected by the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and other legislation," the spokesman said.

As for the roles of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, the spokesman said they represent the central government to which the HKSAR comes directly under pertaining to Article 12 of the Basic Law.

These offices have the power and responsibility over the proper and full implementation of the Basic Law and "one country, two systems," the spokesman said, stressing that there is no intervention in the affairs that the HKSAR administers on its own in accordance with the Basic Law.

Any "sanctions" imposed under the act will not create an obligation for financial institutions under Hong Kong law, the spokesman said, urging the U.S. side to act responsibly by refraining from taking measures that may potentially affect the normal operations of financial institutions and the vast number of customers they serve. 
New Delhi, June 26 : NRAI has launched a comprehensive set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and safety guidelines for restaurants to follow in the post-pandemic era.

Amongst the challenges that the restaurant industry foresee in building procedures and earning consumer confidence are issues concerning social distancing, reducing touch points, receiving and handling of goods and general health sanctity of the employees. The SOPs cover these issues and seeks to provide consumers with a feeling of safety in the restaurants rather than instilling a sense of panic.

It also covers available safety guidelines issued thus far by bodies such as WHO, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and FSSAI. These guidelines cover detailed steps of operations and guidelines for front of the house and back of the house. Statutory compliances have also been well-defined in the guidelines. It focuses on the new operating procedures for all possible departments of restaurants in all the formats.

For training of employees for implementation of the guidelines, NRAI has partnered with Releski, e-learning platform, to create some easy to understand and implement training modules, available at a very nominal price to its members.

The COVID-proof restaurant course include multi-lingual, easy and short video lessons showing the guidelines for all departments and every single role depicting the SOP mentioned in these guidelines.

Speaking on this subject, Anurag Katriar, President of NRAI; CEO & Executive Director of deGustibus Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. Said: "Our endeavor is to ensure that our restaurant members surface back quickly and this is only possible if we are able to win back the consumer confidence in quick time. This SOP, combined with the visual training aids, is an important tool in achieving this objective. I am really happy to partner with Releski as our Learning & Training Partner. Pravesh Pandey, Founder of Releski, who is also a successful Restaurateur himself, understands the practical challenges of running a Restaurant as well as their practical solution. I am sure these guidelines will prove to be an important milestone in the journey of making the Restaurant Business COVID-Proof."

Pravesh Pandey, Founder of Releski, Director - Partner of Byg Brewski Brewing Co.; NRAI Member said: "After spending 20 years in the Restaurant Industry, I realized that the need of the hour is a skilled landscape in the Restaurant Industry, as with more than 7.3 million employees and growing, the industry is purely dependent on its people. 65 per cent of the Industry is unorganized, my intent is to help them get organized through Training support."

(IANSlife can be contacted atianslife@ians.in)

-- Syndicated from IANS
Hong Kong: Govt rejects US report

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government attaches great importance to combatting human trafficking.

The Hong Kong SAR Government made the statement today in response to the US Department of States Trafficking in Persons Report 2020.

In the statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government said that it strongly objects to the report, adding it contains allegations made by unidentified sources and without specific case details.

The Hong Kong SAR Government is disappointed to note that much of the reports analysis appears to be based on hearsay, adding the findings are groundless and the reports rating of Hong Kong is biased and not substantiated by facts. It firmly rejected the findings and rating.

The Hong Kong SAR Government said Hong Kong has been making proactive, all-out and multi-pronged efforts to combat human trafficking.

The Action Plan to Tackle Trafficking in Persons & to Enhance Protection of Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong SAR Governments continuous efforts in the past two years formed a solid foundation. The Hong Kong SAR Government's resolve to combat human trafficking is beyond doubt.

The action plan comprises 14 new and 20 ongoing measures on victim identification, investigation, enforcement, prosecution, victim protection and support, prevention and partnership building with different stakeholders.

Since the 2019-20 financial year, the Hong Kong SAR Government has provided recurrent funding of $62 million annually to create 98 new posts in various departments to support the action plans implementation.

By the end of 2019, the action plan was fully implemented, with all initiatives firmly in place.

In 2019, more than 7,500 initial human trafficking victim screenings were conducted by various departments concerned, including Police, the Immigration Department, Customs and the Labour Department.

The screening questions used by the departments are akin to those proposed by advocating non-governmental organisations, and the definition of human trafficking adopted is the same as the one set out in the Palermo Protocol although it has never been applied to Hong Kong.

Despite such proactive and intensified screening efforts, only three people or 0.04% of all screening conducted were identified as victims.

The Hong Kong SAR Government said the small number and percentage of victims identified reinforces its observation that human trafficking has never been a prevalent problem in Hong Kong, adding there has never been any sign that syndicates are actively using the city as a destination or transit point for human trafficking.

To attack Hong Kong for lagging behind in its anti-human trafficking efforts despite such a positive outcome is unfair and illogical, the statement added.

The Hong Kong SAR Government stressed that human trafficking is a heinous crime that has never been tolerated in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has over 50 legal provisions against various human trafficking conducts that form a comprehensive package of safeguards comparable to composite human trafficking laws found in other jurisdictions.

The statement pointed out that the Hong Kong SAR Governments intensified efforts and notable improvements achieved in recent years, including dedicated efforts both in policy steer and frontline enforcement, a significant expansion of victim screening coverage and investment of substantial new resources, should have been recognised.

To persistently attack the Hong Kong SAR Governments multi-legislation approach, which has proved to be effective, insisting that Hong Kong must introduce a composite trafficking-in-persons law, is unreasonable and inconceivable, it said.

By ignoring the Hong Kong SAR Governments efforts and achievements solely because a multi-legislation approach to tackle human trafficking is used seriously calls the credibility and objectivity of the report into question, the statement added.

The Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to foster a constructive partnership with the civil society in combatting human trafficking on all fronts.

This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
North Penn School District parents take board to task over mask-taping incident
Opposition politician Goh Meng Seng. (Yahoo News Singapore file photo)

SINGAPORE  The Peoples Power Party (PPP) will be fielding secretary-general Goh Meng Seng to contest at MacPherson single-member constituency (SMC) for the upcoming General Election.

Goh, 50, confirmed his intention to contest in the SMC in a post on the partys Facebook page on Thursday (25 June).

He is expected to face Tin Pei Ling, the incumbent Peoples Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliament. Tin won a three-cornered fight at the 2015 GE, garnering 65.6 per cent of the votes.

In the Facebook post, PPP praised Tin for carrying out substantial grassroots activities to look after the welfare needs of MacPherson residents.

However, we believe what we need for Singapore at this juncture is a strong Parliament, providing the much needed checks and balances to the ruling PAP government, it said in the post.

Tin welcomes GE contest

In response to Gohs intention to contest the SMC, Tin also wrote on her Facebook page that she welcomes the contest, which will be good for our democracy and for the residents of MacPherson.

Mr Goh Meng Seng is a veteran politician with many years of experience, and I do not underestimate his campaign capability, she wrote.

MacPherson is always special to me. Having served in MacPherson for 10 years, I deeply cherish the bonds I share with our residents, and will continue to do my very best to serve, if I am given the opportunity to do so.

PPP had originally announced plans on Tuesday to contest in Radin Mas SMC, in addition to MacPherson. However, it subsequently said that it was stepping back from Radin Mas for the Reform Party to focus on the SMC instead.

PV announces 12-candidate line-up

Meanwhile, the Peoples Voice (PV) party also announced on Thursday that it will be fielding 12 candidates in five constituencies for the GE.

Party chief Lim Tean said in a post on his Facebook page that the party will be contesting in Jalan Besar and Pasir Ris-Punggol group representation constituencies (GRCs), as well as Pioneer, Mountbatten and Punggol West SMCs.

Story continues

Lim said in his post that the party came to its decision after much discussions and constructive talks with our friends in the opposition, including PSP (Progress Singapore Party) and RDU (Red Dot United).

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

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Photographer Edwin Poole was in for a surprise when he peered out the window of his studio one day. Looking down from the third floor of a building on St. Paul Street at the corner of Ontario Street, the scene he saw below was a little unusual.

A circus parade was making its way down the main street of St. Catharines, a parade extending a couple of blocks, back to Queen Street and beyond, and led by seven or eight elephants.

Realizing it was not every day you see elephants walking down St. Paul Street, photographer Poole grabbed his camera, pointed it out his window, and took the shot that is todays old photo.

The photo comes to us with no documentation attached  nothing to tell us when it was taken or which travelling circus was wending its way through town on that day. All that we know with certainty is that it was taken by photographer Poole, and from that we can deduce that the photo was taken sometime during the last quarter of the 19th century  Poole established his photo business here in 1877 and had his photo studio at the St. Paul and Ontario corner from then until he moved elsewhere on St. Paul in 1900.

In the 19th century and well into the 20th century, visits to St. Catharines by travelling circuses were annual events, and there was no better way for the circus to advertise its presence than to stage a parade like this through the centre of town.

Can you imagine how astounding it would have been back in the 1800s to have seen a live elephant  the stuff of picture books, of the tales of intrepid adventurers in far away lands  lumbering along down the main street of your hometown?

Earlier in this series we have talked about photos of earlier occasions like this  one with elephants lumbering down Geneva Street in June 1953, another showing them passing the old courthouse at the corner of James and King streets in July 1976.

Research reveals that such circus parades continued at least until 1984, when the Shrine Circus staged an elephant washing in Montebello Park and then paraded the pachyderms down Queen Street and along St. Paul to Carlisle Street.

Circuses were once so popular that city council decreed in 1977 that no more than one circus a month could use municipal arenas.

But times have changed in the past few decades. With the growth of the animal rights movement, circuses have became less and less welcome across the continent as they came under greater scrutiny for mistreatment to their animal performers. A great symbolic turning point came with the disbanding of the historic Ringling Bros. Circus in 2017, after it could not make a go of it after it removed elephants from its shows.

Here in St. Catharines, city council decreed in June 2019 that no circus featuring animal acts could henceforth perform on any city property. The era of elephants walking our downtown streets has definitely ended.
The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) raided a headquarter of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah in the Dora district in southern Baghdad early Friday morning. CTS confiscated a number of rocket launchers and arrested dozens of militia members.

The rocket attacks against US bases have increased significantly recently, especially after the assassination in January of Irans top commander Qasem Soleimani and his right-hand man Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. A further rise in attacks came when the new Iraqi government decided to open a strategic dialogue with the United States on their bilateral relations; the first session was held June 11 and the next session is expected to held in Washington next month, in the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. The targets of the recent attacks include the US Embassy in the heavily fortified Green Zone, a US military base near Baghdad International Airport and Taji military base north of Baghdad.

Over the last few months, new militias have been formed, including Osbat al-Thairin, Ghabdhat al-Huda, Kataib Thourat al-Ishrin, Ashab al-Kahf, Thar al-Muhandis Brigade and Jond Soleimani. However, it seems that these groups are only a cover for Kataib Hezbollah to undertake attacks against the United States in Iraq, without taking official responsibility.

Soon after the CTS operation, hundreds of Kataib Hezbollah members and its allied forces, including Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, gathered at the gates of the Green Zone and briefly entered the area, reaching the CTS building and threatening that they would attack it if their detained members would not be released within 24 hours.

A few hours later, an agreement was reached between the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) and CTS, under the sponsorship of the prime minister who was contacted by PMU head Falih al-Fayadh and the head of the PMUs Fatah bloc, Hadi al-Amiri. According to the agreement, the detainees will remain in custody until their court appearance and a joint committee will be formed to investigate the incident.

The Joint Operations Command also issued a statement explaining the circumstances and confirming that the detainees are still held in custody. The statement condemned the frequent militias' attacks in the Green Zone and on state-owned facilities, revealing that information has been obtained about the preparation of new attacks. Hence, they got a judge order and raided the Kataib Hezbollah headquarter, where they found clear evidence including rockets and rocket launchers. The statement concluded, "We, while stressing the seriousness of this behavior and its threat to the security of the state and its democratic political system, assure that these entities have exploited the capabilities of the state, which should not be allowed under any circumstances. We affirm the insistence on continuing the march in achieving security for the Iraqi people and entrust the matter to the judiciary and the competent authority."

In just a few hours, the Iran-backed PMU factions had shown a strong reaction, launching a campaign against the prime minister accusing him of being a puppet of the United States.

Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas Brigade and the Zolfaqar Forces called on its members to immediately go to their respective headquarters in preparation for a strong response to the government if the detainees are not released.

Following the raid, the factions' media sources spread the news that CTS was accompanied by US forces and the detainees were handed to the United States, and that US drones are flying over Baghdad in order to raise the ire of their members and supporters. An informed high-level CTS source denied both reports.

Jawad al-Telibawi, a prominent leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, tweeted immediately after the raid, The men of the resistance movement and the PMU are Iraqi men. We do not accept any assault. So do not play with fire.

Abu Ali al-Askary, (whose real name is not known but he is introduced by Kataib Hezbollah as their security leader), slammed Kadhimi in a tweet, calling him a mutant whose name is Kadhimi and accusing him of wanting to escape from the crime he committed against Soleimani and Muhandis by cooperating with the United States in the assassination operation.

In a statement, Thar al-Muhandis Brigade threatened to cut the hands of those who assault the Mujahedeen and cut the head of the person who gave them this order.

In another statement, obtained by Al-Monitor, Kataib Thourat al-Ishrin called those who took action against Kataib Hezbollah, i.e., the Kadhimi government, US agents and the children of the US Embassy, warning them, We are the masters of this game and we will lead it.

The prime minister is facing a difficult choice, engaged in a strategic dialogue with the United States, whose first step is to protect the US troops and the embassy in Iraq, and at the same time pressured by the militias that are not willing to abide by the state orders.

Kadhimi had warned the groups behind the repeated attacks on the Green Zone previously. In a tweet after an attack against the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, he wrote, The rockets that targeted the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in Baghdad aim to undermine our stability and future  this is unacceptable. I will not tolerate rogue groups hijacking our homeland, to create chaos and find excuses to maintain their narrow interests. We continue to implement our commitment to protect our sovereignty and promote the dignity of our country and citizens.

Kadhimi has tweeted frequently on the illegal economic activities of political parties and militias, warning them that his government will impose the law on all parts of state institutions and cut the corruption networks that are feeding them.

Under the current circumstances, the clash between Kadhimi and the militias seems to be unavoidable. The raid on the headquarter of Kataib Hezbollah is just the beginning, as Kadhimi has to put an end to the militias' illegal activities, or his government will collapse due to the economic crisis, the coronavirus pandemic, and Iran and the United States turning Iraq into a battleground.
At the same time, Tretiakova dismissed as "bullying" the row that her statement sparked.

Head of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Policies and Protection of Veterans Rights Halyna Tretiakova has commented on her statement where she mentioned "poor quality" children in families living off welfare.

According to her, she raised four children on her own, never took sick leave, working at least 50-60 hours a week and never applying for welfare payments.

At the same time, Tretiakova dismissed as "bullying" the row that her statement sparked.

Read alsoRuling faction MP in Ukraine comments on controversial statement by fellow party member on "poor quality" children

"Thank you all for the sincere words of support. They are extremely important for me amid this orchestrated bullying," MP wrote on Facebook. "Yes, the wording chosen was politically incorrect. Who of us never makes mistakes, especially during long public speeches?" she said.

"And yes. I'm not perfect. And I don't want to be perfect I just do what I can in the position where I am," Tretiakova added.

As reported earlier, speaking in a stream posted by the Kyiv School of Economics on May 26, Tretiakova said the following: "When we demographically provide welfare that is used by families for anything but providing their child with equal rights and education, while giving birth to a child only to receive financial assistance. Then we get  I'll say harshly  children of very low quality, who also start feeding on public funds. Margaret Thatcher also spoke of this once," Tretiakova said, adding that the UK is tough on those who "don't work and don't protect". She went on to cite the example of Singapore where Li Kuan Yu reportedly told to sterilize women with no higher education.

The relevant excerpt from the stream was posted by a Facebook public in late May and went largely unnoticed, but the row sparked after the Federation of Professional Unions of Ukraine on June 24 publicly called for Tretiakova's sacking from the post of Parliamentary Committee for Social Policies and Protection of Veterans Rights.
WASHINGTON - Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., argued Thursday that the District of Columbia does not deserve to be a state, asserting that while Wyoming has a smaller population, it has a greater right because it's a "well-rounded working-class state."

A day before the House votes on legislation to create the 51st state, Cotton cast the years-long effort to lift District to statehood as a power grab by the Democratic Party. In a speech on the Senate floor he dismissed the District as a city with little to offer other than lobbyists and federal workers. He made no mention of other defining aspects of the city, including its African American history, drawing outrage on social media and rebuke by some Democrats.

"Yes, Wyoming is smaller than Washington by population, but it has three times as many workers in mining, logging and construction, and ten times as many workers in manufacturing," Cotton said. "In other words, Wyoming is a well-rounded working-class state."

Bo Shuff, executive director of DC Vote, balked at Cotton's definition of what constitutes a state.

"Forty-nine out of the 50 states were smaller than the District of Columbia when they were admitted to the union," he said. "As a country we are a variety of all kinds of things, but the one thing we are all is represented in our democracy and participants - except D.C.," he said.

Democratic senators chastised Cotton who mockingly asked what "vital industry" the new District state would provide the nation. "Lobbying? Bureaucracy? Give me a break," Cotton said.

"Job shaming! Awesome! I'm in. Great idea. This CANNOT go wrong. Let's rank the virtue of every profession and if your state has too many workers in the bottom 20% you get kicked out of America. Who wants to start??" tweeted Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

"DC residents are Americans who pay federal taxes and they shouldn't get screwed just because Tom Cotton doesn't think they have the right jobs," wrote Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.

Cotton began his remarks railing against Democrats for prioritizing the District statehood vote while there is "mob violence" in the streets, and claiming the recent protests near the White House required "force by federal law enforcement officers under federal control."

"Would you trust Mayor Bowser to keep Washington safe if she were given the powers of a governor? Would you trust Marion Barry?" Cotton said, referring to the District's current and former mayors, both black.

Cotton recently created an uproar through a New York Times op-ed he wrote, calling for the military to intervene in cities where protests had erupted against police brutality. Critics decried the senator's suggestion that U.S. troops should be used against American citizens, many of them black.

The vote on District statehood on Friday is the first House floor vote on the issue since 1993. It is expected to pass the Democratic-majority chamber for the first time in history, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has already vowed not to bring it to a vote.

"Continuing to deny Washington, D.C. a vote in Congress means denying full representation to the Black and Brown voters who are a majority in our nation's capital," tweeted Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. "To end this disenfranchisement, we need #DCStatehood now."
India shares the world's pain, but India's pain is not the world's.

Little that occurs here is even reported abroad, notes Sunanda K Datta-Ray.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

When I began this column those familiar lines from Shakespeare's play within a play 'What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba/That he should weep for her?'/ were ringing in my ears, warning that race murder in Minneapolis was no concern of mine.

As I read and wrote, the lines changed to John Donne's 'No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main...'

So much death and disaster surround us in India that a white policeman kneeling on the neck of a 46-year-old North Carolina Black for nearly nine minutes and the tempestuous response to it, can seem like small sordid details in a distant tapestry.

It resonates throughout the world because as an American journalist wrote, if the President says something it is news.

So is anything that happens in the US.

The Lone Superpower's doings affect all our lives.

The Western-dominated infotainment industry sees to it, aided by our own awareness of power and complexes of race and colour.

Anti-Vietnam war rallies used to paralyse Kolkata.

The interaction isn't reciprocal.

India shares the world's pain, but India's pain is not the world's.

Little that occurs here is even reported abroad.

But faraway communities grieve with Minneapolis because we suffer our own domestic Donald Trumps; we mourn our own George Floyds.

If Trump's Bible-in-hand pose outside a Washington church was theatrics, so are lofty invocations of 'Digital India' while Devika Balakrishnan, only 14, poured petrol on herself and blazed to death because her family couldn't afford a television set or smartphone for online lessons.

If the white police officer who kept his knee on Floyd's neck while he gasped 'I can't breathe' was brutal, so are Indian policemen I see on television lashing with their lathis at queues of jobless migrant labourers trudging to nowhere under a pitiless sun.

America's race bitterness erupts in India's communal bitterness.

Brutality is commonplace here and class-driven.

People starved to death while Amit Shah swore government granaries were bursting with food.

The names of the 16 migrant labourers whom a roaring freight train crushed to death as wearied by days of trudging, they slept on the permanent way -- their final sleep -- weren't even mentioned: they are the faceless multitude.

Two teenage girls, Bhagya Laxmi and Bijay Laxmi, will never see their father again because he was desperate to see them: Having waited nine weeks for a Shramik Special and then suffered the isolation of quarantine, ailing Brajabandhu Rana jumped over a six-foot wall to his death.

The dead Floyd is everywhere.

Thousands of French demonstrators in Paris, Lille, Marseilles and Lyon see him as Adama Traore, a black Frenchman who died in police custody four years ago.

His agony prompted hundreds of Japanese to protest outside Tokyo's Shibuya police station when policemen used force to question a Kurdish man over a traffic violation.

Australia's Opposition spokeswoman on indigenous people mourned more than 400 Floyds -- the aboriginal Australians who had died in police custody in recent years.

The bereaved worldwide echoed John F Kennedy's immortal 'Ich bin ein Berliner... I am a Berliner.'

Perhaps it was not quite so selfless when Ghanaian, Kenyan, Zimbabwean and South African politicians co-opted Floyd as their own.

Axes were ground more noisily as Russian, Chinese and Iranian leaders castigated Trump or when Hong Kong's Carrie Lam spoke.

Some of these outrages could be seen and suffered.

I felt entitled to comment on them, even to hope that my inadequate words of condemnation might touch some reader able to influence the course of justice.

But anything said here about the Minneapolis murder won't even reach anyone remotely connected with the atrocity.

Our worlds are as distant as Hecuba's terror as she watched Pyrrhus slaughter her husband, Priam, king of Troy.

But to plead distance to avoid comment is begging the question in a borderless word where the right to life, to civil rights and press freedom are all threatened.

Hamlet saw Priam's death as the killing of his own father; he also saw himself as Pyrrhus who avenges the death of his father, Achilles, by killing Priam.

John Donne stated Shakespeare's convoluted connection more bluntly.

'No man is an island entire of itself.'

Since truth and falsehood, vice and virtue, life and death are the same for everyone the world over, we cannot ignore Donne's 'any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind'.

George Floyd hadn't led an impeccable life, but his murder was a crime against humanity.

Production: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Microsoft announced Friday it will permanently close its stores around the world, moving its retail operations online and keeping only four locations that will be transformed into 'experience centers' that won't sell products.

The move means the estimated 100 Microsoft stores closed due to the coronavirus pandemic will not reopen as the tech giant enters 'a new approach to retail,' according to a statement.

'Our retail team members will continue to serve customers working from Microsoft corporate facilities or remotely and we will continue to develop our diverse team in support of the overall company mission and objectives,' the statement read.

'Microsoft will continue to invest in its digital storefronts on Microsoft.com, and stores in Xbox and Windows, reaching more than 1.2 billion people every month in 190 markets.'

Microsoft is closing all its retail stores and moving sales online, keeping only four locations that will become 'experience centers'

Earlier this week, Microsoft also revealed it will shut down its game streaming site, Mixer, and merge with Facebook gaming after struggling to top Twitch.

The four locations that will become Microsoft Experience Centers are in London, New York, Sydney and at the company's Redmond, Washington, headquarters.

Retail team members will 'serve customers from Microsoft corporate facilities and remotely providing sales, training, and support,' the company said.

Although the 'experience centers' will showcase Microsoft's technology to customers, shoppers will need to go online to make purchases.

Microsoft said it will set aside $450 million to cover the costs of closing the locations.

The company's stock fell 1.74 per cent during trading on Friday morning, before slightly rising throughout the afternoon.

Microsoft's stock began to fall on Friday after the new revelation was announced, starting off at a 1.63 per cent decrease before growing to 1.74 per cent

Four Microsoft locations in New York City, London, Sydney and Redmond, Washington, will be transformed into 'experience centers'

'Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location,' said Microsoft corporate vice president David Porter.

'We are grateful to our Microsoft Store customers and we look forward to continuing to serve them online and with our retail sales team at Microsoft corporate locations.'

Wedbush analysts said it was a 'tough, but smart strategic decision.'

'The physical stores generated negligible retail revenue for [Microsoft] and ultimately everything was moving more and more towards the digital channels over the last few years,' they wrote in a statement.

A source told The Verge that no employee layoffs are expected from the new decision.

'Our commitment to growing and developing careers from this diverse talent pool is stronger than ever,' wrote Porter in a LinkedIn letter about the decision.

Microsoft mandated that retail employees and others work from home after the coronavirus pandemic closed down physical shops

Microsoft's shift to embrace online retailing was reportedly planned for next year, but was expedited by the coronavirus pandemic.

This latest decision somewhat explains why Microsoft retail stores never reopened, as some states across the country fast-tracked plans to jump start the economy.

Microsoft last week told The Verge that its 'approach for re-opening Microsoft Store locations is measured and cautious, guided by monitoring global data, listening to public health and safety experts, and tracking local government restrictions.'

At that time, Microsoft had not revealed its big operations shake up or an update on what stores could reopen.

Many Microsoft stores are found shopping centers and malls, which have mostly remained closed over the last three months.

David Porter, Microsoft corporate vice president David Porter, (pictured) said his 'talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location'

Apple Inc. attempted to reopen some stores in Florida as restrictions relaxed, but a concerning spike in new cases caused the Big Tech firm to re-close 14 locations in the Sunshine State.

In total, Apple re-closed 32 stores across the US amid case surges in states like Texas, Arizona, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Microsoft stores first closed shop in late March with the threat of COVID-19 spilling into all aspects of daily life.

As of Friday, the United States has recorded 2,222,555 confirmed cases and 124,424 deaths.

In epicenters like New York City, which housed a Microsoft store on Fifth Avenue, officials have tallied more than 390,000 cases and a death toll of 24,800.

The company's more than 150,000 employees were told to work from home as cases rapidly skyrocketed.

During this time, Microsoft said its staffers successfully helped thousands of people transition to remote work and learn software.

Retail workers trained 'hundreds of thousands' of education and enterprise customers, as well as helped with support calls.

'Since the Microsoft Store locations closed in late March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail team has helped small businesses and education customers digitally transform; virtually trained hundreds of thousands of enterprise and education customers on remote work and learning software; and helped customers with support calls,' the statement read.

The retail team hosted more than 14,000 online workshops and summer camps, as well as 3,000 virtual graduations.

'We deliberately built teams with unique backgrounds and skills that could serve customers from anywhere. The evolution of our workforce ensured we could continue to serve customers of all sizes when they needed us most, working remotely these last month,' said Porter.

'Speaking over 120 languages, their diversity reflects the many communities we serve. Our commitment to growing and developing careers from this talent pool is stronger than ever.'

Pictured: Microsoft computer is among items displayed at a Microsoft store in suburban Boston in January - two months before the company would close physical stores amid the pandemic

The company continued to give regular pay to employees during the pandemic.

Microsoft in recent years has been relying more on its enterprise services such as cloud computing, with the retail locations focusing on its Surface tablets and laptops as well as Xbox gaming gear.

But the physical stores failed to gain the momentum of rival Apple, which has 510 retail stores globally compared to Microsoft's roughly 100 locations.

Independent technology analyst Neil Cybart said the closings are coming because 'the Surface business increasingly looks to be losing momentum in the consumer space.'

Microsoft stores first launched in 2009 with its first store opening in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Game over! Microsoft will shut down its Twitch rebuttal, Mixer and merge with Facebook Gaming after struggling to compete

Microsoft announced an expedited shutdown of its Twitch competitor Mixer which will close up shop next month.

Microsoft says that it's closing Mixer on July 22nd and will transition all of its partners to Facebook Gaming immediately.

According to the company, its decision was fueled by a lack of demand for the service, especially in the face of competitors like Amazon's Twitch and YouTube.

Microsoft's xCloud is the company's first-ever game-streaming service and started its testing phase in the US, UK, and Korea lat year

'We started pretty far behind, in terms of where Mixers monthly active viewers were compared to some of the big players out there,' Phil Spencer, Microsofts head of gaming, told The Verge.

'I think the Mixer community is really going to benefit from the broad audience that Facebook has through their properties, and the abilities to reach gamers in a very seamless way through the social platform Facebook has.'

Microsoft will transition users and partners over the next several weeks and customers with credit or outstanding Mixer subscriptions will be credited with Xbox gift cards.

In addition to lack of demand, The Verge notes that Microsoft's decision to partner with Facebook Gaming is likely strategic.

The move could help set up Microsoft's cloud gaming service, xCloud, and find an audience by offering xCloud games through the platform.

In an expansion of a beta test for Microsoft's cloud-based game streaming earlier this year, users on iOS can play Xbox games that are traditionally only available on their home consoles using their iPhones and iPads.

As noted by The Verge, the introduction of xCloud to the iOS ecosystem is the first time a cloud gaming service has appeared on the operating system since OnLive, an app-base cloud gaming service, nearly 10 years ago.

It's not clear exactly when xCloud will be available on Facebook Gaming, but the service is expected to launch in full later this year.
While typical gig-economy jobs may not be an option right now, there are still ways that Californians can earn money during a pandemic.

Almost 5 million Californians have had to file for unemployment since businesses closed mid-March to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. USE Credit Union (USECU) recognizes that finances are a growing concern for California citizens right now and is offering members a Spread the Love bonus of $100 for referring friends and family that can be used in conjunction with unemployment direct deposits.

Many Californians are facing challenging financial times as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, whether that is due to being laid off or furloughed, having to dip into savings to cover basic needs, or accruing debt to stay afloat financially, said Paris Chevalier, SVP and chief experience officer at USE Credit Union. While typical gig-economy jobs such as ride-share driving, nannying or tutoring may not be an option right now, there are still ways that Californians can earn money during a pandemic.

For a limited time, USECU is offering members a $100 Spread the Love bonus for each person they refer to the credit union  and the referred friend also gets $100. Existing members just need to complete a form referring friends or family members to open a free checking account with eStatements in order to both collect the $100 bonus. Referred members must receive at least $500 in monthly direct deposits within 90 days of opening their new account, which can include unemployment direct deposits. And if youre not a member yet, joining USECU is easy if you live, work or worship in select California counties. Theres no limit to the number of friends you can refer, meaning you can enjoy endless earning potential during what may be a financially challenging time.

At USE Credit Union, we recognize the challenges that our community members are facing, Chevalier continues. We want to give them an opportunity to earn some extra cash and help their friends and families, too.

Visit the USE Credit Union website for more details on the Spread the Love referral bonus program and information about the various products and services that USE offers to California residents.

About USE Credit Union

Founded in 1936, University & State Employees Credit Union (USECU) empowers nearly 60,000 members to achieve financial wellness through a full range of financial products and services, including checking and savings options, credit cards, loans, mortgages and more. USECU now has more than $1 billion in assets and offers accessibility to its members through eight branches in California, nearly 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs across the nation and 24/7 online and mobile Banking access.

USECU membership is open to all California university employees and students as well as California state employees, including California Department of Motor Vehicles, California Highway Patrol, CalPERS and CalTrans, along with others who live, work or worship in Alameda County, Sacramento County, San Diego County, Santa Clara County and Yolo County. As a not-for-profit community leader, USECU partners with causes, events and organizations that reflect a commitment to health, wellness and inclusiveness. Learn more at usecu.org.
Some 47% of households surveyed said they had difficulty accessing shops and markets due to quarantine measures.

The humanitarian situation in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, has worsened over the COVID-19 pandemic, making the life of civilians living in the conflict zone even more difficult, that is according to a survey conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions from May 12 to June 3.

"A mere 12% of members of households surveyed said their savings would last longer than a month, which is a sign of the unstable financial situation for most of the population. But the alarming thing is that 43% of households said their resources would last for one week at most without outside help," the report said.

Read alsoNGO coordinator Yevhen Vasyliev: Panic, confusion, and chaos reign in occupied Donbas over COVID-19 lockdown

Some 75% of respondents note food price hikes amid COVID-19; another 47% indicate rising prices of non-grocery goods; and 35% of respondents said that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected their income.

Moreover, 47% of households surveyed said they had difficulty accessing shops and markets due to quarantine measures.

"The results of the survey show that many families are facing financial difficulties and at the same time have difficulty accessing food markets over COVID-19 and the conflict in general. This means that the ICRC's family funding programs are not effective enough. We need to increase again the distribution of food and hygiene kits," Florence Gillette, the ICRC's head of delegation in Ukraine, said.

The ICRC press service says that since the COVID-19 outbreak, the committee has distributed more than 45,000 food and hygiene kits in 136 settlements on both sides of the contact line. It also supported 56 medical institutions in the Donbas conflict zone by providing medicines, protective gear, and setting up temporary points for coronavirus screening of patients admitted to the Novoaidar regional hospital.

The ICRC survey was conducted from May 12 to June 3 in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. A total of 252 households were interviewed. The average household size was 2.48 persons per household. The average age of household members was 54 years.
India has admitted deploying 'large numbers' of troops along its border with China as New Delhi refuses to back down over the hotly-disputed valley.

Anurag Srivastava, spokesman for the foreign ministry, confirmed for the first time Thursday that India has been sending reinforcements to the region - despite promises to 'disengage'.

But he blamed China for starting the arms race by increasing its own troop numbers in early May, forcing India to increase the size of its own garrison to match.

India has admitted massing troops on its border with China, but says Beijing started the arms race by increasing its garrison last month (pictured, an Indian jet over the region)

New Delhi says military leaders from both sides are still negotiating, but that 'large numbers' of troops remain in the disputed Galwan Valley in the meantime (pictured, Indian troops)

Tensions between the two countries spilled over into violence on June 15 when soldiers were involved in vicious hand-to-hand fighting, leaving 20 Indians and an unknown number of Chinese dead.

India accuses China of interrupting its patrols and building structures on its side of the border, while Beijing says its troops were forced to respond after being attacked.

Srivastava said Thursday that 'both sides remain deployed in large numbers in the region, while military and diplomatic contacts are continuing'.

'At the heart of the matter is that since early May, the Chinese side has been amassing a large contingent of troops and armaments along the LAC,' he said, using an acronym for Line of Actual Control, the name for the unofficial border.

'While there have been occasional departures in the past, the conduct of Chinese forces this year has been in complete disregard of all mutually agreed norms.'

Satellite images have also revealed large numbers of Chinese soldiers in the region, including newly-constructed barricades and a camp (pictured)

Military commanders have held talks and their foreign ministers have also discussed ways to end the showdown.

'Peace and tranquility in the border areas is the basis of our bilateral relationship,' said Srivastava, demanding that China follow up on its pledge to cool tensions.

'A continuation of the current situation would only vitiate the atmosphere for the development of the relationship.'

Beijing has also called on India 'to immediately stop all infringing and provocative actions.'

India and China fought a border war in 1962 and have regularly clashed since.

Guns and explosives have been banned from the border since the two sides signed an agreement in 1996.

That meant this month's clashes took place with rocks and batons.

Indian military sources have also released images of nail-studded clubs which they say were used by Chinese forces in the clashes.
WINNIPEG - Manitoba students can expect less bussing, fewer assemblies and, in some cases, fewer elective courses when school returns on Sept. 8.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/6/2020 (576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Manitoba Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen listens in as Premier Brian Pallister speaks during a COVID-19 live-streamed press conference at the Manitoba legislature in Winnipeg Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Manitoba students can expect less bussing, fewer assemblies and other changes when school returns on September 8. The provincial government has laid out its plan to reopen schools with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

WINNIPEG - Manitoba students can expect less bussing, fewer assemblies and, in some cases, fewer elective courses when school returns on Sept. 8.

The provincial government laid out its plan Thursday to reopen schools with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing.

Because of physical distancing requirements, school buses will only allow one student per seat unless they are from the same household, and many parents will be expected to drive their kids to school.

"We will rely heavily on parents who are able to bring their kids to school to do that," Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen said.

Once in school, students may face new limits on their ability to gather in close quarters  lunch-hour breaks may be staggered, students may stay in one classroom for most of the day while teachers rotate, and student assemblies will be limited.

In cases where schools are already crowded and physical distancing is a challenge, some courses may not be offered so that everyone can learn core subjects such as math and science.

"From an education perspective, the priorities have to first be on those core subjects if there is a space challenge," Goertzen said. "And that won't be the case in every school but it might be the case in some."

The government's plan lays out three possible scenarios depending on how severe the pandemic is, and says one will be chosen by Aug. 1.

If COVID-19 numbers remain low, students will see a near-normal return to school, subject to physical distancing requirements and limitations on gatherings, bussing and other items.

If the pandemic becomes severe, the school system will rely on online learning and classrooms will be shut except for small-group tutoring and assessments.

The middle-case scenario would see students kept in cohorts with a small number of classmates who would likely stay together throughout the day. Kids in elementary and middle school would continue to go to class five days a week, while high school students could be cut back to two days in class and three days online.

So far, Manitoba has had among the lowest COVID-19 numbers among the provinces. There were 316 confirmed and probable cases as of Thursday, with only 15 still active. Seven people have died since the pandemic began and 294 have recovered.

The Opposition New Democrats said the government should ensure that elective courses continue to be available.

"They actually came today and recommended cutting classes rather than hiring more teachers or assistants to make sure that kids get all the learning that they need," NDP Leader Wab Kinew said.

"The government should be making investments ... so that kids can get the full educational experience this fall."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2020
College student total spending on required course materials dipped from $415 in the 2018-2019 academic year to an average of $413 in the 2019-2020 year, according to the Student Watch Attitudes and Behaviors toward Course Materials: 2020 Report, which is supported by the National Association of College Stores. The survey also found that the average spend per course dropped 6% in the last academic year.

Brittany Conley, research analyst, NACS OnCampus Research, said the decline in spending on materials per course was higher than the overall decline because students enrolled in more courses in the most recent year compared to 2018-19. Averaged out, students spent $47 per course on materials this year, compared to $50 per course last year, she said.

Highlights from the report, which is compiled from responses from approximately 14,200 college students attending 35 two- and four-year colleges and universities in the U.S., include:

Use of digital materials continues to grow. One in every five paid materials was a digital unit this year, compared to one in seven paid materials last year. The percent of students downloading free materials online also rose, doubling from spring 2019 to 26% in spring 2020.

Students spent more on technology than course materials. Students spent $100+ more on technology (for such things as a laptop, flash drive, MS Word).than for their courses this year than they did for course materials. Last year students spent about the same between the two categories.

Students wait to obtain course materials. In 2019-20, just 34% of students had the majority of their materials before classes started. Of those students who did not have most of their materials by the first day, 67% said they delayed in order to find out if the materials were really necessary.

Some students dont obtain all materials. About 28% of students say they didnt obtain at least one of their required materials in 2019-20, up from 25% last year.

Students value course materials. 80% of students say they learn at least a moderate amount from their course materials. The majority (69%) say theyre satisfied with their materials regardless of cost. Only one in 10 students say theyre dissatisfied with the quality of their course materials.

More than half are satisfied with inclusive access. 51% of students participating in at least one inclusive access course indicated satisfaction with the delivery model, while 21% indicated dissatisfaction. The top reason for dissatisfaction among the 21% of students dissatisfied was not liking the digital format. Inclusive access programs deliver course materials, most often in digital formats, by the first day of class at a reduced cost, typically as a fee or included in tuition.
A man stands outside the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals building in San Francisco in 2017. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

A federal appeals court decided 2-1 Friday that the Trump administration violated the law by using military money to build a wall at the southern border of Arizona, New Mexico and California.

A panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the power of the purse belongs to Congress, and the administration lacked constitutional authority to transfer the military money toward the border project. Two Democratic appointees were in the majority. A Trump appointee dissented.

"The president has long supported the construction of a border wall on the southern border between the United States and Mexico," Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas, a Clinton appointee, wrote for the court in one of two decisions on the issue.

"Since the president took office in 2017, however, Congress has repeatedly declined to provide the amount of funding requested by the president."

Whether the rulings will stand is uncertain. The Supreme Court last year blocked a 9th Circuit injunction that barred the administration from spending $2.5 billion of military money on the wall. The high court acted after the Trump administration filed an emergency appeal.

Friday's rulings reinstated that injunction, which the Trump administration is almost certain to appeal.

Brian Segee, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity, had called the Supreme Court's decision "an ominous signal" for the challengers of the wall. The center has a separate lawsuit pending against the administration's use of military funding for the project.

The high court in July 2019 cleared the way for Trump to spend the money while the issue was litigated in the 9th Circuit, a sign that a majority on the Supreme Court may overturn the 9th Circuit once again. In a one- paragraph decision, the conservatives on the high court voted in favor of Trump, and the liberals dissented.

Friday's decisions came in two cases, one filed by California and other states, the other brought by the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition. Both suits charged that the wall would harm the environment, including endangered species. The same panel heard both, with Thomas writing for the majority and Trump appointee Judge Daniel P. Collins dissenting.

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Trump argued the wall was needed to prevent drug smuggling.

But the 9th Circuit majority said Friday that the law allows for the transfer of Pentagon funds only for unanticipated military purposes, and a border wall "was not an unforeseen military requirement." Drug smuggling at the border was neither a new nor an unforeseen problem, the majority said.

"There was no unanticipated crisis at the border," Thomas wrote, joined by Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw, also a Clinton appointee. "Nothing prevented Congress from funding solutions to this problem through the ordinary appropriations process  Congress simply chose not to fund this particular solution."

Collins, the Trump appointee, said in a dissent that combating illegal drug activity was "plainly" a military function. He argued the court should have upheld the money transfer.

The state of California and the Sierra Clubpraised Friday's decisions.

"Today, the court reminded the President  once again  that no one is above the law, Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said in a statement.

While the Trump Administration steals public funds to build an unauthorized wall at the Southern border, families across the country are struggling to pay their bills. They deserve to know that their hard-earned dollars are going where the law intended  to benefit their families and their communities.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the Sierra Club and Southern Border Communities Coalition, called the decision in its case "a win for the rule of law, the environment, and border communities."

President Trumps xenophobic wall is already leveling protected lands, desecrating cultural sites and destroying wildlife," said Dror Ladin, staff attorney with the ACLUs National Security Project. "Theres no undoing the damage thats been done, but we will be back before the Supreme Court to finally put a stop to this destructive wall.

The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
D isney is to rebrand its Splash Mountain theme park ride due to its ties with the 1946 movie Song Of The South, which many view as racist.

Officials said the ride would be recast and based on The Princess And The Frog , a 2009 Disney film with an African American female lead.

The changes will be made at Disneyland in California and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, the company said.

With racist stereotypes and Old South tropes, Song Of The South is a mix of live-action, cartoons and music featuring an old black plantation labourer named Uncle Remus who enchants a white city boy with fables of talking animals.

Aerial view of the Disney park in Florida / REUTERS

The rebranding had been in the works since last year, but the announcement comes as companies across the US are renaming racially-charged, decades-old brands in the wake of world-wide protests for racial justice following the death of George Floyd in police custody.

"The new concept is inclusive  one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year," a Disney Spokesman said.

The ride will be rebranded on the 2009 movie The Princess and The Frog / AFP via Getty Images

The Walt Disney Company also pledged $5 million this month to support nonprofit organisations that advance social justice, beginning with a $2 million donation to the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) to further their work eliminating disparities and racial discrimination through their advocacy and education programmes.

Chief Executive Officer, Bob Chapek said: The killing of George Floyd has forced our nation to once again confront the long history of injustice that black people in America have suffered, and it is critical that we stand together, speak out and do everything in our power to ensure that acts of racism and violence are never tolerated.

This $5 million pledge will continue to support the efforts of nonprofit organisations such as the NAACP that have worked tirelessly to ensure equality and justice.

The ride first opened at Disneyland in the late 1980s.
The Trump Administration has frozen funding intended to help people in Hong Kong evade surveillance by the Chinese government, sources with knowledge of the matter tell TIME, just as Beijing prepares to impose a new national security law that protesters fear will erode civil liberties there.

The funding freeze came on June 9, five days after Michael Pack, an ally of President Trump, was confirmed by the Senate to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees federal funding of several Internet freedom and foreign news initiatives, including Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.

Senior staff at the agency were informed in an email, obtained by TIME, that Pack had suspended funding on a range of activities at the agency. In the email, USAGMs chief financial officer Grant Turner cited a request by Pack to immediately freeze new contracts or extensions of any contract from the agencys federal operations and grantees, as well as on new hires and promotions.

The freeze affected several contractsestimated by two sources with knowledge of them to be worth around $2 millionthat would have directly benefited the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.

In a statement to TIME, the USAGM did not dispute the $2 million figure, but said that it was committed to defending Internet freedom in the region. USAGM CEO Michael Pack understands the scale and nature of the threat posed by opponents of freedom of expression, and that is precisely why he considers bolstering [Chinese] firewall circumvention a top priority of his tenure at the agency, a spokesperson said.

The funds were set to be distributed by the Washington-based Open Technology Fund (OTF), group overseen by USAGM that funds open-source Internet freedom projects around the world. The OTF is officially an independent non-profit, but is funded by Congress with government oversight.

The Trump Administrations funding freeze came less than a month after the Chinese Communist Party announced plans for a national security law that will make secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces a crime. Pro-democracy campaigners say the law, which is expected to be passed on Tuesday and take immediate effect, will curtail Hong Kongs autonomy and the freedoms it enjoys that distinguish it from mainland China.

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The impending legislation, and another controversial law that criminalizes insulting Chinas national anthem, have sparked fresh rounds of unrest in Hong Kong in recent weeksthough protests have so far failed to regain the momentum they had in the second half of 2019.

Pro-democracy protesters run as police fire pepper ball rounds to disperse the crowd in the Central district of Hong Kong on June 9, 2020, as the city marks the one-year anniversary since pro-democracy protests erupted | ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images

One of the OTFs plans ahead of the national security law coming into force in Hong Kong was to set up a cybersecurity incident response team focused on Hong Kong. The team would have analyzed Chinese surveillance techniques, and shared information quickly with developers of secure communications apps after identifying how those techniques are developing, two people with knowledge of the plans said. Those plans were made impossible by the funding freeze.

Another initiative hamstrung by the freeze was the OTFs approximately $500,000 rapid response fund, designed to provide fast relief for civil society groups, protesters, journalists and human rights defenders who have come under digital attack. The fund is open to applicants from around the world, but has made several payouts to groups in Hong Kong since unrest began there in June 2019. The freeze has so far prevented at least one Hong Kong-related payout from the rapid response fund. That payout was described by two people with knowledge of the plans as being for a large project focused on helping civil society groups in Hong Kong with their digital security.

The OTF is little-known outside the world of open source technology, but its funding has contributed to the development of secure communications tools used by protesters in Hong Kong and around the world. It was a key early funder of Signal, the encrypted messaging app of choice for many Hong Kong protesters. Between 2012 and 2016, it donated nearly $3 million to the development of the encryption protocol the app is built on. (The app has since received at least $50 million in other private investment.) The OTF has also directed funds toward projects dedicated to collecting and preserving information shared on the Chinese social networks Weibo and Wechat before posts are censored. It has also invested more than $6 million in Tor, the encrypted internet service that can mask browsing habits from authorities, popular among dissidents around the world.

I wouldnt be surprised if [the freeze] is negatively impacting the Hong Kong protesters and putting them at risk, as well as lots of other folks around the world, said a U.S. Agency for Global Media official who spoke to TIME on condition of anonymity to protect their employment. Im almost certain that they didnt take into account the timing of the national security law. It was sort of a carte blanche thing on day one and Im not sure if they are really appreciating the operational impact.

Many Hong Kongers, especially pro-democracy protesters, already use virtual private networks (VPNs), which can help disguise web browsing habits from authorities, to help circumvent monitoring by police. Additionally, in May, as the news of the national security law was first trickling out, Google searches for VPN spiked in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is not subject to the internet censorship of Chinas Great Firewall, though some fear the effects the security law will have on digital freedom.

Hong Kong protesters get really geeky about the tools they use, says Harvey, a freelance programmer from Hong Kong who has participated in the pro-democracy protests and worked with the OTF in the past. He asked to use a pseudonym to protect his identity. Its always looming in the minds of Hong Kongers. Its a place that has one country, two internets, but everybody is scared that [soon] we wont.

U.S. support for the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong is a touchy subject. During the 2019 protests, protesters openly called for foreign intervention and waved U.S. flags at demonstrations. But the Chinese government has frequently claimed that foreign forces are behind the protests. Assistance so far, when it has come, has come from bodies at arms length from the U.S. government like the OTF and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), another non-profit predominantly funded by Congress, which spent about $643,000 on Hong Kong programs in 2019. (These programs are described as fostering civil society in Hong Kong; the NED says it has not sent aid to protesters.) In December, China announced sanctions against the NED and several other U.S-based non-profits for strongly instigat[ing] extremely violent criminal activities, according to a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson. The OTF has so far evaded Chinese sanctions, although activists fear the new national security law could criminalize protesters ties with foreign organizations if authorities consider them to be damaging to national security.

But now the OTF finds itself paralyzed by its own leadership at what current and former insiders say is a critical time. With the national security law looming, Hong Kong protesters are afraid that any speech or activity that they are involved in could be deemed criminal under this new law, because the CCP is very vague in its wording and expansive in its application, historically, of these laws, says Libby Liu, the OTFs former CEO, who resigned on June 13 in response to the funding freeze. We have several projects housed in Hong Kong. So those people could be caught up in the net that says taking U.S. government funds is a subversive behavior, since the CCP has already found those things to fall within subversive activity or a risk to national security. So far, Beijing has not released the full draft text of the security law.

The June 9 email announcing the freeze on funding included a line asking urgent exemptions to be raised with senior USAGM staff. In response, OTF staff sent an email requesting all their pending contracts, including the Hong Kong funding, be exempted. As of June 25, they had not received a response to their request and the freeze is still in place, two people with knowledge of the matter told TIME.

Four days after she resigned, Liu was fired and prevented from serving her months notice, as she had planned. Laura Cunningham, the OTFs principal director, was also fired. On Tuesday, the OTF filed a federal lawsuit arguing Pack lacked the legal authority to fire OTF staff and freeze funding. In a statement to TIME on Thursday, USAGM declined to comment on the pending litigation, but about Packs decision to fire senior staff, said: All of the actions that CEO Michael Pack took are legal, and he stands by them.

The firings are part of a broader shakeup at USAGM, in what insiders fear is part of a plan to turn the agency into a more overt propaganda operation for the U.S. government. In early May, Trump criticized Voice of America for what he said was the broadcasters failure to take a hard line on U.S. adversaries. He then pushed the Senate, which had delayed approving Pack for the role for two years, to confirm him. Upon his confirmation, Pack also fired the heads of Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe, and two of USAGMs other international broadcasting agencies. The two most senior staff members at Voice of America quit in anticipation of Packs arrival. As well as clearing most senior staff, Pack replaced the bipartisan board overseeing the agency and stacked it with conservatives.

The Trump Administration has, I think, felt like either their positions are not being represented fairly, or that the agency should be doing more advocacy of their positions, the USAGM official who spoke to TIME on condition of anonymity said. The fear now is that the political leadership thinks of this more as a messaging tool for the Trump Administration.

Meanwhile, as opposition to the national security law continues in Hong Kong, a segment of the U.S. governments behind-the-scenes support has been on pause for more than two weeks. The people in Hong Kong are so well-prepared, Liu tells TIME. They know what the threat is, and they have been protesting for over a year. They are all trying to get ready. And we cant help them get ready if we cant be in business.

With reporting by AMY GUNIA/HONG KONG

Correction, June 26 The original version of this story misstated the date Pack was confirmed by the Senate. It was June 5, not June 9.
When I saw Love, Simon in 2018, I wanted to wrap my arms around the movie and give it a great big hug. This was a sweet, knowing, funny and emotionally involving 21st century take on a John Hughes high school movie  only this time the romantic lead was a closeted gay teen searching for his soul mate, known only as Blue to him online.

Yes, Simon was living in upper-middle-class comfort, and he had the most understanding parents in the world and eventually the support of pretty much the entire school when he set up a meeting with Blue at the Ferris wheel, but its not as if Ferris Buellers Day Off or Mean Girls or any other beloved favorites of the genre were any grittier, right? Love, Simon was still a groundbreaking and lovely gem.

Now comes the Hulu series Love, Victor, a spiritual sequel featuring a whole new cast of characters, although Simon remains in the picture, sort of. We pick up the story with Creekwood High School still buzzing about the magical night when Simon learned Blue was in fact a classmate named Bram whom he had a crush on. Theyre still a couple, but theyve moved on to college in New York City.

Enter Latino high school sophomore Victor (Michael Cimino), who has just moved from Texas with his parents, Isabel (Ana Ortiz) and Armando (James Martinez), his younger sister, Pilar (Isabella Ferreira), and little brother, Adrian (Mateo Fernandez). Victor is unsure of his sexuality (or at least he tells himself that), but he knows that if and when he does come out, it will come as a shock to his religious parents and even more religious grandparents. He connects with Simon on Instagram, saying: Dear Simon  I just want to say, screw you. Screw you for having the worlds most perfect, accepting parents, the worlds most supportive friends. Because for some of us, its not that easy.

Throughout the 10 episodes (each about a half-hour), Victor pours his heart out to Simon (with Nick Robinson of Love, Simon providing the voice-over for his replies). Theres even a road trip to New York City in which we reconnect with a couple of main characters from the film. Mostly, though, Love, Victor is a sequel that almost plays as a reboot, despite the cultural and economic differences between Simon and Victor. (Whereas Simon lived in a beautifully appointed suburban home, Victors family is in a cozy apartment on the other side of town.)

On Victors very first day of school, he strikes a connection with Rachel Naomi Hilsons Mia, a beautiful and popular and kind rich girl who swoons the moment she sets eyes on him. Victor likes Mia. Who wouldnt? Shes a spectacular kid, but HE swoons when he catches a glimpse of the handsome Benji (George Sear), who looks like Edward Cullen from Twilight only a little less pale, and has come out relatively recently. Not only that, but Victor already has a new best friend in his geeky upstairs neighbor Felix (Anthony Turpel), whos doing a modern take on Jon Cryers Ducky from Pretty in Pink, AND he cringes when he hears casual homophobic comments in the locker room AND hes bullied by the macho jock Andrew (Mason Gooding), who publicly humiliates Victor and mocks his financial situation.

Whew. What a first day!

With fade-outs and fade-ins reminiscent of an old-fashioned broadcast program, Love, Victor follows multiple storylines, from the increasing tension between Victors parents; to Felix secretly hooking up with Mias wisecracking and social media-fixated best friend, Lake (Bebe Wood), who is too embarrassed by Felix to be seen with him in public; to the budding romance between Victor and Mia, even as Victor dreams of connecting with Benji; to Mias wealthy, single father (Mekhi Phifer) getting serious with his new girlfriend (Sophia Bush).

At times, characters talk as if theyve been scripted by adults trying to sound like teenagers, but for the most part, Love, Victor has a breezy, likable vibe. (When Victor writes to Simon, I am what you think I am, but I hate it. I dont want my life to be this hard, Simon responds, Even with parents so liberal they have special sneakers just for protesting, it was hard.) Theres even a nice little Breakfast Club homage when some of the main characters have to serve detention.

As was the case with Love, Simon, we feel for the protagonist, but were ticked at him for not considering how much hes hurting others by living a lie. The most likable character in Love, Victor isnt Victor (though hes a good guy, and were rooting for him); its Mia, who falls in love with a boy who knows he cant love her back in the same way but allows her heart to shatter.

Love, Victor ends on a cliffhanger note that makes it all but certain itll be back for a second season. We wish Victor the best, but it wouldnt be a bad thing if the second season made room for a Love, Mia storyline, as well.

LOVE, VICTOR

3 stars

WHERE: Now streaming on Hulu
Are you ambitious, assertive, decisive, determined and self-reliant? If so, the chances are that you're a man.

How about committed, connected and responsible? If those words sound more appealing, then you're probably a woman.

Or so goes the theory.

The murky problem of unconscious gender bias was dredged up again this week, after a London water company found that the wording of its job adverts was attracting plenty of men, but putting women off.

When Thames Water advertised for sewage technicians to treat sludge and sample effluent, they were inundated with applications from blokes. You might conclude that this was because the idea of poking around in noxious human waste-matter was not very appealing to most women. But no.

Apparently women are just as keen to work with sewage as their male counterparts. It was the recruitment process, which used terms like "confident", "competition" and "champion", that deterred them. In other words, the job, which pays up to 28,000 a year, had been unwittingly "masculine-coded".

So the job description was rewritten to include "feminine-coded" phrases.

Instead of stating that the role was to "ensure sewage is treated effectively and efficiently", it referred to "an excellent opportunity to make a real impact on the delivery of wholesome water".

Previously, applicants were expected to have "a background in industrial or similar setting". Now they were invited to join "a close-knit team with a family feel".

Well, it worked. The proportion of female applicants shot up by a remarkable 46%.

It's vital to challenge gender stereotypes, which hold us all back, men included. There's no reason at all why women shouldn't do mucky, smelly, sometimes dangerous jobs that have traditionally been done by men, if that's what they want. Given the opportunity, it could mean great satisfaction and a lifelong career.

That's certainly true of Debbie the Drain Wizard, the Belfast tradeswoman who has unblocked our troublesome backyard drain on several occasions. Undeterred by even the most squalid filth, Debbie is a skilled professional who clearly loves her job. It's actually a pleasure to watch her work.

But I'm not comfortable with the idea of making adverts for historically male-dominated jobs sound softer, cuddlier and nicer, so that greater numbers of women will apply.

You could argue that the end justifies the means: if it results in more female recruits, who's complaining? (Apart from the men who didn't get the job, presumably.)

My concern is that by capitulating to certain pre-conceived ideas about women's nature, by using words deemed "feminine-coded", we're not overturning or even challenging the old stereotypes that have worked against women for millennia.

We're reinforcing them.

Men, as a category, do not 'own' qualities like personal strength, confidence, decisiveness, determination and self-reliance. It's farcical to imply that they do, and deeply patronising to the many women who possess these attributes in abundance.

This matters everywhere, not least in politics, where it goes right to the top.

As the American feminist author Camille Paglia once pointed out, too much "feel good" language actually weakens women's chances of being taken seriously. "Until a female [presidential] candidate can show she is prepared to be Commander-in-Chief and, if necessary, to wage war, she will not win the confidence of the electorate," said Paglia. That was back in 1996, and the USA still hasn't managed it.

Today, businesses which are worried about inadvertently deterring women from applying to work for them are encouraged to use online gender bias decoders - programmes which will examine the text of their job adverts and pronounce on whether they pass or fail the gender test.

As an experiment, I put the following made-up job ad into one of these online decoders: "We are looking for a confident, determined candidate, with drive and ambition, to lead ou r gender diversity unit, seeking to recruit more women into senior roles in the workplace, and to actively challenge gender-based discrimination."

Wrong. Fail. The verdict of the decoder? "This ad is strongly masculine-coded  It risks putting women off applying, but will probably encourage men to apply."

Tackling unconscious gender discrimination is not simply a case of using the "correct" words, dictated by some automatic generator. Language matters, without doubt. But what matters far more is the culture of a workplace, of an industry, of society in general

We will not change historically-ingrained attitudes about what women can and cannot do by pandering to stereotypes of "niceness". Like Debbie the Drain Wizard, the best answer is for women to simply roll up their sleeves, prepare to get mucky, and dive in.
The coverage on this live blog has ended. The fallout from record numbers of cases and hospitalizations in some states continued Friday with Texas and Florida taking bigger steps to mitigate the spread of the disease. Texas reversed reopening plans, closing bars and capping restaurant capacity at 50%. Florida, which shattered its daily record for new cases once again, banned drinking at bars. This is CNBC's live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks. Global cases: More than 9.64 million

Global deaths: At least 490,055

U.S. cases: More than 2.42 million

U.S. deaths: At least 124,468 The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

EU finalizing 'safe list' of countries for travel, and the U.S. did not make the cut

6:32 p.m. ET  Representatives from the 27 European Union countries got closer to agreeing on a "safe list" of countries whose residents would be allowed to travel to the area beginning in July, but delayed a final decision, according to Reuters. A list of 10-20 countries was set, but many countries said they had to check with their governments first, diplomats told Reuters. The list did not include the United States, Brazil or Russia, one diplomat said. The EU countries are expected to give informal replies by Saturday evening. A number of countries are in a worse situation with coronavirus than the European Union, based on recent European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control data. That list of countries includes the United States, Mexico, Brazil and much of Latin America, Russia, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. Chris Eudaily, Reuters

California connects employers that need PPE with manufacturers

A customer wearing a protective mask receives a takeaway meal from a restaurant during the coronavirus pandemic on May 20, 2020 in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Michael Tullberg | Getty Images

6 p.m. ET  California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new website called safelymakingca.org that will connect manufacturers with businesses that need personal protective equipment like face masks. "We've been in discussions for the last few months to talk about how we can encourage California manufacturers to retool their assembly lines to help meet the needs for these critical products," Newsom said in a statement. The announcement comes as the state has seen a 3.3% increase in coronavirus hospitalizations, according to Newsom. California has 201,290 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. Newsom said the state will see death rates increase over the next two weeks and that young people are getting sick as well. Hannah Miller

NBA, players union finalize restart plans after Covid-19 suspension

5:30 p.m. ET  The National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Players Association announced it finalized plans to resume its 2019-20 regular-season that was suspended due to Covid-19. The league will send 22 teams to a bubble campus at Walt Disney World on July 30. Clubs will compete in eight seeding games, with the final 16 teams playing in the league's traditional playoff format. The NBA Finals will not extend further than Oct. 13, according to the NBA.



The NBA became the first U.S. sports big league to suspend its season on March 11 due to the pandemic. Jabari Young

Gottlieb worries coronavirus spread could 'seep back' into older populations

4:45 p.m. ET  Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former FDA commissioner, told CNBC that the growing spread of Covid-19 among younger people may have consequences for people of all ages. "The concern is, though, that you had so much infection at a community level in these states now that it is going to eventually seep back into older populations that are more susceptible the virus and you're going to see death rates go back up," Gottlieb said on "Closing Bell." "And we probably will see  the total number of deaths, go back up over the next two to three weeks." In states such as Texas, Florida and Arizona, the average of people who are testing positive for Covid-19 is trending younger than earlier in the pandemic. Gottlieb attributed this change to a likely shift in behavior, with older people taking increased precautions and avoiding high-risk settings such as bars. Gottlieb, a CNBC contributor who sits on the boards of Pfizer and biotech company Illumina, said many public health experts have been "surprised" by the "velocity of the spread and the level of infection" in some U.S. states. "But it is what it is right now. It's going to be hard to extinguish," he said. "These trends that are in motion right now are going to continue in motion for a couple of weeks." Kevin Stankiewicz

New Jersey schools set to open in fall with restrictions

4:10 p.m. ET  New Jersey schools will open in the fall "in some capacity for in-person instruction" unless there is a change in public health data, Commissioner of Education Lamont Repollet wrote in a document titled "The Road Back." The state's plans for reopening schools in fall were outlined in the 104-page document released by the New Jersey Department of Education. Schools are expected to have a system in place for screening students and faculty for symptoms of the coronavirus, as well have set procedures for social distancing and cleaning. Under the guidance, school staff and visitors will be required to wear face coverings unless unable to do so. Students will be strongly encouraged to wear face coverings, and required to do so when social distancing cannot be maintained, unless the student is unable to. Beyond the basic requirements listed, the state has tasked individual school districts to build specific plans for the fall. Schools must have restart plans that lay out procedures for issues such as social distancing on school buses and contact tracing. Alex Harring

San Francisco announces delay in reopening of barbershops and hair salons set to reopen next week

Raul Vasquez packs a lunch for pickup at Gott's Roadside restaurant at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, May 2, 2020. Paul Chinn | The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

3:30 p.m. ET  San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a tweet Friday that the city will temporarily delay its planned reopenings for Monday as the number of Covid-19 cases in California continue to climb. The city, which is reopening in phases, had previously announced that it would allow nail salons, barbershops, outdoor bars, museums and zoos to return on Monday. "Yesterday we saw 103 cases. On June 15, when we first reopened outdoor dining and in-store retail, we had 20," Breed wrote on Twitter. "At our current rate, the number could double rapidly. If that continues & we don't intervene, we'll be at such a high number that our only option would be to shut down." California is one of 35 states where cases were growing by 5% or more as of Thursday, based on the change in average new cases compared with last week, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. The state reported a near 44% increase in its weekly average of coronavirus cases, averaging 4,861 daily new cases.

Nike CEO says layoffs are coming

3:05 p.m. ET  Nike CEO John Donahoe warned employees via email that layoffs were coming. "We will soon be forced to make some difficult choices that will likely result in a net reduction of jobs," the email said, according to Complex Magazine. After the coronavirus crisis closed most of its stores, Nike reported sales were down 38% with a net loss of $790 million in the fourth quarter, CNBC's Jessica Golden reported. While all stores are reopened now, the company is shifting resources and creating capacity to reinvest in its highest potential area and anticipates this realignment will cause a net loss of jobs, Nike said in a statement to CNBC. Layoffs are expected to occur in July and the fall. The company said store employees and distribution and manufacturing centers are not expected to be impacted by the layoffs. Suzanne Blake

Coronavirus task force plea to young people: 'You will infect someone who's vulnerable'

Dr. Anthony Fauci, right, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listens as Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a news conference with the Coronavirus task force at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, Friday, June 26, 2020. Susan Walsh | AP

2:45 p.m. ET  As more young people become infected with Covid-19 in states with increasing case numbers, they may not be at risk of serious illness but could infect someone who is, members of the White House coronavirus task force warned on Friday. "People are infecting other people and ultimately you will infect someone who's vulnerable," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during a press briefing. Vice President Mike Pence said that there are 16 states reporting a rise in the total number of cases and the percent of tests coming back positive. Roughly half of the new cases are Americans under the age of 35, which is "at a certain level very encouraging news" because experts say that younger people are less susceptible to serious illness from the virus, Pence said. However, Fauci added that the risk of serious illness from coronavirus is not isolated to just one person. "Because if you get infected you are part, innocently or inadvertently, of propagating the dynamic process of a pandemic," he said. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, added that the coronavirus poses a greater risk to those with underlying health conditions, such diabetes and significant obesity, which spans every age group. Noah Higgins-Dunn

Coronavirus contact tracing 'not going well,' Fauci says

2:30 p.m. ET  Among methods to curb the spread of the coronavirus, contact tracing is "not going well," according to White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci. Contact tracing involves trained personnel who contact people infected with the coronavirus to learn where they might have caught it and who they may have exposed to it, CNBC's Will Feuer reports. The White House advised states to not reopen without the ability to conduct widespread testing and contact tracing. Fauci said the U.S. needs to think on "the idea of many more tests getting into the community and even pooling tests." Fauci also said that as coronavirus cases spike in places like the American South and West, the U.S. will soon "be seeing more deaths." "Even though the deaths are coming down as a country, that doesn't mean that you're not going to start seeing them coming up now," Fauci said. Hannah Miller

Albertsons debuts on stock market amid pandemic

2:05 p.m.  Albertsons has gotten a bounce from grocery shopping trends during the pandemic. That doesn't mean Wall Street greeted the company with open arms. The grocery store operator began trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange at $16 per share, below below its $18-$20 target range. Its shares were down by about 1% in Friday afternoon trading. CEO Vivek Sankaran told CNBC on Friday that Albertsons said the drop in price reflects the volatility of the market, not the strength of the company. "It's so hard to predict what's happening in the market anymore," he said. "It's so different from the beginning of the week to the end of the week, but we are just proud that in this extremely difficult environment, in the middle of a pandemic, we were able to IPO the company." He said the company is focused the long-term and committed to providing fresh foods to customers, whether they shop online or in stores. Melissa Repko

Florida bans drinking at bars as it reports fresh record spike

A woman puts on a protective mask as is instructed by Miami-Dade County Social Distancing Ambassadors as beaches are reopened with restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S., June 10, 2020. Marco Bello | Reuters

1:45 p.m. ET  Florida banned drinking at bars on Friday, after the state reported 8,942 new cases, shattering the previous record single-day spike of 5,508 reported on Wednesday. The decision on bars, which is "effective immediately," was announced on Twitter by Halsey Beshears, the secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Gov. Ron DeSantis' office confirmed the decision to CNBC. Bars in Florida were closed for months as part of the shut down meant to curb the spread of the virus. DeSantis allowed bars to reopen with some modifications earlier this month, but amid the recent surge in new cases, the state will now limit bar service to take-out only. DeSantis has previously attributed the surge in new cases to younger people congregating at places like bars. William Feuer

States continue to implement mask requirements amid rising case numbers

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1:30 p.m. ET  More states are requiring residents to wear masks in public, with Washington, North Carolina and Nevada being the latest to introduce mandates this week. The measures come as a growing number of states report surges in coronavirus cases, and politicians debate whether requiring masks is a reasonable measure. The CDC recommends wearing face coverings in public in order to help curb the virus' spread. However, in the absence of a federal order, twelve states, including New York, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Mexico, have mandated that face coverings be worn in public. Other states have stopped just short of requiring masks in all public places, but have made face coverings mandatory in a range of settings. Some local governments in towns and counties have even introduced their own mask measures in the lack of a statewide requirement. As states pause reopening measures and even re-introduce restrictions, mask requirements have the potential to become more common throughout the country. Hannah Miller

President Trump calls off trip to his N.J. golf club

1:06 p.m. ET  President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a scheduled visit to New Jersey this weekend, a move that came days after the White House said the trip would go forward despite a new coronavirus quarantine edict issued by Gov. Phil Murphy. The White House did not say why Trump pulled the plug on the visit to his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. but a spokesman did say the cancellation had "nothing to do" with Murphy's order requiring visitors who have been in states with large numbers of Covid-19 cases to quarantine for two weeks. Murphy had said earlier Friday that his mandate would not apply to Trump, who on Tuesday visited Arizona, a state that is dealing with a marked uptick in coronavirus cases. "By any definition the president of the United States is an essential worker," Murphy said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Dan Mangan

People are thinking of precautions as an 'all or none phenomenon,' Fauci says

12:34 p.m. ET  Some people in the U.S. are thinking of coronavirus precautions as an "all or none phenomenon" rather than trying to incorporate mask wearing and social distancing into their everyday lives, White House health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said. "The people who've been pent up in those places, they're looking at it as an all or none phenomenon," Fauci said in an interview with CNBC's Meg Tirrell. "Either we're locked down or let's storm the bars, go to the beach, no masks. That's the problem." State officials need to focus on reopening in a "stepwise fashion" to prevent outbreaks like those the country is currently seeing in Florida, Texas and elsewhere. "If you go from lockdown to complete caution to the wind, you're going to get into trouble," he said. Will Feuer

Higher restaurant spending linked to new Covid-19 cases, JPMorgan says

Source: JPMorgan

11:52 a.m. ET  A JPMorgan study found that increased restaurant spending in a state predicted a rise in new infections there three weeks later. Analyst Jesse Edgerton analyzed data from 30 million Chase credit and debit card holders and from Johns Hopkins University's case tracker. He said in-person restaurant spending was "particularly predictive." On the flip side, higher spending at supermarkets appears to predict a slower spread of the virus, suggesting that states that buy more groceries are more mindful of social distancing measures. Amelia Lucas

Cases grow in more than 30 states as the U.S. sets a record for average daily cases

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11:20 a.m. ET  The nation's seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases reached a record high of more than 33,000 cases on Thursday, a rise of more than 38% compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. Cases were growing by 5% or more, based on the change in average new cases compared to last week, in 35 states across the country, including California, Florida, Georgia, Texas and Nevada. While the rise in daily case numbers could reflect increased testing in certain locations, some states are reporting higher positivity rates. The positivity rate indicates the percentage of tests that come back positive in a specific region. Texas' positivity rate has exceeded 10%, which is a level that raises a "warning flag," according to Gov. Greg Abbott. Arizona's rate is also averaging above 10%, according to the state's department of health. Hospitalizations from Covid-19 were growing in 15 states as of Thursday, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project. Noah Higgins-Dunn

American Airlines to resume full flights in July

10:59 a.m. ET  American Airlines said it will be resuming full-capacity flights starting July 1. The airline currently has a 70% capacity limit on flights amid the coronavirus pandemic. American also said passengers will have to complete a Covid-19 questionnaire prior to boarding its flights and confirm they have not experienced symptoms of the virus in the past 14 days. The airline will continue to notify passengers if their flights are full and allow them to switch to a less-crowded plane without paying an additional fee. The CEOs of major airlines, including American, are expected to meet with Vice President Mike Pence today to discuss coronavirus-related travel issues. Hannah Miller

Texas rolls back its reopening a day after pausing plans as cases rise

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10:52 a.m. ET  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he will roll back some of the state's reopening, only a day after he said he would place the state's reopening plan on pause. All bars and similar establishments that receive more than 51% of their gross receipts from the sale of alcoholic beverages are required to close by 12 p.m. Friday, according to the order. Rafting and tubing businesses must close and outdoor gatherings of 100 or more people must be approved by local governments, with certain exceptions. Restaurants may remain open for dine-in service, but at capacity not to exceed 50% of total listed indoor occupancy, beginning Monday. "As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10%, the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," Abbott said in a press release. "At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars." Texas reported a 79% increase in its weekly average of coronavirus cases on Thursday, averaging 4,757 daily new cases, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. Noah Higgins-Dunn

N.J. governor sees K-12 schools reopening in the fall

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy Scott Mlyn | CNBC

10:10 a.m. ET  New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told CNBC he believes that K-12 schools in the state will hold in-person instruction this fall. But he cautioned that the coronavirus situation in the state could change in the coming months, complicating return-to-the-classroom plans. "So with that big caveat, two months out, I believe we will be back in school. It will be a new normal. There will be protocols in place that had not been in place before," Murphy said on "Squawk Box." New Jersey, which has seen its daily cases of Covid-19 fall dramatically since its April peak, announced plans last week for colleges and universities to restart on-campus class. Schools have to submit plans to the state Office of the Secretary of Higher Education at least 14 days before they intend to restart. Kevin Stankiewicz

Coronavirus vaccine will not be a cure-all, virologist warns

9:27 a.m. ET  Robert Lambkin-Williams, an independent virologist at Virology Consult, told CNBC there is no clear evidence antibodies produced to fight off the coronavirus gave people any protection against being reinfected. "That's important because we don't know if the vaccines that encourage those antibodies to be produced are going to work," he said. Even if antibodies did prevent reinfection, a preliminary vaccine against the disease would not eliminate the pandemic, Lambkin-Williams added. "The vaccine is not going to be a cure-all. We have not had a successful vaccine against this type of virus ever," he said. "We will get a vaccine of some description in the next couple of years, but it will not be perfect and it will need to be developed going forward." Lambkin-Williams urged the public to adhere to guidelines on how to reduce transmission of the virus, such as wearing face coverings and practicing good hand hygiene. Chloe Taylor

U.S. consumer spending rebounds, despite falling income

8:48 a.m. ET  U.S. consumer spending in May rebounded sharply, despite a decline in personal income, according to data from the Commerce Department. Consumer spending jumped 8.2% last month, after sinking 12.6% in April. Personal income in May, though, fell 4.2% and is expected to fall further as millions of Americans remain unemployed amid the pandemic. Sara Salinas

The latest on U.S. hot spots

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35 states using Salesforce technology for contract tracing

8:26 a.m. ET  Thirty-five states have adopted Salesforce platform Work.com to deploy contract tracing as a way to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told CNBC's Jim Cramer. The platform was originally launched in May to help businesses survey employees and organize shifts to keep workers as healthy as possible. Now it's used by companies and entire states, Benioff said. Benioff called the platform "critical technology" because it allows for communication with sick people to know whom they were in contact with and slow the spread of Covid-19. Alex Harring

Coronavirus mortgage bailouts surge

8:18 a.m. ET  The number of active mortgage forbearance plans rose by 79,000 in the past week, according to Black Knight, a mortgage data and technology firm, after three straight weeks of declines. The recent increase in mortgage bailouts erased around half of the improvement in numbers since the peak of May 22, CNBC's Diana Olick reports. As of Tuesday, 4.68 million homeowners were in forbearance plans, which is 8.8% of all active mortgages, up from 8.7% last week. These plans allow homeowners to delay mortgage payments for at least three months. The surge indicates continuing struggles of homeowners amid the pandemic. Suzanne Blake

Jobs recovery may be slowing, alternative data shows

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8:11 a.m. ET  As cases of the coronavirus spike in major cities in the United States, some alternative data sources that track hourly employees show that the jobs recovery may be slowing. Data from Homebase, a scheduling firm that works with many small and medium-sized businesses in the service sector, shows that employment may have declined over the past week in some areas, with fewer employees working on June 24 than the average from June 15-19 in the majority of states. The Homebase data is not a representative sample of the U.S. labor force, but it does mirror the weekly jobless claims data, which showed that another 1.48 million people filed for unemployment last week for the first time. Jesse Pound

Airline labor unions seek $32 billion more in federal aid to extend payroll support

8:08 a.m. ET  Unions representing tens of thousands of airline employees want $32 billion in additional government aid to maintain their jobs through the end of March. While air travel is now higher than the more-than-five-decade lows hit in April, demand continues to suffer because of coronavirus. Airlines received the aid under the $2.2 trillion CARES Act in March on the condition they wouldn't lay off workers through Oct. 1. An additional $32 billion could save jobs through the end of March, the labor unions said. Congress is likely to begin negotiations on the next major coronavirus relief bill in July. Leslie Josephs, Lauren Hirsch

Russia reports lowest daily rise of new cases since April

A man with an umbrella in Red Square against the background of St Basil's Cathedral. From June 1 through 14, Moscow citizens are allowed to take walks and practise sports outside, including those older than 65 and suffering from chronic illnesses, according to schedules varying from house to house. Sergei Savostyanov | TASS | Getty Images

7:14 a.m. ET  Russia reported its lowest daily rise of new infections since late April, Reuters reported, as the tally of Covid-19 cases climbed by 6,800 to 620,794. The country's coronavirus response center said this was the first time Russia had reported fewer than 7,000 new cases over a 24-hour period since late April. To date, Russia has reported the third-highest number of infections, behind only the U.S. and Brazil, respectively. Sam Meredith

Joe Biden says he would mandate masks

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden listens as he meets with local residents at the sports bar Carlette?s Hideaway during a campaign stop in Yeadon, Pennsylvania U.S., June 17, 2020. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Praising Kerala for the way it has handled the coronavirus surge, Nobel-laureate and economist Amartya Sen said on Friday Covid-19 would be a transformatory movement in the state and it has dealt with the pandemic combating bureaucracy and red tape.

Sen was speaking during a webinar on development titled Kerala Dialogue, organised by the Kerala government, to bring together thinkers, policy-makers, professionals, scientists and the public to a space where they could rethink and reimagine development for a world disrupted by the pandemic.

Sen came down heavily on the unplanned and unstructured lockdown in India and said it caused distress and hardship.

I think Covid would be a transformatory movement in Kerala.

There is a danger of being deluged under the rather deceptive economic slogan that is so dominant in India today and there is widespread resistance to that.

But it also suggests that combating bureaucracy, combating red tape, and doing things with exceeding speed, which indeed is what Kerala seems to have done in dealing with Covid, Sen said.

Well-known philosopher and social critic, Noam Chomsky, who also participated in the talk, said the way Kerala responded to the Covid-19 pestilence was a surprise to the whole world.

The differences in the way between Kerala and the rest of India, and the rest of most of the world, on how they reacted to the crisis was quite startling.Not many places have dealt with it the way Kerala has.

This pandemic has brought out very sharply the extraordinary inequality that has been, of course always there, but greatly exaggerated through the neo-liberal period, Chomsky said.

Asked if there will be a fundamental change in the world at the end of the pandemic, Chomsky claimed countries like the US are trying to continue the current situation and move to more dictatorships, restrictions and people-watching.

But there are movements all over the world to counter this.Coordinating this can be a huge force.

They can make changesand theyare all trying to create a new world, Chomsky said.

Sen appreciated the public healthcare system and the high level of literacy in the state.

The unplanned and unstructured lockdown in India caused distress and hardship. The government should have discussed the matter with civil society.

However, the government implemented the lockdown in an authoritarian manner.It was a disaster for the daily wage labourers, Sen said.

Sen also pointed out that the collapse of the public system, which has happened in Europe, has not happened in Kerala.

Though Europe had a tradition of public sector intervention it is not there now but that kind of reliance on the public sector can still be seen in Kerala,he added.

WHO Chief Scientist, Dr Soumya Swaminathan said countries, which responded to the early warning issued by the World Health Organization, were better prepared to face the pandemic.

On January 30, WHO issued an emergency alert for global Covid-19 defence.But Kerala had already started preventive measures in early January, anticipating potential problems.

That is why the first cases from Wuhan could be discovered.Following this, Kerala was able to locate, quarantine those who had contact with them and contain the outbreak.

Kerala has been able to contain the disease as fast as possible due to proper preventive measures, Swaminathan said.

Chomsky said Vietnam has confronted this pestilence and not a single Covid related death was reported there.

He also pointed out that South Korea has also effectively controlled the pandemic without even a lockdown.

Taiwan, Hong Kong and New Zealand are other countries that dealt with the disease.

In Europe, Germany was able to prevent the spread of the disease in a good way.What saved them was that Germany did not adopt a commercial hospital system like the US, he said.

Chomsky said it was doctors from poor Cuba, who have been the victims of the US economic assault for more than six decades, who moved to Italy to help them out.

This pandemic was able to show the extraordinary inequality of the world. In the United States, it was most pronounced....Blacks and their descendants from Spain and South America suffered the most in the United States, he claimed.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan,who also participated in the discussion, said Kerala was starting a new conversation on development.

The Left Front is launching the KeralaDialogue to bring new concepts and sustainable development models, Vijayan said.
A teenage girl whose body was left unrecognizable after her murderer shot her seven times in the face in Washington State has finally been identified 43 years later by DNA taken from her hair.

Police have revealed the name of the woman as Elizabeth 'Lisa' Ann Roberts.

Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said they identified the teenager by analysing the DNA from the hair of her exhumed body.

Roberts, who was reported as a runaway two weeks prior to her murder, was hitchhiking when she was picked up by David Roth, who strangled her and shot her repeatedly in the face when she turned down his sexual advances.

The bullet wounds left Roberts' corpse unrecognizable, and without any form of identification found on her body, police were unable to identify her.

Using pioneering DNA analysis of the hair of a corpse of a Jane Doe, police in Washington State have identified a murdered teenager from 43 years ago, Elizabeth 'Lisa' Ann Roberts (pictured)

Police drew up a composite sketch (pictured) at the time of the murder but no-one identified the murdered teen

Adding to the disfigurement, Roberts was left to decompose for five days in the summer heat before being found by locals.

Police drew up a composite sketch of the 17-year-old but no-one came forward to identify her.

Robert's murderer Roth was later arrested and confessed to the killing, but he said he had not asked for the girl's name.

Snohomish County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit Team, Cold Case Team and the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office, this week reported the identity of Roberts, who had previously been dubbed Precious Jane Doe.

The Sheriff's Office praised a new scientific technique in the identification process.

'The DNA used for the identification was obtained from Lisa's hair using a new scientific technique developed by Dr. Ed Green, a scientist of ancient DNA and paleogenomics,' the Sheriff's Office said in statement, according to Fox News.

'This new technique, previously thought to be impossible, enables DNA-based forensics from rootless hair and other difficult sources.'

The police department began working to identify the girl after exhuming her body in 2008.

They were originally working on the assumption that the Jane Doe was between the ages of 25 and 35. The exhumation revealed that she was in fact a teenage girl.

Snohomish County Detective Jim Scharf nicknamed the girl 'precious Jane Doe', after she became 'precious' to him in his hunt to return her remains to her family.

'This young girl was precious to me because her moral decision from her proper upbringing cost her her life,' said Scharf in a statement.

David Roth, who later admitted to the slaying, shot Roberts seven times in the face after she refused his sexual advances, leaving her body unidentifiable

'I knew she had to be precious to her family too, so I had to find them. We needed to give her name back to her and return her remains to her family.'

According to Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney, Scharf had her story linked in his email signature in the hopes of gaining more information for years.

The scientific techniques allowed investigators to create a family tree, tracing her biological parent. From this discovery, they found a biological half brother, which allowed them to match the DNA, and therefore identify her.

Roberts was adopted aged two and police acquired records from Oregon Health Authority to find the family who raised her.

'It was kind of hard to believe,' Scharf told Fox News.

'I always have that feeling, it's like, 'This is like magic, how do you come up with this information?' And it's always correct. It's the best tool in the world. If you can get DNA on a case, it's always solvable now.'

Detective Scharf contacted her family and made the sad notification.

He learned that she went by the name of 'Lisa.'

Lisa's sister, Tonya, who was only 10 years old when Lisa ran away said, 'I looked up to Lisa as my big sister, who would spend time with me and play with me downstairs. We had a really good bond because we were both adopted.'

Police said Roberts is to be buried at a family plot and a memorial service is scheduled.
Sidewalk Labs, an urban innovation unit at Alphabet Inc., has laid off about 20 people, according to people familiar with the matter.

The job cuts, which amount to approximately 13 per cent of the companys roughly 150 employees, are mostly in the companys Toronto operation, where about a dozen workers remain, one of the people said.

New York-based Sidewalk recently shuttered its project to create a so-called city of the future on Torontos waterfront, citing the pandemics impact on real estate prices. The firms office in Toronto, which has been closed since the pandemic started, will not reopen, one of the people said.

Sidewalk is shifting its focus to sustainable building, according to a representative for the firm.

As excited as we are for the future, we are sad that this shift in focus means we will say goodbye to some of our incredibly talented team members, Sidewalk said in a statement. Many of our Toronto-based team will continue with Sidewalk Labs as we enter our next phase.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 21:07:50|Editor: huaxia

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KIGALI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda will intensify promotion efforts to encourage domestic tourism, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said on Friday.

"RDB has embarked on domestic tourism promotion, encouraging Rwandans to visit the country's main tourist attractions. As a result, 69 tourists have booked to track the endangered mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park this weekend while 215 have visited Akagera National Park," said RDB's Chief Tourism Officer Belise Kariza while addressing an online press conference on the reopening of tourism announced last week.

"We will continue to intensify our marketing and promotion efforts to encourage domestic tourists to explore the different attractions around the country," she said.

The chief tourism officer also encouraged the domestic market to take advantage of the promotional offers being shared.

The central African country last Wednesday announced the reopening of tourism activities, with a sharp cut in the price of permits for tracking endangered mountain gorillas, which allowed international travellers entering the country by charter flights.

More than 8.9 percent of Rwanda's land are protected as national parks, including Akagera National Park, Nyungwe National Park, Volcanoes National Park and Gishwati Mukura National Park.

Endangered mountain gorillas living in Volcanoes National Park contribute about 90 percent of tourism revenues from Rwanda national parks, the RDB said in February last year. Enditem
REALITY DOSE

Despite concrete evidence to the contrary, Trump is saying that the coronavirus is going away. Well, were all not as stupid as his supporters. We know he is saying this is because the coronavirus is a severe impediment to his re-election hopes. Trump is trying to say that the virus is going away and if hoping that people will believe it. Well, were not that stupid.

TOO FAST, TOO SOON

I see they are quarantining people coming from hot spots, which is a great idea. Im not going to take a two-week vacation to quarantine for two weeks. I get it. But how are they allowing people to go in and out of these stores on the Boardwalk and shop without masks? Theyre dangerously close to each other with no protection. If five people infected are walking the boards, how many people will be infected tomorrow? I know everyone would like a nice tan on their face without a white mark where the mask was, it would just look weird right? How weird do you think you would look with a vent hanging out your neck? Im sorry ,but Im going with the $10 mask instead of the $10,000 ventilator,and a $20,000 funeral. It just makes sense! This way, everyone is a winner on the Boardwalk this summer!

PETE DOWN THE STREET, U.D.

THERE HE GOES

I love the guy who keeps calling in Sound Off talking about Joe Biden and how senile he is, how he cant complete a sentence, how cruel his wife is for putting him through this campaign. Well, he must be doing something right because he has a 14-point lead in the polls against doofus Donnie! The Trumpster is going down, hes a one-termer for sure. And if you want to see someone who cant walk and chew gum at the same time, look no further than the White House.

HAHA

THE HORRIBLES

All the people who try to claim that Trump is a good person are just as horrible human beings as Trump is. Maybe they are trying to convince themselves that somethings wrong because they support Trump and they want to believe that they are good people, too. In their heart of hearts, they know Trump is a horrible person. So that makes them horrible people to but they dont want to accept it. Theyre horrible people.

GET READY, DEMS

This is to all the Democrats who are believing the polls that Biden has a double-digit lead. Do you think anybody in their right mind is going to tell a polling person that theyre voting for Trump in 2020? Theyd be labeled a racist. This is going to be like Harry Truman in 1948 and Richard Nixon in 1972.

THAT DARN JILL

Jill. Biden has proven that she is against our country. Shes letting Joe make a fool of himself and hes being pushed to socialism. She needs Bernie Sanders and those who want to ruin our country. I thought Joe Biden was an educated person but I was wrong. She has no brains and no conscience. She really wants to go to the White House to allow her husband to make a fool of himself, a disgrace. Shes pushing him too hard, and this wont end well.

SMH IN DARBY BOROUGH

TOMS TO BLAME

Because of Gov. Chicken Crap, thousands of Pennsylvanians are dead and hundreds of thousands are out of jobs. If he would have taken steps at the beginning and blocked access to Pennsylvania from New Yorkers and New Jersey where the epicenter of the virus, maybe this wouldnt have happened. The blood of thousands is on his hands. He should resign immediately.

HISTORY REPEATS

I love to read on This Date in History in the Daily Times. And on this date in 1876 Lieutenant George Custer and his 7th Calvary went into the battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana. Now George Custer consider himself the finest military strategist ever to wear the uniform. He came out of West Point. But he used to design his own uniform, he was that narcissistic. Well, I dont think the Indians got that memo because they wiped them out to a man in the battle that day in Little Bighorn. And I was just thinking, does George Custer remind anybody of any of our leaders today? like the president?

NATIVE AMERICAN IN NORWOOD
Trump says "probably" sending U.S. troops from Germany to Poland

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 09:44, June 25, 2020

WASHINGTON, June 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he probably would send some U.S. troops from Germany to Poland during his joint press conference with visiting Polish President Andrzej Duda.

Duda, the first foreign leader to visit the United States since the coronavirus outbreak, said at the conference that there is a possibility of a further increase in American troops in his country.

Such a move might further raise security concerns from Russia, which has repeatedly voiced opposition to NATO's military buildup near its border.

"They (Poland) asked us if we would send additional troops ... and we will probably be moving them from Germany to Poland," said Trump, stressing that Poland would pay for it.

Trump praised Poland's fulfillment of its so-called "monetary obligation" under NATO while criticizing Germany's "delinquency" on military spending.

"We gotta be reducing our forces in Germany, some will be coming home, and some will be going to other places, but Poland would be one of the other places," he added.

Trump also noted that he looks forward to signing a defense cooperation agreement with Poland. A senior administration official said Tuesday that they were working on the legal details of the agreement, and the U.S. Air Force plans to rotate an MQ-9 drone squadron into Poland and establish an aerial port there once the agreement is signed.

Poland will hold its presidential election on Sunday, and the media widely reported that Duda was counting on the visit to give him a boost on his re-election campaign.

Trump confirmed last week that his country would reduce the U.S. troop level in Germany to 25,000, which raised speculations that some of the troops could be relocated to Poland.

In a Sunday piece on The Wall Street Journal, National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien noted that several thousand troops currently stationed in Germany might be reassigned to other countries in Europe.

Washington and Warsaw have been strengthening their security and diplomatic ties. The two countries are on the same page on multiple regional issues such as Iran nuclear issue, alleged Russia's threat as well as the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.

Poland, which joined NATO in 1999, has long sought the deployment of a permanent U.S. military force on its territory. The U.S. military has approximately 4,500 rotational troops in Poland.

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Viewers say actress should not be used over the conspiracy theory

Viewers have called for Maxine Peake to be boycotted after she shared an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about George Floyds death - the latest in a history of outbursts from the actress.

The inflamatory remarks saw Labour politician Rebecca Long-Bailey sacked for sharing them, with leader Keir Starmer standing firm this morning to resist calls to reinstate her from hard-left supporters.

But it is just the latest in a string of controversies from Peake who has years of form in contentious comments, including calling for 'violent revolution' in 2017 and claiming there were 'no working class actors' in Hollywood in 2011. She also bemoaned in 2014 that actresses with accents were taken 'less seriously'.

Indeed she gave her now-infamous interview with the Independent when she was supposed to be in Palestine with activists.

And while she portrays herself as a dyed in the wool socialist she was brought up in a family she said aspired to be 'middle-class'.

She only got into politics after moving in with her late Communist Party member grandad Jim Taylor who told her about the cause.

In 2014 she paid tribute to him at Bolton Socialist Club as she received an award for her contribution to socialism, describing it as 'better than a Bafta'.

Last night there were calls for Peake, 45, to be dropped from acting roles for the remark on Mr Floyd and Israel, with people urging the BBC to stop using her.

Maxine Peake with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn at an event in Stratford

Actress Maxine Peake has condemned racism after she was accused of making anti-Semitic comments yesterday in an interview with The Independent

Rebecca Long Bailey was sacked from the Labour frontbench by Keir Starmer yesterday after retweeting a link to the article with the caption 'absolute diamond'.

Peake practice: from Communist to Socialist Maxine Peakes political leanings were forged in her childhood by her grandad. The actress grew up in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in a working class family. She said in an interview with the Guardian both she and her late mother Glynis aspired to be middle-class at the time. When her parents divorced when she was just nine and she carried on living with her. She went to school with Radio 2 DJ Sara Cox and even worked as a lifeguard with Take Me Out host Paddy McGuinness, When her mother moved away to live with a new boyfriend, Peake went to her grandad Jims house to stay, who she said was a communist. She said in an interview with the Guardian the grandparent became her mentor and gave her a political education. Peake has previously said she joined the Communist Party aged 18 but said she left three years later. She said in 2018: My grandfather had a life-changing influence on me. He never had any ambitions to be a politician  he worked on the assembly line at Leyland Motors  but his life was politics. He was a self-educated man and he had a thirst for knowledge. He was a member of the Communist party I left the Communist party at 21, when I went to London to drama school, for no other reason than that I could not fulfil my commitments to it. But I am still a socialist. Advertisement

One said Perhaps it should also consider not contracting Maxine Peake while another simply declared another actor to boycott.

It came after the head of Britain's biggest Jewish community group said the actress  who is a former member of the Communist Party  did make an anti-Semitic remark.

President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews Marie van der Zyl condemned Peake's comments, which linked the American's death to the Israeli Secret Service.

The Shameless actress rowed back on her remarks last night and insisted she was against any form of discrimination or racism.

But Mrs Van Der Zyl said: 'Rebecca Long Bailey retweeted an interview and in that interview she called Peake a diamond. We challenged Long Bailey on the retweet and she issued a clarification.

'We wrote to her at 12.19 and made it clear that we were concerned that she was repeating the conspiracy that Israel was somehow responsible for the murder of George Floyd.

'This was anti-Semitic because somebody has dreamed up a theory that links Israel to the horrific cold-blooded vile murder of an innocent man.

'The Israelis had nothing to do with it and there is a group desperate to blame them and Jews for every wrong in the world.

'I don't think anybody comes out of this happily - and Rebecca Long Bailey's response was pathetic and as someone who wanted to be an Education Secretary she would be expected to read and understand things. Peake should also have been fully aware of what she was saying.

Peake, 45, came under fire yesterday after claiming Israeli secret forces taught US police tactics which killed George Floyd. Her comments have led to a political backlash, with Rebecca Long Bailey being sacked from the Labour frontbench after sharing the article.

Peake, a Jeremy Corbyn supporter, also called for the overthrow of 'capitalist, fascist dictators' and 'systemic racism' by violent revolution.

Yesterday the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism group condemned Peake, saying that her 'views have no place in decent society'.

The actress has now issued a clarification, insisting that she was 'inaccurate in my assumption of American Police training & its sources'.

Peake said she finds 'racism & antisemitism abhorrent & I in no way wished, nor intended, to add fodder to any views of the contrary'.

However, her statement, released nearly 12 hours after the Independent article was published, did not contain an explicit apology.

Some viewers called for Maxine Peake to be boycotted, urging the BBC not to employ her in future

President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews Marie van der Zyl (left) condemned Peake's comments, which linked the American's death to the Israeli Secret Service. Rebecca Long Bailey (right) was sacked from the Labour frontbench after sharing the article

'I feel it's important for me to clarify that, when talking to The Independent, I was inaccurate in my assumption of American Police training & its sources,' she tweeted.

'I find racism & antisemitism abhorrent & I in no way wished, nor intended, to add fodder to any views of the contrary.'

In her interview with journalist Alexandra Pollard, Peake called 'systemic racism' a 'global issue' and called for the overthrow of 'the establishment'.

She then alleged: 'The tactics used by the police in America, kneeling on George Floyd's neck, that was learnt from seminars with Israeli secret services.'

This statement has been denied by Israeli authorities.

Her comments were criticised as appearing to be a variation on the 'blood libel', where Jews are held responsible for the death of others.

The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said: 'Maxine Peake's disgraceful promotion of a conspiracy theory tying Israel to the racist killing of George Floyd is unacceptable.

'Moreover, her attempt to shame those who felt threatened by the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn, an antisemite, becoming Prime Minister, is also outrageous.

'It is regrettable that Rebecca Long Bailey and another Labour MP retweeted the interview but it is to their credit that they later clarified or deleted their tweets, recognising... that Ms Peake's views have no place in decent society.'

Jewish groups including the Board of Deputies of British Jews backed Keir Starmer's sacking of former party leadership candidate Ms Long Bailey.

Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl said: 'I would like to thank Keir Starmer for backing his words with actions on anti-Semitism.

'After Rebecca Long Bailey shared a conspiracy theory, we and others gave her the opportunity to retract and apologise. To our surprise and dismay, her response was pathetic. Her position as Shadow Education Secretary was therefore untenable.

'There can be no space for this sort of action in any party and it is right that after so many challenging years Labour is now making this clear under its new leader.'

Jonathan Goldstein, chair of the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), told MailOnline: 'Today (Thursday) we saw significant action from Sir Keir Starmer in ensuring there is zero tolerance for anti-Semitism within the Labour Party.

'His actions show he understands the severity and harm that anti-Semitic conspiracies do to our politics.

'We welcome this decisive leadership and firm action.'

Sir Keir had previously vowed to wipe out the 'stain' of anti-Semitism from Labour and rip out the 'poison' that dogged the party under his predecessor.

He beat pro-Corbyn Long Bailey in the Labour party leadership race earlier this year.

Labour leader Keir Starmer (pictured left with Ms Long Bailey in April) has been trying to rebuild trust with the Jewish community after the Corbyn era

'We have to face the future with honesty,' Sir Keir said.

'Anti-Semitism has been a stain on our party. I have seen the grief that it's brought to so many Jewish communities. On behalf of the Labour Party, I am sorry.

'I will tear out this poison by its roots and judge success by the return of Jewish members and those who felt that they could no longer support us.'

Peake told The Independent: 'We're being ruled by capitalist, fascist dictators.

'It's entrenched, isn't it? We've got to the point where protecting capital is much more important than anybody's life. How do we dig out of that? How do we change?

The 45-year-old Shameless star has come under fire after claiming Israeli secret forces taught US police tactics which killed George Floyd

'With what's happening in America at the moment, it's about financial control. It's about keeping the poor in their place.

'I don't know how we escape that cycle that's indoctrinated into us all. Well, we get rid of it when we get rid of capitalism as far as I'm concerned. That's what it's all about. The establishment has got to go. We've got to change it.'

Peake campaigned for Labour at the December election, and also turned her fire on traditional Labour voters who felt unable to back the party under Corbyn.

'Those people who were normally Labour supporters who felt they couldn't vote Labour? Well I'm sorry, they voted Tory as far as I'm concerned,' she told the newspaper. 'And it breaks my heart, because you know what? I didn't like Tony Blair, but I still voted Labour because anything's better than the Tories.

'There's a lot of people who should hang their heads in shame. People going, 'Oh, I can join the Labour Party again because Keir Starmer's there', well shame on you.'

Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge, who is Jewish and was a leading critic of Jeremy Corbyn, said: 'This is what zero tolerance looks like.' Jewish groups also lined up behind the move

She also managed to throw in a backhanded jibe at Sir Keir himself, saying: 'I think people will get behind Starmer, won't they? He's a more acceptable face of the Labour Party for a lot of people who are not really left wing. But that's fine. Whatever. As long as the Tories get out, I don't care anymore.'

In her interview with The Independent, Peake also praised the role of actors in the world, adding: 'I'm not saying we are the saviours of the human race, but a lot of people have a television.'

Rebecca Long Bailey was sacked from the Labour frontbench by Keir Starmer after retweeting a link to the article with the caption 'absolute diamond'.

After her sacking, Ms Long Bailey said she had merely 'retweeted an interview that my constituent and stalwart Labour Party supporter Maxine Peake gave'.

'Its main thrust was anger with the Conservative government's handling of the current emergency and a call for Labour Party unity,' she said.

'These are sentiments are shared by everyone in our movement and millions of people in our country.'

'I could not do this in good conscience without the issuing of a press statement of clarification,' she said. 'I had asked to discuss these matters with Keir before agreeing what further action to take, but sadly he had already made his decision.'

Sir Keir justified his action, telling the BBC: 'The sharing of that article was wrong, because the article contained anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.'

A spokesman for Sir Keir said: 'This afternoon Keir Starmer asked Rebecca Long Bailey to step down from the shadow cabinet. The article Rebecca shared earlier today (Thursday) contained an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.

'As Leader of the Labour Party, Keir has been clear that restoring trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority. Anti-Semitism takes many different forms and it is important that we all are vigilant against it.'

Peake has frequently railed against the 'crippling austerity measures' and in 2017 backed the use of violence to install Corbyn as Prime Minister.

Asked if she wanted a peaceful or violent revolution, she replied 'both': 'You can't have a peaceful revolution now. Terrible thing to say. But we need a coup!'

In 2019, she co-signed a letter backing him in the election, lauding the former Labour leader for his stance against 'far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism'.
Sale of Duncan Facility and its related operations confirms Harvest One's strategic transition to a cannabis-focused Consumer Packaged Goods ("CPG") company

Duncan Facility sale streamlines Harvest One's operating model and significantly improves its cost structure and strengthens balance sheet

Licence Agreement provides Harvest One with royalty stream for Cannabis 2.0 brands in Canada

$1.5 million bridge financing secured to fund working capital in advance of the closing of sale of Duncan Facility and its related operations

VANCOUVER, BC, June 26, 2020 /CNW/ - Harvest One Cannabis Inc. ("Harvest One" or the "Company") (TSX-V: HVT) (OTCQX: HRVOF) is pleased to announce, as part of the Company's previously announced Strategic Review, it has entered into a definitive agreement (the "Acquisition Agreement") to sell its United Greeneries' licensed cannabis cultivation and processing businesses (the "Transaction") located in Duncan, British Columbia (the "Duncan Facility") to Costa Canna Production Limited Liability Partnership ("Costa LLP") and 626875 B.C. Ltd. (together with Costa LLP, the "Purchasers") for total cash consideration of $8.2 million. Upon closing of the Transaction, Harvest One will also effect a licence agreement with the Purchasers, which will provide Costa LLP, through its licensed subsidiary, with the right to use certain licensed intellectual property of Harvest One to produce and distribute Cannabis 2.0 products in Canada in exchange for a royalty to be paid to Harvest One and, in turn, provide Harvest One with distribution for Cannabis 2.0 products in Canada.

"The agreement to sell our Duncan Facility and its related operations represents a strategic step forward for Harvest One, further divesting from its capital intensive cultivation activities and firmly establishing ourselves as a cannabis-focused CPG company," said Andrew Bayfield, Chief Executive Officer of Harvest One. "We will continue to focus on expanding our core brands of LivRelief, Dream Water and Satipharm together with the commercialization of Cannabis 2.0 product offerings in Canada."

Mr. Bayfield continued, "When complete, this Transaction will significantly improve the Company's overall cost structure and will provide liquidity to strengthen our balance sheet. We are continuing to take necessary and decisive measures to streamline our operations, lower our cost structure and reduce our cash burn. I am confident we are on the right path and this Transaction serves to further reinforce the Company's plan to become cash flow positive in fiscal 2021."

Terms of the Acquisition Agreement

Under the terms of the Acquisition Agreement the Company will sell all of the facilities, licences and assets comprising its United Greeneries' cannabis cultivation and processing businesses in Duncan, British Columbia, for total cash consideration of $8.2 million. The Purchasers will also issue to the Company's subsidiary, two promissory notes representing the value of certain existing cannabis and cannabis-related item inventories, to be calculated at closing. The Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including the receipt of certain regulatory clearances and consents and the satisfaction or waiver of all conditions of closing under the Acquisition Agreement. The Transaction is anticipated to close on or around July 30, 2020.

Harvest One will retain all intellectual property associated with its Cannabis 2.0 product portfolio including, the Company's LivReliefTM cannabis-infused topicals currently on sale in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

Licence Agreement

Upon closing of the Transaction, Harvest One, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Dream Products Inc., Delivra Corp. and United Greeneries Holdings Ltd. (the "Subsidiaries"), will effect a licence agreement (the "Licence Agreement") with United Greeneries Ltd. ("United Greeneries") and Costa LLP. Under the terms of the Licence Agreement, United Greeneries, which will be owned by Costa LLP upon closing of the Transaction, will license and use certain intellectual property (the "Licence") owned by Harvest One, to produce and distribute various cannabis products including, cannabis topicals (notably Delivra's cannabis-infused LivReliefTM topical creams currently available in five provinces across Canada), cannabis extracts (including, but not limited to, cannabis vaping products), and cannabis edibles. In consideration of the Licence, the Purchasers will pay Harvest One a royalty in an amount equal to 95% of the revenue generated in relation to the Licence, less certain marked-up costs and expenses incurred by the Purchasers.

Increased Focus on Consumer Brands

With the sale of the Duncan Facility and its related operations, the Company can enhance its focus on its leading CPG brands LivReliefTM, Dream Water and Satipharm while leveraging its core capabilities of product development and distribution. Harvest One will continue to accelerate the commercialization of both infused and non-infused over-the-counter consumer products while leveraging its established distribution channels in North America and Europe and seeking additional partnerships to leverage the value of its portfolio of brands.

Improved Balance Sheet and Liquidity

The sale of the Duncan Facility and operations will provide an immediate infusion of capital which will contribute to a reduction in outstanding debt load as well as result in further reductions in overhead expenses. Combined with recent improvements to the overall cost structure, this will contribute to improved cash flow capabilities for the Company.

Asset-Light Operating Model

Through the Company's new asset-light operating model, the Company will concentrate on its core capabilities while outsourcing a significant portion of its operations, including the sourcing of raw materials and contract manufacturing. The repositioned Company will be a leaner, more efficient organization focused on the higher-margin segments of the cannabis value chain.

Bridge Financing Facility

In conjunction with the Acquisition Agreement, Harvest One has secured a $1.5 million bridge financing facility (the "Bridge Facility") from Costa LLP which will be made available to the Company upon signing the Acquisition Agreement. It is the intention of the parties that the Bridge Facility will mature and be repaid in full upon the closing of the Transaction. The Bridge Facility is secured by general security agreements over the Company's, and its United Greeneries subsidiaries', assets (the "Assets"), as well as guarantees provided by the United Greeneries subsidiaries. In order to facilitate the availability of the Bridge Facility, MMJ Group Holdings Limited has agreed to subordinate its security interest in certain of the Assets, to Costa LLP. The Bridge Facility carries a commitment fee of $25,000 and, if not repaid in full upon closing of the Transaction, shall bear interest at a rate of 10% per annum.

Third Quarter Financial Results

The Company today also announced its financial and operating results for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2020.

Third Quarter Financial Highlights

Net revenue of $3.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 , representing an 88% increase over the previous quarter, and a 10% increase over the same period in 2019;

for the three months ended , representing an 88% increase over the previous quarter, and a 10% increase over the same period in 2019; Adjusted earnings (loss) before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (" Adjusted EBITDA ") ( 1) of ($2.4) million compared to ($5.0) million in the previous quarter representing a 51% improvement, and a 26% improvement over the same period in 2019;

") of compared to in the previous quarter representing a 51% improvement, and a 26% improvement over the same period in 2019; Reduction of cash operating expenses by $1.1 million or 22% from the previous quarter as a result of cost savings initiatives implemented; and

or 22% from the previous quarter as a result of cost savings initiatives implemented; and Net loss of $35.4 million, which includes the impact of $27.5 million in non-cash goodwill impairment charges and $1.5 million in non-cash inventory write-downs.

Summary of Key Financial Results



Three months ended March 31

Nine months ended March 31

Select Financial Information 2020

2019

2020

2019

($000's, except share and per share amounts) $

$

$

$(1)

Net revenue 3,328

3,023

9,160

8,444

Gross (loss) profit (1,030)

207

301

1,912

Expenses 5,671

5,308

18,275

15,711

Loss from operations (6,701)

(5,101)

(17,974)

(13,799)

Net loss (35,410)

(5,131)

(56,995)

(14,258)

Net loss per share  basic and diluted (0.16)

(0.03)

(0.26)

(0.08)

Weighted average number of common shares 214,753,073

182,215,534

214,497,526

177,789,938

Adjusted EBITDA(1) (2,441)

(1,591)

(10,854)

(8,866)



Financial Commentary

Net revenue showed sequential growth of 88% quarter-over-quarter mainly due to a $1.6 million increase in our cultivation division from higher recreational cannabis and bulk cannabis sales, and fewer sales discounts and return provisions following a weak second quarter due to industry-wide factors. Our consumer division remained steady with a 2% decrease quarter-over-quarter despite the economic impact of COVID-19 in the latter part of the quarter. Net loss was impacted significantly by $27.5 million in non-cash goodwill impairment charges and $1.5 million in non-cash inventory write-downs.

Adjusted EBITDA(1) loss decreased quarter-over-quarter from ($5.0) million to ($2.4) million representing a significant improvement of 51%. This increase was primarily due to increased revenues as described above and ongoing efforts to reduce expenses, including a substantial reduction in headcount, professional and consulting services, rent and travel costs resulting in overall improvements in cash operating expenses.

Outlook and Strategic Review Update

Management's outlook for sales volumes for both the consumer and medical divisions remain promising for the remainder of fiscal 2020 and into fiscal 2021 despite industry and economic headwinds. Cannabis 2.0 sales will be reflected in our fiscal Q4 2020 results as we continue to see strong demand from both our retail and provincial partners. The Company continues to focus on reducing overhead costs and is expected to report cash cost savings in fiscal Q4 2020 results compared to the same period a year ago.

The previously announced Strategic Review remains ongoing, as the Company continues to evaluate all strategic alternatives and potential sales of additional non-essential assets including the sale of the Company's 50.1% interest in Greenbelt Greenhouse and the Lucky Lake facility. The Company will continue to evaluate all transactions or financing alternatives available to support the growth and expansion of its CPG brands and product lines.

About Harvest One

Harvest One is a global company that develops and distributes premium health, wellness and self-care products with a market focus on sleep, pain, and anxiety. Harvest One is a uniquely positioned company in the cannabis space with a focus on infused and non-infused consumer packaged goods. Harvest One owns and operates three subsidiaries; Satipharm (medical and nutraceutical); Dream Water Global, and Delivra (consumer); as well as a controlling interest in Greenbelt Greenhouse. For more information, please visit www.harvestone.com.

Non-IFRS Measures, Reconciliation and Discussion

This press release contains references to "Adjusted EBITDA", which is a non-IFRS financial measure.

Adjusted EBITDA is a measure of the Company's overall financial performance and is used as an alternative to earnings or net income in some circumstances. Adjusted EBITDA is essentially net income (loss) with from operations before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and adjusted for share-based compensation, common shares issued for services, the fair value effects of accounting for biological assets and inventories, asset impairment and write-downs and other non-cash items. This measure can be used to analyze and compare profitability among companies and industries, as it eliminates the effects of financing and capital expenditures. It is often used in valuation ratios and can be compared to enterprise value and revenue. This measure does not have any standardized meaning according to IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.

There are no comparable IFRS financial measures presented in Harvest One's financial statements. Reconciliations of the supplemental non-IFRS measures will be presented in the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2020. These non-IFRS financial measures are presented because management has evaluated the financial results both including and excluding the adjusted items and believe that the non-IFRS financial measures presented provide additional perspective and insights when analyzing the core operating performance of the business. The Company believes that these supplemental measures provide information useful to shareholders and investors in understanding our performance and may assist in the evaluation of the Company's business relative to that of its peers.

These non-IFRS financial measures should not be considered superior to, as a substitute for, or as an alternative to, and should be considered in conjunction with, the IFRS financial measures presented in the Company's financial statements. For more information, please see "Adjusted EBITDA" and "Non-GAAP Measures" in the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2020, which is available on www.sedar.com .

Notes:

This is a non-IFRS reporting measure. For a reconciliation of this to the nearest IFRS measure, see "Adjusted EBITDA" and "Non-GAAP Measures" in the Company's management discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2020 , filed on SEDAR.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance about Harvest One and its business and operations, which include, among other things, statements with respect to the closing of the Transaction, the Strategic Review, its corporate strategy moving forward, any transactions arising from the Strategic Review, certain financial operating metrics and financial results, and future opportunities available for the Company. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof, and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Harvest One Cannabis Inc.

For further information: Investor Relations: Colin Clancy, Investor Relations, [email protected], 1-877-915-7934; Media and Other Enquiries: Nicholas Van Dyk, Vincic Advisors, [email protected], 1-604-364-5752

Related Links

https://www.harvestone.com/


IDEMIA offers the payment card with the highest concentration of recycled PVC on the market

Onlyone, acting on Treezor's behalf, is the first French fintech to bring to market an environmentally friendly card

IDEMIA teamed up with Treezor over three years ago to develop a broad range of groundbreaking products like metal cards and new look new-feel cards colored layers, bushed metal finish, transparent targeting key French neobanks and fintechs.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005102/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

This collaboration between IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity and Treezor the French banking-as-a-service market leader, has today culminated in the launch of the first ever eco-friendly card by a fintech in France. This move ties in with both companies' green initiatives while meeting consumer demand for sustainable solutions.

Backed by longstanding design, development and production know-how, IDEMIA was able to offer Treezor a low-natural-resource-consuming card without compromising at all on security or end-user convenience. As part of its environmental strategy, IDEMIA reaffirms its commitment to move away from today's linear take-make-waste model and fundamentally rethink the way we design, use and reuse plastics.

Onlyone, first eco-friendly neobank1

Onlyone2, a startup that markets itself as the first ever genuinely environmentally friendly fintech, will be the first recipient of this new 85+% recycled PVC card that is due to be launched with its existing customers in September 2020.

"We strive to adopt green practices throughout our operations by going paperless and developing digital and eco-friendly bank card solutions. Bank cards are manufactured from industrial waste-based recycled PVC in line with circular economy principles, which seek to cut waste of natural resources and minimize industrial waste. IDEMIA also obtained "Environmental Claim Validation Summary" certification from its recycled PVC supplier "UL Environment Inc."said Amanda Gourbault, Executive Vice-President for Financial institutions activities at IDEMIA.

"We are grateful Treezor and IDEMIA give us this amazing opportunity to be the first Fintech in France to offer an eco-responsible card. With this new card, we are laying the first brick in supporting our customers towards a low-carbon lifestyle" said Kamel Nait Outaleb, Co-founder and CEO of Onlyone

"We are proud that Onlyone will issue this very first card that embraces our and Onlyone's values and meets today's consumer expectations. We are thrilled to have a chance to contribute to Tech4Good who share what we are trying to achieve. A big thank you to IDEMIA for bringing its technological expertise" said Eric Lassus, Treezor cofounder and CEO.

About IDEMIA

IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, provides a trusted environment enabling citizens and consumers alike to perform their daily critical activities (such as pay, connect and travel), in the physical as well as digital space.

Securing our identity has become mission critical in the world we live in today. By standing for Augmented Identity, an identity that ensures privacy and trust and guarantees secure, authenticated and verifiable transactions, we reinvent the way we think, produce, use and protect one of our greatest assets our identity whether for individuals or for objects, whenever and wherever security matters. We provide Augmented Identity for international clients from Financial, Telecom, Identity, Public Security and IoT sectors.

With close to 15,000 employees around the world, IDEMIA serves clients in 180 countries.

For more information, visit www.idemia.com Follow @IdemiaGroup on Twitter

About Onlyone:

Created at the end of 2018, Onlyone is an independent, 100% digital, ethical and positive impact Fintech. Founded by Kamel Nait-Outaleb, Amine Melouk and Matthias Rouberol, three experienced entrepreneurs in banking and digital, its mission is to create a different, more virtuous payment account model, in order to reposition the banking world at the heart of society and the realities of our time.

To meet social and environmental challenges, Onlyone is reinventing account management services, adapting them to help create a transparent and sustainable banking world. In addition to monitoring day-to-day account operations, Fintech enables its users to understand, monitor and reduce the environmental impact of their consumption thanks to an exclusive environmental impact score and change management tools. It also enables them to contribute to financing projects with a high social and environmental impact, such as carbon offsetting projects or the fight against malnutrition, in a simple way and at no extra cost. To find out more go to Onlyonecard.eu.

About Treezor

Eric Lassus and Xavier Labouret founded Treezor in 2016 and in 2019 sold it to French bank Societe Generale. Today Treezor is a French white-label payment services fintech. The firm can market its services in Europe based on its electronic money operating license and its Mastercard principal member status. The firm manages the entire payment process via its platform encompassing purchase, card issue, Xpay, wire transfers, P2P, KYC and more. The firm dedicates a large proportion of its funds to developing new technologies and has 80-plus staff in Paris and Rennes. To learn more about Treezor, go to www.treezor.com, follow us on Twitter @TreezorBanking and on our LinkedIn page.

1 As defined by the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority in its 2019 report titled "Neobanks seeking profits", 'neobank' means Banking-as-a-Service platforms like Treezor.

2 Treezor payment services agent

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005102/en/

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" " Washington, D.C. isn't designated as a state so it currently doesn't have representation in Congress. Many Democrats want to change that. Mike Perry-flickr.com/mrperry/Getty Images

Back in June 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed historic legislation that would have transformed the District of Columbia into the nation's 51st state. The bill would have given the district's 712,000-plus residents the opportunity to elect a Congress member and two senators with full voting rights for the first time in the nation's history.

The bill would also have shrunk the U.S. federal capital to a small area encompassing the White House, U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court and other federal buildings along the National Mall. The rest of the city would become the 51st state.

But the bill never saw the light of day in the Republican-controled U.S. Senate. However in January 2021, after the Democrats took control of the White House and Senate, Democrats reintroduced legislation to make D.C. a state once again.

The bill was introduced by nonvoting delegate to the House, Eleanor Holmes Norton, who would have no say in its passage. Norton represents the District of Columbia and introduced the 2020 bill. Its companion bill was unveiled in the Senate by Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware.

"There's never been a time when statehood for the District was more likely," Norton said in a statement. "After the historic passage of the D.C. statehood bill in the House last June and reintroduction in the House this year with a record 202 original cosponsors, and now with Senator Carper's reintroduction of the Senate companion bill with a new record number of original cosponsors, we're ready to achieve voting representation and full local self-government for the 712,000+ residents of the District of Columbia."

Norton went on to say that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer were committed to bringing the bill to the floor for a vote and with Democrats in control of the House and the Senate, and with President Joe Biden's support, there was no better time to "correct this historic injustice and give D.C. residents the same rights as other taxpaying Americans."

On March 22, 2021, the House Oversight and Reform Committee began a hearing to debate the legislation introduced in January by Norton and Carper. The House is likely to pass the legislation again, but it has a tough battle in the evenly divided Senate, given that the bill would need 60 votes to pass (unless the Democrats eliminate the filibuster).

Most Republicans oppose the effort to make D.C. a state. Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky and the ranking member on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said he thinks the bill is "unconstitutional." Other republicans argue D.C. isn't big enough to be a state  and also that its economy is that of a city and not a state. Others, including Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina, spent time during the hearing questioning whether Democrats were using the citizens of D.C. gain power because they would likely elect two Democrats to the Senate if given the chance.

But the bill raises question: Why didn't the nation's founders make Washington, D.C., a state in the first place? When they decided to create a new national capital, why did they choose to deny residents the same representation in the national government that the rest of the nation's citizens have? As historians explain, Washington's lack of full representation has partly to do with some of the founders' desire to have a strong federal government that wasn't overly influenced by having its headquarters in a state that it was dependent upon for services and protection.

But it also has something to do with Southern slaveholders' desire to have a national capital in their territory with weak self-governance, so the so-called "peculiar institution" wouldn't face any local resistance. Even after the Civil War, segregationists in Congress fought for many years to keep control over the district's administration and deny any power to the city's heavily African American population.

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How a Military Mutiny Helped Keep Washington, D.C., From Statehood

Initially, Philadelphia served as the nation's capital. But the Confederation Congress, the predecessor of the present legislative branch, found itself in a difficult situation in June 1783. That's when Pennsylvania militiamen who'd been furloughed after the Revolutionary War decided to march to Philadelphia to protest the government taking away their jobs and not paying them what they were owed, as this account from the House of Representatives website details. When the mutineers arrived in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania government began negotiating with them. But rumors started to spread among the nervous national legislators that the soldiers might loot the government-chartered Bank of North America if they didn't get their money.

A committee of delegates led by Alexander Hamilton demanded that Pennsylvania's state government put down the rebellion, but it declined, saying that the protesters weren't violent.

In the view of one historian that actually was just fine with Hamilton. The future treasury secretary "played a central role in casting the Philadelphia Mutiny as a greater danger to the young republic than it was, thus advancing his demand for a strong, central government with police powers over its domain, i.e., not subject to any state's authority," explains J.D. Dickey via email. He's the author of the 2014 book "Empire of Mud: The Secret History of Washington, DC."

According to Dickey, Hamilton then persuaded his ally, President of Congress Elias Boudinot, to convene a session on a weekend, even though there weren't enough members around to reach a quorum, so that it would create the impression that they were menaced by the protest. Hamilton then chastised state leaders for failing to protect the federal government against the soldiers and putting it in a "weak and disgusting position." The handful of legislators then fled to New Jersey to add to the drama.

A few years later, the Constitution's framers specified in Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 that the national capital should be located in a district "not exceeding ten miles square" that would be controlled by the federal government, and not by any state. That meant that members of Congress wouldn't be dependent upon local or state officials to protect them from future mobs of aggrieved citizens. And as future President James Madison noted in Federalist 43, by not being dependent upon a state, Congress would avoid potential for corruption  "an imputation of awe or influence, equally dishonorable to the government and dissatisfactory to the other members of the Confederacy."

Southerners and Northerners in the new government worked out a compromise, in which the capital would be located in the South, in exchange for Southern Congress members dropping their opposition to the federal government paying off northern states' debts from the Revolutionary War. The location along the Potomac River was attractive to George Washington because it was less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) from his Mount Vernon estate, and because he had a vision of turning the capital into a prosperous river port and commercial hub.

In 1801, Congress passed the Organic Act, which took away district residents' right to vote for congressional representatives, and the following year granted a charter to a portion of the district, the City of Washington, which was allowed to elect a 12-member city council. The mayor initially was appointed by the U.S. president, though in 1820, the law was changed to allow a mayoral election as well, according to the Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections.

" " District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference on D.C. statehood in the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, June 16, 2020. Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

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Race as a Factor in Washington, D.C.'s Disenfranchisement

Washington, D.C., was conveniently nestled between two slave states, Maryland and Virginia, which helped protect the slavery there from Northern interference.

"That District became a bulwark of Southern legislative power, and slave trading and human bondage became legion there," Dickey says. "And so, with the population in the District largely made up of slaves and disenfranchised citizens, the only people who could vote federally or hold federal power of any kind were congressmen elected by voters who didn't live there."

In the first half of the 19th century, Washington became a center for the domestic trade, home to one of the busiest markets involved in the sale of human beings. It was the sort of place where a free Black man such as Solomon Northrup, the protagonist of the film "12 Years a Slave," ran the danger of being kidnapped and thrown into the slave pen located at the present site of the Federal Aviation Administration's headquarters at 800 Independence Avenue, S.W.

The practice of slavery there left a persistent stain upon the city's character, according to Chris Myers Asch. He's the co-author, with George Derek Musgrove, of the 2017 book "Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation's Capital."

"It developed as a Southern city, not a Northern one," Asch explains via email. "Slavery was embedded into the fabric of the city from its inception, and the slave trade quickly became a major industry. After emancipation and a brief flowering of interracial democracy, the city lost its self-government and city leaders embraced Southern-style segregation. In customs and social relations, D.C. was a Southern city until the late 20th century."

The issues of self-government and statehood in Washington, D.C., are intertwined with race, Asch says. Though Washington had limited self-rule for much of the 19th century, in the 1870s, Congress took that away. For the next century, Washington was run largely by Southern segregationists such as Sen. Theodore Bilbo, a Mississippian who had the unofficial title of "Mayor of Washington." He once warned in a speech that if voting rights were granted in Washington, Blacks "would soon have control of the city."

Eventually, Washington residents did get some rights. In 1961, The 23rd Amendment gave them the right to vote in presidential elections, and in 1973, they regained the right to elect council members and the mayor. In 1978, Congress passed a constitutional amendment that would have given Washington residents representation in Congress, but it had a seven-year window for ratification, and by the time that expired in 1985, only 16 states had approved it.

In 1993, another effort to pass a bill in the House to grant statehood to Washington failed by a vote of 277 to 153, as this article from the Brookings Institution details. But statehood advocates didn't give up.

The new bill gets around the Constitution's Article I by carving out a space in the capital for government buildings, which would remain under federal control, while converting Washington's mayor to the equivalent of a state governor. The current legislation, whose co-sponsors include Speaker Pelosi, is on a path to pass the House on a party-line vote. What happens in the Senate is anybody's guess.

Now That's Interesting The current Washington statehood legislation would create the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, drawing its new name from President George Washington, a Virginian, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass who was from Maryland, thereby differentiating it from the Washington state that already exists in the Pacific Northwest.

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Originally Published: Jun 26, 2020
[June 26, 2020] Davenport University to recognize 2020 graduates with drive-through commencement celebration

Davenport University announced today that it is preparing to host a drive-through commencement celebration to recognize its 2020 graduates on August 9. "Our graduates have worked hard to achieve their dreams and we want to have an opportunity to recognize their incredible achievements," said Dr. Richard J. Pappas, president of Davenport University. "We've come up with a creative solution that will enable both students and their families to celebrate their long-awaited graduation." Davenport University is making every effort to recognize its graduates this year, while protecting their health and safety. That is why the university has decided to host a drive-through commencement celebration. The event will create an opportunity for students to bring their families to an event where they will have a chance to wear their graduation gown, walk across the stage and stand for a photo. Davenport University is recognizing more than 1,600 graduates at a drive-through commencement celebration on Sunday, August 9. This year's Davenport University graduates range in age between 19 and 66. Students will be earning degrees spanning from accounting to cybersecurity to occupational therapy, urbn education and nursing with nearly 30 percent earning a graduate degree and another 60 percent earning an undergraduate degree.



"We considered several avenues to recognize our graduates," said Dr. Gilda Gely, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs. "But it was clear from an internal survey with graduates that they preferred to be recognized in-person and we were determined to make that request a reality." Graduates will drive and walk at a celebration held at Davenport University's W.A. Lettinga Campus, located just outside of downtown Grand Rapids on Sunday, August 9. Students will line-up in their cars within the campus parking lot according to their colleges and will be called forward for recognition one at a time to ensure a safe and organized experience for all who attend.

Davenport is reaching out to each of its graduates to collect RSVPs for the event. Families are encouraged to ride along for the celebration or watch the event through a livestream at davenport.edu/commencement. Additional details will be available on davenport.edu/commencement in the next few weeks. About Davenport University: Founded in 1866, Davenport is a private, non-profit university serving about 7,500 students at campuses across Michigan and online. With tuition among the lowest of all private universities in the state, Davenport provides high academic quality, small class sizes, conveniently located campuses, faculty with real-world experience and more than 60 dynamic undergraduate and graduate programs addressing in-demand careers in business, technology, health professions and urban education. To learn more visit www.davenport.edu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005451/en/

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Republicans and Democrats alike are missing the full scope of what the Obama administrations attack on Lt. General Michael Flynn means for constitutional government. The systematic campaign to undermine an incoming presidential administration through politicized investigations is not another political scandal, but threatens a true constitutional crisis.

Flynns treatment by the Obama administrations FBI and DOJ seems to be a case study in how administrative elites, charged with executing the law, undermined the very rule of law. Our country was founded on fundamental republican principles: equal rights, individual liberty, and the consent of the governed. These sacred rights are secured, protected, and perpetuated by our civilizations greatest political achievement: the constitutional rule of law. And while often taken for granted, the peaceful and unobstructed transition of power from one presidential administration to the next, frequently from the control of one political party to its political opposition, is the crown jewel of the American constitutional system.

If the actions now becoming known are true, the Obama administration subverted these fundamental principles and undermined the rule of law by employing the nations intelligence apparatus to interrupt the transition of power to the Trump administration, which was duly elected by the American people.

Consider a few of the things that have happened:

Based on very flimsy evidence, the FBI of the Obama administration opened a counterintelligence investigation on the Trump presidential campaign, an investigation that included spying on at least three campaign officials and obtaining a FISA warrant rife with unverified information. As part of that investigation, someone in the Obama White House or the highest levels of our intelligence agencies leaked to the media classified information about a December 2016 phone call between the incoming National Security Advisor and the Russian ambassador. Though FBI staff had decided to close the investigation on Flynn for lack of evidence on January 4, they were instructed by FBI leadership to keep the case open. Twenty-four hours later, the FBI Director James Comey met with President Obama, Vice-President Biden, and other White House and intelligence officials. The Flynn case was discussed and Comey was instructed to brief President-elect Trump about the infamous Steele dossier, which has been indirectly funded by the Clinton campaign. Instead of giving the incoming president a defensive briefing about their belief that Flynn and others in his campaign were tied to the Russians, the Director of the FBI  in full cooperation with and perhaps directed by then-President Obama  contrived to keep Mr. Trump from finding out about the full scope of the investigation. On January 24 (Flynns second day as the new National Security Advisor), the FBI Director sent two agents to the White House to, by their own admission, set a trap for Flynn in order to get him fired. In doing so, the FBI Director defied the wishes of the Acting Attorney General and did not notify the new White House Counsel of the interview but instead devised a plan to get Flynn to take the meeting alone, without a lawyer, in order to mask an FBI interview as a friendly conversation.

Each of these instances of are problematic. But the whole (along with all the other things we are learning) is worse than the sum of the parts: it looks to be a pattern of politicizing the legal process to subvert the outcome of our electoral system.

When John Adams lost the bitter election of 1800, he did not attempt to sabotage Thomas Jefferson or his new administration. Indeed, when that election was thrown in to the House of Representatives to settle who would be the next president, it was Jeffersons arch-enemy Alexander Hamilton who supported him rather than force an outcome of his partisan liking contrary to popular consent.

The election of 1800, in fact, was the first time in history that there was a peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another. Prior to that time, the usual way differing opinions about who should rule were settled was through force, whether chopping off the previous leaders head, violently overthrowing the ruling government, or pursuing some other nefarious intrigue. The American rule of law system created a constitutional alternative: changing governments by ballots rather than bullets. And as Abraham Lincoln told Congress in 1861, ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors of bullets; and that when ballots have fairly and constitutionally decided, there can be no successful appeal back to bullets; that there can be no successful appeal except to ballots themselves, at succeeding elections.

A great disservice has been done to our country. One mans due process rights have been violated, and the rule of law for all has been breached. Consider the precedent. If it is appropriate for one political party, having lost an election, to use the authority of government outside of the bounds of the law against their opponents who have won that election, what is to stop the next political party from doing the same? Or the next?

The consent of the governed makes government legitimate. Free elections are not merely a nice tradition, but the very expression of popular sovereignty. To circumvent or undermine a valid election denies the legitimacy and sovereignty of popular rule. What appears to have been done to Mr. Flynn and the incoming Trump administration at the hands of the intelligence agencies of the Obama administration may seem merely another partisan squabble but is ultimately a rejection of republican government.

Matthew Spalding is Dean of Hillsdale Colleges Van Andel Graduate School of Government in Washington, D.C.
By PTI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday rejected as "fabricated news" the reports in the media about its continuation on the FATF's Grey List, saying no "new decision" was taken about it at the virtual plenary of the global terror financing watchdog.

The Foreign Office was responding to reports in the media that the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided in its final plenary on Wednesday to keep Pakistan on the Grey List as it had failed to check flow of money to terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said on Thursday that Pakistan's continuation on the Grey List of the FATF vindicated India's position that the country had not taken any appropriate action against terror networks operating from its soil.

Reacting to MEA's remarks, the Pakistan Foreign Office said the Indian official was responding to the "fabricated news reports in the Indian media".

It said in a statement that Pakistan was prepared to present its progress report to the FATF in the plenary meeting scheduled for this month.

However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the FATF decided on April 28 a general pause for four months in the review process for a number of countries, including Pakistan, under the ICRG (International Cooperation Review Group) assessment, the statement said.

The agenda of the FATF's virtual plenary meeting, held on June 24, did not include Pakistan, the Foreign Office (FO) said.

"In this virtual plenary meeting, no new decision regarding Pakistan was made," it said.

The decisions taken by the FATF in the February 2020 plenary meeting regarding a number of countries including Pakistan remain in effect and the evaluation of Pakistan's FATF Action Plan would be made in the next plenary cycle of FATF, in which Pakistan would present its progress report, the FO said.

Reports in the Indian media insinuating that the FATF has put Pakistan on the Grey List are "patently misleading" and part of the incessant "smear campaign" by India against Pakistan, it said.

Pakistan repeatedly drew the attention of the international community towards India's "sinister" attempts to use the FATF process for its narrow political gains, the FO said.

"Pakistan has also been raising the issue of India's dubious credentials as an impartial and objective assessor of Pakistan's progress on the FATF Action Plan," it said.

India's efforts to "misuse" the technical forum of FATF for discrediting Pakistan have been noticed by FATF members and are not appreciated by the international community, the Foreign Office said.

"We hope that the FATF membership would take cognisance of India's malicious campaign against Pakistan and reject any attempt at politicising the FATF proceedings," it said, adding that Pakistan was committed to completing its FATF Action Plan and making progress.

The Foreign Office also said that Pakistan completely rejects the MEA spokesperson's terrorism-related allegations against Pakistan.

Paris-based FATF put Pakistan on the grey list in June 2018 and the country agreed to work on an action plan to fulfill its obligation by October 2019.

Later, this date was extended until February 2020.
Can you see any other face?: Priyanka Gandhi on Congress's CM candidate in Uttar Pradesh

Priyanka Gandhi slams Mayawati; Calls BSP Chief as 'undeclared BJP spokesperson'

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, June 26: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said that she is the granddaughter of former prime minister Indira Gandhi and dared the Uttar Pradesh government to take action against her for "speaking the truth".

The Congress General Secretary also launched a veiled attack on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief Mayawati, calling her an "undeclared BJP spokesperson".

I dare you.. Priyanka Gandhi to Uttar Pradesh government

Delhi CM cautions Covid patients, says oxygen drops suddenly in some cases | Oneindia News

Taking to Twitter, Priyanka Gandhi alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government is threatening her through various departments for "speaking the truth".

In a tweet, Gandhi said, "I am Indira Gandhi's granddaughter and not an undeclared BJP spokesperson like some of the opposition leaders."

Priyanka Gandhi's attack came a day after the Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights issued a notice to her, asking her to file a reply within three days for her "misleading" comment on the Kanpur shelter home where as many as 57 girls tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

20 million Americans have been infected with coronavirus says US health official

On Sunday, Gandhi slammed that Uttar Pradesh government on Facebook over a media report about two girls being found pregnant in the state-run child shelter home, saying it showed facts were being suppressed in the name of investigation at such facilities.

"As a servant of the people, my duty is towards the people of Uttar Pradesh. And this duty is to put out the truth before them and not to put forth government propaganda. The UP government is wasting its time by threatening me through its various departments," the Congress General Secratary posted a tweet in Hindi.

Meanwhile, Mayawati is seen praising the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh on various issues, including its arrangements to send migrant workers home and its handling of the attacks on Dalits in the state by acting promptly against the violators.

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Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 14:03 [IST]
The global automotive camera module market size is expected to grow by 17.96 million units during 2020-2024. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect the impact to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth.

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Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Automotive Camera Module Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

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Market estimates include pre- and post-COVID-19 impact on the automotive camera module market - Download free sample report

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) are gradually replacing charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors in every area of application, including automotive. CCD sensors were widely used in the automotive sector for machine vision applications. However, due to factors such as low cost and high performance, CMOS sensors have gained popularity. CMOS camera modules in the automotive sector primarily enhance car safety, driving assistance, and comfort level. Thus, the increasing popularity of CMOS sensors will have a positive impact on the growth of the market 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=IRTNTR44051

The global spread of coronavirus pandemic is expected to have a negative impact on the consumer discretionary industry. Technavio's analysts expect the industry to take over two quarters to reach a normal state of economic activity. Similarly, the spread of COVID-19 is expected to have a negative impact on the growth of the automotive camera module market.

As per Technavio, the stringent safety regulations 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.

Automotive Camera Module Market: Stringent Safety Regulations

Driver assistance and safety systems aid in minimizing fatalities, reducing the number of collisions, and improving the overall vehicle safety. Consequently, governments across the globe are trying to implement safety regulations for the development of safety systems in integration with cameras. For instance, the US government has made rearview cameras mandatory in all new vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 lb (4,536 kg), covering passenger cars, SUVs, buses, and light trucks since May 2018. Although major vehicle producing nations and regions have their own regulations, vehicle safety standards are being developed and applied globally through the United Nations World Forum for harmonization of vehicle regulations. All such factors will lead to the widespread adoption of automotive camera modules.

"Factors such as the steady growth of ADAS market, strict emission norms and increasing road safety, passenger safety, and vehicle security concerns will have a significant impact on the growth of the automotive camera module market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio.

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Automotive Camera Module Market: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the automotive camera module market by application (passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles), functionality (driver assistance camera and driver support camera), and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA).

The North American region led the automotive camera module market in 2019, followed by APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA respectively. However, during the forecast period, the Europe region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to factors such as the upswing in the financial status of Europe, and stricter vehicle safety norms.

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

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Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario

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Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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India Urges Russia to Deliver Igla-S Missile System ASAP Amid Border Tensions, Media Claims

Sputnik News

12:06 GMT 25.06.2020

New Delhi (Sputnik): Media outlets earlier reported that Indian authorities have decided to "pressure" Russia into expediting the delivery of its S-400 air defence missile system to New Delhi amid the latter's ongoing border face-off with China.

Amid one of the longest face-offs with China, India has requested that Russia deliver Igla S anti-air missiles, assault rifles, and ammunition for various Russian-made systems under the emergency purchase route, a report by the Economic Times suggests.

The development comes during Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's three-day visit to Russia for the Victory Day parade. The minister is believed to have requested a quick delivery of missiles and ammunition on urgent basis, too.

"All our proposals have received positive responses from the Russian side. I am fully satisfied with my discussions", Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday after a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov in Moscow.

The minister emphasised that Russia had assured him that ongoing contracts will be maintained and "not just maintained, in a number of cases will be taken forward in a shorter time".

The emergency procurement allows the Indian armed forces to purchase $66.17 million worth of items.

Igla-S is a man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile defence system manufactured by research and production corporation Konstruktorskoye Byuro Mashynostroyeniya (KBM). The system has a range of around five kilometres, intended to target various types approaching and receding aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles round-the-clock when they are visually observed against clutter background and in an infrared countermeasure environment.

The system was declared the winner of the Indian Army's Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) program,me in 2018, beating out Saab's RBS 70NG and MBDA's Mistral. The contract negotiation to purchase around 5,137 such systems are underway between the two countries.

Sources said that the two sides also discussed a project to manufacture Kalashnikov rifles at a factory in India's Amethi under a joint venture approach.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) also reportedly decided to purchase 33 fighter jets, including 21 MiG-29s and 12 Su-30MKIs, from Russia under an emergency clause.

The expedited emergency purchases by India come amid a border standoff with China that began in the last week of April and escalated last week with 20 Indian soldiers being killed in a violent face-off in the Galwan Valley. Satellite images on 22 June revealed massive deployments of troops, heavy machinery, and artillery units in the plains of Depsang of northern Ladakh.

A Sputnik

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Detectives are investigating after a man was fatally shot Thursday night in a Southeast Albuquerque neighborhood.

Daren DeAguero, an Albuquerque police spokesman, said officers responded around 9:20 p.m. to gunshots in the 1200 block of Ortiz SE, a few blocks north of Gibson and San Mateo.

Officers arrived and discovered one male subject mortally wounded, he said. This has been deemed a homicide callout. Detectives will be enroute to the scene in order to begin the investigation.

Deaguero did not give the mans age or any suspect information.
Dawn Emerick has resigned from her position as director of the Metropolitan Health District, even as COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations surge unsustainably across Bexar County.

Clearly, the timing is not good, but we wish her well in her future endeavors, City Manager Erik Walsh said in a statement. The COVID-19 emergency has revealed the depth of talent that exists within our health department, which will continue to lead the public health response.
The Chinese telecom giant will remain in Singapore through small local operator. The city-state does not want to take sides in the Sino-US technology row. For the Trump administration, Huawei is controlled by Chinas military. The number of countries excluding the Chinese company is growing.

Singapore (AsiaNews)  Singapore's biggest telecom operators will not use Huawei's 5G network technology. The Chinese telecom giant has been accused by the United States of spying on behalf of China.

Singapores Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran announced today that Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) and StarHub have picked Ericsson and Nokia - two European providers - to develop the countrys telecom network.

Huawei still has a presence in the Singapore market through TPG Telecoms smaller, local network system.

Singapore did not exclude any company from being vendors for the countrywide roll-out of high-speed 5G technology, and the decision by its companies were based on market requirements.

For analysts, the city-state has been careful not to take sides in the conflict between the United States and China. Following US accusations against Huawei, many countries have reassessed buying its 5G system.

Reuters has reported that the Trump administration has placed Huawei on a list of 20 Chinese companies owned or controlled by Chinas military. The report was recently sent to Congress.

Now the US president can impose new financial sanctions against the telecom giant, including freezing its assets in the United States. At present, Huawei cannot sell on the US market or do business with US companies.

Washington has also introduced sanctions against foreign companies that sell technology, especially microchips, to the Chinese telecom.

Japan, Taiwan and Australia have already banned Huawei from their 5G systems. Like Canada, New Zealand is moving in the same direction, and appears poised to develop high-speed internet bandwidth with the help of European companies.

The United Kingdom is also considering excluding Huawei. British authorities initially stated that they plan to limit the use of Chinese technology to peripheral elements of its future 5G network.
With a view to speed up the process of insurance claim settlement for farmers, the West Bengal government has decided to use ISRO's data-collection technology to verify and assess the quantum of destruction caused to crops due to severe weather.

According to the state agricultural department, officials are in talks with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for employing its remote sensing satellite data-acquisition technology to gauge the damage caused to the crops, if any, during the Kharif season.

"This will help us in fast verification of the damage and, in turn, ensure timely submission of data to Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited," state Agricultural Minister Ashis Banerjee told PTI.

Earlier, agricultural officials had to undertake field visits to assess the damage, after studying the crop's health factors, which was time-consuming, resulting in delay in preparing the report, and farmers had to wait for several months to get compensation," the minister said.

The technology-based system of NRSC will ensure faster and more accurate data collection. This is the first and the most vital step in preparing the damage assessment report, which is later submitted to the Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited, he said.

"We have already received the approval of the insurance company. A few days ago, a meeting was held between the insurance company and our department. We have asked our district officials to speed up the process as the Kharif season has already begun," he said.

The state government had introduced the 'Bangla Shasya Bima Scheme' in 2019, under which 46 lakh farmers of the state have benefited. The government has spent Rs 450 crore for the smooth running of the scheme.

According to state agricultural department, more than 21 lakh hectares of cultivable land has already been included under the insurance scheme, covering crops such as aman paddy, aus paddy, jute and maize.
SHEUNG WAN, HONG KONG / ACCESSWIRE / June 27, 2020 / The invention of blockchain introduced a new approach to how various industries carried out their tasks. However, most governments across the globe remained adamantly against the technology, seeing as the decentralized nature locked them out of controlling the revolutionizing technology.

More than a decade later, there have been several breakthroughs, thanks to technology. The relationship between governments and the technology, however, remains strained, with only a few governments incorporating blockchain use in their systems. Several fintech companies have stepped up to bridge this gap.

Apollo Fintech is one such company that is developing solutions for a global economy. With a particular focus on government, commercial, and consumer products, Apollo is determined to shape fintech by building the future of financial services.

Apollo's Robust Government Utility Solutions

There's no denying that governments could use some of the lucrative features of blockchain technology for their services. Apollo provides tailored government solutions, including a national currency system, tax system, commodity exchange, government bank platform, and mineral claims system.

These solutions help governments transform the way they operate and help eliminate problems such as tax evasion, fraud, violent crime, among others.

Apollo is undoubtedly setting new standards in the fintech world by providing top-notch security and faster transaction times, thanks to its operating on the fastest network in the industry.

Apollo's government solutions are cutting edge, which is a breakthrough for the current economic global financial realities. The company has already partnered with several governments, and most notably, in Africa.

Focusing on African Governments

Apollo has had its sights set on Africa for quite some time now. On 13th June 2019, Apollo announced a partnership with the African Development Funding Group (ADF). The group, which is in charge of presidential and ministerial funding in 54 countries across the continent, endorsed Apollo as 'the one and only obvious choice for blockchain technology in Africa.'

Further, Apollo signed an MOU with Lesotho in November 2019 to develop and implement blockchain technology across various government departments. Earlier this year, Zimbabwe joined its African counterpart and signed an MOA that allows Apollo to create a gold-backed currency for the country in conjunction with the CBZ Bank of Zimbabwe.

UAS Government Systems

The United Allied States (UAS) aims to provide a worldwide sovereign nation of states governed by principles to facilitate economic growth and foster wealth creation. UAS is coined the freest place on earth and guarantees individual rights and liberties, besides the free-market economies.

Earlier this week, UAS announced that Apollo will be responsible for building and maintaining UAS' IT government systems. The National Currency Platform will provide the base for all other UAS products.UAS will also be incorporating the tax system to eliminate the need for an internal revenue agency and making tax collection a fast and efficient process. UAS citizens will also be able to use Apollo Currency (APL) in their daily life.

The UAS use case is the single most important endeavor in the crypto sphere for world-shaping solutions for a global economy, and Apollo Fintech is right at the heart of it all.

Contact Name: APLFintech

Organization: AJ Mora

Phone: (818)-797-4464

Address: Unit 1411, 14/Floor, Cosco Tower, 183 Queen's Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Email: media@apollocurrency.com

URL: http://aplfintech.com/

SOURCE: AJ Mora

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Pledge of Ongoing Support Enables Red Cross to Prepare for and Respond to Disasters

Chicago, IL (June 24, 2020)  Today the American Red Cross is recognizing CNA, one of the largest U.S. commercial property and casualty insurance companies, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, for supporting Red Cross Disaster Relief through the Disaster Responder Program with a pledge of $250,000. Thanks to contributions in advance of disasters, the Red Cross is prepared to help meet the needs of people affected by disasters big and small, anytime and anywhere across the U.S.

Disaster Responder membersalong with their employees and customerspledge financial and in-kind donations in advance of disasters, powering the Red Cross with strong infrastructure, trained volunteers, innovative technology and critical resources necessary to provide relief and support to those in crisis. These annual contributions allow the Red Cross to respond whenever and wherever disasters occur, help families during the recovery process and prepare people for future emergencies.

Forward-thinking contributions from Disaster Responder Program members like CNA also ensured the Red Cross had the means to be ready to quickly pivot operations in the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, creating new protocols to help keep local communities and our workforce safe in this rapidly developing environment.

Every day in the face of disasters, the generosity of Disaster Responder members like CNA ensures the Red Cross can provide comfort and care to people in their darkest hours, said Don Herring, chief development officer at the American Red Cross. We are extremely grateful for these contributions before disasters strike because it enables us to respond to disasters immediately and compassionately, when help and hope are needed most.

While large disasters like hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and wildfires typically draw national attention, each year, the Red Cross responds to more than 60,000 disasters across the countrythe majority of which are home fires. Generous contributions from Disaster Responder members enable the Red Cross to provide services to people in need of assistance at no cost and regardless of income.

And thanks to Disaster Responder members, Red Cross volunteers are also in their local communities every day, conducting disaster preparedness presentations and giving people the reassurance and confidence to face crises of all kinds.

At CNA, we recognize that while you cant eliminate the possibility of disruptions, you can help prepare for them, said Brandon Davis, Director of Public Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility for CNA. CNA is proud to support the preparedness efforts of the American Red Cross, ensuring that help and support is readily available to people impacted by disasters.

Individuals can help people affected by disasters big and small by making a gift to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Donations to Disaster Relief enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-REDCROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
A Moscow court on Friday handed outspoken Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov a three-year suspended sentence following a fraud conviction denounced by his supporters as politically motivated. Known for his daring statements and groundbreaking projects, Serebrennikov has angered Russian conservatives and criticised censorship of the arts in Russia, warning of a return "to the most pathetic Soviet practices". "Serebrennikov's rehabilitation is possible without a real prison term," judge Olesya Mendeleyeva said, adding that the acclaimed theatre and film director would have to pay a fine and be on probation for three years. Hundreds of supporters who had gathered outside the courthouse broke into applause on hearing news of the sentence. "A huge thank you for your support and for the fact that you believe in my innocence," Serebrennikov, 50, told supporters, wearing sunglasses and a black facemask. "Respect social distancing, do not infect each other. Because you have to fight for the truth," he said. Prosecutors had asked for a six-year prison term for Serebrennikov, who was on Friday found guilty of misappropriating the equivalent of two million dollars in state funds meant for a theatrical project. The judge had said that Serebrennikov and co-defendants Yury Itin and Konstantin Malobrodsky "carried out actions directed at personal enrichment" that misled employees of the culture ministry. Itin and Malobrodsky were also given suspended sentences and ordered to pay fines. The prosecution had been criticised in Russia and abroad as trying to clamp down on artistic freedom. A fourth defendant in the case, Sofia Apfelbaum, was "unaware" of the fraud but had acted with negligence, the judge said. She was also given a fine but it was immediately rescinded. Serebrennikov, who heads one of Moscow's top theatre venues, the Gogol Centre, was arrested in 2017 but the case against him stalled last year when a judge handed it back to the prosecution due to "inconsistencies". It restarted with a new judge, and the amount of the alleged fraud was slightly revised from 133 million rubles to 129 million rubles. Serebrennikov spent more than a year and a half under house arrest but was finally allowed to return to work, leading many to believe the case would be dropped. But on Friday, the judge backed charges by the prosecution that Serebrennikov masterminded the theft of state money allocated to the Platforma project he ran between 2011 and 2014. Serebrennikov and his co-defendants insisted they are innocent. "Kirill is devastated by the conviction but very happy to be going home," his lawyer Dmitry Kharitonov said. - Arts trailblazer - Olivier Py, the director of the Avignon Festival in France and a friend of Serebrennikov, denounced "a political trial, a return to the Stalinist USSR". "It was necessary to send a clear message to all the dissidents. He is the one who pays the price but he fought for freedom of expression," he said. With coronavirus restrictions still observed in Moscow, only a small number of people were allowed in the courtroom, but hundreds of supporters were gathered outside. "Platforma was an incredible project, it gave huge opportunities to contemporary artists, composers, directors, actors who had nowhere to go," one of the supporters outside, actor Gladston Makhib, told AFP. But traditionalists attacked Serebrennikov's work after he rebranded the Gogol Centre from a dusty venue to a top location on Moscow's cultural map. One of Russia's most acclaimed directors, Serebrennikov has created works spanning from opera to theatre and film, with productions regularly winning awards. Artistic figures abroad spoke out in his defence including Cate Blanchett and Ian McKellen. German arts figures including director Thomas Ostermeier gathered near the Russian embassy in Berlin Friday with a huge banner reading "Free Kirill", while Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert urged Moscow to respect freedom of artistic expression.
Comprising multi-door and two-door refrigerators, top load and front load washing machines, washer-dryers, and water purifiers, Japanese conglomerate Toshiba has launched its 2020-21 range of home appliances in the Indian market. The company aims to satisfy the needs of Indian consumers by incorporating unique features such as convertible refrigerator, steel tank water purifier and more.

With most of the consumer durable brands available across offline and online retail, Toshiba Home Appliances Business has consciously decided to go with the offline channel. "Consumers prefer to experience, have a look and feel before purchasing a mid-premium home appliance. Therefore, at the moment, our complete focus is on offline. That said, given the changing consumer behaviour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our customers are opting for online purchase as well. To address demand, our partners who are in offline retail can also sell online, as this helps in maintaining price hygiene," says Pranab Mohanty, Vice President, Toshiba Home Appliance Business.

Commenting on the market share Toshiba aims to acquire in home appliance category in India, Mohanty says, "We are expanding all across India. We did a soft launch in 2019 with the limited line-up, and within five-six months, we have managed to have a small presence across big cities including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Gujrat, Bangalore, Chennai, Kerala. With the launch of the new range, we have big aspirations but at the same time will have to be realistic. Given the current situation and pandemic, we want to go slow and steady."

To support the government's Make-in-India mission, Toshiba will manufacture brand products in India at the 'Toshiba Manufacturing Complex' located at SUPA Pune. "Going forward, we plan to manufacture Toshiba home appliances in India. The factory is already ready. As we are planning to manufacture our volume range of refrigerators and washing machines, we also need to expand our dealer network as quickly as possible," adds Mohanty. Currently, the new home appliance range is manufactured at and sourced from Toshiba global factories. Almost 80 per cent of these products are sourced from Toshiba's factory in Thailand and the rest 20 per cent of products are sourced from Toshiba factories across the world.

Inspired by the Japanese Takumi spirit, Toshiba claims that the new range of home appliances are said to be designed, engineered and manufactured with uncompromising attention to the details that matter most to people. "Our new range of home appliances is an embodiment of Toshiba's meticulous product quality and design, guided by the Japanese 'Takumi' philosophy centered in highest level of craftsmanship," adds Mohanty.

Priced at Rs Rs 1,49,990, the multidoor 650-litre refrigerator is said to be designed keeping in mind the Indian consumer storage needs and their evolving lifestyle. It features a convert zone offering complete flexibility to transform one of the 91-litre bottom-mounted freezer unit into a mini-fridge. Users can adjust temperatures setting from -18oc to 7oc to store vegetables, fruits, fish and meat within the same space. The two-door refrigerator is available in various capacities ranging from 252 litres to 661 litres, of which the top-end model features automatic ice maker. All Toshiba refrigerators feature Real Inverter technology to ensure optimum energy consumption translating into energy savings of 20 per cent.

The 2020-21 range of Toshiba washing machines includes 4 top-loading and 6 front-loading SKUs starting from 7 kg up to 9 kg ranging between Rs 21,000 and Rs 80,000. This new range adopts safety and humanised design and is aimed to provide exclusive laundry care, along with quiet, more efficient, durable and a more stable motor. Toshiba's 11 kg front-load washer-dryer has been designed with anti-bacterial gasket and the cyclone mix technology that improves washing performance by using an impeller that is implanted in the drawer which increases detergent dissolution by 20 per cent. Priced at Rs 79,990, the washer-dryer also has a LED Drum Light for better viewing of clothes during washing or drying.

Lastly, priced starting Rs 14,990, Toshiba Water Purifiers range includes four models featuring a UV Shield that kills 99.99 per cent of bacteria in the water using a cold cathode UV lamp, a Smart Interactive Display that informs the consumer about filter replacement, and UV function Highlighter; and a Replaceable Tank design with choices of a stainless steel or plastic tank.
Pictured: Connor Preece who was 19 years old when he threatened a Somali man with an imitation gun

A teenager has been jailed after threatening a man at gunpoint with an imitation firearm after the man resisted another assailant going through his pockets.

Everything was filmed on CCTV after police saw Connor Preece getting into a stolen car in Spoltt, Cardiff, earlier that day.

The footage shows Preece, 19 at the time, pulling out an imitation gun from his tracksuit top and pointing it at a Somali man while a friend goes through the victim's pockets.

After being identified from the footage and arrested Preece did not cooperate with police and refused to answer any questions calling the incident a 'joke'.

Matthew Cobbe, prosecuting, said: 'When the victim resisted Preece took out the firearm from his top and threatened him.'

Connor Preece was filmed on CCTV pointing a gun at a man while Preece's friend went through the victim's pockets in Cardiff

Mr Cobbe told the court Preece and his friend got out of the stolen car with their faces covered and approached the man who seemed to be waiting on the side of the street.

The two assailants tried to go through their victim's pockets and pulled the imitation gun out when he resisted.

Preece put the gun away and his accomplice continued to search through the victim's pockets.

When they were finished the pair got back into the stolen car and sped away from the scene.

Hashim Salmman, defending, said Preece had only intended to scare the victim and there was no evidence the gun was loaded.

Mr Salmman also stressed that Preece was young at the time and now acknowledges the seriousness of the incident.

Preece, now 20, pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm and was sentenced to two years and two months in jail by Cardiff Crown Court (stock pictured)

Preece, now 20, pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm and was recalled to prison after breaching his licence.

Cardiff Crown Court sentenced Preece, from Trowbridge, to two years and two months in jail.

Judge Nicola Jones said: 'There was a clear intention to persuade him and coerce him to agree to the continued search.'

Preece has previously been sentenced to two years and eight months for brandishing a 10-inch 'Rambo style' knife at officers outside a cafe.
New Delhi, June 26 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday attached assets valued at Rs 7.85 crore of former nursing tutor Mahesh Chand Sharma and his family in connection with a money laundering probe.

According to ED officials, the properties were attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The attached assets include agricultural land in the districts of Jaipur, Tonk and Karauli and 31 plots/houses at various locations in Jaipur.

The ED had registered a case on the basis of an FIR and charge sheet filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Jaipur, against Sharma and others.

According to the ED, Sharma worked in the Health and Medical Department of the Rajasthan government as a Nursing Tutor (Nursing Grade- 2), College of Nursing, SMS Medical College. He was also a member of the Indian Nursing Council (INC), New Delhi.

The ED claimed that Sharma along with his accomplice was trapped by ACB, Jaipur for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a nursing institute for including its name (which was deleted earlier) on the INC website.

Later, ACB investigation established that the accused had amassed assets totalling Rs 10.6 crore, which was 372 per cent more than his known sources of income.

"During the money laundering probe, it was revealed that Sharma had accumulated huge amount of money by resorting to corrupt practices and misusing his official position and used the said money to purchase agricultural land, residential flat and plots in his name and those of his wife, son, company and trust," the ED said.

"PMLA investigation identified two transactions of total Rs 4 crore for acquiring properties -- Rs 2.25 crore paid to buy land with building or house and three shops at Mansarovar in Jaipur; and Rs 1.75 crore paid to buy 22 plots in a residential society at Jaipur totalling 5,133.26 square metres.

The ED claimed that these assets were not included in the charge sheets filed by ACB for the calculation of disproportionate assets.

The ED said that Sharma illegally earned over Rs 14.6 crore. Earlier, the ED had attached properties worth Rs 4.75 crore of Sharma. Till date, the ED has attached properties worth Rs 12.60 crore in the case.
Afam Onyema has been running GEANCO since 2007. (GEANCO)

When Afam Onyema listened to a class day speech delivered by U2s Bono back in 2001 it sparked something inside of him.

At the time he was about to graduate from Harvard school and following a further stint at Stanford looked set for a lucrative career in corporate law.

But fast forward almost two decades and having turned his back on the legal industry, Afam is now the chief executive officer of the GEANCO Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing educational opportunities to girls, leading medical missions and building improved medical facilities in Nigeria.

So what was it about Bonos speech that so inspired him?

It was ironic because at the time I wasnt a big U2 fan, he says. I thought a musician was going to come and give a really lame speech.

It was during the AIDS crisis in Africa and he gave, what remains to this day, one of the best speeches Ive ever heard.

Afam recalls Bono issuing a call to action to the Harvard students before him.

He said he remembered as a child learning about the US landing on the moon and thinking America could do anything. And he told us that if anyone should have an ethos to change the world, it should be us coming out of this school.

And while Afam doesnt credit Bono entirely for shaping his future, that speech definitely provided an awakening.

I didnt at that moment decide I was going to leave everything, but it certainly got me talking more to my dad about his dream.

(GEANCO)

The dream he refers to is that of his father, Godwin Onyema, an obstetrician who immigrated to Chicago in the 70s with his nurse wife and the plan of learning modern medicine, raising some money, getting some support and then heading back to Nigeria to use medicine to help save lives.

In the 40s/50s my father was assigned to be the assistant of a British missionary doctor and it was really through that wider experience that he fell in love with medicine, Afam explains.

And he made a promise to that doctor, who is still alive, that one day he would become a doctor like her and help his community. And that was really his dream.

Story continues

At the time, however, it wasnt Afams.

Growing up I would hear about his dream but it didnt really resonate, he explains. That was his goal, his plan.

It wasnt until he went to Harvard that things started to change.

People were so focussed on being financially successful, or politically powerful or culturally relevant, which are all important goals. But for me I started to think about what I could do beyond that. So I started talking to my dad more and more about his dream and how I could get involved.

GEANCO runs a sponsorship programme for girls impacted by terrorism in Nigeria. (GEANCO)

While attending law school Afam began planning, then building the organisation.

But having graduated from Stanford, the time came for Afam to choose between accepting the numerous corporate law offers hed received in Los Angeles or running the foundation.

I knew that I couldnt do both well and if I didnt do the foundation really it would just die because there was no one else at the time who had the ability to see it through, he explains.

And so, in 2007, GEANCO, an anagram of the first initial of the family members who helped create it, was officially born.

Afam describes the organisations first medical mission to Nigeria as being pivotal in helping make up his mind between law and the organisation.

I wasnt able to go because I was in law school at the time, but I saw the pictures and heard the stories of people getting new hips and knee replacements on the mission. And you just realise that persons life was changed forever.

The immediacy and depth of being able to make a direct lasting impact on people who have no one else really hit me, he explains.

My moto in life is how can I be of service? How can I empower people? And though it has its uses, theres not a whole lot of service or empowerment in corporate law.

Even though financially and professionally GEANCO was a challenging choice, in terms of aligning with my values, being able to be useful and building something from scratch it was the right choice to make and I havent regretted it for a second.

The charity runs medical missions to Nigeria helping to provide hip and knee replacements. (GEANCO)

As well as carrying out regular medical missions GEANCO also runs a scholarship programme for girls. Started with David Oyelowo, the programme helps provide full tuition, medical care, and social and psychological support to young female victims of terrorism and gender inequality in Nigeria.

But it is perhaps the difference the organisation is making to maternal health that has seen one of the biggest impacts.

My dad is a obstetrician/gynaecologist so maternal health has always been central and core to our family, and the more research you do you realise that it is core and central to an entire community, Afam explains.

Women dying in childbirth, women who cant deliver safely, babies who cant live past certain ages. Thats the foundational work were able to help with.

GEANCO is making a real difference in this area having partnered with a company to provide advanced technology to screen and treat pregnant women for anaemia.

Nigeria has the worst anaemia problem than anywhere else. More people die of anaemia or anaemia related causes in Nigeria than anywhere, Afam explains.

The new technology enables faster detection of anaemia and those who are discovered to be severely anaemic in their last trimester receive funding for their maternal care.

They can go to the doctor, get their vitamins, go to check ups and we take care of the bill, Afam adds.

In addition the organisation has a safe delivery programme, which helps to reduce both infant and maternal mortality.

Some of the reasons women die during pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria are because there isnt basic hygiene and medicine, so we provide kits which contain all the basics needed to deliver a baby, Afam explains.

Of course, the spread of coronavirus has meant the organisation has had to react by providing PPE and training to birth attendants to help them deliver safe care to pregnant women.

We took it for granted everyone knows how coronavirus is prevented, but there was a lack of knowledge there so we helped train and equip birth attendants so they could do their job better, he explains.

COVID-19 has impacted the scholarship programme too with schools being forced to close. The organisation has reacted by providing tablets and loading them with hundreds of books so that the girls, and pupils from the partner schools can at least read and keep their minds stimulated.

The organisation has been responding to the coronavirus crisis. (GEANCO)

Over the years the organisation has received support from many A-list celebrities including but not limited to Oprah Winfrey, Daniel Craig, Chris Rock, Charlize Theron, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Benedict Cumberbatch.

The latter provides Afam with one of many pinch-yourself moments after being invited on set of The Avengers with one of the organisations major donors.

There we were having lunch with Benedict Cumberbach, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Junior and Chris Pratt, he recalls. Chris Pratt was telling a story about almost getting killed by a bear and Tom Holland was talking about mortgages.

It was so surreal. It was definitely one of those moments where you shake your head.

Another of those moments came last November during the last medical mission he attended.

I spent over a year fundraising, begging for money, and begging people to come on the mission, dealing with visas and flights and logistical issues, he explains. But being in the hospital on the first morning and seeing everything come together was amazing.

I remember feeling so grateful.

That sentiment was echoed on the final day when the patients helped are treated to a special celebration.

Theyre all on crutches as theyve had surgery, theyre all dressed up in their best outfits, theres Nigerian music playing and everyone is high five-ing and theyre just so happy.

That is the most touching moment for me, he adds.

The organisation was originally the dream of Afam's father, Godwin. (GEANCO)

When he looks to the future, Afam says he hopes the organisation will be able to provide many more of those special moments.

He hopes to continue to provide supplies equipment through the coronavirus crisis, tablet programme. Weve done 300, but Id like to do 3000, then 30,000, he says.

Even beyond coronavirus, getting more kids reading, engaged thats something Im really excited about.

He also hopes to grow the scholarships programme and reach more pregnant women to help them to deliver safely, and further bring down the maternal mortality rate.

Were really excited about what were doing, he adds. Our goal is just to do more of it.

Yahoo UK supporting GEANCO with podcast series featuring your stories

Yahoo UK is supporting GEANCO with a brand new podcast series titled STOR14S.

We asked Yahoo readers to submit stories and recorded the 14 best as radio plays (with help from a few famous friends).

Benedict Cumberbatch reads the first story, which can be listened to free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify from 6pm on June 18th.

If you enjoy this story, and the other 13, please consider donating 5 to the great work of our friends at GEANCO, who are helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and improving lives in Nigeria.

You can donate by clicking on the button below the video, or by visiting their website here.
296 compatriotas que se encontraban en 23 paises de Europa, Medio Oriente y Asia retornaron al Peru en un tercer vuelo humanitario de repatriacion procedente de Amsterdam, gracias al esfuerzo de @CancilleriaPeru y sus Misiones en el exterior. Bienvenidos #DeVueltaACasa! pic.twitter.com/TjblPnfdJi
Sinn Fein has pledged to lead a strong opposition to the new coalition government in Ireland.

Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Green Party have agreed to enter government together on Friday night following a ballot of their members.

Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty said people voted for change in Februarys general election and for a new beginning.

He said: They voted for a move away from the two parties that have shared power in this State for nearly 100 years.

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will be faced with the most determined opposition they have ever seen because Sinn Fein will stand up for ordinary workers and families TD Pearse Doherty

Faced with the prospect of a government of change, the two old parties have come together to circle the wagons to exclude Sinn Fein and they are using the Green Party as a fig leaf to do this.

At a time when Ireland needs ambition and big ideas, we have a programme for government that fails to deliver on affordable housing, on building up capacity in our health services, on getting people back to work and having enough to survive, on childcare, on the right to retire at 65 and on planning for Irish unity.

Mr Doherty said Sinn Fein will provide a strong and determined opposition.

We will be equally determined in leading the opposition. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will be faced with the most determined opposition they have ever seen because Sinn Fein will stand up for ordinary workers and families.

We will continue to put forward solutions and we will continue to build support across Ireland to deliver the change that people want and deserve.

The leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland said the deal members voted for does not fulfil the Green Partys commitment to social justice.

By joining with FF/FG & backing this PfG, the greens have abandoned any project for radical change on climate, housing, health & economic justice. Its a green light for more of the same. We need to build a real left and peoples movement for change. #PFG #programmeforgovernment  Richard Boyd Barrett (@RBoydBarrett) June 26, 2020

Clare Bailey said: Although I was opposed to this on the grounds that this programme for government does not in my opinion fulfil the Green Partys commitment to social justice, I accept the democratic decision of the membership of the party.

I am committed to ensuring that this programme for government is fulfilled by our Green Party TDs, senators and ministers, and will continue to engage within the party to do so.

People Before Profit (PBP) have said that in signing up to go into coalition with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, the Green Party have effectively rubber-stamped and green-washed a policy programme of more of the same and the maintenance of the status quo.

PBP TD Richard Boyd Barrett said: In voting for this programme for government the Green Party have, in effect, given the green light to maintain the status quo rather than to bring about the change people voted for in the general election.

In signing up to an alliance with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail the Greens have decided to throw their lot in with the parties whose policies gave us cruel and unjust austerity; a housing and homeless crisis of epic proportions; a health system that was bursting at the seams even before Covid-19; and a cost-of-living crisis that has left working people scrambling around at the end of the month to pay extortionate rents, bills and childcare costs.
Eclipse Foundation Releases 2020 Jakarta/Java Survey Findings

The Eclipse Foundation has been busy since the organization announced its move to Belgium last month. It announced the first milestone release of Jakarta EE 9, and published a white paper about open source in Europe and it just posted the results of its 2020 Jakarta EE Developer Survey.

Based on the responses of several thousand enterprise developer, the survey provides a fascinating look at the growth of open source enterprise Java, as well as some details on what developer interest in things like microservices and platforms.

"Since the release of Jakarta EE 8 in September 2019, we have witnessed meteoric growth for Jakarta EE, both in its use by developers and the certification of compatible products based on its specifications," said Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation, in a statement. "Jakarta EE 8 has seen more certifications of Full Platform Compatible Products in 8 months than Java EE 8 had in over 2 years. With Jakarta EE 9 on track for release in fall of this year, the real work on innovation and the transition to cloud native Java and microservices support can begin."

The 2020 Jakarta EE Developer Survey received 19% more responses than last year's survey.

The survey results in their entirety can be found here.

The results show significantly increased growth in the use of Jakarta EE 8 and interest in cloud-native Java overall.

A list of the key findings from this survey include:
Later this afternoon, I shall do something I havent done for about six months. Drive my car.

Thats assuming it starts. Its been feeling its age for some time now, which is hardly surprising given that it will be 26 next month. Its a Rover. They stopped making them 15 years ago.

My relationship with cars has always been a troubled one. My first  bought when I was 17 for 27  was a pre-war sit-up-and-beg Ford Anglia.

It did the job, except when it was raining. The windscreen wipers worked on suction: great when the car was stationary but the faster you went (by which I mean anything over 20 mph) the more slowly they moved. At a giddy 40 mph, they stopped altogether.

As the long months of lockdown approach their end, we may find that our enforced separation from our beloved cars marks a turning point

I sold it, eventually, to my tight-fisted news editor on the Merthyr Express for a pathetic 17.

He drove off to boast about his bargain to his girlfriend. She got in, slammed the door and the window fell out and smashed. He demanded his money back. I refused.

Its been pretty much downhill with me and cars ever since.

From all of which you might accurately conclude that I am not exactly a petrolhead. Jeremy Clarkson has nothing to fear from me.

But I suspect even Jeremy, in his more private moments, would acknowledge that the nations seemingly never-ending love affair with cars is cooling.

Id go further. As the long months of lockdown approach their end, we may find that our enforced separation from our beloved cars marks a turning point. Lets hope so.

The promise held out when the first Benz Patent-Motorwagen took to the road in 1886 has been more than delivered. By the time Henry Ford sold his first Model T, 22 years later, it was obvious that the world would never be the same again.

Cheap, reliable cars liberated billions of people. Their horizons widened in ways that had been unthinkable for all but the richest.

A century later it is a different picture.

The Government is committed to a ban on selling new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars. So pretty soon well all be driving electric cars

Yes, there is still huge pleasure to be had from slinging a suitcase into the boot and heading off for the hills or the seaside. But it has come at a terrible price.

The damage to our towns and cities and our childrens lungs has been incalculable.

There were two deeply depressing images from Bournemouth this week: the litter and the car gridlock.

And yet, dirty, smelly, noisy, polluting, environment-destroying machines though they may be, it is hard to imagine surviving without them.

Or is it?

The Covid crisis has taught us a lot about ourselves and the way we live.

Vast numbers of us have discovered that we dont need a car to go to work for the very obvious reason that we can perfectly well work from home. And the business bigshots who have to pay the bills for our expensive offices rather like the idea of cutting those bills in half. Or more.

This is something thats not going to go away.

Thats why I have been feeling largely optimistic during these months of lockdown. Is it possible that we may  just may  be approaching the end of our love affair with the motor car?

At the very least, there is a sense that the days of cars being status symbols are ending.

An estate agent acquaintance tells me that London houses with great sweeping drives once sold at a premium because certain sorts of people felt the need to show off their gleaming motors lined up nose-to-tail. No longer.

Let us pray that the days of that truly preposterous status symbol  the SUV  may finally be numbered. Before lockdown, it dominated the market.

One of the great mysteries of the modern world is why. Why would anyone living in a city wake up one morning and say: I know what I need. An extremely ugly vehicle that resembles a small tank and uses almost as much fuel. One thats more likely to kill someone if theres a collision  which there very well might be because their drivers feel less vulnerable. But, boy, its great looking down on drivers of modest little family cars.

That word modest is important. My generation boasted about cars. Young people today dont. Much more importantly, there is strong evidence that a growing number of teenagers arent even interested in learning to drive.

Its not only the pubs that are opening next weekend. So are driving schools and test centres. But the last report by the Department for Transport shows there has been a sharp decline in the number of teenagers learning to drive.

But theres the Greta Thunberg factor, too. One of the many great things about the next generation is that so many really do care about the environment

Some 20 years ago, about half had a licence. Now its less than a third. Theres been a drop in those aged between 21 and 29, too.

It could be because its so much more expensive now than it has ever been. It typically costs at least as much to insure the first used car for a new driver as it does to buy it.

But theres the Greta Thunberg factor, too. One of the many great things about the next generation is that so many really do care about the environment.

One poll after another shows that top of their list of big worries is global warming. And cars spew an awful lot of greenhouse gases into the skies.

No problem, you say, the Government is committed to a ban on selling new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars. Indeed, its been brought forward from 2040 to 2035. So pretty soon well all be driving electric cars. Problem solved.

Well... maybe. But electric cars use energy, too. And that will have to come from renewable sources such as wind and solar power or else whats the point?

At the moment, theres nothing like enough of it. And wed need a tremendous number of batteries.

They, in turn, will need vast amounts of minerals such as lithium. The environmental damage of mining lithium is quite literally incalculable.

There is only one solution to the car crisis. Use them less. And thats why these past months of lockdown have been so instructive.

I wonder how many of us, whove been forced to work from home, have looked out at the cars in their drives and thought: Gosh, how I miss not being able to drive to work. One of the great joys of my life is sitting in that traffic jam, knowing Ill be late again and that Ill have to do it all over again this evening. And tomorrow, and... 

Obviously, we cant all work from home. But enough can to make a significant difference.

One of Winston Churchills most famous sayings was: Never let a good crisis go to waste.

He was talking about the creation of the United Nations after the war finally came to an end. Its a different kind of crisis we face today, but it would be a great shame to waste it.

If only these blowers would bite the dust

Before I began writing this column, I was commissioned by the Mail to write about leaf blowers. I hate them.

They are so noisy that the operatives (as the council undoubtedly calls them) must wear ear defenders.

Never mind the poor saps like me who happen to be within a hundred yards of them and will be deafened.

They are also utterly pointless. My own exhaustive time and motion study has proved that a person with a broom is roughly seven times as efficient. And infinitely quieter.

Now the council has produced a form of torment that makes leaf blowers appear benign.

Dust blowers.

Yes you read that correctly.

Because there are few fallen leaves in mid-summer, they have mobilised the blowers to blast back into the flower borders any stray specks of earth that might have encroached on our paths. The result is exactly what you would have forecast.

A dust storm.

I encountered my first one last week. We adults helped desperate mothers, scooping up small children and rescuing them from the choking dust while the operative, safe behind his goggles and air filter, blasted away happily.

I considered registering a complaint with the council but, sometimes, you just know theres simply no point.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain's latest Covid-19 test reports have come negative. He is likely to be discharged from the hospital today.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who was undergoing treatment for Covid-19, has finally tested negative. He s likely to be discharged from the hospital today. The AAP leader was admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) when he tested positive for coronavirus on June 17. However, he was soon shifted to Max Hospital in Saket to conduct plasma therapy on June 21. The AAP leader has completely recovered now from coronavirus.

Satyendar Jain was admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) as he complained of high fever and witnessed a drop in his oxygen level. He initially tested negative for coronavirus. However, his second test report came out positive.

On Friday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal says that people must avoid panic as the situation in Delhi is under control. He said that the surge in coronavirus cases can be seen because the testing has been increased. However, most of the Covid-19 cases in Delhi are mild and these patients do not require hospitalisation.

Also read: International travel restrictions in India extended till July 15

Also read: Reconsider decision to allow 100% FDI in coal sector: Mamata Banerjee urges PM

The total number of coronavirus cases in Delhi has reached 73,780, including 26586 active cases, 44,765 cured/discharged/migrated cases and 2429 death cases. Meanwhile, India has reported a total of 4,90,401 positive Covid-19. Of which, there are 1,89,463 active cases, 2,85,637 cured/discharged/migrated cases and 15,301 death cases.

Also read: Lockdown imposed in Assams Kamrup district for 14 days

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone With The Wind.

When HBO pulled the film Gone With The Wind from its list because of "racist depictions", there was an unexpected side-effect: sales went through the roof. The movie jumped to the top of Amazons bestseller list.

I wouldnt be surprised to see a similar effect on sales of the book. First published in 1936, Margaret Mitchells epic tale of the American Civil War has sold a staggering 30 million copies.

It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the National Book Award. The current publisher, Penguin Vintage Classics, says it is "beloved and thought by many to be the greatest of the American novels".

As a teenager, I adored the book, breathlessly absorbed in the adventures of tempestuous southern belle Scarlett OHara. And like many other young readers, I fell hopelessly in love with the roguish Rhett Butler. I devoured its 1000-plus pages with total devotion.
What started out as a few whispers about advertisers pulling Facebook ads has turned into a growing boycott of the social network over its content moderation policies  a situation the company is now describing as a "trust deficit."

Why it matters: Given Facebook's size, the boycott likely won't hurt the company's bottom line in the short term, but it turns up the political pressure on Facebook ahead of the 2020 election and underscores the company's challenges managing its public image.

Driving the news: Verizon said Thursday it will pull advertisements from Facebook and Instagram until the company can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable." It's likely the largest brand to pull ads from the company to-date.

Context: In a call with over 200 advertisers Tuesday before Verizon's move, Facebooks head of trust and safety policy Neil Potts "acknowledged that the company suffered from a trust deficit," according to the Financial Times. A source familiar with the meeting confirmed the comment.

The conversation occurred amid a growing boycott of Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram's ad platform by roughly a dozen brands.

After a handful of outdoor companies like North Face, REI and Patagonia said they would stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram last week, several other advertisers have joined the movement, including Ben & Jerry's, Eileen Fisher, Eddie Bauer, Magnolia Pictures, Upwork, HigherRing, Dashlane, TalkSpace and Arcteryx.

Heavyweights in the ad industry have also begun pressing marketers to pull their dollars.

On Tuesday, Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer at Procter & Gamble, one of the largest advertisers in the country, threatened to pull spending if platforms didn't take "appropriate systemic action" to address hate speech.

In an email to clients obtained by the Wall Street Journal last Friday, 360i, a digital-ad agency owned by global ad holding group Dentsu Group Inc., urged its clients to support the ad boycott being advocated by civil rights groups.

Yes, but: Procter & Gamble and other leading marketers make these types of broad-based threats regularly to pressure tech companies to do better at everything from content moderation to ad measurement.

Facebook's current crisis resembles YouTube's ad boycott in 2018 over its content moderation policies. After roughly a year, many of the advertisers that boycotted the company, including big names like Procter & Gamble, had returned.

And YouTube, whose owner Google broke out its ad revenue for the first time in February, is still an advertising powerhouse, bringing in roughly $15 billion annually.

Our thought bubble: Facebook's ad platform is still so powerful that it will be hard to get a huge coalition to boycott the brand for an extended period of time.

But the boycotts are still a public relations problem for Facebook, which could use all of the industry support it can get leading up to the election.

What they're saying: Facebook's VP of Global Marketing Solutions Carolyn Everson said in a statement to Axios last week, "We deeply respect any brands decision and remain focused on the important work of removing hate speech and providing critical voting information. Our conversations with marketers and civil rights organizations are about how, together, we can be a force for good."

The big picture: The boycotts are a result of pent-up frustration from lawmakers and marketers over Facebook's content moderation policies, which many feel don't go far enough in helping to curb hate speech and harmful content online.

That frustration reached a tipping point during the recent Black Lives Matter protests, as Facebook refused to fact check or moderate posts from President Trump that many argued incited violence against protestors.

Facebook is facing pressure on both sides of the aisle. Democrats, including Presidential nominee Joe Biden, say Facebook doesn't go far enough to filter hate speech and misinformation. Republicans, including President Trump, say its speech limits go too far and intentionally censor conservatives.

Still, like corporate marketers, political candidates  including both major presidential campaigns  are not ramping down their Facebook spending ahead of the election.

Some White House officials wanted to ban most government social media advertising as part of Trump's recent executive order on social media, according to a Politico report. The idea was eventually dropped "over concerns that it wouldnt stand up to legal challenges."

The bottom line: The political and social pressure on Facebook is ramping up, but the tech giant doesn't show any signs of seriously changing its policies in response to the mounting pressure, as most politicians and marketers seem to benefit too much from Facebook advertising to really give it up long-term.
It was critical to find a new location where the local club was strong, there was complete support from the convention and visitors bureau and the city was on board, David said in the statement. The city of Portage, Imagination Glen BMX and Indiana Dunes Tourism was the perfect match. All three, quickly collaborated to become an outstanding host for this event.
The Senate of the United States had unanimously passed a bipartisan bill that would place sanctions on Chinese officials who disturb Hong Kong's independence from Beijing, along with sanctioning banks and firms that conspired with them.

Sanctioning China

According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump's administration is concerned with how the bill sets mandatory sanctions that could degrade attempts to conduct diplomacy with the Chinese nation. They also worry the law would give too much power to Congress on foreign relations.

However, the Senate defends its decisions by saying the bill would enable the White House to be flexible in how it places the sanctions.

A single senator could have stopped the passing of the bill with his vote, as stated by the rules of the Senate. This month, Senator Kevin Cramer denied the proposal, saying there was a need for Trump's Administration's input. On Thursday, however, no government official opposed the bill.

Senators Chris Van Hollen and Pat Toomey sponsored the legislation to support and defend human rights in Hong Kong and force China to protect the nation's special status.

The two senators stated that China's new laws that affected Hong Kong forced the bill's acceleration. The officials noted that the new regulations imposed on the autonomous nation undermined its independence as Beijing fights against protests calling out President Xi Jinping.

Also Read: Kim Yo Jong Authorizes Using Nuclear Weapons Against the US With Kim Jong-Un's Support

What would the bill do?

Each year, the bill requires the State Department to notify Congress about officials who attempt to undermine Hong Kong's autonomy. The United States president reserves the authority to deny the individuals' assets and entry to the US, as reported by Aljazeera.

The bill works similarly to what Congress passed last year, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which was signed by Trump.

However, the new legislation further adds to the previous act by applying the sanctions to financial establishments that conspire with Chinese officials to intervene with Hong Kong's affairs.

The sanctions will only be applied to financial institutions if a bank intentionally collaborated with officials who are known to have been previously sanctioned. The revisions are meant to keep the penalties from affecting a wide array of companies based in the United States.

The legislation would also enable banks to know which entities are included in the sanctions list before the penalties are implemented.

According to CNBC, one major factor the United States wants to support Hong Kong's independence is its tight trade and relationship with the city as observers have noted.

The State Department noted on its website that more than 1,300 American companies are operating within Hong Kong, and 300 of them have their Asian regional operations in the city. It is also revealed that almost all major US financial establishments have a part in the city.

Hong Kong has long been a significant destination for the United States' legal and accounting services, revealed the State Department. The most substantial goods and trade surplus of the US worldwide was seen last year at $31.1 billion and was with the independent city.

The main reason for the relationships has been Hong Kong's trustworthy position and a safer way into China, which is currently the second-largest economy in the world.

Related Article: Trump Administration Says No Nuclear Weapons Tests Will be Conducted Unless Deemed Necessary

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Although New York states metrics continue on a downward trend and regions continue to reopen in phases, the states malls, movie theaters and gyms must remain shuttered.

The issue, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says, is air conditioning units.

Are these air conditioning units recirculating the virus? Thats what were trying to figure out, Cuomo said during Fridays press briefing.

Cuomo said the state Department of Health is trying to determine if and what filter can be added to air conditioning units that will filter out COVID-19 without reducing air quality.

Its impractical, most gym operators say, to tell people they have to wear a mask while exercising on a treadmill. The deeper breaths, laughing, shouting, tends to put more of the virus in the air if you are positive. If you are running and youre breathing and exhaling deeply that might put more virus in the air, Cuomo said.

If youre a gym that has an air conditioning system that is recirculating the air ... that might be problematic, he continued.

City Councilman Steven Matteo (R-Mid-Island) wrote to the governor, urging him to reconsider his decision.

Business owners in my community had long been under the impression that our reopening is a four-Phase process with clear benchmarks and at least two weeks between Phases. That is how it has been communicated to all of us since NY Forward was released, Matteo said.

His cited the Staten Island Mall, which is a key part of the boroughs economy, and said it has social distancing reopening plan ready to go. Unfairly, he said, is that Target is permitted to operate and be open to customers as it is also indoors but is smaller than the mall.

He continued, I fear we are going to see numerous closures of stores in our malls statewide due to the complete and utter uncertainty.

Matteo stated that not only is the mall important for borough businesses, it is also a place where people exercise indoors as they are able to walk indoors in an air conditioned environment.

TRACING SYSTEM IS WORKING, CUOMO SAYS WHILE EXPLORING LEGALITY AT AIRPORTS

Out of 61,000 COVID-19 tests performed in the last 24 hours, only 1.3% had a positive result, Cuomo said, the lowest in the United States. At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, 50% of all test results came back positive.

The three-day average for coronavirus fatalities is 16, also the lowest since the beginning of the pandemic which, at its height, saw 800 deaths a day. There were also 950 hospitalizations yesterday, the governor announced.

The good news is the tracing system is working, he said, citing an apple plant in upstate New York which was able to trace an outbreak back to its processing plant.

However, the state is currently exploring the legality of tracing over borders and at airlines.

Were going through the law right now; we have no legal jurisdictional border control. Thats federal, he said, when asked about the tri-state quarantine.

Governors from the tri-state area announced Wednesday that they will impose a two-week quarantine for travelers from states with high coronavirus (COVID-19) rates. Enforcement will be left to each state. In New York, Cuomo said the advisory will serve as a way to inform travelers that they should quarantine for 14 days.

He offered several mechanisms -- hotel clerks, business meetings and police officers stopping vehicles with license plate from affected states -- as ways New York could be notified of quarantine violations.

If you are violating the quarantine, you can be subject to a judicial order and mandatory quarantine, Cuomo said. You could have to pay the costs of quarantine. There are also fines that could go along with violating the quarantine -- $2,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second, up to $10,000 if you cause harm.

The Port Authority oversees the airports from a management point-of-view. Were talking to the airlines about our ability as a state to question people coming into our airports, gathering information [from them], temperature checks and what our legal authority is, he went on to say.

FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER.
The small world of yachting means that sometimes your ex runs into your current boyfriend, which is what happened to Malia White from Below Deck Mediterranean.

Malia White, Hannah Ferrier, Bobby Giancola, Adam Glick, Sandy Yawn, Wes Walton, Lauren Cohen, Max Hagley, Bugsy Drake |Virginia Sherwood/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

White recently shared that boyfriend Tom Checketts not only met but hung out with season 2 flame Wes Walton. [Walton] and my boyfriend actually hung out in New Zealand, but I wasnt there, which is funny, she said while laughing during an interview with Bravos The Daily Dish.

As far as she knows the hang out was not awkward whatsoever, chalking it up to the small world of yachting. She and Walton hooked up during the latter portion of season 2. They dated after leaving the show but went their separate ways.

White and Walton are still friends

White shared that she and Walton didnt have an earth-shattering breakup and are still friends today. He has had some amazing yachting experiences recently. Hes been traveling all over the world, she said. Were still good friends. He keeps me updated with his travels, and I tell him about mine.

White added that Walton is killing it career-wise. He took part in co-authoring a landscape and urban planning article, which he tweeted. Co-Author of a Published Article in an Academic Journal. . . Im so grateful that the work I did for my Honours Dissertation, alongside some of the work done by top professors in South Africa contributed to Academia, he shared.

RELATED: Below Deck Med: Malia Whites Life Has Seriously Changed Since Season 2

Plus Walton is seeing the world while racking up certifications along the way. April 2019 when I completed my Chief Mate 3000 ton License. Only 140 days left at sea before I can sit my Master 3000 ton license. Cant wait for cruising to start again so I can count the days down, Walton shared on Instagram. He is now listed as chief officer which is a much higher rank than bosun.

White wishes Adam Glick well

Unlike Walton, White does not keep in touch with chef Adam Glick. White began season 2 in a secret relationship with Glick. The two met before filming began and decided to keep their relationship a secret from not only the cast but also producers. Cracks formed in their romance when White caught feelings for Walton.

Glick broke the fourth wall when he became angry that Whites attention turned to Walton. Thats when he revealed they already knew each other. White left both crew members in limbo for some time, but ultimately she chose to be with Walton.

RELATED: Below Deck Med: Malia White Thinks That Chef Adam Has Been Hurt Before

She joked with Showbiz Cheat Sheet that she dodged a bullet with Glick after viewing his behavior on Below Deck Sailing Yacht. But added that she thinks hes been hurt in the past. Hes such a really cool guy, she said. I think hes been hurt a lot.

Theres a couple sides to Adam I guess, she told Bravos The Daily Dish. And I think were seeing them now. I think the master cabin rendezvous are pretty funny. But other than that, I think theres a good side on him somewhere.

Below Deck Mediterranean is on Monday at 9/8c on Bravo.
More than 200 eminent doctors from around the world have reiterated their call for an end to the psychological torture of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange and his immediate release from Britains maximum-security Belmarsh Prison.

In a letter published in the current edition of the Lancet, released this week, the doctors warn that the mistreatment of Assange by the British, US and allied governments has intensified since the coronavirus pandemic began, placing his life in serious danger.

The document is the latest intervention by Doctors for Assange, a group that was established last November to advocate for the WikiLeaks founder to be provided with adequate medical care and for his fundamental rights to be respected.

Over the course of more than six months, they have documented the abuses Assange has been subjected to, contributing to the fight against the attempt to extradite him from Britain to the US where the publisher faces life imprisonment for exposing American war crimes.

Julian Assange in Belmarsh Prison sometime last year

Indicating the global reach of the initiative, the letter was signed by doctors from six countries. They included the principal states that have spearheaded the persecution of Assange, the US, Britain, Australia and Sweden, along with Germany and Hong Kong. The authors of the document signed it on behalf of 216 medical colleagues hailing from 33 countries.

Many more doctors will read the letter. The Lancet has some 1.8 million subscribers around the world.

The letter begins by recalling the doctors last letter to the prestigious journal on February 17, in which they demanded an end to the torture and medical neglect of Julian Assange. In the months since, no responsible authority had acted to end, or even investigate the violations of Assanges rights.

Instead, the doctors wrote, the ongoing actions of the US and the UK, and the inaction of Australia, despite the fact that Assange is a citizen of that country entitled to its protections, had perpetuated and escalated the campaign of collective persecution and harassment targeting the WikiLeaks founder.

This had intensified the psychological torture of Assange, first identified more than a year ago by United Nations Rapporteur Nils Melzer and two medical professionals who accompanied him during a May, 2019 consultation in Belmarsh Prison.

The violations of Assanges rights extended to the actions of the British judiciary. The doctors noted that Assange was effectively prevented from participating in the first week of extradition hearings late last February, being placed in a bullet-proof glass box at the back of the court-room. He was also repeatedly handcuffed, strip-searched and had his legal documents confiscated by prison officials.

The pattern had continued at procedural hearings since. The doctors report that, amid COVID-19 measures in Britains prisons, Assange has only been able to take part in one of the last five hearings relating to his case. In the lead-up to the final extradition hearings in September, Assange has been unable to meet with his legal team due lockdown measures.

The doctors condemn the refusal of the British government and Judge Vanessa Baraitser to release Assange from Belmarsh Prison during the pandemic. They note that as a result of a chronic lung condition, along with the decade of psychological torture he has endured, there is a high likelihood that Assanges immune system is severely compromised. This increases the danger that he will contract COVID-19, which has spread rapidly through British penitentiaries, and succumb to it.

The doctors write, moreover, that Mr Assange is non-violent, he is being held on remand, he is not serving a sentence for a crime, and he is being arbitrarily detained according to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. This renders him eligible for release during the pandemic, based on guidelines from authoritative international rights organisations.

Despite this, the WikiLeaks publisher remains incarcerated in a maximum-security prison, where he is in isolation at least 23 hours a day. In addition to the medical dangers, the doctors write that As a person incarcerated solely for publishing activity, continuing to hold Mr Assange under these conditions represents the torture of a publisher and journalist.

Significantly, they place this treatment in the context of a broader assault on press freedom, including during the mass global demonstrations triggered by the US police murder of George Floyd beginning last month. In the context of attacks against and arrests of journalists at the recent global protests, his treatment and the precedent it sets are of international concern, the doctors stated.

The document takes note of growing concern over Assanges plight, expressed by human rights organisations. It concludes with a call to action, citing Professor Leonard Rubenstein, of the John Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics who stresses that the medical community as a whole needs to speak out far more forcefully against torture.

The doctors declare: We have a professional and ethical duty to speak out against torture, report past torture, to stop present torture and to prevent future torture. Psychiatrists and clinical psychologists have recently warned that silence on Mr Assanges torture may well facilitate his death. The silence must be broken.

Lissa Johnson (Credit: WSWS)

In an accompany press release, Lissa Johnson, a leading member of Doctors for Assange, explained that Under the Convention Against Torture those acting in official capacities can be held complicit and accountable not only for perpetration of torture, but for their silent acquiescence and consent.

Bill Hogan, a US doctor, told the WSWS: The UN Special Rapporteur Nils Melzer clearly identified abuses of legal process as the primary instrument of Assanges torture.

Asked about a new indictment of Assange, released by the US Department of Justice yesterday, Hogan stated: The superceding indictment is the latest in this string of abuses and has the likely result of intensifying the torture of Assange. The indictment dates to well-known events of 2012 and relies on wholly unreliable witnesses.

Hogan stressed that Torture is anathema to medical ethics. It can never serve any positive social outcome and it always unjustly degrades the humanity of its victims. The only way torture propagates is when people and their leaders and institutions enable it through silence. Because silence is complicity, we have to speak out as doctors. Our silence goes directly against our core value of do no harm.

A copy of the letter has been forwarded to the UK Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Robert Buckland. The British government has previously refused to answer correspondence from Doctors for Assange, and has blithely dismissed Melzers finding that it bears responsibility for the WikiLeaks founders psychological torture.

The author also recommends:

US indictment of Assange based on testimony of FBI assets, convicted child molester

[25 June 2020]

The international witch-hunt of Julian Assange

[14 January 2020]

The significance of the doctors open letter in defence of Julian Assange

[26 November 2019]
L.C. Rosen, aka Lev Rosen, writes books for people of all ages, most recently Depth, Jack of Hearts (and other parts) and Camp, available now from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Rosen lives in New York City with his husband and a very small cat.

Alex Sanchez has published eight novels, including an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults Rainbow Boys; the Lambda Award-winning So Hard to Say; and the reimagined DC Aqualad origin story graphic novel, You Brought Me the Ocean (reviewed below). An immigrant from Mexico, Sanchez received his master's in guidance and counseling and worked for many years as a youth and family counselor. Now, when not writing, he tours the country talking with teens, librarians and educators about books, diversity and acceptance. Sanchez lives in Penfield, N.Y..

Here, Sanchez and Rosen discuss coming out, Rock Hudson and writing sex-positive works for teens.

L.C. Rosen: Hi Alex! It's so wonderful to talk to you. I recently finished You Brought Me the Ocean, an origin/coming-out story for DC's Jake Hyde, aka Aqualad. I feel like the idea of "coming out" as a hero has been a metaphor queer people have seen forever in comics, so I really loved the way you took both coming out as powered and coming out as queer and twisted those together to create reflections of each other. Did you want the two kinds of coming out to bounce off each other?

Alex Sanchez

(photo: Bill Hitz)

Alex Sanchez: When DC asked me to pitch an initial idea, they specifically asked for a story that included queer teen sexuality. So it made sense from the get-go to have the twin story lines of coming out as gay and as super-powered bounce off each other. The fun in the writing was to see how those two plot/character arcs could intersect and resonate with each other.

I loved Camp and I'll ask the question that I'm sure you'll get asked a lot. Camp takes place at a camp for queer kids. Your description of characters and events are so vivid that I felt I was right there in Camp Outland. (Love the name.) Did you attend a camp like that? How did you do your research?

L.C. Rosen

(photo: Rachael Shane)

Rosen: I did go to a summer camp, yes, but not a queer one, sadly. I went to a Jewish summer camp for many, many years, and later worked as a camp counselor there. Physically, a lot of the layout of Camp Outland is modeled on that camp. There was a drama cabin at my camp, but it wasn't nearly as extensive or intense a drama program as it is in Camp. That all comes from my years as a theater kid.

The people are all from my imagination, and the set-up--femme theater kid Randy remaking himself as butch jock Del to win the heart of Masc4Masc Hudson--is all from old Rock Hudson/Doris Day movies. That was the original idea. I wanted a vintage-feeling screwball sex comedy but for contemporary queer teens. So instead of a battle of the sexes, I did a sort of battle of the gender presentations. But then, who are we really, when it's so easy to pretend to be someone else? The title has multiple meanings: summer camp, camp in the sense of drag queens and also camp in the sense that playing butch is a form of camp, too.

You set up these mentors in both of the plots I talked about--coming out as powered and coming out as queer--Kenny, the out gay kid, who sort of talks Jake through coming out, and Jake's mother, who holds the secrets to his past and his powers. But while Kenny is honest and tries to guide Jake in many ways, Jake's mother is hiding things from him. Was that a specific choice, to show the difference between the mentorship of the queer community vs. the way the straight community often tries to hide things from us or doesn't have the answers? Were you intentionally playing with that?

Sanchez: Wow, I didn't realize any of that about different types of mentorship. But one of the things I love about writing is when readers find things I didn't consciously think about in my characters. So now that I think about it, there is a whole lot of mentoring going on all through the story! And although I didn't think in terms of different mentoring styles when I was writing, I did try to portray a variety of adult personalities. One of the things I had a lot of fun playing with is the reaction of Jake's mom when he comes out to her about his sexuality, as opposed to how protective she is in almost every other aspect of his life.

Another question for you. I loved how romantic, sexy and sex-positive Camp is. Your honesty and sensuality were so genuine and refreshing. I think your book will give a lot of teens positive models for how to healthily connect their emotions and sexuality. Did you consciously set out to write the book that way or is that just how it came out?

Rosen: Well, after Jack of Hearts (and other parts), my last book, which is like a queer sex-ed thriller and features a guide to sex, I sort of felt like I had to at least keep some sexiness in the pages. Hilariously, the sex scene was originally MUCH more intense, but my editors had me scale it back. What I really wanted, though, was a sex scene which modeled a healthy sexual encounter, while still being funny: lube slipping all over the place, ticklish spots, the virgin confused about what comes next and how they overcome that with communication. So much of the book is about communication--what you want, who you are, what you want other people to be and why. The campers talk about butch/femme stuff, about what straight society expects of them and about how that affects what they expect from each other. Of course, that had to go over into the sex, too. And the romance is about communication, sure, but it's also about kissing and making out and all the fantasies Randy has been harboring for years and now can finally unleash when he gets his dream guy. It's about what the cost of that is, and why the cost is there at all.

I really loved You Brought Me the Ocean and I know readers will connect with it. Thanks so much for talking with me!

Sanchez: My pleasure, Lev. Thank you, and thanks for writing Camp and sharing it with the world. I know it's going to touch a lot of lives.
File image

NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar, on June 26, said the ruling MVA constituents are working together in the battle against COVID-19 in Maharashtra and the Congress and NCP are fully supportive of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackerays leadership.

The government formed by the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress - in November last year - will absolutely complete its five-year run, Pawar said in an interview to a TV channel

He exuded confidence that a similar political situation will prevail in the state if the three parties contest the next Assembly election together.

The veteran leader rejected suggestions that he is remote-controlling the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, in which his party is the second largest constituent.

The former Union minister also said that the COVID-19 situation in parts of the state, including Mumbai, was difficult earlier, but has now substantially improved.

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

Firstly, about this coronavirus situation, this government of three political parties is working together. There is not an iota of difference (among them). All these parties are working under the leadership of Mr Uddhav Thackeray, Pawar told the channel.

The Congress and NCP are fully supporting Mr Uddhav Thackerays leadership and whatever the actions he has taken, there is a perfect understanding, he added.

Dismissing claims that he is remote-controlling the MVA regime, Pawar said it is fully controlled by Thackeray and the latter's team.

The NCP chief said the three parties are working together as one unit and added he was not part of the decision-making process.

But I do handle other activities, when suppose there is a crisis, there is a cyclone. I like to visit and give confidence to the people, he added.

Pawar dismissed the opposition BJPs claims that the MVA government will not complete its five-year run.

Absolutely this government will last for five years. If they (the three parties) contest the (next Assembly) election jointly, a similar (political) situation will prevail after five years too, he added.

On the COVID-19 situation in the state, Pawar said the situation is definitely improving day by day.

He said the situation was difficult in some parts of Mumbai like Dharavi and other slums earlier, but things have improved substantially in the financial capital, too.

(In) all these slums, where we have reduced the number of patients, I think the picture has definitely changed.

"It has improved in Bombay (Mumbai)...day by day, the situation in the entire state is definitely improving, he added.

Asked whether there were any differences of opinion between him and Thackeray on easing lockdown with him wanting the unlocking to happen faster, while the chief minister was being more cautious, Pawar said, Yeah, it is partly true, but not fully correct."

I was also not supporting the idea to open up the entire Mumbai, Pune and Thane belt (which accounts for most of COVID-19 cases) immediately.

"But I was definitely suggesting to reopen slowly the rest of the state and chief minister Mr Thackeray and his team have taken a similar road, the veteran politician added.

Pawar said many districts other than Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Solapur are opening up, communication has been re- established there, transportation is improving, shops have opened, trade has resumed and agricultural activities are going on in full swing.

The situation is changing very fast, he added.
Like every mother, Kayla Murphy noticed drastic changes to her body after giving birth to her two children.

She thought breast implants would be the 'cheapest and easiest' way to build her confidence back.

But the Perth woman's $6,000 surgery in March 2015 would cost her years of suffering and depression - and cost nearly triple to have the operation reversed.

Metals and toxic chemicals from the implants even leaked into her body, and were impossible to properly remove, leaving her with a lifelong cancer risk.

The removal operation cost an eye-watering $16,500 after the mother-of-two was left feeling 'suicidal' as her heath quickly deteriorated.

Kayla Murphy, 30, from Perth (pictured), had breast implant surgery in 2015 to boost her body confidence after noticing changes in her body after having children

Ms Murphy said: 'one was implant was clear how it should be, and one was yellow. My body trying to break it down and get it out of my system'

'I was really disheartened,' Ms Murphy, 30, told Daily Mail Australia.

'The doctors said it was too difficult to get out and it has metals and toxic chemicals from the implant which leaked into my skin.

'I have to get routine scans yearly to see if I am clear of a list of cancers that my implants cause because some of the capsule is stuck around my ribs.'

Ms Murphy said she first began noticing a few symptoms shortly after the initial surgery, which she hoped would restore her breasts to their prenatal fullness.

By the time the implants were removed four years later, she counted 30 worrying changes in her body.

'About six months after surgery I started getting sinus infections and I had never had them before,' she said.

'Three years later I was swamped with symptoms. I kept getting urine infections that I couldn't beat and cold sore after cold sore. My immune system was down and I kept getting sick.

'Every day felt like I had a hangover. I was nauseous, sick, dehydrated and there was constant pressure on my brain.

Ms Murphy (pictured), who works as a fly-in-fly-out heavy diesel fitter apprentice, is the proud mother of son Jay, 10, (left) and daughter Alexis, 7 (right)

'I started getting suicidal thoughts. I felt like there was something seriously wrong in my body. I felt like I was dying.'

In 2016, Ms Murphy started getting regular tests of her antibodies after a family member was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.

While all other doctor-ordered tests over her symptoms came back clear, her antibody results were progressively getting worse each year.

Working, studying, and busy raising her children, Jay, 10, and Alexis, 7, Ms Murphy put her ill-health down to fatigue, an explanation backed up by doctor's claims that 'nothing was wrong'.

It wasn't until she came across a breast implant illness website in August 2019 featuring other women's stories that she began to consider her augmentation as the cause.

At first she did not want to believe the implants were the culprit, but her unexplained high antibody results suddenly made sense.

Ms Murphy realised if she wanted to end her catalogue of ailments they needed to be removed.

Ms Murphy (pictured, left, with her partner Scott Kunesch) said the initial surgery went smoothly but she began noticing issues with her immune system six months later

The mother-of-two (pictured) paid almost triple the cost to have the implants removed in 2019. She is pictured in hospital after the removal operation

'All I wanted was to get them out. I went "I don't care how much it is going to cost me, I just need to get them out",' she said.

'I was going to get it done in the public system but there was a six month wait so I ended up going private.

'Once I booked, I went and sat in my car and bawled my eyes out because a month was still too long.'

In July last year, the U.S Food and Drug Administration issued a recall of Allegarn BIOCELL Textured Breast Implants, the type purchased by Ms Murphy, after a study found 573 new worldwide cases of Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma, including 33 deaths.

Of 573 cases of BIA-ALCL, an immune system cancer, 481 were reported to have Allegarn breast implants at the time of diagnosis.

During the removal, doctors were not able to fully retrieve the capsule, scar tissue that forms around any kind of implant, which can absorb chemicals from the foreign material.

It broke open during the process, leaving any toxins it may contain still in her body.

Ms Murphy, a FIFO heavy diesel fitter apprentice, said her doctor never warned her of the potential ramifications before she had her surgery.

Two months after the removal, a test revealed Ms Murphy still had high levels of metals including mercury, titanium, and nickel in her system.

'The ones that are worse for you were the ones I was highest in,' she said.

'That was why I couldn't function. And my body was trying to filtrate it through my kidneys which was why I was having UTIs.

Ms Murphy has eradicated 25 of the 30 symptoms she was suffering since having them out (pictured after the removal surgery)

'When I spoke to the doctor after the removal, one implant was clear, how it should be, and one was yellow. My body was trying to break it down and get it out of my system.

'The metal and chemicals used create a breast implant were just leaching out into my body. '

'Your body is fighting something. Its automatic response is it to push it out. Your immune system goes down. It wreaks havoc. You don't think it could be something that small but it creates a domino effect on your system.'

While 25 of Ms Murphy's 30 symptoms have since disappeared, she said she is still facing an uphill battle and struggles with food sensitivities that did not previously exist.

She said it will take up to two years for her body to detox from the toxins, but they should eventually dissipate.

The mother-of-two is now urging other women to reconsider going under the knife for the sake of beauty.

'Don't do it. Your body is beautiful as it is,' she said.

'You always think it won't happen to me.'

'Don't put foreign things into your body to make you feel better. It will take away your health. It may not take one year, it may not take five but it will catch up to you.

'Health is more important than aesthetics.'
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Four people have been arrested in Portland after anti-police demonstrations turned destructive and violent.

Officials say Portland Police Bureau's North Precinct was set on fire early Friday morning following violent clashes between cops and protesters in the city overnight.

One right-wing commentator described the area as looking like something from 'a war zone', while protesters accused the authorities of inflaming tensions.

On Thursday evening, demonstrators attempted to create an autonomous zone - much like Seattle's CHAZ - around the precinct. Police responded by declaring an 'unlawful assembly', KOIN reports.

Cops confirmed they used tear gas to try and disperse that crowd. Some protesters allegedly responding by 'shooting paintballs at the officers' face shields, rendering them unable to see'.

Demonstrations turned violent in Portland on Thursday night and Friday morning, with protesters started several fires and cops firing tear gas in an attempt to disperse crowds

Videos and images posted to social media by demonstrator James Martin showed several separate fires set up at barricades placed between protesters and police

One right-wing commentator described the area as looking like something from 'a war zone', while protesters accused the authorities of inflaming tensions

Police told KOIN that 'crowd control munitions were used'.

At that time, several other fires were lit in addition to the blaze which later erupted at the police precinct.

Videos and images posted to social media by demonstrator James Martin showed several separate fires set up at barricades placed between protesters and police.

One image showed tires and a dumpster set alight, as several activists donned bike helmets as if ready for a confrontation with the cops.

Another image posted online showed a demonstrator left injured in the fracas, with a 'chunk' of flesh allegedly cut out of her ankle.

Another image posted online showed a demonstrator left injured in the fracas, with a 'chunk' of flesh allegedly cut out of her ankle

A still from a video posted to social media shows a large fire lit outside a store as protesters mill around

Several fires were lit in addition to the blaze which later erupted at the police precinct

Several businesses were also reported to have been looted. Graffiti was also scrawled across the North Precinct.

Demonstrations calling for police reform and an end to systemic racism have been occurring in Portland nightly since the death of unarmed black man George Floyd on May 25.

While demonstrations have largely been peacefully, there have also been previous instances of violence and destruction.

Last Thursday, a George Washington with a burning American flag draped across it was toppled by a group of activists.

The statue, which stood on the lawn of the German American Society in Northeast Portland, was pulled down by a group of about 30 to 40 protesters on Thursday night.

Footage of the incident, which took place on the eve of Juneteenth, showed the Washington statue draped in a US flag that had been set alight just moments before it was toppled.

The demonstrators placed a sticker on the head of the statue that read 'You are on Native land' and also spray-painted the statue's pedestal with the phrase 'Genocidal colonist'.

It was also tagged with '1619' - a reference to the year when slaves were first brought to America.

A statue of George Washington with a burning American flag draped across it was toppled by protesters in Portland, Oregon on Thursday night

Police said a smaller group had split from several hundred peaceful protesters and threw hot dogs at police and cut a fence surrounding the Justice Center, which has been a flashpoint for conflicts between demonstrators and police.

Another group set a fire around the Washington statue before tearing it down.

Those responsible draped the fallen statue in a second US flag and also set that alight.

The group who brought the statue down scattered before police arrived at the scene, according to local media reports.

It comes as a statue of Thomas Jefferson that was based outside Portland's Jefferson High School was also torn down last week.

The base of the statue had the words 'slave owner' and George Floyd's name spray painted across it.

Images from the scene show the statue lying face down on the ground and covered in graffiti that read: 'Genocidal colonist'

It comes after a statue of Thomas Jefferson that was based outside Portland's Jefferson High School was torn down earlier this week
[June 26, 2020] Yaletown Invests in Leading Data Management Company ThinkData Works

TORONTO, June 26, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Yaletown Partners is pleased to announce its participation in ThinkData Works $8 million Series A financing to accelerate the growth of the company. Toronto based ThinkData Works is a leading data management company that is solving the data variety problem for data scientists. ThinkData Works enables data scientists to process pools of data and combine them with publicly available data, allowing for better analytics resulting in efficient decision making and actionable outcomes for enterprise customers. "ThinkData Works' solutions allows data scientists to have access to clean and actionable data. It lets them pull together clean data from different sources and garner insights from a combined pool where the sum is far greater than the parts." said Michael Sfalcin, Principal, Yaletown Partners. The power of the ThinkData Work's Namara platform was recently exemplified by the company's work with COVID-19 data that enabled policymakers, pharmaceutical companies, and consulting firms to derive insights from data two levels more granular than the leading sources. This level of granularity allowed for fast and accurate decisions to be made at such a crucial time for public health, as well as the economy. ThinkData Works has seen impressive growth and continues to partner with world-class organizations. The new financing will allow the company to further develop its product offering, continue its geographical expansion and accelerate growth. Ontario Capital Growth Corporation (OCGC), an investor in Yaletown Partners, is plased to see Yaletown Partners adding another great Ontario company to its portfolio. "ThinkData Works has solutions and data that can help decision makers get Ontarians back to work. We are pleased to be a part of companies that are making a difference and to be supporting another innovative Ontario company." said Steve Romanyshyn, CEO, OCGC.



Yaletown is excited to be investing in a company that provides foundational support for the digital transformation. Yaletown seeks companies that are enabling enterprises to make better decisions, ultimately leading to the consumption of fewer resources, driving climate-resilient growth. This marks another investment for Yaletown Partners in Ontario and exemplifies the continuation of the firm's pan-Canadian strategy. "ThinkData is the latest addition to our portfolio that is focused on leading-edge data technologies enabling digital transformation. It is also reflective of the dynamic and globally recognized technology ecosystem in Ontario in which we are actively deploying capital." said Salil Munjal, Managing Partner, Yaletown Partners. About Yaletown Partners

Yaletown Partners is a leading Canadian investor dedicated to closing the scale-up capital gap and focused on the Intelligent Industry opportunity. We invest in emerging-growth companies that enhance sustainability and productivity for industrial and enterprise customers. Our investments enable the application of data and technologies to digitally transform traditional industries, drive innovation, create operational efficiencies and reduce the impact of climate change. In 2017, Yaletown received the CVCA's Venture Capital Deal of the Year award for its investment in BitStew, Canada's largest venture financed exit of 2016. Backed by leading institutional investors, including pension funds, and a network of successful technology entrepreneurs, Yaletown has offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. For more information, please visit www.yaletown.com About ThinkData Works ThinkData Works, Inc. (ThinkData) is a Toronto-based company founded in 2014. ThinkData created Namara - a data management platform that enables businesses to access, manage, enhance, and integrate data in order to develop new products and gain insight. Built for data professionals, Namara is a data refinery for the enterprise, designed to let organizations and individuals access high-value data in standard formats. To learn more, please visit Namara and follow us @ThinkDataWorks and on Linkedin. SOURCE Yaletown Partners

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Indian Railways has been running Shramik Special trains since May 1 for transporting migrant workers to their home state. The migrants got stranded after the imposition of coronavirus lockdown across the country.

These trains have been in news for various reasons, including route diversion, death of migrants while travelling and women giving birth onboard them.

Recently, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal informed that a woman delivered a baby aboard Secunderabad-Howrah Special train, a Shramik Special. The minister also shared the photo of mother and the newborn.

He said, Healthy Baby, Healthy Mother: Railways welcomes a cry of joy as a heathy baby boy takes birth aboard the Secunderabad-Howrah Special train.

She gave birth to the child with the help of Railway doctors and medical team.

Healthy Baby, Healthy Mother: Railways welcomes a cry of joy as a heathy baby boy takes birth aboard the Secunderabad-Howrah Special train With the help of Railway doctors & medical team, the mother safely delivered her baby pic.twitter.com/R78yvZ1iPA Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) June 24, 2020

The woman, who was identified as Saira Fatima, felt labour pain during her journey, following which Railways was informed, reported Prameya News. The train was stopped at Khurda Road, where the doctors and medical team attended to the woman.

Later, the officials sent both mother and newborn to a local hospital. As per the report, they are in a good condition.

Reacting to Goyals post, netizens heaped praise on Railway doctors and gave blessings to the baby.

One user said, Salute to Indian Railways, while the other wrote, Hats off to Railway doctors team.

Goyal on June 22 said on the micro-blogging site that the national transporter had run 4,500 Shramik Special trains to transport 75 lakh migrants.

Serving the people, Railways ran about 4,500 Shramik trains to move 75 lakh migrants.Every single railway employee was on the job throughout.I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Railway employees: @PiyushGoyal Piyush Goyal Office (@PiyushGoyalOffc) June 22, 2020

Last month, a report by PTI said that 30 children were born onboard Shramik Special trains since the beginning of May.
COMSTOCK  Exactly how the Devils River got its forbidding name is lost to history, but there is little doubt the harsh terrain and fierce natives who once reigned here played a role.

It is far from any habitation, in a barren waste surrounded by hostile Comanches, but it is a beautiful place, noted one early visitor.

A century and a half later, the natural beauty remains and the rushing, spring-fed Devils owns the reputation as the last unspoiled river in Texas.

Its milky-green currents slide through a wilderness unmarred by settlements or commerce. The only disturbance is the occasional blast of a low-flying Air Force training jet.

But all is not well here. A plan by a billionaire Chinese industrialist named Sun Guangxim to build a huge wind farm is causing seismic upset among longtime landowners.

Its a total crisis. We depend on ecotourism. The turbines will affect the deer. They kill birds. And were on the flyway for the monarch butterflies, said Alice Ball Strunk, 63, whose great-grandfather Claude Hudspeth began acquiring the ranch in 1905.

Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News

The project by Suns GH America Energy also threatens to disrupt critical pilot training missions at Laughlin AFB in nearby Del Rio.

Last week, the obscure West Texas energy project was thrust into the national spotlight when a right-wing news commentator denounced it as a threat to national security.

Since 2015, Sun, who made much of his wealth in Chinese real estate and energy, has purchased about 140,000 acres in the back country northwest of Del Rio.

It is unclear how many turbines Sun could potentially build there. He is already moving forward with the first phase, called the Blue Hills Wind Farm, a 51-turbine project on one northern holding.

His company is also exploring using some of the land for solar power projects.

Sun declined to respond to a list of questions sent to his representative in Texas.

Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News

700-foot turbines

This is a timeless place of prowling mountain lions, dark night skies and Indian pictographs in hidden caves.

Once sprinkled with sheep and goats, many of the large family ranches now are used only for hunting or have been acquired by real estate speculators.

Vast protected areas also belong to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Nature Conservancy, the Texas Agricultural Land Trust and private owners with conservation easements.

In Texas, the Nature Conservancy is invested heavily in a lot of places, but nowhere more so than the Devils River, said Jeff Francell, the conservancys director of land protection.

Michael Fisher/ San Antonio Express-News

The main source of the pristine river surfaces in a lush grove of pecan and sycamore trees on Strunks ranch.

What worries me is that the springs are on my place, and they own the next land over, about a half-mile away. The danger is that they will degrade the water, Strunk said. I just hate that they are going to industrialize right next door. The eye pollution, the lights, the noise .... .

The prospect of 700-foot tall wind turbines sprouting on hilltops also worries officials at Laughlin, which trains 300 new pilots a year as one of three Air Force pilot training bases.

Col. Lee Gentile Jr., the base commander at Laughlin, declined to be interviewed.

A critical hurdle for the wind farm is for its backers to reach an agreement with military authorities on a plan to mitigate interference with flights from the air base.

Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News

Former base commander Dave Belote, now a mitigation specialist hired by GH America Energy, said agreements for foreign-owned projects typically include many security safeguards.

You have to give the DoD (Department of Defense) access to the site and to the data stream anytime they ask for it. You also have to give the DoD prior notice of any foreign national who will be on the site, he said.

Since Laughlin pumps an estimated $2 billion a year into Val Verde Countys economy, elected officials are eyeing the proposed wind farm project with trepidation.

My position, and probably the countys, is that if it affects Laughlin Air Force Base, and hampers their ability to perform their mission, we are going to oppose it, said County Commissioner Beau Nettleton.

Im all for private property rights, but we have to protect the one thing that is the economic engine for Del Rio, he added.

But because there are few legal or regulatory obstacles to such wind projects, even those built near a military base, there is little anyone can do if Sun decides to go forward.

Unfortunately, counties dont have the authority to regulate wind farms, Nettleton said. So were looking at legislation in the next session that would grant a county that authority on these type of projects that would have a direct effect on a military bases ability to perform its mission.

The apex of Texas rivers

Carter Smith, executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, has spoken out against development in the area, about 200 miles west of San Antonio.

The Lower Pecos and Devils River country represent one of the last true bastions of wilderness in our state, he said, citing the departments long-term efforts to preserve the area.

Proposals to further intensively develop the area surrounding the Devils River run counter to many of the values that ranchers, conservationists, biologists and outdoor enthusiasts alike have labored long and hard to protect, he added.

In 1988, the state bought 20,000 acres on the Devils River to create the Del Norte State Natural Area. In 2011, it added 18,000 acres to the south, which became the Dan A. Hughes State Natural Area.

Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News

The Devils River ends at the 57,000-acre Amistad National Recreation Area a few miles west of Del Rio.

TPWD aquatic biologist Chad Norris, whose specialty is springs, said the Devils represents the apex of rivers in Texas.

Certainly the Comal and San Marcos are wonderful rivers, but they are pretty developed, he said. If there is any place in Texas that deserves preservation, its the undeveloped watershed of the Devils River.

One of the large ranches acquired by Sun in Val Verde County, formerly called the Morning Star Ranch, is apparently being kept for his personal use. It has a high fence, a large hunting lodge and jet runway, and he reportedly visits periodically.

Members of the Devils River Conservancy, a group created 10 years ago to protect the area, are in regular communication with Suns representatives.

We have talked to them about all kinds of alternatives. Weve offered exit strategies. The one thing they have told us is that if the economics are not there, they wont proceed, Conservancy President Randy Nunns said.

But in that case, they might just sell it to another developer, and it might end up as ranchettes. We would still oppose the country being carved up, he said.

Security Vulnerabilities

West Texas is a windy place, and Texas ranks first in the country for both operating wind energy projects and those under construction, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

The state has about 15,000 wind turbines spread among some 160 projects. Together they generate around 30,000 megawatts of power, enough to power 7.7 million homes, according to the trade association.

The current low price of natural gas, also used in power production, has cut into the profit margins of wind farms.

Among the questions that appear unresolved about Suns mega-project is if it is economically feasible to build a wind farm in such a rugged and inaccessible area, one with few roads or transmission lines.

Its also unclear if the available transmission lines operated by ERCOT (Energy Reliability Council of Texas) have the capacity to the absorb any additional load.

A former wind energy executive, Wayne Walker, 52, who with his brothers Philip and Caton, owns a ranch adjacent to the Blue Hills property, said time is running short for Suns wind project to prove itself.

If they dont get Department of Defense approval or if ERCOT says there is not enough capacity, they go home. They wont build it. And both should be known by the end of the year, he added.

Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News

Walker, who developed wind projects for Horizon Wind Energy in Houston, said there is another wild card in the deck.

The worm in the tequila jar is the political part. You dont have to watch the news for more than 30 seconds to see that, he added.

After a March visit to Del Rio, where he met with local officials and Air Force personnel, Sen. Ted Cruz told the Del Rio Herald that the air base is dealing with the distinct problem of a Chinese-owned company threatening to imperil training routes.

Noting that China is Americas most significant long-term geopolitical rival, Cruz said, China has demonstrated a willingness to invest billions of dollars expanding its surveillance state.

These Chinese towers, if constructed, pose a threat not only to air training, but also of potential security vulnerabilities, he added.

U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-San Antonio, who has been monitoring the proposed wind farm, said the issue is much broader than compromised air training routes.

This is a question of foreign ownership of energy supply and, if you are a wind farmer, of trying to put it on the grid, he said.

A U.S. company could not go to China and buy land anywhere near a Chinese military installation. So why are we allowing a well-known Chinese company whose leader is well entrenched in the Chinese Communist Party, to do that in the United States? he asked.

50,000 Hungry Coyotes

For the scattered residents of the Devils River area, the threats posed by a large wind farm are hardly abstractions.

Three years ago, a project with 69 turbines, each 500 feet tall, began operating on the eastern border of Val Verde County.

Owned by French and Middle Eastern entities, the so-called Rocksprings Val Verde Wind Farm covers 15,000 acres along U.S. 277 and is within about 15 miles of the Devils River. Some of the land belongs to Sun.

Dell Dickinson, 76, who lives in his grandparents house on a ridge about 18 miles to the west, vividly recalls its launch.

The first night they turned on these high-intensity, blood red synchronized lights, I literally thought the Martians had landed, he recalled with a grimace.

Since then, he has kept the blinds on the east side of his house permanently shut, to avoid the turbine lights.

Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News

Having lived out here, Im one of those guys who loves to see forever, he said.

If were not careful, well see Val Verde County turned into a huge pin cushion, with the wind towers being the pins, he added.

Dickinsons 7,000-acre spread includes 4 miles of river frontage. Along the banks, he said, are caves and shelters that were inhabited by native people thousands of years ago.

In his living room, he has a collection of various points and arrowheads gathered on his ranch, including several unique to the Devils River area.

What his ranch doesnt have these days is livestock. Instead it has coyotes, bobcats and foxes in abundance.

We have a terrible problem with predators, he said, adding that last year, after not a single lamb survived, he temporarily moved his last 600 head of wool sheep to another property.

The problem is that this used to be a ranching community where the ranchers supported each other to keep the predators in check. Now, were the only working ranch left in the area, he said.

Things are only slightly better 15 miles to the north, at the Hudspeth River Ranch, where Strunk still runs sheep and goats on 16,000 acres.

We have about 2,000 sheep. We dont know how many goats we have because they are such escape artists, she said.

Both are meat animals and some of the lamb is served at restaurants in San Antonio. But predators also get their share.

Eat More Lamb, 50,000 Coyotes Cant Be Wrong, reads a bumper sticker on her truck.

The herds are guarded in the rocky pastures by sheep dogs. She also has trappers at work, setting snares.

Coyotes and bobcats, however, are a minor worry compared with huge wind turbines.

It drives me crazy, because it doesnt make any economic sense. They just want to prove they can be successful wind farmers in America, she said of the Chinese.

A few miles south of her ranch, on a recent weekday morning, a group of five urban kayakers were about to launch a four-day fishing trip. Their start was at Bakers Crossing, a site on Texas 163 named for a pioneering cattleman.

Its just crystal clear and theres a lot of bass in here, all catch and release, said Derrick Shroyer, 34, of Austin. Two years ago, he caught a 4-pound large mouth bass when he made the same float.

Its one of the few rivers that everyone actually cares about. People take out whatever trash they bring in, he added.

The prospect of large wind turbines twirling from nearby hilltops came as an unpleasant surprise.

I dont want to see that. Thats the whole reason we come out here, to get away from all that, said Matt Hillis, 34, also of Austin. They will take down a lot of trees, build roads all over the place, and bring in power lines.
Haryana Government issued an order which declared the maximum cost of treatment of COVID-19 in the private hospitals of Haryana

Haryana government on Friday fixed the rates of COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals/medical colleges across the state.

The government stated that no hospital or medical college shall charge any amount in excess of what is prescribed in the order. The state government is making all efforts to make healthcare accessible to general public and providing free testing and treatment in government hospitals across the State. However, the disparity in the charges across various private hospitals is hampering egalitarian and equal access for inpatient hospital care. Therefore, the rates of various facilities in private hospitals/medical colleges need to be standardized for COVID-19 patients, read the order.

For non-NABH accredited hospitals, Rs 8,000 has been fixed for Isolation beds (including supportive care and oxygen), while Rs 13,000 has been fixed for ICU without ventilator care and Rs 15,000 for ICU with ventilator care (non-invasive/invasive).

On the other hand, for JCI/NABH accredited hospitals, Rs 10,000 has been fixed for Isolation beds (including supportive care and oxygen), Rs 15,000 for ICU without ventilator care and Rs 18,000 for ICU with ventilator care (non-invasive/invasive).The hospital rates are for per patient per day.

The order stated, The prescribed rates shall be all inclusive as a package. The rates will include, but be not limited to, charges such as, all lab investigations, radiological diagnostics, monitoring charges, drugs, consumables including PPE/masks/gloves etc, doctors visit/consultation, nursing care, physiotherapy, procedural charges, transfusion of blood and its components including blood grouping and cross match. However, this will not include the experimental therapies (Ramdesivir, etc).

It further noted that these rates shall apply to paediatric patients as well.

For pregnant women, costs of delivery (normal/C-section) and care of new born are not included in the package and may be charged by the hospital extra as per prevailing PMJAY rates of relevant packages.

The rates will not include the cost of COVID-19 diagnostic tests as well as IL-6 levels. The hospital shall not in any case compromise on the standards of treatment of the patient with COVID-19.

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
Floats on garbage wagons and a mural in a hospital were the humble beginnings of Blaine Kerns rise as the foremost float builder in the city  and maybe the world.

To pay his mothers medical bills, Kern offered to paint a mural in a hospital, catching the eye of a surgeon and a captain of the Krewe of Alla. Alla asked Kern to design and build the floats for their krewe. Kern Studios was created in 1947. The floats caught the attention of Rex and other krewes and Kerns business grew.

Rex 1955, Darwin S. Fenner, sent Kern to Europe to study art in Italy, France and Spain. Kern came back with ideas that fueled float colors and designs. Kern also built custom props, such as an animated King Kong that caught the attention of Walt Disney.

Though Kern rejected an offer to work for Disney, the company later became one of Kern Studios biggest clients. Kern also changed the business of Mardi Gras by allowing krewes to rent, rather than buy the floats. That option allowed Bacchus and others to parade. The business is now run by Kerns son, Barry.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 03:17:59|Editor: huaxia

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TRIPOLI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Thursday that 71 illegal immigrants, including women and children, were rescued off the Libyan coast.

The 71 migrants, including four women and two children, were taken back to Libya's capital Tripoli by the coast guard on Wednesday night, according to an IOM tweet.

Since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011 and with the ensuing chaos and insecurity, Libya has become a preferred point of departure for thousands of illegal immigrants wanting to cross the Mediterranean sea toward European shores.

IOM had been running the Voluntary Humanitarian Return program which arranges the return of illegal immigrants stranded in Libya to their countries of origin, before the Libyan authorities closed the country's borders as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.

"While the Libyan airspace is still closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, over 1,000 stranded migrants in Libya have so far registered with IOM's Voluntary Humanitarian Return to go back home and reunite with their families," IOM said.

Nearly 5,000 immigrants have so far been returned to Libya in 2020 after being rescued at sea, while more than 9,200 immigrants were rescued and returned to Libya in 2019, according to IOM. Enditem
That's amid huge unemployment and wage arrears that have accumulated at extraction enterprises.

Russia's occupation forces in occupied Donbas are attempting to recruit in the ranks of illegal armed formations fighting against Ukrainian Army local miners and steelmakers who have lost their jobs.

That's according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate.

Russian occupation forces command pursues active propaganda efforts among the local population of the temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions to recruit men for military service in Russia's army corps No.1 (Donetsk) and No. 2 (Luhansk). They are seeking mainly mechanics-drivers, reconnaissance troops, mortar operators, artillerymen, signals experts, and paramedics.

Read alsoRussia systematically supplies personnel, weapons, military equipment to occupied Donbas  Ukraine in JCCC

The main target strata of the occupiers' propaganda campaign unfolded through local media and social networks are miners and steelmakers who have lost their jobs or haven't received wages for months.

At the same time, the command considers as potential candidates those who were earlier discharged from military service for gross violations of military discipline.
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Netflix releases a special COVID-19 bonus episode of its gripping docuseries, Lenox Hill which follows the lives of four New York City doctors as it adapts to the deadly virus

Word of the novel coronavirus out of China had just begun to dominate the news cycle when filmmakers, Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz completed post-production for their gripping medical docuseries on Netflix, Lenox Hill.

The eight part reality show follows the lives of four doctors at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City during the halcyon pre-pandemic days before the unknown virus had yet to take its toll on the city.

'It was like a huge, silent, invisible tsunami coming,' said Barash, who made the decision to turn cameras back on for a special edition, COVID-19 episode which aired last night on the network.

'Adi felt that if something really big was happening, something biblical or historical, we had to be with our doctors,' said Shatz to Vulture.

Filmed over the course of two months, the encore installment gives a chronological look into the past few months of the pandemic as the city's hospital staff adapted to the elusive virus in real-time. It stretches back to the uncertain earliest days of the pandemic before statewide lock-down mandates were put in effect, all the way though the recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests.

Most poignantly, it covers the shock of a nation as it comes to grips with a deadly virus that has now taken the lives of 125,000 Americans.

Medical workers from Lenox Hill Hospital clap as people cheer to show gratitude for front line workers during the coronavirus pandemic on May 19, 2020. The New York City hospital is the subject of a Netflix reality series, Lenox Hill - which gives an inside look of daily work-life for medical workers pre-coronavirus and how they've had to adapt during the pandemic's uncertainty

Above, a patient arrives at Lenox Hill Hospital during height of the outbreak. The number of new coronavirus hospitalizations in New York State began to level off after intense efforts were made to flatten the curve and the Upper East Side hospital celebrated the successful release of its 1000th patient on Mat 1

Lenox Hill doctors struggle to save the critically ill as the COVID-19 pandemic shuts down New York City, during the encore episode of Netflix's reality series, Lenox Hill

Film directors, Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz spent 19 months following an emergency room physician, a Chief Resident OBGYN and two brain surgeons that work in New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital - the massive medical facility has been a fixture of the Upper East Side since 1857.

It had only been a week after Barash and Shatz submitted eight completed episodes to Netflix when anxiety over the novel coronavirus began to silently make its way throughout the United States after having spread from China to Europe.

'At that point, we didn't talk to anyone about it, but we called the hospital and we told them we felt it was an important moment and they all agreed with us,' said Shatz to Vulture.

Following extreme safety measures, Adi Barash entered the hospital on March 9 and began filming for 33 days over the course of two months. He filmed the entire episode on his own while working as a one-man camera crew who handled the camera, audio mic and interviews.

Barash learned how to manage the contagious virus, just as doctors were understanding it in real time. He carried his own hand sanitizer and was conscientious about disinfecting his hands, face, camera and microphones.

'The first few days were horrifying because you just didn't know what to do. You thought it was in the air. You thought it was in the droplets. You didn't want to touch anything. You didn't touch elevators,' said Barash to Vulture. 'You were constantly putting on Purell or disinfecting and changing clothes. You did what everybody else was doing, but times ten.'

The series follows neurosurgeons Dr. John Boockvar, (left) and Dr. David Langer who were forced to work on the front lines of the pandemic as the first line of defense began to fall ill to the virus. At the beginning of the episode, elective brain surgeries were still being scheduled and the audience watches as things quickly change. 'Well this country is under attack so everyone's trying to help out a little bit, I'm doing the critical trials for COVID,' said Dr. Boockvar. 'We're trying to contribute in meaningful ways'

Emergency room physician, Dr. Mirtha Macri was pregnant throughout filming the series.'I feel like its my duty I feel a little obligated to be here but at the same time I don't want to be exposed because of the pregnancy  its not ideal'

'I had to send my son and my husband to live with my parents because I cannot risk exposing themthat's been a lot to deal with, I haven't seen them in two weeks and I probably wont see them for another month,' she said

'We're beginning to see what we're all afraid of, it's real, units are really being overflowed with COVID patients. Dr. David Langer tests personal protection measures at the beginning of the pandemic when things were still drenched in uncertainty. A nurse checks his oxygen levels through the the double masks

Alex Hellinger, Executive Director of Lenox Health (center) sits in the hospital's de-facto 'coronavirus war room.' Behind him is a map of the United States which shows New York City to be the epicenter of the virus. 'There's China, there's Italy and then there's the United States and if you look at the United States, the cluster is really where New York is so we are in the thick of it.' New York City's deadliest day saw over 800 deaths over a 24 hour period on April 7

The episode opens in early March with a tense round table conference among medical staff and department heads looking to plan ahead for what was already inevitable. 'We were down seven to ten people everyday last week and almost every shift,' announced one administrator.

'ER nurses have a concern with the masks, we're really starting to feel that shortage in the emergency department,' explained another. Medical staff had already begun wearing surgical masks over the invaluable N95s in order for them to be reused.

The conversations and interviews happening between the staff seethe with anxiety and unease. In one scene, Neurosurgery Vice Chair, John Boockvar holds a Windex bottle as he anxiously sweeps the floor in his office in an attempt to maintain sterilization.

Emergency medicine doctor Mirtha Macri wipes down a chair and gestures to an empty patient room that has been contaminated - signified with a giant red 'X' in the window. The camera scans over the room suspended in time with a used latex glove still on the bed, 'there seems to have been a resuscitation in there, which means someone was critical,' she said.

Macri appears calm and steady throughout the episode, though she admits that anxiety prevents her from getting more than three hours of sleep at night. 'Right now for me, its more the emotional anxiety, the stress. Now everyone that's coming in is positive, you cant avoid it anymore.'

Later in the episode, Dr. Macri reveals that she had to send her family away for their safety while she devoted herself to fighting the virus. 'I had to send my son and my husband to live with my parents because I cannot risk exposing themthat's been a lot to deal with, I haven't seen them in two weeks and I probably wont see them for another month,' she said.

Some of the most intense moments throughout the entire series happen in the neurosurgery department as the camera follows Dr. Boockvar and Dr. Langer as they conduct life-saving brain surgeries in the the operating room. By the time filming starts for the encore pandemic episode, the two expert brain surgeons are re-positioned on the front line in the emergency room as their colleagues begin to fall ill.

'The first few days were really extreme in that way, but seeing how the doctors were performing, how resilient they were, how efficient with this massive event coming their way, it was really inspiring,' said Adi Barash to Vulture.

An 'X' on the window of operating rooms signals that the room needs to be disinfected and cleaned. 'Wherever you see an X, that means that room needs to be terminally decontaminated because someone with the virus was in there,' said Dr. Macri. 'There seems to have been a resuscitation in there, which means someone was critical'

A doctor is forced to call the wife of a patient with a bad prognosis: 'I don't want you to have expectations that hes going to get better. I want you to understand that the likelihood of him passing from this is extremely high and almost inevitable'

'These families are home and they cant talk to their loved ones, they're dying and they're sick, they get no information, its hard for the units to do this, we're used to talking to people about their decisions,' said Langer

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic in New York City, refrigerated semi-trucks were used outside Lenox Hill Hospital to serve as a makeshift morgue

'Pretty much every emergency room in the city has gotten one of these trucks which is a refrigerated morgue,' said Dr. Macri. 'In Spain they ran out of room for bodies and started using an ice rink'

Early in the pandemic, the two neurosurgeons Lager and Boockvar huddle around the telephone during a conference call. Dr. Langer sees the writing on the wall and whispers to Boockvar beneath his mask: 'Reasonably everybody's going to get infected.'

'We have to. We'll get infected, we'll get better and then we'll back to workthat's what I'm saying we should get sick now,' said Boockvar.

In jest, Langer responds, 'yeah lets just f******* take our masks off.'

By the end of the special episode, the two specialized brain surgeons seem weary, but have become well adept to managing the deadly consequences of the coronavirus. 'Well this country is under attack,' said Boockvar. 'So everyone's trying to help out a little bit. I'm doing the critical trials for COVID, we're trying to contribute in meaningful ways.'

A change in their daily work habits also becomes noticeable. The specialized doctors who were previously accustomed to the meticulous pre-procedure planning protocols in neurosurgery were forced to into emergency medicine that requires a different kind of patient relationship.

'These families are home and they cant talk to their loved ones, they're dying and they're sick, they get no information, its hard for the units to do this, we're used to talking to people about their decisions,' said Langer.

Langer is filmed Face-timing with the family of a popular New York City chef, he said: 'Here's a guy that you never knew, he was just another name and another sick person and yet he had this life and it resonated with me.'

The tone shifts as the medical staff becomes acclimated with the new normal. Macri points to the refrigerated semi-trucks that were placed outside the hospital to serve as makeshift morgue's during the pandemic's peak. (New York City's deadliest day saw over 800 deaths over a 24 hour period on April 7).

'Pretty much every emergency room in the city has gotten one of these trucks which is a refrigerated morgue,' said Dr. Macri. 'In Spain they ran out of room for bodies and started using an ice rink.'

'I wanted to shutdown last week' said John Boockvar, Vice Chair of Neurosurgery. It was March 9, 'I tweeted at eleven o'clock on Friday, 'Lets call this week, coronavirus containment week and shutdown the country.' We're exactly where Italy was a couple weeks ago- it's silently spreading across the country and we're trying to stamp them out'

'I feel right now that I trained my whole life for this,' said Dr. Macri. 'It's not very often that a pandemic happens during your career in emergency medicine and we are trained for disaster and critical medicine'

'Every one of these orange dots is a corona patient,' said Dr. Langer. Pointing to the two first columns he explains: 'This used to be a medical intensive care unit and this is a neural ICU which have now been turned into corona units'

In one excruciating scene, Dr. Boockvar is confronted with the tragic reality of young patient who suffered a brain injury when he went into cardiac arrest from the coronavirus. 'Weve been treating him for three weeks hoping that we can save him but his wife is here to let nature take its course,' said the doctor.

'I dont have good things to say.' A nurse off camera begins to interrupt:, 'Are you gonna..?' And Boockvar responds, 'Yeah Im going to end his life.'

The patient's mother then asks Dr. Boockvar what he would do if it was his own son who had officially been deemed brain dead. It's a question that leaves him in tears later. 'It's very painful, I can't do this anymore,' he tells the camera.

Teary-eyed, Dr. Mirtha experienced her own low point during filming.'Today was a really bad shift, I can't really talk about it,' she said.

The epilogue ends much like it began with Lenox Hill's Executive Director, Jill Kalman leading a conversation - but this time, it's a vigil and a tribute to the hospital they love.

'If we could, we would hug each other and hold hands, which I promise we will do again,' she told her staff. 'For now, this is a symbolic hug to each other, to our building, to our hospital, to our home.'

Two doctors are seen powerfully holding up an American flag with their hands as a haunting song intones the words 'isolation' over and over again in the background.

'It's probably one of the most gratifying experiences of my life and the most sad and and depressing at the same time. Honestly I dont think ill ever be the same,' said Dr. Langer.
The votes have been counted after a highly anticipated rerun of the presidential election in Malawi this week, as the opposition Tonse Alliance claimed victory over incumbent Peter Mutharika on Thursday afternoon, although Malawi's Electoral Commission has yet to announce the official result.

With all votes ... tallied, it is now clear that Malawians have resoundingly given [the opposition] alliance the mandate to govern this country for the next five years, according to a statement from Tonse Alliance.

The alliance brings together main opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera, head of the Malawi Congress Party, and Saulos Chilima of United Transformation Movement party (UTM), who came in third place in the 2019 election, solidifying an opposition bloc.

Malawians went to the polls again after the Constitutional Court ruled the May 2019 elections null and void due to widespread, systematic and grave irregularities. That ruling was challenged and later upheld by the Malawi Supreme Court.

There were a number of marked changes between the two elections, according to political analyst Boni Dulani from the University of Malawi.

Generally speaking, the quality and organization was a lot better than last year's annulled election; the new leadership at the electoral commission placed emphasis on the fact that any electoral staff who messed up would be personally held liable, says Dulani.

A lot of the polling staff took that to heart-- they were a lot more cautious in the way they did things than before, adds Dulani, who was also an observer in the election.

That's why we've seen almost no use of the correction fluid tippex, which characterized last year's election, he says.

The new Malawi Electoral Commission Head Chifundo Kachale, a high court judge, had three-and-a-half weeks to organize an election, and while there were a few glitches that were logistical, including missing materials, it was more transparent, says Dulani, which is why people are declaring winnersthey have already done the tallying based on the numbers publicly posted at the district level.

There is no comparison to last year's 'tippex election', says Pemphero Wamwale Mphande, who ran as a member of parliament in his constituency last year and lost.

For me as a candidate, we had a similar thing at my constituency-- one of my observers told me that at the counting of the results, more people had voted than had registered at the center, he tells RFI, describing how 20 more votes were cast than the number of people on the voter roll.

In the 2019 election, the MP position for his constituency went to the incumbent.

The funny thing is now it has gone to the leader of the opposition-- I think that's interesting because I don't think much has changed between then and now, he says.

Writing on the wall

In the month prior to the election, the Institute of Public Opinion and Research (IPOR), headed by social scientist Dulani, polled Malawians around the country, asking voters about the upcoming election. Their pre-election poll showed that the Chakwera-Chilima Tonse Alliance opposition would win with a 58 percent total to incumber Peter Mutharika's 38 percent.

According to Malawian media on Wednesday, the Tonse Alliance had a 55 percent lead with three-quarters of the vote counted, while Mutharika had 40 percent.

The final decision was what Malawians really decided and the result was there for all to see, says Dulani.

Independent judiciary and military

In the run up to the court case to nullify the election, it was the independent judiciary and military that help create the space for free and fair fresh elections, says Jimmy Kainja, an academic at the University of Malawi.

The independence of these institutions allowed people to go on the streets, he tells RFI.

The Human Rights Defenders Coalition asked people to come on the streets, people went out to demonstrate knowing that the military was not going to shoot on them, he says.

The courts ruled that people have the freedom of associationit was a people's awakening, that they could go on the street and protest, he adds.

Activist Mphande also believes that the military impartiality contributed to the whole electoral process.

Without them, we wouldn't be where we are today; in Africa it's very hard to win a court case, because the incumbent government has the military on their side, says Mphande.

Review of international observers

The voting was carried out with no outside funding and no international observers, who were absent in part due to travel restrictions because of Covid-19.

Conducting the election independently is something that Malawians can be proud of, he says, which should be a starting point to review the efficacy of international observers.

We have been let down in the past with the international observers it seems that they are concerned with political correctness that they make the generic statement that the election was free and fair. They can't be honest, and that is the problem, says Mphande.

Although the May 2019 had a number of lapses, international observers declared the election free and fairbefore the Constitutional Court annulled it.

In the previous election, there were tippexed result sheets all over, everyone could see numbers were being altered. If these people were paying attention, they could have spotted this thing, he says.

Although Mphande says international observers do have a role, their mandate should be reviewed. He believes inviting observers is not "one-size-fits-all" on the African continent, either, citing Zimbabwe as an example.

Zimbabwe has a repressive regime with the ruling ZANU-PF party and I don't think it would be the same to have an election there with no international observers, he says.

Moving forward

While Malawians are waiting for the final official declaration from the electoral commission, analysts are already looking ahead to the challenges the new Chikwera-Chilima administration will face.

It's obviously a defining moment for Malawi, and hopefully the new administration will address the many new challenges that this country really faces, not the least being Covid-19, says Dulani, adding that the outgoing government had lost focus on the pandemic due to the ongoing political intrigue.

One would hope that we can really take this issue seriously before it really gets completely out of hand, he adds.

Malawians are hoping for a new, transparent administration, but many are proud of the achievement of this rerun election.

We have done it on our own, most countries in Africa think they can do it on their own, and that is going to be something to watch, says Mphande.
Photo: iStock

You can leave your umbrella at home through Saturday, but light rainfall is in the forecast for Cambridge later in the week, according to the seven-day forecast from drone-powered weather service Saildrone. The best chance of rain is forecast on Sunday at 40%, with the possibility of light rainfall of 0.37 inches.

The immediate forecast also has warm temperatures in store for today. Temperatures will heat up more from Saturday to Sunday, with a high of 94 degrees on Saturday.

Skies will be partly cloudy today and cloudy on Saturday. Winds are expected to reach a modest high of 15 mph on Saturday, while today will be calmer with a top speed of just 10 mph.

This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
A war crimes indictment from The Hague against Kosovar President Hashim Thaci and several others caused transatlantic shockwaves when it was announced on June 24.



Prosecutors from an internationalized office (the SPO) to investigate grave crimes around Kosovo's war for independence in 1998-99 accused Thaci and other prominent figures of roles in "nearly 100 murders," enforced disappearances, and torture.



They cite "hundreds of known victims of Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities" that include "political opponents."



Beyond leveling grave charges against a sitting head of state that stretch back to a bitter and bloody conflict that led to Kosovo's independence -- still a divisive topic for some European countries -- the charges came just three days before a major summit in Washington that U.S. officials hoped could bring a minor breakthrough in a decade of intransigence in the Balkans.



Thaci, a leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) during his country's war of independence from Serbia in 1998-99, has proclaimed his innocence.



Prosecutors added that the indictment was "only an accusation," but it comes after a long investigation and "reflects the SPO's determination that it can prove all of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt."



A judge from the related Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) is reviewing the indictment to decide whether to "confirm the charges."



Thaci quickly canceled his plan to travel to the United States for a June 27 meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Serbian-Kosovar peace negotiations, Richard Grenell.

After initial signs that the Kosovar prime minister, Avdullah Hoti, would still attend, Hoti said he told Grenell he was returning to his country "to deal with the situation."



So the talks -- widely billed as a U.S. strategy to jump-start suspended negotiations to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia, a staunch opponent of Kosovo's independence -- have evaporated for now, though Grenell has said they will be rescheduled.



But it's unclear what the longer-term consequences will be for Kosovo, Kosovars, and for international backers of a deal to eliminate a nagging source of instability in the heart of Europe.



Timing Is Everything



Former Kosovar parliamentary speaker Kadri Veseli, another ex-UCK fighter who leads the Democratic Party of Kosovo and is also accused in the indictment, dismissed the charges and accused prosecutors of playing politics.



"Considering the time and circumstances -- a few days before the meeting at the White House -- it really raises suspicions that this is [no] coincidence," Veseli told journalists late on June 24. "No prosecutor should ever allow his decisions to be guided by political motives."

"I think everyone, everyone is surprised," James Ker-Lindsay, a visiting professor with a focus on Southeastern Europe at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told RFE/RL after the announcement.



It was a nearly universal sentiment and appeared to reflect the fact that even seasoned Balkans watchers were caught unawares.



"You know, we're dealing with the Balkans, and even those of us who like to think we were above conspiracy theorizing and that we must remain immune to it are naturally asking what the hell's happened here, why is this happening right now, after years of waiting," Ker-Lindsay said.



He cited several lines of argument that he'd seen in early speculation about the announcement and its timing:

that Europeans were behind it because they were unhappy at the U.S. "stealing their thunder" in the normalization process and objected to the substance of the deal that Washington presumably hoped would emerge from its mediation efforts; that Americans were behind it because they wanted to increase their leverage to encourage Thaci to commit to a deal with Vucic, whose party just won a landslide election victory in Serbia; and that some individuals within the SPO in The Hague fear that a deal struck this week in Washington might include some elements of amnesty for war crimes.

"So maybe there's a sense that 'we need to put this out there now so that, in case that happens, it can't be whitewashed after all these years preparing carefully," Ker-Lindsay said.

The special prosecutor said in the statement that it "deemed it necessary" to issue the indictment "because of repeated efforts" by Thaci and Veseli to obstruct and undermine the KSC's work.



But Marika Djolai, head of the Conflict and Security Cluster at the European Center for Minority Issues, told RFE/RL that the indictment "could have been issued at any point between April and now, which I think allows a space for assumptions that the timing has been carefully chosen in relation to the upcoming meeting [in Washington]."



A Blow To U.S. Momentum On A Deal



The American side also appeared to be caught off guard by the announcement, at least publicly.



Grenell had spent months ramping up pressure on Belgrade and, in particular, Pristina, for a deal that many observers thought could serve as a foreign-policy success for Trump ahead of his bid for reelection in November.

Grenell has sought to shift a fraught political debate away from broader -- and more emotionally charged -- issues of nationality and ethnicity in favor of a narrower economic focus.



"[We] think if you can create jobs in the region, if you can bring capitalism and force the parties to get along economically and commercially, then the political issues would be the second step," Grenell said last week. He added that he hoped for a "little mini Shenzhen zone," a reference to the first of China's half-dozen special economic zones created in 1980.



"The political issues are clearly the responsibility of the Europeans," Grenell said, in reference to the hit-and-miss process to encourage "normalized" Serbia-Kosovo relations that EU officials have waged for a decade.

Late on June 24, after the word of the indictment, Grenell tweeted that he "[respects Thaci's] decision not to attend the discussions until the legal issues of those allegations are settled," and suggested the meeting in Washington would go on with Vucic and Hoti.



Are the indictment and its fallout a death blow to the current U.S. effort, then?



Florian Bieber, director of the Center for South East European Studies at the University of Graz, said the postponement was damaging, but "not a definite [death blow]."



He noted the "very asymmetrical relationship" that would exist between Belgrade and Pristina if the Washington talks proceeded with just Hoti or another Kosovar --instead of the head of state -- to meet with Vucic.



"We don't know what Thaci's position will be," Bieber said. "Will he have to resign? If so, who's going to replace him? Because the whole process on the Kosovo side has been very much driven by Thaci and has very limited backing beyond him."



Washington does not appear prepared to give up quickly.



Is Thaci Done?



A Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) committee report in 2011 accused Thaci of heading a notorious criminal network made up of leading former UCK fighters responsible for forced organ donations, illegal trafficking, racketeering, and other serious crimes. Veseli was said to be a member of the same group.



Thaci and Veseli have consistently denied any wrongdoing.



But Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the latest charges "[advance] justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity during and after the 1998-99 Kosovo war."



"This indictment is a positive step for justice as these alleged crimes have hung over Kosovo for two decades," the group's EU director, Lotte Leicht, said. "After years of demanding justice, victims from all ethnic groups may finally get to have their day in court."



And Thaci already declared -- to many people's surprise -- that he did not intend to seek reelection next year when his five-year term expires.



Judge Dean Pineles, an international judge in Kosovo with EULEX from 2011 to 2013, wondered more than a year ago about a possible overreliance on Thaci in a piece, American Dilemma: What If Kosovo's Thaci Is Indicted?

Within weeks of a Thaci trip to the United States in November 2018, Pineles said, the Trump administration was pressing Kosovo and Serbia to reach a historic agreement.



"[An] indictment would be an embarrassment for the U.S., which has placed its confidence in President Thaci and anointed him as the best person to facilitate a peace agreement with Serbia," Pineles warned.



Djolai said the indictment looks eerily similar to a call last year for Kosovar Prime Minister Ramush Haradinja to testify at The Hague -- an action that Djolai said "effectively removed" him active Kosovo politics.



The judge for Thaci's indictment is said to have six months to decide whether the evidence supports a Hague trial for the Kosovar president, possibly putting him in legal limbo for several months.



How Do Kosovars See It?



An informal poll on the streets of the capital, Pristina, after the indictment was announced on June 24 suggested that Kosovars are still divided on the issue of the court.



"Great injustice," said one, Nike Hiseni. "UCK soldiers did not commit crimes. Great injustice."



"I don't defend either the president or the president of the PDK," said Albert Shala, "but this is a great injustice to Kosovo."



"I read the news in the press. Bad news. What can we do?" said Hysen Azemi.



Thaci and other former guerrilla fighters have led Kosovo for almost its entire sovereign existence.



His Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) -- which emerged from the demilitarized UCK -- had led every governing coalition since independence in 2008.



In October 2019, voters blamed the PDK for rampant corruption and nepotism and gave the election to an upstart ethnic Albanian nationalist, Albin Kurti, and his Self-Determination party.

But stymied partly by Thaci's political maneuvering and partly by his own miscalculations -- and, some say, a nudge from Washington -- Kurti's government fell in March and was replaced by a government supported by former UCK fighters.



It was a sour defeat for Kurti and the plurality of voters who voted for him seeking change.



But the indictment could prompt some of those same Kosovars to rally around Thaci and others they regard as victims of misplaced prosecutorial zeal by the KSC and SPO in The Hague.



Thaci has publicly acknowledged the political benefit of the court's existence for his country but has dismissed it as unfair that no similar specialized court still exists in Serbia to try suspected war criminals there.



Many Kosovars agree.



"A couple of years ago, there was much more consensus in opposition to these courts...and to [the pursuit of prosecutions for] crimes," said Ker-Lindsay. "A lot of people in Kosovo said, 'This is an attempt to undermine possible statehood'" by putting Kosovar leaders on trial and trying to make the war of independence "somehow illegal or illegitimate."



Can The EU Reassert Itself?



Some have speculated that European political forces are behind the timing of the SPO announcement, though there's no evidence to back that up. But if it is, it is unclear what they might do with an opening.



Edward P. Joseph, a former deputy head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, expressed skepticism of the U.S.-led process in a Foreign Policy journal polemical on June 24, but was quick to add that Brussels is hardly in any position to seize the initiative to mediate a Serbia-Kosovo deal.



"[The] expectation that the EU will later take the lead on resolving outstanding political issues defies common sense," Joseph argued after hearing of the charges. "Nowhere is Europe more splintered politically than on Kosovo."

After all, he said, the EU's high representative for foreign policy, Spaniard Josep Borrell, and its special envoy on Serbia and Kosovo, Slovak Miroslav Lajcak, come from two of the five EU member states that don't even recognize Kosovo's independence.



Brussels speaks in terms of the need for Belgrade to "normalize" its relations with Kosovo to get into the EU, he added, not necessarily recognize its sovereignty.



For his part, Bieber said he thinks Brussels "has been gearing up to take on, again, an active role in negotiations" between Serbia and Kosovo, as has Lajcak through several recent rounds of shuttle diplomacy.



Bieber also cited Grenell's public deferral to the Europeans on thorny "political" issues in the bilateral stalemate.



"Butwithout U.S. support it's going to be hard for the EU to have a deal," Bieber said.

Ker-Lindsay acknowledged there are many who -- 12 years into Kosovar independence and 21 years since Kosovo's war of independence against Serb forces ended -- just want a deal and think Thaci and Vucic are the only leaders who can make that happen right now.



"These are two people wholook like they're willing to at least sit down and talk some hard politics in order to get a deal, and now this has been scuppered," Ker-Lindsay said. "But frankly, 10 years from now they could still be talking and Kosovo [might not] be any further towards UN membership and Serbia might still not be any further towards the EU; and who knows what new malign influence is on the horizon?"
According to UNICEF's Generation 2030/Africa Report, over the next three decades, almost two billion babies will be born in Africa. In fact, the report predicts that, by 2050, roughly 40% of all births, and the same percentage of all children, in the world will be in Africa - a massive increase on the 10% of the 1950s.

Zach George

Kashira Naidoo

Investing in Africa for the better

An abundance of opportunities

It's a well-known fact that the youth are the primary consumers of technology. A fact that puts Africa, with its literally hundreds of millions of young people, firmly on the map as a significant global launchpad for technology startups.A direct result of the exponential increase in the young population on the continent is a significantly higher market from a goods and services consumption stand-point. Africas population is predicted to reach 3-4 billion by the turn of the century and with increased internet and mobile penetration, this will account for one-third of all global consumption of technology and technology-driven solutions.Added to this is the fact that technological innovations in Africa often create need-to-have solutions versus nice-to-have solutions typically seen in more mature markets in the West. Possibly the strongest evidence of this was the development of mobile banking in East Africa through Mpesa in the early-2000s, which used innovative financial technology in partnership with the telco industry to create a much-needed solution for the millions of unbanked in East Africa.Extrapolating this into other industries like healthcare, agriculture, education, retail, manufacturing, energy etc. is indispensable to the future growth of economies in Africa. This is exactly where venture capital (VC) comes into play, to provide much needed financial, human and intellectual capital to accelerate the growth of the technology disruption in Africa.There has been a major funding challenge which has long been exacerbated by a lack of understanding amongst African investors of the potential value that can be unlocked by investing in what, to most, appear to be overly risky businesses.So, African investment money has, understandably, flowed primarily into 'safer' investments, typically in the property and infrastructure sectors.There's an even more compelling component to this African investment case - which is that VC investment into tech startups on the continent could quite literally change the world for good.Targeted VC and private equity investments can be very effective in helping to drive developmental outcomes through economic growth, employment creation and transformation. VC, in particular, has the potential to maximise this beneficial multiplier effect, by not only providing growth for target companies and profits for investors, but also injecting foreign capital into African markets, unlocking significant socio-economic benefits for consumers, and creating opportunities to increase human capital across the continent.Of course, VC investment in Africa is not without its risks. In addition to the common concerns around backing startups anywhere in the world, Africa adds a generous portion of continent-specific challenges to the mix. These include currency risks, a lack of established operational and management structures within many startup businesses, a lingering preference amongst African businesses for borrowing rather than giving up significant equity stakes, political and macroeconomic instabilities, and a lack of foreign investment policy clarity.But, while this may seem like a somewhat daunting list of risks, mitigation is possible. And the most prudent way of achieving that is through thorough deal analysis, extensive due diligence, and ensuring the business targeted for investment has a clear understanding of the fine balance that needs to be struck between consumption and affordability.For example, the majority of African tech startups that have achieved success in recent years have done so by being highly innovative in the way they set out to acquire customers. Most have achieved this by partnering with businesses or dovetailing with sectors, that already have well-established distribution channels and networks.This is often referred to in investor circles as a B2B business model. Africa is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the economies of scale the B2B business models provide because of its strong banking, insurance, retail and telecommunications sector. Often these sectors serve as strong distribution channels for startups in their journey of scaling and growing exponentially.And given the extensive, and growing, opportunities in Africa for this type of business startup approach that essentially leverages established assets and customer networks to achieve, and share value over time, VC investors have a readily accessible way of addressing most risks simply by diversifying their exposure across sectors, industries and startup types.The good news for Africa and the world is that awareness of these massive opportunities presented by Africa appears to be growing amongst venture capitalists across the planet. According to the Partech 2019 Venture Investments in Africa Report, VC investments on the continent last year amounted to a record-breaking US$2.02bn, delivered through several hundred deals, with Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa raking in the largest total funding amounts.Despite the current challenges of Covid-19, in the long-term an Africa focus is only likely to expand within the global investor community. Fortunately, given the immense scope that exists for VC in Africa, this exponential growth in global investor interest should never result in a saturated market.Rather, it is likely to spur even faster, more widespread growth in the startup sector across the continent, thereby creating significant further opportunities for these businesses, their investors, and Africans as a collective.
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadian companies are now producing so much personal protective equipment needed in the fight against COVID-19 that Canada is almost at the point of being self-sufficient.

He underscored that contention today with a visit to a Kanata, Ont., brewery that has retooled to make hand sanitizer during the pandemic.

The visit to Big Rig Brewery, which has used the federal wage subsidy to rehire workers, is also intended to emphasize Trudeaus repeated plea to businesses to take advantage of the program to get back on their feet.

Its his third visit in as many weeks to a company thats used the subsidy to hire back laid-off employees.

As we move into the summer, Canadians can keep counting on our support, Trudeau said, standing before an array of kegs and cans.

Todays visit underlines comments Trudeau made during a pre-taped interview that aired Thursday evening at the online Collision tech conference.

He touted the various federal financial support programs aimed at helping businesses survive the pandemic-induced economic shutdown and to promote innovation to help fight the disease.

And he said many Canadian companies have taken advantage of those programs to retool and start producing masks, gowns, ventilators, sanitizer and other personal protective equipment.

Indeed, Trudeau said so many have stepped up that even as, like every country, were having to import massive amounts of PPE because we didnt have enough from the beginning, were now getting to a place where were close to self-sufficient on that and able to turn around and share with the world, particularly the developing world.

Having a secure domestic supply will be particularly important if there is a second wave of the deadly virus that causes COVID-19 in the fall, triggering another wild, global scramble for PPE.

China is the dominant supplier of PPE. With the outbreak starting in that country, there was a severe shortage of equipment as the disease first started spreading around the world in March. Countries were out-bidding one another for supplies that were often never delivered.

According to the Public Services and Procurement Canada website, Canada has vast amounts of protective equipment and supplies on order. Some of the contracts are for delivery much later.

As of June 16, 55.7 million face shields had been ordered but 17.6 million received; over one billion pairs of gloves ordered but 42.3 million received; 126.6 million gowns ordered but 4.6 million received; 20.4 million litres of hand sanitizer ordered but 7.1 million litres received.

As well, Canada had ordered 121.9 million of the coveted N95 respirators and 340.8 million surgical masks, though 12.9 million and 110.9 million respectively had been received. Of the 40,328 ventilators ordered, just 367 had been received.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2020.
A police vehicle at the site of an attack against the Mexico City police chief June 26. (Marco Ugarte / Associated Press)

Heavily armed gunmen shot and wounded Mexico City's police chief Friday in a brazen attack that left three people dead and signaled an alarming advance of organized crime on the nation's capital, which has been shielded from the country's worst violence.

Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch, who was being treated in a hospital after being struck by three bullets, tweeted that the Jalisco New Generation cartel, one of Mexicos most powerful criminal groups, was responsible for the early-morning ambush in one of the nation's poshest neighborhoods.

Garcia was traveling in an SUV with his security detail at 6:30 a.m. when a large construction truck carrying gunmen armed with high-caliber rifles and grenades blocked its path and opened fire, according to Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, who said 12 people had been arrested in connection with the attack.

Two of those killed worked for Garcia. The third was a 26-year-old woman driving to the quesadilla stall where she worked.

The attack is part of a broader escalation of violence across the country in recent days that has renewed scrutiny of the security strategy embraced by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Hours after the assassination attempt on Garcia, 14 bodies were discovered on the side of a road in the central state of Zacatecas. In the southern state of Oaxaca, 15 people were tortured and killed Sunday in a suspected land dispute.

And in the northern state of Sinaloa, rival factions of the drug cartel once headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman have been waging near-daily shootouts that have claimed dozens of lives.

The exact motive of the attack on Garcia was unknown, officials said. Mexico City Atty. Gen. Ernestina Godoy Ramos told reporters that those detained said a total of 28 gunmen were recruited about three weeks ago to carry out the execution and were promised cash in exchange for their participation.

Security analysts said the ambush may have been another act of retaliation after recent pressure from the U.S. and Mexican governments on the Jalisco cartel.

Story continues

Two weeks ago, in the Pacific coast state of Colima, gunmen suspected to be members of the Jalisco gang killed a federal judge who had tried a high-profile case against the son of the cartel's leader.

Garcia, the 38-year-old son of a telenovela actress and a high-ranking police official, has aggressively gone after the Jalisco cartel and its local allies since taking office in 2019. In April, his forces arrested several alleged members of the cartel.

National Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo said Friday that Mexican intelligence officials reported imminent threats to several high-profile Mexican officials last week, though Durazo did not say who was believed to have made the threats or who they targeted.

Bold assassination attempts on police and other public figures have long been a dominant feature of the country's battle against organized crime. Hundreds of police officers have been killed across the country over the last year, including 14 officers massacred in a single ambush in the state of Michoacan in October.

But few such attacks have taken place in Mexico City, the nation's economic, cultural and political capital, and certainly not on Paseo de la Reforma, its tree-lined principal avenue. The section of the roadway where Friday's ambush occurred is in the neighborhood of Lomas de Chapultapec, which is home to some of the nation's wealthiest residents as well as the United States ambassador.

An abandoned vehicle believed to have been used by gunmen in an attack on Mexico City's police chief is sealed off with yellow tape. (Marco Ugarte / Associated Press)

"In 50 years of drug-fueled violence weve never seen this," said security analyst Alejandro Hope. "They have never tried to kill a police chief in Mexico City. It's really weird and scary."

Homicides have been steadily rising in the capital in recent years, even as city authorities insisted that the nation's largest and most brutal criminal organizations, including the Jalisco cartel and its rivals from Sinaloa, did not have a major presence here.

They can no longer make that claim.

In recent months, it's become clear that the Jalisco cartel had moved beyond simply smuggling drugs through the Mexico City airport and had begun taking a more direct role in local organized crime, said Cassius Wilkinson, a security analyst at the Empra risk consulting firm in Mexico City.

"This week in particular has been really an indictment of the security strategy of Lopez Obrador," Wilkinson said. "Throughout the country, whether it be political violence or organized-crime-related violence, the Mexican states ability to control that violence is very low."

Lopez Obrador won in a landslide in 2018 on a promise to bring peace to Mexico by creating better living conditions so young people would not end up in organized crime. Those efforts have been hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed Mexico's already struggling economy into a recession.

The pandemic has also drawn law enforcement officials away from their crime-fighting duties, with thousands of members of the president's newly created National Guard now stationed outside hospitals.

Speaking at his daily news conference, the president suggested the attack on Garcia was actually evidence that his strategy was working, and that security officials were making real inroads in their fight against crime.

The attack, Lopez Obrador said, "without a doubt has to do with the work [Garcia] is carrying out to guarantee peace and tranquility."

Garcia tweeted about the incident from the hospital where he was being treated.

"This morning we were attacked in a cowardly way by the CJNG, he said, using the Spanish-language acronym for the Jalisco cartel.

Two colleagues and friends of mine lost their lives," he said. "I have three bullet wounds and various pieces of shrapnel. Our nation has to continue standing up to cowardly organized crime. We will continue working.

Cecilia Sanchez in The Times' Mexico City bureau contributed to this report.
The oldest zoo in America will be open, once again, on July 9.

The Philadelphia Zoo announced plans to reopen its doors after closing because of coronavirus restrictions. In order to help keep visitors and animals safe, there will be a limit to the number of visitors and all tickets must be purchased in advance for a specific time slot. Tickets are $20 for those 2 years old and older and can be purchased at PhiladelphiaZoo.org. The zoo will also encourage people to wear masks and practice social distancing.

Want to explore the zoo before July 9? Zoo members will have access to it starting on July 6.

Guests will be able to see many of the zoos animals (there are more than 1,300 of them!), however indoor exhibits will be closed. That also includes the Rainforest Carousel, Wildworks Ropes Course, SEPTA PZ Express Train and Swan Boats. Zoo-goers will find sanitizing stations throughout the zoo, and all bathrooms feature touchless toilets, faucets, soap and paper towel dispensers.

For those who get hungry while exploring the zoo, there will be grab-and-go food options available at select food spots within the zoo. You can also bring your own food.

The Philadelphia Zoo is located at 3400 W. Girard Ave. in Philadelphia. You can learn more and purchase tickets at philadelphiazoo.org.

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Nigerian civil society groups have protested alleged exclusion from the forthcoming 2020 marginal oil fields bid round processes.

Consequently, they have sent a protest letter to the government to demand their immediate inclusion in the process.

Recently, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) opened the bid process for the award of 57 new oil licences to prospective Nigerian companies and investors interested in participating in the exploration and production business in the country.

But, the group said the published bid guidelines by the DPR did not involve civil society among agencies that would monitor the exercise.

In a letter dated June 15 to the DPR Director, Sarki Auwalu, the group demanded immediate inclusion of about two civil society representatives in the bidders screening team as observers to build public trust and investors confidence in the bid process.

Besides, the group called for a strong legislative oversight by the National Assembly, and involvement of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) before, during and after the exercise to avoid the experience of the past.

Concerns

The group expressed concern the published guidelines were fraught with provisions that may hamper the interest of genuine bidders in the oil fields and deny the country the benefits of set objectives.

After reviewing the guidelines, and putting into perspective past experiences and pitfalls of similar processes, we deem it important to draw your attention to some of the points that could hinder the success of the process, or limit Nigeria from deriving optimal financial and socio-economic benefits from the exercise.

We are prepared to play our roles as civil society in support of this very important national exercise, with the understanding that it is intended and designed to deliver the overriding interest of Nigeria and Nigerians, the group said.

The letter was signed National Coordinator, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Nigeria, Peter Egbule; Executive Director Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), Faith Nwadishi; Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Rafsanjani Auwal Musa; Chairman, Human and environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Olanrewaju Suraj and National President, Green Alliance Nigeria (GAN), Chima Williams.

Others include, Chief Executive Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal; National Coordinator, Media Initiative on Transparency in Extractive Industry (MITEI), Bassey Udo; Programmes Manager, Selemati Foundation, Rita Kigbara; Executive Director, Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, Yemi Ademolokun; Principal Lead, BudgIT Foundation, Gabriel Okeowo, Director Civic Media Lab, Akinfolarin Oluwaseun, and Programmes Officer, West African NGO Network (WANGONeT), Sandra Dike.

Call for transparency

The bid round expected to be completed over the next six months is coming more than 18 years since the last exercise in 2002.

Identifying licensing as one of the weakest links for value realisation from Nigerias petroleum industry, the group said previous exercises between 2000 and 2007 not only fell below global best practices, it failed to secure maximum value for the countrys assets.

The group expressed doubts the current exercise would bring a different result from the past if government does not make the process more transparent.

To deliver the expected increase in oil revenue and as well as increase daily crude oil production, the group said the government must ensure the set goals conformed to the countrys long-term planning objectives in the sector.

READ ALSO:

Previous licensing rounds in the country, the group noted, were not tied to any comprehensive asset development strategy or broader economic development plans.

Each licensing round objectives, the group said, must align with the countrys strategy for managing natural resource base for current and future generations.

Also, the group called on the government to strengthen the National Data Repository Geological system by making authenticated and certified data easily accessible to bidders to attract capable investors to the oil assets on auction.

Adherence to published bid criteria

The group urged the DPR to adhere to the published guidelines and criteria on the bid to avoid confusion and ensure due process.

The group said a depoliticised criteria must be developed to support local content without compromising the sectors development potential or returns.

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Nigeria must resist the tendency to extend preferential treatment to companies solely because they are local and well-connected, the group said.

The group urged the DPR to amend the guidelines to accommodate the disclosure by all bidders of sworn declaration, complete, comprehensive and accurate information on their ultimate beneficial owner(s).

This, the group said, would show that Nigeria was fully compliant with her obligations under the EITI and Open Government Partnership (OGP) principles, transparency and a level-playing-field that would not allow business as usual by vested interests.
Power concedes nothing without a demand. And statehood is our demand, the fifth-generation Washingtonian said in a statement, referencing a famous quote from abolitionist and onetime D.C. resident Frederick Douglass. She added: I was born without representation, but I swear  I will not die without representation. Together, we will achieve DC statehood, and when we do, we will look back on this day and remember all who stood with us on the right side of history.
Women around the world have been hurt financially by the coronavirus outbreak, but the situation in India is more precarious for them than almost anywhere else. For women in India already suffer from a wide gender gap in employment, wages and education.

Less than a quarter of women in India are in the labour force  among the poorest standings in the world  and they earn 35% less on average than men, compared to the global average of a 16% gap. Women represent 49% of Indias population yet contribute only 18% to its economic output, about half the global average. And when Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 25 imposed a lockdown on this nation of 1.3 billion people, many women were set back even further.

Asha Sharma, 25, is among them. Five years ago, she left the hilly state of Uttarakhand for New Delhi to try to make a living from her passion of dancing to Bollywood songs. That dream lasted only a short while; she couldnt get into a dance troupe and her degree from a small town was of no help in landing an office job in the city. With a friends reference, Sharma found a job at a beauty salon.

She was earning about 12,000 rupees ($159) a month and sending some money back home to her mother, a worker at a government child-care center. After her fathers death a decade ago, her mother struggled to raise three children. Sharma can no longer help, though, as she has had no income in the past two months with the beauty salon shuttered.

Her siblings are also out of work amid the outbreak, making them all dependent again on the 1,500 rupees a month their mother earns.

Our mother did so much for us. Now we are all grown up but cant do anything to help her, Sharma said. Its not easy for a woman to earn. Unlike men, who can do any kind of job, we have limitations. We also have to keep safety aspects in mind.

The virus outbreak and stay-at-home orders in India have hurt women in other ways. Many of the millions of migrant workers forced to flee cities for their rural homes with little notice were women. They are over-represented in vulnerable service jobs like health care and education and in informal jobs, such as agriculture and sex work, where theres no safety net. And as Sharma points out, they have safety concerns, with travel a risk for many.

Lockdown and social-distancing norms are likely to have an outsized impact on women. The concern is the economic impact will be felt across employment and well-being indicators over the coming years, said Sanjay Mathur, an economist with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, calling this Indias painful shecession. Thats a term used by the Institute for Womens Policy Research after U.S. employment numbers showed a majority of jobs lost in April were held by women.

Oxfam India estimates the economic loss from women losing their jobs during the pandemic at about $216 billion, knocking off 8% from the countrys gross domestic product. This clouds womens already poor economic outlook. The World Economic Forums Global Gender Gap Index 2020 ranks India 112th of 153 countries in offering equal opportunities to women and men, and women often dont have the same access to health care and education as their male counterparts.

Even professional women in India have had setbacks. The virus outbreak has led many to work from home, yet Poonam Kumar made that choice 20 years ago. A freelance public relations professional living on the outskirts of New Delhi, Kumar wanted to spend time with family, raising her son, whos now 16.

People who started with me have grown big, she said over the phone from her residence in Gurugram, referring to colleagues from early in her career who have moved up the ladder. But that was a choice I made.

Kumar said her life was going smoothly, until the pandemic hit. Her husbands retail business was hurt by the lockdown, and Kumars business, she says, is at a standstill. She has lost four of her six clients and hasnt been able to pay full salaries to the two women she employs.

When companies are struggling to pay salaries and chucking out employees, no one is going to think about public relations, she said. I dont see things returning to normal anytime soon. Im trying to figure out what to do next.

Other Inequities

The impact of the virus is also exacerbating Indias deep-rooted social inequities. An unsafe environment in many places, with a girl raped an average of every 15 minutes, and the burden of domestic responsibilities have kept many women away from work. There has been a more than two-fold rise in complaints of domestic violence since the lockdown. Experts warn that girls education will be disadvantaged  as only 29% of Internet users in India are female, and theres a tendency for families with limited means to give preference to boys for schooling.

Insofar that violence has long-lasting emotional and psychological consequences, one persistent economic impact will be on womens ability to work outside their homes, said Tarun Jain, a professor of economics at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.

Female employment in April was at 61% of the pre-lockdown yearly average; for men it was 71%, Ashwini Deshpande, an economics professor at Ashoka University, wrote in a research paper June 3. Women employed in the pre-lockdown phase were 23.5 percentage points less likely than men to be employed post-lockdown, she said.

Neeti Pandey, 42, last month became part of those statistics when she walked out of the private school where she taught for about two years, holding a termination letter. A mathematics teacher in Indirapuram near New Delhi, Pandey was called to the school and asked to resign along with several other teachers. They were told there was no money to pay them as many families had stopped paying tuition.

The news came as a shock to Pandey, a mother of two who had become the familys lone breadwinner after her husband, a cancer patient, gave up his grocery business last year. She wasnt paid for April and May though she taught online classes from home. Taking care of her husband, along with child care and elderly care, has added to her burden.

Life is tough for a woman. Men will do only one job at a time, but we always have to do multitasking. We are supposed to strike the right balance between family and work, and keep everyone happy, she said. But if you are sad, you cant hide it for long.

For now, Pandey is managing with a little savings and some financial assistance from relatives. She is desperately looking for a job, but with unemployment rising above 23%, her search hasnt been easy.

Work Risks

In India, women are at higher risk of contracting the virus because they are over-represented in the health-care sector. Womens self-help groups are trying to make available personal protective equipment gear, though the need is great.

For some women, the choice seems to be between unemployment and jobs that put them at risk of disease and infection and make them targets of vicious stigma, Deshpande said.

Madhu, 39, who goes by only one name, is used to handling risk in her job. She is a sex worker in New Delhi, saying financial need pushed her into this field more than a decade ago. She was separated from her husband when her two daughters, nearly adults now, were toddlers. She tells her family shes a peer educator doing awareness training about AIDS  which she is, a job that pays little but lets her keep her real work under wraps.

There was a time we were 12 people at home, including my parents and siblings, and there was hardly any food to eat. We fed sugar syrup to the kids for days, Madhu said. It was then a friend told me about the men who pay 100 rupees for a one-hour bike ride with them. That was a princely amount for me at that time.

The lockdown has left Madhu and millions of other sex workers in India without a source of income. There are no social welfare programs specifically for sex workers in India, and many of them dont have documents that give the poor access to free food and cash transfers.

To survive during the outbreak, Madhu started working at a hospital canteen where coronavirus patients are treated. She serves food to doctors and patients, and in return gets leftovers for her family. A few of her clients also have provided some financial help.

I wish I had studied and become a teacher, she said. I dont want my daughters to struggle like me.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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(CNN)  Iranian authorities have arrested three men attempting to sell babies online, semi-official ISNA news agency reported Thursday.

A 20-day-old baby and a two-month-old child were rescued from the online infant-selling ring, the news agency said.

Tehran Police Chief Hossein Rahimi said a third baby has been identified but is yet to be found, ISNA reported.

The rescued babies were being advertised on social media platform Instagram, according to the semi-official KhabarOnline website.

One was being advertised for 400 million Iranian Riyals ($9,490), and the other for 500 million Iranian Riyals ($11,800), Rahimi said, according to KhabarOnline.

They were bought from "poor families" -- one for 50 million Iranian Riyals ($1,100) and the second for 100 million Iranian Riyals ($2,300) -- Rahimi added, according to ISNA.

A spokesperson for Facebook, which owns Instagram, told CNN that the company was investigating. "We do not allow content or behaviour on Instagram that may lead to human exploitation, which includes the sale of children for illegal adoption. We're aware of reports of this activity, and we're continuing to investigate," the statement said.

Facebook has a human exploitation policy, which covers harmful activities related to human exploitation and trafficking, and Instagram users are encouraged to report any concerning content using in-app tools or its reporting form.

Iran is among 21 "Tier Three" countries in the US State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which ranks nations that comprise the worst offenders on human trafficking.

The countries listed in this tier do "not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and (are) not making any efforts to do so," according to the report, which was published last year.
Shallotte, NC, June 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the year marches on, beautiful warm-weather destinations with serene wide open spaces top the list of places to visit, and North Carolinas Brunswick Islands has all of the makings for a picture perfect vacation anytime of the year.

Check out the top 20 reasons to visit North Carolinas Brunswick Islands:

Enjoy an Old-fashioned Beach Vacation Without the Crowds: Escape overcrowded beaches and head to any of North Carolinas Brunswick Islands beautiful barrier islands to find plenty of room for your beach blanket. With unspoiled beauty across the destinations 45 miles of beaches, the Brunswick Islands are a must-visit for beach lovers looking to get away from the crowds. See an East Coast Fall Phenomenon: The Brunswick Islands have the rare distinction of running east-west as they parallel the shore. Meaning that because of their unique orientation, you can sit on Oak Island, Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle Beach or Holden Beach and watch both the sunrise and sunset over the ocean without moving your beach chair! With temperate weather year-round, settle in and see this phenomenon for yourself beginning in the fall and continuing through the winter months. Send a Letter to the Universe: One mile down from the nearest public access point on Sunset Beach and tucked away in the sand dunes, the Kindred Spirit Mailbox invites those who can find it to write down their innermost thoughts, prayers, wishes and dreams. Inside the mailbox are small notebooks for writing and reading whatever ones heart desires. The serene walk to and from the mailbox allows for time to clear ones head and reconnect with nature along the scenic shoreline. Reel in the Catch of the Day: With saltwater and freshwater fishing, the Brunswick Islands are an anglers paradise. All levels of fishermen can choose from shallow inland creeks, any of the areas five ocean piers or a charter excursion out to the Gulf Stream just 45 miles offshore. Experts can even join in on tournaments throughout the year. Visitors should not forget their fishing license for freshwater or saltwater; however, the fishing piers and commercial fishing charters provide a blanket fishing license, making them a great option for visitors. Test Your Limits at The Swamp Park: Take a coastal excursion to new heights and soar through the canopy of 100-year-old cypress trees in zipline adventures ranging from 45 minutes to 2.5 hours. Large and small groups alike are welcome to enjoy a birds eye view on 1.25 miles of zip line cables or head to the aerial adventure park with 53 different challenge elements at The Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach. Enjoy Dinner with a View: Wonderful food is only half the dining experience in North Carolinas Brunswick Islands. The other half is the unique settingeateries right on the water, cozy places to share with friends, or Southern diners serving up home-style dishes. Enjoy a savory blend of seafood, southern favorites, and tastes from around the world as you relax in the coastal breeze. Get Your Steps in at The Oak Island Lighthouse: The last lighthouse built in North Carolina, the Oak Island Lighthouse stands 169 feet above the water, and its light can be seen for 16 miles. Visitors can take a tour and climb to the top of the unique lighthouse, but not by the traditional spiral staircase. Instead, the top is accessed by a series of ship ladders with 131 steps, all leading to incredible views of Caswell Beach and the lush, green inland marsh from the outside balcony. Enjoy Sun, Sand & Suds: Coastal breweries have been emerging at a rapid pace in the United States and the Brunswick Islands craft brew scene has surfaced to quench travelers cravings! Enjoy a refreshing brew at 34 North Experiment Station and Makai Brewing Company. Partake in a Tasting at a Coastal Winery: The ocean waves arent the only thing to cool you off on a hot day. Along with the suds, North Carolinas Brunswick Islands offer delicious European-style wine at Silver Coast Winery in Ocean Isle Beach. Stop in for a refreshing glass of white wine or test out an exceptional red that makes your day that much more relaxing and indulgent. Bring Your Best Swing: Manicured greens, salty breezes, and unsurpassed coastal views make North Carolinas Brunswick Islands a mecca for golf enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels. Home to more than 30 championship courses and over 120 miles of fairways, visitors to North Carolinas Golf Coast can play a new course every day for a month without repeating a hole. Bring Your Furry Friends on Vacation: Animal lovers know that the perfect beach vacation isnt complete without their furry friends and two and four legged friends will all find the beach escape of their dreams at North Carolinas Brunswick Islands. Fido will love to play fetch along the six white sand beaches (many offering laid-back leash laws during the fall) and will be welcomed at several pet-friendly accommodations, dog parks and various waterfront restaurants with pet-friendly patios. Enjoy Endless Events, Festivals & Concerts: The area offers cant miss events, festivals and concerts that travelers yearn to plan their vacations around. In the fall, the North Carolina Oyster Festival features local coastal cuisine, vendors, childrens activities and more. The oyster eating contest and oyster stew cook-off are not to be missed. Take a Walk to Remember Through Iconic Nicholas Sparks Settings: With 45+ miles of pristine beaches and charming coastal communities, it is easy to see why the Brunswick Islands has been a favorite novel and film setting for the master of romance, Nicholas Sparks. Sunset Beach and Southport have served as the backdrop for Sparks novels such as Every Breath (2018), Safe Haven (2010), and the film version of A Walk to Remember (1999). Sea Turtle Season: From July to October, visitors can head to the beach at night to join turtle watch programs and hope for a glimpse of baby loggerhead sea turtles making their way to the ocean in their first moments of life outside their eggs. The nest hatching process is protected and monitored by volunteers, which is crucial to this endangered species that can live for up to 50 years or more. Discover Seashell Surprises: As the Atlantic waters warm up and the sun makes itself a permanent installation, beachgoers will soon flock to the coast for sun, sand, and shells. Home to a beautiful array of sparkling shells, North Carolinas Brunswick Islands features 45 miles of scenic beaches perfect for every kind of shell-hunter. Visitors to the Brunswick Islands have a unique opportunity to discover coastal treasures and collect souvenirs as a reminder of their beach vacation. From sand dollars and scallop shells to true tulips and olive shells, there is sure to be a shell to catch everyones eye. Discover Marsh Madness: While the beauty of the beaches is the big draw, others prefer the mystery, serenity and solitude of the marshes in North Carolinas Brunswick Islands. The colorful marshes meander and curl, hiding secrets and treasures of the coast. A kayak journey through these quiet tributaries offers opportunities for birding, photography, fishing, and twilight gazing. Taste Calabash Seafood in Its Birthplace: Devour delectable shrimp, clams, fish and oysters coated in a light batter, quickly fried to lock in freshness and served up in very generous portions! This is dining Calabash-style, and the reason the town has earned the title of Seafood Capital of the World! Restaurants from coast to coast have tried to replicate the style, but there is nothing like the experience of enjoying it in its origin city. Find Outdoor Adventure for All: From the surf to the sky, the Brunswick Islands set the bar higher for adventure seekers in the Southeast. Several outfitters throughout the islands offer canoe, kayak and paddleboard rentals, along with lessons and tours for those new to the sport or wanting to learn more about the area. Another way to enjoy the charming island towns and quaint communities is by bike, and rentals are available throughout the islands. Rest Easy in Accommodations Suited for Every Traveler: From size and style to amenities and location, there is no end to the lodging options in North Carolinas Brunswick Islands. Explore a variety of vacation rental properties or an array of charming B&Bs suited for any family size and budget. Dive into Family-Fun at the Museum of Coastal Carolina: On the picturesque barrier island of Ocean Isle Beach sits the Museum of Coastal Carolina. This museum has long been a favorite for families, enchanting both the young and young at heart. Home to one of the largest dry aquariums on the East Coast, a fossil pit prime for budding archaeologists, and a touch tank full of live sea urchins and other creatures, this museum makes the perfect spot to bring those inquisitive family members.



While this list is just a sampling of what awaits, it is easy to see that the Brunswick Islands rates a perfect 10 in terms of ideal vacation locations! Please note, hours of operation for some of the area attractions may be affected by COVID-19, please check out the website for additional information before visiting. Visitors can plan their trip and find their perfect adventures at www.ncbrunswick.com.

About North Carolinas Brunswick Islands

In the southernmost corner of North Carolina, stretching from the Cape Fear River to the South Carolina border, lie North Carolinas Brunswick Islands. Five barrier islands provide secluded spots on six pristine beaches for families and nature-lovers, while quaint island and mainland towns beckon with family-owned B&Bs, restaurants and shops. Forts, lighthouses, historic architecture, boating, fishing and more than 30 golf courses offer plenty to do and see on a trip that harkens back to a simpler time. For more information, visit www.ncbrunswick.com.
Its known for reliably comfy bras and sensible wardrobe staples.

But Marks & Spencer has emerged as a leading contender to take over the UK arm of racy lingerie brand Victorias Secret.

The company went bust in Britain this month, putting 800 jobs at risk. Now M&S, the UKs market leader in lingerie, has reportedly expressed an interest in taking over the brand  along with high street rival Next.

If the firms place bids they could become franchise partners to Victorias Secrets US parent company L Brands.

This would allow them to sell Victorias Secret products and take over its 25 stores.

M&S has said it is considering opening up its website to guest brands in an attempt to broaden its appeal, while Next already hosts other lines on its website including Monsoon, Boden and Phase Eight.

Chinese model Ming Xi, US model Grace Elizabeth, French model Cindy Bruna, US model Gigi Hadid, US model Kendall Jenner and British model Alexina Graham walk the runway at the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

The two firms interest in Victorias Secret, reported by Sky News, comes as the brands bosses seek to re-think their marketing strategy after the UK arm made a yearly loss of 170million.

Its annual fashion show, featuring supermodels known as Angels in super-skimpy underwear, was cancelled last year after critics slammed its hyper-sexualised imagery in the wake of the Me Too movement.

Sales tumbled as underwear shoppers switched to brands catering to a wider range of body types, including pop star Rihannas line Savage X Fenty.

Victorias Secret has also been tainted by a series of scandals in the US, where executives were accused of presiding over a culture of misogyny, bullying and harassment.

The firms UK arm is going through a light touch administration process, which will allow it to keep trading while putting off its debts.

A third of its stores reopened this week but unless rents are reduced no one will take the shops on and they will be forced to close, an insider said yesterday.

Justin Bieber and Cara Delevingne at a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Lexington Armory, New York in 2012

The uncertainty reflects the depth of the crisis on the UK high street following lockdown.

Retailers paid just 1 in every 8 of rent owed this week, hoarding cash in anticipation of many months of reduced sales.

Experts believe the pandemic has permanently changed retail as consumers are now used to shopping online and returning items by post.

Yesterday H&M confirmed it was ramping up its store closure programme  following news that Zara will close up to 1,200 around the world.

A string of firms have gone under during lockdown, including Cath Kidston, Debenhams and Laura Ashley.

Next and Marks & Spencer declined to comment.
Washington state firefighters are preparing for a season of potential summer wildfires while adopting new health safety measures amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has added a new layer of uncertainty to the work of preparing for wildfire season, The Skagit Valley Herald reported Sunday.

A period of dry spring weather was followed by an onslaught of rain, sending mixed signals about the likelihood for major fires this summer.

The emergence of the coronavirus has meant firefighters also have to rethink how to work without infecting each other.

Firefighters are screened when reporting to work. Their temperatures are taken and they answer health questions such as whether they have had sore throats or fevers in recent weeks, and if they have traveled or been exposed to anyone with COVID-19.

Care is taken in the field to avoid sharing tools, move individuals and groups in as many separate vehicles as possible and sanitize vehicle interiors and equipment at the end of each shift.

Firefighters are also equipped with face masks for work that requires being in close proximity.

Fire season isnt going away. We cant just work from home or take the summer off, Jason McMillen said during a state Department of Natural Resources annual training last week.

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.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters COVID-19 Wildfire Washington
DENVER - The lawyer for the family of Black man who died after being stopped by suburban Denver police last year because he was being suspicious, said Friday she and Elijah McClains relatives have been conducting their own investigation after an official inquiry cleared three white police officers

Mari Newman told The Associated Press she is suspicious of government investigations of cases of alleged police misconduct. It comes a day after Democratic Gov. Jared Polis appointed Attorney General Phil Weiser to re-investigate and possibly prosecute the officers.

After over two decades of doing this work, my experience is that families cannot rely on the government to police itself, Newman said. And so my work is to continue to seek justice through the civil justice system so were doing our own investigation and preparing a civil rights lawsuit.

Newman declined to elaborate or provide details about the independent investigation.

We know that the police cant police themselves and we know that district attorneys dont charge the police officers because they rely on police in their other prosecutions, she said.

Police in Aurora responded to a call of a suspicious person wearing a ski mask and waving his arms as he walked down a street on Aug. 24. They say McClain, 23, refused to stop walking and fought back when officers confronted him and tried to take him into custody.

I have a right to stop you because youre being suspicious, an officer is heard on a body camera recording telling McClain. The encounter happened as McClain, a certified massage therapist and self-taught violin player, was running an errand.

To subdue McClain, officers used a chokehold that cuts off blood to the brain  a tactic recently banned in several places in the wake of George Floyds death last month in Minneapolis. Paramedics arrived soon after and administered 500 milligrams of a sedative to calm McClain down. In less than a week, McClain suffered cardiac arrest, was declared brain dead and taken off life support.

Weiser promised a thorough investigation in a statement Thursday. He said it will be guided by the facts, and worthy of public trust and confidence in the criminal justice system.

The attorney generals office declined to comment on Newmans decision to pursue an independent investigation.

While the appointment of the attorney general isnt business as usual, Newman said, its an acknowledgement of the special circumstances surrounding McClains death.

A true, thorough, independent investigation should not be contingent on a case that garners the public outcry from three million signatures on a petition and international media attention, Newman said, referring to a change.org petition online petition demanding justice for McClain.

So while I appreciate the governor stepping up and stepping in, its unfortunate that that doesnt happen in every case, she added.

Auroras city council will debate July 6 whether to hire another third-party investigator after a previous one was fired because he is a former police officer. Newman said shes distrustful of that process.

Three officers were placed on leave but returned to the force after District Attorney Dave Young said there was insufficient evidence to support charging them.

Ultimately, while I may share the vast public opinion that Elijah McClains death could have been avoided, it is not my role to file criminal charges based on opinion, but rather, on the evidence revealed from the investigation and applicable Colorado law, Young said Thursday.

Newman said without a doubt all of those involved should be fired: Their behaviour demonstrates that they are not suited to carry that badge.

___

Nieberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  Telecommunications provider Smart is offering Giga Stories 99 with Free Stories For All to give subscribers a total of 16 gigabytes (GB) worth of data for just 99.

The offer includes 14 GB for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, with two GB allocation per day, and another two GB worth of open access data, valid for seven days.

The data-packed promo will help connect customers to their family, friends, and favorite personalities with just a few taps on their phone despite the uncertain times. They can also use it to stay updated and share more inspiring content with their loved ones.

Smart subscribers can also use their open access data to enjoy all their favorite online activities  whether its streaming video and music, working with productivity apps, uploading your own content, playing mobile games, and more.

This mobile data offering will fully realize the Giga life envisioned by Smart, the award-winning mobile data network as affirmed by international third-party mobile analytics firms.

Ookla, the global leader in internet testing and analysis, cited Smart as the Philippines Speedtest Awards Winner for mobile network speed during Q1-Q4 2019. The mobile network achieved a Speed Score of 17.40, with average speeds of 19.62 Mbps for download and 9.45 Mbps for upload.

While independent mobile analytics firm Opensignal reported in its April 2020 Mobile Network Experience Report for the Philippines that Smart remained ahead of competition in terms of Video Experience, Upload and Download Speed Experience, Voice App Experience, Games Experience, and 4G Availability.

Smart is ready to empower the Filipinos digital lifestyle via simple and easy digital solutions like the Giga Stories 99 offer, as part of its latest Simple. Smart Ako campaign.

Know more about Smarts promos and services by following Smarts official accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 12:52:48|Editor: huaxia

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SEOUL, June 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export volume dropped in double figures in May owing to an economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak, central bank data showed Friday.

The export volume tumbled 15 percent in May from a year earlier, after sliding 13.2 percent in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the biggest monthly fall since January 2009 as global trade was weakened by the coronavirus pandemic.

Export volume for coal and oil products plunged 26.7 percent in May from a year earlier, marking the fastest decline since June 2004.

Those for transport equipment and textiles nosedived 57.6 percent and 42.4 percent each, posting the biggest-ever reduction.

Export volume for processed metal products and machinery also slipped in double digits last month.

In terms of value, the outbound shipment dived 25.1 percent in May from a year earlier, logging the fastest reduction since May 2009.

Semiconductor export advanced 21.1 percent in terms of volume and 14.9 percent in terms of value each. Demand increased for chips used for personal computers and servers as the COVID-19 outbreak encouraged employees to work at home.

Import volume fell 1.1 percent in May from a year earlier. In terms of value, the import plummeted 20.8 percent on lower global crude oil price. Enditem
Now it is time to make precious use of all this positive energy that has been invested. These were Pope Francis words to representatives of the areas of Italy most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, whom he received in audience in the Clementine Hall on Saturday morning, 20 June. The following is a translation of the Holy Fathers address, which he delivered in Italian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Welcome!

I thank the President of the Lombardy Region for his words. I cordially greet the Archbishop of Milan, the Bishops of Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona, Crema and Lodi, and the other authorities present. I greet the doctors, nurses, healthcare and civil protection workers and the Alpine troopers. I greet the priests and consecrated people. You have come as representatives of Lombardy, one of the Italian regions most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, along with Piedmont, Emilia Romagna and Veneto, particularly Vo Euganeo, represented here by the Bishop of Padua. Today I symbolically embrace these regions as well. And I greet the representatives of Romes Spallanzani Hospital, a medical unit that has done a great deal in battling the virus.

Over the course of these troubled months, various organizations of Italian society have worked hard to confront the health emergency with generosity and commitment. I am thinking of national and regional institutions, of municipalities; I am thinking of dioceses and of parish and religious communities; of so many volunteer associations. We have felt more deeply than ever an appreciation for doctors, nurses and all healthcare workers on the front lines in providing an arduous and at times heroic service. They have been visible signs of humanity that warm the heart. Many of them became sick and sadly, some died in exercising their profession. Let us remember them in our prayers with much gratitude.

In the vortex of an epidemic with disturbing and unexpected effects, the reliable and generous presence of medical and paramedical staff became a certain reference point, first and foremost for the sick, but in a truly special manner for families, who in this case did not have the opportunity to visit their loved ones. And thus they found in you healthcare workers, to a certain degree, other family members, capable of combining professional skill with the attention that is a tangible expression of love. Patients often felt they had angels at their side, who helped them recover their health and, at the same time, comforted, supported, and at times accompanied them to the threshold of the final encounter with the Lord. These healthcare workers, sustained by the concern of hospital chaplains, witnessed Gods closeness to those who suffer; they were silent artisans of the culture of closeness and tenderness. The culture of closeness and tenderness. And you were its witnesses, even in the little things: in the caresses..., even with cell phones, you connected elderly persons who were about to die, with their son, with their daughter, to say goodbye to them, to see them for the last time...; small gestures of the creativity of love.... This was good for all of us. The witness of closeness and tenderness.

Dear doctors and nurses, the world has been able to see how much good you have done in a situation of great trial. Even exhausted, you continued to commit yourselves with professionalism and self-sacrifice. How many doctors and paramedics, nurses, were unable to go home and thus slept there, wherever they could because there were no beds in the hospital! And this creates hope. You [addressing the President of the Region] spoke of hope. And this creates hope. You have all been one of the important pillars of the entire country. My esteem and my sincere gratitude  and I can well imagine everyones sentiments  go to you here present and to your colleagues throughout Italy.

Now it is time to make precious use of all of this positive energy that has been invested. Do not forget! It is a richness that in part, surely, was uncompensated during the drama of the emergency; but in a large part it can and must bear fruit for the present and future of the society of Lombardy and of Italy. The pandemic deeply marked the lives of individuals and the history of the community. In order to honour the suffering of the sick and of so many deceased, above all, the elderly, whose life experience should not be forgotten, we must rebuild our tomorrow: it requires everyones commitment, strength and dedication. It means setting out anew from the countless witnesses of generous and gratuitous love, that have left an indelible impression in consciences and in the social fabric, teaching how much need there is of closeness, care, sacrifice in order to nurture fraternity and civil coexistence. And, looking to the future, Fra Felices discourse in the lazarette, in Manzoni [The Betrothed, chapter 36] comes to mind: he looks at tragedy, he looks at death, with so much realism, but he looks to the future and carries on.

In this way, we can emerge from this crisis spiritually and morally stronger; and that depends on the conscience and responsibility of each one of us. Not alone, however, but together and with the grace of God. As believers it is up to us to witness that God does not abandon us, but in Christ he gives meaning even to this reality and to our limitations; that with his help we can face the most difficult trials. God created us for communion, for fraternity, and now more than ever the pretension of being wholly focused upon oneself  of making individualism the guiding principle of society  has proved illusory  it is illusory. But let us be attentive because, as soon as the emergency has passed, it is easy to slide, it is easy to fall back on this illusion. It is easy to quickly forget that we need others, someone to take care of us, to give us courage. Forgetting that we all need a Father who stretches his hand out to us. Praying to him, invoking him, it is not an illusion; the illusion is thinking we can do without this! Prayer is the soul of hope.

In these months, people were unable to participate in person in liturgical celebrations, but they never stopped feeling they were a community. They prayed individually or as a family, even by means of social communications, spiritually united and perceiving that the Lords embrace surpassed the spatial limitations. The pastoral zeal and creative care of priests helped people to continue the journey of faith and not to remain alone in the face of pain and fear. This priestly creativity that defeated some, a few adolescent expressions against the measures of authority, who have the obligation to safeguard peoples health. Most have been obedient and creative. I have admired the apostolic spirit of so many priests, who reached people by telephone, or went knocking on doors, calling at homes: Do you need anything? I will do your shopping.... A thousand things. Closeness, creativity, without shame. These priests who remained beside their people in attentive and daily sharing: they have been signs of Gods comforting presence. They have been fathers, not adolescents. Regrettably quite a few of them have died, as have doctors and paramedical staff too. And even among you there are several priests who were sick and thank God have been healed. Through you I thank all the Italian clergy, who have offered proof of courage and love to the people.

Dear brothers and sisters, I renew to each of you and to those whom you represent my deep appreciation for what you have done in this arduous and complex situation. May the Virgin Mary, worshiped in many shrines and churches in your lands, accompany you and sustain you always with her maternal protection. And do not forget that with your work, all of you, doctors, paramedics, volunteers, priests, religious, lay people, who have done this, you have begun a miracle. May you have faith and, as that tailor, and theologian who missed his calling used to say, I have never found that the Lord began a miracle without finishing it well [Manzoni, The Betrothed, ch. 24]. May he complete this miracle that you have begun! For my part, I continue to pray for you and for your communities, and I warmly impart a special Apostolic Blessing to you. And please, do not forget to pray for me. I need it. Thank you.

[Blessing]

Now, the liturgy of greeting. But we have to be obedient to the regulations: I will not make you come here; I will come, passing by, to greet you courteously, as one must do, as the authorities have told us to do. And in this way, as brothers and sisters, we shall greet and pray for one another. First let us take a photo together and then I will come to greet you.
The funeral of senior IRA figure Bobby Storey is to take place in Belfast on Tuesday.

Mr Storey (64), from west Belfast, died in England on Sunday following an unsuccessful lung transplant. His funeral is delayed as the family wait for his body to be returned home.

Mr Storey's remains will leave his home in Owenvarragh Park at 10.30am for 11am Mass at St Agnes' Church on the Andersonstown Road and afterwards to Milltown Cemetery, where his friend and former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams will give an oration. Thousands of mourners are expected to attend and senior republicans have been urged to ensure social distancing measures are respected.

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Mr Storey's remains will arrive at his family home at 6pm tonight, and his wake will be open to the public from 10am to 10pm on Saturday and Sunday. The IRA's former director of intelligence, Mr Storey was popular within the Provisional movement. He was reputed to have planned the 1983 escape of 38 prisoners from the Maze, the 2002 Castlereagh RUC base break-in, and the 2004 Northern Bank robbery. He was also a key figure during the peace process and had been Sinn Fein's chairman north of the border.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald called him a "very deeply committed Irish republican".

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This week DUP Policing Board member Mervyn Storey called on republican leaders to make sure social distancing was in place at the funeral. He added: "We also have to remember that, whatever your view on the individual involved, this is still a grieving family and we want to see policing of the crowds as proportionate and appropriate."

It is understood that Sinn Fein Policing Board member Gerry Kelly has met with the PSNI to discuss arrangements.
Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has expressed his disappointment with the Supreme Court ruling on the matter of the compilation of the new voters' register by the Electoral Commission.



At a press conference Thursday evening at the party's headquarters, Mr Mahama noted "With or without a new voters register, the NDC shall win this election by the grace of God".



He continued: "No politically engineered register can save this failed government from the inevitable defeat that awaits them in the next 165 days."



Watch full speech below







Read the full speech below:



ADDRESS BY HE JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA, FLAGBEARER OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS (NDC) ON THE SUPREME COURT RULING ON COMPILATION OF A NEW VOTER REGISTER



Good evening my brother and sisters,



Earlier today, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Ghana gave its ruling in a case brought by the National Democratic Congress against the Electoral Commission over its decision to compile a new voter register.



Despite the well-reasoned reliefs we sought, the apex court of the land gave the leeway for the Electoral Commission to go ahead with the exclusion of the existing voter identification cards from the list of identification requirements.



We are deeply disappointed and strongly disagree with the court over this outcome, which has confounded many legal experts and thrown the country into a state of confusion.



Our legal team is examining this decision even as we await the full judgement.



It is worrying that the Court deferred the reasons for its decisions to the 15th of July, by which time the EC would have been two weeks into the registration exercise.



My brothers and sisters, throughout its history, the NDC has stood strongly for an inclusive democracy.



That is because the party is built on the principle that no one should be left out in the governance process of our beloved country.



This principle may be seen through the various programmes and projects upon which our democracy is built: the composition of the Consultative Assembly, which prepared the 1992 Constitution; the consultations for the review of the Constitution in 2010 (which stands out as the most comprehensive consultative programme in our history and the history of the sub-region); just to mention a few.



The NPP tradition, on the other hand, has since the founding of our nation always stood for an exclusive governance structure.



A structure, which seeks to leave out the ordinary men and women of our country.



A structure, which rather favours only a select few who consider themselves the owners of the nation.



To ensure this, the NPP has since its assumption of power in 2017, consistently put in place measures, which seek to systematically disenfranchise eligible citizens.



Such measures include restricting the identification mechanism for voter registration to documents, which are not accessible to millions of eligible voters.



We have been very clear in our minds that the decision to compile a new voters register was in pursuit of this long-held agenda, hence our efforts to stop the wholesale attempt to exclude vast sections of our population from the process to determine who leads them.



This represents the handiwork of a desperate incumbent that on account of its very poor performance in government sees its political survival only through the prism of manipulation of the electoral process to exclude a section of Ghanaians who they suspect may not renew their mandate at the polls.



A caring, compassionate and responsible government would not push us to this brink at a time of a major pandemic like COVID-19 that is causing so much anguish among the citizenry.



It is deeply regrettable that the Electoral Commission, which should be independent, has made itself a willing tool in the execution of this most diabolic agenda.



The exclusion of the old Voters ID card, which has been used to conduct several elections under the current leadership of the Electoral Commission and from which the current President derives his mandate is aimed at deliberately disenfranchising some Ghanaians who have falsely been branded foreigners without any basis.



The restriction of primary identification to passports, Ghana Cards and the resort to guaranteeing for others is a ruse to create frustration in the hope that it will discourage millions from registering and in the process give advantage ab initio to a bungling incumbent.



The Ghana Card, which has been made one of two identification documents has not been rolled out in full.



As we speak, these cards are still being issued with no mechanism for verification.



The National Identification Authority itself has admitted to duplication of thousands of these cards



Therefore, the NDCs decision to go to the Supreme Court, was informed by the partys time-honoured belief and commitment to an inclusive democracy as opposed to the NPPs exclusiveness.



However, it was obvious from the outset of this struggle that inclusive democracy was not going to have a hearing, even against the resounding call by the National House of Chiefs, religious leaders, CSOs and the various trade and professional groups.



My brothers and sisters, the right to vote must however not be curtailed on account of this minor setback for inclusion.



We cannot throw our hands up in despair because the fight to insist on inclusion has been temporarily derailed by this ruling.



We can still make our voices heard even if we must endure some inconvenience and frustration.



To achieve the objective of taking part in the decision over who governs us, we must be willing to make the necessary sacrifices in the present circumstances.



I therefore urge all Ghanaians of voting age to channel the disappointment at the effort to exclude them from the electoral process into an opportunity to have their voices heard and turn up to register in their teeming numbers, when the process begins next week Tuesday.



The NPP and the EC are very much aware that the exclusion of the existing voter ID will significantly slow down the process of registration and create the real risk of people massing up outside the voting centers.



But this is what happens when politics is put before the people.



While at it, let us keep safe by adhering strictly to all COVID-19 preventive protocols, such as social distancing, the wearing of face masks among others, particularly because of the increasing trend in the number of infections and deaths recorded.



I pray that the almighty God shall protect all our citizens who come out to exercise their constitutional right to register from any sickness or infection by any disease.



The process may be made deliberately slow and painful, but I encourage you all to endure it in so far as it would enable you vote out this government that has masterminded that frustration in the first place.



We must always be willing to hold leaders accountable for bad decisions that impose difficulties on citizens and this is one clear opportunity to do so. Do not let the several hours you may spend at the registration centre get you to surrender your right to vote.



That would only embolden those who seek to disenfranchise you. To the few who have passports and Ghana cards, make use of them and register.



To those who get the opportunity to register, I implore you to assist your brother, sister and compatriot by guaranteeing for them even if it takes a bit more of your time.



See this as a civic duty and your contribution to the effort to preserve the right to vote.



This way, we will undo the grand conspiracy to deprive us of the inalienable right to vote and we will in the process send a clear signal that it is only we the people who will decide who gets the opportunity to lead this country and not the governments we elect or state agencies who make themselves pliant accomplices in the attempt to disenfranchise us.



This is not just an NDC fight, it is a fight to rescue the very soul of our beloved country from the hands of those who seek to impose their will unjustly on the people.



Our forefathers founded this nation with the motto Freedom and Justice.



It is clear today that never in the history of our 4th Republic have these two lofty ideals been in such short supply.



I salute the all the diverse organizations, Civil Society Organizations, prominent chiefs, organized labor, professional groups and all well-meaning Ghanaians who have rallied around this cause to demand that the right thing be done in the larger national interest.



I call on all Ghanaians who yearn to see a change in the governance of this country to rise up and be counted for where there is a will, there is a way.



No politically engineered register can save this failed government from the inevitable defeat that awaits them in the next 165 days.



With or without a new voters register, the NDC shall win this election by the grace of God.



I leave you with this famous quote by Emperor Haile Selassie:



Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.



I thank you for your kind attention







Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

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Thousands of Burundians clad in white gathered Friday in the capital Gitega to say a final goodbye to former president Pierre Nkurunziza at a state funeral after his sudden death earlier this month.

The coffin carrying the late president arrived at a stadium in the city, covered in the green, red and white national flag and borne atop a military jeep, as soldiers marched in step alongside it.

The funeral convoy was welcomed by a military band after a 60-kilometre (37-mile) journey from the city of Karusi where Nkurunziza, 55, died on June 8 of what the government said was heart failure.

However speculation is rife he may have caught the coronavirus, as his wife had been flown to Nairobi for treatment for the virus just two weeks prior.

The ceremonies began early in the morning with a homage by his wife, Denise Bucumi Nkurunziza, his children and those close to him in an intimate gathering at the hospital where he passed away, a government source told AFP.

Nkurunziza died shortly after an election won by his handpicked successor Evariste Ndayishimiye, who was sworn in last week and who presided over the funeral.

Nowhere in Africa, or the world, has a leader been as close to God as president Nkurunziza was, Ndayishimiye said in a tear-filled speech, adding he was also the closest to the people.

We have lost a father, a friend, a saviour and a head of state, he said.

Nkurunzizas wife Denise, who has recovered from the virus, said that God had given her the strength to accept what had happened.

In the Bible it is written that we must accept God in everything. There was nothing else to do and I did it, she said.

Nkurunziza, a devout evangelical who believed he was chosen by God to lead Burundi, leaves behind a deeply isolated country in political and economic turmoil.

His 2015 run for a third term in office sparked protests and a failed coup, with violence leaving at least 1,200 dead while some 400,000 fled the country.

A climate of fear marked by a crackdown on the opposition and media settled over Burundi, while a personality cult grew around Nkurunziza which saw the ruling party name him a visionary and supreme guide for patriotism.

UN human rights investigators have said the period since 2015 has been marked by likely crimes against humanity committed by state forces, citing extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests, disappearances, torture and sexual violence.

 No masks, no distance 

Friday was declared a national holiday for the funeral, and citizens, including school children in uniform, lined the roads waiting for the funeral convoy to pass.

Inside the stadium the arrival of Nkurunzizas remains led to screams, tears and moans from the crowd, who were asked to stand in silence and bow.

The majority were not wearing masks or respecting social distancing guidelines.

Burundi has taken few measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus, with Nkurunziza claiming God had spared the country from its ravages.

During his swearing-in ceremony, Ndayishimiye admitted the dangers posed by the virus, and urged Burundians to take care and go to a doctor if they felt ill.

Since announcing its first case in mid-March, Burundi has only officially recorded 144 cases and one death.

A medical source told AFP that Nkurunziza had suffered respiratory distress before dying.

One diplomat attending the funeral told AFP he had arrived with a mask but removed it after feeling ridiculous as no one else was wearing one.

No foreign presidents attended the funeral. Former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete was present as well as representatives from some neighbouring countries.

Nkurunziza will be buried at a monument recently built in Gitega at the site of another structure which was to be dedicated to victims of the countrys various crises over the years, but was never inaugurated due to disagreements between the opposition and ruling party.
First Early Results Announced in Malawi Presidential Election

By Lameck Masina June 25, 2020

Malawi's Electoral Commission has started announcing preliminary results from Tuesday's re-run of last year's presidential election. Local media gave opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera a comfortable lead over incumbent President Peter Mutharika.

In the court-sanctioned rerun, President Mutharika, leader of the Democratic Progressive Party, (DPP) is running against Lazarus Chakwera, leader of the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and little known Peter Kuwani of the opposition Mbakuwaku Movement for Democracy (MMD).

Announcing the results at the main tally center Thursday in Blantyre, Electoral Commission Chairperson Chifundo Kachale said the commission had received results from 26 of the country's 28 districts.

He read out returns from three districts; Chiradzulu, Mwanza and Likoma, which were the first to submit their counted ballots to the tally center.

"The results for Likoma; the MCP candidate Lazarus Chakwera got 2,981 votes, and Peter Domic Sinosi Kuwani for MMD got 31 votes, while Arthur Peter Mutharika of the DPP got 1,690 votes," said Kachale.

In results from other two districts, President Mutharika was leading, while Chakwera came second and Kuwani, last.

Kachale said that as of Thursday morning, the commission had finished verifying results from about one-fifth of the districts and promised to complete the rest soon.

"We continue to emphasize that we are committed to get this job done as soon as possible. We wouldn't want to create any anxiety by delaying this process needlessly, you have our greatest commitment that come this evening, you see significant progress districts we have managed to clear," he said.

However, Malawian media, including the state-owned Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, said Chakwera held a strong lead with 55 percent of the vote, compared to 40 percent for Mutharika.

Eisenhower Mkaka, the secretary-general of the MCP, told VOA the party does expect changes from the figures that local media announced, because those figures reflect vote totals the party collected from its monitors across the country.

"There could be some changes because unlike in the past, what the Commission is now doing according to the law is to look at the null and void votes. So, in some cases they are determining that 'No, this shouldn't be a null and void [vote]'. There might be some small, small, changes but not material enough to change anything," she said.

VOA could not reach DPP officials for comment but the party's spokesperson, Nicholas Dausi, told a local radio station Thursday that he will comment after official final results are announced.

The Malawi Electoral Commission is expected to announce final results within eight days from the day of voting as required by law.

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WYOMING, MI  Police located a missing woman after she was involved in a wrong-way crash on U.S. 131 near Wyoming, according to a news release from the Kent County Sheriffs Office.

About 1 a.m. Friday, June 26, police located 84-year-old Phyllis Jean Wolbert, after responding to the crash and finding that she was involved, police said. She was previously reported as a missing woman.

No one was injured in the crash, police said. As a precaution, Wolbert was transported to the hospital where she was reunited with family members. Michigan State Police investigated the crash, the sheriffs office said.

Police did not release additional details about the crash.

Before she was located, Wolbert was last seen in Ada, Michigan, about 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 25. Police said previously she was considered missing and endangered. She has dementia and is diabetic and did not have her medications with her, police said.

West Michigan has had several high-profile wrong-way crashes in recent years, including a crash that claimed the lives of the two drivers last year in Grand Rapids and a Kalamazoo County crash that killed three and critically injured two in 2017.

An MLive review of police reports from 2014 to 2018 showed that 17 people were killed in 26 head-on crashes involving wrong-way drivers on West Michigan freeways during that five-year period.

Read more:

Driver in critical condition after being pinned under semi on I-94 in Jackson

Company cuts 55 jobs at Gerald R. Ford International Airport

Coronavirus cases surge in rural West Michigan county after farms, businesses report outbreaks
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks rose notably on Friday after U.S. regulators eased bank rules that will free up billions of capital. Closer home, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the worst of the coronavirus crisis may be over for the world, but the recovery will be restrained and incomplete. The benchmark CAC 40 index was up 49 points, or 1 percent, at 4,968 after climbing 1 percent the previous day. Air France-KLM shares rallied 2.6 percent after governments of France and Netherlands reached a deal on an aid package for the airline group. In economic releases, French consumer confidence improved to a three-month high in June as coronavirus containment measures were relaxed, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed. The consumer sentiment index advanced to 97 in June from 93 in May. Although the score was above economists' forecast of 95, the reading was below its long-term average of 100. The share of households considering it is a suitable time to make major purchases increased sharply with the corresponding balance gaining 31 points to -14 in June. 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.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday plasma therapy has helped reduce the Covid-19 death rate by more than 50% at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP), the only local government hospital authorised to conduct trials so far.

He also announced his government is focussing on scaling up ICU beds in the city at the earliest.

We administered plasma therapy to 29 patients in LNJP Hospital and the results were shared with the Central government, following which we got permission for 200 more trials, Kejriwal told a virtual media briefing after a meeting of his Cabinet.

And now, plasma therapy will be done in the Delhi governments Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital too. Other than that, several private hospitals have acquired permission for plasma therapy trials on their own.

The cabinet meeting approved a move to have 450 beds at a new hospital in Burari, which will be turned into a Covid-19 facility.

So far, eight hospitals in Delhi are conducting plasma therapy trials. They include LNJP, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, which come under the Central government, and five prominent private hospitals.

The results of the trials, said senior officials in Delhis health department, will be made public only after they being published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

Kejriwal further said the Covid-19 death rate in LNJP dropped by more than 50% n the past few weeks because of plasma therapy.

The trends suggest it is difficult to save the lives of patients who are on ventilator support or have already witnessed multiple organ failures. But for other patients with moderate to severe symptoms, plasma therapy helped save lives, he said.

He attributed a spike in Covid-19 cases in the city over the past week to increased testing. He said, Till now, we have around 74,000 Covid-19 cases in Delhi. But if we analyse the trend, the situation is under controlTests have been increased to around 18,000 per day, from 5,000 to 6,000 per day. With that, the average cases per day have increased from 2,000 to 2,500 to around 3,000 to 3,500. This increase is natural.

He added, But people are recovering at a fast rate too. There are around 26,000 active patients now, of which around 6,000 are in hospitals. The others are recovering at their residences. In the last one week, total bed occupancy has remained around 6,000 on an average, despite around 3,000 to 3,500 patients adding up every day. Which means most cases are patients with mild or no symptoms. However, we have around 13,500 beds ready in hospitals, of which around 7,500 are vacant on an average.

In the coming days, we may need to scale up ICU beds, especially in GTB, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital and LNJP. We are doing our best to accomplish this at the earliest.

Kejriwal identified his governments decision to distribute pulse oximeters to patients in home isolation as a measure that has helped reduce Covid-19-related deaths.

He said, In Covid-19 cases, we have seen oxygen levels can suddenly drop even in cases of patients with mild symptoms. So, we stared delivering oximeters to all cases of home isolation so that patients can keep assessing their oxygen levels periodically, and call a helpline number the moment they see the saturation level drop to 94% or less.
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By KEITH RIDLER

Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho  A low-flying helicopter last weekend harassed a work crew building a public trail on an easement crossing private land that connects the popular tourist destinations of Redfish Lake and Stanley in central Idaho, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

The department on Wednesday asked a judge to prohibit future harassment during work on the trail that's at the center of a federal lawsuit.





. . .
The cash-strapped Himachal Pradesh (HP) government has come down hard at consumers by increasing vehicle registration fees and also slashed electricity subsidy to shore up its revenue amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

These decisions were taken during a state cabinet meeting on Thursday.

The registration fees for motorcycles have been increased from the existing 2.5%-4% to 7%-10%.

The new registration fee for a motorcycle that costs up to Rs 50,000 will be 7%; 8% for above Rs 50,000, and up to Rs 2 lakh; and 10% for above Rs 2 lakh.

Similarly, the registration fee for a car has been increased from 8% to 10%.

The state government will charge 100% of the composite fee from small contract carriers coming to HP with riders from outside states.

The 15-day waiver for contract carriers, who paid the tax for a month at one go, has also been done away with.

The state government has decided to slash the Rs 480-crore subsidy for the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) by Rs 110 crore in a bid to give relief to those consumers, whose monthly consumption is below 125 units.

Government data showed that 18% of the subsidy went to 11 lakh consumers, who consume less than 125 units of electricity per month, and the rest to another nine lakh consumers, whose consumption is over 125 units in a month.

There will be no change in the power bills for consumers using electricity less than 125 units a month.

However, those who use power between 125 and 200 units a month will see a hike between Rs 40 and Rs 113 in their monthly electricity bills.

Similarly, those consuming between 201 to 300 units of power will see an increase between Rs 115 and Rs 200 in their monthly bills.

The consumption pattern between Rs 301 and 400 electricity units will entail an increase in the monthly bill between Rs 200 and Rs 290. A consumer has to cough up between Rs 300 and Rs 400 more a month, if his consumption is found to be 401 units or above.

In HP, a consumer pays Rs 2.62 for a unit of power, as compared to Rs 6.59 and Rs 3.27 in neighbouring Punjab and Uttarakhand, respectively.

The state government has also allowed running of buses with 100% of their capacity, but refused to increase fares.

Earlier, private bus operators had demanded that the minimum fare be doubled to Rs 10 from Rs 5 because of 60% occupancy due to social distancing norms owing to the viral outbreak.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's COVID-19 contact-tracing app has been downloaded more than 4 million times since its launch a week ago as the government seeks to head off a second wave of infections now that businesses and schools have reopened.

Health ministry official Yasuyuki Sahara said while there was no target number for downloads, "we want to make as many people as possible to use this app".

Apps such as this may be able to halt an epidemic if usage reaches 60% of the population, according to an Oxford University study.

Yuki Furuse, a professor at Kyoto University, said there's debate about whether usage has to be that high to be effective, but "the more people use the app, the more it would be effective for the outbreak response."

Japan lifted a state of emergency in late May. It has weathered the epidemic better than most developed countries, with almost 18,000 infections and 969 deaths.

The app, named COCOA for Contact-Confirming Application, was designed by Microsoft Corp and is available for Apple Inc's iPhone and devices using Google's Android software.

It uses Bluetooth signals to detect contact with nearby users lasting 15 minutes or more. If a user later tests positive for the virus, their contacts can be traced and notified through the programme.

Numerous countries have rolled out contact-tracing apps, including Australia, Malaysia, Britain, India, Germany and Italy.

Singapore was among the first with its TraceTogether app launched in March, but privacy concerns hampered its uptake, prompting a switch to wearable devices.

The new coronavirus, which was first detected in China in late 2019, has infected more than 9.62 million people globally and 488,467 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

(Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Michael Perry)
This article is part of the Free Speech Project , a collaboration between Future Tense and the Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law that examines the ways technology is influencing how we think about speech.

Last November, I flew to Taipei and checked into a hotel for a two-day gathering of roughly 150 activists, security researchers, and software developers from all over the world committed to helping people use technology to fight authoritarian repression and protect themselves from extremist attacks.

Taiwans digital minister, Audrey Tang, a hacker and open-source software developer herself, opened the conference with a speech about how citizens can use technology to advance democracy. Her audience included Tibetan and Uighur exiles who are working to help members of their communities evade arrestor worse. People are risking their lives to share information with the outside world about events on the ground, and to disseminate facts inside China to counter the Communist Partys official narrative.

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The Taipei conference was organized by the Open Technology Fund, an independent nonprofit grantee of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which also funds Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. Now a political shake-up at USAGM threatens OTFs approach to technology development, as well as its vital support for vulnerable communities who use the technology to help them stay safe.

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OTFs chief executive, Libby Liu, offered her resignation on June 13, a week after Trump administration appointee Michael Pack was confirmed by the Senate as the agencys new chief executive. Then on June 17 she was officially fired along with the heads of other USAGM grantee organizations. Trumps former adviser and strategist Steve Bannon recently told the Washington Post that he had recommended Pack for the job because USAGMs organizations were not sufficiently on point with the Trump administration, especially its hard-line stance against the Chinese Communist Party. Being tough on China in both words and deeds is widely reported to be the cornerstone of Trumps reelection strategy.

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A few days before Pack fired Liu, a guest on Steve Bannons War Room radio show denounced her. She should be fired immediately if we want to tear down the firewall, said Michael Horowitz, a longtime religious freedom advocate with close ties both to the Christian right and to Falun Gong, a religious organization that is banned by the Chinese Communist Party as an evil cult. It appears that lobbying by Horowitz and other allies in Washington factored into the decision to fire Liu, and that the same people are part of a lobbying coalition to influence OTFs future. Thats troubling. Since at least 2009, Horowitz has been a strident advocate on Capitol Hill and in the media for government funding of software designed to circumvent internet censorship known as Chinas great firewall designed by members of Falun Gong, such as Freegate and Ultrasurf. Both tools have been listed in letters by organizations and coalitions that Horowitz is close to. They are demanding that most of the funds earmarked by Congress to OTF as well as the State Department to support internet freedom should be redirected to these and two other organizations that provide circumvention software, instead of supporting a broader set of grantees and programs whose purpose is to advance internet freedom globally. (Full disclosure: I am founding director of New Americas Ranking Digital Rights program, which since 2016 has received funding from the U.S. State Departments Internet Freedom program; we have also hosted several OTF-funded research fellows. New America is a partner with Slate and Arizona State University in Future Tense.)

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Funding Falun Gong tools would be a good way to reward political loyalty: Since 2016 the Falun Gongaffiliated Epoch Times has become an enthusiastic member of Trumps social media cheerleading squad. But if the objective is actually to undermine the Chinese Communist Party, firing OTFs top leadership with the intent to change the organizations funding scope and strategy makes little sense. To anybody with knowledge of OTFs programs and community, it is clear that a radical overhaul of OTFs funding strategy would be a win for the CCP.

The agenda at the Taipei conference included a breakout session on how to design effective digital security training programs for civil society under threat. There were technical discussions of how internet censorship is evolving in different countries, and how software that people can use to circumvent censorship also needs to evolve as censors get more sophisticated. Several sessions brought together activists who work daily to counter Chinese government repression. One group presented new research on mass surveillance in Xinjiang. Another focused on digital security concerns of Hong Kongs pro-democracy protesters. Yet another working group centered on efforts in Taiwan to counter disinformation campaigns that are part of the Chinese Communist Partys efforts to skew the islands elections.

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It has taken so long to build and support a community who trust each other in situations that can be life-threatening, Libby Liu told me. Before taking on her current role, Liu learned the value of censorship circumvention technology as head of Radio Free Asia, which started to support the development of circumvention tools after its website was blocked in China more than 20 years ago. Since 2012, OTF, which she launched, has been working to advance internet freedom in repressive environments, funding a wide range of research and software projects. OTF incubated the secure chat app Signal, used widely by protesters, political campaigns, and diplomats. Signals underlying open-source technology was incorporated into many other applications including WhatsApp, now owned by Facebook with 2 billion users.

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Why should this bizarre fight over government funding, with its complicated cast of characters, matter to anybody outside the Washington Beltway? OTF has a responsibility to spend U.S. taxpayer money on technologies that have been vetted for security and effectiveness. Freegate and Ultrasurf, the Falun Gongcontrolled tools championed by lobbyists, use closed-source, proprietary technology instead of open-source code that can be examined independently and have resisted the type of security audits that OTF requires of any software it supports. This is not a frivolous requirement when the lives of activists are at stake.

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OTFs annual budget of under $10 million may seem like peanuts in the face of what a major government invests in surveillance systems, let alone what the Chinese government spends to block its people from accessing forbidden content published outside the countrys great firewall. But a small amount of seed money can help get a project with no commercial viability off the ground, and targeted support can give activists an advantage at critical moments in time.

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Take Hong Kong. OTFs president, Laura Cunningham, who along with other leaders of USAGM organizations is suing to be reinstated, says that before she was fired, she and her colleagues were preparing to fund new Hong Kongfocused programs. The Chinese government has announced a new draconian national security law for Hong Kong, opening the door to extend Chinas surveillance and censorship regime into the territory, which had been allowed until now to keep its own separate legal and commercial regime under a one country, two systems policy. We have a very small window to work with civil society there to provide them with the technology and training they need, she said. Its going to be 10 times harder to do this work once Hong Kong is behind a firewall. When she and other USAGM leaders were fired, Pack initially froze all new grants, programs, or hiring for all USAGM organizations. The freeze was lifted on Friday as reports emerged that the administration was effectively denying critical funds to Hong Kongs protest movement.

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The Falun Gong circumvention tools wont help Hong Kongs protesters much. While internet censorship is expected to be a concern in Hong Kongs near future, right now the urgent threat is Chinas sophisticated surveillance technology, turbocharged by facial recognition programs and other pattern-recognition artificial intelligence, enabling authorities to track and identify activists, in turn making it possible to charge people under the new law, extradite them, and incarcerate them in mainland Chinese prisons. OTF support for countersurveillance technology and training could help give them a fighting chance.

Freedom in China is not simple, writes Nathan Freitas, who works with Tibetan communities through the Guardian Project and the Tibet Action Institute, and who advises OTF grantee TibCERT, an organization that supports the Tibetan communitys digital security needs. To empower those that seek it, you need many tools, from a global toolbox, to fight on many fronts. People need tools to securely capture, store, and transmit evidence of government abuse of power. Tibetan exiles need training and assistance to fight sophisticated Chinese government hacking of their computer systems, devices, and apps. In Xinjiang, Uighurs need help taking countermeasures to protect themselves after being forced to install government tracking apps on their cellphones. The Chinese government is also using apps operated by homegrown companies like Tencents WeChat to spy upon, censor, and intimidate Chinese students and professionals all over the world.

OTF supports a community of researchers, trainers, and developers to help civil society address all of these threats. Their open research, computer code, and security training techniques are being used around the world by all sorts of people. They are helping everybody everywhere who dares to speak truth to power. They make it possible for us to learn how to protect ourselves when we challenge extremists who threaten the rights of minorities or vulnerable groups. Their work must be allowed to continue. To do otherwise will be a gift to the Chinese Communist Party and autocrats around the world.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Former Congress MLA Neeraj Bharti was arrested on Friday for allegedly posting "anti-national and objectionable materials" on the social media regarding the Sino-India standoff in Ladakh's Galwan valley, Himachal Pradesh police spokesperson Khushhal Sharma said.

The former legislator from Jawali in Kangra district was arrested in connection with an FIR registered against him under IPC sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) at the Crime Branch police station, CID Shimla on June 20, he added.

Bharti, a former chief parliamentary secretary (CPS), was summoned to the police station for questioning, Sharma said, adding that he was quizzed for three days from June 24 to 26 on various aspects relating to the case.

Subsequently, he was arrested in the case for investigation purposes and will be produced before the chief judicial magistrate's (CJM) court on Saturday, the police spokesperson said.

The FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint from lawyer Narendra Guleria.

In his complaint to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the state police, Guleria alleged that messages posted by Bharti on the social media were an attempt to spread hatred and disrespect the government.

Two years ago, the Congress leader was booked for allegedly making derogatory remarks on Facebook against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pratibha Bali, a police official in Shimla said.
Washington, June 26 : The Democrat-led US House of Representatives passed a sweeping policing reform legislation largely along party lines, in the wake of a national outcry against police brutality and racism after the killing of an unarmed black man by a Minneapolis police officer.

The bill, titled George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, was named in honour of the 46-year-old African-American man who pleaded "I can't breathe" before dying in police custody on May 25, reports Xinhua news agency.

His death has prompted weeks of protests and civil unrest in at least 140 cities across the US since then.

The bill was passed in a vote of 236-181 on Thursday night, with three Republicans crossing party lines to vote on the Democratic side.

It came a day after Senate Democrats blocked a competing Republican version on a key procedural vote and is not expected to be taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Under the House legislation, chokeholds and no-knock warrants would be banned for all federal law enforcement agencies and a national registry of police misconduct will be set up and maintained by the Department of Justice.

The bill will also make it easier to both prosecute and sue individual police officers in cases of misconduct.

Before the vote on the steps of the Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: "Exactly one month ago George Floyd spoke his final words, 'I can't breathe', and changed the course of history.

"When we pass this bill, the Senate will have a choice: to honour George Floyd's life or to do nothing." "To the protesters: we hear you, we see you, we are you," the report quoted House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries as saying in a speech on the floor just before the vote.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already shot down the House's plan, calling it an overreach and said it will not advance in the Senate.
SAN FRANCISCO  A federal appeals court on Friday ruled against the Trump administration in its transfer of $2.5 billion from military construction projects to build sections of the U.S. border wall with Mexico, ruling it illegally sidestepped Congress, which gets to decide how to use the funds.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a coalition of border states and environmental groups that contended the money transfer was unlawful and that building the wall would pose environmental threats.

The ruling was the latest twist in the legal battle that has largely gone Trumps way. Last July, the Supreme Court allowed the $2.5 billion to be spent while the litigation continued, blunting the impact of the latest appeals court action.

The administration has already awarded much of the money, including a $1.3-billion job in Arizona that was announced last month. Trump visited Yuma, Arizona, on Tuesday to mark completion of the 200th mile of border wall during his administration, much of it with the transferred military funds that the 9th Circuit panel found illegal.

After the $2.5 billion transfer of military funds, the Pentagon diverted another $3.6 billion that an appeals court in New Orleans ruled in January could be spent.

The 9th Circuit ruled that the Trump administration not only lacked the authority to authorize the transfer of funds, but also violated an express constitutional prohibition designed to protect individual liberties.

The vote was 2-1 with judges appointed by former President Bill Clinton in the majority and a Trump nominee dissenting.

The panel said the government was proceeding with border wall construction without ensuring compliance with any environmental regulations, thereby harming the interests of Sierra Club members who visit the border region for hiking, bird watching and other recreational activities.

The panel also held that the government failed to show that construction would halt the flow of illegal drugs. It said the administration had cited drug statistics but didn't address how the wall would have an impact on the problem.

The executive branch's failure to show, in concrete terms, that the public's interest favors a border wall is particularly significant given that Congress determined fencing to be a lower budgetary priority and the Department of Justice's data points to a contrary conclusion, the majority wrote.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who led a 20-state coalition of attorneys general that sued the administration, praised the court decision.

Today, the court reminded the president  once again  that no one is above the law, Becerra said in a statement. While the Trump administration steals public funds to build an unauthorized wall at the southern border, families across the country are struggling to pay their bills. They deserve to know that their hard-earned dollars are going where Congress intended  to benefit them and their communities.
Enrolment figures show the number of new students training to be school teachers has been falling despite ongoing shortages and good pay settlements last year.

Education Ministry figures showed the number of new enrolments in primary and secondary teaching courses fell by 75 students last year and numbers reported to RNZ by universities indicated there could be another fall for primary and a slight recovery for secondary.

Seven universities and the secondary teacher-training organisation, Teach First, provided figures. Between them, they reported 28 more secondary teaching trainees than at the same time last year and 60 fewer new primary teaching students. The organisations trained the majority of school teachers and it was not clear how intakes for courses starting in July might affect the figures.

Massey, Auckland and Victoria reported fewer new primary teaching students, while Teach First, AUT and Massey reported fewer secondary teaching students. Canterbury and Waikato reported increases in both groups of students.

Secondary schools are facing worsening teacher shortages and Secondary Principals Association president Deidre Shea says they were hoping for a lot more enrolments this year.

"We would have hoped that the work done in terms of the collective agreement and the fact that there's been a lot of work done to try and encourage people to consider teaching as a viable career, would have had more of an impact than it has had.

Having said that, it looks like it's trended the right way from 2019 to 2020 and we would hope for a much greater increase in to 2021."

Deidre says schools needed more graduates from shortage subjects such as te reo Maori, maths and science.

The chair of the Council of Deans of Education, Letitia Fickel from the University of Canterbury, says it appears the pay rises teacher unions won last year would not affect enrolments until next year.

"The dip last year was probably waiting to see how teaching came through the contract negotiations. This year has been an increase. I can only speak for the University of Canterbury, but the inquiries we're currently having for next year... we're seeing quite significant interest."

Letitia says it is likely the pandemic-driven recession would also prompt a lot more applications.

"Globally and historically when there are recessions, whatever the cause of them, people look to the kinds of professions that seem more stable - police, nursing, education."

However, she says education programmes could not simply enrol more students. They needed to ensure they had sufficient placements in schools with experienced teachers to mentor their students, and they needed to enrol people with the right skills and aptitudes for teaching.

The pro vice-chancellor of education at the University of Waikato, Don Klinger, says it experienced a slight increase in enrolments in its school teaching programmes this year, but it was still difficult to attract secondary teachers with degrees in the sciences and maths and the numbers were not enough to match the number of vacancies in schools.

"We're definitely not meeting demand yet, especially in secondary."

Waikato had 162 new enrolments in secondary teaching programmes, and 347 in primary teaching. Both figures were about 30 students more than last year.

Don says the recent pay rise won by teachers had some impact on applications, but pay rates were not the main factor for people who wanted to teach.

"It's not usually driven by wage nearly as much as public perception of it is something that people value and trust."

He says the Education Ministry has asked schools of education to increase their enrolments by 15-25 per cent.

"We have the room, it's just we've got to attract the people that want to come into the profession."

Don says the university was trying to find new partnerships with schools so it could increase the number of applications.

He says the university was already getting applications and expressions of interest in next year's intake.

The Education Ministry's deputy secretary early learning and student achievement, Ellen MacGregor-Reid, says it is encouraging more people, including school-leavers and career-changers, into teaching.

"Continuing to grow domestic enrolments in ITE [initial teacher education] is a priority, particularly in secondary as we estimate an increased demand for secondary teachers out to 2025.

"We have worked with the Tertiary Education Commission to set targets for increased secondary ITE enrolments. The target is for 40 per cent growth by 2022 when comparing to 2018 enrolments. This increase would result in around 1,150 additional secondary teachers joining the workforce by 2025.

John Gerritsen/RNZ.
New York: Russia said it has quit a voluntary United Nations arrangement that aimed to protect hospitals and humanitarian aid deliveries in Syria from being hit by the warring parties.

Russia made the decision following an internal UN inquiry in April found it was "highly probable" the Syrian government or its allies had carried out attacks on three healthcare facilities, a school and a refuge for children in north-west Syria last year.

A maternity hospital in Idlib in northern Syria after it was bombed in 2016. Credit:AP

Russia President Vladimir Putin has provided military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war, which erupted after Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protesters in 2011.

The two countries say their forces are not targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure and have long-questioned the sources used by the UN to verify attacks. Hundreds of medical facilities have been bombed in the nine-year civil war.
Nicosia: As border disputes continue apace in many parts of the world, one such longstanding feud in Europe could be up for discussion.

The European Union will help Cyprus negotiate its maritime border with neighbouring Turkey in order to end an ongoing wrangle that has threatened regional stability in the east Mediterranean, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says.

Sunbathers enjoy an empty stretch of Landa beach at the popular Cyprus seaside resort of Ayia Napa, a favourite among tourists from Europe and beyond. Credit:AP

Borrell said the 27-member bloc supported Cyprus' call on Turkey to negotiate an agreement and would assist these efforts with the aim of buttressing regional stability.

"We welcome the invitation by the government of Cyprus to Turkey to negotiate in good faith the maritime delimitation between their relevant coasts," Borrell said after talks with Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides.
The late ex-governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi didnt want any appointment after completing his eight-year tenure as governor says Bolaji Tunji, his spokesman.

The former governor died on Thursday from complications of COVID-19.

It will be recalled that the deceased had contested the Oyo South senatorial election after he left office as governor but lost to Muhammed Kola-Balogun, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Paying a tribute to the late ex-governor via his Facebook, Tunji said Ajimobi told his staff that he did not want to take up any political appointment after the general election but was convinced to accept his appointment as the deputy national chairman (south) of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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He never wanted anything else after the general election. He only wanted to take a long, due rest after serving for 8 years without break. But another position was thrust on him, Tunji said.

He never solicited for us and he did not want. But they convinced him to accept. I know because in his usual forthrightness, he narrated how it happened. He took the positions because he felt it would benefit his people.  I have done my bit. There is nothing I set out to achieve that I did not, I cannot be governor again, but I can not leave you people he would say.

The spokesperson while narrating the events that occurred before Ajimobi contracted the virus said the deceased was called to Abuja to discuss party issues amid the APC crisis.

He said the late governor, in his usual manner, had taken care of everything before he travelled to Abuja and only went with his security aide.

It was just like yesterday. He had received a call to come to Abuja. It was to discuss party matters. He was not sure of who would follow him. Because it was a private flight, he had limited options. He only went with his security aide, Tunji said.

He had told us earlier in our office in his Oluyole home that we would talk about the movement to Abuja since he had become the Deputy National Chairman. Our office had to shift to Abuja.

He was in his usual caftan and cap, always impeccably dressed even at home except when he does his exercise every morning in his blue track down and blue stripe Tee-shirt and branded cap. With his earpiece and phone in hand, he would walk round the building several times to exercise.

He radiated good health and we still marvelled that he still looked so good for his 70 years. Being 70 meant a lot to him and would jokingly call himself Baba 70. As he left our wing of the house to the other side, a few of us in our usual manner trailed him. He spoke with a few people in the courtyard before he left to prepare for that trip. I never knew it was going to be the last time I would see him.

But in his usual organised manner, there was no pending issue. He had taken care of everything. He had signed all the letters of appointment for the peace and reconciliation committee.

Read Also: Sympathizers Storm Ajimobis Residence In Ibadan (Photos)

The spokesman said how the deceased contracted the disease remained a mystery because he always adhered to safety protocols of prevention.

I still cant wrap my head round what happened. He was so healthy, he was neat, he took all the necessary precautions even while he sat with us in our open office he was always with his face mask, we always observe social distancing. We were always quick to give him hands sanitizer anytime he touched something, he said.

We were conscious of his age and did all we could to ensure safety. We had three spots where you had to wash hands before entering the premises. One at each of the main entrance gates and another by the entrance to our office. We observed all due protocols. So what happened? How did it happen? None of us was sick. So where did this come from? I am still trying to find answers.
Two months since the Ministry of Labour and Employment issued an advisory asking private and public employers across India not to terminate or reduce the wages of the workforce, life remains grim for thousands who are employed with the State-owned telecom operator BSNL.

Two months since the Ministry of Labour and Employment issued an advisory asking private and public employers across India not to terminate or reduce the wages of the workforce, life remains grim for thousands who are employed with the State-owned telecom operator BSNL. On 20 March, the Union Ministry issued an advisory saying, The termination of employees from the job or reduction in wages in this scenario would further deepen the crisis and will not only weaken the financial condition of the employee but also hamper their morale to combat their fight with this epidemic.

BSNL workers say they have been forced to put their health at risk, to run the broadband and mobile network responsible for keeping some of the countrys most remote regions connected and act as the backbone of large-scale organisations like the State Bank of India and several hospital chains digital infrastructures, without safeguards such as insurance or personal protective equipment.

People familiar with the matter alleged that nearly a dozen BSNL employees have tested positive for the coronavirus. None of them have received aid from the telco so far, they further claimed. BSNL, in its defence, has reportedly argued in internal meetings that the employees didnt contract the disease on duty. P Abhimanyu, general secretary of the BSNL Employees Union, told Firstpost that the company has also failed to distribute adequate masks and gloves. In a letter addressed to PK Purwar, chairman and managing director, BSNL, Abhimanyu argued that since the rest of the government branches, including The Department of Posts, have already announced COVID-19 coverage, it is unfair for BSNL employees to work in the field without it. The Central government is offering compensation of Rs 10 lakh to any postal employee who succumbs to COVID-19 on duty. Similarly, workers from multiple other fields such as health and shipping a re eligible for an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh.

For organisations and businesses across India, BSNLs telecom and broadband networks have become imperative to manage remote workforces and hence, BSNL employees should be deemed essential as well, added Abhimanyu.Over the past few weeks, BSNL has purportedly continued to ignore official orders, leaving its expansive workforce grasping at straws. The government-run telecommunications company has refused to offer coronavirus-covered health coverage for workers tasked with on-field jobs such as the upkeep of network towers, underground cable management, installations, and more: violating guidelines released by the Ministry of Home Affairs last month, which made medical insurance for workers mandatory.

BSNLs contract workers have been left to brave the pandemic without a safety net. Most claim to have been awaiting their wages for a year, and in some cases, nearly 16 months. Sources told Firstpost BSNL laid off thousands at the beginning of the pandemic without pay and instead outsourced the work to another agency.

Charanjeet Singh, a 37-year-old contractual housekeeper in BSNLs Chandigarh office hasnt been paid in six months. Singh said he' had to rely on charity from the other employees or local NGOs to pay rent and support his family of six. His contractor informed him the salaries will be released once BSNL approves them. I thought a government job would bring security. Now my family is living on donations and I feel abandoned by the company where Ive been working for two years. No one else will hire me in this situation either, he added. Multiple BSNL employees, who did not wish to be named, claimed their salary is constantly delayed. Some said they were last paid three months ago. There have even been reports of workers committing suicide.

To overcome debt and cut costs, BSNL retired about 90,000 employees (50 percent of the workforce) through a Voluntary Retirement Scheme earlier this year. Those who stayed had to pick up the excess workload without any additional compensation or benefits.
A Republican candidate running for a seat in the Michigan state House has blamed liberal universities for brainwashing his daughter with 'Marxist ideologies' after she begged residents not to vote for him in the upcoming primary.

In a tweet that has now gone viral, Stephanie Regan, 23, urged voters not to elect dad Robert Regan, 52, a self-described 'pro-life, Constitutional Conservative'.

'If you're in michigan and 18+ pls for the love of god do not vote for my dad for state rep. tell everyone,' she said on Tuesday.

'Do a quick fb or google search to find info about his campaign. I don't feel safe rn sharing further information regarding his beliefs, but please look him up and just read for yourself,' she added in a later tweet.

Robert Regan, a Republican candidate running for Michigan's 73rd District, blamed liberal universities for his daughter's (left) public, anti-endorsement

In a tweet that has now gone viral, Stephanie Regan, 23, begged Michigan voters not to elect her dad, a pro-life, 'Constitutional Conservative'

Regan said Stephanie, who went to the University of Boulder in Colorado, was exposed to 'Marxist, socialist' beliefs on campus. He admitted the two have conflicting views on abortion, systemic racism, and the idea of white privilege

The post has since received over 180,000 likes and has been shared 37,000 times.

HOW LIBERAL IS UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER? Colorado has been considered a swing state in recent elections, but its state universities tend to be more left-leaning than its general population. Among them is the University of Colorado Boulder, also known as CU Boulder, the flagship of the four CU schools. According to a poll conducted by college rankings website Niche, 75% of students described the campus's overall political beliefs as liberal or progressive. Out of 169 responses, 49% percent said it was liberal, while 26% said it was 'progressive/very liberal'. Only 4% of respondents said it was conservative. CU Boulder had more than 29,600 undergraduate students as of 2019. An earlier survey in 2014 found only 16.3% of students and 5.7% of faculty were Republican. Advertisement

Her father's campaign later released a lengthy statement on Thursday responding to her anti-endorsement and supporting her right to free speech.

Robert, who is running for Michigan's 73rd District, said he felt happy Stephanie 'is confident enough in our relationship to express her opposing thoughts so publicly'.

The statement described him as the 'most conservative option in a three-way Republican primary'.

Robert later told local news station WOOD TV, his daughter's comments were a result of children being 'indoctrinated' in college 'with things that are completely polar opposite from where you raised them.

'When they go off to college, quite frankly, they get involved with these Marxist/socialist universities,' he said.

'Did it hurt me seeing that tweet? Of course it did. I'm the father, I'm human, you feel things like that, but one of the things I did with my children, all four of them, I said always focus on the truth.'

Robert revealed his younger daughter Natalie, 20, shared her sister's beliefs.

'I'm really excited that they thought they had a solid enough relationship with me where they could dis me on social media and know that I'm not going to disown them,' he added.

The House candidate was apparently not surprised by Stephanie's lack of support, admitting the two have conflicting views on abortion, systemic racism, and white privilege, according to The Hill.

He blamed 'liberal university campuses', such as the University of Colorado, the University of Texas and Austin, and Stephanie's alma mater, The University of Colorado in Boulder, for exposing her to more progressive beliefs.

'They just kind of get sucked into this Marxist, communist ideology and she and I just don't see eye to eye when it comes to the whole socialism, communism, Marxist philosophy,' he told the news outlet.

A statement released by his campaign on Thursday said Regan was 'happy that she feels confident enough in our relationship to express her opposing thoughts so publicly'

Regan is considered the 'most conservative option' in the three-way Republican primary this year

Robert said he believes his daughter was compelled to speak out against him because she's a 'big believer' in the fight against racial injustice that is currently sweeping the country.

Meanwhile, the conservative politician said he doesn't 'buy into this whole systemic racism thing at all'.

'The only place where I really see systemic racism would be the abortion clinic cause they seem to target the African American community,' he said.

Ranking their political beliefs on a 1 to 10 scale, Robert said: 'I'm like the right wing, a 10, and she's like a zero.'

Despite their opposing views, Robert said: 'I love all of my four children and only want what's best for them. We may not always agree on "what is best" but, their best, is my goal.'

The Michigan Republican primary will take place on August 4, with candidates John Inhulsen, Bryan Posthumus, Robert Regan running for office.
An 18-year-old died by suicide in Thanes Manpada-Chitalsar area on Thursday. Police has registered accidental death case. Chitalsar police officer said, The body was found near a tree by a local. Nothing suspicious has been found. We are tracing his family.

On Thursday, police received a call from resident of Tikijiniwadi found he is dead near the tree. Initial inquiry revealed that, he was living alone and working for a fisherman.

Earlier in April another boy died by suicide, the reason for which is still unknown.
Moderna, Inc. MRNA announced a manufacturing agreement with drug delivery specialist, Catalent, Inc. CTLT.

The companies have collaborated for large-scale, commercial fill-finish manufacturing of the formers mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate (mRNA-1273) at the latters biologics facility in Bloomington, IN.

Per the agreement, Catalent will provide vial filling and packaging capacity along with additional staffing required for the ongoing manufacturing operations at the site in order to support the production of the initial 100 million doses of the candidate. These vaccine doses are expected to be available in the United States in the third quarter of 2020.

The companies are also in discussions to secure fill-finish capacity for continued production of hundreds of millions of additional doses.

Additionally, Catalent will provide clinical supply services from its facilities in Philadelphia, PA, including packaging and labeling as well as storage and distribution to support Modernas phase III study for this candidate. Earlier in the month, Moderna finalized the phase III study protocol based on feedback from the FDA. The company expects dosing in the phase III study to begin in July.

Modernas shares have rallied 203.4% in the year so far compared with the industrys growth of 13.6%.

The year so far has been all about coronavirus treatments/vaccines as the pandemic deepens, resulting in more and more fatalities with each passing day. Desperate times call for desperate measures and the pharma/biotech companies are currently evaluating every possible weapon in their arsenal to contain and fight this outbreak.

Given the severity of the pandemic and the urgency of a vaccine, most companies are gearing up to keep doses ready even before the safety and effectiveness of the candidates are proved.

Currently, there are no approved treatments or vaccines for COVID-19. Big drug makers, like AstraZeneca Plc AZN and Johnson & Johnson, are also gearing up for the development of a vaccine and to make it available as fast as possible.

Story continues

Earlier this month, AstraZeneca reached an agreement with Europes Inclusive Vaccines Alliance (IVA) to supply up to 400 million doses of the University of Oxfords COVID-19 vaccine. Deliveries are expected to start by the end of 2020.

INOVIO INO recently received a $71-million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to scale up the manufacturing of CELLECTRA 3PSP Smart Device and procurement of CELLECTRA 2000 for COVID-19 DNA vaccine.

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A Q&A with Smitten Merino

Smitten Merino uses pure Merino wool to make clothing so soft it feels like youre being hugged by a cloud. We speak to founder Nicola Mason and find out more about her Tasmanian-based family business.

How do you live a wild and meaningful life?

As we are a small tight knit family business (my daughter is the model and face of Smitten, my husband is our accounts and marketing and I am the designer, stylist and photographer, this can lead to some wild and meaningful times in itself! Take a photo-shoot day on the beach for example. Were there at 6.30am to watch the sun rise and spend all morning shooting together. There, the three of us revel in the magic of working together.

Another thing that makes us feel alive is the support of our amazing customers. We feel very fortunate that our customers share their stories with us and have kept up the support throughout the lockdown period.

What are the values behind your sustainable clothing brand, Smitten Merino?

As a brand, Smitten Merino strives to embody sustainability, honesty, inclusiveness, transparency and integrity. We choose people before profit and view our work in fashion as an opportunity for education and change.

For us, what we do as a business must be good for Tasmania by creating employment, supporting local farming and be good for the planet. We pride ourselves by only working with fabrics that are sustainable, ethically made and biodegradable.

At Smitten Merino, we want our business to be a respected part of the Tasmanian community. We give back by donating to causes that matter to us and that are important in our community. These include an ongoing commitment to the Save the Tassie Devil foundation, the Bush Babies foundation following the Tassie bushfires, the Volunteer Firefighters in early 2020, World Vision, The Bob Brown Foundation, The Fred Hollows Foundation, The Red Cross, the Wilderness Society and the Australian Conservation Council.

Were also a 100 per cent plastic-free business. We post online orders in compostable post bags and use our fabric scraps for beanies, headbands and parcel ties. Although we are a small family business, we are not too small to make a difference.

Tell us about the fabrics you use

For 95 per cent of our garments, we use a new-generation circular-knitted superfine Merino fabric. It is from wool farmed in Tasmania, Victoria and NSW and knitted into fabric in Melbourne for us. This is a fabric that is machine-washable, renewable, recyclable and biodegradable. It breathes, is odour-resistant and barely needs ironing. It really is a wonder fabric!

We are proud to work with fabric businesses that are like-minded, eco conscious and are collaborative with product development. We know what our customers are looking for and want to be relevant while creating a product that is timeless  and will last a lifetime.

The wool we use is all non-mulesed, which is very important to us. At Smitten Merino we care about animal welfare, as do our customers.

How does the Tasmania landscape influence your designs?

The beautiful Tasmanian landscape inspires my designs in many ways. The incredible light in Tassie is unlike anywhere else in Australia. When you are looking at the river at dusk, across to snow-capped Mount Wellington or walking through the green hued rainforest, the light can quite literally take your breath away. From these vistas I get new ideas for unique colour combinations, fabric designs or just great material for a photo shoot backdrop.

At the moment we are surrounded by fabulous golden leaved trees. We are lucky enough to live near the river, surrounded by the forest and lots of birds. All of these things can trigger my imagination for exciting colour combinations or new styles.

What are some of your winter rituals?

Tasmania is a fantastic place to create winter rituals. A ritual that my family and I started a few years ago was the icy winter solstice dip in the river at dawn. Its freezing yet exhilarating and a magical way to welcome back the sun and longer days to our lives.

We also love a winter escape tour around Tassie; Cradle Mountain to stay at the Lodge, walk the beautiful Dove Lake loop, enjoy the snow, then over to Freycinet for a wild beach walk looking out for the black cockatoos. Practising yoga by the light of the full moon. Walking 10 minutes down the road into Hobart to enjoy red wine and wood-fired pizza every and planting tomato seedlings on Show Day in October.

Whats next for Smitten Merino?

In March this year we had plans to go to the US on a trade mission and look at new international markets, but COVID-19 changed all that. More importantly, we are embracing this new world and keeping our local customers informed and engaged. Were certainly appreciating the amazing value of our local supply chain and keeping our local team of seamstresses employed.

Being local, honest and transparent has always been a strong value of our company  and these are more necessary than ever before. Were staying connected and relevant to our customers through email and social media channels. Were excited to share that our Smitten flagship boutique in Hobart is now open!

We will keep doing what we are doing  imagining and sewing timeless and classic merino clothing here in Tasmania that you can wear for years and years. 



For more, visit smittenmerino.com
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 10:29:17|Editor: huaxia

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by Li Hao

ISLAMABAD, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The remarkable leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is embodied in China's success in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, an unknown enemy of the mankind, in a short span of time, said Ahmad Jawad, central secretary on information of Pakistan's ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Facing every challenge and every threat, it's always the leaders who become an important factor because the leaders will not only secure their people but also guide and lead the people to overcome the challenge and threat, Jawad told Xinhua in a recent interview, commending the CPC's "unique leadership" in fighting the pandemic.

He said the decisions taken timely and correctly by the CPC served as the basis of China's success in controlling the spread of the disease.

"There may be many other countries who have done well against the coronavirus, but why and how China gets full marks and would be considered as the leader against this pandemic is because of the one fact that it was China that faced this pandemic before any other country. So there was no lesson. There was nothing to learn from anywhere how to fight against this pandemic," Jawad said.

China's experience including concepts, strategies and measures, in curbing the pandemic has become a model and a case of guidance to the rest of the world, he said, adding that the Chinese government has been very open, transparent, and generous in sharing information on COVID-19 and providing help and support to other countries which are facing the challenge of the pandemic.

Talking about the COVID-19 outbreak in Pakistan, Jawad said the pandemic poses a big threat to the country's health system and economic stability, while the medical supplies including protective equipment and medicine timely provided by China and the teams of Chinese experts have greatly enhanced Pakistan's capability to fight against the pandemic.

"Pakistan is very grateful to China's help and even now, we are constantly being aided and supported by China in fighting COVID-19," he said.

"China has proved to the world that even against global threats like a pandemic, China can come out as a leader and can show the world that how a pandemic, how this challenge and this threat can be taken care," he said.

The improvement of infrastructure, transportation system, healthcare system, and living standards of the people in China impressed Jawad every time when he paid a visit to China. He said it is a miracle that China has lifted over 90 million people out of poverty since the end of 2012.

"The world is faced with the biggest challenge of poverty, and China has done what the world needs," he said.

Jawad said it is the CPC that is behind the success of China's poverty alleviation career, and the leadership of the CPC has been very consistent in the last decades to develop the country and enable the Chinese people to live a better life.

"The CPC has gone to the most remote areas, offering the people opportunities and providing good environment for entrepreneurship. I would say that entrepreneurship is one real engine behind the strong economy and behind bringing people out of poverty," he added.

Both the fighting against COVID-19 and the poverty alleviation, he said, are the reflection of the CPC's original aspiration and mission to seek happiness for the Chinese people and strive for national rejuvenation.

He said China has "shown the world that things can be done in a very short time," and developing countries around the globe "must study the model of the CPC and how this model of a political party has converted into a national system of governance, politics, and development. And the result is in front of the whole world."

With regard to the CPC's comprehensively strengthening of party discipline, he said one of the reasons of all the successes like political and economic stability, getting people out of poverty, becoming the second largest economy in the world, and being able to fight against the pandemic is that China has fought corruption in the country. "The corruption is the root cause of every bad governance and deficiency in the system."

With an iron hand, the CPC has been very successful in striking corruption, said Jawad, adding that Pakistan has been hit hard by corruption in the last decades and the PTI, as the ruling party, should learn from the model of the CPC in fighting corruption and improving the governance system. Enditem
HeidelbergCement highlights achievements and plans in 2019 sustainability report

ICR Newsroom By 26 June 2020

HeidelbergCement reiterated its sustainability focus on climate protection in its newly-published 2019 sustainability report. By 2030 the company plans to reduce its specific net CO 2 emissions per tonne of cement by 30 per cent compared with 1990. It was the first cement producer to have Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi)-verified CO 2 reduction targets. Progress to date has seen these emissions fall by 22 per cent and HeidelbergCement reduced its specific net CO 2 emissions to 589.8kg CO2/t of cement in 2019, down from 598.9kg CO 2 /t in 2018. The alternative fuel rate reached 24 per cent.



In addition, sustainability rating agency CDP also awarded the cement producer a place on its Climate Change A List in 2019, as a global leader in terms of its commitment to tackling climate change.



The company also invested in several projects, including research in CO 2 capture, storage and utilisation technologies in Brevik, Norway, and Alberta, Canada. In Europe HeidelbergCement invested more than EUR1bn in energy efficiency and emission reduction measures in the last decade.



Meanwhile, EUR134m was spent on research and technology in 2019, or 0.7 per cent of group revenue, including the development of innovative products, process improvements and new formulations. In 2019 the group achieved an average clinker factor of 74.5 per cent in its cement products. In addition, it developed TernoCem, an alternative clinker with a 30 per cent lower CO 2 output when compared with conventional clinker and a 15 per cent reduction in energy consumption.



Going forward, the company expects to further reduce its CO 2 emissions. We are investing in improving the energy efficiency of our production facilities, using alternative raw materials and fuels, and replacing CO 2 -intensive clinker in our cement with raw and waste materials that have a significantly-lower carbon footprint, says Chairman of the Managing Board, Dr Dominik von Achten.



By 2030 we aim to use 80 per cent of our annual research budget for developing products that are even more sustainable, adds Dr Von Achten. Furthermore, its measures include plans to operate all of its integrated cement plants with a certified environmental management system (CEMS) by 2030. Currently CEMSs are used in 94 per cent of its integrated plans.

Published under
John Bolton, the longtime Republican foreign policy operative, has published a book narrating his tenure as National Security Advisor at the White House under Donald Trump between April 9, 2018 and September 10, 2019.

Prior to his term in the Trump administration, Bolton was a leading propagandist for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He has publicly advocated military action and regime change against over a half-dozen countries in the last decade alone.

In this May 22, 2018, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-In in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, as national security adviser John Bolton, right, watches. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Boltons book has been hailed by news organizations associated with the Democratic Party as a monumental indictment of Trump. The book is a scathing and revelatory account of the presidents stunning ignorance, incompetence, and corruption, according to the New Yorker, which called it indispensable, jaw-dropping. It is a withering portrait, writes the New York Times .

Anyone expecting, based on these responses, a revelation of Donald Trumps conspiracies against democratic rights, his attack on immigrants, or his relations with right-wing extremists will get nothing of the sort. Bolton either does not care about these questions or agrees with Trump on them.

Rather, the book is a blow-by-blow account of the factional struggles within the White House over how to wage Americas global conflicts and wars, dwelling in detail on disagreements about how many missiles to launch and how many people to kill.

It narrates Boltons vigorous efforts, in his official capacity, to advocate for the United States to attack Syria, North Korea and Iran, and to take a more confrontational posture toward China and Russia.

Bolton writes as a compulsive note-taker, keeping careful watch for what to use to justify the next war or his next career move. The reader is struck above all by the very few passages in the 592-page book containing generalizations of any kind. Bolton never actually argues for any of his preferred policies. Rather, he simply asserts that military action of various sorts is in the national interest, then proceeds to wage a grueling factional struggle of attrition against the panda huggers and those seeking innocuous solutions to foreign policy problemsmeaning those that do not involve mass casualties.

Bolton is a professional advocate of aggressive war, a sort of Dr. Strangelove without the charm. He somehow comes off in his writing as even more icy and detached than he does on camera. Reading this half-deranged bureaucrats observations is unnerving, recalling Hannah Arendts observations about the banality of evil.

Throughout the conflicts Bolton narrates, the dominant factor is the utter debacle facing US imperialism on the world stage. The world depicted by Bolton is one of unending and bitter conflict, in which some choices lead to more corpses, and some lead to less, but none offer anything near the outcome the United States embarked upon when it set out to reorganize the world through military force in the wake of the dissolution of the USSR.

Contemplating withdrawal from Afghanistan, Trump screams at Defense Secretary James Mattis, according to Bolton, Youre losing, youre getting your ass kicked, you failed. He continues, Weve lost everything. It was a total failure.

Boltons book is of value primarily as an account of the policy differences between Bolton and Donald Trump, which broadly reflect the policy differences between Trump and dominant sections of the American state apparatus that led to the third impeachment of a president in American history in December 2019.

In June 2017, the World Socialist Web Site published a statement entitled Palace coup or class struggle: The political crisis in Washington and the strategy of the working class, which argued, There are three basic forms of opposition to the Trump administration, representing the interests of different social classes.

The first is the opposition of powerful sections of the capitalist class, whose differences with the Trump administration are centered primarily on issues of foreign policy.

This is fundamentally distinct from the opposition of the working class, which seeks to oppose the Trump administrations social policies and attacks on democratic rights.

Boltons differences with Trump over foreign policy can be summed up as follows:

 The 2018 US attack in Syria was not big enough, and Trump was incorrect in seeking to withdraw troops from Syria. In Boltons view, the 2018 missile strike should have threatened the regime itself, such as by attacking Assads palaces. Bolton paints General Mad Dog Mattis as an insufferable pacifist who pushed relentlessly for his innocuous options.

 The greatest mistake of Trump's presidency was calling off the planned June 2019 attack on Iran. Bolton, barely able to contain himself in praising the war that got away, listed the various positive aspects of the planned onslaught: (1) we were hitting functioning military targets, as explained above, not merely symbolic ones; (2) we were hitting inside Iran, crossing an Iranian red line, and were certainly going to test their repeated assertions that such an attack would be met by a full-scale response; and (3) we were hitting targets likely entailing casualties. When Trump, appealing to what he called my base, abruptly called off the strike, Bolton concluded, In my government experience, this was the most irrational thing I ever witnessed any President do.

 The Trump administrations stated efforts to bring the war in Afghanistan to a conclusion were a complete debacle for US policy and for our credibility worldwide.

 Trump is too willing to see the US-China conflict as a matter of improving the US balance of trade, and not as a struggle to cripple China's strategic high-tech industry, including the technology firms ZTE and Huawei. Trump approached trade and trade deficits as if reading a corporate balance sheet: trade deficits meant we were losing, and trade surpluses meant we were winning. Trump implied that Huawei also could be simply another US bargaining chip in the trade negotiations," ignoring the fact that Huawei posed enormous national-security issues, many of which we could only allude to in public statements.

 While Trump favored dialogue with North Korea, Bolton agitated for a preemptive war. I explained why and how a preemptive strike against North Koreas nuclear and ballistic-missile programs would work; how we could use massive conventional bombs against Pyongyangs artillery north of the DMZ, which threatened Seoul, thereby reducing casualties dramatically.

Boltons chilling positions on these issues are well known. But an uncanny resemblance emerges upon reviewing the editorial line of the newspapers associated with the Democratic Party, the New York Times and Washington Post.

On December 19, 2018, the New York Times published an editorial titled, Trumps Decision to Withdraw From Syria Is Alarming. Just Ask His Advisers.

It was less than three months ago that John Bolton, the national security adviser, declared an expanded objective for American troops in Syria. The goal is not just defeating the Islamic State, but also ensuring that Iranian forces leave the country, he told reporters in what seemed like an authoritative statement of official policy. Only, as is so often the case with Donald Trumps chaotic presidency, it apparently wasnt. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump summarily overruled Mr. Bolton and the rest of his national security team. He ordered the withdrawal of all 2,000 American ground troops from Syria within 30 days. That abrupt and dangerous decision, detached from any broader strategic context or any public rationale, sowed new uncertainty about Americas commitment to the Middle East, its willingness to be a global leader and Mr. Trumps role as commander in chief.

Likewise, Trumps decision to call off the massive planned 2019 strike against Iran was excoriated in the pages of the New York Times and Washington Post. President Trump must have something in his eye, because he keeps blinking, declared Washington Post columnist Max Boot. Times columnist Bret Stephens declared that Trump had the strategic instincts of Dennis Kucinich, the anti-war Democrat.

And, in the foreign policy conflict that in recent months has come to dominate all others, the Democrats have sought to paint Trump as soft on Chinaa word used by both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. Trump, in the words of the Times, wants to trade the United States strategic interests in China for a Hill of Beans.

The zenith of the palace coup opposition to Trump was the 2019-2020 presidential impeachment, whose first article, abuse of power, argued that Trump used the powers of the Presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States by withholding $391 million in weapons to Ukraine to fight what was described as a hot war with Russia.

During the course of the impeachment inquiry, Bolton emerged as the principal cabinet official within the administration demanding the release of the weapons to Ukraine. The former national security advisor emerged as a star witness in the impeachment, even though he did not testify because the Democrats, seeking a fast impeachment, did not wait for the courts to compel him to do so.

At the time, the Times editorial board declared that Boltons comments would be the equivalent of a smoking gun, asserting, Leaks from John Boltons forthcoming book about his time in the White House appeared to confirm the core of the impeachment case against Mr. Trump: his extortion of Ukraine by explicitly conditioning hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid on the announcement of investigations into his political rival.

Indeed, Boltons book implies that Trump held up the aid as part of his overall struggle with his factional opponents over the origins of the Mueller investigation. In a retelling of the July 25 phone call at the center of the impeachment, Trump tells Ukrainian President Zelensky, There is lots of talk about Bidens son stopping the prosecution [against those formulating and executing the Russia collusion operation]. He went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution. It sounds horrible. (Paraphrase in brackets is Boltons.)

In Boltons view, it was impermissible that Trumps conflict with his factional rivals would imperil the shipment of weapons to Ukraine for its war against Russia, and Bolton did everything within his power to get Trump to reverse course. Trump ultimately relented.

The Democrats, fearful of mobilizing the broad popular hostility to Trump, impeached the president solely based on differences over foreign policy. As such, Bolton, the notorious war criminal responsible for the Iraq war, became their political ally.

The more one reads Boltons book, the more the parallels between the positions of this notorious warmonger and that of the Democrats comes clearly into view. As such, the book provides a stark warning: The Democrats are a pro-war party. The struggle against war, and against the Trump administration, can only proceed in opposition to them.

It is not inconceivable to imagine Bolton playing a prominent role in an upcoming Democratic administration.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an effort by Texas Democrats to allow all voters in the state to vote by mail during its July runoff elections and the November presidential contest as a precaution against the spreading coronavirus pandemic.

The decision was announced in an order with no noted dissents.

The Texas Democratic Party had asked the court to expand the state's vote-by-mail procedures to allow voters "to exercise that fundamental right in the midst of a global pandemic which grows worse by the day in Texas, without risk to their health andwithout hyperboleto their lives."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, asked the Supreme Court to reject the Democrats' request.

"There is no constitutional right to vote by mail," Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins told the justices in a brief.

Texas allows no-excuse mail-in voting only for those 65 and older.

A federal district court sided with the Democrats in late May and held that all Texas voters were eligible to apply to vote by mail, but that decision was quickly put on hold by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pending further consideration.

The Supreme Court declined to disturb the 5th Circuit's order, leaving it in place.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a statement on Friday that she did not disagree with the move, though she expressed hope that the 5th Circuit "will consider the merits of the legal issues in this case well in advance of the November election."

Sotomayor said the Democrats' case "raises weighty but seemingly novel questions regarding the 26th Amendment."

The 26th Amendment to the Constitution prohibits states from denying the right to vote to any U.S. citizen 18 and older.

Texas rolled back its reopening on Friday as Covid-19 cases continue to surge in the state, with Abbott ordering bars and similar establishments to close by noon.

On Thursday, the state reported a 79% increase in its weekly average of Covid-19 cases. The state averaged 4,757 new cases per day, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The Texas dispute is not the first in which the Supreme Court has weighed in on voting in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis.

In April, the top court sided with Wisconsin Republicans, and shortened the time frame for voters in the state to send out their absentee ballots in elections being carried out that month. That case was decided along partisan lines, with the court's four Democratic appointees dissenting.
WASHINGTON - A divided Senate on Thursday confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, elevating a young conservative and a protege of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the powerful bench.

The vote for Judge Justin Walker was 51 to 42 with members of the Democratic caucus and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, opposing the nominee.

In less than four years, Trump has decisively reshaped the courts for decades with conservative judicial nominees. Walker is 38, and the president's 199th choice to be installed on a federal court.

The vote Thursday underscored that although the nation is gripped by the triple crises of a pandemic, a recession and civil unrest over racial injustice, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Republicans have been undeterred in ensuring confirmation of the president's court choices.

Filling court vacancies is even more crucial for the party five months head of elections with the presidency and Senate majority at stake. Last month, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., urged federal judges who are in their mid-to-late 60s to step aside so Republicans, increasingly nervous about holding the majority in November, can fill the vacancies now.

Walker, who joined the district court bench in Kentucky in October, would take a seat on the appeals court with powerful backers: He served as a law clerk for Kavanaugh and then-Justice Anthony Kennedy. The high-profile appeals court has been a pipeline for nominees to the Supreme Court, handles major clashes between Congress and the White House, and considers challenges to administration policies.

During Kavanaugh's bitter confirmation process, Walker was out front in media interviews, defending the judge who faced an allegation of sexual assault when Kavanaugh was a high school student, an accusation he denied.

McConnell, who knows Walker's grandfather and first met Walker when he interviewed the future majority leader for an article for his high school newspaper, promoted his nomination behind the scenes.

McConnell said Thursday that with Walker's confirmation "we will not just be promoting a widely-admired legal expert and proven judge to a role for which he is obviously qualified. We'll also be adding to a time-honored tradition of finding men and women from all across the country to help ensure that this enormously consequential bench here in our nation's capital is refreshed with talent from all parts of America."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized Walker's nomination as part of a pattern in the Senate of fast-tracking young, inexperienced attorneys who lawmakers characterized as "hostile" to the 2010 Obama-era health-care law and civil rights.

"The temerity of doing that. He is just on the court for a few months, but is friends with Leader McConnell, so he gets rushed to this very high court without the necessary experience and maturity of judgment," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

At a Senate committee hearing on his nomination, Walker faced criticism over his remarks two years ago that court rulings upholding the Affordable Care Act were "indefensible." He also defended comments he made at his formal swearing-in ceremony to the district court in March. The ceremony was attended by McConnell, Kavanaugh and Kennedy, for whom Walker served as a law clerk in 2011 and 2012.

Walker referred then to his time as a law clerk to Kennedy and the "worst words" he ever had to deliver to the justice about Chief Justice John Roberts Jr.'s decision to side with the liberal justices to uphold the health-care law.

Walker told senators last month that the remarks were meant as a lighthearted joke.

"It was not meant as anything more than a reference to the dissent that he wrote, and again, a bit of a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the reality that no Supreme Court justice likes being in the dissent," he said.

Schumer said he would like McConnell "to go home to Kentucky and tell the citizens of Kentucky why he nominated someone who wants to repeal our health-care law when the covid crisis is hurting people there as it is everywhere else."

Collins, who is facing a tough reelection bid in Democratic-leaning Maine, said in a statement Wednesday that she opposed Walker's nomination over comments he made at his investiture ceremony for the district bench. Responding to critics of Kavanaugh, Walker promised to "not surrender while you wage war on our work."

"While Judge Walker is entitled to hold whatever personal views he chooses, his ideological comments on the very day he was formally installed as a federal judge - about winning and losing the courts and a war against those who hold views that are different from his own - prevent me from supporting his elevation to the second highest court in the land," said Collins, who had voted to confirm Walker as district judge in October.

Other Republicans have highlighted Walker's recent district court ruling in which he blocked Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, a Democrat, from forbidding drive-in church services to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In that opinion, Walker wrote that Fischer had "criminalized the communal celebration of Easter," adding that Fischer's decision was "beyond all reason."

Walker's nomination got a boost when the American Bar Association reversed its initial "not qualified" rating during his 2019 confirmation process for the district court, and instead announced Walker "well qualified" for the more prestigious position.

Although the ABA typically says a nominee should have 12 years of experience in the practice of law, the organization said its change in position came from the differences between the courts, with the appellate court post placing less emphasis on trial experience and instead a "high degree of legal scholarship, academic talent, analytical and writing abilities, and overall excellence."

Walker will replace retiring Judge Thomas Griffith, who was nominated by President George W. Bush. Walker would not change the ideological balance of the court, which now includes two Trump nominees, Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao. Cases pending before the court include House lawsuits over a subpoena for testimony from former White House counsel Donald McGahn and another to halt the Trump administration's spending on the president's signature southern border wall.

- - -

The Washington Post's Ann E. Marimow and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.
Santa Cruz has banned predictive policing, in which law enforcement used data to try to predict where crimes occur. (Thomas Mendoza / Associated Press)

Nearly a decade ago, Santa Cruz was among the first cities in the U.S. to adopt predictive policing. This week, the California city became the first in the country to ban the policy.

In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the City Council passed an ordinance that banishes the use of data to predict where crimes may occur and also barred the city from using facial recognition software.

In recent years, both predictive policing and facial recognition technology have been criticized as racially prejudiced, often contributing to increased patrols in Black or brown neighborhoods or false accusations against people of color.

Predictive policing uses algorithms that encourage officers to patrol locations identified as high-crime based on victim reports. The software "replicates and supercharges bias in policing by sending police to places that they've policed before  that is often going to be Black and brown communities," said Matt Cagle, a technology and civil liberties attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.

The Santa Cruz Police Department, which began predictive policing with a pilot project in 2011, had put a moratorium on the practice in 2017 when Andy Mills started as police chief. The new city ordinance bans the practice permanently.

Mills said predictive policing could have been effective if it had been used to work with community members to solve problems  that didn't happen. Instead, the policy was used "to do purely enforcement," leading to unavoidable conflicts, he said.

You try different things and learn later as you look back retrospectively," Mills said. "You say, Jeez, that was a blind spot I didnt see.' I think one of the ways we can prevent that in the future is sitting down with community members and saying: Heres what we are interested in using. Give us your take on it. What are your concerns? 

Like predictive policing, facial recognition systems have also come under fire, with critics arguing they can show bias toward faces with similar characteristics to the ones used to create the technology, particularly based on racial makeup.

Story continues

A Santa Cruz City Council report said that "despite purported technological advances, a recent National Institute of Standards and Technology study found that some forms of face recognition technology were 100 times more likely to misidentify people of African and Asian descent."

While Santa Cruz is the first city in the nation to ban predictive policing, it follows other cities that have banned facial recognition technology  notably San Francisco in May 2019 and Oakland in July 2019.

The City Council also voted Tuesday to evaluate additional police reforms following the Minneapolis killing of George Floyd.

Were really taking this situation seriously, and we are trying to be proactive in continuing this momentum toward actual systemic change," Mayor Justin Cummings said during the meeting.

In the last month, he has convened three meetings with Black community members to understand their experience with Santa Cruz police. Cummings said he hopes to continue hearing "from communities that are the most impacted and understand how we can support those communities moving forward."

Nearly 400 local community members had signed an ACLU petition calling for the predictive policing ban, and a host of organizations also backed the ordinance  the NAACP Santa Cruz chapter, American Friends Service Committee and Asian Americans Advancing Justice, to name a few.

Cagle said he didn't hear a single speaker oppose the initiative before the long-anticipated ordinance passed.

Even Santa Cruz-based predictive policing company PredPol, whose software was used by the Santa Cruz Police Department until 2017, backed the new rules.

"Any government agency that applies technology to its operations should have a process to ensure that it does not result in racially inequitable outcomes," PredPol CEO Brian MacDonald wrote in an email to The Times. The company is confident its software is not racially biased, MacDonald said, and therefore meets the conditions in the city's ordinance.

With widespread support and research backing it, Cagle doubts the policy could ever be reversed.

"Santa Cruz's ban is ironclad, and it requires new public legislation and finding that the technology cannot perpetuate bias" if such technology were to ever be used again, he said.

Southern California has been the home of predictive policing since the late 2000s. The concept is the brain child of former LAPD Chief Bill Bratton, who wanted to determine whether past data could predict crime locations.

As police departments and universities tweaked the model, they determined their map could forecast crime types, locations and times. In 2012, software developing business PredPol chose Santa Cruz as its home, citing the local success of predictive policing.

Since then, some studies have shown the policy reduces crime, but others have found it to have a negligible effect.

While civil liberties organizations flag predictive policing as racially biased, MacDonald said he stands by PredPol's algorithm.

"If the command staff provides no explicit guidance, officers have to rely on their 'judgment' or 'intuition' as to where to patrol. Human judgment is of course prone to error and subject to bias, whether conscious or subconscious," he wrote.

The LAPD announced in October that it would make changes to its PredPol program, including the creation of a data-driven policing unit to oversee all crime-fighting strategies and seeking input from community groups before implementing new data programs.

The department also said it would develop a system to provide periodic reports about data programs and outcomes with statistics on people and locations targeted for intervention.

The changes were made seven months after an inspector general couldnt determine whether the LAPD's predictive-policing program helped reduce crime.

Though MacDonald maintains that well-formulated algorithms can mitigate racial bias in policing, Cagle questions the policy.

"Private for-profit companies shouldn't be dictating policing in any American community," he said. "Banning facial recognition won't dismantle the racism and bias that pervades policing in America, but it does take away a system that we know will further exacerbate that problem."
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals demonstrators stand outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on June 15. Indian American immigrant rights activists welcomed the recent court decision on DACA. Lakshmi Sridaran, SAALTs executive director, in a press statement said however: It is a reminder that our work is not done, but together we can win. We have to keep demanding solutions that benefit us all  including pushing for a permanent, legislative solution that ensures a path to citizenship for all immigrants. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Growing anti-China sentiment in India has not had any material impact on Chinese smartphone maker, Xiaomi, the company's India boss said on Thursday.

In the last six years, Xiaomi India built a strong local culture and company, managing director Manu Kumar Jain told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."

"Our product team, R&D teams are here in India. As we have mentioned, all (of ) our phones, majority of our TVs are made in India, large number of components are locally sourced ... entire leadership team is in India," Jain said.

"Till now, we are not seeing any major impact on our business, with respect to sales or demand," he added.

Xiaomi is India's top smartphone maker and owns about 30% of the market currently, according to data from Counterpoint Research. In fact, apart from Samsung, the rest of the top five phone makers in the Indian market are Chinese firms.

Relations between New Delhi and Beijing deteriorated in recent weeks due to a border clash high in the Himalayas that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. Diplomatic efforts are being made to deescalate the situation between the two nuclear powers. But public sentiment in India toward Chinese brands and products have soured, with calls emerging for a boycott.

For its part, Xiaomi has been covering its branding outside retail stores with a "Made in India" logo, fearing that people may damage the shops due to anti-China sentiments, local media reported. It also reportedly asked its shop floor promoters to not wear the brand's uniform.
One Shenandoah police officer has tested positive for COVID-19 and is recovering at home, city officials confirmed Thursday.

Kathie Reyer, the city administrator for Shenandoah, said only one of the citys 26 police department staff had tested positive and any other employee that interacted with the person was quarantined until they tested negative for the coronavirus.

Related: Woodlands officials: 15 firefighters in quarantine; no positive COVID-19 tests

First responders have the greatest exposure to the public and are therefore at a higher level of risk. Weve been very fortunate so far. Weve had only one police officer test positive and that officer has been at home recovering for the last couple of weeks. As soon as the officer tests negative, they will return to work, Reyer said in an email. Anyone exposed to the officer has tested negative and city facilities were immediately disinfected.

The identity of the officer was not revealed.

Any who were exposed to the officer that tested positive were sent home until test results came back. All tested negative and returned to work after a short time, Reyer added.

Related: Shenandoah cuts assistant police chief position, plans to hire new officer

The Woodlands Fire Department, which services Shenandoah under an agreement between the city and township, has had as many as 22 firefighters in quarantine in May. On June 27, Fire Chief Palmer Buck verified three Woodlands firefighters had tested positive for COVID-19 and eight others were in quarantine..

New officer introduced

A new police officer joined the citys police department Wednesday, receiving her badge and being sworn in during the City Council meeting.

ShaKethia Turner, a mother of two from the Huntsville area, was introduced to the council and city staff. She graduated from Cold Spring High School received two degrees from Prairie View A&M and finished the University of Houston peace officer degree. Turner previously worked for eight years as a Texas Department of Criminal Justice state prison guard. Interim Police Chief Troye Dunlap pinned Turner and conducted the Oath of Office swearing in.

Mayor Ritch Wheeler expressed his appreciation of Turner joining the police department.

We recognize the fact that you just chose that youre entering into a job that protects us, Wheeler said, as the five council members agreed and also said thanks. I cant tell you how much we appreciate that.

jeff.forward@chron.com
TuSimple, the self-driving truck startup backed by Sina, Nvidia, UPS and Tier 1 supplier Mando Corporation, is headed back into the marketplace in search of new capital from investors. The company has hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to help it raise $250 million, according to multiple sources familiar with the effort.

Morgan Stanley recently sent potential investors an informational packet, viewed by TechCrunch, that provides a snapshot of the company and an overview of its business model, as well as a pitch on why the company is poised to succeed  all standard fare for companies seeking investors.

TuSimple declined to comment.

The search for new capital comes as TuSimple pushes to ramp up amid an increasingly crowded pool of potential rivals.

TuSimple is a unique animal in the niche category of self-driving trucks. It was founded in 2015 at a time when most of the attention and capital in the autonomous vehicle industry was focused on passenger cars, and more specifically robotaxis.

Autonomous trucking existed in relative obscurity until high-profile engineers from Google launched Otto, a self-driving truck startup that was quickly acquired by Uber in August 2016. Startups Embark and the now defunct Starsky Robotics also launched in 2016. Meanwhile, TuSimple quietly scaled. In late 2017, TuSimple raised $55 million with plans to use those funds to scale up testing to two full truck fleets in China and the U.S. By 2018, TuSimple started testing on public roads, beginning with a 120-mile highway stretch between Tucson and Phoenix in Arizona and another segment in Shanghai.

Others have emerged in the past two years, including Ike and Kodiak Robotics. Even Waymo is pursuing self-driving trucks. Waymo has talked about trucks since at least 2017, but its self-driving trucks division began noticeably ramping up operations after April 2019, when it hired more than a dozen engineers and the former CEO of failed consumer robotics startup Anki Robotics. More recently, Amazon-backed Aurora has stepped into trucks.

Story continues

TuSimple stands out for a number of reasons. It has managed to raise $298 million with a valuation of more than $1 billion, putting it into unicorn status. It has a large workforce and well-known partners like UPS. It also has R&D centers and testing operations in China and the United States. TuSimple's research and development occurs in Beijing and San Diego. It has test centers in Shanghai and Tucson, Arizona.

Its ties to, and operations in China can be viewed as a benefit or a potential risk due to the current tensions with the U.S. Some of TuSimple's earliest investors are from China, as well as its founding team. Sina, operator of Chinas biggest microblogging site Weibo, is one of TuSimples earliest investors. Composite Capital, a Hong Kong-based investment firm and previous investor, is also an investor.

In recent years, the company has worked to diversify its investor base, bringing in established North American players. UPS, which is a customer, took a minority stake in TuSimple in 2019. The company announced it added about $120 million to a Series D funding round led by Sina. The round included new participants, such as CDH Investments, Lavender Capital and Tier 1 supplier Mando Corporation.

TuSimple has continued to scale its operations. As of March 2020, the company was making about 20 autonomous trips between Arizona and Texas each week with a fleet of more than 40 autonomous trucks. All of the trucks have a human safety operator behind the wheel.
Texas and Florida closed bars and imposed other measures on Friday to combat a surge in coronavirus cases that has put the brakes on reopening the economies of two of the largest US states. As warnings mounted worldwide over lifting lockdowns too soon, Southeast Asian leaders said the COVID-19 pandemic has swept away years of economic gains, particularly in tourism-driven and export-reliant countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. Britons sweltering in a heat wave were told meanwhile to avoid packed beaches, and a major Australian city faced a surge in infections. Paris's Orly airport reopened on Friday after closing three months ago, but traffic was thin and also briefly disrupted by climate protesters storming a runway. More than 490,000 people worldwide have died from COVID-19 since it emerged in China late last year, and the number of confirmed cases is expected to reach 10 million within the next week. Countries have been balancing the need to reopen economies shattered by coronavirus shutdowns with the need to maintain sufficient safety measures to prevent a feared second wave. In the United States, the country hardest hit by the pandemic, the number of cases hit a single-day record Friday and is rising daily in 16 states, mostly in the south and west. "We are facing a serious problem in certain areas," top US disease expert Anthony Fauci said at the first briefing given by the White House Coronavirus Task Force in two months. The United States is recording more than 30,000 cases a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With nearly 125,000 lives lost overall, it has by far the highest confirmed toll in the world. - 'Corral the spread' - Two of the US states which have been hardest hit -- Texas and Florida -- closed bars on Friday, allowing only take-out and delivery service. Texas was among the most aggressive states in reopening in early June under Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican ally of President Donald Trump, who has faced sharp criticism for his handling of the crisis. But the strategy has backfired and both Texas, the second most populous US state, and Florida, the third, are seeing daily records for the number of new cases. "It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars," Abbott said. "This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread." Restaurants can remain open with 50 percent capacity indoors, and outdoor gatherings of 100 people or more require local government approval. Harris County, which includes Houston, issued a stay-at-home advisory and raised the threat level to "severe," or Level 1. Florida reported a record-breaking 8,942 new cases Friday and slapped the restrictions back on bars. "I think people were naturally just wanting to get back into a normal swing of things," said Governor Ron DeSantis, another Trump ally. In Hanoi, leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) described the toll inflicted by the pandemic. "It has swept away the successes of recent years... threatening the lives of millions of people," Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said. ASEAN General Secretary Lim Jock Hoi warned that the region's economy is expected to contract for the first time in 22 years. - 'Stop it' - The World Health Organization said meanwhile that a global initiative to speed up the development and production of COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments will require more than $30 billion over the next year. So far, $3.4 billion of that had been pledged, the UN health agency said. The announcement came ahead of a major pledging event in Brussels on Saturday in support of the so-called ACT accelerator, launched in April and aimed at pooling international resources to combat the pandemic. Sweden lashed out at the WHO for listing it among at-risk European countries, in a sign of the sensitivities at play as countries try to manage the crisis. The Scandinavian country has made headlines for its high death toll after it opted not to introduce strict lockdowns. "We have an increase in cases because we have begun testing much more in Sweden the past week," said Swedish state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, adding that "all the other parameters" showed the number of serious cases was falling. In Britain, people were urged to abide by social distancing rules after tens of thousands swarmed the seaside resort of Bournemouth during a heat wave. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people were "taking too many liberties with the guidance." Britain has Europe's highest death toll with 43,230. In Brazil, the hardest-hit country in Latin America, President Jair Bolsonaro appealed a court ruling that requires him to wear a face mask in public, calling it "unnecessary." With 55,000 fatalities, Brazil has the second-highest COVID-19 death toll in the world. In Australia, supermarkets imposed limits on purchases of toilet paper following panic buying by people rattled by a surge in cases in Melbourne, the country's second-biggest city. "Stop it, it's ridiculous," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told his compatriots. Patrons at the West Alabama Ice House in Houston have beers before Texas Governor Greg Abbott's order that all bars are to be closed amid a surge in coronavirus cases Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, tells a White House briefing that the United States is facing a "serious problem" in some areas because of the coronavirus People relax with takeaway beer in plastic cups -- and not much social distancing -- at Borough Market in London World map showing official number of coronavirus deaths per country, as of June 26, 2020 at 1900 GMT An employee of a private company sanitizes a house in Belo Horizonte, Brazil -- a country with the second-highest virus death toll and caseload after the United States A man wearing a mask passes a mural on the side of a building in New York City California has gradually reopened after months of shutdown Beachgoers enjoy the sunshine in Bournemouth, southern England -- but the crowded shore raised alarm bells for local officials worried about an uptick in virus cases
LOS ANGELES, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As COVID-19 cases spike and governors enforce mask-wearing in public, Lucky Brand remains committed to providing support to those disproportionately affected by the current health crisis.

To date, Lucky Brand has sold and donated over 150,000 masks, equally split, through their "Get 5, Give 5" program, and other community outreach. Donated masks have reached 39 Los Angeles based organizations focused on supporting BIPOC, the unhoused community and low-income Angelenos who have been disproportionately affected by this health and economic crisis. Many of these organizations provide essential services to families and youth who are homeless, aging out of the foster system or in juvenile justice, such as New Earth, My Friend's Place, Coalition for Responsible Community Development, the Assistance League, PATH and LA Family Housing. Lucky Brand has also provided thousands of masks to the Navajo, Hopi, Havasupai, Hualapai, and Pasqual Yacqui tribes in the Arizona area.

"I continue to be surprised by the number of organizations offering similar services, none of which can keep up with the profound need due to housing insecurity," said Allison Charalambous, Senior Manager Sustainability & Regulatory Compliance at Lucky Brand. "I am also saddened by stories from our community partners witnessing this need grow before their eyes, as the number of unhoused increases. We cannot forget that we are not out of this crisis, we are merely at the beginning. I'd like to share a big thank you to our customers who have enabled donations to the less fortunate, and a huge thank you to the community organizations tirelessly offering support."

With the perspective that we are stronger together, Lucky Brand is also a part of the Open Innovation Coalition, a brand coalition founded by Rothy's committed to helping 1M people through PPE and relief efforts.

Currently, Lucky is working on additional mask styles, based on customer feedback, to continue this donation program and community support for as long as there is a need. If you are an organization in need of masks, please contact [email protected] .

Purchase a pack of 5 reusable, washable non-medical masks for $25 (at the cost to the company) and we will donate 5 masks to those who need them the most. All masks are made in Los Angeles using deadstock fabric.

https://www.luckybrand.com/5-pack-pleated-cotton-face-mask/YLMASK2.html?rrec=true

About Lucky Brand

Born in the heart of Downtown LA in 1990, Lucky Brand is best known for cool yet comfortable denim and its innovative fits and fabrics, all done with a dash of irreverence. As the original LA denim brand, Lucky Brand created the category of accessible premium denim, producing the best quality at the best price, without sacrificing the style and details that set them apart. The brand believes that fabric innovation and technologies are key to continually improving the category while complementing consumers' lifestyles. They work with the world's top mills and manufacturers that make their denim quality a cut above the rest. For more information, please visit LuckyBrand.com.

SOURCE Lucky Brand Dungarees, LLC

Related Links

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Iraqs military authorities have confirmed elite forces have detained 14 militia members who remain in custody amid an ongoing investigation.

Fridays statement by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command came hours after sources said the Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) had raided a base in southern Baghdad of Kataib Hezbollah (KH), an Iran-backed group which the United States has accused of targeting bases hosting US troops and other diplomatic interests in Iraq.

In an apparent dismissal of earlier claims that the detainees had been released, the statement said a special investigation committee was formed by the interior ministry and security services following the arrest of the 14 individuals.

A high-level security source, who wished to remain anonymous, also told Al Jazeera an investigation was still under way and that no one has been released from among the detainees.

According to the statement, an arrest warrant was issued after Iraqi authorities received intelligence about a potential attack on the Green Zone, a heavily fortified area in central Baghdad housing government buildings and foreign missions.

The raid was aimed at pre-empting an imminent attack and also resulted in the seizure of several rockets and two launching pads that had allegedly been previously used in attacks against military and diplomatic interests, according to the statement.

Dozens of rocket attacks in recent months have targeted US interests in Iraq, including the US embassy in the Green Zone and military bases hosting US soldiers. Six have taken place just during the past two weeks.

Although the joint command did not name which group the detainees belonged to, sources told Al Jazeera they were members of KH, one of the groups under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) or Hashd al-Shaabi.

Another security source said the operation had targeted KH as well as members of recently-formed militias including Ashab Ahl al-Kahf, Usbat al-Thaireen and Jund Soleimani. In a strongly-worded statement early on Friday, Jund Soleimani called on the mujahideen to continue their resistance and achieve victory.

A third security source told Al Jazeera that one of the detainees was a foreigner, possibly an Iranian national, and that the CTS held the group responsible for targeting the Green Zone and Baghdad airport with Katyusha rockets.

A source from the PMF leadership denied the claims to Al Jazeera, saying that a CTS raid of a PMF base in southern Baghdad was based on false information about the presence of terrorists.

Kataib Hezbollah Iraqi militia hold the picture of the Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, as they gather ahead of the funeral of the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in Baghdad, Iraq, January 4, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani

Negotiations for release

While the exact location of the detainees remains unclear, Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi analyst who has sources close to the Iraqi government, told Al Jazeera the defendants were transferred from a prison belonging to the CTS to a detention centre under control of al-Hashd in northeast Baghdad.

He also said that negotiations led by PMF leaders and members of the powerful Iran-backed Fateh coalition were continuing but had so far failed to secure the defendants release.

Earlier on Friday, reports had circulated that Fateh leader Hadi al-Ameri had intervened on behalf of the detainees to negotiate their release.

200626044827368

Later in the day, former Iraqi prime minister and leader of the Iran-backed State of the Law Coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, issued a statement on Twitter condemning the assault on the PMF members while calling for self-restraint and respect and preservation of the PMF and the CTS alike. He also offered to mediate.

Initial statements by several PMF leaders, including by KH spokesman Mohamed Mohie, had said the detainees were released shortly after their detention on Thursday.

Detained members of the Hashd have been released  [and] returned to their bases. The incident was quickly resolved, he told Al Jazeera on Friday morning.

Commenting on these statements, Tallha Abdulrazaq, a research fellow at the University of Exeters Strategy and Security Institute, said the PMFs statements appeared to have been a face-saving measure after presumed KH members late on Thursday flooded the streets in and around the Green Zone in pick-up trucks to demand the release of the detainees.

Videos widely circulated on social media showed these individuals, some of whom appeared to be armed, eventually retreating. Initial reports suggested that a group had laid siege to a CTS building inside the Green Zone, but these were later denied.

https://twitter.com/thestevennabil/status/1276458465829896194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

While estimating that the 14 will likely be released soon, Abdulrazaq told Al Jazeera their detention was a message from new Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to the militia groups and the US.

The move showed that al-Kadhimi was trying to assert control, but with US backing. He is beholden to these powers in Parliament and to the good favour of the US and Iran, without whom he would never have been in power in the first place,Abdulrazaq said.

Al-Kadhimi has since promised to curb these different factions, he explained, adding that the move was also an attempt by Kadhimi to show the US that he wants to play ball  [and] will want to see something in return.

An Iraqi delegation, including al-Kadhimi, is scheduled to travel to Washington, DC next month to resume high-level talks with the US leadership.

In the first round of talks, launched on June 11, both sides agreed in a joint statement to reduce the number of US troops in Iraq over the coming months.

Independent Iraqi analsyt Sajad Jiyad told Al Jazeera that the raid was a test of Kadhimis resolve to confront rogue actors and what reaction the government can expect if it pursues such a course.

Clearly conflict is possible and success is not guaranteed which is why Kadhimi has to be careful with his next steps, said Jiyad.

Situation tense

Meanwhile, tensions remained high in Baghdad on Friday, with leaders of pro-Iran armed groups condemning the events of the previous night while others called for de-escalation.

In a statement on Twitter, Nasr al-Shimmari, deputy secretary-general of the pro-Iran Harakat al-Nujabaa group, warned that targeting the PMF would come at a huge cost to the countrys internal stability.

We warn against any attempt to pull [opposing] sides towards an internal conflict during these difficult times. Such attempts will definitely fail.

In a statement shared on Telegram, KH leader Abu Ali al-Askari said the raid and arrests were an attempt by this monster al-Kadhimi to hide his involvement in the criminal murder of two martyrs and their comrades.

His words were in reference to Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Hashd deputy leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis who were killed in a US drone attack at Baghdad airport on January 3.

The incident saw escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran almost spill into a full-blown regional conflict.
Reaching a significant milestone to the quest that began in 2017, scientists have now mapped the submerged landmass of the eighth continent deep beneath the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand sits on the five million square kilometres Zealandia that was first spotted years ago. But researchers at GNS Science in New Zealand have developed two maps only recently that give insights into the amazing forces that shaped the continent. Calling them a scientific benchmark, the lead author of the tectonic & bathymetric maps, Dr Nick Mortimer has also said that they are accurate and complete.

Mortimer, Weve made these maps to provide an accurate, complete and up-to-date picture of the geology of the New Zealand and southwest Pacific area - better than we have had before. Their value is that they provide a fresh context in which to explain and understand the setting of New Zealands volcanoes, plate boundary and sedimentary basins.

Read - Launch Of NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover Mission Delayed Over 'contamination Concern'

94% of Zealandia is submerged

According to reports, at least 94 per cent of Zealandias two million square miles are underwater. Therefore, the mapping of the entire continent was a challenge for researchers across the world. The scientists at GNS have contributed to the global effort of researchers to map the entire ocean floor of the world by 2030 including the depiction of coastlines and territorial limits.

Te Riu-a-Maui / Zealandia - we have released two maps and a website. The maps cover the bathymetry (shape of the ocean floor) and the tectonic origins of Earths eighth continent.https://t.co/6Aac474VD9 pic.twitter.com/fL62BwepCh  Te Pu Ao - GNS Science (@gnsscience) June 23, 2020

Mortimer told and international media outlet that the maps have offered more evidence of the fact that Zealandia was a separate continent and not a microcontinent which was its classification before 2017. At least three years ago, the lead author of the two maps developed of the submerged eighth continent had told a separate media outlet that if the scientists could pull the plug on the oceans across the globe, it would reveal that Zealandia stands out.

Read - Could Jupiter's Moon Europa Sustain Life In 'disguised Ocean'? NASA Research Suggests So

Tectonic Map

While explaining the tectonic map, researchers wrote, This highlights the 5 million sq km Te Riu-a-Maui / Zealanda continent, a small part of which is on land, but most of which is under the sea. The colours show continental crust in red, orange, yellow and brown hues and oceanic crust in blues. Island arc crust is pink and large igneous province crust is green. (A large igneous province is a large accumulation of igneous rocks resulting from magma travelling through the crust towards the surface).

Read - NASA Shares Pics Of Lonar Lake's Color Change From Green To Pink, Reason 'remains Mystery'

Bathymetric map

While explaining the bathymetric map, researchers said, This map uses the GEBCO 2019 grid, the first output of the Seabed2030 project which is a global initiative to map the ocean floor of the entire world by 2030. The project is a collaboration between The Nippon Foundation in Japan and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO). NIWA, GNS Science and Land Information New Zealand are jointly leading the South and West Pacific Ocean Regional Data Assembly and Coordination Centre, based in Wellington.

Read - New Exoplanet Discovered By NASA: What Does This Planet Reveal About Our Solar System?

Read - NASA Scientists Show How Sunsets Would Look From Other Planets | Watch
FOURTEEN local community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises will receive 833,766 between them in funding to help vulnerable citizens during Covid-19, Minister Patrick O'Donovan has announced this Friday.

"I am delighted that my colleague, Minister Michael Ring, TD, has allocated 10.5 million under tranche one of the Covid-19 Stability Fund to a total of 179 organisations that provide critical services to those most vulnerable in society.

"The Covid-19 Stability Fund is intended to be a targeted once-off cash injection for organisations and groups delivering critical front-line services to the most at need in our society and in danger of imminent closure due to lost fund-raised or traded income as a direct result of restrictions to counter the spread of Covid-19," said Minister O'Donovan.

There was considerable interest in the scheme and the funding announced today is the first tranche, with further tranches due to be announced in the coming weeks, he said.

Community and voluntary organisations, along with charities and social enterprises here in Limerick have gone above and beyond in their response to the challenges presented by this pandemic and to assisting those most vulnerable in our communities.

These organisations continued to carry out their essential work while restrictions stalled much activity in Limerick and I, along with my colleagues in government, commend them for that. For that reason, I am delighted that 14 organisations in Limerick will receive 833,766 in funding to provide services," said Minister O'Donovan.

The fourteen are: Cliona's Foundation, 100,474; Croom Community Hall, 68,977; Ennis Road Community First Responders, 2,000; Garryowen Community Development Project, 14,276; Gateway to Education Limerick, 16,584; Learning Hub Limerick Ltd, 42,473; Limerick Autism Group, 14,323; Limerick Island Community Partners CLG, 79,737; Mid-West Simon Community, 187,677; Mobile IT Limited, 14,735; Patrickswell Community Resource House, 14,118; The Butterfly Club CLG, 18,412; The Desmond Ability Resource Complex, 59,978; Treaty Steel, 200,000.
The president and CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has resigned following allegations of sexual harassment and racism at the Winnipeg institution, as well as complaints that staff were forced to censor LGBT content.

John Young had previously said he would step down at the end of his term in August. But the museum's board of trustees said in a statement Thursday night it believed it's in the best interests of the museum that he resign immediately.

The resignation comes after five women told CBC they had been sexually harassed by a male colleague, and felt the museum's human resources department had dismissed their complaints.

CBC also reported the museum forced staff at times to censor displays about LGBT history for certain guests including religious school groups.

Those reports sparked calls for Young to leave immediately.

'We apologize unreservedly'

In a statement Thursday night, the museum's board chair Pauline Rafferty said the allegations were not properly brought to the attention of the board of trustees.

"We will act quickly to improve museum processes and our policies and to rebuild relationships and trust with our staff and those we have let down, especially the Black and Indigenous communities, people of colour and LGBTQ2+ communities," the statement said.

"We apologize unreservedly for what has happened and we know that the fight against systemic racism, homophobia, inequality and all forms of othering must be ongoing, and must be a priority."

In an internal email sent to all staff Thursday night, Rafferty apologized and said the board and Young, with the support of Federal Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, agreed it's in the best interest of the museum for the CEO to leave immediately.

Earlier this month, former employees posted stories of alleged racism on Instagram through an account called CMHR Stop Lying.

Lyza Sale/CBC

Later, Gabriela Aguero, a former program developer at the museum and tour guide told CBC she was forced to shield LGBT displays from certain tour groups and alleged she was sexually harassed by a male colleague.

Story continues

Aguero said Young's departure is a good first step but called for other managers involved to leave too.

"If everybody else who has been participating in this hiding and distortion and abuse is still at the institution, nothing is going to change.

"They need to go deeper than that."

Advocacy groups criticize museum

Egale Canada, a national LGBT advocacy organization, said it's heard from many Canadians in recent days who are upset about the reports of censorship.

"The trust has been lost and there needs to be a lot more action and a lot more engagement if we're ever to hope for it to be repaired," said Jennifer Boyce, the group's director of communications.

The Michaelle Jean Foundation, launched by the former governor general, also criticized the museum, saying it was concerned by the allegations of racist and homophobic discriminatory practices.

The charitable organization encourages grassroots youth and arts initiatives for social change.

"We must firmly stand up to discrimination of all nature and ask for accountability, transparency and concrete actions from museum leadership as the allegations are being independently investigated," the foundation said in a statement.

Rafferty will act as interim CEO until a replacement is found.

The museum hired Winnipeg lawyer Laurelle Harris last week to investigate discrimination at the museum. But her probe, which is being assisted by consultant Barbara Bruce, will not look into allegations of sexual harassment. The museum said it has already hired two external lawyers in the past to probe those allegations.

Rafferty said the board of trustees has established a diversity and inclusion committee chaired by trustee Julie Jai.

Jai is a former member of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. She said Thursday the museum will work to listen to, and address the concerns of staff.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agencys decision to grant a permit to General Iron to construct a scrap metal facility that will emit dangerous air pollutants on Chicagos Southeast Side is shameful. The facility, currently located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, has a long history of operating unsafely and has been cited for many violations. Instead of acknowledging this record of violations by closing the facilitys doors, Illinois has given the facility the green light to move to a new neighborhood  predominantly populated by people of color. The facilitys new neighbors will be forced to breathe the facilitys harmful emissions every day. General Iron does not deserve a second chance to operate in a new neighborhood that already bears the burden of numerous other polluting facilities, especially during the coronavirus pandemic that directly affects the lungs.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney gestures toward the site of the former location of Rizzo statue. He held a press conference regarding the removal of Rizzo statue. Read more

After the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, looting devastated Philadelphias neighborhoods, from tony Rittenhouse Square to West Philadelphias struggling 52nd Street corridor. In response, Mayor Jim Kenney and district attorney Larry Krasner have only intensified their leftist agenda. Their alliance imperils the city, where a decade-long renaissance now seems like a distant memory.

When the looting ended, for example, Kenney immediately removed the statue of Frank Rizzo, Philadelphias influential 1970s-era mayor, from its place in front of Center Citys Municipal Services Building. The statue had been a source of contention for years. As detractors correctly note, Rizzo, when running for a failed third term, urged supporters to vote white. As police chief in 1970, Rizzo rounded up Black Panthers, ordering them to strip naked and stand against a wall. Throughout that period, Philadelphias police were at Rizzos beck and call. Police canvassed city streets, picking up anyone who aroused suspicion. One time, during an innocent stroll after midnight, I was the victim of a pick-up myself when the police mistakenly identified me as a suspect.

Years later, when I interviewed Rizzo, who died in 1991, I talked about the indignity of that police encounter  and he apologized. I was taken aback when Rizzo extended a lunch invitation, an offer I never followed up on, though our amiable conversation changed my perspective of this controversial, complex figure. Of course, police brutality did exist in the city and, to some extent, Rizzo deserved blame for it.

Since its installation in 1998, the Rizzo statue has been routinely spray-painted with expletives and anarchy-laced political slogans. Though the statue divided residents, demands for its removal were typically dismissed. Further civil dialogue, however, ended when Kenney ordered the removal of the statue in the dead of night, after leftists splashed it in red paint and attempted to torch it. The city has moved the statue to a storage facility until it can determine its fate  a radical departure from last year, when the mayors office announced plans to move the monument to Rizzos native South Philadelphia, an historically Italian enclave.

South Philadelphia no longer registers as a safe space for public monuments. Shortly after the Rizzo statues removal, leftists across the U.S. began beheading and removing Christopher Columbus statues, which, during the 20th century, were erected in communities to celebrate Italians heritage and immigrant experience. In South Philadelphia, rumors spread that Kenney, to placate leftists, wanted to remove Columbus from the neighborhoods Marconi Plaza. In response, residents  many living in multigenerational brick rowhomes built by Italian ancestors  formed an armed militia to guard the monument.

Kenney, a South Philadelphia native and a product of its political machine, jumped into the fray. Noting groups of armed individuals protecting the Columbus statue, Kenney tweeted: All vigilantism is inappropriate, and these individuals only bring more danger to themselves and the city. District Attorney Krasner added: Prosecutors and police will uphold the law in Philly, consistent with their oaths, against criminal bullies. So save your bats for a ball game. And save your hatchets for chopping wood. We remain the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.

This so-called affection, however, was nowhere to be found during days of looting, worsened by what the Philadelphia Inquirer called the police departments critical mistakes. In fact, last week, despite the need for police as Philadelphias crime rate spiked, the City Council voted to cut the departments 2021 funding by $14 million. And while the local press vilified the Columbus statues protectors, it mostly withheld criticism of vandalism elsewhere  including the defacing of a statue of Matthias Baldwin, founder of the citys famed Baldwin Locomotive Works and an abolitionist who founded a school for black children. The Baldwin statues defacers  historically illiterate  only saw a white man on a pedestal.

South Philadelphias Columbus statue is now concealed behind a plywood box pending the art commissions decision on its future. The city, which announced on Wednesday that they intend to remove it, seems more focused on the statue than on civilian concerns about crime. Krasner  who, before becoming DA in 2018, served as a pro bono attorney for Black Lives Matter  remains determined to enforce progressive policies. His decriminalization agenda has empowered radical-left anarchists who have committed property crimes throughout the city.

The Krasner imprint is being felt all over Philadelphia. As gun violence rises, his office appears more interested in setting criminals free than prosecuting them. His office chose not to prosecute nearly half of those arrested during Philadelphias looting, choosing instead to issue police citations that dont result in formal charges. Krasners performance has drawn the ire of Josh Shapiro, the states Democratic attorney general and widely considered a future gubernatorial candidate.

As disorder continues in Philadelphias neighborhoods, Mayor Kenney and DA Krasner remain preoccupied with radical concerns like removing public monuments and disempowering law enforcement. Their governing revolution imperils Philadelphias future and threatens to close the book on an urban renaissance that took decades to achieve.

Thom Nickels is a Philadelphia-based author and journalist. A version of this piece first appeared in City Journal.
LONDON  A teenager who admitted he attempted to kill a 6-year-old boy by pushing him from a 10th-floor viewing platform in a shocking attack at the Tate Modern museum last year was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison by a British court Friday.

Jonty Bravery, 18, from Ealing in west London, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder in December, avoiding a potentially lengthy trial, and at that time detailed his intent to kill the child, a stranger to him, in order to appear on the news.

At the sentencing Friday, Judge Maura McGowan said that although Bravery was sentenced to 15 years, he may never be released.

You are and will remain a danger to the public, McGowan said as Bravery listened to the verdict by video, adding that he had a very serious mental disorder and a personality disorder.

Deanna Heer, a prosecutor, told the court Thursday that Bravery had been planning to attack someone for months  preferably a woman or a child  and his web browser history showed that he had been researching ways to kill.

The prosecution told the court that on Aug. 4, Bravery left the care house he lived in and traveled to the Tate Modern, where he spotted the child and quickly scooped him up and threw him over the railings without any hesitation.

Heer said that Bravery did this to prove a point to those who said he did not have a mental health problem, and that he wanted it to be on the news so that everyone, especially his parents, could see what a mistake it was not putting him in hospital.

Bravery, who was present in the court via a video link, at one point pulled his white T-shirt up to his eyes, hiding his face behind it as the prosecution described his actions.

Dr. Joanna Dow, a forensic psychiatrist who works at Broadmoor Hospital in southeastern England, where Bravery is being held, said that he has a number of defining features of psychopathy, and has autistic spectrum and personality disorders.

The viewing platform at Tate Modern, an art museum on the south bank of the River Thames, is a popular tourist attraction, drawing in visitors eager to see a 360-degree panorama of London. After the episode, the museum was briefly put on lockdown.

The victim of the attack, a French boy who was vacationing with his family in London, survived after landing on the fifth-floor roof of the museum, but he suffered life-changing injuries, including several broken bones and a brain injury.

The act committed by this individual is unthinkable, the boys parents said in a statement that was read to the court Thursday.

Prosecutor Emma V. Jones, speaking in December, said the devastating and shocking incident had changed the lives of Braverys young victim and his family forever. That the child had survived the fall, she said, was extraordinary.

The boy remains in the hospital more than nine months after the attack but is making progress, his parents said last month in a message posted on a GoFundMe page for his medical costs.

Our child has only his two boot-shaped splints now, and a splint on his left arm that he wears only at night, the message read, and detailed how he spends his days sitting in a shape-molded seat on his wheelchair.

Hes also talking, syllable by syllable.

We dont always understand everything he says, especially when hes tired but he expresses himself more and more, they added. There is still a long way to go but we are holding on.

On Friday, McGowan, the judge, said the injuries Bravery had caused were horrific.

You almost killed a 6-year-old boy, she said. His life will never be the same.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
YEREVAN.  Past daily of Armenia writes: According to Past newspapers information, the law enforcement system has been given a special instruction to take under the magnifying glass not only the representatives of the opposition forces, but also the people associated with them in some way, in order to "update" their "files" so that, if necessary, it will be possible to hinder the possibility of active activity and to silence [it].

In this aspect, the employees of the state structures will also be in the center of special attention. The thing is that the authorities want to carry out a new "cleaning" in this mixed cycle. Within the framework of the total attacks on the opposition sector, a new attack on the state apparatus is expected, and under that cover, a particularly large number of dismissals are expected.

According to our information, about 2,000 people will be fired from their jobsof course, all of them are somehow associated with the "former [authorities]," or remaining from the "former."
Ford Recall







Ford Motor Company Issues a Safety Compliance Recall and a Safety Recall in North America

DEARBORN, Mich., June 25, 2020  Ford Motor Company is issuing a safety compliance recall and a safety recall in North America.

Safety compliance recall for select 2020 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles

In affected vehicles, the attachment bracket for the second-row drivers side headrest may not have been sufficiently welded to the seat frame.

An improperly welded headrest bracket may have reduced strength and may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Ford is not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to this condition.

This action affects 2,620 vehicles in the United States, 159 in Canada and 19 in Mexico.

Affected vehicles were built at Kentucky Truck Plant as follows:

Ford Expedition vehicles from Feb. 26 to March 18, 2020

Lincoln Navigator vehicles from Feb. 27 to March 16, 2020

Dealers will inspect the seat structure and replace, if required. The Ford reference number for this recall is 20C12.

Safety recall for select 2020 Ford F-Series Super Duty vehicles with 6.7-liter engine and 10R140 transmission

Affected vehicles were built with a transmission torque-converter damper plate that was not tempered, resulting in a brittle damper plate that may fracture.

A fractured damper plate could cause the engine to stall and require increased brake pedal effort when coming to a stop. The engine can be restarted, and mobility may be regained if the driver shifts to neutral or park. However, there could be an unexpected, aggressive reengagement when shifting to drive or reverse and the potential for another engine stall. The vehicle will continue to exhibit these symptoms until the service fix is completed.

This condition can increase the risk of a crash. Ford is not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to this condition.

This action affects 13 vehicles in the United States and two in Canada.

Affected vehicles were built at Kentucky Truck Plant from Jan. 13 to Feb. 19, 2020, and at Ohio Assembly Plant on Jan. 29, 2020.

Dealers will replace the transmission. The Ford reference number for this recall is 20S33.
TUCSON, Ariz., June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business (NYSE: RTX), received a $2.3 billion U.S. Missile Defense Agency production contract for seven gallium nitride (GaN)-based AN/TPY-2 radars as part of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which is designed to protect against incoming ballistic missile threats. The contract is part of a foreign military sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"These highly capable X-band radars are the sharpest eyes in the global missile defense system," said Bryan Rosselli, vice president of Strategic Missile Defense at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. "The addition of GaN technology delivers capability for threats to be detected, tracked and discriminated with improved radar reliability."

The mobile AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar uses X-band to clearly see ballistic missile threats. The radar system operates in two modes: forward-based mode  which detects ballistic missiles and identifies any lethal objects as they rise after launch  and terminal mode as part of the THAAD system, which guides interceptors toward a descending missile's warhead.

Of the 14 AN/TPY-2 radars produced, seven are fielded as a part of U.S.-operated THAAD systems, five operate in forward-based mode for the U.S., and two are part of foreign military sales.

About Raytheon Technologies

Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With 195,000 employees and four industry-leading businesses  Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense  the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts

Raytheon Technologies

870 Winter Street

Waltham, MA 02451

USA

Media Contact

Jaclyn Gutmann

C: 781. 879.2789

[email protected]

SOURCE Raytheon Technologies

Related Links

https://www.raytheonmissilesanddefense.com


Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and eminent US political activist Noam Chomsky on Friday applauded the efforts of Kerala in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Both of them were speaking online while taking part in the debate series, Kerala Dialogue' organised by the Kerala government.

Sen said the main reason why Kerala has done a good job is because of the giant strides Kerala has made in the public education and the health sector.

"Kerala can take pride in the way they have handled the Covid pandemic. But one doubts if the way the lockdown was imposed in the country was right. There was no discussion either with the political parties or with the public," said Sen and added that Kerala over the years has proved many wrong as today it has the highest per capital expenditure and has a high per capita income also.

Chomsky said that very few places handled the pandemic like Kerala did.

"Vietnam was one country and they managed to fight the pandemic without registering a single death and it should be remembered that they share 1,400 kms of border with China. South Korea also handled it well so did countries like New Zealand and Taiwan, but the US failed to handle it and the death toll is one lakh and is rising," said Chomsky and added that a new world order is possible in the post-Covid era.
The East Pacific tropical basin sprung to life this past week as multiple areas of tropical low pressure developed across the region, including one that became Tropical Storm Boris. However, that uptick in activity could be about to change, say AccuWeather meteorologists who have been closely examining the tropics.

After becoming a tropical storm briefly late in the day on Thursday, Boris has since weakened to a post-tropical low pressure area well to the southeast of Hawaii.

Behind Boris, there is one other area that AccuWeather forecasters are monitoring in the East Pacific Basin.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

A feature that emerged off the coast of Central America late this past week has a small window for development off the southwestern coast of Mexico.

The cluster of showers and thunderstorms remained disorganized on Saturday as it moved to the northwest, generally paralleling the coast of Mexico.

However, the showers and thunderstorms became better organized on Monday evening and the disturbance was designated as Tropical Depression 4-E. The system is expected to be short-lived as it moves toward cooler water and increased wind shear on Tuesday. By Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning, the tropical depression is likely to become a non-tropical low pressure area. Throughout its short lifespan, the system not expected to be a threat to any landmass.

The next system to strengthen into a tropical storm with winds of 39 mph (62 km/h) in the East Pacific Basin would be given the name Cristina.

At the same time, meteorologists have been monitoring Saharan dust pushing through the Caribbean Sea and into the Gulf of Mexico, which is helping to stifle widespread tropical development in the Atlantic Basin. Dolly formed outside of the large plume of dust this past week, more than 300 miles southeast of Nova Scotia, and became the second earliest fourth-named storm in recorded history in the Atlantic.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
A health care workers union has called for the removal of Barbara Cass, a section chief overseeing health care quality and safety at the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

The petition to remove Cass, a longtime nurse working for DPH, drew pushback from the governors office Thursday evening.

The petition drive organized by the union, SEIU 1199 New England, claims Cass failed miserably in her job as section chief of the agencys healthcare quality and safety division, and alleges she regularly ignored worker demands for protective equipment during the crisis.

That characterization drew a rebuke from Gov. Ned Lamonts office Thursday .

Barbara Cass and the team at DPH have been working tirelessly to address issues of quality and safety in our nursing facilities, said Paul Mounds, Lamonts chief of staff, in an email. Barbara Cass is a dedicated nurse and public servant who has unquestionably helped to save lives throughout this public health pandemic.

Chief among the issues raised by the union was a comment made by Cass at an April 24 news conference in which she said that nursing home workers were wearing protective gowns fashioned from trash bags at the preference of the employee, not the preference of the employer.

She was referring to two complaints filed with DPH and the response she said inspectors were given when they asked employees why they were wearing trash bags instead of the proper protective gear.

The petition circulated by the union characterized that statement and Casss actions as evidence of systemic racism.

On Thursday, members of the union led a demonstration to deliver the petition calling for her removal at the departments headquarters on Capitol Avenue in Hartford.

Mounds said Cass has worked with both labor and the nursing home operators on distributing supplies of protective equipment and has inspected numerous facilities.

Barbara Cass was instrumental in the development of the nationally recognized COVID recovery center program and Connecticut is fortunate to have her help in guiding the states decision-making during this public health crisis, he said.
Countries are looking to resume international air travel through bilateral air corridors, or air bridges.

As the world prepares for a life amidst COVID-19, countries are slowly easing restrictions and opening up borders to facilitate international travel. India, which is emerging cautiously from a three-month-long stringent lockdown, is contemplating restarting international air services with select countries.

As per the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), India is looking at moving from 'controlled and managed evacuation' of Indian citizens in different parts of the world and foreign nationals from India, to the possibility of establishing bilateral arrangements.

This move comes at a time when more countries are putting pressure on India to allow its carriers to operate in the country.

The United States recently informed Air India that it would need to obtain prior approval if it wishes to fly in and out of the US from July 22. This in retaliation to what it calls Indias impairing operating rights of US carriers and engaging in discriminatory and restrictive practices.

According to the MoCA, India had a round of negotiations with representatives of the US Department of Transportation and US Embassy on this issue, on June 15.

France has also not been allowing India to operate flights via Vande Bharat since June 22.

The MoCA is contemplating travel bubbles between India and countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, US and France. As per the Ministry, these individual bilateral bubbles are destinations where demand for travel has not diminished.

Connecting through bridges and bubbles

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit travel and tourism hard. As per the Economist, while people took 4.6 billion flights last year, in April 2020, this trickled down to just 47 million passengers flying  taking levels back to 1978.

Further, the United Nations agency for tourism, UNWTO, pointed out in May that tourism would see a decline of 58 - 78 per cent in international tourist arrivals for the year, depending on the speed of containment, duration of travel restrictions and border shutdowns. UNWTO has termed 2020 the worst year for international tourism since 1950, putting an abrupt end to the 10 year growth since the 2009 financial crisis.

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While most governments are still advising their citizens against non-essential international travel, some countries are looking to curtail the devastating impact the pandemic has had on the travel industry by reducing restrictions on international arrivals.

This is being done by entering into bilateral agreements, also known as travel bridges or travel bubbles which will enable countries to share air corridors and allow travellers to move between two countries with limited infections.

In most cases, these agreements would do away with the waiting period for travellers from countries where the outbreak has been controlled. For a travel bubble or bridge to form, both countries do not necessarily need to be COVID-free, however, they need to be at similar stages of reopening.

Destinations that are opening up to visitors

Europe is leading the move to ease down restrictions as it slowly opens its borders to tourists. In mid-May, the Baltic bloc of Estonia Lithuania and Latvia were the first countries to create a bubble allowing free movement within the countries. Hungary and Slovenia followed suit, easing border restrictions between the two countries.

While European Union officials have been negotiating over two lists of nationalities that will be allowed to travel into Europe once borders open from July 1st, the United Kingdom is considering travel bridges with select countries from July. Travellers from France, Italy, Spain and Germany may soon be able to visit the UK and vice versa, without the mandatory quarantine period.

As per reports, the bridges will only be available with countries that have a coronavirus tracing system. The British government is also reportedly in talks with Australia to set up an air bridge with the long haul destination.

However, in what is being looked at as a blow to US President Donald Trump and his handling of the pandemic, the United States, which tops the list of countries with the most number of cases, has been left out of the bubble

In Asia, Malaysia is looking at travel bubbles with Singapore and Brunei. The country has also approached Australia and New Zealand for the same, as per reports. Malaysia has seen a total of 8,600 cases and 121 deaths.

China and Singapore have also entered into a COVID-19 bubble for essential travel. However, there are restrictions and rules to follow before such a journey can be made. Travellers need to test negative for COVID, stick to itineraries they have submitted to authorities and use the host countrys contact tracing app. They will further need to have a sponsor, which would be a government agency or a company, and get approval from authorities for a SafeTravel Pass.

The Scandinavian countries of Denmark and Sweden have also formed travel bubbles, but have excluded Sweden from it. With 63,890 cases and 5,230 deaths, Sweden has the highest COVID-toll in the region. Anders Tegnell, Swedens COVID-19 specialist, recently admitted that the country could have done more in terms of restrictions.

Fiji, a country that relies heavily on tourism which employs about 1,50,000, people, is considering a similar bubble with Australia and New Zealand, which will allow members of the two countries to visit the country, as numbers have reduced.

However, before entering Fiji, travellers from Australia and New Zealand will need to quarantine first in their home countries for two weeks and submit a certificate verifying the isolation period, and also show a negative test report. Travellers can also quarantine at a Fiji hotel for two weeks.

The country is also looking to create a Pacific Pathways corridor which would allow visitors from Kiribati, Tonga and Tuvalu to enter the country, however, with the quarantine clause.

The United States is not looking to open its borders soon. As per Dr Anthony Fauci, the countrys leading public health official, restrictions on international travel could remain for months, possibly till a vaccine is found.

With countries opening up their borders, albeit with restrictions, the list of places that travellers can visit is set to expand in the coming months. No country can afford to keep its borders closed for long and, thus, will need to proceed with caution. However, one thing is apparent - travel in the COVID-era may be nothing like what we have been used to so far.
(Newser)  After South Dakota's governor vowed to protect Mount Rushmore, at least one Native American leader is calling for it to be taken down. Oglala Sioux President Julian Bear Runner says the monument in the Black Hills not only depicts four white men who led the founding and expansion of a nation at the expense of Natives, but it was carved on tribal land that did not rightfully belong to the government. "To me, it's a great sign of disrespect," Bear Runner tells the Argus Leader, which digs into the history of the 19th-century treaties involved and ensuing legal fights. He wants the monument removed, though not dynamited because he fears damage to the land.

story continues below

Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural racism thats still alive and well in society today, Nick Tilsen, an activist and member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, tells the AP. Its an injustice to actively steal Indigenous peoples land, then carve the white faces of the conquerors who committed genocide. Not helping is that the monument's sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, was a reported member of the KKK, per KSTP. But as state Rep. Dusty Johnson sees it, "these presidents championed the cause of freedom." He's introduced legislation that would protect the monument ahead of President Trump's July 3 visit, which will be protested by numerous Native American activists. (Read more Mount Rushmore stories.)
A tattooed bikie nicknamed 'Kaos' (pictured) was arrested after a secret operation

A tattooed bikie nicknamed 'Kaos' who converted to Islam was dramatically arrested after a secret operation by tactical police officers.

Heavily armed officers swooped on Brett Pechey and another man with alleged links to bikie gangs after surrounding a property in the Perth suburb of Belmont on Friday morning.

Pechey is known to have had connections to the West End Bandigos gang and Brothers 4 Life.

He boasts a highly curated Instagram account featuring a life of luxury holidays, champagne and women.

Police established a road block on Frederick Street just after 11.30am before using a loud speaker to demand the men come out of the house.

As they waited with guns drawn, Peachey reportedly gave himself up without a fight, reported the West Australian.

Pechey (pictured, left, with his former girlfriend Rikki-Louise) is thought to have connections to the West End Bandigos Gang and the Brothers 4 Life

As police waited with guns drawn (pictured), Peachey reportedly gave himself up without a fight

Police allegedly found a shotgun in a white Holden Commodore down the road from the raided property, with the car later being towed from the scene.

Neighbours filmed some of the dramatic take-down after hearing the action unfold.

The crackling of the loud-speaker prompted a number of locals to peer out of their windows where they saw the fully-armed tactical officers waiting with their guns drawn.

Brett Pechey (pictured) was arrested in a dramatic operation by tactical police on Friday, it is understood

'I was actually on the phone at the time and then I just looked out the window and seen a couple of guys with guns pointed at the house,' witness Jason Cawley said.

'Both the roads were blocked top and bottom. They eventually arrested the guy and brought him out.

'It was a big operationa lot of guys (police).'

Another neighbor described it as being quite 'exciting' to see the operation unfold.

No charges have been laid.

Mirways Sayed, the leader of Muslim organisation Ummah United which has been under scrutiny due to its alleged connections to bikie members and suicide bombers, voiced his support for Pechey in the past.

'This is a true brother of mine. He loves peace loyalty respect honesty. Never hurt no [sic] body. May Allah help u brother we are here for u. Ummah united,' a post by Mr Sayed on social media read.
President Donald Trump walks to the White House residence after exiting Marine One on the South Lawn in Washington on June 25, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Some Statues Can Come Down Through a Legal Process, Trump Says

President Donald Trump late Thursday said statues can come down but the removal process should be done legally, as opposed to the vandalism seen in Washington and other cities.

We can take things down, too. I can understand certain things being taken down, but they ought to go through a process legally, the Republican president said.

And then we take it down; in some cases, put them in museums or wherever they may go.

Government officials in a number of states, including the Carolinas, have removed statues of slaveowners with plans to place them in museums or educational institutions.

Trump, speaking during a Fox News town hall, said federal law enforcement has arrested a lot of peoplepossibly hundredsfor the destruction theyve wrought during riots in recent weeks, noting mobs have taken down or targeted statues of former presidents like George Washington, Andrew Jackson, and Abraham Lincoln.

A vandal wraps chains around the neck of the statue of former President Andrew Jackson during an attempt by vandals to pull the statue down in the middle of Lafayette Park in front of the White House during racial inequality protests in Washington, on June 22, 2020. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

Activists have even discussed removing statues of Jesus, Trump said, referring to calls made by Shaun King, a former Bernie Sanders delegate, among others.

Describing those fomenting chaos as troublemakers, agitators, and anarchists, Trump said they have nothing to do with any particular event.

The big thing they want is they want to really destabilize our country, and we dont let them, he said, several days after he said he was authorizing federal officers to arrest any person who vandalizes or destroys a monument or other federal property.

One group, in parallel with a legal effort from a delegate, wants to tear down the Emancipation Statue in Washington, which was paid for by freed slaves and honors Lincoln for ending slavery.

They planned to do so Thursday, but strong barriers were placed around the memorial. The group reportedly postponed their vandalism attempts until Friday night.

You have somebody, I think, that wasnt freed, and hes getting up. Its the position of hes getting up; hes being freed by Abraham Lincoln, Trump said, describing how he sees the statue.

And I can see controversy, but I can also see beauty in it. And it was paid for by slaves. I dont know if you know that. It was paid for because they were so grateful to the president. It was paid for that reason. And they want to take it down, he added, before making the statement about moving statues to museums.

People look at the statue of John C. Calhoun atop the monument in his honor as workers prepare to relocate the memorial from Marion Square in Charleston, S.C., on June 24, 2020. Local officials planned to move the statue to a museum or educational institution. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

An audience member inquired about what unfolded in Wisconsin late Wednesday, when two statues, including one showing an anti-slavery activist, were toppled, and hooligans assaulted a Democratic state senator.

Trump blamed Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, saying if former Republican Gov. Scott Walker was in office, it wouldnt have happened.

But it did happen, and it was a shame. And the person they beat up was a Democrat who happened to be gay. And he was probably out there rooting them on or something, because Democrats think its wonderful that theyre destroying our country. Its a very sick thing going on. Nobody has ever seen it, he claimed.

Evers activated the National Guard Thursday after the wave of violence.

Few Democrats have spoken out against mobs taking down statues. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) called for people to petition their local government if there are statues they dont like.

Your perceived righteousness is not license to smash whatever you dont like, he said in a social media statement on June 23.

Trump took credit for federal officers stopping vandals from ripping down Jacksons statue that sits near the White House. National Guard troops deployed this week to guard monuments in the District of Columbia while the U.S. Marshals have reportedly been told to prepare to help protect national monuments throughout the country.

We told them: Every night, were going to get tougher and tougher. And at some point, theres going to be retribution because there has to be. These people are vandals, but theyre agitators, but theyre really terrorists, in a sense, Trump said.
Variety magazine on Thursday presented Cate Blanchett with an award for her humanitarian work with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the actor and director immediately turned the spotlight on a woman whose career has been devoted to helping refugees.

Blanchett received Varietys Power of Women award, joining fellow and past Variety honourees in a broadcast called Lifetime Presents Varietys Power of Women: Frontline Heroes that celebrated engagement in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

But rather than soaking up praise herself, Blanchett singled out Alessandra Morelli, UNHCRs representative in Niger, for attention, describing her as absolutely inspirational.

She's been working tirelessly with the UN Refugee Agency for almost 30 years in emergency and conflict areas, Blanchett said.

I'm sure that the mental and physical cost has been enormous. And she's been making sure that refugees had the help and the hope and the resources they need not only to survive, but to thrive, Blanchett said.

"Don't worry. You are not alone."

Morelli, an Italian, has spent her career working in conflict areas, often at great personal risk.

In 2014, a suicide car bomb exploded next to the vehicle in which she was travelling in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. Morelli survived, but seven others were killed.

Listen to Morellis interview on Awake at Night

Her career with UNHCR includes postings in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Rwanda and Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami. In 2016, she led the agencys first emergency response in Greece, which has seen more than 1 million people fleeing famine, war and violence.

Since October 2017, she has been the representative in Niger, a large operation in the heart of the Sahel which is a crossroads for the central Mediterranean migration route to Europe via Libya. Recently, UNHCR announced that violence in parts of north-western Nigeria had forced an estimated 23,000 people to seek safety and security in Niger in April.

UNHCR's Alessandra Morelli talks with an internally displaced woman at a garment production and tailoring workshop in Galkayo, north-central Somalia. In 2015, Morelli was UNHCR's representative in Somalia.  UNHCR/Carlotta Wolf

My job at UNHCR is ... (to) ensure that people who are without their homes, who have fled their countries, are fed. We ensure they receive clean and drinkable water. We ensure that the sick can access healthcare, Morelli said.

We are basically saying: Don't worry, you're not alone to refugees who are at the most alone moment of their lives. We try to make them feel safe, she said. The pandemic has made that task more difficult and UNHCR has responded by distributing soap as well as disseminating public health messages.

Blanchett described Morelli is an example of resilience. Morelli, for her part, applied the term to many of the refugees she has met.
Bengaluru, June 26 : Bengaluru's Kengeri suburb and R.R Nagar zone have recorded the highest-ever rainfall in the city in a day, an official said on Friday.

"Bengaluru city has observed historical highest rainfall of 185.5 mm in Kengeri and R.R. Nagar zone in 24 hours," Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) Director Srinivas Reddy told IANS.

The rainfall occurred between 8.30 a.m. on Thursday to 8.30 a.m. Friday.

According to Reddy, this is the highest ever rainfall recorded at one place in the city from the time record keeping started.

"Entire Bengaluru has recorded an average rainfall of 53 mm... generally that much average rainfall does not occur," he said.

Previous historical highest rainfall occurred on October 16, 1891, recording 101.6 mm rainfall in 24 hours' time.

Similarly, on August 15, 2017, Arekere and Bommanahalli zone recorded 182 mm rainfall in 24 hours, Reddy said.

On Thursday, other places which received extremely heavy rainfall along with Kengeri included H. Gollahalli, Hemmigepura, Gottigere, Anjanapura and Begur among others.

Nagarabavi, Bommanahalli Konanakunte, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Bangalore University Campus and others received heavy rainfall.

Meanwhile, due to the severity of rainfall, the Vrishabhavati river in Kengeri has cut off a part of the retaining wall and road.

"Inspected the spot with BBMP Commissioner and other officials near Vrishabhavati river in Kengeri where a retaining wall collapsed due to persistent rain on Thursday. Have instructed the officials to take up repair work immediately," Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP) Mayor M. Gowtham Kumar said.

The retaining wall is not very far from where a metro line is located.
The Christopher Columbus statue at Marconi Plaza in South Philadelphia towers quietly over often loud protests, debates, and negotiations that are ongoing in the background with regard to the statue's fate in the plaza on June 14, 2020. Read more

Italian immigrants and their descendants have had enormous impacts on the culture and fabric of South Philadelphia, and the city as a whole. Today, Italian restaurants sit on the same streets as taquerias and Vietnamese bakeries. At our best, we are welcoming people looking to live, work, and play in peace.

Thats why we, three Italian Americans who make their home in South Philly, are angry and frustrated about the conflict, confrontations, and controversies surrounding the statue of Christopher Columbus in Marconi Plaza, including Tuesday nights tense events, with some men bearing bats and hammers, purporting to warn against vandalism or removal of the statue of Columbus that looks over South Broad Street.

Columbus has been a symbol of Italian pride, and of our contribution to the birth and growth of the United States. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed Columbus Day as a one-time national celebration to placate Italian Americans, immigrants, and Italys government after a mass lynching of 11 Sicilians in New Orleans.

In the years that followed, Italians were subject to prejudices similar to some of those for which marginalized groups seek redress, including the use of legislation to halt our mass immigration, the internment of some unnaturalized Italians in camps during World War II, and the redlining of our neighborhoods. We have been often stereotyped, ridiculed, and, perhaps worst of all, ignored.

Other groups, especially African and Native Americans, fared worse and continue to suffer from systematic oppression. Italians cannot and should not equate the treatment of our kin to the suffering of these other groups. Despite Italians notably widespread assimilation, our history does not allow us to turn a blind eye to injustice or prejudice. In fact, we have a duty to help redress those wrongs.

What happened at Marconi Plaza was traumatic, and some bad actors have tarnished the communitys image and reinforced negative stereotypes. We do appreciate those who went to Marconi with the intent to peacefully exercise their First Amendment right to speak. We strongly condemn any violence or intimidation of protesters, counterprotesters, bystanders, or journalists. This is unacceptable, contrary to the values of most South Philadelphians, and detrimental to the neighborhood.

Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement Wednesday the city will ask the Art Commission on July 22 to approve the statues removal in light of ongoing public safety concerns about the presence of armed individuals at Marconi Plaza. This opens discussion about what, if anything, will replace it. This debate will create anger and resentment if not approached with respect, caution, and the spirit of good faith.

The process is already off to an inauspicious start. While some in the community wanted a more representative monument and some wanted to keep the statue, reasonable community members on either side had hoped for a more deliberate, thoughtful, and transparent process.

This was an opportunity to communicate and educate. Many neighbors believe the Kenney administration sought and found an out for a tense situation (made so by the unfortunate behavior of some), and never truly intended to consider the opinions, thoughts, and ideas of South Philadelphians. This creates cynicism and doubt about what voice, if any, neighbors will have in determining a suitable, representative replacement.

South Philadelphians of Italian heritage should be given the opportunity to embrace our role in the development and history of this city, educate both our kinfolk and our neighbors about the history and merit of our community, and offer an olive branch to others who, like us, have suffered exclusion, derision, and prejudice.

We must also hear those who believe that Columbus represents something entirely different to them than it does to some (though not all) Italian Americans, including pain, suffering, systematic oppression, and the loss of land, culture, and lives. This is his legacy to many Americans, especially Native Americans, and also some members of our own community. There must be another symbol, one that reaffirms our presence and contribution to this city and country, but does not aggravate the open wounds of our fellow citizens.

Most importantly, we must show leadership. Italian American or not, South Philadelphia has produced some of Philadelphias most important citizens, figures who have brought positive attention to not only South Philadelphia, but the entire city and country. We must now take the mantle and peacefully engage.

Gaetano P. Piccirilli, Francis Cratil Cretarola, and David A. Magaldi Jr. are Italian American South Philadelphia residents and advocates.
The hospitality and retail sectors have welcomed the Executive's move to allow social distancing of one metre, saying it will ensure the survival of many businesses.

First Minister Arlene Foster said that while the objective should be to remain two metres apart, "a minimum of one metre can be considered acceptable in circumstances where appropriate mitigations are made".

She said the Executive will now consult with business sectors on what the mitigations might be.

Colin Neill, chief executive of Hospitality Ulster, said the right decision had been made.

"The move to one metre has the potential to save lots of jobs and some hospitality businesses that thought they didn't stand a chance at two metres.

"The industry is prepared and will do everything it can to protect its staff and customers and reduce the spread of the virus, whilst at the same time reopening the hospitality sector for the benefit of the wider economy."

But he warned that even with a one-metre social distancing requirement, many pubs would no longer find it commercially viable to open.

He also called on the Executive to put forward a date when pubs which don't serve food - which are not covered in the July 3 plan - can open.

Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts said the new one-metre rule was a major step forward in the reopening of the economy.

"This will allow a greater volume of customers to be in store and should reduce outdoor queues," he said.

Janice Gault, chief executive of the NI Hotels Federation, also welcomed the one-metre ruling and said it would increase the viability of venues.

"Hotels understand that they will have to put protocols in place to ensure that the business environs are safe and managed in terms of risk," she said. "There has been significant work in the creation of guidelines and operating procedures to ensure that hotels are Covid-19 safe.

"A collaborative approach has worked well to date and continuing partnerships is the way forward. This will stand us in good stead and hopefully result in a workable set of mitigations for the sector going forward."

The Executive also announced dates for the reopening of venues offering close-contact services, such as beauticians and spas, which can open from July 6. Indoor gyms can now open from July 10.

James Higgins, the owner of a gym in Tully Business Park in Dunmurry, said he was "delighted" to have a date to reopen. He launched the business in December last year.

He said: "We will have people in training in July 10 to help people get back on track and regain their fitness. People have gained between 10 and 20 pounds during lockdown, so there will be plenty of people wanting to get into the gym."

Nicola Crawford, co-owner of fat-loss and wellbeing business Cinch Clinic in Holywood, Co Down, said: "I am relieved at this news as until now we had felt left behind as one of the smaller industries. Now this means that we might be able to serve our clients and get staff back to work whilst reaping some benefits from what remains of the busiest time of the year."
(Newser)  A San Antonio man who berated a Lowe's worker after being told he was supposed to wear a mask was spoken to by another customerthe judge who issued the order requiring masks. But after Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff tried to give the man his business card so they could discuss the policy, the customer smacked it out of the 79-year-old judge's hand, county spokeswoman Monica Ramos tells the San Antonio Current. She says Wolff decided to step in after hearing the man talk to the worker. "The man became belligerent and eventually abusive to this poor lady, and the judge tried to intervene and defuse the situation," Ramos says. Ramos says the judge called the sheriff and got the man's license plate number after the card was slapped out of his hand.

story continues below

Wolff issued an executive order last week requiring workers and customers inside businesses to wear masks. The customer, Terry Toller, 47, turned himself in on Thursday and received a citation. The charge against him was reduced from assault on a public servant, a felony, to disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500, reports the San Antonio Express-News. Wolff said in a statement that he does not want to pursue a criminal complaint against Toller because it would be a "distraction" from efforts to fight the pandemic. Toller's lawyer says his client didn't assault the judge or verbally abuse the cashier. The lawyer says Toller reacted after Wolff, who had spoken to Toller earlier about wearing a mask, approached him again at checkout and "put a card in his face." (Read more Texas stories.)
On the third day of Grade 12 graduation ceremonies in Brandon, a historic first was achieved.

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This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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On the third day of Grade 12 graduation ceremonies in Brandon, a historic first was achieved.

For the very first time, Prairie Hope High School, formerly the Neelin Off-Campus Site, celebrated the achievement of its graduates as an independent entity.

Small groups of graduates and their loved ones attended small-scale ceremonies at the A.R. McDiarmid Civic Complex on Thursday morning and afternoon.

The schools purpose is to give a second chance to students who were in danger of not completing their studies elsewhere, and that purpose was fulfilled in one of the first graduates to receive their diploma.

"It means a lot because a couple of years ago I didnt think Id be alive today," graduate Montana Jackson said.

"I didnt think Id be graduating and moving on with the rest of my life, so Im very proud of myself. I was just going through a really bad time  I was doing lots of hard drugs. I didnt care about my family, I didnt care about my education, I didnt care about anything, so now Im happy to be in a totally different place in my life."

Talking to the Sun after her ceremony, she said some credit for her recovery is owed to local Tim Hortons franchisee Rhonda Pardy, who paid for Jackson and her boyfriend to go to a self-help seminar called "Choices" in Calgary that changed her life.

Montana Jackson gets a picture with sister Phoenix, taken by parents Tanis and Eric at Montanas graduation ceremony on Thursday morning at Prairie Hope High School. (Colin Slark/The Brandon Sun)

"You learn how to deal with anything youre fighting through in your life on your own and learn how to talk and communicate with people better," she said. "Its an awesome course and Im so thankful to Rhonda for sending me."

Pardy said she estimates she has sent 40 people, including her family, to the seminar over the years.

"I saw so much potential in Montana and I wanted to do something to help her see that potential in herself," she said. "And it worked. ... I do believe thats just the beginning for her as well."

Another person Jackson credits for helping her cross the finish line is Prairie Hope guidance counsellor Tammy Ballingall. Jackson said it made a "huge difference" to have Ballingall watching out for her and pushing her toward graduation.

After the days celebrations were over, Ballingall praised Jacksons initiative in getting her schoolwork done while also working a full-time job.l.

"She was just such a great kid to have around the school," Ballingall said. "If you ask any staff member she had a subject with, they would say the same thing. Just a very polite, kind kid that really just wanted to get it done and learn and worry about her next journey."

Ballingall said she liked the intimate graduation ceremonies the school held this year so much that she hopes they do something similar next year.

Each graduate was allowed to have four visitors accompany them, and Jackson was joined by her sister, boyfriend, mom and dad. Jackson said both parents being there was special for her because theyre divorced.

Siblings Blake and Cheyenne Fleury graduated together from Prairie Hope High School on Thursday.

Jackson isnt quite sure whats next for her, but she would like to go to college. To further celebrate her graduation, Jackson is holding a barbecue for family and friends.

Also graduating on Thursday were siblings Blake and Cheyenne Fleury.

"Im really happy to get (high school) done," Blake said. "Im proud of myself."

"Were onto the next step now," Cheyenne said.

Blake said he appreciated that Prairie Hope was able to give him a flexible timetable for his classes so he could work while he completed his studies.

Cheyenne is interested in studying biology in the future while Blake wants to study heavy machine operation at Assiniboine Community College.

Being related, the Fleury siblings were able to combine their guest pool to have eight relatives on hand to watch them graduate.

On Friday evening, the family is gathering at Oak Lake to further celebrate Blake and Cheyennes accomplishments.

Ballingall said Prairie Hope still has six students left to graduate today.

 cslark@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ColinSlark
Huawei has been at the center of the news when previous reports said the company is "backed by the Chinese military." Huawei has denied these claims, TIME reported.

Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman talked with the media and said they have a document containing the list of 20 companies that the Chinese military allegedly owns or controls. These include Huawei Technologies and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology.

On June 24, Wednesday, the Pentagon said it was presenting this list of "Communist Chinese military companies operating in the United States." It was during the fiscal 1999 defense policy law the list was first requested, the report added.

"As the People's Republic of China attempts to blur the lines between civil and military sectors, 'knowing your supplier' is critical," Hoffman pointed out. "We envision this list will be a useful tool for the U.S. government, companies, investors, academic institutions, and like-minded partners to conduct due diligence with regard to partnerships with these entities, particularly as the list grows."

READ ALSO: [BREAKING] Huawei Warning: Global 'Shockwaves' May Happen After Huawei Founder's Daughter Arrested

Huawei denies

Nonetheless, Shanghai-based Huawei denied the claim that it is connected with the Chinese military. A spokesperson from the company said, "These allegations are categorically untrue and groundless. This is another example of the Trump administration's political campaign targeting Huawei."

They added that the company keeps its status as "private and employee-owned," and does not connect with the Chinese military or "intelligence projects" by its government.





'Awakening to the truth'

From the report on Nikkei Asian Review, Huawei Technologies seemed not to be getting odds to its favor, especially with the recent reveal of the list from Pentagon. The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo frames this as "a win for security."

On Thursday, June 25, Pompeo specified "a transatlantic awakening to the truth of what's happening" on Huawei's issues, that it is backed or belongs to the arm of the Chinese Communist Party, among others.

According to the U.S. Secretary of State, it is the "world confronting China." This was shared during a speech at the Brussels Forum of the German Marshall Fund, which the State Department livestreamed.

The day before, he also said that there is a momentum in favor of a more secure 5G with countries, companies, and people asking whom they should entrust their sensitive information, and said, "the more obvious the answer becomes: not the Chinese Communist Party's surveillance state."

Last Wednesday, telecommunication companies in Singapore said they preferred the company's rivals in question, particularly Finland's Nokia and Ericsson from Sweden.

The media are getting the side of the Chinese government.

Huawei projects

Meanwhile, Huawei reportedly received approval on Thursday to build a research facility in the United Kingdom, amounting to $1.25 billion. It was announced simultaneously with the issue involving the Chinese telecom company and the government.

This nine-acre facility is poised to become the international headquarters of the company's fiber-optic arm with 400 jobs being created, CNN reported.

ALSO READ: Huawei Loses Android License As Google Cut Ties With The Chinese Company: Here's What This Means

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
It was just another Monday morning for the English teacher in the new normal. Vasudha Dixit, 39, settled down at her desk in the bedroom by 8.15am. She first ran through the school emails. Then she logged onto Microsoft Teamsa software platform used by her school to hold online classesand quickly browsed through the assignments that her students had sent her. She started her first class of the day at 8.30am with about 23 students (though she can see only nine students at any given time on her laptop screen). She was done with work by 2pm. It was time for lunch.

Later in the day, after helping her son, a seventh standard student, with his Hindi homework, Ms Dixit returned to her laptop. Her mind was full of feelings about the unusual texture of life these days. In the next 20 minutes, she wrote a poem.

Life has been very different since March this year, she confesses, chatting on WhatsApp video. Fond of the poetry of Robert Frost, William Wordsworth and Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Ms Dixit teaches English and EVS (Environmental Studies) to grade II students at a private school in Faridabad.

The coronavirus pandemic turned the world upside down for her, her colleagues and her students. The classes are held virtually, which means Ms Dixit no longer has to step out of the pleasant house she shares with her parents and her young son, in south Delhis Gulmohar Park.

But I miss those daily interactions in the school, she argues. She also misses going to movies with her son. It was in February that she last went out with Siddharth to a multiplex in Saket, after which they had pancakes and omelettes filled with bacon and cheese. I wish I could catch up with my friends in person. However, I am grateful that the lockdown and its aftermath has given me a chance to spend time with family and to keenly observe the daily life of nature.

Ms Dixit shares her poem with us.

A TEACHER IN LOCKDOWN

It was in March when it dawned on us that life had to come to a standstill

In a hurry we said our byes, knowing little about the uncertainty that would spill

The school was shut, for we had to adopt social distancing.

Stepping out was a big no, we had to learn how to be still.

The trees sprouted new leaves, the weather was fair.

I started observing the flowers, the butterflies sighting a plane was rare.

I greeted the many birds on the trees around my house, I realised their beauty!

The Neem had flowers that intoxicated the senses, even as the Dahlias and Lilies brightened up my spaces.

Evenings on the terrace were magical Venus shone bright even as the Moon completed its cycle!

We didnt let adversity deter usadapting to technology was the way forward.

It was time to meet our students virtually! To start learning and studying remotely!

The Sun shines brighter now, the hot loo has made an appearance!

The Neem tree has started bearing fruits, while Amaltas brightens up the park!

My balcony is full of fragrancesChampa, Roses, Jasmine it is a heady mix.

Even as I go about my daily chores, the rains have now knocked at our doors!

I am still at homewith the hope that I would return to the way life was before!

However, full of gratitude that I got a chance to see all this and more!

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A human smuggling attempt in the winter of 2019 turned into a dramatic rescue after three people aboard a Jet Ski became trapped on ice in the upper Niagara River.

The watercraft operator, a 35-year-old native of Brazil who lived in Toronto, will spend the next 21 months in a U.S. jail after being convicted of human smuggling in a Buffalo, N.Y. court, Thursday.

Wanderson Dos Santos-Freitas was arrested in March 2019 after a U.S. Custom and Border Patrol agent spotted a Jet Ski, carrying two men and a woman, not far from the shoreline at a U.S. park located along the upper Niagara River.

When the trio noticed the agent, according to assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kruly, Dos Santos-Freitas stepped into the water and began to push the watercraft further away from the shoreline.

The Jet Ski, however, stalled after the intake filled with ice.

Dos Santos-Freitas then abandoned his two passengers and walked across the ice to the shore where he was arrested.

One passenger was also able to cross the ice, while the second person had to be rescued by the Grand Island Fire Department and CBPs Air and Marine Operations.

The passengers, citizens of Brazil and Spain, later told border agents they had agreed to pay the defendant to transport them from Canada to the U.S.
U.S. oil companies are calling on President Donald Trump to help persuade Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador not to ditch the energy reforms that his predecessor launched, opening Mexicos oil industry to private investment, including to U.S. energy companies.

American companies have invested billions of dollars in Mexico since 2013, primarily in storage, pipelines, and marketing infrastructure, Chet Thompson, president of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), wrote in a letter to President Trump this week, as carried by Houston Chronicle.

Unfortunately, recent actions taken by the Mexican government threaten the important progress that has been made, the letter says.

Mexicos populist left-wing President Lopez Obrador has been a vocal critic of the energy reform of his predecessor Enrique Pena Nieto, who opened in 2013 Mexicos oil and gas sector to private investment for the first time in seven decades.

Six months after taking office in December 2018, Lopez Obrador blasted the energy reform as a failure and vowed not to hold new bidding rounds for foreign oil companies for oil exploration and production in Mexico unless those companies show results because currently, they are not investing and not producing.

Lopez Obrador seeks a greater role for Pemex in reversing the downward trend in Mexican oil production and is criticizing the energy reform and the foreign oil firms for failing to do so.

But U.S. firms have invested in Mexicos oil industry, and U.S. exports of crude oil and petroleum products have more than doubled over the past half decade, EIA data shows.

American oil firms are now turning to President Trump to help them keep doing business in Mexico and be treated fairly.

Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute (API), wrote in another letter to President Trump earlier in June, saying:

We encourage you to use diplomatic channels to engage with the president of Mexico and your Cabinet-level counterparts in Mexicos agencies to urge the government of Mexico to uphold its USMCA commitments to treat U.S. investors and U.S. exporters fairly on the eve of USMCA entering into force.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Two newlyweds used their wedding reception money to buy protective gear and food for the local hospital struggling with coronavirus patients. Kindhearted couple Wilbert Silverio, 29, and Harlene Silverio, 28, tied the knot and had the reception but then travelled straight to the medical centre on June 18. They handed out Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including masks, suits, gloves, and face shields to staff at the Bulacan Medical Mission Group Cooperative Hospital in Bulacan province, the Philippines. The couple bought the sought-after medical items using their wedding ceremony funds given by guests and relatives. Wilbert said: "This is our way of giving thanks to God because we were able to marry and find love despite the crisis happening." The couple's wedding was supposed to be held on April 24 but it was moved to a later date because of the covid-19 lockdown and community quarantine. After delivering the equipment, they also handed out food packs to medical frontliners who are working at the hospital. The extra money left over was used to buy groceries for the families who live poverty-stricken Sta Maria town, one of the worst-hit areas during the coronavirus crisis as residents in the area have been unable to work due to the restrictions. Health officials have recorded 30,682 Covid-19 infections and 1,177 deaths since records began, leading to some of the most stringent lockdown rules in the world.
(CNN) -- Virgin Australia has found a new owner.

Administrators for the carrier announced Friday that it had selected Bain Capital, the US private equity firm, to take over the company, two months after its collapse. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Bain won out over Cyrus Capital Partners, a New York-based investment firm, which had also submitted a binding offer.

"Several proposals from other interested parties" were also submitted this week, including a proposal by some of the airline's bondholders, according to the administrators.

The deal comes as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hurt global demand for travel. The International Air Transport Authority has estimated that it could take more than three years for international travel to return to pre-crisis levels.

Virgin Australia, Australia's second biggest airline, filed for voluntary administration in April after failing to receive the government support it had asked for. Earlier that week, billionaire founder Richard Branson had appealed to the national government for assistance, and even said he would offer his Necker Island estate in the Caribbean as collateral.

Virgin Australia's main local competitor, Qantas, is also fighting to stay afloat. Qantas, which is Australia's flagship carrier, announced Thursday that it would slash 6,000 jobs and raise up to 1.9 billion Australian dollars ($1.3 billion) as it took on "the biggest crisis our industry has ever faced."

While federal authorities in Australia have declined to provide a direct bailout for Virgin Australia, they have stressed the importance of the carrier's survival.

"We want a competitive aviation market here in Australia. We want to see these two airlines [Virgin Australia and flag carrier Qantas] flying and competing," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters last month.

Virgin Australia's administrators said Friday that the deal would likely face "minimal" regulatory scrutiny.

Bain has already received preliminary regulatory approval from Australia's treasurer, and is now proceeding with the airline for its restructuring and eventual sale, administrators said.

 Angus Watson contributed to this report.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Virgin Australia finds new owner in US private equity firm Bain Capital"
It was a melodrama that lasted 90 court sessions. When the final curtain fell, and the judge issued a three-year suspended sentence to director Kirill Serebrennikov, the audience that had gathered outside the courtroom breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Few of the 500 or so friends and journalists there expected such a benign course of events. Judge Olessia Mendeleyevas verdict, stretched over five and a half hours, seemed to leave little possibility of the celebrated creative being allowed to walk free.

Early on, Ms Mendeleyeva quashed any hopes of a non-guilty verdict by declaring Serebrennikov responsible for forming a criminal syndicate to defraud the Russian state of 129 million roubles (1.5m). The money relates to grants awarded by then-president Dmitry Medvedev to develop experimental theatre.

Serebrennikovs co-defendants, the theatre manager Alexey Malobrodsky, and producer Yury Itin, were also found guilty of participating in the fraud. Another co-defendant, the former culture ministry official Sofia Apfelbaum, was deemed guilty of the lesser crime of negligence.

In unexpectedly sentencing Serebrennikov, Malobrodsky and Itin to suspended sentences of two to three years, Ms Mendeleyeva said she was taking into account good character references and state awards. Apfelbaum was meanwhile fined 100,000 roubles (1,200).

Those outside court in Moscow react after the announcement of the verdict on Friday (AFP/Getty)

Ostensibly focused on grey accountancy in the arts, the three-year trial has been alternatively interpreted as an attack on artistic freedoms.

Throughout the trial, allegations of serious financial impropriety by any of the defendants were never truly convincing, and proceedings have frequently bordered on the absurd.

State investigators initially accused the defendants of embezzling money that was meant for a play that never ran. In fact, A Midsummer Nights Dream not only saw the light of day, it received theatre awards and continues to fill halls.

For a long time, prosecutors and the culture ministry could not decide on the amount supposedly embezzled.

The first claim was 216 million roubles (2.5m), which then became 133 million roubles (1.5m), and finally 128.9 million roubles. Investigators presented different versions of the same witness statements, suggesting the method of obtaining them had not been wholesome.

When one of the defendants insisted signatures in documents were forged, the judge refused to investigate.

Much of the prosecutions case rested on the evidence of Nina Maslayeva, the groups former accountant, who claimed the defendants conspired with her to run parallel, cash-in-hand accounts.

Serebrennikovs supporters say the former accountant was blackmailed to give evidence against them. At trial, Ms Maslayevas former assistant attested that she had been pressured to give evidence against the group. The accountant was elderly, in poor health, and had a previous court conviction hanging over her, so prosecutors certainly had leverage.

The judge dismissed the suggestion of blackmail or pressure from investigators. Claims to the contrary were baseless, Ms Mendeleyeva said.

Given the small level of the grants involved, most analysts assume the states initial beef with the groundbreaking creative was not only about cash.

It seems likely that Serebrennikovs brand of experimental, taboo-breaking theatre, which often covers themes of protest, God and homosexuality, made him a target for conservative political elites. Taking money to produce that art may also have been a factor.

But even if Serebrennikov had enemies in government, he had supporters there too. Two of the presidents closest allies  his spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and former deputy prime minister Aleksei Kudrin  have spoken out in support of the director.

After Serebrennikov was released from house arrest in April last year, there were hopes authorities would find room for compromise. With acquittal rates running at less than 0.1 per cent in Russian trials, a non-guilty verdict was not on the cards. But many hoped the state would seek non-custodial sentences.

Mondays news that prosecutors were requesting real sentences from four to six years came as a bolt from the blue, and shocked Serebrennikovs legal team.

Serebrennikov talked to some of that frustration in a final admission delivered on Monday, in the session before sentencing. It was delivered in typically conceptualised code, with the first letters of each paragraph spelling out his own verdict. I dont regret anything, the code read. I pity you.

In the event, the director emerged from sentencing a free man. Thanking his supporters after the verdict, the obviously relieved director insisted he was not guilty of any crime.

Thank you for believing in our innocence, he said. You have to fight for justice.

Serebrennikovs lawyer confirmed he intended to appeal the criminal conviction.
I ts been an emotional week for Ugla Stefania Kristjonudottir Jonsdottir and Fox Fisher, the trans couple at the centre of the J K Rowling transphobia row. We woke up this morning and we were both crying, says Ugla, also known as Owl, speaking from their shared home in Brighton. On Monday, they resigned from the Blair Partnership, the literary agency that represents both them and the Harry Potter author. Owl and Fox said in a joint statement  with two other outgoing authors  that they felt unsupported after asking the management to reaffirm its stance on transgender rights and equality.

Not only did the agency refuse, it responded by saying these clients have decided to leave because we did not meet their demands to be re-educated to their point of view. This upset Owl and Fisher. Saying we wanted to re-educate them to our point of view was a really unfair and twisted interpretation of what we were asking for. We sent a letter saying wed like an honest conversation about trans people and rights, wed love them to reaffirm their support, and also possibly have training with an organisation like All About Trans [which aims to change how the media portray trans people]. We were very gentle; we wanted to be fair.

The row erupted when Rowling tweeted her dismay at seeing the phrase people who menstruate in an online article. The Twitter backlash of outrage and vitriol was predictably swift, but Rowling was adamant she had not been transphobic. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isnt hate to speak the truth, she tweeted, but that only fanned the flames. Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, together with Fantastic Beasts lead man Eddie Redmayne, publicly distanced themselves, Radcliffe even saying that he hoped Rowlings comments wouldnt taint the series for fans.

Rowling then posted an essay, Reasons for Speaking Out on Sex and Gender Issues, on her own website, which touched on several sensitive topics, including the abuse she had suffered from her first husband, her belief in vulnerable womens rights to safe spaces, and, crucially, the effect of the trans rights movement on freedom of speech. Last week, publishers Hachette reported that several employees were refusing to work on her forthcoming childrens book, The Ickabog, and then came the Fishers resignation from the agency, which until Monday had represented them for The Trans Teen Survival Guide, and a follow-up, The Trans Survival Work Book, which they co-wrote, is still in the pipeline.

The pair are also accusing the head of the company, Neil Blair, of retweeting quite a lot of transphobic posts from other people and have sent some screenshots to prove their point. @HadleyFreeman, for example, had tweeted: As a sidenote, I really think if these actors are now so mortified to be associated with J K Rowling and her words, they ought to donate to charity all the money theyve made by speaking her words. But maybe slagging off a woman, getting the cred and keeping the cash is simpler.

This does not seem transphobic, but Owl and Fox are unequivocal. While these tweets might not be seen as transphobic or abusive on face value, they are endorsing a very particular point of view, which is very misleading and feeds into toxic narratives. Its clear to us where he stands and what he believes, which is that trans people arent who they say they are.

They are clearly shaken by the media attention and nervous about this interview. They ask to be described as educators rather than activists. After all, they say, they are taking on one of the biggest authors in the world. And who are we? Of course, everyones saying youre nobodies. We know that, but this wasnt about us trying to seem bigger than her, or make money or get attention, Owl insists. They both grew up loving the Harry Potter books and films and despite the furore, still do. We were worried about how the response, would impact on us personally and about being blacklisted, but thankfully weve had loads of support.

Can they outline their objections? Fox describes Rowling as having fallen in with the wrong crowd and hanging out with people who are very fearmongering. But what of her affirmation that she loves trans people? I challenge her on that because if she actually spent a decent amount of time with real trans people, shed know that theres an overlap, and that a lot of issues affecting trans rights also affect cis women. Women have different needs and issues, but theyre still all women.

Harry Potter author, J K Rowling / Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP

Owl continues: Her claim that she supports transgender women and would walk beside them, while at the same time saying that their inclusion can make women-only spaces less safe is a big contradiction.

Saying that reforming the Gender Recognition Act will mean that anyone can pretend to be a woman and enter those spaces... theres no evidence of this happening in countries that already have much more progressive laws about self-identification. The disinformation she repeats can be really dangerous as it continues to stigmatise transgender people and trivialise what we stand for. So is a woman entitled to say that she feels unsafe at having to share, say, a lavatory or a safe house with a biological man who self-identifies as a woman? I think a lot of these fears are fears. I totally understand why somebody would be afraid, but people have to perceive the reality and lived experience of trans people. But, I say, we know that bad things have happened, albeit in a small minority of cases. If it were to happen that [trans] people would misuse their rights, then they should be punished accordingly, but I dont think that [other] trans people should suffer, replies Owl. People dont necessarily see trans people as who they really are; they often just see them as this big bloke in a dress whos going to walk into the room, start undressing and perv on all the women.

But they do not deny the biology of sex. People seem to think that trans people just want to say that biology doesnt exist, but trans people, more than anyone, are aware of biology and their sex characteristics, and how they dont fit with how they want to be. For us its never been about denying that we have certain types of bodies, its that these differences dont make us any less of a man or woman, says Owl.

Ugla Stefania Kristjoudottir Jonsdottir and Fox Fisher / Matt Writtle

Both identify as non-binary. The pair met at a conference in Italy in 2016, and after Owl missed a flight home, came to the UK with Fox and stayed. They wear wedding rings and staged a protest wedding in 2017, because, being both legally female  Fox still has a female birth certificate  they are not yet able to have the non-binary marriage they would like. They have won several accolades and awards for their work, separately and as a couple, mostly for their trans campaigning films. Owl was on the BBC 100 Women 2019 list as the co-director of My Genderation, a film project focusing on trans lives and trans experiences, and in 2018 and 2019 ran for parliament in Iceland on behalf of Vinstri Grn, the Green Party of Iceland. I was assigned female at birth, and Owl the other way around, and weve met in the middle here. We couldnt be more different and yet we really do connect with a fundamentally similar understanding of the world, says Fox, 39, whose birth name was Rachel. Owl is 10 years younger, grew up as Valur (falcon in Icelandic) on a farm in Iceland, and started the transition process at 18, having surgery at 21. Everyone thought I was a gay boy and I was constantly bullied for being effeminate, but I always knew that wasnt what it was. My sexuality is quite fluid, so the problem was more about how people perceived me. The whole idea of dysphoria and the things that relate to me being trans were so much deeper than any other things I felt.

Fox didnt transition until much later. Id been working as a diplomat for the British consulate in the US, trying to find a way to love myself and the body I was in, but things just didnt feel right. At the end of my twenties, I was having panic attacks and felt like I was dying. Then I had therapy and at the end I asked, am I a woman? After an abusive relationship I came out as trans. That was really hard. Surgery is always a compromise, but losing breasts felt like freedom, even if it meant losing sensation. I can pull on a shirt without a restricting binder, and I got my designer chest!

In the end, these two self-proclaimed educators tell me, our message is that trans people are people, and we just want to get on with our lives.
TORONTO, June 26, 2020 /CNW/ - Canada's banks will begin accepting applications from business customers for the third phase of the federal government's Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) program, starting today.

As announced by the government in May, CEBA has been expanded to enable a greater number of qualifying sole proprietors, or businesses with payroll lower than $20,000, with eligible non-deferrable expenses between $40,000 and $1.5 million to apply for interest-free, partially forgivable loans of up to $40,000. CEBA is administered by Export Development Canada (EDC), which is working closely with banks in Canada to deliver the loans. Full eligibility criteria can be found here: ceba-cuec.ca

"Small businesses are the cornerstone of Canada's economy and a vital part of our communities," says Neil Parmenter, President and CEO, Canadian Bankers Association. "With the third phase of CEBA now active, more businesses are eligible to receive the funds they need to stay strong and to thrive during the recovery."

Notably, the federal government has set out new terms under which phase three of the program will be available. For the first two phases of CEBA, banks would enroll businesses, once they had attested to their eligibility, and provide funding upfront, while EDC would screen for eligibility after the loans had been extended. In phase three, EDC will approve eligibility in CEBA before funding is released. While businesses will still be required to provide an attestation to their primary business financial institution, they will need to provide additional documentation to EDC, before a loan can be approved by EDC.

As of June 15, more than 669,000 CEBA loans have been approved by financial institutions including banks, representing over $26 billion in interest-free credit for eligible businesses.

About the Canadian Bankers Association

The Canadian Bankers Association is the voice of more than 60 domestic and foreign banks that help drive Canada's economic growth and prosperity. The CBA advocates for public policies that contribute to a sound, thriving banking system to ensure Canadians can succeed in their financial goals. www.cba.ca

Follow the CBA on Twitter: @CdnBankers

Watch videos: Youtube.com/CdnBankers

Follow the CBA on LinkedIn

SOURCE Canadian Bankers Association

For further information: Mathieu Labreche, Director, Media Strategy, [email protected], 416-918-2777

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The Chinese Regime Always Picks a Fight With India Whenever It Encounters Challenges

Commentary

After 58 years of peace along the border, military standoffs between China and India broke out in May. If we look back at history, it is not a surprise that the neighboring countries are in conflict. That is, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would start a fight with its neighbors whenever the regimes foreign relations are tense and its domestic economic and social policies are failing. In the past, the regime has picked on India under Mao Zedongs leadership. Maos strategy of the more mistakes, the more calm you should appear. Shift the battlefront to find a way out, has been applied again today. However, the CCP is likely to achieve nothing, just like what happened during the Sino-Indian War of 1962.

Rising in Power, Two Dilemmas

The recent border clashes, which led to casualties on both sides, appears to be a natural continuation of the long-standing border dispute between the two countries. However, the border between China and India has been undecided for almost a hundred years. In such a long period of time, the two sides have had two conflicts, one in 1962 and one now. Peace has been maintained for nearly 60 years. Why is the conflict inevitable now? Perhaps the answer is that it was just a matter of time. Let us examine the true historical context of the conflict.

Both clashes occurred when the CCP encountered unprecedented dilemmas, both domestically and internationally. Such dilemmas are actually the inevitable products of the CCPs desire to become a rising power. The Great Leap Forward, also known as the second Five-Year Plan, an economic and social campaign that began in 1958, totally collapsed in 1962. It was a campaign led by the then-Party leader Mao Zedong that aimed to overtake Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union in prowess. In 2020, the CCP is once again launching policies in an effort to surpass the United States. However, the regime once again fell into a trap caused by its own failed policy.

The common feature of these two campaigns is to accomplish the regimes ambitions in the international arena. In order to reach its goals, the unscrupulous CCP adopts politics that hurt the economy both domestically and internationally. With the Great Leap Forward, the CCP attempted to accelerate agricultural production by forming communes. This failed practice caused tens of millions of farmers to starve to death. Internationally, Mao launched the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, when the CCP and Taiwan engaged in a brief armed conflict after the CCP seized several islands in the Taiwan Strait. He even asked the Soviet Union to participate should a nuclear war be triggered with the United States. This brazen act led to the end of the Soviet Unions honeymoon with the CCP and the termination of technical assistance to Communist China. Sino-Soviet and Sino-U.S. relations deteriorated at the same time.

The current economic dilemma in China dates back to the Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao era (former Chinese leader and premier from 2002 to 2012) when the real estate bubble started to lead the Chinese economy into a dead end. Since then, the economic decline has become a new norm. The rising up strategy began with large-scale technology theft, coupled with a long-term trade surplus with the United States, and violating international maritime law by constructing man-made islands, and even a new sea-based nuclear deterrent in the South China Sea. Faced with various threats from the CCP, the Trump administration took countermeasures that accelerated the decline of Chinas economy. The novel coronavirus pandemic further deteriorated Sino-U.S. relations.

Mao Zedongs Strategy

In a democratic country, citizens can hold the government accountable if such dilemmas occur. However, its not the case for a communist dictatorship. Theres never an apology. Rather, the regime finds various ways to divert attention. Nationalism has always come in handy. An international conflict shows the strength of an army, which secures the Party leadership and prevents any potential internal threats.

Maos strategy of the more mistakes, the more calm you should appear means that the CCP will never admit its fault. The so-called shift the battlefront to find a way out means to launch new conflicts in internal affairs and foreign relations. Neighboring countries are often the scapegoats. The conflict with India is a big issue which can incite nationalism and allows the CCP to flex its muscles. The Sino-India border issue can be easily manipulated to incite conflict. Of course, the CCP also has a bottomline: it cannot become isolated from the international community. Therefore, the conflict is restricted to the borders only. It wont go so far as territorial invasion. The purpose of the conflict is to achieve the goal of diverting attention away from domestic pressure.

The Sino-India border has not been surveyed by both sides for a long time, but the national boundaries on this map are not distinguished by natural geographical boundaries of rivers or valleys, and the dotted lines on the map are not precise. The latitude and longitude coordinates cannot be implemented on the ground, let alone erecting landmarks. Therefore, the actual border situation is that both sides have their own actual Line of Actual Control (LAC), and between the LACs is a buffer zone that neither side occupies. When one party takes some actions in the buffer zone, such as setting up fortifications or bunkers, it will cause friction between the two sides. At this time, as long as one side wants to take control, the conflict will immediately erupt. This was true of the Sino-Indian War of 1962, as also of the Sino-Indian conflict this year.

Both Sino-Indian conflicts follow the same pattern: Beijing manipulates the status quo of the unresolved border dispute to instigate friction; then it dispatches troops, designs conflict plans and orders surprise attacks; then minimizes the situation, returns the border to its original state or retreats appropriately, and restores peace. In every conflict, the CCP took the initiative, prepared for it, and attacked suddenly. Lets review the characteristics of these two conflicts.

The 1962 Sino-Indian Conflict

In the winter of 1962, the Sino-Indian War launched by the CCP broke out. On Oct. 20 of that year, the Communist army launched an offensive in the eastern section of the Sino-Indian border, and the Indian army was defeated. On Nov. 16, the Communist army carried out a long-range attack on the eastern and western sections of the border line, and the Chinese troops advanced over the Indian forces. The Communist troops achieved a complete victory. But, the regime faced a great defeat diplomatically.

Among the Western, Communist, and developing countries, 50 of them supported India, such as Egypt, Iraq, Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), Nepal, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Cambodia; only Vietnam, North Korea and Pakistan showed their support to the regime. The most important thing is that the United States and the Soviet Union both strongly supported India, and provided a lot of military assistance, including large military transporters, fighter jets, and helicopters. The Indian army increased its fighting prowess. Consequently, Mao ordered the entire line of troops to withdraw and gave up part of its controlled area.

Beijing suddenly called a unilateral ceasefire on Nov. 21, 1962 and ordered its troops to retreat to their previous positions about 12 miles behind the LAC. It was a shocking move. It has deceived many people both at home and abroad.

For example, a British journalist who covered the 1962 China-India border war, Neville Maxwell, wrote that the regime had launched a counterattack on the Sino-Indian border after India increased military provocations in the region, and attempted to gain territory by force.

Chinese army writer Jin Hui also recalled the war and expressed his disappointment that China failed to benefit from the 1962 victory in his book, The Charm of Tibets Medog, published in 1995.

The 2020 Sino-Indian Conflict

History has always been a mirror of reality. The conflict broke out again this year. The conflict area is near the western part of the Sino-Indian border near Nepal. It is a deserted, high-altitude, extremely cold area. The weather is harsh, the terrain is steep, and the transportation is inconvenient. Both sides have no residents and no resources to compete for. In the past, border patrol officers often unfurled banners face-to-face in the buffer zone to express their respective border propositions, and then walked away. In recent years, India has recorded hundreds of incidents in which China crossed the LAC every year. China even crossed the Indian LAC, set up camps, and then faced off for several weeks; however, these confrontations did not cause deaths, fights, or hostility.

Then, Indian patrols found some bunkers built by the Chinese army in the buffer zone. When the Indian army tried to destroy these structures, they were attacked by Chinese patrols. Since both China and India have an unarmed agreementin other words, the two sides do not carry weapons in order to avoid military conflictsthe conflict between the two armies has become a freehand fight.

In the clashes between both sides at the end of May, the CCP army wounded 72 Indian troops and captured five people, according to Indian media.

A skirmish broke out again on the evening of June 15 in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh and lasted for several hours. Both sides used rocks and clubs, while the Chinese side used nail-studded rods. At least 20 Indians were killed.

With the Chinese side having prepared cold weapons to attack, this years Sino-Indian conflict can be seen as a pre-emptive and sudden attack by the CCP. No soldier can initiate large-scale attacks on their own without receiving orders; it can be said that behind the sudden attack by the Chinese army is the provocative decision of the CCP. If the regime wants to create friction, the soldiers are ordered to act. At present, both sides have temporarily left the scene of the conflict, but each has mobilized a large number of troops and heavy equipment to the frontlines. It remains to be seen how the situation will pan out in the future.

Since the standoff began, the CCPs official media stated that an effective bilateral communication mechanism was established after the 1962 conflict, and that both sides would work to resolve differences.

Will the CCP Win Again?

In addition to the reasons why the CCP provoked India, theres also a direct cause to the conflict. The CCP has felt constrained everywhere in the international community after the start of the U.S.-China trade war, including Indias refusal to cooperate in the CCPs attempts to alleviate U.S. economic pressure. For more than a year, India has refused to participate in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) which is led by Japan, and has also refused to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Indias refusal to submit to the CCPs wishes could have led to this border conflict.

Compared with the 1962 Sino-Indian War, this conflict was much smaller in scale and severity, and the two sides have not used automatic weapons. However, its international significance is similar to that of 1962. The CCP also faced diplomatic isolation in this conflict. It seems that no country has publicly expressed support for the CCP in this incident.

However, the international situation today is very different from 1962. First of all, the United Nations (U.N.) has gradually been dominated by anti-Western developing countries. The U.N. has not only become the puppet of the CCP, but also an opponent of the United States. Therefore, the U.N. can no longer preside over international justice, and of course it is no longer an effective arbiter of this Sino-Indian conflict. Secondly, after the CCP joined the globalized economy, it has lured many countries through economic interests. Therefore, the CCP is not afraid should any international sanctions be imposed for this small-scale conflict.

Indias international status and economic strength have risen in the decades since 1962. Today, with its own strength, India is capable of fighting the CCP on the economic and political front without international assistance. According to an analysis by Deutsche Welle, after the border conflict, India will quickly change its foreign and economic policies to counter China. The main methods are as follows:

1) Reject Huaweis 5G technology.

2) Boycott Chinese products. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) Secretary Ashwani Mahajan said 70 million Indian business owners have decided to step up a nationwide campaign to boycott Chinese goods.

3) Continue to pressure China to investigate the source of the COVID-19 pandemic.

4) Form allies against China. The South China Morning Post mentioned that New Delhi may now consider adjusting geopolitical relations. The recent conflict with China may prompt India to accept U.S. lobbying and further participate in the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific strategy in order to curb Chinas expansion and military activities in the South China Sea.

5) Expand participation in international organizations, and actively participate in the academic community and the private sector.

6) Increase military power.

The CCP achieved nothing from the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Its also very likely that it will not gain anything from the recent conflict.

Dr. Cheng Xiaonong is a scholar of Chinas politics and economy based in New Jersey. He is a graduate of Renmin University, where he obtained his masters degree in economics, and Princeton University, where he obtained his doctorate in sociology. In China, Cheng was a policy researcher and aide to the former Party leader Zhao Ziyang, when Zhao was premier. Cheng has been a visiting scholar at the University of Gottingen and Princeton, and he served as chief editor of the journal Modern China Studies. His commentary and columns regularly appear in overseas Chinese media.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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Canadian investment fund Brookfield Asset Management is buying two floors of Jet Airways' office property at Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), according to a report in Business Standard.

Sources told the publication that Brookfield emerged as the sole bidder at an auction held on June 26. The company will reportedly be buying the two floors of the beleaguered airlines' office property for about Rs 490 crore, which translates to roughly Rs 29,000 per square foot for around 170,000 square feet of office space in the Godrej building.

Earlier this month, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had allowed Jet to sell its premises at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) to settle the Rs 360 crore dues of mortgage lender HDFC, clear overseas debt and cover corporate insolvency resolution process costs.

Also Read | Reviving Jet Airways: Long list of suitors surprises. But the big question remains

The cash-strapped airline, which was grounded in April 2019, owes more than Rs 8,000 crore to banks, with public sector lenders having significant exposure. The NCLT's Mumbai-bench had on June 20 last year admitted the insolvency petition filed by the lenders' consortium, led by State Bank of India.

Follow our coverage of the coronavirus crisis
The results of the recent Focus poll for the Pontis Foundation were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

One of recent social innovations supported by the Pontis Foundation: the Buducnost Inak (Future Differently) project. (Source: Courtesy of the Pontis Foundation)

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Social innovations remain quite an unknown topic for most Slovaks. However, they do realise they should help solve the most serious problems in society.

Social innovations  are based on new solutions to long-term problems in society. They do not necessarily have to create a product, but can also be some kind of methodology. They monitor the social impact on society. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Social companies  business entities and non-governmental organisations that connect activities beneficial for society with entrepreneurship. They monitor financial profit and impact on society.

This stems from a poll carried out by the Focus agency for the Pontis Foundation think tank in mid-May 2020 on more than 1,011 respondents.

As many as four-fifths (or 81 percent) of those polled said they are not aware of any social innovation, either in Slovakia or abroad. On the other hand, the remaining fifth named various areas they consider social innovations, including Roma issues, social aid, solutions to unemployment and social companies, and solutions for seniors.

I wasnt very surprised as the public isnt usually aware of the term social innovations, Martina Kolesarova, executive director of the Pontis Foundation, told The Slovak Spectator. However, she was surprised that the people who were aware of this topic could identify concrete examples.

Responses affected by the coronavirus

The majority of respondents expect that social innovations should be carried out by the state and the municipalities. On a scale from 0 (should not carry out social innovations) to 10 (certainly should carry out social innovations), the former received an average score of 8.1, and the latter 7.6.

However, the state does not usually have mechanisms enabling it to create social innovations. Instead, they are generated by the non-governmental sector.
West Linn City Council will hold a virtual meeting with Portlands Michael Fesser on July 8, five months after the city agreed to pay him $600,000 to settle a federal wrongful arrest and racial discrimination suit he filed against the citys police department.

The meeting comes on the heels of an anti-racism rally and march that Fesser attended in West Linn last week.

Fesser said he was struck by the accounts from Black residents of West Linn who stood up and shared their own personal experiences of being racially profiled by local officers, or who felt marginalized at school as a lone Black student in a class of mostly white kids.

Fesser said he wants to create a community forum where these longtime residents of West Linn can voice their own concerns directly to the citys elected leaders and to hear how the city plans to address them.

Im trying to have a meeting place to build communication and trust,' Fesser said.

The meeting will be held online via video conference at 4 p.m. on July 8.

Last week, West Linns acting police chief fired Sgt. Tony Reeves, who was the lead investigator who pursued a bogus arrest of Fesser in Portland in February 2017. Then-West Linn Police Chief Terri Timeus had ordered the investigation of Fesser for a fishing buddy of his who happened to be Fessers boss -- Eric Benson, owner of A&B Towing Co. in Southeast Portland. Fesser said Benson trumped up theft allegations against him after Fesser complained about a racially hostile work environment.

The charges were dismissed and Fesser received $415,000 in a settlement after suing Benson for racial discrimination and $600,000 from the city of West Linn to settle a separate suit.

West Linn City Council has contracted with an outside investigator to examine the citys handling of Fessers initial notice to sue the police and the case leading up to the settlement. The council also is moving to create a new diversity, equity and inclusion task force.

A federal civil rights investigation into the police arrest of Fesser is continuing. A separate inquiry is being conducted into the role former West Linn Lt. Mike Stradley played in having his former colleagues from the Portland police Gang Enforcement Team assist with Fessers arrest in Portland. Stradley also informed Portland police that Fesser had made threats to his boss, Benson, though Benson and Stradley in sworn civil depositions said they knew of no threats from Fesser.

Stradley left the West Linn Police Department to work as a training supervisor at the states basic police academy run by the Department of Public Safety Standards & Training. Stradley remains on paid leave from the state academy.

Portlands Independent Police Review office also said it would be conducting its own review of the Portland police involvement in Fessers arrest.

Recently, Robert Weaver Jr., an attorney for West Linn Chief Terry Kruger who was placed on paid leave April 8 pending the outside investigation into the citys handling of Fessers tort claim notice and civil suit, wrote to the city officials that Kruger is anxious to get back to work,' and asked for the reason he was placed on leave.

Kruger was placed on leave as the city moved to contract with the OIR Group to look into the citys handling of the civil litigation, according to interim city manager John Williams.

Documents obtained from a public records request showed Kruger also knew Fessers ex-boss, Benson. Transcripts released of West Linn City Council executive sessions further revealed that Kruger had vigorously defended his departments arrest of Fesser in two closed-door sessions with the West Linn mayor and council.

-- Maxine Bernstein

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

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On Thursday, Mr. Abbott paused the reopening, and none too soon. The Sun Belt that opened in May is being convulsed by a surge of infections and hospitalizations. Texas had an average of 1,043 new cases a day when Mr. Abbott visited the White House; on Wednesday, Texas posted its worst day so far for new cases, with 5,551. Mr. Abbott said the state is facing a massive outbreak. David Persse, Houstons director of emergency medical services, said, Our infrastructure is overwhelmed. Florida hit a one-day record of new cases, and Arizona a peak in hospitalizations. We are in deep trouble, said Joe K. Gerald, a public health professor at the University of Arizona. California, which was early to put restrictions in place, posted a record number of confirmed infections and hospitalizations this week. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, warned of complacency. Many of us, understandably, developed a little cabin fever. Some, I would argue, have developed a little amnesia.
As small businesses in Toronto continue to close for good, advocates are renewing their call for an overhaul of how the province assesses commercial property taxes.

In the area covered by the West Queen West BIA  from Gladstone Avenue to Bathurst Street  nearly half of the businesses have permanently closed, said Djanka Gajdel, the areas Business Improvement Association treasurer. Another 20 per cent arent sure theyll be able to hold on much longer.

COVID-19 has a lot to do with that, of course. But Gajdel said years of skyrocketing property taxes that dont reflect buildings current use have resulted in financial fragility for the areas small businesses, making them more vulnerable to a crisis like COVID-19.

City councillor Brad Bradford, who represents Beaches-East York, says the model assesses properties for their potential use, not their current use. So an older building in downtown Toronto may be assessed as if it were a condominium tower, he said.

Gajdel said this has resulted in businesses that are less resilient.

It wasnt the pandemic that killed our small businesses. It was the commercial taxes.

Rob Sysak, executive director of the West Queen West BIA, said he believes many more businesses will close when the commercial eviction freeze lifts.

Its a bloodbath, he said.

Torontos property taxes are assessed by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), a crown corporation. Gajdel said MPACs assessment model results in arbitrary tax bills that dont reflect buildings current usage.

In an emailed statement, a MPAC spokesperson said the corporation does not speculate on the future use of a property but uses sales of similar properties nearby and permitted uses of the land to make its assessments.

Joe Cressy, city councillor for Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York, has been a vocal advocate for the assessment model to be overhauled. He said property taxes have become an issue for small businesses right across the city, and that city council has made a number of calls for the province to address the problem.

In 2017, Toronto Mayor John Tory wrote a letter to then-finance minister Charles Sousa, calling MPACs assessment model often distorted. He pointed to news of rising tax bills that were forcing some businesses to shut their doors.

We require a fairer model of assessing property taxes for our small businesses, and I would encourage you to review options, Tory wrote.

Two years later, the conversation was still ongoing. The owner of a Wellington Street West restaurant said his taxes had been hiked more than 500 per cent since 2007: to $203,710 in 2019 from $31,276.

Sysak said the skyrocketing vacancies caused by business closures will also cause many smaller landlords to sell their properties instead of facing the property taxes.

As part of their rent, businesses pay whats known as TMI: taxes, maintenance and insurance.

In West Queen West, Gajdel said property taxes account for 50 to 70 per cent of many businesses monthly costs. And she doesnt blame the landlords, many of whom are small businesses themselves passing down the cost to the tenant, she said.

Gajdel said it would be insanity to continue under this system post-COVID-19, and that changing the system now could really help more small businesses emerge intact from the pandemic. She said its time the city found a more diverse set of ways to gather revenue.

Bradford agrees.

Reforming the commercial tax system is something weve needed prior to the pandemic. But its become more important, more acute and more urgent now.

Bradford said one source of untapped revenue for the city is in online commerce. As businesses have increasingly moved online, with many shuttering their brick-and-mortar locations during COVID-19, the provincial and federal governments are gathering tax on these businesses while municipalities are not.

We dont see a dime, and yet were the ones that are left with the burden of vacant storefronts and small businesses that are failing.

In an emailed statement, Rocco Rossi, president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, said many small businesses that had their property tax up for renewal were offered grace periods or extended renewal periods by their municipalities. He said the OCC is researching municipal revenue opportunities for an upcoming report that will help both cities and businesses thrive.

Bradford said there are four key components to easing the tax burden on small businesses, most of which involve the province  adjusting tax bands, rate capping, overhauling the assessment model and creating a vacant-storefront tax.

Some of these changes are already underway, said Cressy, but the one that would have the biggest impact  the assessment model overhaul  has not been addressed.

Businesses require tax fairness, and tinkering around the edges is not going to solve it. Rather, this broken tax assessment model is the piece that needs to be fixed, he said.

Cressy doesnt think overhauling MPACs tax assessment model would necessarily create a lack of revenue  shifting some of the burden onto large buildings would make up for it, he said.

Bradford believes MPAC understands the challenges faced by small businesses due to the current assessment model, but that their hands are tied by government policy.

Its a fundamentally flawed tax model that was urgently needed to be fixed by the province prior to this. And if they dont fix it soon, far too many businesses are at risk of closing because of it.

Scott Blodgett, a spokesperson for Ontarios Ministry of Finance, said in an email that properties in Ontario are assessed based on their current value and that MPAC has regard for the current permitted uses of properties, not speculative or hypothetical uses.

He said in 2019, the province announced a review of the property assessment and taxation system, and added that municipalities have tools to mitigate property taxes such as adjusting tax ratios and a business property tax capping program, which Toronto is using.

With regards to COVID-19, Blodgett said the government has postponed the 2020 tax assessment until 2021, and that some municipalities are allowing property tax payments to be deferred.

Sysak has hope the governments assessment could lead to change, but in the interim businesses will continue to suffer. Hed like to see a reassessment taking the pandemic into account, but doesnt think that will happen.

He said it will be up to the city to help mitigate the damage until businesses can get back on their feet.

Though businesses needed to have their property taxes drop years ago, its better late than never, Sysak said.

Cressy agrees.

The right time was five years ago. The right time was two years ago. The right time was yesterday.

With files from Sahar Fatima, Gilbert Ngabo and Betsy Powell
A team of eleven Italian healthcare workers arrived in Armenia on Friday to assist their Armenian colleagues in dealing with the continuing spread of the coronavirus.

The Italian Embassy in Yerevan said they will stay in the country for three weeks to help our brothers and sisters in the fight against COVID-19.

The operation, which falls within the scope of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, was ordered by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte following a request for international assistance made by Armenia to the European Commission, read a statement released by Italys Civil Protection Department earlier in the day.

The statement said that the medics come from Piedmont, Lombardy and Tuscany, the three Italian provinces that have been hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

Similar medical teams have also been sent to Armenia by France, Russia and Lithuania over the past 10 days. They have been deployed to local hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.

Italy has reported about 240,000 coronavirus cases and over 34,700 deaths to date. A three-month lockdown has helped the health authorities there to contain the pandemic.

In Armenia, the coronavirus crisis is continuing unabated, with 23,247 cases and at least 410 deaths recorded as of Friday morning. The South Caucasus countrys number of confirmed cases per million people is almost twice higher than Italys.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian acknowledged on Friday that Armenia now has one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the world. This is a big problem for all us, he said.

Pashinian again complained that many Armenians still do not realize the seriousness of the situation. He said that his government is therefore planning a further toughening of sanctions against people who do not practice physical distancing, wear face masks in public or follow other sanitary rules.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California voters will weigh in this November on whether to expand a landmark data privacy law, alter a decades-old law that limits property taxes on businesses and exempt ride-hail giants Uber and Lyft from a new state labour law.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/6/2020 (576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this June 28, 2018, file photo, State Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, left, and Assemblyman Ed Chau, D-Arcadia, right, celebrate with Alastair Mactaggart, center, after the Legislature approved their data privacy bill in Sacramento, Calif. California voters will decide a ballot measure this November that would give them more power over how companies use their data, an extension of a landmark privacy law passed in 2018. Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced Wednesday, June 25, 2020, a measure to amend the law will be on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California voters will weigh in this November on whether to expand a landmark data privacy law, alter a decades-old law that limits property taxes on businesses and exempt ride-hail giants Uber and Lyft from a new state labour law.

They are among 11 measures Secretary of State Alex Padilla certified on Thursday for the Nov. 3 ballot. Others include two constitutional amendments approved by the Legislature, which would overturn the state's ban on affirmative action and restore the voting rights of people with felony convictions who are on parole. A referendum will ask voters to decide whether the state should eliminate cash bail.

Ballot measures are often among the most expensive and high-profile issues before California voters each election year and tens of millions of dollars are likely to be spent on each of the major initiatives. Uber, Lyft and DoorDash have pledged to spend $90 million on their measure to exempt them from a state labour law that would require them to treat their workers as employees entitled to more wage protections and benefits.

The most recent measure to become eligible, on Wednesday, would give consumers more power over how companies use their data. It's an extension of a landmark privacy law passed in 2018. It would allow consumers to prevent businesses from sharing their personal information; limit businesses' use of geolocation, race, health or other information; and create a state agency to enforce and implement the law. The agency would hire 40 employees at an estimated cost of $10 million per year.

It builds on the California Consumer Privacy Act, which took effect Jan. 1. Lawmakers passed it in 2018 under pressure from Alastair Mactaggart, a wealthy California developer, who spent millions of his own money to qualify an even more sweeping measure for the ballot. He withdrew his measure when the law passed under a compromise with legislators.

Under the existing law, consumers can request companies, including internet giants Google and Facebook, tell them what personal data they have collected and what third parties the companies shared it with. Consumers can ask companies to delete it or stop selling it. Companies can't sell data from children under 16 without consent.

Mactaggart's new initiative would triple the penalties for companies that violate the rules for children under 16.

California has led the nation in securing fundamental privacy rights, Mactaggart said in a statement. During these times of unprecedented uncertainty, we need to ensure that the laws keep pace with the ever-changing ways corporations and other entities are using our data."

Dylan Hoffman, director of California Government Affairs for the Internet Association, said the organization's member companies, which include Amazon, Facebook and Google, are focused on complying with the existing law and that further changes should be made by lawmakers, not at the ballot.

The internet industry believes that the Legislature is the proper venue to vet such a complex and technical area of law and policy," he said in an emailed statement.

The efforts to overturn the state's ban on affirmative action policies, restore the voting rights of parolees with felony convictions and end cash bail are likely to generate significant attention as the nation grapples with systemic racism and calls to reform the criminal justice system.

Voters in 1996 banned governments and public colleges and universities from considering race in their hiring and admissions decisions. California lawmakers passed a law eliminating cash bail in 2018 but opponents blocked it from taking effect by qualifying a referendum for the ballot.

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Other measures on the ballot this fall would:

-Shorten the list of which people convicted of crimes can seek earlier parole and reclassify some theft crimes as felonies instead of misdemeanours

-Allow local governments to establish rent control on certain properties

-Make it easier for older and disabled residents to transfer their property tax rates to different properties

-Authorize $5.5 billion in state bonds to fund stem cell research, with $1.5 billion dedicated to research on Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, stroke, epilepsy and similar diseases

-Regulate kidney dialysis clinics
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday said that the Schools in Delhi will continue to remain closed till July 31 in view of the coronavirus situation.

The Education Minister announced the decision after a meeting with officials of the Directorate of Education (DoE) on how to reopen schools.

Reopening schools is not merely a technical work, rather, it is a creative work that would give schools a new and bigger role. Schools will continue to be closed in Delhi till July 31, Sisodia said.

Government and private schools officials had earlier said that with the growing number of cases of infections in the national capital, chances of calling students to school are bleak for July.

While junior classes (nursery to class 8) had a summer break from May 11, classes for the rest closed from May 29. With the whole country going into a lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus infections on March 25, schools too were shut.

(with inputs from PTI)
A draft Scottish law which would increase the penalties for dog owners whose pets chase, attack or kill livestock is to be considered by a Holyrood committee.

A call for views has been issued on the new bill which aims to 'strengthen and update the law' in relation to livestock worrying in Scotland.

It comes as recent figures by NFU Mutual show that cases of livestock worrying across the UK cost British farmers 1.2 million last year.

A survey by the insurer found 63% of dog owners allowed their pets to roam free in the countryside, despite half admitting their dog did not always come back when called.

This confirmed farmers fears that a significant number of the public were letting their dogs roam free unsupervised, NFU Mutual said.

Looking to combat the crime in Scotland, the new members bill, introduced in the Scottish parliament by Emma Harper MSP, would provide additional powers for the investigation and enforcement of the offence.

It seeks to increase the maximum penalty to six months imprisonment, a fine of 5,000, or both.

It would also allow a court to make an order disqualifying convicted persons from owning a dog, or preventing them for taking dogs onto farmland where livestock is present.

The bill would provide police with new powers to seize a dog for the purpose of identifying its owner or gathering evidence.

It would also further extend the definition of 'livestock' to reflect a more up-to-date list of the species now farmed in Scotland, such as llamas, alpacas, ostriches, farmed deer, buffalo, and enclosed game birds.

Committee convener, Edward Mountain MSP said dog attacks caused suffering to farm animals, resulting in 'distress and significant financial cost to farmers'.

Emma Harper believes the current law in relation to livestock worrying is out of date and that tougher enforcement powers and penalties are needed to act as a deterrent.

The purpose of the committees call for evidence is to understand the need for further legislation in this area and to seek views on whether the additional powers and increased punishments proposed are sufficient and proportionate.

Farmers and landowners are urged to send in their views to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee by emailing rec.committee@parliament.scot by 28 August 2020.

What is included in the bill?

The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill aims to:

 Increase the maximum penalty to a fine of 5,000 or imprisonment for six months

 Allow the courts to ban a convicted person from owning a dog or allowing their dog to go on agricultural land

 Give the police greater powers to investigate and enforce livestock worrying offence, including going onto land to identify a dog, seize it and collect evidence from it

 Allow other organisations to be given similar powers

 Extend the livestock worrying offence to cover additional types of farmed animal

 Rename the offence as that of attacking or worrying livestock, with the intention of emphasising how serious it can be.
By John W. Whitehead

Violence creates many more social problems than it solves. If they succumb to the temptation of using violence in their struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and our chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos. Violence isnt the way.Martin Luther King Jr.

June 25, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Marches, protests, boycotts, sit-ins: these are nonviolent tactics that work.

Looting, vandalism, the destruction of public property, intimidation tactics aimed at eliminating anything that might cause offense to the establishment: these tactics of mobs and bullies may work in the short term, but they will only give rise to greater injustices in the long term.

George Floyds death sparked the flame of outrage over racial injustice and police brutality, but political correctness is creating a raging inferno that threatens to engulf the nation.

In Boston, racial justice activists beheaded a statue of Christopher Columbus. Protesters in Richmond, Va., used ropes to topple that citys Columbus statue, spray-painted it, set it on fire and tossed it into a lake. Columbus crimes against indigenous peoples throughout the Americas are well known.

In San Franciscos Golden Gate Park, protesters tore down a statue of Francis Scott Key, who penned The Star-Spangled Banner. Key was also a slaveholding lawyer who tried to prosecute abolitionists vocally opposing slavery.

Activists who object to Yale University being named after its founder Elihu Yale, a slave trader, are lobbying to re-name the school.

Students at Harvard University want to re-name Mather House, one of the dorms named after Increase Mather, the college president from 1685 to 1692 and a slave owner.

Administrators at Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden, N.J.named after the nations 28th president, who guided the nation through World War I while upholding segregation policiesare now looking for a new name.

In an apparent bid to be more culturally sensitive, Land O Lakes has removed from its packaging the image of a Native American princess that had been featured on its products for a hundred years.

The distributors of Aunt Jemima Pancake Syrup, Uncle Bens Rice and Mrs. Butterworth's Syrup have also announced plans to re-brand and re-name their products in an effort to avoid perpetuating racist stereotypes. Cream of Wheat is considering what to do about the smiling black chef that graces its breakfast porridge (his visage has been criticized for being stereotypically subservient).

Not to be outdone, Dreyers Ice Cream plans to retire the 99-year-old name for its Eskimo Pie frozen confections on a stick because Eskimo has been denounced as a racist nomenclature used by colonizers to Arctic regions to refer to Inuit and Yupik people.

Gone with the Wind, the Civil War epic that won 10 Academy Awards and has long been considered one of the greatest films of all times, was temporarily pulled from HBOMaxs streaming service in response to concerns that it depicts ethnic and racial prejudices that were wrong then and are wrong today.

The University of Georgias marching band has removed Taras Theme, the opening orchestral theme from Gone with the Wind, from its musical repertoire.

What is the end sum of all these actions?

What started as a movement to denounce police brutality in the wake of George Floyds death at the hands of killer cops has become a free-for-all campaign to rid the country of any monument, literal or figurative, to anyone who may have at any time in history expressed a racist thought, exhibited racist behavior, or existed within a racist society.

The police state has got us exactly where it wants us: distracted, distraught and divided.

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While protesters topple statues of men with racist pasts who are long dead, unarmed Americans continue to be killed by militarized police trained to shoot first and ask questions later.

While activists use their collective might to pressure corporations to rebrand products in a more racially sensitive fashion, the American police stateaided and abetted by the Corporate Statecontinues to disproportionately target blacks, Hispanics and other minorities.

And while politically correct censorship is attempting to sanitize the public sphere of words and images that denigrate minorities, it is not doing anything to rid hearts and minds of racism.

Muzzling speech, censoring discourse, erasing history: thats the worst possible antidote.

As Rod Serling, creator of the Twilight Zone, concluded in the Deaths-Head Revisited episode:

All the Dachaus must remain standing. The Dachaus, the Belsens, the Buchenwalds, the Auschwitzes, all of them. They must remain standing because they are a monument to a moment in time when some men decided to turn the earth into a graveyard. Into it, they shoveled all of their reason, their logic, their knowledge, but worst of all, their conscience. And the moment we forget this, the moment we cease to be haunted by its remembrance, then we become the gravediggers.

In other words, what we need is more speech, more discourse, and a greater understanding of history and the evils perpetrated in the name of conquest, profit and racial supremacy. Because if we bury the mistakes of the past under a sanitized present, if we fail to at least provide context to the past, we risk allowing the government to repeat those past mistakesrewritten for a new ageand no one will be the wiser.

It has happened already: we have allowed the government strip people of their humanity; to segregate them into polarized classes; to treat them as chattel; to deny them basic human rights; and to reduce them to figures on a ledger sheet.

Censoring speechtoppling monumentskowtowing to political correctnessis not the answer to what ails this nation.

As long as we focus on words and ignore the systemic injustices that undergird the words, the disease will spread.

As long as we continue to allow the most controversial issues of our daygay rights, abortion, race, religion, sexuality, political correctness, police brutality, et al.to serve as battlegrounds for those who claim to believe in freedom of speech but only when it favors the views and positions they support, we will all eventually lose.

Silencing unpopular viewpoints with which the majority might disagreewhether its by shouting them down, censoring them, muzzling them, or criminalizing themonly empowers the controllers of the Deep State.

Consider some of the kinds of speech being targeted for censorship or outright elimination.

Offensive, politically incorrect and unsafe speech: Disguised as tolerance, civility and love, political correctness has resulted in the chilling of free speech and the demonizing of viewpoints that run counter to the cultural elite. Consequently, college campuses have become hotbeds of student-led censorship, trigger warnings, microaggressions, and red light speech policies targeting anything that might cause someone to feel uncomfortable, unsafe or offended.

Bullying, intimidating speech: Warning that school bullies become tomorrows hate crimes defendants, the Justice Department has led the way in urging schools to curtail bullying, going so far as to classify teasing as a form of bullying, and rude or hurtful text messages as cyberbullying.

Hateful speech: Hate speechspeech that attacks a person or group on the basis of attributes such as gender, ethnic origin, religion, race, disability, or sexual orientationis the primary candidate for online censorship. Corporate internet giants Google, Twitter and Facebook are in the process of determining what kinds of speech will be permitted online and what will be deleted.

Dangerous, anti-government speech: As part of its ongoing war on extremism, the government partnered with the tech industry to establish a task force to counter online propaganda by terrorists hoping to recruit support or plan attacks (the program started under President Obama). In this way, anyone who criticizes the government online can be considered an extremist and will have their content reported to government agencies for further investigation or deleted. They might even find themselves pulled from their homes, arrested by the police and thrown into a mental hospital for expressing their opposition to government policies, as happened to Marine Brandon Raub.

The police state could not ask for a better citizenry than one that carries out its own censorship.

Its a brilliant ploy, with the added bonus that while the citizenry remains focused on and distrustful of each other, theyre incapable of presenting a united front against the threats posed by the government and its cabal of Constitution-destroying agencies and corporate partners.

The antidote to intolerance is more tolerance.

What this requires is opening the door to more speech not less, even if that speech is offensive to some.

Understanding that freedom for those in the unpopular minority constitutes the ultimate tolerance in a free society, James Madison, the author of the Bill of Rights, fought for a First Amendment that protected the minority against the majority, ensuring that even in the face of overwhelming pressure, a minority of oneeven one who espouses distasteful viewpointswould still have the right to speak freely, pray freely, assemble freely, challenge the government freely, and broadcast his views in the media freely.

The First Amendment is a steam valve. It allows people to speak their minds, air their grievances and contribute to a larger dialogue that hopefully results in a more just world.

When there is no steam valvewhen there is no one to hear what the people have to sayfrustration builds, anger grows and people become more volatile and desperate to force a conversation. By bottling up dissent, we have created a pressure cooker of stifled misery and discontent that is now bubbling over and fomenting even more hate, distrust and paranoia among portions of the populace.

By becoming so fearfully polite, careful to avoid offense, and largely unwilling to be labeled intolerant, hateful or closed-minded that weve eliminated words, phrases and symbols from public discourse, we have entered into an egotistical, insulated, narcissistic era in which free speech has become regulated speech: to be celebrated when it reflects the values of the majority and tolerated otherwise, unless it moves so far beyond our political, religious and socio-economic comfort zones as to be rendered dangerous and unacceptable.

Protest laws, free speech zones, bubble zones, trespass zones, anti-bullying legislation, zero tolerance policies, hate crime laws and a host of other legalistic maladies dreamed up by politicians and prosecutors (and championed by those who want to suppress speech with which they might disagree) have conspired to corrode our core freedoms, purportedly for our own good.

On paperat least according to the U.S. Constitutionwe are technically free to speak.

In reality, however, we are only as free to speak as a government officialor corporate entities such as Facebook, Google or YouTubemay allow.

The end result: free speech is no longer free, and injustice persists.

So what we can do to end racial inequality, police brutality, and systemic injustice that does not involve sacrificing free speech on the altar of political correctness or adopting violent tactics?

Stop tiptoeing around, easily offended or afraid to cause offense. Stop allowing the government and its architects to micromanage your life and curtail your freedoms. Stop being a pawn in someone elses game.

Find your own voice. Give voice to your own outrage. Speak truth to power nonviolently. And throughout it all, love your enemies and put that love into action.

That last point, to love your enemies, is the hardest of all, yet it was the principle that Jesus Christ spoke of most often: Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you.

This principle was also at the core of Martin Luther King Jr.s efforts to combat racism and injustice. In fact, King delivered an entire sermon on what it means to love ones enemies even when they continue to wrong you.

King was not speaking in abstracts. This was a man who, despite having faced down water cannons, police dogs and police brutality, intimidation and prejudice and assassination attempts, still insisted that mass non-violent resistance based on the principle of love was his best weapon.

The first step in loving ones enemies, says King, is to discover the element of good in them. Within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. When we come to see this, we take a different attitude toward individuals. The person who hates you most has some good in him; even the nation that hates you most has some good in it; even the race that hates you most has some good in it There is an element of goodness that he can never slough off. Discover the element of good in your enemy. And as you seek to hate him, find the center of goodness and place your attention there and you will take a new attitude.

Second, says King, focus on defeating evil systems, rather than vanquishing individuals caught up in an evil system. Love is greater than like. Love is understanding, redemptive goodwill for all men, so that you love everybody, because God loves them. You refuse to do anything that will defeat an individual, because you have agape [the love of God working in the lives of men] in your soul. And here you come to the point that you love the individual who does the evil deed, while hating the deed that the person does. This is what Jesus means when he says, Love your enemy. This is the way to do it. When the opportunity presents itself when you can defeat your enemy, you must not do it.

Third, says Kings, cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe with love. If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back and you hit me back and go on, you see, that goes on ad infinitum. It just never ends... And that is the tragedy of hate, that it doesnt cut it off. It only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a descending spiral, ultimately ending in destruction for all and everybody.

Fourth, says King, hate ends up in tragic, neurotic responses. Hate at any point is a cancer that gnaws away at the very vital center of your life and your existence. It is like eroding acid that eats away the best and the objective center of your life. So Jesus says love, because hate destroys the hater as well as the hated. Instead, use love to redeem and transform those who would do you harm.

Lastly, dont resort to violence.

Kings conclusion to his sermon is a timeless message, sent through time, to our present age. As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, we are still fighting the triple evils of racism, poverty and militarism. We are still struggling to find our way in the world dominated by corporate greed and political ambition. We are still being manipulated into focusing our anger on flawed individuals rather than working to defeat evil establishments.

Sixty-three years later, Kings words are still relevant:

Our world is in transition now. Our whole world is facing a revolution. Our nation is facing a revolution. History unfortunately leaves some people oppressed and some people oppressors. And there are  ways that individuals who are oppressed can deal with their oppression. One of them is to rise up against their oppressors with physical violence and corroding hatred. But there is another way. And that is to organize mass non-violent resistance based on the principle of love This is the only way. And our civilization must discover that. Individuals must discover that as they deal with other individuals [T]o a power-drunk generation  love is the only way to a generation depending on nuclear and atomic energy, a generation depending on physical violencelove is the only creative, redemptive, transforming power in the universe. [T]hrough the power of this love somewhere, men of the most recalcitrant bent will be transformed because we had the power to love our enemies, to bless those persons that cursed us, to even decide to be good to those persons who hated us, and we even prayed for those persons who despitefully used us.

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute . His new book Battlefield America: The War on the American People is available at www.amazon.com . Whitehead can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org.

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U.S. government debt yields dropped to record lows on Friday as angst over the spread of Covid-19 and fears of a wide rollback in reopening efforts sent investors in search of safer securities like Treasurys.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 0.636% while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slipped to 1.379%.

The yields on the 3-year and 5-year Treasury notes sank to record lows of 0.17% and 0.29%, respectively. Bond yields rise as their prices drop.

U.S. yields, which had traded flat until around 10 a.m. ET, rolled over after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that the state will curb some of its reopening measures as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to rise.

Florida announced it would suspend on-premises alcohol consumption at bars in the state in a similar effort to slow the spread of the disease. In Arizona, the number of cases jumped by 5.4%, topping a seven-day average of 2.9%.

"Case counts and closures will once again be the primary drivers of price action in the Treasury market as the weekend approaches," wrote Ian Lyngen, head of rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets.

"While the trade war and looming election carry with them a degree of event risk, the influence of Covid-19 on expectations for both the depth of the recession and the pace of the recovery remains the dominant factor in the macro narrative," Lyngen added.
AstraZenecas experimental Covid-19 vaccine is probably the worlds leading candidate and most advanced in terms of development, the World Health Organizations (WHO) chief scientist said on Friday.

The British drugmaker has already begun large-scale, mid-stage human trials of the vaccine, which was developed by researchers at University of Oxford. This week, AstraZeneca signed its tenth supply and manufacturing deal.

Certainly in terms of how advanced they are, the stage at which they are, they are I think probably the leading candidate, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told a news conference.

So its possible they will have results quite early.Swaminathan said Modernas Covid-19 vaccine candidate was not far behind AstraZenecas, among more than 200 candidates, 15 of which have entered clinical trials.

We do know that Modernas vaccine is also going to go into phase three clinical trials, probably from the middle of July, and so that vaccine candidate is not far behind, she said.But I think AstraZeneca certainly has a more global scope at the moment in terms of where they are doing and planning their vaccine trials.

The WHO is in talks with multiple Chinese manufacturers, including Sinovac, on potential vaccines, as well as with Indian researchers, Swaminathan said.

She called for drugmakers to consider collaborating on Covid-19 vaccine trials, similar to the WHOs ongoing Solidarity trial for drugs. A WHO led coalition fighting the pandemic on Friday asked government and private sector donors to help raise $31.3 billion in the next 12 months to develop and deliver tests, treatments and vaccines for the disease. The initiative is called the ACT-Accelerator.

Andrew Witty, Special Envoy for the ACT-Accelerator, said it was important to consider a portfolio of research efforts for vaccines.Its still very early days in this journey, we may be super lucky - which would be terrific - and have an early win, Witty said. Even if it takes 12 to 18 months that would be without precedent, the worlds fast development of vaccine.
The External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishanakar on Friday said that the World Health Assembly's resolution, which seeks to probe the origin of the coronavirus COVID-19, is an "opportunity to use facts and science to assess our response to this pandemic".

During the Virtual Ministerial Meeting of Alliance for Multilateralism of the WHA, the EAM added those lessons should be taken to prepare for a better future. He added, "As Chair of the WHO Executive Board, India is ready to work towards these goals." The WHA is the decision-making body of the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO).

He also added that "we need to restore our faith in meaningful and equal partnerships". "Trust, partnership and cooperation draw people, societies and countries together especially during crises, particularly when fake news and disease engender isolationism and unilateralism," he stated.

"In this context, India was pleased to be part of a cross-regional group presenting a statement on the ongoing Infodemic in the context of COVID-19 at the UN. As you know, it received wide political support from over 130 States and Observers. Our Alliance must also continue to take concrete steps to counter the infodemic through its working group in this regard," he added.

"It is an empirical fact that every process and institution must evolve to meet the needs of its time. No institution, howsoever important, can remain frozen at the moment of its foundation. Just as we need to consider the resourcing and regulatory parameters set out for the World Health Organization, to address and resolve shortcomings, so too do we need dispassionate scrutiny and reform of all multilateral entities, to make them purpose-built for our times, and representative of this century," he said.

He further said, "This is why we continue to call for reformed multilateralism --one that is relevant for the age in which we live, not when this architecture was erected. Our Alliance must stand for a dynamic multilateralism; for a purposeful reform of existing structures, which must continue to serve the international community even more in this complex and uncertain time."

The EAM said, "A pandemic has devastated our globalized economic system; apart from taking a toll of over 400,000 lives, it has fundamentally affected the way we live, work, travel and indeed, relate to each other. While it is too early to say that the Coronavirus has altered our way of life forever, it has reduced humanitys instinctive comfort in the presence of others. And suspicion of human interaction is fuelled, more often than not, by fake news, wrong information and targetted disinformation."

"So widespread are these phenomena today that we are truly facing a two-pronged attack of a viral pandemic, and misinformation going viral. In other words, this is an era of both a health crisis and an infodemic," he added.
By PTI

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan's Punjab province has sentenced five al-Qaeda terrorists to 16-year jail term each on different charges.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Gujranwala announced its verdict on Thursday.

Mohammad Yaqoob (commander), Abdullah Umair, Ahmadur Rehman, Asim Akbar Saeed, and Muhammad Yousaf, have been handed down five years imprisonment for terror financing, seven years for keeping explosives, three years for supporting proscribed al-Qaeda and one year for keeping literature of al-Qaeda.

The ATC has also ordered confiscating of the convicts' personal properties and imposed a fine of Rs 180,000 each on them.

The terrorists were also running a media cell of the al-Qaeda in the country.

ALSO READ | Yusuf Memon, Tiger Memon's brother and 1993 Mumbai blasts convict, dies in jail

"It is a very important verdict where al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operatives have been convicted after terrorism financing charges proved true against the convicts," the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police said in a statement.

The CTD said these terrorists were arrested last year.

"They had been running its (the outfit) propaganda campaign online and physically from a secret location in Karachi," it said.

Giving details of the convicts, the CTD said Muhammad Yaqoob, alias Gora, is a resident of Karachi and commander of local chapter of the organisation.

He joined the AQIS in 2014.

"Yaqoob was also an expert in making forged documents. He was instrumental in running propaganda campaigns especially on social media," the CTD said.

Asim Akbar, alias Saeed, alias Baba, alias Bazurg, alias Jaffer, was a resident of Lahore associated with al-Qaeda since 2005.

"He was in charge of the media cell. He trained many activists of the AQIS in media graphics and animations with Abu Hasham who was killed in Afghanistan," it said.

Another convicted terrorist Abdullah Umair, alias Hanzala, is a resident of Karachi and he joined the organisation in 2010.

"Umair remained a close aide of the present operational/militant commander of AQIS Atif Ghauri, alias Yahya, who was in Afghanistan.

He was coordinating activities of the AQIS in Pakistan and Afghanistan," it said.

The CTD further said that Ahmadur Rehman of Karachi joined al-Qaeda in 2015 and was trained for 'urban ambush' by previous emir of the organisation Asim Umar, who was recently killed in Afghanistan.

Convict Yousaf of Karachi is the brother of AQIS commander Yaqoob.
Zelensky has congratulated all Ukrainians, primarily the Crimean Tatars, on Day of the Crimean Tatar flag.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assures Ukraine will regain control over the temporarily occupied Crimea.

"We will get them back  both Crimea and its people. We very much believe in this," the president said while visiting the Kherson Airport, which is undergoing a massive overhaul.

Zelensky congratulated all Ukrainians, primarily the Crimean Tatars, on Day of the Crimean Tatar flag.

Upon arrival in the city of Kherson, the president talked with a Crimean Tatar activist who handed him the Crimean Tatar banner. That man said he wishes Zelensky will soon raise this flag in the de-occupied Crimea.

Read alsoNo amendments to Russian Constitution to prevent Crimea de-occupation  Ukraine's FM

"We will keep this flag and raise exactly this one in Crimea. I'll put it in my office to look at it every day and remember about Crimea," the president added.

UNIAN memo. Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014 after its troops had occupied the peninsula. An illegal referendum was held for Crimeans to decide on accession to Russia. De-facto Crimean authorities reported that allegedly 96.77% of the Crimean population had voted for joining Russia. On March 18, 2014, the so-called agreement on the accession of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia was signed in the Kremlin. The West did not recognize the annexation, in response to which sanctions against Russia were introduced. Ukraine's parliament voted to designate February 20, 2014, as the official date when the temporary occupation of Crimea began.
The fight against Covid-19 has not distracted Governor Udom Emmanuel from his focus on diversifying the economy of Akwa Ibom State, driving the State towards self-reliance and less dependence on funds from federal government. His vision is to push the frontier of development in the non-oil sector of the economy.

Early in his first tenure, the Governor had identified several low hanging fruits in the sector, one of which is agriculture, and he expects to earn rapid return on investment for the State. His investment in vegetables production, cassava, poultry, oil palm, cocoa, coconut and other crops have paid off ensuring food security, providing job opportunities and providing raw materials for agro allied industries now dotting the States landscape.

During the 31st anniversary of the creation of Akwa Ibom State, Governor Udom Emmanuel declared, we are diversifying our economy and placing emphasis on agriculture. We are producing food to feed our people through our investments in agriculture. Akwa Hatchery is working and producing, the Cassava mills are in operation across the State.

The Governor has redoubled efforts by consolidating on those aspects that have shown promise. For instance, since the State undertook cultivation of vegetables in a controlled environment ( Green House) it has not looked back. Its effort has attracted accolades from many prominent Nigerians including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who praised the Governor on his consistency in pursuing agricultural initiatives like the green house project.

According to the former president, the green house project initiative is exemplary in agricultural production of staple food products and raw material for cottage industries processing as well as meaningful steps to ensuring food sufficiency in the State, adding that investments of the Akwa Ibom government in the agricultural sector was worthy of emulation by other state governments in the country.

Similarly, in an effort to consolidate on the gains of the cocoa reintroduction programme by the Udom administration, the State government this month, June 2020, distributed 500,000 cocoa seedlings and other farm inputs to cocoa farmers in the State. The exercise which reportedly marked the flag-off of the new cocoa planting season, will further encourage farmers to plant more thereby boosting the ranking of Akwa Ibom State as cocoa producer in Nigeria.

This was revealed by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Women Affairs, Dr Glory Edet, during the presentation of the seedlings to cocoa farmers on behalf of Governor Udom Emmanuel, at Odoro Ikpe Cocoa Nursery Farm, Ini Local Government Area.

According to Edet the Governors support to cocoa farming has made the State the largest cocoa producing state in Nigeria. She stated that beyond ensuring abundance in cocoa production, Akwa Ibom State now has the best variety of cocoa in the country. The Governor has ensured that agro chemicals are distributed to the farmers to ward off pests. Fertilisers and sprayers have also been provided to the cocoa farmers to increase their yields.

Furthermore, investing in commercial cultivation of coconut has been a burning passion of this administration. While many were contented with local consumption of the miracle nut, the Governor saw a whole new world of opportunities in it. Part of his vision, when he flagged of the St. Gabriel Coconut Oil Factory on May 24, 2017 was to create a totally new industrial hub in the State relying on the coconut value chain. This vision is materializing with the completion of the factory located in Ikot Ekpuk, Mkpat Enin Local Government Area. However, there is need for locales, indigenous entrepreneurs and investors to buy into this great opportunity. The factory has a capacity of processing between 300,000 to 1 million coconuts daily. This is a clarion call on every community in the State to start cultivating coconuts in order to become part of the supply chain.

As a global financial expert, Governor Emmanuel is poised to establish a new avenue where Akwa Ibom State can earn foreign exchange. His decision to ramp up production of cocoa and coconut is very strategic. According to marketwatch.com, the worldwide market for coconut oil is expected to grow by roughly 4.5% over the next five years, reaching 4900 million USD in 2024 from 3760 million USD in 2019. Also, as at June 24, 2020, the International Cocoa Organisation, ICCO, pegged the price of cocoa bean at 2170.44 USD per tonne. Considering the value of coconut oil and cocoa bean in the international market, one would see clearly where Governor Emmanuel is driving the State economy to.

In the area of food security, the policy thrust of the Udom administration to ensure that 80% of food consumed in the State is produced locally, paid off during the brief state by state lockdown as a result of the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic. The Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, who heads the State Covid-19 Management Committee, announced that all the palliative provided to the people would have been practically impossible in the face of the lockdown across the country, if the Governor had not invested in the production of staples including flour, rice and garri.

Buoyed by these many successes in the agriculture sector, Governor Emmanuel is taking on yet another challenge. This time, the Governor wants to increase the number of career farmers in the State. This is a challenge because most people engaged in farming, do so at subsistent level. However, the Governor is determined to change that with the recent flag off of farmers enumeration exercise by the Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation, AKIICORP.

The Governor, who was enumerated as the number one cocoa and plantain farmer in the State, has assured that with the exercise, agriculture would become a major driver of the States economy and bring to an end over-dependence on government for survival. He maintained that there is need for the people to harness the resources in the State and create wealth out of agriculture.

With this latest move, Governor Emmanuel has made it clear that his administration will continue to push the frontier of State development relying on a very dependable sector  agriculture.
In the final weeks before announcing his pick for a Democratic vice presidential, Joe Bidens list has been narrowed down.

CNN reported Friday, citing a dozen people close to the campaign, four of the leading prospects are: Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, California Sen. Kamala Harris, Florida Rep. Val Demings and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Biden committed in March to picking a woman as his running mate.

He announced in late May that he would announce his pick by Aug. 1.

Were in the process of deciding the basic cut, about whether or not they really want it. Are they comfortable? Theyve asked a lot of questions, he said during the event in May.

In months since committing to a female vice presidential candidate, Biden has received heightened calls to pick a woman of color.

In the past month or so, we have seen a real and meaningful change in public opinion on racial issues and policing in a way that impacts the calculus of this, said a Democrat familiar with the process told CNN.

Harris and Warren have been seen as possible choices since ending their own presidential runs earlier this year. Both have said they would be willing to serve in the role and are more widely known nationwide than Demings or Bottoms.

Demings is a representative for Floridas 10th congressional district. Shes served in the role since 2017 and was previously the chief of the Orlando Police Department - the first woman to hold that title.

Bottoms was elected mayor of Atlanta in 2017. Prior to the election, she served as a member of the city council.
The Dubai Police recently busted an international cybercriminals network involved in money-laundering, cyber fraud, hacking, criminal impersonating, scamming individuals, banking fraud and identity theft and arrested its kingpin Raymond Igbalode Abbas, also known as "Hushpuppi."

The special operation dubbed "Fox Hunt 2," which took down the suspects for committing crimes outside the UAE, also saw the arrest of Olalekan Jacob Ponle aka "Woodberry" along with ten other African cybercriminals.

A similar operation in February dubbed Fox Hunt 1 led to Dubai Police arresting an African gang of nine fraudsters specialising in cyber scam after they had run 81 fake business across 18 countries around the world.

Lt. General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-chief of the Dubai Police, pointed out that the arrest of 'Hushpuppi', 'Woodberry' and ten gang members was another feather in the cap of Dubai Police.

"Similar to operation 'Fox Hunt 1' that took down an African gang of nine online scammers last February, Op 'Fox Hunt 2' is another painful hit to cybercriminals who try to mess with the world's security and safety," remarked Al Marri.

He further reaffirmed the force's commitment to foil cyber fraud and online scams using the latest technology.

"As criminals constantly change their criminal methods, Dubai Police works tirelessly to qualify elite officers and employees specialising in understanding the latest technologies to tackle emerging and transnational organised crimes," he added.

Major General Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs and an expert, said the suspects were caught in a series of synchronised raids by six SWAT teams from Dubai Police.

"The operation was carried out in a highly professional manner in terms of planning and execution as well as setting a zero hour to take down all gang members in the same time," stated Al Mansouri.

Al Mansouri also lauded the efforts of the task force assigned to the case. "The investigation teams at Dubai Police have done a great job in utilising AI-based technologies, including the Criminal Data Analysis Centre at Dubai Police, to track down the cyber fraudsters," he added.

Revealing the operational details, Brigadier Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, CID, in Dubai Police, said that upon receiving the security intelligence about an African gang involved in money-laundering and cyber fraud, a team was formed to track down the suspects and nab them.

"After verifying the available information, the team had started to track the gang including "Hushpuppi", who celebrated his wealth via social media platforms as a businessman, in an attempt to lure victims from all over the world," Al Jallaf said.

Al Jallaf said the anti-cybercrime task force tracked down the gang members and detected their criminal activities including creating fake accounts on social media sites with fake nicknames.

The Dubai Police team found that the gang was also hacking corporate emails to deceive clients into making money transfers into their bank accounts.

"The suspects also targeted victims overseas by creating fake websites for well-known companies and banks in a bid to steal credit card information and then launder the stolen money," Al Jallaf continued.

The director of Dubai CID said the raid resulted in the confiscation of incriminating documents of a planned fraud on a global scale worth AED1.6 billion ($435 million).

"The team also seized more than AED150 million ($40.9 million) in cash, 13 luxury cars with an estimated value of AED25 million ($6.8 million) obtained from fraud crimes, and confiscated 21 computer devices, 47 smartphones, 15 memory sticks, five hard disks containing 119,580 fraud files as well as addresses of 1,926,400 victims," he said.

Further investigations led to the suspects overseas bank accounts and fake credit cards as well as documents and files linked to the gang's illegal activities, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BC Craft Supply Co. Ltd. (the Company or BC Craft) (CSE: CRFT) (FSE: ZZD1) is pleased to announce that it has closed a non-brokered private placement for a total of 34,209,639 units (the Units) of the Company at a price of $0.05 per Unit for gross aggregate proceeds of $1,710,482 (the Private Placement). Each Unit consists of one (1) common share (each a Common Share) and one-half (1/2) of one transferable common share purchase warrant (with two half warrants being a Warrant). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one (1) additional Common Share per Warrant at a price of $0.10 for a period of eighteen (18) months from closing.



The Warrants are subject to an accelerated expiry whereby should the 20-day volume weight average price of the Common Shares, as traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange, be equal to or greater than $0.275 prior to the expiry date of the Warrants, the Company may accelerate the expiry date (Accelerated Expiry Date) of the Warrants by providing the holder with notice (the Acceleration Notice) of its election to do so. The Accelerated Expiry Date referenced in an Acceleration Notice may be no earlier than the 15th day from the date on which such Accelerated Expiry Date is delivered to the holder.

A finders fee of $54,400 cash, 800,000 Common Shares and 308,000 Warrants were issued on the same terms note above to two qualified party. Gross proceeds raised from private placement will be used for general working capital and corporate purposes.

All securities issued are subject to a four (4) month hold period that expires on October 25, 2020.

Three director of the Company participated in the Private Placement and will acquire, directly or indirectly, an aggregate of 4,611,900 Units. The participation by the insiders in the Private Placement is considered to be a related party transaction as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 (MI 61- 101). The transaction is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101, as neither the fair market value of the securities being issued nor the consideration being paid exceeds 25% of the Companys market capitalization.

For further information please contact Matthew Watters, Director, at (604) 687-2038.

About BC Craft Supply Co.

Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, BC Craft Supply Co. has aggregated the best legacy-era talent from Canada's craft cannabis industry, which boasts an international reputation. The team at BC Craft supports the most talented cannabis cultivators in Canada to transition into their supply chain, bringing with them their unique cultivars and years of experience with the plant. In exchange for support with licensing, compliance and distribution, cultivators will sign on as a BC Craft supplier. This makes BC Craft uniquely positioned to be the premium cannabis brand in Canada.

BC Crafts subsidiary, Medcann Health Products Ltd., is a Health Canada licensed cultivator and processor with a license to sell medical cannabis products in Canada.

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 press release, which has been prepared by management.

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. 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. Pasha disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Singapore, June 26 : A former secretary and trustee of a Hindu temple in Singapore has been charged with being a board member of the temple while disqualified, it was reported.

On Wednesday, Ratha Krishnan Selvakumar, 64, was charged with acting in the capacity of a governing board member of Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple despite his conviction on May 9, 2017, of 10 offences involving deception under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, The Straits Times reported on Thursday.

Under the Charities Act, any person who has previously been convicted of offences involving elements of dishonesty - including fraud, corruption, bribery and deception - is disqualified from acting in the capacity of a governing board member, key officer or trustee of any charity.

The police said on Wednesday that Selvakumar continued to be involved as the temple secretary and trustee while under disqualification between May 9, 2017 and April 30, 2018.

The Charities Commissioner barred key board members of the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, including Selvakumar, from their posts on April 30, 2018, after an eight-month probe found "severe mismanagement" in how its money was managed.

A statement issued by the Commissioner of Charities then also said the Commercial Affairs Department was looking into the temple's finances to ensure no criminal offences were committed.

Selvakumar will be back in court on July 15. If convicted, he faces a fine of up to S$10,000, jail of up to three years, or both.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 04:06:45|Editor: huaxia

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HELSINKI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Finnish tourism had been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, with a 40-percent drop in the total number of nights spent from January to May, according to data released by Statistics Finland on Thursday.

Between January to May this year, there were 5 million nights spent in Finnish accommodation establishments, down 39.7 percent from the same period a year earlier. Of the 5 million nights spent, 3.37 million were recorded for domestic tourists, a 40.1-percent fall from one year ago, while 1.63 million were for foreign tourists, a 38.9-percent drop year on year.

Statistics Finland noted that overnight stays from all of the most important source countries for international tourism to Finland had been down, with the biggest drop of 31.8 percent recorded for Russians, or 112,900 nights, compared with the same period in 2019.

In May, when the pandemic began to weaken, the industry still showed no obvious signs of improvement, with accommodation establishments recording only 280,000 overnight stays, 80.7 percent lower than one year earlier.

Domestic tourism recovered a little in May, with overnight stays down by 74.4 percent from one year earlier, compared with the 86.4-percent drop in April.

According to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland confirmed five new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 7,172. No death was reported in the past 24 hours, therefore the toll remained 327. About 6,600 people were estimated to have recovered, accounting for 90 percent of the reported cases.

Starting from mid-July, travel will be allowed to and from some European Union countries that could meet specific criteria on infection rate. Enditem
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday dismissed the anticipatory bail pleas of DHFL promoters Dheeraj Wadhawan and Kapil Wadhawan in a money laundering case of Yes Bank being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The Wadhawans, now arrested, have challenged the Bombay High Court's May 12 order rejecting their plea for pre-arrest bail.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B R Gavai dismissed a batch of four pleas after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Wadhawans, said that he was not pressing his prayer for relief.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED said that both the accused have been arrested and hence their plea for anticipatory bail becomes infructous.

The bench dismissed the pleas as withdrawn.

The high court had refused to grant pre-arrest bail to DHFL promoters, noting that their custodial interrogation was required to unearth the conspiracy and modus operandi in the multi-crore scam.

The Wadhawans are in jail after being earlier arrested by the CBI in a separate case related to the Yes Bank scam.

They had moved the high court for anticipatory bail in the money laundering case and another case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the investment of employees' provident fund of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL).

The high court had noted in its order that the applicants were not co-operating with the process of law and that the ED had issued several summonses to both Kapil and Dheeraj seeking their presence for questioning in the cases.

The court said although the Wadhawans responded to the summonses and notices issued to them by the ED, they evaded investigation by not appearing before the agency.

The response to the summonses speaks of apathetic and an indifferent approach. The lackadaisical approach of the applicants can be well noted in their response to the prosecuting agency, the court had said.

Wadhawans' counsel had contended before the high court that no case has been made out for money laundering and the transactions in question were made in normal course of business.

They had argued that there was no case for any arrest or arrest warrant at this stage for his clients in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown in a matter of financial nature which is being investigated for the last six months.

The Wadhawans have claimed they have been made "scapegoat of political quandary" in the state.

The court, however, refused to accept the excuse of the COVID-19 pandemic and had said this shall not deter the ED from investigating a serious offence of money laundering which has shaken the economy of this country.

Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan were arrested in April by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Yes Bank scam.

According to the CBI FIR, the scam started taking shape between April and June 2018 when Yes Bank invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of the scam-hit DHFL.

In return, the Wadhawans allegedly "paid kickbacks of Rs 600 crore" to former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor and his family members in the form of loans to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd held by the wife and daughters of Kapoor, the CBI has claimed.
Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media

BRIDGEPORT  Two boats were towed from the area of Black Rock Harbor Friday afternoon after the motors died, according to city officials.

Units responded to a report of a possible boat in distress in Black Rock Harbor shortly after noon, according to Scott Appleby, the citys director of emergency communications and emergency management.
The San Antonio event planner who won a $39 million federal contract for emergency food relief during the pandemic has delivered just a fraction of the 750,000 boxed meals that food banks and other nonprofits were supposed to receive, interviews and records show.

The company, CRE8AD8 (for Create A Date), is charged with distributing boxes of protein, dairy and fresh produce through the governments Farmers to Families Food Box Program.

The intended recipients are food banks and other nonprofits in Texas, Arkansas, Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah. The deliveries are supposed to be completed by Tuesday.

As of Saturday, CRE8AD8 had delivered approximately 130,000 boxes to food banks, according to bills of lading and other records provided by food banks in the seven states.

The company has delivered at least 30,000 additional boxes to churches and faith-based groups in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Utah, according to interviews and records provided by nonprofits and one of CRE8AD8s suppliers.

But with the June 30 deadline just days away, the company appears destined to fall far short of delivering the promised 750,000 food boxes - the equivalent of 18.75 million pounds of food.

On ExpressNews.com: USDA knocked for $39M contract awarded to San Antonio event planner

Leaders of food banks in San Antonio and Houston, who have struggled to meet a huge increase in demand for free food during the pandemic, expressed profound disappointment.

Promises not met, Eric Cooper, president and CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank, said in summing up CRE8AD8s performance.

The whole tragedy of this contract being awarded was that it actually hurt our city, Cooper said. CRE8AD8 just couldnt seem to deliver.

Cooper said that under a delivery plan he developed with CRE8AD8, two dozen food banks in the U.S. Department of Agricultures Southwestern Region were scheduled to receive a total of 469 truckloads of food. The plan is detailed on a spreadsheet that breaks down the deliveries by quantities of protein, dairy and produce.

The Houston Food Bank, the nations largest, headed the list with 87 scheduled deliveries. As of Saturday, it had received just 16, a food bank official said.

The San Antonio Food Bank was supposed to receive 57 truckloads. Cooper estimated that by the end of the month, CRE8AD8 will have delivered 22  about what the food bank currently distributes in a single week.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio event planner makes dubious claims about clients, credentials

Other food banks in Texas and outside the state also have received less than their expected amounts  or nothing at all.

As of Saturday, the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona had not gotten any of its 12 anticipated deliveries from CRE8AD8, according to Michael McDonald, CEO of the Tucson-based nonprofit.

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The USDA soon will announce whether it will grant contract extensions to CRE8AD8 and other vendors based on their performance since the food box program launched in May. The next distribution period runs through August.

Asked whether CRE8AD8 deserved an extension, Brian Greene, the Houston Food Banks president and CEO, let out an exaggerated laugh and said: Let that be my response.

He added: There are a lot of good vendors who are taking this seriously and trying to do a good job. I just hope thats what (the USDA) is basing (extensions) on - who is truly taking this seriously.

Said McDonald: We want to work with contractors who have the wherewithal and the track record to do it, and not just the desire to do it  people who can deliver, who know the business.

Delivered on our promises!

CRE8AD8s owner, Gregorio Palomino, took issue with complaints that he has fallen short on deliveries. He told the Express-News via email that his company is ahead of schedule and extremely successful.

We are one of the few awardees that have hit all 7 states in the SW Region and underserved areas within each state of this contract, Palomino said. We have delivered millions of pounds of food and hundreds of thousands of food boxes of protein, dairy and produce! Were proud to prove that were successful and have delivered on our promises!

Asked for evidence to support those assertions, Palomino said that all financial information needed is public and available through the USDA website for anyone to access.

The USDAs Agricultural Marketing Service website posts a daily total of food boxes delivered by all contractors in the program. But it does not list figures for individual contractors.

Palomino contends that his USDA contract bars him from disclosing details of CRE8AD8s deliveries. In a Facebook post, he said it would actually be illegal for us to release anything.

Other contractors involved in the federal program have shared detailed information on deliveries with the Express-News. For instance, C.C. Produce of Corpus Christi provided a list of deliveries it made from mid-May to early June, including the destination and number of boxes for each.

On Facebook, Palomino has responded to commenters who questioned his companys performance by saying they root for hunger, are toxic to the community and are trying to tear down the fabric that adds economic value.

On ExpressNews.com: Food banks in other cities, states disappointed by San Antonios CRE8AD8

Highly capable companies passed over

The goal of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program is to restore supply chains disrupted by the pandemic. As schools, restaurants, hotels and other large-scale buyers closed, farmers and food distributors lost markets for their products. Some saw no alternative but to destroy surplus food.

The food box program is designed to get that food to needy families. The USDA fast-tracked $1.2 billion in contracts. CRE8AD8 received the nations seventh largest.

The nearly 200 contractors are required to buy surplus food, box it and distribute it to food banks and other nonprofits that serve needy families.

The program got off to a controversial start after the USDA selected several companies with little experience in the food industry.

One of them was CRE8AD8, a company that plans weddings and other events, according to its website. Palomino has no background in food distribution, nor any warehouses or trucks.

The company also lacked a Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) license, which is required for produce distributors.

The USDA granted CRE8AD8 a license in a matter of days. Typically, the process takes weeks.

Eyebrows were raised further when the Express-News published an investigation in May showing that Palomino had made unsupported claims on his companys website and his LinkedIn page, citing clients, credentials and business affiliations he did not actually possess.

For instance, CRE8AD8s website listed USAA, Valero Energy and Fiesta San Antonio as clients. Officials at those organizations said they had never done business with Palomino or his firm. Their names disappeared from CRE8AD8s website after the Express-News made inquiries.

Similarly, Palomino claimed to have served on the board of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a position the chamber says he never held.

Greene, the Houston Food Bank CEO, said he was surprised to see experienced food vendors passed over by the USDA in the bidding for the food box program.

These were highly capable companies that do this kind of stuff, Greene said. It was strange, and now we are seeing some of the impact.

On ExpressNews.com: We just cant feed this many  S.A food bank overwhelmed by need

Ignorance and arrogance

Established food industry companies that did receive contracts from the USDA had begun lining up suppliers even before submitting their bids.

We had commitments for (delivery) dates and quantities before we submitted to the USDA, said Jeff Rowe, president of New York-based ES Foods, which received a $2.4 million contract to deliver protein boxes in the Southwest Region. We knew exactly what was going in the box and how many boxes we could produce. We didnt leave anything to chance.

CRE8AD8 had to start from scratch. It didnt make its first delivery until May 28. Suppliers approached by Palomino said they were reluctant to do business with a company that had no history in the industry and, initially, no PACA license.

Another reason some purveyors shied away: CRE8AD8 was not prepared to pay upfront and asked for credit terms ranging from 30 to 60 days, according to officials from two Texas companies that CRE8AD8 approached.

After eventually reaching agreements with several purveyors, including a handful outside Texas, CRE8AD8 started making deliveries in earnest in early June. But the companys performance has been marred by problems that go beyond the low volume of deliveries.

The San Antonio and Houston food banks have had difficulties with the pre-cooked chicken CRE8AD8 procured from two suppliers: Gourmet Foods of Rancho Dominguez, Calif., and Cuisine Solutions of Sterling, Va. Both serve institutional clients such as hotels and airlines.

An ideal protein box for distribution at a food bank giveaway contains a variety of items - for instance, chicken enchiladas, chicken nuggets, chicken noodles and chicken pot pie.

CRE8AD8 provided protein boxes that contained bulk, frozen, pre-cooked chicken in bags.

Basically, we were given HRI-use-only chicken, said Greene, using an abbreviation for hotel-restaurant-institutional food, which is not intended to be given directly to consumers.

For a time, Cooper refused to distribute the Gourmet Foods chicken because he said the boxes lacked instructions on how to heat the product.

After what he described as repeated requests for guidance from CRE8AD8, Gourmet Foods and the USDA, Cooper said he finally received reheating instructions from Gourmet Foods.

Food bank staffers handed those instructions to families waiting in line in cars at a distribution on June 12 at the Alamodome.

Eric Kopelow, chief operating officer of Gourmet Foods, said he was proud of the product the company supplied to the San Antonio Food Bank.

We made it from scratch, specifically for this, Kopelow said. Its a premium product.

Cooper, however, said Palomino and CRE8AD8 employees displayed an attitude of ignorance and arrogance in arguing that the chicken was fine because the boxes had USDA inspection labels.

I couldnt in good conscience give away a case of institutional protein to a family without instructions on how to heat it, Cooper said. Ultimately, it is on CRE8AD8. They should have known enough to say, Gourmet Foods, this is going to go to a family. What do they need to know about your product?

But they all chose to hide behind the USDA label, saying, This is all approved. But its approved for different markets  for hotels, for restaurants  not food bank distributions.

Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, an association of 21 food banks, said CRE8AD8 did not understand what is appropriate for charitable food distribution.

They have failed to deliver on the product volume in this first six weeks, for sure, she said. And, in some cases, the product they have delivered has been difficult for food banks to manage.

Stuck with last-mile expenses

Food bank officials also questioned why CRE8AD8 and other USDA contractors have not followed the truck to trunk delivery model.

In an April webinar for potential bidders, a USDA official said the agency wanted contractors to deliver food boxes directly to families at parking lot distributions such as those the San Antonio Food Bank holds.

Ideally, what we would like is a mutually agreeable, small quantity drop-off, where the boxes go basically out of the truck and into the trunk, if you will, the USDAs David Tuckwiller said.

But CRE8AD8 and other USDA contractors have delivered food boxes to the warehouses of the San Antonio and Houston food banks  not to the people who need the food.

The food banks are racking up tens of thousands of dollars in extra costs, known in the industry as last-mile expenses, to unload the boxes at their warehouses, store them and then deliver them to distribution sites.

What they have done is just sort of dumped the cost onto us, Greene said.

The food banks are using funds from private donors to cover those expenses.

The community has been very supportive, and the fundraising has been good, so we can do this, Greene said. But wait a minute  we are not supposed to be using donated dollars to subsidize somebodys contract that they are getting paid for.

Nourish the hungry

With the start of the second phase of the program fast approaching, the USDA is reviewing proposals from some of the companies that bid initially to see if they should be granted contracts now.

The local companies passed over in the earlier round include GoodHeart Brand Specialty Foods, which supplies fully cooked beef, chicken and pork products, and food wholesalers River City Produce and Big State Produce.

Its time that USDA allows a more competent contractor to nourish the hungry, Cooper said. CRE8AD8s gamble on whether it could execute the entire contract kept food from needy families.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 23:40:16|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The bicameral Belgian Federal Parliament's Chamber of Representatives approved on Friday a motion establishing a special committee to examine the management of the coronavirus pandemic.

The special committee will be tasked with examining and evaluating the measures taken by the Belgian federal state to combat the COVID-19 epidemic and the management of this health crisis since its emergence.

It will examine the organization and capacities of hospitals, the management of medical equipment (COVID-19 screening kits, face masks, gloves, etc.), the screening process, and the communication chain between the federal and the regional levels.

The committee will bring together 17 members of parliament, assisted by four experts. A report is expected within 12 months of its creation.

By midday Friday, Belgium had confirmed 61,106 coronavirus cases, the public health institute Sciensano said. There have been 9,731 confirmed fatalities.

The first case of coronavirus was reported in Belgium in early February. Repatriated from China, the infected Belgian citizen was released from the hospital on Feb. 15 after being placed in total isolation and undergoing tests that had proved negative. Enditem
E xecutive summary: As a member of the world first team carrying out onsite investigation of COVID-19 and a professor of University of Oxford Peter Hobby got expert knowledge on this newly emerged corona virus. He was aware of the risk that will lead to global pandemic. However he did not raise the alarm in time. Instead he kept silent and covered up. This episode uncovers how extensively he engaged in medical support for the virus test in China, why he fabricated news to defame hydroxychloroquine in global effort against COVID-19 and analyses why he insisted in conducting in the UK the trial of lopinavir/ritonavir that has failed in China. Clinical trial results from numerous countries presented in this episode prove hydroxychloroquine do has clinical benefit in saving COVID-19 patients lives. The video time is 7.5 minutes. xecutive summary: As a member of the world first team carrying out onsite investigation of COVID-19 and a professor of University of Oxford Peter Hobby got expert knowledge on this newly emerged corona virus. He was aware of the risk that will lead to global pandemic. However he did not raise the alarm in time. Instead he kept silent and covered up. This episode uncovers how extensively he engaged in medical support for the virus test in China, why he fabricated news to defame hydroxychloroquine in global effort against COVID-19 and analyses why he insisted in conducting in the UK the trial of lopinavir/ritonavir that has failed in China. Clinical trial results from numerous countries presented in this episode prove hydroxychloroquine do has clinical benefit in saving COVID-19 patients lives. The video time is 7.5 minutes.

S pear vs. S hield: A long time in history there has been a number of things existing in pair and developing one after the other like spear and shield, missile and missile defense system, software virus and antivirus software, corona virus and vaccine. Each progress of one side leads to an upgrade on the other side. Every newly emerged corona virus has urged demanding more investment in medicine and vaccine. COVID-19 outbreak led to a global pandemic and the world's largest clinical trial in the UK. Bill Gates has been funding of large amount in vaccine development. This time the corona virus defeats vaccine and makes it not work at all. pearhield:A long time in history there has been a number of things existing in pair and developing one after the other like spear and shield, missile and missile defense system, software virus and antivirus software, corona virus and vaccine. Each progress of one side leads to an upgrade on the other side. Every newly emerged corona virus has urged demanding more investment in medicine and vaccine. COVID-19 outbreak led to a global pandemic and the world's largest clinical trial in the UK. Bill Gates has been funding of large amount in vaccine development. This time the corona virus defeats vaccine and makes it not work at all.

C orona virus: The emerging of varieties of corona virus has never been stopped in the recent 15 years in China. Chinese medical researchers have done intensive studies on them. The articles they published overseas have documented every newly emerged corona virus. Every outbreak happened in winter during Chinese New Year just like it was scheduled. It posed a great threat to the public health and caused massive losses to the farmers' live stocks. China has ranked the No.1 nation where the corona virus emerged the most frequently in the world. orona virus: The emerging of varieties of corona virushas never been stopped in the recent 15 years in China. Chinese medical researchers have done intensive studies on them. The articles they published overseas have documented every newly emerged corona virus. Every outbreak happened in winter during Chinese New Year just like it was scheduled. It posed a great threat to the public health and caused massive losses to the farmers' live stocks. China has ranked the No.1 nation where the corona virus emerged the most frequently in the world.

The earliest emerged and deadly corona virus was SARS in November 2002 then spread to some other countries leading to a large number of mortality. H3N1 emerged in 2006 causing swine influenza. It led to a major pig respiratory disease outbreak in pig farms. Studies have concluded H3N1 originated from the human's H1N1. It could transmit cross-species. H5N1 emerged in January 2009 causing avian influenza and human mortality. H1N1 and H1N2 emerged in December 2010 causing swine influenza. It originated from both human's and avian's combined. In 2013 people got infected by new avian virus that was the world first H7N9 in China. During 2013 - 2015 H1N3H1N2...H1N9 emerged one after the other. H5N6 emerged in March 2014 causing avian influenza. During February 2013 to December 2017 H7N9 emerged repeatedly leading to 5 epidemics. In 2017 European CDC warned of the epidemic and 10-day incubation period. H7N4 emerged in December 2018 causing people infected and hospitalized. COVID-19 outbreak caused a global pandemic.

Although the corona viruses mentioned above are not all of them emerged in China they have suggested an evolutionary trend. The virus appeared to be more capable of cross-species transmission, more contagious to spread and more deadly to kill the host. Without lab's aid and screening how could be possible the virus mutated to be more deadly killing the host and can still survive and continue mutation? It is hard to believe these corona viruses are directly from the bat, raccoon or pangolin. The most possible and logic scenario is the COVID-19 is one of the candidates being picked up through repeated process of being screened after repeated mutation in live chicken, pig and even human after every test.

The epidemics in China during 2013 to 2017, Original, Map of Infected population

C hinese New Year: Like Christmas Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for Chinese family members' gathering and social gathering. The New Year follows Chinese Lunar calendar. The start date varies ever year between January and February according to western calendar. It is cold in most part of China during the holiday. Vast majority of people are on holiday during the New Year. It is a hectic season for shopping and travel. The large consumption during the holiday is food in particular poultry, pork and fish. Therefore the virus was often detected in live chicken. hinese New Year: Like Christmas Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for Chinese family members' gathering and social gathering. The New Year follows Chinese Lunar calendar. The start date varies ever year between January and February according to western calendar. It is cold in most part of China during the holiday. Vast majority of people are on holiday during the New Year. It is a hectic season for shopping and travel. The large consumption during the holiday is food in particular poultry, pork and fish. Therefore the virus was often detected in live chicken. An article in 2016 has confirmed H7N9 outbreak happened in Yangtze River Delta region and Pearl River Delta region of China. Both regions are economically developed, densely populated, and well equipped in medical support. It can secure virus test will not run out of control.

As the facts shown in the following table the corona virus used to emerging for the coming Chinese New Year in the selected regions every year.

Name Type Outbreak Date Lunar New Year Date City, Province COVID-19 Corona Virus Dec. 2019 Jan. 25 2020 Wuhan Hubei H7N4 Avian Flu Dec. 2018 Feb. 5 2019 Jiangsu H7N9 Avian Flu Feb. 2017 Jan. 28 2017 Hunan H5N6 Avian Flu March 2014 Jan. 31 2014 Guangdong H7N9 Avian Flu Feb. 2013 Feb. 9 2013 ZhejiangShanghai H1N1/H1N2 Swine Flu Dec. 2010 Feb. 3 2011 GuangdongHeilongjiang SARS Corona Virus Nov. 2002 Feb. 1 2003 Foshan Guangdong

China state media has covered the two corona virus outbreaks. V1 presents the virus emerged in February 2013. It was identified as the world's first H7N9 virus. V2 presents CT image result of the lungs from a patient who infected by H7N9 in Zhejiang Province. This CT image of infected lungs is exactly the same as the current CT images of COVID-19 patients'. It was key factor of success saving life to control the occurrence of cytokine outbreaks. Clinically the treatment was the same as the current treatment with hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 patients.

V1, the world first H7N9 in China in Feb. 2013 V2, Lungs' CT image of a H7N9 infected patient

V irus research in China: There has never been an independent and efficiently enforced legal system in China. Scientific research has no constraint as long as it is permitted by CCP. It has happened for a scientist modifying DNA of embryos in an attempt to confer genetic resistance of HIV. The corruption in the society has driven everyone to pursue money, and everything turns to be money driven. The people have been brainwashed for generations. They have no belief except money. A large portion of people are lack of morality and disregard of human life. So do the most of Chinese scientists. CCP has allocated huge amount of budget in military. There is no doubt bio-weapon got abundant funding. It has driven many scientists to participate the research and test regardless law, morality and human's life. The bio weapon development can be done, and can be done only in China where the economy has been booming and ranking the No.2 in the world, the media is censored, no transparency in the government, no constraint by law, lack of morality and money driven society. Such a country has attracted those foreign scientists of the same sort like Peter Horby as well. After COVID-19 outbreak Xi Jinping, the CCP's General Secretary has urged speeding up promotion of the Bio-safety Law at the National Conference on February 14, 2020. As of now China has no Bio-safety Law. irus research in China: There has never been an independent and efficiently enforced legal system in China. Scientific research has no constraint as long as it is permitted by CCP. It has happened for a scientist modifying DNA of embryos in an attempt to confer genetic resistance of HIV. The corruption in the society has driven everyone to pursue money, and everything turns to be money driven. The people have been brainwashed for generations. They have no belief except money. A large portion of people are lack of morality and disregard of human life. So do the most of Chinese scientists. CCP has allocated huge amount of budget in military. There is no doubt bio-weapon got abundant funding. It has driven many scientists to participate the research and test regardless law, morality and human's life. The bio weapon development can be done, and can be done only in China where the economy has been booming and ranking the No.2 in the world, the media is censored, no transparency in the government, no constraint by law, lack of morality and money driven society. Such a country has attracted those foreign scientists of the same sort like Peter Horby as well. After COVID-19 outbreak Xi Jinping, the CCP's General Secretary has urged speeding up promotion of the Bio-safety Law at the National Conference on February 14, 2020. As of now China has no Bio-safety Law.

NGO : In 1997 China enacted a legislative restriction for foreign NGO in China. NGOs were required to find a local government partner in order to report their activities to the local security agent. NIH and Bill Gate foundation as NGO have been running the operation in China for decades. The research unit Peter Horby setup looks like a NGO of University of Oxford in Vietnam. At that time Vietnam ideologically was a communist regime the same as China. Starting from 2014 Peter Horby engaged in virus medical research in China. He was funded by Wellcome Trust, Bill Gate Foundation and NIH. He has been conducting his research tasks and clinical trials by joining a team in African countries and Vietnam. The research environment in China created a lot of opportunities for him to deal with more newly emerged deadly corona viruses. He was not able to get such opportunity in well legislated countries. : In 1997 China enacted a legislative restriction for foreign NGO in China. NGOs were required to find a local government partner in order to report their activities to the local security agent. NIH and Bill Gate foundation as NGO have been running the operation in China for decades. The research unit Peter Horby setup looks like a NGO of University of Oxford in Vietnam. At that time Vietnam ideologically was a communist regime the same as China. Starting from 2014 Peter Horby engaged in virus medical research in China. He was funded by Wellcome Trust, Bill Gate Foundation and NIH. He has been conducting his research tasks and clinical trials by joining a team in African countries and Vietnam. The research environment in China created a lot of opportunities for him to deal with more newly emerged deadly corona viruses. He was not able to get such opportunity in well legislated countries.

P rofile: received his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, 6-year programme) in University College of London in 1992. He neither continued for his Master's Degree's studies nor secured a normal job. Instead he worked as self-employed writing research articles. His first article got published in 1993, followed by 2 in 2020, 2 in 2001, 6 in 2002, 5 in 2003, 4 in 2004 and 4 in 2005. He has ever worked in a number of countries including Papua New Guinea, Australia and Austria, and most of the time in Vietnam. In 2006 he got employed to setup University of Oxford Research Unit in Vietnam. In rofile: Peter Horby received his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, 6-year programme) in University College of London in 1992. He neither continued for his Master's Degree's studies nor secured a normal job. Instead he worked as self-employed writing research articles. His first article got published in 1993, followed by 2 in 2020, 2 in 2001, 6 in 2002, 5 in 2003, 4 in 2004 and 4 in 2005. He has ever worked in a number of countries including Papua New Guinea, Australia and Austria, and most of the time in Vietnam. In 2006 he got employed to setup University of Oxford Research Unit in Vietnam. In 2013 , one year before he returned to University of Oxford he received his Ph.D. in London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM 3-4 years programme). It seems he left Vietnam and returned to London for his Ph.D.s studies during 2000-2013. Currently he is a professor of University of Oxford. He setup a team of 8 people. This team is doing research projected funded by Wellcome Trust, UK Council of Medical Research and European Union. He is the chairman of New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NEVRTAG). Peter Horby was the one of four team members who were allowed by CCP to carry out the onsite investigation of COVID-19 just after the outbreak in Wuhan. The team published the world first article on this virus. He is leading the world largest clinical trial in more than 11500 COVID-19 patients in the UK. UK is ranking on the top by total number of confirmed cases in Europe.

P ublications: Peter Horby research competence can be divided into three time periods. During 1993-2005 he worked as self-employed, 2006-2013 as junior researcher and administrative staff, 2014-current as professor. ublications: Peter Horby research competence can be divided into three time periods. During 1993-2005 he worked as self-employed, 2006-2013 as junior researcher and administrative staff, 2014-current as professor.

Most of Peter Horby's publications in the recent 20 years can be found in two sites, 152 on ORCid and 100 on PubFact. Among the recent 100 articles there are 2 articles where Peter Horby's role as the first author, in 27 as the corresponding author, 6 of 27 there were only two authors in total. He has been hunting for opportunities joining the projects worldwide. Thus he has no his own on premise lab. He could not do trials in animal. His publications show he has been a team member and writing article. He has little connection to University of Oxford except his title. And the title makes him appear to be more convincing among the other authors in a team.

The following table lists 16 articles of Peter Horby's during 2014-2020 when he was in collaboration with Chinese counterparts in China. He has engaged extensively in Chinese medical projects. He was funded by NIH, Bill Gate Foundation and Wellcome Trust. He established connection with Chinese Medical researchers including those senior government officials like George F. Gao, Bin Cao, Chen Wang and Lanjuan Li. Personal contacts helped him with representing foreign pharmaceutical corporates to promote their medicines in China.

Date Article COVID-19 (2019-2020) - Click to expand/collapse June 2020 No clinical benefit from use of hydroxychloroquine in hospitalised patients with COVID-19, news without clinical trial details, Original April 2020 A Trial of LopinavirRitonavir in Adults Hospitalized with Severe Covid-19, Peter Horby is 1 of 65 authors, This article has concluded the result shows no clinical benefit. Peter Horby was funded by Wellcome Trust, Bill Gate Foundation and UK Department of Health and Social Care, Original Feb. 17 2020 Evaluation of the Efficacy and Safety of Intravenous Remdesivir in Adult Patients with Severe Pneumonia caused by COVID-19 virus Infection: study protocol for a Phase 3 Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Multicentre trial, Registration No. NCT04257565, Peter Horby was the last one among six designing the trial, Original Feb. 2020 Long-term clinical prognosis of human infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) viruses in China after hospitalization, Peter Horby was one of the two reviewing data and revising the article, Original Jan. 24 2020 A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern, The first onsite (in Wuhan) research article on COVID-19 in the world. There were four authors Chen Wang (Vice President of Chinese Academy of Engineering, CAE), Perter Horby, Frederick Hayden and George F. Gao (Director-General of China CDC), Original Feb. 2019 Comparative Outcomes of Adults Hospitalized With Seasonal Influenza A or B Virus Infection: Application of the 7-Category Ordinal Scale, Original Dec. 11 2019 Comparative Effectiveness of Combined Favipiravir and Oseltamivir Therapy Versus Oseltamivir Monotherapy in Critically Ill Patients With Influenza Virus Infection, Original Corona Virus (2014-2018) + Click to expand/collapse August 2018 Prolonged Evolution of Virus-Specific Memory T Cell Immunity after Severe Avian Influenza A (H7N9) Virus Infection, Peter Horby reviewed data and revised the draft. Original June 2018 Assessment of Human-to-Human Transmissibility of Avian Influenza A(H7N9) Virus Across 5 Waves by Analyzing Clusters of Case Patients in Mainland China, 20132017, Original April 2018 Spectrum of Enterovirus Serotypes Causing Uncomplicated Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease and Enteroviral Diagnostic Yield of Different Clinical Samples, Peter Horby interpreted data and the first writer among six revised the draft. Original June 2017 Evolving epidemiology of human infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus across five epidemic waves in mainland China, 201317: an epidemiological study of laboratory-confirmed case series, Peter Horby commented on and revised the draft. Original May 2017 IFITM3, TLR3, and CD55 Gene SNPs and Cumulative Genetic Risks for Severe Outcomes in Chinese Patients With H7N9/H1N1pdm09 Influenza, Peter Horby was one of five for the final draft. Original May 2016 Global epidemiology of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection in humans, 1997  2015: a systematic review, Peter Horby was funded by Wellcome Trust and European Union. He was the one of eight reviewing and revising the draft. Original April 2015 Differences in the Epidemiology of Human Cases of Avian Influenza A(H7N9) and A(H5N1) Viruses Infection, This project was funded by NIAID NIH HHSNIGMS NIH HHS and Wellcome Trust. Peter Horby was funded by Wellcome Trust and European Union. He was the first one among four writing the draft. Original Dec. 2014 A family cluster of three confirmed cases infected with avian influenza A (H7N9) virus in Zhejiang Province of China, The project was funded by NIH. Peter Horby was funded by Wellcome Trust and European Union. He was the second one among two writing the draft. Original April 2014 Clinical characteristics of human infection with a novel avian-origin influenza A(H10N8) virus, Original Jan. 2014 Comparison of Patients Hospitalized With Influenza A Subtypes H7N9, H5N1, and 2009 Pandemic H1N1, NIH was one of the funding sources. Lanjuan Li, Chen Wang, Bin Cao were in the author's list. Peter Horby was funded by Wellcome Trust. Original

China 2016 member of CASAD or CAE leading the medical support. It was Lanjuan Li in Zhejiang Province in 2014. It was Chen Wang and George F. Gao in 2019. It is crucial for them to maintain the authority and power if they get the opportunity to lead a state key project and publish well prepared articles with a helper like Peter Horby. The publications have revealed Peter Horby did the draft writing the most of the time. CCP is cautious for foreigners who might leak the secret to foreign media. Peter Horby must has passed CCP required background clearance investigation otherwise he would not be trusted and allowed to join the senior official team to carry out the onsite investigation of COVID-19. Once he was accepted by CCP that proves his ideology has complied with CCP's. In order to secure the virus tests under control medical countermeasures must be well prepared and more effective. It becomes more challenging for medical support as the virus appears to be more and more aggressive. China CDC's has been being engaging and leading the medical support. Most of the projects were funded by NIH. Peter Horby was funded by NIH as well. No doubt he has contributed his effort for fundraising for China CDC. In this sense NIH has been supporting CCP's virus test because virus test cannot be carried out without medical support. Peter Horby has engaged in the support for 5 years in China. By knowing the history of corona virus in China it is easier to figure out why Anthony Fauci, the head of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) expressed his fear of bioterrorism. Every time when a new corona virus emerged there was a senior government official andmember of CASAD or CAE leading the medical support. It was Lanjuan Li in Zhejiang Province in 2014. It was Chen Wang and George F. Gao in 2019. It is crucial for them to maintain the authority and power if they get the opportunity to lead a state key project and publish well prepared articles with a helper like Peter Horby. The publications have revealed Peter Horby did the draft writing the most of the time. CCP is cautious for foreigners who might leak the secret to foreign media. Peter Horby must has passed CCP required background clearance investigation otherwise he would not be trusted and allowed to join the senior official team to carry out the onsite investigation of COVID-19. Once he was accepted by CCP that proves his ideology has complied with CCP's. In order to secure the virus tests under control medical countermeasures must be well prepared and more effective. It becomes more challenging for medical support as the virus appears to be more and more aggressive. China CDC's has been being engaging and leading the medical support. Most of the projects were funded by NIH. Peter Horby was funded by NIH as well. No doubt he has contributed his effort for fundraising for China CDC. In this sense NIH has been supporting CCP's virus test because virus test cannot be carried out without medical support. Peter Horby has engaged in the support for 5 years in China. By knowing the history of corona virus in China it is easier to figure out why Anthony Fauci, the head of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) expressed his fear of bioterrorism.

The animation in the following chart displays a comparison of the development in the total number of confirmed cases of countries on the daily basis from January 21 to the present. The chart tells the current pandemic is far away to the end.

To be continued.

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6 out of 10 Americans reject idea that 'human life is sacred,' survey finds

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Around six in 10 Americans do not believe that human life is inherently sacred, though more than two-thirds believe human beings are basically good, new data suggests.

The recently launched Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University released a report on Tuesday examining how Americans value human life.

Data for the report came from a survey conducted in January of 2,000 adult respondents in the United States, 1,000 of whom were contacted by telephone and 1,000 reached by online questionnaires. The data has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Among respondents, only 39% said they agreed with the statement: human life is sacred.

The word sacred is defined by the researchers as having unconditional, intrinsic worth.

Many respondents who identified as religious were more likely than the total sample to believe that human life is sacred. For example, 60% of evangelical and born-again Christian respondents agreed that life is sacred.

Among other respondent groups, 46% of Pentecostals, 45% of mainline Protestants, and 43% of Roman Catholics agreed that human life is sacred.

Meanwhile, 12% of respondents said they believe people are only material substance  biological machines. Another 12% said that believe humans are part of the mind of the universe.

While most did not believe life was sacred, 69% of respondents concluded that people were basically good.

The researchers argue that seeing humans as just basically good runs counter to the foundational biblical teaching that human beings are created by God and made in His image but are fallen and in need of redemption.

CRC Director of Research George Barna, who founded the Barna Group, said in a statement that the view of mankind being basically good is negatively influencing current debates over law enforcement and systemic racism.

A movement to defund police departments might make sense if people are innately good. People with a humanistic worldview argue that crime and violence happen because of poverty, bad parenting, systemic discrimination, and other external forces, stated Barna.

Yet crime statistics, political tensions, tendencies toward anger and hatred, and Americas moral deterioration and confusion suggest that we are neither innately good nor that emotional responses to empirical challenges will solve the problems.

Barna went on to argue that one cannot change the hearts of people by outlawing racism.

You will not create peace by passing laws and forcing compliance, Barna contended.

Every society can benefit from specific systemic changes, present-day America included. But any systemic changes designed to transform the culture will be short-lived and of limited impact unless the hearts and minds of the people who populate that system are transformed first.

CRCs latest report was the seventh installment of its American Worldview Inventory 2020. Findings have been released every two weeks beginning in March.

The first installment of the report series suggests that only 6% of Americans adhere to a biblical worldview.

The survey asked 51 worldview questions and examined what people believe and how they conduct their lives.

The researchers concluded that about one-fifth of those who attend evangelical Protestant churches, one-sixth of those who attend charismatic or Pentecostal churches (16%), 8% of those who attend mainline Protestant churches and 1% of those who attend Catholic churches espouse biblical worldviews.
Lowe took over the zoo in 2016 to assist Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic, who is currently serving a 22-year federal prison term for killing five tigers and plotting to have his rival Carole Baskin killed. Earlier this month, a federal judge awarded ownership of the zoo to Baskin.
Jammed: An ambulance worker looks out from Bournemouth Pier at the crowds on the beach. Photo: PA

Police in Bournemouth have warned people to stay away from the town in southern England after a "major incident" was declared because thousands ignored social distancing and flocked to local beaches on the UK's hottest day of the year.

The declaration of a "major incident" by the local authorities gives additional powers to their workers and emergency services to tackle the problem.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council said services were "completely overstretched" as people sought the sanctuary of the seaside on a day meteorologists confirmed as the hottest of 2020. The mercury hit 33.3C at Heathrow Airport.

Extra police patrols have been brought in and security is in place to protect waste collectors who the council said faced "widespread abuse and intimidation" as they emptied overflowing bins. Roads, gridlocked into the early hours, now have signs telling people the area is full, according to the council.

Council leader Vikki Slade said she was "absolutely appalled" at the scenes on the beaches - particularly at Bournemouth and Sandbanks over the past day or two.

"The irresponsible behaviour and actions of so many people is just shocking and our services are stretched to the absolute hilt trying to keep everyone safe," she said. "We have had no choice now but to declare a major incident and initiate an emergency response."

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave notice that a number of the lockdown restrictions in England would be eased from July 4, including allowing pubs and restaurants to open their doors. He also effectively announced the two-metre social distancing rule will be reduced to one metre, a move largely aimed at bolstering businesses.

The relaxation has met with a lot of criticism, not least because the UK is still recording relatively high new infections and deaths. The UK government said yesterday another 149 people who tested positive for the virus had died, taking the total to 43,230, by far the highest in Europe.

"We strongly advise members of the public to think twice before heading to the area," said Dorset Police spokesman Sam de Reya. "Clearly we are still in a public health crisis and such a significant volume of people heading to one area places a further strain on emergency service resources."

Meanwhile, the number of new coronavirus cases reported per day in the US hit more than 34,000 yesterday, just short of the all-time high reached in late April.

While greatly expanded testing probably accounts for some of the increase, experts say other measures indicate the virus is making a comeback. Daily deaths, hospitalisations and the percentage of positive tests have also have been rising.

Amid the disturbing new signs, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has pursued one of the most aggressive reopening schedules, began to backtrack. And Nevada's governor ordered the wearing of face masks in public, Las Vegas casinos included.
A Russian ransomware group whose leaders were indicted by the Justice Department in December is retaliating against the U.S. government, many of Americas largest companies and a major news organization, identifying employees working from home during the pandemic and attempting to get inside their networks with malware intended to cripple their operations.

Sophisticated new attacks by the hacking group  which the Treasury Department claims has at times worked for Russian intelligence  were identified in recent days by Symantec Corp., a division of Broadcom, one of the many firms that monitors corporate and government networks.

In an urgent warning issued Thursday night, the company reported that Russian hackers had exploited the sudden change in American work habits to inject code into corporate networks with a speed and breadth not previously witnessed.

Ransomware allows the hackers to demand that companies pay millions to have access to their own data restored.

While ransomware has long been a concern for U.S. officials, after devastating attacks on the cities of Atlanta and Baltimore and towns across Texas and Florida, it has taken on new dimensions in an election year. The Department of Homeland Security has been racing to harden the voter registration systems run by cities and states, fearing that they, too, could be frozen, and voter rolls made inaccessible, in an effort to throw the Nov. 3 election into chaos.

Security firms have been accused of crying wolf, but what we have seen in the past few weeks is remarkable, said Eric Chien, Symantecs technical director, who was known as one of the engineers who first identified the Stuxnet code that the United States and Israel used to cripple Irans nuclear centrifuges a decade ago. Right now this is all about making money, but the infrastructure they are deploying could be used to wipe out a lot of data  and not just at corporations.

A leaked May 1 FBI warning said ransomware attacks delivered to U.S., county and state government networks will likely threaten the availability of data on interconnected election servers, even if that is not the actors intention.

A cyberattack attack late last year on a Louisiana internet services company allowed hackers to target the Louisiana secretary of state and nine court clerk offices the week before an election. And in Tillamook County, Oregon, in January, ransomware attackers prevented voter registration personnel from accessing voter registration data as they readied the data for the May primaries.

Symantec declined to name the companies that were the targets of the Russian hackers, citing the usual confidentiality of its client base. But it said it had already identified 31, including major American brands and Fortune 500 firms. It is unclear whether any of those companies have received ransomware demands, which would only come if the malicious code was activated by its authors. Chien said the warning was issued because these hackers have a decade of experience and they arent wasting time with small, two-bit outfits. They are going after the biggest American firms, and only American firms.

The hackers call themselves Evil Corp., a play off the Mr. Robot television series. In December, the Justice Department said they had been engaged in cybercrime on an almost unimaginable scale, deploying malware to steal tens of millions of dollars from online banking systems. The Treasury Department placed sanctions on them, and the State Department offered $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the groups leader.

The indictment is one of many in the past few years against Russian groups, including intelligence agents and the Internet Research Agency, accused of interfering in the 2016 election. Those indictments were intended as a deterrent. But Moscow has protected Evil Corp.s hackers from extradition, and they are unlikely to stand trial in the United States. In the Treasury Department sanctions announcement, the United States contended that some of the groups leaders have done work for the FSB, the successor to the Soviet KGB.

The December indictment and the sanctions both named Maxim Yakubets, said by the Treasury Department to be working for the Russian FSB three years ago and tasked to work on projects for the Russian state, to include acquiring confidential documents through cyber-enabled means and conducting cyber-enabled operations on its behalf.

Symantec said it had briefed federal officials on the findings, which are echoed by at least one other company monitoring corporate networks. The Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency did not immediately respond to questions about whether it had seen the same activity or planned to issue a parallel warning.

But the attacks methodology suggests it was intended for the work-at-home era.

The malware, Chien said, was deployed on common websites and even one news site. But it did not infect every computer used to go shopping or read about the days events. Instead, the code looked for a sign that the computer was part of a major corporate or government network. For example, many firms have their employees use a virtual private network, or VPN, a protected channel that allows workers sitting in their basements or attics to tunnel into their corporate computer systems as if they were at the office.

These attacks do not try to get into the VPN, Chien said. They just use it to identify who the user works for. Then the systems wait for the worker to go to a public or commercial website and use that moment to infect their computer. Once the machine is reconnected to the corporate network, the code is deployed in hopes of gaining access to corporate systems.

The indictment was intended to put Evil Corp. out of business. It failed. In the month after the indictment, Evil Corp.s hackers dropped off the map, but they picked up again in May, according to security researchers at Symantec and Fox-IT, a security company that is a division of the NCC Group. For the past month, they have been successfully breaking into organizations using custom ransomware tools.

Evil Corp.s hackers managed to disable the antivirus software on victims systems and take out backup systems, in what Fox-ITs researchers said was a clear attempt to thwart victims ability to recover their data and in some cases prevent the ability to recover at all.

While Symantec did not say how much money Evil Corp. was generating from its recent attacks, Fox-IT researchers said they had previously seen the Russian hackers demand more than $10 million to unlock data on a single victims network.

Weve seen them ramp up their ransom demands over the past few years into the millions of dollars as they hit bigger targets, said Maarten van Dantzig, a threat analyst at Fox-IT. They are the most professional group we see deploying attacks on this scale today.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Ted brings a wealth of senior leadership experience, context, and professionalism to our group as we assist our clients in navigating through this post-COVID environment,

Theodore Iacobuzio, a well-known industry veteran with more than 30 years' achievement analyzing, advising and managing in the payments marketplace, has been named Mercator's Vice President and Managing Director, Research. At his new post he'll lead Mercator Advisory Group's team of seasoned payments analysts.

Ted's extensive background reveals immense industry experience and most recently includes serving as Mercator's Managing Director of Custom Research and Consulting Services. Prior to this role, Ted spent 14 years at Mastercard in the network's Insights area, and before Mastercard he founded and managed TowerGroup's Payments Practice. Earlier in his career at Lafferty Publications, Ted managed the New York desk as well as the editorship of Cards International, and prior to that he consulted for small banks and credit unions at Alex Sheshunoff Management Services.

"Ted brings a wealth of senior leadership experience, context, and professionalism to our group as we assist our clients in navigating through this post-COVID environment," said Robert Misasi, CEO of Mercator Advisory Group. "Ted and I worked closely together throughout my career at TowerGroup, and I look forward to his exceptional thought leadership and insights as he drives Mercator's research agenda. I know our clients' needs are being served by a great team of subject-matter experts, led by Ted, with the most capable hands in the research industry."

Ted assumed the role effective June 15, 2020 and commented:

"The Mercator team of thought leaders is the best in the business, and it is my real pleasure to be working with respected colleagues and leading such an accomplished and lively group of professionals. I also look forward to continuing to engage with and serve our clients in this new capacity moving forward."

Since 2003, Mercator Advisory Group remains dedicated to Focus. Depth. and Service within the payments industry.

Recent research can be found:

https://www.mercatoradvisorygroup.com/Guest-Lobby/

Immediate Impact Projects can be found:

https://www.mercatoradvisorygroup.com/Consulting/ImmediateImpactProjects/

For more information and media inquiries, please call Mercator Advisory Group's main line: 1-781-419-1700; send email to info@mercatoradvisorygroup.com.

For free industry news, opinions, research, company information, and more, visit us at http://www.PaymentsJournal.com. Follow us on Twitter.

About Mercator Advisory Group:

Mercator Advisory Group is the leading, independent research and advisory services firm exclusively focused on the payments and banking industries. We deliver pragmatic and timely research and advice designed to help our clients uncover the most lucrative opportunities to maximize revenue growth and contain costs. Our clients range from the world's largest payment issuers, acquirers, processors, merchants and associations to leading technology providers and investors. Mercator Advisory Group is also the publisher of the online payments and banking news and information portal PaymentsJournal.com.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at his daily briefing at New York Medical College during the outbreak of the CCP virus in Valhalla, N.Y. on May 7, 2020. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

New York Officials Wrongly Limited Religious Services While Condoning Protests: Judge

Democratic officials in New York wrongly imposed harsh restrictions on religious gatherings even as they condoned mass gatherings, a federal judge ruled Friday.

The restrictions violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe said as he issued a preliminary injunction.

The challenged regulations treat the class or subclass of people who exercise freedom of religion by gathering with others for that purpose, including plaintiffs, differently from the similarly situated class of people who gather with others for secular purposes, including the mass demonstrations defendants have exempted from their regulatory regime, Sharpe, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote (pdf).

Moreover, the class of those who gather for religious purposes in churches, chapels and synagogues is plainly less subject to the risk of infection or transmission than those engaged in mass demonstrations, commercial transactions involving crowded offices, large crowds every day of the week, physical exchanges, and common surfaces touched by potentially millions of people, which makes the suspect classification targeted by the challenged regulations even more irrational and invidious, he added.

Under federal law, officials cannot impose harsher restrictions on religious gatherings than other gatherings.

Current regulations mandate houses of worship hold no more than 25 percent occupancy even as some stores are allowed to hold up to 50 percent capacity.

The regulations in question were issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in March in a bid to slow the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at a food shelf organized by The Campaign Against Hunger in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn in New York City, on April 14, 2020. (Scott Heins/Getty Images)

New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio were also named as defendants.

All three are Democrats.

A Cuomo spokesman told The Epoch Times that they are reviewing the judges ruling.

De Blasios office declined to comment, referring The Epoch Times to the citys Law Department. A spokesman for the department said in an email: The city was following the governors executive order. We will review this new ruling and work with the State on next steps.

A request for comment sent to James wasnt returned.

Officials were challenged in a suit filed on behalf of two priests, Revs. Steven Soos and Nicholas Stamos, and three Orthodox Jews from New York Citys Brooklyn borough, Daniel Schonbrun, Elchanan Perr, and Mayer Mayerfeld.

Christopher Ferrara of Thomas More Society, which is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement on the ruling, We are pleased that Judge Sharpe was able to see through the sham of Governor Cuomos Social Distancing Protocol which went right out the window as soon as he and Mayor de Blasio saw a mass protest movement they favored taking to the streets by the thousands.

Suddenly, the limit on mass gatherings was no longer necessary to save lives. Yet they were continuing to ban high school graduations and other outdoor gatherings exceeding a mere 25 people, he added.

This decision is an important step toward inhibiting the suddenly emerging trend of exercising absolute monarchy on pretext of public health. What this kind of regime really meant in practice is freedom for me, but not for thee.
Fifty-five years ago, President Lyndon Baines Johnson enacted legislation that dramatically expanded the right to vote across our nation, but particularly among minority groups in the South. Johnson, a proud Texan, described the right to vote as fundamental to the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. Today, as the county clerk and chief election officer of Harris County, I am deeply committed to protecting that same right.

Administering an election is challenging under any circumstances  doing so amid a global health pandemic and civil unrest across the country is unprecedented. Election administrators are tasked with ensuring that every eligible voter may cast their ballot without putting their health at risk, but a flurry of litigation in Texas further complicates election duties and leaves voters confused on how to safely cast their ballots without violating the law.

Harris County is the third largest county in America, with 4.7 million residents and 2.4 million registered voters. We recently became ground zero in the national debate on vote by mail. Every state has expanded eligibility to vote by mail to protect the health and safety of voters during the coronavirus outbreak  that is, every state except Texas and Mississippi. When you consider the other laws on our books aimed at voter suppression, it is no wonder that Texas ranks 47th nationally in voter turnout.

Voting by mail is the safest method for voters to cast their ballots under the current circumstances, but a recent Texas Supreme Court decision leaves voters and election administrators confused about who qualifies.

Texas voters 65 or older automatically qualify to vote by mail. Others may vote by mail if they are outside the county, in jail, or disabled. While it is easy to determine if someone is outside the county or in jail, the Texas Supreme Court puts the burden on Texans to apply the abstruse definition of disability under state law: sickness or physical condition that prevents the voter from appearing at the polling place on election day without a likelihood of  injuring the voters health.

Many believe that the lack of immunity to COVID-19 is a prime example of a physical condition that creates a likelihood of injury to health by voting in person. With nearly 6,000 new cases reported in Texas this past Wednesday alone, even Gov. Greg Abbott urged that the safest place for you is at your home.

Despite Abbotts warning, four Texas courts have already failed to reach agreement on whether the threat of COVID-19 can be considered. This uncertainty is unacceptable, especially since Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton previously threatened to prosecute those who advise voters to utilize mail ballots to avoid exposure.

This indeterminate guidance unfairly puts voters at risk of suffering the same fate as Crystal Mason, a Fort Worth woman who was sentenced to five years in prison for a 2016 voting mistake.

My office has proactively mailed vote-by-mail applications to every registered voter 65 or older in the county. We have seen a 60 percent increase in applications since the March primary and 94 percent of applicants are senior citizens. We would like to encourage others to vote from the safety of their homes in November, but not at the expense of criminal prosecution. The U.S. Supreme Court must weigh in  election administrators and Texas voters cannot be held in legal limbo ahead of the November election.

A petition was recently filed at the U.S. Supreme Court that could clear things up for voters by allowing all registered voters in Texas to vote by mail regardless of age. The 26th Amendment declares that the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of age, and a law that allows only those 65 or older to vote by mail without an excuse is discriminatory on its face.

When the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals extended the block on expanding vote-by-mail, it applied rational basis review to the issue, stating that strict scrutiny does not apply. In my years of practicing law, I cannot recall a single instance in which the lowest level of review has ever been applied to a category of people that the Constitution explicitly singles out for protection.

While the 5th Circuit is notoriously conservative, issues surrounding the fundamental right to vote should not be viewed through a partisan or ideological lens.

We need safe, fair and accessible elections across this nation  Americans must be able to participate in our democracy without risking their health or that of their families. In that light, I hope that SCOTUS will take up this issue to protect the most fundamental right in our democracy  the right to vote.

Hollins is the interim county clerk and chief elections officer of Harris County.

Correction: This article originally stated that Crystal Mason is serving five years in prison for a 2016 voting mistake. She was convicted, but is on bond while on appeal.
By PTI

THIMPHU: Bhutan on Friday rejected media reports claiming that it has stopped the supply of irrigation water to farmers in Assam, terming them "totally baseless" and a "deliberate attempt" by vested interests to cause misunderstanding with India.

In a statement, Bhutan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that since June 24, 2020, there have been several news articles published in India alleging that Bhutan has blocked water channels that supply irrigation water to Indian farmers in Baksa and Udalguri districts in Assam adjoining the country's Samdrup Jongkhar district.

Bhutan issues clarification, states that media reports alleging that they (Bhutan) have stopped the supply of irrigation water to areas in Assam "are totally baseless" & "deliberate attempt by vested interests to cause misunderstanding between friendly people of Bhutan & Assam." pic.twitter.com/PQ4F2hcH40  ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2020

"This is a distressing allegation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to clarify that the news articles are totally baseless as there is no reason why the flow of water should be stopped at this time. It is a deliberate attempt by vested interests to spread misinformation and cause misunderstanding between the friendly people of Bhutan and Assam," the ministry said.

Bhutan's statement came hours after Assam Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna, in a late night tweet, termed the media reports as incorrect and said that the actual reason was natural blockage.

"Recent media reports about Bhutan blocking water supply to India has been incorrectly reported. The actual reason being the natural blockage of informal irrigation channels into Indian fields! Bhutan has been actually helping to clear the blockage," Krishna said.

Recent media reports about Bhutan blocking water supply to India has been incorrectly reported. The actual reason being the natural blockage of informal irrigation channels into Indian fields! Bhutan has been actually helping to clear the blockage. pic.twitter.com/H61c5T1EeJ  Kumar Sanjay Krishna (@KrSanjayKrishna) June 25, 2020

According to the statement issued on Facebook by Bhutan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Assam's Baksa and Udalguri districts have been benefitting from the water sources in Bhutan for many decades and "they continue to do so even during the present difficult times when we are faced with the COVID-19 pandemic".

The people of Bhutan, especially those living along the borders of India, "deeply value their age-old ties of friendship and cooperation with the people of India, particularly their close neighbors across the borders in Assam and West Bengal", it said, adding that such ties of friendship, cooperation and support must continue and be reinforced during these difficult times.

Since the lockdown in India and the closure of Bhutan's borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Assamese farmers are unable to enter Bhutan to maintain the irrigation channels as was done in the past, it said.

However, understanding the difficulty that would be faced by the farmers in Assam, the Samdrup Jongkhar district officials and the general public have taken the initiative to repair the irrigation channels whenever there are problems to ensure the smooth flow of water to Assam, it said.

"The heavy monsoon rains and sudden rise in the water levels is posing serious challenges, but the Bhutanese authorities, including with heavy machinery, are on standby to clear any blockage and channel the water whenever there is a problem," the statement said.

Giving an assurance to the people of Assam, the ministry said that the Royal Government of Bhutan, particularly the Samdrup Jongkhar district authorities, will make every effort to ensure that the disruptions caused by the monsoon rains to the irrigation channels are addressed without delay and there is water available for the farmers in Assam.

"Bhutan would like to request for the understanding of the farmers in Assam as sometimes there could be few delays in the flow of water due to disruptions caused by the heavy monsoon rains and the operational difficulties arising from the restrictions put in place by both the countries due to COVID-19," it said.

The ministry added that the Samdrup Jongkhar authorities maintain close contact with their counterparts in Baksa and Udalguri.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 10:17:15|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Beijing reported 11 new confirmed domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases, three suspected cases and one asymptomatic case Thursday, the municipal health commission said Friday.

The last imported case in the city was discharged from hospital Thursday, according to the commission.

From June 11 to 25, Beijing reported 280 confirmed domestically transmitted cases, all of whom were receiving treatment, the commission said in a daily report.

Meanwhile, there are 22 asymptomatic cases still under medical observation, the commission said. Enditem
New Delhi: The 36th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held on Friday (June 26, 2020) at Hanoi in Vietnam where the member nations dicussed measures to deal with the crises induced by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The South China Sea conflicts too took the spotlight.

The summit, which was supposed to be held on June 27-28, was canceled and was switched to a one-day virtual summit. Vietnam is hosting the meeting as it assumed Aseans chairmanship this year with the theme Cohesive and Responsive Asean.

Regional travel restrictions and health risks delayed meetings while the ceremonial spectacles, group handshakes and photo-ops, the trademark of the 10-nation bloc's annual summit, had to be done away.

In a draft communique, Vietnam on behalf of ASEAN states, said, "We recognised the significant cost and unprecedented challenges to the region and the world caused by the coronavirus disease pandemic."

"We noted with grave concerns the human and socio-economic costs caused by COVID-19 and remained committed to implementing targeted policies to instill confidence that ASEAN is at the forefront of this critical battle," it said.

An ASEAN COVID-19 response fund will be established at high-priority which could be used to help member states purchase medical supplies and protective suits.

Several countries have pledged monetary contributions, Thailand pledged a USD 100,000 contribution and ASEAN partners, including China, Japan and South Korea, are expected to announce soon after the terms of the fund are finalized.

Also, a regional stockpile of medical supplies has also been proposed and the group will undertake a study to be financed by Japan on the possibility of establishing an ASEAN center on public health emergencies, said a diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The South China Sea dispute involving Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei has pitted the four nations against China, who has been making terroitorial claims in the region.

"We underscored the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint in the conduct of all activities by claimants and all other states, which could further complicate the situation and escalate tensions in the South China Sea," read the draft communique.

China has come under fire for what rival claimants say are aggressive actions in the disputed waters while countries scrambled to deal with the viral outbreaks.

The US too has lashed out at China for its actions, which the latter has denied calling the accusation of 'exploiting the intense preoccupation with the pandemic to advance its territorial claims' as sheer nonsense.
Regional tourism operators will check the temperatures of guests on arrival and turn away anyone showing coronavirus symptoms as they plead for Melburnians to act responsibly amid the city's spike in COVID-19 cases.

The Victorian government says it will provide 4800 thermometers to councils across the Great Ocean Road, Alps and High Country regions, while COVID-19 testing clinics will be set up at Lorne, Apollo Bay, Falls Creek, Mount Hotham and Mount Buller.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has his temperature checked before touring the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Thursday. Credit:AAP

The government has encouraged businesses to turn back any visitors displaying coronavirus symptoms and to contact guests 24 hours before arrival to ask them to complete a self-assessment for symptoms.

Tourism Minister Martin Pakula backed Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton's advice that only Victorians who are unwell should avoid travelling within the state, even if they live in one of Melbourne's six local government areas identified as coronavirus "hotspots".
(Alliance News) - Lansdowne Oil & Gas PLC on Friday reported a narrowed pretax loss but described 2019 as a "challenging year".

Its pretax loss slimmed to GBP179,000 from GBP293,000

"2019 has proved another challenging year for the company; however, the board remains steadfast in its belief of the significant potential of Barryroe and is focused on unlocking its inherent value," Non Executive Chair Timothy Byng said, referring to the Barryroe oil and gas field off the coast of Cork, Ireland.

"In addition to the challenges the company already faced, the onset of the coronavirus pandemic has impacted the entire global economy, resulting in a dramatic reduction in oil and gas consumption and a collapse in their prices."

During 2019, Lansdowne Oil terminated a farm-out agreement with Chinese investors APEC Energy, which failed to provide USD9.0 million in financing for the Barryroe oil project.

Fellow Barryroe stakeholder Providence Resources PLC in February said it had begun a process to strip APEC of its holding in the project.

Before APEC was ousted, Providence had a 40% interest in Barryroe while Lansdowne's interest was 10%. Afterwards, Providence will regain its original 80% interest and Lansdowne its 20% interest.

Lansdowne shares were 12% lower at 0.75 pence each in London on Friday morning. Providence was down 5.8% at 3.65p.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Despite international travel for The Rubenstein-Bing Student-Athlete Civic Engagement Program (ACE) being canceled for the summer of 2020, the ACE Program has multiple past participants who continue to demonstrate the values ACE taught them as part of being an ACE Ambassador. This week, we highlightIn February 2014, Duke's Board of Trustee's, chaired by Duke alumnus David Rubenstein, traveled to Palo Alto, Calif., and met with officials from Stanford to determine opportunities for collaboration between the two institutions. The challenging schedules of student-athletes, which make participating in off-campus activities such as study abroad programs difficult, was identified as an issue the two universities could work together on in order to develop a solution, leading to the genesis of ACE. The ACE program was officially announced in Spring 2015.Recent Duke graduate and member of the rowing team, Boley traveled to China in 2018 as part of the ACE Program."ACE taught me to be more open-minded," Boley said. "After my experience in China, I knew how to communicate more effectively with others and lead a more diverse group. ACE is certainly unlike anything I have ever done, and my experience was invaluable."Boley had little experience outside of the country prior to her ACE experience. As a neuroscience major and education minor, working with developing kids sparked her interest."Making ACE and your own ACE experiences known isn't hard," Boley said. "You might be surprised how hard it is to stop talking about it! Make sure you explain the application process while bragging about your awesome summer."She participates in volunteer work both at home and on campus, which was the major factor drawing her to ACE. Along with contributing to her community, meeting other student-athletes with similar interests from both Duke and Stanford was a great way to expand her experiences. She looks forward to helping other ACE alumni stay impactful in the Durham community.Boley plans to move to Washington, D.C., to participate in research at the National Institute of Health (NIH).
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A Norwegian national who acted as a spy for Iran as been sentenced to seven years in jail after he played a role in a suspected plot to kill an Iranian-Arab opposition figure in Denmark.

Mohammad Davoudzadeh Loloei, a 40-year-old Norwegian with Iranian heritage, was arrested in October 2018 after a major police operation in which Denmark temporarily closed its international borders.

For several days in late September that year, Loloei observed and took photos of the home of an Iranian exile in Denmark.

He passed the images - which included the streets and roads surrounding the home - to the Iranian intelligence service who planned to kill the man.

A Norwegian national who acted as a spy for Iran as been sentenced to seven years in jail after he played a role in a suspected plot to kill an Iranian-Arab opposition figure in Denmark. Pictured: Police outside the court where the man was convicted

Mohammad Davoudzadeh Loloei, a 40-year-old Norwegian with Iranian heritage, was arrested in October 2018. Pictured: A police officer outside the court where Loloei was convicted

The exile - who has not been named - is the leader of an Iranian Arab resistance group known as the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA).

A Roskilde District Court statement read: 'The court found that the information was collected and passed on to a person working for an Iranian intelligence service, for use by the intelligence service's plans to kill the exile.'

Loloei was sentenced to seven years in prison and permanent expulsion from Denmark, public prosecutor Soeren Harbo said. He will be denied entrance to Denmark after serving his sentence.

Harbo said: 'It's a historic case. And it's a powerful message to (foreign) intelligence services: they have to handle their conflicts among themselves and stop involving us.'

Harbo added that Danish authorities had filed an international arrest warrant with the International Criminal Police Organization, Interpol, for Loloei's Iranian case officer.

Loloei - who has denied all charges - immediately appealed against the verdict.

Separately, Danish police have charged three members of ASMLA - including the group's leader - with spying for Saudi intelligence services and financing and supporting terrorism in Iran.
She's been cooped up at her Chiswick home with her new personal trainer boyfriend Tom Brazier amid the UK's coronavirus lockdown.

And it looks as though Laura Anderson is pining for a more exotic location as she shared a throwback snap on Friday from her previous getaway to Dubai.

The Love Island star, 31, looked incredible in a baby pink bikini in the Instagram snap, in which she said she was 'counting down the days' till she could jet off again.

Beach babe: Laura Anderson appeared to be pining for a more exotic location as she shared a throwback snap in a pale pink bikini on Friday from her previous getaway to Dubai

Kneeling on a sun lounger, the star smiled at the camera while showcasing her slender physique in the slinky pink two-piece which featured daring mesh panels.

Her blonde tresses were worn poker straight for the snap, while she enhanced her features with a subtle palette of make-up.

Despite the UK currently in the midst of a heatwave with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees, the Scottish beauty was clearly missing life in the United Arab Emirates.

Captioning the snap, she wrote: 'Counting down the days. Monday= Airbridge #probablynot' alongside praying hands emojis.

Wishing: The Love Island star, 31, looked incredible in a baby pink bikini in the sizzling Instagram snap, in which she said she was 'counting down the days' till she could jet off again

Laura, who lived in the United Arab Emirates for many years as a flight attendant, has previously posted a throwback snap from the country, with the reality star last month joking that 'it's been 84 years' since she's visited the holiday hotspot.

Meanwhile, in May Laura went public with her new beau as she shared a clip of the pair taking part in a couples workout.

The pair performed a series of lunges and planks before hunky Tom used his girl as a weight on his shoulders to engage in some squats.

Missing Dubai: Laura, who lived in the United Arab Emirates for many years as a flight attendant, has previously posted a throwback snap from the country, with the reality star last month joking that 'it's been 84 years' since she's visited the holiday hotspot

The blonde beauty's clip ended with the pair sharing a sweet smooch after working up a sweat at her home.

After leaving the Mallorcan villa in the summer of 2018, the bombshell dated series one winner Max Morley in October.

The duo were in an on-off relationship, with the stars splitting in December, reuniting in May 2019, and eventually calling it quits for good in July last year.

During her time on ITV2 dating series, she forged failed romances with Wes Nelson, Jack Fowler and Paul Knops.

Her new romance with Tom may come as a shock to fans, as she recently announced she planned to move back to Scotland permanently after lockdown is over, due to feeling lonely in the English capital.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 20:28:00|Editor: huaxia

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COLOMBO, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka will re-open all museums and other cultural attractions from July 1 for local tourists after being shut for over three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country which has to date infected over 2,000 out of which over 1,600 have recovered, the Cultural Affairs Ministry said in a statement here Friday.

Quoted in local media reports, the ministry said the decision to open on July 1 was aimed at helping domestic tourism which had been severely hampered due to the virus and all archaeological sites, monuments, national museums and other sites would re-open.

The ministry said the Public Reference Libraries run by the National Archives would also re-open.

All of these sites will maintain limits on the number of visitors and all visitors will have to adhere to COVID 19-guidelines issued by the Health Department, the ministry said.

Sri Lanka is all set to open its airports on Aug. 1 for foreign tourists with strict health guidelines in place. The public too have been urged to maintain health guidelines such as wearing face masks, social distancing and hand hygiene in order to prevent a second wave of the virus. Enditem
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-ln) of the Ministry of Electronics and IT has issued an advisory regarding a potential cyber attack from Chinese 'cyber warriors' against the Indian Army, an ITBP internal memo suggests.

The development is significant since Indo-Tibetan Border Police is deployed at various sensitive locations along the Line of Actual Control of the Indo-China border. This phishing attack is expected to impersonate various government agencies and departments, including personnel from various Central Armed Police Forces.

The phishing attack is supposed to be in guise of general details like "free COVID-19 test", which could come from spoofed e-mail IDs like (ncov2019@gov.in). Cybercriminals could use possible phishing e-mail subject lines like 'Free Covid-19 testing for all residents of Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad', the department has said.

The government had also warned people that malicious actors were planning a large-scale phishing attack against Indian individuals and businesses, including small, medium and large enterprises. The phishing campaign is expected to use malicious emails under the pretext of local authorities in charge of dispensing government-funded COVID-19 support initiatives, it said.

Also read: Not the right time to disrupt global supply chain; can send wrong message to world: USISPF Prez Mukesh Aghi

What you can do if you receive malicious email

Don't open attachments in unsolicited emails, even if they come from people in your contact list and never click on a URL contained in an unsolicited email, even if the link seems benign. If it seems like a genuine URL, close the email and go to the organisation's website directly through the browser and check if such information is given there.

Leverage Pretty Good Privacy in mail communications. Additionally, advise the users to encrypt or protect the sensitive documents stored on the internet-facing mechanics to avoid potential leakage.

Exercise caution when opening e-mail attachments even if the attachment is expected and the sender appears to be known.

Scan for and remove suspicious e-mail attachments; ensure the scanned attachment is its "true file type" (i.e. the extension matches the file header).

Beware about phishing domain, spelling errors in emails, websites and unfamiliar email senders.

Check the integrity of URLs before providing logging credentials or clicking a link.

Don't submit personal information to unknown and unfamiliar websites.

Consider using safe browsing tools, filtering tools in your anti-virus, firewall and filtering services.

Update spam filters with latest spam mail contents.

Any unusual activity or attack should be reported immediately at @cert-in.org.in.

Also read: DHL stops shipments from China, Hong Kong, Macao; cites severe customs delays
(Alliance News) - Lekoil Ltd on Friday said it has put cost reduction measures in place and is in talks to restructure its existing loans.

The company also announced a renewed offtake agreement.

The offtake agreement with Shell Western Supply & Trading Ltd, part of Royal Dutch Shell PLC has been renewed for a year, having originally be set to expire in the second quarter. Another year-long renewal of the agreement, which concerns the Otakikpo field in Nigeria, is also possible.

Lekoil said operations at the Otakikpo joint venture are continuing to run effectively in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, with production in the first five months of the year averaging 5.755 barrels of oil per day gross.

Lekoil Oil & Gas Investments Ltd, a member of the Lekoil Ltd group, reported revenue of USD13.9 million over the five month period and has lifted 372,136 barrels in equity crude so far this year, the third of which resulted in USD2.7 million of cash proceeds for Lekoil in line with the offtake agreement. A fourth lifting of similar quantity is expected to take place in mid-July.

In terms of cost-cutting measures, Lekoil has taken steps such as shrinking its headcount, reducing office space, and cutting down provider costs. Such cost cutting measures are to have an annual run rate of USD10.0 million from the second half of 2020.

As at May 31, Lekoil's group borrowings totalled USD17.5 million and it had a USD700,000 cash balance. As of Thursday this week its cash balance had improved to USD3.4 million.

The firm is in "constructive discussions" to restructure its existing loans so as to reduce quarterly amortisation.

Concerning the OPL 310 licence in Nigeria, Lekoil said it has successfully completed a site survey, which was part of its two-well appraisal programme. With this done, Lekoil can move on to finalising selection of an appropriate rig for appraisal drilling.

Chief Executive Lekan Akinyanmi said: "Cashflows generated at Otakikpo in conjunction with our significant cost reduction initiatives have been key for us as we remain committed to creating value for our shareholders. We will continue to proactively review options for further cost savings where appropriate. We are working closely with all our partners, including [Green Energy International Ltd] and [Optimum Petroleum Development Co] in these challenging times to deliver on our joint ambitions. We thank all of our shareholders for their continued patience which we have every confidence will be justified, especially as the wider outlook improves."

The company has also obtained a three-month extension to the filing deadline on its 2019 results, giving it until September 30 to publish. Lekoil expects to post its results before then, and is aiming for July.

Shares in Lekoil were up 15% at 2.71 pence in London on Friday afternoon.

By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
NEW YORK, June 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. (the "Company"), today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 20,000,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit. The Company is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. While the Company may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or sector, it intends to focus its search on companies in the North America automotive and automotive-related sector. The Company is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Justin Mirro, Vice Chairman and President, Robert Remenar, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, Daniel Huber, and Chief Technology Officer, Simon Boag. The Company's independent directors include Thomas LaSorda, Anders Pettersson, Mitchell Quain, Donald Runkle and Matthew Simoncini.

The units will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and trade under the ticker symbol "KCAC.U" beginning June 26, 2020. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock of the Company and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock of the Company at a price of $11.50 per share. Only whole warrants are exercisable. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the shares of Class A common stock and redeemable warrants are expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols "KCAC" and "KCAC WS," respectively.

The offering is expected to close on June 30, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.

UBS Securities LLC and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated are acting as the joint book running managers for the offering and Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated is acting as lead manager. The Company has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units at the initial public offering price to cover over-allotments, if any.

The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. When available, copies of the prospectus may be obtained from UBS Securities LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019, telephone: (888) 827-7275 or email: [email protected]; and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Attn: Syndicate Department, One South Street, 15th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202, or by email: [email protected] or by telephone: (855) 300-7136.

Registration statements relating to the securities became effective on June 25, 2020 in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. 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 or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements," including with respect to the proposed initial public offering and the anticipated use of the net proceeds. No assurance can be given that the offering discussed above will be completed on the terms or timeline described, or at all, or that the net proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company's registration statements and preliminary prospectus for the Company's offering filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Copies of these documents are available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.

Contact:

Daniel Huber

Chief Financial Officer

[email protected]

(703) 674-6514

SOURCE Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp.

Related Links

https://www.kensington-cap.com/


A common Psych101 exercise involves a rendition of pennies on a slide. Only one is the real penny; the others have various mistakes like the wrong wording or tweaks to Abe Lincoln profile that make it different from the real thing. We see and use pennies all the time  so it should be easy to choose the right penny from the lineup, right?

But Nancy Steblay, a professor of psychology at Augsburg University who specializes in eyewitness identification and eyewitness evidence procedures, says people are generally stumped by the coin lineup  even though pennies are a common object most Americans have encountered their entire lives.

Were cognitive misers. We should take in more information, but we dont bother, Steblay explains.

And its not an issue of discrimination or carelessness or whatever. Its just our minds only bother with a certain amount of information.

And unfortunately we tend to do that with human beings, too, she said in an interview with Yahoo News.

This lack of attention to detail, especially when examining facial features, affects eyewitness identifications, which are crucial to many criminal prosecutions. Mistaken eyewitness identifications have contributed to about 71 percent of wrongful convictions subsequently reversed by DNA evidence in the U.S., according to the Innocence Project, making it the leading factor in wrongful convictions.

Renewed efforts have been made to correct one key aspect of mistaken eyewitness identifications: lineup procedures. The ways that law enforcement agencies conduct photo arrays (which are now the more commonly used method) and live lineups can have a huge impact on eyewitness identification, and on May 16, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed bipartisan legislation requiring law enforcement to adopt statewide best practices for lineup procedures.

The death of George Floyd in police custody on May 25 has put a spotlight on Minnesota, where the police force in its largest city, Minneapolis, has long faced accusations of racism.

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The unrest after Floyds death gives us more of an overall sense of urgency for our work, Sara Jones, executive director of the Innocence Project of Minnesota, said in an interview with Yahoo News. Floyds arrest was not an instance of mistaken identification, but his death while police held him handcuffed on the ground led to a national outcry to reform police procedures, especially toward suspects who are members of minority groups. Black defendants are especially likely to be wrongly identified by white witnesses, forensic psychologists say.

Protesters march in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

The Innocence Project of Minnesota, a founding member of the Innocence Network, works to exonerate innocent people who have been incarcerated in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, and to bring about reforms to the justice system to prevent wrongful convictions. Reforming eyewitness identification policies has been top priority for the Innocence Project in Minnesota and for the organization nationwide.

African-Americans make up 13 percent of the population and 47 percent of known post-conviction exonerations, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

The majority of the people that weve gotten out of prison have been people of color. So I think its kind of evident at this point that there is racism in every aspect of our criminal justice system. I think its really undeniable at this point, Jones said.

Four reforms endorsed by the Innocence Project  known as the core four among eyewitness reform advocates  were incorporated into the new law recently adopted in Minnesota.

The first involves using double blind administration, meaning that neither the witness nor the official conducting the lineup is aware of who the suspect is in the lineup, to prevent the lineup administrator from either intentionally or unintentionally influencing the identification.

Steering the witness toward the actual suspect occurs, but I think what was much more common was sort of an unintentional bias, Julie Jonas, legal director of the Innocence Project of Minnesota, said in an interview with Yahoo News. Say the witness picks No. 3, and the officer says Good job, thats who we thought it was. There have been studies done that show just from that very normal feedback, the witnesss certainty level will go way up, even when it shouldnt. And the officer can even influence just by some types of body language.

I think in some cases its unintentional, Steblay agrees. Ive heard from police who say, I just thought that the witness was just being timid, or really knew but was just being cautious and I wanted to help that witness know that it was time to make an ID.

The other three reforms require instructing the eyewitness that the perpetrator may or may not be present in the lineup, selecting non-suspect fillers for the lineup who match the eyewitnesss description of the perpetrator, and documenting the eyewitnesss level of confidence in their decision immediately after an identification is made.

Yet nearly half of U.S. states do not have statewide procedures requiring the core four for eyewitness identification. The Innocence Project told Yahoo News that 26 states have implemented the core reforms, either through legislation, court rulings or law enforcement best practices. In the absence of statewide procedures, individual jurisdictions can implement their own standards, or none at all, which can result in a myriad of different eyewitness evidence-gathering methods within a single state.

Apart from mishandled lineup procedures, there are numerous other factors that can make eyewitness accounts unreliable. And juries often arent informed of how questionable some eyewitness identifications can be  and just how fragile human memories are.

They use phrases that make an eyewitness scientist shudder, like His face is burned into my memory, and I will never forget that face, and things like that, Steblay says. And eyewitness scientists are just shaking their heads going, Thats not how memory works. But to juries, thats really powerful.

Just as social influences can affect our behavior, outside forces can have a powerful effect on memory as well. In stressful situations, our memories are often unable to focus and pay attention to smaller details like facial features. Steblay says this is especially true when witnessing or being the victim of a crime. And when a weapon is involved, the reliability of the memory can decline even more.

If somebody is threatened with a weapon, theres often a laser focus on the weapon itself and they think theyre paying attention to what the person looks like, but theyre not. Theyre paying attention to that weapon, because that weapon is whats going to threaten them with harm, Jones explains. So they may think that theyre trying to pay careful attention so they can remember what that person looked like, but really all they can remember is the gun or the knife.

Jonas says insights like these from psychologists and eyewitness scientists constitute important knowledge to get in the hands of jurors when theyre weighing a verdict. Earlier this year, she co-authored a paper outlining suggested additions to traditional jury instructions, which often leave out information that can be crucial to evaluating evidence.

We tell them that stress is a factor [in eyewitness identification], Jonas explains of conventional jury instructions, but we dont tell them whether its a factor that helps make the identification more reliable or less reliable. Turns out it makes it much less reliable.

Witnesses are especially bad at identifying people of a different race.

There have been all kinds of studies showing that cross-racial identifications are the most often mistaken, Jones explains, because we recognize differences in how people of our own race look, little subtle differences, but we dont recognize the nuances in peoples appearance if they are of a different race than we are. So thats one of the reasons why eyewitness identifications can be so fraught with error, is people can only provide very general descriptions of somebody who is of a different race.

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, a black prisoner serving time for sexual assault is 3.5 times more likely to be innocent than a white sexual-assault convict  and the major cause is misidentification of black defendants by white victims.

In Minnesota, a Black man named David Sutherland was exonerated in 2002, 17 years after being convicted of raping a white woman who identified him in a photo lineup. Sutherlands exoneration was believed to be the first in the nation to result from prosecution-initiated post-conviction DNA testing. DNA testing also identified the actual rapist, though by then the statute of limitations had expired and he couldnt be prosecuted.

There is this problem with cross-racial identification and its particularly strong in Caucasians trying to identify African-Americans,Jonas said. And its so important to get this information to the jury, because I dont know that all jurors intuit it. I think many people who study the criminal justice system know about this phenomenon, but people outside of it really dont.

Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, right, with Ronald Cotton in Greensboro, N.C., Sept. 14, 2000. Thompson identified Cotton as the man who raped her in 1984. After serving almost 11 years of a life sentence, Cotton was released from prison when DNA testing revealed another man raped Thompson-Cannino. They have become friends since Cotton's release. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

The case of Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton is one of the most well-known wrongful convictions involving eyewitness identification, because Thompson-Cannino and Cotton have spoken about it publicly since Cottons exoneration  even co-authoring a memoir called Picking Cotton about their experience with the justice system. Thompson-Cannino, a white woman, was a college student when she was raped at knifepoint in 1984 by a Black man who had broken into her home in the middle of the night. She says she made every effort to memorize every detail of her rapists face, even looking for scars or tattoos that could help identify him later. After choosing Cotton in a photo lineup and again in a live lineup, Cotton was convicted on Thompson-Canninos testimony and sentenced to life in prison. But more than 10 years later, DNA evidence exonerated Cotton and implicated another man, Bobby Poole, who had bragged years earlier to a fellow inmate about committing the crime.

Even after seeing Poole in person, Thompson-Cannino was convinced she had never met him before; Cottons face was seared into her mind. Its a horrifying example of how a fake memory can be created, with a perfect storm of circumstances that can lead to false eyewitness identification  involving a high-stress crime, a weapon, cross-racial identification and positive reinforcement from detectives present at the ID, who told Thompson-Cannino she did great after choosing Cottons photo.

Even in a situation that Jennifer experienced  I think she was with her assailant for a half hour  and she tried to look at his face and she tried to put it in mind. And then she still got it wrong when it came to the lineup, Steblay says.

If anything good can come out of what Ronald Cotton suffered because of my limitations as a human being, let it be an awareness of the fact that eyewitnesses can and do make mistakes, Thompson-Cannino wrote in a New York Times op-ed in 2000. I have now had occasion to study this subject a bit, and I have come to realize that eyewitness error has been recognized as the leading cause of wrongful convictions.

But just because eyewitnesses can make mistakes, that doesnt mean they cant be instrumental in solving crimes.

Sometimes those eyewitnesses are spot-on right, Steblay says, and so you just cant throw them all out and say no one gets to be an eyewitness and testify anymore, because sometimes theyre right.

Steblay says it comes down to eyewitness evidence being used correctly: avoiding anything that could contaminate the accuracy of the memory, and preserving it quickly just as a detective would with other pieces of evidence.

If you think of forensic science evidence like blood spatter or fingerprints or footprints, think of how police treat those when theyre doing a good job, Steblay explains. They immediately cordon off the scene, and they dont mix their blood samples, and they store them properly, and they collect them right away, and they use experts. If you think of the witnesss memory like trace evidence ... we want to collect that memory evidence sooner rather than later and we want to make sure that were not asking questions that are suggestive because you dont want to taint the evidence.

Reforming the way eyewitness identifications are made in lineups and photo arrays is just one aspect of preserving the integrity of eyewitness IDs, but its an important one. And the effort to reform eyewitness identification procedures in Minnesota and elsewhere has been ongoing for years. In 2006, Steblay co-wrote an article with then-County Attorney Amy Klobuchar on a year-long pilot project in Hennepin County, which examined blind sequential lineups (or lineups where the victim views photos one at a time instead of all at once) and found that they reduce the number of witnesses who guess when identifying a suspect, and reduce the number of innocent people mistakenly identified. Hennepin County subsequently implemented lineup procedures for eyewitness identification years before last months measure to require them statewide.

Reforms to eyewitness identification have also been recognized on the federal level. In 2017, the Department of Justice issued procedures for how the FBI and other Department of Justice law enforcement agencies should conduct photo arrays, with guidelines similar to the core reforms sought by justice advocates. The memo specifies that nothing in these procedures implies that an identification not done in accordance with them is unreliable or inadmissible in court.

Eyewitness identifications play an important role in our criminal justice system, both by helping officers and agents identify suspects during an investigation and by helping juries determine guilt at trial, then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said in the 2017 memo. It is therefore crucial that the procedures law enforcement officers follow in conducting those identifications ensure the accuracy and reliability of evidence elicited from eyewitnesses.

One of the reasons nearly half of U.S. states havent implemented the core reforms to eyewitness identification lineups is objections from police jurisdictions, particularly in smaller towns with less resources.

Some of it is individual police jurisdictions just not wanting to be told how to do things, Steblay says. Sometimes police or prosecutors say they dont want rules to be so rigid, because then if we just violate one of the rules, then that ruins our prosecution or we cant catch the bad guys or whatever. So they feel like its undermining their ability to do the good job that they should do.

I dont see it that way, Steblay continues. I just think these are not difficult changes.

Yet even of the U.S states that do have statewide procedures for eyewitness identification, those procedures arent always followed. And its up to individual judges to determine whether the eyewitness ID obtained in a botched lineup is permissible as evidence in court.

I know there are some states that have great policies on the books for eyewitness memory evidence collection, and yet I keep getting calls from attorneys in those states that say, Yep, wait till you hear about this one! And its, again, a police officer who either wasnt trained or just abandoned that training and just did whatever he or she wanted to do to get that eyewitness evidence, Steblay says.

According to reporting by Andy Mannix of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a 2017 analysis by the newspaper found that even among major law enforcement agencies in Minnesota who were already trained in lineup best practices, some officers didnt always follow those rules.

In one case, a police officer sent a photo array to a witness via email, making it impossible to gauge confidence, implement a sequential lineup or record the identification process. The lineup also included suspects whose age, race and hair color didnt match the victims description of the perpetrator.

Its the whole system, Steblay says of wrongful convictions where eyewitness identification played a role. Its the first police officer who collected that eyewitness evidence, its the supervisor who either didnt question it or didnt study it or wasnt reported thoroughly and just let that evidence go to the prosecutors office, and then to the court.

So many of these things tie together, Jones explains. Because maybe you have a victim, they testify about their eyewitness identification of the defendant, and then you get into other policy issues that we work on like jailhouse informants, where people are incentivized to testify against a defendant either by thinking that they might get a better deal on their sentence or being paid money and so forth, and then that reinforces that identification to the jury. So you get these layers and layers of reinforcement that are themselves often flawed, and you can end up with a real mess.

Our goals are really centered around helping people who are innocent, Jonas says, though she acknowledges that the Innocence Projects initiatives can have a broader impact on the justice system as a whole.

We know that there are more Black and brown people being arrested, tried and incarcerated than Caucasian people. Do I think that jury instructions about cross-racial mistaken eyewitness identification could help that? Of course I do. To keep police officers from tainting lineup procedures by giving them simple instructions? Will that benefit people of color? Of course it will.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
When it comes to diplomacy, President Trump has, according to his critics, a habit of elevating appearances over substance. He lacks tact toward allies and too often he puts his vulnerable ego on display. As the KosovoSerbia summit at the White House unraveled over the course of this past week, all of these character flaws were on full display  by the European Union.

When the news of a White House summit between Serbias and Kosovos leaders, Aleksandar Vucic and Hashim Thaci, was initially announced, most Balkans watchers were bemused. The reaction from Europe was outright frosty. A good agreement would bring Kosovo and Serbia closer to the EU and I dont believe that such an agreement can be reached without the EU presence there, said the EUs special representative for dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, Miroslav Lajcak.

No wonder. Excluding the EU from the meeting was indeed a brazen move. It did not help that President Trumps envoy for the KosovoSerbia talks, Richard Grenell, cuts a distinctly undiplomatic figure. During his two-year stint as ambassador to Germany, he alienated much of the countrys political class. When the summit was being prepared, he berated its critics on Twitter: You dont know what you are talking about. But you are so sure you do. Typical.

However, bluster aside, there was merit to Grenells initiative. Since the largely aspirational Brussels Agreement (2013), which committed Kosovo and Serbia to a gradual normalization of their relationship, the EU has very little to show for its years of engagement in the region. A U.S.-led restart to the talks, organized around questions of economic integration, with the additional carrot provided by prospective U.S. investment, might have been maladroit, but it was not misguided.

After all, it is not the Trump administrations fault that Serbias accession to the EU has stalled. Kosovo has yet to be granted visa-free access to EU member states, despite meeting the relevant criteria two years ago. The combination of an emphasis on rules and process on the one hand and broken promises on the other has fueled cynicism about the EU in both Pristina and Belgrade.

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The frozen conflict has also provided an opening for Russia and China. Serbias president Aleksandar Vucic famously called European solidarity a fairy tale while praising Chinese medical assistance in the early days of the COVID-19 crisis. Russia, meanwhile, has firmly entrenched itself in Serbias energy sector, and its malign influence and meddling have successfully exploited the themes of Serbian, or Orthodox, victimhood. Illustrative of Russias interest in perpetuating the dysfunctional status quo, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said in Belgrade recently that any agreement between Kosovo and Serbia had to be subject to approval by the U.N. Security Council  thereby reserving a veto power for Russia.

Since the summit was first announced, things took a downward turn quickly. On Wednesday, just as Thaci was traveling to meet Vucic in Washington, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, a court set up under the EUs auspices, indicted him of war crimes. Grenell tweeted that Vucic would instead meet with Kosovos prime minister Avdullah Hoti. On Thursday, Hoti cancelled. And on Friday, he and Vucic appeared in Brussels, hosted by the European Commissions president, Ursula von der Leyen.

While few expected breakthroughs at the canceled summit in Washington, the Friday meetings in Brussels, organized ostentatiously as the EUs riposte to the U.S. initiative, revolved around platitudes. Grateful [Hoti] chose Brussels for his first trip abroad. We will support Kosovo in the necessary reforms on its path to the EU and in post-pandemic recovery, von der Leyen tweeted after their meeting. In Serbia, in turn, broad dialogue with all political forces is needed to move ahead with reforms. Perhaps the upcoming summit in Paris, organized by French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel will yield more-impressive results, but we are not holding our breath.

When she took over as the president of the new European Commission last year, von der Leyen promised a geopolitical commission. Yet, for that, more is needed than just flexing muscles to derail a U.S.-led initiative without offering an alternative in its stead. Nobody is denying that the EU plays a critical role in the future of the Western Balkans  but so does the United States. Progress in the region, whether it was the Dayton Accords, ending violence in Kosovo, or maintaining its security, has come invariably from cooperation between the two  not from one undercutting the other.

The United States and the European Union share the same basic objectives in the Western Balkans: that the region be peaceful, democratic, and economically successful, grounded in the rule of law, and not a playground for revisionist powers such as China and Russia. Who gets the credit for breaking the current deadlock during the short window afforded by the recent elections in Serbia ought to be far less important. To see the EU go out of its way to preserve the current stasis for the fear of somebody elses taking credit for eventual progress is disappointing  and positively Trumpian.

Dalibor Rohac is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Ivana Stradner is a Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

More from National Review
By Trend





The European Union (EU) has decided to include Georgia in the list of the countries whose citizens will be allowed to enter the EU when borders open, Trend reports referring to Euronews.

According to the report, officials are debating on the border reopening date. Initially, the borders were supposed to open on July 1.

Among Georgia neighboring countries, only Turkey is included in the list. The citizens of Ukraine and China will be allowed to enter the EU as well.

The US with more than 2 million coronavirus cases, is not included in the list alongside Russia, Brazil, and Qatar, said Euronews.

Meanwhile, domestic tourism has already resumed in Georgia on June 15, and the country was planning to reopen its airspace to international flights starting July 1, but then postponed the reopening till August 1.
When Jorge Noris first tried online shopping, Cuban-style, the products he bought never turned up. Like most people, the father of two living on the outskirts of Havana was seduced by the convenience of shopping over the internet. However, Cuba's catch-up with the world of e-commerce, encouraged by its communist rulers during the coronavirus lockdown, has left many users angry. "After a month, the store called me to ask if the order had arrived," said Noris, a 34-year-old technician. He was similarly stunned when he discovered he had to travel into the shop to be reimbursed. Worldwide, the online food trade has been given a massive shot in the arm by the pandemic. With millions confined to their homes, online consumer activity soared by 300 percent in Italy and Spain, and 100 percent in France, according to pollsters Nielsen. But the experience is still a novel one in Cuba where 3G mobile internet was rolled out in 2018. The local online store Tuenvio has only just launched. Long queues outside food stores are a recurring feature of Cuban life because of shortages due to US sanctions. Tuenvio aims to make those grim lines a thing of the past. However, many online consumers are now lining up outside stores to file a complaint or recover missing products. - 'Crisis solution' - On television, President Miguel Diaz-Canel was forced to recognize the shortcomings of the new system. "We have had more complaints related to online shopping than about health care during the pandemic," he said. The island, with a population of over 11 million, has had relatively few coronavirus cases -- 2,319 with 85 fatalities. "Reality has exceeded capacity," said Diaz-Canel. Noris, whose blog Tuandroid is devoted to new technology, translated Diaz-Canel's mea culpa into IT terms: "The servers were unprepared for the demand." The shock was severe for Tuenvio, which went from having hundreds of online visits a day to 8,000 after the government ordered a widespread lockdown, including the closure of many supermarkets. Orders soared from just over 1,300 in February to 6,000 in March, growing to nearly 79,000 in the first half of May. "Tuenvio has to be put in context. It is a crisis solution for crisis moment, and executed fairly quickly -- perhaps without the time or the thought necessary -- without studying successful experiences elsewhere" said Juan Triana, a professor at the Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy. "Online shopping will not necessarily solve the fundamental problem in Cuba, which is the supply deficit which is not linked to COVID-19 but existed long before." "Obviously, it could have been done better," he said, especially in terms of organization because "suddenly the delivery locations have multiplied -- customers too -- but without the logistics to guarantee distribution." - Not Amazon - Outside the Cuarto Caminos supermarket in Havana, trucks, vans and even taxis are used to load orders for online customers, the goods sorted into large transparent plastic bags. Yahima De Los Santos, 43, comes to pick up her purchases. "I prefer to come to the store myself, it's safer to be sure that nothing is missing," she said, though she is delighted with the experience. "For me, it's one of the best things, because it's never easy to queue." "The only thing I don't like about it, and a few people complain about it, is that when you buy online you have to be very quick. When put a product in your basket, sometimes it's not there anymore by the time you pay." Faced with thousands of complaints, the military-owned distribution companies Cimex and Tiendas Caribe have shut down part of their sites for an overhaul. And even the Communist Party-controlled state media have devoted long, critical articles to the problem. The Cubadebate site suspected sought-after foods like chicken had been "misappropriated" after customers said they often see it delivered to the store, though it is rarely available to buy online. The article had a thousand comments from angry Cubans. Noris for one is resigned to suffer on. "In the world of online shopping, the customer experience is important, but in Cuba we leave all that aside because there is no other option. I'd like to buy on Amazon, but this is obviously not possible. I have to buy on Tuenvio."
Leipzig/Dresden. In connection with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, satellite measurements made headlines showing how much the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2) had decreased in China and northern Italy. In Germany, traffic density is the most important factor. However, weather also has an influence on NO2 concentrations, according to a study by the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), which evaluated the influence of weather conditions on nitrogen dioxide concentrations in Saxony 2015 to 2018 on behalf of the Saxon State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology (LfULG). It was shown that wind speed and the height of the lowest air layer are the most important factors that determine how much pollutants can accumulate locally.

In order to determine the influence of various weather factors on air quality, the team used a statistical method that allows meteorological fluctuations to be mathematically removed from long-term measurements. The air quality fluctuates, in some cases very strongly, due to different emissions and the influence of the weather. Until now, however, it has been difficult to estimate, what share legal measures such as low emission zones or diesel driving bans have and what share the weather influences have in the actual air quality? With the method used, this will be easier in the future.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is an irritant gas which attacks the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, causes inflammatory reactions as an oxidant and increases the effect of other air pollutants. As a precursor substance, it can also contribute to the formation of particulate matter. Limit values have been set in the EU to protect the population: For nitrogen dioxide, an annual average value of 40 micrograms per cubic metre of air applies (g/m). To protect the health of the population, measures must be taken if these limit values are not complied with. In 2018/2019, for example, various measures were taken in Germany, ranging from a reduction in the number of lanes (e.g. in Leipzig) to driving bans for older diesel vehicles (e.g. in Stuttgart).

To evaluate the effectiveness of such measures, it would be helpful to determine the exact influence of weather conditions. The Saxon State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology (LfULG) therefore commissioned TROPOS to carry out a study on the influence of weather factors on NO2 concentrations and provided its measurement data from the Saxon air quality measurement network and meteorological data for this purpose. The researchers were thus able to evaluate data from 29 stations in Saxony over a period of four years, which represent a cross-section of air pollution - from stations at traffic centres to urban and rural background stations and stations on the ridge of the Erzgebirge mountains. They also calculated the height of the lowest layer in the atmosphere and incorporated data from traffic counting stations in Leipzig and Dresden into the study. A method from the field of machine learning was used for the statistical modelling, the application of which in the field of air quality was first published by British researchers in 2009.

In this way, the study was able to demonstrate that the traffic density at all traffic stations is most significantly responsible for nitrogen oxide concentrations. However, two weather parameters also have a significant influence on nitrogen dioxide concentrations: wind speed and the height of the so-called mixing layer. The latter is a meteorological parameter that indicates the height to which the lowest layer of air, where the emissions mix, extends. "It was also shown that high humidity can also reduce the concentration of nitrogen dioxide, which could be due to the fact that the pollutants deposit more strongly on moist surfaces. However, the exact causes are still unclear," says Dominik van Pinxteren.

The statistical analysis has also enabled the researchers to remove the influence of the weather from the time series of pollutant concentrations: Adjusted for the weather, the concentration of nitrogen oxides (NOx) decreased by a total of 10 micrograms per cubic meter between 2015 and 2018 on average over all traffic stations in Saxony. In urban and rural areas and on the ridge of the Erzgebirge, however, NOx concentrations tend to remain at the same level. Even though there have been some improvements in air quality in recent years, there are good scientific arguments for further reducing air pollution.

In a way, this also applies to premature conclusions from the corona crisis: in order to find out how strong the influence of the initial restrictions on air quality actually was, the influence of the weather would have to be statistically removed in a longer series of measurements. To this end, investigations for the Leipzig area are currently underway at TROPOS, as is a Europe-wide study of the EU research infrastructure for short-lived atmospheric constituents such as aerosol, clouds and trace gases (ACTRIS), the German contribution to which is coordinated by TROPOS. Tilo Arnhold

###

Publication:

Dominik van Pinxteren, Sebastian Dusing, Alfred Wiedensohler, Hartmut Herrmann (2020): Meteorological influences on nitrogen dioxide: Influence of weather conditions and weathering on nitrogen dioxide concentrations in outdoor air 2015 to 2018. Series of publications of the LfULG, issue 2/2020 (in German only) https://publikationen.sachsen.de/bdb/artikel/35043

This study was commissioned by the State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology (LfULG).

Project:

LfULG-Projekt Meteorologische Einflusse auf Stickstoffdioxid": https://www.luft.sachsen.de/Inhalt_FuE_Projekt_Witterung_NOx_Ozon.html

Media contacts:

Dr. Dominik van Pinxteren

Scientist, Atmospheric Chemistry Department at the Leibniz-Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Leipzig

Phone +49 341 2717- 7029

https://www.tropos.de/en/institute/about-us/employees/dominik-van-pinxteren

Prof. Hartmut Herrmann

Head of the Atmospheric Chemistry Department at the Leibniz-Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Leipzig

Phone +49 341 2717- 7024

https://www.tropos.de/en/institute/about-us/employees/hartmut-herrmann

Tilo Arnhold

Public Relations at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Leipzig, Germany

Phone: +49-341-2717-7189

https://www.tropos.de/en/current-issues/press-releases

Links:

COVID-19 campaigns by ACTRIS: http://www.actris.eu/Outreach/News/ACTRISUpdates.aspx

Background information:

Until now, the influence of weather has made it difficult to assess the effectiveness of traffic measures in reducing the exposure to the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide. This is mainly due to its formation: Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are mainly produced in combustion processes. In conurbations, road traffic is considered the most important source, with the largest share coming from diesel engines. Diesel engines emit nitrogen dioxide and, above all, nitrogen monoxide (NO), which is converted to NO2 in the atmosphere by complex photochemical processes: High solar radiation can therefore lead to high NO2 and ozone (O3) levels, especially in urban areas. Also in summer, high temperatures, especially in rural areas, can lead to high concentrations of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) and thus to an increased conversion of NO to NO2. However, the extent to which concentrations of trace gases accumulate in the air above the ground also depends on the weather: It has long been known that weak winds can cause high concentrations of pollutants. Two unfavourable factors come together, especially in inversion weather conditions in winter: Because of the cold temperatures, there is a lot of heating and the high emissions accumulate in a small volume of air. High concentrations of pollutants are then the result. In particular, valley locations then act like a pot on which the inversion layer in the atmosphere has been put on a lid.

The concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in Saxony have decreased on average since 2000. Until 2018, however, exceedances of the annual NO2 limit of 40 micrograms per cubic meter were still measured. In October 2019, for example, the city of Leipzig was forced to implement immediate measures from the Clean Air Plan and to throttle the traffic flow on several entry roads, because the modelling had suggested that the NO2 values in these roads were too high.

The applied method is based on so-called "boosted regression trees". "These are decision trees, with which a mathematical algorithm is 'trained' in such a way that it can independently decide on the basis of the data whether a factor has an influence on the pollutant concentration and if so, how high this influence is. A decision tree consists of a sequence of "if-then" decisions, which in its structure resembles a tree that starts at the root and branches out further and further until it reaches the "leaves", as the final points of a decision tree are also called," explains Dr. Dominik van Pinxteren from TROPOS, who has made the method applicable to Saxony. "A disadvantage of a single regression tree is its usually only moderately good prediction quality. To improve this, modern applications therefore calculate ensembles consisting of many trees. The prediction is averaged from the entire "forest", so to speak. In this way, a "weak learner", i.e.a single tree with limited depth, is gradually built up or boosted to become a "strong learner", resulting in powerful models that have become widely used in areas of machine learning".

Detailed results:

The team around Dominik van Pinxteren was able to statistically calculate that e.g. at the measuring station Dresden-Bergstrae the nitrogen dioxide concentration decreases significantly due to wind: from 0 to 1 m/s wind speed by 25 g/m3 and between 1 and 3 m/s by another 10 g/m3. NO2 also decreases by 10 g/m3 when the height of the mixing layer increases from very close to the ground to an average height of 500 m.

The Leibniz-Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) is member of the Leibniz Association, which connects 96 independent research institutions that range in focus from the natural, engineering and environmental sciences via economics, spatial and social sciences to the humanities. Leibniz Institutes address issues of social, economic and ecological relevance. They conduct knowledge-driven and applied basic research, maintain scientific infrastructure and provide research-based services.

The Leibniz Association identifies focus areas for knowledge transfer to policy-makers, academia, business and the public. Leibniz institutions collaborate intensively with universities - in the form of "Leibniz ScienceCampi" (thematic partnerships between university and non-university research institutes), for example - as well as with industry and other partners at home and abroad.

They are subject to an independent evaluation procedure that is unparalleled in its transparency. Due to the importance of the institutions for the country as a whole, they are funded jointly by the Federation and the Lander, employing some 20,000 individuals, including 10,000 researchers.

The entire budget of all the institutes is approximately 1.9 billion Euros. They are financed jointly by the Federal Government and the Lander. The basic funding of the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) is therefore financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Saxon State Ministry of Science and the Arts (SMWK). The Institute is co-financed with tax revenues on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament.

https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/home/
Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris Jackson, is finally ready to share her life with the public, and she's starting off by sharing some never-before-seen footage of her and her famous father in the trailer for new Facebook Watch documentary, Unfiltered. The 22-year-old recently released the first official trailer for the docuseries, which will follow her and her boyfriend Gabriel Glenn on tour with their band, Soundflowers. The sneak preview includes some throwback footage of a young Paris talking to her superstar father about what she wants to be when she grows up.

"What does Paris want to be?" MJ asks her. "I want to do what you do," she responds. "What do I do?" he asks. "You dance and sing," she says. Present-day Paris can then be heard explaining how much fame has impacted her. "You see a kid grow up in the public eye but you forget I am human," she says, as footage of her getting hounded by paparazzi appears on screen. "I was against letting the world in because it wasn't a choice. I wasn't ready then. But I feel like I'm ready now." Paris goes on to mention the "pressure" she has faced to "follow in [her] dad's footsteps" as well as constantly getting "compared" to him and "scrutinized." However, she hopes that this documentary will help guide young people toward "self-acceptance and courage."

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Today (June 25th) marks the 11 year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. He passed away in 2009 when Paris was only 11.

Unfiltered premieres on Facebook Watch on Tuesday, June 30th.

[Via]
The Bay Areas march to reopen the economy was disrupted on Friday when two counties jarred by a jump in new coronavirus infections abruptly halted plans to open some businesses and a third county said it is considering a similar move.

San Francisco postponed plans to allow certain businesses to reopen next week, including hair salons, museums and outdoor bars, following a spate of new coronavirus cases, officials said Friday. Earlier this week, the city announced plans to accelerate the reopening of the citys economy by several weeks, citing favorable health data around new cases and hospitalizations.

A rash of new cases in San Francisco  103  were reported Friday, raising concerns among city leaders and public health officials that a major outbreak could be on the horizon.

In Marin County, some businesses planning to reopen Monday will not be allowed to do so, while others can go ahead as planned, county health officials said Friday. The ones approved to resume are indoor dining, hair salons, barbershops, campgrounds and picnic areas, but hotels, gyms, nail salons, tattoo parlors and skin-care services will be prohibited from reopening.

Marin County reported a record number on Thursday with 54 new cases. Twelve people are currently hospitalized for COVID-19 in the county, including five in intensive care, marking an all-time high.

Were seeing patterns we need to pay attention to. Were not closing anything down. Were just slowing the pace in response to the data, said Dr. Matt Willis, county health officer.

Health officials in Contra Costa County said they plan to announce their decision about a potentially altered timeline by Monday. Hospitalizations there increased 42% in the past seven days. The countys seven-day average of new cases rose to 77  up from 48 one week ago.

This suggests the change is not simply due to more testing, but indicates a true increase in community spread, health officials said in a statement. Indoor dining, bars, gyms and other businesses are scheduled to reopen July 1 in Contra Costa County.

The moves in the Bay Area came as the number of new coronavirus cases is surging in several states, including Texas, Arizona, South Carolina and Florida, as governments desperate to revive their economies have allowed businesses to reopen and people to move about more freely. As the coronavirus tears through communities, city, county and state officials across the country have been forced to pull back or pause reopening efforts.

Speeding up the reopening was always contingent upon the number of new cases and hospitalizations remaining low. The 103 new cases do not represent a one-day jump, but rather an accumulation of cases logged over the last few days that were reported at the same time.

Our reopening process is guided by data and science. COVID-19 cases are rising throughout California, Mayor London Breed tweeted Friday. Were now seeing a rise in cases in SF too. Our numbers are still low but rising rapidly. As a result, were temporarily delaying the reopenings that were scheduled for Monday.

Public health experts, Breed said, will evaluate the data over the coming days to determine if its safe to move forward. I know people are anxious to reopen  I am too. But we cant jeopardize the progress weve made.

San Francisco Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax said Friday that there was no immediate indication that the new cases in San Francisco were tied to a specific place or event. Most of the new cases come from the Latino community, Colfax said, a trend that has continued since the start of the pandemic. Health officials and contact tracing investigators were working to establish whether any other trends cut across the batch of new cases.

We dont know yet what the root cause of this increase is. I think its probably a combination of factors, Colfax said, urging the public to continue wearing face coverings in public, wash their hands frequently and to practice social distancing whenever possible.

The percentage of positive test results has more than doubled over the past week, Colfax said. The city has recently been administering more than 2,000 coronavirus tests daily. As of June 14, the positive rate was around 2%, but it had risen to 5.1% as of Thursday, Colfax said.

San Francisco had been one of the few Bay Area counties that has not reported a large spike in cases in recent weeks. However, the 62 cases now attributed to samples collected on Monday are the most for a single day since April 28.

The next few weeks will be critical for determining whether the upward trend will continue because sharp upticks of new infections can presage surges that could threaten to overwhelm the citys hospital system.

Cases in California and across the country have spiked in recent weeks. Public health officials have long cautioned that reopening too quickly risks undoing months of progress brought about by sheltering in place and social distancing measures. Amid concerns about the spread of the virus, organizers of the Bay to Breakers race canceled the iconic event Friday. On Wednesday, the annual Outside Lands music festival in Golden Gate Park was canceled for 2020.

Gov. Gavin Newsom urged officials in Imperial County to reinstate mandatory stay-at-home orders after an alarming spike in hospitalizations there. More than 500 patients have had to be transferred to other counties from overwhelmed medical centers in Imperial County. Some are being treated in San Francisco.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

In Texas the surge in cases triggered a statewide response. Gov. Greg Abbott paused that states reopening process Thursday after cases and hospitalizations soared. In Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston, a county judge imposed the highest-threat level, banning gatherings of more than 100 people and urging local mayors to follow suit after hospitalizations continued to spike. She also called for stay-at-home measures that were in place during March and April.

Florida, another state that reopened early, has reported record-breaking numbers of new cases almost daily. On Friday, Florida officials closed bars to slow the spread of the virus, pulling the state back a step in its reopening plan. Texas is also closing its bars.

Were clearly seeing some major surges of infections in Texas, Florida and other places that thought it was safe to get people back into public spaces or never thought masks (should be mandatory), said Dr. Art Reingold, professor of epidemiology at UC Berkeleys School of Public Health.

Unfortunately, I see no reason why the virus is going to leave, he said. I dont think temperature, season or humidity are going to make much of a difference. Were going to see ebbs and flows in whether people are willing to change their behaviors or let other people order them to change their behaviors.

After the delay in San Franciscos reopening plan was announced, vexation was mixed with disappointment among some businesses Friday.

Its frustrating. It feels like the health department cant make up its mind, said Paul Miller, owner of the Royal Cuckoo bar in Bernal Heights. Miller had spent much of the week buying furniture for outdoor seating, ordering drink ingredients and scrubbing the whole place from top to bottom  no small feat, since the bar had sat empty since San Franciscos shelter-in-place began in March.

Yen Tuyet Le was ready for Mondays opening. After three months being closed, she was excited to reopen her nail salon, Paua Beauty Lounge on Powell Street. She installed plastic dividers on manicure tables, stocked up on masks and gloves, and retrained her staff on sterilizing nail service equipment. She had social distancing notices all over her Russian Hill salon and planned to require clients to wear masks at all times. She was even going to offer complimentary manicures to San Francisco nurses.

Its disappointing, but I understand that the health of the community is important, Le said. I just dont know how Im supposed to stay in business.

Chronicle staff writers Esther Mobley, Rachel Swan and Anna Bauman contributed to this report.

Dominic Fracassa and Shwanika Narayan are a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com, shwanika.narayan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa, @Shwanika
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a press briefing with members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in Washington on April 5, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Fauci Asks Young Americans to Social Distance and Wear Masks

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House pandemic task force, said in a press conference that younger Americans have been spreading the CCP virus as cases increase in several states.

The overwhelming majority of people who are now getting infected are young people, like the people that you see in the clips in the paper or out in the crowds enjoying themselves, Fauci noted.

Fauci added that the thing that you really need to realize, that when you do that you are part of a process, so if you get infected, you will infect someone else.

The top infectious diseases doctor made the comment during a White House briefing on the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a novel coronavirus that emerged from China last year.

This week, some governors, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, said they are halting reopening plans amid a surge in cases.

Other Trump administration officials issued warning to younger Americans to stop spreading the virus to at-risk family members by gathering in large groups as the summer weather starts.

I also want to appeal to the millennials and those that are under 40  its really important that this group really commit themselves to these practices to protect those at risk, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert Redfield said of social distancing and masks.

Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, said that millennials should practice social distancing.

We have made truly remarkable progress. As we stand here today, all 50 states and territories across this country are opening up safely and responsibly, Pence said.

Fauci and task force member Dr. Deborah Birx said that about half the new cases were found among people under the age of 35.

This week Abbott ordered all bars closed, while Florida banned alcohol at such establishments. A small but growing list of states shows theyre either backtracking or putting any further reopenings of their economies on hold because of a comeback by the virus, mostly in the South and West.

It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars, Abbott said.

The doctors told us at the time, and told anyone who would listen, this will be a disaster. And it has been, said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, a Democrat who is the countys top official. Once again, the governor is slow to act. He is now being forced to do the things that weve been demanding that he do for the last month and a half.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The signing ceremony of the agreement was held at the Prime Minister House on Thursday, witnessed by the Prime Minister Imran Khan, who will also be doing a ground breaking on Friday.

The Kohala Hydropower Project is by far the largest power sector investment in a single Independent Power Producer (IPP).

It is being built on the Jhehlum River in PoK as part of the CPEC and has been awarded to Kohala Hydropwer Company Ltd. (KHCL), a subsidiary of China's Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC).

"It is a great step towards foreign investment" the Prime Minister said while addressing the signing ceremony.

"Pakistan has the potential to generate electricity from water and this project is the one way forward."

Khan said that the project will provide jobs for the youth of PoK.

"The huge investment for Pakistan in Kohala Hydropower Project under CPEC is a very important development. We have to provide employment to the youth at this time, this project will give jobs to the youth from PoK," he said.

However, the residents of PoK, who call it a blatant attempt to divert the Jhehlum water and deprive the people from water based resources and trigger changes in the climate that are already hurting families living along the Neelum River because of the Neelum Jehlum Power Plant, are protesting the very presence of the project.

"These projects are diverting our rivers from Kashmir and taking it straight to the edge at Kohala, from where Pakistan starts. This diversion of our river will have a serious affect on lives of thousands of families living along the river," said a local activist from Muzaffarabad.

"Changes in the weather are already felt and witnessed for locals living along the Neelum river, as temperatures during summer have been going up. This is because of the Neelum Jehlum Power Plant, which has diverted a considerable amount of river water. Now this project will bring miseries to even more families along the Jhehlum river," he added.

The activist, who requested to be kept anonymous, said that these projects benefit Pakistan, insisting that Kashmiris have not benefited as the electricity crisis is present all over PoK.

Talking about the claim of job creations for the youth, he said that many educated engineers worked in the Neelum Jehlum Power project, but on a daily wage basis, adding that job opportunities with salaries based on daily wages, do not help the youth in their career as it is for a limited period of time, doing no progressive development.

--IANS

hamza/ksk/


Popular Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Hushpuppi arrested 10 June in Dubai is being held by Dubai Police and not Americas FBI or Interpo...

Popular Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Hushpuppi arrested 10 June in Dubai is being held by Dubai Police and not Americas FBI or Interpol as widely reported.





UAEs online newspaper, The National reported Wednesday that he was arrested on multiple fraud charges, along with 12 other accomplices.





The paper also revealed his real name as Raymond Abbas and his real age as 38 years.





His case has been referred to the Dubai public prosecution and is currently being questioned by prosecutors at the Bur Dubai section, the paper reported.

The prosecutors have charged him for obtaining money from others through fraudulent means.





According to UAE National, security officers in the emirate arrested Mr Abbas and 12 others for online fraud that targets companies and individuals.





They would send out letters from email addresses almost identical to those of legitimate companies, targeting customers of these companies, with the purpose of diverting payments to themselves, said a senior prosecutor, quoted by the paper.





Initial information includes that he was part of this gang which fraudulently obtained cash and cars from people.





His statement was taken by prosecution but this is just the beginning of prosecution investigations.





The paper also reported that Raymond Abbas is wanted for fraud crimes in Europe, the United States and Nigeria.





Mr Abbas has over two million followers on Instagram. He is known for his display of wealth on social media.





He often posts pictures with his luxury cars like Ferrari and Rolls Royce and a private jet.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 20:22:34|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Iran's representative to international organizations in Vienna urged the United States and France to honor nuclear disarmament treaties and refrain from nuclear-capable military tests, Tasnim news agency reported on Friday.

Kazem Gharibabadi referred to recent French Navy's launch of a new generation of intercontinental ballistic missile that can be fitted with several nuclear nose-cones.

He also pointed to western reports about U.S. officials discussing possibility of conducting nuclear-test explosions, saying that "unfortunately, the international community recently witnessed a destructive approach towards nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation treaties by some of the nuclear states."

He noted that modernization and testing of nuclear weapons undermine the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation treaties and "threaten the international peace and security."

Gharibabadi stressed Iran's "long-standing and principled position on the need for the total elimination of all nuclear weapons."
China, India Open New Front of Escalation With Deployment of Heavy Vehicles, Troops in Depsang

Sputnik News

06:48 GMT 25.06.2020

New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian Army on Tuesday announced that it had reached a consensus with the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) to disengage from the Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso. Army sources said that the disengagement process started on Wednesday evening.

China has moved thousands of troops, artillery units, and armoured vehicles to a new area of northern Ladakh. Confirming the Chinese deployment, government sources claimed that in addition to troops they have attack helicopters and armoured vehicles to counter any eventuality in the region.

The sources added that for the past two weeks, deployment by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has increased in the region, which is 21 km from an Indian Army post in Depsang and southeast of Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO). Daulat Beg Oldie is very close to the Karakoram Pass separating China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region from Ladakh.

Sources confirmed that Chinese heavy military vehicles and around 10,000 troops have reached the plains of Depsang. Moreover, some of these troops and vehicles have moved up to a place called Y-junction where the PLA had erected tents in April 2013, which were later removed after a three-week standoff.

Soon after the April 2013 standoff, the Indian Air Force landed a C-130J Super Hercules transport plane at the Daulat Beg Oldie airstrip, reactivated after four decades in Ladakh near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

India also created a new patrol base to stop any perceived attempts by the Chinese military to change the status quo in the region.

Meanwhile, the sources added that India has not witnessed any movement from the Chinese side in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand so far.

On Wednesday, senior Indian and Chinese diplomats met via a video conference and agreed to "implement the understanding on disengagement and de-escalation that was reached by the senior commanders on 6 June".

However, satellite images from 22 June suggested that a Chinese observation post destroyed by the Indian Army on 15 June during a violent clash in Galwan, has been rebuilt.

Border conflicts are a permanent fixture of India-China relations due to the lack of clear demarcations along the 4,057-kilometre boundary. But the 15 June clash in the Galwan Valley was the first such clash to witness such heavy casualties. While India claimed to have lost 20 soldiers, China is yet to confirm the number of casualties on its side.

 Sputnik

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Aceh residents bring stranded Rohingya ashore themselves in defiance of authorities as rights groups urge ASEAN action.

Nearly 100 Rohingya people who were stranded off the coast of Indonesia were pulled to shore on Thursday by local people furious at local authorities refusal to give them shelter because of fears about the coronavirus.

Some 94 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority  including 30 children  were plucked from their boat by fishermen this week before being intercepted by maritime officials from Sumatra island who pulled them closer to shore.

But officials in Lhokseumawe in the Indonesian province of Aceh refused to allow the group to land, citing coronavirus concerns.

Angry locals took matters into their own hands on Thursday by taking to their own boats to pull the group to shore.

Residents who had gathered on a local beach cheered the move, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.

Acehnese took to the sea to rescue the Rohingya themselves [Rahmad/Antara Foto via Reuters]

Its purely for humanitarian reasons, said fisherman Aples Kuari.

We were sad seeing kids and pregnant women stranded at sea, he added.

Earlier on Thursday, local police chief Eko Hartanto said they wanted to send the mainly Muslim Rohingya back to sea rather than give them temporary shelter.

Fishermen in Acheh become fisher of men by rescuing refugees. Terima kasih! Now to move to durable solutions for refugees everywhere. https://t.co/LlHKjJQ6fE  Dr Khor SK (@DrKhorSK) June 26, 2020

But authorities appeared to soften that stance in the face of local protests, and the group has now been given temporary shelter in private residences.

The Rohingya would be checked by medical staff to ensure they were virus-free, according to Acehs rescue agency. Aceh is on the northern tip of Sumatra.

Best of humanity

Amnesty International praised the spirit of the rescue.

The disembarkation of Rohingya refugees is a moment of optimism and solidarity, the organisations Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid said in a statement.

Its a credit to the community in Aceh who pushed hard and took risks so that these children, women and men could be brought to shore. They have shown the best of humanity.

About one million Rohingya live in refugee camps in Bangladesh, after fleeing their homes in Myanmar in 2017 to escape a brutal military crackdown that is now the subject of an international genocide investigation.

The continuing conflict in Myanmars western state of Rakhine, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya still live, was expected to be under discussion at Fridays virtual summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Human Rights Watch said on Friday that ASEAN should urgently adopt concrete plans to address the crisis.

ASEAN leaders, having done almost nothing for years, should dramatically rethink their approach to the Rohingya crisis, Brad Adams, the groups Asia director said in a statement. A coordinated regional response is desperately needed to protect Rohingya in Myanmar, in refugee camps abroad and at sea, while pressing Myanmar to take the steps necessary for them to return home safely.

Indonesia and neighbouring Malaysia are the Rohingyas favoured destinations, with thousands paying people smugglers for the dangerous journey across the Indian Ocean every year.

Malaysia has the second largest community of Rohingya refugees after Bangladesh, and Muslim-majority Indonesia has previously allowed them to land and allowed many to stay.

The rescued Rohingya were given temporary shelter in peoples homes after they were brought ashore [Chaideer Amhyuddin/AFP]

But the Rohingyas plight has been compounded in recent months as officials have turned them away over concern about the coronavirus.

On Wednesday, a coastguard official in Malaysia said Rohingya detained after their boat was found off the resort island of Langkawi earlier this month had told them dozens had died during their four months at sea.

The 269 people who survived are now being held by the authorities. Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees and treats asylum seekers and refugees as illegal migrants.

Some of them died at sea. They were thrown overboard, Mohd Zubil Mat Som told reporters, without specifying the exact number.





Zubil said the group had been on a larger ship carrying more than 800 people before they were transferred to the second vessel.

Authorities have not found the original boat, thought to be now carrying around 500 people.

It is not clear whether the group that landed off Indonesias coast belonged to that larger group.

Malaysia has stepped up border enforcement patrols as part of its attempt to control the spread of the coronavirus. It has pushed back 22 boats since May 1, HRW said, describing the situation as an echo of the 2015 crisis when thousands of Rohingya were left stranded at sea.
Reservoirs in the heart of an ancient Maya city were so polluted with mercury and algae that the water likely was undrinkable.

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati found toxic levels of pollution in two central reservoirs in Tikal, an ancient Maya city that dates back to the third century B.C. in what is now northern Guatemala.

UC's findings suggest droughts in the ninth century likely contributed to the depopulation and eventual abandonment of the city.

"The conversion of Tikal's central reservoirs from life-sustaining to sickness-inducing places would have both practically and symbolically helped to bring about the abandonment of this magnificent city," the study concluded.

A geochemical analysis found that two reservoirs nearest the city palace and temple contained toxic levels of mercury that UC researchers traced back to a pigment the Maya used to adorn buildings, clayware and other goods. During rainstorms, mercury in the pigment leached into the reservoirs where it settled in layers of sediment over the years.

But the former inhabitants of this city, made famous by its towering stone temples and architecture, had ample potable water from nearby reservoirs that remained uncontaminated, UC researchers found.

The study was published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.

UC's diverse team was composed of anthropologists, geographers, botanists, biologists and chemists. They examined layers of sediment dating back to the ninth century when Tikal was a flourishing city.

Previously, UC researchers found that the soils around Tikal during the ninth century were extremely fertile and traced the source to frequent volcanic eruptions that enriched the soil of the Yucatan Peninsula.

"Archaeologists and anthropologists have been trying to figure out what happened to the Maya for 100 years," said David Lentz, a UC professor of biological sciences and lead author of the study.

For the latest study, UC researchers sampled sediment at 10 reservoirs within the city and conducted an analysis on ancient DNA found in the stratified clay of four of them.

Sediment from the reservoirs nearest Tikal's central temple and palace showed evidence of toxic algae called cyanobacteria. Consuming this water, particularly during droughts, would have made people sick even if the water were boiled, Lentz said.

"We found two types of blue-green algae that produce toxic chemicals. The bad thing about these is they're resistant to boiling. It made water in these reservoirs toxic to drink," Lentz said.

UC researchers said it is possible but unlikely the Maya used these reservoirs for drinking, cooking or irrigation.

"The water would have looked nasty. It would have tasted nasty," said Kenneth Tankersley, an associate professor of anthropology in UC's College of Arts and Sciences. "There would have been these big algae blooms. Nobody would have wanted to drink that water."

But researchers found no evidence of the same pollutants in sediments from more distant reservoirs called Perdido and Corriental, which likely provided drinking water for city residents during the ninth century.

Today, Tikal is a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Researchers believe a combination of economic, political and social factors prompted people to leave the city and its adjacent farms. But the climate no doubt played a role, too, Lentz said.

"They have a prolonged dry season. For part of the year, it's rainy and wet. The rest of the year, it's really dry with almost no rainfall. So they had a problem finding water," Lentz said.

Co-author Trinity Hamilton, now an assistant professor of biology at the University of Minnesota, worked on the analysis of ancient DNA from algae that sank to the reservoir bottom and was buried by centuries of accumulated sediment.

"Typically, when we see a lot of cyanobacteria in freshwater, we think of harmful algal blooms that impact water quality," Hamilton said.

Finding some reservoirs that were polluted and others that were not suggests the ancient Maya used them for different purposes, she said.

Reservoirs near the temple and palace likely would have been impressive landmarks, much like the reflecting pool at the National Mall is today.

"It would have been a magnificent sight to see these brightly painted buildings reflected off the surface of these reservoirs," said co-author Nicholas Dunning, head of geography in UC's College of Arts and Sciences.

"The Maya rulers conferred to themselves, among other things, the attribute of being able to control water. They had a special relationship to the rain gods," Dunning said. "So the reservoir would have been a pretty potent symbol."

UC's Tankersley said one popular pigment used on plaster walls and in ceremonial burials was derived from cinnabar, a red-colored mineral composed of mercury sulfide that the Maya mined from a nearby volcanic feature known as the Todos Santos Formation.

A close examination of the reservoir sediment using a technique called energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry found that mercury did not leach into the water from the underlying bedrock. Likewise, Tankersley said, UC ruled out another potential source of mercury -- volcanic ash that fell across Central America during the frequent eruptions. The absence of mercury in other nearby reservoirs where ash would have fallen ruled out volcanoes as the culprit.

Instead, Tankersley said, people were to blame.

"That means the mercury has to be anthropogenic," Tankersley said.

With its bright red color, cinnabar was commonly used as a paint or pigment across Central America at the time.

"Color was important in the ancient Maya world. They used it in their murals. They painted the plaster red. They used it in burials and combined it with iron oxide to get different shades," Tankersley said.

"We were able to find a mineral fingerprint that showed beyond a reasonable doubt that the mercury in the water originated from cinnabar," he said.

Tankersley said ancient Maya cities such as Tikal continue to captivate researchers because of the ingenuity, cooperation and sophistication required to thrive in this tropical land of extremes.

"When I look at the ancient Maya, I see a very sophisticated people with a very rich culture," Tankersley said.

UC's team is planning to return to the Yucatan Peninsula to pursue more answers about this remarkable period of human civilization.

###
A 28-year-old man was assaulted Tuesday outside the Wisconsin capitol building. He was driving to an area hospital to pick up his girlfriend when his vehicle crossed paths with a horde of demonstrators. One of the rioters threw a bicycle at his car, prompting the man to step out of the vehicle. He was immediately swarmed by a pack of 50 rioters, who assaulted him, stole his wallet and phone, and vandalized his car.

The Mostly Peaceful Protests continued.

Rioters threw a Molotov cocktail into a municipal building. They assaulted a state senator. They toppled the statue of the abolitionist Hans Christian Heg, decapitating his effigy and dragging the bronze remains into a nearby lake.

One demonstrator named Ebony Anderson-Carter explained to the Wisconsin State Journal that having a statue of an abolitionist outside the state capitol created a false representation of what this city is. If she would rather an avowed racist stand outside the capitol to better represent the city, there has never been a better time to buy.

Why do we continue to indulge the rioters? We do so precisely because we have collectively insisted that the killing of George Floyd was not an individual injustice  an evil act the perpetrators of which could face decades behind bars  but a link in a cosmic chain from slavery to Jim Crow to the present. When police officers knelt on Tony Timpa and killed him, no one burned an AutoZone to the ground; if they had, would anyone in power have defended it? Tony Timpa was fourth-page news, George Floyd was a martyr: One death is a footnote, the other indicts the country itself. Allowing the riots to proceed is something like a national indulgence: Riots are the language of the unheard, we are told. America is reaping what it has sown.

All of this bluster and revolutionary playacting obscures the killing of George Floyd; it obscures  intentionally  the fact that his murder evoked immediate and universal condemnation. Everyone was disgusted by what they saw, and how couldnt they be? Derek Chauvins callous indifference as a man withered and died beneath his knee was enough to stir even the most hardened soul to outrage. But Floyds death seems almost a footnote now to the umpteenth iteration of our National Conversation about Race.

Story continues

After Floyds death, protesters across the country screamed, No justice, no peace! Tony Timba got an article in the Dallas Morning News. Hardly a murmur has been heard lamenting the reams of black victims of gun violence in Chicago this month. The Floyd incident, by contrast, was the subject of 24-hour news coverage. The four perpetrators were arrested and charged. Congress began debating police-reform legislation, and Minneapolis considered disbanding its entire police department. Corporate America pledged near-universal allegiance to Black Lives Matter. As a sort of societal penance, our leaders variously looked away from or apologized for the rioters as they destroyed businesses, toppled statues of the Founders, defaced national monuments, assaulted elected officials, and desecrated cemeteries. Public figures who made racially tinged jokes a decade ago faced personal and financial ruin. Tomes like How to Be an Antiracist and White Fragility shot up the New York Times bestsellers lists.

No justice, no peace. Can we have peace now?

No: This quest for justice will not be sated by the conviction of Derek Chauvin, nor by police reform, nor by other targeted changes to the criminal-justice system. What were watching unfold both in our cities and in our culture is something more profound  a broadside against the country itself, its institutions, its self-image, and its history. If the iconoclasts were just concerned about the blight of honoring traitors who fought for the preservation of slavery, the vandals would have been satisfied by toppling the statues of the Confederates. But they went after Washington, and they want Lincoln next.

Black Lives Matter leader Hawk Newsome said that if this country doesnt give us what we want, then we will burn down this system and replace it. If the actions of the rioters are any indication, we ought to believe him.

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Press Release

June 26, 2020 Bong Go urges DepEd to present action plan for 'Blended Learning' that can ensure education access for all amid COVID-19 crisis; reiterates stand: 'no vaccine, no face-to-face classes' As the education system adopts blended learning methods to protect students from COVID-19, Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go urged the Department of Education to lay down an action plan to address concerns of Filipinos in preparation for the upcoming school year. The Senator also reminded concerned agencies to work together to provide for alternative, remote learning methods that can ensure education access even for students who have no internet connection. "Meron pa rin sa ating mga estudyante ang walang access sa internet. Dapat siguraduhin na mabigyan pa rin sila ng oportunidad para maituloy ang kanilang pag-aaral," Go said. "Kaya naman po hinihikayat ko ang DepEd na gawing mas accessible at inclusive ang kanilang mga programa para sa mga kabataan kahit saan mang parte ng bansa sa pamamagitan ng online at offline methods of teaching," he added. A global framework formulated by the United Nations Children's Fund; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; and the World Bank recommends that, for the safe re-opening of classes, focus should also be on other learning modalities to reach areas without internet connection. Go earlier recommended to the education sector to maximize the use of available media, such as television and radio, to facilitate distance learning among students. "May available multimedia platforms na pwedeng gamitin at airtime sa radyo at telebisyon na dapat allotted for educational programs. Ayon sa batas, pwede po itong gamitin bilang alternative mode of teaching and learning," he stated. The Senator cited Republic Act No. 8370, also known as the Children's Television Act of 1997, which requires a minimum of 15% of a network's daily total air time to programs that further children's positive development. Meanwhile, state media company Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC-13) has offered to use its television facilities as a remote learning platform. The proposal should enable DepEd to air curriculum-based programs when the school year reopens. "Sa planong 'blended learning' ng DepEd, dapat masiguro na hindi lamang online learning ang focus nito kundi pati na rin ang ibang modalities na hindi nangangailangan ng internet connection," he said. Go added that teachers must be given sufficient training in the use of various multimedia platforms for teaching. Given the ongoing health crisis, the Senator also reminded DepEd that educators should also be ready to provide psychosocial support to their students. Go stressed that students with disabilities should be considered in the implementation of the plan. The integration of social and emotional learning should also be emphasized given the ongoing pandemic which has affected the lives of students and their families. "Ayaw po nating maantala ang klase, ngunit prayoridad natin lagi ang kaligtasan at kalusugan ng mga Pilipino," said Go, who is also Chair of the Senate Committee on Health. The Senator has staunchly backed President Rodrigo Duterte's call to disallow face-to-face learning until it is deemed safe or until a vaccine for COVID-19 is available. President Duterte also earlier suggested the use of radio as a mode of distance learning given that it is the most accessible form of media even in far-flung areas. "We will take this one step at a time so that we can slowly, but surely ensure that education continues without compromising the safety of our students. Kahit ayaw nating maantala ang klase nila, importanteng safe sila," Go cautioned. The Senator also urged the Department of Information and Communications Technology and other concerned agencies to work together to fulfill the vision of providing universal internet access that is stable and affordable for all Filipinos. "Sa panahon ngayon, lahat nagta-transition na to online. From E-governance, E-commerce and also online learning. Importante na hindi po maiwan ang bansa pagdating sa pagkakaroon ng access to the internet. Malaki po ang maitutulong nito para mabigyan ang kabataan ng oportunidad na makapag-aral at makapag-trabaho sa 'new normal' na haharapin nating lahat," he explained. Meanwhile, DepEd has been developing its Basic Education-Learning Continuity Plan to cope up with the pandemic. The plan directs schools to implement blended/distance learning modalities wherein lessons will be delivered to the students in their homes. Under said plan, DepEd has developed a learning portal called "DepEd Commons" where online learning resources are published. Television- and radio-based instruction is also part of the plan. As for students who lack access to these technologies, DepEd's plan is that they will be provided with printed or digital modules to be delivered to their homes, or picked up by their parents at designated areas, within coordinated schedules for learners. The use of printed self-learning modules is an alternative to digital learning. These printed modules will supplement the TV broadcast and radio-based instructions being strategized by DepEd. "Siguraduhin lang po na maaksyunan ang planong ito sa paraan na walang mapapabayaang Pilipino," he urged. Go also suggested to DepEd to work with local government units which may have the capability to provide free internet access to address concerns of students who may be financially constrained and cannot afford to pay for internet connectivity. In line with this, Go filed Senate Bill No. 396 last year, which seeks to amend the Local Government Code of 1991 by expanding the uses for which the Special Education Fund (SEF) taken from the additional 1% on real property tax may be spent. The bill will enable LGUs to utilize the SEF to operate Alternative Learning System programs as well as provide for the salaries, allowances and other benefits of ALS facilitators. Recently, Go reiterated his call for its passage recognizing that the measure will provide LGUs the flexibility they need to maximize available resources to help their public schools adapt to blended learning techniques. Meanwhile, Go also commended the enactment of Republic Act 11476 which institutionalizes Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) and Values Education as integral and essential parts of the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum. The Senator acknowledged the efforts of his co-authors and the sponsors of the measure while thanking the President for signing it into law. "This new law will help mold the youth into upright and responsible members of society, instilling in them family values and love of country. Bukod sa magandang edukasyon, importante ring maituro sa kabataan ang magandang asal, pagmamalasakit sa kapwa at pagseserbisyo sa bayan," Go said.
Akash Anand is a business enthusiast, a passionate Branding and Growth Marketing Consultant and CEO of his

SocialEbox & academy Askakashanand. Before putting a glance at his views, suggestions and ideas lets get an introduction of him with a trail of his short backstory that how it all began.

describes his behind the journey story as I earned my first income at the age of 19 through a commission-based business and it was INR 150 but felt like the most valuable money I have ever had. I worked on grooming my personality, work capacity and started learning new high paying skills.

Finally, I chose to get some experience and did my first job at the age of 21. I have a business mindset therefore once I earned enough money for survival, I quit the job and focussed myself to begin a journey in the business world from scratch.

Now lets talk about the practices in personal branding and various ways of making high ticket clients land in your business.

Here Akash Anand is sharing a few tips that will help you get

for your business.

1. Know your Ideal Client Profile (ICP): ICP is really important in making your marketing effective and helps in attracting clients. You need to study the psychographic and demographic profile of your target audience or particularly a client you are pitching.

2. Flaunt your expertise confidently: To grab the attention of clients, and your audience you must know and show your expertise in online space as well as offline space. Suppose your team is great at social media marketing, illustration, graphic designing and content creation then you should cater it creatively like no one can provide these services better than you. Show them a glimpse of your best work and present your testimonials to give them a look at how you have earned the appreciation.

3. Trading your time for MONEY is outdated: If you have an amazing team and you know your calibre then it is necessary to learn the art of trading your time, creativity and services for worthy clients. Learn profitable marketing skills and entice the clients who actually appreciate your work and pay your premium prices without a question. Basically, let your time and efforts be the part of something that you really deserve.

4. Maintain Transparency & Authenticity: Transparency and authenticity in personal branding is really crucial. Be real to your services, promises and maintain integrity. Keep sheer clear communication with your clients and audience in order to avoid any clash or doubt.

5. Build strong reach over online Platforms & Maintain relationships with influencers: Use the potential of all social media platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Quora and others out there. Harness the opportunities from these variety of platforms by developing a strong and reliable bond with target users and influencers. You can do some amazing and beneficial collaborations with influencers which will help your online business grow due to large audience reach. Today your online presence defines your idea, aim, vision and brand, so be there fully prepared!

6. Invest in visuals and content creation: It is a practical thing that attracts the eyes, attracts the mind as well as heart. Your product and services should be astoundingly presentable in front of clients and consumers.



7. Develop a CEO Presence: If you are a man of business then you must have confidence, exceptionally good communication skill, strong negotiation quality. This whole trait will help you in developing a

If you are a man of business then you must have confidence, exceptionally good communication skill, strong negotiation quality. This whole trait will help you in developing a CEO presence . This is a practical and widely known fact that high-end clients are attracted to fellow leaders and entrepreneurs who confidently carry the aura of CEO presence.

This is a known fact that every entrepreneurs goal is to land those high-ticket, lucrative clients in his/her business. And definitely, it should be, because if you can get 10x the money out of each client or annual contract of a premium amount of money, you can focus on doing your work, spend quality time with your family and friends rather than spending the majority of your time hustling for new leads.

Your business deserves high-ticket clients and booking them consistently, you know that. The good news is that you can make that happen in reality.

With the use of above mentioned strategies, you can help your business to pull in larger deals and clients who show up ready to do business.

Visit Askakashanand and SocialEbox for more detailed and amazing techniques of marketing/business strategies suggested by Akash.
HOLYOKE  An advocacy group for the Holyoke Soldiers Home took aim Friday at Gov. Bakers proposals calling for more direct oversight of the facility, saying some of the measures threaten the homes autonomy and local control.

The group, Fund Holyoke Soldiers Home Now, issued a statement Friday morning in reaction to Bakers plans for a series of steps and reforms meant to restore the Soldiers Home in the wake of a COVID-19 outbreak that killed as many as 76 residents.

The group calls itself a coalition of veterans, family members, veterans service representatives and concerned citizens.

While the group expressed support for some of Bakers recommendations, such as the hiring of a permanent designated occupational health nurse, the group said it strongly opposes Bakers plan to give his administration have more direct influence over leadership at the Soldiers Home.

The statement also urges any changes to be made only after family members of residents, and members of the Western Massachusetts veterans community, have a chance to voice their opinions.

The most key stakeholders are the veteran-residents and their families, followed by the many Western Massachusetts veterans who may see the Soldiers Home as an option as they grow older, said group member Jon Paradis, a member of the group and former deputy superintendent at the facility.

It is incumbent on the Commonwealth that they be heard, he said.

Among Bakers proposals are to require that the secretary of the Health & Human Services have the authority to appoint the superintendent, to expand the homes Board of Trustees from 7 to 9 members, and to have the secretaries of the Department of Veterans Services and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services serve as ex-officio members of the board.

The statement issued by Fund Holyoke Soldiers Home Now said it strongly opposes each of those measures, saying the steps would damage the idea of the Soldiers Home operating independent of state politics and the governors administration.

To have the administration place two of its governor-appointed secretaries on the board would further destroy the autonomy of the board, and would subject the homes to the political and financial priorities of the administration, resulting in continued underfunding and understaffing as has been the case over the past several years in Holyoke, the statement reads.

It also strongly opposes giving the head of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services a say in selecting a superintendent.

Historically, the Board of Trustees has hired the superintendent, subject to approval from the governor. To change that would diminish the boards local authority, the group said.

Coalition members view this proposal as another attempt by the administration to further dilute the autonomy of the Board of Trustees, allowing for a political at-will appointment that would be subject to the removal of the governor at any time, the statement reads.

Paradis said members of the coalition spent more than two hours Thursday night going over Bakers proposals, point by point. Concerns that Western Massachusetts voices would be excluded from the conversation of the future of the home were a big consideration.

Weve got to get this right. We owe it to the family members who suffered so much, Paradis said.

The Massachusetts department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, meanwhile, issued a statement Friday saying the need to change the way the home has been managed is clear.

While we understand the need for a change of leadership at that Home and the Department of Veterans Services given the severity of the situation and the contents of the report, it is important to hold all those involved accountable, the statement said. It appears medical professionals were absent or worse, negligent as the tragedy unfolded, and our beloved Veterans died.

The VFW said it agrees with a request a proposal by state Sen. Michael F. Rush, a Boston Democrat, to make the secretary of Veterans Services a cabinet position reporting directly to the governor, and that it supports the state House and Senate forming a special joint committee to examine the states system of care for older veterans.

While it is clear Covid-19 is an extremely dangerous and infectious virus, it cannot be blamed as the sole reason for this tragedy, the statement said. It certainly did expose long standing problems at the home and those need to be addressed head on. No stone should be left unturned and no ideas should be left off the table.

Meanwhile, the Veterans of Foreign Wars issued a statement calling for a joint House and Senate committee to examine who the state cares for elderly veterans, and that those responsible for the tragedy at the Holyoke Soldiers Home be held accountable.

While it is clear Covid-19 is an extremely dangerous and infectious virus, it cannot be blamed as the sole reason for this tragedy. It certainly did expose long-standing problems at the home and those need to be addressed head-on. No stone should be left unturned and no ideas should be left off the table. Our Veterans who live there deserve nothing less, said Russell Jobe, commander for the Department of Massachusetts for the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

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Angela Merkel announced Britain will have to 'live with the consequences' of a distant relationship with the European Union in the event of a no-deal exit.

Unlike his predecessor Theresa May, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has scrapped the idea of maintaining close economic ties with the EU after the Brexit transition period ends on December 31.

The UK recently rejected a EU deal surrounding environmental and consumer protections and workplace rights and Mrs Merkel has now hardened her stance as Germany prepares to take over the rotating presidency of the EU.

German chancellor Angela Markel (pictured) has hardened her stance on close economic ties with the UK in the post-Brexit trade deal, saying that Britain would have to 'live with the consequences' of no deal

The UK, led by Boris Johnson, recently rejected a EU deal surrounding environmental and consumer protections and workplace rights

The German chancellor told the media on Friday: 'We need to let go of the idea that it is for us to define what Britain should want. That is for Britain to define  and we, the EU27, will respond appropriately.

'With Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the British government wants to define for itself what relationship it will have with us after the country leaves.

'It will then have to live with the consequences, of course, that is to say with a less closely interconnected economy.'

Former British Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured left) was keen on close economic ties with the European Union in the trade deal, a policy which Merkel (right) was also satisfied with

Mrs Merkel was previously keen on the bloc maintaining close links with the UK, but there is now little indication that the EU will make a compromise in order seal a last-minute deal.

While her ambassador in Brussels, Michael Clauss, revealed that Brexit is likely to dominate political attention in the autumn period, the German chancellor revealed her current priority is to save Europe's sliding economy with a pandemic rescue plan.

She added: 'If Britain does not want to have rules on the environment and the labour market or social standards that compare with those of the EU, our relations will be less close.

'That will mean it does not want standards to go on developing along parallel lines.'
JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier today, Southeast Asia's most active early-stage tech investment firm East Ventures announced that it has reached the first close on a new venture fund for innovative startups in the region. The new seed fund is designed for digital companies emerging in the post-lockdown aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Southeast Asia's most active early-stage tech investor has reached a first close on its latest seed fund, designed for Southeast Asian innovation in a post- COVID-19 era.

most active early-stage tech investor has reached a first close on its latest seed fund, designed for Southeast Asian innovation in a post- era. The new fund will be East Ventures' eighth tech investment vehicle to date, with the firm aiming to raise US$88 million from limited partners.

from limited partners. The capital is being raised from institutional investors, global funds, and family offices.

East Ventures was recently named the most consistent top performing VC fund globally by Preqin.

In addition to funding new startups in Southeast Asia , the firm is also working closely with existing portfolio companies and advising on how best to implement wartime leadership.

The fund is East Ventures' eighth investment vehicle to date, and the firm aims to raise no more than US$88 million from limited partners.

As the world has slowed down in the time of COVID-19, businesses in the region continue to struggle and lives have been changed forever. Local entrepreneurs are forced to rethink how they operate, understand what is truly essential, and learn how to live with less physical contact. As a result, many are now accelerating to the point where they're leap-frogging into digital transformation and bypassing years of the usual adoption process.

East Ventures' latest fund is attracting global and regional institutional investors.

"We are excited to continue our partnership with East Ventures. The firm is well-positioned in Southeast Asia to guide entrepreneurs to achieve their full potential," said Tow Heng Tan, CEO of Pavilion Capital.

Sunil Mishra, Partner of Adams Street Partners added, "Adams Street is pleased to be committing to the new East Ventures fund. We are impressed with the track record of the team, their local market reputation, ability to work with young founders to guide them and hope that they will continue to generate strong returns."

Crisis Brings Clarity

East Ventures' management team believes new global conditions have provided unprecedented clarity for startup decision-makers.

"The pandemic has created a chance for a new breed of entrepreneurs to think about new problems and how to solve them in efficient ways via technology," says East Ventures' Managing Partner Willson Cuaca. "We remain optimistic about the future of Southeast Asia's digital economy, and we're particularly bullish on the Indonesian market. We feel the current situation proves our core hypothesis that great founders will find a way to make their companies thrive, even in times of crisis. Great people withstand the test of time."

Cuaca adds that East Ventures' eighth fund will remain sector agnostic, as exceptional founders exist across the board, in a multitude of industries.

According to East Ventures, the team intentionally seeks to keep its latest fund under US$100 million, as this makes it easier to deploy money into early-stage companies. In turn, the fund is designed to help East Ventures more quickly achieve its key objective of being the best asset class for its limited partners.

Investment Focus

East Ventures' management team believes the main objective in early-stage investing is to find product-market fit as quickly as possible. As such, it makes a point of working with fledgling founders to navigate the market and neutralize biases.

By having full teams in multiple cities and understanding both Singapore and Indonesia deeply, East Ventures is able to bridge geographic and cultural biases. This is useful for Singapore-based startups looking to expand to Indonesia. It's also useful for Indonesia-based startups that need to use global practices to become locally dominant.

The same principle can also extend beyond Southeast Asia. Over the past 11 years, East Ventures has formed a knowledge-base and playbook for tech investment success, born from one of the most advanced emerging markets for digital innovation.

East Ventures has developed a concise theory of Indonesia having a "flywheel effect." The firm works closely with all stakeholders -- local industry players, family offices, entrepreneurs, early-stage startups, and growth companies -- to build a frictionless flywheel. It has formed a complete startup life cycle from investing at the early-stage, finding product-market fit, creating value and scaling, and finally exits and re-investing.

COVID-19 Response

"We realized that the majority of our CEOs have never been in crisis before," explains Cuaca. "Because of this, we are doing health checks with our portfolio companies. Instead of immediately advising on tactical business plans, we first try to help the founder understand the crisis and how severely it is impacting their company. Only after founders understand these things can they begin to cultivate their own strategy and implement it tactically. In this respect, we're trying to convey the importance of wartime leadership."

The Bigger the Market, the Bigger the Flywheel

Representing approximately 40% of the region's economy, Indonesia's internet economy has progressed rapidly -- starting as a humble e-commerce-based game and blooming into an everyday staple that touches all industries.

Regionally, venture capital has become a relatively new asset class for investors. East Ventures has established an outstanding track record as one of the first movers. The firm has grown its portfolio value significantly and assisted in the successful exits of multiple companies.

Some of the firm's deals have reached 1,000x in terms of Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC). East Ventures claims a Distributions to Paid-in Capital (DPI) rate as high as 7x, with notable exits including Grab's acquisition of Kudo in 2017, as well as GoJek's more recent purchases of Loket and Moka POS. Two out of four East Ventures funds have returned beyond the amount of capital invested by limited partners.

About East Ventures

Founded in 2009, East Ventures is an early-stage sector-agnostic venture capital firm. The firm has supported more than 170 companies in the Southeast Asian region that are present across Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

An early believer in the startup ecosystem in Indonesia, East Ventures is the first investor of Indonesia's unicorn companies, namely Tokopedia and Traveloka. Other notable companies in the portfolio include Mercari, Ruangguru, Warung Pintar, Fore Coffee, Kudo (acquired by Grab), Loket (acquired by Gojek), Tech in Asia, Xendit, IDN Media, MokaPOS, ShopBack, CoHive, Koinworks, Waresix, and Sociolla.

In 2019, East Ventures remains the most active startup investor in Southeast Asia and the firm was recently named the most consistent top performing VC fund globally by Preqin.

SOURCE East Ventures
Kolkata: Veteran actress and BJP MP Roopa Ganguly has taken to social media to demand a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the untimely demise of Sushant Singh Rajput. While she spoke about how positive Sushant was as a person, she suspected foul play in the ongoing investigation.

Ganguly expressed her demand in a series of tweets posted throughout Thursday. The actress-politician tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in each of her tweets.

Her tweets come a day after the late actor's postmortem report was handed over to the police which cited his death as a "clear case of suicide with no other foul play".

Her series of tweets ran:

"We will be answerable to our future generations if we the parents, the colleagues, the friends and the family and the citizen of India fail to uphold justice now.

I think an independent cbi investigation is necessary. #cbiforsushant."

"We can not shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. We owe it as common citizen, to our fallen beloved because his positivity meant a lot.

#cbiforsushant."

"Shall we just let this pass? Unanswered? The guilty not tried? Will we also not then be responsible for such a debacle of brilliance?

#cbiforsushant."

"We need clarity in understanding this in the true light of events so that we can not only do justice to such a brilliant and positive soul but to ensure that we try and eradicate the possibility of such events ever occurring in the future. #cbiforsushant."

"Was the investigation done in a hurry ,trying to justify a pre decided narrative? If not so then why did the forensic team reached on 15th June ? #cbiforsushant."

"The reason of death does not prove that the death was by hanging of one's self. Am I wrong in assuming that it could be otherwise? Please voice your opinion. #cbiforsushant."

"Jo shaksh hastey hastey "Hum Dartey Nahin" bol sakta hain, woh zindegi se kaise haar maan sakta hain? (The person who can say 'I'm not scared' with a smile, how can he lose the battle with life?) #cbiforsushant."

"Inconclusive reason of death is what the autopsy report points towards, an inconclusive reason of death. Then why does it seem that there is an attempt to influence general opinion towards a pre-determined result? #cbiforsushant," Roopa Ganguly shared in a series of separate tweets all carrying the hashtag #cbiforsushant."

Meanwhile, veteran Bollywood actor Shekhar Suman has created a forum called #justiceforSushantforum demanding a CBI probe into the death of Sushant, even though the death is being investigated by Mumbai Police.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) on Friday submitted before the Supreme Court its amended notification giving details on how assessment is to be done to give marks to students in subjects for which tests are not going to be conducted.

Exams for both Class 10 and 12 had begun on 15 February but had to be postponed on 18 March, owing to the lockdown.

CBSE told a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar that those children who opt for taking the examination can do so but the board is not fixing any deadline to it.

If exams are conducted at any time in future, let the students take a call at that point in time, CBSE through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench.

CBSE is also likely to declare the result by July 15.

As per the notification, for students who have appeared in exams in more than three subjects, average of the marks obtained in the best three performing subjects will be awarded in the subjects for which examinations have not been conducted.

The other category of students that the board has identified is those who have appeared in only three subjects. For such students, the average of marks obtained in the best two performing subjects will be awarded in the subjects for which examinations have not been conducted.

Finally, there is a category of Class 12 students, mainly from the riot-affected Northeast Delhi region where exams had to be postponed. These students appeared in only one or two exams  their results will be declared based on performance in the appeared subjects and performance in internal/practicals project assessment.

The board said it will offer a chance for students to improve their performance if they wish to. This option, however, is available only to Class 12 students owing to the significance of their marks in various competitive exams.

Candidates whose results will be declared based on the assessment scheme will be allowed to appear in these optional examinations to improve their performance, if they wish so. However, the marks obtained by a candidate in these optional examinations will be treated as final for those who have opted to take these examinations, the notification added.

However, ICSE stated it may conduct optional exams even for Class X students since their marking criteria is a bit different from CBSE. The court has asked ICSE to come out with detailed notification in a weeks time.

The court accepted the contentions and disposed of the petitions.
Like many events around the world, coronavirus changed the summit, hosted by Vietnam, into a virtual event.

The leaders of Southeast Asian countries are calling for a unified response to the coronavirus pandemic to ensure a strong economic recovery.

They have been meeting by video link Association of Southeast Asian Nations for their latest summit hosted by Vietnam which, so far, has responded to the virus better than most countries.

Al Jazeeras Wayne Hay reports from Bangkok, Thailand.
We Hear You film captures how God is using the Church to bring healing in America

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A new documentary film titled "We Hear You" shows how God is using Christians to bring hope and healing to the nation in the midst of chaos following the police-involved death of George Floyd.

While many Americans took to the streets to protest racial injustice, Andrew Chalmers, director of "We Hear You," said he decided to pray for direction about what his role could be in it all. His prayer led him to Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the scene where Floyd died.

'We Hear You' is a short documentary film that captures the story of how God is moving in the wake of the unjust death of George Floyd. In the midst of all the pain, confusion, and unrest, there is an incredible glimmer of hope that is being sparked as the body of Christ is responding with compassion and love. This is a film that aims to answer, in part, what the church can do to respond to the cries of our nation for justice and racial equality, the films synopsis reads.

Chalmers, who's also the founder and director of Take the City, first set off by visiting his friend JT Thomas in Ferguson, Missouri. While there, the two men filmed conversations with faith leaders who took to the streets in the midst of unrest to preach the Gospel.

"When I started seeing, not only with George Floyd but all the injustices and painful things happening in our nation  my heart was grieved," Chalmers told CBN News in a recent interview. "I didn't really know how to respond or what to do, but I wanted to respond in a biblical way that honored the Lord."

Their next stop was Minneapolis and while there, Chalmers and Thomas listened and learned from other believers who were in the area serving and supporting the community by showing each other love.

"So many people are coming together in this place. People of different faiths, backgrounds  people that look different are flooding the corners and just loving on each other," Chalmers said. "In this city, there were a lot of riots ... a lot of bad was going on, but churches have landed here in the heart of this and are really demonstrating the love of Christ."

Chalmers, who's white, said he took time to listen, learn and show empathy toward his black brothers and sisters. His entire experience is captured in the documentary.

"The first thing I've learned is that I need to listen," he said. "My first response when everything started happening was to just say something. We do need to be vocal as the Church and speak out against racism and injustice. But the first thing we need to do before we speak is to listen."

"One of the main themes of the whole film is that God would give us His heart. I think one of the most dangerous things we can have as Christians is a lack of empathy and turning off our emotions. I believe Jesus would respond the opposite. He would lean into the pain as opposed to turning away," he added.

In order to be empathetic and listen, Chalmers said one must have humility and be willing to hear others, which is something he learned while filming.

The film documents Chalmers' experiences over five days to provide an inside look at the grief of so many, as well as how the Church can effectively respond.

"With God's love and an open ear, I'm able to see healing begin," he said. "I'm learning to engage with those who are hurting rather than turning the other way. I'm discovering that there are opportunities to share the Gospel in the midst of that pain."

"We Hear You" premiered on Facebook Live and is now available to stream on YouTube.


Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 17:03:09|Editor: huaxia

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VIENNA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) daily basket price dropped to 37.18 U.S. dollars a barrel on Thursday, compared with 38.17 dollars on Wednesday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations released on Friday.

Also known as the OPEC reference basket of crude oil, the OPEC basket, a weighted average of oil prices from different OPEC members around the world, is used as an important benchmark for crude oil prices. Enditem
In the Lancaster, Penn., courtyard where Joe Biden met with families who say they've benefited from the Affordable Care Act, loud, opposing chants could be heard.

"Four more years" and "USA" were being shouted by supporters of President Donald Trump. Louder calls came from supporters of the Black Lives Matters movement: "No justice, no peace, no racist police."

The groups outside were less than 100 yards away from the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. They were out of sight, but their message was heard.

Biden, who was in southcentral Pennsylvania Thursday to talk to Lancaster County families about health care, didn't discuss what was going on outside. Instead, he focused on health care policy and the incumbent he's running against in November.

Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, center, speaks to Stacie Ritter, right, and her son, Jan, during a meeting with families who have benefited from the Affordable Care Act, Thursday, June 25, 2020, in Lancaster, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

The former vice president said Trump's twin legacies are the failure to protect the American people from coronavirus and his heartless crusade to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

The president wants us to believe theres a choice between the economy and public health. Amazingly, he still hasnt grasped the most basic fact of this crisis. To fix the economy, we have to get control over the virus," Biden said.

Biden met with three Pennsylvania families:

Stacie Ritter, a Lancaster resident whose 22-year-old twins were diagnosed with cancer at the age of 4.

Victoria Salerno, a Chester resident whose 4-year-old son has mitochondrial disease.

Amy Raslevich, a Pittsburgh resident who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017. She is the mother of two children, Laura and Sam, who each have celiac disease.

They all described scenarios in which they would not have afforded the treatment they needed without President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul in 2010.

We could have very easily been a family that was bankrupt," Raslevich said.

Salerno said her son, Cole, requires a special tube in his heart to survive mitochondrial disease. It costs $80,000 per month. The Affordable Care Act enabled her family to qualify for Medicaid to pay for life-saving treatment. Without it, her family was looking at bankruptcy, she said.

Story continues

Ritter said she was also going bankrupt until the Affordable Care Act made it possible to use Medicaid benefits to pay for her twins' cancer treatments.

One of the reasons I voted for you and President Obama in 2007 was he understood what it was like. My mom died of cancer at 52 years of age, she said. She put off going for care because she couldnt afford it. By the time she went, it was too late. I knew after reading President Obamas plan, he got it because of his mom.

Supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden gather near the Lancaster Recreation Center for his visit to Lancaster County, June 25, 2020.

Biden leaned forward as he listened during his fourth visit to Pennsylvania this month.

The courtyard conversation came while Trump's case to end the Obama-era healthcare plan is before the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I dont think people really fully understand that theres 100 million people with pre-existing conditions," Biden said. "If the president wins this case, he keeps saying hell cover pre-existing conditions, but he hasnt figured out any way its possible to do that absent what weve done.

Ritter said she didnt understand why Trump wanted to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

Well, I dont get it either, Biden said. The fact is ... the reason everybody kinda forgets why we allowed people to say on their parents plan until age 26 was because of the financial crisis, a whole generation lost access to good jobs, access to insurance. It made a gigantic difference for people.

Black Lives Matter supporters and Trump supporters debate issues in front of the Lancaster Recreation Center, where former Vice President Joe Biden is visiting Pennsylvania families, June 25, 2020.

Why Lancaster?

While Biden was in Pennsylvania, Trump was in Wisconsin. Many contrasts can be drawn between the presumptive 2020 presidential nominees, but Biden and Trump both have chosen to focus their in-person campaign efforts in states that can help them win in November.

"It's battleground state time," said Terry Madonna, a pollster and political analyst at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster.

Biden is visiting his native Pennsylvania for more than the easy proximity to his home state of Delaware, Madonna said.

The former vice president on June 2 delivered a speech in Philadelphia, on June 11 attended a roundtable in Philadelphia and on June 17 gave a speech in Darby.

"He's been here three times in June. That shows the importance of Pennsylvania. It's one of the top states that will determine the next president," Madonna said.

Trump won Pennsylvania by 44,000 votes in 2016 and was the first Republican presidential nominee to win the state since George H.W. Bush in 1988.

When Democratic presidential nominee and frontrunner Hillary Clinton lost Pennsylvania in 2016, she was criticized for focusing too much on Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. She made a few campaign stops in Harrisburg, but Clinton largely concentrated on the highly populated bookends of the state.

More: Why was Joe Biden in Republican stronghold Lancaster County, Pa., talking about healthcare?

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More: Coronavirus: Biden, Trump redefine Pa. politics during the pandemic

"Clinton did perfectly well enough in metro Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to win, but she got clobbered so badly outside the big urban areas that she narrowly lost the state to Trump," said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

Democrats seemed to have learned lessons of the past with Biden's visit to Lancaster County, Madonna said.

"Lancaster is still a Republican county to be sure, but overall Democrats have done better there and in southcentral Pennsylvania in recent years," he said.

Biden has a 6-point lead in Pennsylvania, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls.

"Biden's lead has grown in the battleground states, but his lead is not insurmountable," Madonna said.

Whatever inroads Biden can make in traditionally red counties like Lancaster will help him in November, he said.

"Democrats hope to cut down on the Republican edge," Madonna said.

A month ago, Biden's lead was 3 points ahead of Trump in Pennsylvania. Trump lost footing because of "his reaction to police reform and the George Floyd murder case," Madonna said.

Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement hold a rally near the Lancaster Recreation Center, where former Vice President Joe Biden is visiting Pennsylvania families, June 25, 2020.

The message outside

Black Lives Matter protesters held their ground on the street in front of the Lancaster Recreation Center as about a dozen police officers lined up in front of the building where Biden met with families.

The protesters demanded Biden come out and speak to them, intermittently chanting No justice, no peace.

A Lancaster County couple wearing Trump MAGA hats debated a few of the Black Lives Matter protesters who asked them to explain themselves.

What is your purpose for standing in front of a school for children saying you support Trump? one woman asked them.

Hes doing good things, Robert Reed, a Lancaster resident said.

The Dixie flag is equal to the Nazi flag, another woman said.

Reed didnt see a connection between Trump and racism, defending the presidents successes with Black employment and reduction of taxes.

What happened with (George) Floyd is wrong, dead wrong, Reed told one protester who had thought the police presence in the city was an effort to protect white Trump supporters. He said he didnt know Biden was in the city.

Before they left for home, Reed and his wife shook a few hands.

The protest went on. At one point, protestors laid on the ground with their hands behind their backs, the position Floyd was in when he died.

Peg Rettew-Cross live-streamed the scene from her yard, just a half block from the rec center. She has lived there for 20 years.

I think its wonderful ... they can express their feelings in a way they want to, she said. Any and all lives matter. Im just sure glad Biden is here because he will listen to them.

Candy Woodall is a reporter for the USA Today Network. She can be reached at 717-480-1783 or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Joe Biden swing state Pennsylvania trip focuses on Trump, health care
Image: Twitter/@PypAyurved

Rajasthan's Health Department has served a notice to NIMS hospital here seeking an explanation on conducting trials of Patanjali Ayurved's drug Coronil on coronavirus patients, an official said on Friday.

"We served notice to the hospital on Wednesday evening seeking explanation in three days. The hospital did not inform the state government nor sought permission," Chief Medical and Health Officer, Jaipur, Dr Narottam Sharma said.

He said the reply from National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Jaipur is awaited.

The launch of the drug by yoga guru Ramdev on Tuesday triggered a debate after which the Ayush Ministry sought all information on its trial and put a ban on advertising it as a drug to cure coronavirus.

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 Rajasthan government has clarified that the drug cannot be not used as a medicine in the state without the permission of the Ministry of AYUSH.

State Health Minister Raghu Sharma had said on Wednesday that strict action would be taken against the seller as per the rules in case of sale of any drug as a medicine to treat the coronavirus infection.

At the Coronil launch, the company had claimed that its medicine can cure the contagious disease within seven days.

It said Coronil, taken along with another product developed by it, had shown a 100 per cent success rate in clinical trials on infected patients, except those on life support.

Ramdev said the medicines were developed by Patanjali Research Center, Haridwar in association with privately-owned National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Jaipur.

The Uttarakhand government will serve a notice to Patanjali Ayurved for launching a drug claiming to be a cure for COVID-19 when it had only applied for a licence to manufacture an immunity booster against cough and fever.

Apart from the notice from the Uttarakhand government, the Haridwar-based firm could also face litigation in Bihar. A complaint has been filed against it in a Muzaffarpur court over its claim.

A complainant approached the court seeking the registration of an FIR against Ramdev and company chairman Acharya Balkrishna, alleging that they put at risk the lives of lakhs of people by claiming to have developed a COVID-19 cure.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Mukesh Kumar posted the matter for hearing on June 30.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here
amphotora/iStockBy IVAN PEREIRA, ABC News



(PHILADELPHIA) -- Philadelphia's mayor and police commissioner apologized for using tear gas on protesters earlier this month and issued a moratorium on the practice after weeks of criticism.



Mayor Jim Kenney told reporters Thursday he was compelled to speak out against his officers' actions during a June 1 protest on Interstate 676 after watching a New York Times video that showed dozens of protesters blasted with tear gas.



"Members of the department made decisions on use-of-force that were completely unacceptable," he said at a news conference.



Kenney added that his previous statements in support of the police actions were based on "inaccurate information" and apologized to residents.



Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said she is taking several actions in response to the tear gas incident. She placed a moratorium on using the weapon to disperse crowds that "includes any persons who are peacefully assembling or passively resisting."



An unidentified officer who was involved with pepper spraying a protester is under investigation and will be suspended for 30 days with intent to dismiss, according to Outlaw. His incident has also been referred to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.



Deputy Commissioner of Special Operation Dennis Wilson told reporters he was the commanding officer who gave approval for the use of tear gas and didn't call the commissioner.



"I did this based on what I could see from my position, and also what I had been hearing on the radio," he said at the news conference.



Wilson said he will take an immediate demotion for his actions.



Several protesters have been sharing videos that appear to show excessive force from officers during the protests, and are calling for reform. Christina Sorenson, a protester who was pepper-sprayed in the face, told reporters at a news conference that the city's apologies and actions so far weren't enough.



"The reason I was out there was because of systemic violence and a lack of investment in communities to allow for true public safety, and nothing that they announced today, to me, showed that," she said at a news conference with her attorney.



Meanwhile, members of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the officers' union, said they were furious over the commissioner's move.



"To the officers out there, the message is be careful. Call us if you need us. No one has your back," FOP Lodge 5 President John McNesby told ABC affiliate WPVI.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
The United States and the United Kingdom, both major donors to Gen. Yoweri Museveni's regime in Uganda have stated that they support free, fair, and credible elections, in separate statements responding to questions from Black Star News.

Recently, Gen. Museveni's Election Commission, which he personally handpicked then called "independent," announced that next year's general election will be conducted "scientifically" meaning by digital means.

Rallies are banned and candidates are supposed to campaign online and the elections also conducted digitally. There are no clear guidelines and millions of voters don't have access to digital equipment, or the experience and training for such elections.

Ostensibly the measure is to protect Ugandans from the Covid-19 pandemic but Bobi Wine, a member of Parliament and leader of the People Power Movement, and Dr. Kizza Besigye, a leading figure in the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, have rejected the announcement as a ploy to rig the vote in favor of Gen. Museveni. It's been widely reported that Dr. Besigye was the victim of vote rigging by the regime in at least three past elections, including 2016.

The opposition leaders have said the country's constitution allows the life of the legislature to be extended, meaning elections could be postponed. Another option is to adopt social safety and health measures that can protect voters who head to the polls, Bobi Wine says.

Asked for comment on the Uganda opposition leaders' rejection of Museveni EC's election roadmap, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said the "United States has been consistent in supporting free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections that reflect the will of the people of Uganda. Ugandans deserve to have their voices heard in an electoral process that respects the rights of all citizens."

A spokesperson for U.K Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, Dominic Raab said, "The UK supports free and fair elections in Uganda and we are following the proposed changes to campaign regulations closely.

The U.S.'s annual financial and military support to Uganda amounts to nearly $1 billion while the U.K. provides about $100 millions in foreign aid.

A spokesperson for the EU, which over the past three years has provide about $150 million to the regime, didn't respond to a request for comment.
The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Court in Abuja on Thursday ordered the Nigerian government to immediately pay the arrears of salaries and other entitlements to 244 soldiers dismissed from the Nigerian Army in 2016.

The Army dismissed the soldiers after they were accused of abandoning the Boko Haram insurgency fight and fleeing over alleged inadequate provision of arms and ammunition.

The soldiers took the matter before the ECOWAS court to demand the enforcement of their fundamental human rights, including the right to their salaries and entitlements.

In its judgment delivered on May 15, 2019, the court faulted the decision of the Nigerian Army to dismiss the soldiers.

In a supplementary judgement on Thursday, the court ordered the Nigerian government to pay all arrears of monthly allowances and salaries and other entitlements of the affected solders up to January 2016.

Justice Keikura Bangura who delivered the judgement through his rapporteur, said the decision was arrived at after the hearing of the application by all parties.

The judge said the supplementary judgement which included additional paragraph no (vi) was arrived at after he considered the documents and also reviewed its earlier judgement.

He said the latest judgement superceded his previous one No ECW/CCJ/JUD/21/19 delivered on May 15, 2019.

Although the Court rejected the soldiers request for an order directing the Nigerian government to reinstate them in the Army, the Court upheld their application that their sack violated their human rights, including right to work and fair hearing.

READ ALSO:

In the supplementary application lodged before the Court on June 14, 2019, the soldiers asked the Court for an order mandating the Nigerian government to immediately reinstate them, including to their respective ranks, having found that their dismissal without arraignment, prosecution and sentence by a duly constituted Court Martial was illegal, null and void.

The soldiers also asked the Court for an order directing the Nigerian Army to pay their monthly salaries and other allowances from the whole of 2015 and such other months until the date the judgement is enforced.

The three-member panel for the case included Justices Gberi-Be Ouattara (presiding) and Dupe Atoki.
National Oil Corporation rejects attempts by Russia and other countries to block oil production at Sharara oilfield.

Libyas National Oil Corporation (NOC) has said Russian and other foreign mercenaries entered a giant oilfield in the countrys southwest, adding it completely rejects attempts by foreign countries to prevent the resumption of oil production.

On Friday, the NOC  which is based in the capital, Tripoli, the seat of the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA)  said the mercenaries entered Sharara oilfield in a convoy of vehicles and met representatives of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), a force established to maintain security at the oilfields.

Libya, a major oil producer, has been mired in chaos since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi. For some six years now, it has been split 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.

Oilfields and export facilities are mostly located in the territory controlled by the eastern-based self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), led by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar.

An international agreement says that oil can only be exported by the NOC, with payments going to the Central Bank of Libya, also in Tripoli.





The LNA, which is supported by Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt, suddenly lost this month much of its territory around Tripoli and the northwest to the Turkey-backed GNA.

Oil exports were halted in January by eastern forces, cutting off Libyas main source of revenue. After the GNA made gains this month, the NOC attempted to restart production at Sharara and El Feel Field.

In a statement, NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla, said: Some [countries] cynically express their public regret for Libyas continued inability to produce oil while all the time working in the background to support blockading forces.

The front lines in Libya have stabilised over the past two weeks west of Sirte, a central coastal city that is the closest to the main oil export terminals.

Separately on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, called for a ceasefire in Libya and a return to dialogue, the Kremlin said in a statement following a phone call between the two leaders.

It came a day after, France, Germany and Italy urged forces in Libya to cease fighting in order to get political talks back on track.
The European Union is investigating Germanys financial regulator over the collapse of payments company Wirecard in a rare move that heaps embarrassment on Berlin days before it is due to take over the EUs rotating presidency.

Wirecards implosion on Thursday, owing creditors almost $4 billion, is shaping up to be one of Germanys biggest corporate scandals, and regulator BaFin has come under fire at home and abroad for not spotting problems sooner.

The European Commission has asked the EUs markets watchdog to assess if BaFins responses to allegations of improprieties at Wirecard, which stretch back years, were adequate to protect investor confidence in EU markets, according to a letter from the Commission to the EU watchdog.

News of the letter, seen by Reuters, came as the Philippines justice minister said Wirecards former operations chief, under suspicion in Germany over the accounting scandal, was in the Philippines this week, but had left for China.

Separately, German magazine Der Spiegel reported that Japanese investor SoftBank was planning to sue Wirecards long-time auditor EY over the scandal. EY declined to comment and SoftBank had no immediate comment.

The Moneys Gone: Wirecard Collapses Owing $4 Billion Wirecard collapsed on Thursday owing creditors almost $4 billion after disclosing a gaping hole in its books in Germanys worst accounting scandal. Former CEO of Wirecard Arrested in Accounting Scandal Involving Missing $2.1 Billion Markus Braun turned himself in to prosecutors in Munich on Monday after traveling from Vienna.

Wirecard, which disclosed a $2.1 billion hole in its books, is the first member of the DAX stock index to go bust, barely two years after winning a spot among Germanys top 30 listed companies.

EY Alleges Fraud

EY said the hole in the companys books was the result of a sophisticated global fraud.

Auditors KPMG said in a review published in April it was unable to verify 1 billion euros in cash balances, questioned Wirecards acquisition accounting and said it could not trace hundreds of millions of euros in cash advances to merchants.

In its letter to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Commission asked ESMA to undertake a fact-finding analysis into BaFins response to the allegations and report back no later than July 15.

It also asked ESMA to assess if there was any evidence of administrative or legal obstacles that hampered the enforcement of reporting requirements.

Germany will take the EUs rotating presidency on July 1.

Allegations of financial impropriety have swirled around Wirecard for years and its implosion has triggered calls for an overhaul of corporate supervision. BaFin boss Felix Hufeld has described the scandal as a total disaster.

BaFin could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

ESMA confirmed it had been asked to look at how BaFin enforced the EUs transparency directive, which covers financial reporting requirements for listed companies.

EU financial services chief Valdis Dombrovskis could use the findings from ESMAs analysis to order a formal breach of union law investigation, requiring BaFin to provide information to ESMA.

If a breach is found, BaFin could be ordered by Brussels to make changes to its practices, an embarrassing situation for a national regulator.

Separately, Britains Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Friday it had imposed a number of requirements on Wirecard, including that it must not dispose of any assets or funds, and not carry out any regulated activities.

Wirecard, which is authorized by the FCA to issue e-money and provide payment services, must also say on its website that it is no longer permitted to conduct any regulated activity.

(Additional reporting by Neil Jerome Morales in Manila and Thomas Seythal in Berlin Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)

Photo: Markus Braun, CEO of Wirecard. Photo credit: AP Photo/Matthias Schrader.

Topics Lawsuits Europe Germany
Ferrari says reports of a major car upgrade ahead of the resumption of racing in Austria next weekend were exaggerated.

Italian media in particular claimed that, compared to the Melbourne-spec car, the Red Bull Ring-specification 2020 Ferrari will have a slimmer nose, stiffer gearbox, new rear suspension and an engine with 30hp more.

But a team spokesman told Auto Motor und Sport: "We only have very small changes to the car.

"It was more important for us to understand the SF1000 better," he added. "We have made a good step forward."

The German report said the first major upgrade will hit the red car from Hungary - the third round of the initial 'corona calendar'.

Red Bull's 2020 car, tested over 100km by Alex Albon at Silverstone on Thursday, has also been upgraded over the shutdown period.

Max Verstappen did not travel to Britain for the outing because of the country's quarantine rules.

"We are bringing the upgrade to the car that was planned originally for Barcelona and a second one now for Spielberg," Dr Helmut Marko said.

"Everything is based on CFD and the wind tunnel, which adds a factor of uncertainty as we have the third stage of development now without knowing how the first and second one felt.

"But we had no way to test it so we have to assume that the data is correct," Marko added.

(GMM)
The Dutch national carrier KLM is to receive a state rescue package of 3.4 billion euros to help it survive the coronavirus crisis, and to reinvent itself as a more sustainable company.

The Netherlands will appoint a supervisor to the KLM board which, according to Reuters, will ensure the money goes exclusively to KLM and is not absorbed by the Air France-KLM parent company.

The support package is made up of a direct state loan of 1 billion euros and a separate credit facility of 2.4 billion euros provided by 11 banks  three Dutch and eight international  but guaranteed by the government.

Both loans, with a duration of five years, will be drawn on a pro-rata basis. First off, KLM will use the money to repay an existing loan of 665 million that was granted in March.

Thousands of jobs on the line

The KLM lifeline comes after France granted 7 billion in state funding to Air France in May. With their fleets largely grounded, both airlines have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thousands of Air France jobs are in doubt as the company's management prepares to deliver its reorientation and survival strategy to aviation industry unions on 3 July.

Following the bailout, Air France was told to improve its profitability and its environmental impact, and to start rethinking its regional network in France.

Likewise, the Dutch loan has been granted under the condition that KLM become a more sustainable airline.

It's been asked to improve its performance and competitiveness through a comprehensive restructuring plan that includes contributions made by employees.

The company will suspend dividend payments to shareholders until the loans  which still need to be approved by the European Commission and Dutch Parliament  have been fully repaid.
New Delhi, June 26 : With pressure mounting on the Congress party over the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation run by Sonia Gandhi allegedly accepting donations from the Chinese government, the Delhi unit of the party seems to be trying to undo the damage.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Anil Kumar led members who observed a "Shaheendon Ko Salam Divas" at the National War Memorial at India Gate. The party claimed that Congress workers held similar functions across 216 locations in Delhi.

Congress workers, carrying the national flag, lamps, candles and posters of the martyred Indian soldiers, observed the event while maintaining social distancing. Rajya Sabha MP Hussain Dalwai, AICC secretary Jitender Baghel, DPCC vice-president Shivani Chopra were present among others. The Congress also raised questions about the Chinese incursion, alleging that the government allowed it.

The Congress also alleged that the Delhi Police showed "disrespect to the Indian soldiers' memory" because they detained Anil Kumar and Congress workers at the Tilak Marg Police Station.

The party in a statement said, "...the Modi Government was taking the sacrifice of the soldiers for granted, and keeping the people of the country in the dark about the Chinese intrusion into our territory." This, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that India has not ceded a single inch of land to China.

This event comes in the wake of the Bharatiya Janata Party citing donations made by the Embassy of China and the Government of the People's Republic of China to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which was also alleged to have received donations from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).

On Friday, BJP President JP Nadda lashed out at the Congress saying, "PMNRF, meant to help people in distress, was donating money to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in UPA years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Who chairs RGF? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency."
Norwegian Property, through NPRO Holding AS, buys Veidekke Eiendom together with Fredensborg AS and Union Real Estate Fond III Holding AS. NPRO and Fredensborg will be equal partners with 42.5% each, and Union will own 15%. In total, the investor group becomes 100% owners of Veidekke Eiendom AS and Veidekke

[]
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The art of the diplomatic put-down seems lost in the age of dotard and Rocket Man, not to mention the jejune tirades of Chinas so-called wolf warriors. So let us savor the old-school sting of an eclipse of the mind, Turkeys latest barb in the direction of French President Emmanuel Macron.

Take a bow, Hami Aksoy, spokesman for Turkeys foreign ministry.

The jab is on the nose: Macrons pronouncements on Libya have devolved from hyperbole and hypocrisy to something approaching hysteria. Having backed a suspected war criminal against a United Nations-recognized government in Tripoli, Macron now accuses Turkey of playing a dangerous game in Libya. And having lost any leverage France might have had in the civil war, he avers that he will not tolerate the Turkish interference.

Perhaps he suffers from a lapse in memory. Given all the recent twists and turns in the Libyan civil war, and the complexities introduced by at least a dozen foreign players, Frances foundational contribution to the conflict might get lost in the shuffle.

Macron might just be able to blame his predecessor, Francois Hollande, for involving France in the civil war. When the death of three French soldiers in a July 2016 helicopter crash brought Hollandes intervention to the worlds attention, Macron had not yet announced his bid for the presidency.

Or, he might have fingered Hollandes then-Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian for mischaracterizing the rebel commander Khalifa Haftar as a partner in the fight against Salafi-Jihadi terrorism in the Maghreb and the Sahel. This view required willful ignorance: there are Islamic extremists on both sides of the civil war. For all Khalifas posturing against terrorism, his forces include a sizeable cohort of Madhkhalists, followers of an obscure Saudi cleric whose worldview is more Taliban than liberte, egalite and fraternite.

Macron could have quietly pulled away from Haftar; instead, having made Le Drian his foreign minister, he dialed up French involvement. While denying reports it had supplied the rebels with arms  inconveniently, Javelin anti-tank missiles sold to France turned up at one of Haftars bases  Macron appointed himself peacemaker. Two months after taking office, he hosted a summit outside Paris, and preened as Haftar and Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj of the Government of National Accord agreed to a cease-fire and elections.

Story continues

All Macron had really done was to legitimize the rebel commander, who never gave up his ambition to take Tripoli by force. With other, more committed allies behind him  notably, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia  Haftar was able to treat his French patrons as they had treated the UN-backed government, with blithe disregard.

But Macron had painted himself into Haftars corner and would not abandon his man. While France was reduced to sniping with Italy over energy interests in Libya, the mantle of peacemaker was passed to other pretenders: Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both hosted summits; more recently even Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi tried to engineer a cease-fire.

The only leader moving the Libyan needle was Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose backing  in word and kinetic deed  of the GNA has forced Haftar into headlong retreat. This turn of events has led to still more embarrassing revelations for Macron and Le Drian: The discovery of mass graves in territory liberated from the rebels suggests that Frances champion was presiding over industrial-scale atrocities.

It does not take Macronian cynicism to see his rhetorical bluster toward Turkey as a desperate effort to distract attention from French culpability. He has other battles with Ankara, including the contest over energy rights in the Eastern Mediterranean. A more charitable suggestion might be that Macron retains fantasies of French influence in the southern Mediterranean. The Libyan reality be what it may, Frances president is certainly not displaying an eclipse in ambition.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Bobby Ghosh is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He writes on foreign affairs, with a special focus on the Middle East and the wider Islamic world.

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

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In 2012, an unarmed Afghan farmer was shot by a member of Australia's most elite military regiment. What happened next haunted combat medic Dusty Miller for years  setting him off on an emotional journey of atonement.

good weekend feature launch image tablet ipad
A tree that appeared at the same time as dinosaurs in Southeast Asia is dying under the hand of humans.

Fokienia is one of many plants of historical value. Illegal logging of ancient fokienia trees, especially in the Central Highlands, has occurred in recent years.

The 1,000 year-old fokienia tree in Thanh Hoa



In Vietnam, fokienia was listed in Red Book in 1996, undet IIA, i.e. the category of precious wood subject with restricted exploitation and use for commercial purposes. However, with its outstanding features, fokienia wood has been favored and used in interior decoration or for export.



According to Krong Bong Forestry in Dak Lak province, five illegal logging cases were discovered in the last two years in Ward 1219 alone. Over 110 fokienia trees in the primitive forest were cut down.



As many as 48 fokienia trees were felled in October 2018, 24 trees in February 2019, 9 trees in December 2019, and 14 trees in February 2020. Most recently, 19 trees were chopped down in April.



The cases have been transferred to the provincial police for investigation. Under the current laws, illegal exploitation of timber belonging to IIA group in protective forests could be fined up to VND200 million.



If the illegal logging causes serious consequences, violators will be subject to criminal procedures and 10-year prison sentence.

In Vietnam, fokienia was listed in Red Book in 1996, undet IIA, i.e. the category of precious wood subject with restricted exploitation and use for commercial purposes. However, with its outstanding features, fokienia wood has been favored and used in interior decoration or for export.

However, despite heavy sanctions, more and more fokienia trees have been devastated. According to Bui Quoc Tuan, director of Krong Bong Forestry, the problem is that no culprit of the crimes has been discovered.



Fokienia wood is transported in different ways. In general, it is carried across border areas because this avoids examination by agencies and the police.



According to the Lam Dong provincial Peoples Committee, large-scale deforestation cases have occurred recently in provinces bordering Lam Dong, such as Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Quang Nam and Khanh Hoa.

As many as 193 deforestation cases have been discovered in Kon Tum alone so far this year, causing damage to more than 20 hectares of forestland.



The area between Krong Pa district in Gia Lai province and the Ea So Natural Reserve in Dak Lak province is marked as a hot spot in deforestation.

There, not only ancient fokienia trees, but other plants, such as bang lang (Lagerstroemia), Gao vang (Nauclea orientalis), Ke (urena) and Sao (Hopea), have also been exploited.



People have asked how such big volumes of precious wood can be smoothly transported. The fact that no crime has been discovered has also raised queestions about the capability and morality of appropriate agencies.

Thanh Lich

Minister calls for forest protection and management efforts Central Highlands localities need to raise the responsibility among forest owners and management to improve protection and development of the areas.
Government officials in at least five revenue districts of the Capital started house-to-house screening of people across neighbourhoods on Friday, according to a five-point Covid-19 management plan chalked out after a meeting chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah last Sunday.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

The screening exercise involves checking people for signs of flu such as fever, sore throat, cough and asking them about their travel history to map the virus. The aim is to identify people with Covid-like symptoms, create a comprehensive database and then get them tested.

While the health survey is scheduled to be completed by July 6, several district officials still await a clear standard operating procedure (SOP).

For now, the districts that have kick-started the exercise are largely relying on protocols prepared by magistrates and chief medical officers concerned, at least until an SOP is issued, senior government officials said.

Delhi has around four million households, according to the records of the governments planning department.

For the screening exercise, the district officials have roped in civil defence volunteers, accredited social health activists (Asha), auxiliary nurse midwife workers, booth level officials (BLO) and municipal staff, including domestic breeding checkers, licensing inspectors and sanitation workersapart from the government health workers who have experience on the job. With time, primary school teachers and clerical staff from zonal offices are likely to be roped in as well, a senior government official said.

On Friday, the survey was conducted in neighbourhoods such as Karol Bagh, Keshav Puram and Civil Lines, among others. HT followed several such teams throughout the day.

GROUND REPORT

Around 11 am, over 30 DBC (domestic breeding checkers)who play a major role in anti-dengue and anti-malaria drives  gathered at Dev Nagar dispensary in Karol Bagh zone to check people. After a short briefing about the process by the nodal officer, workers headed towards Reghar Pura nearby to start the campaign.

People surveying households in containment zones wore PPE (personal protective equipment) kits, while those in non-containment zones wore basic safety gear such as masks and gloves. .

In several households, residents cooperated and provided all details. But there were many where residents were unwilling to share any details.

Not every resident is cooperative. There are people living as tenants and do not want their landlords to know about any illness in their family because they fear losing their place of residence. We have to convince that its a public welfare exercise and a government order and they have to follow it, a worker engaged in the survey said.

Till 3 pm, the workers had covered nearly 1,100 houses in the area. Similar surveys were carried out in Bapa Nagar, Inderpuri, Kirti Nagar and Civil Lines on Friday.

All wards have been attached to nearby dispensaries for necessary guidance. The information collected at the end of the exercise will be compiled by the chief district medical officer. At the ward-level, a nodal officer has been appointed to monitor the door-to-door screening. The nodal officer has to divide the jurisdiction into sectors and appoint a survey officer in each sector.

The three municipal corporations have 5,500 mosquito breeding checkers and 71,000 sanitation workers. In the days to come, they are likely to be deployed in all 272 wards. The district administration, however, is yet to finalise a comprehensive manpower plan for the survey.

QUESTIONS ASKED

The workforce conducting house-to-house survey has a definite set of questions such as name, age, address, contact numbers.

The questionnaire seeks specific information about any illness or flu-like symptoms or Covid-19 symptoms, travel history, information about elderly people and children. People were asked if they had been using the Aarogya Setu mobile application.

The teams red flag houses where people with serious medical conditions live.

Some districts used an app called SS Corona wherein volunteers fill in answers to multiple-choice questions asked in each household.

By using this app, an excel sheet is prepared automatically each evening, and the report is sent to the state integrated disease surveillance programme, said another district official. The data can then be used to map out areas that are reporting more fever cases and help in further surveillance activities, the official said.

SOP AWAITED

Districts that have initiated the drive have developed their own protocols. Several district officials said they were awaiting the SOPs.

In a joint meeting of the state and the central government held on 21 June (Sunday), the union home ministry had proposed a master plan to screen and survey every household in Delhi. The Centre had assured they have a ten-day strategy in their master plan. But the state government is waiting for detailed guidelines for a week now and has received none so far. Officials across the city are yet to see a uniform SOP, said a senior government official.

The plan is to be implemented by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) chaired by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, who reports to the Union home ministry. Its vice-chairman is chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

SYSTEM FOLLOWED

This exercise is similar to one we had earlier done in different containment zones and other areas where Covid-19 cases had emerged. We will give this information to the nodal officer who will pass it on to the area medical officer. The area medical officer will contact the concerned health officers to test those with flu-like symptoms, a municipal official supervising the survey said.

He said the target is to cover over 2,500-3,000 houses per day in one locality. He said it was the first day of the campaign so the first-day target could not be achieved.

The teams have been given a thermal gun to check temperatures. If anyone has signs of the infection, they are asked to go to the nearest testing centre. This will help the government recognise cases of Covid-19 early onensuring they reach the hospital on time or are isolated so that they do not spread the infection to others, said one of the doctors from Delhis East district, on condition of anonymity.

An official from the New Delhi district said their teams have been screening houses even outside the containment areas for a few days and there wouldnt be any trouble in finishing the survey by the July 6 deadline. We have intensified the survey and increased manpower from the civic bodies. The problem is that we have been asked to screen houses within the containment zones every day. This would be impossible given the current manpower we have, the official said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) today provided a business update on its expected results for the second quarter of fiscal 2020. The company has seen a continuation of the strong demand that began in mid-April, with quarter-to-date comparable sales through fiscal June increasing well ahead of expectations. For the second quarter of fiscal 2020, the company now expects comparable sales to be up by a mid-to-high twenties percentage, which reflects anticipated moderation from quarter-to-date trends. The company expects adjusted diluted EPS, which excludes a gain of approximately $11.00 per share on the sale of its four distribution centers as part of the previously announced sale/leaseback transactions, to be in the range of $2.50 to $2.75, compared to $0.53 of adjusted diluted EPS for the second quarter of fiscal 2019. The outlook reflects an expected gross margin rate above last year and continued strong control of expenses, notwithstanding the inclusion of additional costs related to COVID-19.

With these positive business trends, and the recent closure of the sale/leaseback transactions, the company is in a very strong liquidity position, with current cash and short-term investments of approximately $890 million, and no amounts drawn on its $700 million revolving credit facility. The company's cash position does not yet reflect expected tax payments of approximately $170 million related to the sale/leaseback transactions. In addition, the company's cash position has been positively impacted by low inventory levels due to strong sales trends.

Commenting on today's announcement, Bruce Thorn, President and CEO of Big Lots stated, "We are very pleased with our quarter-to-date performance and our outlook for the full quarter. Our assortment continues to resonate across all of our merchandise categories, while we continue to grow our customer base and accelerate sign-ups to our Big Rewards program. I could not be prouder of the incredible job our team continues to do in adapting and responding to the unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 crisis. Our number one priority remains serving customers and communities in a safe and healthy environment. Looking forward, our strong performance over the past few months gives us growing confidence that we are well positioned to navigate through the upcoming quarters and beyond. In addition, our strong liquidity position will support our ability to return cash to shareholders through share repurchases, while continuing to invest in high-return growth initiatives under Operation North Star."

About Big Lots, Inc.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) is a discount retailer operating 1,401 BIG LOTS stores in 47 states with product assortments in the merchandise categories of Furniture, Seasonal, Soft Home, Food, Consumables, Hard Home, and Electronics, Toys & Accessories. The company's mission is to help people Live BIG and Save Lots. The company strives to be the BIG difference for a better life by delivering unmatched value to customers through surprise and delight, being a "best places to work" culture for associates, rewarding shareholders with consistent growth and top tier returns, and doing good in communities as the company does well. For more information about the company, visit www.biglots.com.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and such statements are intended to qualify for the protection of the safe harbor provided by the Act. The words "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "objective," "goal," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," "will," "should," "may," "target," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook" and similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. Similarly, descriptions of objectives, strategies, plans, goals or targets are also forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to the expectations of management as to future occurrences and trends, including statements expressing optimism or pessimism about future operating results or events and projected sales, earnings, capital expenditures and business strategy. Forward-looking statements are based upon a number of assumptions concerning future conditions that may ultimately prove to be inaccurate. Forward-looking statements are and will be based upon management's then-current views and assumptions regarding future events and operating performance and are applicable only as of the dates of such statements. Although the company believes the expectations expressed in forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of knowledge, forward-looking statements, by their nature, involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, any one or a combination of which could materially affect business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Forward-looking statements that the company makes herein and in other reports and releases are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, current economic and credit conditions, the cost of goods, the inability to successfully execute strategic initiatives, competitive pressures, economic pressures on customers and the company, the availability of brand name closeout merchandise, trade restrictions, freight costs, the risks discussed in the Risk Factors section of the company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and other factors discussed from time to time in other filings with the SEC, including Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. This release should be read in conjunction with such filings, and you should consider all of these risks, uncertainties and other factors carefully in evaluating forward-looking statements.

You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures the company makes on related subjects in public announcements and SEC filings.

SOURCE Big Lots, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.biglots.com


Fake news: Google Pay is NOT banned by RBI, your transactions are safe

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, June 26: Google pay is trending on twitter on a misleading WhatsApp message that seems to be circulating social media.

"GPayBanned By RBI", accompanied by news that the Reserve Bank said that Google Pay was not a payments system operator has been trending for over three days now. However, the NPCI has issued a statement confirming that Google Pay is authorised and secure.

The trend has likely stemmed from a report from earlier this week, wherein a Press Trust of India report quoted the Reserve Bank of India as stating that Google Pay does not operate a payment system in India, and hence does not find a place in the list of authorised payment system operators published by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Chinese build helipad in Pangong Tso, Tuticorin custodial deaths spark row & more | Oneindia News

However, responding to the claims, on June 24, Google Pay India said, "Google Pay operates completely within the law. We work as a technology service provider to partner banks, to allow payments via UPI. UPI apps in the country are categorised as 'third party apps', and are not required to be 'payment systems operators'."

Google Pay says it works with banks to allow payments via UPI, transactions fully protected

"Some quotes on social media, wrongly attributed to the RBI, claim that issues arising while transferring money through Google Pay are not protected by the law, since the app is unauthorised. This is incorrect and can be verified on NPCI''s website," a Google spokesperson's told PTI.

"All transactions made via Google Pay are fully protected by redressal processes laid out by applicable guidelines of the RBI/NPCI, and users can reach out for any help 24/7, through Google Pay customer care," the statement added.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 23:51 [IST]
Tianjin'sBinhai New Area recently announced that it will offer more credit support for development of intelligent manufacturing.

BEIJING, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from China Daily: The announcement came as Binhai strives to promote deep integration of the internet, big data, artificial intelligence and the real economy in pursuit of its strategic "Greater Intelligence" deployment, according to the local government.

Binhai will take full advantage of the government-sourced funds, such as the Haihe Industrial Fund and Binhai New Area's industrial development fund to attract social capital to launch investment funding for intelligent manufacturing and support the high-quality enterprises and key projects in the sector.

It will also innovate financial support and expand credit to guide financial institutions' involvement in key projects featuring cutting-edge technology and broad market prospects.

In 2019, the local government rolled out an action plan for accelerating the high quality growth of Binhai New Area, vowing that the area would become a world-class innovation center driven by intelligent manufacturing.

With that goal in mind, Binhai joined hands with China Traffic Construction Group among others and launched a 30 billion yuan ($4.25 billion) fund to support the development of the intelligent technology industry.



The fund was expected to facilitate cooperation among global intelligent engineering technology centers and Binhai's Sino-German Industry 4.0 intelligent manufacturing center, its integrated circuit center, automotive electronics and automated driving center, and intelligent transportation center.

An industrial development fund was also established to support intelligent technology, biomedicine, new energy and new materials, aerospace, and equipment manufacturing. It is expected to reach 100 billion yuan within five years.

So far, the IC design companies in Binhai have received financial support totaling 90.45 million yuan from a special Binhai New Area fund. By the end of 2019, Binhai had housed 2,206 national high-tech enterprises, 2,049 national small and medium-sized sci-tech firms; 488 municipal research and development institutes, 129 key laboratories, 111 engineering centers and 254 enterprise technical centers.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1196391/China_Daily_Binhai_New_Area.jpg
French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott next week for a summit of West African leaders to discuss the tough campaign against jihadists in the Sahel region, his office said Friday. Macron will make the trip to the West African desert state Tuesday for face-to-face talks with the leaders of Niger, Chad, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Mali -- countries which contribute to the G5 Sahel force fighting a growing Islamist insurgency. The G5 force works with the over 5,000-strong French Barkhane force which has been deployed in the region for the last seven years but has encountered increasing resistance from jihadists. The meeting in Mauritania comes six months after a summit in the French city of Pau where the leaders vowed to intensify the fight against jihadists. After the Nouakchott meeting, the six leaders will hold video talks with other key figures including European Council President Charles Michel and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said a French presidential official, who asked not to be named. Half-a-year following the Pau summit, the security situation is getting better but remains "deeply fragile", according to French Defence Minister Florence Parly. The summit comes after France earlier this month was able to claim one of the biggest successes of its deployment -- the killing of the head of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Abdelmalek Droukdel. Operations have also intensified in the region on the borders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger seen as a sanctuary for fighters of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS). The IS-GS was designated in January as the number one enemy of France's Barkhane and has itself been fighting Al-Qaeda affiliated groups. Macron earlier this year signalled that all the options were on the table for the future of the French force, including withdrawal. But now officials in Paris emphasise that while French troops will not be there for ever, it is too soon to pull out. The president's predecessor, Francois Hollande, had launched the deployment in 2013 to chase out jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda who had overtaken key northern cities in Mali. At the Pau talks in January, Macron and Sahel leaders discussed growing dissatisfaction on the ground with France's military presence. Local protests and criticism of the Barkhane force have riled French officials, not least after 13 soldiers were killed in a helicopter collision in Mali in December 2019 while pursuing jihadist fighters -- the deadliest toll for the French military in nearly four decades. Macron has said he is wary to send soldiers to countries where their presence was not "clearly wanted", saying in December: "we need the political conditions to accompany the military work we do." Sahel commitment: Macron alongside President Mahamadou Issoufou in Niamey last December
Workers at a Whole Foods in Massachusetts say they were sent home for wearing Black Lives Matter face masks.

Seven workers were sent home on Wednesday and 14 were sent home on Thursday from the store on River Road in Cambridge, NBC Boston reports. Similar incidents have played out nationwide, including in Bedford, NH, a pair of stores in Seattle, and others. Whole Foods has issued the same statement in response to all of those incidents.

In order to operate in a customer-focused environment, all Team Members must comply with our longstanding company dress code, which prohibits clothing with visible slogans, messages, logos or advertising that are not company-related. Team Members with face masks that do not comply with dress code are always offered new face masks. Team Members are unable to work until the comply with dress code. the company said in a statement shared with MassLive.

Employees of the Cambridge location told the Globe that they are upset by what appears to be hypocrisy by a company that has publicly stated it supports the Black Lives Matter movement. The feeling is that not allowing the display contradicts the companys stated policy.

Some store employees say theyre going to continue wearing the masks, and are willing to lose their job if it comes to that.

Whole Foods is not the only company involved in controversy over Black Lives Matter masks. Trader Joes, Publix, Wawa, Taco Bell, and other companies have all had similar incidents.

Related Content:
A new study led by researchers from the University of Bristol has revealed that not all saber-tooth predators from South America were fearsome predators. Published in a journal Peer J, the evolution of South American carnivorous was investigated through the functional analysis of postcranial adaptive traits and paleobiologic data. It was found that Saber-tooth cats like the North American species Smilodon Fatalis, are among the most iconic fossil animals known as fierce predators.

As per the research, the groundwater discharge deposits, north of Las Vegas, Nevada, have yielded an abundant and diverse vertebrate fossil assemblage that the scientists named Tule Springs local fauna (TSLF). TSLF is the largest open-site vertebrate fossil assemblage dating to the Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age in the southern Great Basin and the Mojave Desert. The postcranial remains of Smilodon Fatalis differentiated them from other large predators.

While it is a bit of a mystery as to what this animal was actually doing but it's clear that it wasn't just a marsupial version of a saber-toothed cat-like SmilodonProfessor Janis.

An international team of researchers, led by Professor Christine Janis from Bristol's School of Earth Sciences, has performed a series of studies on the skull and teeth of the Sabre-toothed cat. They compared it with the ferocious predator jaguar-sized marsupial, popularly known as the 'marsupial saber-tooth' which had huge, sharp, and ever-growing canines, which made them a vicious predator.

Professor Christine Janis from Bristol's School of Earth Sciences said, The title of this paper, 'An Eye for a Tooth', sums up how we think this animal has been perceived. While Sabretooth cats have impressive canines, it lacks incisors, which big cats today use to get the meat off the bone. Further, she added, Marsupials canines were triangular in shape like a claw rather than flat like a blade in Sabretooth cats. Co-author Borja Figueiredo of the University of Malaga (Spain) added that the cats skull was different in many details from any known carnivorous mammal, past or present.

Read: Australia: Scientists Discover Mysterious Network Of Underwater Rivers Along Coastline

Read: NASA Scientists Discover Remarkable Cosmic Babya 240-year-old Neutron Star

It was eating soft food, didn't use canines to kill

Stephan Lautenschlager from the University of Birmingham confirmed saying that saber-toothed cats had a weaker bite than Smilodon which suggests that they were not using its canines to kill with, but perhaps instead to open carcasses. If you examine the detailed microwear on tooth surfaces, it's clear that it was eating soft food, Larisa DeSantis from Vanderbilt University (USA), who conducted a detailed dental study, said.

Read: Scientists Identify Neurons In Rodents' Brains Can Be Artificially Activated

Read: Scientists Spot Green Light In Mars Atmosphere: 1st Such Phenomenon On Planet Beyond Earth
Rapper Huey, 32, has died after he was shot in St. Louis on Thursday night.

The rap star, real name Lawrence Franks Jr, was gunned down in a double shooting in his hometown of Kinloch just before 11pm, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

He was shot at least once outside the front yard of a home on Martin Luther King Boulevard and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital, police said.

Rapper Huey, best known for his 2006 hit, 'Pop, Lock, & Drop it', was shot dead in St. Louis on Thursday

Huey rose to fame with his hit single that eventually reached the No. 6 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He is pictured right with fellow rapper Lil Mama at Chris Brown's birthday party in New York City in 2007

He was shot at least once outside the front yard of a home on Martin Luther King Boulevard (pictured) and died shortly after arriving at the hospital, police said

A second man, 21, who was injured in the incident later showed up at the Ferguson Police Department with a gunshot wound.

He sustained non life-threatening injuries and remains hospitalized, authorities said.

St Louis County Police said they are actively investigating the fatal shooting but did not release further details as to how it unfolded or about a possible motive.

At least 10 people are believed to have been at the scene when gunfire broke out, Sgt. Benjamin Granda said.

No arrests have been made as of Friday morning.

Huey was best known for his 2006 hit 'Pop, Lock & Drop It'. The song eventually reached the No. 6 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2007.

The music video has more than 50 million hits on YouTube.

RIP: Bruce Franks Jr confirmed his cousin's death in a tweet on Friday

Police did not initially release the rapper's name, but he was later identified by family members and fans on social media.

'They killed my lil cousin', St. Louis activist and rapper Bruce Franks Jr confirmed on Twitter early Friday.

He shared a photo of the two saying: 'The last time we performed together! Y'all knew him as Huey, to his loved ones he was LJ! My lil cousin! Rest Easy! This s**t us hard man!'

Friends, family, and fellow rap artists paid tribute to the rapper on Twitter after news of his death broke on Friday

Tributes have since poured in from fans mourning his loss.

'Wow RIP Huey. Club music would not be the same without your "Toot That" sample,' one person said.

'I'm so sad. In 9th grade, my friends would practice '"Pop, Lock & Drop It" in front of my living room mirror so we were prepared and ready for school dances,' reporter Amber Ferguson tweeted.

'Huey's song caused so many happy memories.'

The rapper is survived by his 13-year-old daughter.
Alabama absolutely intends to reopen schools for in-class instruction the fall, though virtual school will be available to all students, said State Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey today.

This is indeed going to be the most difficult school year we have ever faced, he said during a press conference this morning where he announced a roadmap for reopening Alabamas K-12 schools.

Local districts will make their own decisions about how they open, and students should expect things are not going to be completely back to normal, Mackey said.

While decisions about coronavirus precautions will be made at the local level, the state expects all public school systems will provide both traditional and remote options throughout the 2020-2021 school year.

As far as day to day, being at school, being a part of a school community, what were hearing overwhelmingly from students and parents is they want to be back at school, Mackey said.

Around the state, about 15% of parents have said they arent comfortable sending children back to class and want a remote learning option, said Mackey. In some districts, up to 80% of parents have said they prefer to keep their students home; in other districts only 3% say theyll choose remote learning.

The state has used a large portion of the $18 million it received in COVID-19 funding to purchase a statewide remote-learning curriculum to make virtual school available to all districts, prekindergarten through 12th grade. Districts are also making efforts to purchase laptops and mobile hotspots, as well as equip more school busses with wifi to enable remote learning in areas of the state with poor or no internet access.

Students can expect to see changes related to physical distancing, increased sanitizing and even requirements to wear masks, though those will be made at the local level. Extracurricular activities will continue, but may look different.

As students and teachers return this fall, the public should expect that there will be COVID-19 cases connected to schools and extracurriculars, said State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris.

Its really important for people to manage expectations about the fact we will see outbreaks associated with these events, he said.

We can predict we will continue to see disease as we have more people out and about, and we need to do everything possible to try to limit that.

Individual districts can make decisions about closing classrooms or entire schools to combat infection. The governor and the Alabama Department of Public Health have the authority to close all schools in the state, as they did in March.

Before today, districts around the state were in various stages of preparation, some with fully developed plans awaiting Mackeys announcement and others just beginning to survey communities about remote versus in-class learning.

This time last week, superintendents had a million questions, State Superintendents Association Director Ryan Hollingsworth told AL.com. Hes also a member of the statewide task force working on the school reopening plan.

He told AL.com he wanted to see ZIP-code-level data, to help school officials make ongoing decisions about how to stop spread of COVID-19 and how to handle positive cases found in schools.

Harris said that if or when coronavirus cases are found at schools, it will be the responsibility of the state health department to conduct contact tracing to try to reduce the spread of infection.

While the state has encouraged schools to open later this year, districts around the state have varying expected start dates, some as early as Aug. 4. Some, such as Huntsville, have already begun enrolling students in virtual learning programs, though the majority of the states 730,000 students are expected to return to traditional classrooms, Hollingsworth said last week.

A two-page parent guide for school reopening is available at the state education departments website, www.alsde.edu.
Bubba Wallace understands that people may continue to protest NASCARs Confederate flag ban. And he also understands that they have the right to do so peacefully.

The Cup Series race at Talladega on Monday was the first at the track and in the state of Alabama since NASCAR banned fans from flying the Confederate flag at tracks on June 10. Some fans protested with Confederate flag outside the track and a group paid for a large flag to be flown by a small plane over the track on Sunday.

Its the right for peaceful protests, Wallace said, when he was asked about the protests. Its part of it. But you wont see them inside of the race tracks where were having a good time with the new fans that have purchased their tickets and purchased their favorite drivers apparel. You wont see it flying in there. Outside, theyre just going to be making a lot of noise. Its part of it. Its exactly what you see on the flip side of everything going on in cities as they peacefully protest. But we wont see cops pepper-spraying them and shooting them with rubber bullets, will you?

Wallaces last line is, of course, a reference to police actions that have been documented across the country in social media posts and news videos during the largely peaceful protests after George Floyds death in Minneapolis. The most infamous example is the violent way that peaceful protesters were cleared out of Lafayette Square near the White House to make way for President Donald Trump to take a picture with a Bible in front of St. Johns Episcopal Church.

That was in contrast with the scenes in Michigan and in other states earlier this year during the coronavirus pandemic when armed protesters voiced their disagreement with stay-at-home orders and other rules designed to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Wallace ran a car in support of Black Lives Matter on the same day NASCAR banned the Confederate flag. NASCARs ban came two days after Wallace said NASCAR should bar fans from flying the flag at tracks and three days after NASCAR held a moment of silence ahead of its Cup race at Atlanta.

Story continues

Bubba Wallace and Richard Petty on Monday. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Well never shut them up

Wallace, the only Black driver racing full-time in NASCAR, received a lot of vitriol over the past five days as NASCAR and federal investigators looked into the discovery of a noose in his teams garage stall. The FBI and U.S. Attorney for the Nothern District of Alabama said Tuesday that no charges would be filed because the noose had been in Wallaces garage stall since October.

Wallace never saw the noose on Sunday, the day it was discovered. He was told about the noose by NASCAR president Steve Phelps. Yet those pesky facts  and the fact that federal investigators said it was a noose  didnt stop an unfortunately vocal set of opinion-havers from claiming Wallace was part of an elaborate hoax or setup.

I know people are going to try to knock me and bump me off the throne, the pedestal Im on, the same pedestal that Ive been on for 16 or 17 years now since I started, Wallace said. So, Im fine with it. Its fine. I love to get out and compete and have really good runs. Its just motivation to go out and to have really good races. Well never shut them up. Theyre afraid of themselves. Theyre afraid of change. Sometimes those are the people that you cant help throughout all the chaos in the world. Those are the ones who need the most help. But, you quickly realize they dont give a damn about you and I dont give a damn about them.

      

Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

More from Yahoo Sports:
San Antonio Police Department

The San Antonio Police Department is asking for the public's help in locating a person of interest in an unsolved murder from May.

Investigators are searching for Isaiah Enriquez in connection to the fatal stabbing of Michael Dean Allen on May 9.
Photo: The Canadian Press Immediate family members react as they watch the arrival of the caskets of Karolina Ciasullo and her three young daughters, six-year-old Klara Ciasullo, four-year-old Lilianna Ciasullo and one-year-old Mila Ciasullo who were killed in a fatal vehicle crash last week during their funeral service in Brampton, Ont., on Thursday, June 25, 2020. The funeral is limited for people attending due to the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

A 20-year-old man was speeding when he crashed into and killed a mother and her three daughters, police alleged Thursday, just hours after the four family members were laid to rest.

Peel Regional Police allege Brady Robertson of Caledon, Ont., was driving at "a very high rate of speed" when he collided with a Volkswagen carrying Karolina Ciasullo, 37, and her daughters  Klara, 6, Lilianna, 3, and Mila, 1  last Thursday.

Robertson faces four counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, as well as one count of dangerous operation connected to an unrelated incident in Caledon two days earlier. He's due in court for a bail hearing on July 23.

Meanwhile, relatives of the Ciasullo family gathered at the St. Eugene de Mazenod Catholic church in Brampton, Ont., on Thursday afternoon to pay tribute to the four victims, whose deaths have sparked an outpouring of grief in the community.

In a tearful eulogy, Ciasullo's sister-in-law said she would miss the hours the two spent on the phone, planning holidays together and catching up, as well as stealing hugs from her nieces and hearing their voices.

Those memories will "play like a movie in my mind forever," Connie Ciasullo said, describing her sister-in-law as "the glue that held everything together."

"Despite the pain and heartache we feel, we were blessed to have had these beautiful souls in our life," she said, her voice breaking.

"And while we'll never know why these beyond beautiful lives were taken from this Earth so soon, we do know they will never be taken from our hearts, or our minds, or our prayers."

The service was closed to the public but was livestreamed, and the audio was played on loudspeakers outside the building.

Photos shared on social media showed a crowd scattered outside the church, some standing and others sitting in folding chairs to listen to the memorial.

Inside, four white caskets were placed before the altar as mourners spread out in the pews in accordance with physical distancing guidelines, some wearing black facemasks.

Ontario's police watchdog is also looking into the fatal collision.

The Special Investigations Unit has said a Peel Regional Police officer had "observed" one of the vehicles involved in the crash before the incident.

The SIU said Thursday its investigation is "ongoing."

An online fundraiser for the family had raised more than $390,000 for the family as of Thursday afternoon, with many donations coming in during the funeral service.
Ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn joined Diane Abbott and John McDonnell at a showdown to call for her reinstatement as shadow education secretary.

Sir Keirs allies called it a constructive and businesslike meeting, code for a standoff. They refused to comment further on the private talks but sources said Ms Long-Bailey would not get her job back.

A petition promoted by Ms Abbott and Mr McDonnell calling for Sir Keir to reverse her sacking notched up 9,090 names during the meeting and looked set to hit its target of 10,000 by lunchtime. Former shadow home secretary Ms Abbott told the Standard: The petition speaks for itself.

Rebecca Long-Bailey / AFP via Getty Images

Jon Lansman, the veteran Left-winger and Momentum founder who sits on the National Executive, said Sir Keir had risked party unity and should rebuild trust by taking her back.

I think the decision he took yesterday was a mistake and wont help him. I am disappointed by it, he said.

TODO: define component type apester

Keir has got to respond to that. He has got to work to rebuild the trust and confidence of the Left so we can help him get to No 10 when the time comes. He added: Hes made it much harder for himself.

Sir Keir fired Ms Long-Bailey, the defeated standard-bearer of the Corbynite Left in the leadership contest, yesterday following a four-hour standoff after he ordered her to delete a tweet. She had shared an article in which the actress Maxine Peake claimed the police involved in the death of George Floyd learned their kneeling on the neck restraint tactics from the Israeli secret services.

Jewish groups complained to Sir Keirs office that a member of his own shadow cabinet was spreading an untruth about Israel that had probably been invented by anti-Semites. Last night Ms Peake withdrew the claim and admitted she had been wrong to make the allegation.

But this morning, Ms Long-Baileys original tweet drawing attention to the article was still undeleted. Dame Margaret Beckett, Labours former deputy leader and ex-foreign secretary, said she felt a little sorry for Ms Long-Bailey but Sir Keir had been left with no choice.

Rebecca Long-Bailey sacked by Sir Keir Starmer in anti-Semitism row

Had she not gone we would have been in that muddled area where the Labour Party is being accused of anti-Semitism. She said Sir Keir had been crystal clear about his petition and was doing very well in terms of making Labour electable again.

President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews Marie van der Zyl told TalkRadio the comments by Ms Peake were absolutely anti-Semitic and praised Sir Keirs action as very reassuring. She told the BBC: Rebecca Long-Baileys response was pathetic  Keir Starmer has made a very good start on tackling anti-Semitism in the party.

And in this case, hes absolutely acted decisively and has taken very swift action and its very reassuring to the Jewish community. John Mann, who left the party over anti-Semitism, said: At last weve seen some leadership from the Labour Party. Weve waited quite a number of years for leadership on this terrible problem on anti-Semitism.

In her only public comments, Ms Long-Bailey told the Mirror that she had decided not to be critical about the way I might have been treated because she did not wish to divide the party further.

Whilst we dont agree on everything, we agree on the need for a Labour government and Ill still do everything I possibly can to make sure that happens, she said.

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But Ms Long-Bailey admitted she was incredibly upset and added Sir Keir would have to work very hard to reassure Corbynites he was not turning his back on their ideals.
The German-based financial services company Wirecard is the latest of the countrys leading DAX companies to sink in a whirlpool of scandals, fraud and criminal practices.

Wirecards founder and long-time head, Markus Braun, was arrested in Munich on Monday. He was released on Tuesday under stringent registration conditions and a bail sum of five million euros. The public prosecutors office is investigating him on charges of fraudulent accounting and the manipulation of share prices.

A Wirecard logo at the 2019 Web Summit. (Credit: Flickr.com/Web Summit)

Last week it emerged that 1.9 billion euros allegedly deposited by Wirecard in Philippine banks had disappeared without a trace. It has not yet been clarified whether the sum was stolen or never existed. It is believed, however, that the transaction was invented to artificially inflate Wirecards turnover and increase its share price. According to Wirecard, the money was deposited by a dubious trustee named Mark Tolentino, whom President Rodrigo Duterte had previously sacked from his government for dubious business practices.

Wirecard was founded in 1999 and offered customers electronic payments, credit cards and the like. It was a rising star on the German stock market although it was never really clear what Wirecards opaque business model was based upon. The companys share price rose from 35 to 190 euros within a few years. Braun, who holds seven percent of shares, became a billionaire.

In September 2018, Wirecard replaced Commerzbank in the DAX index of the countrys 30 most valuable companies. Large financial institutions, such as the DWS fund subsidiary of Deutsche Bank and Union Investment, invested on a large scale and drove up the companys share price, although doubts had already arisen about Wirecards business practices.

The responsible authorities and auditors covered up for the company. Wirecard has been suspected of falsifying its balance sheets for at least five years, but Germanys financial supervisory agency, BaFin, and Ernst & Young, its auditor, continued to give guarantees for the company.

In April 2019, BaFin even filed criminal charges against two journalists from the Financial Times who had reported repeatedly on the tricks, opaque cash flows and possible balance sheet falsifications at Wirecard since 2015. The German financial regulator accused the journalists of seeking to trigger a slide in the share price of Wirecard with their revelations and then enriching themselves by betting on falling prices. The prosecutors office launched an investigation into the journalists for market manipulation.

In the meantime, Moodys has downgraded the companys creditworthiness to junk level and on Thursday the company applied for bankruptcy. The share price has plummeted to 3 euros and its market value of more than 20 billion euros has been wiped out. Media outlets speak of an unprecedented financial disaster and have made comparisons to the case of Enron.

The American energy company Enron rose to become the seventh-largest American company in the 1990s based on financial speculation, criminal methods and a network of political connections. In 2001, Enron collapsed, rocking the entire American economy. With total assets and debt valued at $80 billion, it was the largest bankruptcy in American corporate history.

At that time, the WSWS commented: Financial market operations of the kind in which Enron was engaged are not peripheral to the world capitalist economy but at its very heart. Every day trillions of dollars course through global equity, currency and financial markets in the search for profit. Since the start of the 1980s as much as 75 percent of the total return on investments has resulted from capital gains arising from an appreciation of market values, rather than from profits and interest.

That was 19 years ago. Since then, the gap between the financial oligarchy and the bulk of the population has widened massively. Following the 2008 financial crisis, which was itself the result of criminal financial speculation, and in the current coronavirus crisis, central banks pumped trillions into the financial markets to artificially drive up prices. The working class has to pay the price in the form of intensified exploitation.

The parasitism and putrefaction of capitalism, which Lenin analysed in his classic book on imperialism over a hundred years ago, have reached unprecedented proportions. The rise of the ruthless and ignorant real estate speculator and casino operator Donald Trump to head the American government is an expression of this fact.

German capitalism is no exception in this respect. The notion that the German model was in some way more serious, socially oriented or moral than America was always misguided. The assets of most DAX companiesincluding Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank, Bayer, BMW, etc. have their roots in the most brutal methods of exploitation mankind has ever experienced with millions of workers sacrificed through forced labor, wars of extermination and so-called Aryanisation.

When leading representatives of the German economy uttered mea culpas after Hitlers fall and committed themselves to a social market economy after WWII, it was always in order to defend their assets. Some of the company heads involved with the fascists spent a brief time in prison but none were expropriated.

German capitalism has long since been returning to its criminal traditions. Wirecard is only the most recent of a whole series of DAX companies that have been thrown into crisis due to their nefarious business practices.

VW, the worlds largest car company based its business model on manipulating exhaust gas valuesand ended up paying tens of billions in compensation and fines. Deutsche Bank played a leading role in the criminal practices which culminated in the crash of 2008and has not recovered to date. Bayer attempted to become world leader in agricultural chemistry and biotechnology with its recent takeover of the notorious US company Monsanto and is now liable to pay compensation for Monsantos crimes.

Wirecard boss Markus Braun was considered a star as long as prices rose and investors and investment funds earned a fortune. Now he may have to serve as a scapegoat, but he is merely the subjective expression of an objective processa deeply sick capitalist system that must be abolished as soon as possible.
FILE PHOTO: Gold bars and coins are stacked in the safe deposit boxes room of the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich

By Peter Hobson

LONDON (Reuters) - Switzerland exported 126.6 tonnes of gold worth around $7 billion to the United States in May - the biggest monthly shipment on record - as high prices in New York continued to pull in metal, customs data showed on Thursday.

Swiss shipments to China and India, usually the two largest buyers, remained near rock bottom.

The coronavirus crisis has turned the global gold market on its head, with purchases of jewellery and gold bars in Asia falling sharply while investors in the West stock up on bullion as a safe asset to weather a period of turmoil.

Prices on the CME Group's Comex exchange in New York have been consistently higher than prices elsewhere, encouraging people to ship gold to the city.

Switzerland, a major trading, vaulting and refining centre for precious metals, has now shipped 281 tonnes of gold to the United States since the start of March - 15 times more than was shipped in the whole of 2019.

Meanwhile, Switzerland shipped 503 kg (0.5 tonnes) of gold to India, 42 kg to Hong Kong and no gold at all to China in May.

Each of these destinations usually receives hundreds of tonnes of metal from Switzerland a year. Since the start of March India has imported 7.6 tonnes, Hong Kong has taken 195 kg and mainland China has received nothing.

In total, Switzerland exported 141.9 tonnes of gold in May.

(Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Pravin Char)
South Korea aims to commercialize 5G Wi-Fi in October. / gettyimagesbank



By Kim Hyun-bin



South Korea and the United States have upped the ante to become the first to commercialize fifth-generation (5G) Wi-Fi.



The reason for this is that much of 5G's long-term value is its use for the internet of things (IoT)  the industrial sector is a potentially important adopter making use of its speed, reliability, coverage and bandwidth. The key debate is where and when 5G adoption will take off, eventually.



The government plans to allocate the 6-gigaherz (GHz) frequency currently unused by telecom and broadcast companies for 5G Wi-Fi, also known in Korea as "Wi-Fi 6E," which is expected to be commercialized in October this year.



In the United States, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it also plans to allocate the 6GHz frequency for 5G Wi-Fi. Seoul and Washington's investment in 5G-enabled telecom networks is due to leading tech companies in North America, Europe and Asia are actively pursuing "Industry 4.0" initiatives and 5G capabilities are widely expected to help in establishing IoT networks.



Specifically, General Electric, Boeing, Tesla, BMW, Huawei, Foxconn, Toyota, Microsoft, IBM, Amazon Web Services and Alibaba are all considered as either "leading adopters" or "most popular vendors" in terms of moving forward with 5G.



The U.S. is ahead in terms of the semi-conductor technology for 5G Wi-Fi, but industry experts believe Korea is a step ahead in equipment and Wi-Fi router development.



Industry analysts are focusing on the benefits of 5G Wi-Fi once the technology is commercialized, as 5G itself is in its early stages in household and factory use, and they see adoption as only ramping up gradually. The analysts note that retrofitting existing manufacturing systems with 5G Wi-Fi would be too costly and so adoption will likely take place at the end of equipment lifecycles. This also means that industrial adoption may not take off as fast in the United States as demand there for building new factories from scratch is not that strong.



But in terms of specifications, 5G Wi-Fi standardizes the" 802.11ax" Wi-Fi technology service at over 6 or high frequencies. The maximum speed is three times faster than the current Wi-Fi at 9.6 gigabytes per second (Gbps) and connection delays are reduced. When downloading a 1 gigabyte video, it currently takes around 15 seconds to 25 seconds, but with the 5G Wi-Fi it will be reduced to 5 seconds to 9 seconds in the most ideal scenario.



Telecom companies believe the commercialization of the 5G Wi-Fi will help the further growth of 5G coverage focusing on consumer products, first, as a litmus-test before heading to the industrial sector.



The country's top three mobile carriers  SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus  will invest more to expand 5G Wi-Fi coverage as they believe the advanced telecom technology could cut the burden on 5G investment. The current mainstream 28 frequency is short-ranged making it difficult to connect all parts of an office and a home.



In order for all homes to have smooth 5G connectivity, there needs to be a miniature 28 base station installed in each home, which will need additional tens of trillions won in investment, officials at telecom companies said, adding the wide adoption of 5G Wi-Fi will help consumers address key pending issues such as slow connectivity.



"Local small-mid size venture companies have started development of diverse Wi-Fi 6E (5G Wi-Fi) telecom equipment and content while the conglomerates are developing suitable smartphones," according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.


At UN, US pushing for extension of Iran arms ban, warns Russia, China

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 25 June 2020 5:56 AM

Amid a much-criticized American push to rally support at the Security Council behind an extension of a UN arms embargo on Iran, Washington's point man on Iran claims Russia and China will face "isolation" at the world body should they stand in the way of a US-drafted resolution designed to prevent the expiry of the ban.

US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook issued the warning ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, which featured the first round of talks on the US proposal to indefinitely extend the arms ban on Iran.

The embargo will expire on October 18 under UNSC Resolution 2231, which enshrined the 2015 nuclear deal  officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Hook claimed that efforts to prevent the renewal of the Iran arms embargo would be following "the road to dystopia."

"We see a widening gap between Russia and China and the international community," he said. "Russia and China were isolated at the (International Atomic Energy Agency) last week and they will be isolated in the Security Council if they continue down this road to dystopia."

Hook was referring to an anti-Iran resolution, which was passed by the IAEA's Board of Governors on June 19 with 25 votes in favor.

Russia and China voted against it, while seven countries  Azerbaijan, Pakistan, India, Mongolia, South Africa, Thailand, and Niger  abstained.

The resolution called on the Islamic Republic to "fully cooperate" with the IAEA and "satisfy the Agency's requests without any further delay," including by providing "prompt" access to two nuclear sites.

Iranian officials said the agency's request to visit the two sites is based on fabricated information supplied by Israel and pressure from the administration of US President Donald Trump.

As the termination of Iran arms embargo nears, the US, which unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018, has circulated the draft resolution at the UNSC to keep the ban in place.

The motion would ban the sale, supply or transfer of arms or related materiel by Iran and prohibits countries from selling, supplying or transferring weapons unless approved by a Security Council committee.

It also requires countries to inspect cargo in their territory if they have reasonable grounds to believe the cargo contains banned items and calls on countries to inspect vessels on the high seas  with the consent of the flag state  for the same reason.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that he was "hopeful that the whole world will accept the proposition that this arms embargo needs to be extended."

However, Security Council veto-powers Russia and China have already signaled their opposition to the US proposal.

A UNSC resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the US, China, Russia, Britain or France to pass.

"There is no possibility for its adoption," said a Chinese diplomat, who was speaking on condition of anonymity. "The US draft resolution is in essence a continuation of the US maximum pressure policy [on Iran] and it has no value or basis for discussion."

Additionally, Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said the US claims that Iran violated the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) are driven by hatred.

"Some US experts seriously claim that Iran "is in full breach of its NPT obligations. Why the rest of the world, including IAEA and its Board of Governors, are not aware of this terrible "fact"? Indeed, hatred is a bad adviser for "experts" and propaganda has no limits," he tweeted.

The resolution is also expected to trigger hot discussions and a power clash between the US and its own allies at the UNSC, who argue that the US cannot resort to Resolution 2231 to seek an extension as it has already left the deal in violation of the same resolution.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 04:49:46|Editor: huaxia

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RAMALLAH, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Friday announced 207 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally of coronavirus infections to 1,795.

Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said in a press statement that this is the highest number of cases in one day since the outbreak of novel coronavirus in Palestine on March 5, adding that most of the new cases were recorded in the southern West Bank district of Hebron.

The new wave of infections hit the West Bank in mid-June. Hebron, the largest district in the West Bank, is becoming the new epicenter of COVID-19 pandemic in Palestine, with a majority of the cases reported there. It was followed by Nablus in the northern West Bank.

The epidemic was resurgent as a result of contacts mainly with Palestinians from Israel or workers in Israel, according to Palestinian medical experts.

But al-Kaila said that some of the recorded cases belong to West Bank citizens who recently returned from Egypt through Jordan.

The Palestinian health minister said that 620 cases had recovered and five died since March 5.

She said that 1,170 cases are still receiving medical care at health centers in the West Bank.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the populations to abide by the precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the deadly virus in the West Bank. Enditem
Just last month, it looked as if Amy McGrath would coast to the Democratic Senate nomination in Kentucky. A moderate former fighter pilot with strong backing from the party establishment, she had raised over $40 million, far more than all her competitors combined. From her TV ads, you would have thought she was already running against Senator Mitch McConnell in the general election.

But then came weeks of protests for racial justice, and a flush of new energy on the partys left wing. Charles Booker, a state legislator endorsed by the likes of Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, had been campaigning on a platform of Medicare for all, the Green New Deal and bold police reform; he surged in the weeks before Tuesdays election.

On Thursday, after a new batch of preliminary results were released, Mr. Booker held a 3.5-percentage-point lead over Ms. McGrath, although most absentee ballots havent been counted yet and we may not know who won the race for days.

As swift and dramatic as Mr. Bookers rise has been, its part of an ongoing trend in Democratic politics  one thats been a long time in the making, according to polling on political attitudes.
The corporate watchdog has lost its appeal in the landmark 'shiraz and wagyu' case against Westpac over the bank's alleged breaches of responsible lending laws.

The Federal Court on Friday dismissed the appeal by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) lawsuit against the bank after finding the regulator had again failed to prove its case.

ASIC's case against Westpac over responsible lending has been thrown out for the second time. Credit:Jessica Hromas

One of the appeal court judges sided with ASIC while the other two ordered the appeal be dismissed and called on the regulator to cover the bank's legal costs. ASIC could now escalate the matter to the High Court in a final effort to win the longstanding case against the country's oldest bank.

ASIC alleged Westpac breached responsible lending laws on more than 261,000 home loan applications between 2011 and 2015 by using a benchmark known as the Household Expenditure Measure (HEM) to assess and estimate a borrower's expenses rather than reviewing their expenses individually to determine if they could service the loan.
Iran has confirmed that Israel has a formidable Internet defense capability. Iran knew that Israel has established a separate CDU (Cyber Defense Unit) within its C4I Corps back in 2016 but was not yet aware of how effective that new operation was. Now Iran has a better idea. This all began earlier in 2020 when Israeli network security monitors discovered someone trying to hack their way into municipal water supply networks. This soon involved the C41 Corps, which is responsible for protecting the civilian Internet connections that enable the civilian economy to supply what the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) needs to operate, especially in wartime.

CDU spends most of its time assigning its Red Teams to try and hack this infrastructure as well as the purely military networks. CDU has learned a lot about network vulnerabilities and how to fix them. CDU was involved when Israel got into a dispute with the U.S. over access to the source code to the extensive software that makes the F-35 stealth fighter so effective. Details were never released but it is known that CDU red teams go over software provided with any foreign military equipment Israel buys. This has always been the case with submarines purchased from Germany and various smart bombs and other gear purchased from American defense firms. The F-35 was a special case because the aircraft was so dependent on its unique software. Apparently, CDU found some interesting vulnerabilities and a solution was quietly worked out.

The Iranian probe did not do any damage but CDU identified it as the kind of probe that is done in preparation for developing a major attack plan. For that strategy to work these probes are not supposed to be detected. Having your probes detected puts the target on alert and removes any Iranian hope of carrying out a surprise attack. C4I Corps had its offensive team deliver a message to Iran. This response was not announced and was apparently the cause of the subsequent collapse of the network that ran one of Irans major container ship ports. Traffic in and out of that port were stalled for days. Iran denied it happened but commercial satellite photos, and complaints from crews of foreign ships caught in the aftermath, as well as local truck drivers, confirmed the halt in port operations was because of a computer problem.

Once Iran had received their warning, CDU double-checked network security throughout the civilian supply chain the military depends on for timely delivery of supplies in war and peace. Iran was suitably warned to back off but C4I knows they wont. Iran is still seeking revenge for the damage STUXNET did to their nuclear weapons program a decade ago and subsequent, often very similar, Israeli attacks, both known and unknown.

Iran has become somewhat paranoid about and obsessed with Israeli Internet based attacks. For example, STUXNET was espionage and sabotage software developed specifically to damage Irans uranium enrichment equipment. High-end cyber weapons like STUXNET are designed to keep their activities hidden, and they did that for longer than initially believed. By 2013 Internet security researchers believed that a beta version of STUXNET was at work as early as 2005. It also appears that STUXNET got into the Iranian enrichment facilities at least twice.

After the 2005 beta version, there were several more improved versions released. Iran still believes that more recent versions of STUXNET are still trying to gain access to its uranium enrichment equipment. By 2012 the more prudent (or paranoid) Iranian software experts believe that a new (3.0?) version of STUXNET was already inside the enrichment control systems, waiting for the right time to do more major damage.

It was first believed that STUXNET was released in late 2009, and thousands of computers were infected as the worm sought out its Iranian target. Initial dissection of STUXNET indicated that it was designed to interrupt the operation of the control software used in various types of industrial and utility (power, water, sanitation) plants. Eventually, further analysis revealed that STUXNET was programmed to subtly disrupt the operation of gas centrifuges used to turn uranium ore into nuclear plant fuel or, after more refining, into nuclear weapons-grade material. It is now believed that the first attack was made before 2009, and another attack after that.

The STUXNET "malware" was designed to hide in the control software of an industrial plant, making it very difficult to be sure you have cleaned all the malware out. This is the scariest aspect of STUXNET and is still making Iranian officials nervous about other STUXNET-type attacks. Although Iran eventually admitted that STUXNET did damage, they would not reveal details of when STUXNET got to the centrifuges or how long the malware was doing its thing before it was discovered and removed. But all this accounts for the unexplained slowdown with Iran getting new centrifuges working. Whoever created STUXNET probably knows the extent of the damage because STUXNET also had a "call home" capability.

Iran didnt figure out that STUXNET was the reason why some of their nuclear material processing equipment failed until after the damage was done and even then the American-Israeli software weapon was discovered by Western researchers who figured out the target was Iran. Since then Iran has been desperate for a win in the Cyber War department and has so far been disappointed. The Iranians keep trying and they keep developing new skills and tools, so C41 and CDU have to be even more alert.

Israel developed world-class Internet defenses and offensive capabilities over the last two decades, as the Internet became more of a key factor in the global economy and military operations. This was done quietly and details did not become known unless someone attacked Israel. An example of this was the July-August 2014 war in Gaza, which created some very unpleasant surprises for Hamas, which thought it could risk another war with Israel and come out the winner, to the Arab world at least. Hamas knew that Israel had been working at discovering and countering Hamas tactics, but Hamas was confident they had enough new tricks to stay ahead of the Israelis. Hamas quickly discovered that the Israelis were a lot quicker and better coordinated than in the past. This time around the Israelis learned more from their earlier clashes with Hamas and Hezbollah, the Iranian subsidiary in Lebanon.

This has happened before, to both the Israelis but mainly to the Arabs. It was only after that war ended that Hamas learned details of what they were up against. It turned out that Israel had managed to create an effective and reliable Battlefield Internet. This has been the goal of military communications experts for over a decade. The United States was long the leader, but in mid-2014 Israel was the first to demonstrate a Battlefield Internet that consistently worked under combat conditions. This breakthrough development was largely ignored by the media but military leaders worldwide are paying attention.

One of the first uses of the Battlefield Internet came early in the war when Hamas attempted to use their scuba equipped naval commandos to make an underwater assault on an Israeli seaside base just north of Gaza. The Hamas commandos were quickly spotted by Israeli sensors monitoring offshore waters, which automatically sent the contact information to the new Israeli Battlefield Internet. This automatically sent the alert (along with location and other data) to land, naval and air vehicles within range. That meant that before the Hamas men hit the beach they were being tracked by an Israeli tank gunner, an armed UAV overhead and a nearby warship. The closest infantry unit sent troops to the beach the Hamas men appeared to be moving towards. The five Hamas men refused to surrender to the Israeli troops waiting for them on the beach and, in a brief gun battle, all five were killed. One Israeli soldier was wounded and this, and the fact that the Hamas men made it onto the beach was, by Arab standards a victory. A week later Israel released details of what had happened to the Hamas frogmen.

What the Israelis have done with the Battlefield Internet is link everyone involved; pilots, UAV operators, tank commanders and infantry unit commander, plus people at C4i Corps that managed the flow of data, so all can all see was what each other was seeing of the Hamas commandos. These multiple views eliminated the uncertainty often present when only one view was available. It made all the Israelis involved more confident and that led to speedier interpretation of the situation and decisive action to deal with it. This capability also reduces the risk of friendly fire.

Hamas soon discovered that many of their other new tactics, like dozens of deep tunnels into Israel and numerous new ideas for hiding and launching rockets from residential areas and public buildings (schools, hospitals and mosques) were not only known to the Israelis but were captured by Israeli aerial video cameras and quickly destroyed by other Israeli forces who instantly had that information and were able to take action. This was happening much faster than Hamas expected and it caused a bit of panic among Hamas leaders and their subordinates. Hamas also discovered that the Israelis had better information on where the Hamas leaders were hiding out and a lot more of these fellows were getting killed than during past conflicts. It was the Battlefield Internet that gave the Israelis an extra, unexpected, edge. Hamas also found that their attempts to force Israel to kill a lot more Palestinians during efforts to halt the rocket attacks were compromised by Israeli warnings to civilians (often via telephone) to get out when the rockets hidden in their building were about to be destroyed by smart bombs or missiles. The Israelis also proved more adept at avoiding civilian casualties in general. The saddest aspect of all this was that Hamas had been warned that Israel had these new capabilities and ignored it.

The Battlefield Internet comes out of more than a decade of research into the subject, and the C4I Corps (before 2003 the Teleprocessing Branch) is another post-2006 reform that merged communications and computer operations into one organization that provided both those services throughout the armed forces. With that merger is was easier to implement the Battlefield Internet, which needed close and instantaneous transfer of data (voice and data) wirelessly over a network all combat forces had access to.

The existence of the Israeli Battlefield Internet was not really a secret, but details of how it operated and how effective it was in action were. Months before the July war began Israel revealed that, because of new technology and weapons, the air force could now hit more targets in 24 hours than it did in 33 days during the 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006. For Hamas, Israel pointed out that it would now hit in less than 12 hours the number of targets it took seven days to find and attack during the week-long 2008 war with Hamas. This was all part of a technological revolution the Israeli armed forces had been undergoing since the 1990s. Since the 2006 war with Hezbollah those changes have been accelerating. This statement did not disturb Hezbollah or Hamas because they knew the Israelis were always improving their technology. What was underestimated was the extent of this particular improvement.

Another surprise was how the Battlefield Internet improved Israeli intelligence efforts. Israel always had some formidable intelligence collection capabilities. Israel satellites, UAVs and manned recon aircraft collect data that leads to the identification of enemy bases and weapons storage sites. This, for example, enabled the Israeli Air Force to quickly destroy most of the long-range rockets in Lebanon in 2006 and in Gaza in 2008. The Israeli Air Force demonstrated a lot of changes less than two years after the 2006 war when, in Gaza, dozens of targets taken out within three minutes by Israeli warplanes. The new automated systems included everyone (air, ground and naval). In addition to using more sensors (ground, air and naval) all these were linked together electronically so that when a potential threat was detected every tank, infantry unit, artillery, aircraft or ship within range was alerted and provided access to video or other sensor data. Israel has long been the leading developer and supplier (for their own forces as well as export) sensor and computerized command and control systems. All this enabled more targets to be found and attacked more quickly.

The objective of all this was to increase the speed and accuracy of smart bombs and missiles hitting targets the army wanted taken out. In the last few years, this also meant new display technology and software that enables a commander to identify and designate a target with a few taps on a touch screen. Israel was also using cell phone size devices for this and constantly upgrading the crypto (that keeps the enemy from making sense of these communications) used. The goal now is to further streamline and speed up so ten times as many targets can be hit as was the case in 2006. Since 2008 the standardization and communications have been further improved so that you no longer need air force officers with ground units to get air support quickly.

After the 2006 war, Israel realized two things; its military was still superior to Arab forces and its military was not as superior as Israel believed it was. The major Israeli deficiency was communications. What the Arabs, or at least Iran-backed Hezbollah, had done was learned to move faster and more resourcefully than the Israelis expected. What really shocked the Israelis was that although they could spot and track these Hezbollah moves, they could not get artillery, aircraft or ground troops moved quickly enough to take out a lot of identified targets before the enemy managed to change position. All the different levels of Israeli headquarters and combat units could actually communicate with each other, but not fast enough to hit a target that had been identified and located, but was not staying put long enough for the completion of all the procedures and paperwork required to get the strike order sent to the unit best able to carry it out.

The solution was new technology and procedures. Since 2006 Israel has built a new communications system that is faster and able, according to Israeli claims, to hit a lot more targets than the 2006 era forces could manage. Much of the solution had nothing to do with radical new hardware but to simply standardizing the procedures everyone had long used to call for fire or to deliver it. Now commanders at all levels can see the same data and call for and receive fire support quickly in addition to everyone seeing the same information. When a target is identified the bombs, shells or ground attack follow quickly. Everyone was shown how easy and damaging it was to underestimate the enemy. In training exercises, the enemy is controlled by Israeli troops with ordered to be imaginative and try real hard to not get spotted and hit. Its been amazing what these enemy troops come up with, and necessary to keep this secret so that the real enemy does not find out.

In 2014 the Israelis suffered more military deaths (over 66) than earlier wars with Hamas but only six Israeli civilians died, one of them a foreign worker from Thailand. Hamas wont admit what damage was done to its military resources but it was far greater than in the past and that included nearly a thousand Hamas personnel and an extensive network of tunnels under Gaza that was supposed to limit Hamas casualties. The Hamas leadership took much heavier losses than Hamas expected and the losses to key Hamas people (leaders, technical experts) were also much higher. Hamas could declare victory all they want, but compared to past battles with Israel, Hamas got the worst of it in 2014. To make the defeat even more painful, many former Arab supporters (like Egypt) cheered the damage done to Hamas.
The East Galway and Midlands Cancer Support Centre and Lynch Syndrome Ireland are currently working together on a campaign to reinstate cancer screening services throughout the country.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, all cancer screening services were suspended indefinitely, while follow-up appointments were cancelled with no timeline for resumption. Obviously given the nature of the Covid-19 crisis this was understandable at the beginning. However, there has still been no movement on when these services will resume. For centres such as ours and for organisations such as Lynch Syndrome Ireland, this is proving very worrisome. Lynch Syndrome patients are at a higher risk of developing cancers and they have been left in the lurch with the closure of necessary screening services.

There are proposed talks between the government, the health minister and some national cancer charities at the end of the month. However, we are concerned that this will come too late. We all know that early detection saves lives and we are concerned that the reinstatement of screening services will come too late. We are calling on the government to reinstate screening services immediately. The government has a duty of care to every person in the country and by not working towards reopening cancer screening services, they are failing in this duty of care.

According to Jacqueline Daly, Director of Services, said as a cancer support centre, they were experiencing a high volume of anxious clients contacting them seeking reassurance and help due to the lack of screening because of Covid-19 pandemic.

The centre is working on this campaign alongside Lynch Syndrome Ireland. And, the director of services said: Patients living with Lynch Syndrome are finding it especially difficult, as they need to have multiple scans every year due to their higher risk of developing cancer.

Not only has cancer patients screening ceased but many follow up appointments have either been cancelled or deferred indefinitely. The reality of this situation is that the waiting list is going to be longer and will continue to grow. We know that early detection saves lives and that far too many people have gone undetected over the last number of months.

Therefore, we are calling on the Government, on behalf of cancer patients and Lynch syndrome patients all over Ireland, to resume cancer screening before the backlog becomes overwhelming and patients are put through unnecessary distress. The Department of Health and the HSE has a duty of care to the people of Ireland to resume screening and save lives.

Pat Fahey, Founder of Lynch Syndrome Ireland, who is originally from Birr, outlined how individuals with the Lynch syndrome genetic defect have an increased risk of developing cancer - with up to an 80% lifetime risk (depending on the mutation and the organ involved).

This genetic defect is probably more prevalent than those with the inherited BRCA defect - with1 in 127 affected. Less than 5% are aware that this defect is present in their family. He has two siblings and they have inherited this defect and have had a total of eight cancers to date and are all, at present, cancer-free, although still with a much higher than normal risk of developing further cancers. He also has an adult daughter who has inherited the defect and screening is a regular occurrence for them all.

It was because of my screening in 2012 that colon cancer was detected/removed and chemotherapy administered. I had no symptoms of having cancer. We have all recently experienced the worry and consequences of being attacked from without by a parasite - a virus called Covid-19. It is not a pleasant experience and for many it has been a fatal experience.

We are now aware that it is possible to protect ourselves and our families by taking measures like hand washing/isolating etc. and that life can return to some sort of 'new normal'. Imagine if you were living with a genetic condition that predisposes you and some/all of your family to certain types of cancers. This is potentially an attack from within your own body.

Living with this reality is not a pleasant experience. Knowing that you can do nothing to avoid this predisposition, as each member of your family has a 50/50 chance of inheriting this defect. It is now you and your families new normal.

It is possible to protect ourselves and our families, to a large extent, by regular monitoring e.g. Colonoscopy/Gastroscopy/Blood Tests/ Scans/Skin checks and by pre-emptive surgery e.g. Hysterectomy. It is not a perfect solution but it is the best one we have at this point in time.

Imagine if these measures are disrupted and very little communication is provided to reassure you and your family as to when they will be resumed? Your normal unease around monitoring tests/procedures is now going to be heightened.

Surely learning from our current experience we need to look at in more detail the idea of dropping normal monitoring for high-risk cancer patients? 

Being at a high risk for a virus like Covid-19 is difficult to deal with. But.if you are at a high risk of developing certain types of cancers.this can be even more difficult to deal with particularly if you are cut off from the protection of surveillance.
A 34-year-old African American man filed a federal civil rights complaint Thursday that alleges Sonoma County sheriffs deputies wrongfully arrested him in 2019 and broke two of his front teeth and knocked out a third, rendering him unconscious.

LaMarcus McDonalds complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses officers of using excessive force and falsely arresting and imprisoning him after a welfare check on July 9, 2019. Officers allegedly attempted to cover up the incident by filing a police report accusing McDonald of resisting arrest.

Sonoma County prosecutors never pursued charges against McDonald for the incident, according to the complaint, which names Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick, the town of Windsor and several law enforcement officials as defendants.

An attorney for the town of Windsor said officials had not received a copy of the complaint.

Sgt. Juan Valencia, a spokesman for the Sheriffs Office, said the agency had not been served with the suit as of Thursday, and the office does not comment on pending litigation.

Steve Berman, one of the lawyers representing McDonald, called on authorities to release the body camera footage.

For far too long, members of our society have been victimized by the authorities and denied their civil liberties, he said in a statement. Public transparency, including the prompt release of body cam video footage, is absolutely necessary for police accountability.

The complaint says law enforcement in Sonoma County have used violence, intimidation or coercion against African American and other minority residents of the County of Sonoma or persons passing through, including McDonald.

Valencia confirmed that the entire incident was captured by body-worn cameras, but the footage would not be released because it did not meet state law criteria.

The incident occurred the night of July 9, 2019, when McDonald was sleeping in a friends car outside a housing development park on Bell Road, according to the complaint. McDonald had been staying with his mother, who was being evicted, but was asked to sleep elsewhere by the property owner as McDonald was younger than the age allowed for residents of the development.

A man who drove past his car, which had one of its doors open, called police to check on a person suspected of overdosing, according to the complaint.

Deputy Sheriff Travis Perkins, who is named as a defendant along with Administrative Sgt. Brent Kidder and Deputy Gregory Clegg, responded to the scene and tried waking McDonald, according to the complaint. McDonald told Perkins he had been drinking earlier in the evening and Perkins asked him to step out of the car.

The Chronicle could not reach Perkins, Kidder and Clegg for comment.

As McDonald started to exit the vehicle, Perkins spun him around, grabbed his right hand and tried to immediately and forcefully handcuff him, according to the complaint. Perkins allegedly failed to tell McDonald he was under arrest or ask him for his cooperation.

The next thing (McDonald) remembers is waking up face first on the ground with pain in his head and mouth, the complaint reads.

Valencia said the deputy who responded to the call tried to arrest McDonald on suspicion of driving under the influence and public intoxication after finding him on the drivers seat of the car with the door open and vomit and an empty alcohol bottle nearby. The deputy had to use a sternum rub to wake McDonald, Valencia said.

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But the man tried to pull away from the deputy, Valencia said, so the officer took him down. Fire officials who arrived soon after treated him for the lost teeth before transporting him to an area hospital. Authorities found two empty bottles of alcohol and a full one when they searched the car, Valencia said.

McDonald was required to attend a court hearing a month after the incident, where he learned he was not being charged, according to the complaint.

A spokesman for the Sonoma County district attorneys office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Noah Blechman, an attorney representing Sonoma County, told The Chronicle on Friday that the responding officer had a duty to ensure that Mr. McDonald did not take off driving in that car in the state he was in as he appeared to be significantly intoxicated and there was evidence of alcohol consumption from the alcohol seen in the car.

Blechman said the Sheriffs Office takes all use of force incidents seriously, this one is no exception and the County has reviewed this use of force.

McDonalds attorneys said his car remains impounded because he has not been able to afford the fees. The suit seeks special, compensatory and punitive monetary damages, as well as injunctive relief to alter Sonoma Countys illegal policies with respect to the release of police body camera video footage.

Alejandro Serrano is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alejandro.serrano@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @serano_alej
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An explorer has unearthed an incredible set of photos he took of a meeting he had with an isolated tribe deep in the Ecuadorian rainforest  the event being the first time they had made contact with the outside world.

The pictures belong to Dr Jack Wheeler, 76, who is originally from Southern California. He told MailOnline Travel that he discovered the images on film slides while sifting through belongings in his loft during the lockdown and decided to get them digitalised.

The photographs, taken in 1972, show Dr Wheeler's 'truly extraordinary' meeting with a family within the 'Naked Auca' tribe after he touched down in dense Amazonian jungle in a small helicopter.

Dr Jack Wheeler, 76, ventured to the Ecuadorian rainforest as a 16-year-old with an interest in anthropology. He returned in 1972 and that's when his meeting with a family within the 'Naked Auca' tribe occurred. He's pictured here during the 'truly extraordinary' event

The Auca settlement as it appeared from Dr Wheeler's helicopter, with trees cleared around the main hut

Remarkable: The uncontacted tribe waves at Dr Wheeler's tiny helicopter, which was piloted by Tony Stuart

A grandmother clings to a magazine Dr Wheeler gave her. The tribe had never seen paper before

The only apparel the Aucas had was cloth made from pounded plant fibres that the mothers used to carry their babies

Dr Wheeler said: 'They showed not the slightest fear of or animosity towards us'

They had never seen paper or metal before and Dr Wheeler says the tribespeople looked at him and his pilot in the helicopter like they were 'aliens coming from outer space'.

The adventurer was no stranger to the wilds of Ecuador. He first ventured there in 1960 as an inquisitive 16-year-old with a keen interest in anthropology.

He reveals: 'I was a beginning freshman student at UCLA (The University of California, Los Angeles, on a 'Gifted Student Program') studying anthropology and I read a magazine article about a medical doctor living with the indigenous Jivaro people in Ecuador.

'The medic wanted to learn about the plants the tribespeople used to shrink human head skin as it might shrink cancerous tissue.

'This fascinated me so I contacted him and he invited me to spend the summer of 1960 with him and the Jivaros he knew. I ended up staying in the rainforest with the clan or family of a chap called Tangamashi.'

Twelve years on, as a doctoral graduate student in philosophy at the University of Southern California, Dr Wheeler decided to return to Ecuador and visit his old friend Tangamashi and that's when his encounter with the uncontacted tribe occurred.

The main Auca hut where the group sheltered, with a sloping roof made out of palm leaves

The tribespeople had stretched ears with wooden discs in their lobes 'as a sign of beauty'

Dr Wheeler said the tribe were friendly and welcoming - but he had been warned how dangerous they could be

Dr Wheeler says: 'Even the most famous headhunters in the world were afraid of the Aucas'

Being the adventurous young man that he was, Dr Wheeler had a dream of travelling down the Napo River, near to where he was staying, to the point where it meets the Amazon River in Peru.

But his friend Tangamashi warned him against making the journey - because he might encounter the Naked Aucas.

Explaining the tribeman's fears Dr Wheeler says: 'Even the most famous headhunters in the world were afraid of the Aucas.

'The Aucas were feared for killing any outsider foolish enough to enter where they lived, and had gained worldwide notoriety in a Life magazine story of their killing five Evangelical missionaries in 1956.'

Despite being warned against the river expedition, Dr Wheeler set off in a motor-powered dugout canoe and hired a local boatman.

The Aucas were feared for killing any outsider foolish enough to enter where they lived, and had gained worldwide notoriety in a Life magazine story of their killing five Evangelical missionaries in 1956

As he went down river and neared the Peru border he ran into a group of American men employed by Western Geophysical to find oil and gas deposits.

Recalling the chain of events, Dr Wheeler says: 'I was puzzled and confused that they were there and weren't scared about the Aucas, but the men told me they weren't in the area.

'They informed me that the Auca people were very scattered and isolated, living in tiny encampments of just one large family  there weren't villages or a large tribe.

'As I was talking to them, their helicopter pilot Tony Stuart came into land and I was told that he knew where some of these Auca camps could be located.

'Over a cold beer in the mess tent (my first cold beer in a while!), Tony told me a rain squall came up that took him way off course. He chanced upon an Auca hut. He told me he would never have seen it otherwise and he saw just one hut with a small planted field near it.

'He said he circled around them in his helicopter and the men shook spears at him.

'Before leaving he made sure to mark where the Aucas lived and every time he flew over them he would wave with a big smile to show that he didn't mean any harm.

'He said on his third trip above the camp the Aucas started smiling and waving back and on the next journey he couldn't believe it as they had cleared off a flat place for him to land. They even made motions for him to come down and land.'

The biggest impression Dr Wheeler had was how they could all 'communicate with gestures and facial expressions as fellow human beings'

Describing the moment of contact, Dr Wheeler said: 'We landed, with Aucas appearing out of the single palm frond hut - a couple of men, several women, a number of small children. Only a few came down to see us'

Dr Wheeler asked Tony if he had landed at the Auca camp, but the helicopter pilot said he hadn't because he was alone and he'd heard of other white men being attacked and being left with 'nasty spear wounds'.

After a second beer, Dr Wheeler asked if he could go back with Tony to the Auca camp in a bid to make contact and the two men shook hands on it.

They set off a few hours later and packed a shotgun in the chopper 'just in case of emergency'.

Describing the journey, Dr Wheeler says: 'It took Tony a while to find it as the Amazon rainforest is really flat, vast, and featureless, an ocean of trees  and he had to avoid a squall.

'And then, there it was, just like he said.

'I felt excited, with some trepidation, but more excited. We realised we were doing something truly extraordinary.

'We landed, with Aucas appearing out of the single palm frond hut - a couple of men, several women, a number of small children. Only a few came down to see us.

'I have never smiled so much in my life. Soon we were all laughing together. They showed not the slightest fear of or animosity towards us.

'We were the first white men they had seen and it was as if we were space aliens coming in a literal spaceship from outer space.

'They knew how big the world was  they could climb to a treetop and see "the world's end"  the horizon  and we were from beyond that. Yet they were friendly and gracious with us, laughing and smiling.

'We had a really happy time!'

Dr Wheeler's photographs reflect this good feeling, with the Auca men and women smiling at the camera.

Dr Wheeler says of the tribespeople he met: 'They were completely Stone Age in their lifestyle with no outside implements of any kind'

Dr Wheeler (left) with helicopter pilot Tony Stuart. The two met by chance near the Peru border and Tony revealed that he'd seen an isolated tribal hut after poor weather forced him off-course. The pair then decided to investigate and land

One woman appears with a baby resting on her breast in a sling, and both sexes have long dark hair with fringes or bangs.

Dr Wheeler surmised that the hair was probably cut using flint, 'but most likely is natural obsidian glass found in stream beds, which can be very sharp'.

The men and women also have stretched ears, with large wooden discs lodged in their ear lobes as 'a sign of beauty'.

In total, Dr Wheeler says there were three mothers, three babies, a grandmother, one adult male and an older man who seemed to be living at the camp.

One image shows the main Auca hut where the group lived with a sloped roof constructed out of palm leaves.

The biggest impression he had was how they could all 'communicate with gestures and facial expressions as fellow human beings'.

He muses: 'Such gestures and expressions have to be hardwired into all of us genetically as this was a true first contact.'

The old grandma curled up a magazine we gave her like it was something precious. They had never seen paper before, much less with photos and colours on it

To further the good feeling, Dr Wheeler and Tony gave the Aucas some rope, an old axe and a small machete.

He said they were 'amazed' as they had never seen metal before.

They were equally fascinated by a box of matches and as he lit a match, 'they became really excited' to see fire at his fingertips.

Another hit was a magazine the men happened to have with them in the helicopter cockpit.

Dr Wheeler remembers: 'The old grandma curled it up like it was something precious. They had never seen paper before, much less with photos and colours on it.'

Without asking, in exchange for their gifts, the Aucas gave Tony a hand stone axe and Dr Wheeler a blowgun.

The only apparel the Aucas had was cloth made from pounded plant fibres - 'it sure wasn't machine clothing' - that the mothers used to carry their babies.

One mother let the men see her baby, another covered hers up, but the remainder of the tribespeople were 'stark naked' bar some beads around their necks and headbands in their hair.

Dr Wheeler and Tony spent around an hour with the Aucas before taking off.

He added: 'We knew there was danger, but that's why we only stayed a short time and didn't push our luck!'

They later confirmed that they were the first to come into contact with this particular Auca settlement.

Dr Wheeler says: 'The Auca territory is very big, well over a thousand square miles.' Pictured here is the jungle landscape at the time of the adventurer's visit

Dr Wheeler, pictured in the Himalayas, now lives in Portugal. He is the founder of Wheeler Expeditions, which offers expedition-style trips around the world, inspired by his own far-flung adventures

Dr Wheeler explains: 'Auca territory is very big, well over a thousand square miles.

'The missionaries were far in the western part. We were in a completely isolated area in the eastern part near the border with Peru.

'I later talked with missionaries in Limoncocha nature reserve and they told me they had never been in that part of Auca territory, didn't know anyone who had or how they would get there without a helicopter, which they didn't have.'

Asked if he has ever returned to this remote part of the world, Dr Wheeler concludes from his home in Portugal: 'I have never been back nor had Tony. He passed on a few years ago and I am in touch with his widow.

'This was an experience we will never ever forget. They were complete Stone Age with no outside implements of any kind.

'I have no idea what happened to them. Missionaries in the western part of Auca territory have "civilised" them  but I hope they are among those who retreated far away and still remain uncontacted.

'There are other such peoples  most well-known are those on North Sentinel Island in the Andaman Islands of the Indian Ocean. I hope we leave them alone to be as they always have been. They do not need us.'

Dr Wheeler went on to found Wheeler Expeditions, which offers expedition-style trips around the world, inspired by his own far-flung adventures.
The Oklahoma State Medical Association has asked Gov. Kevin Stitt to put more effort into convincing people to wear masks in public.

Too many people are still taking an its not my problem approach to the virus, Dr. George Monks, president of the OSMA, said in a statement released Thursday.

In an email, the associations Jennifer Dennis-Smith said doctors have been disappointed by the administrations attitude about masks. It wants Stitt and the state Health Department to strongly encourage mask-wearing in public, especially in view of the sharp rise in cases during recent weeks.

Stitts office responded Friday by saying the governor and Health Commissioner Lance Frye are continuing to evaluate the data in Oklahoma and will be announcing additional measures in the coming days that elevate critical public health guidance without rolling back the reopening of our economy.

This is everyones problem, Monks said in the written statement. As we face this crucial tipping point, Oklahomans must decide if were going to move forward in the safest way possible or are we going to declare that the lives of those who have died from this disease are just not as important as our vanity.
The mayor of Philadelphia and the city's police department have apologized to the public and announced they will ban the use of tear gas after cops were seen spraying dozens of peaceful protesters trapped on a highway during a demonstration earlier this month.

Mayor Jim Kenney spoke out against the city's response to the June 1 protest after video footage emerged showing law enforcement use gas, bean bags and pepper spray to disperse crowds on the Interstate 676.

'Members of the department made decisions on use-of-force that were completely unacceptable,' he said in a news conference on Thursday.

Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw also admitted that initial statements supporting officers' actions were 'inaccurate.'

'I have now personally viewed video evidence that largely contradicts the material portions of those statements,' she said.

Video footage emerged showing law enforcement use gas, bean bags and pepper spray to disperse crowds on the Interstate 676 on June 1

Protesters became trapped by SWAT team officers on both sides, many unable to retreat to an on-ramp, clambering to get up a steep embankment then over a concrete wall and fence

Mayor Jim Kenney said he 'never believed tear gas was an effective tool', on Thursday

Outlaw issued an immediate moratorium on the use of tear gas in most situations including to disperse crowds of non-violent people.

At least one high ranking commander took a voluntary demotion and a member of the city's SWAT team who was filmed spraying protesters with pepper spray will be notified Friday that he is suspended with the intent to dismiss him, she said.

The apologies and personnel decisions came as The New York Times released a reconstructed video of the highway confrontation.

Footage showed cops firing tear gas at dozens of protesters after they became trapped by SWAT team officers on both sides, many unable to retreat to an on-ramp, clambering to get up a steep embankment then over a concrete wall and fence.

Mayor Kenney said he regretted giving the okay the day before the highway incident to use tear gas to disperse people in a much more violent protest in West Philadelphia, where stores had been broken into and a line of police cars was vandalized.

'In that moment of decision on Sunday, May 31, I ignored what my instincts told me,' he said, stressing his regret.

Police officers throw and shoot tear gas into a group of protesters after a march through Center City on June 1

Police Commissioner Outlaw on Thursday issued an immediate moratorium on the use of tear gas in most situations including to disperse crowds of non-violent people

'I have never believed tear gas was an effective tool. When I've seen other cities use it in protests. It always seemed to me to make situations worse. And it has.'

The footage has been held up by advocates of police reform as examples of what they say has been a militarized police response to protests against police brutality after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Deputy Commissioner of Special Operations Dennis Wilson said he had not notified or sought approval from Outlaw to deploy tear gas or other 'less than lethal' weapons during the interaction with protesters on the interstate.

He said he was voluntarily taking a demotion effective immediately in response.

Both Outlaw and Kenney declined to speculate about whether previous reports given as part of a justification for the use of tear gas that a state trooper had been trapped in his car as protesters vandalized and rocked it back and forth, or that protesters were throwing projectiles at officers were true, saying the investigation is ongoing.

Outlaw also admitted that initial statements supporting officers' actions were 'inaccurate.'

The Times' video showed dashboard camera footage from the Pennsylvania State Police of an empty vehicle being vandalized.

A previous statement from a state police spokesman confirmed that a state trooper had been on the highway to respond to the protesters and that a car was vandalized.

A message from The Associated Press asking to clarify whether the trooper had left his car prior to the vandalism was left with state police.

District Attorney Larry Krasner filed aggravated assault charges earlier this month against officer Joseph Bologna who was filmed beating a protester with a retractable baton.

The protester needed 10 staples and 10 stitches to close the wound and was arrested for assaulting an officer, though Krasner declined that charge against the protester.
It had been a long quarantine for Megan Engles and her family, and they desperately needed a reason to celebrate. So when their dog Linus birthday arrived, Engles, who lives in Kansas City, Missouri, did what she would do for any other special occasion: She headed to her local Costco to pick up a sheet cake. But there were none to be found.

Costcos half-sheet cakes, rectangular creations beloved by shoppers for their affordability and freshness, have long been a staple at birthday parties, graduations and other large events. But like handshakes and crowded bars, the cakes may have become another casualty of the coronavirus.

Half-sheet cakes are not being sold at any location in the U.S., and the company has no immediate plans to bring them back, Costco said in a statement Thursday. The bakeries instead will focus on round, 10-inch cakes that seem to be resonating with our members, the statement said.

While Costco would not elaborate on the specific reason for discontinuing sales of the half-sheet cakes, the company indicated in a response to several customer comments on Facebook that it was related to the coronavirus pandemic. To help limit personal contact and create more space for social distancing, Costco has reduced service in some departments, the company wrote. At this time, we are not making sheet cakes for special order.

More for you Costco continuing with land acquisition in Midland

Costco sheet cakes have played a role in most of Engles family events, from her grandmothers 100th birthday party to anniversary celebrations.

Theyre delicious, Engles said. I dont know if theyre fresh or if Costco uses superior ingredients, but theyre delicious.

The frosting on the grocery store cake she settled for on Linus birthday tasted waxy, and the cake was more expensive, she said.

While Engles realizes that under coronavirus protocol, there are few, if any, large-scale gatherings happening that would require a large cake, she said she thought customers should have the choice to buy one  even if that means having leftovers to freeze. Costcos half-sheet cakes, which were advertised as serving 48 people, cost less than $20, customers said. Two cake flavors were offered: white, filled with 2 pounds of vanilla cheesecake mousse and topped with white buttercream frosting; and chocolate, filled with 2 pounds of chocolate mousse and iced with chocolate buttercream. Customers could choose from a variety of designs, including flowers, lattice hearts or a dinosaur.

The company announced in a video on Facebook last month that it was discontinuing its half-sheet cakes, prompting an online outcry from customers. Several commenters said the sheet cakes were the only reason they had splurged on a Costco membership. One customer said she had served the cake at her wedding and had bought it every year for her anniversary.

When Shala Reed, of Yorkville, Illinois, became a Costco member, her first purchase was a chocolate sheet cake that read Congrats on your new Costco card. She said she had bought a sheet cake every month since.

Reed vowed to flood Costcos suggestion box until the company brings them back.

Jessica Luke, of Jeffersonton, Virginia, said she had purchased sheet cakes at least three times a year. The last ones she bought were for her sons 5th birthday last year. One was a vanilla cake decorated with an American flag, the other a chocolate cake decorated with a red, white and blue unicorn.

We have been members of Costco for over a decade and purchased those cakes for every excuse we could, Luke said. The cakes have a filling that is rich and sweet and keeps the cake moist.

This isnt the first time Costco shoppers have gone to battle for a food item. Customers expressed similar dissatisfaction when the company announced it would no longer sell Polish hot dogs at the food court. (The hot dogs have not returned.)

As for the future of the half-sheet, some customers are holding out hope that the company will reinstate it when large gatherings are allowed.

Cakes are at the very center of celebrations, Engles said. Entire events are even centered around the cutting of the cake. Being able to have them in this time helps create joy and still allows for celebration in a time that some people may feel there isnt a lot to celebrate.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday (June 26) held a meeting with MLAs, MLCs and MPs of all parties from Bengaluru to discuss measures to contain the spread of coronavirus in the city, which of late witnessed a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.

The Chief Minister assured that he would consider the suggestions given by all MLAs and MPs and take all efforts to control the spread of coronavirus in the city. It was assured by all that they would cooperate with the government in handling the COVID-19 situation.

The Karnataka government said it wants to carry on the developmental activities and COVID-19 management hand-in-hand without extending lockdown. Notably, Bengaluru till Thursday evening had 1207 active cases.

The state government is taking all necessary preparations considering the surge in the cases everyday. Private hospitals have also been identified and an order has been issued to reserve about 50 % beds.

Highlights of the meeting:

1. It was suggested to appoint a nodal officer for each Assembly constituency for handling the COVID-19 situation. The Chief Minister said that action has already been taken in this regard.

2. The meeting was also informed that throat swab testing facility will be set up at every assembly constituency.

3. Separate ambulance facility to transport dead bodies of COVID-19 patients would be enhanced.

4. It was suggested to make use of huge marriage halls in the outskirts of Bengaluru City to quarantine asymptomatic persons. It was informed that action in this regard has already been taken and hotels have also been identified. The Chief Minister directed the officers concerned to monitor the treatment given by the private hospitals to COVID patients.

5. The meeting was informed that distribution of Ayurvedic medicines to increase the immunity levels as a precautionary measure would be reviewed.

6. The state government also stated that it has given priority for the safety of corona warriors.

7. The meeting also decided to give greater impetus to create awareness regarding precautionary measures amongst the general public.

8. The Chief Minister asked the legislators to visit hospitals in their constituency to examine the facilities there like food, beds and other things and bring it to the notice of the government if there are issues.

Prior to the meeting, Yediyurappa had asserted that there will not be any lockdown in the city and said improving the economic situation of the state was also equally important.
At a time when residents were denied even the right to vote for their own mayor  who was federally appointed  President Lyndon B. Johnson advocated unsuccessfully for home rule, saying: Remember, when people feel mistreated and they feel injustices, and when they have to move from their homes and they have no jobs, and they have no vote, and they have no voice  well, there is not one place to go if you cant go up. The District of Columbia Home Rule Act did not pass until nearly a year after Johnsons death in 1973.
Cabinet of Ministers greenlights launch of e-residency in Ukraine

12:20, 26.06.20 832

Ukraine may become a powerful Eastern European IT hub.
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President Donald Trump compared some U.S. cities to Afghanistan as he blasted protesters attempting to pull down statues as 'troublemakers' and 'anarchists'.

Speaking in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity on Thursday night, the president claimed that living in cites like Chicago, Detroit, Oakland and Baltimore was 'like living in hell' as he called for stop and frisk tactics to be used to cut down crime.

'Its not a racist statement,' Trump said. 'Black people come up to me and say "thank you". They want help.'

Trump placed the blame with 'Democrat-run' cities where protests against racial injustice are ongoing, saying they 'don't love our country' and are 'taking over'.

'Democrats think its wonderful, theyre destroying out country,' he said of the unrest.

President Donald Trump blasted Seattle officials in an interview with Fox on Thursday say that he will intervene in the city's autonomous protest zone if they don't as he called for stop and frisk to be used in cities such as Chicago and Detroit

The president threatened to take action to shut down an autonomous protest zone in Seattle, pictured

'Chicago is an example, it is worse than Afghanistan', Trump told Hannity. Chicago Teachers Union members march to call for the Chicago Board of Education to vote to end a contract between with the Chicago Police Department

The Police precinct CHOP surrounds remains mobbed with tents under a covering of graffiti and banners while the cities Mayor facing mounting pressure to 'clear out' the area, including threats from President Trump Thursday he will intervene

President Trump has continued his criticism of the CHOP the downtown area of Seattle taken over by protesters in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. Pictured is a graffiti covered street sign naming it George Floyd Way

Trump took part in the town hall with Fox News in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he was visiting Fincantieri Marinette Marine, a Marinette shipyard, to announce a new contract with the military that he says could create up to 6,000 jobs in the area.

The president spoke at length about his response to the coronavirus and Black Lives Matter protests as well as discussing John Bolton, Roger Stone and his own run ins with the press.

He said that 'Chicago is an example, it is worse than Afghanistan' as Hannity pushed the president to speak about the recent calls for law and order and the uptick in violence in Chicago, which on Memorial Day weekend left 10 dead and 39 wounded.

Trump added that Chicago, as well as cities such as Detroit, Oakland and Baltimore are 'worse' than Honduras and Guatemala, who he then praised for working with the U.S. on protecting the border.

WHY DID TRUMP COMPARE CHICAGO TO AFGHANISTAN? President Trump said in a Fox News interview Thursday that Chicago 'is worse than Afghanistan' The city has been targeted in recent weeks after an uptick in violent deaths On May 31, there were murders in one day making it the deadliest day in the city in 60 years Last weekend was an especially violent one for the country's third largest city Over Memorial Day weekend, Chicago officials revealed there had been 10 deaths and at least 39 injured in shootings There have been 191 deaths so far this year as the result of violence Yet the murder rate in Chicago has been on the decline over the last number of years According to Fox News, there were 490 murders in 2019  a 13 percent drop from the 564 in 2018 and a 35 percent drop since the 756 in 2016 Advertisement

Chicago, in particular, has been a target for the president recently after it had its most deadly day in 60 years on May 31, with 18 murders in one day.

It also had the most deadly Memorial Day weekend in years and 191 deaths have been reported in the city so far this year as the result of violence, according to Fox News.

Stop and frisk is needed in those cities, the president claimed, citing the work of his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani while he was New York City Mayor.

'Its very controversial to stay, stop and frisk,' Trump said. 'You take guns away... Rudy Giuliani was a great mayor. He did it in New York.'

Despite Trump's push for greater action, Chicago has seen a declining murder rate in recent years without stop and frisk.

There were 490 murders in 2019  a 13 percent drop from the 564 in 2018 and a 35 percent drop since the 756 in 2016.

Detroit, also mentioned by the president, has seen a 30 percent increase in homicides as of June 18 with 129 killings, however, and Baltimore has also seen its murder rate rise this year.

Continuing on the topic of the recent civil unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, Trump threatened to intervene in Seattle if authorities did not work to dismantle the autonomous protest zone that has been established there.

'If they don't do something with Seattle, we're going to do that - we're going to go in there,' Trump told host Hannity.

'Because what's happening, they're taking over American cities. In all cases, its Democrats. Theyre Democrat-run, in all cases.'

During Hannity's show, the president was heard twice stating that demonstrators who try to topple statues or to tear them down should be hit with a jail sentence of up to ten years, claiming that more than 100 people have been arrested so far.

'If they want to knock down a statue, they get ten years,' he stated, citing the Monuments Act.

His threats came after police clashed with protesters in Washington D.C. Monday night as a demonstration attempted to tear down a statue of President Andrew Jackson close to the White House.

Another group of protesters had vowed to bring down a statue of Abraham Lincoln known as the Emancipation Memorial on Thursday night.

'Andrew Jackson was a very good President, a very good general,' Trump said of the attempts to topple the statue Monday.

President Trump spoke to Fox host Sean Hannity in a town hall in Wisconsin on Thursday

Workers remove part of the cannon at the base of the equestrian statue of President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square Park in front of the White House on Wednesday. Trump criticized the protesters who had attempted to take down the statue

The CHOP in the downtown area of Seattle taken over by protesters in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. The area itself is a mess of homeless people and a hard core of remaining protesters who were threatened with removal by Trump

Protesters march through the area known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) in Seattle on Wednesday

Protesters block Interstate 5 after marching from the area known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) on Wednesday. The president has said he will take action to dismantle the zone if city officials don't act

'And Lincoln and thats the emancipation proclamation. I think they have someone who wasnt freed getting up and being freed by Lincoln. I can see controversy but there's also beauty there ... it was paid for by slaves.'

Trump said that he was open to taking things down 'but they ought to go through a process legally'.

'These are rioters and a lot of bad people involve. Theyd like to get [to statues of] Jesus,' he added.

'These have nothing to do with any event but they are troublemakers and anarchists and they want to upset our country.'

JOE BIDEN & DEMOCRATS

'Joe Biden would have that be the whole country,' Trump added of Seattle's autonomous zone and the toppling of status in other cities around the country.

'Its so crazy what is happening. Heres a guy that doesnt talk. Nobody hears him. When he talks, he cant put two sentences together. I dont want to be nice or un-nice, OK? But I mean, the man cant speak,' Trump said.

When asked by an audience member about what measures Trump would take to cut out any further unrest, he used it again to hit out at Biden, stating that if elected the former Vice President would be taken over by the 'radical left'.

'Hes shot,' Trump said. 'The radical left is going to take him over.'

He cited the New York primary results as an example, where he warned that the potential defeat of longtime Rep. Eliot Engel is a sign of the growing strength of the 'radical fringe' in the Democratic Party.

He urged Republicans that they had to get tough to beat the 'real lefties' that are emerging, claiming there were no Democratic candidates left at center left and that 'its a disgrace whats happened to our country'.

'They are terrorists in a sense,' Trump said, adding that Republicans had to understand they are 'fighting something thats very dangerous'.

'Hes a candidate that will destroy this county,' the president said when later asked about how many times he is willing to debate Biden before November, reiterating his allegations that the former Vice President will be controlled by a 'fringed group of lunatics'.

In a tour of a Wisconsin factory also filmed with Hannity on Thursday, Trump was asked about an inaccurate statement made by Biden earlier in the day in which he claimed more than 120million have died from coronavirus in the United States.

'Thats a third of our population,' Trump said of the error.

'This is serious business. We cant have something like that, thats a serious error.

US President Donald Trump, flanked by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross (L) and Assistant to the President for Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro (R), tours Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin, on Thursday

President Trump criticized his rival Joe Biden, pictured here on Thursday, for an error on the number of coronavirus deaths

Trump warned that the apparent defeat of Eliot Engel in the New York primary on Tuesday was concerning and is a sign of the growing strength of the 'radical fringe' in the Democratic Party that he believes would control Joe Biden

'That's not a slip up, its a serious error. Thats not a permissible type of error because there's something going on.

'Were talking about the presidency of the United States.'

Later in his Hannity interview, he took a swipe at the whole Democratic party, claiming that they are the hardest people he has ever had to work with and are are 'tougher' to work with than China, Russia and even North Korea.

'You don't know what I have to go through with these people,' he said of the rival party, before recalling how a friend once asked him what was the most difficult nation in the world to work with.

'Is it China? Is it possibly Russia? Or is it North Korea? I said "no, the toughest nation to deal with are the Democrats in the USA",' he said

'They're far more unreasonable and actually a little crazy.'

He also claimed that the Democratic Party have done nothing to promote 'law and order' in the country and that Biden 'did virtually nothing' while he was Vice President.

'I call him corrupt,' he continued.

MUELLER REPORT & IMPEACHMENT

Later, Trump ripped into Democrats on the Hill claiming that they all took part in a 'scam' to get him and that he was the 'most innocent man in the history of the United States'.

'We have [Charles] Schumer and [Nancy] Pelosi and people that are bad people that I honestly believe dont love our country. What they do to our country and what theyve done with this scam, the whole scam -- [Michae] Flynn is a piece of it. The Mueller scam,' he said.

'Now it came out that Mueller should have announced in the first week that we did nothing wrong. They had evidence in the first few days that there was no collusion with Russia. There was nothing to do with Russia. They knew that immediately.

'What theyve put this country through,' he added.

'Jeff Session was disaster, he let it happen. Unknowingly, because hes not very smart.'

'All these guys were after me  spent million of dollars over two years and got nothing on me. A friend said to me you have to be the most perfect person.

'They were wrong on Ukraine,' Trump said, before praising the Republican party for supporting him. 'It was a pure hoax. They impeached a duly elected president over a perfect conversation.

'In fairness, the Republican party was great.

'They were steadfast because they know it was a hoax. It was a party line. Nothing like this ever happened before.'

Hannity questioned the president about Flynn and Roger Stone again later in the town hall when Trump called Flynn a 'smart guy' and said that Stone's life had been 'destroyed'.

He compared Stone to the protesters tearing down statues asking: 'These guys are tearing down statues, hurting police and nothing happens to them and they want him to do nine years in jail?'

CORONAVIRUS

The president also defended his response to the coronavirus pandemic, stating that his border wall with Mexico is working to stop further spread and doubling down once again on branding it the China plague.

The Democrats want to open borders, even if you just look at the virus that were talking about, look at San Diego where we built that wall - it would be infecting lives like nobodys ever seen before.

Now he claimed the U.S. is 'doing a number on China' but they were 'going to take over our country under Obama and Biden.

Trump said that the United States has one of the best coronavirus mortality rates in the world, despite it being the country with the highest death toll, and said that it was down to a high level of testing.

At one point, Trump referred to the coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn that came as a result of lockdowns as an 'artificial problem' .

'We had to turn off the country to save millions of lives and now were switched back on and coming back strongly,' he said.

US President Donald Trump speaks to guests during a visit to the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard on Thursday

Trump made the comments during a tour of the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard, the recent winner of a $5 billion federal contract to building up to 10 new guided missile frigates, which the president says will create thousands of jobs

Trump also hits out at his former National Security Advisor John Bolton, pictured with Trump in June 2018

JOHN BOLTON

During the prerecorded interview, Trump also hits out at his former National Security Advisor John Bolton ahead of his publication of his tell-all memoir 'The Room Where It Happened'.

'He didn't do a good job,' Trump said of Bolton.

'He wasn't smart. He wasn't sharp.

'He's the only man I think I ever met - I knew him for a year - I don't think I ever saw him smile once. I said to him, "John, do you ever smile?" And it tells you something about somebody,' the president added.

The president claimed, however, that he would always get what he wanted if he brought Bolton to a meeting as people believed he was 'crazy' and loved bombing.

'People think he's crazy because all he wants to do is bomb people, he'll fight everybody. "Let's fight Russia, let's fight China, let's take them on." He's crazy.

'When I walked into a room with him, I knew that when they saw Bolton they always gave me what I wanted because they said "Trump's gonna drop bombs on me because he has this maniac with him." So in a way he helped me in terms of a negotation.'

He said that he stopped listening to Bolton very early into his short tenure in the White House administration as he said the former National Security Advisor claimed it was still a good idea for the U.S. to have invaded Iraq.

The president's criticism comes after just last week, a court declined to stop the release of a book by Bolton.

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton's new book about the Trump White House 'The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir'

He has railed against Bolton since excerpts leaked from his memoir, 'The Room Where It Happened,' that painted Trump as incapable of handling foreign relations and only concerned with his re-election.

Trump has demanded the money his former national security adviser makes from his memoir be seized and calling on him to be jailed for publishing classified information.

The White House tried to block Bolton's book from being released, claiming it contained classified information, but a judge on Saturday rejected the Justice Department's emergency request to block its publication, citing publisher Simon & Schuster's argument that more than 200,000 copies of the memoir had already shipped for sale.

The judge did say that Bolton 'likely jeopardized national security' and exposed himself to criminal prosecution for events he revealed in his book.

Bolton, a longtime diplomat, denies his book contains classified information and noted it was cleared by a career staffer in the White House ahead of publication.

MAIL-IN VOTING

Trump reiterated claims that mail-in voting could lead to voter fraud if it is allowed on-mass for the November election.

The president claimed that an absentee ballot, which he casts himself, is different but that mail-in voting left the election open to interference from China, in particular.

'In California, they are sending out millions and millions of ballots but is the postman going to hand them out?' he asked'

'Foreign countries, especially China, are they going to print millions of ballots and hand them in.

'We went through WW1 and we voted, we went through WWII and we voted and now we have a virus and by that time [November] it would be less and less [coronavirus spread].'

Trump's previous claims that mail-in voting could result in widespread fraud have proven to be unfounded, resulting in Twitter placing a disclaimer on one of his tweets about the issue and directing users to a fact check on claim.

The fact check angered Trump who has continued to repeat the claim online.

Trump had visited the key battleground of Wisconsin on Thursday to showcase his record as a job creator despite enormous economic headwinds and sky-high unemployment numbers.

Trump boasted of his 'aptitude for manufacturing' and again offered a rosy prediction that the coronavirus-battered economy is set to turn a corner even as the U.S. marked its 14th straight week with more than a million workers making unemployment claims.

Trump made the comments during a tour of the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard, the recent winner of a $5 billion federal contract to building up to 10 new guided missile frigates.

The Marine shipyard is a United States subsidiary of Italian enterprise Fincantieri, one of the worlds largest shipbuilders.

Workers listen as US President Donald Trump speaks during a visit to the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard on Thursday

President Donald Trump speaks as he participates in a tour of Fincantieri Marinette Marine where he also held a town hall

President Donald Trump speaks during a visit to Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin on Thursday

Wisconsin, a state he narrowly won in 2016, is expected to be one of the most hotly contested battlegrounds as Trump looks toward his reelection effort.

'I understand manufacturing,' Trump said during an address to the shipyard employees. 'Remember, manufacturing was never going to come back. Well, it did come back. It came back big.'

Trump's standing in Wisconsin appears to be suffering from the extraordinary period of turmoil, and his visit was part of a concerted effort to shore up support in friendlier areas that can make or break his reelection chances.

The trip came days after he dispatched Vice President Mike Pence to the conservative Milwaukee suburbs.

The two parts of Wisconsin that Trump targeted this week - suburban Milwaukee and the Green Bay media market in northeast Wisconsin - are areas where he needs to run up a big vote advantage in November.

Trump noted that he has pushed for a 355-ship Navy fleet by the end of his first term, though left unsaid is that the Navy is on track to have have just over 300 ships by 2025.

Still, Trump knocked Democrats as doing too little for the military.

'I will tell you that Democrats dont like approving money for the military for whatever reason,' Trump said.

When answering a question about his greatest achievement as president during the Fox town hall, Trump said that it was either 'rebuilding of our military and the taking care of our vets'.

'All my life, Ive seen these horror stories but you don't see that anymore,' he stated. 'We have a 91 percent approval with the VA.'

Some polls have suggested Trump has ground to make up in Wisconsin.

A Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday showed Democrat Joe Biden with an 8 percentage point lead over Trump.

Trump trailed Democrat Hillary Clinton in nearly every poll conducted in Wisconsin in 2016 - often by similar margins - before he won the state by fewer than 23,000 votes.
The unveiling of a beautifully painted seven-metre long waka at the Historic Village on Saturday, June 27, marks the beginning of a creative response designed to form stronger ties between Taurangas diverse cultural communities.

Many of us were deeply affected by the shootings in Christchurch last year and wanted to do something that celebrated our diverse cultural communities that make New Zealand/Aotearoa what it is, says Tauranga Sunrise Rotary Club president Warren Scobie.

The club held a meeting soon after the terrorist attack to discuss a response that was positive, practical and would build community. Members talked about how the Welcome Wall in Paris was a gathering place where people could be together and support each other. Australia also has a Welcome Wall.

A small group of Rotarians set out to explore creating a place for Tauranga that could be that gathering place, to give Tauranga a beating heart where people could see and celebrate their own culture and those of others.

After discussion with Taurangas community development officer Haidee Kalirai and Simone Anderson from The Incubator, the concept of how people had journeyed historically to arrive in Tauranga, from early Maori to the present day formed. The project developed around a carved and painted waka which conveys how we all journey through time, building and evolving our community, and that together we can do that better if we know where we all come from and where we would like to go.

The concept of This is us - he waka eke noa, - people pulling together, also coincidentally matches Rotarys theme for this year of Rotary connects the world, with Matariki presenting a timely opportunity to launch the project.

Matariki was traditionally a time that brought communities together to share and to learn from each other which is our hope for This is Us  he waka eke noa, says Warren.

Following on from the public launch on Saturday, the project will involve a series of workshops to be held in July, where participants will share stories of how they or their ancestors came to New Zealand. They will hear about the history and cultural significance of the wetlands opposite the Historic Village and share their vision for Tauranga. Each participant is invited to decorate a hoe - waka paddle, which will be displayed at The Incubator in late August.

Art is a universal language that can help bring people together, says Warren. This is Us is more than a creative project and art exhibition  it is about going on a journey that encourages storytelling, connection and unity.

Matariki is the perfect time for us to launch this project. It is an opportunity to reflect and celebrate our history and to make plans for the new layers of our future. The whakatauki Ka mua, ka muri means that we should look to the past to inform our future and is the essence of what this is about.

The waka, which will remain on display at The Historic Village during the project, was designed by Quinton Bidois and painted by Michelle Estall, both local artists.

Warren says that while the culmination of the project would be the August art exhibition, the purpose was to encourage connection, understanding and unity through the sharing of stories about the peopling of the Bay of Plenty - beginning with the stories of earliest Maori settlers through to hearing from some of our newest immigrants.

The waka represents not only the first journey over water by Kupe, but a journey that each immigrant has made when moving to New Zealand, says Warren.

This is Us  he waka eke noa additionally provides a way for people to reconnect after the isolation caused by COVID-19. Collecting stories, knowing others and working together also resonates with peoples desire to counter racism and misunderstandings based on mistrust.

The launch of This is Us  he waka eke noa will be held at 10.30am on Saturday, June 27, at Forresters Hall Green at the Historic Village, 17th Ave.

Anyone wanting to register for the workshops can do so at www.theincubator.co.nz/this-is-us
An artist's impression of the formation of quasar Poniua`ena, starting with a seed black hole, 100 million years after the Big Bang. Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Marenfeld

Astronomers have discovered the second-most distant quasar ever found using three Maunakea Observatories in Hawai'i: W. M. Keck Observatory, the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF's NOIRLab, and the University of Hawai'i-owned United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT).

It is the first quasar to receive an indigenous Hawaiian name, Poniua`ena, which means "unseen spinning source of creation, surrounded with brilliance" in the Hawaiian language.

Poniua`ena is only the second quasar yet detected at a distance calculated at a cosmological redshift greater than 7.5 and it hosts a black hole twice as large as the other quasar known in the same era. The existence of these massive black holes at such early times challenges current theories of how supermassive black holes formed and grew in the young universe.

The research has been accepted in the Astrophysical Journal Letters and is available in preprint format on arXiv.org.

Quasars are the most energetic objects in the universe powered by their supermassive black holes and since their discovery, astronomers have been keen to determine when they first appeared in our cosmic history. By systematically searching for these rare objects in wide-area sky surveys, astronomers discovered the most distant quasar (named J1342+0928) in 2018 and now the second-most distant, Poniua`ena (or J1007+2115, at redshift 7.515). The light seen from Poniua`ena traveled through space for over 13 billion years since leaving the quasar just 700 million years after the Big Bang.

Spectroscopic observations from Keck Observatory and Gemini Observatory show the supermassive black hole powering Poniua`ena is 1.5 billion times more massive than our Sun.

Poniua`ena is the most distant object known in the universe hosting a black hole exceeding one billion solar masses," said Jinyi Yang, a postdoctoral research associate at the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona and lead author of the study.

For a black hole of this size to form this early in the universe, it would need to start as a 10,000 solar mass "seed" black hole about 100 million years after the Big Bang, rather than growing from a much smaller black hole formed by the collapse of a single star.

"How can the universe produce such a massive black hole so early in its history?" said Xiaohui Fan, Regents' professor and associate department head of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona. "This discovery presents the biggest challenge yet for the theory of black hole formation and growth in the early universe."

Current theory holds the birth of stars and galaxies as we know them started during the Epoch of Reionization, beginning about 400 million years after the Big Bang. The growth of the first giant black holes is thought to have occurred during that same era in the universe's history.

The discovery of quasars like Poniua`ena, deep into the reionization epoch, is a big step towards understanding this process of reionization and the formation of early supermassive black holes and massive galaxies. Poniua`ena has placed new and important constraints on the evolution of the matter between galaxies (intergalactic medium) in the reionization epoch.

"Poniua`ena acts like a cosmic lighthouse. As its light travels the long journey towards Earth, its spectrum is altered by diffuse gas in the intergalactic medium which allowed us to pinpoint when the Epoch of Reionization occurred," said co-author Joseph Hennawi, a professor in the Department of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

METHODOLOGY

Yang's team first detected Poniua`ena as a possible quasar after combing through large area surveys such as the UKIRT Hemisphere Survey and data from the University of Hawai'i Institute for Astronomy's Pan-STARRS1 telescope on the Island of Maui.

In 2019, the researchers observed the object using Gemini Observatory's GNIRS instrument as well as Keck Observatory's Near Infrared Echellette Spectrograph (NIRES) to confirm the existence of Poniua`ena.

"The preliminary data from Gemini suggested this was likely to be an important discovery. Our team had observing time scheduled at Keck just a few weeks later, perfectly timed to observe the new quasar using Keck's NIRES spectrograph in order to confirm its extremely high redshift and measure the mass of its black hole," said co-author Aaron Barth, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine.

In honor of its discovery from atop Maunakea, 30 Hawaiian immersion school teachers named the quasar Poniua`ena through the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai'i's A Hua He Inoa program led by renowned Hawaiian language expert Dr. Larry Kimura.

"We recognize there are different ways of knowing the universe," said John O'Meara, chief scientist at Keck Observatory. "Poniua`ena is a wonderful example of interconnectedness between science and culture, with shared appreciation for how different knowledge systems enrich each other."

"I am extremely grateful to be a part of this educational experience - it is a rare learning opportunity," said Kau'i Kaina, a high school Hawaiian immersion teacher from Kahuku, O'ahu who was involved in the naming workshop. "Today it is relevant to apply these cultural values in order to further the well-being of the Hawaiian language beyond ordinary contexts such as in school, but also to ensure the language lives throughout the universe."

ABOUT NIRES

The Near Infrared Echellette Spectrograph (NIRES) is a prism cross-dispersed near-infrared spectrograph built at the California Institute of Technology by a team led by Chief Instrument Scientist Keith Matthews and Prof. Tom Soifer. Commissioned in 2018, NIRES covers a large wavelength range at moderate spectral resolution for use on the Keck II telescope and observes extremely faint red objects found with the Spitzer and WISE infrared space telescopes, as well as brown dwarfs, high-redshift galaxies, and quasars. Support for this technology was generously provided by the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation.

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 Hawai'i 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.



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The Labour TD for Cork East, Deputy Sean Sherlock, has once again expressed his concern over the ongoing delay in securing planning permission for the refurbishment of the fire-damaged Patrician Academy in Mallow.

Deputy Sherlock was commenting after it emerged the Department of Education has responded to a request for further information in relation to the planning application - seven months after the request was made.

The Mallow based TD said he was concerned the delay in responding to the request could result in the August deadline set by Council planners for a ruling on the application being pushed back.

The long-running saga dates back to July 2016, when a blaze ripped through the upper floors of the 'new' extension in the school campus, rendering it unusable and forcing the temporary relocation of students to other sites around the town.

While prefabricated classrooms were subsequently installed on site allowing the students to move back on campus, the delay in sanctioning the refurbishment project at the school caused increasing frustration among the school population and the local community.

In April of last year the Student Council at the school vented their frustration at the delay in a letter to Minister McHugh, also highlighting the poor condition of the temporary classrooms.

"Not one single block has been laid, illustrating the lack-lustre response from your Department," read the letter.

"Do you really thinks that is good enough? If your son was a student in our school, do you think these sub-standard conditions were an acceptable environment to learn in? As a student body we feel the Government, and your department in particular, has neglected our school."

Last September it emerged there was finally some light at the end of the tunnel following the lodging of a planning application with Cork County Council for a major refurbishment plan at the school.

It made provision for the construction of a three-story 3,307 m2 extension, to the existing protected structure, incorporating 11 classrooms and other rooms, to replace the fire-damaged two-storey extension.

It also incorporated various other demolition works and the removal of the pre-fabricated classrooms.

However, last November Council planners wrote to the Department seeking additional information on the application relating to eight particular points.

One of these related to the proposed new building which planners said was "significantly different" to the proposals presented at pre-planning stage adding there were "serious concerns" about its design quality and concerns that its scale would impact negatively on neighbouring homes.

Other issues raised included access to the site, the potential for surface flooding and the "under provision" of car parking spaces.

At the time Deputy Sherlock pulled no punches in his assessment of the situation, launching a stinging broadside at the Government accusing them of deliberately stalling the refurbishment project.

"That there should have been need for a further information request at all must be explained by the department, given that issues of this kind of magnitude would normally be resolved at the pre-planning stage," said Deputy Sherlock.

He said it was his belief that Council planners had been deliberately misled in order to delay the project.

"I believe the outgoing government and the department is stalling this. It's clear to me that the a brake has been put on this project," he said.

Speaking to The Corkman this week Deputy Sherlock said he would continue to monitor the situation closely.

"I understand the Council is still considering its response to the issues raised and I am hoping that they will be sorted in a timely manner. This project is long overdue for completion," he said.

"However, I am also fearful that there could be a further delay in granting planning permission by August if these issues have not been sorted in the meantime. Any further stalling of this process would be completely unacceptable," he added.
Firefighters late Thursday responded to a brush fire that had overtaken several acres in the foothills of Northeast Albuquerque.

Albuquerque Fire Rescue officials said a significant wildfire, estimated at 5 to 6 acres, was burning just behind the 4500 block of Sunset Canyon NE, east of Montgomery and Tramway NE.

An AFR dispatcher did not give any details on the fires containment, possible evacuations or whether any structures were threatened.

The large swath of brush could be seen burning on the side of the foothills, just above several homes in the neighborhood. Dozens of neighbors in the surrounding area gathered in the road to watch.

Ben and Gerrie Glover held hands as they watched the hillside burn from outside their Foothills home. Patches of flame scattered across the shrubs, engulfing and igniting a tree here and there.
Amber Lynn Gilles took a photo of Lenin Gutierrez, an employee at a San Diego Starbucks, and complained on Facebook that he wouldn't serve her since she wasn't wearing a face mask, which San Diego County requires during the pandemic.

Amber Lynn Gilles/Facebook

Lenin Gutierrez was working at the front register of a Starbucks in San Diego on Monday when a woman walked in without a mask.

San Diego County requires people to wear face coverings to curb the spread of the coronavirus, so he asked if the woman, Amber Lynn Gilles, had one.

"She flipped me off, and she said, 'No, I don't need one,' and she started cursing up a storm," he said in a video posted on Facebook.

Gilles, who has since been dubbed a "Karen," then shared a picture of Gutierrez on Facebook and criticized him for not serving her. The post has been shared by tens of thousands of people.

A GoFundMe campaign has raised over $22,000 for Gutierrez, an aspiring dancer.

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More than 2,000 people have shelled out more than $22,000 for a Starbucks employee who on Monday refused to serve a woman who wasn't wearing a face mask at the San Diego location where he works.

The customer, identified as Amber Lynn Gilles, took a photo of the employee, Lenin Gutierrez, and shared it on Facebook, along with a complaint about him. "Next time I will wait for cops and bring a medical exemption," she wrote.

The post had been shared some 47,000 times and amassed over 133,000 comments as of Thursday -- and Gilles had been dubbed a "Karen."

Related video: Experts on how to make effective DIY face masks

Despite the criticism heaped on her, Gilles doubled down. "Masks are stupid and so are the people wearing them," she said in a comment on the post.

San Diego County has required people to wear face masks in public since May 1. The coronavirus primarily spreads via droplets when an infected person coughs, speaks, or sneezes, and research has found that masks help to curb the spread of the disease.

"The coverings help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and are part of our path to reopening San Diego," officials said.

As of Thursday, 196,046 people in California had tested positive for COVID-19 and 5,726 had died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The state's outbreak is now second only to New York's.

Story continues

Cloth masks, homemade face coverings, bandanas, scarves, or neck gaiters are necessary when people in San Diego County are waiting in line, going to a business, using public transit, picking up to-go orders, getting medical help, or working any type of essential job.

Matt Cowan began a GoFundMe campaign to tip Gutierrez for "standing his ground when faced with a Karen in the wild." It's already raised more than $22,000.

Cowan told KGTV, a local ABC affiliate, that donors were "rallying around somebody for doing what they're supposed to do and trying to protect everyone else."

"It just goes to show you there are a lot of good people out there and that outweighs the bad," Cowan said.

Gutierrez said in a video posted on Facebook on Wednesday that it had been "shocking" to see an encounter that lasted only a few minutes "get so big."

He described working the register on Monday and asking Gilles if she had a face mask. She said she didn't, but before he could show her a sheet of paper that described the guidelines Starbucks was following, "she flipped me off, and she said, 'No, I don't need one,' and she started cursing up a storm," he said.

Gutierrez said Gilles stormed out of the shop, only to return to ask for Gutierrez's name and to take a picture of him. She also threatened to call "corporate," he said, before she finally left.

The silver lining has been the unexpected but "amazing" outpouring of support, he said, which will help him pursue his dream of becoming a dancer and sharing the art form with others.

"With this donation that everyone provided with the GoFundMe, I can make these dreams a reality," he said. "I can fuel my passions even better now. So from the bottom of my heart, just thank you so much."

Read the original article on Insider
NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane has been suspended from the party after his properties were raided by federal agents as part of an ASIO investigation into possible Chinese Communist Party influence.

Labor's Sussex Street head office formally suspended Mr Moselmane on Friday, after leader Jodi McKay called the party's general secretary Bob Nanva and urged him to act.

At a press conference earlier this morning, Ms McKay said Mr Moselmane would no longer sit in the party room, adding that his membership was "being suspended as we speak".

"I, in the last hour, have asked the general secretary of the party to begin the process of suspending his membership of the Labor Party. It's the right thing to do," Ms McKay said on Friday morning.
Charleston City Council voted Thursday to require people wear masks in public places beginning July 1.

"It keeps rolling in like waves at the beach," Dr. Robert Ball of the Medical University of South Carolina told council members before their vote.

"One reason has to do with the virus, the other has to do with human behavior. (Requiring masks) is low-hanging fruit," he said.

The majority agreed and voted overwhelmingly to pass the ordinance.

People will be required to don masks in public indoor spaces like grocery stores or restaurants, as well as while interacting with people outdoors and on public or commercial transportation. They will also have to wear them while walking anywhere that's too crowded to keep 6 feet apart.

Exceptions for people who can't safely wear or remove masks are included in the ordinance, as well as for those actively eating, drinking or smoking.

Any unmasked person who ignores a warning about the ordinance is subject to a $50 fine and businesses are responsible for keeping their employees in compliance.

Only council member Harry Griffin opposed the measure, saying residents shouldn't face any more regulations until the city has answered all their concerns about the vandalism on King Street after a protest following George Floyd's killing.

Council member Keith Waring voted "aye" from his truck as he waited for his turn at a drive-thru testing site. He'd come into contact with a person who had tested positive, he told council, and felt fine but was getting swabbed to make sure he didn't pass it on.

The vote comes as Charleston's weekly new case rate led the state with an average of over 164 positive tests each day and especially high rates among downtown residents.

MUSC has eight patients on ventilators, Ball told council, and its ICU is nearing 60 percent capacity. Hospital leaders will have to reevaluate operations if occupancy reaches 80 percent.

"Most of us think the worst is yet to come, month after month after month," Ball said.

Similar ordinances have been passed in Columbia and Greenville and one is under consideration in Mount Pleasant. Attorney General Alan Wilson said Wednesday that local ordinances are legal, even as Gov. Henry McMaster declines to issue statewide mandates.

Goose Creek on Thursday night rejected a similar ordinance.

The city-specific regulations are too piecemeal to quash the statewide spike in infections, state epidemiologist Dr. Laura Bell said Wednesday, but any additional precautions are necessary to stem the pandemic's flow.

Hospital capacity is a priority, the Charleston council agreed, but several members said that businesses have approached them about increased restrictions in hopes of easing the difficulties of operating during a pandemic.

"The whole objective is to get us back to a place where we can be successful," Councilman Mike Seekings said.
New Delhi, June 26 : The Congress government while in power was doling out largesse to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGV) and Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister in 1991 allocated Rs 100 crore over 5 years.

The disclosures are coming to light as the RGF comes under scrutiny following exposes that that the Government of China and China Embassy were donors to the Foundation.

However, reportedly, following Opposition uproar, the funds while allocated from the Budget could not be disbursed to the RGF.

The Budget Speech of 1991-92 by Manmohan Singh, Minister of Finance presented on July 24, 1991 has the detail.

"The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation has been established to perpetuate the memory of the great leader and to promote the ideals and objectives for which he lived and laid down his life," Singh said.

"This Foundation, among other things, will lay particular emphasis on research and action programmes relating to the application of science and technology for development, propagation of literacy, the protection of the environment, the promotion of communal harmony and national integration, the uplift of the under-privileged, women and handicapped persons, administrative reforms and India's role in the global economy," he added.

"As a homage to the late Shri Rajiv Gandhi and in support of the laudable objectives of the Foundation, Government has decided to contribute Rs.100 crores to the Foundation at the rate of Rs.20 crores per annum for a period of five years beginning from the current year," the then Finance Minister said in the Budget speech.

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra launched an attack on the central government allocating Rs 100 crore to RGF led by Sonia Gandhi. Patra said it is an example of Congress corruption and the RGF was formed to collect money.

Patra said that on three occasions, money from PM Relief Fund was diverted to RGF. The money was taken in the form of a shell company.

Patra said that Rameshwar Thakur was the auditor of the RGF. The rule is that the auditor has to be changed in three years but Thakur was not changed. Patra said instead Thakur was rewarded with a Rajya Sabha seat and also appointed as Parliamentary Affairs Minister.

Patra has alleged that the RGF under Sonia Gandhi was formed to collect funds and is an example of Congress corruption.

BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya said in a tweet, "When Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh allocated 100 crore to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. 20 crore per year for 5 years... Former PM, supposedly Mr 'Honest', has been serving the interest of the Gandhis for as long as one can go back to!".

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Zac Efron is returning to TV for his first starring role in 15 years.

He will serve as host of Down to Earth, a travel show focusing on eco-sustainability streaming on Netflix July 10.

In the official trailer, released on Friday, the 32-year-old High School Musical star talks with experts on sustainability and encounters a 'community fart bag.'

Sneak peak: Zac Efron will serve as host of Down to Earth, a travel show focusing on eco-sustainability streaming on Netflix July 10, the trailer was released on Friday

'We are traveling around the world to find new perspectives on some very old problems,' Efron says in voice over.

Adding: 'Food, water and energy are all the main staples for modern life. We're gonna meet some top eco-innovators to see how change is an inside job.'

Wellness expert Darin Olien will join him as he visits France, Puerto Rico, Iceland, London, Costa Rica, Lima, Sardinia, and Iquitos to find healthy and sustainable ways to live.

In the trailer he sees some incredible locations across the world and speaks with experts on the ground in each city working to make change happen.

Solving problems: 'We are traveling around the world to find new perspectives on some very old problems,' Efron says in voice over

Solutions: Adding: 'Food, water and energy are all the main staples for modern life. We're gonna meet some top eco-innovators to see how change is an inside job'

Worldwide: Wellness expert Darin Olien will join him as he visits France, Puerto Rico, Iceland, London, Costa Rica, Lima, Sardinia, and Iquitos to find healthy and sustainable ways to live

'And we're gonna be eating, really, really well,' he says while the trailer shows him making pasta and eating dung-smoked food.

Though the food 'doesn't taste like dung,' according to the host.

'I'm so happy that I'm eating carbs again,' he jokes while making handmade pasta.

In voiceover her continues: 'We need to start rethinking how we consume everything, from our food to our power. Change has to start somewhere. Maybe it's time we all change.'

Intersting taste: 'And we're gonna be eating, really, really well,' he says while the trailer shows him making pasta and eating dung-smoked food

Fresh: Though the food 'doesn't taste like dung,' according to the host

Forage: He is seen with a machete cutting down fruit in a jungle

One of the most noteworthy moments in the trailer is when he encounters a 'community fart bag.'

'[The community fart bag] burns like the Olympic torch,' he says while looking at an open flame, fueled by the gas.

The show is Efron's latest collaboration with Netflix after he starred as Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile.

He is also set to star in another travel documentary series alongside his brother, for streaming service Quibi, Kill the Efrons, later this year, where they will be sent to remote parts of the world.

Experience: In one quick clip he seems to undergo a treatment, laying flat on his back
With the rapid rise in coronavirus cases in several big states in India, over 40 crore people staying in Delhi, Punjab, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh could be screened by July to flatten the curve of the deadly virus. The strategy will involve trained medical teams going house-to-house with infra-red thermometers and pulse oximeters to detect any symptoms linked to COVID-19. Any suspecting patients will undergo testing for coronavirus, according to a report by The Economic Times.

Delhi and Andhra Pradesh will conduct door-to-door screening in the next a few days. Madhya Pradesh will be launching a 15-day 'Kill Corona' campaign from July 1. In MP, there will be a team of about 14,000 experts who will visit 2.1 crore households for screening.

Meanwhile, Punjab's health department has already started a door-to-door campaign to medically screen all residents in the state. And, in Odisha, ASHA and ANM workers have been tasked to conduct door to door health screening. This door to door survey will be conducted from June 16 to July 31.

The daily said roughly 3 crore people in Punjab will be screened by the end of July. The Punjab government will do the survey of people above 30 years of age or people who have co-morbidities. In Delhi, 1.8 crore people will be screened, in Andhra Pradesh 5.4 crore, in Madhya Pradesh 8.5 crore, in Odisha 4.6 crore, and in UP 23 crore by next month.

Also read: After parotas, ready-to-eat popcorn to attract 18% GST, rules Gujarat AAR

Also read: China, Hong Kong customs hold consignments from India amid border tension
SEATTLE  A collection of Seattle businesses, property owners and residents sued the city Wednesday over its tolerance of an occupied protest zone, saying officials have been complicit in depriving them of their rights to their property.

The plaintiffs  including a tattoo parlor, auto repair shop and property management firm  emphasized in the lawsuit that they were not trying to undermine the anti-police-brutality or Black Lives Matter messaging of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest.

Rather, this lawsuit is about the constitutional and other legal rights of plaintiffs  businesses, employees, and residents in and around CHOP  which have been overrun by the city of Seattles unprecedented decision to abandon and close off an entire city neighborhood, leaving it unchecked by the police, unserved by fire and emergency health services, and inaccessible to the public at large, the lawsuit said.

The Seattle City Attorneys Office said it had not yet seen the lawsuit but would review it.

The occupation began June 8 when the Seattle Police Department, following days of intense clashes with demonstrators in the wake of George Floyds killing by Minneapolis police, abandoned its East Precinct building in the densely populated Capitol Hill neighborhood. Protesters moved police barricades to block traffic, and scores camped in a nearby park.

The protest has drawn the scorn of President Donald Trump, who asserted it was being run by anarchists.

A festive atmosphere has prevailed for much of the time since then, with participants painting a large Black Lives Matter mural on the street and volunteers handing out free food. But openly armed sentinels have also kept watch, and the atmosphere has sometimes been more menacing at night. Police said typical response times to emergency calls in the area, which stretched several blocks, had tripled.

Mayor Jenny Durkan has expressed support for the protest, calling it a peaceful expression of our communitys collective grief and their desire to build a better world, and the city has helped it by providing different barricades to better protect participants from vehicles.

But following three shootings in the area on consecutive nights beginning last weekend, Durkan said this week the city would wind down the protest zone, at first by encouraging demonstrators to leave voluntarily, and that police would return to the precinct. But neither she nor Police Chief Carmen Best gave a specific timeline for when that would happen.

Patty Eakes, an attorney for the plaintiffs, separately told Durkan in a letter Wednesday that she wanted the mayors office to provide a timeline by Friday for clearing out the protest and returning police, or the plaintiffs would ask the court for an immediate order that full public access be restored.

City leadership have been on the ground daily having discussions with demonstrators, residents and businesses and trusted community-based, Black-led organizations to determine a path forward that protects the right to peacefully protest and keeps people safe, the mayors office said in a written statement.

In the class-action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, about a dozen businesses, residents and property owners said they had sometimes been threatened for photographing protesters in public areas or for cleaning graffiti off their storefronts. The owner of the auto shop Car Tender said a burglar broke in the night of June 14, started a fire using hand sanitizer as an accelerant, and then attacked his son with a knife when confronted.

The owner and his son managed to put out the fire and detain the burglar, the complaint said, but police never responded to their 911 calls. A large crowd of CHOP participants then came to the scene and forced the owner to release the arsonist, it said.

Other businesses, including the family-run label manufacturing company Richmark Label, said they had been unable to send or receive packages because delivery companies wont go near the protest zone or because access to their loading dock had been blocked by barricades.

Magdalena Sky, the proprietor of Tattoos and Fortune, said in the complaint she is a supporter of Black Lives Matter but that her business was down severely due to the protest. A physical therapist and wine shop also said clients or customers had been afraid to enter the area.

The complaint said that the citys decision to turn over the blocks and a nearby park to the demonstrators deprived them of their property rights without due process and amounted to an illegal gift of public property to the protesters.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages for lost business, property damage and deprivation of their property rights as well as the restoration of full public access.

About the photo: A sign on the street welcomes visitors and a list of demands is posted Wednesday, June 24, 2020, inside the CHOP (Capitol Hill Occupied Protest) zone in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Calhoun Community College in north Alabama said it received concerns over the schools name as a monument of its namesake, former U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun, was removed in South Carolina over Calhouns ties to slavery.

The community college, in Tanner, Alabama, said Thursday it received inquiries regarding the origin of its name. We also want to express that the administration here at the college is taking these concerns very seriously.

John C. Calhoun State Junior College, which consolidated with Tennessee Valley State Technical School in 1947 to form Calhoun Community College, was named after Calhoun.

Calhoun was a slaveholder and espoused pro-slavery views. His ties to slavery led to an effort in South Carolina to remove a statue of Calhoun in downtown Charleston. The monument came down Wednesday night.

The death of George Floyd last month renewed calls to take down monuments to slavery and racial discrimination across the country, including in Alabama, where Confederate monuments in Birmingham and Mobile were taken down this month.

Calhoun Community College said it would forward any messages it receives on the schools name to the Alabama Community College System. The systems chancellor and board of trustee handle policies surrounding the names of colleges in the system, Calhoun Community College said.

Calhoun remains committed to our statement of values which are accountability, collaboration, diversity, equity, innovation and integrity, the school said in a statement. We also take pride in preparing our students for the workforce and ensuring success for every student who walks through our doors.
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Considering the devastating impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on residents of long-term care homes in Niagara and across Ontario, a seniors advocacy group says things will need to improve in the future.

Guardian Angels program founder Betty Miller said governments need a new vision of what long-term care should be to prevent any future outbreaks among residents, rather than continuing to warehouse seniors in huge facilities.

Instead of building more large facilities, she said, the focus should be on investing in more smaller nursing homes and subsidizing the costs so seniors can afford to live within them.

At the same time, they should increase support for home-care services to allow people to stay in their own homes longer.

Instead of putting all this money into the big homes and new institutions  I call them warehouses  lets get that idea of having smaller homes, but also trying to keep people at home, she said.

If we can lobby governments, call our MPPs and write letters, and if the public pushed for this vision of helping home care, keeping people at home, because really disabled seniors are the only demographic that are still in these institutions, and it would be a much better way to push harder to keep people at home. Because there are alternatives.

Meanwhile, Miller said, staff such as personal support workers should no longer be required to travel between long-term care homes to earn an adequate income.

Nursing homes should have good jobs for PSWs  full time, and let them work at one home, she said. I know that theyre not funded properly. The money isnt used where it should be used. But what were thinking is in the future.

Although most Niagara long-term care homes that have experienced severe COVID-19 outbreaks have managed to bring them under control, Miller said Guardian Angels program members remain concerned about the impact a second wave of COVID-19 could have.

Theres also the threat of another, future pandemic.

I realize that this cant happen overnight, but this is what we should be doing, she said. If people can just have a new mindset on what it is to get older and how we treat these people. Its so sad to see them end up this way.

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Nancy Beck's nomination to lead the government's consumer safety agency has run into bipartisan opposition. (Senate Commerce Committee)

A Trump administration toxicologist who relaxed rules on dangerous chemicals linked to serious human health problems has generated bipartisan opposition to her nomination to lead the nations consumer safety agency.

Democrats and consumer groups for months have been fighting to block Nancy Beck's nomination to chair the Consumer Product Safety Commission, saying she was too cozy with the chemical industry. The commission oversees the safety of 15,000 consumer products, including strollers and toaster ovens.

Now, two Republican senators are throwing Beck's nomination into doubt.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said she would not support Beck because the Trump administration official had helped weaken regulations of a class of chemicals called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances  or PFAS. The substances have been linked to cancer, birth defects and immune system disorders. Yet they are still used in a host of products, such as firefighting foam, nonstick pans and furniture.

Known as forever chemicals because they dont break down, PFAS have also contaminated drinking water across the country, as well as the groundwater near military bases and manufacturing plants.

As a top deputy in the Environmental Protection Agency's chemical safety unit, Beck sought to weaken regulation of potentially toxic chemicals, including PFAS. Records obtained by congressional Democrats show that after she took a job at the White House last year, she continued to pressure the agency to include a regulatory loophole that would allow imports of products with PFAS to continue.

Beck "is not the right person to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission," said Capito, whose state is home to an infamous example of PFAS poisoning that inspired the 2019 film "Dark Waters." "The CPSC chairman should be someone who applies the proper balance between protecting public health and the environment and the needs of our economy."

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Capito's decision, announced last week after Beck's nomination hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, poses a serious problem for the Trump administration. The senator serves on the commerce panel, which means the nomination could be deadlocked at a 13-13 vote in committee if all Democrats oppose it, as expected. Though such a tie could still result in Beck's name being sent to the entire chamber for consideration, it's unclear whether the White House can muster enough votes to guarantee that outcome.

Representatives of two Republicans on the committee who are up for reelection  Cory Gardner of Colorado and Daniel Sullivan of Alaska  did not respond to emails seeking comment. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is facing a difficult reelection race, said she would vote against Beck's nomination if it reaches the Senate floor. Republicans control 53 of the Senate's 100 seats.

Beck, 54, has been praised by the White House and industry groups. In announcing her nomination in March, the White House noted she had been a career employee in the Office of Management and Budget under Republican and Democratic presidents, and she had been a public health official for Washington state. She has a doctorate in environmental health from the University of Washington.

"Nancy Beck is a respected career government official and scientist who has served this country honorably in both Republican and Democrat administrations. The United States has some of the strictest health and safety standards in the world, an effort that Nancy will continue in her role at CPSC," an administration official said. The White House, as is typical in pending nominations, declined an interview request on Beck's behalf.

Industry leaders said they believed Beck would do a fair job regulating consumer products because she has a background in science, something generally missing from those overseeing consumer products.

She has worked across government in four administrations, said Graham Owens, director of regulatory policy at the National Assn. of Manufacturers. "She is diligent and thoughtful. She is evidence-based and looks at data first.

Beck has been tapped to replace Republican commissioner Ann Marie Buerkle, who served as acting chair before stepping down last year. Buerkle had been appointed by President Trump to be the commissions permanent chair, but her nomination did not advance in the Senate.

If former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, wins the election, he could name one of the two Democrats on the commission to become its chair with approval of the Senate, but Beck would retain her seat on the commission.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has about 550 employees and a $127-million annual budget, plays a key role in reducing the risk of death and injury from consumer products. It oversees the development of safety standards, product recalls and data collection on potential dangers posed by items as varied as appliances and toys.

Democrats and consumer advocates say that Beck would tilt the commission too far in favor of business and that her prior work indicates she would thwart the regulatory process. They have said that Beck's background in the chemical industry raises serious questions about whether she could fairly regulate it. She served for five years as the senior director of regulatory and science policy at the American Chemical Council, the main trade group representing chemical companies.

Consumer advocates say they are particularly concerned that Beck might stymie efforts to ban the use of flame-retardant chemicals, which have been linked to health disorders, in consumer goods.

Rachel Weintraub, the legislative director and general counsel at the Consumer Federation of America, said Beck dodged too many questions at her confirmation hearing to be trusted with the job. Beck repeatedly told senators that she was not a "decision maker" on toxic chemicals and merely facilitated discussion in the Trump administration about how to address them. She generally avoided discussing the role she played in writing and rewriting regulations.

"There is extensive documentation that shows she was not merely a facilitator," Weintraub said. "If it is true she was not a decision maker, that should not qualify someone to lead an independent agency."

Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the ranking Democrat on the Commerce Committee, said at the hearing that Beck "repeatedly sided with an industry to represent the American Chemistry Council over the safety of American families."

Former EPA officials said they were alarmed from the day Beck joined the agency in 2017. As an executive at the chemical trade group, she had fought the Obama administration's efforts to regulate the industry. Though the administration generally bars officials from working on the same matters they had handled for their former employers for at least two years, Beck was hired under a special provision, usually reserved for technical experts, that freed her from having to recuse herself.

While at the EPA, Beck aggressively sought to rewrite rules drafted by the Obama administration, making changes that aligned with the chemical industry's requests.

"She knew exactly what she was going to do as soon as she got there," said Betsy Southerland, who oversaw the EPAs Office of Science and Technology until her retirement in 2017.

The rules' new language narrowed the scope of risk evaluations. As a result, when the EPA began assessing the first 10 chemicals, agency staff were limited. When deciding whether to ban a chemical or restrict its use, the EPA could only analyze risks posed by direct contact with the chemical, not what would happen if it contaminated the air or water.

Legal challenges to Becks work at the EPA are still making their way through the courts. In late 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit handed environmentalists a victory, ruling that the agencys chemical safety regulations failed to consider outdated uses of a chemical, such as the existence of asbestos in buildings.

It was a blow to the agency, which would have to redo its risk evaluations. But Beck had already moved on, her efforts having secured years of delayed regulations for the chemical industry.
The statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square in Washington. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images)

Over the past month, popular opinion has settled on the modest conviction that statues of the worst avatars of white supremacy might not merit pride of place in our public squares.

In the past month, more than a dozen hero statues  including John C. Calhoun in Charleston, S.C.; John Breckinridge Castleman in Louisville, Ky.; Raphael Semmes in Mobile, Ala.; and former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Vote White Rizzo  have been taken down by government officials.

Each of these statues represents a notorious racist. To put these men on pedestals is to immortalize cruelty and human bondage as not just excusable but heroic.

The statues are mostly banal as art. The one of Rizzo, which was taken down on June 2, makes him look like a misshapen clod in an awkwardly buttoned jacket. Except hes some 10 feet tall.

Stock hero statues are usually depictions of real people in stone or bronze, from head to toe, at about one-third over life size. They rarely exist because of the vision of an artist. They are more likely beloved objects of particular, even peculiar interest groups.

Michelangelos David, a biblical figure in marble, is not a hero statue  its size, symbolism and role in a masters oeuvre make it more than a mere tribute, undertaken on commission.

The colossus of Lincoln, in the 1922 monument on the National Mall, seated, weary, with a gaze somewhere between prophetic and traumatized, edges toward stock hero status. But its dramatic repurposing by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 suggested that the story told in the original memorial was far from finished  and set a standard for how memorials might be reinterpreted rather than blindly honored or preserved.

By contrast, statues like the ones of Rizzo and the litany of forgotten Confederate officers deserve only to be relegated to special collections of middlebrow public kitsch, where curators should lay bare the sensibilities that caused these specific men to be cast in metal or carved in stone.

Story continues

As Jane Dailey, a historian at the University of Chicago, has said, the Confederate statues commemorated nothing when you stop to think about it; instead, they were meant as monuments "toward a white supremacist future."

As the statues fall, they call into question a particular brand of heroic statuary as a genre, and demand that we view them critically, asking whether the pedestalizing and supersizing of the white male ruling class might express too much racist conquest ideology  and too little art  to let them command our parks and plazas.

Even if most of the hero statues remain standing, we should follow the pigeons: Desecrate them, at least. We must activate our skepticism about the ways dubious heroes are foisted on us.

And we must build new kinds of memorials.

In 1982, the architect Maya Lin honored the troops who died in the Vietnam War with an extraordinary memorial design  glossy black granite walls incised into the landscape and inscribed, as of last year, with 58,276 names. Lin tore down the heroic statue tradition when she refused to put up another one.

Visitors who flock to the Vietnam monument arent forced to play along with unnuanced triumphalism. Instead, the wall serves as a place to listen for the voices of the dead.

Still, in 1984, a white sculptor named Frederick Hart was asked to placate militarists with an add-on near Lins wall  statues of three armed soldiers. He boasted that hed put the folds of those fatigue jackets and pants up against the folds of any medieval angel you can find. (You can buy replicas in snow globes.)

Lins masterpiece is now among the greatest monuments in America; the soldier statues cant compare.

This week, President Trump threatened to jail anyone who touches the hero statues of his idols, especially the 15-ton Lafayette Square statue of President Andrew Jackson  the notorious ethnic cleanser who owned hundreds of enslaved Black people  astride a rearing, nostrils-flared horse.

Trump has never mentioned the artistry of the piece. He just worships what he knows of Jackson: the imperiousness, the aggression, the white supremacy.

When the statue is removed  and it will be  its specific history deserves a big caption in the museum of fallen men. Jacksons record as a prolific slave owner and facilitator of the genocide of Native Americans in the 19th century should be kept top of mind. But so should the story of how his hero statue got on its plinth.

Above all, curators should highlight the work of the master craftsman behind the statue: Philip Reid, who almost certainly did the bronze casting and welding.

Reid was enslaved to Clark Mills, the self-trained artist who designed the massive sculpture. Reid and 11 other enslaved Black men built a foundry near Lafayette Square and did the casting for the Jackson statue there.

The Lafayette Square statue is known among sculptors for the technical achievement of its stance: It is supported only on the back legs of Jacksons horse. The monument is stable because the horses legs are made of iron wrapped in bronze, presumably a product in part of Reids engineering skills.

Reid later sealed his reputation as a caster and metalworker when he managed  against some odds  to cast and assemble the Statue of Freedom, which crowns the Capitol, just before his own emancipation on April 16, 1862.

The clever ironwork inside Trump's beloved Jackson statue ensures that it cannot be easily dislodged. But it also guarantees that the seventh president will sink fast when dumped into the Potomac.

@page88




Today we have three weapons that save us from COVID-19 -- washing hands with soap, face masks and sanitisers. Life feels incomplete without these, as we slowly emerge out of lockdown.

Unsplash

Hand sanitisers specifically relieve our anxieties with a few drop of being able to destroy any kinds of germs on our hands and help us stay COVID-19 free. However, just the sanitizer isnt enough for it to be effective you need to apply the sanitiser appropriately as well.

We know that we must wash our hands with soap for 20 seconds with proper hand actions to kill COVID-19, and now a study reveals that with a hand sanitiser, we must rub our hands for 30 seconds to be most effective.

This is according to a study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study looked at sanitisers and its effectiveness against the novel coronavirus, specifically with the way it is used.

Hand sanitizer against COVID-19

The study tested two sanitiser formulas -- one with 80 percent ethanol and one with 75 percent isopropyl alcohol. The virus was obliterated effectively when used either of the aforementioned solutions.

However, researchers do point out the ways in which it works to be the most effective. The study reveals that for a hand sanitiser to be the most effective against COVID-19, one needs to rub the hands appropriately for 30 seconds to truly inactivate the virus. This is not just for COVID-19 but against all kinds of germs that our hands come in contact with.

Reuters

Ms Kratzel is a PhD candidate affiliated with the Institute of Virology and Immunology, Bern and Mittelhausern, Switzerland, said in the study, We found that SARS-CoV-2 was efficiently inactivated by WHO-recommended formulations, supporting their use in healthcare systems and viral outbreaks. Of note, both the original and modified formulations were able to reduce viral triggers to background level within 30 seconds.

She added, One caveat of this study is the defined inactivation time of exactly 30 seconds, which is the time recommended but not routinely performed in practice. Our findings are crucial to minimize viral transmission and maximize virus inactivation in the current SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.

How long do you rub your hands after applying the sanitiser? Tell us in the comments below.
Circumventing the rigors of election campaigning and hiding Joe Biden from the American public, the DNC just announced there won't be a large Democrat conclave in August, blaming the COVID-19 pandemic. Going forward, Mr. Biden will continue a tightly controlled, wholly scripted campaign from the basement of his Delaware home, concluding with a "virtual" nomination. Upon affirmation, he will then travel to Milwaukee to deliver his acceptance speech to an empty arena. In fact, Tom Perez, DNC chairman, informed the delegates they aren't welcome in Wisconsin. And while the DNC isn't planning to completely scrap the entirety of their convention programming, his fear is palpable and most likely attributed to the likelihood of convention rioting, Mr. Biden's declining mental acuity, and the untimely rise of the angry Marxist mob.

Undoubtedly, Tom Perez wants to avoid an encore performance of the disastrous 1968 Democrat Convention, at which fierce rioting just outside the convention hall in Chicago overshadowed the nomination of Hubert Humphrey and permeated the nightly news broadcasts. Democrats had already suffered two major political setbacks prior to the start of their 1968 convention: incumbent President Lyndon Johnson's declining to run again for office in March and the assassination of party favorite Robert Kennedy in June. By August, there was no clear frontrunner for the top of the Democrat ticket, and the virulent Vietnam antiwar protest sentiments spilled out onto the convention floor. Given the current unrest in America, punctuated by nightly rioting in America's major cities, monument defacement, statue-toppling, and extreme far-left violence, the timing is ripe for all-out warfare on the streets of Milwaukee. Understandably, the Democrats want to prevent bad optics while camouflaging the awkward handicap of presumptive nominee Joe Biden.

The DNC and the liberal fake news media have tried their best to provide cover for Mr. Biden. Sadly, their herculean efforts have been in vain, insomuch as every videoed speaking engagement, whether live from the Biden basement or a previously taped segment, exposes more proof of the ugly truth: Joe Biden is suffering from obvious, unmistakable mental decline. He frequently stammers and stutters, his speech patterns are hard to follow, he appears confused on camera, he's unable to answer simple questions coherently, and he often wanders off into the word salad weed patch. In a candid moment, former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe remarked during a Democrat operative teleconference that Joe Biden ought to remain in his basement until November. McAuliffe also said the Democrats would prefer it that way  not exactly a vote of confidence, nor a ringing endorsement of their candidate.

McAuliffe's off-the-cuff assessment of Biden's declining mental acuity is also shared by a majority of a thousand likely voters in a recent poll taken by Zogby Analytics. Asked if they thought Mr. Biden was suffering the early stages of dementia, 55% of respondents said "yes." Extrapolating the numbers, 77% of the people who identified as Republicans absolutely agreed that Biden has early-onset dementia, while 56% of independents also think so. Surprisingly, one third of the Democrats polled recognize the symptoms of dementia in their presumptive candidate; however, they will vote for Biden regardless.

If those numbers don't cause concern for Biden's campaign team, the Democrat number-crunchers ought to be paying attention to the 60% of those polled between the ages of 18 and 29, who also think Biden is suffering diminished mental acuity. More troubling is the belief that there will be an overwhelming turnout for Democrats of BLM and Antifa voters. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The targeted violence, trashing of liberal enclaves in Democrat-run cities, and nightly riots since May signals one thing: anarchy and the growing anger of Marxist malcontents in America, who have stated emphatically that an overthrow of the U.S. government is necessary for change. Translated, the Marxist mob is willing to wage a violent revolution in order to oust the two-party American system of government. Not mincing words, BLM president and co-founder Hawk Newsome made it very clear, telling Fox News host Martha MacCallum, "If this country doesn't give us what we want, then we will burn down the system and replace it," which doesn't sound like a guaranteed vote for Joe Biden, nor does it signal that BLM and Antifa are on board with the Democrats. It's no wonder that Tom Perez is afraid.

(This post has been updated to correct an error about Hubert Humphrey's name.)
Three militants were on Friday killed in an overnight encounter with security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, the Army said.

"Three terrorists have been eliminated in Chewa (Pulwama) operation," an Army spokesperson said. He said the forces have recovered two AK rifles from the encounter site so far.

The operation is in progress, the spokesperson added.

The security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Chewa Ular area of Tral in south Kashmir district on Thursday, following information about the presence of militants.

The search operation turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire at a search party of the forces, who retaliated.

The forces maintained a tight cordon throughout the night to prevent the militants from escaping.
Description

GIS  26 June 2020: The inauguration of a bakery at the Petit Verger Prison is an important achievement for the well-being of the prisoners and is part of a self-sufficiency policy advocated in the prison, whether in in the agricultural sector or in the manufacture of equipment.

The Commissioner of Prisons, Mr. Mario Nobin, made this statement, this morning, during the inauguration of a bakery at the Petit Verger Prison, in Pointe aux Sables. The Deputy Commissioner of Prisons, the Officers in charge of Penitentiary Institutions and other prison staff were present on the occasion.

Mr. Nobin highlighted that the setting up of this bakery, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and capable to producing some 2 000 breads per day, is the result of negotiations with the authorities concerned. He also thanked the Mauritius Hotel School for its current and future collaboration regarding training in the bakery and pastry sector.

In addition, the Commissioner of Prisons added that production is not the only concern of the prison staff as one of their core duties is the rehabilitation of detainees. The training offered by the Mauritius Institute of Training and Development in various fields, he said, aims to offer each prisoner the opportunity to acquire technical skills that they could use for their reintegration in society.

Speaking of his vision as Commissioner of Prisons, Mr. Nobin underlined that his priority is to ensure that each inmate can acquire training to meet his immediate need to find a job after serving his sentence. This mission, he added, must be accomplished with the full involvement of each prison officer in his respective field, as outlined in the established strategic plan for the period 2013-2023.


Click here to See Video >>

You can now watch our TV Series 'The Autoblog Show' online.

For its eighth episode, we feature some vehicles of old.

We revisit the 1966 Ford GT 40 win at Le Mans and see what the cars look like now at Pebble Beach, and continue with the Shelby theme with a Factory Five Shelby Cobra replica. Finally, we head to the mountains outside Salt Lake City to drive vintage Land Cruisers.

Check out episode eight of "The Autoblog Show" above. It originally aired on Verizon Fios TV, the Yahoo! Finance Channel on the Roku TV app and SamsungTV+.
All were hoping for a rousing celebration of Friendwoods 125th birthday on July 4, but who could predict we would be in the midst of a pandemic?

Friendswoods popular Independence Day Parade will not be rolling on Friendswood Drive on Saturday, July 4.

Instead, there will be seven individual parades happening simultaneously, beginning at 10 a.m. on streets all over town.

To find out where those seven parades will be taking place, you can go to https://www.ci.friendswood.tx.us/july4th.

Now that were entering the dog days of summer, its time to give a shout out to the citys PetSafe Dog Park, 300 Briarmeadow Ave. in Old City Park.

It turns a year-old later this summer. The 1.6 acres of fenced land is the result of a $25,000 grant through the PetSafe Bark For Your Park program. The city was one of just 25 cities across the nation that received the grant.

The money was used to put the project over the top after efforts by Eagle Scout Caden Fischer got the ball rolling since it was his idea for an Eagle Scout project.

The summer operating hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., except for Mondays when it is closed for maintenance. There are a number of regulations. For the four-legged visitors to the park, they must be up to date on all vaccinations. For the two-legged visitors, theres no smoking and glass containers are not permitted.

Friendswood Grocery is in its infancy of operation. Located at 214 S. Friendswood Drive, its an old Walgreens that has been transformed into a spacious shopping experience, complete with a stand-alone taco and burrito stand near the front of the store.

A butcher shop is expected to be added inside the store very soon. Theyre open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. 7 days a week.

Friendswood ISD is putting out a call for bus drivers for the upcoming school year. The school district operates 50 school buses of various sizes. For more information, go to fisdk12.net.

A hearty congratulations to Wendy McAshlan for being named Windsong Intermediate Schools new principal recently. An employee of the school district for almost 15 years, McAshlan is ready to get her students back in the classroom.

ravery@hcnonline.com
Lie Machines

By Philip N. Howard

Yale. 204 pp. $26

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Before Breitbart and 4chan mastered the art of the strategically incisive political lie, the Greek deity Zeus was already at the bleeding edge of fake news. In Book II of the Iliad, the god sends Agamemnon, king of the Achaeans, a dream urging him to dispatch his men into battle, promising that this will end Troy's siege. But Zeus is lying. He knows an all-out attack will fail and hopes Agamemnon will get a thorough walloping. (The king doesn't take the bait).

It's telling, too, that Zeus chose to speak through a dream: Long before Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey, Homer grasped that an intimate, direct channel of communication can stir folks to action with more ferocity than any unvarnished public appeal.

In the 20th century, the political lie piped directly into an individual's sightline flourished like a tenacious weed. In the 1910s, the U.S. Committee on Public Information built public support for American involvement in World War I not just with films, pamphlets and posters, but also the judiciously delivered fib, often fed to a newspaper. Forty years later, tobacco companies employed public relations giant Hill & Knowlton not to deny cigarettes' carcinogenic effect, but to seed doubt about medical research and cast blame elsewhere. Legislation that may have saved hundreds of thousands languished as a result.

All those not living in a cave know by now that social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and even Tinder have become vehicles for a veritable tsunami of mendacious and polarizing information. Debates rage about whether Russian troll farm efforts changed the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. (The best analysis suggests they did not.) The nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice has already warned that Russian interventions in this year's vote will be "more brazen" than in 2016.

But how much of this is really new? Has technology made the political lie any different from its Attic or Progressive-era precursor? Philip Howard, the author of "Lie Machines," is unquestionably well-placed to illuminate this question. Director of the Oxford Internet Institute, Howard was asked in 2017 by the Senate Intelligence Committee to conduct a postmortem on the social media activities of the Russian Internet Research Agency. A seemingly modest operation run out of a nondescript St. Petersburg office with between 40 and 100 employees and a $10 million budget, the IRA - notice how even the name will baffle a standard search engine - has given President Vladimir Putin a large return on his small investment.

The work of Howard and his team was pivotal in clarifying the Russian strategy in 2016. They showed, for instance, how the IRA targeted Americans at the poles of the political spectrum, exacerbating their divisions, and flooded swing districts with misleading or inflammatory advertisements. Tens of millions of users viewed IRA ads.

Howard cautions against optimism that the quality of online political discourse will improve soon. To the contrary, a new tool kit for Web-based public lies has been tested by Russia and China, for use first at home and then against foreign foes. It is diffusing quickly to more nations. Howard counts five other countries - India, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela - that are using the same tool kit against overseas democratic publics. In 2020, there were "organized social media misinformation teams" working for parties and governments in some 70 countries. Howard spoke to firms in Poland and Brazil that are helping in those efforts and found robust competition among producers of the mediated lie. In this market, his analysis suggests, the incentives driving supply are unlikely to abate.

So regardless of whether any specific electoral result changed because of Russian interference, Howard is persuasive when he identifies the emergent phenomenon of "computational propaganda" as a serious threat to democracy. Using big-data analytics, this tactic involves the tailoring and targeting of propaganda to individuals' fears and weaknesses. This is a bit different from what retailers do. Amazon endeavors to know what you want before you even think of it. In contrast, the propagandist seeks to exploit your fears and change what you believe, and hence how you vote.

Much of Howard's analysis is haunted by a hazy notion that new computational tools are just different versions of earlier forms of propaganda. But he also gives a more specific and persuasive argument that these tools are really something new: Like Agamemnon's dream, computational propaganda allows organized political forces to mainline influence directly into voters' minds, appealing not with reason but through manipulation of their emotions.

Social psychologists have long stressed the importance of personal networks in learning about the world. This finding matters in this context because many people's exposure to computational propaganda is a result of the sharing of posts by friends and family. Howard's research showed that some 30 million people shared the IRA's Facebook and Instagram posts. This diffusion enables the IRA and its ilk to tap directly into the critical psychological infrastructure at work in individual belief formation.

If the supply of computational propaganda is likely to grow, what can be done? Here, "Lie Machines" disappoints. Howard bemoans the ways in which the data economy has changed the balance of power between the citizenry and organized powers. He presses for mandatory reporting and auditing of social media. More vaguely, he gestures toward the possibility of unlocking the "real potential of social media platforms to support public life." But this notion comes on the second-to-last page of the book. It is never given substance in the form of concrete and specific proposals.

Most profoundly, Howard skips a beat by focusing solely on supply and ignoring demand. Literature once more helps us grasp the difficulty he evades. Shakespeare, in his play "Othello," has the villainous Iago explain how he persuaded the titular character to murder his wife on a false suspicion of adultery. Says Iago of his lies: They were "no more/ Than what he found himself was apt and true." So too of computational propaganda today. Its power lies not solely in advances in algorithmic techniques but in its grasp of the distinctive vanities of its targets. Like Homer, Shakespeare understood what we tend too quickly to forget: It is our vanities that make us vulnerable to persuasion of all sorts. But they are difficult to remedy precisely because they also make us who we are.

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Huq, who teaches law at the University of Chicago, is a co-author of "How to Save a Constitutional Democracy."
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / Many small-scale businesses have sprung over the years. The technological innovations and the economy seem to have motivated the start of these small firms. In the United States alone, micro-businesses make up about 99.7% of the existing employer firms - this accounts for 27.8 million small-time businesses.

More often than not, a number of these businesses are owned by people who have little to no idea about the complex textbook mechanism of business and finance. People experience a bump, following their progression in the business world - this comes in the form of strategic financial decisions, tax, and accounting.

When your business gets bigger, you may encounter complications on how to handle overwhelming finances and accounting. That is normal - especially if you are not a graduate of business school. As your business grows, the responsibility of running it and sustaining it also increases.

Tax Emperor is the company just for any business in trouble. Owned by Joseph Lang, Tax Emperor has grown to be one of the front runners in matters of accounting, tax, and consultation services.

The company provides a reliable but straightforward orientation about the legal jargon that goes with business and finance. Their strategy is to simplify the concept of business without sacrificing even the minutest detail that matters in keeping the activities of their clients running.

Unfortunately, according to Lang, some companies take advantage of clients who have little knowledge about the legal complexity of businesses. Tax Emperor advocates for the opposite. They will make sure that their clients will receive the best service and the best business advice. Unsurprisingly, many testimonials guarantee the future clients of Tax Emperor a well-rounded approach.

"The more you learn, the more you earn," is a core principle that Joseph Lang firmly holds for years. Together with his team of professionals, they help thousands of business owners to effectively navigate through their financial and tax liabilities for seven years and counting. The company assists thousands in saving large sums of money from unlimited team consultations regarding tax education and monthly tax planning.

"Apart from business clients, I love to help working-class families increase and maximize their tax refunds each year," Lang stated.

The company also went international - with teams reaching Canada and Europe.

With his extensive knowledge of tax, Joseph Lang provides clients with an affiliate program intended to educate individuals who plan to create their own tax business. The program kick-started three years ago meant to add substantial supplementary income to those who enrolled all from the comfort of their homes.

Among the user-friendly discussion that this program features is the overview of tax laws, how to build and market clientele, a comprehensive and interactive course about a tax software to complete business and personal tax return, and optional bookkeeping.

The company wants to counter the modern-day problem of businesses, particularly in the tax industry. Lang and his team regularly update their knowledge about the Internal Revenue Service or IRS and state tax laws - different from the usual tax preparers. Tax preparers are paid individuals who calculate tax returns on behalf of businesses and individuals. It holds a stark contrast with the professionals in Tax Emperor who do more than calculate and sign tax returns.

Their team will continue to serve businesses and individuals who are passionate about their businesses.

If you want to be part of the growing satisfied customers of Tax Emperor, visit their website. You can also email the owner himself, Joseph@taxemperor.com, or call (305) 810-9083.

SOURCE: Tax Emperor

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/595318/Joseph-Lang-and-Team-Provides-an-Easier-Way-to-Deal-with-Any-Business
By PTI

MUMBAI: In a humanitarian gesture, a mosque in Bhiwandi town of adjoining Thane district has been converted by its administrators into a temporary COVID-19 facility, where oxygen is provided free of cost to patients.

The facility at Makkah Masjid in the Shanti Nagar area of the powerloom town has been set up by the local chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), Movement for Peace and Justice and the Shanti Nagar Trust, which runs the mosque.

Apart from putting up five beds equipped with oxygen cylinders, the JIH also delivers them for free to patients homes if required, an office-bearer of the JIH said, adding the makeshift facility is open to all communities.

So far, the Bhiwandi-Nizampur municipality has recorded over 1,332 COVID-19 cases and 88 casualties.

It has a mortality rate of 5.26 per cent, a release stated.

"Bhiwandi-Nizampur has been hit hard by the pandemic as it is a congested city. It doesn't even have proper health infrastructure.

"The situation has only worsened during the pandemic as general medical practitioners have shut their clinics fearing the virus spread," said Ausaf Ahmed Falahi, president of the JIH's Bhiwandi chapter.

As a majority of people here lack awareness about the viral disease and are unable to afford treatment, a facility like this one was the need of the hour, he said.

Over 70 persons have benefited from this facility, which has two doctors, while 15 oxygen cylinders have been delivered to the homes of eight COVID-19 patients, Falahi said.

People irrespective of their religion have been availing treatment at the mosque, he added.

"Makkah Masjid has been shut for prayers since the lockdown. So, we decided to use a part of the premises to help those who can't avail treatment elsewhere," said Qaiser Mirza of the Shanti Nagar Trust.
In New York City, this may be a bloodbath as the criminal justice system is bursting at the seams, with 75 people involved with guns on the streets and killings in the worst upticks in 2020.

NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said that the criminal justice system is 'imploding' as New York City sees a dramatic spike in street shootings and killings during the month of June, according to Daily Mail.

This was the remark of NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, who spoke to reporters last Wednesday as gun violence and death increase. All of this courtesy of unsolved criminal cases that have become stagnant with less cops to do the job.

He added that the reason for all this is the criminal-justice system that is in implosion, reported the New York post.

When Shea referred to implosion, what he meant was many of the case that should have been solved are ongoing, stagnant or deferred.

He remarked that there are no arrests or any charges of these crimes. Possibly, those responsible are still free and are committing crimes.

The police believe that those people who are shooting and killing, or outright amuck are those who should be in jail. But, the coronavirus pandemic only made things worse for everyone.

Shea said that supervised release is an irony, and also a fallacy. This was reported by CBS New York when was interviewed.

He further stressed that they are only released, no supervision at all, adding that the release of these individuals is the end result of it in NYC.

These dire observations were the outcome of the last violent week, that engulf NYC in which 75 people were hurt with 55 shootings during a seven-day crime spree.

It is a huge jump of 342% in the shooting in just seven days in the last week. It makes the statistics of 2019 look less alarming.

Also read: NYPD Cops Strike on July 4 to Let NYC Be 'Cop-Free' for Independence Day

In between Friday to Sunday, the death toll is 2 in 28 shootings. There were 38 lucky people, who survived but were injured in the shootings, confirm by WPIX.

Last Monday, about 11 instances of gun violence has left 17 people hurt in another spate of gun attacks by armed felons.

According to the New York Post, a vigil held at 11 pm in Brooklyn ended with 5 getting wounded by gunshots.

To make it glummer, there are 125 shootings this month of June in NYC, alleged the NYPD.

Shea had predicted the uptick from the start of the year, of all these violent incidents and it is climbing.

Trending violence in NYC is happening, criminals shooting other only one of the signs. Saying the criminal justice system must get a kick-start.

Some of the reforms like cash bail for the selected offense is one of the reasons for the violence in NYC.

Shea let the cat out of the bag and said that no one is in jail, or areea merely at bare minimum. Most of them are on the streets causing havoc.

If anyone thinks the police can solve it, and all the bad people are back on the streets, it will not happen. But this is not because it is the cops' fault, and they cannot do their jobs.

He added that these shootings were caused by dice games, alcohol or weed, this past weekend. Another reason is the quality of life offense that must be addressed.

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said police officers will be out there, getting.

Related article: Blood Bath in NYC: 125 Shootings Recorded in 72 Hours, The Worst Streak in 24 Years

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Assam Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna on Friday refuted media reports suggesting that Bhutan had stopped supply of irrigation water to areas in Assam and clarified that the supply was disrupted because of boulders in the channel and that the neighbouring country had actually assisted in clearing the blockage.

Speaking to ANI, Krishna said, Bhutan shares a border with a district in Assam. There is a normal channel through which the water flows into Indian fields. The water was stopped because there were boulders in the channel.

The district magistrates of both the sides talked and the issue was resolved. There is no dispute with the country and to say that Bhutan has stopped the water is wrong, added Krishna.

The Chief Secretary had also tweeted earlier that Bhutan has in fact actually helped to clear the blockage.

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Recent media reports about Bhutan blocking water supply to India has been incorrectly reported. The actual reason being the natural blockage of informal irrigation channels into Indian fields! Bhutan has been actually helping to clear the blockage, Krishna said.

Recent media reports about Bhutan blocking water supply to India has been incorrectly reported. The actual reason being the natural blockage of informal irrigation channels into Indian fields! Bhutan has been actually helping to clear the blockage. pic.twitter.com/H61c5T1EeJ  Kumar Sanjay Krishna (@KrSanjayKrishna) June 25, 2020

Earlier in the day, Bhutan had termed the reports as totally baseless and a distressing allegation stating that it was a deliberate attempt by vested interests to spread misinformation and cause misunderstanding between the friendly people of Bhutan and Assam.

It said that the government of Bhutan will make every effort to ensure that the disruptions caused by the monsoon rains to the irrigation channels are addressed without delay.

Meanwhile, Assam chief secretary said that in the view of surging cases of COVID-19 in the State, it has been decided that a lockdown will be imposed from Sunday for two weeks.

We have decided to impose a lockdown in Kamrup metropolitan district area of Guwahati from Sunday 7 pm for two weeks. The order will be released today. The night curfew will start from 7 am to 7 pm in the state, Krishna told ANI.

Also read: Our arms not to hatch eggs: Adhir Ranjans provocative remark on LAC standoff

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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...
What about my kids? Is it suitable?

Absolutely. It is American history, after all. The official rating is PG-13, and Miranda has said that he gave up two uses of the F-word to avoid the R rating. Apparently, the one remaining use of the dreaded four-letter word passed muster. One expletive is muted; the other is record-scratched. Miranda has pointed out that you can sing what you like at home, or even sync up your original cast album.

I dont have Disney Plus. How do I get it?

Go to Disneyplus.com and pay your $6.99 per month (free trials have ended, not coincidentally). You can cancel anytime you want.

I want to be the first to see it among my friends.

You might have to sacrifice a nights sleep. The show drops at 3 a.m. Eastern on July 3.

Will I own Hamilton then?
Cooped up at home during the pandemic, consumers have been taking to their favorite comfort food, boosting sales of products like instant coffee, biscuits and chocolates  but economic realities could soon hit their pockets. According to a survey by FMCG Gurus, a research firm for fast-moving consumer goods, half of the 23,000 consumers surveyed in 18 countries said they snacked more in May  up from 38% in April. About 60% of those surveyed said they bought more comfort food, including confectionery. "When it comes to snacking more frequently, the need for escapism from the pressures of daily life is a main reason for doing so," FMCG Gurus said in their report of the survey. Globally, reports and data show that more and more people are turning to snacks as they spend more time at home during lockdowns. "We've been interviewing consumers around the world and we can say that it's clear there is increased snacking," Dirk Van de Put, CEO at food giant Mondelez, said during the company's first quarter results briefing in late April.

Snacking at night and other non-regular times of the day spiked as consumers struggled to stick to their usual daily routines while spending all their time at home. Somsubhra GanChoudhuri co-founder and CEO of Ai Palette

"They are looking for that moment of comfort offered by biscuits and chocolate in today's stressful circumstances," he said, adding that there was "strong momentum" in those categories. Snacking with family members also "brings back a feeling of normalcy of togetherness calming everybody down" he added, according to a transcript.

'Snackification' in Asia

Data focused on Asian regions showed similar patterns. In China and Southeast Asia, lockdowns resulted in the "snackification" of meals, according to Ai Palette, a food technology startup that analysed local language chats online from January to April. "Snacking at night and other non-regular times of the day spiked as consumers struggled to stick to their usual daily routines while spending all their time at home," said Somsubhra GanChoudhuri, co-founder and CEO of Ai Palette. Data from Ai Palette found that China's consumer demand for cake spiked 66% year-on-year from January to April, while ice cream saw a 51% on-year jump in that same period. Some of these were made at home, if people could not head out to buy them. Cookies and cakes were the most popular items in Indonesia, while crackers ruled in the Philippines. Cookies and chips flew off the shelves in Thailand.

Dalgona craze

In some ways, dalgona coffee epitomizes the phenomenon of home-made comfort food during rampant lockdowns around the globe. The whipped coffee recipe  made by mixing instant coffee, sugar, and hot water, and whisking them into a thick, frothy cream that's topped over milk  took social media by storm. The beverage was made popular by a South Korean actor, and has since spread to the rest of the world as people turned to making their own food and drinks while stuck at home.

Fitch Solutions said the Dalgona coffee trend also reflects a rise in price conscious consumers who are trading down for cheaper products  like instant coffee. "Lockdowns across the world, are leading to a rise in unemployment, hiring freezes, wage freeze/cuts and employees on furlough, which will all feed into lower disposable incomes for the average consumer," the consultancy said in a May report. "The effect of lower disposable incomes and uncertain employment outlooks will translate into consumers substituting their existing consumption choices for cheaper alternatives," said Fitch Solutions.

Consumer trends
Pandemic shines spotlight on the divide as care ranges from crowded public hospitals to spacious suites at private ones.

When Pradeep Kumars wife was admitted to a government-run hospital in Indias capital for treatment of the COVID-19 disease, it took two days before she was able to see a doctor.

There are six other women in her room and everyone is frustrated, he said outside New Delhis Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital. Theyre behaving like theyre leprosy patients.

Kumars wife had just given birth when she found out she had the virus. She was told she would have to change hospitals and be admitted at one set up to handle coronavirus patients, an exhausting process of waiting in an ambulance until 3am while her husband filled out paperwork.

Though Indias leaders have promised coronavirus testing and care for all who need it, regardless of income, treatment options are as stratified and unequal as the country itself.

Care ranges from crowded wards at public hospitals that some worry will make them sicker than if they stayed at home to spacious suites at private hospitals that only the wealthy can afford.

Under Indias healthcare system, everyone should be able to receive either free or highly subsidised care at those public hospitals depending on their income.

But the system has been chronically underfunded, meaning government hospitals are overburdened and patients often face days-long waits for even basic treatments.

World Health Organization data shows that Indias government spent $63 per person on healthcare for its 1.3 billion people in 2016. By comparison, China spent $398 for each of its 1.4 billion people in 2016, according to the WHO.

Supporters of opposition Congress party wearing protective gear attend a protest in Kolkata demanding better treatment for people infected with the coronavirus disease [Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters]

Epidemics good mirrors of society

Though India has managed to halve its poverty rate over the past 15 years, some 176 million people still live on less than $1.90 a day, and experts say the pandemic is shining a spotlight on the countrys vast inequalities in everything from employment rights to healthcare.

Epidemics usually are good mirrors of society and country, said Pratik Chakrabarti, a history of science professor at the University of Manchester, adding that this one has exposed how precarious peoples lives are in India.

With more than 490,000 recorded coronavirus infections nationwide  and the actual numbers believed to be far higher  Indias healthcare system is facing one of its biggest tests.

So far hospitals still have the capacity to handle all of the virus cases  though if that changes there are backup plans that include treating patients in repurposed train carriages.

But shortcomings are also on display.

At Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital in New Delhi, a government-run facility that offers free COVID-19 tests, dozens of people waiting on a recent day to be registered for a test stood in line or lay on metal benches shaded by a green tarp in scorching summer heat.

A small indoor emergency triage area had been converted into a crowded waiting room for confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Manoj Kumar, a personal trainer who fears he has the coronavirus, was lined up outside another public hospital waiting to get in. He said he saw some people give the guards money in order to skip the line.

The rich people get their work done pretty easily, he said. People who dont have money for the guards have to stand in line for multiple hours.

At New Delhis All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Hospital, another public facility, more than 600 staff have been infected with the virus, which union leader Dr Srinivas Rajkumar T blaming the infections on poor hygiene and sanitation protocols, including biohazard handling, reuse of face masks and face shields.





Unaffordable private hospitals

Private hospitals generally uphold higher standards of care, but most people cannot afford it.

The daily rates for coronavirus treatment in Indias biggest private hospital chains range from about 25,000 rupees ($333) for a bed in the general ward to 72,000 rupees ($960) for a bed in the ICU with a ventilator.

Delhi states health minister, Satyendar Jain, checked into a government-run hospital earlier this month after testing positive for COVID-19, but he transferred to a private hospital when his condition became critical.

Other private health providers are selling home care packages for people with mild or moderate symptoms that for about $25 a day include twice-daily remote monitoring by a nurse, medicine deliveries and a guaranteed ambulance, should the need arise.

For those in need of isolation  say the spouse of a virus patient  the Delhi state government has ordered a slew of hotels to convert rooms for the job. Room prices, which include daily care, cost about 10,000 rupees ($132) a night  again, a sum out of reach for most people.

Dr V K Paul, the head of a government committee on medical emergency preparedness, said the perception of private hospitals being better was an overgeneralisation.

Some of our best COVID care facilities are in the public sector, he said, adding that it was not possible to meet this challenge without private hospitals, which have many of the critical care and ICU beds in India.

Medical staff prepare beds inside a banquet hall in New Delhi which has been temporarily converted into an isolation ward for COVID-19 patients [EPA]

The two-tiered hospital system is having an impact even beyond the coronavirus.

Vishnu Singhs 14-year-old daughter has had a fever and fallen unconscious every night for a month. But given the current situation at public hospitals, he would not dare take her to one.

The public hospitals are full of people with the virus, he said. You could get infected just standing in line.

Instead, he has spent 10,000 rupees ($132)  two-thirds of his monthly income as an office manager  to have exams and tests done at private hospitals and labs. It is still not clear what is causing his daughters sickness.

The pandemic has hit Indias poor the hardest, from the disease itself to the economic and social impact of a recently lifted nationwide lockdown, said Ramanan Laxminarayan, an epidemiologist and economist who directs the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy in Washington.

The lockdown primarily protected the rich because they could afford to stay home. The poor couldnt so bore the brunt of the disease, he said. This is just a grossly unfair situation.
Not so long ago, we found out that scientists are on the quest to unveil the history of Dark Age and its existence. Now, reports have revealed that a massive Quasar which is present since the early universe, containing a monster black hole with a mass equivalent to 1.5 billion suns has been found. It is one of the two ancient quasars known from the same cosmological period.

Astronomers discovered an ancient massive Quasar

Formally designated as J1007+2115, it was discovered using telescopes on Maunakea, a mountain honoured in the Hawaiian culture. Due to the discovery of the cosmological object in Hawaii, it is now denoted as Poniuaena which means "unseen spinning source of creation, surrounded with brilliance" in the Hawaii language. Reportedly, the first quasar to receive an Indigenous name, it was created by 30 Hawaiian immersion school teachers during a workshop led by the A Hua He Inoa group, a Hawaiian naming program led by the Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii.

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What is a Quasar?

Quasars are the most energetic objects in the universe. According to current theory, supermassive black holes are responsible for powering such quasars in the universe. As the black holes gobble up surrounding matter such as dust, gas, or even entire stars, they emit tremendous amounts of energy, resulting in luminosities known to outshine entire galaxies. Since their discovery, astronomers have been keen to determine when they first appeared in our cosmic history.

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More about Poniuaena

As we know supermassive black holes power quasars, Poniuaena is amongst the two most distant and earliest known objects. It comprises of a black hole exceeding 1 billion solar masses. The study revealed that the light from Poniuaena took 13.02 billion years to reach Earth (starting its journey just 700 million years after the Big Bang).

A postdoctoral research associate at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory and lead author of the study, Jinyi Yang said that it is the earliest monster of this kind that the humankind as ever found. He also mentioned that the time was, considerably, too short for it to grow from a small black hole to the enormous size we see.

According to several reports and the current cosmological models, astronomers are in awe as to see a massive black hole of Poniuaenas proportions that could have evolved from a much smaller black hole formed by the collapse of a single star in such a short time since the Big Bang is next to impossible. The authors of the study believe that the quasar would have started out as a "seed" black hole already containing the equivalent mass of 10,000 suns as early as 100 million years after the Big Bang.

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How did Astronomers find out Poniuaena quasar?

A systematic search for the most distant quasars led to the discovery of the Poniuaena. The research began with a team combing through large-area surveys such as the DECaLS imaging survey, which uses the Dark Energy Camera on the Victor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope located at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, and the UHS imaging survey, which uses the Wide Field Camera on the UK Infra-Red Telescope, located at Maunakea.

The Gemini North telescope and the W. M. Keck Observatory, both on Maunakea, helped the team uncover the ancient quasar. However, the Magellan telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile confirmed the existence of J1007+2115 i.e. Poniuaena. A NASA Hubble Fellow at Steward Observatory, Feige Wang revealed that the observations with Gemini were critical for obtaining the high-quality near-infrared spectra that provided the team with the measurement of the black hole's astounding mass. This discovery has helped astronomers to move ahead in unveiling the secrets from the dawn of the cosmos providing researchers with a rare glimpse into a time when the universe was still young and very different from what we see today, as per the researchers.

Images & Videos: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA/P. Marenfeld / NASA Hubble

Also Read | Scientists to unveil 12 billion-year-old signal from universes Dark Age: Reports
Proposed annexation is a red herring, relieving liberal Zionists of responsibility for Israel's broader apartheid system and ongoing Palestinian suffering.

By Richard Silverstein

June 25, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Annexation is a sham.

Dont get me wrong: this doesnt mean that Israels proposed annexation of the Jordan Valley wont further dispossess Palestinians. Israel will be stealing 30 percent of the land set aside for a Palestinian state under previous, failed peace proposals, causing further suffering to Palestinians.

But this particular annexation proposal, to which the new Israeli government agreed in its coalition deal, is a red herring - a distraction from the systemic nature of Israels dispossession of Palestinians. It permits liberal Zionists and the international community to focus their attention on undoing this particular evil, relieving them of responsibility for the entire apartheid system Israel has developed, both inside and outside the green line.

Religious intolerance

Statements from British Jewish leaders, US Congress members, European Union officials and human rights experts have warned of the consequences of annexation. They have targeted the soft, moderate underbelly of the governing coalition, Blue and White MKs, telling them how badly the world would look upon Israel if this proposal was enacted.

But all of this liberal whining avoids a far greater evil: a Judeo-supremacist regime built on religious intolerance and ethnic cleansing.

The problem with the Israeli state is not one particular policy, no matter how odious. It goes back to the very foundations of the state and the thinking of its founders, foremost among them David Ben-Gurion. While there were some voices among early Zionist leaders who sought integration, or at least peaceful coexistence with their Palestinian neighbours, Ben-Gurion was a maximalist who espoused ethnic cleansing in his diaries and letters well before he founded the state.

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The sine qua non of statehood for him was a Jewish majority and Jewish superiority. Arabs might remain inside the new nations borders, but only if they acquiesced to their diminished status.

Even then, Ben-Gurion feared the Palestinian presence so much that he and the Palmach militia organised and conducted Plan Dalet, which resulted in the Nakba - the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians in conjunction with the 1948 founding of Israel.

Palestinian communities that survived the war remained under martial law for two decades, though they posed no security threat.

Boiling the frog

As an American Jew, I was raised on liberal Zionism. I was taught from an early age that Israel was a Jewish and democratic state. I was taught to be proud of the mutual coexistence of those two terms. But the religious component of Israeli identity, as it has come to be defined, precludes democracy; they cannot coexist. It took me decades to realise this.

While it would be ill-advised to attempt to eliminate or suppress religion in a truly democratic state of Israel-Palestine, religion must be separated from the political realm if this state is ever to become normalised.

The religions of Israels Jewish and Palestinian citizens will remain critical to them and their identities. If practised appropriately, they will enrich the fabric of the state without prejudicing one religious or ethnic group over another. But the present Israeli regime has as much, or more, in common with Irans Islamic republic, Saudi Arabias Islamic protectorate, or the Afghan Taliban than it does with western democracy.

One of the clever elements of Zionist expansionism is to pursue its goals gradually, rather than all at once. The poor frog doesnt realise that hes being boiled in the pot until its too late, because the flame raises the temperature gradually and almost imperceptibly.

Thus, Netanyahu has already backed off his original proposal of annexing the entire Jordan Valley. He is now entertaining annexation-lite, absorbing the major settlement enclaves of Ariel, Maaleh Adumim and Gush Etzion, while leaving the remaining territory unannexed. This hides the fact that once these blocs become part of Israel, the surrounding territory is Palestinian in name only; whatever is left will be hemmed in by Israeli fences, roads and infrastructure. And Israel could, at a later date, annex the rest.

Silver lining

In a recent Middle East Eye webinar, Professor Rashid Khalidi described annexation as largely a red herring, noting that it has been ongoing since 1967 in various ways, with Israeli law already applying throughout the occupied territories.

We have to be thinking in broader terms than the narrow diplomatic language thats been used. Israel has been annexing and creating a one-state reality since 1967. This [current annexation plan] is just a tiny step in the process, Khalidi said, noting that Netanyahus more limited proposal regarding the three settlement enclaves amounts to a charade.

We should be talking in much more fundamental terms about the systemic structural problems that are going to have to be addressed if this problem is to be resolved on a just and equitable basis, he said.

If there is any silver lining in the annexation plan, it is that liberal Zionists, who once denounced the boycott movement and anyone labeling Israel as an apartheid state, have been forced to reckon with the failure of their vision.

South African anti-apartheid campaigner Benjamin Pogrund, who has spent decades fighting the notion that Israel is an apartheid state, recently said in an interview: If we annex the Jordan Valley and the settlement areas, we are apartheid. Full stop. Theres no question about it.

South Africas bantustans were simply a more refined form of apartheid to mask what it really was, Pogrund added, noting that the consequences of Israels planned annexation will obviously be extremely grave. Friends of ours in the world will not be able to defend us.

Cracks and divides

Similarly, the pro-Israel German party Die Linke has also called for sanctioning Israel if it goes forward with this plan. Should the Israeli government resolve to carry out the annexation, Die Linke will advocate for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, it said in a statement.

This EU protocol is important not only because it offers Israel tariff-free trade and privileges of member states, but also because of the status it confers on Israel, both in Europe and around the world. To lose these privileges would be an economic and political blow.

The partys statement, as noted by journalist Ali Abunimah, comes close to abandoning a two-state solution, which is at the very heart of the liberal Zionism Die Linke upholds: In the face of the Israeli governments seeming rejection of a just two-state solution, in which citizens from both sides would live with equal rights, Die Linke calls for equal civil rights for Palestinians and Israelis, the party stated.

For Die Linke, the following principle holds everywhere and at all times: all inhabitants of every country should enjoy equal rights - irrespective of their religion, language or ethnic group.

Its important not to exaggerate the significance of these changes. They certainly mark a shift in the ranks of Israels liberal advocates. There is also no doubt about the tectonic shifts in US politics on Israel/Palestine, which have considerably widened discourse. But as weve seen in the past, just as tectonic plates can crack and divide, geological forces can drive them back together again.

Richard Silverstein writes the Tikun Olam blog, devoted to exposing the excesses of the Israeli national security state. His work has appeared in Haaretz, the Forward, the Seattle Times and the Los Angeles Times. He contributed to the essay collection devoted to the 2006 Lebanon war, A Time to Speak Out (Verso) and has another essay in the collection, Israel and Palestine: Alternate Perspectives on Statehood (Rowman & Littlefield) Photo of RS by: (Erika Schultz/Seattle Times)

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Zelensky: We will return Crimea and people, we believe in this

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has received a Crimean Tatar flag as a gift from former political prisoner Edem Bekirov at the Kherson Airport on Friday and vowed to return Crimea and the Crimean people to the composition of Ukraine.

"I want to hand this flag over to you from the entire [Crimean Tatar] people, so that you can raise it in Crimean in the near future," Bekirov told the president.

The head of state thanked Bekirov and promised to save the flag.

"We will return everyone: we will return Crimea and the people. We believe in this," Zelensky said, according to the president's press service.

Day of Crimean Tatar Flag is marked in Ukraine on June 26. The flag was affirmed in 1917, and the holiday has been marked since 2010 following the approval of a relevant decision by the 5th Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar People.
Around the world, governments that had appeared to tame the coronavirus are adjusting to the reality that the disease is here to stay

China is testing restaurant workers and delivery drivers block by block.

South Korea tells people to carry two types of masks for differing risky social situations.

Germany requires communities to crack down when the number of infections hits certain thresholds.

Britain will target local outbreaks in a strategy that Prime Minister Boris Johnson calls Whac-A-Mole.

Around the world, governments that had appeared to tame the coronavirus are adjusting to the reality that the disease is here to stay. But in a shift away from damaging nationwide lockdowns, they are looking for targeted ways to find and stop outbreaks before they become third or fourth waves.

While the details differ, the strategies call for giving governments flexibility to tighten or ease as needed. They require some mix of intensive testing and monitoring, lightning-fast response times by authorities, tight border management and constant reminders to their citizens of the dangers of frequent human contact.

The strategies often force central governments and local officials to share data and work closely together, overcoming incompatible computer systems, turf battles and other longstanding bureaucratic rivalries. Already, in Britain, some local officials say their efforts are not coordinated enough.

The shifting strategies are an acknowledgement that even the most successful countries cannot declare victory until a vaccine is found. They also show the challenge presented by countries like the United States, Brazil and India, where the authorities never fully contained initial outbreaks and from where the coronavirus will continue to threaten to spread.

Its always going to be with us, said Simon James Thornley, an epidemiologist from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. I dont think we can eliminate the virus long term. We are going to need to learn to live with the virus.

Even in places where the coronavirus appeared to be under control, big outbreaks remain a major risk. In Tokyo, there have been 253 new infections in the past week, 83 from a nightlife district. In Gutersloh in western Germany, more than 1,500 workers from a meat processing plant tested positive, prompting authorities to shut down two districts. South Korea, another poster child for fast responses, has announced dozens of new infections in recent days.

In Rome, which recently emerged from one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe, 122 people have been linked to a cluster case at a hospital, the San Raffaele Pisana Institute. Several days later, 18 people who lived in a building with shared bathrooms came down with the virus.

As soon as we lowered our guard, said Paolo La Pietra, who owns a tobacco shop in the neighborhood, it hit us back.

Some countries, like South Korea and Japan, aimed to make their responses nimble.

South Korea calls its strategy everyday life quarantine. The country never implemented the strict lockdowns that were seen in other places, and social-distancing measures, while strongly encouraged, remain guidelines. Still, it has set a strict target of a maximum of about 50 new infections a day  a target that it says its public health system, including its testing and tracing capacity, can withstand.

Officials shift the rules as needed. After a second wave of infections broke out in Seoul, city officials made people wear masks in public transportation and closed public facilities for two weeks.

The South Korean government has added new guidelines as it has learned more about outbreaks. It advises companies to have employees sit in a zigzag fashion. Air-conditioners should be turned off every two hours to increase ventilation, it said. It has discouraged singing in markets and other public places.

It has also advised people to carry two types of masks in summer  a surgical mask and a heavy-duty mask, similar to the N95 respirator masks worn by health care workers, to be used in crowded settings.

Japan, which endured only limited lockdowns, also wants to keep its limits light to help restart its economy. It is considering allowing travellers from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam. As an island nation, Japan cannot afford to keep its borders closed any longer, said Shinzo Abe, its prime minister.

Last Friday, Japan launched a contact tracing app that would alert users if they had been in touch with a person who tested positive in the last 14 days. Railway operators have launched an app and websites telling commuters how crowded the trains are at any given time.

Officials are also warning people constantly to change the way they live. Though bars and clubs are reopening, hostesses have been told to refrain from being next to a client when singing karaoke and dancing. Nightclubs must minimise music and crowd volumes to reduce the spread of respiratory droplets. Citizens are advised to continue avoiding the Three Cs  closed, crowded and close-contact activities.

We need to run the economy strongly by controlling the infection risks with less-restrictive measures and take measures which put more emphasis on protecting jobs and life, Abe said.

Some countries, like China, are learning to ease back from their more draconian methods. The Chinese government virtually isolated tens of millions of people in the city of Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province when the outbreak began.

Mindful of the economic damage, Chinese leaders have adopted looser restrictions. In Beijing, officials told residents that they could take off their masks outdoors. Temperature screening in the city became less widespread.

Then, on 12 June, Beijing officials announced that 53 people had tested positive for the coronavirus. Instead of locking up the capital city, officials promptly shut down a market and residential communities surrounding it and mobilised close to 100,000 community workers to test roughly 2.3 million residents in about a week.

A city as big as Beijing cant be in a state of wartime resistance forever, said Mao Shoulong, a professor of public policy at Beijings Renmin University. How many more times can we endure this?

Unlike Wuhan, the effort was targeted. Other Beijing neighbourhoods stayed open as usual. The Chinese government tends to favour a mass testing approach focused on specific groups  in addition to the people connected to the market, it said it would also test residents living in high- and medium-risk neighbourhoods, restaurant and retail staff, students and teaching staff, and health care workers.

Chinas strategy is not to bring infections to zero, said Zhang Wenhong, an adviser to the Shanghai government on the pandemic. Instead, in an interview with Chinas Caixin magazine, he described Chinas game plan as getting close to zero cases.

Prevention and control with precision, coupled with rapid medical treatment, Zhang said. This strategy will be applicable to China for a long time.

European governments are also learning to be more flexible following their strong responses, though the process can be slow. In Germany, officials have stipulated that regions or municipalities that register more than 50 new infections per 100,000 people in seven days must quickly respond to quell the outbreak, using tools like school closings, full quarantines and mass testing.

Though many of these efforts are intensely local, they require close coordination with central officials and neighbouring jurisdictions. England, for example, is exploring limited, tailor-made shutdowns around clusters of infections, but local officials warn that the system is full of potential holes.

Health officials in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are largely responsible for their own strategies. In England, where local officials have complained about a lack of testing data from the central government, employers or building managers have picked up the slack by keeping track of infections and respond to outbreaks. Some, like the headquarters of a major retailer in East Lancashire, have been praised by public health officials for taking quick action.

But controlling the virus would require an understanding of where it is lurking, especially difficult for a disease in which 80 percent of the cases have mild symptoms. Several local public health directors said in interviews that they learned about outbreaks from the news. The level of detail that officials need to decide on localised shutdowns  the postal codes of people testing positive, for example  remains elusive.

Every pandemic begins as a local outbreak, said Lincoln Sargeant, the director of public health in North Yorkshire. Its granular intelligence that we need in a timely fashion.

Johnson, the prime minister, has maintained that local shutdowns are sufficient to control new waves of the virus. In the beginning, the government had very few instruments at our disposal, he said on Friday. Now, he said, officials can identify outbreaks where they happen.

He has likened the effort to Whac-A-Mole, the decades-old arcade game. Officials can take the preventive measures necessary on the spot, rather than going back to the national lockdown approach, he said. Thats what we hope.

In Rome, the outbreak at the San Raffaele Pisana Institute tested the ability of the local authorities to find and stop outbreaks.

Local health officials tested patients and staff at the hospital, emptied three wards and sealed off the building. Former patients and their contacts queued in their cars outside drive-in testing stations. Romes prosecutors opened an investigation into clusters origin.

One of the people who became ill was a pulmonologist, Vittorio Bisogni. He came down with a slight fever after he visited a patient who had been released from the hospital. Bisogni was diagnosed with the virus on 9 June. His patient died a few days later.

I got angry, Bisogni said, After getting hit so hard, we cant afford to be so naive.

Sui-Lee Wee, Benjamin Mueller and Emma Bubola c.2020 The New York Times Company
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said today that dividing businesses into essential and non-essential groups in her April Shelter in Place order to fight COVID-19 was a mistake.

Speaking to the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce via a live video link, Ivey said it would be an understatement to say that 2020 hasnt lived up to expectations. A jobless rate of 2.9 percent at the years start is now nearly 10 percent with 585,000 people claiming unemployment compensation, she said.

Her April Stay at Home order was focused on keeping people safe, Ivey said, and she repeated that requires that all people practice social distancing, personal hygiene and using face masks.

While focused on keeping people safe, this order also unfortunately created a very difficult situation for many of our businesses, both large and small, Ivey said. In trying to reduce the number of people interacting with others one of my first Stay at Home orders set out essential and non-essential businesses.

And that was a mistake, Ivey said. I never wanted to create the belief that my administration viewed certain businesses as more important than others. All jobs and all businesses are essential and important to our state.

Some businesses could not adequately do what was needed -- distancing and face masks -- while operating, Ivey said. Unfortunately, that was lost in the discussions and some people wanted to pit me against businesses who were called non-essential, she said. That name was unfortunate, but I never viewed their function as non-essential.

Ivey said it has been very difficult to know what actions will cause what effects in what time frame with the disease. How does a governor or any leader know what decisions will bring about what results? she asked. Folks, weve just never seen a virus like this before.

Ivey said the Alabama unemployment claims office handled more claims in the first three weeks of the pandemic than in all of 2019. Today, almost 95 percent of all claims have been paid, the governor said.

Ivey appealed for unity and working together as one Alabama. She cited her talks with the Legislature over how to spend Alabamas $1.8 billion federal relief from the CARES Act. While there were some disagreements, Ivey said, my intention remained that this money belonged to the people of Alabama. It was always our goal to get this money back to the people of Alabama in the most expeditious manner possible.

The governor did not take questions from the group watching via Zoom.
A racist advert from a disability care provider banned 'dark-skinned' people from applying for a job, claiming an autistic patient had made the request.

Absolute Care and Health, based in Melbourne, posted the ad on Monday asking for carers who 'weren't African or Indian' to apply.

The advert, which sparked uproar within Indian and African communities, has since been removed by the company.

'The ideal fit for this role is someone who has two years or more experience working in the disability sector, working with clients with autism,' the advert shared to Indeed.com read.

'We request no dark-skinned (Indian or African) applicants apply for this role (as per client request).'

Absolute Care and Health, based in Melbourne, posted the ad (pictured) on Monday asking for carers who weren't African or Indian to apply - as part of the patient's request

Meenu Chandran, a social worker who had previously worked in the disability care sector said she was furious upon reading the post.

'It is outright discriminatory. I was thinking that people would learn from what is happening in the US with [George] Floyd case, but they didn't,' she told SBS Malayalam.

Another former disability support worker said he had seen similar adverts at least five times within the last two years.

'This advert actually said "dark skin". Some try to manipulate their words by saying someone has to be "Anglo-Saxon",' Mohammed Umar said.

'The idea that these organisations are legitimising their discrimination by saying this is what the clients want - that's really, really bad. No one should accept that from anybody.'

People within the disability care sector said they were outraged by the advert which was eventually removed (stock image)

Absolute Care and Health withdrew the advertisement a day after it was published and has apologised.

'It happened as a result of an extreme failure in our internal processes and we are so very deeply sorry for the offence and distress that our error has caused,' CEO Barbara Ould said in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.

'As soon as we discovered that the advertisement had been posted, we quickly removed it; published an apology on our website; apologised personally to those who had viewed the advert and those who contacted us with their concerns; and, started an investigation as to how it happened.

'This was human error and we take full responsibility for its impact.

'We absolutely agree that the language used in the job advertisement is completely unacceptable.

'The diversity of our employees has been a significant strength of our organisation since it was founded and were proud to work with a team made up of so many different cultures, backgrounds and languages.'

In Victoria, it is legal for an employer to discriminate upon who they offer employment in relation to care or personal work within their home.
Keith Chennault posed for a portrait outside of his office in West Philadelphia, Pa. on Monday, June 22, 2020. Keith's company, Chennault Real Estate, does apartment rentals at a wide variety of price points in Philadelphia, as well as Montgomery and Delaware Counties. Read more

Keith Chennault has heard about blocks of empty apartments in new, high-end complexes in Center City. But from his West Philadelphia real estate office, Chennault sees the rental landscape differently. When some clients reach out looking for affordable rents, the options remain slim, even if theyre flexible about location.

Apartment and house rentals about $1,000 a month, he said, are pretty tough to get.

The coronavirus has uprooted nearly every industry, including the rental market, and is primed to make already hard-to-find affordable housing even more challenging to secure. For now, many renters are staying put, halting moving plans indefinitely or opting for short-term leases due to uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and its economic fallout. As restrictions are relaxed, many are going to be looking to save money on rent.

The economic instability thats resulted from the pandemic is something thats going to have a longer-term impact on the market than the shelter-in-place period, said Christopher Salviati, a housing economist for Apartment List, an online marketplace for millions of units across the country. We are getting a sense the more affordable segment of the market is going to remain a bit tighter. The luxury end of the market is going to see a bit of cooling off.

More expensive apartments in downtown Philadelphia are often desirable for their proximity to restaurants, bars, and shops, which now have an uncertain future after being closed for months amid the pandemic. Another selling point for complexes can be luxurious common spaces and shared amenities, many of which are temporarily closed or operating with restrictions to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

Even people who are still able to afford the rents at high-end places may not be able to justify the cost, especially given the possibility of a second wave of the virus that could again grind the economy to a halt.

 READ MORE: Rents dip at Philly areas newest big apartments, as coronavirus pandemic thwarts lease-ups

A shift to the suburbs

Some city residents may flock to the suburbs for a variety of reasons. They might no longer see the value of the urban location, or they might want more space to spread out  perhaps a yard for outdoor social distancing.

Its too early to tell how many will migrate.

Amid stay-at-home orders, people who didnt urgently need to move hunkered down, concerned about their health and their finances.

As metropolitan areas begin to open up again, dont expect cities such as Philadelphia to suddenly become ghost towns. Some people will stay, Salviati noted, and ride out the pandemic and the economic instability.

A lot of people who enjoy city living are taking this as more of a temporary obstacle, he said.

At the same time, however, people who were already thinking about leaving the city pre-pandemic may now expedite the process, Salviati said.

Regardless of when and where they move, a lot of people are going to be looking to make downgrades, he said, making it even more difficult to snag affordable places.

Putting plans on hold

Nearly half of Americans have changed their moving plans due to the pandemic, many for financial reasons, according to a recent Apartment List survey of of 3,872 renters and homeowners. Of those whose plans changed, 30% said they were less likely to move and 17% said they were more likely to do so.

Of those less likely to move, 37% said they dont think its safe, and 26% said they are no longer in a financial position to do so. Of those more likely to move, 32% said they need to find cheaper housing, and 31% said they want to take advantage of declining rents or home prices.

Chennault  whose company, Chennault Real Estate, handles apartment rentals at a wide variety of price points in Philadelphia, as well as Montgomery and Delaware Counties  has already seen the toll of economic uncertainty.

While many people are putting moving plans on hold indefinitely, others who need to move are anxious. Its common for Chennault to talk with couples who must wait until one of them is called back to work, so they can show proof of income on a rental application and feel comfortable committing to a unit, he said.

Many tenants of high-end apartments also seem tentative, said real estate developer Ori Feibush, whose company OCF Realty was part of the development boom in Point Breeze, Bella Vista, and other neighborhoods in the city.

We have a lot of short-term rentals, which we almost never have, he said. Tenants are trying to figure out up from down, [and] whether they want to stay in the city.

Unless it was necessary, people in the cities and suburbs generally stayed put amid the pandemic.

About 75% of OCF tenants renewed leases for the short or long term during the last few months, Feibush said. Usually, closer to two-thirds of tenants renew, he said. In the suburbs, Berger Rental Communities  a Wayne-based company with complexes in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland  said it has also seen more lease renewals than usual.

Feibush said the slowest period for OCF was the first half of June, as antiracism protests were held across the city for weeks in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. As officials tried to gain control after a disorganized initial response, they shut down Center City streets and implemented a curfew.

During those two weeks, Feibush said, he usually rents about 10 apartments a day, but this year the number was closer to one or two.

It was like flipping a switch, he said. I dont know what to compare it to.  COVID was a nonevent relative to the protests for our business.

 READ MORE: Philly is reopening but office workers are staying home. That means peril for lunch spots and stores.

Whats next?

Now, as June turns to July, protests have become less common across the city. While the pandemic remains, the suburbs on Friday were to enter the least-restrictive green phase of Pennsylvanias phased reopening. The city entered a modified green, taking a more gradual approach.

Property managers and industry experts are curious to see what happens next for the rental market.

Salviati, the Apartment List analyst, said hes keeping a close eye on the future of remote work, which companies and employees have gotten used to during the pandemic.

Of the Apartment List survey respondents who were more likely to move, 19% said their reason was continued remote work and no longer being tethered to a particular city. That could be yet another reason, Salviati said, that people decide to move out of expensive apartments in prime locations.
LaToya Ratlieff  the woman Fort Lauderdale police shot in the face with a foam rubber bullet as she choked on tear gas at a George Floyd protest last month  will brief a congressional subcommittee Monday morning about her ordeal.

Ratlieff will speak remotely to the House of Representatives Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The briefing is being held to address how the violent treatment of protesters and journalists across the country by federal and local law enforcement [has] violated the First Amendment, the subcommittee said in a news release.

I am grateful to the committee for offering me the opportunity to share my story and be a part of the conversation about needed reforms, Ratlieff said in a statement. History has shown us that those who are willing to fight for civil rights and justice are regarded as icons of justice while those who resist needed change to ensure equality are remembered as villains. We need our elected leaders to use this moment in history to enact reforms which make our systems of justice truly equal and to hold those to whom we grant power accountable when they abuse it.

The 34-year-old nonprofit grant writer from Delray Beach was shot outside a city parking garage in downtown Fort Lauderdale following a peaceful march on May 31. She suffered a fractured eye socket and a gash that required 20 stitches. Ratlieff had been trying to calm protesters after a Fort Lauderdale officer shoved a kneeling woman in the head as many marchers were returning to their cars. The officers conduct led some protesters to hurl plastic water bottles and rocks. Police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets shortly before 7 p.m.

A few minutes later, Detective Eliezer Ramos, a member of the citys SWAT team, shot Ratlieff in the head with a rubber bullet  an apparent violation of the departments policy on so-called less lethal weapons. The policy says that officers should fire such projectiles at someones head only if deadly force is required. Ratlieff, blinded and choking on tear gas, was being led away from the scene by another protester when Ramos shot her. She had been kneeling in peaceful protest before being gassed.

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After a police officer shot LaToya Ratlieff in the face with a foam rubber bullet as she stumbled away from tear gas, other protesters rushed to the aid of the bleeding woman. Fort Lauderdale Police Department protocols say officers should only aim for the head and neck if they intend to use deadly force.

In his official report, Ramos said he was aiming at a man 10 feet behind Ratlieff because the man had thrown a tear gas canister back at police. The officer is now the subject of an internal affairs investigation but remains on active duty, according to a police spokeswoman.

At first, police suggested they would not investigate the incident. And Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said Ratleiff shouldnt have been in the area. But her shooting was captured in several videos and photographs that made clear she should not have been targeted.

Videos captured on smart phones by protesters, journalists, and bystanders have proven to be essential in holding police accountable for their actions as police departments have issued numerous statements that are easily disproven by video evidence, the subcommittee said.

The congressional briefing will take place at 10 a.m. and can be watched live on YouTube.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, sits on the subcommittee, as do Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts, who have gained national attention for their views on civil rights and inequality.

Also scheduled to speak at the briefing are Tomiko Brown-Nagin, an expert in constitutional law and dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University; Linda Tirado, a journalist who was blinded in one eye after police shot her with a projectile during a protest in Minneapolis; and the Rev. Gini Gerbasi of Saint Johns Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.

The church is not the one with a similar name in Lafayette Square where President Donald Trump held a photo op after authorities attacked peaceful protesters with chemical agents and flash grenades to remove them from the area.
Today Cochrane, a global independent organization that reviews evidence from research to inform health decision-making, publishes a review of studies looking at the accuracy of COVID-19 antibody tests.

The review shows that antibody tests could have a useful role in detecting if someone has had COVID-19, but that timing is important. The tests were better at detecting COVID-19 in people two or more weeks after their symptoms started, but we do not know how well they work more than five weeks after symptoms started. We do not know if this is true for people who have milder disease or no symptoms, because the studies in the review were mainly done in people who were in hospital. In time, we will learn whether having previously had COVID-19 provides individuals with immunity to future infection.

Antibody tests are an important public health tool to identify individuals with previous COVID-19 disease. This enables assessment of the spread of infection and the need for public health interventions. The review summarizes research evidence available up until the end of April 2020 to see whether antibody tests:

-are accurate enough to diagnose disease in people with or without symptoms of COVID-19, and

- can be used to find out if someone has already had COVID-19.

The immune system of people who have COVID-19 responds by developing proteins in the blood called antibodies that attack the virus. Detecting antibodies in people's blood may indicate whether they currently have COVID-19 or have had it previously. Whilst detecting current infection is usually done using swab tests within the first 5 days of illness, they may miss infection and are not available to all.

Cochrane researchers from universities across the world led by experts from the University of Birmingham searched through the 11,000 publications on COVID-19 available at the end of April to find studies that reported results of antibody tests in groups of people known to have (or have had) COVID-19 and others known not to have had COVID-19 based. They found a total of 54 relevant studies reporting test results for nearly 16,000 samples. The majority of studies were from China and were carried out in people who had been admitted to hospital and likely to have had severe disease.

The studies looked at three types of antibody, IgA, IgG and IgM. Most tests measured both IgG and IgM, but some measured a single antibody or combinations of the three antibodies. Data were only available for 27 tests, a small fraction of the over 200 tests on the market. Data were available on both laboratory based tests, which require blood samples taken from the veins, and point-of-care tests, which can use finger-prick blood samples. There were not enough data to compare the accuracy of different tests. The authors will continue to update this review over the next few months to provide a more complete summary of the research evidence as it accumulates.

The researchers found that the sensitivity (the proportion of the people who have had COVID-19 that the test can detect) of antibody testing is very closely related to when the test is performed. Tests of the IgG and IgM antibodies at 8 to 14 days after onset of symptoms correctly identified only 70% of people who had COVID-19. However, when the researchers looked at data reported at between 15 and 35 days after symptoms first began, antibody tests accurately detected over 90% of people with COVID-19. There are insufficient studies to estimate the sensitivity of antibody tests beyond 35 days after the beginning of symptoms. The tests only wrongly diagnosed COVID-19 in 1% to 2% of people without COVID-19.

To illustrate what these accuracy figures mean, in a sample of 1000 people where 200 people (20%) really have COVID-19, typical of workers in a hospital setting where COVID-19 patients have been treated:

- 193 people would receive a positive test result but 10 (5%) of those people would not have COVID-19 (known as a false positive result);

- 807 people would receive a negative test result but 17 (2%) of those people would have COVID-19 (known as false negative result).

In a population where COVID-19 was more common there would be more false negatives and fewer false positives.

Studies showed that antibody tests may have a role in diagnosing COVID-19 in patients who have had COVID-19 symptoms for two or more weeks but who have not had a swab (PCR) test or tested negative despite COVID-19-like symptoms.

We've analyzed all available data from around the globe - discovering clear patterns telling us that timing is vital in using these tests. Use them at the wrong time and they don't work. While these first COVID-19 antibody tests show potential, particularly when used two or three weeks after the onset of symptoms, the data are nearly all from hospitalized patients, so we don't really know how accurately they identify COVID-19 in people with mild or no symptoms, or tested more than five weeks after symptoms started." Professor Jon Deeks, Professor of Biostatistics and Head of the Test Evaluation Research Group at the University of Birmingham

The researchers also had several concerns about the quality of the studies they found. Studies were small and did not report their results fully. Many papers included multiple samples from the same patients. More than half of the studies were made available before they had been through peer review (publications known as 'preprints'). In one important UK study the biomarker manufacturers did not approve the identification of the tests that had been evaluated.

The design, execution and reporting of studies of the accuracy of COVID-19 tests requires considerable improvement. Studies must report data broken down by time since onset of symptoms. Action is needed to ensure that all results of test evaluations are available in the public domain to prevent selective reporting. This is a fast-moving field and we plan to update this review regularly as more studies are published." Dr Jac Dinnes, who worked on the review with the University of Birmingham team
The public is now demanding Colorado officials to launch an independent investigation into the death of a 23-year-old Black man in police custody in 2019. The outcry from the public has prompted Gov. Jared Polis to announce that his administration will open the case and reexamine it.

McClain's death

More than 2 million people signed a petition urging the public officials to conduct a new investigation into the death of Elijah McClain. McClain died after police officers in Denver put him in a chokehold. The death of McClain is one of the numerous cases to get attention following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black men and women under police custody.

On August 24, 2019, McClain was stopped by three white officers while he was on his way home after buying something from a convenience store. A 911 caller reported that there was a "suspicious person" walking in the area. The report says that McClain resisted officer contact, and that was when the struggle ensued, according to BBC News.

On one of the officer's body cameras, McClain was heard saying that he is an introvert and wants space. He was also heard saying that he was trying to stop his music so he can listen to the officers better, but they began to arrest him. One officer said that McClain grabbed another officer's gun, which was not true.

Also Read: Two Staff Fired After Exposing Horrific Conditions Inside a US Nursing Home

The incident leading to McClain's death

According to an overview of the incident given by the police, an officer wrestles McClain to the ground and put him on a chokehold. He briefly lost consciousness. They released the hold but McClain began struggling again. Paramedics arrived at the scene and administered ketamine to sedate McClain.

According to a letter from the district attorney, McClain suffered a heart attack while he was in the ambulance, and he was declared brain dead after three days.

The autopsy showed that a narrow left coronary artery and intense physical exertion contributed to the death of McClain. The coroner also found the amount of ketamine in McClain's system to be a therapeutic amount.

New law

Dave Young, the Adams County district attorney, declined to file criminal charges in the case at the time. In February 2020, a police review board declared that the force that was applied during the altercation with McClain was within policy. The officers that were in the case were all placed on administrative leave following the death of McClain, but they were later reinstated after the prosecutors declined to file charges against them, according to Denver Post.

On June 19, Gov. Polis signed a new police accountability legislation into law. The Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act requires police officers to have their body cameras on at all times. It also requires the public to report on policing, it prevents rehiring of "bad actors" and it holds individual officers liable for their actions.

The law also restricts the use of chemical agents and projectiles. It also establishes that officers can only use deadly force when there is an imminent risk of danger to human life if apprehension is delayed. The use of chokeholds and other dangerous tactics are repealed.

Related Article: Woman Deliberately Coughed on a Baby After Arguing with Mother

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Jim Obergefell poses for a portrait on Thursday, June 25, 2020, at Goodale Park in Columbus, Ohio. Obergefell was the plaintiff in the landmark 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges which legalized same-sex marriage in the United States.

After the speeches and the celebrations and the interviews came something Jim Obergefell hadnt experienced in years: quiet.

It didnt come immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that required all states to grant same-sex marriages. The fanfare after that historic decision  the one bearing Obergefells name  lingered far longer than he could have expected. But eventually, things slowed down and life began to feel normal.

Which meant Obergefell could finally grieve.

When I found myself not rushing here, there, and everywhere, the grief started to hit, and the loss started to hit, Obergefell said this week. I thought Id worked through a lot of it but when you dont have those other things to keep you busy, you realize youre still grieving.

Friday marks the fifth anniversary of the high courts decision in Obergefells landmark case. In those five years, studies estimate that about 300,000 same-sex couples have been married nationwide. That more than doubles the number of same-sex marriages in the U.S., where the unions had been allowed patchwork-style in some states but not others, prior to 2015.

With all the celebratory hubbub that followed, it's sometimes lost that at the heart of Obergefell's lawsuit was a death.

In July 2013, Obergefell married his longtime partner in love, John Arthur, who was gravely ill with Lou Gehrigs disease. Because Ohio at the time didnt allow same-sex unions, the couple flew to Maryland to exchange vows.

Arthur died of the disease three months later, and Obergefell sued to be listed on the death certificate as Arthurs husband. That case was one of six argued together before the high court. Obergefell was the lead plaintiff, meaning the case bore his name, though he was joined by dozens of other plaintiffs.

The whirlwind of that suit meant Obergefell was never alone with his thoughts. But as the focus has shifted to other minority groups, he's had time to learn that, contrary to the self-help books, grief does not come in clean stages.

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"That implies it's the same for every person, and it isn't," he said. "I'm still grieving, I'm still processing."

A winning argument

In April 2015, when the Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments, Obergefell and his fellow plaintiffs were treated more like celebrities than litigants.

People hoping to get coveted seats for the arguments camped out for hours outside of the stately building. Those who made it inside heard impassioned, nuanced arguments. One of the main debates was whether the courts should enter the same-sex marriage fray or let voters decide.

As Justice John Roberts wrote in his dissent: The real question in these cases is what constitutes marriage,' or  more precisely  who decides what constitutes marriage. 

He said states shouldnt be forced to redefine a social institution that has formed the basis of human society for millennia, for the Kalahari Bushmen and the Han Chinese, the Carthaginians and the Aztecs."

He added: "Just who do we think we are?

The plaintiffs lawyers argued that denying same-sex couples the right to marry was a violation of the 14th Amendment guaranteeing citizens equal protection of the laws.

The answer then, as it is now, is that were talking about a fundamental right. Were not talking about a discretionary policy decision, Alphonse Gerhardstein, Obergefells lawyer, said this week. When it comes to a matter of a fundamental right, its central to our Constitution that those are not up to a vote. Almost by definition, youre going to have the minority oppressed. The majority often pushes marginalized people to the side.

The four justices appointed by Democratic presidents were joined by Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Republican appointee. Within two years, more than 150,000 same-sex couples got married, according to research from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. According to U.S. Census estimates, there are more than 500,000 married same-sex couples in the country.

The impact of those unions has been more than cultural. Same-sex weddings have generated more than $3 billion over the past five years, the Williams Institute study estimates, which also said the weddings have generated some $244 million in state and local taxes and created nearly 50,000 jobs.

But the ruling has never been welcomed by all. In Kentucky, a county clerk defied it and refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Two of those couples are suing Kimberly Davis, who lost her Rowan County reelection bid in 2018. An appellate court ruled last year that Davis could not claim qualified immunity to duck being sued because the right she violated had clearly been defined. The suit is still pending.

In Texas, a Waco-based judge is suing the states Commission on Judicial Conduct after the agency warned she was violating the law by refusing to perform gay weddings. Since 2016, Judge Dianne Hensley had been handing same-sex couples typed statements that said she wouldnt marry them because of a sincerely held religious belief as a Christian. Hensley continued performing heterosexual weddings.

The 5-4 Supreme Court ruling has been pelted by these and countless other minor challenges, but so far, none has seriously threatened it. In fact, earlier this month the high court ruled in Bostick v. Clayton County that employers couldn't fire workers simply for being gay or transgendered.

Douglas Hallward-Driemeier, a D.C.-based lawyer who'd argued before the justices on Obergefell's behalf in 2015, said that 6-3 ruling was huge, especially in tandem with the same-sex marriage decision.

"On Friday, you could exercise your right to get married under Obergefell, but be fired on Monday for being gay," Hallward-Driemeier said. "The decision earlier this month in Bostick means that's no longer the case."

The biggest hurdle still facing is rooted in religion: Several lawsuits in various states charge that people who religiously oppose same-sex relationships should not have to follow the anti-discrimination laws designed to protect the LGBTQ community. Gerhardstein said he wants to see that loophole closed.

Were leaving the door open with talk of religious exemptions, Gerhardstein said, but weve made a huge difference.

Life after the law

Obergefells life changed irrevocably with the lawsuit. He became a celebrity beyond the LGBTQ community. President Barack Obama called with congratulations. Nonprofits and various businesses began hiring him for speaking engagements. He cofounded Equality Vines, a wine portfolio business that donates a portion of proceeds to organizations fighting for equality.

All of that has been great, he said, but it's not the most rewarding part of his experience.

When Ive spoken at universities, students come up afterward. They confide in me something they havent confided in anyone else, Obergefell said. They say, Im like you, Jim. I like boys.

"When young people feel safe enough to share that with me, that is by far the most meaningful thing that could happen in my life.

He thinks back to his childhood, he said, back to the days he felt he had no allies and had to hide that he was gay, and is amazed by how much has changed in his 53 years alive.

Young people today are willing to fight on behalf of someone else whos being bullied, being mistreated, he said. The fact that kids are living in a world where they can be much more authentic, I find that stunning.

After the ruling, Obergefell left Cincinnati for Washington, D.C., where he worked in advocacy. A few years later, he returned to Ohio, switching from the Queen City to the state capitol of Columbus. He still works for agencies supporting the LGTBQ community, though this week, he talked about another passion.

"We're a nation that treats Black people as less than," he said, again praising young adults for the recent spate of protests. "I hope this is the beginning of the end of mistreatment."

The time was right for the country's attention to shift back to racial inequity, he said.

"I knew things would slow down in my life when the focus moved away from LGBTQ issues. It's expected, it makes perfect sense," Obergefell said. "There were other fights that were rightly in the public's eye."

With that shift, Obergefell has had more time to sit, quietly, alone with his thoughts.

And those thoughts always go back to the man he loved and the marriage that changed the country.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jim Obergefell revisits Supreme Court same-sex ruling on gay marriage
Canadian Armed Forces personnel arrive at the Villa Val des Arbes seniors residence on April 20, 2020 in Laval, Que. (The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz)

Canadian Red Cross to Help With Quebecs Long-Term Care Homes

OTTAWAThe Canadian Red Cross will send 900 people to work in Quebecs longterm care homes until September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.

The announcement came as the military prepares to pull out of the homes, despite repeated requests from Premier Francois Legault to keep at least 1,000 Forces members there until the fall.

Trudeau said 150 Red Cross personnel would arrive before July 6, with the balance in place by July 29.

The Red Cross workers headed for Quebec will remain at the homes until Sept. 15, by which time thousands of workers hired by the province are expected to be trained and ready to take over the jobs.

Trudeau said a small number of Canadian Armed Forces personnel will remain at four of the care homes until the COVID-19 situation is stable, while 10 teams of seven will be ready to deploy in the case of an emergency.

He praised the work of the soldiers, who were deployed to 47 Quebec care homes, known as CHSLDs, as well as to several homes in Ontario.

Overall, the situation in the CHSLDs has greatly improved, he said at a visit to an Ottawa craft brewery. The needs are no longer the same as they were two months ago.

More than 3,730 people have died of COVID-19 in Quebecs care homes, which have long suffered from a lack of staff.

Trudeau said the replacement of Armed Forces personnel with civilians was part of a transition plan created in conjunction with the province that would allow the soldiers to return to their regular duties.

The workers will be paid from the $100 million in federal funding the government announced for the Red Cross in May to help it meet the demand created by COVID-19.

The novel coronavirus has hit Quebec the hardest of all provinces, which made the governments decision earlier this week to report case numbers weekly instead of daily surprising to many.

Health Minister Christian Dube announced on Twitter on Friday that he had listened, and starting Monday the province will resume daily updates on the numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Dube said the government has been committed to transparency since the beginning of the pandemic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2020.
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This piece is adapted from Emily Tamkins new book, The Influence of Soros: Politics, Power, and the Struggle for Open Society.

Financier and philanthropist George Soros critics in the United States and around the world have leveled all manner of charges, real and absurd, against him, for decades now. But nothingnot being involved in the breaking of the Bank of England, not speculating on Asian currencies, not supporting Sarajevo during the war in Yugoslavia, not putting money toward defeating George W. Bush in the United States or election monitoring in Georgia in 2004, not even the financial crash of 2008has been as effective at cementing Soros status as a boogeyman as recent debates over immigration.

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To understand the particular anti-Semitism of saying that a Jew is trying to bring in immigrants to corrupt a predominantly Christian nation, one needs to understand that a core principle of anti-Semitism is that Jews are always the Other. In the Soviet Union, they were rootless cosmopolitans. In Hitlers Germany, they were not only not of the German people; they were not of the human species. These are extreme examples, but they are nevertheless

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part of history. Thanks to leaders like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Donald Trump blaming Soros for an influx of immigrants into their countries, this trope is also part of our present.

The idea of the Jew bringing in immigrants is, in a certain sense, the most perfect anti-Semitism. Here is a person who is not tied, not really, to the country in which they claim to live, of which they claim to be, subverting and corrupting the true nation, the true people, the ones who really belong. Of course, they want to subvert the values of the nation; they were never, could never, really be part of the nation in the first place. Of course, they are helping the invaders; they are invaders themselves. Of course, Jews are not helping refugees because they think its right; their reason for helping them is the reason Jews do everything. Jews want only to corrupt.

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The beauty of this theory, if one is an anti-Semite, is that one does not even need to say the word Jewish. The very image of a prominent Jewish person smuggling in people trying to destroy the soul of the nation is enough to make anti-Semites synapses light up.

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Here, someone might say that other rich people are criticized for spending money, and that attacks on them arent dismissed as anti-Semitic. But the attacks on George Soros are not anti-Semitic because they are a critique of money spent; they are anti-Semitic because they are a critique of money that has not and will never be spent. They are the invention and ascription of an agenda, a modern version of an old and hateful conspiracy.

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Here, someone else might suggest that Soros is barely Jewish. This is correct if one thinks that the only way to be Jewish is to be both religious and tightly tied to Israel. Soros is neither of those things. Zionism, he once said, didnt interest him because he was interested in the universal human condition. But not being interested in Zionism is different from not being Jewish.

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Put yourself in my place, he told his interlocutor in that particular interview. I was facing extermination at the age of 14 because I was Jewish. Wouldnt that make an impression on you?

Trump won the presidency after a campaign in which he called Mexican immigrants rapists and promised to ban Muslims from entering the country. He was not new to immigration conspiracy theories, nor was he new to anti-Semitic food for thoughtduring his campaign, he tweeted out an image of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clintons face and the Star of David over piles of money (Trump, of course, denied that there was anything anti-Semitic about this; elsewhere in the campaign, he told Republican Jews that they did not support him because he, Trump, couldnt be bought, and they, Republican Jews, liked to buy and control their candidates).

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But as the 2018 midterm elections approached, he combined xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

In late October 2018, Trump said he wouldnt be surprised if someone was paying for the migrant caravan that was then making its way to the Southern U.S. border. When one reporter helpfully shouted out, George Soros? Trump replied, I dont know who, but I wouldnt be surprised. A lot of people say yes.

When I saw [Trump blame Soros for the caravan], I was just likewhoa, this is just Orbans playbook thats come to America, said Frank Sharry, founder of the liberal (Soros-funded) immigration group Americas Voice. He remembered Soros becoming a boogeyman for the right wing back when he gave personal money to stop George W. Bushs reelection back in 2004, he told mebut he didnt remember it being so anti-Semitic.

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A few days before Trump wondered aloud whether Soros was funding the caravan, it should be noted, Chris Farrell, director of research of the conservative Judicial Watch, said the caravan was funded by the Soros-occupied State Department. That same day, a synagogue in Pittsburgh was attacked. Eleven people died. The massacre was thought to be the deadliest against Jewish people in U.S. history.

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The alleged shooter was upset specifically over the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a Jewish nonprofit that helps resettle refugees, which, he said, likes to bring invaders that kill our people.

The attack on the Tree of Life synagogue was a conflict between the language that Trump pushes and the ideals that Soros has funded. It was not the only one. In 2019, the Trump administration planned to change the census to track immigration status, which was quickly called out as a plan to scare undocumented immigrants and boost white voting power.

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One day while I was reporting in Budapest, I checked my email, and a story in my daily Soros Google alerts caught my eye. It was sitting there amid the daily churn of conspiracy theories and diatribes.

My friend and former BuzzFeed News colleague Nidhi Prakash had written it. The headline read, Inside the Massive, Coordinated Push to Make Sure a Census Citizenship Question Does Not Distort Democracy. 

The piece was about the fear from immigrants rights groups that the threat of the question would deter immigrants, including green card holders, from participating in the census. So, too, was it about the coordinated advocacy work to make sure immigrants and their families were not left outby offering help lines in multiple languages and doing community outreachand the unprecedented support from philanthropic organizations, including Soros Open Society.

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There is, to be fair, an argument to be made that the very fact that those groups needed funding from a billionaire was already a distortion of democracy. But if the funding wasnt there, some of the most vulnerable people in the country would almost certainly be undercounted.

Shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court ruled that the citizenship question could not be added to the census. Activist groups doubled down to prevent an undercount of immigrants.

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The story did not end there. Weeks after the Supreme Court ruling, Trump told four freshmen members of Congress, all women of color, all U.S. citizens, three of whom were born in the United States and one of whom was a refugee, to go back from where they came. He presided over a crowd that chanted of one of the women, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Send her back. He made clear that he wanted to make the 2020 election about immigration, and xenophobia, and borders, and Others. About the promise of a closed society, and an ethnonational conception of what it means to belong to it; the antithesis, in many ways, to Soros lifes work.

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Democrats, too, are in a different place than they were in 2014, the year of Dreamers and President Barack Obama being labeled deporter in chief. They are even in a different place than they were in 2016, when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton failed to win the presidency with her message of Stronger Together. At one 2019 Democratic primary debate, Obamas former vice president, Joe Biden, asked Obamas former housing secretary, Julian Castro, whether he had objected to the mass deportations. It seems one of us has learned the lessons of the past, Castro retorted, and one of us hasnt. Castro was running on decriminalizing illegal border crossings, something of a departure from Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuels tough-on-immigration line. I asked George Soros whether he, too, supports decriminalization; he did not provide an answer to this particular question.

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The No. 1 difference is [that] its become more partisan, Alex Nowrasteh, director of immigration at the Cato Institute, told me over the phone in August after I asked how the immigration debate and discourse have changed over the past several years. There were a large number of Republicans who thought liberalizing immigration was the right thing to do, he continued, citing the Gang of Eighteight senators, four of whom were Republicans, who wrote a bill to modernize U.S. immigration (it passed the Senate and expired in the House under the leadership of Republican House Speaker John Boehner in 2013). Democrats were more likely to support liberalizing immigration, Nowrasteh allowed, but it wasnt the massive imbalance you see today.

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There is another difference, too, he said. The rhetoric is more extreme.

Multiple studies have shown that there are more people in America who think immigration is good than people who think immigration is an ill. But for people broadly supportive of immigration, according to Nowrasteh, the issue is probably not the main thing driving them to the polls. For nativists, he said, immigration, or opposition to it, is the No. 1 concern. They dont know how many immigrants are in the country, they dont know how the complex U.S. immigration system works, or that no one personeven Soroscould control it. But the more ignorant the opinion, Nowrasteh said, the more likely the people holding it are to oppose immigration. They know that they dont want immigrants, and they will vote accordingly. And Trump will encourage them to.

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Will the people who vote on that issue come out to vote? And if they do, will Trump win? And if he does, what does that mean, in the late years of Soros life, for the legacy of a man who spent billions of dollars to counter thisTrumpsway of thinking about who gets to belong to and participate in a society?

I asked Charles Gati, a Johns Hopkins professor who knows Soros and was once quite friendly with Orban, what he thought Soros influence ultimately was. It was still to be decided, he told me. It wouldnt be decided in HungaryHungary for the time being is lost. It would be decided here, in the United States, in an election that it appears will be largely about whether this country wants to be an open society that allows different people from different backgrounds to have an equal shot at shaping the debate or a closed (and white) one.

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If Trump is defeated in 2020, he said, then [Soros] will be seen as a major factor that stopped the growth of fascism in the world. That he decided, more than 15 years ago, to get involved in U.S. politics will be viewed as a fine choice. He will be seen as one of the people who began to turn the tide. But if Trump is reelectedwhich, Gati said, seems likelythen he will be seen as a good man who has failed. Which I regret very much, said Gati, because he deserves better.

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People say that its better to have tried and failed, Gati said, adding, But its not a great saying.

I asked Soros if he agreed with Gati. Did his legacydoes his legacyhinge on whether Trump is reelected?

No, he replied. The open society is always endangered and each generation must fight for it to survive.

There will always be people who would suppress others. In an open society wherein everyone is able to participate and express their opinion, those people have a right to express that opinion, too. But it is up to others who do not believe in ethnonationalism, ethnic cleansing, voter suppression, the stripping of the rights of citizens, border walls as substitute for other policyit is up to those others to ensure that the participation of those who believe in a closed society does not come to mean the exclusion of all the people who disagree. It is up to the people who believe, still, even now, in the need for open societies.
The number of trafficking victims in Ireland is underestimated because of major gaps in identification procedures, a charity supporting women affected by prostitution says.

Ruhama said European and Irish nationals and individuals in the asylum process are not currently included in procedures for the formal identification of trafficking victims, which is confined to third country nationals. The charity was commenting on the Trafficking in Person (TIP) report, which downgraded Irelands efforts to tackle human trafficking for sex or work.

Ireland now ranks alongside Saudi Arabia and Romania as a Tier 2 watch list country, after its rating slipped further in the 2020 US Department of State report.

Just 42 suspected victims of sex or labour trafficking were identified in Ireland in 2019. The majority are female and nine are children. Despite almost 500 trafficking victims being identified since 2013, no trafficking prosecutions have been secured to date in Ireland.

Suspected victims from the EEA (European Economic Area), including Ireland, are not being counted in Irelands official numbers, and nor are those who are in the asylum process. This, coupled with the fact that the vast majority of trafficking victims remain undetected, means that we are underestimating the numbers of victims, Ruhama CEO, Barbara Condon, said.

Multi-agency identification procedures must be rolled out and gender-specific accommodation should be developed as a matter of urgency, she said.

The TIP report now ranks Ireland among the worst three performing countries in Europe, the Immigration Council of Ireland said, calling for an independent special rapporteur on human trafficking.

Trafficking for sexual exploitation in Ireland remains pervasive, hidden and widely spread. This trend mirrors the situation in the other European countries and sadly, migrant women and girls are the largest cohort of victims, Dr Nusha Yonkova, an anti-trafficking expert with the Immigrant Council, said.

The housing of trafficking victims in direct provision is also massively problematic, chief executive of the Council, Brian Killoran, said, supporting calls for specific accommodation for trafficking victims.

Ken Fleming of the International Transport Workers Federation, who was involved in a Labour Relations Court case involving migrant fishermen last year, said suspected cases of trafficking were not being investigated.

The TIP report found that 1,500 inspections involving at least 9,000 workers between 2017 and 2019 failed to identify trafficking victims.

The Government, he added, has systematically broken every commitment made before the Labour Relations Court last year, including promises to improve the migrant fishermen work permit scheme. Migrant fishermen, he said, had also received little or nothing of the 137,000 in compensation awarded by the LRC last year.

The TIP report made more than a dozen recommendations, including establishing a trafficking hotline.

Responding to the TIP report, Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan said measures are included in the draft Programme for Government to strengthen Irelands laws on the smuggling and trafficking of migrants.

"A specialised Garda Unit - the Human Trafficking Investigation and Coordination Unit - is in place and there are in the region of 80 ongoing criminal investigations in relation to human trafficking. While no person has yet been convicted specifically for the offence of trafficking, there have been successful convictions in relation to associated charges," Minister Flanagan said.

He also confirmed that the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) will be designated as Irelands independent National Rapporteur for Anti-Human Trafficking and that a human trafficking forum for victims and stakeholders has been set up and will begin meetings in July.
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In February 2004, political publisher Dods launched Whitehall & Westminster World. A sister title to parliamentarians magazine The House, this fortnightly newspaper gave top civil servants an unprecedented ability to speak to their peers across government  piercing the departmental boundaries which obstruct communication in Whitehall. Buoyed by the governments drives for cross-departmental working and greater transparency, WWW persuaded permanent secretaries and agency chief executives to step out of the shadows and get their messages across in this trusted, level-headed publication.

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Economists of India and Bangladesh have sought immediate reopening of 'border haats', saying that prolonged closure of these markets will lead to economic impoverishment of local people, which may force them to restart informal cross-border trade.

Taking part in a webinar, the economists said that resumption of operations of border haats is also required for "ensuring peace, security, stability and prosperity" in the localities where they were set up.

There are four border haats along the Indo-Bangladesh border - two each in Tripura and Meghalaya. These markets are now closed because of the outbreak of novel coronavirus.

"Given the significance of the border haats in maintaining a vibrant economy at the local level, especially in remote border areas, border haats need to be reopened without any delay," Atiur Rahman, a former governor of the Bangladesh Bank, said in the webinar.

Bangladesh Bank is the central bank of the neighbouring 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

Border haats have reinforced the narrative that cross-border trade leads to increased security and economic prosperity of the local people, Rahman said.

Mohit Sippy, Senior Programme and Policy Manager, Asia Regional at the New Delhi office of the Department for International Development (DFID), said that border haats have a significant positive impact on the women living in the border regions.

"This needs to be up-scaled so as to empower and make them economically more independent," Sippy said and emphasized on the role of the border haats in achieving greater cooperation between India and Bangladesh in areas where local communities are key drivers.

"Existing border haats along the India-Bangladesh border need to be re-opened at the earliest and after adopting appropriate precautionary measures related to health and hygiene," said Bipul Chatterjee, Executive Director, CUTS International, a Jaipur-based think tank working on economic and public policy issues.

The CUTS International and the Unnayan Shamannay, a non-governmental research organization of Bangladesh, organized the webinar as part of a project supported by the United Kingdoms DFID under its Asia Regional Trade and Connectivity Programme on Thursday.

Rahman is also the chairperson of the Unnayan Shamannay.

Researchers of the CUTS International and the Unnayan Shamannay also presented their findings on "Border haats between India and Bangladesh as a tool to reduce informal cross-border trade between the two countries", a statement issued by the organizers said.

Several other economists of India and Bangladesh also took part in the webinar on border haats.

'Border haat' is a once-a-week semi-formal market, which allows local people from both countries to trade in vegetables, fruits, spices, food items, agro-implements, cosmetics, toiletries, garments and other indigenous products.
I had a stroke several years ago. I could talk and my brain was fine, but my right arm and leg were out of control.

The U.S. had a stroke last month, when George Floyd died at the hands of a police officer, as three other officers looked on.

My stroke required almost no rehab. America needs lots of it, and Generation Z might be our therapist.

We keep having stroke after stroke after stroke, and this one was so egregious that something might actually get done. The first step is to avoid the state of denial I was in: My brain wasnt fine.

The flailing arm and leg were symptoms, just like the distrust (or hatred) between police and Black people. All the rehab in the world wont do much good if our brain keeps getting blood clots.

Thats where Gen Z comes in.

Gen Z is the most diverse generation ever to live in this country, said Hana Ben-Shabat, founder of Gen Z Planet, a research firm focused on young people. Acceptance, tolerance and social justice are their core values. Not reacting to the recent events would simply be inconsistent with who they are.

The Bay Area is about 50% white now, compared with 86% in 1970, when lots of Baby Boomers were reaching adulthood. You learn an awful lot about people you grow up with. Theyre an us, not a them.

Former Stanford freshman dean Julie Lythcott-Haims said in an email that Gen Z got her attention because of the leadership students showed after the 2018 high school shooting in Parkland, Fla. She was particularly impressed at the March for Our Lives rally, when student Emma Gonzalez was the first human to grab and hold four minutes of silence across radio and television airwaves.

That was stunningly powerful in and of itself, but even more amazing, I felt, was that the Parkland kids shared the mike with Black kids in cities where gun violence is a more common occurrence but gets far less attention, said Lythcott-Haims, an author whose books include Real American, a memoir about growing up Black and biracial.

Teens organized some of Junes major protests: the Golden Gate Bridge, Orange County, a huge one in Nashville. And it was 17-year-old Darnella Frazier whose video showed Floyds death.

Jeff Chiu / Associated Press

Lots of people  as in older white people who vote in city council elections  have trusted the police, giving officers the benefit of the doubt when they injure or kill civilians. The Floyd video rewired their brains.

More rewiring came during the protests, as people saw officers attack and arrest demonstrators when they should have shown restraint. Like in Buffalo, N.Y., when a peaceful 75-year-old white protester was shoved to the ground and seriously injured.

The Buffalo push happened in an instant, but the Minneapolis officers around Floyd had several minutes to intervene. They didnt. When police officers have a reputation of always backing each other up and not stepping in, no matter what, it erodes the publics faith  in them, in their unions, in government.

My research shows that 65 percent of Gen Zers have low trust or no trust in government, Ben-Shabat said in an email. And while these numbers are not too different than those of older generations, the striking fact is that Gen Zers in their short lifetime are equally disenchanted.

How much has changed in a month? Projects like 8 Cant Wait, which pushes eight police reforms to limit the use of force, might have come across as radical a few weeks ago, but now many see them as not going far enough. Some are backing 8 to Abolition, which would defund police and release many prisoners.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed wants unarmed professionals, not police, to answer calls involving such things as mental health, neighbors disputes and school discipline issues.

Police unions from San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles are pushing for national use-of-force standards that focus on de-escalation, and a national database of officers fired for gross misconduct. They want the system to weed out racist cops.

One other suggestion from many people: Not all officers have to carry guns. Make carrying one a career step, once theyve proved that they work well with the public, once theyve gotten more training.

Because of school shootings, Generation Z has grown up understanding how deadly guns can be in the wrong hands. Sometimes those hands belong to a police officer.

When San Franciscan Sean Monterrosa, 22, was killed by police during unrest in Vallejo this month, Police Chief Shawny Williams said the officer thought he saw the butt of a handgun near Monterrosas waist, and shot him due to this perceived threat. It turned out to be a large hammer.

Rayshard Brooks, shot to death by an Atlanta officer this month, had been asleep in his car at a Wendys drive-through until police came. Our rewired brains might have chosen to send an unarmed officer on that call.

If youre in Gen Z and are excited about the potential reforms in society, Lythcott-Haims has a big caveat.

White Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials have been incensed and outraged about racial injustice before, said the 52-year-old, whose next book is Your Turn: How to Be an Adult. Time will tell whether they continue to support police and societal reform or go back to their regularly scheduled lives.

Things were supposed to change in 1991, after more than a dozen Los Angeles police officers were disciplined for using excessive force against Rodney King, a 25-year-old Black man. Despite a video of his horrific beating, the four officers charged in the attack were acquitted in 1992. People rioted.

The most memorable words from the whole tragedy came from King himself, during the riots. Can we all get along? he said in a halting voice. Can we get along? Can we stop making it horrible for the older people and the kids?

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

If youre over 40 and still shudder when you think about the beating and its aftermath, consider this a second chance.

Do better.

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.

Much better.

Getting along today might mean that we dont call police because were unhappy with someone, dragging officers into a silly dispute. They have a tough enough job as it is. It might mean understanding that a $500 fine or $1,000 bail is a nuisance for middle-class people, but devastating for poor ones.

This has been the biggest societal push Ive ever seen, from things like NASCAR banning Confederate flags to Starbucks creating a Black Lives Matter T-shirt for employees to Consumer Reports  yes, Consumer Reports  having articles like How to Record Video During a Protest and Preparing to Protest: A Beginners Guide.

But momentum can get lost faster than a government can say, Lets send this to committee. So heres a question for those who support reform: What have you done in the past week? Sure, you may have marched or donated to charity early this month, but what about now?

You dont rehab from a stroke by working hard for a week and then stopping.

If youre Black and people reached out to you, did you do anything more than email back and say thanks? Follow up as soon as you reasonably can.

If youre not Black and want to be supportive, do it. Point out ways your company (or police department) can be more diverse. Make sure management honors any pledges or public statements it made during the protests. Support Black-owned businesses.

Dont make your Black colleagues feel like they always have to lead the way. Every. Single. Time.

Look for changes that will endure rather than a one-time infusion of cash. Sephora, for example, signed a 15 Percent Pledge to offer more items from Black-owned brands.

If youre in Generation Z, you might feel powerless over things like climate change because you dont have political clout. But you have disposable income, which gives you marketing clout. Use it. If you get businesses on your side, its amazing how much political clout you will suddenly have.

Educate people, too. Gen Z is the first generation to have been taught social and emotional learning widely in the public schools, with an emphasis on inclusiveness, Lythcott-Haims said. The media theyve had access to has featured more authentic stories about people of color and less tokenism than any prior generation.

Lots of that media is available to all of us. Watch films like 13th or Selma, read The 1619 Project, follow diverse people on Twitter. Google Black reading list. Look up names like Tamir Rice and Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor. Learn some lessons your teachers might not have taught you.

Until folks see Black pain and suffering as the equivalent of their own, Lythcott-Haims said, lasting change will not come.

Thats what makes the Floyd video so powerful. It wasnt Suspect Killed by Police. It was one of us, age 46, just trying to breathe.

Dave Murphy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer who writes the monthly Generations column. Email: dmurphy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @daexmurph
The family of Carlos Ingram-Lopez, through their attorney, has communicated to me that they did not ask for the Chiefs resignation, and they do not want him to step down or be removed as the head of TPD," Ortega wrote.

Many community members and neighborhood leaders have also reached out to me to express their support for Chief Magnus and the work he has done in their neighborhoods and in our community, he said.

Ortega said he believes Magnus leadership is exactly what we need in these difficult times.

Getting rid of the chief now will not help us continue to transform our police department, he wrote.

We still have work to do to continue transforming our police department to meet our communitys expectations.

Mayor Regina Romero, who was standing next to Magnus when he made the offer to step down during a news conference on Wednesday, said she did not believe the chief should resign.
The United Nations said an abandoned oil tanker moored off the coast of Yemen loaded with more than 1 million barrels of crude oil is at risk of rupture or exploding, causing massive environmental damage to Red Sea marine life, desalination factories and international shipping routes.

Internal documents obtained by The Associated Press show that seawater has entered the engine compartment of the tanker, which hasn't been maintained for over five years, causing damage to the pipelines and increasing the risk of sinking. Rust has covered parts of the tanker and the inert gas that prevents the tanks from gathering inflammable gases, has leaked out. Experts say repairs are no longer possible because the damage to the ship is irreversible.

For years, the U.N. has been trying to send inspectors to assess the damage aboard the vessel known as the FSO Safer and look for ways to secure the tanker by unloading the oil and pulling the ship to safety.

But a European diplomat, a Yemeni government official and the tanker's company owner said that Houthi rebels have resisted. The diplomat said the rebels are treating the vessel as a ``deterrent like having a nuclear weapon.'' All three individuals spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the subject with a reporter.

They do say that openly to the U.N., We like to have this as something to hold against the international community if attacked, the diplomat said. Houthis are definitely responsible for failure of the U.N. to look at the ship.

Money is also an issue, the diplomat said, adding that the Houthis initially were demanding millions of dollars in return for the oil stored in the tanker. The U.N. is trying to reach an arrangement where money could be used to pay workers and employees at the Red Sea ports where the ship is moored, the diplomat added.

Some experts, however, criticize both the Houthis and the U.N. for failing to fully understand the magnitude of the crisis with the abandoned ship.

Ian Ralby, founder of I.R. Consilium, who specializes in maritime and resource security, told the AP that the U.N.'s efforts to send a team to assess the ship are futile. What the vessel needs is a salvage team, he said

It's a real shame that they wasted so much money and time in this futile operation,'' said Ralby. If you are taking these years to get a simple team to assess, we will not have a second chance to salvage,'' he added.

Ralby, who has written extensively about the tanker, told the AP that amid declining oil prices the cost spent on cleaning up the environmental damage from an explosion or leakage will be much more than the millions worth of oil on the ship.

But the Houthis have refused to back down from their demands.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the rebel leader, blamed the U.S. and Saudis for not letting the rebels sell the oil, saying in a June 18 Twitter post that any disastrous consequences ... God forbid,'' that could result from the collapse of the vessel, will be the responsibility of these two countries.

Houthi rebels are in control of the western Red Sea ports, including Ras Issa, 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from where the FSO Safer tanker has been moored since 1980s. They are at war with the internationally recognized government in exile, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition and the United States.

The floating tanker is a Japanese-made vessel built in the 1970s and sold to the Yemeni government in 1980s to store for export up to 3 million barrels pumped from oil fields in Marib, a province in eastern Yemen. The ship is 360 meters (1,181 feet) long, with 34 storage tanks.

A senior official at the state-owned company in charge of the tanker, said because of a shrinking operational budget, which used to be around 20 million dollars a year before the war, the company could no longer afford to purchase a special fuel needed to run the boilers on the ship. The boilers are needed to power generators that, among other things, keep an inert gas that prevents explosions flowing. The tanker needs 11,000 tons of the fuel, which cost about 8 million dollars each year.

After the stoppage of the boilers the strong majority of the equipment and the machines of the tanker stopped because they all depend on steam power,'' the company official said. That includes the machines that power the ventilation system which reduces humidity and prevents corrosion, he said.

Since 2015, annual maintenance on the ship has come to a complete halt and most crew members, except for 10 people, were pulled off the vessel after the Saudi-led coalition imposed a land, sea, and air embargo before waging an extensive air campaign to dislodge the Houthi rebels from areas they seized including the capital Sanaa.

The U.N. has repeatedly warned that delays in taking action to fix the FSO Safer could lead to a man-made environmental disaster in the Red Sea four times greater than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

The senior official at the state-owned company in charge of the tanker said that a similar oil spill off the coast of Yemen could accelerate the country's worsening humanitarian disaster.

The disaster could happen at any second,'' he said, Rescue Yemen from a terrible, imminent disaster that will add to Yemen's burdens for tens of years and deprive thousands from their source of living and kill marine life in the Red Sea.''

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Hamilton star Daveed Diggs and his girlfriend Emmy Raver-Lampman beamed at the aTypical Wednesday premiere as they walked the red carpet in Hollywood, California on Wednesday at The Montalban Theater Rooftop Cinema.

The outing for the Oakland native, 38, and his stunning partner, 31, marked one of the first red carpet events in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Theater space at the rooftop outdoor venue was limited to 60 people to maintain enough space for social distancing, director J. Lee told Variety. (The area had space for 200 attendees, according to the outlet.)

Return of the red carpet: Hamilton star Daveed Diggs, 38, and his girlfriend Emmy Raver-Lampman, 31, beamed at the aTypical Wednesday premiere as they walked the red carpet in Hollywood, California on Wednesday at The Montalban Theater Rooftop Cinema

The Hamilton star, who played Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the Broadway breakout, kept things fashionable in a creme jacket over a black top with dark blue jeans and black Nike sneakers.

The Tony Award winning performer sported a thick beard and donned a grey ball cap and necklaces to the screening, where he posed with Lampman wearing matching green masks.

The beauty, who plays Millie in the indie comedy, wore a green plaid coat over a white top with blue jeans and her curly blonde locks up. She wore hoop earrings and a black belt with black heels to the screening.

The event was the first gathering of its type, with a red carpet, since Sony debuted the film Bloodshot in nearby Westwood March 10.

Comeback: The outing for the Oakland native, 38, marked one of the first red carpet events in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

Safety first: Theater space at the rooftop outdoor venue was limited to 60 people to maintain enough space for social distancing, director J. Lee said

Big night: The actor/filmmaker said he informally polled people on the idea of a premiere

Precautions were in full effect as everyone in attendance was mandated to wear masks and have their temperatures taken prior to entering the facility.

Lee said that he was focused on keeping things safe in putting together the event, which he said 'kind of happened out of nowhere.'

The actor/filmmaker said that 'the theater said they got approval from the city as long as we keep it to a certain number and gave everyone a lot of space.

'I was just thinking, "How can I celebrate the win because it's so hard to get anything made and how can I do it safely and smartly?"'

Stylish: Actress Niki McElroy donned a dark green top and black pants to the premiere

The film's Bresha Webb, Lee, Cooper J. Friedman, and Raver-Lampman stood apart for a group shot

Pretty: Webb wore a casual summery ensemble as she walked the red carpet

Lee said he probed attendees beforehand if they would be OK to attend an event like that, amid a staggered reopening in California, and they were warm to the idea.

'Most people responded with, "Hell yeah! I want to get out of the house,"' he said. 'Before I pulled the trigger I was nervous that people wouldn't feel comfortable doing it so I took the temperature first, no pun intended.

'Most people said they wanted to support me, and the fact that it was outdoors on rooftop made it work.'

Breath of fresh air: Diggs and other attendees removed their masks when they were distanced from other people

Look at the future? The theatrical set up was outdoors and provided guests with ample space

Changing times: All who attended were mandated to have their temperatures taken

Other safety measures taken included keeping six feet distance during red carpet walks, and a pool of only six photographers on hand.

As of Thursday, the death total for COVID-19 was at 122,550 people in the U.S., with 2,416,727 total positive diagnoses, Johns Hopkins University reported. On a global level, 486,101 people have died amid 9,568,991 positive diagnoses worldwide.

aTypical Wednesday, which also stars Seth Green, Bresha Webb and Sujata Day, debuts Friday on iTunes and other VOD streaming services.
On Wednesday, June 24, General Motors (GM) announced that it was preparing to file a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) with the state of Tennessee in announcing its plan to lay off 680 workers and eliminate the third shift at its manufacturing facility in Spring Hill. The layoffs, due to start as of July 31, are a reflection of the ongoing economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has tanked auto sales.

The layoffs will affect 525 production and skilled trades workers and 155 temporary workers and will be carried out based on seniority. They come as COVID-19 is spreading in the auto plants as the pandemic resurges nationwide. For its part GM is refusing to reveal the number and location of confirmed COVID-19 infections at its plants.

A WARN notice is required under the United States WARN Act of 1988, which requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide 60 calendar-day advance notification of plant closings and mass layoffs of employees. GM called the cuts that will devastate the lives of hundreds of workers an adjustment.

The Spring Hill Manufacturing facility, located near the major transportation route of Interstate 65, employs around 3,400 workers. It produces the Cadillac XT5, XT6, and GMC Acadia SUVs. The layoffs represent an approximately 20 percent reduction of the plants workforce.

Sales of the XT5 were down 32 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The XT6, a new three-row crossover vehicle, had just 5,074 sales, while sales of the Acadia were down 43 percent.

Fearing the growing anger among autoworkers who were being forced to remain on the job despite the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and noting wildcat actions by workers at several Detroit-area auto plants, GM halted operations on March 20. In late May, under the homicidal drive spearheaded by the Trump administration to force a return to work, Spring Hill began a phased reopening of the plant, beginning with first shift workers.

While the second shift returned on June 1, the return of third shift was up in the air despite GMs previous plans of having full production capacity underway by mid-June. In comments to the Detroit News, a GM spokesperson stated that the reason for the delay was due to near-term supply constraints and the need to further evaluate market conditions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with auto sales slumping throughout the world, the company is taking an axe to jobs.

The United Auto Workers, for its part, is doing nothing to mobilize workers in defense of those being laid off. In a public post on Facebook, Local 1853 GM Chair Michael Herron, shedding crocodile tears, wrote the following:

On a personal note, it is heartbreaking for me to have to send this notice out. All of the affected team members have done a phenomenal job building cars at Spring Hill Manufacturing. You are world-class workers and I pray that this layoff will be short in duration and that this economy will eventually rebound creating a need for the return of third shift. The union will continue to represent you and work to support you during this layoff.

Herrons comments underscore the analysis made by the Socialist Equality Party and the World Socialist Web Site that the trade unions no longer function as workers organizations, and instead exist to facilitate the dictates of the corporations. Indeed, rather than defending the needs of workers, the union instead enforces the needs of the capitalist profit system.

Speaking to the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter, one Spring Hill worker who is among those facing layoff said, GM can afford it, but has chosen not to keep the workers. Its disappointing. This is what they do and the [UAW] accepts it.

Another worker at a facility in Jackson, Tennessee, which produces parts for the Detroit automakers wrote, Its a shame about the GM Spring Hill facility doing that. We are one of their major suppliers of parts so it will inevitably impact us as well.

Regarding the UAW, the worker added, The UAW, in my opinion, is about as corrupt as our own government. They have the power to force a shutdown to protect the workers, but have continued to stay quiet, just saying that theyre working with management to stay on course with guidelines and keep workers safe, which we all know is bogus.

If they wanted to keep workers safe, we wouldnt be back to work so soon. If they were to shut down, it would stop our production, as well as other suppliers, thus keeping thousands of employees safe inside and outside the union. Like with anything that stands to profit in any form, the UAW has just become a puppet for the auto industry, pocketing workers dues for themselves.

UAW Local 1853 officials notoriously called police on workers protesting the sellout deal negotiated by the union with General Motors last October outside the locals office. The UAW has played the same role throughout the COVID-19 crisis, attempting to pacify workers with worthless pledges of concern over health and safety while herding workers back into the factory under conditions where the virus is spreading uncontrolled.

While the virus is a product of nature the disaster it has produced is largely manmade, based on years of neglect of health care infrastructure and lack of planning. Workers should not be forced to bear the brunt of this through the destruction of their jobs and livelihoods. Workers should demand full pay and benefits through all layoffs and shutdowns.
The Maharashtra government has informed the Bombay high court (HC) that inmates with comorbid conditions would have access to rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) depending on the availability of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) test kits.

Maharashtra advocate-general (A-G) Ashutosh Kumbhakoni submitted before the court that as inmates were relatively safe in the confines of a prison, the test kits could be deployed in high-risk areas on a priority basis to prevent the spread of the viral outbreak.

The state government made the submissions before the HC following a clutch of public interest litigations (PILs) that were filed expressing concerns about inmates health conditions after several prisoners tested Covid-19 positive across Maharashtras jails and correctional homes and four undertrials also died of the viral infection as their autopsy reports revealed later.

A two-member division bench of the HC, comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik, while hearing via video-conference the PILs filed by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) --- the largest and the oldest human rights organisation in the country  Geeta Jain, the former mayor of Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation; Archana Rupwate, an activist-lawyer; among others, were informed that the modified draft guidelines for inmates and prison staff were submitted by the state government in the previous hearing.

Senior advocate Mihir Desai, who appeared on behalf of PUCL, took note of the state governments modified draft guidelines, but prayed for conducting a mass test for inmates because of the spike in Covid-19 positive cases in Maharashtra, the worst-affected state in the country as far as the pandemic is concerned.

The petitioners also submitted that the lower courts were not abiding by the recommendations of the High Power Committee (HPC), leading to growing pendency of several pleas for interim bail and parole of inmates, who are vulnerable to contracting SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, because of unhygienic conditions in prisons.

The court directed the state authorities to update its portal regularly on the health condition of inmates and also ordered senior counsel Milind Sathe, who appeared on behalf of HPC, to issue a circular to all district legal service authorities to assist lower courts to expedite the hearing of interim bail and parole pleas.

The HC will hear the case next on Tuesday.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: India has moved down three places to 77th rank in terms of money parked by its citizens and enterprises with Swiss banks at the end of 2019, while the UK has retained its top position, as per the latest data from Switzerland's central bank.

India was ranked 74th in the previous year. An analysis of the latest annual banking statistics released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) showed that India remains ranked very low when it comes to money parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through their India-based branches, accounting for just about 0.06 per cent of the aggregate funds parked by all foreign clients of Switzerland-based banks.

In comparison, the top-ranked UK accounted for close to 27 per cent of the total foreign funds parked with Swiss banks at the end of 2019.

According to the latest SNB data, funds parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through India-based branches, fell by 5.8 per cent in 2019 to 899 million Swiss francs (Rs 6,625 crore).

The data is for 'total liabilities' of Swiss banks towards Indian clients takes into account all types of funds of Indian customers at Swiss banks, including deposits from individuals, banks and enterprises.

This also includes data for branches of Swiss banks in India, as well as non-deposit liabilities.

These are official figures reported by banks to the SNB and do not indicate the quantum of the much-debated alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland.

These figures also do not include the money that Indians, NRIs or others might have in Swiss banks in names of third-country entities.

Among the top-ranked jurisdictions, the UK is followed by the US, West Indies, France and Hong Kong in the top five.

The top-five countries alone account for more than 50 per cent of the aggregate foreign funds parked with the Swiss banks, while the top-10 account for nearly two-thirds.

The top-15 countries account for nearly 75 per cent of all foreign money in Swiss banks, while the contribution of the top-30 is almost 90 per cent.

The top-10 countries also include Germany, Luxembourg, Bahamas, Singapore and Cayman Islands.

Only 22 jurisdictions have 1 per cent of more of the total foreign funds parked with Swiss banks and these include China, Jersey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Panama, Italy, Cyprus, UAE, Netherlands, Japan and Guernsey.

Among the five-nation BRICS block of emerging economies, India is ranked the lowest while Russia is ranked the highest at the 20th place (same as last year), followed by China at 22nd (same as 2018-end), South Africa at 56th (up two places) and Brazil at 62nd (up from 65th last year) in terms of money parked by their citizens and enterprises at the end of 2019.

The countries ranked higher than India also include Kenya (74th), Mauritius (68th), New Zealand (67th), Venezuela (61st), Ukraine (58th), Philippines (51st), Malaysia (49th), Seychelles (45th), Indonesia (44th), South Korea (41st), Thailand (37th), Canada (36th), Israel (28th), Turkey (26th), Mexico (26th), Taiwan (24th), Saudi Arabia (19th), Australia (18th), Italy (16th), UAE (14th), Netherlands (13th), Japan (12th) and Guernsey (11th).

However, several of India's neighbouring nations are ranked lower, with Pakistan ranked 99th, Bangladesh 85th, Nepal 118th, Sri Lanka 148th, Myanmar 186th and Bhutan 196th.

All these countries recorded decline in their figures for 2019. A number of countries have seen their funds falling in Swiss banks in recent years amid a global clampdown against the erstwhile banking secrecy walls in the Alpine nation.

In terms of percentage change in the aggregate amount during 2019, Central African Republic saw the biggest increase of over 3,600 per cent, while Iraq and North Korea also figured among the top-ten countries in terms of rise in their figures of nearly 500 per cent and 110 per cent, respectively.

The decline was highest for Maldives at over 97 per cent. It has been often alleged that Indians and other nationals seeking to stash their illicit wealth abroad use multiple layers of various jurisdictions, including tax havens, to shift the money to Swiss banks.

Also, with Switzerland putting in place an automatic information exchange framework with India and various other countries, the famed secrecy walls of Swiss banks are said to have crumbled.

India started getting this automatic data last year, while it has already been getting information on accounts where proof of illicit funds can be furnished.

At the end of 2018, funds officially held by Indians with banks in Switzerland accounted for about 0.07 per cent of the total funds kept by all foreign clients in the Swiss banking system, almost the same as the level seen a year before that after a modest increase from 0.04 per cent in 2016.

India was placed at 75th position in 2015 and 61st in the year before, though it used to be among the top-50 countries in terms of holdings in Swiss banks till 2007.

The country was ranked highest at 37th place in the year 2004. The total money held in Swiss banks by foreign clients from across the world rose marginally to CHF 1.44 trillion in 2019.

In terms of individual countries, the UK continues to account for the largest chunk at about CHF 385 billion (up from CHF 372 billion a year ago), which accounts for nearly 27 per cent of the total foreign money with Swiss banks.

The US remains on the second position with an increase in its funds to USD 160 billion, accounting for over 11 per cent of all foreign funds.

India was ranked in the top-50 continuously between 1996 and 2007, but its rank started declining after that -- 55th in 2008, 59th in 2009 and 2010 each, 55th again in 2011, 71st in 2012 and then to 58th in 2013.
The hotel at the centre of the major incident in Glasgow was being used to house asylum seekers during the coronavirus lockdown.

Armed police were seen entering the Park Inn following reports of multiple stabbings inside the city centre building on Friday afternoon.

The Radisson Hotel Group, which runs the Park Inn, confirmed the 91-room hotel on West George Street was being used for temporary housing.

We are deeply saddened by the tragic event that happened today on West George Street in Glasgow, said area senior vice-president Tom Flanagan Kartunnen.

We are working with the hotel owner and all the relevant local authorities, including Police Scotland, to support the investigation.

During the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the hotel has been occupied for temporary housing.

Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down Show all 11 1 /11 Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down Emergency services in West George Street, Glasgow, as a serious incident closed roads in the city centre Milroy1717/PA Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down Police confirmed the male suspect who was shot by armed officers has died James_J_Marlow/Twitter Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down Four people were taken away from the scene in ambulances, according to one eyewitness Milroy1717/Reuters Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down Police officers walk in through the main entrance of the Park Inn Hotel Getty Images Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down The Scottish Police Federation have said an officer was stabbed during the major incident Getty Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down Police and forensic officers at the scene PA Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down Emergency services at the scene in West George Street. Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has described the incident as "truly dreadful". She added in a post on Twitter: "My thoughts are with everyone involved. I am being updated as the situation becomes clearer. "Please help the emergency services do their jobs by staying away from the area - and please dont share unconfirmed information." PA Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down PA Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down Police officers stand by a screen erected at the scene PA Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down Police block off the road Jamie O'Neill/AP Glasgow stabbings: Man shot by armed police as city centre shut down Getty

Mohammad Asif, chair of Afghan Human Rights Foundation, claimed asylum seekers were among the residents.

He wrote on Twitter: I am told by an asylum seeker resident in the hotel that they are NOT allowed to speak to anyone, he said many people have stabbed by knives.

Campaign group Positive Action In Housing said it had raised concerns about the housing of asylum seekers at the building by social care provider Mears Group.

The Park Inn Hotel is one of several hotels used controversially by Mears Group to house asylum seekers moved from temporary homes into hotels without any money at all.

Very desperate people living there including several of our service users.

Recommended Man shot dead by armed police as at least six injured in Glasgow

Only yesterday, the Mears Group admitted to Scottish MPs that they had FAILED to do vulnerability assessments of asylum seekers who they forcibly moved.

Mears chief operating officer, John Taylor, told MPs on Thursday that there was no formal assessment but insisted that it had managers based at each hotel to help residents with any issues on a daily basis. The company has previously accused refugee activists of spreading false and misleading information.

Positive Action in Housing has also reported that a Syrian refugee named Adnan Elbi died after a suspected suicide at a nearby hotel, the McLays Guest House.

Adnan was one of 370 asylum seekers forcibly moved into hotels with no social distancing and no money, it added.

Six people including a police officer were injured in the incident and a suspect has been shot dead by armed officers.
WASHINGTON - Leaders of the yellow church that has been at the center of the District of Columbia's Black Lives Matter demonstrations say they are concerned about how police cleared protesters from the area earlier this week - and upset that the city built a fence around their property in the name of safety.

Police and city workers on Monday and Tuesday cleared out people, signs, bicycles and tents - including a volunteer medical tent - from the intersection of 16th and H streets NW, in front of St. John's Episcopal Church and across Lafayette Square from the White House.

Up went high fencing, blocking the park all along the south side of H Street, and blocking St. John's - but not other nearby buildings - on the north side.

Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde and the Rev. Robert Fisher, the church rector, say church leaders gave the city permission to put up fencing but believed the entire block was being cordoned off and didn't want to be the only structure outside the barrier. Budde and Fisher also said they were caught off guard by police involvement in clearing the street.

The moves were "a surprise to us," said Fisher, adding that church officials are trying to find a way to lower tensions on the street and once again allow protesters to access the front of the church.

"St John's isn't just a building. It is a community of people striving to live their faith," Fisher said. "Our aim is to be agents of grace. And we are actively seeking how to best do that as the situation is evolving continually right around us."

Susana Castillo, a spokeswoman for District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, declined to say Thursday what the city had told church officials. "We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure public health and safety are maintained," Castillo said in a text message.

Bowser told reporters that H Street NW is being reopened to vehicles and needed cleaning to remove items causing a health or safety hazard. She also said city officials perceived new threats and tensions during protests this week.

City officials said the demonstrations had become increasingly violent - a man was charged with throwing a molotov cocktail at a police officer Tuesday night, and some officers were hurt. They also said a grill set up by protesters in front of the church was a fire hazard, and Bowser's chief of staff, John Falcicchio, said people were defecating and urinating on the church.

Budde said police told her that officials were worried about the largely wooden structure catching fire, especially after the molotov cocktail incident. On May 31, as protests against police brutality led to looting and property damage, there was a small fire in the church basement that appeared to have been triggered by someone throwing an igniting substance through a window.

The next day, federal law enforcement officers used gas and horses to clear the area so President Donald Trump could walk to the front of the church to pose for cameras, holding a Bible aloft.

The area outside St. John's had since become not only a high-profile speaking spot for pro-Black Lives Matter activists and clergy, but also a camp for homeless people evicted from Lafayette Square, as well as the backdrop to a pop-up restaurant for protesters called Earl's.

Now it is blocked off by fencing erected by the District government on city property on the north side of H Street NW. The National Park Service erected the fencing on the south side of the street, by Lafayette Square. On Wednesday night, Budde stood outside the church, which is part of the Washington Episcopal Diocese she oversees, and seemed pained by what she saw.

"It looks like the only reason that the police are here right now is to guard the church, and I don't know who ordered that because I certainly didn't, our director didn't," she said.

"We obviously don't want our church to burn down, but we also don't want the police to be on our behalf escalating their presence and interactions."

As police pushed down H Street on Tuesday morning - tearing down signs and clearing tents - volunteers from the District Aid Station outside the church tried to tell officials they were medics and noted they had permission from St. John's to be there.

Eric Otani, 30, who said he had been helping pull injured demonstrators out of crowds and over to medic stations almost daily since the protests began last month, paced up and down the police line, shouting.

"We were here to help people," said Otani, as his team watched its items hauled off in city trucks.

Asked about the confrontations between police and protesters, Bowser said: "We need people to be peaceful. We need people to act lawfully. We can't have our police officers assaulted."
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING / Additional information

SOLUTIONS 30 SE (the Company) will hold its annual general meeting (AGM) on 26 June 2020 at 9:00 a.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST). During this AGM, and amongst other topics, shareholders will be invited to an advisory vote for the first time on:

the Remuneration Policy applicable to the members of the Supervisory Board and Management Board of the Company;

The Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP).

Some questions regarding these two resolutions were raised by a proxy advisory firm. The Company has disclosed additional information and clarifications, which have led the proxy advisory firm to subsequently revise its voting recommendations.

LTIP maximum individual limit

The LTIP has been designed as a stock option plan and only options can be granted. As mentioned in the documents made available on the Companys web site, the option exercise price is EUR 8.99 (average stock price at the closing of the 60 trading days preceding the date of the Supervisory Board meeting of 23rd September 2019 having decided the award of the present LTIP).

The maximum number of shares that can be issued under this plan shall not exceed 6,500,000.

When calculating the total value of the plan, this exercise price must be taken into consideration.

Under the assumption of a share price of EUR 10.99, the total value of the plan is:

EUR 10.99  EUR 8.99 = EUR 2.00

EUR 2.00 x 6.5m shares = total value of EUR 13.00m.

The maximum individual allocation is 15% of the total size of the plan.

Options shall be granted after a three-year performance program setting objectives upon satisfaction of those and shall vest 1 year after the respective grant date. Thus, this three-year plan cannot be compared to the median annual compensation packages of Solutions 30 peers.

Disclosure on termination provisions, TSR and peer group for the LTIP

The performance criteria on which the allocation of stock-options is calculated include a target to outperform the market share price compared to an index composed of nine comparable European securities.

This information and termination provisions, were disclosed on the Companys web site in the section related to General Meetings under the name  Additional information on key elements of the proposed LTIP .

Story continues

Non-financial performance metrics introduced as part of the Remuneration Policy

The Remuneration Policy is a four-year policy which sets the main principles applicable to the remuneration of the members of the Supervisory Board and the Management Board (GMB) of the Company.

The Remuneration Policy establishes that individual objectives are set at the beginning of each financial year by the Nominations and Remunerations Committee based on a proposal prepared by the Chairman of the GMB together with the GMB. The individual objectives should include non-financial measures. The Nominations and Remunerations Committee determines, at the end of each year, whether the relevant GMB member achieved his/her individual objective targets during that year.

These individual metrics are set each year. They depend on the annual goals of the Group and can vary from one individual to the other. For instance, these non-financial metrics may include customer satisfaction KPIs for the Companys COO and Deputy COOs but will include different metrics for the CFO. They can also include ESG metrics depending on each individual area of expertise. Thus, they cannot be exhaustively defined in a four-year Remuneration Policy.





Objectives adjustment for the LTIP, in light of Covid-19

The exceptional circumstances of Covid-19 have led the Supervisory Board of the Company to put the objectives for the LTIP under review.

Any review would only concern the 2020 and 2021 objectives, but not the exercise price (no re-pricing) and/or performance measures and/or 2019 performance targets.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a drastic change of the business environment, and companies need to adapt. Objectives which were set in 2019 may be re-adjusted in the interest of the Company, its employees, and its shareholders, if they appear not fit for purpose under the new circumstances.

In SOLUTIONS 30 case, the Supervisory Board has decided to review the 2020 and 2021 targets to make sure that they still apply in the light of a completely unexpected and exogenous situation, while taking into account the best interests of all of the companys stakeholders, including its shareholders. It is important that these targets, which are not only applicable to the members of the GMB, but to all senior executives, are meaningful and motivating for all beneficiaries.

For any further information, please:

visit the Investor Relations / General Meeting section of the website: www.solutions30.com where all relevant documents are available;

or contact the Company by email at the following address: investor.relations@solutions30.com .

About Solutions 30 SE

The Solutions 30 Group is the European leader in solutions for new technologies. Its mission is to make the technological developments that are transforming our daily lives accessible to everyone, individuals and businesses alike. Yesterday, it was computers and the Internet. Today, its digital technology. Tomorrow, it will be technologies that make the world even more interconnected in real time. With more than 30 million call-outs carried out since it was founded and a network of more than 10,000 local technicians, Solutions 30 currently covers all of France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Iberian Peninsula, and Poland. The share capital of Solutions 30 SE consists of 107,127,984 shares, equal to the number of theoretical votes that can be exercised.

Solutions 30 SE is listed on Euronext Growth (ISIN FR0013379484  code ALS30) as well as the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on the XETRA e-listing system (FR0013379484  code 30L3). Indexes: MSCI Europe Small Cap | Tech40 | CAC PME Visit our website for more information: www.solutions30.com



Contact

Analysts/investors: Nathalie Boumendil | Tel: +33 (0)6 85 82 41 95 | nathalie.boumendil@solutions30.com

Press: Samuel Beaupain | Tel: + 352 2 777 4210 | media.relations@solutions30.com



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AMARANTH, ONT.Residents and politicians in a southern Ontario community are calling for the towns mayor to resign over his comments about the LGBTQ community.

Amaranth, Ont., Mayor Bob Curries comments came toward the end of a council meeting last week, in response to a letter from a resident asking why the Pride flag wasnt being flown at town hall.

If everybody was either lesbian or homosexual, this would be the last generation on Earth, because two homosexuals cannot produce offspring, Currie said, according to a recording of the meeting.

So why would I want to support something when this could be the last generation on Earth? Im not going to go there.

Jim Waddington, who organizes the Pride street festival in nearby Orangeville, Ont., said the mayor should be removed from office.

Unfortunately his comments lead to bigotry, said Waddington, who was among more than 4,300 to sign an online petition calling for Curries removal from office as of Thursday evening.

Its just unfathomable that someone would talk this way and not acknowledge it, said Waddington, adding that Currie hadnt shown remorse for his words.

Waddington said Curries comments did not represent the wider population of Dufferin County, which he said is supportive and inclusive of the local LGBTQ community.

He said there had been many messages of support from locals and people in surrounding areas since the petition went up.

The towns deputy mayor, Chris Gerrits, called Curries comments disconcerting and disgusting and said he regrets not calling them out on the spot.

Obviously hindsight being 20/20, I wish that I said something, Gerrits said in an interview, noting the meeting continued as normal for five to 10 minutes after the mayors comments.

But to be honest ... his comments were so offensive, I was quite shocked. I know thats not an excuse, but thats what happened.

Gerrits said council will meet again on Friday to try to agree to fly the Pride flag for the last weekend of June.

A virtual Pride party is set to take place on Saturday in lieu of the usual parade in Orangeville because of physical-distancing requirements during COVID-19.

Currie did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday, although he told CTV Barrie on Wednesday that he did not regret the comments.

If I hurt somebody, thats their problem, not mine, Currie told CTV.
There was one clear lesson for customers in SAP CEO Christian Kleins opening keynote at Sapphire Now, the companys annual conference: When youre moving critical processes to the cloud, you need to pick a reliable partner.

SAP didnt, and its outsourced online event platform went down just as Klein was due to take to the virtual stage on Monday. The company was left scrambling to redirect the 150,000 customers attempting to view the keynote to backup feeds streaming on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Klein told reporters the next day that there had been some technical problems in the virtual keynote and the following conference sessions, which remained inaccessible until later in the week.

Theres clearly one decision which I already regret: to outsource our platform to a third-party provider, he said. You have to make sure the technical platform works.

SAPs own systems continued interrupted, Klein said, but the incidence underscored the importance of the platform on which applications are built. That was also one of the messages in Kleins keynote, for those that were able to view it. Heres a roundup of key takeaways from SAPs week-long event.

A common platform, but no common code base

SAP has gathered four parts of its product portfolio  analytics, data management, application development and intelligent technologies  under the name Business Technology Platform. This offers a common data model and single sign-on for many of the applications SAP offers  but no common code base.

Its unimportant whether the cloud applications are all written in the same programming language, Klein told reporters. What is important is that they all use the same data model, the same business services,  the same user experience.

With all its core applications running on its HANA in-memory database, SAP is now focusing on integrating the business processes they serve. Its already delivered on 50 percent of its integration milestones there, and will reach 90 percent by year-end, Klein said in his keynote.

One of the biggest challenges we face is climate change, according to Klein.

Whatever you think of climate science, governments around the world are taxing carbon emissions, and enterprises able to minimize their carbon footprint at all stages of their supply chain will have a competitive advantage. SAP is working on that internally, having promised back in May 2017 that it would be carbon-neutral by 2025. Now its introduced a tool that other businesses can use to manage the carbon emissions of their own supply chains.

SAP Product Carbon Footprint Analytics draws on information already held in SAP systems, such as energy usage, bills of materials and other procurement data, as well as third-party data sources. Doehler, a supplier of ingredients to the food and beverage industry, is SAPs first customer to go live with the tool.

Industry cloud

Klein gave an update on the companys industry cloud, a series of solutions built for specific vertical markets  consumer products or automotive, for example  using SAP Cloud Platform. These connect to the other elements of SAPs Business Technology Platform using a set of published APIs and run on either SAPs infrastructure or that of one of the hyperscalers: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform. The company first outlined industry cloud back in 2014, when it set itself the goal of eventually extending its industry cloud to all 25 industries it serves. Klein now acknowledges SAP wont do this by itself, instead working with partners to deliver solutions in some industries.

Emotional intelligence

SAP had a lot to say about experience measurement in the months after it paid $8 billion for Qualtrics, but at this event its presence was less apparent.

Qualtrics had been the responsibility of Jennifer Morgan before she became  for just six months  Kleins co-CEO.

Klein gave it a passing mention in his keynote, and later told reporters its low profile was because it is now embedded across the companys portfolio, for example in its SuccessFactors staff management tool. There it allows businesses to track the how staff feel, from recruitment to onboarding and throughout employment.

It is a key pillar, one of the most strategic pillars we have in our portfolio, Klein said, adding that it brought the emotional element to the intelligent enterprise.
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Linkedin Lim Sungnam (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26 2020

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea unveiled the New Southern Policy in November 2017 in Jakarta, aiming to upgrade the Korea-ASEAN partnership in the areas of people, prosperity and peace. Now, after two and a half years, it is high time to consider where the New Southern Policy stands and explore its way forward.

Thus far, the highlight of Koreas New Southern Policy has been the ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit, held in Busan last November to celebrate a 30-year partnership. There, a number of concrete actions were agreed upon.

The size of the ASEAN-Korea cooperation fund was doubled to US$14 million a year. From 2020 to 2022, a Korea-led project called Higher Education for ASEAN Talent, worth $8.3 million, will provide 90 ASEAN postgraduate students with full PhD scholarships. A separate program for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), worth $6.9 million, will help to lay the foundation for the enhancement of human resources in ASEAN member states. Korea will also work with the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Center in a $3.5 million project to improve ASEANs disaster management capacity.

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BMTC conducts random coronavirus tests on crew after 16 staff test positive

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Bengaluru, Jun 26: The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has started conducting random coronavirus tests for its crew members after 16 employees contracted the pathogen in the past fortnight.

"We started the random testing of our crew members from Saturday after 16 members were found infected with COVID-19, since June 11," a BMTC official told PTI. Of the 16 only two had fever and others were asymptomatic. Four have been discharged from the hospital after their reports came out negative following treatment, he said.

Karnataka tweaks quarantine rules for travellers returning from TN, Delhi

Delhi CM cautions Covid patients, says oxygen drops suddenly in some cases | Oneindia News

The corporation has decided to screen all the staffers who are above 50 years of age, returned from COVID-19 affected regions or have symptoms especially fever, cough and cold. BMTC started its operations in the city from May 19 after the lockdown was eased and on June 11 the first coronavirus case was reported when a driver-cum-conductor tested positive for the infection. The first coronavirus patient of BMTC had a travel history to Kalaburagi and Vijayapura, which were the hotspots during May. The BMTC has a fleet of 6,661 buses and has employed over 33,334 employees as of March this year.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 16:33 [IST]
Amid tensions with Nepal, Anil Kumar Shukla, SDM of Dharchula, Uttarakhand stated that Nepal recently disrupted the supply of essential commodities into Nepal. India's relations with Nepal have been tense after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8.

Speaking to ANI, Shukla said that a number of times Nepal closed the footbridge connecting India-Nepal, adding that they will raise this issue in their next meeting.

"Recently, a number of times Nepal closed the footbridge connecting India-Nepal, disrupting the supply of essential commodities into their country. We'll raise this issue in our next friendly meeting with Nepal," said Anil Kumar Shukla.

READ: Nepal refutes report on Chinese encroachment of its land, says 'boundaries demarcated'

Additional SSB forces deployed on India-Nepal border in Uttarakhand

Meanwhile, The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has deployed additional forces along the India-Nepal border from Pithorgarh's Dharchula to Kalapani. Inspector Santosh Negi told ANI that apart from other forces deployed here, there are SSB personnel deployed.

According to SSB sources, the Nepal border is put on alert. In Uttarakhand, the open border with Nepal has been sealed. The Nepal border in the lesser populated area is also being guarded with SSB Jawans. This comes amid tensions between Kathmandu and New Delhi over a new map in which the neighbouring country has staked claim over some Indian territories.

READ: Delhi: Amid sloganeering, protests erupt against China in front of Nepal Embassy

Border dispute between India and Nepal

Nepal has passed country's new map showing Indian territory of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its own. Nepal's PM has said that the issue remians their big priority. Moreover, even as Monsoon hits Bihar, Nepal stalled repair work on the Gandak barrage and a key embankment on the Lalbakeya river, thus increasing the possibility of flood in Bihar's Mithilanchal region.

Additionally, quoting villagers in the Indo-Nepal borders, news agency PTI reported that Nepals FM radio channels are broadcasting anti-India speeches. Nepal had earlier in 2020 opposed 80-km strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand as a link road to Kailash Mansarovar.

READ: India, Nepal coordinating to minimise damage due to flooding: MEA

READ: Nepal, US discuss economic cooperation, COVID-19
The South Korean presidents overture came during the commemoration for 70 years since the outbreak of the inter-Korean conflict. Seoul and Pyongyang are still technically at war. Moon: peace is the precondition for reunification. The South does not want to impose its system, but its GDP is 50 times that of North Korea.

Seoul (AsiaNews) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in yesterday asked North Korea to sign a peace agreement to mark the formal end of conflict between the two nations.

Moons request came during the ceremony marking 70 years since of the outbreak of the inter-Korean war, from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953. Hostilities between Seoul and Pyongyang ceased with the signing of an armistice, but the two sides never agreed to a peace treaty, thus technically remaining at war.

Moon maintains that the South and North cannot work towards reunification without first achieving peace. The South Korean leader stressed that Seoul has no desire to impose its political and economic system on North Koreans. However, he noted that South Korea's GDP is 50 times that of the North.

Moon's peace offer comes after weeks of tension between the two governments. On June 24, North Korea suspended military operations against Seoul and removed 10 speakers used for propaganda from the border.

Last week, Pyongyang had threatened to send its troops to the demilitarized zone between the two countries, in an act of retaliation for the launch of defamatory leaflets into their territory by dissidents sheltered in the South.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 21:23:16|Editor: huaxia

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TRIPOLI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday that 270 illegal immigrants, including women and children, were rescued off the Libyan coast and returned to the war-torn Libya.

"IOM staff are now at the disembarkation point in Tripoli to provide emergency assistance to 270 migrants returned to shore by the Libyan coast guard," IOM tweeted.

The rescued immigrants include 13 women and 23 children, the organization said, adding that "Libya is not a port of safety" for immigrants.

On Thursday, the IOM said that 71 illegal immigrants, including women and children, were rescued and returned to Libya.

Thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean sea toward Europe from Libya, due to the state of chaos and insecurity in the country even since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.

IOM had been running the Voluntary Humanitarian Return program that arranges the return of illegal immigrants stranded in Libya back to their countries of origin, before the Libyan authorities closed all the country's borders as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.

"While the Libyan airspace is still closed under COVID-19 restrictions, over 1,000 stranded immigrants in Libya have so far registered with IOM's Voluntary Humanitarian Return to go back home and reunite with their families," IOM said Thursday.

Thousands of illegal immigrants in Libya, who are either rescued from the sea or arrested by the authorities, remain detained in overcrowded shelters, despite international calls to close those centers. Enditem
Microsofts retail stores mimick the look and feel of Apples iconic sales fronts, from the glass walls to the wood tables to the very design of the Surface hardware on display. But as anyone who ever wandered through a mall can tell you, Microsofts stores lack one crucial aspect: customers. Crowds never flocked to Microsoft stores the way they do Apple stores, and on Friday, Microsoft announced that its closing all but four of its brick and mortar locations.

As we look forward, we start a new chapter for Microsoft Store, Microsoft Store corporate vice president Brad Porter wrote on LinkedIn. As part of our business plan, we announced a strategic change in our retail operations, including closing Microsoft Store physical locations. Our retail team members will continue to serve customers working from Microsoft corporate facilities or remotely and we will continue to develop our diverse team in support of the overall company mission and objectives.

Flagship Microsoft Stores in London, New York City, Sydney and Redmond will remain open, but as reimagine[d] new spaces, Porter says. Microsofts press release says theyll transform into Microsoft Experience Centers. The company also vows to beef up the digital version of the Microsoft Store with virtual customer support from our trusted experts, online tutorial videos, virtual workshops with tips and much more, including personal video sales support calls. Porter says that Microsofts digital Windows and Xbox storefronts already reach 1.2 billion customers each month.

According to its website, Microsoft operates more than 70 U.S. stores in 31 states. The company didnt say whether layoffs will come as a result of the store closures. You have to imagine that shutting down the retail stores will cost many people their jobs, but Porter only stated that our commitment to growing and developing careers from this diverse talent pool is stronger than ever.

Microsoft Stores debuted in 2009, serving as a showcase for Surface, Xbox, and other PCs, as well as information centers for Windows itself. Microsoft shut the doors of all retail stores on March 16 in response to the ongoing pandemic. Unfortunately, they wont be opening again.
Leading Swedish virologist Anders Tegnell, who advocated the lifting of strict restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic in favor of a mass immunity strategy, accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of misinterpreting data on COVID-19 situation in the country, Daily Mail reported.

WHO has included Sweden in the list of 11 countries seeing a dangerous resurgence of COVID-19.

According to the expert, the WHO 'totally misinterpreted' the data. He explained that the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases over the past week is linked to more tests performed.

Tegnell referred to a fall in deaths, hospital admissions, and ICU admissions as evidence that the outbreak in Sweden is retreating.

Sweden's refusal to impose strict restrictions amid the COVID-19 has been widely discussed. The country has recorded 68 390 COVID-19 cases, while the death toll has reached 5,230.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the total number of COVID-19 cases globally has reached 9,588,717. The death toll is 488,842.
 Flash

The Lao Ministry of Defence has awarded Lao People's Army friendship crosses to members of the Chinese army medical expert team which has been assisting Laos in battling the COVID-19 pandemic in the past two months.

Ti Xinyu, leader of the People's Libration Army (PLA) medical expert team, said at the cross-conferring ceremony on Wednesday that in the past two months, his team has fully shared China's anti-epidemic experiences with the Lao side, carried out cooperation with the Lao army over virus testing and confirmation, environmental disinfection and infection control, epidemiological investigation and personnel protection, and diagnosis and treatment training.

The joint efforts have comprehensively improved the epidemic prevention and control capabilities of the Lao army, and contributed to consolidating and developing the friendly relations between the two armies and to building a community with a shared future between the two countries, said Ti.

Chinese Ambassador to Laos Jiang Zaidong congratulated the expert team on its excellence in the assistance mission.

The ambassador said the expert team has properly adapted the Chinese anti-epidemic experience to the actual situation in Laos, participating in Laos' anti-pandemic battle from the phase with climbing infections to the phase of COVID-19 free.

The expert team has worked in harsh conditions such as in the heat of over 40 Celsius degrees, demonstrating the PLA's endurance and high morale amid hardships, he said.

Lao Deputy Defense Minister Aesamay Leuangvanxay said his country has received strong support from China in the fight against COVID-19, adding that the Chinese army not only sent an expert team in a timely manner, but also provided Laos with urgently-needed medical supplies.

According to a press release from the Chinese embassy in Laos on Thursday, the Lao officer said at the ceremony that the Chinese experts have overcome many difficulties and fully demonstrated the PLA's deep friendship with the Lao army.

He added that the anti-epidemic forces of the two sides have worked closely together to effectively improve the professional capabilities of the Lao army, making important contribution to the anti-epidemic battle in Laos.

The Lao Ministry of National Defense highly appreciated and sincerely thanked the Chinese national defense ministry for its strong support and believed that this was a vivid practice of jointly building a community with a shared future between Laos and China, said Aesamay.

At the invitation of the Lao People's Army, a group of five PLA anti-epidemic medical experts arrived in Vientiane on April 24.
The Ukrainian side at the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine, Russia, OSCE) to resolve the situation in Donbas stressed the importance of establishing a stable and comprehensive ceasefire.

"A number of proposals submitted by the Ukrainian party were discussed within the working group on security issues. They concerned, among other things, demining and security for the civilian population, new disengagement points and ensuring a sustainable ceasefire. The group's moderator, Ambassador Yasar Halit Cevik, noted the constructive nature of the dialogue," the press service of the President's Office reported following the regular TCG meeting held in the video format conference.

"The Ukrainian delegation emphasized the need to ensure full and unimpeded access of the OSCE SMM to the entire temporarily uncontrolled territory. Only in the period from June 1 to June 23, 2020, 39 cases of non-admission of OSCE SMM observers to the territory not controlled by the Government of Ukraine through the checkpoints along the official road corridors crossing the delimitation line were recorded," the message reads.

The Ukrainian party stressed its willingness to provide the necessary security guarantees and full assistance to the OSCE SMM to investigate the incident with damage to the surveillance camera of the Special Monitoring Mission near Shyrokyne (Donetsk region), which occurred on June 22, 2020 as a result of shelling from the territory uncontrolled by the Government of Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian party offered to hold an additional meeting of the security group to achieve progress in the issue of disengagement of forces and assets in the project areas until the next meeting of the TCG," the President's Office said.
MANILA, Philippines  The Department of National Defense (DND) on Friday said that the recent joint police and military operation in Paranaque City, which led to the killing of suspected Abu Sayyaf members, highlights the need for President Rodrigo Duterte to sign the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

In a statement, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said, the presence of these terrorists in the NCR highlights the need for us to enhance our measures against those who intend to bring harm to our people.

A law such as the Anti-Terrorism Bill of 2020 will give our law enforcers greater capacity to stop these terrorists and prevent them from wreaking havoc in our communities, he added.

Lorenzana also commended the police and the military for the successful law enforcement.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), meanwhile, said the incident calls for an urgent decision of the President.

This development all the more highlights the need for the President and Commander-in-Chief Rodrigo Duterte to expedite the signing and immediate implementation of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, AFP chief-of-staff General Felimon Santos, Jr. said in a statement.

He said terrorism really poses great threat to public security and places general welfare at stake.

We should protect and defend from terrorists without further delay than it had already been fellow Filipinos from wanton death or destruction of their property, he said.

Santos also said that the recent operation against the alleged members of Abu Sayyaf group only shows that a pandemic could not deter terror groups from committing lawless acts.

The unwanted presence of terrorist ASG members in Metro Manila and their timely neutralization in Paranaque proves that terrorist groups know no pandemic or peoples suffering in the Philippines or elsewhere in the world, he said.

Not even COVID-19 could deter or prevent the terrorists ASG and their cohorts from planning and looking for the opportune time to strike and kill or maim innocent civilians and to destroy massively government infrastructure and private property, he added.

Story continues

The Philippine National Police earlier reported that four suspected ASG members were killed in an operation jointly conducted by police and military forces in Barangay Don Bosco, Paranaque City on past Friday midnight.

The government security forces were about to serve a search warrant issued by the Paranaque City Regional Trial Court Branch 258 when they were engaged by the suspects in a firefight.

The clash eventually resulted in the killing of the suspects, identified as Bensaudi Sali alias Boy, his wife Merhama Abdul Sawari alias Mheng, Rasin Hussin alias Boscon, and Jamal Kalliming alias Pando.

The police and military said the operation stemmed from an information they received about the presence of the group tagged as members of Daulah Islamiyah and acting as a financial conduit of Daesh-East Asia, in Paranaque City.

Authorities recovered from the encounter site various handguns, wires, suspected explosive devices, and ISIS flags.

The post DND: Paranaque raid that killed alleged ASG members highlights need for tougher anti-terror law appeared first on UNTV News.
A lost ancient 18th-century Chinese vase is set to sell for $9million in auction after it was discovered in an elderly woman's cupboard.

The Harry Garner reticulated vase - crafted in the 18th century - was re-discovered by Amsterdam-based art consultant Johan Bosch van Rosenthal.

He was called to the home of a woman in her 80s who had inherited the highly-valuable Qing dynasty artefact.

The dust-coated vase was in almost-pristine condition when it was rediscovered in a cupboard in the country home - surrounded by the woman's pet dogs and cats - after nearly 60 years.

A lost ancient 18th-century Chinese vase (right) is set to sell for $9million in auction after it was discovered in an elderly woman's cupboard. Left: Sotheby's Asia chairman Nicolas Chow holding the vase

The vase will be up for auction by Sothebys in Hong Kong where it is expected to make between HK$70million to HK$90million ($9 million to $11.6 million).

Sotheby's Asia chairman Nicolas Chow got a call from Mr van Rosenthal who told him of the incredible find.

Mr Chow told The Value: 'Just because of the way it is decorated, it was quite obvious that it is what it is.

The vase previously belonged to collectors Sir Harry Garner (left) and Henry Knight (right)

'So I jumped on the plane and flew over to Europe to this house. Lo and behold on the table was this vase, rather dusty, but a forgotten masterpiece of Qing porcelain.'

In 1742, a vase - which matches the description of the one up for auction - was dubbed a masterwork.

It was proudly displayed in the Qianqinggong court in the Forbidden City where the emperor and his most-senior counsellors would meet.

The Harry Garner reticulated vase - crafted in the 18th century - was re-discovered by Amsterdam-based art consultant Johan Bosch van Rosenthal. Pictured: Sotheby's Asia chairman Nicolas Chow holding the vase

The dust-coated vase was in almost-pristine condition when it was rediscovered in a cupboard in the country home - surrounded by the woman's pet dogs and cats - after nearly 60 years

It is made out of just one intricately-carved piece of porcelain and is part of a set of vases made under the supervision of expert Tang Ying.

A pair of vases from the same group sold for HK$149million ($19million) two years ago.

The vase - which features nods to various points in China's history - previously belonged to collectors Sir Harry Garner and Henry Knight.

It first belonged to mathematician and scientist Sir Harry who wrote essays on Qing porcelain and was highly-influential in the field of ancient pottery.

The vase was then auctioned by Sotheby's in 1954. It was passed between various notable dealers before ending up in the hands of Mr Knight.

It is made out of just one intricately-carved piece of porcelain and is part of a set of vases made under the supervision of expert Tang Ying

Mr Knight was an avid collector of Ming and Qing dynasty artefacts and valued the porcelain of the vase, despite many people at the time believing style was 'too Chinese'.

Roger Bluett - of antiques dealer Bluett & Sons which Mr Knight often bought from - wrote: 'Henry Knight, who built up perhaps the best collection of eighteenth-century porcelains in Europe as well as magnificent early pieces, was fond of telling how it was my late father who told him to buy "Chinese taste" porcelains.

'"Their time would come, my father used to say", and how right he was.'

The vase was then passed down generations of Mr Knight's family meaning its whereabouts were largely unknown until last year.
The use of bone grafts and substitutes reduces the need to harvest autograft bones from patients, which in turn reduces postoperative pain and healing time. Increased use of bone graft substitutes facilitates minimally invasive surgeries and short surgical procedures. Although these procedures were initially used for spinal fusion and rectification of deformities, the adoption of these procedures has increased for various applications, including extremity reconstruction and treatment of fractures.

Portland, OR, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, titled, Bone Grafts and Substitutes Market by Type (Allograft, Bone Graft Substitutes, and Cell-based Matrices) and Application (Spinal Fusion, Trauma, Craniomaxillofacial, Joint Reconstruction, and Dental Bone Grafting) - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018-2025

According to the report, the global bone grafts and substitutes market was pegged at $2.69 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $3.91 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 4.8% from 2018 to 2025.

Request Sample Report at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/1774

Rapid development of novel bone grafts materials such as biocompatible synthetic bone grafts and rise in prevalence of bone and joint disorders are the major factors driving the growth of the global bone grafts and substitutes market. Moreover, surge in the number of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and other joint disorders have supplemented the market growth. However, high cost of surgeries and several ethical issues associated with bone grafting procedures have hampered the market development. On the contrary, increasing inclination of key market players toward R&D activities and surge in demand for orthopedic procedures among geriatric population would provide lucrative opportunities for the market leaders in the coming years.

Cost-effectiveness of cell-based matrices to accelerate the market growth

Story continues

The cell-based matrices segment would grow at the fastest CAGR of 6.1% through 2025, as they offer better reproducibility, and cost-effectiveness compared to the other product types available in the market. However, the bone grafts substitutes segment would dominate the market through 2025, capturing more than half of the total market revenue during the study period. In addition, the allografts segment would show gradual growth during the forecast period.

Major applications of bone grafts and substitutes

The report offers an in-depth analysis of the various applications of bone grafts and substitutes, including spinal fusion, trauma, joint reconstruction, dental bone grafting, and craniomaxillofacial. The spinal fusion segment dominated the global bone grafts and substitutes market in 2017 and is expected to hold the largest share in the global market through 2025, contributing about 45%. However, the joint reconstruction segment would witness the fastest CAGR of 6.2% through 2025, owing to rise in demand for joint reconstruction among patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and other joint disorders.

For Purchase Enquiry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/1774

Asia-Pacific to be fastest-growing, North America to generate highest revenue

In 2017, the North America region garnered $1.61 billion, contributing more than half of the market share, owing to favorable reimbursement rates and rise in the incidence of orthopedic disorders. However, Asia-Pacific would manifest the fastest CAGR of 7.3% during the study period. The other regions analyzed in the report are Europe and Latin America, Middle East and Africa (LAMEA).

Key market players

The leading companies in the global bone grafts and substitutes market include Medtronic plc, DePuySynthes, Wright Medical Group N.V., Xtant Medical Holdings, Inc. (Bacterin), Baxter International Inc., Stryker Corporation, Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corporation, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., Arthrex, Inc., and Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF).

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The Dubai Police has released a statement from their headquarters after they put out a video of how Nigerian fraudster, Hushpuppi was arrested together with his 12 friends who formed part of his team.



According to Dubais Polices Commander-in-Chief, Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, the con-team was involved in money laundering and cyber-fraud activities.









#Video | Operation Fox Hunt 2: Dubai Police arrested #Hushpuppi , "Woodberry", and ten international cyber criminals pic.twitter.com/1PoVNZatvO

 Dubai Police  (@DubaiPoliceHQ) June 25, 2020



.@DubaiPoliceHQ take down "Hushpuppi", "Woodberry", ten international cybercriminals in a special operation dubbed "Fox Hunt 2" pic.twitter.com/SGwhxDWrE8

 Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) June 25, 2020

The arrest of Hushpuppi, Woodberry & 10 gang members involved in money laundry & cyber fraud activities, is another achievement added to the proud record of Dubai police in ensuring the emirates security and safety, it said.









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Mumbai, June 26 : Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui has reportedly sent a legal notice to his wife Aaliya, who had sent him a divorce notice on May 7.

Nawazuddin's notice to his estranged wife alleges "engaging in fraud, willful and planned defamation" and "slander of character", as per a report in timesofindia.com. The notice adds that the actor had replied to Aaliya's divorce notice on May 19, within 15 days.

Aaliya had reportedly complained in a recent interview that she is unable to pay her children's school fees as Nawazuddin Siddiqui has stopped paying her the monthly allowance. The actor's lawyer has rejected such claims.

"EMI is still being paid by my client. Other children related expenses too. Divorce notice was replied to but again, she has stated the contrary in order to defame through this well thought slander campaign," Nawazuddin Siddiqui's lawyer Adnan Shaikh told the website.

Furthermore, it has been stated that the actor in his notice has asked his wife not to make defamatory comments against him and also issue a written clarification for whatever she recently said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 05:59:31|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Italy's main agriculture union estimated Thursday that tariffs on European agricultural goods exported to the United States combined with the economic slowdown tied to the coronavirus pandemic will cost Italian farmers around 3 billion euros (3.3 billion U.S. dollars) this year.

In a statement, agricultural union Coldiretti said two-thirds of Italy's exports to the United States would be impacted, including wine, olive oil, pasta and coffee.

That is in addition to a round of tariffs worth about 500 million euros imposed last October. That list included cheese, cured meats, citrus fruits, and most kinds of liqueurs.

The United States has historically been the largest export market for Italian wine and among the largest export markets for Italian cheese and cured meats.

Last year, the World Trade Organization gave its approval for the United States to impose up to 7.5 billion U.S. dollars in retaliation for what the U.S. charges is unfair aid to European aircraft maker Airbus, giving the company an unfair advantage over U.S.-based rival Boeing.

According to Coldiretti, Italian agricultural and food exports to the United States were worth 4.7 billion euros last year. Coldiretti said exports to the United States were up by around 10 percent in the first quarter of this year, despite the emergence of the coronavirus in both countries in February.

Italy's agriculture and food sectors are key drivers in an economy expected to contract by at least 10 percent this year, due mostly to the coronavirus outbreak. (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollars) Enditem
A dog that was discovered stabbed and bleeding outside the scene of an alleged home break-in in Rosenberg is expected to survive, Fort Bend County Sheriff Department officials confirmed Thursday (June 26). The dog was rescued after an alert witness reportedly captured a video of the dog being stabbed outside the home and called 911.

Related: Wharton County man arrested for animal cruelty after dog found stabbed in Rosenberg

Fort Bend Sheriff Department Deputy Frank Adams was quickly dispatched to the scene where he discovered a small white dog with a bleeding stab wound in the yard. The dog was quickly transported to the Houston Humane Society for treatment. According to Lt. Dalia Simons of the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Department, the dog was severely injured but is expected to recover. Using information provided by the witness and evidence gathered that day, investigators pieced together the facts and identified a person of interest as a member of the victims family that had allegedly issued death threats against the victim. The suspect allegedly also threatened to kill the victims dog, according to an arrest warrant filed in Fort Bend County Criminal Court records.

Julian Olvera, 21, of El Campo, was arrested later that day and currently remains in the Fort Bend County Jail on bonds totaling $35,000. Olvera was charged with third-degree felony charges of Cruelty to Animals and first-degree felony charges of Burglary of a Habitation with Intent to Commit Assault. A Fort Bend County Grand Jury is expected to review the evidence and consider whether to issue an indictment in the coming weeks.

MORE FROM KRISTI NIX: Two undocumented immigrants from arrested in MS-13 killing at Missouri City park

Thanks to our detectives swift work this individual was taken into custody quickly, Sheriff Troy Nehls said in a press release. Our communitys safety is our top priority.

knix@hcnonline.com
Greenville County has launched the first piece of a $91 million program to counteract the rapid spread of coronavirus in the Upstate and the economic devastation left in its wake.

On Thursday, 17 digital billboards across the county started displaying love your neighbors messages urging residents to wash hands, social distance and wear a mask. Coupled with those is an ad playing on five area radio stations with a recorded message about masks and hygiene from council members Butch Kirven and Ennis Fant. Five more billboards with messages in Spanish will be erected in the heavily Latino Berea area by the July 4 holiday.

The campaign was developed entirely in-house, County Administrator Joe Kernell told the Post and Courier, at a cost of $40,000.

Kirven, the council chairman, said he helped develop the campaigns theme with the idea that ordering people to do something is less effective than asking and explaining why. Kirven said the countys message complements the city of Greenvilles mask mandate but with a lighter touch.

We are coming from the standpoint of, Hey, you wouldnt mind stopping to help an old guy change a tire or mow a lawn for a neighbor or hold a door open for a co-worker, Kirven said. So why wouldnt you wear a mask?

The ad campaign is a first step in the countys plan to spend $91 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding.

The lions share of that money -- $75 million  will be distributed later this summer to small businesses and nonprofits in the form of grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. The Greenville County Council approved that plan two weeks ago. In it, the county retains about $1.5 million for its own expenses related to the pandemic, through which the new ad campaign is funded.

All the money must be spent, per federal rules, on costs associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

For the small business and nonprofit grants, Kernell said, the county will require applicants to present receipts for which they will be reimbursed. Businesses, he said, can claim the cost of masks or hand sanitizer. They can also claim costs associated with changing their business model.

"For instance, some restaurants are going from printed menus to online," Kernell said. "They have a card at your table, and you use your phone. There's a software and programming expense associated with that."

Other trenches of money include $4 million for medical facilities and public health organizations, $2 million to local cities and special purpose districts for coronavirus expenses and $3.5 million to the Greenville County Redevelopment Authority for housing and rental assistance.

The small business grant program, Kirven told The Post and Courier, will launch on July 6 when the county posts a portal on its website, greenvillecounty.org, where organizations with up to 50 employees can file applications for the money. The federal definition of a small business ranges up to 500 employees, but council members said they wanted to reserve their grant money for the countys smallest operations, many of which are unbanked.

Kernell said the county will distribute the money in the order in which applications are received. He also said that only those organizations which have not received federal COVID-related assistance will be able to apply in the programs first two weeks.

Councilman Fant said some wanted the council to give specific sums to specific organizations, but he said the logistics and fairness made that impossible.

"If we didn't get 60 emails saying, 'consider this organization or that organization,' we got 600," he said. "It was evident quickly early on that we could not pick organizations."

The county will host the portal, Kirven said, but all grant applications will be redirected toward partner banks and financial institutions. Applicants themselves will be able to choose which bank to work with from a drop-down menu.

The Post and Courier asked Kernell what kind of banking fees would be associated with the applications, but he said that detail is still under negotiation. Applicants themselves, he said, will not pay the fee.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 26

Trend:

Over 114 million manat ($67 million) has been transferred to Azerbaijans Fund to Support Fight against Coronavirus to date, Trend reports on June 26.

Donations have been made by 3,372 legal entities and 12,099 individuals.

The Fund to Support Fight against Coronavirus was established by the decree of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on March 19, 2020.

(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on June 26)




Haiti - FLASH : 5,543 confirmed cases, 96 dead





The Ministry of Public Health informs that 114 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Haiti (the day before : +105, for a total of 5,543 cases throughout the national territory (40.7% of women and 59.3% of men) since the first case (March 19, 2020 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html l) .



Deaths : 4 new deaths 3 in the West and 1 in the South, bringing the national total to 96.



Healings : 512 people (+0), the day before (+76)



Active cases : (less death and recovery) 4.935 (+110), the day before (+26)



Number of suspected cases investigated since March 19 : 11,375 cases (+250 in 24 hours), the day before: (+300)



All the details by department and communes , plus diasporas : USA, Quebec, Dominican Republic, France, Caribbean and Latin America, in our daily report of 11:00 a.m.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31119-haiti-covid-19-daily-report-june-25-2020.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31112-haiti-flash-delmas-the-most-contaminated-commune-in-the-country.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html



COVID-19, new definitions in Haiti : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31110-haiti-covid-19-daily-report-june-24-2020.html



S/ HaitiLibre


















Bloomberg photo by Andrey Rudakov.

(Bloomberg) -- Oil prices rose after Russia slashed exports of its flagship crude Urals to the lowest in at least 10 years, signaling the determination of Moscow to work with its partners at OPEC+ to eliminate an oil glut.

West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 2.7 percent to $39.05 a barrel, the biggest gain in more than a week. Still, with the virus driving recovery prospects, a dose of pessimism has returned to the oil market. In Texas, the epicenter of the U.S. oil industry, the governor warned that a massive outbreak is sweeping the state. New infections also reached daily records in Florida and California, with the fear of new lockdowns sending U.S. gasoline futures tumbling by the most in two months Wednesday.
Sudan Seeks Financial Aid at International Donor Teleconference

By VOA News June 25, 2020

The antidote to Sudan's fiscal misery could depend on an international donor teleconference taking place in Berlin on Thursday.

Sudan, which has struggled with chronic shortages and crises, including the coronavirus pandemic, is counting on international entities injecting funds into the country.

More than 40 countries are expected to participate in the donor conference hosted by the European Union, Germany, the United Nations and Sudan.

It is unclear if Sudan's success at the conference will sustain Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional power-sharing deal with the military.

Sudan has struggled to stay solvent since losing much of its oil resources to South Sudan, which seceded in 2011. The country's new financing has been held up because it failed to repay debts with the International Monetary Fund.

The U.S. classification of Sudan as state sponsor of terrorism under ousted leader Omar al-Bashir may have also hampered the country's chance of of attracting international financial support.

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With cellphones being known carriers of germs, and coronavirus prompting all of us to wash our hands and clean the objects around us, its no surprise that more UV sanitizers made for phones are hitting the market. Mobile electronics company Zagg is getting in on the trend, too, as its case brands Mophie and InvisibleShield now offer UV sanitizers.

The Mophie UV Sanitizer has room for a 6.9-inch phone and other small objects, like credit cards and earbuds, according to a Zagg statement. Zagg says UV-C light technology kills 99.9 percent of the most common surface bacteria found on household items in five minutes. The Mophie device is also Qi-enabled and allows you to charge your phone while its sanitized.

InvisibleShields UV Sanitizer uses UV-C bulbs to sanitize any smartphone up to 6.9 inches. The sanitization cycle also takes about five minutes, and is said to kill 99.9 percent of common surface bacteria. This device doesnt have the Mophie UV sanitizers phone charging capability.

Both devices only require the user to place a phone inside and press a button to begin sanitizing. The Mophie UV sanitizer is currently available at Mophie.com and Verizon stores for $79.99. InvisibleShields device will soon be sold on the InvisibleShield website and at major retailers for $59.99.

Its unclear how effective UV sanitizers are against coronavirus specifically. However, Zagg says the products were tested by a third party and found to be effective against E. coli and staph.

Dr. Kelly A. Reynolds, Associate Professor in the College of Public Health at the University of Arizona, previously told Engadget, UV-C light is effective against a wide range of germs and provides an option for disinfecting your phone without the use of chemicals." UV sanitizers dont seem to be any more effective at sanitizing than disinfecting wipes, but the devices can be a good option for those who dont want their phone to potentially be damaged from washing or harsh chemicals.
In the case of multiple lightning strikes in the North and East of India were killed on Thursday at least 107 people. Dozens more people had been violated would be the single screw in the middle of the annual monsoon, informed the authorities.

83 people died alone in the impoverished Eastern Indian state of Bihar. It was one of the highest Fatalities due to lightning strikes within a day, the achieved by the state in the past few years, said civil protection Minister of Bihar, Lakshmeshwar Rai, the AFP news Agency. With an increase in the number of casualties to be expected, said Rai more.

From the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh have been reported 24 Dead. Most of the victims were according to the authorities from the border region of Nepal.

More weather alerts

Prime Minister Narendra modi announced on Thursday evening in the short message service Twitter expressed his condolences with the families of the victims. The governments of both Federal States were already in place for first emergency, he added.

Updated Date: 26 June 2020, 09:20
Hopin, a London, UK-based virtual events provider, raised $40m in Series A funding.

The round was led by IVP, with participation from Salesforce Ventures and existing investors Accel, Northzone, Seedcamp and Slack Fund.

The company will use the funds to scale its platform. Since launching in 2019, Hopin has scaled to nearly a million users attending events hosted by over 16,000 organizations.

Founded in 2019 by CEO Johnny Boufarhat, Hopin is a live online events platform where attendees can learn, interact, and connect with people from anywhere in the world. With Hopin, users can create live online events that are interactive and personal whether they are hosting a live training workshop, bringing a companys remote team together, or launching a full-scale digital conference. The company has already hosted thousands of virtual events bringing together more than 850,000 users including large-scale tech events, major international conferences and even weddings. The company is currently producing events for major organizations such as the United Nations, The Wall Street Journal, NBC Universal, Adobe, GitLab, Culinary Institute of America, TNW, and hundreds more.

FinSMEs

25/06/2020
DPA, Forbearance, Broker Products; FHA, USDA Tweaks; Treasury/MBS Spread Update

There are plenty of tricks in any trade. Just-opened cellulose sponges are already damp because many are premoistened with sterile water. (Without H20, the material shrivels and hardens and looks unattractive in the store.) Watch a car commercial on TV: many have the street watered down to make the asphalt dark and the car reflect. Dont ever, ever put anything on a hospital floor. In the old days, when there were open houses, a smudge of vanilla on a light bulb made the house smell like cookies. Weve all heard of Freedom of the Press. What about Freedom of the Font? Under the category of you cant make this stuff up, Goldman Sachs released a new font with which youre not allowed to criticize Goldman Sachs! Lastly, in keeping with this non-mortgage opening paragraph, did you know that, for the highway engineering trade, expanding a highway makes the traffic worse?



Lender Products and Services

Mortgage servicers are struggling to right-size preparedness for when forbearance ends and moratoriums are lifted. There really is no way to predict staffing levels needed over the next 12+ months to prepare for the imminent spike in loss mitigation activity. This webinar will introduce self-service options to allow borrowers to secure post-forbearance relief in minutes, while avoiding manual credit processing and operational errors. With the expected uptick in loan modifications, short sales, mortgage releases and foreclosures, the right technology can considerably reduce operational strain, regardless of the source system or collections platform. Register now.

The results are in and Scotsman Guide has ranked Bluepoint Mortgage a Top Ten Mortgage Wholesaler in the Nation for the second year in a row. Tremendous year-over-year growth has hurtled Bluepoint onto the major playing field of wholesale mortgage banking, funding hundreds of loans per month with a lending footprint in 29 states and counting. Managing Partner, Mark Matta, attributed Bluepoints success to its long-standing commitment to lend responsibly and transparently to the Broker Community and its borrowers. Becoming one of the Nations Top Lenders is also credited to the people who make up Bluepoint. On the list of Scotsman Guides Top Account Executives are Chris Calderon ranked #2 in the entire country, Allen Samuel ranked #35, Diego Chavez ranked #115, Demanche Clemente ranked #125, Rebecca Raff ranked #131, Steven Peinado ranked #139, and Mynor Arevalo ranked #142. Become an approved Broker with Bluepoint!

Altisource, your one source for real estate and mortgage solutions, has released a white paper entitled Navigating the Challenges of COVID-19 Now and in the Future. On May 6, Altisource hosted the Mortgage Industry Pandemic Summit, a virtual symposium with 28 leading experts discussing the operational and economic challenges mortgage, real estate and financial companies are facing as a result of COVID-19. The companys new 24-page white paper summarizes the summits key ideas, best practices, guiding principles and expert advice. It also includes the results and analysis of 20 poll questions conducted during the sessions. Read the paper now to see how other mortgage industry professionals are responding to the current pandemic. Click here to download.

Compass Analytics, part of Black Knight, introduced new forbearance modeling capabilities in its latest release of CompassPoint, an industry-leading platform for pipeline risk management, hedge advisory services and MSR valuation. The new forbearance model enables lenders to explicitly model the price impact of loans in forbearance, including the expected forbearance period, additional cost to service, likelihood of curing successfully, monthly payment considerations and more. This powerful new functionality, in conjunction with the Servicing Advance Calculator released in late March, arms clients with the tools they need to make optimal servicing retention decisions in a challenging market. Please visit https://compass-analytics.blackknightinc.com/compasspoint/ to learn more about CompassPoint.

Chenoa Fund demonstrates how responsibly run national DPA programs benefit the consumer. Innovative financial solutions, such as our CRA Note Exchange, have allowed us to offer the Rate Advantage program, which offers rates competitive with standard FHA loans, even with DPA included. Also, by running mortgage banking in-house vs. outsourcing operations through large bankers, we have brought costs down to consumers, while helping lenders avoid losses on DPA. Additionally, through careful monitoring of our loan defaults, we added overlays to mitigate risk without eliminating offerings to underserved populations. Independent financial/operational audits are conducted throughout the year to assure partners our compliance with all industry requirements. We constantly strive to improve our offerings, pricing, and service. These measures allow us to serve significantly more minority homebuyers than any other DPA program (54% of borrowers are minorities). We sincerely thank each of our amazing correspondent lenders, making our program available where most needed.



FHA and USDA

USDA released an announcement informing lenders of foreclosure and eviction moratorium for all USDA Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loans Program (SFHGLP) loans that has been extended through August 31, 2020, in connection with the Presidentially declared COVID-19 National Emergency.

FHA issued an Extension of Foreclosure and Eviction Moratorium in connection with the Presidentially Declared COVID-19 National Emergency. ML 2020-19 announces a second extension of the foreclosure and eviction moratorium through August 31, 2020. Read the Press Release.

USDA is in the process of building a new Guaranteed Underwriting System (GUS) user interface (UI) to support the new Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) and Uniform Loan Application Dataset (ULAD) and to modernize GUS. To prepare lenders for the March 1, 2021 mandate and gain insight to what is occurring, the SFH Guaranteed Loan Program URLA/ULAD implementation timeline and testing timeframes are available for review.

Hyperion Bank broadened service-centric offerings with major mortgage expansion with the launch of Hyperion Mortgage, LLC, a significant expansion of its existing mortgage program. Promising comprehensive lending options tailored personal service and local decision making; Hyperion Mortgage offers conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, construction-to-permanent, home renovation, home equity (HELOC) loans, portfolio mortgages and more.

All VVOE/VVOIs must be completed by an HR representative, owner, digital vendor, or a supervisor as indicated by the payroll system and be completed within the below timeframe:

Caliber Home Loans posted an update to COVID-19 overlay regarding Wage Earner VVOE and VVOI for Conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA Purchase and Rate Term Refinance Transactions. VVOE must be completed within 6 business days of the note date and VVOI must be completed within 15 calendar days of the note date. Cash out transactions: VVOE/VVOI must be completed within 3 business days of the note date.

Effective with new commitments taken on and after 6/23/2020, for FHA Streamline Refinance transactions, AmeriHome Mortgage will require a verbal VOE or third-party verification of income source will be required for both Credit Qualifying and Non-Credit Qualifying refinances.

Mountain West Financial has added 2%, 3% and 5% down payment and closing cost assistance (DPA) options for Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) FHA loans. For complete details, refer to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Matrix and Overview.



Capital Markets

With the 10-year yield content around .70 percent, and 30-year mortgage rates around 3.00 percent, what now? Any decline in rates will likely come from reduction in the primary/secondary spread, which measures the difference from where the lender can sell a home loan into the secondary market and where the lender will offer one to a borrower. Over the last five years, the spread has averaged roughly 1 percent, but is currently well above that, 1.72 percent this week. The spread is part of a measure of how much risk lenders believe there is within mortgages, and has recently kept rates higher than they otherwise would be, due to economic damage from the coronavirus and forbearance. As the economy improves, lenders will gradually tighten the primary/secondary spread back towards that 1 percent figure, which could reduce mortgage rates by up to three-quarters of a percent. Granted, as the economy improves, mortgage rates will naturally rise.

We live in a 24-hour news cycle, but it seems the headlines this week have all been the same: the coronavirus is continuing to spread, with a record 37k new domestic cases reported on Wednesday, and it is forcing businesses to rethink their plans to reopen. MBS prices and Treasury yields were roughly unchanged yesterday, maybe because of the lack of new news. The concerns weighed on risk tolerance, but did not fuel much of a risk-off response. As far as economic releases went, jobless claims showed an eye-watering 47 million people have signed up for benefits since mid-March. The downward trend may not accelerate until after the benefit boost expires at the end of July, but new worries abound as the reacceleration in coronavirus case counts and a rethink of reopening efforts may cause another wave of layoffs. With parts of the economy potentially needing to shut down again to control the pandemic, it is looking increasingly likely that rather than a V or U shaped recovery, it may be a series of Ws. New orders for durable goods increased by 15.8 percent in May after dropping by 18.1 percent in April, with all major categories except commercial aircraft experiencing a bounce back. Lets not get ahead of ourselves: new order levels year to date are 13.6 percent lower than the same period a year ago on a not seasonally adjusted basis.

May personal income and spending (-4.2 percent, +8.2 percent, respectively, both lower than expected) kicked off todays week-end calendar. Additionally, we have had Core PCE prices (+.5 percent). Later this morning brings final June Michigan sentiment. The NY Fed will conduct two FedTrade MBS purchase operations totaling up to $4.665 billion starting with up to $1.768 billion GNII 2.5 percent and 3 percent followed by up to $2.897 billion UMBS30 2 percent through 3 percent. We begin today with Agency MBS prices little changed (like all week!) and the 10-year yielding .66 after closing yesterday at 0.67 percent.



Employment and Hires

Bluepoint Mortgage is hiring key positions to aid in its continued success and growth. BPM is currently hiring DE, VA, and Conventional Underwriters, Quality Control Specialists, Account Managers, Disclosures, Funders, and Account Executives. When polled, Bluepoint employees named the top five reasons to work at Bluepoint as leadership, recognition, growth opportunities, inclusion, and comradery. Being the #2 wholesale lender in CA and #9 in the nation is serious business and takes dedication. That said, BPM knows how to have some fun and break up the day to keep employees engaged and motivated. Please email careers@bluepointmtg.com to inquire about open positions. For more information on Bluepoint, or to become an approved broker, please visit www.bluepointmtg.com.

Peoples United Bank has opportunities for talented mortgage loan originators to join our growing organization. Our Mortgage Loan Officers are supported by an experienced team that creates an environment for growing your business and providing your clients excellent service and products. Positions are currently available in Westchester and Rockland Counties in New York. As an Assistant Vice President, Mortgage Loan Officer, you will originate residential mortgages through our retail branch network and self-generated referral sources. We are a portfolio lender offering a wealth of portfolio products to our customers. To learn more about these positions and to apply online, please visit our website at www.peoples.com/careers or you can email your resume to Elise Saltzman. Join us and show what your know-how can do.

Wyndham Capital Mortgage knows the advantages of implementing digitally driven solutions dont just apply to borrowers. With the launch of its partnership with Workday, Wyndham Capital is fusing its employee experience with the latest in human resources technology. Whether it is a potential employee working through the application process, or a current employee researching information or increasing their knowledge base, leveraging this technology will have impacts across the board. Wyndham Capital is currently driving the transition to the Workday platform for all employee and recruiting needs. What does this mean? That once again, Wyndham is recognizing the force technology can have to create a smarter, smoother, more efficient organization. As the leading digital home lender, Wyndham Capital is bringing next-generation benefits to todays workplace, building an organization where employees are given the tools to streamline their days and maximize their success. Click here to learn more about joining the Wyndham team.

Northpointe Bank is recognized as a top-performing bank in the nation by the Independent Community Bankers of America. Northpointe is honored, once again, to be named a top-performing bank by the ICBA, according to FDIC return-on-asset and the institutions focus on efficiency and personal service. This is the seventh year in a row Northpointe Bank is ranked a top performing bank in the nation out of approximately 5,000 ICBA member banks. Northpointe attributes its consistent success to its client-first culture. Our customers are offered more loan products, including zero down payment loans, construction and renovation lending and personalized portfolio loans, said Michael Winks, president, lending & retail banking at Northpointe. Also, we have leveraged proprietary technology, such as Home, our lending app that allows borrowers to submit an application, upload and e-sign documents, as well as make their loan payments all from a single secure login, Winks added.

A mid-sized publicly held depository bank is continuing to expand its residential mortgage reach, and is looking for branches and originators in Texas. Capacity has not been an issue for this Bank, and it has a wider variety of programs than most, and is Ginnie, Fannie, Freddie approved. Confidential resumes/notes of interest should be submitted to me for forwarding; please specify the opportunity.
Russia has just marked the 75th anniversary of the Red Armys victory over Nazi Germany with a huge military parade through Red Square. As in the old Soviet days, some of the countrys state-of-the-art military equipment was on display; there was a fly-past and an address by President Vladimir Putin, looking every inch the commander-in-chief and latter-day tsar.

This show of officially sponsored patriotism served as the prelude to a week of voting in a referendum on changes to Russias 1993 constitution, which  if passed, and the incentives to vote include a lottery with big-ticket prizes  could allow Putin to occupy the presidency until 2036. Oh, and by the way, if you didnt know already, Russia has fared particularly badly in the coronavirus pandemic. Well, of course it has, which is why the Red Square parade (with no masks and zero social-distancing) was not just gratuitously political, but reckless as well.

So here they go again, you might conclude, those subservient Russians and their power-crazed president, strutting around in their dysfunctional country where life is cheap. Let me offer a different reading.
SPRINGFIELD  Students concerned about police officers stationed at Springfield schools met virtually Thursday night with with Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Superintendent Daniel Warwick.

We are here to have a conversation about school safety and the impact on students of having police in Springfield schools, said Jessy Hernandez, a recent graduate of Springfield Central High School. We have lived the experiences of what it is like to have officers roaming our hallways. We have questions about what evidence there is that officers are making schools safer for students and staff.

The event was coordinated by the Pioneer Valley Project, a nonprofit organization tackling issues of racism and inequality in the region. The students moderating the conversation are part of the organizations Youth Voices United initiative.

We have been fighting for social justice for awhile now, said Dahve Coleman, one of the student organizers. You might have seen us downtown in orange jumpsuits, educating residents on why we have to end mass incarceration in Massachusetts. You might have been at one of our actions at Smith & Wesson calling on the company to be industry leaders in the fight to end gun violence. I say this because its important that you know we are here and we arent going away. ... We are here to demand change.

The students then showed the video of a Springfield school resource officer forcefully grabbing a High School of Commerce student by the neck, which sparked controversy in 2019.

We have had cops at our schools for 25 years, Hernandez said. Show us the evidence that this is actually keeping us safer, because we really cant find the evidence.

We can show that having cops in schools leads to over-disciplining of students of color, particularly Black students, and contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline, she said, referring to research showing that Black students are three times more likely than white students to be suspended or expelled as early as preschool.

Hernandez went on to say Springfields youth are often perceived as violent delinquents.

Are we really delinquents or do we want to be safe at school like our teachers and administrators? If we buy into a narrative that tells people that we are dangerous, then we operate our schools as if we are dangerous, she said.

The students went on to ask Sarno and Warwick why the city spends nearly $1.5 million employing police officers, known as school resources officers, saying their presence negatively impacts students of color.

Sarno and Warwick said they do not believe the police presence is negative.

I have spoken with many parents and students who want a school resource officer for the sense of safety, Sarno said.

As for the situation at Commerce, Sarno said it was dealt with, and money has been put into training officers in techniques to deescalate conflicts.

We heard you loud and clear, he said. The superintendent and the School Committee changed the memorandum of understanding to really tell the administrators, teachers and staff that police were not there for discipline. They were only to be used if there is criminal intent.

Warwick said the school district has seen a decrease in arrests and suspensions.

When you look at the data, arrests are way down, out-of-school suspensions are way down, our graduation rates have increased, he said. All the data is going in the right direction.

Coleman argued that those statistics have nothing to do with police officers being stationed in schools. Warwick responded that their presence is part of the solution.

Our students of color are making major gains, the data you mention is not reflecting that, he said. Its not matched by the data we have from our schools showing that we are moving in the right direction. Police are part of the presence in our schools and they are part of the reason we have been able to move things forward.

Students also asked if the money allotted for school resource officers could instead be used to hire additional social workers for every school.

Warwick said the district has invested $16 million in wrap-around services for students and families, including increased counseling staff at the schools.

We have added the City Connects program to 10 more schools in the district, he said.

The nationally recognized program provides support for students based on their individual needs by addressing out-of-school challenges and leverages existing community resources and support services to optimize students readiness to learn.

We are investing in mental health to make it a safer and healthier environment for all of our students and I support keeping them (the officers) in the schools, Warwick said. They are being trained appropriately and positive relationships have been formed.

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to reconsider the decision of allowing 100 per cent FDI in the coal sector.

The Chief Minister stated that allowing 100 per cent FDI in coal for MNCs will carry a wrong message as it would contradict the very essence of Atmanirbhar Bharat and would also kill the vision of self-reliant policy that we have been following since beginning.

I would, therefore, request you to kindly reconsider the decision of allowing 100 % FDI in the coal sector and also strongly urge your kind intervention for advising the Ministry of Coal not to go ahead with the decision of Coal India Ltd to wind up their subordinate offices from Kolkata, read the letter by Banerjee dated June 25.

Also read: International travel restrictions in India extended till July 15

Also read: Sonia Gandhi claims China has occupied Indian territory in Ladakh, asks for Modi govts plan of action

Referring to the new policy announced by the Central Government on allowing 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the area of coal mining, associate processing and selling of coal, the Chief Minister expressed her serious reservation on this policy announcement, on cogent grounds.

This policy can neither bring foreign direct investments nor can it bring technologies or know-how which we are unable to access today. The recent trend and empirical evidence clearly showcase the interest of global investors more in renewable energy projects as compared to coal mining projects. In fact, research suggests that about 100 global financial institutions have divested their thermal coal investments. Therefore, FDI in thermal coal is a far cry, the letter said.

At the time when the worlds largest coal mining company Coal India Limited (CIL) is producing 80 % of our coal with Profit Before Tax of Rs 27000 Crore (2018-19) and holding a Reserve of Rs 31,000 Crore, the decision of Central Government to relax FDI restrictions demeans the capability of CIL, she stated.

Banerjee said that 80 per cent of coal availability is located in the eastern region of the country that is why Coal India Limited, the major Central Public Sector Undertaking has been functioning with its headquarters located in Kolkata.

The recent abrupt decision to shift the desk offices of four of its subsidiary companies namely Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) from Kolkata to their respective headquarters in other areas will be extremely detrimental to the interests of all stakeholders of Coal Sector including the employees, read the letter.

It may also be mentioned that at present the Central Government, is continuously requesting every resident of our nation for following restricted movement in order to save their life from this extremely severe COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore this avoidable decision of Coal India Ltd (CIL) to shift these offices by 30 June 2020, is not humane and may endanger the innocent lives of its large number of employees as well as their family members. The contractual employees residing in or near Kolkata will lose their livelihood due to the withdrawal of offices, it said.

Banerjee said that the location of the offices of all the four subsidiaries in the same city acts as an aid in better coordination among them and even with the CIL headquartered in Kolkata and the decision to shift them from the present strategic centre and commercial hub to other areas will have an adverse effect on our economy.

Also read: After Delhi, Centre shifts attention to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana to combat high fatality rates

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
OTTAWA - The section of Canada's extradition law that the federal government is being urged to apply to drop the extradition case against Meng Wanzhou has rarely been used  and never for diplomatic or political reasons.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, leaves her home to go to B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

OTTAWA - The section of Canada's extradition law that the federal government is being urged to apply to drop the extradition case against Meng Wanzhou has rarely been used  and never for diplomatic or political reasons.

That was the advice given Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by his national security adviser shortly after the Huawei executive was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018 at the request of the United States.

In apparent retaliation, China soon after arbitrarily detained two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who've remained in prison while Meng's case wends its way slowly through court in British Columbia.

Trudeau is now under mounting pressure, from Kovrig's family and 19 prominent former politicians, diplomats and jurists to terminate extradition proceedings against Meng in hopes that China will free the two Michaels. They point out that Section 23 (3) of the Extradition Act gives the federal justice minister the power to halt extradition proceedings at any time without having to give a reason.

But in a memorandum to Trudeau shortly after Meng's arrest, his national security adviser at the time, Greta Bossenmaier, pointed out that the section had rarely been used in the preceding 10 years.

The memo, obtained by The Canadian Press through access-to-information law, said Canada receives about 100 requests for extradition every year from foreign countries, about 60 per cent of which eventually result in extradition of the sought-after individuals.

Since 2008, Bossenmaier said only 12 cases  nine of them initiated by the U.S.  had been discharged or terminated by the justice minister. The grounds for dropping the cases varied but she added: "Note there are no examples of the minister discharging a case for political or diplomatic reasons."

The memo detailed the reasons for each of the 12 dropped cases, including severe health problems, the minor nature of the alleged offences, unreasonable delay in seeking extradition and, in one case involving Romania, a serious risk of persecution if the sought-after person was extradited to that country.

Two cases involving minors were also dropped as was another in which the requesting country failed to provide unspecified "assurances." Canada will not, for instance, extradite someone without assurances that they won't face a death penalty.

"The minister has broad discretion to decide but (that) discretion cannot be exercised arbitrarily," Bossenmaier concluded, emphasizing, "Again, there are no examples of the minister discharging a case for political or diplomatic reasons."

Bossenmaier also noted that Meng could appeal her case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada and that "the process could take years."

It is the prospect of Kovrig and Spavor essentially being held hostage by China as long as Meng's case remains unresolved that prompted the 19 eminent Canadians  including former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, former Liberal justice minister Allan Rock, former NDP Leader Ed Broadbent and two former chiefs of staff to Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney  to write Trudeau this week urging that the extradition proceedings against her be dropped.

Trudeau flatly rejected that appeal Thursday, arguing that giving China what it wants would encourage it and other countries to engage in hostage diplomacy, putting millions of Canadians abroad at risk.

He repeated himself Friday in a news conference: dissent and disagreement is a sign of a healthy society, he said, but he's not changing his mind.

"The government has been unequivocal on that," Trudeau said, and acknowledged that the lack of progress is frustrating for everyone, not least for Kovrig's and Spavor's families.

In a separate letter marshalled by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute think-tank, more than 40 foreign-policy and security experts, including former Conservative cabinet minister Chris Alexander, agreed.

"A prisoner exchange would confirm for China's Communist rulers the value of kidnapping Canadian citizens. Once we capitulate, China  and other authoritarian regimes  would reasonably expect us to do so again," they wrote.

The group said Canada would be breaking faith with its allies, which have publicly condemned the arbitrary detention of the two Michaels, at Canada's behest. And it said releasing Meng would also "justifiably cause leaders in both the (U.S.) administration and in Congress to see us as a weak and untrustworthy ally at a time when we need all the goodwill we can muster in Washington.

"The damage to Canada-U.S. relations would be incalculable and would persist irrespective of the outcome of the presidential election in November."

Michael Kergin, one of two former ambassadors to Washington who signed the first letter to Trudeau, doubted that dire prediction.

Kergin was Canada's representative in Washington when former prime minister Jean Chretien refused to join or endorse then-president George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq. Many Canadians were concerned that Canada's economic interests would be damaged by the decision but Kergin said there was actually little impact on the relationship between the two countries.

"Aside from a few Americans who didn't want to buy Canadian maple syrup, there were no indications that the U.S. became tougher as a result of their displeasure," he said in an interview.

Kergin acknowledged that current President Donald Trump is more mercurial and more prone to retaliate against those who thwart him. But he doubted Meng is a high priority in the White House at the moment, with Trump facing a tough re-election fight in the fall and the U.S. mired in the COVID-19 pandemic.

"What sort of thing, beyond rhetoric, would he do?" Kergin said.

Kergin is also not convinced that a prisoner swap would encourage China or other hostile countries to use hostage diplomacy more often in future to get their way.

"I don't buy the argument completely. I don't rule it out entirely but I don't see it as being a major factor in this issue given the circumstances."

Kergin said Meng is almost like "royalty" in China, which saw her arrest as Canada essentially taking her hostage on behalf of the Americans and retaliated accordingly.

"I think this is a pretty special circumstance ... I would be surprised if something like this happened again," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2020.
26 Jun  Filipino-American model Kelsey Merritt is not ready to become a full-time artiste in the Philippines, despite signing a contract with Viva Artists Agency recently.

As reported on ABS-CBN News, the model who announced that she is now represented by Viva on social media, explained that she did not sign an acting contract, but for possible endorsements in the country.

"I'm not ready yet to do a full-time showbiz career in the Philippines. I really love modelling. That was my dream that I really wanted to do from the start," she said.

The LA-based Pampanga born Merritt also added that having some family members and friends in the country also made signing with Viva a good decision for her, as it will give her more reason to visit them more often.

However, the model stated that she is not saying no on a possible showbiz career in the Philippines in the future.

"I was never passionate about acting. But I am actually thinking about taking some acting classes here in Los Angeles, since I'm now here in Hollywood or doing some auditions. I was thinking about doing that," she added.

(Photo Source: Kelsey Merritt Instagram)
Today is International Victims of Torture Day. While celebrating the courage and resilience of survivors of torture, we must also acknowledge that the impulse of those in power around the world to impose cruelty, humiliation and pain on those who oppose them is ubiquitous. It is not enough merely to condemn the twisted psyches of those who are driven to dominate other human beings by stripping them of their dignity and taking pleasure in their suffering. The rule of law must supply the moral infrastructure to stop torture.

Torture is a crime under international law, but despite 169 countries ratifying the United Nations Convention Against Torture, 131 countries still continue to torture according to a recent report from a global prison health NGO. Thus, hypocrisy is layered on impunity. Nations piously commit to abstract principles, yet their torturing of prisoners remains an open secret. And in the last 20 years, the United States has forfeited its moral authority on the torture norm through the grotesque images of Abu Ghraib, Dark Prisons, extraordinary rendition to third countries and the continuing stain of Guantanamo Bay. President Trump expresses no inhibitions, proclaiming that torture absolutely works.

The Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), a little known American statute, is one way for law to bridge the gap between the high principles of the Convention Against Torture and the low practices occurring every day in prison dungeons around the world. Earlier this month, we filed a suit under the TVPA in federal court in Washington on behalf of Mohamed Soltan, an Egyptian-American human rights advocate who was targeted by snipers, shot, arrested and endured nearly two years of torture in the notorious Egyptian torture prison system. Mohamed sued Hazem el-Beblawi, now a senior official at the International Monetary Fund, who served as Prime Minister of Egypt when more than 1,000 peaceful protesters were massacred and thousands more, including Mohamed, were wounded, taken prisoner and brutally tortured in Egyptian prisons. Today, tens of thousands of political prisoners remain subject to torture and extrajudicial killing in Egypt because they lacked Mohameds American citizenship.

It is nearly always the case that the victim of torture has no meaningful recourse in his or her own country, where the torture victims suffering is denied, covered up or viewed as somehow deserved for offending the purported grandeur of the state. Autocratic states label dissent as terrorism, giving the system a moral green light for draconian measures. Judiciaries in states that torture have little interest in upsetting the status quo or bringing abuses to light.

Mohamed complained about torture to the famous Hanging Judge, specially appointed by the President to deal with purported terrorists. The judge paid no attention to these allegations and sentenced Mohamed to life, as well as 549 others to death in a mass trial without lawyers or evidence.

The TVPA was passed in 1991 during the presidency of George H W Bush and reflected a vision of the United States as the leading voice in the world for liberal democracy underpinned by respect for law and the dignity of the individual. While little of that post-Cold War optimism survives, the TVPA remains on the statute books, allowing any victim of torture from anywhere in the world to sue his or her torturer in a United States federal court provided that: the victim has no effective remedy in his or her home country, and the torturer can be made subject to US jurisdiction through contacts with or presence in the US. "Torture" is defined in the TVPA just as in the UN Convention, as any act directed against an individual in the offender's custody or physical control, by which severe pain or suffering whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on that individual to obtain a confession information or punishment.

The TVPA is civil, not criminal, but it can impose liability for compensatory and punitive damages on anyone who, under actual or apparent authority of law of any foreign nation, subjects any individual to torture or extrajudicial killing. The TVPA is far from comprehensive, in that it requires the torturer to have some connection to the United States. Not many of the henchmen of Pol Pot or Idi Amin or, today, Abdel Fatah el-Sisi of Egypt are showing up at Disney World or working for the International Monetary Fund. But a surprising number do so, and the US should not be safe space for them.

Today, torture is sadly advancing around the world. Few world leaders have clean hands. Filling that void in some measure, the US civil justice system provides limited but meaningful relief and accountability. The TVPA remains an important beacon and remedy for victims of torture. Torturers should not walk the streets of the United States with impunity.
The cross border tension at the LAC in Ladakh region, coupled with PM Modis call of vocal for local has led to a number of Indians uninstalling or not downloading Chinese apps on their smartphones.

As per data by SensorTower quoted in a report by The Economic Times popular Chinese apps have seen a dip in downloads. These include TikTok, Bigo Live, PUBG, Likee, Helo, etc. TikTok, which has the largest user base in India after China, was a five percent fall in downloads from April to May, and 38 percent drop from May to June 22.

Notably, TikTok recorded the best quarter for an app with 2 billion downloads in Q1 2020, with 30.3 percent or 611 million app downloads coming from India.

Also Read: Here are some of the popular Chinese apps on Android and iOS in India

App April May June 1 to June 22 TikTok 2,35,00,000 2,24,00,000 1,39,00,000 PUBG Mobile 99,00,000 1,22,00,000 66,00,000 Helo 1,66,00,000 1,49,00,000 92,00,000 Likee 67,00,000 70,00,000 43,00,000 Bigo Live 25,00,000 26,00,000 18,00,000

Popular mobile gaming app PUBG too saw a decline in downloads between May and June.

Several brands have too refrained from advertising on these Chinese apps.

However, experts believe that downloads will pick up once the border tensions ease, bringing back brand advertisements on to the platform.

Also Read: Anti-China sentiment only on social media, unlikely to impact India business: Xiaomi India CEO Manu Jain

For now, downloading Chinese apps may seem like a grave thing to do but remember that public sentiment is fickle. Social media addiction is like cocaine. You may give it up in anger but then the itch comes back," said Santosh Pai, Partner at Link Legal, which advises Chinese clients on investments in India.

The Boycott China campaign is not limited to software. Indians on social media platforms have been calling out for boycotting Chinese smartphones and goods. However, brands see no impact on sales due to the outrage.
Trump has already imposed sanctions against firms involved in Russia-Germany gas pipeline, and is now threatening more.

Germany is preparing to strike back against the U.S. if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to kill off the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with additional sanctions.

Chancellor Angela Merkels administration is considering pressing for coordinated European Union action, according to two German officials familiar with the discussions. An economy ministry paper seen by Bloomberg News said such measures by the U.S. would be new and could hit significantly more German and European companies and banks as well as state agencies.

The 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) pipeline under the Baltic Sea, designed to pump Russian gas directly to Germany, has triggered deep division between EU member states. But the prospect of a direct U.S. intervention in the 27-member blocs energy interests should prompt a collective response, said the officials, who asked not to be identified.

The new German strategy adds the possibility of further escalation between the transatlantic allies, with the U.S. this week announcing potential tariffs on $3.1 billion of products from Germany and other European countries. Trump has also reiterated his intention to cut the number of U.S. troops in Germany and renewed a threat to hit the German auto industry with a new set of levies.

Flashpoints between the two sides are multiplying as Trumps reelection campaign runs into trouble and the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to get out of control in the U.S.

On Friday, EU diplomats are holding talks over whether to maintain a ban on U.S. travelers when external border controls begin to lift last week. The officials are aiming to draw up a list of which countries nationals will be allowed in and may use infection rates as one of their criteria, which would potentially see the U.S. excluded.

In a Twitter post, German Health Minister Jens Spahn pointed to new infections in the U.S. as a sign that the pandemic has yet to peak.

The Europeans though are trying to ease the friction over digital taxes after the U.S. pulled out of talks aimed at finding a global agreement on how to tax internet giants like Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin seen by Bloomberg News, France, the U.K., Italy and Spain offered to initially limit the tax to automated digital services like search and social media, while excluding retailers like Amazon.

Trump has been ramping up his attacks on Germany since Merkel helped to derail his plans for a Group of Seven summit at Camp David this month and Nord Stream, owned by Gazprom PJSC, is a longstanding target. He told a rally last week in Tulsa, Oklahoma that Germany is delinquent on defense spending and dispatching billions to Vladimir Putin.

Were supposed to protect Germany from Russia, but Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars for energy coming from a pipeline, Trump said. Excuse me, how does that work?

U.S. sanctions signed by Trump that targeted pipe-laying vessels in December threw the pipelines completion into disarray. While German officials said the project would merely be delayed, new measures proposed by U.S. senators could put Nord Stream in permanent danger, the German officials said.

But any response, including sanctions, would have to be weighed carefully, one official said. With Trumps poll numbers sagging four months ahead of the U.S. presidential election, he could follow through on previous tariff threats  notably on German autos, the official said.

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier issued a warning over the legality of the new measures earlier this month, signaling that imposing them could bring a new low to transatlantic relations.

The German government has long had the view that sanctions with extraterritorial effects are in conflict with international law and that theyre not a contribution to advancing international cooperation, Altmaier told reporters in Berlin on June 12. This position hasnt changed.

Bundestag lawmakers on the economic affairs committee discussed potential retaliation in a June 17 meeting. The committee chairman, Klaus Ernst of the anti-capitalist Left Party, said parties were in agreement that such measures violated international law.

The government is called upon to develop and put forward proposals for a measured, clear reaction on behalf of Germany and the European Union, Ernst said in a statement after the closed-door meeting.

Pipeline Timing

German industry is concerned that the new raft of sanctions may prompt counter sanctions in Europe, which it opposes on the strength of U.S.-EU trade ties and traditional allegiances, Michael Harms, the managing director of the BDI lobbys East European Committee, told reporters last week. Some 670 companies from 25 nations have worked on the pipeline, according to Harms.

Gazprom, which has vessels docked off Germanys Baltic coast, is set on completing the pipeline in the face of U.S. resistance. It made a request with authorities in Copenhagen to operate so-called DP3-class vessels in Danish waters.

The Akademik Cherskiy, a vessel that Russia could use to build the remaining stretch of the gas-export link, arrived at a German Baltic port last month after a two-month voyage from the Sea of Japan.

The German ministry paper said it was unclear how the Russians planned to proceed with some 150 kilometers remaining for the pipeline but it would need to resume work this summer to complete the work by early 2021.
NEW YORK, June 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Gen II Luxembourg Services SARL, the Luxembourg-based business of Gen II Fund Services, LLC ("Gen II"), a leading global private equity fund administrator, is pleased to announce it has recently added Martin Dobbins and Chris Edge to its Luxembourg Board of Directors.

Martin Dobbins joins Gen II Luxembourg's Board of Directors with over 30 years of financial and technology experience in US, Europe, and Asia/Pacific. Currently Mr. Dobbins is the CEO and Founder of Sage Advisory, s.a.r.l, an advisory firm providing US, Asian and European Asset Managers, Financial Services firms and FinTech companies independent directorship and advisory services. Prior to this, Mr. Dobbins was the former CEO & Country Head for State Street Corporation's European and Luxembourg Banks where he chaired the Luxembourg executive group. He also led the European Central Bank's Joint Supervisory Team and Chaired the executive management group and governance committee for several European and Luxembourg banks, including their subsidiaries in alternative assets and transfer agency. Mr. Dobbins is an active member in several Luxembourg government and industry committees. "Gen II's reputation for excellence within the fund administration industry is stellar and a leader in bringing technology solutions to their clients. I am excited to join the Board of Gen II Luxembourg Services," says Mr. Dobbins of his recent appointment to the Board.

Chris Edge also joins the Board with more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, serving as the former head of major asset service provider banks in Luxembourg, including JPMorgan and HSBC, and more recently leading PwC Luxembourg innovation and transformation solutions for the Asset Management and Asset Service Provider sector. When asked about his recent appointment to the Board, Mr. Edge said, "Gen II is a leader in the private equity fund administration industry and its footprint in Luxembourg reflects its international ambitions, built upon technology and innovation. I am proud to have been invited to join the Board in Luxembourg and look forward to contributing to its future success."

Commenting on the appointments of Mr. Dobbins and Mr. Edge, Norman Leben, Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Gen II said, "The addition of these two prominent industry professionals to the Gen II Luxembourg Board of Directors represent our commitment to maintaining the highest level of fund administration and financial services expertise in all areas of our business. We welcome their addition and are confident they will provide valuable insights, judgment, and counsel to Gen II in all future endeavors." Steven Millner, Co-Founder and Managing Principal also said, "As we continue to grow our practice in Europe, we are proud to expand our Gen II Luxembourg Board of Directors with two highly respected and knowledgeable members of the Luxembourg financial services industry."

Contact:

Jeff Gendel, Principal  Business Development

Gen II Fund Services, LLC

212-408-0501

[email protected]

www.gen2fund.com

About Gen II

Gen II is one of the largest independent private equity fund administrators, administering over $350 billion of private capital on behalf of its clients with offices in New York, San Francisco, Boston, Stamford, Dallas, and Luxembourg. Gen II offers private fund sponsors a best-in-class combination of people, process, and technology, enabling fund sponsors to effectively manage their operational infrastructure, financial reporting, and investor communications. The Gen II team is the most experienced and longest tenured team in the private equity fund administration industry, with broad expertise across buyout, funds of funds, real estate, energy, infrastructure, credit, co-investment, hybrid funds, feeder funds, venture capital, retail, and managed accounts.

SOURCE Gen II Fund Services, LLC

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Wirecard collapsed on Thursday owing creditors almost $4 billion after disclosing a gaping hole in its books that its auditor EY said was the result of a sophisticated global fraud.

The payments company filed for insolvency at a Munich court saying that, with 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) of loans due within a week its survival as a going concern was not assured.

Wirecards implosion came just seven days after EY, its auditor for more than a decade, refused to sign off on the 2019 accounts, forcing out Chief Executive Markus Braun and leading it to admit that $2.1 billion of its cash probably didnt exist.

There are clear indications that this was an elaborate and sophisticated fraud involving multiple parties around the world, EY said in a statement.

EY said while it was completing the 2019 audit, it was provided with false confirmations with regard to escrow accounts and reported them to the relevant authorities.

Wirecard declined to comment following EYs statement.

The financial technology company is the first member of Germanys prestigious DAX stock index to go bust, barely two years after winning a spot among the countrys top 30 listed companies with a market valuation of $28 billion.

The Wirecard case damages corporate Germany. It should be a wake-up call for reforms, said Volker Potthoff, chairman of corporate governance think-tank ArMID.

Creditors have scant hope of getting back the 3.5 billion euros they are owed, sources familiar with the matter said. Of that total, Wirecard has borrowed 1.75 billion from 15 banks and issued 500 million in bonds.

The moneys gone, said one banker. We may recoup a few euros in a couple of years but will write off the loan now.

TOTAL DISASTER

The collapse of Wirecard, once one of the hottest fintech companies in Europe, dwarfs other German corporate failures. It has shaken the countrys financial establishment with Felix Hufeld, head of regulator BaFin, calling it a total disaster.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz described the collapse as a scandal, acknowledging it was time to review regulation. We must rethink our supervisory structures, said Scholz, adding he had asked his ministry to come up with ideas in the next few days.

If legal, legislative, regulatory measures are needed, we will embrace them and implement them, he said. A scandal like Wirecard is a wake-up call that we need more monitoring and oversight than we have today, he said.

Wirecard shares, which were suspended ahead of an earlier announcement that it would seek creditor protection, crashed 80% when trading resumed. They have lost 98% since auditor EY questioned its accounts last Thursday.

EY, one of the worlds Big Four accountancy and consulting firms, faces a wave of litigation in a debacle that has drawn comparisons with Arthur Andersens disastrous oversight of U.S. energy company Enron.

German law firm Schirp & Partner said that with Wirecard now effectively sidelined, it would file class actions against EY on behalf of shareholders and bondholders.

It is frightening how long Wirecard AG was able to operate without being objected to by the auditors, partner Wolfgang Schirp said.

Wirecards new management had been in crisis talks with creditors but pulled out on Thursday morning due to impending insolvency and over-indebtedness.

The insolvency filing did not include its Wirecard Bank subsidiary, which holds an estimated 1.4 billion euros in deposits and is already under emergency management by BaFin.

COMPLETE VINDICATION

A second source close to talks with creditors said although the company had a healthy core, it had faked two-thirds of its sales. This meant there was no way it could repay all its debt, notwithstanding all the legal challenges it will face.

The ascent of Wirecard, which was founded in 1999 and is based in a Munich suburb, was dogged by allegations from whistleblowers, reporters and speculators that its revenue and profits had been pumped up through fake transactions.

Braun fended off the critics for years before finally calling in outside auditor KPMG late last year to run an independent investigation.

KPMG, which published its findings in April, was unable to verify 1 billion euros in cash balances, questioned Wirecards acquisition accounting and said it could not trace hundreds of millions in cash advances to merchants.

Today is a complete vindication for those that exposed the fraud, said Fraser Perring, who bet on a fall in Wirecards shares and co-authored a 2016 report that alleged fraud.

The Munich prosecutors office, which is investigating Braun on suspicion of misrepresenting Wirecards accounts and of market manipulation, said: We will now look at all possible criminal offences.

Braun was arrested on Monday and released on bail of 5 million euros a day later. Former chief operating officer Jan Marsalek is also under suspicion and believed to be in the Philippines, according to justice officials there.

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Virgin Australia, the discount airline that's owned in part (but not in whole) by Sir Richard Branson's privately held Virgin Group, filed for bankruptcy in April after being denied a $964 million bailout loan from the Australian government. Two months later, bankruptcy proceedings are wrapping up and ... we have a winner.

Bain Capital won the auction to acquire Virgin Australia, announced bankruptcy administrator Deloitte Thursday night. The U.S.-based private equity firm "presented a strong and compelling bid for the business that will secure the future of Australia's second airline, thousands of employees and their families and ensure Australia continues to enjoy the benefits of a competitive aviation sector,"

Whatever the merits of its offer, Bain's victory was essentially foreordained because the way things shook out -- it ended up being the only bidder for bankrupt Virgin Australia. Its final rival, New York-based hedge fund Cyrus Capital Partners, dropped out of the proceedings Thursday.

Bain's final offer has not been revealed. Whatever it was, however, it's unlikely that the "bid" will result in actual money being paid to Virgin Australia's current shareholders. The airline is AU$7 billion ($4.8 billion) in debt, and it's uncertain that all of its debt holders will get their money back. Shareholders get paid after debt holders in bankruptcy proceedings, so in all likelihood, before the trustees get that far down the list, the money will be gone -- and shareholders will be wiped out entirely.

That being said, Bain has promised to ante up enough money after taking ownership to recapitalize Virgin Australia sufficiently to at least enable the airline to make it through the end of the current recession.
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The Constitution of Armenia, the main guarantor of which is the Constitutional Court, has been under attack for the past two years. This is what lawyer Robert Hayrapetyan told reporters near the Constitutional Court today, talking about the changes taking place in the Constitutional Court.

Laws are being disrespected and perverted in such a way that it will be very hard to change them in the future. In essence, the authorities realized that there is no point in trying to act within the scope of approximate laws and started taking actions through anarchy. In essence, the draft, which is referred to as constitutional amendment, completely attests to the fact that there is no state institution in Armenia, starting from the presidential institution, there is no Constitution, and all the norms of a legal and democratic state have been completely eliminated, the lawyer said.

According to him, if factual circumstances are examined, the ruling party must not only be held liable for usurpation of power and overthrow of the constitutional order, but also may other articles that describe their actions. The lawyer added that the grounds under which the sitting members of the Constitutional Court must be dismissed are unlawful and unconstitutional and that the new judges of the Constitutional Court will be illegitimate since they will be appointed unlawfully.

Touching upon the future developments, he said one of the developments must be the decision of the Constitutional Court on accepting the application of the Prosperous Armenia Party and an independent MP for proceedings or rejecting the application.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Forget fireworks. Worry about gunshots.

Each new day lately has brought another incident of gun violence on Staten Island. There were four incidents over four consecutive days this week.

Its a bigger problem than the nightly fireworks nuisance that weve all complained about. Its a bigger concern than when the next phase of coronavirus recovery will happen.

Wednesday brought the most troubling incident yet: A Mercedes Benz and a Honda Accord careening up Lafayette Avenue in New Brighton in broad daylight, with someone in the Mercedes firing at the Honda at Henderson Avenue.

There were no injuries, and it doesnt appear that anyone in the Honda fired back, but it was a taste of the Wild, Wild West that nobody on Staten Island wants to see.

I can guess what some people might be saying: So what? It happened on the North Shore. Thats where we see the bulk of crime on Staten Island anyway. Thats where all the high-crime neighborhoods are. Why is it news that there was another shooting on the North Shore? Whats it to me?

Forget for the moment that we should be worried about gun violence no matter where it happens.

And forget for the moment that whenever the gun debate flares in the United States, the talk usually turns to preventing mass shootings, or to putting new restrictions on lawful gun owners. Its rarely about attacking a major source of gun violence in America: The gunplay we too often see in minority neighborhoods, involving young men battling it out over the drug trade and other street beefs.

And, yes, the other shootings weve seen this week were in those bad neighborhoods of Staten Island: At the Park Hill Apartments complex; on Jersey Street, and on Targee Street.

So it might be easy for some people to shrug when they hear about another shooting on the North Shore, on a street that they may never have driven on in their lives.

But Wednesdays incident should make people sit up and take notice. The area around the shooting is not one of our bad neighborhoods. And plenty of folks who dont live in the neighborhood drive and walk on Lafayette Avenue and Henderson Avenue and Brighton Avenue and other nearby streets.

They could be on their way to Snug Harbor Cultural Center. Or Adobe Blues. Or St. Peters Boys High School. Or St. Peter-St. Paul Elementary School. Or the Staten Island Care Center. They could be using Lafayette as a cut-through from Richmond Terrace.

And this shooting didnt happen in the dead of night. It happened at 5:50 p.m., when plenty of innocent bystanders could have been injured.

One person who witnessed the shooting wrote to me in an email, For us in this working class section of New Brighton, its a shocking illustration of the breakdown of law and order this city government has presided over. I honestly cant picture staying around to see how bad this gets. Its sad, and could have been avoided with leadership that was less self-righteous and naive, but that appears to be the type that end up as politicians these days.

Again, we should be concerned about gun violence no matter where it occurs. Its unacceptable no matter how you look at it. We shouldnt be numb to it. But it raises the alert level when we start seeing that violence spreading across wider areas. That should get your attention.

Over the last two decades, weve taken public safety for granted in New York. Its been the safest big city in America. At least until recent criminal justice reforms, until people talking about defunding, disarming and dissolving police departments.

What happened in New Brighton on Wednesday is a reminder of how fast things can change.

Lets not go back down that road.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked the partner states and headquarters of international organizations for help to deal with the aftermath of massive floods in western regions of Ukraine, the ministrys press service has reported.

"Ukraine's Mission to the EU and Ukraine's Mission to NATO have appealed to the EU institutions and Alliance structures to activate the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and involve NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC)," said Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba.

The ministry counts on partners support for the efforts of the Ukrainian government to protect the life and health of citizens, critical infrastructure, reducing the negative impact of natural disasters on economic activity.

The ministry reminded that additional units of the Interior Ministry, the National Guard, the State Emergency Service with appropriate equipment were sent to Ivano-Frankivsk region.

As Ukrinform reported, on June 22-24, heavy rainfall caused severe flooding in Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Zakarpattia and Ternopil regions, and killed three people (in Ivano-Frankivsk region).

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Former Marine and Iraq War veteran Rep. Seth Moulton introduced a bill in Congress on Thursday that would make it easier for service members to seek mental health care outside their chain of command.

The Brandon Act, named for Navy Aircrew Aviation Electrician's Mate Striker Brandon Caserta, who died by suicide two years ago this week in Norfolk, Virginia, would give service members a safe word that would trigger an immediate automatic referral to a mental health specialist for evaluation.

Read Next: Bill Would Create New Dangerous Dog Rules for Military Bases

According to the bill, H.R. 7368, if a service member uttered a selected phrase, it would trigger a referral "as soon as practicable" and in a confidential manner similar to the restricted reporting option available to victims of sexual assault in the U.S. military.

Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat who has spoken openly about his own struggles with post-traumatic stress, said the bill is needed to assist troops, especially those being bullied or hazed in their units.

"This bill will ensure that our service members can get help and have no fear of retaliation for doing so," he said in a release.

Caserta, an Arizona native, was assigned his rating and sent to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28 after breaking his leg during Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL School in 2016.

At the unit, he worked under a lead petty officer who was known to be abusive, who berated, cursed and mocked young sailors under his command. Struggling in his assigned rating and facing disciplinary action within his command, Caserta left notes for his parents and friends before killing himself June 25, 2018.

He was 21.

Caserta's experience was first documented in an award-winning article on Military.com. Since his death, parents Teri and Patrick have fought for legislation that would protect service members who feel abandoned by their leaders and need help.

The behavior of Caserta's LPO was well-known within the command: He had previously been counseled while serving as a detachment LPO for "intolerable and unprofessional" behavior toward subordinates, according to counseling sheets, and later was relieved when he didn't change.

Once back at the squadron, he was sent to anger management classes and reassigned as LPO under a new chief petty officer "as a leadership challenge." But the abusive behavior continued.

He was reassigned to a different unit after he made derogatory comments about Caserta after his death.

Patrick and Teri Caserta have said that their son saw few options for getting medical care, including mental health services, given that his chain of command was aware of the bullying behavior and also were allegedly engaged in harassing their son.

The proposed legislation, they said, would continue their son's efforts to serve his country and always be there for his peers.

"Brandon has always helped everyone he could." Teri and Patrick Caserta said in a release. "Brandon did not die in vain, and his legacy for helping others will continue long after his death when the Brandon Act is passed."

A spokesman for Moulton's office said Friday that the bill has been offered as an amendment to the House's defense authorization bill, which will be considered for a vote by the House Armed Services Committee next week.

If you or someone you know needs help, the Veterans Crisis Hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 800-273-8255, press 1. Services also are available online at www.veteranscrisisline.net or by text, 838255.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: White House Unveils Roadmap to End Veterans Suicide Crisis
Srinagar: A CRPF jawan was martyred and a minor boy was killed in a terrorist attack on a joint patrol deployed in highway security in Bijbehara in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. The incident took place on Friday (June 26) afternoon.

According to reports, bike-borne terrorists opened fire at a joint patrol team in Padshah Bagh area of Bijbehara and fled from the scene. A CRPF jawan and a minor boy received injuries in the incident and both were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. The area was immediately cordoned off after the attack and a hunt was launched to nab the terrorists.

Earlier today, security forces killed at least three terrorists during a gunbattle in Chewa Ullar village of Tral in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. According to reports, arms and ammunition have been recovered from the spot.

Reports stated that all three terrorists were local residents of the Valley. With this, the near 15-hour long gunbattle between security forces and terrorists came to an end.

The killed terrorists have been identified as Mohammad Qaasim Shah alias Jugnu, Basit Ahmad Parray and Haris Manzoor Bhat. Qaasim, a Madoora Tral resident and son of Gh Mohammad Shah, was pursuing a B.Tech Degree in Civil Engineering prior to joining militancy. He was carrying out terror-related activities in the Valley since March 2017.

The encounter between forces and terrorists in the Chewa Ullar area had started on Thursday evening but was put on hold during the night. The encounter resumed in the early morning on Friday with a fresh exchange of fire between the two sides, in which one terrorist was killed.
A teenager who threw a six-year-old boy off a Tate Modern viewing platform has been jailed for life.

Jonty Bravery, now 18, will serve at least 15 years in prison for attempted murder and may never be freed.

A judge said the horror and fear felt by the young victim and his parents, who were standing nearby at the time, were beyond imagination.

You choose a small child because of his vulnerability, Mrs Justice McGowan said. You had intended to kill someone that day  you almost killed that six-year-old boy.

She said Braverys autism and personality disorder did not explain the attack, and that expert evidence indicated he presents a grave and immediate danger to the public.

You will spend the greater part  if not all  of your life detained ... you may never be released, the judge told Bravery as she jailed him on Friday.

He had attempted to enter the Shard  the UKs tallest skyscraper  before heading to the art gallery on 4 August last year.

The Old Bailey heard that the victim and his parents, who were French tourists on holiday in the UK, entered the 10th floor viewing platform minutes after Bravery.

CCTV footage showed him turning towards the victims family as the boy skipped a little way away from his parents.

As [the boy] approached, the defendant scooped him up and, without any hesitation, carried him straight to the railings and threw him over, said prosecutor Deanna Heer.

The CCTV footage shows him falling head-first towards the ground.

Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor Show all 15 1 /15 Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor Emergency crews attend the scene at the Tate Modern art gallery after a six-year-old boy was thrown from the 10th-floor viewing platform by a teenager. PA Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor The young boy was taken to hospital by air ambulance . He fell five storeys before landing on a roof below at the central London art gallery. AFP/Getty Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor A 17-year-old male was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. PAP Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor Emergency crews attending a scene PA Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor Visitors in a lock down inside after the incident Isabella Knazek/PA Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor A police officer looks out from the viewing platform PA Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor People look on at the emergency crew in attendance PA Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor The Tate Modern building was evacuated AFP/Getty Images Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor Police were also supporting the family of the injured six-year-old PA Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor PA Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor A sign posted outside of the Tate Modern reminding visitors the gallery closed PA Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor AFP/Getty Images Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor The viewing platform were the boy was pushed from AFP/Getty Images Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor The art gallery reopened the day after, however the viewing level remained closed PA Tate Modern: Six-year-old boy 'thrown' from 10th-floor Getty Images

Bravery, from Ealing in west London, then sought out Tate staff and confessed: I think Ive murdered someone, Ive just thrown someone off the balcony.

The boy fell five storeys before landing on a roof, and was left with life-changing injuries.

He remains in a wheelchair with constant care, and it is not known whether he will make a full recovery.

Ms Heer said the victim was fortunate not to die, adding: This was a whisper away from a murder.

In a victim impact statement, the parents said they had not felt able to leave their sons side for more than a couple of hours because they are so scared of losing him.

The act committed by this defendant against our son is unspeakable, they added, saying their son was unable to trust people and would like to slap Bravery for what he did.

Bravery sat with his T-shirt pulled over his head, then crouched on the floor with his back to a videolink camera as details of the case were read out at the sentencing hearing.

The teenager, then 17, was seen backing away from the railings while smiling and appearing to laugh immediately afterwards.

Jonty Bravery may never be freed from jail

When challenged by the father, Bravery told him he was mad and witnesses described him having a big smile on his face.

He was also heard to say its not my fault, its social services fault and asked police if he was going to be on the news after being arrested.

Bravery said that he had been seriously unhappy and hearing voices telling him to hurt and kill people for months before the attack.

The court heard he had planned the offence well in advance and researched the easiest way to kill someone.

Ms Heer said Bravery had conducted a variety of searches including, are you guaranteed to escape prison if you have autism?, what are the chances of death if you push into the River Thames? and a web page entitled how to get away with rape.

The prosecutor added: He narrowed it down to three possibilities: strangling a woman or a child, drowning a child or throwing someone off a tall building.

Bravery told medical experts he felt indestructible and on top of the world after throwing the boy from the viewing platform.

He was under the care of Hammersmith and Fulham social services at the time, and living in supported accommodation.

Emergency services outside Tate Modern after it was evacuated following the incident (AFP/Getty)

Bravery was described as abusive and aggressive towards staff, and assaulted a female care worker in 2017.

At the time of the attempted murder, he was under one-on-one supervision but was allowed to go out unaccompanied for four-hour periods.

The court heard that Bravery has autism spectrum disorder and a personality disorder, both of which are relevant to understand his behaviour.

A recording, taken by one of Braverys care workers in autumn 2018, suggested opportunities to stop the attack were missed.

In the next few months Ive got it in my head Ive got to kill somebody, he could be heard saying, describing his urge to push someone off a building in central London.

It could be the Shard, it could be anything just as long as its a high thing and we can go up and visit it and then push somebody off it and I know for a fact theyll die from falling from a hundred feet.

The former care worker who took the recording told the BBC Bravery had mentioned similar plans several times, adding: There were a few incidences regarding trying to hurt people, life-wrecking incidences that he had planned in his head.

 Tate Modern: Teenager arrested after child 'falls from height' at London art gallery

Mrs Justice McGowan said Bravery had been described as callous by psychologists, adding: You planned this, you worked out which buildings you might try, based on height and cost of admission and you appear to have revelled in the notoriety.

Bravery told police he had to prove a point to every idiot who said he had no mental health problems, saying he wanted to be on the news so when it is official no-one can say anything else.

In a series of social media posts before the attack, which have since been deleted, his father Piers Bravery attempted to raise awareness of autism and urged the health secretary to do your job and stop more children dying.

Defence counsel Ms Philippa said it was unlikely her client, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when he was five, would ever be released into the community.

Theres no immediate cure for this defendants condition, she added. Were talking about this young man in whichever setting  either hospital or prison  for a very, very long period.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council said an independent serious case review was underway.

Additional reporting by PA
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 11:57:28|Editor: huaxia

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A formation of Chinese peacekeepers take part in a grand military parade celebrating the 70th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Atul Khare said that China is not only a permanent member of the Security Council, but also a major troop contributing country and the second largest financial contributor to peacekeeping budget, adding that only China has these three glorious responsibilities at the same time.

by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang

UNITED NATIONS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Some 40,000 Chinese "blue helmets" have already been dispatched to conflict-affected countries and areas in 25 UN peace operations over the past 30 years, making China one of the most important countries firmly and unhesitatingly upholding world peace and security.

Dating back to April 1990, it was the first time that China had ever joined a UN peace operation by dispatching five observers to the UN Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East. As three decades have passed, the number of "five" has become a history.

A "small step" 30 years ago taken by China, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, has evolved into a "giant leap," given not only the big number of Chinese peacekeepers serving under the UN flag, but also the country's generous and selfless financial support to UN peace operations.

What Chinese peacekeepers have contributed to peace and security of this planet has won acclamation from the global community.

Officers and soldiers of China's 12th peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo repair road damaged by rains in the urban areas of Bukava, D.R. Congo, on Jan. 18, 2011. (Xinhua/Chen Guojun)

TOPNOTCH REPORT CARD

Thirty years of dedication and sacrifice by the Chinese peacekeepers has added one after another significant scores to the "report card."

They have newly built and repaired nearly 15,000 km of roads and more than 300 bridges, and cleared more than 10,000 landmines and unexploded ordnance. More than 1.3 million tons of various materials and equipment have been transported by them, covering a total distance of more than 13 million km.

They have also treated more than 200,000 patients and completed numerous long and short distance patrols and armed escorts.

Heroes who sacrificed their young lives have made the "report card" even more special. So far, 15 Chinese peacekeepers have laid down their lives for the cause of world peace.

Soldiers salute to the coffin of Chinese peacekeeper Shen Liangliang at his memorial ceremony at the headquarters of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in Bamako, Mali, June 7, 2016. (Xinhua/Pan Siwei)

On June 2, 2016, the UN told a story on its website about Shen Liangliang, a 29-year-old First Sergeant, who was killed in a terrorist attack on May 31, 2016, in Mali's northern town of Gao, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at a UN camp.

During an unexpected attack, Shen saved a fellow soldier at the cost of his own life. Shen was later honored as a martyr and awarded the first-class merit citation.

Facing the massive challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese peacekeepers, while ensuring "zero infection" of themselves, have been actively introducing China's successful experience in epidemic prevention to peacekeeping forces from other countries, the Peacekeeping Affairs Center of China's Ministry of National Defense has said.

"They have honored their promise of 'bearing moral obligation with an iron shoulder and upholding peace with arms in hands' and demonstrated China's responsibility as a major power in safeguarding world peace," it said.





SHOWERED WITH PRAISE

Thanks to their strict self-discipline, high-quality and hard work, and the record of "zero violation of discipline and zero repatriation," all Chinese peacekeepers have been awarded UN peacekeeping medals.

The Dag Hammarskjold Medal, the highest-ranking medal for UN peacekeepers, has been awarded posthumously to all Chinese peacekeepers whose life was cut short in dangerous operations. Additionally, some peacekeeping missions have awarded the Chinese peacekeepers with other awards for quality engineering and other outstanding performances.

Chinese peacekeepers wearing the United Nations Peace Medal of Honor are seen at the awarding ceremony at the camp of the Chinese peacekeeping multi-functional engineer detachment to Lebanon in Hanniyah village in southern Lebanon, on April 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Liangyong)

When the Ebola virus swept across Africa in 2014-2015, soldiers of the engineering detachment of Chinese peacekeeping troops to Liberia carried out continuous construction for 28 days despite the risk of infection and built the Ebola diagnosis and treatment center, an aid program by China to Liberia, more than 30 days ahead of schedule.

In March 2017, intense armed conflicts broke out in Yei, a border town in South Sudan, and seven UN civilian staff were trapped in the dangerous conflict area. Knowing about this, the Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion assigned 12 soldiers to rescue them.

When she first participated in a peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Hou Dan, head nurse of the Chinese medical detachment, was shocked by the situation in the war-devastated state.

Hou recalled that medics from the Chinese peacekeeping force in the DRC once treated a 19-year-old girl bitten by a hippo, with her legs festering when she sought their medical assistance. They tried their best to save the girl who has fortunately pulled through.

Seeing the poverty, hunger, disease and turmoil of war with her own eyes, Hou said she wants to "bring hope of peace to people there with her love."

A Chinese peacekeeper explains drug descriptions for local people in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 19, 2018. (Xinhua/Yang Shuangquan)

From Mali, South Sudan, to the DRC and Liberia, stories like these have happened now and again wherever Chinese peacekeepers are stationed.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Atul Khare said that China is not only a permanent member of the Security Council, but also a major troop contributing country and the second largest financial contributor to peacekeeping budget, adding that only China has these three glorious responsibilities at the same time.

In December 2018, China's share of the UN peacekeeping budget for 2019-2021 was raised from 10.24 percent to 15.22 percent, making it the second largest contributor only after the United States.





MARCH FURTHER FORWARD

Over the past 30 years, the Chinese peacekeepers have left a string of solid footprints on their journey of safeguarding world peace and security.

In September 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged at the UN Peacekeeping Summit that China would take the lead in setting up a permanent peacekeeping police squad, build a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops, and provide free military aid of 100 million U.S. dollars to the African Union, as Africa has the biggest peacekeeping needs.

Chinese peacekeepers stand guard outside the camp of east theater of operation command headquarters of UN Mali Peacekeeping Mission in Gao, Mali, May 27, 2015. (Xinhua/Han Lijian)

"Chinese peacekeepers -- civilian, military and police -- have played a valuable role in several UN operations over the past 30 years and I commend them for their service under the blue flag," UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told Xinhua, one day prior to the International Day of UN Peacekeepers that falls on May 29.

"I extend my gratitude to all the Chinese peacekeepers past and present," said Lacroix.

UN peacekeeping operations are important measures to safeguard international peace and security. They arise from and adapt to the evolving times, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

As this year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, the "Action for Peacekeeping" initiative put forward by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has entered a crucial stage of implementation, and peacekeeping operations are at a new starting point, he said.

At present, more than 2,500 Chinese peacekeepers are carrying out peacekeeping missions in nine mission areas, with more Chinese young men and women expected to join them. 
Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain, who has been recovering in a city hospital since June 17, tested negative for coronavirus on Friday. Sources say the minister may be released sometime later today.

Earlier this week, the minister was moved to the general ward following improvement in his condition. The ministers oxygen support was also removed.

Jain, 55, was initially admitted to Delhi governments Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital. However, after developing pneumonia, a known Covid-19 complication, and complaints of breathlessness and giddiness, he was moved to Max Hospital where he was put on oxygen support in the ICU.

His condition improved after receiving plasma therapy on Friday night. Convalescent plasma therapy is an experimental medical procedure, where critical Covid-19 patients are treated using plasma collected from those who have recovered from the viral infection.

Earlier today, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the government has got the permission to conduct plasma therapy at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital. Since the start of plasma therapy at LNJP hospital, Kejriwal said, the number of deaths has reduced to less than half as compared to earlier.

It may be difficult to save very serious patients using plasma therapy, but it can help moderate patients by not letting their condition worsen. This is what we have found till now, said the CM.




NELSON Chamisa, left, has everything to gain by embracing the growing calls for unity talks between him and interim MDC leader Thokozani Khupe  and everything to lose by spurning the mooted dialogue, analysts say.





This comes as Khupe and Chamisa have been involved in a fierce tussle for the control of the countrys main opposition party ever since its much-loved founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, died of colon cancer in February 2018. This comes as Khupe and Chamisa have been involved in a fierce tussle for the control of the countrys main opposition party ever since its much-loved founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, died of colon cancer in February 2018.





It also comes amid a renewed push by concerned MDC bigwigs for the two rivals to unite ahead of the partys court-directed extraordinary congress, in the interest of the party and the country. It also comes amid a renewed push by concerned MDC bigwigs for the two rivals to unite ahead of the partys court-directed extraordinary congress, in the interest of the party and the country.





Political analyst Maxwell Saungweme told the Daily News yesterday that both Chamisa and Khupe needed to realise the importance of dialogue, to create a win-win outcome rather than continue with their current and unsustainable zero sum game.i Political analyst Maxwell Saungweme told the Daily News yesterday that both Chamisa and Khupe needed to realise the importance of dialogue, to create a win-win outcome rather than continue with their current and unsustainable zero sum game.i





He added that Chamisa also needed to understand the fact that for him and the MDC to succeed, he needed to be inclusive in his approach and to carry everyone along, not just his favourite people only.





The issues matrix in that conflict is clear and the power, positions, interests and needs analysis is simple.





None of those leaders doubt that Chamisa is more popular than all of them and that he is the best foot forward if they are to release some political shock to Zanu PF in 2023.





The disgruntled MDC leaders just need respect and recognition, not necessarily the presidency that Chamisa has no competition on, Saungweme told the Daily News.





But if both sides remain headstrong, the train will just sink. Politics is not about just being legalistic and eloquent, but also about being calculative and meticulously combining this with dialogue, compromise, leadership and the law, he said further.





Respected University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer, Eldred Masunungure, weighed in saying Chamisa and Khupes differences were not unbridgeable.





They are offshoots of the same stem and they worked together for a longer period than they have been adversaries. It is almost 20 years of working together, and so there is scope for unity, he said.





Masunungure also praised MDC organising secretary Abednico Bhebhe for calling for an end to the partys mindless bloodletting  saying Bhebhe was being pragmatic given the realities that if each one of them decided to go it alone there will be no winners. Masunungure also praised MDC organising secretary Abednico Bhebhe for calling for an end to the partys mindless bloodletting  saying Bhebhe was being pragmatic given the realities that if each one of them decided to go it alone there will be no winners.





It makes sense to hold a congress that resonates with the MDC base because the problems between the two leaders are basically a matter of personality, and with astute mediation unity is possible.





Of course, there is bad blood, but there has not been any bloodshed during their political gladiation.





If Zanu and PF Zapu could work together in the aftermath of Gukurahundi, then it is much easier for Chamisa and Khupe to work together.





The postponement of the congress is either because Khupes camp is ill-prepared in terms of organisation or that they are giving unity talks a chance, Masunugure further told the Daily News.





This comes as the MDCs senseless infighting has gone up a notch, following the Supreme Courts recent judgment which upheld last years ruling by the High Court which nullified Chamisas ascendancy to the leadership of the party. This comes as the MDCs senseless infighting has gone up a notch, following the Supreme Courts recent judgment which upheld last years ruling by the High Court which nullified Chamisas ascendancy to the leadership of the party.





Contacted for a comment on the proposal by Bhebhe, Chamisas spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda referred questions to MDC-Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere. Contacted for a comment on the proposal by Bhebhe, Chamisas spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda referred questions to MDC-Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere.





I think if that is to happen, it will have to be the decision of the party, so you can talk to the spokesperson, he said.





Mahere was not taking calls and did not respond to questions sent to her, despite her having requested for them in writing. Mahere was not taking calls and did not respond to questions sent to her, despite her having requested for them in writing.





Presenting a report to the partys standing committee last week, Bhebhe said it was time for the MDC leaders to bury the hatchet in the interest of the party and the country.





Our meeting today is founded on the reality of the divisions sponsored by our own indiscretions and admittance of the fact that there were two congresses  one at Stanley Square in Bulawayo and another at Gweru  with two leaders who contested each other in the 2018 elections.





It is our collective responsibility to bring the two leaders to the table, whatever the stakes involved.





It has taken us literally forever to meet as a team, and I want to speak to our mandates as responsible adult citizens on whom the whole nation reposes, Bhebhe said. It has taken us literally forever to meet as a team, and I want to speak to our mandates as responsible adult citizens on whom the whole nation reposes, Bhebhe said.

I appeal that we be cognisant of the aspirations for liberty, prosperity and happiness of the people that look up to us for an alternative to the governance failures by the government of the day.





Guided by the aims and objectives of the party, particularly in terms of 3.7 of the  constitution, as well as the character and culture of the party, as captured under 4.5 of the constitution, I propose that we bring together party structures from both formations, invite national executive committee and national council members from both formations.

The different formations should start engaging and cease forthwith the fights going on in the courts, Bhebhe added

We need each other if this struggle is to be won at all. I appeal that as leaders we cast our sights into the long run, ahead of the short-termism that manifested in the decisions, actions and choices we have taken so far, both individually and collectively in small sub groups.





I am appealing to you as fellow trench men and women that we treat each other with one eye to sustain the struggle against a common enemy, Bhebhe said further.

Closely associated with the foregoing is the politics of labelling erstwhile comrades Zanu PF, and making attempts to reach out to such matters of treachery, the former Nkayi South legislator added.





I am hoping we can be mature to use the courts of law in a manner which assists our struggle rather than one which serves to ventilate our deficiencies in the open.

I am hopeful, fellow comrades, that I am not asking for too much on my modest request that we narrow the gaps between different groups of the same family by suppressing the basest of our intuitions as motivators of our decisions, actions and choices.





In terms of the executing of my obligations, my task is to mobilise stakeholders eligible for the extraordinary congress which is hard upon us, Bhebhe continued.





Both Chamisa and Khupe have been criticised heavily for failing to heal their rift and focusing on the failures of Zanu PF  whose incompetent handling of the economy has angered long-suffering Zimbabweans. Both Chamisa and Khupe have been criticised heavily for failing to heal their rift and focusing on the failures of Zanu PF  whose incompetent handling of the economy has angered long-suffering Zimbabweans.
The Multnomah County Justice Center is once again a fence-free zone.

A team of trucks Friday morning carted off the last of the chain-link barriers that for weeks stood as a point of contention between law enforcement and large crowds protesting police violence and systemic racism in downtown Portland.

Karen Christensen, office manager for Superior Fence & Construction, said the county contacted the company and asked it to take it all down.

I dont want to say that its a white flag of surrender, Christensen told The Oregonian/OregonLive. But the fence just became a tool for the wrong things. Plus, it got destroyed every day.

Police first set up fencing outside the Justice Center, which includes Portlands downtown jail, a day after demonstrators broke in and set a fire on the first floor of the building May 29.

An outer fence was later erected to block off Southwest Main Street between the jail and the federal courthouse next door. Police removed that fence more than a week ago.

Protests in Portland, which began after police in Minneapolis killed George Floyd, a Black man, have continued for 30 consecutive days.

Often, demonstrators and police faced off along the fences. Protesters have thrown items over the fence, scaled the barriers or cut holes in them. Standing on the other side, police in riot gear warned protesters not to touch the fences.

Sometimes officers used gas, smoke, stun grenades and other types of munitions to break up the late-night crowds.

Sgt. Brandon White, a spokesman with the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office, said an object launched toward the jail during the protests on Wednesday night smashed some windows on the third floor of the building, which is also where a number of early criminal court appearances are held.

As a result, court hearings were moved to the county courthouse a block away Thursday, White said. County officials also boarded up windows on the lower floors of the building.

In a statement Friday, Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese highlighted the ongoing clashes between police and protesters outside the Justice Center as well as some of the damages done to the building

This is a life safety issue for our first responders, Reese said. The Justice Center is a place of critical services, housing for adults in custody and the staff that supports them.

He did not say anything about the last of the fences coming down.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories
The three countries will try to hammer out a deal within two weeks

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agreed that Addis Ababa will delay the filling of a hydropower dam it is building on the Blue Nile until a final binding deal is reached, the Egyptian presidency said on Friday, signaling progress in talks over the disputed project.

Renewed negotiations over the $4.8 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) failed to produce an accord last week, and Ethiopia insisted it will begin filling the dam in July even without approval from the two downstream countries.

On Friday, the three countries agreed to form a committee of legal and technical experts to draft a final binding deal, and to refrain from taking any unilateral measures, including the filling of the dam, before the agreement is reached, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

The announcement came after an emergency African Union online summit of leaders of the three countries chaired by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa.

Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdouk said in a statement that the three leaders have agreed to postpone the filling of the reservoir until an agreement is signed.

The technical committee will try to strike a deal within two weeks as suggested by Ethiopia, his office said.

The committee will also include leaders of Kenya, Mali and Kongo, as well as international observers -- which include the US, the EU and South Africa, the current chairman of the African Union.

Sudan described the meeting as positive and said the leaders of the three nations discussed the need to reach a solution that satisfies all parties," according to Sudanese state news agency SUNA.

Egypt last week called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene to restart talks on the mega-project and warned that filling the dam without a deal would threaten international peace and security.

Sudan joined Egypt in expressing concerns to the UNs most powerful body, saying in a letter on Wednesday that the unilateral filling of the dam, located around 15 km from the Sudanese border, could cause substantial risks to Khartoum and endanger the lives of millions of people living downstream.

Sudan fears the giant Ethiopian dam will put the operation of its Roseires dam at risk if not properly designed, filled and operated.

A letter about the conclusion of Friday's virtual session will be submitted to the Security Council to consider during its session discussing the dam dispute on Monday, Egypt said.

Ethiopias Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Twitter the discussions were fruitful, adding that the African Union offers the right space to dialogue.

Earlier this week, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric urged the three countries to work together to intensify efforts to peacefully resolve outstanding differences.

Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 95% of its freshwater, fears the dam will significantly cut the rivers flow, while Ethiopia says the project is key to its development efforts.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 15:24 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661ed6c1 1 World Rohingya,refugees,Amnesty-International,usman-hamid,UNHCR,aceh Free

Amnesty International has urged the government to show support for Aceh residents after they rescued dozens of Rohingya refugees in Northern Aceh waters. Amnesty called this event "a victory for humanitarian solidarity" and demanded that the Indonesian authorities ensure immediate protection for the refugees.

"This good news from Aceh is very relieving. It showed [us] that Aceh residents uphold values of solidarity, but at the same time they respect the rights of Rohingya refugees, which are often neglected. But the efforts [to help Rohingya refugees] should not stop here, the government needs to provide thorough protections for them, after months of dangerous sea travel they need shelter," Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said in a statement on Thursday.

On Wednesday morning three Indonesian fishermen rescued 94 refugees, comprising 49 women, 15 men and 30 children, from a sinking cargo ship using their fishing boat, KM 2017.811.

They attempted to transport the group to Kuala Tanah Jambo Aye in Seunuddon district, North Aceh, but their engine broke, leaving them stranded 4 miles from the coast of Seunuddon.

Read also: Totally shameful: Outrage as ASEAN nations abandon Rohingya boat people

Currently, the Rohingya refugees are being held in a temporary shelter in Lhokseumawe. They were said to be in weak condition and authorities were providing them with food.

Amnesty said the COVID-19 pandemic should push the government to provide basic needs for the refugees such as food, shelter, and medical services. It also urged the government to reactivate a regional dialogue to save other Rohingya refugees stranded at sea.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced that it will cooperate with the Aceh administration to quarantine the refugees.

UNHCR protection associate Oktina expressed his appreciation for locals and authorities who helped with the rescue.

"We're grateful for the rescue. At least they are safe here. They can get food and water after having been at sea for months. UNHCR is ready to help the regional administrations to carry out the quarantine process and with other necessities," Oktina said on Thursday as reported by tempo.co. (nal)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 17:03:40|Editor: huaxia

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Priests are seen at a temple reopened in Kolkata, India on Jun 10, 2020. (Str/Xinhua)

-- Cambodian prime minister calls for collective responses, solidarity to fight COVID-19 at ASEAN summit;

-- New Zealand reports one new case;

-- Deaths surpass 15,000 in India, total cases at 490,401;



-- South Korea reports 39 more cases, 12,602 in total.

HONG KONG, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries:



PHNOM PENH -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen told the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Friday that collective responses and solidarity are crucial to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen speaks during the launch ceremony of a cash relief program in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 24, 2020. (Photo by Li Lay/Xinhua)

WELLINGTON -- New Zealand reported one new case of COVID-19 on Friday in managed isolation, bringing the total active cases in the country to 14, according to the Ministry of Health.

A worker cleans the exterior of the parliament building in Wellington, New Zealand, June 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)

NEW DELHI -- Total COVID-19 deaths surpassed the 15,000-mark in India on Friday, reaching 15,301, while total cases reached 490,401, according to the latest data released by the federal health ministry.

The country has recently witnessed a sudden spurt in the number of confirmed cases.

Spa, salons and beauty parlours will be allowed to function in India's western state of Maharashtra from Sunday with strict adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) on hygiene and cleanliness after having been closed for three months during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.

Indian health workers wearing personal protective equipment conduct COVID-19 screening at a slum amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Mumbai, India, on June 17, 2020. (Str/Xinhua)

SEOUL -- South Korea reported 39 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of 0:00 a.m. Friday local time, raising the total number of infections to 12,602.

The daily caseload moved roughly in a range of 30 to 60 this month due to the continued small cluster infections. Of the new cases, 12 were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 1,508.

People take pictures on Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, May 10, 2020.
Informally, she has played the roles of spokeswoman to her brother, chief of staff and national security adviser. Shortly after the curious episode earlier this spring during which Kim Jong-un largely disappeared from view  prompting rumors that he might be incapacitated, perhaps even dead  and then reappeared, she became the face of the regime.

Accelerating efforts to bolster the leadership credentials of Kim Yo-jong is a sensible strategy from Pyongyangs point of view.

A pandemic  unlike a famine (which North Korea has experienced) or a military attack (which it fears)  can kill princes as readily as paupers. The children of Kim Jong-un, who is said to be 36, are too young to succeed him any time soon. Again on Thursday, the Japanese government said it had suspicions about his health.

Kim Yo-jong, reportedly in her early 30s, has much to prove  and she might well do some of that proving, at least in the short or medium term, by ratcheting up two staple features of the Kim regimes strategy of self-preservation: calculated external threats and extreme internal repression.

In 2012, his very first year in power, Kim Jong-un, then not yet 30, oversaw two long-range missile tests. There is no reason to think that Kim Yo-jong would be any less aggressive or tyrannical than her brother  or their father and grandfather  and she may even be more so. The nature of the regime she represents, and will perhaps one day inherit, almost demands it.

That a woman would now be the surrogate supreme leader of North Korea  a male-dominated culture, politically and otherwise  is a first, but it isnt heresy. Ensuring that the Kim familys authority remains unchallenged supersedes any social conventions.

The ideological foundation of the regime rests on the supposedly near-superhuman, revolutionary leadership of the countrys founding leader and his direct progeny.
Fair Warning by Michael Connelly

CRIME

Fair Warning

Michael Connelly

Allen and Unwin, $32.99

He may have written 32 crime novels and sold more than 70 million copies worldwide, but Michael Connelly is still an old journo at heart, or so he tells us on his website. Judging by Fair Warning, this is certainly true since Jack McEvoy is the character Connelly checks in with whenever he wants to update us on the state of journalism in the digital era.

In Connellys breakthrough 1996 serial killer thriller, The Poet, Jack was working a nice gig on The Rocky Mountain News, chasing the stories that grabbed him around Denver, Colorado. By the time of The Scarecrow in 2009, he had just been fired as a too-expensive veteran reporter on the LA Times to be replaced by an up-and-coming, much cheaper, digital news hound. These days, Jacks working for a small community watchdog online publication (the eponymous Fair Warning), whose editor spends most of his time on the phone, raising money from supporters. Journalism has indeed been transformed over the past 24 years.

As yet another sign of the times, by the end of this instalment, Jack has all but abandoned traditional journalism to embrace the podcast, like the author himself. While Jacks podcast is called Murder Beat, Connellys serial podcast, Murder Book, returns to his own formative experience as a journalist at the LA Times. While Connellys voice sounds oddly constricted, its a fascinating listen.
Controversial media personality, Daddy Freeze, has come out to address the criticisms thrown at him by Nigerians for his acquaintances w...

Hushpuppi. Controversial media personality, Daddy Freeze, has come out to address the criticisms thrown at him by Nigerians for his acquaintances with the arrested Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Raymond Abbas, also known as





t a video on Thursday went viral on social media showing Daddy Freeze sometime in 2019 dining with Hushpuppi and his gang who are currently being charged for allegedly defrauding over 1.9 million victims to the tune of $435.6 million. Recall thaand his gang who are currently being charged for allegedly defrauding over 1.9 million victims to the tune of $435.6 million.





In the video, Daddy Freeze could be heard laughing and mocking legit income earners after Hushpuppi said his driver collects N700,000 monthly salary.





Hushpuppis driver collects 700,000 in a month, yet people abusing him on social media are working as houseboys with pay of N35,000, Freeze said.

Reacting to the development, Freeze in a video posted on his official Twitter page on Friday afternoon, said Hushpuppi was not guilty of any of the allegations and charges levelled against him until he was tried and proven guilty in the court of law.





Watch video below




NY officials cant impose greater restrictions on religious services than businesses, protests: judge

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A federal judge has blocked New York officials from enforcing state restrictions on outdoor and indoor religious gatherings that are stricter than those imposed on comparable secular entities.

U.S. District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe issued a preliminary injunction Friday on behalf of two Catholic priests and three rabbis who are suing Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Letitia James, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The injunction prevents New York from enforcing any indoor gathering limitations against plaintiffs greater than imposed for Phase 2 industries and enforcing any limitation for outdoor gatherings, provided that the houses of worship adhere to social distancing guidelines.

The balance of hardships tips in plaintiffs favor. Indeed, in the absence of an injunction, plaintiffs religious activities will be burdened and continue to be treated less favorably than comparable secular activities, Sharpe wrote.

An injunction, on the other hand, does not undercut defendants interest in controlling the spread of COVID-19, provided that plaintiffs abide by social distancing guidance.

The judge also took issue with Cuomo and de Blasio voicing their support for thousands gathering at Black Lives Matter protests, noting the double standard.

Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio could have just as easily discouraged protests, short of condemning their message, in the name of public health and exercised discretion to suspend enforcement for public safety reasons instead of encouraging what they knew was a flagrant disregard of the outdoor limits and social distancing rules, Sharpe continued.

But by acting as they did, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio sent a clear message that mass protests are deserving of preferential treatment.

The Thomas More Society, which has been representing the clergy, celebrated the injunction as a blow against selective enforcement of social distancing guidelines.

Christopher Ferrara, special counsel for Thomas More Society, said in a statement released Friday that they were pleased that Judge Sharpe was able to see through the sham of Governor Cuomos Social Distancing Protocol which went right out the window as soon as he and Mayor de Blasio saw a mass protest movement they favored taking to the streets by the thousands.

Suddenly, the limit on mass gatherings was no longer necessary to save lives. Yet they were continuing to ban high school graduations and other outdoor gatherings exceeding a mere 25 people, he continued.

This decision is an important step toward inhibiting the suddenly emerging trend of exercising absolute monarchy on pretext of public health. What this kind of regime really meant in practice is freedom for me, but not for thee.

Earlier this month, the clergy filed a lawsuit against New York in the District Court for the Northern District of New York. At issue were state orders on reopening that treated houses of worship differently than comparable secular entities.

For example, houses of worship remained limited to 25% indoor capacity during Phases 2 and 3 and a 25-person outdoor gathering limit for Phase 3 locations, while mass protests and businesses faced no attendance limits.

De Blasio garnered controversy in April when he warned New York Citys Jewish and Christian communities that he would permanently shut down synagogues and churches if they did not comply with lockdown orders.

Earlier this month, New York City workers welded shut gates to a park in a predominantly Hasidic area of Brooklyn after residents continued to take their children to the park. This was done as part of Cuomo's state order to prevent crowds from gathering. However, at the same time park gates were welded shut to keep out children and their mothers, thousands were allowed to protest in mass gatherings throughout the city.
Inspired by the use of UV light to disinfect operating rooms, Kreitenberg invented a device  dubbed the Germ Ninja  to quickly disinfect the balls by passing UV light over them. The invention was so successful it was used in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Not long after that, Elliot Kreitenberg flew home from college, trying to sleep with his face resting on the fold-down tray. A fellow flier warned Elliot about the germs on the tray, reminding him that it was flu season. Elliot relayed the story to his father, and the idea for using UV light to disinfect commercial planes was hatched.

A business major from Skidmore College, Elliot wanted to run his own company. After some research and encouragement from a college professor, he decided to go into business with his father to sell the GermFalcon. Elliot became president and co-founder with his father of Dimer LLC, which is named for part of the process that kills viruses with UV light.

The father-son team estimated they visited up to 20 trade shows and conferences, hoping to sell the idea  with no success. One of the challenges was trying to talk directly with an airline executive who had the authority to approve the purchase.
Boing Boing welcomes Real Tested CBD as a sponsor.

Real Tested CBD shares the following essay by their co-founder, Richard Cowan.

It's Time for Silicon Valley To Finish Its Job of Disrupting the Racist Drug War It Has Been Racist From The Beginning and Racism Cannot End Until It Does By  Richard Cowan

Mark Zuckerberg, the Icarus of the Internet, is debating his own employees about whether Facebook should be responsible for correcting the lies of certain high ranking politicians. The answer seems obvious, but are they really prepared to choose which lies require their personal attention?

Icarus was undone by trying to fly too high and to be above it all, but there is another Greek myth that is more down to Earth literally.

As I watch the seemingly inexhaustible torrent of prohibitionist propaganda, I am reminded of the Greek myth about Hercules and the stables of King Augeas.

The term "Augean stables" means a huge mess, because King Augeas had a vast number of cattle, which were herded into the stables every night, but no one cleaned up after them. (Governments always expect other people to do their dirty work.)

As a consequence, the stables overflowed with what the Greeks called "drug education."

As in Hercules' time, the government provides the fodder at one end, and the other end the Greeks called it the "media"  produced the inevitable product. It stank to high heaven, but it seemed impossible to do anything about it.

Most people said it was beneath their dignity even to think about it, although not thinking did not stop them from writing about it. They said that the only reason that it stank was because some people complained about the smell. You couldn't smell it from the better neighborhoods, and besides, if everyone who lived near the stables would just stop breathing, it wouldn't be a problem. Perhaps the king could send in troops to put their knees on the people's throats, but that was rejected as bad PR.

However, as the story goes, Hercules was given the task of cleaning the stables, but he had to do it all in only one day. Clearly not even he could shovel that fast, and I know just how he must have felt.

Being a superhero, Hercules managed the feat, and the way he did it gives me hope. He diverted a couple of rivers to flow through the stables and flushed them out.

Meanwhile back in the real world, what does this have to do with the war on us? What are the "rivers" that we can divert?

One clue actually comes from the myth. When King Augeas refused to pay Hercules, as he had promised he would, the king's son told the truth, and was exiled for doing so.

(He was sent to a place the Greeks called "rehab", which he said reminded him of his father's stables.)

Of course, not all BS is mythical, nor is it localized. Fortunately, we have something more universal than the Greek rivers: the Internet. So, meanwhile back in the real world, the American people are getting fed up with the stench of the lies that are being told to them  supposedly to protect them.

For obvious reasons, the current crisis in the "criminal justice system is focused on race, but it should also be obvious that these problems are inextricably linked to what we call the Drug War. Second, the Drug War is a "legacy" of the world that Silicon Valley, aka the Internet, has partially disrupted and now it must finish the job.

The Drug War, and Marijuana Prohibition, (it's afeature, not a bug) are still supported by a massive propaganda campaign mislabeled as Drug Education. Just the Drug Czars office (Office of National Drug Control Policy) has a budget of $379.1 million.

Also, the 2019 Budget for the National Institute for Drug Abuse was $1,419,844,000. None of this money was for actual law enforcement". And how would we account for the $3.4 billion to pay for housing federal drug war prisoners?

But the greatest economic cost of the Drug War would have to be counted in the damage done to the lives of its targets.

In the 2002 study "The Impact of Incarceration on Wage Mobility and Inequality," researcher Bruce Western "found that incarceration can permanently alter an individual's life course, disrupt key life transitions, and destroy access to steady employment. Incarceration can also hugely impact future economic stability and wage earning. The study looked at young men who were incarcerated in prison or jail between 1979 and 1998.

According to Western's study, the loss of earnings occurs partially because wages increase at a slower rate following incarceration. Not only are wages essentially frozen when someone is put in jail, incarceration causes a reduction in the rate of wage growth over the course of a lifetime by about 30%. Western also found that a criminal record  regardless of the crime related to the record  reduces callbacks from prospective employers by around 50%."

And guess what Blacks are almost four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana as whites, even though marijuana use rates are very similar. And the history of marijuana prohibition is absurdly racist.

Anyone who wants to talk about racism in America, and especially racism and the police, must confront the Drug War and marijuana prohibition or they are just poseurs.

Anyone who talks about defunding the police and defending minority communities without addressing the Drug War, starting with marijuana prohibition, is simply avoiding the difficult decisions that have to be made. Silicon Valley is all about data so please just look at the numbers. Equal Justice for All must be equal for all, or it will not compute.

There is no group in the world that has greater actual power over the public discourse than the tech community. It disrupted the old journalism and the old political order. Now it cannot pretend to be against racism and yet ignore the way the world actually works. If Zuckerberg and Dorsey are in the headlines, then everyone else must be on the frontlines, or they are AWOL.

Speak, shout, scream, text, Tweet and email but make yourself heard. It is literally at your fingertips.

What have you done for freedom today?

-Richard Cowan is a former NORML National Director and co-founder of Real Tested CBD. Find more stories from Richard Cowan.
Vini Mahajan on Friday took over as the first woman chief secretary of Punjab.

A 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Vini replaces Karan Avtar Singh and brings to the table 33 years of experience in a host of key positions in the central and Punjab governments.

Karan Avtar takes over as special chief secretary, governance reforms.

The only Punjab-cadre officer currently in the state who is empanelled to hold position as secretary, Government of India, Vini was till now serving as additional chief secretary, investment promotion, industries and commerce, IT and governance reforms and public grievances. She has been playing a crucial role in steering the state governments response to the Covid crisis as chairperson, health sector response and procurement committee.

Vini with her predecessor Karan Avtar Singh before taking charge in Chandigarh. (HT Photo )

Congress legislators were pressurising chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to remove Karan Avtar Singh from the post of chief secretary after he had run-ins with ministers at meetings on the excise policy. Ministers, led by finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, had boycotted a pre-cabinet meeting after comments allegedly made by the bureaucrat. The matter was settled with the intervention of Captain Amarinder Singh and after Karan Avtar Singh apologised to the ministers.

Punjab Police chief Dinkar Gupta is also a 1987-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. This is perhaps the first time any power couple serves simultaneously as the chief secretary and the DGP of a state (HT FILE )

Vini is the wife of Punjab Police chief Dinkar Gupta, who is also a 1987-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. This is perhaps the first time any power couple serves simultaneously as the chief secretary and the DGP of a state.

BRIGHT STUDENT, ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER

An economics graduate from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, and a post-graduate from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta, where she was placed on the Roll of Honour and later also received the distinguished alumnus award, Vini was pivotal in the states success in attracting over 20,000 crore new investment every year during her tenure in the Investment Promotion and Industries and Commerce.

It was with her at the helm of the department that Punjab participated for the first time in the World Economic Forum at Davos in 2019, and held a highly successful Investor Summit, with focus on MSMEs, in December last year.

Under her able leadership, the department saw massive improvements in infrastructure in focal points, and new mega industrial parks were also taken up. A centre of excellence and several incubators were launched for promoting and mentoring start-ups, and recently, as part of governance reforms in the state, a completely new public grievances redressal policy was launched with her pioneering efforts.

It was during her tenure as ACS, housing and urban development, that the development of a 5,000-acre new township near Mohali airport was initiated. Further, during her term as additional chief secretary, revenue, Punjab became the first state in the country to roll out the National Generic Document Registration System.

Vini Mahajan served in the office of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from 2005-12, and handled, matters relating to finance, industry and commerce, telecom, and IT. She was part of the core team of the central government that put together Indias domestic response, during and following the global financial meltdown. She also participated in the global response through the G-20 mechanism.

In 2004-05 as director in the department of economic affairs, ministry of finance (GoI), she was involved with Indias external assistance programme, and infrastructure issues.

In Punjab, she has served in various capacities, including MD PIDB and as the first director, disinvestment. She was appointed chief administrator of the new Anandpur Sahib Development Authority in 1997, and also CEO, Anandpur Sahib Foundation, for the organisation for the tercentenary celebrations of the birth of the Khalsa in 1999. She served as the chairperson of the celebrations committee for the 550th anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev in 2019.

FIRST WOMAN DC OF PUNJAB

In 1995, she became the first woman officer to be posted as a deputy commissioner in Punjab, when she took over as the Ropar DC, in which capacity she carried out a total literacy campaign, for which Ropar received the National Literacy Award for best performance in the country.

Vini Mahajan has received numerous academic awards, including the National Talent Search Scholarship. She was a Hubert Humphrey fellow based at American University in Washington DC in 2000-01. She could be the only student in the country who got admission to both IIT and AIIMS, Delhi, in 1982 after she finished her Class 12 from Modern School, New Delhi.

Her father, BB Mahajan, was also an IAS officer of the Punjab cadre. A topper of the 1957 batch and known to be a man of integrity, he held important positions, including FCR in Punjab, before retiring as secretary, food, Government of India.

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That release could not be found.
BASEL (dpa-AFX) - Novartis (NVS) said it has resolved all Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations into historical conduct by the company and its subsidiaries. To settle the investigations, the company and certain of its current and former subsidiaries will pay $233.9 million to the Department of Justice and $112.8 million to the SEC. The SEC found that local subsidiaries or affiliates of Novartis or its former subsidiary Alcon Inc. engaged in schemes to make improper payments or to provide benefits to public and private healthcare providers in South Korea, Vietnam, and Greece in exchange for prescribing or using Novartis or Alcon products. As part of the settlement, Novartis has reached an agreement pertaining to internal controls and books and records violations in Greece, Vietnam and South Korea. The company noted that the resolutions contain no allegations relating to any bribery of Greek politicians, which is consistent with what Novartis found in its own internal investigation. 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.
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Obviously our medical system isn't the main thing responsible for the resurgence of COVID cases. The blame there probably lies mostly at the feet of the Governors and our President, who has insisted on reopening and the people who have resisted quarantine. But the medical bankruptcy to this country and its citizens, which is sure to follow, can absolutely be blamed on a failure to adapt our medical system to modern times. According to the Financial Times:

"Interviews with hospital executives, doctors, and industry groups suggest the gulf between rich and poor institutions could widen after coronavirus. Even if stimulus money bails out poorer institutions in the short term, they will face long-term economic consequences: credit will be harder to access; they will have to cover costs when unemployed patients are unable to meet their bills and the states are likely to cut insurance payment rates as tax revenues fall."

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See the problem with our privatized system during this pandemic is our medical ecosystem (paying doctors, funds for equipment, etc.) is dependent on expensive elective procedures. Those procedures aren't being performed because all of our resources are being dedicated to helping COVID patients. However, with a single-payer system such as in Canada, the fail-safes are built-in. So thank you, Wendall Potter, for exposing your lie, but if you and your pals at the insurance companies could now take the money you earned lying and help bail out the patients who will be paying COVID related medical bills for the rest of their lives, I'm sure they would appreciate it.

Support Dan on Twitter and he will talk about his life with you in lieu of getting a therapist.

Top Image: Graham Ruttan/Unsplash, Artur Tumasjan/Unsplash
First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has congratulated the Azerbaijani servicemen and veterans on the Armed Forces Day.

In a post on her official Instagram account, Mehriban Aliyeva said: I congratulate all servicemen and veterans in our country. I wish everyone the best of health, and our Motherland peace and tranquility!








The first exoplanet, a planet outside our Solar System, was first discovered by a European team in 1995. Today, an international team released a report that they found two 'super Earth' exoplanets that may be habitable.

The evolution and stability of an exoplanet are affected by its gravitational interaction with other objects orbiting the same star. As the team of scientists was monitoring the red dwarf star Gliese 887 (GJ 887), they noticed two planets orbiting it 'just within the habitable zone.' Since the pair of planets are orbiting within the inner edge of the habitable zone, they may be too hot for life to thrive or for liquid water to remains on the.

Using a planet-finding telescope from the European Southern Observatory in La Silla, Chile, the team comprised of Australian astronomers and the international Red Dots team. Red Dots' goal is to detect the nearest terrestrial planets to the Sun. These exoplanets typically orbit around nearby red dwarf stars where they use the Doppler spectroscopy method.

Two Super Earths

Planet GJ 887b and GJ887c may be 'rocky worlds' similar to Earth's surface but the team predicts that they are tidally locked, meaning that only one side is always facing its star, making that side constantly daytime and the opposite side nighttime.

Dr. John Barnes, an astrophysicist at the Open University, said, 'Close orbiting planets like these have a high chance of being tidally locked to their host star. This means that as the planet orbits its star, the same hemisphere always faces the star.'

Using the Doppler wobble method find the exoplanets and measure their gravitational relationship with GJ 887, the start would wobble slightly as the pair would orbit. They also observed that the wobble affects the star's light as well.

GJ 887c's proximity to its parent star gives it an estimated temperature of 158 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface as it takes almost 22 days to circle the star. GJ 887b, which is closer to its host star with a 9.3-day orbit, is most likely to have higher surface temperatures. Since only half of each planet is facing the star, ' it could be much cooler on some parts of the planets than others,' explained Dr. Barnes.

Read Also: NASA Finds New Evidence of Habitability on Jupiter's Moon Europa

The Habitable Zone

Since the GJ 887 is not as active as other red dwarfs, the two planets might not have strong stellar winds, which is material from the star causing orbiting planet atmospheres to erode. The team hopes to find a third habitable planet from an unconfirmed signal they detected. They are still unable to confirm if the signal may be another exoplanet because 'if the signal is a planet, it would orbit every 51 days,' said Dr. Barnes.

The Red Dots team was excited to discover that GJ 887 has fewer starspots compared to the Sun, meaning that the exoplanets' atmospheres are less eroded than Earth's. The thicker atmospheres increase the chances of making it a habitable planet.

Dr. O'Toole from the Macquerie University said, 'In the era of space-based exoplanet-hunting telescopeslike NASA's Kepler and TESS, this result shows that astronomy from the ground continues to play a crucial role in our understanding of planets in our local neighborhood.' Professor Chris Tinney also shared that 'Planets orbiting nearby stars are key for searches with future telescopes for both explanatory atmospheres and eventually evidence for life.'

Read Also: Virgin Galactic Signs With NASA for Private Space Missions Program
Ari Abramowitz (l) and Jeremy Gimpel in front of their house of worship on Arugot Farms.

(JNS) - Atop a nearly barren mountain ridge at the tip of southeastern Gush Etzion, with breathtaking views overlooking the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea, two American immigrants are building an oasis - a working organic farm and spiritual retreat center - with the hope of turning the site into a global tourist destination.

Meet Ari Abramowitz and Jeremy Gimpel. Both are rabbis, former Israeli Defense Forces' soldiers, best friends and business partners, who combined their life savings and moved with their families to a hilltop just outside the community of Ibei HaNahal in order to build...
A judge has criticised the outdated structure of parts of the criminal law system, labelling it Victorian.

Judge Desmond Zaidan says that the gardai should be given powers to issue a fixed penalty fine for relatively minor issues such a breach of the Public Order Act, and minor road traffic or theft offences.

Instead, many of these cases come before the District Court, adding to the already long list of matters yet to be dealt with.

Some relatively minor matters like petty theft may, if the alleged perpetrator chooses, be heard at the higher Circuit Court after a 12-member jury has been sworn in.

This means additional costs for the taxpayer, he said on June 18.

In Ireland, we inherited the British judicial system, but even in Britain they have moved away from this, Judge Zaidan commented.

Here, you have the option of a jury trial that could cost 30,000 to 50,000 if you steal a sandwich, he said.

Judge Zaidan added: Im stating the obvious, Im calling a spade a spade.
Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr. Kodjo Essien Mensah-Abrampa has revealed that the NDPC is developing a policy document on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) for Ghanas agriculture sector.

Dr. Mensah-Abrampa said the long-term policy document on GMOs will be launched in the coming months by the NDPC.

Innovation in agriculture is instrumental in achieving broad-based social and economic growth in developing countries like ours, he stated.

The Director-General made these remarks in an interview with this reporter, speaking on Ghanas Agricultural Sector, challenges smallholder farmers are facing, and what the NDPC is doing to support smallholder farmers in the country.

He said agriculture should be moved from the usual supply-focused approach to a demand-driven one whereby the government works with farmers to identify readily available markets to inform what they produce.

Traditionally, what we as the government does, is to provide seedlings, fertilizers, and related support to farmers, telling them what to grow or produce. When their product is ready for the market, they are ignored, leaving them to struggle to sell what is produced. This has been the cyclical approach to agriculture, which ends up making the farmers even poorer as they produce more based but no markets to sell, he noted.

Dr. Mensah-Abrampa indicated that it is only with demand-driven agriculture that farmers would be able to determine the volume of various crops to produce to curtail the perennial food glut and wastage across the value chain.

In Ghana, there are seasons when basic food items such as maize, rice, mango, avocado, and eggs flood various markets and food points across the country, after which they gradually disappear from the markets.

Dr. Mensah-Abrampa said the Covid-19 crisis calls for prioritizing and investing in areas where change is most needed, especially the dominant agricultural sector.

If we want to modernize agriculture, this is the time to put the resources where agriculture can be modernized. If we want to modernize industrialization, this is the time; and the opportunities have been created, he said.

Governance elements of agriculture must be looked at, but the question is: where are the policies, regulations, and road infrastructure? These are very important, and there must be a conscious effort to bring about these changes, he added.

He said farming is a business venture and must be approached with entrepreneurial skills and effective training of farmers.

In the absence of such capacity building and empowerment, he said, most farmers just offer their labor in a very tedious way in order to get something out of it, instead of seeing farming as an entrepreneurial activity that they can invest in.

Whenever there is a disaster, our farmers just throw their arms in the air and cry because we have not taught them the means to identify risks and adapt, and therefore, they are not entrepreneurs, he noted.

Chief Osman Fukuyama, a Farmer at Bereku in the Central Region said GMOs will stand the test of time and enhance agricultural development in Ghana.

He said over the years, climate change, poor rainfall and crop diseases had impacted on their crop yields.

He said these factors called for modification of crop varieties by using modern technologies that had become necessary and noted that biotechnology was one of the best tools in plant breeding, adding that, the use of the method could be used to engineer crops to withstand pests and diseases as well as harsh climatic conditions.

Fears about monopoly and access to seeds were the initial concerns; a number of scientists have walked me through the processes to develop GMOs and now I see the opportunities in the technology he added.

Dr. Daniel Osei Ofosu, a research scientist at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission reiterated that GMOs are safe for humans and the environment.

He reassured that before any GMO food was put onto the market, it would have gone through the necessary safety precautions.

Biotechnology is a scientific method of enhancing food quality, safety and production and could cater to the myriad of challenges facing the Agricultural sector in Ghana and Africa in general, he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 15:16:00|Editor: huaxia

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by Pau Ramirez

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Brazil hopes to increase its agricultural exports to China, Brazilian Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias has said.

"One of the goals that we have in the ministry is to increase the basket of products that we offer to the world, including China, which is a great market. Recently, we opened the melon market to China, and the next one will be the grape market, we are working towards that. We also have chestnut, wine and sparkling wine, which are of high quality," the minister said.

Brazil "is very interested in selling ethanol to the Chinese market," and in the protein sector, "enabling more slaughterhouses" to export meat to China, she added.

"I think we have great opportunities in the Chinese market and will work harder to offer more quality products to the Chinese market -- quality and quantity" to meet China's demand, she added.

The agribusiness sector "has been organizing for many years, using a totally Brazilian, tropical technology that the Brazilian Agricultural Research Company has developed in the past 40 years," said the senior official, mentioning that "we set a production record" last year.

While the sector in 2020 has had to grapple with the unexpected impact of the pandemic, the year's "harvest had already been planted with a lot of technology, a lot of motivation in the fields," she said.

Due to the nature of agriculture, the sector has been "little affected by COVID-19," she said, adding that "contingency plans" have helped gather and transport major harvests to urban centers and ports.

"Perishable products suffered, owners of small orchards, farms, flower and fish (enterprises) ... We had more problems in those sectors than in the agriculture of soybeans, corn, rice, beans or milk," she said.

"Brazilian soybean," the country's leading agricultural export, "is practically in its entirety exported to China today: 88 percent of exported soybean is shipped to the Chinese market," she added.

"We have Chinese companies here in Brazil buying soybeans and shipping them to China. I see that the market is active and if Chinese demand continues, Brazil will continue to send soybeans to China and other partners, but China is Brazil's great partner," said the minister.

Recent data on Brazil's meat exports to China showed that efforts to promote the sector have paid off, she said.

"The Ministry of Agriculture has worked hard since I took office to open new licenses for the Chinese market, for poultry, beef and pork. This shows that our work was good and that things are happening between the two countries," said the minister.

This was the one area of agriculture where the ministry ensured special measures were put in place due to COVID-19 and its potential impact "mainly on slaughterhouses" and meatpacking plants, she said.

"We sought to increase the safety of employees if they went to work. We did many things in conjunction with the private sector, we discussed safety protocols for these officials, protocols written by medical centers, and these steps were taken to increase the safety of those working" at the plants, she said, adding that Brazil has at all times worked "to provide assurance to our buyers" about the quality of exports.

"China has been enormously careful about the arrival of products. The other day we watched the opening of Brazilian meat crates to see if there was any contamination ... We are learning through what others are doing and through our own domestic experience," she said.

"I think this pandemic is a learning experience for everyone, and we want to be a reliable partner, both in the production and delivery of our products," she continued.

The minister said she has traveled to China several times and hopes to visit once again when the pandemic is over.

"I have been in China four or five times. I was always surprised by the speed with which China has developed in recent years," she said. Enditem
Sky News has been accused of shutting down a former Scotland Yard chief for claiming Black Lives Matter is deliberately stirring up a false anti-police narrative.

Ex-chief superintendent Kevin Hurley claimed senior figures in the movement were waging a 'misinformation' campaign to 'destabilise and disrupt' society.

He also suggested the ugly clashes in Brixton on Wednesday night were products of Afro-Caribbean single parenting and said constables had 'given up' enforcing the law on young black Britons for fear of jeopardising their careers.

Anchor Adam Boulton challenged Mr Hurley and suggested it was unhelpful to view the violence through the prism of race - before later cutting him off entirely when the former top brass was in full flow.

The abrupt end to the interview sparked accusations online that Sky News did not want to air 'uncomfortable' opinions, but this has been vehemently denied by Boulton who insisted he was constricted by rigid time slots.

Ex-chief superintendent Kevin Hurley suggested senior figures in the movement were waging a 'misinformation' campaign to 'destabilise and disrupt' society (pictured with Sky News anchor Adam Boulton yesterday)

Reacting to the violence in Brixton, Mr Hurley, who also served as Surrey's Police and Crime Commissioner, said yesterday: 'The only way you're going to deal with this is with social intervention to get upstream and manage the problems that comes with single parenting, particularly among young African-Caribbean women.

'And I'm talking about intervening and supporting women when the children are three to four years of age, to prevent them going down this route of rebelliousness and often offending.'

He added: 'We've got into a vicious circle with police officers dealing with young black people, who always come to the perspective that the police are trying to suppress them.

'And the police very quickly come to learn that dealing with young black people is quite frankly aggravation that puts their careers and mortgages at risk.

'That's the reason why so many black youth are killing each other in London, because the police have given up trying to stop them carrying knives and guns and killing each other.'

Mr Hurley also suggested the ugly clashes in Brixton on Wednesday night were products of Afro-Caribbean single parenting and said constables had 'given up' enforcing the law on young black Britons for fear of jeopardising their careers

Anchor Adam Boulton challenged Mr Hurley and suggested it was unhelpful to view the violence through the prism of race - before later cutting him off entirely when the former top brass was in full flow

Boulton picked Mr Hurley up on his claims, and retorted: 'Do you think it is really helpful at this time of heightened concern over Black Lives Matter to see this so clearly in racial terms.'

But the ex-police chief swatted away the anchor's critcism and insisted that 'this is not a BAME issue, this is an issue relating to people of West African heritage in terms of the relationship between the police and the public'.

He pressed on: 'There's an awful lot of misinformation going on about police killing black people in custody.

'Last year 16 people died for various reasons in police custody - largely from drug overdoses - of those 16, only one was black.

'Last year the police shot three people dead - only one was black. There is a narrative going on here, I think driven by people within the Black Lives Matter movement who want to destabalise and disrupt society.'

The hasty wrapping up of the interview was seized upon by many on Twitter, who hit out at the presenter directly, but Boulton slapped down his critics. He later posted his own thoughts on Mr Hurley's comments

But as he went to start another sentence, Bolton suddenly interjected: 'Ok we're going to have to leave it there, thank you very much indeed,' and the video feed to Mr Hurley was cut off.

The hasty wrapping up of the interview was seized upon by many on Twitter, who hit out at the presenter directly.

But Boulton slapped down his critics and tweeted: 'I didn't (cut him off). But we are subject to automatic cut-offs for ad breaks, half hours, top of the hour and even the weather.

'We aim to give all guests the time to have their say and normally succeed.'

The presenter, who tweets in a personal capacity, also said: 'There have been incidents of bad crowd behaviour by all sorts of people around the UK, not just those singled out by Kevin Hurley.'

Sky News declined to comment.

Some viewers took to Twitter to voice their outrage at Mr Hurley's comments.

Luke Hubbard, whose profile says he is a PhD student and hate crime researcher, said: 'This is absolute garbage from Kevin Hurley!'

Another Twitter user, Moya Lothian-Mclean, said that Mr Hurley had made 'disgraceful, ignorant comments'.

Others, though, agreed with his views.

PhD student Luke Hubbard took offence at Mr Hurley's interview

Moya Lothian-Mclean slammed comments made in the interview as 'disgraceful' and 'ignorant'

Twitter user Adrian Partridge said that Mr Hurley was '100% correct' in his comments.

He added that 'parents should take responsibility for raising their children'.

Others requested that Mr Hurley was given the opportunity to 'finish his thoughts'.

Adrian Partridge agreed with Mr Hurley and said he was '100% correct in everything he says'
Advanced Domestically-Made Fighter Jets Enter Service With Iranian Air Force

Sputnik News

Oleg Burunov. Sputnik International

15:19 GMT 25.06.2020(updated 15:30 GMT 25.06.2020)

In late May, Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force commander Mohammad Zalbeigi said that the creation of a new Iranian-made fighter jet is just a matter of time, despite the burden of US sanctions.

Three advanced domestically-made Kowsar fighter jets were delivered to the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) on Wednesday in a ceremony attended by Defence Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami.

Speaking at the event, Hatami underscored that the IRIAF getting the fourth-generation planes sends a message to Iran's enemies, especially the US, that the American sanctions against Tehran have failed to damage the Islamic Republic's progress in the defence sector.

According to the Iranian defence chief, Washington is well aware that its sanctions have "produced the opposite result".

"The enemies and the Americans should know that the path [of Iran's progress] will continue", Hatami pointed out.

The statement echoed that of IRIAF commander Mohammad Zalbeigi, who told Iran's Mehr News Agency late last month that the US' anti-Iran sanctions would not prevent Tehran from creating a brand-new domestically-made warplane.

"God willing, we will witness the designing and production of [one more] aircraft built at the IRIAF in the near future", Zalbeigi said.

He added that the Iranian Air Force has made "considerable progress in designing various types of aircraft, thanks to the efforts of the IRIAF personnel and knowledge-based companies".

As to the Kowsar, it was designed and manufactured by the Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO) and conducted its first demonstration flight during a special ceremony attended by Iran's President Hassan Rouhani in August 2018. Equipped with advanced avionics, the fighter jet is capable of carrying various weapons and can be used for aerial support missions.

The warplane entering service with the IRIAF comes amid ongoing tensions between Tehran and Washington, which escalated after top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike on his car at Baghdad International Airport.

A Sputnik

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Unilever PLC said on Friday it will stop advertising on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the United States for the rest of the year, citing "divisiveness and hate speech during this polarized election period in the US"

The consumer goods company, which owns brands like Dove Soap and Lipton tea, joins a growing advertising boycott against Facebook as part of the "Stop Hate for Profit" campaign started by US civil rights groups after the death of George Floyd.

The effort called on Facebook, which owns Instagram, to do more to stop hate speech.

"Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society. We will be monitoring ongoing and will revisit our current position if necessary," Unilever said in a statement.

Facebook and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau says a first ministers declaration condemning racism didnt mention systemic discrimination because not all the premiers would agree.

The statement released Thursday says firmly that all 14 first ministers oppose racism and will drive the governments they lead to fight it.

Recognizing that one of the strengths of Canada is its diversity, first ministers condemn all forms of racism, discrimination, intolerance, and bigotry, it says in part.

First ministers are determined to combat it  including anti-Black, anti-Indigenous, and anti-Asian racism and hate, as well as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Hate has no place in Canada and will not be tolerated.

But the statement doesnt talk about more subtle forms of discrimination, in which members of some groups are denied opportunities because of the way systems or programs are designed, without overt expressions of bigotry.

There was not consensus on using the phrase systemic discrimination or systemic racism, Trudeau said Friday. I have been crystal clear that the federal government recognizes it in order to be able to better address it.

Trudeau wouldnt say which premiers werent on board.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday that he was.

First of all, I agree, there is systemic racism, he said in his own news conference.

I guess the biggest concern about the letter, with all the premiers, is a letter is one thing. We all acknowledge it, and I think weve all acknowledged it in our own provinces, and three to four weeks later were putting this letter out. We want action, and I know the prime minister wants action, too, but all the premiers are saying, Enough of the talking. Lets start getting action.

Talk is cheap, he said, and its time to do things about racism.

Public officials such as RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and Quebec Premier Francois Legault have said publicly that they want to root out racism but have rejected the idea that there are discriminatory features inherent to their institutions.

Lucki later reversed herself with a written statement that there is indeed systemic discrimination in the Mounties, though she has had difficulty citing examples.

The national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls offered several instances in its purview a year ago, including the forces poor data on Indigenous homicide victims, gaps in dispatching in remote areas, a lack of cultural awareness among officers assigned to Inuit communities and numerous instances of Indigenous womens reports of crimes not being taken seriously.

Legault, though he set up an anti-racism task force for Quebec earlier this month, has stuck to acknowledging that there are racists in Quebec but no deeper racist structures.

My definition of systemic racism is that theres a system in Quebec of racism and I dont think theres a system, he said at the announcement of the task force.

Trudeau said he thinks the gap in the first ministers statement indicates how much work needs to be done to fight systemic racism.
The Baghpat Police have arrested a Delhi woman who had allegedly orchestrated the murder of her husband.

The woman was arrested on Thursday. As per the police information, she did not want him to share property with his three other wives. The accused woman is the first wife of the deceased.

Baghpat Superintendent of Police, Ajay Kumar Singh, said, "Rajni, the accused, gave Rs six lakh to a contract killer, Sudhir Singh, to carry out the murder. Sudhir hired three local youths for the task. Sudhir and Rohit Singh -- one of the three shooters who shot the victim -- have been arrested."

Two other accused, Sachin Singh and Ravi Singh, are absconding.

The victim, Vikas Singh, who owned a placement agency in Delhi, had come to his village in Baghpat a few days ago. He was shot dead in the village on June 19.

"It was a blind case which was meticulously worked out by the Baghpat Police. There were many dimensions to the case, but it was solved in a short span of time," said Praveen Kumar, Inspector General (IG) of Meerut range.

According to the police, Rajni got married to Vikas in 2009, and the couple had two children. But, between 2017 and 2020, Vikas married three other women also.

"Rajni was worried about the future of the children. She feared that Vikas would give her a divorce and share his properties with the three women," the police officer said.
The UN Security Council will meet Monday to discuss the Ethiopian Nile River dam dispute, but one Ethiopian diplomat is not happy about it.

Reacting to news of the meeting, Ethiopias ambassador to the United States, Fitsum Arega, said in a tweet today that peace with Egypt and Sudan on the issue requires understanding the perpetual poverty in the region!

Monday's meeting will discuss Egypt's and Sudans objections to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Agence France-Presse reported.

Ethiopia began building the giant dam in 2011 to serve as a hydroelectric power source. It is on the Blue Nile, a main Nile tributary. Ethiopia wants to lift the country out of poverty with the project.

But Egypt and Sudan are concerned that an unrestricted filling of the dam will significantly deplete the water levels in the Nile in their countries. Egypt argues that it is entitled to a 55.5 billion cubic meter annual quota of the Nile's water under a 1959 agreement with Sudan, but Ethiopia does not recognize the accord. The river is a major part of east African economies.

Aregas comments are the latest in a series of open tensions between the involved countries. Egypt asked the Security Council to become involved in the issue after talks on the dam last week made little progress.

On the Ethiopian side, Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew told the Associated Press last week that the country will soon start filling the dam with or without an agreement. Earlier this month, an Ethiopian military commander said Egypt knows that Ethiopia can conduct war in what was seen as a threat over the issue.

Ethiopia has said it will start filling the dam in July during the countrys rainy season.

The African Union also supports dialogue to resolve the issue.
Sudhir Suryawanshi By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: In a big relief for Mumbai, the coronavirus cases doubling rate has gone up from three to 41 days now, thanks to aggressive tracing, testing and isolation strategy.

BMCs Covid 19 prevention strategy is effectively working out. The average duration of doubling of patients has crossed forty days now. Interestingly, on June 24, 2020, this doubling period has reached 41 days while on June 16, it was 30 days. The duration of doubling patient increased from 30 days to 41 days, stated in the BMC report.

BMC report further stated that the average percentage of daily growth in the number of patients also declined from 2.30 per cent on June 17 to 1.72 per cent on June 24, 2020.

BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal said that preventing the spread of coronavirus is a major challenge, mainly in densely populated areas of Mumbai.

He however added that in order to meet this challenge, the BMC administration is emphasizing on all-round preventive measures.

As a result, available corona infections in the BMC area can be effectively curtailed. WE are also taking necessary actions regarding medical treatment in a consistent manner, he said, adding the slowing Covid 19 patient doubling rate is a matter of relief to all Mumbaikars.

This statistic is based on the analysis of the last seven days that data collected from all 24 administrative wards of the BMC, BMC official said.

Moreover, the doubling period of coronavirus positive patients in 'H (East) ward of BMC that includes Bandra East-Khar East has been as high as 97 days.

After that, 91 days in 'F North' -- Matunga area, 76 days in 'E' Byculla area, 73 days in 'L' Kurla area and 69 days in Fort-A Colaba locality, reads the chart given by the BMC.

Interestingly, more cases are emerging out of the suburban localities instead of South Mumbai. The K East (Andheri) is the current hotspot of coronavirus cases in Mumbai.
Nick McKenzie is the new star of 60 Minutes, with two stories this Sunday night.

McKenzie also fronted big stories on the Victorian government and Crown Casino.

Foreign Interference

On Friday, federal agents under the direction of counter espionage authority ASIO, conducted an extraordinary raid on the home and office of New South Wales Labor MP, Shaoquett Moselmane. Investigators were searching for evidence of any involvement by Moselmane in a plot by China to interfere in Australias political system. Its thought to be the first time a serving member of an Australian parliament has been investigated over allegations of being influenced by a hostile foreign state. Reporting for 60 Minutes, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Nick McKenzie was there for the raid and says the agents clearly knew what they were looking for. McKenzie, who for months has also been observing Moselmanes pro-China activities, warns this operation will have far-reaching consequences both here and in Beijing.

Reporter: Nick McKenzie

Producer: Joel Tozer

Madeleine

The disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann has been a heart-breaking mystery. For 13 years, ever since she went missing on a family holiday in Portugal, her beautiful face has haunted the world. In that time her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann have never stopped searching for answers about their daughter. Theyve also never stopped hoping shes still alive. Now there is news, but its not good. German prosecutors say they know Maddie is dead and they have the prime suspect, a known sex offender, in their sights. On 60 Minutes, Liz Hayes reports on the depraved world of 43-year-old Christian Bruckner. Her story includes the first pictures from inside his secret lair, as well as comprehensive analysis of the investigation to ensure justice for Madeleine McCann.

Reporter: Liz Hayes

Producers: Gareth Harvey, Natalie Clancy

Dustys War

Every front-line soldier knows war is hell. Its an enormous responsibility to pick out an enemy fighter, aim a weapon at them and then pull the trigger knowing death is the likely result. Thats why in conflict there are very specific rules of engagement. For the last four years, a secret inquiry  the biggest in Australian military history  has been investigating whether soldiers from our elite special forces broke those rules and committed war crimes in Afghanistan. On 60 Minutes, Nick McKenzie reveals new information about the shameful conduct of some of our elite fighters. One shocking incident involves former SAS medic Dusty Miller, a good man traumatised by the savagery he says a fellow soldier inflicted on an injured, unarmed Afghan civilian.

Reporter: Nick McKenzie

Producers: Nick Greenaway, Richard Malone

8:40pm Sunday on Nine
Winter may finally be on its way to Westeros. Eventually. Or not. But all that fans of A Song of Ice and Fire, the sweeping fantasy series that led to the HBO hit show Game of Thrones, have to go on is the word of George R R Martin, its creator. Martin, who is 71 and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has for years blown past deadlines to deliver the final manuscript for The Winds of Winter, the sixth book in the series, which began publishing in 1996. On Wednesday, he tweeted that the enforced isolation of life during a pandemic was helping him to make steady ...
The Hindi television industry was granted permission to resume shooting by the government of Maharashtra, provided the producers, cast and crew adhere to guidelines issued to combat the spread of COVID-19 on sets. The first set of shows to have successfully managed to resume work in non-containment zones included Colors Shakti Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki, Pyar Ki Luka Chuppi, and RadhaKrishn.

And now, actor Kinshuk Vaidya who was recently roped in to play Arjun on Star Bharats RadhaKrishn opened up about resuming shooting after a three-month-long break. The popular show happened to go on floors in Naigaon, located on the outskirts of Mumbai.

Kinshuk revealed, First of all, it feels great to be back on the set and shoot for the show, as we had left abruptly due to the lockdown. As the on-going pandemic is still to get a cure, our makers and producers have made sure to look after everyones safety. In terms of calling us a week in advance and keeping us in isolation, to constantly having a regime of sanitization processes, everything has been looked after. While in fact the moment we are done shooting a shot, all of us immediately get ourselves sanitized and go and put a mask.

He went on to add, At first everyone was worried as to how we would go about this, but then everyone on the set feels so safe and secured that we can shoot without any worries. Would personally like to appreciate the efforts put by everyone for the better of the ones working on the show.

ALSO READ: Colors Shakti Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki And Pyar Ki Luka Chuppi Resume Shooting In Naigaon Post Lockdown
Kosovo President Hashim Thaci on Friday accused international justice of rewriting history after he was charged with war crimes linked to the 1990s conflict with Serbia by special prosecutors in The Hague.

Thaci said on Facebook he had landed in the Albanian capital Tirana and was on his way back to Kosovo where he will address his compatriots on Sunday.

Nobody can rewrite the history of Kosovo! he said in his first reaction to the charges.

Thaci was the former political leader of the ethnic Albanian guerillas  the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) which launched a rebellion against Belgrade more than 20 years ago when Kosovo was a southern province of Serbia.

On Wednesday, special prosecutors at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague accused Thaci and others of war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the 1998-99 war.

Until now Thacis only visible reaction was an update of the cover photo of his Facebook profile to feature the crest of the KLA.

In a Facebook message to his sisters, brothers and wonderful friends, Thaci, 52, said he would address (them) on Sunday evening from his office.

I remain full of hope that the coming days will be the best for Kosovo and Albania, he said.

After the bombshell announcement, Thaci cancelled a planned trip to the US where he was set to discuss lingering tensions with Serbia.

Thaci has previously said he would comply with the court and that he is innocent and has nothing to hide.

The president and other suspects are accused of murder, enforced disappearance, persecution and torture against hundreds of known victims of Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities and include political opponents.

The charges still needs approval from a pre-trial judge but the prosecutors said they made the news public because Thaci and others have been trying to obstruct the work of the tribunal, which operates under Kosovo law but has international judges.

Kosovo proclaimed independence in 2008, but Serbia still does not recognise the move.

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PHILADELPHIA - Office visits for ongoing prescribing of skeletal muscle relaxant drugs tripled from 2005 to 2016, according to a new study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Moreover, in 2016, nearly 70 percent of patients prescribed muscle relaxants were simultaneously prescribed an opioid -- a combination that has the potential to cause dangerous interactions. The researchers also found that muscle relaxants were prescribed disproportionately to older adults during this time period, despite national guidelines warning that this class of drugs should almost always be avoided in patients who are 65 and older. The results were published today in JAMA Network Open.

"There are few studies on the short-term efficacy and safety of skeletal muscle relaxants, and almost no data on their long-term effects, so it is very concerning that patients, and particularly older adults, are using these drugs for an extended period of time," said Charles E. Leonard, PharmD, MSCE, an assistant professor of Epidemiology. "Providers seem to be reaching for them despite incomplete information on their potential benefits and risks."

Skeletal muscle relaxants are drugs that were approved years ago for short-term treatment of muscle spasms and back pain, and are used today, without good evidence, to treat chronic pain and other conditions. Recommendations generally limit the use of these drugs to a maximum of three weeks, since they have not been shown to work for muscle spasms beyond that duration, and they can cause serious side effects including falls, fractures, vehicle crashes, abuse, dependence, and overdose. Due to these risks, muscle relaxants should be avoided altogether in elderly patients, according to guidelines from the American Geriatrics Society.

Despite these concerns, Leonard and his colleagues hypothesized that the growing opioid epidemic may have led clinicians to prescribe muscle relaxants as an alternative to opioids for long-term pain management.

To measure national trends in muscle relaxant prescribing, the researchers analyzed publicly-available 2005-2016 data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. NAMCS is a U.S.-based annual survey of non-federally funded office-based physicians engaged in direct patient care. The researchers examined the total number of visits per year, and stratified counts by the muscle relaxant agent, whether the drug was newly prescribed or continued therapy, as well as the race, ethnicity, and sex of the patient, and the region of the visit.

From 2005 to 2016, the number of office visits resulting in new muscle relaxant prescriptions remained stable at approximately 6 million per year, while office visits for continued muscle relaxant drug therapy tripled -- from 8.5 million in 2005 to 24.7 million in 2016. Worryingly, older adults accounted for 22.2 percent of all muscle relaxant visits in 2016, even though this group accounted for just 14.5 percent of the U.S. population. Also of concern, in 2016, 67 percent of the continued muscle relaxant visits also recorded therapy with an opioid. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns against use of co-prescribing of these medications, because of the risk of serious side effects, including slowed or difficult breathing, and death.

"For older adults, I think the message should be to avoid using muscle relaxants, especially when we consider the side effects and increased risk of falls and fractures, and to find alternatives for pain management," said the study's first author Samantha Soprano, MPH, a research coordinator and student in Penn's Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences program.

Leonard added that, in addition to potential adverse effects, muscle relaxants may not be any more effective in managing pain than medications like Tylenol or Advil. Past studies examining muscle relaxants found they were more efficacious than a placebo, but they were not compared to other therapies. Further research is needed to determine more detailed information about the effects of muscle relaxants, particularly when used for longer periods of time, since their use is so widespread, Leonard said. Additionally, doctors need better, safer options for managing patients' pain.

"Muscle relaxants' place in therapy is really limited. Based on most guidelines, they're normally reserved as second- or third-line therapies," Leonard said. "Our findings suggest that prescribers may be reaching for these drugs sooner than that."

###

Other Penn authors on this study include Sean Hennessy, PharmD, PhD, and Warren B. Bilker, PhD. This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health.
WASHINGTON  The Trump administration is extending support for seven testing sites in Texas for two weeks, reversing course after intense bipartisan pushback over its plan to hand the sites over to the state at the end of the month, just as COVID-19 cases are surging.

Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement on Friday that the federal government had agreed to continue supporting the sites amid the spike in coronavirus cases. The sites include four in Harris County, which administer thousands of tests per day, including two in Houston that are the citys largest test sites and considered the backbone of the citys testing operation.

A RISK NOT WORTH TAKING: Cornyn, Cruz urge feds to keep supporting COVID test sites

The announcement comes just two days after a Trump administration official told reporters that state leaders including Abbott had told him the state was happy to take control of the sites and provide the funding for them, despite calls from the city, the state Legislature and Congress to reconsider.

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, both Republicans and allies of President Donald Trump, joined those calls on Thursday saying pulling federal support for the sites is a risk that is not worth taking at this time.

Assistant Health and Human Services Secretary Brett Giroir said in a statement the plan was changed after the federal government received an extension request from the state on Thursday. The two-week extension comes with an assurance from Giroir that the administration will continue to closely monitor COVID-19 diagnoses and assess the need for further federal support of these sites as we approach the extension date.

Growth of COVID-19 cases is an extremely concerning public health issue, Giroir said in the statement. The Trump administration fully supports the public health needs of all states including the State of Texas as they respond to the recent increase in positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Cruz said the Trump administration made the right call, saying our fight against the coronavirus isnt over, and it is important to provide state and local officials every tool available to protect public health.

We must remain vigilant as we work to defeat this virus and get our economy back on its feet, he said. Testing is crucial to those endeavors.

The federally supported sites at Butler and Delmar stadiums are by far Houstons largest, administering up to 500 tests each per day. The two Harris County sites  at the San Jacinto College campus in Pasadena and Pridgeon Stadium  administer around 750 tests each per day. All four federally support sites have been reaching capacity by 1 p.m., officials said.

Local officials had vowed to keep the sites open, but said doing so would drain much-needed resources as the city and county work to expand testing sites and build up a contact tracing network.

The Trump administration has long planned to end federal support for the sites, which officials say are part of a now antiquated program the federal government is moving away from as it works to expand testing options elsewhere, including partnering with pharmacies.

MAX THREAT LEVEL: Hidalgo urges Harris County to stay home

The administration extended support for the sites once before, in April, when it pushed the deadline back to the end of June.

Federal officials have said the federal government continues to send testing supplies to the state and has provided billions to help state testing efforts.

While the plan to hand the sites over to local control sparked warnings of catastrophic cascading consequences from local officials, including Houston Health Authority David Persse, U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Houston Republican, said in a video announcing the extension that the state has been well aware of the plan and totally prepared for it, as well.

Crenshaw said the most significant change would be 12 federal employees who would be replaced by state employees.

Federal support for COVID-19 testing sites in Houston is being extended, and we are thankful to HHS for doing so, Crenshaw said in a tweet. But the fear-mongering and disinformation over the transition to local control  something Texas was fully prepared for  was unacceptable."

ben.wermund@chron.com
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JANUARY 31: Ryan Lawler and Chris Sacca present award at the 6th Annual Crunchies Awards at Davies Symphony Hall on January 31, 2013 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for The Crunchies)

Chris Sacca is a billionaire today, and he credits his success to having an "unfair advantage" 10 years ago when he first launched his fund.

He thinks women and people of color have that same unfair advantage today, which is why he and his wife, Crystal Sacca, have been investing in "dozens and dozens" of funds, including many led by new managers.

In fact, in an interview earlier today with Axios business editor Dan Primack as part of a virtual event hosted by CB Insights, Sacca suggested that others on the sideline jump in while "capital is still readily available" -- and while other limited partners are focused on the issues of diversity that have been brought again to the fore over the last month.

It's never going to be a walk in the park, Sacca noted. In fact, Sacca called his own experience with raising a first fund "heartbreaking" at times because of how personal the process is. Specifically, Sacca -- who has a law degree from Georgetown University and spent four years at Google -- said that while he was lucky to know a lot of rich people, asking for their financial help was sometimes deeply painful.

"One guy who told me he'd be my anchor LP told me on the day of the fund's close that there had been a snafu in his paperwork and that he couldn't participate," Sacca said. Others who he'd known for years began to ignore him. Meanwhile, every "no" felt like a slight. "When someone says no to your company, you can brush that off; they don't like or understand your product, whatever. When someone says no to you, that hurts."

That Sacca eventually got his fund off the ground owes to "generous" friends who did get behind him, along with "an irrational belief in myself," he said. But he also maintains that he had unfair advantages at the time, including the ability to write very small checks before other seed-stage firms mushroomed around him, and ties to founders he was meeting at networking events and cocktail parties.

Story continues

"Once I got married and had kids and stuff, I was out of that flow," he said, explaining why he is now primarily an investor in other VCs' funds instead. But he also said that he is particularly keen on backing people of color and women because they have both networks and an understanding about particular products that many established VCs of the white, male variety do not.

One fund he singled out is Base Ventures, a Berkeley, California, venture firm led by former investment banker Erik Moore, saying it has already "paid back multiples on their fund." He also noted that he missed an exit with Bevel, a grooming company focused on people of color, because "as a white guy who doesn't shave, I didn't get it." (Bevel was acquired in late 2018 by Proctor & Gamble.)

Said Sacca, when you "cut through barriers that have prevented women and other underrepresented groups from telling their stories, you find exceedingly talented, ambitious, driven people who, given the chance to succeed, are kicking ass."

It's why Sacca is "putting millions and millions of dollars where my mouth is," he said.

Before their conversation ended, Primack asked whether Sacca thinks the venture industry would be better off with more, newer fund managers, or whether more established funds should be working harder to bring up women and investors of color into their GP ranks.

Primack noted that there might be just "two or three" Black women who are partners at mainstream funds, one of whom is Mercedes Bent, who was hired into Lightspeed Venture Partners last year, and another being Ulili Onovakpuri, who has been with Kapor Capital for the better part of five years.

Sacca said he doesn't think there can be "just one approach." He believes that bigger firms can provide a lot of mentorship to rising VCs, as well as startup founders. At the same time, he added, the door for underrepresented investors is right now open thanks to industry's recent awakening, "and I think people should be taking it."

Sacca has seemingly come a long way in recent years. In 2017, at the height of the #MeToo movement in Silicon Valley, he conceded in a Medium post that the "percentage of my portfolio companies run by women and other underrepresented groups is still way too low. This is the result of homogeneity in my deal flow and referral network (i.e. white guys), bias in my decision making, and general ignorance of markets and products outside of my bubble.
Victorias country fire service is in disarray as it heads into a massive restructure without a chief executive, with the state government insisting volunteers will not be sidelined in the shake-up.

The Country Fire Authoritys chief executive Steve Warrington quit the service on Thursday night with Deputy Chief Officer Stephanie Rotarangi also understood to be on leave.

Steve Warrington started his career at Chelsea Fire Brigade in 1978 as a volunteer firefighter. Credit:Amy Paton

Mr Warrington is among a succession of CFA leaders who have quit their posts as the government seeks to ram through its controversial fire services shake-up.

The CFA board was sacked in 2016 amid the fallout over the controversy.
Two Houston police officers on patrol in Third Ward came upon a man who was apparently shot to death early Friday morning.

The man was found lifeless in the 3600 block of St. Charles Street, just north of Alabama Street, around 1:15 a.m., according to Houston Police Department homicide detective Robert Moss. Investigators found several shell casings around the man, Moss said.
From test and trace to dragging its feet on lockdown, the British governments failures during the coronavirus crisis have not gone unnoticed by the worlds media.

With the UK still under tight restrictions well after many other countries have lifted theirs and the death toll still mounting, questions are being asked abroad about how the UK ended up with so many casualties.

German broadcaster ZDF describes the UKs response as a fatal failure, summarising: The only thing that is constant: the prime ministers boasting of sentences like: We will have the worlds best tracing system or I am proud of what we have achieved or We lead the world in our response on Corona.

Its correspondent notes that even conservative observers have been unable to whitewash the last few months.

Another German publication, Die Welt, explains to its readers how far behind the UKs recovery is: Only recently prime minister Boris Johnson lifted the strict contact restrictions, it says, noting that in Germany this has been the case since the beginning of May.

Over in the United States, itself hit hard by the virus, The New York Times tells its readers that Englands world beating system to track the virus is anything but. Explaining the governments failures, it says: As with much of the governments response to the pandemic ... the results have fallen short of the promises, jeopardising the reopening of Britains hobbled economy and risking a second wave of death in one of the countries most debilitated by the virus.

The CNN network asked: Where did it go wrong for the UK on coronavirus? Meanwhile an op-ed in The Washington Post written at the start of the pandemic in March is simply headlined: The British governments response to the coronavirus has been a disaster. It argues that the British strategy was flawed and that the government was only belatedly realising it had made a mistake.

In Australia, The Age newspaper was asking as early as May: Where did Britain go wrong? with a headline to an in-depth piece describing the UK response as the biggest failure in a generation. The New Zealand Herald meanwhile describes scenes of crowded beaches in the UK, encouraged by Boris Johnson this week, in Britain as unbelievable.

Describing the disconnect between Boris Johnson and his scientific advisors, French newspaper Liberation says Britain may be too unprepared to end its lockdown. Its coverage of a press conference by Boris Johnson reports that The contrast between his joviality and the grey faces of the scientific advisers standing by his side was striking.

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

Japans Asahi Shumbun newspaper this month reported the UKs high death toll by explaining to its readers: The UK was late in imposing a lockdown, with limited action compared to European countries where the spread of infection spreads earlier.

Italys Repubblica meanwhile asked whether the Dominic Cummings scandal will have an effect on compliance with the test and trace system. How will citizens behave now after the scandal of Dominic Cummings, Boriss Rasputin? its correspondent asks, noting that the prime minister has defended him strenuously despite breaking lockdown rules. The risk of anarchist behaviour is increasingly widespread, it notes.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a press conference at the State Department in Washington, DC on June 24, 2020. (MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Pompeo Reveals the Reason for Meeting With Chinese Top Diplomat During Radio Interviews

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed the reason for his recent meeting with Yang Jiechi, Chinas top diplomat, during a radio interview on June 23.

He also revealed that when the meeting, held on June 17, concluded, I did not leave optimistic that the Chinese Communist Party was prepared to give us any notice that there were changes that were going to be made.

What Happened at the Meeting

Radio show host Hugh Hewitt questioned: Tom Rogan at the Washington Examiner today has a column saying that your meeting in Hawaii last week was actually a Chinese plot to split you from President Trump. Do you believe thats what it was? And if so, did it work?

Pompeo replied that hed leave to others to speculate about the Communist regimes motivation for meeting with him. But he knew why he wanted to meet Yang, who is a member of the Chinese Communist Partys elite Politburo.

He said: I wanted to meet because we have a Chinese Communist Party that is behaving in ways that fundamentally put the American peoples security at risk. I work for a president for the first time in decades who has taken this threat seriously.

He added: Today, the absolute clarity we have about the risk of the Chinese Communist Party in all of the vectorswe see whats happening in Hong Kong, we see whats happening in the Himalayas with India, we see whats happening in the South China Sea, we watch as they steal intellectual property. I could go on. Pompeo was referring to Beijings proposal to enact a national security law in Hong Kong, the recent border conflict with India, and the Chinese regimes aggressive moves to claim areas of the South China Sea.

The state secretary noted that within a few days after the meeting, Beijing moved ahead with plans to enact the Hong Kong security law, putting at risk the freedom that the people of Hong Kong have been promised, he said.

He added the goal of the meeting was to share with Yang how America was thinking about this, how America was going to act, and our expectations.

He criticized the Chinese regimes tendency to use flowery language but fail to enact real change. What we need to see from them is a change in behavior, he said.

The previous evening, Pompeo had mentioned the meeting with Yang in an interview on The Sean Hannity Show. I spent a day with my counterparts boss in Hawaii last week trying to understand why on Earth the Chinese Communist Party is engaged in the activities that they are. And I think we understand it; its ideological for them, he said.

European Conference

Pompeo was invited to the virtual Copenhagen Democracy Summit held on June 19 and hosted by Anders Rasmussen, former secretary-general of NATO.

Rasmussen asked if the United States and China are secretly preparing new initiatives to reduce tensions while publicly maintaining a tough stance.

Pompeo answered, Weve had Republican presidents, Democrat presidents who simply allowed China to have deeply nonreciprocal relationshipsWe responded to their use of diplomatic coercion via retreating.

But Donald Trump is not going to permit that, and we made that clear, he said.

During the Sean Hannity Show, Pompeo also reiterated the administrations stance: This is a President who understands that the Chinese Communist Party and globalists here in the United States have worked together to put real harm and real risk here to the United States. President Trump is not going to permit that to continue to happen.
Nurses at Salem Medical Center in Mannington Township held an informational picket in front of the hospital Thursday to highlight what they describe as a lack of progress in contract negotiations.

The nearly 140 nurses represented by Health Professionals & Allied Employees Local 5142 are seeking fair wages, safer nurse-to-patient ratios and they want hospital operator Community Healthcare Associates LLC to honor earlier commitments on accrued paid time off, according to Local 5142 President Karen Masusock.

Masusock, who works as an ICU nurse at Salem, described a range of issues between RNs and management, including low pay, loss of veteran nurses and shortcomings with how the organization is responding to the coronavirus pandemic -- claims the hospital denied.

The non-profit CHA, based in North Jersey, bought the hospital and took over operations in 2019.

Prior to the company actually coming in, Local 5142 approved its first-ever contract, a one-year agreement, with CHA after trying unsuccessfully to strike a deal with the previous owner for several years.

All seemed rosy at first, but CHA then said it would not honor existing accruals for sick and vacation time, according to Masusock.

The collective bargaining agreement negotiated with the new owner kept existing time-off accruals, Masusock said. They even signed the collective bargaining agreement that had all of that information in it. Some nurses had up to 400 hours of sick time accrued.

The union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board over the issue and a hearing is slated for this summer.

Hospital officials disputed the unions claim on Thursday.

The union and staff were told during a series of town hall meetings before CHA acquired the hospital that new ownership was not going to adopt the former owners sick and vacation time accruals, but rather adopt a new program, which it did, according to a statement by hospital CEO Dr. Tammy Torres. (Salem Medical Centers) actions were totally consistent with its presentations to the union and at its town hall meetings to our employees prior to the transfer of ownership.

The owners have also refused to agree to fair salary compensation for nurses, Masusock said. Hospitals usually have a stepped wage scale with pay commensurate to experience, but at Salem there are some nurses with 26 years of experience making much less than recent graduates with far less experience, according to Masusock.

Many nurses have left as a result, they say.

We have lost probably 80% of our senior nursing staff because of these changes and we have not been able to get or maintain senior nurses in this hospital because of these conditions, Masusock said. If you compare our salaries, our hourly rates to the competing hospitals in the area, such as Inspira  the wage scale that CHA uses does not compare to theirs.

The contract with Local 5142 expired in February and negotiations have been ongoing since December.

Management circulated memos to the nurses regarding contract negotiations, suggesting the union was being unfair and rejected a 3% raise, Masusock said. The union didnt reject that offer, she said, but countered that they would accept that raise as long as all nurses are brought up to wage scales that are line with their levels of experience.

Trying to negotiate a contract while also dealing with the coronavirus pandemic has been tough, Masusock said.

Its frustrating for all of the nurses, she said. It takes a toll on your family, too.

In light of the ongoing COVID crisis, the union sought additional compensation for nurses on the front lines of the health emergency, Masusock said.

We had proposed that they provide some compensation for the nurses and they totally rejected us and instead they had no problems bringing in outside agency help, she said, with some traveling nurses being paid many times what the hospitals nurses are making.

She described a lack of organization, education for nurses and preparation to take on the coronavirus challenge at the hospital and said issues persist.

Up until now, its been a fight every day to get things the way they need to be and it shouldnt be  this is months later. I shouldnt have to call and say, Hey, I need PPE in ICU today.

Masusock described being short on face shields at one point and the union providing them. The shields were taken away and tossed in the trash by management because they had a union logo on them, she said, adding that masks from the hospital then became readily available.

Management also doesnt understand that COVID patients require more attention, she said.

Its more strenuous, not only to physically care for these individuals, because they have higher needs of care, but then on top of that you have to protect yourself and everyone around you, she said. Having less of a patient load makes it easier to care for those patients, where our current situation, they do not recognize that. They do not take into account your nurse-to-patient ratio even for the increased needs of care for those patients.

In response to the pandemic, the hospital announced in April that it was retrofitting rooms to create space for 58 new beds specifically for COVID patients. The hospital was already licensed for 75 medical-surgical beds, 30 long-term care beds, 26 psychiatric beds, and 12 critical care beds.

Torres acknowledged that the hospital board has approved a 3% wage increase for all hospital staff, including nurses, adding that the current cost of living adjustment in the United States is 1.6%.

On the claim that the hospital is losing scores of veteran nurses because of pay issues and bringing in traveling nurses at wages higher than staff members receive, That is totally inconsistent with our information, Torres said Thursday. Like most hospitals, SMC uses traveling nurses when necessary.

As for extra pay for taking care of coronavirus patients, no hospitals regionally or even nationally are offering premium pay for caring for COVID-19 patients, she noted.

On criticism of its COVID response, Torres said the facility has never run out of personal protective equipment and has worked hard to get ahead of the pandemic.

These have been trying times for all front-line healthcare providers, she said. We applaud all of our staff that have worked incredibly hard during these tough times, at a time when healthcare services were strained worldwide. We did our best, and were proactive, including bringing in the military, to lighten the load on our staff.

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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
SmartWage, a South African startup that partners with companies to give employees instant access to their earned salaries and wages, recently raised R6m to power the growth and expansion of its novel payday solution across South Africa. Co-founded by Simon Ellis, Alex Platt and Nick Platt in 2019, SmartWage launched operations in February 2020.

Simon Ellis, co-founder of SmartWage

The fundraise was led by Chris Lister-James from Johannesburg-based seed investor, FiTech Ventures, whose investment philosophy, driven by a focus on ethical disruption, financial inclusion, doing well by doing good and profit with a purpose, fits naturally with SmartWages vision to tackle South Africas enormous and crippling consumer debt crisis.Lister-James explains, SmartWage has an ambitious, driven team focused on making a big difference in South Africa and we're really excited to be joining them on this journey. The investment, agreed earlier this week, comes in the form of a SAFE.The company joins trailblazing South African fintech startups like Franc, uKheshe and Payflex in the FiTech portfolio and, according to Ellis, is, hugely excited by the opportunity to operate in this community of like-minded entrepreneurs and leverage the wealth of knowledge and experience this partnership brings.Having been fully self-funded up to this point, this marks the first time that SmartWage has raised from external investors. The money from this round will be primarily invested in the development and deployment of the companys technology offering (including their unique financial literacy education solution), supporting key hires and driving rapid customer acquisition efforts as they seek to scale their offering across South Africa on the back of exciting progress during the first half of 2020.During the lockdown period, SmartWage has been uniquely positioned to assist businesses and employees. Their solution helps employers protect their companys cash flow and reduces administrative hassle while also taking care of their employees, through a financial lifeline that prevents employees from having to resort to risky alternatives for dealing with urgent costs, or simply to make ends meet during an increasingly difficult period. Lister-James further commented that, SmartWage's relentless focus on solving their customers pain points sets them apart from others in the space.To bolster these efforts, SmartWage partnered with Yocos Support Small campaign in early May and have offered their solution to users for free from March through June as a gesture of support. These initiatives and an encouraging uptake of the service have created significant momentum that the company now seeks to amplify with the fresh funding.
New York, June 26 : US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has cited Chinese Peoples Liberation Army's (PLA) "deadly" confrontation with India as one of the reasons for Washington recalibrating its defence commitments in Europe and looking at countering emerging threats.

The threats from China to India and countries in Southeast Asia and the challenges in the South China Sea are going to dictate the allocation of defence resources as US cuts troop levels in Germany, he said on Thursday at a virtual meeting of the Brussels Forum of the German Marshall Fund.

He said that China's expansionism is "the challenge of our time" and the US wants to ensure that its resources are in place to meet it.

Asked about President Donald Trump plans announced this month to pull back 9,500 of the about 30,000 US troops stationed in five garrisons in Germany, Pompeo said that ultimately "they are aimed squarely at what we believe to be democracies' fundamental interests, certainly America's fundamental interests." He said the US began a strategic review of its force placement around the world and realising they were based on decisions made at a different time questioned whether there should be a different composition and allocation.

During his interactions during the forum, he repeatedly emphasised the multifaceted threats from China.

Explaining Trump's decision to cut troops in Germany, he said that Washington looked at how the military and intelligence resources should be allocated around the world given the current nature of conflicts.

Pompeo said, "This is going to dictate that in certain places there will be fewer American resources. There will be other places." The "threat from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)," he said, "to India, threats to Vietnam threats to Malaysia, Indonesia, South China Sea challenge, the Philippines. We are going to make sure we are going to be postured appropriately to counter them, the PLA." "I think that's the challenge of our time and we're going to make sure we have resources in place to do that," he added.

He did not provide specific details of how this would be done.

Pompeo faulted Germany for not making a fair contribution to its own defence and the NATO.

While the US spends 3.42 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence, Germany spends only 1.38 per cent and in an agreement reached last year, both the US and Germany will each be contributing 16 per cent of the GDP of the NATO budget, even as Washington has commitments around the world.

Trump has been demanding that its defence partners in Europe and in Asia contribute a higher share of their defence costs.

"It may be that other nations step up to take responsibility for their own defense in ways that they hadn't done previously," Pompeo said.

Pompeo spoke at length about the threats from China to countries around the world and how everyone has been slow to awaken to them.

"But the CCP's coverup of the coronavirus, an outbreak that began in Wuhan, China - which has now killed tens of thousands of our people, and hundreds of thousands of people across the world - I think it's accelerated everyone's awakening," he said.

"The United States is not forcing Europe to choose between the free world or China's authoritarian vision. China is making that choice between freedom and democracy," he said.

"Europeans, like Americans, are starting to find their voice" against China's aggressiveness, economic manipulation, COVID-19 pandemic coverup and intimidation, he said.

As Pompeo spoke of reprioritising and reallocating US defence with a view to countering China's challenge in Asia, three US aircraft carrier strike groups that include other ships have been deployed in the Indo-Pacific zone in a show of force for the first time in about three years.

But Washington has yet to come up with a concrete, comprehensive plan to effectively assist its allies or friends.

Without expanding bases in Asia, the US would need a bigger naval presence to project its force in the region.

According to the US Naval Institute News, former Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has said that the US would need 435 ships, including unmanned ones, or only 390 manned ships.

The US Navy currently has 294 vessels and the Congress has approved a target of 355 ships by 2030. However, a recent Congressional Research Service report indicated that the Pentagon may be struggling to achieve even this goal.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
A breast cancer survivor who spent 89 days in hospital battling Covid-19 today thanked the NHS staff who became her second family.

Janice Benham and her husband Philip began feeling ill in mid-March shortly after returning from a holiday to Morocco they had taken to celebrate the 63-year-old being given the all-clear from cancer.

When the couple were struggling to breathe they were taken to King George Hospital in Ilford on March 25. Mr Benham, 65, spent four days recovering on a ward but his wife had to be admitted to intensive care.

Doctors and nurses lined the corridors to clap her out when she was well enough to go home last week.

Mrs Benham, from Havering, said: Its lovely to be home with my family. I am a little bit anxious, I know I still have a long road to recovery.

Mrs Benham, who spent two weeks in intensive care, added: The staff who looked after me were fantastic. The team on the respiratory ward became like a second family.

Theyd do really nice things and always shared cake with me. Little things like that really made a difference when I was away from my family for so long.

Mr Benham said: It hit me like a ton of bricks. It was difficult as I couldnt come in and see her. The intensive care staff were fantastic and called me every day to keep me updated.
The United States on Friday announced imposing visa restrictions on officials of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), accusing them of undermining human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong.

Photograph: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the move, saying he was carrying out President Donald Trump's orders.

"Today, I am announcing visa restrictions on current and former CCP officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy, as guaranteed in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration or undermining human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong," Pompeo said.

Family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions, he said.

The US-China ties have worsened since the coronavirus pandemic, which began in China, hit the United States.

China's security legislation for Hong Kong prompted Trump to initiate a process to eliminate special economic treatment that has allowed Hong Kong to remain a global financial centre.

In a statement, Pompeo called on China to honour its commitments and obligations in the Sino-British Joint Declaration -- namely that Hong Kong will 'enjoy a high degree of autonomy' and that human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly, will be protected by law and respected by governing authorities in Hong Kong.

The United States will continue to review its authorities to respond to these concerns, he said.

Pompeo alleged that the CCP has stepped up efforts to undermine Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy by announcing Beijing's authority to 'supervise' Hong Kong's governance, accusing at least one member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council of misconduct, and moving to unilaterally and arbitrarily impose national security legislation on Hong Kong.

"Beijing's continued actions undermine its commitments and obligations in the Sino-British Joint Declaration to respect Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy.

"At the same time, Beijing continues to undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong by putting pressure on local authorities to arrest pro-democracy activists and disqualify pro-democracy electoral candidates," he said.

A day earlier, the United States Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan Hong Kong Autonomy Act, authored by Senators Chris Van Hollen and Pat Toomey.

The Hong Kong Autonomy Act would impose mandatory sanctions on entities that violate China's obligations to Hong Kong under the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. The legislation would also impose mandatory secondary sanctions on banks that do business with the entities in violation of the Basic Law.

Meanwhile, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expressed concern about the effect that the Chinese Communist Party's proposed national security legislation will have on religious freedom conditions in Hong Kong.

"Hong Kong has long been living proof that religious freedom and Chinese culture can coexist in harmony no matter what the Communist Party claims," noted USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer.

"This new national security legislation would potentially expand the Chinese Communist Party's war on faith in the mainland to hundreds of thousands of believers in Hong Kong," he said.

The US Senate on Thursday also passed a resolution condemning the Chinese Communist Party's proposed 'national security law' for Hong Kong that would ban secession, subversion, and foreign interference.
Today, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is announcing that it has reached an early case resolution with the state of Tennessee after it updated its crisis standards of care (CSC) plan to ensure that the criteria does not discriminate against persons based on disability or age. This is OCRs fourth resolution with a state regarding disability discrimination concerns during COVID-19.

OCR enforces a number of federal antidiscrimination laws, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975.

OCR received a complaint from Disability Rights Tennessee and other advocacy organizations alleging that Tennessees CSC plan, titled Guidance for the Ethical Allocation of Scarce Resources during a Community-Wide Public Health Emergency as Declared by the Governor of Tennessee discriminates based on disability. Among other things, complainants alleged that Tennessees CSC would unlawfully disqualify individuals with advanced neuromuscular disease, metastatic cancer, traumatic brain injury, dementia, and other disabilities from use of a ventilator in times of scarcity.

After OCR provided technical assistance to Tennessee, the state has updated its CSC plan and:

Clarified that resource-intensity and duration of need on the basis of age or disability should not be used as criteria for the allocation or re-allocation of scarce medical resources. This protects patients who require additional treatment resources due to their age or disability from automatically being given a lower priority to receive life-saving care;

Removed language permitting the use of a patients long-term life expectancy as a factor in the allocation and re-allocation of scarce medical resources, instead indicating that providers should consider only risk of imminent mortality;

Added language stating that reasonable modifications to the use of the states primary instrument for assessing likelihood of short-term survival should be made when necessary for accurate use with patients with underlying disabilities. Such reasonable modifications ensure that people with disabilities are evaluated based on their actual mortality risk, not disability-related characteristics unrelated to their likelihood of survival;

Removed categorical exclusion criteria that prohibited people with disabilities from receiving care on the basis of their diagnosis, and required individualized assessments of patients based on the best available objective medical evidence; and

Incorporated language stating that hospitals should not re-allocate personal ventilators brought by a patient to an acute care facility to continue pre-existing personal use with respect to a disability. Under this language, long term ventilator users will be protected from having a ventilator they take with them into a hospital setting taken from them to be given to someone else.

In light of these actions, OCR is closing the complaint as resolved to the satisfaction of all parties involved without any finding of liability.

Regarding the early case resolution, Roger Severino, OCR Director said, We commend Tennessee for updating its policies to ensure that hospitals do not deny life-saving care during a crisis based on stereotypes about disabilities or other impermissible factors. Our civil rights laws reflect the principle that we are all created with equal dignity and worth. Severino added.

To see the updated guidance, please visit: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/cedep/ep/Guidance_for_the_Ethical_Allocation_of_Scarce_Resources.pdf

###

For more information about how OCR is protecting civil rights during COVID-19, please visit https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/civil-rights-covid19/index.html.

To learn more about non-discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, age, and disability; conscience and religious freedom; and health information privacy laws, and to file a complaint with OCR, please visit www.hhs.gov/ocr.

Follow OCR on Twitter at @HHSOCR.
Montanans will be able to visit people in nursing homes and assisted living centers, following strict guidelines for safety, under an updated directive Gov. Steve Bullock issued Thursday.

The change is effective immediately.

Visitation had been suspended since March 15 following a previous order from Bullock, except for health care and end-of-life visits. Those 65 and older and with underlying health conditions are especially susceptible to serious outcomes from the coronavirus.

That's been evident in Montana, as six of the state's 21 deaths are tied to an outbreak at an assisted living facility and health care operations in Toole County. A Billings nursing home said Wednesday it had a resident test positive for COVID-19. That person is being treated at a local hospital.

In mid-May, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued guidance for nursing homes and assisted living centers to resume visitation. It calls for strict hygiene and other prevention measures and gives facilities flexibility to decide if and how many visitations may happen, taking into account individual and community circumstances.

In his updated directive, Bullock wrote that the CMS provisions would allow for safe visits in Montana too.

"Now that Montana is in Phase 2 of reopening, Montanans requiring care in senior and assisted living facilities should have access to limited visitation, subject to these stringent safety and health measures," he wrote in the directive.

Facilities must give notice of the recommended safeguards to residents and family members. Visits should be conducted in accordance with strict health screenings, physical distancing, sanitation, hygiene and other infection control protocols laid out by CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nursing homes and assisted living centers should weigh the status of case growth in their communities when allowing visitors, as well as the case status of the facility, according to CMS. They should also have adequate staffing and the capacity to give all residents and staff a baseline test weekly. Visitors should also wear masks and be screened for symptoms before entering a facility and notify the facility if they test positive after a visit.

Bullock has proposed to test 60,000 people in the state each month. That includes a focus on vulnerable populations like nursing home and assisted living facility residents and staff.

So far 58 out of 67 participating nursing homes statewide have completed testing. About 4,500 residents and staff have been tested and no positive tests were confirmed. The positive Billings test did not come out of this sentinel testing. The remaining nine nursing homes will finish testing soon, the governor's office said Thursday.

There have also been no positive tests at the 101 of 175 assisted living centers that will be tested. The remaining facilities will likely be tested by mid-July.

People should not visit if they are ill or have known exposure to a positive case. Alternative methods of visitation are still encouraged if possible, according to the CDC. Facilities should have plans to limit the number of visitors or allow visitation during select hours and locations.

The state reported its highest case growth in a single day Thursday, adding 37 laboratory-confirmed cases. There are 210 active cases. Overall the state has recorded 803 cases of the virus, with 572 recoveries. A person is considered recovered when they are no longer acutely ill and cannot spread the virus.

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Virginia Senate Democrats said Friday that they are unified behind a long list of police and criminal justice reform proposals they hope to see the General Assembly pass during a special session this summer.

The measures include bans on no-knock warrants and the use of chokeholds and strangleholds by police; a ban on the hiring of officers who were fired or resigned during a use-of-force investigation; the cancellation of supplemental funding for police agencies with disproportionate use of force incidents in their jurisdiction; and more.

During a virtual news conference Friday, caucus leaders said they have been urged to action by a statewide and national conversation over racism and police brutality.

This is what people are saying that they want to see happen. They want police reform; they dont want to see us kick the can down the road. They want change to happen, said Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, the chair of the caucus.

The proposals, Senate Democratic leaders said, were culled from more than 100 measures caucus members pitched over the past few weeks. A committee led by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, made up of members of two key Senate panels, led conversations on the issue.
Honorary Consul Georges Christophides (Fifth from left) and the Executive Board of the Vietnamese community in Cyprus (Photo: baotintuc.vn)

This is a gift from the Government of Vietnam and has been transferred by the State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



Addressing the handover ceremony, Honorary Consul Georges Christophides expressed his delight at Vietnams successes in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Manh, Head of the Executive Board of the Vietnamese community in Cyprus, expressed his deep gratitude for the Governments attention to the Vietnamese community there and spoke highly of the regular support from the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy and the Republic of Cyprus for Vietnamese people living and working in the country.

On the occasion, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Nguyen Thi Bich Hue sent a letter to the Honorary Consul and the Vietnamese community in Cyprus.

She said that Vietnams successes in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic have been highly appreciated by the international community.

She highlighted the support of the Party and State of Vietnam to the overseas Vietnamese community, which is suffering from severe consequences of the epidemic.

The diplomat also praised the efforts of the Vietnamese community in Cyprus in overcoming difficulties, complying with the regulations of the host country to protect themselves and the community, as well as in spreading the fine traditional values of patriotism, solidarity and humanity of the Vietnamese people.
The Queensland Kanaka Mission had received a request for help from a place where cannibalism is very much alive. Who would be willing to go and maybe risk their life to help tell the cannibals about the love of God?

In 1904, a tall, slender, well-dressed woman stepped ashore on the cannibal-infested island of Malaita, in the Solomon Islands group. She was the first European woman to visit the island, and she came in response to a plea from a local Christian pastor, Peter Ambuofa.

The womans name was Florence Young. She was born in Motueka, New Zealand, in the year 1856. Her parents were strong believers in Jesus and they imparted these teachings to their daughter. Her life became interwoven with the Kanakas after she moved to Bundaberg, Queensland, in 1882 to live on the family plantation.

From 1868, the demand for cheap labour on the sugar plantations of northern Queensland had led to the introduction of 62,000 Pacific Islanders, known as Kanakas (from the Hawaiian word for man).

These Kanakas were recruited from the Melanesian group of islands under a system that became known as blackbirding. Some Melanesians went of their own free will, but others were taken by force. They were often treated very badly, and some died.

Florence Young was a very determined young woman, with a love for the Word of God. It is said that she would read through the entire Bible at least twice a year. She was told that the Kanakas were animals and could not be taught anything. Refusing to be put off, she started schools for them in which the Bible was the foundation of the curriculum, and salvation was put ahead of civilisation or education. In her own words, I did not know how to teach, or where to begin. But I remember taking a chrysalis . . . to try and explain to them the fact of the resurrection and of a life beyond the grave . . . Inexperienced, keenly feeling my own impotence, and with no human helper, I was cast utterly upon God for guidance. And He taught the teacher and the scholars.

Out of these experiences was born the Queensland Kanaka Mission, which soon had 19 missionaries, and many more native evangelists, in 11 centres. Many thousands were embraced the teachings of Jesus.

Peter Ambuofa

One of these converts was Peter Ambuofa, who returned to Solomon Islands in 1894, and established a Christian community at Maluu. At first, he was shunned by his relatives, but, according to tradition, a series of miracles convinced them that Peters God was the true God, and they became followers of Jesus.

One of Peters more humorous actions was to attach a copy of a Scripture verse to a tree. The verse read, For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16). When asked what use this would be, as very few of the local people could read, he replied, I think  might God He see, and  might devil he see  and, might he say, Eh, man belong God here, more better I clear out!

Peter Ambuofa was uneducated and had some confusions regarding Christian teaching, so he asked the Queensland Kanaka Mission for some help, and that was why Florence Young led the party of missionaries to Solomon Islands in 1904. In the meantime, the newly-created Australian federal government had decided that the Kanakas should all be sent back to their home islands by 1906 as part of the White Australia policy. The news that the Kanakas were being sent back to their homelands, and that some were being martyred because of their Christian faith, gave a new urgency to the mission, however. In 1904, at the Katoomba Convention, in New South Wales, the Solomon Islands Mission (later the South Sea Evangelical Mission) was formed.

From 1905  06, a wonderful revival broke out amongst the remaining Kanakas in Queensland. This was Gods way of ensuring that those who returned to the islands would be bold in prayer and in witnessing. Indeed, the memory of that revival has been kept alive to the present day and has contributed to more recent moves of God in the Solomon Islands in 1936 and in the 1970s. Christians from Solomon Islands have emphasised prayer and intercession, holiness, and a vision for taking the Gospel back from the Uttermost parts of the earth to Jerusalem

Written by Mike Spencer for the DIDUNO network.
Hong Kong Protest Pro-democracy demonstrators hold up portraits of jailed Chinese civil rights activists, lawyers and legal activists as they march to the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong, Thursday, June 25, 2020. They demand to abolish the national security law and defend human rights and freedom in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

WASHINGTON (AP)  In a bipartisan rebuke of China, the Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a bill to impose sanctions on business and individuals  including the police  that undermine Hong Kongs autonomy or restrict freedoms promised to Hong Kong residents.

The bill targets police units that have cracked down on Hong Kong protesters, as well as Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for imposing a strict national security law on Hong Kong, which is considered a special administrative region within China and maintains its own governing and economic systems. The measure also would impose sanctions on banks that do business with entities found to violate the law.

The measure, sponsored by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, comes as tensions over Hong Kong have increased over the past year as China has cracked down on protesters and sought to exert more control over the former British territory.

President Donald Trump has said the administration will begin eliminating the full range of agreements that has given Hong Kong a relationship with the U.S. that mainland China lacked, including exemptions from controls on certain exports. He said the State Department would begin warning U.S. citizens of the threat of surveillance and arrest when visiting the city.

Today, the Senate stood up to the communist regime in Beijing and stood with the people of Hong Kong, Toomey said. The mandatory sanctions established in this bill will punish those in China who seek to undermine Hong Kongs autonomy or erode the basic freedoms promised to Hong Kong residents under its one country, two systems concept.

Van Hollen said the bill takes "meaningful action to hold China and its proxies to account for their ongoing efforts to extinguish liberty and democracy in Hong Kong.''

The legislation "sends a strong, bipartisan message that the United States stands with the people of Hong Kong,'' he added.

The Senate vote came a week after one of the bill's co-sponsors, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., blocked it at the request of the White House. Several technical changes involving possible Treasury Department sanctions improved the bill and made it more likely to win White House approval, Cramer said Thursday.

Story continues

I am grateful my colleagues and the Treasury Department were able to work together to improve the bill, bettering its chances of becoming law,'' he said after the vote. "It affirms our support for the people of Hong Kong who are fighting for their freedom. I urge the House to take it up and send it to the presidents desk.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a related vote, the Senate also approved a measure stating that enactment of the bill would put the Beijing government in direct violation of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, a treaty that ended British rule in Hong Kong and granted the city partial sovereignty in 1997.

With the world focused on the pandemic, Beijing thinks this is their opportunity to steamroll Hong Kong,'' said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., the resolution's sponsor.

China has said it wants to improve" the lives of those who live in Hong Kong, but reality, that means stripping the people of Hong Kong of the basic rights and liberties guaranteed to them under the 1984 treaty, Hawley said.

We must stand up to Chinas continued imperialism and respond strongly to any crackdown in Hong Kong, including reconsideration of China's special trade status with the U.S., Hawley said.

The Senate legislation now goes to the House.
Alabama has the nations weakest anti-cockfighting law. It hasnt been upgraded since 1896, long before the common use of telephones or automobiles.

But that doesnt mean people who stage fights in the Yellowhammer State and ship animals around the world for use in fights shouldnt be held accountable for this barbaric conduct.

Its been a federal crime for nearly two decades.

In 2002, Congress passed an amendment on the Farm bill to ban any interstate or foreign commerce in fighting animals, and just a few years later, made the practice a felony and outlawed the buying or selling the cockfighting implements affixed to the birds legs. In 2008, lawmakers further strengthened penalties, with up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine per violation. These were all landslide votes, including among the Alabama Congressional delegation.

The Congress took two more bites at the apple, making it a crime in 2014 to be a spectator at a fighting venture. And in 2018, the Congress eliminated any confusion that the ban was to apply everywhere in our country, including Guam, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories that had been hotbeds of dogfighting and cockfighting.

In short, Congress wanted this mayhem toward animals to stop. Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald J. Trump signed this sequence of measures into law.

Recently, Animal Wellness Action and the Animal Wellness Foundation uncovered illegal shipments of fighting animals sent from cockfighters in several states to Guam. That investigation has led us to several Alabama cockfighting operations and revealed a disturbing and extensive network of major criminal syndicates in the state, with tens of thousands of birds raised and trained in the state and then illegally sold to that U.S. territory and to Mexico, the Philippines, and other far-flung cockfighting meccas.

We shared these details with U.S. Attorneys, including live-animal transport records where shippers fraudulently described the sale of nearly 8,800 as brood fowl. There is no legitimate explanation for this volume of shipments to Guam. First, Guam does not have a significant animal agriculture industry or a show-bird circuit. Second, the ratio of roosters to hens in these shipments of brood fowl was nearly 10 to 1 with some shipments being over 100 to 1. It is very rare for any agricultural operation to trade in large volumes of animals and to sell more males than females. Cockfighters use male birds for battles, with knives or gaffs attached to their legs. Any reasonable person would conclude the purpose of these shipments was primarily for the cockfighting industry.

The evidence we have includes aerial views of his cockfighting farm, links to his personal Facebook pages discussing the sale of fighting implements and fighting birds, and marketing videos where the operators concede their deep involvement in the industry. One guy blatantly advertises selling of the cockfighting knives, which is itself a federal felony.

There is no legal ambiguity about the application of federal law to these cockfighting-related activities. The federal courts have time and again affirmed the authority of the United States to restrict this form of commerce and cruelty.

The law treats dogfighting and cockfighting crimes in precisely the same manner, and law enforcement should as well.

Animal fighting is animal abuse. The illegal gambling adds to lawlessness. Bringing children to the fights, using or distributing narcotics, and engaging in other illegal activities should make the whole enterprise a hot target for our U.S. Attorneys.

This is a matter of the rule of law, an inexcusable pattern of animal cruelty, and an animal and human health threat, given the role of cockfighting in spreading bird flu.

And its high time Alabama legislators do a complete make-over of the states anti-cockfighting law and bring a 19th-century law into the 21st century.

Marty Irby, executive director of Animal Wellness Action, is a native of Mobile. Wayne Pacelle is president of Animal Wellness Action.
Pirates kidnap six South Koreans, one Ghanaian from fishing vessel

June 25,2020 | Source: AFP

Pirates kidnapped five South Koreans and a Ghanaian after boarding their fishing vessel off Benin, Seoul's foreign ministry and the International Maritime Bureau said Thursday.



The Ghanaian-flagged Panofi Frontier with 30 crew on board was attacked on Wednesday about 60 nautical miles south of the Beninese capital Cotonou, they both said.



Seoul's foreign ministry said five of its nationals were seized along with a Ghanaian, and that the vessel had 24 more crew members on board.



"Currently, the identity and the whereabouts of the kidnappers have not been identified," it said in a statement, adding it was working with the relevant countries to secure the Koreans' release.



The International Maritime Bureau in Kuala Lumpur confirmed the attack by "armed pirates" and issued a warning to seafarers.



"All vessels are advised to maintain a vigilant anti-piracy watch and measures including at anchorages," it said in an alert.



The incident comes about a month after eight foreign crew members kidnapped from a Singapore-owned container ship off Cotonou were freed.



Benin lies at the heart of the Gulf of Guinea, which stretches 5,700 kilometres (3,500 miles) from Senegal to Angola.



Coastal waters in the centre of the vast region have become an epicentre of pirate attacks, lootings and kidnappings for ransom. Many of the pirates come from Nigeria.



The perpetrators are "increasingly seeking to target vulnerable vessels in waters beyond the traditional heartland of the Southern Niger Delta," said Dryad Global, a British maritime intelligence firm.

 2015 - 2020 Deccan Chronicle

Theme(s): Others.
Clive Hamilton, co-author of Hidden Hand, speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in A Conversation on Chinese Influence in Australia and Beyond in Washington on Oct. 18, 2018. (Wu Wei/Epoch Times)

Canada Particularly Vulnerable to Beijings Influence, Says Author of New Book

Hidden Hand details the Chinese regimes attempts to reshape the world order

Canada is particularly vulnerable to the Chinese Communist Partys influence operations due to a deep set of entanglements formed after decades of courting the regime, says the author of a new book exposing Chinas global program of influence and subversion.

Australian author Clive Hamilton made the comments at the launch of Hidden Hand: Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party is Reshaping the World, which he co-wrote with Mareike Ohlberg.

The book focuses on the push by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to reshape the world through a global program of subversion, while revealing the ties between Beijing, business elites, and Western politicians in various countries.

There was this gradual process of Canadas business and political elites forming a deep set of entanglementsfinancial, political, and personal friendships with Communist Party officials, Hamilton said at an event to mark the launch of the book in Canada on June 25, organized by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

And that big network of influencebecause after all it was really a way in which the CCP was systematically setting out to build these relationships as a way of exerting political influencehas had really had a crippling effect on Canadas understanding and response to China in recent years.

Hamilton pointed to the Meng Wanzhou extradition case and the brutality of Beijings reaction that has gone so far beyond any kind of normal diplomatic protocols as an indication of the regimes influence on Canada, after China detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in retaliation for Mengs arrest in Vancouver in 2018.

Hamilton also alleges a deeper form of influence at play that has seen Ottawa immobilized in the Meng case amid a larger strategy of softness on China.

Senior people within the government are entangled mentally as well as in other ways in a favourable perception of China that has been cultivated by the CCP and its agencies over many years, he said.

That perception, he explained, includes the attitude that political elites themselves have a unique understanding of the regime and must tread carefully to avoid provoking the CCP.

This set of beliefs that has been developed amongst elites that China under the CCP is very fragile, is very aggressive, is very hard to handle, and we must treat it with kid gloves. Because if we dont, all hell will break loose and it will get out of control. And of course, thats exactly what Beijing wants you to think, he said, adding that some people erroneously equate communism with Chinas 5,000-year-old traditional culture.

We point out that no, China under the CCP is led by a government which is a Leninist party built on Leninist principles and thats how it should be treated and understood. And I think that goes a long way to explaining why elites in Canada have so much difficulty grappling with the current situation.

This week, 19 former federal cabinet ministers, parliamentarians, and diplomats signed an open letter urging the federal government to intervene in the extradition case against Meng in exchange for the release of Kovrig and Spavor, who were arbitrarily detained in China shortly after Mengs arrest in December 2018.

The signatories include high-profile Canadians such as Chretien-era ministers Lloyd Axworthy and Andre Ouellet, former Conservative minister and ambassador Lawrence Cannon, former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, former diplomat Robert Fowler, and former CBC host Don Newman.

The letter was widely criticized for setting a dangerous precedent of accepting Chinas hostage diplomacy; Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said such a deal would put all Canadian travellers at risk.

Reshaping the World

Hidden Hand is a follow-up to Hamiltons bestselling book Silent Invasion, which detailed the systematic attempt by the CCP to expand its espionage network and influence in Australia.

The new book expands the lens to the regimes attempts to remould the world at large, showing the nature and extent of its influence operations across the Western worldin the spheres of politics, business, universities, think tanks, and international institutions such as the United Nations.

Hamilton said the motivation behind writing the book was to explain to readers that the Chinese communist regime is engaged in a well-organized and systematic attempt to reshape the world order.

We are aware that there is very widespread ignorance and misunderstanding and naivete about China under the CCP in Western countries, he said.

A lot of these attitudes were formed in the 80s and 90s, particularly among elites, but also the media and the general public about China under the CCP, which now prove to be dangerously wrong as Canada has found out in the last year or so in a kind of a dire way.

Hamilton said the most powerful pushback against the regimes influence in Canada and other democratic countries will ultimately come from civil society, when people understand the true nature of the CCP and reject it.

Really it requires citizens wherever they arein their workplaces, in their universities, as political agents, in their social clubsunderstanding how the CCP operates and to expose and push back against it wherever they are in their institutions.

There is a particularly strong opportunity for countries like Canada and Australia where there are large Chinese immigrant populations, he said, because they are a powerful resource in shedding light on influence operations by the regimes United Front Work Department in Chinese communities.

Many [Chinese immigrants] live in constant low-level or sometimes high-level fear of what the CCP might do to them if they do exercise their political rights living in a democratic country, Hamilton said.

We are obligated to support them, to back them, to protect their rights and to encourage them at every opportunity to be robust participants in the democratic debate in the free countries where they have chosen to live.
Miley Cyrus was just doing it for the 'Gram. Four months later, however, she is facing legal action for a series of photos that she allegedly stole from a photographer.

On Wednesday, Miley was hit by a lawsuit for posting a photo of herself taken last February during the New York Fashion Week. In the photo, the 27-year-old pop star could be seen wearing a crop top, black pants and red boots.

Based on the lawsuit filed by the Atlanta-based photo agency "Chosen Figure," the snaps were taken when Miley left the Marc Jacobs NFW show last Feb. 12, 2020.

The following day, the "Hannah Montana" star posted the photos on her Instagram with a caption: "Swipe right. But hurry. Instagram will definitely be removing this post soon."

As of writing, the photo already gained over 2.6 million likes from her followers.

"Chosen Figure" lawyer Richard Leibowitz claims that Miley uploaded the photo on her Instagram account to promote a brand, but she did not seek the company's permission and license for the photo.

"Defendants ran the photograph on their website to promote their brand," the lawsuit read.

"Defendants did not license the photograph ... nor did defendants have Plaintiff's permission or consent to publish the photograph."

According to Page Six, the company is asking Miley to pay $150,000 for damages.

Miley is not the first celebrity who has been hit by a lawsuit for posting an uncredited photo on Instagram. Last December 2019, her ex Liam Hemsworth was also sued for unauthorized use of a picture, which he posted on Instagram.

According to E! News, Splash News and Picture Agency sued the "Hunger Games" actor for copyright infringement. The photo agency claimed that Hemsworth used a series of photos taken while producing his film "Isn't It Romantic," and used it for promotional purposes.

Miley's Response

Miley's camp has yet to comment on the said lawsuit. The news, howeverm, came after the reports she has been sober for the past six months.

In an interview with Variety, the "Wrecking Ball" hitmaker revealed the good news that she is no longer drinking and smoking weed.

"I've been sober sober for the past six months," Miley said.

She explained that the lifestyle change happened when she had to get vocal cord surgery in November after being hospitalized for tonsillitis.

Throughout her therapy journey and "silent recovery," Miley said she got the chance to reflect on her upbringing, which affected how she developed as a person.

"My mom was adopted, and I inherited some of the feelings she had, the abandonment feelings and wanting to prove that you're wanted and valuable," Miley explained.

"My dad's parents divorced when he was 3, so my dad raised himself. I did a lot of family history, which has a lot of addiction and mental health challenges."

This realization made Miley question herself and eventually understand what is happening to her and how she wanted her future to look.

"I think therapy is great," she added.

READ MORE: Winona Ryder A Liar? Mel Gibson DENIES Shocking Accusations
[June 26, 2020] Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation Files Registration Statement for Proposed Rights Offering to its Shareholders

Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation (NYSE: AP) (the "Corporation") announced today that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC (News - Alert)") for a proposed rights offering in which it plans to distribute to its shareholders non-transferable subscription rights to purchase up to $20.0 million of units. Each unit will consist of shares of common stock (the "Common Shares") and warrants to purchase Common Shares. Under the proposed rights offering, each shareholder of record as of the record date (which has not yet been determined) will receive, at no charge, one subscription right for each Common Share owned on the record date (the "Subscription Right"). The number of Common Shares included in a unit, the number of Common Shares exercisable pursuant to a warrant included in a unit, and the warrant exercise price have not yet been determined. The distribution of rights and commencement of the rights offering will occur promptly following the effectiveness of the registration statement. The record date for the distribution of the rights, the dates for both the subscription period and the expiration of the rights offering, and related pricing information will be included in the final prospectus. Holders who fully exercise their Subscription Rights will be entitled to subscribe for an additional number of units, if available, that are not purchased by other shareholders through the exercise of their Subscription Rights, subject to pro rata allocation of those additional over-subscription units to participating rights holders in proportion to the number of over-subscription units for which they subscribed. Ampco-Pittsburgh intends to use the net proceeds of the rights offering to accelerate its restructuring efforts, improve overall liquidity and reduce its indebtedness. Any remaining proceeds will be used for other general corporate purposes. Questions about the rights offering may be directed to and, when available, copies of the prospectus may be obtained from Ampco-Pittsburgh's Information Agent, D.F. King, by telephone at (212) 269-5550 (bankers and brokers) or (800) 290-6432 (all others) or by email at [email protected]. The Corporation has engaged Advisory Group Equity Services, Ltd. d/b/a RHK Capital to act as dealer manager for the rights offering. Ampco-Pittsburgh reserves the right to terminate the proposed rights offering at ny time prior to the expiration date and for any reason.



A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. The securities may not be sold nor offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This announcement shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state. The rights offering, which is expected to be launched immediately following the effectiveness of the registration statement, will be made only by means of a prospectus. About Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation

Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation manufactures and sells highly engineered, high-performance specialty metal products and customized equipment utilized by industry throughout the world. Through its operating subsidiary, Union Electric Steel Corporation, it is a leading producer of forged and cast rolls for the global steel and aluminum industry. It also manufactures open-die forged products which principally are sold to customers in the steel distribution market, oil and gas industry and the aluminum and plastic extrusion industries. The Corporation is also a producer of air and liquid processing equipment, primarily custom-engineered finned tube heat exchange coils, large custom air handling systems and centrifugal pumps. It operates manufacturing facilities in the United States, England, Sweden, Slovenia, and participates in three operating joint ventures located in China. It has sales offices in North and South America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Corporate headquarters is located in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. Forward-Looking Statements The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act") provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the Corporation. The information contained in this press release may include, but are not limited to, statements about undertaking the rights offering described herein, operating performance, trends, events that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, statements about sales levels, restructuring, the impact from global pandemics (including COVID-19), profitability and anticipated expenses and cash outflows. All statements in this document other than statements of historical fact are statements that are, or could be, deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Act and words such as "may," "intend," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "forecast" and other terms of similar meaning that indicate future events and trends are also generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which such statements are made, are not guarantees of future performance or expectations and involve risks and uncertainties. For the Corporation, these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: cyclical demand for products and economic downturns; excess global capacity in the steel industry; increases in commodity prices or shortages of key production materials; consequences of global pandemics (including COVID-19); new trade restrictions and regulatory burdens associated with "Brexit"; inability of the Corporation to successfully restructure its operations; limitations in availability of capital to fund the Corporation's operations and strategic plan; inability to satisfy the continued listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange; potential attacks on information technology infrastructure and other cyber-based business disruptions; and those discussed more fully in documents filed with the SEC by the Corporation, particularly in Item 1A, Risk Factors, in Part I of the Corporation's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, and Part II of the Corporation's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. The Corporation cannot guarantee any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. In addition, there may be events in the future that the Corporation may not be able to predict accurately or control which may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we assume no obligation, and disclaim any obligation, to update forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005263/en/

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Summer is full upon us, and what we need most are thrillers to take us out of our own heads. Along comes THIS LITTLE FAMILY (Other Press, 264 pp., paper, $15.99), a short, sharp debut by the French author Ines Bayard, which has murder in its first paragraph. Marie, a young Parisian mother, laces a lovingly prepared meal with poison and feeds it to her husband and her toddler before eating it herself. The worst part, perhaps, is that one of them survives.

How did she arrive at this terrible moment? The rest of the story explains what happened to make a lovely Frenchwoman with everything to live for descend into murderous despair. It is also a cry of anguish and fury about how easily men get away with committing sexual violence, and how devastating the consequences are for women.

Bayard is a muscular, propulsive writer, and the novel, elegantly translated by Adriana Hunter, feels urgent, immediate. You cant stop reading, even as you want to look away.

As is so often the case, there is a dead body  Sara Morgan, slashed to death by her boyfriend, Blake Campbell  at the center of Nicola Maye Goldbergs fascinating NOTHING CAN HURT YOU (Bloomsbury, 225 pp., $26). But the book is less about the murder itself than about its aftermath, the long tendrils of guilt, sadness, anger and confusion that stretch out from a single act, wrapping themselves around everyone they touch.
Some of Britain's biggest shopping centres face closure, which threatens to pull the shutters down on a retail recovery.

The Intu group, owner of 14 centres across the UK  including Lakeside in Essex and the Trafford Centre in Manchester  has plunged into administration.

The problems at Intu puts more than 100,000 jobs in jeopardy.

Disaster: The problems at the Intu group puts more than 100,000 jobs in jeopardy

Boris Johnson responded to the news by promising support for retailers. Asked if he would intervene, he said: 'Shopping malls have been feeling the squeeze and we will do everything we can to look after them.'

There are concerns that Intu shopping centres may have to shut, at least temporarily, while administrators attempt to find buyers.

Some of its more famous sites are likely to be sold, while others could be lost forever.

This would be a disaster for thousands of families and many local economies. For example, a retail centre in Watford employs 10 per cent of the area's entire local workforce.

The lockdown of shops since the end of March has fuelled a retail crisis that was already decimating High Street and retail centres with a switch to online shopping.

Many of its high profile tenants, such as Debenhams, House of Fraser and Topshop, have closed stores, while thousands of others have stopped paying rents.

It emerged this week that UK retailers have paid just 13.8 per cent of the rent owed to their landlords to cover the next three months.

The failure of Intu comes at the same time the Government is hoping that an easing of the lockdown, and a return to shopping, will breathe life into the economy after the pandemic.

The crisis in retail, which is expected to see many more stores boarded up in the coming weeks and months , has turned the balance sheet at Intu red. Its latest annual report points to an annual loss of 2billion and debts of 4.5billion. Against that, the company's market value is estimated at less than 30m. Yesterday, the group's shares fell 54.6 per cent, or 2.13p, to just 1.78p, taking the stock's losses during the past 12 months to 98 per cent.

Chief executive of data provider Retail Economics, Richard Lim, said: 'While the collapse has been highly anticipated, its significance cannot be understated. Many retail landlords remain stuck in an age of analogue retailing, sluggish to adapt their business model to the inevitable impact of online and evolution in consumer behaviour.

'Permanent changes in the way people work, travel and communicate will also create further challenges for destinations reliant on high levels of footfall from office workers.'

Struggle: PM Boris Johnson has responded to the news by promising support for retailers

Jim Tucker, David Pike and Mike Pink from KPMG's restructuring practice have been appointed joint administrators for Intu Properties.

KPMG said all the shopping centres will remain open and operational while the joint administrators assess options.

Tucker said: 'The challenges affecting UK retail are well known and have been exacerbated by the impact of Covid-19 and the resulting lockdown.

'As today's administration makes clear, those challenges have fed through to owners of retail property, even to owners of high-quality shopping centres such as Intu's.'

And Pike added last night: 'With all centres remaining open, we look forward to working with staff, suppliers and other key stakeholders to preserve value and jobs in these important retail destinations.'
Spain continues to record new coronavirus outbreaks less than a week after the government lifted the state of alarm and the restrictions on movement that came with it.

The Spanish Health Ministry on Thursday reported around 12 active coronavirus outbreaks across the country. A day later, the regional government of Andalusia announced three new outbreaks, two in Granada with three and five cases each, and one in Almeria with four cases, for a total of eight outbreaks in the region. And in the northwestern region of Galicia, authorities were on Friday investigating possible ties between an outbreak in A Marina and isolated cases detected in the same area.

An outbreak is defined by the ministry as a group of three or more infections with an epidemiological link, and it is considered active if there has been transmission within the last 14 days. In the case of infections detected in senior centers, one positive case is considered an outbreak, even if the patient is asymptomatic, due to the high level of risk.

According to Fernando Simon, the director of the Health Ministrys Coordination Center for Health Alerts, it was a positive sign that Spain is reporting outbreaks and not community transmission of Covid-19. They are occurring in young people, meaning they are milder and transmitted less. The health official warned, however, that an outbreak that escapes [detection] for longer could lead to community transmission of the coronavirus.

Of the detected outbreaks, there are two which are of real concern, said Simon, in reference to a cluster in a Red Cross shelter in the southern city of Malaga, and another one among seasonal laborers in Huesca province in Aragon. These are the two in which we have to show that control has truly been achieved, he said.

Red Cross shelter in Malaga

A Red Cross emergency refugee center (CAED) in Malaga detected its first case of coronavirus on Sunday, and since then, the number of infections has continued to rise: from nine on Tuesday to 15 on Wednesday to 89 on Thursday. This is the largest rise recorded in the 40 or so outbreaks detected in Spain since the beginning of the deescalation process.

The first case to be diagnosed was a Red Cross worker who had traveled recently to Spains Canary Islands. This individual, who was suffering from a fever and other coronavirus symptoms, went to a medical center, where a test came back positive. It was believed to be an isolated case, but the next day there was another infection at the Red Cross center. The organization quarantined the facility and carried out PCR tests on all staff members and migrants living at the center.

National Police control access to the Red Cross center in Malaga, following an outbreak of Covid-19. Garcia-Santos

Samuel Linares, the provincial coordinator of Red Cross in Malaga, said that the organization decided to confine 93 people at the center, including residents and workers (both employees and volunteers) on Tuesday in a bid to curb contagion. Besides testing, authorities have also been tracking down contacts of the affected cases as well as workers who have been in other centers and vice versa.

The situation now is the same as it was when we had the state of alarm: most of our team are working remotely, except for essential workers, added Linares.

The coordinator also clarified rumors that the outbreak had been caused by migrants who arrived by boat in Malaga on Saturday. These people have not entered the CAED in Malaga, meaning it is not even a possibility. Nor have people from this boat had any contact with CAED staff, nor of course, with its residents.

The Andalusian regional government has for now ruled out returning the healthcare area of Malaga to Phase 2 of the coronavirus deescalation plan, arguing the outbreak is under control.

Fruit pickers in Huesca

In Huesca province in the region of Aragon, four comarcas (administrative districts smaller than provinces) were moved back to Phase 2 of the deescalation plan due to a coronavirus outbreak among fruit pickers. This decision was made earlier this week when the province recorded just 12 infections.

Fruit pickers in Fraga in the comarca of Bajo Cinca, which has returned to Phase 2 of the coronavirus deescalation plan. JUAN BARBOSA (EL PAIS)

On Thursday, the Health Ministry reported that a total of 250 coronavirus cases had been identified in the affected comarcas: Cinca Medio, Bajo Cinca, La Litera and Bajo Aragon-Caspe. According to Simon, the large majority, 95%, were asymptomatic. Aragon is doing great work in its management of the outbreak and soon it will be on the path to resolution, but we have to be safe, he added.

Quarantine in Caceres

A total of 54 people, 21 of whom have tested positive for Covid-19, remain isolated in six homes in Navalmoral de la Mata, a town of 17,000 people in Caceres province, in the western region of Extremadura. The residents went into quarantine in a bid to control the spread of the outbreak, which has been linked to an undocumented migrant.

The regional government of Extremadura announced on Thursday that it had issued a search and arrest warrant for the individual, who is considered to be the first positive case in the city. The man arrived on the coast of Almeria on May 23, aboard a boat carrying 20 other people from North Africa. He was taken to the city of Caceres the following day as part of a humanitarian program run by the secretary of state for migration.

Jose Maria Vergeles, the regional health chief of Extremadura, at a press conference on Thursday. JUNTA DE EXTREMADURA

Cepaim Foundation organized his transfer  which was permitted under the state of alarm given it is considered an essential humanitarian service  and his placement in a shelter in Navalmoral de la Mata. According to the foundation, the young man was not presenting coronavirus symptoms at this point.

Alarms were raised after a migrant who was aboard the same boat tested positive for Covid-19 in a residence in Soria, in Castilla-Leon, which is also run by Cepaim. Five people who lived in the same house also tested positive for coronavirus. More testing was done on other Cepaim residences, both in Soria and in Navalmoral de la Mata.

The far-right party Vox has used the fact that the man is a migrant to spread xenophobic rumors on social media.

At a press conference on Thursday, Jose Maria Vergeles, the regional health chief of Extremadura, warned: Those who believe that we are already free of the virus, that we can lead normal lives without living alongside the virus, are wrong.

The regional government of Extremadura, however, has ruled out returning the province to a previous stage of the deescalation plan.

Latest figures

The recent Covid-19 outbreaks have slightly truncated the downward trend of the pandemic. According to the Health Ministrys report on Thursday, there were 157 new cases, down from Wednesdays figure of 196, but above the number recorded in previous weeks, when it fell below 100. In the past seven days, 11 people have died from coronavirus, bringing the total death toll to 28,330.

Imported cases in Madrid A total of 32 passengers with coronavirus arrived in Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas between May 11 and June 11, according to Madrid regional premier Isabel Diaz Ayuso. At a press conference on Thursday, Diaz Ayuso explained that this represented 0.03% of all passengers in May (81,263, according to Spains Aena airport operator). The Madrid regional government wants to ask every traveler to show that they have tested negative for the coronavirus via a PCR test, a measure which has been introduced in Greece and Austria. Regional authorities also want to reduce the number of flights coming from countries heavily affected by the pandemic, and to send a cellphone message to all arrivals informing them of what they should do if they start experiencing coronavirus symptoms.

With reporting by Pablo Linde, Nacho Sanchez and Juan Carlos Espinosa.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 02:08:42|Editor: huaxia

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SARAJEVO/PARIS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- On a sunny afternoon in June, Ermin Cetvrtak was sitting in a wooden coffee house in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, sipping Bosnian coffee from a small copper cup and enjoying time in retirement.

About 100 meters north of the city's Latin Bridge, cafes dot the narrow streets. Cetvrtak liked to kill countless mornings and evenings in the neighborhood's cafes before the COVID-19 pandemic captured Europe early this year.

Today, his coffee still tastes the same and the waiter still greets him like an old friend, but for Cetvrtak, all this feels a little different from what it used to be. A white face mask covers his mouth and nose and in a similar fashion the waiter also protects himself from virus exposure.

"Before the pandemic, I came here four or five times a week to chat with old friends. Now it's only once a week," he said, "but I'm here anyway, that's the point."

CAFE CULTURE BACK

As the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic began to loosen across Europe last month, the "cafe culture" that the coronavirus had threatened with extinction gradually reappeared in the streets of European cities like Paris, Rome, Vienna, Vilnius and Sarajevo.

Cafe de Flore, one of the oldest coffee houses in Paris, reopened to customers at the beginning of June. French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated the day with a joyful note on social media. He said that the resumption of business in cafes and restaurants marked the return of happy times for the French.

The celebratory mood was no different elsewhere. In Europe, the cafe is a place where the literati draw inspiration, and where the locals enjoy their everyday life.

"There is no literature without a coffeehouse," Hungarian writer Sandor Marai once said.

When Italy's cafes and restaurants reopened for business in late May, people returned in droves to kick off their day with a cup of espresso. Someone noted on social media that "This is a ritual we have missed, celebrating life returning to normal."

NEW RULES

As the pandemic is still raging in Europe, cafes and restaurants are reopening at different speeds. In certain regions, rules are still in force on how many guests can cafes serve indoors and on the mandatory use of face masks.

In France's so-called "green zones," where the virus is least actively circulating, cafes have resumed indoors dining, but in the remaining "orange zones" only outdoor terraces are available to seat customers.

In Austria, cafes are no longer allowed to use bread baskets and they no longer provide newspapers to customers (both are prone to spreading the virus), although drinking coffee while reading newspapers has always been a ritual there.

In the middle of June, the Tazza d'Oro coffee shop near the Pantheon in Rome still followed the social distancing rules, which requires customers to keep a distance of at least one meter from each other.

"Before the lockdown, we often had a line of customers waiting outside because demand was high," Laura Birrozzi from the cafe told Xinhua. "Now we still have a line, but only because of the social distancing rules. We can only serve a few customers at the bar at a time. When one customer leaves, we let another one through the door."

SAVE CAFES

Despite the ongoing relaxation of the coronavirus restrictions, the recovery of the "cafe economy" is bound to be slow as the pandemic has exposed the fragility of this culture.

Prior to the outbreak, the Tazza d'Oro in Rome used up 20 to 30 kilograms of beans to brew coffee each day, while the current daily consumption there is a mere three to six kilograms. Meanwhile, in Belgium, a third or even half of the country's coffee shops are facing bankruptcy, according to media reports.

The fate of the cafe industry is now hanging in the balance across Europe. The continent's cafes are increasingly in need of being saved, and governments, businesses and customers alike are lining up to take action.

The municipal government of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, has decided to allow cafes and restaurants to use public spaces (streets, squares, courtyards) for outdoor services. In summer, Vilnius turns into one huge outdoor cafe.

"Plazas, squares and streets -- nearby cafes will be able to set up outdoor tables free of charge this season and thus conduct their activities during the quarantine. Just open up, work, retain jobs and keep Vilnius alive," said Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Simasius. Enditem
The number of new cases of Covid-19 and deaths associated with the virus continues to fall here in Ireland.

New data issued by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that the number of new cases has fallen for eight weeks in a row and that the number of deaths has declined for nine weeks in a row.

It also shows that five people were hospitalised due to the virus last week  down from a peak of more than 650 in a single week in March. The CSO also reports there were fewer than five people admitted to ICU for the fourth week in a row last week.

The data is included in the CSO's latest cases and deaths bulletin, covering the week ending Friday, June 19.

It notes that older people living in wealthy areas were the worst hit by the Covid-19 outbreak, largely due to 'clusters'. Some 10,997 cases are related to a cluster. More than one-quarter of people affected by clusters are aged 80 or older, with nursing homes the primary source of these. Some three-quarters of all clusters occurred in nursing homes, hospitals or residential institutions.

By contrast, travel, initially the main source of the virus, now accounts for just 1% of cases.

The CSO notes that while older people in wealthier areas are likely to be the worst affected, this is partly due to the large number of cases in Dublin and the county's relative affluence.

Dublin remains the worst-hit county when it comes to cases. Some 51% of cases recorded since the outbreak began at the end of February were in the capital.

And, while cases are declining in Ireland - the number of diagnosed cases has now fallen for eight consecutive weeks - Dublin is the only county to record more than 20 new cases in each of the past three weeks.

The CSO's data covers the period up to last Friday, June 19, and also reveals that the number of people who have died due to the virus has declined for nine consecutive weeks. Some 22 of the 26 counties in the Republic recorded no deaths in the week ending June 19.

As of June 19, there were a total of 1,456 confirmed deaths related to Covid-19, and a further 258 listed as probable deaths. That week, seven deaths were recorded, down from 17 the previous week.

Older people remain the worst affected in terms of deaths, with 65% of all confirmed Covid-19 deaths relating to people in the 80+ age group.

By that date, there was a total of 25,368 recorded nationally. The week of June 19 saw 65 cases reported, down from 107 the previous week.

It was the sixth week in a row that Clare, Leitrim, Longford, Tipperary, Wexford and Wicklow recorded less than 10 new cases per week, and the seventh week in a row for Donegal, Laois and Kerry, and the eighth week in a row for Sligo and Waterford.

Some 12 counties recorded no new cases in the week ending June 19, and 12 others recorded fewer than five. Just Dublin (37) and Kildare (8) saw more than five new cases.

More than 40% of confirmed cases relate to a cluster, and the 25-44 age group remains the cohort with the highest number of cases at 8,718. Healthcare workers continue to account for almost one-third of cases.

1007624[/readmore
ELKINS PARK  Several months after authorizing the advertisement of requests for proposals, the Cheltenham School Board is still researching options surrounding the outsourcing of a number of second shift custodians and before- and after-care workers.

We are not looking to rush any of this. We want to have an orderly negotiation where all sides can air their positions, and hopefully come to a resolution that no one hates too much, said Joel Fishbein, vice president of the districts school board.

The Cheltenham School District issued a statement last week refuting claims that board members had reached a verdict on outsourcing.

We are still in conversations about it, and we have not made a decision, said board member Pamela Henry.

The statement stemmed from a post that surfaced on Facebook where a woman said she had been laid off, while on a Zoom call with a union, according to Kevin Kaufman, Cheltenham School Districts director of communications and development.

That couldnt be anything further from the truth, Kaufman said.

The contention surrounding these inquiries originated from a March 31 Cheltenham School Board meeting when elected leaders moved to receive and entertain bids from contractors to learn more about the possibilities of outsourcing some of the aforementioned employees.

According to Kaufman, 30 second-shift custodians and 35 part-time C.L.A.S.P. workers could be impacted by outsourcing efforts. While the district is investigating subcontracting the second-shift custodians, the C.L.A.S.P. operation could be entirely subcontracted, meaning a company would come in and manage the program, Kaufman said.

Dozens of area residents submitted comments ahead of the virtual meeting, with many expressing their outrage on the timing surrounding the potential employment change surrounding and the inability to have the discussion in person.

I think it is a travesty that this is discussed in a manner that is generally hidden and does not allow for open and transparent discussion for the physical presence of members of the community, Cheltenham resident Elizabeth Bieryla said in a submitted statement on March 31.

When asked to respond to those steadfast in their opposition to the outsourcing option, Henry and Fishbein acknowledged their feelings and opinions.

I hear them, Henry said.

I cant say I was surprised, Fishbein said. This was a very difficult decision for us politically because we dont want to do this, and  its not a done deal, and a lot of the comment was suggesting that it was a done deal, but all that we approved in that meeting was the exploration seeking and receiving RFPs so that wed know what the magnitude of savings would look like if we were to do this.

The school board members cited financial concerns as a reason to investigate the opportunity. The school districts budget for the 2019-20 school year was $122,028,381, according to Cheltenham School Districts Business Manager Cara Michaels. The district also has a roughly $3 million structural deficit.

Theres a significant lack of funding from the state for education for public education and even greater lack of funding from the federal government, Henry said.

Fishbein agreed, stating that the states Department of Education only funds 20 percent of the school districts operations, and the federal government funds less than 5 percent of it.

 The lions share of the money to run the district comes from taxation of our property owners who are overtaxed, and we know that, he said. And what we see as a high priority is to find ways to ensure that we dont have to continue to raise taxes on our property owners.

More than three months later, Fishbein said the board has received three bids, with one being deemed adequate, but no decision has been made as of yet.

According to the school code, once the governing body reaches a conclusion, a public hearing will be held prior to the vote.

However, Fishbein stressed that negotiations with the Business Employees Council, the union representing the school districts second-shift workers, are still ongoing. He added that the current contract expires on June 30.

Henry agreed, and emphasized that its about coming to a contract that we can all live with, which means there has to be give and take on both sides, and we recognize that.

However, Fishbein noted that coming to a resolution has become increasingly difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Montgomery County officially moved to the green phase on Friday, restrictions were in place for months on gatherings and using school facilities as a result of Gov. Tom Wolfs mandates to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The truth is that not being able to meet in person does make things less efficient, Fishbein said.

Additionally, the pandemic has put additional monetary burdens on the school district to comply with recommendations put in place at the state and federal levels.

In a June 16 town hall, Superintendent Wagner Marseille addressed these mounting costs, adding were getting what I believe to be nominal dollars  for COVID-related expenses, while it costs around an average of $1.8 million to carry out these guidelines.

There absolutely is not enough federal dollars with the tall ask that is being placed on the shoulders of school systems, he said during the virtual meeting earlier this month.

Fisbein also shared these concerns.

All of the fiscal constraints  have been made even worse by the financial pressures caused by COVID[-19] and the districts response to it, Fishbein said. So there are expenses that we cant even yet quantify associated with reopening that could make what Pam correctly called a structural deficit even worse temporarily while were dealing with the blowback from the added costs of COVID reopening protocols.

While theres no clear timeline on when the members of the Cheltenham School Board could reach a decision one way or the other, Henry and Fishbein agreed that theyre doing their due diligence by researching all scenarios.

Im confident that this board along with input and support from our constituents, were going to make the best decision for this district because thats what were here to do, and we are focused on adequately funding our student-center[ed] mission, and were not going to take our eye off of our students, but together well come to a workable solution, Henry said.
As Texas grapples with 5,994 new COVID-19 cases reported on Thursday, Houston Methodist's ICU doctors have been preparing for the influx of patients. Houston Methodist's ICU capacity has now reached 82 percent, and the hospital has added 19 ICU beds, according to hospital officials.

"These are not good numbers," Houston Methodist ICU Director Dr. Faisal Masud said. "The action that the governor took about closing the bars and restaurants is a good move. People in the last month have become complacent."

On Thursday, four CEOs from Texas Medical Center hospitals reported that despite the rising cases, hospitals and ICU capacity are equipped to handle the increase. The Houston region now stands at 37,173 cases total, and Harris County is at 25,786 cases, according to Texas Health and Human Services.

"We're ready," Masud said Friday. "We can manage this, but if it keeps going for another month or so, then that's a different conversation."

'SHE IS MY SOLDIER': Houston mom-to-be overcomes COVID-19 battle

Masud added that doctors and nurses have learned more about how to treat the virus.

"We've become more effective at how we manage patients, " Masud said. "We're getting patients better more quickly."

His biggest concern now is that people will stop coming to the hospital since hearing that Houston hospitals are facing surge capacity.

"A patient with heart attack risk is equally as important to me as the patient with COVID-19," Masud said. "I don't want people not to come to the hospital. That's a disservice to the community."

Fasud added that he believes the spike in cases is due to more social gatherings.

"A lot of this stuff is from Memorial Day, gathering in pubs, restaurants, beaches and protests," Masud said. "There was a lot of social gathering, not social distancing on a grand scale."

As he collaborates with other ICU doctors at Methodist, Fasud said he worries about the strain on physicians and nurses providing COVID-19 care in the coming months.

"I think there is this deja vu. We thought that Houston got this under control with the number of COVID-19 cases, " Masud said. "My overall concern is that we will start to see mental and physical exhaustion in the coming months. I do worry about our families."

'IT'S ABSOLUTELY HORRIFYING': Coronavirus expert warns of dire health crisis amid Texas surge

In addition, doctors and nurses have to serve as an extension of family for patients, since quarantine from the patients' actual family is in place.

"If it's a COVID-19 patient, pretty much the families feel disconnected," Masud said. "At a human level, people want to hug their loved ones. We feel the pain of that family. We are, by default, their extended family. All the credit goes to the nursing staff. We not only become the caregivers but also the family for the COVID-19 patients."

Masud added that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo's upgraded stay-at-home order is a needed measure.

"This is a wake-up call," Masud said. "We got a lot of this under control in March and April, but complacency has led to the wrong place. This can't go on. We have to stop."

alison.medley@chron.com
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a budget emergency on Thursday as the state faces a deficit of more than $54 billion. But amid the budget shortfall and the record number of coronavirus cases, Newsom threatened to withhold $2.5 billion in the upcoming budget from local governments if they don't comply with state's orders on wearing masks, testing and other measures in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The move allocates about half of the state's $16 billion "rainy day" funds to be used for the purchasing of personal protective equipment, medical supplies and other expenditures in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Newsom said funds will be distributed on a monthly basis and the Department of Finance will be in charge of determining whether counties are compliant with the federal guidelines, the state's stay-at-home order and other directives issued by state agencies to prevent the spread of the virus. That includes Newsom's statewide order from last week requiring all Californians to wear a face mask in most public places.

"We are now at a stage in this pandemic where we have to demand more accountability," Newsom told reporters on Wednesday. "That is why we are attaching $2.5 billion dollars to that pledge," he added.

In this June 19, 2020, file photo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, wears a face mask as he answers a reporter's question during his visit to the Queen Sheba Ethiopian Cuisine restaurant in Sacramento, California. / Credit: Rich Pedroncelli / AP

While the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) technically referred to rules for wearing masks as "guidance," Newsom's executive order from mid-March allows the state to enforce the public health rules.

On Thursday, Newsom said his approach "is to be guided by enforcement at the local level first" but made clear he has tools at his disposal to implement enforcement at the state level. The governor said he doesn't want to see Californians fined for not wearing masks and compared its enforcement to jaywalking, something that could be targeted towards specific hubs.

Story continues

Newsom said that unlike the beginning of the pandemic in March and April, there is now "an abundance of face masks" in California and "no excuse" for people to not wear one in public places.

California has now reported 195,571 coronavirus cases and 5,733 deaths. The state has averaged nearly 90,000 tests per day for the last seven days, but on Thursday, Newsom told reporters that is not enough. On Tuesday, the state registered 7,149 new positive cases, a record number for a single day, more than three months into the pandemic.

Newsom's office also announced a new platform on Thursday that encourages scientists, mathematicians and other experts in the state and around the country to help California with modeling and data in the response to the pandemic.

The California COVID Assessment Tool, or CalCAT, includes assessments of spread of the coronavirus, forecasts of disease trends, and scenarios that show what could happen over the next few months under different conditions.

"While these models and forecasts make different assumptions, all of them show that individual actions can dramatically change the trajectory of the virus," Newsom said in a statement.

California also released all of its coronavirus data and tools for the public to be viewed here.

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Appeals court orders judge to dismiss Michael Flynn case
District Judge of Rohini Courts here has asked all the judicial officers to work from home and not to ask staffers to come to courts in view of rising number of coronavirus cases among staffers and judges recently.

District Judge Swarana Kanta Sharma took note of the fact that some judicial officers are asking their staffers to come to court premises and issued a circular in this regard.

The circular said that despite the Delhi High Court directions that judicial officers were to work from home, it has been brought to the notice that some of them were regularly coming to the court and also calling their entire staff or most of the staff every day.

The directions were passed in a circular issued on June 19 after several court staff and judges, who visited the courts premises, have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past few weeks.

It said that in case the judges did not have the technical facility to hear cases through video conferencing, they must inform the District Judge.

Many staff members have been tested positive for Covid-19 contagion and the undersigned had to close one court recently on this account.

Therefore, it is once again made clear that all the judicial officers are to work from their respective residences only and in case they do not have the technical facility to do so, they must first inform the undersigned (District Judge) in this regard, the circular said.

It further stated that only one or two staff members should be called for duty on a particular day.

However, Stenographers (Senior PA/PA) can be given dictation preferably over telephone and he/she can work from their home.

As far as Peshi is concerned, Ahlmad/Assistant Ahlmad/Reader may be deputed on rotational basis as per their mutual understanding, be called for limited period, the circular said.

It further noted that some of the courts were not uploading their daily orders on server as per the directions of the High Court.

Hence, all the judicial officers are also requested to ensure uploading of daily orders on the server, it said.

Two court staff posted at the courts complex tested positive for Covid-19 on June 19 and June 22 respectively.

While one of the officials had last visited the court premises on June 19 and had come in contact with the personal assistant posted in the judges court, the other had last visited the courts premises on June 11, according to circulars issued by District Judges.

They have been directed to self-quarantine themselves for 14 days or as per medical advice and guidelines of the Government of India.

The Caretaking Branch has been directed to carry out deep cleaning and regular sanitization in the courtroom as well as in the Ahlmad room and the judges chamber attached therewith, immediately, it added.

In another case, the personal assistant posted the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Mayank Goel had tested positive due to which the courtroom was sealed and sanitised along with the Ahlmad room and the Judges chamber.

The official had come in close contact with the Judge, other staff members, including the Additional Public Prosecutor and the Constable posted in the court.

They were sent to self-isolation for seven days.

Earlier, District Judge R P Pandey had also tested positive for Covid-19. His courtroom was also closed and sanitised following this.

All the six district courts in the national capital have been working in a restricted way since March due to the coronavirus or Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
By Tim Hepher and David Ljunggren PARIS/OTTAWA (Reuters) - France said on Friday it would download the black boxes from a Ukrainian airliner downed by an Iranian missile in January, easing a stand-off over where they should be read. France's BEA crash investigation agency said it was acting at the request of Iran, which remains responsible under global rules for conducting a formal accident probe after acknowledging that the Boeing 737 was downed by its forces

By Tim Hepher and David Ljunggren

PARIS/OTTAWA (Reuters) - France said on Friday it would download the black boxes from a Ukrainian airliner downed by an Iranian missile in January, easing a stand-off over where they should be read.

France's BEA crash investigation agency said it was acting at the request of Iran, which remains responsible under global rules for conducting a formal accident probe after acknowledging that the Boeing 737 was downed by its forces.

The Ukraine International Airlines flight was shot down on Jan. 8 by an Iranian ground-to-air missile, killing 176 people in what Tehran termed a "disastrous mistake" at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.

Work on repairing and downloading the cockpit voice and data recorders will begin on July 20, the BEA said.

Aviation authorities in Canada, 57 of whose citizens were killed, said they would send a team to Paris to participate.

Iran wants Canada to reestablish diplomatic ties that were broken off in 2012 but Tehran did not set this as a precondition for sending the recorders to France, said a Canadian official.

"It is not realistic to expect us to entertain any kind of discussions about this any time soon," said the official, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.

Canada's priorities were a full probe into the crash and compensation for families of the victims, the official added.

Iran's envoy to the United Nations aviation agency said this month that the country's Air Accident Investigation Board had asked the BEA to read the black boxes, though this was followed by conflicting ministerial statements.

Friday's announcement suggests Western and Iranian officials will jointly witness the technical work, though one person following the case did not rule out last-minute changes.

The BEA has a history of assisting with sensitive probes when tensions are high between parties directly involved.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, David Ljunggren; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Jan Harvey and David Gregorio)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
A new $1.2 billion Huawei research facility has just been given the green light yesterday and this could be a Trojan horse, according to Tory MP's warning. The very controversial Chinese telecom giant has already been granted planning permission for a certain hub located near Cambridge that gives the promise of providing 400 jobs to locals.

The US State Department, however, urged that the US should "carefully assess" the certain impact of allowing an "untrusted" company to access certain sensitive information. In a stronger rebuke, another official said that the US was "deeply concerned" about certain "serious risk" in China's activities, such as its own research, posed to both the UK and American national security.

Tory MP's warning

Tory MP Bob Seely also added that the UK already needed to be wary of this "Trojan horse", with Huawei already set to help build Britain's own 5G mobile network. He also noted that it is quite a bit of power play by China's Huawei and that if they really want to invest then great but this does not mean that they should be given access to 5G.

A certain State Department spokesperson also stated last night that they have already seen reports that the UK is currently planning to allow Huawei to build their research and development factory somewhere in England.

They stated that they urge all countries, particularly their partners and allies like the UK, to be really careful and assess the long-term impact of actually allowing certain untrusted companies just like Huawei to gain certain access to the sensitive information.

The spokesman also said that China acquired technology as well as intellectual property through certain licit and illicit means, through their collaboration and through deception, and also by investment, joint, research, and the outright left.

Read Also: South Koreans can Finally Carry Their Driver's License on Their Phones: Is This Safe?

Huawei being "untrusted"

In a separate development, Huawei was also named on a list of certain companies that the Trump administration claimed were owned or even controlled by the Chines military itself. Just before yesterday's planning decisions were made public, the senior US official Keith Krach accused China of actually using similar schemes in order to expand its influence.

It was also stated that they donate money, hire certain graduates, and burnish their own PR credentials. Then comes the latter bullying, coercion, and also the expansion of the surveillance state. The planning permission also comes as the known National Cyber Security Center then carries out a certain fresh review of whether these security concerns revolving around Huawei can actually be mitigated.

Boris Johnson is now reconsidering whether or not the country should allow the firm to help build Britain's own 5G network in light of the whole review and also after huge pressure from Tory MPs. He is also expected to announce the following month that the UK will also aim to strip Huawei from their network within the next few years.

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COLUMBUS  State Sen. Mike Moser was fine  until he wasnt.

Moser, who represents District 22 that encompasses Platte and parts of Colfax and Stanton counties, was working outside in his yard the night before Mothers Day when it became apparent something was wrong.

At first the symptoms werent all that severe, but I suddenly got really winded and couldnt get my breath back, Moser said Thursday.

Moser went to the emergency room at Columbus Community Hospital and ultimately tested positive for COVID-19.

They were trying to decide what they should do, Moser said. They gave me some supplemental oxygen.

On Mothers Day, Moser was taken to Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, where he spent five weeks under medical care until getting released on June 13. Since then, hes been back at his Columbus home doing his best to rebound as quickly as possible. But, as he said, its a process.

Im still kind of rehabbing until I get my balance, strength and agility back that I once had, Moser said. Having lived through it, its certainly nothing I want anyone to go through. Its a miserable virus.
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HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. (AP)  An engineer error caused a CSX freight train to derail as it crossed the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, sending two cars into the water and damaging a footbridge that is part of the Appalachian Trail, according to a report from the Federal Railroad Administration.

Seven empty train cars in total derailed in the December 21 incident and no one was injured.





. . .
By Arno Schuetze and John O'Donnell

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Wirecard <WDIG.DE> collapsed on Thursday owing creditors almost $4 billion (3.2 billion) after disclosing a gaping hole in its books that its auditor EY said was the result of a sophisticated global fraud.

The payments company filed for insolvency at a Munich court saying that, with 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) of loans due within a week its survival as a going concern was "not assured".

Wirecard's implosion came just seven days after EY, its auditor for more than a decade, refused to sign off on the 2019 accounts, forcing out Chief Executive Markus Braun and leading it to admit that $2.1 billion of its cash probably didn't exist.

"There are clear indications that this was an elaborate and sophisticated fraud involving multiple parties around the world," EY said in a statement.

EY said while it was completing the 2019 audit, it was provided with false confirmations with regard to escrow accounts and reported them to the relevant authorities.

Wirecard declined to comment following EY's statement.

The financial technology company is the first member of Germany's prestigious DAX stock index to go bust, barely two years after winning a spot among the country's top 30 listed companies with a market valuation of $28 billion.

"The Wirecard case damages corporate Germany. It should be a wake-up call for reforms," said Volker Potthoff, chairman of corporate governance think-tank ArMID.

Creditors have scant hope of getting back the 3.5 billion euros they are owed, sources familiar with the matter said. Of that total, Wirecard has borrowed 1.75 billion from 15 banks and issued 500 million in bonds. <DE205218076=>

"The money's gone," said one banker. "We may recoup a few euros in a couple of years but will write off the loan now."

'TOTAL DISASTER'

The collapse of Wirecard, once one of the hottest fintech companies in Europe, dwarfs other German corporate failures. It has shaken the country's financial establishment with Felix Hufeld, head of regulator BaFin, calling it a "total disaster".

Story continues

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz described the collapse as a "scandal", acknowledging it was time to review regulation.

"We must rethink our supervisory structures," said Scholz, adding he had asked his ministry to come up with ideas in the next few days.

"If legal, legislative, regulatory measures are needed, we will embrace them and implement them," he said. "A scandal like Wirecard is a wake-up call that we need more monitoring and oversight than we have today," he said.

Wirecard shares, which were suspended ahead of an earlier announcement that it would seek creditor protection, crashed 80% when trading resumed. They have lost 98% since auditor EY questioned its accounts last Thursday.

EY, one of the world's "Big Four" accountancy and consulting firms, faces a wave of litigation in a debacle that has drawn comparisons with Arthur Andersen's disastrous oversight of U.S. energy company Enron.

German law firm Schirp & Partner said that with Wirecard now effectively sidelined, it would file class actions against EY on behalf of shareholders and bondholders.

"It is frightening how long Wirecard AG was able to operate without being objected to by the auditors," partner Wolfgang Schirp said.

Wirecard's new management had been in crisis talks with creditors but pulled out on Thursday morning "due to impending insolvency and over-indebtedness".

The insolvency filing did not include its Wirecard Bank subsidiary, which holds an estimated 1.4 billion euros in deposits and is already under emergency management by BaFin.

'COMPLETE VINDICATION'

A second source close to talks with creditors said although the company had a healthy core, it had faked two-thirds of its sales. This meant there was no way it could repay all its debt, notwithstanding all the legal challenges it will face.

The ascent of Wirecard, which was founded in 1999 and is based in a Munich suburb, was dogged by allegations from whistleblowers, reporters and speculators that its revenue and profits had been pumped up through fake transactions.

Braun fended off the critics for years before finally calling in outside auditor KPMG late last year to run an independent investigation.

KPMG, which published its findings in April, was unable to verify 1 billion euros in cash balances, questioned Wirecard's acquisition accounting and said it could not trace hundreds of millions in cash advances to merchants.

"Today is a complete vindication for those that exposed the fraud," said Fraser Perring, who bet on a fall in Wirecard's shares and co-authored a 2016 report that alleged fraud.

The Munich prosecutor's office, which is investigating Braun on suspicion of misrepresenting Wirecard's accounts and of market manipulation, said: "We will now look at all possible criminal offences."

Braun was arrested on Monday and released on bail of 5 million euros a day later. Former chief operating officer Jan Marsalek is also under suspicion and believed to be in the Philippines, according to justice officials there.

($1 = 0.8903 euros)

(Additional reporting by Joern Poltz, Hans Seidenstuecker, Edward Taylor, Madeline Chambers; Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Maria Sheahan and David Clarke)
Justice Minister, Charlie Flanagan, has committed to resolving long-standing complaints from Magdalene Laundry survivors that they have been denied medical benefits promised as part of the Government's redress scheme.

The first volume of a report into the key findings from a listening exercise carried out with hundreds of Magdalene survivors as part of the Dublin Honours Magdalenes event in 2018, revealed that the women "repeatedly" highlighted that the Health Card promised by the Government as part of the redress scheme has not been delivered.

The Quirke Report advised that the State should provide health services equivalent to those provided under the HAA card, which was given in the 1990s to people who contracted Hepatitis C from contaminated blood products.

"Magdalene survivors accepted the terms and conditions of the scheme and signed away their right to sue the State on the promise of an enhanced health service. However, ultimately the benefits offered to them are essentially nothing more than the routine healthcare service offered to state medical cardholders, which most of them already have due to their low income or advanced age," states the report.

It was also noted that survivors living outside of Ireland had also expressed frustration at the failure to deliver healthcare benefits to women in the diaspora. The report pointed out that some women "did not know they were entitled to such a benefit in the first place".

The issue of the enhanced medical card promised under the redress scheme has been highlighted repeatedly by the Justice For Magdalenes group since the redress scheme was introduced in 2013.

Mr Flanagan said he has noted the view of the survivors in the report and has instructed officials in his department to liaise with the Department of Health "to bring about a resolution to this matter". He also said he is committed to any project which would create a place of reflection and memorial for survivors.

Issues around the Magdalene redress scheme have been repeatedly highlighted by the Irish Examiner.

In 2017, the Ombudsman published a scathing report following an almost year-long investigation into how the Department of Justice administered the Magdalene redress scheme.

The report that some Magdalene laundry survivors had been wrongly refused access to the scheme and that it had been maladministered by the Department.

Central to the investigation was evidence uncovered by the Irish Examiner and reported in June 2015.

In February of last year, the Irish Examiner further highlighted the cases of 14 women who were in the An Grianan training centre and also worked in the High Park Magdalene laundry in Dublin, which was located in the same building. They had yet to receive an offer of redress despite being accepted to the widened scheme.

The women had learned that a potential reason for the 1980 cut-off point is a claim that a separate laundry was constructed at An Grianan that year and that no girls were sent to work in the main laundry as a result.

However, the Irish Examiner obtained documents showing that this laundry was constructed in the early months of 1984 at a cost of 17,001.

In April, the Department made arrangements to grant the affected women the redress payment.
Ghaziabad, June 26 : Leaving behind a nine-month-old child, a young couple allegedly committed suicide in Indirapuram on Friday. The couple was found hanging from the ceiling fans inside their residence in Gyan Khand I locality of Indirapuram, the police said.

The police suspect it to be a case of suicide and have started probing the matter. While no suicide note was recovered from the spot, the police spotted a cut on the left hand of the wife. They also said that the couple had used "gamcha" for hanging themselves.

Sanjeev Sharma, SHO, Indirapuram Police Station, said that the cut appeared to be drawn from a knife.

Sharma added that their bodies have been sent for autopsy and the reports are awaited.

The police have identified the deceased as Nikhil Kumar (31) and his wife Pallavi Bhushan (28). The couple hailed from Patna and was living in Indirapuram for the last one year on a rented accommodation. They got married two years ago and are survived by a nine-month-old boy child.

While Kumar worked as a sales manager with a private firm in Noida, Bhushan was a home maker.

The police said that Kumar's body was found hanging from the ceiling fan of the bedroom, while Bhushan was found hanging from the fan in the living room. The police found their baby playing in the drawing room where Bhushan's body was hanging.

Anshu Jain, the circle officer of the area, told that before the act of suicide, Bhushan had texted her sister who lives in Greater Noida and asked her to reach their residence at around 6 a.m. and take along the baby.

"She had texted Anjali (Bhushan's sister) at 3:46 a.m. on WhatsApp. Anjali read the message at around 6.30 a.m. and immediately called her sister and brother-in-law. When they did not respond to her calls, she called her friend Megha who also lived in Indirapuram and asked her to check at their residence.

When she went there, she found the doors open and the body of Bhushan hanging from the fan. Immediately, Megha informed Anjali about the incident and also informed the neighbours. One of them informed the police. Our team reached the spot at around 7.40 a.m.," Jain said, detailing the chain of events.

Jain also said that Anjali has taken the child in her custody.

The sudden death of the couple has left their family members and neighbours in shock.

Sharma said that the primary investigation suggested that the couple had committed suicide. "We haven't received any complaint so far from the family members of the deceased," he said.
Musicians, led by Philly trombonist Jeff Bradshaw, center, perform at the Art Museum steps for Phillys clarion call for justice on Saturday, June 27, 2020. This is the second rally for the group, who plan to do more. Read more

It wasnt a rehearsal or a late-night gig that kept Philly trombonist Jeff Bradshaw awake on the night of June 7.

After watching hundreds of Philadelphians protest police brutality  and having recently performed at a rally at City Hall  he was losing sleep thinking how he could be more involved. When he finally drifted off, he dreamed that he was standing at the top of the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, surrounded by hundreds of horn players.

Days later, on June 13, his vision was realized when more than 100 horn players gathered for a demonstration of musicianship and solidarity. And on June 27, they gathered at the Art Museum again.

I think its so important for musicians to be heard right now, Bradshaw said. I wanted to gather every horn player I knew to play music to the high heavens for George Floyd, for Breonna Taylor, for Philando Castile, for Trayvon Martin, for Michael Brown, for Ahmaud Arbery

Bradshaw, 50, of North Philly, has been a part of Phillys music scene for decades. He got his start playing the snare drums  and eventually trombone  in church at North Phillys United House of Prayer for All People. He went on to tour with such acts as Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Jill Scott, the Roots, Common, Mary J. Blige, and others. Last year at the Marian Anderson Awards, Bradshaw performed in honor of Kool & the Gang.

The morning after his dream, Bradshaw reached out to low-brass player Sam Gellerstein to help organize the horn rally. Gellerstein was already brainstorming ideas for something similar and eagerly signed on.

To create buzz around the June 12 event, the two launched a social media campaign, complete with digital fliers and videos. All skill levels are encouraged to join us, one Instagram post promoting the event read. The only important thing is that you are staunchly opposed to racial injustice.

Saxophonist Hiruy Tirfe committed without hesitation when he received a text message from Bradshaw about the rally. Tirfe, who lives in Upper Darby, also saw the demonstration as a way to be more deeply connected to the Black Lives Matter movement.

 READ MORE: Harrietts Bookshop owner hands out free books about black leaders during Philly marches

Through music, we can get the point across that we want justice, Tirfe said. But we can also lift each other up as we fight for whats right.

On the day of that first demonstration, Bradshaw and Gellerstein encouraged musicians to make the most of the spacious Art Museum steps by standing at least six feet apart and to wear masks when they werent playing their instrument.

We were trying to make sure were not getting in each others faces, Gellerstein said. We try to be as safe as we can while performing.

North Philly drummer TreWay Lambert is also a night owl, but he woke up early to prepare for the demonstration. He was the only drummer among the musicians who attended the rally.

 READ MORE: At Art Museum protest of police brutality, this Philly cellist paid tribute to another: I saw myself in him

I havent said too much [about the protests] because Im a man of few words, Lambert said. But beating those drums was my way of showing the pain from the bullets and the chokeholds. Thats what was going on in my head.

In between New Orleans-styled second-line songs such as When the Saints Go Marching In and Little Liza Jane  and also during them  Bradshaw led the group in protest chants.

Once we were in the groove, I broke it down to just the drums and the bass, Bradshaw said. Id scream out, No justice, and theyd scream out No peace. We did that throughout the whole rally. The event reached an emotional peak with the final hymn, We Shall Overcome. The hundreds of spectators that gathered at the steps swayed as the musicians wrapped up.

When Bradshaw was a child, he asked his father about his memories of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination. He asked about his whereabouts when Rosa Parks was arrested.

And when my daughters ask me where I was when George Floyd was killed [and] what did I do, Bradshaw said, I have to have an answer.
Children might not be the most vulnerable to coronavirus but the effect that the pandemic and its aftermath can have on them are immeasurable. With all the attention of health care being directed towards the outbreak of Covid-19, childrens health has taken a back seat. Studies done by The Lancet Journal show that approximately 1-2 million children and 56,700 deaths might occur in low- or middle-income countries if 45% of essential medical service drops for 6 months.

The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) India is working to provide children all over the country with proper nutrition, education, sanitation, and other life-saving supplies. UNICEF is also urging all people to donate money so that more essential services can be provided.

In an Instagram post, UNICEF has asked people to post pictures of their happy childhood memories with the hashtag #childhoodchallenge. They also implore people to donate to the organisation, the amount being the year you are born in. If youre born in the year 1990, then the donation amount is INR 1990, or if youre a millennium baby (aka the year 2000), then INR 2000.

With these donations, UNICEF is going to provide children in need and their families with safety kits for the virus that will include gloves, masks, and soap. UNICEF has been working to aid children since the Second World War and during the current pandemic, every bit counts.

Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan also posted to her Instagram, commenting on how her childhood has shaped her and how not every child is as fortunate. She urges people to donate and says By taking part in this challenge you can help avoid a lasting crisis for children.

The initiative is inviting participation and donations via Instagram where users can also tag more friends and spread the word on this noble cause.

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter
(Alliance News) - Volga Gas PLC on Friday said it has received "a number of non-binding proposals" from potential buyers.

The Russia-focused oil and gas exploration firm kicked off a formal sales prices back in April.

"The company is pleased to report that it received a number of non-binding proposals regarding the sale of the company or its entire business and assets," Volga said.

"The board is now engaged in ongoing discussions with certain of these parties about the sale of the company (or its entire business and assets) and aims to conclude negotiations on or before September 30."

Volga warned that there can be "no certainty" that an offer will be made.

Shares in the company shot up 15% at 25.80 pence each in London on Friday morning, giving it a market capitalisation of about GBP20.9 million.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
As the Costa's hotels start reopening, the latest report from Turismo Costa del Sol shows that for the week 9 to 15 June, flight bookings to Malaga increased by 62 per cent compared to the previous week, coinciding with the government's announcement that the opening of the borders would be brought forward to 21 June.

The majority of these bookings were made by people from France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Belgium, with the United Kingdom lagging behind due to uncertainty over a quarantine on their return.

However, demand from the UK increased by 42 per cent in the following week with the UK government expected to relax its policy from next Monday, 29 June.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - People in the deserts of Arizona flee to the White Mountains when the triple-digit heat is too much to bear, cooling off in the forest a few hours away. That worries a Native American tribe that calls the area home, as coronavirus infections and temperatures have both spiked in one of the hardest-hit states.

The White Mountain Apache Tribe is taking some of the most drastic actions in Arizona to protect its 13,500 residents, more than one-eighth of whom have already tested positive for COVID-19. Its taking cues from severe measures imposed by other tribes nationwide, including the Navajo Nation, which has curtailed an outbreak that once made it a national hot spot.

Those living on the White Mountain Apache Tribes reservation in northeastern Arizona face the risk of fines and other penalties if they venture beyond their own yards this weekend. A two-week shelter-in-place order will follow. The tribes Fort Apache Reservation also is closed to the summertime visitors who flock to the area to fish, hike and camp among ponderosa pines.

The tribes confirmed infections and 20 deaths as of Friday make the reservation one of the hardest-hit places in a state thats recording over 3,000 cases a day and running short on hospital space.

COVID has just turned our world upside down, White Mountain Apache Chairwoman Gwendena Lee-Gatewood said.

The tribe also is ordering homeless people who test positive for the virus to quarantine at the tribes casino-hotel  now closed to visitors  and is banning the sale and use of alcohol for the rest of the year. Lee-Gatewood hopes it will help keep people safe if they get lax about social distancing and other measures when theyre drinking.

The tribes strict steps come as Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has declined to impose new restrictions on businesses like other states where confirmed cases are surging. Fellow Republican governors in Texas and Florida cracked down on bars Friday.

Ducey, who lifted a stay-at-home order in mid-May, has now paused further efforts to reopen the economy and allowed cities to require face coverings, without bowing to pressure for a statewide mandate.

Lee-Gatewood said the White Mountain Apache Tribe took that into consideration, along with the typical summer crowds, when deciding how to target the pandemic on its land.

Were seeing these visitors not paying attention to social distancing and wearing masks, and the governor had a real relaxed attitude about all of that in reopening the businesses back up, she said.

Elsewhere in Arizona, officials on the Havasupai reservation deep in a gorge off the Grand Canyon warned river rafters they would be detained if they stepped foot on land the tribe traditionally uses but isnt part of its formal reservation. Known worldwide for its towering blue-green waterfalls, the reservation has been shut down for months and has no reported COVID-19 cases.

We are left to take aggressive action to maintain the safety of our tribal members and the future of the Havasupai Tribe, Chairwoman Evangeline Kissoon wrote in a notice to river guides.

After talking with Grand Canyon National Park, the tribe said it would station law enforcement at its boundary with the park, miles from the Colorado River shore.

The nearby Navajo Nation, the nations largest Native American reservation that spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, has attributed a slowdown in infections to a daily curfew its had in place for months, a shutdown of government offices and tourist sites, weekend lockdowns and a mask requirement.

On tribal land elsewhere, residents of the tiny Alaska Native village of Napaskiak are being advised to stay home until July 5, leaving only for medical needs or quick runs to the grocery store. A health care corporation that serves the village and dozens of other rural communities pointed to a strong likelihood of community spread.

In Montana, tribal leaders on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation said this week that they closed their boundary with popular Glacier National Park for the tourism season to protect their residents.

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota has kept up roadblocks since March despite criticism from the states governor. Tribal Chairman Harold Frazier said this week that the tribe took the step because it realized it had to protect its people.

All we have is ourselves, he said.

In Arizona, the White Mountain Apache Tribe said people can travel on a highway through its land, but they cant stop along the way. Tribal police also are considering checkpoints, and a COVID-19 testing blitz is planned.

Theres frustration, theres impatience, theres a lot of things, tribal Councilman Jerold Altaha said in a video. But remember, we are doing the best we can, we are doing everything we can to help you.

Theyre looking to prevent more people from dying, like Apache elder Timothy Clawson Sr., 91. He married his sweetheart under a tree on the reservation and spent his life in the White Mountains, working as a rancher and at a sawmill.

Lee-Gatewood, the tribal chairwoman, recalled their last conversation. Clawson called earlier this month and said, Well, chairwoman, Im at the hospital, and they told me I have this virus. They treated me, and the doctors said I wouldnt leave here, and Im calling to say my goodbyes.

Lee-Gatewood said Clawson told her that he was proud of her.

Youre a tough cowboy, she responded. Ill keep you in my prayers.

The next day, Lee-Gatewood got a text from Clawsons granddaughter: He had died.

___

Associated Press writers Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, and Matt Volz in Helena, Montana, contributed to this report.
Weve all known work martyrs. Theyre the ones who flaunt their ability to toil tirelessly. You can spot them by their catchphrases: Im working 'round the clock. Burned the midnight oil last night. Ive been at my desk since 4:00 this morning and didnt stop to eat breakfast or lunch.

Work martyrs may get ahead sometimes; its true. But in an age when everyone has good cause to be stressed out, they can also bring people down with their nonstop action and competitiveness. As a leader, you probably see the downfall of work martyrdom in your staffers, but what if the biggest work martyr at your company is the one in the mirror?

Related: Can We Finally Say Goodbye to the Work Martyr?

If youve spent the past several months eschewing work-life balance because of economic fears, you can be sure its having a negative effect on your crew. How can they feel comfortable taking time off, even when you say its OK, if youre always texting, emailing and available? Your direct reports will inevitably follow your lead, even if it heads into risky, stressed-out territory.

Instead of inadvertently sending mixed signals to your employees, resolve to start practicing what you preach about wellness, health and off-the-clock time. You can temper your penchant for going gangbusters 24/7 by taking these four steps.

1. Include yourself in companywide wellness mandates

It makes sense to set up wellness directives and expectations during quarantine for workers who are struggling with their changing worlds. Just dont forget that youre a worker, too. Jeff Bettinger, Nu Skin's chief employee experience officer, notes in a post to the company's blog, As leaders we need to prioritize self-care because individuals are looking to you as the example of personal and professional life balance. At Nu Skin, we recently mandated our employees an extra day off dedicated to wellness. We need to continue to remove the stigma from mental health issues.

If youre having trouble sticking to a more balanced lifestyle, consider talking about those difficulties with your team. Admit that its hard for you to fully unplug. Your openness could help take the stigma away from other personnel struggling with the same frustrations. Nothing brings people together like common problems. Plus, you might be able to hold one another accountable for adding much-needed downtime to your calendars.

Related: Startup Founders Can't Afford to Ignore Mental Health

2. Experiment with shorter workweeks

What if people still arent blocking off hours and engaging in non-work activities on a daily basis, even with you as their role model? Perhaps instituting a workweek that includes shorter hours of operation can get you all on board. Economist Rutger Bregman recently talked about his support of a four-day workweek with Business Insider. He added that the notion wasnt new, as "all the major economists, philosophers, sociologists, they all believed, up until the 1970s, that we would be working less and less. Unfortunately, many leaders still cling to the theory that more isnt less; its more.

Actually, shortening the workweek may increase your teams overall productivity, not take a bite out of it. Why? Essentially, no one will fret about what she's not accomplishing personally, like housework and childcare. People tend to prioritize more thoughtfully when time is limited. As you test a shorter workweek, ask for feedback, and submit your own. When you feel yourself starting to overwork, pull away. The only way to know whether a shorter workweek can reduce everyones anxiety is to be part of the potential solution.

Related: How to Keep Your Team Motivated in the Midst of Uncertainty

3. Go forward steadily, not at a breakneck speed

With news breaking constantly on multiple intense topics, you might feel like your head is spinning. At those moments, pay extra attention to how fast youre making decisions. Are you going for knee-jerk reactions? Do you keep wishing you'd been less impulsive? While its fine to sprint and pivot, you dont want to move so quickly that you make avoidable mistakes.

A Harvard Business Review study showed that steady progress and problem-solving was key to higher profitability over the long term. In fact, companies that took more pragmatic approaches to change-making saw their sales figures increase 40 percent. Thats reason enough to remind yourself to take a deep breath when youre surrounded by what feels like chaos.

4. Engage in stress-reducing endeavors with your people

Even before recent economic and social unrest, four-fifths of workers reported experiencing high levels of stress, costing American businesses billions annually. Those rates have only risen since the start of sheltering in place and remote work.

Set aside more time than you might normally do for fun or rewarding activities. For instance, bring in an expert  in person or via video conferencing  who can teach an interesting activity, like cooking a certain dish or learning an at-home exercise routine. Be present, and participate in every event. Your visibility will indicate that the activity is relevant and supported by upper management, which will take away worries that its just a frivolous attempt at reducing everyones anxiety.

Related: The Surprising High-Performance Habit That Entrepreneurs Can Use to Survive (and Thrive) During Any Crisis

If you feel like youre in the spotlight more than ever, youre right. Employees look for guidance in times of uncertainty. Strip off the work martyr costume, and just be yourself. When your workers see you taking your own health and wellness into consideration, theyll feel free to do likewise. And thats bound to improve engagement while boosting your workforces imagination, efficiency and performance.

Related:



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CHANDIGARH

The ascent of Vini Mahajan, a 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, to the top bureaucratic position in Punjab is a story of many firsts.

One, Mahajan is the first woman chief secretary of the state.

Two, she is the wife of Punjab Police chief Dinkar Gupta. This is the first time a couple is holding the top administrative and police posts in the state, and perhaps the first time this has happened anywhere in the country. Gupta, a 1987-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was appointed as head of the state police in February last year. He was empanelled by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) last month for the post of director general or DG equivalent at the Centre.

Three, this is the first time the chief secretaries of both Punjab and Haryana are women. In Haryana, 1983 batch IAS officer Keshni Anand Arora currently holds the top bureaucratic position. Anand Arora isnt the states first woman chief secretary, though; that distinction goes to her elder sister Meenakshi Anand Chaudhary who was appointed chief secretary in 2005. Their sister, Urvashi Gulati, also served as the states chief secretary from October 2009 to March 2012.

Four, in 1995, Mahajan was the first woman IAS officer to be posted as deputy commissioner (DC) in Punjab.An economics graduate from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi, Mahajan also has a post graduate diploma in business administration from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta, where she was placed on the roll of honour and later also received the Distinguished Alumnus Award. She served in Manmohan Singhs Prime Ministers Office (PMO) from 2005 to 2012, handling matters relating to finance, industry, commerce, telecom and IT. Her father, BB Mahajan, was also an IAS officer of the Punjab cadre.

Mahajan has been appointed as the chief secretary, superseding five IAS officers senior to her. They are: KBS Sidhu (1984 batch), Arun Goel, C Roul, Kalpana Baruah Mittal and Satish Chandra (all four from the 1985 batch).

Sidhu, the senior-most bureaucrat in Punjab, is due to retire in July 2021. Both Goel and Roul are currently on deputation to the Centre and Mittal is additional chief secretary, cooperation, in the state government. Chandra, who has three months left for retirement, is additional chief secretary, home.

Before being appointed as chief secretary, Mahajan was additional chief secretary, investment promotion, industries and commerce, information technology, governance reforms and public grievances. She served as the chairman of the celebrations committee for the 550th anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev in 2019. She succeeds Karan Avtar Singh who is due to retire on August 31, and who has been posted as special chief secretary governance reforms and public grievances.

People familiar with the matter said Singhs exit was largely because of differences with senior ministers in the state, including finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal.

Mahajan will have more than four years as the chief secretary if she continues in the office till her superannuation in October 2024.
The trend of migrants returning by special trains from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal -states with high migrant population - is encouraging, railway board chairman said on Friday, adding that it is a sign of economic activity picking up.

Special trains returning from high migrant population states have shown over 100% occupancy from June 26 till June 30, according to railway ministry data, indicating that may be migrants who had gone back to their home states on Shramik Specials during the lockdown are returning as lockdown restrictions have eased.

Most special trains from states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bangalore are running on 100% occupancy over the next four days, the data showed.

It is very encouraging to note that some of the trains which are moving in the reverse direction -- trains from UP to Mumbai, Bihar to Mumbai or UP to Gujarat or West Bengal to Gujarat are showing increase in occupancy day by day. This is an indicator that the economic situation is picking up. We are talking to state governments and in the coming week we will announce new special trains based on occupancy, railway board chairman VK Yadav said during a press conference.

At present, railways is running 15 pairs of premium Rajdhani trains connecting Delhi with different parts of the country and 100 pairs of long-distance trains, which began on June 1. Yadav said that the migrant workers who are returning to the cities are doing so in the regular trains that are being run by the Railways since June 1.

Railways till now has transported nearly 62.8 lakh migrants on board more than 4,594 Shramik Special trains that began plying from May 1 to ferry stranded migrants to their home states.

UP and Bihar that accounted for nearly 75% of trains ferrying migrants back received 1,723 and 1,680 Shramik trains respectively while West Bengal accounted for 282 trains.

According to ministrys data, some special trains from UP including Avadh Express from Gorakhpur to Bandra have an occupancy rate of 121.60% over the next four days till June 30, Kushinagar Express from Gorakhpur to Mumbai has an occupancy rate of 107.8% and the Gorakhpur-Ahmedabad special has an occupancy of 121%.

Similarly special trains from Bihar including Muzaffarpur to Ahmedabad have an occupancy rate of more than 127.8%, Muzaffarpur-Bandra terminal 115% and Danapur to an occupancy of 121%. Most trains from Bihar are scheduled to terminate at Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad with heavy occupancy bookings.

From West Bengal, which accounted for 282 Shramik Trains thus far, includes special scheduled trains from Howrah to Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, Secunderabad running on full occupancy.

The Centre has extended the suspension of Passenger trains, including express and suburban services from June 30 till August 12. On suspension of regular trains, the railway board chairman said it was not possible to resume regular trains services given the current situation with Covid-19; however, more special trains will be added as per demand from select routes in the near future, he added.

According to the ministry, out of the 230 special trains in service as of now, 43 trains had 75-100 % occupancy at present, while 27 trains had 50-75 % occupancy and 78 trains are running on 100% occupancy.
President Donald Trump slammed former vice president Joe Biden Thursday for saying the death tally from the coronavirus in the US had reached 120 million people.

Biden, 77, who has a track record of making gaffes, misspoke about the tally during a campaign stop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He managed to catch himself when he flubbed the tally, which is more than 124,000 deaths.

However, the salvo didn't make pooled video footage of the error, which Trump, his rival in the 2020 presidential election, seized upon to criticize his opponent.

Trump is cratering in polls and behind in every swing state which he won in 2016 in two polls in the last two days, one from Fox News and the other from the New York Times.

Trump unleashed his criticism of Biden in a tweet, saying: 'If I ever said something so mortifyingly stupid, the Fake News Media would come down on me with a vengeance.'

Former vice president Joe Biden flubbed when he spoke of the death tally from the coronavirus in the US on Thursday, saying that 120 million people have died from COVID-19. He is pictured during a campaign stop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he misspoke

Biden managed to catch himself when he flubbed the tally, which is more than 124,000 deaths. However, President Donald Trump didn't miss the mistake as an opportunity to criticize his rival. Trump is pictured arriving at the White House Thursday

Trump unleashed his criticism of Biden in a tweet where he claimed, 'If I ever said something so mortifyingly stupid, the Fake News Media would come down on me with a vengeance'

'This is beyond a normal mistake,' Trump added. 'Why isn't the media reporting it?'

He used a video from ABC News to show the gaffe, suggesting that the media was reporting it.

Trump also during an appearance on Fox News told host Sean Hannity that the mistake was 'not a permissible type of error.' He mentioned that 'this is serious business,' and repeatedly said that Biden's flub was 'not a mistake.'

'That's not like an error, 'Gee, it's a slip up,' Trump told Hannity. 'That's a serious error.'

'That's not a permissible type of error, because there's something going on,' Trump added, referring to the ongoing pandemic and its continuing death toll.

'You know, it's wonderful to say, 'Gee I feel sorry,' or 'It's too bad,' because I do,' Trump explained. 'Except we're talking about the presidency of the United States, and it's just not acceptable.'

Trump also added that 'it's so crazy what's happening.'

'Here's a guy who doesn't talk. Nobody hears him. Whenever he does talk - he can't put two sentences together. I don't want to be nice or un-nice. I mean, the man can't speak.'

Trump also during an appearance on Fox News told host Sean Hannity that the mistake was 'not a permissible type of error.' He mentions that 'this is serious business,' and repeatedly says that Biden's flub was 'not a mistake'

Biden made the campaign stop to discuss his proposals on healthcare going into the presidential contest as the presumptive Democratic candidate against Trump, the Republican incumbent.

It was one of Biden's first events since returning to the campaign trail after being in lockdown during the pandemic.

During the stop, he called for protecting the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which Trump has worked on dismantling. He also criticized Trump's response to testing for the coronavirus.

Trump's campaign also took the opportunity to criticize Biden for Thursday's flub.

Trump's campaign also took the opportunity to criticize Biden for Thursday's flub

The Trump War Room, as the campaign identifies on Twitter, tweeted that biden 'is very confused.'

'He just falsely claimed 120 million Americans (more than one-third of the country) died from the coronavirus,' the tweet continued.

The campaign's tweet also recalled when Biden left viewers of a Democratic debate confused in February when he said 150 million Americans had died from gun violence since 2007. The actual number as around 373,663.

Biden had hugely exaggerated the deaths from firearms in the US since the law was passed giving gun manufacturers immunity from liability for gun violence.

'Imagine if I stood here and said we give immunity to drug companies, we give immunity to tobacco companies. That has caused carnage on our streets,' Biden said during the Democratic debate in South Carolina on February 25.

'150 million people have been killed since 2007 when Bernie voted to exempt the gun manufacturers from liability, more than all the wars, including Vietnam from that point on,' he said, including a reference to former rival and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who at the time also was running for president.

Trump's campaign in a tweet recalled when Biden left viewers of a Democratic debate confused in February when he said 150 million Americans had died from gun violence since 2007. The actual number as around 373,663

Biden's blunder came as he sought to take aim at Sanders, who was the party front-runner during the debate, over his past support of a law that protected gun manufacturers from being held responsible for gun-related deaths.

Back in 2005, Sanders voted to approve the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act - something Biden himself voted against. Biden slammed his biggest rival then, saying the law 'has caused carnage on our streets'.

Sanders was forced to defend himself, admitting that he made a 'bad vote' on that occasion. He said: 'I have cast thousands of votes, including bad votes. That was a bad vote.'

Biden's jibe was overshadowed by his gross miscalculation of the number of gun deaths across the US - which actually stood at 373,663 between 2007 and 2017 according to the Center for American Progress

However, Biden's jibe was overshadowed by his gross miscalculation of the number of gun deaths across the US.

According to the Center for American Progress, the number of firearm deaths - both violent and accidental deaths - in the US between 2007 to 2017 was 373,663, a mere fraction of the 150 million Biden stated.

The presidential candidate's blunder attracted numerous comments online from people who were shocked by the mistake, as did his latest gaffe about COVID-19 deaths.

'What is going on with Joe Biden?' wrote author and Republican National Committee spokesman Steve Guest on Twitter, in response to the mistake.

Trump's aides see highlighting Biden's long record of gaffes as a campaign tactic, although the Democratic presumptive candidate has laughed it off himself, saying he is known for saying 'too much.'
LOS ANGELES, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Los Angeles-based private investment firm Skyview Capital (www.skyviewcapital.com) announced that three industry-respected veterans will be joining its senior operations leadership team. The expansion solidifies Skyview's ongoing commitment for continued growth and success.



Joining Skyview Capital's team is Manel Sweetmore as Senior Vice President of Portfolio Operations. Bringing with him over 25 years of diversified operational experience leading private equity and venture backed companies, Sweetmore will be analyzing prospective investment opportunities, supporting equity transactions, and overseeing the management teams of current investments to drive value in the Skyview portfolio companies.



Ross Ely is joining Skyview as Senior Vice President, Portfolio Operations  where he will be responsible for transitioning and overseeing Skyview's portfolio companies. Ely has over 30 years of experience managing private equity-backed portfolio companies, including six years as CEO of portfolio companies owned by Marlin Equity Partners. Ely also held prior leadership positions at Micron Computers as Executive VP of Sales and Marketing and at Apple as Director of Product Marketing for hardware and software products.



Brian Dean also joins Skyview as Senior Vice President, Portfolio Operations. Dean will provide executive oversight and management of portfolio companies in the food and beverage vertical for Skyview. Dean, a graduate of the Chase Manhattan Bank training program turned to the food industry where he was an executive at Best Foods and Sara Lee before turning to private equity. His positions ranged from EVP of Sara Lee Bakery to CMO of Birds Eye Foods to CEO of Ecce Panis, an artisan bread company he ran and sold for J.P. Morgan Partners.



"We're at a critical moment in our growth path and are thrilled to have these three talented and highly experienced professionals join Skyview's senior operations team. As we face this global pandemic and economic crisis, we are confident the growth to our team will drive success within our current portfolio companies and capitalize on the market opportunities ahead," said Alex R. Soltani, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Skyview Capital, LLC.



About Skyview Capital, LLC

Skyview Capital is a global private investment firm headquartered In Los Angeles specializing in the acquisition and management of mission critical enterprises in the areas of technology, telecommunications, business services and manufacturing. By leveraging its deep operational resources and financial acumen, Skyview systematically enhances the long-term sustainable value of the businesses it acquires. To date, Skyview has successfully completed over 25 transactions whereby it has acted as a partner to corporations and other stakeholders experiencing a strategic transition or liquidity event. Visit www.skyviewcapital.com

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE Skyview Capital

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The month of June turned out to be the costliest month of the year so far. June has witnessed a spike in COVID-19 positive cases as well as hike in price of gold, which crossed Rs 50,000 per 10 gram. While people were still taking in this shock, they started getting another shock of overly charged bill from electricity providing company, Adani.

In June, commoners, as well as celebrities, received an electricity bill which is much higher than their usual bill amount. Ever since people received June 2020 bill from Adani Electricity, they started reacting over the same on social media. Following the trend on social media, Jr NTR's co-star from Dammu, Karthika Nair has expressed her disappointment over Adani Electricity of Mumbai for charging hefty electricity bills to the city residents, and says it is unfair.

Karthika Nair received bill close to Rs 1 lakh for the month of June and notably, there was no meter reading. The officials prepared these June bills based on their 'estimates'. Karthika Nair took to Twitter and wrote, "So what kind of scam is @Adani_Elec_Mum conducting in mumbai? June electricity bill close to 1lakh... (based on their "estimates" since they could not do meter reading during lockdown) hearing lots of similar complaints from Mumbaikars. @AdaniOnline @CMOMaharashtra."

So what kind of scam is @Adani_Elec_Mum conducting in mumbai? June electricity bill close to 1lakh... (based on their "estimates" since they could not do meter reading during lockdown) hearing lots of similar complaints from Mumbaikars.

@AdaniOnline @CMOMaharashtra  Karthika Nair (@KarthikaNair9) June 25, 2020

She also cracked a joke on herself, when someone asked if she was in a hotel. She wrote, "Lol, wish this was my hotel bill but this is my house bill." Replying to the tweet of Karthika Nair, Adani Electricity wrote, "We have responded to your concern over DM."

Also Read : Baahubali TV Adaptation 'Aarambh' Promo Out! Check Out Karthika Nair & Tanuja's First Looks...

On a related note, Karthika Nair will next be seen in Tamil film Vaa Deal opposite Arun Vijay. The film will be released on OTT platform.

Also Read : I Am Not Here To Make Money: Karthika
A gunman who opened fire at a Bunn-O-Matic warehouse in Illinois has been found dead, hours after fatally shooting two co-workers and critically injuring another.

Springfield Police identified Michael L. Collins, 48, as the shooter on Friday after he was found dead from a gunshot wound in his car.

Authorities were called to the facility on 1400 Stevenson Drive after receiving reports of a shooting just after 11am.

Police Chief Kenny Winslow said the bodies of two male employees, who worked with Collins, were found after officers searched the building.

One female worker was found injured in the parking lot and was rushed to a hospital, he said.

The names of the victims were not released however, Winslow said one of the men who died was in his 60s, one was in his 20s and the woman who was injured is in her 50s.

Michael L. Collins, 48, has been identified as the gunman who opened fire at a warehouse in Illinois and killed two people. He was found dead from a gunshot wound in his car

Law enforcement enter the C1 building to the west of the Bunn-O-Matic warehouse during an active shooter situation in Springfield, Illinois on Friday

Authorities confirmed at least one person was shot inside the factory but the victim's condition is unknown

Police officers and a SWAT team are searching for potential victims and a suspect after the building was evacuated

Winslow refused to discuss a possible motive but he said Collins knew all of his victims.

He said he could not say for sure if Collins took his own life and does not know if Collins had a criminal record.

Police and SWAT team members set out on a hunt for the gunman earlier after the building was evacuated.

Members of the fire department responded to the scene wearing bulletproof bests

Buses were called to the scene to take employees away

The Springfield State Journal-Register reported that buses were called to the scene to take employees away.

Photos from the scene show a heavy law enforcement presence, including members of the fire department wearing bulletproof vests.

Springfield Police Department closed the street to vehicle and pedestrian traffic and urged residents to avoid the area.

The major east-west-thoroughfare is located on the city's south edge in an area that is littered with office buildings, retail businesses, restaurants ad auto shops.

A long-established residential area lies to the south of the warehouse.

Bunn-O-Matic manufactures dispensed beverage equipment, and is headquartered in Springfield, according to the company's website.

This is a developing story. More to come.
When it comes to bailing out firms affected by Covid-19, Rishi Sunak is no pushover.

As someone who spent much of his pre-Commons career in private equity, the Chancellor has a good grip on likely survival candidates, and will be keen to make sure all private sector options have been exhausted.

There was reluctance in Whitehall to come to the rescue of Virgin Atlantic because there were other routes.

Strategically important: Tata is seeking a state bailout to keep the furnaces burning at the Port Talbot steel works

But the case for saving Tata Steel's operations in Port Talbot, and 8,000 jobs, is overwhelming.

Steel is a strategic industry, essential to the national defence, which is why it has been in and out of public ownership down the decades.

It is a vital part of the supply chain for motor manufacturing, construction and infrastructure during a period of national renewal.

It will be hard to quibble if Sunak goes ahead with a 500million cash infusion in exchange for debt which may eventually turn into equity.

In March, when eyes were diverted by an incipient pandemic, British Steel at Scunthorpe was rescued from liquidation by China's Jingye Group.

For similar strategic reasons there was a case for the Government, rather than a Beijing entity, to be saviour of the last resort.

What has been missing in the debate about the Tata Steel bailout is any sense that the company's ultimate controlling investors at India's Tata Group are taking any responsibility for a struggling enterprise in a health emergency.

Tata is among India's most impressive businesses with revenues of $113billion (91billion) in the 2018-19 financial year, employing 720,000 worldwide, and is the sub-Continent's fourth largest company, with a market capitalisation of 16billion.

Its ownership structure is complex because many of the enterprises displaying the core Tata brand have separate stock market listings and autonomy.

Nevertheless, if it was deemed correct that Richard Branson should be first in line to keep Virgin Atlantic in the skies, then it is also right to ask questions as to what role Tata Group and its ultimate owners, charitable foundations established by Ratan Tata and his family, might want to play in keeping Port Talbot functioning.

Sunak and Whitehall officials need satisfactory answers before committing taxpayer funds.

Battle Royal

Another former state enterprise in difficulty is the Royal Mail. When it was privatised in 2013, investors fell over each other to buy the shares, and there was an inquiry into why it was sold so cheaply.

Seven wasted years on, there is a never-ending battle with the unions. The overpaid former CEO Rico Back chose to step down in the midst of the virus peril from the comfort of his Swiss family home.

And Royal Mail is still struggling to come to terms with the opportunity of a first-class UK parcels service, in spite of the surge in digital shopping and ownership of Europe's most successful parcel outfits GLS.

Into this vacuum has stepped former BA boss Keith Williams, who knows about challenging union power.

As interim executive chairman, he is going for the low-hanging fruit by axing 2,000 management staff and the 2020 dividend.

Potentially this will send a message that everyone is in crisis together. Posties, some of whom lost lives in the pandemic, might not see it that way. Williams' other cash conserving move is to slash capital expenditure by 300million.

That sounds fine, but maybe that money might have been better invested in speeding up modernisation of the parcels service, which is critical to future-proofing the enterprise.

It should come as no surprise to anyone at Royal Mail that 'snail mail' has seen huge declines exaggerated by Covid-19 in the last couple of months.

But that is no excuse for any attempt to tear up the Universal Service Obligation. Postal services, like sanitation and the utilities, are a crucial element of the social contract.

Card trick

We have become so used to Germany as a pandemic pin-up that it is easy to forget Rhineland-Westphalia capitalism has shortcomings.

The collapse of Wirecard into insolvency is an embarrassment on an Enron scale.

Valued at 18billion at its peak (more than Deutsche Bank!), it is now worthless and becomes the first ever member of the DAX to collapse.

Its demise, and potential impact on Wirecard's UK arm and the whole Fintech sector, will require some quick thinking by the Financial Conduct Authority. Something that is not its strong point.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Most special trains from migrant rich states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal towards cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bangalore are scheduled to run on 100 per cent occupancy over the next four days, the Railways said Friday, adding that it was a sign of economic revival.

These three states together accounted for 81 percent of the 4,594 Sharmik Special trains that have been operated so far since May 1.

In an online briefing on Friday, Railway Board Chairperson VK Yadav said the migrant workers who are returning to the cities are doing so in the regular trains that are being run by the Railways since June 1.

The railways is running 100 pairs of mail/express trains from June 1 and 15 pairs of air-conditioned trains on the Rajdhani routes.

"It is very encouraging to note that some of the trains which are moving in reverse direction -- trains from UP to Mumbai, Bihar to Mumbai or UP to Gujarat or West Bengal to Gujarat showing increase in occupancy day by day. This is an indicator that the economic situation is picking up. We are talking to state governments and in the coming week we will announce new special trains based on occupancy," said Yadav.

Most trains originating in Bihar and going towards Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad have high occupancy, according to data provided by railways.

Among the trains from Bihar, the Muzaffarpur-Bandra terminal special has an occupancy of 115 percent in the next four days, the Danapur-Secunderabad special has an occupancy of 121 per cent and the Muzzafarpur-Ahmedabad special train of 127 per cent.

Bihar was the destination state for 37 per cent of the total Shramik Special trains run so far, second only to UP which accounted for 38 per cent of these trains.

Similarly, Uttar Pradesh which has received 1,723 Shramik Special trains so far is also seeing migrant workers returning to their workplaces.

Trains like the Kushinagar Express from Gorakhpur to Mumbai has an occupancy rate of more than 100 per cent till June 30, the Avadh special train from Gorakhpur to Bandra terminal has an occupancy of 121 per cent and the Gorakhpur-Ahmedabad special has an occupancy of 121 per cent, again indicating that migration back to workplaces is underway.

West Bengal, another state with a high number of migrant workers, which has so far received 6 per cent or just 282 Shramik special trains so far, is also seeing people moving back to the workplace in other states.

Trains from Howrah to Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, Secunderabad are all running on full occupancy, according to the data.

Lakhs of workers had left cities, many on foot, during the lockdown which was enforced from March 25 to fight the coronavirus crisis.

Many died on the way, and those who survived were left jobless and without any resources to return home.

It was on May 1 that the government allowed the Railways to run the Shramik Special trains which are still in service.

So far, the Railways has ferried more than 62 lakh migrant workers home.

As of June 26, Yadav said out of the 230 special trains in service 43 trains had 75-100 per cent occupancy, 27 trains had 50-75 percent occupancy and 78 trains had occupancy of 100 per cent of more.
Andhra Pradeshs Covid-19 curve continued to rise steeply as the state recorded 605 new coronavirus cases on Friday, its biggest single-day tally so far, taking the state past the 11,000 mark.

With 10 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours, the death toll in the Telugu state climbed to 146. Andhra Pradeshs total coronavirus tally currently stands at 11,489.

Andhras Kadapa district registered 133 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the largest single-day spike in any district.

ALSO READ | Over 17,000 new Covid-19 cases take Indias infection tally beyond 4.9 lakh; death toll at 15,301

Kurnool and Krishna districts reported four new deaths each and Guntur and Visakhapatnam one each, according to the latest health bulletin by the state government.

An MLA of the ruling YSR Congress contracted the coronavirus infection in Kurnool district and has been sent on home quarantine. He is the second legislator in the state to have been infected with the virus, after a lawmaker tested positive in Vizianagaram district.

In the last 24 hours, 191 coronavirus patients have recovered in the state and have been discharged from hospitals.

ALSO READ | Andhra Pradesh becomes 10th state with more than 10,000 cases, over 66,000 patients in Delhi: Covid-19 state tally

The 11,489 Covid-19 cases include 9,353 local people, 1,764 who have come from other states and 372 people who have arrived in Andhra Pradesh from abroad.

The state now has 6,145 active Covid-19 cases after 5,196 patients have been discharged till date.

Indias Covid-19 tally surged to 490,401 after 17,296 fresh cases of the coronavirus disease , the highest in a single day, were reported from across the country, according to the Union health ministry on Friday.

There are 189,463 active Covid-19 cases in the country and the death toll mounted to 15,301 as 407 people succumbed to the illness between Thursday and Friday morning, the health ministry data indicated.

During the last 24 hours, 13,940 Covid-19 patients have been cured. So far, 285,636 patients have been discharged from hospitals, taking the recovery rate to 58.24%.
Five beaches on the southside of Dublin have had swimming restrictions put in place until Sunday.

The Forty Foot, Seapoint, White Rock, Sandycove and Killiney may have become polluted after heavy rain.

Also, the water quality may also have been affected at Velvet Strand in Portmarnock.

Paul Wynne from the Half Moon Swimming Club said warnings are being issued constantly.

Mr Wynne said: "A lot of people are using the facilities around the bay, probably more now than ever before and with constant water warnings people will become more cautious of getting into the water."

Mr Wynne, who swam at Seapoint yesterday, said he did not know about the restrictions until today.

He said: "I was out there yesterday, I didn't realise there was a warning and certainly there were no notices to that effect. The lifeguards were on duty and they weren't preventing people from swimming.

"It was news to me this morning that there was a notice enforced, it wasn't in the newspapers but it was listed on beaches.ie, and even there, it's not that it's a hard find but you've got to scroll down through all the beaches, they are not listed alphabetically."
Playa del Carmen man sentenced to fine, community service in strangulation death of neighbors dog

Playa del Carmen, Q.R.  A Playa del Carmen man who killed a dog by strangulation earlier this week has been sentenced to community service and a city fine. The light judgement was handed down by the Municipal Animal Welfare Center (Cebiam) after he was found guilty of killing the animal, but the dog owner refused to press charges.

The owner of the now deceased German Shepherd told authorities that he did not want to create problems with his neighbor, and thus, did not file an official complaint regarding the death of his dog. For this reason, Omar H.L., the man who killed the dog, was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and given a city sanction of an undisclosed amount.

The incident occurred last Sunday when a neighbor caught the loose dog and tied it. He posted a photo of the dog on social media in an attempt to locate its owner, however, he also claimed that the dog tried to attack his own pet and that he would kill it if the owner did not claim the dog.

Aside from a fine and community service, Cebiam has also ordered Omar H.L. to undergo psychological therapy for his aggressive behavior.
Scancom Plc. (MTN Ghana) would like to inform its stakeholders that the company was formally notified on June 9th, 2020 of the National Communications Authoritys (NCA) decision to declare MTN as a Dominant/Significant Market Power (SMP). This essentially means that special regulatory restrictions would be enforced to potentially limit the companys growth, performance, innovativeness and its competitiveness in the telecoms market.

MTN Ghana acknowledges the NCAs duty and powers to promote fair competition amongst licensed operators in Ghanas telecommunications sector within the relevant laws of Ghana and acceptable global industry best practices. Regretfully, the manner of the recent declaration of MTN as a Dominant/SMP raises concerns about clear procedural breaches and substantive issues.

Following the NCAs declaration, MTN Ghana refrained from publicly commenting on the matter and engaged in dialogue with the regulatory authority and other stakeholders to share our views on the matter.

While these engagements have been largely encouraging, the NCA continues with implementation of the specified interventions. As such, MTN Ghana has after much consultation, and as a last resort, made the difficult decision to resort to the Law Courts for redress in the form of a judicial review of NCAs decision, to ensure the observance of the requirements of procedural fairness.

MTN has over the years shown confidence in the Ghana telecommunications sector, by the continued investment in hitherto undervalued ventures (e.g., rural telephony, broadband services, 4G technology, new innovations, mobile money etc.) to support the development of the industry and to deliver on our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of modern connected life.

We have indeed collaborated with the Government over the period to invest in priority projects that have all contributed to our current position in the market. The high proliferation of choice in the Ghanaian telecoms market aided by Mobile Number Portability, Network interoperability, very affordable SIMs and accompanying multiple SIM handsets are all indicators of a free and competitive market.

MTN Ghana would like to reiterate that it is not opposed to steps by the Regulator to enhance further the highly competitive Ghana telecoms industry and is indeed prepared to support the Regulator to that end. However, we believe that the regulatory authority must follow the applicable legislations and global industry best practices. As a responsible and ethical leader, MTN is neither aware of any industry economics/market study to establish market failure nor has MTN taken any steps or engaged in anti-competitive behavior. We remain open to dialogue to achieve an amicable resolution to this matter.

MTN Ghana would like to reassure Government and its cherished shareholders and customers that our commitment to the delivery of a bold new digital world in Ghana continues to be paramount and that the company remains focused on providing the enabling technology to support Ghanas digital economy particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

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.
The National Weather Service in Detroit/Pontiac has issued a "hazardous weather outlook" regarding potential severe weather today across Midland County.

There is a slight risk for severe thunderstorms today across Midland County. Severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds of 60 to 65 miles per hour will be the primary threats, with isolated hail up to one inch and a tornado or two also possible. The primary timeframe for severe storms will be between 5 p.m. and 2 a.m. The greatest severe threat will be an organized line of strong to severe storms moving through southeast Michigan in the evening into the early overnight hours.

Families currently living in structurally-compromised homes due to flooding/dam failure and those using temporary shelter like tents, campers or vehicles need to seek appropriate severe weather shelter. Any families needing shelter to weather the storms are able to do so at the Midland County Educational Services Agency located at 3917 Jefferson Ave. in Midland. Doors will open at 5 p.m. so residents can arrive prior to the storm.

Residents with cell phones should ensure emergency alerts are enabled to receive updated severe weather alerts and information. Residents are also strongly encouraged to sign up for text and email warnings and alerts from Midland County 911. To sign up for these alerts, visit www.nixle.com.

In the event a tornado warning is issued for Midland County, warning sirens in and around the City of Midland will be activated. Upon receiving a tornado warning, please seek safe shelter immediately.

Hazardous Weather Outlook: https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=DTX&product=HWO

Forecast Graphic: https://www.weather.gov/dtx/weatherstory

-- Processed by Mitchell Kukulka, Mitchell.Kukulka@mdn.net
EasyJet has confirmed it will be relaunching more flights from Belfast from July 1 on both domestic and international routes.

The budget airline will operate 18 routes in July and 21 in August from Belfast to destinations across its European network.

On June 15 a small number of mostly domestic flights began operating from Belfast for the first time since the airline grounded its fleet at the end of March as a result of Covid-19.

Throughout July some international flights will also resume from Belfast on routes to a variety of city and beach destinations, including Spanish favourites Alicante, Malaga, Barcelona and the Balearics, as well as Portugal.

EasyJet plans to fly around 50% of its 1,022 routes in July, increasing to around 75% in August, although with a lower frequency of flights equating to around 30% of normal July to September capacity.
A man is wanted in connection with an aggravated assault, according to Laredo police.

Authorities identified the suspect as Rosendo Israel Gaona, 25.

The case unfolded at about 4:02 a.m. March 8, when officers responded to an assault report in the 3600 block of Chiapas Street. First officers on scene encountered a bloodied man inside a red Dodge Charger.

He stated he was at his girlfriends house when her ex-boyfriend, Gaona, arrived and began assaulting him, according to police. Officers noticed the male had a laceration to the back of the head and severe bruising to the facial area.

READ MORE: No bill returned by grand jury in shooting death of Laredo firefighter

Crimes against persons detectives took over the investigation. Detectives presented their findings to an assistant district attorney, who approved the issuance of an arrest warrant for aggravated assault for Gaona.

Gaona remains at large. He is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. His last known address is in the 3700 block of Unknown Hero Drive.

To report his whereabouts, call Laredo Crime Stoppers at 727-TIPS (8477). Callers will remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.
A six-year-old boy and a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper were killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Anantnag district on Friday, officials said.

In a separate operation in south Kashmirs Pulwama, security forces gunned down three militants  believed to be from the Hizbul Mujahideen  and recovered arms and ammunition from the encounter site.

A terrorist fired at a CRPF patrol team on a highway in south Kashmirs Anantnags Bijbehara area around 12:15pm, a police spokesperson said.

Zahid Daas, a terrorist of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Islamic State, was involved in the Bijbehara attack, Kashmir inspector general (IG) Vijay Kumar said later in the day. The police filed a first information report (FIR) against Daas.

... [the attack] caused injuries to a CRPF trooper and a minor boy. Both were shifted to nearby hospital where they succumbed to their injuries, a police spokesperson said.

The six-year-old boy who died in the incident was identified as Nehan Yawar, the son of Mohd Yaseen Bhat, a resident of neighbouring Kulgam district.

Senior police and army officers reached the spot and launched an operation in areas adjacent to the highway.

An innocent six-year-old boy is the latest victim of the violence in Kashmir...May Allah grant him Jannat & his family strength at this difficult time, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted.

In Pulwama districts Tral, forces launched an operation at Chewa Ullar on Thursday evening after receiving intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area.

Officials said the first terrorist was killed early on Friday morning and two more were shot dead as the operation progressed. The terrorists, believed to be locals, were hiding in a house, which was damaged in the gunfight.

IG Kumar said after the successful operation, there was no presence of the Hizbul, a local group, in the Tral area. It has happened for first time since 1989, he said.

The police said the terrorists were given an opportunity to surrender. However, they fired indiscriminately on the search party, which retaliated, triggering a gun battle.

The police said arms and ammunition including two AK-47 assault rifles, six AK magazines, five AK rounds, a pistol, a pistol magazine, and four pistol rounds were recovered from the site.

The bodies of the three militants were sent to Handwara for conducting the last rites after medico-legal formalities, including the collection of DNA.

Security forces have stepped up the offensive in Kashmir Valley and killed over 100 terrorists since the beginning of this year. Forty terrorists were killed in June alone, and most of them were killed in south Kashmir, which is considered the hotbed of militancy in the region.

Among the major successes of security forces this year was the killing of Riyaz Naikoo, a top commander of the Hizbul, in an operation in Beighpora last month.
The rethinking of place names in light of U.S. racial history has turned to Californias Alabama Hills, a distinctive high-desert formation named for a Confederate warship.

The Alabama Hills National Recreation Area lies east of the Sierra Nevada near the Owens Valley town of Lone Pine, about 175 miles north of Los Angeles.

The dramatic terrain of rounded rocks jumbled atop each other and set against the backdrop of states highest peaks has been the setting for hundreds of movie productions from westerns like How the West Was Won to war movies, sci-fi and more recently hits like Gladiator and Iron Man.

The hills were named by Southern sympathizers for the Confederate warship Alabama after it sank the Union gunboat USS Hatteras off Texas in 1863. The CSS Alabama was captained by Raphael Semmes; a statue in his honor was recently taken down by the city of Mobile.

Now, the nonprofit environmental group Friends of the Inyo wants to change that, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Everyone should feel welcome here because this amazing land belongs to everyone, executive director Wendy Schneider told the Times on Monday.

A change is opposed by Kevin Mazzu of the nonprofit Alabama Hills Stewardship Group.

Are we going to let people cut our nations history in half by getting rid of anything that was named because of the Confederacy? he said.

The rocky landscape off nearby U.S. 395 is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The BLM supports diversity and inclusion and is looking into this, said spokeswoman Serena Baker.

Other features of the Sierra are named Kearsarge after a Union warship that sank the Alabama in 1864.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  Global consumer goods company Unilever has once again partnered with popular online shopping platform Lazada for the Shop2Give Hope benefit sale.

Last July 1, Unilever's most famous brands such as Cream Silk, Dove, Closeup, Surf, Breeze, and Knorr were sold with up to 70% discount to help support UNICEF Philippines education-related programs for underprivileged Filipino youth affected by the current crisis.

Unilever Philippines Chairman and CEO Benjie Yap said the Shop2Give Hope sale was a timely event to reach out to communities affected by the pandemic.

Shop2Give Hope is a purpose-driven initiative built on our belief in the power of collective action and shared advocacy, Yap said. "Lazada and UNICEF have supported us for the past two runs and with this renewed partnership, we are focused on enabling alternative education."

Lazada Philippines CEO Ray Alimurung echoed Yaps sentiments as they mounted this sale for a cause.

Lazada is pleased to be part of this meaningful collaboration with Unilever and UNICEF for the third year," Alimurung said. "We believe in providing the tools and resources to help our youth remain resilient especially as we enter into a new normal."

Isy Faingold, chief of education of UNICEF Philippines, lauded Unilever and Lazada for choosing them as the beneficiary of the worthy cause.

The proceeds from this initiative will boost our efforts to ensure children continue their education by providing learning resources, and developing online platforms and strategies for those children and families without connectivity at home, said Faingold.

Five winners also took home Learn-from-Home packages after liking and sharing the Shop2Give Hope post from Lazadas Facebook page.

Each Learn-from-Home package consisted of a Lenovo laptop, a Sennheiser headset with mic, a study table, a Herman Miller ergonomic chair, and a years supply of Unilever products worth 100,000.

Some of the artists who joined the movement through a live stream on the Lazada Live platform were AC Bonifacio, Kobe Paras, Luis Manzano, Ylona Garcia, Julie Anne San Jose, Alex Gonzaga, and Heart Evangelista.

The live stream showcased special interviews and performances, including exclusive giveaways attached to the Shop2Give Hope sale.

Those who have joined the movement helped secure the future of young Filipinos.
When general manager John Tolbert needed funding for Portland restaurant PoShines Cafe De La Soul, he found himself up against a stark reality: Black business owners are denied requests for loans and capital far more often than white-owned businesses, with a US Federal Reserve study from 2012-17 showing Black-owned businesses are turned down for loans twice as often.

Were just pretty much overlooked, Tolbert said. I went through hell trying to make sure that we were established as a business when we didnt have funds.

Nate McCoy, executive director of the National Association of Minority Contractors Oregon, said the challenges faced are systemic and not unusual.

Policies, programs and procedures have isolated Black business owners, and were trying to break down all those barriers, McCoy said. Owners are trying to make up for a lot of lost time.

Hundreds of years of policies are at work against Black business owners when they look for capital support, said Shea Betin, economic development manager for Prosper Portland, an economic development agency that has programs and funds for businesses.

I think you have to go back for years to really look at all the different things that have happened in terms of asset reallocation and access for communities of color, Betin said. Its deeply tied to the nature and character of this country.

Betin cites redlining, a practice that includes banks denying loans to minorities. It was made illegal in 1968, but the effects have lasted.

Oregon House Rep. Janelle Bynum represents District 51 and is a Black-business owner, operating a few McDonalds restaurants. A root of the issue, she said, is would-be business owners having enough money or resources to access capital funds -- which requires collateral that those without generational wealth may not have.

Businesses are often denied loans and capital for reasons such as not having enough credit, collateral or cash flow  things new businesses struggle with, said Nita Shah, executive director of Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon, an organization that connects minority-owned small businesses with funds and provides technical help for growth.

Businesses that cant access money are likely to start small then not grow or withstand economic downturns.

Such obstacles were in play before the pandemic, but they tend to be more pronounced when there is an economic recession, McCoy said.

Minorities are the first and hardest hit and the last to receive any kind of benefit or relief, McCoy said.

Government programs like the Payroll Protections Program have provided a cushion to small and minority-owned businesses, but the PPP also delivered frustration. Tolbert, who is also president of the Black American Chamber of Commerce in Portland, said the funds were first given to larger businesses and non-minority businesses, first. Later, funding was set aside for minority businesses.

Oregon legislation this year aimed at encouraging lenders to support minority-owned businesses, but House Bill 4033 was killed after disagreements, Bynum said. It was one of the many bills that died after Republicans walked out of the session earlier this year.

For many business owners that have been denied bank loans, community organizations end up as one of the few resources to provide support. Groups such as MESO provide funds and education to small, minority-owned businesses. Prosper Portland also has Small Business Relief Fund loans and access to other funding.

Recent Black Lives Matter protests have forced the nation to once again confront abuse, discrimination and racism. While the support for Black-owned businesses has risen as a result, business experts believe more is still needed to bolster Black-owned businesses.

I think what we ideally love to see in any moment of cultural transformation is all of these factors being weighed not just towards equality, but towards true racial justice and equity, Betin said.

McCoy suggests racially diverse committees must address how to ensure Black-owned businesses have access to capital and are able to build their wealth.

Byrum said she is encouraging fellow state leaders to talk with banks about setting aside funds for Black-owned businesses,prompting them to use their social capital. If someone is in a position of power, she suggests they leverage that, along with money, to support minorities.

Tolbert is encouraged by the protests but worries actual change may not come.

If we dont write laws and put legislation in place, itll be a loss, Tolbert said.

McCoy said the success of Black-owned businesses is important for all of society, but a long road lies ahead.

If were going to have an economy that can really be what the United States of America professes to be, everybody has to benefit, McCoy said. And until we can lower the economic wage gap, we will never get there.

This story was corrected to say John Tolbert is the general manager of PoShines Cafe De La Soul.

--Alex Hardgrave | ahardgrave@oregonian.com | @a_hardgrave

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
The Trump family urged a judge to give them a temporary restraining order against their niece's tell-all book Friday because they want to avoid another situation like John Bolton's memoir.

Charles Harder, the lawyer for the family said they did not want a repeat of The Room Where It Happened by the president's former national security adviser.

In a legal filing, Harder said a judge ruled that Bolton had breached his White House non-disclosure agreement but so much of the book had already leaked out he could not gag him.

Harder requested a restraining order from a judge in Dutchess County, just north of New York, as soon as possible because Mary's book is due out on July 28th.

Harder noted that Bolton's book was published by Simon & Schuster, the same publishers who have the rights to Mary's book who have cast both as a fight for First Amendment rights.

The bid is brought by Robert Trump on his own behalf and that of Donald and their sister Maryanne Trump Barry.

President Donald Trump's niece Mary Trump is writing a tell-all book which promises to blow the lid off all the family's most closely guarded secrets. Mary was spotted as she ran errands on Long Island, New York

The Trump family lost their first attempt to gag the president's niece Mary Trump from writing a tell-all book about them and are now trying again in a different court. Pictured is Donald Trump alongside siblings Maryanne Trump and Robert Trump in 1990

Mary is the daughter of the president's brother Fred Jr. (pictured), who died in 1981 from alcoholism

In his filing Harder said: 'Plaintiff is seeking to avoid the situation presented in the recent case of United States v. Bolton where the court held that even though the government had established that Mr Bolton violated his contractual obligations in publishing his book, no injunction could issue because while the book had not yet been released, it had been distributed and numerous people had access to copies of the book.

'The temporary restraining order Plaintiff seeks will pause matters long enough for the Court to decide the issues raised by Plaintiff's motion.

'Without such an order, we are concerned that Simon & Schuster (which also published the Bolton book) will take steps to make it impossible to implement a preliminary injunction if one is granted, thereby vitiating Plaintiff's right to injunctive relief that Mary Trump agreed to in the 2001 Settlement Agreement.'

By the time the case of Bolton's book was brought before Judge Royce Lamberth in federal court in Washington D.C. extracts had already appeared in the Wall St Journal and the New York Times among others.

They revealed that the President offered to do favors for dictators and begged China to help him win the election in November.

The book has proved extremely embarrassing for the President and Bolton went on an extensive media tour to promote it.

So far no extracts of Mary's book have been made public at all, though the description on the listing says it will reveal a 'a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse'.

The fresh legal move by the Trumps came after they lost their first bid to block Mary Trump from publishing her account of life in the family, prompted by her and her brother Fred Trump III's bitter battle in 2000 over the president's father Frederick Trump's will.

A judge at the Queen's Surrogate's Court in New York ruled on Thursday that their application to stop Mary was 'fatally defective' and dismissed it.

Judge Peter J. Kelly said that his court was the wrong jurisdiction and that any attempt to block her book, titled Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man, has to be done through the Supreme Court instead.

The decision was another embarrassing blow to the Trumps after they had to refile their application because they didn't pay the $45 fee.

Judge Kelly said that the Trump family filing their motion in his court was 'improper' and 'outside the parameters' of the Surrogate's Court.

Instead it should go through the Supreme Court, which handles civil matters - which is what the Trumps did Friday.

The president and his siblings said in their new application what they had said earlier in the week - that they would suffer 'irreparable harm' if Mary's book is published.

The book's promotional blurb says that Mary, 55, a psychologist, describes a 'nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse'.

In their new application for a temporary restraining order on Mary and publishers Simon & Schuster, they say: 'No amount of monetary damages can ameliorate the loss that will be suffered if Mary Trump is allowed to violate the settlement agreement and publish.'

They argued that Mary agreed not to write a memoir back in 2001 under the terms of a settlement which resolved a bitter family dispute over the estate of family patriarch Fred Trump Sr.

The agreement said that due to Donald Trump being famous and his sister Maryanne being a federal judge at the time 'the family made the decision collectively to enter into an agreement that would maintain the confidentiality of the family's private matters'.

Mary's book  titled Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man  is scheduled to be released in July

The application sets up a First Amendment clash with Mary and Simon & Schuster.

Her lawyer Theodore Boutrous has said that the Trumps are 'pursuing this unlawful prior restraint because they do not want the public to know the truth.'

He said: 'The courts will not tolerate this brazen violation of the First Amendment.'

Simon & Schuster's attorneys also said they would fight the case on the First Amendment saying that the Trumps are trying to interfere with the freedom of the press.

The First Amendment 'unquestionably protects Mary Trump's right to participate in the electoral debate by writing and having her work concerning the President's character and fitness for office,' Simon & Schuster's attorneys argue.

No order 'restraining the publication of a book concerning the President of the United States in an election year should be issued.'

In their application Friday the Trumps' attorney Charles Harder says that it is not a First Amendment case.

'Plaintiffs expect Mary Trump and Simon & Schuster to cast this case as a threat to First Amendment rights, but it is not,' he writes.

'The sort of contractual provision signed by Mary Trump, settling a family dispute with an agreement not to discuss her relationship with certain relatives, is routinely enforceable and does not raise any First Amendment implications.

'The fact that one of those relatives, fifteen years later, ran for and won the Presidency, does not vitiate what was a limited agreement not to publicly discuss Mary Trump's relationship with three specific members of her family.'

Harder also said that the Mary Trump is free to talk about the 'presidential administration' - just not the president.

The agreement does 'not bar Mary Trump from engaging in political expression or public comment on current affairs, including comment about the current presidential administration,' his application said.

'It is limited to barring statements by Mary Trump about her relationship with the Proponents. No case holds that an otherwise enforceable agreement among family members not to comment about their relationship suddenly violates the First Amendment just because one of those family members later enters politics.'

The Trump vs Trump battle is unlikely to end in a county court in upstate New York; it is almost certain to go to a federal court regardless of the outcome.

Don't need another one of these: Donald Trump's former national security advisor John Bolton's bestselling book and primetime ABC interview left the president furious. His lawyers say they want to stop his niece Mary doing the same with their family secrets

Meanwhile her brother, Fred Trump III said Mary is still bound by a nondisclosure agreement with the Trump family and should not have written the blockbuster book that she is planning to publish next month.

In a statement issued exclusively to DailyMail.com by the president's son Eric Trump, Fred said: 'At the time that our lawsuit with the family was resolved, Mary and I had each received a generous financial settlement from the family and were more than willing to agree to execute non-disclosure provisions, all of which had been approved and recommended by our attorneys and advisors at that time.'

'In my opinion, those provisions of the 2001 settlement agreement are still in effect and binding today and I have continued to honor them.'

In his statement Fred said he and his family 'have a strong relationship with our extended family and have had no involvement or interest in the preparation of this book.'

And he said that Mary's claim that his son William  who suffers from cerebral palsy  has been cut off by the president and his three surviving siblings is false.

'As is also known by Mary, our son William has been very well provided for financially for many years through the William Trump Medical Fund by my aunts and uncles, Maryanne, Donald, Elizabeth, and Robert; for which we are very appreciative.'

DailyMail.com's attempts to contact Fred Trump were unsuccessful.

One estimate says that William, who turns 21 next week, receives up to three-quarters of a million dollars a year for his condition.

Just last week, when news of the proposed book first broke, Donald Trump said he had a good relationship with Fred III.

Mary is one of two children by Fred Trump Jr, the President's older brother who died in 1982 aged 42 after battling alcoholism.

When Fred Sr died in 1999, Mary and her brother Fred Trump III challenged his will because they claimed that the Trump family exerted undue influence to cut them out.

Mary claimed in a lawsuit that in retaliation the Trumps ended the healthcare for her side of the family.

Mary's brother Fred Trump III tells DailyMail.com that Mary is still bound by a nondisclosure agreement and should not have written the book

DailyMail.com spotted Mary on Long Island on Friday (pictured) but she left over the weekend for Cape Cod where her condo is 56 steep steps above a sandy beach on Cape Cod Bay

DailyMail.com tracked her down to the second-floor condo in the town of Brewster, where she was spotted wearing the same outfit and buying a six-pack of Bass Ale on Tuesday (left and right). Despite wanting to tell all about her uncle, Mary was less forthcoming when it came to talking to us. 'There will be a time and a place,' she said. 'Have a great day. Enjoy. It's a beautiful spot'

In the application for the restraining order, which oversaw Fred Sr's probate, the Trumps say that everything was resolved in 2001 under a 'global' agreement.

The application states: 'Confidentiality was at the essence of the settlement agreement.

'Fred Trump Sr had been a famous figure in New York real estate. Fred's son Donald also had become a famous real estate developer.

'Fred's daughter, Judge Barry, was a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

'The court cases involving Fred Trump Sr's will had received extensive publicity and the family made the decision collectively to enter into an agreement that would maintain the confidentiality of the family's private matters'.

The financial terms have been blacked out and there are nine pages including sections on ground leases, a Trump-owned company and trusts set up in 1976.

The application does however note that Mary received a 'substantial' amount of money.

As part of the agreement Mary agreed to not 'directly or indirectly publish or cause to be published any diary, memoir, letter, story, photograph, interview, article, essay, account or description or deficient of any kind whatsoever, whether fictionalized or not, concerning their litigation with (the Trumps) or assist or provide information to others in connection therewith', the application states.

The only exception would be if Donald, Maryanne and their brother Robert gave consent.

Yet in an affidavit Robert Trump says that he 'never consented' to let Mary write her book.

In an affidavit Mary claimed at that point, she discovered that in September 1991 Fred Sr rewrote his will so it 'virtually disinherited' her and Fred III. The new will divided the bulk of the inheritance among his living children, meaning Mary and Fred III only got $200,000 each because their father was dead. Pictured l-r: Robert, Elizabeth, Fred, Donald and Maryanne

The Trumps argue that an emergency injunction is needed because books are often sent to book stores weeks ahead of publication.

They appear to have learned the lessons from the book by Donald's former national security adviser John Bolton, which was hugely embarrassing for the President.

They went to court to stop 'The Room Where It Happened' from being published but a judge refused because much of it had already been made public through leaks.

The last time Mary spoke publicly about her family was 20 years ago in an article for the New York Daily News in which she said Donald and his siblings 'should be ashamed of themselves'.

She was reportedly the source for a New York Times investigation into the President in 2018 which demolished his image as a self made man.

In fact Donald received at least $413million from his father and was a millionaire by the time he was eight.

Mary's Twitter feed is an indication of what the tone of her book will be like and she called her uncle's election victory in 2016 the 'worst night of my life'.

The 55-year-old left her home on New York's Long Island over the weekend after news of her heavily contested tome broke. She drove her black Audi 270 miles to the condo on Cape Cod in Massachusetts that she bought in 2004 for $1.15 million, but is now worth nearly double that.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 00:38:02|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, June 25 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday condemned the "appalling" scenes in Brixton in south London where 22 police officers were injured and police cars smashed up when they tried to break up an "unlicensed" street party Wednesday night.

A spokesman for the prime minister said the British government would shortly be launching a consultation on doubling the maximum sentence for assaulting an emergency worker.

"These were appalling scenes. Violence against the police will not be tolerated," the spokesman said.

"We have been clear that anyone who assaults the police or any of our emergency service workers who keep us safe should feel the full force of the law," he said.

Scotland Yard said officers were confronted by a "hostile" crowd as they tried to break up the "block party" on Overton Road, Brixton.

Footage of the chaotic scene shows men jumping on a police car and smashing the windows.

A number of police vehicles were damaged while two officers required hospital treatment for their injuries, the Met Police said.

Four people, who were arrested Thursday morning for assault and public order offences, remain in police custody.

Earlier Thursday, Home Secretary Priti Patel described the images as "utterly vile scenes," saying that she would be speaking to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick.

The trouble flared at what police described the "unlicensed" music event which started on Wednesday afternoon and ran into the early hours of Thursday morning. Enditem
5pm on June 26, 2020 - Kawasaki/Japan: The Innovation Center of NanoMedicine (iCONM), the National Institute for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), and the University of Tokyo jointly announced that a reagent for the selective and safe coating of the liver sinusoidal walls to control the clearance of gene therapy drugs was successfully developed. The contents of this research will be published in Science Advances by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) at 2:00 pm on June 26, east coast of the United States (Japan standard time: 3:00 am on 27th): A. Dirisala, S. Uchida, K. Toh, J. Li, S. Osawa, T. A. Tockary, X. Liu, S. Abbasi, K. Hayashi, Y. Mochida, S. Fukushima, H. Kinoh, K. Osada, Kazunori Kataoka, "Transient stealth coating of liver sinusoidal wall by anchoring two-armed PEG for retargeting nanomedicines".

Recently, gene therapies have been successively approved in Europe, US, and Japan, and are expected to provide novel therapeutic options for cancer, chronic diseases, acquired and inherited genetic disorders. Whilst this is promising, in reality, when gene therapy drugs are systemically administered to living organisms, they are rapidly eliminated and metabolized in the liver, thus impeding the delivery of a sufficient amount to the target organs and raising the toxicity concerns. This elimination by the liver is caused by the adsorption of the gene therapy drugs to the vascular wall of the liver sinusoid, which is an intrahepatic capillary. To overcome this issue, we conceived to selectively coat the liver sinusoidal wall using polyethylene glycol (PEG). However, a long-term coating may impair the normal physiological functions of the liver, and therefore the coating should be transient. In addition, coating needs to be selective for liver sinusoids, as coating the blood vessels throughout the body would not only cause adverse effects but also decrease the delivery amount of gene therapy drugs to target organs. Towards this end, we have developed a coating agent with two-armed PEG conjugated to positively charged oligolysine, which demonstrated the selective coating on the liver sinusoidal wall, the first-of-its-kind strategy in the world. Interestingly, the coating with two-armed PEG was excreted into bile within 6 hours after binding to sinusoidal walls, while the coating with single chain of linear PEG bound to oligolysine persisted in the walls for a long time. In this way, the precise molecular design was necessary to achieve a transient coating.

This coating was subsequently applied to boost the delivery efficacy of gene therapy drugs. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is widely used for viral gene therapy drugs, and its serotype 8 (AAV8) targets myocardium and skeletal muscles. When AAV8 was administered after prior coating of two-armed PEG to the liver sinusoidal wall, the transfer of AAV8 to the liver was suppressed, and as a result, the gene transfer efficiency into the myocardium and skeletal muscles was improved by 2 to 4 times. This approach is promising for the treatment of muscular dystrophy. In addition, we expanded the use of our strategy to virus-free gene delivery systems, which allows more economically attractive and safe gene therapy. We have been working on non-viral gene therapy for malignant tumors using plasmid DNA-equipped smart nanomachine for over 10 years. When the coating agent was used for this system, the adsorption of nanomachines to the sinusoidal wall was suppressed, resulting in an approximately 10-fold improvement in DNA transfer efficiency to colon cancer. As described above, we have succeeded in boosting the activity of gene therapy drugs while ensuring safety by using the coating agent developed this time.

The above findings are summarized as follows:

- The coating agent with two-armed PEG selectively coated the liver sinusoid wall for several hours and was then excreted in the bile. - The coating agent with single chain of linear PEG is not excreted in bile and coated the liver sinusoidal wall for more than 9 hours, which raises a safety concern. - The coating agent with two-armed PEG had selectivity for the liver sinusoid wall, without coating the blood vessels in the connective tissues. - The coating agent improved the gene transfer efficacy to the myocardium and skeletal muscles using the AAV vector by 2 to 4 times, and the gene transfer efficiency to colorectal cancer using DNA-loaded smart nanomachines by 10 times. - As a result, our approach is expected to allow for improving the effect of gene therapy drugs and reducing their dose needed to obtain therapeutic outcome, which will lead to the reduction of medical cost and adverse event opportunities.

###

Innovation Center of NanoMedicine:

The Innovation Center of NanoMedicine (iCONM) is a leading facility of King Skyfront, that is a biotech and healthtech innovation cluster in Kawasaki City. iCONM started the operation in April 2015 with Kawasaki Institute of Industrial Promotion in order to drive "Center of Open Innovation Network for Smart Health (COINS)" as a part of Japanese governmental research program "Center of Innovation (COI) Stream". Designed for the purpose of promoting "open innovation" through industry-academia-government and medicine-engineering collaborations with state-of-the-art facilities and experimental equipment capable of conducting the R&D from organic synthesis and micro-processing to preclinical studies. This is a very unique research center that is hardly found in the world.

https://iconm.kawasaki-net.ne.jp/en/index.html

National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology:

The National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST) was established in April 2016 to promote quantum science and technology in a comprehensive and integrated manner. The new organization was formed from the merger of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) with certain operations that were previously undertaken by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA).?QST's mission is to raise the level of quantum and radiological sciences and technologies through its commitment to research and development into quantum science and technology, the effect of radiation on humans, radiation emergency medicine, and the medical use of radiation.?To ensure that research and development delivers significant academic, social and economic impacts, and to maximize benefits from global innovation, QST is striving to establish world-leading research and development platforms, explore new fields, and serve as a center for radiation protection and radiation emergency medicine.

https://www.qst.go.jp/site/qst-english/

Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo:

In a society where the population ages and the birth rate declines with the sustainable development being longed for, the Department of Bioengineering aims to contribute to the promotion of health and well-being of the humanity. To achieve this goal, we promote the education and research of bioengineering, which is the multidisciplinary academic field integrating the existing disciplines of engineering and those of life sciences at their interface. The key features of bioengineering are to establish its theoretical basis by understanding and clarifying the interactions of materials and systems with living bodies, and to develop fundamental technologies that control these interactions based on the theory. The control of the interactions with living bodies renders materials and systems far more useful and compatible, promising the birth of groundbreaking medical technologies.?

http://www.bioeng.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/overview/index.html
The Australian Tax Office could begin to check businesses' turnover each month to ensure they are still eligible for the JobKeeper scheme.

Some 3.5 million Australians working at 872,000 businesses currently receive the JobKeeper wage subsidy, which is $1,500 per fortnight.

Businesses only need to prove once that their turnover has dropped by 30 per cent in order to be eligible for the scheme.

But since many businesses now have higher turnover due to eased restrictions, the Treasury is considering retesting them each month to ensure they are still eligible, according to news.com.au.

Companies that are found to have 'bounced back' could be cut off from the scheme while those above the threshold will continue to receive JobKeeper wage subsidies.

A woman cleans surfaces in preparation for the reopening of a Melbourne cinema. The Australian treasury is looking at retesting business turnover in order to cut off companies that are no longer eligible for the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme

Australian Treasury Regulatory Reform Taskforce head Mark Cully is leading the JobKeeper review.

At this stage, the $70 billion JobKeeper scheme is set to end on September 27, which is when the final fortnightly payment is scheduled for.

ANU Economics Professor Robert Breunig said monthly testing would be a 'useful way' to ensure taxpayer funds are going to workers, businesses and industries that truly need it.

But the professor warned it would be hard to implement a testing program in such a short period of time.

'Changing the rules between July and September just seems like a lot of work. If they are going to extend it (JobKeeper), the battle is really over limiting it to a small number of industries and not to keep zombie firms alive,' Professor Breunig told news.com.au.

People line up outside of Centrelink in Adelaide. ANU Economics Professor Robert Breunig said monthly testing of the JobKeeper scheme would be a 'useful way' to ensure taxpayer funds are going to workers, businesses and industries that need it

'I think the cost of the program is really pretty large. If businesses are not viable it's probably better we find out sooner rather than later.'

The Jobkeeper review was seemingly confirmed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) on Friday, who said a decision on the scheme's future will be made after a review in July

'Zombie firms' are companies that would not survive without JobKeeper and completely rely on the wage subsidies to stay afloat.

Professor Beurnig said an eventual move away from JobKeeper will ensure that taxpayers are no longer supporting these zombie firms.

The JobKeeper review was seemingly confirmed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday, who said a decision on the scheme's future will be made after a review in July.

'Well be able to make a decision soon. The announcement will be made in the third week of July when the economic statement is handed down,' he told 2GB's Ben Fordham.

'That's about three months in advance [of JobKeeper's scheduled end date in September].'

Struggling airline Qantas has called on the government for extra financial assistance after sacking 6,000 workers - a fifth of its workforce - on Thursday.

Air crew walk through the Qantas Terminal at Sydney Airport on June 19. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has called on the government to create a bespoke financial assistance program for the beleaguered aviation industry

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce urged the federal government to support those losing their job with a bespoke financial assistance program.

Mr Joyce does not expect Qantas to resume international services in any significant way until July next year at the earliest, meaning the airline will be struggling long after JobKeeper subsidies end in September.

'The prime minister has been a big supporter of Qantas. He has been a big supporter of the aviation industry,' Mr Joyce said on the Today Show.

'He has been one of our biggest supporters and I know he will do the right thing.'

Mr Morrison has acknowledged the aviation sector will need ongoing help but was unable to offer any certainty.

'We are just working through the best way to target and deliver that support,' he said on Thursday, adding that could include JobKeeper or other measures.
It is "inevitable" that Ireland will see a resurgence of Covid-19, the Dail has been told.

Professor Paddy Mallon, an infectious diseases expert, told Dail committee on the virus that as the country reopens and restrictions are relaxed, a second wave of the disease will happen.

Professor Mallon told the committee that looking at the uptick in cases in the likes of Germany, the USA and Portugal, he felt it was a matter of when, not if, there are more cases.

"Ireland is still within a geographical high-risk zone for Covid-19. I and others in the infectious diseases clinical community believe that it is inevitable that we will experience a resurgence of cases as we relax restrictions and permit more travel.

"Despite the optimism in some quarters in recent weeks, we are still in the midst of a national health emergency and our citizens are no less at risk of severe illness and death if they contract Covid-19 infection now than they were back in March.

Lessons learned from the first wave of Covid-19 need to be translated into actions and resources but we have a narrow window of opportunity.

Professor Mallon said that the likelihood is that future restrictions would depend on the geographical spread of the virus. He told Fianna Fail health spokesman Stephen Donnelly that the resurgence of the virus could happen rapidly like it had done in Victoria, Australia.

Professor Mallon told Mr Donnelly that testing at airports might not solve all of the issues of imported cases, but would "take positive cases out of the population". He said that the long incubation period of the virus meant that people would have to be tested daily. Professor Mallon told Mr Donnelly that temperature testing of healthcare workers would be useful only as part of a suite of measures.

Professor Mallon said that the lessons learned must translate to a rapid testing and tracing regime. The Chief Clinical Officer of the HSE Dr Colm Henry told the committee that the capacity for carrying out 100,000 tests a week was in place, but due to a low rate of community transmission, the country was only carrying out 18,000 weekly.

"We have retained the capability to ramp up considerably at short notice should we see in increase in the R-value or an increase in the number of positive tests or contacts."
Johnny Mercer, Minister for Defence People and Veterans, is grateful to the veterans who volunteered in large numbers to help

They used to fight for their country, but more recently our Armed Forces veterans have been fighting on another front: protecting the UK against Covid-19.

Even before lockdown began in March, they were signing up in their thousands to use the invaluable skills they learned in the military to combat this new threat.

From helping build the Nightingale Hospitals and setting up mobile testing sites to delivering essential supplies to those who are shielding, our brave veterans been a vital part of our defences once more.

Minister for Defence People and Veterans Johnny Mercer said: 'Those who've served in the armed forces have developed a vast array of skills during their career, meaning they can play a huge part now in our national effort to tackle coronavirus.

'We have seen many veterans making a fantastic contribution during the pandemic, through helping out the vulnerable in their local communities, to running mobile testing sites nationally. We cannot thank them enough for their efforts.'

Here are some of their stories:

WE USED ARMY TACTICS TO FIGHT COVID-19

While treating patients infected with the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone in 2014, Lance Corporal Joshua Ryder, from Staffordshire, couldn't have realised he'd one day be using the knowledge he'd gained to help victims of another pandemic in his own country.

But when Covid 19 struck, he found his time in Africa with the Royal Army Medical Core invaluable  both for himself, and for the hospital in Stafford where he now works as a trainee nurse.

'With Ebola, we were very strict with the cleaning and contamination side of things,' says Joshua, 30. 'Minimal colleagues contracted it, maybe only one, which shows how well we did that side of things.

Twice a hero: Joshua Ryder in Army fatigues, left, and scrubs, right, in his new role as a trainee nurse

'So with Covid-19, I realised you had to do everything you could to protect yourself. People in the hospital would ask, 'You've been in Sierra Leone, what do you know?' and they'd listen to my experience.

'The set ups they used were mirrored on the military - they set up a hospital within the gym for any patient who tested positive. It was like walking into a military field hospital.'

Joshua, who left the Army in 2018, volunteered to go to Sierra Leone to help the Ebola outbreak that cost 11,325 people their lives.

'We triaged and tested patients to determine whether they had malaria, gastroenteritis or Ebola,' says the father-of-two.

Joshua, a father of two who left the Army in 2018, previously helped victims of Ebola

'It was sad to see the devastation caused by the Ebola epidemic. We visited orphanages  it was moving to see the children who'd lost their parents to the virus.'

Joshua now works in the mental health wards of St George's Hospital in Stafford, where staff have had to explain to their long-term patients why they can't have visitors or go out.

'It's been difficult for the patients but I think they've handled it really well. We've got a good rapport with them and they feel they can approach us,' he says.

THE HOMELESS JUST WANTED TO CHAT

When lockdown happened, hotels and other shelters threw open their doors to get the homeless off the streets to help contain the spread of coronavirus.

But they needed support, and that's where former RAF medic Michelle Partington, 48, from Blackburn, Lancashire, came in.

Despite having left the Armed Forces in 2015 after three tours of Afghanistan, she immediately volunteered to help fight Covid-19.

Former RAF medic Michelle Partington, 48, volunteered to help the homeless during lockdown

She was made a team leader at a YMCA and a Salvation Army hostel in St Helens, Merseyside, that helped the homeless.

'If anyone had queries or problems, we'd deal with them, from helping them get doctors' appointments to sending food to someone isolating,' she says.

'Sometimes people just wanted to chat - all they wanted was for someone to listen to them. People often don't have time, or think they're on drugs, or that chatting to them doesn't matter. But it does.

'People fall on hard times. Some people don't have a choice. One guy was on drugs because his father had fed them to him from the age of 13. Another chap told me I'd chatted to him for longer than anyone else. These people deserve to be heard.'

'We've got the experience, so why not use us?' says Michelle

Michelle also helped out at a hotel that had taken in the homeless.

'There were a few more naughty people in there who pushed the boundaries a bit,' says Michelle.

'There was no real control over them, and the hotel manager was dealing with quite a lot. I think some of the time the vets were there as bouncers!'

Eventually Michelle had to step back because of a family illness, but she still helps out by calling a 91-year-old man who's isolating for a chat every week.

'It's quite humbling to be able to do this,' she says.

'At the YMCA they said, 'We feel so much more comfortable now you're here'. But we've got the experience, so why not use us?'
A 20th-century building in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, believed to be the last remnant of Saigons early railway system, has found itself at the heart of an ongoing debate about how the city should preserve its past.

The building in question, the current headquarters of the Saigon Railway Company, sits across from Ho Chi Minh Citys iconic Ben Thanh Market, with its main entrance facing Quach Thi Trang Roundabout and a separate entrance overlooking Ham Nghi Street. Inaugurated during the French colonial period in 1914, the same year as the opening of Ben Thanh Market, the building was originally known as the Bureau du Chemin de Fer (Railway Bureau), belonging to the Indochina Railway Company.

In a recent proposal, the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee suggested that the building be handed over to the municipal authorities for preservation and be converted into a museum detailing the history of Vietnams railway system.

The state-owned Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR), however, objected to the proposition, citing the buildings current designation as the headquarters for four of the organizations agencies.

Relocating the agencies would hurt VNRs bottom line and affect its current investment and development plans, it said.

Famed architect Ngo Viet Nam Son disagrees with such claims, opining that using a historical site as a corporate head office is not financially sound and suggesting that the municipal authorities provide the VNR with a new site for its headquarters.

Complicating the issues, documents from 2007 obtained by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper show the railway industry once had the intention of converting the building into a modern office tower.

A center for integrated management

Ho Chi Minh Citys Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) has sent its own proposal to the municipal Peoples Committee, proposing the building be transformed into a center for integrated railway management.

MAUR would use the larger, two-story structure in the building as a central railway station which would transform the nearby underground metro area into a public transport hub, according to the proposal.

The building's second and smaller component would be used as a center for integrated management for the lines of the urban railway system.

Ho Chi Minh City already has plans to develop at least eight metro lines.

The citys metro line No. 1, whose construction is expected to hit 85 percent completion by the end of this year, will run from Ben Thanh Market to the New Mien Dong (Eastern) Bus Terminal in neighboring Binh Duong Province.

Its underground Ben Thanh Station will be an interchange for several upcoming metro lines planned in the southern metropolis.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Kateri Tekakwitha became the first Native American saint in 2012. Much of her life was marked by violence, disease, and loss brought on by French colonization and conflict with local tribes. The Mohawk woman died at the young age of 24 but her resolute faith throughout her hard life inspired many.

On this episode of Prayer amid Pandemic, Susangeline Patrick, assistant professor of world Christianity at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City and adjunct professor in the history of Christianity at NAIITS (formerly North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies) to discuss the smallpox outbreak that scarred her body, the faith that sustained, and what the church can learn from her brief life today.

Tamara Mayer, a theology student in Berlin Germany, offer this episodes prayer.

Read Christianity Todays latest coronavirus coverage

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Follow the host on Twitter: Morgan Lee

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

Prayer amid Pandemic is produced by Morgan Lee, Mike Cosper, and Erik Petrik
Even before the national awakening over structural bias in policing, this request for democratic accountability over democratic policing might have been pretty reasonable. But now, as policing as an institution is being questioned, such an attempt at minimal accountability is the least that could be done. That D.C. residents did not have a say in the police departments purchase of facial recognition matching technology or automated license plate readers also means there are no formal policies, audits or forums for community involvement. We do not know if any privacy or civil liberties studies were performed before the purchase. We do not know if any racial bias auditing was conducted. Especially now, with heightened First Amendment concerns in the headlines, we do not know what special protections exist for constitutionally protected activities such as protesting.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Apparel exporters' body AEPC has sought the government's intervention in expediting the clearance of import consignments from China, saying "inordinate delays" at ports is impacting their operations.

The Indian apparel industry saw a decline of 91 per cent and 66 per cent exports in April and May 2020, respectively, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said.

"Lately, customs authorities at several ports are doing 100 per cent examination of goods originating from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. This has created undue delay in clearance of imported shipments of inputs which are meant for manufacture of garments for exports," AEPC Chairman A Sakthivel said in a letter to Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman M Ajit Kumar.

ALSO READ | Apparel retailers' FY21 revenue may fall 30 per cent on store closures due to COVID

"It is affecting factory operations as inputs are held up at ports and exporters are in fear that they will fail to meet the delivery schedule," Sakthivel said.

He further said that the business was gearing up to get back to the normal after the relaxation of lockdown in India and other foreign countries, however, the recent delay in clearing the import consignments from China was adding to the crisis.

The apparel industry is dependent on several inputs that are domestically not available or as per the buyers' nomination has to be imported.

So far, such imports were subject to random and partial checks only, the AEPC letter explained.

"The situation at all airports and seaports at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Tuticorin and others is precarious as there is inordinate delay caused on all import consignments which are held up due to 100 per cent open examination by Customs, who are not processing the documents for the shipments originated from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan," Sakthivel said.

The council has requested the government to urgently intervene in the matter to expedite the process of clearing the shipments of inputs which are held up at ports or going through 100 per cent inspections.

"Special priority should be given to manufacturer exporters who are dependent on these imports to service their export orders," Sakthivel added.
While the former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) deputy leader Karuna Amman was being probed over his alleged statement, the United Nations Human Rights Council also called for an investigation over the wholesale recruitment of child soldiers for the Tamil separatist group. Earlier this month, Karuna Amman had reportedly claimed in public that he had killed over 2,000 Sri Lankan soldiers. On June 25, he was also questioned for over seven hours by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) over his remarks.

While Amman glorified the killing of Sri Lankan soldiers in the islands north during the LTTEs separatist war which laster over three decades, the UN body demanded that the recruitment of child soldiers should also be investigated as it is crime under international law.

As per reports, Amman, while speaking at a political rally last week for the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country, had said, "When I was a member of the LTTE, I killed some 2,000 to 3,000 Sri Lankan Army personnel in one night at Elephant Pass. I have killed more in Kilinochchi. That is certainly higher than the number of lives the coronavirus has claimed in Sri Lanka.

READ: Lankan Govt Orders Police Probe Into Ex-LTTE Deputy Leader's Claim Of Killing 2,000 To 3,000 Troops

READ: Sri Lanka Further Relaxes COVID-19 Curfew

Amman set to contest upcoming elections

While following his revelation, a number of individuals, including politicians, called for Ammans arrest and an investigation, the former LTTE leader is all set to contest the August 5 elections through his own political party. As per reports, he was the LTTE deputy leader and its eastern province commander when they ran a parallel state in their bid to militarily create a separate Tamil homeland in Sri Lankas north and east regions. He was the deputy to LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakaran.

However, back in 2004, he walked out of the LTTE and him leaving also severely weakened the party which led to its ultimate defeat at the hands of government troops in 2009. Earlier, the UN had reportedly accused Amman of recruiting the underaged to his own party Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP). His recent claims have also led to a political storm in the run-up to the upcoming August polls. While Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksas party publicly disassociated from Amman, he is still seen as an ally of Rajapaksa.

(Image: @mg2411/Twitter)

READ: Sri Lanka Sets Parliamentary Election On Aug. 5

READ: Sri Lanka Holds Mock Polls To Test Preparedness Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
New Delhi: Amid India-China border standoff along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, a threat of the Third World War appears to be looming large. The global community seems to have realised this but the United States is the first country to openly criticise China's aggressive policies.

The US has officially stated that it is reviewing its global deployment of forces to counter the growing Chinese military threat to countries like India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this in response to a question during the virtual Brussels Forum 2020 of the German Marshall Fund on Thursday.

In order to counter China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), the US is reviewing its global deployment of forces in Asia by reducing them from Europe. American military bases in many European countries were established to deal with the threat of Russia for years. Now, China and its Communist Party have emerged as the biggest threat to the world. Under the force posture review, the US is reducing the number of its troops in Germany from about 52,000 to 25,000.

China has been fast expanding military and economic influence in the strategic Indo-Pacific region, triggering concern in various countries of the region and beyond. China is currently engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. It has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs under its controls in the region.

Pompeo also said that China's PLA was indulging in provocative military actions, while referring to the ongoing military standoff in eastern Ladakh where the PLA killed 20 Indian soldiers on June 15 during a violent face-off, and also cited China's continued aggression in the South China Sea.

If there arises a situation of the Sino-India war, America may come out in support of India, but it would lead to the third world war. Then the countries like Pakistan and North Korea may side with China, while America, Japan, Australia along with India would oppose China's aggression. Countries like Russia, however, may face the dilemma of choosing an old friend India or China.

The question arises why should such a situation come. Rather, the world should unite to question China against its expansionist policies and military activities, which if not stopped now, would create a crisis for the world.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's statement indicates at American strategy to encircle China, but the real siege of the Communist nation will be from Southeast Asia. America has taken the name of countries of this region, especially Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, which are facing the military wrath of China in the South China Sea.

The US entered into an agreement with the Philippines since 1988, while Vietnam has also come closer to the US amid threats from China and is getting the US Navy's support in safeguarding its coastline. American defence cooperation with Indonesia and Malaysia has gradually increased, while in Singapore, the US has an agreement to use the latter's Air and Naval bases.

If America's military presence in these countries increases further, China is likely to be encircled from all the directions in case of any major confrontation. China is very aggressive in this region as well as in the East China Sea. It had openly issued a military threat to Taiwan by sending its fighter jets, but Taiwan repulsed that move.

The US military does not have a permanent base in Taiwan, but it often comes here for training and patrolling. Currently, three US aircraft carriers are stationed near Taiwan. In the Asia-Pacific region, the US military bases are in South Korea and in Japan to deal with China and its friend North Korea.

In South Korea, over 28,000 troops of the US Army, Air Force, and Navy are already stationed. This region has about 15 small and large US military bases. In Japan, the US has about 23 small and large military bases with over 54,000 troops. The 7th largest fleet of the US Navy, with about 50 warships and 20,000 naval soldiers always remain ready in Japan.

Along with South Korea and Japan, about 5,000 US troops are permanently stationed in Guam, a small island, where the US Air Force has it base.

Meanwhile, China's real expansionist face can be witnessed in the nations where it has established its authority. Tibet is one such nation that testifies the atrocities committed by the Communist Party of China and its ruthless army. People who ran away from the erstwhile Buddhist nation still remember those atrocities.

In Ladakh, Zee News visited one such village where the refugees, who fled from Tibet, now live there for years. They recall as to how China first enticed Tibetan people with ration and money and then grabbed their land, and destroyed their culture as well as places of worship.

President Lobsang Sangay of Tibet's government in exile told Zee News how China and its army persecuted Tibetans even today, adding that 10 lakh Tibetans have so far been massacred and 98 percent of their monasteries have been ruined.

After the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959, 560 Tibetan citizens reached Ladakh. Currently, there are 7500 Tibetan refugees all over Ladakh. They lived in tents and camps until 1975 but were later settled in Angling, Choklamsar and Jangthang villages of Ladakh.

Although Tibetan refugees are grateful to India, they still aspire for the liberation of Tibet from China's occupation.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 15:35:51|Editor: huaxia

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Rescuers are at work in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 26, 2020. One person was killed and six went missing after a boat sank in Xishuangbanna in southwest China's Yunnan Province, local authorities said Friday. The boat carrying 24 people capsized at the confluence of Lancang and Nanban rivers at around 4 a.m. Thursday. A total of 17 people have been rescued, and a dead body was found downstream in Myanmar waters, according to the emergency rescue headquarters. (Photo by Chen Xinbo/Xinhua)

KUNMING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and six went missing after a boat sank in Xishuangbanna in southwest China's Yunnan Province, local authorities said Friday.

The boat carrying 24 people capsized at the confluence of Lancang and Nanban rivers at around 4 a.m. Thursday. A total of 17 people have been rescued, and a dead body was found downstream in Myanmar waters, according to the emergency rescue headquarters.

As of Thursday, the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture had dispatched 17 boats and 400 people for the rescue, along with Myanmar rescuers.

More rescue and investigation efforts are underway. Enditem
The remaining Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and Indian School Certificate (ISC) board examinations for Classes 10 and 12, that were scheduled to be held in July, have been cancelled due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the Supreme Court was informed on Thursday.

The Class 12 examinees affiliated to the CBSE board will, however, have the option of either taking the exams later or to move ahead with the assessment based on their performance in the last three internal exams. The re-exam option will not be available to Class 10 students. The option of re-examination would also be unavailable to the ICSE (Class 10) and ISC (Class 12) students.

A bench headed by justice AM Khanwilkar took note of the submissions of solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the CBSE, that the Class 10 and 12 board examinations scheduled from July 1-15 have been cancelled. He said a scheme has been formulated to give the options only to Class 12 students  for re-examination or assessment based on past performance.The CBSE said the re-exam would be conducted when the situation becomes conducive and the option to take up the re-exam would not be available to Class 10 examinees. The results may be declared in mid-August, the CBSE said on being asked by the court to clarify as to when the academic year will begin after the declaration of results.

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations , however, told the bench, that it will not give re-examination option to Class 10 and 12 students and that the results would be declared on the basis of past performances.The top court asked the CBSE and the Centre to issue a fresh notification on Class 12 exams dealing with issues including the option of re-examination and internal assessment, date of results and status of re-examination keeping in mind the Covid-19 situation in different states. You have said that you will conduct exams when the situation is conducive. But the situation may be different from state to state... Will the decision be taken by a central authority or will the state take the decision. How are you going to deal with that situation, the bench said while asking CBSE to come up with the fresh notification.The bench said the CBSE notification should indicate the scheme for internal assessment and give a timeline. The notification will be issued latest by tomorrow, the law officer said. Earlier, the top court was informed that states like Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have conveyed their inability to conduct board exams.

The top court was hearing pleas seeking relief, including scrapping of remaining exams of Class 12 scheduled from July 1-15, in view of increasing number of Covid-19 cases. Similar reliefs were also sought from the ICSE and ISC boards. Earlier, the Centre and the CBSE had said that an expert body is in the process of taking final decision very shortly on whether to scrap the pending Class 12 exams.
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Linkedin Shashwat Awasthi (Reuters) Bengaluru, India  Fri, June 26, 2020 10:05 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661ccc26 2 Business Qantas,share,investors,COVID-19 Free

Qantas Airways Ltd successfully completed a discounted A$1.36 billion (US$940 million) share placement to institutional investors on Friday, before its shares dropped to a one-month low as they resumed trading.

The institutional placement was part of a sweeping three-year cost-savings plan announced by Qantas on Thursday to cope with the coronavirus crisis, which includes axing at least 20 percent of its workforce and putting more planes into storage.

Australias biggest airline reported strong demand for the placement of 372.7 million new shares at a price of A$3.65 each, a near 13 percent discount to the stocks close on Wednesday.

The fact that there was significant demand for this offer shows clear support for our recovery plan and confidence in the fundamentals of this business, Chief Executive Alan Joyce said.

Qantas also plans to raise up to another A$500 million through a share purchase plan.

Qantas shares, which were suspended on Thursday for the fully underwritten placement, fell as much as 9.5 percent to A$3.79, the lowest level since May 25, when they resumed trading on Friday. By midmorning they were trading at A$3.83.

Jefferies analysts said the capital raising and cost restructure would leave the carrier well-positioned for when the pandemic subsides.

The ability to reduce debt is also a positive, Anthony Moulder and Amit Kanwatia wrote in a note.

Morgan Stanley analysts said the plan would provide an added buffer against any demand volatility through the recovery phase in the short to medium term.

Citi cautioned, however, that the longer-term outlook remained considerably uncertain and extremely difficult to forecast and that Qantas recovery would likely be volatile.
Gap Inc. announced Friday that the retailer is partnering with Kanye West to launch a new apparel line under his Yeezy brand that will launch next year.

The Yeezy Gap line is expected to debut in 2021. (Courtesy of Gap Inc.)

The new apparel line will be developed under West's creative direction and "will be designed for men, women, kids and baby with a highly edited assortment under the Yeezy Gap label. Core categories will be hoodies, tees, outerwear and bottoms," a Gap Inc. spokesperson told TODAY Style.

Kanye West is partnering with Gap to expand his Yeezy brand. (Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott)

West, who turned 43 earlier this month, was named a billionaire by Forbes magazine in April. The publication reported most of the hip-hop superstar's fortune derived from his Yeezy sneaker empire, part of the brand that he retains sole ownership of and will continue to own going forward.

The Yeezy x Gap partnership comes on the heels of a June 2 filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a Yeezy trademark on a wide range of cosmetics and personal care products, including makeup, hair dye, perfume and potpourri.

Although reports claim the Yeezy Gap partnership will be a 10-year deal, a Gap Inc. spokesperson told TODAY "that is not accurate. We intend for this to be a robust creative partnership with multiseason product development."

Gap's announcement isn't the first collaboration announced this year. Back in January, the designer Telfar Clemens announced a collaboration with Gap Inc. as well, posting on Instagram, "COMING SOON #GAPbyTELFAR" alongside an image showcasing both Gap and Telfar's logos.

A source for the Telfar brand, referred TODAY to a Business of Fashion article discussing the postponement of the collaboration and told TODAY: "We were not aware of the Yeezy collaboration, and we're still awaiting an answer from the Gap team as they had put our project on hold earlier this year due to COVID-19. We have not been paid the project since, despite numerous follow ups."

As for West, this isn't the first time the rap star has worked with the iconic American brand. As a teenager, West worked at a Gap store in Chicago as a sales clerk, according to a press release from Gap. But at the 2019 Fast Company Innovation Festival, West also revealed that he was fired for shoplifting.

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West also rapped about his experience working at Gap in his 2004 song "Spaceship" from his album "The College Dropout." In the second verse, West says, "Let's go back, back to the Gap / Look at my check  wasn't no scratch / So if I stole, wasn't my fault / Yeah, I stole  never got caught / They take me to the back and pat me / Asking me about some khakis / But let some Black people walk in / I bet you they show off their token blackie / Oh, now they love Kanye 'Let's put him all in the front of the store.'"

West's Yeezy brand has already gained popularity under a partnership with Adidas. In June 2016, the German sportswear company announced an expansion of their relationship with West, to develop more footwear, apparel and accessories, including sport-friendly performance designs, after the success of the Yeezy for adidas Originals collection.

In a statement, Mark Breitbard, Global Head of Gap Brand, said, We are excited to welcome Kanye back to the Gap family as a creative visionary, building on the aesthetic and success of his Yeezy brand and together defining a next-level retail partnership.

A spokesperson for Gap also told TODAY that the new collection is expected to reach "millions of customers around the world through (Gap) stores and (Gap's) site."

Gap has been reopening stores across North America since May with safety precautions in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Store employees are required to wear masks, practice social distancing and wash and sanitize hands on a frequent basis.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  The Rapid bus systems two top administrators, CEO Andrew Johnson and Deputy CEO Dina Reed, have resigned.

The circumstances surrounding their departure were unclear.

A statement provided by The Rapid  signed by Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley, who chairs the bus systems board of directors  confirmed that Johnson and Reed had stepped down but included no additional information on the matter.

Bill Kirk, The Rapids business affairs specialist, declined to discuss the reasons for Johnsons and Reeds resignation. He said their last day on the job was June 23, and that The Rapids board accepted their resignations on June 24.

They resigned for personal reasons and informed The Rapid of their desire to voluntarily resign on that date, Kirk said. There are no resignation letters.

He declined to comment when asked whether there were any allegations of wrongdoing or any concluded or ongoing investigations into Johnsons or Reeds conduct. MLive/The Grand Rapids Press filed a Freedom of Information Act request Thursday in an effort to find out more about the resignations.

Kepley could not be reached for additional comment.

Johnson had served as The Rapids CEO since August 2018. His contract was set to expire in August 2021. He previously worked as the chief operating officer at the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District in Illinois, according to a 2018 news release from The Rapid.

Johnson did not respond to messages sent to his social media accounts. He was not home Friday morning when a reporter knocked on his door.

Reed could also not be reached for comment.

Reed was hired in May 2018. Prior to that, she served as director of financial analysis and business finance at Acro Service Corp and vice president of financial planning and analysis at the Wayne County Airport Authority, according to The Rapid. Reed was an at-will employee with The Rapid and did not have a contract.

Steve Schipper, The Rapids transportation manager, will serve as interim chief operating officer, according to The Rapid.

Steve has done an excellent job as our transportation manager and enjoys great respect throughout the organization, Kepley said in a statement. His deep operational knowledge will be invaluable in the coming months as we prepare to conduct a search for a new chief executive.

Kepley said Schipper and other members of the senior leadership team have the full support of the entire Board.

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MiHeart Leaders in the Making programme

Itumeleng Mnisi's bursary award ceremony

Baninzi Mdoda's bursary award ceremony

Nurturing SA's youth

Nthabiseng Moloi, head of brand and marketing at MiWay

This does not bode well for South Africa's youth as, according to official figures released in 2019, 55% of graduates under 24 were without work . Representing Quarterly Labour Force Survey data for the three month up to March 2020, this figure is likely to be further exacerbated as the nationwide lockdown came into effect.It is now more important than ever to equip local learners with the necessary skills to reignite the economy, something that can only be achieved by providing them with adequate resources and learning tools. Through its MiHeart Project, it has so far provided six South African schools with fully installed computer labs and internet services. The insurance providers ongoing initiative has gone on to provide fully stocked libraries to selected schools and introduced numerous activities into their curricula, including mentorship programmes and career days.Four top academic achievers are chosen from two of the high schools on the MiHeart Project to partake in a mentorship programme in their Grade 12 year, during which they are paired with MiWay management staff, who provide guidance and support. Thereafter, the top performing learners obtain bursaries for their tertiary studies.Itumeleng Mnisi, a former learner at one of the schools, Moletsane Secondary School, was in grade 9 when MiHeart began working with her school. Mnisi, now a third-year BCom Finance student, thanks to a bursary from MiWay, believes that MiHearts Leaders in the Making programme contributed significantly towards her career prospects.I was confused at first and didnt know what I wanted to do until I became part of the programme and had an opportunity to job shadow, says Mnisi, who is currently pursuing her dream to become a CA. After that, I decided to pursue a BCom Finance and had the opportunity to work with the finance department at MiWay, which gave me great exposure and helped me to understand what I really wanted to do.Baninzi Mdoda, who matriculated from Maphutha Secondary School in Tembisa and is currently studying a BCom in Law with a bursary from MiWay, echoes these sentiments. The programme has widened my path, enabling me to pursue my passion and ensure that my studies are monitored, which will hopefully allow me to be recognised nationally once I graduate, says Mdoda, who dreams of one day opening his own law firm.For Kutloano Losaba, a Moletsane Secondary School matriculant, MiHearts investment in a fully equipped computer lab in his matric year significantly enhanced his ability to secure excellent results in his final exams. One of the first learners to take part in MiHearts mentorship programme, Losaba received a study bursary from the MiHeart Project and has since gone on to pursue his tertiary studies at Wits, where he is currently working towards his dream of becoming a chartered accountant.The MiHeart initiatives Leaders in the Making mentorship programme has thus far been responsible for uplifting 83 high-potential learners from underprivileged communities, 30 of which have since gone on to join internship programmes and seven have been awarded tertiary education bursaries.We believe in the possibility of young people achieving great things, provided they have the tools to do so, says Nthabiseng Moloi, head of brand and marketing at MiWay. Over the past few years, we have invested just over R1m toward tertiary education, supporting students via mentorship programmes, job shadowing opportunities and bursaries, which are now awarded every year. In this time of crisis, its even more important to us to go out of our way to nurture our youth, who will ultimately have a large role to play in rebuilding our economy for the future.Its time that we start changing the narrative in South Africa, addressing this pressing social issue, one young mind at a time, says Moloi. Its only by taking small steps to address larger problems that we can truly effect change and enable South Africans to live their way.
A sheriff in Washington State has spoken out against Governor Jay Inslee's order mandating that face masks be worn across the state.

Inslee's order, which takes effect on Friday, requires all Washington residents to wear masks in indoor public spaces such as stores, offices and restaurants, as well as outdoors where a distance of six feet from others can't be maintained.

Speaking to a crowd through a megaphone at a church parking lot in Napavine on Tuesday, Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza said: 'In case you guys didn't hear, Governor Inslee in his infinite wisdom has decided after over a hundred and some odd days that we should all wear face masks inside and out.'

'Here's what I say: Don't be a sheep,' Snaza added to cheers from the unmasked crowd.

Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza (left) criticized Governor Jay Inslee's (right) mandatory mask order, saying that his department would not enforce the order

Inslee's order came as officials across the country sought new means to control the coronavirus pandemic while easing clamp-downs on residents and reopening the economy.

Arizona, California, Mississippi and Nevada reported record numbers of new cases of COVID-19 this week. Texas set a record on Monday.

'This is about saving lives. Its about reopening our businesses. And its about showing respect and care for one another,' Inslee, a two-term governor who earlier this year sought the Democratic nomination for president, said of the face-mask rule.

Snaza said in an interview with KUOW-FM that he's frustrated because 'we continue to listen to the governor's requests without asking questions, without saying: 'Well wait a minute, there's the other side to this' and, in particular, wearing the mask.'

'Yet we're telling people now to wear it and if you don't wear it, we're going to cite you for that,' he added.

Snaza said that he was not convinced of the health benefits of wearing a mask. The CDC now recommends wearing a cloth mask in public, after initially advising against wearing masks to preserve critical supplies for medical workers.

A customer and bike store owner converse on Thursday in Pullman, Washington on Thursday, after Gov. Jay Inslee announced that masks will be required in public starting on Friday

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee speaks at a news conference, Tuesday at the Capitol in Olympia

On Wednesday, Snaza, a Republican, clarified that he wasn't 'outwardly saying I want you to violate the orders.'

He said that he has a mask and his department requires them inside the office and when they enter homes.

Inslee, a Democrat, called Snaza's clarification 'very helpful,' KUOW reported.

Other sheriff's departments in Washington also voiced criticism of the mask order.

'The Grant County Sheriff's Office has much larger public safety priorities than writing a ticket for a person not wearing a mask,' that department said in a tweet.

Other sheriff's departments in Washington also spoke out about Inslee's order

'Our jail is on restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and therefore violations of the Gov's order will not meet the booking criteria.'

While the United States appeared to have curbed the outbreak for several weeks in May, overall cases rose 25 percent last week, with 10 states reporting a greater than 50 percent rise in new infections, according to a Reuters analysis.

About a dozen other U.S. states and some major cities have face-covering rules. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, last week told residents to wear masks at nearly all times outside the home.

A sharp spike of COVID-19 cases in the state's agricultural breadbasket has prompted a hospital in Lodi to stop accepting some patients who have other illnesses. California on Monday reported a record increase of over 6,000 new cases, according to a Reuters tally.

Throughout the United States, the virus is moving into rural areas and other places that it had not initially penetrated deeply. It is also renewing its surge in states, including Arizona and Texas, where restrictions meant to slow its spread were lifted early.

Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, told a House committee the surge in several states was concerning and the next two weeks could be critical in containing them.

In Texas, which has seen COVID-19 hospitalizations hit record highs for 12 days in a row, a Houston children's hospital has begun admitting adult patients who are seriously ill with the virus.

'We know COVID-19 has not gone away. We implore you to take responsible actions - practice appropriate social distancing, wear a mask or face covering anytime you leave your home,' Texas Children's Hospital said in a written statement.
The Crimean Tatar flag has been solemnly raised on the flagpole near the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in Kyiv.

The flag was raised by Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, Chairman of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov, and Crimean Tatar people's leader Mustafa Dzhemilev, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

We raise on flagpoles the flags that are of special importance to us, to Ukraine, and the flag of the Crimean Tatar people is one of such flags. I want to assure everyone that the issue of protecting the rights of Crimean Tatars, who have stayed in the illegally occupied Crimea, the issue of de-occupation of Crimea will always be a priority for the Foreign Ministry, and we will not stop until we win, until this flag we raise today, is raised along with the Ukrainian flag in all cities, populated localities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Kuleba said at a solemn ceremony.

According to him, the Crimean Tatar flag today is raised symbolically not only in Kyiv, but everywhere in the world where Ukraine is present, as evidence that Crimea remains in the thoughts and actions of Ukrainian diplomats every day.

Chubarov, in turn, noted that honoring of the Crimean Tatar national flag by the Ukrainian state and Ukrainian society shows respect for the history of the indigenous people of Crimea and gives confidence to all citizens of Ukraine living in the temporarily occupied Crimea in the restoration of Ukraine's state sovereignty over Crimea.

"I am sure that the day will definitely come when the state flag of Ukraine will fly over the whole of Crimea again, and next to it - the Crimean Tatar flag as the official flag of the Crimean Tatar national-territorial autonomy within the Ukrainian state," Chubarov said.

As reported, Ukraine celebrates the Crimean Tatar Flag Day annually on June 26.

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Tony Pidgley, a titan of the housebuilding industry, has died at the age of 72 after a life that was a genuine tale of rags to great riches.

He started Berkeley Group by building a single house in 1976 and built it into a FTSE100 giant, making him a vast fortune along the way.

Refusing to countenance retirement, he was working at the company as executive chairman right up to his death.

From rags to riches: Former Barnardo's boy Tony Pidgley created a FTSE giant

His vast pay-packets were sometimes criticised, but the way he fought his way up from a hardscrabble childhood earned him universal respect in the industry.

He was born to a single mother in Surrey and was a Barnardo's boy before being adopted by travellers at the age of four. His adoptive parents, Bill and Florence Pidgley, he once said, 'were astute at a business level' and gave him 'a fantastic childhood.'

Growing up in a disused railway carriage, he left school in 1963 at 15 barely able to read or write. He had, however, learned to drive a lorry and strip down an engine, skills which, coupled with innate entrepreneurial flair, helped him set up a haulage firm.

In 1968, at the tender age of 19, he sold out to Crest Homes in a deal that bagged him the first of the many millions he would go on to make. The most recent estimate of his wealth in the Sunday Times Rich List came in at 295m. At the time of his death he held shares in Berkeley worth 71m. After seven years at Crest, where he learned the secrets of the housebuilding business, he quit to set up Berkeley, which was floated on the stock market in 1985.

Pidgley cultivated a down-to-earth image, telling one interviewer that he was as happy to chat to the 'dirtiest, ugliest looking man on the site' as to Prince Charles.

Those who crossed him were given short shrift, including his own son Tony junior, who launched a bid for Berkeley in 2003. As well as Tony junior, Pidgley had a daughter, Tania, from his first marriage, and two children with his second wife, Sarah.

Rob Perrins, chief executive at Berkeley Group, said: 'Tony was a brilliant man who I have been fortunate to work closely with for 20 years.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 06:15:13|Editor: huaxia

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People enjoy the beach in San Francisco, the United States, May 26, 2020. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua)

Increasing gatherings and lack of social distancing amid reopenings nationwide have led to the deterioration of the pandemic in the United States. Another key factor contributing to the record-high daily increases is that some Americans remain highly resistant to wearing masks, said an epidemiologist.

WASHINGTON, June 25 (Xinhua) -- New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising at alarming rates in the United States recently, and several states have reported record daily spikes in confirmed cases.

Increasing gatherings and lack of social distancing amid reopenings nationwide have led to the deterioration of the pandemic in the United States, a leading epidemiologist told Xinhua on Thursday.

All 50 states have begun to reopen after the coronavirus thrust the country into lockdown starting in March. Mass gatherings are now on a rise, and increasing numbers of people, especially the young population, tend not to keep social distances, said Zhang Zuofeng, a professor of epidemiology and associate dean for research with the school of public health at University of California, Los Angeles.

"Meanwhile, some Americans remain highly resistant to wearing masks in public areas, thus they cannot well protect themselves and people around them. This is another important factor leading to the record-high daily increases," Zhang told Xinhua.

People with face masks visit Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas, the United States, June 20, 2020. (Photo by Lie Ma/Xinhua)

Nationwide, more than 2.4 million people have been infected with the novel coronavirus, and over 122,000 have died as of Thursday afternoon, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The United States reported on Wednesday its largest one-day total since the start of the pandemic: 36,880 new cases, more than two months after the previous high, according to The New York Times.

The tally of new cases, based on the newspaper's database, showed that the outbreak was stronger than ever. The elevated numbers are a result of worsening conditions across much of the country, as well as increased testing.

The recent resurgence is concentrated largely in the South and West of the country. States including Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas reported their highest single-day totals on Wednesday.

California, the country's most populous state and the first to implement a state-wide lockdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak, is setting daily records for new cases this week.

Restaurant staff members wearing face masks work on the Cocoa Beach pier in Cocoa Beach, Florida, the United States, on May 28, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

Texas, one of the fastest states to ease its shutdown, halted steps to reopen its economy on Thursday after a sharp rise in recent cases.

As the disruptive coronavirus hits the country, there is a silver lining: the growth rate of COVID-19 cases in over a dozen states, including some previous hotspots, is declining, such as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Michigan, according to Zhang.

"This shows that as the infection rate of the population increased, certain protection or immunity has established, which will help slow down the incidence of COVID-19," Zhang noted.

"The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surgings that we're seeing in Florida, in Texas, in Arizona and in other states -- they're not the only ones having difficulty," said Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's top infectious disease expert, on Tuesday.

If the United States does not get control of the coronavirus pandemic by fall, "you're essentially chasing after a forest fire," Fauci told the House Energy and Commerce Committee. 
Researcher Ellie Rothermel configures an acoustic receiver off coast of Ocean City, Maryland, to monitor to the movement of Atlantic sturgeon and striped bass off the Delmarva coastline. Credit: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science/Mike O'Brien

For the endangered Atlantic sturgeon and the commercially and recreationally important striped bass, the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia coastal shelf serves as an important spring and fall "flyway." Typically thought of as an established aerial route used by migratory birds to travel between feeding and breeding grounds, a recent study by scientists at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science applies the term to fish species of concern. Authors suggest that the development of wind farms on the Delmarva coastal shelf, 17-26 miles from Ocean City's shoreline, may alter the migratory behavior of these fish as new wind turbines in this otherwise featureless region could create habitat around which fish linger.

Studies within the Maryland Wind Energy Areathe coastal shelf waters leased by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for offshore wind farmsprior to construction activities reveal that Atlantic sturgeon and striped bass are frequent visitors. Seasonal trends lead scientists to believe that the wind energy area lies within an important migration corridor for both species. Atlantic sturgeon were most commonly observed moving through the area during the spring and fall, while striped bass had an increased migratory presence in spring and winter. The Atlantic sturgeons' "flyway" tended to favor shallower, warmer waters, while striped bass were more likely to be found at great depths and cooler conditions.

Both species spent longer periods of time in the corridor during the autumn and winter. This trend was particularly strong for striped bass, with many individuals prolonging their presence on the outer shelf during winter. However, during the summer, Atlantic sturgeon were rarely detected and striped bass were absent.

The construction of an off-shore wind farm creates loud noises and increased activity that can disrupt typical animal behaviors. The low occurrence of these important fish species during the summer months suggests a potential window for wind turbine construction, when impacts could be minimized.

"Scientists have learned a lot about the Atlantic sturgeon and striped bass' seasonal patterns of habitat selection within spawning rivers, estuaries, and shelf foraging habitats," says study author Ellie Rothermel, who recently received her master's degree from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "During these times, we know where the fish are likely to be and when to expect them there, but information on the location and timing of key coastal migrations is limited. Coastal waters have been largely inaccessible to scientists. Our study uses acoustic telemetry to understand the critical migratory periods in the lives of these fish species."

Rothermel compares acoustic telemetry to the E-ZPass system used for vehicles. When a car with E-ZPass is driven over the Bay Bridge, a toll booth collects its identification number, along with the time and date. Just like toll booths and the E-Z Pass system, scientists use acoustic receivers and tags to track where fish go, and when they go there.

After catching and determining the size, weight and sex of a striped bass, scientists surgically implanted an acoustic tag into the fish prior to releasing it. An acoustic tag is a small device, about the size of a thumb, that has a unique ID and makes a "ping" sound every few seconds.

Scientists also deployed 20 acoustic receivers in the Maryland Wind Energy Area. When a tagged fish swims past a receiver, a listening device about the size of a liter soda bottle, the receiver records the "ping" sent out by the tag. Each "ping" transmits its unique ID and the depth at which the fish was swimming to the receiver, which also records the time and date. The array of receivers allows scientists to monitor the movements of tagged fish. During the study, "pings" from 352 individual Atlantic sturgeon and 315 individual striped bass were recorded by receivers.

Scientists believe that Maryland's future offshore wind farm could become a stop-over region where striped bass and sturgeon might linger longer. The DelMarVa coastal shelf is a fairly barren area. The development of high relief wind turbines would provide structure around which fish may gather and linger during migrations.

"To extend the highway travel metaphor, the wind farm that will be built in the area off-shore from Ocean City may become a 'rest stop' where fish and sharks can grab a bite to eat and take a break before resuming their travels," says study co-author Dave Secor of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

As wind farms are developed and operated offshore of the Mid-Atlantic and Southern New England regions, which together comprises a multispecies "flyway," scientists could use the telemetry array design to monitor potential impacts. Cooperation among researchers, expanded scale of acoustic telemetry arrays, and increased incorporation of oceanographic data will improve understanding of how fishes will respond to wind energy development in the northwest Atlantic Ocean.

The study "Comparative migration ecology of striped bass and Atlantic sturgeon in the US Southern mid-Atlantic bight flyway" was published in Plos ONE.

Explore further Large rockfish leave Chesapeake Bay to become ocean migrators

More information: Ella R. Rothermel et al. Comparative migration ecology of striped bass and Atlantic sturgeon in the US Southern mid-Atlantic bight flyway, PLOS ONE (2020). Journal information: PLoS ONE Ella R. Rothermel et al. Comparative migration ecology of striped bass and Atlantic sturgeon in the US Southern mid-Atlantic bight flyway,(2020). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234442
Mirage Energy Corp. has known financial hardship. In a recent regulatory filing, company officials raised the possibility that Mirage may not survive as a going concern.

Yet the San Antonio natural gas pipeline and storage company said earlier this month it had secured a $4 billion loan to build pipeline and natural gas projects in Mexico.

The loan from Bluebell Funding, an Arizona lender, is the culmination of a multiyear effort to secure funding for the projects, said Mirage CEO Michael Ward.

Mirage, a penny-stock company whose shares trade on the over-the-counter exchange, is far from a substantial player in the oil and gas industry. The company employs a total of about 10 people at its headquarters and a second office in Mexico City  and its struggled to generate revenue.

The Company has not established an ongoing source of revenues sufficient to cover its operating cost and requires additional capital to commence its operating plan, Mirage officials said in an earnings report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 11.

If the Company is unable to obtain adequate capital, it could be forced to cease operations, they said. These factors raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.

The SEC filing covered the three-month period ending Oct. 31, 2019. Ward said Mirage will file an updated earnings statement in next few days that will reflect the $4 billion loan.

We have a plan to succeed, Ward said.

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A Bluebell executive confirmed the company has agreed to provide the $4 billion in funding.

We are confident in Bluebells ability to fund and partner with Mirage Energy in this extremely strong energy sector project, Chief Operating Officer Bill Stredney said. The energy sector is our wheelhouse.

Mirages planned projects include a 1,500-mile natural gas pipeline from the Mexican border town of Reynosa, which is across the border from Hidalgo, to the Yucatan Peninsula.

Mirage is also planning a natural gas pipeline that would start at the Banquete natural gas hub in South Texas, near Agua Dulce. It would cross into Mexico through the U.S. border town of Progreso, connecting to a natural gas storage facility that would be built 27 miles to the south, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

Ward said he has a contract with Whitewater Midstream, which will transport the natural gas from the Permian Basin in West Texas through its own pipeline to the Banquete natural gas hub. Whitewater officials declined to comment.

Ward said the natural gas would power factories and power plants in Mexico.

A third project would be a series of crude oil pipelines and storage facilities in Mexico, connecting the Port of Pajaritos on the Gulf of Mexico to Salina Cruz, a Pacific Ocean coastal city. Mirage will partner with a second company that Ward also owns, Northern Hemisphere Logistics, to transport the crude.

Northern Hemisphere Logistics is a privately held company owned by Ward and Mexican businessman Salvador Gutierez. It operates out of the same San Antonio office as Mirage.

Ward said Bluebell will dispense funding in 30-day tranches as construction proceeds. He said Bluebells loan would be converted to an equity stake in the energy projects once they are complete. The lender would own 75 percent of the projects, with Mirage taking a 25 percent stake, he said.

Ward said the projects would employ more than 1,500 Mexican workers and could be completed within two years once permitting is secured from regulators in the U.S and Mexico. He estimates the approval process could take six months.

So far, Mirage hasnt secured any of the permits.

On ExpressNews.com: Tsunami on the shale

He said Arendal  a pipeline construction company based in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, according to its LinkedIn page  will build the pipeline from Reynosa to Monterrey. Mirage hasnt selected contractors for the other projects yet.

Mirages ability to pull off the projects is an open question. But Mexico does face a shortage of natural gas pipelines and storage facilities.

What Mexico has needed is the ability for someone to risk capital to build the projects, said Ed Hirs, an energy economics lecturer at the University of Houston.

On Wednesday, Mirage shares closed trading at 17 cents, down 36.23 percent from the day before.

Its not going to be in the pink sheets for long, Ward said, referring to the over-the-counter (OTC) exchange on which Mirage stock trades.

Ward, 65, who said hes worked in the oil and gas industry since he was a teenager, formed Mirage five years ago to pursue the Mexican projects.

Previously, he led San Antonio-based Tidelands Oil & Gas Corp., an oil and gas pipeline and storage company that also trades on an OTC exchange, as president and CEO until 2006. Tidelands had built several natural gas pipelines between the U.S. and Mexico during Wards tenure.

Mirages latest financial statement, for the three-month period ending Oct. 31, looked bleak. It showed Ward, two other unnamed managers and one employee had accrued unpaid salary totaling $1,790,924 as of Oct. 31.

Mirage reported a net loss of $427,157 for the quarter ending Oct. 31, and an accumulated deficit of almost $7 million.

Nevertheless, Ward is optimistic, saying, Its a great feeling that things are finally coming to fruition.

Ward said one of the projects, the underground natural gas storage facility, was scheduled to be built 26 years ago but the deal fell apart because the Mexican government did not pass energy reforms allowing foreign ownership of such facilities.

Under then-Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, the government enacted reforms in 2014 that opened swaths of the countrys energy industry to international companies.

However, Pena Nietos successor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office in 2018, appears intent on rolling back many of the reforms.

randy.diamond@express-news.net
Senate Bill 977, Make vote harvesting fraud a felony: Passed 32 to 5 in the Senate

To make it felony to turn in an absent voter ballot application using another person's name and personal information, and also create a new felony crime for submitting an absent voter ballot application with the intent to obtain multiple absent voter ballots.

31 Sen. Kevin Daley, R - Attica, Y

32 Sen. Kenneth Horn, R - Frankenmuth, Y

36 Sen. Jim Stamas, R - Midland, Y

Senate Bill 956, Restrict transferring coronavirus patients to nursing homes: Passed 24 to 13 in the Senate

To ban transferring a patient currently in a medical care facility, and who tests positive for COVID-19, to a nursing home, with exceptions for patients who have recovered from the disease or nursing homes with a designated coronavirus area meeting standards specified in the bill. Also, to require state regulators to create a centralized intake facility in each of the states eight health care regions to treat coronavirus patients who are ineligible for admission at a hospital.

31 Sen. Kevin Daley, R - Attica, Y

32 Sen. Kenneth Horn, R - Frankenmuth, Y

36 Sen. Jim Stamas, R - Midland, Y

House Bill 5781, Allow bars and restaurant to serve alcohol in commons area: Passed 107 to 0 in the House

To allow on-premises licensees (restaurants with liquor licenses and bars that serve food) to serve alcohol in a "commons area" within a social district designated by a local government that is shared by and abuts the premises of at least two other on-premises licensees, and allow local governments to authorize this.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, Y

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

Senate Bill 173, Ban government taking a cut of tow truck fees: Passed 108 to 0 in the House

To prohibit a local government from accepting a commission or a cut of vehicle tow-truck (wrecker) recovery or towing service fees from a towing service in exchange for steering business to that company; and ban towing services from offering this.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, Y

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

House Bill 5407, Ban replaceable-battery smoke alarms: Passed 89 to 19 in the House

To prohibit the sale of smoke alarms powered by a replaceable and removable battery starting on April 1, 2022, and instead mandate that all smoke alarms must be powered by a nonremovable and nonreplaceable battery that lasts at least 10 years, or by another power source utilizing new technology. This would not apply to alarms powered by a building electrical system and some other exceptions.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, Y

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, N

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

House Bill 5672, Ban employer requiring employee implants: Passed 104 to 2 in the House

To prohibit an employer from requiring employees to get a device implanted in their body as a condition of employment.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, Y

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

House Bill 4459, Restrict "surprise medical billing": Passed 101 to 5 in the House

To prohibit hospital emergency rooms or other emergency medical care providers from charging a person whose health insurance provider does not have a negotiated deal with the provider more than the average amount negotiated by the patients insurer, or more than 150% of the Medicare fee for service fee, with various exceptions.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, Y

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

Senate Joint Resolution G, Protect "electronic data and communications" from unreasonable search and seizure: Passed 106 to 0 in the House

To place before voters in the next general election a constitutional amendment to add electronic data and communications to the Article I provision that recognizes the right of the people to be secure from unreasonable government searches and seizures of their person, houses, papers, and possessions." The constitution states that no warrant to search or seize any person, place or things may be issued without describing them, or without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation. With this vote the constitutional amendment heads to placement on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, Y

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

House Resolution 282, Affirm House support of Mackinac pipeline tunnel: Passed 80 to 28 in the House

To express the support of the House for "the timely issuing of permits for the construction of the Great Lakes Tunnel Project," meaning the Line-5 gas pipeline tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac. The final vote was bipartisan with 23 Democrats joining all but one Republican in support.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, N

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

Y = Yes, N = No, X = Not Voting

SOURCE: MichiganVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate. Visit www.MichiganVotes.org.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 01:09:21|Editor: huaxia

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A couple walk on a street during the COVID-19 pandemic in Barcelona, Spain, on June 19, 2020. (City Hall of Barcelona/Handout via Xinhua)

The novel coronavirus has been detected in Spanish waste water samples collected in the city of Barcelona on 12 March 2019.

"These results, sent to a high impact journal and published in the archive medRxiv, suggest the infection was present before knowing about any case of COVID-19 in any part of the world."

BARCELONA, Spain, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Researchers at the University of Barcelona, one of Spain's most prestigious universities, had detected the presence of the novel coronavirus in waste water samples collected here on March 12, 2019, the university said in a statement on Friday.



"These results, sent to a high impact journal and published in the archive medRxiv, suggest the infection was present before knowing about any case of COVID-19 in any part of the world," the statement said.

The study was led by researchers from the Enteric Virus Laboratory of the University of Barcelona in collaboration with the public-private company Aigues de Barcelona, which is responsible for managing the water cycle in Barcelona's metropolitan area, it said.

The study "has not been peer-reviewed," the researchers said on medRxiv, an online archive distributing unpublished health sciences documents.

Workers paint a line on the street to adapt the mobility of pedestrians and ensure social distancing in Barcelona, Spain, May 19, 2020. (Barcelona City Hall/Handout via Xinhua)

EARLIER PRESENCE IN SPAIN

"Although COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, researchers proved there are large quantities of the coronavirus genome in the excrements that reach waste waters. This situation made the waste water-based epidemiology a potential tool for early detection of the circulation of the virus among the population," the statement said.

Since April 13 this year, the researchers have analyzed weekly the obtained samples in Barcelona's two major water treatment plants.

"The levels of the SARS-CoV-2 (or novel coronavirus) genome coincided with the evolution of COVID-19 cases in the population," Albert Bosch, professor at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona and coordinator of the study, said in the statement.

During systematic sampling, the researchers analyzed frozen samples from previous months, which revealed the growing apparition of the novel coronavirus genome between early January and early March this year, it said.

The findings brought the date of the coronavirus' arrival in Spain even earlier -- the presence of the virus was detected on Jan. 15, 41 days before the official announcement of the first case of COVID-19 on Feb. 25, said the statement.

According to the researchers, these results show the validity of the surveillance of waste waters to anticipate cases.

"Those infected with COVID-19 could have been diagnosed with flu in primary care by mistake, contributing to the community transmission before the public health authorities took measures," said Bosch, who is also president of the Spanish Society of Virology.

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

SHOCKING RESULTS

These results encouraged the researchers to analyze frozen samples taken between January 2018 and December 2019, which led to "the shocking results of the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 genome in March 2019," the statement said.

"All samples were negative regarding the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 genome except for those taken on March 12, 2019, in which the levels of SARS-CoV-2 were low but were positive, using two different targets," said Bosch.

"Barcelona receives many visitors for both tourism and professional reasons, and it is possible for a similar situation to have taken place in other parts of the world, also because most of the COVID-19 cases show a similar symptomatology to the flu. Those cases could have been disguised as an undiagnosed flu," he said in the statement.

The novel coronavirus has to date been contracted by nearly ten million people and killed half a million around the world since China's central city of Wuhan first reported the outbreak at the end of 2019. 
By Aditi Shah, Neha Arora and Zeba Siddiqui NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Days after a border clash with China this month in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, New Delhi told firms to find ways to cut imports from China. But two big industries, automobiles and pharmaceuticals, say this is easier said than done

By Aditi Shah, Neha Arora and Zeba Siddiqui

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Days after a border clash with China this month in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, New Delhi told firms to find ways to cut imports from China. But two big industries, automobiles and pharmaceuticals, say this is easier said than done.

Like many countries, India relies on China for products such as electronic components and drug ingredients because it cannot make them or source them elsewhere as cheaply, company and industry figures say.

Thus any moves to curb imports or make them costlier without developing alternatives will hurt local businesses.

"We don't import because we like to, but because we have no choice," said R.C. Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd , the country's biggest carmaker.

"To attract companies to produce locally, we need to be more competitive and lower our costs compared with other countries."

India imported around $70.3 billion of goods from China in the fiscal year to March 2019, and exported just $16.7 billion - its widest trade deficit with any country.

The government is now consulting with companies on tightening curbs on 1,173 non-essential products, a trade body official said on condition of anonymity. They include toys, plastics, steel items, electronics and specific auto components - which feed vehicle manufacturing.

This is on top of plans to raise trade barriers and import duties on around 300 products from China and elsewhere, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's self-reliance campaign.

In April, India also tightened rules for investments from neighbouring countries, including China, to prevent opportunistic takeovers after the pandemic.

"If things do escalate, then India stands to lose a lot more than China," said the chief of corporate strategy at one of India's top 10 drugmakers. "We cannot afford this."

"NO KNEE-JERK REACTION"

Over a quarter of India's auto part imports - $4.2 billion - came from China in 2019, including engine and transmission parts, according to data from the Auto Component Manufacturers' Association of India (ACMA).

Some of these components are critical and hard to source elsewhere immediately, said Vinnie Mehta, director general at ACMA, whose members include companies such as Bosch , Valeo and Minda Industries .

"We cannot have a knee-jerk reaction, especially when we are emerging from the disruption caused by the pandemic," he said.

Chinese supplies have also been a key factor in India's booming drug industry, which exports cheap generic medicines.

Some of India's largest drug companies, such as Sun Pharmaceutical Industries , Lupin and IPCA Labs , rely on China, and India overall gets about 70% of its supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from there, industry officials said.

"In the immediate future, we are going to continue to be reliant on China," said Sudarshan Jain, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, which represents major drug makers, although he believed there was only "a very low likelihood" of API supplies being cut off.

However, this still leaves manufacturers dependent on low Chinese prices to be able to meet price controls on the home market and stay competitive abroad.

This month, China increased prices of the common pain reliever paracetamol and of ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic used to fight respiratory infections, by 25%-27%, one senior industry executive said.

"This is an important antibacterial drug. If we don't buy from the Chinese, there will be shortages," the executive said. "Ramping up capacity in India is a gradual, long-drawn process."

(Additional reporting by Sumit Khanna in Ahmedabad and Rupam Jain in Mumbai; Editing by Alasdair Pal and Kevin Liffey)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his government and the United Arab Emirates will soon announce a partnership in the fight against the coronavirus.

The deal, which the UAE later said involved two private companies, comes despite recent warnings from UAE officials that Israels planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank would harm its efforts to improve relations with Arab states.

In a speech to graduating Israeli fighter pilots, Netanyahu said an announcement was expected in a few moments and came after months of intense contacts. This collaboration will be in the fields of research and development, technology, in areas that will improve the confidence in health throughout the region, he said.

The Emirates state-run WAM news agency later published an item acknowledging two private firms signed a deal with two Israeli companies to develop research and technology to fight Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. The announcement did not name the firms.

As a result of the pandemics spread worldwide, it is imperative to place the protection of humanity at the forefront of global action to overcome this unprecedented crisis, WAM said.

Its unclear what that research will involve. The UAE has been working closely with China on the virus.

Israel and the UAE, home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, do not have formal diplomatic relations, but they are believed to maintain close behind-the-scenes contacts because of their shared concerns about Iran.

Earlier this month, the UAEs ambassador to the United States published an op-ed in an Israeli newspaper confirming that ties had improved but warning Israel that proceeding with annexation would upend any efforts to normalise relations with Arab states.

Annexation will certainly and immediately upend Israeli aspirations for improved security, economic and cultural ties with the Arab world and with UAE, Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba wrote.

However, last week, another leading UAE official said it was open to cooperating with Israel on efforts to combat the coronavirus and other humanitarian issues despite the political disagreement over annexation.

Can I have a political disagreement with Israel but at the same time try and bridge other areas of the relationship? I think I can, Anwar Gargash, the UAEs minister of state for foreign affairs, said in an interview with the American Jewish Committee advocacy group.

Last month, the UAE sent a cargo plane to Israel loaded with coronavirus-related aid it said was destined for the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority said it could not receive the aid because there had been no prior coordination.

Netanyahu has vowed to annex all of Israels far-flung settlements and the strategic Jordan Valley, which together amount to around 30% of the occupied West Bank. President Donald Trumps Middle East plan endorsed the move, which has been rejected by the Palestinians and much of the international community.

Israel could begin the annexation process as soon as July 1, but the Trump administration may apply the brakes in an effort to revive peace negotiations. The UAE is a close and influential US military ally.

Opponents of annexation say it would make it virtually impossible to create a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, territories seized by Israel in the 1967 war. A two-state solution is still widely seen as the only way of resolving the conflict.

Netanyahu has boasted of quietly improving ties with Arab states, but full normalisation still appears unlikely without a resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians.

Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab countries to have made peace with Israel. Jordan, another close US ally, is staunchly opposed to any annexation, saying it would cause a massive conflict.
As the "king of beasts," majestic lions have been used as a symbol of courage, nobility and strength by rulers for over 6000 years. A lion became the symbol of a Norwegian king at least as early as 1280. It still stands proudly on Norway's Coat of Arms.

Wild lions have likely never made their way to Norway, but European cave lions were once found as far north as Denmark.

Lions were once far more widespread than they are now, with several subspecies of lions dividing the world between them. They were found in much of Europe and Asia including the Middle East, in Africa, North America and maybe South America.

Today, the lion is considered a vulnerable species, and is found only in relatively isolated pockets of Africa and - just barely still - in India.

Filling in the lions' family tree

Experts disagree on how many subspecies exist now and have previously existed, and presumably there is significant overlap among several of them. We need to know this information to save the lions.

"We wanted to find out more about the relationships between the different groups, or populations, of lions," says Michael D. Martin at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) University Museum's Department of Natural History.

An international research group has helped expand our understanding of the lion species' family tree. The results were recently presented in PNAS, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Associate Professor Martin is among the contributors. The last author is Professor Tom Gilbert from the same department. He is also head of the Centre for Evolutionary Hologenomics at the University of Copenhagen.

Tackling the whole DNA

Previously, the cave lion Panthera leo spelaea was found across much of Eurasia and as far as Alaska and Canada.

But cave lions died out 13 000 years ago, perhaps partly due to humans, although palaeontologists suspect that climate change played a major role. The American lion P. leo atrox suffered the same fate.

The researchers wanted to find answers to several questions.

How closely related were cave lions to today's lions? When did cave lions and today's lions diverge? Are some of today's lion populations more closely related to cave lions than others? How much genetic diversity do lions have today compared to in the past?

Several groups have previously investigated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) when they were studying the relationships between different populations of lions. (See fact box.)

"But mtDNA is only a small part of the overall genetic material. Our group looked at all the DNA to get a more complete picture," says Gilbert.

Little interbreeding by cave lions

The research team examined two cave lions, from Siberia and Canada's Yukon. They also looked at 12 lions from populations that died out in historical times in Africa and the Middle East. In addition, they examined six lions from populations that are still extant in Africa and India.

The geographical spread of these lions corresponds very roughly to the area lions once inhabited, and where they still exist today.

"The cave lions don't appear to have mixed much with the other subspecies. We find no evidence of hybridization between the cave lions and the other groups of lions," says Gilbert.

The studies also indicate that cave lions and other lions most likely diverged about 500 000 years ago. This is in line with some previous findings, while others believe that they probably parted ways much earlier.

Two main branches

Not only the cave lions are distinct from other lions. Modern lions also show two main branches that may have diverged some 70 000 years ago.

"A northern branch includes Asian, North African and West African lions. A southern African branch includes southern, eastern and South African lions," says Martin.

This division is the same as other research groups have found by examining mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) - up to a point. But the new study differs in several areas as well.

Studies of mtDNA have previously grouped central African lions with the northern branch, but studies of the entire DNA show that they might belong to the southern one instead.

Could help the Barbary lions

Furthermore, the North African lions, which are at least extinct in the wild, are probably more closely related to the West African lions than to the Asian lion lineage, which many scientists have believed up to now.

"This is important to know for people who may want to bring back the North African lions," says Martin.

The North African Barbary lions disappeared from the wild in the 1960s, but captive specimens may be Barbary lions, at least in part.

If these captive individuals ever need new external gene supplements to prevent inbreeding, it would probably be best to use West African lions rather than Asian ones.

Important to know what we have

Perhaps it seems a bit strange to some that several research groups are spending so much time figuring out the relationships between the different lions in the world.

"The work isn't interesting only for us geneticists and natural historians, although that's exciting enough. It's also important for people who want to conserve our lions and give them a fair chance to survive as a species outside captivity," says Gilbert.

As many as one million lions might have lived in the wild as recently as 1950. Today, a common estimate is between 20 000 and 30 000. Only 600 of the Indian lions are left.

Human activity is the main cause of the decline in most places, either directly by humans killing animals or indirectly by our species impacting their habitats.

"Some people have claimed that the Indian lions are actually African lions that were released into the wild in India and that it's therefore not as valuable to preserve them. But we've found that the Indian lions are so genetically different from the African lions that this claim can't be true," says Gilbert.

Danger of inbreeding

The research group is also finding less genetic diversity between the lions today than was found a few decades ago. This may be especially true of the geographically isolated Indian lions.

"We have fewer lions than we used to, and groups of lions are actually isolated from other groups, often due to human activity. That increases the risk of inbreeding," says Martin.

Inbreeding, which results in lions being more genetically similar, may mean that the population is more susceptible to various diseases and may not be able to reproduce. Of course, this is important to know for anyone who is involved with preserving the lions.

###

This research work thus has the potential to help lions remain in the wild in future.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The evolutionary history of extinct and living lions. Marc de Manuel, Ross Barnett, Marcela Sandoval-Velasco, Nobuyuki Yamaguchi, Filipe Garrett Vieira, M. Lisandra Zepeda Mendoza, Shiping Liu, Michael D. Martin, Mikkel-Holger S. Sinding, Sarah ST Mak, Christian Care, Shanlin Liu, Chunxue Guo, Jiao Zheng, Grant Zazula, Gennady Baryshnikov, Eduardo Eizirik, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Warren E. Johnson, Agostinho Antunes, Thomas Sicheritz-Ponten, Shyam Gopalakrishnan, Greger Larson, Huanming Yang, Stephen J. O'Brien, Anders J. Hansen, Guojie Zhang, Tomas Marques-Bonet, and M. Thomas P. Gilbert. PNAS May 19, 2020 117 (20) 10927-10934; first published May 4, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1919423117
New Delhi: The Delhi Police while investigating the suicide of 16-year-old TikTok star Siya Kakkar seized her cellphone and are trying to unlock it. The police hopes to find some clue as to the reason for her taking the extreme step.

Help from her family members is being sought to unlock the phone.

The police are also investigating if Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death had triggered any kind of tension for the teenager. Though, the family members have not mentioned any such incident.

The police has confirmed that she was under stress since the past four to five days but no body knows the reason. Her school is closed and the police are trying to talk her school authorites and close friends for more information.

The young and bright TikToker, who has a huge fan following on social media platforms, reportedly hung herself at her residence in Delhi's Geeta Colony area on Wednesday night around 9 pm.

Siya Kakkar's family is deeply shocked by the untoward tragic incident and refused to speak to anyone at this moment.

Reportedly, her manager Arjun Sarin told a leading daily that Siya was one of the talents his company Fame Experts. He maintained that they did speak a day before the incident regarding some projects and she seemed 'fine'.
Attending the 150th anniversary of the Mallow-Killarney Rail Line were Pat OBrien, Deputy Mayor of Mallow; Frances Horgan, Irish Rail; Richard Dempsey, Irish Rail, Mallow and Sean Kelly, former GAA. President. Picture John Tarran

IarnrOd Eireann and the communities its serves in the south west had 150 reasons to celebrate on the 150th anniversary of the Mallow to Killarney rail line during a warm summer's day during 2003.

A century and a half of change, growth, achievement and progress was feted as brilliant weather brought young and old out in force to Mallow, Banteer, Millstreet, Rathmore and Killarney for a special birthday.

Eurovision winner Niamh Kavanagh, former GAA President Sean Kelly and Iarnrod Eireann Chief Operating Officer Richard Fearn were amongst the dignitaries celebrating 150 years of history as the unveiling of commemorative plaques evoked nostalgic memories. Piped music, pageants and an art competition summed up a day to remember for stations, employees of Iarnrod Eireann and communities in North Cork and East Kerry.

A pioneering concept, the construction of the rail line between North Cork and Killarney became a role model as it was completed within budget - the most economical railway line built in Ireland and Great Britain costing just over 5,000 per mile to complete.

Constructor William Dargan employed upwards of 1,000 men at various stages during the project with 300 involved in cutting the famous Bower near Rathmore. In the aftermath of the Great Famine, the employment was hugely welcome but pay was as little as a few pence a day.

A giant step forward in time to 2003 and Iarnrod Eireann joined with local communities to acknowledge a remarkable contribution to the economic life of the region enhancing the tourism offering for Cork and Kerry.

Newly appointed Chief Operating Officer Richard Fearn spoke of the special occasion to honour 150 years of outstanding service and he looked back with great pride to the people involved in the building, maintaining and operating the line over the previous 15 decades.

"But we must also look forward at the positive role railways can play - the heritage of the past must be developed as Ireland needs its railways," said Mr Fearn.

From its opening in 1853 under the Great Southern and Western Rail, stations along the track from Mallow were Lombardstown, Banteer, Rathcoole, Millstreet, Rathmore, Freemount, Headford and Headford Junction. In the early days, Banteer Station was known as Kanturk until 1889 when a nine mile branch opened serving Kanturk and Newmarket but that closed in 1963.

Between Millstreet and Rathmore lay a loop and sidings for the Fry Cadbury Chocolate Crumb Factory operating to 1980.

And in recent years, Iarnrod Eireann confirmed its commitment to the railway, evident from ongoing investment on the Mallow-Killarney-Tralee line through track upgrading and improvements.

That rubber-stamped Iarnrod Eireann's commitment to enhancing its infrastructure and customer facilities which essential to help develop a rail service for the decades ahead.
Colombian director Ciro Guerra. Yahoo



Eight women accused Colombian director Ciro Guerra  known for his film "Embrace of the Serpent"  of sexual harassment and assault in an article published Wednesday.



Seven women said the 39-year-old filmmaker sexually harassed them, while an eighth said she had been sexually assaulted by Guerra, all between 2013 and 2019 in various cities in Colombia, France, Germany, the US and Mexico, according to the Volcanicas magazine.



The accusers chose not to reveal their identities "to avoid backlash."



According to their accounts, Guerra engaged the women in "uncomfortable sexual conversations" and invited them back to his apartment or hotel.



He "forcefully touched them sexually, kissed them and, in one case, committed sexual abuse, even as they clearly, directly and repeatedly told him 'no'", the magazine said.



Guerra denied the accusations and said he would seek to clear his name through the legal system.



"I offer my apologies to everyone who has been affected, to everyone who has had to read these horrors, lies and malicious words," he said in a statement.



"I have the peace of being innocent," he added in a video.



The women said some of the abuses took place during the Cannes Film Festival and at the Cartagena International Film Festival in Colombia.



The accusers, who also did not reveal their nationalities, said they worked in film as actresses, costume designers or other crew members.



Volcanicas magazine said the women do not intend to file any kind of formal complaint against Guerra in an effort to avoid potential humiliation during the legal process.



Guerra is one of the most internationally famous Colombian directors, whose 2015 film "Embrace of the Serpent" won accolades at Cannes the same year. It was nominated for best foreign language film in 2016. (AFP)


MBABANE  Is the ban on liquor sales governments poorest decision yet?

This is the view of emaSwati on social media where most stated that at the height of the countrys partial lockdown, liquor stores had remained open and the situation was under control.



Again government was challenged to show the statistics it used to back up the assertion that alcohol was causing the rise in the number of COVID-19 positive cases, which currently stand at 706.



On Tuesday, the Prime Minister, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, announced that the manufacturing and distribution of alcohol would be stopped with effect from July 1, 2020 for a period not exceeding two months.

The social media users, particularly on Facebook, stated that the two month-period was too long and this would only promote the bootlegging of booze.



A majority of the posts did not complain about the lack of access to alcohol, but how it would leave the economy in a worse off state, especially the tourism industry, including restaurants which also held liquor licences. It was argued that it was true that there had been a lot of recklessness around alcohol, but in truth, it was just people generally not observing precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.



The people who are walking around without masks or disregard to social distancing and washing of hands in peri-urban areas do not all drink alcohol, commented one Facebook user.



It was further argued that it had only been a little over a week since alcohol distribution was allowed, so it was not possible that the spike the country had witnessed could be related to alcohol at this point.



Jobs



Banning the sale of alcohol for two months will not change anything except to cost people their jobs and increase the illegal trade of the commodity, commented another user.

In his remarks on Tuesday when announcing the ban, the PM said government had earlier in the month started to ease the economy by opening several businesses under strict conditions to contain the spread of the disease.



However, over the past two weeks we have seen a surge of positive cases in the country which suggests that we have to review some of these easing measures to avoid overwhelming our health system, said the PM. He added that with effect from July 1, 2020, they would stop the wholesale and distribution of liquor, seeing that the consumption of alcohol was among the leading causes of the spread of the virus.



The Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, also supported the PM by stating that in some of the positive cases, there was evidence that liquor had been involved and some of the patients even recognised each other at the Lubombo Referral Hospital from a previous drinking session.

However, the minister could not readily avail the figures to substantiate her statement.



The Facebook users went as far as comparing the statistics of the numbers when alcohol was banned compared to the week of its reopening.

The statistics, when compared to those from the daily releases by the Ministry of Health, show that 185 cases were recorded when the distribution was not allowed while when the liquor sales were reopened, 153 cases were recorded over a period of eight days each.

This shows a difference of 32 cases. Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo, when contacted yesterday, said the guidelines would stand.
Former University of Oregon receiver Darrian McNeal was arrested by Eugene police Wednesday night and lodged in Lane County.

McNeal has been charged with first degree theft and second degree robbery stemming from an incident Wednesday afternoon in a Eugene apartment.

McNeal played in six games for the Ducks in 2017 as a true freshman. He caught two passes and rushed for 21 yards. He left the program the following spring.

-- Ken Goe
The British and Irish Modern Music (BIMM) Institute Dublin has announced a new music scholarship worth 13,200 with Spotify.

The Swedish music streaming service will provide three years tuition for one student on the Irish music colleges newest course, the BA Music Business undergraduate degree.

BIMM recently launched the new music business course for the academic year..

The new scholarship from Spotify was welcomed by the colleges head of careers Anne Marie Shields who described the new partnership as a fantastic opportunity. Ms Shields said the scholarship holder will become immersed in our creative community, honing their knowledge and music business network. The music college said in a statement that the educational institute would be open in September and that BIMM Institute Dublin would adhere to government and health authority regulations.

BIMM Institute Dublin also said on its website that the college was preparing to provide some instruction remotely in its first term.

The BA Music Business undergraduate degree course emphasises entrepreneurship and the flexibility needed for the modern music industry.

Subjects studied include music technology, digital marketing and record label management.

Speaking about the announcement, the course director of the new BA, Aaron Casey, said the scholarship was a result of Spotifys continued commitment to Irish music.

The recipient of this scholarship will have their tuition for our new BA (Hons) in Music Business covered over the course of their three years of study.

This will allow them [scholarship recipient] the time to focus on becoming a supportive and ethical operator within BIMM Dublin's creative community before becoming part of the global music industry," Mr Casey said.

Sulinna Ong, Head of Music at Spotify UK and Ireland said she hoped the scholarship would inspire new talent while supporting new artists.

Ms Ong said: Supporting the next generation of talent is integral to our values at Spotify, and we want to ensure that deserving new artists are given the opportunity to explore and elevate their abilities in a dedicated learning environment. BIMM is one of the largest providers of music education in Europe with campuses across Britain and Germany.

The Murder Capital on stage. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

Spotify provided financial support to the Irish music scene during the outbreak of Covid-19.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) started the Irish Music Industry Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund to support Irish musicians.

As well as making its own contribution Spotify said it would match funds raised by the organisations.
Hong Kong: Working family scheme adjusted

The Government today announced that payment rates under the Working Family Allowance (WFA) Scheme will be raised from the claim month of July.

The adjustment includes working-hour linked household allowance and Child Allowance.

The Government explained that raising WFA payment rates is in tandem with a series of improvement measures for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme announced in the 2019 Policy Address.

This is to maintain the relativity between the WFA and CSSA and encourage WFA households to become self-reliant so that they will not be discouraged to remain in employment and resort to CSSA.

Taking a four-person household with two children as an example, its maximum allowance receivable will increase by more than 30% from $3,200 to $4,200 per month.

The CSSA improvement measures were approved by the Legislative Council Finance Committee on May 29 and the increase in CSSA maximum rent allowance will take effect on July 1.

Call the Working Family Allowance Office at 2558 3000 or visit its enquiry counters at 9/F, 181 Hoi Bun Road, Kwun Tong for enquiries.

Click here for more details.

This story has been published on: 2020-06-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A US Army soldier has died in Jordan at the age of 20, the Pentagon has announced.

Specialist Nick Bravo-Regules died on Tuesday in an unspecified 'incident' which was not in combat and is now under investigation.

Bravo-Regules, from Largo, Florida, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th ADA Brigade out of Fort Bliss, Texas.

He was stationed in Jordan as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led mission against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Specialist Nick Bravo-Regules (pictured earlier this year) died on Tuesday in an unspecified 'incident' in Jordan, the Pentagon announced

Military news website Stars and Stripes said there was no suspicion that Bravo-Regules had died of coronavirus.

Jordan has confirmed 1,086 coronavirus cases and nine deaths so far in one of the smaller outbreaks in the Middle East.

However, defense officials refused to provide any further information about the circumstances of the US soldier's death.

They also declined to reveal whether the investigation announced by the Pentagon was criminal in nature.

Oklahoma senator Jim Inhofe said he was 'praying for those who knew and loved Spc Regules', adding: 'We will honor his sacrifice.'

Bravo-Regules had enlisted in the Army in May 2017 and was promoted to specialist in February 2020.

He was on his first deployment in Jordan and worked on communications networks for the regiment.

The 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment traces its history back to 1907 and took on its current name in 2005.

In 2017, three U.S. military trainers were shot dead by Jordanian soldier Marik al-Tuwayha while stationed in the Middle East country.

The soldiers were killed in November that year when their convoy came under fire at the entrance to the al-Jafr base in southern Jordan.

The victims of the shooting were Staff Sgt. Matthew C. Lewellen, 27, Staff Sgt. Kevin J. McEnroe, 30, and Staff Sgt. James F. Moriarty, 27.

The defendant claimed he had feared the base was coming under attack but Jordan's military rejected this. He was sentenced to life in prison.
In an eight-to-one decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that drivers can have labour issues resolved through Ontario courts. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Canada's highest court opened the door to a proposed $400-million class-action lawsuit against Uber today after it sided with a driver in a case over whether workers can settle disputes with the ride-hailing company through a costly, foreign arbitration process or through Ontario courts.

In an eight-to-one decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that drivers can have labour issues resolved through Ontario courts, opening up the possibility of Uber drivers being seen as employees within the meaning of Ontario's Employment Standards Act.

Uber had challenged an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that found the company's contract clause, which relies on a costly arbitration process in the Netherlands to settle disputes, was "unconscionable" and "unenforceable."

In an email statement, a spokesperson for Uber said the company will amend its contracts to align with the court's principles.

"Going forward, dispute resolution will be more accessible to drivers, bringing Uber Canada closer in line with other jurisdictions," the statement said.

"We are proud to offer a flexible earning opportunity to tens of thousands of independent drivers throughout Ontario."

The lower court ruling came after David Heller, a driver for UberEATS, attempted to launch a class-action lawsuit in 2017 to force the company to recognize its drivers as employees rather than independent contractors.

CBC

Heller, who no longer works for Uber, started legal action after he received a message on his cellphone asking him to accept changes to the way he is compensated.

"There was clearly inequality of bargaining power between Uber and Mr. Heller," the Supreme Court's ruling said.

"The arbitration agreement was part of a standard form contract. Mr. Heller was powerless to negotiate any of its terms."

His lawyer, Lior Samfiru, said Heller agreed to the changes because he was out on a delivery in Toronto at the time  and wouldn't have been paid if he had declined.

"If the court agrees with Uber, then every company can have its workers sign a document that says the same thing," Samfiru said before the Supreme Court issued its decision.

Story continues

"That would mean that companies can do whatever they want with impunity."

Are individuals in the gig economy employees?

Uber had won a stay of the proposed class action before Ontario Superior Court because of a clause in the contract that requires all disputes between drivers and the company to go through a mediation process in the Netherlands  at a personal cost of $14,500 US for drivers.

"Practically no one will do that," Samfiru said.

Andy Hincenberg/CBC

Heller, who had been licensed to use the Uber Driver App since February 2016 in Toronto, earned between $20,800 and $31,200 per year before taxes and expenses.

In November 2018, Ontario's highest court ruled Uber's clause amounts to illegally outsourcing an employment standard.

Uber maintained that arbitration, not the courts, is the right forum for deciding the validity of an arbitration agreement.

The proposed class-action lawsuit, which has not yet been certified, aims to provide a minimum wage, vacation pay and other protections under Ontario's Employment Standards Act to anyone who works for Uber or has worked for the company in Ontario since 2012.

Samfiru said the high court's decision has wide implications for the gig economy, and starts the discussion about whether people in the free market are employees.

"We cannot have a system where companies can do whatever they want, whenever they want, without any repercussions," Samfiru said.

"The only way that we can even balance that inequality somehow is by giving individuals access to tribunals, like the labour relations board, or to our courts across the country."
French oil major Total is licking its wounds after the Arlington City Council denied permits to develop three natural gas wells next to a day care but the company is asking state regulators for permission to drill eight more wells in other parts of the city.

City leaders voted 6-3 in a June 9 decision, to deny permits for three natural gas wells planned at the companys AC 360 lease next to the Mothers Heart Learning Center off State Highway 360 and Pioneer Parkway.

Total has not announced how the company will proceed after the vote but over the past week, the company filed eight drilling permit requests with the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state agency that regulates the oil and natural gas industry.

One of the projects is a horizontal well that targets the natural gas-rich Barnett Shale formation on the companys Megalodon lease, an already-existing drilling pad between the Chesterfield Apartments and a Kroger supermarket off U.S. Route 287.

The other seven horizontal wells target the Barnett Shale on another already-existing drilling pad just east of the Arlington Municipal Airport on the companys Rocking Horse lease off South Collins Street.

More Information Top 10 Texas Drillers (June 17 through June 23) SM Energy 8 Total 8 ConocoPhillips 6 Diamondback Energy 5 Pioneer Natural Resources 4 PDC Permian 4 EOG Resources 4 Sabinal Energy 3 Rockcliff Energy 3 Escondido Resources 2 Source: Railroad Commission of Texas See More Collapse

Drilling Permits: Arlington rejects Total's effort to drill controversial wells inside city limits

Permian Basin

Denver oil company SM Energy plans to drill eight horizontal wells on three leases split between Howard and Martin counties. The eight oil and natural gas wells target the Spraberry field at total depths from 10,000 to 10,350 feet.

Eagle Ford Shale

Houston oil giant ConocoPhillips plans to drill six new wells in Karnes County. The horizontal wells target the Eagleville field of the Eagle Ford geological layer down to a depth of 17,500 feet.

Fuel Fix: Get energy news sent directly to your inbox

Haynesville Shale

Houston oil company Rockcliff Energy plans to drill three natural gas wells on three leases in Panola County. The three horizontal wells target the Carthage field of the Haynesville geological layer to a depth of 13,000 feet.

Barnett Shale

Veteran Oil Partners plans to drill a vertical well on the companys J. Fite USMC lease in Archer County. The oil well targets the Scotland, Archer County Regular, Trans-Continental and Wildcat fields to a vertical depth of 6,000 feet.

More: Read the latest oil and gas news from HoustonChronicle.com

Conventionals

New Braunfels oil company Ranger 40 Petroleum plans to drill a pair of vertical wells in Reeves County. The wells target Jess Burner field of the Delaware geological layer to a vertical depth of 6,500 feet.
Thief in Assam caught red-handed after cooking Khichdi in the middle of burglary

Assam declares 2 week lockdown starting Monday

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Guwahati, June 26: In a bid to control the spread of the pandemic, Assam has declared a two week lockdown in Guwahati.

IT has been decided to enforce the lockdown from Monday to control the spread of the coronavirus. The government also decided to impose a night-curfew across the state.

Meanwhile the Centre is likely to announce the Unlock 2.0 guidelines on June 30. While cases continue to rise, there are likely to be more easing of the restrictions.

Unlock 2.0 guidelines: Here is what may open and what may not

Reports suggest that as part of Unlock 2.0, there is a likelihood of international travel being allowed on certain routes. This also comes in the wake of several airlines raising objections to Air India's monopoly in the Vande Bharat Mission.

Delhi CM cautions Covid patients, says oxygen drops suddenly in some cases | Oneindia News

It is likely that flights may be allowed on the US, UK, France and Germany routes. Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri had said that a decision to resume international passenger flights will be taken in July. He said that it would depend on the coronavirus behaviour and if the entire ecosystem and state governments are onboard.

Puri said that he is often asked, when can international flights resume. If you leave it to me and if the ecosystem works, and if we have the predictability in terms of the behaviour of the virus, I think in the coming month, we should taking the decisions, he had also said.

On the education front, schools, colleges and universities are likely to remain shut, post June 30 also. State governments have expressed their reluctance to resume classes.

Parents too have been extremely skeptical about sending their children to schools. MHRD Minister, Ramesh Pokriyal had said that educational institutions may only start in August.

Unlock 2.0 would also see the Centre taking a decision on re-opening of gyms and bars.

While there is no word on this, sources have told OneIndia that the Centre would take a feedback from the states on various such issues.

In several states, area wise sealing has been undertaken. Four areas in Bengaluru were completely sealed off in the wake of the rising number of cases. Tamil Nadu, Assam and Mizoram have extended the lockdown until June 30. In West Bengal, the lockdown has been extended in the containment zones until July 31.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 14:10 [IST]
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris, right, and American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) Chairman and CEO James Kim listen to a speech during a conference hosted by the latter at the Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel, Friday. / Yonhap



By Baek Byung-yeul



U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris expects the staunch Korea-U.S. alliance will help the two countries swiftly and effectively overcome the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.



"As we look back at the first great conflict in the long struggle of the Cold War, we can fully appreciate the fruits of that struggle in the present-day Republic of Korea," the ambassador said during a conference held by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) at the Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel, Friday.



"As the ROK has changed and developed over the years, so has the U.S.-ROK Alliance. The Alliance is dynamic, and we've built a multi-dimensional partnership reinforced by shared values, shared concerns, and common economic interests, all underpinned by deep people-to-people ties," he added.



Noting that the COVID-19 pandemic "has put a clear damper on both global and Korean economic growth, and has put many normal business activities on hold," the Ambassador said "we continue to pursue our key, bilateral commercial initiatives in close coordination with AMCHAM, notwithstanding the limitations imposed by COVID 19."



"Looking ahead, and especially toward the day when we emerge from the cloud of COVID, we will continue to foster our strong partnership with AMCHAM in helping Korean and American companies lead the world with innovative and cutting-edge technologies, to protect Americans and American interests and values, and to advance our commercial ties," he added.






The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting searches at Delhi and Noida premises of Ratul Puri and other accused in a case related to alleged loss of 787.25 crore to Punjab National Bank (PNB) and other consortium of banks.

A case was registered on a complaint from PNB against Moser Baer company, where Puri was the executive director till 2012, and others including its directors. Some unknown persons and bank officials have also been named by the PNB.

These raids are in connection with the fresh case. Puri is the nephew of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath.

In the view of Covid-19, all precautions regarding health and safety are being taken while conducting the searches including provision of PPE kits to all the search teams, CBI Spokesperson RK Gaur said.

Moser Baer is involved in the manufacture of optical storage media like compact discs, DVDs, solid state storage devices.

The latest FIR by the CBI is second against Puri; he was earlier booked in August 2019 in 354 crore Central Bank fraud. In its complaint, the Central Bank had claimed that Moser Baer was taking loans from various banks since 2009 and went for debt restructuring a number of times. When it was unable to pay the debt, a forensic audit was done and the account was declared as fraud by the bank on April 20, 2019, it further alleged.

In October 2019, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a charge sheet against Puri, alleging that he was involved in bank frauds amounting to 7,900 crore.

In its charge sheet, the ED had claimed that Puri was living a lavish lifestyle with the banks money, which included holidays abroad, travelling in private jets and visiting night clubs.

Puri is a key accused in money laundering probe in AgustaWestland scam as well.
Three years on from the deadly Grenfell Tower fire, around 2,000 high-rise residential or publicly owned buildings are still covered with dangerous cladding, says a cross-party parliamentary report.

Titled Cladding: Progress of Remediation, the report by Parliaments Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) committee exposes the deadly conditions still facing thousands of residents in high-rise buildings across the country. While the Conservative government pledged to do whatever was necessary to make tower blocks safe after the catastrophic inferno at Grenfell in 2017, in which 72 people died, next to no remedial work has been carried out.

Spruce Court in Salford in 2017 with only part of its flammable cladding removed

Of the 2,000 high-rise buildings still coated in highly flammable materials, 300 are clad with Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) panels. This cladding used on Grenfell Tower was the most significant factor allowing flames to rapidly spread up the entire 24-storey building in less than 20 minutes.

Although official figures do not exist for the number of high-risk buildings over 18 metres clad in non-ACM forms of flammable cladding, the minister of state for building safety, Stephen Greenhalgh, told the HCLG committee that approximately 11,300 buildings are believed to be covered in non-ACM cladding, with 1,700 being high-rise buildings in need of urgent remediation works.

Dangerous non-ACM materials include High-Pressure Laminate (HPL), a widely used form of cladding shown in tests to pose a similar level of fire risk to ACM.

The continued use of flammable cladding materials and lack of remediation work testify to the contempt evinced by central and local government for the lives of working class residents.

According to official figures, as of May this year, only 155 of the 455 high-rise buildings clad with ACM identified as at-risk had cladding removed and replaced with safer alternatives. Of the 300 that remain unsafe, work has yet to begin on 160 towers, with repairs on the other 140 in various stages of completion.

A separate report from the National Audit Office (NAO) revealed that as of April 2020, just 0.7 percent of the 200 million funding made available by the government in May last year to handle at-risk private-sector buildings has so far been disbursed. This is only 1.42 million of the already paltry funding pot, with a further 24.98 million (12.5 percent of the total fund) worth of applications having been approved but not yet paid out.

Of the governments 400 million public sector fundmade available 20 months ago in October 2018just 133 million (33.3 percent) has been paid out.

In March this year, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced another 1 billion Building Safety Fund. This inadequate amount is subject to numerous restrictions on its use. According to the HCLG committee, funding can only be accessed to remediate residential buildings over 18 metres high and will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis, with the window for applications closing by July 2020. Buildings that started remediation work before the chancellors March 11 announcement will be excluded from funding, as will non-residential buildings such as hotels and hospitals.

The HCLG committee estimates that the 1 billion fund will cover the costs of removal and replacement works on only 600 buildingsone third of the 1,700 high-rises with unsafe non-ACM cladding. The governments own estimate is that remediation of all high-rises with unsafe cladding will cost between 3 billion and 3.5 billion, while the National Housing Federation calculated that total costs for cladding removal work are expected to easily top 10 billion in the social housing sector alone.

The Greater London Authority told the HCLG committee that the average cost of cladding remediation was 1.7 million per building, with the Greater Manchester High Rise Taskforce reporting an average cost per building of 4 million. This means that approximately 25 percent of the fund would be required to fund remediation of high-rise buildings in Greater Manchester alone.

The HCLG committee reports concerns over the arbitrary 18-metre threshold for determining eligibility for funding. Dr. Jonathan Lacy, chief executive of construction manufacturer Ash and Lacy, told the committee that the Building Safety Fund dictates that the height of a building be measured from ground level to the surface of the top floor, as opposed to roof level. Several buildings which are 18 metres to the roof have been excluded from applying for remediation funding.

The report notes that two of the most high-profile residential fires in the last yearat student accommodation The Cube in Bolton and at Samuel Garside House in Barkingwere in buildings below 18 metres in height. The National Fire Chiefs Council told the HCLG committee that there are around 100,000 buildings between 11 metres and 18 metres in height, many covered in flammable cladding.

Many residents in high-rises surveyed by the HCLG committee reported concerns over numerous other fire safety defects in their buildings, none of which would be addressed by the governments Building Safety Fund. Thirty-four percent reported missing or inadequate fire breaks, 30 percent described combustible or missing insulation, with timber balconies or walkways (14 percent) and inadequate fire doors (5 percent) also featuring prominently.

The HCLG committee wrote, There is no point fixing the cladding, but leaving a building fundamentally unsafe. We believe that there is no reason to fund the remediation of some fire safety defects but not others. Our view is that funding will need to be increased to address all fire safety defects in every high-rise or high-risk residential buildingpotentially costing up to 15 billion  (emphasis in original).

Many tenants have been forced to pay for interim fire-protection measures out of their own pocket, at a huge cost, while they endure agonising waits for their buildings to be made safe. These measures include installing new fire-alarm systems and putting in place 24-hour waking watches, with tenants reporting increases in service charges of up to 1,000 a month, according to the HCLG committee.

The impact on the mental health of the approximately 500,000 residents in properties with serious fire-safety defects has been substantial. Rituparna Saha, from UK Cladding Action Group (UKCAG), told the HCLG committee, I would summarise my life as pretty much a living nightmarewe basically feel like we are completely trapped. We feel hopeless.

A separate report from UKCAG found that of the 550 tenants of tower blocks with ACM cladding they surveyed, almost a quarter had had thoughts of suicide or self-harm due to cladding issues.

As the WSWS noted in an article commemorating three years since the Grenfell fire, Despite its damning findings, the HCLG, made up of Tory, Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs, offers nothing to remedy the crisis. It merely asks the government to ensure that all buildings of any height with ACM claddingbe fully remediated of all fire safety defects by December 2021 and that buildings with other fire safety defects, including non-ACM cladding, should be remediated before the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2022.

As the report makes clear, there is no obligation for building owners to do any such thing, with Minister for Building Safety Stephen Greenhalgh refusing to set a deadline for when remedial work must be completed. Greenhalgh spoke of his ambition, as opposed to a commitment that works to remove ACM cladding should be completed sometime in 2021.

Even the limited measures put forward by the government have been opposed by building corporations, with property developer Berkeley Group calling for some forms of low risk ACM cladding not to be banned or removed. Speaking to the Times, Rob Perrins, the companys chief executive, said: It shouldnt be all ACM should be removed or all HPL should be removed. Its low risk.
In a suspected case of road rage, a 30-year-old man was allegedly shot dead inside a moving car by some unidentified bike-borne men in east Delhi's Preet Vihar, police said on Friday.

His cousin, who was sitting next to him in the car, also sustained a bullet injury, they said.

According to police, the incident took place at 12 am on Thursday when Somesh Chhabra, a resident of Mansarovar Park, along with his cousin Shivam Dua and friend Rahul had gone to Connaught Place.

While the three were returning home, they got into a heated argument with some unidentified bike-borne men near Preet Vihar metro station over giving way, a police officer said.

During the argument, one of the accused took out a pistol and opened fire. The bullet first hit Chhabra on his chest and pierced his cousin's jaw, the officer said.

Chhabra lost control over the vehicle and it hit a divider. The victims were rushed to a hospital, where Chhabra succumbed to injury, the officer said.

A case was registered under relevant sections of the IPC, he said, adding that police are scanning the CCTV footage of the area to identify the accused persons.
Rampur CRPF camp attack: 4 including 2 from Pakistan sent to the gallows

Attack on CRPF jawans in Jammu and Kashmir: One martyred, four injured in terror attack

6 year old child, CRPF jawan killed in terror attack in J&K

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 26: A CRPF personnel was martyred and a five year old boy was killed in a terrorist attack at Jammu and Kashmir.

The attack took place along the national highway in Bijbehara in South Kashmir's Anantnag district. The terrorists had attacked the CRPF party which was deployed in the highway security at Bijbehaara.

Terrorist killed in encounter with security forces in Pulwama

The IGP of Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said that both the CRPF jawan and the 6 year old child were rushed to hospital in Bijbehara. However both were brought to hospital in a critical condition succumbed to injuries.

Delhi CM cautions Covid patients, says oxygen drops suddenly in some cases | Oneindia News

Meanwhile, three terrorists were killed in an encounter at Tral. Two AK-47 rifles were recovered by the security forces.

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Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 14:16 [IST]
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. campaign to hamstring Chinas Huawei Technologies Co. is gaining fresh impetus as the Trump administration chokes off supplies of vital microchips and Beijing causes dismay on both sides of the Atlantic with its stance on Hong Kong and the coronavirus.

The U.K. is reconsidering its embrace of Huawei while carriers in Denmark and Singapore have chosen other providers for their telecommunications networks. Meanwhile, Germany and France are reassessing the role of the company that the U.S. accuses of theft, sanctions busting and providing an avenue for espionage.

Only months ago, the U.S. was struggling to persuade its allies not to use Huaweis equipment. But in May, Washington moved to handcuff Huawei to outdated technology by denying it chips made with U.S. techniques. The change could turn Huawei into a permanent laggard, unable to update and maintain cutting-edge 5G networks that will be communications backbones for decades to come.

At the same time, politics have been unkind to Huaweis ambitions. Officials in Europe and the U.S. have criticized China over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. And Beijing drew condemnation for preparing national security laws for Hong Kong, a step seen as a threat to the citys autonomy.

Two years ago no one worried about buying Huawei - thats not true any more, said James Lewis, director of the technology policy program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington. He sees some progress, in swaying other countries to ban Huawei although well short of a total ban.

President Donald Trump is boasting of success, saying in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Look how tough Ive been on Huawei. Nobody has been tougher than me.

The U.S. says Huawei is a threat to security for the fifth-generation, or 5G, wireless systems that are beginning to be deployed around the world. The networks promise speed and ubiquity: a thick forest of always-on links to billions of devices in homes, factories, surgical suites and autonomous vehicles. As more and more devices and networks are connected, vulnerability to hacking or espionage grows apace.

Story continues

Because Huawei is subject to control by Chinas ruling Communist Party, it can be compelled by law to cooperate with the countrys security apparatus, and has been implicated in espionage, according to the State Department. The Pentagon chimed in Wednesday, sticking Huawei on a list of 20 companies it says are owned or controlled by Chinas military, opening them up to potential new US. sanctions.

Rob Manfredo, a U.S.-based spokesman for Huawei, didnt respond to a request for comment.

Huawei has denied allegations of spying, saying it would lose customers if it werent trustworthy. The Shenzhen-based company says its a private business that cant be directed by Beijing, and that no Chinese law requires private national companies to engage in cyber-espionage.

Chip Ban

The Commerce Departments ban in May of the sale of any silicon made with U.S. know-how was a potentially crippling blow to Chinas tech champion. Huaweis stockpiles of certain self-designed chips essential to telecom equipment will run out by early 2021, people familiar with the matter have said. While Huawei can buy off-the-shelf or commodity mobile chips from a third party like Samsung Electronics Co., it couldnt possibly get enough and may have to make costly compromises on performance in basic products, they added.

The chip restrictions add uncertainty and potential costs that could leave Huawei unable to meet commitments to build and maintain networks, said Robert Williams, executive director of the Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School. The trade-offs between cost and security risks may look different now than they once did to the U.K.

Huaweis position is sharply contested in Britain.

The U.K. in January barred Huawei from sensitive core network components and high-risk areas like nuclear-power sites, but said the Chinese company could still constitute as much as 35% of networks 5G and fiber equipment elsewhere.

That prompted an angry phone call from Trump to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The Trump administration has said any country that uses an untrustworthy 5G vendor jeopardizes intelligence sharing with the U.S. That would strike at the heart of the traditional Five Eyes security alliance linking the U.S. and U.K., along with Australia, Canada, and New Zealand to cooperate on espionage.

The U.K.s January decision also triggered a rebellion of junior lawmakers in Johnsons Conservative Party. Since then, Hong Kong and Covid-19 have helped to harden their stance.

U.K. government officials now are seeking ways to phase the company out in as little as three years.

Theres been a pretty effective relentless American campaign, said Sam Armstrong, spokesman for the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based policy group that has argued for blocking Huawei from the U.K.s 5G networks. The evidence in Parliament and the threats to Five Eyes intelligence-sharing arrangements have all contributed to a sense that this has had a seriously undermining effect on our trans-Atlantic relationship.

Despite the storm clouds obscuring its future in the U.K., Huawei committed Thursday to invest $1.2 billion in a research and development center near the English city of Cambridge, drawing criticism from a former leader of the ruling Conservative party. It said the timing was coincidental and the plans had been in the works for years.

Growing Tension

The issue is fraught in other European countries, too. The company is losing luster in Europe after winning contracts across the continent, said John Strand, a consultant based in Copenhagen.

Around Europe, there is a growing focus on the use of Chinese equipment including Huawei, Strand said in an interview. When it comes to Hong Kong, it obviously has an impact.

Strand predicted other countries would follow paths such as those taken by Denmark, where the biggest phone company TDC A/S in March chose Stockholm-based Ericsson AB to build its 5G network, rather that its existing supplier Huawei. Earlier, Energy Minister Lars Christian Lilleholt highlighted security considerations for 5G, without mentioning Huawei.

Such moves would represent a change of momentum for a beleaguered U.S. campaign, said Justin Sherman, a fellow at the Atlantic Councils cyber-statecraft initiative.

There are many countries that have not done what the U.S. wanted, including Germany, France and Italy, Sherman said. Theres legitimate reason to be concerned about Huaweis position on the 5G networks, he said.

U.S. diplomats say Ericsson and Finlands Nokia Oyj build 5G gear and can be alternatives to Huawei. The European providers have struggled to compete with Huawei and ZTE Corp. equipment thats often cheaper and at least as capable.

5G systems carry the most private information and intellectual property. It comes down to one question: Who do you trust? Keith Krach, the U.S. undersecretary of state for economic affairs, said in an interview. People are realizing that Huaweis 5G is the backbone of that surveillance state.

U.S. officials point to progress in persuading allies, citing the European Unions January adoption of a policy that said companies based in non-democratic countries could be excluded from parts of the network. The EU stopped short of an outright ban on Huawei.

The German government is struggling to settle on rules that would require security certification for vendors in the 5G network. Earlier senior Chinese officials highlighted German car companies  the crown jewel of Europes biggest economy  as a potential target for retaliation if Huawei is banned from their markets. China is the biggest single market for Volkswagen AG, BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler AG. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has resisted a blanket ban on Huawei from 5G networks.

France wont ban any equipment maker from its 5G network, but will seek to protect critical infrastructure, finance minister Bruno Le Maire said earlier this year. With a spectrum auction set for September, carriers including Bouygues SA await a decision from the French cyber security agency Anssi on whether Huawei can be part of their plans. In a tweet earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised Frances leading phone company Orange SA, calling it a clean telecom carrier after it picked trusted 5G equipment suppliers Nokia and Ericsson in January.

Italy hasnt moved against Huawei, though it has adopted rules to closely monitor telecommunications equipment suppliers, and scrutinize gear that comes from outside Europe. Italy has pursued a friendly approach with Chinese investors and especially with Huawei, which has poured money into the country, financing research centers, universities and schools.

In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been stalling a decision on whether to ban Huawei from 5G wireless networks. Tensions between the two countries have been rising since Canadian authorities arrested Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition request in late 2018. After her arrest, China put two Canadian citizens in jail, halted billions of dollars in Canadian imports and put two other Canadians on death row. On June 2, two major Canadian wireless companies -- BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. -- said theyd build out their 5G wireless networks with equipment from Ericsson and Nokia.

India has allowed Huawei to participate in trials, but the companys entry into the countrys 5G commercial network could be blocked as tensions persist following border clashes with China. India is the largest wireless market outside China by number of subscribers, and has been a focus for investment by Huawei.

The tide is turning against Huawei as citizens around the world are waking up to the danger of the Chinese Communist Partys surveillance state, Pompeo said in a statement Wednesday.

(Updates to add reference to U.K. development site in 19th paragraph. An earlier version of this story was corrected to fix the spelling of Huawei in fourth paragraph)

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The US is reviewing its global deployment of forces to ensure it is postured appropriately to counter the People's Liberation Army, given the increasing threat posed by China to Asian countries like India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday.

Pompeo made those remarks in response to a question during the virtual Brussels Forum 2020 of the German Marshall Fund. "We're going to make sure we're postured appropriately to counter the PLA. We think that the challenge of our times, and we're going to make sure we have resources in place to do that," Pompeo said.

The force posture review is being done at the direction of President Donald Trump, as part of which the US is reducing the number of its troops in Germany from about 52,000 to 25,000, he said. Pompeo said that the force posture would be dictated by the ground realities.

"In certain places there will be fewer American resources. There'll be other places - I just talked about the threat from the Chinese Communist Party, so now threats to India, threats to Vietnam, threats to Malaysia, Indonesia, South China Sea challenges, the Philippines," he said.

"To the extent that that changed, the difference in what the US decided to do impacts adversely a threat some place, it may be that other nations need to step up and take responsibility for their own defense in ways that they hadn't done previously. So, we want to do this in full consultation with all of our partners all around the world, and certainly our friends in Europe," Pompeo said.

President Trump is being criticised for reducing troops from Germany. His critics say that this will increase the threat from Russia to Europe. Pompeo, however, did not agree with that argument.

It has been a long time since there has been a strategic review of our force posture all across the world. The US undertook that starting about 2.5 years ago, whether that was our forces in Africa, our forces in Asia, the force we have in the Middle East and in Europe, he said.

"We began to say these are often decisions that were made in a different time. Should we reallocate those a different way? Should we have a different composition of those forces? Everyone always wants to talk about ground troops. I get it. I was a young tank officer. You described that. There's nothing I like as much as a good M1 tank.

"But it's often the case that the capacity to deter Russia or other adversaries isn't determined any longer by just having a bunch of folks garrisoned someplace. So, we really went to back fundamentally relook, what is the nature of the conflict, what's the nature of the threat, and how should we allocate our resources, whether that's our resources in the intelligence community, our resources from the Air Force or the Marines and Army," Pompeo said.

Last week, Pompeo criticised the Chinese Army for "escalating" the border tension with India and militarising the strategic South China Sea. He also described the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) as a "rogue actor."

"Our broad set of allocation of security apparatus, our ability to counter cyber threats, how do we allocate them? What's the best way to do this? And the decision that you see the president made with respect to Germany is an outcome from a collective set of decisions about how we're going to posture our resources around the world," said the top American diplomat on Thursday.

Changes in force posture is being taken in consultations with allies and friends, Pompeo said. "President Trump has spoken to this. (Defense ) Secretary (Mark) Esper will be in London today and in Brussels tomorrow. We'll talk about our plan and how we're thinking about delivering it," he said.

"But you should understand this, and I hope our European partners will understand this as well. When you see what we ultimately conclude, how we ultimately deliver on the statements of the president made, that they're aimed squarely at what we believe to be democracies' fundamental interest and certainly America's most fundamental interest," Pompeo said.

Earlier this month, Pompeo had said that China's actions, be it on the India border, or in Hong Kong or in the South China Sea, were part of the behaviour of the ruling Communist Party in Beijing in the recent past. China has been fast expanding military and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific region, triggering concern in various countries of the region and beyond.

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 vital to global trade.

Also read: Mike Pompeo praises Reliance Jio as 'clean telco' amid row over Huawei
President Trump chimed in as the skirmish around the Jackson statue unfolded just beyond the White House fence, calling the protesters actions disgraceful vandalism. The next morning, Trump said in a tweet that he had authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the U.S. with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veterans Memorial Preservation Act, or such other laws that may be pertinent.....
On June 25, Russia's space agency Energia announced that it will take tourists at an ISS spacewalk in 2023 under the terms of a new contract with US partners. The SP Korolev Rocket, part of Roscosmos State Corporation and Space Adventures Inc. USA inked a contract to take two space tourists to the International Space Station (ISS) after NASA signed a deal with US Virgin Galactic space tourism company to promote private missions to the station post a special training program in the US.

In an official press release, Roscosmos said, A contract was signed for the implementation in 2023 of a short-term expedition of two space flight participants aboard the Soyuz MS to the Russian segment of the International Space Station. It added, It is planned that during the expedition, one of the spaceflight participants, together with a professional Russian astronaut, will go into outer space from the Russian segment of the station.

Earlier, in the contract that was signed between 2001 and 2009, Roscosmos and RSC Energia in collaboration with Space Adventures Inc launched successful eight short-term commercial flights to the ISS Russian segment on Soyuz spacecraft with space tourists on board. The last tourist, Cirque du Soleil co-founder Guy Laliberte, flew to the ISS in September 2009.

A private citizen completing a spacewalk would be another huge step forward in private spaceflight. The company appreciated the chance to celebrate two decades of orbital space tourism with Russian partners by opening up another first-ever experience Chairman and CEO of Space Adventures, said in a statement.

Good news! In about a week we will be able to have an online chat with you!



Roscosmos will host a live communication session with the #ISS. Given that we will have limited time, I will pick 10-15 most original questions  will be waiting for them in the comments! pic.twitter.com/cnDCySnKID  Ivan Vagner (@ivan_mks63) June 24, 2020

Read: Scientists Find Polystyrene Fragments In Guts Of Soil-dwelling Organisms In Antarctica

Read: NASA Scientists Show How Sunsets Would Look From Other Planets | Watch

NASAs Space Shuttle retired in 2011

According to Space Adventures, this person would become "the first private citizen in history to experience open space with an opportunity to go for a spacewalk outside the ISS. In 2011, NASAs Space Shuttle retired and Russias Soyuz tours became the only means to the ISS, NASA astronauts and international partners involved in the International Space Station program were given the preference as NASA paid $80 million for the seat. However, SpaceXs new Crew Dragon capsule and Boeings progress in the development of CST-100 Starliner to take NASA astronauts to and from the ISS, has prompted the Roscosmos space tourism to launch citizens into space.

Read: UK Scientists Warn Of Risks As Lockdown Eased

Read: Australia: Scientists Discover Mysterious Network Of Underwater Rivers Along Coastline
People are walking by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) building during Covid-19 pandemic in New York on May 26, 2020.

The second half of 2020 is nearly here, and now it's up to the economy to prove that the stock market was right about a sharp comeback in growth.

The first big test will be the June jobs report, out on Thursday instead of its usual Friday release due to the July 4 holiday. According to Refinitiv, economists expect 3 million jobs were created, after May's surprise gain of 2.5 million payrolls beat forecasts by a whopping 10 million jobs.

"If it's stronger, it will suggest that the improvement is quicker, and that's kind of what we saw in May with better retail sales, confidence was coming back a little and auto sales were better," said Kevin Cummins, chief U.S. economist at NatWest Markets.

The second quarter winds down in the week ahead as investors are hopeful about the recovery but warily eyeing rising cases of Covid-19 in a number of states.

Stocks were lower for the week, as markets reacted to rising cases in Texas, Florida and other states. Investors worry about the threat to the economic rebound as those states move to curb some activities. The S&P 500 is up more than 16% so far for the second quarter, and it is down nearly 7% for the year. Friday's losses wiped out the last of the index's June gains.

"I think the stock market is looking beyond the valley. It is expecting a V-shaped economic recovery and a solid 2021 earnings picture," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. He expects large-cap company earnings to be up 30% next year, and small-cap profits to bounce back by 140%.

"I think the second half needs to be a 'show me' period, proving that our optimism was justified, and we'll need to see continued improvement in the economic data, and I think we need to see upward revisions to earnings estimates," Stovall said.

Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, said she expects the recovery will not be as smooth as some expect, particularly considering the resurgence of virus outbreaks in sunbelt states and California.

"Now as I watch what's happening I think it's more likely to be rolling Ws," rather than a V, she said. "It's not just predicated on a second wave. I'm not sure we ever exited the first wave."

Even without actual state shutdowns, the virus could slow economic activity. "That doesn't mean businesses won't shut themselves down, or consumers won't back down more," she said.
NEW YORK  Dr. Gopi Patel recalls how powerless she felt when New Yorks Mount Sinai Hospital overflowed with COVID-19 patients in March. Guidance on how to treat the disease was scant, and medical studies were being performed so hastily they couldnt always be trusted. You felt very helpless, said Patel, an infectious disease doctor at the hospital. Im standing in front of a patient, watching them struggle to breathe. What can I give them?

While there is still no simple answer to that question, a lot has changed in the six months since an entirely new coronavirus began sweeping the globe.

Doctors say theyve learned enough about the highly contagious virus to solve some key problems for many patients. The changes could be translating into more saved lives, although there is little conclusive data.

Nearly 30 doctors around the world, from New Orleans to London to Dubai, told Reuters they feel more prepared should cases surge again in the fall.

We are well-positioned for a second wave, Patel said. We know so much more.

Doctors like Patel now have:

 A clearer grasp of the diseases side effects, like blood clotting and kidney failure

 A better understanding of how to help patients struggling to breathe

 More information on which drugs work for which kinds of patients.

They also have acquired new tools to aid in the battle, including:

 Widespread testing

 Promising new treatments like convalescent plasma, antiviral drugs and steroids *An evolving spate of medical research and anecdotal evidence, which doctors share across institutions, and sometimes across oceans.

Despite a steady rise in COVID-19 cases, driven to some extent by wider testing, the daily death toll from the disease is falling in some countries, including the United States. Doctors say they are more confident in caring for patients than they were in the chaotic first weeks of the pandemic, when they operated on nothing but blind instinct.

In June, an average of 4,599 people a day died from COVID-19 worldwide, down from 6,375 a day in April, according to Reuters data.

New Yorks Northwell Health reported a fatality rate of 21% for COVID-19 patients admitted to its hospitals in March. That rate is now closer to 10%, due to a combination of earlier treatment and improved patient management, Dr. Thomas McGinn, director of Northwells Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, told Reuters.

I think everybody is seeing that, he said. I think people are coming in sooner, there is better use of blood thinners, and a lot of small things are adding up.

Even nuts-and-bolts issues, like how to reorganize hospital space to handle a surge of COVID-19 patients and secure personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical workers, are not the time-consuming, mad scrambles they were before.

The hysteria of whod take care of (hospital staff) is not there anymore, said Dr. Andra Blomkalns, head of emergency medicine at Stanford Health Care, a California hospital affiliated with Stanford University. We have an entire team whose only job is getting PPE.

To be sure, the world is far from safe from a virus that continues to rage. It is expected to reach two grim milestones in the next several days: 10 million confirmed global infections and 500,000 deaths. As of Thursday evening, more than 9.5 million people had tested positive for the coronavirus, and more than 483,000 had died, according to Reuters data. The United States remains the epicenter of the pandemic, and cases are rising at an alarming pace in states like Arizona, Florida and Texas.

There is still no surefire treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus, which often starts as a respiratory illness but can spread to attack organs including the heart, liver, kidneys or central nervous system. Scientists are at least months away from a working vaccine.

And while medical knowledge has improved, doctors continue to emphasize that the best way for people to survive is to avoid infection in the first place through good hygiene, face coverings and limited group interaction.

Dr. Ramanathan Venkiteswaran, medical director of Aster Hospitals in the United Arab Emirates, said COVID-19 will likely result in permanent changes in medicine and for the general public on basic things like social distancing, wearing of masks and hand washing.

Learning on the fly

In the medical field, change can be slow, with years-long studies often needed before recommendations are altered. But protocols for COVID-19 have evolved at lightning speed.

In Brazil, Sao Paulo-based Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, one of the countrys leading private hospital networks, has updated its internal guidelines for treating coronavirus patients some 50 times since the outbreak began earlier this year, according to Dr. Moacyr Silva Junior, an infectious disease specialist at the center. Those guidelines govern questions such as which patients are eligible for which drugs, how to handle patients with breathing problems, and the use of PPE like masks, gowns and gloves.

In only three months, a resounding amount of scientific work on COVID-19 has been published, he said.

At Stanford Health Care, treatment guidelines changed almost daily in the early weeks of the pandemic, Blomkalns said. She described a patchwork approach that began by following guidelines established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, then modifying them to reflect a shortage of resources, and finally adding new measures not addressed by the CDC, such as how to handle pregnant healthcare workers.

The new coronavirus has been particularly vexing for doctors because of the many and often unpredictable ways it can manifest. Most people infected experience only mild flu-like symptoms, but some can develop severe pneumonia, stroke and neurological disease. Doctors say the biggest advance so far has been understanding how the disease can put patients at much higher risk for blood clots. Most recently, doctors have discovered that blood type might influence how the body reacts to the virus.

We developed specific protocols, such as when to start blood thinners, that are different from what would be done for typical ICU patients, said Dr. Jeremy Falk, pulmonary critical care specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Around 15% of COVID-19 patients are at risk of becoming sick enough to require hospitalization. Scientists have estimated that the fatality rate could be as high as 5%, but most put the number well below 1%. People with the highest risk of severe disease include older adults and those with underlying health conditions like heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

While rates of COVID-19 infection have recently been rising in many parts of the United States, the total number of U.S. patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has been steadily falling since a peak in late April, according to the CDC.

Many hospitals report success with guidelines for proning patients  positioning them on their stomachs to relieve pressure on the lungs, and hopefully stave off the need for mechanical ventilation, which many doctors said has done more harm than good.

At first, we had no idea how to treat severely ill patients when we (ventilate), said Dr. Satoru Hashimoto, who directs the intensive care division at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Japan. We treated them in the fashion we treated influenza, only to see those patients suffer serious kidney, digestive and other problems, he said.

Hospitals say increased coronavirus testing  and faster turnaround times to get results  are also making a difference.

What has really helped us triage patients is the availability of rapid testing that came on about six weeks ago, said Falk of Cedars-Sinai. Initially, we had to wait two, three or even four days to get a test back. That really clogged up the COVID areas of the hospital.

Faster, wider testing also helps conserve PPE by identifying the negative patients around whom doctors dont have to wear as much gear, said Dr. Saj Patel, who treats non-critical patients at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. You can imagine how much PPE we burned through waiting for test results, he said.

Hospitals around the world acted early to restructure operations, including floor layouts, to isolate coronavirus patients and reduce exposure to others. It wasnt always smooth, but doctors say theyre figuring out how to do it more efficiently.

Our hospital infrastructure, and the way that we ... manage people coming through the door is a lot slicker than it was earlier in the epidemic, said Dr. Tom Wingfield, a clinical lecturer at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in Liverpool, England.

The presidents drug

Hospitals said some of their early hunches about best treatments for COVID-19 patients ended up being wrong. Case in point: use of the anti-malaria pill hydroxychloroquine.

It gained attention in March, when President Donald Trump began publicly touting it. Early reports showed the drug could have some benefit, and hospitals, desperate for solutions, started giving it to critically sick patients. But subsequent trial data have told a different story, suggesting the drug is not effective for treatment or prevention, and might even cause harm. Other clinical trials of the drug are still underway.

Dr. Mangala Narasimhan, regional director of critical care at Northwell Hospital in New York, recalled the uncertainty around hydroxychloroquine. The hospital used it early on, but stopped after the negative studies were published. That was one of our mainstays of treatment in the beginning, Narasimhan said. We didnt have anything else.

Trumps loud support for the drug turned the medical debate into a political one. That happened in Brazil, too, when far-right President Jair Bolsonaro fiercely supported hydroxychloroquine. Hospital Sirio-Libanes, in Sao Paulo, is one of the many hospitals around the globe that have now abandoned it.

Some patients at Sirio-Libanes refused to be part of clinical trials involving what they called the presidents drug, said Dr. Mirian Dal Ben, an epidemiologist there, while others demanded to be treated with it.

The lingering questions about use of hydroxychloroquine highlight the hazards of quickly moving science. Hospitals normally rely on fully vetted research published by prominent medical journals like the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine to flag important medical findings. But as the pandemic built, so did the number of so-called pre-print studies that have not been peer-reviewed.

The Montpellier University Hospital in southern France used hydroxychloroquine on severely ill patients until the government banned the substance in May.

I have no major regrets when looking back on the decisions that we took, said Dr. Jacques Reynes, head of infectious and tropical diseases. But I would say that, at the beginning, we were somewhat in a fog.

Using whats at hand

But even if hydroxychloroquine looks unlikely as an effective COVID-19 treatment, hospitals continue to try new medications  both by repurposing older drugs and exploring novel therapies. Patients are being enrolled in hundreds of coronavirus clinical trials launched in the past three months.

Many hospitals said they are seeing success with the use of plasma donated by survivors of COVID-19 to treat newly infected patients.

People who survive an infectious disease like COVID-19 are generally left with blood containing antibodies, which are proteins made by the bodys immune system to fight off a virus. The blood component that carries the antibodies, known as convalescent plasma, can be collected and given to new patients.

Early results from a study at New Yorks Mount Sinai Hospital found that patients with severe COVID-19 who were given convalescent plasma were more likely to stabilize or need less oxygen support than other similar hospital patients. But results from other studies have been mixed, and doctors still await findings from a rigorously-designed trial. And availability of plasma varies between regions.

At Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, anecdotally everyone can provide stories of the benefits of plasma, said Dr. John Deledda, the hospitals chief medical officer.

But in rural New Mexico, hospitals that care for largely underserved populations struggle to find it. Theres a limited number of blood centers that can provide plasma, said Valory Wangler, chief medical officer at Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services, in Gallup, New Mexico. Until trial data is more conclusive, plasma is not something were pursuing actively, she said.

Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, head of infectious diseases at Qatars Hamad Medical Corporation and a co-chair of the countrys pandemic preparedness team, said he saw patients improve after he started using donated plasma early in the course of COVID-19 before the patients deteriorated.

Qatar is also assessing a steroid known as dexamethasone to treat COVID-19. But Khal says he wants to wait for publication of clinical data behind a recent UK study suggesting that the steroid reduced death rates by around a third among the most severely ill COVID-19 patients.

In patients with severe COVID-19, the immune system can overreact, triggering a potentially harmful cascade. Steroids are an older class of drugs that suppress that inflammatory response. But they can also make it easier for other viral or bacterial infections to take hold  making doctors leery of their use in a hospital setting or in patients with early-stage COVID-19.

Some countries, including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, reported using HIV drugs lopinavir and ritonavir with some success. Clinical trials, though, have suggested little benefit, and they arent widely used in the United States.

Midnight delivery

Many of the doctors who spoke with Reuters were bullish on the use of remdesivir, the only drug so far shown to be effective against the coronavirus in a rigorous clinical trial. The antiviral developed by California-based Gilead Sciences Inc was shown to reduce the length of hospital stays for COVID-19 patients by about a third, but hasnt been proven to boost survival.

Remdesivir is designed to disable the mechanism by which certain viruses, including the new coronavirus, make copies of themselves and potentially overwhelm their hosts immune system.

It is available under emergency approvals in several countries, including the United States. But Gileads donated supplies are limited, and distribution and availability are uneven.

Dr. Andrew Staricco, chief medical officer at McLaren Health Care, which operates 11 hospitals across Michigan, recalls the urgency to obtain remdesivir early on. He got an email from Michigans health department on May 9, a week after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration authorized the drug for use in treating COVID-19.

The health department said it had received a small batch from the federal government, and planned to dole it out to local hospitals based on need. Staricco wrote back, saying he had 15 to 18 critically ill patients, but was given enough to treat just four.

The drug was so precious, he said, that state police troopers were responsible for transporting it to the hospital  which they did, dropping it off around 1 a.m. the next morning. Health officials originally directed remdesivir for use on the most critically ill patients. But doctors later found they got the best results administering it earlier.

We started finding that, actually, the sooner you get treated with it, the better, Staricco said. Weve revisited our criteria for giving it to patients three different times.

Data on the drug, he said, is still scarce. But his anecdotal observations on the benefits of early treatment were echoed by several U.S. doctors.

Copy-catting

Gilead on Monday said it aims to manufacture another 2 million courses of remdesivir this year, but did not comment on how it plans to distribute, or sell, those supplies for use by hospitals.

The company has licensed the antiviral to several generic drugmakers, who will be allowed to sell the medication in over 100 low-income nations.

Although much about the coronavirus remains unknown, a key reason hospitals say they now are more prepared owes to teamwork. Many doctors described a kind of unofficial network of information sharing.

In hard-hit Italy, Dr. Lorenzo Dagna of the IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, organized conference calls with institutions in the United States and elsewhere to share experiences and anecdotes treating COVID-19 patients.

McLarens Staricco said the Michigan hospital chain adopted its policy on use of blood thinners by looking at peers at Detroit Medical Center and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

As more institutions put their guidelines online, he said, there was lots of copy-catting going on.

Nick Brown reported from New York; Deena Beasley, Los Angeles; Gabriela Mello, Sao Paulo; Cornwell, Dubai. Additional reporting By Alistair Smout in London, Matthias Blamont in Paris, Emilio Parodi in Milan, Lisa Barrington in Dubai, Rocky Swift in Tokyo and Sangmi Cha in Seoul.
Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit Conduct Maritime Training Exercise with Italian, French Partners

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS200625-02

Release Date: 6/25/2020 9:10:00 AM

From 26th MEU Public Affairs Office

MEDITERRANEAN SEA (NNS) -- The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conducted a maritime training exercise with naval ships and aircraft from Italy and France, June 24.

The exercise included precision maneuvering operations off the coast of Sicily involving the ARG flagship, the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), and the Italian amphibious transport dock ship ITS San Giorgio, as well as the French amphibious assault ship FS Mistral and the French frigate FS Guepratte.

"This exercise provided a great opportunity for partner nations to work together and share strategies for real-world scenarios," said Capt. Bryan Carmichael, commanding officer of Bataan. "Big 5's Sailors and Marines demonstrated our continuous commitment to NATO partners, regional security, and national interests."

Additionally, aircraft embarked aboard Bataan, including MV-22B Ospreys from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 365 (Reinforced) and MH-60S Seahawks from the Navy's Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, conducted dynamic landings on the flight deck of the Mistral, while French Alouette and Gazelle helicopters and an Italian SH101-A helicopter conducted landings on the flight deck of Bataan.

The Bataan ARG also includes the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21), which is operating in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Harpers Ferry-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51), which is operating in the Black Sea alongside the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78).

"The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit's operations at sea alongside our NATO allies represent another demonstration of our steadfast and mutual commitment to ensuring a free and peaceful Europe," said Capt. Lance Lesher, commander of the Bataan ARG. "No nation can confront today's challenges alone, and our valued partners in this region can count on us to be engaged and postured as a premier crisis response team in an increasingly complex security environment."

Bataan ARG and 26th MEU consist of more than 4,000 total Sailors and Marines, who are operating in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe after more than five months deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, which includes the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.

ARGMEUs operate continuously across the globe and provide the geographic combatant commanders with a forward-deployed, flexible and responsive sea-based MAGTF. The blue-green team is fully capable of conducting operations across a full spectrum of conventional, unconventional and hybrid warfare.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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Syracuse, N.Y.  Doctors and nurses at Upstate University Hospital had never treated nine gunshot victims at the same time before last Saturday nights mass shooting at a party on Syracuses Near West Side.

As far as ignoble records go, I think this was a record for us, said Dr. William Paolo, who heads the emergency department.

To make matters worse, Upstate cared overnight for three more gunshot victims injured in separate incidents unrelated to the party.

Paolo did his training at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. Ive seen more gunshot victims in Syracuse than I ever did in New York City, he said. Gun violence is a public health crisis here.

The mass shooting occurred about 9 p.m. during a large outdoor birthday party. At least six people opened fire, sending hundreds of people fleeing for their lives. Investigators believe the shooting was gang-related. A 17-year-old boy who was shot in the head at the event died Thursday. The injuries suffered by the others were not life-threatening. No arrests have been made.

Shortly after the shootings, Upstate was notified there had been a mass casualty incident. Upstate is the regions only level 1 trauma center. That means its the only hospital equipped to provide total care to seriously injured patients.

The staff at Upstate did not initially know how many casualties to expect or the severity of injuries. To prepare for the onslaught, two resident doctors working in the childrens emergency department were reassigned to the adult ED. Surgeons and other members of the trauma team, nurses, social workers and spiritual care staff formed teams and were ready to spring into action. We drill for these things, Paolo said.

The ED shut its doors to all other patients from 9:20 to 11:45 p.m. so it could focus exclusively on the shooting victims. Ambulances were diverted to other hospitals during that time. It also barred anyone other than the casualties from entering the ED until the situation was under control. Paolo said the ED goes on such lockdowns whenever it cares for victims of violent incidents. This is done to prevent anyone who may have been involved in the mass shooting from coming into the hospital to settle a dispute or attack someone, Paolo said.

Eight of the gunshot victims wounded at the party went to Upstates main ED downtown and one went to the ED at Upstates Community campus on Onondaga Hill. Two of them required surgery.

Of the three other gunshot victims wounded in incidents unrelated to the mass shooting, two of them were treated at Upstates downtown ED and the other at Community.

Paolo said caring for the shooting victims went smoothly because most of them did not have life-threatening injuries.

He was surprised the damage wasnt worse.

If most of these people were shot in the chest instead of extremity injuries it could have gotten really bad, he said.

The incident appears to be the worst mass shooting in Syracuse since 2015 when a man shot and injured six people on Super Bowl Sunday in McAvans Pub on Tipperary Hill.

In another mass shooting in 2018, five people, including an 8-tear-old girl, were shot and injured on Midland Ave. while attending a memorial service for a man who died of cancer.

James T. Mulder covers health news. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com
When Polish President Andrzej Duda saw his popularity dip in opinion polls recently, he turned to some familiar tactics. He attacked gay people, praised Catholic family values and cozied up to Donald Trump.

Duda's Poland is no stranger to divisive politics over the past five years. But as he seeks a second term in an election on Sunday, the question is whether the us-against-them narrative of the governing Law & Justice party will yield another victory and raise the alarm again for Europe.

The vote, the first of two potential rounds, is a critical moment for a nation that until five years ago was hailed as a model of transformation from communism to a thriving democracy. By clashing with the European Union over everything from LGBT rights to the independence of courts and control of the media, Poland turned into a problem child.

Now the country will decide whether the leadership will get carte blanche to complete its project by reelecting a handpicked president whose job has been to endorse its power grab. The risk for an E.U. grappling with the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout is that Poland goes the way of Hungary, already seen by many in Brussels as a lost cause.

U.S. think tank Freedom House said that given Poland's current trajectory, it may not even be considered a functioning democracy in years to come. "If this continues for another five years it's very likely that Poland will find itself outside the democracy category," said Zselyke Csaky, a Freedom House research director.

The vote is Duda's to lose. Polls show he still has a healthy lead, albeit without the critical mass to avoid a second runoff round on July 12.

The 48-year-old president is backed by 42% of the electorate, based on the average of the last five surveys. The leading opposition candidate Rafal Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw, is on 28%. But should neither candidate win at least half of the votes on Sunday, polling for a second round suggests the result would be too close to call.

Indeed, after the vote was delayed from May because of covid-19, the campaign has been tough for the incumbent, who was picked by Law & Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski to run for the presidency in 2015.

Trzaskowski, also 48, has tapped into growing discontent over Poland's seemingly perpetual clash with the E.U. and now the prospect of a deep recession with his "We've had enough!" rallying cry.

Duda fought back by blaming the LGBT community for threatening Polish families and championing the government's social security handouts. This week, he visited the White House for talks with Trump. The American president has praised Warsaw's spending on military equipment and the drive to chart its own "Poland first" path within the EU.

While the meeting failed to produce a sweeping defense agreement long-advocated by Poland, public television hailed the visit as a resounding success. Yet that may make little difference, according to Andrzej Rychard, a sociology professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences.

"Duda's visit can mobilize his core electorate, which would vote for him even if he didn't go," said Rychard. "The key to Polish elections is the ability to add several percentage points of support, and I don't think this visit can help that."

Eastern Europe is proving to be a testing ground for how the pandemic has weighed on sentiment toward leaders. Serbia held elections last weekend, with voters handing President Aleksandar Vucic's party an emphatic victory amid a boycott by opposition groups. Croatia heads to the polls next month.

In Poland, a Duda loss would jeopardize Law & Justice's ability to push through some legislation. The party has enough seats in parliament to pass laws, though not enough to override a presidential veto.

The party built power by attacking "corrupt elites" and promising a fairer, safer country for ordinary citizens after decades of fast-paced changes following communism. Aided by a tightly controlled media, the government is painting Duda as the sole defender against foreign influences and the protector of new social benefits, including child care and pension handouts.

But the covid crisis has given the opposition a chance to disrupt the government's narrative, especially as frustration rises amid allegations of sleaze and top officials not following their own lockdown rules. Kaczynski also had to abandon plans for an untested mail-only election in May, when polls showed Duda winning in the first round.

According to Freedom House, which runs an index gauging the strength of democracies around the globe, Poland deteriorated for a fourth year in 2019 and is well below its neighbors in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Baltic counties.

The view that things aren't going in the right direction is starting to resonate among Polish voters as the pandemic raises expectations for government relief and exposes the limits of the party's media machine.

"The masks have fallen," said Adam Bodnar, Poland's ombudsman for human rights. "The line dividing those in power and the rest of the society is much clearer."
A 19-year-old woman from Whiting, Indiana, was charged with two misdemeanors after officers spotted her tagging the base of one of two lion statues outside the Art Institute of Chicago overnight.
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Linkedin Oscar Lopez (Thomson Reuters Foundation) Mexico City, Mexico  Fri, June 26, 2020 11:00 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661d11b4 2 World homosexuality,LGBT-rights,LGBTQ,LGBT,sexual-orientation Free

Acceptance of homosexuality is rising broadly across the world, according to a survey published on Thursday, even as sharp divisions persist by region and economic development.

Support has grown from as far a field as Kenya to the United States, the Pew Research Center survey found, with an average of 52% of people across 34 countries saying homosexuality should be accepted, versus 38% against.

Overall the changes are towards more acceptance rather than less, said Jacob Poushter, associate director of global attitudes research at the U.S.-based think tank.

Many countries saw a considerable jump in acceptance from the inaugural survey of 2002, including a 21-point increase in South Africa and a 19-point rise in South Korea.

India saw a 22-point surge since its first survey in 2014.

However, views on homosexuality remain regionally divided, with a majority in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East agreeing that being gay should not be accepted, compared to most people in the Americas and Western Europe who embrace the issue.

Openness to LGBT issues was also tied to economic development, the researchers found, with countries such as Sweden having positive views of homosexuality, compared to opinion in lower income countries such as Nigeria.

Around the world, laws favoring LGBT+ rights have broadly increased: since the Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001, 27 other United Nations member states have passed laws that let gays and lesbians wed.

But gay sex is still illegal in 68 countries, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), with six countries imposing the death penalty for consensual, same-sex sexual acts.

Many of the countries that criminalize gay sex are in Africa, however, there, too, change is afoot, with lawmakers in Gabon's lower house of parliament voting to reverse the countrys anti-gay sex law this week.

But the Pew Research Center said new laws might not have as much of an impact on attitudes as other factors, be it wealth, education, age or religion.

The long-term trend has been a general rise in acceptance that might not be as impacted by the changes in the overall laws, Poushter told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

What we see is that it's the demographic factors underlying this that generally make a lot of difference, he said.

Younger people were much more likely to accept being gay than their older peers, the survey found, with nearly 80% of South Koreans aged 18 to 29 saying homosexuality should be accepted, versus just 23% of those over 50.

The survey was conducted between May 13 and October 2 last year among 38,426 people in 34 countries.
In a press release issued on June 25, The Mayflower Community announced one staff member for their retirement campus has been newly diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.

As of June 24, 2020, the Iowa Department of Public Health has documented 99 cases of COVID-19, an illness caused by the novel coronavirus, in Poweshiek County. This, however, is the first documented case on the Mayflower campus.

As COVID-19 traveled across the nation this spring, the Center for Disease Control noted its disproportionate effects on the elderly and immunocompromised. For those living in the town of Grinnell, these statistics have become a daily reality.

In late April, 28 cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed at St. Francis Manor, a long-term care facility in Grinnell. The Mayflower Community, however, was previously able to prevent the virus from entering their facility. In an interview with The S&B in May, Steve Langerud, executive director of the Mayflower Community, credited this past success to Mayflowers quick response to the pandemic.

According to their June 25 press release, though, one case of COVID-19 has occurred in a Mayflower Community staff member. Langerud stated that this staff member is currently being quarantined in their home, and that they are taking every step as recommended by authorities to contain the spread.

Due to the PPE worn by staff members and the extra safety precautions taken thus far, The Mayflower Community is hoping to prevent the virus from spreading within the community  both inside the facility and out.

Langerud assured the residents and their families that they will act with the communitys best interest in mind and will continue to adhere to the Phase I reopening requirements as stated by the state of Iowa.

In an effort to increase communication and slow the spread, Langerud encouraged community members to stay informed, and he stated that The Mayflower Community will be providing on-going updates via our webpage and social media channels for families, media, and the greater community.
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci watches as Vice President Mike Pence speaks after leading a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the Department of Health and Human Services on June 26, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

"We flattened the curve," Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday after a meeting with the White House Coronavirus Task Force

That's false. These charts from the task force prove it.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

America has never had as many new, diagnosed cases of the coronavirus as it does today.

Across the US, cities and states are pressing pause on their reopening plans, and instituting mask mandates, as the number of new cases in many populous areas hit all-time highs.

But to hear Vice President Mike Pence tell it, the country is doing fine.

"As we stand here today, all 50 states and territories across this country are opening up safely and responsibly," Vice President Pence told reporters after a meeting with the White House Coronavirus Task Force on Friday. "The truth is, we did slow the spread. We flattened the curve."

Here are 14 charts and maps shown by his White House Coronavirus Task Force that show how the virus is spreading faster than ever in many heavily populated areas of the southern US.

Vice President Pence said that testing has been ramping up across the country in recent weeks and months. That's true, but it's not why the number of positive coronavirus cases in many southern states is increasing so rapidly right now.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26 9

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

"We want the American people to understand, it's almost inarguable that more testing is generating more cases," Pence said.

The data tells a different story.

Just look at New Jersey, one of Pence's examples of coronavirus success.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26 10

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

New Jersey now lets anyone in the state who wants one get a coronavirus test, but the number of coronavirus cases in that state is still declining.

The number of positive cases is also going down in other previously hard-hit states, including New York, Michigan, and Connecticut  all places with plenty of tests.

Story continues

A look at positive cases in different metro areas.

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

In fact, New York is testing more than 60,000 people every day. Only about 1% of those tests are coming back positive, so it's not the testing that's driving the uptick in coronavirus cases around the US.

New York has had the bulk of the country's coronavirus cases thus far, but it's misleading to think that other areas are safe now, just because they haven't had as many cases.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26 8

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

Pence applauded "the extraordinary progress in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New Orleans," over the past few months  what he called a "precipitous decline from some of the worst moments of this pandemic."

That is true for those areas of the country, but it is not the right way to think about what's going on elsewhere.

In a lot of other spots around the US, things are getting worse, not better.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26 14

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

Pence said there's a "rising series of new cases across the American South."

At least 16 states are grappling with rising numbers and percentages of positive coronavirus cases. It's a troubling sign that not enough testing is happening in those spots to assess the full scale of the spread of the illness.

Many states are seeing their percentage of positive cases rise, even as they race to test more and more people.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26 7

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

If it were true that the increase in coronavirus case numbers was just a result of better testing, then we should be seeing the percentage of positive cases fall, as more of the population gets tested.

Pence also used the falling death rate nationwide to argue that "we're in a much better place" than the country was earlier this spring.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26 15

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

Part of the reason that death rates are dropping across the country is that more young people are getting infected, but that does not mean their cases are not severe, or that this trend will continue.

Look at these top 10 "emerging" counties that the task force highlighted, which are centered in just six states. There could be many more deaths in these spots in the coming weeks, as infections worsen over time.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26 13

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

Arizona, Texas, California, Florida, Georgia and Washington are all seeing upticks in cases.

It can take up to a week or more during an infection for the virus to get really bad.

"We are reminded, as we see cases rising across the South, that we still have work to do," Pence said.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26 4

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

To help combat the rapid spread in those spots, at least 10 different states and cities around the country are pausing or rolling back their reopening plans. These are the largest metro areas the task force is concerned about right now.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

Bars are now closed again in both Florida and Texas.

The number of cases being diagnosed in Florida continues to soar. On Thursday, it doubled.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26 12

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

Florida reported 8,933 new coronavirus cases on Thursday  nearly double the case count from the previous day, and a sharp uptick from when the state started reopening in May, with hundreds, not thousands of cases each day.

Confirmed case counts are rising in all of Florida's most populous counties. It's an indication that the virus is widespread in that state.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26 6

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

Pence said he's headed to Florida next Thursday to "get a ground report."

It's a similar situation in California, where the task force said infections are increasing in Los Angeles and the Central Valley.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26 11

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

San Francisco is also pressing pause on its reopening plans.

In Arizona, where more than half of the state's residents live in just one county, the governor is now asking, but not ordering, residents to stay home.

white house coronavirus task force briefing jun 26 5

White House Coronavirus Task Force / US Department of Health and Human Services

"The rate of the spread of this virus is unacceptable," Republican Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said Thursday. "Arizonans are safer at home, and you can stay healthy at home."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Moscow court issues guilty verdict against $2 mln theater embezzlement case defendants

 RAPSI, Kirill Ryabchikov

13:04 26/06/2020

MOSCOW, June 26 (RAPSI)  Moscows Meshchansky District Court on Friday found the Gogol Center theater director Kirill Serebrennikov and other defendants guilty in a case over embezzlement of 129 million rubles (about $2 million) of budget funds allocated for the theater project Platforma, RAPSI reported from the courtroom.

The court found that Serebrennikov and ex-head of Seventh Studio stage company Yury Itin had committed embezzlement involving producer Alexey Malobrodsky in the crime. However, Director of the Russian Academic Youth Theater Sophia Apfelbaum was not aware of their criminal plans but provided for the approval of the Platforma financial plans submitted by Serebrennikov. However, the court found Apfelbaum guilty of negligence resulted in grave damage.

On June 22, a prosecutor demanded a 6-year jail sentence and an 800,000-ruble fine for Serebrennikov, for 5 years in penal colony with a 300,000-ruble fine Malobrodsky, 4 years behind bars with a 200,000-ruble fine for Itin and Apfelbaum each.

In late 2019, the court commissioned the third complex financial and economic, and art valuation examination. A previous evaluation in 2018 failed to establish a fact of embezzlement. According to the results of the third examination, over 129 million rubles were embezzled from the arts project Platforma.

Ex-chief accountant of Seventh Studio Nina Maslyayava is tried separately. She admitted guilt in full.

Other defendants pleaded not guilty calling charges against them pointless and absurd. Moreover, Serebrennikov and Malobrodsky lay the blame on Maslyayeva.

One more defendant, producer Yekaterina Voronova has been put on the international wanted list and arrested in absentia.

According to investigators, defendants in the case stole 133 of 214 million rubles ($3.3 million) of budget funds allocated to the Seventh Studio company in 2011-2014 for development and popularization of contemporary art in Russia as part of the project Platforma.

Serebrennikov was arrested in late August 2017 and then placed under house arrest. In early November, Moscows Basmanny District Court seized assets belonging to Serebrennikov including apartment, car, and money in the amount of more than 360,000 rubles ($5,300), over 60,000, and $4,000.

Investigators believe that he was an organizer of the budget money embezzlement. He allegedly created Seventh Studio stage company to actualize Platforma project for promotion of art and called alleged accomplices into the organization.




Three police officers in Wilmington, North Carolina, were fired on Wednesday after they were recorded using racist language and talking about killing Black people.

Wilmington Police Chief Donny Williams said in a statement that the officers  Officer James Gilmore, Corporal Jesse Moore II and Officer Kevin Piner  were using hate-filled speech and referred to Black people as the n-word.

They also criticized me, several black officers within the agency and made negative comments about individuals outside of the agency, Williams, who is Black, said in the statement. They made negative comments about the Black Lives Matter protests and were critical of our response. The 46 minute and 12 second conversations were brutally offensive and deserved immediate action.

The official report from the Wilmington Police said that in the video, Officer Piner said he felt society needed a civil war to wipe em off the [expletive] map. Thatll put em back four or five generations. Piner also said he cant wait for there to be martial law and that soon we are just gonna go out and start slaughtering them ...

In the video, Gilmore and Piner both talked about the protests against racism across the country, at which point Gilmore said the police agency is only concerned with kneeling down with the Black folks.

At a later point, Corporal Moore, referring to a Magistrate Daniel, a Black magistrate not named in the report, and said that God has a special place for people like that, I hope they burn in hell man...hate em. Its bad man because not all Black people are like that, to which Piner responds, Most of em. Moore responded by saying, 90 percent of em Kevin, 90 [expletive] percent of them.

The report said that all three of the officers admitted using the language in the video and that each denied being racist, saying that the stress of current events led them to venting.

All three officers had been in the department for a long time, with Moore and Gilmore having been hired in 1997 and Piner having been hired in 1998.
Akshay Kumar's Old Tweet On Petrol And Diesel Price Hike

Akshay Kumar's tweet read, "Couldn't even get to my house at nite for all of Mumbai was queuing up for petrol before the prices rocketed again," While Awhad's reply read, "Are you not active on Twitter...Have you stopped using cars Don't you read the newspaper, Akshay Kumar. There has been a steep #PetrolDieselPriceHike just for Ur information."

Akshay Kumar's Deleted Tweet On Petrol And Diesel Price Hike

Other Twitter users also chimed in and reminded the actor of another tweet from 2012, which has since been deleted. Sharing screengrabs of the same, another user wrote, "Hope your bicycle is still in good condition."

Akshay's now-deleted tweet criticised the price hike in 2012 and said, "Guys, I think it's time to clean up your bicycles and hit the road! As per sources, expecting another petrol price hike."

Amitabh Bachchan's Old Tweet On Petrol And Diesel Price Hike

Minister Jitendra Awhad also quoted Amitabh Bachchan's tweet from the same time, and said 'hope you are not biased'. Amitabh Bachchan's tweet in 2012 read, "T 753 -Petrol up Rs 7.5 : Pump attendent - 'Kitne ka daloon ?' ! Mumbaikar - '2-4 rupye ka car ke upar spray kar de bhai, jalana hai !!'"

According to latest reports, Petrol prices on Friday hiked by 21 paise while diesel prices were raised by 17 paise, in Mumbai, the price of petrol stood at Rs 86.91 per litre while diesel at Rs 78.51 per litre.
A number of beautiful images of the Nho Que river at sunset, Quan Ba town, and the Ma Pi Leng pass are among the impressive images captured by foreign photographers during their visits to Ha Giang.

Ha Giang province as seen during the harvest season. (Photo: Sylvain Marcelle / 500px.com)

A view of the Dong Van stone plateau. (Photo: Scott Biales / 500px.com)

A striking image featuring the Nho Que river at sunset. (Photo: Comi Valentine / 500px.com)

Quan Ba town seen from high above (Photo: Omer Maoz / 500px.com)

The sight of the pristine beauty of terraced fields around Ha Giang province during the early morning (Photo: Sylvain Marcelle / 500px.com)

Tam Giac Mach, also known as buckwheat, flowers ultimately serve to beautify Ha Giang province. (Photo: Yan Lerval / 500px.com)

A scene from the Ma Pi Leng pass. (Photo: Sylvain Marcelle / 500px.com)

The pristine beauty of the Dong Van stone plateau. (Photo: Michael Graber / 500px.com)

A peaceful moment amid a mountainous area. (Photo: Extra Suriyachat / 500px.com)

A small valley as it appears at dawn. (Photo: Extra Suriyachat / 500px.com)

A daughter follows her mother to work on a terraced field. (Photo: Sirisak Baokaew / 500px.com)

A Red Dao ethnic child on the Dong Van stone plateau (Photo: Arnaud Foucard / 500px.com)

VOV

Images of playful children on stone plateau in Ha Giang Whilst cheerful children tend to be the centre of attention for many photographers, a range of elegant pictures can be snapped to preserve precious childhood memories.
A day after the Uttar Pradesh child rights body slapped a notice on Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress leader slammed back saying she is "Indira Gandhi's granddaughter" and nothing will stop her from telling the truth.

The UP State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (UPSCPCR) on Thursday sent a notice to Gandhi regarding her Facebook post in which she criticised the Kanpur shelter home incident where 57 girls tested positive for Covid.

Priyanka Gandhi also said that the government was wasting time threatening her as they would not have much of an effect on her.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, the Congress' eastern Uttar Pradesh in-charge said, "My duty as a public servant is to the people of UP, and that duty is to put the truth before them. And not to peddle any government propaganda. The UP government is wasting its time by threatening me..."

"Do whatever you want to do. I will keep bringing the truth to the fore. I am the granddaughter of Indira Gandhi, not an informal BJP spokesperson from an opposition party," she said in another tweet.

The Commission has asked the Congress leader to issue a corrigendum to her post within three days or face action under the Child Protection Act (Section 13).

The notice sent by Chairman of the Commission, Vishesh Gupta, said that the UPSCPCR had taken suo-moto cognizance of her post in which she had compared the Kanpur shelter home to the Muzaffarpur (Bihar) shelter home incident.

Gupta said that while 57 girls had tested positive for coronavirus and were being treated as per the protocols, the report that one of the girls had tested positive for HIV was also baseless and wrong.

Gupta further said that comparing the Kanpur incident with Deoria in UP and Muzaffarpur in Bihar was completely "baseless and unjustified".

"Two girls were already pregnant when they were brought to the shelter home a few months ago and it was wrong to insinuate any sexual exploitation in the shelter home," the letter added.

The letter further said that Priyanka Gandhi's remarks on social media has caused considerable anguish to the concerned inmates.

Earlier this week, the District Magistrate of Agra, Prabhu Narain Singh, had asked Priyanka Gandhi to apologise for her post in which she had stated that 28 deaths had taken place in Agra within 48 hours.

The Congress leader has been critical of the state government in the recent past as she has highlighted the issue of irregularities in the teacher recruitment examination, handling of migrant workers and others. She had also locked horns with the state government in mid May over the issue of providing 1,000 buses to the state government for transporting the stranded migrants.
A group of protesters clashed Friday evening over whether or not a statue of Christopher Columbus in Nutley should be removed.

Competing petitions were recently created with one asking for the statue, a bust of the famous Italian explorer located Chestnut Street and Kennedy Drive in Nutley, to be removed and for the Nutley/Belleville Columbus Day parade to be renamed  and the other asking for the opposite.

Catherine Pezo, one of the organizers of Nutley for Black Lives, said they did not write the petition that was circling online to remove it, but did support the legal removal of the statue.

The statue happens to be where the police station and town hall is, Pezo said.

Theres blatant denial of racism in this town by many leaders. Were supporting the nationwide and worldwide Black Lives Matter Movement.

Police moved barriers from in front of the Columbus statue to separate the two groups of protesters as they exchanged chants of black lives matter and all lives matter.

Counter protesters at town hall are chanting USA! while others shout Black Lives Matter! pic.twitter.com/Z0D7K9UG9T  Rebecca Panico (@BeccaPanico) June 26, 2020

The Black Lives group was comprised of a group of about 50 people, with the pro-Columbus ranks a bit smaller.

I get they want to riot, but were here to protect American history, said Lisa Mandericho who has lived in town since 1986. I understand its ugly but not all of history is ugly. If you take it down theres no reminder of what needs to be fixed.

She added, Dont get me wrong, Columbus came here. Was he the greatest person? No.

ALSO: Protesters demand Trenton statue of Christopher Columbus be removed

Here in Nutley with a group of Black Lives Matter protesters and counter protesters from the towns large Italian-American community, who showed up to protect a Columbus statue from vandalism.



Protesters are going back and forth, trading chants pic.twitter.com/COjDqJQulo  Josh Axelrod (@j0shaxelrod) June 26, 2020

Columbus changed the world. And he did it on a wooden boat, so he was alone against everybody else. And I think he should be respected and honored, said Joseph Gencarelli, a member of the Belleville-Nutley Columbus Day parade committee and former president of Belleville UNICO, an Italian-American organization.

He said police asked Nutley UNICO and parade committee members not to come and that they would handle any alleged threats of vandalism.

The Nutley for Black Lives group said it had no intention of destroying the statue or defacing property and describes itself as a small, hometown organization supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

A group of counter-protesters guard a statue of Christopher Columbus in Nutley.Rebecca Panico | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Columbus has increasingly been criticized for killing, enslaving and bringing disease to indigenous people in North America.

Columbus, an Italian who sailed under the Spanish flag, has long been honored for being the first European to reach the Americas, when he landed in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. But Columbuss arrival in the Americas set the stage for the subsequent colonization of the two continents, and the genocide of indigenous people which that entailed.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announced Friday that a statue of Christopher Columbus was removed Thursday night from Washington Park and that it will be kept in storage until the city decides what to do with it.

The removal of this statue should not be perceived as an insult to the Italian-American community, the mayor said. It is a statement against the barbarism, enslavement, and oppression that this explorer represents.

There was a rally in Trenton on Thursday to remove a similar statue and Camden already removed one earlier this month.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.

Josh Axelrod may be reached at jaxelrod@njadvancemedia.com.
We would never [allow] people into those back breeding areas where that occurs, but we can go in and video them and people can see that operation, Zeigler said. Like the tiger physical we just did. People arent allowed into our hospital  but because we can video it and put it out on live chat. In those cases they actually see more of the behind the scenes than when they come to the zoo.
The Nobel Peace Prize for Cuba's Doctors: How a Campaign Is Organized DIARIO DE CUBA uncovers the manuevering behind the purported charitable initiative backed by "friends of Cuba."

After the Cuban Government sent its medical brigades to the areas most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy, an effort was undertaken to ask the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee to grant the prestigious award to the Henry Reeve Brigade.

In early May several news outlets, including some Cuban ones, cited the existence of this proposal. On the 8th of that month Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on his profile page, on the social network Twitter: "A US organization has asked that the Cuban doctors who fought against Covid-19 be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, despite the lies and cruelty of the empire's hawks and henchmen."

That first mention of the effort by a senior Cuban official gave rise to the hashtag #NobelForCubanDoctors, launched on May 13 by Brazil's "Northern Zone Free Lula International Committee."

At the outset of the campaign, both users of the social network and media outlets in Cuba and other countries that made reference to the initiative, cited, like Diaz-Canel, the US organization Code Pink as its sponsor.

Calling itself a "grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end wars and occupations," Code Pink sent a letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in which it advocated granting the award to "the Cuban doctors and nurses forming part of the Henry Reeve International Medical Brigade, now working in 21 countries to combat Covid-19."

The statement avers that "while the US is appropriating funds from the World Health Organization, attacking China, and seizing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from other countries, Cuban doctors are fighting against Covid-19 worldwide." "Although we are aware that the nomination period has passed (...) their example of self-denial, courage and solidarity in the midst of the pandemic is incomparable, and they are truly worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize, the most prestigious award in the world", the petition concludes, signed by over 5,100 people to date.

However, the proposal advanced by Code Pink which, along with the ANSWER Coalition, led the occupation of the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, to prevent Juan Guaido's delegates from entering the building, in a well-organized operation that lasted 37 days was not the real origin of the campaign.

The campaign actually arose in France

None of the Cuban officials, and very few of the official media that have referred to the initiative for a Nobel for Cuban doctors, have recognized that the idea actually originated in France, devised there by the organization Cuba Linda.

In an April-28 letter its president Didier Lalande asked that the Nobel Prize to be awarded to the Henry Reeve contingent, in a campaign on the MesOpinions platform, which since then has generated 1,674 signatures.

The petition states that "in August 2005, a medical brigade of 1,500 specialized doctors and health technicians was formed to help the population affected by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Unconcerned with its poor people, the United States Government rejected the offer. On September 19 Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro formed an organization without precedent in the whole world: the Henry Reeve International Contingent of Medical Specialists in Catastrophes and Serious Epidemics Henry Reeve."

Through a Facebook page created on May 3 and administrated by Rose-Marie Lou, Cuba Linda's political director, affiliations have been regularly updated, including, to date, dozens of "solidarity with Cuba organizations" from various countries across Europe, Latin America and Africa, as well as the French Communist Party, the Bolivarian Circle of Paris, and the Parisian Committee of solidarity with Lula.

Journalists and intellectuals like Paul Estrade, Salim Lamrani, Ignacio Ramonet and Jose Manzaneda; and Cuban musicians, like Leonel Limonta Masso, the leader of the group Azucar Negra, and troubadour Ray Fernandez, also appear.

Conspicuously absent from the support are any organizations of the Cuban Government, but the "Youth Club of Havana" does, belonging to the official Union of Young Communists (UJC).

In the middle of the month American actor Danny Glover, who signed up to follow the @CubaNobel profile on Twitter, created on June 12, joined that list.

In May Rose-Marie Lou told the official Prensa Latina agency that her group's efforts "include contacting French deputies who would be willing to render the request official before the Norwegian Nobel Committee."

What is Cuba Linda?

The French organization backing the nomination of the Henry Reeve brigade for the Nobel is a group that has been organizing trips to Cuba since 1998. According to the group's official website, since then "the Asociacion Cuba Linda has been reserving spaces in family homes in Cuba."

"These rooms have air conditioning or ventilation, and are very comfortable, for Cuba, with an adjoining or, often, private bathroom. They are on file with the State and, therefore, legal. (...) We have selected these rooms in the best areas to facilitate visits. Your hosts will give you a warm welcome, and guide you better," they state.

The businesses that house the Association's clients range from Vinales to Santiago de Cuba, to places such as Remedios, Havana, Playa Larga and Gibara. Prices range between 25 and 35CUC per night.

Cuba Linda even processes, charging 22 euros, the necessary tourism document for vacationers to the island, reserves rental cars "at our best prices", and transfers from the airport, "rooms at all Cuba's hotels", and acquires tickets for domestic flights, among other services.

Among those regularly publishing Cuba Linda's actions on their Facebook profile, and participating in actions to promote their trips is, Yurielkys Sarduy Martinez, the First Secretary for Political Affairs at the Cuban Embassy in France.

The French association also collects donations for the victims of Hurricane Irma and the tornado that affected part of Havana in January 2019.

The official "Institute of Friendship with Peoples" (ICAP) considers it a "solidarity organization." Until 2018, according to that organization, Cuba Linda had coordinated the trips of 1,500 participants, in groups called "In the Footsteps of the Revolution" and "Free Discovery."

Former Cuban spy Fernando Gonzalez Llort, president of ICAP, stated: "Those who have participated in these programs have returned to France equipped with the truths they were able to confirm about Cuba, to refute the lies and provocations of the great imperial media outlets, on the occasion of celebrating two decades of collaboration with the French group.

Although the Nobel campaign, so far, is only an initiative that has not born fruit, it cannot be forgotten that Cuba, especially under Fidel Castro, managed to succeed in international sing initiatives, as demonstrated by the controversial case of young Elian Gonzalez, and that of the five Cuban spies imprisoned in the United States.

A campaign of this magnitude could help the Cuban Government to legitimize its "medical missions" and remove them from the international scrutiny they are under by organizations such as the UN, whose special rapporteurs on contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking asked Havana for explanations regarding this matter, warning that the working conditions of the exported doctors could be considered "forced labor."

The sale of medical services generated some 6.4 billion dollars in revenue for the government, more than Tourism, in 2018. Havana retains at least 75% of what the destination countries pay in wages for the professionals' work, while touting the missions as actions of solidarity.

The massive export of Cuban doctors has been in the UN's crosshairs thanks to an extensive report by Cuban Prisoners Defenders and the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU).

The report, with references to an investigation carried out by DIARIO DE CUBA, accused Raul Castro, Miguel Diaz-Canel and four other high-ranking officials of "slavery, persecution and other inhumane acts" to which "hundreds of thousands of professionals" are subjected.

According to Havana, more than 400,000 Cuban medical specialists had provided their services in 164 nations as of the end of 2019. There are currently some 37,000 health professionals in 67 countries, several of them with Covid-19 cases. The figure is much lower than in previous years, such as in 2015, when there were approximately 50,000 health professionals abroad.
With contactless delivery to curb the spread of coronavirus, she added, you can't tell servers...
(JTA)  The Anti-Defamation League, along with the NAACP and other civil rights groups, is calling on corporations not to advertise on Facebook in July because of the social media platforms unwillingness to police hate speech.

The campaign, which launches Wednesday with a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times, charges that Facebook has not done enough to combat hate and disinformation on its platform. It points to CEO Mark Zuckerbergs repeated refusal to moderate posts for misinformation, even as extremists have used the platform to incite to violence, and criticizes the social ne...
The Houston Furniture Banks newest effort factors original art into the things that make a house a home.Launching its Art Gallery with an Art for All event at 6 p.m. June 25, the HFB is both bringing art into its program and hosting an auction that will raise money for its No Kids on the Floor initiative. The event on Facebook live will include a virtual tour of the furniture bank.

The event has two components, one an effort that features the work of nearly two dozen Houston artists who each donated art that HFB clients can select for their homes. The second component is a live auction already under way that will raise money for the campaign to provide mattresses to children who otherwise might sleep on the floor.
Australian fitness guru Emily Skye welcomed her second child just over a week ago.

On Friday, the 35-year-old personal trainer shared adorable photos of her newborn son Izaac at just eight days old.

The tiny tot was wrapped in a feather-print blanket and matching hat, looking up at the camera with wide eyes.

Adorable: Model Emily Skye (pictured) shared adorable photos of her newborn son Izaac to Instagram on Friday

'Most people say Mia looks most like her Dadda! I wonder who Izaac looks most like,' she said, mentioning her two-year-old daughter.

It comes after the Queensland-based influencer shared candid photos of the delivery last week.

'Well THAT was unexpected!! Little Izaac just couldn't wait any longer to enter the world!' Emily told her 2.5 million followers.

So sweet! The 35-year-old personal trainer shared adorable photos of her newborn son Izaac at just eight days old

'I'll share with you our birth story soon!! Be ready, it's a wild one!'

Emily also added the hashtags 'birth announcement' and 'baby is here'.

The Instagram star accompanied the announcement with photos of the delivery, which took place in her living room with the assistance of ambulance workers.

Adorable: The tiny tot was wrapped in a feather-print blanket and matching hat, looking up at the camera with wide eyes

So sweet! 'Most people say Mia looks most like her Dadda! I wonder who Izaac looks most like,' Emily said, mentioning her two-year-old daughter

Emily looked understandably exhausted as she lay on the floor with little Izaac resting on her lap underneath a blanket.

The model and her husband, Declan Redmond, are already proud parents to two-year-old daughter Mia Elise.

She announced she was expecting her second child in an Instagram post in January, writing: 'We're so excited and blessed to have a sibling for Mia on the way and can't wait to share the journey with you.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 10:08:18|Editor: huaxia

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KAMPALA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials in Uganda's ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party have said that the world needs to emulate China's people-centered development philosophy, a key ingredient in the country's social and economic growth, particularly poverty alleviation.

Richard Todwong, deputy secretary general of NRM, told Xinhua that it is upon the understanding of this philosophy that the Communist Party of China (CPC) has led the country along its path of social and economic development

"For the CPC, everything starts and ends with the people. This has put their people in the center of all that they do. The people is paramount above all," he said.

Augustine Otuko, an NRM youth leader in eastern Uganda, describes the CPC as a highly institutionalized party with structures running from local to national levels.

"Under the CPC, there is wider consultation in different party structures about the needs and aspirations of the Chinese citizens. The consultations are aimed at guiding policy corrections or development. This makes people the heartbeat of CPC," Otuko said.

He said leaders across the world should adopt a people-centered approach in their decision-making because it creates participatory contribution by both the citizens and government agencies in the implementation of any development agenda.

"Anything without the people becomes a myth," Otuko said.

He said there is a lot to learn from China's fight to eradicate poverty, including timelines through which targets must be achieved.

"Learning from their past experiences, China has timelines within which to test and run a poverty eradication program. Reviews are made, corrections or improvements adopted or new policies developed. In this process, the ideas and concerns of the people are considered to be central," Otuko said.

Otuko said China's segmented approach in different provinces to deal with poverty eradication has yielded results.

The transformation of many rural villages into value chain processing centers, according to Otuko, has boosted people's incomes.

According to official data, China has lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty over the past several decades, representing over 70 percent of global poverty reduction.

Over the past four years, China has relocated 9.3 million low-income rural residents to more inhabitable areas, 9.2 million of whom were lifted from poverty as a result, the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planning body, said in March.

Despite the complexities posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese leadership is determined to leave no area or individual behind. The country has a target of eliminating absolute poverty be the end of this year. Enditem
Biotech stocks give a whole new meaning to risk/reward plays. Unlike names inhabiting other areas of the market, these tickers can witness explosive movements in the blink of an eye, giving them a Street reputation for their high volatility.

Companies in the biotech industry are unique in that their long-term growth prospects dont necessarily hinge on quarterly profit results. Rather, clinical trial data or verdicts from regulatory bodies can have a more meaningful impact as product approvals indicate vital revenues are on the horizon. This means any positive development can act as a catalyst that sends shares skyrocketing. The flip-side, however, does hold true, so the risk-averse tend to shy away from these names.

So, how are investors supposed to determine which biotech stocks are capable of outperforming the rest? Tracking the analyst communitys activity can be an effective strategy. The pros, who have in-depth knowledge of the industry, offer insight into many biotechs, some of which fly relatively under-the-radar.

Bearing this in mind, we used TipRanks database to track down affordable yet compelling biotech plays. After combing through the densely packed sector, we found three going for less than $5 apiece with bullish reviews from Wall Street analysts and over 100% upside potential.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI)

Primarily targeting diseases in hematology and oncology, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals hopes its therapies will be able to address the unmet medical needs of patients. With a $3.08 share price, some analysts believe that now is the ideal time to snap up shares.

Writing for H.C. Wainwright, 5-star analyst Edward White remains focused on its novel long-acting granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF) designed to stimulate neutrophil production for the treatment of chemotherapy induced neutropenia patients, Rolontis. Ahead of the candidates October 24 PDUFA date, the analyst highlights that Rolontis isnt a biosimilar, and calls for 2020 sales of $3 million. Underscoring the huge potential here, he estimates sales will reach $300 million in 2026.

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Pricing in the market seems to be rational with the competition appearing more typical of a branded drug market rather than a generic drug market. Management noted that about 1 million units of GCSF are dispensed per year and that ASP price has been compressing between branded drugs and biosimilars. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has plenty of inventory available to support the commercial launch of Rolontis, White commented.

It should also be noted that given the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, management is planning for both a traditional and a virtual launch. In addition, SPPI is set to have a sufficient sales force on board in time for the commercial launch.

Looking at the clinical trial for Rolontis dosed on the same day as chemotherapy, White argues that the design should bode well for SPPI. As this is an open-label study, the company can see early data before deciding to continue with development. Though data for a label change are years away, if the data are positive, this study could help dramatically change Rolontis market share in the future as we believe same day dosing in a post-COVID-19 world could be a game changer, he explained.

With ZENITH20 Cohort 1 Poziotinib data at AACR demonstrating there may be some hope yet, the deal is sealed for White.

In addition to reiterating a Buy recommendation, he left his price target at $11. This target implies shares could climb 250% higher in the next year. (To watch Whites track record, click here)

Overall, though not many have weighed in with an opinion on SPPI in the last 3 months, those who have are singing its praises loudly. Overall, two analysts rate the stock a Buy, and the $9.50 average price target puts the potential twelve-month gain at 202%. (See SPPI stock analysis on TipRanks)

Seres Therapeutics (MCRB)

Taking its place at the forefront of microbiome therapeutics, Seres Therapeutics wants to transform the treatment of a wide range of diseases by modulating the function of the human microbiome.

Based on the multiple catalysts slated for 2020 as well as its $4.73 share price, its no wonder MCRB is getting glowing reviews from several members of the Street.

Standing squarely in the bull camp is 5-star analyst Gbola Amusa, of Chardan Capital. He points out that enrollment for the Phase 3 ECOSPOR III trial evaluating SER-109's ability to prevent recurrent C. difficile infection (rCDI) is complete, with the candidate already receiving Breakthrough Therapy Designation.

As for the implications of this development, Amusa noted, With positive results on the expected mid-2022 readout, ECOSPOR III has the potential to be a single pivotal study for the FDA; Seres plans to initiate a SER-109 Expanded Access Program.

Adding to the good news, the company has taken strides forward when it comes to the advancement of the clinical development for its rationally-designed, fermented microbiome medicine, SER-155, for the prevention of mortality due to gastrointestinal infections, bacteremia and graft versus host disease (GvHD) in immunocompromised patients.

It should be noted that management told investors COVID-19 could impact its SER-287 Phase 2b and SER-401 Phase 1b clinical readouts. This is because the pandemic has put non-essential procedures including endoscopies on hold, and thus, it has been challenging to reach enrollment targets on time. That being said, the company doesnt believe the availability of its product candidates for ongoing studies will experience any disruptions.

While a potential data readout delay has alarmed some investors, Amusa remains unphased. Even with Covid-19-related uncertainties on SER-287 and SER-401, we continue to see 2020 as a catalyst rich year for Seres on the ECOSPOR III results alone, which with positive results could lead to SER-109 becoming the first FDA-approved microbiome medicine. Even with recent movements, the current MCRB market cap of $334 million to us is still modest in relation to the risk-adjusted opportunities represented by the pipeline, he explained.

In line with his optimistic take, Amusa rates MCRB a Buy along with a $12.50 price target. This leaves room for shares to soar 151% in the next year. (To watch Amusas track record, click here)

Do other analysts agree with Amusa? They do. Only Buy ratings, 4, in fact, have been issued in the last three months, so the consensus rating is a Strong Buy. At $9.63, the average price target puts the potential twelve-month gain at 91%. (See MCRB stock analysis on TipRanks)

Akari Therapeutics (AKTX)

Last up to bat we have Akari Therapeutics, which develops innovative treatments for autoinflammatory diseases involving the complement (C5) and leukotriene (LTB4) pathways. Given its strong execution and share price of only $2.14, is now the right time to get in on the action?

According to B.Riley FBRs Mayank Mamtani, the answer is a resounding yes. At the end of May, the company provided an update on the progress of the clinical trials for bullous pemphigoid (BP), atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC) and pediatric transplant-induced thrombotic microangiopathy (HSCT-TMA) indications for its lead program, nomacopan. The candidate is also getting attention for its potential as a therapeutic option for COVID-19 patients.

The 5-star analyst thinks the full Phase 2 BP study results, as well as an orphan designation granted by the FDA and EMA, free AKTX up to kick off end-of-Phase 2 meetings with the FDA and EMA in Q3 2020 to discuss the pivotal Phase 3 trial design. These meetings would address important considerations including enrolling severe patients in addition to mild and moderate, increasing treatment duration from 1.5 to 6 months, an option to dose at 30 mg-plus levels and a choice of active versus comparator arms, including possibly combining or sequencing with steroids.

There were no treatment-related serious AEs, in line with the favorable tolerability profile noted in other indications (e.g., PNH), highlighting further differentiation relative to steroid standard of care, Mamtani stated.

However, Mamtani doesnt dispute the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed site initiation activities for the Phase 3 HSCT-TMA trial to later in 2020 and the enrollment for the Part B placebo-controlled efficacy cohort of the Phase 1/2 study in severe AKC patients has been halted. That said, Mamtani notes the interim update remains on track for mid-2020 in ~2/3rd of the targeted 16 patients already enrolled in the study. He added, The prior open-label data of nomacopan eye drops demonstrated in three severe atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC) patients rapid overall improvement in composite clinical scores of symptoms and signs.

On top of this, preclinical data has found complement (C5) and leukotriene (LTB-4) pathways may play a role in severe lung inflammation and microthrombi and organ damage associated with COVID-19. This creates an opportunity for nomacopan as it has been shown to produce a profound and broad-acting anti-inflammatory effect.

To wrap it all up, Mamtani commented, We believe AKTX has held up well in the volatile macro environment as investors look to take advantage of the depressed stock levels for this late-stage biotech supported by robust clinical data generated in earlier-stage trials, with incremental Phase 1/2 severe AKC placebo-controlled data anticipated in mid-2020.

Everything the company has going for it prompted Mamtani to stay with the bulls. Along with a Buy rating, he kept his $5 price target as is, bringing the upside potential to 134%. (To watch Mamtanis track record, click here)

Turning now to the rest of the Street, it has been quiet when it comes to other analyst activity. Mamtanis call was the only one issued recently.

To find good ideas for penny stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.
A Chinese state newspaper has been banned from posting on one of its social media accounts due to its coverage on Beijing's new coronavirus outbreak.

Officials have censored The Beijing News on Chinese twitter-like Weibo since Thursday after some of its COVID-19 reports were deemed 'misleading and taken out of context', according to an official statement.

The news outlet, which had been on the forefront covering the health crisis in the capital city, is considered by many as one of the few Chinese media that are critical of the country's social issues.

A Chinese state newspaper has been banned from posting on its social media account after some of its stories are deemed by the authority as 'misleading'. The picture taken on June 22 shows Chinese magazines being displayed at a news stand in the city of Beijing, China

The officials have censored The Beijing News on Chinese twitter-like Weibo from Thursday after 'some of its reports on Beijing's coronavirus outbreak were misleading and taken out of context'. Pictured, a health worker collects swab samples from a resident in Beijing

It comes after China has reportedly clamped down on news articles and journalists that criticise the government's handling of the COVID-19 outbreak that has infected nearly 10million people worldwide.

The Cyberspace Administration of China released a notice yesterday, announcing to punish the state paper for its coverage on the new infection cluster in Beijing.

The statement claimed that 'some reports, particularly about Beijing's coronavirus outbreak, were misleading, taken out of context and confusing the public.'

It continued: 'It has seriously disrupted the order of sharing information online. Its social impact is vile.'

'We Video', the newspaper's video content account, has been censored on Weibo from Thursday. The paper's other social accounts and website are still operating.

The officials claimed that the decision came after receiving complaints from web users but did not specify exactly which news stories were responsible for the censorship.

China has reportedly clamped down on news articles and journalists that criticise the government's handling of the COVID-19 outbreak that has infected nearly 10million people worldwide. A medic is pictured preparing for her shift at a coronavirus testing site in Beijing

Many suspected that the state newspaper had angered the Communist government for uncovering the truth about the outbreak in the capital city. Pictured, people wearing face masks gather at an outdoor area to receive nucleic acid testing for the coronavirus in Beijing

Many suspected that the state newspaper had angered the Communist government for uncovering the truth about the outbreak in the capital city.

The Beijing News published an article on June 14 with a headline suggesting that over 2,000 people had tested positive at the Xinfadi, a sprawling seafood market linked to Beijing's new cluster.

The article's title was amended after being criticised by the public for allegedly missing out information, according to US-based media Radio Free Asia.

The news outlet published another story on June 15, saying that a Chinese top medical expert had blamed Europe for Beijing's virus outbreak.

The article was reportedly slammed by the Communist party officials as 'misinterpretation'.

The Beijing News published an article on June 14 with a headline suggesting that over 2,000 people had tested positive at Xinfadi. The picture taken on June 19 shows people in lockdown wait behind a barrier for their goods to be delivered to a residential compound in Beijing

Volunteers from the Blue Sky Rescue team, in protective suits, disinfect the Nangong market yesterday amid a new outbreak in Beijing

The Beijing News issued a formal apology on its Weibo account on the next day, claiming that it was 'a professional error'.

A screenshot circulated online allegedly shows that a reporter from The Beijing News was assaulted by guards and residents while trying to report from another seafood market in Beijing following the new outbreak.

Established in 2003, The Beijing News has been known for exposing the social issues in the country with in-depth investigations.

The former owner of the state newspaper, Dai Zigeng, had his party membership revoked in March for what the authority described as 'not properly carrying out responsibilities and causing bad influences.'

China has reportedly harassed, threatened and silenced multiple citizens who vowed to hold the government responsible for its perceived missteps in dealing with the new coronavirus outbreak.

A Chinese citizen journalist (pictured) who uploaded coronavirus reports from Wuhan onto social media to criticise the city's handling of the outbreak has reportedly been arrested

Ms Zhang had live-streamed scenes onto Twitter and YouTube, including evidence of crematoriums operating at midnight. The picture from January 25 shows mask-donning Wuhan residents queuing for medical attention at Wuhan Red Cross Hospital

Zhang Zhan, a Chinese citizen journalist who uploaded coronavirus reports from Wuhan onto social media to criticise the city's handling of the outbreak was arrested last Friday, according to reports.

She is believed to be the fourth Chinese citizen reporter to have vanished or been detained after posting dispatches from Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Chen Qiushi, 34, was last heard from on February 6, and his whereabouts are unknown. Fang Bin, a businessman, also disappeared in early February and is believed to have been taken into state custody. Li Zehua, 25, disappeared in late February before re-appearing in late April.

A report in March revealed that Coronavirus-related articles published by major Chinese news outlets 'were wiped out almost every day' during the pandemic because they were deemed too negative.

Other grieving Wuhan residents were allegedly hassled, intimidated and hushed by authorities after planning to draw up petitions against officials over their response to the health crisis, which has killed more than 490,000 worldwide.
Nearly 1.1 million coronavirus relief payments totalling some $US1.4 billion ($2 billion) went to dead people, a US government watchdog reported on Thursday (US time). Legal and political issues hang over the misdirected taxpayer funds, the latest example of errors in massive aid being dispensed at crisis speed.

More than 130 million so-called economic impact payments were sent to taxpayers as part of the $US2.4 trillion coronavirus relief package enacted in March. The Government Accountability Office, Congress' auditing arm, cited the number of erroneous payments to deceased taxpayers in its report on the government programs.

The IRS asked in May for the money back from the deceased taxpayers' survivors. Some legal experts have said the government may not have the legal authority to require that it be returned. Credit:Bloomberg

While the government has asked survivors to return the money, it's not clear they have to.

It also may be a politically sensitive gambit for the Treasury Department to aggressively seek to claw back the money, especially because some recipients may have died in the early months of this year from COVID-19.
By Express News Service

Kristen Stewart and Maggie Gyllenhaal, are among the 17 Hollywood celebrities, who have captured their quarantine life in a short film compilation titled Homemade.

The project, helmed by filmmaker Pablo Larrain, will feature five to seven-minute short films about the life of celebrities during the coronavirus pandemic.

Other artists and filmmakers, who are part of the project, are Paolo Sorrentino from Italy, Ladj Ly from France, Rachel Morrison from the US, Naomi Kawase from Japan, Nadine Labaki and Khaled Mouzanar from Lebanon, Gurdiner Chadha from the UK, and Ana Lily Amirpour.

While the details about the plot are still unknown, filmmaker Larrain has shared that Homemade is about the different experiences of people and the adversities they face in different nations across the globe in these difficult times. The film has been shot using equipment at home and will release on Netflix on June 30.
Donald Trump on Wednesday received a big cheer from shipyard workers in Wisconsin when he charged Democrats with being harder to work with than China, Russia and North Korea.

The president, during a day-long campaign visit to the key swing state he narrowly won four years ago, said the opposition party is more unreasonable than any of those strongmen-run states.

He told the crowd a friend recently asked him: So which is the toughest nation to deal with? Is it China? Is it possibly Russia? Or is it maybe North Korea?

I said, No, the toughest nation to deal with are the Democrats in the USA.

The president then appeared to defend strongmen like Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China and Kim Jong-un in North Korea.

The Democrats in the USA are much tougher to deal with than any of these people that we deal with, he said. Theyre far more unreasonable, and actually theyre a little crazy.

The lines got several big cheers from the shipyard crowd.

The president was in the state to tape a town hall in Green Bay with Fox News that will air at 9pm ET, and to tour a shipyard in nearby Marienette.

He visited and spoke at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine facility that earlier this year won the first part of a $5bn US Navy contract to start building as many as 10 missile frigate ships.

But, as is the case at just about every official event with less than five months until election day, Mr Trumps speech about the ships and workers there resembled his usual campaign rally message as he talked about the pre-coronavirus US economy and bounced from topic to topic. The Marinette-based company says it will eventually hire 1,000 more workers.

With the Wisconsin visit, the White House took the president into a Covid-heavy zone. Brown County, which includes Green Bay, has a high coronavirus activity level, according to the states health department. Marienette County has a medium level.

White House officials said all precautions to adhere to Arizona policies were used during his Tuesday visit, and that they would do the same in Wisconsin.

In a light moment, the president called the Littoral Combat Ship he toured a yacht with missiles on it.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 20:39:00|Editor: huaxia

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GABORONE, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Largely due to the economic confusion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Botswana's foreign direct investment (FDI) is expected to register a 40 percent drop this year, an official said Friday.

Keletsositse Olebile, the CEO of the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC), made this revelation when addressing journalists after touring some foreign-owned companies in Francistown, Botswana's second largest city.

"COVID-19 has ravaged economies of many countries across the globe. In turn this will affect Botswana's FDI prospects with estimates projecting that our FDI will drop by 40 percent," said Olebile.

Botswana relies heavily on international markets for diamond sales. Diamonds are the mainstay of Botswana's economy, as they account for the 71 percent of the southern African country's revenue derived from exports.

"COVID-19 has badly affected the global economy thereby affecting the investment agency's prospects of attracting FDI in 2020," said Olebile.

Sennye Obuseng, an independent economist told Xinhua in a telephone interview that it was imminent that FDI will decline due to the dangers posed by COVID-19 to the global economy that trades with Botswana.

"A decline in foreign was inevitable. International flights got grounded as early as February if not March. So how investors were expected to trot the globe in search for opportunities to invest on? The writing was on the wall," he said. Enditem
Regional Council unanimously passed a resolution acknowledging racism and discrimination continue to persist in Niagara  and promising to do its part to help eradicate it.

A series of speakers at the start of the Thursday night meeting shared their perspectives on transphobia, homophobia, and racism as a public health crisis.

Jennifer Dockstader, the executive director of Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre, was one of the speakers.

I have to say not much has changed in all the years I have been in Niagara when it comes to racism. It is welcome news we are speaking on this matter.

A month ago, a family contacted the Friendship Centre because her eight-year-old child was screamed at by a neighbour, who called her people animals.

This is an example of the trouble this brings. The family asked us, How do we have this conversation about racism because we know this wont be the only time she experiences this.

Conspicuous by his absence was West Lincoln Mayor Dave Bylsma, who sent his regrets before the meeting, which was held via video-conferencing with councillors taking part from their home offices.

Bradley runs the meetings, with the help of staff, from the council chambers at Regional headquarters in Thorold.

Bylsma ignited controversy during a radio interview with CKTB earlier this month when he said identity politics is not working.

There are always going to be injustices, correct, he told Matt Holmes. But in terms of rights, what are they, what are anyone whos flying a flag whether thats Black Lives Matter in America or the Pride flag, what are they still fighting for? Is it necessary? Or have they won?

The incident culminated with West Lincoln raising the Pride flag for the first time after Bylsma released a statement.

Bylsma apologized if any individual or group felt their worth was not recognized by his comments and reaffirmed his belief that every Canadian should be treated with dignity and respect.

Joining Dockstader and sharing their experiences were Rebecca Dyck, a wound-healing specialist from Campden; Magdolene Dykstra, a teacher from St. Catharines; Robin McBurney and Angela Menotti of Niagara Falls; Khadija Hammuda, a social worker from St. Catharines and Rev. Sandi Mansfield of Niagara Falls.

The lived experience we heard about this evening should highlight how much we have ahead of us, Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop said. It should also disabuse any of us who think this will be an easy task.

The first step, as heard from Mayor Walter Sendzik, is to listen ... We also have to act, and thats the direction of the motion.

The motion, which was introduced by St. Catharines Coun. Laura Ip, acknowledged racism, homophobia, transphobia, and all forms of discrimination or oppression as public health issues and committed the council to use an equity, diversity, and inclusion lens in all future decision-making.

Tonight might be the most important meeting we have this term of council, said Port Colborne Coun. Barb Butters. This is an opportunity that has been a longtime coming, and I want to thank the women who have spoken tonight. They have expressed their truth. They are authentic.

Its the real deal. These are powerful, strong women, and let me tell you, you are making a real difference tonight.
[June 26, 2020] AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of China Merchants Insurance Company Limited

AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" of China Merchants Insurance Company Limited (CMI) (Hong Kong). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings reflect CMI's balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorises as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also reflect the parental support from China Merchants Group Limited (CMG). CMI's very strong balance sheet strength assessment is underpinned by its robust level of risk-adjusted capital, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). Following a capital injection of HKD 207 million (USD 26.6 million) from its parent company in 2016 and full profit retention over the past few years, the company's solvency stood at a very healthy level as of year-end 2019. As of year-end 2019, the company's investment portfolio mainly consisted of bonds and cash. While the company's bond investments contained a moderate level of exposure to non-investment grade and non-rated bonds, a majority of these securities were issued by multi-national banks and large-sized Chinese state-owned enterprises. AM Best expects the company to continue to closely monitor and refine the credit quality of its bond portfolio through prudent investment selection. CMI's operating performance remained positive and has improved over the past few years. The company recorded an after-tax operating profit of HKD 11 million (USD 1.4 million) in 2019, with a return on equity of 3.5%. Despite a positive operating performance in 2019, the company exhibited an underwriting loss with a net combined ratio slightly over 100%, although this has been improving gradually. The company's claims experience was better than the industry average, albeit partially offset by its relatively high expenses. Notwithstanding, the company has been refining its underwriting portfolio and utilising a lower cost broker channel to expand its commercial business, which has resulted in a decrasing expense ratio in recent years. CMI's investment income continued to offset the company's underwriting loss and support overall operating profitability through stable streams of interest income from its investment portfolio.



CMI maintained a stable yet small market presence in Hong Kong's non-life insurance market, with a market share of 0.38% in 2019, in terms of gross premium written. CMI continues to diversify its underwriting portfolio by expanding its commercial business. In particular, the marine line of business was a major growth driver of premium revenue in 2019 and is expected to contribute to the company's business growth over the short to intermediate term. Although CMI is well-positioned at its current rating level, negative rating actions could occur if the company experiences a material deterioration in its risk-adjusted capitalisation or its operating profitability. A deterioration in the credit profile of the ultimate parent company, China Merchants Group Limited, may also impose a negative impact on the ratings of China Merchants Insurance Company Limited.

Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication. 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 specialising 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/20200626005374/en/

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As I arrive at the door Im greeted by a strange male mannequin with a camera lens for an eye, a hairy chest and homemade clothes.

On the floor of the living room are old childrens toys, vacuum parts, wheels and pipes all laid out in neat rows. The mannequin is one of John Espins many creations.

John is in the middle of a meeting with members of the American band ArcAttack to design their second stupid fighting robot.

He shows them different options for a head, shoulders, torso, arms and legs and they discuss at length which pieces of rubbish will make the best but dumbest robot.

John describes his Stupid Robot Fighting League as violent marionettes.

The robots are essentially puppets controlled by people with sticks attached to them, with the goal of smashing each other to bits.

It's all about smashing the face of the stupid robot. Our motto is smashing stupid robots in the face is life.

John started the fighting league in 2016 and it has since gained global interest with ESPN commissioning a show and Japanese TV picking up the story as well.

ArcAttack is the latest to contract Johns robot making services for the fighting league 2020 American championship.

Band member Giovanni Di Prima says they decided to get the robots made because he has a stupid robot of his own and felt obliged to partake.

John plans on holding the American championships with 10 robots all made for different people in the US in the next few weeks.

The American championships will be held at Bay Karts and John is looking for sponsorship for the event.

The winner of the US league will go on to fight in the world championships next year.

Everybody that's involved, basically, is having a proxy war in New Zealand.

John, a single dad of two, builds the robots when the kids have gone to bed, and brings the pieces of rubbish to life.

The angry eyebrows are key absolutely. If I took them off, then he'd just be hanging rubbish.

No one pays him for his builds and the parts are generally items discarded by locals from his Te Puke community.

The idea is that it's one of the worst business models ever.

I'm a great fan of, if you come up with a bad idea, then give the thing wings and see what happens.

In this case another mans trash is one mans treasure is very literal and the league is gaining traction worldwide.
An aerial view of a crude oil storage facility is seen on May 5, 2020 in Cushing, Oklahoma.

Two leading oil price reporting agencies separately launched new U.S. crude benchmarks on Friday, as part of an effort to rival the U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures contract.

The move from S&P Global Platts and Argus Media comes as both agencies seek to break away from the traditional landlocked system, just over two months after U.S. crude futures plunged into negative territory for the first time in history.

S&P Global Platts said its new benchmark for U.S. crude, called Platts American GulfCoast Select (AGS), would reflect the value of waterborne light sweet crude supplied from the Permian Basin in west Texas and New Mexico on major pipelines to the Gulf.

Argus' new outright daily crude price assessment, Argus AGS, is also designed to reflect the growing importance of the U.S. Gulf Coast as a major export hub and to address ongoing market concerns about the landlocked WTI crude benchmark.

The agencies will use different methodologies for their new respective price assessments.

International benchmark Brent crude futures traded at $41.15 a barrel on Friday afternoon, up around 0.3%, while U.S. WTI futures stood at $38.63, down around 0.2%. Both oil contracts are on pace for a weekly fall of over 1.5% after record U.S. crude inventory data on Wednesday dragged prices lower.
A Delhi Police constable late on Friday evening shot at his colleague in Delhi, the national capital. Constable Ravindra, who is posted at Seemapuri Police Station in Delhi's Shahdara district, shot at constable Amod.

There was reportedly an argument between the two constables following which Ravindra shot at Amod. The injured constable was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Center and is undergoing for treatment. His condition is said to be critical.
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court late on Thursday to overturn the Affordable Care Act, telling the court that "the entire ACA must fall." The administration's argument comes as hundreds of thousands of Americans have turned to the government program for health care as they've lost jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., responded to the brief by saying there is "no moral excuse for the Trump Administration's disastrous efforts to take away Americans' health care." Dismantling the ACA would leave more than 23 million people without healthcare plans, according to a recent analysis by the liberal-leaning think tank Center for American Progress.

"President [Donald] Trump and the Republicans' campaign to rip away the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus crisis is an act of unfathomable cruelty," Pelosi, who on Wednesday filed a bill to expand the ACA, said in a statement.

The administration's brief was filed in support of a challenge to the ACA by a coalition of Republican attorneys general, following through on Trump's pledge last month to overturn President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare legislation.

The filing came the same day that a government report showed nearly half a million Americans turned to the ACA in April and May amid covid-19's economic devastation. According to the Thursday report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 487,000 Americans took advantage of the special enrollment period on Healthcare.gov after losing their healthcare plans, likely among the millions of Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic. The numbers mark a 46% increase from enrollments in April and May 2019.

Former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said during a campaign trip in Pennsylvania on Thursday that axing the healthcare law as the nation is still reeling from the pandemic would amount to a double whammy for covid-19 survivors. He worried insurers would view covid-19 as a preexisting condition, and without the ACA, would be free to deny survivors coverage.

"Those survivors, having struggled and won the fight of their lives, would have their peace of mind stolen away at the moment they need it most," Biden said. "They would live their lives caught in a vise between Donald Trump's twin legacies: his failure to protect the American people from the coronavirus, and his heartless crusade to take health-care protections away from American families."

White House spokesman Judd Deere brushed aside concerns that dismantling the ACA or "Obamacare" could worsen the pandemic crisis, saying in a statement to The Post, "A global pandemic does not change what Americans know: Obamacare has been an unlawful failure and further illustrates the need to focus on patient care."

Deere added, "The American people deserve for Congress to work on a bipartisan basis with the President to provide quality, affordable care."

Oral arguments are scheduled for next term but it's unclear if they'll happen before the election. A decision in the case may not come until 2021.

Trump has said he wants to protect health care coverage for Americans with preexisting conditions, which a White House spokesman reiterated Thursday night. But the administration has not presented any plan showing how it would accomplish that, and the Justice Department's Thursday brief takes the opposite position.

In the brief, Solicitor General Noel Francisco argues that all of the ACA should be struck down because one of its core provisions, the individual mandate, is unconstitutional, rendering the rest of the law invalid as well.

Francisco argues that the individual mandate provision became unconstitutional when Congress reduced penalties to zero in 2017. Without any remaining tax penalty, Francisco argued, the provision could no longer be considered a constitutional use of Congress's taxing power - the reason the Supreme Court upheld it in a previous challenge.

He argued that the provisions protecting Americans with preexisting conditions or high-risk medical histories are "inseverable" from the individual mandate, and therefore should be struck down with it.

"Nothing the 2017 Congress did demonstrates it would have intended the rest of the ACA to continue to operate in the absence of these ... integral provisions," he wrote. "The entire ACA thus must fall with the individual mandate."

As The Washington Post reported last month, even some within Trump's administration, including Attorney General William Barr, had urged a less aggressive position against the ACA, fearing that advocating for its total elimination would backfire against Republicans in the election.

The administration previously supported preserving the law's more popular provisions, such as the guaranteed coverage for those with preexisting conditions, but adopted a more stringent stance following a ruling from a Texas federal judge gutting the entire law. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor, which reflected the position laid out by Francisco on Thursday, was put on hold as the case remains under review and now rests with the high court.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is leading a coalition of states battling to protect the ACA, said Thursday night that as more Americans die of covid-19, "this fight comes at the most crucial time."

"The ACA has been life-changing and now through this pandemic, we can all see the value in having greater access to quality healthcare at affordable prices," Becerra said in a statement. "Now is not the time to rip away our best tool to address very real and very deadly health disparities in our communities."
A deserted flyover in Bengaluru following lockdown after number of covid cases shot up.  Satish B

Bengaluru: The State government has categorically said that it will not reimpose lockdown in Bengaluru following a spike in Covid 19 positive cases.

During a meeting with all party MLAs, MPs and Ministers of Bengaluru city, Chief Minister B.S.Yediyurappa said that the government is not in favour of imposing lockdown. However, he assured the MLAs that the government will take all necessary measures to control the spread of Covid positive cases.

Congress legislators of Bengaluru city and Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha Constituency MP, D.K. Suresh expressed displeasure against the state government for providing poor facilities to Covid patients admitted in the Hospitals.

Chief Minister Yediyurappa explained the measures taken by the government to control Covid cases in the city. But his explanation did not go down well with Congress legislators. Congress MLAs in turn listed the failures of the government in handling of Covid 19 cases.

Opposition MLAs asked the government's decision to reimpose lockdown in the city. However the Chief Minister said that reimposition of lockdown will affect the day-to-day life of people and it will hamper the economic activities in the city as business had just resumed.

In the meeting Congress legislators, Rizwan Arshad and Harris suggested to the government that since Coronavirus was spreading at the community level, the government must reimpose lockdown in Bengaluru. They also said that if the government imposed lockdown in the city, it must provide financial assistance to people and increase financial help to Corona warriors.

Bengaluru Rural MP, D.K.Suresh pointed out difficulties faced by Covid patients in the hospitals. He asked the government to provide food to the patients at dedicated Covid hospitals in Bengaluru.

MLAs also asked the government to increase infrastructure facilities in hospitals including procuring more ventilators.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, BTM Layout Congress MLA, Ramalinga Reddy said that, government had informed it will not impose lockdown in Bengaluru. MLAs also advised the government to conduct more random tests in the city. Instead of imposing lockdown, government assured them that it would take comprehensive measures to combat Covid 19 pandemic, Mr. Reddy said.

Shantinagara MLA, Harris said that the government was reluctant to impose lockdown but was needed in the wake of fears of community transmission.

Suggestions of MLAs in the meeting

Increase random testing and take stringent action against those who violate the sealdown.

If lockdown is possible, issue advisory to people to avoid visiting public places.

Increase dedicated hospitals to treat Covid-19 positive patients.

Opposition MLAs suggested to the government to discuss with experts regarding reimposition of lockdown in the city.

The Chief Minister assured the opposition MLAs that the government will consider all the suggestions provided by them based on their feasibility

He also told them that the government had identified more private hospitals to treat Covid patients in Bengaluru
(Natural News) Your right to learn from your doctor about natural methods of staying healthy during the pandemic are under threat. We must fight back. Petition!

(Article republished from ANH-USA.org)

The FDA, FTC, Department of Justice, and some state attorneys general have launched a coordinated censorship campaign that prevents medical doctors and other healthcare providers from communicating their extensive knowledge about how to stay healthy during the pandemic using natural medicine. The actions of these federal agencies will lead to more COVID-19 infections and death. We have to fight back to preserve our right to stay healthy, naturally.

The FDA and FTC sent more than a hundred warning letters to doctors, clinics, and companies. These letters all allege that companies or individuals were 1) illegally advertising that certain products treat or prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) or related conditions, such as inflammation and/or 2) making claims on their websites implying that a product could mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19 or related conditions in people, making the product an unapproved drug under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

In reviewing many of these letters, what becomes clear is that this isnt about public health, but rather censoring scientific information about natural products and protecting the profits of drug companies. One letter was sent to a nutritionist who talked about the results of a recent study showing that the severity of coronavirus patient outcome was tied to the patients vitamin D status. The post concluded, The bottom line? In order to give yourself the best defense against the coronavirus, begin with optimizing your vitamin D status to at least 30 ng/ml starting today. Is vitamin D now a public health threat that the government must snuff out? Does the government really want to quash information that could help us stay healthy?

Government censors also didnt like when doctors wrote that vitamin D has demonstrated efficacy for respiratory healthand has anti-inflammatory properties, or when they quote science, such as a scholarly paper that argues that melatoninat low doses like 0.5 or 1 mg per daymight curb virulence of the coronavirus. The FTC is even flagging claims about the use of natural approaches to fight respiratory infections and support immunity.

At issue for many of these letters is the idea that, according to the FTC, it is unlawful to advertise that a product can prevent, treat, or cure human disease unless you possess competent and reliable scientific evidence to substantiate the claim. The FTC has interpreted this to mean that you need a randomized controlled trial (RCT), which is an impossible standard because of costs and other reasons for everyone but drug companies. (This issue was litigated a number of years ago in the POM Wonderful case we covered extensively.)

We believe these kinds of actions are really meant to preserve the drug industry monopoly on medicine. RCTs are prohibitively expensive, costing billions of dollars on average. Drug companies can afford this massive investment because drugs are patentable and enjoy a period of market exclusivity, so companies can recoup the cost of RCTs. Natural products are generally not patentable, so requiring RCTs to make any specific disease claimno matter how many studies support the claimis a backhanded way of preventing all disease claims for natural products and thus preserving the monopoly of pharmaceutical drugs to treat illness.

So lets get this straight. The FDA and FTC are telling doctors they cant talk about or advise the public on natural methods of treating or preventing COVID-19. These same agencies, particularly the FDA in combination with the CDC, have repeatedly bungled our nations response to the pandemic. These same agencies issue emergency approvals for dangerous drugs that go on to kill people. These same agencies are threatening to take away womens rights to choose estriol as a treatment. These same agencies, and the laws they enforce, make our medicine less effective, more expensive, and more dangerous. And now they want to prevent Americans from learning about scientifically-proven benefits of supplements like vitamin D to help during the pandemic? Never before has our crony capitalist government put so many lives at risk so needlessly.

Note too that President Trump himself is not only taking zinc along with hydroxychloroquine. He is also publicizing it, which is seemingly at odds with the position of the agencies within his own government.

Various state attorneys general have also gotten in on the action.

This is not just another action alert. This is a petition. We are going to be contacting federal and state officials, including the President, to explain how agencies that are supposed to be protecting Americans are, and have been, undermining and endangering our health. This is a critical moment, and we need as many signatures as possible. Please take action below and share this with people you know.

Petition! Write to President Trump, telling him to stop the FDA and the FTC from further pursuing this censorship campaign, with copies to Congress and state legislators, telling them to fix the laws that make medicine in this country more expensive, more dangerous, and less effective. Please send your message immediately.

Read more at: ANH-USA.org
An eastern China city is planning to release a database that would enable couples planning to get married to look into their partner's history if there are any reports or charges of domestic violence, being the first of its kind in the Asian nation.

A collection of reported abusers

According to The New York Times, the Yiwu government in the eastern part of Zhejiang Province stated that the database consists of information on convicted abusers in China as well as individuals who have been subjected to restraining orders or detention since 2017.

The software would also include individuals who have been officially charged with domestic violence against their partners, elderly, or siblings.

The All-China Women's Federation, which is a state-backed organization, said the database is the first of its kind in China and will be updated in real-time starting from its release on July 1.

The vice-chairman of the Yiwu Women's Federation, Zhou Danying, said that most of the time, individuals only learn of their partner's involvement in domestic violence after getting married.

It was also noted that the creation of a search database, individuals can learn their partner's history before marriage and have time to reconsider their decision. Zhou emphasized that the database was created to prevent and reduce the possibility of being involved in domestic violence.

Domestic violence has been rampant in China for a long time, and until 2001, abuse was not considered as a legal ground for divorce. The Asian country had also only recently passed a law that made assaulting a partner a crime in 2015, as reported by CNN.

Advocacy groups have noted that enforcement of the law in China remains inconsistent and ever-changing. A 2018 report by the Human Rights Watch stated that courts regularly allowed abusers to go free, urging their victims to make peace with their abuser.

Also Read: China Yulin Festival Where Dogs Are Blowtorched Alive Continue Despite Coronavirus Threat

Another, more recent change in legislation, implemented a cooling-off period that lasted for 30 days so that couples have time to think about their relationship before deciding on divorce, as reported by The Guardian.

Some courts have also emphasized for pride to avoid a decision that results in divorce. In 2017, a Guangxi province court claimed they were able to save an ending marriage by having the couple reconcile as it repeatedly denied a woman's request for divorce with her husband who allegedly put a knife to her throat while their child watched.

Problems with the software

The main issue the database will encounter would be the lack of history on individuals who have had a lack of law enforcement placed on them.

A Chinese expert on gender issues, Zheng Shiyin, said that the system would only recognize domestic violence records that are available from official channels.

The reality of the situation is that records are more often than not challenging to issue, causing severe difficulties for victims to provide enough evidence to apply for things such as a personal safety protection order.

The database also poses considerable risk regarding privacy as the All-China Women's Foundation (ACWF) stated applicants would be required to provide an ID, proof of marriage, and comply with confidentiality agreements. It also noted that copying or disseminating the information they gather from the register is illegal.

The software comes after a sudden surge of domestic violence cases in China amid the coronavirus pandemic. The event comes as the United Nations cautions countries around the world of a global increase in partner abuse due to social restrictions, trapping victims with their abusers and negating their calls for help.

Related Article: US Government Passes Bill to Support Hong Kong Against China to Protect Its Trade Partner

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
US Senators opposed China's "unacceptable" move, called the impending national security law a blow to the liberties of the people of Hong Kong.

The US Senate on Thursday (local time) passed a bill by unanimous consent that would impose sanctions on China for its decision to implement the controversial national security law on Hong Kong, which critics say will erode the citys democratic freedoms.

One of the bills, the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, would slap sanctions on individuals and businesses that help China restrict the autonomy of Hong Kong. The bill was authored by Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, CNN reported.

What the government of China is doing in Hong Kong is unacceptable. They are taking away the rights of people in Hong Kong. They are snuffing out freedoms that exist there right now, Van Hollen was quoted as saying.

Also read: China national security law: Hong Kongers flee to other countries fearing persecution

Also read: UK urges India, China to engage in dialogue to resolve worrying standoff

A second measure from Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri is a resolution condemning China for violating the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in 1984 to guarantee autonomy for Hong Kong.

The new security law being adopted by China would deal a mighty blow to the freedoms and liberties that Hong Kongers have enjoyed for decades now. It is a permanent break from the one country, two systems principle that has governed that city since 1997, said Hawley.

The measures, which were combined into one bill before getting the Senates nod, still needs to be passed in the House of Representatives before President Donald Trump gives his assent.

Last month, Trump had said that his administration will revise the State Departments travel advisory for Hong Kong to reflect increased danger of punishment by the Chinese state security apparatus.

Massive demonstrations in Hong Kong have prevented China from implementing the security law, but Beijing has made it clear that the legislation would be enacted without delay. Under the law, a police unit will be established to oversee the implementation of the legislation, along with secret policing in the former British colony.

The security law has been criticised by the international community despite both China and Hong Kongs leadership asserting that they have the full right to implement the legislation.

Also read: China warns US against deploying intermediate-range missile in Asia-Pacific region

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Vietnamese citizens at the airport in Taiwan (China) (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

According the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the flight was organized by relevant Vietnamese agencies, the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei and relevant agencies of Taiwan (China).



The passengers on the repatriation flight are the elderly, children under 18 years old, workers with expired contracts, pregnant women, university students who have concluded their studies and tourists or visitors who were stranded in the territory due to the coronavirus crisis.

The Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (China) sent officials to the airport to assist the citizens with necessary procedures before they boarded the aircraft.

Pandemic prevention measures were implemented strictly during the flight. All the passengers and crew members underwent medical check-ups and were transferred to quarantine facilities according to regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control after landing at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

On May 29th, Vietnam Airlines also conducted a flight, repatriating more than 340 Vietnamese citizens stranded in Taiwan (China), with most of them pregnant women.

At the direction of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vietnamese representative offices abroad and domestic airlines will continue to conduct flights bringing home citizens stranded overseas by the pandemic, depending on local quarantine capacity and citizens demand./.
June 26 : Kareena Kapoor Khan just took to her social media profile and shared a candid childhood picture, as a part of Childhood Challenge campaign and donates toward UNICEF program for feeding kids.

Sharing a childhood picture with sister Karisma, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan urged people to help vulnerable children by supporting and donating to UNICEF.

The 'Jab We Met' actor shared the picture on Instagram as a part of the #ChildhoodChallenge where she shared her happiest childhood memory and urged others to share theirs while donating a sum of money equal to their year of birth.

The post read, Some of my happiest memories are from my childhood, which shaped me into what I am today. But thats not so for many children around the world who miss out on a safe, healthy and happy childhood. The #COVID-19 pandemic is only going to make it worse

UNICEF is providing urgent and lifesaving support for vulnerable children. I have seen their work and have donated to support their cause of saving precious lives. Join me and support the #ChildhoodChallenge by sharing your happiest childhood memories and donate to @unicefindia the amount equal to the year you were born in. By taking part in this challenge you can help avoid a lasting crisis for children. Click on the link in bio to donate

Kareena Kapoor Khan is enjoying is lockdown period with Saif Ali Khan and Taimur at home.

Meanwhile on the work front, Kapoor has teamed with Aamir Khan for the third time in Laal Singh Chaddha, a remake of the American comedy-drama Forrest Gump (1994). She will also portray the Mughal princess Jahanara Begum in Karan Johar's directorial venture Takht, a historical drama featuring an ensemble cast, including Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, and Alia Bhatt.
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Leading air-conditioner maker Johnson Controls-Hitachi India is planning to halve its import dependence and at the same time to double its exports over the next one year. The move comes amidst the shrill calls for boycotting Chinese goods following violent skirmishes on the Leh border earlier this month that lead to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers.

The government sees the air-conditioning industry as a priority sector for generating jobs along with furniture, leather and footwear.

The domestic AC industry meets almost half of its parts through imports, primarily from China, and turn it to be a key export driver.

Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India is a 60:40 JV between the American and Japanese companies, respectively, and enjoys 12.5 per cent of the Rs 16,000-crore market in value and 11 per cent of the 65-lakh units domestic AC market as of FY2020.

The company closed FY2020 with a turnover of Rs 2,300 crore, selling 7.5 lakh units, giving it a market share of over 12.5 per cent, chairman and managing director Gurmeet Singh said.

On profit, he said on average they make 8-9 per cent net margin but this year it may slip to 6-7 per cent, as he does not expect to add volume due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With 12.5 per cent market share, Hitachi is the fourth largest player after Blue Star, Voltas and Daikin overall, and the third largest in window & split segment, he claimed.

The company runs a 9-lakh per annum plant (in single shift, and up to 15 lakh in double shifts) at Kadi, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad since 2009 and has made a cumulative investment of over Rs 800 crore.

"We import around 40 per cent parts, of which 50 per cent are China-sourced. The import supply chain suffered due to the pandemic since February and the lockdown since March has left us with huge inventory pile. And I don't want to have a repeat of either.

"Therefore, my idea is to focus on cutting down imports by half over the next one year and at the same time also to double my exports to 50,000 units or thereabout from the present 25,000-odd units to the middle East and Africa--both of which are under the India," Singh told PTI over the phone from his New Delhi headquarters.

Singh said on a net basis 70 per cent of the AC market is imported in terms of parts and 30 per cent of the Rs 16,000-crore overall market is fully imported units. Of the remaining Rs 11,200 crore, around 50 per cent parts are again imported, reducing the domestic market pie to just about Rs 8,000 crore.

There are great synergies between India, Africa and the Middle East markets in terms of weather conditions, which demand only minor tweaks in the India made units, Singh explained underlining the scope for exports and noted that while our AC exports are close to nothing, China ships out 4 crore units annually.

"But we can easily do an encore of what we have done in mobile phone manufacturing," Singh said, adding we can serve Africa, the Middle East, and the SAARC markets.

Stating that he does not see an opportunity to grow bigger this year, he said he'd be happy not to lose his people (to the virus) and also market share this year.

He said while sales were down 80 per cent in March, the same plunged over 90 per cent in April (he sold 2,000 units to government for COVID hospitals) and June volume is down 65 per cent so far.
WESTPORT, Conn., June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Terex Corporation (NYSE: TEX) will host a conference call to review its second quarter 2020 financial results on Friday, July 31, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. John L. Garrison, Jr., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, will lead the call.

The Company's financial results will be issued and available at https://investors.terex.com after the market close on Thursday, July 30, 2020.

Participants are encouraged to access the webcast 15 minutes prior to the starting time. The webcast will be available for replay at https://investors.terex.com

About Terex:

Terex is a global manufacturer of aerial work platforms and materials processing machinery. The Company designs, builds and supports products used in construction, maintenance, manufacturing, energy, minerals, and materials management applications. Terex's products are manufactured in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia and sold worldwide. The Company engages with customers through all stages of the product life cycle, from initial specification and financing to parts and service support. Terex uses its website (http://www.terex.com/) to make information available to its investors and the market.

Contact Information:

Terex Corporation

Randy Wilson

Director, Investor Relations

(203) 221-5415

[email protected]

SOURCE Terex Corporation

Related Links

https://www.terex.com/


Iran Rips 'Unlawful US Sanctions' Over Venezuela Oil Supply as 'Miserable Failure of Max Pressure'

Sputnik News

05:49 GMT 25.06.2020(updated 05:50 GMT 25.06.2020)

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five Iranian ship captains who delivered oil to Venezuela, with the Latin American country knocking the measure as "an outburst of arrogance".

Iran has called out US sanctions against the captains of five Iranian oil tankers that shipped fuel to Venezuela in defiance of US bans, warning that the move would see both Tehran and Caracas continue defying Washington's sanctions targeting the nations.

"US desperate moves against Iranian individuals - like the one announced by @SecPompeo aka the #SecretaryofHate  just signal the miserable failure of the so-called 'max pressure'", Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi tweeted, continuing that irrespective of the US pressure, Iran and Venezuela will "remain steadfast in countering unlawful American sanctions".

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday announced the sanctioning of five Iranian captains who delivered about 1.5 million barrels of Iranian gasoline and related components to Venezuela in May, as well as warned mariners at large against doing business with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose ouster Washington has been seeking since the 2018 national election.

"As a result of today's sanctions, these captains' assets will be blocked. Their careers and prospects will suffer from this designation", Pompeo said in a statement.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, for his part, described the new sanctions as "an outburst of arrogance" and "more evidence of the Trump hawks' hatred of all Venezuelans".

Following the mid-May shipment, reports emerged that the White House was weighing military action to cut off trade between Iran and Venezuela, which have both been severely hit by US-imposed economic limitations, and Iran ostensibly summoned the Swiss ambassador to lodge a protest against the plans.

The theory didn't play out though, and all five vessels eventually arrived without issue, although the US later moved to turn away two Liberian-flagged vessels carrying Iranian energy supplies to Venezuela by threatening further sanctions.

"The sanctions would be imposed through the Treasury Department and are intended to avoid a US military confrontation with the countries", Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The Trump administration has warned governments around the world against making fuel shipments to Venezuela and providing port services to Venezuela-bound ships. It has also alerted ship owners, captains, and insurance companies as well as ports scattered between Iran and Venezuela, such as Gibraltar.

Meanwhile, Iran and Venezuela have praised the May deliveries as a massive display of power and indicated their resolution to go ahead with shipments if necessary, as Venezuela has relied on Iranian fuel supplies since the US cut off other trading partners with sanctions and threats. Iran in particular voiced plans to carry out regular shipments of fuel to Venezuela in defiance of Washington's threats.

A Sputnik

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(Newser)  Earlier this week, Florida reported a record 5,511 new coronavirus cases in a single day. That now seems pale in comparison to Friday's figure: 8,942. The state Department of Health also reported 137 new deaths, reports the Miami Herald. In response, state officials imposed a severe new restriction on bars by banning on-premises consumption of alcohol, per the Sun Sentinel. The thinking is that younger bar-goers are playing a big role by ignoring social-distancing rules. The latter newspaper also provides context on the stats: From May 17-26, the state saw 7,444 new cases. From June 17-Friday, it saw 42,851 new cases, bringing the total to nearly 123,000.

story continues below

While increased testing is a factor in the rise in cases, the number of positive tests remains above the key threshold of 10% seen as worrisome. In fact, it's significantly above: Nearly 52,000 tests were conducted Friday, and 17.3% came back positive. On Thursday, the positivity rate on a record 71,433 tests was 13%, notes the Hill. Last month, roughly 3% of tests were coming back positive. Gov. Ron DeSantis warned bars days ago that if they failed to adhere to safety guidelines, they could lose their licenses, notes the Tampa Bay Times. (Also on Friday, Texas re-closed its bars.)
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks opened higher on Friday, even as the upside remained capped amid renewed concerns about a resurgence in U.S. Covid-19 cases. The benchmark DAX was up 33 points, or 0.27 percent, at 12,211 after gaining 0.7 percent in the previous session. Wirecard AG shares extended losses to plunge another 42 percent after the payments company filed for insolvency. RIB Software SE shed 0.8 percent. The company said that it has signed a major iTWO 4.0 Phase III contract with the German Highway Authority 'Die Autobahn GmbH des Bundes' with a volume of approximately 15 million euros over the next 4 years. O Vonovia SE, a residential property company, rallied 1.1 percent. The company is entering Dutch Residential Market with the acquisition of a 2.6 percent stake in Vesteda Residential Fund. In economic releases, German import prices decreased 7 percent on a yearly basis in May, slower than the 7.4 percent drop seen in April, data published by Destatis revealed. At the same time, export prices declined 1.2 percent from last year after easing 1.1 percent in April. This was the biggest fall since July 2016, when prices were down 1.5 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Dear Tripped Up, My trip to Egypt with Overseas Adventure Travel was scheduled to depart in late March. OAT canceled the tour because of COVID-19, which was a relief. The company notified me of the cancellation and offered either a credit for rebooking or a full refund that would have included airfare. The next week, I learned via email that I had been rebooked on the same trip next year. Unbeknown to me, the stated policy had changed: OAT was no longer offering refunds. I told them that I had a medical condition and did not know when  or if  I would be able to travel, and asked whether they were just going to keep my $17,500 if I couldnt travel by the end of 2021. Answer: Yes. I feel I am being held hostage by OAT. How are they allowed to keep my money?
JERUSALEM/DUBAI (Reuters) - Israel and the United Arab Emirates will cooperate in the fight against the coronavirus, the two countries said on Thursday, a possible boost to Israeli efforts to normalise relations with Gulf Arab countries.

Two private companies from the United Arab Emirates and two Israeli companies will work together on medical projects, including those to combat the new coronavirus, the UAE's state-run news agency WAM said.

The cooperation comes at a time of strong Arab opposition to Israel's plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank - territory Palestinians seek for a state - under a U.S. peace plan.

Israel has no diplomatic relations with Arab countries in the Gulf, but common concerns about Iran's regional influence have led to a limited thaw in relations.

"This scientific and medical partnership overcomes historical and political challenges in the region," an Arabic statement from WAM said, adding that the priority was humanitarian action and constructive cooperation to safeguard people's health.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said earlier on Thursday that a formal announcement about the partnership was imminent.

Last week, the UAE's minister for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said it could work with Israel on some areas, including the battle against the coronavirus and on technology, despite political differences.

Netanyahu said at a military ceremony that Israel and the UAE would collaborate in research and development and technology "to improve the well-being of the entire region".

He said the agreement stemmed from intensive contacts with the UAE over recent months.

In May, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad made the first known flight by a UAE carrier to Israel, carrying coronavirus-related aid for Palestinians.

Speaking to a conference of the American Jewish Committee advocacy group on June 16, Gargash said Israel cannot expect to normalise relations with the Arab world if it annexes West Bank land. He also said cooperation with Israel on the pandemic would not affect the UAE's opposition to annexation.

Israel is due on July 1 to begin a cabinet debate on extending Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; additional reporting by Lisa Barrington and Alexander Cornwell in Dubai; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Grant McCool)
Now that live music is picking back up, Brown said he decided to join with some friends and just play. Its not that imperative, but it seems to be imperative enough."

Its easy to get out of the habit of performing, playing or composing once youve stopped, Roberts added, who kept active with live streamed concerts, but missed the audiences. The live shows are really the only place where you can get that transfer of energy.

Roberts views performance as a symbiotic thing, he said. You feel like you have to get it out to people, so part of it is just trying to keep the music going.

For the performance Friday at Thirsty Street at The Garage, Roberts plans to have a smaller four-piece band and perform blues and jazz tunes. With all respect to what is going on, I think its still important to keep moving ahead and not letting it die out. You have to find that balance between creating and performing. Everyone is pretty excited about playing music together.
French English

MONTREAL, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Knight Therapeutics Inc. (TSX:GUD) ("Knight" or the "Corporation") a leading pan-American (ex-US) specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today the voting results from the Annual Meeting of the Shareholders held in Montreal, Quebec ("Meeting").



Election of Directors

Each director nominee listed in the Management Information Circular dated May 26, 2020 ("Circular") was elected as Director of the Corporation at the Meeting. Shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting voted as follows:

DIRECTOR NOMINEE OUTCOME VOTES FOR % FOR VOTES WITHHELD %

WITHHELD James C. Gale Elected 84,542,688 94.19% 5,218,368 5.81% Jonathan Ross Goodman Elected 89,596,616 99.82% 164,440 0.18% Samira Sakhia Elected 87,295,361 97.25% 2,465,695 2.75% Robert N. Lande Elected 86,384,815 96.24% 3,376,241 3.76% Michael J Tremblay Elected 89,577,845 99.80% 183,211 0.20% Nicolas Sujoy Elected 89,602,776 99.82% 158,280 0.18% Janice Murray Elected 89,603,776 99.82% 157,280 0.18%

Appointment of external Auditors

Ernst & Young LLP were appointed as external auditors of the Corporation for the next year by a majority of the votes cast by the shareholders present or represented by proxy, and the directors were authorized to determine their remuneration. Shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting voted as follows:

OUTCOME VOTES FOR % FOR VOTES WITHHELD % WITHHELD Appointed 90,281,521 99.74% 232,255 0.26%

The results of the final votes regarding all matters subject to a vote during the Meeting will also be made available on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com ) .

Approval of Unallocated Options under the Corporations Stock Option Plan

The resolution to approve unallocated rights under the Corporation's stock option plan for the ensuing three years, as described in the Circular, was approved by a majority of the votes cast by the shareholders present or represented by proxy. Shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting voted as follows:

OUTCOME VOTES FOR % FOR VOTES AGAINST % AGAINST Approved 77,755,731 86.63% 12,005,325 13.37%

About Knight Therapeutics Inc.

Knight Therapeutics Inc., headquartered in Montreal, Canada, is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring or in-licensing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products for Canada and Latin America. Knight owns a controlling stake in Grupo Biotoscana, a panLatin American specialty pharmaceutical company. Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s shares trade on TSX under the symbol GUD. For more information about Knight Therapeutics Inc., please visit the company's web site at www.gud-knight.com or www.sedar.com .

Forward-Looking Statement

This document contains forward-looking statements for Knight Therapeutics Inc. and its subsidiaries. These forward-looking statements, by their nature, necessarily involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Knight Therapeutics Inc. considers the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based to be reasonable at the time they were prepared, but cautions the reader that these assumptions regarding future events, many of which are beyond the control of Knight Therapeutics Inc. and its subsidiaries, may ultimately prove to be incorrect. Factors and risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations are discussed in Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s Annual Report and in Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2019. filed on www.sedar.com . Knight Therapeutics Inc. disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events, except as required by law.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Investor Contact:

Knight Therapeutics Inc.

Samira Sakhia

President

T: 514-678-8930

F: 514-481-4116

Email: info@gudknight.com

Website: www.gud-knight.com
Rome, N.Y.  A 19-year-old Rome woman has been charged with felony assault after her 7-week-old son suffered a broken arm and leg on June 20.

Rome police say Kayla M. Pett, of 113 E. Thomas St., injured the baby on June 20. The infant was hospitalized at Rome Memorial Hospital and later at Upstate Golisano Childrens Hospital.

The baby is now in protective custody.

Pett was arraigned on second-degree assault and sent to the Oneida County Correctional Facility on $2,500 bail. Pett was later released from jail, records show. Police say additional charges are expected to be presented to a grand jury.

Police ask anyone with information regarding the case to call Detective Bryan Zoeckler at 315-339-7712.

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 via email at nweidner@syracuse.com.
With his institution under fire for excluding LGBTTQ+ content from designated school tours, and amid allegations of systemic workplace racism and staff misconduct, the president and CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has stepped down from his roles.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/6/2020 (576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With his institution under fire for excluding LGBTTQ+ content from designated school tours, and amid allegations of systemic workplace racism and staff misconduct, the president and CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has stepped down from his roles.

John Youngs departure was announced in a news release sent to media Thursday evening. His term was set to expire in August, and Young had previously announced he wouldn't seek re-appointment.

John Youngs departure was announced in a news release sent to media Thursday evening. (Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press files)

"The board and CMHR president and CEO Dr. John Young have agreed that it is in the best interest of the museum that he step down, effective immediately," the release stated. While the search for a replacement takes place, Pauline Rafferty, chairwoman of the Winnipeg-based museums board of trustees, will act as interim chief executive officer.

In recent days, the national museum has received significant backlash for going against its mandate of promoting human rights, when it was revealed CMHR staff were instructed in 2015-17 to censor LGBTTQ+ content from tours for some student groups.

Following that revelation, several former and current employees came forward with allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace by a man still employed by the museum, telling the CBC complaints to human resources officials resulted in no action or follow up.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the museum confirmed to the Free Press it had investigated two sexual harassment complaints in the last three years, using a third-party to conduct the investigation.

The spokesperson said there were no sexual harassment investigations currently underway.

In early June, current and former staff members also levelled allegations of racism and discrimination by fellow employees, management, and visitors to the CMHR.

With the museum under considerable pressure amid public outrage, Youngs departure was announced along with other measures the museums board says are meant to take "immediate action" and "undertake long-term steps to address these issues."

"We will act quickly to improve museum processes and our policies, and to rebuild relationships and trust with our staff and those we have let down, especially the Black and Indigenous communities, people of colour and (LGBTTQ+) communities," Rafferty said in the news release.

"We apologize unreservedly for what has happened and we know that the fight against systemic racism, homophobia, inequality and all forms of othering must be ongoing, and must be a priority."

A third-party review led by renowned human rights litigator Laurelle Harris is underway, the release said  with its intention to put the museums policies and workplace culture under the microscope and "for the purpose of addressing claims of systemic oppression."

According to the release, the review will focus on experiences of systemic racism and other forms of discrimination, as well as the censorship of LGBTTQ+ content. After the review, the museums board says there will be a "comprehensive, institution-wide" examination, during which former and current staff can share their experiences.

The preliminary findings, including recommendations for moving forward, are due to be received by July 31.

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The release also says the board has established a new committee on diversity inclusion, chaired by Julie Jai, a former member of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

Since the revelations of censorship first arose, the museum has faced heavy criticism. Glen Murray, a former mayor of Winnipeg, who is gay, withdrew from a CMHR fundraising committee over what he called in a tweet a "betrayal of (the museums) mandate."

"We know the past two weeks have been difficult for the museums staff and volunteers, its members, donors, and the community  and we apologize for that," Rafferty said in the release.

"This is especially true for all those who look to the museum as a place dedicated to human rights, to building understanding, promoting respect, and encouraging reflection. We recognize that we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard."

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Malak Abas

Reporter Malak Abas is a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Read full biography
President of the district unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Ranjit Singh Dhillon along with his party colleagues, including Gurmeet Singh Kular and Madan Lal Bagga, handed over a memorandum to Punjab governor VP Singh Badnore through the deputy commissioner demanding a financial package to bail out the city industry, which has been hit hard due to the spread of coronavirus.

Representatives of various industry associations also accompanied the delegation.

They said that the package for the industry should also include a clause under which the state government should take on the responsibility of paying salaries of industrial workers for the lockdown period.

Dhillon, who led the delegation, said financial packages for small and medium scale industries and traders had already been approved by other state governments, including Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

The delegation also demanded waiver of fixed charges till March 31, 2021 and asked the government to provide electricity at Rs 5 per unit and early disbursal of VAT refunds of nearly Rs 80 crore. Besides they also demanded waiver of property tax and free train service for labourers.
Farm trespass is a major rural crime issue. Credit: Shutterstock

This month, the Victorian government announced on-the-spot fines for trespassers on farms following an upper house inquiry into how animal activism affects agriculture.

It's the latest in a string of new state and federal laws designed to crack down on activists who trespass on farmsoften to gather video evidence of alleged animal cruelty, which is later distributed to the public.

But amid the flurry of attention on activists, another group of trespassers on farms has largely escaped attention: illegal hunters.

Unauthorized access to farm properties can create many problemsnot least, it runs the risk spreading disease such as African swine fever that can devastate farming industries.

It's important that laws to tackle farm trespass are evidence-based. So let's look at the evidence.

Media and political focus

Media coverage of activists trespassing on farms has appeared regularly in recent years.

Over several months in 2018-19, activists targeted the Gippy Goat farm and cafe in Victoriain one incident stealing three goats and a lamb. News reports covered the protests, claims by farmers that the fines issued to the activists was inadequate, and the eventual closure of the farm to the public.

In another example last year, the front page of rural newspaper the Weekly Times featured a family exiting the farming industry after alleged trespass and threats from animal activists.

Activists did not escape the attention of politicians. Ahead of Victoria's new legislation this month, federal parliament last year passed a bill criminalizing the "incitement" of both trespass, and damage or theft of property, on agricultural land.

Speaking in support of the bill, Attorney-General Christian Porter said trespass onto agricultural land could contaminate food and breach biosecurity protocols. He specifically cited "activists" when describing how the laws would work.

The New South Wales government last year also introduced significant fines for trespass on farms in the Right to Farm Act. And in South Australia, the government wants those who trespass or disrupt farming activities to face tougher penalties.

But as lawmakers crack down on animal activists, the problem of trespass by illegal hunters gets little political attention.

The illegal hunting problem

Illegal hunting includes hunting without a required license and accessing private property without permission.

In 2015 and 2016, this article's co-author Alistair Harkness surveyed 56 Victoria farmers about their experiences and perceptions of farm crime. Farmers reported that in recent years, illegal hunters had caused them economic loss and emotional anguish by:

shooting at buildings, beehives and livestock

stealing from sheds

failing to extinguish campfires

destroying fields with their vehicles

A follow-up mail survey of 906 Victorian farmers in 2017 and 2018 asked them to rate the seriousness of a range of issues. Farmers reported the following issues as either serious or very serious: illegal shooting on farms (34.4%), animal activism (30.9%), and trespass (44.2%).

Lead author Kyle Mulrooney is conducting the NSW Farm Crime Survey 2020. The work is ongoing, but so far farmers have reported feeling victimized by trespassers generally, and fear about illegal hunters. Farmers were not specifically asked for their views on trespassing activists.

A submission to a NSW parliamentary inquiry last year underscored the distress felt by farmers when hunters trespass on their properties. Farmer John Payne recalled: "Recently we had a period over several nights, where unknown persons trespassed on our property and callously killed a substantial number of our goat kids, in one case trussing one up before killing them. All just for fun and sport! [] This is one of several events where people have trespassed and shot our animals for fun, or hunted for pigs or wildlife, with little fear of detection, arrest and prosecution."

Police follow the evidence

Figures supplied to us by NSW Police show in 2018, 513 incidents of criminal trespass on farms was recordedup from 421 in 2014.

Giving evidence to the NSW parliamentary inquiry, Detective Inspector Cameron Whiteside, the State Rural Crime Coordinator, said illegal hunting was "the most cited factor associated with the trespass" on farms.

Police action appears to be following the evidence. In communication with the lead author, Whiteside has said enforcement and operations focused on illegal hunting and trespass are a primary and current focus of the Rural Crime Prevention Team.

Target all trespassers

As African swine fever sweeps Asia, Australian pork producers have been urged to ramp up biosecurity efforts on their own properties. This reportedly includes restricting visitor numbers and separating visitor and farm vehicles.

There are fears that if the disease hits Australia, it could could shut down Australia's A$5.3 billion pork industry, leading to mass job losses.

Given these risks, it's important that policies to crack down on farm trespassers are guided by evidence, and don't unduly target a single group.

And importantly, more research into the issue is neededincluding into the social and economic impacts of farm trespass, in all its forms.

Explore further Not just activists, 9 out of 10 people are concerned about animal welfare in Australian farming

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Kansas City Council Rejects Incentives For A Company That Threatened To Move Across State Line Faced with scathing criticism about a controversial development incentive request, the Kansas City Council on Thursday rejected a proposal designed to help retain a global construction company in the West Bottoms. The council voted 9-4 against a parking deal that is part of a larger subsidy proposed to keep BlueScope and its 339 high-paying jobs at 1540 Genessee St.

Maybe the only good news today, it seems that the pandemic and #BlackLivesMatter movement have put the economic "Border War" on hold far more effectively than political deals . . . Read more:
Announcement by BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust plc

Adjustment to Net Asset Value of BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust plc

(LEI: 54930040ALEAVPMMDC31)

Summary

The Board of BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust plc (the 'Company') is pleased to announce a positive adjustment of 126 basis points to the net asset value ('NAV') of the Company as at 25 June 2020 due to the recognition of an expected receipt of tax reclaims for a value of 945,614 on foreign income in the Company's accounts, as explained below.

Background

The Company's investments include shares issued by both UK companies and non-UK companies. Until 2009, while dividends paid to the Company by UK companies were not subject to UK corporation tax, dividends paid to the Company by non-UK companies were subject to UK corporation tax, although credit could be given for any withholding tax suffered. A number of cases challenging this difference in treatment, on the basis that it was illegal under European Union law, were commenced against the UK tax authorities ('HMRC'). In particular, litigation was commenced in 2003 in the UK High Court and a claim brought by The Prudential Assurance Company Limited ultimately became the test case.

The Company took a number of measures to protect its investors in relation to this matter, including filing tax returns for accounting periods to 30 November 2007, 30 November 2008 and 30 November 2009 (the 'relevant accounting periods') on the basis that foreign dividends were exempt from UK corporation tax and, in 2018, filing statutory claims for double tax relief.

On 25 July 2018, the UK Supreme Court handed down its judgment in the Prudential case, ruling that dividends on non-UK portfolio shareholdings were taxable but that credit should be given for the underlying foreign tax at the foreign nominal corporate income tax rate of the source country. This decision, and the potential impact of this on the Company's NAV was previously referred to in the Chairman's statement contained in the Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30 November 2018.

The Company has now received correspondence from HMRC accepting the entitlement of the Company to make a claim for double tax relief in the relevant accounting periods in relation to underlying tax suffered on dividends from non-UK companies. This double tax relief reduces the corporation tax liability to nil for all periods resulting in a repayment of the corporation tax suffered in the relevant accounting periods. While the amount of the repayment has not been formally agreed with HMRC, and as such a degree of uncertainty remains, the Company now considers receipt of a repayment is sufficiently probable that it should make an accrual for accounting purposes to reflect such treatment.

The corporation tax refund expected to be received by the Company following HMRC's acceptance of the claims for the relevant accounting periods amounts to 945,614.

The accounting rules applicable to the Company determine that an uncertain tax receivable shall be accrued in the NAV of the Company when, in the view of the Board, the successful future receipt of such a receivable is probable. The Board's current assessment is that the future receipt of the tax reclaims described above is probable and so meets this threshold.

For further information, please contact :

Melissa Gallagher

Managing Director

BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited

Tel: 020 7743 3893

Neil Morgan

WInterflood

Tel: 020 3100 0292
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STAMFORD  LaPerle Restaurant on Bank Street near Stamfords Old Town Hall will be host a town hall style meeting with newly appointed Police Chief Tim Shaw on Monday, June 29.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. The discussion will give community members a chance to ask questions and find out where the police department stands on current events, and the chiefs thoughts on the future of the department.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., the last of three one-time Ku Klux Klansmen convicted in a 1963 Alabama church bombing that killed four Black girls and was the deadliest single attack of the civil rights movement, died Friday in prison, officials said. He was 82.

Gov. Kay Iveys office said Blanton died of natural causes. He was being held at Donaldson prison near Birmingham, prison officials said.

In May 2001, Blanton was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison for the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Ivey, in a statement, called the bombing a dark day that will never be forgotten in both Alabamas history and that of our nation.

When asked by the judge during sentencing if he had any comment, Blanton said: I guess the good Lord will settle it on judgment day.

Sen. Doug Jones, who prosecuted Blanton, said the fact that Blanton remained free for almost 40 years after the bombing speaks to a broader systemic failure to hold him and his accomplices accountable.

That he died at this moment, when the country is trying to reconcile the multi-generational failure to end systemic racism, seems fitting, Jones said in a statement.

The church bombing, exposing the depths of hatred by white supremacists as Birmingham integrated its public schools, was a tipping point of the civil rights movement. Moderates could no longer remain silent and the fight to topple segregation laws gained new momentum.

The investigation into the bombing was stalled early and left dormant for long stretches, but two other ex-Klansmen, Robert Chambliss and Bobby Frank Cherry, also were convicted in the bombing in separate trials. Chambliss was convicted in 1977 and died in prison in 1985. Cherry was convicted in 2002 and died in prison in 2004.

On Sept. 15, 1963, a bomb ripped through an exterior wall of the brick church, killing four girls who were inside preparing for a youth program. The bodies of Denise McNair, 11, and Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson, all 14, were found in the downstairs lounge.

Collins sister, Sarah Collins Rudolph, survived the blast but lost her right eye and is known as the fifth little girl. Glass fragments remained in her chest, left eye and abdomen for decades after the explosion.

A parole hearing was scheduled next year for Blanton, and Rudolph and her husband planned to attend in opposition to his release, which was denied during a previous hearing.

She hopes that he found Jesus Christ and repented, George Rudolph said on behalf of his wife.

Lisa McNair, the sister of Denise McNair, said she also hoped Blanton had repented and added: I wish I could have sat down with him to find out if he had had a change of heart.

Blanton never admitted any role in the blast, but evidence showed he was part of a group of hard-core Klansmen who made a bomb and planted it on a Sunday morning.

During the trial, then-U.S. Attorney Jones, appointed as a special state prosecutor, said Blanton acted in response to months of civil rights demonstrations. The targeted church was a rallying point for protesters.

Tom Blanton saw change and didnt like it, Jones said in the trial.

Blanton proclaimed his innocence years after being sent to prison. In a 2006 interview with Birmingham station WBRC-TV, he claimed the government used trumped-up evidence and lies to gain his conviction.

I think I was cleverly set up by the government ... and thats why Im here, Blanton told the television station from prison. Im sorry it happened. Deeply sorry. But Im not responsible for it.

A 1993 meeting in Birmingham between FBI officials and Black ministers led to the reopening of the bombing case against Blanton and Cherry. The investigation remained quiet until 1997 when agents went to Texas to talk to Cherry.

A decade earlier, the U.S. Justice Department concluded that former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had blocked prosecution of Klansmen in the bombing.

____

Associated Press writer Daniel Yee in Atlanta contributed to this report.
Credit: Thomas Ulrich/ Pixabay

The more interactions and connections a firm's social media marketing strategy generates, the more customer engagement value it brings.

In a new study, Fang Fang Li and Jorma Larimo from the University of Vaasa and Leonidas Leonidou from the University of Cyprus looked at the strategic use of social media from a firm's perspective, and systematically consolidated and extended present knowledge on social media marketing strategies.

The study was published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

"Despite widespread understanding among marketers of the need to integrate social media into firms' marketing strategies, relatively few firms have strategized their social media appearance and involvement. For most companies, the ongoing challenge is not to initiate social media campaigns, but to effectively and strategically use social media in order to engage customers and build valuable relationships with them," say professor Jorma Larimo and doctoral student Fang Fang Li from the University of Vaasa.

To gain insights from both academics and practitioners, the authors interviewed 15 decision makers from China, Finland and Sweden and conducted two separate surveys: the first, of 52 marketing managers from the U.S.; the second of 43 social media marketing international scholars.

The study shows that the mere use of social media alone does not generate customer value, but rather, the connections and interactions between the firm and its customersas well as among customers themselvescan be used strategically for resource transformation and exchanges between the interacting parties.

"Interacting with customers via social media provides tremendous opportunities for firms to learn more about their customers and opens up new possibilities for product or service co-creation," says Fang Fang Li.

Another key result is that in the study, four distinctive social media marketing strategies were identified: social commerce strategy, social content strategy, social monitoring strategy, and social CRM strategy, representing progressing levels of strategic maturity in social media use. Their adoption does not follow a sequential pattern, but is highly depended on the firm's ability to identify and leverage customer-owned resources, as well as firm's willingness to allocate resources in order to foster collaborative conversations, develop appropriate responses, and enhance customer relationships.

"Actively interacting with customers using social media should be a never-ending process, which, with proper monitoring and right incentives, can help favorably influence customer behavior," says Professor Jorma Larimo.

The results offer fresh insights into the nature, conceptualization and types of social media marketing strategies. Furthermore, the findings have important implications for social media marketing scholars and practitioners in identifying social media resources and capabilities. The authors also present several possible future research directions.

Explore further How social media impacts consumer spending
Authorities have identified 19-year-old Malik Gabbidon, of Jamaica Plain, as the victim of a fatal shooting that took place Tuesday morning in Dorchester.

Boston police responded to a call for about a person who had been shot the area of 26 Thane St. in Dorchester at roughly 1:51 a.m. on Tuesday. The victim, later identified as Gabbidon, was suffering from life-threatening injuries, and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

The Boston Police Department is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident, and is asking that anyone with information relative to this investigation contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives at 617-343-4470.
The Secretary of State slammed China on "provocative military actions against peaceful neighbours" in South and South-East Asia, reiterated stance that US national security is endangered by the PLA's aggression.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Thursday said he spoke with EU Foreign Ministers earlier this month about the provocative military actions of Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), including deadly border confrontations with India and asserted that Washington will make sure it is postured appropriately to counter PLA in view of the threat from Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to India, Vietnam and other countries.

I spoke this month with EU Foreign Ministers, I got a lot of feedback on CCP, laid out a series of facts that talked about PLAs provocative military actions including its continued aggression in the South China Sea, deadly border confrontations with India and threats against peaceful neighbours, Pompeo made the remarks at the Brussels Forum virtual conference.

There will be fewer US resources at certain places. They will be at other places as there is threat from the CCP to India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and South China Sea. We will make sure we are postured appropriately to counter the PLA, he said.

Also read: US Senate passes bill to sanction China for HKs security law

Also read: China national security law: Hong Kongers flee to other countries fearing persecution

Pompeos comments came in the backdrop of rising US-China tensions and the June 15 standoff between Indian Army personnel and PLA at Ladakhs Galwan Valley, where 20 Indian troops had lost their lives.

Earlier, Pompeo said that the behaviour of CCP is fundamentally putting the American peoples security at risk and stressed that the Donald Trump administration is the first in decades to take this threat seriously.

The top US diplomat lashed out at China for making empty promises during last weeks China-Africa summit and said that Chinese President Xi Jinping failed to promise real transparency and accountability for Beijings role in unleashing the deadly coronavirus, which has infected over nine million people and claimed more than 400,000 lives globally.

He also said that Xi was not putting lives front and centre when the CCP hid the truth about COVID-19 from the world until it was too late.

Also read: China warns US against deploying intermediate-range missile in Asia-Pacific region

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This satellite photo provided by Planet Labs shows the Galwan Valley area in the Ladakh region near the Line of Actual Control between India and China. ( AP Photo)

New Delhi: Signalling that there has hardly been any de-escalation so far despite ongoing diplomatic and military talks with Beijing, India admitted on Thursday that a large number of Chinese troops remain deployed in border areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

In its hardest statement ever since the Ladakh standoff began in May, New Delhi said, The deployment of a large body of troops and changes in behaviour (of PLA soldiers) has also been aggravated by unjustified and untenable claims.

Releasing the governments statement, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that China has now shifted its position to claim the Galwan Valley.

Several rounds of talks have taken place between the two countries' senior military and foreign ministry officials and there have been assurances from the Chinese to carry out the mutually-agreed de-escalation, but there has been no change on the ground, New Delhi indicated, hinting at a disquieting level of distrust of the Chinese establishment and its Army.

At the heart of the matter, Mr Srivastava said, is that since early May, the Chinese side has been amassing a large contingent of troops and armaments along the LAC. This is not in accordance with the provisions of our various bilateral agreements... Both sides remain deployed in large numbers in the region, while military and diplomatic contacts are continuing.

Squarely putting the blame on Beijing for the June 15 clash and rising tension between the two nuclear-armed nations, India said that a large number of its troops are now positioned on the border as a counter-deployment measure.

India's statement comes a day after satellite images, taken by US satellite firm Maxar on June 22, emerged showing Chinese soldiers near patrolling point 14 in Galwan river valley. The images, and reports of fresh Chinese incursions in Depsang and Daulat Beg Oldie areas, coincided with a meeting between the ministry of external affairs joint secretary Naveen Srivastava and director general in the Chinese foreign ministry Hong Liang, on Wednesday.

Blaming China for the behaviour of its troops and for trying to change the status quo on the LAC, which led to clashes on June 15 in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, New Delhi on Thursday warned that the continuation of the present situation would further vitiate the atmosphere and severely damage bilateral ties.

Meanwhile, sources in the Indian Army said on Thursday that they are not expecting disengagement with the Chinese Army any time soon. Disengagement will take time, a source said on Thursday.

While narrating the chronology of events since May, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, The Indian side has never undertaken any actions across the LAC and has never attempted to unilaterally change the status quo. However, that has not been reciprocated by the Chinese side and that from time to time has led to face-offs... (Indian troops) have been patrolling all along the LAC, including in the Galwan Valley, for a long time."

He added, "All infrastructure built by the Indian side has always been on its own side of the LAC The deployment of a large body of troops and changes in behaviour (of PLA soldiers) has also been aggravated by unjustified and untenable claims. The recent shift in the Chinese position on the Galwan Valley is one example... (It has been) clearly established it has been the Chinese actions thus far which have led to increase in tension in the region and also to the violent face-off of 15th June with casualties.

New Delhi further noted, The foreign ministers of the two countries had a conversation on 17 June 2020 and had agreed that the overall situation would be handled in a responsible manner, and that the disengagement understanding of 6 June would be implemented We expect that the Chinese side to sincerely follow up on this understanding and ensure the expeditious restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas.
F-22 Raptor fighter jets of the United States of America intercepted Russian spy planes near its airspace for the fifth time in June on Thursday (June 25, 2020). The aerial intercept was carried out when two Russian Ilyushin IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft and anti-submarine warfare aircraft were tracked entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) launched its F-22 Raptors and KC-135 Stratotanker to stop the Russian IL-38s from moving closer to the US airspace. According to NORAD, the Russian IL-38s came within 50 miles (80.46 kilometres) of Unimak Island along the Aleutian island chain, near Alaska.

NORAD F-22s, supported by @US_TRANSCOM KC-135 Stratotanker, intercepted two Russian IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone last night.  North American Aerospace Defense Command (@NORADCommand) June 25, 2020

The Russian aircraft flew for almost four hours in the ADIZ before they returned as the F-22s kept a close eye on them. According to NORAD, the Russian IL-38s flew only "in international airspace and at no time did the aircraft enter the United States or Canadian sovereign airspace".

"For the fifth time this month, NORAD has demonstrated our readiness and ability to defend the homeland by intercepting Russian military aircraft entering our ADIZ. The mission assurance measures we are taking to protect our people ensure we are meeting the challenges and operating through the COVID-19 environment to defend our nations, just as NORAD forces have for more than 60 years," NORAD Commander General OShaughnessy said in a tweet.

The Russian aircraft came within 50 miles of Unimak Island along the Aleutian island chain, spending approx. four hours in the ADIZ before exiting. The IL-38s remained in international airspace and at no time did the aircraft enter United States or Canadian sovereign airspace.  North American Aerospace Defense Command (@NORADCommand) June 25, 2020

There was no response from the Russian military or Ministry of Defense till the filing of this report.

Earlier, the US F-22s were launched on June 17 after two formations of Russian Tupolev Tu-95 nuclear bombers were seen approaching the US airspace. While the US F-22s were supported by KC-135 Stratotankers and an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System in their intercept mission, the first Russian formation had two Tu-95 bombers, two Sukhoi Su-35 fighters and an A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft while the second one comprised of two Tu-95s and an A-50.
By Sinead Cruise and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - UBS has settled a lawsuit with a former junior trader who accused the Swiss bank of mishandling a complaint of rape and sexual assault by senior colleagues against her, representatives for the former employee said on Friday. 'UBS and Ms A have reached a mutual resolution in relation to this matter as a result of which Ms A has withdrawn her claim,' legal representatives for the claimant at Farore Law said.

By Sinead Cruise and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi

LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - UBS has settled a lawsuit with a former junior trader who accused the Swiss bank of mishandling a complaint of rape and sexual assault by senior colleagues against her, representatives for the former employee said on Friday.

"UBS and Ms A have reached a mutual resolution in relation to this matter as a result of which Ms A has withdrawn her claim," legal representatives for the claimant at Farore Law said.

UBS declined to comment.

The claimant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, alleged that she faced gender discrimination and sexual harassment while working at the bank in London, and filed a claim in Britain for damages against the Swiss lender. https://reut.rs/2HxMAsq

She also sought damages for alleged victimization suffered after reporting her grievances and alerting managers and regulators to what she described as an "offensive and humiliating" work environment.

The settlement included a five-figure donation to British-based whistleblowing charity Protect, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said, adding all further details would remain confidential.

(Reporting by Sinead Cruise and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Greg Abbott doesnt do apologies. He doesnt issue mea culpas. He doesnt acknowledge mistakes or concede defeat.

So we have to read between the lines of Thursdays announcement from the Texas governor to truly see whats going on.

Abbott revealed that in light of the disturbing recent explosion of COVID-19 infection rates across the state, he was pushing the pause button on the phased reopening of the states economy that he orchestrated over the past two months.

He also temporarily banned elective surgeries in some cities to free up increasingly scarce hospital beds.

This is as close as well ever get to Abbott admitting he messed up. But, of course, he did mess up. Our governor played Spin the Bottle with the worst global pandemic of the past century, and Texas is in a world of hurt right now.

Over the past two days, this state has reported more than 11,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. Thats more than what we encountered over the first 14 days of April.

Over the past two weeks, the number of Texans hospitalized with the coronavirus has more than doubled  from 2,008 to 4,739. During that same period, COVID-19 hospitalizations in the San Antonio area have gone up by nearly 500 percent.

This is a disaster that anyone with a clear-eyed focus on reality could have seen coming.

Abbott, after establishing a set of benchmarks in March that the state needed to reach before reopening our shuttered economy, simply threw them out a month later  just because he didnt want to wait any longer.

After promising to let science guide policy, he made a monumental policy move based on politics and tried to force the science to conform.

He appeased the avatars of false choices  the ones who tried to convince us that we had to pick between jobs and public health, when it should have been obvious that a major surge in COVID-19 infections would also devastate business activity.

Economic stability could only come after we attained some degree of public health stability.

Heres where Abbott differs with Dan Patrick, his bombastic frenemy in the lieutenant governors office.

With Patrick, you always know what youre getting. Patrick is a relentless culture warrior who doesnt care how irresponsible he sounds. Hell come right out and tell you that hes willing to sacrifice lives if it means that Hobby Lobby gets to reopen.

Abbott, however, fancies himself a statesman. He wanted to project prudent, mature and thoughtful leadership. But he also wanted to pacify the base that he and Patrick share, much of which tended to see COVID-19 as just a flu that had been overhyped by progressive politicians eager to snatch away our individual liberties.

Abbott vacillated on imposing statewide stay-at-home orders, letting mayors and county judges take the political hit for doing the medically responsible thing. Even when he finally issued stay-at-home mandates, at the end of March, he refused to accept the term.

He postponed primary runoff elections but resisted persistent calls to make this years voting process safer by enabling no-excuse applications for mail-in voting.

Abbott was at his most Abbott-ian when it came to the case of Shelley Luther, a Dallas hair salon owner, who became an instant celebrity by thumbing her nose at the governors orders and reopening her salon at a time when only essential businesses were allowed to operate.

Abbott took Luthers side and slammed the state district judge who merely tried to enforce the governors order. In other words, Abbott was only too happy to see someone make a mockery of his mandates.

The message to entrepreneurs across the state who were dutifully following the rules and trying to keep people safe: The governor thinks youre a bunch of chumps.

Abbott played similar games when it came to protective face coverings, which might just be our best hope to slow the spread of the virus.

He encouraged people to wear masks in public but blocked city and county leaders from requiring them, even in the face of a June 16 letter from nine Texas mayors imploring him to grant them local discretion over the issue.

Then, the next day, he allowed Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff to impose a mask requirement for businesses and suggested that Wolff had found the missing Easter egg that his peers couldnt locate.

No wonder that the word most often heard from frustrated Texas elected officials to describe Abbotts COVID-19 policies has been confusing.

Abbott works hard to project assurance at all times, but hes clearly been shaken by the recent COVID-19 surge.

Last week, he blamed bars  which he allowed to reopen five weeks ago  for not following safety guidelines.

A lot of people, Abbott said, have let down their guard.

He was right, but, after all, they were only following the governors example.

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
Pune-headquartered Serum Institute of India, the worlds largest vaccine manufacturer and a frontrunner in Indias fight against COVID-19, plans to raise around $1 billion as it looks to mass-produce billions of doses of COVID-19 experimental vaccines on the back of tie-ups with various global firms, sources with knowledge of the matter told Moneycontrol. One of these arrangements includes a critical licence to mass-produce an experimental COVID -19 vaccine by University of Oxford and British drugmaker AstraZeneca, which has entered the final stage of clinical trials.

This is a big project of national importance and Serum, a national vaccine champion, is trying to address a global pandemic. They are looking to rope in suitable investors/partners to fund this novel project and raise nearly billion dollars in lieu of a minority stake in the company, said one of the individuals cited above.

Investment banks Goldman Sachs, Citi and Avendus Capital have been engaged as advisors for the process by the privately held Serum Institute, he added, saying the deal is at a preliminary stage and may or may not necessarily result in a transaction.

R&D, especially for a project of this nature, is expensive along with investments in manufacturing plants and emerging technologies. There is a development risk attached as well. So its a prudent strategy to get in partners with the right background and capabilities, said a second person.

The bulge-bracket private equity players with the relevant expertise and additional gunpowder would be interested in a deal like this, said a third person familiar with the transaction. A fourth individual also confirmed Serums plans to tap investors. They are taking a closer look at the regulatory environment as well for such a project, he said.

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

This is a global race to the finish and it all depends on the outcome of the clinical trials and the pace at which the requisite regulatory clearances are obtained, said a fifth individual who tracks the pharma and healthcare sector.

All the five individuals spoke to Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity. In response to a Moneycontrol query, Goldman Sachs, Citi and Avendus Capital declined to comment. Moneycontrol is awaiting an email response from Serum Institute of India and has sent multiple reminders. This article will be updated as soon as we hear from them. In response to a text message from Moneycontrol on the proposed fundraising plans, Founder Chairman and MD of Serum Institute Cyrus Poonawalla said no comment.

This isnt the first attempt by Serum Institute to raise capital by selling a minority stake in the company. According to reports, in 2015, Serum Institute was in discussions with funds to sell a 10 percent stake in the firm at a valuation of $12 billion but the talks were called off due to market volatility. But that was an entirely different era compared to the ongoing phase, where the global outbreak of COVID-19 has led to a surge in the demand for pharma and healthcare products.

Earlier, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum, had said the company had earmarked $100 million for the vaccine project and would look for support from international funding agencies as well.

On June 4, British drugmaker AstraZeneca said it had partnered with Serum Institute of India to supply 1 billion doses of University of Oxford's potential novel coronavirus, or COVID-19 vaccine to low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Serum will provide 400 million doses before the end of 2020 as part of the arrangement. Serum has also tied up with US biotech firm Codagenix and Austrian biotech company Themis Bioscience for other COVID-19 vaccine candidates. It is also working with American vaccine developer Novavax for developing a malaria vaccine.

A closer look at Serum, which has promoted affordable healthcare since its birth, reveals it is well-positioned for the road ahead. It has the largest portfolio of World Health Organisation (WHO) pre-qualified vaccines and actually manufactures 60-70 percent of all vaccines sold globally. The firm also has deep pockets and invested Rs 4,000 crore to build the world's largest multi-functional product facility in Pune. It can produce up to 500 million doses of vaccines a year & clocked a revenue of around Rs 5,900 crore in FY19, according to Business Insider.

For more details on how the Serum Institute become the face of the Indian fight against COVID-19, read the following deep dive on Moneycontrol.

Cyrus Poonawalla jumped 57 places and was ranked 86 in the recently released Hurun Global Rich List Top 100.

India could be playing a very impactful role in fighting coronavirus through Dr Cyrus Poonawalla-run Serum Institute of India. Since the last four months, Dr. Poonawalla has gained almost 25 percent to register a wealth of Rs 1,13,300 crore. Foreign investors belief in Indias telecom potential and leadership in biotech were displayed during the 4 months post-COVID-19, said Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India.

The firm is a global leader in vaccine manufacturing in terms of the number of doses produced and sold globally (more than 1.5 billion doses) which includes polio vaccine as well as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, r-Hepatitis B, measles, mumps and rubella vaccines, according to its website. Vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute are being used in around 170 countries across the globe in their national immunisation programmes, saving millions of lives throughout the world, the site says.

According to the website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as of June 26 morning, India had 4,90, 401 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 1,89,463 active cases, 28,5,636 cases cured or discharged and 15,301 deaths.
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Linkedin Jessicha Valentina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 08:35 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661bfdb6 1 News Bali-Airport,GWK,Garuda-Wisnu-Kencana,Travel-Leisure,travelers,tourism,Bali-tourism,travel Free

Tourism is the beating heart of Balis economy as around 60 percent of the islands gross regional product (PDRB) comes from the travel industry.

Unfortunately, tourism is one of the sectors hardest-hit by the COVID-19 outbreak, affecting the lives of Bali residents and changing the way people visit the island.

According to Indonesian Tourist Industry Association (GIPI) data, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Bali dropped by 93.24 percent in April. Since this has greatly affected the economy, the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA) in Bali has pleaded with the government to complete the so-called "new normal" protocol stipulations by the end of the month and reopen the island to tourists by July to prevent travel companies from collapsing.

Tourism stakeholders, such as the Bali Hotels Association, an organization with over 158 members, comprising general managers of hotels and resorts on the island, have also prepared new protocols to welcome travelers. The association representative told The Jakarta Post via email that they had prepared health and safety guidelines for hotels, while also conducting a publicity campaign on Bali, which is aimed at reminding the worlds travelers about the island.

Here are several things that travelers can expect to experience during their next trip to Bali.

Buffet no more

Social distancing will be commonly practiced in every part of the island. However, hotels such as Belmond Jimbaran Puri, The Mulia, Mulia Resorts and Villas, Nusa Dua, and the Marriott hotel chain have also prepared other protocols to ensure their guests health and safety.

Belmond Jimbaran Puri, slated to reopen on July 1, will be applying an online check-in process and adjustments to dining and housekeeping services.

Guests who have booked with us directly will be able to complete the check-in process online prior to arrival, said Belmond Jimbaran Puri general manager Charles Kneipp.

As for the dining experience, Kneipp said that guests could opt for breakfast served by a dedicated butler in their villa or outdoors at the hotels Nelayan restaurant. The property will also be replacing menu books with chalkboards or a single-use menu made of recyclable material.

With regard to housekeeping, Kneipp mentioned that the staff members would refrain from entering rooms while guests are present.

The Mulia, Mulia Resort and Villas will also apply similar protocols. In addition to sanitizing all areas, keeping social distancing and maintaining hygiene, the property will insist that guests shower before entering the pool or using spa facilities and use hand sanitizer before using equipment, anyone who is sick may not use these facilities.

As for the Marriott hotel chain, the companys market vice president for Indonesia Ramesh Jackson said that the organization had created the Marriott Global Cleanliness Council, which focuses on developing the next level of global hospitality cleanliness standards to minimize risk and enhance safety for guests and associates.

We are rolling out enhanced technologies over the next few months and also adding more hand sanitizer stations near high-traffic areas, said Jackson, adding that the hotel chains were also testing ultraviolet light technology to sanitize room keys and devices shared by staff members.

Read also: Travel restriction haunts near-collapse travel agencies in Bali

Beach clubs with new protocols

Beach clubs, such as Karma Beach Bali in Badung and Artotel Beach Club in Sanur, are among the most popular tourist attractions in Bali.

The former has reopened to guests, starting June 20. In a recent interview with the Post, Karma Group founder and chairman John Spence said it would practice social distancing and ensure reduced density in Karma Beach. Now, the club proudly welcomes guests and claims to be "the most socially distancing aware private beach in Bali."

Artotel Beach Club has yet to announce its reopening date. However, the management has started working with new protocols.

Artotel Group corporate director of marketing communications, Yulia Maria, said that to practice social distancing, it planned to reduce the capacity of the beach club. The club will run almost the same as in pre-COVID-19 days, however, it will now be mandatory for guests to wear face masks while in the hotel and restaurant areas.

Safer dine-in restaurants

Bali is also home to many international restaurants. While some eateries are still offering takeaway services, Mozaic Restaurant in Ubud is now implementing new protocols.

Helmed by Chris Salan, the restaurant now conducts body temperature screening tests for both guests and staff members.

It also applies 2-meter distancing between guests and staff members. To ensure hygiene, the staff members are required to wear face masks, goggles and gloves.

Dancers armed with hand sanitizers

Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) Cultural Park, home to the iconic 21-story monument depicting Hindu deity Vishnu, in Badung regency, has also prepared new protocols.

The parks marketing communication and event general manager Andre R. Prawiradisastra said during a recent virtual event held by travel media DestinAsian Indonesia that they would also apply social distancing, provide hand sanitizers for visitors and conduct body temperature screening.

There will be dancers distributing hand sanitizers to visitors, said Andre. (kes)
The Insurance Information Institute, since 1960 a source of insurance data and information for the media and consumers, has agreed to affiliate with The Institutes, an expanding education, research, event and publishing organization that includes the CPCU Society.

The boards of the two nonprofit organizations have agreed to the move. Terms of the affiliation were not disclosed. The groups promised to reveal details in July when the affiliation is to be finalized.

With 60 years of quality work serving as the trusted voice of objective insurance information, the Insurance Information Institutes brand is invaluable to us, said Peter Miller, president and CEO of The Institutes.

Sean Kevelighan, CEO of III, said the announcement is the culmination of several years of strategic dialogue both internally at the III and with The Institutes.

Keveiighan said the merger will give each organization greater access to a deeper bench of resources and expertise, and improve value for the IIIs member companies across the country.

The New York-based III will be assumed under Malvern, Penn.-based The Institutes affiliated brand structure, which already includes the CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter) Society, Insurance Research Council and the International Insurance Society.

Bittersweet Moment

Keveiighan succeeded economist Robert Hartwig as CEO at the III in 2016. Prior to joining IIII, Keveiighan was global head of Public Affairs for Zurich Insurance Group.

Hartwig, who ran III for 18 years before leaving in 2016, told Carrier Management that the news is a bittersweet moment for the industry.

In its sixtieth year, the III is about to lose its independence, Hartwig said. That independence has always been a valued and cherished hallmark of the organization and a source of pride for the industry.

According to Hartwig, III has experienced a deterioration of finances over the past four years amid the withdrawal or announced withdrawal of at least 24 member companies, including numerous board-level members.

He said that III has seen revenues fall and expenses grow, versus its previous history, particularly the period of 2007 through 2015, during which the organization expanded its membership and its top line.

An III spokesperson said that the organization has taken numerous steps under Kevelighan to improve and modernize its operations.

Over the last four years, Triple-I has undergone significant modernization of its internal governance, operations, and membership initiatives. Among other efforts, we defined a new reserves approach, developed core key performance indicators, and formalized a process for CEO review and payment restructuring that will better sustain its financial footing, said Michael Barry, IIIs head of Media and Public Affairs.

[Kevelighan has since pushed back in Hartwigs analysis. He said there were issues over membership and finances at IIII before he got there in 2016 and that the III and The Institutes had also talked about potential synergies before he was on the scene. Ive read some articles of yours [Carrier Management and Insurance Journal] previously that membership has only weakened in last four years, and I have to say that thats absolutely not the case, Kevelighan stated. Find out more about Kevelighans reaction to Hartwigs comments and why he thinks the affiliation is goof for III.]

Also, Hartwig has further questioned Kevelighans account of what has happened and given his side of the story in comments to Insurance Journal here and updated comments here.)

Kevelighan: Talks with Institutes on Creating 21st Century Triple III Began Years Ago

When asked by Insurance Journal about a potential merger of the two organizations on June 12, almost two weeks ago, the III neither confirmed nor denied a deal was imminent but instead labeled the idea a rumor and insisted III remained a vibrant and financially sound organization.

According to Claire Wilkinson, a former employee of the III writing for Business Insurance in an article on June 11, the III has seen membership levels declining significantly since 2016. The III has had as many as 60 insurance carriers, brokers and organizations as supporting members.

If III has been losing a lot of member companies recently, that has not caused any dramatic decline in dues income yet, through 2018 at least. According to tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service, dues from members did fall from $8.5 million in 2016 down to $8.1 million in 2017 but then rose again to $8.4 million in 2018.

Total revenues went from $9.5 million in 2015 to $9.3 million in 2016 to $8.9 million in 2017 to $9.1 million in 2018. In addition to membership dues, III also has revenue from services performed for other organizations, fees from an annual joint industry conference and sales of publications.

However, salaries took a big jump from $5.5 million in 2015 to $6.4 million in 2016, then rose further to $6.9 million in 2017 before dropping to $6.1 million in 2018. III had 29 employees in 2018.

Overall, IIIs expenses have exceeded revenues from 2016 to 2018 by almost $3.7 million. III reported a shortfall of $1.7 million in 2016; $905,836 in 2017 and $1.0 million in 2018.

Institutes Expands

Meanwhile, in the past several years under Miller, the Institutes has been growing by acquiring or affiliating with various organizations and firms including Insurance Thought Leadership, the Pacific Insurance Conference, Claims and Litigation Management association, the International Insurance Society, the National Workers Compensation and Disability Conference, and the National Ergonomics Conference, as well as a few insurance risk management publications.

Miller was named the CEO of the Institutes in 2006. He first joined the organization in 1992 and advanced through positions in finance, information systems, and human resources. In 2002, Miller was appointed executive vice president with responsibility for the full range of Institutes business functions and international and executive education activities.

Former III head Hartwig said he is hopeful that IIIs fortunes will improve under the umbrella of The Institutes.

I have great respect for Pete Miller, CEO of The Institutes, who I know quite well, said Hartwig, who is now director of the Center for Risk and Uncertainty Management at the University of South Carolinas Darla Moore School of Business. I am hopeful that the IIIIs 60-years of experience will add tangible value to The Institutes and its mission.
As coronavirus cases in India are showing record spikes with each passing day and cases in most states are also demonstrating a rising trend, administrations are faced with the dilemma of either opening up activities further with the advent of second phase of Unlock beginning July 1 or of resorting to varying degrees of lockdown in an attempt to arrest the tide of cases. Some states like West Bengal and Jharkhand have decided to extend the lockdown till July 31, while others like Tamil Nadu have decided to selectively lockdown a few worst-affected districts.

We bring you a sense of the mood in some states where a decision on the future course of action is being taken

Jharkhand- The state government has extended lockdown till July 31. However, a detailed order explaining what it entails is not available yet and the degrees of restrictions that will be placed in the state with 2,262 positive cases as on Thursday will be known soon.

Assam - The Assam government has announced a 12-hour night curfew across the state from Friday and a 14-day complete lockdown in Kamrup (Metro) district, which also includes the busiest city of Guwahati, from June 28 midnight.

ALSO WATCH | Covid update: 60% infections in June; notice over Coronil trials; PM lauds Yogi

For Coronavirus Live Updates

West Bengal- Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had extended the lockdown in the state till July 31 in an announcement made a couple of days ago. On Friday, she asked the Centre to stop international repatriation flights and also domestic flights to Kolkata from states with a high Covid-19 infection rate till July 31. In another decision, she decided to relax the night curfew in the state by an hour by revising the curfew timings to between 10 pm and 5 am. She has also indicated resumption of metro services from July 1 in Kolkata.

Delhi- Schools in Delhi will remain closed till July 31 in view of the Covid-19 situation, while online classes and activities shall continue. However, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier ruled out return to the lockdown mode in the view of the rising cases in the city.

Telangana - The sharp spike in the number of positive cases for Covid-19 in Hyderabad in the last few days has forced several shops, business establishments and general markets to go for a voluntary lockdown for a period ranging between seven and 10 days. On Thursday night, Telangana reported 920 new positive cases including 737 reported in Hyderabad alone. The total tally of Covid cases in the state reached 11,364.

Tamil Nadu- The districts of Chennai, Madurai and parts of Chengelpet, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur are under lockdown since last Friday till June 30 with permission for most activities except essential services withdrawn. Chief minister Palaniswami, however, has left the decision on the future coursewhich also includes the possibility of extending the lockdownto recommendations of an expert panel and the Central government, he told reporters on Friday. Tamil Nadu on Friday reported the highest single day spike with 3,645 new Covid 19 cases taking the states total to 74,622 cases including 46 deaths reported over the last 24 hours.

Karnataka- Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has ruled out a return to the lockdown regime in the state and has instead laid emphasis on increased surveillance and implementation of current norms while promoting commercial activity in the state. He said on Friday that his government wanted to carry on the developmental activities and Covid-19 management hand-in-hand. He said even opposition members were in agreement that there should be no lockdown of activities in the state. He said the government will rather seal the places with a high number of cases.
Technavio has been monitoring the artificial intelligence in energy market and it is poised to grow by USD 6.06 billion during 2019-2023. 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/20200626005277/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market 2019-2023 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report of 2020-2024 on COVID-19 Impact

The market is highly concentrated, and the degree of concentration will decelerate during the forecast period. ABB, Alphabet, GENERAL ELECTRIC, IBM, and Siemens are some of the major market participants. The demand for data integration and visual analytics will offer immense growth opportunities. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Demand for data integration and visual analytics has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market 2019-2023: Segmentation

Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market is segmented as below:

Solution Software Hardware Services

Geographic Landscape The Americas APAC EMEA



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download latest free sample report of 2020-2024: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30051

Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market 2019-2023: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our artificial intelligence in energy market report covers the following areas:

Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market size

Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market trends

Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market analysis

This study identifies the increasing adoption of cloud-based solutions as one of the prime reasons driving the artificial intelligence in energy market growth during the next few years.

Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market 2019-2023: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the artificial intelligence in energy market, including some of the vendors such as ABB, Alphabet, GENERAL ELECTRIC, IBM, and Siemens. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the artificial intelligence in energy market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market 2019-2023: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2019-2023

Detailed information on factors that will assist artificial intelligence in energy market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the artificial intelligence in energy market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the artificial intelligence in energy market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of artificial intelligence in energy market vendors

Table Of Contents:

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Market segmentation analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing 2018

Market size and forecast 2018-2023

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY SOLUTION

Market segmentation by solution

Comparison by solution

Software Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Hardware Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Services Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Market opportunity by solution

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Americas Market size and forecast 2018-2023

EMEA Market size and forecast 2018-2023

APAC Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 11: MARKET TRENDS

PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario

PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

ABB

Alphabet

GENERAL ELECTRIC

IBM

Siemens

PART 14: APPENDIX

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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[June 26, 2020] Transoceanic Dialogues on Innovation: The Second China-Europe City Innovation and Development Forum was held in Jiangning Development Zone in Nanjing, China

The Second China-Europe City Innovation and Development Forum arrived in Jiangning Development Zone in Nanjing on June 25, 2020. Themed "Innovation Lights up the Future of Cities", the event was one of the high-profile forums of "Nanjing Tech Week 2020". It was sponsored by the People's Government of Nanjing, organized by the People's Government of Nanjing's Jiangning District and Jiangning Development Zone Administrative Committee, and co-organized by Jazzyear-a Chinese technology think tank. The event brought together world-renowned academicians, mayors of European cities, Nobel (News - Alert) Prize winners, experts, professors, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists for a one-day discussion of city innovation. At the event, Jiangning Development Zone entered into a sister city relationship with Gussing, Austria. Ten international cooperative projects wer signed, including Germany CLOOS Asia Pacific Headquarters Base, Haixiang Cross-border E-commerce Platform Software R&D Base, Nanjing High-end Equipment Manufacturing Research Institute, Instrumentation Technologies Jiangsu Base, and other R&D bases. Other projects include industrialization projects such as libre smart chips and MEMS intelligent temperature sensors, and technical cooperation centers such as China-Western Overseas Collaborative Innovation Center, China-France Collaborative Innovation Center, and Plasma Arc 3D Printing Technology Center.



The forum had several sessions-keynote speeches, signing of international cooperative projects, and panel discussions. Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence, Italy, Eckart Wurzner, Mayor of Heidelberg, Germany, Patrick Klugman, Deputy Mayor of Paris responsible for international relations, France, and Vinzenz Knor, Mayor of Gussing, Austria, conducted a transoceanic talk around the topic of "Foster Innovation Ecosystems, Co-build a City of Innovation." The following keynote speakers shared thoughts on urban innovation and development, and the capital market and innovation industry in a global vision.

Thomas J. Sargent, Winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Economics

Dr. Zhao Shuming, Senior Professor in Humanities & Social Science and Honorary President of Nanjing University Business School

Yu Changbin, Academician of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, Head of AI & Robot Center of Westlake University

Zhang Daqing, Academician of the European Academy of Sciences, Professor of School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University

Ricardo Bueno, Director General of BRTA, Spain

Eddie Chen, Managing Director and Head of China & Asia, Eurazeo. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005491/en/

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Thank goodness for the Earth's crust: It is, after all, that solid, outermost layer of our planet that supports everything above it.

But much of what happens below that layer remains a mystery, including the fate of sections of crust that vanish back into the Earth. Now, a team of geochemists based at the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory has uncovered key clues about where those rocks have been hiding.

The researchers provided fresh evidence that, while most of the Earth's crust is relatively new, a small percentage is actually made up of ancient chunks that had sunk long ago back into the mantle then later resurfaced. They also found, based on the amount of that "recycled" crust, that the planet has been churning out crust consistently since its formation 4.5 billion years ago -- a picture that contradicts prevailing theories.

Their research is published in the journal Science Advances.

"Like salmon returning to their spawning grounds, some oceanic crust returns to its breeding ground, the volcanic ridges where fresh crust is born," said co-author Munir Humayun, a MagLab geochemist and professor at Florida State's Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science (EOAS). "We used a new technique to show that this process is essentially a closed loop, and that recycled crust is distributed unevenly along ridges."

In addition to Humayun, the research team included MagLab postdoctoral researcher Shuying Yang, lead author on the paper, and MagLab Geochemistry Group Director and EOAS Chair Vincent Salters.

The Earth's oceanic crust is formed when mantle rock melts near fissures between tectonic plates along undersea volcanic ridges, yielding basalt. As new crust is made, it pushes the older crust away from the ridge toward continents, like a super slow conveyer belt. Eventually, it reaches areas called subduction zones, where it is forced under another plate and swallowed back into the Earth.

Scientists have long theorized about what happens to subducted crust after being reabsorbed into the hot, high-pressure environment of the planet's mantle. It might sink deeper into the mantle and settle there, or rise back to the surface in plumes, or swirl through the mantle, like strands of chocolate through a yellow marble cake. Some of that "chocolate" might eventually rise up, re-melt at mid-ocean ridges, and form new rock for yet another millions-year-long tour of duty on the sea floor.

This new evidence supports the "marble cake" theory.

Scientists had already seen clues supporting the theory. Some basalts collected from mid-ocean ridges, called enriched basalts, have a higher percentage of certain elements that tend to seep from the mantle into the melt from which basalt is formed; others, called depleted basalts, had much lower levels.

To shed more light on the mystery of the disappearing crust, the team chemically analyzed 500 samples of basalt collected from 30 regions of ocean ridges. Some were enriched, some were depleted and some were in between.

Early on, the team discovered that the relative proportions of germanium and silicon were lower in melts of recycled crust than in the "virgin" basalt emerging from melted mantle rock. So they developed a new technique that used that ratio to identify a distinct chemical fingerprint for subducted crust.

They devised a precise method of measuring that ratio using a mass spectrometer at the MagLab. Then they crunched the numbers to see how these ratios differed among the 30 regions sampled, expecting to see variations that would shed light on their origins.

At first the analysis revealed nothing of note. Concerned, Yang, a doctoral candidate at the time, consulted with her adviser. Humayun suggested looking at the problem from a wider angle: Rather than compare basalts of different regions, they could compare enriched and depleted basalts.

After quickly re-crunching the data, Yang was thrilled to see clear differences among those groups of basalts.

"I was very happy," recalled Yang, lead author on the paper. "I thought, 'I will be able to graduate!'"

The team had detected lower germanium-to-silicon ratios in enriched basalts -- the chemical fingerprint for recycled crust -- across all the regions they sampled, pointing to its marble cake-like spread throughout the mantle. Essentially, they solved the mystery of the vanishing crust.

It was a lesson in missing the forest for the trees, Humayun said.

"Sometimes you're looking too closely, with your nose in the data, and you can't see the patterns," he said. "Then you step back and you go, 'Whoa!'"

Digging deeper into the patterns they found, the scientists unearthed more secrets. Based on the amounts of enriched basalts detected on global mid-ocean ridges, the team was able to calculate that about 5 to 6 percent of the Earth's mantle is made of recycled crust, a figure that sheds new light on the planet's history as a crust factory. Scientists had known the Earth cranks out crust at the rate of a few inches a year. But has it done so consistently throughout its entire history?

Their analysis, Humayun said, indicates that, "The rates of crust formation can't have been radically different from what they are today, which is not what anybody expected."

###

The MagLab is funded by the National Science Foundation and the State of Florida. It is headquartered at Florida State University with additional locations at University of Florida and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
HOLYOKE -- State regulators say Mercy Medical Center closed the 24-bed child and adolescent unit at Providence Behavioral Health in Holyoke in May, a month before its scheduled Tuesday, June 30, shutdown and as it worked out a closure plan with the Department of Public Health.

"The Department is concerned that the Hospital would discontinue such a unit nine days before submitting a plan which states the patients cared for in this unit would continue to receive care at Providence Behavioral Health Hospital until June 30, 2020," The Department of Public Health wrote to Mercy Medical Center earlier this month.

Mercy Medical Center has until Saturday, June 27, just a few days before the planned closure, to respond, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Mercy Medical Center and its parent, Trinity Health, plan to close all the inpatient psychiatric beds at Providence on Tuesday. Those 74 beds include the two dozen beds earmarked for children and adolescents. Those are the only dedicated pediatric inpatient psychiatric beds in the region. The move is resulting in 202 layoffs.

Mercys plan to make up for the lost service is to send people to Trinity-owned hospitals in Connecticut or to other facilities elsewhere.

Both Holyoke Medical Center and Baystate Heath have proposed building psychiatric hospitals with for-profit partners in separate projects. But both facilities are more than two years away.

Parents and families said earlier this month at a rally protesting the closure that Providence had stopped accepting pediatric patients ahead of the planned closure, an assertion backed up by the state Department of Public Healths letter.

Of the 24 pediatric beds, 12 had been in use up until recently and 12 had been closed for more than a year.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association, one of the unions representing employees at Providence, said Thursday there are no children now at the hospital There are two adult psychiatric patients and one older adult.

Massachusetts Nurses Association members, State Rep. Aaron Vega, D-Holyoke and others plan to protest the planned closure 11 a.m. Monday outside the State House on Beacon Street in Boston .

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, who's also spoken out against the closure while in Holyoke, is also expected to attend.

Markey is running in a Democratic primary for Senate against current U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III.

Mercy and its owners, Trinity Health, said its closing the ageing facility because It's averaging just 39 patients in the 50-bed adult unit and just under seven patients on average in its 12 remaining pediatric beds.

As of July 1, 2020, Providence Behavioral Health Hospital said it will have no medical director of the facility and a total of six psychiatric provider vacancies, management said in a letter to the state.

Mercy spokeswoman May K. Orr said Thursday that Providence Behavioral Health Hospital remains open and inpatient psychiatric services will be available through June 30.

We evaluate all admissions based on our ability to safely care for each patient, which includes daily staffing levels. We also continue to work with our partners and other facilities to ensure that patients receive timely and appropriate care, she wrote.
The US Justice Department is seeking the final documents to complete an antitrust investigation of Alphabet Inc's Google, said three sources familiar with the probe, which is expected to end with a lawsuit this summer.

State attorneys general have separate probes into Google, and the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has ongoing investigations into Google, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc and Apple Inc.

The department has requested information by the end of June from companies concerned about Google's abuse of its advertising clout, as well as those with data that could be used to support a complaint against Google, the sources said, noting that the deadline could be extended.

They did not say what the complaint would allege.

Justice Department officials and some state attorneys general will hold a virtual meeting on Friday to discuss the probe, a person briefed on the matter said.

Google, which provides free web searches, email and other services, makes money through advertising. Google controls a third of the world's online ad spending but 90% of the market for some ad tech tools. This includes Google Ad Manager, software that publishers use to sell space for display ads.

Google has also been accused of abusing its dominance of Android, its smartphone operating system. Platforms such as Yelp say Google favors its own products in search results.

The Justice Department declined to comment. Google had no immediate comment.

The dozens of state attorneys general led by Texas which are also investigating Google will certainly be asked to join the federal lawsuit, and many will likely do so, one of the sources said.

"They're not joined at the hip but there is a lot more coordination," the source said.

Google's defenders, like Washington-based tech trade group NetChoice whose members include Alphabet, say digital ad prices have fallen sharply in the past decade as competition has increased.

The state attorneys general focusing on Google are considering going after the company for privacy lapses by using statutes that bar deceptive practices, according to one source.

State laws barring unfair and deceptive practices can be interpreted broadly and sometimes carry heavy financial penalties, especially if the number of violations is large. Arizona and New Mexico already have sued Google over allegedly deceptive privacy practices this year, seeking $10,000 and $5,000 respectively per violation of their state statutes.

The government's probes of Google bear striking similarities to its probe of Microsoft Corp in the 1990s when it provided the dominant operating system. Like Microsoft, Google was first investigated by the Federal Trade Commission. In both instances, the Justice Department and the states then began their probes.

The Justice Department won a trial against Microsoft in 1998 which was overturned on appeal and remanded. The two sides settled in 2001.
Jim Perkins is a major in the Army Reserve's 75th Innovation Command. He served on active duty for 11 years and now works in technology in Seattle. He tweets at @jim_perkins1.

What does a leader look like? What gender and race are they? According to illustrations in the Army's own manual regulating promotion photographs, you could easily infer that a leader is a white man in combat arms with the last name Atkinson. He doesn't wear glasses, and his subordinates are women and people of color with names like Marinez and Villalobo. Seriously.

Last week, Defense Secretary Mark Esper proposed removing official photos from board files in an effort to reduce systemic bias. In his remarks, he noted this was something he had advocated as secretary of the Army and further added, "The military led the nation on ending segregation after World War II. ... We all agreed it is time to lead once again on this issue."

Mr. Secretary, I'm certain that, as a former business executive, you're aware of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and I'm sure that, as a former infantryman, you know that you can't lead from behind.

Official photos were not created to give white men an advantage, but it takes only an 8th grade education to recognize that indicators of gender and race do just that. American society internalizes racism and gender stereotypes in young children. Your Manpower offices already have the data showing you that this is the right move. Gender and race should not be in promotion and selection board files.

Bias in hiring and promotion decisions has been well documented. Top-performing companies care about expertise, relevant experience and recent performance. They seek to measure what matters and promote those people who deliver it.

There should be no question about the need to address systemic bias in the military. The Defense Department's own data appears to bear this out: Whites make up 69% of the force but 88% of flag officers.

It's a sign of how poor our talent management system is when photographs are a relevant factor in decision making. The Army's Battalion Command Assessment Program recently showed just how flawed our current system is, as candidates jumped from last to first when assessed in a new, more nuanced process that included a double-blind panel interview. The Defense Department collects volumes of data about each service member -- including complete health records -- and yet we're debating whether to include photos?

According to the Army, Marine Corps and Navy -- the three services that include images -- an official photo is supposed to show "military bearing." Military lore suggests that the photo demonstrates a soldier's discipline and precision to uniform regulations, but even four-star generals with aides make mistakes on national TV.

In the relevant Army doctrine ADP 6-22, military bearing is a catch-all term for qualities including fitness, courtesy and confidence. In other words, military bearing is an action, not a trait. So, at best, a photo is a weak proxy for fitness, physique and other attributes that are already assessed repeatedly and explicitly in the candidate's file: PT scores, height, weight, appearance and demeanor.

Fitness standards tell us what's acceptable. If we want fitter people, we need to raise fitness standards. If we're worried that people are lying about fitness data, that's a bigger problem than photos.

What does a picture actually show?

It shows badges and awards, many of which are earned early in a career. And it may show a few past units (overseas service and special staff assignments). All of this is already in written form in the file; a picture just reinforces availability bias. A picture also shows gender, race, skin color, pregnancy, hairstyle, glasses, facial expressions, physique and wounds or scars.

We also know photos are imperfect. There are online guides about how to adjust your uniform specifically for a photo. Photos are not updated while the service member is deployed or in a remote location such as graduate school, ROTC cadre or embassy assignment. Assuming a pregnant woman has no miscarriages, she is exempt from the photo for 15 months. While it's possible to mask hands and face to reduce certain biases, there is no getting around the obvious gender indication from a uniform.

Photos also show nothing about a person's recent performance. Should a male major in acquisitions have a leg up on his female competition for lieutenant colonel because he went to Ranger School and earned a Combat Infantry Badge as a lieutenant 10 years ago? No, but he does.

More importantly, what doesn't a picture show? It doesn't show academic achievement -- you can get a badge for two weeks of training with helicopters, but not for a Ph.D. -- or technical certifications and language proficiency. Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent was every bit the warrior her husband is, but she had no tab, trident or beret.

It should be unsurprising that the Air Force does not include photos in board files, and the service has had more success with diversity at senior levels. (The Air Force also discourages using gender pronouns in evaluations and removes race/gender from board files.) Meanwhile the Army and Marine Corps do include that information, and have the lowest proportion of female members, some of the lowest rates of minority members in senior and officer ranks -- and the highest rates of sexual assault reports, according to the most recent data.

America's first woman to earn a fourth star, retired Army Gen. Ann Dunwoody, titled her memoir "A Higher Standard" in a not-subtle nod to the discrimination she faced as a woman in the military -- a message that the incoming Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown, echoed in a recent video.

You can't tell much about a person from a photograph, but you can tell a lot about a person by their action or inaction. In this context, official photos in board files tell us nothing about the subjects, but their continued presence shows the lack of integrity and moral courage among our senior leaders.

The senior leaders who were selected to the highest ranks got there by echoing doctrine and may believe there is value in these photos. They're nearly all white men, and to question the system that selected them for greatness is to doubt their own greatness. I cannot, however, make the same excuse for our senior civilian leadership.

If you truly want to lead, just use the diversity office you have and hold people accountable. Don't ask the troops; ask your most vulnerable troops. Don't expect an organization that's majority white and male to be attuned to all of the systemic bias.

It's time to remove photos and other overt indicators of gender and race from board files.

-- 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.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V.Makei participates in a ceremony dedicated to the 75th Anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter

On June 26, 2020 in Minsk, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vladimir Makei, took part in a ceremony dedicated to the 75th Anniversary of signing the United Nations Charter.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the UN Office in Belarus organized the ceremony in the Loshitsky Park, near the Loshitsky Manor, where the first UN mission in Belarus  the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), was located in the post-war years.

The event was attended by the UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus, Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki, heads of the UN agencies and diplomatic missions, representatives of Belarusian scientific and cultural circles.

During the ceremony, the publication of the UN Charter in Belarusian language was presented. Its copies will be transferred to the central libraries of regional and large cities of Belarus, as well as to the UN libraries in Vienna, Geneva and New York.

In his statement, V.Makei emphasized the crucial importance of adhering to the fundamental principles enshrined in the UN Charter. The full and conscientious implementation of them can ensure peaceful coexistence of states, sustainable economic development and social progress.

The Minister noted that the publication of the UN Charter in Belarusian language helps to ensure the continuity of generations and historical memory of the contribution of Belarus to the establishment of international peace.

At the opening ceremony the UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus, Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki, the Director of the Museum of History of the City of Minsk, Galina Ladisova, the Director of the National Library of Belarus, Roman Motulsky, and heads of diplomatic missions of the states  permanent members of the UN Security Council (the UK, China, Russia, the U.S. and France) addressed the participants of the ceremony.

The video of the ceremony will be available on the YouTube channel of the UN Office in Belarus.

print version
By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumers in southern U.S. states where COVID-19 infections spiked to record levels after authorities rushed to reopen businesses were less optimistic about economic conditions in June than residents in areas that proceeded more cautiously and followed the advice of health experts.

The University of Michigan said on Friday its measure of consumer sentiment rose only 0.5 point among residents in the South in June. Southern states, including Texas, South Carolina and Florida, which had reopened by mid-May, are reporting a surge in cases of the respiratory illness.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday ordered bars to close down again and restaurants to scale back service.

"While most consumers believe that economic conditions could hardly worsen from the recent shutdown of the national economy, prospective growth in the economy is more closely tied to progress against the coronavirus," said Richard Curtin, the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers chief economist.

"The early reopening of the economy has undoubtedly restored jobs and incomes, but it has come at the probable cost of an uptick in the spread of the virus."

In the West, where coronavirus infections have also jumped despite early adoption of stringent measures to slow the spread of the disease, consumer sentiment increased 3.3 points in June.

In contrast, sentiment among residents in the Northeast soared by a record 19.1 points this month. State and local governments in the Northeast are gradually reopening their economies while monitoring COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.

Curtin attributed the surge in confidence to "residents apparently expecting the later and more gradual reopening to produce at worst a negligible increase in infections."

He predicted that the resurgence of the virus would undercut consumer demand in the southern and western regions and might even temper spending in the Northeast.

The survey also found that consumers' confidence in government economic policies dropped in June to its lowest since President Donald Trump took office in January 2017.

(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by David Gregorio)
(JTA)  They protested the mayors decision to keep the parks closed on Sunday. By Monday, they vowed to cut the chains of the park gates themselves if Mayor Bill de Blasio didnt accede to their requests.

In a tweet Monday evening, New York State Sen. Simcha Felder said he and two other Orthodox lawmakers, City Councilman Kalman Yeger and state Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, would open the parks themselves if the mayor refused to do so.

Weve asked nicely and waited patiently. Weve made every logical argument. The people have spoken and theyre running out of patience,...
KYODO NEWS - Jun 27, 2020 - 00:46 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

TOKYO - The daily number of new coronavirus cases reported in Japan on Friday topped 100 for the first time since May 9, adding to signs that the epidemic is gaining strength since the country eased business and social restrictions.

Of the 105 cases, Tokyo reported 54 -- 31 of them connected to the nightlife industry, such as at so-called host clubs, where women pay to drink with and be entertained by young men. The daily figure for the capital came to around 50 for the third day in a row.

Since Japan lifted a nationwide state of emergency entirely on May 25, it recorded more than 70 new COVID-19 cases for six days and the cumulative number reported each week has been increasing gradually. It was 291 two weeks ago, 407 last week, and has reached more than 500 this week.

While Tokyo has seen the highest number, more than half of the total during the most recent week, Gov. Yuriko Koike on Friday denied that the uptick is a second wave of infection, citing views of public health experts.

The Tokyo governor said a new coronavirus warning system, replacing the current "Tokyo alert," is expected to be introduced as early as by the end of this month.

Under the existing system, Tokyo has to issue the alert under certain conditions such as if the daily average number of new cases exceeds 20 in a week and the ratio for unknown infection routes climbs to more than 50 percent.

About half of those infected in nightlife districts in Tokyo on Friday were from Shinjuku Ward, which hosts Kabukicho, famous for various types of nightclubs.

The metropolitan government said 40 of the infected were in their 20s and 30s.

"The infection is limited to younger people and there is a smaller chance of it getting severe. It hasn't spread widely in the city like in early April, when many from various generations were infected," a Tokyo official said.

The metropolitan government a week ago lifted its advisories against visiting places such as live music venues and nightclubs.

Cases reported Friday by Ibaraki and Kanagawa prefectures near Tokyo, as well as Hyogo Prefecture in western Japan, included commuters to the capital or someone who had been in close contact with an infected person from Tokyo.

Hokkaido in northern Japan has also been reporting at least one new infection a day since April 7.

There have been more than 18,970 infections reported in Japan so far, including 712 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo in February. The country's death toll from the virus stood at 984, with none reported Friday.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / AEX Gold Inc. ("AEX" or the "Corporation")(TSXV:AEX) is pleased to announce that it has been granted a new Mineral Exploration License in South Greenland by the Mineral Licence and Safety Authority ("MLSA"). The license covers 1,710 km2 in South Greenland and is prospective for gold mineralisation. With this new license, AEX now has a dominant exploration footprint over the entire Nanortalik Gold Belt.

Highlights

New Mineral Exploration License, "Anoritooq", totalling 1,710 km 2 has been granted (Figure 1)

has been granted (Figure 1) The area was identified as having a prospective geological and structural setting, with similarities to AEX's Vagar license on the Niaqornaarsuk peninsula, which hosts numerous high-grade gold occurrences

License hosts several gold occurrences, with a diverse range of mineralisation styles

The license will carry no financial liabilities for the Corporation in 2020. The Government of Greenland has recently adjusted the 2020 exploration obligations to zero. This applies to all of AEX's Mineral Exploration Licenses (https://govmin.gl/2020/04/02/adjustment-of-exploration-obligations-for-2020-to-zero/)

AEX's license holdings now total 3,356 km2

Eldur Olafsson, CEO of AEX Gold, said:

"We are delighted to have secured the Mineral Exploration License for Anoritooq, a significant area of land in Southern Greenland to add to our high-grade exploration portfolio. By securing the Mineral Exploration License at Anoritooq and doubling the size of our portfolio of licenses, the Company has further solidified its position as the dominant gold play in Greenland whilst also retaining its focus on quality geology.

With our unique portfolio of high-grade assets, particularly for Nalunaq, the management and Board are confident in delivering substantial value to our investors through near-term project catalysts and an exciting exploration upside."

Figure 1. Outline of new Mineral Exploration License 2020/36 "Anoritooq" in black

Introduction

Totalling 1,710 km2, the license is divided into two sub-areas: a main part that lies between AEX's Saarloq and Vagar exploration licenses and covers parts of the Niaqornaarsuk, Akuliaruseq and Nanortalik peninsulas to the northeast and north of Nanortalik, and a second sub-area on the south east coast of Greenland that follows the inner parts of Kangerluluk and Igutsaat Fjord. Both sub-areas can be accessed by boat or helicopter. Exploration will be supported from AEX's camp at Nalunaq.

Geology

The geology of South Greenland is dominated by the Paleoproterozoic Ketilidian orogenic belt (1850 - 1725 Ma), formed during subduction of an oceanic plate under the Archean North Atlantic Craton. The orogen can be divided into three broad zones from northwest to southeast (Figure 2):

The Border Zone, where crystalline rocks of the Archean craton are unconformably overlain by Ketilidian supracrustal rocks The Julianehab Batholith, a large polyphase calc-alkaline batholith which was emplaced in a continental arc setting, along with numerous appinite dykes Ketilidian supracrustal rocks that are psammitic close to the contact with the batholith and more pelitic in the southeast, with subordinate mafic volcanics and volcaniclastics, intruded by a post-orogenic suite of rapakivi granites.

Figure 2. Geological map of South Greenland showing the principal geological domains. Modified from Secher et al., 2008.

The geology of the main sub-area of license 2020/36 is quite varied, comprising Julianehab Batholith granites and granodiorites in its northern part and Ketilidian metasediments, metavolcanics and Rapakivi granites in its southern part.

The prospect that has seen most exploration is Lake 410 on the southern end of the Nanortalik Peninsula, a short distance from the town of Nanortalik. This shows several geological similarities to Nalunaq and is part of the same nappe. Crew Gold conducted several seasons of exploration here including 2,241 m of diamond drilling. This identified a mineralised structure that showed continuity over more than 700 m along strike, with intersections of up to 2.12 ppm gold over 2 m in amphibolites. AEX plans to carry out 3D modelling and further structural assessment of this target. It is not yet known if the low grades are representative of the in-situ geology or are a consequence of high nugget-effect mineralisation, similar to that found at Nalunaq, and AEX plans to collect larger samples for gold deportment studies. Prospecting will be carried out in key areas with unexplained scree sediment gold anomalies.

In addition to Lake 410, a mineralised shear zone is recorded in the northern part of the main sub-area in the Isortup Qoorua valley, to the north of AEX's Vagar license. The shear zone is several kilometres long and historical exploration has returned chip samples up to 3.4 ppm that require further investigation.

The Kangerluluk sub-area is mostly underlain by granites with some enclaves of metavolcanic rocks. This area has seen little exploration although there are three published mineral occurrences. One at the head of Kangerluluk Fjord includes quartz veining with elevated tungsten, molybdenum and copper associated with gold, with grades of up to 1.2 % copper and 0.6 ppm gold. Lead-zinc mineralisation is also found related to later shear zones and carbonatisation. The carbonate zones contain grades of up to 2.2% lead, 4% zinc, 0.223 ppm gold and 114 ppm copper. There are also several sulphide-bearing rust zones and aplite sills that require further assessment.

On the northern side of Igutsaat Fjord, at least four distinct east-west striking rust zones are exposed in the granodiorite. Iron sulphide is disseminated in the zone and occurs in hairline fractures and veinlets with analyses showing trace amounts of gold (Stendal 1997).

A major, east-west striking, 5-8 m thick rusty aplite sill is exposed on the southern side of Igusaat Fjord. The sill strikes approximately 060 and dips 20 southeast. The aplite is enclosed in mafic sill rock, 0.5-1 m thick. Earlier mafic dykes are displaced several metres dextrally along the sill plane and the aplite appears to have been emplaced into a sub-horizontal shear zone in an earlier mafic sill. The rusty aplite contains 1-2 vol.% pyrite, both disseminated and in veinlets with grab samples returning grades of up to 1.39 ppm gold (Stendal 1997).

Enclaves of metavolcanic rock on the northern side of Kangerluluk fjord have potential to host extensions to the high-grade gold mineralisation identified on the southern side of the fjord within AEX's Nuna Nutaaq license 2019/113, where Goldcorp reported up to 110 g/t Au over 80 cm true thickness from a NE-trending shear structure in 1997. Additional enclaves to those on the published geological maps have been identified by AEX from aerial photographs.

In addition to the published gold occurrences, gold has been reported in altered gabbros and norites of the appinite suite from near Alluitsup Paa and on Angmalortoq Island, with samples collected by Platinova Resources in 1987 returning 440 ppb and 180 ppb respectively. AEX will collect samples to verify these results and assess the mineralisation style.

AEX intends to conduct remote sensing analysis, prospecting work and geophysical surveys in this license over the next two years to define drill targets. Work at Lake 410 may include mineralogical studies to determine the nature of gold mineralisation and whether the low grades are a consequence of erratic gold distributions, i.e. a high nugget effect or an artefact of a different style of mineralisation.

Qualified Person

The technical information presented in this press release has been approved by James Gilbertson CGeol, who is a full-time employee and Managing Director of SRK Exploration Services Limited and a Chartered Geologist with the Geological Society of London, and as such a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

Contact Information

George Fowlie, Director and CFO

1-416-587-9801

gf@aexgold.com

Eldur Olafsson, Director and CEO

+354 665 2003

eo@aexgold.com

Camarco (Financial PR)

Gordon Poole / Nick Hennis

+44 (0) 20 3757 4980

About AEX

AEX's principal business objectives are the identification, acquisition, exploration and development of gold properties in Greenland. The Corporation's principal asset is a 100% interest in the Nalunaq Project, an advanced exploration stage property with an exploitation license including the previously operating Nalunaq gold mine. AEX is incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act and wholly owns Nalunaq A/S, incorporated under the Greenland Public Companies Act.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflects the Corporation's current expectations regarding future events and the future growth of the Corporation's business. In this press release there is forward-looking information based on a number of assumptions and subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Corporation's control, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Final Prospectus available under the Corporation's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Any forward-looking information included in this press release is based only on information currently available to the Corporation and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Corporation assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect new circumstances or events. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release. 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.

SOURCE: AEX Gold Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/595354/AEX-Gold-Doubles-Size-of-Gold-License-Portfolio-with-New-Mineral-Exploration-License
I'm a (not very respected) family member, who thankfully doesn't live there. I keep my mouth shut because nobody asked me, but Danny does share with me some of his anxieties and fears. I really feel for the boy. All I can think to tell him is that he can chart his own path when he grows up, and that he won't have to live with either his grandparents or his dad. It seems so insufficient.
Montgomery County staffers arrived at a flooded building Thursday morning after a roof drain on The Atrium Building in downtown Conroe broke and dumped hundreds of gallons of rainwater into the structure causing extensive damage to parts of all four floors.

The Atrium, 210 W. Davis St., houses the countys several County Court at Law courts, the County Clerks Office and the countys records office for legal documents. The building is more than 30 years old, according to County Judge Mark Keoughs Chief of Staff Jason Millsaps.

According to the Harris County Flood Warning System, the Conroe area received almost 4 inches of rain in the last two days. Wednesday night into Thursday evening, storms pushing through the region dumped almost two inches of rain on the Conroe area.

The drain runs from the roof of the building, down an inside wall and out at the ground level. Millsaps said the water filled up the fourth floor before flooding the third, second and first floors.

TURN AROUND: High-water locations reported after heavy thunderstorms hit Houston area

It did that all the way down to the bottom, he said. There is a substantial amount of damage to at least three courtrooms and the records management depository. Some records did get wet but they are all digitized.

Along with furniture in the courtrooms, including pews, chairs and tables, Millsaps said electronic equipment like audio and visual systems and computers were also drenched.

There is no way to know if it is completely ruined or not at this time or if it just needs to dry out, he said.

County Court at Law No. 2 Judge Claudia Laird said she was shocked to see the situation Thursday morning.

BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: Get your Houston breaking news alerts delivered to your Inbox

It looked like it was raining in the courtroom when I walked in this morning, she said. I just stood there dumbfounded.

Laird said the flooding didnt affect some court proceedings because most of those are still being done remotely due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

We are still going forward, we are just doing it remotely, she added noting offices in the back of the building, including her chambers, were not affected by the water.

The drain has been fixed Millsaps said but as of Thursday afternoon, the clean up of the building is expected to last through the weekend. The cost of the damage was not yet determined.

MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR: Abbotts halt on elective surgeries is good news for Montgomery County, official says

It will be a couple of days of determining what is not repairable and needs to be replaced, he said.

The building remained open, Millsaps said and the judges had worked out ways to keep their dockets moving.

We are thankful for the quick response from building maintenance and custodial staff, said Darin Bailey, chief deputy county clerk in the County Clerks Office. Our constitutional duty is to protect these records and we appreciate Rob Wright, assistant director of Building Maintenance and his team in assisting us so we can maintain the integrity of these vital records.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
A powerful drug cartel is accused of trying to assassinate Mexico City's security chief in a deadly ambush that marks a new escalation in the years-long war between the government and organized crime.

Omar Garcia Harfuch, head of the capital city's public security, was shot three times when a group of at least a dozen hit-men with high-caliber weapons opened fire in a leafy, upscale neighborhood of Mexico City on Friday morning. Two people in Garcia Harfuch's security detail died, along with a woman who was driving to work, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said.

The bloody confrontation turned the normally quiet street into a war zone, with shattered glass littering the ground and an SUV riddled with bullet holes. As police tried to make sense of exactly what happened, details emerged adding to the mystery, including that the attack may have been foretold in intercepted phone calls and a recent newspaper column. Federal Public Security Minister Alfonso Durazo confirmed that threats had been made and said in a news conference that initial information points to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

"The Jalisco cartel has become public enemy No. 1," said Falko Ernst, a researcher at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based NGO for conflict resolution. "This administration didn't want to engage in open warfare, but it isn't being left up to them."

Garcia Harfuch was rushed into surgery after being shot in the shoulder, collarbone and knee, government officials said.

At least twelve people were arrested in the confrontation that broke out in the neighborhood of Lomas de Chapultepec at a little past 6:30 a.m. and was caught on cameras. Residents reported hearing rapid-fire shots that lasted almost a full minute. The attackers arrived in trucks, including one that bore the Grupo Carso logo. Carso, a Mexican conglomerate founded by billionaire Carlos Slim, said in a statement that the truck didn't belong to the company.

Jalisco New Generation, known by its Spanish acronym CJNG, is infamous for extreme violence and was responsible for one of the nation's deadliest attacks on security forces, when 15 police officers were killed in an ambush in 2015. The U.S. has offered a $10 million bounty on information leading to the capture of the group's leader, Nemesio Oseguera Ramos -- better known by his alias El Mencho.

El Universal columnist Raul Rodriguez Cortes wrote last week that the government had intercepted calls by organized crime groups, which said they were planning to target a top official. The U.S. Drug Encorcement Agency confirmed the calls were legitimate, Cortes said. Mexico then beefed up the security on four top officials that the cartel had reason to target, including Garcia Harfuch, Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard, head of the Financial Intelligence Unit Santiago Nieto and Durazo.

While military-style ambushes and gunfights are common throughout Mexico, it's rare that the bloodshed spills over into the capital city. This week, a car loaded with explosives was seized by authorities in the vicinity of a refinery in the central state of Guanajuato.

Earlier this month, a federal judge and his wife were killed in the state of Colima. In October, Mexican Forces were overpowered by members of Sinaloa Cartel as they attempted to take in the son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the world's most notorious drug lord. And in November, at least nine members of a Mormon family, all U.S. citizens, were killed in northern Mexico in a suspected attack by cartels.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is facing increased pressure to change his national security policies to crack down on worsening violence. The president emphasizes economic development over heavy-handed law enforcement as the only long-term solution. But he's also been criticized for militarizing the country's policing through the newly created National Guard without a plan to deal with underlying corruption.

On Friday, Lopez Obrador was wrapping up a cross-country tour that started June 1 and held his morning news conference in Morelia, in Michoacan state. Lopez Obrador often travels and goes to events without security.

"The president has decided to operate under a model of no security," Durazo said in the news conference. "We are trying to look after his safety, regardless of his tours."

According to researchers at InSight Crime, the cartel is rapidly expanding and has contacts throughout the U.S. and Latin America. It primarily sells marijuana, cocaine and synthetic drugs.

"This comes after a wave of other concerning attacks that we've seen since last year," said Maureen Meyer, Mexico director at the think tank Washington Office on Latin America. Recent attacks suggest Lopez Obrador's strategy "hasn't put a dent in the violence."
- The male fan said he wishes he had tasted the socialite's lips

- Huddah cleverly told him the only way to kiss her is through his girlfriend's lips

- Her response cracked many Kenyans who agreed it was well calculated

Hot Kenyan socialite Huddah Monroe is one of the most beautiful ladies in Kenya.

Her beauty has made her the darling of many people who cannot have enough of her.

READ ALSO: Lupita Nyong'o discloses staying away from family during filming is lonely, isolating

Huddah Monroe's fan said he really wishes he had kissed her. Photo: UGC

Source: Instagram

READ ALSO: Oscar Sudi congratulates comedian Jalang'o for losing his job: 'utapata akili mingi'

The socialite also loves the people who love her back and in equal measure, as she has proven countless times in the recent past.

Huddah recently confirmed the aforementioned by showing lots of love to a male fan who had gushed over her in the comments section of one of her posts on Instagram.

The male fan identified as Mkuddy, clearly smitten by the lass revealed how much he wishes he had kissed or told her he loves everything in her.

READ ALSO: Voluptuous TZ socialite Poshy Queen rumored to be pregnant for Diamond Platnumz

READ ALSO: Nakuru: Kijogoo atemwa na mke kwa kuchovya asali ya kijakazi wao

I should have kissed you, I should have told you, told you that how I feel, Mkuddy disclosed.

Being the sweet soul she is, Huddah turned the man down but cleverly, stating that the only way to kiss her is through his girlfriend's lips.

In essence, she meant the man should just focus and love his girlfriend more.

''Lol! Easiest way to kiss me is through your girlfriends lips,'' Huddah said.

Her response cracked up many of her followers and a cross section of Kenyans who agreed it was well calculated.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

I married a man every woman wanted - Pastor Joan Chege | Tuko Talks | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Paris (AFP) - The vaccine will inject you with an electronic chip, poison you, make you sick, they say.

There's no vaccine yet for treating the novel coronavirus, and scientists are multiplying efforts to find one.

But already anti-vaxxers -- a small but vocal group of people who don't believe in vaccinations -- have taken advantage of the pandemic to multiply disinformation on social media.

The video "Plandemic," which claims the COVID-19 crisis was a government setup, has already been viewed millions of times on YouTube and other streaming platforms.

A list of substances with scary-sounding names -- phenoxyethanol, potassium chloride -- said to be found in toxic quantities in vaccines (which is not true) has been shared thousands of times on Facebook since the end of April.

The anti-vax rhetoric is not new, but has gained huge visibility during the pandemic, according to experts who spoke with AFP.

- Echo chamber -

The anti-vax movement predates both the internet and the COVID-19 crisis, but social media has created a highly-efficient "echo chamber" for anti-vaxxers, according to Sylvain Delouvee, a researcher in social psychology at the University of Rennes, in France.

Despite these platforms' claims that they will limit viral anti-vax content, the false headlines have nonetheless proliferated, he said.

Anti-vax rhetoric, he added, is "continuously-evolving, without a clear definition," meaning it can reach people across the political divide.

Some misleading claims -- like one article claiming that vaccines contain the same toxic chemicals as the substances used for lethal injections -- have seemed to reappear online without direct reference to COVID-19.

The extent to which the pandemic has altered the misinformation landscape is not yet clear, according to David Broniatowski, from George Washington University in DC.

"We are still investigating the question of whether vaccine opponents are more active because of the pandemic, or whether they are just more visible because of the increased attention given to the pandemic," he said.

Story continues

The attention given to COVID-19 has allowed anti-vaxxers to fold the news into their existing narrative, according to Amelia Jamison, at the University of Maryland.

"There's this kind of small but very vocal group online," she said. "This has just re-energised them."

She noted that in the US in particular, the anti-vax, anti-mask and anti-quarantine movements have come together ostensibly in the name of preserving individual liberties.

- Conspiracy 'groundswell' -

Anti-vaxxers are "taking up more and more space online," Delouvee noted, comparing the current wave of anti-vax activity to a "groundswell".

But Jamison cautioned that things online aren't always what they seem.

"If you look at polarised content on vaccines, it tends to break out like 50-50 [online]," she said.

"We know in real life it's not at all close to 50-50."

The vast majority of people worldwide -- about 80 percent -- somewhat or strongly agree that vaccines are safe, according to the 2018 Wellcome Global Monitor, an annual survey on science and health. Seven percent of people said that they "somewhat or strongly disagree," while 11 percent did not have an opinion.

Still, the anti-vax movement "could amplify outbreaks" of COVID-19, as was the case for the 2019 measles outbreak, according to researchers who published a study in the scientific journal Nature.

The World Health Organization, for its part, classified "vaccine hesitancy" as one of its 10 threats to global health in 2019.
Sinn Fein hierarchy claims it was not aware that controversial councillor Paddy Holohan would be put forward for a nomination for the position of mayor.

The councillor, who was suspended following controversial comments about Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on his podcast in February, was nominated by Sinn Fein colleagues for Mayor of South Dublin County. Cllr Louise Dunne put him forward for the position, and other party colleagues voted for him. He received five votes, including his own.

This evening, a spokesperson for Sinn Fein said Cllr Holohan was recently readmitted to membership having served a five month suspension.

Nominations in respect of Council positions are a matter for council groups. The party was not aware of his nomination, they added.

Writing on his Instagram after the AGM concluded, Cllr Holohan said he was honoured to have received the nomination.

Fianna Fails Ed OBrien secured the Mayor position with 38 votes. He said he didnt have a great issue with Sinn Fein putting a nomination forward.

Thats Sinn Feins business, how they deal with their internal matters, is a matter for them. Regardless of who was put forward, I had sufficient votes to get me over the line and that was my primary focus today.

But Independent Cllr Mick Duff said that he was surprised that Sinn Fein councillors put forward a nominee.

And Fine Gael councillor James Geoghegan has said that the nomination sent out a wrong signal and was insensitive.

At a time when millions of people across the world have shown solidarity to the Black Lives Matter Movement and on the weekend of Pride, it is deeply disappointing that Sinn Fein would nominate a candidate for mayor who displayed ethnic prejudices towards our Taoiseach," Cllr Geoghegan said.

"Cllr Paddy Holohan previously suggested that because Leo Varadkar was of mixed ethnicity that he is somehow unable to display the same passion for Ireland as him.

"Mary Lou McDonald should clarify whether she is supportive of Cllr Holohan becoming a Sinn Fein mayor and pledge that her party will not honour or reward public representatives who display prejudice of any form.

Mr Holohan was suspended by the party earlier this year after it emerged he had made a string of offensive and controversial comments on his No Shame podcast.

The MMA fighter had suggested that loads of underage girls were having sex with men and then blackmailing them for sums of money up to 10,000.

He was also accused of racism and homophobia after he said that Leo Varadkars blood ran to India and that the person who is elected Taoiseach should be a family man.
On Friday, June 26, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation extended the suspension of international passenger flight operations until 11.59 pm on July 15. While earlier announcing the extension of the lockdown in containment areas across the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs had stated the ban on international flight operations will continue till June 30. However, this restriction will not apply to international cargo flights and flights specifically approved by the DGCA. Moreover, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis. While the domestic flight operations recommenced on May 25, international flight operations barring for repatriation flights remained suspended since the beginning of the nationwide lockdown.

Nearly 1.4 lakh Indians repatriated

Approximately 1,40,000 Indians have been repatriated under the aegis of the Vande Bharat Mission since May 6 while more than 48,000 persons have flown out of the country so far. On June 25, 3866 Indian nationals returned to the country from abroad. Flights from Anu Dhabi, Bahrain, Muscat, Dubai, Auckland, Bangkok, Nairobi, Moscow, Manila, Toronto, Washington, Newark, London, Chicago, San Fransisco, Bishkek and Kuwait ferried back Indians to various parts of the country. Commenting on the possibility of resuming international air operations, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri stated that the domestic air traffic must reach about 50-60% and other countries should open up to international traffic without current conditionalities. He assured a calibrated decision would be taken when the situation evolved in that direction.

Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: Assam's Guwahati Under Lockdown; Total Cases At 490,401

Crew management during COVID-19 crisis

The DGCA on Monday issued an addendum to its circular dated March 23 for the management of airline crew during the COVID-19 crisis. The amendment was done after considering the opinion of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. As per the addendum, the risk assessment for the crew shall be done by the concerned airline doctor and the crew will be advised for COVID-19 testing according to the ICMR guidelines.

Based on the risk assessment, it will be determined whether the crew should be subjected to 14 days of home quarantine or not. However, home quarantine is mandatory for a crew member who comes in contact with a novel coronavirus case during flight operations. Such information will be shared with the Airport Health Organization for coordinating with the state government. Moreover, all crew members shall be advised to download the Aarogya Setu app for monitoring their health status.

Read: Pakistan Govt Allows Repatriation Of 748 Stranded Indians From June 25 Via Wagah Border
The Porto's Bakery location in Downey is temporarily closed after three employees tested positive for COVID-19. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Porto's Bakery has temporarily closed its Downey location after three employees tested positive for COVID-19, the company announced this week.

Officials said the plan is to resume offering in-car pickup for online orders Monday.

"This temporary closure will allow us to bring in an outside professional company to disinfect the entire bakery, above and beyond our daily rigorous processes and allow team members time to obtain testing," company officials wrote in a statement Thursday.

To Our Valued Guests, The safety and well-being of our team, guests and our community are fundamental to our family... Posted by Porto's Bakery on Thursday, June 25, 2020

The company added that the three employees "had been self-quarantined and not reported to work since prior to being tested."

"We will continue adhering to, and exceeding, the recommendations and guidelines set forth by the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and the public health department in order to maintain a healthy and safe working environment moving forward," the statement continued.

The popular bakery's other locations remain open for online ordering and in-car pickup.

Numerous businesses have had to contend with employees testing positive for coronavirus infection since the pandemic began.

As of Friday morning, more than 40 restaurants, stores and other workplaces had confirmed cases among their staff countywide, according to a list maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 20:54:36|Editor: huaxia

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Tourists admire the skyline view of Lujiazui area at the Bund in Shanghai, east China, Jan. 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- China once again shortened its negative list naming sectors that are off-limits to foreign investors in its steadfast opening-up moves, injecting certainty into an uncertain global economic environment.

The new list saw a reduction in number of sectors in which foreign investment is not allowed from 40 to 33. China has shortened the list for four consecutive years.

It underlines China's image as a staunch supporter of globalization and free trade even when the world economy is severely impacted by COVID-19.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, global foreign direct investment flows are forecast to decrease by up to 40 percent in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Hit by the epidemic, foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland fell 10.8 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2020.

While sentiment on investment liberalization in many parts of the world has faded, China does not erect walls of protectionism, but resorts to further reform and opening up, strengthening confidence and policy consistency in a year of tumult and volatility.

The new list is expected to improve business environment in China, draw more multinational companies from all over the world to invest in the country more efficiently, promote the gradual stabilization of global trade and investment, thus helping offset the negative impacts of the epidemic and enhancing economic vitality. It is in the interests of China and the rest of the world.

Photo taken on April 9, 2020 shows the Lujiazui area in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)

The COVID-19 pandemic will not change the China's role as a hot investment destination with a flexible and robust economy, according to Ker Gibbs, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai).

The package of measures the country has rolled out to lure and support foreign investment will help secure its role as an investment magnet, he said.

A recent survey by AmCham Shanghai showed that in the short term, over 70 percent of respondents had no plans to relocate the production and supply chains from China due to COVID-19. In the long term, around 40 percent of respondents said they will keep their supply chains in China, while 52 percent said they had no plans to move out.

Doomsayers spreading talk of mass exodus of foreign investment from the Chinese market will only find that they were rumormongering again.

China's comprehensive supply chain, sound infrastructure and opening-up efforts are attracting more foreign companies to stay and invest in the market for the long term.

The COVID-19 pandemic is still biting into the world economy, and its fallout on the Chinese economy has not gone away. Facing risks and challenges, China has continuously deepened reform and taken firm steps for opening up.

However, as the world economy is highly globalized, the pandemic cannot sever communication, cooperation and the deep-seated economic interactions between nations for good. China's determination to promote globalization and free trade should not be underestimated.

Foreign investors have no reason to give up on China's well-established and highly-efficient supply chain, and its large consumer market. It is no fairy tale that foreign investment will continue to thrive in China. 
Bir Lahlou (Liberated Territories), 26 June 2020 (SPS) - President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Mr. Brahim Ghali, has expressed concern over the situation in the occupied territories of Western Sahara due to the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, holding the Moroccan state responsible for the lives of Sahrawi population, in a letter addressed on Friday to Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres.



The following is the full text of the letter:



H.E. Mr Antonio Guterres



Secretary-General of the United Nations



United Nations, New York



Bir Lehlou, 25 June 2020



Excellency,



It is with great concern that I am writing to you to inform that information received from the territories of Western Sahara under the illegal Moroccan occupation indicates that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread significantly over a short period of time in those territories that were free of the epidemic until recently. More than two hundred infections were reported in the occupied city of El Aaiun and its surroundings in the past few days, despite the secrecy of the Moroccan occupation authorities.



This highly disturbing humanitarian situation is a direct result of the Moroccan occupation authorities disregard for the lives of the Sahrawi civilians under siege by allowing many people, including persons infected with COVID-19,to enter the occupied Western Sahara without having to observe quarantine rules and other precautionary measures. Whilethe Moroccan authorities continue to use the restrictions related tothe global pandemicto tighten their blockade on the occupied territories of Western Sahara in order to persist unchecked in terrorising the Sahrawi civilians, they have also been bringing hundreds of Moroccan workers and settlers to the occupied Western Sahara to cause more infections and endanger the lives of our people.



Such a criminal act that targets the lives of our people in the occupied Western Saharaadds to the record of genocide and killings pursued by the Moroccan occupation authorities against defenceless Sahrawi civilians since the beginning of the Moroccan occupation of the Territory on 31October 1975. We hold the Moroccan occupation state fully responsible for the consequences of the possible spread of the pandemic among our innocent people. We also call upon the United Nations, through its mission in the Territory, to assume its responsibility for the protection of Sahrawi civilians and ensuring their physical and moral integrity.



As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread throughout the world, including the Kingdom of Morocco, the situation of the Sahrawi civilian prisoners in Moroccan prisons remains alarming as a result of the deplorable conditions inside the prisons of the Moroccan occupationstate. As we indicated to you in our letter dated 22 March 2020, the rapid spread of this deadly virus and the strict measures required to combat it particularly in terms of social distancing andavoiding large gatherings and overcrowding are in stark contrast to the situation in which these civilian prisoners are held in Moroccan prisons known for overcrowding.



We hold the Moroccan occupation state fully responsible for the life of Sahrawi civilian prisoners in its prisons, and we call on you once again to intervene urgently to end the suffering of Sahrawi civilian prisoners and their families and to ensure their immediate release so that they could return to their homeland and be reunited with their families.



I would be grateful if you would bring this letter to the attention of the Members of the Security Council.



Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.



Brahim Ghali



Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO



President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SPS)



062/SPS
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / IMC International Mining Corp. (CSE:IMCX) (OTC PINK:IMIMF)(FRA:3MX) (the "Company" or "IMC"), is pleased to announce that it intends to complete a non-brokered private placement offering (the "Offering") of up to 3,333,333 flow-through units of the Company (the "FT Units", and each an "FT Unit") at a price of $0.30 CDN per FT Unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000 CDN. Each FT Unit will be comprised of one common share of the Company that qualifies as a "flow-through share" for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (an "FT Unit Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole common share purchase warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.40 CDN at any time prior to the date that is twenty-four (24) months following the closing date of the Offering.

The gross proceeds raised from the sale of the FT Units under the Offering will be used by the Company to fund exploration programs on its Thane Property in north-central British Columbia that qualify as "Canadian Exploration Expenses" ("CEE") and "flow-through mining expenditures", as those terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada).

Closing of the Offering is anticipated to occur on or before July 3, 2020 and is subject to regulatory acceptance. Finder's fees may be payable in appropriate circumstances in connection with the Offering.

The FT Unit Shares and the Warrants issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a hold period under applicable Canadian securities laws of four months and one day from the closing date of the Offering.

ON BEHALF OF IMC INTERNATIONAL MINING CORP.

Brian Thurston

Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: +1-778-928-6565

ABOUT IMC INTERNATIONAL MINING CORP.

IMC is a junior exploration and development company focused on creating shareholder value through the advancements of its current assets that include the Thane Property in north-central British Columbia, and the Bullard Pass Property in Arizona. Utilizing its heavily experienced management team, IMC continues to source and evaluate assets to further generate shareholder value.

The Thane property covers approximately 206 km2 (50,904 acres) and is located in the Quesnel Terrane of north-central British Columbia. The northern part of the Quesnel Terrane extends from south of the Mt. Milligan Mine northward to the Kemess Mine, with the Thane property located midway between these two copper-gold porphyry deposits. The Thane property includes several highly prospective mineralized areas identified to date, including the 'Cathedral Area' on which the Company's exploration is currently focused.

The Bullard Pass Property is comprised of 171 unpatented federal lode claims totaling 3,420 acres and is located in west-central Arizona, northwest of Phoenix, within the Pierce Mining District of Yavapai County. The property has a regional setting typical of detachment fault gold deposits and has geological, mining and metallurgical similarities to the Mesquite Mine in California. The claims are 100% owned by IMC International Mining Corp.

INVESTOR RELATIONS:

Email: ir@imcxmining.com

Telephone: +1-604-588-2110

https://imcxmining.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "intends", "estimates", "envisages", "potential", "possible", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", 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.

Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to future events or future performance and reflect current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) completion of the Offering; (ii) receipt of regulatory acceptance for the Offering; (iii) the Company's intentions to use the gross proceeds from the Offering to fund exploration programs on its Thane Property in north-central British Columbia; (iv) the Company's intention to acquire further mineral properties; and (v) the Company's business and plans, including with respect to undertaking further acquisition and carrying out exploration activities in respect of its mineral projects. All forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by the Company and information currently available to the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct, and actual results and future events could differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements in this news release. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the Company's business and financial condition potentially being materially adversely affected by the outbreak of epidemics, pandemics or other health crises such as COVID-19, and by reactions by government and private actors to such outbreaks; risks to employee health and safety as a result of the outbreak of epidemics, pandemics or other health crises such as COVID-19, that may result in a slowdown or temporary suspension of operations by the Company; the risks that the Offering may not complete as contemplated (or at all), the risks related to the Company's ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals for the Offering; the speculative nature of the Company's business; the Company's formative stage of development; the Company's financial position; conclusions of future economic evaluations; business integration risks; fluctuations in the securities market; that the Company's plans and prospects will vary from those stated in this news release; that the Company does not complete any further acquisitions; that the Company does not carry out exploration activities in respect of its mineral projects as planned (or at all); and that the Company may not be able to carry out its business plans as expected. Except as required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation and does not intend to update any forward-looking statements in this news release. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. All forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release.

SOURCE: IMC International Mining Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/595289/IMC-International-Mining-Corp-Announces-1000000-Flow-Through-Private-Placement
Lightning

Patna: Thunderstorms and lightning have wrought havoc in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh over the past two days, claiming 110 lives, leaving at least 32 injured and causing widespread damage to property.

The lightning strikes were more devastating in Bihar, where 83 people have lost their lives. More than 20 people have been injured in these incidents and hospitalised, they said.

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LightningMeanwhile, in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, at least 24 people died when they were struck by lightning on Thursday, while 12 were injured, officials said in Lucknow.

The lightning has also caused widespread damage to houses and belongings of the residents.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives. Received tragic news about death of several people in some districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar due to heavy rains and lightening. The state governments are engaged in relief work with promptness, he tweeted in Hindi.

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Narendra Modi tweet

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also expressed shock at the death of 83 people in Bihar and asked party workers to help the families of the victims.

I am shocked to hear the news of 83 people dying due to lightning in Bihar. May God grant strength to their loved ones to bear this sorrow, he said in a tweet in Hindi.

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I appeal to the Congress workers to extend all possible help to the families of the victims, he also said.

Rahul Gandhi tweetExpressing grief over the deaths, the two chief ministers announced a payment of Rs 4 lakh as ex gratia to the next of the kin of each deceased in their respective states.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appealed to the people of the state to remain alert and stay indoors as far as possible during bad weather conditions. He also asked them to follow advisories issued by the Disaster Management Department in this regard.

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also directed officials to provide best healthcare facilities to those injured.

Yogi Adityanath and Nitish KumarMeanwhile, the weather department in Patna has forecast that inclement weather could persist for some more days.

An IMD release said thunderstorms are likely to lash all the 38 districts of the state over the next few days along with heavy to very heavy rainfall in the northern, flood-prone districts, bordering Nepal.

The Met department in Lucknow has forecast heavy rain at isolated places over east UP on June 26.
Hetero, a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, has launched its generic remdesivir drug, under the name Covifor, after approval from Drug Controller General of India on 21 June, 2020.

After Fabi flu, the favipiravir drug by Glenmark, Hetero, a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, has launched its generic remdesivir drug, under the name Covifor, after approval from Drug Controller General of India on 21 June, 2020.

The drug will be available in the form of injectable vials of 100 mg which would be priced at Rs 5,400. Remdesivir has shown promising results in bringing the viral load down in severe COVID-19 patients and helping them recover faster. The drug is still under trial in several countries, although the US FDA gave it emergency approval for use in severe cases of COVID-19.

But as with every development regarding the new infections, there is a lot of half and misinformation floating about the new drug. Here are some important facts you need to know about Covifor by Hetero.

Fact 1: Generic remdesivir drugs are just as safe as the branded one.

All big firms, including the US Food and Drug Administration and the Harvard Medical School, claim that generic drugs are just as safe and effective as their brand-name equivalents. The active ingredients used in generic drugs have a similar quality, strength, purity, and stability as the ones used for brand-name medicines. Moreover, generic drugs are available at a much lower cost as compared to branded drugs. Similarly, Hetero's generic remdesivir drug, called Covifor, is expected to be just as effective and safe as the branded drug.

Fact 2: Remdesivir was originally created to fight Ebola but didn't perform as well as expected.

Remdesivir was originally developed by Gilead Sciences, a US-based pharma company, during the outbreak of Ebola to fight the deadly disease. Remdesivir acts on the enzyme RNA polymerase which is necessary for the multiplication of the virus. When the virus could not make more copies of itself, it is not able to spread in the body and eventually dies. However, the drug didnt seem to work as well as expected for the Ebola virus, thus was tested against the strains of coronavirus (SARS and MERS) in the year 2017 and now for SARS-CoV-2 in 2020.

Fact 3: Remdesivir is one of the nucleoside analogues that are being used for COVID-19 treatment.

Nucleoside analogues are an important category of drugs that belong to the group of antiviral agents which are already used for the effective treatment of HIV infection, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster infection. Remdesivir is a nucleoside analogue which restricts viral replication in the body, either by hindering the RNA polymerase enzyme or by the terminating the RNA chain (genetic chain) of the virus. The other nucleoside analogue that has been approved for the treatment of COVID-19 patients is favipiravir.

Fact 4: Remdesivir cannot be used for every patient.

So far, as per the US food and drug administration (FDA) and Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), has authorized the use of this drug for the treatment of suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in adults and children hospitalized with severe disease. Currently, the drug is being used as an experimental treatment and is still under trial to prove its efficacy against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Fact 5: You cannot take Covifor on your own.

Covifor is under restricted use authorisation in India. This means patients would need a doctor's prescription to get it and that doctors will have to take a patient's consent before giving them the drug.

For more information, see Covifor.

Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, Indias first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.
Democrats, who view health care a winning issue and who reclaimed the House majority in 2018 on their promise to expand access and bring down costs, are trying to use the Supreme Court case to press their advantage. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has scheduled a vote for Monday on a measure to expand the health care law, in an effort to draw a sharp contrast between Democrats and Republicans.

President Trump and the Republicans campaign to rip away the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus crisis is an act of unfathomable cruelty, Ms. Pelosi said in a statement late Thursday night, after the administrations brief was filed.

If President Trump gets his way, she added, 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will lose the A.C.A.s lifesaving protections and 23 million Americans will lose their health coverage entirely.

The case the court will hear grows out of a lawsuit that Republican officials in 20 states, led by Texas, filed against the Department of Health and Human Services in February 2018, seeking to have the health law struck down. After Democratic victories in the 2018 midterm elections, two states, Wisconsin and Maine, withdrew.

When the case was argued in the trial court, the Trump administration, though a defendant, did not defend the law, siding instead with the plaintiffs. But unlike Texas and the other states, the administration argued at the time that only the laws protections for people with pre-existing conditions should be struck down, but that the rest of the law, including its expansion of Medicaid, should survive.

Last year, however, the administration expanded its opposition, telling a federal appeals court that the entire law should be invalidated. In the meantime, another 17 states, led by California, intervened to defend the law, as did the House, now controlled by Democrats.

Now is not the time to rip away our best tool to address very real and very deadly health disparities in our communities, Attorney General Xavier Becerra of California said in a statement on Thursday, adding: This fight comes at the most crucial time. The death toll from the coronavirus today is greater than the death toll of the Vietnam War.
The mayor of a small town in Texas is appealing for 300 teenagers to self-isolate immediately after a 'Pongfest' party is believed to have spread the coronavirus.

Sandy Cox, mayor of Lakeway in Travis County said in a Facebook video on Thursday evening that a 'very large party' was held on Saturday, June 20  and that several guests may have exposed others to COVID-19.

She said the affluent town of 11,400 people near Austin had 105 cases of COVID-19, of which 50 remained active - the highest number so far in the town.

But authorities are bracing for an expected surge in the number of cases, and Lakeway has increased testing capacity in anticipation of the increase in demand.

'Unfortunately our case load is probably going to increase and it's because there was a very large party this Saturday, and it was with high school students, and a number of the students were positive for COVID-19.

'Some didn't realize they were positive until after the party. But it was a very large party we had. It was called Pongfest.'

Sandy Cox, mayor of Lakeway, posted a video on Facebook warning about the Pongfest party

TEXAS CASES: Texas has reported more than 17,000 confirmed new cases in the last three days with a record high positive tests of 5,996 on Thursday

TEXAS HOSPITAL: The day's tally of 4,739 hospitalizations was also a record. The state's rolling infection rate hit nearly 12 percent, a level not seen since the state was in a broad lockdown in mid-April

TEXAS DEATHS: Deaths spiked to 47 on Thursday in Texas compared to the record 58 on May 15

It was unclear who organized the party, or where it was held.

Cox asked anyone who had attend to self-isolate.

'We do understand that we have exposure with this event,' she said. 'We need anyone who went to that party to self-isolate for 14 days. And if you have been in contact with anyone who went to that party, you also need to self-isolate.'

She said that if you have symptoms you should get tested.

A special testing system was being put in place to deal with the expected influx, she said. Austin Public Health is assisting those who do not have health insurance.

'I hate to be the bearer of bad news that we have an incident in our area that we are pinpointing,' she said.

'The people who attended that event, it's people from community, our high school.'

Texas is struggling with a statewide surge in cases.

Governor Greg Abbott shut down bars again on Friday and scaled back restaurant dining to 50 per cent capacity - the most dramatic reversals yet, as confirmed coronavirus cases surge.

Abbott also said rafting and tubing outfitters on Texas' popular rivers must close and that outdoor gatherings of 100 people or more must be approved by local governments.

Greg Abbott shut down bars again on Friday and scaled back restaurant dining to 50 per cent

Abbott also said rafting and tubing outfitters on Texas' popular rivers must close

'As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10 per cent, the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,' Abbott said.

'At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars.'

He did not say when bars might reopen again. The bars that are affected are ones that get 51 percent of their gross receipts from alcohol.

Texas has reported more than 17,000 confirmed new cases in the last three days with a record high positive tests of 5,996 on Thursday.

The day's tally of 4,739 hospitalizations was also a record. The state's rolling infection rate hit nearly 12 percent, a level not seen since the state was in a broad lockdown in mid-April.

The United States neared 125,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday. A spike of 2,490 was recorded on Thursday due to New Jersey reported 1,796 probable deaths for the first time
New Delhi, June 26 : The Supreme Court on Friday asked the foreign nationals blacklisted for allegedly participating in the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi's Nizamuddin area in mid March to send the copy of their petition, in which they have challenged the Ministry of Home Affairs' order blacklisting them, to the Centre.

A bench comprising Justices A.M. Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna scheduled the matter for further hearing on Monday, and sought response from the Centre and the state governments.

Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, representing the petitioners, exhibited the press releases. The bench replied, "Where are the orders?" Khurshid then argued that there are many people, and they have not issued notices to all the individual persons.

The apex court asked Khurshid to serve the copy of the pleas to the agencies. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) had on April 2 communicated the Centre's decision to blacklist as many as 960 foreigners from 35 countries.

The Director General of Police of all the states and Union Territories and the Delhi Police Commissioner also issued orders to register FIRs against such foreign nationals.

The petitioners contended in their plea that on April 4, the Centre further blacklisted around 2,500 foreigners, who were in India, from travelling to India for a period of 10 years. But, no press release has been issued on this so far.

"The impugned decision, by its very unilateral nature, infringes the principle of natural justice, particularly, audi alteram partem by blacklisting the aforementioned foreigners present in India without first granting an opportunity of being heard, resultantly depriving the aggrieved foreign nationals of their right of locomotion and travelling back to the country of their citizenship," said the plea of the foreigners.

More than 30 petitioners, who moved the top court, submitted that they had to forfeit their passports to the state administration after the registration of the FIRs, which led to deprivation of personal liberty, without following the procedure established under the law.

"All human beings are born with some unalienable rights like life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The importance of these natural rights can be found in the fact that these are fundamental for their proper existence and no other right can be enjoyed without the presence of right to life and liberty. Life bereft of liberty would be without honour and dignity and it would lose all significance and meaning and the life itself would not be worth living," said the plea.
Citywide, Oakland

Photo: SF Oasis/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 and Oakland online event calendar for Friday, June 26. Join a trivia night with neighbors, watch short dance films by diverse LGBTQIA+ artists, learn more about curling, and more.

Neighborhood Trivia Night

Image: Jack London Improvement District/Facebook

Play Jack London Trivia with neighbors, family, and friends. Organzied by Oakland's Jack London Improvement District, come to a "fun and exciting game of trivia with local merchant prizes from the Jack London District."

Trivia host Jeff will bring four rounds of challenging questions to participants online.

When: Friday, June 26, 5 p.m.

How to join: RSVP online

Price: Free

Canada Week 2020: Chesterfield Chat With SF Bay Area Curling Club

Image: San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club/Facebook

Then, tune in and learn more about Canadas "third national sport" and why curling is more than just throwing rocks on ice. Join the conversation with San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club's board of directors Ken Wallis and Mike Greenberg just in time to prepare for Canada Day, the country's national day, coming up on July 1.

Established in 1958, the San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club is the oldest arena curling club in the nation and has counted many Canadians as members over the years.

When: Friday, June 26, 5 p.m.

How to join: Via Eventbrite

Price: Free

Wayne Shorter Celebration Part 2

Hosted by SFJAZZ, tune in to a concert with saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter's best friend Herbie Hancock and his longtime quartet, including pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade.

The ensemble played for four nights at SFJAZZ in January 2019, when Shorter himself was scheduled to perform, but couldn't appear due to an illness that precluded travel.

Story continues

For this special broadcast, 100% of tip jar proceeds will go directly to Wayne Shorter for his ongoing medical needs.

When: Friday, June 26, 7 p.m.

How to join: Via SFJAZZ

Price: $5, donations are welcome

Oasis TV: Buffy the Vampire Slayer LIVE

Photo: SF Oasis/Facebook

Dust off your wooden stake, get your garlic and holy water and get ready for vampire season  SF Oasis presents a drag parody of season three of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the popular 90s supernatural television series known for its groundbreaking themes, smart quips and indie rock score.

Tune in to the live YouTube chat for behind-the-scenes tea and stories. Chunky heals, baggy jeans and choker necklaces are optional.

When: Friday, June 26, 7 p.m.

How to join: Via YouTube

Price: Free, donations are welcome

Pride Celebration  San Francisco Dance Film Festival Digital Season

Screenshot: San Francisco Dance Film Festival/Facebook

Over at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, get ready for mini-documentaries, screendance shorts, and other dance films by diverse LGBTQIA+ artists, highlighting colorful voices that are crucial to making the dance community vibrant.

The evening will begin with instructions for a special pride-themed cocktail with local dancer, sommelier, and mixologist Michael Wells, and close with dancer and choreographerJocquese Whitfield teaching you how to vogue from home.

When: Friday, June 26, 7 p.m.

How to join: Via YouTube

Price: Free, donations are welcome
Dublin, June 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Japan Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2020-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



In-depth Analysis and Data-driven Insights on the Impact of COVID-19 Included



The report considers the present scenario of the data center market in Japan and its market dynamics for the forecast period 2020-2025. It covers a detailed overview of several growth enablers, restraints, and trends in the market. The study includes the demand and supply aspect of the data center market.



Japan data center market likely to grow at a CAGR of over 3% during the period 2020-2025



Equinix and GIC, MC Digital Realty, NTT Communications, AT TOKYO, Internet Initiative Japan, and Colt DCS are some of the prominent investors in the Japan data center market. In 2018, around 30% of organizations in Japan implemented cloud computing infrastructure. In February 2020, the Japanese government agreed to a deal with AWS to help move HR systems and document management tools in the cloud environment by 2025. YouTube is the most active social media platform in Japan, accounting for about 75% share in 2019, followed by Facebook, Line, Twitter, Instagram, and Ameblo.



The entry of international businesses into the country is driving high data usage due to the increased usage of applications and platforms such as data analytics, big data, and artificial intelligence. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing a role in IoT application deployments like AI-based security and privacy of IoT devices, edge computing of IoT devices, and more. The market in Japan has now evolved with international and global hyperscale cloud providers. Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, Microsoft Azure, and IBM SoftLayer cloud service providers are expanding their presence in Tokyo and Osaka markets.



Submarine cable projects have been increased in the region to attract more data center operations and investors. In 2020, the submarine cable projects like Southeast Asia-Japan Cable 2 (SJC2), JUPITER, Japan-Guam-Australia North (JGA-N), and Okinawa Cellular Cable would connect Japan with the US, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore. In Japan, construction projects are not completely halted due to COVID-19. Data center operations in Japan are carried on without any disruption by taking precautionary measures to ensure safety for employees. The impact of operations is expected to range between low and moderate.



The cloud services market in Japan is estimated at around $6 billion in 2020, which is likely to grow at a CAGR of around 15% during the period 2019-2025. Japan attracted a majority of the investment from colocation service providers such as Equinix, MC Digital Realty, NEC, NTT, AT TOKYO and via the Internet Initiative Japan in 2019 and 2020. In 2019, Mitsubishi Corporation and MC Digital Realty reached an agreement to acquire about 20,000 square meter land in Inzai-city to open Tokyo 2 data center facility.



Google's new submarine cable project, connecting Japan-Guam-Australia, is a 9,500 km fiber-optic cable project that is likely to be operational by 2020, delivering 36 Tbps of capacity. The country plans to increase its renewable power by 24% by 2030. Solar power plants have contributed more renewable energy generation. In 2020, the Southeast Asia-Japan 2 cable (SJC2) is a major submarine project in the SEA region that connects Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, and Korea.



Key Topics Covered



1. Market Snapshot



2. Impact of COVID-19



3. List of Datacenter Investment in Japan



4. Investment Opportunities in Japan



5. Investment by Area



6. Investment by Power Capacity



7. Colocation Market



8. Market Dynamics



9. Japan Data Center Market Segmentation by IT Infrastructure



10. Japan Data Center Market by Electrical Infrastructure



11. Japan Data Center Market by Mechanical Infrastructure



12. Japan Data Center Market by Cooling Systems



13. Japan Data Center Market by General Construction



14. Japan Data Center Market by Tier Standards



15. Japan Data Center Market by Geography



16. Key Market Participants



Story continues

ABB

AT TOKYO Corporation

Caterpillar

Cisco

Colt DCS

Cummins

Eaton

Equinix

Fuji Electric

Fuji Furukawa Engineering & Construction

Fujitsu

GIC

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hibiya Engineering

Hitachi

Hitec-Power Protection

Huawei

IBM

Inspur

Internet Initiative Japan

ISG

Kajima Corporation

Keihanshin Building

Kohler

Legrand

Lenovo

Marcai Design

MC Digital Realty

Meiho Facility Works

Mitsubishi Electric

MTU Onsite Energy

NEC Corporation

NetApp

NTT Communications

NTT Facilities

Obayashi Corporation

Rittal

Schneider Electric

Shinryo

Vertiv

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fxfrg9

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.



CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com

Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

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Malawis Electoral Commission (MEC) is in the process of tallying votes cast Tuesday in the countrys presidential election re-run with the opposition alliance led by Lazarus Chikwera in a comfortable position to win the poll.

State and private media reports in Malawi indicate that Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party has amassed at least 55 percent of the vote with incumbent president Peter Mutharika trailing.

Freelance journalist, Janet Dambula, told VOA Zimbabwe Service that the MEC is expected to announce the election results either today or Saturday.

We are waiting for the election results and indications are that the opposition has won. The (Malawi) Electoral Commission is verifying and tallying the votes at the moment. It appears that the opposition is in a comfortable lead, said Dambula, a veteran journalist based in Lilongwe.

Several Malawians expressed similar sentiments with some of them adding that the election was peaceful despite complaints of intimidation and violence being made by Mutharikas Democratic Progressive Party, which has threatened to reject the results of the poll.

The Malawi Constitutional Court nullified the 2019 presidential election, noting some anomalies in vote counting.

Little-known Peter Kuwani of the opposition Mbakuwaku Movement for Democracy is also contesting the election.
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Texas and Florida are forcing bars to close for the second time and Arizona's residents are being told to stay home as the states scramble to contain outbreaks amid record spikes in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Governor Greg Abbott gave bars in Texas until midday on Friday to close down, while Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation told bars to immediately stop serving alcohol on their premises.

The abrupt announcements marked a major step back by both states less than two months after aggressively reopening and becoming the first in the United States to lift lockdown measures.

Abbott, who allowed bars to reopen in May when thousands of revelers flouting social distancing rules celebrated Memorial Day weekend, forced them to close again from Friday and scaled back restaurant dining to 50 percent capacity - the most dramatic reversals yet as confirmed coronavirus cases surge.

He also said rafting and tubing outfitters on Texas' popular rivers must close and that outdoor gatherings of 100 people or more must be approved by local governments.

The Florida agency that governs bars also said Friday the consumption of alcohol at bars across the state would be prohibited immediately as daily infections soared to nearly 9,000 - shattering the daily tolls from the previous two days.

Coronavirus cases are climbing rapidly among young adults in a number of states where bars, stores and restaurants have reopened. Young people have started going out again, many without masks, in what health experts see as irresponsible behavior.

The number of infections across the US rose by nearly 40,000 on Thursday in the largest single-day increase since the pandemic started. Deaths from COVID-19 neared 125,000 on Friday.

TEXAS: Texas Governor Greg Abbott gave bars in the state until midday on Friday to close down as officials scramble to contain outbreaks amid record spikes in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Pictured above is the crowded Handlebar in Houston, Texas last month

FLORIDA: Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation told bars to immediately stop serving alcohol on their premises on Friday. Pictured is Lynch's Irish Pub in Jacksonville Beach where several people tested positive for the virus after going to the bar

Bar owner Petros J Markantonis changes the sign outside his bar to 'Closed Again' at the West Alabama Ice House in Houston, Texas on Friday after Gov Abbott forced them to close again

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the surge in new cases is down to increased testing. He tweeted Thursday night that deaths are 'way down' and that America's mortality rate was 'one of the lowest in the world'.

Health officials have warned that while deaths appear to be declining, it could potentially shoot back up again because fatality rates often lag behind infection rates.

Texas had been at the forefront of states peeling away restrictions designed to control the deadly pandemic and kickstart their economies again. Gov Abbott allowed bars to reopen in May when revelers flouting social distancing rules celebrated Memorial Day weekend.

Governor Greg Abbott gave bars in Texas until midday on Friday to close down. Texas had been at the forefront of states peeling away restrictions designed to control the deadly pandemic and kickstart their economies again. Gov Abbott allowed bars to reopen in May when revelers flouting social distancing rules celebrated Memorial Day weekend

It has since witnessed one of the biggest increases in new cases in the US after reporting a record 5,996 on Thursday and more than 17,000 confirmed new cases in the last three days. The state has seen a record number of hospitalizations for 13 straight days.

Under the newest rollbacks in Texas, bars must close from noon on Friday and restaurant dining rooms must scale back to half capacity starting on Monday. Gov. Abbott did not say when bars might reopen again. The bars that are affected are ones that get 51 percent of their gross receipts from alcohol.

The shuttering of rafting and tubing businesses comes after people consistently packed waterways since the state reopened in May and ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend that typically sees big turnouts.

'As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10%, the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,' Abbott said. 'At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars.'

The state's rolling infection rate hit nearly 12 percent, a level not seen since the state was in a broad lockdown in mid-April.

The surge in hospitalizations has resulted in the largest pediatric hospital in the country opting to start treating adult patients in Houston to help free up beds. Statewide, the number of COVID-19 patients has more than doubled in two weeks.

The spike in cases prompted officials in Harris County, which encompasses the city of Houston, to initiate another stay-at-home order for residents.

TEXAS CASES: Texas has reported more than 17,000 confirmed new cases in the last three days with a record high positive tests of 5,996 on Thursday

TEXAS HOSPITAL: The day's tally of 4,739 hospitalizations was also a record. The state's rolling infection rate hit nearly 12 percent, a level not seen since the state was in a broad lockdown in mid-April

TEXAS DEATHS: Deaths spiked to 47 on Thursday in Texas compared to the record 58 on May 15

FLORIDA: The state has reported 8,942 new coronavirus cases, which is up from the previous record for a single-day increase of 5,508 cases on Wednesday. In total, the state has reported 122,960 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 3,366 coronavirus-related deaths

The turnaround from Abbott came soon after he announced on Thursday that he was halting elective surgeries in the largest counties and said the state would 'pause' its aggressive reopening weeks after he began lifting restrictions.

His initial pause on reopening was not supposed to roll back previous orders that allowed much of the economy to reopen. The state was among the first in the country to begin lifting its lockdown measures on May 1.

Until this week, Abbott had maintained that worsening trends in June were a matter of concern but not alarm. He quickly struck a newly urgent tone this week, urging people to stay home while warning that a 'massive outbreak' is sweeping through Texas.

He has also now urged Texans to wear masks in public but stopped short of issuing a statewide mask order. The state's cities and counties have imposed new orders on businesses to require customers and workers to wear face coverings after Abbott initially prohibited local officials from fining or penalizing anyone for not wearing a mask.

Florida officials also announced on Friday that the consumption of alcohol at bars across the state was now prohibited as daily infections soared to nearly 9,000 - shattering the daily tolls from the previous two days.

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which governs bars in Florida, said it was suspending on premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide.

The state has reported 8,942 new coronavirus cases, which is up from the previous record for a single-day increase of 5,508 cases on Wednesday.

In total, the state has reported 122,960 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 3,366 coronavirus-related deaths. Florida's seven-day average positivity rate for coronavirus tests reached 14.4 percent this week. By comparison, it was 3.8 percent on June 1 and 2.3 percent on May 25.

TEXAS: Revelers crowded into this Whiskey Tango Foxtrot bar in Austin, Texas last month after Gov Abbott initially lifted restrictions

Under the newest rollbacks in Texas, bars must close from noon on Friday and restaurant dining rooms must scale back to half capacity starting on Monday. Pictured above are two packed bars in Austin, Texas last month

Fauci pleads with young people who feel 'invulnerable' to the coronavirus to consider who they might harm if they catch it at bars in restaurants Dr. Anthony Fauci offered a stark warning to young Americans Friday about the role they might play in the spread of the coronavirus, even if they consider themselves unlikely to suffer the worst effects of the disease. 'If you get infected you are part innocently or inadvertently of propagating the dynamic processes of a pandemic,' he said. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, made a point of addressing remarks to young people at the first coronavirus task force briefing in two months. There has been a sharp drop in the age of infected people, and multiple officials warned Friday about concerns younger people would transmit the virus amid states opening up and relaxing social distancing. 'When you have an outbreak of an infectious disease, its a dynamic process that is global,' Fauci said. 'I just want to bring this out without making it seem that anybody is at fault, you have an individual responsibility to yourself  but you have a society responsibility, because if we want to end this outbreak, really end it and then hopefully when a vaccine comes and puts the nail in the coffin  we've got the realize that we are part of the process.' 'When you get infected, you will infect someone else who clearly will infect someone else,' he said. Fauci said the most challenging thing about COVID-19 was the high percentage of people who don't show symptoms but still spread the virus. That means young people going out to restaurants or bars as states reopen could be spreading the virus without even knowing it. Advertisement

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis resisted calls again on Friday to mandate masks statewide.

'We are where we are,' DeSantis said, adding that many of the new cases are in younger, healthier people who are out socializing more.

He said people can avoid spreading the virus by wearing masks, along with avoiding big crowds and not being within close quarters with lots of other people indoors.

Arizona Gov Doug Ducey, also a Republican, is also telling residents to stay home and on Thursday declared the state was 'on pause' as hospitals accelerate toward capacity.

The number of infections in Arizona surged again on Thursday with just over 3,000 new cases reported. In Arizona, 23 percent of tests conducted over the past seven days have been positive, nearly triple the national average.

There are currently 4,400 people hospitalized in the state with coronavirus and 1,400 of those are in ICU beds. A record 415 patients are on ventilators in the state.

Arizona is nearing hospital bed capacity with 88 percent of ICU beds occupied as of Thursday.

In Arizona, Ducey had resisted pressure to close restaurants as the virus first spread back in March, saying the state wasn't seeing explosive growth like New York and didn't need to act so aggressively. The Democratic mayors of Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff and elsewhere imposed their own restrictions.

The governor responded with an executive order closing restaurants in counties with known coronavirus infections but also defining some businesses cities couldn't restrict, including golf courses.

Last week, under extreme pressure to act as COVID-19 cases soar, Ducey gave local leaders the power to require masks, while avoiding making it a statewide mandate.

The numbers 'continue to go in the wrong direction,' Ducey said on Thursday.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has warned of another potential lockdown due to surging cases in his state. He said he would only shut down businesses again if the health care system became seriously strained.

In California, 5,349 new cases were reported on Thursday - down from the record 7,100 new cases a day earlier. Hospitalizations have also reached record highs across the state with about 1,500 suspected or confirmed patients requiring intensive care.

While Newsom said part of the rise was due to testing, much is the result of people failing to engage in safe practices when gathering with friends and family, or visiting newly reopened businesses.

Los Angeles County now has the most cases of all US counties with more than 85,000 confirmed infections. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti this week urged residents to stay home and wear masks while out in public.

As an alarming coronavirus resurgence sets records for confirmed cases and hospitalizations across the South and West, governors are retreating to measures they once resisted and striking a more urgent tone.

'I think they're going to have to,' said Dr Mark McClellan, former head of the Food and Drug Administration. 'It doesn't take most people in a community getting sick to overwhelm health care systems.'

Critics bristle that the actions are too little, or worse, possibly too late as patients fill up intensive-care beds and the US closes in on hitting all-time highs for daily confirmed cases.

While newly confirmed infections have been declining steadily in early hot spots like New York and New Jersey, several other states set single-day records this week, including Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas and Oklahoma. Some of them also broke hospitalization records, as did North Carolina and South Carolina.

ARIZONA CASES: The number of infections in Arizona surged again on Thursday with just over 3,000 new cases reported

ARIZONA DEATHS: Arizona recorded 27 new deaths on Thursday, compared to the 67 deaths recorded on May 8

ARIZONA HOSPITALS: There are currently 4,400 people hospitalized in the state with coronavirus and 1,400 of those are in ICU beds

ARIZONA ICU CAPACITY: Arizona is nearing hospital bed capacity with 88 percent of ICU beds occupied as of Thursday

CALIFORNIA: In California, 5,349 new cases were reported on Thursday - down from the record 7,100 new cases a day earlier. Hospitalizations have also reached record highs across the state with about 1,500 suspected or confirmed patients requiring intensive care

Following a weeks-long plateau, new cases are once again back to where they were in April. The number of infections across the US rose by nearly 40,000 on Thursday in the largest single-day increase since the pandemic started

The United States neared 125,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday. A spike of 2,490 was recorded on Thursday due to New Jersey reported 1,796 probable deaths for the first time

Coronavirus cases surge among young Americans with outbreak clusters linked to bars and parties across the country

Health officials warn coronavirus cases are climbing rapidly among young adults in a number of states where bars, stores and restaurants have reopened - a disturbing generational shift that not only puts them in greater peril than many realize but poses an even bigger danger to older people who cross their paths.

In Oxford, Mississippi, summer fraternity parties sparked outbreaks. In Oklahoma City, church activities, fitness classes, weddings and funerals seeded infections among people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

In Iowa college towns, surges followed the reopening of bars. A cluster of hangouts near Louisiana State University led to at least 100 customers and employees testing positive.

In East Lansing, Michigan, 51 people have tested positive for coronavirus after going to a bar that reopened at 50 percent capacity two weeks ago.

Health officials say the cluster of cases has been linked to the Harper's Restaurant and Brewpub in Lansing in Ingham County. All of the people with cases linked to Harper's are between the ages of 19 and 23. A number are connected to Michigan State University.

A cluster of about 300 teenagers are also believed to have been exposed to COVID-19 at a pongfest party in Travis County, Texas on June 20.

There and in states like Florida, Texas and Arizona, young people have started going out again, many without masks, in what health experts see as irresponsible behavior.

Texas Gov Abbott has now ordered rafting and tubing outfitters on Texas' popular rivers to close and said that outdoor gatherings of 100 people or more must be approved by local governments

In East Lansing, Michigan, 51 people have tested positive for coronavirus after going to a bar that reopened at 50 percent capacity two weeks ago

Health officials say the cluster of cases has been linked to the Harper's Restaurant and Brewpub in Lansing in Ingham County. All of the people with cases linked to Harper's are between the ages of 19 and 23. Data shows that 24 percent of Ingham County's 888 COVID-19 cases are people aged between 20 and 29

'The virus hasn't changed. We have changed our behaviors,' said Ali Mokdad, professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. 'Younger people are more likely to be out and taking a risk.'

Elected officials have argued against reimposing restrictions, saying many of the newly infected are young and otherwise healthy.

But younger people, too, face the possibility of severe infection and death. In the past week, two 17-year-olds in Florida died of the virus.

Authorities worry that older, more vulnerable people are next.

Health experts say the fact that younger people - who have so far been less likely to be hospitalized - are now accounting for a large number of the new cases could have have an impact on the death toll in several weeks.

They point to the fact that young people could currently be infecting their elderly relatives and other at-risk people, which could drive up hospitalizations and deaths.

'People between the ages 18 and 50 don't live in some sort of a bubble,' Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said.

'They are the children and grandchildren of vulnerable people. They may be standing next to you at a wedding. They might be serving you a meal in a restaurant.'

Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that almost as soon as states began reopening, people 18 to 49 years old quickly became the age bracket most likely to be diagnosed with new cases.

Although every age group saw an increase in cases during the first week in June, the numbers shot up fastest among 18- to 49-year-olds.

For the week ending June 7, there were 43 new cases per 100,000 people in that age bracket, compared with 28 cases per 100,000 people over 65.
The hospital is set to conduct plasma therapy trials on 20 patients

To fight coronavirus, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central, who is at the forefront of healthcare, has got approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to conduct convalescent plasma therapy trials on patients infected with coronavirus, making it the among the few private hospitals in Mumbai to independently start the trials.

Soon, it will conduct trials on 20 patients to ascertain the success of plasma therapy. The hospital is already at the forefront of treating patients with coronavirus since April and has treated around 500 patients so far.

Convalescent plasma therapy tends to involve transfusing plasma from the blood of those patients who have recovered from COVID-19 into patients who are moderately or critically ill due to this virus. The plasma of the recovered patient contains antibodies that fight Covid-19 infection thus when injected into the bloodstream of a positive patient will help fight the infection again.

According to the findings published in The American Journal of Pathology, researchers from the Houston Methodist Hospital in the US carried out clinical trials to transfuse plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients into critically ill patients and found it to be a safe treatment option. Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central, has collected plasma from donors and would be commencing the trials soon.

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved our application to initiate convalescent plasma therapy trials, last week. In April, the Government of India and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) came up with the proposal to start the convalescent plasma trial and interested hospitals had to apply for approval. Many coronavirus patients require hospitalization and some even become critical and need ICU support. Since there is no standardized treatment available across the world, multiple drugs and therapies are used in combination to treat this disease and this plasma trial is a step in that direction said Dr. Kedar Toraskar, Chief of Critical Care, Wockhardt Hospitals, Mumbai Central

This plasma therapy has been used in treating various infectious diseases such as Ebola virus outbreaks previously. Based on that, this therapy is being initiated now, underscored Dr. Behram Pardiwala, Principal Investigator of the Plasma trial, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central

We have tied up with a blood bank where our donors donate their plasma and as per the trial requirements, the plasma will be given to suitable patients. After identifying a donor we take his consent and he/she undergoes all the required tests like pre-screening of antibodies before taking up the patient for plasma donation. We collect around 500 ml plasma per donor and the dosing will be given by our clinicians as per our approved protocol. Moreover, the person can donate plasma once, in a month, concluded Dr. Parag Rindani, Centre Head, Wockhardt Hospitals.
Japan confirms cancellation of US missile system deployment

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 25 June 2020 10:13 AM

Japan's government has confirmed the cancellation of a plan to deploy a multibillion-dollar US anti-missile system in the country, amid pressure from local residents complaining about the health risks posed by the project.

Japan's Defense Minister Taro Kono announced on Thursday that the government had reversed the decision to station Aegis Ashore missile defense systems in the Yamaguchi Prefecture in the southwest of Japan and in the Akita Prefecture in its north.

"The National Security Council discussed this matter and reached a conclusion that the deployment of Aegis Ashore in Akita and Yamaguchi is to be rescinded," Kono told a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. "I want to deeply apologize that it has come to this."

Earlier in the month, Kono had announced that Japan had halted preparations to deploy the two US-made batteries of the missile system, citing technical problems and increasing costs amid strong local opposition.

The deployment plan had been unpopular with local residents concerned about the health effects of electromagnetic waves emitted by the system's radar, as well as the possibility of their communities being targeted in an armed conflict.

The Aegis Ashore system, the purchase of which had been approved in 2017, was estimated to cost Japan 4.2 billion dollars over three decades.

Japan had decided to deploy the Aegis Ashore batteries to boost its defenses against a perceived threat from North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missiles program, and also consolidate its bilateral security alliance with Washington.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last week expressed his government's commitment to considering alternatives to the Aegis Ashore system, saying, "There should not be a gap in our country's defenses. We want to hold discussions on the necessary measures."

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Across corporate America, wallets are opening to support minority-owned businesses in the wake of continuing protests over racial inequality in areas from law enforcement to investment.

From PepsiCo to Lowes and Netflix, corporations are pledging to spend millions to support Black-owned companies to help address centuries of discrimination.

Organizations that have long worked to support Black-owned businesses see the moves as a step in the right direction. But those involved in that effort say more needs to be done about systemic issues that have led to a yawning wealth gulf between Black and white Americans.

I think that there's been a light shining on the United States in terms of the disparity treatment of African Americans that is systematic, the economic lack of opportunity that exists, that creates the environment that we're in today, said Larry Ivory, chairman of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. I think America has to have a very serious conversation and take a look at his own history.

In announcing plans at PepsiCo, Ramon Laguarta, its chairman and chief executive, acknowledged the need for broad change.

The snacks and soft drink giant plans to invest more than $400 million over five years to lift up Black communities and increase Black representation at PepsiCo, specifically in leadership roles, the company said.

This is a holistic effort for PepsiCo to walk the talk of a leading corporation and help address the need for systemic change, Laguarta said in a statement posted on the companys website.

We know that all people are not treated equally and that the problem of systemic racism is very real.

Last week, Founders First Capital Partners, an investment firm based in San Diego, announced plans to recast its $100 million in debt funding as a "Racial and Social Economic Equality Initiative," designed to offer financial assistance for businesses led by underserved and underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Story continues

Earlier this month, Lowes opened its first round of grant applications in a previously announced $25 million fund to provide much-needed relief to minority-owned businesses.

And the Rockefeller Foundation pledged $10 million to increase economic opportunity for minority-owned businesses in Chicago and nine other locales.

Because Black-owned businesses have been disproportionately affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 and decades of systemic oppression, the streaming giant Netflix announced plans to donate $500,000 in grants to Black-owned businesses in Los Angeles.

The Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit that delivers resources to communities in South Los Angeles traditionally underserved by banks, will disperse the grants.

The stream of cash now flowing toward black enterprises comes amid a wave of interest and concern about the centuries of injustice that have hampered the growth and development of black-owned firms.

Google trends show that the query Black-owned spiked after the May 25 slaying of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police in a videotaped incident that sparked a global outcry.

In recent years, minority-launched businesses have represented one of the fastest-growing segments of the economy, particularly for Black women.

But the coronavirus pandemic and the attendant lockdowns and business closings have exacerbated a perennial problem for many small and minority-owned companies -- a lack of cash.

The government-enforced shutdowns have pushed some of those companies, many without hefty reserves, to the brink of bankruptcy.

From February to April, in the early days for the pandemic, the number of active business owners in the United States plummeted by 3.3 million, or 22 percent, the largest drop on record, according to a report by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

African-American businesses were hit especially hard, experiencing a 41 percent drop, the report said.

In the early days of the unrest after the Floyd killing, as rage turned incendiary, some Black-owned businesses were heavily damaged or burned to the ground.

Image: Kim Folsom, founder and CEO of Founders First Capital Partners. (Courtesy of Kim Folsom)

The recent protests have put a spotlight on the chronic cancer of injustices and inequalities that have plagued this country for over 401 years, said Kim Folsom, a co-founder and the CEO of Founders First Capital Partners. As a black woman, I am horrified and demoralized to see the continuous violence that is [inflicted] upon black people, with minimal consequence.

Folsom her firm was trying to address the huge ... economic, social and racial gap in urban communities, where the diverse business owners we support are becoming the leaders and largest employers.

The launch of this new initiative, she said, allows us to fund, grow and build wealth in communities that are underserved, undercapitalized, underresourced and most devastated by the global pandemic.

Under the Founders First program, entrepreneurs pay up to 6.5 percent of their revenue for up to three years, for an investment that will average $250,000 but could go up to $1 million.

Because repayments are tied to revenue, those payments will decline if revenue drops, unlike payments on a fixed loan.

If sales drop, thats where we work with the companies to explore additional revenue opportunities to either offset and/or put them on the path of growth and revenue increases, Folsom said.

Support for Black-owned businesses is one of three pillars in PepsiCos program, one of the largest announced to date.

The company committed to invest $50 million over five years to strengthen local Black-owned businesses. It also plans to more than double spending with Black-owned suppliers and expand its supplier pipeline.

It also vowed to use our buying power to create more jobs for Black creators at our marketing agencies and [make] them part of our content development. We will implement a Creative Agency Diversity Policy modeled on our existing policy for the selection of legal services, including an annual audit.

Lowes, headed by President and Chief Executive Marvin R. Ellison, had announced a $25 million commitment for minority-owned businesses.

The application process launched this month. Lowe's donation will offer emergency grants in historically underserved communities, as well as other assistance, to help owners navigate business challenges during the pandemic, the company said.

Assistance from the Rockefeller Foundation comes via the new Rockefeller Foundation Opportunity Collective, which aims to catalyze public and private sector investment in places to promote more inclusive growth, both in the post-pandemic recovery and over the long term.

The Rockefeller Foundation has pledged an initial $10 million, which it will allocate to government, business, faith-based and nonprofit partners in nine cities and one county over several years.

In these 10 ROC places, the foundation will invest in partners, projects, and programs with two core goals, the foundation said in a statement, protecting communities from displacement, and eliminating barriers to access capital and credit among low-wage workers and small businesses operated by women, black and Latinx owners.

Marvin Owens, senior director of economic programs at the national NAACP office in Baltimore, applauded the corporate announcements as a first step, but said theres more to be done.

They may feel like that's a really neat way to sort of give back, Owens said. But when you want to close the wealth gap and when you want to deal with economic inequity, you have to be talking about diversity in the boardroom. You have to talk about diversity in the C-suite. Talk about a real commitment to contracting with black businesses for vendor opportunities.

You have to talk about these sorts of business relationships, that will help to move the needle, he added. As corporations are coming out, they're committed to combating racial discrimination. At the NAACP were ... welcoming them to the fight. But we're wanting to engage them in discussions around what they're doing, within their own corporate culture. As they talk about what's happening in the street ... you want to raise with them the question of looking internally at their own businesses and asking those same hard questions.

Karen Robinson-Jacobs is a former editor and reporter at The Los Angeles Times. She is currently based in Texas.
Swarms of locusts have stripped thousands of hectares of pasture and cropland in Sardinia, devastating farmers already struggling from the coronavirus pandemic, farming groups said.

Their numbers fuelled by rising temperatures, the pests have damaged nearly 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of grazing land in the central province of Nuoro, said Michele Arbau, of the Sardinia branch of Italian agricultural association Coldiretti.

"Farmers have lost the summer pasture and partly the fodder for autumn and winter and the very few people who grew barley had to give that up too," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

During the summer months, locusts are a common phenomenon on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia - known for its idyllic beaches and exclusive resorts - but this year's outbreak has been much larger than normal.

Last year, the pests destroyed about 2,500 hectares in what was then described as the worst outbreak since the end of World War Two.

More extreme weather driven by climate change can affect the development and spread of insect infestations, including locusts, according to Ignazio Floris, a professor of entomology at the University of Sassari in northwest Sardinia.

Rising temperatures can cause longer dry periods, leading soils to become arid and unplanted, which creates ideal conditions for insects that like laying their eggs in dry, untilled soil, he said.

More frequent extreme weather swings - including drought in 2017, too much rain in 2018 and both extremes last year in Sardinia - also seem to be spurring bigger locust invasions, said Coldiretti's Arbau.

More idle farmland on the island also is a factor, with more farmers leaving land unplanted because they can no longer sell their harvest at a profit, Arbau said.

The locust invasion adds to Italy's woes.The country was the first in Europe to be badly hit by the coronavirus and it is still recovering from the pandemic, which has killed more than 34,000 people - the fourth highest death rate in the world - and infected nearly 240,000.

During a nationwide lockdown in March and April, Italian farmers also had to grapple with a shortage of farm workers and a cold snap that destroyed vast swathes of fruit.

The latest threat comes from Moroccan locusts, a species native to southern Europe including Sardinia. The pests are different from the desert locusts wreaking havoc in East Africa.

Key to limiting their destruction is early monitoring, with eggs laid in the soil "easily eliminated by surface tillage where possible", said entomologist Floris.

Once the insects reached adult stage, however - as at present - there is very little that can be done to control them, said Alexandre Latchininsky, a locust expert with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

But farmers can prepare for next year by applying an ecologically-safe, fungus-based pesticide, he said.

"I suggest farmers' organisations consider this biocontrol option for next year, when they will undoubtedly face the Moroccan locust problem again," he said
The bands social media accounts and website were changed Thursday to reflect the new name for the band, which is made up of Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines and Emily Strayer. We want to meet this moment, read a statement on The Chicks website, which also noted that the trio recognizes the name was already in use by a band in New Zealand.  CBC (Reuters)
PM Phuc calls for stronger ASEAN cooperation against COVID-19

The 36th ASEAN Summit offers an opportunity for the regional countries to further enhance intra-bloc cooperation to repel challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on June 26.













PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc chairs the plenary session of the 36th ASEAN Summit.



Chairing the plenary session of the summit, which took place in the form of a video conference, the Vietnamese leader urged the ASEAN member nations to exert further efforts to complete the blocs cooperation goals for 2020 and effectively respond to regional challenges, including COVID-19.



As the pandemic is still hitting the region and the world, he expressed his hope that the ASEAN countries will demonstrate stronger determination to both contain the spread of disease and promote sustainable development.



The PM asked other ASEAN leaders to focus their discussion on orientations to foster cooperation in building the ASEAN Community, including the implementation of priorities of 2020 and measures to control the pandemic and to recover socio-economic development in the region.



During the session, ASEAN leaders reviewed the progress of the building of the ASEAN Community since their 35th Summit, and directed the implementation of cooperation plans between the group and its partners. They also compared notes on regional and international issues of common concern.



ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi delivered a report on the recent cooperation among its member countries, and Vietnamese Deputy PM, Foreign Minister and Chairman of the National ASEAN 2020 Committee Pham Binh Minh briefed participants on the blocs efforts and cooperation in the fight against COVID-19.



Speaking highly of Vietnams role as the ASEAN 2020 Chair, participants said with significant results in controlling the pandemic, ASEAN has sent out a strong message on a regional organisation that is cohesive and proactive and playing a key role in the regional development.



They also stressed the need to improve skills of workers, considering this as an important factor for ASEANs development, especially in the digital age, and compared notes on regional and international issues of common concern.



Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc underlined the importance of strengthening the ASEAN's central role the region, as well as bolstering its relations with partners for peace, sustainable development and effective responses to emerging challenges.



ASEAN leaders approved the ASEAN Chair Statement on the outcomes of the 36th ASEAN Summit, the ASEAN Leaders' Vision Statement on a Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN, and the ASEAN Declaration on human resources development for the changing world of work.
06/26/2020

Photo (c) designer491 - Getty Images The Trump administration is seeking to put an end to the Affordable Care Act, the health care law created under the Obama administration that enabled millions of Americans to get insurance protection.

In a filing with the Supreme Court on Thursday, the Trump administration asked to have Obamacare invalidated on the grounds that Congress eliminated the individual tax penalty for failing to purchase medical insurance.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco said in a legal brief that once the individual coverage mandate and two other Obamacare provisions are invalidated, "the remainder of the ACA should not be allowed to remain in effect."

"Nothing the 2017 Congress did demonstrates it would have intended the rest of the ACA to continue to operate in the absence of these three integral provisions, Francisco said. The entire ACA thus must fall with the individual mandate, though the scope of relief entered in this case should be limited to provisions shown to injure the plaintiffs."

Millions would lose coverage

Earlier on Thursday, likely Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden expressed dismay at Trumps continued support for eliminating Obamacare.

"Today, his Administration is filing a brief with the Supreme Court to rip health care coverage away from 23 million Americans  including 224,000 Wisconsinites," Biden said. "Every American deserves the peace of mind that comes (with) access to affordable, high-quality health care."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said eliminating the ACA in the middle of a pandemic would be particularly cruel.

"President Trump and the Republicans' campaign to rip away the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus crisis is an act of unfathomable cruelty, Pelosi said in a statement.

If President Trump gets his way, 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will lose the ACAs lifesaving protections and 23 million Americans will lose their health coverage entirely, she added. There is no legal justification and no moral excuse for the Trump Administrations disastrous efforts to take away Americans health care.

States defending ACA

California and 19 other Democrat-led states are pushing for the law to remain.

"The ACA has been life-changing and now through this pandemic, we can all see the value in having greater access to quality healthcare at affordable prices," said California attorney general Xavier Becerra who is leading the defense. "Now is not the time to rip away our best tool to address very real and very deadly health disparities in our communities."

Experts say wiping out the ACA would have a dramatic impact on the health care coverage in the U.S. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, an estimated 52 million Americans have preexisting health conditions that insurers could have denied coverage to under rules in place before the ACA was instated in most states.

Supreme Court justices will hear arguments in the case as soon as October.
The situation would worsen if the coronavirus is not put under control in Europe and the United States. Local workers make shoes for export. The coronavirus pandemic has knocked down Vietnam's footwear industry, especially firms involved in producing and outsourcing footwear, with the lack of production orders and the consequent drop in exports forcing them to lay off employees - PHOTO: VNA That Hue Phong Leather Shoes Co., Ltd. and PouYuen Vietnam Co., Ltd. have recently fired 2,220 workers and some 2,790 workers, respectively, indicating the severe impact of Covid-19 on their business. As a major business in HCMCs Go Vap District with some 4,700 workers, Hue Phong has had to lay off thousands of employees and scale down operations due to declining orders. PouYuen Vietnam has also experienced a similar situation. Despite measures such as adjusting production and shifts to ensure work for their employees, the limited number of orders in the second half of the year has forced these enterprises to lay off workers. Many other businesses in the field are also cutting staff or asking them to take unpaid leave. Nguyen Xuan Tu, director of Phuoc Thanh Export, Import, Trading and Production Co., said that some 90% of the companys production output is for export to Europe. Since Covid-19 broke out in the continent, there has been no demand from the firm's clients in Poland, Austria and Sweden, Tu added. Normally, at this time of the year, we receive orders for three months or even till the end of the year, but there have been no orders from this region so far, Tu said. With no direct orders, Tu sought to outsource orders to retain his workers but even this was not enough, forcing his firm to lay off 30% of its employees. Though the pandemic in Vietnam is essentially under control, the main footwear markets such as the United States and Europe are still struggling with the disease, leading to a lack of demand. The prolonged suspension of imports in the EU and U.S. markets has severely hit domestic footwear firms, which employ a large number of manual workers. The firms admitted it is impossible to survive or retain staff without orders. According to Nguyen Chi Trung, chairman of Gia Dinh Group Joint Stock Company, his firm still has some orders for April-June but has seen no new orders from American and European importers, compelling the firm to lay off or give unpaid leave to some 60% of its employees. Trung said that such difficulties could lead to thousands of people being laid off. The United States and the EU have been the two major markets of Vietnams footwear over the past years and accounted for some 65% of the countrys total export turnover last year. Massive layoffs have also been seen in the textile-garment and woodwork industries. As there are no orders and import markets are yet to recover, it is impossible to resume production and ensure enough jobs for workers. Though a large number of workers will be needed once the pandemic is over, businesses are still unable to retain workers amid the current difficulties. SGT
A pensioner who died following an accident involving a tractor at a farm in Minane Bridge, Co Cork last night has been named locally as John O'Callaghan.

Mr O'Callaghan (66) of Monaroe, Minane Bridge was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident which occurred at 9.30pm yesterday. The alarm was raised by a family member.

Emergency services rushed to the assistance of the man. However, he was pronounced dead before he could be transferred to hospital.

His body was removed to Cork University Hospital where a post mortem will take place.

The Health and Safety Authority will launch an investigation and enquiries are ongoing. The death is being treated as a tragic accident. Mr OCallaghan was highly respected in the area.

This is the 14th farm death in Ireland this year and is the second farming death in Cork in recent weeks.

It follows the passing of 74-year-old farmer John Reynolds on May 9 last.

Mr Reynolds of the Rising Sun in Ballinhassig sustained fatal injuries after he was attacked by a friesian bull while he was tending to cattle on his farm.

He was well respected in the local community with condolences being offered by amongst others Fine Gael Senator Tim Lombard.

The alarm was raised by two men who were working with the farmer. The emergency services rushed to the scene. Mr Reynolds was pronounced dead before he could be transferred to hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, Paddy Curtin (aged 64) suffered fatal injuries on April 2 when he was attacked by a bull as he was feeding cattle on a property outside Charleville.

HSA figures revealed that, on average, one person dies in an accident on an Irish farm every three weeks.

The majority of fatal farm accidents involve incidents with livestock, accidents with machinery and falls.
SAN FRANCISCO  A federal appeals court on Friday ruled against the Trump administration in its transfer of $2.5 billion from military construction projects to build sections of the U.S. border wall with Mexico, ruling it illegally sidestepped Congress, which gets to decide how to use the funds.

In two opinions, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a coalition of border states and environmental groups that contended the money transfer was unlawful and that building the wall would pose environmental threats.

The rulings were the latest twist in the legal battle that has largely gone Trumps way. Last July, the Supreme Court allowed the $2.5 billion to be spent while the litigation continued, blunting the impact of the latest appeals court action.

The administration has already awarded much of the money, including a $1.3-billion job in Arizona that was announced last month. Trump visited Yuma, Arizona, on Tuesday to mark completion of the 200th mile of border wall during his administration, much of it with the transferred military funds that the 9th Circuit panel found illegal.

After the $2.5 billion transfer of military funds, the Pentagon diverted another $3.6 billion that an appeals court in New Orleans ruled in January could be spent.

Still, critics of Trumps wall praised the rulings on Friday for upholding the Constitution, which grants Congress the power of the purse.

The funds that he is pilfering, which were appropriated by Congress, are vital to support the safety and well-being of the brave men and women in uniform, as well as their families, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat.

The 9th Circuit ruled that the Trump administration not only lacked the authority to authorize the transfer of funds, but also violated an express constitutional prohibition designed to protect individual liberties.

The vote on both rulings was 2-1 with judges appointed by former President Bill Clinton in the majority and a Trump nominee dissenting.

The panel said the government was proceeding with border wall construction without ensuring compliance with any environmental regulations, thereby harming the interests of Sierra Club members who visit the border region for hiking, bird watching and other recreational activities.

The panel also held that the government failed to show that construction would halt the flow of illegal drugs. It said the administration had cited drug statistics but didnt address how the wall would have an impact on the problem.

The executive branchs failure to show, in concrete terms, that the publics interest favors a border wall is particularly significant given that Congress determined fencing to be a lower budgetary priority and the Department of Justices data points to a contrary conclusion, the majority wrote.

The White House said the decisions wont interfere with its ability to continue building the wall and noted that the Supreme Court has overturned many of the courts rulings.

After the Supreme Court gave the green light last year to begin work on the wall using Defense Department money, the Justice Department vowed to continue to defend the administrations efforts to protect the southern border.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who led a 20-state coalition of attorneys general that sued the administration, praised the court decision.

While the Trump administration steals public funds to build an unauthorized wall at the southern border, families across the country are struggling to pay their bills, Becerra said. They deserve to know that their hard-earned dollars are going where Congress intended  to benefit them and their communities.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which sued on behalf of Sierra Club and Southern Border Communities Coalition, said if the Trump administration appeals, the case will go back to the Supreme Court where the ACLU will seek to tear down sections of the wall that were built with the military money.

Theres no undoing the damage thats been done, but we will be back before the Supreme Court to finally put a stop to this destructive wall, said ACLU staff attorney Dror Ladin.

___

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin at the White House, Brian Melley in Los Angeles and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.
Bhutan on Friday rejected media reports claiming that it has stopped the supply of irrigation water to farmers in Assam, terming them totally baseless and a deliberate attempt by vested interests to cause misunderstanding with India.

In a statement, Bhutans Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that since June 24, 2020, there have been several news articles published in India alleging that Bhutan has blocked water channels that supply irrigation water to Indian farmers in Baksa and Udalguri districts in Assam adjoining the countrys Samdrup Jongkhar district.

This is a distressing allegation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to clarify that the news articles are totally baseless as there is no reason why the flow of water should be stopped at this time, it said.

ALSO WATCH | No dispute, Bhutan helping with clearing water blockage: Assam Chief Secy

It is a deliberate attempt by vested interests to spread misinformation and cause misunderstanding between the friendly people of Bhutan and Assam, the ministry said.

Bhutans statement came hours after Assam Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna, in a late night tweet, termed the media reports as incorrect and said that the actual reason was natural blockage.

Recent media reports about Bhutan blocking water supply to India has been incorrectly reported. The actual reason being the natural blockage of informal irrigation channels into Indian fields! Bhutan has been actually helping to clear the blockage, Krishna said.

According to the statement issued on Facebook by Bhutans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Assams Baksa and Udalguri districts have been benefitting from the water sources in Bhutan for many decades and they continue to do so even during the present difficult times when we are faced with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The people of Bhutan, especially those living along the borders of India, deeply value their age-old ties of friendship and cooperation with the people of India, particularly their close neighbors across the borders in Assam and West Bengal, it said, adding that such ties of friendship, cooperation and support must continue and be reinforced during these difficult times.

Since the lockdown in India and the closure of Bhutans borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Assamese farmers are unable to enter Bhutan to maintain the irrigation channels as was done in the past, it said.

However, understanding the difficulty that would be faced by the farmers in Assam, the Samdrup Jongkhar district officials and the general public have taken the initiative to repair the irrigation channels whenever there are problems to ensure the smooth flow of water to Assam, it said.

The heavy monsoon rains and sudden rise in the water levels is posing serious challenges, but the Bhutanese authorities, including with heavy machinery, are on standby to clear any blockage and channel the water whenever there is a problem, the statement said.

Giving an assurance to the people of Assam, the ministry said that the Royal Government of Bhutan, particularly the Samdrup Jongkhar district authorities, will make every effort to ensure that the disruptions caused by the monsoon rains to the irrigation channels are addressed without delay and there is water available for the farmers in Assam.

Bhutan would like to request for the understanding of the farmers in Assam as sometimes there could be few delays in the flow of water due to disruptions caused by the heavy monsoon rains and the operational difficulties arising from the restrictions put in place by both the countries due to COVID-19, it said.

The Samdrup Jongkhar authorities maintain close contact with their counterparts in Baksa and Udalguri, the ministry added.
The reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran will allow the Islamic Republic to act without constraint, its ambassador to the UN warned Thursday. His comments follow US efforts to extend an arms embargo on Iran and US statements on reimposing UN sanctions should that fail.

If that happens, Iran will not be under constraint as to what course of action it should take, Majid Ravanchi told reporters, according to The Associated Press. All options for Iran will be open.

The arms embargo on Iran restricts Irans ability to obtain and transfer weapons and expires in October. The expiration is part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that the United States walked away from in 2018.

On Wednesday, US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft and the US envoy for Iran, Brian Hook, briefed the UN Security Council on a proposal to extend the embargo.

US officials say that allowing the embargo to expire would embolden Iran militarily.

Iran will be able to purchase advanced weapon systems and become the arms dealer of choice for terrorists and rogue regimes all throughout the world, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday on the possibility of the embargo ending.

Russia and China have expressed opposition to an extension of the embargo. If the United States is unable to secure the extension, it may try to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran from before the 2015 nuclear deal.

Pompeo said Wednesday that the United States has the ability to snap back sanctions.

The United States is committed to an arms embargo on Iran regardless of UN action. One way or another, were going to renew the arms embargo, Hook, also a senior adviser to Pompeo, said at the Council of Foreign Relations last week.

The US statements about snapback sanctions is what prompted Ravanchi to speak out. The ambassador also said that putting the UN sanctions back in place would be a very, very big mistake.

On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he would be willing to talk with the United States if it gave an apology for damage caused to Iran, compensated Iran and reentered the nuclear deal. Sanctions the United States put in place on Iran after leaving the deal as part of its maximum pressure strategy have had devastating effects on the Iranian economy.
India Gold August Futures eased from 48,000 per 10 gm on June 26 following positive trend in equity markets, but rising number of COVID-19 cases is likely to support safe-haven buying, suggest experts.

On the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX), August gold contracts were trading lower by 0.04 percent at Rs 47,921 per 10 gram at 09:20 hours. July futures for silver were trading 0.10 percent lower at Rs 48,066 per kg.

Gold and silver prices settled on a mixed note on Thursday taking a clue from U.S. economic data. Gold settled slightly weak at $1770.60 per troy ounce, while Silver settled on a positive note at $17.89 per troy ounce.

In the domestic market, both the precious metals settled on a mixed note. Gold slipped around 0.50 percent and closed below 48000 per 10 gm while Silver gained around 1 percent and settled around 48150 levels.

International prices have started flat June 26 morning in Asian trade. Traders will be better off buying the yellow metal on dips for both Gold and Silver. Crucial support is placed at 47,600 while a close above Rs 48,080 could resume bull run, suggest expert.

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 expect both the precious metals remain volatile and expected to hold crucial support levels of $1755 per troy ounce and $17.55 per troy ounce respectively. Rising coronavirus cases and grimed outlook on global economy is quite supportive for both the precious metals, Manoj Jain, Director (Head - Commodity & Currency Research) at Prithvi Finmart Pvt Ltd told Moneycontrol.

At MCX gold prices are expected to hold crucial support of 47600 if it is break and sustain above 48080 could extend the gains towards 48300-48500 levels again. Buy on dip strategy will work in both the precious metals in today's session, he said.

Track live gold price here

Trading Strategy

Expert: Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities

The surge in fresh COVID-19 cases kept downside limited, however rebound in the US Dollar kept upside limited. China is on a holiday on Friday and a lack of major trigger points could keep prices in a small range and tracking the equity markets.

Technically, MCX Gold August contract traded in a range of 47823-48173 levels with negative bias indicating some sideways consolidation to continue. Support is placed at 47750-47500 levels where Resistance is at 48200-48350 levels.

MCX Silver July traded in 47306-48190 levels range where it has bounced from 47300 levels and closed on some positive note. Still, downside momentum to continue and prices can trade in a range of 46800-48100 levels.

Expert: Ravindra Rao, VP- Head Commodity Research at Kotak Securities

COMEX Gold seems to have taken a pause as it trades in a narrow range above $1770/oz. Gains in the U.S. Dollar Index has capped the gains in gold even though other supportive factors like increasing virus risks and US-China tensions are still intact. ETF witnessed some profit-taking as gold failed to move above the multi-resistance zone of $1789-1792.

However, the general bias still remains on the upside until $1750/oz holds. A strong breakout might be seen on closing above $1788-1792/oz.

: 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.
Days after Defense Secretary Mark Esper proposed removing photos from officer promotion board packages as a way to eliminate unconscious bias in the process, the Army has moved to suspend its use of the photos.

In a memo dated Wednesday and signed by Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville, the service announced that use of the photos would be suspended as of Aug. 1.

Read Next: F-35A Joint Strike Fighters Banned from Flying Near Lightning

"The strength of our Army comes from our diversity," the leaders wrote in the memo, reviewed by Military.com. "Developing and maintaining qualified and demographically diverse leadership is critical for mission effectiveness and is essential to national security."

The memo added that the service would begin to evaluate the use of photos on warrant officer and enlisted soldier promotion considerations beginning in August, and would publish an Army directive no later than September 2021 making a policy change permanent regarding use of the photographs.

A defense official confirmed to Military.com that the memo was authentic.

Not all services use promotion photos, which are intended to show military bearing, fitness and attention to proper uniform wear. Neither the Coast Guard nor the Air Force include them as part of the promotion package. Those who oppose use of the photos argue that they favor white men and disadvantage anyone who looks different from the stereotypical image of a military leader.

On June 18, Esper released a video message to the force announcing the establishment of a new "Defense Board on Diversity and Inclusion" and proposing, as one initial change, the removal of photos "from promotion, school, and command selection boards -- this is something I pushed as secretary of the Army as we worked to overhaul our personnel system."

Earlier this week, the deputy commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command, Lt. Gen. Ted Martin, published an unofficial Twitter poll asking whether promotion board photos should be eliminated. More than 75% of the 3,255 respondents had voted in the affirmative as of Wednesday.

Story continues

Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Tammy Smith, military assistant to the assistant secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) for Quality of Life, tweeted, "Nothing in a photo reveals talent."

Jim Perkins, an Army Reserve major in the Army Reserve's 75th Innovation Command who has been vocal about the military's need to change its policy, said photos were "at best a weak proxy" for other qualities such as fitness that can be otherwise quantified in a promotion package.

"What doesn't a picture show? It doesn't show academic achievement -- you can get a badge for two weeks of training with helicopters, but not for a Ph.D. -- or technical certifications and language proficiency. It also shows nothing about a person's recent performance," he said.

"What do a Ranger tab and Combat Infantryman Badge from more than 10 years prior as a lieutenant matter to a board evaluating a major in acquisitions for promotion to lieutenant colonel? They don't, but they reinforce preferences for white men over all others. Military bearing is simply code for conformity to demographic norms."

-- Matthew Cox contributed to this report.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.

Related: Generals Twitter Poll Shows Support for Removing Army Promotion Board Photos
A tanker with 1 million barrels of oil, which has been moored off the Yemeni coast for five years, could explode or sink, the United Nations (UN) warn, in the latest warning that an environmental disaster and potential disruption of oil shipping routes around the Red Sea is waiting to happen.

The tanker is in an area controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels who have been fighting a Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen since 2015. The floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit SAFER has been sitting off Yemen's coast since early 2015 and hasn't been maintained or attended since then.

Experts and the UN-recognized Yemeni government have been warning for a year that there is an "imminent environmental and humanitarian catastrophe in the Red Sea." The Houthis, however, have been denying access to a UN team to assess the situation and the danger from the tanker.

Now, internal documents obtained by The Associated Press showed that seawater has seeped into the engine compartment, rust has taken hold, and the gas that prevents the oil tanks from gathering inflammable gases has leaked out. The damage to the ship is irreversible, experts say, according to the documents obtained by the AP.

The Houthi rebels continue to deny experts access to the oil tanker, sources told the AP.

"They do say that openly to the U.N., 'We like to have this as something to hold against the international community if attacked,"" a European diplomat told the AP.

The Houthis, for their part, point the finger at the U.S. and Saudi Arabia for not letting them sell the million barrels of oil from the tanker. The leader of the Houthi rebels, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, said on Twitter earlier this month that the U.S. and the Saudis would be responsible for any "disastrous consequences ... God forbid" from an explosion, leakage, or sinking from the oil tanker.



By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com



More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:


On display: Al Fursan signals a nation's thanks to medics with a spectaular performance (Image: WAM)

A spectacular air display over the country's hospitals in all seven emirates was ordered by Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, who has acknowledged the fundamental role played by the nation's doctors, nurses, paramedics, and administrative and technical staff, who are working round the clock under tough circumstances to ensure public safety and health in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dubai Health Authority, DHA, expressed appreciation to Al Fursan for spreading a positive atmosphere among the Authority's staff.

The display started in Abu Dhabi on Sunday by flying in over Al Rahba Hospital, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Zayed Military Hospital, Emirates Humanitarian City, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, and Al Ain Hospital in Al Ain at 5.30- 6.30 p.m. On the second day, Al Fursan flew over Al Dhafra Hospital in Madinat Zayed.

On the third day, they were seen in the skies of Dubai, flying over the Kuwait Hospital, as well as in Sharjah over Al Kuwait Hospital as well. In Ajman, they performed over the Sheikh Khalifa General Hospital, while in Umm Al Qaiwain they were watched over the Field Hospital. In Ras Al Khaimah, the team were seen over the Field Hospital and Ibrahim Bin Hamad Obaidullah Hospital. In Khorfakkan, they displayed over Khorfakkan Hospital, and over the Field Hospital and Masafi Hospital in Fujairah.


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Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta, Indonesia  Fri, June 26, 2020 07:10 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661b9896 1 National COVID-19-children-deaths,coronavirus,newborn,pediatrician,COVID-19-Indonesian-patients,COVID-19-children,COVID-19-baby,SARS-CoV-2,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus Free

More than 200 children including newborns and those under 5 years of age are believed to have died from COVID-19 in Indonesia as the virus has devastated the countrys fragile health system.

The Indonesian Pediatric Society (IDAI) revealed on Thursday that at least 1,543 children in Indonesia had tested positive for COVID-19 since the country announced its first coronavirus case in March. Thirty-six of them had died of the disease.

Meanwhile, 6.123 children were categorized under the PDP status, which refers to people that have COVID-19 symptoms but have not been tested for the virus, 204 of them had died.

"The data is devastating, IDAI chairman Aman Bhakti Pulungan said in a meeting with House of Representatives Commission X, which oversees education.

He noted that the high number of child deaths from the disease that mostly kills the elderly was mainly due to diarrhea and pneumonia, as well as insufficient time for medical personnel to save them.

Four of five children come to the hospital with gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, he said, adding that they would report every child with diarrhea symptoms as a PDP case.

In the most recent case last week, Aman said, an 8-month-old baby died in a remote area before being hospitalized. The baby had asthma and a low blood sugar level.

There is inequality of data and health services. We cannot merely look at the services in Jakarta but must also look at other regions," he said.

The death of a 40-day-old baby was reported by the COVID-19 task force in Pamekasan, East Java, on Monday. The baby had tested positive for COVID-19 with fever, cough and respiratory problems and is believed to have contracted the virus from neighbors who visited weeks ago.

Read also: 40-day-old baby dies in East Java after contracting COVID-19 from visitors

We dont lack protection of children, but we lack awareness that they could fall sick and die. We must protect those who are born during the pandemic," Aman said.

No deaths among children have been reported so far in neighboring Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand.

In Europe and the United States, meanwhile, doctors have seen a sharp surge of a severe immune disorder in children linked to COVID-19. At least five under-18s in the UK, three in the US and one in France have died from the syndrome.

An analysis by researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, published in The Lancet Global Health journal in May, estimated an additional 1.2 million maternal and under-5 deaths could occur in just six months due to a reduction in routine health service coverage and an increase in child wasting based on the worst of three scenarios in 118 low- and middle-income countries.

Based on the analysis, UNICEF estimates an additional 6,000 children could die every day from preventable causes over the next six months as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weaken health systems and disrupt routine services.

Under a worst-case scenario, the global number of children dying before their fifth birthday could increase for the first time in decades, said UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore.

As of Thursday, around 7.9 percent of 50,187 people found to be COVID-19-positive in Indonesia are children below 17 years of age, which would mean at least 3,964 children are infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the country, according to the official COVID-19 figures.

Children, according to the official figures, account for 1.6 percent of the 2,620 people confirmed to have died of COVID-19, which would mean about 42 children have died with the virus.

According to a preliminary analysis by the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, many children are infected with the virus because of poor hygiene or an unhealthy lifestyle, indicators of which include failure to frequently wash ones hands with soap, to eat fruits and vegetables in sufficient amounts and do daily physical exercise.

Read also: Five percent of Indonesia's COVID-19 cases are children: Ministry

As the number of cases among children increases, the IDAI and the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) have stated that the government should not reopen schools yet, following the Education and Culture Ministry's announcement that the country will allow phased reopening of schools located in COVID-19 low-risk areas, or green zones, starting in July.

"Not all students in schools in the green zone come from the green areas too. They could come from the yellow or red zones, KPAI chairman Susanto said.
(Natural News) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concluded that the noose found in NASCAR driver Bubba Wallaces garage did not constitute a hate crime after footage showed it had been there since last year. The incident is just the latest example where a widely reported hate crime accusation involving a noose turned out to be a false alarm or an outright hoax.

Photos released by NASCAR do show that a garage door pull-rope at Garage 4 was indeed tied into a noose. However, federal investigators later found footage that revealed that it had been there since October 2019, when the garage had been assigned to another driver.

Once news of the incident broke out, celebrities and athletes flocked to support Wallace, with the hashtag #IStandWithBubba trending on Twitter.

Even after it was shown to be a false alarm, Wallace continued to double down on the incident, stating that he had experienced an act of racism. However, he eventually stated that he was relieved after the FBI found that he wasnt the victim of a hate crime.

Prior to the incident, at least four other occurrences of supposed nooses that led to public outrage have crumbled under scrutiny.

Mistaken for hate crimes

In several incidents, the so-called hate crimes were simply cases of mistaken identity.

In June, Oakland, California, Mayor Libby Schaaf launched a hate crime investigation when alleged nooses were found in a local park. Schaaf stated that Symbols of racial violence have no place in Oakland and will not be tolerated.

It turned out, however, that the nooses were not what they seemed. Talking to local television station WKYT, a Black resident named Victor Sengbe stated that he had set up the ropes as part of an exercise course.

Out of the dozen and hundreds and thousands of people that walked by, no one has thought that it looked anywhere close to a noose, Sengbe told WKYT. Folks have used it for exercise. It was really a fun addition to the park that we tried to create. Its unfortunate that a genuine gesture of just wanting to have a good time got misinterpreted into something so heinous.

Following Sengbes explanation, Schaaf doubled down on the ropes being terrorizing symbols.

Intentions dont matter when it comes to terrorizing the public, Schaaf stated. It is incumbent on all of us to know the actual history of racial violence, of terrorism, that a noose represents and that we as a city must remove these terrorizing symbols from the public view.

In October of 2017, a female Michigan State University (MSU) student said she had found a noose on the handle of her door in a residence hall. This prompted a swift response from MSU President Lou Anna Simon, who said that she recognized the courage it took for the student to report this incident.

This type of behavior is not tolerated on our campus, Simon added. No Spartan should ever feel targeted based on their race, or other ways in which they identify. A noose is a symbol of intimidation and threat that has a horrendous history in America.

However, police later found that the noose was simply a shoelace that had been misplaced. Investigators found the matching packaged shoelace outside the residence hall and later spoke to the student who had lost both shoelaces  they were simply packaged in a way where they could be mistaken for a noose.

The original shoelace found inside the residence hall was not directed at any individual, MSU spokesman Jason Cody stated. It originally was seen on hallway floor and later on a stairwell door handle, where officers believe someone put it after picking it up.

Faking it for fame

While some of the incidences of these fake hate crimes came from misunderstandings, others were of a more malicious origin, with people faking hate crimes for attention.

Perhaps one of the more notable cases of a hate crime hoax was when Empire actor Jussie Smollett claimed that he had been attacked near his home in Chicago last year.

During the incident, Smollett had claimed that two men had yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him before throwing a rope around his neck and pouring a bleach-like substance on him.

While the incident sparked national outrage, Smollett soon found that outrage directed at him after Chicago police found out that he had paid two Nigerian brothers, Ambimbola and Olabinjio Osundairo, $3,500 to stage the attack in order to gain fame from the incident.

Its not only celebrities conducting hoaxes for some fame and notoriety. In April 2016, Salisbury University officials confirmed that two Black students had drawn a stick figure hanging from a noose alongside a racial slur and the hashtag #WhitePower on a whiteboard in the schools library.

The universitys police department investigated the drawings as a hate crime before they found out who the real culprits were. They did not, however, file criminal charges against the two students after consulting with the Wicomico County States Attorneys Office.

Regardless of who created the drawing, we find such actions demeaning to all members of the campus community and against our core values, said Dane Foust, vice president of student affairs

Hoaxes have repercussions

The actions of these fakers have serious repercussions, especially in the current climate, where any perceived slight can feed the Lefts outrage machine. Many are quick to latch on to these incidents, using them to fuel their agendas, regardless of whether or not actual hate crimes are involved.

When Smolletts fabrication came to light last year, Brian Levin, director of California State University, San Bernardinos Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, called it the worst possible thing at the worst possible time.

Back then, the argument was that these incidences were driving people on both sides towards the more extreme ends of the political spectrum.

This argument rings even more true now with the Wallace case, especially in light of the Black Lives Matter movement and the protest that continue to rage in a number of American cities today.

Sources include:

WND.com

TheGuardian.com

WKYT.com

DelmarvaNow.com

NBCNews.com
KYODO NEWS - Jun 26, 2020 - 19:45 | All, World, Coronavirus

British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc said Friday it has agreed with the Japanese government to promote talks on supplying Japan with the experimental coronavirus vaccine it is jointly developing with the University of Oxford.

The drugmaker's Osaka-based unit said it will cooperate with Daiichi Sankyo Co., Meiji Seika Pharma Co. and KM Biologics Co. to secure a stable supply of the vaccine for Japan, collaborating on different stages of the process from packing vials of the vaccine with components imported from overseas to storing and shipping them.

In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference, "The government is firmly working on securing the necessary vaccines for Japan."

Given the expected surge in demand, concerns remain that supplies of foreign vaccines may be limited and not available to people in Japan.

AstraZeneca, which is seen as among the leaders in the race to develop the world's first vaccine against the coronavirus, has said it is committed to offer access to the vaccine at no profit during the pandemic and is boosting production.

It said it will start commercial supply of the AZD1222 vaccine, currently under late-stage clinical trials, from September.

Of the initial supply, 300 million doses will be delivered to the United States as early as October under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which has offered more than $1 billion to the company to develop and produce the vaccine.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 23

Trend:

Uzbekistan has begun exporting peanuts to China for the first time, Trend reports referring to the local Podrobno.uz news agency.

The Uzbek Global Export Company in May 2020 began exporting peanuts to China which is a new market for the country. The deliveries in the amount of $1 million were made under a contract with a big Chinese distribution company.

This became possible following the signing of the Protocol on Phytosanitary Requirements for the export of Uzbek peanuts to China between Uzgoskarantin and the Central Customs Office of China with the support of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in China in November 2019.

Moreover, with the active participation of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in 2017-2019, a set of issues was worked out to increase the range of Uzbek agricultural supplies to China. As a result, interdepartmental protocols on phytosanitary requirements were signed, which allowed to ramp up exports to China by 14 products, including fresh sweet cherries, melons, hot peppers, pomegranates, mung beans, sesame seeds, raisins, dried apricots, walnuts, salty and sweet apricot kernels, grape seeds, peanuts and natural honey.

China is the world's largest producer of peanuts, as well as its importer. For example, in 2019, the volume of Chinese imports of peeled peanuts amounted to 405,000 tons worth $285 million. The main suppliers were African countries such as Senegal, Ethiopia, Sudan, as well as India and the United States. From now on, Uzbekistan has joined the list of countries exporting peanut to China.
When Alabama megachurch pastor Chris Hodges liked recent social media posts from conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, he launched a chain of events that led to two of his churchs campuses being expelled from their meeting spaces in Birmingham public schools.

Hodges has met with African American leaders at Church of the Highlands and apologized for his engagement with multiple insensitive social media posts.

As pundits continue to debate whether the citys expulsion represents viewpoint discriminationformer US Attorney General Jeff Sessions called it an attack on both religious liberty and freedom of speechsome Christian leaders wonder whether the case will draw more scrutiny toward the thousands of congregations who use leased space in public schools.

Hodges congregation, the Church of the Highlands, began meeting in 2001 in a local high school auditorium. It has since grown to become the biggest church in Alabama, with more than 20 campuses worshiping a mix of their own buildings and rented public spaces. Two of those sites had their leases with Birmingham public schools terminated June 9 following two weeks of controversy over Hodges social media activity, which was brought forward by a public school teacher.

The Church of the Highlands controversy represents the most high-profile dispute over churches meeting in public schools in recent years. But the religious bias against church plants has been around far longer, according to J. D. Payne, a church planting scholar at Samford University.

Religious freedom advocates argue that if public schools open their space to community organizations during off-hours, they cannot discriminate against churchesor other religious groupsjust for being religious.

A years-long legal battle over New York City ban on worship in school buildings concluded in 2015, and cases continue to pop up around the country, often raising concern that using public space for religious services represents an endorsement of religion or a favor to religious groups since rental fees are often cheaper than for other buildings. A 2012 LifeWay survey found that two-thirds of adults approved of schools renting to churches and more than a quarter said rentals should be limited to non-religious groups.

Some public places have pushed back on churches meeting in their facilities, Payne said. Its possible there will be an uptick in bias and opposition to churches meeting in schools, but its too early to tell whether there would be fallout for fellow church planters, many of whom are already out of their normal meeting spaces while schools are closed due to the coronavirus.

The Church of the Highlands has been a model for church planting and multisite church growth through the Association of Related Churches, a non-denominational network Hodges co-founded. The association trains pastors to start congregations in leased spaces like school auditoriums and movie theaters. Kairos Church Planting, a Churches of Christ church planting organization, estimated that half the congregations in its network met in public schools.

Church planters may need to be on heightened alert about making controversial statements, said Daniel Yang, director of the Send Institute, a think tank for evangelism and church planting sponsored by Wheaton Colleges Billy Graham Center and the North American Mission Board.

If you tweet something thats a little bit too aggressive as a church planter, he said, it also potentially puts your funding at risk from sponsoring organizations. At the same time, church planters tend to be a little more amped up about political and social issues than their counterparts in established churches, Yang said.

Church planters are already in a difficult logistical position during coronavirus shutdowns. Most have been kept out of school buildings while officials wait to reopen, and some lost their contracts while districts shifted plans.

Reach Fellowship in Long Beach, California, had been renting a public high school gym before COVID-19 struck. In response to the virus, the Long Beach Unified School District canceled the contracts of all community groups meeting in local schools.

Reach elder Tyler Smith said the church has not talked with school officials about returning and is attempting to secure space in a larger churchs facility. Understandably and rightly, Smith said, the school districts primary concern is safety of the students.

The Oak Lawn location of Chicagos New Life Community Church has a similar story. It was meeting in a public middle school before the pandemic and found itself displaced.

As coronavirus restrictions ease, the state of Illinois has limited churches to gatherings of 100 people. But school officials say the Oak Lawn campus is limited to gatherings of 50 people if it returns to its former locationbecause other groups meeting in the school also are limited to fifty. With an average attendance of 250, leaders decided it wasnt worth regathering at the school yet and have moved to home groups.

I dont view it as a hostile thing, location pastor Don Kaufman said of the school districts policy. Were for sure going back to the school if opportunity arises.

The possible pushback and the logistical concerns around coronavirus could stand to hinder a group of churches that have shown to be remarkably effective.

After four years, the average worship attendance for church plants that meet in schools is double the attendance of church plants meeting in all other locations, according to The State of Church Planting in the US, a 2015 report by LifeWay Research and NewChurches.com.

Church plants meeting in schools also achieve financial independence faster: 74 percent of church plants meeting in schools are self-sufficient within three years, compared with 60 percent of plants meeting in all other locations. In its analysis of those findings, the report concluded that church starts committed to a highly public presence experience higher attendance.

David Roach is a writer in Nashville.
WESTPORT  The ReOpen Westport Advisory Team reviewed a phased-in approach to reopening the Westport Library at its meeting Thursday now that the libray has begun its phase one reopening  offering curb-side pickup only.

In terms of reopening the building again, weve been working very closely with the town on our plans, Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer said.

As of Wednesday, he said, only 15 percent of libraries in the state have opened their buildings to the public with none open in Fairfield County.

Its not the same as opening a business or restaurant, Harmer said. Aside from the schools, no other public building gets the kind of foot traffic that public libraries do and thats especially true here in Westport, where nearly 1,500 people were coming through our door prior to the shutdown.

Health and safety will be priorities for each of the librarys five phases, which range from curbside pick-up services in phase one, which began June 15, to a full-service return to the new normal in phase five.

The plan also considers potential for reversion to earlier phases if significant new outbreaks of COVID-19 occur across the state, Harmer said. Were prepared to go backwards if we need to.

A thorough cleaning and inspection of the library was done to prepare the building for reopening, he said. Workplace modifications have also been done including guidelines to control traffic.

In phase two, the library will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Occupants will be limited to only 100 people including staff at any given time and masks will be required to enter.

This will be done to reinforce social distancing, Harmer said. Were going to start slow and steady here.

Harmer said this phase will start on July 13. It may vary how long it will take before the library proceeds to the next phase.

In phase three, patrons will be allowed to be in the library for an extended period of time. The cafe will also be opened with a scaled-down menu and some smaller library programs may be provided. In this phase, the library will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

The plan is to provide expanded on-site services with certain restrictions in place, Harmer said.

The majority of library services will be reintroduced in phase four, but larger group gatherings will still be restricted. Harmer said the library will also return to regular operation hours in this phase.

Phase five will see a full service return to our new normal whatever that happens to be, Harmer said. At this point, we think the infection rate is considered low or non-existent and theres a vaccine thats finally available.

ReOpen Westport Advisory Team Chair Jen Tooker highlighted the importance of the librarys reopening. She said the library will be the first opening of a large public space in Westport.

Our schools arent open. Our town hall is not open. Our senior center is not open, Tooker said. When we talk about reopening Westport, the impact of opening the doors again at the library  even though were talking about a five-phased approach  is quite a big deal for this community.

First Selectman Jim Marpe praised Harmer and his staff for developing the plan.

We couldnt ask for a more thorough and thoughtful plan, he said.

dj.simmons@hearstmediact.com
A man who found seven caterpillars wriggling in his supermarket shop, has documented raising them to become butterflies in a viral thread.

Sam Darlaston, 27, who lives in London, contacted Tesco on Twitter, after discovering a number of caterpillars in his recent purchase of broccoli.

He explained to the supermarket that he'd decided to keep one as a pet, but they should be mindful that the creatures are on their shelves.

The Kiss FM and E4 presenter began documenting his efforts at raising the caterpillars, racking up over 30,000 re-tweets, as he revealed how they grew into what appears to be Pieris napi butterflies.

Scroll down for video

Sam Darlaston, 27, who lives in London, was stunned to discover caterpillars lurking in the broccoli he purchased from Tesco

Sam made a decision to keep the creatures as pets and researched how to make a suitable eco-system to raise them in his home

Sharing his first photo of the findings, Sam wrote: 'Hey Tesco I was about to cook my favourite vegetable of all time (broccoli) and after unwrapping it, to my surprise, found caterpillars inside! Theyre really nice and weve ended up keeping one as a pet and naming him. But just as a heads up, some of your broc has c-pillars'

He then shared a video clip of the caterpillar squirming in a homemade eco-system, revealing that he's named it Cedric.

Later that same day he told his almost 5,000 followers that he had purchased another broccoli from Tesco, which surprisingly had more caterpillars lurking inside.

A day later he posted: 'WELL! What do you know! My housemate just went to cook his broccoli and BAMMMMMMM, hes got green mates too. Open to name suggestions for our 7th caterpillar child.'

Sam documented the process of the caterpillars eating green leafy foods and days later cocooning

Sam posted a series of photos and videos showing the creatures Cedric, Broc, Ollie, Carlos, Croc, Janine, and Slim Eric eating broccoli within the eco-system and wriggling on leaves.

He revealed that some of the caterpillars began to cocoon around day three.

The 27-year-old joked that the experience had put his mother off eating broccoli with her roast dinner.

He shared a photograph of the caterpillars that have become butterflies, along with a video of himself freeing the insects into nature.

Tesco reached out to Sam offering him a 1.10 gift card to cover the cost of his broccoli.

The radio presenter who racked up thousands of re-tweets on his posts, was sent 1.10 from Tesco to cover the cost of his vegetables

The thread attracted a mixture of responses and over 50,000 likes.

One person wrote: 'Oh my Lord, I've probably eaten those bugs. I rarely look closely at brocoli'

'Good news about how kind you were to help them along, maybe also good news that the broccoli was not so doused with chemicals that it killed these ones,' another said.

A third added: 'We had exactly the same thing last week! Except I didn't realise we had a visitor until the caterpillar was boiled and floating at the top of the pan. So no happy ending here (I think this has also put me off Tesco broccoli for life).'
Contributed photo

SHELTON  A Naugatuck Valley Community Forum on Racism and Hate will be held beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park, commonly known as The Slab.

Those attending are asked to adhere to social distancing guidelines. People must wear masks.
OTTAWA - The section of Canada's extradition law that the federal government is being urged to apply to drop the extradition case against Meng Wanzhou has rarely been used  and never for diplomatic or political reasons.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, leaves her home to go to B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

OTTAWA - The section of Canada's extradition law that the federal government is being urged to apply to drop the extradition case against Meng Wanzhou has rarely been used  and never for diplomatic or political reasons.

That was the advice given Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by his national security adviser shortly after the Huawei executive was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018 at the request of the United States.

In apparent retaliation, China soon after arbitrarily detained two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who've remained in prison while Meng's case wends its way slowly through court in British Columbia.

Trudeau is now under mounting pressure, from Kovrig's family and 19 prominent former politicians, diplomats and jurists to terminate extradition proceedings against Meng in hopes that China will free the two Michaels. They point out that Section 23 (3) of the Extradition Act gives the federal justice minister the power to halt extradition proceedings at any time without having to give a reason.

But in a memorandum to Trudeau shortly after Meng's arrest, his national security adviser at the time, Greta Bossenmaier, pointed out that the section had rarely been used in the preceding 10 years.

The memo, obtained by The Canadian Press through access-to-information law, said Canada receives about 100 requests for extradition every year from foreign countries, about 60 per cent of which eventually result in extradition of the sought-after individuals.

Since 2008, Bossenmaier said only 12 cases  nine of them initiated by the U.S.  had been discharged or terminated by the justice minister. The grounds for dropping the cases varied but she added: "Note there are no examples of the minister discharging a case for political or diplomatic reasons."

The memo detailed the reasons for each of the 12 dropped cases, including severe health problems, the minor nature of the alleged offences, unreasonable delay in seeking extradition and, in one case involving Romania, a serious risk of persecution if the sought-after person was extradited to that country.

Two cases involving minors were also dropped as was another in which the requesting country failed to provide unspecified "assurances." Canada will not, for instance, extradite someone without assurances that they won't face a death penalty.

"The minister has broad discretion to decide but (that) discretion cannot be exercised arbitrarily," Bossenmaier concluded, emphasizing, "Again, there are no examples of the minister discharging a case for political or diplomatic reasons."

Bossenmaier also noted that Meng could appeal her case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada and that "the process could take years."

It is the prospect of Kovrig and Spavor essentially being held hostage by China as long as Meng's case remains unresolved that prompted the 19 eminent Canadians  including former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, former Liberal justice minister Allan Rock, former NDP Leader Ed Broadbent and two former chiefs of staff to Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney  to write Trudeau this week urging that the extradition proceedings against her be dropped.

Trudeau flatly rejected that appeal Thursday, arguing that giving China what it wants would encourage it and other countries to engage in hostage diplomacy, putting millions of Canadians abroad at risk.

He repeated himself Friday in a news conference: dissent and disagreement is a sign of a healthy society, he said, but he's not changing his mind.

"The government has been unequivocal on that," Trudeau said, and acknowledged that the lack of progress is frustrating for everyone, not least for Kovrig's and Spavor's families.

In a separate letter marshalled by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute think-tank, more than 40 foreign-policy and security experts, including former Conservative cabinet minister Chris Alexander, agreed.

"A prisoner exchange would confirm for China's Communist rulers the value of kidnapping Canadian citizens. Once we capitulate, China  and other authoritarian regimes  would reasonably expect us to do so again," they wrote.

The group said Canada would be breaking faith with its allies, which have publicly condemned the arbitrary detention of the two Michaels, at Canada's behest. And it said releasing Meng would also "justifiably cause leaders in both the (U.S.) administration and in Congress to see us as a weak and untrustworthy ally at a time when we need all the goodwill we can muster in Washington.

"The damage to Canada-U.S. relations would be incalculable and would persist irrespective of the outcome of the presidential election in November."

Michael Kergin, one of two former ambassadors to Washington who signed the first letter to Trudeau, doubted that dire prediction.

Kergin was Canada's representative in Washington when former prime minister Jean Chretien refused to join or endorse then-president George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq. Many Canadians were concerned that Canada's economic interests would be damaged by the decision but Kergin said there was actually little impact on the relationship between the two countries.

"Aside from a few Americans who didn't want to buy Canadian maple syrup, there were no indications that the U.S. became tougher as a result of their displeasure," he said in an interview.

Kergin acknowledged that current President Donald Trump is more mercurial and more prone to retaliate against those who thwart him. But he doubted Meng is a high priority in the White House at the moment, with Trump facing a tough re-election fight in the fall and the U.S. mired in the COVID-19 pandemic.

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"What sort of thing, beyond rhetoric, would he do?" Kergin said.

Kergin is also not convinced that a prisoner swap would encourage China or other hostile countries to use hostage diplomacy more often in future to get their way.

"I don't buy the argument completely. I don't rule it out entirely but I don't see it as being a major factor in this issue given the circumstances."

Kergin said Meng is almost like "royalty" in China, which saw her arrest as Canada essentially taking her hostage on behalf of the Americans and retaliated accordingly.

"I think this is a pretty special circumstance ... I would be surprised if something like this happened again," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2020.
 While TIL Logistics businesses are recovering post the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, the Covid-19 event has had a material impact on the underlying trading performance of the Group and the wider economy and the Board retains a cautious outlook.

 Good progress is being made on FY20 initiatives to drive Group performance.

 For the financial year ending 30 June 2020 (FY20), EBITDA (excluding impact of IFRS 16) is expected to be between $25m and $27m, down on the prior comparative period (FY19) of $28 million, but ahead of the March 2020 guidance of $23-$24 million EBITDA that was withdrawn at the beginning of the Covid-19 restrictions later that month.

 For FY21 financial year, EBITDA is expected to be at least that of the FY20 result.

New Zealand freight and logistics company, TIL Logistics Group Limited (NZX: TLL , TIL), advises that its businesses are recovering since the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. While management remain cautious about the trading environment, there is now greater certainty around the impact of Covid-19 and ongoing performance, and the Company is reissuing guidance for the FY20 financial year.

TIL Logistics is expecting FY20 EBITDA (excluding the impact of IFRS 16) to be between $25m and $27m. For the following FY21 financial year, EBITDA is expected to be at least that of the FY20 result.

While a number of TIL Logistics businesses continued to operate as essential businesses during the lockdown, all divisions were adversely affected by Covid-19. The Company implemented a number of measures during this time, including those set out below:

 The Government wage subsidy allowed for TIL Logistics to retain and pay over 1,500 employees at least 80% of their wages.

 Increased focus on efficient use of the fleet.

 The Directors reduced their fees by 25% and the Executive Team reduced their salaries by 20% during Alert Level 4.

 TIL received support from some landlords and its asset leasing partner during the period. TIL also worked closely with its customers to offer them support where possible.

 TILs level of essential service trading and recovery since lockdown, combined with the wage subsidy, provided the liquidity required to trade through the Alert Levels 2 - 4.

Cashflow and cost control remains a priority and all non-essential operating expenditure and capital expenditure continues to be carefully reviewed.

Good progress being made on FY20 initiatives to drive Group performance

 Previously announced initiatives to lift the performance of the Freight division are continuing, with a stronger management and operational structure and an increased focus on sales and marketing functions. A new Executive General Manager has been appointed and is leading the turnaround plan for the Freight Division.

 Technology remains a key focus, with final testing of the new Transport Management System now complete and to be rolled out over the next few months, which is expected to further enhance the efficient use of the fleet.

 Recent procurement initiatives are expected to deliver long term cost benefits.

 Strengthening of the executive team with a number of new appointments over the last year.

 Continuing focus on sustainability with investment into new electric forklifts, green building standards for new warehouses, and ongoing partnership with Hiringa Energy around hydrogen fuel solutions.

 In March 2020, TIL acquired the outstanding shareholding in the ATL joint venture. This will further enhance the freighting opportunities within Central Otago and provide a more streamlined service for customers and suppliers, with financial benefits being recognised in TIL Logistics consolidated trading performance.

 Performance from MOVEs expanded warehousing business remains solid, but with less stock movements over the Covid-19 lockdown period.

Operating Environment Outlook

While the future outlook for TIL Logistics remains positive, the flow-on effect of Covid-19 will be felt for some time and the company retains a cautious outlook on the economy and the trading environment.

TIL should be better placed than many other businesses in the new normal, with strong brands and a diverse customer base across multiple sectors, some of which have been seeing strong performance levels, such as in the aquaculture, viticulture and other primary industries, however the speed of the recovery in the construction, retail and energy sectors remains uncertain. The current environment has demonstrated the benefits of being a group of scale, with the ability to invest into health & safety, training, systems and infrastructure. TIL Logistics is well positioned to take advantage of opportunities within the sector.

Source: TIL Logistics Group

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Doctors are urging Houstonians to not abandon their masks and social distancing behaviors for hot dogs and pool parties this Fourth of July, pointing to the role Memorial Day likely played in the current surge of COVID-19.

Because theres a higher level of spread in the community right now, gatherings now are even riskier for Fourth of July than they were at Memorial Day, said Dr. Wesley Long, who has been researching COVID-19 as the director of the Diagnostic Microbiology Laboratory at Houston Methodist. So people need to be even more vigilant.

In early May, Gov. Greg Abbott began reopening the state. There was a general feeling that Houston and Texas had avoided a massive, debilitating outbreak like New York City. And slowly, people started ditching face masks (or wearing them around their chin), leaving home more frequently and meeting up with friends.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Gov. Abbott gambled Texas' reopening on contact tracing. Heres how it went bust.

Many Houstonians didnt know a single person infected with the disease, and they had COVID-19 fatigue by Memorial Day, May 25, the unofficial start of summer. That was followed by a continued relaxing of attitudes and government-imposed restrictions, as well as mass gatherings to protest the death of George Floyd.

Now, Texas has reported new records for confirmed cases of COVID-19 in a single day. The Houston area has also seen its numbers rise.

Were absolutely on pace to be a hotspot, said Dr. LeChauncy Woodard, a professor at the University of Houston College of Medicine. We are really at the precipice of having a real public health crisis. We already have a public health crisis but seeing that expand in ways that we will find very difficult to control if we dont take these important steps to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

As of Thursday, the seven-day rolling average for new cases in Texas was 4,834 a day. In the eight-county Houston region, the rolling average was 1,558, and for Harris County it was 1,228. The rolling average for deaths was 27 for Texas, eight for the Houston region and seven for Harris County, according to a Chronicle analysis.

A variety of models show these figures increasing.

A model from the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia PolicyLab (updated Wednesday) said Harris County could see 4,578 new COVID-19 cases on July 18.

Across the state, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (also as of Wednesday) projected daily deaths for Texas could reach 90 on Aug. 1 if COVID-19 mandates keep easing. That would be lowered to 35 deaths if 95 percent of the population wore a mask in public.

On Monday, a Harris County order went into effect mandating that businesses require their customers to wear masks. On Friday, the county banned outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people in unincorporated areas. Also on Friday, Gov. Abbott closed bars (though they can remain open for delivery and take-out) and reduced restaurant occupancy to 50 percent, down from 75 percent.

Two other models look at local deaths. Covid19-projections.com, created by data scientist Youyang Gu who graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, forecast 14 deaths on Aug. 1 for Harris County, with a range from nine to 19.

The University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium projected 18 deaths on July 21 for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area, with a minimum of five deaths and maximum of 43. Thats based on current mobility.

It could been higher if the holiday comes around and people really are still not protecting themselves and taking precautionary measures, said Spencer Fox, associate director of the UT COVID-19 Modeling Consortium, or it could be lower if the recent state, Gov. Abbotts order, and other city orders are enough to start slowing the spread of the disease.

With a vaccine unlikely in the near future, experts emphasized that the only tools for fighting COVID-19 are wearing masks, staying six feet from other people (or staying home) and frequently washing hands or using hand sanitizer.

The only way we can change what were seeing now, in terms of this increase, is for people to go back to those behaviors that we learned in March and April, Long said.

That includes avoiding large gatherings, such as the Shell Freedom Over Texas musical performances and fireworks. There will be fireworks on July 4, but Houstonians are asked to watch these virtually rather than gathering on Buffalo Bayou in Eleanor Tinsley and Sam Houston parks.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Hidalgo urges Harris County, now at highest threat level, to stay home as COVID-19 surges

The only way that we are going to get back to the normalcy that we all desire is to remember that were all in this together and that our actions impact our broader community, Woodard said. And so we really have to make some sacrifices to stay home, social distance, wear masks, do things that we may find uncomfortable to make sure we stay safe and we keep our community, more broadly, safe.

Jordan Rubio contributed to this report.

andrea.leinfelder@chron.com

twitter.com/a_leinfelder
Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday asked the government to prepare to hit back at China and recapture the territory lost in the Galwan valley instead of targeting the main opposition party to hide its own "strategic blunders".

He claimed China was taking advantage of the Modi government's "indecision" over retaliation.

Chowdhury also dared the BJP leadership to substantiate its charge that the Congress party had ever compromised national security, and said he will resign as MP if the allegations are proved.

"The BJP, to hide its own failures, its own Himalayan strategic blunders, is targeting the Congress. The BJP leadership has complete disregard for history, or else they would have never said that Congress compromised national security.

"It was the Congress led by Indira Gandhi which snatched away Siachen in 1984 by conducting operation Meghdoot, it was Congress which broke Pakistan and created Bangladesh in 1971," Chowdhury said in a video message.

Demanding that the BJP leadership, including Defence minister Rajnath Singh, furnish proof that the Congress had compromised national security, Chowdhury said," I challenge them to prove it. If the allegations can be established, I will resign as an MP."

In the midst of the ongoing war of words over the Sino-India standoff in eastern Ladakh, BJP chief J P Nadda had on Thursday alleged that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) had accepted $ 300,000 from China and the Chinese embassy in 2005 -06 for conducting studies that were not in national interest.

The Congress, however, dismissed the allegation as an attempt to divert the attention of the country from issues of national security.

The BJP has also alleged that the previous Congress governments signed pacts with China in utter disregard for national security.

Criticising the Modi government for alleged lack of political will to take on China and recover the lost territory, Chowdhury said, do or die should be the national mantra and only counter violence can teach China a much-needed lesson.

"Do or Die is our National Mantra. In a changed situation, it needs to be accompanied by counter-violence, we have to prove that China is an international rogue and never ever be invincible.," Chowdhury said in a tweet.

"The situation across Indo-China boundary is grim, our options are being tapered off. China took the opportunity of India's indecision, Hit back China, Hit Hit Hit back the Dragon who wants India to be dragooned into submission," he said in another tweet.

Twenty Indian Army personnel including a colonel were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on the night of June 15 in the biggest military confrontation between the two countries in over five decades.
Pakistan has accused old rival India of trying to distract the attention of its people by expelling Pakistani diplomats after Indian forces got a "battering" at the hands of Chinese troops in a clash on their disputed Himalayan border.

Pakistan is concerned about the tension after the June 15 clash in the Ladakh region, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, in particular about the possibility Pakistan could get dragged in, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said. "Things have deteriorated, things are very delicate," Qureshi told Reuters in an interview at his ministry in Islamabad late on Thursday.

The three nuclear-armed neighbours all have historic disputes over high-altitude border demarcation in the Himalayas. For years, confrontation between India and Pakistan has been seen as the most dangerous of the disputes but the violence between Indian and Chinese forces has renewed alarm about theirs too.

Qureshi denounced India's announcement on Tuesday that it would expel half the staff in Pakistan's embassy in New Delhi over spying, saying India was trying to divert attention at home. "The accusations were baseless," he said. "They have no answers for the battering they got in Ladakh, so to quell the domestic dissent they want to refocus," he said.

India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to request for comment. Qureshi said he was concerned that India could try to get Pakistan involved in the regional tensions with a "false flag operation" - an incident staged to provide a pretext for action.

He said he feared any Indian "misadventure" in Pakistan's territory would prompt Pakistan to respond with force. Qureshi said Pakistan backed the position of its ally China over Ladakh and he had recently had a call with China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, who had expressed appreciation for that position. China and Pakistan have long had close diplomatic and economic ties. China has pledged about $60 billion for projects in Pakistan central to China's Belt and Road initiative to develop land and sea trade routes across Asia and beyond.

Also read: Pakistan PM Imran Khan faces backlash for Osama bin Laden 'martyrdom' remark
By Carolyn Jones

EdSource

In a rare move by a presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden detailed his plans this month calling for full federal funding of special education - something that hasn't happened since Congress first passed sweeping legislation for students with disabilities 45 years ago.

In California, that could mean an additional $2.66 billion for schools annually, according to the California School Boards Association.

The extra money would give schools leeway in their budgets for other programs, and improve special education offerings in districts that have struggled to meet the needs of students with disabilities, advocates said. This flexibility would be especially valuable as schools navigate budget cuts and distance learning during the pandemic.

Congress ultimately decides on school funding, but Biden's platform is still worth celebrating, advocates said. Special education rarely garners attention from presidential candidates, and the support for full funding is reason for hope, they said.

"It's hugely significant," said Carolynne Bottum, a lecturer at the UC Davis School of Education and a former director of the Special Education Local Area Plan for Yolo County. "This wouldn't just benefit students with disabilities, it would benefit all children."

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, enacted in 1975, guarantees students with disabilities the right to a free public education appropriate to their needs. The law requires that the federal government cover 40% of the cost, and states, counties and school districts pay the remaining 60%.

But the federal government has never met the 40% goal. In 2018-19, federal funding only covered 8.4% of special education costs in California, leaving the state and local districts to cover the rest. That's left many districts in a bind, as special education costs rise - due to an increase in students with autism and severe disabilities - and revenues fall due to declining enrollment.

About 800,000 students in California were enrolled in special education in 2018-19, a number that's been increasing even as the state's overall enrollment has held steady. The increase is due partly to the rise in diagnoses of autism, which affected 1 in 50 students in 2017-18 but only 1 in 600 in 1997-98, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office.

Students with autism often need speech and behavioral therapy and one-on-one aides in the classroom, making them especially expensive to educate. Other high costs for districts include private school placement for students with unique needs, and litigation, as parents file complaints to improve services for their children, Bottum said.

Biden's proposal is part of a broad platform addressing the rights of people with disabilities. In addition to funding special education, Biden is calling for other benefits for students with disabilities, including:

A tripling of Title I school funding for low-income students, as proposed in his education platform.

Special education teacher recruitment and training.

Expanded programs for young children with disabilities, which experts say can greatly improve outcomes for disabled students over the long-term.

Discipline reform, including a ban on seclusion and more restrictions on the use of restraint.

Anti-bullying measures.

Job training.

Funding for colleges to accommodate students with disabilities.

Biden's proposal follows a bill introduced last year by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, that would also fully fund special education. That bill stalled in a House committee.

Biden is not the first presidential candidate to speak about disability rights, but he's the first since Barrack Obama in 2008 to specifically address funding for special education, said Jason Willis, area director of strategic resource planning and implementation at West Ed, a research firm. Like Biden, Obama called for full funding of special education and even considered hiring a disability czar.

"What he's saying is the federal government should follow through with its original commitment" to fund 40% of special education, he said. "This is important, especially in the current climate where states are cutting budgets. ... . But like any proposal, it'll come down to the political will for it to actually happen."

Even if Congress does agree to allot extra money for special education, the system will not change overnight, Willis said. Districts will have to plan how to spend the money effectively and include measures for accountability, transparency and public input.

"Districts will need to be thoughtful in their approach, maybe by starting small - using evidence and justification - and ramping up over two or three years," he said.

Schools should stay focused on the disproportionate percentage of Black and Latino children who are enrolled in special education, he said.

Special education in California has long needed an overhaul, according to a 13-part report released in February by researchers at Policy Analysis for California Education. Chronic funding shortfalls have led to high teacher turnover, inadequate early childhood programs, inconsistent transitions from preschool to K-12 schools to the workforce, and insufficient services like occupational, speech and behavioral therapy, among other issues, according to the report.

More funding won't solve everything, but it would definitely help - especially as schools grapple with budget cuts and an uncertain learning environment due to the coronavirus pandemic, said Heather Hough, executive director of PACE and an author of the report.

"We know that special education is underfunded. We know that general education is underfunded," she said. "This is an opportunity to rethink the entire system, to be creative about how we design our schools so students with disabilities are not on the fringes, but in the center."

Addressing teacher turnover is a good place to start, she said. But higher salaries aren't the only issue. Teachers - both in special education classrooms and general education classrooms - need smaller class sizes and better training on how to serve students with varying needs. More aides and counselors would also help improve their working conditions, she said.

She's hopeful about Biden's plan and other calls for improvements in special education policy.

In the past there's been a real reluctance in the public sphere to focus on students with disabilities," she said. "But times are changing."

Bottum was also optimistic that special education funding and policy changes might be edging closer to becoming reality. For decades, politicians rarely addressed special education because they themselves had no idea what good special education programs looked like, she said. In their own school experiences, students with disabilities may not have even attended school, she said.

"A few years ago, I would have said this is a pipe dream, but I don't think so anymore," she said. "There could finally be a change. And there should be."

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Wendy M. Colucci of Syracuse was shocked when she got a letter from the state last week asking her to verify the accuracy of information on an application she submitted in March for unemployment insurance.

Colucci never applied for unemployment benefits.

She also did not get laid off from her job as a field coordinator for the Central NY Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.

Colucci appears to be a victim of a massive nationwide unemployment insurance scam by imposters who file phony claims in the names of people whose Social Security numbers and other personal information have been stolen. After reading about the scam in The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com, Colucci reported her case to the state Labor Department and took steps to protect her personal and financial information.

Wendy Colucci of Syracuse discovered someone used her name and Social Security number to file a fraudulent unemployment insurance claim

Her name, Social Security number, income and the amount of money shes eligible for in unemployment benefits all appear in the letter from the state Labor Department. The letter instructed her to go to the departments website to complete her claim.

Its scary, Colucci said.

The scam comes at a time when New York and other states are struggling to keep up with high volumes of unemployment claims filed by people who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Federal investigators say the scam often targets school employees, first responders, government employees and other workers. Syracuse, Onondaga Central and Lafayette school districts have all recently had cases in which phony claims were filed in the names of some employees.

The state Labor Department said the stolen personal information may come from hacks of computer systems at banks, insurance companies and victims employers. A Labor Department official said the agency investigates all reported cases of unemployment insurance fraud, but will not discuss specific cases.

The Federal Trade Commission says unemployment payments resulting from phone claims are often deposited to accounts controlled by imposters.

Sometimes payments get sent to the real persons account, instead. When this happens, the imposters may call, text, or email the real person to try to get them to send some or all of the money to them. The FTC says the imposters sometimes pretend to be state unemployment agency officials and say the money was sent by mistake.

Colucci said this is the first time her personal information has been hijacked. I am really careful with my information when Im online, she said.

After learning of the scam, Colucci alerted her bank, changed her online account passwords and got a credit report.

I havent seen anything funny happen with my accounts, but I am on the lookout, Colucci said. There are desperate people out there making desperate moves.

The FTC says anyone who thinks theyve been targeted by the scam should act fast. It recommends taking these steps to protect your finances and credit:

Report the fraud to your employer;

Report the fraud to the state Labor Department

Visit IdentityTheft.gov to report the fraud to the FTC and get help with the next important recovery steps. These include placing a free, one-year fraud alert on your credit, getting your free credit reports, and closing any fraudulent accounts opened in your name. IdentityTheft.gov also will help you add a free extended fraud alert or credit freeze to your credit report. These make it more difficult for an identity thief to open new accounts in your name;

Review your credit reports often. For the next year, you can check your reports every week for free through AnnualCreditReport.com . This can help you spot any new fraud quickly;

The New York Attorney Generals Office says victims should also contact the nearest office of the U.S. Secret Services which is investigating the scam.

James T. Mulder covers health news. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com
Carrier Midea India Pvt. Ltd. (CMI), a joint venture between Carrier and Midea, announced that Sanjay Mahajan has been appointed Managing Director.

Sanjay Mahajan has served many instrumental roles at CMI over the years, including serving as CMIs Chief Operating Officer since 2016 and previously leading customer and channel efforts as Vice President of Sales & Marketing from 2012. Prior to joining CMI, Sanjay held various leadership positions over a 20-year span at Carrier India, including Director of Residential and Light Commercial Sales. Among his many accomplishments, Sanjay contributed significantly to the growth of CMI with its channel partners, led the expansion of CMIs distribution organisation into retail, and drove customer value while providing critical leadership.

Krishan Sachdev, who has been Managing Director of CMI since the companys inception in 2012, will continue as CMIs Chairman and will support Carrier in the governance of other Carrier Midea joint ventures (JVs). In addition, he will play a key role in growing Carriers global residential consumer HVAC business.

Established in February 2012, CMI has developed a strong industry position in the India residential air-conditioning segment, leveraging Carrier and Midea brands. CMI markets Carrier hi-wall residential splits and window air-conditioners, and promotes Midea residential, light commercial and VRF products. The company recently announced the establishment of a new HVAC manufacturing facility for room air-conditioners, light commercial splits, and VRF in Supa, Maharashtra.
ROTHBURY, MI  Normally as the end of June approaches, concertgoers from across the country would be flocking to the woods of Northern Michigan for a weekend of summer heat, colorful lights and music.

But most of the forest family, as regulars of the Electric Forest music festival call themselves, will need to wait for at least another orbit of the sun before returning the fields and forests of Rothbury. The 2020 edition of the festival was canceled due to the coronavirus.

Electric Forest, which in recent years has drawn sold-out crowds of 40,000-plus, was originally scheduled for June 25-28. Headliners for this years sold-out festival included The String Cheese Incident, Bassnectar, Flume, Major Lazer and Diplo.

Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic spread to Michigan, the festivals fate was momentarily up in the air as organizers requested the event be postponed until September. Rothbury officials later denied that request, prompting an updated announcement that Electric Forest would be canceled until 2021.

If you are viewing this via Facebook app, click here to see the full photo gallery.

Despite the cancellation, the festival grounds will not be completely empty this weekend. Double JJ Resort, the site of the annual festival, previously announced it would host a new event called Sherwood Forest.

Though held on the same dates, organizers made clear it is not a music festival and is not associated with Electric Forest. Billed as an intimate primitive camping weekend including DJs for a much smaller crowd than usual, the event did not require government approval according to Rothburys village clerk. The private event is closed to media, organizers told MLive.

Related: Sherwood Forest knockoff festival planned at site of Electric Forest

The replacement event borrows its name from a pine forest located in the center of the Electric Forest music festival grounds. During that festival, it is filled with festival-goers, art, vendors, stages and various contraptions.

This year, the festival was set to celebrate a decade of music after debuting under the Electric Forest name in 2011. Rothbury Music Festival was previously held on the same festival grounds in 2008 and 2009, taking a hiatus in 2010 before being replaced by Electric Forest.

Over the years, MLive and Muskegon Chronicle photographers have captured thousands of images and dozens of videos that give a peek into the magical world of Electric Forest. As the festival takes the year off, peruse the gallery above to see some of the favorite images captured by our photographers over the years.

Below, find some of our favorite videos from the festival over the years:

Also on MLive.com:

Eyeball the very best photos from Electric Forest 2019

Looking back at Electric Forest, Rothbury Festival through photos

Best of Electric Forest 2018

The visual feast that is Electric Forest 2017 in cant-miss photos

Aerial photos show Electric Forest from above
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / AZARGA URANIUM CORP. (TSX:AZZ)(OTCQB:AZZUF)(FRA:P8AA) ("Azarga Uranium" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that all resolutions put forward at the Annual General and Special Meeting (the "Meeting") of the Company's shareholders (the "Shareholders") held 26 June 2020, as further described in the Company's information circular dated 13 May 2020, were approved, including the following:

Election of Directors: the nominees listed in the management proxy circular dated 13 May 2020 for the Meeting of the Company held on 26 June 2020: Glenn Catchpole, Matthew O'Kane, Sandra MacKay, Joseph Havlin, Todd Hilditch and Delos Cy Jamison were all elected as Directors until the next annual general meeting of the Shareholders. Detailed results of the vote for the election of Directors held at the Meeting are set out below:

Appointment of BDO Canada LLP as auditors of the Company for the fiscal period ending December 31, 2020 and the Director's right to fix the remuneration to be paid to BDO Canada LLP.

Approving the increase in the number of Azarga Uranium common shares (the "Shares") reserved for issuance pursuant to the employee share purchase plan by 3,000,000.

Approving the increase in the number of Shares reserved for issuance pursuant to the Director services agreements by 1,500,000.

Issuance of 1,750,000 Shares as a bonus payment of which 1,525,000 Shares are to three insiders of the Company (approved by the majority of disinterested shareholders).

For further information, please see the Company's Report of Voting Results, which will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

In addition, the Company, subject to final approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange, will issue 200,000 Shares as a payment to settle outstanding service fees of $35,000 owed by the Company to an independent consultant.

About Azarga Uranium Corp.

Azarga Uranium is an integrated uranium exploration and development company that controls ten uranium projects and prospects in the United States of America ("USA") (South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado), with a primary focus of developing in-situ recovery uranium projects. The Dewey Burdock in-situ recovery uranium project in South Dakota, USA (the "Dewey Burdock Project"), which is the Company's initial development priority, has received its Nuclear Regulatory Commission License and draft Class III and Class V Underground Injection Control ("UIC") permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA") and the Company is in the process of completing other major regulatory permit approvals necessary for the construction of the Dewey Burdock Project, including the final Class III and Class V UIC permits from the EPA.

For more information please visit www.azargauranium.com.

Follow us on Twitter at @AzargaUranium.

For further information, please contact:

Blake Steele, President and CEO

+1 303 790-7528

E-mail: info@azargauranium.com

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

Certain information and statements in this news release may be considered forward-looking information or forward-looking statements for purposes of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), which reflect the expectations of management regarding its disclosure and amendments thereto. Forward-looking statements consist of information or statements that are not purely historical, including any information or statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information or statements may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the additional uranium mineralization having the widespread potential to supplement the existing Gas Hills Project resource estimate, the additional uranium mineralization having the potential to be ISR amenable, the Company completing an updated resource estimate at the Gas Hills Project, the Gas Hills Project having the potential to transform into a significant satellite deposit for the Company's initial development priority, the Dewey Burdock Project, the utilization of planned infrastructure for the Dewey Burdock Project having the potential to significantly reduce the cost profile of the Gas Hills Project, the results of the drill hole logs being viewed as conservative and Azarga Uranium's continued efforts to obtain all major regulatory permit approvals necessary for the construction of the Dewey Burdock Project, including the final Class III and Class V UIC permits from the EPA. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. 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 Azarga Uranium will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including without limitation: the risk that the additional uranium mineralization does not supplement the existing Gas Hills Project resource estimate, the risk that the additional uranium mineralization is not ISR amenable, the risk that the Company does not complete an updated resource estimate at the Gas Hills Project, the risk that the Gas Hills Project does not transform into a significant satellite deposit for the Company's initial development priority, the Dewey Burdock Project, the risk that planned infrastructure for the Dewey Burdock Project is not developed or does not significantly reduce the cost profile of the Gas Hills Project, the risk that the drill hole logs are not conservative, the risk that Azarga Uranium does not obtain all major regulatory permit approvals necessary for construction of the Dewey Burdock Project, including the final Class III and Class V UIC permits from the EPA, the risk that such statements may prove to be inaccurate and other factors beyond the Company's control. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as required by applicable securities laws, Azarga Uranium assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results differed from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Additional information about these and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties are set out in the "Risks and Uncertainties" section in the most recent AIF filed with Canadian security regulators.

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this News Release.

SOURCE:

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/595395/Azarga-Uranium-Annual-General-and-Special-Meeting-2020-Voting-Results
Bengaluru, June 26 : Accusing the ruling BJP government of failing to manage the coronavirus pandemic in the state, the Karnataka Congress on Friday called for a legislative session to discuss the grim situation arising out of rising cases of infection, especially in this tech city.

"The state government should convene the legislative session to discuss the grim situation in the state arising out of its failure to control the virus spread in Bengaluru and other cities," opposition party's state unit president D.K. Shivakumar told reporters here.

The party also asked the state government to bring out a white paper on the Covid-19 crisis in the southern state, as the cases have been rising by the day since unlock 1.0 was allowed from June 1.

"The central and the governments implemented the lockdown untimely, destroying the people's health and the state's economy, as strict measures were not taken to stop the infection from spreading as evident from the numbers," party leader in the assembly and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.

With 445 fresh cases on Friday, the number of positive cases in the state crossed the 11,000-mark so far, including 144 cases in Bengaluru.

"As the extended lockdown was not strictly enforced, the infections have been rising over the last 2-3 weeks to 11,005 from 3,408 on June 1, with more relaxation of restrictions under unlock 1.0," lamented Shivakumar.

As 6,916 patients, including 246 on Friday cured and discharged, the active cases are 3,905 across the southern state.

"The lockdown should be re-imposed now, as cases are increasing and they are expected to go up till September according to health experts," asserted Siddaramaiah.

State Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, however, ruled out fresh lockdown as reviving the state's economy was equally important.

"There will be no fresh lockdown in Bengaluru where all efforts were underway to control the spread of corona virus as reviving the state's economy was equally important," Yediyurappa said at a meeting of city legislators and members of Parliament on measures to contain the pandemic.
House Democrats made history Friday by voting in favor of making Washington, D.C. the nation's 51st state.

The vote was 232 to 180, with no Republicans voting in favor of the move and Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota also saying nay. Peterson famously voted against President Trump's impeachment as well. Independent Rep. Justin Amash also voted no.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will let it die. President Trump has also shown no interest in allowing D.C. to become a state, as the left-leaning District would likely elect two Democratic senators.

The bill, HR 51, would rename Washington the 'District of Columbia,' Washington 'Douglass Commonwealth' - swapping out Italian explorer Christopher Columbus for Maryland-born abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

While Democratic lawmakers applauded passage on the House floor, several miles away at a bar at D.C.'s Wharf, Mayor Muriel Bowser, Shadow Sen. Paul Strauss and members of Bowser's team held a champagne toast, wearing commemorative T-shirts and face masks.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi walks through Statuary Hall Friday after the House voted 232-180 on a bill that would make Washington, D.C. the 51st state

The House of Representatives passed the D.C. statehood bill Friday on an almost-exclusively party-line vote. Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson was the one Democrat to defect

House Democrats and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (leftt) gathered on Capitol Hill Thursday to preview a historic Friday vote that aims to make Washington, D.C. the nation's 51st state

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (left) of Maryland explained that Washington, District of Columbia would be changed to Washington, Douglass Commonwealth after Maryland-born abolitionist Frederick Douglass (right). Virginia and Maryland gave land to create Washington, which was named for a Virginian, President George Washington

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s non-voting member of the House, indicated she was OK with the bill only passing the House this Congress, as she suggested Republicans would lose control of the Senate and White House in November, allowing the bill to become law in 2021

And presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden tweeted Thursday afternoon that he believed D.C. should receive statehood, removing any kind of veto threat should he win the White House over President Trump in the 2020 election

D.C.'s statehood plight has gotten attention recently amid the back-and-forth between D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (pictured) and President Trump, as he's insisted on militarizing the area around the White House due to 'Black Lives Matter' protests

After protesters were tear gassed in front of St. John's church in advance of President Trump's controversial photo-op, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had 'Black Lives Matter' painted in large yellow letters on 16th Street N.W.

'I was born without representation, but I swear  I will not die without representation. Together, we will achieve DC statehood, and when we do, we will look back on this day and remember all who stood with us on the right side of history,' Bowser said in a tweet later Friday afternoon.

Strauss told DailyMail.com that he was 'gratified' by the vote 'in particular the higher than expected number of yes votes.'

'And I know the Senate is an uphill battle, but I have faith in the conscience of the American people and they are losing their tolerance for injustice,' Strauss said.

Rep. Steny Hoyer, the House's No. 2 Democrat who represents nearby Maryland, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the city's non-voting member of Congress and Bowser, among others, had gathered on Capitol Hill Thursday to preview the vote.

'And what an appropriate name: George Washington and Frederick Douglass, joined together in support of citizenship, what an appropriate name it seems to me for the capital of America,' remarked Hoyer. 'To honor two of its citizens: one white, one black, both committed to the union and committed to citizenship.'

'Frederick Douglass was one of the great spokespersons for "Black Lives Matter,"' Hoyer also said.

Douglass was also chosen because he was a Marylander, as Washington was a Virginian. Those two states originally gave up the land to create the District, though Virginia took its portion back.

At the press conference Thursday, Holmes Norton indicated she was OK with statehood only passing the House this Congress because Senate control looked ripe for the picking, as new polling data showed Republican candidates struggling in several key states moving toward the 2020 election.

'Speaking even more loudly are what the polls tell us about the president of the United States,' Holmes Norton said at the presser Thursday. 'The reason he's going around spreading coronavirus - I've never seen such irresponsibility on the part of even an ordinary citizen, much less an elected official - is that his poll numbers are so low that his presidency is so threatened.'

If Trump lost the White House there would be no veto threat as presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden tweeted Thursday that 'DC should be a state. Pass it on.'

Republicans have been averse to giving the city of 706,000 Americans statehood because it would mean giving Holmes Norton, a Democrat, a vote and then there would be two new senators.

In 2016, about 91 per cent of D.C.'s voters selected Democrat Hillary Clinton for president, while just 4 per cent chose President Trump.

With the current demographic makeup of the city, there'd be practically no chance for a Republican senator to be elected from Washington, Douglass Commonwealth.

The District currently has two Democratic 'shadow' senators - Strauss and Mike Brown. The city also has a 'shadow' representative, which is a different role than that of Holmes Norton, who's referred to as a 'non-voting delegate.'

The Democrats' bill would also move to swiftly repeal the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution, which gives D.C. its Electoral College votes.

The bill also defines the state as being the current outlines of D.C. with exclusions for federal buildings and monuments.

The D.C. statehood issue has been made more prominent by Trump's recent battle with the city's Mayor Muriel Bowser.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has also been fighting with President Trump over Twitter, sending out this message Saturday night after he tore into her at his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Trump suggested Bowser's mismanagement of the city created the chaos in front of LaFayette square on the heels of the death of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man, by a white police officer.

Dealing with the mass protests in D.C. has become a fraught tug-of-war between the federal and local government - with Trump ordering outside forces in.

And the federal government has more power to overrule the will of city officials because of the District's unique status.

Bowser made that point at a press conference in mid-June explaining that with state-hood D.C. could refuse National Guard members from other states coming into the city without local official's consent.

Sans statehood, Bowser has had to use creative means to thumb her nose at Trump.

The morning after protesters were tear gassed on H Street moments before the president posed with a Bible in front of St. John's church, Bowser had 'Black Lives Matter' painted in yellow on 16th Street, which runs in front of the church to the north.

That street also got a new name - Black Lives Matter Plaza - complete with black street signs.

More recently she's used Twitter to clap back at Trump.

'I see @AOC and I are living in his head, and apparently there's a lot of empty room in there ... just like tonight's half empty Tulsa arena,' Bowser tweeted on Saturday after Trump tore into her at his Oklahoma campaign rally.
In Akan Religion, we believe that Onyankropn (The One God), the Supreme Being lives above the Earth..... Ewiem or soro; the Twi language word for the Sky.

Akanfo believes that Onyankropn created humans at ADANSI. After completion, ONYANKROPN retired to soro (the Sky) to rest and maintain the controlling role in the affairs of humankind.

In Akan theology Onyankropn then assigned intermediaries known as ASFO/SFO, meaning the one who receives (S) something, receives commands and commandments from above; and then shares that (message of deliverance and goodwill) with humankind. In receiving information from ONYANKROPN above, SFO/SFO is spiritually possessed by the powers of ONYANKROPN. This makes the SFO prance about, in a frenzy; arms raised and pointed above in receipt mode, he or she begins to speak a language that his audience/congregation cannot understand.

The Okyeame or spokesman of the SFO/SFO keeps up with him and translates the Words spoken by the SFO/SFO. The Akan people describe this process of spiritual possession, spiritual prancing, and incantations by the SFO/SFO as AKM. This explains why the Akan also call the SFO/SFO as KOMFO.

Asanteman was the last and most powerful Nation to emerge in AKANDM. It started with the unification of 12 Twi-speaking Aman or States in 1701. Asanteman borrowed ideas from established AKAN states notably Dankyira and Akwamu...... both of which later became part of the Asanteman sphere of influence and control.

By the year 1820, the state of Asanteman extended beyond what is now the modern State of Ghana.

sfo Anokye (KMFO ANKYE) from Awukugua (etymology AWKU DWA, I believe) at the time.... 1680s..... part of the Akan State of Akwamu.......Okmfo Ankye was the Last and Most Powerful Akan sfo or Priest sent by Onyankropn as his intermediary to uplift Akanfo. The founding of the Asante Nation materialized, and remains powerful and relevant forever, because of the Spiritual input from Onyankropn provided by the Great sfo Ankye, to si Tutu Kofi (si Tutu pemso I), the Founder and the first Asantehene.

Onyame (Y nya no mei)......; meaning the One who provides us our needs, and satisfies us, and fulfills ALL of our humanly needs; Otwereduampn.....; meaning the "Strong Tree" on whom we lean for support without falling.....; bade ttrobnsu, meaning the Creator...... Who created everything.... a b Nsuo, (san) b Awia; Otumfo Onyankropn, meaning, The Majesty/The Magisterial One, All Powerful One; are some of the accolades that AKANFO use to affirm and praise their Creator.

Onyankropn created ASAASE or the Earth. Akanfo call the Earth, Asaase Yaa, whose provision, patience, and forbearance is similar to that of our Mothers. Hence, the Akan saying ASAASE YAA AMPONIAMOA, meaning our Mother Earth who does not reject (MPO) anything we throw at her, but rather sustain us. This explains why we propitiate Asaase Yaa with APAE, MPAEB (Prayers)...... Asaase Yaa Mponiamoa, gye nsa nom. She is our sustenance. We appreciate her tolerance, and all that she provides us.

In the Sky, Akanfo believe that Onyankropn is surrounded by his other creation..... AWIA or the Sun; Bosome or the Moon; and the children or Nyankonsoroma (Nsoroma), the Stars. Each plays a complementary role by providing Sunlight and Moonlight, to make life, and life activity manageable for humankind.

Akanfo have intimate knowledge of the Nyankonsoroma or the Stars. There's always one of the Stars which lies closest to the Moon. The Star closest to the Moon is called by AKANFO as KYKY. It stands out from the others. Akanfo believe that, KYKY Star seeks exclusive special relationship with the Moon. Hence, the Akan saying:

"Kyky P Aware."

Meaning KYKY Star, also referred to as "HENE YERE", because of its close proximity to the Moon; seeks absolute exclusive recognition, just like a Wife does in marriage. The American saying "You want to be a Star', implies the same meaning, to anyone who tries to "stand out" from the crowd.

However, it is Onyankropn who provides sustenance to the Moon and the Stars. Onyame is the Supreme Arbiter. Therefore, the Akan aphorism:

"Onyankonsoroma nte onoaa ne te, dan Onyankropon"; and the plea; "Onyankropn Nk Nya, Merehwe de Onyame by me."

The Star is nothing without the support of Onyankropn. Like Humankind, the Stars depend on Onyankropn for sustenance.

The lesson to learn is that, It is Onyame who makes things happen for everyone. He provides the light that makes the Stars shine. 'Obiara hia moa." As the Bekyem Teachers Training College Motto observes: "Obi dan obi."

Asanteman made kmfo Anokye even more powerful, and better known. There is complementarity, and mutual benefit in good relations and in assisting each other.

Otumfo Akyeamehene Nsuoase Poku is the Chief Spokesman for Otumfo Asantehene. His position was created by Osi Tutu pemso I in about 1696.

In Akan Chieftaincy, and governance, the Akyeame (meaning KYE AMENE.... He's able to decipher and translate the King's speech to the public, and vice versa. Amene is the brain tissue. So kye Amene implies he's able to pick the King's brains, his inner thoughts.) carry POMA or Staff as insignia that legitimize their office and position. These Akyeame Poma or Akyeampoma have finials that educate.

Otumfo Akyeamehene has a finial atop his Akyeampoma..... that has Three Nyankonsroma seemingly resting near a half-circle Moon.

The metaphor provided by the finial, is rather instructive.

It implies that among the "Nyankonsroma".... Akyeamehene is superior by virtue of his position. And, he is the closest to the Moon, in this case represented as Otumfo Santehene. When the Twelve Otumfo Akyeame line up, the Akyeamehene stands closest to Otumfo.

Yet, on the grand scheme of things, Otumfo Santehene is their benefactor, the Supreme One. Otumfo Akyeamehene publicly exudes his power. At the same time, he understands the limits of his power.

The attached photo shows Otumfuo Santehene as the Special Guest of Honour at the 2015 eSwatini (the country formerly known as Swaziland) Reed Dance also known as Umhlanga. Otumfuo is holding a traditional Swazi Royal Staff, as does his host, King Mswati III of Swaziland.

Otumfuo Akyeamehene Nsuoase Poku stands to the right behind Otumfuo with his AKYEAMPOMA depicting the Nyankonsroma finial.

Whatever our ancestors did, made perfect sense; and remain relevant.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement ensuring support to Assamese districts in the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic; accused media of furthering vested interests in an attempt to create misunderstanding between the two friendly nations.

Bhutan on Friday termed as totally baseless reports suggesting that Thimphu had stopped supply of irrigation water to farmers in areas in Assam and assured that the government of Bhutan will make every effort to ensure that the disruptions caused by the monsoon rains to the irrigation channels are addressed without delay.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Baksa and Udalguri Districts in Assam have been benefitting from the water sources in Bhutan for many decades and they continue to do so even during the present difficult times when we are faced with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The statement comes amid several reports suggesting that Bhutan has stopped releasing water for an irrigation channel along its border with India near Assam.

The ministry termed the reports as distressing allegation and said it is a deliberate attempt by vested interests to spread misinformation and cause misunderstanding between the friendly people of Bhutan and Assam.

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Earlier, Assamese farmers used to enter Bhutan to maintain the irrigation channels. However, the practice has been stopped due to lockdown.

The ministry clarified that the Samdrup Jongkhar District Officials and the general public have taken the initiative to repair the irrigation channels whenever there are problems to ensure the smooth flow of water to Assam.

Bhutan would like to assure the people of Assam that the Royal Government of Bhutan, particularly the Samdrup Jongkhar District authorities, will make every effort to ensure that the disruptions caused by the monsoon rains to the irrigation channels are addressed without delay and there is water available for the farmers in Assam, the statement read.

The heavy monsoon rains and sudden rise in the water levels is posing serious challenges, but the Bhutanese authorities, including with heavy machinery, are on standby to clear any blockage and channel the water whenever there is a problem, it read.

The ministry said that the people of Bhutan, especially those living along the borders of India, deeply value their age-old ties of friendship and cooperation with the people of India, particularly their close neighbours across the borders in Assam and West Bengal.

The people of Bhutan feel that such ties of friendship, cooperation and support must continue and be reinforced during these difficult times, it added.

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New Delhi:

Like every year, President Pranab Mukherjee performed Pooja and rituals before Durga Puja at his ancestral home and birthplace- Mirati Village in Birbhum, West Bengal.

Fondly called Poltuda, President Mukherjee arrived at his native village on October 7 to perform rites for this years Durga Puja and will stay till the Durga idols immersion on 11 October. After which he will head back to Delhi.

Political compulsions makes it tough for President to visit Mirati but every year he makes sure that he visits for Durga Puja.

Pranab Mukherjees tenure as President will get over in 2017.

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The mortal remains of Naik DSV Sachin More, who lost his life on June 24 during construction of a road and bridge in Leh in Ladakh, arrived at Pune Airport on Friday evening where Army officials paid tribute.

A Southern Command defence release said personnel of Headquarters Dakshin Maharashtra and Goa Sub Area received the mortal remains at the airport with full military honour befitting a soldier.

It said More was "the brave son of Maharashtra who made the supreme sacrifice of his life in service to the nation during the construction of road and bridge in extreme weather conditions in Leh".

A wreath on behalf of the Army Commander and all ranks of Southern Command was laid in honour of the valiant soldier by Station Commander, Pune, it added.

More belongs to Sakori village of Nashik district and is survived by his wife Sarika.

The last rites will be held with full military honours on Saturday in his hometown, the release informed.
The Birmingham Museum of Art has named its first director of diversity.

Dr. Emily G. Hanna, the Senior Curator of Arts of Africa and the Americas will be the BMAs first Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a new position on the museums executive leadership team.

Here is a description of the new position, according to a press release from the BMA:

The Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion serves to lead, facilitate, and coordinate the internal and external efforts necessary to create an institutional environment that is welcoming, accessible, diverse, hospitable, and respectful to all. The position will strive to create an inclusive culture and drive organizational progress. This includes the integration of diversity, equity, and inclusion into the Museum collections, galleries, exhibitions, and programs; workforce development; supplier diversity and vendor/supplier development; internal and external communication; internal resource groups; and the development of accountability metrics.

At the Birmingham Museum of Art, we now understand the urgency with which we must address systemic racism from an institutional standpoint, even amid the challenges presented by a global pandemic, Dr. Graham C. Boettcher, the R. Hugh Daniel Director of the Birmingham Museum of Art, said in a press release. The creation of this important position on our leadership team is the first actionable step we have taken since the BMA publicly committed to support the work of social justice and racial equity in early June.

READ THE BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ARTS OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

In the statement, Boettcher praised Hannas nearly two decades of advocacy for inclusion at the museum, from hiring practices to curating the institutions collections.

She has lifted the stories, experiences, and artistic achievements of diverse peoples and groups through her curatorial work and civic engagement, and this new role will allow her to lead the effort to create real and sustained change within our organization and our relationship with the community we serve, said Boettcher.

Hannas first duties in her new role will be to meet with all departments of the museum to share the purpose of the new position, including listening to concerns, gathering information and answering questions, Boettcher and Hanna further explained in an email to AL.com.

Projects and initiatives of the new position include will also involve analyzing all facets of the museums operation and its relationship to the community to lay the foundation for writing and implementing a comprehensive strategic plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Another item on Hannas agenda will be to establish a forum for conversations with members of the community for feedback and ideas in addition to sharing progress.

Hanna will also continue in her role at the museum as a senior curator.

Hanna, who has a doctorate in African Art from the University of Iowa, has curated nearly 30 exhibitions of African, African-American, Native American, Caribbean and Folk art since joining the Birmingham Museum of Art in 2002. As the museums curator of Native American art, Hanna organized the BMAs response to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and has led a significant NAGPRA repatriation claim which will result in the return of three objects to the Tlingit people of Alaska next year, according to the release. Her partnerships include a number of area HBCUs, the Ghana Sister City Committee, and the Birmingham Islamic Society. Hanna is also the founding member of Miles College Night at the Museum, an evening of tours and exhibitions curated specifically for the college.

The Birmingham Museum of Arts new executive leadership position dedicated to diversity comes at a time when art institutions around the country are issuing symbols and statements of solidarity amid calls for racial justice and protests in response to the death of George Floyd, the Minnesota man killed in police custody.

Responses to the statements have been mixed, often forcing institutions to reckon with histories of remaining silent on social justice issues while simultaneously housing pieces of art that are statements of activism and social commentary. Heads of museums around the nation have called current events a reckoning.

Many arts leaders agree that the most effective response is institutional change  hiring more staff members of color; diversifying the board; presenting a range of programming, the New York Times reported earlier this month.

In June, the Birmingham Museum of Art published a statement on its social media channels as well as an email alert in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. In its messages, the institution also asked for feedback about how it could be a resource as it stood in solidarity with social justice.

That statement wasnt the first time the BMA has publicly unpacked its commitment to the city. In 2018, Boettcher penned a guest post for David Chers Comeback Town (a blog about improving the Birmingham metropolitan area, which is also published on AL.com). In the piece, Boettcher recollected the time when the Birmingham Museum of Art was segregated and black people could only visit the institution on the colored visiting day. He described an incident when artist David Driskell, then an assistant professor of art at Talladega College, brought his class to the museum on the wrong day, and were not allowed to enter. Driskell and his class never returned.

Even after the museum was desegregated, the BMA wouldnt acquire a piece of work by an African American artist until 1971. In 1972, Driskell -- a lauded artist and champion of African American art -- would receive the Purchase Award from the Birmingham Museum of Art (David Driskell died in April of the coronavirus).

While noting the museums progress over the decades with more inclusive collections, staff, and curatorial projects, Boettcher acknowledged that art museums, including the BMA, are still among the least diverse workplaces in America, saying there was still work to do.

We must keep working toward becoming a greater, more inclusive institution in every way, wrote Boettcher. Failure to do so could jeopardize the Museums future, leaving us on the periphery of a dynamic and changing city, rather than at its heart.

NOTE: While art institutions are allowed to reopen around the state due to Gov. Kay Iveys amended Safer at Home order, The Birmingham Museum of Art is remaining closed and will plan set to a reopening date only after two full weeks of statistical flattening in new cases of COVID-19 in Jefferson County. The BMA is continuing to offer a selection of digital programming called #BMAfromHome,

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 17:17:23|Editor: huaxia

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MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Afghan fighting planes struck a Taliban gathering in the northern Balkh province early Friday, leaving eight dead, an army spokesman said.

The strike foiled the militants' attempt to attack a district in the province, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai said.

According to Rezai, a group of Taliban insurgents gathered in Reg Miragha area of Dawlatabad district planning to storm security checkpoints. The fighting planes acting on tip-off struck the gathering, killing eight insurgents on the spot and wounding a dozen others.

The militants fled away after suffering casualties and their plans to attack the district have been foiled, Rezai said.

Taliban militants who are active in parts of Balkh province haven't commented yet. Enditem
Pennsylvania educators and administrators are putting plans in place to reopen our schools to students in the new school year. We still have a lot of work to do, but one thing is clear: Our schools will need federal help to reopen safely.

That is why the Pennsylvania State Education Association is urging Congress to provide $175 billion in emergency federal education funding.

The economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused state and local tax revenues to plummet. Despite facing its own deficit, the state maintained school funding next year without cuts. Emergency federal funding is our only hope to bridge revenue shortfalls at the local level. Otherwise, schools will have to make deep cuts that could cost up to 40,000 jobs in education across Pennsylvania.

For schools to reopen safely, we need educators, counselors, nurses, custodians and many other school staffers to keep the physical spaces in our schools free from illness and to meet the needs of students.

I urge our U.S. senators and representatives to provide the additional funding our schools will need to make that happen.

Rich Askey

President, Pennsylvania State Education Association

Harrisburg
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 23:56:24|Editor: huaxia

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MOGADISHU, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The UN humanitarian agency said it will release 15 million U.S. dollars to support a series of anticipatory-action interventions over the next 18 months in Somalia.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the funds from the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) will help Somalia make early intervention in situations where data can reliably warn of impending crises.

"Somalia is facing a projected increase in humanitarian needs due to food insecurity, which has mainly resulted from the impact of the desert locust infestation, flooding and the COVID-19 pandemic," the UN agency said in a statement issued on Friday.

It said the initial funding for anticipatory action in Somalia could make a big difference in the lives of Somalis, and to the future of anticipatory interventions.

According to the UN, it costs perhaps 50 times as much to save a child who is already suffering from malnutrition as it does to intervene earlier.

In 2019, OCHA said it supported the country team in Somalia in setting up a drought anticipatory action framework, noting that two other frameworks, for drought in Ethiopia and flooding in Bangladesh, will be finalized soon.

The UN agency said even without drought, food insecurity in Somalia is projected to increase to 22 percent of the population in a state of food crisis between July and September, exceeding the threshold for the anticipatory action pilot.

It said the framework in Somalia involves work at OCHA headquarters and at the country level in close cooperation with UN agencies, the World Bank, climate research centers, national authorities and other partners.

"To maximize the approach's impact, OCHA is engaging closely with the World Bank on the analytics, as well as the planning and release of finance. CERF funding would be complementary to Somalia Humanitarian Fund disbursements," said the UN agency. Enditem
A 37-year-old man who was taken to hospital after getting into difficulty while swimming in the River Thames in Berkshire has died.

Officers from Thames Valley Police were called at 7pm on Tuesday to an area of water called Lulle Brook, between Odney Lane and Mill Lane, in Cookham, near Maidenhead.

It followed reports that two men had been swimming in the water and had got into difficulty.

A member of the public pulled a man from the water and he was taken to hospital.

The man, of a Syrian background from Hounslow, has since died, police confirmed on Friday.

His death is being treated as unexplained and not suspicious.

Search and rescue teams head to the river in Cookham / PA

It comes after police found a body in their search for a missing man on Wednesday.

He has been named as Eyad Al Ryabi, a father of five who went into the water to help save a friend from drowning, according to his cousin Khald Al Riabi.

The 31-year-old, who had been living in Uxbridge, west London, had been with a group of friends at Lulle Brook for a day out in the good weather, Mr Al Riabi said.

Investigating officer Detective Inspector Ash Mohmood, based at Maidenhead police station, said: Our thoughts are with the mans family at this very difficult time.

The men were of a Syrian background and I know this will affect the Syrian community greatly, our thoughts are with you also.

He thanked members of the public and the emergency services who assisted police.
Fires have spread across the majority of the landscape in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in this NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite image using the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument from June 25, 2020. Fires of this number are not uncommon at this time of year in Africa. During the agricultural season of clearing field and planting new ones, farmers set fire to the remains of old crop fields to rid them of the leftover grasses and scrub. This action also helps return nutrients to the soil to ensure a good crop during the next planting season. This agricultural ritual is one that is at least 12,000 years ago. It is economical for the farmer since large equipment is not needed to clear the fields. In Angola, the Global Forest Watch website (using data from the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite) had 61,661 alerts for fires for the past week (June 18 - June 25). In the Democratic Republic of the Congo there are 102,738 VIIRS alerts for fire for that same period.

"Slash and burn" agriculture is practiced most often in regions including parts of Africa, northern South America, and Southeast Asia, where an abundance of grasslands and rainforests are found. While fire helps enhance crops and grasses for pasture, the fires also produce smoke that degrades air quality. The smoke released by any type of fire (forest, brush, crop, structure, tires, waste or wood burning) is a mixture of particles and chemicals produced by incomplete burning of carbon-containing materials. All smoke contains carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter or soot and is hazardous to breathe.

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NASA image courtesy Worldview Earth Data operated by the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Earth Science Data and Information System (EOSDIS) project. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from Global Forest Watch.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A recent study evaluating the effectiveness of Oregon's occupational health monitoring system concludes that the state needs to collect and share data about workplace dangers in a more timely, relevant fashion to allow for rapid intervention.

Occupational safety and health surveillance is a type of public health surveillance that collects data on work-related fatality, injury and illness and the presence of workplace hazards. In disseminating this data, occupational health agencies aim to help workplaces implement policies and procedures to keep workers safe.

"More timely, complete and sustainable surveillance is going to benefit Oregon workers," said study author Liu Yang, a recent Ph.D. graduate in Oregon State University's College of Public Health and Human Sciences. "The whole purpose for surveillance is to generate quality data that can be used for research and guiding practice. So if the system can provide more timely, complete data in a stable and systematic way, this is going to help improve work safety and health for Oregon workers."

One of the ways to accomplish this is to develop state-centric health indicators. When something like the COVID-19 pandemic arises, for example, focusing on more local and timely indicators would allow Oregon agencies to quickly provide safety guidance for industries throughout the state.

Yang's evaluation study, published this month in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, is a collaboration with the Oregon Occupational Public Health Program, which is currently funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to expand state-level surveillance.

The state occupational safety and health surveillance system is based on a national set of occupational health indicators covering work-related injuries, illnesses, and safety-related risk factors. This standardization allows states to report comparable data to national occupational health agencies.

But some of the sources of data have a much slower turnaround than others, so it's difficult to gather all the necessary information at the same time. In Oregon, this has resulted in a 2- to 3-year lag between when a workplace hazard or accident occurs, and when a new indicator is generated and disseminated. Oregon's 2015 health indicator report was not published until 2018.

For the study, Yang, co-author Laurel Kincl, an associate professor in Public Health at OSU, and researchers from the Oregon Health Authority collected data via onsite observations, interviews, focus groups and surveys among stakeholders, along with reviews of existing literature.

They found that Oregon's occupational safety and health surveillance system is easy to operate, regularly updated and flexible in adopting changes, and ranked as highly relevant to users. However, it is not timely; its funding source is not sustainable; and while the quality of data is good overall, there is room for improvement in its sensitivity and representativeness. Because of these shortcomings, most users ranked the system as "moderately" or "somewhat" useful.

To solve the timeliness issue, Yang said, Oregon should adopt state-specific occupational health indicators, using state agency data that can be compiled more quickly. In addition to disseminating safety information to workplaces faster, state-level indicators would produce data that better reflects specific local needs.

State surveillance leaders are already moving in this direction, and have started using emergency department visits and other real-time clinical health sources to track occupational health incidents.

While other types of public health surveillance, such as infectious disease monitoring, are funded as ongoing practice-oriented systems, occupational safety and health surveillance is paid for based on research projects. Program leadership has to come up with new research projects to secure money every five years, which leaves the surveillance system on unstable footing.

Surveillance is more important than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, as public health agencies need more time-sensitive methods for gathering data on viral outbreaks in workplaces across the state, Yang said. She hopes Oregon will continue to evaluate its surveillance system on a more regular basis going forward.

"Without evaluation, without taking a step back to reflect, you just keep doing things but you don't know whether you're doing right or wrong," she said.

Explore further Gaps in data on marijuana use limit public health response

More information: Liu Yang et al, Evaluating Oregon's occupational public health surveillance system based on the CDC updated guidelines, American Journal of Industrial Medicine (2020). Liu Yang et al, Evaluating Oregon's occupational public health surveillance system based on the CDC updated guidelines,(2020). DOI: 10.1002/ajim.23139
All schools in the national capital, both public and private, will remain closed till July 31, the Delhi government said on Friday, while announcing that online classes for students will continue.

Schools in Delhi have been shut since March 19 in the wake of the coronavirus disease outbreak, though they have switched to online learning by conducting classes via video conferencing and sharing study materials on WhatsApp groups.

On Friday, education department officials presented before Manish Sisodia, deputy chief minister and education minister, district-wise reports prepared based on the suggestions of school authorities, students and parents. The decision to extend the closure of schools was announced after the meeting.

The Delhi government has been holding consultations with principals of private and public schools along with teachers and parents on how to resume operations in schools after the summer vacation ends on June 30. Classes usually begin on July 1 after summer break.

Fridays meeting was aimed at designing an action plan for schools so as to ensure that they are well-prepared whenever they reopen, according to government officials.

After the meeting, a statement by the government said suggestions were given by teachers, parents and students in order to provide learning opportunities and emotional support to children using remote methods and support of parents till the schools reopen.

Continuing with the online classes wherever possible, carrying proper sanitization work in classrooms, distributing masks to students, thermal screening of every student at the school entrance gate, and reduction of the syllabus were some of the major suggestions given at the meeting, the statement said, referring to the reopening plans.

The recommendations to the government also said primary classes should be held once or twice a week with just 12-15 students in a class. While students from classes 3 to 5 could attend school on alternate days, those between classes 6 and 8 may be present once or twice a week, according to the suggestions. For students in 9th and 10th standards, classes should be taken in very small groups once or twice a week along with online classes, it was discussed.

It was suggested during the meeting that class 11 and 12 should be conducted on alternate days and online classes should be carried (out) on remaining days. There was also a suggestion of reducing their syllabus. Some also suggested that only 3 to 4 hours of classes should be carried per day, the government statement said.

According to officials from the directorate of education, Sisodia said in the meeting: In light of all the suggestions, we should make a plan to reopen schools in a way that would teach students to live with the coronavirus and prepare them for a new role in new circumstances.

Sarita Batra, principal of Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya in Shalimar Bagh, said, We will continue with the online classes. We have tied up with Microsoft Teams for a safer online learning experience and have created student IDs on it. There have been workshops with teachers on learning pedagogies...Since teachers were already coming to schools to manage the hunger relief centres, it gave us an opportunity to meet and engage in micro-planning.

Government schools have been acting as hunger relief centres since the lockdown began, providing meals to needy. Teachers come to these centres to help with the managerial work.

SK Bhattacharya, the president of an action committee for unaided recognised private schools, said: As far as private schools are concerned, we will be opening schools as per the Delhi government guidelines. Most of us have resumed or will be resuming online classes from July 1 to ensure learning continuity among children.

In the three-phase unlock plan of the central government, reopening educational institutes including schools and colleges is in the second phase.

While detailing the outlines of the plan in May-end, the Centre said a decision on this was likely in July.

In the first phase, places of worship, dine-in restaurants and shopping malls have reopened earlier this month in several parts of India, where a hard lockdown was imposed on March 25.
Activists topple the statue of Father Junipero Serra in El Pueblo de Los Angeles in Olvera Street. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Across California, the massive antiracism protests that have followed the police killing of George Floyd have led to an unprecedented reckoning with public symbols of slavery and oppression.

This month, statues have been toppled. Mascots have been changed. A coastal town's Confederate-linked name has been reconsidered.

At this moment of global outcry against racism, Californians are saying en masse that, for too long, the state's history has been whitewashed, the ugly parts ignored.

Marcus Hunter, chair of African American Studies at UCLA, said he thinks the statues are falling at such great numbers and with less pushback than in years past because white people and others who are not Black are joining the protests and helping pull them down. He also believes that people being forced to stay home during the pandemic could not ignore Floyd's killing and the movement it sparked.

In Northern California, the coastal city of Fort Bragg has considered changing its Confederate-linked name. (Robin Epley / Fort Bragg Advocate-News)

"I've been calling this the great pause," Hunter said. "It wasn't just a slowdown. It was 90 days of shelter in place. Either people are going to change America, or it's going to remain the same."

In the Antelope Valley, a high school dropped its Rebels mascot, once depicted as a soldier with a Confederate flag. In Kings Canyon National Park, the name of the 255-foot Robert E. Lee Tree, a giant sequoia that is one of the world's tallest trees, was removed.

Protesters in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park felled statues of Father Junipero Serra and two slave owners: Francis Scott Key, the writer of "The Star-Spangled Banner," and President Grant. The name of the Squaw Valley Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe is being reconsidered. So is Negro Bar State Recreation Area in Sacramento County.

In downtown Los Angeles' Father Serra Park, Indigenous activists tied ropes around a statue of the Franciscan friar  his bronze form holding a cross and bearing a model of a Spanish mission  and yanked it off its pedestal. In Ventura, where protesters unfurled a banner reading "Father Genocide," local officials agreed to remove a Serra statue outside City Hall.

Story continues

Nationwide, protesters are targeting statues of slave-owning presidents. A statue of George Washington in Portland, Ore., was covered with a burning American flag and torn down. Protesters painted the word "Killer" on the base of an Andrew Jackson statue near the White House.

Activists gather near the toppled statue of Father Junipero Serra in Los Angeles' Olvera Street. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

President Trump tweeted that he had authorized the federal government to arrest people who deface monuments on federal property and threatened 10 years in prison. On Wednesday, the Army activated some 400 National Guard troops to protect monuments in the nation's capital.

Scholars say it is fitting that statues would fall so quickly now  amid protests over the death of Floyd, a Black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately killed nonwhite people.

Gary Orfield, director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, said the country is "in the midst of the largest social movement about rights and racial justice in half a century" and that many of the people Americans have long held up as heroes are flawed.

"The truth is, we do have a racist history," Orfield said. "We stole all our land from the Indians, we took half of Mexico over, and we kept African Americans in an extreme form of slavery for generations, followed by extreme segregation using the power of law."

That this is happening now across a state regarded as a symbol of liberal America is not a surprise, said Kevin Waite, a professor at Durham University in England with a focus on the American West, slavery and imperialism.

Quartz Hill High School in the Antelope Valley is dropping "Rebels" as its mascot as the nation comes to grips with racial and social issues in the wake of recent events. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

"I think part of the reason that this history is hidden for a lot of Californians is because it doesn't really sit well with the stories we like to tell ourselves about this free state that's now on the leading edge of cosmopolitan liberalism," he said. "It seems like anybody with an association with colonial rule and slavery is now a target for removal."

Earlier this month, Quartz Hill High School in the Antelope Valley dropped its long-debated Rebel mascot after the body of Robert Fuller, a young Black man, was found hanging from a tree near Palmdale City Hall, 12 miles away.

Authorities quickly labeled Fullers death a probable suicide, drawing intense criticism from his family and community members who said they did not do enough to determine whether it was a homicide. The case remains under investigation.

Amid the George Floyd protests, school officials seemed to take years-long efforts to change the mascot more seriously, said Joshua Collier, former president of the Black Student Union, who graduated this month. Collier, 18, said his groups email account has received numerous racist messages in recent days, as well as messages from angry alumni.

"They have to realize that times do change and the mascot did change and you have to adapt to the change," he said.

Jack Rose, 15, jogs past the bronze statue of Father Junipero Serra as it stands in front of Ventura City Hall. A joint statement was issued from local political, indigenous and Catholic leaders pledging to remove the monument, originally commissioned in the 1930s but replaced in 1989. "The time has come for the statue to be taken down and moved to a more appropriate nonpublic location," read the statement, issued by Ventura Mayor Matt LaVere. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

California has grappled with symbols of past racism and cruelty for years.

In 2009, officials changed the name of Malibus Negrohead Mountain (which was itself a 1960s refinement of the N-word, which formed its original name). In 2017, after a counterprotester was killed during the white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va.  planned in part to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue  a six-foot granite monument to Confederate soldiers in Hollywood Forever Cemetery was carted away in the dark of the night.

No state beyond the South has had as many monuments and place names honoring the Confederacy and its soldiers as California, Waite said. Though it was a Union state far from the major battlefields of the Civil War, white Southerners flocked to California and "basically ran the show in Sacramento," passing numerous pro-slavery resolutions, Waite said. Public monuments popped up decades after the war, as part of a movement known as the Lost Cause, a fictitious rewriting of Civil War history that glosses over slavery as its root cause.

The current protest movement is also confronting California's historic cruelty toward Native Americans, with statues of Serra, the architect of the state's mission system, falling and the removal of a statue of John Sutter, a Gold Rush colonizer who enslaved Indigenous people, from a Sacramento hospital named after him.

"People aren't taking things so much as a given part of the landscape anymore, and they're imagining what places would feel like without this assertion of power, this asserting of dominance over certain people," said Beth Piatote, a professor of Native American studies at UC Berkeley. "Native people, African American people, Asians, immigrants  people are all coming together and saying, 'We don't want that message asserted in our public space.'"

Local activist, Sierra Wooten, takes her turn to speak in front of the Fort Bragg City Council. (Robin Epley/Advocate-News)

In Fort Bragg, a Mendocino County town of 7,400 named after Confederate army general and slave owner Braxton Bragg, the City Council this week considered several options for its name, including placing a name change on the November ballot or re-dedicating the town to honor another historical Bragg.

On Monday, the Council decided to create an ad hoc committee to discuss next steps but not to put a name change on the ballot.

Fort Bragg was founded in 1857 by Lt. Horatio G. Gibson, who established a military post to control the Native American population in Mendocino County. Gibson named it after Bragg, his former commanding officer in the Mexican-American War. As the story goes, Bragg never set foot in the town.

A recent biography of the general, who resigned his post under pressure halfway through the war after decisive losses and is regarded as an unsuccessful military leader, is subtitled The Most Hated Man of the Confederacy.

The towns name has been challenged before. In 2015, after white supremacist Dylann Roof shot and killed nine Black worshipers at the Emanuel AME church in Charleston, S.C., the California Legislative Black Caucus asked city leaders to consider a name change. They declined.

Ryan Bushnell, who started an online petition to keep the name, said he does not want to see it removed as a "knee-jerk reaction" to current events. The name, he said, ideally could be used to teach the history of the area.

"This is not about Braxton Bragg. Those of us who want to keep the name don't go home and worship a statue of Braxton Bragg each night," Bushnell told The Times. "It's about a tight-knit community. It's a damn good community, and for the most part we all just get along."

On Monday, City Councilwoman Tess Albin-Smith said she was pained by the division over a name change and whether it would free residents from the albatross and embarrassment of being named after a Confederate general who owned slaves.

No one had any conviction that changing the name of our town would solve racial equality either locally or globally. It would simply disassociate us with a racist, she added.

City officials estimated it would cost more than $271,000 to change the name. Fort Braggs economy relies on tourism, which has taken a severe hit because of the pandemic. The city already has cut staff.

Javier Silva, a member of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, asked the council to listen to tribal members who never ceded this land.

I dont like the name myself," he said. "But I just want it to be a reminder that this was a place of oppression, not because of Bragg, not because of that, but because of the Native Americans that were here, the first peoples here.

"We have never been given a voice, and when we have gotten a voice, its never gone anywhere.
AUSTIN, Texas - Republican Gov. Greg Abbott shut down bars in Texas again on Friday and scaled back restaurant dining, the most dramatic reversals yet as confirmed coronavirus cases surge to record levels after the state embarked on one of America's fastest reopenings.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tubers and swimmers, some wearing face masks to protect against the spread of COVID-19, prepare to float the Comal River, Thursday, June 25, 2020, in New Braunfels, Texas. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that the state is facing a "massive outbreak" in the coronavirus pandemic and that some new local restrictions may be needed to protect hospital space for new patients. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

AUSTIN, Texas - Republican Gov. Greg Abbott shut down bars in Texas again on Friday and scaled back restaurant dining, the most dramatic reversals yet as confirmed coronavirus cases surge to record levels after the state embarked on one of America's fastest reopenings.

The abrupt closures began just days after Abbott described shutting down business as a last resort, and reflect how urgently Texas is scrambling to contain what is now one of the nation's biggest hotspots. In the last four days alone, Texas has reported more than 23,000 confirmed new cases, and Friday surpassed 5,000 hospitalizations for the first time  a threefold increase from a month ago.

"At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars," Abbott said. "The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health."

He also ordered rafting and tubing outfitters on Texas popular rivers to close, and required outdoor gatherings of 100 people or more to first seek approval from local governments.

Tubers float the Comal River despite the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, Thursday, June 25, 2020, in New Braunfels, Texas. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that the state is facing a "massive outbreak" in the coronavirus pandemic and that some new local restrictions may be needed to protect hospital space for new patients. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

It remains far from a full retreat, and critics swiftly protested that Abbott was still understating the severity of the spread and contradicting his own warnings.

On Sunday, Abbott will join Vice-President Mike Pence at a Dallas megachurch for a "Celebrate Freedom" service indoors. Social distancing protocols are promised, but Dallas officials still worry the event will lead to more spread. It comes at the end of a week in which Abbott has urged people to stop going out, saying "theres never a reason for you to have to leave your home."

The Texas GOP is also pressing ahead with a July convention in Houston and won't require face coverings even though Abbott, the party leader, says everyone in Texas should wear one. And on Monday, early in-person voting begins in Texas for primary runoffs that Abbott postponed in March, saying at the time that holding the election as scheduled would "threaten the health and safety of many Texans."

At that time, Texas had but a few dozen reported cases. On Thursday, the number of hospitalizations soared past 4,700, a doubling in under two weeks.

Abbott began lifting lockdown orders in May, and accelerated his own timelines on some openings amid protests from conservatives.

"The doctors told us at the time, and told anyone who would listen, this will be a disaster. And it has been," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, a Democrat who is the countys top official, said. "Once again, the governor is slow to act. He is now being forced to do the things that we've been demanding that he do for the last month and a half."

Texas reached a record high positive tests of 5,996 on Thursday. The states rolling infection rate was at nearly 12%, a level not seen since the state was in a broad lockdown. In May, Abbott set anything over 10% as a "red flag" in his reopening plan, which he says was backed by White House.

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The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the COVID-19 virus without feeling sick.

Under the newest rollbacks, restaurant dining rooms must scale back to half capacity starting Monday. The Texas Restaurant Association supported the rollback, but also pointed out that social distancing made it hard for most restaurants to exceed 50% capacity anyway.

The group also continued to press Abbott for a statewide mask policy. "Its to ensure our restaurants arent law enforcement," said Emily Williams Knight, president and CEO of the organization.

Abbott is not the only governor backpedaling following a swift reopening. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, also a Republican, is also telling residents to stay home and on Thursday declaring the state "on pause" as hospitals accelerate toward capacity.

___

Associated Press writer Jake Bleiberg in Dallas contributed to this report.
Alarm bells are going off in Texas, Florida and California. In more than 30 states, the number of people infected with the coronavirus is rising. But Pennsylvania is not one of them.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top health expert, says the country is facing a serious problem in certain areas. He doesnt want to lay blame, but its not hard to read between the lines. People are getting sick and dying in states that reopened too soon, closed too late and where governors didnt move with enough courage and determination to save lives.

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci arrives testify before a House Committee on Energy and Commerce on the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger/Pool via AP)AP

They bent to the pocketbook. And people died as a result.

That didnt happen in Pennsylvania. Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary Rachel Levine did the right thing. They took aggressive action to shut down businesses, keep people home and stop the spread of the virus in Pennsylvania.

The result? Fewer Pennsylvanians are dying.

On a day when nearly every county in Pennsylvania is now in the green phase, the state reported a relatively low number of new coronavirus cases, Ron Southwick wrote on Friday.

Fewer people are being treated for the coronavirus in hospitals. The health department reported 677 COVID-19 patients are in hospitals, down from about 700 on Thursday. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals is about a quarter of the peak in the spring.

To put it bluntly, fewer of our grandmothers and grandfathers, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, sisters and brothers are suffering in hospitals or headed to the graveyard.

Tubers prepare to float the Comal River despite the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, Thursday, June 25, 2020, in New Braunfels, Texas. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that the state is facing a "massive outbreak" in the coronavirus pandemic and that some new local restrictions may be needed to protect hospital space for new patients. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)AP

Now lets take a look at the other places with governors who acted less decisively to save lives.

California, Texas and Florida are each reporting between 5,000 and 7,000 new cases each day. Things are so bad in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has suspended any further reopening of the state. He also has closed the bars again, as did Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In Oregon, Nevada, Kansas, Louisiana, and North Carolina, governors are being forced to take a pause on reopening because their number of coronavirus cases is increasing.

Nationwide, almost 40,000 coronavirus cases were reported Thursday, surpassing the previous one-day high set on April 24, according to Johns Hopkins University.

This is bad. Real bad. To be clear, this is not just a question of more testing, this is a question of more people getting sick, heading into hospitals, where there is real fear there wont be enough beds for them.

All of this could be happening here in Pennsylvania, had the governor and the secretary caved in to the protestors and lawmakers demanding freedom for the coronavirus to spread throughout our communities and kill more of our friends and neighbors.

Wine Specialist Clayton directs customers one at a time into the Pennsylvania State Liquor Store in the Lemoyne Shopping Center, after it opened for in-store customer shopping, May 22, 2020. Shoppers were limited to 25 at a time inside the store and had to wear a mask and practice social distancing. Mark Pynes | mpynes@pennlive.com

In many ways, we could argue, Pennsylvania leaders havent gone far enough. Masks should be mandatory in public spaces and in crowds. Social distancing should be enforced in businesses, government buildings and public spaces. And there should be fines for those who insist their freedom takes precedence over some elses life.

We Pennsylvanians should pay close attention to what is happening in other parts of the country where people put their pocketbooks above lives. This virus kills. It kills business owners, and it kills their customers. It even kills those young people who think they can frolic on the beach and crowd into bars, with only the old people getting hurt.

Lets face it, Gov. Tom Wolf was right. Period. He was right to close down the state, try to get the virus under control and then slowly start reopening. And we should thank him for doing it.

If we follow the advice of the doctors and not rush back to life as normal, we just might get back to making money again far sooner than in Texas and Florida.

Wash your hands. Wear your masks. Stay six feet away from people in public places. Thats the key to making money again. Its also the key to staying alive to spend it.

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Denmarks prime minister Mette Frederiksen is postponing her wedding next month because of a European Union summit on the future of the blocs budget.

The Council meeting in Brussels takes place on the Saturday in July, where we had planned a wedding. Darn. But I have to take care of my work and take care of Denmarks interests. So, we have to change plans once again, Ms Frederiksen said on her Instagram account.

It is the second time she has rescheduled the ceremony. Last year, Ms Frederiksen postponed it because of national elections on 5 June that led her Social Democrats to form a one-party, minority government.

Ms Frederiksen and her fiance Bo Tengberg met in 2014 and got engaged in 2017, according to Ekstra Bladet.

Ms Frederiksen said she would probably succeed in getting married soon and praised her fiances patience.

After a number of virtual meetings, the EU has scheduled a physical meeting of the European Council on 17-18 July to discuss, among other things, a new long-term EU budget.

Denmark is one of the four countries  along with Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands  which had opposed grants as opposed to loans under the recovery fund, and also insisted on the 2021-27 EU budget not exceeding 1.0 per cent of the blocs gross national income. The four countries have been arguing for a smaller sum after Britains departure from the EU.

AP
Travellers who flout social distancing rules could be deported from Bali on future holidays as the Indonesia government gets tough on unruly tourists.

Holidaymakers are being warned their island escapes may never be the same after officials deported an expat yoga guru who was found to break lockdown rules.

Shocking pictures have emerged in recent weeks of expats and tourists sinking beers and ignoring coronavirus rules, even attending huge gatherings.

Instructor Wissam Barakeh, 45 was responsible for holding a yoga retreat in Bali's cultural hub Ubud last week, which sparked outrage across the island.

More than 100 tourists were photographed breaching COVID-19 protocols at the illegal event.

Yoga instructor Wissam Barakeh (pictured) is seen being led away by immigration officers after breaching coronavirus rules in Bali

More than 100 western foreigners breached social distancing rules at mass gathering held at The House of Om retreat in Bali last week (pictured)

He was previously forced to make an apology after images of the The House of Om event showed tourists crammed into a tiny space with no face masks in sight.

Barakeh has since been arrested, and is being held at an immigration centre until his deportation flights to his home country of Syria are arranged.

Indonesia's COVID-19 protocols restrict gatherings to no more than 25 people, and they are required to adhere to social distancing and wear masks.

The head of Bali's justice and legal office Jamaruli Manihuru said the instructor forged ahead with his plans despite knowing the crowd would exceed the allowed number of guests.

The instructor Wissam Barakeh (pictured), 45 was responsible for holding a yoga retreat in Bali's cultural hub Ubud last week - with warnings issued to tourists breaking COVID-19 rules

'(He) didn't try to cancel the event even after the number of participants exceeded what's allowed by the government,' said Jamaruli Manihuruk.

'Holding this during the pandemic is dangerous.'

The island's tourism heavy economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with the volume of flights plummeting to unprecedented levels.

More than 1,214 coronavirus cases have been recorded on the popular Indonesian island in the last three months, including 11 deaths.

Holidaymakers are being warned their island escapes may never be the same after shocking pictures emerged of a yoga guru being deported (pictured, the House of Om in Bali)

The retreat's founder was forced to issue a public apology for its 'irresponsible actions' after photos from the event showed attendees crammed into a treetop room sitting closely together and no face masks in sight.

The House of Om had posted an open invitation on social media for a yogic chanting evening and 'celebration of bliss' last Thursday, which doubled as a fundraiser for the local village.

Photos from the mass gathering at the retreat in Ubad sparked widespread backlash online.

Most of the attendees pictured appear to be Western foreigners.

'From the photos. the number of people infected COVID-19 in Bali is increasing,' Indonesian screenwriter Jenny Jusuf tweeted.

She told Triple J Hack: 'Most of these foreigners are living in Bali on emergency stay permits from the Indonesian Government, yet they act like they own the island.

Other locals were just as outraged.

'It's crazy, it's still required to wear masks and keep the distance,' one woman commented.

House of Om founder Wissam Barakeh originally denied to Kumparan and to Hack the event was held, and claimed the photos were from last December, prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

Photos show event attendees sitting closely together and not wearing face masks (pictured) despite strict social distancing rules in Bali

However he later backtracked on those claims to take full responsibility for last week's event and apologised to the whole Balinese community.

'It was a big and absurd mistake that happened in a difficult time like now,' he wrote on the House of Om's Instagram on Monday.

'We held an event on June 18, aiming to raise funds so that we can help as much as possible the people who need help.'

'I apologise for the amount because it poses a serious risk for our actions. We apologise to the entire Balinese community for our irresponsible actions.

Ms Jusuf has since described Mr Barakeh's apology as 'half-hearted'.

'I hope that the Bali government will firmly act on these types of foreigners. If everything ends with just a mere apology, they will not learn their lesson,' she wrote.

The House of Om founder originally claimed the photos were from last December before he backtracked on the claims and apologised for the June 18 event (pictured)

The event attended by more than 100 people doubled as a fundraiser for the local village

It's unclear whether the retreat will be sanctioned over the mass gathering.

'I have done my part. now it's up to the local government,' Ms Jusuf wrote.

The House of Om opened in Bali in 2017.

'The community is a resort and retreat center, co-living & co-working place, holistic school & charity foundation; it provides free workshops and events, affordable teacher trainings, budget communal accommodation, and employment opportunity,' it states on its website.
Japan Abandons Plans to Deploy US Aegis Ashore Missile Defence System

Sputnik News

00:55 GMT 25.06.2020(updated 05:41 GMT 25.06.2020)

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Japan has abandoned its plans to deploy US Aegis Ashore land-based missile defence system, the Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday, citing Defence Minister Taro Kono.

"The National Security Council discussed this matter and reached a conclusion that the deployment of Aegis Ashore in Akita and Yamaguchi is to be rescinded," Japan's Defence Minister Taro Kono told a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The suspension of the costly and controversial US-made defence system was announced suddenly last week. Kono said that the deployment of the US Aegis Ashore missile defence system in the country was no longer reasonable, as it would cost the budget some $1.86 billion to fix existing technical issues.

Meanwhile, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said last week the government was committed to considering alternatives to the Aegis Ashore system.

"There should not be a gap in our country's defences. We want to hold discussions on the necessary measures," Abe stated.

In December 2017, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved plans to install two US-made Aegis Ashore missile defence units, each costing approximately $900 million, in response to ballistic missile tests conducted by North Korea. The two components were expected to cover the entire country and enter into service before 2023.



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Social Tensions Ignite Call for July Fourth 'Healing Wave'

Trail Life USA calls on Americans to 'invite someone different' to first-ever Independence Day national backyard cookout event





SOCIAL TENSIONS IGNITE CALL FOR JULY FOURTH 'HEALING WAVE': Amid rising social tensions in the U.S., boys adventure group Trail Life USA today challenged Americans to invite "someone different" to their Fourth of July cookout, calling for a "healing wave" across the nation. Trail Life USA is staging the organization's first-ever national Backyard Cookout and Campout for Independence Day, July 3-4. For more details, go to www.TrailLifeUSA.com/backyard.



NEWS PROVIDED BY

Trail Life USA

June 26, 2020



GREENVILLE, S.C., June 26, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- Amid rising social tensions in the U.S., one organization today challenged Americans to "invite someone different" to their Fourth of July cookout, calling for a "healing wave" across the nation.



"Jesus taught us to 'love one another.' Now, more than ever, America needs to put love into action," said Mark Hancock, CEO of Trail Life USA (www.TrailLifeUSA.com), a national boys, faith-based adventure movement that's launching its first-ever nationwide Backyard Cookout and Campout for Independence Day, July 3-4.

The South Carolina-based organization -- which has more than 30,000 members in 830-plus troops in every state -- is inviting "every American to be part of the great wave of national healing that needs to take place on America's birthday," said Hancock. "The heart and soul of our nation could be at stake."



"Whatever your social position, religious beliefs, or political leanings, we're suggesting you invite a neighbor who is different from you to join your July Fourth cookout, and share a hamburger or hotdog in friendship."



The event -- which follows Trail Life USA's first-ever National Backyard Campout in April and Backyard Movie Night in May, when more than 12,000 families across all 50 states took part in "virtual" campouts at home -- comes as lockdown restrictions are being eased in many parts of the country, giving the green light to small gatherings that follow social-distancing guidelines.



Celebrate, Heal Around The Grill

"The Fourth of July is a great reason to celebrate America -- and look to the future with the optimism and positivity that we, as one people, have historically embraced since the birth of our country," Hancock said. "In particular, this July Fourth is also an opportunity to listen, to reach out to people who aren't like us, and to bind wounds as we gather around the grill together.



"We're inviting families across all 50 states to turn this event into a new 'American revolution' of respect and kindness, reaching out to neighbors and others outside their family and usual social circle, and seeking a meaningful, affirming dialog with someone different from themselves."



Participants will be able to link up with other families across the nation via a secure online portal, sharing videos and photos of their own celebrations.



Live-streamed speakers will include Edward Graham -- grandson of the late evangelist Billy Graham -- a U.S. Army Ranger Special Operations veteran who earned a Purple Heart in Iraq. Graham is assistant to the vice president of Operation Christmas Child for relief agency Samaritan's Purse, an event partner.



Pro-life author and global speaker Father Shenan Boquet, president of Human Life International, will also join the virtual event, which is supported by Focus on the Family.



"We need to stop and remind ourselves why this nation, in spite of its warts, is still the best place in the world to live," Hancock said.



Any family can register for the backyard virtual event at Trail Life USA's website (www.TrailLifeUSA.com/backyard), where they'll find camping tips, outdoor recipes, and activity ideas contributed by thousands of Trail Life USA volunteers across the country.



With troops operating in local churches across the U.S., Trail Life USA (www.TrailLifeUSA.com) is a Christian character development organization, empowering boys and young men to honor God, lead with integrity, serve others, and experience outdoor adventure. Trail Life USA has more than 30,000 members in 830-plus troops across all 50 states.



SOURCE Trail Life USA



CONTACT: Matti Stevenson, 719-360-0586, mstevenson@inchristcommunications.com



Related Links



www.TrailLifeUSA.com


Mike Pompeo

The US is reviewing its global deployment of forces to ensure it is postured appropriately to counter the People's Liberation Army, given the increasing threat posed by China to Asian countries like India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday.

Pompeo made those remarks in response to a question during the virtual Brussels Forum 2020 of the German Marshall Fund.

"We're going to make sure we're postured appropriately to counter the PLA. We think that the challenge of our times, and we're going to make sure we have resources in place to do that," Pompeo said.

The force posture review is being done at the direction of President Donald Trump, as part of which the US is reducing the number of its troops in Germany from about 52,000 to 25,000, he said.

Pompeo said that the force posture would be dictated by the ground realities.

"In certain places there will be fewer American resources. There'll be other places - I just talked about the threat from the Chinese Communist Party, so now threats to India, threats to Vietnam, threats to Malaysia, Indonesia, South China Sea challenges, the Philippines," he said.

"To the extent that that changed, the difference in what the US decided to do impacts adversely a threat some place, it may be that other nations need to step up and take responsibility for their own defense in ways that they hadn't done previously. So, we want to do this in full consultation with all of our partners all around the world, and certainly our friends in Europe," Pompeo said.

President Trump is being criticised for reducing troops from Germany. His critics say that this will increase the threat from Russia to Europe.

Pompeo, however, did not agree with that argument.

It has been a long time since there has been a strategic review of our force posture all across the world. The US undertook that starting about 2.5 years ago, whether that was our forces in Africa, our forces in Asia, the force we have in the Middle East and in Europe, he said.

"We began to say these are often decisions that were made in a different time. Should we reallocate those a different way? Should we have a different composition of those forces? Everyone always wants to talk about ground troops. I get it. I was a young tank officer. You described that. There's nothing I like as much as a good M1 tank.

"But it's often the case that the capacity to deter Russia or other adversaries isn't determined any longer by just having a bunch of folks garrisoned someplace. So, we really went to back fundamentally relook, what is the nature of the conflict, what's the nature of the threat, and how should we allocate our resources, whether that's our resources in the intelligence community, our resources from the Air Force or the Marines and Army," Pompeo said.

Last week, Pompeo criticised the Chinese Army for "escalating" the border tension with India and militarising the strategic South China Sea. He also described the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) as a "rogue actor."

"Our broad set of allocation of security apparatus, our ability to counter cyber threats, how do we allocate them? What's the best way to do this? And the decision that you see the president made with respect to Germany is an outcome from a collective set of decisions about how we're going to posture our resources around the world," said the top American diplomat on Thursday.

Changes in force posture is being taken in consultations with allies and friends, Pompeo said.

"President Trump has spoken to this. (Defense ) Secretary (Mark) Esper will be in London today and in Brussels tomorrow. We'll talk about our plan and how we're thinking about delivering it," he said.

"But you should understand this, and I hope our European partners will understand this as well. When you see what we ultimately conclude, how we ultimately deliver on the statements of the president made, that they're aimed squarely at what we believe to be democracies' fundamental interest and certainly America's most fundamental interest," Pompeo said.

Earlier this month, Pompeo had said that China's actions, be it on the India border, or in Hong Kong or in the South China Sea, were part of the behaviour of the ruling Communist Party in Beijing in the recent past.

China has been fast expanding military and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific region, triggering concern in various countries of the region and beyond.

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 vital to global trade.
Kiss the elevator pitch goodbye  at least if it takes place in an elevator.

Change is coming to the daily vertical commute, as workers begin to return to tall office buildings in New York and other cities. The elevator ride, a previously unremarkable 90 or so seconds, has become a daunting puzzler in the calculus of how to bring people back to work safely after the coronavirus pandemic kept them home for months.

Employers and building managers are drafting strict rules for going up: severe limits on the number of riders (four seems to be the new magic number), designated standing spots to maximize social distance, mandatory masks, required forward-facing positions  and no talking.

Some companies are hiring elevator consultants to figure how best to get thousands of people to their desks, balancing risk of elevator density against a potential logjam as riders wait  at least six feet apart  for their turn.

Reflecting the widespread interest and concern, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to weigh in as early as next week with guidance for elevators and escalators. For escalators, it will advise one rider every other step and hand sanitizer at the top. For elevators, it will recommend limiting the number of riders but wont specify a number; arrows showing different paths to get on and get off; masks; and signs urging people to not talk unless you have to, said Nancy Clark Burton, a senior industrial hygienist at the C.D.C. who is part of the group developing the new guidance.
A vendor wearing a face mask waits for customers under a flyover bridge in Hyderabad. Coronavirus cases crossed the 10000 mark in the state of Telangana this week. (AP)

Hyderabad: Telangana added on 920 more cases to its Covid-19 case load on Thursday and is well on its way to the 1,000-a-day mark. The state had been adding on more than 700 cases in the past two days.

Greater Hyderabad contributed no less than 737 new cases on Thursday.

The total number cases so far is 11,364. Five more patients died during the day, taking the toll to 230, the daily Covid-19 bulletin released by the health department said.

Barely more than a week since the health department approved COVID-19 testing by private accredited laboratories, it complained about serious abnormalities in the results uploaded by private labs on the designated web portal. This may be due to technical issues in the way of testing, it said.

A team of specialists inspected private labs to check the availability of infrastructure, trained manpower, testing procedure and quality control. Based on the reports, an expert committee will evaluate whether the testing protocols in these labs are as per ICMR standards or not.

Accordingly, a view will be taken on a further course of action, the health department said.

The state government recently announced that around 50,000 samples would be tested in Hyderabad and its neighbouring districts as part of its measures to check the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, nearly 180 doctors working in different government hospitals have contracted COVID-19. About 85 of them are from Osmania Medical College. Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences has 75 medical professionals positive. Another 16 are reported to have been infected by the disease at the Kakatiya Medical College and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Warangal.

The number of mediapersons affected by Covid-19 is nearing 100. Twelve journalists tested positive on Thursday, as per the Telangana State Media Academy.

Of the cases announced on Thursday, 86 were from Ranga Reddy, 60 from Medchal-Malkajgiri, 13 from Karimangar, four from Rajanna-Siricilla, three from Mahbubnagar, and Nalgonda, two each from Mulugu, Medak and Warangal Urban, and one each from Warangal Rural, Kamareddy, Siddipet, Vikarabad, Jangaon, Mahbubabad, Adilabad, and Kumrumbheem-Asifabad districts, the bulletin said.
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Linkedin Philippe Rater (Agence France-Presse) United Nations, United States  Fri, June 26, 2020 16:00 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661f09eb 2 World UN,Antonio-Guterres,UN-Secretary-General,global-cooperation,multilateral,multilateral-relations,COVID-19,coronavirus,pandemic,global-crisis Free

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called on the world to strengthen multilateral cooperation, saying a global approach has been the key to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations Charter, he said the world is in turmoil, struggling with the coronavirus and climate change, as well as widespread racial injustice and increasing inequality -- all best solved by a renewed sense of multilateralism.

"We cannot go back to the way it was and simply recreate the systems that have aggravated the crisis," he told reporters.

"We absolutely must come together to reimagine and reinvent the world we share.

"We need an effective multilateralism that can function as an instrument of global governance where it is needed."

Guterres said the United Nations proved its worth in reacting to coronavirus, shipping 250 million items of personal protective equipment to more than 130 countries, supporting children's education and the needs of families and caregivers.

The UN supply chain was also important in moving medical goods around the globe as COVID-19 spread, Guterres said.

And its support for developing a vaccine, and his own effort in March to bring about ceasefires in various conflict zones to slow the virus's spread, underscore the value of the 75-year-old institution's multilateral approach, he said.

The UN charter was signed in San Francisco on June 26, 1945 at the end of World War II and entered into effect four months later.

Among people in many countries, the response to the pandemic has eroded their confidence in political establishments and institutions, Guterres said.

The pandemic has bared "severe and systemic inequalities," and world leaders need to acknowledge the value of global cooperation to address these and other, unpredictable crises, he said.

"As we mark Charter Day and look ahead, we must reimagine the way nations cooperate."

"We need to build back better with more sustainable, inclusive, gender-equal societies and economies."

Priorities indicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, are ensuring universal access to healthcare, tightening bonds between people and nations, and rethinking the global economy to reduce inequality.

Guterres said he hoped that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain -- would be able to meet in September to smooth over conflicts.

"Nothing replaces personal contact, personal diplomacy... that can generate empathy, consensus, common feeling to work together," Guterres said.
GREENSBORO  Jane Fernandes will mark two milestones on July 1, 2021: It will be her seventh anniversary of her arrival at Guilford College, and it will be her last day as the colleges president.

Guilford announced Friday that Fernandes will resign next summer as the colleges ninth president, a year before her current five-year contract is set to expire. Fernandes has been president of the private Quaker college since 2014 and is the first deaf woman to lead a U.S. college or university.

In a four-paragraph letter Friday to the Guilford community, Fernandes said she had been thinking about leaving the presidency probably in 2022 and said she is grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of this community.

But Fernandes is stepping down in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is putting stress on small and large colleges alike.
Then Aurora James, the founder and creative director of Brother Vellies, introduced the 15 Percent Pledge, which calls on retailers to devote 15 percent of their shelf space to products made by Black-owned companies.

More than 250 Black fashion professionals, calling themselves the Kelly Initiative, sent a public letter to the CFDA accusing the organization of allowing exploitative cultures of prejudice, tokenism and employment discrimination to thrive, and announcing a more robust plan of their own, focused on accountability.

It was, Kerby Jean-Raymond, the designer of Pyer Moss and a CFDA board member, told Highsnobiety, a watered-down, bubblegum-ass statement that didnt address the issues. Specifically, he said, it didnt address police brutality and what fashion could do about it. (Jean-Raymond was not available to comment for this story.)

But not every idea that had been submitted was included. And not everyone liked the result.

Having a clear voice and speaking out against racial injustice, bigotry and hatred is the rst step, but this is not enough, it read, listing four initiatives to follow. Those included an employment program charged with placing Black talent in all sectors of the fashion business to help achieve a racially balanced industry.

Almost everyone Zoomed in: Michael Kors, Virgil Abloh, Prabal Gurung and Vera Wang among them. It was, said someone who was there, an animated but not angry discussion. The group agreed that a statement would be released and an action plan written. Everybody was invited to email their thoughts.

On 1 June, Tom Ford, the chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, sent a letter to the board about its meeting the next day. He wanted the board to address the Black Lives Matter protests against racial injustice, he said, and systemic racism in the fashion industry.

Above image: Aurora James, the founder and creative director of Brother Vellies, who introduced the 15 Percent Pledge, which calls on retailers to devote 15 percent of their shelf space to products made by black-owned companies. Nina Westervelt/  20xx The New York Times

And then it turned out that another organization, the Black in Fashion Council, was being created by Lindsay Peoples Wagner, the editor of Teen Vogue, and Sandrine Charles, a public relations consultant. Founded to represent and secure the advancement of Black individuals in the fashion and beauty industry, according to the mission statement, it unites a resilient group of editors, models, stylists, media executives, assistants, freelance creatives and industry stakeholders to build a new foundation for inclusivity.

Suddenly the debate was no longer just about systemic racism in fashion but rather just how far the industry was willing to go to be at the forefront of social change, and who was best positioned to lead the charge.

Revolutions always begin fragmented, said Prabal Gurung, a CFDA board member and designer who was raised in Nepal and who has been a champion of inclusivity. Then, when united, the real change happens and history gets made.

But can these distinct groups work together to reshape the American fashion world, or will the ideological and strategic differences that this singular moment has exposed diffuse their long-term effectiveness? It may seem like an inter-industry problem, but because of fashions position as a cultural touchstone, the answer has broad repercussions.

This is not a time for compromise

Virgil Abloh, the founder of Off-White and the menswear designer of Louis Vuitton as well as a CFDA board member, said that as far as he was concerned, the CFDA needs to stand for the rights of Black people in the fashion industry.

Anything less than that is a compromise, he said, and this is not a time for compromise.

For decades, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which was founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert to promote American fashion, has functioned as a central industry body. It is most famous outside of fashion for the annual CFDA awards, which tend to be called the Oscars of American fashion.

The organization has been active, as well, in lobbying for such fashion issues as intellectual property protection and immigration rights, as well as raising money for scholarships, breast cancer and HIV/AIDS-related issues. In recent years, it has also focused on issues of model health and safety.

But although the CFDA is often thought of as fashions governing body, it is not. It has no power to regulate its almost 500 designer members. Nor does it have authority over retailers or associated industry creatives, like beauty professionals. As a result, Gurung said, the CFDA is doing the job it always does, and while they offer support to the industry, in the face of so much raw and immediate feeling, that job might not be enough anymore.

They are working on plans to put in action, he said. In the meantime you get a letter signed by 250 people who want change right now.

That letter from the Kelly Initiative  named after Patrick Kelly, the African American designer who in 1998 was the first American member inducted into the Chambre Syndicale du Pret-a-Porter, the French fashion organization of designers  was conceived by Kibwe Chase-Marshall, a writer; Jason Campbell, an editor; and Henrietta Gallina, a creative director, and signed by a broad range of Black fashion professionals, not just designers. It demanded that the CFDA conduct an industrywide census to collect and publicize the racial demographics of its member organizations; that those companies partner with headhunting firms to recruit Black talent; and that they participate in third-party audits to ensure accountability and transparency.

One of the key elements of change making, especially in regard to diversity and inclusion, is metrics, Chase-Marshall said. You need to collect some data, develop bench marks of what a truly inclusive space would look like, and then goal-set, and calendar change as well.

James, of Brother Vellies, who was unaware of the Kelly Initiative, also saw metrics as the key when she introduced the 15 Percent Pledge.

The pledge started as an emotional response that needed a quantitative fix, she said. I was seeing all of the messages that people were sharing in my email and on my grid about these retailers saying that they stand with us. So while my Black woman was really in a space of despair, my Black business owner self was like, OK, well, what is the metric that I can associate to the release of this grief?

According to James, Black-owned businesses constitute 1.3 percent of total retail sales in the United States compared to the 88 percent of overall sales for white-owned businesses. Given that Black people comprise 15 percent of the US population, the pledge is partly about having equal representation in shelf space. It is also about creating infrastructures and networks to sustain these Black-owned businesses once they do have representation.

It is often about lack of access to capital, James said. Even getting in front of some of these retailers is really hard.

Fashion model Joan Smalls has also gone out on her own, introducing Donate My Wage and committing half of her salary for the rest of the year to grassroots organizations that support Black Lives Matters. IMG, her agency, signed on, and she is asking fashion brands that hire her to share a portion of their earnings as well.

They have the funds to continue the movement, and youre going to need those funds to make it stronger and to make it a force to be reckoned with, Smalls said.

Its a big dream and a big goal

The emergence of these disparate racial justice initiatives is both an acknowledgment of the perceived ineffectiveness of the CFDA and a response to the various ways in which racial inequities pervade the fashion industry. But they also reflect the difficulty of galvanizing a community that is so diffuse and varied in terms of disciplines, organizational structures and access to capital and resources.

That is why the Black in Fashion Council, which will be officially announced this week, aims to be an umbrella organization for different types of initiatives, while also creating an index to score brands on progress. This will be what the founders call a yearly public report and report card to hold fashion and beauty brands accountable for the great work theyve done and the areas that need improvement. (The council also could include media and marketing companies like Conde Nast, Peoples Wagners employer, and all member organizations will have to commit to being tracked for three years.)
Hamas Says 'Annexation' of West Bank by Israel Declaration of War Against Palestinians

Sputnik News

17:26 GMT 25.06.2020

GAZA (Sputnik) - The Hamas Islamist movement will consider an extension of sovereignty over parts of the West Bank by Israel a declaration of war against Palestinians, Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for a Hamas military wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said on Thursday.

"The resistance considers the decision to annex the West Bank and the Jordan Valley to be a declaration of war on our people", Ubaida said, as quoted by the Turkish Daily Sabah newspaper.

The statement came several days ahead of the Israeli cabinet discussion on the extension of sovereignty over the West Bank set by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for 1 July, which is opposed by a number of countries and the United Nations. Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to abandon its "annexation plan" and urged the parties to commit to dialogue with the support of the international community.

According to US President Donald Trump's so-called deal of the century unveiled in late January, Israel is to extend its sovereignty over the West Bank and the Jordan Valley. Trump's deal proposes a two-state solution in the region that would allow for the creation of a demilitarised Palestinian state. Netanyahu's unity government has supported the plan, while most Arab countries have totally rejected the proposal.

In late May, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas terminated all of its treaties with the US and Israel in response to the extension of sovereignty announcement.

 Sputnik

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(Newser)  Steve Carrell plays a Democratic political consultant hoping to recruit a widowed farmer and retired Marine to run for office in rural Wisconsin in the aftermath of the 2016 election in Jon Stewart's new political satire Irresistible. But the second feature from the writer-director isn't nearly as well-received as his first (2014's Rosewater), even with the beloved Carrell in tow. One reviewer says the film, with a 41% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, seems to have been made by someone "who just became politically aware." And the hits keep coming:



It's a "moderately clever comedy" in which Rose Byrne "is especially funny as a principle-free woman who will lie about anything," writes Chris Hewitt at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Still, "Irresistible ends up being anything but." Hewitt notes "nothing Byrne says over the course of 100 minutes is even half as blisteringly funny as a run-of-the-mill 30 minutes of the dearly departed Veep." And the film "comes off as condescending, particularly about small towns."

You might "retroactively appreciate Stewart's version of ingenuity, which can be summed up as, 'Well, it's supposed to suck, because everything sucks.'" But that's no justification for this film, which "banishes itself to tonal limbo and stays there," writes Matt Zoller Seitz at RogerEbert.com. Indeed, it "plays as if it might have been made by a young person who just became politically aware a few months ago." He gives it 1.5 stars.

story continues below

Jeannette Catsoulis likens the film to "a stale corn chip trampled into Party-convention carpeting." "Trafficking in the elitism it purports to deplore, Irresistible presents a homespun cliche of Middle America" with a "patronizing tone [that] can at times be troubling," yet "its thesis may be too unsophisticated for our increasingly traumatic times," Catsoulis writes at the New York Times.

There are shots at Democrats and Republicans alike, but "Irresistible can only bring itself to contend with Trumpism as a failure of the left rather than as an active choice in itself, racism reduced to a by-product of economic anxiety," suggesting Stewart is woefully ill-suited to address our tumultuous present," Alison Willmore writes at Vulture. She also finds something missing from Carrell's performance, but acknowledges it's "impossible to make something funny when you're not sure what the punch line is."

(Read more movie review stories.)
In the last few decades, there has been a steady migration towards urbanisation. The unplanned growth has put pressure on urban infrastructure, including poor living and sanitation conditions, particularly for migrant labourers.

When COVID-19 hit with resultant lockdown, factories and businesses came to a grinding halt. Many migrants suddenly found themselves rendered jobless and homeless, and people started migrating back to their native villages. The exodus is one of the most monumental events in recent history.

The reverse migration of over a crore people, either by train or by road, back to their native villages has created a new set of challenges.

With COVID-19, not likely to go away anytime soon, these jobless and skilled workers have to be gainfully employed near their villages to provide them livelihood opportunities.

Also Read: 25,000 migrants in 116 districts to benefit from Rs 50,000 crore Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan: FM

After being stranded in cities during the lockdown, starting from March 25,2020, the government announced permission for workers to go back to their homes on April 29, 2020.

The same day participating in a TV channel debate, I had highlighted that this will pose a new set of challenges for skill mapping when economy starts opening up. Each district has to see how best the available skills can be integrated into the revival of economy.

The central government, on June 20, unveiled a massive rural public works scheme ''Garib Kalyan Rojgar Yojana'' to empower and provide livelihood opportunities to returnee migrant workers and rural citizens.

The scheme will be a coordinated effort by 12 different ministries, including Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Road Transport and Highways, Mines, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Environment, Railways, Petroleum and Natural Gas, New and Renewable Energy, Border Roads, Telecom and Agriculture.

The Centre has selected districts where at least 25,000 migrant workers have returned. As many as 116 districts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha have been selected.

Also Read: Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan: PM Modi launches scheme to boost livelihood in villages

These districts are estimated to have two-thirds of all migrants, those who have returned. Out of an estimated 1 crore migrants, who have returned home, 67 lakh are expected to be benefited by this scheme.

These districts include 27 aspirational districts which are affected by poor socio-economic indicators. There will be 25 schemes, which include rural development, road transport and highways, and rural housing etc.

The Rs 50,000 crore programme will also focus on infrastructure areas like railways, mines, renewable energy, and telecom etc. Drinking water and sanitation will also be covered.

While launching the scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the fact that internet users in rural areas now exceed urban users. Laying optic cables is one of the areas that will be focussed on under this programme.

This cluster based Atma Nirbhar Rurbanisation, has twin objectives of rehabilitation for reverse migration and stepping up rural infrastructure.

The Rs 50,000 crore investment will have a multiplier effect to generate demand and kickstart the economy. The scale of its effectiveness will depend on coordination of 12 ministries involved and initiatives by local bodies on the ground.

Also Read: 1.25 crore jobs in UP: PM Modi to launch Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan today

(The author is a policy analyst and columnist.)
DALLAS (dpa-AFX) - AT&T Inc. (T) said it is on track to meet its commitment to spend $3 billion with U.S. Black-owned suppliers by the end of this year. As of today, the company is nearly 90 percent of the way there. 'Starting in 1968 working with the Chicago Urban League and the Chicago Economic Development Corporation, we've sustained our commitment of spending with Black-owned businesses for nearly 52 years,' the company said. The company said its commitment will continue beyond 2020, not only to generate revenue for Black-owned businesses but to also create jobs and economic impact for their communities. 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.
By PTI

LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court on Friday asked Lucknow University authorities to consider a plea by their students to cancel the upcoming varsity examinations amid the COVID-19 pandemic and promote students en masse to their next classes.

A Lucknow bench of the high court asked the varsity to decide on the students' plea while directing students to make a representation to the university with their petitions which they had filed earlier in the high court.

A bench of Justice Saurabh Lavania passed the order on the petition filed by a group of 23 students of the university.

The petition, filed by one Jatin Katiyar and 22 other students of the varsity, had also demanded en masse promotion of students to next classes amid the COVID-disrupted academic session of the varsity.

The petition, challenging the varsity's June 19 & 23 notifications, scheduling various examinations, was listed for hearing on Friday.

In the petition, the students had argued that the examination controller issued the schedule without going through the effect of COVID-19 due to which trains are not running properly, and varsity students, who had to return to their home towns and other far off places in the state amid the pandemic, were unable to reach the city.

"The students will have to look for new accommodations and it would be almost impossible to maintain social distancing in hostels," the petition had said.

The petitioners had also pleaded that three professors and some staff of the varsity were found coronavirus-infected and hence there would be a high risk of spread of infection in the campus.

The students had also questioned the success of online classes by the university.

Citing examples of IIT, Kanpur and Delhi University and other institutions, the petitioners had also sought the court's direction to the university to either promote students en masse to next classes or consider holding online examinations, keeping in consideration the availability of internet and laptop to students.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been accused of sexism after he suggested that the tradition of women staying at home to take care of older family members was key to battling the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday.

"People want to change women's role and that is one of the just causes of feminism, but the tradition in Mexico is that daughters are the ones who care the most for parents," Lopez Obrador said. "We men are more detached."

Image: Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at a news conference in the state of Chiapas, Mexico on June 4. (Mexico's Presidency / via Reuters file)

Whereas seniors in nursing homes in Europe had suffered with the pandemic, Mexico's elders were helped by the custom of being cared for at home, he said, adding that the "Mexican family is the most important social security institution" in the country.

It is not the first time the 66-year-old leader has been accused of making tone-deaf comments and lacking empathy towards women and his latest outburst drew similar ire.

"Translating the president's nineteenth century thinking when he says: men are more detached, he means irresponsible; daughters take care of their parents, he's referring to unpaid work; tradition refers to machismo; feminism wants to change roles, true transformation," Martha Tagle, a lawmaker with the Citizen's Movement party, said on Twitter.

The hashtag AmloMachista, or sexist AMLO in reference to the president's initials, was trending.

"AmloMachista insists on sending women to be 'caregivers', but we have news for him, we are citizens and we are feminists who will no longer tolerate his presidential misogyny," Claudia Castello, who describes herself as a sociologist and feminist, wrote on Twitter.

Lopez Obrador's prickly reaction earlier this year to criticism of his administration over brutal murders of women in Mexico riled feminists and undermined support for him among female voters, helping to fuel protests.

Lopez Obrador has been chastised for not taking the virus seriously enough and pushing for a reopening of the economy too soon.

Mexico has the seventh highest coronavirus death toll in the world with 25,060 deaths and 202,951 cases.
BERLIN (JTA) - Nearly 80 years after the last train sent Jews to almost certain death from the main railway station in Wurzburg, a memorial to those who perished was dedicated in the German city.

The memorial, designed by artist Matthias Braun, features a collection of suitcases, backpacks and assorted travel gear made of stone, ceramic and other materials.

The luggage, its owners unseen, stands in front of the main station. Nearby are information steles with historical photos.

In a modern twist, one can scan QR codes on the luggage to learn about the Jewish population and history of each t...
The Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery on June 21, 2019, when a massive fire and explosions shut it down. The 1,300-acre site was sold on Friday to a Chicago developer that plans to dismantle the refinery and to rebuild the site as commercial hub. Read more

A year after a disastrous fire shut down the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery, the 1,300-acre complex was sold out of bankruptcy Friday to a Chicago developer that promises to raze the plant and rebuild the site as an environmentally responsible commercial hub.

Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) closed Friday on the $225.5 million sale, triggered by the bankruptcy of a business that was a South Philadelphia fixture for more than 150 years and employed more than 1,000 people when it closed. PES was the East Coasts largest refinery until a corroded fuel line ignited early on June 21, 2019, setting off an alarming series of blasts that damaged the plant and tipped public sentiment against the refinerys continued operation.

HRP, the real estate redevelopment unit of liquidation firm Hilco Global, says it will take several years to demolish and begin rebuilding the site, parts of which are seriously polluted from more than a century of fuel processing. It says it plans a fresh vision for the property that takes advantage of the pipelines, roadways, railways, and waterways connected to the site.

Its one of the best strategically located pieces of real estate east of the Mississippi from a trimodal perspective, Roberto Perez, the chief executive of Hilco Redevelopment Partners, said in an interview.

We have all of the skill sets to be doing this, said Jeffrey Hecktman, the founder, chairman, and chief executive of the parent company, Hilco Global.

HRP, one of about 20 operating units in Hilco Global, agreed in February to pay $252 million for the property, but negotiated a $26.5 million price cut under a settlement announced Thursday.

Hilco said the project to demolish and rebuild the site will create 8,000 union construction jobs and 10,000 permanent jobs. The site can accommodate up to 15 million square feet of e-commerce logistics centers, taking advantage of the rail and maritime infrastructure and the proximity to Philadelphia International Airport. Hilco executives anticipate it eventually will be occupied by different companies that are less susceptible to the boom-and-bust cycle of a single oil refinery.

I want to thank Hilco Redevelopment Partners for their commitment to Philadelphia by assuming ownership of one of the most important commercial sites in the city, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement. The action creates jobs, ensures the future commercial viability of the site, and decreases the former refinerys environmental impact.

Hilco executives said theyve spent more than six months establishing local contacts and lining up approvals for the project, including reaching agreements with environmental regulators and Sunoco Inc., a former refinery owner that is responsible for legacy environmental cleanup. Details of the agreements have not been disclosed, but Perez described the relationship with Sunoco as very amicable.

The Philadelphia City Council on Thursday approved an extension of the refinerys Keystone Opportunity Zone status, which was granted in 2014 and was set to expire in 2023. Businesses in Keystone Opportunity Zones pay little to no state and local business taxes through an assortment of tax credits, tax waivers, and tax abatements. Hilco has promised to pay a $1.25 million annual payment to the Philadelphia School District in lieu of school taxes.

This is an exciting project that will serve as an economic hub in the region with the potential to create thousands of new jobs, Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, whose district includes PES, said in a statement.

Johnson said he expects Hilco will pursue an environmentally sustainable approach. Hilco officials have assured me they will have a serious commitment to diversity and inclusion for the facility plus will make sure that as many local residents as possible get these new jobs, he said. I look forward to working with community stakeholders for a bright new future for the property.

Hilcos skills include salvaging and marketing anything of value, if there are potential buyers for equipment in the refinery. Much of the material will be dismantled and sold off to recyclers, including 160,000 tons of scrap metal, much of which will be removed by barge; 125,000 tons of concrete, which Hilco plans to recycle on site; and 200,000 barrels of oil sludge.

Were very cognizant of wanting to make sure that we can again put materials back in the best use possible, Hecktman said.

Hilco has chosen NorthStar Contracting Group Inc., a major demolition contractor with offices in Philadelphia, to conduct the demolition. NorthStars projects include several nuclear plant decommissionings. Dismantling a refinery is likely to present technical challenges.

Hilco has a long history of buying and salvaging distressed businesses and real estate, and is much sought after by corporate clients  including Exelon Generation and PSEG Power in New Jersey  to unload surplus industrial property.

Its signature project involves the demolition and rebuilding of the huge Sparrows Point steel mill property in Maryland as a modern warehouse distribution hub, a project that is still underway eight years after the former mill was bought out of bankruptcy. The project, now called Tradepoint Atlantic, is operated in partnership with a Baltimore investment firm, Redwood Capital Partners.

Unlike the Baltimore plant and others in which it partnered with real estate developers, Hilco says it plans to manage the Philadelphia project on its own. Weve grown up as a company a lot, Perez said.

Hilco Global, which is privately held, last year sold about 27% of the company to La Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), which manages public Canadian pension and insurance funds. CDPQ also committed to target up to $150 million in annual investments in redevelopment projects, and is expected to supply some of the funding that Hilco needs to acquire and develop the site.

Along with funding from Hilco Global, Perez said a third partner, a private family investment fund, would have a passive stake in the project.

The most important part of this deal is that coming into the transaction youre coming in strong, Perez said. So from a capital perspective, having strong and deep-pocket partnerships, its everything.

Unlike the Baltimore project, where Hilco is on course to take a diminishing role in the years ahead, Hilco views the PES project as a very long-term investment.

This is going to be an asset that we control in perpetuity, Perez said. The most important thing that I can describe it as a generational investment. So were not looking to make decisions Day One to get a return on Day Two. Were making decisions Day One that make a difference in Year 10.

At the Baltimore site, which was also complicated by legacy environmental issues, more than three years passed before the first tenant was announced for the project, a FedEx distribution center. Hilco officials say the Philadelphia development plans may follow a similar pattern, dictated by the pace of demolition and cleanup, and also market interest from prospective tenants.

One project under consideration is the Point Breeze Renewable Energy Project, which had reached an agreement in 2017 with the refinery to build a $120 million plant that produces methane from food waste on a 23-acre parcel at the northern edge of the refinery site. Hilco wants to use that site for an interchange on the Schuylkill Expressway, but has agreed to continue talks with the biogas producer about building in another location.

The refinery site also contains more than eight million barrels of storage tanks for crude oil and refined products, which are connected to markets by pipelines, wharves, rail yards, and the Sunoco Logistics Belmont Terminal near Passyunk Avenue and 26th Street. Some of those assets may be of interest to fuel companies.
Leo Varadkar is optimistic that Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party will enter government together (Julien Behal)

Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar said he is confident and hopeful that Fianna Fail and the Green Party will vote to enter a coalition government.

Mr Varadkar made the comments after four-fifths of Fine Gaels electoral college endorsed the Programme for Government document.

Speaking on the steps of his partys headquarters in Dublin, Mr Varadkar said he was looking forward to helping people get back to work and businesses open again following the pandemic emergency.

.@finegael vote: Yes 80, No 20. All four sections voted yes - parliamentarians, councillors, executive, constituencies. #FineGael enters a third term in government united and strong  Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) June 26, 2020

He said the indications for Fianna Fail support were good.

I am confident and hopeful that we will see all three parties endorsing this coalition agreement today, able to establish a new government tomorrow and get down to work and get busy, and that is the most important thing, he said.

He said his partys 80/20 majority was very clear.

That is a very strong mandate for a third term in Government.

Delegates representing different parts of Mr Varadkars party backed the proposed programme of government agreed with the leaders of historic rivals Fianna Fail and the Green Party by 80% to 20%.

Members of the parliamentary party and its ruling Executive Council delivered the greatest levels of support compared to 57% of local representatives.

The total vote cast was 674.

Counting of the votes of Fianna Fail and Green Party members is under way.

It has been 134 days since Irelands inconclusive general election.

Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the minority Green Party are attempting to secure grassroots backing for a proposed administration promising radical action on climate change.

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The two larger parties need the support of the Greens to have a working majority in the Irish parliament, equating to around 80 seats.

All eyes are on the Green Party as some members have indicated they will vote against the agreement, citing concerns about emissions and housing targets.

It needs the approval of two-thirds of its 2,000 members as opposed to a simple majority for Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

If the programme is endorsed, it would see Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, whose party has the most seats, become the next Irish premier.

Outgoing premier Mr Varadkar said on Thursday night that he believed the deal would get over the line.

He said: My view is the three parties will vote to go into coalition with each other and that the yes vote will be larger than people expect and that we will have a new government on Saturday.

Any administration will face an uphill task to restore an economy steered into recession by the coronavirus pandemic and government formation talks have been delayed by the emergency.

Sinn Fein won the popular vote in last winters general election in what its leader termed a revolution in the ballot box.

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A shortage of candidates on the ballot paper in the proportional representation vote meant its 37 seats trailed those of rivals in Dublins Dail parliament.

Attempts by party president Mary Lou McDonald to secure a coalition of the left have floundered.

Sinn Fein enjoyed a surge in support from young people discontented over lack of affordable housing.

The partys historic links to the IRA have always hampered its progress among older voters and coloured the decision of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael not to enter government with them.

Those two parties have for decades swapped power between them during change elections and harbour constitutional divisions dating back to the civil war a century ago.

Following months of negotiations, their leaders agreed to enter coalition together in an historic shift.

It would promote a clear ideological divide on the economy with an opposition dominated by left-wing voices, of which Sinn Feins would carry the strongest mandate.

Laws enabling the non-jury Special Criminal Court to continue trying suspected gangland criminals and dissident republicans could lapse at the end of this month should the deal to form a government be rejected.

Another general election is also a possibility.
A sign for the AFP Headquarters is displayed in Canberra, Australia, on June 6, 2019. (Getty Images)

Australian Federal Police Raid NSW Labor MPs Home

A NSW Labor MP has been suspended from the party and will no longer sit in the parliamentary caucus after his Sydney home was searched amid claims of foreign interference.

Shaoquett Moselmane has recently spoken and written articles in support of Chinas leader Xi Jinping but kept a low profile on June 26 following the raid by federal police and ASIO.

NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay says she had been told officers had entered Moselmanes Rockdale home and also had a warrant for his parliamentary office.

Asked if the searches related to suspicions of Chinese government infiltration, McKay said: No, this came as a surprise to me.

Its dreadfully concerning, its terrible, she added.

She confirmed Moselmanes membership of NSW Labor had been suspended and the upper house MP will no longer sit in the parliamentary caucus.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was aware of an investigation that had been going on for some time which elevated to a new level today.

He described the developments in Sydney as extremely serious.

Moselmane, who has been in NSW parliament since 2009, is reported to have made repeated trips to China, where he has met with Chinese Communist Party members.

He stood down as assistant president of the NSW upper house in April after praising Chinese President Xis response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying Xi had demonstrated unswerving leadership and decisiveness.

He also reportedly warned the obsolete scum of white Australia was resurgent in spreading Sinophobia in an opinion piece he wrote for the East China Normal University.

Sydney
Science Zone summer camps

Science Zone outdoor summer camps are for kids ages 7 to 9, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and kids ages 10 to 14, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at a different location in or near Casper. Parents are notified of drop off/pickup locations every day. All locations are no longer than a 20-minute drive. Drop-off is at 10:30 a.m. and pick-up is at 4:30 p.m.

Registration fee is $350 for ages 10 to 14 and $300 for ages 7 to 9.

There is also a virtual camp June 29 to July 3, which involves sciencing in your own back yard and is for 7 to 14-year-olds.

Onsite outdoor camps include Forestry Camp, June 29 to July 3 for ages 10 to 14 and Park Ranger Camp, June 29 to July 3 for ages 7 to 9.

To register and for more information, visit www.thesciencezone.org/summer-camps.html.

Fireworks yes, festival no

The Fireworks Show will be held Saturday, July 4, in Casper.

This years event will not include the traditional festival and there will be no parking or access to the Casper Events Center parking lot. City officials instead encourage the community to watch from afar in a responsible socially distanced manner.

The big fireworks show in the sky will start at approximately 10 p.m. The Official Fireworks Festival soundtrack will be broadcast on 104.7 KISS-FM, 107.9 JACK-FM, K2 Radio, Rock 96.7, My Country 95.5 and AM 1400 The Cowboy, all Townsquare Media Stations.

No parking or public access will be available at the Casper Events Center. Please abide by all posted no parking areas surrounding the Casper Events Center and the launch site. Maps of areas to avoid can be found on caspereventscenter.com.

Summer camps at Casper Planetarium

There are still spaces available in the Casper Planetariums two remaining summer camps for students. Earth Science Camp for 9 and 10 year olds meets from 10 a.m. to noon for one week, July 6 to 10. Students will learn about animals, habitat, weather, rocks and more. Cost is $25 per camper. Amateur Astronomy 101 for 11 years old and up meets from 1 to 2 p.m., for one week, July 27 to 31. Students will learn how to observe the moon, identify stars and constellations, and more. A telescope for nighttime stargazing will be checked out to each camper on Monday and returned on Friday. They will also receive a planesphere and observation log which they can keep. Cost is $15 per camper. Class size for all camps is limited, so dont wait to sign up. For complete details and a registration form, visit casperplanetarium.com.

Summer markets start July 7

David Street Station is excited to announce the start of the Food For Thought Summer Markets on Tuesdays, July 7, through September 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. to shop from local vendors for great homemade goods and homegrown produce.

Visitors will enjoy a great selection of local produce, dairy products, baked goods, home decor and more. David Street Station asks all visitors to follow social distancing guidelines and to not attend if they are having any COVID-19 symptoms. All visitors will be entering from the northwest entrance of David Street Station and a one-way flow of traffic is required.

Food for Thought Summer Markets are sponsored by Wyoming Community Development Authority.

Tall Tales class online with hands-on component

Fort Caspar Museum and the National Historic Trails Center are hosting its monthly Hands-on History Club online, and the topic of the July class is Tall Tales. Participants will develop their creativity and explore their powers of exaggeration through storytelling. This is a free virtual class with a hands-on component (an activity box), and you may join it live from your own home via Zoom on Saturday, July 11, at 10 a.m.

Online sign-ups are required in advance so we can provide you with a link to the invitation-only class. In addition, the first 25 Casper-area families to sign-up four days or more in advance will be given a special Storytellers Box. The box will include supplies for a storytelling puppet and an exaggeration game to spark your imagination. To sign up and receive your free Storytellers Box, please go to the following link no later than Tuesday, July 7, at 5 p.m.: https://tinyurl.com/hohclub.

Fort Caspar and the National Historic Trails Center will be delivering the Storytellers Boxes (contact free) to local enrollees on Wednesday, July 8. You may still register for the online class if you sign up after the July 7 deadline; however you will not receive a Storytellers Box. Sign-ups will be accepted until noon on July 10.

While Hands-on History Club classes are geared for children ages 7 through 10 years, everyone is welcome, but younger children (6 years and under) should be supervised by an adult.

Monument rededication July 5

The Fort Caspar Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will hold a rededication ceremony at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, to commemorate an Oregon Trail marker placed by the D.A.R. in Mills 100 years ago. Please join the D.A.R. and Mills town officials at the stone monument located across the street from the Mills post office in Memorial Park, at Wyoming Boulevard and 9th Street. The short ceremony will be followed by refreshments.

On July 5, 1920, a stone monument was placed in Mills at a location identified as the site along the Oregon Trail where Caspar Collins died in an Indian battle on July 25, 1865. Sponsored by the local chapter of the D.A.R., the marker was unveiled to great fanfare by a Wyoming celebrity, Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard, who was a professor at the University of Wyoming and its first librarian, an Oregon Trail enthusiast, a suffragist and a D.A.R. member.

Mills Memorial Park is not the original location of the monument. In fact, it was moved at least twice. Its initial placement was farther west along Yellowstone Highway in what is now the Lariat Mobile Home and RV Park. It was subsequently moved even farther west to the intersection of Yellowstone Highway and West Highway Street. In the 1980s, it was placed in its present location across from the Mills post office.

The ceremony this July 5 will occur 100 years to the day of the markers original dedication, and it will be performed by descendants of the D.A.R. state regent who participated in the 1920 unveiling. Kristen Trumbull-Moldaschel, who spearheaded the D.A.R.s 2020 rededication project, is the great-great-granddaughter of Mary Brooks, the D.A.R.s state regent for Wyoming in 1920. Another descendent of Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, Kristens mother Shelly McCleary Trumbull, is Fort Caspar Chapters current regent, and she was instrumental in getting national and local regulations cleared to make this rededication possible. Please join in remembering and celebrating the history of the community, state and nation.

Family fest for past, present P&P clients

The Salvation Army, Joshuas Storehouse and the Casper Probation and Parole Office have been working to put together an event as a way to showcase to the positive work community resources have been doing to assist the Department of Corrections past and present clientele by hosting a free, family friendly event. The Resource Alliance Summer Fest will be held on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, at the Salvation Army Community Center (Church), 625 South Jefferson Street, from 4 to 7 p.m. There will be food, bounce houses, a dunk tank, prizes and a raffle. The Casper Police Department will even be doing demonstrations with their K9 officers. This is a great community event to get clients in connection with positive and pro-social activities.

No fireworks in Glenrock

The Glenrock Volunteer Fire Department is canceling the annual fireworks event at the South Recreation Complex in Glenrock July 3 and 4, following the guidelines of the Statewide Public Health Order #2. Due to the restrictions that have been put in place, the decision has been made by the fire chief and officers to cancel the annual event.

The statewide order adds several added requirements to host the event that make the logistics very difficult to follow. The orders request the following conditions be enforced: Groups of attendees seated or standing must be limited to 6, preferably of the same household; a 6-foot distance must be maintained between individual groups at all times; staff, hosts/organizers of the event must be screened for symptoms of COVID-19, or exposure to a person with COVID-19 during the 14 days prior to the event. Logs of the screening shall be made available for inspection by the local health officer. The entire facility shall be cleaned thoroughly before and after the event, according to CDC guidelines and if the required 6 foot distance between individual groups cannot be maintained, face coverings must be worn during the event.

With limited manpower, it will be difficult to follow these additional requirements while managing the fireworks activities for the enjoyment and safety of the attendees.

After consulting with Converse County Public Health, it was agreed that canceling the event is in the best interest of the volunteers as well as the attendees.

They look forward to hosting the event next year and hope that the community will understand that the intent is to protect the health of the public by following the Statewide Health Orders concerning the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Glenrock Volunteer Fire Department is continuing to provide emergency response for the communities businesses and residents. If you have any questions please feel free to contact them. Hopefully everyone will have an enjoyable and safe 4th of July weekend.

Family Day drive-through July 7

Family Day is a free, family-friendly event that Mercer Family Resource Center and the Natrona County Prevention Coalition provides for the community. Family Day, which typically follows the parade, is a great event that supports Mercer FRCs mission of providing education, counseling and prevention services that build stronger and healthier youth and families in the community. Over 1,200 individuals attended Family Day 2019!

The 12th Annual Family Day Drive Thru is 12:30 to 2 p.m. on July 7. Drive through the Mercer FRC parking lot at 535 W. Yellowstone to pick up free sack lunches for your family and a free family fun bag filled with summer items including kites, jump ropes, chalk, bubbles, beach balls, boomerangs, scavenger hunts, flying discs, dinner games, conversation cards and more. Families can be entered to win huge prizes when they post a picture of their family using the family fun bags on Facebook.com/MercerFRC.

This event is a fantastic opportunity for families to receive information about community services and get games to enjoy with their family for the whole summer! Family Day would not be possible without the volunteers, sponsorships and community agencies that come together to provide activities and resources.

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After watching Zoom take hold with educators during the ongoing pandemic, Google said Thursday that its G Suite for Education is gearing up for the fall with features for Google Meet that include up to 49 participants, custom backgrounds, a raise hand feature, and better attendee controls and diagnostics.

Google says that 140 million educators and students are now using G Suite for Education. The new Meet features will be launching later this year, presumably before classes return in the fall. Meet already scored points with an amazing new de-noiser capability, though the new features are more practical.

Google Google Meets shared whiteboard

Inside the virtual classroom itself, Meets adding two new features: the ability to show a gallery view of up to 49 participants, and a shared, collaborative whiteboard so that students can see what the teacher is interacting with on their screen. According to a press release shared by Google, the whiteboard will have Jamboard integration, the name for Googles existing collaborative whiteboard for education. All these features will be available to all G Suite for Education and G Suite Enterprise for Education users, as well as a raise hand feature to signal a teacherpretty much a standard feature in most online videoconferencing apps right now.

Meet is also adding the option to blur ones background or add a custom background. Both features have become extremely popular with Zoom and now Microsoft Teams, which also keeps adding new features.

Google is also adding controls to Meet meetings. Currently, when a new entrant asks to join, they can knock repeatedly, even after being rejected. Meets new controls will reject knocks after an attendee has been expelled from a meeting. Google said its making knocks less annoying to those trying to teach. Google will also begin blocking anonymous attendees by default, though that option will be configurable.

Google said that it will also be adding premium features for G Suite Enterprise for Education customers: attendance tracking to provide a record of which students joined the class, breakout rooms so educators can split classes into smaller groups, Q&A to provide a way for students to ask questions without disrupting the flow of the class discussion or lesson, and polling to engage students to share their opinions.
Parliaments Industry Committee this week demanded that the government halt imports of frozen fish into Egypt for a period of three months, following scientific reports linking frozen food products to the spread of the Covid-19.



Evelin Matta, a member of the committee, said on Saturday that many countries had taken similar steps after Chinese health authorities had recommended that salmon imports from European suppliers should be suspended over fears that fish products could be linked to a new spread of the virus.



She added that scientific reports under study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) had concluded that the coronavirus could live on frozen food for up to three months, and therefore it was necessary for the Ministry of Trade and Industry to take precautionary measures to temporarily halt imports from abroad.



Matta said that a three-month ban on importing fish products would not have negative effect on the local market, as Egypt enjoys self-sufficiency in fish.



According to the General Authority for Fish Resources Development (GAFRD), Egypt leads the African continent in fish production at 1.9 million tons per year, with 1.6 million of these coming from fish farming and placing Egypt as the most important country in Africa for fish-farm output.



The GAFRD also stated that Egypts exports of fish fall between 30,000 and 50,000 tons annually, and that the country is 97 per cent self-sufficient in fish. Egypts imports of fish were limited to 322,000 tons in 2019.



Essam Ibrahim, deputy head of the General Authority for Veterinary Services, told Sada Al-Balad news website that all imported fish and foodstuffs were checked to ensure that they are free of the coronavirus and of all other diseases and viruses.



The examination of fish, meat and poultry imports regardless of their country of origin is part of the precautionary measures taken since March, as well as regular checks on samples from local markets, he added.



The coronavirus crisis has affected Egypts overall non-oil imports. Minister of Trade and Industry Niveen Gamea announced on Monday that the crisis had contributed to a 24 per cent decrease in the volume of non-oil imports during the first four months of this year.



She added that Egypts trade deficit had shrunk by $5.57 billion, a decline of 35 per cent over the same period last year.



China imposed a temporary ban on salmon shipments from Europe after a new cluster of Covid-19 infections was reported, with the Chinese government believing that the new outbreak can be traced to a food market in Beijing. The virus was found on chopping boards used to cut salmon in the market, suggesting that it could have come from Europe.



The authorities in Beijing said that the virus had also been found on other food items such as frozen chicken and soft drinks, and it announced a temporary suspension on importing frozen poultry from specific sources.



The WHO stated earlier that it is highly unlikely that people can contract Covid-19 from food or food packaging, as the virus is a respiratory illness. The primary transmission route is through person-to-person contact and direct contact with respiratory droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes.



The WHO recommends washing vegetables and fruit and other food products that are not subject to thermal treatments with water before consumption, in addition to washing hands well with soap before preparing food to avoid contracting the virus.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 25 June, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Police have hailed a significant breakthrough in the search for missing Northern Irish teenager Noah Donohoe after the discovery of a backpack belonging to the boy.

The bag contained the 14-year-olds laptop computer, which is now being examined by specialist officers as a major line of inquiry in the search for the teenager who was last seen in areas close to the Shore Road, Belfast, on Sunday evening.

The discovery came after a member of the public responded to an appeal by police for help with finding the bag.

It was a significant part of evidence that we were looking for because it contained the laptop, Superintendent Muir Clark said.

Along with the other electronic devices that we have, that will form a major line of inquiry now as to where Noah possibly is or if Noah was going to see someone, who that was.

These items are now being examined by specialist officers, for any information which may help locate Noah.

The search for the teenager entered its sixth day this morning in north Belfast.

Mr Clark also told reporters at a press conference on Friday that a 26-year-old man had been arrested following a social media post concerning the boy.

"Last night, we became aware of social media posts. We are aware of the content of these social media posts and are content there is no truth behind their content," he said.

"A 26-year-old male was arrested in the early hours of this morning on suspicion of improper use of public electronic communications network and he is currently helping with enquiries."

The arrest came after police said Noahs family had been left distressed by false rumours about the boy.

Mr Clark said on Thursday that officers were leaning towards the theory that the teenager may have fallen from his bicycle in north Belfast and hurt his head.

We don't discount any other scenario, we should look at other scenarios and we will continue to do that until we find Noah, he added.

A statement from the teenagers school, St Malachys College, described him as a most valued and popular member of our Year 10 group of boys and said students and teachers were praying for his safe return.

Noah is an industrious and intelligent academic and immerses himself in the extra-curricular life of the college through music and sports," it said.

The entire college family continues to keep Noah and his family in our constant thoughts and prayers."

Additional reporting by PA
"It's like a yacht with missiles on it," the president said of the American-built warships.

"You know, sometimes, you can make it look great for less money. I said, 'This is not a good looking ship. Let's change the design of it,'" he continued. "And I got people in, and we looked at different designs, and as long as we're going to do it and look at what you're doing, how beautiful it is."

"The ships that they were building, they look terrible," Trump told workers of Fincantieri Marinette Marine on Thursday. "I would change designs, I looked at it. I said, 'That's a terrible looking ship, let's make it beautiful.'"

WASHINGTON  Speaking to workers at a shipbuilding facility in Wisconsin, President Donald Trump touted American manufacturing and took credit for helping to design a better-looking class of U.S. Navy warships.

US President Donald Trump waves after speaking to guests during a visit to the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard on June 25, 2020 in Marinette, Wisconsin.

Trump has long pledged to bring manufacturing back from overseas, equating that effort with American renewal. At the shipyard, he said the future of the facility had looked bleak not long ago but "then a lot of good things came along."

"Manufacturing, remember, manufacturing was never going to come back. Well, it did come back. It came back big," Trump said.

His remarks come on the heels of a $5.5 billion Pentagon contract to shipbuilder Fincantieri Marinette Marine for the U.S. Navy's newest class of warships. According to the contract, which was awarded in April, the Navy frigates will be built at Fincantieri's shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, which currently produces the U.S. Navy's littoral combat ships.

The Pentagon estimated the first ship would cost $1.2 billion. The nine subsequent ships would cost up to approximately $781 million, in 2018 constant dollars, Navy officials said in an April call with reporters.

Read more: CNBC spent a day aboard the Navy's newest class of warships

Trump's visit to Wisconsin came as election polls in the crucial swing state show him hemorrhaging support to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

A New York Times/Siena College poll released Thursday found Biden leading Trump in Wisconsin by 11 points. Trump narrowly beat out Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, turning the state red for the first time in a presidential contest since 1988.

The Times' poll shows the president is also trailing Biden in five other battleground states that Trump won in 2016. The president's largely ad-libbed remarks before a cheering crowd at the Wisconsin shipyard gave the event the look and feel of a campaign stop as much as a presidential visit.

Biden, who traveled to the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Thursday, said Trump did not deserve credit for the success of the area he was visiting.

"Today, Donald Trump is in Marinette to take credit for Obama-Biden administration-fueled successes in an attempt to paper over the fact that Wisconsin has been bleeding blue-collar manufacturing jobs over the past few weeks," he said in a statement. "Instead of offering real relief to working families, he's trying to claim credit for progress in Marinette he did not build."

The trip came days after the Trump campaign resumed the boisterous arena rallies that defined his 2016 campaign but had been suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic. While both Trump and Biden have been cleared off the campaign trail, polls show Trump falling badly behind the former vice president as voters sour on the incumbent's handling of the virus and his reaction to the civil unrest over George Floyd's death.

At this point in the cycle, no other Republican or Democratic nominee in the last four elections was as far ahead of their opponent as Biden is against Trump, according to CNBC's averages of polls posted to RealClearPolitics.

-- Reuters contributed to this report.
In a significant development, the United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo on June 25 said that the Chinese threat to Southeast Asia is one of the reasons that the country is reducing its troop's presence in Europe. While speaking at the Brussels Forum virtual conference, Pompeo cited the recent Chinese Armys confrontation and said that it was one of the reasons behind recalibration of the global deployment of the countrys forces.

Pompeo also said that the US was trying to ensure its forces are postured appropriately so as to deal with the Chinese Army, which pose a threat to countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and the South China Sea. Further, the US Secretary of State also noted that the Trump administration had carried out a long-overdue strategic posture review of the US military two years ago.

READ: Mike Pompeo Sharpens Attack On China, Says Can't Accept 'increasingly Belligerent' CCP

Pompeo said that the US had carried out a fundamental relook at the threats it faced and how it should allocate its resources, including intelligence and military and cyber. He also informed that the US President Donald Trump had ordered the recalibration of force deployment and the country will be reducing its number of troops in Germany from about 52,000 to 25,000 as part of the move.

Enjoyed the discussions today at the German Marshall Funds #BrusselsForum. I am excited to announce the U.S. and EU are launching a dialogue on China to address the threats the CCP poses to our common values and way of life. Thank you @gmfus! pic.twitter.com/uFUmuDi8dk  Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) June 26, 2020

READ: Pompeo Releases TIP Report, US Pledges Half A Billion Dollar To Fight Trafficking Globally

While calling it the challenge of our times, Pompeo also said that the officials will make sure that the US has resources in place to counter the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). He added that with the US new decision, some nations need to step up and take responsibility for their own defence in ways what they hadnt done previously. He said, We want to do this in full consultation with all of our partners all around the world, and certainly our friends in Europe.

China identified as systemic rival

While speaking at the virtual summit, Pompeo even acknowledged that the US was slow to recognise the reality of the rising authoritarian regime and the implications it had on the free society. He also noted that the Commission and the External Action Service identified China as a systemic rival and the National Threat Assessment identified the country as a potential threat for the first time in 2019 and later in 2020 again.

READ: Pompeo Releases TIP Report, US Pledges Half A Billion Dollar To Fight Trafficking Globally

Pompeo added, Clearly, there is a transatlantic awakening to the truth of what's happening. Concerns are rightly growing about the CCP's exploitation of multilateral bodies, too. To give you just a single example, Chinese leaders at the International Telecommunications Union and the International Civil Aviation Organization have leveraged their positions to advance China's narrow interests.

Further, he said, But we can all agree that these institutions should be rooted in democratic values, hew to their missions, and reflect the interests of all member states.

(Inputs: PTI)

READ: 'US Reviewing Its Global Force Posture To Counter Chinese Army's Threat To India': Pompeo
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Twelve months ago, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi seemed to be enjoying the best year of his reign. The general-turned-politician was presiding over an economic rebound that had made Egypt the Middle Easts fastest-growing economy and a honeypot for emerging-markets investors. A referendum had just allowed him to remain in office until 2030, making his political position well-nigh impregnable.

And he was enjoying the enthusiastic backing of Egypts two most important foreign allies, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia; President Trump thought he was doing a great job.

Like much of the region, Egypt is now reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and the fall in oil prices. Despite new assistance from the International Monetary Fund, the economy will continue to struggle. Business activity, already slow before the pandemic struck, has ebbed further. The governments desperation is clear from its efforts to restart tourism even though cases of the virus are expected to keep rising.

Now, Sisi faces a pair of foreign-policy challenges on Egypts borders that could turn 2020 into his nadir. In Libya, he finds himself backing the losing side of a civil war. In Ethopia, negotiations over a giant hydroelectric dam in the Nile have failed, ending hopes for the resolution of an old, acrimonious dispute.

Worse, Egypts ruler cant expect much help from his admirer in the White House. The collapse of negotiations over the Nile dam represents a failure of American mediation  the U.S. Treasury had tried to broker a deal  and Trump, beset with domestic problems amid a reelection campaign, is unlikely to give the matter much more attention. In Libya, the U.S. president seems to have come to an understanding with Turkey, which backs the other side in the civil war.

Nor can Sisi hope for much succor from Saudi Arabia. Although the Saudis mediated the 2018 Ethiopia-Eritrea peace accord, they have had little influence on the Nile negotiations. And Saudi relations with Turkey are openly hostile, ruling out any role for Riyadh in easing the Cairo-Ankara confrontation over Libya.

Story continues

Egypt isnt entirely friendless in Libya, but it is not clear that rebel commander Khalifa Haftars other backers  notably the United Arab Emirates and Russia  will boost their support if Libyas government forces, with more help from the Turks, storm the strategic port of Sirte. Sisi had declared Sirte as his line in the sand, suggesting Egypt may intervene directly if Turkey crosses it. The Emiratis, no less hostile to Turkey than the Saudis, may hold the line; Russia, which is allied with the Turks in Syria, may not.

Sisi may soon be forced to decide. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to have embarked on an ambitious nation-building project in Libya, and the government in Tripoli is keen to press home its advantage over Haftar. Sisis proposal for a cease-fire was met with scorn from Turkey as well as from Libyas Government of National Accord.

Matters are not quite as kinetic in the south, despite the chest-thumping of prominent Egyptians and long-standing predictions of a war over the Nile waters. But if Ethiopia does follow through on its threat to fill the dam, Sisi would be under pressure to retaliate. (Egypt fears that the dam would restrict its water supply and harm its farmers.)

As if these two foreign-policy challenges were not onerous enough, a third looms to the north: Israels proposed annexation of large parts of the West Bank. Sisi has strengthened relations with Israel  a $15 billion natural-gas deal between the two countries is key to Egypts hopes of becoming a major energy supplier to Europe. But Cairo is opposed to annexation. If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with a plan that is bound to be unpopular with ordinary Egyptians, Sisi may be required to respond with something more substantial than a strongly-worded statement of disapproval.

Under such circumstances, the prospect of holding office until 2030 may come to feel more like a curse than a blessing.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Bobby Ghosh is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He writes on foreign affairs, with a special focus on the Middle East and the wider Islamic world.

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

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2020 Bloomberg L.P.
The 'new normal' has necessitated changes in the way we do our business - and changes in the way shoppers move around Sligo town has been met with a mixed reaction.

The implementation of a new Covid-19 mobility plan in the town has caused significant debate over the past week.

Introduced in an effort to make sure that adequate social and physical distancing can be possible for pedestrians in the urban area, the plan has necessitated the introduction of wider areas to accommodate pedestrians on some of the busier streets.

In order to provide the space required, some parking spaces have been removed so pedestrians have more space to walk in each direction. The new system is in place since June 15th.

However, 'click and collect' spaces have been created on streets such as Market Street and Lower John Street, where motorists can park for a short period of time if they have something to pick up in one of the nearby outlets.

In all, Phase One of the plan entails measures on six of Sligo's streets: Grattan Street, Castle Street, Market Street, Holborn Street, Lower John Street and Stephen Street.

The council suggests that Phase Two of the plan may entail a one-way system for pedestrians on some of the core areas in the weeks and months to come.

Gail McGibbon of Sligo Business Improvement District (BID) says the organisation gave feedback to the council on research it had access to.

"Covid-19 has had a real and serious impact on our lives," Ms McGibbon told The Sligo Champion.

"From March 14th, when cancelling the St Patrick's Day Parade, we have all made adjustments together to work our way through these new changes.

"Sligo Business Improvement District recently gave feedback to Sligo County Council on the latest consumer research from the Association of Town and City Management, Institute of Place Management, International Downtown Association and Failte Ireland.

"The research showed that space and additional room to move were top of the list in customers' decision in coming back into town.

"This result was also found high on the list with research by Red Sea, IPSOS, PWC and Failte Ireland."

The need to widen the area for pedestrians was taken due to the fact that Sligo's streets are quite narrow in some parts.

Ms McGibbon also emphasised that the plan is temporary, and that other towns in a similar position to Sligo have been forced to adopt similar measures.

She continued: "As a Heritage Town, Sligo has some streets with narrow footpaths. In order to allow for more space and in advance of businesses reopening, additional walkways were added to three streets by Sligo County Council.

Also added were 6 free 20 minute 'click and collect' spaces at Market Cross and John Street and two additional loading bays at Market Cross and Holborn Street.

Taking feedback from over 50 businesses that are open and feedback received by email that includes businesses who are getting ready to reopen, the majority agreed that additional space should be trialled on a temporary basis to encourage and reassure customers.

"This is a temporary measure and Sligo BID will continue to monitor its effectiveness and welcome feedback from both businesses and town centre users.," Ms McGibbon added.

"Within the Irish Town and City Network which consists of 23 towns and cities, towns with a similar streetscape to Sligo have installed similar measures.

"It is about making the town centre as accessible for as many as possible and, again, emphasising that this is temporary."

However, Mark White of Barton Smith Lock and Safe on Stephen Street believes that the measures are not temporary.

Mr White accepts that some measures were required, but his concern is that in some cases, they will force consumers away from the urban area.

"My initial take is that it is going to decimate the town," Mr White told The Sligo Champion. "It's going to drive people away from the town.

"We just have to get on with it, that's the reaction. People are not happy with not being able to park.

"There is a working document on Sligo County Council website.

"It's my understanding that it won't be temporary.

"A Covid plan for making ease of access of people is all well and good and yes, it is a very good idea. But, not just on Stephen Street, Castle Street and Grattan Street because Wine Street is every bit as busy as Stephen Street and Grattan Street and so is Market Street and High Street, so they're only putting it on certain streets and not on other streets."

Mr White - who says there was a lack of consultation from his point of view and from the point of view of other business owners on Stephen Street that he had spoken to - also referred to the difficulties shoppers experience with parking.

"People are not particularly happy with it because parking in this town at the moment is not great at the moment," he explained.

"Half of the Stephen Street car park is closed at the moment, but in the plan it's all closed. Quay Street car park is supposed to be closing, parking is supposed to be going away from Stephen Street on a permanent basis.

"Businesses are on their knees at the moment in this town with Covid. Closing car parks is making it more difficult for people to actually get in and go shopping.

"It's going to have a knock-on effect. My concern, realistically, it that people are going to go to other towns and shop in others towns, go to Carrick-on-Shannon, go to Ballyshannon, go to Bundoran, that's the concern." Mr White concluded.

Other business owners take a different view. Finbarr Filan runs Centra on Castle Street, and in his opinion, the measures are to be welcomed.

Mr Filan said: "I welcome the work Sligo County Council has done, this was meant to be in place for the 29th of June when town was to reopen, and the fact that that was pulled forward, it put more pressure on the Council.

"Over the coming weeks, until it is safe when we get to a situation when people can mingle closer, its the right thing to do."

Mr Filan also outlined that in his experience and discussions with other areas of the country, similar measures have been implemented.

"All the information I'm getting from other towns around the country is that people want more space to come back in to our town centres.

"The fact that we have an old town with narrow streets, we need to create that space.

"If you think that our footfall is currently only at 60pc of what it should be at this time of the year, when we get back to 100pc it will get an awful lot more crowded."

The issue of parking, Mr Filan says, also needed to be put into perspective.

"We have 4500 parking spaces in town and we've moved 20 of them.

"We have created 'click and collect spaces' on Market Street and on John Street so if you are coming in and you want to get something quickly, and you need to pull up, it is free as long as you don't spend more than 20 minutes there so that's a facility we didn't have.

"The world has changed because of Covid and this is one of those changes.

"In Sligo, we did the right thing at the start - we cancelled our parade, pubs and shops closed, we did the right thing. This is another one of those steps we have to do," he added.
WIDESPREAD testing for COVID-19, as part of the strategy for the complete lockdown exit and a "new normal" life with the virus is recommended by all well-known world organizations, including the World Health Organization, the American Center for Disease Control (CDC), and The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

For example, OECD presents an extensive text on its webpage under the title: "Testing for COVID-19: A Way to Lift Confinement Restrictions."

In summary, its authors wrote:

"This policy brief discusses the role of testing for COVID19 as part of any plan to lift confinement restrictions and prepare for a possible new wave of viral infections. If all confinement restrictions are lifted before a vaccine or effective treatments are developed without other measures to suppress new infections, the infection rate is expected to rebound rapidly. Crucially, quick suppression of infections requires testing more people to identify who is infected; tracking them to make sure they do not spread the disease further; and tracing with whom they have been in contact. This brief discusses how testing strategies can be used to achieve three main goals: 1) suppressing the resurgence of local outbreaks; 2) identifying people who have developed some form of immunity and can safely return to work; and 3) gaining intelligence on the evolution of the epidemic, including on when a threshold for herd immunity has been reached."

OECD the, in the chapter Key Messages, stated:

"A key question behind any strategy to ease confinement restrictions and re-open economic activities is how to avoid a new spread of the SARSCoV2 virus that would necessitate further lockdowns. Once the number of infected people has successfully been brought sufficiently down, quick suppression of new waves of viral infections will be key. Testing strategies are central to achieve this."

The WHO Regional Office for Europe similarly stated on its website:

"As restrictions are eased, it is important for countries to recognize that it may be necessary to reintroduce physical distancing measures to manage outbreaks. This fluid approach is known as bi-directionality.

A rigorous surveillance program to identify, test, and isolate all cases and to trace and quarantine their contacts is vital to ensure that localized outbreaks do not get out of control. When measures are eased, cases should not exceed a sustained reproductive factor of 1, and should ideally remain below 1. It means that a person with confirmed COVID-19 does not pass the disease on to more than 1 other person to keep the number of cases flat.

A trend showing increases in the number of new cases would require a quick reintroduction of physical distancing measures to contain the outbreak. As a result, the easing of lockdown restrictions is prone to short-term change."

Testing within "the hammer and the dance" strategy

These statements remind of the concept of the strategy of a French engineer Tomas Pueyo, the creator of an application with more than 20 million users, a successful businessman educated on the Ecole Centrale Paris, Stanford University, and Higher Technical School of Engineering (ICAI), which in March became famous and went viral under the title "The Hammer and the Dance." Many epidemiologists approved this strategy.

According to the strategy, the governments firstly implement strict measures of a hammer, such as a lockdown for a couple of weeks, to quickly suppress the virus and reduce the R0 below 1 to buy time for a more qualitative organization and equipping the health care system. Thereby, the curve is flattened, i.e., the number of the infected is reduced, which leads to avoiding an overwhelmed healthcare system, the growth of collateral damage, and eliminating many medical experts.

When the number of the infected is reduced to a relatively small number using the hammer approach, countries can exit the lockdown and enter the new dance phase in which "a new normal" life continues with certain restrictions such as banning large gatherings, keeping social distance, and focusing on contact tracing, testing, isolating, and putting the infected into quarantine. The proponents of the strategy are in favor of the widespread testing to reveal the possible hotspots on time, even among people that are in the early phase of the infection, without symptoms, in order to isolate them before they infect a large number of people. Such testing can also be used to closely monitor the basic reproduction number with an idea to keep it under 1 as long as possible with the most optimal and economically most cost-effective counter-epidemic measures (efficiency of which we are just acquiring knowledge about). If a larger hotspot appears somewhere, the measures will again be stricter in accordance with the situation. The main idea of this phase is to buy time with as little damage as possible until there are drugs or vaccination.

The example of the Dance in Europe and Germany

One of the countries that conducts widespread testing and regularly monitors the changes in the reproduction R0 number is Germany. That country reduced its R0 below 1 in May, but a few days ago, the Robert Koch Institute published that the number had risen to around 2.88. The increased number of the infected is especially manifested in Berlin, Magdeburg, and Neukolln, and the most in the provinces of the North Rhine-Westphalia where more than 1,330 Tonnies slaughterhouse workers have been infected. The government had a fast reaction to this change and imposed certain lockdown measures in critical areas again. The slaughterhouse was closed, and all workers and their families were put in quarantine. Schools and kindergartens are closed until the beginning of a new school year on August 11.

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Croatia is testing far too little

Croatia has successfully gotten through the first phase in fighting off the virus (the Hammer). We're currently in the more demanding phase (the Dance), which we should maintain as long as possible without imposing more drastic measures again. However, for keeping the favorable epidemiological situation, as many experts agree on, widespread testing is necessary. Here we encounter a problem since Croatia is still among countries with the lowest number of testings per million residents in Europe. Moreover, we test even less than the neighboring countries on the Balkans. The low number of testing perhaps made sense when we were in the hammer phase - in a complete lockdown and with a low number of the infected, but surely not in this new phase.

Bernard Kaic, the manager of the Department of Epidemiology at the Croatian Public Health Institute, told Index that testing itself is not an anti-epidemic measure, and cannot cure anyone.

"But testing in the largest number possible when there is the slightest suspicion of the disease is very important to reveal all of the infected on time, thus isolating their contacts and putting them in quarantine," he said.

"It's especially important now when more people are coming from abroad. Our epidemiological situation is still relatively good, although the number of infected is increasing. Testing should be made easier for everyone, including foreigners, based on the slightest suspicion of the disease. Of course, it's not possible to walk down the road and test everyone, but doctors should suspect coronavirus whenever the body temperature is elevated, or there are symptoms of respiratory diseases, except when it's clear that the cause is something else, for example, if someone else has an infection of a throat. Even for mild diseases of an unknown cause, the doctors should recommend testing," he explained.

Should we be afraid and test in case of a sore throat?

We are encountering another problem here. Since the flu season in winter is behind us, it's to be expected that people who feel any respiratory difficulties will more often suspect the possibility of contracting coronavirus. Kaic said that there is a reasonable ground for that, but also pointed out that viruses that cause similar symptoms also circulate during the warmer periods of the year.

"It's true, when there is no flu, and a person exhibits symptoms of respiratory disease, the probability for COVID-19 is increasing, but it doesn't mean that the probability is significantly larger. There are other diseases with the symptoms of respiratory diseases in the warmer periods. For example, diseases caused by enteroviruses with the body temperature slightly elevated and with respiratory symptoms," our epidemiologist explained.

Possible obstacles to widespread testing

Health organizations point out potential obstacles to large-scale testing, such as the lack of reagent, caused by the pandemic. The lack of qualified staff and capacities could also represent a problem because the PCR test, which reveals the presence of the virus, is quite demanding - a well-trained person should take swab samples, and the analysis could last for hours. Transport to the place with equipment could also cause some difficulties, as well as the expensiveness of the equipment.

Some experts consider that one of the problems - financing massive testing - can be solved by collecting more swab samples per group of people, for example, in families or offices, which could then be analyzed together.

Kaic admits that the lack of qualified staff can really represent a problem.

"Back when we did 1,500-2,000 tests per day, that was really demanding. We were working in three shifts and we had to use people who would usually do other jobs in order to do the testing. It's possible for the staff problem to re-appear when the number of testing increases again to more than 1,000 per day. Then we should again have to work in two shifts, but I think it's necessary," said Kaic.

Our epidemiologist isn't satisfied with the fact that Croatia is among countries with the EU's lowest testing rate. He thinks that room for testing should be made again.

"I think that COVID-19 clinics were an excellent thing. As coronavirus ceased to appear, the people there were on duty for no reason, so the clinics started to close. But it's important to provide an alternative for them. In each place with a closed clinic, in every county or health care center, people should know where to go to get tested. I think it's still not organized well, although it is necessary. In some places, the clinics are re-opening, for example, in Dubrovnik. I think it's very, very good, and commendable," said Klaic.

The price for testing at your own request wasn't changed in the meantime, and it's still near 200 euros.

To conclude, in the end, along with being relaxed too much and disciplined too little on every level, Croatia also faces the problem of the lack of testing.
One Wayne County nursing home has had more than 200 patients and staff with COVID-19.

The first big coronavirus outbreak in the Grand Rapids area involved a nursing home where 36 were sickened.
One third of returned travellers quarantining in Victoria have refused to be tested for COVID-19, despite the state struggling through a second spike in infections.

Deputy chief health officer Annaliese van Diemen acknowledged that some people are automatically allowed into the community after completing the mandatory 14-day quarantine, despite the fact symptoms can develop after this time period.

She revealed that about 30 per cent of returned travellers in Victoria have refused a COVID-19 test and that there was nothing the state could do to make them take one.

Still, Dr van Diemen said she was 'happy with the current regime'.

People queue up for COVID-19 testing at a pop-up testing site in Chadstone, Melbourne, Thursday, June 25

Victoria State Government Health and Human Services people knock on doors in Broadmeadows to check if people have any symptoms of COVID19 and would like a test, in Melbourne, Thursday, June 25

'At the moment there is no requirement that they must undertake testing,' she said.

'Everybody's offered testing on multiple occasions throughout their stay and we have, you know, very good uptake of that.'

'At this point in time we're pretty happy with the current regimen. It's more stringent than most other places.'

In the wake of the revelations, Australia's chief medical officer Brendan Murphy said the federal government was looking to ensure no one left quarantine contagious.

Professor Murphy said all travellers arriving in Australia will be tested before they are quarantined and again once they are allowed to leave.

'We're seeing imported cases in hotel quarantine from a range of different countries now,' Dr Murphy told reporters.

'We are going to start testing people on entry to quarantine and testing people before they leave quarantine to see whether a testing regime might help in the future.'

Victoria recorded 30 new cases on Friday with five of those in hotel quarantine, five detected through routine testing and another seven linked to known outbreaks.

Victoria's Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen said 20,000 test results had been processed in the state in the past day

Premier Daniel Andrews announced he wanted to carry out a 'testing blitz' in 10 COVID-19 hotspot suburbs across Melbourne to bring the deadly virus under control

Another 13 cases are still under investigation.

Premier Daniel Andrews announced plans to carry out a 'testing blitz' in 10 COVID-19 hotspot suburbs across Melbourne to bring the deadly virus under control.

Officials say 20,000 tests have been done since Thursday, bringing the total tests undertaken in Victoria to date above 736,000.

A health worker at the Orygen Youth Mental Health Facility has the virus, Dr van Diemen said on Friday.

'That facility is now in lockdown and we are working very closely with Melbourne health who run the facility,' she said.

'All of the deep cleaning requirements have been done there and testing will be undertaken as required.'

Victoria recorded another 30 cases on Friday as the state undergoes a test blitz (people on Sydney Rd in Coburg on June 25)

A McDonald's worker has also been confirmed as having COVID-19 and is linked to an outbreak in Wollert, which stemmed from 'various household parties and gatherings'.

'The St Monica's outbreak has been renamed as the Wollert outbreak because it has been apparent the major driver of this outbreak has been social occasions with some spillover into the school, so the worker at McDonald's is linked to that outbreak,' she said.

Meanwhile, dozens of Centrelink contract staff who live in Victoria's coronavirus hot spots have been stood down amid concerns at the risk of community transmission.

Hank Jongen, the general manager of Centrelink's parent agency Services Australia, said fewer than 100 staff who live in the affected COVID-19 hot spots work outside those areas.

'These staff have been advised to stay at home while we review and adapt to the latest health advice and prevent unnecessary movement in and out of those areas,' Mr Jongen said in a statement on Friday.

A person wearing a face mask in Melbourne on Thursday. There are 183 active cases in Victoria as of Friday

There are 183 active cases in Victoria with six people currently in hospital. More than 1,700 people have recovered from the virus in the state.

Dr van Diemen added health officials were working to contain two cases confirmed at a Coles distribution centre in Laverton in south-west Melbourne.

'One of those cases is very clearly linked to a large outbreak at Keilor Downs, so we do have a very clear source of acquisition for that,' she said.

The Keilor Downs family outbreak in north-west Melbourne has now swelled to 19 infections, while a North Melbourne cluster has reached 15 cases.
DENVER  Melody Lewis lives like a nomad in the heart of downtown.

Poking her head out of her green tent on a recent June day, the 57-year-old pointed a few blocks away to the place where city crews picked up her tent from a sidewalk median earlier this spring and replaced it with landscaping rocks, fencing and signs warning trespassers to keep out.

Lewis then moved just a quarter-mile to a new cracked sidewalk, with new neighbors and potentially, homeless advocates fear, new sources of exposure to the coronavirus.

Where else are we going to go? Lewis asked. What else are we going to do?

Several cities across the U.S. are bucking recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by continuing sweeps of homeless encampments, risking further spread of the virus at a time when health officials seek to gain an upper hand on the pandemic.

Such struggles involving COVID-19 highlight the nations ongoing problem with housing. And they showcase the challenge public health officials face: Controlling the spread of the coronavirus also risks increasing the spread of other infectious diseases, such as hepatitis A, that thrive amid the trash-and-feces strewn sidewalks that can be found in some encampments.

In Denver, Lewis and hundreds of others were displaced in late April and early May from sprawling, blocks-long encampments, as part of what city officials say is an ongoing effort to periodically clean city streets and keep infectious diseases down. Most homeless campers moved their belongings just a few blocks, where their tents now line more than a quarter-mile of sidewalks.

An hour south, in Colorado Springs, the police department said that it is continuing to follow CDC guidance to prevent COVID-19 among the citys homeless population, but also that it has continued enforcing camping bans at certain times on public property, ticketing homeless people who are camping if they refuse to relocate. Those in the camps have said a bulldozer cleared at least one site.

And in St. Louis, the citys health department ordered the removal of camps near City Hall, prompting an outcry from homeless advocates.

In all, at least a dozen cities in recent months have continued such camp removals  which goes against CDC guidelines amid the pandemic, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

As some communities continue to reopen, and as downtown businesses welcome back employees and customers, some homeless advocates fear such sweeps will only worsen.

Theres no strategy, said Jacob Wessley, director of outreach and engagement for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. That is our concern: When they do sweep this area, where are [those without homes] going to go?

In Denver, one such cleanup in early May netted 9,500 pounds of trash and more than 50 hypodermic needles, according to Nancy Kuhn, spokesperson for the citys transportation and infrastructure department.

Denver has a responsibility to address unsafe, unhealthy, and unsanitary conditions impacting our community, Kuhn said in an email.

Some cities said the pace of such sweeps has dropped dramatically during the pandemic.

Seattle officials conducted four such sweeps from mid-March to early June  each due to extreme circumstances, said Kevin Mundt, a spokesperson for Seattles human services department. That compares with 303 such camp removals in the final three months of 2019.

Honolulu created a dedicated area for people to camp and quarantine for about two weeks before moving into shelters, in case they had COVID-19. But some homeless campers who did not move had their camps dismantled, causing them to disperse through the community.

The goal was to limit the spread of the virus, while encouraging campers to move indoors, said Marc Alexander, executive director of the citys Office of Housing.

Even so, many homeless advocates say the CDCs guidance is clear, and such efforts dont pass muster. If individual housing units arent available, the CDC says, homeless campers should be allowed to remain in place during the pandemic. Tents should be at least 12 feet apart, and camps of more than 10 people should be provided hand-washing stations and hand sanitizer.

Clearing encampments can cause people to disperse throughout the community and break connections with service providers, the CDC guidance said. This increases the potential for infectious disease spread.

Already the disease has infected some people who lack permanent housing. In Colorado, for example, at least 483 homeless people have tested positive for COVID-19, state officials reported June 14. Nearly 80% lived in Denver.

Infection rates in the camps, however, are unclear. None of the 50 homeless campers in downtown Denver who agreed to coronavirus testing in early June were positive, according to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. But a different survey a month earlier indicated nearly a quarter of the 52 people tested at a nearby homeless service center were infected with the virus, despite showing no symptoms.

In downtown Denver encampments, dozens of tents stand packed together, often less than a foot apart along sidewalks. Hardly anyone wears masks, and many in the tent community said the virus is low on their list of concerns.

Several hand-washing stations accompany portable toilets in the area, each provided by a local advocacy group. But they dont always have water.

For some homeless campers, the situation is preferable to staying in a shelter.

Avoiding those cramped confines and the accompanying risk of illness is common sense, said Erin Lorraine, 19, who has been homeless off and on for seven years. One sweep led her to move closer to the South Platte River on the west side of downtown.

These are our homes, Lorraine said. Were not hurting nobody.

Not all homeless campers see Denvers cleanups as so nefarious. Many said they were told by Denver officials that they could return after city crews sprayed down the sidewalk.

As long as they keep it to where were getting cleaned, not swept, its all right, said David Scott, 53.

But some of those displaced by previous sweeps say that trust has been broken.

Melody Lewis was away from her tent during a recent cleanup and returned to find that city crews had confiscated many of her belongings, including at least one tent, a bike and some shoes. She refused to go to a shelter, partly because of the threat of illness. As Lewis relates her story, an old sign hanging from a lamppost a few feet away is a reminder of a previous camp cleanup.

We try to ignore it, Lewis said of such warnings. Our stuff and our minds are never secure.

To limit the spread of the coronavirus, some nonprofits and cities  including some of the places conducting sweeps  have gotten creative, opening isolation shelters for people experiencing COVID symptoms and helping some particularly at-risk people move into paid motel rooms.

Recent sweeps also have renewed a conversation in Denver about whether to create sanctioned encampment sites  areas where people can pitch tents and live in socially distanced communities with a citys blessing.

Elsewhere, such regulated camps lend homeless people stability, while increasing the odds that caseworkers can find their clients when housing becomes available, said Tom Luehrs, executive director of the St. Francis Center, a homeless services organization in Denver.

Already, San Francisco has temporarily created a few such encampments, with a total capacity of roughly 200 people.

Some people have been out on the streets for years, Luehrs said. And thats where they feel best about living, because maybe we havent given them better options as a community.

Colleen Echohawk, co-chair of Seattles Continuum of Care, a coalition of agencies and nonprofits working to address homelessness, said she empathizes with city officials who are having to juggle competing public health threats. Seattle is among the latest areas to face an outbreak of hepatitis A in its homeless community.

But Echohawk questions whether more could be done to limit the impact of sweeps.

Whats frustrating about this is that you move them, and then they just moved into other encampments, and then took with them their COVID-19, and they took with them their hepatitis A, Echohawk said. Its a real dilemma.

Kaiser Health News is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Q: Does lower alcohol content (13 per cent and below) reduce red wine fruit flavour and longevity?

S. K., Yaroomba Beach, QLD

Illustration by Simon Letch. Credit:

With increasing numbers of people watching their alcohol intake and their health, this is a hot topic and many wineries are now making lower-alcohol wines.

Winemaker John Forrest of New Zealands Forrest Estate makes a suite of wines branded The Doctors, none of which is more than 10 per cent alcohol. Forrest has identified a clever way of harvesting fully ripe grapes in his Marlborough vineyards to produce wine with lower than normal alcohol content. Realising that fresh, new leaves put more sugar into the grapes than old leaves, he trims the vine canopy, removing the young leaves. Presto: a low-alcohol wine with good flavour.

Back to your question. An alcohol content of 13 per cent or lower need not mean the wine has less fruit flavour, nor does it mean the wine wont live as long. Before the 1980s, Australian red wines typically contained about 13 per cent alcohol, and often as little as 12.
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LAPD Officers E. Rosales, left, and D. Castro patrol the Metro Red Line at the Hollywood/Highland Station. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Transportation officials on Thursday pushed Los Angeles County's transit system to start a reform of policing on buses and trains, including no longer sending armed officers to respond to nonviolent crimes.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's directors voted 9 to 2 to approve a package of reforms, including hiring unarmed ambassadors to work at stations, expanding fare discounts, finding alternatives to armed law enforcement and shifting funds to homeless outreach.

Those initiatives could be paid for by cutting some funding to policing, the measure said.

"We have a very long history  of passengers complaining about racial profiling and racial bias," said director and L.A. City Councilman Mike Bonin, who introduced the motion. Many riders of color feel threatened by police on the system, he said, "but have no choice but to continue using it."

Directors heard 129 public comments from riders and advocates, 105 of which supported the reform motion, Metro's board secretary said. The majority urged Metro to remove armed police from buses, trains and stations.

"Why would an armed officer that routinely harms people that look like me ever make me feel safe?" said Los Angeles resident Brittani Nichols, an actor and writer, in a written comment. "Weaving them into every aspect of public life is an attack on Black lives that needs to end."

"I have never felt comfortable with the rise of police on Metro," said Gemma Jimenez, a student and transit rider who lives in North Hollywood. "I have witnessed the police harass, bully and use excessive force on transit riders.... The police did not, and will never, help us feel safe."

After years of declining ridership, and rising assaults and violent crime, Metro nearly doubled the number of uniformed police on the transit system in 2017. Contracts with the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Long Beach Police Department expire in 2022.

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Spokesman Dave Sotero said in an email that the policing plans "directly benefit county transit riders" and reduced reported violent crime 23% from 2015 to 2019.

"Our police contract contains essential community relations, homeless outreach, ambassador and non-law enforcement causes that can form the basis of a future re-imagining of these services," Sotero said.

Director John Fasana, a councilman from Duarte, said Metro should reexamine the customer code of conduct, which lays out penalties for riding without a fare, playing loud music, eating, littering and other banned behaviors.

During a crackdown on such violations in 2018, an LAPD officer dragged a young woman off a subway train because she refused to take her foot off a seat.

The shift comes as other U.S. transit agencies consider similar policies. Officials in Portland, Ore., trimmed the policing budget by $1.8 million. Bostons transit police department banned the use of chokeholds. And in Washington, D.C., officials created a transit review board to address complaints of systemic racism.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who voted against the community policing motion, said she wanted to see more homeless outreach services, but "not at the expense of law enforcement  I will not change my mind on that."

"Sworn officers are essential for us," Barger said. "Because of the acts of bad cops, were vilifying the entire industry. I think thats wrong."

In a study conducted by Metro last year, two-thirds of female riders said there were not enough police officers on the transit system. Current riders' most common recommendation to improve safety was hiring more police.

That suggests Metro should try to fix the policing culture and perception of safety on the system, rather than remove police entirely, said director and Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr.

"It will be far less expensive to change the culture of policing than to do some of the things Ive heard put forward over the last few weeks," Butts said.

One Pasadena resident wrote that reducing the number of police officers would "drastically reduce the strides made in the last year" to improve crime and cleanliness issues at the Fillmore light rail station.

"We need more law enforcement presence, not less," said Michael Bailey, an Anaheim resident who takes Metro to downtown and to Long Beach. "Their presence deters crime. Their presence is important to all of our safety."

The LAPD also came under fire Thursday after officers called in absent for nearly 700 transit shifts, all of which are eligible for overtime pay. The wave of absences followed Chief Michel Moore's decision to temporarily freeze overtime .

Officials say offering premium pay for transit shifts makes them easier to fill, and is still cheaper for Metro than paying the cost of salaries and benefits for full-time transit officers.

The department "pushed and pushed" to shift some of the policing authority away from the Sheriff's Department and to its own officers, said Metro director and county Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. The same week that LAPD called in absent en masse, she said, the absence rate among deputies was less than 1%.

"That is a problem," Kuehl said. "Id really like to understand how we can have confidence in LAPD when that was the case."
Boris Johnson this week urged the nation to enjoy a 'staycation' in Britain, as part of the Government's plans to ease the lockdown in England from next weekend.

With campsites and hotels able to reopen from July 4, there has already been a surge in interest in campervans that provide flexible, mobile and self-contained accommodation.

Manufacturers say they are getting calls from both stir-crazy couples and families wanting to explore the country safely and avoid the hassle of travelling overseas and quarantine on return.

A day in the sun: Manufacturers say they are getting calls from both stir-crazy couples and families wanting to explore the country safely

Campervans are ideal for creating self-contained hotels-on-wheels  'bubbles' with beds, fridges, cookers, kitchen and often a shower on board.

And there's a good choice on the market to buy or rent.

Volkswagen is a leading player with its recently launched, and refreshed, California 6.1. It costs from 55,339 in Coast trim, up to 69,889 for Ocean.

Based on the Transporter van, the 2.5-ton 2m-tall model sleeps four and has a raised roof. It comes with a table, cupboards, double gas hob, kitchen sink, a side awning and a sleeping space.

Powered by a 2-litre 148 hp diesel, with seven- speed automatic gearbox, it averages 33.6 mpg with CO2 emissions of 221g/km.

The larger Grand California, from 72,745 to 82,258, based on the Crafter van, sleeps two or four, and has a wet room with a toilet and shower.

In March and April, online requests for quotes went up 250 per cent for the California. Nearly 1,500 were sold in Britain last year. They are factory built  not conversions  and can be serviced at VW's 97 UK van centres and authorised repairers.

To be truly authentic, a secondhand hippy-trail VW 'bus' will cost from around 10,000 to 40,000.

Other new options include: the Mercedes-Benz V Class Marco Polo, from 37,980 to 69,800 and the oddly-named Ford Transit Custom Nugget, from 59,608 to 63,334.

Horsham-based converter Sussex Campervans turns a Renault Trafic or Nissan NV300 into its Manhattan and Paradise ranges, from 41,995 to 51,995.

If 'glamping' is more your style, then bespoke luxury motor home firm GlamperRV.co.uk offers an office-hotel on wheels, from 75,000 plus VAT.

Five of the best campervans Rob Hull picked out five of the best campervans to buy new - and and some budget options like the camping trailer inset If a campervan sounds right up your street, This is Money and MailOnline deputy motoring editor Rob Hull has picked out five of the best. Be warned, they're not what you'd call 'cheap' - but he has also included a couple of alternative options for those on tighter budgets. The comprehensive round-up looks at the VW California, Mercedes Marco Polo, Ford Transit Custom Nugget, Renault Trafic and Fiat Talento conversions. > Read: Five of the best campervans to buy now The Transit Custom Nugget might have a terrible name, but its a camper kitted out with some features other simply don't have, says Rob Hull in his comprehensive round-up

Dacia is first to offer LPG Bi-fuel cars from the factory

I've just been driving a new dual-fuel Duster from budget-priced Dacia.

The no-frills sibling of Renault is the first car firm to offer 'bi-fuel' Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and petrol versions of its cars as cleaner, cheaper alternatives to diesel.

They give owners a claimed average saving of 594 on annual fuel bills, or nearly 2,400 over a four-year life of a personal contract purchase, depending on model. They also provide a minimum combined range of more than 620 miles, of which 240 miles is down to the LPG.

What a gas!: Our man Ray has been driving a new dual-fuel Duster from budget-priced Dacia

The new Romanian-built Duster, Sandero and Logan variants use a new 1-litre turbo-charged dual-fuel powertrain combining petrol and LPG capabilities and are badged TCe 100 Bi-Fuel.

The five-speed manual in Comfort trim I tested costs 14,695, though the entry level Essential version starts at 13,195.
Almost every major event that shaped our modern world had 10, 15 well-known photographers who documented it, Pledge added. In this massive event in China there was only Li, one individual who cut himself into two to witness the dark side of the whole. If he had been born in Paris or New York, he would be 10 times as celebrated as he is.
Srinagar:

Kashmiri youth on Sunday rescued a soldier who was trapped inside a mangled vehicle which had met with an accident on Srinagar Bypass road near Lasjan area of the city, said police.

An army vehicle veered off the road after the driver lost control at Lasjan and hit a tree, a police official said. He said one soldier was trapped inside the badly damaged vehicle and efforts of other army men to evacuate him did not fructify.

"Local Kashmiri youth rushed to the spot and managed to bring the injured army jawan out by placing a truck next to the damaged army vehicle," the official said. Some passersby shot the entire incident on their mobile phones.

The video of the incident has been widely shared on 'youtube' and other social networking sites. The incident comes amidst the ongoing unrest which has claimed 84 lives and thousands others injured in clashes between protestors and security forces.

In July, local residents of Bijbehara in south Kashmir Anantnag district defied curfew to rescue over 20 Amarnath pilgrims whose vehicle had met an accident during the beginning of the current unrest.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
critic's rating: 3.5/5

Trailer : Bhonsle

Currently, our scenes are inundated with images of the migrant workers leaving our metros because of COVID-19 and walking thousands of kilometres home to their villages in far-off corners of India. These were the outsiders that a certain section of the political class wants to get rid of, especially in places like Mumbai. Some are even terming this exodus as good riddance. At the time when the us-versus-them debate has been raging across the country, Bhonsle fits right in. Set in a crumbling Mumbai chawl, itself a metaphor for the decaying secularism of Mumbai, it addresses the outsider issue at the grassroots level.At one end of the spectrum is the Maharashtrian taxidriver Vilas (Santosh Juvekar), who has political aspirations and who wants to cash in on the hatred for the outsider, mainly Biharis, to move up in life. He really believes in his own rhetoric and considers the outsiders to be a menace. Hes angry most of the time and that anger leads him towards a heinous crime. Then there is Rajendra (Abhishek Banerjee), a Bhaiyya who feels Biharis like him have as much right to call Mumbai their own as Maharashtrians. He wants the North Indian youth to organise themselves and hit back at goons like Vilas, giving them a taste of their own medicine. Somewhere along the middle is Bhonsle (Manoj Bajpayee), a retired constable who is neither here nor there. Hes much respected in his chawl by both Maharashtrians and Biharis.Bhonsle is a loner. He has no family and has given his whole life to the police. All he wants is an extension of service and for which he keeps meeting his superiors and is constantly fed false promises. Like the silent heroes out of Westerns, he doesnt speak much. His brooding presence is enough to dispel tension. He goes through his life doing the same chores day in and day out and even has a nightmare about growing really old and feeble leading the same monotonous existence. He has never known the warmth of friendship, of relationships and that changes when a young nurse, Sita (Ipshita Chakraborty Singh) comes to stay next door with her young brother Lalu (Virat Vaibhav). He faints at home and its Lalu who alerts the neighbours. Sita helps him get a family discount at the hospital she works. He begins interacting with them and his dour nature thaws in their presence. And hes moved enough by their plight to take action when calamity strikes.The Ganpati festival, which is said to be the key to the city's harmony, is woven into the narrative by the director. Images of Ganpati idols, as well as the different aspects of the ten-day festival, are juxtaposed with whats happening in Bhonsles life. The initial fight between Vilas and Rajendra starts because Vilas wants a Maharashtrian-only festival to be celebrated in the chawl this year, without the involvement of the Biharis. The idol has just been brought in when Bhonsle falls down and Lalu has a hard time telling the neighbours of his predicament because of the cacophony created by the celebrations.The film shows us how the canker of intolerance, of divisive politics, is slowly spreading across our society. It also gives us hope that if were willing to accept the common humanity that binds us all, we may yet escape its consequences. The film flows at its own pace, though the first half could have been sped up. Its not without its faults -- we dont know where Abhishek Banerjees character suddenly disappears. Kudos to cinematographer Jigmet Wangchuk for his low-light photography, which cleanses the city of dreams of its false glamour and makes you witness the grime.Manoj Bajpayee has given another acting masterclass through the film. Hes getting better and better as hes ageing. He makes you believe his character Bhonsle has seen much of life and whatever he has seen has hardened him to the core. Hes weighed down by all the ugliness he has seen and yet there is a quiet strength in him. Hes old and doesnt wear a uniform any more but the people of his chawl still respect him. Santosh Juvekar too has acted well as the confused young man who blames everything on the outsiders, thanks to the faulty ideology he believes in. We would have loved to see more of Abhishek Banerjee. He too does a fine job of his limited role. The two actors who impressed most after Bajpayee are Ipshita Chakraborty Singh, and Virat Vaibhav, who play Sita and Lalu respectively. Ipshita has given a nuanced performance as a good-natured girl who helps out her neighbour and ends up forming a kinship of sorts with him. Virat is a natural in front of the camera and his reactions shots, both with Ipshita and Manoj come out just perfect.The film, which has been winning plaudits over the festival circuit for quite some time, paints a true picture of the poisoned atmosphere were living in. Lets hope the viewers dont turn a blind eye to its message...
ANN ARBOR, MI  From growing up on a remote Filipino island, to seeing the carnage of World War II, to immigrating to the United States and receiving a Congressional Gold Medal, Marcelina Bandico has a lot of stories to tell.

Bandico, a nurse and veteran, turns 100 years old on Sunday, June 28, and will celebrate with family from across the world. Throughout her life shes been a determined motivator who values education and having a career while pushing her family to do the same.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 01:22:36|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows a social distancing instruction at the entrance of a store inside a shopping mall which is in preparation for reopening in Hawalli Governorate, Kuwait. Kuwait decided to start the second phase to return to normal life, a Kuwaiti official said on Thursday. Tareq Al-Mezrem, the Kuwaiti government spokesman, said at a press conference that life in Kuwait will gradually return to normal and restrictions will be eased as the number of new infections recorded dropped slowly. The second phase plan will begin on June 30 and will last for three weeks, he said. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)

KUWAIT CITY, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait decided to start the second phase to return to normal life, a Kuwaiti official said on Thursday.

Tareq Al-Mezrem, the Kuwaiti government spokesman, said at a press conference that life in Kuwait will gradually return to normal and restrictions will be eased as the number of new infections recorded dropped slowly.

The second phase plan will begin on June 30 and will last for three weeks, he said.

Such phase is part of a five-phase plan to gradually return to normal life, he said, adding that the plan aims to reopen the economy completely by mid-September.

The government also decided to ease curfew hours to start from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., starting from June 30, he noted.

In the second phase, public and private sectors will resume work with less than 30 percent, in addition to the resumption of work in shopping malls, financial sector, construction sector, retail shops, parks, and pick-ups from restaurants and cafes, he said.

Meanwhile, the lockdown on three areas of Farwaniya, Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh and Mahboula that witnessed a surge in coronavirus cases will continue until further notice, he added.

Any movement forward will be subject to assessment by health authorities, he stressed.

On May 31, Kuwait ended the full curfew and imposed a three-week partial curfew for a gradual return to normal life in the country.

On June 18, Kuwait decided to ease the restrictions which were imposed to contain the spread of the COVID-19.

Kuwait and China have been supporting each other and cooperating closely in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kuwait donated medical supplies worth 3 million U.S. dollars to China at the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, while China has been facilitating the procurement of medical supplies by Kuwait.

On April 27, a team of Chinese medical experts visited Kuwait to assist the Gulf country's anti-coronavirus fight, through sharing with Kuwaiti counterparts their experience and expertise in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19.
S ome statues in Canterbury Cathedral may have to come down, the Archbishop of Canterbury said, as he said the Church must think again about portraying Jesus as white.

The Most Rev Justin Welby suggested some statues "will have to come down" and "some names will have to change", but he insisted it was not his decision and that monuments would be put "in context".

With the growing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, which has sparked global protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, a number of petitions have emerged demanding controversial monuments in the UK are taken down.

But Rev Welby stressed a need to learn from the past so that it is not repeated in the future.

He was asked if people should forgive the trespasses of people immortalised in the form of statues, rather than tearing them down.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: We can only do that if weve got justice, which means the statue needs to be put in context.

"Some will have to come down. Some names will have to change."

Statue of 18th century slaver Robert Milligan in east London removed 1 /18 Statue of 18th century slaver Robert Milligan in east London removed Workers prepare to take down a statue of slave owner Robert Milligan at West India Quay, east London PA Police officers look on as a statue of Robert Milligan is pictured being removed by workers from outside the Museum of London Docklands near Canary Wharf Reuters A statue of slave owner Robert Milligan is removed at West India Quay, east London as Labour councils across England and Wales will begin reviewing monuments and statues in their towns and cities PA Reuters Reuters PA PA PA TOWER HAMLETS COUNCIL/AFP via Getty Images Reuters Slaveholder Robert Milligan's statue was removed on Tuesday TOWER HAMLETS COUNCIL/AFP via Getty Images Workers remove the statue of slave-owner and slave merchant Robert Milligan after a petition in West India Quay, London Getty Images Protesters covered the Robert Milligan statue's head with fabric Ehtasham Haque The Robert Milligan statue was re-erected outside the Museum of London Docklands in 1997 Google Maps

He continued: I mean, the church, goodness me, you know, you just go around Canterbury Cathedral, theres monuments everywhere, or Westminster Abbey, and were looking at all that, and some will have to come down.

But yes, there can be forgiveness, I hope and pray as we come together, but only if theres justice.

If we change the way we behave now, and say this was then and we learned from that, and change how were going to be in the future, internationally, as well.

Pressed on whether he was saying statues will be taken down in the cathedral, Rev Welby said: No, I didnt say that. I very carefully didnt say that.

He said it is not his decision, and told the programme: Were going to be looking very carefully and putting them in context and seeing if they all should be there.

Rev Welby added: The question arises. Of course it does. We have seen that all over the world.

He said it is what people do at times like this, adding: And its a good thing, but there has to be, for forgiveness, there has to be this turning round, this conversion, the Pope called it.

Protesters throw statue of Edward Colston into Bristol harbour 1 /13 Protesters throw statue of Edward Colston into Bristol harbour PA Keir Gravil via Reuters PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA

The change of heart that says we learned from them not to be like that, and to change the way we are in the future.

Rev Welby was also asked if the church needed to "reimagine" Jesus' whiteness in the west.

He said: "Yes, of course it does, this sense that God was white...you go into churches (around the world) and you don't see a white Jesus.

"You see a black Jesus, a Chinese Jesus, a middle eastern Jesus - which is of course the most accurate - you see a Fijian Jesus.

He added: "Jesus is portrayed in as many ways as there are cultures languages and understandings.

Bristol mayor on Edward Colston statue protestors: "It wasnt mindless"

"And I don't think that throwing out everything we've got in the past is the way does it, but I do think saying 'that's not the Jesus who exists, that's not who we worship' - it is a reminder of the universality of the God who became fully human."

Anti-racism protests sparked by the death of My Floyd in the United States have prompted activists around the world to tear down statues.

In Bristol, a statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down and dumped in the harbour, while the figure of slave owner Robert Milligan was taken down from its plinth at West India Quay in Londons Docklands.

Last week, the governing body of Oxfords Oriel College expressed their wish to remove a statue of British imperialist Cecil Rhodes, following fresh protests.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Driving to lunch on Wednesday, I turned on South Floridas public radio station, WLRN. (My family is living in Boca Raton this summer.) The host was interviewing Rebekah Jones, the data scientist who was fired by the Florida Department of Health in mid-May.

Jones had built the departments coronavirus dashboard, which had been praised for its transparency by no less an authority than U.S. pandemic coordinator Deborah Birx. But as time went on, she became concerned with some of the requests made by her superiors.

As she described it in the radio interview, in late April, with most of the state preparing to reopen, she refused to comply with a demand to manipulate data that would make it appear as though certain counties were closer to meeting key reopening benchmarks than they truly were. (The health department says she was dismissed for repeated acts of insubordination.)

After her firing, she says, her husband told her, What did it change? ... Theyre still lying to people. Thus motivated, Jones started a GoFundMe campaign that raised $170,000 and used the money to build an alternative to Floridas dashboard. She began posting data a few weeks ago.

Joness dismissal and her new dashboard have received a lot of media attention. Her new creation is a marvel, with granular data that is plainly better than the states effort.

But thats not the only reason reporters came knocking on her door. Ever since a handful of Republican governors started reopening their states in early May, critics have crafted a narrative that these governors were acting recklessly by reopening too early. They cared more about pleasing President Donald Trump  who had urged states to reopen  than protecting their citizens from a deadly virus, or so the thesis went.

Joness allegation fit right into that narrative. The idea that the state health department was manipulating data to shade reality was all too believable. Wasnt this exactly the kind of thing a Trump-loving governor like Floridas Ron DeSantis would do? Of course it was!

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In late May, the Daily Beast reported that a conspiracy theory had developed on the left: Florida is deliberately trying to undercount coronavirus fatalities by labeling them as something else. Although the DeSantis administration has vehemently denied this, the governor has a knack for making things worse. Just the other day, he changed the way Florida counts available intensive care beds to include not just current ICU availability but also beds that could be converted into ICU units if necessary. His critics leaped on this change as yet another example of his willingness to cook the books.

Most of Florida entered Phase 2 of its reopening in mid-May. Stores, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters and bars all opened their doors again  at 50% capacity  after barely a month of lockdown. Tattoo parlors, too. Groups could congregate as long as there were fewer than 50 people. Masks were recommended but not required.

And sure enough  just as the critics had predicted  the number of positive cases started to rise again. Indeed, over the last few weeks, they have climbed rapidly in all the states that opened early. On Thursday, Texas paused its reopening as its hospitals worried about having enough beds for virus patients. But because of DeSantiss combative tone  and his insistence that Floridas model for fighting the pandemic was superior to that of blue states like New York  he came in for special opprobrium

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman tweeted: Americas disastrous pandemic response, in one picture. The picture was a chart showing Floridas seven-day average of positive Covid-19 cases:

DeSantis has lost control of Floridas Covid-19 response, said Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat. She accused him of recklessly reopening Florida despite the data screaming for caution. Another critic, Florida International University pandemic expert Aileen Marty, described DeSantis as shooting himself in the foot. She added, It is a horrible situation. But he thinks in downplaying the threat of the virus thats going to help the economy.

But how dire is the threat to Florida? The answer is that although the increase in positive cases is worrisome, it is far from clear that disaster is right around the corner.

There is no denying that the increase in new positive cases has been setting daily records. On June 1, the Florida health department reported 602 new cases. By June 6, there were 1,400. The daily number kept climbing until it reached 5,472 on Tuesday. In the early part of June, much of the rise was due to a significant increase in testing. But by the middle of the month, the number of daily tests had leveled off  yet the number of positive cases kept rising.

What hasnt risen is the number of daily deaths; in fact, that number is going down  from 41 on June 2 to seven on June 23. (The numbers for the past two weeks could be revised higher because of delays in reporting.) And while hospitalizations have risen, they havent gone up nearly as fast as positive cases; the states hospitals still seem to have more than enough capacity. Yes, deaths are a lagging indicator, but one would have expected the trend line to start climbing by now. It hasnt. (Its worth nothing that Rebekah Joness numbers are only marginally different from the states data.)

What appears to be happening is that while the older, more vulnerable population is taking precautions  and Florida nursing homes are still in lockdown  many younger Floridians have viewed Phase 2 as their signal to throw caution to the wind.

Too many bars have not been compliant, said Charles Lockwood, a scientist who heads the Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida. Theyve created party atmospheres, with young people, without masks, crowded together, having a good time  and spreading Covid-19. Lockwood told me that the average age of a Floridian with the virus has dropped to younger than 34 from 62.5.

He also sent me a social distancing scoreboard compiled by a mobility data firm called Unacast. In April, the firm gave Florida a grade of B, meaning that people in the state had reduced their mobility by 55% to 70%. For most of June, Floridas grade has been F.

DeSantis is said to be furious at the bars that are violating the rules. He has sent inspectors across the state with instructions to pull the licenses of offenders. But during a news conference the other day in Orlando, while noting that younger people are far less likely to suffer severe consequences from Covid-19, he also seemed to suggest that there wasnt much he could do to keep them from activities that could spread the virus. (On Friday, Florida suspended drinking in bars.)

And you know something? Maybe there isnt. Cities across Florida are reimposing mask requirements  sometimes setting steep fines for offenders. And the state government is also stressing the importance of wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.

Should Florida go back into lockdown because people in their 20s and 30s are engaging in risky behavior? Thats what DeSantiss critics seem to want, but that would impose another kind of hardship  more people would lose their jobs, schools wouldnt be able to reopen, and the economy would go into a tailspin.

Given the federal governments utter mismanagement of the pandemic, it has fallen to governors to make decisions about balancing the risk of the virus spreading against the risk of economic calamity. DeSantis, it seems to me, is doing a pretty good job of it: Florida is protecting its elderly, cautioning the population to take appropriate protective measures but also allowing life to go on, knowing that the younger and less vulnerable are likely to do dumb things. The situation may change  the hospital system could become overwhelmed if positive cases climb relentlessly, for example  but for now, the approach makes sense.

DeSantiss true problem is that he too often says and does things that inflame the situation. Last week, he blamed the sudden rise in positive cases on the influx of Hispanic farmworkers, which infuriated his critics. Earlier, his administration told medical examiners across the state they could no longer release information about coronavirus cases. That caused several newspapers to accuse him of hiding information.

But if you can ignore what DeSantis says, and focus instead on what Florida has done, its hard not to be impressed. Floridas population is the third largest in the U.S. One out of every five residents is elderly. Yet it ranks in the bottom half of the U.S. in terms of deaths per 100,000 citizens. That may not be what DeSantiss critics want to hear, but its true.

(Updates 19th paragraph with news that Florida halted drinking in bars.)

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Joe Nocera is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering business. He has written business columns for Esquire, GQ and the New York Times, and is the former editorial director of Fortune. His latest project is the Bloomberg-Wondery podcast "The Shrink Next Door."

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

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At a time when most of the students are confused about their future while some are unsure about their higher education plans, Surat-based entrepreneur Krunal Vaghela was very clear about his business plans and strategies at the age of just 18. To cater emerging and changing consumer needs he had started a shop called Baby Care Shop, exclusive for new born babies only. Also he entered in pharmaceuticals business.

This venture of Krunal Vaghela received very positive response from the citizens of Surat which encouraged him to expand the business. Within three years he expanded business in a large scale retail outlet in 1200 sq ft area, where wide range of quality products were made available for mothers and babies. A separate department was also formed to provide an array of products for mothers and 18 segments were created for new born babies. With over 15000+ customers and good online presence, the success of the store further encouraged Krunal Vaghela to launch one more firm. Thus, Agiourveda was born.

With an aim to serve health conscious customers, Krunal Vaghela, the man behind Agiourveda  a brand of Vaghela Overseas, has launched various Ayurvedic products including Aloe Vera gel, ayurvedic soaps, scrub, superfood, beauty products and much more for mothers, childrens and new born babies. Maintaining quality over anything, his company makes sure to not compromise with the environment by not harming any natural resources and animals.

Based in Surat, Agiourveda was established on May 4, 2019, and its major products are sold in different parts of the globe including United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Taiwan and New Zealand. Moreover, the brand is known for using natural ingredients in the products which are free from chemicals and gives long-lasting results. To manufacture handmade and hygienic products, there is strict supervision while the product is being made. The quality of products has impressed many wholesalers and distributors which has seen a drastic growth in the sale of products.

The tagline of the brand says Redefine Your Health, and it absolutely lives by the words. Speaking about the mission of Agiourveda, Vaghela said, We strive for excellence. Quality comes over quantity for us. The company aims to provide premium products to customers without any side-effects. My goal is to tap and explore new markets to let people know about chemical-free products. Of course, revenue plays a key role for every company and even I believe to achieve the set target which would foster the growth and prosperity of the company. With more than 75 professional staffs, Krunal Vaghela is leaving no stone unturned to make Agiourveda a premium name among other brands.

Disclaimer: This is a company press release. No HT Journalist is involved in creation of this content.
Recursion -- the computational capacity to embed elements within elements of the same kind -- has been lauded as the intellectual cornerstone of language, tool use and mathematics. A multi-institutional team of researchers for the first time show this ability is shared across age, species and cultural groups in a new study published in the June 26 issue of the journal Science Advances.

"Recursion is a way to organize information that allows humans to see patterns in information that are rich and complex, and perhaps beyond what other species see," said Jessica Cantlon, the Ronald J. and Mary Ann Zdrojkowski Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at CMU and senior author on the paper. "We try to trace the origins of our complex and rich intellectual activities to something in our evolutionary past to understand what makes our thinking similar to and distinct from other species."

The team set up a series of experiments with U.S. adults, adults from an indigenous group in Bolivia that largely lacks formal education, U.S. children and non-human primates. After training on the task, the researchers provided each group with sequences to order. They studied how each group conducted this task, either in a recursive or non-recursive way (listing) and looked to see which order they naturally chose.

The researchers found that the human participants from all age and cultural groups spontaneously ordered content from a recursive approach by building nested structures. The non-human primate subjects more commonly used a simpler listing strategy but with additional exposure began using the recursive strategy, eventually ending up in the range of performance of human children.

"This ability to represent recursive structures is present in children as young as three years old, which suggests it is there even before they use it in language," said Stephen Ferrigno, a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University and first author on the paper. "We also saw this ability across people from widely different human cultures. Non-human primates also have the capacity to represent recursive sequences, given the right experience. These results dispel the long-held belief that only humans have the capacity to use this rule."

The team found that working memory was an important factor affecting the sequencing abilities of participants. A strong correlation exists between working memory and the use of the hierarchical strategy.

"Some of the errors were due to working memory, because participants had to remember which objects went first and relate that to other objects later in the list," said Ferrigno. "Children and non-human primates had more errors, which may be due to lower working memory capacity."

The authors note that this work offers a simplified version of a recursive task using visual cues. A more complex series of tasks may not yield the same results.

"There is something universal of being a human that lets our brains think this way spontaneously, but primates have the ability to learn it to some degree," said Cantlon. "[This research] really gives us a chance to sort out the evolutionary and developmental contributions to complex thought."

###

Cantlon and Ferrigno were joined by Samuel Cheyette and Steven Piantadosi at the University of California, Berkeley on the study titled, "Recursive sequence generation in monkeys, children, US adults, and native Amazonians." This work received support from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the University of Rochester.
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Unfolding political events in Nigeria are difficult to engage, partly because we have so many experts who are strongly opinionated but perhaps more sycophantically inclined to demonstrate support for leading political actors. Analysis get reduced to imagined winners and losers, which substantially then blemish the real essence of what is at play and end up distracting or pinning politicians to same old issues of personality contests. This way, our politics is always about personalities and every political decision, especially by political parties is reduced to hegemonic analysis of political leaders.

Most of the public debate around the emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of Thursday, June 25, 2020 was more about who was in control, who emerged victorious and what does that mean in terms of so-called 2023 projections. Whether in terms of interpreting court orders or provisions of the APC constitution, which would have influenced decision to convene the meeting and arrive at some of the resolutions, most Nigerians reduced the issues to strategic positioning of preferred APC leaders. As a result, most analysis are hardly about finding solutions to the leadership problems facing the APC or emerging lessons. When preferred APC leaders are perceived to be disadvantaged, those APC leaders allegedly being responsible for such circumstances get labelled negatively.

In the end, lessons that are emerging, risk being lost. In addition, even when our political leaders appear to be taking very bold steps to ensure the development of Nigerian politics and our democracy, our public analysis gets oriented to drag us to the same old backward politics of intolerance and conflicts. Nevertheless, we keep expecting that our politics can rise above personalities to perhaps issue based. We want so-called godfathers to be decimated, but all our analysis revolves around how these godfathers should be either strengthened or defeated. Our leaders and their decisions are consequently reduced to for or against preferred godfathers. Consequently, both preceding and after the June 25 APC NEC meeting, position of most Nigerians is about how key APC leaders stand. We need to go beyond this.

Partly because of the approach of reducing everything around the NEC to so-called 2023 projection and what its decisions represent, vital lessons that have emerged are hardly the focus. For instance, how President Muhammadu Buhari was able to exercise his responsibility as the moral authority of the party, get reduced to whether his actions and recommendations demonstrate support for some of the leading actors in the APC leadership crisis. If moral authority is about adhering to truth, why should any moral leader take side? If anything, President Buhari would have lost his moral authority if he had taken side. Largely because President Buhari was able to discharge the responsibility of being the moral authority in APC, although members of APC NEC went into the meeting sharply divided, they came out united and resolute to work for the unity of the party. They went with problems and came out with solutions.

Instead of asking the question, how was the President able to achieve that, some analysts, unfortunately, are more interested in interpreting the Presidents actions within the boundaries of the problems. This could mean ensuring that APC remains with the problem. All members of the party must resist that. We should be able to respond by acknowledging properly the commendable leadership of the President in this challenging moment. Without attempting to compel or force anyone, he was able to broker peace in the party. Instead of displaying authoritarian methods, he followed conventional democratic processes of presenting recommendations and allowing members of NEC to decide. Rather than being a dictator as he is always accused of, he displayed excellent democratic credentials.

With the way the NEC played out, we should ask the question, why did it take this long to hold the NEC? The simple answer is because we have locked ourselves with leaders who become the problem. The fact is, the President was able to discharge his responsibility as the moral authority of the party because he freed himself from all the leaders who were the problem. It is only because of that he was able to see the true picture and accordingly make recommendations that can solve the problem. These were recommendations that didnt defeat anyone but favour everyone, which confirms the Presidents status as belonging to everybody and belonging to no one. This is one attribute that can be said to be unique to this President. Somehow, this is one attribute that all APC leaders must seek to imbibe especially those positioning themselves as potential 2023 successors. If the APC leadership crisis is anything to go by, it highlights the danger of the shortage of leaders with this unique attribute. Therefore, part of the challenge before every APC leader is to develop this attribute.

Looking at the proposals the President presented to the emergency NEC, which eventually became the solution, it may provide a guide in terms of how they can develop these attributes. These proposals include discontinue pending litigation(s) involving the Party and its members, ratify Edo State primary election, dissolve National Working Committee, and appoint caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Working Committee. These are not proposals that support any of the partys in the APC leadership crisis. But they are also proposals that accommodated everyone. By far, what may have settled the matter was the composition of the Convention Working Committee, which reflected all sections but more importantly party leaders that are not directly involved in the dispute. How was the President able to achieve this? This should be the question APC leaders should be asking if they are to succeed in developing the unique attributes of the President.

Beyond the recommendations, the ability of the President to keep these recommendations to himself until the meeting is a critical success factor. Were the President to have leaked it to any of the parties in the leadership conflict, the outcome would have been different, which may include lobbies to dominate the Convention Working Committee with loyalists and benefactors to the crisis. This could even lead to another dispute that may block the emergency NEC from holding. The element of surprise experienced by members of the APC NEC when they received these proposals from President Buhari would have been a source of relief and therefore made approvals very easy.

Interestingly, when one review most assessment of the outcome of the emergency NEC, what is common is the question of which party in the leadership conflict won. Some corrosive presentation of background of members of the Convention Working Committee are being fed to the public. Some go as far as attempting to locate victories of leaders involved in the APC crisis back to their membership of legacy parties that merged to form the APC. This can only lead to renewed agitations by sections of the APC leadership. Leaders of the party need to rise above this divisive analysis and seek to complement the effort of President Buhari in guiding the party towards finding solution to its leadership problem. The best way to do that will be to have renewed faith in one another as leaders. Our leaders can disagree and at the same time remain united. Disagreements must not create enemies out of our leaders and as a result make them to run away from each other to the extent of sabotaging meetings of organs of the party. Party organs rather than hegemonic scheming should be used to find baseline agreement.

As it is, the experience of the APC leadership crisis has once again brought the best out of APC leaders, thanks to President Buharis ability to successfully deploy his moral authority. Arguably, this is about the first time in Nigerian politics that a political party is moving towards resolution of very serious leadership conflict democratically using its internal mechanism. Take out President Buhari and the role he played, you are likely to have a reply of the familiar leadership crisis in a typical Nigerian political party  breakaways, splits and decamping. Every APC member and leader should seek to strengthen the capacity of the party to consummate the process of resolving the current conflict.

One of the empirical features of the emerging lessons of the APC crisis is aptly described by Moises Naim, a Venezuelan journalist, in his book The End of Power when he argued what is changing the world has less to do with the competition between megaplayers than with the rise of micropowers and their ability to challenge the megaplayers. The current APC leadership crisis is partly triggered by the reality of the changes being experienced in Nigerian politics whereby godfathers are being challenged by local leaders. Who would have ever thought that ward executives could activate a process that consumed the National Chairman and the whole National Working Committee of the ruling party?

In all our democratic experiences, especially under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a National Chairman only get removed on account of disagreement with the President or top leadership of the party at national level. This is largely accountable for why our democracy is so concentrated with so much power at national level. National officers are less accountable and operate almost as gods. Somehow, APC appears to have succeeded in altering this. This may mean a big opportunity to broaden the base of our democracy such that accountability mechanisms are strengthened within the party and decentralised to local levels. How can this be achieved? Will APC leaders take steps to achieve that?

While in the case of the current leadership crisis, it is a case of the survival instinct of Governor Godwin Obaseki mobilising the APC executives of Ward 10, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State against Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the former APC National Chairman, it simply means that all officials of the party must ensure that they have good relationship with their ward executives. As argued by Moises Naim, although these ward leaders dont have coercive power of large and expert organisation but the counterpower that comes from being able to oppose and constrain what those big players can do. Their power is of a new kind; not the massive, overwhelming, and often coercive powerwhat happens when power is radically scattered, diffused, and decayed? Chaos and anarchy. The war of all against all. A world where players have enough power to block everyone elses initiatives, but no one has the power to impose its preferred course of action is a world where decisions are not taken, taken too late, or watered down to the point of ineffectiveness.

War of all against all was exactly what happened in APC. Everybody  members, leaders, sympathisers, supporters, etc. took part in the conflict. No player or actor in the conflict had enough power to block others and no one had enough power to impose preferred positions. Decisions are blocked as our partys constitution was practically set aside resulting in organs not meeting. When eventually NEC met and the decisions came, it was late, at least not able to save Governor Obaseki even though it adopted the controversial governorship primary election that produced Pastor Ize-Iyamu as the Governorship candidate of the party for the 2020 election. How effective were these decisions?

With the NEC successfully held, have the crisis been resolved? No, but at least it can be said the ugly period is over. To the extent that we have a Convention Working Committee that will manage the party for a period of six months and organise a National Convention to elect a new leadership, it can be said that the crisis will be resolved. Given that a section of the dissolved National Working Committee (NWC) are threatening legal actions against the decision of the NEC, what does this mean? It simply means that a section of the dissolved NWC are working against the party. Perhaps the Convention Working Committee should consider invoking provisions of Article 21: Discipline of Party Members of the APC constitution by taking advantage of the now discovered micropowers of ward leaders. Based on that those members of the dissolved NWC who attempt to institute legal actions against the decisions of NEC should be appropriately sanctioned.

It is the responsibility of the Convention Working Committee to ensure that all the rascally conducts of party leaders that characterised the APC leadership conflict are brought under control. We should on no account tolerate conduct of any leader of the party, which makes them more associated with activities of bandits who dont respect any rule or any leader.

Finally, it needs to be emphatically stated that APC leaders have put to shame all the bullish media analysis that attempted to divide them. Our APC leaders have resoundingly demonstrated that it is healthy to disagree, but it is not impossible to have a consensus, no matter the disagreement. So-called media analysts can project whatever conclusions based on their fantasies; it doesnt stop our leaders from having a rational consideration of proposals before them. The critical question will be, are Nigerians ready and willing to support this brand of politics and encourage it to become mainstream politics?

This position does not represent the view of any APC Governor or the Progressive Governors Forum
Can we ever speak for the injustices that are happening around us? Its a question that haunts us all and even after seeing the wrongs, we choose to ignore but Manoj Bajpayee and Devashish Makhijas latest release Bhonsle will shove the brutal realities of this unfair society on your face. Set in a time when Maharashtra was not ready to accept any North Indian migrants or outsiders, Bhonsle tells you this hatred is deep-rooted. When the powerful oppress the powerless, you know things are going the ugly route. Well, the whole country is currently debating about the acceptance of the outsiders and the plight of migrant workers, Bhonsle released at the apt time when we actually need to discuss and be empathetic towards who are coming to the metropolitan cities just to make sure they are fed and have a livelihood to sustain and whats wrong in it. The whole idea of co-existence is what we need to understand and Bhonsle will make you contemplate that aspect.

There are so many layers to this movie and with every aspect comes the revelation of one dark reality. All the characters are metaphors of what we largely see in society. So, its all shot in a chawl that basically reflects society or a county at a larger place where locals and migrants stay together in one roof. As I mentioned that every character and space in the movie is metaphorical, Bajpayees character Bhonsle is someone who believes in the factor of co-existence and always chooses the righteous path over the wrong one. Its about good over evil. He is an almost silent character but Manoj pulls it off brilliantly with his facial expressions and mere his presence is enough to feel the intensity of a particular scene.

 SonyLIV

Santosh Juvekar who plays the character of Vilas reflects the stringent mindset of people who get happiness by oppressing the migrants. He believes in the concept of Marathi Manoos over anything. His character will put in uncomfortable spots as he will do anything and go to any level that will give him the feeling of being a powerful human being who has the right over everything and everyone. Santosh does an amazing job of playing this dark character well on the screen because you achieve your goal when you make the viewers convinced that its more of a real person than a character.

 SonyLIV

Abhishek Banerjee who has been in the limelight for his portrayal of Hathoda Tyagi in the recent past doesnt disappoint here too as he plays the character of Rajendra who hails from Bihar and show the perspective of the migrants who make a group to show that they equally have a say. Its true that when minorities start fearing their existence, they make groups to show their consolidated power. Abhishek also pulls off his character brilliantly but if you would be left wanting to see more of him.

 SonyLIV

Ipshita Chakraborty Singh who plays the neighbour of Bhonsle, Sita, is a metaphor used for the people who are paying the price of this feud between insiders and outsiders, powerful and powerless, and locals and migrants. Her character will make you numb and one of the scenes in the movie will haunt you even after you have switched off the laptop and are done seeing the movie. Sitas brother Lalu also becomes the victim of bullying and the child actor Virat Vaibhav nailed his performance and you would fall in love with his innocence.

 SonyLIV

Director Devashish has given attention to details while making the movie look as realistic as possible. From the chawl to the confined kholis, everything has been given attention. The cinematography by Jigmet Wangchuk is raw and is one of the highlights of the movie. The music, by Mangesh Dhakde, also goes well with the movie and is kept minimalist.



What viewers might have an issue is the pace of the movie but I will suggest letting the movie grow on you and understand the main motive of why the characters function that way as they do. In a nutshell, the movie is worth your time and attention. The only question that kept me a bit unsettled is why such movies are not sent for Oscar nominations?
The governor reluctantly ordered nonessential businesses and beaches closed for a couple of weeks starting at the end of March, but has never imposed a strict stay-at-home order, as other states have. In part, this was because South Carolina didnt have as many cases relative to its population as other states and a surge wasnt expected to hit until late May or early June. With the predictability of hurricane season, the surge came and most sensible people have begun to get nervous. Yet, with few exceptions, businesses and restaurants remain open, if with self-imposed restrictions and to fewer customers.
Bengaluru: Defying the coronavirus pandemic, 98 per cent of the 7.85 lakh students of class 10 wrote their first Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) board exam in English across Karnataka on Day 1, an official said on Friday.

"Of 7,85,140 students who registered for the English paper as the second language, 7,71,877 or 98 per cent of them took the exam on Thursday in 2,878 centres across the state," Karnataka Secondary Education Examination board director V Sumangala told IANS here.

Though 8.5 lakh students registered for the board exams from June 25-July 4 in as many as 33 subjects, including optionals, Sumangala clarified that the number of those appearing for each subject would vary, depending upon how many of them had opted for it.

"The 8.5 lakh students who registered for the board exams included regulars, freshers, repeaters and private students who appeared directly and not through schools, especially in towns and villages across the state," she added.

Of the students who wrote the paper on Day 1, 12,548 were children of migrant workers, 1,438 stayed in residential hostels or schools, 998 were from containment zones, 555 from other states, 201 who had cold, cough and other symptoms and 13 who tested positive for Covid-19 though they were seated in separate exam centres.

"With the cooperation of parents and all stakeholders, the SSLC board exams began on a high note, as more than 98 per cent of the registered students appeared for the English paper across the state when many states and the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) cancelled their exams for class 10 students across the country," said state education minister S Suresh Kumar.

The minister also appreciated the students for reposing faith in the board and reporting to their respective exam centres well in time, wearing a mask, sanitizing their hands and maintaining social distancing.

"While authorities, including teachers, would do their best in conducting the remaining papers till July 4 in all subjects, we hope students and their parents would strictly follow the guidelines from the time they leave home and return from the exam centre," reiterated Kumar.

Students who missed the exam would be allowed to appear for supplementary exams in August, if they convinced the department of the reason for their absence.

"We will verify the reasons for skipping the exam. If genuine, we will allow the absentees to sit for the supplementary exams. The department officials will contact the absentees and find out why they missed the exam," said Kumar.

The minister also assured parents and guardians that their wards were safe at the exam centres.

"There is no question of cancelling our exams like the CBSE and others have done. We will complete the remaining exams as scheduled by July 4 in the interest of all students who could not appear in March due to the lockdown and its extension till May 31," added Kumar.

A whopping 86,000 people, including 63,000 state-run school teachers and 23,000 from other departments such as health, police and social welfare were on duty for the smooth conduct of the exams in six subjects, including English, Kannada, third language, natural sciences, social sciences and mathematics.

"Nearly 200-250 students have been accommodated at each centre, with nearly 200 at the centres located in the containment zones, said Sumangala.

The exams were earlier scheduled from March 27 to April 9, but were put off as the lockdown was extended thrice up to May 31. As a two-metre distance was kept between two students, more exam centres had been arranged to comply with the guidelines.

Each exam centre had also been equipped with sanitizer dispensers to wash hands before and after the exams.
Spains Foreign Ministry has expressed its concern over the toppling of statues of Spanish historical figures in the United States. Hundreds of statues have been toppled, vandalized or officially removed in the US amid the protests over the killing of George Floyd, who died during arrest after a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for nearly 10 minutes on May 25.

Most of these statues depicted Confederate leaders, but monuments to Christopher Columbus, who traveled to the New World under the patronage of Spains Catholic Monarchs, and Friar Junipero Serra, a Spanish priest who led religious missions in the US, have also been targeted.

On Thursday, the Spanish Royal Academy of History (RAH) issued a statement deploring the attacks and reaffirming its commitment to the knowledge of Spains actions in America, beyond the falsification, the distortion and the partisan manipulation.

A statue of Christopher Columbus about to be removed from Wooster Square Park in New Haven, Connecticut. GTRES

According to Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya, Spain has sent several diplomatic letters to address the issue, and sources from the ministry say the Spanish ambassador to the US has approached federal, state and local authorities, without mentioning which ones. We have made them aware of the importance we award to this shared history with the United States, as shared as it is unknown, said Gonzalez Laya at a press conference on Wednesday.

The letters are not formal complaints, and the concerns have been discreetly communicated to US authorities, said Gonzalez Laya.

The wave of anti-racism protest sparked by the death of George Floyd has opened a wider debate on historical symbols in the US. Amid this discussion, monuments to Hispanic figures as diverse as Columbus, Don Quijote author Miguel de Cervantes and the explorer Juan Ponce de Leon have been toppled or beheaded.

During the press conference, Gonzalez Laya tried to draw a line between the fight against racism, arguing Spain shares a lot with this movement, and the attacks on statues of Spanish figures. The minister also announced that Spain will open a headquarters of the Cervantes Institute in Los Angeles before the end of the year.

Unjustified attacks

The Spanish Royal Academy of History on Thursday condemned the attacks against the monuments to Spanish figures, arguing that they were not just against the memory of famous people, but also against the history of Spain due to lack of knowledge.

Only an anachronistic and decontextualized interpretation of historical events could explain the unjustified attacks against these monuments, stated the release. The institutions website offers biographies of several of these historical figures to achieve a contextual vision of their careers and achievements that is different from the image of them that is being portrayed by some media and some groups.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
Hyderabad, June 26 : An eight-year-old white tiger died in Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad due to neoplastic tumour, Zoo officials said.

Kiran, which was born in the zoo, was suffering from neoplastic tumour in the right side of the lower jaw and was under intensive care treatment at Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES), a unit under the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) for last three weeks. The big cat succumbed on Thursday.

Neoplastic tumour has already claimed the lives of Kiran's father and grandfather, both white tigers, at the same zoo during the last few years. The experts have begun a study into the causes of the disease.

According to Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) curator N. Kshitija, Kiran's father Badri and grandfather Rudra, both died of neoplastic tumour -- Badri at 12, Rudra when 14 years.

Keeping in mind the health condition of Kiran, NZP authorities approached LaCONES to conduct a study on causes of neoplastic tumour in three generations of white tiger.

The veterinary experts from Veterinary Biological Research Institute (VBRI), Hyderabad College of Veterinary Sciences, LaCONES and retired deputy director and Zoo consultant Dr M. Navin Kumar had been treating Kiran since May 29.

"The diagnostic reports of the tiger have been sent to the principal scientist IVRI for expert opinion. The biopsy results are awaited from VBRI," she said.

Veterinary expert team headed by the Professor and head of the department of pathology at College of Veterinary Science conducted the postmortem.

The experts observed lesions and hard mass of approximately 500 grams nercosed extended into the lower jaw. The lungs were infiltrated with small neoplastic tumours causing them to collapse leading to death associated with asphyxia. All samples were collected and sent to VBRI for further detailed examination.
Work on repairing and downloading the cockpit voice and data recorders will begin on July 20.

France said on Friday it would download the black boxes from a Ukrainian airliner downed by an Iranian missile in January, easing a stand-off over where they should be read.

France's BEA crash investigation agency said it was acting at the request of Iran, which remains responsible under global rules for conducting a formal accident probe after acknowledging that the Boeing 737 was downed by its forces, Reuters said.

The Ukraine International Airlines flight was shot down on January 8 by an Iranian ground-to-air missile, killing 176 people in what Tehran termed a "disastrous mistake" at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.

Work on repairing and downloading the cockpit voice and data recorders will begin on July 20, the BEA said.

Read alsoRelatives of downed Ukraine airliner victims say possessions "looted"  media

Aviation authorities in Canada, 57 of whose citizens died on board, said they would send a team to Paris to participate.

Iran's envoy to the United Nations aviation agency told Reuters earlier this month that the country's Air Accident Investigation Board had asked the BEA to read the black boxes, though this was followed by conflicting ministerial statements.

Friday's statement suggests Western and Iranian officials will jointly witness the technical work at the BEA, though one person following the case did not rule out last-minute changes.

Under UN guidelines, U.S. and Ukrainian accident investigators are accredited to the investigation, but there was no immediate confirmation of whether they would travel to France.

The BEA, which has a laboratory on the outskirts of Paris, has a history of assisting with some of the most sensitive probes when tensions are high between parties directly involved.
LANSING  Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in partnership with the Michigan State Police today announced the release of the 2019 OK2SAY Annual Report, noting the student safety program received more than 5,700 tips with the two most reported incidents being suicide threats and bullying.

OK2SAY is an effective prevention-based reporting mechanism tool, logging 25,413 tips from students across Michigan since September 2014 as of early June. The program received nearly 23,000 tips through December 2019.

OK2SAY has done more than save lives, it's prevented violence and has ensured that Michigan students have a safe place to learn and grow, said Nessel. OK2SAY has played an important role in helping students get the support they need, both in school and out in their communities.

OK2SAY received 5,742 tips in 2019. Tips were received in 31 categories, including these top five categories:

1,298 tips on suicide threats

1,001 tips on bullying

624 tips on drugs

401 tips related to other (e.g., anxiety, stress, depression, harassment)

368 tips on self-harm

The Michigan State Police continues to be proud of the positive impact this program is having in improving safety within our schools and in supporting Michigan students, stated Col. Joe Gasper, director of the Michigan State Police. Students should know that even though they are not physically meeting in school buildings right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our OK2SAY technicians remain at work and stand ready to support students 24/7 in any way they can.

KEY FEATURES OF OK2SAY

Confidential Reporting: The identity of the reporting party will not be disclosed to local law enforcement, school officials or the person about whom a tip is offered unless the reporter voluntarily chooses to disclose his or her identity. If the reporter is a minor, the parent or guardian must also consent.

Comprehensive Technology: Anyone can confidentially submit tips 24/7 using any of the five tip methods: phone, text message, email, website and OK2SAY mobile app. Multi-media attachments like photos and links to additional information are encouraged.

Coordinated Intervention: Upon receipt of a tip, specially trained OK2SAY technicians at the Michigan State Police screen and forward tips to an appropriate responding agency including local law enforcement, schools, local community mental health organizations or the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

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Indias MakeMyTrip Pushes Out Expectations for Profits Even Further Because of Pandemic

MakeMyTrip Group warned Friday that it might not see profits for years. But the online travel reseller based in Gurugram, India, also argued that its the best-capitalized of the countrys homegrown travel companies to come out of the crisis stronger.

Executives predicted during a call with analysts that it will outperform smaller rivals, which will face a more intense struggle to cope with the pandemic and the related collapse in travel.

What gives me further optimism is that we entered this crisis in a far stronger competitive and financial positioning than our peers and believe that gap will only widen as we begin our recovery, said Deep Kalra, co-founder and executive chairman of the group.

The company expects the pandemic may weed out smaller and weaker players and reign in the price war and expensive marketing battle that has ruled Indias online travel scene for years. It may get creative with its commissions and incentives to make it easier for hotel owners to afford to distribute rates on its site and mobile apps.

MakeMyTrip Group reported adjusted revenue of $137.2 million in the quarter ended March 31, before the pandemic took its biggest toll. Adjusted revenue numbers reflect a more accurate picture than the unadjusted ones, according to Skift Research, because of recent accounting changes and currency factors affecting the company.

During the first three months of the year, the group had an operating loss of $10.3 million. This figure reflected the companys continued trajectory of narrowing its adjusted operating loss in sequential quarters and year-over-year. Yet the pandemic has forced the company to postpone its plans to narrow its losses to the single-digit millions in a continuous way this year.

Theres a reset of the business, said Mohit Kabra, chief financial officer.

The pandemic reached India later than elsewhere, and the government put the country under lockdown on March 25. The company said it expected a more significant impact on its earnings in the upcoming quarter. India resumed domestic flights on May 25, and hotel accommodation in much of the country on June 8.

Story continues

Managing Costs and Cash Flow

Kabra said Friday the companys executives couldnt estimate the impact of Covid-19 on the companys future revenues, cash flows, or liquidity. But the executives said the well-capitalized Trip.com Group, which took a 49 percent shareholding last year, provides essential support that would let it handle up to two years of a worst-case scenario.

MakeMyTrip Group may have to avoid using cash deposits for future bookings to support its operations after the pandemic prompted mass refund claims. It has been refunding customers for canceled travel using vouchers and credit notes often to preserve cash during an environment of zero revenue.

The companys technology team is working on post-sales automation to make future experiences with its packages products more automated. The company is in talks with banks and payments providers to offer the availability of instant refunds to customers without taking on any balance sheet risk.

Beginning in April, the company cut costs, with reductions in compensation for executives and managers. The company ramped down its outsourced teams at its call centers. In light of the companys shift in focus away from offline sales channels and its effort to trim fixed costs, its closing its company-owned retail stores in India.

We plan to continue driving synergies across our portfolio of multiple brands on the path of disciplined and sustainable growth while making appropriate investments to drive online penetration, said Kalra.

Charitable Efforts

MakeMyTrip Group led a video campaign with about thirty other travel sector partners to market a safety pledge and standardization of hygienic practices to reassure travelers during the pandemic.

The MakeMyTrip Foundation led a charitable response to the pandemic. It supported the testing and treatment of the travel sectors front-line workers, including hotel staff and intercity bus drivers. The company crowdsourced funds and employee contributions to support the handing out of 10,000 cooked meals each day during the height of the crisis to industry workers who had lost their jobs.

MakeMyTrips technology team also contributed to help the government develop and launch a Covid-19 tracing app called Arogya Setu. Indians have downloaded the app more than 130 million times.

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Critics have claimed the 900,000 red, white and blue paint job on the Prime Minister's RAF Voyager plane has been bungled.

Enthusiasts said they thought the Union Flag on its tailfin had been done upside down as Boris Johnson's official aircraft took off from Cambridgeshire yesterday.

Social media users were quick to vent their anger online, with one asking how the Ministry of Defence 'could allow this to happen'.

Another put: 'Union Flag is upside down on the RAF Voyager! Really can't make it up how incompetent this government is!'

The plane, which had been a military grey colour, has been resprayed in white, with the Union Flag on the tailfin and United Kingdom written in gold on the fuselage.

Critics have questioned whether the Union Flag on the tail fin of the RAF Voyager (pictured) has been painted upside-down (right). The correct way up is shown on the left

The aircraft took off on Friday 26 June and was seen refuelling in mid air off the North East coast of the UK

The aircraft used by the Prime Minister and members of the Royal family takes off from Cambridge yesterday on its first flight since receiving the 900,000 makeover

The plane, which had been a military grey colour, has been resprayed in white, with a Union Flag on the tailfin and United Kingdom written in gold on the fuselage

How to tell if someone is being patriotic or signalling for help The Union Jack was first introduced in 1606 as the 'British flag' to be flown at the main masthead of all ships from England and Scotland. In the 1600s the flag was referred to as 'the Jack', 'Jack flag', 'the King's Jack' and 'His Majesty's Jack'. As for what it should be called in what situation nowadays, the Flag Institute says: 'It is often stated that the Union Flag should only be described as the Union Jack when flown in the bows of a warship, but this is a relatively recent idea. The key to working out if it is the right way up is to look at the top left corner. The thick white bar in the top corner closest to the flagpole should be along the top edge of the flag 'From early in its life the Admiralty itself frequently referred to the flag as the Union Jack, whatever its use, and in 1902 an Admiralty Circular announced: 'Their Lordships had decided that either name could be used officially'. 'Such use was given Parliamentary approval in 1908 when it was stated that 'the Union Jack should be regarded as the National flag'.' An upside-down Union Jack is traditionally used as a coded distress signal by British forces. The key to working out if it is the right way up is to look at the top left corner. When the flag is flown correctly, the thick white bar in the top corner closest to the flagpole should be along the top edge of the flag. Advertisement

But the Royal Air Force was quick to defend the paint job, with a source saying it was the correct way round.

They told the Telegraph: 'The design is correct in all respects and carefully follows the correct protocol for displaying the Union Flag on an aircraft.

'The convention is for the flag design to appear as though it is flying from a flag placed on the nose of the aircraft as it travels through the air.

'When viewing the starboard side [right side], this can give the mistaken impression that the design is backwards, or upside down, when in fact the observer is simply viewing the reverse side of the flag.'

The aircraft was seen refuelling in mid air off the north east coast of the UK.

The PM will share the plane with members of the Royal Family who wish to use it when they travel abroad.

Britain does not have a prime ministerial plane used solely by Downing Street, unlike many other countries such as America's presidential jet, Air Force One.

Labour said it showed the government had the wrong 'priorities' when people across the country were worried about jobs and the education of their children.

But Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the government was willing to spend money to 'promote' the UK abroad.

'The work on voyager is part of that promotion,' he had told the daily coronavirus briefing.

Officials have insisted the plane would still be able to fulfil its military role as an air-to-air refuelling tanker. Downing Street also defended the 900,000 price tag.

At the time the cost was revealed, the PM's official spokesman said: 'That incorporates the cost of creating a design that will promote the UK around the world without compromising the plane's vital military role.

'At every stage we have worked to ensure value for money for the UK taxpayer and all of the work has been undertaken in the UK, directly benefiting British suppliers.'

They added: 'That incorporates the cost of creating a design that will promote the UK around the world without compromising the plane's vital military role.

'At every stage we have worked to ensure value for money for the UK taxpayer and all of the work has been undertaken in the UK, directly benefiting British suppliers.'

The interior of the Voyager had a 10million makeover in 2016, when David Cameron was PM.

Following the sprucing up, RAF Voyager was used to take David Cameron and other ministers to the Nato summit in Poland in July 2016.

Mr Johnson has previously questioned why the plane was grey, saying he would like to have a 'Brexit plane' to help him travel the world and promote the Government's vision of global Britain.

He also complained in 2018 while foreign secretary the RAF Voyager jet, which is shared by the PM, Cabinet members and the Royals, 'never seems to be available'.

The new appearance bears a striking resemblance to the retro livery that adorned the British Airways fleet from 1974 to 1980, known as the Negus design.

A file photo of the RAF Voyager in its usual military grey, which makes it less visible in the sky - unlike the colourful new design

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the government was willing to spend money to 'promote' the UK abroad

The RAF Voyager used by the Prime Minister and the royal family is pictured during its first operational outing

The refuelling jets fly away as the Royal Voyager continues on its journey

The Negus livery first adorned the BA planes from 1974 to 1980 after the merger of BOAC and BEA, which led to the formation of the airline customers see today.

The Negus livery was the first time an aircraft had carried 'British Airways' since 1939, when the original British Airways Limited merged with Imperial Airways to form BOAC.

History behind British Airways' Negus design Boris Johnson's new 900,000 red, white and blue RAF Voyager plane bears a striking resemblance to the retro Negus livery. The Negus livery first adorned the British Airways fleet from 1974 to 1980, directly after the merger of BOAC and BEA, which led to the formation of the airline customers know today. The new appearance bears a striking resemblance to the retro livery that adorned the BA fleet from 1974 to 1980, which was known as the Negus design When it initially flew, the Negus livery was the first time an aircraft had carried 'British Airways' since 1939, back when the original British Airways Limited merged with Imperial Airways to form BOAC. In the design, the Union Jack is not present on the body of the plane and is instead adorned on the tailfin of the aircraft. The livery was designed by creative agency Negus & Negus, giving it its name. As BEA and BOAC merged to become British Airways in 1974, elements of both of their liveries were incorporated together to create the Negus. Now, to mark BA's centenary, a Boeing 747 will be repainted in the Negus design. The 747-400, registration G-CIVB, entered the IAC paint bay at Dublin Airport last Saturday where it is being repainted with the first version of the Negus livery. The repainted 747 will return to Heathrow and enter service later this month flying to long-haul destinations served by the Boeing 747, with the design remaining on the aircraft until it retires in 2022. The Negus is the fourth and final heritage design to be painted on a British Airways aircraft. Alex Cruz, British Airways' Chairman and CEO, said: 'Rumours have been circulating for quite some time about this final livery, so it's exciting to confirm it is the Negus design. It's particularly significant for us because it's the first design worn by the British Airways that we all know today, with the distinctive lower case 'a' and the Union Flag on the tailfin.' Advertisement

In the design, the Union Flag is not present on the body of the plane and is instead adorned on the tailfin of the aircraft.

The livery was designed by creative agency Negus & Negus, giving it its name. As BEA and BOAC merged to become British Airways in 1974, elements of both of their liveries were incorporated together to create the Negus.

Now, to mark BA's centenary, a Boeing 747 will be repainted in the Negus design.

The 747-400, registration G-CIVB, entered the IAC paint bay at Dublin Airport last Saturday where it is being repainted with the first version of the Negus livery.

The repainted 747 will return to Heathrow and enter service later this month flying to long-haul destinations served by the Boeing 747, with the design remaining on the aircraft until it retires in 2022.

The Negus is the fourth and final heritage design to be painted on a British Airways aircraft.

Alex Cruz, British Airways' Chairman and CEO, said: 'Rumours have been circulating for quite some time about this final livery, so it's exciting to confirm it is the Negus design.

'It's particularly significant for us because it's the first design worn by the British Airways that we all know today, with the distinctive lower case 'a' and the Union Flag on the tailfin.'

An RAF source said: 'Boris and others will use it to go around the world and wave the British flag.

'It will be diplomatic and it will be appropriate. I imagine it will be in great demand when it gets its new and smart paint job.'

The source played down the prospect of a lurid Austin Powers look for the plane, adding: 'The aircraft will not be a flying Union Jack. It won't be the whole of the aeroplane, it will be a part of it.'

The source said the plane could be changed back to grey 'very quickly' if deemed necessary in a wartime scenario.

They added: 'It will have a lot of functionalities. If we went to war, and all the assets needed to deploy to the Middle East for example, we would change the colour.'

Labour's Louise Haigh said: 'When families across the country are worried about their jobs, health and the education of their children, they will rightly question the Government's priorities when they are spending almost a million pounds redecorating a plane which in all likelihood has been grounded for months because of the coronavirus.'

In May 2018 Mr Johnson asked why the Voyager needed to be grey as he said he needed his own plane in order to boost Britain's post-Brexit trade prospects.

Mr Johnson added it was 'striking' such a plane did not yet exist and suggested it could be a different colour.

He added: 'And also, why does it have to be grey? The taxpayers won't want us to have some luxurious new plane.

'But I certainly think it's striking that we don't seem to have access to such a thing at the moment.'
Singaporeans go to the polls next month ahead of the third change in prime minister in some six decades. And it's all but certain to be a business-friendly technocrat known to work so hard he was back at his job three months after suffering a stroke in a cabinet meeting.

While the ruling People's Action Party has been in power since independence and is expected to remain so, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has made clear his intention to step aside by the time he turns 70 in February 2022. The man tipped to succeed him, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, will navigate a very different future from the one he was groomed to inherit.

"There is a reservoir of trust and confidence in his leadership, but he will have to demonstrate that he and his team are equal to the task of leading Singapore in the post-Covid world," said Eugene Tan, political commentator and associate professor of law at the Singapore Management University. "Managing expectations of a nation so wedded to success makes the task of governing Singapore tougher."

The trade-dependent island was already suffering from the effects of the U.S.-China trade war when the coronavirus hit. Isolation measures to stem the spread of the contagion as it raced through the packed dormitories of migrant workers, infecting more than 40,000 people across the island, compounded the damage. The government is now forecasting a full-year economic contraction of up to 7%, which would mark the worst downturn for the country since its independence.

The soft-spoken Heng, 59, would herald a change of leadership style for the nation, which for all but nearly 14 years has been run by Lee or his late father, Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister. While the younger Lee spent 13 years in the army before entering politics, Heng is a career civil servant and politician: He headed the central bank for six years and served four years as Lee Kuan Yew's principal private secretary.

The elder Lee described Heng as the best principal private secretary he ever had. "He has one of the finest minds among the civil servants I have worked with," Lee wrote in his book "One Man's View of the World." "The only pity is that he is not of a big bulk, which makes a difference in a mass rally."

For the business community, Heng's more collaborative approach is a bigger asset heading into such uncertain times. Whereas Lee Kuan Yew instilled "palpable fear in the room" due to "the strength of his intellect and the force of his personality," Heng seeks out alternative viewpoints, said Ho Meng Kit, chief executive officer of the Singapore Business Federation, which represents more than 25,000 companies.

"It's a different style altogether," said Ho, who previously served as principal private secretary to Lee Kuan Yew. "This time around it's not just that strong leadership that matters, because no one knows where that future is," he added. "And that future needs to be co-created between the public sector and the private sector. And in order to do that you need to build trust."

Heng reinforced his front-runner status in his dual capacity as finance minister and deputy PM by delivering four nationally televised stimulus packages in about three months worth a total of SG$92.9 billion ($66.7 billion), laden with cash handouts, tax waivers and wage subsidies. Over the weekend he headlined the last in a series of pandemic-related speeches by senior party officials, saying the government would set aside an additional SG$20 billion-plus to support research in "high impact areas" such as health and biomedical sciences, climate change and artificial intelligence.

Heng also made it clear that Singapore must maintain its status as a trade hub to survive the crisis. "We are finished if we close up," he said on Saturday. Heng wasn't available for an interview before the election.

The long-term fallout of the pandemic on Singapore's economy is hard to assess, but the next government will face other equally daunting challenges. Climate change, an aging population and growing competition from other nations in Southeast Asia will all require the attention of the next leader. Externally, the new prime minister will have to deal with Asia's shifting geopolitics, testing the ability to remain a key partner of Washington, while extending its growing ties with Beijing.

Key will be his experience in finance, a sector that has grown rapidly and will be vital in the aftermath of the virus, which has battered other pillars of the economy including oil, manufacturing and services. With a masters in economics from the University of Cambridge and one in public administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, he ran the Monetary Authority of Singapore from June 2005 to April 2011, steering the nation's central bank through the global financial crisis. Heng had warned as early as April 2007 about the underpricing of risks for securities including the collateralized debt obligations at the heart of the U.S. housing crisis. But he was unable to prevent the damage infecting Singapore once the crash came.

The MAS re-centered its exchange-rate trading band four times in seven policy reviews, and incurred its first loss on record as the value of its investments plunged. The government got permission to draw SG$4.9 billion from its reserves for the first time to protect jobs during the 2009 financial crisis, and paid back the SG$4 billion used in 2011 after the crisis passed.

"My own sense is I am very open, I listen to all views, and I decide what needs to be done," Heng said at a press conference in November 2018 when asked about his leadership style. "When it is important enough, we will be fast and decisive about it, just like what I did during the global financial crisis, because every minute of delay means far greater risk."

Richard Koh, founder of Singapore fintech start-up M-DAQ, said he was impressed while traveling with Heng and other government officials and business leaders to San Francisco last year to meet Silicon Valley companies and financiers.

"Heng is a listener, as evidenced from the way he obtains information by talking to a wide range of people, both onshore and offshore -- where he often follows up with clarification questions," Koh said. "He clearly has Singapore's future in his mind constantly and never fails to help champion local enterprises whenever the opportunity presents itself."

Still, others see Heng's approach as too cautious. Former PAP lawmaker Inderjit Singh, who stepped down in 2015, said that Heng is a "person with a heart, willing to listen, a caring person," but lacks stature and charisma. "I would like to see him able to decide faster than to spend more time in the consultative process because that would take very long, especially when there's so many views," he said.

The pandemic has shown the need for the ruling People's Action Party to avoid groupthink and take a chance on innovative policies, according to PN Balji, the former top editor of Today newspaper who has worked as a journalist in Singapore for about four decades. Like many countries, Singapore's initial strategy to contain the virus didn't account for how contagious it is, forcing the country into a stringent lockdown that has only just been eased.

"I'm not blaming Heng Swee Keat but we need to get rid of the risk averse culture," Balji said, describing the minister as "safe" and "on an auto-pilot mode."

"If people are not allowed to fail and spring up again, then we will continue to be a safe society," he added. "If this continues, in the new world, we won't do well."

Heng's track record has propelled him to the forefront of the party's fourth-generation or "4G" leaders, which includes former army chief and current trade minister Chan Chun Sing and education minister Ong Ye Kung. Ensuring a smooth continuity has been a hallmark of the PAP's rule, with each former prime minister typically remaining in a senior consultative role after transferring power.

Heng's steady ascent suffered a shock in May 2016 when he had a stroke and collapsed during a cabinet meeting, in which fortunately were three ministers who were doctors, one of whom resuscitated him before the ambulance arrived. After awakening from a six-day coma, Heng reportedly scribbled: "Is there a Cabinet meeting today? Where are the papers?" He was back at work in three months.

In a social media post earlier this year, Heng paid tribute to his wife Chang Hwee Nee, chief executive of the National Heritage Board, for her support, saying, "she showered me with the best care after my stroke, helping to nurse me back to full recovery." They have two children. Heng remarked in 2019 of his work-life habits: "It is a very difficult juggling act and I try my best to have some time to my family and myself, but at the same time I probably put in many, many hours a day."

Heng's speedy bounce back from the stroke shows a "steely determination and fighting spirit that few give him credit for," according to Leonard Lim, Singapore country director for Vriens & Partners.

Those who have seen him in action describe him as personable. When Heng attended a high-intensity weekend-long hackathon in 2017, he didn't seem like "a nerd coming to a party," said Durwin Ho, the chief executive officer of StartupX. Heng stayed longer than expected and showed "genuineness."

A year earlier, Joyce Tay, the company's chief strategy officer, had reached out to Heng on Facebook to offer an invitation shortly after he was released from the hospital. She was surprised when he personally wrote back and explained that his doctor told him he should avoid large crowds.

"I don't know if he remembered that interaction because it was so fleeting, but it was nice to have him the next year," Tay said. "Personally, he strikes me as someone who cares a lot for things and for people and for how the society is growing. It will be exciting to see him continue to grow as a leader."
Enantioselectivity plays an important role in the pharmacological and toxicological processes of chiral drugs.

In chiral drug synthesis that uses bioorthogonal chemistry within complex biological milieu, asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH), which utilizes safe hydrogen donors instead of high pressure H 2 , has been gaining popularity and has been performed in living cells.

Prof. QU Xiaogang from the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry (CIAC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and his colleagues recently presented a novel strategy using a neutrophil-directed ATH reaction to achieve site-selective chiral drug synthesis in living systems.

The study was published in Chem on June 25.

The researchers first constructed inflammation-targeted chiral catalysts by preparing Pd-immobilized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN-Pd).

Cinchona alkaloid enantiomers were individually adsorbed on the MSN-Pd catalyst to introduce enantioselectivity.

A neutrophil membrane was subsequently coated onto the MSN-Pd chiral catalysts, creating the MSN-Pd/CD@Neu catalyst, which possessed inflammation-targeting ability inherited from the neutrophils.

The next stage of research involved using MSN-Pd/CD@Neu to catalyze an intracellular conversion involving the precursors of Ibuprofen (IBU).

IBU is a drug well-known for relieving inflammation, fever and pain. The pharmacological activity of IBU is mainly attributed to the S-enantiomer while the R-enantiomer is thought to be potentially harmful. For this reason, it is important to be able to control the catalysis of IBU into its enantiomers.

In this study, the conversion of the precursor molecule of IBU (pre-IBU) to S-IBU was realized by using a targeted ATH bioorthogonal reaction in a mouse paw model, with HCOONa as the hydrogen donor.

Compared with the controls, the MSN-Pd/CD@Neu catalyst simultaneously exhibited inflammation-targeted capability and enantioselectivity as part of its anti-inflammatory action.

In situ synthesized IBU can ameliorate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-triggered acute inflammation, pyrexia and tissue edema.

This research opens a new avenue for chiral drug synthesis activated on the designed target in living systems. It also holds promise for wide application of targeted bioorthogonal chemistry, especially in enantioselective drug synthesis.

###
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a first ministers' declaration condemning racism didn't mention systemic discrimination because not all the premiers would agree.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a news conference at Big Rig Brewery amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa on Friday, June 26, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a first ministers' declaration condemning racism didn't mention systemic discrimination because not all the premiers would agree.

The statement released Thursday says firmly that all 14 first ministers oppose racism and will drive the governments they lead to fight it.

"Recognizing that one of the strengths of Canada is its diversity, first ministers condemn all forms of racism, discrimination, intolerance, and bigotry," it says in part.

"First ministers are determined to combat it  including anti-Black, anti-Indigenous, and anti-Asian racism and hate, as well as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Hate has no place in Canada and will not be tolerated."

But the statement doesn't talk about more subtle forms of discrimination, in which members of some groups are denied opportunities because of the way systems or programs are designed, without overt expressions of bigotry.

"There was not consensus on using the phrase 'systemic discrimination' or 'systemic racism,'" Trudeau said Friday. "I have been crystal clear that the federal government recognizes it in order to be able to better address it."

Trudeau wouldn't say which premiers weren't on board.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday that he was.

"First of all, I agree, there is systemic racism," he said in his own news conference.

"I guess the biggest concern about the letter, with all the premiers, is a letter is one thing. We all acknowledge it, and I think we've all acknowledged it in our own provinces, and three to four weeks later we're putting this letter out. We want action, and I know the prime minister wants action, too, but all the premiers are saying, 'Enough of the talking. Let's start getting action.'"

Talk is cheap, he said, and it's time to do things about racism.

Public officials such as RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and Quebec Premier Francois Legault have said publicly that they want to root out racism but have rejected the idea that there are discriminatory features inherent to their institutions.

Lucki later reversed herself with a written statement that there is indeed systemic discrimination in the Mounties, though she has had difficulty citing examples.

The national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls offered several instances in its purview a year ago, including the force's poor data on Indigenous homicide victims, gaps in dispatching in remote areas, a lack of cultural awareness among officers assigned to Inuit communities and numerous instances of Indigenous women's reports of crimes not being taken seriously.

Legault, though he set up an anti-racism task force for Quebec earlier this month, has stuck to acknowledging that there are racists in Quebec but no deeper racist structures.

"My definition of systemic racism is that there's a system in Quebec of racism and I don't think there's a system," he said at the announcement of the task force.

Trudeau said he thinks the gap in the first ministers' statement indicates how much work needs to be done to fight systemic racism.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2020.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. Previous version said 14 premiers.
Visa restrictions will be imposed on Chinese leaders believed to be responsible for undermining Hong Kongs autonomy.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday the United States was imposing visa restrictions on Chinese Communist Party officials believed to be responsible for restricting freedoms in Hong Kong.

The move comes in advance of a meeting of Chinas parliament next week that is expected to enact new national security legislation for Hong Kong that has alarmed foreign governments and democracy activists in the special administrative region.

The US visa restrictions apply to current and former CCP officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kongs high degree of autonomy, Pompeo said without naming them.

.@SecPompeo announced visa restrictions on Chinese Communist Party officials involved in undermining Hong Kongs high degree of autonomy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. The U.S. calls on the CCP to keep their promises. https://t.co/1BchrYscxG.  Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) June 26, 2020

Last month, President Donald Trump responded to Chinas new legislation by announcing a process to eliminate special economic treatment that has allowed Hong Kong to remain a global financial centre.

Pompeos announcement represents the first concrete US step in response to Chinas moves.

US rhetoric against Beijing has intensified during Trumps re-election campaign. Opinion polls have found voters increasingly embittered towards China, especially over the coronavirus outbreak, which began in that country.

President Trump promised to punish the Chinese Communist Party officials who were responsible for eviscerating Hong Kongs freedoms. Today, we are taking action to do just that, Pompeo said.

He said China had stepped up efforts to undermine Hong Kongs autonomy through the legislation and by pressuring local authorities to arrest pro-democracy activists and disqualify pro-democracy electoral candidates.

The United States will continue to review its authorities to respond to these concerns, he said.





The Chinese embassy in Washington insisted in a statement that no one has any legal grounds or right to make irresponsible comments on Hong Kong affairs.

We urge the US side to immediately correct its mistakes, withdraw the decisions and stop interfering in Chinas domestic affairs. The Chinese side will continue to take strong measures to uphold national sovereignty, security and development interests, it continued.

The Chinese legislation aims to tackle separatism, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, although it is unclear what activities would constitute such crimes and what the punishments would be. China says it will target only a small group of troublemakers.

The law is expected to be enacted by the decision-making body of Chinas parliament at a three-day meeting starting on Sunday.

On Thursday, the Republican-majority US Senate passed bipartisan legislation that would impose mandatory sanctions on people or companies that back efforts to restrict Hong Kongs autonomy.

The measure includes secondary sanctions on banks that do business with anyone backing any crackdown on the territorys autonomy, potentially cutting them off from American counterparts and limiting access to US dollar transactions.
Vodafone Idea has expanded its cellular service for Apple Watch users to the Punjab circle. The service was launched earlier this month to Mumbai, Delhi, and Gujarat circles. Vodafone website describes the eligibility for the cellular service. "Vodafone postpaid customer from Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat, and Punjab," the website reads. The development was noted by Only Tech.

Through this service, Vodafone customers can share their Vodafone postpaid plan with an eligible Apple Watch (GPS+ Cellular). Users must note that the watch should be Apple Watch Series 3, or any of its later models, and for the iPhones, it should be iPhone 6s, or later models. Users can SMS 'CHKESIM' to 199 to check eligibility for the offer.

E-SIM for Apple watch cellulars are available, Vodafone's website stated.

To configure Apple Watch with iPhone, users should:

--Tap on start the pairing process of the Apple Watch and iPhone from the Watch App and submit to proceed.

--Sign in with Apple ID and password to continue.

--Tap on 'Create a Passcode' to create a 4-digit passcode on Apple Watch.

--Tap on 'Setup Mobile Data' to share postpaid number and data plan with Apple Watch.

--Enter Vodafone postpaid number and self-care password.

--Click on confirm and wait for 15 minutes so that the watch gets configured.

Users must note that if they are not registered, then they can tap on Register to login. This way their phone number will be listed.

Vodafone App/Web offer: Vodafone Idea came up with the offer called the App/Web exclusive offer. This offer gives extra data up to 5GB on select prepaid plans, Telecom Talk noted.

Rs 49 and Rs 79 Vodafone Idea all-rounder packs give 200 MB extra data. Other than these plans, there are plans at Rs 149, Rs 219, Rs 249, Rs 399, and Rs 599.

Rs 149 prepaid plan: This plan brings with it 1GB of extra data. So with the original 2GB data and 1GB extra data, the total comes to 3GB monthly data.

Rs 219 plan: This plan originally comes with 1GB data for 28 days and with the extra data the total comes at 3GB data.

Rs 249 plan: This plan originally comes with 1.5GB data and the offer will add a whopping 5GB data making it a total of 6.5GB data. It has a validity of 28 days.

Rs 399 plan: This plan also originally comes with 1.5GB data and the offer will add 5GB data making it a total of 6.5GB data. It has a validity of 56 days.

Rs 599 plan: This plan also originally comes with 1.5GB data and the offer will add 5GB data making it a total of 6.5GB data. It has a validity of 84 days.
Under normal circumstances, one would have greeted the Federal Governments resolve to cut down on non-critical and administrative capital spending with a resounding applause. The country truly needs to cut cost and save fund. It is thus wise for the Federal government to think of supporting the economy after the disruptions and challenges meted out on it by the Covid-19 pandemic which the country is still struggling to maintain.

So, when Mr Femi Adesina released a document tagged What you need to know about the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan and listed eight interventions including mass agricultural programme, infrastructure, informal sector support, business support for Medium and Small Scale Enterprises (MSMEs), technology, expansion of National Social Investment Programmes, cut in non-essential spending and support for state governments, it appears the government is finally living up to expectations. It is a common thing in Nigeria to see official vehicles turn to unofficial vehicles for the persons using them. Many government officials dont return the officials attached to their offices at the expiration of their term. They simply turn the official vehicles to personal vehicles and when another person comes to occupy the position they are vacating, the government has to buy another vehicle to service the office. The government is thus right to ban the purchase of official vehicles for now.

For some reason, I am sceptical about the Federal Governments ability to see the National Economic Sustainability Plan through. This is not the first time the government has failed to deliver on its promises. And if it fails, there is guarantee that anyone would be punished for it. This current government or any other before it is not famous for bringing any government officials to book for why any of its plans failed. Besides this, I believe the Federal Government has more to do in the area of saving funds. There are many ways through which funds are wasted than they are saved in this country. But because the money are lost legitimately, the government doesnt look at them. Perhaps it does but just hasnt considered the implications yet because somehow they still gain from it.

You would have noticed that many of the big engineering contracts and others awarded by various governments in the country are to expatriate companies. Some of these are owned by Chinese, Americans, British, Italians, etc. By giving the contracts to these expatriate companies, the government pay in several millions of dollars. Instead of having the money stay in our economy, we pump them into other countrys economy by giving out contracts to people outside our shores. The people that run those companies collect their money and inject it into their countrys economy to further develop and strengthen it.

After paying millions of dollars to these foreign companies and the country runs into financial mess, the government of the day goes cap in hand to those countries to borrow part of the money it had paid some of their citizens while they were working on our soil. Then we continue to be indebted to them by saving us from economic woes. While their economic of those countries are flourishing because they have enough money to service it, ours is struggling for life like an abiku. The money would have ensured Nigeria has a strong economy if they are retained here and the contracts are awarded to local companies where a good number of the workers are also Nigerians.

As you would have also noticed, our academic training is tilted towards getting a certificate and using it to get a job. That is why there are many unemployed graduates who still think the only way to live is to get a job. We were not trained to solve problems in our society but to buy our way over the problem without ever fixing it. That is why we are busy making money just so we could buy the products of inventions from other climes whereas they are busy using the products of their invention to take our money away. While we save money to buy the next big gadget in the market, they are thinking of how to make money by taking the next big gadget to the market for sale.

By being good buyers in the world market, our money goes to solve some of the economic problems of the countries we buy from while our economy suffers a perpetual lack of money. If we had been producers, we would have retained a lot of money in our economy and that would have gone a long way in helping our economy develop. I am confident that when we start many of the things we need locally, we will also retain a large chunk of money in our economy and the federal government wouldnt gave to always pump money into the economy to sustain it. But there seems to be a perpetual force that stiffens individual development in the country and makes it difficult for local companies to grow. Unfortunately, the government is not interested in making the countrys economy a producer-oriented one. After all, they have the money to buy the best of things from Europe, America and Asia. But the fact remains that anytime money leaves our shores to buy good from another country, we are doing disservice to our own economy by depriving it of sufficient funds that local funds could have used to boost their production.

Add this to the fact that Nigeria runs one of the most expensive governments in the world. Our political officers are one of the best remunerated officials in the world. Becoming a political office holder is one of the easiest ways to get rich in Nigeria because it comes with a somewhat unrestricted access to public funds. Once you become a politician in Nigeria, you often go into it full time and when you become a full time politician, your remuneration is also full. Whether you work to deserve the type of salary and allowances you collect whilst in that office doesnt concern the public because many of them are looking for the same opportunity to do little and earn big. They call it the national cake. I hope the cake gets to finish one day and we will realise we have eaten it too for too long without second thought.

Becoming a political officer to earn in a year or less what a civil servant would earn in all his thirty five years of service to the country isnt a strong deterrent to stay away from holding political offices. Of course, when you collect about 13.5 million naira in salary and allowances or you live freely on state funds, and you collect allowances with which to buy newspapers, you wouldnt think of any other thing to do. That is why our leaders dont have a high sense of responsibility and they dont see their position any better than an avenue for enriching themselves. Everything comes free with their political offices and they earn more money doing things that are not related to their job description.

But successive administration in the country has not deemed it fit to review the humongous salary and allowances of political officers. These offices gulp more national funds than the provision of infrastructural facilities and social amenities in the country. Instead of talking about how to make political offices less attractive in terms of pecuniary gains to make people with right intention strive to occupy them, the government is banning the purchase of official vehicles. This isnt the first time something would be banned in the country. Despite the ban on interstate transportation due to Covid-19 pandemic, it hasnt stopped. People still travel from one part of the country to another. Defiling government order doesnt come with consequences in Nigeria. That is why the citizens flout orders and directives and get away with it. That is why I am also confident that when any ministry or agency of the government purchases official vehicles despite the ban, they will get away with it.

I am waiting for the day any government in Nigeria would legislate against giving government contracts to expatriate companies, either in the state or at national level as a way of retaining funds within our economy. I am sceptical if that day would ever come though. After all, when billions of dollars have been shipped away by foreign firms by doing what could have been handed to Nigerians, they are the ones that benefit from the money that is left in the treasury. They are the ones who evade tax and could go away with it. That is why they dont bother much about the different ways money leaves our economy but are always eager to pump money into it, when in the long run, a few would benefit. The choices we make regarding the management of our resources will determine the type of our country we will have.
The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty today announced that her Departments Enterprise Support Grant will now be made available to assist self-employed recipients who are exiting the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) scheme with a once-off grant of up to 1,000 to re-start their business.

The Minister also announced that she was extending the School Meals Programme for summer 2020.

Enterprise Support Grant for Small Businesses

The Minister stated that the Enterprise Support Grant will now be made available to assist self-employed recipients who are exiting the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) scheme.

This will provide owners with a once-off grant of up to 1,000 to re-start their business. 12m has been allocated for the extension of this grant.

The grant will be payable to self-employed micro enterprises which employ fewer than 10 people, have an annual turnover of less than 1 million and are not eligible for support from the COVID 19 Business Restart Grant or other similar business reopening grants.

Minister Doherty explained: We want to get Ireland back working again. In many cases, this means tackling the roadblocks and obstacles which stop an otherwise viable business from getting back up and running or simply giving them a helping hand. It is crucial that we approach this task in an innovative and flexible manner and this is what underpins todays announcement.

Some small self-employed businesses may face difficulties in transitioning from the Pandemic Unemployment Payment to a reliance on normal trading income, particularly in situations where normal trading conditions have not fully resumed. The Enterprise Support Grant operated by my Department is normally paid to people who are in receipt of jobseeker payments who close their claim to start their own business/enter self-employment as a micro-enterprise. It usually helps people leave unemployment to start a new business but I am now going to apply the scheme to help existing small businesses  typically trades people or sole traders  return to work and to give that return a helpful boost.

The extension of the grant to eligible recipients of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will provide businesses with a once-off payment of up to 1,000.

The Grant will be awarded to tax and PRSI compliant self-employed individuals who:

Have been in receipt of the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and have closed their claim;

Have reopened their business;

Employ fewer than 10 people;

Have an annual turnover of less than 1 million;

Are not eligible for other similar Covid business re-start grants from other Government Departments;

Are not liable for commercial rates;

Produce VAT receipts/invoices in respect of business re-start costs and expenses claimed.



It is envisaged that those who close their PUP claim will have a period of 4 weeks, from date of claim closure, within which to submit a claim. This is to allow time for claimants to incur the necessary expenditure, gather receipts and submit a claim.

Now that a decision has been taken to extend the scheme in this manner, the Department is developing the systems to put it into effect and will communicate how to access the grant in the coming weeks.

School Meals Programme Available for the Summer

The programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,580 schools and organisations benefitting 250,000 children. The objective of the scheme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them.

Speaking today, Minister Doherty said: Generally, the funding for the school meals programme ceases at the end of the school year the end of May for post-primary schools and the end of June for primary schools. However, I want the scheme to be available over the summer period to ensure children who do not have access to nutritious food will continue to receive meals during the summer school holidays.

I am therefore making the programme available to all the schools and organisations currently in the programme over the summer for approximately nine weeks until the funding for the 2020/2021 school year commences.

Funding School Meals Programme is for food items only and these must be of suitable nutritional quality. Funding under the scheme is based on the number of children and the type of meal being provided with priority given to schools which are part of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) scheme. Since 2016 additional funding is available to all DEIS schools to provide breakfast and lunch to the majority of pupils. The total cost of the schools meals scheme in 2019 was 54m.

Generally, the School Meals Programme does not provide funding to cover school holidays or for days when the school is closed. However, following consultation with the Department of Education and Skills, and with the support of education management bodies, it was agreed that funding under the School Meals Programme could be used to support participating schools that identify pupils who are unlikely to receive nutritious food during the current COVID-19 pandemic, and which were willing to set up a system to provide children with nutritious food while the schools are closed. This support can now continue during the summer.
Wirecard collapsed yesterday owing creditors almost 3.5bn after disclosing a gaping hole in its books in Germany's worst accounting scandal.

The implosion of the payments company came a week after auditor EY refused to sign off its 2019 accounts, forcing out CEO Markus Braun and leading Wirecard to admit 1.9bn of its cash probably didn't exist.

Wirecard is the first member of Germany's prestigious Dax stock index to go bust, less than two years after it commanded a spot among the country's biggest 30 listed companies with a market valuation of 25bn.

Its demise leaves creditors with scant hope of getting back the 3.5bn they are owed. Of that amount, Wirecard has borrowed 1.75bn from 15 banks and 500m from bond investors.

"The money's gone," said one banker. "We may recoup a few euros in a couple of years but will write off the loan now."

The collapse of Wirecard, once one of the hottest financial technology companies in Europe, dwarfs other German corporate failures. Drilling machines maker Flowtex inflicted losses of more than 2bn in the 1990s while container firm P&R cost investors some 3bn in 2018.

Wirecard shares, suspended ahead of the announcement, crashed 80pc when trading resumed. They have lost 97pc since EY questioned its accounts last Thursday.

Wirecard said in a statement its new management had decided to apply for insolvency at a Munich court "due to impending insolvency and over-indebtedness". It said it was evaluating whether to file for insolvency for subsidiaries.

A source close to talks with creditors said that although the company had a healthy core, about two-thirds of sales had been faked in its accounts.

"There is no way that they could repay their total debt of 3.5bn with that core, notwithstanding all the legal challenges ahead of them," the source said.

Another source said the banks were completely shocked Wirecard had sought insolvency, beating to the punch creditors who were thinking of calling in loans.

"We thought Wirecard was a trustworthy company run by people who knew what they are doing," the source said, comparing the saga to the collapse of energy trader Enron.

The ascent of Wirecard, founded in 1999, was dogged by allegations from whistleblowers, reporters and speculators that its revenue and profits had been pumped up through fake transactions.

"Today is a complete vindication for those that exposed the fraud," said Fraser Perring, who bet on a fall in Wirecard's shares and co-authored a 2016 report that alleged fraud.

The Munich prosecutor's office, which is already investigating Braun on suspicion of misrepresenting Wirecard's accounts and of market manipulation, said: "We will now look at all possible criminal offences."

Braun has been freed on bail of 5m and remains a suspect. Former chief operating officer Jan Marsalek is also under suspicion and is believed to be in the Philippines.

Reuters
Lunchables have been an iconic kids favorite for more than three decadessignificantly longer than some of their ardent fans have been alive. As one of the most successful food products ever released in America, Lunchables owe that longevityand the built in profitsto cigarette company Philip Morris.

These pre-packaged trays of processed meat, cheese and crackers were developed not to fill some hole in the market, or appeal to a younger demographic, but to satisfy a problem in Oscar Mayer's production. In Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, Michael Moss writes that bologna had started to fall out of favor as a lunch meat in the 1980s, and Oscar Mayer tasked a small marketing team, led by food technician Bob Drane, with figuring out a way to squeeze profitability from existing stockpiles.

The design they landed on was, in essence, an iteration on the famous TV dinner from the 1960s: A small tray with eight pieces of bologna, eight pieces of cheese, and eight butter crackers carefully cordoned off from each other. They chose processed cheese rather than natural Cheddar to save costs, and selected butter crackers because they took longer to go stalebasically electing the least healthy option at every turn.

The one big innovation was that the task of assembling these ingredients was left to the person opening the box, essentially turning lunchtime into an empowering creative exercise that gave children control over their own meals. An early slogan, targeting kids, read: All day, you gotta do what they say. But lunchtime is all yours.

The result was more than the stopgap that Oscar Mayer had hoped for, and Lunchables were an immediate success. The product raked in $218 million in sales in its first year, and sales data showed that more than 50% of shoppers returned to buy morea higher retention rate than those of more established, successful lines of food.

People loved Lunchables: Parents for the low price and convenience, and kids because the packaging reminded them of presents and the interactive component encouraged them to "play with their food."

But while Lunchables sold, they couldnt turn a profit: The production of the trays and the multistep assembly process was too expensive, and though the revenue was high, the production costs meant that those impressive first year sales resulted in more than $20 million lost. That would have meant the end of Lunchables, if not for the experience and wisdom of the marketers at Philip Morris.

In 1988, just three years after the launch of Lunchables, cigarette giant Philip Morris purchased Kraft (the parent company of Oscar Mayer) for $13.8 billion. When Drane was held accountable for Lunchables' financial loss, the man doing that accounting was legendary cigarette marketer Hamish Maxwell. Maxwell's impression of the product was, essentially, that this was all good news.

The hard thing is to figure out something that will sell, Maxwell said. If youve got something thats selling, youll figure out how to get the cost right.

Instead of discontinuing the money-hemorrhaging product, Philip Morris injected more money into developing Lunchables' trays, and by 1991, production costs broke even. The following year, the product earned $8 million in profit, and that number has climbed every year since.

If your impression is that the lack of nutrition is a byproduct of cost-saving measures, Lunchables' history belies that. Perhaps the strangest thing about Lunchables' legacy is that its manufacturer has repeatedly tried to pivot toward healthier ingredientsonly to fail every time. Attempting to add apples and carrots failed when the fresh fruit and vegetables rotted inside the packaging; a line that replaced the candy with yogurt failed because of low sales; and the later Lunchables with Fruit line was discontinued for the same reason.

In 1994, shortly after Lunchables exploded in national popularity, a pediatric cardiologist at the Childrens Memorial Hospital in Chicago warned against the food, calling it a nutritional disaster.

In a move that's almost unthinkable today, Oscar Mayer publicly mocked that physician's concern. This is not some big, corporate plot to fatten up kids. This is what kids want, a spokesperson said. There are very few kids out there who will eat rice cakes and tofu.

The continued success of Lunchables hasn't hinged on kids alone, either; though marketed to children, Lunchables sales data show that anywhere from a quarter to a third of Lunchables are bought and consumed by adults. People know they're terrible for them. They keep eating them anyway.

Lunchables are available with Turkey, Cheddar & Crackers, Turkey & American Cracker Stackers with Double Stuff Oreo Cookies, Extra Cheesy Pizza, Ham & Cheddar with Vanilla Creme Cookies, and lots more, ranging in price from $1.48 to $2.38.

Hearst Newspapers participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.

Joshua Sargent is an editor for Hearst Newspapers. Email him at josh.sargent@hearst.com.








Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga (Netflix)

Rating:

Verdict: One for Ferrell fans

Irresistible (Amazon Prime Video, Apple and other digital platforms)

Rating:

Verdict: Uneven political satire

For those still feeling bereft after the cancellation of this years Eurovision Song Contest  and there must be one or even two of you out there  heres something to plug the gap, a Will Ferrell comedy that, just like Eurovision night itself, shamelessly outstays its welcome.

Its sporadic laughs would just about sustain a 95-minute film, but director David Dobkin gets nul points for stretching them over two hours. Even at that indulgent running time, however, he never wholly solves the problem of how to parody an event that has long since become a parody of itself.

For those still feeling bereft after the cancellation of this years Eurovision Song Contest heres something to plug the gap

Ferrell plays Lars Erickssong, an Icelandic version of his familiar man-child character. Lars has been nuts about Eurovision since boyhood, when Abbas performance of Waterloo dragged him out of his gloom over the death of his mother.

With his elf-obsessed best friend Sigrit Ericksdottir (Rachel McAdams), he forms a pop duo, Fire Saga. They yearn to represent Iceland in the forthcoming contest, which is being held in Edinburgh. When all the other contenders mysteriously die in a huge explosion, they get their chance.

If they win, Iceland will have to host the show the following year  which is why the countrys finance minister wants them to fail, as the cost would sink the beleaguered economy.

Larss fisherman father Erick (Pierce Brosnan, but dont worry, he doesnt sing) fully expects them to fail, on the basis that Lars has been a loser all his life. Heck, the lad doesnt even like the smell of fish.

Can Lars confound his fathers low expectations? Will he ever realise that Sigrit is in love with him? Might they even be brother and sister, given that Erick is Icelands most handsome man and a renowned womaniser? In Edinburgh, these and other questions are resolved.

There are some genuine laughs in all this  and the added bonus of Graham Norton gamely playing himself. Dan Stevens has a hoot locating his inner George Michael as the oily Russian entrant Alexander Lemtov, who tries to seduce Sigrit  If it helps I can throw in Faberge egg, personal submersible, pet tiger  and Dobkin throws what can only be called the kitschen sink into the look of the show.

Sadly, neither the premise nor the script (co-written by Ferrell) can cope with the films inordinate length. On which subject, there are puerile gags about penis size that would cheapen a sixth-form revue. But if you love Ferrells well-honed emotionally stunted act  and in fairness, plenty do  maybe this comedy will sing to you.

I liked Irresistible more, but it too is not without flaws. Its a sometimes sharp, sometimes laboured political satire written and directed by the U.S. comedian and former talk-show host Jon Stewart.

Steve Carell plays Gary Zimmer, a celebrated Washington DC spin doctor who heads for rural Deerlaken, Wisconsin, after seeing a video of local farmer Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper), who is also a retired Marines colonel, making an impassioned town hall speech about citizens rights.

Steve Carell plays Gary Zimmer, a celebrated Washington DC spin doctor who heads for rural Deerlaken, Wisconsin

Gary wants the colonel to run for election as the Democratic Partys candidate for mayor, and cynically plans to use Jacks obvious integrity as a boost for the Democrats on a national level.

The Republicans wont take this lying down. They fly in his long-time rival Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne) to play him at his own game. Both are fish out of water in the folksy town. Theres a twist I mustnt divulge, but it should come sooner. By the time it arrives, much of the fun, at the expense of a U.S. electioneering system far more reliant on dollars than on decency, has run out of poke.

Irresistible is never less than watchable and often enjoyable, but Frank Capra covered similar territory more adeptly 80 years ago in Mr Smith Goes To Washington.

Dylan's on Top of the Docs

Heres another small batch of my all-time favourite documentaries, all available to buy, rent or stream.

Ive had lots of feedback so far at filmclassics@dailymail.co.uk and will reply to you all in due course. Meanwhile, in no particular order 

I love the way director Martin Scorsese tells the story of Bob Dylans 1975 U.S. tour, with fantastic archive clips

Senna (2010)

Asif Kapadias masterful film broadly covers the ten years that charismatic Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna spent in Formula 1, and his rivalry with Frenchman Alain Prost, before he died on the track in 1994. Thrilling even if you dont like motor racing.

Shoah (1985)

In truth, Im not sure I can call this a favourite, exactly. But Claude Lanzmanns epic history of the Holocaust, using dozens of eyewitness accounts, is such a mighty and important accomplishment that it simply cant be left out.

Rolling Thunder Revue (2019)

I love the way director Martin Scorsese tells the story of Bob Dylans 1975 U.S. tour, with fantastic archive clips; incredible access to some of the main players, such as Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and, of course, Dylan (pictured) himself; and a discordant little twang of dramatic licence.

Strewth, what a winning tale

Ride Like A Girl (Sky Store, Amazon Prime Video)

Rating:

Verdict: Heartwarming

The Booksellers (Curzon Home Cinema)

Rating:

Verdict: A great cover story

Actress Rachel Griffiths gets out of the stalls as a director with her debut feature Ride Like A Girl, the true story of jockey Michelle Payne (Teresa Palmer).

Five years ago, Michelle had to overcome numerous challenges  sexism, misogyny, a fall that left her in a coma with bleeding on the brain, that sort of stuff  to fulfil what she had always believed was her destiny: to win Australias premier horse race, the Melbourne Cup.

The ever-reliable Sam Neill (left) plays her father, and her real-life brother Stevie, who has Downs syndrome, plays himself

The ever-reliable Sam Neill plays her father, and her real-life brother Stevie, who has Downs syndrome, plays himself, in a family film that, for all its triumph-over-adversity cliches, is warm-hearted enough to warrant a place in this weeks winners enclosure.

The Booksellers is a winning film, too; a pleasing documentary about dusty old antiquarian bookshops in New York City, run by obsessive bibliophiles who lament how the internet has made it easy to find rare volumes.

The fun, says one, was always in the hunt, not the object. Now the fun has gone. Still, many of them refuse to shut up shop, and their stubborn staying-power is one of the treats of this film.

We also learn that a dustjacket in good nick can increase the value of a book  in the case of a first edition of Ian Flemings James Bond story Casino Royale, by more than $100,000. What a great cover story.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  Former Senator Ramon Revilla, Sr. died of heart failure on Friday, his son confirmed.

"Wala na po 'yung tatay ko (My father is gone). Please pray for him," Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. said in a video posted on Facebook.

The younger Revilla said his father passed away at around 5:20 p.m. "He is now free from physical pain and is in the loving arms of our Creator," he said in a statement.

The 93-year-old movie icon turned politician was rushed to the hospital late March, but was reported to be in stable condition in June.

On Thursday, the younger Revilla called for prayers for his father, whom he said was "going through a rough time."

Revilla, Sr. was a multi-awarded actor who won a Senate seat in 1992 and served as lawmaker until 2004.

He was known for authoring the Public Works and Highways Infrastructure Program Act of 1995, which pushed for infrastructure development to sustain the country's economy.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque expressed Malacanang's condolences, calling the Revilla patriarch a "respected movie icon and public servant."

The wake will be held at the Revilla compound in Bacoor City, Cavite, starting at 2pm on Saturday. The family is asking for privacy in the meantime.
GRAND HAVEN, MI  An employee of a Grand Haven distillery has tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting the business to temporarily close until all of its employees are tested.

Long Road Distillers, 18 Washington Ave., announced on Facebook that the employee last worked a shift at the bar on Thursday, June 18.

The employee did not show any symptoms of COVID-19 and passed a required wellness check at the start of her shift, Kyle VanStrien, the distillerys co-owner, told MLive on Friday, June 26. The employee was wearing a mask during her shift, which is required for all the distillerys employees, he said.

VanStrien said the employee suspects she was exposed to the virus over the weekend at a busy bar in Grand Rapids, several days after her last shift. The employee reportedly started to experience symptoms of the virus on Tuesday morning, June 23.

Were fairly confident that this person was not sick or contagious, or even exposed (to the virus) at the time of her last shift in Grand Haven, VanStrien said.

All Long Road employees who worked last Thursday are being tested for the coronavirus, as well as any employees who might have stopped by the distillery or were in contact with the employee that day, VanStrien said.

So far, four employees have tested negative for the virus, according to a Facebook post by the business on Friday.

VanStrien said the distillery will remain closed until all of the test results come back. The co-owner said hes still waiting on about 60 percent of the test results to come back. In the meantime, the distillery will be professionally cleaned and sanitized during its temporary closure.

Because the employee who tested positive for COVID-19 is from Grand Rapids, her case will be recorded in Kent County, which currently has 4,336 positive COVID-19 cases. But the distillery has been working with the Ottawa County Department of Public Health to follow all recommended safety procedures.

Its really a difficult situation that we find ourselves in and were just doing our best, VanStrien said. Ive talked with other restaurant owners in the area who have reached out since our announcement, and I think were all a bit anxious about whats happening and what might be coming.

The employee reported that the bar she visited in Grand Rapids, where she believe she was exposed to the virus, was not adhering to social distancing and face covering recommendations, VanStrien said.

Its in all of our interests that we follow the recommended guidelines by the health department, VanStrien said. Unfortunately there are some folks that arent doing that, and its going to hurt us all.

Were hoping this can be a lesson for folks that we all need to do a little bit better job in following those guidelines as we reopen, and hopefully we can stay open and stop the spread of this as quickly as possible.

The distillery offered takeout-only options during its mandated closure after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer closed all non-essential businesses March 23 to minimize the spread of the coronavirus.

After businesses were allowed to reopen June 9, the distillery offered dine-in seating outdoors for visitors, as well as take-out options.

Online ordering, low- or no-contact service, mask requirements - these could appear to stand in the way of us providing the experience youre accustomed to at Long Road, the business posted to Facebook Friday. But we find them absolutely necessary to follow as we do our best to keep our team and community safe and keep our doors open when it makes sense.

Since bars and restaurants reopened earlier this month, a number of businesses around the state have been linked to coronavirus cases.

An East Lansing bar popular for Michigan State University students is reportedly the root of at least 51 positive COVID-19 cases as of Friday.

Health officials first warned of the exposure site June 23, when there were 14 known COVID-19 coronavirus cases associated with visits to Harpers Restaurant and Brew Pub between June 12-20. Two days later 51 cases had been identified, including two people who didnt visit the bar but contracted the virus from someone who did, ClickOnDetroit reports.

The Grand Traverse County Health Department has listed eight local establishments  including wineries, bars, a food truck court and a restaurant  as possible contact exposure sites for COVID-19.

In Oceana County, several farms and businesses have been linked to a recent surge of coronavirus cases in the rural, West Michigan County.

Complete coverage of coronavirus in Michigan.

PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.

Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

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Friday, June 26: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Popular Traverse City wineries, restaurants on possible COVID-19 exposure list

Coronavirus cases surge in rural West Michigan county after farms, businesses report outbreaks

Coronavirus cases continue month-long downward trend in Muskegon County
Three people killed and top security official was hurt in attack in part of the city which typically sees little tumult.

Mexico Citys chief of police was shot and injured and two of his bodyguards killed in a dramatic assassination attempt early on Friday that he quickly blamed on one of Mexicos most powerful drug gangs, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

The citys public security chief Omar Garcia Harfuch suffered three bullet wounds as he and bodyguards came under heavy fire in an upscale Mexico City neighborhood just before dawn.

Informo que aproximadamente a las 06:38 de la manana el secretario de Seguridad Ciudadana de la Ciudad sufrio un atentado, el se encuentra fuera de peligro siendo atendido en un hospital, hubo fallecidos y varios detenidos; se estan realizando las investigaciones correspondientes  Claudia Sheinbaum (@Claudiashein) June 26, 2020

Some three hours later, apparently from his hospital bed, Garcia on Twitter blamed his injuries and the death of two bodyguards on a cowardly attack by the CJNG, a gang renowned as one of the most violent in the country.

Esta manana fuimos cobardemente atacados por el CJNG, dos companeros y amigos mios perdieron la vida, tengo tres impactos de bala y varias esquirlas. Nuestra Nacion tiene que continuar haciendole frente a la cobarde delincuencia organizada. Continuaremos trabajando.  Omar Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) June 26, 2020

A third person, a woman apparently on her way to work, was also killed in the gunfire, city authorities said. Security camera footage shown on Mexican television showed a group of armed men getting off the back of a truck as well separate images of police moving towards heavy gunfire.

Television footage of what was apparently Garcias armored SUV showed a vehicle riddled with bullets roped off by police.

Ernestina Godoy, attorney general of Mexico City, said 12 people had been arrested over the attack.

Residents said heavy gunfire rang out for several minutes during the attack in Lomas de Chapultepec, which is home to many wealthy people and the location of ambassadorial residences.

Police converged on the area in the west of the city, which is rarely troubled by the violence that in recent years has afflicted many parts of the country, particularly poorer ones.
Israel's plan to annex parts of West Bank amounts to 'declaration of war': Hamas

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 25 June 2020 5:17 PM

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has severely denounced the Israeli regime's planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley, saying the contentious decision amounts to a "declaration of war" on the Palestinian nation.

"The resistance considers the decision to annex the West Bank and the Jordan Valley to be a declaration of war on our people," Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Hamas military wing, known as the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said at a televised speech, the Arabic-language al-Aqsa television network reported on Thursday.

He added, "The resistance will be the honest and loyal guardian of the Palestinian people and their sanctities. It will make the enemy full of remorse for such a sinful decision."

Meanwhile, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov warned on Thursday that Israel's annexation of more Palestinian territories could inflict irrevocable damage on Israeli-Palestinian relations.

Mladenov's remarks came only a day after a UN Security Council session, in which Secretary General Antonio Guterres, as well as European and Arab powers, called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end his proposed annexation plan.

7 European states warn annexation will affect ties with Israel

Moreover, seven European states warned on Wednesday that their relations with the Tel Aviv regime will be fairly strained in case of any annexation measures in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"Following our obligations and responsibilities under international law, annexation would have consequences for our close relationship with Israel and will not be recognized by us," Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations Nicolas de Riviere said in a joint statement read during a virtual meeting.

He added that Israel's close ties with France, Britain, Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland and Norway would not continue if Tel Aiv pressed ahead with its annexation plan.

"  any annexation of the West Bank, no matter how big or small it may be,  would constitute a clear violation of international law, including the UN Charter as well as the UN Security Council resolutions," de Riviere said.

Annexation would weaken peace efforts and harm the security of the region, the French envoy underscored.

Netanyahu, who was sworn into office for another term on May 17, has set July 1 for the start of cabinet discussions on extending "sovereignty" over settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

In response to Israel's decision, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared the end of all agreements signed with Israel and the United States on May 19.

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Lazada, e-commerce giant Alibabas Southeast Asian subsidiary, has appointed Li Chun as the groups new chief executive, succeeding Pierre Poignant, with a remit to accelerate the companys growth via greater localisation and helping companies make better use of their data.

Li, who has served as both president and chief executive of Lazada Indonesia over the past three years, will succeed Poignant  a founding member of Lazada  on July 1. Poignant will become a special assistant to Alibabas chairman and chief executive Daniel Zhang, according to a company statement on Friday.

Chun is an experienced business leader who can realise Lazadas vision of unifying commerce with technology to advance Southeast Asias digital economy, said Lucy Peng, Lazada Group chairwoman.

Li, who has a dual bachelors degree in mechanics and economics law from Peking University and a masters degree from Ohio State University, joined Alibaba in 2014 as chief technology officer for Alibabas business-to-business unit. He was appointed co-president of Lazada in June 2017, before becoming chief executive of Lazada Indonesia last July.

Lis corporate bio describes him as a veteran internet executive with over 20 years experience, with expertise in technology architecture and product strategy. Before working for Alibaba and Lazada, he held executive positions at eBay and InPro Systems.

Li Chun, Lazada's new group chief executive, Photo: Handout

In an internal letter to staff, Li said he was honoured to be entrusted as the next captain of our Lazada team and thanked Poignant for his immense contribution over the years.

To continue building on our growth momentum, we need a consistent and common strategy to guide our major businesses, said Li in the letter. We will double down on our technology investment in this region  our tech prowess is and will remain our key competitive advantage.

Southeast Asia has often been seen as the next big e-commerce market to crack after China, with a population of 650 million who are relatively young and increasingly willing to shop online, reminiscent of Chinas consumer demographics less than a decade ago.

Story continues

The regions internet economy reached an estimated US$72 billion in 2018, more than double that of 2015, according to a joint report released by Google and Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings. E-commerce is the fastest growing sector, expected to exceed US$100 billion in gross merchandise value by 2025 from US$23 billion in 2018, according to the report.

Poignant said in an interview late last year that Lazada operates the top e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia. His comments came amid reports that rival platform Shopee, operated by internet company Sea, was making significant inroads in the region. Other regional e-commerce competitors include Bukalapak and Alibaba-backed Tokopedia.

Founded in 2012, Singapore-based Lazada served over 70 million unique consumers across six markets in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam for the twelve months ended March 31, 2020, according to the company. It aims to serve 300 million shoppers by 2030.

There is incredible momentum for e-commerce across the region, and together with our strong local talents, we will step up Lazadas digital innovation and commercial development, added Li in Fridays statement.

Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, initially acquired a controlling stake in the firm in 2016 with a US$1 billion investment. The following year, Alibaba put in another US$1 billion in the firm to raise its stake to 83 per cent. In 2018, Alibaba doubled down on Lazada with a US$2 billion investment aimed at accelerating its expansion.

Sign up now for a 50% early bird discount on the 100+ page China Internet Report 2020 Pro Edition, which includes deep-dive analysis, trends, and case studies on the 10 most important internet sectors. Now in its 3rd year, this go-to source for understanding China tech also comes with exclusive access to 6 webinars with C-level executives. Offer valid until 30 June 2020.

This article Alibabas Southeast Asian subsidiary Lazada appoints Li Chun as new chief executive, succeeding Poignant first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
What will summer holidays look like this year? (Getty)

After being confined to their homes for months during lockdown many Brits are dreaming of a summer getaway, but holidays will look a little different this year.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is currently advising against all but essential travel abroad and as it stands at the moment even if you do travel you will likely have to quarantine for 14 days on your return.

However, the Government is expected to announce next week so-called air bridges, which will allow Britons to go on holiday to certain destinations without needing to quarantine for 14 days on their return to the UK.

And this news has given many families hope they may be able to travel abroad for a holiday this year.

But taking a trip in 2020 will be quite a different experience.

Though many tourist attractions are beginning to reopen, extra measures are being introduce to help curb the spread of coronavirus.

Read more: One in six parents say school holidays should be scrapped

Countries are introducing safety measures to try to welcome back tourists. (Getty)

Anyone visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris when it reopens on Thursday will have to take the stairs - all 674 of them - because Frances iconic monument is keeping the lifts shut.

Meanwhile, in Italy, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Florences cathedral are turning to technology to enforce social distancing, providing visitors with electronic devices which vibrate if they get too close to one another.

In Barcelona, the authorities are launching an app to help tourists plan their itineraries and avoid congestion and queues.

Holidaymakers in Spain, which reopened its borders to most European visitors this week, will see changes from the moment they check in.

Some hotels are introducing air purifiers, thermal cameras to check guests temperatures, arches which spray them with disinfectant and mats with a bleach solution to clean their shoes and suitcase wheels.

Read more: What is the risk of a second coronavirus wave?

Meanwhile instead of breakfast buffets, guests will be served by staff behind screens.

Story continues

Hotels will also ask guests to use mobile apps for everything from ordering a cocktail to settling bills in order to reduce physical contact.

Those hoping to take in some culture will have a different experience too with many museums and monuments now requiring visitors to book tickets online for specific timeslots, undergo temperature checks, don masks and stick to a one-way route.

For clubbers, holidays could look drastically different this year.

Spains Balearic Islands have banned dancing at clubs and beach bars, while some of the islands superclubs, are staying shut after being told they can only host up to 100 people outdoors.

Small clubs must cover the dance floor with tables and chairs.

Though Italys clubs can reopen from July 15, rules vary between regions. Clubbers in some tourist hotspots including Rimini and Riccione will have to dance two metres apart  and only at open-air venues.

Drinking at the bar is out, masks are compulsory indoors and bouncers may step in to enforce social distancing.

Summer holidays could look quite different this year. (Getty)

While countries like Italy and Spain, where tourism accounts for about an eighth of GDP, are desperate to lure back visitors as they scramble to salvage the summer season, there are fears that a return to mass tourism could see a second spike in the pandemic.

This is the most difficult situation the Spanish tourism sector has faced that anyone can remember, said Jose Luis Zoreda, vice-president of tourism lobby group Exceltur.

The coronavirus changed our lives, Isabella Ruggiero, president of Rome tour guide association AGTAR told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Read more: Britons can travel to Italy for holiday but must quarantine for 14 days on their return

Ruggiero says tour groups will have to be smaller and itineraries carefully managed in cities such as Venice, Rome and Florence, whose cultural sites and narrow streets are not conducive to social distancing.

But there could be a silver lining to the new measures with smaller, slower, more focussed tours potentially paving the way for a more responsible form of tourism.

This could be really good for the future of tourism, Ruggiero added. It's about taking care of the tourists, taking care of the local community and local economy, and not just running for a few hours to every place.

Isabella Ruggiero, president of Rome tour guide association AGTAR told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The coronavirus changed our lives.

Additional reporting Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Regulatory News:

Eutelsat Communications (Paris:ETL):

Date Number of shares making

up the capital Voting rights Theoretical(1) Exercisable(2) 18 June 2020 230,544,995 230,544,995 230,182,334

(1) In conformity with article 223 11 of the 'Reglement General de l'AMF', number of votes calculated on the basis of the number of shares to which a voting right is attached, including shares deprived of voting rights.

(2) For information, calculated net of shares deprived of voting rights (Treasury stock).

About Eutelsat Communications

Founded in 1977, Eutelsat Communications is one of the world's leading satellite operators. With a global fleet of satellites and associated ground infrastructure, Eutelsat enables clients across Video, Data, Government, Fixed and Mobile Broadband markets to communicate effectively to their customers, irrespective of their location. Around 7,000 television channels operated by leading media groups are broadcast by Eutelsat to one billion viewers equipped for DTH reception or connected to terrestrial networks. Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat assembles 1,000 men and women from 46 countries who are dedicated to delivering the highest quality of service.

For more about Eutelsat go to www.eutelsat.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005243/en/

Contacts:

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14:27 | Washington D.C. (U.S.), Jun. 26.

In Peru, the growth projection for 2020 has been revised down markedly to -14%, as weaker external demand and a longer-than-expected lockdown period have so far more than offset the government's significant economic support and translated into large employment losses, Werner wrote.

According to the IMF officer, downside risks remain prominent, however, and are particularly linked to domestic and global challenges in bringing the COVID-19 pandemic under control.





Intro





"Latin America and the Caribbean have become the new COVID-19 global epicenter. The human cost has been tragic, with over 100,000 lives lost. The economic toll has also been steep," he said.





Thus, the World Economic Outlook Update now estimates the region to shrink by 9.4% in 2020, four percentage points worse than the April projection and the worst recession on record.





"A mild recovery to +3.7% is projected for 2021," he added.





The pandemic





The rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths per capita are approaching those in Europe and the United States, with the total number of cases accounting for about 25% of the worldwide total.





Against this backdrop, he recommended that countries be very cautious when considering reopening their economies and allow science and data to guide the process.





Indeed, he said many countries in the region have high levels of informality and low preparedness to handle new outbreaks, like a high occupancy of intensive care unit beds and low testing and tracing capacity.





Recent economic developments





Weaker economic data and more protracted COVID-19 outbreaks explain the significant downward revisions compared to the April forecasts.





The first quarter growth was worse than expected for most countries, while high frequency indicators like industrial production, electricity consumption, retail sales, and employment suggest that the decline in the second quarter will be deeper than projected in April.




A Russian hacker group the United States has in the past linked to Russian intelligence prepared a "string" of malware attacks on dozens of U.S. companies by targeting work-at-home employees during the pandemic, a network monitor says.

The Symantec Corporation said on June 25 that the attackers were trying to deploy "WastedLocker ransomware" in at least 31 firms that could allow them to cripple IT systems and demand multimillion-dollar payoffs to avert catastrophe.

The Russians were "going after the biggest American firms, and only American firms," according to Symantec's technical director, and the actual number of targets could be much higher.

Symantec, a corporate- and government-network-monitoring firm, attributed the dangerous software to Evil Corp, a "notorious" cybercrime outfit whose leaders are thought to include two Russian nationals.

Those Russian suspects, Maksim Yakubets and Igor Turashev, were indicted by the U.S. Justice Department in December 2019 for allegedly trying to steal millions of dollars in more than 40 countries through malware.

U.S. officials have offered a $5 million reward for tips leading to their capture.

The U.S. Treasury Department claimed in a December sanctions notice that Evil Corp leaders had worked for Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and conducted cybercrime "on an almost unimaginable scale."

Russian authorities have protected them from extradition, it added.

U.S. officials have increased their level of alert recently amid leaked fears by law enforcement that ransomware attacks might be used to penetrate and compromise election infrastructure ahead of November's elections in the United States.

U.S. intelligence concluded that Russian actors, some of them with ties to the state, attacked computers ahead of the 2016 U.S. elections.

More than 60 percent of U.S. workers have been working from home recently due to COVID-19 fears, a recent poll suggested.

The attackers in the WastedLocker attempts were reportedly trying to exploit virtual private networks (VPNs) that many people around the world are using for security purposes while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The malware uses compromised websites and masquerades as a software update to break into victims' networks, Symantec said.

At least a dozen Russians accused of major international cybercrimes have been detained, and some extradited to the United States, in recent years.

On June 26, a U.S. district court in Virginia sentenced Russian national Aleksei Burkov to nine years in prison for operating two websites that sold stolen, mostly U.S. payment-card numbers and mediated sales of stolen data and hirings for illegal activities.

The U.S. Department of Justice said the 30-year-old Burkov pleaded guilty to a single count of access-device fraud and another count of conspiracy to commit a range of digital crimes.

Burkov was arrested near Tel Aviv in 2015 and extradited to the United States four years later.

After Burkov's extradition, Russia's Foreign Ministry accused Washington of "hunting" Russian citizens around the world.

With reporting by the BBC and The New York Times
Delivery of Kowsar jets proves failure of US sanctions

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, June 25, IRNA -- Iranian Defense Minister says that delivery of three domestically-built Kowsar fighter jets to Army Air Force carried a message to the enemies, US in particular, that the US sanctions have worked to the contrary.

Brigadier General Amir Hatami made the remarks at a ceremony on Thursday.

When Kowsar jets delivered to Iran Air Force, it voiced an important message across the world that all freedom-seeking nations will be independent and self-sufficient if they resist, General Hatami said.

Today, there are all technical capabilities available inside the country for construction of the air force infrastructure, the minister added.

In August 2018, Kowsar indigenous fighter jet was unveiled, and its mass production line was launched just three months later, General Hatami said appreciating the efforts made by the Iranian experts and engineers.

Iran will soon produce more modern air equipment indigenously, the minister noted.

Manufacturing Kowsar which is a short-range air support aircraft has put Iran among the few countries with the technology of designing and producing the 4th generation avionics and fire control systems.

The aircraft will be produced in both single- and two-seat versions.

1483**1416

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The leading contenders for a coronavirus vaccine have made considerable headway in search for a vaccine candidate. While the general opinion of most experts and pharmaceutical companies is that a corona vaccine would be ready by mid-2021, researchers are still hoping for a 2020 breakthrough. The WHO, however, said that they are expecting a COVID vaccine by no sooner than a year. "It would be very difficult to say for sure that we will have a vaccine. We never had a vaccine for a coronavirus. So this will be, when discovered, hoping that it will be discovered, it will be the first one. Hoping that there will be a vaccine, the estimate is we may have a vaccine within one year. If accelerated, it could be even less than that, but by a couple of months. That's what scientists are saying," said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Moderna that is entering Phase III of its trials in July for its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine is optimistic of receiving FDA approval. The company has signed a deal with Catalent for large-scale manufacturing of its vaccine candidate. Catalent will provide vial filling and packaging capacity as well as additional workforce required for 24X7 manufacturing operations. Catalent is already in partnership with Johnson and Johnson as well as AstraZeneca.

Also read: Coronavirus vaccine update: Moderna, AstraZeneca, Sanofi make headway

China is experimenting with six candidates on humans and more than a dozen are in different stages of trial. One of the coronavirus vaccine candidates is developed by Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products. The candidate has been co-developed by Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical and the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It has received approval from the National Medical Products Administration for clinical trials.

A COVID vaccine developed in Canada's Alberta is moving forward with human trials this summer. Led by University of Alberta researcher Dr John Lewis, Entos Pharmaceuticals has selected two vaccine prototypes for testing in people. "We have two really excellent candidates that produce a very strong neutralising antibody immune response," said Lewis. The Government of Canada has granted Lewis $4.2 million for the project.

CORONAVIRUS DRUG

In India, Hyderabad-based Hetero has shipped its first batch of Remdesivir drug to five states including Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Telangana. The drug named COVIFOR has been priced at Rs 5,400. The following batch of the drug, which is a generic version of Remdesivir will be sent to Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna, Indore, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Ranchi, Kochi, Trivandrum, Vijayawada and Goa.

Also read: Coronavirus vaccine: When will it be ready? Moderna, AstraZeneca offer answers

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has also announced the launch of antiviral drug Favipiravir for the treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus patients. "The antiviral offers broad-spectrum RNA virus coverage with clinical improvement noted across age groups 20 to 90 years. Favipiravir can be used in COVID-19 patients with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes and heart disease with mild to moderate COVID 19 symptoms," the company said.

Meanwhile, corticosteroid Dexamethasone, believed to be effective in coronavirus treatment, is likely to be the next repurposed drug that may set Indian drug makers like Zydus Cadila, Wockhardt, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, GLS Pharma and Wyeth Ltd to work. The drug is low-cost and is priced at less than Rs 3 for a strip of 10 tablets.

Also read: Coronavirus drug: Hetero sends first batch of Remdesivir to Delhi, Maharashtra, 3 other states
New York Restaurants reopening outdoor dining pandemic 35

Irene Jiang / Business Insider

All 50 states have started to reopen following COVID-19 shutdowns, with most restrictions on stores and restaurants being gradually lifted.

But phone location data shows that people across the US are moving around less than usual, a sign that consumers might still be wary about shopping amid the pandemic.

Even in major cities where car traffic has returned to normal, people are walking and taking public transit far less than usual, according to aggregate mobility data provided by Apple.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

All 50 states have started to reopen following COVID-19 shutdowns  but that doesn't mean consumers are going back to business as usual.

Location data gathered from Americans' smartphones suggests that, even in states that have been reopened for weeks, people are not leaving home and moving around as much as they were pre-COVID.

According to data from Apple, which compiles mobility trends using anonymized GPS data from people's iPhones, mobility is still below the typical baseline in most states. Even in states where driving traffic has returned to normal, the number of people walking around and using public transit remains low.

There are several plausible reasons that mobility remains low even as states reopen. Above all, the pandemic is far from over in the US, which recorded an all-time high number of new cases Wednesday. And even as states allow businesses to reopen, many offices are still letting employees work remotely.

Here's a breakdown of how people are moving around in the US, according to Apple's data.

Across the US, driving traffic has largely returned to normal after a dip spanning March through June  but the number of people walking and taking public transit remains lower than usual.

Apple mobility data

Apple

However, the US is still far more mobile than several European counterparts, despite the fact that COVID-19 cases are rising more rapidly in the US.

Story continues

apple mobility trends

Apple

That trend is borne out in most major cities. California reopened "low risk" businesses on May 8 and "higher risk" businesses on June 12, but people's movement in Los Angeles remains muted compared to before COVID-19.

Apple mobility data

Apple

In San Francisco, driving, walking, and transit use have all remained significantly lower than pre-COVID levels.

Apple mobility tracker

Apple

San Francisco has maintained stricter shutdown requirements compared to other cities in California, but most businesses there have been allowed to reopen with social distancing in place.

New York City, which didn't start allowing most nonessential businesses to reopen until this week, has seen lower mobility across the board  but car traffic has nearly returned to normal.

Apple mobility tracker

Apple

Not all cities have seen consistently lower movement. Atlanta allowed most businesses to start reopening with social distancing measures in May. Since then, walking and driving have returned to normal levels.

apple mobility tracker

Apple

Atlanta businesses started to reopen May 22. Meanwhile, cases in Georgia have started to spike recently, with more than 1,000 new cases per day in the past four days.

Houston has also seen a return to normal among walking and driving traffic after Texas' stay-at-home order expired May 1. But cases have begun to spike across the state since then.

Apple mobility tracker

Apple

Texas reported more than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day this week, leading Gov. Greg Abbot to urge people to stay home on Tuesday.

A similar story is playing out in Phoenix, the most populous city in Arizona, which has seen a surge in coronavirus cases in the past week.

Apple mobility tracker

Apple

You can explore Apple's complete library of mobility data on its site.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The love for travel helped Manu Kumar Jain further develop his passion for numismatics. Jain, MD, Xiaomi India, owns over 2,000 coins spanning 200-plus years and over 50 countries, including Canada, Russia, Hong Kong, South Africa, Egypt, Qatar, the US, Zambia and Denmark. His collection also includes some less-circulated currencies such as the Finnish markka and the Swedish krona. He even has a euro for every single European country he has travelled to. "Coin-collecting can be traced back to thousands of years. It is an exciting hobby that I have been investing in for a long time now. I have been able to collect numerous coins from across the globe due to my travel."

Almost 50-60 per cent of his coins are from post-Independence India while 15-20 per cent are from the period before Independence. The rest have been collected from different countries. "I have been collecting these for over 30 years and even today my passion is undimmed. Coins hold great symbolic and historic significance, and with them, I always feel that I can travel back in time and witness the evolution of time," says Jain.

Jain also loves to collect stamps. He started this around the same time he discovered his interest in numismatics. He owns over a thousand stamps from various countries.
A mans body has been discovered at a car park next to a primary school in Melbournes southeast.

Investigations are continuing at the scene after the deceased male was found at the car park in Lesdon Avenue, near Donnelly Reserve, Cranbourne about 7.15am by passers-by.

The car park is next to Rangebank Primary School, a Victoria Police spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.

The car park and school are closed off by police as the body lies in the middle of the car park under a sheet. Source: Nine News/ 7News

Aerial footage from 7News shows the mans body lying in the middle of the car park underneath a white sheet.

The school has been closed for the day, the Herald Sun reports.

A crime scene has been set up and the homicide squad are on scene.

The man has yet to be identified.

The man's body was discovered by passers-by. Source: Google Maps

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.
Travelers arriving at New York City's airports are being greeted with new signs telling them they face restrictions if they have arrived from eight southern and western states - but they include no details about the quarantine rules.

The new digital signs advertise a travel advisory aimed at people coming in from Florida, Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, Alabama, Utah and the Carolinas, where coronavirus cases are on the rise.

Arrivals must go into a 14-day quarantine period or risk a $10,000 fine.

The new signage went up on Thursday, the day that Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, joined the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut to require anyone who comes from states where COVID-19 cases are rapidly rising to isolate.

Travelers arriving in New York are now greeted with a series of new warning signs

The signs tell travelers to visit the state Department of Health's website for more information, but do not tell travelers that they must self-quarantine.

'The list of designated states is based upon a seven day rolling average of positive tests in excess of 10%, or number of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents,' say the signs.

The requirements of the travel advisory do not apply to any individual passing through designated states for a limited duration, such as connecting on a plane or driving through.

The signs warned passengers of the new travel advisory - but did not mention quarantine or the $10,000 fine

The U.S. has had 124,410 deaths from COVID

Anyone known not to be observing quarantine can be fined up to $10,000, and the New York state website features a form where offenders can be anonymously reported.

'In New York, it's a travel advisory, you are informed you should quarantine for 14 days,' said Cuomo on Wednesday.

'If you go to a hotel, hotel clerk asks how come you are not in quarantine?

'You go to a business meeting, someone says, aren't you supposed to be in quarantine?

'You get stopped by a police officer who says, you are driving a car from Florida, weren't you supposed to be quarantine for 14 days?

'Any of those mechanisms you can be detected as violating your quarantine.

'If you are violating your quarantine, you can be subject to a judicial order and mandatory quarantine. You could have to pay the costs of quarantine. There are also fines that go along with violating the quarantine. $2,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second, up to $10,000 if you cause harm.'

Essential workers are exempt from the ruling, but must take precautions and have a COVID-19 test as soon as possible, the state says.

A total of 124,410 Americans have been killed by the virus as of midnight Thursday, up from a death toll of 121,979 recorded just 24 hours earlier.

The grim new toll means that more than double the number of U.S. citizens have died from COVID-19 than perished in the Vietnam war or the First World War.

Infections rose across the U.S. by at least 39,818 on Thursday, marking the worst day since the virus first hit the country in January.

Infections in several states that rushed to ease lockdowns early on have surged with Texas, Florida and Arizona among the states to set single-day case records in the last week.

With fears mounting that the nation is headed for a second wave of the deadly outbreak, governors of several states announced they were putting the brakes on their reopening plans.

Coronavirus is surging in states across the south and west, according to data Friday

Travelers at LaGuardia airport in New York City walk past the new sign on Thursday

Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Florida all pledged to pause their re-openings as the pandemic has shifted to the west and south of America, while the former virus epicenter New York continues to see cases and deaths decline.

Texas recorded yet another bleak milestone Thursday, as it beat its own record for new daily infections for the third day running, reaching almost 6,000 cases.

The state reported 5,996 new cases in a single day, up from 5,551 and 5,489 in the previous two days.

More than 17,000 people have tested positive for the virus in the last three days alone and its rolling average has skyrocketed by 340 per cent since Memorial Day.

Fears are growing that the state's hospitals will buckle under the strain, leading the largest pediatric hospital in the country to start treating adult patients in Houston to help free up beds.

Meanwhile, the Texas Medical Center in Houston announced it had filled all of its 1,330 ICU beds on Thursday, with 374 taken up by coronavirus patients.

With the south and west witnessing surges in cases as a sign the pandemic is far from over for America, the White House coronavirus task force is planning to hold its first news briefing in almost two months on Friday.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The Berejiklian government will create a conservation area in far north-west NSW 10 times the size of the Royal National Park, in the largest purchase of private land for environmental protection in the state's history. Bill O'Connor, whose family had held the Narriearra station for just over a century, agreed to sell the 153,415-hectare property after years of approaches from National Parks & Wildlife Service staff for an undisclosed sum. "It's a big place - it'll take a lot of running," Mr O'Connor, 84, said from his homestead about 60 kilometres from Tibooburra . "You have to give it a lot of attention." Loading The purchase adds important ecosystems not yet in the national parks estate, particularly the intermittent wetlands fed by the Bulloo River that are currently getting their best drink since 2013. The property also hosts about 90 per cent of all known grey grasswren, one of at least 27 threatened species. "I have to admit, I shed a tear when we got this place," Jaymie Norris, the park's area manager for the West Darling region, said. "It's emotional."

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One of the 'tanks' or dams on the Narriearra property, with mulga and coolibah trees nearby. Credit:Janie Barrett Environment Minister Matt Kean said during a visit to Narriearra on Wednesday "we're seeing something that's pretty much only been accessible to one family for the past century". "It's an incredible landscape...now in public hands for perpetuity," he said. "What a great result." NSW Environment Minister, Matt Kean (right), and Jaymie Norris from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, on Narriearra in far north-west NSW. Credit:Janie Barrett The property is rich in Indigenous and European history, including containing an ancient trade route that brought stone axes in from Queensland to the north in exchange for a drug extracted from local trees "that gave them a boost", Mr O'Connor said. Narriearra itself means "little stones", Mr O'Connor said. The name of the new national park is yet to be settled, with Caryapundy after the name of the large swamp that forms with the arrival of floodwaters another option. An outback outhouse on the Narriearra station. Credit:Janie Barrett

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Visitors can easily find worked stones by the Wangkumara Indigenous people. The local museum at Tibooburra notes troopers killed as many as 300 in retaliation for the murder of stockman John Dowling in 1872. Loading In 1938, authorities forced remaining Wangkumara in the area into two trucks and took them to a reserve at Brewarrina 520 kilometres away. "Reconnecting [the Wangkumara] back to country will be a big part of our work," Dr Norris said. The ill-fated Burke & Wills expedition also passed through the area in 1860, stopped at "Camp 48", located about 16 kilometres east of the main homestead. Today, a surveyor's peg "half buried in the mud" marks the spot. One of a few vintage vehicles left at Narriearra station. Credit:Janie Barrett

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Life on the land can be tough, not least the searing outback heat in summer in one of the hottest parts of NSW. Mr O'Connor also lost his leg 60 years ago when a pole digger hit a tree, and the machine ran over him. The leg "was still hanging on by some flesh...it was definitely uncomfortable," the laconic grazier said. "Blood was squirting out six inches with each beat." Bill O'Connor, with his dog Bailey, plans to buy a property closer to Broken Hill after the sale of his property for what will become a new national park. Credit:O'Connor family Loading Mr O'Connor managed to slow the bloodflow with his belt and some fencing wire until his father and brother arrived and a doctor flew in to evacuate him to Broken Hill. Other hints of the region's boom and bust nature are evident, including some piles of cattle that didn't make it through the last drought. A pile of dead cattle not far from one of the "tanks" or small dams on Narriearra. Credit:Janie Barrett

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When the flows come down the Bulloo, though, it doesn't take long for the area to "spread out like an inland sea", Richard Kingsford, a leading ecologist from the University of NSW, said. Back in 1990, Professor Kingsford surveyed the wetland and found more than 100,000 water birds, including red-necked avocets and freckled ducks. Loading "It becomes incredibly productive," he said. "The place pretty much takes off." One future threat could come "if Queensland went rogue and tried to develop the [Bulloo]," Professor Kingsford said. The river is currently free-flowing. Minister Kean said he was open to nominating the nationally important wetlands as a Ramsar site of international significance. Ramsar listing would be one way to add an additional layer of protection to the Caryapundy Swamp inside what will the new national park at Narriearra, NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean says. Credit:Janie Barrett

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Multiple states are experiencing a spike in Covid-19 cases amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, sparking controversy over whether people should be required to wear masks in public to help slow the spread of the virus.

States like Florida, Georgia and Texas, which do not have statewide mask mandates, hit record highs in their average number of daily new cases on Thursday. Nevada also reported a new high a day ahead of implementing a mask requirement on Friday. California, which issued a mask mandate on June 18, has also seen record jumps in new cases in recent days.

The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention recommends wearing masks in public in order to reduce the risk of transmitting Covid-19, but doing so turned into a political issue after President Donald Trump said some Americans might wear masks to "signal disapproval of him."

Trump rarely wears a face mask in public, and did not don one during his recent rally in Tulsa, Okla. where several staffers working on the event tested positive. Oklahoma reported a record spike in coronavirus cases on Wednesday, but state officials said it was too early to attribute the jump to the campaign rally.

Some state leaders have opposed requiring masks in public. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said counties in his state risk forfeiting their eligibility for funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act if they require masks. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine removed a requirement on wearing masks in stores just one day after introducing it, saying that it was "offensive'" to some residents.

In the absence of a federal order, twelve states, including New York, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Mexico, have mandated that face coverings be worn in public. Washington, North Carolina and Nevada were the latest states to introduce requirements that kicked in on Friday.

Other states have stopped just short of requiring masks in all public places, but have made face coverings mandatory in a range of settings that include retailers, grocery stores and public transportation. Virginia and Michigan have even required masks to be worn in indoor public spaces statewide.

In some states that do not have mask requirements, local governments have introduced their own measures regarding face coverings. In New Orleans, residents must use masks when performing public activities, while Memphis, Tenn. passed a city ordinance requiring people to wear masks in public. Mandates have appeared on the county level too in places like Boulder County, Colorado and Maricopa County, Arizona.

Mask requirements on both state and local levels may become more common as parts of the country continue to see surges in new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. Multiple states, including Florida, Arizona and North Carolina, have paused reopening measures in light of rising cases. Texas was forced to roll back reopening plans on Friday by re-introducing restrictions on bars, restaurants and other businesses.

The stock market dropped on the Texas news in midday trading.
Campus News

UB students use 3D printing to make face shields for local dentists

From left: UB students Joycelyn Moss, Philip Sales and Shaina Chechang hold PPE materials that they, along with a team of other students, created for local dentists. Photo: Douglas Levere

By MARCENE ROBINSON

A box of masks before the pandemic was less than $10, and a few weeks ago it was $53. Its shocking, but unfortunately thats the reality of it. The idea of 3D-printed PPE is a great way to resolve the shortage.  Shaina Chechang, third-year student School of Dental Medicine

A team of UB dental students is using 3D printers to supply UB and Western New York dentists with much-needed protective equipment as local practices return to providing oral health care. The students, working under the guidance of Praveen Arany, assistant professor of oral biology, are creating free face shields and comfort bands  a strip of material worn with masks to relieve pain and stress on ears. The reusable face shields are designed to accommodate dental loupes  the magnifying glasses that dentists wear while examining patients mouths. To date, the students have received more than 120 orders, and printed more than 800 comfort bands and more than 150 face shields, both of which have National Institutes of Health-approved clinical designs, says Arany. The initiative began after Aranys lab stopped its research due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The labs 3D printers were previously used to create and investigate medication-filled 3D-printed dentures, smart fillings and bone regenerative scaffolds. To avoid letting the equipment sit idle, Arany and more than a dozen students immediately began using the printers to create protective equipment.

3D-printed face shields and comfort bands made by a team of UB dental students. Photo: Douglas Levere

There appears to be growing concerns about the sustainability of the PPE supply chain, says Arany, who redirected nearly $7,000 of his lab resources into the project. Anticipating this need and our biomaterials research capabilities, our student-led initiative is self-sufficient, sustainable and customizable. There is also the potential for future student employment, as the project is a fantastic learning and research opportunity for my lab and the dental student volunteers. At the forefront of the initiative are Philip Sales, a masters student in biological sciences who conducts research in Aranys lab; third-year dental student Shaina Chechang; second-year dental student Kierra Bleyle; and UB alumnus Eric Niles. Dentistry is always evolving and improving its technology, and demands a lot of critical thinking, says Chechang, who was motivated to help health care workers during the pandemic. This opportunity has allowed me to broaden my horizons and continue learning about innovative advances when it comes to problem-solving, she says. A box of masks before the pandemic was less than $10, and a few weeks ago it was $53. Its shocking, but unfortunately thats the reality of it. The idea of 3D-printed PPE is a great way to resolve the shortage.

UB students Philip Sales (foreground) and Shaina Chechang work to assemble 3D-printed face shields in the lab. Photo: Douglas Levere.
In Johnson v. State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Company, Johnson appealed a Missouri trial courts grant of summary judgment in favor of State Farm, which upheld an owned-vehicle uninsured motorist (UM) exclusion clause in two auto policies covering vehicles not involved in the accident. Johnson was involved in an auto collision with an uninsured motorist and sustained injuries requiring two surgeries.

Johnson was insured under three separate policies issued by State Farm. One policy listed a 2011 Toyota Tacoma as the insured vehicle, which was the vehicle involved in the collision. The other policy listed a 2017 Toyota Tacoma. During oral argument before the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District, the parties agreed there was a third policy, involving a motorhome, which was in all material respects identical to the two State Farm policies.

Each of the policies stated UM limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. State Farm paid Johnson the UM policy limits of $100,000 under the 2011 policy, paid $25,000 in UM coverage under the 2017 policy and $25,000 in UM coverage under the motorhome policy.

State Farm claimed an owned-vehicle exclusion under the policies permitted it to reduce the amount of coverage.

The 2017 Tacoma and motorhome were not involved in the collision.

Johnson sued State Farm, asserting breach of contract and vexatious refusal to pay in that State Farm did not pay the $100,000 UM policy limits under the 2017 policy or the motorhome policy. Johnson filed for partial summary judgment, arguing the exclusion did not apply, and State Farm filed its own summary judgment motion, stating the exclusion did apply and the UM coverage was thereby reduced from $100,000 to $25,000.

The trial court denied Johnsons motion for partial summary judgment and granted State Farms motion, resulting in this appeal.

In point one, Johnson argued the owned-vehicle exclusion reducing the UM coverage did not apply because he was occupying a your car at the time of the collision. The courts opinion discusses various policy provisions, including the definition of your car, which is defined in the policy to mean vehicle shown under your car on the declarations page of the policy.

Point two argued there was an ambiguity in the language of the exclusion, which needed to be resolved in Johnsons favor.

Point three asserted that there are irreconcilable conflicts between the exclusion and other provisions of the policies relating to the amount and/or availability of UM coverage, which needs to be resolved in Johnsons favor.

In point four, Johnson argued that the owned-vehicle exclusion is void as it is against public policy and Missouri law.

Johnson argued that as long as he was occupying a your car as listed on the declarations page of any of his three State Farm policies, then the exclusion did not apply. Johnson was occupying the 2011 Toyota Tacoma at the time of his accident and not the 2017 Toyota Tacoma or the motorhome.

The court determined that the policy language was unambiguous and must be applied as stated in the policy.

As to points two and three, the court determined that both of Johnsons arguments were effectively foreclosed by the Missouri Supreme Court in Floyd-Tunnell v. Shelter Insurance, 439 SW 3rd 215 (Mo banc 2014). The court in this opinion focused on the plan language of the owned-vehicle exclusion, which limited the insurers liability.

As to point four, the court found that State Farm was not attempting to completely bar Johnson from UM coverage in the 2017 policy and motorhome policy. Rather, State Farm provided Johnson with the full amount of UM coverage pursuant to the 2011 policy, and also provided Johnson under the 2017 policy and the motorhome policy with the minimum amount of coverage required by Missouri law.

As such, the court rejected Johnsons argument that reducing the UM coverage by the owned-vehicle exclusion violates public policy.

The appellate court affirmed the trial courts judgment in favor of State Farm.

Topics Auto Missouri
ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi has spoken highly of Vietnams capacity in its role as ASEAN Chair.

ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi (Photo: VNA)

In an interview granted recently to the Vietnam News Agency in Jakarta on June 25, Lim said the theme Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN adopted for its ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020 suits current realities, adding that the 36th ASEAN Summit is a concrete demonstration of ASEANs solidarity and leadership, manifested in robust regional cooperation. Such solidarity is needed in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leaders have openly declared their shared commitment to strengthening regional cooperation in addressing public health emergencies, enhancing social safety nets, and preserving the regional supply chain, he said.

According to the ASEAN chief, ASEAN needs to continue working together to articulate a collective response to COVID-19 to complement and amplify national and local responses, he said. The 36th ASEAN Summit, therefore, serves as an opportunity for the bloc to further enhance its cohesiveness and responsiveness.

He said the summit reaffirms the need for a regional recovery plan, which ASEAN continues to focus on following the ASEAN Special Summits on COVID-19 in April. The plan will involve collaboration among ASEAN member states government agencies, industries, private sector, and other relevant stakeholders.

We expect a greater collaborative effort in information and knowledge sharing, in medical development, and in domestic policies relating to social and health security, he said.

Managing public health risks and reviving economies until an effective vaccine treatment is found are high on this summits agenda. Other highlights will be leaders interfaces with core stakeholders of the ASEAN Community, for example Youth, Business Community, and Parliamentarians, all of whom can contribute significantly to regional integration efforts.

He said that, from the outset, ASEAN member states have promptly responded to COVID-19 nationally, regionally, and globally. The quick response and information sharing among ASEAN health officials, and the robust collaboration between ASEAN and external partners, for example with ASEAN Plus Three, the EU, and the US, have also proven critical during the outbreak.

On the whole, ASEAN has come together and responded quickly to the pandemic, through the two special summits as well as the various measures undertaken collectively and specifically by sectoral bodies. Moving forward, the key task is for ASEAN to have a robust, holistic, and practical recovery framework to minimise the socio-economic effects of the pandemic.

He affirmed that in its capacity as ASEAN Chair, Vietnam has demonstrated strong leadership in spearheading a collective regional response to the pandemic. He expressed his appreciation of Vietnams contributions, in particular giving aid to some ASEAN member states and also to partners, and congratulated the country on its effective fight against the pandemic.

Vietnam has been recovering very well and done a lot of good things internally, he said. And now it is in the recovery stage.

Led by Vietnam, work is also underway to finalise the establishment of a COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund, a regional reserve for medical supplies and a standard operating procedure on public health emergencies.

Vietnam has also kick-started discussions on ASEANs post-2025 vision. This is critical for the bloc to attain greater cohesiveness and responsiveness in its regional integration journey, while adapting to the new normal and factoring the key lessons learned into considerations, he added.

Lao, Malaysian media spotlight ASEAN Summit

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Major newspapers of Malaysia and Laos have published a series of articles on the upcoming 36th ASEAN Summit and other activities hosted by Vietnam as ASEAN Chair 2020.

Malaysian-based New Straits Times said in an article that after nearly two months being postponed due to COVID-19, the summit will take place virtually on June 26 under the chair of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

It gave information on a host of key activities that will be held. Accordingly, it said the Vietnamese PM will chair dialogues between ASEAN leaders and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), ASEAN youth representatives, and ASEAN Business Advisory Council. He will also preside over the opening, plenary and special sessions on women's empowerment in the digital age, the paper added.

Another Malaysian paper, the Malay Mail, in its article, titled Women key to ASEANs COVID-19 response, economic development, praised Vietnams efforts in the regional fight against the pandemic.

It noted as part of its chairmanship, Vietnam envisions a cohesive and responsive ASEAN community, saying such theme is an appropriate call for the bloc in its collective response to the epidemic.

Vietnam wants to focus on solidarity and unity, economic connectivity, promoting the values and identities of the ASEAN Community as its priority areas, among others, the newspaper reiterated PM Phucs statement at the turnover ceremony of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in November 2019.

Solidarity among all member-states and with all ASEAN people is the regions only way out of the pandemic, it said.

Meanwhile, news on the Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (IAMM), the 21st ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), and the 26th ASEAN Coordinating Council Meeting, which were held online on June 24, came in droves on Lao newspapers the next day. These events were chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

According to Laos media, at the IAMM, regional ministers exchanged views on efforts and measures done as part of cooperation frameworks among ASEAN member states and between the bloc and its partners to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The meeting also considered some countries proposals to join the blocs Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC). Lao press said such discussion demonstrated ASEANs leading role in and important contributions to ensuring peace, security, and order in the region and in the world.

Lao media said the 26th ASEAN Coordinating Council Meeting acknowledged progresses and praised efforts made by the bloc in building the ASEAN Community under Vietnams chairmanship this year./.VNA
- John Mahama has spoken about the Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday, June 25

- The NDC flagberer said the party disagrees with the court's ruling on the compilation of the voters' register

- The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision ruled that the Electoral Commission has the power to compile a new register

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

The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress( NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has been speaking about the ruling of the Supreme Court on the compilation of the new voters' register by the Electoral Commission.

Reacting to the apex courts ruling, the former president said the NDC as a political party was deeply disappointed.

On Thursday, June 25, 2020, the Supreme Court of Ghana dismissed two suits that were seeking the use of the existing voter identification card and birth certificates as the source documents for the upcoming voter registration exercise.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Majority of Ghanas 460 new coronavirus cases from workplaces - GHS

But a seven-member panel of the highest court dismissed the case by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) which wanted an order for the use of the existing voter ID card and one Mark Takyi-Benson, who wanted the use of a birth certificate as source documents for eligibility to register as a voter.

The courts decision led the NDCs leader to share his sentiments over the ruling in a Facebook Live session.

John Dramani Mahama addressing NDC party people. Source: YEN.com.gh

Source: Facebook

YEN.com.gh has listed three key things former president John Mahama said during his address:

1. EC willing tool for NPP's diabolical agenda to "disenfranchise" Ghanaians  Mahama

The former president accused the Electoral Commission of making itself a willing tool for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to execute a diabolical agenda to disenfranchise Ghanaians who the party suspects will vote against it in the December 7, 2020 polls.

2. No politically-engineered voter roll can save NPP's failed government from defeat  Mahama

John Mahama also opined that with or without a new register of voters, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will defeat the failed Akufo-Addo government because the people of Ghana will not allow the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its co-conspirator, the Electoral Commission (EC), to steal the right to vote from ordinary Ghanaians through a politically-engineered new voter roll meant to exclude a large number of citizens from the upcoming December elections.

READ ALSO: Here is Asiedu Nketias take on the Supreme Court ruling

3. The NDC is deeply disappointed and strongly disagrees with the SCs verdict  Mahama

Former president John Mahama said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) strongly disagreed with the disappointing verdict of the Supreme Court in the partys case against the Electoral Commission.

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Ghanas apex court ruled that the current voter ID card and birth certificates are not permissible as proof of identity in the Electoral Commissions upcoming registration exercise.

The ruling by the SC also means all other actions taken against EC on the voter registration exercise are halted.

NPP Primaries: Yaw Buaben Asamoa is the Parliamentary candidate elect for Adenta | #Yencomgh

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Source: YEN.com.gh
With the novel coronavirus dragging the global economy into recession and forcing entire workforces to telecommute, many businesses have been forced into an early stress test of their digital transformation (DX) investments.

The results of those pop quizzes have been mixed. On one hand Zoom Bombs are now a thing, but on the positive side, most IT organizations have found that supporting a surge in remote workers is a challenge they were ready for, one different mostly in scale, not kind.

After all, in the past few years, businesses in a range of market sectors, from banking to insurance to retail, have invested heavily in DX initiatives. In the financial sector, Ovum Research found that banks spent close to $10 billion in 2018 on front-office digital banking initiatives alone.

[ Career roadmap: How to become an enterprise architect ]

Globally, spending on the technologies and services that enable the DX of business practices, products, and organizations is forecast to reach $2.3 trillion in 2023, according to International Data Corporations (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Digital Transformation Spending Guide. DX spending is expected to steadily expand throughout the 2019-2023 forecast period, achieving a five-year compound annual growth rate of 17.1%.

Yet, anytime there is a spike in the demand for bandwidth, you can bet that new bottlenecks will form. Now, as social distancing and stay-at-home mandates exponentially increase the demand for bandwidth, networks that run on legacy infrastructure are straining to keep up with the spike in demand.

A major, but often overlooked, bottleneck that holds bandwidth-hungry applications back is the one caused by outdated network infrastructure and routing systems. Too much networking infrastructure is still manually maintained and managed, and adding capacity, especially with private lines, can take not just hours or days, but weeks or even months.

Meanwhile, DX efforts have evolved in how they treat the cloud. Weve gone from the cloud being a destination, as somewhere to store data, to the cloud being a concept. Now, IT leaders regard cloud computing as an operating model and set of principles, said Brad Casemore, research VP, data center networks for IDC.

[ Tech careers: IT certifications and training center ]

As that operating model and those computing principals catch on, however, there remains a gap between the reality on the ground and the eventual goal. In the meantime, the transitional period involves hybrid architectures that stitch together various private and public clouds. These hybrid models do the job, and they protect legacy investments, but they also add layers of complexity.

From a maintenance, control, and, in heavily regulated industries, compliance standpoint, these large, multi-cloud, service-focused infrastructures have grown too unwieldy to manage, secure and govern using legacy tools and manual methodologies.

IBM SaltStack tackles hyperscale problems through automation

When Brian Armstrong, a network engineering executive, arrived at IBM Cloud in 2017, the networking team had already built out a hyperscale-sized network that featured 68,000 switches and routers.

Our engineers are talented and good at scripting, so the last thing they want to do is manually configure devices, Armstrong said. Plus, manually managing and maintaining a network of that size using traditional tools and methodologies would require a much larger staff, especially as IBM Cloud continues to scale up.

The use of scripts is common in DevOps, but this approach only scales in environments with consistent computing platforms and operating systems. Its a different story for NetOps teams, especially those working with hyperscale environments that have evolved over time and feature heavy investments into legacy gear.

If we wanted to do a firmware update across our network, we had no unified way to do that, Armstrong said. So, our first automation goal was a simple one: we needed to get organized.

IBM Cloud data centers feature a range of different devices from different vendors in a variety of different models running on different OSes. In large heterogeneous networks, even scripting shortcuts is still extremely labor-intensive. Moreover, relying on a bunch of ad-hoc scripts leaves you with security, risk management and governance issues.

Yet, IBM Cloud couldnt justify forklift replacements, nor would they want the vendor-lock that came with it. IBM Clouds network team quickly realized that in order to keep up with demand, the only way to effectively wrangle their heterogeneous hardware infrastructure would involve decoupling networking hardware from the control plane once and for all.

IBM Cloud decided to establish a software-defined (SDN) network layer over their existing physical infrastructure. Creating an SDN layer would allow them to centrally manage and programmatically configure all of their physical infrastructure. Ideally, the SDN layer would also allow them to easily and systematically audit and update all of their heterogeneous infrastructure devices. This meant that vendor-specific SDN solutions were out.

After an intensive search, the network team at IBM Cloud turned to the infrastructure automation platform from startup SaltStack. IBM uses SaltStack as a global command-and-control layer that provides comprehensive audit, remote execution, automation, patch, security detection, and remediation for the entire IBM Cloud network.

Related: Business goal achievement tied to greater network automation

With SaltStack IBM Cloud was able to cut the time it took to update all of their legacy data centers and the ~70,000 networking devices within them from months down to a few weeks. This includes testing configuration changes, updating firmware, and onboarding new features. IBM Cloud estimates that its network team saved more than 40,000 hours of labor, as well as eliminating any customer downtime due to maintenance.

IBM Cloud continues to centrally manage and maintain its networking gear via SaltStack, while also using other parts of the SaltStack software suite to manage virtual environments, automate compliance and streamline SecOps.

DDoS attacks spur Rhode Island schools and non-profits to take (automated) action

Security is one of the key automation drivers for resource-strapped organizations that have trouble keeping up with the current threat landscape. After all, many attackers now use automated tools to outflank traditional defenses, so if youre handling cybersecurity mitigation and remediation manually, you have, as the saying goes, brought a knife to a gun fight.

The Ocean State Higher Education Economic Development and Administrative Network (OSHEAN) began investigating security automation due to a spike in distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeting its members. OSHEAN provides internet connectivity for public institutions in Rhode Island. OSHEANs 160 members include universities, K-12 schools, libraries, hospitals, government agencies and other nonprofit organizations.

The status quo for OSHEAN had been to handle each DDoS attack separately. When malicious traffic was spotted (often because a member called into the service desk in a panic), OSHEANs technical team would manually blackhole the malicious traffic. This resulted in downtime for the targeted member for the duration of an attack.

David Marble, president and CEO of OSHEAN, understood that a manual approach would not scale as both OSHEANs membership and the number of inbound attacks continued to grow. Marble and his team investigated a range of possible solutions, rejecting several because they were either appliance-based or managed services not based on open standards. Appliances required upfront Capex, as well as ongoing maintenance costs, while proprietary managed services lacked features and would prevent Kentik from developing service chains and other automations.

After researching various options, Marble and his team turned to Kentiks network performance monitoring and diagnostics platform to help them protect their members from DDoS attacks.

Using probes within the network, Kentik continuously monitors millions of individual IP addresses, recognizing and focusing on the IPs that are currently the top traffic receivers. Kentik automatically baselines their traffic patterns and measures anomalies in their traffic.

Because Kentik relies on open APIs, OSHEAN was also able to split detection and analytics apart from mitigation and remediation. OSHEAN integrated the Kentik platform with Akamai Prolexic, so that sites under attack are automatically put into quarantine and scrubbed.

Related: How to buy network automation tools

In less than a year, OSHEAN has relied on Kentik to automatically repel more than 300 volumetric DDoS attacks that targeted its members.

As an added benefit, the same analytics that help OSHEAN automatically mitigate DDoS attacks now also helps the organization improve application delivery and performance. The analytics we use for DDoS protection is also useful for application traffic, Marble said. If one of our members has an issue with an application, we can automatically trace that traffic to pinpoint the source of the problem.

Automation paves the way for application-based networking

As software defined networking (SDN) services continue to displace traditional hardware-centric infrastructure, the opportunity arises to optimize on top of basic networking functions. For instance, as SD-WAN services evolved beyond basic branch office connectivity to target use cases such as cloud connectivity, application-aware services became key features.

Application-based QoS (i.e. prioritize video traffic), application-specific routing (sending Google application traffic directly to Google servers), and even cost-saving measures (only send email over inexpensive links) are all possible with software-defined infrastructure.

Related: Network automation leads to improved organizational and team performance

Distributed clouds are driving automation. You cant have different rules across different clouds, Casemore of IDC said. As enterprises and service providers work to develop consistent policies around networking, security and especially around workloads distributed across various clouds, networking professionals must worry less about old siloes and more about how we automate around application workflows.

Hybrid cloud environments are driving automation now, but there are a whole host of other emerging technologies that are also pushing traditional infrastructures past their limits. IoT, streaming media, and M2M communications all stress traditional architectures, but there are two other issues looming on the horizon that could pose even bigger problems: Compliance and 5G.
EAST LANSING, MI  A coronavirus outbreak stemming from an East Lansing bar has climbed to 51 cases in a matter of days.

Health officials first warned of the exposure site on Tuesday, June 23, when there were 14 known COVID-19 coronavirus cases associated with visits to Harpers Restaurant and Brew Pub between June 12-20. On Wednesday, the case total jumped to 25. By Thursday evening, June 25, 51 cases had been identified, including two in people who didnt visit the bar but contracted the virus from someone who did, ClickOnDetroit reports.

Of the 51 people, 37 are Ingham County residents, according to the Ingham County Health Department. They people range in age from 16 to 28 years old. None of them have been hospitalized. Ten are asymptomatic, which means they dont have symptoms but are contagious.

The health department is asking anyone who visited the bar from June 12-20 to self-quarantine for 14 days and to seek testing.

Given the number of cases in this outbreak, we consider this a higher risk exposure than a typical visit to a restaurant or bar, said Ingham County health officer Linda S. Vail. There are likely more people infected with COVID-19 not yet identified. We need help from people who went to Harpers during the exposure dates so that we can contain the outbreak. We need everyone exposed to stay home.

During the self-quarantine, people should stay home, monitor for symptoms and distance themselves from other members of the household.

Even Harper's patrons who test negative for the virus should continue to self-quarantine because there is a possibility of false-negative results, the health department said.

Harpers was following safety procedures related to employees, capacity and table spacing when inspected by the health department after the cases were linked to it. The bar voluntarily closed late Monday to enhance safety, including modifications to its HVAC system.

People wishing to be tested for coronavirus can contact their primary care physician or visit a no-cost testing site.

On Thursday, June 25, the Department of Health and Human Services announced 353 new cases and 19 new deaths since the day prior, pushing state totals to 62,306 known cases and 5,887 deaths linked to the infectious respiratory illness. That was the highest daily number of new coronavirus cases since May 31.

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.

READ MORE:

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The Islamic State has conducted a number of operations in rural Aleppo, assassinating commanders and soldiers reports Baladi News.

Islamic State (ISIS) operations have returned to areas under the control of the Syrian National Army and the Turkish Army in rural northern Aleppo, amid the assassination of a commander and three National Army fighters, as well as the targeting of a Turkish military vehicle. ISIS claimed responsibility for these operations via its media platforms.

Assassinations

On Tuesday evening, ISIS announced the assassination of Col. Muhammad Adnan Bakkar in a statement, saying that, the caliphate was able to shoot dead a commanderin the town of Kafr Ghan in rural Azaz.

A Baladi News correspondent in rural Aleppo reported that unknown attackers on a motorcycle fired on Bakkar, a defected commander from al-Qusayr in rural Homs. He worked in the National Armys Defense Ministry.

The Syrian National Armys Second Legion meanwhile mourned the deaths of three fighters, who, according to official information, had been killed at the hands of an ISIS cell on Jun. 20, 2020.

The group said in a statement, The 211th Brigade of the Second Legion of the national Army mourns a number of martyrs after they were targeted by ISIS near the village of al-Numan in rural eastern Aleppo on Saturday night.

According to the statement, the men killed were Fares Ahmad al-Issa, Bilal Khaled al-Ali and Alaa Muhammad Abed.

ISIS also targeted a Turkish army vehicle east of Azaz on Friday, injuring two Turkish soldiers.

Pursuing ISIS cells

With the rise in ISIS attacks in rural Aleppo, security forces are waging an arrest campaign targeting members of a large ISIS cell, a security source told Baladi News. In recent days, that cell assassinated members of the National Army and police force, and the assassination of Bakkar came as revenge for the arrest campaign targeting ISIS leaders.

The source added that ISIS cells are acting in remote border villages because of the lack of security presence there.

According to the Azaz Media Office, as a result of ISISs recent assassination operations, intelligence forces, police and general security raided a headquarters where ISIS fighters were living, including non-Syrians.

The Azaz Media Office reported that the campaign targeted homes and buildings used to manufacture explosive devices. Authorities also seized guns, a warehouse for manufacturing silencers, and fake Syrian documents used by foreigners, in addition to cell phones equipped with electronic chips for remote-controlled explosions.

Personnel at the headquarters prepare logistical matters for ISIS so that it can carry out its bombing and assassination operations in the area.

On Jun. 9, 2020, police intelligence and general security forces in Azaz arrested an ISIS cell composed of 13 members, including people with Tunisian and other nationalities.

Sources confirmed to Baladi News that the cell was preparing a campaign against the National Army and Turkish Army in Azaz city and the nearby countryside.

Police intelligence sized 5,000 metal explosive devices, in addition to 50 gun silencers and 120 others that were being prepared.

Assassination of the wali of Raqqa

Perhaps the biggest blow to ISIS in rural Aleppo was the assassination of Fayez al-Akkal, also known as Abu Saad al-Shamali, who was the wali of Raqqa during ISISs control over the city. An unknown aircraft targeted his car on Jun. 20,2020, in al-Bab, rural eastern Aleppo.

Rumors circulated that Akkal was killed by ISIS, but it believed that he was moved secretly to the security work and administration for assassination and liquidation operations. Activists published a photo, saying that it was his forged civil record giving his name as Ahmad al-Darwish on a card issued by the Dabiq Local Council. His place of birth was documented as the town of Maskanah near Manbij in rural Aleppo.

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.
Air France-KLM's Dutch arm will get a 3.4-billion-euro ($3.8 billion) bailout from the Netherlands, bringing the group's state-aid total to 10.4 billion euros and tying the struggling carrier to wide-ranging operational and environmental constraints.

KLM will receive 2.4 billion euros of state-backed commercial funding and 1 billion euros in direct government loans, Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said in a letter to parliament Friday that came after weeks of wrangling over the terms of the funding needed to ride out the coronavirus crisis.

The carrier faces job cuts and environmental curbs on its activities in return for the rescue, and will also end up with greater potential for political meddling after the state appointed an agent to oversee how the money is used.

The Dutch package follows a 7 billion-euro bailout of Air France, the carrier's French arm, and hammers home the reliance of Europe's biggest airlines on state aid to get through the slump. It comes a day after Deutsche Lufthansa won shareholder approval for a 9 billion-euro German package on top of which Austria, Belgium and Switzerland will also contribute. The rivals are each getting close to $12 billion in total.

France and the Netherlands each have 14% stakes in Air France-KLM, the region's second-biggest carrier after Lufthansa, and have a history of squabbling over how it should be run. Their separate loans and guarantees will complicate Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith's planned revamp as he navigates the myriad of strings attached to the funding.

"It's not a free ride," KLM chief Pieter Elbers said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. "It's very important for us here at KLM that we have that loan and credit facility in order to make the necessary restructuring."

Like Lufthansa, Air France-KLM came under fire Friday from Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair Holdings, which called on the European Commission to block the aid to prevent a distortion of competition in the Dutch and French markets. A spokesperson confirmed the Commission will examine the package and declined to comment on Ryanair's complaint. The Commission approved the French bailout.

Shares of Air France-KLM rose 2.7% at 12:27 p.m. in Paris, paring the stock's decline this year to 57%.

Conditions for the Dutch support include the appointment of a state agent with powers to intervene where necessary and attend KLM board meetings. At a press conference, Hoekstra described the move as a "lock in the door."

KLM will also be required to cut the number of night flights by a fifth to reduce the impact of aircraft noise for residents around Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, take steps to encourage rail travel, and halve CO2 emissions per passenger by 2030.

KLM must also halt dividend payments in return for the taxpayer money, and Hoekstra said job cuts are inevitable as part of a restructuring program that will also lead to a scrapping of bonuses and salary reductions of as much as a fifth for those making more than 110,000 euros annually.

The Netherlands said two months ago that it would provide between 2 billion euros and 4 billion euros of assistance. The paying down of a credit line of 665 million euros granted in March will be the first draw on the new facility.

The environmental constraints placed on KLM in the Dutch package echo some put in place by the French on Air France. Together, they will lead to the transformation of some operations.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire agreed in April to provide 4 billion euros of state-backed commercial funding and 3 billion euros of direct state loans to Air France, which must curb domestic flying by 40% and lower carbon emissions. He also called on the carrier to be a "good customer" for Toulouse-based planemaker Airbus, which is struggling as jet orders dry up.

Air France-KLM CEO Smith has started talks with unions about cutting Air France staff through voluntary departures as he seeks the exit of around 8,300 employees, Bloomberg News reported.

KLM has started its own plan for voluntary departures. Elbers said of job cuts, "still a lot needs to be done to get through this difficult period."
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed scepticism over the Narendra Modi government's move to allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the coal sector, saying the step contradicts "the very essence of Atmanirbhar Bharat".

In a letter on Thursday night, the Trinamool Congress chairperson also requested the Prime Minister to advise the ministry of coal not to go ahead with the decision to wind up the subordinate offices of Coal India Limited (CIL) in Kolkata.

I express my serious reservation on 100 per cent FDI announcement. This policy can neither bring FDI nor can it bring technologies or knowhow which we are unable to access today. Coal is our nation's pride and we must not forget that coal sector was nationalised in 1973 with a specific purpose of public sector to play a major role in such a strategic sector which is deeply entwined with the energy security of the nation, the CM wrote.

The recent trend and empirical evidences clearly showcase the interest of global investors more in renewable energy projects as compared to the coal mining projects. In fact, research suggests that about 100 global financial institutions have divested their thermal coal investments. Therefore, FDI in thermal coal is a far cry.

Banerjee said that at a time when the worlds largest coal mining company, CIL, is producing 80 per cent of India's coal with profit before tax of Rs 27,000 crore (2018-19) and holding a reserve of Rs 31,000 crore, the Centre's decision to relax FDI restrictions demeans the capability of the organisation. "Moreover, allowing 100 per cent FDI in coal for MNCs will carry a wrong message as it would contradict the very essence of Atmanirbhar Bharat," she wrote.

The CM underscored the continuous resistance by locals against such efforts (mining) of their possible exploitation in some underdeveloped countries. She also highlighted that the move will have a significant impact on the domestic economy in the long run.

On shifting desk offices of four of CIL's subsidiary companies, namely Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) from Kolkata, Mamata said, Nearly 80 per cent coal availability is located in the eastern region of the country. That is why Coal India Limited has been functioning with its headquarters located in Kolkata. The recent abrupt decision to shift the desk offices from Kolkata by June 30, 2020 to their respective headquarters in other areas will be extremely detrimental to the interests of all stakeholders of coal sector including the employees. Also it is difficult to move due to Covid-19. Not the least, the contractual employees residing in or near Kolkata will lose their livelihood due to the withdrawal of offices. Therefore, I would request you to kindly re-consider the decision of allowing 100 per cent FDI in coal sector and also strongly urge your kind intervention to prevent the shifting of CIL subordinate offices from Kolkata."

In August 2019, the union cabinet approved 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route in mining, processing and sale of coal.
Washington

House Democrats approved a far-reaching police overhaul Thursday, a vote heavy with emotion and symbolism as a divided Congress struggles to address the global outcry over the deaths of George Floyd and other Black Americans.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gathered with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Capitol steps, challenging opponents not to allow the deaths to have been in vain or the outpouring of public support for changes to go unmatched. But the collapse of a Senate Republican bill leaves final legislation in doubt.

"Exactly one month ago, George Floyd spoke his final words  'I can't breathe'  and changed the course of history," Pelosi said.

She said the Senate faces a choice "to honor George Floyd's life or to do nothing."

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is perhaps the most ambitious set of proposed changes to police procedures and accountability in decades. Backed by the nation's leading civil rights groups, it aims to match the moment of demonstrations that filled streets across the nation.

It has almost zero chance of becoming law.

On the eve of the vote, President Donald Trump's administration said he would veto the bill. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has also said it would not pass the Republican-held chamber.

After the GOP policing bill stalled this week, blocked by Democrats, Trump shrugged.

"If nothing happens with it, it's one of those things," Trump said. "We have different philosophies."

Congress is now at a familiar impasse despite protests outside their door and polling that shows Americans overwhelmingly want changes after the deaths of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others in interactions with law enforcement.

The two parties are instead appealing to voters ahead of the fall election, which will determine control of the House, Senate and White House.

"We hear you. We see you. We are you," said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., during the debate.

It has been a month since Floyd's May 25 death sparked a global reckoning over police tactics and racial injustice. Since then, funeral services were held for Rayshard Brooks, a Black man shot and killed by police in Atlanta. Thursday is also what would have been the 18th birthday of Tamir Rice, a black boy killed in Ohio in 2014.

Lawmakers who have been working from home during the COVID-19 crisis were summoned to the Capitol for a debate. Dozens voted by proxy under new pandemic rules.

During the day, several Democratic lawmakers read the names of those killed, shared experiences of racial bias and echoed support of Black Lives Matter activists.

Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said hundreds of thousands of people "in every state in the union" are marching in the streets to make sure Floyd "will not be just another Black man dead at the hands of the police."

Republican lawmakers countered the bill goes too far and failed to include GOP input. "All lives matter," said Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz. New York Rep. Pete King said it's time to stand with law enforcement, the "men and women in blue." House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy decried the "mob" of demonstrators.

At one point Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., stood up to say he just didn't understand what was happening in the country  from Floyd's death to the protests that followed.

Several Black Democratic lawmakers rose to encourage him to pick up a U.S. history book or watch some of the many films now streaming about the black experience in America.

In the stalemate over the policing overhaul, the parties are settled into their political zones, almost ensuring no legislation will become law. While there may be shared outrage over Floyd's death, the lawmakers remain far apart on the broader debate over racial bias in policing and other institutions. The 236-181 House vote was largely on party lines.

Both bills share common elements that could be grounds for a compromise. Central to both would be the creation of a national database of use-of-force incidents, which is viewed as a way to provide transparency on officers' records if they transfer from one agency to another.

The bills would restrict police chokeholds and set up new training procedures, including beefing up the use of body cameras.
Representative Image

Abhijnan Rej

As more news emerge about a large-scale Chinese build-up in the Depsang area, adding to a long list of potential flash points, the possibility of a diplomatic resolution looks slimmer by the day. That said, China may indeed back down after having proved its point: that as a superior committed power, it can vastly complicate Indias life at a time and place of its choosing. Or, the current crisis may erupt into war  either by accident or design.

Both possibilities suggest that whatever else may be the case, it cannot be business as usual when it comes to China.

What is unclear is how India may reorient its China policy in the long term, when the dust settles in eastern Ladakh. However, independent of specific policy components, it must, above all, resolve the crisis of credibility that has long plagued Indias strategy.

The current imbroglio has brought into sharp relief an uncomfortable fact that Delhis mandarins have long tried to sweep under the rug: An intransigent Peoples Republic of China is a clear and present threat to the territorial integrity to the Indian State. It must be treated as such.

For a long time, Indias strategic community deluded itself into thinking of China as a long-term competitor, one that can be managed through diplomacy for the time being while India built its own muscle. Underlying this assumption was a notional mental parity with a state five times bigger across several indices of power, and a belief that Indias very being (largest democracy, multiculturalism, soft power, etc) made it an equal.

The flattering optics of informal summits, membership in common clubs such as BRICS, as well as an implicit belief that India was well on the way to becoming a great power itself, together created a psychological frame that all but ruled out the possibility of China someday embarking on a relentlessly hostile course of action. The very fact that it took South Block almost two months to admit that the current PLA activity in Ladakh points to something ominous serves to illustrate this point.

When India did see China through the political-military prism, it was in terms of grand geostrategic constructs such as the Indo-Pacific. Leapfrogging the unpleasant possibility of a massive premeditated Chinese land grab along the Himalayas, many in New Delhi imagined both countries playing naval tic-tac-toe across the Indian Ocean. Expansive Indian foreign policy pronouncements (insofar as they had China in mind, such as in Africa or, bizarrely, the Pacific) became divorced from the elemental reality of Indias limited diplomatic and military bandwidth.

All this led to a crisis of credibility when it came to what India could do, both in terms of its extant power as well as arrangements with other countries. While New Delhi talked up a great game when it came to India-US ties, deep structural problems in the relationship put a natural ceiling to what both countries can do together when it comes to China. To be sure this had little to do with Indias posture of strategic autonomy as it had with self-imposed constraints.

Path dependence on Russian weapon systems, a relentless obsession with Pakistan, as well as pie-in-the-sky schemes with countries the United States considers enemies (Iran), has meant that the India-US strategic relationship is essentially predicated around good faith and indulgence by Washington.

At the same time, Beijing has already factored in India as part of the American B-team in Asia. Its very public anger at the US-Japan-Australia-India quad is a case in point. There again lies an irony: thanks to no small part played by India, that grouping is far from acquiring military fangs. India is effectively in a strategic half-way house, where its relationship with the US has attracted all the negative attention from Beijing without bringing commensurate deterrent benefit.

The crisis of credibility also permeates the countrys military in general, and the navy in particular. Its strategic doctrine pivots around the notion of sea control, with the aspiration of being a blue-water force capable of denying the enemy the ability to operate far from Indias shores.

The reality is  as the Chief of Defence Staff put it in a May interview  that the strategic benefits of expeditionary capabilities are uncertain, given immediate threats on land. However, having committed itself time and again to an expansive self-satisfying picture of a great maritime power in the making, India could wake up someday soon to vigorous Chinese probing, this time on sea.
Dubai Police has released a video showing how Hushpuppi, Mr Woodberry and their cybercrime gang were arrested in Dubai.



The video shows the police trailing Raymond Igbalodely Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, to his hotel at night before arresting him.



His arrest came after months of investigation. The Dubai Police monitored Hushpuppi, Mr Woodberry and their squad for 4 months, including all their social media activities and the extravagant lifestyle they displayed there.



On the night of their arrest, the police tracked them to 6 different locations before capturing them.



The entire operation was dubbed Fox Hunt 2.



The Dubai police accused Hushpuppi and his cybercrime squad of defrauding over 1, 926,400 victims of $435.6 million.



They explained that Hushpuppi's cybercrime gang hack corporate emails and clone websites to redirect payments to their own accounts.



The video released by the Dubai police has made Hushpuppi and Dubai Police the number 1 and number 2 most trending topics amongst Nigerians on Twitter.

VIDEO







































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Featured Video
NEW YORK, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the world's most popular children's group, The Wiggles, released their brand-new studio album, Choo Choo Trains, Propeller Planes & Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car!

The Wiggles 55th studio album takes listeners on a virtual journey to anywhere their imagination desires. Choo Choo Trains, Propeller Planes and Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car hands they keys to every Wiggles fan for a revved up virtual Summer ride.

With the pandemic limiting our travel options, Emma, Lachy, Simon and Anthony created this wonderful new collection of Wiggly tunes made to entice the imagination of their home-bound preschool audience eager for summer adventure, virtual or otherwise. Choo Choo Trains, Propeller Planes and Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car features songs about all forms of travel - walking, wheelchairs, space travel, swimming, surfing, trains, planes and of course travelling in the famous Wiggles' car, the Big Red Car!

As Emma Wiggle explains: "Today, more than ever, children need a release for all their creative energy, and we hope this album will have the young listener dancing, singing and using their imagination to go travelling!"

"Choo Choo Trains, Propeller Planes and Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car" will also feature the audio debut of The Wiggles' two smash pandemic songs, "Social Distancing" and the "Handwashing Song."

Choo Choo Trains, Propeller Planes & Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car! is available to download or steam via many popular platforms.

TRACK LIST:

Trains, Planes and the Big Red Car Trains Rolling Down the Track Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga, Big Red Car (feat. The East Pointers) Moose in the Caboose Paddlin' Australia Big, Big Heart Rocket Ship Social Distancing Old Man Emu (feat. John Williamson ) Watching the Planes Emma's Bowmobile, Beep Beep! Are We There Yet? Zoo Be Doo Dee Walk Do the Propeller! We Fly the Plane to the Outback How Good is That? Beatrice Bee Wiggle at Home Wheels on the Wheelchair Go Round and Round The Sun, Whose Rays are All Ablaze Roll the Acrobats Handwashing Song

About The Wiggles:

The Wiggles have been entertaining millions of fans across the globe for over 29 years. They have sold over 30 million albums and DVDs, 8 million books, as well as accumulating over 1.3 billion views on YouTube and over 750 million music streams. More than 70 album and DVD releases later, The Wiggles have earned 18 gold, 13 platinum, 3 double-platinum and 10 multi-platinum awards, and have been awarded 13 ARIA Awards for Best Children's Album (making ARIA history as the most awarded ARIA winner in the one category, and being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame). For more information about The Wiggles, visit www.thewiggles.com. Keep in touch with the latest information via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Follow The Wiggles on Spotify.

For artwork, interview requests or more information, contact:

Rob Bailey

BrandStand

201-819-1134

[email protected]

SOURCE The Wiggles
Funding of 2.4m is being allocated to the trial. (stock photo)

Irish patients who are hospitalised with Covid-19 will benefit from a fund of 2.4m which is being invested by the outgoing Government in an international trial to find new treatments for the disease.

Minister for Health Simon Harris said today he has signed the agreement on behalf of the Government to enable Irelands participation in the World Health Organisation (WHO) COVID-19 Solidarity Trial.

Funding of 2.4m is being allocated to the trial.

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Patients will be recruited in hospitals around Ireland within a matter of days.

The WHO Solidarity Trial is an international collaboration amongst WHO and participating international member countries and researchers to evaluate potential COVID-19 treatments.

The Solidarity Trial has recruited over 5,000 patients to date, in over 400 hospitals and across 35 countries, with another 100 countries awaiting approval to participate in the trial.

Minister Harris said :I am delighted that Ireland is playing its part in the global response to the Covid-19 crisis, in solidarity with our international partners. There are still no proven treatments for COVID-19 and it is really important that any potential treatments are prescribed within the context of clinical trials where patients provide consent and everything is controlled and monitored."

Recruitment will start at hospitals around the country within a matter of days and is made possible through Government investment in recent decades in clinical trials facilities, networks and other supports.

Professor Joe Eustace, the Lead Investigator for the trial said: The Solidarity-Ireland Trial is sponsored by the Irish Government; coordinated by HRB Clinical Research Coordination Ireland and supported by UCC; the 6 main University based Clinical Research Facilities and Centres and their affiliated hospitals are collaborating on this critical trial in order to establish the safety and effectiveness of potential treatments for Irish patients suffering with Covid 19.

The trial may allow us to identify treatments that will reduce the severity of the infection, decease the need for intensive care and reduce the infections mortality rate.
The draft and enactment of a national security law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is legitimate and will further protect the rights of the residents as well as the future prosperity of the city, said scholars from international institutions.



National security is "an integral component of national defense", which is an important issue reserved by the Central People's Government on which the HKSAR has no autonomy, said Zheng Sophia Tang, chair in law and commerce at Newcastle University.

"The Sino-British Joint Declaration clearly states that 'the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will enjoy a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defense affairs which are the responsibilities of the Central People's Government'," she added.

Tang said the disclosed contents of the draft national security law "clearly states that the principle of the rule of law and human rights including freedom of speech will be protected", instead of depriving Hong Kong residents of their legitimate rights protected by international law, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

"Collecting and analyzing intelligence information concerning national security and handling criminal cases applies to a very small number of cases concerning national security crimes and would not affect the ordinary lifestyle of Hong Kong residents," she said.

However, due to historical reasons, Tang pointed it out that it is understandable to hear concerns from some Hong Kong residents about the consequences of the law.

"Thus, it is necessary to develop dialogue with Hong Kong residents and associations, and to draft the relevant provisions as clearly as possible," Tang said.

In particular, Tang suggested elucidating some issues that people care for most. "What does it mean by 'specific circumstances' when the organs of the central authorities can exercise jurisdiction over criminal cases committed in Hong Kong, and what are the particulars in the four categories of national security crimes should be fully explained," the professor said.

Christopher Bovis, a law professor at the University of Hull, also defended the legitimacy of passing the national security law for Hong Kong, saying the national security concepts "do not invite commentary and international reaction".

Matters of sovereignty

He said: "Traditionally, and under international law and custom, national security legislative frameworks are at the heart of every state and are reserved matters for national sovereignty.

"But the case of the draft legislation on safeguarding national security in Hong Kong has been the magnet of reproach from many antagonists of China.

"If the draft legislation manages to reassure the safeguarding of legitimate rights and freedoms of residents, the concerns of the critics will diminish," he said.

Zhou Xuan, chief consultant of Nomura Securities in Tokyo, said he believed the upcoming law will build up confidence for Hong Kong's future. "The recent stable stock and property markets, the private mortgage insurance reaching a four-month high in May and the strengthened Hong Kong dollar have showed that Hong Kong people and foreign investors responded positively to the upcoming law, which at its core, protected Hong Kong's position as a financial hub by building up confidence for future," he said.

"Meanwhile, the good market performance also came from the expectation that the law will deal a fatal blow to those rioters and political opportunists who wanted to muddy the waters."
A pair of GOP governors on Friday moved to impose new mitigation measures in their states amid record numbers of new coronavirus infections, with both Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordering bars closed and Texas placing new restrictions on other businesses the governor said were linked to the virus's resurgence.

Texas and Florida are among around a dozen other states that have hit the brakes on reopening their economies amid a resurgence of the virus across the South and West affecting more than half of the states in the country. Theyre the first that have had to reinstate restrictions as case soar.

That both governors  who are close allies of President Donald Trump and were criticized for resisting calls to lock down their states in the pandemic's early days  have not only pressed pause on reopening but reimposed some restrictions, speaks to the severity of the outbreaks in two of the most populous states in the country.

The country as a whole on Thursday registered another single-day record of more than 39,000 new infections. Hospitalizations are also on the rise, prompting fears that the nationwide death toll could soon follow. The new spikes come as the White House has attempted to play down the increase, explaining it away by pointing to more robust testing capacity and pressing forward with reopening the economy after coming to a standstill for months this spring.

Signs are emerging, however, that the White House has begun to take the threat more seriously, with its coronavirus task force holding its first public briefing since April 27. And hours before he was set to leave for his resort in New Jersey for the weekend, the president abruptly canceled his trip with no explanation. Trump later tweeted that he wanted to stay in Washington to monitor protesters in the city looking to topple its statues.

Later in the day, the Department of Health and Human Services relented to requests from Abbott and the states two GOP senators and reversed a plan to cut off federal funding for a handful of coronavirus testing sites in the state at the end of the month.

Story continues

In Fridays briefing Vice President Mike Pence said it was almost inarguable that more testing is generating more cases, even as he announced plans to travel to three states with the most serious outbreaks. "To one extent or another, the volume of new cases coming in is a reflection of a great success in expanding testing across the country, Pence argued.

But as the vice president hammered the message that the country  and indirectly, the White House  had made remarkable progress in combating the pandemic, other members of the task force acknowledged a more alarming picture.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, right, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a briefing with members of the Coronavirus Task Force, including Vice President Mike Pence, left, at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, Friday, June 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Health officials in the briefing went on to detail how several states case growth is outpacing the number of tests conducted, and the percentage of positive tests has also risen.

We are facing a serious problem in certain areas, said Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious diseases expert. Fauci also implicitly countered Pence and other administration officials, who cast the outbreaks across the South and West as isolated "hot spots."

We have a very heterogenous country, but heterogeneity doesn't mean that we are not intimately interconnected with each other, Fauci said. So what goes on in one area of the country, ultimately could have an effect on the other areas of the country.

Amid the new spikes, Pence announced that he and Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, would be traveling to Texas on Sunday, and Arizona and Florida next week to get a ground report. Pence had already been scheduled to travel to each state for political events.

The announcement came 24 hours after Abbott first ordered a pause on the states reopening process, which began in May. The Texas governor on Thursday also halted elective surgeries in a handful of counties and backed down from an earlier directive that banned cities and counties from mandating residents wear face masks in public.

DeSantis, meanwhile, had indicated that he had no plans to move Florida into its next phase of reopening, while local hot spots weighed their own shutdowns and mask requirements. But the state added nearly 9,000 new cases Thursday, shattering its previous one-day record set only days earlier.

Effective immediately, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is suspending on premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide, Secretary Halsey Beshears tweeted minutes after the new numbers posted. Establishments can still sell drinks to go.

With their orders Friday, Abbott and DeSantis joined nearly a dozen other states that over the last week or so have begun to scale back reopening due to the new surge. On Thursday Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona, which is among those seeing the highest increase in new infections, announced that the states reopening process would also be halted.

California may soon follow suit, with Gov. Gavin Newsom warning this week that the state is prepared to issue another stay-at-home order if necessary, though adding that We dont intend to do that. We dont want to do that.

On Friday Newsom provided a glimpse at how he might approach the California's outbreak, announcing that his administration had advised Imperial County, on the state's southern border with Mexico, "to pull back and once again reinstitute their stay-at-home orders." While he emphasized the county would be in control of the process the governor wouldn't rule out intervening.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed, meanwhile, announced that she was delaying the city's next phase of reopening after infections continued to rise.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday followed his neighbor Abbott, announcing that he would not be lifting any further coronavirus-related restrictions the same day his state posted one of its largest single-day increases in new cases. Texas other neighbor to the east, Louisiana, had already announced a four-week delay before moving into its next phase of reopening.

The governors of Utah, Michigan, Kansas, Idaho, Nevada, North Carolina and Delaware have also taken similar steps to freeze the current phase of reopening.

The last week has seen a significant shift in tone from the leaders of states being battered by the latest outbreaks, from ditching rhetoric pinning the blame for new upticks on increased testing to authorizing cities and localities to impose face mask requirements that they previously opposed.

Barstools are stacked at South Tyler Speakeasy in Tyler, Texas, as word reached the bar of Gov. Greg Abbott's morning announcement that bars must close at noon on Friday, June 26, 2020, due to the uptick in the spread of the coronavirus. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph via AP)

Officials all over the country have also begun to implore young people, who are making up an increasingly large share of the newest infections, to heed social distancing recommendations, practice good hygiene and wear face masks while out and about.

But for the most part, and until Friday, theyve roundly dismissed the possibility of ordering another wave of statewide lockdowns or shuttering businesses, stressing the importance of personal responsibility and the desire to avoid economic collapse. Governors have also continued to resist calls for statewide mask requirements, even as they empowered local leaders to impose them.

Hutchinson said Friday he would not be rolling back the reopening process like Texas is, asserting that data in his state didnt call for it.

We analyzed you know, whether it is our restaurants, our bars, our barber shops, or any of these that we've lifted some restrictions on, contributed to the increase in cases, and we didn't see a correlation, he told MSNBC. So we're not going to be punishing those businesses that are trying to do the right thing.

In Texas, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick shut down the prospect of another shelter-in-place order, even as Abbott had urged residents to stay home if they can.

Going back to a lockdown, that would have to be something catastrophic and we don't see that in the future, he told Fox News in an interview Friday.

Abbott said in a statement his decision came after the state exceeded a 10 percent positivity rate for coronavirus tests. The state reported nearly 6,000 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on Thursday, a new daily record.

CORRECTS CITY TO AUSTIN, INSTEAD OF HOUSTON Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gives an update on Texas Hospital bed capacity and the strategy to fight COVID-19 in the state of Texas during a press conference at Texas Department of Public Safety, Tuesday, June 16, 2020, in Austin, Texas. (Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

But the governor noted that his order was meant to narrowly target businesses linked to the new outbreaks.

At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars, he said, adding that he hoped the new restrictions would be as limited in duration as possible.

According to Abbotts orders, bars must have closed by Friday at noon local time  though they will be allowed to conduct curbside service  and restaurants will be restricted to 50 percent capacity for dine-in service beginning Monday. The order also mandates the closure of rafting and tubing businesses and requires that outdoor gatherings of more than 100 be approved by local governments.

The new shift in approach from governors in affected states comes as local leaders have raised alarms about the worsening outbreak.

In Harris County, the most populous county in Texas and home to Houston and some of its suburbs, County Judge Lina Hidalgo raised the county to the highest Covid-19 threat level, asking residents to stay home.

Our situation is far worse today than when we issued our first stay-home order in Harris County and when the state issued their first stay-home order," she said in a news conference Friday, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Hidalgo had ripped the governors handling of the outbreak in an interview with POLITICO earlier this week, criticizing the lack of urgency.

Its not an outlier or its not a blip. Its something that is headed towards a crisis unless we do something proactively to stop this, she said Wednesday, arguing that just flattening the curve may not be enough to keep hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. We are already in a high plateau.

Patrick pushed back on claims that the state is dangerously close to reaching its hospital capacity, asserting there was misinformation emanating even  from hospitals and hospital directors.

It's confused some people. And leadership is about being calm, not panicking, and making the right decisions to protect the life and safety and the health of the population, and also keep our economy afloat and business open the best we can do," he said.

Before Abbotts announcement, Austin Mayor Steve Adler pushed for stronger action from the governor.

The path were on right now is the path that right now has us in danger, he said in an interview on CNN. We need to do something thats different than that. We need our people in our community here to act differently. The status quo will not protect us.

In Arizona, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero also blasted Duceys plan to merely pause the states reopening, accusing him of moving to reopen the state way too early to begin with.

He says that he wants to take a pause, I don't know what he wants to pause on. He really went from lifting the stay-at-home and really lifting it and it went from zero to 60 in no time so unless he wants to start pushing back what the restrictions that he lifted, I don't see what else he needs to pause, the mayor told CNN.

The vice president rejected that line of thinking in Fridays task force briefing.

I think there will be a temptation for people to look at the Sun Belt states that have been reopening and putting people back to work, and suggest that the reopening has to do with what we are seeing in the last week or so, he acknowledged. But Pence pointed out that many of the states seeing the worst outbreaks began reopening almost two months ago, and again attributed the spike to a feeling of invincibility among younger Americans.

Still, he did not announce any new initiatives, resources or strategies in response to the new outbreaks  and wouldnt explicitly recommend people wear masks, unlike other members of the task force.

Pence was pressed on the issue by reporters who noted his reluctance to recommend what many officials have called one of the simplest ways to arrest the spread of the virus and a key to a safe reopening, and that wearing a face covering has become a political statement.

The vice president responded that Americans should listen to their state and local authorities but brushed off criticism that he and the president, by resuming crowded campaign events with little or no social distancing and masks, were setting a poor example for the rest of the country.

I think it's really important that we recognize how important freedom and personal responsibility are to this entire equation, Pence said, noting that attendees at packed Trump campaign events in Arizona and Oklahoma have chosen to be there. But allowing younger Americans to understand, particularly in the counties that are most impacted, the unique challenges that we are facing  is important.

Quint Forgey and Renuka Rayasam contributed to this report.
LONDON  A male suspect stabbed and wounded a police officer before he was shot dead in Glasgow on Friday. Authorities are not treating the incident that left five other men wounded as terrorism, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.

The suspect died at a Glasgow hotel that appeared to be largely housing asylum-seekers and refugees. The 42-year-old police officer stabbed during the incident at the Park Inn Hotel on Friday was in a critical but stable condition. Five men between the ages of 17 and 53 also were hospitalized. Sturgeon said, Its been a dreadful afternoon for the city of Glasgow. She says police are still investigating and she urged the public to avoid speculation.

The police have just confirmed that at this stage they are not treating this as a terrorist incident, Sturgeon said. But of course, there are still details yet to be determined.

Sturgeon said she had spoken with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who expressed his concern and sympathies.

Its been a dreadful afternoon for the city of Glasgow, Sturgeon said. Clearly there is already much speculation around this incident, which remains under investigation.

Steve Johnson, assistant chief constable at Police Scotland, said officers were on the scene within two minutes of reports of an incident at 12:50 p.m., and that armed police arrived shortly afterwards.

The incident was quickly contained, he said.

Police werent searching for anyone else.

The Scottish Police Federation, which represents the large majority of Scottish police officers, said it has notified the family of the injured officer.

Craig Milroy, who witnessed the aftermath from a nearby office building, said he saw four people taken away in ambulances.

I saw a man lying on the ground, of African descent, with no shoes on, Milroy said. He was on the ground with someone holding his side. I dont know if it was a bullet wound, a stab wound, or what it was.

Milroy said the man was one of the four taken away by paramedics and believed him to be a victim.

We were still standing outside. After that the police all came down, the riot police and triage team told us to go back in and lock the door, he said.

A spokeswoman for campaign group Positive Action In Housing said the 91-room hotel was housing asylum seekers for the Mears Group, a housing and social care provider. which moved them there during the coronavirus lockdown.

Sturgeon urged people to avoid speculation, to not share potentially harmful or upsetting material on social media and to follow police advice while investigations are underway.
OTTAWA Canadas Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of a driver in a gig economy case that paves the way for a class action suit calling for Uber Technologies Inc. to recognize drivers in Canada as company employees.

UberEats driver David Heller had filed a class action suit, challenged by Uber, aiming to secure a minimum wage, vacation pay and other benefits like overtime pay. Drivers are now classified as independent contractors and do not have such benefits.

The ride-hailing companys contract allows arbitration, but not class-action lawsuits. Hellers attorney said the decision allowing him to sue was important, but only a small first step in a case that will probably take years to litigate.

Two days ago, California said it plans to ask a state court judge to force Uber and Lyft Inc to classify their ride-hail drivers as employees rather than contractors.

Canadas 8-1 Supreme Court ruling dismisses an Uber appeal to an Ontario high court ruling that said the Ubers arbitration clause violates provincial labor rules and is invalid and unenforceable.

The arbitration process, which must be conducted in the Netherlands where Uber has its international headquarters, costs about C$19,000 ($14,500). Heller earned between C$21,000 and C$31,000 per year.

This was an access to justice case, said Michael Wright, one of Hellers lawyers. The court essentially ruled that a stronger party was taking advantage of a weaker party in an unfair manner, said Wright.

Uber had no immediate comment.

The arbitration clause is improvident because the arbitration process requires US$14,500 in up-front administrative fees, the top court said.

Now Heller can restart his class action suit, Wright said, but the matter will not be settled soon.

This is the first round in a series of rounds, said Wright, a labor and employment lawyer with Wright Henry LLP in Toronto, adding that it could take a few more years.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer, additional reporting by Moira Warburton Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

Topics Lawsuits Personal Auto Canada Sharing Economy
EU member states remained divided Friday over the partial reopening of Europe's border on July 1, though the United States, where the coronavirus is still spreading, was to remain excluded, diplomats said.

EU envoys have argued for days on drawing up a list of criteria for reopening borders, with some member states worried about the reliability of coronavirus data, notably from China.

Sources told AFP that the meeting ended with a tentative list of about 18 countries free to travel to Europe, with national governments given until 1600 GMT on Saturday to approve it.

Travellers from China would be approved to enter, but only subject to reciprocity from Beijing, the sources added, with no further details provided.

The toughest resistance to a short list came from Portugal and Greece, one diplomat said, both top tourism destinations that are hoping to salvage at least some of the summer holidays.

Countries highly dependent on tourism "want to reopen ASAP for as many as possible," the EU diplomat told AFP.

"The others are reticent to move fast to save eight weeks of tourism season, however important it may be."

Non-essential travel to the bloc has been banned since mid-March and the restrictions are to be gradually lifted starting July 1, as the pandemic recedes -- at least in Europe.

Greece, however, has already reopened airports to travellers from several countries beyond Europe, including China and South Korea.

"A European agreement is essential," said Spanish government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero.

"We want an agreement to avoid health risks. If a country allows entry, there is free movement. We urge that an agreement be reached now, quickly and shortly before July 1."

- Powerful outbreaks -

Whatever is decided in Brussels will stand only as a recommendation since border control remains a national competence and governments can in the end go their own way.

For travel purposes, Britain still counts as a member of the European Union until the end of its post-Brexit transition period. Four non-EU countries are members of the bloc's Schengen passport-free zone.

Story continues

Some EU members want to limit the reopening to countries with an epidemiological situation "comparable or better" than that in the bloc -- that is with 16 or fewer cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 inhabitants over the past two weeks.

If that criteria is confirmed, and if the members agree that other countries' reporting is accurate -- travellers from the United States, Brazil and Canada would remain banned.

Those arriving from Japan, Australia, Morocco, Venezuela, India, Cuba and the Balkans would be most likely welcome.

However, the health-based criteria has collided with geopolitics, with some countries reluctant to ban the US while welcoming visitors from China, where the pandemic began.

One possible scenario would see the list updated every two weeks, allowing for a swift removal of banned countries as the pandemic evolves.

The United States is currently the country most affected by COVID-19 with more than 121,000 deaths -- while Europe believes it has passed the peak of its own outbreak.

More than 2.3 million cases have been detected in the US and several states in the south and west experiencing powerful outbreaks.

Asked about the reopening of transatlantic travel, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said Washington was "working with our European counterparts to get that right."

"We've denied travel to Europe and vice versa. I think we're all taking seriously the need to figure out how to get this open," Pompeo told a forum.
The Thunder Bay Museum will be hosting a travelling quilt exhibit starting Jan. 31. The exhibit, titled Threads of Hope, explores hope, longing and desire for the future of the world. Fibre Art Network artists express world issues through their work in the exhibit. Each artwork is connected 
In a new study of axion motion, researchers propose a scenario known as "kinetic misalignment" that greatly strengthens the case for axion/dark matter equivalence. The novel concept answers key questions related to the origins of dark matter and provides new avenues for ongoing detection efforts. This work, published in Physical Review Letters, was conducted by researchers at the Institute for Advanced Study, University of Michigan, and UC Berkeley.

The existence of dark matter has been confirmed by several independent observations, but its true identity remains a mystery. According to this study, axion velocity provides a key insight into the dark matter puzzle. Previous research efforts have successfully accounted for the abundance of dark matter in the universe; however certain factors, such as the underproduction of axions with stronger ordinary matter interactions, remained unexplored.

By assigning a nonzero initial velocity to the axion field, the team discovered a mechanism--termed kinetic misalignment--producing far more axions in the early universe than conventional mechanisms. The motion, generated by breaking of the axion shift symmetry, significantly modifies the conventional computation of the axion dark matter abundance. Additionally, these dynamics allow axion dark matter to react more strongly with ordinary matter, exceeding the prediction of the conventional misalignment mechanism.

"The extensive literature on the axion was built upon the assumption that the axion field is initially static in the early universe," stated Keisuke Harigaya of the Institute for Advanced Study. "Instead, we discovered that the axion field may be initially dynamic as a consequence of theories of quantum gravity with axions."

Two members of the research team, Keisuke Harigaya and Raymond Co, previously explored the concept of axion dynamics in the study "Axiogenesis," which explained how the excess of matter over antimatter could be due to a nonzero initial velocity of the QCD axion field. This study also provided a framework for generating new insights into the questions surrounding dark matter.

"This new kinetic misalignment mechanism predicts an axion with a larger interaction strength and may be discovered in planned experimental searches," stated Raymond Co of the University of Michigan. "Our discovery of new axion dynamics thus opens up unexplored research avenues for theoretical and experimental particle physics and cosmology."

To date, the axion has proven incredibly versatile. The particle was originally proposed to solve the mystery of why neutrons do not interact with an electric field despite having charged constituents. Former IAS Professor Frank Wilczek, who coined the term axion, published his landmark findings in 1978 in Physical Review Letters while a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study's School of Natural Sciences.

###

The published article is available here.

About the Institute

The Institute for Advanced Study is one of the world's foremost centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. Located in Princeton, N.J., the IAS is dedicated to independent study across the sciences and humanities. Founded in 1930 with the motto "Truth and Beauty," the Institute is devoted to advancing the frontiers of knowledge without concern for immediate application. From founding IAS Professor Albert Einstein to the foremost thinkers of today, the IAS enables bold, nonconformist, field-leading research that provides long-term utility and new technologies, leading to innovation and enrichment of society in unexpected ways.

Each year, the Institute welcomes more than 200 of the world's most promising researchers and scholars who are selected and mentored by a permanent Faculty, each of whom are preeminent leaders in their fields. Comprised of four Schools--Historical Studies, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Science--IAS has produced an astounding record of introducing new understanding and is responsible for undeniable progress across disciplines and generations, from the development of one of the first stored-program computers to the establishment of art history as a discipline in the United States. Among its present and past Faculty and Members are 34 Nobel Laureates, 42 of the 60 Fields Medalists, and 19 of the 22 Abel Prize Laureates, as well as many MacArthur Fellows and Wolf Prize winners.
Survivors of one of the worst serial killers in U.S. history will come face-to-face with him on Monday in a ballroom, after officials in California decided that they had to abandon their usual courtrooms to allow safe social distancing for the expected large crowd.

Joseph James DeAngelo, 74, known as the Golden State Killer, is expected to plead guilty to 13 murder and 13 kidnap for robbery counts, as well as admit responsibility for 62 other rapes and crimes that prosecutors say were committed in 11 California counties from 1974 through 1986.

Authorities expect more than 150 victims, their relatives and media members at the hearing.

Joseph James DeAngelo, 74, pictured during his most recent hearing - in March. On Monday he is expected to plead guilty to 13 murder and 13 kidnap for robbery counts, as well as admit responsibility for 62 other rapes and crimes he committed from 1974-86

Gay Hardwick told CBS News she has waited forty years to hear him admit his crimes.

She was raped at her home in Stockton in 1978.

'I won't be able to relax until I feel it's signed, sealed and put away,' she said.

Jennifer Carole's father and his wife were murdered by DeAngelo in Ventura County in March 1980.

'We've been told we're not going to hear the things we want to hear,' she said.

'So you're going to have questions and this case will not go away just because he does.'

Gay Hardwick will be in Sacramento on Monday to see DeAngelo plead guilty

California State's Sacramento campus ballroom will be turned into a courtroom on Monday

The hearings were previously heard in packed courtrooms in downtown Sacramento, but will now be held at California State University, in the University Union's ballroom - a 150-foot by 97-foot room on the Sacramento State campus.

The ballroom can hold as many as 2,000 people when set up for receptions.

Guests will be required to wear masks, stay six feet apart and have their temperatures checked at the door.

The hearing is expected to be one of the last steps in a decades-old murder, rape and burglary case that began in the early 1970s and remained a mystery until his arrest outside his Citrus Heights home in April 2018.

Crowds of reporters, court staff and curious onlookers packed into court for previous hearings

DeAngelo has been held in isolation in the Sacramento County Main Jail since his arrest.

Victims and family members from around the state are expected to attend, but are not scheduled to speak during the hearing.

Instead, they will be given the opportunity to deliver victim impact statements when DeAngelo is sentenced in August to life without parole, part of a plea deal that prosecutors in six counties agreed to after originally saying they would pursue a death penalty case against him.

Facing the prospect of years of court fights and millions of dollars in expenses, prosecutors agreed to a deal that ensures DeAngelo will spend the rest of his life in prison and that will allow victims and witnesses  many of them in their 80s and 90s  the chance to see him admit guilt.

Before his arrest, the Sacramento Bee reported that DeAngelo lived a robust life, working as a truck mechanic and speeding down streets and through stop signs on a motorcycle.

A Sacramento County sheriff deputy stands guard in front of the DeAngelo's home in 2018

Investigators searched through the house after his spectacular arrest in April 2018

But Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert's office used new DNA techniques to focus in on him as a suspect.

Following his arrest, he assumed the persona of a frail, old man who literally withered away during his 26 months in jail.

Sometimes he would show up in court in a wheelchair; at other hearings, he would stand silently, his mouth agape, appearing as if he were in a daze.

Law enforcement officials believe it was all an act, that at the start DeAngelo furiously paced his cell.

DeAngelo became increasingly frail as the case wore on, following his April 2018 arrest

The case has spawned worldwide interest, a best-selling book, HBO documentary series and countless websites exploring the origins of the former Auburn police officer who would go on to be known by a series of nicknames, including Visalia Ransacker, Diamond Knot Killer and Original Night Stalker.

DeAngelo is believed to have begun his crime spree while working as a police officer in Exeter near Visalia, where he has been named as the suspect who broke into numerous homes and killed journalism Professor Claude Snelling in September 1975 while attempting to abduct Snelling's daughter.

From there, DeAngelo moved north to Auburn where he served as a police officer until he was fired after being caught shoplifting dog repellent and a hammer from a Citrus Heights drug store.

His attacks are believed to have continued into the Bay Area, Yolo and San Joaquin counties and, eventually to Southern California, where he is accused of 10 other brutal rapes and slayings.
Two people have been arrested in a fatal shooting at a graduation party last week, Berkeley County sheriffs officials said on Friday.

Malachi Remo McKnight, 35, and Regina Geddis, 31, were arrested in Florida by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Manatee County Sheriffs Office on the state's Gulf Coast. The two remained at the Manatee County Jail in Bradenton, Fla., without bail on out-of-state warrants, online records show.

Deputies were called to the Sheep Island community on June 19 and found a 25-year-old shooting victim dead at the graduation party. The victim, who was not publicly identified on Friday.

Two other victims were identified by deputies. One, with several gunshot wounds to the legs, was at a gas station not far from the shooting and was transported to a hospital. The other, already at a hospital, said she suffered a gunshot wound to the hand while in a vehicle and a bullet barely missed her 2-year-old daughter.

Witnesses identified McKnight as the shooter. An arrest warrant charges him with murder. Geddis, identified by deputies as his girlfriend, was charged with accessory after the fact.

They were arrested at a home in Bradenton without incident.

It was unclear when their extradition to Berkeley County would be completed, but deputies said additional charges are expected.
A dispute between neighbours over a jetty on a small Queensland holiday island has turned violent after a nurse punched an elderly man.

Veronica Maria Vella, 55, was described by the magistrate as 'at the end of her tether' when she pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm on Thursday.

The Cleveland Magistrate's Court heard Vella confronted her 70-year-old neighbour 'with her two German Shepherds either side' early one Thursday in September last year, The Courier Mail reports.

The elderly man had ventured onto a boat ramp and jetty on Ms Vella's property on Russell Island after consulting with a lawyer and believing it was public land, the court heard.

Veronica Maria Vella, 55, was described by the magistrate as 'at the end of her tether' when she plead guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm on Thursday

The two houses and the jetty which was the centre of the smouldering dispute on Queensland's Russell Island

The man pleaded with Vella to bring her dogs under control before one of the animals bit him on the knee.

He was then struck by the nurse, causing his glasses to shatter and a cut on his forehead, after which he told her she had 'gone too far' and was 'in deep sh*t'.

The feud between the neighbours had grown increasingly bitter over three years, according to Vella's solicitor.

'There has been a history of the complainant trespassing on my client's property and onto their boat ramp and jetty,' the solicitor said.

'It has caused much stress and anguish which has lead to depression for which she is now taking medication.'

Vella had also been stood down from her nursing job and had consulted a solicitor about ownership of the jetty which she said was sold to her as part of her property.

The magistrate acknowleged the actions of Vella who has no criminal history, were out of character and she had been through the indignity of being arrested.

She also issued some stern words for both parties saying they should have known better.

'For god sake, this country was built on mateship, on neighbourly care for one another,' Magistrate Vasta said.

She ordered a $500, 12 month good behaviour bond and that Vella pay $400 in compensation for the man's glasses and injury.

Vella did not have a conviction recorded.
Mountain America earned Diamond Awards in two different categories:

Outdoor: VISA Whole Wide World Campaign

VISA Whole Wide World Campaign One-Time Event: Alex Boye Suicide Prevention Charity Concert

"Our marketing team earned these awards with talent, creativity, hard work, and, most importantly, a commitment to serving our members and the community," says Sharon Cook, chief marketing officer at Mountain America. "Mountain America is delighted to celebrate these accomplishments."

"It's an honor to bring recognition to some of the best-of-the-best in credit union marketing and business development," said Amy McGraw, diamond awards chair and VP marketing/chief experience officer at Tropical Financial CU. "Thank you for joining us to celebrate the remarkable achievements of your peers and gather ideas to elevate our profession."

CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council celebrated Diamond Awards Week by announcing winners in 35 categories through a series of daily virtual awards ceremonies. Turnout was outstanding for this year's award competition with 1,295 entries submitted. Six credit unions won Best of Show Awards, 93 won Category's Best Awards and 255 won Diamond Awards. For more information on the Diamond Awards or to view the entire list of winners, visit https://www.cunacouncils.org/events-calendar/mbd-awards/.

For more information about Mountain America Credit Union, visit www.macu.com.

About Mountain America Credit Union

With more than 900,000 members and $10 billion in assets, Mountain America Credit Union assists members on the right path to help them identify and achieve their financial dreams. Mountain America provides consumers and businesses with a variety of convenient, flexible products and services, as well as sound, timely advice. Members enjoy access to secure, cutting-edge mobile banking technology, over 95 branches across five states, thousands of shared-branching locations nationwide and more than 50,000 surcharge-free ATMs. Mountain Americaguiding you forward. Learn more at macu.com.

About CUNA

Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America's credit unions, which are owned by 115 million consumer members. CUNA, along with its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, delivers unwavering advocacy, continuous professional growth and operational confidence to protect the best interests of all credit unions. For more information about CUNA, visit cuna.org. To find your nearest credit union, visit YourMoneyFurther.com.

About CUNA Councils

CUNA Councils is a member-led, collaborative community of credit union leaders providing vibrant peer interaction, new ideas and innovation to foster professional development for our members while advocating for the overall success of the credit union movement. There are seven CUNA Councils with a network of more than 7,300 credit union professionals. For more information, visit cunacouncils.org.

SOURCE Mountain America Credit Union

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Donald Trump has been forced by plummeting polls to visit must-win states.

The US president found himself on a trip to a rural Wisconsin shipbuilder yesterday with a new navy contract in a bid to shore up support in a key presidential battleground.

Recent polls show him losing ground to former vice-president Joe Biden.

Mr Trump carried Wisconsin by the narrowest of margins in 2016, but it is now among the competitive states with large white working-class populations where Mr Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has built a lead as the nation grapples with the coronavirus outbreak, economic downturn and unrest over racial injustice.

A 'New York Times'-Sienna College survey showed Mr Biden leading Mr Trump 49pc to 38pc among registered voters. He had a slightly narrower lead, 49pc to 41pc, in a Marquette University Law School Poll released on Wednesday.

Although billed as an official White House event, Mr Trump's trip to the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette was clearly designed with November in mind, part of a pattern of Mr Trump focusing his travel on states key to his re-election bid.

He was expected to tout a contract worth up to $5.6bn (5bn) for design and construction of navy warships - a deal that will bolster jobs in a rural part of a state where turnout by conservative voters could be key in the election.

Underscoring the importance of the state to the Trump campaign, Vice President Mike Pence also visited this week, staging an event aimed at evangelical voters, another key demographic for the Republican ticket.

Before Mr Trump's visit, Mr Biden issued a statement claiming the president is attempting to "paper over the fact that Wisconsin has been bleeding blue-collar manufacturing jobs". The statement also highlighted the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's signature health-care law.

"No one in this country should have to lay in bed at night staring at the ceiling wondering what they will do if their husband or wife has a heart attack or their son or daughter gets cancer," Mr Biden said. "But if Donald Trump gets his way, many sleepless nights await families in Wisconsin and across this nation."

New polling in Wisconsin suggests the race has shifted in Mr Biden's favour in recent months, coinciding with fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd - both of which have tested Mr Trump's leadership.

In Marquette polls, Mr Biden and Mr Trump were tied in February. The Democrat held a three-point margin in surveys conducted in March and May. His lead in the new poll is eight points.

In the 2016 presidential election, Mr Trump unexpectedly won Wisconsin with 47.2pc of the vote, compared to 46.5pc for Hillary Clinton.

Meanwhile, away from the hustings, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to tear through the US heartland, setting records for hospitalisations and forcing businesses to rethink their plans to reopen as new modelling predicts the virus will kill 180,000 Americans by October.

With the US seeing one of its highest-ever increases in cases on Wednesday, some states took drastic measures, imposing face mask orders and internal quarantines.

The country recorded more than 34,500 new infections for a second day, rattling markets as numbers neared the peak of 36,188 on April 24, when the virus was coursing through New York. The resurgence, coming just as the regions first hit by the pandemic start to emerge, reflects the pathogen's inexorable spread in states that were slow to enforce lockdowns or quick to lift them.

Florida and Texas each hit records, with health officials in Houston saying their infrastructure was "overwhelmed".

In California, which also saw an all-time high for new infections, Disney delayed the reopening of its theme parks indefinitely.
Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong speaks to the media outside the Legislative Council (LegCo) in Hong Kong on Oct. 29, 2019. (Sung Pi Lung/The Epoch Times)

Hong Kong Activist Joshua Wong Says He Will Be Prime Target of New Security Law

HONG KONGHong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong believes he will be a prime target of Beijings move to impose national security legislation on the Chinese-ruled city that critics say will crush its much coveted freedoms.

The law aims to tackle separatism, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, although it is unclear what activities would constitute such crimes and what the punishment would be.

Wong has rallied support for the pro-democracy movement overseas, meeting politicians from the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, drawing the wrath of Beijing, which says he is a black hand of foreign forces.

Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong announces his plans to run for legislature, in Hong Kong on June 19, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

I will probably be the prime target of the new law. But what makes me fear is not my potential imprisonment, but the gloomy fact that the new law will be a threat over the citys future and not just my personal life, Wong told Reuters.

Journalists, human rights groups, NGOs, and expats may fall prey to the new law since all dissenting voices can be charged with inciting subversion, like the situation in China.

The draft law has alarmed foreign governments and Hong Kong democracy activists, who are concerned that Beijing is eroding the high degree of autonomy granted to the former British colony when it was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

(L-R) Agnes Chow, Nathan Law, and Joshua Wong of local pro-democracy party DemosistoAgnes held a press conference in Hong Kong on May 28, 2020. (Song Bilung/The Epoch Times)

China says the national security law will target only a small group of troublemakers and people who abide by the legislation have no reason to worry.

The top decision-making body of Chinas parliament has scheduled a meeting for June 28-30 and the law, which will pave the way for the biggest change to the citys way of life since its handover in 1997, is expected to be enacted then.

One of the most globally recognized faces in Hong Kongs democracy movement, Wong, 23, began his activism during secondary school when he led a hunger strike against a national education system and later became one of the protest leaders for the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement.

I call on the world to stand with Hong Kong and urge China to pull back this evil law, Wong said.

By Pak Yiu
Jewellery designer Blaithin Ennis who hails from Gorey, and stocks her custom-made products across county Wexford and Ireland has spoken about the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the fashion industry.

The pandemic came as a blow to Blaithin when some new exciting projects stopped in their tracks, after 2019 had been a very positive year for Blaithin professionally as she started to make a name for herself internationally.

She described what it was like to watch these projects fall by the wayside before her eyes in March.

'It was to be a very busy few months for myself and a lot of my business associates in the design industry. Italy is a very important manufacturing and sourcing hub for many Irish designers so the knock on effect of its shut down has impacted almost every aspect of the industry here.

'Like most people in business, the pandemic has had a negative, ripple effect on the industry. I was in the final stages of my first collaboration project with my younger sister who is studying fashion in the Grafton Academy in Dublin. We had just finalised a collection of clothing and couture jewellery pieces and were due to showcase it to a large audience at the ARC fashion show in March.

'It was a huge honour to be involved in this show with a stellar line up of Irish designers including Helen Cody, Richard Malone and Heidi Higgins to name but a few. More importantly, the ARC fashion show raises in excess of 60,000 for cancer patients, so it is a huge blow for the charity.

'I was also due to showcase pieces at Brown Thomas, celebrating the store's tenth year of the CREATE project which celebrates Irish design. As well as this, I was asked to judge at the Irish Fashion Innovation awards to be held in Galway, a privilege and honour being the first jewellery designer to judge these prestigious awards.

'I also had plans underway to travel to the US but like everyone else, everything was put on hold,' she said.

During the lockdown, online jewellery sales have continued but Blaithin was delighted to see retail outlets open their doors again in recent weeks. She said that she feels the fashion industry is changing, and for the most part in a positive way.

'Many of my design peers are so passionate about quality product, sustainability and sourcing ethically and that's the real positive change. It is clear that this is now reverberating on the larger worldwide brands and coming to the forefront of the 'fast fashion' industry.

'Climate change is a real and current threat to our everyday lives and it is incredibly important that we see this change reflected in every aspect of how we live, including what we wear.

'As a small brand, I feel fortunate to have the use of social media. Platforms such as Instagram and Facebook are vital for small design brands and have completely changed the way we showcase our business to a wider audience without the sometimes prohibitive outlays.

'For me, Instagram and Facebook are a great window to my online store. These platforms enable me to liaise with domestic and international customers. It is a positive, alternative way forward, whilst also allowing you to show your authentic self, tell your own unique personal story and showcase true brand identity.

'Having an online presence is vital for many businesses during this time, particularly if you are in the luxury goods, beauty or fashion industry. As a textile graduate from NCAD I love the tactile experience of beautiful products, however many brands have captured their vibe, style and story essence incredibly well through social media so things definitely seem to be moving in this direction.'

Although many industries are expecting to bounce back as restrictions are lifted, Blaithin feels public support is vital.

'We all need to be honest and acknowledge that for the foreseeable future, many businesses will really struggle if we don't show them our support. As a nation, we are great and so generous at helping one another in times of need.

'I think collectively making a conscious decision to support 'local' and 'Irish' wherever we can will have a huge positive impact on the Irish economy moving forward.

'Before every purchase, try your best to ask - "is it Irish, is it local, is it sustainable and how am I positively contributing to the Irish economy if I make this purchase"? and if we all adopt this thought process, the results will have significant benefits'.

Spending the lockdown in Wexford, Blaithin had time to reflect.

'Like many people in Ireland and around the world, the horrific death of George Floyd in the US has triggered much emotion and action across the globe and is calling to end the racial divide that still impacts the lives of so many, unnecessarily. As a white woman, I can never walk in their shoes, but I am determined to stand in solidarity. One of my female role models Michelle Obama says; "Let's invite one another in. Maybe then we can begin to fear less, make fewer wrong assumptions, let go of the biases and stereotypes that unnecessarily divide us. Maybe we can better embrace the ways we are the same".

'On a word of thanks, we cannot ever underestimate how brilliant we are as a nation and how kind people are to each other particularly in times of need. I would personally like to thank everyone working on the front line during this crisis. Our farmers, delivery men and women, the supermarket staff who have consistent smiles on their faces and radiate calmness for their frazzled customers, the owners of businesses who fill our social media pages with beautiful imagery and product and of course all healthcare workers. I utterly applaud and admire you. Thank you'.

To keep up with Blaithin's, search @blaithinennis on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  June 26, 2020  Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Canadian Solar Inc. CSIQ, First Solar, Inc. FSLR, Bloom Energy Corp. (BE) and Enphase Energy, Inc. ENPH.

Here are highlights from Thursdays Analyst Blog:

Forget Oil, Renewable Energy Is All Charged Up: 4 Winners

Since the beginning of 2020, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil has plunged more than 40%, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and supply glut. With no immediate respite in sight, it has become risky to invest in oil stocks. Moreover, leading oil companies are considering investment in non-oil businesses like renewable energy to align goals with the Paris Climate Agreement.

Meanwhile, the capacity of renewable energy skyrocketed from 414 gigawatts (GW) to 1,650 GW from 2010 to 2019, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Overall, it seems prospects for renewable energy industry are bright at the moment.

Oil Majors Lead in Energy Transition

Several oil and gas energy majors are setting ambitious goals to significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. British energy giant BP has targeted to become a net zero emissions company by 2050. As a result, in the coming years, the integrated energy player is planning to boost investments in non-oil and gas operations.

Royal Dutch Shell is another key energy firm planning to become a net zero emission energy firm by 2050. Importantly, the company intends to slash the carbon intensity of the products it will sell by roughly 30% by 2035. By 2050, the company plans to lower the carbon footprint by 65%.

Moreover, Eni S.p.A, headquartered in Rome, Italy, recently announced the purchase of three onshore wind projects in Italy. The company expects the three projects to produce 35.2 megawatts (MW) of power at peak capacity. Eni also anticipates the developments  to be constructed in Comune di Laterza, in the Puglia area  to produce roughly 81 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of power every year. Thus, the energy major expects these wind projects to help eliminate emissions of 33,400 tons of carbon dioxide every year.

Story continues

Notably, the company expects the construction of the plants to commence by the third trimester of 2021. Importantly, this is the first time that the energy giant will be producing energy from wind projects in Italy. With this acquisition, Eni has made significant progress in its decarbonization process and estimates this to reduce its net emissions of greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050.

Renewables to Be Fastest Growing Source of Electricity

With the energy transitions in the cards, the year 2020 will see renewables as the fastest growing source of power generation, said U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). In 2020, the share of renewable energy for electricity generation in the United States will rise to 21% from 17% in 2019, per EIA. The share will further rise to 23% in 2021, added EIA. On the contrary, EIA projects coals share for electricity generation to decline to 17% in 2020 from 24% in 2019.

Hence, with the mounting demand for cleaner energy, there will be more electricity generation from renewable energy sources. In fact, EIA believes that there will be more addition to power generating capacity from wind and solar. In 2020, the electric power sector will see the addition of 12.6 gigawatts of new utility-scale solar capacity and 23.2 gigawatts of wind capacity in the United States, according to EIA projections.

Stocks to Buy

With oil prices still in the bearish territory, crude explorers and producers are curtailing operations and capital expenditures to survive. Also, the future for all the oil and gas companies lies in renewable energy since investors are building pressure on the firms to lower net emissions.

Overall, it seems to be an opportune moment for energy investors to consider stocks from the renewable energy industry. Here, we present one stock carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) that is well positioned to gain. There are three other stocks with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Canadian Solar Inc.is among the leading solar power companies in the world. The company, founded in 2001 in Canada, is one of the largest providers of solar energy solutions and it also manufactures solar photovoltaic modules. In 2020 and 2021, the Zacks Rank #2 company is likely to see earnings growth of 22.8% and 11.4%, respectively.

First Solar, Inc.is among the major companies engaged in providing photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions across the world. In 2020 and 2021, the #2 Ranked stock is likely to see earnings growth of 93.2% and 20.2%, respectively.

Bloom Energy Corp., through its energy server platform, delivers affordable and clean energy to customers like several Fortune 100 companies. In the next five years, the #1 Ranked stock is likely to see earnings growth of 25%, surpassing the industrys 13.1%.

Enphase Energy, Inc. is among the major suppliers of solar microinverters in the world. The Zacks #2 Ranked stock is likely to see earnings growth of 8.4% and 37.5% in 2020 and 2021, 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 >>

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Farmers who have been impacted by sky lanterns are needed to share their story as the NFU gathers evidence to help campaign for a UK-wide ban.

To date, more than 160 councils across the UK have banned sky lanterns, recognising the danger they pose to animals and the environment.

The products are often made of paper, with an opening at the bottom where a lit candle is suspended.

Once released, they can drift for miles. On top of farmers' animal welfare concerns, sky lanterns are also a serious source of litter in the countryside.

But more evidence is required from farmers and growers to help the NFU campaign for a nationwide ban on the items.

Over 7,000 people have taken action and encouraged their local council to ban the release of lanterns on council-owned land using the union's campaigning tool.

The NFU said: "After the success we have had lobbying councils to implement bans, we are now looking to gather further evidence on the impact of sky lanterns to be able to take next steps.

"As a result of recent campaign work from the NFU, a number of councils across England are now adopting bans on sky lanterns on council-owned land."

It comes as FarmingUK recently shared a video from Merseyside arable farmer Olly Harrison, who pleaded with the public to stop using the items.

He found a burnt out sky lantern on his farm last month and warned that the devices can harm livestock and set fire to property.

Fortunately, he did not suffer crop or livestock losses. However, with his arable fields, livestock, barns full of bales, and a shed full of wood chippings means this is a constant worry and stress.

The video has been viewed by more than 2 million people and has been shared 50,000 times.
The new inspection reports show that in mid-May, state inspectors found that conditions at the facility constituted immediate jeopardy to the health and safety of residents. Among the incidents cited by inspectors were a resident who had tested negative for the coronavirus being moved to the area of the building where positive residents lived; nursing assistants assigned to work in the rooms of positive and negative patients on the same day; and understaffing that allowed at least one newly admitted patient to wander throughout the building without a mask. That patient later tested positive.
A Salem police officer was killed in a two-car crash Thursday night, authorities said.

Officers responded to a crash on Jefferson Avenue around 11:20 p.m. after a Toyota and a Ford Fusion collided, a spokesperson for the Essex District Attorneys office said in a statement.

Both drivers were taken to the North Shore Medical Center Salem Hospital, where the operator of the Toyota, a 56-year-old ,off-duty Salem police patrolman, died, according to the district attorneys office.

The district attorneys office identified the patrolman as Officer Dana Mazola.

The other operator is still alive, but I do not have his specific condition, the spokesperson said.

It is unclear what events led to the crash.

The collision remains under investigation by Massachusetts State Police. No charges have been filed as of Friday morning, authorities said.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
THERE is yet more bad news for Limericks retail sector after it emerged catalogue store Argos is to close its outlet in Cruises Street.

Argos, which re-opened its city centre branch in the last few weeks, will close in the first week of September, sources have told the Limerick Leader.

Some 14 people are affected by this  but its understood there will be no job losses and workers will be redeployed to the firms other two local stores at the Crescent Shopping Centre and the Childers Road Shopping Centre.

Nonetheless, it is yet another blow for both the city centre and Cruises Street in particular, with the shutters falling on a number of stores in the pedestrianised street in recent years.

Sinn Feins northside councillor John Costelloe has urged the local authority to undertake an urgent review.

We need to see a whole new revamp of Cruises Street. We need a proper anchor tenant for our city. Its alright having footfall, but whre are people going to go. We need shops and we need them fast. The city centre is dying a death and we have the los of another great facility today. Its in Limerick 25 years, Cllr Costelloe said.

I would hope the people who are based there will not lose any days of work when they are relocated. But Ill be talking to one of the union officials in the week, he added.

The Limerick Leader has contacted Argos for comment.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 22:53:53|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

MINSK -- Belarus reported 331 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking its total to 60,713, according to the country's health ministry.

The country also reported 1,241 new recoveries in the past 24 hours, taking its total to 42,689, while 373 people with chronic diseases have died, including six over the past 24 hours, said the ministry.

- - - -

NAIROBI -- Kenya Airways is projected to lose between 42-53 billion shillings (400-500 million U.S. dollars) in revenue in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has grounded commercial passenger flights, an official said on Friday.

Kenya Airways CEO Allan Kilavuka told a virtual annual general meeting in Nairobi that since January to date, the airline has probably lost in excess of 100 million U.S. dollars.

- - - -

CAPE TOWN -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has delivered critical life-saving supplies to over 100 countries hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization said on Friday.

With support from its partners, UNICEF was able to meet some of the most pressing needs and keep children and communities safe, the organization said in a statement emailed to Xinhua.

- - - -

BEIRUT -- Lebanon's number of COVID-19 infections increased on Friday by 35 cases to 1,697 while the death toll remained unchanged at 33, the National News Agency reported.

Head of the Health Parliamentary Committee Issam Araji warned about a possible increase in infections after the arrival of Lebanese expats starting on July 1, the date of the re-opening of the airport.

- - - -

MANILA -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday that only "a cohesive and responsive" ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) can help Southeast Asia safely navigate out of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

"Greater cooperation and connectivity are vital for our region to thrive under the new normal that COVID-19 imposes on all of us," Duterte told his counterparts via teleconference during the 36th ASEAN leaders' summit chaired by Vietnam.

- - - -

DHAKA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in Bangladesh totaled over 130,000 while fatalities stood at 1,661 on Friday.

Senior Health Ministry official Nasima Sultana said in a briefing Friday afternoon that "3,868 new COVID-19 positive cases and 40 deaths including 31 men and 9 women were reported in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh."

- - - -

TEHRAN -- Iran's confirmed novel coronavirus cases rose to 217,724 on Friday after an overnight registration of 2,628 new infections, according to official IRNA news agency.

During her daily briefing, Sima Sadat Lari, the spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said out of the new cases, 1,356 were hospitalized. Enditem
DETROIT  The use of facial technology led to the erroneous arrest of Black man in Detroit. His DNA, fingerprints and mug shot are now being removed from police files.

The victim of shoddy investigative work, 42-year-old Robert Williams was arrested in January in front of his family at their Farmington Hills home, The Associated Press reports. He was suspected of stealing five expensive watches from a Shinola store in Detroit in 2018 after his drivers license photo was wrongly flagged as a likely match with surveillance video.

The Wayne County prosecutors office approved the warrant but dismissed the case earlier this year because the Shinola employee who identified Williams in a photo lineup was not present during the theft, the report said.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig apologized for the mistaken arrest. A potential first error came to light when an investigator notified the prosecutors office that the surveillance footage wasnt clear enough to identify the suspect in it, the report said.

Craigs department is working to scrub Williams fingerprints, mugshot and DNA profile from its files, the report said. Craig, a strong believer in facial recognition software, said the technology now is used only to aid in solving violent felonies in Detroit, not property crimes.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes the use of facial technology by police, publicized Williams case.

READ MORE:

Asparagus-picking trespasser in Upper Peninsula is a repeat offender, DNR says

First person charged in Grand Rapids riot ordered to trial after brief hearing

51 coronavirus cases traced to East Lansing bar, up from 14

Patience wears thin as Michigan gyms blocked from reopening in final hours

Michigan woman arrested on Mackinac Bridge after lengthy police chase on I-75
thl today provides a further update on the business including its funding arrangements and expectations for FY20.

Funding arrangements

As advised on 11 June, thl has been in discussions with its banking partners regarding ongoing funding arrangements. These discussions have now concluded and thl has entered into a binding term sheet with its banking partners reflecting these new arrangements. Formal documentation is expected to be completed in the coming days.

Commitments have been provided by thls banking partners for debt funding of approximately $225 million, consisting of a number of tranches maturing between September 2021 and July 2022.

thls new funding arrangements also include:

- a requirement for consent from thls banking partners for any distribution to shareholders or capital expenditure beyond a prescribed amount, during the term of the facilities;

- that thls existing earnings-based covenants (leverage ratio and interest coverage ratio) will not be tested until 1 July 2022, however other existing covenants (equity ratio and guaranteeing group ratio) remain applicable;

- new covenants relating to minimum shareholder funds, and a cumulative EBITDA requirement (tested quarterly) from the period ending on 30 September 2021; and

- new undertakings requiring that EBITDA and vehicle sales performance are not greater than 15% below amounts determined in a banking case scenario model (tested quarterly), based on thls expectations as set in April 2020. If these levels were not met then an event of review would occur. This would mean that the company would commence discussions with thls banking partners to agree a path that would enable the company to retain the full use of its banking facilities.

Given these new funding arrangements and the current outlook for the business, thl has determined that it does not require additional equity.

FY20 earnings and debt guidance

thl expects to report an underlying net profit after tax of $17.5  $19 million for the financial year ending 30 June 2020 (FY20). This guidance excludes the impact of the partial Togo exit undertaken in March 2020, or any potential impairments or other non-ordinary items.

As a result of continued outperformance in vehicle sales, particularly in the United States, as well as an improvement in thls working capital position, we now expect that net debt as at 30 June 2020 will be approximately $140  $145 million.

As part of its year-end process, thl is undertaking impairment testing across its businesses. As a result of the expectation that the Kiwi Experience business will be hibernated until international borders reopen, the Board has approved the write-off of the full $3.1 million of goodwill attributed to Kiwi Experience on its balance sheet. Nevertheless, thl remains committed to the Kiwi Experience business and looks forward to reopening the business when long haul international tourism recommences. thl is in the process of the annual impairment testing which is completed as part of its year-end and audit processes.

Dividend

Reflective of thls focus on debt reduction, the inherent uncertainty in the operating environment and thls new funding requirements, the thl Board has determined that no final dividend will be declared for FY20.

Financial reporting

Due to the impact of COVID-19, thl intends to rely on the Financial Markets Authoritys extension of financial reporting deadlines. thl expects to release its results for FY20 on Friday, 18 September 2020.

We expect to provide a market update on the framework by which we plan to run the business in FY21 by the end of July.

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The on Friday declined to entertain a seeking direction to the Delhi government to take necessary steps for providing COVID-19 testing facilities for advocates, judicial officers, court staff and their family members in all court premises in the capital.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan asked the Delhi government to decide "as expeditiously as possible and practicable" the representation moved by the petitioner lawyer, on the same issue, on June 8.

With the direction, the court disposed of the plea moved by advocate Vishesh Verma who had sought that testing labs and sample collection facilities be set up inside all court premises in the city for lawyers, judicial officers, their staff and their family members.

The petitioner, during the hearing via video conference, contended that have maximum public dealing after health professionals and police, and therefore, such facilities are required inside the court premises.

The court did not appear to agree with the contention, as it asked the petitioner "do have more public dealing than chemists, railway staff and grocers".

In response, the petitioner said "yes".

The court also said that can use the labs and sample collection facilities already in existence.

The petitioner, during the hearing, also said that he has made a representation in this regard to the Delhi government but no action has been taken on it.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Brisbanes live music and theatre scene will begin restricted live shows in July.

Midsize music venues such as Newstead's The Triffid and Fortitude Valley's the Zoo are reopening to smaller audiences with Queensland performers in July.

Bernard Fanning, among many others, will play at The Triffid from July 10 at their Cabin Fever Festival (with 83 guests) while Butterfingers will reopen the Zoo on July 11 in the first of two '100 people per session' performances.

A 2018 Pub Choir performance at Newstead's The Triffid. The venue is set to reopen in July.

West Ends Bearded Lady is now being revamped, tripling its capacity, and will reopen in late July or early August.
Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hunan have issued an effective travel ban to outspoken dissident Chen Siming after he expressed support for the Hong Kong protest movement.



Chen said he had applied for and been granted travel passes to visit Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan that should have lasted until 2027, but was recently informed by border guards that they were "no longer valid."



"All three of my passes are listed as invalid," Chen told RFA on Friday. "My initial reaction was that my personal freedom is being restricted, because everyone has the right to leave their country and the right to return there; it's a basic human right made in the declaration [of human rights]."



"Since I learned about these restrictions, I feel that my human rights have been violated and my freedom restricted," he said.



Chen's passes were revoked after he was placed under close surveillance by police in his home city of Zhuzhou around the politically sensitive anniversary of the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen massacre.



Chen had earlier been detained in 2018 for taking photos in a park with a tank in the background on June 4 of that year.



Earlier this month, Chen nonetheless managed to take a June 4 selfie and upload it to the social media platform WeChat while the police officers guarding him were distracted. The action won him a 15-day stint in administrative detention.



Last year, Chen was called in for questioning by police and warned not to express support for the Hong Kong protests after he launched a selfie campaign on social media in support of the pro-democracy movement there.



A final warning



Chen says he believes he is now on his final warning with the revocation of his travel passes.



"This is a clear signal," he said. "This time around, I didn't just take a selfie; I also wrote something to go with it."



"There was one line that I think was likely quite dangerous [for me], and that was that I looked forward to an early end to the one-party dictatorship in China, and the realization of constitutional democracy," Chen said.



"Something like that can get you not just administrative detention, but even criminal detention or a jail sentence," he said.



But Chen said he won't stop speaking out in support democracy, both in Hong Kong and in mainland China.



"Without democracy, Hong Kong has no future," he said, adding that Beijing's current move to pass a draconian national security law to apply to the city was just another step in the denial of democracy.



"The real issue is about genuine democracy, universal suffrage, for the legislature and the chief executive," he said.



Fellow Hunan rights activist Ou Biaofeng said he has also been banned from leaving mainland China.



"I was banned from leaving the country as early as 2016," Ou said. "Back then, the border guards at the Lo Wu border crossing [to Hong Kong] told me it was because my going might endanger national security."



"It's a form of suppression, these travel bans on dissidents," he said. "It is a widening measure aimed at preventing contact and communication between people in mainland China and those outside the country."



Reported by Gao Feng for RFA's Mandarin and Cantonese Services. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Connecticut has announced a plan for public schools to resume in-person classes beginning this fall - with some caveats. New rules include: face coverings for students and staff, social distancing, increased sanitation and grouping classes to minimize interaction.

"We are not going back to normal by any stretch of the imagination," Commissioner of Education Miguel Cardona acknowledged.

RELATED: Here's what school could look like in the fall in Connecticut

We asked you, the readers, as parents, teachers and resident, what you think about the latest news. Out of about 140 responses to a very informal survey, approximately 38 percent believe schools should reopen in the fall, and approximately 52 percent said they should not. Some people were on the fence, and almost all respondents had stipulations attached to their "yes" or "no" answers.

Here are a few of the responses we received:
(Corrects to clarify origin of statement)

By Julia Symmes Cobb

BOGOTA, June 18 (Reuters) - A British barrister is asking the United Nations Special Rapporteur to intervene with coal miner Cerrejon on behalf of Wayuu indigenous people in Colombia allegedly suffering damage to their health amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Cerrejon, which is owned equally by BHP Group, Anglo American and Glencore, rejected the allegations, saying information in the claim was wrong.

Cerrejon had initially reduced operations during Colombia's nationwide quarantine, but began normalizing its work last month.

The request is the latest salvo in long-running disputes between the company and the Wayuu over water use and pollution, dust, noise and health issues in desert La Guajira province.

The Wayuu, who often get by on subsistence ranching and sometimes gasoline smuggling, have long been plagued by malnutrition among children and a lack of fresh drinking water.

The Provincial community, located near Cerrejon's mine, "have filed an urgent request for the intervention of the UN Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations," said a statement shared by London-based barrister Monica Feria-Tinta.

"The company has resumed operations during COVID-19, placing the community at risk and increasing their vulnerability in a context of water scarcity," the statement said. "In the prevailing lockdown it is even more difficult for the Wayuu to access water."

The Wayuu have a history of respiratory diseases and are vulnerable to coronavirus, it said, adding that when mining activities were suspended there was an improvement in the community's health.

"In essence, the communities are seeking the suspension of all mining activities by Cerrejon in the current context," Feria-Tinta said in the statement.

The claim is mostly based on a recent ruling from Colombia's Constitutional Court which ordered the company to prevent water pollution and control emissions, among other things, Feria-Tinta told Reuters via email. The United Nations may take some weeks to reply, she said.

Story continues

Cerrejon roundly rejected the statement.

"We emphatically reject the presentation of inaccurate and biased information about Cerrejon's social and environmental performance, including completely false data on the company's water use and air quality," Cerrejon said in a statement.

The company is ready to provide information to the United Niations, it said, adding it has redirected social investment to the province's health system amid COVID-19 and donated 12 million liters of water to communities including Provincial.

"We refute strongly the allegations and the insinuation that we have acted inappropriately, both in general and during the COVID-19 pandemic," it added.

Pollution can exacerbate coronavirus infections, air quality experts and medics have said. (Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Here's more proof that plexiglass is one of the hottest commodities of the coronavirus pandemic: A word that was almost never mentioned is popping up in corporate earnings calls and company press releases.

What's going on: Plexiglass is the must-have partition for places around the world doing business in the COVID-19 era  restaurants, grocery stores handing out free samples, casinos, even possibly schools (once students return).

And ... Google searches for "plexiglass" peaked in mid-May, as businesses across the country readied to reopen.

Google searches for "plexiglass" peaked in mid-May, as businesses across the country readied to reopen. The brand name, Plexiglas, didn't get nearly the same attention.

The state of play: Take Dollar Tree, for instance  which late last month told analysts it installed more than 16,000 plexiglass shields at store checkouts.
In spite of a dent in state budget revenue and a rise in spending this year causing a big fiscal deficit, the government will be able to retain the countrys public debt situation, ensuring national financial security.

Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung last week told the 14th National Assemblys (NA) ninth session, which was rounded off last week, that under his ministrys (MoF) latest statistics, the nation will surely not go far from the permissible limit of public debt of 65 per cent strictly set by the legislature in late last year.

The MoF estimated that in this year, if the countrys GDP grows 4.5 per cent, the fiscal deficit will be about 4.73 per cent of GDP, or VND75 trillion ($3.26 billion), resulting in a public debt level of 55.5 per cent of GDP.

In the case that the economy grows 3.6 per cent, the state budget will suffer from a deficit of 5.02 per cent of GDP, or VND90 trillion ($3.9 billion), leading to a public debt level of 56.4 per cent of GDP. The government is considering a plan to borrow more loans from international organisations.

However, with these two economic growth scenarios, it is expected that the average fiscal deficit for the past five years will be lower than 3.9 per cent of GDP, and the public debt will also be less than 65 per cent which is a limit earlier set by the NA, Minister Dung stated.

The main reason behind this fiscal deficit is, he explained, the governments policy to support enterprises and people hit by COVID-19.

We have been applying exemptions, reductions, and extensions of assorted taxes, charges, and fees. For example, we offer a five-month extension of corporate income tax (CIT) and land rental to enterprises and business households, Dung said.

We have also been giving an import tax exemption for healthcare items and materials used for fighting the pandemic, and goods and materials used for producing footwear, textiles and garments, and processing agro-fishery products, mechanics, supporting industries, and automobile manufacturing.

Last week, the NA also adopted a resolution for reducing 30 per cent of CIT for micro-sized and small-sized enterprises from now until the years end. Besides that, the NA Standing Committee will likely allow the 30 per cent reduction in fuel for aviation businesses with aircraft. The government will also offer a 50 per cent reduction in registration fees for domestically-manufactured and assembled automobiles until late 2020.

Notably, the government will use over VND700 trillion ($30.4 billion), which is 2.2 times higher than VND312 trillion ($13.56 billion) of last year, for public investment which is now required to become a strong pillar for economic growth and job creation.

About VND31.1 trillion ($1.35 billion) was disbursed in May, up 17.5 per cent on-year. In the first five months, the figure was VND116.3 trillion (over $5 billion), up 15.6 per cent on-year.

Over the past few months, the government has been deploying some sturdy solutions to support enterprises. Specifically, the State Bank of Vietnam has been deploying a package worth over VND300 trillion ($13 billion) for enterprises and households in the form of debt payment deferral and preferential loans.

The MoF has been carrying out a VND180 trillion ($7.82 billion) credit package to support people and enterprises. Also, the government has been implementing a VND62 trillion ($2.7 billion) package to support poor and unemployed people. The government has also been using about VND3.4 trillion ($147.8 million) to deploy measures against COVID-19 within this year.

In the first five months of 2020, total state budget revenue was estimated to be VND577 trillion (over $25 billion), down 9.2 per cent on-year, while total state budget spending reached VND603.4 trillion ($26.23 billion), up 9.1 per cent on-year. This means a $1.23 billion in budget deficit in the period.

The legislative body last November adopted a resolution on the state budget for 2020, with total revenue of over VND1.51 quadrillion ($65.65 billion), and total state budget expenditure of nearly VND1.75 quadrillion ($76 billion). Total budget deficit will be VND234.8 trillion ($10.35 billion), equivalent to 3.44 per cent of GDP. Of which, the central budget deficit will be VND217.8 trillion ($9.47 billion) or 3.2 per cent of GDP, and the local budget deficit will be VND17 trillion ($880 million) or 0.24 per cent of GDP. VIR

Khoi Nguyen

Vietnam's public debt payment at safe levels after pandemic The ratio of public debt to GDP is not too high, but the pressure of debt repayment in both VND and foreign currencies will increase in 2020-2021.
Some Sydney suburbs have recorded COVID-19 testing rates that are three times the statewide average with a significant spike in testing among school children since the beginning of June.

Schofields and Edmondson Park in Sydney's west and south-west have recorded about 31 and 26 tests per 100 people living in each postcode, despite having no recorded cases, a Herald analysis of NSW Health data shows.

Bronte, Woollahra, Rose Bay and Bondi in the city's east have each recorded about 20 tests per 100 people since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, and have a combined total of nearly 160 of the state's 3168 cases.

The average testing rate was 8.6 tests per 100 people across the 610 postcodes that were included in both NSW Health and Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
Preventing early skin to skin contact potentially disrupts newborn physiology. Credit: John Ryan/Flickr, CC BY-SA

In several countries pregnant women confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19 are being required to have cesarean sections or be separated from their newborn babies to restrict COVID-19 transmission.

Such measures may help health services better manage COVID-19 caseloads, but what are the consequences, and how do these practices compare with evidence-based global recommendations for maternity care during the pandemic?

Changes in maternity care practices

Early in the pandemic, a private hospital in Sydney, Australia had told mothers with COVID-19 they would be separated from their babies after birth, but later apologized.

Mother-baby separation has occurred in several countries during the pandemic, including the United States (US), China and Indonesia.

Many women have also experienced forceps or vacuum during birth, induction and cesarean section, irrespective of their infectious status, and with little choice.

In April, a study reported a case of an uncomplicated vaginal birth at an Australian hospital in a mother with COVID-19, without separation and with ongoing breastfeeding.

These examples highlight the value of evidence based international guidance, such as from the World Health Organization (WHO). Released early in the pandemic and regularly updated, WHO recommendations are to encourage breastfeeding and its early initiation, placing the newborn skin to skin, and in the same room as the mother during hospital stay, after birth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The WHO guidance was that new mothers and babies should be exempted from distancing or isolation, even if they are confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19.

The guidelines state these are safe when hospitals adhere to adequate infection prevention and control measures.

These include:

staff wearing full personal protective equipment, including N95 masks

mothers wearing a surgical mask during the second stage of labor

strict handwashing procedures and use of a surgical mask around the baby.

New research from John Hopkins University and Western Sydney University states policymakers should consider the cumulative impact of mother-baby separation.

Conserving hospital resources?

Natural childbirth is unpredictable, and scheduling it could be seen to conserve hospital resources; however childbirth does not fit easily into hospital routines, and during the current pandemic, health services have been stretched.

Midwives and nurses have reportedly been redeployed from looking after women during labor to other areas.

Hospitals can manage scarce staff and other resources better if births are scheduled and timings managed. This strategy, while seeming beneficial for hospitals, is not so for the health and safety of the mother and baby.

Some hospitals have also implemented policies preventing partners or other support people from attending the birth.

To minimize virus spread, both for health-care staff and pregnant women, some eliminated what is deemed non-essential face-to-face hospital visits, such as antenatal classes or support persons. And some have spaced out and reduced the time of antenatal visits.

In high-income countries such as Australia and the US, telehealth is compensating for this lack of in-person support. But in many low and middle income countries, telehealth is not established. Lack of access to good internet and low health literacy are further challenges which limit the effectiveness of this medium.

Anxiety in the hospital

Some level of anxiety is quite normal for pregnant women, especially if this is their first baby, but this anxiety has been heightened by the pandemic.

With many health workers also infected, expectant mothers have experienced controversy and fear. Cutbacks in antenatal and community-based midwifery services (reported in the United Kingdom), and increased enquiries about homebirth, prompted warnings about women choosing to birth without a skilled attendant.

Medical organizations, including the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RANZCOG), have issued statements of concern.

The Australian College of Midwives called for more community-based maternity services, such as clinics in empty schools and community halls and expanding access to home birthing, to reduce pregnant women potentially being exposed to the virus in hospitals.

As yet, little data is currently available to assess the consequences of COVID 19 maternity service changes.

Best practice guidelines

The latest WHO update confirms previous clinical guidance for pregnant and new mothers and newborns, including for breastfeeding.

Intervening in early skin-to-skin contact, by separating mothers from their babies, can potentially disrupt newborn physiology. UNICEF explains that early skin to skin contact calms and relaxes both mother and baby, regulates the baby's heart rate and breathing, helping them to better adapt to life outside the womb, stimulates digestion and an interest in feeding, regulates temperature, enables colonization of the baby's skin with the mother's friendly bacteria, thus providing protection against infection, and stimulates the release of hormones to support breastfeeding and mothering.

Early skin to skin contact is also vital in the neonatal unit, where it is known as Kangaroo care, as it improves oxygen saturation, reduces cortisol (stress) levels particularly following painful procedures, encourages pre-feeding behavior, assists with growth, and may reduce hospital stay.

If the mother expresses milk following a period of skin-to-skin contact, her milk volume will improve and the milk expressed will contain the most up-to-date antibodies.

Separation can also disrupt the mothers' milk production and increase their stress levels. Infant sucking and breast stimulation in the first hour after birth give rise to hormonal responses in the mother, accordingly increased oxytocin secretion to produce milk and prolactin hormone reflex for milk production. This oxytocin hormone also reduces maternal stress level.

Health organizations in several countries have published their own recommendations based on their own data and country situation. The National Health Service in the UK, for example, recommends skin-to-skin contact and early initiation of breastfeeding after birth.

In contrast with WHO guidance, the US Centers for Disease Control strongly encourage consideration of temporary separation of mothers and babies where mothers are suspected of, or confirmed to have COVID-19. In China this has become standard practice.

Similarly, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding, but supports temporary separation while acknowledging different opinions among medical experts.

In the UK the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists supports women having skin-to-skin contact with their babies after birth and to initiate breastfeeding with standard COVID-19 precautions.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Society of Pediatrics does not allow early initiation of breastfeeding to a baby born to a mother suspected or confirmed as having COVID-19.

First, do no harm

An important question is what this disruption to quality maternity care has achieved.

Publications by Melissa Bartick, an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and internist from Mount Auburn Hospital who focuses on lactation, and Alison Stuebe, an expert in infant and young child feeding from the University of North Carolina, suggest separation might delay infection, but not prevent it.

Stuebe also notes that separation of mother and newborn in the hospital puts twice the burden on the health-care system to provide two separate sets of caregivers, protective equipment and hospital rooms.

What is perplexing is why prior planning did not identify this problem. Maternity care services are not so difficult to predict and plan for that the pandemic should disrupt quality standards so severely.

Mother-baby separation after birth, even if only temporary, where the baby is well, is not based on evidence. It brings more harm than good. Countries that apply this approach need to reconsider so mothers and babies get optimum care during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community-based midwifery models of care can also be prioritized and expanded to protect women and babies in health care during this and any future pandemic.

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

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 18:34:29|Editor: huaxia

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KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia reported six new COVID-19 cases on Friday, pushing the national total to 8,606 while active cases dropped to 191, the health ministry said.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press briefing that another 23 cases had been released, bringing the total cured and discharged to 8,294 or 96.4 percent of all cases.

Of the six new cases reported, five are imported and one is local transmission.

Among the remaining cases, two are being held in intensive care units and none are in need of assisted breathing.

No new deaths had been reported, leaving the total deaths at 121.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who coordinates the implementations of restrictive measures, told a separate press conference that spas, wellness and reflexology centers will be allowed to resume operations from July 1.

However, only Malaysian employees will be allowed to go back to work, with foreigners still barred for now, he said.

Trade and travel fairs, as well as meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, will also be allowed to be held from July 1, with the usual standard operating procedures (SOPs) of registering visitors, temperature checks and social distancing being mandated.

Earlier, the government has allowed cinemas and theaters to resume operations on July 1. Enditem
Ahmed Zaha, whose name has been changed to maintain his anonymity, is in his late 20s. He was born in a country in West Africa, where he lived for most of his life. Then, a few years ago, he attended a pro-democracy demonstration, which led to his detention and torture at the hands of the state. After he escaped, he fled to the United Kingdom in 2017, but was forced to leave his family, including a wife and young son, behind.

Ahmed now stays with a friend in South London while he awaits a decision on his asylum appeal. We are not mentioning his country of origin or any details about the torture he endured as this may put him in danger if he is returned. He told Al Jazeera his story.

The way I understand it, a job is work that someone does to earn material things: food, clothes, money. When you are recruited by an employer, a job has duties, tasks and responsibilities that are definite and specific, and that can be accomplished.

Back home, I was a physics and chemistry teacher. My job was to share knowledge with young people and sometimes pupils older than me  I enjoyed it very much. I loved these subjects because they are part of all of our lives.

For me, being a teacher was not just about teaching, but also about being another parent, a pillar of support and a good example. Because of my teaching, my love for my subjects and the relationships we built, most of the students in my class aspired to be scientists themselves.

Back home, I lived with my wife and young son who helped me make important decisions.

I had a good life then; until I was harassed and tortured by the government for my opposition to their policies and involvement in student activism at university. When I left university and started teaching, most of my colleagues supported the government, so I was exposed.

I saw my friends being killed and I realised I was no longer safe.

So I made the difficult decision to leave  not only my job, but also my young son and my pregnant wife.

Fearing for my life, I took the first chance I had to escape and ended up in the UK as an asylum seeker.

Graffiti is seen on a street in Croydon, London in 2017 [File: Reuters]

New language, new home

When I first arrived, we landed at nine in the evening in July, and the sun was still up. I had never seen anything like it before back home. I was amazed.

At the time, I spoke two African languages and fluent French, but very little English. Hello, how are you?, I could say, as well as What, how, when, where and a few verbs. But I could not understand a word anybody said in response.

I knew nothing about the asylum system but I learned that we were not allowed to work.

After much searching for information, I was directed to my countrys expatriate community in London. I met someone at the mosque who I lived with for a while, and he became a supporter and friend.

Six months later I found out I was meant to get an asylum allowance from the UK Home Office. I began receiving 36 ($45) each week and lived in a room provided by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS).

But the first payment did not arrive until four days after I moved there so I had nothing to eat and no money for food during that time. When the allowance did arrive, because the place had no pots I could use to cook, I had to spend the money on that  instead of on food to eat. That meant another week with no money for food.

Even once my asylum allowance began to arrive regularly, surviving for a week on that money was a full-time job. Knowing that it was not enough to live on, I looked for organisations that could help me.

A job with no pay

If you see the situation of an asylum seeker as a job, those organisations are like your employer. Your first responsibility is to go there and register yourself, and your duties are to present yourself there once every week or two, to receive whatever they can give you.

The first place I went to was the Notre Dame Refugee Centre in Trafalgar Square. I arrived at five in the morning to give myself more than enough time for when it opened at 8.30am. But there were already more than 40 people ahead of me. By now it was winter, and freezing cold. My friend had lent me a jacket but it was not warm enough.

Asylum seekers queue outside a charity awaiting food distribution [File: Reuters]

Once inside, we were given breakfast and then waited again until 11am, when they started seeing people to try to find them solicitors or help them out in other ways.

On that first day, a Thursday, they did not get to me so I returned the following Monday when they opened next. I got there at 3am and was the second person in the queue. This time, I was seen, and they managed to find me a solicitor.

In some of these places, you have to eat the food they provide there and then, and it is only available on a particular day, once a week. Others give you the ingredients  pasta, beans, tuna, chicken or cream of tomato soup, biscuits, apples; I had never seen some of these things before.

Days with nothing

If and when your asylum claim fails  in my case, after six months  it is devastating.

The UK Home Office is known to have a refuse asylum first, ask questions later approach. Poor decision-making means that you have to keep putting in fresh claims until a fair one is reached.

In the meantime, your asylum support ends, so the job gets even more demanding. For a short while, you may get emergency support from an organisation like Freedom from Torture, but it is less than what NASS provided  barely 30 ($37) a week, and only for six weeks.

So then you are reduced to travelling further, to places where they feed you on site, and for less food. And whether you are sick or well, you have to go  because that is the only way you can eat. Now, because of coronavirus, food is more expensive than ever.

Most destitute asylum seekers eat only once a day; the idea of breakfast, lunch and dinner is impossible. I normally eat in the middle of the day; you have to accustom your body to this rhythm, because if you spend all your money in one day, you will go another six days without anything. You cannot afford to buy what is healthy; you have to buy what is cheap. Two pounds of potatoes, fried with ketchup  it is not healthy, but it is filling.

And when your asylum support ends, with it you lose the home provided by NASS.

An asylum seeker inside his single room accommodation in Longford, England [File: Getty Images]

So a new element of the asylum seekers job becomes finding shelter for the night. If you are lucky, you may have a friend who can take you in, but not for long. The kinds of friends you are likely to make in these circumstances probably have very little themselves  often just their own bed, which you may have to share, either in turn or at the same time as them.

I have now been in the UK for almost four years, and am currently staying with a friend of a friend of a friend in his South London flat; I am grateful for his sofa.

Putting clothes on your back, with no money, is not easy. Not all organisations have second-hand clothes to give you. Jackets are not so difficult but because of my height  Im 6 3 (1.9m) with long legs  trousers are impossible to find. Sometimes I look in the windows of charity shops and see something I like. But if it is at all smart or nice, I know I will not be able to afford it. So I do not even go in there. And as for new clothes from the shop  well, filling my stomach has to come first.

Still hoping

But through all of this, you still hope that eventually you will be able to stay in this country, because the alternative is too terrifying.

You try to learn English. I found a course but it required money to travel. So you think, I need to study, I need to learn English, so I have to get there, one way or another.

But with all of this, the money you had for food becomes less and less. So if you want to pursue your hopes, you may not eat at all for a day or even two. So you choose: sometimes you eat, sometimes you study.

All these places give us different things, but most of all they give us hope to continue and a brief respite from the stress of the situation.

The biggest element of my job intrudes into all these categories: it is called waiting.

Wherever I go, whatever I am there for, somebody else is always there before me. Sometimes, by the time I get to the front of the queue, they are closing and I have to come back another day.

This is how we live.

But I am not complaining; all these places give us different things, but most of all they give us hope to continue and a brief respite from the stress of the situation.

As an asylum seeker in Britain, just staying alive is a full-time job. It is just not one I applied for.
So far, 2020 is turning out to be a year America finally started to engage with the idea that Black lives do indeed matter, and the arc of justice is finally bending in the right direction.

Sparked by the horrific murder of George Floyd, an international Black Lives Matter protest movement has brought about significant changes throughout the United States. From journalists and publishers committing to capitalize the B when referring to Black people, to nationwide police reform measures, multiple sectors of society are scrambling to show that they support Black people and are committed to dismantling systemic and institutionalized racism. The protests have only just begun, so its too soon to tell if this movement will bring about lasting change, but it is inspiring to see how many institutions and individuals are engaging with anti-racism work.

Even the food industry examined how it could do better and canceled Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben.

Last week, Quaker Oats, the company that owns the Aunt Jemima brand, announced it would be removing the image of the smiling Black woman from its pancake and syrup products, and changing the name. Changes will be seen toward the end of the year. Soon after that announcement, Mars Food, the company that owns Uncle Bens rice products, made a similar promise: Uncle Ben would be retired, and his product line renamed.

Removing these dehumanizing and exploitative images is long overdue. But some people dont understand why a Black woman on a box of pancakes is so problematic.

Heres why: Aunt Jemima is nobodys auntie. She was born from a racist ideal. The Aunt Jemima character was created in 1898 by two white inventors who wanted to sell their new, premade pancake mix to people who had always cooked from scratch. They decided to add the caricature of a fat, smiling, dark-skinned, Black woman  complete with a headscarf  on the box of their product. Because who would Americans welcome into their kitchens to serve them a perfect plate of hotcakes? Why, Mammy, of course.

And though Quaker removed the headscarf in 1968 and gave her a perm and a string of pearls in 1989, the branding message remains the same. This pancake mix is good because a happy Black woman is on the box. Whats more, the very name Aunt Jemima is steeped in racist rhetoric because aunt and uncle were used as a derogatory way to keep Black people in their place. White people refused to address Blacks as Mr. or Mrs., Sir or Maam. They were demoted to aunt or uncle to demonstrate a blatant lack of respect.

Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben harken back to antebellum America, when Black people knew their place was in the kitchen, serving the master and his mistress in the big house. By keeping their images and their names on the boxes of foodstuffs we see on store shelves every day, we are reinforcing those stereotypes and painful reminders of a past when Black people lived in bondage. Of course, some people who still like to remember the good old days  the same people, I suppose, who think getting married on a Southern plantation is romantic  dont see a problem.

But it is a problem that leads to police officers killing Black Americans because they feel threatened by our very existence, or employers not hiring us because they just dont believe well fit into office culture, or worse, because they dont believe were qualified. The negative opinions white Americans have about Black people are constantly reinforced by so many aspects of our popular culture, including these racist names and images on pancake boxes.

These images also make a lot of Black people uncomfortable. Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben are not our heroes. They are painful reminders of what we had to endure for more than 200 years as enslaved people, pretending we were grateful to have the opportunity to make breakfast for our captors.

Yes, there are some people  both white and Black  who believe that removing Aunt Jemima from product packaging is erasing a part of Black Americas legacy. While I agree that a legacy is being lost, it is not one anyone should want to preserve. The only legacy Aunt Jemima leaves behind is one where people get to believe that Black people actually enjoyed their roles as slaves in the masters kitchen. They didnt.

Its time to say goodbye to Aunt Jemima.

Lori L. Tharps is an associate professor of journalism at Temple University. She is the host of the podcast and blog, My American Meltingpot.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  Vice President Leni Robredo is pushing back against peddlers of fake news and will ask the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate who are behind the rumor that her office donated spoiled food to a hospital in Quezon City.

Robredo told CNN Philippines' The Source that she will tap a private lawyer and a group outside the Office of the Vice President to collate evidence and file charges against the people who claimed that she sent spoiled meals to frontliners of the Diliman Doctors Hospital in Quezon City earlier this week.

"We already wrote NBI and DOJ requesting for a formal investigation. I have been very reluctant in the past to file a case because I have strongly advocated for the decriminalization of libel and cyberlibel. Itong nangyayari during the pandemic, I think these people have to be made accountable," Robredo said Friday.

READ: DOJ 'ready to help' Robredo in possible spoiled food probe

Robredo personally denied the rumor on social media, asking netizens to report the material and its succeeding reposts as fake news. The hospital also issued a statement to say that they have never encountered spoiled items in the three times Robredo's camp sent food to their hospital workers, also denying that they were offered a bribe to keep the supposed mishap a secret.

Robredo was the top victim of fake news in 2019, according to fact-checking group VERA Files. She has recently debunked several misinformed and malicious social media posts on her office's COVID-19 response.

The second-highest official of the land now sees the need to stop these baseless and damaging accusations and teach the people behind them a lesson.

"Ang niru-ruin kasi nito hindi na lang ako eh. Ang niru-ruin nito ay 'yung society, 'yung ating online space ay ginawa na nilang very toxic. Naging very divided tayo as a people dahil dito sa ganitong klaseng prevailing atmosphere. If we allow it to continue to happen, 'yung demokrasya na natin will be at stake," she said. "We will file the necessary cases in court."

[Translation: It's not just my name that they are ruining here but our society. They have made our online space very toxic. We have been divided as a people because of this prevailing atmosphere. If we allow it to continue to happen, it's our democracy which will be at stake.]

The Vice President added that a legal team has also been tapped to handle possible charges against individuals maligning her and even her daughters on social media, most of them supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte. She said this team of lawyers will come from outside of her office to solely focus on these charges.
The tunnel, the statue, the smoke plume and the blue warehou. Whats the connection? The tunnel is the $3 billion NorthConnex, proudly announced by the Premier on Monday. The statue is the bronze of Mum Shirl, regarded as an Indigenous saint but semi-hidden in a Redfern alley. The smoke plume is the column that rose a staggering 31 kilometres into the atmosphere during the Australian fires in January, exhibiting both height and permanence never seen before. And the blue warehou is an endangered fish routinely sold in Australian fishmongers and restaurants.

The connection is this. Humanity has an attitude problem that could prove fatal.

Toppling Cecil Rhodes is fine, but if were serious about this tearing down of the exploiters and colonisers we need a total mindset transplant. For humanity to morph from a predatory species, inviting its own destruction, to one capable of harmonious equilibrium, everything, including capitalism, needs to transform.

The Cecil Rhodes statue at Oxford's Oriel College. Credit:Getty Images

More bluntly, to avoid a repeat of the Great Dying that, some 250 million years ago, separated the Permian from the Triassic, we need to free the term "going native" of its colonial condescension and reinvest.
The first time the coronavirus shut down bars was rough for Jayce Thacker, the president of Kat Daddys Bar and Grill.

It put me in bankruptcy, Thacker said Friday morning from the bar on FM 1488.

On May 22, bars could open up to limited capacity, which meant Thacker could bring back some employees who had been laid off and hire a few more to replace those who found other work or moved following the first shutdown.

On Friday, an executive order closed bars again. Thacker had to relive a nightmare.

I couldnt even explain to you how difficult it is, he said in a phone interview. These are other peoples lives. Youve got a dozen people who depend on you and for no reason of anything weve done or theyve done, we have to lay them off.

In a Friday morning executive order, Gov. Greg Abbott said bars had to close at noon, and that indoor capacity limits on restaurants will be lowered from 75 to 50 percent beginning Monday. The order also closed rafting and tubing businesses, and required outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people to have local government approval, with certain exceptions outlined in the order.

The states COVID-19 positive test rate has been on the rise for two weeks, and on both Wednesday and Thursday approached 12 percent, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10 percent, the state of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Abbott said in a statement. At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars.

About five miles down the road on FM 1488, Deacon Baldys General Manager Joey Muckenthaler on Friday had to furlough his staff for a second time.

Deacon Baldys is an open-air bar that has a covered seating area and four food trucks on site. The trucks are independently owned and lease their spots, so they will remain open while the bar must shut down.

Even with lease money coming in from the trucks, Deacon Baldys lost 30 to 35 percent of its yearly gross revenue during the first shut down, per Muckenthaler.

For a business like ours, which is open-air, the profit that we make in the spring carries us through the summer and through the winter when its really cold and rainy or 110 degrees, he said. The surplus of the good months carries us through the lean months. We missed the entire window in the spring.

Keith Amador, taproom manager at Southern Star Brewing Company in Conroe, says he learned of the executive order Friday morning via Twitter.

We had to scramble and had to start the beer-to-go again, Amador said. It came out of nowhere. I wish we wouldve had more warning, more heads up wouldve been great.

Amador says the taproom, which has a maximum capacity of 200, was able to open comfortably to 50 percent when it was allowed. The reopening led to bringing employees back and a steady increase in business. Fridays news to threw a monkey wrench into the taprooms progress.

There was just no warning, he said. There were events planned. Its a real kick in the chops when theres no heads up. If theres a warning, we can prepare and be ready for that. The beer-to-go does fine for us and it helps, but its nothing like having the taproom open.

Feeling unfairly targeted

Citing recent nationwide protests and other stores remaining open and crowded, Thacker said he felt bars were unfairly targeted by the governor Friday.

I feel that its just the easiest thing to close, so theres no repercussions, he said. If theyre really worried about the spread of the virus, they would limit everybody in all the stores. You can go online and order food from Walmart. Theyll deliver it to your house. Theres no reason why all the hardware stores should be so busy. How essential is it that you go in there and get your two-by-four or your plywood, if were really concerned about the spread of the virus?

Thacker mentioned the precautions Kat Daddys took after opening, including taped off tables to adhere to social distancing, hand sanitizing stations and even a plan to spray down the whole building Friday morning before the order made it unnecessary.

Like Thacker, Amador mentioned the patrons ability to self-police and gather responsibly.

We feel singled out, he said. Here at the brewery, people know if its too busy theyll spread out or go outside. Our folks are aware and wanted us to stay open, so they took the right precautions. Were just a little guy and are trying to stand on the last leg we have. Well keep rolling with the punches.

Muckenthaler shared the frustration regarding Fridays order and cited the governors phased plan to open the state, which moved from its first phase in late April to its third in a little over a month before partially reversing course as the coronavirus situation worsened in Texas.

I do not begrudge the governor having to make these decisions and I cant imagine having to be the one to make those calls, Muckenthaler said. But if youre going to pass the buck on things like mask orders and youre going to plan a four-phase opening of the state and rush through three phases, and then youre going to come down on a specific industry and say these people are closed 

I understand needing to mitigate the positive test rates and the COVID rates. This is about saving lives and its bigger than a specific industry, but at the end of the day, Ive got four kids and I need to put food in their mouths. It feels like the bar industry is being used as a thing that can be pointed to, to say, See, were doing something.

Restaurants to reduce capacity

While restaurants do not have to close their doors, the 25 percent reduction in capacity still has an impact.

Along with moving tables to adhere to social distancing guidelines, Conroes Pacific Yard House expects to limit its menu and reduce staffing because of the change, per Operations Manager Teak Daniele.

Its really not a big deal during the week, because were never at capacity during the week, Daniele said in a phone interview Friday. But on Fridays and Saturdays, it definitely limits our revenue.

Daniele said the restaurant has had to turn people away on a couple occasions because of the capacity restrictions, and while Pacific Yard House has space to make adjustments, other restaurants may not be so lucky.

I understand the need for it, but at the same time, I think well be fine, he said. Fortunately, we have a large footprint in our restaurant, so we can still have 6 feet and maintain capacity. For smaller restaurants that dont have the luxury we do, either theyll have to break the rules and have their tables closer than 6 feet apart, or they can only have three or four tables in the restaurant, and thats the kiss of death for them.

jmaskulinski@hcnonline.com
Wildlife experts in Vermont have warned that so-called vampire fish should not be disturbed during spawning season.

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department said this week that two sea lamprey species in the states waters, sometimes labelled the vampire fish, had started to spawn.

If you happen to see a spawning sea lamprey or a lamprey carcass, dont be alarmed, said Lael Will, the departments fisheries biologist, on Facebook.

The fish provide a number of important ecological benefits, she added. And [they] are considered a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in both Vermont and New Hampshire.

As a crucial species within the Connecticut River Basin and wider water system, people should not disturb the parasitic sea lampreys.

The species has been dubbed the vampire fish due to its circular mouth and sharp teeth, which allows the fish to feed on decomposed matter and other marine organisms.

Whilst young sea lampreys prey on other marine organisms in oceans, adult sea lampreys are non-parasitic when they return to the Connecticut River every spring to spawn, said Vermonts wildlife department.

It added: While existing for over 350 million years in the Atlantic Ocean, anadromous sea lamprey have co-evolved with their oceanic hosts and their populations are considered to be in balance.

Young sea lampreys typically head to the Atlantic Ocean after five years buried in freshwater river sediment.

At the same time, Vermont also hosts non-native sea lamprey that state authorities class as a nuisance species.

Those vampire fish, which can be seen at Lake Champlain, are not protected species because they are invasive.

We believe it is important to highlight and contrast the conservation value of Connecticut River sea lamprey, educate the public and encourage folks to do their part to protect this important population of fish, added the wildlife department.
Microsoft on Friday announced it will permanently close its 83 Microsoft Store retail locations. It will instead focus on its online store at Microsoft.com, where customers can go for support, sales, training and more.

Microsoft said its retail team members will help on the website instead of in-store. A Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC that all the employees will have the opportunity to stay with the company.

"Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location," Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter said in a blog post. "We are grateful to our Microsoft Store customers and we look forward to continuing to serve them online and with our retail sales team at Microsoft corporate locations."

Shares of Microsoft closed down 2% on Friday.

In the past decade or so, Microsoft began to expand its retail presence in an effort to create a shopping experience similar to Apple's, where people could go to try new Microsoft software and hardware created by both Microsoft and its partners. Microsoft even built a store on 5th Avenue in New York City, just blocks away from Apple's iconic glass cube store.
Budapest cannot go back to the bad decisions that led to the current health and economic crises, Gergely Karacsony, the citys mayor, said, warning that the capital was in need of a redesign or risked becoming unliveable.

Addressing the Budapest municipal assembly ahead of the agenda, Karacsony said the capital would be forced to make the necessary changes under the worst ever financial circumstances.



Other governments have also treated Budapest as a cash cow, but the current cabinet wants to send it to the slaughterhouse, too, the mayor said.



He said that for the first time in 30 years, Budapest was a net contributor to the state budget, arguing that the metropolitan council would be the one financing the government instead of the other way around.



Karacsony thanked the citys residents for their exemplary compliance with the epidemiological rules. Budapest did its part and proved that it is a strong city and a strong community, the mayor said.



Because the government did not provide the capital with enough information or support, it was forced to procure the necessary protective equipment on its own, Karacsony added.



He vowed not to abandon his vision of a liveable Budapest despite the fact that he had been forced to freeze 65 billion forints (EUR 184.9m) of funds in the city budget due to cuts made by the government.



Karacsony said that without the governments brutal austerity measures, the municipal council could afford to renovate the Chain Bridge every year.



Unlike the government, the Budapest administration aims to support individual residents and small businesses, rather than large companies and monied people, he said, adding that it also aimed to act on climate change, the housing crisis and the state of the job market.



Karacsony underscored the importance of restoring confidence in the citys public transport system so that Budapest doesnt crumble under its road traffic.



The municipal council will map out a project to connect the tram routes of the Pest side and add new bus lanes, he added.



Zsolt Lang of ruling Fidesz called on Karacsony to end his political battles with the government over the renovation of the citys iconic Chain Bridge and just get on with the renovation.



Deputy mayor Kata Tutto of the Socialist Party said in response that the city leadership will immediately launch a conditional public procurement tender for the project, adding that the citys public road manager will continue to carry out maintenance work on the bridge until the renovation can go ahead.



Members of the assembly also paid tribute to three recently-deceased honorary citizens of Budapest: three-time Olympic champion water polo players Gyorgy Karpati and Tibor Benedek as well as horticulturist Gyorgy Balint.



MTI Photo: Zsolt Szigetvary
New Delhi: Focusing on international air travel, educational institutions and metro services, the government has begun consultation process for unlock 2 and guidelines are expected next week, officials told CNN-News18.

"Yes, guidelines on unlock 2 are expected shortly," a government official involved with the planning said.

Later on Friday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) clarified that no international air travel till be allowed till July 15. However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on a case-to-case basis on select routes, it said.

Here's Centre's plan for some of the sectors:

Metro

The central government is hesitant to open up metro trains due to rising number of coronavirus cases in all the big cities. While Delhi now has the highest number of cases, Mumbai has shown improvement but now new clusters have emerged in the suburbs. In south, Chennai has imposed lockdown to control the graph. Bengaluru too has embraced partial lockdown in clusters.

Educational Institutions

The government is also hesitant to open up educational institutions. Except Karnataka, most states have cancelled their board exams. CBSE and ICSE too have announced alternative grading mechanism. As per MHA's unlock 1 guidelines, decision on schools and colleges were to be taken in consultation with states. "Schools/colleges will be opened in consultation with states. State governments/UT administration may hold consultation at the institutional level, with parents and other stake holders. Based on the feedback, a decision will be taken on re-opening in July 2020," the guideline of May 30 had said.

Air Travel

The central government on Friday said the scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India will remain suspended till July 15. Consultations have begun on allowing private carriers to operate on some international routes. The US administration has objected to India's Vande Bharat mission under which Air India is flying to US but American carriers are being denied the permission to fly on the America-India routes. US has called this monopolisation and threatened to disallow Air India's Vande Bharat flight. Similar objection has come from UAE too.

Kerala chief minister P Vijayan has also asked the Union government to allow flights to Dubai and other Gulf countries.

Labour

Unlock 2 could also announce more measures to boost employment opportunities for labour force. States governments have been asked to share the steps being taken for skill mapping of the migrant labour force that has returned to states like UP, Bihar, Bengal and Odisha in large numbers. Officials said the focus on unlock 2 will be on encouraging cottage industries and employability of local labour force. The focus in unlock 2 is likely to be on self reliance of industries. Industries will be encouraged to recruit locally available labour.

(With inputs from Pallavi Ghosh)
NORWALK  The Christopher Columbus statue that first came to the city in 1942 and stood in the same location for nearly four decades was removed under the cover of darkness Thursday night.

Around 9 p.m. Thursday, a small crew began the process of securing the statue before a crane hoisted it off its pedestal and loaded it onto a flatbed truck.

About a dozen Norwalk police cruisers surrounded the small Thomas C. OConnor Park at the corner of West and Connecticut avenues. Few members of the public were there, but at least one person captured the entire removal process on video and published it live on Facebook.

City officials had declined to say when the statue would be removed in an effort to avoid a scene that occurred this week in New Haven, where dozens of people clashed after they heard the statue that overlooked Chapel Street from Wooster Square Park for nearly 130 years was coming down on Wednesday morning.

Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling announced Thursday the Columbus statue that stood on West Avenue since 1983 would be removed. The announcement came two days before a scheduled protest.

The group, CT Youth Activists, started an online petition this week, calling for the statue to be removed, saying it represented violence, racism, marginalization, and the continued denial of the genocide of indigenous people. The group called for the statue to be replaced by a monument to Norwalks original inhabitants, the Wappingers and Lanopes.

The Norwalk statue was built by a Fairfield sculptor and dedicated to Columbus Magnet School by The Columbus Memorial Fund when the school opened on Oct. 12, 1940.

The monument, which was relocated to Heritage Wall in 1983, featured a statue of Columbus atop a base containing images of the vessels and the words, Erected by Italian-American People of Norwalk  Sponsored by The Columbus Memorial Fund Inc., October 12, 1940 A.D.

The calls for the statues removal follow a similar trend in other Connecticut communities.

Officials in Hartford, Middletown and New London have also recently decided to permanently remove statues dedicated to Columbus from their cities.
A celebration at First Baptist Church on Sunday will mark 50 years that Doris McSparran has been music associate and organist. The celebration, which will begin at 5 p.m., will feature McSparran and several other musicians.

McSparran said she has seen a lot of change in church music over her 50 years, but people still enjoy listening to the organ and piano.

Lots of people have worked at a job for 50 years but its an honor that Ive been at the same church, because I love the people, she said.

McSparran has worked with five ministers of music at FBC over her tenure and said she has learned a lot from them.

In the early years it was a lot of youth choir work, she said. Then I began organizing adult ensembles. Thats been unique because Ive had a mens ensemble thats been continuous for 30 years, and the ladies ensemble (has) been together for 40 years.

She started playing piano when she was 15. Her goal was to learn all the hymns in the hymn book because she loved church music. After she graduated from high school, she got a job as a secretary and stopped taking piano lessons. She was given the opportunity to attend Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina, after an evangelist preacher led a revival at a church in Augusta, Georgia, and heard her play.

More Information 50-year anniversary celebration for Doris McSparran

5-6 p.m. at First Baptist Church

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He came to me and said, Doris, I think you need to go to school. You live for music. Dont you want to study music? she said. I said, Oh, no, I dont have money to go to college.

The preacher told her God could provide a way. Then about 10 days later he wrote her that he had talked to administration at Lander University, where he was a trustee. The college agreed to accept her if she sent her high school transcripts.

She learned to play the organ at Lander University and also served as an organist at a local church while she was learning. A professor would teach her the organ music for each Sunday service, in addition to teaching her the regular curriculum. McSparran said she majored in music and graduated with an organ degree knowing she was going to do church work.

I went to serve at a church as organist and music associate in Newnan, Georgia, she said. Somebody passed my name on to the First Baptist Church and they contacted me. At first, I didnt want to leave Georgia and come to Texas. They had to convince me to come and look at it.

She said she came to Midland in 1970 to check out First Baptist. It was a culture shock: Newnan is close to Atlanta and Midland was still small in the 70s.

Ive loved it ever since Ive been here, and Id never dreamed Id stay 50 years, she said.

McSparran met her husband, Don, 25 years ago at a singles mixer at First Baptist. He was a widower and a wonderful man.

She said he was a member of First Baptist, which is a large congregation.

He would sit in the back pews and I would be up here at the organ.

They became friends, then started dating, she said. They had met in March and were married in October. He told her he didnt want a big wedding and that he would invite his sons and their families. When Don asked about her family, she told him that because her parents were dead, she recognized members of First Baptist Church as her family.

He is equally involved with the church now; he runs sound and helps with the media, she said.

McSparran said she has loved her husbands family and they have been kind to her as a stepmother. She said she has been privileged to watch the grandchildren grow up.

She has led many adult and youth mission trips to churches that FBC assists, including churches in Taiwan, Costa Rica, Mexico, El Salvador, Australia, Austria, Colorado, California, Washington, Minnesota, Missouri, Utah, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Pennsylvania. She also has done trips for Church Builders Mission Trips. Many of the trips have included musical performances.

.

McSparran said she has enjoyed the opportunities First Baptist Church has provided, and she has had the chance to collaborate and create alongside others as well as play the piano and the organ.

I love the organ with all my heart, and when Im playing the organ thats when I worship, she said. Its a thrill to hear the whole congregation singing while I play.
The U.S. State Department has added Afghanistan to a list of nations doing little to stop human trafficking, saying Kabul has failed to properly address child sexual slavery and the recruitment of child soldiers.



In its annual Trafficking In Persons Report released on June 25, the department included Afghanistan in the so-called Tier 3 list of countries that do not meet minimum standards to stop trafficking and are "not making significant efforts" to do so.



During the reporting period, there was "a government policy or pattern of sexual slavery in government compounds (bacha bazi) and recruitment and use of child soldiers," it said.



The ancient practice of "bacha bazi" -- literally, dancing boys -- is common practice in Afghanistan among wealthy and powerful men who exploit underage boys as sexual partners.



Despite local officials widespread acknowledgment that many police, especially commanders at remote checkpoints, recruited boys for bacha bazi, some high-level and provincial authorities, including at the Ministry of Interior, categorically denied the existence of bacha bazi among police and would not investigate reports, according to the State Department.



As a result, "the government has never prosecuted a police officer for bacha bazi."

Some Steps Taken

Despite the lack of significant efforts, the Afghan government "took some steps to address trafficking, including continuing to identify trafficking victims, prosecuting and convicting some traffickers, including two perpetrators of bacha bazi for kidnapping, and conducting four trainings for provincial antitrafficking officers," the report said.



The government has also increased the number of Child Protection Units at Afghan National Police recruitment centers, which the report said prevented the recruitment of 357 child soldiers.

However, the Interior and Defense Ministries, as well as the National Directorate of Security "denied that Afghan security forces recruited or used child soldiers, despite multiple cases," it says.



Meanwhile, some trafficking victims reported that"authorities forced them to have sex in exchange for pursuing their cases or raped them and sent them to detention centers when they tried to report their traffickers," the State Department says.



And many trafficking victims were arrested, detained, and penalized. Some of them were even punished for "moral crimes."



Eighteen other countries are included in the reports Tier 3 list, including Belarus, Iran, Russia, and Turkmenistan.



Inclusion in the lowest category can bring restrictions on U.S. non-humanitarian, non-trade-related assistance, a decision that would be made by the president.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a working trip to Kherson region has inspected the reconstruction progress at the Kherson International Airport.

"The head of state was informed that an investment project had begun in 2019 to ensure aircraft landing in the evening and at night, as well as in difficult weather conditions. The project has received over UAH 46 million from the State Regional Development Fund and more than UAH 5 million of regional development funding. The project's implementation has already been funded by more than UAH 11 million. The opening of the airport's updated lighting system is scheduled for September this year," the presidential press service said on Friday.

In addition, the regional airport development program for 2018-2020 is currently being implemented. Routine runway repairs have been carried out, workers have been trained to launch the Kherson-Krakow flight, and additional equipment has been acquired to improve the quality of passenger service. The Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise also decided to update landing systems at the airport in 2020.

"All this will allow the airport to get the first category of aircraft landing according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards," the report says.

Head of Kherson Regional State Administration Yuriy Husiev stressed that the airport is strategic.

"In the south, this is one of the very important hubs, and I would like it to become a hub for flights from Mykolaiv, Kherson regions. Even from Zaporizhia they come to us because Ryanair launched very popular flights," he said.

At the same time, the question remains of reconstructing the runway, updating the fleet of aircraft.

Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Krykliy said the total cost of the full restoration of the runway is UAH 1.2-1.5 billion, and UAH 910 has been spent on it this year. He added with the president's support the amount of funding may be increased this year.
A judicial magistrate in Pakistan's Baluchistan province has allowed a Hindu woman to live with her husband after her parents accused him of kidnapping their daughter and forcibly converting her to Islam.

Reshma, who is from Garhi Sabhayo in the southern Sindh province, went missing after leaving her home on June 17.

Her parents suspected Dil Murad Chandio of having kidnapped and forcibly converting Reshma to Islam in order to marry her.

Reshma, who belongs to the Bagri community, appeared in the court in Dera Allahyar this week with her husband and declared that she was over 20 years and married Chandio of her own free will.

She said she had taken the Muslim name Bashiran after converting to Islam. The judicial magistrate allowed her to go to her husband.

Her parents had lodged a complaint at the Saddar police station in Jacobabad.

The Hindu community leaders have protested in the past over the increasing number of young Hindu girls being converted to Islam and married to Muslim men in interior Sindh.

They say that in majority of the cases the girls are kidnapped and then forcibly converted.

According to a report in the Dawn newspaper, the Sindh government has attempted twice to outlaw forced conversions and marriages, including laying guidelines for the court process in the Protection of Minorities Bill, and placing an age limit of 18 years upon conversions and enabling better due process.

In 2016, the bill was unanimously passed by the Sindh Assembly, but religious parties objected to an age limit for conversions, and threatened to besiege the assembly if the it received approval of the governor, who then refused to sign the bill into law.

In 2019, a revised version was introduced, but religious parties protested once again.

A sit-in was organised by Pir Mian Abdul Khaliq (Mian Mithu), a political and religious leader and allegedly a central figure in many cases of forced conversions of underage Hindu girls in Sindh. He and his group claim the girls are not forced, but fall in love and convert willingly.

In March 2019, nearly 2,000 Hindus staged a sit-in demanding justice for two sisters, Reena and Raveena, who they said married Muslim men after being forcibly converted to Islam.
Gold in 2020, in this file photo. Courtesy of GSI

Chinese Mining Firm Goldsea Drops Bid for Australian Gold Miner

China-backed Goldsea Mining Australia has pulled the plug on a takeover bid for Australias Alto Metals following a request by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) for an extension of time to consider the bid.

Goldsea Mining made the takeover bid on Feb. 21, 2020, citing an interest in Altos Sandstone gold mining project in Western Australia.

The offer was valued at 0.065 cents per share, a 93 percent premium on the companys share price at the time, which was 0.034 cents.

At the time, Goldsea Chairman Jianjun Li said: The offers provide certainty of value in an uncertain market at a genuinely attractive cash price for Alto shares and a cash offer for the unlisted Alto options.

For Goldsea, this is a logical step, in line with the groups strategy, to bring the ownership of the Sandstone Gold Project within its portfolio, he added.

A gold miner displays a piece of gold near Puerto Maldonado, Peru, on Nov. 14, 2013. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The bid was subject to FIRB approval. However, the FIRB recently requested an extension of six months to consider the application.

Goldsea decided to let the offer lapse saying the FIRB was unable to provide Goldsea with any details regarding the extension.

Further, the firm said an extension would have pushed the decision window to ten months from when the application was initially submitted. Subsequently, Goldsea decided to withdraw the bid.

Alto Metals is now considering a bid from fellow Australian mining company Habrok Mining.

Goldsea is a subsidiary of the Shandong Goldsea Group based in northeast Chinaa diversified private company with interests across mining, real estate, and engineering.

Fellow Shandong-based mining business, and state-owned enterprise Shandong Gold, earlier this week made its own takeover bid, via its subsidiary, for Australian gold mining firm Cardinal Resources that is operating two projects in Ghana, West Africa.

The bid is also subject to approval from the FIRB.

The Australian government has taken a tougher stance on foreign investment in recent weeks with the introduction of greater powers for the treasurer to review and amend potential bids by foreign companies.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said countries around the world had begun to see foreign investment being used for strategic objectives, and not purely commercial ones.

Following the announcement, the Chinese Ministry for Culture and Tourism, and the Ministry of Education, both published travel warnings claiming people of Asian or Chinese descent had experienced a significant increase in racial discrimination and violence.

Australias new foreign investment laws would close potential loopholes for investments that previously fell outside the ambit of the FIRB. One example is the investment by Chinese firm Yibin Tianyi in lithium mining company AVZ Minerals.

Yibin Tianyi was advised the bid would be blocked by the FIRB on the grounds it was contrary to the national interest and contrary to the national interest of growing Australias critical minerals sector.

Later, both companies amended the agreement so it fell outside the authority of the FIRB.
THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Airbnb on Friday accused the city of Amsterdam of acting illegally after it banned vacation rentals in its central old town, but said it wanted to work with authorities to ensure the survival of its home sharing business in the Dutch capital. The municipality announced on Thursday that it would ban all vacation rentals in three areas that make up Amsterdam's central canal ring, a UNESCO world heritage site. In the other neighbourhoods of the Dutch capital, vacation rentals will be allowed only with a special permit, and only for up to 30 days a year, to groups of no more than four people

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Airbnb on Friday accused the city of Amsterdam of acting illegally after it banned vacation rentals in its central old town, but said it wanted to work with authorities to ensure the survival of its home sharing business in the Dutch capital.

The municipality announced on Thursday that it would ban all vacation rentals in three areas that make up Amsterdam's central canal ring, a UNESCO world heritage site.

In the other neighbourhoods of the Dutch capital, vacation rentals will be allowed only with a special permit, and only for up to 30 days a year, to groups of no more than four people.

Airbnb Netherlands said on Friday that it was "deeply concerned the proposals are illegal and violate the basic rights of local residents".

"We remain eager to work with Amsterdam to support long-term solutions on home sharing - rather than short-term fixes that are confusing and damaging for residents and small businesses", the company said.

Critics have long complained that the rise of Airbnb-style tourist rentals has torn the soul out of the centre of Europe's best-loved tourist cities, from Edinburgh to Barcelona.

Airbnb said 95% of its listings in Amsterdam were outside the banned zone.

Amsterdam's left-wing city council has been vocal about curbing mass tourism and what it describes as the nuisance caused by tourists in the old city centre.

The city says one in 15 dwellings in Amsterdam as a whole shows up on online rental platforms and the rise of such rentals has "an increasing negative influence on the quality of life" in some Amsterdam neighbourhoods.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Tory backbenchers have been urging Downing Street to ease social distancing restrictions, sensing a shift in the public's patience and fearing a deeper than forecast recession. Businesses have warned that if they can't reopen soon they won't reopen at all. Johnson is walking the tightrope of balancing public health concerns against economic realities. This week he made up his mind: Britain's three-month lockdown would effectively end. The decision is a high-stakes gamble. Will the public ultimately judge the government on how many people it protects from the virus or how well it rebuilds the shattered economy? The British economy has been devastated by the coronavirus lockdown. Credit:Bloomberg Hotels, museums, churches, theme parks and hairdressers will reopen from July 4, as well as restaurants and the nation's beloved pubs. To get more people in the door, Johnson axed the government's longstanding advice that people must stay two metres apart and replaced it with a new one-metre rule. Just six weeks earlier, Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance explained that spending one minute with someone at a distance of two metres carries about the same risk as spending six seconds with them at one-metre apart.

Loading But Vallance and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty this week endorsed the reduction, provided other measures such as face masks, protective screens and new seating layouts are deployed in pubs, restaurants and offices. The pair struck a cautious tone, however, and warned cases would grow if the public thought the threat was over and ignored government advice. "This is going to be a long haul," Whitty said. "I would be surprised and delighted if we were not in this current situation through the winter and into next spring." The "R" rate (the reproduction rate determining how many people one person can infect) is now between 0.7 and 0.9 in England but could be 1.0 in London, the Midlands and England's north-west. The rate needs to stay below 1.0 for the disease to recede. Downing Street hopes to control a spike through two strategies: trust in the public to do the right thing and a new "test, track and isolate" system. Both have hit early  but not insurmountable  hurdles.

Thousands of people defied the social distancing advice to swamp Bournemouth beach in southern England on Wednesday, just days after Johnson urged caution while announcing his plan to reopen the economy. They packed the beach again on Thursday, forcing the local council to initiate a "major incident". "We are absolutely appalled at the scenes witnessed on our beaches," said the council leader Vikki Slade. "The irresponsible behaviour and actions of so many people is just shocking and our services are stretched to the absolute hilt trying to keep everyone safe." Crowds defied social distancing advice to swamp Bournemouth beach in southern England. Credit:Getty A YouGov opinion poll shows a decreasing proportion of the public believes the lockdown is being eased too quickly. The same pollster found 21 per cent of people in Britain wear face masks when out in public compared with 79 per cent in France and 64 per cent in Germany. The other problem is the government's track and trace regime, which Johnson promised in May would be "world beating" and operational by June 1. The system is designed to take people who have the disease, or have been exposed to someone with it, out of society and keep the R rate down.

Technical difficulties have forced the government to abandon developing its own tracing app in favour of a design by US tech giants Google and Apple. That system won't be ready until winter though  just when experts fear a second wave could be most potent. In the meantime, a manual system is doing the heavy lifting. Anyone who gets a positive COVID-19 test result is contacted by NHS staff and asked to fill in an online form and list the names and details of people they had recent close contact with. Those contacts are then telephoned by the NHS and asked to self-isolate at home for 14 days. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reopening the economy but says he will not hesitate to reimpose restrictions if the virus flares. Credit:Getty Images Experts warn speed is key to whether the scheme succeeds. Professor Christophe Fraser, a University of Oxford expert who has been working on the NHS app, recently told MPs that testing and contact tracing must happen within 48 hours of a person developing symptoms for it to be effective. A delay of two days beyond that initial window means authorities lose about a third of contact tracing potential. "And if you wait six days you are contact tracing after all of the transmissions have happened," Fraser warned.

The problem is some tests in the UK are taking longer than 48 hours to turn around - although Johnson has promised all tests will be processed within 24 hours by the end of this month. Seventy per cent of the 6923 people who tested positive in England during the week ending June 17, were called by the NHS and asked to provide details of close contacts. Some 30,286 contacts were identified during that process and 81.7 per cent were called and asked to self-isolate. However, it is believed that a majority of infected Britons are still not being tested and therefore not showing up in the track-and-trace system. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer this week said 33,000 people were thought to have COVID-19 in England but only 10,000 had been contact-traced by the NHS. "The Prime Minister risks making the mistakes he made at the beginning of the pandemic  brushing aside challenge, dashing forward, not estimating the risks properly," Starmer told the House of Commons.

"If two-thirds of those with COVID-19 are not being contacted, that is a big problem. If we do not get track, trace and isolate properly running, we cannot open the economy or prevent infection from spreading." A group of scientists and health leaders used an open letter this week to try to broker political consensus on the need for an urgent interim inquiry to examine whether the UK is ready for or could even prevent a second wave. Loading "Many elements of the infrastructure needed to contain the virus are beginning to be put in place but substantial challenges remain," they warned. "The review should not be about looking back or attributing blame. Rather it should be a rapid and forward-looking assessment of national preparedness."
By John J. Metzler





It's one of those rites of late spring when members of the U.N.'s General Assembly come together to choose five new non-permanent members of the 15-member Security Council. But what's usually a spirited but pro-forma election of candidates, this year was carried out in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the awkward spirit of social distancing.



Diplomats from the 193-member states entered the cavernous but near-empty General Assembly hall to vote in a complicated phased time-slot fashion. This marked the first time in more than three months that delegates visited the still-shut United Nations headquarters.



Political lobbying and jockeying for seats on the Security Council remains an annual ritual: Countries select candidates from regional groups years ahead, and then begin the marathon process of preparing to present their case and country presumably best suited for the two-year council tenure.



Earlier this year, when election cajoling was beginning to reach its crescendo, the pandemic hit, shutting down the U.N. and sidetracking the political momentum. Yet online campaigns continued, but the time-honored diplomatic glad-handing, receptions and schmoozing among the contenders were largely neutralized by the cruel rules of social distancing.



So here's the outcome selecting five of the 10 rotating countries on the council who will join the permanent veto holding members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.



Western European and others group



In a fierce contest, three countries competed for two seats -- Ireland, Norway and Canada. Norway, a clear favorite won handily, especially given its humanitarian and peacekeeping credentials.



The real contest emerged between Ireland and Canada, both of whom spent considerable sums on lobbying. Ireland sponsored a Bono U2 concert last year while Canada flew in Celine Dion for an electoral soiree. Both countries wined and dined delegates for the coveted council seat. But this was Canada's seat to lose (as it did a decade ago); Canada lost again.



Ireland ran a better campaign (online too) stressing its empathy for all things global. Despite being a smaller financial donor to the U.N. system than Canada, the Republic of Ireland played its traditional peacekeeping cards; currently Ireland has 466 men and women in blue helmet operations. Equally Ireland was strongly backed by the European Union.

Back in the day, Canada's strong suit was also peacekeeping, along with its massive and generous development assistance. Though 125,000 Canadians served in peacekeeping operations from the earliest missions, in recent years the commitment sadly appears to have dimmed -- currently only 34 Canadians serve in the U.N. multifaceted blue helmeted missions.



By losing again, Canada misses out on the chance to be back on the council after a 20-year break, presenting a stinging political slap to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's woke Liberal government.

As Canada's National Post opined editorially, "Trudeau has spent millions of dollars, pledged millions more in aid, strained relations with some of our closest allies" and courted dictators in a failed bid to get the two-year term on the Security Council.

African group

Here was the other significant showdown when the voting went into a second day of balloting. Kenya faced off Djibouti and Kenya won with a 129 majority to 62. Kenya represented English speaking African states while Djibouti, a former French colony, was supported by the Francophonie.

China supported Djibouti's case as the small but strategic state at the mouth of the Red Sea hosts a Chinese military base. Beijing equally maintains close ties to Kenya.

Asian group

India was the unopposed candidate and thus won the council seat. India replaces Indonesia.

Latin American group

Mexico was equally unopposed and won, replacing the Dominican Republic.



Realistically what is the effect on the council's dynamic starting in 2021 and moreover what does this mean for U.S. policy?



Among the European group Norway and Ireland replace Germany and Belgium. While both countries have been largely supportive of U.S. policy, Norway and Ireland, should not likely change any balance.



India's return to the council (it's been a member on eight occasions) replacing Indonesia, could noticeably move the needle toward the U.S. if only because of India's deteriorating relations with China. Despite India's closer political friendship with Washington, don't assume that New Delhi will rush to overtly support American policy. Nonetheless it's a clear plus.



Kenya replaces South Africa, basically even, while Mexico's ascent replacing the Dominican Republic offers a slight positive to the U.S.



Moving forward when the new members assume their places in January, they will face a world shaped by COVID-19 and its bitter aftermath.



John J. Metzler (jjmcolumn@earthlink.net) is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism -- The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China."
A hospital nearby was cited by an OSHA inspector for not having fire extinguishers exactly 39 inches off the floor, Dr. Bingham told The Washington Post in 1980. They actually made the hospital hire somebody to come in and remount all the fire extinguishers a few inches from where they were. I was appalled.
Treasury Targets Major Iranian Metals Companies and Foreign Subsidiaries and Sales Agents

U.S. Department of the Treasury

June 25, 2020

WASHINGTON  Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against four steel, aluminum, and iron companies operating within Iran's metals sector, including one subsidiary of Mobarakeh Steel Company  Iran's largest steel manufacturer. Treasury is also designating one Germany-based and three United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based sales agents for being owned or controlled by Mobarakeh Steel Company. Mobarakeh Steel Company was designated in 2018 pursuant to counterterrorism authorities for providing support to Iran's Mehr Eqtesad Iranian Investment Company, an entity designated for being owned or controlled by the IRGC-affiliated Bonyad Taavon Basij. Mobarakeh Steel Company was also designated in 2020 for operating in Iran's steel sector, and was sanctioned by the seven member nations of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center in October 2019 for being part of Iran's terror support network. Together, these sales agents generated tens of millions of dollars annually from the foreign sale of Mobarakeh Steel Company products, providing significant contributions to the billions of dollars generated overall by Iran's steel, aluminum, copper, and iron sectors.

"The Iranian regime continues to use profits from metals manufacturers and foreign sales agents to fund destabilizing behavior around the world," said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. "The United States remains committed to isolating key sectors of the Iranian economy until the revenues from such sectors are refocused toward the welfare of the Iranian people."

Today's actions are being taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13871, which imposes sanctions with respect to the iron, steel, aluminum, and copper sectors of Iran.

Mobarakeh Steel Company Subsidiaries

Today's action targets one domestic and four foreign subsidiaries of Mobarakeh Steel Company, the largest flat steel producer in the Middle East and North Africa region, which accounts for approximately one percent of Iran's gross domestic product. Mobarakeh Steel Company has provided millions of dollars annually to Mehr Eqtesad Iranian Investment Company, an entity with close ties to Iran's paramilitary Basij force, which is controlled by the IRGC, and its Bonyad Taavon Basij. Collectively, the subsidiaries designated today help generate the equivalent of tens of millions of dollars annually from the sale of Mobarakeh Steel Company products.

Germany-based Tara Steel Trading GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mobarakeh Steel Company engaged in the wholesale of metals and metal ores in Europe. In 2018, Tara Steel Trading GmbH generated the equivalent of nearly 60 million dollars in sales, and held assets valued at the equivalent of more than 100 million dollars. It has also purchased tens of millions of dollars in spare parts for Mobarakeh Steel Company.

Pacific Steel FZE, Better Future General Trading Co LLC, and Tuka Metal Trading DMCC are UAE-based sales agents and trading companies that are majority-owned by Mobarakeh Steel Company and have engaged in the import and export of Iranian metal products in the region. Better Future General Trading Co LLC has claimed to be the main exporter of Mobarakeh Steel Company products regionally, and between 2018 and 2019 participated in the equivalent of over 100 million dollars-worth of trade in spare parts with its parent company. Pacific Steel FZE has marketed itself as a steel supplier for clients in the Middle East and African countries, operating with an export customer code from Mobarakeh Steel Company. During the same timeframe, it engaged in the equivalent of nearly one million dollars-worth of trade with, and maintained account balances with, Mobarakeh Steel Company.

Metil Steel is an Iran-based steel producer and exporter that is majority-owned by Mobarakeh Steel Company.

OFAC is designating Tara Steel Trading GmbH, Pacific Steel FZE, Better Future General Trading Co LLC, Tuka Metal Trading DMCC, and Metil Steel pursuant to E.O. 13871 for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Mobarakeh Steel Company.

Iranian Metals Producers

Today's action also targets three large aluminum, steel, and iron producers in Iran, who collectively contribute to the equivalent of billions of dollars generated overall in sales and export of Iranian metals annually.

South Aluminum Company is an Iran-based aluminum producer who, in April 2020, completed construction of an advanced smelter able to produce 300,000 tons of aluminum products annually, significantly improving Iran's aluminum ingot production. In Iran, the aluminum industry is considered a dual-use industry with portions of refined products used in the defense sector and the remaining available products used in various industries throughout the country.

Sirjan Jahan Steel Complex is an Iran-based steel and iron producer that maintains four different manufacturing facilities which have an annual production capacity of over six million tons of steel and iron products.

Iran Central Iron Ore Company is an Iran-based iron producer that exports various iron products regionally and to East Asia. Iran Central Iron Ore Company has previously exported approximately 1.5 million tons of iron products around the world with an estimated value of 133 million dollars.

OFAC is designating South Aluminum Company pursuant to E.O. 13871 for operating in the aluminum sector of Iran, Sirjan Jahan Steel Complex pursuant to E.O. 13871 for operating in the iron and steel sectors of Iran, and Iran Central Iron Ore Company pursuant to E.O. 13871 for operating in the iron sector of Iran.

Concurrently, the U.S. Department of State is imposing sanctions on Global Industrial and Engineering Supply Ltd. pursuant to section 1245 of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act. In 2019, Global Industrial and Engineering Supply Ltd., an entity with addresses in mainland China and Hong Kong, knowingly transferred 300 metric tons of graphite to an Iranian entity (the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines) included on the SDN List. Graphite is a critical material for Iran's metals industry. As a result, OFAC is listing Global Industrial and Engineering Supply Ltd. on the SDN List.

Sanctions Implications

All property and interests in property of these persons 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 dealings by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons, unless licensed or exempt.

In addition, persons that engage in certain transactions with the persons designated today under E.O. 13871 may themselves be exposed to sanctions. Furthermore, any foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates a significant transaction for or on behalf of the persons designated today under E.O. 13871 could be subject to U.S. correspondent or payable-through account sanctions.

Identifying information on the individuals, entities, and vessel designated today.

####

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Tamil Nadu on Friday reported the highest single day spike with 3,645 new Covid 19 cases taking the states total to 74,622 cases including 46 deaths reported over the last 24 hours, according to the data released by the state health department. The southern state has currently 32,305 active cases of Covid-19 and has recorded a total of 957 fatalities. State capital of Chennai is the worst affected city with close to 50,000 coronavirus infections.

A total of 3,509 persons had tested positive for the virus on Thursdaythe previous record for highest single day spike and the first instance of daily cases crossing the three-thousand mark. 45 coronavirus patients were recorded to have died in the state on Thursday, according to PTI.

The state has tested more than 10 lakh samples so far and the results indicate that close to 4,000 children under 12 years of age are infected in the state.

Chennai Corporation Commissioner G Prakash said that detection of people with flu- like symptoms had increased manifold during the daily door-to-door survey after the lockdown came into effect a week ago.

For Coronavirus Live Updates

He said that during the pre-lockdown times, about 600-700 symptomatic cases used to be recorded every day but now, it has crossed the 3,000 mark for a day,

Yesterday, 3,217 people were found with symptoms in the door-to-door surveys, Prakash said.

Tamil Nadu has announced a fresh lockdown from June 19 to June 30 in Chennai and parts of Chengalpet, Kancheepuram, and Tiruvallur districts. Most relaxations have been withdrawn and only shops and retail outlets for essentials are permitted to operate from 6 am till 2 pm.

The city corporation has distributed pulse oximeters among the symptomatic cases for self monitoring of blood oxygen levels, which sometimes drop dangerously without prior warning in patients infected by the disease.

Doctors are visiting people identified with symptoms to determine who should be sent for a confirmatory RT-PCR test for coronavirus, Prakash was quoted as saying by PTI.

Chennai has close to 12,000 operationalised beds, meaning those with availability of doctors and other personnel, in the Covid Care Centres. 4,350 of such beds are occupied and work is in progress to make additional beds including 5,000 at a Tamil Nadu Housing Board apartment complex and 1,500 at the Anna University premises, available.

The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19

The Corporation has kept 17,500 beds ready in 54 Covic Care Centres in the city which includes educational institutions and about 12,000 of these are serviced by health care professionals.

Chennai along with nine other major cities including Delhi, Thane, Mumbai, Palghar, Pune, Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Ahmedabad and Faridabad are reported to have 54.47 per cent of Indias total cases between June 19 and June 25, according to a health ministry official.

The number of Covid-19 cases in India has increased by a record 17,296 in 24 hours on Friday, pushing the total tally to 4,90,401.
The strike by some 4,300 workers at the Bath Iron Works in Maine continued through its fourth day Thursday with no apparent move to restart negotiations.

The International Association of Machinists (IAM) called the strike Monday after workers rejected the companys last, best and final offer by an 87 percent majority. In addition to an inadequate pay raise the deal would have allowed expanded hiring of subcontract workers and eviscerated job classifications. Subcontracting would be permitted even if bargaining unit employees were still on layoff.

In a letter to the IAM Wednesday, management said it was not willing to retreat from its regressive contract proposal and insisted the changes were needed to address its work backlog, stating, We do not have a secondary or alternative offer to present. We cannot offer a contract that sets this yard up for failure.

The workers build US Navy warships, and the shipyard is some six months behind on the delivery of destroyers fitted with advanced weapons systems. This comes as the Trump administration is ratcheting up global tensions against China, Venezuela, Iran and other countries in the crosshairs of US imperialism. The contract fight has evoked worried comments from the Navy, which wants delivery of the ships as soon as possible.

Despite expressing concerns over the delay in the production of the warships, the IAM evidently felt it could not avoid a strike given the enormous opposition of workers to further concessions while General Dynamics, the owner of the shipyard, is raking in billions in profits.

A spokesman for IAM Local S6 at the shipyard, while claiming the union would stay out as long as it takes, added elliptically, But obviously, there is some urgency on our part with members being out of work and the Navy waiting on ships.

Further stoking the workers anger is the fact that the last contract negotiated in 2015 contained significant concessions in health care and pensions, pushed through by the IAM on the grounds that it would help Bath Iron Works win additional work from the Coast Guard. The work never materialized.

A worker wrote on Facebook, The company in no way tried to negotiate a fair contract. For us it was about the language attacking our seniority and subcontractors. And if you want to be technical we havent had a raise in 8 years, we gave up concessions last contract for coast guard cutters in which we lost.

Another added, The company is not interested ...at least for now...in actual negotiations. They have and are still demanding that we accept what they have demanded...not anything that is negotiated.

The company hired 1,800 workers last year and plans to hire another 1,000, including subcontractors. Employment now stands at around 6,700.

In March workers at the Bath Iron Works staged a job action, independently of the IAM, after a worker was found to have COVID-19. Workers demanded that production be suspended; however, the company continued operations, pointing to the declaration by the Trump administration that the building of warships was critical infrastructure. Despite this about 25-30 percent of workers continued to stay home until management issued an ultimatum, not opposed by the union, to return to work in early May.

The stand by Bath shipyard workers was complemented by a similar unofficial action in April by workers at a Norfolk, Virginia, shipyard owned by General Dynamics and operated by BAE systems. About 40 workers staged a six-day wildcat action after an engineer died form COVID-19.

Bath shipyard workers last struck in 2000, for 55 days, over pay and subcontracting. A strike in 1985 lasted 99 days.

The IAM is seeking to isolate the strike by the Bath workers even as management moves strikebreakers across picket lines. It has issued a long list of rules that essentially prevent any effective picketing, including barring pickets from holding conversations with those who cross the picket line to explain the issues in the strike.

No attempt has been made to broaden support for the strike, including appeals to other General Dynamics workers or wider sections of the working class. Neither has there been any mention of deadly conditions in workplaces amid the resurgence of COVID-19.

The IAM has sought out the support of various politicians, primarily Democrats, who with an eye toward the elections have paid lip service to the workers.

On Wednesday, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden issued a mealy-mouthed statement on the strike couched in national-patriotic terms. Local S6 members work hard to ensure that our military have the tools they need to be successful, he declared. Its up to us to make sure that those same workers have what they need to accomplish that for their own families. He continued, A job is about a lot more than a paycheck. Its about dignity, avoiding any mention of the workers concrete demands.

Meanwhile, Maine Democratic Governor Janet Mills issued a statement merely calling for a resumption of talks, while expressing concern that the walkout impaired the ability of [Bath shipyard] workers to deliver much-needed ships to our Navy.

Bath Iron Works was incorporated in 1884 and began by making metal fitting for wooden ships built in Bath. In 1890 it received its first contract for a complete ship. For most of its existence the shipyard has relied heavily on US navy contracts, including the construction of the battleship Georgia. The Bath Iron Works also produced fishing trawlers, freighters, and yachts throughout the first half of the 20th century.

General Dynamics purchased the operation in 2001. During this period, the shipyard completed the Land Level Transfer Facility, a $300 million fifteen acre state of the art structure that allows ships to be transferred to a floating dry dock for launch.

The Bath Iron Works are currently completing Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and the last of three Zumwalt destroyers. The vessels are six months behind schedule.

Amidst the ever-present danger of military conflict and the raging COVID-19 pandemic, enormous pressure will be placed on workers from all quarters to give up their struggle and settle for a rotten agreement. In opposition to this, workers should take the conduct of the struggle into their own hands with the formation of a rank-and-file strike committee independent of the unions, and move to link up with the many other sections of workersautoworkers, food and meat processing workers, nurses and otherswho are fighting for safe and decent working conditions.
Sixteen million family members in the U.S. are caregivers for the more than 6 million people living with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). For many caregivers in rural areas such as northern Arizona, health disparities prevent them from accessing the healthcare and support services they need. COVID-19-related isolation is adding to their burden, potentially contributing to their stress, anxiety and depression, and adversely affecting their physical health.

To address the heightened health risks these caregivers face, a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative (SHERC), a grant-funded initiative of Northern Arizona University's Center for Health Equity Research (CHER), received a one-year, $250,000 administrative supplemental grant from the National Institutes of Health. The researchers will study the unique needs of caregivers of persons with ADRD living in northern Arizona, identifying how health and caregiver support resources have changed during COVID-19 and how family caregivers are coping with current COVID-19 related caregiving demands.

We are interested in the health of diverse caregivers in northern Arizona and the resources they use and need to maintain their physical, emotional and mental well-being. Our long-term goal is to develop programs that provide support to caregivers and reflect the unique assets of populations in northern Arizona." NAU Regents' Professor Julie Baldwin, principal investigator of the study and director of CHER

Co-investigators on the study are Heather J. Williamson, assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, Michael J. McCarthy, associate professor in the Department of Social Work, Dorothy J. Dunn, associate professor in the School of Nursing, and Evie Garcia, associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology.

To conduct the study, titled "A Multilevel Examination of Health Equity among Ethnic and Rural ADRD Caregivers," the researchers are recruiting family caregivers of individuals with ADRD to participate in focus groups and surveys.

The team will produce a report on the health care and social support resources that are available to caregivers in northern Arizona, and participants will receive personalized maps and information on what resources are close to them. Researchers will use results from the project to inform culturally based programs for Hispanic/Latino, Native American and rural caregivers and to promote future policies, practices and research initiatives that support them.

"We hope that community members will find these county-specific reports of caregiver resources helpful as a tool to either advocate for resources that are lacking and to know what things are available to them that they might not have known about previously," Williamson said.
The Member of Parliament for Tarkwa Nsuaem Constituency in the Western Region, Duker George Mireku has called on the General Secretary of the NDC, Asiedu Nketiah to resign for lying on the Supreme Court ruling.

The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah speaking to the media after the Supreme Court ruling told Journalists that the Supreme Court ruled in their favour. The NDC was in court against EC for preparing to compile a new voters register.

The party also wanted the court to compel the Electoral Commission to use the old voters ID for the compilation in case it goes ahead to compile the register.

Duker George Mireku noted that what Asiedu Nketiah did was a rehearsal of what they would do when they lose in the December elections.

I am sad at the behaviour of Asiedu Nketiah, he must apologize to Ghanaians. If it were to be a different country Asiedu Nketiah would have resigned immediately from his position. If I were to be a member of the NDC I would have resigned from the party, Duker George Mireku noted.

He added that many foreigners who have the National Health Insurance card got registered onto the voters register in 2012.

He called on Ghanaians to register when the EC starts compilation of a new voters register.

---FirstnewsRoom
The Shiv Sena has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of playing caste politics ahead of elections to the Bihar assembly.

An editorial in the partys newspaper Saamana on Friday contended Modi had used the valour of the Indian Army in the clash with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley for the upcoming election. It accused Modi of being an expert at playing caste politics.

Modi had praised the Bihar Regiment, which was involved in the violent face-off of June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead, and said its valour would make every Bihari proud.

The unit that bore the brunt of the violent clash with Chinese troops was from the Bihar Regiment but the soldiers were drawn from across the country.

Modi had said, Today when I am speaking to the people of Bihar, I will say the valour was of Bihar Regiment, every Bihari is proud of it.

The editorial in Saamana said, Prime Minister Modi is an expert in such [caste] politics. He sang praises of the valour of the Bihar Regiment in Galwan Valley. Earlier, when the country faced a crisis on its borders, were the Mahar, Maratha, Rajput, Sikh, Gorkha, Dogra regiments sitting idle and mixing chewing tobacco on the borders? Yesterday, Maharashtras Sunil Kale (a CRPF trooper) attained martyrdom in Pulwama (during a gun battle with terrorists). Due to the upcoming Bihar elections, importance is being given to caste and region in the Indian Army. Such politics is a disease, which is graver than the Coronavirus.

The editorial added that the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition party in Maharashtra, is also practising such politics. The reference was apparently in light of BJP legislator Gopichand Padalkars controversial remark on Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar.

Padalkar had on Wednesday called Pawar the Coronavirus that has infected Maharashtra.

The Shiv Sena mouthpiece said the BJP uses people from different communities for political advantage.

Gopichand says that Pawar uses smaller communities. Then why did the BJP choose Gopichand to become a legislator? This too is using smaller communities for politics, it said, adding the BJP has now distanced itself from Padalkars statement.

It added, Till yesterday Mahadev Jankar was with you. But now you dont want him because he is close to [Pankaja] Munde. This too is caste politics.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 22:07:55|Editor: huaxia

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KUNMING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The 94th Mekong River joint patrol by China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand concluded Friday as three Chinese law enforcement vessels returned home.

A total of 107 law enforcement officers from the four countries participated in the mission aboard four vessels, which navigated 654 km in four days and three nights, according to the Yunnan provincial public security department.

The three returning vessels rushed to join the rescue when the law enforcement officers were informed of a boat sinking in Xishuangbanna in Yunnan on Thursday, according to the department.

The Mekong River, known as the Lancang River in China, is a vital waterway for cross-border shipping among China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand have been carrying out joint patrols on the Mekong River for eight years. Enditem
An indigenous activist and Australia's newest senator says she will never feel part of 'Team Australia' unless the government agrees to a treaty with First Nations people.

Lidia Thorpe was elected by the Greens to sit in former leader Richard Di Natale's soon to be vacant seat after he announced he would step down earlier this year.

Ms Thorpe says she 'struggles' to say she is proudly Australian considering more than 200 years of oppression she says the Aboriginal people have experienced.

Speaking to the The Sydney Morning Herald, the Gunnai Gunditjmara woman said that she said she would oppose steps toward reconciliation without a treaty.

'We need a treaty. Aboriginal people in this country want peace. Let's deal with the crux of the problem that we have in this country. That is that we have never had an agreement with the First People to be here,' Ms Thorpe said.

Indigenous activist and Australia's newest senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) says she will never feel part of 'Team Australia' unless the government agrees to a treaty with First Nations people

Ms Thorpe hails from a prominent family of activists - her grandmother Alma Thorpe was a trailblazer for indigenous social reform, founding the Aboriginal Health Service

A treaty would include recognition of First Nations sovereignty, the return of vacant crown land to traditional owners and the establishment of standalone senate seats for First Nations representatives.

Ms Thorpe, a high school dropout and grandmother, is one of the most radical figures to enter Australian parliament, holding strong views on indigenous recognition and saying she 'doesn't identify' with the Australian dream.

The 46-year-old hails from a prominent family of activists - her grandmother Alma Thorpe was a trailblazer for indigenous social reform, founding the Aboriginal Health Service.

Her mother Marjorie Thorpe is also a well known advocate for First Nations people and her uncle, Robbie Thorpe, was a key figure in Melbourne's black civil rights movement of the 1970s.

She grew up surrounded by poverty in a Collingwood housing commission flat and had political issues ingrained in her from a young age.

She says she remembers sitting on Muhammad Ali's knee when the famous boxer and civil rights activist visited Fitzroy in 1979.

And visiting Kirribilli House when her mother was a member of John Howard's Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.

Ms Thorpe, who was previously an MP for the Greens in Victoria, says the reconciliation debate for decades has revolved around issues such as an apology, constitutional recognition, and changing when Australia Day is recognised.

She claims these arguments are skirting around the central issue of a treaty between colonial settlers and First Nations people.

'Let's stop trying to divert to all these other things like changing the date and constitutional recognition and all these fluffy things that do nothing. Let's deal with the hard issue.'

She says she had some deep reservations about heading to Canberra to join an institution which her family had rallied against her whole life but was encouraged by the backing of her people.

She hopes to make positive changes from within Canberra's political landscape, saying discrimination is still prevalent in modern Australia.

Ms Thorpe's uncle, Robbie Thorpe, was a key figure in Melbourne's black civil rights movement of the 1970s

Ms Thorpe hopes to make positive changes from within Canberra's political landscape, saying discrimination is still prevalent in modern Australia

Thorpe briefly quit campaigning in May to visit her mother in Victoria's Gippsland after learning four young Aboriginal people, including a 15-year-old boy had taken their lives.

This kind of desperation, she says, is not uncommon among indigenous youth who feel disconnected with society.

'The opportunities just aren't there for people. The racism is rife but not blatant. It is undercover racism, an unconscious bias that people have,' Ms Thorpe says.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Thursday Ms Thorpe said she wanted to use the oppourtunity as Greens Senator to address social inequality.

'Everyone deserves a roof over their head. Everyone deserves a warm bed and a feed. A job. I want people to be treated with respect. We're all different and we should celebrate our differences rather than making people feel ashamed.'

'I want to unite this country, not divide it but it has to be fair and based on the true history of this country.'

'I want everyone to be a part of a nation that celebrates and respects each other, but to get to that future, we need to understand what happened and still happens to Aboriginal people over the last 250 years.'

Thorpe supports the views of Aboriginal writer Michael Mansell who argues a treaty can be achieved without resorting to a referendum.

Lidia Thorpe was elected by the Greens to sit in former leader Richard Di Natale's soon to be vacant seat after he announced he would step down earlier this year
BAGHDAD (AP)  Four rockets exploded inside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone near the American embassy, Iraq's military said Thursday, in the third such attack since the U.S. embarked on strategic talks with Iraq's new government.

It wasn't immediately clear who was responsible for the attack, which caused no casualties or damage, but the U.S. has blamed Iran-backed militia groups for a recent quick succession of rocket attacks targeting the American presence in Iraq.

The attacks are proving to be a key challenge for the administration of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, whose government has promised to take action against militias who attack the U.S. Thursday's attack was the third since strategic talks were launched last week.

In a tweet following the attack, al-Kadhimi said it aimed to undermine our stability and future and was unacceptable.

I will not tolerate rogue groups hijacking our homeland to create chaos and find excuses to maintain their narrow interests, he said.

The first session of the much-anticipated talks between the U.S. and Iraq began last week and laid the agenda for the months ahead, including the issues of the presence of U.S. troops in the country, militia groups acting outside of state authority and Iraqs dire economic crisis.

During the talks, Iraq committed to moving ahead and undertaking their obligations" to protect the American presence against militia attacks, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker. But attacks have continued in an apparent defiance of that promise.

A military statement said four rockets struck the Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies including the U.S., just after midnight Thursday. The statement said there were no casualties or material damage. Security forces later found a Katyusha rocket launching platform near Al-Rashid camp south of the capital.

On Monday, three rockets landed after midnight in the vicinity of Baghdad airport, a military statement said. The launch was from the al-Makaseb neighborhood, a police investigation later found.

On Saturday, two rockets hit Camp Taji base, north of Baghdad, without causing casualties. The base is frequented by U.S. troops.
(Natural News) While Black Lives Matter seems on the outside to be a social justice organization that aims to further the rights of African-Americans, many are surprised to discover that the group has an alarming pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, and anti-family agenda at the core of its mission to remake America.

(Article republished from LifeSiteNews.com)

In its online manifesto titled What We Believe, the Black Lives Matter organizers Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi say they and their followers disrupt the Western-prescribed family. They also say they have freed themselves from heteronormative thinking and demand reproductive justice.

We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and villages that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable, they wrote.

We foster a queer?affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise), they continued.

We deserve and thus we demand reproductive justice [i.e., abortion] that gives us autonomy over our bodies and our identities while ensuring that our children and families are supported, safe, and able to thrive.

Despite disrupting the nuclear family, all three founders of the Black Lives Movement were raised in intact families. Patrisse Khan-Cullors, 36, is an LGBT activist who left her married parents home at the age of 16 after informing them of her homosexual identity. Alicia Garza, 39, also grew up with both parents at home and is now married to a white female who identifies as a transgender male. Garza, too, considers herself an LGBT activist. Opal Tometi, 35, grew up with a Nigerian mother and father and two brothers in Arizona.

In a 2015 interview with MSNBC, Khan-Cullors stressed the queer identity of the Black Lives Matter founders.

Even the hashtag [#BlackLivesMatter] was created by two black queer women, myself and Alicia, and one Nigerian-American woman, Opal Tometi, she said.

Khan-Cullors explained that from the beginning it was important to the movement to address not only the killings of young black boys, but all black lives, including those of transgender people. Khan-Cullors suggested that civil rights leaders of the past have not been representative of all black people.

The historical narrative of black people has been fighting for black cis-hetero Christian men, both their lives [and] also them being at the forefront of the conversation, she said.

Black Lives Matter has been accused by some pundits of having hijacked George Floyds murder for political gains.

Ryan Bomberger, a mixed-race pro-life activist, said the Black Lives Matter organizations focus on LGBT ideology is one of the ten reasons he will never join the movement.

They heavily promote homosexuality and transgenderism, Bomberger wrote on June 5 for Townhall.

Im not embracing confusion, he added. Loving every human being is not the same as loving every human doing.

Bomberger also objected to Black Lives Matters refusal to address the overwhelming problem of fatherlessness in the black American community.

They completely ignore fatherhood, he wrote. Every village that has fatherless families is a village that suffers higher crime rates, higher drug usage, higher abortion rates, higher drop-out rates, higher poverty rates, and so much more. #DadsMatter.

Bomberger also noted that the youngest black lives do not seem to matter to the authors of the Black Lives Matter manifesto.

Aborted children dont thrive. BLM groups announced solidarity with reproductive justice groups back in February 2015. You cannot simultaneously fight violence while celebrating it, he stated.

Khan-Cullors and Garza began the Black Lives Matter movement after the Hispanic George Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013 of second-degree murder and manslaughter of a 17-year-old black boy named Trayvon Martin. The movements name is now synonymous with the protests that have swept the United States and other Western countries since convicted felon George Floyd was filmed dying under the knee of a white police officer.

Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com
WASHINGTON - For the second time in two weeks, President Donald Trump joined his friend Sean Hannity for a televised conversation on Thursday. Near the end of the discussion, the Fox News host offered Trump a chance to summarize his reelection pitch.

"What's at stake in this election as you compare and contrast?" Hannity asked. "And what is - what are your top priority items for a second term?"

Trump has been in the political arena for five years, 7% of his life. Yet he is still Trump, so while some candidates might have quickly shifted into well-worn campaign patter, Trump did what Trump does.

"Well, one of the things that will be - Really great," Trump replied. "You know, the word 'experience' is still good. I always say talent is more important than experience. I've always said that. But the word 'experience' is a very important word. It's an - a very important meaning."

"I never did this before," he continued. "I never slept over in Washington. I was in Washington, I think 17 times. All of a sudden I'm president of the United States. You know the story of riding down Pennsylvania Avenue with our first lady and I say, 'This is great,'" he continued, "but I didn't know very many people in Washington. It wasn't my thing. I was from Manhattan, from New York."

"Now I know everybody," he said. "And I have great people in the administration. You make some mistakes like, you know, an idiot like [former national security adviser John] Bolton; all he wanted to do is drop bombs on everybody. You have to drop bombs on everybody. You don't have to kill people."

Hannity jumped in to ask if Bolton should be prosecuted over potential classified material in his recently released book.

Hannity did not say: Hey, wait, you didn't articulate any priorities for your second term. Which, of course, Trump didn't.

There's a moment from 2015 which has stuck with me. Trump had just arrived at the Iowa State Fair in his Trump-branded helicopter, and he walked to a microphone to speak to reporters. His campaign was suddenly and unexpectedly leading the Republican nominating contest and he was facing increasing pressure to demonstrate that he was a real contender who would do the things real contenders do.

He was asked about his dearth of policy proposals and told that voters were curious about what he had planned.

"Well, I think the press is more eager to see it than the voters, to be honest," Trump replied. "I think the voters like me, they understand me, they know I'm going to do the job."

He argued that drafting lengthy policy proposals only meant that they got pushed to the side once negotiations started.

"I don't think the people care" about such plans, he added. "I think they trust me. I think they know I'm going to make good deals for them."

There's certainly truth to this broadly, as I wrote at the time. And it's probably more true for Trump than for others that the specifics of what he wants to do matters less to his supporters than that he's the one doing them.

His stated philosophy notwithstanding, his 2016 campaign ended up putting out a series of proposals for what he hoped to accomplish. His 2020 campaign, as his conversation with Hannity might suggest, has not.

---

If you go to Trump's campaign website, you're greeted with an array of options and information. At the top, jumping-off points for engagement: get involved, coalitions, events, news, about, "promises kept" and a Spanish-language option. Lower on the page, enticements to buy Trump gear and an awkward presentation of Trump's Twitter feed.

You'll notice that the page lacks any sort of presentation of what Trump wants to do in a second term or even an obvious articulation of the issues he wants to address. As late as July 2016, his campaign's issues page was a bizarre amalgamation of little video clips of Trump sitting in his Trump Tower office talking about things, so it's not as though this is without precedent. But at least at that point you got a sense for what he thought was important.

To do so on his current page, you have to click on "promises kept." From there, you're shunted over to a separate website, promiseskept.com. It leads with a brassy "Keep America Great!" exhortation, having apparently not been updated with the campaign's current framing. Here, though, you can see the things Trump is focused on - or, rather, the things he was focused on during his first term. It's a collection of 14 issue areas, all of which are explicitly backward-looking.

Click on "Regulation," for example, and you're presented with pithy bullet points like this one: "Throughout 2017, President Trump has made good on his promise to cut red tape, and in doing so has reenergized the United States' agricultural, energy, and infrastructure sectors by freeing them from oppressive and stifling regulations."

Several of the pages are seemingly incomplete. "Land and Agriculture" only has a few bullet points, including the signing of the 2018 Farm Bill which "legalized the Production of industrial Hemp." The pages include an interactive ticker of "recent accomplishments," but those haven't been updated in a while either. As of writing, for example, this is the most recent offering in the "Government Accountability" section: "Recent Achievements: President Trump announced his selection of Judge Kavanaugh to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy."

No update on how that turned out.

Only sporadically are there indications of what Trump hopes to do. The most obvious example is on Trump's "Infrastructure" page. Passing a sweeping infrastructure bill has been Trump's white whale, with his administration's attempts to focus on the issue serving as a cultural shorthand for the various ways in things have gone wildly sideways during his presidency.

So click on "Infrastructure" and you get a weird set of bullet points formatted differently than the other pages. The first one reads, "The program will use outcome-driven planning efforts and capital improvements to rebuild and modernize rural infrastructure" - as though you were expected to have done some reading beforehand about the referenced program.

The second bullet says that "[s]trong rural infrastructure enhances regional connectivity, grows small business and increases employment opportunity for those living in rural communities." Aha! The program must be about rural infrastructure? But the first bullet point said it "will" do those things, suggesting that it doesn't yet exist? It's all a bit murky.

What's particularly remarkable about both Trump's campaign website and the Promises Kept one is that there's very little mention made of things which Trump otherwise talks about with some regularity. Searching each site for mentions of "coronavirus" or "preexisting conditions" doesn't yield any particular thoughts about or success stories centered on those issues - except in the campaign's "media" section. It is only the media which cares about such details, after all, so those topics are almost exclusively relegated to news releases and not presented to potential voters.

---

It's not the case that Trump has never articulated plans for his second four years in office. He has at times thrown out random things that he insists he'll get done.

In May, he promised that Republicans would "replace Obamacare with great health care at a lesser price, and preexisting conditions will be included and you won't have the individual mandate" - promises Trump has been making annually since before being elected. Last July, he told reporters that he would "leave that for the beginning of my second term."

He has repeatedly hinted at the need for a Republican president for things like future Supreme Court justices, hinting a few times that from 2021 to 2025 there might be "a couple of more" appointments to be made. More exotically, he in April 2017 made another second-term promise: perhaps we could go to Mars.

At the Values Voter Summit last October, Trump made a vague appeal to the need for continuity, comparing his first-term efforts to a new plant.

"You seed the plant, you put that plant in, but those roots have to gain," he said. "That's why we need the next four years. We have to have - those roots, they have to grab on. That's why we need them."

This actually gets fairly close to his actual pitch: let me keep doing the things I do as president. Let me keep combating the liberals and let me keep ripping through the status quo. Let this plant bloom. That's where Trump's heart is, of course, in the loosely articulated power of the presidency and not in what that power can be engaged to produce.

---

Last Saturday, speaking at his first major campaign rally since the coronavirus pandemic emerged, Trump actually outlined a second-term agenda in broad terms. But as he did so, he couldn't help but interject with asides and defenses and attacks.

"A vote for Republicans is a vote for better schools, better jobs, safer families, and stronger communities for all Americans," he said, introducing the section of his prepared speech which was meant to make the case for another four years. "There is no limit to what we can together achieve with four more years."

"With your help, we will lift millions of our citizens from welfare to work, dependence to independence, and poverty to prosperity," he continued.

I'll interject here to note that transcripts of Trump's speeches don't convey the way in which he obviously reads the room and reacts to it. Most politicians understand that speeches are given in part to establish a record to which they can refer. Trump, though, can't stand to see the audience be bored and can't introduce a thought without ensuring that it's framed the way he wants. So after talking about lifting Americans to prosperity, he had to add that it was China's fault that things weren't currently great.

"That's what's happening," he said, deviating from the prepared comments. "That's what's happening and that was happening at a level that nobody ever thought they'd see. It was happening before this COVID came in. It was happening at a level that nobody believed possible and then China sent us the plague."

Then on to other issues.

"We will protect Medicare and Social Security for our great seniors and we'll always protect patients with preexisting conditions, always, always," he said. (His administration this week urged the Supreme Court to throw out the preexisting condition protections included in Obamacare.) "We will appoint more judges to interpret the Constitution as written. We will end deadly sanctuary cities, we will finish the wall, which has now 212 miles built."

Another riff: the wall is beautiful and it was hard to build and there's "something wrong" with Democrats, etc.

"We will elect a Republican Congress to create a fair, safe, sane, and lawful system of immigration that puts American workers first," he continued. "We will revitalize our cities and we will build gleaming new roads, bridges, tunnels, and airports all across our land."

"We will enact new trade deals that result in more products proudly stamped with that beautiful phrase, Made in the USA," he went on - then a riff: those words are beautiful, plants are coming back, etc.

"We will become the world's premier pharmacy, drugstore, and medical manufacturer," he continued, adding that this was already happening. "We will never hesitate to kill America's terrorist enemies."

A riff about the Islamic State.

"We will launch a new age of American ambition in space and the United States will be the first station to land on Mars," he continued.

A riff about the recent launch of a SpaceX rocket.

"We will defend privacy, free thought, free speech, religious, liberty, and the right to keep and bear arms," he said.

An aside about how the recent protests had reinforced the need for people to own guns.

"Above all, we will never stop fighting for the sacred values that bind us together as one America," he concluded. "We will support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. We uphold the principle of equal justice under the law."

And that, in a nutshell, is what a second term of Trump will offer: the same general promises from his first time interspersed with the same rhetoric and self-promotion.

It's worth noting that the transcript of Trump's speech in Tulsa includes only one point at which the audience began chanting "four more years." It wasn't when Trump got done hazily explaining what he wanted to do over that period of time.

It came after his 14-minute riff about why criticism of how he walked down a ramp at West Point was unfair.
The three groups  the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, the Fairfax Education Association and the Association of Fairfax Professional Educators  are asking their members to select the distance-learning option, en masse, until administrators work with association leadership to develop more detailed plans that better prioritize the safety and well-being of students and staff members. The teachers resistance previews the kind of backlash administrators throughout the country may encounter as they ask their workforce to return to school hallways.
The environmental costs of fracking, from earthquakes to an alarming rise in methane emissions, has been well reported. The human cost of fracking, however, is not heard often enough. In Pennsylvania, two recent cases in Susquehanna County have put the controversial drilling process at the forefront.

As jury selection kicks off in the notorious fracking water contamination case in Dimock against Cabot Oil & Gas Corp, a family of maple syrup farmers in the same northwestern county will potentially lose their trees, and thus their livelihood, to make way for the companys latest fracking pipeline project, the 124-mile Constitution Pipeline.

Jury selection begins today for a fracking contamination case in Dimock https://t.co/1njq1i5uZE @StateImpactPA pic.twitter.com/gYp4bISfYq  WITF news (@witfnews) February 22, 2016

The federal lawsuitScott Ely, et al. v Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation et al.involves two couples, Scott Ely and Monica Marta-Ely, and Ray and Victoria Hubert, who claim that Cabot Oil & Gas Corp contaminated their water supply during fracking operations near their homes.

Residents in the small village reported health problems with their coffee-colored water, such as rashes, nausea, headaches and dizziness.

We havent had clean water since he was in kindergarten, Marta-Ely, pointing to her 13-year-old son Jared at a news conference during a break in jury selection, Reuters reported.

The Dimock case dates back to 2009 when 44 plaintiffs brought a lawsuit against the company. In the five years since initiating litigation, the Elys and Huberts are the only plaintiffs remaining on the case as the vast majority have settled with the company.

Dimock, Pennsylvania, aka the ground zero of fracking contamination in the east coast, was the subject of the Oscar-nominated 2010 documentary Gasland that infamously featured the towns flaming faucets due to its alarming concentrations of methane.

Pointing to court documents, Reuters reported that the trial will bring light to a state law that assumes that a gas driller is responsible for water well contamination within 1,000 feet of a drilling site that develops within six months of drilling.

According to NPRs StateImpact, Cabot has already accumulated more than 130 drilling violations at its Dimock wells, yet insists that methane migration in Dimocks water is naturally occurring. The company is currently banned from drilling in a 9-mile area of Dimock but is trying to lift the ban, StateImpact noted.

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The evidence will show that Cabot met or exceeded the applicable standards of care in the drilling and completion of the  wells, according to court documents seen by Reuters. Cabot will present evidence that the plaintiffs water is potable.

During the fracking process, massive quantities of water, sand and toxic chemicals are shot into shale formations to release natural gas.

The White House boasts that the boom in cheap natural gas has put the countrys dependence on foreign oil at a 40-year low and Marcellus Shale that runs beneath most of Pennsylvania is a key target for Big Oil and Gas and accounts for nearly 40 percent of U.S. shale gas production.

Roughly 6,000 fracking wells dot Pennsylvanias map and have significantly altered its landscape. Photo credit:

NRDC

Meanwhile, maple syrup farmers in the Susquehanna county will have their maple grove seized due to the construction of the Constitution Pipeline, RT reported.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave notice on Jan. 29 to proceed with tree cutting on the Pennsylvania portion of the pipeline.

RT noted that Cabot Oil is one of the partners of the $875 million pipeline that will take natural gas from Pennsylvanias Marcellus Shale to New York. The other joint parter is the energy company Williams.

The Holleran family, which has been at the center of this fight, has had their property seized via eminent domain, with neither landowner permission nor previous compensation, their Facebook page says.

According to RT, about 200 maple trees will be cut, or 80 percent of the maple trees on the property.

The last couple of days, and especially this morning have been emotionally crazy. This is a hard time for my family, and its taking us a bit to work things out, family spokesperson Megan Holleran wrote on Facebook after FERCs decision.

Construction of the pipeline is currently stalled, as environmental groups and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have successfully blocked the New York portion of the pipe.

However, as lawyer Mike Ewall of Energy Justice Network said, Constitution Pipeline Company is threatening this familys livelihood for a pipeline that may never be built. They still dont have FERCs permission to construct, yet they bully and intimidate landowners while offering paltry compensation for taking their land.

Watch the video below to learn more about the case.

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A jury at Cannes Film Market has selected Cinema From Spain, a Spanish cinema promotion organization backed by support from the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX) and the Spanish Institute of Cinematography and the Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), as the winner of this years award for Best Pavilion Design.

In the context of an entirely digital market, participating organizations had to rethink everything when it came to promoting themselves in a democratic, online space where the rules of a physical market no longer apply.

More from Variety

For Tito Rodriguez, marketing policy director at Spains Institute of Cinematography and the Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), the key was providing an online experience to match what Cinema From Spain is known for at physical markets.

It was clear from the beginning we wanted to recreate the physical experience online, he explained to Variety. It was not meant to be just a website, so we talked about how to put everything normally associated with Cinema From Spain into the virtual pavilion.

In a statement released by jurors Xavier Cailly, Bronx CTO, Pierre Lescure, president of the Cannes Film Festival, and Varietys Ben Croll Cinema From Spains virtual pavilion was praised for its handling of the double challenge fulfilled here in terms of both content and technology. Cinema from Spain offers the visitor very dense and precise information covering an impressive variety of topics in a very clear and structured way, while automatically including them in a real concentrated Cannes 2020 market experience.

They were also impressed by the sites omnipresent bright and colorful design all along the journey, from the welcome desk entrance until the chill out end of the day friendly tradition.

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Cinema From Spain has long enjoyed a strong physical presence at festivals worldwide. This year, the team decided to take advantage of opportunities provided by operating in a virtual space and attempt things theyd always wanted to do but were unable by relocating budget that would have otherwise been spent on a physical pavilion at the market.

Organizers hired two third-party companies: The Film Agency, which handled the architecture of the pavilion, and Binalogue, which handled its development. That paid off in the form of an error-free week for the website, which needed to seamlessly link to those of regional film agencies, production companies, sales agents and others.

We had the online tools to create an interactive campaign about what we are doing, tying everything back to our Cinema From Spain site, said Rodriguez. Madrid, Canary Islands, Andalucia, Ibermedia, they all have their own websites, so now we had a chance to start from scratch as a group and tie them together. With ICEX, we started working on this with all the regions, film commissions, sales agents six weeks ago.

Ibermedias involvement was new for a Cinema From Spain pavilion. Rodriguez explained that, We thought it was important to open the bridge between us and the Ibero-American region because were a part of that and felt responsible to provide more visibility for the organization.

Lessons were learned this year that Cinema From Spain will continue to employ, even after the return of physical markets.

Now we have a better idea of how important online marketing and promotion are, and give a clear idea of how to handle them by establishing a good working system with all parties involved and delivering unified strategy, always respecting each individuality party, said Rodriguez, In summary, a common effort with colorful diversity.

He did acknowledge that it would be difficult to maintain this level of commitment to a digital promotional space at future physical markets however, and that while it will be important to continue efforts in that space, they may need to be scaled back.

This was unique because everyone was working from home and connected more than usual, which meant longer workdays and more time to prepare, he explained. There is a lot of work that would need to be added to add this type of online presence to what we already do at physical markets. Double the work means double the size of the team.

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BILLERICA, Massachusetts, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Epoxy Technology, Inc., (ETI) a leader in the development and manufacture of specialty epoxy, UV & UV hybrid adhesives, revealed the companys new logo today.

This change in ETIs visual identity coincides with the companys focus on increasing its global presence in the market, as well as the companys renewed commitment to its reputation as a trusted solution provider to its partners. Established in 1966, ETI has built a solid foundation on its agile customer service, advanced technology and innovative products.

ETI was purchased in 2018 by Meridian Adhesives Group (Meridian), a leading platform in the global adhesives sector. Becoming part of the Meridian portfolio, ETI is better positioned to meet the needs of customers through Meridians advanced technological platform. And, with Meridians recent purchase of Epoxy Technology Europe (ETE), ETIs global influence will be extended through ETEs extensive distribution network.

ETIs new logo is representative of our modern, forward-thinking approach to working with our clients and partners, said Nicolas Schwarz, global sales director of Meridians Electronics Division. This is just one part of an enhanced effort to further our reputation.

ETI plans to present its updated branding efforts across multiple platforms in the near future, including the companys social media presence, advertising campaigns and packaging. The company is also in the process of developing a new website to optimize ETIs online experience and simplify customers use of the site.

I am pleased to see the momentum behind ETIs growth and revived focus this year, said Daniel Pelton, CEO of Meridian Adhesives Group. The companys updated branding plays an important part in how we are positioned as leaders in the market.

About Epoxy Technology, Inc.

ETI, founded in 1966, is a pioneer in the development of specialty epoxy, ultraviolet, and hybrid adhesives to meet the critical performance standards of high-tech industries worldwide. Through product innovation and high manufacturing standards, ETI is a valued supply partner to advanced technology industries and end markets, including semiconductor, microelectronics, medical devices, military, automotive, optical, solar and aerospace. Visit www.epotek.com for more information.

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About Meridian Adhesives Group

Meridian Adhesives Group is a leading manufacturer of high-value adhesives and sealants technologies. Its portfolio of solutions includes high-performance specialty epoxy, polyurethane, hot melt and hybrid adhesives for the electronics, flooring, infrastructure and packaging markets. The company has operations in Dalton, GA; Fontana, CA; Billerica, MA; Pompano Beach, FL; Cranston, RI; Columbus, OH; Marlborough, UK; and Augsburg, Germany. For more information, visit www.meridianadhesives.com.

Deanna Disbro

Meridian Adhesives Group

706.260.0718

ddisbro@meridianadhesives.com


R eaders have until midnight to bid for one of the star squares in Sir Peters Blakes artwork, Our Fans, to raise money for Food For London Now.

The giant mural echoes Sir Peters design of the Beatles famous Sgt Pepper album and was draped over the London Mandarin Oriental hotel during its 2017 renovation.

There are 100 fragments, each featuring a famous face such as Ringo Starr and Annie Lennox.
Breathes there a citizen of this great republic who believes that the most pressing problem in America today is that Washington, D.C., and its denizens simply do not have enough influence on the national government? To listen to House Democrats, you would think so. But this is actually about simple partisanship. The District of Columbia  our national capital district, named for Christopher Columbus  has only once in its history, barely in 1972, given 20 percent of its presidential vote to a Republican. Its local government has been wholly dominated by the Democratic Party for all of living memory. Agitation for D.C. statehood is about partisan advantage, no more and no less.

Fridays D.C. statehood vote in the House is also entirely symbolic. Only a constitutional amendment can convert the seat of the federal government into a state. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution gave Congress plenary local lawmaking power to exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District  the broadest power Congress exercises anywhere. The 23rd Amendment, passed by Congress at the urging of Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy in 1960, gave D.C. the votes in presidential elections that it would have as a state. But it defines D.C. as a permanent constitutional entity of its own, outside of statehood. The Justice Department has repeatedly concluded, under administrations of both parties, that D.C. statehood requires amending the Constitution. That isnt going to happen. The last time an amendment was tried, in the 1970s, only 16 states signed on.

On the merits of the proposal, it is difficult to see how the people of D.C. are oppressed, easy to see how their influence is already disproportionate, and easier than ever to see why the federal government would be imperiled by subjecting its physical security to District authorities. True, the Founding Fathers did not anticipate a time when the federal district would have more residents than Vermont. But early Americans also never conceived a time when the federal government would spend 4.5 trillion dollars a year and employ more people in D.C. alone than the entire populations of Syracuse or Dayton.

Story continues

DCs median household income varied from 95.6 percent to 107 percent of the national average between 1990 and 2007. Today, it is 136.9 percent, higher than that of any state. There is nearly one federal job for every four residents in D.C., and much of the Districts private employment is in satellites of federal power. D.C.s suburbs are now the wealthiest places in the nation, and uniquely recession-proof. The District was more than 70 percent African American as recently as 1980, and racial justice is often cited as a reason to grant it statehood. In the past decade, however, it has ceased to be majority-black. But the Districts rapidly changing demographics have not altered its monochromatic partisanship.

Accretion of too much federal power in the capital was one problem foreseen by the Founders: Madison wrote in Federalist No. 43 that the gradual accumulation of public improvements at the stationary residence of the government would be both too great a public pledge to be left in the hands of a single State, and would create so many obstacles to a removal of the government, as still further to abridge its necessary independence. The other problem is that the federal governments national authority could effectively be held hostage by a hostile local government. Madison foresaw that too: without federal control of the capital, he wrote, the public authority might be insulted and its proceedings interrupted with impunity, and a dependence of the members of the general government on the State comprehending the seat of the government, for protection in the exercise of their duty, might bring on the national councils an imputation of awe or influence to the detriment of other states. Madison lived to see the capital burned when the Maryland militia could not protect it, and a generation after his death, Virginia seceded and Marylands loyalty hung in doubt.

Today, that threat is back out in the open. In recent weeks, Muriel Bowser, the mayor of the city, has lobbied for statehood as an expansion of her authority at federal expense:

I think what we saw from this president is something that we havent seen in our city, and that was federal troops on the ready, federal police, policing a local city, National Guard troops hauled in from all over the country. So I decided, when we saw those federal police out on D.C. streets, that we had to push back.

We have criticized Trumps blustery and overly broad assertions of federal authority, but the answer is not to make presidential or congressional power permanently subordinate to a single local official. We have seen in New York and California efforts to use state power over the presidents tax returns as a lever of control over the chief executive. Holding every future Republican presidency hostage to a hostile D.C. mayors control of the streets is once again not a far-fetched possibility. The United States should not aspire to be Revolutionary France, with the nations government subject to the whim of the capitals mobs.

D.C. statehood is neither necessary nor likely to happen, and its proponents have not thought through its consequences  or worse, they have.

More from National Review
Geojit's report on Agri Picks

The International Grains Council has revised upwards its forecast of global wheat production for 2020-21 to 768.0 mln tn in June from 766.0 mln tn estimated in May, it said in a report. However, it maintained its 2019-20 wheat production estimate at 762.0 mln tn.  As of Monday, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India purchased 2,450 tn of moong harvested in the 2019-20 (Jul-Jun) rabi season from farmers in Odisha and Tamil Nadu, an official with the agency said.  India received 7.1 mm rainfall yesterday, 2% above the normal for the day of 7.0 mm, the India Meteorological Department said. Since Jun 1, the country has received 155.2 mm rain, 21% higher than the normal of 128.2 mm for the period, it said. The southwest monsoon today covered Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi. It has also advanced over most parts most of Punjab and more parts of Rajasthan. The current has also reached Haryana.  The Indian Sugar Mills Association, in its preliminary estimate, pegged the country's sugar output for 2020-21 (Oct-Sep) at 32.0 mln tn, higher than 27.2 mln tn estimated for the ongoing season. The association has also scaled up its estimate for sugar production in 2019-20 marginally to 27.2 mln tn from 27.0 mln pegged earlier.  The Haryana government has so far procured 14,347 tn sunflower seed from 6,206 farmers, and 12,583 tn chana from 11,783 farmers, a government statement quoted Sanjeev Kaushal, additional chief secretary of the state's agriculture department, as saying.  Fitch Solutions sees the Centre's agribusiness reforms, a part of the 20-trlnrupee relief package, reap dividends in the long run for the agriculture sector. The reforms to amend the Essential Commodities Act, facilitate inter-state trade to farmers for better price discovery by allowing farmers to sell their produce outside designated market areas, such as agriculture produce marketing committees, and introduce new model of contract farming.

For all commodities report, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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ATLANTA - Rayshard Brooks didnt hide his history.

About five months before he was killed by Atlanta police in a Wendys parking lot  before his name and case would become the latest rallying point in a massive call for racial justice and equality nationwide  Brooks gave an interview to an advocacy group about his years of struggle in the criminal justice system. He described an agonizing cycle of job rejection and public shame over his record and association with a system that takes millions of Americans, many of them Black like him, away from their families and treats them more like animals than individuals.

Thats a hard feeling to stomach, he told the group Reconnect, as he lamented the lack of support, both in prison and once released. Once you get in there, you know, youre just in debt. ... Im out now, and I have to try to fend for myself ... clueless of everything thats been going on, I dont know, Im trying to adapt back to society.

When he died June 12, Brooks seemed to finally be gaining firmer footing, family members and friends say. He was working to support his wife, three daughters and stepson. He planned eventually to move to Ohio, where hed recently spent months getting to know his father and was an energetic and supportive co-worker at a construction company. Those close to him described him as always happy and smiling, ready to do anything  a silly dance or a cook-off  to make people laugh or defuse any tense situation.

He was a full-time carpenter and was regaining his kids trust, even starting to answer their questions about his time incarcerated, he said in the February Reconnect video.

I feel good about myself, he said, smiling and rocking in his chair, eager to share his story.

Family was a constant in his life. In 2014, he sent a plaintive, handwritten letter to a Georgia judge pleading to be freed from jail to care for his loved ones. Without his income from working full time in trucking, his wife was struggling with a new job and care of their kids, and she had to borrow money from a friend to get by, Brooks explained.

Before I was arrested, he wrote, my job and home were the only things I was about, trying to feed my family. The kids are starting school back this upcoming August, and theyre going to need things to start back with such as uniforms, colour pencils, line paper, notepads. ... So Im asking by chance if you could grant me some probation if possible, and I promise that you will never have to worry about me coming before you ever again for anything.

In the years that followed, though, he remained tangled in the system, as he called it in the Reconnect video. By the time he was killed, he had fallen behind on court payments, been sentenced to more time behind bars, and been required to wear an ankle monitor.

The weekend he died, Brooks, 27, had planned to take his oldest daughter skating for her birthday. Instead, wearing a bright shirt with the words Rainbows, Unicorns, Weekends, 8-year-old Blessen joined relatives at a news conference.

Gymaco Brooks recalled laughing over drinks with his cousin a week and a half before he died. Rayshard Brooks reassured him he was staying out of trouble. The family had grown up close, Gymaco Brooks said: We could argue. We could fight. We could sleep 10 to one bed growing up, with feet and heads and arms across each other. ... We didnt have a lot of anything, but we had a whole lot of love for each other.

His mother-in-law, Rochelle Gooden, recalled how he cared for his relatives and loved her like a mother. The two would have barbecue challenges  one time, she said, Brooks ate some lamb, but she insisted, You know what, I dont eat lamb. As he finished, he teased her: Baaaa!

In his 2014 letter to the judge, Brooks described how family helped him focus.

When Im down, my wife makes me happy. I feel invincible when we are together, he wrote. He and Tomika Miller were married June 14, 2013, three days after Blessens first birthday: Truly I can say that was the loveliest day of all the twenty one years I have been breathing.

At the public viewing the day before Brooks funeral, Miller wore a white dress with a photo of the two of them printed across it.

Its going to be a long time before I heal. Its going to be a long time before this family heals, she told reporters after his death, her voice cracking and one of her young daughters in her arms.

In 2018, Brooks travelled to Toledo, Ohio, and met his father for the first time. Brooks stayed with him and his sister when he arrived.

He loved it up here, Brooks father, Larry Barbine, said in a telephone interview. He was like, This is the life I want to live. This is where I want to be.

Within a few months, Brooks made that happen: He moved to Toledo, though he knew almost no one there, having grown up in Georgia. He found work with a construction company and got his own apartment. He didnt have a background in the industry but quickly picked up whatever was thrown his way, said Ambrea Mikolajczyk, who owns ARK Restoration & Construction with her husband.

It didnt matter if he was cleaning something or learning how to tile or paint; he brought that same energy, always cheerful and bright, she said. People fed off his energy.

He made his new friends at work laugh by dancing to the country rap song Old Town Road. He rode his bike to work, no matter the weather, once stopping to walk with a co-worker whose car had broken down. Thats the type of man Ray was, said Mikolajczyk, who travelled to Georgia for his funeral.

Brooks thrived in Ohio. His father said he taught him how to fish and took him sledding for the first time.

In January, Georgia authorities brought Brooks back to the state on a fugitive warrant alleging he failed to notify them of his address and complete a theft prevention class as his probation required.

It traced back to 2014, when he pleaded guilty to domestic violence, theft and other charges. Prosecutors said he twisted the wrist of his wife. In his letter to the judge, Brooks called it a minor disagreement. His wife couldnt visit him in jail because she was the victim, but they talked on the phone and she sent him food, he said. The kids gave her a hard time in his absence, he wrote.

But Brooks was the primary aggressor in another incident, this one witnessed by a child, leading to a child cruelty charge, according to a grand jury report. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year behind bars and six years of probation.

And in 2016, he pleaded guilty to credit card theft, for another yearlong sentence.

When officials brought him back to Georgia, he owed $219.21 in court payments and spent 19 days in jail before he was released on probation, court records show.

Hed been out for nearly six months when officers approached him at Wendys, where he was asleep inside a car blocking the drive-thru lane. Body-camera video showed Brooks and officers having a calm, co-operative conversation for more than 40 minutes. A struggle erupted when police tried to handcuff Brooks for being intoxicated behind the wheel.

Brooks said he didnt want to be in violation of anybody and told the officers he could walk home. He told officers hed been with a girlfriend named Natalie White that night. White would later be charged with arson in the fire that engulfed the Wendys as protesters outraged by Brooks death gathered there. Whites lawyer has declined to comment on their relationship, saying only that they were close.

Officer Garrett Rolfe, 27, fatally shot Brooks after he grabbed one of the police Tasers and fired it at Rolfe as he ran away. Rolfe is charged with murder. A second officer, Devin Brosnan, 26, is charged with aggravated assault. Lawyers for the men, both white, say their clients actions were justified.

In Ohio, family and co-workers were heartbroken. Brooks had stayed in touch with ARK Restoration and talked of returning there for work once he could move to Toledo with his family, Mikolajczyk said. Upon seeing the headlines, one stunned client called her, asking: Is this our Ray?

Brooks father celebrates their time together but grieves for a stolen future.

Life was short for us, he said. Life was very short for us, getting to know each other.

___

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writer Kate Brumback in Atlanta and researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed.
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan said on Thursday it will set up a dedicated office to help those thinking of fleeing Chinese-ruled Hong Kong as Beijing tightens its grip on the former British colony.

Months of anti-government, pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong won widespread sympathy in democratic and Chinese-claimed Taiwan, which has welcomed those who have already moved to the island and expects more to come.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen last month became the first government leader anywhere to pledge measures to help Hong Kong people who leave due to what they see as tightening Chinese controls, including new national security legislation, smothering their democratic aspirations.

China denies stifling Hong Kong's freedoms and has condemned Tsai's offer, while pushing ahead with the new legislation.

Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said the new office would begin operations on July 1, which is also the day Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule from Britain in 1997 with the promise of continued, wide-ranging freedoms under its "one country, two systems" formula.

The office aims to "practically handle humanitarian relief and care" for Hong Kong citizens, though under the precondition of safeguarding Taiwan's national security, the council added.

The office is also aimed at "reinforcing" the council's existing services which include immigration, work and student visas for Hong Kong citizens, and demonstrates Taiwan's support for democracy, freedom and human rights in the city, it said.

However, Taiwan's borders remain largely closed to keep out the coronavirus so there will be no immediate influx of Hong Kong people.

Nearly 200 Hong Kong people have fled to Taiwan since protests flared last year and about 10% have been granted visas under a law that protects Hong Kong people who are at risk for political reasons, according to the Taiwan Association for Human Rights.

Government officials have expressed concern that Taiwan is ill-prepared to cope with a large number of Hong Kong people, having little recent experience dealing with refugees or how to screen people who may seek asylum.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Editing by Nick Macfie)
India is facing its most serious national security crisis since the Kargil conflict. Given that the stand-off this time is with China  a country with more resources, and arguably, superior military capabilities  the situation is particularly grave. And the fact that this external security threat has emerged at a time when India is battling a serious health and economic emergency makes it even more critical. This is not a business-as-usual situation; what citizens expect from the political class right now is a sense of responsibility and unity.

Unfortunately, the accusations and counter-accusations between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government and the Congress reflect the opposite. The nature of these accusations is a particular cause for worry, since it is not just confined to the Opposition asking legitimate questions about the governments handling of the issue or the government pointing to the legacies of the past. Both sides are effectively questioning each others patriotism.

Both are to blame. The government was less-than-transparent about the Chinese aggression, which is now officially acknowledged as having started earlier than previously thought. It left the all-party meeting for too late, and even then, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modis statement was ambiguous enough to require a subsequent clarification. For its part, the Congress, as a party which has been in power for decades, should be more understanding of national security imperatives, and stop making personal attacks on PM. The BJP has now accused the Congress of having presided over the spiralling trade deficit with China because China was a donor to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. The optics of the donation are wrong and the foundation should not have taken financial support from Chinese government, but to suggest that is what led to a deliberate attempt to harm Indias economy is a stretch. Similarly, the Congress has accused the BJP of having close links with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). But to suggest that because party delegations have visited Beijing or interacted with CCP leaders, the BJP has compromised Indian interests is equally a stretch. The Congress has also launched an aggressive online political campaign, built around the theme of Indian soldiers; this is not the time for it. It is time for both the government and the Opposition to step back, have a quiet dialogue and present a united front publicly.
The Childers backpacker killer is being linked to an alleged attempted murder nearly 30 years-ago in Darwin, as his desperate ex vows to keep him behind bars.

Christine Campbell, 64, revealed she has been 'digging through archives' with Northern Territory detectives to bring fresh charges against the 'monster' murderer Robert Paul Long.

The 'psychopathic' killer, who burned 15 people alive, completed his 20-years non-parole period this week and could soon be set free.

But Ms Campbell claimed detectives have spoken to her about an alleged arson and murder attempt at a caravan park in 1993.

Christine Campbell, 64, (pictured) has been 'digging through archives' with Northern Territory detectives to bring fresh charges against the Childers backpacker murderer Robert Paul Long

Robert Paul Long is pictured at 37 when he was wanted by police for killing 15 backpackers in the Childers Palace Hostel fire in 2000

Ms Campbell is now trying to find evidence to help detectives solve the crime, which took place seven years before he set fire to the Childers Palace Hostel in Queensland.

While the exact details of the alleged crime are not known, it is understood the possible charges relate to a Northern Territory caravan park attack in 1993.

'I was eating my dinner when I found out he was up for parole and I nearly threw up,' Ms Campbell told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

'I can't let this monster out. I'm fighting not just for my family but for the Childers victims and survivors.'

In the event the now 57-year-old is granted a release from prison, Ms Campbell claimed the Northern Territory police want to hit Long with a litany of new criminal charges and send the killer straight back behind bars.

'They have asked me if I was prepared to travel to the Northern Territory to testify in court and I said I would be there tomorrow if I had to,' Ms Campbell said.

Police officers inspect the top floor verandah of the Palace Backpackers Hostel on June 25, 2000 (pictured)

A painting of the 15 young backpackers who died in the fire hangs in the restored Childers Palace Memorial (pictured)

Firemen examine the fire damage at the Palace Backpacker Hostel in the Queensland town of Childers (pictured) back in 2000

'I will not give up trying to stop him from being released from parole, but if he does I'm trying to get him extradited to Darwin.'

The 15 victims of the Childers hostel fire Sebastian Westerveld, 22, Holland Sarah Anne Williams, 23, England Michael Ernest Lewis, 25, England Claire Louise Webb, 24, England Natalie Morris, 18, England Gary John Sutton, 24, England Melissa Jane Smith, 26, England Atsuski Toyona, 31, Japan Stacey Louise Slarke, 22, Australia Julie Okeefe, 24, Ireland Joly Van Der Velden, 23, Holland Hui-Kyong Lee, 23, South Korea Adam John Rowland, 19, England Kelly June Slarke, 22, Australia Moulay Lahcen Lalaoui-Kamal, 48, Kingdom of Morocco Advertisement

Long was sentenced to life in prison for the horrific arson attack that rocked the small farming community 300km north of Brisbane on June 23, 2000.

The homeless fruit picker lit a bin on fire in the lounge of the hostel just after midnight while 88 people were inside.

Earlier that night he had asked patrons to leave the door open so he could return to bash another person staying at the hostel.

Although he was convicted in 2002 of killing 15 people, Long was only found guilty of murdering two of the victims - Australian twins Stacey and Kelly Slarke.

Those who survived the traumatic ordeal have also vowed to keep Long locked up.

More than 30 letters have been sent to the Queensland Parole Board along with a petition against his release which has garnered 18,000 signatures.

'I, along with 69 others from around the world survived managing to escape the burning inferno of which we were awoken to, sadly 15 other people did not,' a letter from one of the survivors Richard Tempest said.

'I can only speak for myself and detail just how  It has had an extensive effect on my life causing disorders, stress and anxiety and other habitual orders associated with PTSD.

'I strongly feel that Robert Long should NOT be released from Prison despite serving a 20 year sentence which was the maximum a person could serve for a multiple murder under Queensland Law back in 2000.'

Long's estranged stepdaughter Lauren Campbell, 34, also sent a submission to the parole board detailing an incident when Long strangled her and her mother.

Survivors of the Palace Backpackers Hostel (pictured) join each other on stage and embrace during a memorial service for the 15 victims of the fire in Childers

One of Australia's worst mass killers, Robert Long, could walk free from jail after serving a 20-years non parole period (pictured, the burned out hostel)

At just six years-old she had tried to stop Long from choking Christine, she claimed in the latter.

But when she intervene Long turned his anger to her, she alleged.

'He had me on the lawn there and he just started strangling me. He never said anything during the attack. I was in a bit of a daze. I don't even know who interrupted us,' Ms Campbell told the Courier-Mail.

'I'm ashamed that I once called him dad but he was my mother's partner, my sister's dad.'

'Robert Paul Long is my Freddy Krueger. He is the one who gets me in my sleep and even when I'm not asleep.'
According to intelligence reports, one member of Russia-led forces was wounded on June 25.

Russia's hybrid military forces on June 25 mounted seven attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, with one member of the Joint Forces reported as wounded in action.

"The Russian Federation's armed formations violated the ceasefire seven times in the past day," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation Headquarters said on Facebook in an update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on June 26. "As a result, one Ukrainian serviceman was wounded in enemy shelling."

Russian-led forces opened fire, employing grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms.

Read alsoTrilateral Contact Group on Donbas discusses local elections, POW lists, opening of two checkpoints

Under attack came Ukrainian positions near the town of Maryinka, and the villages of Khutir Vilny, Krymske, Novomukhailivka, and Shyrokyne.

Joint Forces returned fire to each enemy attack. According to intelligence reports, one member of Russia-led forces was wounded on June 25.

"Since Friday midnight, Russia-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions near Krymske, using tripod-mounted man-portable antitank guns and rifles," the update said.

No casualties have been reported among Ukrainian troops since Friday midnight.
SANTIAGO Unionized mine workers in Chile late on Wednesday demanded an investigation into the death of a third miner from coronavirus at state-run Codelco, increasing pressure on the worlds largest copper producer as cases soar throughout the South American nation.

Codelco on Wednesday reported the death of one of its workers amid the fast-spreading pandemic, but in an internal memo said the miner had contracted the coronavirus outside of work.

Chiles Federation of Copper Workers (FTC), a top mine union group, rejected the claim, demanding an investigation into the mans death and calling Codelcos management of the crisis incompetent.

It is unacceptable that Codelcos senior management tries to evade its legal responsibilities to protect  the health and safety of its workers, the federation said in the statement.

Codelco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In this context, our union organization will not rule out  bringing to justice those responsible for the breach of these preventive measures, the federation said.

Codelco, which turns all its profits over to the state, has maintained output with a skeleton crew since the pandemic struck in March. But unions have demanded beefed-up safety measures in recent weeks as cases have exploded throughout the northern mining region.

Chiles government, whose coffers depend on copper exports, has been forced to walk a fine line between maintaining production and protecting workers. Unlike neighboring Peru, the worlds second largest producer, it has resisted shutting down its sprawling copper and lithium mines.

The countrys Geology and Mining Service, which oversees the industry, said on Wednesday it was meeting with the miners to discuss strengthening health protocols. The agencys director, Alfonso Domeyko, said miners had stressed to him the importance of workers practicing self-care measures in their communities as well as at work.

(Reporting by Natalia Ramos and Dave Sherwood; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Topics COVID-19 Mining
With much of the workforce conducting business from home to escape the pandemic, scammers have revved up their trickery to scare victims into falling for credential harvesting schemes.

Two new reports lay bare the new twists digital scammers are putting on old approaches to get you to unwittingly give up login credentials for your personal or company online banking and server portals. The two reports focus on how to avoid becoming a corporate or consumer victim.

One new twist detailed by Armorblox threatens to recycle inactive addresses unless the would-be victims immediately update and confirm their account details. This results in fearful recipients entering their legitimate email addresses and password information.

The second report, by email phishing protection firm INKY, reveals the intricate directives of a credential harvesting phishing email. These emails impersonate the United States Department of Justice by using a malicious link with real logos mimicking government websites.

A phishing email scam which gives the appearance that the sender is the U.S. Department of Justice.

Credential harvesting is largely considered the foundation of email phishing. It is the easiest way for anyone to get into your secure files. They simply use your password that you gave them, explained Dave Baggett, CEO and co-founder of INKY.

In terms of the overall rate of phishing generally, we have seen nearly a three-times increase in phishing emails since the pandemic started, Baggett told TechNewsWorld.

Banking on Phishing

Last week, Armorblox, a cloud office security platform that protects inbound and outbound enterprise communications, released its latest discovery of a new credential phishing attempt. The report details how cybercriminals use an email with a malicious link leading to a fake website. The landing page painstakingly resembles the Bank of America login page.

This credential phishing site is made to look like the Bank of America home page. Notice that the beginning of the URL in the browser address field is not for the bank. However the banks name is used elsewhere in the URL to try and fool visitors to the page.

Amorblox co-founder and architect Chetan Anand reported the latest credential harvesting ploy in the companys blog.

Adversaries are always mixing and matching existing phishing tricks, plus adding some new ones, to circumvent any organizational measures that increase security, Anand told TechNewsWorld.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

His report details some examples of security measures and explains how this attack sidesteps them. The newly discovered attack phished for Bank of America credentials to sidestep any Single Sign-On (SSO) or Two Factor Authentication (2FA) measures in place.

In this case, attackers also asked targets security-challenge questions to increase attack legitimacy and obtain even more personal information. To successfully pass email authentication checks, the attackers sent the email from a reputed domain and created a zero-day domain for the phishing site to escape detection by threat feeds, he explained.

This new packaging of credential harvesting attacks is increasingly prevalent today, Anand noted. This type of attack is being aimed at organizations of all sizes, but especially small and medium sized businesses (SMB) that may not have all their security processes in place yet.

If an attacker gets hold of email credentials of an employee from an SMB, this email account is then weaponized to launch attacks both within the SMB and on customers, partners, and vendors, Anand said.

Keep-It-Simple-Stupid Works

Unlike most other criminals, cybercriminals pursuing credential harvesting scams lead a relatively stress-free life of crime, according to Baggetts report on the INKY blog. Their biggest worry is whether or not you will type in your password.

The modern-day credential harvesting phishing attack is easy to pull off. It has six simple steps, he explained.

They are simple to carry out and even easier to be victimized. This is the process:

The hacker sends a phishing email. Youre encouraged to click on a link and perform a task. The link takes you to a PHONY web page. You are tricked into entering your email address and password. The hacker retrieves your password from his server. The hacker exploits your harvested credentials.

Remember, your speed in clicking that link is what the cybercriminal counts on.

The fundamental problem is that the tactics phishers now use generalize very well. Deceptive text tricks, for example, can take many forms, Baggett explained.

Why It Works

Sophisticated attackers know that Secure Email Gateways, or SEGs, and other filters look for known scam-indicative patterns, according to Aggett. The smart attacker knows this. They hide this deceptive text from the SEG and does it in a way that does not look funny to the user.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

For example, an SEG may have a rule where it looks for the text Office 365 Voicemail because emails with this text have been reported as phishing. One deceptive text tactic is to replace letters in scam-indicative text with other Unicode characters that look similar.

Security experts call these confusables because humans easily confuse them. The attacker can, for example, replace the letter O with any of these Unicode characters:

Any characters that show up as a box are just missing from your font software. While few of these look exactly like a normal letter O, they can all be quite easily confused with a normal letter O. The recipient might think that the font is a bit funny or there is dirt on the screen, noted Baggett.

To detect this tactic, the SEG has to look not just for Office 365 Voicemail, but all possible variants that an attacker could create using Unicode substitutions. That is an incredibly huge number  far too many to just list out in a ruleset  and there are many other similarly general tricks the attackers can use, too, explained Baggett.

Diverse Call to Action Gotchas

Bad actors lure users into responding by notifying them of a new document, voicemail, fax, or invoice. Another approach is the Helpdesk phishes that tell users they need to confirm or update their account, or it will be disabled.

With the coronavirus pandemic, were starting to see more government impersonations offering health tips, relief funds, or the ability to track new cases in their area, said Baggett.

No one-shot panacea exists to help consumers and business IT catch or prevent these phishing scams from working, according to Anand. So, organizations need to balance a variety of security measures and process changes to improve their response posture to phishing attacks.

Native and third-party security controls, employee awareness, enforcing policies like SSO and 2FA, and having rapid automated incident response all play a part in diffusing credential harvesting attacks.

In the case of this Bank of America attack, the biggest red flag is the context red flag that crops up the more you think about the email, i.e. Bank of America wont send an email to your work address with a request to update credentials. But busy employees often dont have the time or luxury to think about every email in their inbox and end up following through on the emails action, Anand said.

What Else to Do

Baggett recommends consumers and business IT do two things to catch or prevent these harvesting credential scams from working. First, put sophisticated software-based mail protection in place so the machines block the vast majority of these scams before delivery and users never interact with them.

Second, train users to be suspicious of email in general. While humans cant discern real emails from fake ones, it is still a good idea to use phishing awareness training to teach users not to trust their eyes when it comes to email. Above all, always verify any sensitive email through another, separate communication channel.

In other words, teach users to pick up the phone, send a Slack message, etc. to verify that the mail they are looking at really is from who it appears to be from, said Baggett.

As an example, INKY facilitates this preventative measure by putting yellow warning banners on emails with sensitive content such as wire requests, password reset requests, etc. INKY counters the Unicode confusable cloaking technique by rendering the mail, pixel-for-pixel so that INKYs software sees the mail as the human recipient will.

This allows INKY to match the text in the email in a fuzzy or approximate way based on visuals. For instance, it recognizes the general shape of the letterforms rather than the specific letter identities.

Human Brain Responses

Anand favors email recipients using some basic analysis to thwart credential harvesting scams. He agrees that busy employees cant look at every email with the rational, slower thinking part of their brain. But they can learn to be wary of identity, behavior, and language signals in the emails they read.

For example, under identity, users should confirm that the email is actually coming from the person/organization that it claims to come from, including domain, sender name, etc. Under behavior, users should question whether the email is consistent with previous behaviors exhibited by the email sender. Ask yourself if Bank of America usually sends emails to your work address. Under language, users should be wary of any email that attempts to trigger urgency, fear, and authority.

It is unfair to put all this onus on the end-users. Organizations should look to invest in native and third-party email security controls that analyze these signals and more, suggested Anand.
Peel police are reporting an increase in high-end vehicle thefts in the region since March.

In a press release issued Friday, Peel Regional Police said the increasing number of thefts often involve the use of weapons and threats of violence by the suspects.

In some instances, suspects are responding to advertisements for the sale of a vehicle, police said. In others, the suspects find cars on roadways and intentionally cause a minor rear-end collision.

Police noted two incidents that transpired Thursday evening.

In the first, around 8:45 p.m., police say a person was driving in the area of Mavis Road in Mississauga when a light coloured SUV rear-ended them.

When the victim got out of their car to look at the damage, they noticed the suspect looking around suspiciously, police said.

When the victim called 9-1-1, believing they were about to be robbed, the suspects fled the area, police said.

Later that evening, around 10 p.m., another person was driving in the area of Goreway Drive, in Brampton, when they were rear-ended by a light coloured SUV.

When this victim got out of their vehicle to check the damage, he was struck in the head by one of four or five suspects, police said.

After a second suspect entered the driver seat of the vehicle, they were confronted by the victims family, police said.

Police say the suspects fled the scene.

The victim was treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital, police said.

Police are asking anyone with information on these incidents to come forward.

Jacob Lorinc is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @jacoblorinc
STOCKHOLM (dpa-AFX) - Sweden's producer price declined the most in five years in May, figures from Statistics Sweden showed on Friday. The producer price index declined 3.8 percent year-on-year in May, following a 3.0 percent decrease in April. This was the fifth consecutive fall in prices. The latest fall in prices was the biggest since May 2016, when prices were down 4.5 percent. Import prices declined 5.7 percent yearly in May and decreased 0.8 percent from a month ago. Export prices declined 4.0 percent annually in May and fell 1.3 percent from the previous month. On a monthly basis, producer prices fell 0.9 percent in May. Separate data from the statistical office showed that the retail sales rose 2.4 percent yearly in May, after a 1.4 percent fall in April. Retail sales in consumables, excluding sales at the state-owned chain of liquor stores, fell by 1.2 percent, while retail sales in durables increased by 4.0 percent. On a monthly basis, retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent in May. 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.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 12:26:34|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- A gas tank exploded in a public area of Parchin, east of capital Tehran, on early Friday, a defense ministry official told IRNA news agency.

The explosion did not affect a nearby military base in Parchin district, said Davood Abdi, head of the defense ministry's public relations office.

The fire was brought under control and no casualties had been reported, he said, adding that the cause of the blast is under investigation.

Videos and pictures posted on social media showed a huge light flaring out across the sky over the east of Tehran early Friday morning. Enditem
COLUMBUS, Ohio - State Sen. Teresa Fedor, a Toledo Democrat, has decided to stay away from the Senate Building until leadership can agree on a health and safety protocol.

Fedor made the decision after learning a Senate staff member had the coronavirus -- but learned of it from another staffer, instead of from more official channels, Laura Hancock of cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer tells Spectrum News 1s Curtis Jackson in the segment previewing Fridays edition of Capitol Letter -- our weekday newsletter on Ohio government news and politics.

Other senators believe the Republican leaders have strong protocols to keep people safe -- such as social distancing rules and cleaning of work spaces, computers and microphones.

You can watch the segment above. And you can subscribe to Capitol Letter here.

More coverage:

New Ohio coronavirus cases hit nearly 1,000: Friday update

After staffer tests positive for COVID-19, Ohio senator refusing to return to Statehouse, citing concerns with safety protocols

Ohio board may allow medical marijuana for cachexia. What is it and could cannabis help?
An Accra Circuit Court on Thursday sentenced Baba Musah a 24-year-old mason to 27-years imprisonment in hard labour for robbing a Pastor of his Holy Bible and a another lady of her handbag.



Musah was given 15-year-jail for robbing Madam Patience Adzimahe of her bag containing phones cash and other valuables; and 12-years for forcibly taking Pastor Yaw Domeys bag containing a Holy Bible and an Identity Card. The sentences are to run consecutively.



He denied robbing both victims but was found culpable after trial.



Police Chief Inspector Gulliver Kwabena Tenkorang told the Court presided over by Mrs Afia Owusua Appiah that, both complainants are neighbours at Ashongman Estate whilst Musah was a resident of Narhman, all suburbs of Accra.



Prosecution said on March 20, 2019, at about 0500 hours, Pastor Domey was walking along the road at Ashongman Estates to board a bus when Musah, armed with a kitchen knife approached him threatned him with it and took his black small bag containing his bible and ID card.



According to Prosecution, Pastor Domey was said to have held Musah in the process but the accused managed to push him to the ground and escaped with the bag, leaving behind his knife and a one pair of slippers.



Chief Inspector Tenkorang said some few minutes later Madam Adzimahe, a businesswoman who was also going to board a bus, was attacked by Musah.



The Prosecution said the convict took her handbag containing a rechargeable torchlight valued GH700.00, a cash of CFA100,000.00 and GH5,000.00; a Techno Y2 Mobile Phone, Lenovo cellular phone, a Ghanaian passport, NHIS ID card, a pair of spectacles, a body lotion and a deodorant.



He said Musah took-off with the booty and again left the other pair of the slippers he was wearing.



Mr Tenkorang said the two victims made separate reports at the Kwabenya Police Station with the knife and slippers and on March 22, 2019, Musah was traced to his wooden structure abode where he was arrested.



Prosecution said during a search in his room, the Pastors bag containing the Bible and ID card as well as all the items and CFA 80,000 of Madam Adzimahe minus the Ghana cedis.



He said in his cautioned statement he admitted the offence and after investigations he was arraigned.

Source: GNA









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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26) The Department of Tourism is setting its sight on Palawan as the next attraction that will be reopened to local tourists after Boracay.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat told a briefing that she will fly to the paradise island next week to talk to Governor Jose Alvarez regarding health protocols that will be enforced for tourism activities in the province  which is home to lagoons, white-sand beaches and other nature reserves.

Alvarez said on Thursday that Palawan is ready to welcome back tourists, adding that it is just waiting for the national government's go signal.

The official said the Mimaropa province had lost 150 billion in tourism revenues due to travel restrictions in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Three world-renowed tourist attractions are found in Palawan: El Nido, Coron and the Subterranean Underground River in Puerto Princesa.

Romulo-Puyat said she will also meet with Governor Arthur Yap one of these days as the island province of Bohol is also being prepared for reopening once it shifts to modified general community quarantine or MGCQ.

Under the COVID-19 inter-agency task force guidelines, tourism businesses under MGCQ could accept tourists, but are limited to a 50 percent capacity, subject to the approval of local governments.

Areas under modified GCQ face more relaxed restrictions, as these are considered at low risk of a localized COVID-19 outbreak.

Si Governor Arthur Yap, bibisitahin ko na rin one of these days kasi pini-prepare narin namin under MGCQ ang Bohol," Romulo-Puyat said.

[Translation: I will visit Governor Arthur Yap one of these days because we are preparing to place Bohol under MGCQ.]

The first famous attraction that reopened to tourists was Boracay, but only those from within the region could enter the island.

The tourism chief said that Boracay Island is only accommodating guests from Western Visayas to ensure a slow but sure revival of tourism.
Bir-Lahlou, June 26, 2020 - President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO, Mr. Brahim Gali, has expressed his concern about the serious situation in which Sahrawi civilian prisoners are held in Moroccan jails, amid the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.

It is with great concern that I am writing to you to inform that information received from the territories of Western Sahara under the illegal Moroccan occupation indicates that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread significantly over a short period of time in those territories President of the Republic said in his letter







In a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, the President of the Republic said, " the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread significantly over a short period of time in those territories that were free of the epidemic until recently. More than two hundred infections were reported in the occupied city of El Aaiun and its surroundings in the past few days, despite the secrecy of the Moroccan occupation authorities.

"This highly disturbing humanitarian situation is a direct result of the Moroccan occupation authorities disregard for the lives of the Sahrawi civilians under siege by allowing many people, including persons infected with COVID-19, to enter the occupied Western Sahara without having to observe quarantine rules and other precautionary measures." Brahim Gali added.

He went on saying that While the Moroccan authorities continue to use the restrictions related to the global pandemic to tighten their blockade on the occupied territories of Western Sahara in order to persist unchecked in terrorising the Sahrawi civilians, they have also been bringing hundreds of Moroccan workers and settlers to the occupied Western Sahara to cause more infections and endanger the lives of our people.





The President of the Republic held the Moroccan occupation state fully responsible for the lives of Sahrawi civilian prisoners in its jails, calling on the UN Secretary-General to urgently intervene to put an end to this heinous behavior, end the suffering of Sahrawi civilian prisoners and their families, release them immediately, and provide the conditions necessary for them to join their homeland, families and relatives. SPS







062/SPS/T
Press Release

June 26, 2020 Drilon thumbs down renaming of NAIA If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Thus said Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon as he opposed the renaming of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas. "Many airports around the globe are named after heroes and individuals whose lives shaped the history of their countries," said Drilon, citing the JFK Airport in New York, Louis Armstrong international Airport in New Orleans, Paris' Charles De Gaulle Airport, India's Indira Gandhi Airport, Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, and Canada's Montreal-Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport,among others. "There is more to it than just a name. It gives a glimpse of who we are as a people. We are known as a democracy-loving people because that is what Ninoy Aquino represents," Drilon said. "Every visitor who arrives at our airport will see us like Ninoy Aquino who showed great respect for democracy and freedom. We should not forget that and belittle his contributions to the country by taking away the honor of being the face of our major airport," he added. A bill was filed in the House of Representatives that seeks to rename the country's main airport to Paliparang Pandaigid ng Pilipinas. "We are facing a pandemic and we are thinking of renaming an airport? I believe we can do better than that," Drilon said. "Ilang milyong Pilipino ang nawalan ng trabaho. Tapos pagpalit ng pangalan ng NAIA ang priority?" he asked. The move, according to Drilon, is "divisive," which the country needs the least in this time of a pandemic that affected the lives of too many Filipinos and put the economy to a standstill. The minority leader said that any effort to rename NAIA would always be seen as political. Thus, he said such a proposition should be put on hold. "We are in a crisis and we owe it to every Filipino to avoid a situation that will create division rather than invite unity and cooperation," Drilon said. "The renaming of NAIA will not serve any purpose at this point," he added.
Brigitte Nielsen was glimpsed out in Los Angeles enjoying quality time with her husband Mattia Dessi and their two-year-old daughter Frida.

The 56-year-old actress could be spotted wearing a bright red hoodie and matching sweats as she enjoyed a bicycle ride with her little one sitting in front of her.

Meanwhile her hunky 41-year-old Italian husband was in a casual tee and a pair of jeans, accessorizing with aviator sunglasses.

Out and about: Brigitte Nielsen was glimpsed out in Los Angeles enjoying quality time with her husband Mattia Dessi and their two-year-old daughter Frida

Brigitte, who was once married to Sylvester Stallone and reunited with him onscreen for the 2018 film Creed II, was 54 when she gave birth to Frida.

She conceived her youngest child through in vitro fertilization, having had the foresight when she was 40 to have her eggs frozen.

'If you dont want to use [donor] eggs, you have to preserve your own eggs at a reasonable age for there to be a possibility,' Brigitte explained to People.

Her romantic history includes Public Enemy rapper Flavor Flav and ex-New York Jet Mark Gastineau, and she claims to have bedded Sean Penn and Tony Scott.

So sweet: The 56-year-old actress could be spotted wearing a bright red hoodie and matching sweats as she enjoyed a bicycle ride with her little one sitting in front of her

Brigitte and her first ex-husband, Danish composer Kasper Winding, share a 36-year-old son called Julian, who has himself become an electronic musician.

The mother-of-five - who told Melbourne's Herald Sun that Arnold Schwarzenegger philandered on Maria Shriver with her - has a son called Killian, 30, by Mark.

Brigitte also has two sons - Aaron, 27, and Raoul Jr, 25 - by her fourth husband Raoul Meyer, who was married to her from 1993 until 2005.

Family matters: Brigitte, who was once married to Sylvester Stallone and reunited with him onscreen for the 2018 film Creed II, was 54 when she gave birth to Frida

The Celebrity Rehab alumna met her latest husband at a Swiss hotel where he was working as a waiter, marrying him in 2006 in Malta.

In March while guest-hostessing The Talk, Brigitte said more than one of her children live in Milan and spoke about having to miss Easter with them.

'What my kids are saying, they are fine, but it is a very, very difficult situation for them, because they are scared,' she explained.
For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

Not long after Nate Norris caught wind of a New York City-based campaign created to support immigrant hospitality workers did he realize that effort needed a Bay Area presence.

Norris, who is the executive chef at Zuni Cafe, reached out to campaign organizer Anna Polonsky, who together with Gaeleen Quinn, launched #AskChefsAnything.

The campaign has unified local chefs who have auctioned their time and wisdom in order to raise donations for immigrant workers who are food insecure and lack access to unemployment benefits or stimulus checks amid the pandemic.

The need is so apparent, Norris said. Imagine you lost your job and had no health care overnight. Its a critical human rights issue that needs to be addressed at the policy level.

Through Norris, a group of nearly 50 Bay Area chefs that includes the likes of Dominique Crenn, Alice Waters, Tanya Holland, Brandon Jew, plus many more will participate in the auction that begins Friday and ends June 29. Winners of the auction will chat one on one with their favorite chefs for 30 minutes.

Chef Reem Assil, who owns the popular Bay Area restaurant Reems, is among these chefs and said that she feels privileged to be among the roster of industry leaders helping to push the movement forward. (See the video by Robert Broadhurst below).

Restaurateurs and chefs have a platform to show who is getting impacted in the industry, Assil said. It was a no-brainer for me to get involved.

Assil shared that when shelter-in-place orders hit, many of her own employees with immigrant backgrounds were affected. Although Assil has been able to keep her entire staff, the financial burdens of COVID-19 have pushed her staff to launch a GoFundMe page as a collective.

As a labor organizer turned chef, Assil has done a lot of work to help build an industry that takes care of the community. Recently, it included her part in the SF New Deal, a nonprofit that monetarily assists small businesses to produce meals for vulnerable members in the community.

Assil shared that Reems has churned out about 2,000 meals per week through the nonprofit. Likewise, Norris, also a part of the SF New Deal, said Zuni Cafe has prepared 1,500 meals daily. Norris shared that his participation has helped hire staff who need the work the most.

Having a job during COVID-19 isnt really a good thing, but not having a job when you have no other income is a problem and offering a job is a solution, Norris said. That was really important to me.

Starting bids for the #AskChefsAnything begin at $100, and Norris hopes that local chefs can help raise about $20,000. Once the auction ends, 100% of the funds will go toward buying discounted groceries from Chefs' Warehouse that will be distributed to the immigrant restaurant worker community by nonprofit Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC).

Now at the national level, #AskChefsAnything has raised enough funds to serve 110,000 meals in communities around New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Miami, St. Louis, Chicago, and Dallas. San Francisco will be the last city in the first phase of the auction tour.

It will contribute to [something] meaningful, Norris said. I want to use this event to leverage people in the food world who can advocate for justice for unemployment benefits. Its our responsibility.

The #AskChefsAnything auction begins June 26 and ends June 29.

Susana Guerrero is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: Susana.Guerrero@sfgate.com | Twitter: @SusyGuerrero3

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WINCHESTER  Illinois Electric Cooperative has released more information on the $3,443,670 Connect Illinois broadband grant to help fund fiber internet in Calhoun County.

The project, announced earlier this week, will help IEC provide fiber internet in Hardin, Kampsville, Brussels, Winneberger, and Batchtown. The grant was part of the first round of Connect Illinois funding totalling $50 million of the $420 million available statewide for broadband expansion.
Doug Mills/Getty

It would be hard for any attorney general to withstand a deputy attorney general of the same party calling him the greatest threat in my lifetime to our rule of law. It would be harder still to withstand congressional testimony from two serving Justice Department prosecutors about his subordination of justice to the wishes of the president. But Bill Barr had a fantastic day in Congress on Wednesday.

Thats not because either official, antitrust prosecutor John Elias and ex-Roger Stone prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky, had their stories unravel. Its because Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee stood enthusiastically behind Barr. And its also because Democrats offered little beyond harsh invective, thanks to a deep reluctance amongst their own leadership to get into another impeachment fight.

When Elias and Zelinsky testified about inappropriate antitrust investigations or leniency shown to convicted friends of the president, panel Republicans applauded the attorney general as the slayer of a Deep State out to entrap Donald Trump. Either that, or they went after Elias, Zelinsky, or former George H.W. Bush Deputy Attorney General Donald Ayer, who went far further in lambasting Barr as a kind of anti-constitutional officer.

Bill Barr Gives House Dems an Extended Middle Finger and Theyre Not Quite Sure How to React

Bill Barr is trying to do the Lords work to clean it up, so it doesnt happen again, intoned Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the senior GOPer on the panel, after again portraying the 2016-19 investigations of Trump as a witch hunt by Obama cronies.

Jordan set the tone. Barr, with his exemplary record, was restoring integrity within the department, said Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH). The hearing was a farce, said Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), with Democrats knifing Barr for trying to clean up and clear up messes made by the previous administration. Most ominously, Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX) told the three witnesses that history will not judge you kindly in the days ahead whether we get to continue this experiment in self-government or not. A spokesperson did not respond to a question about whether Gohmert believes the American republic is in danger of collapse.

Story continues

It was the most foursquare defense of Barr from Hill Republicans yet. Their support for Trump, post-Russiagate and post-impeachment, is compulsory at this point. But on Wednesday, they went beyond allegiance to Trump to affirmatively portray Barr as the one out to drain the swamp.

They did so days after perhaps the lowest point in Barrs brief tenure. On Friday, Barr lied that the U.S. attorney in New York had resigned, prompting a weekend standoff over ousting Geoffrey Berman before Barr partially backed down. It remains unclear if Barr will himself testify before the House committee, but he knows he has a GOP firewall if he does.

Against all that, Democrats had rhetoric. Their leadership doesnt want to impeach Barr. Their caucus is internally divided on what to do about him. Their response, which frequently overshadowed their focus on the substance of Elias and Zelinskys testimony, was to hurl invective at Barr. Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) called him Trumps fixer. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) called the politicization of the Justice Department worse than Watergate, worse than Nixon. Referring to Barrs violent suppression of the June 1 protest in Lafayette Square, Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) said that to the attorney general, friends of the president get pardons and reduced jail time, but if youre peacefully protesting brutality, you get tear-gassed.

But despite their portrayal of Barr as a legal vandal, only one of them advocated removing him from office. We should pursue impeachment of Bill Barr, said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), because hes raining terror on the rule of law.

Amidst the rhetoric, Justice Department prosecutors Zelinsky and Elias occasionally got to testify. Elias, from the antitrust division, told the panel that his office was pressured to pursue cannabis-firm mergers, sometimes not among competitors, because Barr finds marijuana disreputable. He further recounted political appointees atop the division pressing them to investigate Californias auto emissions deal with car manufacturers after Trump tweeted negatively about California regulators.

Bill Barr Has Pie on His Face, and One More Trick Up His Sleeve With John Durhams October Surprise

Zelinsky, far more famously, was a prosecutor for Russiagate Special Counsel Robert Mueller who successfully convicted Trump consigliere Stone before a Barr ally intervened to give the presidents friend a lenient sentencing recommendation. Both Zelinsky and Elias opened themselves up to career reprisal by testifying, as the impeachment aftermath showed Trump purging the administration of numerous meddlesome witnesses and inspectors-general.

Republicans were not interested in their testimony. They attempted derailing the hearing because Zelinsky testified remotelysomething he explained was to protect his newborn baby from COVID-19.

Later, they figured having one of Muellers merry band of Never Trumpers, in Pennsylvania Republican Guy Reschenthalers phrase, was a good opportunity to go after Russiagate. Zelinsky instead batted away questions by pleading that the Justice Department had restricted him from testifying about anything about Mueller beyond his 2019 findings. Jordan reprised an impeachment tactic by saying that because Zelinsky hadnt talked to Barr, he had no basis to say that there was anything political about the Justice Department overruling his team of career prosecutors to go easy on Stone. (Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida even went to the extent of predicting, Roger Stone will be pardoned.) Elias they portrayed as a Democratic hack for being detailed to the Obama White House and seeking an early 2019 assignment to House Democrats, which they claimed was enthusiasm for impeaching Trump.

Donald Ayer, who preceded Barr as deputy attorney general in the George H.W. Bush administration, didnt have any inside knowledge about Barrs attorney generalship. Instead, Ayer urged the committee to distrust everything he says, from his actions to suppress anti-white supremacy protests to the Obamagate nonsense thats being spewed by the president and laundered into John Durhams inquiry into the origins of Russiagate. With Barr publicly describing Durhams ongoing investigationto the point of the attorney general hinting at prosecutions to comeno one is in a position to say hes wrong, but hes wrong, Ayer said.

Frankly, Ayer continued, my worry is hes going to do it more and more in the weeks and months ahead as we get closer to the election. With Republicans lining up behind Barr and Democrats confused about what theyll do, Ayers worries are unlikely to abate.

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Bollywood actor Bipasha Basu, who was often described as dusky beauty of the industry, has shared her childhood memories and how she always wondered why the adjective dusky has been associated with her ever since her first public appearance as a model at the age of 16. Hindustan Unilever announced on Thursday that it will drop the word fair from its Fair & Lovely range of products in order to make its portfolio more inclusive.

Sharing a screenshot of a news item about famous fairness cream brand dropping the word fair from its product, Bipasha wrote, From the time I was growing up I heard this always,Bonnie is darker than Soni.She is little dusky na?Even though my mother is a dusky beauty and I look a lot like her.I never knew why that would be a discussion by distant relatives when I was a kid. Soon at 15/ 16 I started modelling and then I won the supermodel contest ... all newspapers read ... dusky girl from Kolkata is the winner.I wondered again why Dusky is my first adjective ??? 

Then I went to New York and Paris to work as a model and I realised my skin colour was exotic there and I got more work and attention because of it. Another discovery of mine:) Once I came back into India and film offers started... and finally I did my first film and from an absolute Ajnabee to Hindi film industry ...I suddenly was accepted and loved. But the adjective stayed which I started liking and loving by then.DUSKY girl wows the audiences in her debut film, she added.

She also wrote how sexy was associated with her for the colour of her skin. In most of my articles for all the work I did,my duskiness seemed to be the main discussion.. it attributed to my sex appeal apparently.And sexy in Bollywood started getting accepted widely.I never really understood this... To me sexy is the personality not just the colour of your skin...why my skin colour only sets me apart from the conventional actresses at that time.But thats the way it was.I didnt really see much of difference but I guess people did.There was a strong mindset of Beauty and how an actress should look and behave.I was DIFFERENT as it was pointed out. Didnt really stop me from being and doing all that I loved.

Also read: Sushant Singh Rajputs father: My son was a special soul, achieved so much in 34 years

Well you see I was confident and proud of who I was from childhood.My skin colour didnt define me ... even though I love it and wouldnt want it to be any different ever. Many skin care endorsements with loads of money was offered to me in the last 18 years ( some were very tempting)... but I stuck to my principle always. All this needs to stop. This wrong dream that we are selling ... that only fair is lovely and beautiful when the majority of the country is brown skinned. Its a deep rooted stigma. Its a mammoth step from the brand... and other brands should follow in the same footsteps soon, she signed off.

Bipashas post got much love from industry friends as well as fans. It received more than 40 thousand likes in three hours. Sophie Choudhury, and dropped heart emojis on the post. Sussanne Khans siister Farah Ali Khan wrote, Well said love @bipashabasu. Neelam Kothari also commented, A lot more people need to follow this trend.

Actor Nandita Das had also responded to the news and said in an interview, In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of social wrongs have found a surprisingly sympathetic audience. The announcement today by Hindustan Unilever that they will remove the words fairness, whitening and lightening from their line of products, is something I dont think anyone saw coming. Even though it is more symbolic (after all they have not discontinued the product, just changed the messaging), it is still a big step forward. Many brands spend hundreds of crores of rupees to spread the absurd message of fair being lovely in a largely dark country. So, when a market leader steps in, at the very least, it will certainly lead to an even wider debate.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio - To date, at least 47,651 people have had confirmed or probable coronavirus, according to the Ohio Department of Health on Wednesday, up 892 from a day earlier.

That figure includes at least 2,772 confirmed or probable deaths, up 17 from Wednesdays state report.

The increase in cases and deaths doesnt necessarily mean they all occurred in the past 24 hours. There is some lag time between when they occur and when local entities notify the state.

Nevertheless, the number of new cases Thursday is quite large. Its nearly twice as much as the 21-day average of new daily cases of 494.

Todays numbers show a big increase in cases in Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine acknowledged during his Thursdays briefing.

Thursdays increase is one of the four highest since the pandemic has settled in Ohio, he said. And some of the other high days are those when the state released numbers of large-scale testing of the prison population.

He said new cases are an early indicator of hospitalizations, intensive-care unit admissions and deaths, he said.

DeWine also talked about age of people getting coronavirus.

Almost 60% of cases are in the 20-49-year-old range, DeWine said.

The trend of younger people getting the virus is occurring in other states, too, DeWine said.

We have increased testing, but we do not believe this increase in cases is completely due to testing. Hospitalizations are also up, DeWine said.

Cincinnati metro area

Dr. Richard P. Lofgren of the University of Cincinnati discussed the uptick in cases in Hamilton County, saying it was a regional issue.

Lofgren said that the regions hospitalizations peaked in the middle of April.

But in the past 10 days, the number of individuals who have become infected with COVID-19 have increased, and so have related hospitalizations, he said.

Weve definitely seen an uptick in the number of cases, and also a modest but real uptick in the number of hospitalizations and ICU admissions, he said.

The number of people testing positive from 20 to 30 has increased in the region, and a more modest increase has occurred in the number of people testing 30 to 40, he said. This is occurring across the country, he said.

Lofgren also said that this increase in young people isnt just because of increased testing availability, but an increase in actual infections and transmissions.

The medical community is concerned that since the population doesnt get as sick as older adults. Their symptoms can be mild or asymptomatic. They may not be isolating and could spread it to at-risk Ohioans.

He also said that relatively mild infections can still result in the loss of significant lung capacity.

Lofgren plugged social distancing and universal mask-wearing.

This virus remains in our community but we can live safely with this virus, he said.

Theres no known reason why yet the infections are spreading among younger Ohioans. Contact tracing and interviews will illuminate the details soon.

Generational attitudes may contribute, Lofgren said.

Younger adults tend to be a little more risk takers, he said.

Not just a Cincinnati problem

DeWine and Lofgren said the data is from Cincinnati but the lessons can be applied statewide.

I think the message through all of this is at this point in time, we dont have the ability to eradicate the virus, Lofgren said. This really highlights the importance in every community to maintain the relatively simple safety measures.

Outside Ohio

Across the U.S., there have been at least 2.3 million COVID-19 cases, including 122,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins Universitys Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

There have been nearly 10 million cases across the globe, including at least 484,000 deaths.

Testing

In Ohio, 696,200 coronavirus tests have been conducted. This is an increase of 15,513 tests from Wednesdays report.

The state has 11.7 million residents.

Compared to other states, territories and Washington, D.C., Ohio is the 11th lowest in testing per 100,000 residents, according to Johns Hopkins University.

More coverage:

Gov. Mike DeWine to provide Thursdays coronavirus update: Watch live

Ohio has had 46,759 coronavirus cases, up 632: Wednesday update

Ohio board may allow medical marijuana for cachexia. What is it and could cannabis help?

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Among the top-ranked jurisdictions, the UK is followed by the US, West Indies, France and Hong Kong in the top five

India has moved down three places to 77th rank in terms of money parked by its citizens and enterprises with Swiss banks at the end of 2019. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: India has moved down three places to 77th rank in terms of money parked by its citizens and enterprises with Swiss banks at the end of 2019, while the UK has retained its top position, as per the latest data from Switzerland's central bank.

India was ranked 74th in the previous year.

An analysis of the latest annual banking statistics released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) showed that India remains ranked very low when it comes to money parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through their India-based branches, accounting for just about 0.06 per cent of the aggregate funds parked by all foreign clients of Switzerland-based banks.

In comparison, the top-ranked UK accounted for close to 27 per cent of the total foreign funds parked with Swiss banks at the end of 2019.

According to the latest SNB data, funds parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through India-based branches, fell by 5.8 per cent in 2019 to 899 million Swiss francs (Rs 6,625 crore).

The data is for 'total liabilities' of Swiss banks towards Indian clients takes into account all types of funds of Indian customers at Swiss banks, including deposits from individuals, banks and enterprises. This also includes data for branches of Swiss banks in India, as well as non-deposit liabilities.

These are official figures reported by banks to the SNB and do not indicate the quantum of the much-debated alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland. These figures also do not include the money that Indians, NRIs or others might have in Swiss banks in names of third-country entities.

Among the top-ranked jurisdictions, the UK is followed by the US, West Indies, France and Hong Kong in the top five.

The top-five countries alone account for more than 50 per cent of the aggregate foreign funds parked with the Swiss banks, while the top-10 account for nearly two-thirds.

The top-15 countries account for nearly 75 per cent of all foreign money in Swiss banks, while the contribution of the top-30 is almost 90 per cent.

The top-10 countries also include Germany, Luxembourg, Bahamas, Singapore and Cayman Islands.

Only 22 jurisdictions have 1 per cent of more of the total foreign funds parked with Swiss banks and these include China, Jersey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Panama, Italy, Cyprus, UAE, Netherlands, Japan and Guernsey.

Among the five-nation BRICS block of emerging economies, India is ranked the lowest while Russia is ranked the highest at the 20th place (same as last year), followed by China at 22nd (same as 2018-end), South Africa at 56th (up two places) and Brazil at 62nd (up from 65th last year) in terms of money parked by their citizens and enterprises at the end of 2019.

The countries ranked higher than India also include Kenya (74th), Mauritius (68th), New Zealand (67th), Venezuela (61st), Ukraine (58th), Philippines (51st), Malaysia (49th), Seychelles (45th), Indonesia (44th), South Korea (41st), Thailand (37th), Canada (36th), Israel (28th), Turkey (26th), Mexico (26th), Taiwan (24th), Saudi Arabia (19th), Australia (18th), Italy (16th), UAE (14th), Netherlands (13th), Japan (12th) and Guernsey (11th).

However, several of India's neighbouring nations are ranked lower, with Pakistan ranked 99th, Bangladesh 85th, Nepal 118th, Sri Lanka 148th, Myanmar 186th and Bhutan 196th. All these countries recorded decline in their figures for 2019.

A number of countries have seen their funds falling in Swiss banks in recent years amid a global clampdown against the erstwhile banking secrecy walls in the Alpine nation.

It has been often alleged that Indians and other nationals seeking to stash their illicit wealth abroad use multiple layers of various jurisdictions, including tax havens, to shift the money to Swiss banks.

At the end of 2018, funds officially held by Indians with banks in Switzerland accounted for about 0.07 per cent of the total funds kept by all foreign clients in the Swiss banking system, almost the same as the level seen a year before that after a modest increase from 0.04 per cent in 2016.

India was placed at 75th position in 2015 and 61st in the year before, though it used to be among the top-50 countries in terms of holdings in Swiss banks till 2007. The country was ranked highest at 37th place in the year 2004.

The total money held in Swiss banks by foreign clients from across the world rose marginally to CHF 1.44 trillion in 2019.

In terms of individual countries, the UK continues to account for the largest chunk at about CHF 385 billion (up from CHF 372 billion a year ago), which accounts for nearly 27 per cent of the total foreign money with Swiss banks.

The US remains on the second position with an increase in its funds to USD 160 billion, accounting for over 11 per cent of all foreign funds.

India was ranked in the top-50 continuously between 1996 and 2007, but its rank started declining after that -- 55th in 2008, 59th in 2009 and 2010 each, 55th again in 2011, 71st in 2012 and then to 58th in 2013.
The three members of New Mexicos U.S. House delegation voted in favor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act on Thursday, which passed with a 236-181 vote.

While more work must still be done, this legislation takes important steps by increasing accountability, banning dangerous chokeholds and no-knock warrants, requiring body and dashboard cameras, and investigating police misconduct, U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan said in a statement.

In a floor speech before the vote, U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland called the bill a beacon of hope to victims of the systemic racism that plagues our criminal justice system.

This bill envisions a new model of public safety that works to end racial bias, promotes de-escalation training instead of militarization, and is built on community trust, transparency and accountability, she said.

U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small said the legislation raises the bar on accountability.

Congress took an important step towards addressing systemic racism by establishing the accountability measures communities across the country need, she said in a statement.

But Torres Small wanted to make it clear that she did not support defunding police.

The fight for real reform does not end with this vote, and that includes making sure rural law enforcement has a seat at the table, she said.

Lujan called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to put the House bill on the floor in that chamber for a vote.

It is the companion bill to the one introduced by California Sen. Kamala Harris and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, which is co-sponsored by New Mexico Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall. It will likely face opposition from the Republican majority.

Heinrich and Udall voted to block a Republican police reform bill on Wednesday, which contained similar measures to parts of the House bill.

But the House bill modifies qualified immunity that would make it easier to bring lawsuits against officers in cases of misconduct and would make it easier for cases of misconduct to be prosecuted. The Republican Senate bill did not.
Chinese military power and strategic attention is overwhelmingly directed towards the Pacific Ocean. Which is why Beijings military planners are presently dividing their attention between troop face-offs in Ladakh and three US aircraft carrier groups in the Pacific Ocean. The last time there were so many US super-carriers in the Pacific was three years ago because of North Korea. The US Indo-Pacific Command last month said all its forward-deployed submarines were at sea.

The US naval deployment, while not originally motivated by events along the Sino-Indian border, has inevitably become part of Chinas larger strategic calculus.

Explains Vice-Admiral Anil Chopra, who just completed a term as the maritime expert on the National Security Advisory Board: The movement of naval forces escalates things. Whenever you move them into an area of confrontation, it serves to send a message. The Chinese will worry about what the carriers can do, not what they necessarily will do. Chopra says, It has to be taken into account. Thats the main point of a carrier, it injects a degree of uncertainty.

While one carrier is off the US Pacific coast and another is near the Philippines, the USS Theodore Roosevelt has moved southwards to Vietnam. This location, says Mohan Malik, professor of strategic studies at the Pentagons Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, means that in the event of a war, this carrier group would probably move to the Malacca Straits and the Bay of Bengal.

Also Read: Chinas aggressive posturing turning relationship with India back to 1990s

The USS Roosevelt is a super-carrier, three times the size of an Indian or Chinese carrier, and its battle group would include accompanying cruisers, destroyer squadrons and submarines. The US could deter the outbreak of a two-front war involving China and Pakistan on one side and India on other by dispatching an aircraft carrier battle group to the eastern Indian Ocean, says Malik  if events were to spiral out of control.

The unusual carrier deployment is a remarkable consequence of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) transits near Wake Island, June 26, 2020. The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment to the Indo-Pacific (US Navy Photo)

In March, viral outbreaks infected three US carrier crews. At one point , only one functional US carrier was left in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. China began increasing naval and air force incursions into Taiwans airspace and tightening its grip on Hong Kong. The official WeChat account of Eastern Theatre Command of the Peoples Liberation Army posted articles in mid-April calling for China to prepare for war.

A Chinese scholar on the US, Wang Jisi, warned on a webinar the same month that hawks in China saw opportunities in the US preoccupation in the election year and over the pandemic.

Concerned China might consider an attack on Taiwan, Washington ordered all three of its active super-carriers, now virus free, and at least eight nuclear submarines into the Pacific. Beijing warned Washington to stop moving chess pieces around the region and flexing its military muscles around China.

This underlines the degree to which the US deploys its military with an almost single-minded determination to contain China. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday explained US troops withdrawing from Europe were being moved to tackle the threat China posed to countries such as India. His is the latest in a series of senior US official statements derived from the 2018 National Defence Strategys broad recommendation that US military power be directed primarily at China. US officials have privately told their Indian counterparts that one reason for their desire to leave Afghanistan is to divert the $ 50 billion-a-year US spends there to take on China.

US Pentagon chief Mark Esper in February spoke of converting the 2018 strategy into a new war plan that would be completed this summer. The plan would integrate the assets of the four US military services in the Indo-Pacific. As Esper explained to Defence News: A drone sees an enemy target, relays it to an airplane, an F-35, which relays it to a Navy ship, which either shoots it or relays it back to a Marine Corps long-range precision fire thats island-based. Esper called this a big pivot point for us, possibly recalling the original and militarily feeble pivot to Asia of the Obama administration.

The US militarys biggest concern is its missile gap against China. The US was banned from testing or deploying intermediate-range missiles (500 to 5,500 km range) globally because of a Soviet-era arms control treaty. Exploiting this lacuna, China has deployed over 2,000 long-range missiles along its shore. The US has war gamed that, if forced to fight close to the Chinese shore, its military would be defeated. The Trump administration pulled out of the missile treaty last year and begun the rapid deployment of similar missiles along the Pacific. But Beijing knows it is secure against even a limited military engagement near the mainland for the next few years.

It is likely that this has emboldened China and contributes to the recent aggression it has shown to a variety of countries, the most recent being India.

In the Cold War between China and America, India has emerged as a front-line state. Chinas military pressure all along the disputed boundary is clearly aimed at the Finlandization of India. Beijing wants to deny India a peaceful environment essential to realizing its economic developmental goals that would narrow the power gap with China, says Malik.
Emilie Eaton / Staff

Ahead of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office collective bargaining agreement, the department is looking for feedback from the community to help make BCSO "a model for law enforcement across the country," Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a news release.

Police reform has been a hot topic across the nation since George Floyd died while in Minneapolis police custody. In San Antonio, advocates gave Mayor Ron Nirenberg a list of their demands during a protest earlier this month. The demands for the the San Antonio Police Department include a a zero tolerance policy on racial discrimination in law enforcement agencies, a more diverse police force and more transparency in police matters.
India acknowledges for the first time it has matched China in massing troops at their contested Himalayan border.

China has deployed large numbers of troops and weapons along a disputed Himalayan border in violation of bilateral agreements, Indias foreign ministry has said, accusing Beijing of escalating tensions and triggering a deadly clash last week.

At the heart of the matter is that since early May, the Chinese side had been amassing a large contingent of troops and armaments along the LAC, foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said in a briefing in New Delhi on Thursday, referring to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the Asian nuclear powers.

Srivastava said this is not in accordance with the provisions of our various bilateral agreements, referring to treaties that include a 1993 one that dictates that both sides will maintain limited border deployments.

India had to undertake counter deployments because of the Chinese buildup, he said as New Delhi acknowledged for the first time it has matched Beijing in massing troops at their contested Himalayan border.

China has blamed India for the clash  the deadliest between the two nuclear-armed neighbours for at least five decades  and said Indian troops attacked Chinese officers and soldiers.

Responding to the heightened Chinese presence last month, India also deployed a large number of troops along the LAC, Srivastava said, leading to face-offs in the Ladakh region of the western Himalayas.

On June 15, Indian and Chinese troops brawled for several hours in the Galwan Valley, using stones and sticks with nails embedded in them to beat each other, killing 20 Indian soldiers and injuring at least 76 more. China has not disclosed how many casualties its troops suffered.

The neighbours have blamed each other for the high-altitude battle. After senior military commanders held parleys this week, both sides have since agreed to disengage their troops on the disputed border.

But in satellite images reviewed by Reuters news agency, China appears to have added new structures near the site of the Galwan Valley clash that India says is on its side of the LAC. These include camouflaged tents or covered structures and a potential new camp under construction with walls or barricades.

Peace and tranquility in the border areas is the basis of our bilateral relationship, said Srivastava, demanding that China follow up on its pledge to cool tensions. A continuation of the current situation would only vitiate the atmosphere.
Warnings have been made about the Trump administrations plans for this years celebration. The plans include a giant fireworks display for July 3 at Mount Rushmore, despite a 10-year ban on such shows because of the risk of wildfire posed to thousands of acres of forest land. Environmental officials have said toxic residue from the fireworks pose a pollution threat to the national memorials drinking water. Health experts have warned that the event will draw crowds that can easily spread the novel coronavirus.
As COVID-19 continues to impact millions of patients, and chronic lung disease is a leading cause of death in the U.S. and globally, lung health has never been more important

Mediaplanet is proud to announce the launch of this Junes Lung Health campaign. The campaign brings together patients, healthcare providers, advocates, and scientists to spread awareness of chronic lung disease as well as recent innovations in diagnostics, prevention, and treatment for these devastating respiratory conditions. The campaign also takes a dive into COVID-19 and how some companies have responded to the pandemic.

One leading company is ResMed, a top-five global producer of hospital-to-home ventilators and top-two producer of bilevel positive airway pressure devices and masks. ResMed has shifted its manufacturing resources to triple production of these devices and help deliver life-saving therapy to patients in need around the world during the COVID-19 crisis. Meanwhile, the company worked quickly to offer digital health tools to clinicians, like cloud-connected remote monitoring for ventilator patients, enabling better care in a socially distanced world.

As COVID-19 continues to impact millions of patients, and chronic lung disease is a leading cause of death in the U.S. and globally, lung health has never been more important, said Carlos M. Nunez, M.D., ResMed chief medical officer. As a global leader in respiratory medicine focused on keeping people out of the hospital, were pleased to partner with Mediaplanet to raise awareness of the importance of lung health and recognize the healthcare workers who do so much to help patients continue breathing every day.

ResMed pioneers innovative treatments and solutions that keep people out of the hospital, empowering them to live healthier and higher-quality lives. The companys digital health technologies and cloud-connected medical devices transform care for people with sleep apnea, COPD, and other chronic respiratory diseases.

The print component of Lung Health is distributed within todays edition of USA Today in LA, Boston, New York, Chicago, Houston, Seattle, Las Vegas, D.C Baltimore, and Pittsburgh/Cleveland markets. The digital component is distributed nationally, through a vast social media strategy, and across a network of top news sites and partner outlets. To explore the digital version of the campaign, visit: https://www.futureofpersonalhealth.com/campaign/lung-health/

The campaign was made possible with the support of ResMed, as well as the American Lung Association, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Masimo, Blueprint Medicines, Nonin Medical, and the National Environmental Education Foundation.

About Mediaplanet

Mediaplanet specializes in the creation of content marketing campaigns covering a variety of industries. We tell meaningful stories that educate our audience and position our clients as solution providers. Our unique ability to pair the right leaders with the right readers, through the right platforms, has made Mediaplanet a global content marketing powerhouse. Our award-winning stories have won the hearts of countless readers while serving as a valuable platform for brands and their missions. Just call us storytellers with a purpose. Please visit http://www.mediaplanet.com for more on who we are and what we do.

Press Contact:

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The Delhi police has filed a charge sheet before a court here on Friday against four persons in a case related to the alleged murder of a person during communal violence in north east Delhi in February.

The Crime Branch of the Delhi police filed the charge sheet on June 25 before Metropolitan Magistrate Vijayshree Rathore in the murder case of Suleman.

The four persons arrested included two juveniles which were based on CCTV footage and call detail records, said the charge sheet.

According to the charge sheet, on February 26, a mob of about 30-40 rioters surrounded four men, including Suleman, near Shree Ram Chowk at Karawal Nagar and asked for their identification.

While one of them managed to escape, Sunil Kumar was asked to leave the spot but he insisted on taking Sanobar and Suleman with him, said the charge sheet.

It further said that the mob then allegedly thrashed Sunil and sent him away.

They started beating Sanobar and Suleman mercilessly, when one of the rioters hit an iron rod on Sanobar's head and he fell unconscious, the charge sheet said.

After a while, Sanobar regained consciousness and managed to escape while the mob allegedly continued to assault Suleman, it added.

The mob had allegedly paraded Suleman towards Prem Vihar pulia and kept hitting and prodding him with dandas (sticks) and rods, it said.

It further alleged that the mob threw him near a toilet from where he was taken to GTB Hospital by the police where he died during the treatment on the same day.

The charge sheet was filed under sections 302 (murder), 147 and 148 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 365 (kidnapping), 395 (dacoity) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

The offences entail a maximum punishment of death penalty.

They were part of the mob that had been rioting and committing arson in the area and according to eyewitnesses, all four were actively involved in assaulting the victim, it claimed.

Suleman was working at a construction site of a school in the area and lived in a tin shed at the site, police said.

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 scores injured.
Philadelphia's police commissioner, along with the mayor, apologized to the public Thursday for giving statements that were substantially inaccurate in the days after tear gas, bean bags and pepper spray were used against protesters who were trapped on a highway.

At least one high ranking commander took a voluntary demotion, and Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said a member of the city's SWAT team who was seen in videos spraying protesters with pepper spray will be notified Friday that he is suspended with the intent to dismiss him. The apologies and personnel decisions came the same day The New York Times released a reconstructed video of the June 1 confrontation on Interstate 676.

In the weeks that have followed, I have learned that relative to 676, those (previous) statements are substantively inaccurate as I have now personally viewed video evidence that largely contradicts the material portions of those statements, Outlaw said at a news conference Thursday.

Outlaw issued an immediate moratorium on the use of tear gas in most situations including to disperse crowds of non-violent people.

Videos of Philadelphia police firing tear gas at dozens of protesters trapped on 676 by SWAT team officers on both sides, many unable to retreat to an on-ramp, clambering to get up a steep embankment then over a concrete wall and fence, were spread on social media across the country. Officers continued to fire bean bags, smoke canisters, and tear gas projectiles even as the protesters retreated.

Videos of the confrontation have been held up by advocates of police reform as examples of what they say has been a militarized police response to protests across the country. It was one of many videos of tear gas being used to disperse demonstrators protesting police brutality in the days and weeks after George Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer put his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes to pin him to the ground.

During the news conference Thursday, Deputy Commissioner of Special Operations Dennis Wilson said he had not notified or sought approval from Outlaw to deploy tear gas or other less than lethal munitions during the interaction with protesters on the interstate. He said he was voluntarily taking a demotion effective immediately in response.

Mayor Jim Kenney said he regretted giving the okay the day before the highway incident to use tear gas to disperse people in a much more violent protest in West Philadelphia, where stores had been broken into and a line of police cars had been burned, broken into and vandalized. He said that situation was very different from the the peaceful protesters who had gained access to the highway.

In that moment of decision on Sunday, May 31, I ignored what my instincts told me, he said, stressing his regret. I have never believed tear gas was an effective tool. When Ive seen other cities use it in protests. It always seemed to me to make situations worse. And it has."

Both Outlaw and Kenney declined to speculate about whether reports given as part of a justification for the use of tear gas on June 1, and June 2, that a state trooper had been trapped in his car as protesters vandalized and rocked it back and forth, and that other protesters were throwing projectiles at officers were true.

They said there was an ongoing internal and soon an external investigation into the events that led up to the authorization to use tear gas, bean bags and OC pellets  which Outlaw clarified Thursday are plastic pellets containing pepper spray.

The Times' video showed dashboard camera footage from the Pennsylvania State Police of an empty vehicle being vandalized. A previous statement from a state police spokesman confirmed that a state trooper had been on the highway to respond to the protesters gaining access and that a car was vandalized. A message from The Associated Press asking to clarify whether the trooper had left his car prior to the vandalism was left with state police.

Outlaw confirmed that she had been given a report that protesters had thrown things at police, but it was not clear if that was before or after the tear gas.

She said a SWAT officer seen spraying protesters with pepper spray would be notified Friday that he was being suspended for 30 days with the intent to fire him, saying his conduct was a violation of the use of force guidelines. Outlaw said she was referring the investigation and findings to the District Attorney's office to review whether criminal charges were warranted.

Outlaw declined to name the officer Thursday, and it was unclear if the officer is the person seen in videos posted to social media, lowering the mask of a protester who is kneeling on the ground to spray them. Other personnel actions are likely, she said.

District Attorney Larry Krasner filed aggravated assault charges earlier this month against officer Joseph Bologna who was filmed beating a protester with a retractable baton. The protester needed 10 staples and 10 stitches to close the wound and was arrested for assaulting an officer, though Krasner declined that charge against the protester.

(Image Credit Pixabay)
By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Austrian sensor producer AMS is poised to get the go-ahead from the European Union for its acquisition of German lighting group Osram, three people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Austrian sensor producer AMS is poised to get the go-ahead from the European Union for its acquisition of German lighting group Osram, three people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Osram is a leading maker of car headlights with close ties to carmakers and AMS hopes to combine that with its expertise in sensors to develop packaged solutions for self-driving cars.

AMS supplies Apple with sensors for its iPhones and the Osram acquisition, its largest ever, will also help it reduce its dependence on the U.S. firm, its biggest customer.

EU competition enforcers do not see any concerns as the two companies have few overlapping businesses and the merger is expected to get unconditional antitrust clearance, the people said.

The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by July 6, declined to comment. AMS was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Kirsti Knolle in Vienna; editing by Louise Heavens and Philippa Fletcher)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
India on Friday warned China that trying to alter the status quo on the ground by resorting to force will not just damage the peace that existed on the border areas but can also have "ripples and repercussions" in the broader bilateral relationship, and demanded that Beijing stop its activities in eastern Ladakh.

The only way to resolve the current military standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh was for Beijing to realise that trying to "change the status quo by resorting to force or coercion, is not the right way forward, India's ambassador to China ...
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Linkedin Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 27 2020

Indonesia and 14 other negotiating countries agreed Tuesday to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) this year to help their economies recover from the pandemic-induced downturn.

Iman Pambagyo, who has led the RCEP trade negotiating committee since 2013, said he expected the deal to be signed in November. Countries have so far agreed on the text of the agreement and almost completed the legal review of the text, called legal scrubbing.

If signed, the trade deal, introduced at the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia in 2012, will create one of the worlds largest economic blocs, as the negotiating countries account for 30 percent of global GDP.

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Police in New Hampshire say a second person has been charged in connection with the drug overdose death of a woman who was pregnant with twins.

Amber Brusco, 36, was arrested on drug charges in connection with the February death of Kacey Grizzaffi, 22.

Brusco was released on personal recognizance bail and her arraignment was scheduled for July 16.

It wasnt immediately known if she had a lawyer and a phone number was disconnected.

Earlier this year, police arrested Christopher Santolucito on charges of selling drugs that resulted in deaths.

(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
Pennsylvanias dairy farmers recognize times are tough.

As part of June Dairy Month, farmers are giving away free milk to central Pennsylvania families in need. The giveaway is being made possible through Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, a government-funded grants made available to food banks and community organizations.

The milk will be distributed during several scheduled drive-thru events from June 29 to July 1.

The American Dairy Association North East is working with Harrisburg Dairies, Cocoa Packs and Harrisburg Area School District to facilitate the distribution of more than 4,000 gallons of milk.

Each family will be limited to two gallons of milk, while supplies last. Drivers and passengers are urged to remain inside their vehicles and will be prompted to open their trunks or car windows to receive the milk.

The milk will be distributed at the following locations:

Cocoa Packs /Hershey Middle School - 500 Homestead Road in Hershey, from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on June 29.

Falcon Packs /Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church - 100 W. Main St. in Hummelstown, from 10:30 a.m. -noon and 5 p.m.  6:30 p.m. on June 29.

Middletown Area School District - 215 Oberlin Road in Middletown, 11 a.m. on June 29.

John Harris High School - 2451 Market St. in Harrisburg, from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. June 30.

Foose Elementary School - 1301 Sycamore St. in Harrisburg, from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. June 30.

Palmyra Area School District  1125 Park Drive in Palmyra, from 3-4:30 p.m. July 1.

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Youre not going to be allowed in a store, youre not going to be allowed to go shopping unless you wear a mask, Young said. Thats just all there is to it.

The order is exempt to those exercising, driving, pumping gas, eating or drinking and going into a building or doing an activity that requires security surveillance, such as going to the bank.

Failure to comply with the order could result in a fine up to $1,000.

Young said if businesses need face masks for customers, they can request some from his office.

This burden is really going to fall on business owners, and I hate that part, but thats the best I can do under the governors orders, Young said. Im trying to do whatever I can as your county judge to ensure the safety of all of us.

In other Brazos Valley counties, Burleson County reported one new case on Thursday, bringing the countys overall total to 68. In Madison County, which had 26 positive cases Thursday, according to state figures, walk-up testing will be available Monday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lake Madison Lake House.
Bhopal, June 26 : While party president J.P. Nadda latched on to a report on Chinese donation to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation at a virtual rally the BJP members in Madhya Pradesh were busy studying the nuances of Jyotiraditya Scindia's presence by his side.

"I saw television and I was shocked and surprised that the People's Republic of China and Chinese Embassy gave $300,000 to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in 2005-06," Nadda said addressing the party's virtual Jan Samvad rally from Delhi.

Nadda's assertions on donations made to RGF in 2005 may or may not translate into electoral gains for BJP in the bye-elections for the 24 assembly seats a couple of months later. But Scindia's drooping brand value got a booster in being seen by the party president's side on Thursday.

Ever since Scindia left the Congress to join the BJP the Kamal Nath camp has been suggesting he had compromised his stature in the political hierarchy. The BJP asked its local unit to highlight Scindia's presence with Nadda as a fitting reply to Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh camps.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was away in Tirupati, made it back to Delhi to join the rally. Chouhan's supporters and the Congress members who had joined the party along with Scindia tried to publicise the "honour conferred on Scindia in his new party".

Missing pictures from the election hoardings in the Malwa region and subsequent placement alongside the junior members like Kailash Vijayvargiya's son Akash had caused considerable damage to Scindia.

Another image of a former minister, Prabhulal Choudhary, being offered snacks on a disposable paper plate while his BJP host partook food with him in a stainless steel salver was uploaded on the social media to show the caste discrimination against new members from Congress.

Thursday's media blitz was to undo the damage and to affirm the rising stock of Scindia and his supporters after his recent election to the Rajya Sabha.

Large-scale preparations were made for it. Chouhan had appealed to supporters and workers to join the rally. A campaign for the rally was organized on social media also.

Much of what Nadda "disclosed" was already in the public domain before the rally. Nadda tried to add a few sentences in support of Scindia. He said it takes courage to take bold decisions in politics and to stand with the right and Jyotiraditya Scindia showed that courage. Nadda said the agenda with which Kamal Nath and Rahul Gandhi formed the government in Madhya Pradesh was blurred by the rising corruption during the 15-month regime.

"Scindia had to take some hard decisions to guard his own honour and to save the state from the misrule of Congress. People in Madhya Pradesh will soon realise the value of what Scindia has done for them. The BJP president has just acknowledged that," said a former MLA who has switched sides three months ago.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 14:35:27|Editor: huaxia

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People compete during a dragon boat race held in a paddy field in Shenbei New Area of Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, June 25, 2020. The Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival, is traditionally celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on Chinese lunar calendar. It falls on June 25 this year. (Xinhua/Long Lei)
Niagaras top infection control doctor is taking a step back from a petition he signed calling on provincial and federal authorities to impose mandatory masking laws to fight COVID-19, saying there isnt strong enough evidence to support such a move.

Dr. Karim Ali, head of infectious disease at Niagara Health, had joined nearly a thousand health-care workers across Canada in signing an open letter by Masks4Canada, calling for laws to make masking mandatory in a fashion similar to bicycle helmets and seatbelts.

However, after reviewing an article in the medical journal Lancet posted to Twitter Wednesday by Niagaras acting medical officer of health, Ali said he sees the issue through a different lens.

I completely agree with Dr. (Mustafa) Hirji on this point, that at this time it would be a weak recommendation. The evidence is not strong enough, said Ali.

We should encourage people to wear a mask. On personal level, it is something I do. As a family, it is something we have decided to do. But the evidence is not strong enough for a mandatory order.

The Masks4Canada letter, signed by at least 11 Niagara health-care workers including Ali, says the signatories believe there is sufficient evidence of the utility of masks for source control 2) equivocacy of evidence on recipient projection and 3) lack of evidence of harm from masks, and if worn by enough people will reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The letter calls for masks to be worn in all outdoor spaces outside the home, on public transit and in crowds. It notes surveys show about 48 per cent of Canadians are wearing masks, but recent research shows in order to have a significant impact on the spread of the virus 60 to 80 per cent of people need to use them.

People with medical conditions that make wearing a mask harmful would be exempt, and the letter requested corrosive measures such as fines be limited in favour of public education campaigns. It also called on governments to issue masks to citizens.

Premier Doug Ford has ruled out a masking order for Ontario.

Ali, one of the key leaders at Niagaras hospital system in combating the novel coronavirus, signed the letter on June 10, but has since been persuaded by Hirjis assessment of the data.

Hirji has said masks should be worn when physical distancing  the best tool to reduce the spread of the virus  is difficult, such as when shopping or in large crowds.

Hirji has declined to follow his Guelph counterpart in issuing an order requiring face coverings.

On Wednesday, he took to Twitter to further explain why he wont be issuing a masking order for Niagara.

In an interview, Hirji said while there is more evidence for the effectiveness of masks now than there was in March, it remains weak. The research the Masks4Canada letter relies on is observational science, he said, which uses statistical analysis of infections rates versus masking use in other countries.

There is no strong experimental science on the effectiveness of masks in public, he said.

Hirji, who regards masks as a second line of defence behind physical distancing, said even if he was inclined to issue an order, he has no useful means of enforcing it.

A medical officer of health can make an order under Section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act. However, the act does not give a health department power to use bylaw officers to enforce the order. Rather, public health would have to take violators to court one at a time.

So you would have to ask the court to impose a fine or penalty that you recommend, said Hirji.

This is in part why Hirji said such an order is best made by municipal councils through a bylaw, because those governments can use bylaw officers for enforcement.

Hirji also said he does not believe a Section 22 order that would impact peoples freedoms and businesses is appropriate on an issue for which there remains legitimate scientific and medical debate.

Whereas he has to make decisions based entirely on scientific evidence, political bodies can weigh other concerns.

He also pointed out in most countries where masking was widespread, it was done without a mandatory masking order from government authorities.

What they did was have a program where government-issued masks were handed out once a week, and I think that is a policy approach we should discuss here, Hirji said. Alberta is going down this road right now, and using fast food locations as the distribution point. So you go and get your McDonalds order and get a free mask from the government of Alberta.

Hirji said that kind of approach would increase the use of masks without having to make a mandatory order with its problematic enforcement issues.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: Due to a technical snag, an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter had to make an emergency landing on the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal (Eastern Peripheral Expressway) on Friday. There was no injury to anyone or damage to any property, they said. A Cheetah helicopter was proceeding from Hindan to Halwara for a routine Air Force task.

Approximately 14NM (nautical mile) out of Hindan, the helicopter developed technical snag and carried out precautionary landing on Eastern Peripheral Expressway, the Defence Ministry said in a statement in Delhi.

The actions taken by the pilots were prompt and correct. No damage to any property has been reported. Recovery helicopter was launched immediately from Hindan. The helicopter was rectified and recovered back promptly and safely at Hindan, it added.

The helicopter landed on the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal or the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, about 10-12 km from Sonipat. The police reached the spot and stopped the vehicular traffic on the stretch of the road where the chopper had landed. No one was allowed to go near the chopper. The vehicular traffic was restored after the chopper took off, he said.
Islamabad:

Chief of Pakistans powerful spy agency ISI's chief Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar is likely to be replaced within the next few weeks, a media report said on Saturday.



Akhtar was appointed the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in September 2014 and took office in November 2014, when he replaced the retiring Lt Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam.



The appointment is normally for a three-year period unless the ISI chief retires or is replaced by the army chief.



The Nation, citing a security official privy to the development, reported of the impending change of command and said preparations were underway for the changes.



Intriguingly, he may be leaving the position earlier than the typical three-year tenure of a ISI DG, the report said.



The corps commander of Karachi, Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar, is most likely to replace him, the official was quoted as saying.Another senior security official was quoted as saying that Akhtarwho has already served in Karachi as Director General, Sindh Rangersknows the challenges in Karachi and the swapping makes sense.



The official was, however, more circumspect about the timing of the change and said, It depends on whether the army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif, gets an extension or retires as announced.I dont think the notification of other changes in military command will come before that, he said. There are a lot of variables involved.



Raheel had announced earlier this year that he is not seeking an extension and would retire in November.



Lt Gen Asim Bajwa, the chief military spokesman, however, denied that the intelligence chief was being replaced. No such thing, Bajwa said when asked about it.



The paper also did not cite any reason why the ISI chief is being replaced.

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SACRAMENTO  The California Legislature approved a $202 billion state budget deal that largely avoids widespread cuts to public services to close a multibillion-dollar deficit caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The agreement, which went to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his signature after the Assembly gave final approval Friday, relies on reserve accounts and internal borrowing  as well as the hope of a federal bailout  to maintain education, health care and social services spending.

But some programs would suffer significant reductions, including hundreds of millions for subsidized preschool slots, child care centers and environmental protection.

We could have made more cuts. We could have had a budget that was better for our bond rating, Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, said on the Assembly floor. We could have done something that was better for Wall Street, but in the end, we wanted to make sure the money got to Main Street.

Between a sharp decline in tax revenue and increased costs associated with fighting the coronavirus outbreak, state finance officials projected that California was facing a $54.3 billion deficit, though recent economic forecasts suggest it could wind up being less.

Under the budget agreement, which Newsom and legislative leaders announced Monday, the state would close most of the gap by dipping for the first time into its rainy-day reserve, shifting pension payments, borrowing from special funds and temporarily limiting corporate tax credits to raise more than $4 billion in new revenue.

The budget preserves health and safety net programs that Newsom originally proposed to drastically reduce or eliminate, including extended benefits for Medi-Cal, the states health insurance for the poor; day centers meant to keep seniors out of nursing homes; hearing aids for children from low-income families; extra hours for in-home health aides; and supplemental Social Security payments.

It also sustains funding for K-12 schools and community colleges, the biggest item in the state budget, at current levels by deferring nearly $13 billion to future years. Districts can borrow against that money or tap into their savings, with the state promising to pay them back later.

The state would give schools an extra $5.5 billion, largely from federal aid, to deal with the impact of early school closures this spring because of the coronavirus.

We started 2020 at an economic high and pivoted swiftly over the last few months to arrive at a budget plan that is responsible and is responsive to the needs of Californians, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, said on the Senate floor Thursday. That was not a simple task. It has not been easy to balance all of those issues.

The Senate passed the budget bill late Thursday, amending a placeholder spending plan adopted last week. Democrats supported the measure and Republicans opposed it in a party-line vote of 29-11.

It won approval 57-16 in the Assembly on Friday, in a vote that reflected a similar partisan divide.

Lawmakers are hoping for a federal bailout by Oct. 15 that would allow them to reverse about $11 billion in cuts set to go into effect July 1, including $1 billion for the University of California and California State University systems, $150 million for the courts and $250 million for affordable housing grants. They also hope to use federal aid to restore half the deferred education funding and $2.8 billion in reductions to state worker compensation, which the state is negotiating with public employee unions.

Newsom expressed confidence at a news conference Friday that Congress would eventually pass a bailout for states and local governments. The House has approved a $3 trillion stimulus measure that includes such aid, but the Senate has not acted.

I really believe this, Newsom said. Weve been calling for this probably as aggressively as any state in the country.

The state budget sends $300 million to cities and counties to combat homelessness and sets aside $550 million to convert hotels and motels into housing for homeless people.

Counties would receive $750 million to backfill lost tax revenue for public services. Local governments would get $1.8 billion in federal coronavirus relief, though Newsom could withhold the money if his administration determines they are not following state guidelines on the pandemic.

This authority infuriated some Republican lawmakers, who also complained about the lack of transparency as Newsom and Democratic legislators hashed out the budget deal in recent weeks.

Were the ones who are in control of the purse. Why are we allowing him to decide whether or not we get relief? said Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Nicolaus (Sutter County). The Newsom administration threatened to revoke emergency funding and operating licenses for counties and businesses in Gallaghers district when they tried to reopen ahead of the state this spring.

The budget deal saves Calbright College, a controversial online community college that lawmakers had sought to shut down, and provides $5 million to establish a new state park at the N3 Ranch in the East Bay.

It also directs the state to identify a prison by Jan. 10, and another in 2022, to close down. The closures would be designed to save hundreds of millions of dollars in the long run.

The state will allocate $331 million to a fund for homeowner counseling and mortgage relief. California received the money nearly a decade ago through a settlement with the banks that caused the foreclosure crisis. But after the state improperly diverted it for other purposes, community groups waged a years-long legal battle to restore the funding that finally concluded last summer.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff
COVID cases in Delhi will decline soon, no plan of lockdown: Health Minister Satyendar Jain

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain test negative for coronavirus, condition improving

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Jan 26: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain has been tested negative for coronavirus on Friday, a day after he was administered plasma therapy at a private Covid-19 facility.

The condition of the 55-year-old minister is improving and he is being monitored by doctors, the officials said. His fever has subsided and his oxygen saturation level (Spo2) has increased, and he's likely to come out of the ICU by Monday, they said.

Total lockdown in Guwahati for 14 days from Sunday after spurt in cases | Oneindia News

Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi tests positive for COVID-19

Jain was administered plasma therapy at the Max Hospital in Saket on Saturday and his condition is stable now, they said. A team of doctors from a few government and private hospitals has been kept on standby to assist the doctors attending to him, if needed, sources said.
(Newser)  The last of the three Ku Klux Klan members convicted in the church bombing that killed four black girls in 1963 has died in an Alabama prison. Addie Mae Collins, Cythnia Wesley, and Carole Robertson, all 14, and Denise McNair, 11, were killed by the explosion as they were changing into their choir robes on a Sunday morning at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Thomas E. Blanton Jr., 82, who was convicted of murder nearly four decades later, died Friday of natural causes, AL.com reports. Gov. Kay Ivey issued a statement calling Sept. 15, 1963, "a dark day that will never be forgotten in both Alabamas history and that of our nation." Ivey said she hopes for continued "steps forward to heal, do better and honor those who sacrificed everything for Alabama and our nation to be a home of opportunity for all."

story continues below

A fifth girl, Addie Mae Collins' sister, survived the bombing but lost her right eye. After Blanton died, the husband of Sarah Collins Rudolph said his wife "hopes that he found Jesus Christ and repented." During Blanton's trial, prosecutor Doug Jones, now a US senator, told the court, "Tom Blanton saw change and didnt like it." Denise McNair's sister, Lisa, said, "I wish I could have sat down with him to find out if he had had a change of heart." Blanton never admitted to the killings and began saying when he was in prison that the government had set him up. In 2006, he told an interviewer: "I'm sorry it happened. Deeply sorry. But Im not responsible for it." At sentencing, the judge had asked Blanton if he had anything to say. "I guess the good Lord will settle it on Judgment Day," Blanton said. (The victims' families had objected to parole for Blanton.)
[June 26, 2020]

Caverion to Sell Parts of its Industry Operations to Elcoline Oy Based on the Conditions Imposed on the Maintpartner Transaction

HELSINKI, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Caverion has signed an agreement to sell certain Finnish operations of Caverion Industria Ltd to Elcoline Oy based on the conditions imposed on the Maintpartner transaction by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (the "FCCA"). The buyer is a Finnish, internationally operating provider of industrial maintenance that has approximately 300 employees before the transaction.

According to a stock exchange release published by Caverion on 22 November 2019, the FCCA approval on the Maintpartner transaction included certain conditions based on which Caverion was to divest approximately 6.5 percent of the post-transaction revenue (approximately EUR 300 million in 2018) of the Industry division in Finland.

The business transfer covers total outsourcing agreements in industrial services mainly with customers in chemical and energy industries. Furthermore, the sale includes Caverion's marine industry unit and industrial maintenance servce centers acquired as part of the Maintpartner transaction in Turku, Pori, Rauma and Oulu in Finland.







The business transfer is expected to be completed during autumn 2020. The transaction value will not be disclosed.

For more information, please contact:

Elina Engman

Executive Vice President

Caverion Industry

tel. +358-50-351-4673

[email protected]

Martti Ala-Harkonen

Chief Financial Officer

Caverion Corporation

tel. +358-40-737-6633

[email protected]

Milena Hggstrom

Head of Investor Relations and External Communications

Caverion Corporation

tel. +358-40-5581-328

[email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/caverion/r/caverion-to-sell-parts-of-its-industry-operations-to-elcoline-oy-based-on-the-conditions-imposed-on-,c3142298
The speed of the social and economic destruction wrought by the coronavirus pandemic is spurring central bankers to accelerate and expand their efforts to fight climate change.

After spending the past three months focusing on battling the deepest recession in peacetime, the issue is moving back up policy makers agenda, with a flurry of initiatives from Frankfurt to London and Amsterdam. Theyve reemphasised the long-term economic damage of global warming, and are pushing banks to be ready for the threats to their business that will inevitably appear.

The corona-pandemic has refocused our minds -- it shows how quickly things can change and how vulnerable our economies are, Bundesbank board member Sabine Mauderer told Bloomberg. There will be no vaccine for climate change.

Prominent economists such as Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz are urging authorities to use the pandemic as a catalyst to rebuild the world economy from the ruins of the worst recession in decades. In Europe, green investments are a key element in a 750bn recovery fund proposed by the EU, which has already announced plans to turn the continent into the worlds first climate-neutral region by 2050.

While governments can drive change through investments and regulation, central banks wield influence through supervisory powers over the financial industry as well as massive bond-buying programmes that can be used to force a change in the behaviour of companies. Work on that front is coordinated by the Network for Greening the Financial System, a group of 66 mostly European institutions, which published two major reports this week.

ECB President Christine Lagarde hinted this month that a strategic review of policies -- put temporarily on hold due to the virus -- will likely result in new rules for its bond-buying programmes to take fighting climate change into account.

The ECB also put its weight behind an idea that would allow the EU identify companies that harm the environment so that banks and asset managers can better handle the risks. The central bank has started consultations with lenders on a draft guide on how to manage and disclose climate threats.

The dangers are real. Andrea Enria, who heads the ECBs banking supervision arm, warned this month that the exposure of the eurozone's biggest banks to the most carbon-intensive companies mean an abrupt transition to a green economy could trigger an increase in banking-system losses of up to 60%.

- Bloomberg
A gif shows an image of sun moving, as imaged by the Solar Dynamics Observatory in extreme ultraviolet light.

As astronomers gaze into the depths of space, they do so with unease: They dont know precisely what the universe is made of.

Its not just the true nature of dark matter that eludes them; so does the essence of the stars that speckle the sky and populate the many galaxies throughout the cosmos. Surprisingly, no one knows the stars exact chemical composition: how many carbon, nitrogen and oxygen atoms they have relative to hydrogen, the most common element.

These numbers are crucial, because they affect how stars live and die, what types of planets form and even how readily life might arise on other worlds.

Twenty years ago, astronomers expressed confidence in the numbers they had been working with. Now, not so much. The problem lies not in the far corners of the cosmos, but much closer to home. Astonishingly, scientists dont know exactly what the sun is made of. As a result, they dont know what the other stars are made of, either.

The sun is a fundamental yardstick, says Martin Asplund, an astrophysicist at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany. When we determine the abundance of a certain element in a star or a galaxy or a gas cloud anywhere in the universe, we use the sun as a reference point.

That makes sense. The sun constitutes 99.86 percent of the solar systems mass. Any pollster who consulted the same percentage of voters would have no problem predicting the outcome of the next election.

The suns location in the Milky Way also makes it a good representative of the entire galaxy. Just as political opinions vary from the urban core to the countryside, so stellar abundances change from the galactic center to the edge, and the sun happens to be in the perfect position  about halfway from the Milky Ways center to the edge of its disk of stars  to sample the whole galaxy.

Whats more, most stars in the universe reside in giant galaxies like the Milky Way, which makes the sun a touchstone for the entire cosmos.

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Plus, the sun is so bright that astronomers can study details of its light with exquisite precision. That should allow them to determine the exact abundances of the suns chemical elements.

For nearly a century, astronomers have judged stars normal or not by seeing whether their chemical compositions match the suns. Most stars near us do; some dont.

Thats why the article on the suns chemical composition by Asplund and his colleagues in the 2009 Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics has garnered more than 4,000 academic citations from fellow scientists: Astronomers constantly compare stars and galaxies to the sun. Its the universal standard.

But Asplunds work is controversial. He and his colleagues have used new models to analyze sunlight and found drastically lower levels of the most common heavy elements in the sun  including carbon and oxygen  compared with previous calculations. (Astronomers call most elements heavier than helium heavy.) Asplunds work therefore implies that the other stars and indeed the entire cosmos have a much smaller quantity of heavy elements than previously thought.

Take oxygen. This is the most abundant heavy element in the universe, says Marc Pinsonneault, an astronomer at Ohio State University. He has been a critic of Asplunds numbers because they lead to conflicts with observations of the suns interior.

Mute meteorites

Meteorites also provide cosmic abundances of most chemical elements. Furthermore, because scientists can study these rocks in the laboratory, they yield precise numbers, even for elements that astronomers cant detect in the sun. Meteorites tell us, for example, that the universe has more platinum atoms than silver atoms; platinum is the pricier metal because much of it sank out of the Earths crust and into its core.

But meteorites work only for solid elements like platinum. Elements that are either gaseous or part of molecules that easily become gaseous, such as water and carbon monoxide (CO), vanish from meteorites. So these otherwise helpful celestial stones say nothing about the six dominant elements in nature: hydrogen, helium, oxygen, carbon, neon and nitrogen.  Ken Croswell

The sun is one of the only ways we have of actually measuring how much oxygen there is. So if Asplund is correct  that means theres 40 percent less oxygen in the universe period, because all of our measurements get multiplied by whatever we assume for the sun, Pinsonneault says.

The controversy has endured for 20 years; neither side has yielded to the other. We havent found the answer yet, says Katharina Lodders, a cosmochemist at Washington University in St. Louis who divines abundances from meteorites and calls the long-standing dispute frustrating. I think the What are we missing? is one of the biggest challenges for scientists. How can that be, that there is something we cannot explain? There must be an answer.

The lower levels of oxygen and other heavy elements that Asplund advocates have caused not just uncertainty but also trouble. I suspected very early on that it would lead to a conflict, he says.

Yet both Asplund and Pinsonneault say that the debate is a friendly one. We disagree very strongly on the scientific interpretation, Asplund says, but we are very happy to go out for a beer afterwards.

Fortunately, a variety of current and future experiments may finally resolve the matter.

Oxygen: A critical element

Despite the controversy, everyone agrees on the basics: The sun consists mainly of hydrogen and helium, the two lightest elements. It generates energy at its center through nuclear reactions that convert hydrogen into helium. But because of Asplunds work, the amounts of the next most abundant elements are all in dispute.

It matters hugely. Oxygen accounts for nearly half of all heavy atoms in the universe. Most of these atoms trace their birth to stars much more massive than the sun. Late in their bright but brief lives, these stars fuse four helium nuclei together to make oxygen. The stars eventually explode, shooting the life-giving element away. Just one supernova can eject more than a solar mass of oxygen. If the oxygen level in the sun and thus the whole universe is as low as Asplund believes, these massive oxygen-producing stars have been much less prolific than has been thought.

Oxygen is vital in ways both obvious and not. The obvious: We need oxygen to breathe. The less obvious: More than half of the atoms in the rocks beneath our feet are oxygen. And the element played an important role in the formation of all the planets in our solar system.

Oxygens critical importance doesnt end there. After all, theres an oxygen atom in every water molecule. Water is essential for life, says Lodders. Water was essential for forming life. So no oxygen, no water and no life.

Carry on, wayward sun

Far-reaching though it is, the simmering controversy over the suns abundance of oxygen and other heavy elements started by accident. In the late 1990s, Asplund wanted to study ancient stars that had only a pittance of heavy elements. First, though, he thought it wise to better ascertain the suns composition.

To do so, he and his colleagues developed new models to explain the solar spectrum, the rainbow of colors our star gives off. Atoms of different elements absorb different wavelengths of light, producing what are called spectral lines. The more atoms of a particular element that exist on the suns surface, the more light the atoms absorb and the stronger the spectral lines. Spectral lines thereby can reveal an elements abundance relative to hydrogen, which is the suns main ingredient.

Because the sun sets the standard, scientists can metaphorically see the entire universe in a single sunbeam: By analyzing the solar spectrum, they can determine the proportions of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen throughout the whole cosmos.

Asplunds new models were much more sophisticated than previous ones, eschewing simplifications and approximations. I had no real expectation that this would change the solar abundances at all, he says. It was kind of a lucky shot.

In his models, each of the universes four most abundant heavy elements took a major hit. Compared with numbers published 20 years earlier, the 2009 article by Asplund and colleagues recommended sharply lower values. The new models slashed the estimated oxygen level in the sun and thus in the universe by a whopping 42 percent. Carbon, another prerequisite for life, fell 26 percent, while the neon and nitrogen levels plummeted 31 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

By all calculations, these four elements account for the vast majority (88 percent in Asplunds work, a bit more in other numbers) of all heavy atoms in the universe. If Asplund was right, the universe had far fewer of them than anyone had thought. And that meant huge trouble for models of the suns interior.

Inside the sun

Heavy elements such as oxygen alter the suns interior, because they absorb radiation as it wends its way outward from the solar core to the surface. Using the old solar abundances, astronomers thought they had the suns interior figured out, thanks to a technique known as helioseismology. Just as our world has earthquakes, so the suns interior vibrates with sound waves. And just as seismologists use quakes to deduce the structure of the Earths interior, so the vibrations rippling through the sun have revealed its inner structure.

For example, in most of the suns interior, radiation bounces from atom to atom, slowly carrying heat from the core outward. In the outermost parts of the sun, however, material is cooler and more opaque, largely because heavy elements, such as oxygen, absorb photons. This opacity means photons cant ferry heat there. Instead, a process called convection sets in: Hot gas rises to the solar surface, radiates heat, then cools and sinks back down. You see something similar when you boil a pot of water.

Helioseismology pinpoints the position of the boundary between the suns radiative interior and its convective envelope. That shows up as a glitch in the sound waves, Pinsonneault says. As a result, we know that this boundary occurs at precisely 71.3 percent of the solar radius. But if the sun actually has less oxygen, carbon, neon and nitrogen, then the suns interior is less opaque, allowing radiation to carry heat farther from the suns center, contradicting the helioseismological observations. Either we dont understand the sun or the [new solar abundances] are wrong, Pinsonneault said at a 2011 talk where he favored a higher oxygen abundance.

Still, Pinsonneault acknowledges that Asplunds new models are superior to earlier ones and their redetermination of the solar abundances should be valid. For one thing, Asplunds models take into account convection, which earlier work had neglected. His team also recognized that a red spectral line which supposedly arose from oxygen is actually a blend of oxygen and nickel; subtracting nickels contribution led to a lower oxygen abundance.

Much of the problem stems from the oxygen atom itself. Its just a trouble child, Pinsonneault says. Its always been a trouble child.

Common though oxygen is, it produces few spectral lines in sunlight, all of which are hard to analyze, so the element leaves few clues to its abundance. By contrast, everybody agrees on the solar iron abundance, Pinsonneault says. Thats because iron produces a plethora of spectral lines that are ripe for analysis.

Like Lodders, Pinsonneault calls the seemingly eternal dispute frustrating. Its been surprisingly hard to get new information to resolve the problem, he says. We just need new data to be able to crack this.

Something new under the sun

Fortunately, fresh data will be coming soon. In the laboratory, physicists can measure the opacities of different elements by subjecting them to the torrid temperatures that prevail inside the sun. In recent years, scientists have coaxed these experiments to even higher temperatures  hot enough to probe conditions similar to those deep beneath the solar surface, at the convective-radiative boundary  and in plasmas sufficiently large and long-lived to yield accurate numbers.

In 2015 Jim Bailey, an experimental physicist at Sandia National Laboratories, and his colleagues reported that the opacity of iron in the sun is indeed higher than expected. Our result made the astronomy community pretty happy, he says, because it means that theres at least a hope that they can reconcile what they think are the best abundance estimates with the standard solar model and with helioseismology.

Bailey has now turned his attention to oxygen and expects his first results in three years. If oxygen proves to be more opaque than currently calculated, then the sun doesnt need as much of the element to maintain the observed location of the radiative-convective boundary. That could eliminate the discrepancy between the new solar abundances and helioseismology.

Meanwhile, both Asplund and Pinsonneault point to another promising solution. As the suns core generates energy, it emits neutrinos, ghostly particles that zip away and reach the Earth about eight minutes later. Ongoing studies of these neutrinos should offer a new way to estimate elemental abundances. Thats because certain neutrinos arise in a process that uses carbon, nitrogen and oxygen as catalysts to convert hydrogen into helium.

This CNO cycle generates only about 1 percent of the suns energy, but the more carbon, nitrogen and oxygen the sun truly has, the more of these CNO neutrinos should exist. Six years ago, physicists used the Borexino experiment in Italy to detect neutrinos from the sun's main nuclear reaction. This week, the Borexino researchers announced that this same experiment has picked up the CNO neutrinos, meaning its only a matter of time until they help unveil the solar abundances.

The final verdict?

Lodders notes another reason for hope. Once upon a time, astronomers argued over the cosmic iron abundance: The solar spectrum gave a different level than meteorites did. It was a big mystery for a long time, she says. The debate ended when astronomers used newly measured atomic parameters for iron and revised their calculations of the solar iron abundance, vindicating the meteoritic result.

Asplund expects the ongoing opacity and neutrino experiments to resolve the controversy. I wouldnt bet my house on it, he says, but I would be very disappointed if we dont actually know what the answer is in 10 years time.

Editor's Note: This article was updated on June 25 to reflect the June 23 announcement of the first detection of CNO neutrinos from the sun.

Ken Croswell is an astronomer and author. His favorite chemical element is oxygen.
AN Offaly woman who was left in limbo awaiting urgent knee surgery has urged people to keep pressure on the health service and politicians to ensure their procedures are carried out.

Stephanie Connor was one of hundreds of private patients around the country whose procedures were put on hold during the Covid crisis.

She was due to undergo surgery on her left knee at a private hospital but just four days before her procedure the facility, along with all other independent hospitals in the country, was brought under the control of the Health Service Executive [HSE] to cope with the expected surge in Covid cases.

The surgery was indefinitely postponed but the Clara woman applied pressures on the health sector and local politicians while also campaigning in the local media to highlight her situation.

Stephanie, from Clara, has now received word that her surgery will be carried out in early July in Santry.

She has urged all people in similar circumstances to herself to highlight their plight in the local media and with politicians.

Stephanie suffers severe pain and has spent hundreds of euros on patches to alleviate her situation.

She also suffers from stomach pain due to the amount of painkillers she is ingesting.

Now on crutches, Stephanie, who farms with her husband, David and family outside Clara, also has to contend with hip pain brought on by her knee condition.

There are lots of other people in the same boat as me, Stephanie told the Tribune when speaking before she received notification that her surgery had been rescheduled.

She added; I'm not just speaking for myself but for the hundreds of other people around the country in the same situation.

We are being brushed aside, she added stressing that she and others had paid voluntary health insurance all their lives.

There are cancer and heart patients far worse than me, she stressed.

Stephanie said she spoke with a man with prostrate cancer who was due to have a biopsy but the procedure had been cancelled with no word of a new date.

She added that many people, not just cancer patients, were in similar circumstances and urged them to highlight their plight.

Describing the situation as scandalous, she warned of the consequences for people's health.

Stephanie paid tribute to her G.P., Dr Raymond Campbell and his team at the Market Square Medical Centre in Kilbeggan who she said had been a great support to her.

I would have been in utter despair without him and his staff, she outlined.

Stephanie urged people in a similar position to her to make as much noise as possible.

She has contacted local T.D.s and paid tribute to Deputies Carol Nolan and Clara-based Barry Cowen for their advocacy on her behalf. She also thanked local Tullamore area councillor, Neil Feighery for his assistance

The situation private patients awaiting surgery are in was highlighted last month by Dr Turlough O'Donnell, a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Beacon Hospital in Sandyford, Dublin and also Associate Professor in Clinical Surgery at University College Dublin.
It is up to women, Earhart told some 300 attendees at a dinner at the Congress Hotel, to get behind the aviation program and to aid it in every possible way. Not to have had a ride in an airplane today is like not having heard the radio. There is a great deal that women can do for aviation besides learning to fly and I hope they will do it.
While the English language media gushes over how successful New Zealand has been in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, it has largely failed to report on another part of the world where both infection rates and fatalities remain low.

Significant success stories in Central Europe are being overlooked. Slovakia, home to 5 million people, has so far had only 28 COVID-19 deaths and only 1,607 infections. Thats five deaths per million inhabitants  New Zealand has had four per million inhabitants. The UK has had 628 deaths per million inhabitants, Spain 606, Italy 573 and France 455.

The statistics in some of the other Central European countries have been just as stunning. Croatia has had 26 deaths per million inhabitants, the Czech Republic 32 and Poland 37.

New Zealand has been consistently praised for its swift and stringent lockdown approach. The English speaking media is concentrating almost exclusively on the highly successful test and trace policy of New Zealand, which made it possible for that country to declare, perhaps slightly prematurely, the end of the pandemic on June 8.

But the Central European countries also quickly implemented the same approach extremely early. For instance, the Czech Republic imposed a total lockdown on March 15, when there were just 293 infections in the country.. On March 18 it ordered the population to wear masks. Testing has been freely available from the very beginning, international travel suspended, and travellers requested to self-isolate for 14 days.

In Croatia, the government daily briefing includes detailed information on the national test, trace and isolate strategy. The public is informed about the exact locations of positive cases, how many people were tested and how many contacts were placed in isolation as a result. This has been happening since the first patient was tracked at the end of February. Like New Zealand, Croatia also announced reaching zero cases on June 11. Some local outbreaks followed, but the death rate remains low.

Story continues

But in the English-language media, Central European success has been notably under reported. When it has been the subject of coverage, some long-circulating cultural and geopolitical tropes are evident. Stereotypes about the history of Central Europe continue to shape how the region is viewed by the rest of the world. It is regularly depicted as suffering from continuous hardship and as being blighted by authoritarianism.

For example the headline of a recent New York Times article described how Europes battle-hardened nations show resilience in virus fight and explained how Croatia managed the pandemic successfully because of tough recent experiences of war.

References to wars (in Croatias case the 1990s War of Independence) are not a novelty in reporting Covid-19. But characterising Croatia as being defined by a war that ended a long time ago is one dimensional and patronising.

Xenophobic cliches

Central Europe is written about as though it is a region in a permanent state of crisis. That has been particularly jarring at a time when the whole world is in a state of crisis, and these countries actually seem to be handling it better than many others. The stereotypes the New York Times article enlists, such as the regions experience of traumatic events, hardship, and passive suffering, are all too well known to scholars of the area.

Instead of focusing on themes of collective suffering, perhaps more media should look more closely at the public health systems in operation in Central Europe. Early research indicates these nations should be credited for a successful response to the pandemic.

Another kind of cultural stereotyping is at play too  that people in Central Europe are xenophobic. A recent article on Euroactiv Fondation argues that in those countries citizens are more disciplined and have taken on the virus in the same manner in which they have staunchly opposed migration, as if the aliens would destroy their societies in the manner of science-fiction movies. Eastern Europeans, in general, fail to understand the Western laissez-faire.

It is never suggested that New Zealand introduced strict border closures because of some kind of innate underlying racism. But media coverage in general has a tendency to feed into an overall negative image of Eastern Europe as being guilty of precisely that.

Historical distortions have been playing a prominent role in reporting the coronavirus crisis. It is a shame that there seems to be so little information about what is really happening in Eastern Europe at a moment when every nation is looking to learn from each others successes and failures in dealing with this shared crisis. For this reason we need more coverage in English language media of what has happened in Central Europe.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
An insurer is not liable for injuries caused by a policyholder who shot a 15-year-old boy in the head because the policy excluded coverage for criminal acts, a split Georgia Court of Appeals panel decided.

The 2-1 ruling by the appellate courts Third Division held that Country Mutual Insurance Co. is not liable for a brain injury suffered by 15-year-old Vernon Marcus after Elisabeth Cannon fired shots at him and a friend from her driveway. Cannon pleaded guilty on the morning her trial was set to begin. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In similar cases, in which an insured pleaded guilty to a criminal act, our courts have viewed the guilty plea as prima facie evidence of the facts supporting the guilty plea, the majority said in an opinion written by Presiding Judge Sara L. Doyle.

The decision upheld a ruling by the district court.

Chief Judge Christopher J. McFadden dissented. He noted that Cannon had entered an Alford plea, so named because of a Supreme Court opinion that found it is possible to plead guilty without admitting guilt. He said a jury might find McFadden was not guilty of a crime but had entered the plea only because it was prudent to do so.

Marcus shooting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January 2017 stoked racial tensions in Macon and intense news coverage. Cannon, who is White, had made numerous complaints about suspicious activity, loitering and vandalism by young people on the sidewalk in front of her house, according to the opinion. She used racial epithets to describe the boys, the opinion says.

On the day of the shooting, Cannon called police to complain about boys outside her house, which is located on a busy street near an elementary school, according to press reports. Her father told a sheriffs deputy who responded that he was concerned because Cannon owned a gun.

Cannon asked the deputy if she could point the weapon at the boys and threaten to shoot them, or fire the weapon in the air. The deputy warned her not to take the law in her own hands, saying it would be a crime to threaten someone with a gun or discharge a firearm. The deputy later told the boys on the sidewalk to stay on the other side of the street.

About five hours later, Cannon called 911 to report that she had shot someone. She told police that she fired her .38 revolver because three boys had thrown rocks at her and her daughter. Investigators, however, found no evidence that any rocks had been thrown.

Prosecutors said Marcus had never before had any altercation with Cannon. He was simply passing by her house while returning from an errand, walking with a friend, according to a report by The Telegraph newspaper in Macon. The newspaper said audiotapes of 911 calls by Cannon revealed that she ranted about Blacks and people on Section 8.

Marcus family filed a lawsuit in May 2017 seeking a declaratory judgment that Country Mutual, which insured Cannons home, was obligated to provide coverage for the damages caused by the shooting.

During a sentencing hearing in April 2018, Marcus mother, Bridgete, testified that her son had not been able to speak since the shooting, had trouble with his balance and had constant buzzing in his ears, according to The Telegraph.

Cannon testified that she didnt intend to shoot the boys and had aimed at the ground. She said she fired the pistol only because three boys were threatening her.

Marus family pointed to the possibility that the shooting could be construed to be in self defense in the lawsuit against Country Mutual. The appellate panel, however, decided that Cannons self-serving testimony does not overcome the evidence that she had committed a crime, revealed by her guilty plea.

Our courts have held that when a person in Cannons position gives contradictory testimony as to her culpability, absent a reasonable explanation, such as incapacity at the guilty plea, the law will construe this contradiction against [her],' the court said.
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In an effort to better understand how mobile phones empower women, the authors also conducted an individual level analysis on 100,000 women from Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe between 2015 and 2017. Though these sub-Saharan countries show slow fertility decline and infant and maternal mortality rates remain high, the adoption of mobile phones is fast spreading.Results indicate that, other things being equal, women who own a mobile phone have a 1% higher probability of being involved in decision-making processes about contraception, 2% higher likelihood of using modern contraceptive methods, and a 3% higher likelihood of knowing where to get tested for HIV with respect to women who do not own a phone. These effects are sizeable, as they are comparable to, if not bigger than, the effects of living in an urban area compared to living in a rural area. Similar effects are estimated on higher overall decision-making power within the household.According to the researchers, improved knowledge and enhanced decision-making power are the likely pathways through which the macro-level results emerge. The analysis of individual data also confirms that the effects are stronger in poorer and more isolated areas.Still, despite the proliferation of mobile networks, the researchers acknowledge that digital divides by gender and socioeconomic strata persist in the developing world. Women are less likely to own mobile phones on their own, use them less often when they have access, and have poorer information and communications technology skills compared to men, creating second-level (skill-related) digital divides on top of first-level (access-related) ones."Our results suggest that deploying mobile-phone technology might serve to complement the role of other development processes such as educational expansion and economic growth rather than a replacement for it," says Luca Maria Pesando, a professor in the Department of Sociology and Centre on Population Dynamics at McGill University.Source: Eurekalert
TEHRAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th June, 2020) Tehran plans to begin production of hypersonic missiles soon, Iranian Navy Commander Hossein Khanzadi said on Thursday.

"The production of hypersonic missiles equipped with turbofan engines will be on the agenda in the near future.

Their speed will be several times that of the speed of sound," Khanzadi said, according to Iran's Fars news agency.

Iran is far from being the only country engaged in enhancing its military capabilities with hypersonic arms. On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin affirmed the country's leadership in cutting-edge weaponry, including hypersonic weapons.
How did we get to this? How is that something that virtually every doctor and scientist recommends  wearing a mask to reduce the spread of the coronavirus  has become something to argue over? Why have some people redefined this simple act as weak or stupid or a violation of their rights?

Were better than this. Lets start acting like it.

Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branicks order requires all customers and workers at businesses to wear masks. Other county judges in Texas have done the same thing, and many businesses had required them for employees anyway.

This is an order that all of us need to obey. Its easy to comply with, and it will reduce the chances that you spread the virus to someone else. To a lesser extent, it will also prevent you from inhaling the virus from someone else. The coronavirus can be spread by various forms of contact, but the most common means of transmission is inhaling air that has been exhaled by someone who is infected.

This is what people do in pandemics, even during severe flu outbreaks, and it works as well as anything. Its not perfect, because nothing is, but it helps and its infinitely better than doing nothing.

Yet somehow, these basic facts have become a dividing point in our society, about as useless as any that we can remember.

Shopkeepers who politely ask customers to put on a mask are angrily told they will go somewhere else. An Enterprise photographer working on our story about the first day of the order was threatened and cursed by a group of unmasked men as they entered Parkdale Mall. As that story reported, a store owner in Beaumont has a 3-year-old daughter who has leukemia and therefore needs to take extra steps to avoid bringing the virus into her home. Yet she had to abandon a voluntary mask policy for her store when some customers threatened to boycott her.

In a poll on our website, about two-thirds of the early respondents said they would comply with Branicks order on wearing masks. Others said they disagreed but would comply. Good for them. Yet more than 1 in 5 said they would defiantly not comply. One person dismissed the order as pure political BS.

Good grief. Youre not being asked to donate a kidney, as one local hospital worker tartly observed on the poll. Youre simply being asked to wear a mask to protect yourself and others. This basic action could prevent you or someone in your family from getting the coronavirus  or giving it to someone else. Thats a reality even if you are young and healthy  which is not even a complete guarantee that you wont become sickened by the virus.

Think of this like the speed limit on any road. You comply and expect everyone to do so for the greater public good. Its not an infringement on your liberty, its a way to reduce accidents and fatalities.

Please put on that mask so we can all get one day closer to the day when no one has to wear one.
Northern Ireland's shipbuilding story has entered a new chapter after a maritime tech business won 60m in funding for a project which could bring 1,000 jobs to Belfast.

The 60m for the consortium led by Artemis Technologies - headed by Olympic sailing medallist sailor Iain Percy - includes 33m to spend on developing zero-emissions ferries.

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The project - which also involves Belfast Harbour, Creative Composites, Queen's University and Bombardier among other companies - will initially create 125 jobs but is expected to lead to over 1,000 in the next decade.

Artemis Technologies is the only recipient in Northern Ireland of the UK Research and Innovation Strength in Places Fund, announced today.

Artemis Technologies is a spin-off from sailing team Artemis Racing.

Mr Percy said: "When we launched Artemis Technologies, we decided to base ourselves in Belfast because of the incredible aerospace and composite engineering talent available.

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"Belfast's local expertise, coupled with the city's rich shipbuilding heritage and our own America's Cup yacht design experience, will ensure Belfast is the global lead in zero emissions maritime technology.

"For years, we've been designing low energy, high performance solutions for some of the fastest yachts on the planet, and we will now utilise that knowledge, and along with our partners, apply it to build the world's most environmentally friendly high-speed ferries, capable of carrying up to 350 passengers."

He said the company's concept of an electric hydrofoil propulsion system would allow vessels to operate with up to 90% less energy and zero emissions.

"As cities across the world seek ways to reduce pollution and ease traffic congestion, the transformative vessels to be produced right here in Belfast, will have a global role to play in delivering the connected maritime transport system of the future."

And he said the project would put Northern Ireland "at the centre of the revolution in water transport".

First Minister Arlene Foster said: "We are all proud of Belfast's maritime and shipbuilding heritage. However, it is even more exciting to look towards a future which can see Northern Ireland once again leading the way with world-class manufacturing and cutting-edge technology.

"I pay tribute to all those involved in the project which demonstrates so clearly the benefits of collaboration between business, academia and government at all levels. This investment can support economic growth locally, but its impact could be felt globally through solutions to more sustainable transport."

Bombardier's chief operating officer Michael J Ryan said its expertise would bring a depth of experience to support Artemis.

Suzanne Wylie, chief executive of Belfast City Council, said the investment would help the economy here recover more quickly from the effects of the pandemic.
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Rep. Annette Glenn, R-Midland, and the state House of Representatives this week overwhelmingly approved a plan to provide tax relief to families in Midland County devastated by severe flood damage after the failure of the Edenville Dam.

Glenn said the measure will provide more flexibility for 2020 summer property taxes, which will help families in Bay and Midland counties who are fighting to recover from flooding and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

This plan will provide welcome financial flexibility and peace of mind for people in our communities at a time they desperately need it, Glenn said.

House Bill 5761 allows a business or residential property owner who isnt able to pay summer property taxes to have those taxes deferred without any penalties or interest. The property owner simply has to sign an affidavit stating theyve been economically impacted by the pandemic or recent flooding, both of which led to state of emergency declarations.

Related legislation, HB 5810, provides temporary cash flow assistance for local governments facing shortfalls because of late tax payments. Property tax payments make up a pivotal source of revenue for local governments and fund services residents rely on every day.

Initially, House Bills 5761 and 5810 did not include support for those in Midland, Sanford, and other areas impacted by flood damage, Glenn said on the House Floor Wednesday. The bills have now returned to this chamber from the Senate, and Im pleased with the much-needed changes. In addition to helping those affected by COVID-19 and the economic shutdown of Michigan, these bills now also help property owners in communities ravaged by flooding. Both events have affected lives and livelihoods in unimaginable ways.

In many Michigan communities, summer property taxes are due between July and mid-September. If signed by the governor, these measures would give property owners who suffer economic hardship from the Midland County floods until May 2021 to pay the bill without penalty or interest.

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[June 26, 2020] Insights & Forecast with Potential Impact of COVID-19 - Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market 2019-2023 | Demand for Data Integration and Visual Analytics to Boost Growth | Technavio

Technavio has been monitoring the artificial intelligence in energy market and it is poised to grow by USD 6.06 billion during 2019-2023. 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/20200626005277/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market 2019-2023 (Graphic: Business Wire) Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report of 2020-2024 on COVID-19 Impact The market is highly concentrated, and the degree of concentration will decelerate during the forecast period. ABB, Alphabet, GENERAL ELECTRIC, IBM (News - Alert), and Siemens are some of the major market participants. The demand for data integration and visual analytics will offer immense growth opportunities. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. Demand for data integration and visual analytics has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market 2019-2023: Segmentation Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market is segmented as below: Solution Software Hardware Services

Geographic Landscape The Americas APAC EMEA

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download latest free sample report of 2020-2024: htps://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30051



Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market 2019-2023: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our artificial intelligence in energy market report covers the following areas:

Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market size

Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market trends

Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market analysis This study identifies the increasing adoption of cloud-based solutions as one of the prime reasons driving the artificial intelligence in energy market growth during the next few years. Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market 2019-2023: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the artificial intelligence in energy market, including some of the vendors such as ABB, Alphabet, GENERAL ELECTRIC, IBM, and Siemens (News - Alert). Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the artificial intelligence in energy 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 Artificial Intelligence in Energy Market 2019-2023 : Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2019-2023

Detailed information on factors that will assist artificial intelligence in energy market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the artificial intelligence in energy market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the artificial intelligence in energy market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of artificial intelligence in energy market vendors Table Of Contents: PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Market segmentation analysis PART 04: MARKET SIZING Market definition

Market sizing 2018

Market size and forecast 2018-2023 PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY SOLUTION Market segmentation by solution

Comparison by solution

Software - Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Hardware - Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Services - Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Market opportunity by solution PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Americas - Market size and forecast 2018-2023

EMEA - Market size and forecast 2018-2023

APAC - Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Key leading countries

Market opportunity PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES Market drivers

Market challenges PART 11: MARKET TRENDS PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

ABB

Alphabet

GENERAL ELECTRIC

IBM

Siemens PART 14: APPENDIX Research methodology

List of abbreviations PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005277/en/

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FILE PHOTO: A labourer stands in the wooden frame of a house under construction in Sydney

By Jonathan Barrett and Swati Pandey

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Chinese buyer enquiries for Australian homes fell to their lowest in almost three years in May, according to independent data, suggesting multi-billion dollar housing demand could be another casualty of a diplomatic spat between the two countries.

Data published by international property portal Juwai IQI shows enquiries slumped by more than 65% in May compared with April, when enquiries surged as Australia emerged from the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic ahead of most rival markets.

May's slide coincided with a move by Canberra to push for an investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus, first detected in China late last year, drawing a sharp rebuke from Beijing and threats of economic reprisals.

A prolonged slump in interest from China's real estate buyers could spell trouble for a sector that has been a pillar of Australia's economy in recent years. Mainland China has been a major source of foreign real estate investment, with investors pouring A$6.1 billion ($4.2 billion) into residential and commercial construction and home auctions in the last financial year alone.

"If the situation doesn't escalate further things will stabilise," Juwai IQI Executive Chairman Georg Chmiel told Reuters in a phone interview. "So long as it isn't prolonged, as long as it isn't systemic."

May's drop means mainland China now ranks below the United States and Canada as the largest source countries for investment in property in Australia, the Juwai IQI data shows.

Chinese investment typically flows into new apartments, fuelling construction activity and employment.

But a slowdown in Chinese demand will be a fresh blow to the already slowing housing market, though official figures still show dwelling approvals up 5.7% from a year ago.

Economists generally expect the diplomatic tensions to be resolved without too much of a hit to Australia's economy, though the spat is an added risk to an already uncertain outlook.

Story continues

"In the current environment the rise in tensions potentially will have a negative impact so it is somewhat concerning," said Sarah Hunter, chief economist at BIS Oxford.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) expressed concern at its June 2 policy meeting about the outlook for dwelling investment, with the construction pipeline drying up, auction activity slowing and rents creeping lower.

A pullback could further frustrate Canberra's attempts to reignite the economy, made more difficult by China's decision in May to start suspending beef imports from Australia's major meat processors, and impose hefty tariffs on barley.

($1 = 1.4529 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Jonathan Barrett and Swati Pandey; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
U.S. Attorney David Freed is worried about senior citizens being scammed during the coronavirus pandemic. And he has reason to be. Seniors are the most vulnerable to serious complications and death from COVID-19, and they are also the most vulnerable to scamsters trying to bilk them out of their hard-earned money.

Freed is featured guest at noon Friday for the first half of Live On with Joyce Davis, on PennLives Facebook page. He will talk about his concerns for Pennsylvanias elderly during the coronavirus crisis, as well as efforts his office is taking to protect them.

During the second half of the program, Davis will bring in political analysts Rogette Harris and Jeffrey Lord to talk about political developments with both the coronavirus crisis and the ongoing protests against police misconduct and racism in American society. Harris and Lord square off each week as part of Battleground PA, PennLives podcast look at political developments in the 2020 elections.

Bring your respectful comments and questions to Live On with Joyce Davis, at noon today.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. You deserve the best. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.

And please subscribe to Battleground PA to stay abreast of the issues in the 2020 elections!
Winnipeg city council members are questioning why they had no say on noise deterrents designed to discourage people from gathering at three local bridges, which some have deemed an inhumane attempt to keep away homeless people.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/6/2020 (576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg city council members are questioning why they had no say on noise deterrents designed to discourage people from gathering at three local bridges, which some have deemed an inhumane attempt to keep away homeless people.

The public works department said the devices were not meant to specifically target the homeless population, but were tested through a pilot project that aimed to keep all citizens away after fires previously damaged the structures.

Following the criticism, the sound-emitting devices were turned off around 10 a.m. Thursday, but remained in place.

The decision came after a video featuring the sound was posted on Twitter, sparking an onslaught of online criticism. The video captured a series of high-pitched beeps at the Maryland Bridge.

Hi @SherriLRollins - are you aware of the speakers set up to play irritating noises on the south side of the Maryland bridge? They seem to be there to deter the homeless camps nearby. This is so cruel and pointless - where are these people supposed to go? pic.twitter.com/s57GYph4mt  Alex Buchner (@AlexBuchner) June 23, 2020

Noise deterrents were installed under three city bridges, including the Maryland Bridge (above) to discourage people from setting up camps. (Jesse Boily / Winnipeg Free Press)

Critics allege the shrill noises offer a "cruel" and "inhumane" way to deter homeless people from setting up camps in the impacted areas.

Mayor Brian Bowman said he agrees with that complaint, and supports the decision to stop using the devices.

"It deeply troubled me when I learned (about) it Part of the concern that I have is the stigmatization that does exist for those members of our community that are affected by homelessness and what it communicates to the broader community," said Bowman.

Coun. Sherri Rollins, chairwoman of the protection and community services committee, echoed those concerns.

"The repeated forced resettlement of people is just not a solution Everyone deserves safety and security, including those who dont have a mailing address," said Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).

Meanwhile, another councillor stressed elected officials should have had the option to vote on the controversial practice.

"It wasnt brought to council first. Apparently, no elected official was privy to this information; I find that hard to believe," said Coun. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood).

Jim Berezowsky, Winnipeg public works director, said he approved the pilot project devices, which were installed in early April. One $1,750 sound-emitting device was installed at Esplanade Riel, as well as the Midtown and Maryland bridges.

City councillors were unaware of the installation of the noise deterrents under three city bridges. (Jesse Boily / Winnipeg Free Press)

The project was aimed at better protecting those sites, after all were damaged in separate fires last fall, he said.

The Fermor Avenue pedestrian underpass has had a similar sound device in place for seven years, Berezowsky said.

A fourth pilot project location was planned at the Osborne Bridge but its installation was not completed.

Fires can badly damage such infrastructure, said Berezowsky, noting a 2017 blaze caused a bridge to collapse in Atlanta.

"There is great safety concerns involved with a fire, and a fire going out of control and then further impacting the community," he said.

The plan did produce some safety benefits, he said.

"Since those sound-emitting devices were installed, weve had no fires under our bridges and weve had nobody with a life safety issue in the river. So, were pretty proud of that fact."

The pilot project didnt require extra funding, so it also didnt require council approval, he added.

A fire destroyed a homeless encampment under the Osborne Street Bridge this past October. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

The city didnt publicly announce the pilot project to ensure citizen feedback came naturally instead of a news release calling extra attention to the devices, Berezowsky said.

"You want to gain that true feedback," he said.

Deterrents unappreciated and possibly dangerous Noise deterrents are successful in repelling homeless people but they are "messed up", says a woman who has fled the annoying sounds. Interviewed on Thursday in a small encampment behind Circle of Life Thunderbird House, Thea Pahpasay said the noise that is purposely irritating has forced her to leave spaces, particularly around downtown. click to read more Noise deterrents are successful in repelling homeless people but they are "messed up", says a woman who has fled the annoying sounds. Interviewed on Thursday in a small encampment behind Circle of Life Thunderbird House, Thea Pahpasay said the noise that is purposely irritating has forced her to leave spaces, particularly around downtown. I was sitting there, I was going to have a beer  this was at eleven  and all of a sudden it started a loud, annoying noise, she said. And I was like, Well, I cant stay here, and I left. Pahpasay said the sound was unbearable, and it was messed up to subject people to it against their will. A tweet from the city Tuesday stated that noisemakers had been installed around the city to discourage gatherings in spaces where encampments are often set up. Just a day later, public outcry resulted in the city announcing it would disable the deterrents. Pahpasay said the noise deterrents could endanger people experiencing homelessness. What if that persons yelling for help, but you cant hear that person? Are they going to send help? They have no place to go, they have no place. Why bother them? The city should focus more strongly on supports for those who are homeless, rather than temporary deterrents, Pahpasay said. I think they should do more planning on housing, especially in the wintertime if its like that, have a routine check on people underneath the bridges, if thats happening, instead of the noise. Her view was echoed by an advocate who said productive support for those dealing with homelessness is better focussed on upholding basic human rights. Kris Clemens, who is the manager of communications for End Homelessness Winnipeg, an organization established in 2015 to address the root causes of homelessness, said these kinds of deterrents are not uncommon in North America, but also called the decision made by the city very, very bizarre. The group was tipped off about the installation of noisemakers not by the city, but by a journalist calling to inquire about them in late April, Clemens said. The group was a little concerned about this news, and the advocacy group was not consulted by the city on the decision at all, she said. It was a bit of a surprise to learn that, eight weeks later, these devices are active in numerous locations around the city, and they had gone ahead even though some concerns were raised at a much earlier time, she said. The public relations kerfuffle by the city could be easily avoided if they collaborated with people with lived experience before implementing measures that would affect them, Clemens said. The reality is, people will often access places under bridges because its dry and sheltered from the elements, and we have an extreme climate in Winnipeg, she said. She recognized that living in these spaces can be dangerous, and she understood the city looking to mitigate risks involved with staying in such spaces, but harms should be considered in a holistic way and the productive response would focus on adequate housing as a human right. People are choosing to sleep outside or in tents because the other options available to them in terms of emergency shelter and low-income housing feel less safe or less comfortable for them, she said. People are choosing between a range of options, all of which are unsafe and uncomfortable, and we need to be able to offer people a basic level of shelter, accommodation and housing that can uphold their human right to have shelter.  Malak Abas Close

Bowman said he, too, is concerned by the fire and safety issues, but believes council and the public service can jointly determine a better way to reduce such risk.

"I appreciate the concerns about safety of the residents. I appreciate the concerns about the integrity of infrastructure We can work with them to find (safety alternatives) that are not as troubling or offensive to Winnipeggers," he said.

While multiple council members said they learned of the matter following online complaints, Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) noted on social media he heard one of the noise makers a few weeks ago and called 311 to ask about it.

Allard was in meetings Thursday and could not be reached for an interview. In an email, Allard noted he was concerned about the practice.

"I felt very disturbed by it and have been thinking and talking about the larger topic since, and what policy response it deserved," he wrote.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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Rebekah Vardy put her WAG war woes with Coleen Rooney to the back of her mind on Friday as she enjoyed a spot of strawberry picking.

The media personality, 38, shared a sweet selfie with son Finley, three, as they made the most of the scorching weather with a fun day out at a strawberry field.

Rebekah beamed to the camera as she cuddled up to her little one, as she prepares to take 'disappointed' Coleen Rooney to court in 1million WAG war lawsuit.

What drama? Rebekah Vardy put her WAG war woes with Coleen Rooney to the back of her mind on Friday as she enjoyed a spot of strawberry picking with her son Finley, three

She appeared radiant in the snap, donning a white leopard print vest and shielding her eyes with mirrored aviator sunglasses, while her brunette tresses were tied into a loose bun.

Documenting her day, Rebekah also shared a snap of Finley larking around the field, carrying his basket for the fruit.

Rebekah has Finley, Sophie, five and baby Olivia Grace, five months, with her husband Jamie Vardy, and is also mum to Megan, 15, and Taylor, nine, from previous relationships, while Jamie shares Ella, nine, with his ex Emma Daggett.

Fun day out: Documenting her day, Rebekah also shared a snap of Finley larking around the field, carrying his basket for the fruit

Rebekah's fun family outing comes as rival Coleen branded Rebekah's decision to issue court proceedings 'disappointing' in a statement issued via her legal team on Tuesday afternoon.

Coleen's lawyer Paul Lunt of Brabners said in a statement: 'It is disappointing that Mrs Vardy has chosen to issue court proceedings.

'Coleen feels that the time and money involved could be put to better use; her offer to meet face to face still stands.

'Mrs Vardy's decision to issue court proceedings does at least mean that Coleen's evidence can be made public when the time is right.'

The WAGs have been at loggerheads after Coleen publicly accused Becky's Instagram account of leaking stories about her last year - something which she vehemently denies.

Overwhelmed with emotion: In February, Becky emotionally claimed on Loose Women that she was hospitalised 'three times' over the impact of her feud with Coleen

Becky is said to have filed paperwork, claiming her ex friend Coleen libelled or slandered her on social media when she posted the serious allegation.

Last month, the pair held a video meeting in a last-ditch attempt to avoid a very public and expensive court hearing, yet it ended in a bitter deadlock.

It is now said it could cost each side 500,000 in legal fees, but Becky is 'completely determined to clear her name at any cost'.

A source told The Sun: 'Becky has made it clear to Coleen that she is deadly serious about clearing her name, and wants a full public apology.

Not impressed: Rival Coleen branded Rebekah's decision to issue court proceedings 'disappointing' in a statement issued via her legal team on Tuesday (pictured this week)

'It's not about money. As far as Becky is concerned, she wants her costs and vindication...

'But since Coleen still refuses to agree to an apology, she's gone ahead with filing the paperwork at the High Court.

'It's a very expensive thing to do and the expectation is costs could run towards half a million pounds for each side but she's completely determined to clear her name at any cost.'

The pair's row began last October, when Coleen claimed Becky's Instagram account was the source leaking stories from her private Instagram account to the press.

The WAG rivals were previously good pals until Coleen made the shock allegation in an explosive social media statement last year.

The statement: Last October, Coleen publicly accused Becky's account in a statement of selling fake stories about her, sparking an angry denial from the then-pregnant WAG

Coleen admitted that stories about her basement flooding, returning to TV and gender selection were only viewed by Becky and these were subsequently followed by media outlets, including MailOnline.

Becky, who denies all allegations and was pregnant at the time, cut her family holiday to Dubai short after the dramatic accusation, which captured Britain in the so-called 'war of the WAGs' and earned Coleen the nickname of 'Wagatha Christie'.

At the time, sources close to Becky said leading law firm, Kingsley Napley, had sent Coleen a letter on her behalf demanding she provides them with the evidence she has against Becky so that she can complete her investigation.

Becky is said to have called in a forensic team to analyse her Instagram account following the explosive claims. The aim is to identify the mole who sold fake stories to The Sun from Coleen's Instagram account.
Boak & Sons staff with awards "Carlisle challenges our employees every time we install their products to be the best of the best, and we deliver." - Sam Boak

Boak & Sons, Inc. is a residential and commercial exterior contracting company that specializes in roofing, siding, gutters and insulation. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, the business serves customers from Cleveland to Pittsburgh with anything from small repairs to full replacements and installation and everything in between. One of their top manufacturers, Carlisle Syntec Systems, has once again awarded Boak & Sons with the Carlisle Perfection Award.

Carlisle Syntec is a leading manufacturer of single-ply roofing materials and supplies roofing companies across the country with their products. To be eligible for the Carlisle Perfection Award, contractors must have a seven-year track record of exceptional installation quality as well as outstanding warranty claim performance. They also need to have completed a minimum amount of warranted work and number of jobs per year. This award is given to the top 5% of all applicators in the United States and Canada, and this is the third year in a row that Boak & Sons has qualified as a recipient.

Its a pleasure to acknowledge and thank contractors who are committed to top-quality workmanship, said Carlisles Vice President of Marketing, Mike DuCharme. Perfection Award winners demonstrate their dedication to excellence on every installation, and Boak & Son, Inc. exemplifies this mindset.

Sam Boak, president and founder of Boak & Sons, Inc., started the business back in 1974 while he was still in high school. The company grew quickly and expanded into other departments, and is now one of the leading exterior contractors in the Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. The Carlisle Perfection award exemplifies their skills in commercial roofing services.

Boak & Sons puts quality over quantity into each exterior contracting project we execute, said Sam Boak. Carlisle challenges our employees every time we install their products to be the best of the best, and we deliver. Receiving this award for a third year in a row is something I hope my employees are extremely proud of because it is well deserved.

To view a complete list of requirements for the Carlisle Perfection award, click here. To learn more about Boak & Sons, Inc., visit http://www.boakandsons.com.

About Boak & Sons:

Boak & Sons, Inc. was founded by Sam Boak in 1974 as an insulation contractor. With the high energy costs of the 70's, Boak & Sons expanded early on into the roofing business. They offered economical roof installations through cutting edge technology and equipment, allowing customers to recoup even more in energy savings. Today, Boak & Sons is a residential and commercial contractor for roofing, insulation, sheet metal, siding, and gutters. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, the company serves customers in surrounding areas from Cleveland, Akron, and Canton to Cranberry and Pittsburgh. For more information on Boak & Sons, visit their website at: https://www.boakandsons.com/
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In the span of just two weeks, two Black men were recently found hanging from trees in the Antelope Valley. Some believed they were lynched, arguing that a Black man wouldn't take his life in that way.

The case of Robert Fuller in Palmdale is still under investigation. The family of Malcolm Harsch, who was found in Victorville, said after reviewing footage from a nearby surveillance camera that it believes the 38-year-old took his own life.

We looked at suicide in the African American community, and found a complicated picture.

[If you or a loved one needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Los Angeles County maintains a 24-hour bilingual hotline at 800-854-7771]

In 2017, Black Californians died by suicide at less than half the rate of White Californians.

Statistics like these have long contributed to the narrative that suicide is a White phenomenon.

WRONG ASSUMPTIONS

"For a long time it was assumed that Black people really did not commit suicide at the level or rate that we often think of in the general population, and that in fact it was unusual to hear about a Black person committing suicide," said Dr. Altha Stewart, a dean at the University of Tennessee's College of Medicine.

But Stewart, who's also a former president of the American Psychiatric Association, said research is showing that those assumptions are wrong -- at least regarding Black youth.

Studies have found the suicide rate among Black youth ages 5-11 is increasing faster than for any other racial or ethnic group. Researchers determined that for the 10-19 age group, it had nearly doubled between 2007 and 2017.

For those under age 13, Blacks are taking their own lives at twice the rate of Whites, according to Dr. Michael Lindsey, executive director of NYU's McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research.

"It has been important for us to call out these trends and do the research to document it," he said.

"We can no longer afford for the face of suicide to be that of older White men," Lindsey said.

He noted that he worked on a study that found that between 1991 and 2017, suicide attempts by high schoolers decreased for Whites (by 7%), Latinos (by 11%) and Asians (by 56%). But the number went up significantly for Blacks -- by 73%.

'I HOLD MY BREATH SCROLLING MY TIMELINE'

Lindsey and other experts are concerned that the current moment will have further negative mental health impacts on the Black community. COVID-19 is disproportionately harming African Americans, while at the same time images of police brutality and killings of Black people are ubiquitous.

"As a Black woman, I hold my breath scrolling my timeline, because there's just so many headlines," said Ashley Stewart, a researcher at USC. She worked on a recent study that looked at the mental health effects of exposure to traumatic events online -- such as police killings -- on people of color.

"Seeing these videos was in fact associated with symptoms of depression and PTSD," she said.

Stewart is curious about whether seeing these events online might be a factor in young people of color considering suicide.

Lindsey said he's often asked why we're seeing an alarming increase in suicidal behavior among Black youth in recent decades.

He doesn't have an answer, he said, because of a lack of research on the topic.

STRUCTURAL RACISM HINDERS RESEARCH

That's why Lindsey calls for more funding and a better pipeline to get researchers of color into the field to investigate the risk factors for suicide among Black youth.

"In this contemporary context, it's only going to make matters worse if we do not address these issues," he said.

Lindsey served on the Congressional Black Caucus' Emergency Task Force on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health. The task force found that Black scientists are less likely than their White peers to be awarded federal dollars for their proposed studies.

"The structural racism of research is not unlike the structural racism that governs clinical care and education in the health care arena," said the University of Tennessee's Stewart, who also served on the task force.

There are some signs of change in this area, though. Just last week, the National Institute of Mental Health put out a call for research on Black youth suicide, citing the task force report.

GO DEEPER:

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David Ben David is the founder and creative director of Sprayground, a streetwear line known for its art-inspired backpacks and collaborations with celebrities like Spike Lee and Shaquille ONeal.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, however, Mr. Ben David has added masks to his collection. He is also volunteering: Every Sunday, he teams up with the Lower Eastside Girls Club to distribute food and Sprayground apparel, like masks and hoodies, to New Yorkers in need.

Mr. Ben David splits his time between Manhattan and Teaneck, N.J. Before the pandemic, he and his family spent weekdays in New Jersey and weekends at his Midtown apartment. For now, they are adjusting to life as suburbanites. Mr. Ben David, 33, lives with his wife, Rina, 32, and their four children: Aden, 11; Liana, 9; Elisha, 7; and Tehillah, 4.
John and Mary Lynn Chomistek, 2606 Mount Vernon, Midland, are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. The former Mary Lynn Hanson married Chomistek on June 26, 1970, in Midland Country Club. They have five children: Jennifer Uhl of Springfield, Virginia, Carrie Woodzell of Flushing, Kenneth Chomistek of Ann Arbor, Andrea Chomistek of Chicago, and Abbie Dahl of Grand Rapids. They also have eight grandchildren. John Chomistek, who served as a U.S. Air Force pharmacy officer, has been a pharmacist for over 55 years, working all over Midland. He continues to serve patients at pharmacies in Coleman, Saginaw and Beaverton. Mary Lynn is a retired entrepreneur. She started and ran a successful small business teaching and caring for children for two decades. The family will host a small, virtual celebration to be followed by an appropriately large celebration when safety permits.

How they met: John walked into Chemical Bank in the late 1960s to find a lovely and elegant teller named Mary Lynn at the counter. Entranced, John altered his normally modest behavior and asked Mary Lynn for a date. Despite her initial reluctance, she discovered a warm and generous person with whom she'd like to spend the next 50+ years.
A girl was injured on Friday when Pakistan troops fired at her when she was grazing goats near the line of control (LoC) in J&K's Poonch district.

Police said 17-year-old Nazia was grazing goats near the LoC on the Indian side in Mendhar sector when Pakistan troops fired at her.

"The girl sustained a gunshot injury and has been shifted to hospital for treatment", police said.
(TNS)  In as little as two years, small robots may be delivering your packages, takeout and even medical supplies, thanks to a bipartisan North Carolina bill that is poised to be signed into law.The bill, which would authorize and regulate small personal delivery robots around the state, passed in the House on Wednesday in a near unanimous vote. The Senate voted Thursday to send the bill to Gov. Roy Coopers desk, where he will decide whether to sign it into law. Senate Bill 739 comes as a handful of other states have passed similar legislation, and as automated delivery robots have been delivering packages and food to some communities around the country.For more than two years, the startup Kiwi Campus has operated food delivery robots at the University of California, Berkeley, delivering tens of thousands of orders, and just last year Amazon and FedEx each launched their own robot lines, automating delivery services in the final leg of a packages journey.Sen. Jim Perry, a Kinston Republican and sponsor of the bill, said he first learned about these robots from a FedEx representative at a business conference last year. He called this legislation and others like it a pilot program, and said that with the technology centric nature of the Research Triangle it made sense to implement something similar in North Carolina.Coronavirus gives robot deliveries new meaningPerry added that the COVID-19 pandemic had heightened the importance of these robots, as they would allow for contactless deliveries and could easily be sanitized.It took on a whole new meaning, he said. There are hospitals now that are using delivery devices for medications.But even if the legislation is signed into law by Cooper, it will still be a while before robots are roaming North Carolina streets. The bill would not go into effect until December, and Perry said he expected it would take at least another year to begin rolling them out across the state.Its not like were going to see 20,000 of them tomorrow in a city, he said. It will be a slower ramp up process.The bill imposes certain limitations on the delivery robots, like mandating they weigh fewer than 500 pounds, move at a speed of less than 10 miles per hour, yield to humans and not carry hazardous materials, among other regulations. Perry said these restrictions were intended to make the robots safer and keep people feeling comfortable.In a statement over email, a FedEx spokeswoman said the company appreciated the support of the NC General Assembly in its passage of the bill, and looked forward to further testing of its devices in new areas.For the first two years after the bill goes into effect, local governments will only be allowed to regulate the time and place of operation of the small delivery robots, but not prohibit their use. After two years, the bill allows local governments to prohibit their use if they find it necessary.Perry said these limitations were in place to reduce variability and help measure the return on investment for the robots, but that local governments would always be able to opt out of using the devices.Amid a quietly nervousness over the automation of jobs, Perry said that he had heard some concerns about how the bill could impact delivery jobs. But he said he believed it would ultimately bring in more employment opportunities, creating new jobs to help design and implement the technology across the state.He added that if the robots prove to be more efficient, the change would have been somewhat inevitable.Polaroid couldnt prevent the evolution of film going to digital, he said.It cant do everything that a human can do. Thats impossible, he continued. But we do think it could help fill a gap, and people want things faster every day. Were the microwave society.




The 105-story Ryugyong Hotel is seen in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang in this Oct. 7, 2018, photo. /Korea Times file



By Richard Pennington




Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Covid-19: Building Resilience to Pandemics | K N Ninan

by K N Ninan

If there is one lesson that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us, it is as to how governments in the developed and developing world have been caught napping and unprepared to meet a disaster of this nature and scale. Even after the global community overcomes the pandemic questions will linger on as to why governments including the Indian Government failed to act in time such as closing its international borders even though first reports of the corona virus appeared in January 2020. The pandemic has affected around 9 million people spread across 185 countries and caused over 4.7 lakh deaths. In the USA alone the number of affected people has crossed two million people with deaths exceeding 119,000. In the United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy and Spain the number of deaths in each country ranged between 28.000 to 50,000 deaths.

The fact that India has comparatively reported lower number of deaths (over 13,000 deaths respectively) may lull us into complacency as to how well India has managed to control the pandemic. Whether these are due to the lower level of testing and screening of vulnerable people or other factors needs probing. Why is it that developed countries with well-endowed health infrastructure and indicators compared to India failed to anticipate the flood of affected people seeking critical care. Scenes of patients lying on floors in hospital corridors or put up in tents or pavements outside hospitals in developed countries point to a total collapse of the hospitals to cope with such huge numbers of affected people. As per World Health Organisation statistics, the number of hospital beds per 10,000 population in the USA, UK, Italy, Spain and France ranged between 28 to 83 as against only 6.6 in India. Even Sri Lanka fares better than India with these figures being over 35. In terms of medical doctors per 10,000 population the average figures for these developed countries ranged between 26 to 42; for India this was only 8.6. The number of nursing and midwife personnel per 10,000 population for India was just around 17 as against between 57 to 145 for these developed countries. Although there are no official statistics on the number of ventilators available in the public sector in India, some agencies suggest that taking into account the number of ICU beds available in the public sector and assuming that 50% of these have ventilator facilities then the number of ventilators available in India may range between 17850 to over 25,000. Just imagine if India had to cater to one million patients as in the USA. Besides there is great disparity in health infrastructure across states in India and between urban and rural areas.

The government has relied on the Epidemics Diseases Act of 1897 and the Disaster Management Act of 2005 to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. The former enacted by the colonial government to tackle the bubonic plague in Bombay in 1896 lists out the powers of the government to address epidemics and penalise offenders. But it failed to define an epidemic or pandemic. Despite around 16 million people dying in India due to the Spanish flu after World War I and recent epidemics such as SARS, swine flu, nipah, plague it is a surprising that successive governments have not thought it fit to enact a comprehensive legislation to tackle such pandemics. The Disaster Management Act appears to be largely geared to addressing natural or man-made disasters such as floods, droughts, cyclones or industrial mishaps and not specifically to health disasters such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the UPA government appointed a task force to review the act its report submitted in 2013 is gathering dust or eaten by termites. The Modi government drafted a bill on Public Health (Prevention, Control and Management of Epidemics, Bioterrorism and Disasters in 2017 to replace the Epidemics Act of 1897 but it is yet to be tabled in Parliament.

Building resilience is key to tackling disasters and pandemics. When a devastating cyclone struck Odisha state in 1999 over 10,000 people perished whereas a similar calamity fifteen years later reported only less than 50 deaths due to superior warning systems and evacuations. India needs to learn from Japan which is highly prone to disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and landslides. There are manuals to familiarise the public on what to do if an earthquake, tsunami or fire occurs. For instance, the Earthquake Survival Manual issued by the Tokyo Metropolitan government advises the public that if an earthquake occurs then turn off gas, oil heaters and if a fire occurs put it out immediately. Protect yourself from falling objects whether indoors or outdoors. If you are indoors then open the door immediately since the earthquake may jam the doors and you may be trapped inside. Periodic disaster drills are conducted in government offices, educational institutions and corporate offices to familiarise people on how to cope with disasters. Even fire drills are conducted so that people know how to use a fire extinguisher or exit a building if it catches fire. We know the chaos and death toll that occurred when a fire broke out in the Carleton building in Bangalore years ago when it was found that the emergency fire exit door couldnt be opened since unwanted office furniture was dumped there.

The government needs to ramp up and improve access to public health. Government health expenditure in India is a depressing 1% of GDP as against 8-10% in the developed countries. Government needs to re-orient its priorities. Should it squander Rs 20,000 crores on remodelling the central vista in Delhi or invest this in public health, education and research. Sadly, whenever governments face a fiscal crisis it guillotines expenditures on these sectors.

(The author is an economist) Email: ninankn[at]yahoo.co.in
BBC Three and Hulu are hoping for another TV triumph as it's confirmed the channels are adapting Sally Rooney's novel Conversations with Friends.

Following the huge success of Normal People, the drama series based on Rooney's 2018 novel, Hulu and the BBC have teamed up again to adapt the author's 2017 debut.

A 12-part series of half hour episodes will be helmed by Irish director Lenny Abrahamson, who also directed Normal People.

More to come! Sally Rooney's novel Conversations with Friends is being adapted for television following the huge success of Normal People

Normal People writer Alice Birch, who is also a story editor on HBO drama Succession, will be lead writer for the adaptation.

Like her 2018 smash, Conversations With Friends is also set in Trinity College Dublin.

It follows two college students Frances and Bobbi, and the strange, unexpected connection they forge with a married couple, Melissa and Nick.

Sally first published Conversations With Friends in 2017 and released Normal People in 2018, with the latter winning Costa Book Award and Irish Novel of the Year - to name a few accolades.

Success: Following the huge success of Normal People, the drama series based on Rooney's 2018 novel, Hulu and the BBC have teamed up again to adapt the author's 2017 debut

Normal People co-producer Ed Guiney teased the future plans for Conversations with Friends last month when asked about a second series following Connell and Marianne:

'Not in the short term. We've turned our attention  we're adapting Conversations with Friends as a television series. But maybe down the line we'll come back to Connell and Marianne,' he added.

Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones will return to their Normal People roles as Comic Relief revealed this week that the characters will return for two specials after series one broke BBC iPlayer records.

The two specials will air on Friday June 26 on RTE Does Comic Relief in Ireland, with Paul and Daisy reprising their roles.

Huge hit: A 12 part series of half hour episodes will be helmed by Irish director Lenny Abrahamson, who also directed Normal People

The charity's co-founder Richard Curtis thrilled fans when he confirmed the news, which will imagine the lead characters' lives several decades into the future.

Speaking on RTE Radio 1's Sunday with Miriam, he said: 'There's a beautiful piece called Normal Older People, which is imagining what would have happened to Marianne and Connell 40 years from now.

'I promise you, these are two very special bits. It's so much better than anything we've ever made. I mean I can't even say all about it because there's a guest star in it. But it's really, it's really beautiful.

Richard also confirmed that series director Lenny Abrahamson will also return to helm the specials.

Normal People has been the most watched show on BBC Three ever.

The first episode of the drama has now been watched by 6.75 million devices just two months after it aired, making it the most popular programme on the channel ever.

Watch Normal People on BBC Three, or on Stan in Australia.
Washington

U.S. officials estimate that 20 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus since it first arrived in the United States, meaning that the vast majority of the population remains susceptible.

Thursday's estimate is roughly 10 times as many infections as the 2.3 million cases that have been confirmed. Officials have long known that millions of people were infected without knowing it and that many cases are being missed because of gaps in testing.

The news comes as the Trump administration works to tamp down nationwide concern about the COVID-19 pandemic as about a dozen states are seeing worrisome increases in cases.

The administration also looks to get its scientific experts back before the public more as it tries to allay anxieties about the pandemic while states begin reopening.

Twenty million infections means that about 6 percent of the nation's 331 million people have been infected.

"It's clear that many individuals in this nation are still susceptible," Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on a call with reporters Thursday. "Our best estimate right now is that for every case that was reported, there actually are 10 more infections."

Previously, CDC officials and the nation's top infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said that as many as 25 percent of infected people might not have symptoms.

The new estimate is based on CDC studies of blood samples collected nationwide. Many infections were not caught in early testing, when supplies were limited and federal officials prioritized testing for those with symptoms.

Administration officials are pointing to the new data to allay public anxieties, claiming that while there have been significant spikes, they have the outbreaks well in hand. They maintained they were not trying to minimize a public health crisis, but said the nation is in a markedly different place with the virus now than when the U.S. last saw similar infection numbers in mid-April, when testing infrastructure was weaker.

"This is still serious," Redfield said on the call. "But I'm asking people to recognize that we're in a different situation today than we were in March or April," with more cases today in younger people who are not as likely to develop serious illness or die from infection, he said.

Several independent experts said the methods and locations of sampling are key to interpreting the numbers.

Dr. Thomas Tsai, a Harvard University health policy researcher, said 20 million seems reasonable, but "most of these estimates exist in a range" and it's important to know how wide that is."

Justin Lessler, a researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said 20 million infected "is about what you'd expect based on the case fatality rate" and the number of deaths that have occurred in the U.S.

Despite the phaseout of daily White House coronavirus briefings, the administration has been closely monitoring data on the spread of COVID-19 and has been deploying teams from the CDC to identify and stem outbreaks around the country.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

A dozen states in recent weeks have seen a worrisome uptick in new cases, as well as in the more critical measure of the percentage of positive cases discovered in tests performed. Seven states have seen more than 10 percent of tests come back positive. And troublesome spikes in Sun Belt states have dominated news coverage in recent days, to the consternation of Trump administration officials.

They point instead to more nuanced county-level data, which shows positivity rates exceeding 10 percent in just 3 percent of the nation's counties. Yet they acknowledge that some of the areas with the highest transmission rates are generally the most populous, suggesting tens of millions of Americans could be living in areas with spiking infections.

As states reopen, the administration says it is up to governors and local officials to determine how to respond to the spikes. Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, for example, put a hold on any further steps to reopen and reimposed a ban on elective surgeries in some areas to preserve hospital space after the number of patients statewide more than doubled in two weeks.

The CDC teams, officials said, are working to trace new outbreaks and reinforce protective measures like social distancing and mask wearing in hard-hit areas and to remind vulnerable populations to take extreme precautions. The administration says those efforts have helped slow new infections in North Carolina and Alabama.

With testing far more widespread now, officials believe 50 percent of new cases in Florida and Texas are among people ages 35 or younger, and most of them are asymptomatic.

The U.S. is testing about 500,000 patients per day. On a per capita basis, the U.S. rate falls behind several other countries, including Spain, Australia, Russia and Iceland, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

There is no scientific consensus on the rate of testing needed to control the virus. But many experts say the U.S. should be testing roughly 1 million to 3 million people daily to catch new cases and prevent flareups. Administration officials said they expect to be able to run 20-40 million tests per month beginning this fall.
A healthcare worker walks through the Texas Medical Center in Houston on Thursday, one of several Texas facilities under strain from a sharp increase in patients with COVID-19. (David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

Just weeks after the coronavirus overwhelmed hospitals in and around New York City, medical centers in Arizona, Florida, Texas and other states with skyrocketing infections are rapidly filling with sick patients, threatening their healthcare systems.

The swift increase has forced hospital leaders to begin bringing in extra staff, converting space into dedicated coronavirus units and, in some cases, moving sick patients hundreds of miles to get to available beds.

Surging numbers of patients with COVID-19  though still shy of the wave that hit New York  also raise the prospect of new restrictions on nonessential medical care to free up beds for patients infected with virus.

The numbers are definitely scary, said Judy Rich, chief executive of Tucson Medical Center, a hospital with more than 500 beds that serves patients from across southern Arizona. Tucson Medical Center has seen a threefold increase in COVID-19 patients since the beginning of June.

When we started opening up the state, we immediately saw pictures of people packing into bars at night and celebrating, Rich said. It feels like we did too much too fast, and now we are paying the price.

California, where infections are also soaring, is beginning to experience its own crush, with the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients surging 32% in the last two weeks, Gov. Gavin Newsom reported Thursday.

On Friday, the Trump administration tried to tamp down anxiety about the skyrocketing number of cases with the White House coronavirus task force holding its first public briefing in two months.

Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the panel, hailed increases in testing, broader distribution of medical supplies and a declining number of deaths. We have made truly remarkable progress, Pence said.

But Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and who, unlike Pence, wore a face mask to the briefing, issued a more sober warning that Americans, particularly younger people, would need to take greater precautions to slow the spread of the virus.

Story continues

"We are facing a serious problem in certain areas, he said.

Across the country, hospital leaders, physicians and public health officials are issuing pleas for people to wear masks and keep distant from one another to slow the pandemic and prevent healthcare systems from collapsing.

In Arizona, as of Wednesday, 88% of the intensive care unit beds statewide were occupied, up from 68% in mid-May, according to state figures.

Banner Health, the states largest hospital system, is already deploying its surge plan, including hiring 200 new contract nurses to handle the increased demand.

In Texas, state health officials recorded 4,739 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, more than double the number just 10 days ago.

The steep rise prompted Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican who has resisted placing restrictions on the states residents, to issue an executive order Thursday suspending elective surgeries at hospitals in the states largest counties, including those home to Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

Abbott said the order was necessary to help ensure that the hospitals in these counties continue to have ample supply of available beds to treat COVID-19 patients. Abbott took another step Friday, ordering bars in the state to close except for food takeout service.

Florida, another emerging hot spot, is not reporting the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. (Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, an ally of President Trump, for months has tried to downplay the severity of the pandemic.)

But Miami-Dade County  the states largest, which is reporting hospitalization data  recorded a new high Thursday, with 885 infected patients in hospitals, up from 546 two weeks ago.

The trend is not reassuring, said Kathleen Sposato, who oversees infection control at Jackson Health, the countys mammoth safety-net medical system. We are very, very concerned.

The number of COVID-19 patients at Jackson Health has more than doubled since June 8.

The growing pressure on medical systems is not being felt everywhere.

In Jacksonville, Fla., Baptist Health, one of the largest medical systems in northern Florida, currently has only 24 COVID-19 patients, officials reported.

And Christus Health, a large system of Catholic medical centers across the South that includes 30 hospitals in Texas, isnt nearing capacity, said Dr. Sam Bagchi, the systems chief medical officer.

Bagchi compared the current demand at Christus hospitals to a busy flu season. There are yellow flags, but the red ones arent there, he said.

Even at more stressed systems like Tucson Medical Center, hospital officials noted that they are seeing younger, healthier patients with COVID-19 now, compared with earlier this year, which has made caring for them easier.

Advances in treatments, including the use of drugs such as remdesivir and dexamethasone, have also eased some of the burdens that hospitals experienced when the crisis first struck this year.

But health officials cautioned that the rapid spread of infection in places including Texas, Florida, Arizona and California means that even systems that have so far been spared are probably not safe.

We can see the storm coming, said John Henderson, who heads the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals.

Henderson noted that several member hospitals in suburban and rural areas around Houston are already being called on to take very ill patients from overburdened medical centers in the city, which is experiencing among the worst coronavirus outbreaks.

In California, hospitals as far north as Sacramento are taking COVID-19 patients from hospitals in Imperial and San Diego counties, which have been overwhelmed with expatriates coming home from Mexico for treatment.

Carmela Coyle, chief executive of the California Hospital Assn., said officials expect more patient transfers will become necessary as demand increases across the state. Our sense is that we are a week to 10 days out, she said.

Coyle said the hospital group is working with state officials on a surge plan to meet the anticipated increase in COVID-19 patients. One goal is to prevent the need for the kind of shutdowns that this spring sharply limited medical services for patients who were not infected.

But she and others also stressed that public engagement in preventing further spread of the virus will be critical to preserving access to hospitals.

This is a community problem, said Sposato, the Miami hospital official. There needs to be a lot more community participation in this effort.




The Ohio Harness Horsemens Association will again benefit from the proceeds of the sale of an entry into the Next Generation at Eldorado Scioto Downs, scheduled for July 4.

Billy Hartt will place his entry into the two-year-old filly race up for auction June 28 on Hoofbid.com. Hartt says proceeds from the action with be donated to the OHHA, with the proceeds benefiting the Ohio Harness Horsemens Association.

Hartt purchased an entry into filly race and was chosen in the random drawing for one of the nine available entries into the race. Im very disappointed we are not going to race in the Next Generation. I entered to race and had no intentions of selling the spot, said Hartt. It was the chance to race for good money.

From the beginning I thought the idea of the Next Generation was awesome. It gives us dreamers the shot at a big race. The purse for the Next Generation is $150,000.

Hartt says he wants to be supportive of the Ohio racing program. I bought more Ohio breds because I like the program. It has opportunities to race in the Sire Stakes, the Buckeye Stallions Series and at the county fair level.

We are very grateful for the generosity of owners like Billy Hartt that believe in the Ohio racing program and want to give back, said OHHA President Steve Bateson. Ohio is very fortunate to have owners like Mr. Hartt and Chad Foulk who is also donating proceeds from the auction to our charities.

The entry will go on the auction block Sunday night at HoofBid.com, the on-line standardbred auction site. Interested bidders can go to HoofBid.com for instructions on how to download the app and create an account.

HoofBid founder Jeff Davis says they will also assist the OHHA. Like Mr. Foulks entry, we will be donating our fees back to the OHHA to assist their worthwhile programs.

(Ohio Harness Horsemens Association)
The Oregon Health Authority on Thursday reported two new deaths and 124 new cases of the novel coronavirus.

An 83-year-old woman and an 83-year-old man, both from Marion County and both suffering from underlying medical conditions, were the latest patients to die of COVID-19, bringing the states toll to 197, health officials said.

The state has now recorded 7,568 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases.

The latest were in 18 of Oregons 36 counties: Benton (6), Clackamas (8), Clatsop (1), Coos (2), Deschutes (2), Klamath (13), Lake (3) Lane (5), Linn (2), Malheur (2), Marion (4), Multnomah (29), Polk (2), Umatilla (8), Union (10), Wasco (1), Washington (24), Yamhill (1).

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County case totals: Three counties -- Multnomah, Marion and Washington -- have more than 1,000 known coronavirus cases each. Another nine counties -- Clackamas, Deschutes, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Polk, Umatilla, Union, Yamhill -- have reported at least 100 coronavirus cases. Gilliam and Wheeler havent identified any.

Heres the overall count -- confirmed and presumptive cases -- by county: Baker (1), Benton (76), Clackamas (648), Clatsop (48), Columbia (26), Coos (39), Crook (9), Curry (7), Deschutes (155), Douglas (34), Grant (1), Harney (1), Hood River, (88), Jackson (93), Jefferson (85), Josephine (26), Klamath (111), Lake (9), Lane (112), Lincoln (301), Linn (132), Malheur (60), Marion (1,382), Morrow (36), Multnomah (1,967), Polk (134), Sherman (1), Tillamook (7), Umatilla (341), Union (297), Wallowa (8), Wasco (55), Washington (1,175) and Yamhill (103).

Oregons Latino population has been disproportionately hit hard by the coronavirus. Though Latinos make up 13% of the states population, they represent at least 35% of all positive cases.

Death toll: At least 197 people are known to have died from COVID-19. They are from 15 counties -- 68 people from Multnomah, 38 from Marion, 24 from Clackamas, 20 from Washington, 12 from Polk, nine from Linn, eight from Yamhill, five from Benton, four from Umatilla, three from Lane, two from Lincoln and one each from Josephine, Malheur, Morrow and Wasco.

Their ages ranged from 36 to 100. Among them, 112 men and 83 women have died. All but six had underlying medical conditions.

The breakdown of deaths by age: ages 30-39 (1), ages 40-49 (3), ages 50-59 (9), ages 60-69 (40), ages 70-79 (53), ages 80-plus (91).

[Read about Oregon coronavirus deaths. Help us learn more.]

Senior care homes: More than half of all coronavirus deaths in Oregon  at least 112  are associated with a care center, a newsroom analysis of state data shows. More than 800 senior care home residents, staff and close contacts from nearly 100 nursing, assisted and retirement homes have contracted COVID-19. One care home worker has died since the start of the Oregon epidemic, state data show. Officials did not say where the person worked or when they died.

Outbreaks: The largest outbreak in the state has been at Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Union County, where it is linked to 236 infections, as of last week.

At least 1,132 coronavirus infections  or nearly 15% of all cases  are linked to workplace outbreaks identified by the Oregon Health Authority. Among them: the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem (182), Pacific Seafood in Newport (163) and Duckwall Fruit in Hood River (63).

Oregons positive test rate for COVID-19 is currently 3.5%, below the 10.3% national average. However, it has risen sharply in recent weeks. For the week ending Friday, the percent of positive tests was 4.1%. Thats more than double the positive test rate of 1.6% for the week May 16-22, the first week after many parts of Oregon started reopening.

Public health officials think reopening has accelerated the spread of the disease.

Testing: 2,595 people received coronavirus test results in the last day, down from the previous days 3,293, according to figures published on the Oregon Health Authoritys website.

So far, 216,344 Oregonians have been tested for the illness since the state confirmed its first case on Feb. 28.

Oregons positive test rate for COVID-19 is currently 3.4%, below the 10.3% national average. However, it has risen sharply in recent weeks. For the week ending Friday, the percent of positive tests was 4.1%. Thats more than double the positive test rate of 1.6% for the week May 16-22, the first week after many parts of Oregon started reopening.

Public health officials think reopening has accelerated the spread of the disease.

Ages: People in their 20s are getting infected the most. Some experts say a big contributing factor: This group too often appears to be socializing or going out without maintaining proper physical distancing or wearing masks.

The breakdown: 0-9 (269), ages 10-19 (520), ages 20-29 (1,445), ages 30-39 (1,335), ages 40-49 (1,262), ages 50-59 (1,116), ages 60-69 (778), ages 70-79 (485), ages 80-plus (349).

Gender: 3,899 cases are among women, or 52%, and 3,654, or 48%, are among men.

Hospitalizations: At least 1,012 of the states COVID-19 patients, or 13%, have been hospitalized at some point during their illness, according to the health authority.

Most -- at least 746 -- have been 50 or older.

The hospitalizations breakdown by age: 0-9 (7), ages 10-19 (5), ages 20-29 (54), ages 30-39 (79), ages 40-49 (121), ages 50-59 (181), ages 60-69 (220), ages 70-79 (197), ages 80-plus (148).

Currently, 95 people with confirmed coronavirus cases are hospitalized, up from 95 the previous day. Forty-two are in intensive care and 23 on ventilators.

Recoveries: At least 2,649 COVID-19 patients have recovered from the illness, according to the latest published numbers.

Nationwide: Confirmed coronavirus cases stood at 2.3 million. The death toll neared 122,000.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 05:04:17|Editor: huaxia

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TRIPOLI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Higher Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday said that more than 5,000 illegal immigrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast so far this year.

"As of June 26, 5,049 refugees and migrants have been registered as rescued/intercepted at sea in 2020, by the Libyan Coast Guard and disembarked in Libya," UNHCR said.

"By the way of comparison, over the same period in 2019, 3,457 individuals had been disembarked in Libya," UNHCR added.

UNHCR also said that there are 48,834 refugees and asylum-seekers currently registered with the commission, adding that funding of 84.1 million U.S. dollars is needed for the Commission's activities in 2020.

Libya is a preferred point of departure for thousands of illegal immigrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean Sea toward Europe, because of the state of insecurity and chaos in the country that followed the 2011 fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

Shelters in Libya are overcrowded with thousands of migrants who are either rescued at sea or arrested by the authorities, despite repeated international calls to close those centers. Enditem
As part of the work of the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine, Russia, the OSCE) to resolve the situation in Donbas, it was possible to achieve the resumption of the work of the Ukrainian mobile operator in ORDLO after a two-week break.

"Due to the efforts of the Ukrainian delegation within the working group on socio-economic issues, the work of the Ukrainian mobile network operator in ORDLO of Ukraine was resumed after a two-week break," the press service of the President's Office reported following the latest TCG meeting on Thursday, which was held in a video conference format.
New Delhi: Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Friday (June 26) expressed his gratitude towards Supreme Court for agreeing to CBSE proposal to cancel the examination and on a scheme to assess the final performance of students in their classes X and XII exams.

In a tweet video, Nishank said that assessment from the performance of students in the cancelled examination will be done based on the assessment scheme as suggested by a competent committee of the CBSE for declaration of result for both Class-X and Class-XII.

He said that CBSE will conduct an optional examination for class XII students in the subjects the examination for which were scheduled to be conducted from 1st July to 15th, 2020 as soon as conditions are conducive.

"Candidates whose results will be declared based on the assessment scheme will be allowed to appear in these optional examinations to improve their performances if they wish so," he said, adding "no further examinations will be conducted for candidates in class X and the result declared by CBSE on the basis of assessment scheme will be treated as final."

The minister said that results based upon the aforesaid assessment scheme will be declared by 15th July so that candidates can apply and seek admission in higher education institutes.

"We have proposed this scheme to Supreme Court because the health of students, parents, and teachers is our prime concern," the minister added.

The Supreme Court today agreed on the proposal of CBSE to cancel the examination and on a scheme to assess the final performance of students in their classes X and XII exams.

Notably, CBSE earlier decided to cancel the Examinations for classes X and XII which were scheduled to be held from 1st July to 15th 2020, keeping in view the request received from various state governments and the prevailing circumstances due to COVID-19 as on date.

On June 25, the CBSE and ICSE told the apex court that the remaining class 10 and 12 CBSE exams, which were earlier rescheduled to be held between July 1 to July 15 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, have been cancelled.

Earlier in the day, the CBSE and the ICSE submitted before the Supreme Court that the board examination results will be declared by July 15. ICSE, on the other hand, told the top court that they might give an option to the class 10 students to write the exams at a later stage as well.
This post has been updated to include more fireworks displays.

While some locations have canceled fireworks displays and Fourth of July celebrations because of the coronavirus pandemic, there are some that are going ahead with fireworks without the associated carnivals and other festivities.

At all locations, however, organizers are urging those attending to follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and the Pennsylvania Department of Health regarding social distancing and other measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

This is what we were able to find:

ADAMS COUNTY

Gettysburg  Gettysburg Area Recreation Authority will host fireworks at 9:20 p.m. July 4 at Gettysburg Recreation Park. Gates open at 7 p.m. Parking is $2 per car. You may bring your own snacks and drinks.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY

Hampden Twp.  The township has agreed to proceed with plans for fireworks at a date to be determined, according to an email sent to PennLive on June 16.

Shippensburg  Fireworks will be set off at 9:30 p.m. July 4 at Memorial Park. Only the first 250 people will be admitted to Veterans Stadium. The main gate will open at 8 p.m. Shippensburg Community Parks and Recreation also will livestream the fireworks.

DAUPHIN COUNTY

Harrisburg  The citys Food Trucks & Fireworks event will be held on July 4. Food trucks will be stationed on City Island and restaurants downtown will offer outdoor dining. Fireworks start at 9:15 p.m. from City Island.

Lower Paxton Twp.  Linglestown Fire Company and the township will sponsor the fireworks show at 9:30 p.m. Friday, July 3 in Koons Park.

LANCASTER COUNTY

Lancaster - Lancasters annual Celebrate Lancaster event will be held noon until dusk June 26 (today). The celebration includes four mobile performances with musicians on trucks bringing live music to every neighborhood, food trucks in different areas of the city for residents to enjoy, and to end the night there will be a fireworks display at two locations (Northwest & Southeast Quadrants) at dusk residents can view from various points of Lancaster City.

Mountville - Fireworks in Mountville will begin at dusk (around 9:30 p.m.) on Saturday, June 27 at Froelich Park, 350 W. Main St.

New Holland - The New Holland Summer Arts Association will have fireworks at 9:30 p.m. July 4 at the community park on Jackson Street. The usual concert before the fireworks is canceled.

LEBANON COUNTY

Lebanon  The city will hold a fireworks program after a successful fundraising campaign. Coleman Memorial Park will close at 7:30 p.m. on July 4 to prepare for the aerial only display. Streets around the park will be closed. The city is hoping to offer some on-site parking.

PERRY COUNTY

Millerstown - Downtown Media Company will set off fireworks at 9 p.m. July 3 that will be visible over the Juniata River. Organizer Vincent Stoops said, As a result of so many popular summer events being canceled, we decided to invite folks from the Millerstown community to enjoy our familys display. ... Of course, that means we have gone quite a bit bigger than we usually do. Stoops said the show will be visible throughout most of Millerstown from front porches and public spaces.

New Bloomfield  The New Bloomfield Fire Company will sponsor fireworks at 10 p.m. on July 4 at the carnival grounds, 300 W. High St. The fire company also will offer food at the firehouse, 23 W. High St., by drive-through 4-8 p.m. July 2 and 4-9 p.m. July 3-4.

Drive-through customers are asked to use Apple Street to access High Street. The menu will include pork and beef barbecue; ham and bean and chicken corn soups; hot, garlic and barbecue wings; hot dogs; cheeseburgers; vanilla, chocolate and raspberry ice cream; pie and beverages.

YORK COUNTY

Hanover  Hanover will have fireworks at 9:30 p.m. on July 4 to the rear of Lowes off Wilson Avenue.

New Freedom  The Lions Club will have food trucks from 6 to 9:30 p.m. and fireworks to follow on July 3 at the carnival grounds.

Red Lion  Red Lion will have fireworks at 9 p.m. on July 3 at Fairmount Park.

Stewartstown  Fireworks in Stewartstown will start at 9:30 p.m. July 4 at the Hopewell Area fairgrounds.

Wrightsville - Fireworks will start at dusk in Wrightsville on July 4 at Front and Walnut streets. Music and food vendors will be available.

POSTPONED

Springettsbury Twp. in York County has postponed its fireworks until Sept. 26.

Chambersburg in Franklin County will hold its Day-In-The-Park celebration and fireworks on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7.

The Harrisburg fireworks seen from Negley Park in Lemoyne on Wednesday, July 4, 2018. Vicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLive Vicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLiveVicki Vellios Briner | Special t

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There were a number of calls at last week's meeting for a refurbishment of the popular area known as the 'The Rocks' at Gibraltar.

The area, which has long been a popular amenity in good weather, has fallen into a state of disrepair over many years, the meeting heard, and should be restored.

Cllr Rosaleen O'Grady and Cllr Declan Bree had separate motions on the topic, with both seeking to have work done in the area.

Cllr O'Grady told the meeting that she had never seen the area used as much as in recent times, when people could not travel to other seaside areas due to the travel restrictions.

It was, she said, one of Sligo's premier destinations in years gone by but since the arrival of more cars has been less popular.

Nonetheless, Cllr O'Grady said it is a 'fantastic' amenity and that the linear park idea should be advanced.

Echoing those sentiments, Cllr Declan Bree said it has been an issue that has come up time and again at council meetings.

He said that "little or no maintenance has been carried out on the tidal swimming pool and through time the pool and pathways were damaged by the elements."

Cllr Bree called for a two-phase project to restore the area: in Phase One, he proposed a reconstruction of the tidal swimming pool at Gibraltar; in Phase Two, he suggested the provision of a linear park system along the seashore from Gibraltar to the Sligo urban area at the docks.

Cllr Arthur Gibbons supported the motion, recalling his days there as a child. He said it was an "eyesore" at the moment and it could be restored to something of value.

In response, Director of Services Tom Kilfeather said the matter would first be referred to the Heritage Officer, as the area was located in a Special Area of Conservation.

Later this year the viability of the project could be considered, Mr Kilfeather said, and a funding scheme needed to be identified.
Goa:

A man has been arrested from Bengaluru in connection with the murder of perfume specialist Monica Ghurde, whose naked body was found in her rented flat near, said Goa Police on Sunday.

Rajkumar Singh, a native of Punjab, was nabbed late last night with help from the police of Karnataka capital and was being brought to Goa, a top official said. "A team of Goa Police arrested one Rajkumar Singh in Bengaluru in connection with the Monica Ghurde murder case," Deputy Inspector General of Police Vimal Gupta told PTI.

Police declined to provide further details. A senior police official said they were tracking the movement of the accused during his journey through Maharashtra and Karnataka on the basis of his ATM transactions. After the murder, Singh took away Ghurde's ATM card and mobile phone.

Police sources said the accused had withdrawn money at several locations in Maharashtra, including Miraj (Sangli district) and Nashik, before travelling to Karnataka. The 39-year-old's naked body was found at her rented flat in Sangolda village near Calangute beach in Goa on October 6. She had shifted to the flat in July this year after separating from her husband.

A post-mortem on Saturday revealed that she died of strangulation, but it was not clear if she was raped. A few hours before her death, Ghurde had spoken to her Mumbai-based brother Anand. "Anand had called her around 7.30 pm on October 5. She told him she would be moving out after some time.

This is the last known communication she had with anyone," Superintendent of Police (North) Umesh Gaonkar reporters earlier on Sunday. Gaonkar said the CCTV footage of the building where she stayed was being scanned for clues. Investigation has revealed that on October 5 afternoon a renowned businessman had seen Ghurde at a coffee shop in Porvorim, located 5 km from her house.

Gaonkar said the coffee shop, owned by a well-known chain, does not have CCTV cameras. Ghurde had done her photography course from Mumbai's JJ Institute of Applied Arts. She moved to Chennai in 2009 to pursue her interest in perfumes, and shifted to Goa in 2011. She had set up a perfume-making company, Mo Lab.

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How governments handle pandemics relies on co-operation from the public and across borders. Credit: Shutterstock

As the economic and health risks of the COVID-19 pandemic are predicted to persist into next year, there are growing reservations about society returning to normal.

The impacts of COVID-19, like the 2008 financial crisis and the 2001 September 11th attacks before, are changing global consciousness and reopening uncertainties about security, privacy and public health.

Unfortunately, like 9/11 and the 2001 anthrax attacks, the current COVID-19 pandemic reveals systemic infrastructural and security deficiencies that rendered countries like the United States powerless. This could have been avoided with better preparedness. However, preparedness requires maximum co-operation and transparency between government, researchers and industry.

As countries experience the ongoing economic and public health shocks caused by COVID-19, rogue actors seeking to take advantage of the pandemic may use bioweapons to similar effect.

Biosecurity threats are global

Like the current pandemic, any biosecurity threat or epidemic could easily become a global concern. Pathogens do not recognize borders and will spread indiscriminately, ultimately disproportionately affecting poorer nations.

Globalizationwhich is being analyzed as a contributor to the spread of COVID-19could also help thwart the spread of man-made or naturally occurring diseases, provided multilateral co-operation remains intact.

The response has to be global because pandemics and terror attacks have persisting and grave effects, not tied specifically to a single state and its economy.

Governments must take a proactive stance against the growth and development of deadly pathogens (engineered or naturally occurring), which might require an overhaul of the socioeconomic and political relationships that govern health and our shared environments.

Developing a collective response

The most crucial response is intergovernmental collaboration and compliance with medical experts. This would involve the sharing of information and effective mitigation strategies against bioterrorism. The remarkable and unprecedented global unity today is demonstrated by scientists freely sharing information related to COVID-19 to speed up the development of a vaccine.

Governments and their collaborators must also stop the spread of disinformation to quell panic and alleviate the public's fears. This includes maintaining public trust in experts which must be differentiated from popular and political opinions that have led to chemical poisoning.

This has also been exacerbated with ongoing distrust for WHO officials as false claims and pandering to China has led to failures in the initial response to COVID-19 including indecision within the scientific community.

Mobile labs were deployed all over the world  here, in New Delhi, India  to provide quick and accessible testing for COVID-19. Credit: Shutterstock

Terrorist organizations will undoubtedly use the spread of bioweapons to create civil turmoil and instability, reinvigorating or inciting national contentions such as scarcity, ethnic tension or religious infighting. This applies to countries already destabilized by entrenched conflicts, which can rapidly metastatize through competition and inequality already present in developing countries.

Overcoming pandemics and terrorism will inevitably rely on national infrastructure such as employing the military, which the Canadian government has done to supplement medical resources. Deploying a nation's armed forces has the potential to apply the vast resources, equipment and labour that an organized and skilled military maintains.

Applying biotech

Countries like Taiwan and Singapore managed the pandemic by implementing protocols that served to protect their citizens. These included analytic technologies to screen and isolate persons suspected of or confirmed to be infected with COVID-19. In South Korea, over 20,000 people were tested daily to track and treat cases. Medical supplies were stockpiled and temporary hospital units were established to prevent scarcity and minimize black-marketeering.

However, medical equipment cannot be kept indefinitely and replenishment will likely require unconventional methods to fulfil the demand. Canadian universities have helped address the scarcities of medical equipment by employing 3-D printers to produce masks and other supplies.

The Canadian government is also investing in novel detection and management technologies, which could be re-purposed to detect bioweapons. This also includes vaccine and antiviral development that can proactively work against future disease outbreaks.

The Canadian government has also increased funding for coronavirus-related projects.

Management strategies

Preventing the bioengineering, emergence, release and spread of pathogens will require aggressive strategies. These include implementing regulations against the mistreatment and harvesting of wild and domestic animals to prevent their mixing and the unintentional mixing of viruses and infectious diseases. Managing land reclamation and protecting habitats can prevent biodiversity loss and reduce human contact with pathogenic viruses.

Other technologies in the fight against bioterrorism or pandemics include heightened surveillance and tracking in the form of smartphones and drones. Deployable 3-D isolation units repurposed as mobile laboratories could also quickly respond to bioweapons threat.

Public co-operation

To guarantee safety, the public has to be willingly compliant with government policies. In Canada, closing the national border and enacting quarantine Laws mitigated the spread of COVID-19, but the public's co-operation was essential to the public good.

Recommendations from health-care professionals and epidemiologists must be implemented at every stage, and directed by governments. The consequences of neglecting to act expeditiously are apparent in the United States, which has been marred by bureaucratic red tape, equipment scarcity and vacillating in leadership responses.

Lessons from previous pandemics can prepare us for both future inevitable global outbreaks and possible bioterrorist attacks.

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

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
By Azernews





By Akbar Mammadov

Today, Azerbaijan marks the 102nd anniversary of the creation of its Armed Forces.

The national army was established by the short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) in 1918. ADR, which was the first democratic republic among Muslims countries, started the creation of the national army in its short-lived existence until the Bolshevik occupation in 1920.

The creation of the army stemmed from the necessity to protect the achievements of the young republic due to the tense situation in the region and due to the treats of losing the countrys territories.

After gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijani parliament passed a decision on the establishment of the national army on October 9. In 1998, June 26 was declared the Armed Forces Day in accordance with the presidential decision.

The Azerbaijani Armed Forces consist of the Azerbaijani Land Forces, the Azerbaijani Air Force, and the Azerbaijani Navy. The combined forces include the Internal Troops, the National Guard, the State Border Service and the Special State Protection Service.

According to the rating of Global Firepower, Azerbaijani Army ranks 64th out of 138 countries. The Azerbaijani Army has 126,000 active and 300,000 reserve personnel.

According to the state budget for 2020 submitted by the Ministry of Finance, 3 billion 853 million 600 thousand manats has been allocated for Azerbaijan's defence and national security.

Azerbaijani Armed Forces are equipped with stat-of-the-art military equipment, arms, tanks, artillery, armoured vehicles, aircraft, air defence systems, helicopters, UAVs and battleships purchased from various countries.

Azerbaijan also produces local-made military products such as sniper rifles Istiklal, Mubariz, Yirtiji, Yalguzag, hand grenade against the tank Gaya, combat intelligence vehicles Gurza, mortars Ashirim 5, machine guns HP-7.62 and UP-7.62, assault rifles EM-14 and Khazri.

Military parades were held on June 26, 2011 in Baku, in connection with the Armed Forces Day and the 20th anniversary of restoration of the country's independence and in 2013, on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the Armed Forces Day.
Srinagar: The security forces on Friday (June 26) killed at least three terrorists during a gunbattle in Chewa Ullar village of Tral in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. According to reports, bodies of all three terrorists along with arms and ammunition were recovered from the spot.

Reports stated that all three terrorists were local residents of the Valley. With this, the near 15-hour long gunbattle between security forces and terrorists came to an end.

The killed terrorists have been identified as Mohammad Qaasim Shah alias Jugnu, Basit Ahmad Parray and Haris Manzoor Bhat. Qaasim, a Madoora Tral resident and son of Gh Mohammad Shah, was pursuing a B.Tech Degree in Civil Engineering prior to joining militancy. He was carrying out terror-related activities in the Valley since March 2017.

Basit Ahmad, son of Gh Mohammad Parray, was resident of Laribal, Tral. He had joined militant ranks recently, on May 27, 2020 and had a degree in Bachelor of Science in Information Technology.

Haris Manzoor Bhat, son of Manzoor Ahmad Bhat, was resident of Koil Shikragah, Tral. He had disappeared in April 2020 and was believed to have joined militancy.

The encounter between forces and terrorists in the Chewa Ullar area had started on Thursday evening but was put on hold during the night. The encounter resumed in the early morning on Friday with a fresh exchange of fire between the two sides, in which one terrorist was killed.

Earlier today, a police official confirmed the report of the killing of one terrorist saying his body was visible at the encounter spot and searches were being carried out to nab others, if any.

Kashmir zone police too confirmed the killing of 3 terrorists in Chewa Ullar encounter, writing "#ChewaUlarEncounterUpdate: 02 more #unidentified #terrorists killed. Search going on. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice."

On Thursday evening, after receiving a tip-off of presence on terrorist in the area, a joint team of Police, 42 RR and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in the area. As the joint team of forces cordoned the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon them which was retaliated triggering an encounter an official said.

This is 12th encounter in south Kashmir in the month of June alone in which 38 terrorists have so far been eliminated in the valley. The total number of terrorists killed in Kashmir this year is now 111.
Photo: Contributed

Many of us will be celebrating in our homes and backyards this Canada Day with July 1st celebrations and other local events not occurring this year.

This pandemic has tested us during these unprecedented times, but what has remained steady is our connection to our community and pride to be Canadian.

I am very pleased to offer a Canadian flag to hang from your home deck, fence, or window, as well as a vehicle window stand-up flag and pin for you to wear. If you would like this complimentary Canadian flag set, please reach out to me and we will deliver these to your home prior to July 1.

Please contact us by phone at 250-470-5075, email [email protected], or online with your full name, address and postal code.

They are on a first-come basis for residents in Kelowna-Lake Country and there is a limited quantity, so be sure to reach out soon. Please note that these are home use flags and not the heavy, flagpole models we usually give out from our constituency office. If you are unsure which constituency you reside in, you can find out by entering your postal code here.

This is an opportunity for our community to feel connected, even if we are not able to celebrate physically all together. Our national flag symbolizes hope, prosperity, and peace. We have seen our community spirit come together over the past four months, whether it be neighbours banging pots in support of our health care workers every night, musicians hosting virtual free jam sessions and concerts online, residents supporting not-for-profits through virtual walks, or a desire to support local businesses.

Lets come together at this time  Happy Canada Day!
With the Indian Army having blocked the PLA several kilometres inside India, hundreds of soldiers from both sides remain in a tense face-off.

Ajai Shukla reports.

The government's initial denial of China's serious border violations in Ladakh has been disproved in bloody fashion with the avoidable deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and injuries to many more.

It is time to step back, take stock of events, the motivations driving them and what may lie ahead.

First, what exactly has happened?

On the night of April 19, intelligence reported the movement of scores of heavy vehicles on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, all the way from Chumar and Demchok in the 'southern sector', to Chushul and Pangong Tso in the 'central sector' to Galwan and Depsang in the 'northern sector'.

The army, in a flawed assessment, passed this off as a Chinese springtime exercise -- a routine annual event on both sides.

That things were amiss became evident when Chinese artillery guns appeared opposite the Gogra Heights in the Galwan River valley and then at Pangong Tso.

Then Chinese tanks, armoured carriers and artillery guns were spotted in the Depsang Plains, India's northern tip that ends in the Karakoram Pass.

On May 5, thousands of People's Liberation Army soldiers crossed the LAC into the Galwan river valley scuffling violently with Indian troops as they forced their way 5 kilometres along the valley to the Galwan's junction with the Shyok river.

From here, the PLA dominated the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi road, a newly-built artery to northern Ladakh.

Simultaneously, PLA troopers also crossed the LAC at two other points, including a 3 to 5 km ingress at Gogra, near Hot Springs.

A second PLA ingress occurred on May 9, some 2,000 km away, at Naku La pass in Sikkim.

Here, PLA troops crossed a formal international border.

With the Indian Army having blocked the PLA about two km inside India, hundreds of soldiers from both sides remain in a tense face-off.

A third PLA intrusion happened on May 17/18 at Pangong Tso lake, where Chinese troops and heavy vehicles crossed the LAC and seized unoccupied territory along the lake's northern bank.

Indian border patrols, which traditionally went up to a mountain spur called Finger 8, were now blocked by the PLA at Finger 4, eight km inside the Indian-claimed LAC.

Simultaneously, the Chinese occupied the Finger Heights -- a mountaintop that dominates the lake all the way up to Finger 4.

At all five ingress points in Ladakh -- three in the Galwan valley, one at Pangong Tso and one further south at Chushul, the Chinese have fortified their positions with clear intentions to stay.

Last week, PLA troops have also crossed the LAC at another point in Ladakh, ingressing several km into the Depsang Plains near Daulat Beg Oldi.

Here, they are building two roads on the Indian side of the LAC.

To comprehend these events, it is essential to understand the nature of the Sino-Indian frontier, where there is no agreed border.

The LAC, which is the de facto border based on actual control of territory, has been neither delineated (settled on a map) or demarcated (marked on the ground).

Both India and China have different interpretations of where it runs.

Chinese and Indian border forces assert their territorial claims by patrolling up to their claimed boundary line.

In areas where there are conflicting claims, Indian and Chinese patrols sometimes cross each other while going up to their respective claim lines.

Despite the potential for clashes, five major Sino-Indian agreements have -- until now -- largely kept the peace.

The first of these, the Border Peace and Tranquillity Agreement, signed in September 1993, is termed the 'mother agreement'.

It was supplemented in 1996 with an agreement on confidence-building measures; a 2005 agreement on standard operating procedures for patrols that come into contact; a 2012 agreement that sets out processes for consultation and co-operation; and, most recently, the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement of 2013.

Both Beijing and New Delhi realise that a mutually delineated LAC would end the uncertainty that causes troop clashes.

The 1996 agreement explicitly notes the need for a 'common understanding of the alignment of the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas'.

It states that the two sides 'agree to exchange maps indicating their respective perceptions of the entire alignment of the Line of Actual Control as soon as possible'.

However, China stonewalls the exchange of LAC maps, keeping alive the window for clashes.

However, this time round, it appears China has bigger plans: It is taking advantage of an Indian patrolling lacuna to shift the LAC.

The lacuna is this: While Chinese border guards have always patrolled right up to their claimed LAC, Indian troops have stayed short of the LAC, walking only up to a line of 'patrolling points' (PPs) that are some way short of the LAC.

An official who was involved in drawing up the PPs says the aim was to "avoid provoking the Chinese".

A high-level government body, the China Study Group drew up the first set of PPs in 1975, soon after Indian satellites completed their first survey and metric maps of the border areas became available.

That initial line of PPs was moved closer to the LAC after the Border Peace and Tranquillity Agreement was signed in 1993 and finalised in 1995-1996 when the current PPs were laid down.

But, in most sectors, there remains a gap of a few km between the PP and the LAC.

Mapping PLA actions over the last few months, their game plan appears to be to usurp this unpatrolled gap.

The PLA intruders have constructed roads close to PP14, PP15 and PP17.

In Depsang, they have advanced up to PP12 and PP13.

True, at the Pangong Tso they have occupied territory well inside Finger 8, where Indian patrols regularly went.

But this could be because Finger 8 is uncomfortably close to the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway, for which the PLA is creating a territorial buffer.

Alternatively, it may be the plan to eventually withdraw from here, tossing India a face-saver while retaining the tactically crucial heights overlooking the DBDSO road.

What are India's options?

New Delhi must mount a full-court press incorporating all elements of India's national power -- military, strategic, diplomatic and economic.

In 1986, after the PLA occupied Sumdorong Chu in Arunachal Pradesh, India not just massed forces at the intrusion point but also designated Arunachal Pradesh a full-fledged Indian state.

In handling the current crisis, New Delhi must reverse years of subservient behaviour towards China.

Beijing would have noted that, since the Wuhan summit in 2018, Delhi has avoided criticising China over Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Delhi rightly upbraided Pakistan's envoy for detaining two Indian embassy employees in Islamabad.

However, the Chinese ambassador to New Delhi has not been summoned even after the barbaric killing of 20 Indian soldiers.

It is time to shed the kid gloves.
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Linkedin News Desk (Vietnam News/Asia News Network) Hanoi, Vietnam  Fri, June 26, 2020 13:45 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661dfed9 2 SE Asia Vietnam,ASEAN-Summit,coronavirus,pandemic,COVID-19 Free

Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc called for solidarity among ASEAN members to weather the tough challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was speaking during the opening ceremony of the regional blocs 36th summit held in Hanoi Friday morning.

The summit and related meetings between Southeast Asian leaders and officials were originally set to take place in the coastal city of a Nang in April but due to the pandemic, it was delayed to late June as Vietnam held out, hoping for a face-to-face event.

But in the end due to the severity of virus a decision was taken to hold the meeting virtually, a first in the history of ASEAN.

Drawing similarities to the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly and other high-profile meetings held virtually, the Vietnamese Government said "it reflects that norms and reality is changing not only due to technical advancements but also due to the 'unprecedented challenge' which is COVID-19".

The pandemic, which started its unrelenting spread since earlier this year, had nearly wiped out humanitys achievements in recent years, taken away many lives and threatened the livelihoods of millions of people, PM Phuc said.

The Vietnamese Government stressed that ASEAN had taken timely actions, with health responses activated very early once the threat was identified.

ASEAN members had actively engaged in information and experience sharing, and well-coordinated disease control measures, thanks to a high level of political commitment, PM Phuc said, adding that the challenges helped to showcase the fortitude of united ASEAN, full of sharing and caring.

PM Phuc thanked ASEAN leaders and partners for supporting Vietnam, ASEAN chair this year, in the collective response against COVID-19, especially the strong commitment demonstrated in the special ASEAN and ASEAN+3 meeting held in April on the pandemic.

He said that compared to the global situation, ASEAN member states had brought the disease under control, in terms of caseload, recovery and fatality.

In the latter half of 2020, the heavy burden rested upon the ASEAN governments to lead their countries and the region through this period of adversity, the successful completion of the tasks would stand as testaments to the lasting values and vitality of our resilient and dynamic community, PM Phuc said.

He expects the summit will be the occasion for member states to show strong political will and commitment rising above the challenges, to keep the pandemic under control and revitalize the economy, done in tandem with ASEAN community building and integration goals in this year.

In this summit, countries will discuss a comprehensive plan on economic recovery for the region, hasten the implementation of initiatives such as the creation of the ASEAN COVID-19 response fund, ASEAN urgent medical supplies reserve, and standard operating procedures on public health emergencies.

The pandemic, aside from its economic devastation due to lockdown and restriction measures, had exacerbated the underlying challenges in socio-political environment of the world and each region, PM Phuc continued.

Multilateral frameworks and international law are being challenged, the growing strategic competition between the worlds powers are becoming increasingly sharp and elevated, he said.

In the opening speech, he called out irresponsible actions that violated international laws and posed threats to security and stability, especially in the hotly disputed South China Sea (called East Sea by Vietnam), where China and ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, are forging a Code of Conduct in a bid to reduce tensions and risks of confrontation.

The Vietnamese Government leader said that after every storm, the bound stalks of rice in the emblem image chosen to represent ASEAN member states would get tightened even more and continue to bring forth seeds of solidarity in the great ASEAN family.

He expects the ASEAN leaders would adopt the chairmans statement on vision a cohesive and responsive ASEAN, rising above challenges and promoting growth.

The opening ceremony saw the participation of leaders of the 10 ASEAN member countries, Vietnams National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman and Chair of 41st General Assembly of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA 41) Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, NA Permanent Vice Chairwoman and head of the delegation to AIPA Tong Thi Phong, and Deputy PM, Foreign Minister and Chairman of the National 2020 Committee ASEAN Pham Binh Minh.
President urges IAEA, Europe not to submit to US, Israel pressure

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, June 25, IRNA -- The Iranian president has warned the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Europe not to capitulate to US and Israeli pressure.

Today, all foreign companies, the United States with its sanctions and the Zionist regime of Israel well know that cannot prevent Iran from progress, the president said at a ceremony on Thursday to open three important oil projects in the country.

He said those who are imposing sanctions cannot create obstacles on the way of Iranian nation's movement towards "Surge in Production".

The projects include normal hexane production unit of Imam Khomeini Refinery (Shazand)- the first refinery company which started work from the early years of the 1979 Islamic Revolution- in central Iran, Goureh-Jask crude oil pipeline which increases the transport capacity to one million barrels a day on southern Iran and Miandoab petrochemical complex, which will bring 140,000 tons of growth in petrochemical products, on northwest of Iran.

Although sanctions created problems, they also created opportunities for being self-sufficient, the president stated at the ceremony.

About the projects, the president said they are strategic because someday certain regional states tried to create a second way other than Strait of Hormuz in south of Iran to export their oil in critical conditions, and Iran's oil exports may reach zero if the strategic strait was closed by Iran under any reason.

Last year, President Rouhani had said that Iran is responsible for providing security for the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, and southern Iranian region it is not a place for the United States to get into mischief.

But, today Iran could breeze through the problem by implementation of three oil projects which launched new station for oil exports, the president added.

About Jask region, President Rouhani said it has a bright future and will be turned into an important oil export station in the future.

Sanctions cannot make a halt to Iran's progress as the Iranian government continues its plans with no delay and will achieve its goals, the president concluded.

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WASHINGTON - Students will return to Howard University in August for a mix of in-person and online classes, the school announced Thursday, but campus life will be far from normal.

Face masks must be worn in public settings and around others, dorm rooms will be limited to singles and doubles, and classes with more than 30 students will mostly meet online, Howard President Wayne Frederick said in a message to the campus, where 9,000 students attend. Instead of buffet-style dining in the cafeteria, students will receive to-go or delivered meals. Most events will be conducted virtually to prevent large gatherings.

And, Frederick acknowledged, the plans are subject to change.

"I am pleading with you to be understanding, patient and flexible," Frederick wrote. "The future has a myriad of unknowns that makes static decision-making nearly impossible."

It is not clear at this point what proportion of classes will be offered in person, but students, faculty and staff with underlying health conditions or concerns over transmission will be allowed to work and learn remotely, Frederick said. Officials plan to share more details about course offerings next month.

Students who take face-to-face classes will do so until Nov. 24, when the campus will break for Thanksgiving and shutter until spring, Frederick said. Many colleges and universities have adopted similar schedules to limit movement to and from campus, hopefully reducing the threat of students getting infected while traveling.

"The two months of most concern are December and February," Frederick said in an interview in late May, noting the usual influenza season may coincide with a second wave of the novel coronavirus.

Students reacted to the announcement on social media, after days of sharing memes that criticized the university's delayed response. Officials previously told students they would share fall semester plans in mid-June.

"It's not a bad plan," said Folasade Fashina, a rising junior majoring in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in bioethics. "It seems like they were trying to take into consideration what everybody wanted."

But, she said, she's concerned about what might happen when thousands of students return to the Northwest Washington campus. Young people are helping drive an increase in infections across the country, health officials have said, and college athletes returning to campus have been testing positive in large numbers. The nation on Wednesday documented its highest single-day caseload: 38,115 new infections.

"There's the worry of people coming back and pretending things are back to normal," Fashina said, adding that her peers may fall into habits that pose health risks - like going out for brunch or partying. "That's not only putting our peers but the D.C. community in danger."

The university, in an effort to keep students as distanced as possible, will limit those in on-campus dorms to one roommate. Officials have not determined how many beds will be offered, but freshmen and sophomores will be given priority, Alonda Thomas, a spokeswoman for the university, said in an email.

The virus poses a unique risk to Howard, a historically black university situated in a historically black neighborhood. Health and social inequities put people of color at higher risk of contracting the coronavirus, and black people are more likely to be hospitalized with complications from the virus than white people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Frederick said he will provide face masks and sanitizing agents to faculty, students and staff as part of a university care package.

"Our responsibility to protect our community is a sacred one," Frederick wrote to the community.
A 48-year-old Wyandotte resident will stand trial on a host of capital felonies related to alleged sexual assaults involving children.

Michael Jerry Beebe has been charged with 11 capital felonies and two noncapital felonies, most involving criminal sexual conduct with persons under the age of 13.

A trial date has been set for July 13 in the courtroom of Wayne County Circuit Judge Tracy Green. However, the Wayne County Prosecutors Office indicated its likely the trial date will be changed due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Beebe, a former volunteer at a Wyandotte elementary school, was arrested by Wyandotte police on July 25, 2019, after an investigation that began in May.

Beebe was arraigned Aug. 1 in 27th District Court in Wyandotte and charged with several capital felonies, including four counts of criminal sexual conduct, first degree, person under 13; four counts of criminal sexual contact, second degree, person under 13; two counts of child sexually abusive material, aggravated possession; and one count of child sexually abusive activity, aggravated.

Noncapital charges against him are two counts of criminal sexual conduct, fourth degree (force or coercion).

Although many parents and community members expressed outrage about Beebe having served as a volunteer at Monroe Elementary School, district officials emphasized that a background check was conducted and no red flags were raised, the alleged offenses happened off school property, and although he served as a school Watchdog, at no time was he ever alone with any child.

In a preliminary examination court hearing held last August at the 27th District Court, the testimony of an 8-year-old girl took place in a closed courtroom. Members of the media, as well as courtroom spectators, were not allowed to hear the testimony due to its graphic nature and the age of the child testifying.

Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Makepeace summarized the girls testimony as part of his argument as to why bail should not be reduced.

He said the first victim testified that she went to Beebes house to play with his daughter.

While they were there, he called them downstairs and he sexually assaulted her, Makepeace said.

According to the assistant prosecutor, the girl described four incidents of penetration, on two different occasions. Makepeace said the girl described the act in language typically used by a child of that age.

Beebe also stands accused of possessing child sexually abusive material, aggravated possession.

Two photos recovered from Beebes computer shows the penetration of someone under the age of 18, the prosecutor said.

Makepeace said incriminating photos also were found on Beebes cellphone. A tattoo seen in one of the photos on a mans left leg matches the tattoo on Beebes leg, the prosecutor argued.

Its him in that picture, Makepeace said. In that picture, you can also see (the victims daughter), the 3-year-old, touching his penis.

Defense attorney Alvin Sallen argued that it could not be definitively proven who placed photos in Beebes computer.

A third incident involves a woman, who is now over the age of 18, who testified that on at least two occasions, Beebe smacked her in the butt.

Sallen questioned why the woman didnt report the incidents until two years after the incidents occurred.

The young woman replied that she was scared to report the incidents to police.

The uproar over Beebe having served as a school volunteer prompted the Wyandotte Board of Education to later to make changes to a school district policy that not only requires all volunteers to undergo an Internet Criminal History Access Tool background check, but also mandates that no one with felonies will be permitted to serve as a volunteer.

Also, there is no right to appeal the decision to the superintendent or Board of Education.
Norfolk Healing Rooms has faith for our times

Norfolk Healing Rooms, which offers free ministry for the sick in body, mind and spirit, is continuing its service through Zoom and offering free taster prophetic evenings.

Norfolk Healing Rooms, led by Revs Ray and Ruth Scorey, looks to Isaiah 53:4-5, which states that the Lord died not only to save us from our sins but to heal our diseases.



We've seen a number of wonderful physical healings over the years; from eyesight restored, prostate cancer diminished, broken bones united and long-term back ache completely gone, not to mention emotional and spiritual healings, said Ruth.



Ray and Ruth are also Regional Directors for the South-East of England, in association with Healing Rooms England and Wales (HREW Charity Registration Number 1125094) and the International Association of Healing Rooms (IAHR).



All team members, from a variety of denominations, are spirit-filled Christians, thoroughly trained and regularly kept up to date with healing techniques.



In normal times, the Norfolk HR team convenes in various locations in North Norfolk, using private homes, as well as providing mobile ministry by way of a converted van in North Walsham Vicarage Street car park, at East Runton Car-Boot Sale and once a year at Celebrate Norwich and Celebrate Kings Lynn. Since Covid-19 the team are able to offer online Zoom ministry.



"Zoom is brilliant for confidentiality," said Ruth. "We use Zoom features like the waiting room and breakout rooms (which are more private than meeting in a building), and the Zoom main meeting room becomes our private reception area."



Healing Rooms were inspired by John G. Lake in the early 20th century, when Spokane was declared the healthiest city in the world after over 100,000 documented healings were recorded during a five-year period. Cal Pierce re-dug the wells of healing in Spokane in 1999 and since then International Association of Healing Rooms (IAHR) has become an international and growing organisation, with over 3,000 centres in over eighty countries. They have a vision to see at least one HR in every town and city across the world. The first IAHR Healing Room in the UK opened in Halifax, West Yorkshire at the end of January 2003. There are now over 70 Healing Rooms in the UK. Norfolk HR began in 2007.



Website: norfolk.healingrooms.org.uk



Email: norfolk@healingrooms.org.uk



Phone: 07900 341 287



Norfolk Healing Rooms does not charge for its ministry but donations are always gratefully received to pay for the HREW subscription and insurance cover, as well as being able to offer financial help to various people.



Norfolk HR can help other ministries understand more about inner healing and roadblocks to healing. It also offers a free taster prophetic evening, encouraging people to hear God through pictures. Prayer support for its ministry and the guests it ministers to would be much appreciated.



Pictured above are Ray and Ruth Scorey; top image by congerdesign from Pixabay

Helen Baldry, 26/06/2020
Jonty Bravery has been jailed for life for attempted murder when he threw a six-year-old boy from the Tate Modern viewing gantry

A mentally ill and violent teenager who threw a six-year-old boy from the Tate Modern viewing gantry has been jailed for life for attempted murder.

Jonty Bravery, 18, was said to have had 'a big smile on his face' moments after hurling the young tourist over the railings.

A judge today branded him 'a danger to the public' who 'intended to kill' the victim.

Bravery executed his planned attack when he was allowed on an unsupervised trip to the art gallery.

The victim, a French boy, survived the 100ft fall, but suffered life-changing injuries - including a bleed on the brain and multiple broken bones - and remains in a wheelchair. He will require round-the-clock care support until at least 2022.

He was challenged by the victim's horrified father who asked: 'Are you mad?', to which he replied 'Yes, I'm mad'.

Sentencing Bravery, of Ealing in west London, Old Bailey judge Mrs Justice McGowan said: 'The fear he (the victim) must have experienced and the horror his parents felt are beyond imagination.

'You had intended to kill someone that day - you almost killed that six-year-old boy.'

She said Bravery's autism spectrum disorder (ASD) did not explain the attack, and acknowledged expert evidence he presents 'a grave and immediate risk to the public'.

The judge added: 'You will spend the greater part - if not all - of your life detained ... you may never be released.'

Bravery executed his planned attack when he was allowed on an unsupervised trip to the art gallery. The victim, a French boy, survived the 100ft fall, but suffered life-changing injuries - including a bleed on the brain and multiple broken bones - and remains in a wheelchair

Sentencing Bravery, of Ealing in west London, Old Bailey judge Mrs Justice McGowan said: 'The fear he (the victim) must have experienced and the horror his parents felt are beyond imagination'. Pictured: A court sketch of Bravery appearing via video link from Broadmoor Hospital

Well-built Bravery, who was wearing a white T-shirt and dark shorts, sat impassively with his legs crossed and occasionally placed his hands behind his head as he watched the 20-minute hearing via videolink from Broadmoor Hospital.

The court heard Bravery had been in supported accommodation under the care of Hammersmith and Fulham Social Services, with one-to-one supervision, and had a history of lashing out at staff.

Despite this, he was allowed to leave home, unsupervised, for up to four hours at a time.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer said there was evidence Bravery had long harboured his intent to seriously hurt or kill someone, with the teenager's admissions apparently caught on a 'shocking, prophetic' secret recording made by carers. The alarm was not raised with Bravery's parents.

It was on Sunday August 4, 2019 that Bravery - who has a mental disorder - left his accommodation and travelled to the Tate Modern in central London, spending at least 15 minutes stalking potential victims before 'scooping' a six-year-old boy up and over the railings as the youngster skipped slightly ahead of his family.

Emergency crews attending a scene at the Tate Modern art gallery on August 4, 2019

CCTV footage not shown in court captured the incident, then showed Bravery backing away from the railings.

The prosecutor said: 'He can be seen to be smiling, with his arms raised. At one point, he appears to shrug and laugh.'

Ms Heer told the court Bravery then told the boy's father: 'Yes I am mad.'

He was also heard to say, with a shrug: 'It's not my fault, it's social services' fault,' the lawyer said.

It later emerged that Bravery initially sought to carry out his grim attack at the Shard, Britain's tallest building, but baulked at the entry fee.

Following his arrest, Bravery was said to have asked police if he was going to be 'on the news'.

He said he had been 'seriously unhappy' recently and that he had to do anything he could to get out of his accommodation.

Bravery admitted attempted murder at the Old Bailey last December.

Ms Heer told the court: 'He said he had to prove a point to 'every idiot' who had ever said he did not have a mental health problem that he should not be in the community.'

Bravery later disclosed to a psychiatrist that he planned the offence well in advance and researched the easiest way to kill someone, narrowing it down to three possibilities - strangling a woman or a child, drowning a child, or throwing someone off a tall building.

Defence counsel Philippa McAtasney QC said her client was immature, and said it 'beggars belief' that he was deemed suitable to go out unsupervised.

She said Bravery's parent's 'abhor' what he did and cannot forgive him, but feel 'let down by the system'.

In a victim impact statement taken in February, the boy's parents described Bravery's actions as 'unspeakable'.

The couple, who have now returned with their son to their native France, said: 'Words cannot express the horror and fear his actions have brought up on us and our son who now, six months on, is wondering why he's in hospital.

'How can he not see in every stranger a potential 'villain' who could cause him immense pain and suffering?'

No members of the victim's or Bravery's family were present in court for the sentencing.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council said a serious case review had been ordered.

Jonty Bravery: An erratic and violent teenager who searched the internet for 'ways to get away with rape' and watched videos of murder attempts on the tube

On August 3, 2019, Jonty Bravery woke and did what many other teenagers were doing. He surfed the internet.

Yet the searches he made that day, and again the following morning, would offer a grim glimpse into the atrocity the then-17-year-old appeared determined to commit.

'Guaranteed ways to go to jail', was one search.

'Where can I buy sulphuric acid in Northolt?' was another.

A few months earlier, a trawl through his iPad history apparently disclosed an unhealthy interest in macabre ways of causing wanton harm to strangers.

He visited a web page entitled: 'How to get away with rape', and a news article with the headline: 'CCTV footage shows tube push murder attempt.'

Bravery (left and right in a court sketch) threw the six-year-old boy from a tenth-floor balcony at the Tate Modern in London

Bravery would later disclose to a psychiatrist he had researched the easiest way to kill someone.

The Old Bailey heard he subsequently narrowed it down to three possibilities: strangling a woman or a child, drowning a child, or throwing someone off a tall building.

On August 4 2019, his twisted fantasy very nearly became a reality.

He researched the tallest building in London - the Shard - and headed there shortly after midday.

Put off by the entry fee, he instead sought out an alternative.

Witnesses at the Tate Modern viewing platform reported concerns about Bravery's odd behaviour.

He found his target - a six-year-old French boy - around 15 minutes later and threw him over the edge. Miraculously the boy survived, but with life-changing injuries.

Confronted by horrified members of the public including the victim's parents - distraught and disbelieving in equal measure - Bravery sought to deflect blame onto social services.

The air ambulance arrives at the Tate Modern after Bravery carried out the attack he had warned his carers about - and admitted it was part of a warped plot to get back his iPad

It was their fault he did this, Bravery would say. He said he felt failed and needed to be arrested because he had not been given the correct treatment for his condition.

Bravery was five years old when he was diagnosed with autism, and was said in court to have a mental disorder which contributed to him committing the violent atrocity.

He was living in supported accommodation in Northolt, West London, at the time he struck, and had a history of violence against staff.

In April 2019, Bravery punched a care worker and a member of Burker King restaurant staff whilst on a supervised trip to Brighton.

Following his arrest, he assaulted a custody officer and urinated in the waiting room.

That August, after his detention at the Tate Modern, Bravery told police he 'wanted to be on the news so that everyone, especially his parents, could see what a mistake they had made by not putting him in hospital'.

His father, Piers Bravery, attempted to raise awareness of autism and its treatment in a series of social media posts which have since been deleted.

In one tweet to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, posted less than three months before the attack, Mr Bravery said: 'Yes, @MattHancock, you do have a duty. You are a public servant so do your job and stop more children dying and being abused in these repugnant institutions.'

The Old Bailey heard his parents 'abhor' what their son did and cannot forgive him, but feel 'let down by the system'.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council has ordered a serious case review.
Groundbreaking playwright Alice Childress will receive her long-overdue Broadway debut in late 2021, with the Roundabout Theater Company production of Trouble in Mind, directed by Charles Randolph-Wright at the American Airlines Theatre.

An exploration of racism in the theater industry, the 1955 play follows Broadway rehearsals for an anti-lynching drama and the Black actress who stands up against the show's white creative team. Childress, who also directed the original production, is widely said to have won an Obie for Trouble in Mind  the first Black artist to do so  but Obie records have never been able to confirm that fact. The play was expected to receive its Broadway premiere in the late 1950s, but the production never materialized. Dates are still to be announced.

Roundabout will push Caroline, or Change by Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner to the spring of 2021 at Studio 54, with star Sharon D. Clarke returning alongside director Michael Longhurst. Jireh Breon Holder's ...what the end will be, directed by Margot Bordelon, will be presented during that time at the Laura Pels Theater, with Dave Harris's Exception to the Rule in the Black Box, directed by Miranda Haymon. The company will continue to present Diane Paulus's production of 1776 in the spring of 2021 at the American Airlines Theatre, with Noah Haidle's Birthday Candles, starring Debra Messing and directed by Vivienne Benesch, moving to the fall.
Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD is proud to announce the 2020 Child of an American Veteran Scholarship winnerNatasha Cowling.

Children of military personnel can grow up enduring stretches of time without seeing their parent who is serving. As a firm committed to fighting for the rights of U.S. military veterans, Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD feels it is important to acknowledge these sacrifices. The 2020 Child of an American Veteran Scholarship aims to thank such individuals for their selfless contributions by helping them pursue their dreams via higher education.

As the winner of the 2020 scholarship, Ms. Cowling receives $1,500 to apply to her tuition costs at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, which she is starting in the Fall of 2020. There she plans to pursue a degree in Geography, specializing in Geographical Analysis and Information Systems (GIS).

Why She Was Chosen as This Years Scholarship Recipient

The Scholarship Committee found that Ms. Cowling embodied the spirit of why CCK created the scholarship for children whose parent(s) served in the military.

The experience she describes growing up in a military family demonstrates her remarkable resilience and ability to adapt, despite any adversity she faced, said Robert Chisholm, a founding partner of Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD, representing disabled veterans since 1990. She holds the utmost respect for her father, who suffered traumatic injuries during his service in the Army, and she embraces the values by which he lives.

Natasha applied her energy to her academic studies, which conveys an unwavering determination not to let any obstacle block the path to her dreams. Its clear that her experiences growing up in a military family have deepened her appreciation for what it means to sacrifice and emerge stronger for it, Chisholm added.

About the Child of an American Veteran Scholarship

Every year, Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD encourages children of veterans of the U.S. armed forces to apply for the Child of an American Veteran Scholarship. Besides having a parent who served in the military, qualified applicants must be high school seniors with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or enrolled in an accredited community college or undergraduate degree program with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.

Now that the 2020 scholarship winner has been selected, the veterans law firm is again accepting applications for next years scholarship. Applications for the 2021 Child of an American Veteran Scholarship are due December 15, 2020.

About Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD

Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD is a law firm with a national reputation for its adept handling of complex veterans benefits cases. The firms team of veterans advocates strongly believe that their clients sacrifice and service in the U.S. military deserve to have their disabilities which were caused by service recognized by VAnot denied, and not ignored. We handle appeals for denied claims so that disabled veterans can continue living their lives with pride and independence. Veterans who want help with their disability claim appeals can start by calling us at (844) 549-4500 for a consultation.
GLENS FALLS  American Patriots Express will hold a First Amendment rally at Centennial Circle next week, its first public showing since filing a federal lawsuit against the city over an ordinance requiring demonstration permits.

The Thursday, July 2, rally is scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m. and will feature celebrity fitness trainer Cara Castronuova as a guest speaker, according to a flyer that posted to Facebook.

Castronuova, a trainer on season 11 of NBCs The Biggest Loser and a Golden Glove boxer, is a supporter of President Donald Trump, as are the members of American Patriots Express, or APEX.

Cara is a constitutionalist, a strong motivational speaker and a supporter of our president Donald J. Trump, reads a flyer for the event, which was first published on Facebook.

Next weeks rally will be the first time APEX has hosted a rally in the city since City Code Section 87 passed in February.

The law requires large demonstrations, or pre-planned gatherings, of 25 or more to first acquire a permit from the city clerks office.

The legislation was created to ensure public safety, but in a federal lawsuit filed against the city on June 16, the group alleges the ordinance violates the First Amendment.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the city from enforcing the law.

City Attorney Ronald Newell has denied any wrongdoing on the citys behalf.

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P akistans prime minister has caused outrage after saying the US martyred al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Imran Khan used the term during a budget speech in parliament on Thursday,

He attacked his predecessors foreign policies, saying that Pakistans partnership with the United States in the war on terror was a mistake.

Mr Khan also said Washington used abusive language against Pakistan.

Osama Bin Laden in 1998 at a news conference (file photo) / AP

He said they blamed Islamabad for its failures in neighbouring Afghanistan and refused to inform the country of its operation against bin Laden in 2011 before carrying out the Navy SEALs nighttime raid.

The special operations force swooped into Pakistans military garrison town of Abbottabad in the middle of the night on May 2 2011, killing bin Laden and several of his operatives.

Mr Khan told parliament: We sided with the US in the War on Terror but they came here and killed him, martyred him and  used abusive language against us (and) did not inform us (of the raid), despite the fact that we lost 70,000 people in war on terror."

President Obama addresses the nation after the killing of Osama Bin Laden / Getty Images

Washington has repeatedly accused Pakistan of harbouring the Afghan Taliban and giving safe haven to the feared Haqqani network - a Taliban affiliate that has been blamed for some major attacks in Afghanistan over the years and declared a terrorist group by the United States.

Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had claimed that the Haqqani network was run by Pakistans premier intelligence agency, known by its acronym ISI.

Pakistan denied the accusations, saying Washington was blaming Pakistan for the failure of the US-led coalitions 150,000 soldiers to defeat the Taliban, who are now at their strongest since being toppled in 2001 and rule or hold sway in about 50% of Afghanistan.

The al Qaida leader was killed in Pakistan in 2011 / Getty Images

Mr Khan said: The way we supported America in the war on terror, and the insults we had to face in return They blamed us for every failure in Afghanistan. They openly held us responsible because they did not succeed in Afghanistan.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were the only countries to recognise the Taliban government, which had harboured bin Laden as he planned terrorist attacks against the US.

After the September 11 attacks, Pakistan turned and became an ally of the United States against the Taliban, who were ousted by a US-led coalition in November 2011.

However, opposition politician Khwaja Mohammed Asif was critical of Mr Khan for calling bin Laden a martyr, saying the al Qaida chief had brought terrorism to Pakistan.

He (bin Laden) ruined my country but he (Khan) is calling him a martyr, he said.

Since taking power, Mr Khan claimed his government has reset the Pakistan-US relationship, elevating it to one of mutual respect, for which he also credited the personal rapport he has built with US president Donald Trump.

No one insults us now, said Mr Khan.
In three video messages released back-to-back on Friday afternoon, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, son Rahul and daughter Priyanka stepped up attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the India-China border standoff and asked the government to take people into confidence on the extent of territories being occupied by Chinese troops.

Sonia Gandhi recalled PM Modis statements that China hasnt crossed into our territory. But, she said, Chinese forces do appear to have occupied Indian territory according to defence experts, satellite images and statements emerging out of the foreign ministry.

The three video messages were prefaced by glowing tributes to the army and 20 soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice at the violent face-off with Chinas Peoples Liberation Army troopers in east Ladakhs Galwan area earlier this month. Then came the jabs and swipes.

While the country pays tributes to the fallen soldiers, Sonia Gandhi said the central government could not step back from its responsibilities and must get back the Indian territory, which she said, had been occupied by Chinese troops. She also asked the government to back the army all the way. This is true patriotism, she said, wrapping up her three-minute video message.

The three video messages from the Gandhi family come against the backdrop of stinging attacks on them from the top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders that alleged the partys Rajiv Gandhi Foundation was a beneficiary of donations from the Chinese government and its embassy in New Delhi. Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged the donation had led the Congress to support China. He also said RGF had pushed for a free trade agreement between the two countries, leading to a huge trade deficit skewed in favour of China, and that the donation led to the Congress supporting China.

Also Read: India has closed military gap with China along border

This morning, BJP chief JP Nadda put out excerpts from annual reports of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation to allege that the PM Relief Fund, which receives donations from the public, had gone ahead to donate money to the RGF, when the Manmohan Singh-led coalition was in power.

Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadras video messages were a tad more acerbic than the one from Sonia Gandhi.

China has taken away our land not just at one place but in three areas. Prime Minister ji, you will have to speak the truth and tell the country. There is no need to get flustered. If you say no land was taken away and the truth is otherwise, it will be Chinas gain, Rahul Gandhi said. Nudging PM Modi to come out with a revised statement, Rahul Gandhi said China would be the key beneficiary if India keeps on denying that it has occupied territory when it has.

Also Read: US shifting military to face Chinese threat to India and Southeast Asia, says Mike Pompeo

Priyanka Gandhi sought to link Prime Minister Narendra Modis efforts to improve relations with China over his information summits with President Xi jinping. What happened during the discussions that PM Modi had held with the Chinese that they were so emboldened to take over our territories, Priyanka Gandhi asked, asserting that it was everyones duty to ask questions of the government. We will not allow the sacrifices of our soldiers to go in vain. It will be a crime to disrespect their sacrifice. We will not allow this to happen, she said.

The Congress insists that PM Modis concluding statement at the all-party meeting that Chinese troops were not present in Indian territory contradicted the earlier statements made by the Army chief, the defence Minister and the foreign ministry. The party asked if no Chinese troops had crossed the LAC, what was the reason for the face-off.

The Prime Ministers Office had responded to this line of attack to clarify that the PMs observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertain to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of the Armed Forces. The sacrifice of the soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment for the attempts of the Chinese side to erect structures and also cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the LAC on that day, the PMO had said.
The Delhi Police Has Seized Siya's Cell Phone

A Zee News report stated that they are trying to unlock Siya's cell phone, hoping to find any sort of clue as to why she took this drastic help. They have sought the help of her family to unlock her phone.

The Delhi police will also be questioning Siya's close friends as well as the authorities from her school.

The Police Has Confirmed That There's No Sushant Singh Rajput Case Angle In Siya's Death

Since the news of Siya's death came 11 days after Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide, the police were also investigating if it had triggered some kind of tension for the TikTok star. However, later they confirmed that there's no Sushant Singh Rajput case angle in Siya's demise.

Siya Kakkar Was Battling Depression, No Suicide Note Found

The DCP told India Today TV, "Siya died by suicide at her residence in New Delhi at around 9 pm on June 25. She lived with her family. Her family is in shock and has requested privacy. No suicide note has been recovered."

Reportedly, Siya Was Gearing Up For The Release Of Her New Song

According to various media reports on the internet, Siya was gearing up for her new song, which was going to be released soon. Speaking about the TikTok star's suicide, her manager Arjun Sarin earlier told India Today, "This must be due to something personal...work-wise she was doing well. I had a word with her last night for a new project and she sounded normal. Me and my company Fame Experts manage lots of artists and Siya was a bright talent."
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, health experts warn against the use of antibody tests to determine if a person has immunity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). An antibody test determines if a person developed antibodies against the infection due to past exposure.

Antibodies attacking SARS-CoV-2 virus, the conceptual 3D illustration. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon / Shutterstock

A group of medical experts has raised concerns about coronavirus antibody testing being carried out on NHS and care staff. Despite the claim of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the blood test is game-changing and can determine who has been previously infected, the experts said that a positive result in the test does not guarantee lasting immunity against the deadly virus.

The U.K. government purchased about 10 million test kits from the pharmaceutical firms, Abbott and Roche, aiming to test NHS staff and care workers first.

The government will be providing laboratory-based tests in the first phase of our antibody testing program, to NHS and care staff. Clinicians will also be able to request the tests for patients in both hospital and social care settings if they think it is appropriate. These tests require blood samples to be taken by trained professionals, which means they are not suitable to be used at home, the Department of Health and Social Care said.

What is antibody testing?

Antibodies are immune-fighting proteins released when the bodys immune system detects an infection. Once the infection has resolved, memory antibodies circulate in the blood at low levels, and when infection with the same pathogen happens again, the immune system ramps up the production of these proteins, warding off the viral infection.

The antibody test or serologic test detects the presence of antibodies against a pathogen, hinting a previous exposure. Many viral diseases provide lasting immunity against the virus, which means that once a person gets infected, the body can fight off the infection.

Testing positive for coronavirus-specific antibodies suggests that a person has some protection against the infection. However, there is no guarantee of lasting immunity, and it is unclear how long a person will be protected.

Health experts warn that antibody testing may provide false hopes of immunity and can put at risk the health of those who assume they are immune to the virus.

No firm proof

The senior medical experts, in a letter published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), said they have concerns about the establishment of antibody testing in England. First, the health experts say there is no specific clinical indication for the test, and the test kits have not been assessed and tested yet.

We support the rapid provision of diagnostic tests for individual and public health and recognize the need to deliver at pace. It is essential, however, that quality systems, which have evolved over many years and are the foundation for delivering the right result of the right test to the right person at the right time, are not circumvented, the team wrote in the letter.

Further, the team says that the antibody tests being rolled out detect immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies and since the test is performed to patients who want to have it, rather than for a clinical indication, neither a positive nor negative result may alter clinical management a positive test may not indicate immunity.

The tests will also be used as a ticket for healthcare workers and other employees to work. It is essential to understand that even with positive antibody test results, they should still consider themselves at risk and follow infection control guidelines.

There is, therefore, no benefit to healthcare organizations or to others in knowing the status of employees at present, the researchers added.

Another issue raised by the scientists was that the antibody tests being used in the U.K. had not been evaluated well enough to prove that they yield accurate results. Also, they were not being evaluated on enough people with other illnesses, to see if the tests will cross-react and show positive results for a different kind of infection.

Those who are at the highest risk of death from this infection are elderly people, those from black and minority ethnic groups, and immunocompromised people. There are currently no data showing the performance of the tests in these groups. The correct route to generating valid test performance data is well designed for prospective clinical studies. The assay is being rolled out at an unprecedented pace and scale without adequate assessment, potentially compromising public trust in pathology services in the future, the team added.

The experts said that the only current justification in rolling out a large-scale antibody testing for the novel coronavirus is for research purposes.
T he first episode of Channel 4's The School That Tried to End Racism left viewers in tears after an 11-year old boy broke down and fled the room after discussing white privilege with his classmates.

The programme aims to challenge the unconscious racial bias of a group of secondary school students.

Pupils in Year 7 at Glenthorne High School in south London separated into "affinity groups" of white and non-white students to discuss race and ethnicity during a three-week experiment.

The segregated affinity groups happened once a week, while two dozen pupils aged 11 and 12 attended additional workshops and lessons about white privilege and racial inequality.

In the programme, Henry, 11, became emotional after being separated from his non-white friends during the first session and, when asked what he had learnt with the class, broke down in tears and fled the room.

Henry, 11, on The School That Tried to End Racism (Channel 4/The School That Tried to End Racism ) / Channel 4/The School That Tried to End Racism

Many viewers were left in tears watching the emotional scene, with one commenting: "Henry is an absolute gem, I'm tearing up seeing how upset he gets that he was put in a group based on his race."

Another commented the sobbing emoji, writing: "Omg this ginger boy running out crying when he was grouped with the other white people."

Someone else wrote: "Yep, already cried. 11-year-olds should not have to feel worried about their race and how that will impact their life."

Another added: "These kids are amazing. Henry could teach so many adults a lot of things."

The school has an almost 50/50 make-up of white and non-white pupils, and teachers were trained to run the affinity groups.

Dr Nicola Rollock, an academic who works on race relations, and Professor Rhiannon Turner joined the school throughout the experiment to observe how the children behaved.

Dr Nicola explained: "The approach to race in this country has been one of colour blindness. We pretend we don't see race. That approach isn't working.

"You could say, 'I'm not racist.' But actually the actions might contradict what was coming out of our mouths."

The first task was a game designed by a group of Harvard University professors, which is now widely accepted as a benchmark for measuring unconscious bias.

During the test, students were shown pictures of black faces and white faces with a list of positive and negative words.

They were told to associate the negative words with black faces and positive words with white faces, and were timed to see how quickly they did it.

Midway through, the test changed to match negative words with white faces and positive words with black faces.

After the test, one student called Henry said: "Personally, I don't think that there was too much of a problem. People overthink it.

He added: "I don't think much about race. It's just not normally something I discuss."

Professor Rhiannon explained: "Research shows for 11-year-olds, making friends from different racial groups is easier.

"But as children get older, there is a process of self segregation where children split off into different racial groups on the basis of their ethnicity.

"Intervening at this age if crucial if we are to target and change children's attitudes before they become crystallised with adulthood."

It was then revealed that most of class had showed an unconscious bias towards white people, by completing the task of associating positive words with them faster.

Eighteen out of the 24 pupils showed a significant preference towards white people, with two showing a black preference and four showing no bias at all.

Henry pictured with his friends as they take part in the experiment (Channel 4/The School That Tried to End Racism ) / Channel 4/The School That Tried to End Racism

Dr Rhiannon explained: "We are exposed at an early age to white people in positions of power, white heroes and heroines.

"All of these influences tell us that white people are better than black and ethnic minority people in society."

Speaking at the water fountain with his friend Bright, Henry admitted: "I know they say not to feel bad about it, but you still feel bad about it because you know you've done something wrong."

Students, including girls Beth and Miyu and boys Bright and Henry, were asked to divide into white and non-white groups, with the idea that the children could discuss their experience of race without judgement.

In the white group, discussion was strained and the pupils struggled to know what to say, as Mr Grant asked them: "Have you ever thought what it means to be white?"

One of the girls admitted: "It doesn't really mean anything to be white."

Henry is comforted by his dad after getting upset (Channel 4/The School That Tried to End Racism ) / Channel 4/The School That Tried to End Racism

However, in the non-white group, the students danced, laughed and sang whilst discussing their own ethnicities and heritage.

Dr Nicola observed: "The contrast between the two rooms is phenomenal. This room is like a carnival, and this room is like a funeral."

Henry told his group of white peers: "Listening to their group, it sounds like they're enjoying it a lot. But I don't know if that's because we're not there...or..."

Meanwhile Professor Rhiannon said: "Henry's experience, as an outsider, is a new experience and it's quite an uncomfortable one."

When the groups came back together after being separated, they were asked for feedback, at which point Henry burst into tears and said he felt "jealous" of the other group before he fled the room.

Later, speaking to his parents Kevin and Sarah, he cried again, explaining: "What we were talking about is what it means to be white. And it felt really weird. I didn't feel comfortable talking.

"If I had the choice, I would be with my friends, not just by race, because that feels awful."

He told the camera: "Since the start of my life, I've been told that your race doesn't really matter. It's who you are as a person."

When Mr Grant asked why the white pupils found it so difficult to discuss race, the students admitted they were worried about upsetting others; Henry added he was scared of saying something offensive, which would stay with him for life.

Other experiments included discussing 'what it means to be white', and doing a 'privilege walk', where they stepped forward or back in response to questions about their lives.

After several more days, Henry said he was learning to feel more comfortable about having the conversations, revealing: "I've learnt that race is actually a bigger issue that I thought it was, and it's not talked about enough."
FILE PHOTO: Logo of Air France KLM Group is pictured on the first Air France airliner's Airbus A350 during a ceremony at the aircraft builder's headquarters of Airbus in Colomiers

By Toby Sterling and Laurence Frost

AMSTERDAM/PARIS (Reuters) - France and the Netherlands are close to an agreement on a Dutch Air France-KLM bailout contribution, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

Under the deal, which could be announced on Thursday evening or Friday morning, the Dutch government would unblock close to 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) in guaranteed and direct loans to KLM and appoint a trustee to its board, they said.

The airline group and a French finance ministry spokesman declined to comment. Dutch government officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The governments, which each own about 14% of Air France-KLM, unveiled 7 billion euros in French aid in April and a planned 2-4 billion from the Netherlands as the coronavirus crisis brought air travel to a near-halt.

But the Dutch funds have been delayed by parliamentary scrutiny and tense negotiations in which France rebuffed The Hague's push for a state KLM board appointee that would weaken the group's hold on its Dutch subsidiary.

Instead, the agreement to be announced would see the appointment of a non-voting trustee to ensure that bailout money from Dutch taxpayers goes to support the company's Dutch operations, the sources said.

The French and Dutch governments remain at loggerheads over management and strategy at Air France-KLM, created by the 2004 merger between the two national carriers.

Frustrations exploded in March last year with the Dutch state's surprise acquisition of a stake in the group, designed to match France's holding and counter its clout.

The KLM aid package is also likely to come with environmental conditions and restrictions on executive pay demanded by Dutch lawmakers.

($1 = 0.8916 euros)

(Reporting by Toby Sterling and Laurence Frost; additional reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Edmund Blair, Kirsten Donovan)
Saskatchewan's Public Complaints Commission says a Saskatoon police officer used excessive force during the arrest of Jordan Lafond, an Indigenous man who was gravely injured at the end of a car chase in 2016 and died the following day.

But the Saskatoon Police Service won't say what internal steps it has taken to prevent something like that from happening again, citing an ongoing legal battle over the incident.

Lafond's mother, Charmaine Dreaver, filed a complaint against the Saskatoon Police Service with the Public Complaints Commission after his death. The provincial body investigates complaints about alleged police misconduct.

This week, the commission confirmed its investigation found "one of the officers involved used excessive use of force."

"I've known this all along," Dreaver said of the commission's findings Wednesday. "No matter what, in my heart, I've always felt that."

Details of Lafond's arrest and death became public during a coroner's inquest in June 2018.

Lafond, a 22-year-old man from Mistawasis Nehiyawak Cree First Nation, was the front passenger of a stolen truck driven by Reece Fiddler on Oct. 23, 2016.

Police pursued the speeding truck, which was later found to have several hunting weapons inside, including a sawed-off rifle between the front seats. The chase ended when the truck crashed into a fence. Lafond was not wearing a seatbelt and wound up under the truck.

During the inquest, Sgt. Thomas Gresty testified that he believed Lafond, who was lying face down, was resisting arrest while being handcuffed by another officer. Gresty said he kneed Lafond as many as four times in the head. Soon after, officers realized Lafond was in medical distress and an ambulance was called.

Lafond died in hospital the day after his arrest.

Saskatchewan's chief forensic pathologist testified that Lafond died of blunt force trauma to the head, and that the impact of the crash likely a significant factor in his death. But the exact source of the head trauma could not be confirmed, said Dr. Shaun Ladham.

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"There isn't any difference that we can say," he testified. "There are injuries that we can see in a motor vehicle accident, but we can see the same things from someone in a fistfight."

Force was 'not required': police

Dreaver said she's still left with questions after the Public Complaints Commission's finding  including whether Saskatoon police took any disciplinary action against the officer.

According to Brent Cotter, the commission's chair, Saskatoon police Chief Troy Cooper accepted the commission's finding and "is responsible for any discipline that may flow from such matters."

"We were advised that the chief took such steps as he deemed necessary to address the matter," Cotter said. The commission does not release its report at the end of an investigation.

Guy Quenneville/CBC

Asked about the complaint, a spokesperson for the Saskatoon Police Service said "the PCC found that the force used was not required to take Lafond into custody."

"The SPS has taken steps internally to reduce the likelihood of this occurring again in the future," the spokesperson said, adding that the police service could not say more because of a lawsuit filed by Dreaver against Gresty and several other officers involved in Lafond's arrest.

Chris Murphy, the lawyer who represented Dreaver during the inquest, said that's not good enough.

"The public cannot be satisfied that the SPS takes findings of excessive force against its officers seriously, because the SPS is not transparent with the public," Murphy said.

According to Dreaver's statement of claim  which was filed in the name of Lafond's then-infant daughter  the conduct of the officers was "egregious and excessive" and "an assault and battery of a nature that was not acceptable in a just and civilized society."

The statement of claim also alleged the use of force was not justified under Section 25 of the Criminal Code, which deals with police and use of force.

Had Lafond survived, he would have "almost certainly been rendered quadriplegic and/or suffered permanent and significant loss of brain function and capacity," the statement of claim said.

Dreaver is seeking general and punitive damages against the officers.

Officers believed Lafond may be violent

According to a statement of defence filed on behalf of the officers by lawyer Andrea Rohrke, Gresty believed Lafond was resisting arrest and "used only as much force as reasonably necessary, being verbal commands and blows to Lafond, in order to gain compliance."

Officers had reasonable grounds to believe Lafond and Fiddler might be violent, given a witness told police he saw people in the truck sawing off the barrel and stock of a rifle, the statement of defence says.

Guy Quenneville/CBC

Since the chase ended only because the truck crashed, officers "had the reasonable belief that the occupants of [the truck] had no intention to comply with any future police commands," according to the statement of defence.

The first officer to reach Lafond, Sgt. Kelly Olfason, stepped on his hand to prevent him from potentially grabbing a weapon, the statement says.

Olafson testified during the 2018 coroner's inquest that Lafond didn't move after he was handcuffed. The officer did not remember Gresty's knee strikes, he told the inquest jury.

"As the matter is currently the subject of litigation, we are not prepared to comment at this time," Rohrke said.

The Saskatoon Police Association, the officers' union, declined to comment.

'Still police investigating police'

The Saskatoon Police Service investigated its own officers' conduct during Lafond's arrest, with an investigation observer tapped by the Ministry of Justice overlooking the investigation.

According to a statement issued by police Chief Cooper after the inquest, "a Crown review of those findings did not result in charges."

Dreaver is among those who believe changes announced last week to police oversight in Saskatchewan don't go far enough, because they will allow a police force from one part of the province to investigate the conduct of officers working elsewhere.

"In the end, it's still police investigating police," Dreaver said. "I would really like to see a completely civilian-led oversight."

Dreaver said the police killing of George Floyd in the United States recently stirred her to action. She organized a rally in Saskatoon this past weekend.

"Our main goal was to be supportive with everybody else that's rallying and protesting right now, because we need changes in Canada," she said.
26.06.2020 LISTEN

Standing in wait of explanation of the Supreme Court ruling dated Thursday, June 25 in relation to SUIT NO.J1/9/2020 and SUIT NO.J1/12/2020, Lawyers for the plaintiffs in both suits stood nodding in acceptance whilst Johnson Asiedu Nketia representing the Plaintiff in J1/9/2020 as General Secretary led the press lecture.

Regardless of the shame which stemmed from the ignorance and lack of understanding of the matters that filled the empty enthusiastic lecture, the lawyers, who by the standard of practice are referred to as "Learned" lost their position and repute as men of the learned profession.

They accepted with full alacrity the misappropriation and misplacement of facts as presented or better put lectured by "darling boy" Johnson Asiedu Nketia, a proof that indeed "we are not in normal times".

It was refreshing news to hear that the former president and now flag bearer of the opposition NDC would be addressing the press, a style he and his party have utilized for the past three years after they packed bag and baggage out of the Jubilee House.

I have chosen to expose his (John Mahama) inability to understand the ruling of the SC as it relates to the date the reasons for the unanimous decisions of the Justices shall be made public.

In John Mahama's press address, he states that the date given by the Supreme Court's decision to give proper definition of their decisions given for the dismissal of their consolidated suits is appalling. He was emphatic, by his own understanding that the SC slated 15th July, 2020.

The above, however, is palpable falsehood propagated out of the same misunderstanding that misled Johnson Asiedu Nketia and his learned men who nodded in total confusion as the immediate former lectured. The ruling stated that; "Reasons will be filed on or before 15th of July, 2020".

Simple grammar yet could be tricky to be understood by a group of "Dumelos" who agree that they value not intellectuality. The key word that gives proper interpretation to the statement supra is not the "on" rather the "before" though both stand reasonably accurate to its legal interpretation.

Simply put, "On" 15th of July, 2020 means reasons would be filed in the time of that date. The second key word which shouldn't be undermined in giving a correct and more reasonably accurate interpretation is the "before" which precedes the date.

Thus, interpreting the statement using "before" would mean that the SC could file the reasons any moment from now but not necessarily in the time of or ON the 15th of July, 2020.

This further gives emphasis that the filing of the reasons won't exceed the stated date yet could come far preceding it. It could even be the morning of Friday, 26th of June, 2020.

The duo incidence of today as expanded above draws my attention to the statements made by the parliamentary candidate of the NDC in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency that the NDC where he belongs does not believe in intelligence and intellectualism.

Drawing our inspiration from his conclusion, and as rightly authenticated by General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia and flag bearer John Dramani Mahama, we can only thank the actor John Dumelo for being honest and truthful and exposing his comrades.

In all, a new voter register is non-negotiable in the holding of the 2020 general elections just as their disbelief for intellectualism arguably unmatched.

Reindolf Amankwa

Member, CTI-Middle Belt
Four of the Penn State Health staff members who were photographed in April 2020 as part of the Face Mask Smiles project. Credit: Penn State Health The Medical Minute: Don't get lax with the mask

Since March, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we learn, work and socialize. Now, as nearly all of Pennsylvania is in the green phase of reopening, it is essential for people to remain vigilant by continuing to wear face masks and maintain proper social distancing.

The role of masks in controlling COVID-19

"While it's tempting to view green as being back to normal, that's simply not the case," said Dr. Patrick Gavigan, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Penn State Children's Hospital. "The virus is still out there. We still have cases every day."

In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reiterated the critical importance of social distancing, hand-washing and wearing a face mask as key defenses against the transmission of COVID-19. Face coverings are especially important as research has shown that people become contagious with COVID-19 before they start exhibiting symptoms or feeling ill.

Dr. Ping Du, associate director of the Doctor of Public Health Program at Penn State College of Medicine and an associate professor in the divisions of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology, said that when she's out and about, she sees less than half of the publicespecially among young adultswearing a mask when they should be.

"Current cases indicate that more and more young people are getting the disease. Maybe they feel they're not at risk or they'll only get a mild form of the disease," Du said. "For whatever reason, they're not wearing their masks. They might have mild symptoms or be asymptomatic, but they can pass COVID onto others who are at greater risk of getting sick. Everyone should be wearing masks."

Tara Simmons, a community health nurse at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, said she and her fellow nurses at the Medical Center will not go out into the community without wearing a mask. "To be a good neighbor, you need to wear one," she said.

When and how to wear masks

According to the CDC, face masks should be worn by anyone ages two and older in public settings, and in Pennsylvania, mask-wearing is required when entering any business in all counties in the state in both the yellow and green phases of reopening.

Simmons stresses the importance of staying the course of wearing masks whenever recommended.

"As we can see from other parts of our country, there's a correlation with reduced mask usage and social distancing to increased cases of COVID," she said.

How to care for and wear masks

While we've heard a lot about N95 respirators (also called N95 masks) and level 1 medical masks used by medical providers, face masks made of cotton are appropriate for use by the general public. However, they should be cleaned, stored and used properly to be effective.

"People should wash their mask with hot, soapy water after a single use," Du said. "Then throw it in the dryer on a hot setting. That's why it's important to have at least two masks so they'll always have one ready."

Du advises that clean masks be stored in a new paper or plastic bag until ready to be worn. "Never just store in your pocket or purse," she said. "You don't want to risk contaminating it."

Even when washed and stored safely, masks are only effective at helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19 if they're worn correctly.

"I'll see someone wearing a mask that's dangling from their chin and not covering their nose or mouth, which defeats the purpose," Gavigan said. "Both the nose and mouth need to be covered."

Another problem he sees is people frequently touching the masks that they're wearing. "That is detrimental. Anytime you touch your face, you could be introducing a virus," he said.

A second wave?

While discussions abound about an anticipated second wave of COVID-19 for this fall, Gavigan, Du and Simmons all stress that we aren't out of the initial wave of the coronavirus yet. And they are concerned that people already are becoming too lax with their social distancing and mask-wearing efforts.

"It's easy to get mask fatigue and fatigue from all of the COVID-19 restrictions across the nation," Gavigan said. "But we can't let our guard down. Masks right now and for the foreseeable future remain a key part in keeping us safe and our counties green."

Explore further Wearing a mask on public transport reduces COVID-19 risk even for the healthy
New Delhi: Indian army is not expecting disengagement with the Chinese army to start any time soon in Ladakh sector. Disengagement will take time, said sources on Thursday.

Since the Corps Commander meeting between the two armies on Monday, there has been no major general or commanding officer level talks. It is the local commanders who will meet and decide stepwise disengagement at various locations. Currently, there is a high level of distrust of the Chinese army in the Indian security establishment.

Army chief General MM Naravane, who has returned after his two-day visit to Ladakh sector, is expected to brief the political leadership about Indian Armys operational preparedness to deal with any misadventure by the China. He will also give an assessment of the situation in the Ladakh and options available with India.

India and China had on Monday reached a consensus to disengage from all friction areas in Eastern Ladakh during the Corps Commander meeting between the two armies.

Even as the Chinese army has been talking of peace, it has been building up its troops at various points on the border. It has even build up its troops in new areas like Depsang and Daulat Beg Oldie sector to put pressure on the Indian Army.

However, Indian Army has done counter deployment in the sector. In Galwan valley, Chinese army is still present in large numbers at a short distance from patrolling point 14, the site of June 15 bloody clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers. However, in Galwan valley Indian soldiers have started dominating the peaks which will help them to counter any Chinese move in the area. The Chinese have continued with their build up in Hot Springs and Gogra post.

In northern banks of Pangong Tso, which is the main issue of contention between the two sides, Chinese soldiers are reportedly continuing with their activities and trying to build structures in new positions. There is a large build-up of Chinese soldiers around finger 4, where they have constructed structures and bunkers to prevent Indian soldiers from patrolling finger 4 to 8. Indians, who have their base around finger 3 used to patrol till the finger 8 area.
NASA has released an incredible video showing a 10-year time-lapse of the Sun in glorious 4K.

The video shows one photo of the Sun per second for every day of the last 10 years, thereby condensing a decade of the Sun into 61 minutes.

The photos come from NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), a spacecraft launched a decade ago from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

From its orbit around Earth, SDO has gathered 425 million high-resolution images of the Sun, amassing 20 million gigabytes of data.

The photos were taken at a wavelength of 17.1 nanometers  an extreme ultraviolet wavelength that shows the Suns, 'corona', its outermost atmospheric layer

The video, simply titled 'A Decade of Sun' shows the corona swirling, shining and blistering in incredible detail for just over an hour.

SDO has documented stunning solar effects on the Sun's outer surface, including giant waves, coronal holes and magnetic explosions, as shown in the video.

Scroll down for video

From its orbit in space around Earth, SDO has gathered 425 million high-resolution images of the Sun, shown in the time-lapse video

'As of June 2020, NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory  SDO  has now been watching the Sun non-stop for over a full decade,' NASA said in a blog post.

'SDO and other NASA missions will continue to watch our Sun in the years to come, providing further insights about our place in space and information to keep our astronauts and assets safe.'

The video shows the rise and fall in activity that occurs as part of the Suns 11-year solar cycle, where it goes from very active to less active.

The video covers almost the entire 11-year stretch of our star's solar cycle, documenting notable events, like transiting planets and eruptions.

WHAT CAUSES THE SOLAR CYCLE? The sun goes through an 11-year cycle where it goes from very active to less active. It is tracked by sunspots and it is currently going through a quiet phase. Researchers from Germany have published a recent study claiming it may be caused by the matching gravitational fields of Venus, Earth and Jupiter. This happens only once every 11.07 years and is likely the cause of switching in the solar cycle. The sloshing of the plasma may only be disturbed by one millimetre but this is enough to alter its movement on a wider scale, they claim. Advertisement

Eagle-eyed viewers who watch the whole video will notice a few special guests at various points.

Venus makes a swift fly-by at around the 12:20 mark in June 2012, while the Moon blocks off SDO's view briefly at around 53:30 in March last year.

Another puzzling shaking effect is seen just after 57 seconds, which was unexplained by NASA, while the camera briefly goes offline in the 38th minute.

While SDO has 'kept an unblinking eye pointed toward the Sun', there have been a few moments it missed, accounting for a few black frames, NASA said.

'The dark frames in the video are caused by Earth or the Moon eclipsing SDO as they pass between the spacecraft and the Sun.

A longer blackout in 2016 was caused by a temporary issue with one of the SDO's instruments, which was resolved after a week.

'The images where the Sun is off-centre were observed when SDO was calibrating its instruments,' NASA said.

The video has been made possible by the three instruments on-board SDO, which are still going strong after more than 10 years.

Firstly, the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) is a battery of four telescopes designed to photograph the Suns surface and atmosphere.

Since its launch on February 11, 2010, SDO has collected millions of scientific images of our nearest star

Venus can be seen zipping past the surface of the Sun at high speed back in June 2012

AIA filters cover 10 different wavelength bands, or colours, selected to reveal key aspects of solar activity.

Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE), meanwhile, measures fluctuations in the Suns ultraviolet output.

Solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation has a direct and powerful effect on Earths upper atmosphere, heating it, puffing it up, and breaking apart atoms and molecules.

Lastly, the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) maps solar magnetic fields and 'peers' beneath the Suns opaque surface using a technique called 'helioseismology'.

Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), pictured here in illustration, studies how solar activity is created and how space weather results from that activity

Helioseismology, a term coined by British astronomer Douglas Gough, is the study of the solar interior using observations of waves on the Sun's surface.

NASA said the SDO improves understanding of the physics behind the activity displayed by the Suns atmosphere, which drives space weather in the heliosphere, the region of the Suns influence, and in planetary environments.

The space agency has an online library of the SDO's greatest shots in the last decade, including strange plasma tornados in 2012 and dark patches called 'coronal holes' where extreme ultraviolet emission is low.
Michigan Primary March 2020

Jeff Kowalsky/Getty Images

Stephanie Regan, the daughter of a Republican candidate running to represent the 73rd District in the Michigan House of Representatives, has gone viral after urging voters not to elect her father.

In a tweet posted on Tuesday, she implored everyone "18+" in Michigan not to vote for Robert Regan "for the love of god."

In just three days, the tweet has received hundreds of thousands of likes.

On Thursday, Robert Regan responded with a statement posted to Facebook, in which he said he encouraged his children to voice their opinions and "seek truth."

In an interview with The Hill, Regan said that his daughter's anti-endorsement did not come as a surprise, as the two clash over political philosophy and their beliefs regarding systemic racism.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The daughter of a Republican candidate running for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives has gone viral on Twitter after imploring Michigan voters not to elect her father.

"[I]f you're in Michigan and 18+ pls for the love of god do not vote for my dad for state rep. tell everyone," Stephanie Regan tweeted on Tuesday, referring to Robert Regan, who is one of three Republicans running to represent the 73rd District in the Michigan state House.

In less than 72 hours, the tweet has received over 180,000 likes and racked up hundreds of comments from supporters thanking her for her transparency and "service" to the state.

On Wednesday, Regan posted a follow-up tweet in which she identified her father specifically. While she declined to offer specifics on his policies, citing her own safety as a concern, she urged voters to "look up information" regarding his political stances.

Robert Regan is considered to be the most conservative of the three Republicans running, and his Twitter account features several retweets expressing support for police amid nationwide protests surrounding the death of George Floyd. He has also retweeted posts labeling the Black Lives Matter movement as a "Marxist" organization.

Story continues

The following day, Stephanie Regan posted again, thanking commenters for their support, adding that she assumed her tweet would not reach anyone beyond her "hometown friends." She concluded by urging people to "READ" and "GOOGLE" rather than voting for a "familiar name" on the ballot.

Robert Regan issued a statement supporting his daughter's right to share her views.

On Thursday evening, Robert Regan responded to his daughter's anti-endorsement with a statement posted to Facebook.

"I am happy that she feels confident enough in our relationship to express her opposing thoughts so publicly," the statement read. " The 1st Amendment is foundational to our republic, which not only requires, but should encourage, all perspectives to be expressed without using guilt, obligation or shame to manipulate people."

Regan added that he encouraged his children to "seek truth" and urged his constituents to also ask themselves tough questions and use "logic and reason to guide emotions."

In conclusion, he said that his "door is open" to his children and his phone is "available to them anytime."

The post was accompanied by a link to donate to Regan's campaign.

Regan says that the anti-endorsement follows a longstanding difference of opinion between him and his daughter.

On Thursday, Regan told The Hill that his daughter's tweet reflected their differing thoughts on an array of political issues. He also pointed to her college education as a potential reason behind her liberal viewpoints.

"A lot of students when they go off to these liberal university campuses, like the University of Colorado, the University of Texas and Austin  and she went to the University of Colorado in Boulder  and you know, they just kind of get sucked into this Marxist, communist ideology and she and I just don't see eye to eye when it comes to the whole socialism, communism, Marxist philosophy," he told the outlet.

A core disagreement the pair had was over the idea of systemic racism, Regan claimed.

"Her big thing has to do with the systemic racism that's going on in the country," he said, later adding, "The only place where I really see systemic racism would be the abortion clinic cause they seem to target the African American community." According to the Guttmacher Institute, the idea that abortion clinics target Black people is based on the false assumption that most abortion providers are located in minority neighborhoods.

Regan also told the outlet that he doesn't "buy into this whole systemic racism thing at all," an idea that's been backed by significant statistics, and said that "we all have hurdles to overcome," citing his experience as a "quote-unquote rich, white, Christian male" as being difficult due to the "not always good" perceptions people hold of white men.

Regan later told the outlet that he believes that President Trump has done "more for the black community than any president we've had in the last 20 years." According to The New York Times, numerous scholars point to President Lyndon B. Johnson as the president that has arguably accomplished the most for the Black community.

Another disagreement likely prompting the tweet, Regan explained, is the father and daughter's clashing opinions on the existence of white privilege. While his daughter recently sent him an article about the topic, he said, he found "no scientific data behind it." Despite the claim, there have been studies showing numerous quantifiable advantages given to white people in society, such as leeway given to white bus passengers that was observed in a 2014 Yale study.

While the two have not spoken since the tweets went viral, Regan told The Hill that he's "happy that she's willing to speak out and express her opinion on things."

The Republican primary in Michigan takes place on August 4.

Stephanie and Robert Regan did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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Read the original article on Insider

%5D%5D> insider@insider.com (Margot Harris) Culture Politics News Tech Parenting Digital Culture Twitter Michigan GOP Politics Parents https://www.insider.com/michigan-gop-candidate-robert-regan-stephanie-daughter-posts-anti-endorsement-2020-6 Fri, 26 Jun 2020 15:40:48 +0000

A 5-year-old raised more than $1,300 running a lemonade stand for a firefighter who was shot at a Missouri Applebee's

https://www.insider.com/boys-lemonade-stand-raised-money-for-firefighter-shot-at-applebees-2020-6 Cooper Wallweber ran the stand for six hours raising money for Arlydia Bufford, who was one of three people shot Monday at the Missouri restaurant.
New Delhi, June 26 : Spelling more trouble for former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's nephew Ratul Puri, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday carried out raids at multiple locations in Delhi and Noida in connection with the alleged fraud with the Punjab National Bank and other consortium of banks worth Rs 787 crore.

A CBI official said, "Multiple teams of the agency are conducting searches in Delhi and Noida at the premises of the accused, including Moser Baer Solar Ltd (MBSL) Directors Dipak Puri, Ratul Puri and others in a case releated to alleged loss of Rs 787.25 crore to PNB and other consortium of banks." The official said that the raids came in the wake of a case being registered on a complaint by PNB against MBSL and others, including its Directors and other unknown persons and bank officials.

In August 2019, the CBI had registered a case against Moser Baer India Limited (MBIL) and conducted raids at six places to nab its current and former officials for cheating the Central Bank of India to the tune of Rs 354.51 crore.

According to the CBI, Deepak Puri, Managing Director of MBIL, his wife Nita Puri, whole-time director of MBIL, son Ratul Puri, former Executive Director of MBIL, Sanjay Jain, Director, Vineet Sharma, Director, and other unidentified public servants and private persons were booked on charges of criminal conspiracy for cheating, forgery and criminal misconduct.

Nita Puri is the sister of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Ratul Puri is his nephew. Ratul Puri was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with money laundering involving the Rs 354 crore fraud with the Central Bank of India.

The ED had rergistered the case on the basis of the CBI FIR. Ratul Puri is also under scanner for allegedly receiving kickbacks in the AgustaWestland deal through his companies.

The ED has alleged that accounts associated with firms owned and operated by Ratul Puri were used to receive kickbacks and launder money in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal.

Ratul Puri was granted bail on December 2, 2019.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A coalition of groups hoping to pare down the Grand Rapids Police budget by $9 million are ramping up pressure behind a Defund the GRPD campaign.

Organizers of the Defund the GRPD Campaign Coalition spoke to media in front of Grand Rapids City Hall on Thursday, June 25, detailing hopes of convincing city leaders to call an emergency budget meeting in the next few days.

The citys budget runs from July 1 to June 30.

Efforts around the nation to defund police departments began last month as protests erupted over the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis when a police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes. Floyd was a black man.

The groups in the local coalition are Together We Are Safe, Grand Rapids Area Mutual Aid Network, The Peoples Budget GR, Movimiento Cosecha GR and GR Rapids Response to ICE.

Backers behind defunding police say the money is better spent invested into the Black community to help improve equality.

They want the police departments share of the total budget, now at 38.6 percent, reduced to 32 percent to match the lowest level allowed under the citys charter. The cut would represent about $9.4 million.

Related: Grand Rapids police chiefs says significant cuts being discussed could impact community safety

Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Payne last week said such a cut could hurt community safety. Leaders with Grand Rapids police unions estimate a $9.4 million cut would mean layoffs to 78 of the citys 298 officers.

But supporters of defunding are not convinced that fewer officers would mean less safety.

Samantha Przybylski, a co-organizer of the effort, said she thinks the city should rely more on rescuers, like firefighters, than police.

I have no trust in the Grand Rapids police. I have no faith in the Grand Rapids police department. I have never called 911 hoping a cop shows up. Its always something that can be handled by the fire department or EMS, she said.

They handle it without a gun on their hip, without escalating the situation and certainly without killing anyone, she said.

Przybylski disagrees with Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washingtons assertion that dramatic cuts now, without a specific plan to uphold community safety, would be short-sighted.

She believes community pressure is mounting for a different option than traditional policing.

Weve protested. Weve held vigils and marches. Weve blocked traffic and broken windows, all in the midst of a pandemic, and still were waiting for whats due, she said.

Organizers of the defunding movement want city leaders to call an emergency meeting by June 30. So far, only Grand Rapids City commissioners Joe Jones and Kurt Reppart have expressed a desire to consider divesting money.

Another organizer, Danah Montgomery, referenced several examples of missteps by Grand Rapids police in recent years, including the March 2019 arrest of Bronquel Brown. Brown refused commands to exit his vehicle and, as officers tried to take him into custody, one officer punched him 29 times in a leg. That officer later was fired and Brown received a $125,000 settlement from the city following a state Civil Rights Department complaint.

The Grand Rapids Police Department is not innocent from incidents of police violence, she sad.

Montgomery said she wants the defunding, but also is advocating for the city to have a plan by July 31 for a full community conversation with the most marginalized people in the Black community.

More from MLive

Use of force changes, calls to reduce police funding discussed by Grand Rapids City Commission

Michigan House asks local governments not to defund police departments

What defund the police means to advocates in Michigan
Jon Stewarts new move Irresistible is out after a monthlong postponement that seemingly only delayed an onslaught of unfavorable reviews.

The political comedy stars Stewarts former Daily Show colleague Steve Carell and Rose Byrne as rival political strategists and Chris Cooper as a small-town mayoral candidate in Wisconsin.

Carells character, Democrat Gary Zimmer, helps Jack Hastings, a retired Marine colonel (Cooper), with his race for mayor in the conservative town. Byrne plays Faith Brewster, a Republican campaign adviser who clashes with Zimmer.

Stewart, 57, who grew up in Lawrenceville and owns Hockhockson Farm, an animal sanctuary in Colts Neck with his wife, Tracey Stewart, wrote and directed the film, which was originally due out in theaters May 29. This is his second feature after the drama Rosewater (2014).

Critics have not exactly been singing the praises of the movie, which many have called stale or out of sync with current political issues.

Vulture: Shockingly out of step.

NPRs Linda Homes: Utterly toothless as satire, because theres nothing in it that challenges anyones ideas about anything.

The New York Posts Johnny Oleksinski: An election comedy that boasts not a single satisfying joke, all the while priding itself on being ripped from 4-year-old headlines.

Other reviews were more in the bad-to-lukewarm range.

A political farce that ultimately feels like a letdown, coming from one of the sharpest yet most compassionate satirical minds of today, writes Michael OSullivan of The Washington Post.

Irresistible has a super-smarty-pants vibe thats admirable until it becomes exhausting, writes Times Stephanie Zacharek.

The film is a lot like a politician, writes Varietys Owen Gleiberman. It makes a big show of leading the viewer, but without rocking the boat.

Too many folks have been waiting to find out what he (Stewart) makes of whats going on today, and theyll likely be disappointed not to find out  at least not enough in this movie, which feels like it takes place well before the election of Donald Trump, even though it starts the next morning, writes the Associated Press Jocelyn Novak.

Irresistible is a lecture on old news, writes The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis. Harping on the toxicity of an electoral system whose messages are fattened by money, shaped by focus groups and polished by pundits, its thesis may be too unsophisticated for our increasingly traumatic times.

How to watch Irresistible

Irresistible comes out on Friday, June 26 on streaming and video on demand.

You will be able to stream the movie Friday on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Xfinity, Vudu, Google Play, DirecTV and FandangoNow, reportedly for $19.99.

If youd like to see some commentary while you watch the movie, Jon Stewart will be live-tweeting the world premiere at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT June 26 from the @FocusFeatures account.

Join us THIS FRIDAY at 5pm PT / 8pm ET for the world premiere event of #Irresistible in your home. Writer/director Jon Stewart will be live-tweeting via @FocusFeatures.



 Pre-order the film now, and set a reminder below! https://t.co/DZimC0B62v  Irresistible (@irresistible) June 24, 2020

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

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Send a coronavirus tip here.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:

Prospects for developing bilateral trade and economic cooperation between Turkmenistan and the European Union (EU) were discussed during the 19th meeting of the Turkmenistan-EU Joint Committee held online on June 25, 2020, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

The Turkmen side was represented by high ranking officials of Ministries of Finance and Economy, Foreign Affairs, Trade and Foreign Economic Relations, Education, Health and Medical Industry, and others.

On behalf of the EU, the meeting was attended by representatives of the European External Relations Service led by Deputy Managing Director of Europe and Central Asia Luc Devigne.

The parties discussed issues of cooperation in the field of energy, transport, communications and digitalization and opportunities to increase trade turnover and develop partnerships between the private sectors of Turkmenistan and the EU member countries, the report said.

During the meeting, joint programs and projects in the field of ecology, agriculture, and finance were considered.

Taking into account the negative impact of coronavirus on the cooperation, it was decided to exchange skills, technology and information resources to contribute to combating the pandemic.

The sides have agreed to hold the 20th meeting of the committee next year.

Earlier, Turkmenistan and the EU held a Human Rights Dialogue "Turkmenistan - European Union, during which expansion of cooperation in the field of international humanitarian law was considered.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
With an eye on the aggressive Chinese behaviour, the National Defense Authorization Act for the fiscal 2021 has sought fighter jet training detachment for India, Japan and Australia in the US Pacific territory of Guam.

The move comes six months after the US Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen signed a memorandum of understanding for Singapore to set up a fighter jet training detachment in Guam.

The text of NDAA 2021, for the fiscal year beginning October 1, was introduced in the Senate on Thursday.

The act directs the Secretary of Defense submit to the congressional defense committees a report assessing the merit and feasibility of entering into agreements similar to that of Singapore with other US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region, to include Japan, Australia, and India.

The US-Singapore memorandum is meant for approximately a squadron's worth of Republic of Singapore Air Force fighter jets and associated personnel. The Singapore training presence is expected to begin around 2029.

Among other things, the bill establishes the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, which will focus resources on the Indo-Pacific - addressing key military capability gaps, reassuring US allies and partners, and bolstering the credibility of the United States, said Senator Jim Inhofe, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Describing Indo-Pacific as the priority theatre, an NDAA report said the bill establishes the Pacific Deterrence Initiative to enhance budgetary transparency and oversight, focus resources on capability gaps, reassure allies and partners, and restore the credibility of American deterrence in the region.

The bill proposes procurement of 48 Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASMs), which it said will be especially useful in the Indo-Pacific, which the Department of Defense has named its priority theatre.

The LRASM provides a near-term capability enhancement that will allow the carrier air wing to contribute to blunting a Chinese offensive earlier in conflict, thereby directly advancing the objectives and priorities laid out in the National Defense Strategy.

NDAA also seeks acceleration in the American effort to establish an F-35A operating locations forward in the Indo-pacific region.

To date, the Air Force has announced the selection of nine operating locations for the F-35A, including locations in the US, Alaska, and Europe.

It has yet to announce plans for any F-35A operating locations forward in the Indo-Pacific region.
This article is part of Reopenings, a series about how businesses are operating during the pandemic.

Americans may not be able to get away to everywhere this summer, but plenty of them are trying to get away somewhere. Airbnb bookings are up. National parks are beckoning. At a time when most people want to avoid airplanes, road trips are in. While tourism has been in a free fall over the last few months as people have generally kept their distance from nonessential leisure travel, the industry is once again pitching Americans to relax on someone elses premises. That includes one kind of venue that would seem ill-suited to a moment when communal experiences are seen, at best, with reluctance: resorts.

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And yet here they are, trying to reassure potential guests that theyve implemented adequate safety measures without dulling the just-let-us-handle-it experience. There is a bit of skepticism about travel and what travel is going to be like after weve been shut down globally, said Adam Stewart, deputy chairman of Sandals Resorts, who mentioned that hes been on about 155 Zoom calls to plan for the reopening of the companys locations. I would say that a majority of our operations are exactly the same, except that theres this heightened awareness of health and safety protocols and deep cleaning. Sandals resorts in Montego Bay, Jamaica; Negril, Jamaica; and Dickenson Bay, Antigua are all hosting guests again, and the rest of the companys locations throughout the Caribbean are reopening on a rolling schedule through November.

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Guests will notice a difference at many resorts right from check-in. Theyll have to undergo a temperature check before entering the property. Rather than going up to the front desk, people will instead complete the check-in procedures beforehand online so that they can go straight to their rooms for the sake of social distancing. If they do need to go to the front desk, those desks will obviously have some kind of plexiglass, and the staff will be wearing face masks, said Beth Steucek, CEO of the New England Inns & Resorts Association. Sandals has hired 315 new staff members across its resorts to enforce social distancing from the moment guests arrive, monitoring common areas like the lobby and swim-up bars. (Rest assured, however, the swim-up bar is definitely open.)

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Upon entering their rooms, guests can expect a slightly more modest experience. Resorts are trying to minimize the number of people who visit a certain room to avoid any contamination, so housekeepers, room service attendants, and other hospitality personnel will leave items outside and avoid entering until after a guest has left. The rooms themselves may also be slightly less furnished, but more thoroughly sanitized. Think of all the items you mightve had before. Therell be less items to touch. All the little things are gone, said Steucek, specifically referring to extra pillows, extra bedding, and decorative tchotchkes. Resort staff have been using UV lights, electrostatic sprayers, fog machines, and other methods to give the rooms a deeper clean. Baha Mar, a resort complex in the Bahamas thats planning to reopen in October, will be stocking rooms with illness-prevention goody bags. Upon arrival, guests will receive a personal care amenity kit with hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, gloves, and a personal face mask placed in every suite, said Karin Salinas, chief marketing officer for Baha Mar, in an email.

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If you put lobster and lamb and duck side by side on a buffet line, everybodys going to congregate there. Its kind of obvious.  Adam Stewart, deputy chairman of Sandals Resorts

Resorts are also revamping dining. According to Steucek, many resorts in New England are doing away with buffets and shifting more toward grab-and-go meals that a party can eat family-style at an isolated table. Buffets at Sandals resorts will have staff serving the customers in the line so that people dont have to share serving utensils. Certain serving stations will also be spread out to avoid too much crowding. If you put lobster and lamb and duck side by side on a buffet line, everybodys going to congregate there. Its kind of obvious, said Stewart. And instead of having one bar, depending on the number of people in house, you may see us have four or five smaller bars. A la carte restaurants at Sandals have been taking advantage of the beaches to offer socially distanced outdoor seating, which is easier to do because there are currently fewer people at the resorts than usual.

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Attractions around the resorts will largely stay the same, though the equipment will go through more rigorous cleanings and there will be stricter capacity limits for certain activities. In New England, hiking, biking, and kayaking will more likely be done as a family, rather than with other guests at the resort. Some of our properties have really changed up how theyre doing kid programs, said Steucek. Instead of going off with a group of kids your own age, you might just go off as a family unit. Sandals is reducing the number of people who can be on a scuba diving boat from 28 to 12 and is using disinfectant to sanitize things like weighted belts and paddles. In the past, these items would just be sprayed with water after every use. And at Baha Mar, staff will be on hand to ensure that people abide by social distancing at its pools. Seating at the beach and pools will be configured to allow for at least 6 feet of separation between every family or couple, said Salinas. Pool associates will assist guests with the placement of chairs, tables, and umbrella stands.

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Similarly, resort events are likely to be a bit more subdued and intimate. At Sandals, there wont be a dance floor for the live reggae bands, and the staff will no longer initiate conga lines. The resorts are also splitting up larger events; for example, instead of having guests gather around one bonfire, there might be a few burning at once for smaller groups of people.

Despite all these new safety measures, theres still a chance that a guest will have COVID-19 while at the resort and spread it to others. In such an event, the Baha Mar will have the 24-hour EMTs on staff consult with the Bahamas Ministry of Health to provide care. Sandals staff will also contact the local ministry of health and possibly the embassy for the guests home country if critical care is needed. Otherwise, ill people will be quarantined in hotel rooms while staff arranges for a plane to return them home. I think its a risk that anyone traveling is aware of, said Stewart. No country is trying to isolate you and keep you there. The behind-the-scenes goal of any country still is to do their best to safely get you home. Relax, take off your shoes, andif you get sickget out.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

By Tamilla Mammadova  Trend:

From January through May 2020, exports from Georgia to Switzerland excluding re-export amounted to $894 million, which is 4 percent less than in the same period last year, Trend reports citing Georgian National Statistics Service (Geostat).

The list of exported TOP-5 products from Georgia to Switzerland is as follows:

1. Gold raw or semi-finished or in powder form - $35.2 million, 1 ton;

2. Perfumes and eau de toilette - $282,600, 3.2 tons;

3. Cosmetics and skin care products - $166,500, 1.9 tons;

4. Oil and oil products - $156,600, 462.1 tons;

5. Natural grape wines - $34,800, 3,463 liters;

Export of the remaining local goods from Georgia to Switzerland amounted to $9,300.

As for exporters, the following companies exported goods from Georgia to Switzerland during this period: Prestige Ltd; Iveria Frances Ltd; RMG Gold Ltd; Kindzmarauli Corporation JSC; Teleda, LLC; LLC Vineyards of Tsinandali; Academy Ltd Group; Gold Group Ltd; Econia Pilot LLC; IRRICULT GE Ltd.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356
Photo: Shutterstock/Shutterstock

Constant change is the breath of fashion, wrote the legendary street-style photographer Bill Cunningham in his posthumous memoir, Fashion Climbing. On the surface, this rings true. Every season, and often in between, designers work to offer fresh new ideas and trends. One day youre in, and the next day youre out, etc.

Riding around on his signature bicycle, Cunningham was uniquely positioned to see fashion in motion. New York City and its inhabitants give life to style every single day. But the fashion industry itself is entrenched in hundreds of years of stubborn tradition, and its gatekeepers have historically been resistant to systemic change. This was made clear once again on Wednesday morning, when the Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode announced that, despite a global pandemic, the show will go on: Paris Fashion Week is scheduled to take place on September 28, 2020.

Looks like the big luxury fashion houses are determined that the shows must go on after all. Paris Fashion Week will take place in the fall, according to this statement, and will be in line with safety standards issued by French authorities. pic.twitter.com/jyt2tBfrSF  Elizabeth Paton (@LizziePaton) June 24, 2020

Shows that were scheduled to happen earlier this summer, including couture and mens, were either canceled, made digital, or postponed. As stores begin to reopen, though, brands are also thinking about future live events. Earlier this week, Dior announced that its cruise show will finally take place live on July 22 in Puglia, Italy, making it the first big fashion event since the shutdown. There will be no guests, but the brand hopes to have a socially distant crowd for its show in September. Burberry also announced that it will host a live runway show outdoors in Britain on September 17, with only models and staff physically present. And Fendi will stage a show at its Rome headquarters on September 22.

In a press conference on Monday, Dior designer Maria Grazia Chiuri and LVMH executive Pietro Beccari acknowledged the hesitation around hosting a show, and gave their reasons for doing so anyway. For Maria Grazia and I, and I think were not the only ones, luxury is emotions, Beccari began. When it comes to fashion, nothing carries emotion [better] than a live fashion show. He then turned to the economy, citing a need to support everyone in the supply chain and those who make a show possible, from models to hairstylists. We wanted to give them hope and a reason to restart, Beccari explained. Finally, Chiuri said she also felt a personal need to support artisans from the Puglia region, as thats where her family is from.

These are all points that most designers, and those who attend fashion shows, are unlikely to argue with. Instead, the change that many are pushing for has to do with the punishing Fashion Week schedule, and fashions ever-accelerating pace. Now we know that too furious was our doing, too insidious was our ride, wrote Gucci designer Alessandro Michele in an Instagram manifesto earlier this summer, in which he announced that the brand would abandon the traditional fashion calendar going forward. Dries Van Noten also called for similar change, and Saint Laurent announced that it will not show in September either.

Before the pandemic, it seemed to be widely believed that the fashion system was broken, but no one had the time, ability, or motivation to actually stop and fix it. Guccis spinning-carousel runway show in February, which took place just days before the pandemic shut down Milan, was both a critique of the hamster wheel and an accidental warning. Now, in this historic moment of pause, I think its been made clear that the system was, and to some extent still is, actually working quite well for these big brands like Dior and Chanel. In fact, it was arguably built to benefit them. So, why change? Instead of rethinking the system so that it works better for everyone, brands are just doubling down on what works best for them. To borrow the language of the movement happening beyond the runway, were seeing reform, not an overhaul.

The question remains: If they book it, will we, the fashion media and consumers, continue to come?

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Viber has joined a group that continues to boycott Facebook advertising as it cuts all business ties with the social media company. Android Central reports that the cross-platform instant messaging company has decided to cut ties over Facebooks content moderation politics.

Goodby Silverstein, a large advertising agency whose clients include BMW, HP, PayPal and Pepsi was one of the first companies to halt advertising with Facebook.

This all comes out of row over Facebooks refusal to moderate hate speech on its platform. Joe Biden called the company to promote real news but Facebook refused to censor the voices of those it disagrees with.

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Advertisers continue to boycott Facebook

This period of time could be a seminal moment for the social media industry. Twitter continues to battle with President Trump over free speech.

Whilst Facebook is embroiled in its own row over the moderation of content. The next few months of this saga could prove to be decisive in the direction this industry goes.

Viber has released a statement explaining why it ended its advertising partnership with Facebook. In the statement, the company said, Facebook continues to demonstrate poor judgment in understanding its role in todays world. This includes issues with mishandling of data as well as a lack of privacy on its apps.

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It also described Facebooks stand on free speech as outrageous. The statement ended by stating that companies must take a clear stand. Very strong words from Viber as the unrest against Facebook grows. It seems that Facebooks stand on free speech is merely the final straw for Viber.

Scandals surrounding Cambridge Analytica, as well as many others over the year have led advertisers to take this stand. For most companies, the boycott is not a total business cutoff as it is with Viber. Other companies such as North Face, Ben and Jerrys and Patagonia will just cease advertising for the month of July. This is part of the #StopHateForProfit campaign.

Boycott having a financial impact on Facebook

Commentators have suggested that this boycott could have a real effect on Facebooks wallet. Mark Zuckerberg sought to address the issue this week demonstrating how important the boycott is to the company. In a meeting, he told advertisers the company does not set its policies to maximise profit.

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He claims its policies are about remaining neutral with regards to free speech. However, this has not always been popular with his employees. In May they staged a virtual walkout in response to Facebooks lack of action on hateful speech.

With more and more companies joining this advertising ban this could force Facebooks hand to take action. Other social media companies have moved to control hate speech but Facebook is being left behind.

The next months will be very interesting to observe to see if the company is committed to this stance if it hurts business.
BJP president J P Nadda said on Friday the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund donated money to the "family-run" Rajiv Gandhi Foundation when the Congress-led UPA was in power, claiming it was a "brazen fraud" and big betrayal of the people of India.

Nadda, who on Thursday targeted the Congress and the Gandhi family for allegedly accepting donation to the foundation from the Chinese embassy, also posted a photograph of documents to back his fresh charge.

But Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala accused BJP and Nadda of playing a "diabolical game of deception" to divert attention from the alleged Chinese occupation of Indian territory.

The BJP and the Congress are locked in a bitter war of words over the two issues.

"PMNRF, meant to help people in distress, was donating money to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in UPA years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Who chairs RGF? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency," Nadda said on Twitter.

PMNRF, meant to help people in distress, was donating money to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in UPA years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Smt. Sonia Gandhi Who chairs RGF? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency. pic.twitter.com/tttDP4S6bY  Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) June 26, 2020

Diverting the hard-earned money of the people of India to a family-run foundation is not only a "brazen fraud" but also a "big betrayal" of the people, he added.

"One family's hunger for wealth has cost the nation immensely. If only they have devoted their energies towards more constructive agenda. The Congress Imperial Dynasty needs to apologise to the unchecked loot for self-gains!" the BJP chief said.

Later, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra demanded a response from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, saying she is "no queen" and should explain the charge. He also alleged that Gandhi has written the script of corruption in the country.

The Congress has become synonymous to corruption and conspiracy, he told reporters, and alleged that the Gandhi family floated "shell companies" like the RGF to become "rich".

Hitting back, Surjewala said, "The diabolical game of deception, diversion and disinformation is being played out by the BJP and J P Nadda to divert the attention of the country from the Chinese occupation of Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso and now Depsang up to the Y-junction, 18 kms inside the LAC."

"This is the greatest disservice that the BJP and PM Narendra Modi are doing to the country. Instead of fighting China and defending our country, they are fighting the Congress party and undermining India's territorial integrity," Surjewala alleged.

Patra said the PMNRF donated money to RGF thrice when the UPA was in power.

Gandhi as Congress president was on the board of the PMNRF and also headed the RGF, Patra said.

The audit company for the PMNRF was headed by a former Congress MP and Union minister, he said.
(Natural News) A documentary series about the escalating assault on free speech has been censored by Amazon after the Big Tech platform decided that the First Amendment no longer applies.

Part one of Killing Free Speech, which is about the threat posed by Antifa and the Democrat Party against freedom of expression, has officially been pulled from the Amazon Prime streaming platform for violating some unknown community standard.

In an email to Michael Hansen, the films creator, Amazon explain that, [u]pon review, your title is not eligible for publishing at this time. Amazon provided no further details other than to ask Hansen to not resubmit the same title for publishing in the meantime (sic).

We will provide any publication status updates in your provider portal, Amazon went on to state. Thank you for using Prime Video Direct, it added.

Hansen, a Danish-American conservative filmmaker, released the first part of his Killing Free Speech documentary series last year. This part one release deals with the problem of mass immigration and the Islamic invasion of Europe.

Ironically, the soon-to-be-released part two will deal with the silencing of free speech by platforms like Amazon, which last year went full fascist by banning all anti-vaccine films, including Vaxxed, from its Prime streaming service.

Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks with conservative pundit Laura Loomer about how Big Tech platforms like Amazon must be defeated in order for America to have a chance at freedom:

When will Americans finally step up and take back their free speech rights from the tech oligarchs?

In part one, Hansen included footage from a member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) admitting on camera that women do not have the same equal rights as men under Sharia law. It also links the Antifa movement here in the United States to violent militants with an established presence in Europe.

Exposing the Islamic takeover agenda is apparently not allowed at Amazon, which has chosen to maintain a policy of political correctness when it comes to calling out Islam for what it is.

In part two, Hansen features an interview about tech censorship of these and other issues. This interview is so powerful that Border Patrol agents have praised it for finally giving them a voice in this important conversation.

Killing Free Speech gave us a voice and an opportunity to speak the truth and it is a powerful testament to the men and women of the Border Patrol who risk their lives every day, says Terence Shigg, President of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) Local 1613.

Hansen has run into similar troubles trying to show his film in Canada, where it was actually banned from being premiered at a public library as part of a private viewing.

Other films that have been censored specifically by Amazon include Mike Cernovichs Hoaxed, which is all about media manipulation. Amazon also tried to ban Alex Berensons book Unreported Truths About COVID-19 And Lockdowns Part 1: Introductions and Death Counts and Estimates for presenting misinformation about the pandemic. This ban was later reversed, however, following intense media pressure.

Orwellian to say the least, wrote one Breitbart News commenter about Amazons oppressive censorship agenda. Ironically, the Left would nationalize Amazon in two seconds if it ever had the power to do so. Bezos is a coward.

That anyone of any political viewpoint supports censorship is absolutely stunning, wrote another. I do not have the words to describe the level of utter disgust I have with anyone who is so self-righteous that only their opinion matters and only their opinion should be heard.

More of the latest news about Big Tech censorship is available at Censorship.news.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
A solicitor has been struck off for brazenly using nearly 5,000 of her clients' money to go on a luxury spending spree.

Eilish Adams 'misappropriated' the money to buy herself expensive jewellery and then tried to cover up what she had done.

She also moved over 1 million worth of customer payments to other customers' accounts to 'balance the books' in a fraudulent scheme known as 'teeming and lading'.

The 55-year-old, who was the director of The Law House Limited, based in Brentford, west London admitted all the allegations against her and accepted she had been 'dishonest'.

Eilish Adams, director of The Law House Limited in Brentford, London, 'misappropriated' the money to buy herself expensive jewellery and then tried to cover up what she had done

A tribunal held by the Solicitors Regulation Authority heard that 'a number of irregular payments' totalling 1,271,012 of clients' money were made by Adams.

The scheme, known as 'teeming and lading' or 'delayed accounting' is a bookkeeping fraud in which a person receives payments and then uses the money personally for a short period and only records the transaction later.

On one occasion Adams used 4,635 of her clients' money to go out on a spending spree and bought herself expensive jewellery - although again she did reimburse the money.

In a Q&A on The Law House's website, when asked what advice Adams would give her younger self, she replied: 'Buy the most expensive clothes you can afford, classic style to suit your shape, accessorize and great shoes.'

The 55-year-old admitted all the allegations against her and accepted she had been 'dishonest'. A Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ordered Adams to be struck off and forced to pay 25,000 in costs

She also regularly over-billed clients to the tune of 75,000 in order to get access to immediate cash.

When her dodgy accounting was finally uncovered there was a shortage on her clients' accounts of 421,496 which has not been paid back.

The tribunal concluded: 'Client monies were being used to make distributions of funds and payments on other unrelated client matters and to pay for her jewellery.

'Clients were also being overcharged resulting in their monies being in the firm's office account. (She) attempted to conceal the misuse of clients' monies by false accounting.'

A Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ordered Adams to be struck off and forced her to pay for the costs of the case - which totalled 25,000.




THE Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) yesterday threatened to stop supplying their products to wholesalers and shops refusing bond notes and coins, which are still legal tender.





Members of the association produce and pack maize-meal, self-raising flour, salt, rice, sugar beans and soya chunks which are critical for sustaining food security at household level.





The associations chairman Mr Tafadzwa Musarara said in a statement that those involved were causing unnecessary inconveniences to consumers.





We urge all entities distributing our products to accept all local bank notes and use them to buy from us or bank them and pay for our products by bank transfer. Our products can be bought using either cash or mobile money or bank transfers. We demand that the same payment arrangement be extended to consumers, said Mr Musarara.





He warned that the association will be partnering with the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe to stop the practice.





The refusal of bond notes started in the informal market where the majority of players do not bank their cash, which has resulted in the old bond notes getting soiled, hence their growing rejection, along with fake news on social media platforms that they would be demonetised.





Government recently said bond coins and bond notes are still legal tender. Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said traders were legally obliged to accept them.





Government notes with concern that there are some sections of the market that are rejecting bond notes and coins. Notes inscribed bond notes are being rejected in preference for those inscribed dollars. Government, through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, will be substituting bond notes with new notes through a gradual process, said Minister Mutsvangwa.

She added: As announced by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr John Mangudya, all business owners, shopkeepers, tuckshop owners and even individuals are free to exchange the bond notes with new notes through their banks.




An unsuspecting parent discovered his kid's high school teacher had allegedly been moonlighting as a porn star after spotting him at Sexpo while on a bucks trip.

Gordon Parsons will still be allowed to teach at Queensland's Ipswich State High despite allegedly making graphic sexual videos with his porn star girlfriend Megan Lock, aka Luci Power.

He featured in graphic, hardcore porn videos with his girlfriend, which even went up for sale online, it is claimed.

The decision to keep the former Queensland Teacher of the Year finalist at the school has prompted one 'disgusted' parent to call for him to be sacked.

Gordon Parsons (pictured) will still be allowed to teach at Queensland's Ipswich State High despite allegedly making graphic sexual videos

His girlfriend Megan Lock (pictured) has an OnlyFans account and was 'entertaining' at Sexpo in Brisbane in August - a parent has claimed

Mr Parsons was moved from Corinda State High last year after the Education Department discovered his extra-curricular activities, the Courier Mail reported.

He now teaches under the name of James Parsons after allegedly agreeing to remove any sexual content he was involved in.

But the teacher, who previously had an exemplary record, was reportedly spotted at the Brisbane Sexpo with Ms Lock, who was 'entertaining' at the exhibition, by a parent last August.

'I thought teachers were held to a moral code of conduct surely this isn't something that your school would find acceptable,' the parent wrote in a letter sent to the school.

'It is only a matter of time that children may find these images and movies, they are all over the internet.

Megan Lock (pictured) makes videos for OnlyFans and has also featured on Porn Hub

The pair (pictured) had allegedly been filming graphic sex videos and selling them online

'We are shocked and disgusted that a teacher could be involved in these activities while teaching young teenage children  what kind of example is he setting?'

The parent claimed the couple had been selling sexual videos online.

Ms Lock who is a mother-of-three, runs an OnlyFans account as well as featuring on Porn Hub.

Both used to train as bodybuilders and Mr Parsons runs a health and exercise program called Raw Potential Physiques.

Daily Mail Australia is no suggesting either of the couple have done anything illegal.
Paris: Sanofi is considering cutting up to 1,680 jobs in Europe, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, as the French drugmaker outlined plans to reduce costs to staff representatives.

One source said the job measures would be carried out over three years. The sources declined to be identified because the plan has not been announced.

Sanofi officials had no immediate comment.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Sanofi was considering cutting hundreds of jobs and would discuss potential steps with staff representatives over the coming days.
MONTREAL - The widow of legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson says she is heartened by a petition calling for Montreal to rename a metro station in his honour.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/6/2020 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadian jazz legend Oscar Peterson performs on the Stravinski hall stage during the 39th Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, Saturday, July 16, 2005. The widow of legendary jazz pianist Peterson says she is heartened by a petition calling for Montreal to rename a metro station in his honour. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Keystone, Martial Trezzini

MONTREAL - The widow of legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson says she is heartened by a petition calling for Montreal to rename a metro station in his honour.

Kelly Peterson told The Canadian Press that as trustee of the late musician's estate, she's always looking for ways to further his legacy and welcomes the effort by a Montreal man to see her late husband recognized.

A petition launched last week by Naveed Hussain calling on the city to rename the Lionel-Groulx metro station after Peterson, who grew up in the nearby Little Burgundy neighbourhood, has been gaining steam with more than 15,000 signatures.

"I love the idea, I love the idea of Oscar being honoured," Peterson said on Thursday. "It always really warms my heart and thrills me to see him being remembered ... and to have so many people in the neighbourhood in which he grew up wanting to honour him and remember him that way is really overwhelming."

But the City of Montreal and the city's transit agency have said that renaming a metro station is complicated and not likely to happen.

The Montreal Transit Corp. has had a moratorium on name changes since 2006 and has only ever made five name changes since opening. A spokesman said stations are typically named after the streets or nearby landmarks.

A previous grassroots attempt to rename the station for Peterson in 2008, shortly after the musician's death, did not succeed.

In Montreal, a concert hall at Concordia University bears Peterson's name as does a park not far from the Lionel-Groulx station. There's also a mural across from the green space in Little Burgundy near the metro station inaugurated in 2010.

A city spokeswoman indicated this week officials would be open to finding a different way of honouring the jazz legend whose career spanned more than 60 years.

Just last year, the city honoured Peterson's late sister, Daisy Peterson-Sweeney, an accomplished music teacher, with her own park in the neighbourhood.

"I would be delighted and thrilled and honoured if the city wanted to do something to honour Oscar even more," Peterson said. "It's not something I ever expect from anyone  I don't just mean Montreal  Oscar was always humbled by every honour he received, and I feel the same way."

Kelly Peterson's focus has been on promoting his musical legacy  the songs that he recorded and played, but more recently, those he composed himself so that people can see a more complete version of Oscar Peterson.

"People play Bach, people play Beethoven, I want people to play Oscar Peterson," she said. "I've always felt that his music will outlive all of us: People will be listening to Oscar's music 100 years from now, so it would be nice if there are other things that represent him as well."

Oscar Peterson does have schools named for him in the Ontario communities of Mississauga and Stouffville, as well as a small square in Toronto's financial district.

But Kelly Peterson, who lives in southern Ontario, added it's not for her to get involved in Montreal city politics or change its policies.

"I don't live there, I don't feel I have the right to get involved in something that has an impact on the residents, and I'm not one of them," she said. "But the honour? Absolutely, I love it."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2020.
A woman has described the moment she saw several people with "blood all over them" during a major incident in Glasgow city centre.

Armed police have shot dead a suspect while six other people including a police officer were injured and taken to hospital after the stabbing.

Emergency services cordoned off a large area around West George Street after the incident, which started around 1.30pm on Friday.

Speaking to Sky News, an unnamed woman said: "In the aftermath, I saw people being treated who had blood all over them - there was blood on the ground.

"I saw people running out of the hotel with the police shouting 'put your hands up'.

"There were police cars, ambulances, all over the street. They cordoned it off and they were shouting to people in other buildings, away from the Park Inn Hotel, to stay inside and to not come out into the streets."

She added: "There were quite a number of people coming out with their hands up, running down the steps of the hotel. I saw people with blood all over them, with blood on the ground, in a trail."

A large cordon is in place / Getty Images

Witness Craig Milroy, who saw the aftermath of the incident from an office building nearby, said he had seen four people taken away in ambulances.

I saw a man lying on the ground, of African descent, with no shoes on," he said. "He was on the ground with someone holding his side  I dont know if it was a bullet wound, a stab wound, or what it was.

Mr Milroy said the man was one of the people taken away by medics and believed him to be a victim of an attack.

After that we saw commotion, ambulances further up and we saw armed police all running into the hotel next to the Society Room," he said.

Six people, including a police officer, have been injured / Milroy1717/AFP via Getty Images

We were still standing outside, after that the police all came down, the riot police and triage team told us to go back in and lock the door.

The police officer who was injured in the attack in a critical but stable condition, Police Scotland assistant chief constable Steve Johnson confirmed.

We are continuing to deal with the incident on West George Street, Glasgow, and would ask people to avoid the area," he said.

"We would urge the public not to speculate about this incident or share unconfirmed information on social media."

Mr Johnson added: "I would like to reassure the public that this is a contained incident and that the wider public is not at risk."
Coronavirus builds new connections between students and refugees living on opposite sides of Europe

They may live thousands of miles apart, separated by lockdowns, but coronavirus has forged new connections between a group of students in England and refugees living in Italy.

The University of Exeter undergraduates have seen their year abroad in Italy come to an abrupt end, while the adult learners in Italy have overcome enormous challenges to reach the country and begin new lives.

The two groups share a common experience  they are all currently perfecting their Italian - and during get-togethers online they were able to share the highs and lows of learning the language.

Valentina Todino, an Italian tutor at the University of Exeter and community cultural mediator, and Sara Forcella, a PhD student at the Rome University La Sapienza who also teaches Italian, set up the online lessons to help their students feel less isolated, and to help them continue to practice their language skills while stuck at home.

The group of seven people based in Italy who took part in the lessons had arrived in the country after traumatic journeys from Guinea Conakry, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Iran and Somalia. Some had to learn to read and write when they arrived in Europe, others have degrees, and a few speak three other languages. Some live in refugee centres and others are now in private accommodation. Sara runs Italian language and culture activities and, together with a legal assistant, advice sessions to help them adjust to life in Italy. Since the pandemic these activities have moved online.

The group met twice before term ended, and it is hoped the initiative can run again in the next academic year.

Valentina said: We deliberately planned the lessons to include language activities and kept the conversation informal. People didnt have to talk about anything personal, and they really enjoyed discussing their love for the Italian language and culture. The two groups have told us its been a wonderful experience for them. For my students it has given them a new perspective on the reality of migration to Italy, something they wouldnt necessarily have seen in person while they were in the country.

Sara said: The two groups discovered they had much in common at the moment as they work to improve their Italian. They have reflected on the fact that for those in Rome learning the language is a matter of survival, whereas for the undergraduates its a pleasure and something they can use in a future career.

They talked about the Italian words you wouldnt find in any other language, and how it feels to speak Italian. This has really built a bridge between two completely different groups of people and has given both a glimpse into a different world to the one they live in.

For my students it was an opportunity to exchange views on interesting topics, not directly linked to migration or their personal situations.

Both groups discussed the impact on coronavirus on their day-to-day lives, and how they had all experienced isolation and the loss of jobs and opportunities.

Amos Atobiga, one of the students based in Italy, said: "To be honest it was the first time I ever joined a learning group online, and it was fun. This period of isolation has been very difficult for me. During the online meetings with the group of students we learnt together while asking each other questions. I'm looking forward to more online learning. Connecting with the students has been positive to me, it was actually a very enjoyable moment. Meeting new people was pretty good, my wish is that we will keep doing it."

Tilly Dabbs, a University of Exeter student who took part, said: "It was really rewarding to use Italian as a language of communication or lingua franca with other foreign students of Italian. I feel very fortunate to have met Saras students and to have been offered such a unique opportunity that I probably would never have had in any other setting. In the midst of everything going on at the moment, it was really lovely to have some connection with Italy again to be able to reflect back on our favourite places, the gestures we learned and other small things that we are missing from our time abroad. I would love to continue this exchange in the future as it has been a rich, eye-opening and rewarding experience."
Disney theme park ride Splash Mountain is being remodelled to remove all references to 1946 movie Song of the South, which is widely viewed as racist.

Disney says the ride, which features at California's Disneyland and Florida's Magic Kingdom, will now instead be based on The Princess and the Frog, a 2009 film with an African American female lead.

The announcement comes as companies across the globe rename brands deemed to have racist connotations amid the Black Lives Matter movement.

In the post, Disney said the changes had been planned since last year.

"The new concept is inclusive - one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year," it said.

Splash Mountain opened as a log flume ride at Disneyland in the late 1980s.

Song of the South contains racist stereotypes and Old South tropes. It combines live action, cartoons and music featuring an old black plantation labourer named Uncle Remus who enchants a white city boy with fables of talking animals.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was among the groups that protested the film's release. It is not available on the Disney Plus streaming service, and has not been released in theatres in decades.

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In The Princess and the Frog, actress Anika Noni Rose voices the role of a 1920s aspiring chef in New Orleans who kisses a prince who has been turned into a frog and becomes one herself.

An online petition calling for the ride to be changed read: "Disney parks should be a home for all to enjoy regardless of race, age, whatever your background may be.

"While the ride is considered a beloved classic, its history and storyline are steeped in extremely problematic and stereotypical racist tropes from the 1946 film Song of the South."
ANSONIA  While schools out for summer, students can still enjoy free breakfast and lunch, delivered daily to neighborhood bus stops.

That is because the Ansonia schools continued participation in the annual Summer Food Service Program, which is a federally funded program available to eligible school districts.

Summer meal distribution kicked off June 15 and will continue through August 21, according to Nutrition Consultant Christine Wallace. Food services is packing and distributing about 800 breakfasts and 800 lunches per day.

For a district like Ansonia, which has over 70 percent of households eligible for free or reduced price meals, the SFSP provides a critical nutritional safety net for children who would normally get breakfast, lunch and afterschool snack at school, Wallace said.

Ansonia is designated a Community Eligibility Provision district, where all students ages 18 and under receive free breakfast and lunch daily, funded through the U. S. Department of Agricultures Child Nutrition program. The SFSP serves students with no paperwork, no need to identify oneself and no eligibility criteria to meet, Wallace said.

When the district was forced to close in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ansonia school officials devised a plan to continue distributing daily meals to students while they were distance-learning at home. A mobile meals distribution program was created, with all hands on deck working to ensure students continued to receive healthful meals outside the school cafeteria.

The program has been a welcome addition for the Bryce family, who have chidlren in several grades at Mead School, especially during the pandemic.

The school lunches have allowed my husband to keep working from home, while Im working outside the house, said mom Lindsey Bryce. Hes able to send a family member to the bus (stop) and grab good meals for the kids to eat while he works. And everyone on the bus is always so kind and helpful. We love that at least lunches are one less thing to worry about during this pandemic.

Wallace said providing nutritious meals is a top priority for the district.

During this COVID crisis, even previously financially stable households may have been affected by complete or partial layoffs or job terminations, Wallace said. When parents are making spending decisions about rent, mortgages, utilities and car payments, food is one of the few flexible expense areas. Unfortunately, the result could be less food in the household and less nutritious food for children to consume.

The free meals are delivered Monday-Friday, with buses leaving Ansonia High School around 11 a.m. each day to these bus stops:

*Bus 1: 11:10 a.m. Nolan Field, 111 Wakelee Ave.; 11:30 a.m. Ansonia Middle School, 115 Howard Ave.; 11:45 a.m. Boys & Girls Club, 28 Howard Ave.; noon St. Marys/St. Michaels School, Derby

*Bus 2: 11 a.m. AHS; 11:10 a.m. Colony Park, Colony Street; 11:20 a.m. North Main and Fourth streets; 11:30 a.m. Assumption School, 51 North Cliff St; 11:40 a.m. Ansonia Library, 56 South Cliff St.

*Bus 3: 11:10 a.m. Linnett Park, Crowley and No. State streets); 11:20 a.m. Beaver Brook Apts., 445 Beaver St; 11:30 a.m. Beaver & Myrtle streets; 11:40 a.m. St. Joseph Church, 32 Jewett St.

*Bus 4: 11:05 a.m. Emmett OBrien School, 141 Prindle Ave.; 11:15 a.m. First Baptist Church, 235 Prindle Ave.; 11:25 a.m. Ansonia Nature Center, 10 Deerfield Ave.; 11:30 a.m. Mead School, 75 Ford St.; 11:40 a.m. Reclaim Christian Church, 11 High Acres Rd.; 11:50 a.m. Hilltop Hose Co. #5, 80 Pulaski Highway; noon Prendergast School, 59 Finney St.
The effort to deliver a resounding "yes" vote for Putin's endless presidency is also being played out on Russian TV screens.

Vladimir Putin's time in office ends in 2024  Russia's constitution currently limits a president to two consecutive terms. In an April appearance before parliament, Putin made clear his solution to this problem: reset the presidential clock to zero by amending the constitution to allow him to remain for two additional terms. This would allow him to remain in power until 2036, when he would be 83 years old.

In order to secure public majority approval and also produce an acceptable level of voter participation, several actions are in the works prior to the July 1 election, the Washington Free Beacon reports.

The beginning of early balloting and the annual Victory in World War II parade have both been postponed to occur in tandem with one another. Early voting will commence the day after the June 24 parade, with the idea that fleets of tanks, missile transporters, and other hardware and tens of thousands of troops through Red Square will inspire voters to give Putin another term.

The proposed constitutional changes, however, are not being put forth in a referendum, which would require adherence to procedure and take place over the course of one day. Instead, the several days allowed for voters beginning June 25 is called a "general national vote," which "is an electoral process that no one has ever heard of before nor has it ever been utilized in Russia," said one Moscow political analyst who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon.

Read alsoNo amendments to Russian Constitution to prevent Crimea de-occupation  Ukraine's FM

Stretching the voting period from June 25 to July 1 is being justified due to coronavirus social distancing concerns. But the real reason, according to this analyst, is that this vague procedure lacks "any concrete rules and regulationsthe several days of voting, voting by mail, the voting by electronic devices in Moscow and Nizhni-Novgorod that has been designated "experimental." This permits maximum flexibility on the part of the Putin regime to manipulate both the voter participation numbers and the actual tally from voting."

The effort to deliver a resounding "yes" vote for Putin's endless presidency is also being played out on Russian TV screens.

The tactic harks back to 1996 when then-Russian president Boris Yeltsin (the man who picked Putin from near-obscurity to become his successor) was running for reelection in a close race against the head of the reconstituted Communist Party, Gennadiy Zyuganov. Yeltsin was highly unpopular at the beginning of the election campaign, forcing the Kremlin to discredit his opponent by broadcasting film after film exposing the dark side of Russia's Communist past.

Among these was the 1994 Russian-made Utomlenniye Solntsem (Burnt by the Sun) by Nikita Mikhalkov, who today heads the Russian cinematographers' union. Mikhalkov has also become a major Putin supporter and is emblematic of the Kremlin's use of films and cinema personalities to deliver propaganda messages. His video blog, Besogon TV ("The Exorcist TV"), portrays the West as an implacable enemy of Moscow and demonizes civil society organizations for besmirching the image of the Russian Federation.

Last week the pro-Putin/anti-West TV campaign used the classic 2000 film Brat 2 (Brother 2), directed by Aleksey Balabanov and starring Sergey Bodrov to discredit the concept of the U.S. brand of democracy. The film was a major sensation when it premiered, and the June 8 TV screening was the 20th anniversary of its release.

Read alsoRussian navy ship crew threatened with sacking after voting against constitutional amendments

The only difference this time was that after the end scene, the film's credits were replaced by news footage of riots in the United States following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Immediately afterwards the state-run Channel One cut in with a news report on the riots with the newscaster stating, "The main values of the "free world" are cracking under the blows of police batons, burning in the fire of looted stores, drowning in the fury of uncompromising confrontation."

Reaction on Russian social media was largely one of outrage, with numerous comments asking just how furious the official Kremlin reaction would be if a popular American films ending was followed by video footage of some Russian disaster.

"It is typical for the Putin regime," said one retired Russian journalist. "Any negative image of the West that can promote the message  that without Putin's rule Russia would face similar turmoil  will be exploited. Up to and well after this constitutional vote on July 1."
Splash Mountain, a Disney ride will be 'completely reimagined' into a The Princess and the Frog theme. (Courtesy of Disney)

Disney to Reimagine Theme of the Beloved Splash Mountain Attraction in Florida and California

Walt Disney Co announced on Thursday it is reimagining its beloved classic ride Splash Mountain into a The Princess and the Frog themed attraction at both Disneyland park in California and Magic Kingdom park in Florida.

The Princess and the Frog is a 2009 Disney film and stars an African American woman, Princess Tiana.

We pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventurefeaturing some of the powerful music from the filmas they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance, Disney wrote in a news release.

The attraction first opened as a log-flume ride at Disneyland in the late 1980s and has been criticized for its current theme, which is based on the 1946 film Song of the South.

A recent online petition argued that the film promotes racist stereotypes in its portrayal of freed slaves, as well as its ahistorical conception of the plantation system.

The character Brer Rabbit, from the movie, Song of the South, is depicted near the entrance to the Splash Mountain ride in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on March 21, 2007. (John Raoux/AP Photo)

The films story is based around a young boy named Johnny during the reconstruction era. Johnny visits his grandmothers plantation for an extended time and later befriends one of the plantation laborers, an older black man named Uncle Remus.

The boy takes joy in listening to Remus tales about his adventures about talking animals and he also learns from him how to overcome the struggles he is having at the plantation.

Hollywood companies including Disney are revisiting works from the past in light of renewed calls for racial justice following the death of African American George Floyd in police custody.

The petition on Change.org said Splash Mountain was a beloved classic at Californias Disneyland, Walt Disney World in Florida and Tokyo Disneyland.

The entrance to the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is closed in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on March 16, 2020. (John Raoux, File/AP Photo)

Disney parks should be a home for all to enjoy regardless of race, age, whatever your background may be, the petition stated. While the ride is considered a beloved classic, its history and storyline are steeped in extremely problematic and stereotypical racist tropes.

A counter-petition for Splash Mountain had its supporters as well. Another petition was launched that asked for the ride to remain in its current incarnation.

Many adults and children ride this attraction because it brings back childhood memories, the Keep Splash Mountain petition said. Disney already took out the racist songs which was a good move on their part.

Disney said they will soon start to completely reimagine the beloved classic theme ride.

As part of the creative development process, conceptual design work is well underway and Imagineers will soon be able to conduct preliminary reviews and develop a timeline for when the transformation can start to take shape, the release stated.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has sought to reassure NATO allies that Washington will consult them on any future troop movements, after President Donald Trump surprised partners at the military alliance by announcing the withdrawal of thousands of personnel from Germany.

The Pentagon chief on Friday paid a short in-person visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels, a week after several allied defence ministers expressed concern about the unpredictability of US troop plans in Europe and amid a withdrawal in Afghanistan.

I welcome that the US is consulting with allies, while making clear that the US commitment to European security remains strong, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a joint video statement before holding talks with Esper.

Last week, Trump said he is ordering a significant reduction in troop strength in Germany, from about 34,500 personnel to 25,000.

Members of his party have criticised the move as a gift to Russia and a threat to US national security. Germany is a hub for US operations in the Middle East and Africa.

Trump said this week that the troops could be moved to Poland.

Delinquent Germany

Germany was not notified of the move, which came after Trump branded its NATO ally delinquent for failing to pay enough for its own defence, by not meeting a goal set in 2014 for members to halt budget cuts and move towards spending at least 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence by 2024.

Esper reaffirmed that message, saying: I continue to urge all of our allies to meet their target goal of 2 percent of GDP. Weve moved a good distance here in the last few years but theres much, much more we need to do to ensure our collective security.

On Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo again took aim at Germany.

We do consider Russia to be a serious threat. Spending 1 percent of your GDP on defence, as Germany does, acknowledges that they may well not take it as serious of a threat as the United States of America takes it. They need to, Pompeo said.

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That doesnt show the resolve that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin needs to see from Germany, he added.

According to NATO figures, Germany has allocated 1.38 percent of the GDP to its defence budget this year.

Berlin aims to hit 1.5 percent by 2024 and insists that this level of spending allows it to meet NATOs defence planning goals.

The US  at about 3.4 percent of its GDP  spends more on defence than all 29 other allies combined.

In a statement after talks with Esper, Stoltenberg underlined that the US military presence in Europe is important for Europe, and its also important for North America. Because only by working together can we address the great challenges we face.

On Afghanistan, where NATO has led security efforts since 2003 and recently began to pull troops out in line with a US-brokered peace deal with the Taliban, the statement said the alliance will continue to adjust its presence and that this will be done in close coordination with allies and partners.
Arts & Culture

By Ls Cohen Published: June 26 2020

The first recorded example of a windmill being built on Long Island was in 1644.

Back in the day, windmills were workhorses of industry, converting the bay and ocean wind into energy to power the machinery that milled grain for Colonial-era Long Islander farmers. The surviving windmills on Long Island are said to all be smock mills, a specific type of windmill, generally hexagonal or octagonal buildings with a rotating cap. These mills were surprisingly portable and many made the rounds of the east end of Long Island before finding their final resting spots where, sources say 11 survive from the 18th and 19th century.

According to a New York Time article, Long Island is said to be home to more historic windmills than any other part of the country. The first recorded example of a windmill being built on Long Island was in 1644 in Southold. A full list of existing windmills on Long Island can also be found here.

Below we present some historical pictures and facts about Long Island windmills.

Gardiner's Island Windmill, Built Late 1700s - This image was scanned from the files of the Springs Historical Society/Library. On the back of the image, it is noted that this windmill was built by Nathaniel Dominy V. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. According to records, of the 11 surviving 18th and early 19th century windmills on Long Island, the Gardiner's Island Windmill is one of the least altered. The mill is one of 4 extant windmills built by Nathaniel Dominy V, a prominent East Hampton craftsman. Dominy rebuilt the mill in 1815, and the work of that date is some of the most advanced millwriting technology found in a Long Island windmill.

Creator: Unknown; Location: Gardiner's Island--East Hampton--Suffolk County--New York; Date of Original: 1940?-1980? This material was lent to the Long Island Collection by the Springs Historical Society Library for digitization purposes. For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.

Gardiner's Island Windmill - View of white windmill on Gardiner's Island.

Date:1989? For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.

Hurricane of 1938 - View of Windmill, after the hurricane of 1938, in Water Mill, N.Y.

Date: 1938. For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.

Lathrop Brown House, Montauk, before 1935 - This photograph of the Lathrop Brown House was donated to the Long Island Collection sometime before 1935, based on accession registers. It is likely the photograph was taken in the 1920s or 1930s, based on the type of print produced, but there is nothing else available to date the image.

A man, in what appears to be overalls, is visible in front of the house. In 1942, the windmill was moved to the Georgica Association in Wainscott, and the cottage was moved near Gurney's Inn by D. Stewart Inglehart, and purchased in 1955 by a Miss Cousins. The garage was moved to Montauk Fishing Village by Mary Smith. Lathrop Brown died in Florida in 1959, moving there for his later years.

Additional information about the windmill from the Montauk Library: Built in 1813, the windmill was moved to Wainscott in the 1850s. Lathrop Brown purchased the windmill in 1922 and moved it to Montauk. In 1942 the windmill was moved to Georgica Association in East Hampton.

Date: 1920?-1935? For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.

Home Sweet Home and Mill, East Hampton, L.I. - Postcard image of the Pantigo windmill and Home Sweet Home, in East Hampton, Long Island

The Harvey Ginsberg Post Card Collection. For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.

Old Hook Mill, East Hampton, L.I. postcard image - Postcard image of the Old Hook windmill, in East Hampton, L.I. According to documents, the Hook WIndmill was built in 1806. It was the last wind-powered gristmill constructed in the village of East Hampton. Built by Nathaniel Dominy V, who was also the millwright of the Gardiner Island Windmill and the Shelter Island Windmill, the Old Hook Windmill was operated commercially for a century, ceasing operation in 1908. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The Harvey Ginsberg Post Card Collection. For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.

Windmill at Wainscott - View of windmill in Wainscott, New York.

For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.

Windmill at Wainscott on the "Mill Hill" - View of windmill on "Mill Hill" in Wainscott, New York, before its removal to Montauk, New York.

For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.

Beebe Windmill, Bridgehampton, Berwind Estate - View of Beebe Windmill on the Berwind Estate in Bridgehampton, New York. According to a Southampton Town pamphlet, the Beebe Windmill was built on Sleights Hill in Sag Harbor in 1820 for Lester Beebe, a retired whaling captain and shipbuilder. The mill was moved multiple times. Ultimately, in 1915, John E. Berwind, an affluent Bridgehampton summer resident, bought the mill and moved it to the grassy green next to Minden, his summer estate. It was restored by Southampton Town in the early 1980s and again in the early 2000s.

For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.

Beebe Windmill, Bridgehampton, Berwind Estate - Another picture of the Beebe Windmill on the Berwind Estate in Bridgehampton, New York.

For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.

Gardiner Windmill at Mulford Farm - Shown here is the windmill at Mulford Farm. This photograph was either taken or collected by Amagansett historian and librarian Carleton Kelsey.

Date: 1977-08. This photograph is part of the collection of the Carleton Kelsey Collection of the Amagansett Historical Association. Kelsey was a local historian and librarian who collected photographs from others to add to the many photographs he took of the community himself. For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.

Dominy's Windmill, East Hampton, L.I. postcard image - Postcard image of Dominy's Old Hook Mill, in East Hampton, L.I.

The Harvey Ginsberg Post Card Collection. For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.

Hayground Windmill, Windmill Lane, East Hampton, Suffolk County, NY - According to the New York Times, this windmill was built in 1809. It became a tearoom in 1919 after more than a hundred years of grinding grain. Artist Agnes Pelton used it as a studio in the 1920's and it was moved to the Dowling property off Further Lane in 1950.

No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government. Library of Congress.

Hayground Windmill, Windmill Lane, East Hampton, Suffolk County, NY - CAP; CONICAL CAP HAS BOWED RAFTERS MORTISED INTO A BOSS; ALSO SEEN ARE THE BRAKE WHEEL, WINDSHAFT AND TOP BEARING OF THE UPRIGHT SHAFT

No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government. Library of Congress.

The Windmill Cottage, East Hampton, L.I. postcard image - Postcard image of the windmill cottage, in East Hampton, Long Island. According to this article, Robert Downey Jr. is now the owner of the iconic East Hampton windmill cottage. Of note is that this was never a real working windmill but a facsimile of one that was built in East Hampton. It was built in the late 1800s.

The Harvey Ginsberg Post Card Collection. For educational use only. The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection.
The headmaster of Eton has promised to 'decolonise' the curriculum and diversify his staff after an appeal from students and parents amid the Black Lives Matter movement.

Simon Henderson said he would ensure pupils at the prestigious school 'understand the historic roots of racism and, even more importantly, how it continues in the world today.'

He made the pledge in response to a letter signed by 635 students and parents, which considered the issues of 'race and inequality' raised after the death of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.

Mr Floyd had gasped 'I can't breathe' as white police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with second-degree murder, knelt on his neck for nine minutes.

Simon Henderson (pictured in 2017) said he would ensure pupils at Eton 'understand the historic roots of racism and, even more importantly, how it continues in the world today'

The letter, seen by the Times, said it was 'imperative' that Eton teaches a curriculum which 'attempts to address and reveal systemic racism within society.'

It added that British colonialism and race relations 'is a subject that needs to be given more precedence in the syllabus, instead of being ignored or briefly touched upon.'

The signatories also said they were upset there are only two black teachers at the school, prompting Mr Henderson to pledge to diversify his staff.

The headteacher also promised to alter the teaching of subjects including history, geography, religious studies and English, adding that some changes have already been made.

'You are right that that is not reflected in the make-up of our teaching body,' he said. 'We need to be even more proactive if we are to make real headway and we are entering into strategic partnerships with specialist recruitment consultants to help us achieve our aims.'

It comes after Mr Henderson this week apologised to a black former pupil for the racism he was subjected to during his four years at the elite fee-paying school in the 1960s.

He made the pledge in response to a letter signed by 635 students and parents, which considered the issues of 'race and inequality' raised after the death of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.

He made the pledge in response to a letter signed by 635 students and parents, which considered the issues of 'race and inequality' raised after the death of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis last month (Pictured: Eton College)

He said he was 'appalled' by the experience Nigerian writer Dillibe Onyeama had during his time at Eton, after the former pupil told the BBC he was bullied daily at the school.

Fellow students asked if he had maggots in his hair, and he was accused of cheating when he did well academically, Onyeama said.

After Onyeama wrote a book in the 1970s about his Eton years, he was reportedly banned from visiting the school because of it.

Eton's numerous famous alumni include Britain's Prince William and Harry, as well as Prime Minister Boris Johnson and more than a dozen of his predecessors.

When asked by the BBC about Onyeama, Henderson told the broadcaster that 'significant strides' have been made at Eton since Onyeama's time but more needed to be done.

'As millions of people around the world rightly raise their voices in protest against racial discrimination and inequality, we have to have the institutional and personal humility to acknowledge that we still have more to do,' the headmaster said.

'We must all speak out and commit to doing better, permanently, and I am determined that we seize this moment as a catalyst for real and sustained change for the better.'

Henderson also invited Onyeama to meet him in person so he could apologise on behalf of the school.
New Delhi: India said on Thursday that the US suspending H-1B and other work visas till the year-end is likely to affect the movement of skilled professionals and the impact of the order on Indian nationals and industry is being assessed in consultation with the stakeholders.

"This (development) is likely to affect the movement of skilled professionals who avail of these non-immigrant visa programmes to work lawfully in the US. We are assessing the impact of the order on Indian nationals and industry in consultation with stakeholders," MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said during the weekly briefing.

He said people-to-people linkages, as well as trade and economic cooperation in technology and innovation sectors, are an important dimension in the US-India partnership.

"High-skilled Indian professionals bring important skill sets, bridge technological gaps, and impart a competitive edge to the US economy. The US has always welcomed talent and we hope our professionals will continue to be welcomed in the USA in the future," he said.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration said it was extending the 60-day ban on immigration and non-immigrant worker visas till the end of 2020. Popular work visas, including the much-coveted H-1B and H-2B, and certain categories of H-4, J, and L visas shall also remain suspended.The restrictions have been put in place to ensure American workers take first priority as the country recovers from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the White House said.

The move would free up 525,000 jobs, denting the high unemployment rate caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Apart from the suspension of these work visas, the executive order signed by Trump has also made sweeping changes to the H-1B work visa norms, which will no longer be decided by the currently prevalent lottery system. The new norms will now favour highly-skilled workers who are paid the highest wages by their respective companies.
Regulatory News:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) ("PSH") today announced that it has purchased, through PSH's agent, Jefferies International Limited ("Jefferies"), the following number of PSH's Public Shares of no par value (ISIN Code: GG00BPFJTF46) (the "Shares"):

Trading Venue: London Stock Exchange Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 26 June 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 2,890 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 1,908 pence 23.52 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 1,882 pence 23.20 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 1,896 pence 23.37 USD Ticker: PSHD Date of Purchase: 26 June 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 17,355 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 23.30 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 23.30 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 23.30 USD Trading Venue: Euronext Amsterdam Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 26 June 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 42,461 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 23.70 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 23.20 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 23.32 USD

PSH will hold these Public Shares in Treasury. The net asset value per Public Share related to this buyback is 34.48 USD 27.55 GBP which was calculated as of 23 June 2020 (the "Relevant NAV"). After giving effect to the above buyback, PSH has 195,790,748 Public Shares outstanding, or 201,720,983 Public Shares calculated on a fully diluted basis (assuming that all Management Shares had been converted into Public Shares at the Relevant NAV). Excluded from the shares outstanding are 15,166,002 Public Shares held in Treasury. The prices per Public Share were calculated by Jefferies.

The number of PSH Management Shares and the one special voting share (held by PS Holdings Independent Voting Company Limited) have not been affected.

About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005493/en/

Contacts:

Camarco

Ed Gascoigne-Pees Hazel Stevenson +44 020 3757 4989, media-pershingsquareholdings@camarco.co.uk
Statues are where they are for a reason

Christopher Columbus discovered a new part of the world to the benefit of mankind. The atrocities he perpetrated against the natives he conquered are common knowledge, and for years have been known.

He will always occupy an important place in world history and whether or not his statue is destroyed, or defaced, he will be written about in history books and students will learn that he discovered the Americas. History books and teachers always present both sides of this issue. There can be a no more heinous reminder of an event in Germanys history than Dachau; yet, gruesome as it is, it was not torched but remains right where it was built. Today, it is a museum and it remains because it is a part of history and a symbol of what the world must never permit to occur again.

A few times in the recent past, Jersey City officials have arbitrarily decided to move some very important historical statues from their rightful places. The statue of Peter Stuyvesant stood in the front courtyard of Martin Luther King Jr. School for 100 years, until Feb. 5, 2010, when the Board of Education decided to remove it. Its new home is the obscure Culinary Arts Plaza. The statue commemorates the founding of the Bergen settlement and its rightful place is Bergen Square, in the courtyard of Martin Luther King Jr. School. Its present location is historically inaccurate and it lives there in anonymity.

In 2018, the city attempted to relocate the Katyn Memorial statue, dedicated to Polish soldiers who were killed fighting in WWII, from its waterfront home to some other hiding place. Fortunately, public protest prevented the move. Leaders of the French Revolution tried to eradicate the culture of France by destroying every symbol of the monarchy, clergy and aristocracy they detested. They even went so far as to rename the months of the year. Obviously, that did not work.

Lets stop playing move the statue and leave them where they belong for there are reasons they were put there. Review and respect history.

Joan Scerbo, Jersey City

Leave Columbus to Seventh Circle of Hell

Gov. Murphy is correct about statues honoring Christopher Columbus. As James Joyce once said, Columbus is honored by posterity because he was the last person to discover America. The Italian culture, heritage, and legacy is much more than Columbus. It is about time that Italians put an end to having the worst of us represent and symbolize us.

Given that, I wholeheartedly agree that statues honoring Christopher Columbus should be removed. The very idea that Columbus exemplifies the contributions that Italians have made to society is an outrageous embarrassment; it is painful, poignant and pathetic.

We have stubbornly held on to the exaggerated myths about Columbus. However, in reality, Columbus didnt accomplish anything significant. He wasnt the first European to come to North America; the Vikings had done that some 500 years prior to Columbuss voyage. Nor did Columbus spearhead the Age of Discovery; Prince Henry of Portugal, known as Prince Henry the Navigator, is the originator of that period.

Instead, Columbus was Spains first conquistador. He subjugated, exploited and enslaved the native population. Columbus administered harsh penalties for infractions to his statutes. His cruelty toward the indigenous population and to European settlers who dared to defy his governance has been well documented.

Italy has a rich culture and heritage. There are many Italians who have enriched civilization and inspired the world, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante Alighieri, Giuseppe Verdi, Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza, Mother Cabrini, Guglielmo Marconi, and Enrico Fermi. Of course, this list can continue. Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer who discovered New York Bay, is more deserving of recognition than Columbus.

If we want to honor Italian heritage, then we need to build monuments to the artistic beauty and creative genius that Italians have given the world -- sincere beauty that unifies people, heals societal wounds, and enhances humanity.

Lastly, I was amused when I read that the Dante Alighieri Society opposes the removal of the statue of Columbus in Jersey City. It is a shame that the Dante Alighieri Society is unaware of its namesakes values. Had Dante and Columbus been contemporaries, Dante would have placed Columbus in the Seventh Circle of Hell, a dreadful place reserved for plunderers, murderers and tyrants. Given the atrocities committed by Columbus, the Inferno is the perfect place for him.

Mario Tagliabue , Salerno, Italy, formerly of Jersey City

Submit letters to the editor and guest columns at jjletters@jjournal.com
- A 17-year-old black activist from Atlanta by name C.J Pearson has raised as much as $160,000 to help black business that BLM protests badly affected

- CJ was able to gather the huge funds with the help of the Georgia Association of Minority Entrepreneurs

- Many firms including a local fashion boutique called the Wilbourn Sisters Designs have already benefited immensely from funds raised by CJ's initiative

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

C.J Pearson, a 17-year-old black political activist who hails from Atlanta has been able to raise a whopping $160,000 to support businesses owned by blacks that BLM protests affected.

A report sighted by YEN.com.gh on Blackbusiness.com indicates that C.J Pearson was able to gather the huge funds with the help of the Georgia Association of Minority Entrepreneurs.

It is also categorically stated that the 17-year-old activist was able to gather the $160,000 in just one week to help stores rebuild.

READ ALSO: 15-year-old author and philanthropist from Ghana changes lives abroad

Source: UGC

Source: UGC

The young passionate black teenager started a movement known as Last Hope USA which, according to Pearson, is to create the awareness that 'Black Lives Matter' by supporting Black-owned businesses.

When many black businesses were torn down due to the BLM protests that were ongoing, it became crucial for Pearson's movement to do something and help bring the firms back on their feet.

Reports have it that Wilbourn Sisters Designs, a local fashion boutique, was one of the significantly damaged stores during the protests after George Floyd's death, and they received $10,000 from Last Hope USA which was enough to get them back to business.

READ ALSO: Beautiful send-off: Meet woman making money from doing makeup on the dead

In another powerful report, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has appointed Professor Rita Akosua Dickson as vice-chancellor, which makes her the first lady to occupy the position in the history of the university.

The campus-based radio station, Focusnewsroom.com reports that the female professor served as pro-vice-chancellor of the university until her recent appointment.

Professor Rita Akosua Dickson has been duly appointed as the incumbent vice-chancellor Professor Kwasi Obiri-Danso's tenure has expired.

Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

"Ghanaian women don't wear underwear lately" - Market woman speaks out

Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:

Turkmenistan may open a trade representative office in Tatarstan, said Atadurdy Bayramov, Consul-General of Turkmenistan to Tatarstan capital Kazan, during his meeting with Head of Investment Development Agency of Russia's Republic of Tatarstan Taliya Minullina, Trend reports with reference to Turkmenportal Information Portal.

Turkmen-Russian relations are a priority for us, said Atadurdy Bayramov adding that taking this into account, Turkmenistan is ready to open the country's trade representative office in Tatarstan.

In his words, recently, the foreign trade turnover in Turkmenistan has grown, and a large share of this trade is accounted for Tatarstan.

The trade turnover between Turkmenistan and Tatarstan amounted to $65 million for the first nine months of 2019.

Turkmenistan and Tatarstan cooperate in such areas as oil exploration and production, gas transportation, automobile, aviation and shipbuilding, energy, chemical supplies, pharmaceuticals, medicine, construction, agriculture, innovation and information technology.



In June last year, a memorandum was signed between the Turkmenhimiya State Concern and Tatarstan's IED-Holding on joint development of the chemical industry of Turkmenistan.

IED-Holding is an engineering company providing services in management, supply and construction in power engineering, petrochemistry, oil refining, metallurgy, machinery, and oil and gas industries as well as engineering, procurement and construction services.



---

Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
Federal and D.C. law enforcement on Thursday erected barriers around the Emancipation Memorial in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in advance of demonstrations. Throughout the evening, those who want the statue to remain and those who want to see it removed debated. Few were swayed, and those arguing for it to come down vowed to return Friday, though it was unclear whether they would seek to topple it or simply rally in favor of a more orderly removal.
New Delhi, June 26 : With Delhi recording 2,141 cases of snatchings and 596 of robberies in the first five months of this year, an angry Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has directed Delhi Police to increase vigil and also gave it a free hand to use "deterrent steps" to curb street crimes.

Baijal called a meeting on Thursday to review law and order in the national capital and asked for increased police presence in crime-hit areas. "Delhi Police to take steps to increase prosecution & conviction rates to ensure law and order," he tweeted.

Petty crimes and snatchings have spiralled in the national capital, ever since Delhi decided to open up. Apart from cases of snatchings and robberies, there were 2,205 cases of heinous crimes in Delhi till May-end.

What is perplexing is that many snatchers have been caught by police during the lockdown, when people were supposed to be confined indoors.

The review meeting on the law and order comes around 50 days ahead of the Independence Day on August 15.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
North Adams Moving Forward on Level-Funded Budget

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The School Committee was prepared for a number of bad financial scenarios, with the worst case the closure of an elementary school.

This week, the news isn't quite so awful with the state committed to level-funding aid through at least the first two months of fiscal 2021. But the district isn't out of the woods yet, Superintendent Barbara Malkas told the committee on Tuesday.

"So, because level fund is not necessarily level service, what we'll be presenting now, just like in the previous budget scenarios, is what does that mean with regards to our budget as we are planning for an operational budget based on level funding from Chapter 70," she said. "However, you know, this is a placeholder budget. ... We don't have final cherry sheet numbers and we may not until the end of July or early August."

Malkas said she will be coming back to the School Committee with adjustments as the numbers are more solidified. "This could be the operational budget that allows us to move forward and start our planning for next year," she said.

The city Finance Committee on Monday voted to recommend a 1/12th, or month by month, budget based on information provided by Mayor Thomas Bernard and his financial team. The plan had initially been to pass a full placeholder budget until the state could approve a spending plan for fiscal 2021. The original state budget had to be scrapped because of the hit the economy took from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"We were feeling very much like we didn't have a clear sign to proceed, or clear directions in which to proceed," Bernard said.

That changed last Friday when Gov. Charlie Baker submitted a $5.25 billion supplemental spending bill to keep government running. Municipalities were informed by the state's Division of Local Services that "DLS will base at least the first two months of FY2021 on the FY2020 cherry sheet estimates for Chapter 70, Unrestricted General Government Aid, State-owned Land and Elderly Exemptions."

Knowing that the city would have two months of concrete state revenue figures, the council switched to a continuation budget based on this year's spending plan and the School Department prepared to do likewise.

The changes for the schools is not dramatic, and similar to what had been proposed for a 10 percent reduction. The main difference is that two full-time teaching positions will be restored and less school choice funds will be used.

"We had to prioritize what positions we're bringing back. And the positions that I prioritized based on on preliminary conversations that I've had with the [education] commissioner's office around reopening were the teaching positions," Malkas said. "There were four teaching positions, two at Brayton and two at Greylock. The reason I prioritize those positions, is because, in the absence of having those teachers we push ourselves on that continuum toward a hybrid model, as opposed to being able to bring all of our students back in the fall."

School Committee member Tara Jacobs again advocated for maintaining resources in the arts, particularly plans still in place to reduce a half-time chorus teacher. She said she'd looked into the reportedly low signups and found the "truth of the matter is blurrier than the numbers suggest" that may have to do with "drama in the drama world" that explained the situation on a deeper level.

However, she said, it "ultimately ended up with repeated expression of interest in chorus and a desire for chorus."

"One of the things that I've always been proud of about our offering has been how rich are arts are," she said. "I remain deeply disturbed to see that, you know, having having brought back so much that's still on the chopping block."

What, she said, if they took the opportunity for a radical reallocation and closed Greylock and kept the teachers?

Bernard, chairman of the School Committee, said maybe that was a conversation they should be having but that there's another factor: the pandemic.

"I think the challenge right now is not the economics, alone, it's also the public health side of this, and the ability to do that, given what we can anticipate a reopening of schools plan is going to say about the amount of space we need," he said. "We can't consolidate and still meet the spacing requirements. ...

"We have one position we're talking about. However, we're not walking away from a commitment to art and enrichment and social emotional development in the district."

The target budget for level fund is $17,769,075 (does not include the $265,000 used in school choice this year); offsets include $491,049 in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, Funds, $222,000 in school choice (below the original amount) and $125,000 in federal grants.

The district is estimating it will spend $67,000 per quarter for personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies; $32,000 per year for replacement of some 300 devices loaned out to children for remote learning, and $7,000 annually for 40 hotspots and service for remote learning.

Cuts would include most of those noted in earlier scenarios including three positions in administration; a restructuring of the E3 and Northern Berkshire academies; four fewer drivers and vans; the loss of the chorus post, and half-time instrumental teacher, Spanish teacher, and special education teacher. Many of the posts will be vacant from retirement or resignation, or reassigned and consolidated. A full-time vision specialist will be reduced to 0.8 FTE at her request.

The budget will allow the schools to maintain their current grade configuration with two classrooms per grade from prekindergarten through Grade 6, keeps 10 full-time equivalent educators in the fine and performing arts, fully funds extracurricular activities and sports, and provides sufficient staffing for reopening the buildings under Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidelines.

"I wanted to thank the administrative team for presenting a budget that is much more realistic than the other 2-3-4 that we've seen despite the constant fluidity of the situation," said Vice Chairwoman Heather Boulger. "We all have valuable programs that we want to advocate for and to the superintendent's point, what we're approving, or moving forward with won't look anything like we're going to end up with in the fall."

School officials also thanked Business Administrator Carrie Burnett, who has been crunching the numbers for now five different budget scenarios.

"As I have seen many times throughout her time here but certainly over the last month, Ms. Burnett turns on a dime, and will give us back seven cents in change," Bernard.

FY21 Budget for North Adams Schools by iBerkshires.com on Scribd
MADISON, Wis., June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to VNM USA, insights gathered in the book Modern College , we're amidst one of the greatest shifts in higher education since the introduction of the American G.I. bill in the 1940s, which largely brought the modern college system into the mainstream.

The American Council on Education estimates that [college] enrollment for the next academic year will drop by 15%, including a projected decline of 25% for international students, resulting in a revenue loss for institutions of $23 billion .

That's roughly 1 in 7 students who is now forgoing the college plans they originally planned. What does this mean for these students? What does it signal to the greater education ecosystem?

For one, we're going to see more students taking a gap year. Many will forego the traditional four-year degree for practical and affordable vocational training. EdTech platforms will attract many of these students. For example, in Q1 2020, Udemy reported a 425% increase in consumer enrollment.

"Amidst this changing landscape, students are left confused. The traditional post-high-school path has abruptly changed. They need guidance. And books like Modern College outline a better path forward for them."  George Anders, Senior Editor at Large, LinkedIn and Author of "You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a Useless Liberal Arts Education"

As for colleges and universities, they will struggle with balance sheets that are losing top-line revenue. According to CNBC , the University of Alaska announced it will cut 39 academic departments. Other universities will follow the example of MIT Sloan and open up their degrees to online students.

"We've been due for a major change in higher education for some time. The $1.6 trillion student debt crisis. The widespread questioning of the declining value in a college degree. Lockdowns from the coronavirus forcing college lectures into Zoom classrooms. All of this adds up to one major prediction: Over the next decade we will actually see a decrease in bachelor's degrees awarded in comparison to the previous decade, something that hasn't occurred in over 2 centuries."  Alex Valaitis, Author of Modern College

Modern College explores the changing tides of higher education and gives actionable advice to the many confused college students and college hopefuls who are unsure of what to do during this time of major transition. Modern College is available on Amazon.

Media Contact:

Ryan Cowdrey

505-333-9117

[email protected]

SOURCE VNM USA

Related Links

vnmusa.com


The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has issued a statewide Amber Alert, after a nine-month-old girl was forcibly taken from her family.

On Thursday evening, nine-month-old Braelee Rayne Trapp was abducted in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, by 44-year-old Tony Lynn Lanier, according to the authorities.

On Friday morning, TBI issued an Amber Alert, in collaboration with the Lawrence County Sheriffs Office, in an attempt to quickly locate the child.

An Amber Alert is issued when a child has been abducted and investigators believe they are in imminent danger.

The authorities released a joint statement, where they appealed for any information that could help with the case.

Lanier was last seen wearing dark navy pants and a dark grey shirt with Buckmaster on it and grey shoes, the Amber Alert read.

Braelee and Lanier were last seen in a black 2005 Chevy Equinox with Arkansas Tag 430Y2K.

The statement confirmed that the infant has green eyes and brown hair and was last seen wearing a diaper, according to the International Business Times.

Mr Lanier has been described as a white man, standing over six feet tall, and weighing approximately 210lb. Investigators confirmed that he is wanted for aggravated kidnapping.

The suspect was known to the family, but TBI confirmed that his exact connection, however, at this time, remains unclear.

The authorities added: If you have any information regarding the location of Braelee, Lanier, or this vehicle please contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND or the Lawrence County Sheriffs Office at 931-762-0450.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  The Grand Rapids Police Department is investigating a fatal shooting on the citys northwest side.

At about 3 a.m. Friday, June 26, officers were called to a man found shot on the front porch of a residence in the 1300 block of Muskegon Avenue NW. Upon arrival, officers located a deceased 48-year-old man, the Grand Rapids Police Department said in a news release.

GRPDs Major Case detectives and forensics personnel were called to the scene. An autopsy will be conducted by the Kent County Medical Examiners Office. The victims identity is not being released at this time and there is no suspect information to provide, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at 616-456-3380. Anonymous tips may be provided to Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or www.silentobserver.org.

Read more:

First person charged in Grand Rapids riot ordered to trial after brief hearing

Campaign to defund Grand Rapids police ramps up as budget deadline nears

Shots fired at unmarked Grand Rapids police cruiser, officer uninjured
[June 26, 2020] Microsoft Confirmed Premium Sponsor at PASS Virtual Summit 2020

SEATTLE, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The first-ever PASS Virtual Summit will be taking place this Nov. 10-13, bringing with it exciting opportunities for the largest gathering of data professionals focused on the Microsoft data platform to connect, share, and learn like never before. The new virtual environment will increase accessibility, giving attendees from around the world the opportunity to network, speak, and learn from the comfort of their own homes at a fraction of the cost of previous PASS Summit events. With sessions being scheduled in multiple time zones and On-Demand Access available for 12 months, this is truly a global event for data professionals. PASS Virtual Summit 2020 promises to lead the way with world-class content hand-in-hand with extraordinary networking opportunities. This year's conference will include over 200 sessions delivered by industry experts, Microsoft Engineering professionals, partner organizations, and community thought leaders on topics across Architecture, Data Management, Analytics, and Professional Development including a spotlight focus on: Modernization & Migration

Open Source Platforms

Performance at Scale

1:1 time with Microsoft Engineers /li>



June 30 to be in with a chance to win a meet-and-greet with the Microsoft Engineering team including members of the leadership team such as Bob Ward , Slava Oks, Asad Khan , Conor Cunningham , and many more. Sought-After Microsoft Content

PASS Virtual Summit 2020 will be providing the cutting-edge Microsoft content that attendees have come to know and love at each PASS Summit event. Microsoft is not only confirmed as the Day 1 Keynote, but the company will also be using this platform to deliver live, exclusive announcements. Secure a place today to hear the latest from the industry leaders this November. Microsoft and PASS expect this to be the most-attended PASS Summit in history. Register now at PASS.org/Summit. For questions and inquiries, please contact [email protected] or visit pass.org/summit. Related Images image1.png Related Links Register Page View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/microsoft-confirmed-premium-sponsor-at-pass-virtual-summit-2020-301084225.html SOURCE PASS

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Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - June 26, 2020) - Margaux Resources Ltd. (TSXV: MRL) (OTCQB: MARFF) ("Margaux" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Marco Roque as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Roque will join the MRL Board as a Director of the Company effective July 1, 2020.

Marco Roque brings to the position a wealth of knowledge and an array of experiences in company development and global capital markets.

Mr. Roque started his career in private banking with Millennium BCP, a large Portuguese bank and joined Barclays Capital in 2007, where for several years he spearheaded the Portuguese derivatives and structured products team with a focus on commodities.

He is a co-founder of Reyna Silver, a silver exploration company with a portfolio of Mexican silver assets, built around two assets that formed part of MAG Silver's original IPO.

Mr. Roque is also a co-founder and director of Arabian Shield Resources, a private mining company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mining assets in the Arabian-Nubian Shield and surrounding regions of the Middle-East.

Marco is a CFA charter holder, earned an MBA from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and London Business School, a Masters in Finance from Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon as well as an undergraduate Management degree from the same school.

The Company's Board and Management team welcome Mr. Roque to the Company.

Tyler Rice will remain in his role as President and Director but effective immediately has resigned from his position as Chief Executive Officer. The Corporation would also like to announce the resignation of Mr. Doug Foster as a Director of the Corporation. The Board thanks Mr. Foster for his valuable contributions to the Company over his many years of service.

About Margaux Resources Ltd.

Margaux Resources Ltd. (TSXV: MRL) (OTCQB: MARFF) is a Canadian gold exploration company focused on exploration in British Columbia, and is directed by a group of highly successful business executives.

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.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Margaux Resources Ltd.

Marco Roque

CEO and a Director

+852 6691 6295

Marco@margauxresources.com

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/58638
US sanctions against international court staff a 'direct attack' on judicial independence

25 June 2020 - The decision by the United States to authorize sanctions targeting staff at the International Criminal Court (ICC) is "a direct attack to the institution's judicial independence", UN human rights experts said on Thursday.

Washington announced this month that it would launch an economic and legal offensive against ICC officials investigating alleged war crimes committed by all sides in the conflict in Afghanistan, including US troops.

"The implementation of such policies by the US has the sole aim of exerting pressure on an institution whose role is to seek justice against crimes of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression", said Diego Garcia-Sayan, UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, speaking on behalf of the 34 experts.

"It's a further step in pressuring the ICC and coercing its officials in the context of independent and objective investigations and impartial judicial proceedings."

Afghanistan probe 'important'

The ICC, which is based in The Hague, in the Netherlands, prosecutes the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, including cases related to conflict in the Central African Republic, Darfur and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It was established in July 1998 under a treaty known as the Rome Statute, which more than 120 countries have signed. The US is not a party.

The ICC's Appeals Chambers authorized the Afghanistan probe in March, overturning an earlier decision.

Speaking at the time, Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda called it "an important day for the cause of justice in the situation of Afghanistan, for the Court, and for international criminal justice more broadly."

Assets blocked, visas revoked

In response to the court's decision, US President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on 11 June, blocking the financial assets of certain ICC staff and imposing visa restrictions on them and their immediate family members.

Speaking at a press conference that day, US Attorney-General William Barr said the measures "are an important first step in holding the ICC accountable for exceeding its mandate and violating the sovereignty of the United States."

The president of the body which overseesthe ICC, O-Gon Kwon, has denounced the measures, stating "they undermine our common endeavour to fight impunity and to ensure accountability for mass atrocities."

'Broad spectrum' of rights violated

The UN experts said sanctions targeting international judges and international civil servants violate their privileges and immunities, as well as "a broad spectrum" of rights.

Specifically, the Executive Order "would result in the violation of the prohibition of punishment for acts that did not constitute criminal offences at the moment of their commission, the right to a fair trial, the right to freedom of movement and the right to privacy and family life," they added.

They also recalled that the US has warned it would "exact consequences" against the ICC for any "illegitimate" investigations into Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The experts, who are neither UN staff nor paid by the Organization, have been in contact with the US authorities on these issues.



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President Trump speaks Thursday at a shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wis. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

The final Thursday in June saw jobless claims top 1 million for a 14th straight week and a frightening spike in coronavirus infections across the Sun Belt, compelling a growing number of Republican governors and members of Congress to issue urgent public health warnings.

President Trump called it a success story.

On another record day of new coronavirus cases  at least 40,184  he tweeted that the resurgence of the virus is the result of "GREAT TESTING," not of a contagion that appears to be spreading fastest in states that rushed to ease lockdown orders.

"If we didn't test, we wouldn't have cases," he said later at a shipyard in Marinette, Wis. "But we have cases because we test. We've done an incredible, historic job."

On Wednesday, Trump described his meeting with Poland's president as the first visit by a foreign leader to the White House "after COVID," suggesting the disease that has killed 124,596 Americans so far had disappeared.

With polls showing his reelection bid in serious jeopardy, Trump appears to be in deep denial, desperately trying to convince a nation facing prolonged public health, economic and social crises of an alternative reality in which the pandemic is over, polls are fake, and the media and Democrats are to blame.

In his comments at shipbuilding firm Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Trump said that Democrats are tougher to deal with than China and North Korea, two adversaries with which he has conducted mostly unsuccessful negotiations.

The presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, fired back from an event in Lancaster, Pa., blasting Trump for his response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"Donald Trump needs to stop caring about how he looks and start caring about what's happening to the rest of America. He can't bend it to meet his political wishes. There are no miracles coming," Biden said.

"He's like a child who can't believe this has happened to him, and all his whining and self-pity," Biden continued. "This pandemic didn't happen to him. It happened to all of us. His job isn't to whine about it. His job is to do something about it."

Story continues

Biden ripped Trump for pushing states to reopen quickly to revive a sputtering economy that Trump had hoped would be the central pillar of his reelection argument.

"The president wants us to believe theres a choice between the economy and public health," Biden said. "Amazingly, he still hasnt grasped the most basic fact of this crisis: to fix the economy, we have to get control over the virus."

Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Thursday that antibody tests showed that 10 people contracted the virus for every confirmed case of COVID-19, meaning the current caseload is a dramatic undercount.

He warned that Americans should continue to wear masks and take other precautions because the outbreak was still raging.

"The most powerful tool that we have is social distancing," Redfield said.

As the coronavirus has raced across the South and Southwest in the last two weeks, fewer Republicans appeared to back the president's rosy view of the danger to both their constituents and their political futures.

While Trump has refused to wear a protective mask in public, and has suggested that people wear them only to signal opposition to him, Republican leaders urged Americans to don facial coverings to curb transmission of the virus.

"Everyone should just wear a damn mask," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said this week.

With cases soaring in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, paused his state's reopening process on Thursday and moved to free up hospital space for COVID-19 patients. More than 4,300 people are hospitalized with the disease in Texas, twice as many as in early June.

The state's two Republican senators also urged the Trump administration to reconsider its decision to cut off federal funding next week for 13 coronavirus testing sites, seven of which are in Texas.

"Now is not the time to end a program that is working and successfully increasing testing capacity  especially for underserved communities in the state," said Sen. Ted Cruz, usually a Trump stalwart.

A new campaign ad from a group called Republican Voters Against Trump accuses the president of giving up. "While Trump might be finished dealing with the virus," the narrator says, "the virus isn't finished with us."

Republican senators, their majority suddenly imperiled by a president in political danger, have begun to suggest publicly, however delicately, that Trump recalibrate his approach given his eroding support from suburban white voters and the elderly, two blocs that supported him in 2016.

Winning those voters back over the next four months, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said Wednesday, will likely require "a message that conveys, perhaps, a different tone."

The president's tweet storm Thursday may not be what Thune had in mind. Trump tweeted close to a dozen times before arriving in Wisconsin, reacting to television coverage of polls showing his weakening position in a general election against Biden.

"The Fake News and phony Fake Suppression Polls have never been worse. The Lamestream Media has gone CRAZY," Trump tweeted, projecting confidence despite public and internal campaign surveys showing him far behind Biden.

Earlier, Trump criticized a Fox News host for not defending him after a pundit stated that Trump had put "the entire country in play for Democrats," and attacked one of his 2016 Republican primary rivals, Carly Fiorina, after she said she would vote for Biden.

And he tweeted from Air Force One en route to Wisconsin that Black Lives Matter protesters' demands for social justice amounted to "Treason, Sedition, Insurrection!"

The outbursts reflected Trump's tendency to double down rather than concede a mistake, and a governing approach forged during a career in real estate and reality television, according to Michael D'Antonio, author of "The Truth About Trump," a highly critical biography.

"If the task before him doesn't focus on his own success and power, he's not interested," D'Antonio said. "He somehow managed to run casinos in a way that the house lost. He ran an airline into the ground. The bigger the venture was, the bigger the failure."

Still, November is a long way off and Republicans are careful not to directly attack the president, risking his ire.

Republicans "need to look out for the best interest of their constituents, run their own race and take the positions they feel are the most responsible given the course of the pandemic in their states," said Whit Ayres, a GOP pollster. "Obviously the top of the ticket is going to have an effect on down-ballot Republicans. It's just not clear yet how much."
The Congress on Friday said the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) issue raised by the BJP government was a "manufactured charge" and "diversionary tactic" to deflect attention from the LAC crisis, and the money the NGO received from China was used for the welfare of differently-abled people and research on Sino-India relations.

"Diversion, disinformation and distraction are the diabolical hallmarks of the BJP and Modi government when exposed and caught lying on issues of national security and territorial integrity," the opposition party's chief spokesperson, Randeep Singh Surjewala, said in a statement.

He said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda and the Narendra Modi government keep referring to a 2005 grant of Rs 1.45 crore received by the RGF from the Embassy of China for the purpose of a welfare programme for differently-abled people and research on Sino-India relationships.

"This grant was used for the purposes specified. RGF accounts were duly audited and statutory returns filed under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) to the Government of India. This grant has been duly reflected in all filings to the Income-Tax department and Home Ministry and no authority has ever found any wrongdoing of any nature," Surjewala said.

He also said pursuant to the unprecedented Tsunami in the last week of 2004, the foundation received a "modest" amount of Rs 20 lakh from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund in financial year 2005, which was duly utilised to undertake relief activities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

"We want to tell PM Modi and BJP president Nadda that their total failure to protect national security and the territorial integrity of India cannot be washed away in the cacophony of manufactured and desperate allegations vis-a-vis grants received by the RGF, which have been duly audited and reported both to the Income-Tax department as also to the Home Ministry," he said.

Nadda had alleged that the Prime Minister's Relief Fund had donated money to the "family-run" RGF when the Congress-led UPA was in power, claiming that it was a "brazen fraud" and big betrayal of the people of the country.

The BJP chief, who targeted the Congress and the Gandhi family on Thursday for the RGF allegedly accepting donations from the Chinese embassy, also posted a photograph of documents to back his charge on Twitter.

"To suppress these facts, BJP president JP Nadda, the Modi government and their puppet allies in the media have unleashed a diabolical design of disinformation, distraction and diversion from the real issue of Chinese incursions and restoration of status quo ante, which is the solemn duty of the government," Surjewala said.

He said the facts in the public domain clearly establish that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "deliberately misled" the nation on the issue of Chinese transgressions and the brazen occupation of our territory.

"Unmistakable facts in the public domain are that the Chinese have committed grave transgressions in the Galwan Valley including at PP-14, where 20 of our jawans were martyred on June 15-16, 2020. In fact, the Chinese have reoccupied PP-14 and constructed tents and other structures," the Congress leader said.

He added that Chinese forces have also transgressed in the Pangong Tso area and constructed a huge number of hostile structures and bunkers, and the latest act of illegal incursion by the neighbouring country was in the Depsang Plains, where the Chinese have intruded 18 km across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) into our territory up to the Y-Junction, also known as "Bottleneck".
It takes a lot in the year 2020 for a politician to say something that registers as genuinely outrageous, but House speaker Nancy Pelosi accomplished that feat earlier this week when she smeared Tim Scott of South Carolina and his fellow Senate Republicans as trying to get away with . . . the murder of George Floyd with Scotts police-reform bill.

Were saying no chokeholds, Pelosi said in a CBS Radio interview on Tuesday. Theyre not saying no chokeholds. I mean, theres a big difference there. Whats the compromise? Some chokeholds? I dont see what the compromise is.

For something to happen, theyre going to have to face the reality of police brutality, the reality of the need for justice in policing, she added. So far theyre trying to get away with murder, actually. The murder of George Floyd. Asked later if shed apologize, Pelosi refused and pretended she was only talking about Mitch McConnell and not Scott, the bills author.

On Wednesday, all Senate Republicans  joined by Senate Democrats Angus King of Maine, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Doug Jones of Alabama  voted to open debate on Scotts police-reform bill. (Pelosi has not yet commented on whether the three Senate Democrats are also trying to get away with the murder of George Floyd.)

Having fallen four votes short of the 60 necessary to advance the bill, Tim Scott took to the Senate floor to explain what went wrong. Pelosi had accused Senate Republicans of one of the most heinous things I can imagine, Scott said. The South Carolina Republican pointed out that neither the House Democrats bill nor the Senate Republicans bill banned chokeholds at the state or local level. You know why? Theres this little thing called the Constitution. They cant ban chokeholds, Scott said. The federal government may only cajole local governments into banning chokeholds (except when lethal force is appropriate) by reducing federal funding. We would reduce funding by 20 percent, Scott said of his bill. They reduced funding by 10 percent. So our penalty was twice the penalty of the other side, and this is supposed to be an issue.

Story continues

Scott acknowledged that, in addition to pushing local governments into banning chokeholds that cut off air flow, Democrats wanted to ban holds that cut off blood flow through the carotid artery. Ours only covered one, not the other. I said, Okay, you have an amendment. Ill vote for it. Well change it, Scott said.

In fact, Scott offered more than 20 amendments. But it wasnt good enough for Senate Democrats. Why wouldnt you take the 80 percent now, see if you can win the election and add on the other 20 percent? Scott asked toward the end of his speech.

It was a good question. Its too bad it was rhetorical. They believe that campaigning on police brutality is more important than solving police brutality, Scott tells National Review in a phone interview. The goal was not to actually get on the legislation.

Democratic senator Angus King said that refusing to open debate on Scotts bill in the Senate last week will end the discussion of this subject in the Senate for the foreseeable future, and leave us with nothing to show for all the energy and passion that has brought this issue to the forefront of public consciousness. But Scott doesnt rule out the possibility that the Senate may try again. We have been thinking about taking pieces of the [House] legislation and putting it on the floor, he says. The senator notes that the most important police reforms cant start in Washington, D.C. . . . It should start in Minneapolis and Atlanta and Los Angeles and Cleveland.

What we saw in Minneapolis is called murder. Its already illegal, Scott says. But local governments have direct authority to ban chokeholds, require de-escalation training, and curb the power of police unions that protect the small number of bad cops.

Still, Scott thinks there is an important role for the federal government to play in encouraging several reforms, some of which he has been working on for years. And although you wouldnt know it from Nancy Pelosi and much of the mainstream-media coverage, Scott has earned praise from some unlikely sources for his efforts. As someone who is not a huge fan of the Republican Party or its tactics, Michael Harriot wrote at The Root on June 19, it might pain some to hear this as much as it pains me to say it, but the truth is, the GOP bill is more likely to stop cops from killing black people.

More from National Review
SOLOMONS, MD (June 23, 2020)--For the endangered Atlantic sturgeon and the commercially and recreationally important striped bass, the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia coastal shelf serves as an important spring and fall "flyway." Typically thought of as an established aerial route used by migratory birds to travel between feeding and breeding grounds, a recent study by scientists at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science applies the term to fish species of concern. Authors suggest that the development of wind farms on the Delmarva coastal shelf, 17-26 miles from Ocean City's shoreline, may alter the migratory behavior of these fish as new wind turbines in this otherwise featureless region could create habitat around which fish linger.

Studies within the Maryland Wind Energy Area--the coastal shelf waters leased by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for offshore wind farms--prior to construction activities reveal that Atlantic sturgeon and striped bass are frequent visitors. Seasonal trends lead scientists to believe that the wind energy area lies within an important migration corridor for both species. Atlantic sturgeon were most commonly observed moving through the area during the spring and fall, while striped bass had an increased migratory presence in spring and winter. The Atlantic sturgeons' "flyway" tended to favor shallower, warmer waters, while striped bass were more likely to be found at great depths and cooler conditions.

Both species spent longer periods of time in the corridor during the autumn and winter. This trend was particularly strong for striped bass, with many individuals prolonging their presence on the outer shelf during winter. However, during the summer, Atlantic sturgeon were rarely detected and striped bass were absent.

The construction of an off-shore wind farm creates loud noises and increased activity that can disrupt typical animal behaviors. The low occurrence of these important fish species during the summer months suggests a potential window for wind turbine construction, when impacts could be minimized.

"Scientists have learned a lot about the Atlantic sturgeon and striped bass' seasonal patterns of habitat selection within spawning rivers, estuaries, and shelf foraging habitats," says study author Ellie Rothermel, who recently received her master's degree from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "During these times, we know where the fish are likely to be and when to expect them there, but information on the location and timing of key coastal migrations is limited. Coastal waters have been largely inaccessible to scientists. Our study uses acoustic telemetry to understand the critical migratory periods in the lives of these fish species."

Rothermel compares acoustic telemetry to the E-ZPass system used for vehicles. When a car with E-ZPass is driven over the Bay Bridge, a toll booth collects its identification number, along with the time and date. Just like toll booths and the E-Z Pass system, scientists use acoustic receivers and tags to track where fish go, and when they go there.

After catching and determining the size, weight and sex of a striped bass, scientists surgically implanted an acoustic tag into the fish prior to releasing it. An acoustic tag is a small device, about the size of a thumb, that has a unique ID and makes a "ping" sound every few seconds.

Scientists also deployed 20 acoustic receivers in the Maryland Wind Energy Area. When a tagged fish swims past a receiver, a listening device about the size of a liter soda bottle, the receiver records the "ping" sent out by the tag. Each "ping" transmits its unique ID and the depth at which the fish was swimming to the receiver, which also records the time and date. The array of receivers allows scientists to monitor the movements of tagged fish. During the study, "pings" from 352 individual Atlantic sturgeon and 315 individual striped bass were recorded by receivers.

Scientists believe that Maryland's future offshore wind farm could become a stop-over region where striped bass and sturgeon might linger longer. The DelMarVa coastal shelf is a fairly barren area. The development of high relief wind turbines would provide structure around which fish may gather and linger during migrations.

"To extend the highway travel metaphor, the wind farm that will be built in the area off-shore from Ocean City may become a 'rest stop' where fish and sharks can grab a bite to eat and take a break before resuming their travels," says study co-author Dave Secor of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

As wind farms are developed and operated offshore of the Mid-Atlantic and Southern New England regions, which together comprises a multispecies "flyway," scientists could use the telemetry array design to monitor potential impacts. Cooperation among researchers, expanded scale of acoustic telemetry arrays, and increased incorporation of oceanographic data will improve understanding of how fishes will respond to wind energy development in the northwest Atlantic Ocean.

###

Project funding was provided by U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Office of Renewable Energy Programs.

The study "Comparative migration ecology of striped bass and Atlantic sturgeon in the US Southern mid-Atlantic bight flyway" was published in PLOS ONE.

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A globally eminent research and graduate institution focused on advancing scientific knowledge of the environment, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science provides sound advice to help state and national leaders manage the environment and prepares future scientists to meet the global challenges of the 21st century.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 26)  President Rodrigo Duterte sounded the alarm over maritime incidents in the South China Sea amid the coronavirus crisis.

"Even as the region struggles to contain COVID-19, alarming incidents in South China Sea occurred," Duterte said in his video message at the 36th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit on Friday.

Duterte, who has maintained friendly ties with China, did not go into detail. But he called on all parties to "adhere to the rule of law and to their commitments to international instruments, including the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea."

China has so far put up two research stations and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat in the South China Sea amid the pandemic. The Philippines also protested China's declaration of two new districts in what it calls Sansha City, which covered areas Manila claims and occupies in the West Philippine Sea.

ASEAN and China signed a non-binding declaration in 2002, but the regional bloc has been pushing for a legally binding Code of Conduct, which will determine the only allowable actions parties can take in contested waters.

Critics have pointed out little progress in the negotiations for a Code of Conduct due to resistance from China. In September 2019, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, Jr. announced that a draft has been reached as Beijing "softened its insistence on controversial provisions."

But there was actually "very little 'agreed' upon," with salient provisions left unresolved, said Gregory Poling, director of Washington-based think tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, in an earlier interview with CNN Philippines.

READ: Negotiations for South China Sea Code of Conduct a 'failed process,' expert says

The Philippines is country coordinator for the ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations until 2021. Aside from the Philippines and China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei also have competing claims in the resource-rich South China Sea.

In his speech at the ASEAN Summit, Duterte said they are facing "real constraints in dealing with the deliverables," but stressed that negotiations for a Code of Conduct are underway.

"We remain committed to work closely with the member states and China towards the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea," he added.

During the ASEAN-China summit in November 2019, the regional bloc adopted the three-year timeline proposed by Beijing, eyeing completion of the Code of Conduct by 2022.
RedHunt Labs, a UK based Cyber Security company, has launched its Attack Surface Management Platform NVADR for organizations to gain holistic visibility of their perimeter security. NVADR provides Continuous Asset Discovery as well as Data Leak Monitoring through its wide-spread distributed collectors and notifies organizations in case a new asset/data leak/security vulnerability belonging to the organization, surfaces on the internet. Through deep correlation algorithms, the verification engine maps assets to the 
A member of the Philadelphia bomb squad surveys the scene after an ATM machine was blown-up at 2207 N. 2nd St. in Philadelphia on June 2, 2020. Read more

A Philadelphia man previously charged in a scheme to sell dynamite to blow up ATMs is now facing additional charges after agents found 30 more sticks of M-1000 homemade dynamite at his house, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Friday.

The M-1000 dynamite qualifies as a weapon of mass destruction and is capable of causing serious bodily injury, death, and significant property damage, Shapiro said in a news release.

Talib Crump, 25, was first arrested June 2 after state law enforcement agents, posing as buyers, responded to his Instagram post advertising sticks of dynamite for sale. In talking with the undercover agents, authorities said, Crump left a voicemail saying dynamite was the best way to blow up an ATM to steal the money inside. Crump also said, according to authorities, that on June 1 he blew up multiple ATMs, stealing about $8,500 from one. When he was arrested, agents recovered 12 sticks of dynamite.

A search warrant later led authorities to Crumps Leiper Street home, described as a five-unit apartment building with families and children, where they found more explosives, including the 30 M-1000 quarter dynamite sticks, and two 30-round extended magazines loaded with 60 live rounds of 9mm ammunition.

He is now facing additional charges including multiple counts of weapons of mass destruction, possessing instruments of a crime, possessing prohibited offensive weapons, and reckless endangerment. Crumps listed attorney in online court records could not be immediately reached for comment.
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According to a new report published by Polaris Market Research, the worldwide agriculture drones market is anticipated to reach around USD 8,019.8 million by 2026. In 2017, the field mapping segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. North America is expected to be the leading contributor to the global market in 2017.

There has been an increasing adoption of agricultural drones across the world owing to growing agricultural industry, and high-demand for high quality food crops. The growing use of drones for crop health monitoring, weed detection, variable rate application, crop scouting, and livestock management supports the agriculture drones market growth. The growing population and increasing automation of farm operations further supports agriculture drones market growth.

Get sample copy of this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/agriculture-drones-market/request-for-sample

The global agricultural drones market is driven by the increasing need to improve the quality of crops produced, maximize crop production, and enhance productivity. Other factors driving the growth of this market include growth in the global agricultural industry, reducing availability of labors, and increasing labor costs. However, safety, security, and privacy concerns restrict the growth of the agricultural drones market. Growing demand from emerging economies, and technological advancements are factors expected to provide numerous growth opportunities in the coming years.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) utilizes drones with camera and sensor payloads to develop digital orthophotographs. These images are available to the government agencies and general public for estimation of land usage, crop plantings and yields, and others. In March 2016, Agribotix LLC partnered with Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to introduce agriculture drone and data analytics for crop health management and improvement of agriculture production.

North America generated the highest revenue in the market in 2017. The increasing population, and growing demand for high quality crops drives the growth of this market. Growing cost of labor and increasing automation in agricultural practices further support global agriculture drones market growth. Increasing investments and subsidies in the agriculture sector by governments are expected to boost the adoption of drones for increased productivity in farms.

Complete Summary with TOC Available @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/agriculture-drones-market

The different components used in agriculture drones include hardware, software, and services. In 2017, the hardware segment accounted for the largest share in the global market. The hardware used in agricultural drones include technologically advanced cameras, navigation systems, frames, controllers, propulsion systems, and others. The hardware components are required for capturing information and monitoring of fields and crops.

The well-known companies profiled in the report include Trimble Navigation Limited, DJI Technology Co., Ltd, Parrot SA, Drone Deploy, Agribotix LLC, Honeycomb Corporation, Aerovironment, Inc., Eagle UAV Services LLC, 3D Robotics Inc., AgEagle Aerial Systems, Inc., Autocopter Corp, and Ursula Agriculture. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers.

Avail discount on this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/agriculture-drones-market/request-for-discount-pricing

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Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide unmatched quality of offerings to our clients present globally. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world.

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Guns and computers were removed Friday morning from an Easton home after city police said they helped U.S. Homeland Security Investigations serve a search warrant.

Homeland Security Investigations is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and investigators came up from Philadelphia. It wasnt immediately clear why the warrant was served or if anyone was taken into custody.

Homeland Security Investigations officials confirmed special agents served the federal warrant with Easton police, but added that they do not comment on pending or ongoing investigations, so no details were provided.

HSI will continue to work collaboratively with its federal, state and local law enforcement partners, the officials said in an email.

The home is in the 1100 block of Pine Street, which is an alley between South 11th and South Elder streets.

Easton police Lt. Matthew Gerould said there is no danger to the public connected with the probe.

Running parallel to the Homeland Security effort is an ongoing investigation involving Easton police, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives -- which had agents at the scene Friday -- and the Northampton County District Attorneys Office, according to Gerould.

The Easton Police Department Special Response Unit assisted in the Homeland Security investigation. Gerould declined to provide specifics about the federally led probe.

The Bethlehem Fire Department Bomb Squad was there as a precaution due to the nature of the investigation and concerns about entering the home, Gerould said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, another part of Homeland Security, also had a representative there.

At least four computers were seized, although the box of one was returned to the home. Weapons appeared to be removed from the home as well, but it wasnt immediately clear if they were real firearms.

The police action began just after 8:30 a.m. and wrapped up late in the morning.

There were five aggressive pits bulls in the home when city police entered, Gerould said. A resident assisted in keeping the dogs contained, he added. One dog was removed by police and a city animal control agent.

No law enforcement personnel or dogs were injured, Gerould said.

This breaking news post will be updated if more information becomes available.

Freelance photographer Tim Wynkoop contributed to this report.

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.
(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. said it will close its physical store locations permanently but will continue to invest in a digital storefront that, along with third-party retailers, has driven sales of products such as the Xbox game player and Surface tablets.

The move will result in a pretax charge of about $450 million, or 5 cents a share, in the current quarter, Microsoft said Friday in a statement.

Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location, said Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter.

Microsoft closed its 83 stores, most of which are in the U.S., in late March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Apple Inc. has reopened its retail sites only to shut more than 30 of them again as the virus resurges in some locations.

The company didnt disclose how much revenue it was getting from the stores. The thousands of workers from the outlets have already transitioned to the digital effort and will continue in those roles, the company said.

While under lockdown, Microsoft said its retail team has virtually trained hundreds of thousands of enterprise and education customers on remote work and learning software and helped customers with support calls. The team supported communities by hosting more than 14,000 online workshops and summer camps and more than 3,000 virtual graduations.

Microsoft announced its plan to begin opening stores in 2009 ahead of the release of Windows 7 after Apple saw significant success and popularity with its modern, clean retail outlets. At the time, Microsoft had trouble getting a waning group of big-box electronics retailers to effectively showcase Microsoft products in an often chaotic store with unevenly trained staff. The company hired Porter, a Walmart Inc. veteran, to lead the retail effort.

As the software maker moved into hardware with the release of the Surface device in 2012, it accelerated the pace of store openings, ending up with more than 100 and often scouting out real estate near Apples stores. The assortment of outlets grew to include a store on New Yorks Fifth Avenue and one in London, opened last July. But while the retail outlets let users try an increasing array of Surface models and test out Xbox games, they often suffered from a lower level of interest and foot traffic than nearby Apple stores.

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said it has seen significant growth through its digital storefronts, including Microsoft.com, and stores for Xbox and Windows. The company will continue to invest in digital innovation with new services including 1:1 video chat support, online tutorial videos and virtual works.

Earlier this week, the company announced it was shutting its Mixer streaming-video service. Microsofts fiscal year ends June 30. The company in June and July typically exits businesses that are deemed to be performing poorly. Any job cuts often occur in this period as Microsoft units shift priorities.

Microsofts shares fell 1.6% to $197.02 at 12:51 p.m. in New York Friday.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Epidemiologists impose measures, saying they expected case numbers to rise.

The House of Culture in Cadca was also closed because of newly-imposed measures to prevent the spread of the virus. (Source: TASR)

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The recent three days have seen the number of new coronavirus cases in Slovakia reach two-digits, numbers not seen since the beginning of May.

Epidemiologists said that it is an anticipated consequence of loosened measures and open borders.

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Most of the cases were identified in the town of Cadca in northern Slovakia. Out of 54 new cases over the recent three days, 25 were identified in the district of Cadca. The measures that public health authorities imposed locally include the closure of local schools and kindergartens and a ban on mass events.

Most of the cases are linked to one infected family, the Sme daily reported. Epidemiologists in Cadca do not yet know with whom the coronavirus-infected family met. They do not exclude contact with people from the nearby region of Sliezsko in the neighbouring Czech Republic and Poland where the coronavirus has spread among the miners.

Tracing contacts




As deliveries to service stations improved yesterday, there was a growing rumble from motorists misinterpreting the Zera price table and jumping to the wrong conclusion that ethanol contributes around three quarters of the petrol price.





In fact ethanol blending does not increase the price of petrol, as has been misinterpreted, and actually knocks about 49c off the price of a litre of blend.





Confusion has been reigning because the energy regulator, Zera, included a price of $54.5763 for ethanol in its pricing table. However this is the cost of a litre, delivered for blending when only 200ml is mixed with every 800ml of pure petrol.





The price of petrol ready for blending is now $56.7563 a litre. This is the landed cost plus the taxes and the storage and handling charges at Msasa. So ethanol is still very slightly cheaper than petrol. A litre of blend will combine 800ml of petrol with 200ml of ethanol for the present E20 product which is 20 percent ethanol.





The 800ml of petrol at this blending stage costs $45.405 while the 200ml of ethanol costs just under $10.915. Adding the two together you get $56.32, which is a saving of 43c on the litre of petrol.





From the bulk storage there are additional charges, a few small ones mainly involving the tanker costs and the larger percentage mark-ups allowed to oil companies and service stations. With the slightly cheaper petrol-ethanol blend these percentage mark-ups are in turn slightly lower, knocking off around 6c in total, giving the 49c a litre saving of blend over petrol.





However, the authorities are concerned over the ethanol prices charged by the two producers in the Lowveld and are seeking more detail over the ethanol production costs, Zeras acting chief executive officer, Mr Eddington Mazambani, told the Portfolio Committee on Energy and Power Development yesterday. Zimbabwe uses anhydrous ethanol, which requires a further process after distillation to remove all water.





The gap, in percentage terms, between pure petrol and the petrol-ethanol blend used to be greater. Part of the narrowing is explainable by the drop in the landed cost of petrol, following the crash in crude oil prices since the lockdowns and travel restrictions in most countries with the Covid-19 pandemic.





Petrol is now landed at 48.15 USc a litre, a little over 10USc a litre less than at the beginning of the year. Crude costs are a small fraction of the landed costs, the rest being the refining and transport costs, which are generally independent of crude costs.





But the position has now been reached when a very small drop in landed costs could make petrol cheaper than ethanol.





Those concerned about the rise in price in fuels sold in US dollars, a price that should not vary with the new Zimbabwe dollar exchange rate, will find the answer in statutory instruments gazetted yesterday by Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube. He pushed up the excise duties on petrol to 30 USc a litre and on diesel and paraffin products to 25 USc a litre.





He also applied the exchange rate changes to his excise duties on Zimbabwe dollar-denominated fuels, taking the petrol duty from Z$8.37c a litre to Z$17.207 a litre and that for diesel and paraffin from Z$7.566 a litre to Z$14.34 a litre. The excise duties, and the small taxes that add to the tax collected, are worked out in percentage terms in Zimbabwe dollars but are in fixed terms for US dollar fuel.





The Government sets the taxes on US dollar fuel imported with free funds and sold in US dollars at a far higher level than it does for Zimbabwe dollar fuel. Ethanol producers charge US$1,05 a litre for ethanol, it has been reported. Thus a US dollar-denominated litre of blend will have 21USc of ethanol in a litre, along with close on 70USc for the 800ml of petrol in that litre. The percentage mark-ups magnify the tax changes.





There has been the same confusion between the price of a litre of ethanol in the Zera pricing table and the actual 200ml used in the litre of blend, along with the 800ml of petrol.





Mr Mazambani told the Parliamentary committee that the US dollar ethanol price had been the same since mandatory blending was introduced, but there were continual and significant variations in the Zimbabwe dollar price charged, hence the desire for more information on the costs and pricing formulas of ethanol.





He stressed again that the major driver of fuel prices was the actual delivered cost of the fuel and Zimbabwe has little say in that regard due to the small size of its economy.





Mr Mazambani said Zera had no authority to reverse the blending policy as it was set by Government in the National Energy Policy of 2012 and National Renewable Energy Policy of 2020. He noted that the two companies involved in ethanol production were employing thousands of people directly and indirectly, and supporting local communities.





Mr Mazambani also told the committee that the liberalisation of the official foreign exchange market will result in a weekly adjustment of fuel prices soon after the new ruling rates were announced late in the day every Tuesday.





The latest fuel price increases were a result of the movement of the US$ rate from the fixed US$1:$25 to the US$1:$57 that was the average rate obtained at the end of the first forex auction.





Turning to Zeras capacity to monitor fuel supply in the country, Mr Mazambani said the present shortages had stretched their resources, but indicated that five service stations in Harare were being investigated after they were found selling fuel allocated through Government facilities in foreign currency. Fuel bought in local currency by an oil company and service station must be sold in local currency. Only fuel imported by the oil company with free funds can be sold in foreign currency.





Under a normal environment, the way we are structured is sufficient for us to regulate the sector but in the environment that we are in now, where there is an acute shortage, there is a lot of illegalities and arbitrage happening in the sector. And its happening in the night when we do not have shift workers, so there we might be found wanting.





We are actually working with other agencies and arms of Government to augment our numbers to deal with issues happening at outlets. We are also developing regulations to hold operators accountable such that when we hear these reports somebody can actually lose their licences, he said.





A Bill to amend the Petroleum Act is being crafted to empower Zera to deal with errant fuel companies and service stations.





Fuel queues have reduced significantly as deliveries build up with heavy traffic yesterday along Mutare Road driving west in Harare after collecting fuel from the Msasa depot. Motorists are also being more careful with purchases after the price rises, and are no longer desperate to hoard or drain tanks to sell fuel on the black market.





Engen Simon Muzenda Street had shorter queues than seen in recent days after a delivery. Mr Tendai Vhurundiya, a motorist who had just refuelled, reflected the new order when he said the days of full tanks could be over for many.





I used to fill up my tank with about $750, today I used around $3 500 to get 55 litres. We may be going back to days where we would buy two or three litres at the pump, he said.





Puma stations in Samora Machel Avenue and in Kwame Nkrumah Avenue had no fuel but were expecting deliveries. But the queues of waiting motorists were shorter than seen recently with an attendant noting that the new prices had probably dampened demand.





We dont have fuel at the moment. In normal times the queue would have been long with people waiting for a delivery but today as you can see, the cars are few, they said.





Total in Samora Machel and Fifth Street had very few cars getting fuel.




Crude oils price recovery wobbled this week as rising coronavirus cases and the related fears of continued demand destruction undercut reports of continued production cuts by OPEC and its allies.

West Texas Intermediate on the New York Mercantile Exchange crossed the $40 barrier this week, reaching a 3 - month high before news of rising COVID-19 cases. Prices lost about 1.6 percent for the week, closing Friday at $38.49 per barrel, down 23 cents and down from Mondays $40.46 per barrel. The posted price closed at $35 a barrel. It was the second weekly decline since April.

Natural gas prices also slumped on the NYMEX, ending the week at $1.472 per Mcf, down from Mondays close of $1.664.

The news has been mixed, Steve Hendrickson, president of Ralph E. Davis Associates, the reserve engineering affiliate of Opportune LLP, told the Reporter-Telegram in a phone interview. Some parts of the country have stuck to their guns and lasted longer through lockdown, and you have other places more anxious to get back to work and jumped the gun.

He said those areas with rising number of cases may offset the gains in oil demand from places that arent seeing more cases. Hendrickson said he doesnt think there will be a significant loss in oil demand.

Whats significant, Hendrickson said, is that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allied countries, such as Russia, have taken so much oil off the market.

With oil at $40, is that where were going to be? What will OPEC+ do? If they sell oil the way they had, that will put us right back at $10. Or will they cut more to boost prices? he asked.

So far, the cartel and its allies seem content with current price levels, he said.

Hendrickson said the plunge in the nations rig count will result, by the end of this year or into next year, in a significant reduction in U.S. oil output and give OPEC an opening to ramp up production and take market share at U.S. shale producers expense.

I think OPEC will play the long game and let prices do the work, he said.

There are a few places in the U.S. where completing wells will be economic at $40 oil. He said the Permian Basin is one; the best parts of the Bakken is another; and perhaps parts of the Eagle Ford. Still, he said U.S. shale players are resilient and able to respond to poor price environments. Rig and frac crew costs have come down, were refining techniques and improving efficiency, he said.

Hendrickson cited a recent study his company did of the nations producing regions and how much output has grown and said a large percentage of the nations current output has come from its unconventional shale plays

Sometimes you lose sight of the forest for the trees, he said.

Bloomberg reported that the U.S. has seen a record number of new coronavirus cases, with a wave across the Sun Belt casting doubt over prospects for an oil-demand recovery. Texas -- the center of the American oil industry -- halted its reopening as infections jumped and Houstons intensive-care wards reached capacity.

This week the market pushed through a 3 1/2 month high, and then all the sudden reporting about new cases seemed to break the back of the rally, Gene McGillian, vice president of research at Tradition Energy, told Bloomberg. We have record amounts of oil and fuel in storage and still uncertainty about demand going forward.

Still, the pessimism is being tempered by huge cuts to Russias seaborne crude exports, a development that lifted oil earlier in the session. Shipments of the flagship Urals grade from its three main western ports are set to plunge by 40 percent next month, according to loading programs seen by Bloomberg. The steep reductions underscore the OPEC+ alliances commitment to eliminate the oil glut that built up earlier this year
Heritage education has been effectively used to boost tourism development in Hanoi, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic caused vast damage to the local and national tourism sector.

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: Students enjoy folk games at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi. Such activities are part of a heritage education programme at the museum to help enrich students' knowledge about ethnic minorities in the country.

Evidence shows that heritage education not only helps promote the value of cultural heritages but also makes destinations much more attractive to tourists.

Many museums and historical relics around town have used the forced downtime to improve their offerings and evoke a sense of exploration among tourists, while developing creative new discoveries for domestic visitors, especially given the tumbling number of foreign tourists.

DRESS-UP: Children role-playing as examination candidates at Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam (the Temple of Literature) in Hanoi, as part of a heritage education programme. Photo hanoimoi.com.vn

The Director of the Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam Centre for Cultural and Scientific Activities, Le Xuan Kieu, said heritage education had proven to be increasingly attractive among the public in recent years and this was likely to continue post-pandemic.

After Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam [the Temple of Literature] had to close due to social distancing, the centre promoted its investment in heritage education to better serve Vietnamese visitors, he said.

Though they already possess a certain level of knowledge about the countrys heritage, its important to provide them with broader experiences.

The most popular heritage education programmes run by the centre are those studying the old system of national examinations, discovering the motifs on the stone Stelae of Doctors, printing wooden blocks, and wearing the traditional costumes laureates in the examinations in the past used to wear.

Conducted in Hanoi since 2012, heritage education tours have found favour in the community and increased the popularity of many museums and historical relics, according to experts.

LEARNING ON-SITE: heritage education tours of Hoa Lo Prison have been well received by visitors, especially the younger generation. Photo hanoimoi.Com.Vn

Famous Hanoi destinations such as Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam, Thang Long Citadel, and Hoa Lo Prison now have a better reputation in the tourism sector due to their education and exploration tours.

Deputy Director of the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre, Nguyen Thanh Quang, said education tours helped the centre expand its offerings.

The centre had already created interactive spaces for heritage experiences that were suitable for every level of education, he said. It is now conducting heritage education projects associated with specific topics, such as increasing students knowledge about the history of the Ly, Tran and Le dynasties.

The goal of the changes to inspire visitors, particularly the younger generation, to explore Vietnams culture and history in the most natural way possible.

OUT OF CLASS: Students visiting the Thang Long Citadel hear about its history. Photo hanoimoi.com.vn

According to Quang, projects have proven successful and triggered a continuous increase in the number of young visitors, mostly students, on heritage education tours.

The number of students attended heritage education tour programmes increased to 19,000 in 2019 from about 3,900 in 2018, he said.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Head of the Hoa Lo Prison Relic management board, Dang Van Bieu, said it now targeted different visitor groups, with a variety of interactive activities held during tours to encourage students and other visitors to be more proactive in discovering the site and to support them in developing skills in teamwork, observation and presentation.

In addition to its regular displays, the Hanoi Museum had been researching and investing in historical and cultural programmes through tours exploring traditional craft villages in and around the capital.

The Principal of the Nguyen Truong To Secondary School in Dong Da District, Hoang Thanh Thuy, said the school had been successfully cooperating for many years with a number of museums and historical relic sites in the city to promote heritage education among students.

After hours of study in class, students can then participate in various activities during their tour, such as drawing artefacts, trying their hand at being an archaeologist, or meeting with historians, researchers, and folk artisans, Thuy said.

Heritage education programmes really have made history lessons much livelier and students find it easier to learn.

PROUD HISTORY: Students visit Vietnam Military History Museum and Hanoi Flag Pole. Photo hanoistar.edu.vn

Nguyen Van Trang, a Grade 10 student at Nguyen Trai High School in Ba Dinh District, said she had become much more interested in history lessons since taking education tours to relic sites in the city.

She found that such tours really opened her mind to the level of historical and cultural development in the capital and elsewhere around Vietnam.

Im amazed at how much Ive learned from tours in museums or at cultural or historical sites, she said. What I read in books comes to life on the tours, and I can learn even more from experts.

Another student, Hoang Anh, from the Hanoi Star School in Thanh Xuan District, said that after listening to experts during a museum tour he became interested in playing folk games and taking part in other activities he had only just heard about.

That was the best part of the tour, as it made studying history more engaging and memorable, he said.

Referring to efforts to give heritage education programmes more vitality, the Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, To Van Dong, said that organisations and agencies involved in historical and cultural tourism should strengthen links among themselves and with universities and schools, so that appropriate programmes would be set up and heritage education would grow in popularity.

According to Le Thi Minh Ly, director of the Centre for Research and Promotion of Cultural Heritage Values at the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association, on-site heritage education needs to be accompanied by a specialised experience space to be truly effective. Policy changes are also needed to attract more cooperative efforts, and staff must receive in-depth training.

The thousand-year-old Hanoi boasts a treasure trove of cultural and historical heritages both in terms of type and value.

Indeed, Vietnams capital is the cradle of some 6,000 cultural and historical relics, more than 2,000 of which have been recognised as national or local heritages.

Items and sites are diverse, including pre-historic military architecture (at An Duong Vuong's citadel, built before 208BC); imperial architecture and artefacts from the Ly Dynasty (10th century) to the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945); key areas from the resistance wars against the French and the Americans; and religious spaces, as Hanoi is also a centre of religion, including Buddhism, Mother Goddess worshipping, and Catholicism.

Such strengths provide an environment in which new heritage education programmes would thrive, as more people are now interested in historical events and the unique cultural features of Thang Long - Hanoi.

The sound implementation of education through experience creates both a healthy playground and a method of educating students and enriching their knowledge of national history and culture in a livelier manner.

Moreover, heritage education is also a key solution in preserving and promoting the intrinsic value of Vietnams heritages, and at the same time helps them to live forever in the hearts of Vietnamese. VNS

Thanh Thuy and Mai Phuong

Smart tourism helps attract visitors to Hanoi Smart tourism is being applied in a number of tourist attractions in Hanoi such as Bat Trang ceramic village, Thang Long imperial citadel, Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature - National University) and Hanoi Old Quarter.
Japan News-Yomiuri

Stand-alone photo: Tourists watch water being discharged from Kurobe Dam in Tateyama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, on June 26, 2020. The release of water from the dam, 1,454 meters above sea level, marks the beginning of summer in the northern Japan Alps. The dam is operated by Kansai Electric Power Co. The main purpose of the discharge is to maintain the water level in the Kurobe River and to maintain the scenic beauty of the canyon. The water roars as it rushes out at a rate of about 15 tons per second from valves on the arch dam, the tallest in Japan.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday people in some parts of the world had taken too many liberties with Covid-19 guidance and that young people should understand that they could spread the deadly virus.

If you look at what is happening elsewhere in the world, where people have been coming out of lockdown, Im afraid what youre also seeing is people taking too many liberties with the guidance, mingling too much, not observing social distancing, Johnson said. Youve got really serious spikes.

You may think that youre not going to get it and you are immortal and invincible and so on, and very likely thats true, particularly if you are a young person, but the bug you carry can kill elderly people particularly, it is still dangerous.

To win, to beat this thing, we have to stay alert.

Asked if he would intervene after Intu Properties INTUP.L said it would go into administration, Johnson said: There will be tough times ahead. And the retail sector, shopping malls, clearly have been feeling the squeeze on their business model for long time.

Well do everything can to look after them and to make sure we get young people into work by every possible means, he added.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) has asked its members to report to police any "unlawful protests" or acts of vandalism taking place at their factories, retail stores and offices amid anti-China sentiments.

The industry body's communication comes against the backdrop of incidents of unlawful protests and vandalism at facilities of some of its members.

Manufacturers, brand owners, technology providers, VAS application and solution providers, distributors and retail chains of mobile handsets and electronics devices are part of ICEA.

Some of the prominent names include Apple, Foxconn, Lava, and Chinese entities such as Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and Huawei.

In a letter dated June 25, ICEA said it has been informed of unlawful protests being staged at or outside their factory complexes, offices and retail stores/ points and incidents of targeted vandalism of sign boards and bill boards of member companies of "country of a certain origin".

Fringe elements while staging unlawful protests further take law into their hands and engage themselves in illegal acts, it noted.

Such acts include "putting locks, causing obstruction in the ingress/egress, threatening while being armed with deadly weapons (iron rods/sticks, etc), shouting abusive slogans, inciting crowd to create violence etc, besides indulging in acts of vandalism and causing damage to the sign boards/ bill boards/ display counters etc," the letter said.

Workforce employed by these companies have also not been spared to instill fear and apprehension in them, it added.

"Neither us nor our workforce need to be scared of such elements and acts. We have not succumbed or cowed to such browbeating, intimidation and unlawful acts and commission of offences by such fringe elements," the grouping said in the strongly-worded letter.

Asserting that such incidents should not be ignored or overlooked, ICEA said appropriate and timely action needs to be undertaken so as to ensure that "the persons/ group involved be brought to books, dealt sternly within the confines of law".

"The affected member should immediately report the matter to the local police station and the senior officials in hierarchy about such incidents for appropriate legal action and prosecution by the police," it said.

Amid the standoff between Indian and Chinese forces in Ladakh, there are calls for boycott of Chinese products from certain quarters.
Over 1000 CWSA customers were saved from being disconnected because of the moratorium.

Figures indicate that some 1,900 persons representing 5 percent of the Central Water and Sewerage Authoritys (CWSA) customer base, have benefitted from the policy shift regarding disconnections for arrears and reconnection fees.





As part of Governments Stimulus Package during the COVID-19 occasioned disruption to the economy, the CWSA and St Vincent Electricity Services (VINLEC) had agreed not to disconnect any customer who was currently in arrears for more than two months, and that any indebtedness on those bills after this three-month moratorium period will be paid on an agreed incremental basis, over a period of two years.





The measures also covered customers who were in arrears and had been disconnected. They would not be required to pay the reconnection fee to either of the two utility companies, once the reconnection was effected within the three-month period.





In an update on how these measures were impacted, Ministry of Finance Camillo Gonsalves told Parliament on Monday that 1,520 of CWSAs customers would have been disconnected over the past three months, had it not been for the moratorium, and that an additional 380 persons took advantage of the free connection announced.

And while the Finance Minister said that VINLEC was not able to provide figures with certainty, he said that information provided indicate that between March 20 and May 20 there was a 52 percent increase in accounts receivable for 60 days for domestic customers, and a 7 percent increase for commercial customers.
SEOUL, South Korea  South Korea has reported 51 more confirmed coronavirus cases as new clusters emerge in the densely populated Seoul area where people have been increasingly venturing out despite government warnings against complacency.

Thirty-five of the new cases are in the capital region, which is at the center of a COVID-19 resurgence threatening to erase earlier gains against the virus.

Authorities are struggling to trace contacts and predict infection routes as new clusters pop up. Hundreds of infections have been linked to nightspots, church gatherings, restaurants and low-income workers who couldnt afford to stay home.

Officials are resisting calls to reimpose stronger social distancing guidelines, concerned about hurting the economy.

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HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

 Virus taking stronger hold in US, other populated countries

 Governors who quickly reopened backpedal as virus surges

 After waves of COVID deaths, care homes face legal reckoning

 Hospitals in the capital of Venezuelas main oil-producing state are filled with coronavirus patients and dozens of health workers have been infected, witnesses said this week in the first reports of the pandemic overwhelming the countrys debilitated health care system.

 While Indias leaders have promised coronavirus testing and care for all who need it, regardless of income, treatment options are as stratified and unequal as the country itself.

 U.S. officials estimate that 20 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus since it first arrived in the United States, with millions never knowing they had it. Thursdays estimate is roughly 10 times the 2.3 million cases that have been confirmed in the U.S.

 A government whistleblower ousted from a top scientific job alleges that the Trump administration is intensifying its campaign to punish him for revealing shortcomings in the U.S. coronavirus response.

___

Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

___

HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

BEIJING  China has reported an uptick in new coronavirus cases a day after national health authorities said they expected an outbreak in Beijing to be brought under control soon.

The National Health Commission said Saturday that 21 more cases had been confirmed nationwide in the latest 24-hour period, including 17 in the nations capital.

City officials have temporarily shut a huge wholesale food market where the virus spread widely, re-closed schools and locked down some neighborhoods. Anyone leaving Beijing is required to have a negative virus test result within the previous seven days. Many Chinese are traveling during a four-day holiday weekend that ends Sunday.

China has reported 83,483 cases and 4,634 deaths in the pandemic. It does not include in the numbers people who test positive but dont show symptoms.

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CANBERRA, Australia  Australian health officials are expecting more cases of COVID-19 as hundreds of nationals return from overseas to begin mandatory quarantine.

About 300 people are due to arrive in Adelaide this weekend from Mumbai, India, while hundreds are expected to follow from South America and Indonesia.

People in hotel quarantine will be tested for the coronavirus at the start and end of their 14-day isolation.

South Australia state Health Minister Stephen Wade says he is preparing for about 5% to 10% of returnees being infected, as was the case when people arrived from Indonesia in other states.

Melbourne reported 30 new cases Friday, continuing a run of double-digit increases that has more than tripled Victoria states active cases to 183 in just over a week.

In all, Australia has had 104 COVID-19 deaths and nearly 7,600 confirmed cases.

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AUSTIN, Texas  Texas has surpassed 5,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients for the first time as Gov. Greg Abbott continues a dramatic retreat in his aggressive reopening of Americas second-biggest state.

In Houston, county officials Friday elevated a public threat warning system to the highest level. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said We never brought the curve all the way down. We only flattened it.

Hospitalizations in Texas, reported by state health officials, have now skyrocketed more than threefold over the past month. New records are set daily, and Abbott has brought back a ban on elective surgeries to free up beds.

His latest orders shuttered bars indefinitely and ordered restaurants dining rooms to scale back on seating customers.

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RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.  Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that he wants an agricultural Southern California county to reimpose stay-home orders amid a surge in positive coronavirus tests there and through much of the state.

Imperial County, with a population of 175,000 people on the states border with Mexico, has been the slowest in the state to reopen amid continued high positivity rates, which have averaged 23% in the last week, compared with 5.7% statewide.

The Imperial Valley, which provides many of the vegetables in U.S. supermarkets in the winter, lies across the border from Mexicali, a sprawling industrial city of 1 million people that has enormous influence on its economy and culture.

Newsom said San Francisco is also pausing plans to reopen businesses that were expected to open Monday, such as hair salons, museums and outdoor bars.

___

NEW YORK  A federal judge has blocked New York state from enforcing coronavirus restrictions limiting indoor religious gatherings to 25% capacity when other types of gatherings are limited to 50%.

Judge Gary Sharpe acted Friday to enjoin Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Attorney General Letitia James from enforcing some of the capacity restrictions put in place by executive order to contain the spread of the virus.

A spokesperson for Cuomo said the governors office will review the decision. A spokesperson for the New York City law department said city lawyers would review the ruling as well.



NEW ORLEANS  The number of reported COVID-19 cases in Louisiana took another large one-day jump, increasing Friday by more than 1,300 as the number of people hospitalized with the disease caused by the new coronavirus continued upward.

The state reported a total of 54,769 confirmed cases as of midday. The death toll was 3,077, up by 26 from Thursday.

Some of the growth in known case numbers can be attributed to increased testing. However, the number of people sick enough to be hospitalized  considered a key indicator that the virus is spreading  went up to 700. The figure is down from nearly 2,000 in April but up from a low of 542 on June 13.

The increasing numbers led Gov. John Bel Edwards this week to delay plans to further lift restrictions on public gatherings and some business activity. Edwards has promised stepped up enforcement on businesses that arent complying with virus-related restrictions on capacity and requirements that employees dealing with the public wear masks.

Friday marked Louisianas second one-day spike of more than 1,300 this week.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.  Florida banned alcohol consumption at its bars after its daily confirmed coronavirus cases neared 9,000, almost double the previous record set just two days ago.

The Florida agency that governs bars announced the ban on Twitter, minutes after the Department of Health reported 8,942 new confirmed cases, topping the previous record of 5,500 set Wednesday.

More than 24,000 cases have been reported since Saturday, more than a fifth of the 111,724 cases confirmed since March 1. The department had not updated its death total, which still stood at 3,327.

The seven-day average for positive tests dropped slightly to 13.4%, down 1 percentage point from Thursday but still triple the rate of 3.8% of June 1. State officials have attributed much of the new outbreak to young adults flocking to bars after they reopened about a month ago.

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UNITED NATIONS  The United Nations is marking its 75th anniversary with a scaled-down event because of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of many challenges a deeply divided world must tackle along with poverty, inequality, discrimination and unending wars.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Fridays virtual commemoration of the signing of the U.N. Charter that global pressures are spiraling up and todays realities are as forbidding as ever.

He said people continue to lose trust in political establishments and has spoken of rising populism threatening multilateralism and denounced xenophobia, racism and intolerance.

Todays marches against racism were preceded by widespread protests against inequality, discrimination, corruption and lack of opportunities all over the world  grievances that still need to be addressed, including with a renewed social contract, he said in a video address.

Meanwhile, Guterres said, other fundamental fragilities have only grown: the climate crisis, environmental degradation, cyberattacks, nuclear proliferation, a push-back on human rights and the risk of another pandemic.

He stressed the urgent need for global cooperation.

One virus  has put us on our knees, and we have not been able to fight it effectively, Guterres told reporters Thursday. Its spreading now everywhere. There was no control, no effective coordination among member states. We are divided in fighting COVID19.

___

ROME  Italy registered 30 more deaths of people with coronavirus infections on Friday, with 16 of them in Lombardy, the northern region that continues to still have by far the highest daily tally of new confirmed cases.

According to Health Ministry data, the nation confirmed 259 new cases since Thursday, raising to 239,961 the number of known coronavirus infections since Italys outbreak began in late February.

Deaths now total 34,708. Authorities say the number of overall cases and deaths is certainly higher, since many without serious symptoms didnt get tested, and many died in nursing homes without being tested.

Meanwhile, Premier Guiseppe Conte said Italys classrooms will be receiving students starting on Sept. 14, more than six months after the governments efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 shuttered schools, forcing millions of students to have lessons remotely.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, an honest look at President Biden's press conference.

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Linkedin Valerie Volcovici (Reuters) Washington, United States  Fri, June 26, 2020 08:50 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661c229d 2 World US,Columbia,oil-companies,climate-change,consumerright,consumer-protection,Oil-and-gas-production,oil-and-gas-industry Free

The attorney general for the District of Columbia on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp, BP Plc, Chevron Corp, and Royal Dutch Shell Plc for "systematically and intentionally misleading" consumers about the role their products play in causing climate change, the latest action by a US attorney general against the oil and gas industry.

The lawsuit brought by Attorney General Karl Racine comes a day after Minnesota AG Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against the American Petroleum Institute, Exxon Mobil and Koch Industries for violating state laws barring consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices and false advertising.

"The defendants violated the Districts consumer protection law by concealing the fact that using fossil fuels threatens the health of District residents and the environment," Racine said in a statement.

The intent of the legal action is to "end these disinformation campaigns and to hold these companies accountable for their deceptive practices, he said.

Casey Norton, a spokesman for Exxon, said the lawsuit is part of a "coordinated, politically motivated" campaign against energy companies.

"The claims are baseless and without merit. We look forward to defending the company in court," he said.

Sean Comey, a spokesman for Chevron echoed claims about the merit of the case and said the litigation "distracts" from its efforts to address climate change.

Anna Arata, a spokeswoman for Shell, said in a statement that "were committed to playing our part" with regards to addressing climate change and that lawsuits "impede the collaboration needed for meaningful change." Shell set goal this year of achieving "net-zero" emissions by 2050.

Racine told reporters on Thursday that his office only learned of Minnesota's lawsuit when it was filed yesterday and had been preparing this long before.

Minnesota and DC's lawsuits are the latest in a string of legal challenges by states, cities, and citizen groups targeting fossil fuel companies over their role in global warming.

Counterparts in California, New York and Massachusetts also filed lawsuits against oil majors but the Minnesota and DC lawsuits focus on consumer protection.

Racine said the named companies "sought to create a false picture" about the environmental harm that fossil fuels cause, even as they "pivot their marketing efforts" to portray their products as clean.
India insisted on 'complete disengagement' in all its talks with China on eastern Ladakh row: Govt

We will continue to deal with Chinese PLA in firm, resolute manner: Army chief

Importance of the Darbuk Shyok DBO road in the fight against China

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 26: India on Thursday made a strong statement conveying that all steps that had been taken to better the bilateral relations with China in the past three decades would be lost if the People's Liberation Army does not disengage and de-escalate tensions along the Line of Actual Control.

India says that it is quite capable of handling the military to military posture on the LAC, but the economic relationship would be lost if there is no de-escalation.

The situation remains tense although there has not been any flare up in the border areas since the violent brawl that took place on June 15. However the PLA continues to take an aggressive stand and has enhanced its troops with artillery and military support.

The Chinese, according to sources are in a battle ready situation at Hotan, Korla, For Gunsa and Kashgar, the source also told OneIndia.

Also Read:

However the Indian side too has upped the ante and has near the Karakoram pass deployed T-90 tanks, America M-777 155 mm howitzers and Russian BMP amphibious infantry fighting vehicles. India is also aided by the fact that the Darbuk Shyok DBO road has been completed.

This would mean that the PLA would suffer casualties India has deployed weaponry at the highest DBO post and all advance landing grounds.

Total lockdown in Guwahati for 14 days from Sunday after spurt in cases | Oneindia News

Meanwhile the Indian Air Force carried out sorties in Leh. Air activity has gone up in the region following the stand off with China along the Line of Actual Control.

It may be recalled that earlier this week, India had added Apache helicopters, Sukhoi fighters and tanks. The three divisions formed an arc and top sources said that India was in a position to respond to the Chinese.

The Indian positions at Galwan, Hot Springs, Koyul, Fukche, Murgo, Depsong and Demchok face threats from the Chinese and hence the deployment had been enhanced.

Meanwhile the Indian agencies have sounded a high alert after it was noticed that China had deployed additional fighter jets, attack choppers and bombers at Hotan, Ngyari and Shigatse.

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Story first published: Friday, June 26, 2020, 16:51 [IST]
In some cases, it makes sense to drop full coverage and lower the insurance costs, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.

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JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his government and the United Arab Emirates will soon announce a partnership in the fight against the coronavirus.

The deal, which the UAE later said involved two private companies, comes despite recent warnings from UAE officials that Israels planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank would harm its efforts to improve relations with Arab states.

In a speech to graduating Israeli fighter pilots, Netanyahu said an announcement was expected in a few moments and came after months of intense contacts.

This collaboration will be in the fields of research and development, technology, in areas that will improve the confidence in health throughout the region, he said.

The Emirates state-run WAM news agency later published an item acknowledging two private firms signed a deal with two Israeli companies to develop research and technology to fight COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. The announcement did not name the firms.

As a result of the pandemics spread worldwide, it is imperative to place the protection of humanity at the forefront of global action to overcome this unprecedented crisis, WAM said.

Its unclear what that research will involve. The UAE has been working closely with China on the virus.

Israel and the UAE, home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, do not have formal diplomatic relations, but they are believed to maintain close behind-the-scenes contacts because of their shared concerns about Iran.

Earlier this month, the UAEs ambassador to the United States published an op-ed in an Israeli newspaper confirming that ties had improved but warning Israel that proceeding with annexation would upend any efforts to normalize relations with Arab states.

Annexation will certainly and immediately upend Israeli aspirations for improved security, economic and cultural ties with the Arab world and with UAE, Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba wrote.

However, last week, another leading UAE official said it was open to co-operating with Israel on efforts to combat the coronavirus and other humanitarian issues despite the political disagreement over annexation.

Can I have a political disagreement with Israel but at the same time try and bridge other areas of the relationship? I think I can, Anwar Gargash, the UAEs minister of state for foreign affairs, said in an interview with the American Jewish Committee advocacy group.

Last month, the UAE sent a cargo plane to Israel loaded with coronavirus-related aid it said was destined for the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority said it could not receive the aid because there had been no prior co-ordination.

Netanyahu has vowed to annex all of Israels far-flung settlements and the strategic Jordan Valley, which together amount to around 30% of the occupied West Bank. President Donald Trumps Middle East plan endorsed the move, which has been rejected by the Palestinians and much of the international community.

Israel could begin the annexation process as soon as July 1, but the Trump administration may apply the brakes in an effort to revive peace negotiations. The UAE is a close and influential U.S. military ally.

Opponents of annexation say it would make it virtually impossible to create a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, territories seized by Israel in the 1967 war. A two-state solution is still widely seen as the only way of resolving the conflict.

Netanyahu has boasted of quietly improving ties with Arab states, but full normalization still appears unlikely without a resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians.

Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab countries to have made peace with Israel. Jordan, another close U.S. ally, is staunchly opposed to any annexation, saying it would cause a massive conflict.

___

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
On the highest hill overlooking Madagascar's capital Antananarivo, on the site of a sacred pool and within the grounds of a royal palace, an uncanny piece of architecture is rising -- a concrete Roman-style amphitheatre.

The scheme is a pet project of President Andry Rajoelina, who claims it will showcase the Indian Ocean island's history and culture.

But the scheme is sowing discord across the country, with critics deriding it as Rajoelina's "Colosseum" and destructive of the country's heritage.

Few paid attention when the plans for the edifice were revealed over a year ago, with the goal of inaugurating it in time for Madagascar's 60th anniversary of independence from France in 2020.

Back then, Culture Minister Lalatiana Rakotondrazafy described the amphitheatre as a venue to "re-enact the history of our country in an educational, popular and cultural manner."

But eyebrows began to be raised as "Masoandro" -- "Sun" in the Malagasy language -- began to take shape.

Among the first to take aim were descendants of the sovereigns who occupied the Rova palace, a historic site which dates to the 17th century.

"We thought it would only involve simple ornamentation," said Christian Raoelina, grandson of the brother of Queen Ranavalona III, who in the late 19th century was Madagascar's last monarch.

"Our surprise when we saw the height of the building was all the greater," he said.

"We had not understood that the construction would bring major changes to the palace's landscape."

A charity association, the Friends of Madagascar Heritage (APM), was also startled by the Ancient Roman design.

"It seems evident that aside from its incongruity, this structure has nothing to do with the site's original architecture, the history of Madagascar and its culture," APM's president, Desire Razafindrazaka, said.

Razafindrazaka warned the "colosseum" would pose a threat to the royal palace's listing as a UN World Heritage Site.

Safeguard not deform

In a February letter, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) itself deplored the damage to Antananarivo's "exceptional universal value".

Heritage defenders are up in arms about the scheme, which is being built within a royal palace. By RIJASOLO (AFP)

The opposition has also fired verbal volleys, denouncing the "massacre" of a "sacred place" and "historical symbol".

Rajoelina accused his detractors of "bad faith" and brushed aside parallels beween the Masoandro and the huge gladiatorial arena in central Rome.

"The call for tenders was open from August to September last year and published in the most popular newspapers... for a whole week," the president said last month.

Raoelina complained the descendants should have been consulted as "heirs and owners of royal tombs", particularly given the arena was being erected on a "sacred site".

"The role of the state is to safeguard, rehabilitate and maintain the patrimony of the past," said artist Jean Andrianaivo Ravelona.

"Not to deform or trample it with new constructions."

Early this month, the public academy of culture and customs suggested staging national consultations to resolve the issue.

"We need to admit that as things stand, this construction is dividing the nation," its president, Raymond Ranjeva, told AFP.

But Rajoelina briskly shut down the proposal, making clear he would push ahead with his scheme.

"Do we want to restore national pride, yes or no?" asked the president rhetorically.

He defended the cost -- estimated at the equivalent of $1.6 million (1.4 million euros) -- and claimed that, when finished, the amphitheatre would lure thousands of visitors to see the palace.

But hopes that the building would be inaugurated in time for Madagascar's diamond jubilee on Friday have been dashed.
NEW YORK, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney Advertising -- Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is investigating potential claims on behalf of purchasers of Tyson Foods, Inc. ("Tyson" or "the Company") (NYSE: TSN). Investors who purchased Tyson securities are encouraged to obtain additional information and assist the investigation by visiting the firm's site: www.bgandg.com/tsn.

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On June 23, 2020, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker announced the opening of an investigation into meatpacking companies, including Tyson, related to their handling of pork exports and worker safety issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement followed reports that meatpacking companies were exporting a record amount of pork to China, while warning of impending meat shortages and raising prices in the United States. On this news, Tyson's stock price fell $1.72 per share, or 2.81%, to close at $59.44 on June 24, 2020.

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U K holidaymakers will be able to travel to Spain, France and Greece this summer without being forced to quarantine on their return.

From July 6 travel rules will be relaxed and a series of air corridors will be established with a number of countries, the BBC reported, giving Britons the opportunity for a summer holiday abroad.

Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Turkey, Germany and Norway are also expected to feature. The Government will announce the full list next week.

However, it is thought Portugal and Sweden will not be included because of the countries current high rate of coronavirus infections.

The announcement will come as welcome news to travel industry bosses, who criticised the Government earlier this month after a 14-day quarantine period was introduced for anyone returning to the UK.

In a statement to the BBC, travel industry group ABTA described the relaxation of quarantine rules as "encouraging".

"Confirmation of the list of countries is eagerly anticipated by the travel industry, and should encourage customers to book," it said.

The blanket Foreign Office advice against all but essential travel is still a major impediment to travel, however, and we look forward to the government adopting a similar risk-based approach to that advice."

A Government spokesman said: "Our public health measures at the border were put in place to manage the risk of imported cases and help prevent a second wave of the virus, and will continue to support our fight against coronavirus," said a government spokesman.

"Our new risk-assessment system will enable us to carefully open a number of safe travel routes around the world - giving people the opportunity for a summer holiday abroad and boosting the UK economy through tourism and business.

"But we will not hesitate to put on the brakes if any risks re-emerge, and this system will enable us to take swift action to re-introduce self-isolation measures if new outbreaks occur overseas."
After a prolonged silence, fast-food chain Wendy's is reflecting on racial injustice through a statement vowing to push for change.

In a series of tweets Thursday, the company said it has "taken the time to ensure were focused on the best ways to support positive change."



As part of the statement, it said it will talk next week with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which supports Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), predominantly Black institutions and students.

Atlanta police officers were called to a Wendys on June 12 over complaints of a car blocking the drive-thru lane. Officers found Rayshard Brooks asleep in the car.

The officers spoke to Brooks, who was Black, for more than 40 minutes, but things quickly turned violent when they tried to handcuff him, according to body camera video.

An autopsy found Brooks was shot twice in the back. Garrett Rolfe has been charged with felony murder. Rolfe, 27, is white.



Video: Mourners bid farewell to Rayshard Brooks at historic Atlanta church

A second officer, Devin Brosnan, 26, was charged with aggravated assault, accused of stepping on Brooks' shoulder as he lay dying on the pavement. Lawyers for both men said their clients actions were justified.



Rolfe was fired, and Brosnan was placed on desk duty.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
STAMFORD - The Stamford Police Department needs your help.

On Saturday, June 20 at around.4:50 p.m., a suspect broke into a business at 23 Seaview Ave.

On Thursday police photos of the suspect.

Please call the Stamford Police Property Crime Unit @ (203) 977-4407, if you have any information about the incident.

Investigators Felman-Merced and Jagodzinski are investigating the incident.
Texas and Florida closed bars and imposed other measures on Friday to combat a surge in coronavirus cases that has put the brakes on reopening the economies of two of the largest US states. As warnings mounted worldwide over lifting lockdowns too soon, Southeast Asian leaders said the COVID-19 pandemic has swept away years of economic gains, particularly in tourism-driven and export-reliant countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. Britons sweltering in a heat wave were told meanwhile to avoid packed beaches, and a major Australian city faced a surge in infections. Paris's Orly airport reopened on Friday after closing three months ago, but traffic was thin and also briefly disrupted by climate protesters storming a runway. More than 490,000 people worldwide have died from COVID-19 since it emerged in China late last year, and the number of confirmed cases is expected to reach 10 million within the next week. Countries have been balancing the need to reopen economies shattered by coronavirus shutdowns with the need to maintain sufficient safety measures to prevent a feared second wave. In the United States, the country hardest hit by the pandemic, the number of cases hit a single-day record Friday and is rising daily in 16 states, mostly in the south and west. "We are facing a serious problem in certain areas," top US disease expert Anthony Fauci said at the first briefing given by the White House Coronavirus Task Force in two months. The United States is recording more than 30,000 cases a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With nearly 125,000 lives lost overall, it has by far the highest confirmed toll in the world. - 'Corral the spread' - Two of the US states which have been hardest hit -- Texas and Florida -- closed bars on Friday, allowing only take-out and delivery service. Texas was among the most aggressive states in reopening in early June under Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican ally of President Donald Trump, who has faced sharp criticism for his handling of the crisis. But the strategy has backfired and both Texas, the second most populous US state, and Florida, the third, are seeing daily records for the number of new cases. "It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars," Abbott said. "This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread." Restaurants can remain open with 50 percent capacity indoors, and outdoor gatherings of 100 people or more require local government approval. Harris County, which includes Houston, issued a stay-at-home advisory and raised the threat level to "severe," or Level 1. Florida reported a record-breaking 8,942 new cases Friday and slapped the restrictions back on bars. "I think people were naturally just wanting to get back into a normal swing of things," said Governor Ron DeSantis, another Trump ally. In Hanoi, leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) described the toll inflicted by the pandemic. "It has swept away the successes of recent years... threatening the lives of millions of people," Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said. ASEAN General Secretary Lim Jock Hoi warned that the region's economy is expected to contract for the first time in 22 years. - 'Stop it' - The World Health Organization said meanwhile that a global initiative to speed up the development and production of COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments will require more than $30 billion over the next year. So far, $3.4 billion of that had been pledged, the UN health agency said. The announcement came ahead of a major pledging event in Brussels on Saturday in support of the so-called ACT accelerator, launched in April and aimed at pooling international resources to combat the pandemic. Sweden lashed out at the WHO for listing it among at-risk European countries, in a sign of the sensitivities at play as countries try to manage the crisis. The Scandinavian country has made headlines for its high death toll after it opted not to introduce strict lockdowns. "We have an increase in cases because we have begun testing much more in Sweden the past week," said Swedish state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, adding that "all the other parameters" showed the number of serious cases was falling. In Britain, people were urged to abide by social distancing rules after tens of thousands swarmed the seaside resort of Bournemouth during a heat wave. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people were "taking too many liberties with the guidance." Britain has Europe's highest death toll with 43,230. In Brazil, the hardest-hit country in Latin America, President Jair Bolsonaro appealed a court ruling that requires him to wear a face mask in public, calling it "unnecessary." With 55,000 fatalities, Brazil has the second-highest COVID-19 death toll in the world. In Australia, supermarkets imposed limits on purchases of toilet paper following panic buying by people rattled by a surge in cases in Melbourne, the country's second-biggest city. "Stop it, it's ridiculous," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told his compatriots.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 14:43 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661e9044 1 Art & Culture Korean-Cultural-Center-Indonesia,film,Korean-war,Korean-firm,Movie Free

The Korean Cultural Center Indonesia has been airing Korean classic films since Wednesday until June 30 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War that started in 1950.

Freely accessible on its website via YouTube, Red Scarf (1964) is among the films featured in the program and available for streaming for one week starting Wednesday. Helmed by Shin Sang-wook, the flick focuses on the Korean Air Force during the war.

Read also: South Korea, US mark 70th anniversary of Korean War

The program will also air The Marines who never Returned (1963) by Lee Man-hee on July 1 and The Wild Chrysanthemums have been Avoided (1974) on July 8, also for a one-week period each.

According to a statement, the cultural center plans to continue to showcase various Korean films to be enjoyed by Indonesians through collaborations with relevant organizations. (wir/kes)
Simone Wellington was looking forward to spending her birthday afternoon at Bay Beach in Fort Erie  but she was turned away at the entrance Friday by municipal staff because shes from out of town.

When the Toronto resident and two other women got to the gate, they learned a season pass is required to get onto the popular beach along the Lake Erie shore in Crystal Beach.

And passes, they were told, are only being given to people with a Fort Erie address this year.

They said they drove two hours from the big city. After being denied entry, the trio said they were going to follow the advice given them by an on-site town employee that other spots like Crescent and Bernard beaches are open to anyone.

I know the beaches are open, but I didnt know only for local residents. It is disappointing, she said, adding they might head to Nickel Beach in Port Colborne, which also opened to the public Friday without restrictions regarding place of residence.

Bay Beach opened to locals Friday.

Ridgeway residents Alyssa and Scott French, holders of the required passes, were enjoying the weather their with their children around 2 p.m.

In previous summers, the couple would wait until the evening to go to the beach to avoid the thousands of people it often attracts on sunny weekends.

Theyre more comfortable going in the middle of the afternoon, now, with the new rules in place.

I think it will be a welcomed change, not being swarmed by so many other people, said Alyssa, sitting on a blanket about 10 feet from the waters edge.

We get a front row seat to the water, without a fight to get through anybody, she added.

Scott said they skipped going to the busy beach often in 2019 when it reopened after a nearly $3-million overhaul that created new parking options, a playground, pavilion, sidewalks, park area, washrooms and lockers.

After the revamping, it got really busy and we havent really been here so much, he said.

Alyssa said the timing of the beach reopening couldnt have been better, as the kids just wrapped up their final day of doing school from home.

Its a great reward for them after more than three months of adapting to life during the pandemic.

Today is really the first official day of summer, so they couldnt wait to get out here, she said.

There appeared to be about 100 people there mid-afternoon Friday. The beach is open to people with passes from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

To ensure room for physical distancing, beach staff is only allowing a maximum of 2,000 people each day.

On its website, the town lists beach attendance. At 3:30 p.m. it said the site was less than half full.

Passes can be picked up at the Leisureplex, Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to noon.

They are being offered to Fort Erie residents, taxpayers and short-term rental operators with proof of address such as a driver's license, passport, tax bill or any bill that shows the persons name and address, says a news release from the municipality.

Spokeswoman Janine Tessmer said there are about 6,000 season pass holders currently in the community.

By 3:30 p.m. Friday, about 500 people had visited the beach throughout the day, she said.

Asked about people from out of town trying to visit the beach, she said parks and facilities manager Sean Hutton had not heard of any issues.

Kris Dube is a St. Catharines-based reporter for the Welland Tribune. Reach him via email: kris.dube@niagaradailies.com
Not for Distribution to United States Newswire Services or for Dissemination in the United States

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXV:CCE)(FSE:D7H0) (the "Company" or "Commerce") announces that it has completed its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Offering"), as described in its News Release dated May 8, 2020, pursuant to which it has issued an aggregate of 6,686,939 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.18 per Unit for gross proceeds of $1,203,649. Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant is exercisable into one additional Share at a price of $0.24 per Share for a period of five years from the closing date. The Offering was oversubscribed by $203,649.

Company President Chris Grove states "I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the investors who have participated in this oversubscribed financing for Commerce Resources. This capital will be transformative in allowing us to complete top priority programs such as the impurity suppression, ahead of production, of an acid grade fluorspar sample, for delivery to industry as requested. We are very happy that long time shareholders participated so significantly, and we are very happy that new investors who understand that our Ashram REE/ Fluorspar Deposit benefits significantly from having simple mineralogy allowing us to use standard processing to great effect, found this to be an attractive investment too."

The Company paid cash finder's fees of $4,662 and issued 21,700 finder's warrants (each, a "Finder's Warrant") to certain finders in connection with the Offering. The Finder's Warrants have the same terms and conditions as the Warrants.

The aggregate gross proceeds from the sale of the Offering will be used to advance the developments of the Company's Ashram REE Deposit in Quebec and for working capital.

The securities issued under the Offering, and the shares that may be issuable on exercise of the Warrants and the Finder's Warrants, are subject to a statutory hold period expiring four months and one day from the date of closing.

Zimtu Capital Corp., a public company of which David Hodge and Chris Grove, directors and officers of the Company, are directors of, was issued 1,000,000 Units under the Offering which constitutes a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The issuance to the insider is exempt from the valuation requirement of MI 61-101 by virtue of the exemption contained in section 5.5(b) as the Company's shares are not listed on a specified market and from the minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 by virtue of the exemption contained in section 5.7(a) of MI 61-101 in that the fair market value of the consideration of the securities issued to the related parties did not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

None of the securities sold in connection with the Offering will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and no such securities may be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news 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 any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About Commerce Resources Corp.

Commerce Resources Corp. is an exploration and development company with a particular focus on deposits of rare metals and rare earth elements. The Company is focused on the development of its Ashram Rare Earth Element/ Fluorspar Deposit in Quebec and the Upper Fir Tantalum-Niobium Deposit in British Columbia.

For more information, please visit the corporate website at www.commerceresources.com or email info@commerceresources.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP.

"Chris Grove"

Chris Grove

President and Director

Tel: 604.484.2700, Mobile 778.386.7620

Email: cgrove@commerceresources.com

Web: http://www.commerceresources.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Commerce Resources Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/595265/Commerce-Resources-Corp-Announces-Closing-of-Oversubscribed-Private-Placement
(Updates prices) By Shreyashi Sanyal and Susan Mathew June 26 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies and stocks eyed their third straight week of declines as rising coronavirus cases in the region and globally put a question mark over the pace of recovery from the pandemic-fueled slump. The MSCI's index for Latin American stocks tumbled 3.6% for its worst session in two months, while its currencies counterpart fell 1.8%. Over the week, they were down about 4% and 1.5%, respectively. Cases in South America continued to accelerate, with Mexico's health ministry reporting 6,104 new confirmed cases and 736 deaths on Thursday, while the country's Finance Minister Arturo Herrera tested positive for the virus. Brazil remained the second largest COVID-19 hot spot in the world, topped only by the United States, which reported a record daily rise in cases on Thursday. Some month and quarter-end adjustments could also be playing into markets, analysts said. The Brazilian real led declines among regional counterparts, weakening 2.6% against a steady dollar, while the country's main stock index looked to post its biggest drop since late April. In Latin America's biggest economy, the Federal University of Sao Paulo is in talks to test a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Italian researchers. Mexico's peso slipped 1.4% after data showed Mexico's economy posted a record contraction in April, highlighting the devastation caused by lockdowns on economic activity, particularly in manufacturing. The Chilean peso also fell 1%, as the world's biggest copper miner Codelco said it was suspending refinery and foundry operations at its sprawling Chuquicamata division to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. An unabated rise in cases and gloomy economic forecasts have stalled a sharp recovery for Latin American stocks from a meltdown in March, with investors doubtful if current stimulus measures will suffice. Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the global economic crisis due to the coronavirus could ultimately test the fund's $1 trillion in total resources, "but we're not there yet." Next week, investors will be watching for a rate decision from Colombia's central bank, and manufacturing PMIs for June for Mexico and Brazil. A Reuters polls showed Argentina's economic activity, due on Monday, likely plunged 21% in April. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1924 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 998.81 -0.56 MSCI LatAm 1856.84 -3.55 Brazil Bovespa 93611.28 -2.47 Mexico IPC 37499.85 -0.62 Chile IPSA 4012.17 -0.65 Argentina MerVal 40590.31 -3.349 Colombia COLCAP 1118.02 -0.62 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.4627 -2.49 Mexico peso 22.9910 -1.50 Chile peso 819.4 -0.95 Colombia peso 3747 -0.44 Peru sol 3.5277 -0.71 Argentina peso 70.2100 -0.07 (interbank) (Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Tom Brown)
The heightening tension in the East China Sea has prompted Japan to start sea trials of a new missile destroyer meant to blunt ballistic attacks by China.

These destroyers will be eight in all and are the mobile sea-based ballistic defense replacing the shore-based Aegis system. Sending the destroyer is ahead of schedule as China beefs up its naval assets against a larger PLAN, reported in Defense News.

A gross difference in ship numbers of the Japanese navy needs the eight destroyers out to sea, as soon as it can be commissioned. The number of the Chinese navy is concerning, but the Japanese navy still is one of the most modern navies in Asia. In a conflict with China, the Japanese navy will have US Navy assets to back them up

One of the first destroyers of the line Haguro, left the shipyards of Japan Marine United Corporation's shipyard at Isogo, located at Yokohama which south from the Japanese capital. The ships have left for sea trials to test the systems.

Planned for commissioning in 2021 after the sea trials, the length of the destroyer is 170 meters, with 8,200 tons at displacement, and has 96 Mk 41 Vertical Launching System cells that have a varied loadout it can fire. One of its main features is firing missiles to counter Chinese anti-ship ballistic missiles that are meant to knock ships out from a distance, confirmed in Global Defense Corp.

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force will be equipped with these ships of the line, Haguro is the second vessel of the Maya-class destroyers that are equivalent to the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers of the US Navy. The Haguro is the 8th destroyer that can equip the Aegis combat system for air and ballistic missile defense, as a mobile naval missile battery.

Also read: China's Aircraft Carrier Under Construction Disappears From the Shipyard

Suspension of the Aegis Ashore system caused problems with missile defense, but Haguro is the intermediate solution to mitigate the problem. It was planned earlier that the Aegis Ashore system provides missile defenses on the north and south ends of the Honshu island against North Korean ballistic missiles.

Keeping the Maya-class destroyers at sea might be impractical. It is not a real solution for a sustained missile screen to defend Japan from missile attacks. Hence, other solutions are needed. Deployment of the Aegis Ashore missile defense is one of the best bets to achieve this task, but that was suspended, cited in Asia Times.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was reported by National broadcaster NHK that he will be holding a caucus with the country's national security community anytime soon. The objective is to drop the Aegis Ashore and get new bearings on how to secure Japan from ballistic missile attacks.

One of the controversial solutions according to NHK is for upgraded standoff strike capacity to attack and counter-strike against all missile batteries used to attack Japan. This aggressive stance may not prosper with opposition against it. Another is that it will be opposed by the party which Abe has a coalition with, remarked in Japan Times.

Developing the Aegis Ashore missile defense is not cheap, and more concerns that shelved the project. Another is that locals were not happy about the plan and opposed it instead.

For the moment, the Japanese Missile Destroyer is a stopgap to missile defense but is similar or better to the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. They will give the Chinese Navy a run for its money.

Related article: China Thinks US Navy's Three Aircraft Carriers Are Merely for Show, Although It Threatens Them

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Incident comes a day after warning that annexation of parts of occupied West Bank would amount to declaration of war.

The Israeli military says two rockets have been fired from the besieged Gaza Strip towards Israel amid rising tensions as the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to announce its first steps in a controversial plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

Sirens sounded in the Israeli district of Sderot late on Friday, medics said. It was the first reported rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, which is administered by Hamas, since early May

There were no reports of injuries or damage in the area.

It came a day after the armed wing of Hamas warned Israels annexation plans amounted to a declaration of war.





Beginning as soon as July 1, Netanyahus government could begin annexing areas in the occupied West Bank and the strategically important Jordan Valley in line with United States President Donald Trumps plan for the Middle East.

The plan proposes to establish a demilitarised Palestinian state on a patchwork of disjointed parts of the Palestinian territories, not including occupied East Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim as the capital of a state they have long sought.

The proposal has been rejected in its entirety by the Palestinians and widely condemned by the international community.

Mohammad Shtayyeh, prime minister of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA), has called the annexation plans an existential threat and said the Palestinians will respond with their own measures. The PA has already cancelled all agreements with Israel and the US.

Meanwhile, the United Nations and the European Union say the plans threaten the possibility of reaching a peace agreement in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Arab countries have also warned the planned annexation could affect security in the region.

Hamas and Israel have fought three wars in recent years, with the latest in 2014 killing 2,251 Palestinians and 74 people on the Israeli side.
As Pre-Election Crackdown Continues, Lukashenka Accuses Russia, Poland Of Meddling

By RFE/RL's Belarus Service June 25, 2020

MINSK -- President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has accused Russia and Poland of "meddling" in the country's upcoming presidential election as he continues to crack down on potential challengers and the independent media.

In a June 25 Telegram post, Lukashenka, facing the strongest-ever challenge to his leadership as he seeks a sixth term, accused activists of posting "creepy fake" stories on the Internet seeking to discredit him and his family before the elections, scheduled for August 9.

"It is clear that there are puppet masters behind them. They are on both sides of us; they reside in Poland and they throw [dirt] from Russia as well...They use the most modern fake technologies. The meddling into our election, our internal affairs is under way," Lukashenka stated.

The Kremlin rejected Lukashenka's claims while referring to Belarus an ally.

The 65-year-old Lukashenka has come under fire after a potential major challenger, Viktar Babaryka, was arrested on corruption charges on June 18. At the same time, the government has tried to tighten its grip on the media, detaining at least 14 journalists, three of whom were convicted for their coverage of protests against Lukashenka last week.

The latest incident occurred on June 25 when noted online reporter Ihar Losik was detained after police searched his home in Minsk.

'Blogging Is Not A Crime'

Losik, who is also an RFE/RL consultant on new media technologies, is an administrator for the Telegram channel ''Belarus Of Encephalon." The channel, which has more than 167,000 subscribers, has actively covered the protests against Lukashenka in recent weeks.

"We deplore the detention of independent blogger, Belarus Service consultant, and former RFE/RL Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellow Ihar Losik, and the raid on his apartment earlier today by no fewer than nine state agents," acting RFE/RL President Daisy Sindelar said in a statement.

"Blogging is not a crime. We demand that he be released immediately, that any confiscated materials and equipment be returned to him immediately, and that Belarus officials stop persecuting the people who are doing the essential work of keeping the public informed about developments related to the country's forthcoming presidential elections," she added.

Human rights organizations and the U.S. State Department have voiced their concerns over the situation, which has been punctuated by dozens of trials, including around 50 in the capital, Minsk, involving participants of the so-called "chains of solidarity" protests. Most were charged with participating in an "unauthorized event" or "disobeying the police."

Some of those who faced trials were journalists covering protests on June 19-20 in support of potential independent and opposition presidential candidates.

Lukashenka's critics have said his government has shown little tolerance for dissent and independent media, in general.

Lukashenka, who has ruled the country of 9.5 million people since 1994, is currently serving his fifth presidential term, and announced that he will run for office again. Belarus abolished presidential term limits in 2004.

The country has been the target of U.S. and EU sanctions over its poor rights record and lack of fair elections, but Belarus and the West have recently sought to mend ties to reduce Russia's influence in the country.

With reporting by BelTA, TASS, and Interfax

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/lukashenka-accuses -russia-poland-of-meddling-in- election-campaign/30690614.html

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

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In the final weeks of March, after the WHO declared a pandemic and as thousands of patients in New York City hospitals battled COVID-19, Dr. Tali Bogler saw panic in the faces of her pregnant patients.

Expectant parents, already nervous about having a baby, were scared  scared to get sick with the coronavirus, scared to go to hospital, scared about giving birth and parenting in a pandemic.

You could see the worry, this genuine concern and palpable anxiety when it became apparent COVID-19 was going to be an issue in Toronto, said Bogler, chair of family medicine obstetrics at St. Michaels Hospital.

Almost immediately, she and her colleagues knew they had to find a way to ease their patients fears. The small team of physicians and medical students turned to social media and launched an Instagram account  Pandemic Pregnancy Guide  on April 4 to provide free, evidence-based health information to new and expectant parents.

Months later, the account has 9,000 followers and has grown in scope, adding heartwarming birth stories from its followers, tailoring content to reflect emerging COVID-19 knowledge and hosting live classes with a range of experts, from NICU doctors to lactation consultants, financial experts to yoga instructors.

Bogler said the accounts popularity is a sign pregnant patients and new parents crave easy access to trusted experts, especially during turbulent times.

Right away, after our very first post where we introduced ourselves and said what our mission is, the account took off, said Bogler, also a staff physician in the hospitals department of family and community medicine.

We measure our success, not just by our numbers, but what our patients are saying. We get direct messages all the time about how much it means to them, that PPG is their go-to guide during this time of uncertainty.

Bogler believes Pandemic Pregnancy Guide is one of the first Instagram accounts to offer science-based pregnancy advice directly to patients during the pandemic, and said it could be a model for other patient groups, especially as the pandemic has curbed many in-patient appointments.

The small team of physicians, medical students and residents who run the account dont receive hospital funding and have declined sponsorship offers. Experts volunteer their time and advice and PPG has so far not partnered with social media influencers, though the team has been approached.

That PPG is volunteer-driven means patients and parents can trust its content, Bogler said.

As health-care providers, we were clear at the beginning that providing evidence-based information means it needs to be free of influence so its reliable, she said. Were not trying to be like a Mommy Facebook Group (though those are important)  its really more about offering a multidisciplinary, evidence-based platform  and one run by physicians.

Nakita Singh has followed PPG since its first post and has watched the account grow in tandem with her pregnancy.

Just days away from giving birth, the Toronto TV producer said PPG has helped her stay healthy, offering tips on everything from breastfeeding to what to pack for the hospital  all from Instagram, an app that she uses every day.

PPG has also helped Singh, a first-time mom and a patient of Boglers, feel connected during the months of self-isolation. As PPG gathered followers, more and more asked questions and shared their own experiences and perspectives with the group.

Its really helpful to be a part of a community and to know youre not alone in what you are going through.

Singh rarely misses any of PPGs Instagram live classes with experts, especially those focusing on prenatal yoga and mindfulness techniques.

They were really helpful at the beginning, she said. We were in the heat of lockdown, and it was such an anxious time, but so many people could go on that platform and pause for 30 minutes out of their day to focus on their baby and mental health. It was a blessing.

Bogler, along with Dr. Eliane Shore and Dr. Sheila Wijayasinghe, are the physicians who lead PPG. As mothers, they know first hand the difficulties parents can face in the weeks and months before  and after  birth.

Bogler has twin girls, now two-and-a-half, who spent their first month in the NICU at St. Mikes. She said that anxiety-ridden experience was tempered by the empathetic care her family received, especially from neonatologist Dr. Douglas Campbell, head of the hospitals NICU.

He instilled such calm in me; I wanted to offer that to other parents, said Bogler, who invited Campbell to do several interview-style videos for the PPG community, including one that focused on whether people with COVID-19 can safely breastfeed. (Campbell told followers that  so far  evidence suggests you can and the known benefits of breastfeeding currently outweigh risks).

Parents had so many questions about how the virus could impact their baby. I knew he could talk about the evidence and do it in a reassuring way that didnt instill fear and anxiety.

Cheyanne Reed, a third-year medical student at the University of Toronto, has been helping write, edit and monitor PPG content since April. She said the experience has complemented her clinical training, which was put on pause during the pandemic, and has taught her how to answer the kinds of questions facing new and expectant parents.

Its given me skills to help me communicate with patients, said Reed, adding that she and the other medical students involved bring their social media and design skills to the project. Were tech-savvy; Ive seen Instagram evolve and a lot of the information we get and digest is through social media.

Recently, Bogler and her team surveyed PPGs followers about how the account can best support them as their pregnancies and parenting lives progress along with the pandemic. Some 1,600 people responded, and the team will analyze the findings to guide their path forward.

The pandemic isnt ending anytime soon. We need to find out what else our patients need to know.

Singh, who values the range of diverse voices and perspectives showcased by Pandemic Pregnancy Guide, hopes it will continue beyond the pandemic.

It appeals to so many different people  Its very reflective of whats happening in the world, which is what I love about it, Singh says.

It has something there that every woman, every person, can relate to.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (center and on screen) addresses regional leaders during the virtual ASEAN Summit from Hanoi, June 26, 2020.

Updated at 4:07 p.m. ET on 2020-06-26

Southeast Asian leaders on Friday called for maintaining free airspace over the South China Sea in response to reports that Beijing plans to establish an air defense zone as part of its territorial expansion efforts in the contested maritime region.

As they participated in a virtual summit hosted by Vietnam, the heads of government from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations also discussed efforts to restore regional economies ravaged by ripple effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Leaders from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand released statements in addition to an ASEAN vision statement, which spelled out their willingness to work together on COVID-19 recovery efforts.

With regard to the South China Sea, the vision statement said members had agreed to further reaffirm the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and over-flight above the South China Sea.

ASEAN members further stress the importance of non-militarization and self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability, and avoid actions that may further complicate the situation, the joint statement said.

In addition to pursing the peaceful resolution of disputes and recognizing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), members agreed to work to establish an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

In 2002, the Southeast Asian bloc and China agreed on a Declaration of Conduct, a statement of principles on how parties should behave in the South China Sea. But completing a more detailed and binding Code of Conduct has proved much harder.

ADIZ concerns

On Thursday, Philippines Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana spoke out against reports of Chinas plan to establish a so-called Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the skies above the disputed waterway, where Beijing would monitor all aircraft in its claimed territories.

The maritime region is claimed in whole or in part by China, Taiwan and four ASEAN countries  the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Vietnam.

[C]ountries will treat this ADIZ as illegal and violative of international laws. They would continue to use these waters and airspace, and thus would further raise an already heightening tension and could result in mishaps or miscalculations at sea and in the air, Lorenza told Philippine media.

An ADIZ is a zone where all civilian aircraft must identify themselves and announce their location. In such a zone, civilian aircraft are tracked and identified before further entering into a countrys airspace, although an ADIZ does not restrict travel in and out of its limits, nor does it usually apply to military aircraft.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the American Air Force commander in the Pacific said that a Chinese move to claim an ADIZ in the South China Sea could have a negative impact on the ability of nations to fly, sail and operate in a free and open Indo-Pacific wherever international law allows.

It really goes against the rules-based international order, and thats concerning not only for PACAF [Pacific Air Forces] and the United States, but I would say many of the nations in the region, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. told reporters.

Pandemic effects

At Fridays online summit, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the COVID-19 pandemic had added a new layer to the rivalry between the United States and China.

Even as our region struggles to contain COVID-19, alarming incidents in the South China Sea occurred, he said in his ASEAN address. We call on parties to refrain from escalating tensions and abide by responsibilities under international law.

Speaking at the end of the virtual meeting with his counterparts from across the region, the meetings host, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, said ASEAN leaders had agreed to promote peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Disagreements are unavoidable but we also call on the parties to exercise self-restraint and avoid acts that further complicate the situation and to fully observe international law, he said.

Phuc said both China and the United States were important partners to ASEAN and other countries in the world.

We do not want to pick one side over the other, he said. And cooperation for mutual benefit, for a regional peace and for the future, we are willing to do that with all countries including China and the U.S.

Post-pandemic era

Addressing his regional counterparts, Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo said cooperation among ASEAN countries could be a driving force for stability across Southeast Asia in the post-pandemic era.

ASEAN must act as a guardian to prevent our region from becoming an arena of power projection by major countries, Jokowi said.

Phuc said the COVID-19 pandemic was fanning the flames of dormant challenges politically, economically and socially.

The number of coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia, home to about 650 million people, has reached nearly 140,000, with nearly 4,000 deaths, the officials said. Globally, COVID-19 has infected more than 9.6 million and killed more than 490,000 as of Friday, according to disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Social conflicts stemming from social disparities, discrimination and stigma have deteriorated due to the pandemic, further widening the divide within countries, Phuc said.

In such context, countries need to uphold the spirit of solidarity, cooperation and the sense of responsibility towards the international community. The role and mission of major countries, and of multilateral and regional organizations have become more prominent than ever, he said.

In their statement, the ASEAN leaders said they were committed to implementing a comprehensive economic recovery plan to address the adverse impact of the pandemic on peoples livelihood with a view to improving stability and resilience of the regional economy, preserving supply chain connectivity, while staying vigilant of a second wave of infections.

Muhyiddin Yassin, the prime minister of Malaysia, urged his fellow leaders to act swiftly to formulate a COVID-19 recovery plan.

Time is not on our side and regionally, we are fighting for our economic survival, he said.

If we dont protect our regional economy, wider disparity in growth among the ASEAN countries may harm our objective of greater economic integration, he said.

Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Thailands prime minister, proposed three paths for ASEAN to advance in the post-COVID-19 era, according to a statement released by his office.

His first step called for implementing a master plan on connectivity among the 10 nations. He also called for investing in the digital economy and to establish efforts to create immunity from potential future pandemics.

ASEAN must also build its strength on biodiversity by using technology and innovation to produce environmentally friendly high-valued goods and services, Prayuth said.

The Rohingya issue: Malaysia continues to bear the brunt

Malaysias Muhyiddin also called on ASEAN to find a solution for the plight of Rohingya refugees who have fled from violence in Myanmars Rakhine state.

Malaysia, Thailand and other countries in the region have been criticized in recent months for turning away boatloads of Rohingya refugees.

On Thursday, 99 Rohingya arrived in Indonesias Aceh province after fishermen discovered their broken down wooden boat off the coast and brought them to shore. Neighboring Malaysia earlier this month towed in a disabled boat carrying 269 Rohingya.

The countrys defense chief had warned that it would not take in the refugees who were being held at an immigration camp on Langkawi Island, and the government planned to expel them.

Malaysia continues to bear the brunt of this prolonged crisis, which still appears to have no foreseeable end. We can no longer take more as our resources and capacity are already stretched, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, Muhyiddin said in his address to ASEAN members. Yet, Malaysia is unfairly expected to do more to accommodate incoming refugees.

Boats with Rohingya aboard have sailed from Myanmar or southeastern Bangladesh, where more than 1 million refugees from Myanmars Rakhine state are sheltering in camps. While Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a repatriation agreement in November 2017, attempts to send Rohingya back to their home country have failed.

Jason Gutierrez in Manila, Hadi Azmi in Kuala Lumpur and Pimuk Rakkanam in Bangkok contributed to this report.
The ship commander says he won't allow rigging voting results.

More than two dozen crew of the Russian Black Sea naval fleet's Project 22160 large patrol ship Vasily Bykov who voted against the constitutional amendments that would reset the count of Vladimir Putin's presidential terms say their commanders threaten to have them dismissed from service if they don't change their vote.

That's according to opposition's Aleksey Navalny Headquarters in Krasnodar, reports the Karta Narusheniy [Violations Map] interactive project that is accumulating all incoming reports on signs of fraud during the ongoing referendum.

"Twenty-eight of 63 crew members voted against the amendments. The command of the Novorossiysk Naval Base of the Black Sea Fleet of the Navy demanded that the officers change their minds, threatening to dismiss them," the report reads.

Read alsoRussian Constitutional amendments to make Crimea return to Ukraine "impossible"

At the same time, the warship's commander says he will not allow rigging voting results.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Russia is holding a nationwide vote from June 25 to July 1 on proposed changes to the constitution, including an amendment that would allow Putin to seek two more six-year terms as president when his current mandate ends in 2024.

"I do not rule out the possibility of running for office, if this [option] comes up in the constitution. We'll see," Putin was quoted as saying in an interview, Reuters wrote.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine previously warned that it would be illegal for residents of the occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas who had acquired Russian citizenship to vote in a Russian referendum regarding amendments to the Constitution.
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Truth Initiative, the national public health organization behind the proven-effective truth youth smoking, vaping and nicotine prevention campaign, has announced it will pause all truth Facebook and Instagram advertising for the month of July, standing in solidarity with the #StopHateForProfit campaign. This action reflects Truth Initiative's commitment to saving lives by protecting the nation's most vulnerable populations and being agents of change in the fight against social injustice and racism as a public health issue.

"Truth Initiative is proud to join the #StopHateForProfit campaign to disrupt Facebook Inc.'s history of allowing bad actors to use its platforms to do harm. In taking this action, we call on the social media giant to take immediate measures to stop the spread of hate speech, misinformation and dangerous propaganda threatening free and fair elections," said Robin Koval, CEO and President of Truth Initiative. "The actions we take define us. Facebook has an opportunity to create meaningful change by putting social good above profits and to use its massive power to create change for the better. We hope they heed the call and act swiftly."

The #StopHateForProfit campaign, organized by the ADL, NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Common Sense, Free Press and Color of Change, calls on Facebook's advertisers to demand that the social media giant address its long history of allowing racist, violent and verifiably false content to run rampant on its platforms. Truth Initiative stands with #StopHateForProfit in saying Facebook's profits will never be worth promoting hate bigotry, racism, antisemitism and violence.

About Truth Initiative:

Truth Initiative is a national public health organization that is inspiring lives free from smoking, vaping and nicotine and building a culture where all young people reject tobacco. In 2020, we are celebrating 20 years of saving lives and preventing millions of youth from smoking. Our impact has helped drive the teen smoking rate down from 23% in 2000 to an all-time low of 3.7% in 2019. The truth about tobacco and the tobacco industry are at the heart of our proven-effective and nationally recognized truth public education campaign. truth has also recently taken on the youth epidemics of vaping and opioids. Our rigorous scientific research and policy studies, community and youth engagement programs supporting populations at high risk of using tobacco and innovation in tobacco dependence treatment, are also helping to end one of the most critical public health battles of our time. Based in Washington D.C., our organization, formerly known as the American Legacy Foundation, was established and funded through the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. To learn more, visit truthinitiative.org.

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Ebola is a deadly viral haemorrhagic fever that causes high fever, muscle ache, sore throat and weakness. It quickly progresses to diarrhoea, vomiting, internal and external bleeding and eventually death. Death mostly occurs as a result of dehydration of multiple organ failure.The World Health Organization lauded the effort of the medical community and co-operation of people. However, it also states the need for continued vigilance, strong surveillance and support systems to contain potential flare-ups in the months to come.WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "The outbreak took so much from all of us, especially from the people of DRC, but we came out of it with valuable lessons, and valuable tools. The world is now better-equipped to respond to Ebola. A vaccine has been licensed, and effective treatments identified. We should celebrate this moment, but we must resist complacency. Viruses do not take breaks. Ultimately, the best defence against any outbreak is investing in a stronger health system as the foundation for universal health coverage."The victory was achieved with the help of DRC Government, Ministry of Health and support by WHO, who trained thousands of health workers, registered around 250,000 contacts, tested 220,000 samples over a period of 22 months. Apart from this, the team provided people with equal access to advanced therapeutics and vaccinated over 330,000 people with the highly effective rVSV-ZEBOV-GP vaccine.The team was successfully able to contain the virus from spreading across the globe. This achievement also offers a motivation to address other health challenges like measles and COVID-19.Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa said, "During the almost two years we fought the Ebola virus, WHO and partners helped strengthen the capacity of local health authorities to manage outbreaks. The DRC is now better, smarter and faster at responding to Ebola and this is an enduring legacy which is supporting the response to COVID-19 and other outbreaks."The 10th outbreak is said to have been particularly challenging because of the decades of conflict with the eastern borders and its huge geographical span.Though the crisis in Eastern Congo seems to have ended, in north-west Congo the fight against Ebola is still on. The city of Mbandaka has reported several cases and 13 deaths since 1st June, 2020. This has been declared as the 11th outbreak, though the situation is said to be under control.WHO continues to stress the importance of vigilance as new Ebola outbreaks are expected in the future.Source: Medindia
An international medical hub for developing new medial devices across a range of healthcare fields is being opened in Wexford.

i360 Medical, based at Spawell Road, is expanding, bringing up to ten staff, along with surgeons and other medical experts from around the world, to the town later this year to brainstorm and develop new medical devices - which will ultimately be sold on to large medical manufacturing companies.

i360 Medical owner Derek Young said he chose to locate his company in Co Wexford because of the quality of life and reduced costs of operating from here, pointing out that creative minds need to have great leisure options nearby and Wexford has those in spades.

Mr Young invented a key hole surgery device when he was 23, working with an engineer from America and a clinician from Denmark. After seven years the idea was developed into a product which was sold on. This international, collaborative approach has informed his business decisions ever since. 'Over the years once we had one success then lots of other ideas started coming to us. For over ten years I was involved in starting up lots of specific ideas in clinical practise from orthopaedic, cardio, general surgery, urology, women's health. We always took an idea from a napkin and move it right through to a real life product through clinical trials, get regulatory approval, putting that into a start-up and then selling it on to a bigger player.'

He entered the Royal College of Surgeons where he established an innovation group where people came to him with ideas. In 2012 he opened i360 Medical. 'We have an international business. We create eco systems for innovation and work with large hospital systems like NorthWell in New York. We take part in the innovations that come from that. We create a portal so ideas come from doctors, nurses etc and are reviewed and a decision is made which to progress. On average we have 300 ideas a year per system coming to us which is a lot to get through. In essence of those 300 ideas, we whittle them down to five real live projects that make it to the stages of taking into a company, building it up, taking it into human trails and selling it on to a bigger company again.'

Clinicians come to i360 with an idea and in recent times i360 Medical has invested in women's health and orthopaedics start-ups. 'We take that on the same journey. The equity position is different. We work in partnership with the clinician and raise capital and take it through to a start-up, put resources in that start-up and then exit that start-up and then take it through to human trial,'

Having proven itself in the US, the company is now doing the same in Europe, so much so that the European Institute of Innovation Technology (EIT) are looking for i360 to come up with ideas. 'We have around 400 ideas from them. We have become the turnkey operation from taking an idea from the start to getting it to a human being. We have exploded during Covid because a lot of people have seen our model as a very quick, very efficient and very safe way and a fair way to get an idea from start to finish and everybody succeeds out of that in a very transparent and focussed approach. Our time-lines are a lot quicker and costs are a lot less. During Covid everyone is looking for solutions quickly, but also they have to be safe. They are looking at i360 Medical as a way of doing this.'

The company are getting ideas from Orange County, California and New Zealand, Japan, Europe. 'They are looking at us to move these ideas forward.'

i360 has offices in Dublin, New York and Galway and in 2018 they opened an office in Wexford around the time Mr Young and his family relocated to live in Blackwater. 'I see Spawell Road as a greenfield site. We feel we can develop an innovation hub.'

i360 has a whole floor in Block B of Spawell. 'I brought my team before Covid happened and they are doing brainstorming sessions here. After Covid we are looking at bringing at least two of the start ups down here between now and the end of the year and on top of that we are looking to bring in, if the government allows us to do, to bring in surgeons from Europe to have a brainstorming session around cardiology and also in orthopaedics.'

The company is bringing start-ups to Wexford, where teams of four to five will spend up to two years developing ideas until they are ready to be made. 'You are also leveraging other local contractors around that so you're bringing in three or four of those. We plan innovation forums and work with the EIT. It's not just about start-ups, it's about creating an eco system and it's really reaching out to other sources of innovation around the world. We see a lot of ideas that are duplicated and there are elements of the same idea that could be better designed so you might see an idea in Israel and another idea in Ireland and there are elements that are benefit to both we bring those two ideas together as one and that is what we are looking to do in Wexford here now.'

For each start-up there are initially five people working on them, but once the project is advanced the number increases to around ten.

With two start-ups moving to Wexford, this means i360 will have up to 20 additional staff working from its Wexford hub this year or in early 2021. 'They are engineers, marketing, quality and clinical experts. We can do a lot of 3-D printing first so we don't need much space. They work on the start-up from start to finish. What normally happens is that project gets sold and another idea comes out of that start up. Two or three projects emerge out of that, so you are adding more people to the teams because there are other projects spinning out of it.'

Keeping costs down is key; 'We leverage off of the local engineering and logistics firms as we don't need all the equipment all of the time. In essence we subcontract work out to them.'

Mr Young's vision for Co Wexford is to create an eco, innovation hub in Wexford with a global focus. 'One where you can bring clinicians, doctors, IT health people to Wexford to create health brainstorming forums. This will create the awareness of Wexford, in itself, for being a hub for innovation. I have seen this in Florida with Baptist Health with the local economy.'

He said there will be a boost to the local economy. 'These are young surgeons, young engineers, young doctors and they want to experience the expertise. We are bringing all of the expertise into one area, leveraging the local community and making that a central hub in the global stage.'

Once at concept stage, the ideas these young bright minds have developed can be manufactured in Galway or Wexford, depending on the skill sets that are created.

'Wexford can be the real epicentre. These projects are always acquired by the big players and that, in itself, will attract the big multinationals to Co Wexford.'

Most of the acquisitions are done from the US but the manufacturing is done in Ireland. We create idea flow. 'My first job was as a design engineer in Wexal. Why here? You have lovely beaches and lots of places for downtime, which is an important factor of innovation. You need that headspace to do it and I think Wexford has a lot to offer, all those elements that give you a quality of life.'

Proximity to Dublin, a good road system with access to Dublin Airport, cheaper cost of living also factored into his decision to locate his business here. 'If you can remove those elements from people's lives they are going to become much more comfortable about taking risks and in innovation and more creative and more focussed on new things. You need to give people the balance in life to make that happen and remove the stresses.'

He thanked Ed Murphy of Invest Wexford and Wexford County Council CEO Tom Enright for their support so i360 can dovetail within the local community. 'I think the skill-sets are here but they are being deployed to other parts of the country every day. If people we bring in set up base within Wexford it will enhance the local economy.'
This is the moment a former policeman is confronted on his front doorstep by investigators who caught him targeting young girls online.

Phillip Thompson, 63, sent explicit images to paedophile hunters posing as a 13-year-old child, asked whether she was 'good girl' and arranged to meet near a Morrisons supermarket.

He failed to make the meeting but was later ambushed at home in Royton, near Oldham, Greater Manchester and detained in a citizen's arrest which was streamed live on Facebook and subsequently posted on YouTube.

It emerged police had also been investigating him in a similar sting operation via the Kik and IB messaging services.

Thompson who worked for Greater Manchester Police as a detention officer, admitted attempting to entice a child to meet following grooming, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to entice a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to entice a child to watch sexual activity.

He was jailed for three and a half years at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester.

He admitted sending messages to police, but claimed to have thought he was talking to an adult due to the speed at which they were typing.

Prosecutor Colin Buckle said: 'Police officers who were deployed as 13-year-old girl Charlie or 'Charl' logged into the chat room IB, which is an open forum often used for contact between people, on 18 October of last year and presented himself as 'abseiler D'.

'She claimed to be from Dorset and the defendant said he was from Manchester. He asked whether she was 13 and she confirmed she was.

'The language quickly became sexual and he was clear that he would like to meet the girl and asked for pictures. He said he would like to meet her for sex.'

Thompson also asked intimate questions about her body, the prosecutor added, and that the defendant said he wanted her to get to know him and trust him.

When he received a selfie of a young woman with their face covered by the camera, he said 'I love your legs' and told her he wanted to become her boyfriend and lover.

The profile, 'Natalie', was created by paedophile hunter group Justice4Kids, Mr Buckle said.

Phillip Thompson, pictured left and right, was ambushed on his front doorstep by paedophile hunters, after arranging to meet what he thought was a young girl near a supermarket

'He started out by sending her non-explicit pictures and he sent pictures of himself at Land's End. He sent pictures of him with his sister and a picture of a child was sent to him.

'He said 'just don't tell anybody our secret then we can meet as often as we want'. She said 'OK will I get in trouble if I do?' and he said 'no but I would' and said it was illegal when the child asked why.'

Thompson sent her an explicit picture and admitted he liked to touch girls and encouraged her to touch her breasts.

He then arranged to meet on November 24 near a supermarket in Heywood, but when two paedophile hunters went to meet him, they found he had not turned up.

Mr Buckle added: 'The hunters went to his address because he had revealed a lot of information about himself and confronted while they waited for police to arrive and arrest him.

'When interviewed by police he did not deny he sent the messages but said he did not believe he was talking to a child as he didn't think a child could type that quickly.'

In mitigation his lawyer Patrick Williamson said his client had diabetes and used a walking stick, adding: 'These were fairly typical paedophilia offences involving extremely distasteful actions. But the child was fictional and there was no meeting.

'He is an army veteran who served in Northern Ireland between 1974 and 1986 and was since employed by Greater Manchester Police. His wife of 40 years has filed for divorce and his children no longer want anything to do with him.'

Thompson was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Manchester Crown Court, pictured

Sentencing Judge Angela Nield told Thompson: 'It is extremely sad when someone of your good character comes before these courts for the first time for such serious matters.

'You are 63 and have had a good and productive career in which you have served your country on tours of duty and have lost your good name and your relationship with your family.

'But the offences speak for themselves. They are sadly indicative of a world where communication over the internet has become easier and unfortunately children are vulnerable to abuse over the internet.

'The fact these were not real children does not change the intent, there are real 13-year-olds who are accessing the internet who are vulnerable to people like you.'

Thompson was also made the subject of a 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and has to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Civilians in northeastern Syrian village stop another US convoy, force it to return to base

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 25 June 2020 1:03 PM

Another US military convoy has been forced to turn back from an area in Syria's northeastern province of Hasakah after a group of people blocked a road and prevented it from driving through their community.

Syria's official SANA news agency reported that a US convoy of armored vehicles was forced to turn around and head back to the base it came from on Wednesday evening after residents of Khirbet Bunyan village, which lies in the al-Malikiyah district of the province, did not allow it to move and pelted it with stones. No injuries were reported.

A similar incident took place on Monday, when a US convoy was confronted by residents of Faris Kabir village in the same Syrian province as it tried to make its way through the area.

Groups of locals hurled stones at the foreign soldiers, forcing the convoy to "go back to where it came from," according to a report published by SANA at the time.

The presence of US forces in eastern Syria has particularly irked the civilians, and local residents have on several occasions stopped American military convoys entering the region.

Since late October 2019, the United States has been redeploying troops to the oil fields controlled by Kurdish forces in eastern Syria, in a reversal of President Donald Trump's earlier order to withdraw all troops from the Arab country.

The Pentagon claims the move aims to "protect" the fields and facilities from possible attacks by Daesh. That claim came although Trump had earlier suggested that Washington sought economic interests in controlling the oil fields.

Syria, which has not authorized the presence of the US military in its territory, says Washington is "plundering" the country's oil.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 13:36:35|Editor: huaxia

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by Zhang Yongxing

SUVA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- There is great potential in post-pandemic cooperation under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), particularly in public health and e-commerce, a Fijian expert told Xinhua on Friday.

In an interview with Xinhua, Keshmeer Makun, lecturer at the University of the South Pacific (USP), said the COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened, not restrained, the cooperation under the BRI framework, saying that China and the participating countries can extend their cooperation in the fields of public health and e-commerce.

BRI, a reference to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was aimed at building a trade, investment, and infrastructure network that connects Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.

Apart from economic benefits, the BRI has also provided opportunities in health and sanitation cooperation, said Makun.

One way in which health cooperation can be strengthened is by opening up health service trade, he noted, adding that trade in health services could help alleviate the impact of the pandemic by allowing scarce healthcare resources to move to where outbreaks emerge.

He mentioned that China has donated a lot of cash and medical supplies to countries including those in the Pacific region to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, and it also shared with the region its experience and expertise in battling the virus.

Stressing the role of new economic and trade models in epidemic control, Makun said with the shift in behaviors brought by the pandemic, many more people will be willing to do business online rather than in person.

"We know China is being experienced and has expertise in this field. This is absolutely realistic for China to start mainstreaming this idea into the BRI," he said.

Many small developing economies who have joined the BRI have comparative advantage to develop their ICT industry and would require initial expertise and infrastructure to takeoff, Makun said, adding "definitely there is a lot of scope for further cooperation on ICT related projects."

The expert also said that to deepen the BRI cooperation in the Pacific region, China can step up its efforts in working together with the participating countries to fight climate change.

Makun appreciated China's support on the Paris Agreement on climate change and mainstreaming the environment aspect of economic development into the BRI.

He said many countries would be looking forward to working with China and other countries to not only undertake green development and build climate resilience infrastructure, but also help them in adaptation and mitigation of adverse climatic situations.

China's experience and expertise in developing renewable energy is directly related to what the Pacific Island countries could learn and take help from, Makun noted.

China is already assisting the Pacific Island countries in various projects like building sea wall and new grass technology that will prevent soil erosion and provide economic returns, he added.

The COVID-19 pandemic signals the need to keep trade flowing, Makun stressed, adding that that the BRI cooperation will make economic globalization become more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all. Enditem
WASHINGTON - For the first time since the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the Federal Reserve is putting new restrictions on how the country's biggest banks spend capital with an eye toward protecting the financial system from risks to the economy posed by coronavirus pandemic.

The Federal Reserve ordered the country's 34 biggest banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, to suspend their stock buyback programs and to limit dividend payments to shareholders. The banks must also submit new plans for maintaining enough of the they capital needed to survive a downturn.

Most banks are in good shape now, the Fed's Vice Chair Randal Quarles said in a statement. "The banking system remains well capitalized under even the harshest of these downside scenarios-which are very harsh indeed," Quarles said.

However, if there is slower U-shaped recovery or a W-shaped scenario where a brief recovery is followed by a harsh second drop later this year, "several (financial firms) would approach minimum capital levels," according to a Fed statement. The banks reviewed could incur loan losses of $560 billion to $700 billion under some scenarios, the Fed found.

The hopeful outlook was not shared by all Federal Reserve Board members. Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard wrote a separate statement calling on the Fed to block dividend payouts to shareholders during the third quarter, not just limit them.

"I do not support giving the green light for large banks to deplete capital, which raises the risk they will need to tighten credit or rebuild capital during the recovery. This policy fails to learn a key lesson of the financial crisis, and I cannot support it," wrote Brainard, who was appointed by President Obama.

The Fed's decision adds to the already-bleak reality gripping the American economy during the worst recession since the Great Depression.

More than 30 million Americans have claimed unemployment benefits as of last week, and more major companies keep filing for bankruptcy each week. Despite trillions of dollars in government stimulus and unprecedented intervention from the Fed, many say an economic recovery hinges most on more federal assistance and a vaccine or cure to end to the coronavirus pandemic.

This recession marks the first big test of banking industry reforms put in place after the financial crisis. The banking industry has emphasized that it has significantly more capital to weather a downturn and has not stopped lending to corporations or retail investors.

But some regulators have warned that after years of record profits, the banking industry could be hit hard depending on how long this downturn persists.

"If this goes on long enough, it could produce strains in the banking sector. And then the Fed and Congress and Treasury would have to step in to make sure that the banks are sound," Neel Kashkari, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said on "Face the Nation" in April.

The Fed typically conducts a "stress test" to assess whether the largest banks could survive a hypothetical economic crisis without needing a taxpayer bailout or being forced to stop lending. The hypothetical scenario for this year's traditional stress was published in February, just as the coronavirus pandemic and its economic devastation began to take hold.

The Fed quickly realized that the extreme scenario it had dreamed up paled in comparison to the escalating crisis. The typical test looks at how the banks would perform, for example, if unemployment spiked to 10 percent. Now, the official unemployment rate is 13.3 percent, and the real rate is likely 3 percentage points higher.

The Fed then developed a coronavirus-specific test it used to shape its policy on payouts of shareholder dividends.

The Fed's approach has been met with its share of criticism. For example, the traditional test typically include data specific to large banks, with a spotlight on specific banks that need work. But this new test aggregated data comparing how the banking system would fare as a whole.

Three Democratic senators said it was "highly disconcerting" that the test would not include bank-by-bank results. In a Tuesday letter to Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell and Quarles, Sens. Brian Schatz, Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren said "transparency surrounding the results of the tests is a bedrock principle of the stress testing framework."

"This decision could undermine confidence in the banking system," the senators wrote.

The letter also raised concerns about bank capital requirements being tied to the results of the traditional stress test from earlier this year. Not basing those requirements off the coronavirus-specific sensitivity analysis, the senators wrote, could lead to "lower than appropriate" guidelines that don't match the current reality.

Failing to disclose the individual results of each bank could also mask weaker financial institutions from needed scrutiny, said Gregg Gelzinis, a senior policy analyst for the Center for American Progress, who called the decision a "critical weakness."

"This is going to undermine the usefulness of the results," Gelzinis said.

Eight of the country's biggest banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, had already suspended buybacks earlier this year as the economy slowed down due to the coronavirus. But bank CEOs have defended their need to continue dividends.

"From our perspective, our dividend is sound, and we plan on continuing to pay it," Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat told CNBC this week.

Among America's biggest banks, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have paid out the most in dividends to shareholders since 2008, about $80 billion each, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Bank of America and Citigroup paid out about $52 billion and $30 billion, respectively, during that period.

Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf said in April that dividends were important to shareholders: "If they [companies] have ability to pay, it's the right thing to do," he said.

Still, given such extreme uncertainty about the economy's future, advocates say the Fed should be more stringent. Dennis Kelleher, chief executive of Better Markets, which advocates stronger market regulation, said the Fed shouldn't allow any capital distributions by banks for at least a year.

"These aren't just stress tests for Wall Street banks. These are credibility tests for the Fed," Kelleher said.

Some Democrats and advocacy groups have also called on federal regulators to halt regulatory rollbacks launched under the Trump administration, warning that they could weaken banks during a deep economic downturn. Separately on Thursday, the FDIC finalized a rollback of a key post-financial crisis restrictions on risky trading, known as the Volcker rule.

"Trump's financial regulators are not letting the pandemic and the economic catastrophe get in the way of their deregulatory agenda," Kelleher said.

The banking industry had complained for years that the rule was too cumbersome. The changes adopted by the FDIC "will allow banks to further support the economy at this challenging time for the nation," Rob Nichols, president of the American Bankers Association, said in a statement.
Courtesy of Colorado Rising Action Michael Fields, executive director of Colorado Rising Action, speaks at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver.
Mumbais civic body has directed all Mumbai hospitals on Friday to report deaths due to Covid 19 within 48 hours and reconcile earlier fatalities before June 29, a deadline set by the BMC, amid a raging political controversy over alleged under reporting of deaths by the corporation.

The instruction by the BMC came close on the heels of state health minister Rajesh Tope denying any attempt by the state government to hide coronavirus related casualties in the state. He attributed the rise and drop in death figures due to ongoing reconciliation of casualties from past weeks.

We are not hiding any deaths. Sometimes, more death cases are reported on a particular day. It happens due to reconciliation of past deaths. There is no question of hiding death cases, Tope told reporters in Pune on Friday.

Tope was responding to questions by reporters following allegations levelled by the leader of opposition in the state assembly, Devendra Fadnavis, who had yesterday written to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging Covid-19 deaths in Mumbai had been under reported by a 1,000.

Sharpest single day spike of over 5k Covid cases takes Maharashtra past 1.5 lakh mark

As per my information, the death of 1,000 people caused due to Covid-19 in the last three months has not been reported so far. Any death happening due to Covid-19 should be reported within 72 hours. But it is not happening, Fadnavis had alleged. He had made similar allegations in the past following which the death toll in Mahrashtra saw a major revision on June 16.

1,328 additional fatalities apart from the daily death count was added to the states tally that day after a reconciliation of figures done in a review of cases.

For Coronavirus Live Updates

Fadnavis has also asked the state to conduct more tests and expressed an apprehension that Pune was not doing enough on testing. Tope rejected the allegation and said that in comparison with Mumbais 22,000 tests per million population, 15,000 tests per million of the population was being conducted in Pune. Tope said the number of cases in the state was high because of the higher number of tests being carried out.
Shareholders of German flag carrier Deutsche gave the green light to the federal government's 9-billion-euro ($10 billion) stabilization package, the company said.

As many as 98 per cent of shareholders voted to approve the measures at a general meeting on Thursday, Xinhua news agency quoted as saying in a tweet.

Earlier on Thursday, the European Commission's competition officials also approved the rescue package.

The package of loans and various measures was offered via Germany's Economic Stabilization Fund in late May to help the airline weather the crisis.

Before the general meeting of shareholders was held, the package had already been approved by both the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of the company.

In Lufthansa's tweet, CEO Carsten Spohr said that Thursday's decision "ensures outlook for the future".

The tweet also said that the flight schedules of the group's airlines will be further expanded.

Due to the impact of the pandemic, the flag carrier had announced earlier this month that it planned to lay off a total of 22,000 full-time employees and also reduce its fleet by around 100 aircraft.

--IANS

ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Natural News) As Virginia slowly reopens the state after a long period of lockdown, the states Department of Public Health is urging residents to report public gatherings and other related activities that violate Democratic Gov. Ralph Northams coronavirus restrictions.

As of June 23, Virginia has over 58,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 1,645 deaths. In mid-May, Virginia began the long road to finally reopening the state. Northam had a phased plan that allowed some economic activities to resume under each phase. However, many of the restrictions put in place at the beginning of the pandemic were still there.

One of these restrictions was placed on religious institutions such as churches, mosques and synagogues. Under the reopening plan, they will be allowed to hold services if they only operate at no more than 50 percent indoor capacity, and that individuals who attend services practice social distancing regulations by keeping six feet apart from each other when seated.

States website encourages snitching

According to the Washington Free Beacon, Virginias health department website has been updated to include an option that allows people to anonymously report anybody who isnt wearing a face mask or exceeds the emergency limits on building capacity. The form even has a drop-down list that allows users to specify what kind of establishment they are reporting. This list includes religious services, which means that Northam is urging Virginians to snitch on their devout neighbors who want to go to church.

Other establishments in the drop-down list include brick and mortar retail stores, restaurants, wineries or breweries, groceries and convenience stores, grooming services, fitness and exercise establishments and indoor gun ranges. (Related: No protests allowed: Virginia governor Blackface Northam signs bevy of gun control bills while citizens are locked down due to coronavirus.)

These complaints can be made anonymously. said Republican state senator Mark Obenshain. There is nothing to prevent businesses from snitching on competitors, or to prevent the outright fabrication of reports.

Governor of Virginia is now trying to turn us into a society of informers and snitches? Read my full statement here: https://t.co/Vwm5jjUIKw  Mark Obenshain (@MarkObenshain) June 18, 2020

So it appears that the full force and weight of the state government is poised and ready to drop on restaurants, churches and wineries for perceived violations of the Governors orders.

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how people should not be complicit; just because the initial wave has slowed down, doesnt mean the pandemic is over.

Virginia government tough on coronavirus restrictions, but soft on rioters

Obenshain further commented on Northams hypocrisy, as the governor is quick to enforce coronavirus restrictions and penalties for violating said restrictions, while supposedly doing next to nothing to protect the state against the engineered riots occurring in the state.

This seems to be a pattern when it comes to Virginias responses to both the coronavirus pandemic and the wave of civil unrest.

In response to the demonstrations occurring across Virginia, all the Department of Health did to protect its citizens from the coronavirus was to talk about how they were concerned about the health of the people participating in the rioting.

Instead of advising demonstrators to avoid joining large crowds, which can spread the coronavirus more easily, they are instead advising them to wear masks, wash their hands and practice social distancing.

Virginia State Health Commissioner Norm Oliver said that the Virginia Department of Health supports the right to protest, but that people who have underlying health conditions, as well as flu-like symptoms such as fever and cough, to stay at home and to get tested.

The pandemic is far from over. Stay on top of it by reading the articles at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

NPR.org

FreeBeacon.com

WSLS.com
Researchers in China have developed a new kind of construction material that could be used to build a base on the moon using materials found on its surface.

Developed by a team from Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry in Urumqi, China, the new approach to space construction could save trillions of dollars in transportation costs for bulky construction materials from Earth.

The team demonstrated that moon dust could be repeatedly melted at high temperatures to create an incredibly durable fiber that could be used to construct a moon base.

Researchers in China created a new construction material by processing volcanic dust, a substance similar to moon dust, which could be used to construct a new lunar base

Based on preliminary testing the resulting fibers would provide 1.4 gigapascals of tensile strength, or around 22 times the strength of standard commercial concrete.

Lead researcher Peng-Cheng Ma estimates it would be strong enough to survive the blast impact of a small meteorite.

Current estimates for transporting one pound of construction material to the moon range between $23,000 and $41,000 according to a report in the South China Morning News.

One NASA proposal for a moon base estimated around 12,000 tons of material would be required, which would cost more than $1 trillion to transport from Earth.

To test their idea for an alternative construction material, the team used volcanic dust from an active volcano in the Changbai Mountains, near the Chinese border with North Korea.

A current NASA proposal to build a moon base would require 12,000 tons of construction material, which would cost more than $1trillion to transport from Earth.

The dust had a similar chemical makeup to moon dust samples brought back to Earth by NASA, comprised of around 48% silicon dioxide and 17% aluminum oxide.

The team heated this dust to a temperature of 2,372 degrees Fahrenheit, then created glass by rapidly cooling the molten substance.

That glass is then pulverized and reheated at a slightly higher temperature, and then processed in a machine that spins the molten substance into a continuous fiber material.

To generate temperatures that high on the moon, the researchers have designed a large mirror apparatus that reflects sunlight into a 'collector,' though the current design is still a work in progress that reaches around 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit.

Earlier this year, researchers in Spain tested a method for creating concrete using a mix of lunar soil and urea extracted from astronaut urine.

That material would have a tensile strength of just 32 megapascals of pressure.
A Lufthansa flight attendant wears a mouth guard with the slogan 'Yes to the rescue package' at a demo in front of Lufthansa headquarters at Frankfurt Airport, Germany on 25 June. Photo: Arne Dedert/picture alliance via Getty Images

After many weeks of negotiations, shareholders in German flag carrier Lufthansa (LHA.DE) have agreed at an extraordinary general meeting to the conditions of a 9bn (8.1bn, $10.08bn) government bailout, that includes Berlin taking a 20% stake in the airline and getting two seats on the supervisory board.

The airline had almost run out of runway, burning through 1m in cash reserves an hour trying to stay alive. Like its international rivals, Lufthansa was forced to ground most of its fleet for several months as the coronavirus pandemic spread to Europe and across the world.

Berlin will pay 300m for its shares. The rest of the package comprises 5.7bn as a silent capital contribution and 3bn as a loan from state-owned development bank KfW.

"We have no more money," Lufthansa management told shareholders in the online meeting on Thursday. "We will also have to implement painful personnel measures.

Chief executive Carsten Spohr described the bailout as "without a doubt a historic moment for our company."

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Qantas axes 6,000 staff in 'very painful' cutbacks

Ryanair chief executive Michael OLeary had said in a statement in May that he will appeal at EU level against this latest example of illegal state aid to Lufthansa, which will massively distort competition.

"There is a good offer on the table, Lufthansa shareholders should accept it," federal finance minister Olaf Scholz had said on Thursday before the vote.

Lufthansa has been privatised since 1997 when it sold the last state-owned shares. Now, 23 years on, the government has stepped back in.

On 3 June, the airline reported first quarter net losses of 2.1bn, as lockdowns brought the global aviation industry to a standstill.

The deal appeared to be in danger of collapsing this week, after German billionaire Heinz Hermann Thiele, one of the countrys richest men, voiced strong opposition to the government getting such a large stake, and so cheaply, in the airline.

Story continues

Thiele, the majority stakeholder in Knorr-Bremse, also recently sold off shares in the brakes company to the value of 750m, causing speculation that he would use it to increase his investment in the German flag carrier. He also has enough Lufthansa shares to have stopped the share sale at todays meeting, due to a reduced amount of shareholders registered to participate.

In the final hours ahead of the shareholders meeting, Thiele did an about-face, telling the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Wednesday evening that he would back the deal after all, as he did not want to be seen as having helped drive Lufthansa into bankruptcy.

Shortly before the AGM on Thursday, Lufthansa and cabin crew union UFO agreed on a package for staff that will protect them from being made redundant for four years, and a raft of other measures.

"With the crisis package that has now been decided, the company can avoid layoffs for the 22,000 cabin employees of Deutsche Lufthansa AG for the period of the crisis," Lufthansa said in a statement.

READ MORE: EasyJet raises 419m in battle to survive coronavirus crisis

European Union regulators also signed off on the airlines 6bn recapitalisation plan on Thursday, on the condition that there will be a ban on dividends, share buybacks and acquisitions until it has paid back its state aid.

Lufthansa already agreed with the EU Commissions demands that it relinquish some landing slots at its hub airports of Frankfurt and Munich to competitor airlines.

In May, the EU approved a 7bn French state bailout for Air France-KLM (AF.PA).
In a new study, Covid-19s Impact on SVOD, the analyst surveyed a nationally representative sample of more than 4,000 US adults in March, April and May 2020 and found surge in users of services during the stay-at-home period was not always sustained once people were allowed to move around more freely.The study revealed that 42% of respondents had used Netflix in May, compared with 50% in April and 47% in March. User numbers of other services, including Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Disney+, followed a similar pandemic peak pattern. By contrast, Apple TV+ and CBS All Access user number of users of both rose in both April and May.Discussing underlying trends revealed in the study, Strategy Analytics said that it was somewhat ironically, Netflix may have suffered through being the most popular SVOD service, as it appeared to have attracted many new but ultimately temporary users during the pandemic.Strategy Analytics director of TV and media strategies and Covid-19s Impact on SVOD report author Michael Goodman said that the SVOD leaders next quarterly results would be watched with interest in case its strong Q1 performance is not sustained into Q2. We still believe that Netflix numbers will exceed expectations overall during 2020, but now that the pandemic impact is waning, the company will face more traditional challenges associated with customer retention, win-back and targeting the right content to appropriate interests and demographics, he remarked.Added David Mercer, VP, Media and Intelligent Home: Its not surprising that there was a spike in demand for video services as many people were stuck at home for several weeks. SVOD services have benefited to varying degrees, and they must all now focus on retaining customers who have joined recently as well as ensuring that their content development strategies are on track. This will prove challenging for many players, given the continuing crisis in video production as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.
Japans National Security Council has endorsed plans to cancel the deployment of two costly land-based US missile defence systems aimed at bolstering the countrys capability against threats from North Korea, the countrys defence minister said on Thursday.

Defence minister Taro Kono said the country will now revise its missile defence programme and scale up its entire defence posture.

The council made its decision on Wednesday, and now the government will need to enter negotiations with the US about what to do with payments and the purchase contract already made for the Aegis Ashore systems.

Mr Kono announced the plan to scrap the systems earlier this month after it was found that the safety of one of the two planned host communities could not be ensured without a hardware redesign that would be too time-consuming and costly.

We couldnt move forward with this project, but still there are threats from North Korea, Mr Kono said at a news conference on Thursday.

Japan will discuss ways to better protect the country and the people from the norths missiles and other threats, he said.

The Japanese government in 2017 approved adding the two Aegis Ashore systems to enhance the countrys current defences consisting of Aegis-equipped destroyers at sea and Patriot missiles on land.

Defence officials have said the two Aegis Ashore units could cover Japan entirely from one station at Yamaguchi in the south and another at Akita in the north.

The plan to deploy the two systems already had faced a series of setbacks, including questions about the selection of one of the sites, repeated cost estimate hikes that climbed to 450bn yen (3.3bn) for their 30-year operation and maintenance, and safety concerns that led to local opposition.

Mr Kono said Japan has signed a contract worth nearly half the total cost and paid part of it to the US. He said Japan is trying to get the most out of what it has already paid, though he did not elaborate.

Prime minister Shinzo Abe, who has steadily pushed to step up Japans defence capability, said last week that in light of the scrapping the government would need to reconsider Japans missile defence programme and do more under the countrys security alliance with the US.

Mr Abe said the government would consider the possibility of acquiring preemptive strike capability, a controversial plan that critics say would violate Japans war-renouncing constitution.

Mr Kono on Thursday also raised concern about Chinas increasingly assertive activity in regional seas and skies. He said Chinese coast guard vessels are repeatedly in and out of Japanese waters around disputed East China Sea islands, and a Chinese submarine recently passed just off Japans southern coast.

China is trying to change the status quo unilaterally in East China Sea, South China Sea and with Indian border and Hong Kong as well, Mr Kono said. It is easy to make connections about those issues.

AP
[June 26, 2020] SecurityScorecard Adds Industry-Leading Advisors to Continue Rapid Growth Trajectory

NEW YORK, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SecurityScorecard , the global leader in security ratings, today announced the addition of three key advisors: Deven Sharma, former CEO of S&P Global; Marshall Lux, an esteemed financial services consultant and senior advisor for the Boston Consulting Group; and Grant Geyer, CPO at Claroty & former SVP of products at RSA Security. They will help accelerate widespread adoption of the SecurityScorecard platform and products with a focus on highly regulated industries. "We are thrilled to welcome Deven Sharma, Marshall Lux, and Grant Geyer as advisors; they are each extremely experienced and understand the ways we need to continue growing at scale on a global level," said Aleksandr Yampolskiy, CEO and co-founder at SecurityScorecard. "They are truly aligned with our mission of making the world a safer place and we welcome their expertise and advice to help continue our momentum." Deven Sharma is an accomplished business leader in data, information, analytics, and technology-enabled service businesses. He served as the president of Standard & Poor's, head of global strategy and M&A at The McGraw-Hill Companies, partner at Booz Allen Hamilton, and was also the chairman of S&P US & Europe Board. Deven invests in and incubates next-generation-information enabled companies. He also serves as the chair of Roc360, a real-estate-focused fintech company, and is on the board of Sphera, an EHS risk and compliance SaaS company. Deven also founded InfleXon, an advisory firm focused on risk governance, globalization, and innovation in information- and analytics-technology-enabled service markets. He serves as a Fellow of Connection Science at the MIT Media Lab and holds a doctorate from Ohio State University. "I truly believe SecurityScorecard's Ratings will soon become a pervasive referential benchmark, much like the index and ratings are in the financial markets," said Deven Sharma. "Security ratings offer an invaluable benchmark for numerous industries where they can have a birds-eye view of their cyber posture and I look forward to being a part of making the worl a safer place."



Marshall Lux has been a financial services consultant and practitioner for 30 years, holding executive positions at top consulting firms McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the latter where he helped build their private equity practice and continues to be an active senior advisor. He was also the chief risk officer for Chase, where he oversaw all consumer products globally. He sits on several private equity boards and advises companies ranging from consumer credit, wealth, insurance, and cybersecurity. He is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a senior advisor to the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation and a senior fellow to the Program on International Financial Systems, both at Harvard Law School. Lux attended Princeton University as an undergraduate and attended Harvard Business School where he was a Baker and Ford Scholar. "Becoming an advisor for SecurityScorecard was an easy decision to make. I believe in not only its innovation and market dominance, but also the leadership  they are committed to ensuring that financial services have a holistic view of their cyber risk environment, a cause that I wholeheartedly align with," said Marshall Lux. "I look forward to ensuring that SecurityScorecard becomes the key benchmark tool for understanding an organization's true cybersecurity risk."

Grant Geyer is currently the chief product officer at Claroty. Geyer is a veteran of RSA Security where he was the SVP of products, as well as Symantec Corporation, where he led the managed security services and threat intelligence businesses. Geyer was also part of the executive team of Riptech, a startup that was acquired for $145m by Symantec. He holds a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point. "As a longtime cybersecurity expert, I am excited to join as an advisor to SecurityScorecard, which has revolutionized how enterprises understand their own cyber posture and that of their vendors," said Grant Geyer. "SecurityScorecard is well-positioned to not only succeed, but accelerate its growth and ensure widespread adoption of security ratings across every vertical." SecurityScorecard is the global industry leader as the only security ratings platform that rates over 1.4 million companies. Supporting more than 1,000 customers, SecurityScorecard collects and analyzes global threat signals that allows organizations to have instant visibility into the security posture of vendors and business partners as well as the capability to do a self-assessment of their own security posture. The technology continuously monitors 10 groups of risk factors to instantly deliver an easy-to-understand A-F rating. About SecurityScorecard

SecurityScorecard is the global leader in cybersecurity ratings and the only service with over a million companies continuously rated. Founded in 2013 by security and risk experts Dr. Aleksandr Yampolskiy and Sam Kassoumeh, SecurityScorecard's patented rating technology is used by over 1,000 organizations for enterprise cyber risk management, third-party risk management, board reporting and cyber insurance underwriting. SecurityScorecard continues to make the world a safer place by transforming the way companies understand, improve and communicate cybersecurity risk to their boards, employees and vendors. Every company has the universal right to their trusted and transparent Instant SecurityScorecard rating. For more information, visit securityscorecard.com or connect with us on LinkedIn. Media Contact:

Fehmida Bholat

SecurityScorecard

310-880-0750

[email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/securityscorecard-adds-industry-leading-advisors-to-continue-rapid-growth-trajectory-301084003.html SOURCE SecurityScorecard

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The ninth court hearing in the MH17 trial has started at the Schiphol Judicial Complex in the Netherlands at 10:00 local time, an Ukrinform correspondent in The Hague reports.

Judges, prosecutors, lawyers, relatives of the victims, and journalists are present in the courtroom. Everyone observes mandatory social distancing rules due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Today, Dutch prosecutors have to answer the questions and inquiries filed by lawyers of suspect Pulatov - Lieutenant Colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces - who expressed a desire to join the trial. His interests are represented by lawyers Sabine Ten Doesschate and Boudewijn van Eijck from the Sjocrona Van Stigt law firm.

As reported, the lawyers of Oleg Pulatov insist that the investigation is not completed. The defense also stated that it could not be ruled out that MH17 "could have been shot down by the Ukrainian military."

Pulatovs lawyers also stated that the investigation ignored the opinion of Russian experts, including representatives of the Russian concern "Almaz-Antey". They demanded that about 100 witnesses and experts be questioned and said they saw the need for further investigation.

On June 8, 2020, the second block of court hearings in the MH17 trial began. Prosecutors revealed details of the investigation in the courtroom.

The number of people present in the courtroom is limited due to the coronavirus quarantine restrictions. All court proceedings of the MH17 trial are live streamed.

In March this year, the District Court of The Hague began the consideration of the case of the downing of flight MH17 in the sky over Donbas.

On June 19, 2019, the international Joint Investigation Team named four suspects believed to be involved in the transportation and combat use of the Buk missile system, from which MH17 flight had been downed. Three of them are Russians: Igor Girkin (Strelkov), former colonel in Russia's FSB intelligence service and former so-called defense minister of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"; Sergey Dubinskiy, general (at the time of downing  colonel) of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and head of the so-called "Main Intelligence Directorate of the Donetsk Peoples Republic"; Oleg Pulatov, lieutenant colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. The fourth suspect is Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian civilian, who fought on the side of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic."

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over conflict-hit Donbas in July 2014. There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board. All of them died. The JIT reported that the plane had been shot down from a Buk missile system that belongs to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Kursk.

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BIG RAPIDS  At its meeting Wednesday, the Big Rapids Public Schools Board of Education approved a budget for the 2020-21 school year.

While there are still many unknowns surrounding what cuts to education will be made in the state of Michigan's budget, school districts are required to approve a budget by July 1.

"I hope that what we're approving tonight is just a budget based on projections and we're able to provide the supports our kids need when the fall rolls around," BRPS Superintendent Tim Haist said.

Currently, the district is anticipating to see a proration cut of $700 per-pupil, with an additional $500 per-pupil decrease in the district's foundation allowance for the next school year.

The loss in per-pupil funding would bring the school's fund balance down from 12.61% of the school's budget for the 2019-20 school year to 7.8% in the 2020-21 school year.

According to the Michigan School Business Officials, it is recommended that school districts keep their fund balance at 15-20% of the total budget.

"Prior to our COVID pandemic, we were definitely on track to be very close if not at that 20%," Tina Mills, finance director for the district, said, noting the fund balance for the 2018-19 year was at 18.9%. "With the pandemic and the more than billion dollar shortfall that the state is experiencing, we are expecting a $700 per-pupil proration."

If these cuts are made, the districts fund balance would drop to $1.7 million, or 7.8% of the general fund expenditures. For the 2018-19 year, the fund balance was just over $3.7 million.

While looking at how the cuts could impact funding for the next school year, board members also discussed ways they could save money.

Although BRPS typically budgets $50-100,000 for capital improvement projects, there will be no room in the 2020-21 budget for these types of expenditures.

"Some of our capital outlay, capital improvement projects, that we typically have in our general fund budget, we've tried to reduce that in an attempt to reduce our overall spending with our general fund, not knowing our situation," Haist said. "We're just trying to be conservative right now."

Additionally, the district has absorbed several positions to avoid major layoffs or canceling school programs.

"We are doing our best to not have to make reductions in staff. It's more about trying to absorb the positions we can right now with the unknown, with the goal of maintaining the programs we currently offer," Haist said.

While looking at what they can do right now to save money, BRPS board members also are looking at the potential of receiving more federal funding.

With Michigan Republican lawmakers recently announcing their Return to Learn plan, school districts could receive $800 per pupil for the 2020-21 school year. However, this is just a possibility, Mills said.

"It's federal funding. I imagine a lot of strings would be attached to it, but $800 per pupil would be fantastic," she said.

While the state of Michigan's fiscal year does not begin until Oct. 1, area schools will not know what school funding in the state's budget will look like for a while. Until then, Haist said school officials need to continue advocating for proper student support.

"This current situation is not good for any of our kids," Haist said. "We need to continue to advocate for replacement of revenue for our schools and our kids in order to maintain whole. When we're going through a pandemic like this, our kids need to be supported even better than they've been supported in the past."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 19:22:52|Editor: huaxia

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KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday called on fellow countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for "travel bubbles" to counter the economic slump caused by COVID-19.

In his speech at the 36th ASEAN Summit, held virtually and hosted by chair Vietnam, Muhyiddin said beyond containment efforts, the grouping's leaders need to urgently push for economic recovery.

"The public health crisis has had profound impacts on the economy and rebooting our regional economy must be our utmost priority to mitigate disruptions to trade and strengthen the resilience of our regional supply chains.

"Malaysia feels very strongly that our governments must materialize cohesive plans to quickly implement measures or travel bubbles between green ASEAN member states to shore up investments and create job opportunities for our people," he said.

Muhyiddin added that member states needed to consider opening borders for intra-ASEAN tourism to flourish and deliver a much-needed financial boost to national economies, suggesting sectoral exemptions for medical tourism and high-value economic visits.

Travel bubbles, also called travel bridges or corona corridors, do away with the waiting period for a select group of travelers from certain countries where the COVID-19 has been contained. In a travel bubble a set of countries agree to open their borders to each other, but keep borders to all other countries closed.

Muhyiddin reiterated Malaysia's previous call for a Regional Economic Recovery Plan and said Malaysia will also work towards the conclusion and signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

"We must act swiftly and decisively in coordinating a regional level response in revitalizing our economies. A well-coordinated response will ensure we emerge from this crisis stronger together, much like how we have weathered previous crises," he said.

Founded in 1967, the ASEAN groups 10 member countries, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Enditem
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday that he said will provide long prison sentences to people who tear down or vandalize statues and other historical monuments.

I just had the privilege of signing a very strong Executive Order protecting American Monuments, Memorials and Statues  and combating recent Criminal Violence, Trump announced on Twitter. Long prison terms for these lawless acts against our Great Country.

Anyone who vandalizes or destroys a monument, memorial or statue already can be sentenced to prison for up to 10 years under federal law.

Trump's order calls for violators to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and puts state and local law enforcement agencies on notice that they could lose federal support if they fail to protect such monuments. The order also says the federal government also will ensure personnel are available across the country to help protect memorials, statues and property.

"These monuments memorialize the history we all share as Americans, and they deserve to be defended for future generations," the White House said.

Statue to be moved: Theodore Roosevelt statue to be removed from Natural History museum; Trump calls move 'ridiculous'

Protesters attempt to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square near the White House on June 22, 2020, in Washington, D.C. Protests continue around the country over police brutality, racial injustice and the deaths of African Americans while in police custody.

Trumps order comes as federal statues across the country have been targeted for removal by protesters following the death of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man who was killed when a white police officer penned him to the ground with a knee to his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Earlier this week, protesters tried to topple a statue of former President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park just across the street from the White House. Police intervened before the statue was knocked down.

Statues of other historical figures, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Robert E. Lee and Christopher Columbus, also have been targeted in cities across the country.

The Veterans Memorial Preservation Act, a federal law passed in 2003, already makes it a crime to destroy or attempt to destroy a plaque, monument or statue "commemorating the service" of anyone who served in the armed forces. The law carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Story continues

Four hundred National Guard troops were activated to protect monuments and infrastructure in Washington after the attempts to remove the statue of Jackson, who as president removed Native American tribes in the Southeastern United States from their ancestral lands.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said he had requested the troops and instructed the Department of the Interior to erect a fence around Lafayette Park, which as been the site of large protests since Floyd's death

Trump has condemned the protesters as hoodlums and anarchists.

Theyre tearing down statues, desecrating monuments and purging dissenters, he said during a rally in Phoenix on Tuesday. Its not the behavior of a political movement. Its the behavior of totalitarians and tyrants and people that dont love our country.

Michael Collins covers the White House. Reach him on Twitter @mcollinsNEWS.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Protests: Trump signs order protecting federal statues, monuments
Pa. police are still making arrests after what began as peaceful protests over George Floyds death at the hands of Minneapolis cops eventually became violent and destructive.

The most recent is the arrest of a 20-year-old man wanted for assaulting KDKA-TV cameraman Ian Smith.

KDKA reports the suspect is Jordan Erdos, who was identified through surveillance cameras and wanted by a special Pittsburgh task force in wake of the violent and destructive May 30 melee in the citys downtown.

Erdos now faces charges of aggravated assault, riot, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct.

According to the criminal complaint, Erdos admitted he kicked the cameraman, who has recovered and is back at work, KDKA reports, adding:

Photojournalist Ian Smith was shooting video of a burning police vehicle across from PPG Paints Arena when he says a group of protesters swarmed him, beat him and destroyed his camera.

The complaint also says Erdos admitted to throwing water bottles at police and breaking a storefront window.

Background from KDKA:

Pittsburgh officials say the peaceful George Floyd protests turned violent after they were hijacked.

Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich says a small number of people allegedly damaged 71 businesses, looted goods and left more than a dozen officers hurt.

Now, a Damage Assessment and Accountability Taskforce compromised of state and federal law enforcement agencies is gathering evidence in order to identify this small group of people accused of turning peaceful protests into riots.

Erdoss arrest is the latest result of that ongoing work.

READ MORE:

Pa. womans teacup Yorkie stolen from apartment, found dead in dumpster: My hearts torn up

3-year-old girl found dead in bathtub, malnourished and bruised; 3 adults charged, including 1 on the run

Daughter accused of setting up her 81-year-old dad for brutal robbery: Pa. state cops

3 teens are walking on Pa. railroad bridge when train comes; 1 girl is dead

Husband dead, wife critical after shooting on Pa. street: cops

2 dead in FedEx truck vs. motorcycle crash in Pa.

Accused meth-cooking ringleader, age 70, busted in Pa., along with 6 smurfs

Steelers play-by-play radio broadcaster charged with DUI after crashing into supermarket

Womans body found stuffed in suitcase left on Pa. street

Pa. woman surprises attacker by shooting him in the neck with warning shot: cops

Pa. man paralyzed in fight with McDonalds employees is fighting for his life

2 boys drown in Pa. river, one trying to save the other

Grocery store chain halts sales of Pa. newspaper over George Floyd coverage flap

Pa. township official criticized for comment on Dr. Rachel Levine: Im tired of listening to a guy dressed up like a woman

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[June 26, 2020] Reif Law Group, P.C. Claims That Oppenheimer Waived the Right to Arbitrate Ex-Employee's California Employment Action

Reif Law Group, P.C., California's preeminent boutique trial and litigation law firm for securities and business disputes, filed a motion that a financial advisor's wrongful termination lawsuit argues that the brokerage firm Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. waived the right to compel FINRA arbitration by violating California law and must pay for the financial advisor's attorneys' fees. The motion to waive the arbitration clause, order Oppenheimer to pay attorneys' fees and issue a contempt citation against the firm for "materially breaching" the arbitration agreement claims to be the first of its kind in the courtroom and leverages new California laws that penalize employers who abuse the arbitration rules that they impose on employees. Workplace disputes in the securities industry are commonly pursued in FINRA. However, employment discrimination and harassment claims have been long excluded from forced FINRA arbitration under FINRA Rule 13201. Many brokerage firms contract around Rule 13201 by compelling discrimination and harassment claims into alternative arbitration forums. Absent an arbitration clause, workplace claims may be pursued in civil court. Many battles have waged over what constitutes waiver of an arbitration clause. Thanks to new California laws, effective January 2, 2020, the California Legislature has brought an end to the uncertainty of what constitutes waiver of an arbitration clause. "The new California laws are among the most progressive in the nation and are the ultimate equalizer for forcing brokerage firms to honor their arbitration agreements or risk facing a jury trial and massive sanctions," said Brandon S. Reif, Managing Partner at Reif Law Group, P.C. and lawyer to Cort J. Barrett, the ex-employee financial advisor in the case against Oppenheimer. In the case Cort J. Barrett, et al v. Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. and Kevin F. Friedman (Los Angeles Sup. Ct. Case No. 208MCP0019), when Barrett filed a Los Angeles civil action against Oppeheimer and branch manager Kevin F. Friedman, seeking millions in damages for invasion of privacy, discrimination and retaliation claims, Oppenheimer demanded that Barrett take his dispute to FINRA arbitration. Barrett declined and was fired for what he claims were retaliatory reasons. Barrett refiled his case in JAMS arbitration according to the Oppenheimer employment agreement's arbitration clause.



But Oppenheimer refused to pay the $1,350 JAMS administrative fee and, according to the motion, misrepresented the terms of its arbitration agreement hoping to force Barrett into FINRA arbitration. California's new laws provide new guidance in Barrett's favor. California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1281.97 states that the "drafting party" of an employment (or consumer) arbitration agreement that fails to pay arbitration fees and costs "within 30 days after the due date" has waived the right to compel arbitration in any arbitration forum. The employee has the election to proceed in civil court or to remain in arbitration. The employer must "pay reasonable attorney's fees and costs related to the arbitration" including the employee's legal tab fighting over the arbitration forum.

In addition, Section 1281.99(a) states that the court or arbitrator "shall impose a monetary sanction" on the employer including attorneys' fees and costs incurred by the employee or consumer "as a result of the material breach." Section 1281.99(b) states that the court or arbitrator may impose additional sanctions such prohibiting the employer from taking discovery (an evidentiary sanction), issuing a contempt citation or terminating the case in the employee's favor. In motion papers filed on June 25, 2020, Barrett, through his attorney Brandon S. Reif, argues that Oppenheimer waived the right to compel arbitration by "materially breaching" the arbitration agreement. The motion complains of Oppenheimer's "intentional falsehoods" and "frivolous motions practice" that interfered with JAMS' administration of the arbitration. Barrett asks the court to waive the arbitration clause, order Oppenheimer to pay his attorneys' fees and issue a contempt citation against Oppenheimer for "materially breaching" the arbitration agreement. Reif reflects upon the case and its significance in the securities industry, saying "Arbitration gamesmanship is no longer an option, and I look forward to the day when Oppenheimer's sordid tale of what's wrong with the workplace is unpacked. Brokerage firms, and all employers, with offices in California must pay attention to these new laws. Employers tooling around over the arbitration forum potentially face mandatory arbitration waiver and attorney fee motions for non-compliance." About Reif Law Group, P.C Reif Law Group, P.C. is California's preeminent boutique trial and litigation law firm for securities and business disputes. The firm prosecutes and defends court and arbitration actions involving securities, investments and real estate; professional liability; shareholder derivative; workplace harassment, discrimination, recruitment and Form U5; and business disruption and restraining order actions involving non-compete, non-solicit and confidentiality clauses. www.reiflawgroup.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200626005084/en/

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?? Esta ayuda se dirige a los mas necesitados en la ciudad de Iquitos y es una contribucion de los Emiratos Arabes Unidos para fortalecer la capacidad del sector de la salud de Peru https://t.co/UFJXZ2P0E0



Video: Embajada de Emiratos Arabes Unidos en Peru pic.twitter.com/RuJguaifvj
New Delhi, June 26 : The fear of contracting coronavirus at a time when cases have mounted to half a million in India has magnified due to the social stigma attached to this disease. As cases in the national capital skyrocket, so has the discrimination and harassment of those who have been infected by the virus.

From frontline healthcare workers, crew members in the airline industry, to those who have contracted it and are in home isolation, everyone is facing the stigma attached to the disease.

In one such incident, a 32-year-old man living alone in a one-room apartment in Phase 1, Pocket 2 of Delhi's Mayur Vihar locality became the victim of people's apathy.

The man tested positive on June 20 and to seek help, told the security guard about his health condition. He asked the guard to help him get groceries till the time he recovered. The word, however, spread like wildfire in the area.

"It initiated an unending cycle of discrimination. The cleaning lady stopped taking out his trash, neighbours, security guards and residential association members refused to help and in-turn passed remarks and chided him," said one of his friends, Kavita Chahal.

His friends then joined hands to extend help and supply groceries to him. "We, sometimes, sit across the hall to give him company at this tough time as he has no one to talk to and due to social stigma, he has been ostracized from society." President of the Resident Welfare Association of the area, M.K. Kak, however, steered away from commenting on the issue despite repeated requests.

Atul Goyal, President of URJA, a consortium of over 2,500 Resident Welfare Associations, said that incidents of such nature should be brought to the notice of the police.

"Coronavirus is not like leprosy. Time and again, we have advised the community leadership to treat people with sympathy," he added.

This is not the first time such an incident has happened in the national capital. People have been facing discrimination since the first day of the lockdown. Many appeals have been made to the government to take strict action against people who discriminate against corona victims.

The Union Health Ministry had recently issued an illustrated guide listing the effects of discrimination to address the stigma associated with coronavirus.

The ministry said this can lead people to conceal symptoms, hesitate in seeking medical care and not make them adhere to interventions like home quarantine.

It can also lead to a feeling of emotional isolation, guilt and anxiety, lack of self-esteem and confidence, ostracization and worsening of pre-existing psychiatric illnesses such as depression.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also emphasized that no stigma should be attached to coronavirus. "I was extremely hurt when I came to know that some people are misbehaving with those who are being advised home quarantine. Increase social distancing but reduce emotional distancing."
E xtra police officers in protective gear have been dispatched to tackle illegal raves planned around London following "appalling scenes" of violence at a street party in south London.

Scotland Yard said it was targeting further unlicensed music events and block parties around the city after 22 officers were injured on the Angell Town estate in Brixton on Wednesday.

The force said officers with specialist public order training had been dispatched on Thursday night to help local police in various boroughs within the capital.

It comes after 22 officers were injured and two were hospitalised as they sought to tackle the violent scenes unfolding in Brixton a night earlier.

Commander Bas Javid, spokesperson said : We remain in a public health crisis and these unlicensed events are illegal. Our role is to keep our communities safe and this evening people can expect to see a heightened police presence out in areas where we know these events are taking place.

The violent confrontations in Brixton (Twitter)

"This is in direct response to concerns expressed by our communities, many of whom were scared and shocked by the events taking place outside their homes.

We have taken the decision to deploy these additional officers in enhanced personal protective equipment. We want to reassure communities that this is as a precautionary measure for the safety of our officers, and they will continue to engage with the communities they police.

These officers are specially trained in public order, and may have teams from the Dog Support Unit with them.

"We cannot accept the levels of violence that were directed towards our officers last night, and the damage caused to public and private property. Our policing response remains under constant review, and our priority is to keep everyone  including our officers - safe.

Police in Brixton on Thursday Nigel Howard) / Nigel Howard

The new measures follow a night in Brixton when officers were confronted by a hostile crowd as they tried to break up a "block party".

Footage of the chaotic scene shows men jumping on a police car and smashing in the windows as officers flee.

The trouble flared at what police are describing as an unlicensed music event which started in the afternoon and ran into the early hours of the morning.

Four people have been arrested for assault and public order offences. They remain in police custody.

Shocking images circulating on social media show officers being chased by men brandishing improvised weapons.

In one video, a man can be heard telling a group of officers to "back up" as he confronts them with what appears to be a sword.

Another clip shows a man chasing away police shouting dont come round here bro ... this is what we do and verbally abusing them.

In another, a woman can be heard saying "yeah" and nice as a topless man and angry mob stomp over the police car.

Rubbish was strewn across the street during the clashes / NIGEL HOWARD 

One witness to the violence in Brixton, who did not want to be named, said: After the police backed up, the group of people then forced the police out of the estate, throwing things at the police, smashed up a police car that they abandoned and then it moved more towards the main road.

In footage posted to social media one person can be seen bleeding from the face following clashes with others present.

London Ambulance Service said one person was rushed to a major trauma centre, while another was taken to hospital.

The violence been condemned by Boris Johnson, Home Secretary Priti Patel and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, as well as Met police bosses.

Rubbish left after the party / Nigel Howard

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: These were appalling scenes. Violence against the police will not be tolerated.

Mr Khan said that large gatherings during the Covid-19 pandemic are deeply irresponsible and risk others lives.

Rubbish left after the party / Nigel Howard

He added: Im in touch with the Met Police about the completely unacceptable events in Brixton overnight. Violence against the police will not be tolerated.

Ms Patel condemned the violence, which came days after a suspected terrorist was tackled to the ground by a police officer in Reading.

She said: These are utterly vile scenes. Just last weekend, the whole country came together to praise our heroic police officers for putting their own lives on the line to keep us safe.

Ill be picking up with the Met Commissioner immediately."
Feldmans focus on agency leads him at times to understate factors beyond the control of the crowds and the leaders they opposed. In Syria, the Sunni Muslim protesters could not implore the military to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, as his Alawite regime had long co-opted and politicized it. So, as Feldman notes, the protesters did not trust the military and loathed the minorities favored by the government, with the Alawites receiving the most hatred: Christians to Beirut, Alawis to the grave, they chanted. Because the regime baked the countrys sectarian divides into its structure, both the protesters and Assad and his cronies saw compromise as impossible: The regime would hang together, or they would hang separately. Although Feldman is careful to note this tension, it is an important caveat to his stress on agency.
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Sir Keir Starmer has gone to war with allies of Jeremy Corbyn after sacking his former leadership rival Rebecca Long Bailey for sharing an article that contained an 'anti-Semitic conspiracy theory'.

The new Labour leader is expected to meet with over 12 members of the hard-Left Socialist Campaign Group on the frontbench today to repair relations, after initially refusing their advances.

Corbynistas including Lloyd Russell-Moyle, a shadow environment minister, ex-Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Diane Abbott and Richard Burgon are 'very disappointed' with Sir Keir.

Mr Russell-Moyle did not rule out resigning, while several shadow ministers including Marsha de Cordova, Andy McDonald, Cat Smith and Dan Cardenare are also said to be on 'resignation watch'.

A senior Shadow Cabinet source told The Daily Telegraph that Sir Keir has decided to 'reset the bar' after five years of Mr Corbyn's divisive leadership, adding: 'It may divide the Labour party but very much increase Keir's perception as strong and as someone determined to bring about change.'

In a move that enraged John McDonnell and Laura Alvarez, Mr Corbyn's wife, Sir Keir ousted Ms Long Bailey, then Shadow Education Secretary, after she praised a controversial interview with actress Maxine Peake.

The 45-year-old 'Shameless' star told The Independent yesterday that Israeli security forces had taught US police 'neck-kneeling' techniques which led to the killing of George Floyd.

Blairites including Lord Mandelson, a chief architect of New Labour, and former Home Secretary Lord Blunkett praised Sir Keir's boldness in a move interpreted by Corbynistas as a declaration of war.

Sir Keir Starmer has gone to war with allies of Jeremy Corbyn after sacking his former leadership rival Rebecca Long Bailey for sharing an article that contained an 'anti-Semitic conspiracy theory'

Actress Maxine Peake was accused of peddling an 'anti-Semitic conspiracy theory' yesterday in The Independent

Ex-Shadow Education Secretary Ms Long Bailey was sacked from the frontbench after retweeting a link to the interview

The row kicked off yesterday after Ms Long Bailey shared a link of the interview Peake - a constituent - gave to The Independent yesterday with the caption 'absolute diamond'.

Peake, a Jeremy Corbyn supporter, also said that the people who had left Labour under Mr Corbyn could 'hang their heads in shame' and claimed Sir Keir was an 'acceptable face' for people who 'aren't really Left wing'.

She later said her comments were 'inaccurate', adding that she found anti-Semitism 'abhorrent'.

Ms Long Bailey was sacked almost immediately after she shared a link to the article on Twitter.

Sir Keir has been desperately trying to rebuild trust with the Jewish community by vowing wipe out the 'stain' of anti-Semitism from Labour and rip out the 'poison' that dogged the party under his predecessor.

His spokesman said: 'The article Rebecca shared earlier today contained an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

'As Leader of the Labour Party, Keir has been clear that restoring trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority. Anti-Semitism takes many different forms and it is important that we all are vigilant against it.'

Jewish organisations praised Sir Keir's swift actions, with Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl saying: 'I would like to thank Keir Starmer for backing his words with actions on anti-Semitism.

Keir Starmer (pictured left with Ms Long Bailey in April) has been trying to rebuild trust with the Jewish community

Tony Blair called Sir Keir a leader who 'looks as though he could be Prime Minister', while John McDonnell, the former Shadow Chancellor, claimed that Peake's interview had not peddled anti-Semitism

'After Rebecca Long Bailey shared a conspiracy theory, we and others gave her the opportunity to retract and apologise. To our surprise and dismay, her response was pathetic.

'Her position as Shadow Education Secretary was therefore untenable.

'There can be no space for this sort of action in any party and it is right that after so many challenging years Labour is now making this clear under its new leader.'

Jonathan Goldstein, chair of the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), told MailOnline: 'We saw significant action from Sir Keir Starmer in ensuring there is zero tolerance for anti-Semitism within the Labour Party.

'His actions show he understands the severity and harm that anti-Semitic conspiracies do to our politics. We welcome this decisive leadership and firm action.'

Tony Blair called Sir Keir a leader who 'looks as though he could be Prime Minister'. Lord Mandelson said Sir Keir had shown 'strong character and judgment', while Lord Blunkett described the move as a 'very clear message'.

However, senior Corbynistas denounced the sacking as a 'reckless overreaction', with Mr McDonnell, the former Shadow Chancellor, saying that the article had not peddled anti-Semitism.

Ms Long Bailey described Peake as a 'diamond', before trying to clarify she had not been endorsing 'all aspects of the article'

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell weighed in to insist that Peake's comment was legitimate criticism of Israel

Lord Blunkett described Sir Keir's sacking of Ms Long Bailey as a 'very clear message' while Diane Abbott is said to be one of several senior Corbynistas who are going to war with Sir Keir

Amid a storm of protest at her initial tweet, Ms Long Bailey then added: 'I retweeted Maxine Peake's article because of her significant achievements and because the thrust of her argument is to stay in the Labour Party. It wasn't intended to be an endorsement of all aspects of the article.

'I could not do this in good conscience without the issuing of a press statement of clarification. I had asked to discuss these matters with Keir before agreeing what further action to take, but he had already made his decision.'

But it was not enough to avoid being removed from her frontbench role, sparking uproar from her supporters.

She said she posted a further tweet to clarify after learning 'many people were concerned by references to international sharing of training and restraint techniques between police and security forces'.

'In no way was my retweet an intention to endorse every part of that article,' she said.

She said after she agree the clarification with Labour leader's office she was ordered to take both tweets down.

But Sir Keir justified his action telling the BBC: 'The sharing of that article was wrong, because the article contained anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.'

Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge, who is Jewish and was a leading critic of Jeremy Corbyn, said: 'This is what zero tolerance looks like.' Jewish groups also lined up behind the move

Peake claimed that Israeli spies taught US police tactics that resulted in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis

Calls for BBC to end Maxine Peake's contract after latest in string of controversy for Corbynista former Shameless star who called for a violent revolution The BBC was facing calls to end Maxine Peake's contract after the latest in a string of controversies for the Corbynista Shameless star who has flaunted with Communism and once called for a violent revolution. Peake, 45, used an interview with The Independent to share an 'anti-Semitic conspiracy theory' that US police learned 'neck-kneeling' restrain techniques used on George Floyd from Israeli spies. The comments - which led to Rebecca Long Bailey being sacked from Labour's Shadow Cabinet after she shared the article - are not the first time Peake has aired radical views that have prompted mainstream criticism. The actress was born in Bolton to a lorry driver father and care worker mother, but her parents separated when she was nine and she lived with her grandparents. BBC bosses were told to sack Maxine Peake after an interview Discussing her childhood in an interview with the Guardian, she said her mother aspired to be middle class but found her ambitions threatened, particularly due to her relationships with a series of 'obnoxious' men. Peake said her mother's experience changed her views, and later in her youth she joined a number of local communist organisations before becoming a member of the Community Party of Great Britain. Peake is well-known for her strident socialist views and last year became an ambassador for the Morning Star, which she called 'the only paper I can trust'. In the same Independent interview in which she aired her views on George Floyd, the star called for the destruction of capitalist and claimed the world was ruled by 'capitalist, fascist dictators'. She has frequently railed against the 'crippling austerity measures' and in 2017 backed the use of violence to install Mr Corbyn as Prime Minister. Asked if she wanted a peaceful or a violent revolution, she said: 'You can't have a peaceful revolution now. Terrible thing to say. But we need a coup!' In 2019, she co-signed a letter backing him in the Election, lauding the former Labour leader for his stance against 'far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism'. Peake lives in Salford with her partner, the TV art director Pawlo Wintoniuk. She said they 'never row over politics' and that she would refuse to have a relationship with someone who was a Conservative or Lib Dem. Maxine Peake first rose to national attention while playing Twinkle in Dinnerladies, a BBC sitcom that ran from 1998 to 2000. Since then, she is best known for playing Veronica Ball in the hit comedy Shameless, and barrister Martha Costello in legal drama Silk. Earlier this week she appeared in a revival of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, a role the actress said she accepted 'straight away' before 'spending the next few weeks in a state of high anxiety'. Advertisement

Mr McDonnell, who endorsed her for leader, later weighed in, saying: 'Throughout discussion of antisemitism it's always been said criticism of practices of Israeli state is not anti-Semitic. I don't believe therefore that this article is or @RLong_Bailey should've been sacked. I stand in solidarity with her.'

Momentum founder Jon Lansmann branded the sacking 'a reckless over-reaction': 'I don't believe there is anything antisemitic in the interview and sacking Rebecca is a reckless overreaction by Keir Starmer.

'It's been clearly documented by Amnesty International that many US police departments do train in Israel. The original Independent article even backed up the claim.

'In the leadership campaign Rebecca signed up to the Board of Deputies pledges and made clear she is committed to tackling antisemitism in our party.

'More than 135,000 Labour members voted for Rebecca in the leadership election. Keir says he wants to party unity, yet sacks her from the front bench for no good reason. I stand in absolute solidarity with Rebecca Long-Bailey, as does the rest of Momentum.'

The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said: 'We have been critical of Sir Keir Starmer's early handling of incidents within the Labour Party and the fact that he has not yet announced a timetable for reforming the Party's broken disciplinary process. His swift and firm action in this case appears to indicate that he is taking our comments on board and has shifted up a gear.

'Sir Keir's decision to sack Rebecca Long-Bailey for retweeting an antisemitic conspiracy theory sends a clear message to those in the Labour Party's ranks who still think that antisemitism is a grey area.'

Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge, who is Jewish, tweeted: 'This is what a change in culture looks like. This is what zero tolerance looks like. This is what rebuilding trust with the Jewish community looks like.'

Dame Margaret previously described Sir Keir Starmer's predecessor Jeremy Corbyn as racist following claims he had failed to take strong enough action on anti-Semitism within the party.

Labour MP Stella Creasy said: 'Maxine Peake interview textbook ''casual antisemitism'' - Even organisation that first made link she repeats as if matter of record or motivation for heinous crime has withdrawn it as a piece of libellous conspiracism. Being anti racist means countering, not indulging, such tropes.'

In the same interview, Peake, a former member of the Communist Party of Britain in Salford, Ms Long-Bailey's seat in Manchester, took aim at anyone who refused to vote for Jeremy Corbyn - branding them all Conservative supporters.

She said: 'Those people who were normally Labour supporters who felt they couldn't vote Labour? Well I'm sorry, they voted Tory as far as I'm concerned.

'And it breaks my heart, because you know what? I didn't like Tony Blair, but I still voted Labour because anything's better than the Tories.

'There's a lot of people who should hang their heads in shame. People going, 'Oh, I can join the Labour Party again because Keir Starmer's there,' well shame on you.'

In 2018 the passionate Labour supporter, an outspoken critic of Tory spending on the NHS, was accused of hypocrisy after pocketing taxpayers' money to appear in an NHS recruitment advert.

The star of hit TV series including Shameless and Silk was paid to do a voice over on a film as part of the health service's 8 million 'We Are The NHS' campaign.

Funded by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, the campaign was launched to coincide with the NHS's 70th anniversary and features real health workers and patients.

Ms Peake reportedly received a four-figure sum for her contribution. In contrast, in the past celebrities including Nick Hewer and Barbara Windsor have donated their time for free when appearing in publicly-funded health campaigns.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group against Anti-Semitism said it welcome the decision to sack her.

In a statement released on Twitter, co-chairs Catherine McKinnell and Andrew Percy said: 'We welcome Sir Keir Starmer's zero tolerance approach and decisive action. Members of Parliament have a duty to challenge anti-Semitic conspiracy theories not share them.

'We will work with all political parties to ensure anti-Semitism plays no part in public life, and our group will always work to educate colleagues about it.'

The hard-Left candidate for leader who rated Jeremy Corbyn '10 out of 10' after he led Labour to general election humiliation

Rebecca Long Bailey was the highest ranking remnant of the Corbyn era still remaining on Labour's front bench.

The 40-year-old ran against Sir Keir Starmer in the protracted leadership election that followed the party's election humiliation in December and Mr Corbyn's subsequent resignation.

But despite the backing of the then senior hierarchy, she trailed in a distant second to Sir Keir, who ran on a platform of healing a divided party.

She was made shadow education secretary in his new-look shadow cabinet as an olive branch to the old regime.

During her leadership election campaign Ms Long-Bailey said Mr Corbyn has been a 'prefect 10' as Labour leader

But today's gaffe, which praised an interview with actress Maxine Peak in which she shared an 'anti-Semitic conspiracy theory' about Israel and the death of George Floyd, was a step too far.

Mr Starmer has been at pains rebuild bridges with British Jews after five years in which Labour was rocked by a series of anti-Semitism scandals.

Ms Long-Bailey, is the hard-Left daughter of a Salford docker, groomed to take the helm of the Corbynite project by self-declared Marxist John McDonnell.

He and older Corbynistas like Diane Abbott and Richard Burgon threw their weight behind her campaign, during which she described Mr Corbyn as '10 out of 10' as leader.

The remark came weeks after he led Labour to its worst election defeat since the 1930s, handing Boris Johnson an 80-seat Tory majority.

She grew up in Old Trafford, Manchester, where she was exposed to left-wing politics from a young age.

The 40-year-old ran against Sir Keir in the leadership election that followed the party's election humiliation in December

Her father Jimmy worked as a docker at Salford Quays and trade union representative at Shell at a time when workers' collectives wielded enormous power and threats of staff walkouts struck fear into ministers.

On graduating from a Catholic high school, she worked in a pawn shop - an eye-opening experience which she says taught her 'more about the struggles of life than any degree or qualification ever could'.

After holding down other jobs such as a call-centre operator, a furniture factory worker and a postwoman, she eventually studied to become a solicitor.

She became Labour MP for Salford in 2015 on the retirement of Hazel Blears and quickly held a series of roles as Mr McDonnell's political protegee.

She was made shadow business secretary in February 2017, a role she held until Mr Starmer took over in April.
Third President of the Republic of Armenia, Artsakh Hero Serzh Sargsyan responded to todays statement made by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

When did we run into such an absurdity? Ilham Aliyev, the successor to Azerbaijans dictatorial regime, who is praised by the one who seized power in our country two years ago to the point that he prefers to learn the background of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process from Aliyev, today has cynically stated that the whole history of Armenias independence is a story of shame.

The President of Azerbaijan speaks the same language and describes the previous years of Armenias independence in the same way as Nikol Pashinyan in his infamous speeches delivered from the UN rostrum, at the PACE plenary session.

Dictator Aliyev teaches democracy lessons to Armenia, names the Armenian army, the officers and generals of our glorious army. He speaks of violence against journalists and other outrageous illegalities and corruption of the incumbent Armenian authorities. It is not surprising that Aliyev can afford such a thing, that Aliyev can hate the glorious Armenian army because of the shameful defeat of his country in the war; he can hate the second and third presidents of Armenia, our army generals. We expected that his country, obsessed with his own incompetent leadership, could do so after the drivel talks by Nikol Pashinyan, who called Armenia a completely failed state.

As for Ilham Aliyev, he knows very well that if he and Nikol Pashinyan are talking about corruption and embezzlement in Armenia, then the Panamanian documents and bank accounts associated with his name and his family members, the bribery of European deputies, and many other scandalous revelations are talked about and discussed by international investigative journalists and organizations, authoritative newspapers.

Aliyev has a long tongue because our incumbent rulers proved to be incompetent and anti-national, but he must remember that the latter are transient like his regime, while strong with its victorious army and many patriotic Armenian heroes, the Republic of Armenia stands ready to defy the arrogant aggressor.

And let him not forget that in the near future, when the patriotic and powerful forces will come back to power in Armenia, the international community will again force him to recognize the independence of the Artsakh Republic.
The Palestinian Authority has announced a multi-million-dollar fund to support residents of the Jordan Valley, just days before Israel intends to start annexing the strategic swathe of the occupied West Bank. "The government has decided to establish projects to support the residents of the Jordan Valley," Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh told AFP on Wednesday. The scheme will be implemented within days and amount to 35 million Israeli shekels ($10 million), the premier said. The financing will largely focus on agricultural improvements, although it also includes education and health projects. Additionally, Shtayyeh said the PA will "allocate land to all Palestinians who want to invest in the Jordan Valley." Palestinians greatly outnumber Jewish settlers in the fertile valley, which makes up about 30 percent of the occupied West Bank. But Israel considers the area essential to its security and intends to take steps towards annexing it, along with Jewish settlements across the West Bank, from July 1. President Donald Trump promised US blessing for the annexations as part of a controversial peace plan he unveiled in January that has been angrily rejected by the Palestinians as a violation of international law. The plan broke with longstanding international consensus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has been opposed by Washington's Arab and European allies as well as the United Nations.
NEW YORK, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network  it's easy and free. Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/queryform

EXPERT ALERTS

Building on-camera confidence

What You Can Do Differently to Prepare for the Unexpected

3 Ways Title VII Impacts Ending Conversion Therapy

6 Steps to Renewal in Reentry

Feeling Overwhelmed or Helpless? Make a Difference With "Happy Money."

10 Kid-Friendly Tips for Navigating the Pandemic

5 Questions to Ask Your Doctor NOW if You're Having a Baby

Operating a business during a pandemic

MEDIA JOBS

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

8 Subject Ideas Photographers Can Find Around the House

Blog Profiles: Political Blogs

Building on-camera confidence

Sharon Haver

Online Marketing & Style Expert, Entrepreneur

FocusOnStyle.com

"Authenticity is magnetic and contagious - the secret sauce to attracting your most aligned and therefore most profitable audience. This certainly helps your case when you want to be heard in a noisy, competitive market."

Online marketing strategist, personal branding expert, and style guru Sharon Haver, founder and CEO of FocusOnStyle.com since 1999, wants to help you become your most bankable asset. Being authentically you is key to on-camera confidence and often overlooked by newbie and even seasoned business owners. Sharon can discuss how to overcome this along with what your body language says about you, setting up your background to portray the message you want to send, how to amplify your message on video, lighting and camera angle secrets gained from 15 years on fashion photography sets in NYC....and more.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonhaver

Website: https://focusonstyle.com

Media contact: Nicole Dickerson, [email protected]

What You Can Do Differently to Prepare for the Unexpected

Pamela Yellen

President

Bank on Yourself

"What if you were forewarned two years ago that in March of 2020, we'd be in the grips of a pandemic and there would be a shutdown of virtually the entire economy?" Pamela asks. "What would you have done differently if you had known? 1) Put more money into a safe and liquid emergency fund that you can access when you need it. 2) Diversify your retirement savings portfolio so you aren't at risk of losing so much that you'll have to postpone (possibly indefinitely) your retirement. 3) Buy the right kind of life insurance that gives you fast access to cash while giving you more peace of mind knowing you've also provided a safety net for your loved ones."

Financial security expert and best-selling author Pamela Yellen investigated more than 450 savings and retirement planning strategies seeking an alternative to the risk and volatility of stocks and other investments. Her research led her to a time-tested, predictable method of growing and protecting wealth she calls Bank on Yourself that is now used by more than half a million people.

Pamela is the author of the New York Times best-selling book "The Bank on Yourself Revolution: Fire Your Banker, Bypass Wall Street, and Take Control of Your Own Financial Future." Her new book is "Rescue Your Retirement: Five Wealth-Killing Traps of 401(k)s, IRAs and Roth Plans  and How to Avoid Them" (www.FreeRetirementPlanRescueBook.com).

Online Press Kit: www.pamelayellen.onlinepresskit247.com

Website: www.FreeRetirementPlanRescueBook.com

Contact: Jennifer Thomas, [email protected]

3 Ways Title VII Impacts Ending Conversion Therapy

Mathew Shurka

Cofounder, strategist

Born Perfect

"1) De-stigmatizes the LGBTQ identity. 2) Provides nationwide protection against workplace discrimination, which removes a major motivation for parents to try to prevent a child from growing up to be LGBTQ and placing them in conversion therapy. 3) Sends a powerful message to all LGBTQ people, including youth, that they are equal, valued, and respected members of this society, especially in the workplace."

Mathew Shurka is cofounder and strategist for Born Perfect, a survivor-led national movement working with legal experts to pass legislation outlawing conversion therapy and end the harm it does to LGBTQ youth and their families. A survivor of conversion therapy from age 16-21, Mathew posted his personal story on YouTube in 2012. As a result, organizations nationwide sought his support to protect LGBTQ youth. Mathew began advocating to end conversion therapy with The National Center for Lesbian Rights. Together they founded Born Perfect in 2014. Mathew leads the Born Perfect campaign alongside a team of lawyers and conversion therapy survivors seeking to protect LGBTQ+ people through legislation, litigation, and public education. To date, 20 states and almost 70 municipalities in the US have passed laws to protect LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy through the legal work of Born Perfect. Mathew's influence and personal advocacy has been vital for passing legislation, creating new policy with medical and corporate organizations, and bringing awareness to mainstream media to further educate and help create inclusion for all people. Mathew lives in New York City as a proud out gay man. Learn more at www.bornperfect.org.

Online Press Kit: www.bornperfect.onlinepresskit247.com

Website: www.bornperfect.org

Contact: Klaudia Simon, [email protected]

6 Steps to Renewal in Reentry

Adam Markel

Author, resilience expert

Adam Markel

"The new phase that we're entering is almost like a spaceship coming back to Earth. We are reentering mid-pandemic. People are wearing masks at work, and not able to huddle up physically even if they're in the same office. 1) Create a new credo. 2) Embrace real feedback. 3) Build resilience rituals into your culture. 4) Reevaluate everything. 5) Acknowledge and support employees suffering loss and grief. 6) Create ways to celebrate together."

Author, speaker, and resilience expert Adam Markel inspires, empowers, and guides people to achieve massive and lasting personal and professional growth. Adam is author of the #1 Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and Publisher's Weekly best-seller, "Pivot: The Art & Science of Reinventing Your Career and Life." A leading international keynote speaker, Adam has reached tens of thousands worldwide with his message of resilience as the competitive edge in the face of today's complex markets. An attorney, entrepreneur, and transformational trainer, Adam is a sought-after business culture catalyst who inspires, empowers, and guides organizations and individuals to create sustainable, high-performance strategies.

Adam is also the CEO of More Love Media and host of The Conscious PIVOT podcast, where he shares his insights on pivoting and resilience in today's fast paced market and interviews experts, innovators, and influencers in the areas of business and life. Adam credits much of his success to the principles he learned during his 8 years as a Jones Beach lifeguard in New York. As a first responder in a life-and-death environment, he learned the importance of cultivating a high performance capacity and impeccable teamwork. He's found that the principles of this type of culture and leadership equally apply to any business that wants to build a competitive advantage to win. After building a multi-million-dollar law firm, Adam pivoted his own career path to become CEO of one of the largest business and personal growth training companies in the world. Here he learned that motivation and inspiration alone are not enough to effectively utilize change; it's about providing leaders, teams, and audiences with effective takeaways to sustain them over time. Adam's keynotes, corporate workshops, and business mentoring combine his "Lessons from the Lifeguard Stand" with practical business strategies, personal development insights, and a unique delivery style to create a high-energy and impactful learning environment. Learn more at www.AdamMarkel.com.

Online Press Kit: www.adammarkel.onlinepresskit247.com

Website: www.AdamMarkel.com

Contact: Anita Jakab Kovacs, [email protected]

Feeling Overwhelmed or Helpless? Make a Difference With "Happy Money."

Ken Honda

Author

Ken Honda

"Instead of staying overwhelmed with feelings of powerlessness, we can use money to share love and uplift others  'happy money.' For example: 1) Donate money to a cause you support. With some quick online searching, it's easy to find reputable nonprofit groups who are working to create the positive change you want to see in the world. 2) Donate to a local family, individual, or community group that is in need. 3) Donate your time as a volunteer, whether in person or remotely online. 4) Don't forget to receive money with a Happy Money mindset! If you or your family are in need, welcome the support that comes your way with openness and gratitude rather than shame or guilt. All of us can practice the art of receiving with grace!"

Money and happiness expert Ken Honda is a best-selling self-development author in Japan, with book sales surpassing seven million copies since 2001. His latest book is called "Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money" (June 4, 2019, Simon & Schuster). Ken studied law at Waseda University in Tokyo and entered the Japanese workforce as a business consultant and investor. Ken's financial expertise comes from owning and managing several businesses, including an accounting company, a management consulting firm, and a venture capital corporation. His writings bridge the topics of finance and self-help, focusing on creating and generating personal wealth and happiness through deeper self-honesty. Ken provides ongoing support through mentoring programs, business seminars, therapeutic workshops, and correspondence courses. Ken is the first person from Japan to be voted into the Transformational Leadership Council, a group of personal and professional development leaders. He is fluent in Japanese and English; lived in Boston, Massachusetts for two years; and currently resides in Tokyo, Japan. Learn more at KenHonda.com.

Online Press Kit: www.kenhonda.onlinepresskit247.com

Website: KenHonda.com

Contact: Michelle Tennant, [email protected]

10 Kid-Friendly Tips for Navigating the Pandemic

Katy McQuaid

Author, leadership consultant

McQuaid Corporate Performance, LLC

"1. Sleep, whenever and wherever you can! 2. Enjoy being outside. Jump, skip, and run! 3. Put up your paw and ask for help when you need it. 4. Play with those you love. 5. Look out for your neighbors; they are a worthy cause. 6. Make new friends  even with a cat! 7. Share a smile or kind word with the people you see  in person, or on a video chat! 8. Recharge by putting your feet in the grass. 9. Bark and whine to friends, especially those who are good listeners. 10. It's okay to say no and find your safe space."

Author and leadership consultant Katy McQuaid spent more than three decades in the CIA, including 12 years living abroad. Her work in communities all over the world and the endearing, unconditional love of her four-legged muse Grace inspired her to write the "Everybody Loves Grace" series of illustrated books. Parents, kids of all ages, executives, and organizational leaders hail the series as a beacon of hope and inspiration for anyone navigating change or challenging circumstances.

Katy is the founder of McQuaid Corporate Performance, LLC and a graduate of Penn State University where she attended on a full scholarship, lettered all four years as a swimmer, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance. She is also a graduate of the Vanguard Executive Development Program at Duke University and the Pinnacle Executive Leader Program at Kellogg's School of Management. Katy's goal is to support people and organizations in experiencing successful, meaningful, and empowered transformations. Katy was the first female Senior Executive in the CIA's Logistics Career Service as well as the first Senior Executive Support Officer in the South Asia War Theater (and the first and only female to date in the position). She also held a key Support Officer position during the transition of US intelligence activities from one city to another in one of the largest European offices. Katy served as an Elder at Pathways Church in Denver, Colorado and currently serves as Chair of the Dorcas Aid America Board of Directors. Learn more at www.EverybodyLovesGrace.com.

Online Press Kit: katymcquaid.onlinepresskit247.com

Website: www.everybodylovesgrace.com

Contact: Anita Jakab Kovacs, [email protected]

5 Questions to Ask Your Doctor NOW if You're Having a Baby

Dr. Alan Lindemann

Obstetric physician and maternal mortality expert

Dr. Alan Lindemann

"1. Have you already been exposed? You have the right to know whether or not your doctor has already been exposed to COVID-19 or not, and what the implications are either way. Have they been tested recently? When was the last negative test? Don't hesitate to gather information to put yourself more at ease. 2. What will happen if I'm positive for COVID-19 when I deliver? Make a plan with your doctor so that you have one less thing to stress about if this occurs. As much as you don't want your baby whisked away after birth, the plan to protect and test your new baby for the illness will include isolating you from her/him initially after birth. 3. Will my baby be immune if I have/had COVID-19? One Chinese case study found that a mother who had COVID-19 and delivered her baby via C-section passed immunity onto her baby but not the illness. Other studies, however, have shown cases of mothers passing the virus on to their babies. 4. Will you be the one delivering my baby? Often, the O.B. you're working with may not actually be the one to deliver your baby. Asking this question now gives you an opportunity to understand who will be there during delivery, and who else you need to talk to about their COVID-19 exposure and testing. 5. Will I be allowed to have my support team in the birthing room with me? If you want your partner and/or a doula in the birthing room with you, this is a very important question to ask your doctor. The rules as we navigate the pandemic are constantly changing and under evaluation, so ask now, and ask again as birth gets closer."

Obstetric physician and maternal mortality expert Dr. Alan Lindemann has made it his mission in life to see healthy babies delivered from healthy mothers. He teaches women and their families how to create the outcomes they want for personal health and pregnancy. Dr. Alan is the co-author of "Modern Medicine: What You're Dying to Know," a consumer action guide about how to navigate the United States healthcare system. In his nearly 40 years of practice, he has delivered around 6,000 babies and achieved a maternal mortality rate of zero! He earned his medical degree from the University of North Dakota in 1977 and is boarded by the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons, as well as a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association.

Fondly known as the "Rural Doc," his favorite hobbies are washing his vintage Cadillacs and tending to his pet chickens. He practices medicine and lives with his wife and co-author Diane Haugen in Elgin, North Dakota. Learn more at LindemannMD.com.

Online Press Kit: www.dralanlindemann.onlinepresskit247.com

Website: LindemannMD.com

Contact: Jennifer Thomas, [email protected]

Operating a business during a pandemic

Andrew Blake

President

Blake Farms/Blake's Hard Cider

"While it's an extremely sad time globally, I do believe we're going to come out of this knowing who we are as a company and where we want to go with our business going forward. We feel strongly that we are a better company today than we were two months ago. One of the things we're focusing on in parallel to diversification and growth is going deeper from an operational perspective. We're a company that's been around since 1946, but in the last seven to eight years, we've really caught our groove from a growth perspective. We have a lot of young talent. One of the things the family and I recognized was we needed experienced, senior leadership to help channel and direct the amazing talent that we have."

Blake can speak on Farming, Retail, Hard Cider, Beverages, and Logistics.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-blake-00279a62

Website: www.BlakeFarms.com

Media contact: Jason Brown, [email protected]

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8 Subject Ideas Photographers Can Find Around the House. With quarantine measures slowly being lifted across the country, you may be excited to eat at your favorite restaurant, shop at the mall, work out at the gym, and get back to other activities you've missed. But chances are, you're still finding comfort in staying home most of the time and trying to find things to stay busy (since making bread from scratch has lost its appeal). Now that we're three months in, it's only natural to feel bored or like you need a spark of inspiration. In case you've run out of photo ideas, we've got you covered: https://prn.to/2A5doiz.

BLOG PROFILES: political blogs. Each week, we feature blogs we follow. This week is all about political blogs: https://prn.to/3eiuWXo.

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KANKAKEE, Ill., June 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Aqua Illinois, a subsidiary of Essential Utilities, Inc., is proud to announce expanded relief options for customers impacted by COVID-19. Aqua Illinois temporarily suspended disconnections and will reconnect residential customers whose service was interrupted for non-payment between June 18, 2019 and March 18, 2020. Customers who were disconnected during this period and who have not already been reconnected should contact Aqua Illinois for restored service and to determine their eligibility for waived reconnection fees and customer assistance programs.

"We are deeply committed to supporting our customers in these unprecedented times," said Craig Blanchette, President, Aqua Illinois. "We are pleased to expand our relief options, and to offer customers the flexibility they need to recover financially in the wake of COVID-19."

Aqua Illinois encourages any customer whose service was disconnected between June 18, 2019 and March 18, 2020 to contact a customer service representative soon. Aqua Illinois will reconnect service for up to 60 days after the day on which all Restore Illinois Health Regions enter Phase 4 (Revitalization) of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's May 5, 2020 Restore Illinois plan. Aqua Illinois will also waive reconnection fees for qualified customers for up to six months after all regions enter Phase 4.

Previously disconnected customers may also partner with Aqua Illinois to explore customer assistance plans, such as Deferred Payment Arrangements (DPA). Aqua Illinois is proud to offer extended DPAs, including options with no down payment, for up to six months after all regions enter Phase 4. Residential customers may also qualify for a grant through Aqua's COVID-19 Bill Payment Assistance Program, which builds upon Aqua Aid.

"Each day, Illinois makes steady strides towards economic recovery," added Blanchette. "Communities can count on us to provide uninterrupted service while we find a way forward together."

To request reconnection following a service disruption for non-payment that occurred between June 18, 2019 and March 18, 2020, please contact the Aqua Illinois Customer Service team immediately at 877.987.2782.

About Aqua Illinois

Aqua Illinois is a subsidiary of Essential Utilities, Inc. Founded in 1886, Aqua Illinois currently provides customers in 69 communities and 13 counties with water and wastewater services. To learn more, please visit https://www.aquaamerica.com/our-states/illinois.aspx

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At least 21 shipping containers fell from overboard into the ocean near Hilo this week, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Nine of the 40-foot shipping containers were located and 12 remained missing, the Coast Guard said.

The crew of the tug and barge Ho Omaka Hou saw the containers were missing after mooring in Hilo on Monday. Containers were reportedly adrift approximately 8 miles north of Hilo and one was reported adrift in Hilo Harbor, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard is investigating and shipping company Young Brothers is working with a salvage team to locate and recover as many containers as possible. No injuries were reported.

The barge was traveling from Honolulu, said Chris Martin, Young Brothers director of terminal operations.

We have deployed a team of investigators to work closely with state and federal officials in determining the cause of the incident, Martin said in a statement. Once the site has been declared safe, we will determine the number of containers impacted and contact affected customers.

The Coast Guard issued a warning to mariners to keep a lookout for containers that may pose a hazard to navigation.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The recent sale of 51% of Dynamic Talent by its young managing director, Candice Clark, to Dynamic Technologies has placed a spotlight on the importance of nurturing young and diverse female leaders and entrepreneurs in South Africa's promising and burgeoning technology industry.

Candice Clark

A business leadership team is richer and less at risk of failure, the more diverse it becomes. It challenges the status quo and brings fresh perspectives to the table. Isnt that exactly what we want in tech?

Gender diversity makes simple business sense, as a study conducted by the World Economic Forum has shown. The study indicates that a rise of 1% in gender diversity correlates with a 3% rise in revenue. Gender-diverse companies also have an advantage in that different perspectives are represented, generating a broader range of ideas and producing innovation superior to that of competitors.Dynamic Talent provides a streamlined, professional talent acquisition and human resource solution to corporates, large organisations, big business, multinationals and fast-growing medium enterprises requiring top technology talent.The importance of diversity has been a cornerstone of Dynamic Talent since its inception, and it was important for Clark to join forces with a group that shares the same values. As Clark explains: Diversity is more than just male/female. It is backgrounds, perspectives and education too. A lack of diversity in an organisation will be an inhibiting factor for driving the business forward and outdoing competitors.Companies that take a strategic decision to boost their intake of female tech specialists, and foster gender diversity at board and executive levels, are likely to outperform and produce greater value for shareholders than homogenous companies.And of course, from an individualistic perspective, these strategies enable self-realisation  the fulfilment of individual potential.If one thinks diverse female leadership is lacking in tech organisations, the problem in entrepreneurship is even greater, says Clark. The barriers to entry are huge. We still have major funding and pay disparities in South Africa. And we still have many perceptions to challenge about a females ability to be a successful tech entrepreneur.However, Clark believes the industry has made progress, and that the tech industry will be all the better for the diversity of thought this will bring.Gartner research vice-president John-David Lovelock believes that while South Africa is still behind in terms of overall IT spend, the planned expansion will position its tech sector as one of the fastest-growing in the world, which adds up to a time of exciting potential for women tech entrepreneurs and startups.Tech is a dynamic landscape, agrees Clark. Its fast-changing and evolving at a rate that is sometimes hard to keep up with. Entrepreneurs are acutely aware of this and are often the ones pushing the envelope and taking charge of how things need to change. Its no wonder that an entrepreneurial skillset is one of the most common for which we are requested to recruit.
YEREVAN.  I am not running for the post of the President of the Constitutional Court. Judge Vahe Grigoryan of the Constitutional Court of Armenia on Friday stated this in a conversation with journalists in front of the Constitutional Court.

Asked whether he considers that he has performed his duties as Constitutional Court judge in good faith, Grigoryan stated that he has not been able to fulfill his job responsibilities during the past year, as "The constitutionality of the composition of the Constitutional Court was seriously questioned." "I did not consider this composition constitutional, I considered that the Constitutional Court of Armenia has a significant gap in democratic legitimacy, and with that composition, it cannot be and deserves to be the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia," he added.

Grigoryan said he did not fulfill his responsibilities as Constitutional Court judge not through his own fault, but did not give up his salary as a judge, as it is his only means of subsistence. "() I don't think there was the necessary quorum in this court; there wasnt, [but it] exists as of today. And if any member of the Constitutional Court had thought at the time that this was really a problem, disciplinary proceedings should have been initiated against me a long time ago," Vahe Grigoryan said.
* Romania reports record 460 infections in a day

* One third of all Romanian cases concentrated in 3 cities

* Romania has all schools, indoor restaurants and cinemas closed

* State of alert expires in mid July

BUCHAREST, June 25 (Reuters) - Romania reported its highest number of daily infections with the new coronavirus in two months on Thursday, as it prepares to assess a new phase of relaxation next week.

President Klaus Iohannis ordered a strict lockdown in early March to help rein in the outbreak and replaced the state of emergency with a softer state of alert in May, that is set to run until mid-July.

"Today, unfortunately, we witness higher numbers than usual, but I hope this will change ... I call on the population to maintain rules of hygiene, those rules of precaution and physical distance," Health Minister Nelu Tataru said.

The government said Romania has recorded 25,286 cases of COVID-19 infections so far, of which about 18,000 patients recovered and 1,565 died. Over the past 24 hours it recorded 460 new cases.

One third of Romania's cases are concentrated in three cities: the capital Bucharest, the northern town of Suceava and in Transylvania's medieval city of Brasov.

The Social Democrat opposition has accused Iohannis and his centrist government, of trying to remake daily life through "fines and restrictions," and of manipulating virus infection data.

The government has said it has only been trying to protect Romanians from the virus and blamed the opposition for unfounded allegations. Health authorities have said people have begun to be more lax in keeping to the safety rules.

Under the state of alert, a ban on travel without official permission was lifted and restaurants with outdoor seating reopened along with swimming pools and shopping malls. (Reporting by Radu Marinas Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
T he death of an unarmed black man in police custody has received renewed attention after the death of George Floyd sparked anti-racism protests around the world.

Elijah McClain 23, died three days after he was put in a chokehold and sedated by Aurora police after someone reported him for looking "sketchy" because he was wearing a ski mask.

A petition demanding justice for the young black man from Colorado has now been signed by more than three million people.

The petition, which calls for a more thorough investigation of Elijah, comes after the death of George Floyd who also died in police custody.

Here we look at what we know about Elijah's story so far.

Elijah died three days after he was arrested by police / AP

Who was Elijah McClain?

Elijah worked as a massage therapist and his family's lawyer, Mari Newman, has shared how he enjoyed playing his violin to animals at a shelter that were waiting to be adopted.

The 23-year-old's mother, Sheneen McClain said on a fundraising page that Elijah "brought joy to everyone who met him".

"The world is a darker place without him", she wrote.

Ms McClain added that Elijah enjoyed running, drawing and he used his musical skills to teach himself how to play the piano, guitar, cello and violin.

Elijah enjoyed playing his violin at the animal shelter / via REUTERS

What happened to Elijah McClain?

Mr McClain was not armed or suspected of committing a crime when he was stopped on his way home from a convenience store and pinned to the ground by officers on August 24, 2019, where he reportedly started to vomit and sob while handcuffed.

In body-worn footage later released, Mr McClain can be heard telling officers: "Let me go. I am an introvert, please respect my boundaries that I am speaking."

He was then injected with 500 milligrams of ketamine to sedate him.

According to Mr McClain's family, he was anaemic and wore a ski mask to keep his face warm while he was walking.

In October his family called for an independent investigation and for the officers involved in his arrest to be charged with murder.

Adams Country District Attorney Dave Young concluded in a report published in November that the police involved would not be charged.

He said: "Based on the investigation presented and the applicable Colorado law, there is no reasonable likelihood of success of proving any state crimes beyond a reasonable doubt at trial."

The Adams County Coroners Office could not determine the exact cause of Mr McClains death.

The officers involved were placed on administrative leave, but have reportedly been reinstated.

Black Lives Matter protests across the world - In pictures 1 /28 Black Lives Matter protests across the world - In pictures A banner and a US. flag are placed on the Monument a la Republique in Paris REUTERS Protesters in Perth Australia Getty Images Speakers at the Black Lives Matter Rally at Langley Park in Perth Getty Images Police officers are seen during a protest against police brutality and the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Paris REUTERS Perth protests Getty Images Speakers take to the stage during the Black Lives Matter Rally in Perty Getty Images Protesters show their support during the Black Lives Matter Rally at Langley Park in Perty Getty Images Demonstrators march through the streets in Perth AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators march through the streets in Perth AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators march through the streets in Perth AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators march through the streets in Perth Getty Images Demonstrators march through the streets in Perth Getty Images Thousands of people take part in a demonstration against police brutality and racism in Paris AP French riot police forces detain a protester during a rally as part of the 'Black Lives Matter' AFP via Getty Images French riot police forces detain protesters AFP via Getty Images The crowds in Paris AFP via Getty Images A man wearing a protective face mask and googles walks past a broken store window in Paris REUTERS Assa Traore (C), the sister of Adama Traore, who died in police custody in 2016 in Paris AFP via Getty Images Protesters hold flares as they stand next to a banner reading 'Confronted to police brutality - Self defence' in Paris AFP via Getty Images A house facade with a graffiti against police in Paris. AFP via Getty Images An injured demonstrator is helped away in Paris AFP via Getty Images

What is the latest update?

Governor Jared Polis has said the circumstances of Elijah's death will be re-examined.

He announced on Twitter yesterday that he has signed an executive order designating Attorney General Phil Weiser to investigate the 23-year-old's death.

If the facts support prosecution, Governor Polis said the Attorney General will "criminally prosecute any individuals whose actions caused the death of Elijah McClain".

"Elijah McClain should be alive today, and we owe it to his family to take his step and elevate the pursuit of justice in his name to a statewide concern," said Governor Polis.

"Now more than ever, we must do everything within our power to foster public trust and confidence in law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

"As a father, my heart breaks for the McClain family. All Coloradans should be safe walking home from the convenience store, or just being in their own neighbourhoods listening to headphones.

"We need to do a better job, and at a bare minimum they deserve a thorough review of the case."
About 100 Niagara health-care workers spent their lunch hour Thursday protesting outside St. Catharines hospital carrying signs that said Essential but Excluded.

The workers represent diagnostic imaging staff, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dialysis techs, biomedical techs and many more from Niagara Health hospitals in St. Catharines, Welland and Niagara Falls, as well at Hotel Dieu Shaver Rehabilitation Centre.

The issue is they arent receiving the $4 pandemic pay boost the provincial government has given some of their hospital colleagues, said Brenda Allan, president of OPSEU Local 215.

We are here giving voice to the fact that what we do is essential, and when others are getting pandemic pay, and we are not, its not fair, Allan said. They are making a mistake. We work beside people getting the pandemic pay, and its like we have been forgotten.

Allan came to the protest armed with an open letter of support from chief executive officers of hospitals in Niagara, Hamilton, Haldimand, Brant and Burlington.

The letter said there was an unfortunate lack of clarity regarding pandemic pay eligibility, and the situation is impacting employee morale and undermining the recognition they receive from their communities.

We value the efforts of all of our employees, and we believe they all deserve recognition for their contributions, the letter said. We are therefore urging you to extend pandemic pay to all hospital workers.

Our entire workforce is at the forefront of the provincial pandemic response, working around the clock in challenging circumstances to assure safe, high quality, sustainable care for the people we serve.

Niagara Health president Lynn Guerriero said the Ministry of Health reaffirmed its position Wednesday that hospitals cannot use government funding to extend pandemic pay to employees deemed ineligible under the pandemic pay program.

She called it a disappointing development and said Niagara Health would continue its advocacy for government-funded pandemic pay for all hospital employees.

I am working with the presidents and CEOs from our regional hospitals to encourage the government to reconsider and make all hospital employees eligible for pandemic pay, Guerriero said.

Our CEO, Dr. Tom Stewart, also continues to raise this issue at the highest levels of government. We are incredibly grateful for the way everyone has stepped up and performed admirably during this challenging time.

St. Catharines New Democrat MPP Jenny Stevens donned a union T-shirt and lent her support.

Doug Ford stands up every day and calls them heroes  and then excludes them, Stevens said. They are heroes, and it is time to treat them that way.

Niagara West Conservative MPP Sam Oosterhoff said he recognizes the efforts of health-care workers and also called them heroes.

We cannot thank them enough, Oosterhoff said. As Premier Ford has said, we truly wish we could provide pandemic pay to every single front-line worker who has contributed to the fight against COVID-19.

Unfortunately, the federal government has only provided limited funding through our shared agreement and so we are unable to expand the pandemic pay program beyond the over 375,000 employees already deemed eligible.

Oosterhoff said Ontario was one of the first provinces to roll out pandemic pay.

Ours is the largest program of its kind in the country and unprecedented in the provinces history  benefiting over 375,000 employees across 2,000 employers, he said.

Thursdays protest was also noteworthy for the way it ended  precisely at one oclock.

Asked where everyone went all of a sudden, Allan said lunch was over, and they had to get back to their patients.

Read more about:
Children with Covid-19 and another virus such as flu can become seriously ill

Children infected with Covid-19 who also carry other viruses are more likely to end up in intensive care, a major study involving Ireland and other European countries has revealed.

The finding that such children are at greater risk will have implications for the winter months.

Twenty-nine children were found to be infected with one or more additional respiratory viruses such as a cold or flu at the same time as having coronavirus.

The first Europe-wide study of children confirms Covid-19 predominantly causes mild disease in children and fatalities are very rare, but some had to be treated in ICU.

The findings, published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, from 25 European countries showed only a quarter of the 582 children had pre- existing medical conditions.

Severe

"A notable number of children do develop severe disease and require intensive care support, and this should be accounted for when planning and prioritising healthcare resources as the pandemic progresses," said lead author Dr Marc Tebruegge, of the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health in London.

Four patients died during the study period, two of whom had pre-existing medical conditions.

All of those who died were older than 10 years of age.

The news came as another death from the virus was announced here by the Department of Health.

There have now been 1,727 Covid-19 deaths in Ireland.

Eleven new cases of the virus were confirmed, bringing that total to 25,405.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), which met yesterday, highlighted how more than a third of new cases in the past 14 days were under 35 years of age.

It also noted a number of EU countries reported an increase in new cases.

Dr Holohan warned that 7pc of cases notified in Ireland over the past fortnight had been associated with travel.

"Nphet expressed a clear view that overseas travel poses a risk to importation of the disease and to further transmission in Ireland," he said.

"The European Centre for Disease Control has recently warned that the pandemic is not over. Ireland has made significant gains in suppressing Covid-19.

"Our task over the coming weeks and months is maintaining these gains."

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said: "Covid-19 is accelerating globally with four million cases recorded.

"Considering the international experience with the disease, we cannot afford complacency. Continue to be aware of the risks and follow the public health advice designed to protect individuals."

Plan

St Vincent's Hospital infectious disease consultant Dr Paddy Mallon said there was still no coherent plan for managing the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland.

He said it was essential there was a fast-acting testing and tracing system here to pick up the infection quickly, but the turnaround time was still not good enough.

It takes more than two days from point of referral for a test to tracing contacts and it should be one day, he told the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response.

The flu vaccine should be mandatory for health workers, he added.

Asked about the spread of the virus in nursing homes, he said that from his experience there was a big variation in how individual homes coped with the risk. The key was examining the management of nursing homes, he added.

There was still major concern about the ability of hospitals and the health service to cope with another surge, and we had managed to overcome the first phase "by the skin of our teeth", Dr Mallon said.

Hospitals had been seen to be short of specialists and capacity, and asking them to ramp up again would be like asking the population to go into lockdown again, he added.
By Express News Service

Covid-19 is a man-made disaster and its cycle will not be long, said Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Balance is the key to good living and India has always promoted free-thinking and encouraged re-examining of thoughts, he said in a conversation with Prabhu Chawla, Editorial Director, The New Indian Express and author and senior journalist Kaveree Bamzai on TNIEs Expressions, a series of live webcasts with people who matter.

Do you think spirituality has become a business in India and that is not something you approve of?

I would not say spirituality has become a business... A part of it is service activity without which spirituality cannot be complete. Income is a part of any spiritual activity.

Is it akin to merchandising?

Merchandising is, you can get it only if you have the money. Here, we are teaching free programmes in prisons, villages, slums. It cannot be called entirely as merchandising, but definitely a portion of finances is attached to yoga. Yoga is a 32 billion dollar industry in America. I find nothing wrong on us encashing on it or we will leave it to others to encash.

So, it has to become an industry in India as well?

We think anything commercial is not good. This perspective should change. We havent owned yoga worldwide; we need to do that. The AYUSH ministry has started owning it.

Most of the yoga gurus are coming in proximity with the ruling establishment. They are seen with political leaders than ever before. For anything to grow, you need support of the State. Had yoga received the support of the State earlier, it could have perhaps covered more part of the globe. The recognition of yoga from the State is crucial. It is not politics.

Do you think yoga has got more recognition under Modi government than during earlier regimes?

The leadership understood the value of these ancient methods and why we should recognise it. Modiji has created a separate ministry. That needs to be lauded. Ayurveda was totally ignored.

Have your disciples come to you with issues of different nature during this period (of Covid and lockdown)?

Yes, every day we are counselling people... many suicidal tendencies. People have reported depression and domestic fights.

One of your greatest contributions is you have brought back playfulness to spirituality. Is it not particularly important in these dark times?

Spirituality has to lighten you up. Yoga should make you like a child again.

Do you feel there is an imbalance in terms of thinking and actions?

Imbalance is not a permanent state. It is a temporary state. People look for comfort...This is how yoga has become popular throughout the world.

Has there been an understanding that science and spirituality will take the world forward together, that they are not in opposition?

They are not opposite. In the times of Covid-19, people are anxious. So, one needs inner strength. Meditation and pranayama boost your immune system. The West has accepted yoga not just because of philosophy but because of its benefits on physiological and psychological levels. The WHO has expressed concern that the biggest post-pandemic issue is mental health. Yoga and meditation are the answers. There is no other way to go about it.

Have you seen a gradual change in the way the world looks at yoga?

Yes. Earlier, the West saw yoga differently. They thought it was only for the recluse. When I started teaching yoga abroad many years ago, the concept was different. Slowly it started changing. Its more acceptable, in the mainstream now.
Two North Carolina cops fired for making racial slurs have been pictured for the first time, as a District Attorney reviews their police cases for any instances of possible bias.

Officers Michael 'Kevin' Piner, 44, and James 'Brian' Gilmore, 48, were booted from the Wilmington Police Department on Wednesday along with Cpl. Jesse More, 50, for violating standards of conduct and using inappropriate slurs.

The men were discovered to have made racist comments during a department audit of a camera placed in Officer Piner's car.

Piner was caught on camera stating saying a civil war was needed to wipe black people 'off the f**king map'.

Gilmore stated that white people were now 'worshiping blacks,' and said he had seen a video of a 'fine looking white girl and this little punk pretty boy bowing down and kissing their toes.'

Officers Michael 'Kevin' Piner (left) and James 'Brian' Gilmore (right) were booted from the Wilmington Police Department on Thursday along with Cpl. Jesse More, 50, for violating standards of conduct and using inappropriate slurs.

Following the trio's firing on Thursday, the city's Police Chief, Donny Williams, immediately asked New Hanover & Pender County District Attorney to review cases the men had been involved in to look for bias.

CBS This Morning reported Friday that 89 cases have been flagged, and some have already been thrown out.

Police Chief Williams was interviewed on the news program Friday morning, where he explained why he wanted to terminate the officers, as opposed to have them resign.

'People are tired of officers being involved in misconduct and walking away quietly,' Williams stated, explaining that some cops are able to 'maintain their certification and get another law enforcement job'.

All three of the fired officers had worked in law enforcement for more than 20 years respectively.

Williams - who is Wilmington's first black Police Chief - praised his department for transparency after the sergeant auditing the tapes quickly brought them to his attention.

Police Chief Williams was interviewed on the news program Friday morning, where he explained why he wanted to terminate the officers, as opposed to have them resign.

When asked whether Wilmington PD needed more black officers, Williams replied 'the color of a person's skin is not going to determine the color of their heart.'

'You have white officers that are good officers, you have white officers that are bad officers,' the police chief explained.

'You have black officers that are good officers, and you also have black officers that are bad officers. The color of their heart is more important to me than the color of their skin.'

Three police officers in North Carolina have been fired for making racial slurs, police chief Donny Williams announced on Wednesday in Wilmington

RACIST NORTH CAROLINA COPS Michael 'Kevin' Piner: Says Wilmington Police Department's only concern is 'kneeling down with the black folks.' Civil war is coming and he is going to buy a new assault rifle, and 'we are just going to go out and start slaughtering them f****** n******. I can't wait. God, I can't wait.' He feels a civil war is needed to 'wipe them off the f****** map. That'll put them back about four or five generations.' James 'Brian' Gilmore: Whites were now 'worshiping blacks,' adding he'd seen a video of a 'fine looking white girl and this little punk pretty boy bowing down and kissing their toes.' Jesse Moore: Says of a black woman: 'She needed a bullet in the head right then and move on. Let's move the body out of the way and keep going.' Calls a black judge a 'f****** negro magistrate'. Advertisement

Williams first addressed the media on Wednesday, when he announced the officers' firings.

'When I first learned of these conversations, I was shocked, saddened and disgusted,' Williams said at a news conference.

'There is no place for this behavior in our agency or our city and it will not be tolerated.'

According to documents released by the police department, a sergeant was conducting a video audit as part of a monthly inspection and was reviewing footage from Piner's car that had been classified as 'accidental activation.'

After the sergeant listened to the conversation and determined comments made by Piner and Moore were 'extremely racist,' she contacted the department administrator for the camera system.

At the 46-minute mark of the video, Piner and Gilmore began talking from their respective cars, at which time Piner criticized the department, saying its only concern was 'kneeling down with the black folks.'

Gilmore, hired like Moore by the department in 1997, said that whites were now 'worshiping blacks,' adding he'd seen a video of a 'fine looking white girl and this little punk pretty boy bowing down and kissing their toes.'

About 30 minutes later, Piner, hired in 1998, received a phone call from Moore, according to the investigation, a segment in which Moore referred to a Black female as a 'f****** negro.'

'She needed a bullet in the head right then and move on,' Moore said of the woman.

'Let's move the body out of the way and keep going.'

Later, while complaining about a black judge whom Moore called a 'f****** negro magistrate,' Moore added: 'It's bad man, because not all black people are like that.'

Piner replied: 'Most of 'em.'

He repeated the use of the slur in describing a black magistrate, and Moore used a gay slur to describe the magistrate as well.

Later, according to the investigation, Piner told Moore that he feels a civil war is coming and that he is ready.

Piner said he was going to buy a new assault rifle, and soon 'we are just going to go out and start slaughtering them f****** n******'.

'I can't wait. God, I can't wait.'

Moore responded that he would not do that.

Piner then told Moore that he felt a civil war was needed to 'wipe them off the f****** map.'

He continued: 'That'll put them back about four or five generations.'

Moore told Piner he was 'crazy,' and the recording stopped a short time later.

According to police, the officers admitted it was their voices on the video and didn't deny any of the content.

While the officers denied that they were racists, they blamed their comments on the stress on law enforcement in light of the protests over the death of George Floyd.

Floyd, a Black man, died last month after a Minneapolis police officer put his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes.
Berlin, June 26 : Shareholders of German flag carrier Deutsche Lufthansa gave the green light to the federal government's 9-billion-euro ($10 billion) stabilization package, the company said.

As many as 98 per cent of shareholders voted to approve the measures at a general meeting on Thursday, Xinhua news agency quoted Lufthansa as saying in a tweet.

Earlier on Thursday, the European Commission's competition officials also approved the rescue package.

The package of loans and various measures was offered via Germany's Economic Stabilization Fund in late May to help the airline weather the coronavirus crisis.

Before the general meeting of shareholders was held, the package had already been approved by both the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of the company.

In Lufthansa's tweet, CEO Carsten Spohr said that Thursday's decision "ensures outlook for the future".

The tweet also said that the flight schedules of the group's airlines will be further expanded.

Due to the impact of the pandemic, the flag carrier had announced earlier this month that it planned to lay off a total of 22,000 full-time employees and also reduce its fleet by around 100 aircraft.
In the case of the two Michaels detained in China, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insists that he is following the rule of law. And he is.

What he doesnt say, however, is that the law in question, the Extradition Act, gives his government the authority to reach a political settlement with China that could bring both Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor home.

We were reminded of that this week after Kovrigs family released a blue-ribbon legal opinion from former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour and former federal justice minister Allan Rock.

The opinion details just how much leeway exists in Ottawas handling of the American request to extradite prominent Chinese businesswoman Meng Wanzhou to the U.S. to face fraud charges.

It was Mengs arrest in December 2018 in the Vancouver airport that set the whole thing off.

Shortly after her arrest, Beijing jailed Kovrig and Spavor, two Canadians living in China, on vague national security grounds. Beijing made it clear that the pair would not be released until Canada freed Meng.

Trudeau, however, insisted that his government could not intervene in Mengs extradition proceedings because Canada is wedded to the rule of law.

At the time, some noted that Trudeaus argument made little sense. Canadian law explicitly allows political intervention in extradition hearings. But these critics were largely dismissed.

Now that Arbour and Rock have weighed in, the Trudeau government may find it more difficult to ignore this line of argument.

The Extradition Act itself is relatively straightforward. It recognizes that extradition requests have judicial and political components.

A judge holds hearings to determine if the extradition request is legally proper and appropriate.

But the final decision on whether to grant that request is a political one made by the justice minister. He or she is left to determine whether extradition, in this case of Meng to the U.S., is in the national interest.

As well, under law, the justice minister may terminate an extradition hearing at any time and let the subject (in this case Meng) go free.

In short, the government has a perfectly legal way to end the nightmare faced by the two Michaels. It could effect a swap with Beijing: You give us back the two Canadians; we give you Meng.

Like spy swaps, the exchange could take place in a neutral third country to ensure that each side lived up to its commitments.

There is a downside to this. We would be rewarding bad behaviour. China would know it could push us around with impunity.

But Beijing already knows it can push Canada around. China is economically important to Canada. The reverse does not hold.

The Conservatives argue that Canada should show its displeasure by withdrawing its support from the China-dominated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Fine. Lets do it. But since Canada contributes just over one per cent of the banks capital, I doubt Beijing would much care.

I also note that no politician is suggesting that Canadian pork and oil seed producers boycott the lucrative Chinese market.

In the end, the story is very simple. The Americans want a trophy in their long-running competition with China. They think Meng, the daughter of the man who created telecom giant Huawei, would fit the bill.

China is determined that this will not happen. Meng is part of the countrys ruling elite. Huawei is an exemplar of Chinese technological prowess. Beijing will not tolerate the idea of her doing time in a remote U.S. supermax.

And Canada? What does Canada want? Do we want the feeling of moral superiority that comes from defying bullies? Or do we want the two Michaels freed?

Sometimes you have to admit your losses and move on. Weve lost this one. Maybe we should respond to the threat of future Beijing hostage-taking by insisting that all Canadians living in China, including 300,000 Hongkongers, return home.

But, in the meantime, lets get the two Michaels back. If that means having our government use its lawful powers to end the extradition hearings against Meng, so be it.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four decades after launching its drive for U.S. statehood, Washington, D.C. was poised to take a step toward becoming the 51st state as the House of Representatives on Friday was expected to approve its admission.

Though the initiative was likely to pass handily in the House, where Democrats hold the majority, Republicans for years have actively opposed creating a state that they predict would elect Democrats to Congress.

Indeed, voters in the city of Washington have elected only Democratic mayors in recent history. Creating a state out of Washington would likely make it more difficult for Republicans to win majorities in the Senate.

Last month President Donald Trump, a Republican, told here the New York Post: "You mean District of Columbia, a state? Why? So we can have two more ... Democrat senators and five more congressmen? No thank you. That'll never happen."

If it became a state, Washington would likely only have one lawmaker, not five.

Proponents say Washingtons 700,000 inhabitants - more than Vermont and Wyoming - have no voice in the federal government, despite paying federal taxes.

That status is protested with a slogan on Washingtons automobile license plates that screams: Taxation without representation.

Currently, legislation passed by the districts local government is subject to congressional review.

Local anger over the districts status flared up most recently during the coronavirus pandemic. Washington received $500 million for its pandemic response, compared to the $1.2 billion the federal government accorded to each of the 50 states.

Amid nationwide protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd, an African American man who died after a police officer kneeled against Floyds neck, Trump sent National Guard troops from 10 states, over the objection of the districts mayor, to quell protests against racism and police brutality in the district.

Not only do we not have voting senators and our congresswoman not have the right to vote, the whims of a federal government can encroach on our even limited autonomy, said Mayor Muriel Bowser at a press conference.

The state would be named Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, after George Washington, the first U.S. president, and Frederick Douglass, a former enslaved person turned famed abolitionist.

It would include the districts current 700,000 residents, but not major federal buildings, the National Mall, memorials and the museums, which would be housed in a federal enclave.

The last time the United States expanded was 1959, when Congress approved admitting Alaska and Hawaii as the 49th and 50th states, respectively, following congressional votes and the support of the president.

The U.S. constitution gives Congress the power to admit new states without specifying a process.
Analysis from the University of Surrey suggests that the economies of countries such as America, the United Kingdom and Germany should prepare for a long slow recovery with prolonged periods of instability.

Rates of growth across member states of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have been in decline since the 1970s, a phenomenon known as 'secular stagnation'. The average growth in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita fell from over 4 percent in the mid-1960s to little more than 1 percent in the pre-pandemic years. The International Monetary Fund expects global GDP to decline by 5 percent this year alone (2020) with a contraction of 3 percent likely even in the emerging and developing market economies.

In a paper published by Nature, researchers from Surrey's Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) broke new research ground by applying critical slowing down (CSD) theory, typically used in physics and ecology, to analyse long-term trends in the global GDP datasets from as far back as the 1820s.

CSD theory suggests that when a constrained, dynamic system is close to breaking point, its ability to recovery decreases. Fluctuations around the system's equilibrium become deeper and more pronounced because its internal stabilisation forces have weakened.

The team from CUSP found that, even before the Covid-19 crisis, many of the world's leading economies were experiencing larger slower growth cycles (recession cycles), suggesting precisely such a period of critical slowing down in the economic system. The team's analysis suggests that the added weight of the Covid-19 crisis may result in one of the weakest and most unstable recoveries in recorded history for many economies.

Professor Tim Jackson, Director of CUSP at the University of Surrey, said: "The global economy is facing one of the largest downturns since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Placing the economy on hold to prevent unfathomable human tragedy from the Covid-19 pandemic was the right decision. Trying to force our way back to economic growth now would be the wrong one. A post-growth world is the new normal.

"It's time to rethink and remake the economic models that have been failing us for decades. The challenge is enormous. But so is the prize. CSD theory suggests that a resilient, sustainable economic system which protects the health of people and planet is now within our grasp."
A technology analyst said Zoox has one of the better autonomous driving offerings but is currently suffering from its inability to forecast market readiness and demand for its product. (Photo | Zoox)

Washington: Amazon said Friday it was buying the self-driving car tech startup Zoox, in an effort to rev up the drive for autonomous ride-hailing and compete against rivals like former Google car unit Waymo.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a report in The Information said Amazon was paying more than $1 billion for the California startup developing autonomous technology.

Zoox is working to imagine, invent and design a world-class autonomous ride-hailing experience, said Jeff Wilke, who heads Amazon Worldwide Consumer.

Like Amazon, Zoox is passionate about innovation and about its customers, and were excited to help the talented Zoox team to bring their vision to reality in the years ahead.

The companies said Zoox CEO Aicha Evans and chief technology officer Jesse Levinson would keep their roles at Zoox as a standalone business as they innovate and drive towards their mission.

This acquisition solidifies Zooxs impact on the autonomous driving industry, said Aicha Evans, CEO of Zoox. We have made great strides with our purpose-built approach to safe, autonomous mobility, and our exceptionally talented team working every day to realize that vision. We now have an even greater opportunity to realize a fully autonomous future.

Evans, a Senegal native, was named CEO in January 2019 of Zoox, which had raised more than $750 million and has some 1,000 employees.

A good fit

Technology analyst Richard Windsor said on his Radio Free Mobile blog that Zoox is a good fit for Amazon and has one of the better autonomous driving offerings but is currently suffering from its inability to forecast market readiness and demand for its product.

Windsor said Amazon and Zoox will compete with robotaxi offerings from Waymo, Cruise, Uber and Mobileye rather than the other companies who plan to offer autonomous solutions for everyday vehicles.

The analyst added that Amazon is also likely to use Zoox to automate the last mile of its distribution network and make a vast cost saving.

The reported transaction is far below Zooxs valuation of some $3.2 billion estimated last year by the research firm CB Insights.

Amazons moves comes in the midst of a pandemic-induced economic slump which has strengthened some of the major tech firms and has led to increased antitrust scrutiny.

It comes with lawmakers poised to call Big Tech CEOs to testify about their dominance and with antitrust enforcers stepping up probes in the US and European Union.

Amazon, which is the largest e-commerce operator and a major player in cloud computing and streaming media, has been ramping up its own logistics network in recent years with planes, drones and delivery vehicles.

It plans to deploy more than 100,000 electric delivery vans in the coming years.

Waymo, a unit of Google parent Alphabet, has begun deploying fully autonomous rides to a small number of users. But analysts say wide deployment may take several years.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
Members of Kataib Hezbollah gather for the funeral of Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport - THAIER AL-SUDANI/REUTERS

Iraqi security forces have raided the offices of one of the country's most powerful Iran-backed militias, signalling a possible crackdown on Tehran's military influence in Baghdad.

The raid on Thursday night saw the arrest of more than a dozen members of Kataib Hezbollah, a Shia militia group blamed by the US for numerous rocket attacks on American bases in Iraq. The group's activities ultimately led to last January's US airstrike in Baghdad that killed Qassem Solaimani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander who sponsored them.

The arrests may be a sign that Iraq's new pro-Western prime minister, Mustapha al-Khadimi, is trying to clamp down on the presence of Tehran-backed militias in Iraq.

The raid took place at a Khataib Hezbollah headquarters in southern Baghdad, although the exact circumstances were unclear. Some said that those detained had been taken into government custody.

Others, though, claimed they had been transferred to the custody of an internal security wing of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, or PMF. The PMF is a Shia paramilitary organisation set up six years ago to fight Islamic State, and has a number of factions with close links to Tehran. Transferring them to PMF custody could be a tactic to avoid aggravating tensions with Tehran. According to one report by Reuters, one of the arrested commanders was an Iranian.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustapha al-Khadimi has signalled his intentions to lead a more pro-Western administration - Handout/REUTERS

Tensions between the US and Kataib Hezbollah came to a head in late December, when the US bombed one of the militia's bases in Iraq, killing 25 people. The US said it was retaliating for a Khataib Hezbollah attack that had killed a US contractor and wounded several Iraqi and US soldiers.

Two days later, Khataib Hezbollah members and others besieged the US embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone, prompting Mr Trump to retaliate by assassinating Mr Solaimani in an airstrike in early January.

The US also blames Khataib Hezbollah for a rocket attack on a coalition base in March that killed a British soldier and two Americans.

Mr Khadimi, a former journalist and human rights activist who spent time exiled in Britain, was appointed as prime minister in May. He is said to want to curb Iranian influence in Iraq, and has already made moves to integrate a number of Shia militia groups into government control.

While Iraq's parliament still has a powerful bloc loyal to Iran, anti-Iranian sentiment has been on the rise in Iraq in the past year. It follows widespread anti-government street protests that broke out in autumn, which pro-Iranian militias were accused of trying to suppress.
The Victorian Labor government of Daniel Andrews this afternoon announced 30 new coronavirus case in the state over the past 24 hours, amid an ongoing spike in infections. Yesterdays tally of 33 confirmed COVID-19 cases was the highest in a single day since April 3.

In the last week, 155 new cases were discovered, more than in any seven-day period since April 10. A man in his 80s died on Tuesday night, the states twentieth coronavirus death, and the first in the country since May 23.

Confronted with the mounting public health crisis, which Andrews likened to the summers catastrophic bushfires, the Victorian Labor government has sought assistance from the military.

Around 200 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel have been sent to Melbourne to assist with door-to-door COVID-19 testing.

While Andrews announced Thursday morning that 1,000 ADF troops would be deployed, mainly to take control of Melbournes quarantine hotels, by the evening the plan had changed. The Victorian government is now in discussions to hand management of the hotels over to the state police, with the defence contingent limited to a couple of hundred.

The involvement of the military and police illustrates the critical lack of public funding in the civilian arena.

The health emergency demands the deployment of highly-trained doctors, nurses, epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists, equipped with the best available PPE and medical equipment.

This army does not exist, however. Decades of cuts to public health spending have rendered hospitals across the country barely able to cope with patient demand under normal circumstances.

The increasing cost of tertiary education, poor wages and working conditions of health workers, and Australias ageing population have led to a chronic shortage of available staff, particularly nurses.

The shock of the pandemic has done nothing to change this. While elective surgeries were temporarily cancelled early on to free up beds for COVID-19 patients, no moves were made to retrain health workers in infectious disease control and management. Instead, thousands of nurses and other hospital workers across the country were stood down or forced to take leave.

The deployment of the military in the domestic environment is part of a broader authoritarian response to the pandemic and the mounting social crisis it has exposed. It is a stark warning of the preparations by governments to repress growing social and political opposition, above all from the working class.

It is unclear why the Andrews government scaled down the military involvement at the last minute. It may have been for legal reasons, or because of official fears that the sight of a thousand troops on the streets of Melbourne would have been viewed as a major attack on democratic rights by ordinary people.

Nevertheless, Victorian police have again been given the power to issue on-the-spot fines for infractions of social-distancing and public-gathering restrictions.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Victorian police have handed down 6,200 coronavirus-related fines, more than all other states and territories combined. The fines, worth a total of more than $10 million, have disproportionately been issued in low socio-economic and high-immigrant areas.

This aggressive policing is designed to give the impression that authorities are seriously fighting to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The reality is that this is only true insofar as it does not affect the profit interests of big business.

While small gatherings of people in outdoor areas have been hit with fines, workers and schoolchildren have been forced to spend their days in close quarters with hundreds of their colleagues.

As the World Socialist Web Site has warned, the relaxation of social-distancing restrictions and the drive to reopen schools and workplaces has led to a dramatic resurgence of new COVID-19 cases.

While planned relaxations to social-distancing restrictions in Victoria were postponed due to the spate of cases, the only measure taken to reduce the evident increase in community transmission was to restrict gatherings in private homes.

This is part of a broader strategy to blame individual workers and their families for outbreaks and to ensure that the wheels of industry are able to get back to generating profits for the corporate elite.

The Murdoch press has enthusiastically reported allegations that one of the clusters is related to an extended family Eid al-Fitr celebration held days before state regulations were relaxed to allow such gatherings.

This is a clear attempt to divide the working class and foster anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment as a distraction from the dangerous conditions created by the premature reopening of workplaces and schools in Victoria and around the country.

In a further effort to attribute the surge in cases to personal irresponsibility, Andrews said yesterday: If youre sick, you cannot go to work That is both dangerous and wrong.

The reality is, if authorities were serious about this, they would institute paid pandemic leave for all workers who are unwell or need to self-isolate after contact with a confirmed case.

In any event, there is no evidence to suggest that the recent increase in confirmed cases is substantially a result of people working while symptomatic.

Andrews revealed yesterday morning that the ten worst-affected suburbs are: Keilor Downs, Broadmeadows, Maidstone, Albanvale, Sunshine West, Hallam, Brunswick West, Fawkner, Reservoir and Pakenham.

The premier announced that a team of health workers will begin travelling door-to-door to offer free COVID-19 testing to everyone in these suburbs, with the aim of testing around 50 percent of residentsor 100,000 peopleover the next ten days.

This, Australias first effort to initiate mass testing of people with no symptoms or known exposure, comes 116 days after the first COVID-19 death in the country.

The blitz is likely to result in reduced testing elsewhere in Victoria, as the state only has the capacity to test 20,000 samples per day. While other states have agreed to share laboratory resources, it is unlikely that this will meet the increased demand.

People queuing for coronavirus tests at Royal Melbourne Hospital in March (Credit: WSWS)

More than 20,000 Victorians presented for COVID-19 tests on Tuesday and Wednesday, with many waiting three to four hours or being turned away.

The lack of broad-scale testing elsewhere in the country is in line with the policy of state and governments, which is not to eradicate the virus, because that would be too costly, but to supposedly contain it. Limited testing serves to artificially lower the reported rate of infection in order to justify the ending of lockdown measures.

The rapid increase of cases in Victoria in recent weeks is a sharp warning of what a dangerous policy this is.

The spike has underscored the way in which it is above all the working class that is being forced to pay for the crisis. Around 100 Centrelink contractors who live in the Melbourne hotspots were stood down without pay on Tuesday following a directive from Services Australia, the government agency in charge of the welfare provider.

While other state leaders have responded to the upsurge with increased border patrols and stern admonitions to avoid travel to the affected areas, the reality is that nowhere near enough testing has been carried out to declare any state or territory free of the coronavirus.

New South Wales (NSW) has also seen an increase in recent weeks. A Sydney school was closed yesterday after a seven-year-old student tested positive for COVID-19, followed by another school today.

The Victorian surge has not deterred NSW authorities from their plan to allow crowds of up to 10,000 people to attending sporting events from July 1, although the states health minister, Brad Hazzard, said yesterday that Melbourne residents will be prevented from buying tickets.

In the last two weeks, 19 Victorian schools, pre-schools and childcare facilities have been forced to close after children or staff tested positive. Despite this, health authorities continue to insist that schools are safe.

Twenty-four of the weeks cases are returned travellers in quarantine hotels, two of which are linked to large outbreaks in Melbourne. Workers at Stamford Plaza and Rydges on Swanston and their close contacts account for at least 30 recent confirmed cases.

One security contractor employed at Rydges on Swanston told the Age that the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) told guards to wear masks for four hours at a time and use no more than six pairs of gloves each day.

A spokeswoman for the DHHS said that the provision of safe workplaces was the responsibility of the hotels and private security contractors.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has downplayed the Victorian spike throughout the week. He has insisted that states should continue to lift restrictions.

The federal government and its state counterparts have declared that regardless of how many infections occur, lockdown measures will not be reinstated. Morrison told the media yesterday: We cant go, stop, go, stop, go. We cant flick the light on and off.
A man who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and expressed his desire to make her his sex slave, has been jailed for two years.

In an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Friday, Benjamin Reid contested details given by the Crown and maintained he didnt force the teen to commit a sexual act.

The 33-year-old resident of Perth, Ont. called the Crowns version of events a bit blown out of proportion.

To that end, assistant Crown attorney Todd Morris read in one of the many text messages Reid sent to the teen.

You will be the perfect (expletive) toy for daddy and learn how to be the hottest little slut for me and I will teach you how to be the perfect woman and guide you through life, the message read.

You are going to be the most amazing and perfect little sexual object when Im done training you.

Reid said he didnt recall sending that specific message to the teen. He also questioned the Crowns assertion that he forced the child to perform a sex act, saying he allowed her to do it.

Reid on Friday pleaded guilty to four sex-related offences including making sexually explicit material available to someone under 19 and sexual interference.

He was sentenced to two years in jail, which takes into account the two-and-a-half years he spent in pretrial custody.

It is appropriate that I condemn and denounce what you have done, on behalf of the community, said Judge Joseph De Filippis.

When young people are sexually violated, they carry that harm with them for their life and sometimes they dont recover from it.

Reid apologized in court.

I am mad at myself for putting anybody through this situation, he said. I never imagined going through anything like this. Its not who I am.

Court heard the defendant began communicating with the child on a messaging website in October 2018.

In November, he drove to Grimsby where he picked up the girl from school. He drove her to a secluded area, where she was sexually assaulted.

In a victim impact statement presented in court, the girls mother described how the incident has affected her child.

With family and love she copes, but coping is not the same as living, she wrote.

Our little girl was lost, you could just see it in her eyes. Her spirit has been taken.

I pray you never know how or feel the indescribable hurt and pain that my heart feels.

As a parent, you wish you could turn back the clocks and take away the past, present and future pain. I wish I could bottle it up and throw it on myself.

Defense lawyer Scott Reid told the judge his client, who had no previous criminal record, has been diagnosed with depression during his time in jail.

Depression is not an excuse for his behaviour, but it may be a contributing factor in explaining this, he said.

The defendants name will be placed on the national sex offender registry for life.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre-state spat on the return of expatriates continued on Friday with Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedhran rubbishing reports that the Centre had 'congratulated' the state's initiatives on the matter. Muraleedharan was referring to a letter from a senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs in response to the state's revised proposals to contain spread of coronavirus during the return of expatriates.

The Chief Minister's Office had late on Thursday night released the letter written by Sanjay Bhattacharya, Secretary, MEA to the state's Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta. A communique issued from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said the Centre has termed the state's initiatives as 'praiseworthy'. The letter was released hours after Muraleedharan launched a scathing attack on the state government, terming its demand for Covid tests in Gulf countries as 'foolish'.

Muraleedharan said the CMO must have misinterpreted a routine official letter sent by the MEA official. He added it was cheap on the part of the CM's PR team to brand the letter as a congratulatory note from the Centre. He also wondered whether the gaffe occurred due to the lack of proficiency in English on the part of CM's PR team.

The Union Minister accused the state of hiding the Centre's earlier letter, written on June 24, in which it had rejected the state's demand for Covid tests in Gulf countries. In response to that letter, the state diluted its demands and instead suggested N95 masks, face shield and hand gloves for expatriates. The MEA official's letter was in response to these revised proposals, Muraleedharan clarified.

Muraleedharan said the MEA official's letter had complimented the state for realising its folly in insisting on Covid tests and for suggesting practical measures instead. "It seems the CM's PR team was not aware of the difference between compliment and congratulation," Muraledharan taunted.

"Covid cannot be contained through PR work. Instead of using the money for PR work, the state should step up testing and bost its quarantine facilities," Muraleedharan advised.

He reminded that Kerala's rate of testing was only 28 per cent when compared to other states. While Kerala tests 372 people among one lakh, the national average is 553. As many as 27 states are ahead of Kerala in terms of the rate of testing for Covid-19, he said.
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BEREA, Ohio -- Berea police arrested a 37-year-old Cleveland man, wanted in connection with several cell-phone store robberies, at about 2:30 p.m. June 20 at AT&T, 414 W. Bagley Road.

A worker at T-Mobile, 417 W. Bagley, had called police at about 2:20 p.m. and said a suspicious man -- later identified as the Cleveland man -- had just been in his store and left. The worker believed he was same man who had robbed other cell-phone stores in the area, and said the man had just walked into AT&T.

Workers at both AT&T and T-Mobile said the man had offered to pay cash for expensive phones. Police later learned that the man had done the same at cell-phone stores in Middleburg Heights, Strongsville, Fairview Park and Mayfield Heights, where he grabbed phones from the hands of workers and ran away.

When police arrived, the man was still inside AT&T, and police asked him to step outside. He allowed police to pat him down for weapons. No weapons were found. The man correctly identified himself to police.

Police drove the man to Holiday Inn in Independence, where they turned him over to Mayfield Heights police.

Read more from the News Sun.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) has expressed concern about "the presence of Russian and foreign mercenaries in the Al-Sharara oil field (southwest) after a convoy of dozens of military vehicles entered the field on Thursday evening and met with representatives of the oil installations guard"
Military mobilisation of Chinese at Depsang Plains region high on India Armys radar

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 26: The military mobilisation by the Chinese in the Depsang Plains region, is high on the radar of the Indian Army.

The Depsang Plains region is a major hotspot after the Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso and Hot Spring areas.

Sources tell OneIndia that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is close to a place known as Bottleneck. This is the Rakki Nallah and Jeewan Nallah are where there was a standoff in 2013.

The source also said that any movement westwards by the PLA can threaten the Dabruk-Shyok-DBO road and the airfield at DBO. Further it was also found that there was movement of additional PLA troops over the past one week at the Depsang plains, further north of Galwan towards the Karokaram pass. This has raised concerns as the Daulat Beg Oldie is less than 25 kilometres from the Chinese posts.

Also Read:

Meanwhile, General M M Naravane will brief the top leadership on the situation at the Line of Actual Control amidst the tension with China.

The Indian Army Chief returned after a two day trip to east Ladakh theatre. He took stock of the situation and also met with the soldiers who were injured in the Galwan Valley clash on June 15.

The assessment to be put out by the Army Chief would be crucial for the political leadership to chart out the next course of action. The assessment is also crucial as tensions are high at the LAC, although there has been no flare up after the June 15 incident.

China muscle flexing: US reviews troop deployment after India-China tensions rise | Oneindia News

In addition to this the Army Chief would also be holding discussions with Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat and the Indian Air Force and Navy chiefs.

He would brief them about the force requirements on the ground. A decision on this would be handled by the CDS.

General Naravane would also provide the political leadership with an assessment on the ground, after the new satellite images emerged.

Satellite images of June 22 show that the Chinese observation posts were destroyed during the violent clash that took place at the Galwan Valley on June 15.

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies, which was put out by a Twitter handle @detresra_ show that between the clash that took place on June 15 and the talks on June 22, China had rebuilt defensive positions in the Galwan area just across the LAC inside Indian territory.

Further a tweet put out by Nathan Ruser, a researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, which is an independent think-tank shows that a small outpost which led to the June 15 clash and was destroyed had grown hugely in size.

Ruser said, " these maps show the locations of all the Indian and Chinese structures, tents and vehicles within the Galwan Valley on both May 22 and June 22. Both India and China have injected a lot of infrastructure in the region. The Chinese troops are far more forward."

"Satellite imagery from the Galwan Valley on June 22nd shows that 'disengagement' really isn't the word that the government should be using. This gif shows the small outpost that sparked the June 15th clashes. It has grown hugely in size. Indian troops aren't dismantling this one," Ruser also said.
The Dylan Sprouse and James Gunn tweets are interesting.

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LOL i thought so too

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they all know each other and what they do behind doors but won't say shit

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I am somewhat mixed about that because they seemed to spoken out when it seemed safe too- just like everyone else. I could see why Dylan would take the opportunity cause Jared is on a higher power scale than he is. James being a director makes me wonder the differences



I don't think men as as much to fear compared to women who dare to speak up but I'm curious how the dynamics works.



Also I know that Dylan and his brother both have skeletons in their closets.

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Isnt Dylan dating Barbara Pavlin? Wonder if Jared slid into her DMs.

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Leto deserves any public outing for his gross behavior he gets.. but Dylan should probably clean up his own home since his bro was accused of abusive behavior from an ex.

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it's very much a "look over there!" tactic

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This is going to be a long series.

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The Neverending Story tbh.

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It's a bottomless pit.

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There is definitely some middle aged woman out there that would date him. Im sure lots of women 26+ would date leo too. These type of men are chasing youth

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Valar Morghulis

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Lololol I said that to this guy earlier today.

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Ugh fucking Theo James

I was never like invested in him sufficiently but he was tall and hot for an Englishman

Trash!!!

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Same  Did not expect that.

Also did not know he was married / still making movies / still alive.

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married to his girlfriend that he met in acting school. poor girl

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mte he's not a good actor but he was hot in Sanditon. Luckily there are other attractive less-problematic actors out there.

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there's a tattoo shop at the mall I work in.



and the other day, one of our managers saw one of the guys taking video of a woman (maybe a girl) without her knowledge, and looked awfully chuffed about getting said video. speaking of trash men.there's a tattoo shop at the mall I work in. https://www.glasssttattoo.net/ . they display nasty hentai hoodies covered in those ahegao pictures in their shop window. one of them drives a car similarly covered in ahegao pictures. one of them is wearing a mask that literally says " (hentai)". their logo t-shirts are literally the PornHub logo.and the other day, one of our managers saw one of the guys taking video of a woman (maybe a girl) without her knowledge, and looked awfully chuffed about getting said video.

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Did your manager do anything?

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she couldn't do much at the time, as she was being the door-person (we can't exceed 40 people, and we have to tell people COVID info at the door) but when she told me I advised her to file a report/complaint/thing with mall management because that is just unacceptable.

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ive somehow never seen their shop but mall of nh hellllllllll yeah. gives me my cinnabon fix since rockingham mall got rid of cinnabon 1000 yrs ago

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I will never understand these men who are unabashed and proud of the fact that they jerk it to cartoon porn. Or, really, anyone who decides to make what kind of porn they watch a major personality trait.

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so many male tattoo artists are trash

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Thanks for the heads up of where I should NOT get a tattoo done in New Hampshire. Gross.

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Oh Sidney. Lord Babington would never.

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Is this a Sanditon reference? I loved that trash show, and am very disappointed not to get more.



But not that disappointed because all men are trash, but especially Theo James.

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Apparently Amazon is going to pick it up! they were asking if they should continue the series

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Yes it was. It was cancelled?

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Lord Babington is a babe and the only male character worth rooting for in that exasperating show (though am dying for a second season if only to get resolution)

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Oh my days, I have such a thing for Mark Stanley - he's done alot of other films and TV that will be coming out this year (that I saw in festivals) and he has incredible range. He knows how to play up his attractiveness when needed though.

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omg i literally just told my sister that even though i'm technically bi, i hate men and could never see myself with one anymore.

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ik the feeling

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I told my sis just yesterday: Straight women is the ultimate evidence sexuality is not a choice.

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lmao my mom says that all the time. "like i would choose MEN if i had a choice!"

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Top notch work OP! Ill be back tomorrow to read the comments.

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Great job, OP. Great job, OP.

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OMG that garbage man. XD

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Leto's been known trash for forever, along with his brother. I remember being 16/17 and hanging out with bands in the scene via my sister and her friends, and being told repeatedly not to be alone/associate with either one if I ever had the chance. My sister was friends with a guy who owned a fairly predominant label, his bands had toured with 30stm, etc. and his exact words were 'Most of these dudes will try to get you drunk and fuck you, but will stop when you say no. Both Letos won't.'

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oh wow i am not surprised even a little bit, but i hadn't heard that shannon was just as bad. jfc.

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Holy fuck. Every now and then it hits me how much this world hates women (/anyone who isnt a straight cis white man).

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I heard both brothers were awful like that. Not surprised.

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Theyre all disgusting but Dane Cook is especially disgusting. He just seems like a gross old pervert who gives me the creeps and Im old.  He also bought her a prestigious Honda Civic. really sent me though. 

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This is my all time favourite Simpsons moment.

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The best

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it's how i always feel

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Story: One of my friends went on a pizza date with Dane Cook that went nowhere. Several years and a failed marriage later, she came to recognize she is gay.

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Thank goodness fictional men never disappoint. Unless someone reboots them. Then I ignore it. here for thisThank goodness fictional men never disappoint. Unless someone reboots them. Then I ignore it.

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IKR mamochans only flaw is that he is useless and his roses prick floors before they can hit a daimon, but even then at least he manages to show up

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In the elite corridors of corporate Germany, Markus Braun had become a legend.

A little-known entrepreneur until just a few years ago, Mr. Braun had forged an obscure Bavarian company called Wirecard into a German tech icon, winning a coveted spot on the benchmark DAX stock index. Wirecard provided the invisible financial plumbing that, with a wave of plastic over a card reader almost anywhere in the world, made transactions happen. Hedge funds and global investors scrambled to buy shares.

When critics raised red flags about the companys seemingly miraculous success, questioning murky accounts and income that could not be traced, Mr. Braun, a methodical executive from Austria who was the companys biggest shareholder, hit back repeatedly, and the stock price skyrocketed.

But on Thursday, Mr. Brauns empire came crashing down after Wirecard filed for insolvency proceedings, days after the financial technology company acknowledged that 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) that it claimed to have on its balance sheets probably never existed. Its longtime auditor, EY, formerly Ernst & Young, said the company had carried out an elaborate and sophisticated fraud. Mastercard and Visa said Friday that they were considering cutting ties.

Wirecard, which owes creditors 3.5 billion, said its survival was not assured, sending its battered shares below 2 Friday from over 100 a week ago. The European Commission on Friday opened an investigation into Germanys financial regulator for failing to catch the problems, despite numerous reports of wrongdoing.
Days after a border clash with China this month in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, New Delhi told firms to find ways to cut imports from China. But two big industries, automobiles and pharmaceuticals, say this is easier said than done.

Like many countries, India relies on China for products such as electronic components and drug ingredients because it cannot make them or source them elsewhere as cheaply, company and industry figures say.

Thus any moves to curb imports or make them costlier without developing alternatives will hurt local businesses.

"We don't import because we like to, but because we have no choice," said RC Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the country's biggest carmaker.

"To attract companies to produce locally, we need to be more competitive and lower our costs compared with other countries."

India imported around $70.3 billion of goods from China in the fiscal year to March 2019, and exported just $16.7 billion - its widest trade deficit with any country.

The government is now consulting with companies on tightening curbs on 1,173 non-essential products, a trade body official said on condition of anonymity. They include toys, plastics, steel items, electronics and specific auto components - which feed vehicle manufacturing.

This is on top of plans to raise trade barriers and import duties on around 300 products from China and elsewhere, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's self-reliance campaign.

In April, India also tightened rules for investments from neighbouring countries, including China, to prevent opportunistic takeovers after the pandemic.

"If things do escalate, then India stands to lose a lot more than China," said the chief of corporate strategy at one of India's top 10 drugmakers. "We cannot afford this."

"NO KNEE-JERK REACTION"

Over a quarter of India's auto part imports - $4.2 billion - came from China in 2019, including engine and transmission parts, according to data from the Auto Component Manufacturers' Association of India (ACMA).

Some of these components are critical and hard to source elsewhere immediately, said Vinnie Mehta, director general at ACMA, whose members include companies such as Bosch, Valeo and Minda Industries.

"We cannot have a knee-jerk reaction, especially when we are emerging from the disruption caused by the pandemic," he said.

Chinese supplies have also been a key factor in India's booming drug industry, which exports cheap generic medicines.

Some of India's largest drug companies, such as Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Lupin and IPCA Labs, rely on China, and India overall gets about 70% of its supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from there, industry officials said.

"In the immediate future, we are going to continue to be reliant on China," said Sudarshan Jain, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, which represents major drug makers, although he believed there was only "a very low likelihood" of API supplies being cut off.

However, this still leaves manufacturers dependent on low Chinese prices to be able to meet price controls on the home market and stay competitive abroad.

This month, China increased prices of the common pain reliever paracetamol and of ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic used to fight respiratory infections, by 25%-27%, one senior industry executive said.

"This is an important antibacterial drug. If we don't buy from the Chinese, there will be shortages," the executive said. "Ramping up capacity in India is a gradual, long-drawn process."
Williamson, WV (25661)

Today

Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will become overcast in the afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 43F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 26F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
A woman who is battling Lyme disease has revealed that she stings herself with bees 30 times a week to treat her symptoms after spending nearly $1,000 a month on treatments that didn't work.

Brittany Elliott, 27, from Denver, Colorado, opened up about bee venom therapy (BVT), or apitherapy, earlier this week in a viral TikTok video. The footage, which shows herself stinging herself with live bees that she orders online, has been viewed more than 1.1 million times.

'I sting myself with bees three times a week to heal from Lyme disease,' she explains in the captions, stressing that 'this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.'

Scroll down for video

Alternative treatment: Brittany Elliott, 27, from Denver, Colorado, has opened up about her experience with bee venom therapy (BVT), or apitherapy

Works for her? Brittany stings herself with 10 bees, three times a week to treat her Lyme disease symptoms after spending nearly $1,000 a month on treatments that didn't work

She pans the camera to her bees, which are kept in a wooden box, calling them her 'healers.'

'The end of their life is giving me mine back when nothing else did,' she writes, noting that the 'average Lyme patient spends $53K a year on treatment'  out of pocket.

'I went broke trying to heal and I go nowhere,' she says, 'but now I spend 1K a year on bees, and they are helping me regain my life.'

Brittany gets her bees shipped to her home in Denver two times a month to keep up with her treatments. She stings herself with 10 bees, three times a week, and will continue to do so for the next two to three years, depending on her success.

When she first started BVT, she gave herself one sting and worked herself up to 10 over the course of four months.

Opening up: Brittany shared a TikTok video about the alternative treatment earlier this week, explaining the bees are her 'healers'

Online order: Brittany gets her live bees shipped to her home in Denver two times a month to keep up with her treatments

Beginning: When she first started BVT, she gave herself one sting and worked herself up to 10 over the course of four months.

She ices her back first to ease the pain, and she always has an EpiPen on hand in case she goes into anaphylactic shock.

In the video, she demonstrates how she uses a pair of tweezers to remove a live bee from the box. She then contorts her arm to hold the bee in place on her back until it stings her.

'I sting one inch to the left and to the right of the spine and in between,' she explains. 'I move up and down the spine over three years to ensure I hit all nerves and hidden bacteria.'

Brittany leaves the stingers in her back for 20 minutes before pulling them out. She stores the dead bees in a jar because she plans to honor them in a special way when she is cured.

'Once I feel good enough, I plan to go somewhere beautiful and have a burial to give thanks to the bees that are saving my life,' she says.

Ouch! In the video, she demonstrates how she picks up the bee using tweezers and contorts her arm to hold it in place on her back until it stings her

Process: Brittany leaves the stingers in her back for 20 minutes before pulling them out

The BVT advocate insists that even though the bees she uses do die, the treatment is cruelty-free and in no way contributing to bees dying off.

'The bees I receive from beekeepers are at the end of their lives and would only last two to three more weeks,' she notes. 'What I will use in three years is what one queen makes in three days.

'Mass bee die-offs are from pesticides, chemicals, and EMFs. I plan to have my own hive and give back in so many ways.'

Brittany has been candid about her struggles and diagnosis on both her social media accounts and her website, BritterBeez.

In previous posts, she explained she was bitten by a tick when she was seven years old but didn't start showing serious symptoms until she moved into a home with toxic black mold at the age of 22.

She said she has been struggling with symptoms for five years, with some doctors claiming it was all in her head. She was diagnosed with mold toxicity a year before she was diagnosed with Lyme disease.

Just listen: The BVT advocate insists that even though the bees she uses do die, the treatment is cruelty-free and in no way contributing to bees dying off

Collection: Brittany stores the dead bees in a mason jar because she plans on giving them a burial 'somewhere beautiful' once she is feeling better

While there is no solid research that shows that the controversial  and dangerous  treatment works, some insist it has saved their lives

Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria that is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected black-legged ticks. The most common symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, fatigue, and a skin rash called erythema migrans. The disease can typically be treated by several weeks of oral antibiotics.

Chronic Lyme disease is not an accepted medical diagnosis, though some doctors use it to describe situations in which a confirmed case of Lyme disease is treated, but the patient still has non-specific symptoms, including persistent pain, joint and muscle aches, fatigue, impaired cognitive function, or unexplained numbness.

WHAT IS BEE VENOM THERAPY (BVT)? Bee venom therapy (BVT), also called apitherapy, is the use of bee venom as an anti-inflammatory to treat conditions such as arthritis. It is performed by a beekeeper or by someone who has been taught to use bees. Patients are first tested to their reaction to a small amount of venom. Then the bee is removed from a hive or jar with tweezers and held over a part of the body, which it stings. The number of stings and the part of the body depend upon the patient's condition. BVT can cause serious side effects or even death in highly allergic individuals by causing anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. Advertisement

'These patients often show no evidence of active infection and may be diagnosed with post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS),' according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

'The chronic Lyme label seems to be a convenient way to attribute very nonspecific symptoms that may have nothing to do with Lyme disease,' Dr. Asim Ahmed, an infectious diseases expert at the Boston Childrens Hospital, told Vice. And it's just medically unaccepted as a diagnosis.'

In recent years, some people suffering from PTLDS have turned to BVT, which has been used to treat to treat a number of conditions, including arthritis and MS.

The theory behind the treatment is that inflammation caused by the bee stings lead to an anti-inflammatory response by the immune system.

While there is no solid research that shows that the controversial treatment works, some insist it has saved their lives after years of being plagued with debilitating symptoms.

Brittany stresses that people should consult medical professionals before trying out the alternative therapy for themselves because it could be deadly.

A woman from Spain died from BVT in 2018 after having treatment every four weeks for two years. Despite not having any allergic reactions in the past, she suffered from anaphylactic shock to the venom and passed away weeks later from multiple organ failure.

In 2017, actor Gerard Butler recounted almost dying after being given an overdose of bee venom to treat his sore muscles while filming Geostorm.

The year before, Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow told the New York Times that she had tried bee venom therapy for herself.

'I've been stung by bees. It's a thousands of years old treatment called apitherapy,' she said. 'People use it to get rid of inflammation and scarring. It's actually pretty incredible if you research it.'
Massachusetts health officials announced another 50 coronavirus deaths on Friday. The total number of COVID-19 related fatalities is now 8,013.

Officials also confirmed another 233 cases of the virus, including 84 probable cases, bringing the statewide total to at least 108,070. The new case data is based on 8,545 molecular tests and 1,506 antibody tests reported on Friday.

The state surpassed one million tests administered on Thursday, according to the Department of Public Health.

The latest data comes as cases across parts of the United States continue to spike, like in Florida, which saw roughly 9,000 new cases of the virus reported on Friday. Officials there have suspended on-site consumption of alcohol at bars across the entire state, NPR reports.

In Texas, bars are now required to close at noon and can only serve takeout or delivery, as cases there top 132,000. There are now more than 2.4 million cases of the virus in the U.S., and 124,700 deaths, according to the New York Times.

But in Massachusetts, the data continues to trend in the right direction Gov. Charlie Baker said, noting on Thursday that the statewide positive test rate is now less than 2%, which represents a 94% decline since the middle of April.

Earlier in the day, Baker announced a $275 million coronavirus financial recovery package to spur growth across the state amid continued economic fallout from the pandemic.

The financial relief would supplement existing legislation  called an Act Enabling Partnerships for Growth  the Republican governor proposed before the COVID-19 outbreak, which laid out targeted investments in housing, community development and business competitiveness.

Baker said the new economic recovery package more than doubles the funding pledged into the initial bill  roughly $240 million  while building on its investment goals, but will focus resources on the communities most impacted by coronavirus.

Specifically were seeking changes to our original bill to invest more in low-income communities, communities of color and minority-owned businesses that have been particularly hard-hit by COVID, Baker said. Our cities and town across the commonwealth need support to confront the economic challenges that have been brought on by this virus.

On Monday, the second part of Phase 2 of the states reopening plan began. This week a host of commercial activities can restart with new restrictions, including indoor dining.

Other close-contact services may also resume this week, including tattoo parlors, nail salons and skin care services, among others.

Businesses and their customers must adhere to certain restrictions following the resumption of operations. For example, customers are permitted to enter a store by appointment-only, and waiting rooms must remain closed.

Employees and customers must continue to wear face coverings, and working hours and employee shifts must be adjusted to reduce contact between workers where possible.

Coronavirus in Mass.: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Here are the cases listed by county:

Barnstable County: 1,530

Berkshire County: 592

Bristol County: 8,142

Dukes County: 46

Essex County: 15,975

Franklin County: 364

Hampden County: 6,691

Hampshire County: 952

Middlesex County: 23,786

Nantucket County: 14

Norfolk County: 9,100

Plymouth County: 8,646

Suffolk County: 19,707

Worcester County: 12,240

Unknown location: 285

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In his words: "I am just a professional writer, which means I don't do blogs and try and get money for whatever I write."

Historical outrage against a person, nation, race, religion or caste, can be proved.

Farrukh Dhondy

OF CABBAGES AND KINGS

O come with old Bachchoo and leave the lot

Of Vyas, Homer and Shakespeare forgot

Let triviality and pop lyrics prevail

Let poets spread their insights  heed them not!

 From The Boobaiyat of Bachchoo

A slogan for the day: Let those who are without historical fault pull down the first statue. The living dont traditionally have statues erected in their honour.

The exceptions are dictators with overbearing egos. Saddam Husseins statue was pulled down as Bush and Blair commandeered the invasion of Iraq. His claim to immortality was as vain as that of Percy Shelleys Ozymandias. Very few in the US and Britain objected to this desecration. Winner takes all, including absolution from the sin of vandalism.

Resentment is in the mind of the resenter. Historical outrage against a person, nation, race, religion or caste, can be proved. That the statue commemorating the life and racially determined philanthropy of Edward Colston in Bristol deserved its depedestalisation (Vocabulary Copyright  fd. Very ugly invention, now get on with it  Ed.)?

He was manifestly responsible for the enslavement of, cruelty towards and untimely murder of hundreds of fellow human beings. As were in the last century, Hitler and Stalin? These were not simply responsible for the deaths of soldiers in war, but for the genocide of millions of citizens of their own country. Show me a statue of Adolf or of Yusuf Yugashvili (Stalins real name) and I am ready, comrades, with my pickaxe and rope.

I must admit, gentle reader, that I have been contemplating this mission to topple statues and to rename roads and buildings. Though it may sound paradoxical, I am thinking about what I think.

For instance, my good friend the historian Charles Allen, who has in the past written in praise of Rudyard Kipling and in defence of the benefits that colonialism brought, wrote a letter which the Guardian published regretting his earlier stance.

Not only that, he said he was in favour of removing the statue of M.K. Gandhi because the Mahatma (he didnt use the word) was, while championing the rights of Indians in South Africa, in favour of certain aspects of apartheid against black people.

In London, the mob which gathered outside the Houses of Parliament to protect the statue of Winston Churchill against people who may want it demolished were right-wing thugs who called themselves ultranationalists.

These would probably be the same people who would seek to demolish the statues of Gandhi in Tavistock Square or in Parliament Square on the grounds that he was not white  or perhaps on the wider ground that he was a leader of the movement that caused the Empire to withdraw from the subcontinent.

I havent, as a loyal Indian nationalist, as yet received a request on social media to gather at these spots and defend the Mahatmas statues there. I suppose one leaves that to the police under the instructions of Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, who certainly wants Indian votes for a second term next year.

Southall in west London has a large population of Sikhs. On TV and in the news this week I saw and read about several granthis from the local gurdwaras demanding that Havelock Road in Southall be renamed because Henry Havelock was commemorated for his part in 1857-58 of suppressing what some people refer to as the Indian Mutiny and others as our First War of Independence. What seemed ironic abut the demand, coming from Sikh religious leaders, was that the Sikhs, if the several histories of that period are accurate, sided with the British East India Company against that uprising. Havelock was not their oppressor but their ally.

In my boyhood, my family lived in an army bungalow in Kanpur on Havelock Road. That was decades ago and perhaps the road has been renamed as it should be, because what did start as a mutiny of Indian mercenaries in the British army, went on to become a war in which local rulers sought independence from colonial hegemony. Cawnpore, as Kanpur then was, became, with the capital of the province, Lucknow, a centre of this conflict.

I must add that the move to rename Havelock Road may have appealed to the granthis because the suggestion is that the road be renamed Guru Nanak Road. So, what one is enthusiastically for may excuse the error of being what you are mistakenly against.

The call for demolishing the statue of Robert Clive is perhaps more contentious. He was undoubtedly a rogue and made his fortune through realising that the East India Company couldnt sell British woollies to India and the only way to make money was to rent out their army as mercenaries to different Indian claimants to the various thrones.

He deployed British troops to fight and defeat Siraj, but he did it to champion Mir Jaffar, who was very much a Bengali himself. And so with Warren Hastings who looted the Begums of Oudh. But where did the princelings and therefore the Begums get their wealth? Didnt they loot it from their citizens and were they on their best behaviour with their Hindu subjects?

And for that matter were the sanctimonious upper castes of India great humanitarian benefactors of the castes now known as scheduled from the Appendices of the Indian democratic constitution  or as Dalits?

And now that Aurangzeb Road in New Delhi has been renamed, what of the road next to it named after Man Singh, a prominent Mughal general who did a lot of their dirty work?

Gentle reader, I wont leave you with just that question, but with another one closer to my heart.

Somewhere in the world, in some Macedonian city perhaps, there must be statues of that SOB, Alexander the Vandal, who committed genocide against the Zoroastrian population of Persia, demolished its cities and monuments, as savages often do, and is commemorated by the idiots and apologists of this world. Zoroastrian Lives Matter! Alexander must go!
Barun Sobti who is currently basking in the success of his web-series Asur is overwhelmed with the response garnered by his performance and thanked fans for their love. The actor, also spoke in detail about the script of the show, breaking out of his romantic hero image and more in a recent interview with PTI.

Barun revealed, "The preludes of the show were very well written and that really interested me. I have seen the shortcomings in our industry and it is usually the lack of research and surface-level writing. Usually, what our writers do is that they write themselves into a corner. So when the big hide they created comes, it ultimately fizzles out in the end."

He went on to add, "I would have taken any part that was offered to me because I really wanted to be on this show... Initially, I didn't know that the story is about two protagonists and one antagonist, and I was actually guessing at one point of time that it's the antagonist part that I'm being offered. I eventually got to know that I play Nikhil Nair, a forensic expert. This show was well-written and the psychology was well understood. There was a reason why a criminal became a criminal."

For the unversed, the actor played the role of a CBI forensic expert-turned-forensic teacher at FBI in the psychological thriller which also features Arshad Warsi and Ridhi Dogra in pivotal roles.

On being quizzed about getting into a rather different avatar compared to his previous work, the 35-year-old said, "As an actor, when you come in in the industry, the first thing you do is to find your feet and pursue a different kind of things. This was a really different character and really difficult to portray emotionally."

ALSO READ: Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon: Sanaya Irani's Husband Mohit Had Auditioned For Barun Sobti's Role!
El presidente @MartinVizcarraC informa sobre la situacion del Estado de Emergencia en el #Dia101 y las acciones que realiza el Gobierno para contener la propagacion del COVID-19. En vivo: https://t.co/EiTrzMqwkN https://t.co/n7J4aDDpfG
The River Wye at Tintern Abbey was Britains first beauty spot to be acclaimed, with the great and good of Georgian society flocking to a place where William Wordsworth waxed lyrical about These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs, With a soft inland murmur.

Today, the 250-year-old tourist attraction still draws tens of thousands of walkers, canoeists, and sightseers each summer.

Most tour the Wye Valley, an area of outstanding natural beauty which has in recent times provided scenic filming locations for many movies as well as the modish TV programme Sex Education.

The putrid spectacle is known as an algal bloom. This tends to erupt during periods of dry weather and bright sunshine. It prevents light from reaching aquatic plants, which wither and die, and reduces oxygen levels so the river becomes toxic for fish

Yet if modern sightseers expect to encounter Wordsworths sylvan Wye, or take in local views that were dubbed a Godly scene by his chum Samuel Taylor Coleridge, they may end up disappointed.

Why so? Well, recent summers have seen the usually gin-clear river filled with thick green algae for weeks and sometimes months on end.

The putrid spectacle is known as an algal bloom. This tends to erupt during periods of dry weather and bright sunshine.

It prevents light from reaching aquatic plants, which wither and die, and reduces oxygen levels so the river becomes toxic for fish.

I encountered one such bloom earlier this month when I walked along a stretch of the river near Redbrook, a couple of miles from my home in Monmouthshire.

The water, in which you can usually see shoals of minnow and the occasional trout, resembled pea soup. Gravel beds were covered with a thick, slimy gunk. The air smelled salty and unpleasant, like a seaside harbour at low tide.

This distressing spectacle continued for mile after meandering mile. And this week, I discovered what may very well have been to blame.

Most tour the Wye Valley, an area of outstanding natural beauty which has in recent times provided scenic filming locations for many movies as well as the modish TV programme Sex Education. The Wye Valley is pictured above before the 'algal bloom'

A startling report from a conservation body called the Wye & Usk Foundation [WUF] claims that the ecological disaster of algal blooms facing Britains favourite river is an unexpected by-product of our growing appetite for free-range eggs.

The foundation says that recent years have seen a dramatic expansion of chicken farming in rural Powys, where the headwaters of the Wye and its tributaries can be found.

This, it contends, is responsible for high levels of phosphates entering the river and fuelling the blooms.

All of which highlights an awkward fact: that while we may like to kid ourselves that expensive free-range eggs are laid by small flocks which roam grassy fields, the reality is that almost all those we buy come from vast Intensive Poultry Units (IPUs).

These huge egg factories, which in Powys contain up to 64,000 birds each, consist of a large warehouse-like barn where the chickens roost at night and lay eggs by day, and an outdoor range where they roam en masse.

After being taken to an IPU, each bird lays just over 300 eggs in roughly an 18-month period. Then the entire flock is slaughtered and replaced.

Crucially, the IPUs which now dot much of the landscape in Powys, from where a hefty portion of the nations eggs now come, also happen to produce unbelievable quantities of chicken manure.

In fact, for every thousand chickens on a particular site, youll around get half a ton of the stuff every month.

A 64,000-bird IPU will therefore churn out upwards of 300 tons a year. Crucially, chicken poo is rich in phosphorous and nitrates, and a good portion of it will find its way into local streams and rivers.

Pictures on the WUFs website to this end show rivers of effluent washing into streams from farmland.

Chickens make two things: eggs and excrement, is how Simon Evans, the Foundations CEO puts it.

With free-range birds, some of the excrement goes straight from the chicken onto the land. The rest they produce in barns, where it is then usually collected up and spread on the surrounding fields as a form of fertiliser.

When there are only a few farms, thats totally fine. But the number of farms in Powys has just exploded.

There are now 109 chicken units around the headwaters of the Wye. There were just three in 2009. You cannot load up a catchment area with this much phosphate and not expect it to have an effect. It will kill your river.

The sheer scale of poultry farming in this large but thinly populated Welsh county certainly beggars belief.

According to the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales [CPRW], 137 planning applications for IPUs were approved by the county council in the past five years, and four last month. A further 23 are in the pipeline, for units that will each hold between 12,000 and 150,000 birds.

Since 2001, the total capacity of IPUs in Powys has grown from 128,000 to a staggering 9,921,499 hens, and has doubled in the past five years. There are now 76 chickens for every person that lives there.

Not all of the birds are laying free-range eggs, of course. In fact, many of the larger IPUs contain so-called broiler hens which are slaughtered for meat at roughly 40 days old and taken to Hereford for processing. But they all eat food, and produce manure, in unprecedented volumes.

A startling report from a conservation body called the Wye & Usk Foundation [WUF] claims that the ecological disaster of algal blooms facing Britains favourite river is an unexpected by-product of our growing appetite for free-range eggs [File photo]

The sheer numbers of chickens just dont add up if you want to keep rivers clean, says Evans.

Take the River Ithon, which is a tributary of the Wye, upstream of Llanbister. Its a beautiful place, a special area for conservation, and although fewer than a hundred people live there, youve now got 20 chicken sheds. Its a crime.

The Wye isnt the only river in the firing line: Powys also contains catchment areas for the Severn and Usk, two of Britains other great rivers, along with the Towy, once a renowned sea trout river.

Spreading excess manure on grassland anywhere in the UK is perfectly legal, provided farmers follow specific guidelines.

However, Christine Hugh-Jones, local secretary of the CPRW, points out that in our steep Welsh valleys, where theres often not a huge amount of vegetation, it easily gets washed off, pouring into rivers whenever there are storms. And in Powys it rains an awful lot.

Phosphates that enter these upper reaches of the Wye have a particularly devastating effect, conservationists argue, because they allow algal blooms to sub-divide eight or nine times by the time they reach the Wye Valley, some 140 miles downstream.

Historically, algal blooms would start around Hereford, and last for a day or two. Now they begin twice as far upstream and can choke the river for weeks on end. In last summers heatwave, one lasted for almost two months.

The knock-on effects have been most keenly felt by anglers. The Wye was once the UKs most productive salmon river outside Scotland.

In the heyday of the 1960s and 70s, monster fish weighing 30 or 40lb and 4ft in length were regularly caught, and in the 1980s, the river produced up to 6,000 salmon annually.

By contrast, 2019 saw the Wyes worst ever fishing season, with just 340 landed (all of them were returned so they could continue their journey upstream to spawn).

Salmon populations are declining everywhere, of course, and its foolish to blame any single factor for their demise. But when a species is on the brink, every additional threat causes real damage.

The blooms started 10 to 15 years ago, says Adam Fisher, a professional guide who runs the Angling Dreams fishing store in Ross-on-Wye.

At first, it was once a year for a few days, but they have got worse and worse. In a bloom, fish cant see food. Weeds cant grow. That means theres less for them to eat, and less cover for them to hide from predators.

Its not just a problem for us. Visitors come to canoe, or walk, or sit by the river. It was always a clear paradise, but now the river often looks lifeless.

Maurice Hudson, an angler who runs fisheries on a stretch of the Wye Valley, told reporters recently: The part of the river where I fish was always best in low-water levels in spring and summer. Now the river is thick with algae at these times, meaning it is impossible to fish. You cant even find small creatures in the shallows any more.

Ask whos to blame for this ecological catastrophe, and youll generally get one of two answers.

The first villain is Powys County Council, whose Conservative administration has close ties to the farming industry. It has declined a mere five planning applications for IPUs in the past five years and approved 137. The CPRW says this fact is causing environmental catastrophe.

Darrell Shepherd, who runs one of ten Powys residents groups who wrote to the council this month calling for a moratorium on new chicken sheds  their request was rejected  says: These are the agricultural equivalent of factories. If I tried to build something the same size in a rural area causing the same amount of pollution, they would laugh in my face. But if you are going to stick animals in it, they just wave it through.

In a statement, Powys Council said it is fully aware of its statutory duty to conserve and enhance biodiversity and insisted all planning applications are assessed under habitats regulations.

The other organisation facing severe criticism is Natural Resources Wales [NRW], the Welsh Governments equivalent of Natural England, which has long been nicknamed not really working by conservationists on account of the fact that Wales has for years suffered some of the worst agricultural pollution levels in Britain.

It has powers to block or hinder new poultry developments on environmental grounds but rarely uses them. By contrast, NRWs English counterpart has taken extensive steps in recent years to curb new IPUs over the border.

Marc Willimont, an assistant director at Herefordshire County Council, told a Sunday newspaper that Natural England is refusing to sign off new building in the upper half of his county to curb pollution, particularly around the River Lugg, a major tributary of the Wye. No such restriction seems to exist across the border in Wales, he said.

When I asked, Natural Resources Wales was unable to say whether it had opposed a single application to build an IPU in the Wye catchement area in recent years. It was also unable to tell me how many poultry farmers  if any  it had fined or otherwise sanctioned in recent years for breaching waste management rules by disposing of chicken manure incorrectly.

Britons eat 13 billion eggs a year and demand has soared thanks to the lockdown baking craze, with sales at Waitrose up 50 per cent. We also consume ever greater quantities of chicken but expect to pay as little as 2.99 for a whole bird [File photo]

In a statement, NRW said we work closely with the agricultural industry to minimise nutrient run-off into rivers and blamed recent algal blooms on low water levels and sunny weather which combine to warm water temperatures.

The agency insisted that long-term phosphate levels in the Wye catchment have been declining but a spokesman was unable to say what data this claim was based on.

In response, the WUF said that NRW changed the way it measured phosphate levels in 2016, rendering historical comparisons meaningless (NRW did not comment on this claim).

There is, of course, a third group of people responsible for turning Powys into the UKs poultry capital, with all the knock-on effects that entails: the nations shoppers. In other words, you and I.

Britons eat 13 billion eggs a year and demand has soared thanks to the lockdown baking craze, with sales at Waitrose up 50 per cent. We also consume ever greater quantities of chicken but expect to pay as little as 2.99 for a whole bird.

Against that backdrop, the farming industry follows the money, and in a beautiful part of the world with cheap land and easy access to processing facilities and major egg firms, its hardly surprising to see vast chicken sheds springing up.

The truth is that we have no argument with chicken farmers, says Simon Evans. They are often very helpful indeed.

Each year, his organisation carries out work to limit phosphate pollution on free-range egg farms.

Everyone does their best. But we only have resources to retrofit drainage on four or five farms a year.

Then, last week, Powys council approved four more massive new chicken farms. When they already have a river that is going green. And so the Wye continues to die.
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Rituraj Sinha's bet in 2009 to diversify SIS, which till then was known for its security business, into facilities management is now helping the company as demand for its services has shot up amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Companies have increased their focus and spend on sanitation and hygiene as they try to limit the damage to their employees and facilities.

These firms are now spending up to 25 percent more on keeping their facilities disinfected.

"The global pandemic has surely changed the way companies think about managing their offices and factories. It is a turning point. While it was a priority earlier too, now safety has become the top most," said Sinha, Group Managing Director, SIS.

"If we hadn't invested in building capacity in our facilities management business, we would have surely missed this bus," adds Sinha.

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

It's not just the companies who are asking for more intense sanitation solutions, but also schools. Sinha narrates a meeting he had with the senior management of a leading school chain in India.

"Though schools may not open before October, they wanted to understand what should be done to ensure safety of students, and also how to communicate with parents on hygiene and sanitation," says Sinha.

The facilities management segment is now the second biggest revenue generator for the company, after security solutions and ahead of cash management.

It is also the fastest growing, with revenues in the 2020 financial year growing by 34 percent, compared to 30.1 percent in the security business and 13.9 percent in cash management.

Tie up with Dabur

Responding to clients' needs, SIS has also started supplying PPE like masks and gloves. "We have tied up with Dabur for this," says Sinha.

The two companies have launched a COVID-19 Safety Kit, which comes with different kinds of masks, gloves and sanitisers.

With many companies opening up their offices and facilities, post the government lifting the lockdown, focus has been to keep the virus at bay.

"Companies are asking for more security men, and for more intense cleaning," says Sinha. This means that instead of just a bucket and a mop - the norm earlier - companies want sophisticated equipment and chemicals to be used for cleaning. Work stations are cleaned up to three times a day, from just once, earlier.

"Some want organic chemicals to be use for cleaning," says Sinha, and adds that a few of the clients want a 'safety assurance tag' for their facilities to instill confidence among employees.

The increased demand for these services has helped SIS make up for the lack of business among clients who are yet to open up their facilities.
Education and communications reporter Fergus Hunters article, "Cost of priority degrees to be slashed, some fees to soar in funding overhaul", was the most commented-on article in the Herald and The Age in the past week.

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan announced that fees for university courses in health, teaching and science will be cut while the cost of popular humanities, law and commerce degrees will increase.

Dan Tehan has proposed significant changes to fees for university courses. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The cost of humanities and communications courses will more than double, with a year of full-time study costing $14,500, up from $6684 this year. Fees for law and commerce will increase 28 per cent to $14,500 a year, up from $11,155. A full three-year program in these disciplines will cost students about $43,500 as the government slashes its funding contribution.

Teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English, languages, maths and agriculture courses will cost $3700 a year, down between 46 and 62 per cent. Fees for science, health, architecture, environmental science, IT and engineering will drop 20 per cent, with a year of study costing $7700.
(Newser)  A teen who threw a 6-year-old French boy off a 10th-floor viewing platform at London's Tate Modern art gallery last summer has been sentenced to at least 15 years behind barsand he could see even more time than that. Per CNN, Justice Maura McGowan told 18-year-old Jonty Bravery on Friday that 15 years was simply the bare minimum she was handing down in the "detention for life" sentence (his release can't be considered before then), and that "you may never be released." Bravery was charged with attempted murder after the Aug. 4, 2019, attack, in which a prosecutor says the then-17-year-old tossed the child over the railing of the viewing platform "without hesitation" when the boy passed by him, per the BBC. The boy landed five floors below. He survived, but with "catastrophic" injuries, including bleeding on the brain and multiple fractures in his spine, arms, and legs.

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He's now recovering at a French hospital, where he needs to use a wheelchair and will require 24/7 care for at least two more years. "That little boy has suffered permanent and life-changing injury," McGowan told Bravery during the sentencing. "The fear he must have experienced and the horror his parents felt are beyond imagination. ... You planned this and appeared to revel in the notoriety." Bravery, who's autistic and was under round-the-clock care at the time of the attack, admitted he'd gone to the Tate with the specific intent to kill someone so he could make the news. A former care worker also told the BBC that, a year before the attack, Bravery had mentioned to him how he wanted to kill someone, but that nothing was done when he told his higher-ups. His employer denies any such complaint from the care worker was ever made. (Read more sentencing stories.)
Kevin Bethel, head of school safety for the Philly School District, aims to transform the Philadelphia school police force, which will now be known as "school safety officers." Read more

School police will no longer patrol city public school halls come September. Instead, school safety officers in less severe uniforms and with different job descriptions will be stationed throughout the Philadelphia School District.

The move comes amid local and national pushes to remove police from schools. A handful of big-city districts, including those in Minneapolis, Denver, Seattle, and Oakland, have severed or backed away from relationships with police departments in the wake of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, at the hands of police.

The shift, which will not mean the replacement of the 300-plus men and women who have worked as school police, is not expressly linked to Floyds death and the resulting national activism. A change in the Pennsylvania state code stipulates that only sworn officers can be called school police. Philadelphia school security personnel, who do not carry guns, do not fit that description.

 READ MORE: Phillys new school police chief pledges less law-and-order, more mentoring of students

But school safety chief Kevin Bethel said the name change is well timed.

Bethel, appointed in November after a long career in the Police Department, has made plain his and Superintendent William R. Hite Jr.s aim to transform the force  moving away from arresting and toward mentoring and providing social services supports. Its work that Bethel moved toward at the end of his police career, gaining national acclaim for implementing a youth arrest-diversion program that has slashed student arrests by 84% since 2013.

Officers have been trained in trauma-informed practices, and will receive more education on things like implicit bias.

We are a different organization, Bethel told the Philadelphia school board at its Thursday night meeting. We will be a different organization.

Board member Lee Huang said he believes changes need to be made to school security. But as the father of three children in district schools, he said, he does not take for granted the need for personnel to ensure school safety.

We are laying the groundwork for an approach that is more about caring for our students than surveilling them, Huang said.

At H.A. Brown Elementary in Kensington, principal Connie Carnivale said her school security officers work is crucial. The officer begins the day working with Carnivale to notify prostitutes and drug users that children are about to report to school. She builds relationships with students, calms down agitated students, and makes sure the chaos of the surrounding neighborhood does not seep into the school hallways.

Our partnership allows me to be a focused instructional leader when she is present, Carnivale said of Browns school police officer.

Board President Joyce Wilkerson praised Hites and Bethels work to change the direction of school safety, but the rebranding was met with skepticism from other quarters. Students said that they feel criminalized by school security officers, and that Black young people in particular are traumatized by officers presence in schools. And board member Mallory Fix Lopez said the term officer in and of itself is problematic.

I see pretty much the same thing, just repackaged, Fix Lopez said. It doesnt have this overall climate and culture shift.

Over 13,000 community members have signed a Change.org petition calling for police-free schools in Philadelphia.

Aden Gonzales, a student at Masterman and member of the Philadelphia Student Union, asked the board to reallocate the $30 million now spent on school safety to student support services.

Police, no matter what name we give them or what uniform they wear, do not make our schools safe, Gonzales said. Guidance counselors do.

Noting that she has never had a school with adequate soap and paper towels, Zion Brooks, a student at Science Leadership Academy at Beeber, also said the school-police money would be better spent elsewhere.

I mean, abolish them completely  not change a name, said Brooks.

Brooks mother, City Councilmember Kendra Brooks, joined her daughters call.

I mean, abolish them completely  not change a name. Zion Brooks, a student at Science Leadership Academy at Beeber

Police do not make schools feel safer, she said. They increase the likelihood that young people of color will be criminalized.

In a 5-3 vote, the board also passed revisions to the policy guiding the use of metal detectors in schools. The intent is to standardize the controversial policy, which requires the use of weapons-detection equipment in secondary schools.

Board members Fix Lopez, Ameen Akbar, and Angela McIver voted against the policy.
Dozens of beauticians have been made redundant after the Sam McCauley pharmacy group announced it would not be reopening its beauty salons.

Devastated staff were informed of the news this week after being brought into a room individually.

The company cited the downturn caused by Covid- 19 as the reason behind the closures.

Trade union Mandate said the move has caused a "lot of upset and distress" at an already difficult time.

Lorraine Bergin, who is an employee at Sam McCauley's flagship store in Wexford town, said staff were in "complete shock".

"We're absolutely baffled by this as our salon has always been extremely busy and popular," she said.

"Customers were stopping us on the street and asking when we're coming back, our voicemail inbox in the salon is completely full, we've been getting Facebook messages and text messages from clients and we can't understand this at all."

Ms Bergin is married with two teenage children and is trying to pay off her mortgage.

"This has all just come out of the blue. We have been working through this pandemic to keep the shop going by working in the warehouse to handle online deliveries and this has just come as a complete shock," Ms Bergin said.

It is understood staff working on the cosmetic counters and photo counters have also been affected, with their positions under review.

38 job losses have so far been confirmed, but it is feared there may be more.

Mandate divisional organiser Betty Dillon said the union had sought an immediate meeting with the company.

"There's going to be a loss of potentially around 100 jobs, we're not exactly sure yet," she told South East Radio.

"I don't understand the company's rationale.

"There are other things I think the company could have done. They could have tried to give the beauty salons a chance to get back up and running."

Loss

The company operates more than 30 stores nationally and employs more than 500 staff.

It recorded a pre-tax loss of more than 5m last year.

Former owner Sam McCauley, whose family set up the popular chain in 1953, sold the majority of his stake in the business in 2017 to investment company Carlyle Cardinal Ireland (CCI).

The deal was reported to be worth an estimated 50m at the time.

In a statement, the company said it was working to support affected colleagues.

"Beauty salon gift vouchers will be honoured in all our pharmacies," it said.

"Any outstanding pre-paid treatment courses will be reimbursed."
WOLVERINE, MI  A Northern Michigan man is facing several charges related to an alleged sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 years old, including sexual penetration.

William Neal Roberts, 50, of Wolverine, is accused of sexually a minor who was known to him at the time of the incident, UpNorthLive reports.

The Cheboygan County Sheriffs Department received a report of criminal sexual conduct on Wednesday, June 24, the report said. Roberts was subsequently arrested.

Roberts is charged with first degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13 years old; this charge involves sexual penetration and is punishable to 25 years to life in prison. He is also charged with second degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13 years old; this involves sexual contact and is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Additional charges could be brought against Roberts, the report said.

READ MORE:

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Michigan woman arrested on Mackinac Bridge after lengthy police chase on I-75
TWO men have been jailed for five years for a series of burglaries from pharmacies in Longford, Laois, Tipperary and four other counties which Judge Keenan Johnson said was an attack on rural Ireland.

Sorin Aurelian Damaschin, 30, Crumlin Road, Dublin 12 and Matei Siminica, 30, of no fixed abode, were sentenced to seven years in prison with the final two suspended after Portlaoise Circuit Court, sitting in Tullamore, heard the value of stolen goods and damage caused was about 128,000.

The two men, both Romanian, pleaded guilty to stealing high-end perfumes and after shave, plus cash, from pharmacies in counties Longford, Roscommon, Meath, Laois, Tipperary, Wexford and Waterford over a two-month period between May and July last year.

At each premises they smashed the door with a hammer in the middle of the night and loaded the items and cash into bags before driving away.

In addition to the burglaries from pharmacies, they admitted stealing a mobile phone and personal items from a car parked in a car park in Nenagh.

The men told gardai when interviewed that they sold the cosmetics at knockdown prices to markets in Dublin city centre.

This type of offending is a serious attack on legitimate commercial businesses. It's a serious attack on the services that are provided in rural Ireland, said Judge Johnson.

He said it was clear from victim impact statements that the offences had a profound and negative impact on the proprietors of the premises and staff and afterwards they were all concerned and nervous.

He said one could not but have sympathy of all these decent hardworking people who are trying to earn a legitimate living and they're subjected to this type of nasty crime.

The courts were obliged to protect such businesses and send out a clear message that the perpetrators would suffer a significant sanction.

He noted that most of the businesses were covered by insurance but their premiums were going to go up.

And the cost of dealing with these claims is levied on everybody who pay their taxes and their insurance premiums so there's a cost to society.

He also noted that the owner of the car in Nenagh had lost many photographs and mementoes of sentimental value and that was very hurtful to her and difficult for her.

The perfumes stolen from a pharmacy in the town of Longford had a cost price of nearly 12,000 but would have had a retail value of nearly 22,000, the court heard.

The total value of goods and cash stolen from a pharmacy in Cahir, Co Tipperary was over 35,000 while a pharmacy in Portlaoise lost nearly 6,500 worth of stock and 1,685 in cash.

Pharmacies in Enfield and the town of Roscommon were at a loss of nearly 11,000 in stock each and the cost price of stock stolen from a similar business in Dungarvan was over 28,000.

The court heard with the exception of 100 worth of sunglasses taken from one pharmacy in Enniscorthy, nothing was recovered.

The men were captured on CCTV wearing masks and gloves during the raids but in a couple of instances they were recorded looking at premises the day before the burglaries.

They were also linked with a car used in a number of the burglaries and when arrested in July last year they made admissions.

The men had previous convictions in Spain and both have been in custody in Ireland since July 9 last year.

Judge Johnson backdated the sentences to that date and the suspension of the final two years was conditional on them entering a peace bond for 15 years and leaving Ireland within seven days of their release from prison.
You are here: China





Speakers:



Liu Kezhi, director of the Department of Market Regulation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism

He Qinghua, first-level inspector at the Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control of the National Health Commission (NHC)

Guo Yanhong, supervisor of the Bureau of Medical Administration of the NHC

Li Jinming, researcher with the National Center for Clinical Laboratories

Chairperson:

Hu Qiangqiang, spokesperson and deputy director of the Department of Publicity of the NHC

Date:

June 24, 2020
Dozens of veteran police officers with the OPP and some municipal forces have been caught up in what some consider a Bernie Madoff-style Ponzi scheme run by one of their own  a former cop once in charge of the street crime unit west of the GTA.

Before his retirement in 2016, Det. Sgt. Larry Renton briefly operated the investment scheme out of his West Region Ontario Provincial Police office in the town of Simcoe  then continued from his home. He promised investors a staggering 21 to 26 per cent return and suggested in emails that if their financial planner was not providing a minimum of 10-12 per cent you need to fire them.

The high return Renton offered may have seemed too good to be true, but that did not stop an estimated 40 officers of all ranks and an unknown number of civilians from putting in their life savings, with total investments estimated by sources between $15 million and $20 million. Mortgages were put on houses, money set aside for college tuition was invested. The whole scheme collapsed recently, leading to financial ruin for some.

Trust and greed are the two essential elements required of a Ponzi scheme, said one person with intimate knowledge of the situation. This had both. In addition to the high rate of return, police officers were told in emails that if they brought in a new client, they would get a financial bonus worth 5 per cent of the total new investment.

Renton, 56, is on the hot seat  the OPP is now investigating  in a financial misadventure that came crashing down when the global pandemic stopped new investors from contributing money, an essential element of a Ponzi scheme.

The information in this story comes from people with intimate knowledge of the investment scheme (the Star has granted them confidentiality because they fear financial and job repercussions); Rentons own emails to investors over more than a three-year period; and interviews with senior police officers.

The OPP anti-rackets squad has recently launched an investigation and according to Rentons own emails, the Ontario Securities Commission is also investigating. The OPP put out a news release last week after the Star asked questions about Rentons scheme. The release states that police are investigating a matter involving the financial interactions of a former OPP member and asks for anyone who was involved to come forward. The release does not name Renton, though police sources confirmed the probe relates to his activities.

According to sources, Rentons computer hard drives were seized last month from his home by detectives armed with a search warrant. Renton threatened in an April email to close friends that he would take his own life. He was found in a Brantford hotel and was hospitalized for several weeks. He has since left Simcoe to stay with a family member in northern Ontario and has hired a lawyer. His latest email to investors suggests he is contemplating bankruptcy.

I am under counsel direction to not speak about the matter, Renton told the Star in a recent email. The Star has sent Renton detailed questions, but has not yet received a response.

Heres how it all started and ended.

To fix a picture of Larry Renton in your mind, think of the late movie and television actor Brian Dennehy. Burly and broad shouldered, with a big smile while among friends, shy in social settings. Physically, they could be twins.

Though trite to say, Renton was truly a cops cop, with decades of experience. News pages of local papers are filled with quotes from Renton. After a 2015 drug bust, he told reporters, Illicit drugs continue to be a scourge in society and an ongoing threat to the safety of Ontario residents and communities.

He grew up in Simcoe, a small town in Norfolk County between Hamilton and London, its south edges running along Lake Erie. Renton loves boats, big 40-plus-foot-long cruisers. Just before Christmas, 2018, his old boat was destroyed in a fire the marina owner said was caused by vandalism. That yacht was replaced by a bigger boat. Renton drives a black Cadillac Escalade. He split with his first wife years back and took custody and support duties of their two children, according to a 2008 court decision where a judge noted he paid the lions share of support. Taking winter cruises with his second wife, a hairdresser, is one of the couples favourite pastimes. Renton is from a policing family; two brothers were in the OPP at one point (one became the Woodstock Police Chief, since retired) and his son is an officer in the OPP.

By 2014, he was the detective sergeant investigating street crime, wearing a suit instead of a uniform, occupying an office down the hall from the then-top boss in the Norfolk OPP, Insp. Zvonko Zonk Horvat. Rentons salary in 2014 was $122,931.

One day in 2014, Renton came to Horvat with a request. He asked for permission to have a second job. Renton wanted to work as a financial adviser, in addition to being a detective. Horvat, now the chief of the Aylmer Police department, recalled in an interview he thought that would be a conflict of interest. Following protocol, Horvat took Rentons request to the OPPs professional standards department. They backed me up and I told (Renton) it would be inappropriate.

Not long after, Horvat said he recalls hearing rumours that Renton may be monitoring the stock market or perhaps trading from his police office. Horvat said he went to see Renton and heard (he cannot recall if it was from a radio or a computer) what seemed to him like stock market sounds. Horvat recalls that Renton replied that he was only listening to stock market reports. Horvat told Renton to cease and desist and he said he never heard any complaints related to Renton and the stock market.

In March 2016, Renton retired at age 52. He dove into his investment business, setting up an office in his basement. Renton is not registered with the province of Ontario as a financial adviser or investment dealer. In his emails to each investor, many of them police, but some civilians, he routinely reminded them that for every big investor they brought him, he would provide a finders fee of 5 per cent of the amount invested.

Two people with intimate knowledge of the Renton scheme have referred to it as a Bernie Madoff-style Ponzi scheme.

What is a Ponzi scheme? Its a relatively simple arrangement where early investors are paid an enormous return on their money, with that return coming not from actual investments but from money contributed by subsequent investors. It was named for Carlo Ponzi who ran this type of scheme in Boston in 1920.

The most infamous and largest Ponzi scheme was that carried out in the United States by Bernard (Bernie) Madoff, who is now in prison for a fraud estimated at $65 billion (U.S.). Madoff, as became well known in his court hearings, was not investing money, just paying dividends out of money contributed by new investors. That constant influx of new investors is required to keep a Ponzi scheme going.

The investor sources the Star spoke to recognize that there is no financial size comparison between Madoff and Rentons scheme, but based on Rentons own emailed descriptions there appear to be elements of a Ponzi scheme.

In Rentons case, investors were never shown information that would explain where he is getting such high returns. Other than a few months where Renton asked to delay payments, it appears that until March of this year he was making his promised monthly payments. To put his guaranteed 21 to 26 per cent rate in context, a solid, conservative investment portfolio could be expected, but not guaranteed, to return roughly 6 to 8 per cent in that time period (pre-pandemic.)

Rentons own emails reveal that the Ontario Securities Commission began a probe into his activities early this year. In March, Renton sent out an email blast warning that the OSC was investigating. He tells his investors you are not obligated to speak to them. (The OSC was responding to a complainant who had learned that Renton was not a licensed adviser, a source told the Star.)

According to Renton, the OSC guy was asking each investor if you have seen records of the current value of your investment.

Renton tells his investors that in the beginning I explained that I would never show you any records relating to anything I do. The reason behind that is twofold. One, this is a handshake deal based on trust. The second is, why would I show you any records or issue any statements when I dont trade for you?

Instead, Renton writes that to keep it legal, his investors are giving him a loan, which he will pay back over roughly four years. He does not explain what trades he is making, but in one emailed chart he shows a breakdown of what he does with each $1,000 profit on a trade.

Renton, writing in 2017 to his investors, explains that the first 23 per cent goes to pay you guys. Then he puts aside roughly 43 per cent to pay federal and provincial taxes. Then 10 per cent goes to the data feed charges that I pay to the actual stock exchanges. Finally, approximately 25 per cent is my profit that I happily live off of. (Renton uses rough estimates in this email, which perhaps explains why his percentages add up to 101.)

The Star asked Renton for a further explanation, including proof that he is paying these taxes, but has not yet had a response. One item from his chart should have been an immediate red flag. Stock exchange feeds are free or available for a nominal cost.

Many of the other statements made by Renton defy explanation for anyone who is a sophisticated or even a casual investor. Sources for this story say that the police officer investors, including some who have experience in financial investigations, are truly unsophisticated investors. They were all bamboozled.

In one email, Renton tells his investors that every few days, large amounts of the money they have invested are unavailable, due to the fact that his brokerage holds on to the money. In one of a series of unusual statements, he tells his investors it all works because the wheel keeps rolling down the road and rolling the capital in and out of the account. I find this really interesting, but I suspect I put some here to sleep with my tech talk.

The emails are peppered with his own thoughts on market volatility. He mentions it has been a lot of fun with the (U.S. president) Trumpster at the wheel in 2017, and later that year speculates that since I can make more money on a dropping market than an up market it is possible that maybe (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un will help us with that.

He spends much of the emails talking about his plans to have a secure mobile internet platform when he is off on annual cruises down south with my bride. One summer, he set up a stable trading platform on his boat in Lake Erie. He said he did that when he went for some boat drinks for four days. He warns investors he may be unavailable to conduct trades for weeks at a time when away on vacation.

Renton did purchase, in 2018, a trading algorithm from a Toronto man who told the Star he created it at Rentons request. On the Toronto mans website in the testimonial section, he refers to Renton as a Professional Trader. But the emails show that Renton himself was still testing it out during the last year using fake money. The man who created the trading algorithm said Renton wanted to beat the markets.

By late November 2019, the emails indicate Renton is in trouble. He writes that changes in the market affect my needs for cash capitol (sic). He offers to raise his finders fee from 5 per cent to 6 per cent. According to sources, the investors who received these finders fees, and did not report them, are concerned that the Canada Revenue Agency will launch an audit.

When the global pandemic caused by the spread of COVID-19 took hold in March, Renton sent an email telling investors he would have to freeze their monthly payments for 30 days. Ironically, Rentons previous emails had stated that a down market is his best opportunity to make money.

I am not asking for you to not get your money, I am just asking if you will go without payment for the next 30 days and allow me to increase your payments for the next 11 months, Renton writes on March 15. I want to ensure I do whats best for the money.

According to sources with knowledge of the police officers contributions, some investors were asking for all of their money back. Potential new investors were backing off. This caused a problem for Renton, sources say. With no new investors, how could he pay the promised rate of return?

His next email to the group was April 13, a one-line email. I will put an update out late this week on possibilities moving forward for the next month during this pandemic and wild markets. Thank you and stay safe.

On April 17, Renton asks for another one month more deferral, saying he felt really bad asking for this.

That was Rentons last communication to the group. Near the end of April, sources say he sent an email to a dozen close friends saying he was going to take his own life. Using a cellular phone tracing system, police tracked him to a hotel in Brantford. He was alive, and taken to a hospital for psychiatric assessment. Sources say he was released several weeks later and at that time the OPP served a search warrant on his house.

One of Rentons last email blasts in 2020 was a photo of his desk with 12 computer monitors, showing the trading system he had built. The screens show what appears to be stock market charts and graphs and Renton said he spends long days in front of the monitors overseeing trades.

Renton also at one point reminds his investors that since most of them receive their payments by PayPal and e-Transfer, that something thats kind of cool is you can go into your bank website and set it up to do auto-deposits.

In the Stars telephone interview and email exchange with Aylmer Police Chief Horvat (Rentons former boss at the OPP), Horvat said he hopes the OPP anti-racket squad gets to the bottom of the matter.

Horvat said he was never asked to invest in the scheme, but he has heard rumours of officers who did.

If, in fact, a number of officers invested with (Renton), they should have known better and as this investigation moves forward, I am sure they too will be held accountable for their actions, both from a criminal perspective but also the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency). I personally find it offensive that police officers would engage in such activities.

The OPP has assigned Det. Staff Sgt. Sean Chatland to head the investigation by the anti-rackets branch. Chatland has asked for anyone, police or civilian, who invested to come forward.

Last Wednesday, Renton sent out a brief email to all of his investors, with the subject line: Legal name, address, email address, and best telephone contact number:

I am liquidating all assets and require the above information to provide to the trustee who then in turn (can) contact you regarding repayment. Thank you. L.

As of last week, no bankruptcy had been filed by Renton.

The Star has asked Renton, if he did conduct trades, where is the money or at the very least, the documentation showing the money was lost when the markets crashed. He has not responded.

Kevin Donovan is the Stars chief investigative reporter based in Toronto. He can be reached at 416-312-3503 or via email: kdonovan@thestar.ca
Latest media reports indicate that companies are devising new strategies to tackle the issue. Indian IT companies might skip filing new H-1B petitions for FY21 and even delay filing extensions for employees this year. Varuni* an engineer told Moneycontrol that she was looking forward to a project in the US but the project has been dropped. I was told that they would be applying it next year. But there is no guarantee. Who knows what will happen in the next year, she said.

According to the US Citizenship Immigration Services (USCIS), Indians benefit the most out of H-1B visa which is meant for skilled employees For FY21, almost 67% of registrants were from India. TCS, Infosys, Cognizant and Wipro are among the top Indian H-1B employers.

How are companies planning to reduce their dependency on H-1B Visa Holders?

IT Major TCS highlighted in its annual report that it will be focusing on localisation in the US in order to cut down on cost and reduce visa dependency. Milind Lakkad, Chief Human Resources Officer of TCS states iin the annual report, with teams working from home, in-person interactions are now replaced with virtual collaboration and has made physical location irrelevant. This would mean that traveling to onsite locations, particularly for initial transitions and knowledge transfer, potentially reducing the visa dependency.

The Indian IT industry has prepared itself for immigration challenges in past as well, so in this context, we can say that India Inc has become a lot more Aatmanirbhar or self-reliant, CP Gurnani, MD and CEO of Tech Mahindra, told Quartz.

Tech Mahindra is increasingly trying to go local. The company hired nearly 2,000 Americans in 2019 and is planning to bring more local talent on board.

The impact on India and on the Indian companies will be minimal in the short-term, and even in the long run we expect the US to recognise that immigration has contributed to their economic success, and it is in their interest to utilise the technology prowess and talent that India can provide, Gurnani added.

The countrys largest IT company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is among the largest employers in the US. The second-largest player, Infosys has hired over 10,000 people in the US. Azim Premji-led Wipro began ramping up hiring in the country, recruiting and training students fresh from college campuses across Atlanta and Michigan, Quartz cited in its report.

These companies have also been trying to shift their workforce to affordable centres that would enable them to reduce cost as well as deal with visa approvals. Latin America, for example, has emerged as a favourite centre for these IT companies. TCS, Wipro and Infosys are invested especially in Mexico. Melba Pria, called the city of Guadalajara a technology hub with the presence of at least 10 major Indian IT companies, in an interview she gave in 2017.

Hiring local talent, shifting centers and skipping fresh visa filings are few of the strategies employed by the top IT firms in the country. IT firms are expected to take more measures in the coming months.
Reliance Industries, the owner of the largest refinery in India and the world, has stopped buying Venezuelan crude, according to unnamed sources in the know who spoke to Bloomberg,

Last year, Reliance bought a quarter of the oil Venezuela exported, but the last time it bought Venezuelan crude this year was in March, Bloomberg reported, citing tanker data, and at a much lower rate than in 2019, at 117,650 bpd.

Reliance is not alone in shunning Venezuelan oil, fearing repercussions from Washington. Indias second-largest refiner, Nayara Energy, has also stopped buying Venezuelan crude, switching to Canadian, Kuwaiti, and Ecuadorian oil, again according to Bloomberg shipping data.

Meanwhile, tankers carrying at least 18.1 million barrels of Venezuelan oil are currently idling at sea across the world unable to find buyers  some for as long as six months  as many potential and previous customers of Venezuelas crude are not taking chances with delivery for fear of incurring secondary U.S. sanctions.

The latest round of sanction action by Washington against Caracas was to blacklist five Iranian tanker captains and all tankers that have called at Venezuelan ports over the 12 months to June, making many oil traders reconsider their plans. According to shopping brokerage data cited by Reuters earlier this month, there were as many as 77 tankers that have called at Venezuelan ports over the past 12 months, which puts them at risk of being blacklisted.

Despite the sanctions, Venezuela is still exporting some oil, mostly to China. As of mid-June, according to shipping data, there were 3.3 million barrels of Venezuelan crude waiting to unload at Chinese ports and another 5 million barrels worth en route to the country.

Besides China, according to Bloomberg, Venezuela is exporting to Cuba, as well as Spain and Italy, but those shipments are to cover debt and do not generate income for the Maduro government, which is the purpose of U.S. sanctions.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Police seized a staggering stash of 100,000 in cash during dawn raids targeting a suspected county lines drugs network.

The raids took place on a series of addresses, mostly in Wandsworth, south London, and come as part of the latest bust from police trying to crack down on drugs operations in the capital.

Officers confiscated two designer watches, a machete, high-powered scooters and jewels during the drug busts.

Police arrested three males and three females, aged 18 to 24, on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, and possession of criminal property.

Detective Inspector Treasa O'Donoghue said: 'Organised criminal networks ruthlessly exploit vulnerable individuals for the sheer purpose of financial gain and it remains of upmost priority for us to bring those responsible to justice.'

In April the disturbing scale of the county lines epidemic was laid bare as new figures showed drug operations doubled in a year.

More than 3,000 gangs were reported by police in 2019  double the 1,500 of 2018, a National Crime Agency report revealed.

It is a four-fold increase since 2017 when there were 720 operations shipping heroin and crack cocaine from cities to provincial towns.

The term county lines refers to the individual phone lines used by gangs to sell and distribute drugs.

Despite a crackdown by forces, figures from the National County Lines Coordination Centre show 800 to 1,100 phone lines advertising drugs are active every month.

Gangs are recruiting an army of youngsters to replace those arrested for dealing, with the report warn-ing that children as young as 11 are being intimidated into becoming runners.

And the number of young people being groomed to become money mules  so criminals can access their savings accounts  has shot up by 26 per cent since 2017.

In early June Met Police chiefs said 87 'county lines' drug distribution routes had been cut off and 18 dealers controlling some of those lines were been jailed for a total of more than 50 years as part of its 1million Operation Orochi.

A further 1,300 county lines suspects have also been charged for violent offences, including 24 murders, by the force since the crackdown was launched last year.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the prime minister's office in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 4, 2020. (Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via Reuters)

Iraqi Counter Terrorism Forces Raid Iran-Backed Base in Baghdad

BAGHDADIraqs elite Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) raided the headquarters of powerful Iran-backed terrorist group Kataib Hezbollah in southern Baghdad late on Thursday and detained more than a dozen members of the group, government officials said.

The raid was the strongest action by Iraqi forces against Kataib Hezbollah in years, which U.S. officials have accused of killing U.S. and Coalition service members and firing rockets at Coalition bases.

Paramilitary sources in the country, many of them aligned with Iranian interests, gave a contradicting version of the events.

The paramilitary sources said those detained were transferred shortly afterwards to the security branch of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in Iraqa grouping of Iran-backed militias.

One government official denied any such transfer and said the militiamen were still in the custody of Iraqs other security services. The sources gave different numbers for those detained. A PMF official said it was 19. A government official said it was 23.

The raid was the first sign that the government of Iraqs new prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, intends to make good on pledges to take tough action against militia groups that have targeted U.S. installations.

It took place after a number of rocket attacks near the U.S. and other embassies in Baghdad and other Coalition military sites in the country in recent weeks.

British-Iranian journalist Potkin Azarmehr reported on Twitter that after the arrests, armed members of Kataib Hezbollah attacked the headquarters building of Iraqs CTS in Baghdads international Green Zone.

BREAKING: Armed members of #IRAN backed #Shia militia Kataeb Hezbollah have stormed HQ of the CTS in #Baghdad Green Zone after more than a dozen Kataib Hezbollah members including an Iranian commando were arrested by Iraqi forces!#HashdAlshabi##_  Potkin Azarmehr (@potkazar) June 26, 2020

The PMF is an Iraqi state institution. It contains factions loyal to Iran and others that are not, but has been dominated by Iran-aligned militias. These Iran-backed militias have been accused of killing Iraqi protesters when mass anti-government demonstrations broke out in October 2019.

Iraqis take part in a rally on Jan. 11, 2020, to mourn two reporters (image) shot dead the previous evening in the countrys southern city of Basra, where they had been covering months of anti-government protests. (HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

One government official told Reuters that three commanders of Kataib Hezbollah had been detained during the raid.

One of those commanders was an Iranian, he said.

Reuters correspondent John Davison contributed to this article.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said health officials are considering a radical change to coronavirus testing that would sweep together groups of people to try to get a handle on the intractable spread of the disease

'Something's not working,' Fauci told the Washington Post, referring to the current posture of testing people individually through a patchwork procedure that varies by state and locality.

'I mean, you can do all the diagramming you want, but something is not working,' Fauci said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, wears his Washington Nationals mask as he testifies during a US House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the Trump Administration's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Fauci said officials are considering testing 'pools' of people for the virus

He put forward the idea of pool testing. Under pool testing, rather than having each individual submit to a test, groups of people could be divided into pools.

When a single test comes back negative for a pool, those individuals are all assumed to be virus-free. When a pool test comes back positive, each individual in the group gets tested.

The results is to get the information with dramatically fewer tests. For example, as the Post illustrated, if 100 people are divided into five pools and four groups come back negative, 80 people were determined to be negative with just four tests. If a fifth group comes back positive, each of the 20 individuals would get an additional test. The results would be obtained with just 25 tests instead of 100.

Fauci entertained the idea as U.S. cases rose unabated

More than 120,000 Americans have died of the coronavirus

There has been a concerning rise in infections in recent days

President Donald Trump said Thursday he was speaking 'sarcastically' when he talked about ordering a slowdown in testing

Cases and hospitalizations continue to surge in California, with the state reporting 5,349 new cases on Thursday

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis backpedaled on his previous assertions that he would not let up on reopening plans when he said Thursday there are no plans to move into the third and final reopening phase as Florida reported 5,004 new infections in a single day

A record 2,453 patients were hospitalized in Arizona including 611 in intensive care beds and a record 415 on ventilators

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey also announced that further efforts to reopen the state are being put on hold as cases and hospitalizations surge

Texas recorded yet another bleak milestone Thursday, as it beat its own record for new daily infections for the third day running and reached almost 6,000

How would pool coronavirus testing work? As an example, 100 people are divided into five pools of 20 each. If four groups come back negative, 80 people have been determined to be negative with just four tests. If a fifth group comes back positive, each of the 20 individuals in that group would get an additional test. The results would be obtained with just 25 tests instead of 100. More testing would be required if more than one group got a positive result. It is not clear how the system would handle false-positive results that have been occurring in some cases. Source: Scientific American Advertisement

The U.S. is conducting about 500,000 tests per day  a number President Trump has celebrated but that experts at Harvard University have said falls short of a goal of up to 5 million per day.

U.S. infections continue to rise, with about 2.5 million infected to date. This includes a troubling spike in states like Arizona, Texas, and Florida, and comes amid an ongoing push to reopen states and the economy.

Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity he was speaking 'sarcastically' when he talked about ordering a slow-down testing to achieve better results.

'Sometimes I jokingly say, or sarcastically say, if we didn't do tests we would look great,' Trump told Hannity while on a trip to Wisconsin.

'But you know what? It's not the right thing to do,' Trump said  unequivocally ruling out a decrease in testing.

He had said at his Saturday night rally in Tulsa: 'When you do testing to that extent you're going to find more people, you're going to find cases. So I said to my people, "Slow the testing down, please." They test and they test. We got tests for people who don't know what's going on.'

Trump said Tuesday when he was asked about the comment that 'I don't kid. Let me make that clear.' White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany had said Trump was joking.
A CRPF jawan and a minor boy were killed when militants attacked a security forces team in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, police said.

The militants fired upon a road opening party of the CRPF 90 battalion near Padshahi Bagh bridge in the Bijbehara area of the south Kashmir district around 12 noon, a police official said.

He said a CRPF personnel and an eight-year-old boy were injured in the attack.

The injured were taken to a hospital in Bijbehara where both of them succumbed, the official said.

The CRPF personnel has been identified as constable Shamal Kumar, while the boy has been identified as Nihan Yawar, a resident of Yaripora area of the neighbouring Kulgam district, he said.

He said the security forces have cordoned off the area and a hunt has been launched to nab the attackers.

Meanwhile, National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah condemned the boys killing.

An innocent...boy is the latest victim of the violence in Kashmir. His death in a dastardly grenade attack by militants is tragic and condemned without reservation, he wrote on Twitter.
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has lasted longer than World War II, but the Russian leadership continues to block the prospects for peaceful, political-diplomatic settlement.

"The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been going on for more than six years - longer than World War II, the most devastating military conflict in human history. Russia has not learned the lessons of World War II; in 2008, it attacked Georgia, and in 2014, it made an illegal attempt of annexation of part of the territory of its neighbor, Ukraine. Russia launched a military invasion of Crimea and Donbas, as well as initiated a large-scale propaganda war against my country aiming to justify this invasion and avoid responsibility," Ambassador-at-large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Herasymenko said at the special session on Ukraine within the framework of the OSCE Annual Security Review Conference, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

As the representative of Ukraine stressed, Russia is strengthening its military presence in Donbas and continues to turn the Crimean peninsula and surrounding waters into its "military outpost in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov." "Such destabilizing actions pose a threat to security and trade far beyond the OSCE region," he said.

Herasymenko stressed that Russia's constant violation of most basic norms of international law should not become a new norm for Europe. "If tolerated, it will only lead to a further deterioration of the security situation and will serve as a pretext for the aggressor state to continue its policy," he said.

The diplomat noted that last year's presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine "opened a window for opportunities for Ukraine and Russia to speed up negotiations on a long-overdue peaceful, political-diplomatic settlement." Ukraine has taken a number of steps towards a peaceful settlement, but they receive no response from Russia. On the contrary, Russia has accelerated the issuance of passports to residents of occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which has a negative impact on the prospects for peace and reintegration of these areas.

"We have not yet seen any signs that the Kremlin has made a final decision to end the conflict and withdraw its armed forces, mercenaries and other illegal armed groups from the occupied territories of Ukraine. Instead, it continues to send troops through an uncontrolled section of the Ukrainian-Russian border, to persecute Ukrainian citizens in Crimea and Donetsk and Luhansk regions, to wage hybrid war against the Ukrainian state and society, the legitimate authorities, the rule of law and democracy in Ukraine," the Foreign Ministrys representative said.

He called on Russia to demonstrate constructive participation in the talks on ending the conflict and occupation and reminded of the "red lines" for the Ukrainian side: there can be no compromise on Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence within its internationally recognized borders.

Thanking the OSCE and participating states for their assistance in efforts to resolve the conflict in Donbas, the Ukrainian diplomat also called for "exploring possible ways to significantly strengthen the OSCE's activities in Crimea."

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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 07:21 576 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661ba8c2 1 World ASEAN,Rohingya,refugee-crisis,APHR,ASEAN-Summit Free

The new Rohingya refugee crisis that is brewing off the northern coast of Indonesia might cast a long shadow over the upcoming ASEAN Summit, with critics describing ASEAN countries handling of the stranded refugees as "totally shameful" in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leaders of ASEAN member states are due to meet virtually in the landmark summit on Friday, where they are expected to discuss various regional issues including the fate of Rohingya refugees stranded at sea who face widespread rejection from countries on account of coronavirus concerns.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that Indonesian fishermen and local authorities in Northern Aceh had rescued 94 Rohingyas on Wednesday, insisting that based on humanitarian considerations they would be given emergency assistance.

They had gone without food for several days, officials said.

However, beyond giving the Rohingya food and temporary shelter, authorities are still considering sending them back out to sea after they finish with boat repairs and refueling.

"After repairing the ship, we will also provide fuel for the ship and then we are planning for the ship to be pushed back under the supervision of the Water and Air Police [Polairud] and the Navy to get out of Indonesian waters," Lilawangsa military command post commander Col. Inf Sumirating Baskoro said as quoted by Kompas.com.

Wednesday's rescue came as a coast guard official in Malaysia said that dozens of Rohingya were believed to have died during a four-month boat journey, AFP reports.

There had been more than 300 people on board a boat that was intercepted by authorities earlier this month, said Zubil Mat Som, director-general of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. The 269 survivors were taken to Langkawi Island.

"Some of them died at sea. They were thrown overboard," Zubil told reporters, without specifying the exact number of dead.

The countries reluctance to accept the refugees, especially during the time of COVID-19, has led observers and activists to sound the alarm on a possible repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis in the Andaman Sea.

In May 2015, the Rohingya refugee crisis grabbed international headlines when tens of thousands of Rohingya fled from persecution in Myanmar in overcrowded boats heading toward Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Nearly 25,000 were stranded at sea after states cracked down on the maritime smuggling networks that serviced these people, but they were largely saved after the three countries finally agreed to accommodate them.

After a military crackdown in Myanmar forced hundreds of thousands more of the Rohingya to flee into neighboring Bangladesh in 2017, the refugee crisis had become a subject regularly raised in various ASEAN meetings.

Myanmar has consistently dismissed criticism of its treatment of its minorities, including the stateless Rohingya, a move that has attracted international scrutiny and has brought pressure on ASEAN as a collective.

ASEAN, through its humanitarian assistance agency, the AHA Center, has promised to lead a regional response to help Myanmar repatriate the refugees, but repeated attempts in recent years have largely failed.

Retno insisted that ensuring the voluntary, safe and dignified return of the Rohingya to Rakhine state has been Indonesias main priority all this time, and that it would work with countries in the region on early detection to prevent so-called boat people from making the precarious journey.

I underline that the issue of boat movement cannot be separated from the root causes of refugees in the region. Accelerated repatriation is the key, Retno said on Thursday.

Separately, the chairman of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights and a Malaysian member of parliament, Charles Santiago, called the ASEAN response to the refugee crisis totally shameful.

ASEAN talks about a caring and sharing society. You can see it in all of the documents and press statements and I am sure they will say the same thing, that we are a caring society, and nobody should be left behind in ASEAN, he said in a virtual town hall meeting on ASEAN member states human rights accountability on Thursday.

But clearly when it comes to the Rohingyas, especially the refugees [] we do not have the compassion to bring them on board and provide them with the support that they need.

Secretary general of Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network Themba Lewis said the crisis was accentuated by the pandemic due to the travel restrictions and the closure of borders across the region.

The pandemic also saw a rise in xenophobic attitudes, especially in Malaysia, he said, however even more alarming is the lack of substantive response from the Malaysian government to that rhetoric and also neighboring states in ASEAN as a whole.
YEREVAN, JUNE 26, ARMENPRESS. June 26 is celebrated as the Air Force Day in the Armenian Armed Forces.

Armenian defense ministers spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan said on Facebook that this year marks the 28th anniversary of the formation of the Armenian Air Force.

On the occasion of this day we congratulate the pilots and the crew of the Air Force, as well as all of us, wishing a peaceful sky.

If necessary, the combat divisions of the Armenian Air Force will bring their major contribution to ensuring the countrys defense and security, she said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Welcome, Monsieur et Madame, to my humble home! Perhaps you would like some crusty bread? A croissant, eh? I have a pot of French onion soup simmering on the stove and would be delighted if you joined me. I am sure you will be happy here in the peaceful countryside away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Each morning you will rise to the cheerful cock-a-doodle-doo of my rooster, Maurice, known throughout the island of Oleron for his full-throated crowing. It is beloved by all.

Eh, no. That is the problem, you see. We prefer cock-a-doodle dont. The last few mornings have been terrible with the noise from this rooster you call Maurice. We prefer to rise later in the day, count our euros, eat French toast and drink our champagne without the incessant crowing of this Maurice, as you call him.

But Monsieur et Madame, you have moved to the countryside and Maurice is part of the countryside along with all the other animals. If you do not like Maurice, you are certainly not going to like my pet skunk, Pepe.

Farmer, we shall see you and this Maurice in a court of law. And we shall silence his crowing forever.
Nandrolone and the HPTA

Mechanism of Suppression

By William Llewellyn

By most accounts, nandrolone is an extremely mild steroid. It is likely the least androgenic in nature of all the anabolic/androgenic compounds, often to the point of interfering with libido. And though it does aromatize, it does so at a very slow rate. In fact, its probably the least estrogenic of all the steroids that are capable of aromatizing to estrogen. Yet, there is one trait we seem to know well when it comes to nandrolone; it strongly suppresses the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular Axis (HPTA).

Now, when used in doses sufficient to stimulate muscle growth, pretty much every steroid suppresses the HPTA. However, we have been using nandrolone long enough to know its particularly strong in this regard. For such a weakly androgenic and estrogenic steroid, we would expect its suppressive nature to be more on par with anabolics such as Primobolan and oxandrolone. Most often, however, bodybuilders liken Deca to the primary androgen testosterone when speaking of testicular atrophy and HPTA suppression. As of yet, we have had no solid explanation of why. In this article Ill discuss the functioning and steroid-related suppression of the HPTA, and propose a new mechanism that may account for the strong nature of nandrolone and some of its derivatives.

Just What Does the HPTA Do?

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular Axis is responsible for regulating the output of testosterone in the male body. At the top of the axis is the hypothalamic region of the brain, which releases a hormone called Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH, formerly called LHRH). GnRH stimulates the pituitary to release the two gonadotropic hormones LH (Luteinizing Hormone) and FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone). Both hormones, but LH primarily, stimulate the Leydigs cells in the testes to secrete testosterone.

Some of the same sex steroids that are produced as a result of this process are integral in a negative feedback mechanism, however, which works to prevent the oversecretion of testosterone. The primary hormone involved in this suppression is estradiol, which is, of course, the aromatized byproduct testosterone. High estrogen levels serve as a signal to the hypothalamus to slow the release of GnRH, and also desensitize the pituitary to this hormone. This in turn trickles down to the testes receiving less stimulation via LH. In addition, androgens and progestins can also cause a suppression of LH and testosterone output via the same target sites. Were that not the case, most non-aromatizable steroids would be unable to affect endogenous testosterone release. Unfortunately, they are.

Steroid-Related Suppression

Now, when we are taking a steroid such as an injectable testosterone, naturally we expect our body to read the heightened androgen and estrogen levels and slow the release of endogenous testosterone. When we look at studies to try and understand what is happening, we see the drop in testosterone is directly correlated with a drop in the level of LH,1 which again is the primary stimulus for the testes to release testosterone. Studies with Primobolan, a non-aromatizable steroid, also show a drug-induced suppression of gonadotropins, even before testicular functioning is disrupted.2 The same T/LH correlation was seen in studies with oxandrolone3 and methandrostenolone.4

Until fairly recently it was our understanding that HPTA suppression from all anabolic/androgenic steroids occurs the same way, at the top of the axis, through sex steroid induced inhibition of the release of hypothalamic GnRH and pituitary LH. From what we know of the negative feedback inhibition of sex steroids, this seemed like a logical assumption to make. But a study at the University Hospital Utrecht in The Netherlands suggests that nandrolone can suppress endogenous testosterone production though a very different mechanism; one that exists outside of the normal suppression of gonadotropic hormones.

Nandrolone and LH

The study was published in Acta Endocrinologica5 and its results were in striking contrast to everything we in the bodybuilding world have assumed about steroid-related HPTA suppression. In this experiment, 11 male patients between ages 44 and 62 were given injections of Deca-Durabolin over the course of 12 weeks. The total dosage given to each subject was only 450 milligrams. However, this was sufficient to suppress testosterone production throughout the course of therapy. In fact, testosterone remained below pre-treated levels three months after the last injection, at which point the study was concluded.

We are left to guess how long full HPTA recovery actually took. What was demonstrated in this investigation is shocking. Nandrolone decanoate strongly suppressed testosterone production but had no impact on serum LH. Suppression was not caused at the top of the axis, with a lowering of LH, as we would have expected. It is probably good that a higher dosage wasnt used in this experiment, as the drug would likely have started suppressing LH, which would have made noticing this unusual trait difficult. With these results, the investigators were left to conclude that the constant levels of LH, together with the steep decrease in testosterone levels, suggests an influence of ND [nandrolone decanoate] on testicular level: an impaired sensitivity of the Leydig cells towards LH stimulation, resulting in a decreased testosterone secretion. No specific explanation was given.

Progesterone and LH Sensitivity

In trying to understand what might be happening, we can note that nandrolone has one noteworthy trait that we would say is not characteristic of the other steroids mentioned in this article. It exhibits measurable progestational activity.6 Is it possible this has something to do with its unusual testosterone suppressing activity? Although progesterone is known to exhibit negative feedback on LH release, the actions of this hormone on the testis are not fully understood. Other studies do suggest that it has a very interesting role in the regulation of testicular function.7

Noting that intratesticular levels of progesterone increase with high-dosed stimulation by HCG, investigators wanted to see if progesterone participated in the desensitization of the testes to LH that also results. To accomplish this they pre-incubated mouse Leydig cells for 24 to 48 hours with progesterone, and then measured the binding of HCG (which attaches to the LH receptor), as well as the AMP production of cells (which HCG stimulates) in its presence. The results were compared to control cells. Both measures were significantly reduced when cells were pre-incubated with progesterone; effects that were shown to be caused by a clear inhibitory effect of this hormone toward LH receptor concentrations. This, in turn, could obviously cause a lowering of testosterone production, as it would interfere with the ability of the testes to respond to luteinizing hormone.

Conclusion

The above raises a plausible explanation for the results of the nandrolone study: The peculiar effect nandrolone has on the HPTA may be a result of its progestational nature. It also seems possible that this model of inhibition would be characteristic of many steroids that are derived from nandrolone and share a similar ability to act as progestins. Norethandrolone8 and trenbolone9 for example, both structurally related to nandrolone, are believed to have measurable progestational activity.

Perhaps these steroids share nandrolones ability to desensitize the testes to LH. If our progestational hypothesis is correct, we are still uncertain at this time what impact this knowledge has in the real world. It does seem to suggest an additive effect with many 19-nor androgens in terms of testicular atrophy and testosterone suppression, and perhaps proposes a reason those extremely concerned with post-cycle HPTA recovery should reconsider using such agents. It is also possible that recovery after a good testosterone cycle would not be significantly different than if nandrolone were included, and its importance is ultimately academic. At the very least, we understand that LH activity is not the sole regulator of testosterone synthesis, nor the sole concern for the steroid user wishing to maintain testicular mass or restore a balanced HPTA.

William Llewellyn is widely regarded as one of the worlds foremost authorities on the use of performance-enhancing substances. He is the author of the bestselling anabolic steroid reference guide ANABOLICS and CEO of Molecular Nutrition. William is an accomplished researcher/developer in the field of anabolic substances, and is also a longtime advocate for harm reduction and legislative change. He built the website anabolic.org, an extensive online database of information on anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

References:

1. Comparison of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone in serum after injection of testosterone enanthate or testosterone cypionate. Schulte-Beerbuhl & Nieschlag. Fertil and Steril 33 (1980) 201-3

2. Comparative studies about the influence of methenolonacetate and mesterolone on hypophysis and male gonads. Trenkner, Senge et al. Arzheim-Forsch. 4 (1970) 545-7

3. The effects of oxandrolone on the growth hormone and gonadal axis in boys with constitutional delay of growth and puberty. Clin Endocrinol 38 (1993) 393-8

4. Effect of anabolic steroid (metandienon) on plasma LH-FSH, and testosterone and on the response to intraveinous administration of LRH. Holma, Adlercreuta. Acta Endocrinol 83 (1976) 856-64.

5. Influence of nandrolondecanoate on the pituitary-gonadal axis in males. Bijlsma, Duursma et al. Acta Endocrinol 101 (1982) 108-112

6. Competitive progesterone antagonists: receptor binding and biologic activity of testosterone and 19-nortestosterone derivatives. Reel, Humphrey et al. Fertil Steril 31 (1979) 552-61.

7. Progesterone can participate in down-regulation of the luteinizing hormone receptor gene expression and function in cultured murine Leydig cells. El-Hefnawy, Huhtaniemi. Mol Cell Endocrin 137 (1998) 127-38

8. Structural and hormonal activity of some new steroids. Drill, Riegel. Research laboratories G.D.Searle and Co.

9. Characterization of the affinity of different anabolics and synthetic hormones to the human androgen receptor, human sex hormone binding globulin and to the bovine progestin receptor. Bauer, Meyer et al. Acta Pathol Microbiol Imunol Scand Suppl 108 (2000) 838-46

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KITCHENER  Once Barbara Robinson steps out of the light from the manhole, the darkness is overwhelming.

The smell? Sewage. Not as bad as most would think, she says, but not appealing.

The Canadian sewer expert and president of Norton Engineering Inc. isnt afraid to do the dirty work. She has seen the underside of Canadas sewage system up close and personal.

But shes not the only one lurking beneath.

Rats are very common in sewers. As disgusting as it sounds, there are nutrients in sewers, she said. In an urban environment, rats are in sewers all the time.

For most residents in Waterloo Region, its out of sight, out of mind. But in some cases, the underground tunnel system can lead right into a basement.

That was the case for Peter Woolstencroft of Waterloo, who in 2016 opened his downstairs toilet to find a rat staring back up at him.

The rat would have travelled from the main city line, up the sewer lateral leading to the house, and a quick swim through the trap on the basement toilet to the surface  yes, rats can swim, using their tails as propellers to slide through tight enclosures.

If you have a toilet in your basement, always keep the lid down, said Robinson. And if you want to be really particular, stick a brick on top of it.

Robinson said the pipe leading from the main line, known as a sewer lateral, is the responsibility of the private homeowner to maintain. In many cases, she said, property owners dont even know they own a sewer, and dont realize there is a problem until its too late.

For a start, you should know what kind of condition your sewer is in, she said. If you live in a house that is 60 years old, your sewer lateral is probably 60 years old and falling apart.

Plumbers can check the condition of the sewer by running a push camera through the cleanout in the basement and into the piping.

If its not in good condition, its an opportunity for vermin or rats, she said. Its pretty simple, you want to make sure that pipe is well maintained.

And if it's not the rats getting in, buildups and other piping issues can also lead to basement floods. Thats why Robinson is adamant only bio-waste and toilet paper are flushed down the toilets.

Even wet wipes, commonly known as baby wipes, can get stuck in the sewer and collect fat, soil and grease. This can lead to the creation of fatbergs, which is when a collection of non-biodegradable solid matter stops the normal flow of the sewage.

Robinson suggests homeowners should have their sewer lateral inspected by a plumber on a regular basis  coming in somewhere around $350 per inspection. She said the general rule of thumb is to have it checked every five years.

To replace an entire line, she said it can run into the thousands depending on the factors in each case.

Sewer systems are the most important pieces of infrastructure we have, she said. And we need to take care of them.

-with files from Record staff, Luisa DAmato
After several days of negotiations, the government, unions and employers agreed on Thursday to extend the ERTE furloughing scheme for companies affected by the coronavirus crisis until September 30.

Under the system, companies suffering losses from the Covid-19 pandemic and the confinement measures can temporarily send home workers or reduce their working hours. Thousands of businesses have filed for ERTEs since the Spanish government introduced a lockdown in mid-March.

This is the second time that the scheme, which was due to end on June 30, has been extended.

Although the state of alarm has come to an end, businesses will continue to be given exemptions and most of the conditions of the current scheme will remain in place, such as the ban on hiring new workers. During the next three months, companies will not be able to lay off workers for objective reasons nor lift the suspension on temporary contracts. Whats more, workers on an ERTE will continue to receive unemployment aid.

The Spanish Cabinet is set to approve the extension of the ERTE scheme on Friday.

What does the extension agreement entail?

Under the agreement, the ERTE furloughing scheme, which was approved under the state of alarm, will be extended until September 30. This means that ERTEs requested for reasons of force majeure by companies that have not yet reopened will remain in place. The agreement also opens the possibility of extending the scheme to companies that are forced to close again due to a fresh coronavirus outbreak.

What exemptions will businesses receive?

In the case of total ERTEs for causes of force majeure, where all employees have been sent home, companies with fewer than 50 workers will receive tax exemptions of 70% in July, 60% in August and 35% in September. If a company has more than 50 workers, it will be relieved of paying 50% of employer contributions in July, 40% in August and 25% in September.

In the case of partial ERTEs, where some workers have returned, exemptions also apply. In businesses with fewer than 50 workers, companies will receive exemptions of 60% for employees who have returned to work and 35% for those who remain suspended. In businesses with more than 50 workers, the rate is 40% and 25%, respectively.

Do the exemptions apply to active businesses?

Yes. Companies that are back in business but have to close again as a result of a coronavirus outbreak, will not only be able to apply for an ERTE for force majeure, they will also be relieved of paying 80% of employer contributions, if they have fewer than 50 workers, and 60%, if they have more than 50 staff members.

Does the agreement apply to ERTEs for objective reasons?

Yes. For the first time, companies that declare ERTEs for objective reasons (technical, organizational, economic, or relating to production) will receive exemptions. The goal is to transition companies on ERTEs for force majeure to ERTEs for objective reasons, given that the state of alarm has come to an end. This means that companies will have to begin to reincorporate workers. The objective is to prioritize reduced working hours over temporary layoffs.

Will workers on ERTEs continue to receive unemployment support?

Yes, the unemployment aid associated with the scheme will remain until September 30, with the exception of permanent seasonal workers, for whom unemployment benefits will be extended to December 31.

What are the limits on businesses?

Companies on an ERTE will not be able to do overtime, and will only be allowed to hire new staff or outsource work if their staff members cannot do it themselves for justified reasons. Failing to meet these conditions will result in fines. Whats more, businesses that are headquartered in a tax haven will not be able to apply for an ERTE for objective reasons.

Do businesses have to maintain jobs?

The agreement extends the commitment to maintain employment for six months for companies that have declared an ERTE for objective reasons. For businesses that are receiving exemptions associated with this type of ERTE for the first time, the six-month deadline is calculated from the date the new decree comes into effect.

Can workers be laid off for objective reasons?

No. The agreement maintains the governments veto on layoffs for objective reasons until September 30.

What will happen with temporary contracts?

The end date of temporary contracts, including training, handover and substitution contracts, will remain on hold until September. In practice this means that these contracts are being extended to that date even if the employer does not wish to do so.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
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YEREVAN, JUNE 26, ARMENPRESS. Foreign minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan had a telephone conversation with Iraqs deputy prime minister, minister of foreign affairs Fuad Hussein, the Armenian MFA told Armenpress.

The Armenian FM congratulated his Iraqi counterpart on appointment, wishing success in his key mission.

The ministers discussed the situation with the novel coronavirus and the actions and measures taken at local levels to address the challenges of the virus and restore the normal life.

The officials also praised the centuries-old Armenian-Iraqi relations and reaffirmed their mutual readiness to make efforts to further deepen and expand these ties. In this context they highlighted the activity of the Armenian-Iraqi inter-governmental commission.

The Armenian and Iraqi FMs highly valued the role of the Armenian community of Iraq in the countrys socio-economic, political life, as well as in making closer the two peoples and countries. Minister Mnatsakanyan thanked his colleague for the traditional warm attitude and care shown to the Armenian community.

The FMs also discussed a number of international and regional issues, both emphasizing the importance of regional stability and peace.

They exchanged views also on the developments in the Middle East.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
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Linkedin Dyah Pitaloka, Gita Nasution and Erlin Erlina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 26, 2020 14:15 575 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40661e7d84 3 Opinion COVID-19,psychology,new-normal,new-normal-in-Indonesia,health-protocol Free

The novel coronavirus travels unequally, leaving marginalized people to suffer the most from the pandemic. The virus spreads quickly and is transmittable easily in spaces where you do not have approximate distance with others, such as in a crowded house.

It also spreads in situations where you do not have access to clean drinking water or water to wash your hands and to clean your body  the preventive behavior that is recommended. Spaces where you do not have access to the basic infrastructure of food.

In addition, those living at the margins must endure the effects of policies to deal with the virus, such as lockdown, quarantine, physical distancing and travel restrictions. Financial constraints force these people to keep working outside their homes. Poverty prevents them from complying with the prescribed health norms, including working from home, washing their hands and body with soap regularly after outdoor activities, consuming healthy foods, getting enough rest and regular exercise.

Structural barriers leave them with no other choice but to accept their fate and pasrah (surrender) to this external locus of control, as anthropologist Koentjaraningrat put it. Pasrah becomes their source of resilience to deal with the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 and the impacts of the intervention policies.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in its April 13 briefing asserted that countries with lower numbers of cases could begin easing restrictions. However, social distancing and handwashing must continue for an indefinite period. With so much at stake, the government eased restrictions and allowed economic and social activities to resume under new normal protocols.

To support business continuation during the pandemic, the Health Ministry issued on May 20 guidance for the mitigation and control of COVID-19 in office and industrial workplace settings.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) emphasizes that people should follow the new health protocols to protect them from contagion.

To minimize risks and to stay productive, people must be prepared and ensure that they have the necessary survival items packed in their COVID-19 emergency bag, such as a jacket and appropriate clothing, bottle of water, hand sanitizer, tissue, masks, disinfectant spray, eating utensils, folded reusable bag, multivitamins and prayer mat and gown.

Under the new normal, pasrah shifts in meaning. Concerns, however, have mounted since the countrys COVID-19 transmission curve has not yet flattened. In fact, as soon as the government eased restrictions, single-day infection cases rose to 993 on June 6, and exceeded 1,000 on average in the following days until now.

The relaxation has unsurprisingly sparked the question as to whether the transition to the new normal will put peoples health and safety at stake. However, despite its risks, the new normal policy has been implemented to reboot the slumping economy.

In this pandemic, individuals have no ability to control the risks and their own safety. The public resorts to pasrah as culturally situated practice and core element in their preparedness strategy to deal with the new environment and to adapt to the new normal. This cultural concept connects people and helps them comprehend the situation and manage the cosmology episode, first coined by Karl E. Weick in 1993, in which they will live confusion and doubt  not knowing what is happening and why.

The new normal has given a new nuance to Indonesians in exercising and understanding pasrah. While before the new normal, with pasrah in mind the poor were the ones who braved COVID-19, during the new normal the middle-class gradually follows suit. They are more aware of hygiene practices to prevent the risks of infection and are more likely to comply with the health protocols because they have the resources to do so than the unfortunate group.

However, despite the efforts the middle-class in fact is structurally pushed to bear pasrah in mind, especially if their jobs are related to essential services and no longer have the luxury to work from home. Pasrah during the new normal for the middle-class is normal for the poor. Of course, health workers are consistently compelled to pasrah no matter what normal situation may mean.

Pasrah shows a paradox of existence in destitution in which the poor actually employ a fully human initiative and agency by constructing new social and spiritual connectedness. But ironically, this new normal may create violence for some more groups. The new normal narrative for some only shows how the health protocols of COVID-19 leaves them struggling in a very new, risky and difficult social situation.

Governing the risks through the idiom of pasrah indicates the limitations of biomedical care, which concerns primarily the discipline of the social body. Yet, that political and economic arrangement has triggered people to take actions and resilient to that social inequality, structural violence and poverty.

For them, pasrah is disguised resistance as they look for a new form to fit in a space of the new normal arrangement while searching for opportunities for economic resources and for survival. For some others, the new normal has structurally positioned them to surrender and receptive, but it will also transform into resistance.

In terms of structural violence, the pandemic shows how the disease has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives around the world. The pandemic has not only impacted the life of the poor but also shaped the intersubjective individuals. In this sense, self-care management of the pasrah becomes meaningful but understood as a form of life associated with the market and competition (in economic liberalism), as written by Ben Anderson in 2012.

***

Dyah Pitaloka is research scholar at Ronin Institute, Montclair, New Jersey. Erlin Erlina is Ph.D Candidate, Research School of Humanities and Arts, College of Arts & Social Sciences, Australian National University. Gita Nasution is PhD candidate at Department of Anthropology, School of Culture and Language, College of Asia & Pacific, Australian National University.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
CAMEROUN :: Anglophone crisis, Petition: Despite the lockdown the military is still breaking into homes :: CAMEROON

Massive and indiscriminate arrests including health workers in Kumbo precisely from BBH right to Mbve by Biyas military terrorists.

They came in the night and slept in farms covered with corn and were ready to ambush the warriors around the vicinity where their armored car was ambushed last weekend as shared all over social media. The whole of that area to Mbve the Kumbo main market is flocked with these Biyas terrorists.

They have with them at least 4 armored cars and many trucks ready to ferry those arrested to their location where the Reconstruction and Development meeting has to hold. Many will have to pay bail to be released for the up keep if the soldiers.

Tensions are high in Kumbo and many are worried that even despite the lockdown the military is still breaking into homes to arrest. The painful part is that most health personnel working at BBH and other health centers have been arrested amongst. Time to step up the support for the warriors to blow down more armored cars.

Sign the petition here
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 09:44:37|Editor: huaxia

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GENEVA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- After 75 years, the UN Charter still matters because it was based on important principles that will be valid forever, such as solving international problems through cooperation, a senior UN diplomat told Xinhua.

"Inclusion and cooperation are extremely important, especially in this day and age," said David A. Chikvaidze, chef de cabinet to the director-general of the United Nations Office at Geneva, in a written interview.

The UN organization described in the charter is a tool designed to prevent another major world war and make the world a better place. If member states show more spirit of cooperation and engagement, the UN will play its role as designed, said the diplomat.

"The UN is an organization of member states. It's a tool that all the member states have created for themselves. So if they don't use it, the tool remains on the side of the road and becomes irrelevant," he warned.

However, he said that the UN is not irrelevant, certainly not because of its age. Even after 75 years, the most important thing is to improve the atmosphere that encourages member states to use the UN tool.

To solve problems through the UN, he stressed, member states need to make it active and do a lot of diplomatic work, and this is exactly what the UN is made for.

Unfortunately, as years go by, the world has witnessed more and more unilateralist approaches, instead of seeking solutions via consultation and negotiation, he said.

"Big countries have the biggest responsibility. That's why they have veto power in the UN Security Council. It's not a perk. It's a responsibility for peace and security," he added.

Taking the current deadlock in disarmament as an example, Chikvaidze said it's urgent for all the relevant parties to sit down and talk. After the Cuban missile crisis, there was an understanding that disarmament is a large part of national security, but this mindset has been weakened in recent years.

"There is a place called the UN. You need the will to open the door, go in and sit down and talk," he said.

For him, a place like the UN at least teaches young people one thing: how to interact with people of other nationalities. To do this, he said, one needs to respect and communicate, which is very important to shape a better future.

As one of the UN officials in charge of preparing Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Geneva three years ago, Chikvaidze still remembered the keynote speech Xi delivered inside the Palais de Nations, which is titled "Work Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind."

"It was a very impressive speech. It was a very statement-like speech. And I think China is presenting a very valid road to this concept of a shared humanity and a shared future, because we are on one planet, we are in the same boat, you can't get away from that and we have to find a way to coexist," he said.

Xi recently said that China and Europe should serve as two great civilizations that adhere to multilateralism and help improve global governance. In this regard, Chikvaidze said that it's a "very valid proposal" based on the concept of "inclusivity."

Both China and the EU are two very powerful centers of power, and it's good to see an "inclusive cooperation" open to others, he noted.

As for COVID-19, Chikvaidze said it is just the latest wake-up call, and that many current global challenges, such as climate change, natural disasters and poverty, need to be solved in a systemic and multilateral way.

"The new wake-up call is heard by everybody," he said, adding that a common reaction from many countries would be that they need to work together.

However, he was not sure whether COVID-19 would suddenly make multilateralism flourish, because multilateralism requires every member state to engage in. "This is where leadership comes in. This is where vision comes in." Enditem
Who's Next: Pondering Leadership Succession in Family-Run North Korea

2020-06-25 -- Seventy years after North Korean founder Kim Il Sung (1912-94) launched the June 25, 1950 surprise attack on South Korea that sparked the Korean War, Kim's grandchildren, Kim Jong Un and his younger sister Kim Yo Jong, are in charge in Pyongyang  and embroiled in conflict with Seoul and Washington over nuclear weapons and economic sanctions.

Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, 36, has been the face of the country since he inherited power on the death of his reclusive father Kim Jong Il (1942-2011), holding historic summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders, and trying to end Pyongyang's pariah status in world affairs.

Kim Yo Jong, meanwhile, has emerged as the face of North Korea's belligerent campaign against Seoul for allowing anti-North Korean activists based in the South to send balloons carrying anti-Kim leaflets across the border. Earlier she played a prominent role in summit diplomacy with South Korea.

Kim Yo Jong, 32, appears to be on a short list of potential successors to her brother, whose disappearance from public view for three weeks in April 2020 raised health questions and speculation about who would be next in line.

When Kim Jong Un emerged smiling at a staged event at a fertilizer factory on May 1, 2020, he put to rest wilder speculation that he was dead or incapacitated.

But no explanation for his absence was offered, and his relatively few public appearances since then have kept alive the question of who will succeed him at the helm of an impoverished, nuclear-armed country that has been ruled by one family since it was set up with help from the Soviet Union in 1948.

Some North Korea watchers see Kim Yo Jong performing the confidante role with her brother that her father, Kim Jong Il, once played for Kim Il Sung as he accumulated experience in a long apprenticeship from the 1970s to the early 1990s. Some analysts say recent state media use of the term "Party Center" without specifying any individual follows the pattern Kim Jong Il's early political rise.

North Korean hagiography holds that Kim Jong Il was born on Mount Baekdu, a sacred mountain on the Sino-Korean border that was the birthplace of Dangun, the mythical first Korean. Sharing the so-called "Mount Baekdu Bloodline" would help Kim Yo Jong's prospects as successor, some observers believe.

If Kim Jong Un insists on keeping leadership in the family, he doesn't have many choices beyond his sister. Kim Jong Il's 65-year-old half-brother, Kim Pyong Il, a retired diplomat, has been mentioned, but lacks his niece's public profile. An elder half-brother named Kim Jong Nam was assassinated in a bizarre chemical attack at a Kuala Lumpur airport in 2017, for which North Korean agents were blamed.

A U.S. Congressional Research Service analysis published after Kim Jong Un's absence from public view in April said Kim Yo Jong "is among the most likely" choice of successors, adding "but analysts wonder whether a woman could become the leader, particularly if not designated as successor by her brother."

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BOGOTA, Colombia  Seven Colombian soldiers have been charged in the rape of a 13-year-old Indigenous girl, an announcement that has alarmed many in a nation already grappling with the militarys long record of abuse, including illegal killings and accusations of sexual assaults.

The charges, brought on Thursday by Attorney General Francisco Barbosa, accuse six soldiers of participating in the crime and one of being an accomplice. All seven pleaded guilty in an initial closed hearing, according to Mr. Barbosas office.

They have dishonored their uniform and the dignity of childhood in Colombia, he said in a statement.

The girl, a member of the Embera community, is a student who had been living with her mother and many siblings in the department of Risaralda, in the western part of the country, according to Lejandrina Pastor, an adviser with the Organizacion Nacional Indigena de Colombia, the association that unites the countrys Indigenous groups.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2020 / AZARGA URANIUM CORP. (AZZ.TO)(AZZUF)(P8AA.F) ("Azarga Uranium" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that all resolutions put forward at the Annual General and Special Meeting (the "Meeting") of the Company's shareholders (the "Shareholders") held 26 June 2020, as further described in the Company's information circular dated 13 May 2020, were approved, including the following:

Election of Directors: the nominees listed in the management proxy circular dated 13 May 2020 for the Meeting of the Company held on 26 June 2020: Glenn Catchpole, Matthew O'Kane, Sandra MacKay, Joseph Havlin, Todd Hilditch and Delos Cy Jamison were all elected as Directors until the next annual general meeting of the Shareholders. Detailed results of the vote for the election of Directors held at the Meeting are set out below:

Appointment of BDO Canada LLP as auditors of the Company for the fiscal period ending December 31, 2020 and the Director's right to fix the remuneration to be paid to BDO Canada LLP.

Approving the increase in the number of Azarga Uranium common shares (the "Shares") reserved for issuance pursuant to the employee share purchase plan by 3,000,000.

Approving the increase in the number of Shares reserved for issuance pursuant to the Director services agreements by 1,500,000.

Issuance of 1,750,000 Shares as a bonus payment of which 1,525,000 Shares are to three insiders of the Company (approved by the majority of disinterested shareholders).

For further information, please see the Company's Report of Voting Results, which will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

In addition, the Company, subject to final approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange, will issue 200,000 Shares as a payment to settle outstanding service fees of $35,000 owed by the Company to an independent consultant.

About Azarga Uranium Corp.

Azarga Uranium is an integrated uranium exploration and development company that controls ten uranium projects and prospects in the United States of America ("USA") (South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado), with a primary focus of developing in-situ recovery uranium projects. The Dewey Burdock in-situ recovery uranium project in South Dakota, USA (the "Dewey Burdock Project"), which is the Company's initial development priority, has received its Nuclear Regulatory Commission License and draft Class III and Class V Underground Injection Control ("UIC") permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA") and the Company is in the process of completing other major regulatory permit approvals necessary for the construction of the Dewey Burdock Project, including the final Class III and Class V UIC permits from the EPA.

Story continues

For more information please visit www.azargauranium.com.

Follow us on Twitter at @AzargaUranium.

For further information, please contact:

Blake Steele, President and CEO

+1 303 790-7528

E-mail: info@azargauranium.com

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

Certain information and statements in this news release may be considered forward-looking information or forward-looking statements for purposes of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), which reflect the expectations of management regarding its disclosure and amendments thereto. Forward-looking statements consist of information or statements that are not purely historical, including any information or statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information or statements may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the additional uranium mineralization having the widespread potential to supplement the existing Gas Hills Project resource estimate, the additional uranium mineralization having the potential to be ISR amenable, the Company completing an updated resource estimate at the Gas Hills Project, the Gas Hills Project having the potential to transform into a significant satellite deposit for the Company's initial development priority, the Dewey Burdock Project, the utilization of planned infrastructure for the Dewey Burdock Project having the potential to significantly reduce the cost profile of the Gas Hills Project, the results of the drill hole logs being viewed as conservative and Azarga Uranium's continued efforts to obtain all major regulatory permit approvals necessary for the construction of the Dewey Burdock Project, including the final Class III and Class V UIC permits from the EPA. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. 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 Azarga Uranium will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including without limitation: the risk that the additional uranium mineralization does not supplement the existing Gas Hills Project resource estimate, the risk that the additional uranium mineralization is not ISR amenable, the risk that the Company does not complete an updated resource estimate at the Gas Hills Project, the risk that the Gas Hills Project does not transform into a significant satellite deposit for the Company's initial development priority, the Dewey Burdock Project, the risk that planned infrastructure for the Dewey Burdock Project is not developed or does not significantly reduce the cost profile of the Gas Hills Project, the risk that the drill hole logs are not conservative, the risk that Azarga Uranium does not obtain all major regulatory permit approvals necessary for construction of the Dewey Burdock Project, including the final Class III and Class V UIC permits from the EPA, the risk that such statements may prove to be inaccurate and other factors beyond the Company's control. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as required by applicable securities laws, Azarga Uranium assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results differed from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Additional information about these and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties are set out in the "Risks and Uncertainties" section in the most recent AIF filed with Canadian security regulators.

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this News Release.

SOURCE:





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/595395/Azarga-Uranium-Annual-General-and-Special-Meeting-2020-Voting-Results




World-class Korean dancers and Jo Ju-hyun, third from right, artistic director of "The Korea World Dance Stars Festival 2020," pose at Korea House in Jung-gu, Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap



By Park Ji-won



No one ever expected that this year's ballet festival would be able to bring all the top 10 talented Korean dancers from world-class ballet companies around the world together on one stage.



However, the COVID-19 pandemic made the star-studded performance possible. The dancers returned home to join "The Korea World Dance Stars Festival 2020" to show off their skills in front of local audiences.



The festival, which began in 2001 as a biennial event and has been held yearly since 2007, will present unprecedented performances by Korean dancers from June 27 to 28 at the Seoul Arts Center, despite the high number of performances being cancelled or pushed online.



Ballet dancers Park Sun-mi and Han Sung-woo, with the American Ballet Theater; Kang Ho-hyun, with the Paris Opera Ballet; Lee You-rim, with the Hungarian National Ballet; Jung Ga-yeon, with the Joffrey Ballet; Lee Sang-min, Lee Sun-woo and Lee Soo-bin, with the Boston Ballet, along with contemporary dancers Lee Sun-a, with Cie Le Guetteur in France and Lee Mi-ri, with Metabody, will present 11 pieces. Five are original pieces.



The five include "Pearl," "Un cover," "Void of Text" and "Life Must Go On." The dancers will also present "Pirate," the "Talisman pas de deux," the "Tchaikovsky pas de deux" and the "Don Quixote pas de deux."



What differentiates this year's show from previous ones is that dancers will perform in rare combinations with one another.



In the past, Korean dancers have come together with dancers from their overseas ballet companies to perform. However, it became almost impossible to bring foreign groups or performers here because of coronavirus infection concerns. So the organizer decided to fill the gap with more Korean dancers, giving the festival a fresh opportunity.



"Audiences can witness the development and the growth of Korean ballet," festival artistic director Jo Ju-hyun said during a press conference Thursday. "The dancers were educated in Korea, they went to various ballet companies overseas and absorbed their styles. Fans can enjoy the new styles of the performances all at once."



She said she was able to invite three dancers to the festival as of January. But she called in more as they temporarily returned to Korea after their dance companies stopped performances or suspended operations following the spread of the coronavirus.



Jo said she tried to express the meaning of art during this difficult time through the performances.



"Because of the coronavirus, we had to stop and had time to reflect on ourselves as we didn't have space to practice due to the virus," she said. "We are more than thankful to be able to stand before the audience. I would like to question the way we exist (as artists) and answer that for our fans."



The festival is held on the sidelines of the 10th Ballet Festival Korea. In addition to the performances, workshops with the dancers will be held in Seoul, June 30 and on Jeju, July 2.



Tickets sold out within three days but for more information about the festival, visit www.ipap.co.kr or call (02) 3674-2210.


DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co on Friday asked a U.S. appeals court to allow it to continue pursuing its civil racketeering suit against rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, rejecting a lower court judge's belittling of the complaint.

The automaker's filing with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals comes less than a week after U.S. District Court Judge Paul Borman called GM's suit against Fiat Chrysler a "waste of time and resources" at a time when both automakers should be focused on surviving the coronavirus pandemic.

Borman ordered GM Chief Executive Mary Barra and Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley to meet by July 1 to negotiate a resolution.

"As we have said from the date this lawsuit was filed, it is meritless," FCA said on Friday.

"FCA will continue to defend itself vigorously and pursue all available remedies in response to GM's groundless lawsuit. We stand ready to comply with Judge Borman's order," it added.

In its motion, GM asked the appeals court to throw out Borman's order and reassign the case to a different district court judge. It called Borman's order "unprecedented" and "a profound abuse" of judicial power.

GM sued Fiat Chrysler last year, accusing the Italian-American company's executives of bribing United Auto Workers union officials to secure labor agreements that put GM at a disadvantage. Fiat Chrysler is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department as part of a wide-ranging probe of UAW corruption.

GM's accusations came as Fiat Chrysler and French automaker Peugeot SA were in the early stages of preparing for a merger. Fiat Chrysler has said the suit was aimed at disrupting that deal. GM has said the suit has nothing to do with the merger.

In a statement, GM rejected Borman's characterization of the suit as a "distraction" and defended its decision to press the case.

"We filed a lawsuit against FCA for the same reason the U.S. Department of Justice continues to investigate the company: former FCA executives admitted they conspired to use bribes to gain labor benefits, concessions and advantages. Based on the direct harm to GM these actions caused, we believe FCA must be held accountable."

(Reporting by Joe White, additional reporting by Ben Klayman and Rama Venkat; Editing by Tom Brown and Maju Samuel)
A top Democratic Senator has alleged that the Trump administration's expenditure of more than USD200 million to donate ventilators during Covid-19 pandemic is allegedly favouring countries personally selected by the US President. Among the countries that have been provided the life-saving machines are Russia, India, and South Africa, said Senator Robert Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Given the scale and nature of the current (Covid-19) crisis, it is imperative that we ensure the effective use of US aid dollars," he wrote in a letter to Donald Trump, citing the administration's suspect decision to waive congressional notification requirements for sending the ventilators during the pandemic.

"Providing ventilators to countries that need them is critical, but, as with any assistance, must be done in a productive and transparent manner. To that end, the National Security Council (NSC), in cooperation with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), must ensure greater transparency and accountability around the provision of ventilators," he said. Menendez alleged that without a fulsome explanation for USAID's procurement and provision of ventilators to a select group of countries, Trump's orders to ship more than 7,500 ventilators abroad, to just 40 countries, exemplifies the potential transactional politicisation of US foreign assistance and risks further tarnishing USAID's reputation as an apolitical aid agency.

Reiterating his concerns in a separate letter to USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa, Menendez called for further transparency regarding the respective roles of USAID and the NSC in the distribution decision-making process and the US government's efforts to ensure that Covid patients abroad have equitable access to life-saving ventilators. To date, USAID has submitted two Congressional Notifications (CN) outlining the Administration's plans to spend approximately USD 202 million in Global Health Program, Emergency Reserve Funds and Economic Support Funds, provided by the CARES Act, to purchase 7,582 ventilators to distribute to up to 40 countries, Menendez to Acting Administratior Barsa.

"While the notifications provide some details, I am concerned that the NSC's influence on these decisions both circumvents longstanding USAID procurement and accountability policies and interjects political agendas into how USAID allocates it Global Health and Emergency Reserve Fund resources," he said.

Also read: Coronavirus crisis: WHO chief warns of oxygen shortage as cases set to reach 10 million
PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 26/6/2020: People line the Anderstown road as the body of leading Republican Bobby Storey is returned to his Anderstown home in Belfast this evening. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON

Gerry Adams looks on as the body of leading Republican Bobbie Storey is returned to his Anderstown home.

A guard of honour flanks the hearse carrying the body of leading Republican Bobby Storey to his Anderstown home in Belfast.

A guard of honour flanks the hearse carrying the body of leading Republican Bobby Storey to his Anderstown home in Belfast.

The remains of senior IRA man Bobby Storey were returned to his west Belfast home on Friday in preparation for his funeral next week

Crowds lined the Falls Road as the coffin made its way to the family home in Andersonstown.

The hearse was flanked by a guard of honour of men and women in dark suits, white shirts and black ties, while others in similar garb lined the pavement.

Black flags fluttered in the breeze from nearby houses.

Among those at the Storey family home was Bernadette McGuinness, widow of former Deputy First Minister and IRA leader Martin McGuinness, and former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams.

Stormont Assembly Member Martina Anderson and North Belfast MP John Finucane also attended.

Mr Storey (64), who died in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne last week after an unsuccessful lung transplant, was a former northern chairman of Sinn Fein, as well as a former internee.

His remains will leave his home in Owenvarragh Park next Tuesday at 10.30am for 11am Mass at St Agnes Church on the Andersonstown Road, and afterwards to Milltown Cemetery.

Thousands of mourners are expected to attend and senior republicans have been urged to ensure social distancing measures are respected.

Mr Adams is expected to deliver a eulogy at the graveside.

Described as a great republican by Sinn president Mary Lou McDonald, Storey was the IRAs former director of intelligence and was reputed to have planned the 1983 escape of 38 prisoners from the Maze, as well as the 2002 Castlereagh RUC base break-in, and the 2004 Northern Bank robbery.

He was sentenced to 18 years for possession of a rifle in 1981 and also spent several periods behind bars remanded on other charges.

In 2005 an Ulster Unionist MP used parliamentary privilege to claim that Storey was the IRAs head of intelligence.

He spent more than 20 years in prison.

Two years ago the Storey home, along with a house belonging to Mr Adams, was targeted in an attack Sinn Fein blamed on dissident republicans.

A wake for the veteran IRA figure is being held at the family home over the next three days.








The media and the public have long argued on the real narrative behind "Megxit" since the former Duke and Duchess of Sussex declared their renouncement of senior membership in the royal family in January.

Meghan Markle has always been touted for the former royal couple's decision to step down, suggesting that she manipulated Prince Harry. In reality, the stunning decision was in the making for 23 years.

When Samir Hussein, royal family photographer, captured a photograph of Prince Harry and Markle the split second the former royal couple had both arms linked under one umbrella facing each other and beaming, the image became iconic, reported The New Yorker.

The image may have alluded to nuptial bliss, but it concluded the abrupt rift of the former Duke and Duchess of Sussex from the Firm and Britain.

Immediately after stepping down from royal engagements, according to an insider, they are "happier and more relaxed" bonding as a family being away from the limelight, according to KSAT 12.

When the pair made the announcement on January 8 in early 2020 to step down as senior royals, releasing the statement early was believed to have been against the Queen's wishes.

The Sussexes were involved in talks with Prince Charles, Prince Harry's father, regarding the departure from the British royal family, reported Express.

There is one clue that indicated the Sussexes were all along looking to renounce their royal duties.

Also Read: Meghan Markle Pregnant Again? Prince Harry's Wife Allegedly Hiding Baby Bump

The former royal pair planned to divide time between Britain and North America when they relocated to Los Angeles, Markle's hometown.

Their son Archie has a surname and they chose not to give him a title such as Prince or Lord. The decision could have been a big clue of the imminent decision for the family to have the same last name.

Long before Megxit and the proposal of Prince Harry to the former "Suits" actress, he expressed his unhappiness regarding royal life.

Prince Harry remarked in an interview with Angela Levin, on the time he was close to quitting the royal family. "I felt I wanted out." He eventually decided to stay and worked out his role in The Firm.

The decision was reportedly Prince Harry's choice.

"The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back, is not one made lightly," the former Duke of Sussex stated in January during a speech at a charity dinner.

He said they were involved in numerous talks after going through turmoil. "And I know I haven't always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option."

The driving force behind his distaste of the media was the loss of Princess Diana, his mother. Her death was due to injuries resulting from a car crash upon being hounded by the paparazzi in 1997.

Prince Harry had a semblance of normal or ordinary life when he was enlisted to the military, according to royal commentator Kristen Meinzer.

"Prior to that, his life was in palaces, boarding schools, on polo fields, and other elite places that are far from how the rest of us live. The military changed that."

Related Article: Prince William Gradually Becoming Blind? Duke Says His Eyesight is "Just a Blur"

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The government wanted to give Robert Jenrick more power over planning decisions before the controversy erupted over his relationship with a billionaire property developer, according to reports.

However, Boris Johnson has decided to put the proposals on hold rather than unveil them in a major speech about rebuilding Britain in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, The Daily Telegraph claimed.

The prime minister was also expected to include the changes in a white paper on planning later this year, the newspaper said.

According to the Telegraph, the housing secretary would set up a system of development corporations with the power to take planning decisions usually made by local councils.

These corporations would also be able to buy land with public money, grant planning permission and then sell the land to developers at a profit.

However Downing Street described the claims as not our policy, and said there was no link between the current controversy and the decision to put the plans on hold. When contacted by The Independent, No10 said it had nothing to add.

Mr Jenrick is under mounting pressure to explain his apparent closeness to Tory donor Richmond Desmond in the weeks leading up to his decision to approve a 1bn development in Westferry, east London.

The housing secretary is also facing claims he met another billionaire while considering a decision that would have a financial impact on their business.

The Guardian reported that the then-exchequer secretary to the Treasury met Israeli businessman Idan Ofer, the ultimate owner of the UK mining company Cleveland Potash, on 21 March 2018.

At that time, Mr Jenrick was assessing whether to offer state support for a new potash mine being built by a rival company, Sirius Minerals, it is claimed.

A spokesperson for Mr Jenrick said: He recused himself from decisions on the Sirius Minerals project. He disclosed his ministerial interests on appointment in the usual way.

The meeting that took place on 21 March 2018 with Mr Ofer was to discuss electric vehicles and charge point technology and was attended by a [Treasury] official.
U.S. defense bill supports Taiwan's military, COVID-19 cooperation

ROC Central News Agency

06/25/2020 12:33 PM

Washington, June 24 (CNA) The Armed Services Committee of the U.S. Senate released on Tuesday its version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes provisions that support both the strengthening of Taiwan's military and further cooperation on efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The committee passed the act on June 11, and it will now be taken to a vote on the Senate floor.

The committee's version of the NDAA reiterates U.S. support for the development of Taiwan's military, including through arms sales, exchanges between top defense officials and military exercises.

These exercises could include the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), the world's largest maritime warfare exercise, if appropriate, the act states, although Taiwan has never participated before.

The act also acknowledges China's "increasingly coercive and aggressive behavior" toward Taiwan, which is contrary to the U.S.' expectation of a "peaceful resolution" of Taiwan's future.

Citing the Taiwan Relations Act, the NDAA states that the U.S. will maintain the capacity to resist any action that will jeopardize the security and socioeconomic system enjoyed by the people of Taiwan.

In a separate section of the NDAA, it advises the Department of Defense to conduct port calls in Taiwan with two U.S. naval hospital ships, the USNS Comfort and the USNS Mercy.

The port calls would allow "United States personnel to benefit from the expertise of Taiwanese personnel in light of the successful response of Taiwan to COVID-19" and would allow the two sides to continue collaborating on COVID-19 responses, the act states.

The visits would also further improve cooperation between the two sides in the areas of military medicine, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the act states.

The U.S. House of Representatives will also draft and pass its own version of the NDAA. If the two versions differ, the Senate and the House will need to agree on a finalized version that will have to be passed in both houses again before it can be signed into law by the U.S. president.

(By Chiang Chin-yeh and Chiang Yi-ching)

Enditem/J

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New Zealanders overseas have noticed a rise in hostility to those having to make the decision to return home.

Now, with daily cases being caught in isolation facilities and high numbers of New Zealanders returning home, those returning feel less welcome than ever.

Some people online have called for flights from global hotspots to be scrapped completely, to limit the numbers of those returning home, or that they should pay the entire quarantine cost.

Clint Heine, who has been in the UK for more than a decade, says he has noticed more anti-returnee sentiment the past couple of weeks.

"From certain elements on social media and the press, no, it's not so kind."

He runs the 80,000 strong Kiwis in London Facebook group, and is well connected in the city.

Clint says comments they have seen online - from people he calls keyboard warriors - have been inhospitable towards New Zealanders coming home.

"The good headlines of having no cases - which is now five, six, seven cases - has made some people feel anxious. Unfortunately they seem to be directing it to some people coming in.

"We're hearing from a few people that they're now more concerned about coming home if they're going to expect this kind of reaction when they arrive."

Simon Hampton has been a freelance journalist based in New York for three years.

He says he would prefer to stay, and continue his life in New York - and so do most people he knows - so deciding to come home is not something he is doing for fun.

"I'm one of a number of people that are coming home out of necessity ... The people that have stayed in New York for this long, for four months now, don't want to leave. They've stuck it out. So if they're planning to come home at this point, it's really because they have to come home - it's not people coming for a holiday."

Back in London, Rachel Barker is working in TV, but is flying back to New Zealand in a few weeks' time.

She still has work and a flat there, and like Simon, would prefer to stay. But she has an auto-immune disease which would be seriously complicated if she contracted coronavirus.

She's been isolating, but with the UK trying to return to normal, she cannot just get on with life like some others will.

"There's just no way that I feel safe staying here. I can go to a pub or go to work, but my health is not stable enough that I'd feel confident that I wouldn't be affected by COVID. The thought of being back in New Zealand is incredibly exciting."

Cabinet will consider making those returning pay a portion of the hotel quarantine costs. So far they have spent about $80 million on returnees' accommodation.

Simon says he would understand if a payment was looked at on a case-by-case basis but some people simply could not stump up.

"Maybe there's an avenue there where they could justify charging people for some of that cost. But I think you have to remember that a lot of people are coming home having lost jobs, having had to break leases on property, they're already under a bit of financial pressure, so to slap them with another bill will be quite hard on them."

The government is considering a co-payment scheme in the next few weeks. If that goes ahead there might be an even greater rush than the country has seen in the last few weeks to beat the deadline, which may put pressure on isolation facilities.

RNZ.
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan will ease its coronavirus border restrictions to allow in people from Hong Kong for humanitarian reasons, the government said on Wednesday, ahead of Taiwan's opening of an office to help people wanting to flee the Chinese-ruled city.

Taiwan said earlier this month it would set up a dedicated office to help those thinking of leaving Hong Kong as Beijing tightens its grip on the former British colony, including planned new national security legislation.

The new office begins operations on the sensitive date of July 1, the day Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise of continued, wide-ranging freedoms under China's "one country, two systems" formula.

Taiwan largely closed its borders in mid-March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, meaning anyone who wished to come to the island from Hong Kong would have found it very difficult.

In a statement, Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Centre said that from Monday, Hong Kong people who wish to travel to Taiwan for "special humanitarian considerations" would be allowed to apply to be let in, though they will have to prove before they come they do not have the coronavirus.

They will also have to complete 14 days of quarantine, as do all arrivals into Taiwan.

China, which claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory, has condemned Taipei's government for offering to help people from Hong Kong, which was hit by months of sometimes violent anti-China, pro-democracy unrest before coronavirus curbs were introduced. China denies meddling in Hong Kong's affairs.

Taiwan has been extremely successful at controlling the spread of the virus, thanks to early and effective prevention work, and has never gone into complete lockdown, unlike other countries around the world.

The epidemic command centre said in a separate statement that from Thursday it will also re-allow some passengers to transit via Taipei's main international airport, though they will not be allowed to leave the airport and will be kept separate from other passengers.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)
26.06.2020 LISTEN

During the time when Mental Hospitals around the world had mental patients admitted, there were violent ones among them, even assaulting their caregivers that had to be restrained on a daily basis by health and mental workers without guns. Can anyone, anywhere imagine these violent mental patients being shot or killed during those restraints?

Police must be trained as part of a team deescalating volatile or violent situations, not shooting their way through the homeless or demonstrators in a split second. There is no community where that type of aggressive confrontation can be justified against children, youths or young men because the lives of Africans matter less at home or abroad.

No matter where we are at home or overseas, the color of your skin should not be promoting split seconds decisions as if Police are facing devil reincarnation in a war zone overseas or give "shoot on sight" order at home against unarmed civilian demonstrators as OBJ once did in Lagos. How often have we seen split second decisions or Police in war riot gear in white neighborhoods unless someone called for sighting a black skin?

If Police can only handle violent and aggressive situations, there must be fewer of them so equipped when such situations arise so trained personnel can defuse the situation. Mental Health and Social workers must be funded to deal with the same situations they faced in the old mental institutions. The difference would be dealing with outpatients instead of in-patients.

Yaba Left is a common phrase or joke in Lagos today but it was a full Mental Hospital. In the late 70s and early 80s, the world moved away from keeping mental patients in the institutions. Many mental patients increased the number of homeless people that were not common in African countries then. Unfortunately, they became targets for Police brutality including shootings, especially in the so called advanced countries. What is even worse is that blacks that already suffer from Police brutality even when they are sane became most of the victims disproportionately.

Africans must demonstrate to the world a new form of community policing practice by skilled Policewomen (welfare) in those days. Rather than going out of Africa to learn how to abuse blacks, mental patients and demonstrators on the streets with police dogs. Policing must be reimagined to include Social and Mental workers within the Police departments or Welfare Officers funded separately from Police budgets.

How can the so-called civilized communities be forced to resign either to the brutality of devious gangs taking advantage of demonstrations or extremists that have infiltrated our constituted authorities expected to serve and protect us? It must not be a choice between a rock or a hard place, fry pan or fire, do or die. It is a cry for justice and peace for decent and civilized people, no matter how rich or poor. They just deserve to live in peace and harmony. We must face the fact that the world was more civilized with less vanities that breed crimes and gangs than we are today. Modernization is not the same as civilized communities.

In order to tarnish the reputation of hard working police officers and peaceful demonstrators; gangs, militias and hate groups are trying whatever they can, disguised within legal authorities to kill our choice. There are thugs in every community seeking legitimacy by presenting themselves as peace lovers and enforcers of law and order. Some drug dealers even open food banks to attract the poor and recruits.

However, bias is difficult to cure by training alone. Privilege is difficult to give up. After all, educated folks and trainers like the one that kneeled on Floyd's neck to death, have their own biases. There are cultural and systemic biases cutting across racial and ethnic groups that are manifested in the training of our children from primary to high schools into law enforcement and colleges. Youths and children throughout the world have come out in all colors rejecting the obvious "good old days" privilege that disenfranchised and oppressed the poor. We must make changes while this George Floyd shock still rocks most conscience repulsively.

When black police officers have to sue their own departments because of racial harassment by fellow officers abroad or some brave police officers that came out and testified to lawmakers at home about maintaining their own vehicles and contributing bribes to Oga at the Top; we know the head is rotten from the top down. It has to be corrected from the ground up.

We cannot discount the fact that cannibals and ritualists have invaded our peaceful coexistence for notoriety and personal aggrandizement. We always hear about the brutalities, maiming and killing by militias. Unfortunately inside constituted authorities also. Some people had cried out that the Police were providing cover and protecting undesirable elements in the communities. But it took phone videos to bring these atrocities into our senses. Those who live by the swords die by the sword.

In most African countries, it is difficult to tell the difference between Police and political thugs. When you groom thugs during elections against your opponents and their supporters, it becomes difficult to curb their atrocious behavior after elections. Some of them ride the waves and coattails of their sponsors into local appointed offices and some elected offices. We as Africans are very familiar with brutal military dictators changing uniforms to become civilian politicians (militricians).

Contrary to what our "educated" parents told us because of their overseas exposure, the same inhumanity that exists in Africa can be worse for Africans in Diaspora. When our Youths give up on us to risk the desert and sea hoping against hope for a better life outside Africa, it is an indictment of our present-day managers. We and those looking for cheap educated labor glamorize outsiders and demonize our own. By the time the Youths find out the reality, their heads are already on the chopping blocks for body parts or they are too ashamed to admit the nightmares abroad. A few cried for help back home if they could escape or hide to make calls.
MONTREALThe widow of legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson says she is heartened by a petition calling for Montreal to rename a metro station in his honour.

Kelly Peterson told The Canadian Press that as trustee of the late musicians estate, shes always looking for ways to further his legacy and welcomes the effort by a Montreal man to see her late husband recognized.

A petition launched last week by Naveed Hussain calling on the city to rename the Lionel-Groulx metro station after Peterson, who grew up in the nearby Little Burgundy neighbourhood, has been gaining steam with more than 15,000 signatures.

I love the idea, I love the idea of Oscar being honoured, Peterson said on Thursday. It always really warms my heart and thrills me to see him being remembered ... and to have so many people in the neighbourhood in which he grew up wanting to honour him and remember him that way is really overwhelming.

But the City of Montreal and the citys transit agency have said that renaming a metro station is complicated and not likely to happen.

The Montreal Transit Corp. has had a moratorium on name changes since 2006 and has only ever made five name changes since opening. A spokesman said stations are typically named after the streets or nearby landmarks.

A previous grassroots attempt to rename the station for Peterson in 2008, shortly after the musicians death, did not succeed.

In Montreal, a concert hall at Concordia University bears Petersons name as does a park not far from the Lionel-Groulx station. Theres also a mural across from the green space in Little Burgundy near the metro station inaugurated in 2010.

A city spokeswoman indicated this week officials would be open to finding a different way of honouring the jazz legend whose career spanned more than 60 years.

Just last year, the city honoured Petersons late sister, Daisy Peterson-Sweeney, an accomplished music teacher, with her own park in the neighbourhood.

I would be delighted and thrilled and honoured if the city wanted to do something to honour Oscar even more, Peterson said. Its not something I ever expect from anyone  I dont just mean Montreal  Oscar was always humbled by every honour he received, and I feel the same way.

Kelly Petersons focus has been on promoting his musical legacy  the songs that he recorded and played, but more recently, those he composed himself so that people can see a more complete version of Oscar Peterson.

People play Bach, people play Beethoven, I want people to play Oscar Peterson, she said. Ive always felt that his music will outlive all of us: People will be listening to Oscars music 100 years from now, so it would be nice if there are other things that represent him as well.

Oscar Peterson does have schools named for him in the Ontario communities of Mississauga and Stouffville, as well as a small square in Torontos financial district.

But Kelly Peterson, who lives in southern Ontario, added its not for her to get involved in Montreal city politics or change its policies.

I dont live there, I dont feel I have the right to get involved in something that has an impact on the residents, and Im not one of them, she said. But the honour? Absolutely, I love it.
When a U.K.-based technology vendor started doing business in China, it hired a cybersecurity firm to proactively hunt for any digital threats that could arise as part of doing business in the country. The firm discovered a problem, one with such major implications that it alerted the FBI.

A state-owned bank in China had required the tech company to download software called Intelligent Tax to facilitate the filing of local taxes. The tax software worked as advertised, but it also installed a hidden back door that could give hackers remote command and control of the companys network, according to a report published Thursday by the SpiderLabs team at Chicago-based Trustwave Holdings Inc. (The cybersecurity firm declined to identify the bank).

Basically, it was a wide-open door into the network with system-level privileges and command and control server completely separate from the tax softwares network infrastructure, Brian Hussey, vice president of cyber threat detection and response at Trustwave, wrote in a blog post, also published Thursday. The malware, which Trustwave dubbed GoldenSpy, isnt downloaded and installed until two hours after the tax software installation is completed, he said.

Trustwave researchers determined that the malware connects to a server hosted in China.

It isnt known how many other companies downloaded the malicious software, nor is the purpose of the malware clear or who is behind it, according to the report. Trustwave said it disrupted the intrusion at the tech company in the early stages. However, it is clear the operators would have had the ability to conduct reconnaissance, spread laterally and exfiltrate data, according to the report, adding that GoldenSpy had the characteristics of an Advanced Persistent Threat campaign. Such efforts are often associated with nation-state hacking groups.

Besides its client, Trustwave said it was aware of a highly similar incident that occurred at a major financial institution, which it didnt name. This could be leveraged against countless companies operating and paying taxes in China or may be targeted at only a select few organizations with access to vital information, Trustwave wrote in its report. We believe all corporations with Chinese operations should investigate for presence of GoldenSpy and remediate if necessary.

Aisino Corporation, the developer of the Intelligent Tax software, didnt respond to a request for comment, and Trustwave said it didnt hear back from the company after alerting it to the malware discovery. Hussey said he briefed the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the findings on Wednesday.

Trustwave researchers believe the threat became active in April 2020, but they also discovered other variations of GoldenSpy going back to December 2016. It wasnt clear what the hackers were after once it had successfully gained access to the tech companys network, as they were discovered before they could exfiltrate data, Hussey said in an interview. Because the malware is included as part of software recommended by a bank, a target may be lulled into a false sense of security, Hussey said.

The malware was digitally signed by another Chinese company, Nanjing Chenkuo Network Technology, which helped it bypass the U.K. tech companys anti-virus and security systems, according to Trustwave. When Trustwave reached out to Nanjing about the malware, its emailed bounced back, Hussey said. The malware is built to persist inside of a companys network  when one part of the malware is shut down, another part will re-install the malicious program, according to the report.

Trustwave is asking businesses and computer security researchers with information about the malware to contact them.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Cyber Tech China
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-27 04:22:45|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Italy recorded 259 new cases of the novel coronavirus over the last 24 hours, while active infections dropped to 17,638 from 18,303 in the previous day, the Health Ministry stated on Friday.

Some 890 new recoveries were registered on a daily basis, bringing total recoveries to 187,615.

There were also 30 new deaths, taking the country's toll to 34,708.

The overall number of COVID-19 infections, fatalities, and recoveries rose to 239,961 on Friday, according to fresh data from the Health Ministry. Four cases erroneously included in the Emilia Romagna region were removed from the total.

BUSINESS SENTIMENT UP IN JUNE

The confidence sentiment among both Italian entrepreneurs and consumers improved in June compared with May, the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) stated on Friday.

The business composite confidence index grew to 65.4 points in June against 52.7 points in the previous month.

More specifically, the index in manufacturing reached 79.8 points from 71.5 in May, while that in construction improved more significantly to 124.0 from 108.4.

The market services confidence index increased to 51.7 from 38.9 in May, and that in retail trade to 79.1 from 68.0, according to ISTAT.

Consumer confidence index went up to 100.6 points in June from 94.3 in May. "The improvement ... involved all of its components," ISTAT specified.

In a separate bulletin, the statistical agency also estimated that Italy's deficit-to-GDP ratio grew to 10.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020 from 7.1 percent a year ago.

The saving rate among households in the first quarter -- which included three full weeks of complete lockdown implemented on March 10 due to the coronavirus emergency -- stood at 12.5 percent, an increase of 4.6 percentage points over the previous quarter.

The disposable income of consumer households in real terms, meanwhile, dropped by 1.7 percent.

SCHOOL REOPENING

Also on Friday, after long negotiations, the central government and the Conference of Regions, which comprises of governors of all of Italy's 20 regions and autonomous provinces, finally agreed on a Plan for school reopening after the COVID-19 emergency.

The Plan provides that schools across the country will reopen for remedial classes on Sept. 1, according to Under-Secretary of Education Peppe De Cristofaro.

"The full reopening of teaching activities (the new school year) will take place on Sept. 14," De Cristofaro told all-news TV channel Sky TG24.

The Plan, with all guidelines to safeguard pupils and staff against the coronavirus risk, will cover the 2020-2021 period.

The school reopening has been a hot issue of political and public debate in recent weeks, considering that the move involves over 8 million students and about 1 million teachers.

"We have allocated one further billion (euros) to increase investment in the school system, and, with the guidelines, we have arranged for going back safely in September," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told a press conference late on Friday.

In May, within a 55-billion-euro (61.7 billion U.S. dollars) package to relaunch the economy hit by the COVID-19 crisis, the Italian cabinet had allocated a first tranche of 1.45 billion euros to public schools and universities. (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollars) Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 13:03:27|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Institutional racism contributes to why African-Americans have been hit harder than white groups amid the COVID-19 pandemic, White House health advisor Anthony Fauci has said.

"Obviously the African-American community has suffered from racism for a very, very long period of time," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, when testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday.

"And I cannot imagine that that has not contributed to the conditions that they find themselves in, economically and otherwise," he said in response to the question of Illinois Democrat Bobby Rush regarding the virus' toll on black people.

Because of economic and other considerations, jobs that the majority of African-Americans undertake do not allow them to protect themselves by working online, posing "a greater risk of infection from work," the specialist explained.

Compared with white communities, the African-American population is "clearly disproportionately" exposed to the underlying co-morbid conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, chronic lung disease and kidney disease, Fauci noted.

"So unfortunately we have a situation where it's sort of a double whammy of a negative capability of them to respond through no fault of their own, because of underlying conditions," he said. Enditem
The confrontation between India and China in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis have laid bare a critical failure in Indias security apparatus.

When the first reports of Chinese intrusions into Galwan Valley emerged in May this year, the immediate expediencies overshadowed longstanding flaws in Indias security. What was also forgotten was another ongoing crisis that is linked to the happenings in Ladakh.

The Galwan Valley crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic are both security threats to India just months apart, and have the same origin, China. The Chinese threat to Ladakh began soon after August last year when the Indian government announced the abrogation of Article 370 which gave a constitutionally-mandated special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir.

The first reports of the COVID-19 virus emerged from Wuhan in November.

In either case, it is pertinent to note that Indias intelligence community failed to anticipate and mitigate either crisis. The reasons for this are manifold and systemic. They are in fact a national tragedy.

Failed reforms

For decades India has been trying to fix its intelligence apparatus to make it fit to deal with emerging threats. Unfortunately, every attempt at reform has been made after a crisis, making each of them reactive rather than comprehensive.

After the humiliating defeat in the 1962 war when India lost vast swathes of territory to China, there was a major attempt to reform Indias intelligence community. Between 1962 and 1968, the efforts of Ram Nath Kao, then then head of the Intelligence Bureaus (IB) foreign division, led the creation of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). He was a visionary and had a bold plan to change Indias intelligence apparatus and give it form and substance. However, his ideas were borne out of the failures of 1962 and failed to build a comprehensive approach that met the expectations and needs of all key stakeholders.

The early success of R&AW in the creation of Bangladesh before and after the 1971 war with Pakistan and the subsequent annexation of Sikkim hid many gaps in Kaos bold attempt to reform Indias intelligence community.

Similarly, the Intelligence Bureau never really grow out of its colonial mindset. Created by Britain as a tool to keep a watch on the Indian natives, IB remained an integral tool of the Government of India after independence, shaped more by the personal equation between its second director B N Mullik and prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. This is most visible in IBs role in the governance of Jammu and Kashmir where security and political ambitions intermixed to create an unhealthy nexus between the political masters and intelligence professionals. This problem of attitude remains a major bane in Indias intelligence community.

Naturally, several attempts to reform failed. Be it the move to create a national security council and secretariat in 1998-99, the Kargil Review Committee in 1999-2000 followed by the Group of Ministers report or the Naresh Chandra Task Force after the 26/11 attack on Mumbai  they all failed to address the core issues that dog Indias intelligence community.

Twin failures: Collection and analysis

Modern intelligence processes are based on the twin pillars of collection of intelligence followed by robust analysis. In India, both fail repeatedly.

As a result, while there are elaborate intelligence structures that could have anticipated Chinas new aggression to change the status quo in Ladakh, none of them worked to prevent the crisis. This is a political failure. No government in independent India has ever wanted to plug the gaps and professionalise Indias intelligence community to ensure that national security objectives are served above political interests.

As a result, not only have successive governments failed to assess the quality of intelligence being collected externally and internally, it has never looked at the analytical processes either. For instance, both the Galwan Valley and COVID-19 crises are a failure of external and internal intelligence both. Not only did they fail to produce any early warnings, they also failed to alert the countrys other key stakeholders when the crisis was emerging.

As a result, there were systemic failures in analysis. No one could comprehend as the Chinese intrusions deepened, or the COVID19 virus spread rapidly through district after district. None of the agencies used any modern methods for analysis, such as big data analytics or even basic data visualisation, which are now common tools for the private sector and academia across the globe.

Since 2003, a pandemic has been recognised as a national security threat by the National Security Council and subsequently, by the National Disaster Management Authority formally. However, there are no dedicated intelligence resources made available in the IB or the R&AW to actually deal with it even today.

In the case of the Chinese intrusions in Ladakh, it is a traditional threat and therefore makes the intelligence failure even more alarming. A quick reading of the Kargil Review Committee and its chapter and recommendation on intelligence reform in India are shocking. They are shocking because even 20 years after the report, key reforms have failed to take place.

In 1999, the Committee noted this: The political, bureaucratic, military and intelligence establishments appear to have developed a vested interest in the status quo. National security management recedes into the background at the time of peace and is considered too delicate to be tampered with at the time of war and proxy war. It also noted that There is no institutionalized mechanism for coordination or objective-oriented interaction between agencies and consumers at different levels. Similarly, there is no mechanism for tasking the agencies, monitoring their performance and reviewing their records to evaluate their quality. Nor is there any oversight of the overall functioning of the agencies.

The Chinese intrusions and the COVID-19 pandemic are urgent wake up calls to reform a broken intelligence system. Unless Indias political masters address this now, the country will continue to pay a high price in blood.
ST. LOUIS  In June 1945, newspapers chronicled the toll from far-away Okinawa, an island only 350 miles from the Japanese mainland. It was America's bloodiest battle in the Pacific Theater, with more than 12,500 killed  almost 5,000 of them sailors on ships struck by kamikaze planes. Nearly 100,000 Japanese soldiers perished.

Death was by flame thrower, heavy machine gun and 1,900-pound battleship shell. Wedged along the grim newspaper dispatches from Okinawa were two articles that recalled another long slog of war.

The Rev. John Claypool, once a Confederate infantryman from Kentucky, died June 11, 1945, in Christian Hospital at 4411 North Newstead Avenue. Claypool was 98. Ten days later, Joseph J. Briggs, a Union soldier from Illinois, died at his daughter's home at 2817 Watson Road at age 96.

Newspapers called them the last two Civil War veterans in St. Louis.

Their war had been fought with black-powder muskets, cavalry sabers and brass cannon on wooden carriages. It ended 80 years before the battle for Okinawa. Claypool spent most of his life preaching from southern Missouri to Texas. Briggs had moved here from his lumber business in Sikeston, Mo., to be tended by family. With so few Civil War veterans still alive, their birthdays and occasional appearances at Memorial Day events made local headlines.

Claypool and Briggs were among 3.2 million Americans who wore blue or gray during the Civil War. An estimated 630,000 of them died of wounds or illness, mainly the latter. By contrast, American deaths in uniform during World War II totalled 404,000, three-quarters of them killed in battle.

Only about two dozen Civil War veterans were alive in Missouri when America entered World War II in 1941. Union sailor George Tainter of St. Charles died in 1943 at age 101. August Moreau, another Union sailor, died in south St. Louis County at 99 in April 1945. That left Briggs the last surviving local member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Union veterans' association.

Claypool twice was national commander of the United Confederate Veterans. In 1938, he refused to let his organization participate in the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg until the Grand Army agreed to allow former rebels to wear their uniforms.

"Since the Lord has put up with the Yankees all this time, I guess I can also for a few days," he said.

Nationally, there is dispute over the identity of the last surviving Confederate, but Albert Woolson was the last Union veteran. He died in Duluth, Minn., in 1956, at age 109.
26.06.2020 LISTEN

The Chief Executive Officer of Citi FM and Citi TV, Samuel Attah-Mensah has called for a proper probe into the circumstances surrounding a seeming confusion over ownership of a parcel of land upon which the demolished structure belonging to the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana stood.

He says the Lands Commission officials found complicit in the act should be arrested.

The parcel of land, said to be owned by the Osu Stool and leased to the Nigerian High Commission in the year 2000, is allegedly being forcibly taken over by a private interest person with the knowledge of the Lands Commission.

The demolition of the uncompleted structure caused Ghana a great diplomatic ruckus.

Two persons have so far been arrested in connection with the demolition and the Ghanaian Government has promised to reconstruct the structure.

But Mr. Attah-Mensah, speaking on Citi TV's news analysis show; What The Papers Are Saying, said the offending officials should not be left off the hook.

The Lands Commission should be blamed in this whole game. Two people have been arrested [by the Police over the issue]. I think they should go to the Lands Commission and arrest those who renewed the mandate in 2019 because they are hiding there and watching unconcerned but they know what they have done, Mr. Attah-Mensah said. Background

Parts of the one-storey structure belonging to the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana, located at Osu Ringway in Accra were destroyed on Friday, June 19, 2020.

The Osu Stool which took responsibility for the demolition accused the Nigeria High Commission of trespassing on its land.

The Stool in a statement said the Nigerian High Commission has no legal title to the land.

There has till date been no response or acknowledgement in response to the stool's invitation nor has the trespasser proceeded to submit any documentation of permission upon which it demolished the original structure on the land and proceeded to erect a new structure, the statement added.

It is known by the Osu Stool that the trespasser till date does not hold in its possession any documentation on the parcel land.

But the Nigeria High Commission insists that it has legal documents that the land in question belongs to it.

---citinewsroom
Press Release

June 26, 2020 Lacson: Anti-Terror Bill Could Have Prevented Marawi Siege More at: https://pinglacson.net/2020/06/26/lacson-anti-terror-bill-could-have-prevented-marawi-siege/ The deadly and protracted Marawi Siege of 2017 could have been prevented had the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 been in effect at the time, due to its tough provisions against inchoate offenses as well as its mechanism for cutting off terrorists' funding. Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson stressed this as he pointed out the country cannot afford to wait for a repeat of the urban battle that lasted five months and caused massive loss of life and property. "Had this measure been in effect earlier instead of the 2007 Human Security Act, the Marawi Siege could have been prevented. For one, a new feature under this bill is to make punishable inchoate offenses, something not present under the present Human Security Act of 2007," Lacson, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said at an online forum of the League of Provinces of the Philippines on Thursday, when asked by Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose 'Bong' Lacson. An inchoate offense is a preparatory act punishable even if the desired result of such act has not occurred yet, thus making it an independent crime itself. Section 6 of the Anti-Terrorism Bill thus penalizes planning, training, preparing and facilitating the commission of terrorism, which are acts performed towards the accomplishment of the desired purpose, which is terrorism. On the other hand, Lacson noted the Anti-Terrorism Bill provides for a mechanism to prevent terrorist groups from accessing their funding by freezing their accounts. "While we have already the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012, it has no mechanism to prevent terrorist financing. The Anti-Terrorism Bill has a mechanism to trigger a freeze order by the Anti-Money Laundering Council upon the request of the Anti-Terrorism Council," he said. Such provisions in the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 allow law enforcers to act proactively and nip terrorism in the bud, Lacson noted. More importantly, Lacson said these provisions in the Anti-Terrorism Bill will allow authorities to act on intelligence reports on potential terrorist activity. "What happened in Marawi was not lack of intelligence; they had enough intelligence but they could not act because the HSA of 2007 is toothless and rendered a dead-letter law" he said. "The loss of hundreds of lives and the massive destruction of properties could have been prevented in Marawi City with an Anti-Terrorism Law stronger and more effective than the toothless dead-letter law like the Human Security Act of 2007," he added. Meanwhile, governors at Thursday's forum expressed overwhelming support for the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Bill. LPP president and Marinduque Gov. Presbitero Velasco Jr. informed Sen. Lacson at the forum that "a big majority of governors fully supported the eventual, I believe, passage of the bill into law." Quirino Gov. Dakila Carlo Cua added the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines has released its "supportive statement" for the government's efforts against terrorism. Palawan Governor Jose "Pepito" Alvarez said it is high time the Anti-Terrorism Bill is passed into law, especially since terrorism threatens tourism in Region 4-A (CALABARZON). "Tourism and terrorism do not come together. Sen. Ping, tulungan mo kami rito. We need this bill signed into law as soon as possible," Alvarez said. Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba added a strong anti-terrorism measure is "long overdue," citing the threat of the New People's Army in his province. Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, meanwhile, said the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 "will be our national declaration of war vs terrorists both local and foreign, but never against peace- and freedom-loving Filipinos and peoples." "This is contrary to another disinformation campaign that they were pressured to come up with resolutions and manifestos of support to the bill," Lacson noted.
Police in Madison, Wisconsin, are investigating a possible hate crime after a woman reported being doused in lighter fluid and set on fire while at a stop light early Wednesday.

Althea Bernstein, an 18-year-old biracial woman, told police she stopped her vehicle at an intersection around 1 a.m. when she was approached by four white men, one of whom yelled a racial epithet.

At the time, Madison police were in a standoff in another part of downtown with protesters after some of them tore down two statues, assaulted a state senator and threw an explosive device into the City-County Building.

In this June 23, 2020 file photo, protesters block traffic near Capitol Square in Madison, Wis. Demonstrators who toppled statues this week honoring Hans Christian Heg, a Civil War abolitionist, and the state's "Forward" motto say they went after the sculptures because they wanted to shatter a false narrative that the state and the city support Black people and have achieved racial equity. (Emily Hamer/Wisconsin State Journal via AP File)AP

Bernstein told police one of the men used a spray bottle to douse her in lighter fluid and threw a flaming lighter on her, causing the liquid to ignite on her face and neck, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said.

Bernstein said she was able to extinguish the flames and drive home. Her mother encouraged her to go to a hospital, where she said she was treated for burns and will need to make follow-up visits.

Bernstein told police that hospital staff said the burns were caused by lighter fluid. Investigators are looking at surveillance images to see if any of the assault was captured on camera, DeSpain said.

Our family is saddened by what happened to Althea and the unprovoked attack on her body, Carly Schleif of the Dane County Boys & Girls Club said in a statement. At this time, our family is asking everyone to respect our privacy as Althea is recovering from the burns on her face and neck.

The story on Madison 365 (which first reported the incident) accurately depicts her experience, Altheas family said. We feel its in the best interest of Althea to heal and to seek treatment.

Schleif said Boys & Girls Club CEO Michael Johnson is acting as a representative for Althea and her family.

Johnson said he spoke with Bernstein Thursday through FaceTime. Though shes in pain and recovering from the incident, she is heartened by the outpouring of love and support from the community, he said.

He said he is worried that Black people and people of color in Madison are at risk of racist attacks.

The way the events played out tells me (the assailants) have no regard for life, thats pretty scary, he said. (Bernstein is) a young innocent woman minding her own business and someone does that to her.

Acting Madison Police Chief Vic Wahl assured Johnson that the department will fully investigate the incident.

By Elizabeth Beyer, The Wisconsin State Journal (TNS)

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Experts say while the increasing demand for a ban on Chinese goods might make for good optics, the reality is that India is still heavily dependent on that country in a wide range of industries like electronics, mobile devices, auto, pharma, telecom equipment, and fertilisers.

The Made in India tag on your smartphone hides one very important fact: There is a very large proportion of China within the device.

Import of mobile phone components (including printed circuit boards) during April-February FY20, according to government figures, hit $7.5 billion - of which 25 per cent was from the land of the dragon.

Hari Om Rai, chairman of Lava International, said: Yes, we are vulnerable. Import content in our phones vary from 60-80 per cent. And China constitutes anything between 20 and 50 per cent of that.

Experts say while the increasing demand for a ban on Chinese goods might make for good optics, the reality is that India is still heavily dependent on that country in a wide range of industries like electronics, mobile devices, auto, pharma, telecom equipment, and fertilisers.

Take auto for instance: India imports $17.6 billion worth of components annually, with China accounting for 25-27 per cent.

It also accounts for 30 per cent imports in the replacement market for auto components, where price is key.

Executives of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association say China offers critical components at a competitive price, which makes it important in the supply chain.

A senior executive of an automaker said: For instance, to move from BS-IV to BS-VI, one needs time to develop the technology.

"Till then, you go to China and get it. For EVs, the electronic component base is limited in India, so once again you go to China.

"If there is a sudden surge in demand for new components, for which your vendors require 18 months, you import them from China.

Price competitiveness is key to Chinas dominance. In a recent interview to Business Standard, S N Subrahmanyan, managing director & CEO of Indias largest engineering company, Larsen & Toubro said, We go to the best and most efficient supply chain, and at the moment it is from China.

"If the Make in India campaign catches up and if there are Indian manufacturers who are efficient both in terms of pricing and technology, we will look at those sources.

Other industries would agree.

For instance, the pharma industry is over-dependent on China for both active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates called key starting materials (KSM).

One key reason is that it is at least 30 per cent cheaper to import from China, than other competing global suppliers.

Yet, the over-dependence could have a serious impact on availability.

This was clearly visible when there was a shortage of Vitamin C and common antibiotics, as manufacturers in China closed operations after the COVID-19 outbreak.

However, some steps are now being taken to reduce dependence.

Under the new plan, the government will incentivise local production.

It has identified 41 products in which India is over-dependent on China.

The story is no different for fertilisers.

Chinas share in imports of diammonium phosphate is over 45 per cent, and 13 per cent for urea.

For both urea and DAP, local production has not kept pace with demand.

We can import them from West Asia, North Africa, or the US, as there is plenty of supply. But the price of imports will rise 25-35 per cent, said K Ravichandran, group head at ICRA.

Consequently, some course correction is being made in urea (the most popular fertiliser), with nearly 4-5 public sector plants increasing their capacity.



In telecom, equipment makers say 40-45 per cent of the gear is imported from China, not jut from Chinese firms like Huawei or ZTE, but also European giants that have factories in China.

Telcos love this, of course, despite strong opposition against allowing Chinese in the 5G equipment business (as US has done).

That is because Chinese banks that work in tandem with Chinese telecom equipment makers extend long-term credit lines.

But after various failed attempts to bring manufacturing to India, DoT has now mooted a productivity linked incentive scheme for telecom equipment, which could make India into a manufacturing and export hub.

The Chinese domination is consumer electronics is palpable. If you use a LED TV, chances are that the panel will be from China.

That is because 80 per cent of LED panels are imported from there.

Says a top executive of a leading TV manufacturer: A LED plant requires investments of Rs 38,000 crore.

"Until India has economies of scale or become an export hub no one will come.

The stranglehold of the Chinese in domestic TV manufacturing is reflected in the fact that while the value is going down India imported over Rs 81,000 crore of TV parts in 2019-20 (till February).

In durables like AC for instance-60 per cent of the cost is the compressor.

And as there are only few companies which have set up compressor AC units about 80 per cent is imported from China again.

Of course some companies are now sensing an opportunity.

Says B Thiagarajan MD of Blue Star India which is ramping up local value addition: This is an opportune time to reduce import dependence from countries like China by building local manufacturing.